A.N:

*A creacking noise is heard, as the lid on a coffin slides to the side. A moan of lament is heard...*

Ooooooohhhhhhhh... Guuuuuuesssssssss whoooossssss baaaaaaaack.......!!!!!!!! *Hack, koff!* Hmhm! Ah, that's better! My GOD! It's been TOO long! Way TOO long! I should have updated this before, but I could not for various reasons. I'll list them at the end AN. It's fairly short chapter. In fact, since I've been so hooked on Touhou, most of my ideas span from Touhou, currently. This is, for all intents and purposes, a filler chapter. We're gettng to the good stuff really soon, so please bear with me!

DISCLAIMER: I. DO. NOT. OWN. CODE. GEASS!

WARNINGS: ...Warnings? This chapter has little to call a warning... Matter of fact, the only warning is to those who don't feel comfortable with an implication of C., which would beget the question: "Why the hell are you reading something like this in the first place? It says C.C. & Lelouch L. rigth there in the story description!"

Here goes, Chapter 6!

Inside a gigantic cave, illuminated by hundreds of lights, where many steel harbors were all incrusted into the bedrock, there was a small gathering. This cave was the main harbor section, where the Ikaruga docked. "Used to dock.", was a bitter thought shared by several of the people in the cave. Indeed, for while the mentioned ship was in the harbor, the only thing that ever hinted that the wounded vessel in the harbor was the Ikaruga was its general shape… and even that suffered from severe disfigurations all along the hull. Punctures, burn marks, melted steel, missing sections of the hull and busted cables were just examples of the extent of the damage done to it.

Looks like the Gefjun Technology did a real number this time.

A man with an admittedly weird, brown hairdo, held with a red headband, was pacing, frustration evident in his form. Some of the people in the small crowd looked at him in concern, particularly a tanned woman with rare silver-colored hair. Others—Tohdoh and Xingke—were impassive, opting instead to blankly stare at what used to be a perfectly functional flagship. Then there was the red-haired Tamaki, who was spouting off obscenities as he stared at the water beneath them. The rest murmured amongst themselves, either agreeing with Tamaki or just cursing beneath their breath.

"What. The. Fuck. What the fuck happened here?! How the hell did something like this happen?! We're the fucking Black Knights! Who the fuck do they think they are, whoever did this?! Who has the balls to--!" "SHUP UP!"

Instantly, the group fell silent, even as the cry echoed throughout the cavern. Notably getting red in the face, Kaname Ohgi ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. Regardless of Tamaki's vocal outrage, he admitted that he was right. Who?! When?! Why?! How?! Those questions all appeared in his mind one after the other, storming him and raising his stress levels well and beyond. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. Such was his fury.

A voice broke the silence, the recognition it provoked in the people indicating the late arrival's presence. "Let me guess what your simple mind is thinking. Who did this?! I dunno, but I don't doubt it was an inside job. When, or since when?! To that, I'd say it has been planned in advance, although that much should be obvious. Tch. Why? Now that's a tricky one. It depends on the person who did it. Lastly, you ask yourself, "How?!", and there you have my reason for even coming to this meeting."

The voice's owner was Rakshata Chawla, a tall, long blonde-haired woman with tan skin. With trademark smoking pipe in hand, the Indian scientist reached the group, smoking a bit before releasing it in a puff of smoke. She looked at the Ikaruga forlornly, face turning into an almost sad expression. "The "how" is answered as such; the ordinance used to down the Ikarugawas Gefjun ordinance—my ordinance." Ignoring the gasps of shock and surprise, she continued. "Those green spheres you saw were the medium by which the Gefjun disturber waves acted, spreading to annihilate any electronic device in the ship. For the ordinance itself, it was a new, experimental Gefjun weapons system that we had been working on. We had a prototype ready, alongside compact bombs which had the same, albeit weaker, effect. It was the bombs that did the deed." Ending the explanation, she returned to smoking some more.

As everyone digested the information, Nagisa Chiba spoke up after a few minutes. "So… What you're saying is, somebody snuck into the R&D section, stole the bombs, set them up around the Ikaruga, and then blew them?" She stared directly at the scientists, even as several others looked at her. For her part, Rakshata let out a grimace.

"It wasn't just the bombs. The prototype was stolen as well, alongside the binder containing the complete information regarding the weapon. With the prototype, the reports and the blueprints, our enemy, whoever it was, just needs a reliable source to procure materials, income and personnel to replicate it. When such thing happens, well, let's just say we'll be knees-deep in donkey shit." The seemingly nonchalant way in which she ended left many sweating. Rakshata was neverthis pessimistic. Ohgi grimaced, but felt the need to ask anyway.

"What exactly, does the prototype do?"

Raising an eyebrow, she answered. "Let's make it short. Basically, it creates a concentration of Gefjun waves in a single space. Via certain, controlled processes, the space acts as a vacuum for a subliminal radiation signal, which eventually causes destabilization and molecular collapse, creating a chain reaction in which the Gefjun waves are released outwardly with great force. As added bonuses over previous Gefjun ordinance, these possess much greater range and are self-sustaining. They even overcome current Gefjun countermeasures to boot."

Hesitantly, Ohgi asked. "What do you mean by "self-sustaining"?"

"Ah." And with that, the man knew he was not going to like the answer. "Curious, isn't it? Original Gefjun ordinance required considerable amounts of energy in order to keep functioning. Our best use of it was by Zero, who had it installed to a train that went through the entire Settlement, using the train's battery rather than the internal one to function. We based the concept slightly on that tactic.

Using an electromagnetic phenomenon we noticed between the Gefjun wave radiation experiments and left-over sakuradite energy expelled into the air, we theorized that we could work the weapon around the idea that it could make use of that unused energy in order to sustain and power itself, increasing in strength and size as it progressively impaired any technology within its effective range, to the point were short-circuiting and severe malfunctions would initiate a chain destruction of the enemy's systems. Thus, we titled it the Expansive Gefjun Field Module. A true work of art, if I do say so myself."

The following silence was deafening, or it would have been, had that phrase not been an oxymoron to begin with. With much apprehension showing in their faces, many began to feel dread. A weapon that powerful in enemy hands?! The sentiments, at least, were clearly mirrored in the brown-haired man's face.

"A weapon of thatmagnitude…" "Yes?" Rakshata was not sure where he was going with this.

"All of it, completely in enemy hands?" "Yes…?"

"…" Nowhe was hyperventilating, teetering on the brink of nervous breakdown. Luckily, his Britannian lover, Villeta, came to his side and tried her best to calm him down. She succeeded, for the most part. She should have done so more discreetly, however, as evidenced by the nasty glares she received from several members. One in particular was murmuring things like these.

"Great., just great. It's one disaster after another! The city's bombed, Zero is dead, Britannia has a new Emperor, the Ikaruga's in shambles, Major Kouzuki and Lady Sumeragi are missing alongside several Black Knight members, and now a prototype superweapon falls to the enemy's control. What comes next? A monkey coming out of my ass?"

His mumblings went mostly unnoticed, for the exception of two key members. Tohdoh and Li Xingke looked at each other, eyes narrowed. Kouzuki and Sumeragi both missing? The Chinese whispered to the other.

"I smell foul play."

"As do I."

With mutual nods, the two resolved to look into the matter later, opting to once again watch as the silverette proved to be the one with the pants in the relationship.

"…And that's what happened." And with her explanation done, Kallen allowed herself to lean back in the comfortable passenger's seat she had taken when they boarded the Crane.It had been exhausting, but she'd eventually been able to explain to Nina how they came upon the airport. Of course, she also had to explain to her quite a few other things—namely her being a Black Knight, and how she and Kaguya ended up in the situation they were in now in the first place.

Turns out, Kallen chose a secluded spot nearby the Ashford Academy to change the battery of the Guren. Using its incredible speed together with some crafty maneuvering, she managed to land in the forest with no one to see them. Kaguya had decided to inspect the area surrounding them, and came across a pair of men putting boxes inside the trunk of a car. She overheard them muttering about a "private jet", so she rushed to Kallen and informed her of her findings. In no time at all, they were pursuing the vehicle a safe distance away, which eventually led them to the are where the airport was.

Digesting the information, Nina allowed silence to take over for a while. However, she broke the silence soon after. "I see… So, Zero wasn't killed by F.L.E.I.J.A., but was betrayed by the higher ups of the Black Knights… And you two got pissed off and betrayed them in turn when you found out he was still alive?"

"Kaguya did; I knew he was alive. Kaguya convinced me to go along with it, mostly. After a while to meditate however, I… decided I wanted to go and speak with him myself."

"For what?"

Feeling uncomfortable with the topic, the red-head avoided the question. "I'd rather not talk about it… It's complicated." "Complicated" was rather tame, she thought. It was screwed up as hell. "That's better!"

Looking down at her feet, Nina let it go. "I understand. I shall not mention it again.

More uncomfortable silence, but this time, Kaguya, who had been quiet, for the most part, spoke up this time. "So, how'd you get a ride on Lulu's jet, huh?" The question seemed innocent enough. For Nina, however, the implications of the sentence caused her head to snap so violently, the other two swore they heard a loud "crack!".

With wide eyes, the green-haired girl stammered. "L-Lulu?! Since w-when is the Supreme Chairwoman of the U.F.N. acquainted with the Emperor on such a personal level?! Only his closest of friends called him that!"

"I'll tell you, if you tell me your story." With a grin, Kaguya knew she had her.

Pausing, the Britannian deliberated. On the one hand, this girl was an Elev-Japanese, a race which she still had some trouble trusting in. On the other hand, she was Kallen's friend, and she'd learnt to trust in Kallen's judgment when they used to attend Ashford Academy. Sighing, she pushed up her glasses, which had slid down her nose, with her index finger, before assuming a more comfortable position.

"Very well, it started with…"

"Haaaaaa… Lulu sure seems to be enjoying the position of Emperor…" Said the woman, clad in a pristinely white dress.

"Isn't he? He does seem to be having a rather good time. It also pleases me to see that his friend Suzaku and him made their peace."

"Oh that's right! Zaku-kun forgave him! I always forget, but you always remind me! I'm so happy! I wanted to tell him not to blame himself, or Lelouch, but I didn't have the strengths at the time…"

"It's ok, I understand. Kururugi is both an outstanding Devicer, and a loyal friend. If I were in Lelouch's position, I'd be relieved to be able to count on him."

"But still… It is still so sad…"

"What is…?"

"Oh, I'm talking about their plan. You know... Zero Requiem."

"Oh. That is… Yes, it is truly… regretful."´

"Oh put some more effort into it! Aren't you his brother?!"
"Half-brother."

"So what? I'm his half-sister, and I had a crush on him when we were kids!"

"That's different! You… I… W-well, you're a woman!"

"So? Since when were you this sexist?"

"Argh! That's not what I meant!"

"Then what?"

But instead of having to answer, the man was saved by the timely intervention of another male, this time younger, voice.

"Hey, check this out!"

The man took advantage of the opportunity, and changed the subject. "Hmm? What is it?"

The young woman pouted, and gave him a glare that said "This isn't over yet.". With a gulp, he started for the place where the brunette boy was waving his arms for them. When both reached his side, they all looked down into the crystal-clear water of the lake, which rippled as a part of the water became like a screen, showing them the events happening in a world different from their own. It showed a raven-haired man with stunning violet eyes, clad in white, regal clothes. Almost instantly, the woman swooned as her eyes caught the appearance of the man.

"Ooooh! Look look!" She exclaimed, much like a child in an amusement park, noted the males, "Isn't he handsome?!" Indeed, the two had to admit, it looked like the designers outdid themselves this time. The 99th Emperor's attire was white and regal, befitting someone as powerful as him. However, they also had a sense of style that seemed to elevate his being not only above the stations of the rest of his peers, but also above what commonly passes as "cool" for most young men these days.

White clothes, with gold embroidery on the shoulders and the neck line. Three royal purple shawls integrated into the robes, each of varying length, and each adorned with golden lining; the one on the right shoulder was simple, whilst the ones falling from the front of the shoulders had golden linings which seemed assimilate the form of a golden wing, which converged down to surround a crimson jewel. From all three shawls, an emerald jewel hung. What seemed like a belt was at his waist, with more gold and a red jewel, as well as more emeralds hanging from the bottom part, giving it the appearance of an eye. A white shawl hung next to his neck, obscuring the top of the longest shawl. It featured the same wing pattern, with a lighter-toned red jewel, but no emerald.

To complete the ensemble, the blushing maids aiding him in his dressing, handed him a big, white hat. To better accommodate and support itself, a purple cloth was included, which had one last section of embroidery. Another red jewel, surrounded with gold to form an eye, but the lining formed wings that belonged to the eye alone. On the underside of the hat, four golden arrows aimed at the cardinal points, the one pointing south longer to accommodate the longer rear distance of the hat. From that end hung a small, chain link, which split into two and from them, hung a couple of beautiful, perfectly sculpted amethysts.

In short, his attire was befitting someone such as Lelouch; stylish, but grand enough to exalt his position of power. The Emperor was pleased, that was obvious. He was not the only one.

He was going to go crazy! This crazy woman was babbling at the speed of light about how he was handsome this, mysterious that, dark that! OH GOD!Blocking his poor ears with both hands, he gritted his teeth, wishing his companion would stop squealing! Luckily for his eardrums, the other male somehow managed to calm her down when he made some sort of lascivious-sounding comment about some homosexual fangirl of hers. Instantly, she shut up with a bright blush on her face.

Thanking whoever heard his pleas, he turned to address the girl. "Alright, alright we get it. He at least looks the part of an Emperor. Though I will never understand how he has no qualms about sullying his own hands with blood…"

"Oh please, don't bring that up…"

"Very well, I won't. Anyways, where we're we?"

The youngest of the three perked up, and waved to someone coming over to them from the foliage. Another girl, this one looking a bit older than the other young woman, came over to them. The four of them exchanged nods, and sat around the lake to peer into it's depths, and once again, watch over Lelouch.

The pink-haired woman and the orangette gave each other smiles, and gushed over how attractive the white-clad man in the image was. On the other side, the young, brunette boy with violet eyes gazed lovingly at the image of his surrogate brother, whilst the blond-haired man gave him a professional once-over, and nodded, pleased, with a small smile on his face.

Nodding with approval, very pleased with his appearance, he stepped down from the pedestal even as the maids—who were blushing in his presence, probably due to how good he looked in white—, took steps back and bowed respectfully. His eyes darted to the corner, spotting C.C., Suzaku and Jeremiah, in this order, giving him a side look, a grin and a look of approval.

The maids received their dismissal, and, as a final act to engorge his ego, he flashed them his lady-killer smirk, and nearly laughed as they both began to stammer incoherently, nearly stumbling as they hurriedly left the premises with tomato-red-grade faces. Letting out the smallest snicker, he started towards the open window, looking over the lands once again. The early morning sun was peaking over the horizon, bathing his figure in its radiance, giving his clothes a golden tint.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun and the fresh breeze, he closed his eyes and looked downwards. He mumbled thoughtlessly. "Hmm… It's been a rather busy couple of days, I'd say." Jeremiah and Suzaku both stood a few meters behind him, whilst C.C. once again lied on his bed. All looked at him as he spoke. "I've been crowned as Emperor of Britannia… Anya has been found, and her Geass destroyed… Kallen and Kaguya, somehow, will make their way here… Milly has begun to get the festival and its preparations in motion… And soon after it, war will loom over the horizon…"

Sighing, he asked, "How's Anya? Has she woken up?" Not long after his father's Geass on her was removed, she collapsed, sobbing on his chest. He and C.C. did their best to calm her down. It took a while, but eventually, she cried herself to sleep. She'd been asleep in the medical bay ever since then, looking miserable, but sleeping peacefully.

"She has shown signs of waking up sometime soon, but the doctors are not sure when. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow." This was Jeremiah reporting. But he still had one piece of information to give his Lord, and he was a bit hesitant to mention it. Getting a look from C.C. and a nod from Suzaku, he decided to share it with the Emperor. "However…"

Raising an eyebrow, he half-turned his head to look towards the sound of the green-haired man's voice, eyes still closed. "However…?"

He took a deep breath. "However, there is one other thing that the doctors reported. It regards Anya's body." Getting a nod to continue, he informed rather surprising news, "It would seem that, due to some unknown effect taking place in her body, she has begun to mature, developing a figure to match her age more. Since she's around 16, the doctors theorized she was just a "late bloomer", and was finally entering her puberty. It goes without saying that they are not aware of the existence of Geass, which everyone here knows that that is quite likely the real cause for the sudden development. Why, though…"

He looked up, and noticed he had Lelouch's attention, but he quickly looked towards C.C. Sighing, the green-haired immortal gave her theory. "Let's see… Well, my guess would be that Charles's Geass not only repressed her memory and information-retaining ability, but also, her genetic memory." She had an audience, she knew, so she elaborated. "Look at it this way; when a human wakes up the next day, they always look forward to a productive day, if only subconsciously. From the events of that day, a human experiences life, obtaining information and knowledge, maturing and becoming a little bit wiser. Those experiences become memories; important memories that help them grow as humans and as living beings. When you have no memories, you cannot grow, for if you do not learn, how you can you develop? If you do not mature, how can you face life as an adult? If you remember little of whom you are, or never move past a certain point of being in one's mind, then your own body cannot create a life for an adult version of yourself."

Looking forlorn, she expressed. "…In such a case, you are, in essence, stuck. Stuck between the border of childhood and maturity." And now looking at Lelouch's eyes, she finished her explanation. "Our body is not entirely controlled by our will, you know that. If you feel quick, intense pain, your bodywill react to it, not you. And so goes for our genetics. They, too, grow and develop with our maturing. They, too, experience a change in memory with experience. It is that genetic memory that helps one grow physically. Anya's psyche, thus, suffered from Charles's Geass, which had a severe effect on her memory, followed quickly by Marianne's Geass partially rewriting her own DNA and affecting her state of being, in order to inhabit her body. My only way to answer your question is as such; that the destruction of the memory-repressing Geass, and Marianne leaving her body, had finally allowed her body to grow, using the combined experiences of nothing less than 9 years worth of memories."

She took a few, deep breaths. That was a mouthful!

"Hmmm." Was all Lelouch could say. He looked to be in deep thought, so the witch merely did what she did best; pick up a phone, and order more pizza.

For Suzaku's part, he now felt incredible pity for Anya. Sure, he felt some when she mentioned of her memory problems, but nothing compared to now. This was a whole new level. Forming a fist, he resolved to help her adapt to her new memories. Of course, he'd also force Lelouch to help him; no way was he dealing with a matured Anya alone—who knew what her new hormones would do to her!

And Jeremiah, lowered his head. Offering condolences in his mind was all he felt he could do at the moment. When he was done, he saw Lelouch had done thinking, so he stood up straighter, awaiting command like a perfect soldier.

"She must have had it rough, no doubt about that. I can only imagine how traumatic the whole ordeal would be for her, especially with the rush of memories. Perhaps… I could… Yes, that would be appropriate…"Thought Lelouch. Nodding to himself, he lightly clapped his hands. Addressing Jeremiah, he gave his command. "Jeremiah, I want you to order the remodeling of one of the rooms closest to my quarters. As a token of my gratitude for her cooperation, as well as a gift of me in order to express my condolences, I wish to give the newly re-instated Knight of the Round, Anya Aelstreim, one of the best lodgings available on this side of the Earth. Make sure to have the designs pleasing to the tastes of a woman of her caliber. I am sure that her colleague, Knight Kururugi, would be willing to assist in that regard…?"

Grinning at his friend's plan, the Japanese man quickly bowed, recognizing the command, an action mirrored by Jeremiah. "Yes, my lord!" Both gave nods to Lelouch, before leaving in high spirits. Chuckling he turned and walked to his bed, sitting on it. He removed the hat from his head, placing it on a table to the side. He turned his head, but did not see C.C. Before he could wonder where she was, he felt another weight settle on the bed next to him, and turned to see C.C. regarding him with a curious look. She shrugged before lying back, arms spread, lazily kicking off her boots.

He gave her an incredulous look. The Emperor sometimes was amazed at how lazy she could sometimes. He pointed this out. "Well, what did you expect? I am C.C., after all." Her smile was sly.

He shrugged, half-heartedly sighing. "Witch. What will I do with you?" He settled for doing as she did, lying back, with his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he thought he may finally catch some sleep. Nearly flipping out when he heard the news of the new passengers picked up by his jet was pretty tiring after all. He was just about to reach that promised land of dreams, when he felt a weight on him. Opening his left eye, he spotted C.C., with a blank look on her face, laying her head on his shoulder, lightly leaning her body into his. Her eyes swiveled to look at his. Silence followed.

With a shrug, he closed his eyes again, but shifted himself slightly so she'd be more comfortable. She imitated his actions, and both slept peacefully, half-snuggling together.

No words were needed to be exchanged between the two of them. Such was how close their partnership was.

A.N: So that's that. Short, wasn't it? It's my way to say "Sorry!" as well as advance the story a little. I've been fairly short of ideas. Also, the reasons why I had this one coming late:

A) I've been sick. Like, sick enough to be prevented from going to school for 3 days straight. While this provided me with time to relax (as we actually did little in that time), this also contributed to my procastination of this work. I won't be surprised if someone is dissapointed in me; I know I'd be.

B) Simple procastination. Can do wonderfully negative things to your plans; for example, getting a longer, better written chapter posted faster.

C) Pokémon: SoulSilver. Well, what can I say? It's a good way to pass the time... And Voltorb Flip is so damn entertaining, I've devised a good strategy to win at it consistently.

D) Main reason: Touhou Project, a series of Danmaku (traduc: Bullet Hell) games for PCs. Extremely addictive in nature. Features a prominent cast of lolis. Has a crazy addictive gameplay. An fun fighting spin-off. Super addictive gameplay. Very hard, but also very satisfying and challenging. Did I say it's addictive... Yes, I did, and you get the point. I love it. To death.

So much in fact, that the poll currently displayed in my profile asks to anyone who reads my fics: "Would you read it if I wrote a fic for it?". 'Cause I have some VERY crazy ideas surrounding my favorite character, Remilia Scarlet. She's the reason vampires are now amongst my favourite ficticious creatures.

So that's pretty much it... I'll try to write the 7th chapter ahead of time... and maybe get started on that Touhou one I want to do... Hell, I may even crossover it to Code Geass! That'd be a first!

A yes, I forgot. About that description of Lelouch's Emperor attire, I've always wanted to describe it. It just looks relly cool on him. Also, I believe he never wore a hat like that in the anime, becaus if so, here's the link for where I got the hat design from. It's also, believe it or not, the reason I even started this fic in the first place.

http: // anime . desktopnexus . com / wallpaper / 100013 /

Just remove the spaces. Alternatively, since I don't really trust in providing links like this, go to desktopnexus (Google it I'd say), type "Code Geass" in the search box on the upper right corner, and jump to no less than page 7.

I can only say this last things. Please, review, and if you want, participate in my poll. Even though we all know I will include Touhou at some point in my repertoire, I'd rather have the consent of my readers.

Puny Challenge: Guess who the four people on the section purely written in italics are.

All this time, Lelouch remained unaware of the support he was being given in the afterlife. Regardless of this, they would never abandon him. He'd already had enough of that to last a lifetime.