A.N: Chapter 7 is done! And here it is, I present it to you! MAN, after the filler chapter of 6, I thought my creativity had died for sure! Am I glad to be wrong XD.

Well, here it is. It took me some effort in this one, since ideas barely came to me, but by including a certain few characters... Well, things went by much more smoothly. I've also done it; I have finally begun my incursion into the Touhou fanfiction aspect. As they say, start small; what better way to start small than to make a passing reference of it? That reference will be explained later, but suffice to say, will work to boost the relationship between Anya and Lelouch. For those who know of its characters, just you wait. For those who don't, find images of them (Touhou Wikia seems a good place), but I'd much rather you read them from me; makes me feel special somehow n_n.

Anyways, let's get the essentials out of the way...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Code Geass, its plot, characters or locations. I do not own Touhou Project no matter how small the reference. CG belongs to Sunrise. TP to Team Shanghai Alice (ZUN). I merely borrow from in order to provide entertainment. So, please lawyers, no hate for me, alright?

Warnings: Slightly suggestive mentions, caste system usage, a character's redemption (which you may or may not hate) and a MAID! Maids rule! XD.

Notes:

- I AM SICK AND TIRED OF USING THIS SITE'S LINE BREAKS! THEY ALWAYS MESS ME UP AND MAKE ME WASTE TIME! SO SCREW THEM!

-- This is my first chapter in which I use Japanese as chapter title. I'll put the meanings down (as well as a small compendium). If anybody is annoyed, please tell me.

--- Lastly, if anybody feels the plot advances too slowly, again, please comment on that.

Anyways, without further ado, let Chapter 7 begin!

With a sigh, Andrew rose from his sitting position, thanking whoever heard his mental prayers. Looking up to the sky, he, and the many, many other soldiers and personnel stationed at the Crane's airport, watched as a black shape, darker than the rest of the dawn sky, rapidly grew bigger as it approached the enclosed area, becoming more and more detailed by the second; signaling thus, the imminent return of the Black Crane. Already, technicians and mechanics were mustering their toolboxes and equipment, readying themselves for duty.

Stretching, getting some kinks out of his body, he turned towards his squad. Amy was visibly impatient, tapping her foot against the ground. Jeff looked as bored as one can be when looking in a mirror. Claire and Sam where cuddling with one another, the sickeningly sweet display of love they always put up whenever they had the time for all to see. They were blissfully ignorant of the approaching aircraft. He shook his head. Leave it to them to make fools of themselves when not on duty. "Oh wait.", he thought, slapping his hand against his brow, "We ARE on duty."

He noticed his action caused the short haired blond girl to look at him strangely. He simply signaled Amy to the couple. Following his finger, she understood, and sneaking a glance at the heavens, she, too, hit her brow with her palm. He cleared his throat to get their attention, successfully I might add; and out of their thoughts the other three squad members were.

"Well, listen up team. As you can see,—or rather, would see, if you took the time to look up—the Black Crane is about to land on the runway. This means that we have to be on the lookout for anything suspicious; can't let anyone into the perimeter after all. According to information supplied to us from the pilots themselves, they actually picked up extra passengers aside from the original guest they were sent for. Apparently, they are people that His Imperial Majesty holds within his graces, so that means that they are extremely important. If even a hair is out of place when the Emperor sees them, he'll have our heads. So in short, we are to provide an escort for the Royal Guests, so that they may reach our Emperor safely. Any questions?"

Jeff raised his hand, so Andrew motioned for him to speak. "Yeah, I got one. Well, more like two. Are any of the passengers female?" Raising his eyebrow at the strange question, Andrew nodded. Jeff smirked. "And… are they fair game? You know… maybe the Emperor won't mind if I make a move on one…" Of course, once Amy registered his words, she made sure to silence him with a hard elbow to the ribs, and was rewarded with a satisfying "Ouch!".

The team's captain groaned in disdain. Why did he let Jeff open his big mouth again? With a sigh, he retorted, "Damn it Jeff! Was that supposed to be a rhetorical question? Even if it was, the answer is the same. The answer is a big, fat NO! NO, you CANNOT make a move on one of them! Have you forgotten?! They're guests of our Emperor! A single complain from them, and you're as good as dead! Not just you in fact! ALL of us! Use the head that's on your shoulders for once! For Eowyn's sake!" A vein was threatening to pop on his head, so Claire and Sam tried their best to calm him down. A trying task indeed, when he got into one of his Jeff-induced anger fits. He was heaving with fury, and was barely showing signs of calming down. The couple led him away, so Amy gladly took up the task of chewing out Jeff.

It goes without saying that, at this point, Jeff had been reduced to a depressed figure twiddling with the ground with his index finger.

Leaning back against his bed, sitting on the floor, Kyoshiro let out a sigh. Even as he did, sitting across from him was Li Xingke, who was busy drinking from a cup of green tea. They had decided to meet and discuss about the disappearance of the two rather prominent members of the UFN, Major Kallen Kouzuki and Chairwoman Kaguya Sumeragi, though they'd spent the past ten minutes in silence, Todoh brooding and Xingke drinking tea.

Seeing that Xingke would still spend a while to drink a measly cup of tea (or three), Kyoshiro decided to once again, inspect the temporary lodgings he had been given. Since the Ikaruga had been thoroughly trashed by the Gefjun wave, he, as well as the rest of the Black Knights, had been forced to take up temporal homes in the Tokyo Settlement. Ever since the deal with Schneizel, outright war with the Britannians had been avoided as of now, though tension was still detectable between the Japanese and the Britannians. Oh don't get him wrong; the general populace remained ignorant of the deal. But under the Prince's orders, the Britannian army had refrained from launching any attacks on them. As it stood, the lower ranked Black Knights were in the belief that a ceasefire had been made—which wasn't that far off the truth. But at what price? If they knew about that little detail, he had little doubt that he and Nagisa (and several other people) would all be tied and kneeling before a shooting squad before a day was over.

As it stood, while the betrayal and its full implications were heavy on both of their minds, they were at least grateful to have a roof above their heads. And so, the room that belonged to once-General Kyoshiro Todoh; quite simple in nature, given that the only items worth of mention were a bed, a low table for drinking tea, a dresser containing his clothes; all of which he'd manage to salvage from the Ikaruga's wreckage; and some boxes off to the side, which contained things he considered to be valuable. Everything else was standard fare for a random hotel room in the city that once belonged to the Japanese. Speaking of which, that point brought him some intrigue.

First of all, his mind catalogued the Japanese in different castes, so to speak—he wasn't naïve enough to think that the world couldn't be ruled or viewed with castes in mind, but thankfully he also wasn't stupid enough to believe that all that one needed was to be born into a high class in order to be a capable leader… or be in a position of power in order to command respect, something he, sadly, couldn't say of his current superior.

But back to the point.

Anyways, Kyoshiro's breakdown of the Japanese population could be read as follows, in his analytical and quite sardonic opinion.

Top caste: The dead. No, seriously. All those who died fighting for the country all died honorably, so they're all really the one's better off.

High caste: Members of royal descent, or at least, from ancestral and long living families, as well as those in the highest positions of power. These would include remarkable people like Kallen Kouzuki and the members of the Six Houses of Kyoto; though it has been about a year now, it really should be the member of the House of Kyoto… And that's pretty much it, unfortunately

Middle caste: The common Japanese citizen, in possession of a job and a home; whether or not it was because of the Honorary Britannian system did not matter. In this caste also fall the great majority of the Black Knights, all of which are not highly enough ranked to know the truth of the night when our deal with Schneizel was made… I guess you could also file half-breeds and our sympathizers in here, though that's mostly because they're not fully Japanese.

Low caste: Bandits, thugs and thieves, as well as poor people still living in the Ghettos.

Bottom caste: Traitors… Which basically amounts to his once-apprentice, Suzaku Kururugi (though he appears to have redeemed himself), and, sadly, them—the higher ranking Black Knights; himself and Xingke included.

Now, you may be wondering, why would someone as patriotic as Kyoshiro be so willing to separate the Japanese into castes, rather than to refer everyone as his fellow Japanese? Well, firstly, it's the sad truth, really. Second reason is that it helps one become self-conscious; by deliberately getting into the habit of this separation of castes, his mind helps itself to catalogue the most noteworthy of individuals or group of people into recognizable molds; once again, know that he wasn't stupid, thus why he placed himself at the bottom caste. Lastly, because it helps him to orient himself as to where such groups or individuals currently are. Currently, the dead are all in the afterlife. No surprises there. The members of the high caste (or those he felt are the ones who truly belong in it) are missing—though he had no small amount of suspicion that they may be in Britannia. The middle caste was divided; a part of it was all the way back in Horai Island. Another part of it was formed by the lower ranked Black Knights, which all where currently within the settlement. The last part of it where those Japanese who weren't able to leave with the Black Knights. And every single last one of them did not know of what truly transpired during the attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The low caste was simply a group of unremarkable misfits who were all poor or heavily interwoven in crime and violence, who almost all inhabited the ghettos and poorer lands all around Japan.

And then there was, of course, the bottom caste. The bottom of the barrel, the worst of the worst, the lowest of the low, however you want to call them, but they were the absolute worst in Kyoshiro's view. Those of Japan were heavy advocators of honor, and the members of the SDF in particular, all had powerful senses of honor. You can only imagine what someone who follows the way of the samurai, such as Kyoshiro himself, can think of himself when committing betrayal to one's lord. And whilst Kyoshiro wasn't one to put blind faith into something, Zero—Lelouch—proved to him many times over that he was worthy enough of Kyoshiro's loyalty—and most of all, his faith in him.

…It was a wonder he hadn't committed seppuku after the full implications hit him.

"Oh wait,"he thought with a grimace, "That's right. I've still got my duty to Nagisa, as her superior… And Kami knows that the Order will collapse like a set of dominoes without me to help keep it up. Ohgi will make sure of that." Shaking his head, he simply allowed his head to rest against his bed. He paused. "…Bed. Not a futon." Shaking his head yet again, he huffed.

"Well, you certainly do look stressed." Raising his gaze, it turns out, that Xingke had finally finished with his tea. However, the man was reaching for the teapot over in the corner. Reacting with inhuman speed, Kyoshiro quickly took his sword from the floor next to him, drew it, and placed it firmly above Xingke's hand, which was just about to take the pot, causing him to stop in his movements. Their eyes met, and with a slow negative shake of his head, Kyoshiro warned Xingke of his current course of action. Though he did not seem to be going to back down, Xingke let out a sigh after a while, and withdrew his hand. Likewise, Kyoshiro sheathed his sword.

Now that Xingke was available, Kyoshiro believed that he could finally hold a conversation with someone who could think, for once. The anxiety was killing him, so he asked without delay, "Well, Xingke, what do you believe we should do now?"

The Chinese sighed, absentmindedly moving his head to the sides, audible cracks being heard. Crossing his arms, Xingke directed his eyes to the roof above their heads. "I don't really know Todoh. How about we just go over everything again?"

Again. Barely stopping himself from groaning, Todoh figured he'd already gotten tired of this routine, but alas, it was not to be.

Eh? What's that? Again what?

Oh yes, that's right. You, my dear reader, are not in the know, so to speak. Tsk tsk. Let's mend that mistake, shall we?

You see, for the last two days, Todoh and Xingke would always meet to discuss the recent situation of the war. In actuality, their meetings began the night just before the attempted siege of the Tokyo Settlement. That night, they discussed the possibility of the retaking of Japan, in which both agreed that with their tactics, as well as Zero's genius mind, together with the backing of the Chinese to the Black Knights, that the Japanese's long-held dream of liberation had actually become a very real possibility. After the deal was made, they'd simply meet every now and then to exchange respective feelings, but with the recent attack on the Ikaruga, they now met quite regularly. In fact, it got to the point where the other Black Knights began to think the two of them were friends rather than simply comrades.

But that was mere foolish thinking!

Regardless, just recently, they'd discuss about how they should carry on with their modus operandi. Since they were supposedly in a cease-fire with the Britannians, all they did nowadays was sit and drink tea, talk, spend time in silence, go for the occasional walk, read a book, practice their swordplay (which did get some spectators; they were just that good), or perform maintenance on their Knightmares (which for some miraculous reason that he would always be grateful for, had somehow survived the Gefjun waves, even if they were still currently in repair; the inner machinations did get fried after all), or simply go over a report for the ninth time… As well as the basic necessities.

In short, life for Li Xingke and Kyoshiro Todoh had become boring.

Simply put, with the Ikaruga—and everything within it destroyed, burnt or simply rendered non-operational—out of commission, perhaps permanently, the Black Knights had been completely grounded, frozen cold on their tracks because of a single individual setting up bombs on their ship. There was no way for them to perform much activity, since they were almost 100% focused on repairing their equipment; if they were to ever be able to hope to use the ship once more, then much effort would go into the rebuilding of their flagship. A lot of if would have to be completely remade, whilst other sections would simply need new tapestry and furniture; the damage had been extensive, but irregularly distributed, along the ship. Most of their Knightmares were now useless, permanently disabled because of extreme damage to their structures, their computers and the cores themselves; though some which had been stationed outside the ship at various locations had survived.

But regardless of that, they were simply bored out of their minds, the activities which had held a great deal of importance and time in their lives denied to their access. As much as it unnerved him to admit it (or even recognize it), Kyoshiro realized that he had become a man of war; nearly every moment of his life since he joined the JSDF had been filled with tension, expectation, and most of all, the rush of battle; He loved the rush of battle, the feeling of charging into the fray alongside his comrades, slay the nation's enemies and return to their people bearing banners of glory. He had grown addicted to that feeling; a feeling that he'd managed to tame when Japan was conquered. But now that he was left with nothing to do, that feeling was becoming stronger everyday.

Kyoshiro needed something to occupy his time, or he'd go crazy. Thankfully, Xingke felt the same, and so they currently possessed two main methods to vent their boredom; duke it out in a one-on-one, man-to-man swordfight (which currently stood at Kyoshiro: 5, Xingke: 4), and review their most recently miserable strike of luck.

With a sigh, Kyoshiro blocked his sigh with his hand. "What's there to go over again Xingke? We've talked about this a dozen times already."

"Yes, I know, but I still believe that we're not getting the big picture of things."

"That much, I know; you and I are missing an important piece, but as you know, we currently lack the means to find it. We're rooted to where we are, and we've got little ways to no ways of getting that information; besides we've gone over this already. Have you forgotten already? "And thus, we enter a redundant vicious circle in which you ask to semantically decipher this mystery, and where I will simply resist and refute any reiteration of such a fruitless activity."".

…And bam! The hammer fell. With a shake of his head, Xingke, crossed his arms and looked to the side. "I know that, but if we don't find that little piece of missing information, then we won't be figuring or sorting out this whole mess."

Now it was Kyoshiro's turn to shake his head. "Xingke… You and I know very well that this mess is pretty much the result of betraying Zero, I mean after the bombing that much should have been obvious. With the Ikaruga down, we're basically stranded here. And as for that matter, the only way I can think of getting it would be from…"

Silence dominated the room, and both looked at each other with strong, unreadable faces. The implications of the once-general's words were not lost on either of them. Xingke grimaced, and broke the silence. "…Schneizel!" He spat, the name coming out as if were venom; technically speaking, he was venom to anyone unfortunate enough to be on his opponent's side. "Forget it! I am not going to bow my head to that two-faced schemer! I'd rather they fill my being full of bullets than to show submission to that Britannian prince!"

Remaining calm in front of this outburst, Kyoshiro used his hands to signal for the man in front of him to calm down. "Alright, alright, just sit back down. There are two things wrong with your statement. First, I never said that you had to go to that accursed prince for any way to obtain the information. Two, I said possible way; because, when you stop and think about it, what can he know of who did it? The only way would be that he himself ordered the bombing, but since he apparently has need of us, I find that highly doubtful…"

And with another sigh ("Damn, I sure am doing that a lot lately."), he leant back, "…You know what, I don't care. Let's just go over the incident again.", and gave up.

Silently grinning in victory, Xingke incorporated, and adopted a more serious disposition. "Very well. First, the days before the incident. When you were going about your day, did you notice anything out of order?"

Todoh shook his head. "No. Other than the usual mob of fangirls after me, the occasional fanboy asking for my autographs or simply my daily life, nothing truly abnormal happened that day."

Xingke shot him a look. "…Damn, still after you eh?" , shaking his head, he figured he was one to talk; he had to deal with the same problems occasionally, though on a much lesser scale. "Well, on my end, I didn't see anything strange either… Wait." Raising his eyebrow, Todoh wondered what caused the Chinese man to pause. This one was new… And with a start, Xingke looked as if he had discovered something. "Wait, Todoh, there was one thing I did not find to be within the realm of the Black Knights' daily life… You see, one day, I happened to spot Lady Kaguya going towards Major Kouzuki's room…"

"So? It is know that the two of them are in good terms, so that shouldn't come off as surprising."

"Take a minute to think; Lady Kaguya loved Zero. It was as clear as the most perfect of crystals. And everyone here knows of how she stormed straight for her room and didn't come out for quite a while, crying all the way. Don't you find it strange? She is not the type of person to be used to lose someone as important as Zero to her and recover so quickly… and then there's the fact that she heard about the unusual activity in Kamine. And she's going over to Kouzuki, who is reputedly one of the most loyal and dedicated to Zero in the entirety of the Black Knights. Kouzuki was there when we were about to execute Zero. The idiot Ohgi, I heard, told something that left Lady Kaguya stunned. Then, there's the day of the incident. Lady Kaguya left for the Settlement in order to pray for the dead in Shinjuku, but shouldn't she rather be praying for Zero rather than people she didn't know? Major Kouzuki was the last person to sortie from the Ikaruga that day, managing to reach a distance that was a ways of the maximum efficient range of the Gefjun wave. And lastly, the scientists confirmed the bombs' disappearance to be the day prior, a day or two after I spotted Lady Kaguya going to speak with Kouzuki. With all of this in mind, would you care to guess where I'm going with this?"

As his words registered in his mind, Todoh slowly began to sit up straighter, a growing look of realization forming on his face as the information assembled itself, like a self-solving jigsaw puzzle. "Are… Are you perhaps implying that…?" It couldn't be… But at the same time, it could. Xingke's revelation had made a possible scenario very apparent. They did have suspicions about Kaguya and Kouzuki, but now that Xingke had figured out this much…

"Major Kouzuki and Lady Kaguya…?"

Xingke met Kyoshiro's eyes with a nod, and just like that, a somber mood took over the whole room.

In a place which consisted of a white, open void of nothingness, a couple stood in the space. Two women; one tall and slender with long, black hair, and another, shorter and slightly bustier, with lime-green hair. The two were staring off into the space, though both seemed to currently be in a conversation…

"…So? What is the matter, C.C.? When do you plan to tell Lelouch of my existence?"

"Shut up, Marianne. When I wake up, I figure."

"Hmm? Well aren't you moody today."

"Shut up. What did you call me here for anyway?"

"Oh? Well, that is because you've acting strangely lately. You're being awfully lazy lately… You don't even seem to want to tease Lelouch much as well… You're even complying with his requests readily… And then there's… Oh my! C.C., you… Is it possible? C-Could it be that you…?"

"Don't say it."

"It can't be… But it seems most likely that…"

"I said, "don't say it"!"

"…you have…"

"God damn it, Marianne—!"

"…fallen in love with my son?"

"…"

"…I nailed it right in the head, didn't I?"

"…What do you know about love, anyway? You were perfectly willing to sacrifice Lelouch and Nunally to make the Ragnarok Connection work. And it was because of that cold, selfish disposition, that Lelouch saw it fit to banish you and Charles from this physical realm."

"Hmp! Well excuse me! I'm not a green-haired witch who's spent well over a decade charming men and women alike with a supernatural power only to forget what love is!"

"…Hm. Well, then at least I'm not a black-haired harlot with a bi-polar personality who let a man at least one and a half-feet taller than her bang her from the rear, mainly."


"How dare you! You…You…You bitch! "

Their astral manifestations in C.C.'s consciousness stared at each other, Marianne's with rage, C.C.'s with indifference. Just when it seemed that Marianne would attempt to wrestle control of C.C.'s body and "punish" her, Marianne slowly cracked her angry visage, and quite promptly, burst into a fit of childish giggles. C.C. smiled lightly, and as Marianne began to laugh uncontrollably, holding her aching sides even as she began to keel over in laughter, proceeding to roll around in the floor and ending with the classical act of banging the floor as a sign to stop it all, C.C. soon joined her in her merriment, giggling slightly.

"Hahahaha…. Ahh… Phew… I haven't laughed so hard in quite a while…"

"Hmph. Yes, well, you're still a harlot."

"And you're still a witch… But you're my witch."

"Aren't I supposed to be Lelouch's witch?"

"Touché."

"…!"


"Ha! Victory is mine!"

Groaning, C.C. turned away and walked off into the void. "Goddamnit Marianne!"

With more giggles, Marianne watched as C.C. vanished from her sight. Thinking for a moment, she decided to further amuse herself by going to another mind…

"Heh. How about speeding things up a little?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Damn it! Say something!"

"…"

"Oh for Eowyn's sake! What are you so surprised about?!"

"…"

"LELOUCH! I swear to Eowyn, I'll tear you a new one if you don't speak!"


"…The hell are you doing in my dreams again? …No, that's wrong; the HELL are you doing in my nightmares?!"


"What? Surprised you're old man is still here?"

"Yes! I am! I though last time was just a dream!"

"Well son, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm afraid it's real. You are here, as am I, in this big space of nothing, just the two of us. This time, I'm not letting you get away until we talk about some finer points."


"Oh great." Lelouch shook his head. He'd gone to sleep, snuggled comfortably with C.C., only to wake up in the same place as his last dream was in, in an unknown location, alone save for his blasted father. This was precisely the last thing he needed. "Oh alright, whatever. What the hell do you want you old geezer? Scare me in my sleep? Warn me about your spirit haunting me? Curse my eternal soul with your idyllic thoughts of the Ragnarok Connection? Speak up, I've little time to waste."

Sighing, the former Emperor simply turned away. He looked tired. "Look, Lelouch, I know I'm not the best father ever, but I honestly loved you and Nunally, loved you like my offspring that you truly are. More than any of the other plus-hundred children I've had with the other concubines. But to us, Marianne, V.V. and me, the Ragnarok Connection was a long-held dream. I mean you have to understand from where I come from; in my youth, I was but one of many princes, as I already told you. In my youth, the position of power symbolized by the throne was ambitioned by many, and none could be trusted, for brothers, sisters, best friends and lovers; everyone would betray each other at the drop of a hat just for the chance to seize that accursed throne.

There was only one I could trust. V.V., my brother. He became immortal at quite a young age, acquiring his Geass from a strange, hooded man who took him away for a few months. When he returned without the man, everyone had by then taken him for dead, even me, but he appeared before me when he saw me in despair. He swore that he and I would enter a pact, a pact in which only we and those with which we would extend our pact would be the ones to be confided and trusted in. I accepted that pact. Obtaining my Geass, V.V. promised to help me become Emperor, since he was dead to the world. We were both surprised years later after that, when Marianne Lamperouge and Bismarck Waldstein, the most powerful of the Rounds, appeared before us, and swore to help me in my quest in exchange for their inclusion into the pact which they had overheard us talking about; they too, were tired of a world full of deception.

When I took power, V.V. remained by my side secretly, acting as my confidant. Marianne and I fell in love during our years of struggling with the wars for the throne, and so she became my fifth (and favorite) bride, after marrying four other women in various political situations. When we decided to further research the power of Geass, we recruited those who we found worthy of knowing of our power. When we discovered the existence of the relation of Geass to an ancient civilization, we theorized that we could use their relics for a way to create a world where no one would lie.

It was around that time when C.C. appeared. C.C. surprised us all when she simply showed up one day within our gardens. She said that she felt one like her, V.V., and she came to investigate out of boredom. When we revealed of our plan to her, she expressed interest; another who had grown tired of the illusions humans built around themselves every day. She and Marianne entered a pact of their own, and grew close; by "close", I mean to the point to where they became "friends with benefits", if you know what I mean son." By his son's tick in his left eye, he got the cue that he did.

Chuckling he continued, "But you see, everything was going smoothly. Too smoothly. Obviously, at some point, Fate, cruel mistress that she is, dealt us a disastrous hand with her wicked wings of change; one night, Marianne was called by V.V. to the main hall of the Aries Palace… And you know what, I think after that point, the rest is history."

"…"

"Lelouch, don't play silent with me again."

Looking to the side, Lelouch sighed. "I know… But I still find it hard to forgive you. Part of me still feels a distant admiration for you, held by my younger self; the admiration for the powerful man you were, the wish to grow strong like you. But that night happened and…" And Lelouch could say no more.

Charles turned at walked so he stood next to his son. A ripple appeared in the void in front of them, and various scenes began to flash and play in a space opened front of them; Lelouch's memories and encounters. Both watched silently for awhile, until Charles broke the silence once more. "You know son, you and I are very much alike." Lelouch barely showed any sign of hearing, but Charles knew he had his attention. "When we were young, we both held admiration for our fathers. When we were young, our mother's were taken away from us. When we were young, we could only trust in our dearest sibling. When we were young, we both were betrayed by our families; me by my many brothers and sisters, and you by your uncle."

Charles looked at Lelouch, who had an unreadable expression. "And the similitude still stretches to this day. You inherited my intellect, and built upon it. You've developed the ruthlessness I had to acquire to reach the throne. You've even, against all hope and chances, arisen from your ashes and taken the throne, with the excellence of a reborn phoenix.

But that is where they end; you still hold your love for your sister, Nunally, whereas I grew to loathe V.V. after he murdered Marianne. You mustered the destroyed hopes and dreams of a subjugated nation, and formed a mighty army that repeatedly engaged and won against mine. You've obtained a powerful sense of duty, whereas I gave up, grew tired of the world. And most of all, methinks, you still know how to love those closest to you. Indeed, there is one more similitude; you're your father's son indeed, when it comes to women—an absolute charmer, even if you don't try to do it."

Closing his eyes, Lelouch stared off into space. "…What's wrong with you? It is not within your nature to offer such praise so freely."

"Heheh. Lelouch, this man has grown old. When people age, they almost inherently become wiser. Now that I no longer possess a body of my own, I've spent my time here, in your consciousness. I've had plenty of time to reflect on my life, and after much deliberation, I have to say that, frankly, I'm not happy with it. I realize that I should have been less… cold, per see. Though I still believe that the strong survive and subjugate the weak; it has been nature's will for it be so. Social Darwinism on the level I applied it is wrong; but it is something that reflects upon our society and our world, has reflected since the dawn of man, and will continue to do so…

…Unless you do something to change that."

"…I am aware of that. I've already taken steps to that end."

"The Zero Requiem? Lelouch, do you truly intend to sacrifice your happiness again for the sake of a world which will only continue to exist with your name a blot in it's history?

"…"

The graying man shook his head. "Clamming up again I see."

Both sighed at the same time, paused, looked at each other, and shook their heads again simultaneously, letting out tired chuckles. It was Lelouch's turn to speak.

"…So you confirm that you're still alive then?"

"I wouldn't exactly call existing within your mind as "alive", but I guess it still counts, so yes, I'm still "alive"."

"…Hmm… Tell me then. If you're still here, then is it possible for my mother to be alive as well?"

"C.C. was supposed to tell you that, but seems she waited too much, given that you already figured it out."

Another sigh, "Got to remember to punish the witch. Perhaps no pizza for a day or two should suffice."

"Are you crazy? She'll die of inanition before a day is over."

"So? She'll simply revive herself as soon as her bloodhound-like nose detects pizza, and she'll be groveling at my feet for forgiveness."

"…Heheheh… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Lelouch raised an eyebrow even as he turned to look to the chortling man next to him. Charles took a while to come down from his laughter, and even as he spoke, he still had some trouble breathing. "Hehe… Haha… You've definitely earned your father's sense of humor."

"…So what comes next?"

"Well… Do you remember what I mentioned last time you where here?

"What? About some link or whatever?"

"Yes, that is right. When you banished me, a certain link formed between us; that link is what kept me from disappearing altogether. However, it is still imperfect. Time here passes much faster than in the "real" world, but only while you are not here. Even if you were to leave and return in five minutes, hours would have already passed in here. In order for our link to fully manifest itself, we must enter a pact. Marianne and C.C have been in one for years now, and so their link is powerful. But ours is weak."

"This is it", thought Lelouch. "The real point of my calling here." "What would it entail to enter into that pact?"

"It is quite simple, really. By accepting the pact and the link, time here will stabilize and synchronize with the "real" world. I will also be able to make a few aesthetic changes here; for my personal comfort you know. A telepathic link will form between us, so that you and I can speak whenever we wish. I will, in exchange, offer you my counsel."

With a scoff, Lelouch skeptically looked at his father. "Is that all?"

For his part, the 98th Emperor looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I can't really do much without a physical body. The least I can do is offer you my advice as a father, a friend and a confidant. There are some things you do not know about politics son, which I can help you with. You won't need any old goats whispering to you about what's best for the Empire and their precious and whatnot. All I ask in exchange is for your pardon."

"…First, tell me how to get out of here."

…Wake up…

…Anya…

…Anya dear, wake up…

…Come on…

…They are waiting for you…

"…?"

"…Who… is calling… me…?"

He scratched the back of his head. "So all I really got to do is wish to go back and that's it?"

Charles shrugged. "Basically."

"Oh well."

His father looked uncomfortable. "So… will you accept?"

Lelouch looked to what should be the sky, and saw a sliver light shining from above. He shrugged.

"I guess I can give it a try… Father…"

And he vanished.

Stunned, Charles stayed where he was, unable to comprehend. But slowly, a wide smile formed on his face.


"Heh. You won't regret it, son" Turning to the void around him, he rubbed his hands together in glee, and cackled. "Now, about this open space…

I do believe that it needs a massive redecoration. I did always want to try going vacationing to Hawaii, after all…"

This was going to rock! "Oh yes", Suzaku thought, "Anya is in for a surprise when she wakes up!"

As if that wasn't already obvious, Mr. Kururugi.

As a matter of fact, Jeremiah and Suzaku had both been wandering aimlessly for awhile, searching for a maid to give them some directions. This was because: A) Jeremiah had, in truth, never been in this palace before, so he didn't really know his way around the place quite yet, and; B) Suzaku had never heard of any bricklayers living in the palace, nor had he ever seen one entering or leaving the premises at any point he had been in here, so he had, as was his nature, completely forgot about their existence. Based on these two facts, and that Suzaku really was more busy thinking about possible designs for Anya's new lodgings than in leading Jeremiah to an area where maids were likely to be, it was safe to assume, that the two of them were lost.

Fortunately, for readers and the author alike, Jeremiah was quick to rectify this problem, with a bop to the head of the Knight of Zero. Cue the "Ouch!" from Suzaku. "Itai!", Whined Suzaku, holding his head, which by the way, was throbbing quite badly; Jeremiah was a cyborg, after all, "You didn't have to hit me so hard!"

Jeremiah looked quite pleased with the results, idly massaging his fist, not stopping his stride. "Well, Sir Kururugi, was it not you who departed from His Imperial Majesty's presence with much glee at the prospect of doing a favor for your fellow Knight of the Round? Because from where I stand, we've been wandering around the palace looking for… what again?", at Suzaku's look of realization, he nodded, " Exactly. Would you be kind enough so as to guide me to the nearest maid possible?" However, fate would not have that, for she sent her help in the least expected way… possibly.

A maid found them. But not just any maid.

Suzaku was interrupted as he began to formulate a reply, by a voice he hadn't heard in a while. "Please, pardon me.", said an emotionless, though sensual, feminine voice, "You are… Supreme Commander Gottwald and Knight of Zero, Kururugi Suzaku, aren't you? My lords, if I can be of any help, then please make of use of me." This voice belonged to a woman with light medium-purple hair, naturally possessing a figure that put models to shame. She was wearing a white apron, and carried a broom and duster on her hands. She bowed to the two men before her, hair swaying with her motion. Both men in turn, started in surprise at who had spoken to them. It took a bit of effort on Suzaku's part to not upon his conditioned reply to a person who used to have her status.

Jeremiah had, quite readily might be a good note, abandoned all but the one notion that only those of Marianne's descent would receive his loyalty, so he did not face the same troubles that Suzaku momentarily did. He answered her, in a strong tone, "You are… Guinevere, aren't you?" Indeed, the maid was Guinevere Su Britania, once the first princess in line to the throne, second oldest of the entirety of the late Emperor's progeny. She (along with ALL of her half-siblings) had all become servants of Lelouch ever since he placed his Geass upon them. Where she once was dominating, now she was submissive, ready to please and eager to provide service.

The perfect, Geass-byproduct slave.

Guinevere straightened up, but kept her head bowed to them; a sign of submission. "It is an honor, which I do not deserve, to be recognized by someone of your stature. You are correct, my name is Guinevere. I humbly ask, do you require of my services?"

Suzaku decided to take control from here on, nodding severely, noting the perfectly emotionless way in which her words were uttered; the Geass of Absolute Order was as terrifyingly powerful as ever. "Right. You see, my friend and I were sent, by the direct order of Emperor Lelouch I might add, to look for a company of bricklayers and designers so that we may create new lodgings for a rather important guest. However, I'm afraid we lost our way due to a bit of… debate… over how to fulfill his orders. As such, we ended up here, where you found us. We would like you to direct us to the main reception desk of the palace from here."

Nodding, she started on her orders immediately, going further into the hallway, with the passing comment. "Understood. Please, come with me." Both followed her without a word.

Five minutes into the voyage, Jeremiah broke the silence, speaking to Suzaku. "Why did you reveal some of that information? That was to be our personal mission, you know."

Suzaku didn't seem fazed. "Oh that's simple. She's under Lelouch's Geass. She wouldn't tell a thing about what I told her unless ordered to, right?" The last part was partly aimed at the maid, who nodded in her stride.

"You are correct; if it is your wish, I shall only speak about this matter to you and to the Emperor."

"It is. Don't say a thing. That includes anything the two of us may discuss while we walk… And forget anything you hear, just in case."

"Understood."

The Japanese man turned to Jeremiah, giving him an expectant look. For his part, the Commander shrugged. "Still, once we get to reception, we'll have to determine which construction-dealing company would be the most appropriate for performing work on the palace… And maybe have our Lord place them under his spell."

"Well, Lelouch wouldn't… Actually, he would. And I think I can understand why. It wouldn't do to risk his safety just because one rich Britannian decided to have his men implant bugs in the palace, right?" The knight received a nod.

"Correct. In fact, I wonder why the palace doesn't have its own set of construction workers. We have maids, butlers, gardeners, soldiers, the Royal Guard and a few other people with miscellaneous jobs around here, but no constructors." His tone was suggesting something, that much Suzaku realized. But surely, he couldn't be insinuating that…?

Guinevere spoke up once more, "Construction workers come here rarely, to perform checkups on the structure and stability of the palace. No changes have been made to it, given the flawless design for the grand palace of the Emperor of Britannia. As it would seem, those checkups occurred when you were out in the field during the war, Lord Kururugi. Emperor Charles had discussed ideas of permanently hiring a certain construction company, but ultimately did not. Perhaps Emperor Lelouch would consider hiring it instead."

Blinking, Suzaku rolled the idea around in his head. It… could actually work! Apparently, Jeremiah thought the same, for he had a pensive look on his face, but ultimately nodded. Grinning, he offered his compliments to the maid. "That's… great! Can you tell me what the company's name was?"

Stopping in her stride, Guinevere turned to them, the same emotionless look on her face. "Certainly. Though I believe the Emperor had come across such a company by chance in the beginning, he commented to me one time about how he was rather surprised by it… and thus, decided to let a deal go. If I am not mistaken, it was, surprisingly, Japanese in origin."

"I believe it was called, "Scarlet's Gensokyo". Though why name a company such a name eludes me."

"That sounds like a company who may deal with a bedroom that a woman could like", Suzaku thought.

Scarlet's Land of Fantasy? Sure, why not.

Groaning, C.C. slowly returned to the land of the living, registering in her mind the absence of her pillow. Slowly opening her eyes, she started as she was intensely stared at by vivid, violet eyes. It was Lelouch.

"Witch,", he said, "We need to talk about a certain woman living in your consciousness."

"…Crap.", and C.C. began to sweat.

First of course, she wished that Lelouch would give her a bit more space (he was practically straddling her!)

It was, strangely enough, beginning to feel a little hot in here. And with her half-asleep mind, she could only wonder what the devious, feminine laughter meant in her mind.

(Around the time Suzaku and Jeremiah were talking to Guinevere)

…Anya…

…Anya…

…Wake up, Anya…

"…Why…? …The memories… they hurt…"

…Do not mind the memories…

…Focus on that which brought you happiness…

"…Happiness… I remember… a man… with violet eyes…"

…He comforted you, didn't he?...

…He is a good man. Do you wish to feel happiness again…?

"Y-Yes… I do…"

Do you truly?

"Yes… I do…"

Do you yearn for it? Do you wish to see him again?

"Yes… I do!"

With him, you will never know sorrow again. With him, you will be forever blissful. Do you wish to be with him?

"Yes! I do! I want to! I… I don't want this darkness! I don't want this pain!"

"I don't care about these stupid memories! I… I… I wish to… find my light again…"

That man holds your light. Lelouch holds your light. Your light is your heart, your soul. Will you give yourself to that light? Surrender your being to the symbol of the king?

"Yes! Please! I will! Take me to him! Take me to my light!"

Then, my child, take my hand. I will guide you to your light.

Anya saw a hand, a woman's hand, reach from beyond a radiant wall of light. Her eyes stung, but soon that pain stopped; her hand had been gently taken by the woman. Opening her eyes she saw a familiar, beautiful black-haired woman. She smiled kindly at her, and turned to walk into the horizon, which shone with brilliance. Anya smiled, and followed her, guided by her hand.

"Let's go, child. They are waiting for you."

Anya nodded enthusiastically, "Yes… you're right!"

Doing something she wasn't used to, she laughed care-freely.

Marianne smiled, at continued walking.

And Anya returned to the light.

The assistant sweatdroped. "Uh… doctor?"

"Hmm…? What is it?"

Turning from the monitor, the assistant informed. "Eh… Patient Anya Aelstreim… Heh… She's waking up, sir."

"What?! So quickly? Bu the diagnostics assumed she'd take a few more days to wake up!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it says right here that her neuronal and cardiovascular activity is increasing. She's waking up."

"…Well what the hell are we waiting for? Send a nurse to her room!"

"Sir!"

Frowning a bit, she slowly felt herself wake up, but did not open her eyes. She felt lightheaded… and weird. As if her body did not belong to her. She also felt slightly tired.

But most of all, she thought as she opened here eyes and saw a nurse enter through the doorway, asking her how she felt.

"I've returned…"

"But, my light… Where are you?"

Raising a hand to stop the slightly jumpy nurse, she asked.

"Where… Where is he…?"

Looking at the nurse straight in the eyes, she clarified.

"Where is my Emperor?"

A.N: ...And thus ends this chapter. How was it?

Compendium:

- Eowyn: According to the Code Geass background, the story of our world diverges into Code Geass universe at some point before the Napoleonic seige of Spain, or something like that. I'm not all that sure, since I can't be bothered to go back and check, but suffice to say, that Eowyn marked the beginning of the Britannian Empire. Thus, Britannians refer to Eowyn instead of God because in a sense, Eowyn is their funding father.

- Kami: I forgot if I mentioned this in this chapter, but if I did, know Kami = God, but in my personal opinion, I'd rather they refer to Amaterasu Omikami (she is 10000x better than "Kami" IMO), who is the Sun Goddess and a prominent deity of the Shinto religion.

- Guinevere: Yep, I brought back a minor character who got Geass'd by Lelouch and actually had her fill an useful roleOMG! Hey, she IS hot... And the idea simply popped into existance as I wrote the scene.

- Fate: The "Fate" Charles is referring to is an allusion to my favorite Touhou character.

- Charles: Guess what? Charles has been given another chance! So yes, Charles suddenly becomes good. Problem is, "Good" and "Evil" are two funny concepts; they can exchange roles and prominence quite easily; which basically amounts to me exploiting the fact that if Charles really loves Marianne, then there is no excuse for not spinning that 'round the idea that he may also actually love Lelouch and Nunally. And a Hawaii themed vacational resort is always good incentive for an old man like him.

- Kaguya: I know I've had this mentioned multiple times in the story, that Kaguya loves Zero inconditionally, but it can't be stressed enough; Kaguya is head over heels in love with Zero (Lelouch). That sort of devotion is something you have to respect.

- Swordfighting: So I made Todoh and Xingke duke it out occasionally in swordfighting. Xingke's mean with that thing, so why not Todoh as well? Furthermore, why not have them spar in order to kill time? Hey, works for me.

- Chapter Title: Henkan Tame Ato Iiki no Kashoku: Basically means "Return To A Foreign Land of Bright Light". Know I used an English-Japanese translator, so I'm not all that sure if it's correctlydone 100%, but according to it, Iiki means "Foreign Land", and Kashoku, "Bright Light", and I joined them with "No", which is used to reflect possession (and I believe, given some anime, as a conjuction). The other words, well, I'm not so sure if I used them properly. As for why the title, it's meant to spin around Anya's awakening. The other character interaction is merely there to add flavor.

- Scarlet's Gensokyo: There you go, a Touhou reference! Gensokyo literally means "Land of Illusions" or "Land of Fantasy", and I figured "Fantasy" worked better for the purpose I have in mind for it. Scarlet's Gensokyo is a (not-so-obvious-for-non-Touhou-players) pardoy of my favorite Touhou character's last attack in her debut game, Scarlet Gensokyo. Note the absence of -'s-.

- OCs: The team that's supposed to escort Kallen, Kaguya and Nina will appear a few more times in order to fulfill their role, and afterwards, may only appear to help incite more chaos for our dear Lelouch to deal with (XD). I'm not that hot in the usage of OCs, you see, especially after seeing hundreds of fics where you got a Mary Sue, a Gary Stue, or an OC getting the titular spot AND being paired with a canon character--Hence why Jeff got shot down rather badly. If you want to see Kallen herself (which is my original idea of his target) shoot him down (*cough*beat his ass espectacularly with a combo 5x more violent than the one she dealt Suzaku*cough*), then feel free to reccomend that.

So, that's it. Next chapter will feature the reunion you've been expecting (I hope). Please, review!

Oh, lastly, I'd like to express my thanks to everyone who took the time to read my story and, especially if, they reviewed it! Please continue enjoying my work!