Author's Note: Not too sure how this will turn out. I just feel like it's time for me to finally start working on the next chapter to this. I have some ideas, but they can't happen quite yet. There are a few conversations that need to happen first. So what happens in this chapter is as much of a mystery to me at the moment as it is you.

Though there is at least one thing that has to happen in this chapter. Something pretty obvious actually.

By the way. A little trivia about the title of last chapter. Which was "Go Ninja". I was whole-heartedly referencing "Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!" from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. No regrets.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Code Geass. At all.

Stage 03
The Resolve of Siblings

C.C. lazily eyed her contractor in the seat next to her. She watched as Nunnally tried to curl even closer to him in her sleep. Her lips quirked into a smirk, "I just knew you would be interesting, Lelouch. We are already on the run," C.C. paused for a moment as her smirk widened in further amusement. "And not even because of your newest secret."

His lips pressed together in a thin line, "I am well aware of the irony. You don't have to point it out." Lelouch, gave her an piercing look, "Nor is it all that funny."

"Now you'll have to let your little sister and maid in on it as well." C.C.'s tone became less taunting as she continued, "Unless you plan to let the miracle die now with what has happened. So you can better focus on ensuring your sister's safety."

Lelouch faltered for a few brief moments before his gaze hardened, "No. In the short term that would be smart, but could we hide for the rest of our lives? Should we? That isn't much of a life C.C.."

She nodded somberly before turning her head towards the window. The immortal watched the people go about their average lives, "That is true. Then one day you'll realize that you've stopped truly living."

"Nunnally and I would only gain experience, but nothing more. It's a half-life. I lived like that since my mother was killed, but meeting you changed that and I refuse to go back now. Nor will I allow my sister to have such a life."

"I see." A melancholy smile, unseen as she faced away from him, flickered across her face. "You'll just have to deal with these complications then. You stop seeing yourself as human if you live like that for too long."

Sayoko was good at reading between the lines, but even she wasn't sure what secret they were referring to. All she was certain of is that it involved something quite serious. Seems her charge had some explaining to do in the near future. Noticing they had fallen silent now she put her full attention back on the road in front of her.

"I have that information about the Saitama Ghetto that you asked about the other day, princess."

In the privacy of her office she allowed herself to smile at Guilford, "Thank you, but I've decided to cancel the Saitama Operation. I can't possibly reenact the Shinjuku Massacre now. Even if it is to lure out Zero."

He remained as formal as ever, but the sight of her smile eased the tension he felt. Even so her words surprised him, "Whatever for princess? Is it because of what we learned recently?" Cornelia didn't answer and stared at him in contemplation. He could almost see what was going on through her mind.

After several moments she stood up without another word and headed towards her door. "Take a walk with me Guilford."

Following her example he turned and walked in-step with her. Not uttering a word because he knew she would speak when she felt they wouldn't be overheard. After all her office was far from safe when it came to unwanted listeners. Even if the only people listening were the OSI. Who happened to be the exact people they didn't want hearing this.

That silence remained until they entered the garden. Cornelia subconsciously relaxed as she always did when she was here and paused in her step. "The Shinjuku Massacre was a cover up Guilford." The warrior princess began walking again before sitting down at a bench. She waited for him to do the same.

Which he did. Nodding, "Yes. I gathered that from what you told me after we left Ashford last night."

"My brother committed genocide all to cover up something shady. No . . . Even worse than that. He did it even though, from what Warrant Officer Kururugi said, it is unlikely anyone from the ghetto itself had seen the girl yet. Not to mention that if they had she would have had no meaning to them. He overreacted and preemptively covered it up." Her eyes narrowed and she scoffed as she continued, "Dead men tell no tales as the saying goes."

The implications of such cautious actions made the knight queasy. He shifted uncomfortably, "Which insinuates whatever Prince Clovis was trying to hide-"

"Was something morally and ethically wrong on all fronts." Cornelia finished for him. "Something so terrible that there was no way he could let it get out to the public." They fell into an uneasy silence as that undeniable truth was bared in front of them. Both were aware that, had they not learned what they did, they would have never questioned it. That bothered them more than they wanted to admit.

"As you know Guilford I don't care much for Numbers, but to discover that someone, my brother at that, would order soldiers to kill off an entire section of them for such reasons as he did."

"It's a waste of life, princess. Numbers or not that doesn't make it okay to throw innocent lives away for no reason."

"I've always had a grudge against the Elevens because I thought they had killed Lelouch and Nunnally. The fact they were actually very well taken care of and made friends here . . .," the princess trailed off and fell silent. She stared at the flower beds in front of her and her heart clenched.

She spoke softly, "Did I ever tell you why I love this garden so much, Gil?"

His eyes widened at the nickname. One she only ever used in absolute privacy. Slowly he shook his head, "No," and hesitated before adding her own nickname, "Chief."

She turned her head and offered him a small smile. He was the only one who called her that. He came up with it after her insistence he wasn't always formal with her. So he shortened her title and position as the Chief General of the Imperial Army as a compromise and to be funny. "Clovis built it in tribute to the vi Britannia family. It's a replica of the garden Lady Marianne herself kept up at the Aries Villa."

"I remember vividly the days spent in that garden. Both as the captain of the guard and a member of the royal family. Lelouch and Schneizel playing their games of chess at a table, Nunnally and Euphie making flower crowns, and . . . Clovis painting us."

Cornelia's fists tightened and it was then that he noticed how conflicted she was. It was rare his princess felt like this. So, though he knew it wasn't the place for it, he put his hand over hers and squeezed. "You don't know how to reconcile the image you have of your late brother with what you have learned."

Her shoulders slumped, but her hands relaxed. To his surprise she didn't ask him to remove his hand. "Clovis was never as gentle a soul as Nunnally or Euphie and he could never lose gracefully, but he was kind and considerate. He was a good person. A good brother once upon a time." Her gaze softened as she remembered her now deceased sibling.

"Then remember him like that. Don't forget what we've learned, but remember your brother at his best."

There was a small intake of breath and Cornelia looked back at him. She knew her knight would help, "You always know what to say." She spread her fingers and let his fall inbetween hers. Catching them before he could move them away. The Witch of Britannia winked at him playfully.

Her boldness surprised him even more. She had decided to hold hands with him in open. His princess hadn't even told her sister of their relationship. Despite that he didn't fight it and smiled back. Lacing his fingers with hers in response, "That's what I'm here for isn't it?"

Cornelia nodded with a large smile. "I will acknowledge that my brother had what happened coming to him, but I'll still avenge Clovis. I'll avenge the good-natured artist from Aries Villa he used to be." Fiery resolve burned in her eyes, "I will discreetly try to discover what my brother had been up to and we'll start going after other resistance groups. Zero will just have to wait."

"What if he disappears?"

She raised a confident eyebrow, "A man like Zero isn't going to simply vanish and at the moment we have no information on his potential whereabouts. Zero will reemerge and we'll be waiting."

Euphemia, unbeknownst to her sister and Guilford, had been watching them. She found them quite on accident and, though she couldn't hear them, she made sure no one else went in. The pinkette was giddy to see her sister holding his hand. She was happy for Cornelia. Though they always denied it she could tell there was something deeper between them.

She wondered what they were talking about. It seemed serious and, if she was honest with herself, probably had to do with Clovis. Though she wished it was something romantic, but she could tell from their expressions it wasn't. She also wondered if she would ever have something like that. Her face lit up brightly when Milly's comments about her and Suzaku filled her mind.

Shirley had been thinking about what they had learned all day. The more she thought about it the more it bothered her. She couldn't help wondering how much of what they knew was the truth. The only one on the Student Council who would know is Milly. Shirley was ashamed to admit she felt betrayed by her friend.

Sighing as she entered the club room. "Still thinking about yesterday huh?" The orangette jumped slightly as she hadn't been paying attention. Blinking as she finally noticed she was actually the last person to arrive and it was Milly who had spoken.

"I-I guess."

Rivalz tilted his chair back, "It is hard to believe isn't it? Who Lelouch and Nunnally really are. Pretty cool though." Shirley stared at him in disbelief at how nonchalant he sounded. His so-called best friend had been lying to him for the last couple of years. He should be as distraught as she is!

"I wonder if Princess Euphemia will be my friend if she is able to attend here someday." Nina smiled slightly to herself, "She seemed so nice . . . and pretty."

"She is." The president nodded in agreement, "Her and Nunnally are two peas in a pod when it comes to their sweet dispositions."

Shirley was shaking now as she stared at the floor, "Why?"

They finally looked took stock of her trembling frame and began exchanging looks of concern. Surprisingly it was Kallen, who had up to now been laying her head on the table, that spoke. "Shirley? Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up, "No! How could I be? How are all of you?" Emerald eyes shimmering with tears, "Lelouch and Nunnally lied to all of us! I-How much our friendship is truth and how much is lies!? Do you know? Because I don't!" She turned and stumbled out of the door in a panic. Trying to get away from the people who don't seem to care.

Milly quickly ran after her, but soon found it hard to stay close. She isn't as physically unfit as Lelouch, but Shirley is an athlete. She blamed her chest size. Breathing hard as her friend was slipping further and further away. If there was one thing the blonde was thankful for it is that Shirley's destination was obvious from the direction they were running in.

Sure enough, after a short breather, she found her sobbing on Lelouch's bed. She was under his blanket and holding onto his pillow like it was Lelouch himself. Milly's heart broke as she looked at the mess Shirley had become. She quietly sat down next to her friend and comfortingly touched her arm.

"Go away Milly." Shirley managed to choke out hoarsely, "Y-you knew. All this time-"

Milly softly interrupted her with a well-meaning tone, "I did, but I've known them since they were children. My family was protecting them."

"But they-!"

"They only lied about their name. Nunnally is still Nunnally and Lelouch is still Lelouch."

She looked at her with red-rimmed eyes, "Then why didn't they tell us? We wouldn't have told anyone. I-I wouldn't have told anyone."

The blonde only smiled before surprising Shirley by pulling her close. Without a word she simply hugged her friend's torso from behind. Shirley grasped her hand as though it would help her courage rub off on her. "I wish . . . I wish all of us could have remained together like that forever." She broke down into tears again because she didn't know the next time they might see their friends.

"You should know by now his main priority is Nunnally. It's not that he doesn't trust all of you. It's that he wanted to leave that part of their lives behind for as long as possible. Unfortunately their past finally caught up to them and they simply couldn't stay," she squeezed Shirley comfortingly. "Not without being forced to go back to Pendragon."

The other Student Council members had found them fairly quickly, but simply stayed quiet and listened. Milly's words easing the fears of Rivalz and Nina as much as they did for the orangette. Kallen on the other hand had only known the siblings for a short time, but knew, if her guess was right, she would see them again soon. Having learned the tragedy from their past made her strangely okay with Lelouch being Zero. It hurt thinking to think about, but his reasons reminded her of her brother. Of Naoto.

Lelouch was pacing in his room at their new home. It wasn't a very large house, but it did what it needed to. Unfortunately there still wasn't a spare room for C.C. so she still slept in his. The only guest room was taken by Sayoko and he was fine with that. Nunnally had slept on and off for the rest of the day yesterday and this morning she had recovered from her flu.

She was currently out on a walk with Sayoko, but he knew they wouldn't be gone for much longer. He had to tell Nunnally about his identity as Zero and their walk was his last reason to procrastinate. Which is why he was pacing. The only other thing he could think of is dinner, but that would only be effective if he was the one cooking.

It was true he is pretty decent at it, but there was too much for Zero to do for him to hold off any longer. He could feel C.C.'s stare, but he didn't say anything about it. Lelouch was pretty sure she was silently enjoying his worry and he honestly had no patience to deal with her at the moment.

It was only a few short minutes later that he hear the front door open then close. "Dammit!" Lelouch gathered himself before grabbing the case that had his costume in it and left to greet his sister with a smile plastered on his face.

"I know." C.C. blandly agreed after he was gone. "Even so. She is what drives him forward. He will do anything for his sister." She took a bite of pizza as she looked towards the door. "I wonder how your daughter will take it."

His smile wasn't completely fake because Lelouch WAS happy that Nunnally had returned safely. It was just that he was also very nervous about what was to come. Knelling in front of her and taking her hand, "Welcome back Nunnally. I hope you had a good time."

Nunnally's face lit up and she nodded, "We've not often gone this far into the Settlement. It was similar, yet different."

He knew it was time to give up the pretense of everything being okay. Even if Lelouch didn't like it. "I'm glad," then he fell silent as he considered his next words. Thankfully it was taken out of his hands when Sayoko noticed the case he had with him.

"Are you going somewhere Master Lelouch? That case is quite large."

"Ah . . . no. It's just that I-I need to talk to both of you."

Nunnally's eyebrows furrowed as she held his hand. She could feel his swirling emotions: love, conviction, and fear. The princess focused on that last one most of all with a concerned uneasiness. "Lelouch . . . is everything okay?"

"Ye-," He stopped himself and sighed. Smiling to himself in self-deprecation, "I should have known you would pick up on that." Standing back up he squeezed Nunnally's hand before letting go. "Let's go into the living room. This is going to be hard for both of you to hear."

She trembled in her wheel chair as his words sank in. Nunnally had no idea what he could be talking about, but she was terrified. She offered a shaky nod and let Sayoko push her. All the while her imagination was running wild. Nunnally really hoped it would just be him over-exaggerating or even that Miss. C.C. and her brother had eloped. She could deal with those things, but, deep down, she knew it was much more serious than that.

Lelouch had sat in silence for much longer than he should have and he knew it. He just didn't know how to start. He didn't WANT to start, but they had already been sitting down for several minutes now. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to speak, "There are . . . a number of ways I could do this. Some a lot more long-winded, but this is something-," His stomach twisted into knots as he thought of his next few words. "This is something that I simply need to be blunt about. To get it out there."

Sayoko watched him glance to the case he held and his grip tighten. It was definitely something very much related to what he was trying to say. Though he still hadn't let any real clues slip. She had some guesses, but they were nothing other than shots in the dark. What she hadn't been expecting was Nunnally's comment. "Am I going to be an Auntie?"

The look on Lelouch's face and the unexpected nature of the question made Sayoko burst out laughing. She couldn't help it and the woman wouldn't deny that it had been much too long since she had laughed like this. It felt good.

"NO!" Lelouch took a deep breath and tried to relax. Though Sayoko's laughter wasn't helping any nor that she didn't stop for longer than he liked. He shifted uncomfortably as she slipped just into light chuckling. As embarrassing as it was he could see Nunnally's smile and he knew she was just teasing him. She really had spent too much time around Milly.

Nunnally had eased the tension in the room, but this was still really hard to admit. "You would still love me even if I had done something really bad right?"

Her smile immediately fell and faced him with visible lines worry on her face. "I-Of course Lelou. I will always love you. It can't be that bad." She had used her nickname for him in an attempt to put him at ease.

Lelouch was happy she had such confidence in him, but she was wrong. Hardening his resolve he finally said it. "I'm Zero." He could see the shock written on her face. His heart clenched in agony as she rapidly paled.

"Don't lie to me." She was shaking, "You promised to never lie to me. Please. Don't lie."

At some point as she begged for him to not lie to her he began to cry. He was hurting her, but she had to know. With his intent to keep moving forward there was no other choice. "I'm not lying." He only offered a solemn smile she couldn't even see and grabbed her hand. "Nunnally. I'm Zero. I rescued Suzaku and I-I killed our brother."

She could feel it as soon as he touched her. His pulse didn't quicken when he spoke those terrible words. She could feel his shame, his sorrow, and . . . his honesty. Her heart broke, "Just-Just don't lie to me. Tell me your lying Lelouch. I will forgive you this time."

"But if I do that then I will have to swallow a thousand needles."

Nunnally let out a sob and broke down. She didn't fight it when he pulled her into a hug after kneeling in front of her. "Why? You can't be him. You wouldn't kill Clovis. H-he was s-so wonderful to us. One of our few siblings wh-who cared." She was pleading with him and it hurt so damn much." Please . . . lie to me. Lie to me just this once."

Lelouch chocked back his own sob as he held her tighter, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Sayoko wasn't sure if it would be right of her, but just sitting her didn't feel right. So the ninja slipped next to the pair of crying siblings and hugged them both at the same time. She didn't cry herself, but she was very worried for Lelouch. These two weren't actually her children, but she had taken care of them long enough if almost felt like it sometimes.

Neither of them stopped crying even as the minutes passed. Nunnally had quieted down to a whimper until she finally spoke again nearly ten minutes later. "Lelouch . . . Why?" The girl was still laying her head on his soaked shoulder so it came out more like a mumble, but he didn't mind.

Lelouch had continually apologized until she spoke again and now he sat there in silence for a time. "Clovis wasn't the brother we knew as children." The prince went silent for several moments before he continued, "If you remember on the day of the Shinjuku Incident I went gambling with Rivalz. What you don't know is that on our way back a truck came barreling down the road we were on. It swerved in order to avoid hitting us and ended up crashing into an abandoned construction site nearby."

Both women froze when he admitted a truck almost ran them down. Sayoko had long let go, but she was still sitting next to him. "Long story short I ended up in the ghetto subway system after accidentally falling into the back of the truck when I went to help. Of course as my luck would have it," he chuckled derisively at himself, "It was a terrorist truck. One that had stolen what was supposedly poison gas."

Lelouch then continued to explain the following events. Even going so far as to tell them of his Geass. He knew it would be difficult to believe, but he refused to lie to Nunnally about the events. Now he was at the hardest part. What he had found after getting his knightmare. "The soldiers were murdering any of the Japanese in the ghetto. Men, women, and children." He closed his eyes where he could still see them all on the ground. Lelouch almost felt like he would kill his brother again if he could.

"Clovis had ordered a massacre sometime after C.C. and I escaped the royal guard and before I received Geass. I don't know his exact reasons because I didn't ask him, but from what I remember about him . . . it was probably to ensure no one found out about C.C. so he wouldn't be disinherited."

He didn't like the horrified look on Nunnally's face, but this was one more thing he could no longer protect her from. The true nature of the world as it is now. A truth she learned when their mother was murdered, but he still tried to shield her from as much as possible since. "So I commanded the terrorists and won the battle up until an unknown knightmare appeared. I confronted Clovis after escaping it."

"What happened to him?" Nunnally cried out hoarsely, "Clover would have never done such things before! I know people change, but-"

Lelouch wasn't proud to admit that he almost snickered at the nickname. It had been so long that he had forgotten about it. Euphie and Nunnally used to call Clovis that at the Villa. He never liked it, but it had been tolerated for them. "I don't know."

"S-So then you saved Suzaku to thank him for saving you in Shinjuku. You can stop being Zero now." Nunnally gave him a watery, hopeful smile as the color faded from Sayoko's face when she remembered the conversation in the day before. The one she now understands. "Right? All we need is each other."

He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. The prince gently wiped away her tears, "You told me you wanted a gentler world, Nunnally. I will give it to you as Zero." Lelouch held her tighter as she began trembling more, "I don't want to spend the rest of our lives like this. In hiding and away from our friends. Our lives would be unchanging and lonely while Zero could have helped the world."

"I-I don't want that world at the cost of my big brother!" Nunnally forcefully exclaimed. "So long as I have you-"

He interrupted her with a soft kiss to her forehead. "I don't plan on dying if I can help it." His lips lingered to remind her he was still here and he had no intention of leaving her anytime soon.

"Isn't there some way to do this peacefully?"

"Nunnally," He paused to consider how to approach this subject, "I know about those feelings you have. Deep down." She tensed, but he continued, "I know you aren't as naive as you try to appear. You, like me, learned the hard way about the cruelness of the world. You know full well that Britannia wouldn't allow itself to be changed peacefully. The nobles love their power and money too much while the commoners are too brainwashed to see numbers as human beings so easily. Not to mention we aren't even in any position to try for a peaceful route as we are."

"Do you hate me for trying to hide that from you all this time?"

Lelouch smiled and hugged her again, "No. I could never hate you, Nunnally. I'm proud of you actually. You have been very strong. Stronger than what anyone has the right to expect from you."

Her arms slipped around him and she began crying once more, "I'm only so strong because I have you. Please don't die. I need you, Lelou."

"And I need you, Nunna. Without you I am nothing and Zero is without purpose."

It had been a rather trying day for Lelouch, but Nunnally was finally asleep. C.C. hadn't been too thrilled he told them about Geass, but he didn't care. She'd have to live with it. With his fears, at least slightly, assuaged he finally got around to checking if Milly or Ruben sent him anything.

Everything seemed in fine in her message until she called him 'miracle man'. He didn't know how she figured it out, but he would have to go have a chat with her. He had already planned on it to find out exactly everything that had been discussed with his sister's. Now it was imperative he go as soon as possible. Lelouch deleted the message and exited the secret menu. He wasn't sure how much sleep he would get tonight. Not with everything that was on his mind.

Author's Note 2: As I'm sure some of you have noticed there is a slight change in writing style. Before I as avoiding saying he/she/him/her and their names too often. So it didn't get repetitive, but I feel like I went a little too far in the opposite direction sometimes. So this is my attempt to make things smoother.

Nothing major happened in this chapter, but it is definitely closer to setting it up. I do hope you all enjoyed it though. The romance between Guilford and Cornelia was nice. Not planned, but came out that way as I wrote. So I rolled with it.

Honestly by the time I reached the end I was getting tired. So we'll see how I feel about it in the morning. I like most of it, but I wouldn't be surprised if some is changed. I expect it actually. Right now it is nearly 4 AM though. So it can wait. Give my brain some sleep and I can do a proper look over on the last part.

EDIT: I can confirm I changed the part I said I would. It is now much better.

Also it is currently February 21st, 2016. Which means Happy 30th Birthday to the Legend of Zelda! (Sorry. Been a fan of the series for years and years now. Since I was a small child. God I love that game series. A bit obsessed admittedly. Okay fine. Really obsessed. Happy now?)