This chapter, which serves as the conclusion for part 2 of the story and is working with the 9k word limit, got delayed as I botched an assignment I had already submitted and thankfully, my lecturer gave those like myself time to redo it, so I spent most of my free time getting that done, after which I took a break as my brain hurt from how much sources I had to find, cite and organise into a proper 10-page essay that wasn't just word vomit typed out. On more pleasant news, I followed Mother's Basement's advice for his Spring Anime 2023 and while I haven't had the time to watch all of them, I have watched the first…movie that serves as the first episode for one of them, Oshi no Ko, and the following episode 2-both of which are really, like REALLY good. Oh, and I also made some slight changes to the previous chapter to correct some spelling mistakes.

Chapter 16: To Annwn

3 days had passed since our battle with the Afanc, though Lelouch was out of it for the first of those as he couldn't even take 2 steps before he collapsed, his exhausted broken body pushed well past its limits, with his fading back into the world of dreams, his construct faded too, leaving a wounded Jeremiah and exhausted C.C. to get themselves and him out of there. It was a small miracle that once they made it outside, they found a retrieval party waiting for them who got them all out of there while another group remained to confirm the kill before transporting the body out before it began to rot.

But the time Lelouch had come too, they had been transported back to the capital where he had been placed into one the best hospitals in the country and while they managed to handle his, what they called, magical exhaustion, even being impressed that he and C.C. managed to both awaken it and use it so quickly, they couldn't do anything about the stump that once was his left arm, which he wasn't as broken up about as he thought it would, after all, people tended to have some kind of response to the loss of a limb but as he spent hours just watching it, feeling the phantoms pains of a limb lost to him, he…he didn't know what he was feeling, it was close to sadness, grief even, but at the same time-it wasn't. He thought that it might have something to do with the fact he was told that he could receive a prosthetic but there was a part of him that knew that wasn't the answer.

C.C. suffered from the same symptoms of magical exhaustion, but that was it as any injuries she suffered wouldn't have lasted long enough for the relief team to have even seen them, much less one of their doctors who strangely enough, wore bright red sashes tied around their waists while nurses wore a pink one. Jeremiah came out of it almost as bad as him as while he was capable of walking, the man had been hiding the fact he had sprained his ankle in his rough landing after being tossed into the wall, along with the fact his cybernetic arm was totalled; something that the doctors couldn't help him with and only called in a mechanist to remove it, leaving the one-armed man to stand guard, crutch on hand helping to keep him up as he stood inside Lelouch's room, C.C. at his side and holding his pale hand as if he would disappear.

Now, they waited for the queen to make an appearance and honour their deal, though he had no clue how she'll make good on her promise of land and title, or at least, he wasn't sure as after his talk with his new patron God, he had a few ideas on what she was planning.

C.C. looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't quite know how as she had been giving him a look for hours now, seemingly about to say something but stopping before a sound could pass her lips before she would turn away, but Lelouch didn't want to wait any longer so before she could finally work up the nerve, he beat her to it.

'Jeremiah,' Lelouch spoke up for the first time in days, catching both his friend and his follower and bodyguard on the back foot. The one-armed cyborg looking his way yet Lelouch kept his gaze on an uncomfortable C.C. 'Could you give us some time alone.' The man looked like he was going to object or ask him a follow-up question but he relented, bowing as he did.

'As you wish, your majesty.' Jeremiah replied as he quietly left the room, closing the door behind him and presumable standing guard outside, though who and what would attempt anything on them while they sat in a high-end hospital was a mystery in of itself. But with the man gone, it was just the two of them as C.C. looked into Lelouch's vibrant, deep, empty eyes and again, she moved to speak but he beat her to it, taking a breath before he did.

'For the longest time now, I didn't know what I felt. Ever since Kamine…ever since I heard the truth it-' He stopped himself, as if the memory brought him physical pain, though she was grateful he didn't bring it up as it wasn't her proudest moment, to put it bluntly. 'It's been like I'm been in flux, every time I thought about it, about you, I knew that I should have felt angry, betrayed, and grief but despite that, despite knowing what my response should have been, what it would have been with anyone else…' His eyes never left hers, letting her see something in them, something she couldn't quite make out while her own started to tear.

'When it came to you, I couldn't even muster up a single spark of annoyance.' His finished response drew a pause from C.C. She had been expecting that anger, she had been expecting him to yell like he did when he found out about Mao, she felt like she deserved that rage but he didn't feel it. She didn't know what to make of it. seeing this confusion in her, Lelouch gave a small, dejected smile as he chuckled, as if the tale was somehow morbidly amusing to him.

'It's funny, isn't it? That someone like me, someone that carried so much hate in his heart he could fight an empire, smash mountains and topple cities, all that when I can't even find myself truly annoyed by you.' If he had only been a year younger, that would have been far from the case. He knew that he was a man filled with hate, he knew that it was poisoning his heart and turning him cold, but he never cared. He believed he could control it, use it and keep it away from ever harming his friends. He had been a fool, but he didn't think he had changed either.

'I know that I didn't become more forgiving, or saintly if that's how you wish to describe it. I still hate Suzaku, the Black Knights, my family, Rolo…I still hate a lot of this but…for the longest time now, rather than that fire, that seething burning inside my chest,' He reached for his heart, the organ thumping away rhythmically without fault, despite it all.

'I'm been numb to the bone.' His arm fell as his face did as well, turning away from C.C. as he looked out the window at the cityscape outside the walls of his room. It was beautiful, it made the town they had first gone to, Trefycawr, if he was recalling it right. It was a wonderful sight, even from his room, with spires and intricate, alien rooftops going on for miles, but his mind wasn't focused on them, it wasn't focused on the outside as instead, he was focused on his heart.

Turning back to her, he continued as C.C. remained silent, letting him say his piece. 'The months we spent in exile, all that we did, all that we found.' He smiled as he thought back to it all, from their first discovery to all the time they spent combing through it with Thomas. 'Even when we uncovered those lost tomes, my mind was focused on you, whenever I saw you, my heart squeezed itself just a little tighter.' C.C. tried to look away from him, her lip quivering but he didn't let her, lifting his hand, he gently kept her gaze on him. He knew this was hard, his mind being clear that he should be keeping this to himself, but his heart, his blasted black heart… sang for this.

'Even with this latest escapade, I knew that you're immortal, that you can take far more damage than my mortal body ever could,' She looked at his stump, her breath catching in her throat as a phantom pain shot through where his left arm should be from the mention of it.

'But when I saw you in danger, I still moved. It seems that I'm still the same fool that couldn't leave you to deal with Suzaku at Narita…or maybe I've always been a fool, I don't know anymore. His smile turned genuine, happiness and love pouring out of him, and through him. Just like with Narita, he didn't regret his actions. Just like with Narita, he knew that he wouldn't have been able to look at himself in the mirror if he hadn't done what he had.

'Lelou-' His lips crashed into C.C.'s before she could respond, stopping her dead in her tracks her tear-filled eyes widened with surprise before they lowered as she tasted him, felt how soft and gentle his lips were on hers as he pulled her closer, her arms reaching up to grasp his head as they locked lips. They kept it up a little longer, savouring the moment as Lelouch reluctantly pulled back, his eyes bright but his smile brittle.

'I love you, Calanthe. I've loved you for a while now, but I was too blinded by rage and grief to see it. Even after everything, I still love you, Calanthe.' C.C. felt her heart skip a beat, she never thought she would hear it, something saying her name with such emotion, such affection…such love. She gazed at him, a part of her thinking it was fake, that he had added some sort of performance, but she found none. Without her knowledge, her smile crept up her face, only to be dashed when she heard his next words.

'But that's foolish, right? That I have these feelings? That seeing you in my mind's eye whenever I think of whatever happiness I still have in the waking world is merely proof of that, right?' His fragile smile continued to crack, as tears worked themselves into his eyes as Lelouch started to lose his composure. It hurt, it hurt him as much as hearing that Nunnally sided with Schneizel, that Suzaku was his enemy, that he could never return to Ashford, his friends. But he couldn't stop, he didn't think he'll ever be able to start again if he stopped, his resolutions on the banks of the river Styx be damned.

'That I have my head up in the clouds for wanting you to love me back, even knowing that there's a chance you can break my heart again?' He asked her, with C.C. also moving without thinking, grasping his head and bringing it close once more, the tears flowing for both of them, these two damaged and jaded souls.

'You're not. You're not a fool…I am.' She started, her composure lost as she let out her feelings, her real feelings for the first time in centuries without filter or shame. 'I was the fool that became just like that damned nun. I only ever wanted love; true love. I spent centuries looking for it, but wherever I went, I could never meet someone that could give me that. Mao came close but,' She kept her hold on him, she didn't want to lose him, not again.

'I messed it up, he saw me as a mother, but I only saw him as a tool till it was too late.' She hated herself for that. For purposely stringing him along on the whim that he might be able to do what Marianne couldn't, even when she knew he would never purposely take her life. She hated how her callousness came back to haunt her, how it traumatised a sweet girl.

'With Mari..' She grasped for breath, her emotions draining her faster than she thought but she soldiered on. 'With Marianne, I got close, really close but neither of us truly saw it as anything more than a business contract, but one that held promise so even when I moved on, I still kept up my end…I still kept the truth from you.' She had recognised him near immediately, she didn't forget faces-even when they changed. When she appeared in his home and talked to him, she knew that she could have saved them both time, effort and lives-if only she had told him what she knew…but she didn't. she didn't and now she was left with him like this.

'Who would have thought, right? That the person I was looking for would be an exiled prince that loved to avoid work.' Despite it, she smiled, it being wide, filled with mirth but as strong as glass, as stable as a drunk Tamaki's balance. 'When we met, it was the same as every other time I made a contract; I saw someone I could use, and didn't even stop to consider them as anything more than a tool…didn't stop to think that I was like then once.' She recalled her early days after she got out of that church and put as much distance between it and her as she possibly could, and when the realisation of her curse settled in, she had been kind, and honest with her contractors. When did she stop being that, she wondered. Was it after she was betrayed by her 2nd contractor and burned as a witch? Was it after her 9th contactor left her to get married? Was it after her 14th died of the plague, or was it with the 19th who was killed in the 30 Years War?

She didn't know.

'Your ego is the size of a mountain, your pride an annoyance, more stubborn than a mule,' Her laughter shot down any annoyance in Lelouch's heart, only leaving him confused. 'Capable of kindness for no reward or recognition, someone that had so much confidence and charisma that he couldn't help but inspire so many others to act. Someone that loved his friends and sister with all his heart, that could love someone like me.' She also remembered how he acted with her. He hadn't given her fuss for stealing her bed, only returning when she gave permission. How he would buy her more pizza than she asked, how he indulged in her oddly Japanese sense of fashion. How he reworked their contract. How he wished for her to live, and if not, then die with a smile. How gentle he was with her when her memories were suppressed.

All that and more left her crying tears of grief, regret, joy and love as she stared into his tear-filled gems. 'I saw it all in our time together, all your masks, all your joys and your pains. Throughout it all, you were my friend, so much so that when I was about to finally end it all, you of all people, gave me a new wish.' She could still feel how warm his touch was that day, how his words moved her so much.

'But I can't do it, I can't die with a smile…not without you in my life.' She pressed their foreheads together, her smile close to breaking as she had to accept that this might end, that they may truly be doomed, but she didn't want that. She was selfish, had been for centuries-but now she wanted this, more than anything.

'And yet…I hurt you,' her hands moved to his cheeks, wiping away his tears with her thumbs, her movements gentle and soft on his pale skin. 'And…and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I hurt you like that, that I can't take it back. You're not a fool Lelouch, what you what…' She whispered, her voice losing most of its volume, but gaining in impact as Lelouch's eyes never left hers.

'It's the same thing I want; to be loved, to be cherished by someone. I can't change what I have done but-' She moved forward, giving him a chaste kiss, but just quickly pulling back, her gaze hardened.

'I can change what will, you changed our contract once before, and now I'm changing it again.' Lelouch wondered what she meant by that, his change has been resetting the contract so that they stood as equals, even if she hadn't kept up her end of the bargain, it still stood. What more was there?

'I shall be yours if you'll be mine. I'll stand with you through sickness and health if you'll have me in the same. I'll cherish you…if you'll cherish me.' His eyes widened as he realized what she was doing as she continued, her code starting to glow much the same as the geass in his eyes, the owl symbol rising to match the intensity of its counterpart. 'I've never hurt you again…if you'll have me.'

'So, Lelouch vi Britannia…will you have me as yours and yours alone?' She asked him the question, one that she had wished to hear for so long, but never did. But for the first time, she was fine with that. Sure, she didn't hear it, but did it matter when she had been given the chance to ask it herself?

'Is this real?' Lelouch whispered, his heart beating in his chest with an excitement he hadn't felt in a long while as if it was waking up from a deep sleep. His eyes didn't even seem to notice that C.C.'s bangs parted as her code glowed with growing intensity, the same as his eyes.

'As real as it gets, my warlock. I want to make it up to you, I want to love you. I want to stay with you forever.' She told him as he smiled, not a smirk or grin but an honest smile, the kind that had once been reserved for Nunnally as he found someone else to love, to cherish with all the love he could.

'Yes.' With his agreement, their powers seemed to cheer in celebration, as their bond was strengthened through its mysterious power they had yet to fully understand, bringing their souls closer together like two halves of a whole. With that done, the power of his geass and her code retreated, leaving them as C.C. all but leapt at him, crashing into him, arms wrapped around him as their lips met once more, the new couple enjoying the other. This new peace of soul changed in, as while his eyes remained expansive and as deep as the oceans, light returned to them, his passion restarted his heart returning his eyes to the same vibrant purple and red C.C. loved to see.

They would have gone on for a while, maybe have gone even further than simply caressing and kissing if not for the amused voice that spoke up. 'My, I've heard of hospitals and how they make couples react,' Both nearly jumped like scared cats, their gaze shooting towards the door where the amused queen stood, watching them with a Cheshire grin that reminded Lelouch far too much of Milly for his comfort. 'But I didn't think I'll see it between my new baron and his fiancé if I heard that correctly.' Her crimson eyes burned with amusement.

'How did-?' Lelouch looked past her, wasn't Jeremiah standing outside? He always did that; how did she get past him without a sound? What he didn't know was that his bodyguard hadn't been around for a while, having gone to the restroom without much of a hurry; after all, it was a hospital, why worry that they could be attacked?

'Does the word "privacy" mean anything to you?' C.C. hissed at her, not caring that she was well above them in rank and could easily have then arrested. She wasn't about to just accept her time with her husband being interrupted.

Despite her tone, Morgalia didn't seem to mind as she replied, waving off her anger as if it was a slight thing. 'It does, but didn't think I needed to abide by it, today, not when I've quite the busy schedule with little time to waste.'

'What, did you have to carve time out of your day to speak with us after we dealt with your problem?' Lelouch asked her, with the sovereign rising her fan, opening it to hide her smile from them even though they both knew she had it.

'That's right. Don't tell me that you have forgotten what running a kingdom entails, or were you exiled before you could see it first-hand?' Her response surprised them both, but C.C. more than Lelouch as he just got his final piece to the puzzle.

'I didn't…so you knew this whole time?' He asked her. He had wondered why the queen herself would show up to meet with them, why not send an envoy or perhaps some other lord in her stead? Did she merely wish to see them for herself? He didn't believe that, not when her gaze was far too intelligent and patient to allow for such a meaningless act of curiosity, there was a purpose behind it. Then there was her offer; why give them land if she knew they didn't wish to stay? It was foolish and lacked substance as a gesture of anything, but it would make perfect sense if she suspected they'll change their minds in the future.

Morgalia's gaze lined up with his, the vibrance of her crimson eyes as captivating as ever as she smiled even more behind her mask, having detected that Lelouch had finally put together some of her motivations. 'I've had my premonitions and my ideas on you, but yes, I knew more than I let on earlier. I also knew that you had a good chance at defeating the beast, though I didn't think you'll lose an arm.' She looked at his stump but shrugged it off just as fast. 'We're going to need to do something about that.'

'Anyway, onto the important matters!' She changed the subject from his lost limb as she walked forward and passed him a document which he took and started reading over. 'As we agreed, you'll receive some lands, control over them and a title which will be passed to your eldest child, a child that I suspect will be coming soon if the love between you two is strong.' Both blushed a little at that, as they only just realized that they might have conceived a child that day in the heat of the moment.

'Why would we want that when we wish to return home?' C.C. asked, with Lelouch responding for her.

'I didn't think it was the case till now…you're truly something…your majesty.' He told her, bowing his head to his new sovereign, a notion that he didn't mind all that much.

'I try, my baron, I try.' She smiled as she placed her fan away, her appearance much for reserved and aligned with a queen.

'Baron? I would have thought I'll get something higher than that.' Lelouch couldn't help but joke.

'What are you talking about, do you seriously wish to remain here?' C.C. asked again, not liking how she was being kept out of the loop, and turning her ire to her husband who decided angering his wife wasn't worth it and tied to explain but Morgalia beat him to it.

'Ever since I was a little girl, I've received visions of possible futures, paths that the river of time could take as it runs through the cosmos. It aided me well throughout the years, and allowed me to make the best choice in many complicated situations.' The queen explained, taking the seat on the opposite side of Lelouch's bed, her earlier joy gone, replaced with a stern stone face.

'So you knew we would appear?' Lelouch asked, only for her to shake her head.

'Not at first, no. What I saw was disconnected, jumbled up. It was only with time that more of it was revealed, that I could make sense of it.' She had known something would occur, her dreams of battles and people she had never known about being the first clue, those dreams only becoming clearer after she spoke with them. .'It's why I knew that you three would survive the fight, though the beast was stronger than I anticipated as being capable of magic is rare among them.' She admitted that much, as the Afranc they fought was an abnormal one, it being extremely rare for them to have magical powers. Still, they came out victorious as she had hoped.

'But I still believed because I believe that you might just be something new. I believe that you might be able to help me repair the barrier between our worlds before my fears of it breaking down completely come to pass.' She told them as with their knowledge of the divide between their two worlds, and the damage done to it by Ragnarök, both could understand her concern as even if one were to ignore most of the repercussions that came with two worlds coming together once more on a scientific level, there was the issue of the flora and fauna of the two worlds clashing.

'People already fight one another out of surface-level differences, if creatures from this world entered ours in mass.' Lelouch breathed out, dozens of scenarios of beasts like the one they fought appearing out of nowhere, rampaging through villages, towns and cities. Dragons bathed entire towns in fire and left nothing but charred skeletons in their wake. Mythical sea creatures devastate massive ships and send them to the ocean depths without warning. Then there was the human element, he studied history, and he had seen them do it enough times to understand that they'll not know how to react, they'll get scared, then angry, then violent.

Britannia for decades spouted that they were the superior race among humans, that all others were just numbers waiting to be conquered and made to serve their betters. If a new group of people showed up, beings that weren't even human, they'll be targeted, enslaved, slaughtered, and placed into zoos for the amusement of the so-called superior race. And these fey wouldn't just accept that, they'll fight back. It would be a race war in the purest sense of the word…it would be a bloodbath.

Morgalia, seeing that he understood her fears, nodded her head as she signed, a little of her worries leaking out of her. 'It would be untold bloodshed. As it was in times long past.' She paused, as she recalled what she had managed to dig up in the Merloé and she had managed to dig up in the royal libraries and the Magics Academy's archives. '8,000 years ago, the Gods split our two worlds, erased all evidence of one from the other, and left nothing but the stories because they had seen such events happen before.' She told them both, as C.C. took a moment to breathe as she grasped the situation.

'I've seen humanity tear itself apart over and over. It's time I do something to stop it.' She spoke up. She had seen humanity tear itself apart too many times. She was done just observing, she wasn't going to let her world, her home continue to go through such madness.

'Our world has seen far too much death already; I refuse to allow monsters and difference to lead to more of it.' Lelouch agreed with her, his gaze hardening.

'Excellent,' Seeing this, the queen smiled at them, different from the one she had before as it was honest, and lacked her earlier amusement. She got up from her seat and moved for the door, stopping at the entrance to observe them over her shoulder. 'Get some rest, I hear that you'll be out in a couple of days. And oh, please try not to be too intimate, this is a hospital, not a brothel.' With that last jab, she left the two blushing, angry and embarrassed over her comment even if they eventually settled into just cuddling, which was the sight that Jeremiah returned to.

Days later, the trio approached the entrance to Rhayader, all bundled up in warm clothing which they had gotten from the queen before they departed from her world. They had spent their final days after Lelouch was able to leave the hospital visiting their new domain, which just so happened to be located on the banks of a large river, perfect for fishing and trade as it run right up to the capital. Exploring had given them a good picture of the land, and only made Lelouch's plans all the more feasible, the only real challenge now was convincing the others to follow it.

'We're finally back.' C.C. whispered, her breath still cold as they arrived with winter retreating for the year, it would be a few days before the spring warmth settled in.

'It's strange, it's only been a little under 2 weeks since we left, but it feels like it's been months.' Jeremiah noted as he and Lelouch carried their kit in their single arms, Jeremiah's broken one tucked into his bag to get looked at later.

'I suppose that happens when you see and do as much as we did.' C.C. smiled as she saw some people walking about the town, having yet to notice them as they just took in for lack of a better word, normal that the place offered after their crazy adventure.

'The only real question is how we explain this,' Lelouch looked at his folded-up sleeve. 'Without giving Anya and Sayoko more stress than we already have.'

'There they are!' The three looked up at the call, as someone seemed to finally notice them, gaining attention as others turned to see what he was talking about.

'Who-its them! Call the search parties back, they're made it back!' Another cried out, sounding…relieved? It had been a while since they had dealt with that as people rushed them, not from anger but out of joy as children crashed into them, talking about how worried people were. The adults doing the same as some talked about how they feared the worst when they lost contact, how they found where they found, but no bodies so they kept up hope that they had survived. Others asked them about their strange clothing and the fact two of them were down a limb.

In this chaos, Lelouch couldn't help but smile as Sayoko almost ran through the crowd towards them at full speed. 'Looks like the choice is out of our hands.'

It was good to be home.

It took hours for the town to settle down, longer for the search teams to return which included Anya, who had gone out whenever she could and had never given up hope. When she kicked the door open and saw them seated in their house, drinking tea, she first yelled at them for making her worry so much, before she gave all three the biggest hugs she could, her normal animosity towards C.C. forgotten in favour of just being happy to see her. After that, she was close to glued to them all, even when the mayor showed up to speak with them, just as glad to see them alive as the rest as he explained the situation to them before he asked that they see him and the rest of the town councillors the next day for a more in-depth briefing.

Seeing them all waiting for them as they entered the town hall had been a surprise, as all 20 were in attendance, eager to hear what they had found and where they had been for these last couple of weeks. So, they sat down and explained things, all of it. Not just what they had been up to, but who they were.

'To think that magic was real…'

'Of course, Britannia would seek it out, but to use children as tools of war…'

'So, were the myths and legends true then? If mythical beasts truly exist, who's to say that-'

'I'm not sure what to say about hearing that the deadliest weapon on the planet was invented by a teenage girl out for revenge, revenge on the man standing before us.'

Lelouch didn't say anything as he listened to the councillors discuss the bombshells, he had dropped on them. He, along with Jeremiah, C.C., Sayoko and Anya, was seated before the group of 21 people. Four out of the five dressed formally for the occasion, with Sayoko dressed in one of her best maid attires which at this point, Lelouch assumed made up the bulk of her wardrobe. But he didn't focus on that, or how Sayoko remained at his left side rather than his right while Anya sat by Jeremiah's right-as the women placed themselves where their lost limbs would be to aid them should they need it. he didn't focus on the fact his hand was firmly holding C.C.'s as he had done since they walked in that morning.

He focused on what he had said, with stops to allow the others to fill in gaps which they knew better. They had been sceptical of their claims, as he expected as without proof, they would have come off as mad. If not for his demonstrating his power on two of them, and having Jeremiah then break his command, they might have concluded that they were a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. As for the evidence of the other world, both he and C.C. showed off simple spells, as C.C. created and manipulated some ice into a small snake which moved about before melting, while Lelouch summoned an old, rusty sword which he then rejuvenated before their eyes, returning it how it would have looked when it fell from the hands of the warrior that once used it centuries ago.

'Lelouch,' The exiled prince took joy in the fact he wasn't referred to as prince or your majesty, it was jarring enough to hear it from Jeremiah as is. 'What is your plan now? Surely you don't think after this that your secret can remain such.' He nodded as he answered.

'I want us to leave, all of us, to go back to Annwn.'

'And surrender ourselves to your rule?' One of the councillors asked, staring him down from behind her thick-framed glasses.

'To give you all a place to be free; somewhere that Schneizel and his Damocles can never reach.' He replied. He had thought about it for a while and made this choice not for his benefit, but for the benefit of others. He had always believed that to kill, one must be willing to be killed, but now he understood that a true leader was first and foremost a servant to their people. Sure, he could summon forth legions of the undead from the host of his patron, but there were just tools-shells he could control and grant some intelligence to, but that's it. his role was to serve the living, not rule the dead.

'And this queen…Morgalia, you say?' Another asked, stopping just long enough for C.C. to confirm the pronunciation before they continued. 'Can assure that any that follow you would be treated fairly?'

'She's given her word.' C.C. replied to the question but it was clear they weren't sold on the idea yet, giving one another looks before the mayor turned back to them.

'We'll need time to discuss this.' He dismissed them, as he knew they were in for hours of debating as the four stood from their seats, Sayoko having never sat down.

'As you should. This is a big decision, I want the people to make this choice, not be pressured into it.' Lelouch told them as he turned and walked out, followed by the rest.

3 days had passed since the meeting, and little else had happened for the group, other than Anya teasing them for finally getting together while Sayoko joked that she'll have to prepare a nursery for them in the not-so-distant future. Jeremiah was the only one who didn't make a baby comment, but in his typical fashion, he instead repeated his vow for him and his family to serve his bloodline. But neither minded it, minded the peace as with the winter retreating, spring was starting to blossom which made for wonderful sights, watching the snow melt as the trees started to grow back the first new leaves while flowers started to appear.

It made for a relaxing sight as the two sat on their pouch outside their home, covered in a large blanket as they just enjoyed each other's company as they listened to some string and organ music of a record player set up close by. 'Would that be all, my lord?' Sayoko asked as she placed the tea on the table next to the two, which also housed a plate of cookies and sweets.

Half asleep, Lelouch replied with his head resting on C.C.'s lap as she combed a hand through his hair. 'Yes, thank you, Sayoko.' The man replied as the woman nodded her head and retreated into the house, leaving the couple by themselves as they let the soft music lull them.

Reaching for a cup of tea, C.C. spoke. 'I spoke with Thomas about it.' The historian had come to see them the other day, just as worried as the rest when they vanished and equally as relieved to see them alive, though he framed it as more a great loss of 'individuals that seemed to have a knack for historical discoveries'. 'He seems excited about it and said he's eager to explore the history and culture of a whole new world. So we can count on him coming at least.' She mused with a smile as the man hadn't even noticed that the two were now a couple, as he chose to focus on the fact, he could study in another, her confirming that seem to de-age the man a good 20 years as he close to jumped and skipped away.

Lelouch hummed in response as he got up, balancing him a little, still unused to the lack of weight on his left side. 'Jeremiah's family also agreed, though I think it was less about escaping Damocles and more about them possibly becoming lords once more.' He said as he reached for some of the sweets, needing something sugary at the moment.

'Figures let's hope he can keep them from getting big heads.' C.C. laughed as they returned to silence, drinking and eating their afternoon snack. It was the crunch of the melting snow that drew their attention to their guest walking up the path that lead back to town.

'Mayor.' C.C. greeted the man as he and 4 others walked up to them, bundled up against the still-present cold like the rest of them.

'We've discussed this and brought in other civic leaders to gain their reactions to it. We'll follow you, but we have some demands.' The man told them, gaining a little extra of their attention as they had figured they would win the support of the people if nothing else than for the possibility of escaping the threat of being wiped off the man due to the whims of their 'leader', there was always the chance that they would be much more hostile about it, especially as they had revealed to the townsfolk who they were. Frankly, the lack of even a single person showing up to denounce them was a surprise, but a welcome one.

'We didn't expect that you'll just hand over all control, what are your terms?' Lelouch asked them, leaning forward to watch them better and to their credit, none reacted to it as with contacts lost in the fight that took his arm, he had been walking around with his evolved geass clear to see.

'You accept that you'll not have absolute control, our council remains-even if it needs to be adapted to a more parliament system.' The mayor stated, prepared to fight for their governance, having prepared notes about its benefits and how he couldn't force them all to act if he wished.

'Done. Anything else?' Only for said notes to get derailed by how fast the man agreed to them without a fight, a fact that seemed to amuse the immortal witch as C.C. was the only one present that knew just how little Lelouch cared for power. If he needed it to accomplish a goal, he wouldn't hesitate in most cases, but power for power's sake? That was more up the alleys of one of his siblings.

One of the others stepped up, an aide to the mayor if C.C. recalled correctly. 'Yes, we gave this offer to other towns in the area, after making sure they wouldn't let loose lips see this leak of course,' Both nodded their head at that, happy they didn't need to worry about Argus coming down on their heads anytime soon. 'They have as much a right to escape the terror of Damocles as we do.'

'You're asking if we can accept more people?' Lelouch asked, getting a nob from the man as he leaned back, doing the math in his head before he replied. 'It'll be annoying, reworking the numbers and resources for that, but ultimately within possibility.' With his agreement to a limit on his power, they were able to hammer out the broad strokes of the agreement between them which related to basics such as laws, housing, and farming, all of which Lelouch had already thought of and was prepared for. The group stayed for the rest of the day, entering his house when it started to grow dark and even ate dinner together in what must have been one of the friendliest takeovers of the Welsh by the English in history.

All this led to the day, one month later when with spring in full swing around them, Lelouch and C.C., in the middle of the Elenydd, stood in front of a crowd that numbered over 9 thousand strong. Unlike in his days of Zero, these weren't fighters or warriors, at least not all of them as rather, they were closer in make-up to his exile from Area 11, a host made up of men, women and children, from babies not even a month old to the elderly who had long lived their lives. As he had been informed of in their first meeting, it wasn't just the people of Rhayader present, the town itself an hour's jog away, but those of neighbouring towns who wished to take this chance and had packed all that they could carry their entire lives.

All for the chance to be free again.

Seeing that they were all eager to see this, to see him work a miracle like he used to under another name. Stepping forward and letting go of C.C.'s hand, he didn't give them a speech, they didn't want nor need one. Instead, he and C.C. reached into their bags and pulled out large balls, seemingly made from crystal with a mysterious red and purple liquid and gas swirling around the inside of them. While the children were awed by these strange objects, the adults were less than impressed but that wasn't the best part. With a smile, both tapped into their newly awakened magical power, their symbols of geass glowing as they did so as for C.C., she tapped into the fabric of reality while Lelouch uttered a silent prayer to 'The One all will all meet.'. With this done, they dropped the crystals into the earth, where they were absorbed as fast as water would be by a sponge.

It wasn't even 30 seconds later that the earth started to shake and crack, surprising and scaring the amassed crowd as parents held onto their children, but thankfully didn't panic as the two remained as calm as the drumbeat of rain hitting the pavement. The ground seemed to shift and break, parts of it rising, higher and higher before it was joined by another one standing next to it. these two pillars of dark earth continued to shift, both in shape and colour as their rough edges smoothed themselves out while colour entered their form, introducing hints of orange, yellow, reds and blues to the quick-forming marble. It wasn't just them as between them, thick, imposing doors made from wood sprouted, forming up less like planks and more like trees that by the work of fate, just grew that way.

Above the ever-growing doors, the stone pillars formed a large arch, on it the visage of two goats posing with a single column between them formed, the rams, unlike the rest of the door, were coloured with a deep black while the column they posed with was a solid blue. At the base of this growing doorway, the earth shifted as the stone altered itself, turning to a pure white marble foundation that rose, with frescos and other images doting its tiered sides as stairs, without fault or stain, formed. Once the shaking had ceased, the amassed ground couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the Thought elevator that stood before them, far larger and grander than the relics that doted the earth.

Lelouch nodded his head at it, his part in this done as he willed his spear into shape, his bracelet seamlessly shifted into form as he walked up towards it as he tapped the staff at the foot of the steps leading towards the imposing doors. That action spurred the Thought Elevator into action as its massive doors, doors so large and thick that no man could hope to move them an inch through the force of body, opened, slowly at first but gained in speed before they revealed their secrets to them, a white void. Sparring a glance back, he saw that while amazed that he had managed this much, there was still understandable hesitancy in them all, how could they not be when they couldn't even see the other side of this strange passage? With a quick nod, Jeremiah walked past them, entering the white void without a sound. Sometime later, he walked back out, no worse for wear.

With that assurance in hand, the first of the gathered moved towards the portal, with the witch and warlock serving as guides to ensure families remained together, and that all belongings were taken with them. Of course, despite the size of the entrance, the sheer quantity present kept movement slow, but through patience and care, they managed. With the last person walking through, the two remained behind, with only Sayoko and Anya with them as the four turned to look at their surroundings, watching for C.C.s part of the spell to kick in, and kick in it did. From the ground, thick sprouts of trees shot out, rapidly growing as if decades were massing in minutes, giving them a rare view of watching a forest grow from the ground up. Soon, their view of the surroundings was cut as many more dozens of trees continue to grow, blocking them and the Though elevator from sight. The forest continued to grow, taking power from the very earth itself as it continued in size, from just a collection of trees to a soccer field's worth, to hectares of brush, leaves and branches, and further still. By the time the spell finally ceased, a good chunk of the Elenydd, once fields of grass and dirt, was now a forest-just as it once had been.

As further cover for them settled in in the form of a never-ending fog, the group turned away from it, back towards the door that led away, away from Wales, away from Earth, away from their pasts, and away from all that they once knew. But despite this, none of the felt any real sadness about it, this wasn't the end of their lives…just the closing of a chapter, and the turning of a new page where they could write more to it. 'Warlock and Witch,' C.C. started, smiling at her warlock.

'Together till the end.' He finished. 'This is not what I wished but-' She silenced with him a kiss, something she didn't wish to ever grow tired of.

'It's enough, after all, I'm getting my wonderland.' She told him, with their moment being ruined by a snort from Anya, the girl smirking as she held her new battle axe, its size being near comical in her hands, yet she handled it as if it were an extension of herself.

'Please, you're no Alice.' She told them as she walked right past them, followed by Sayoko. The two remained just a moment longer, soaking it all, before they too, followed, the door closing behind them.

Hours later, this forest appearing out of nowhere on the border with the desert of Wales would be reported but aside from a survey of the place conducted, the authorities would find nothing wrong with it, nor would they ever find a trace of the thought elevator hidden within. What would be investigated for months afterwards, would be the disappearance of the residents of multiple local villages in the surrounding area, with relatives living in other places disappearing just like their relatives from the affected areas. Despite Schneizel putting both Kanon and Suzaku on the task, neither would find any evidence that could point them to a possible theory or conclusion and soon their attention would be drawn to bigger issues elsewhere in the world.

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