(A/N: Another scene. Enjoy.)

Scene 3

Lelouch interrogates Sarah Pristina, the Yeshina leader behind the Sweet Delights chocolate bars. The same chocolate bars that held a very disturbing ingredient in it.

Human blood.

The Black Knights managed to capture her and her top conspirators when they had figured out and infiltrated their base of operations. They destroyed all distribution of the product and killed everyone else that was involved in the production of something so disgustingly abhorrent.

But Lelouch didn't just kill them because they were part of an illegal operation. He also did it for one reason alone—because they used human blood as some sort of flavoring agent, something which could not possibly be considered edible by any moral code on Earth.

The Black Knight's leader had already questioned the top superiors behind the operation. He had Geassed them to find that they- to no surprise- corrupt parasites looking to line their own pockets. However, the Lezendren group did not know that the bars were laced with human blood. They knew that the chocolate bars had some sorta illegal substance or drug, but they were never made clear what that substance was. They just never cared.

Lelouch gritted his teeth angrily behind his Zero's mask.

They also revealed Sarah to be the true mastermind behind everything. The creation of the candy, the factory that produced it, it's distribution in key parts of Japan… Everything. They claimed that she did it for revenge- revenge for her mother- and that they were using her need for vengeance for their own gain.

That was- unfortunately- all he managed to get out of them. Afterwards, he eliminated them. He had no more need for them. They were stains in the world that were better off cleaned up.

He stared down his final prisoner, Sarah Pristina. A petite, slender girl with long, ebony hair half-way done up in a bun with the rest flowing down her back and forest green eyes. He was beyond surprised that she was the true mastermind behind the whole operation. She was an underclassman in his school. Truthfully- he doesn't know much about her- other than the fact that she was in the Swim Club with Shirley, and that she's incredibly athletic, has good grades, and very sociable.

To think someone like this was right under his nose this entire time…! Who would have thought a student from Ashford Academy would be behind this sickening, illegal, and morally reprehensible operation?

Then- again- he was also an Ashford Academy student secretly leading a resistance war against Britannia's tyranny.

Irony, much?

Sarah looked at him calmly from behind her cell. He threatened to turn them all to Cornelia, if they did not answer his questions truthfully and honestly. And knowing what Cornelia and the higher-ups of Area 11, they disgustingly begged and pleaded for mercy with the same vile tongue cruelly laughed off the misfortune their illegal chocolate bars brought to Britiannians and Japanese alike. However- unlike the rest of Lezendren group- Sarah remained eerily calm. He did not know and it set off a few alarm bells in his head. Her calmness was that of a person who wasn't afraid of death, nor did she care how many lives she took. It was a cold, calculated, and deceptively ingenuous demeanor.

Something was off about her.

"Well," Sarah cocked her head to the side amusingly, "don't you have some questions you want to ask me?" Taking his silence as confusion, she continued on, "I mean- that's how interrogation goes- right?" She folded her hands behind her, casually leaning back as if she was stretching. "You threaten me, and I spell the beans." She smirked, a small smirk that made Lelouch feel sick to his stomach.

At that moment- the left eye hole of his mask slid open- and he was prepared to place the girl under his Geass.

But before he could place the dark-haired girl under his influence, she cut him off.

"Oh, there's no need for that." She waved her hand casually. "Your Geass forces a person to obey any order you give them once, yes? No need to waste it on something so trivial, Zero. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have for me."

The black-haired prince's eyes widened in flabbergasted shock that she knew about his Geass and its limitations. How?! How did she know about his Geass?! Nobody knows about his Geass besides C.C.- who gave him the power in the first place- and Fear- who was unaffected by its powers. And highly doubted they were the type to reveal it to other people. So how did Sarah discover the power of his Geass?

He glared at her from behind his Zero mask. "How did you know about my Geass?" he demanded.

"Hmm." She smirked coyly. "Someone told me," she said cryptically.

"Who?"

"Esthoperthra."

"Esthoperthra? And who is that?"

"Someone I was very well-acquainted with," Sarah replied. "But enough about that. I very much doubt you came to discuss your Geass. Besides, do you really want to be discussing your Geass with your guards outside, Zero? Unless, you want them to find out your powers. Then by all means, go ahead."

No. He needed to uncover how Sarah knew about Geass. He needed to know what she knew. Who was Esthoperthra? How did Esthoperthra know about his Geass? And now he was anxious to know who else knew about his Geass. This was the third person- outside of C.C. and Fear- who was revealed to be aware of his powers. First, Mao- but he made a bit of sense since he also had the power of a Geass- then Sarah, and now this "Esthoperthra" person.

But- unfortunately- those particular questions would have to wait. Indeed- he had a few Black Knight members guarding the door outside- and he really didn't need them bursting in here in the most inconvenient. Although- if they do overhear and discover his Geass- he could always use it to make them forget everything they heard. But he would like to avoid that kinda outcome.

Lelouch would keep Sarah alive for a bit longer.

"I want to know your reasons for doing all this."

The black-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? Reason?"

"The other Lezendren members told me you did all this in the name of revenge for your mother."

She smiled serenely. "Oh! There appears to be some sorta misunderstanding."

Lelouch rose a black brow, lips forming into a deep, contemplative frown. "Misunderstanding? Enlighten me." He kept his voice calm and impassive.

"Well…" Sarah crossed her left arm across her chest, and propped her right elbow on top of the palm of her left hand. She used the fingers of her right hand to grip her chin and side of her face in a thinking pose. "Revenge is hardly the reason I did all this. You could say… I did this more for… attention. Maybe."

"Attention?" The exiled prince glared at with animosity and disgust. Attention?! That was the same excuse Kusakabe from the Japanese Liberation Front used when he kidnapped all those innocent Britiannians- including his friends from the student council- for his selfish, misguided cause.

And this girl was using that same excuse to justify why she secretly fed Britiannians and Japanese people alike human blood?! Some members of the Black Knights unknowingly ingested some of that stuff, specifically Kallen and Tamaki to name a few. To say they had a mental breakdown after finding out would be a great understatement.

He could feel his hatred and anger at the girl increase tenfold, almost reaching its boiling point. He was seconds away from pulling his gun out and shooting her then and there.

"Were you trying to prove the worth and might of the Lezendren group?" he questioned, his controlled anger dripping through every word. He used the same excuse Kusakabe provided him.

She released herself from her pose and waved her hands. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. To be honest, I don't really care about your war campaign against Britannia, Zero. I have no interest in the Britannia army, the Black Knights, the Japanese Liberation Front, or the Chinese Federation."

"Then who's attention were you seeking? What was the point in all this? What was your objective?"

"I was trying to gain her attention."

He narrowed his eyes. "And who is "her"?"

Sarah stalked along the walls of her jail cell in a manner almost reminiscent of a snake slithering through blades of grass, sneaking up to its prey. Her back was now facing him. "Oh, I believe it is someone you are very well-acquainted with, Zero."

Lelouch sucked in a surprised breath. The way she uttered the name of alter ego gave off the implication that she knew who he really was behind the mask. Alarm bells should have gone off in his head when she revealed to know about him and the power of his Geass.

He furrowed his brows. "Someone I'm well-acquainted with." There were plenty of people he was "well-acquainted with", but he got the distinct feeling that Sarah was talking about someone who knew him and was well-aware of his powers. Two people instantly came to mind.

C.C. or Fear.

She turned around and faced him once more with a cold, sly smile on her lips. "Your silence tells me you have a pretty vague idea of who I'm referring to. Well, I see no reason to keep you suspense any longer. I'm talking about Fear."

"Fear? What does Fear have to do with this? Why Fear?" Zero demanded, keeping the surprise out of his voice. "Do you know her?"

Sarah rose a confused eyebrow. "Do I know her? No, not particularly," she answered honestly, her eerily calm smile never leaving her face. "Honestly, I have never met Fear face-to-face."

"Then why are you interested in Fear?"

"You could say it was a morbid combination of fascination and frustration," Sarah said with a half-shrug. "I only caught a glimpse of her when she was talking to that Eleven at our school who was falsely convicted of Prince Clovis' murder. Suzaku Kururugi- I believe- was his name. You could say that seeing her for the first time "awoken" something inside. I may have never enacted this plan of mine, if I never saw her."

She hummed thoughtfully to herself. "Better yet, I believe it's best that we go back just so you could get a better understanding. You might want to get comfortable because it's a pretty long story."

She offered a moment of silence, perhaps expecting Zero to pull up a chair and take a seat of something. But when he remained impassively unresponsive, she continued on unbothered.

"I should start off from the beginning. My father was the former leader of the Lezendren group."

"Your father was Xing Yun, a Chinese Bureaucrat and head of the Health Smiles Institution in China," Lelouch said.

Her forest green widened a slight fraction in surprise before it quickly disappeared. She smiled a scarily pleased smile. "So you have heard of me? Or- at least- you were partially aware and suspicious of my involvement with the Lezendren group?"

She took her few steps forwards and crossed her arms under her bust. "Either why- yes- you are correct. That's my father's name."

She paced around the room. "I'm sure you must have been somewhat aware by now that Fear is not a human girl. Well- in the fact- that she is not an ordinary powerless human being like me or members of your Black Knight organization or you without your Geass power."

Yes, Lelouch had suspicions for awhile that Fear was no ordinary human girl. Her reflexes and senses were beyond normal human levels. She could easily dodge bullets fired from a gun, even in point-blank range. Her abilities were not normal, and he initially kept her close because he wanted to learn more about her, to keep a close eye on her so she won't spill his secrets, and that her abilities could prove useful to him and his cause.

Granted- in the beginning- he never expected her to be such an idealistic softie. Not with someone with powers like hers and a mischievous, rebellious, abrasive personality to match. Her aversion to needless death was unexpected. So much so that she vehemently dislikes killing and committing lethal acts of violence, which is why she barely participates in any of the Black Knights operations. She's also the first one to reprimand him for any fault in his plan, if it were to endanger innocent lives. Like before the Battle of Narita, and talking him out of using the JLF as sacrificial pawns to further incense the Black Knight's and Japan's ire against Cornelia and Britannia as whole.

He never considered it before, but Fear's presence has kept his more darker tendencies at bay. He did not know when it happened, but he started to value her as much as a valuable asset as C.C.- the one who gave him Geass in the first place and hastened his agenda.

Him, C.C., and Fear… The three of them were accomplices.

"Did you know my mother also had abilities like Fear's?" Sarah inquired.

The question almost caused Lelouch to do a whiplash. Once again, he was left in stunned surprise. He was definitely not expecting that revelation.

"You could say that me, my mother, and Fear come from the same family?"

She stopped him before he could bombard her with countless questions and demands.

"My mother came from a family of people who were born with inhuman powers and abilities." She raised her hand a bit. "You have to excuse me a moment, but I genuinely don't know the entirety of my mother's family's history. All I know is that my mother and myself are descendents of a clan that existed centuries and centuries ago, perhaps a millennia. The name of the clan was called Uzumaki. But now small remnants of that clan are scattered across the world and even fewer of them inherit the clan's powers. My mother and Fear are some of the very few people today who were born with the Uzumaki clan's inherent abilities."

Zero shifted a bit, crossing his arms. "So what you are implying is that you and Fear are related?"

"You could say we are related in the same way a single tree branch is related to all the trees that make up a forest. To put it in simpler terms- you could say that we are more like distant relatives- in a sense."

She delicately scratched her fingernails along the cold walls. "My mother was just a normal Britannian civilian. At least, that's how she portrayed herself to be. Until my father found her. You see, the Lezendren group was aware of the history of the former Uzumaki family's unique abilities, and- as the group's leader and representative- my father decided to marry my mother- so that he may make use of her powers."

She trailed her fingers along the walls as she circled her prison cell slowly. "But- in the end- my father never forced my mother to use her powers because he found himself truly falling in love with her. And it was not long after their marriage that I was conceived and born. It was really a beautiful story."

She shot him a mischievous and darkly alluring gaze from over her shoulder. "However, all stories must come to an unforgiving and tragic end." She faced him once again, staring into his facial mask impassively unflinching. "Over a decade ago, Fear's father killed my mother."

"You are seeking revenge against Fear because she's the daughter of the man who killed your mother?" Lelouch inquired.

Sarah shook her head. "No, not at all," she declined the claim. "As much as I loved my mother, I fully understand why she was killed. I bear no grudge for my mother's death."

She paused for a morbid, dramatic effect, letting everything sink in.

"To be more accurate- if I wanted any revenge- it would be against the Lezendren group," she admitted in a maliciously sweet voice. "The Lezendren group wanted to exploit my mother's powers. Nevertheless, my father managed to convince them that I would inherit my mother's powers- therefore- preventing the Lezendren from utilizing my mother."

She stared at him with a bittersweet gaze. "Unfortunately, I turned out to be just an ordinary child. I was told countless times through my childhood that "I was a failure" and "that I was completely worthless"."

Lelouch tensed when she reached inside her pocket. He dug into his Zero coat for his gun in case things turned hostile.

The black-haired girl was serenely unbothered by the gun pointed at her and continued. "So- of course- that twisted my personality."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion at the small, black beads in her hand.

"It made me desire to become taboo. Just like my mother." She squashed the beads in her hand in mild anger. "To become exactly what they wanted," she said in a slightly cold and furious undertone. She unfurled her hand to reveal a black substance smeared all over the palm of her hand.

"You did something morbidly insane because of that?" the black-haired rebel leader snarled. "If you wanted revenge against the Lezendren group, you didn't need to get unnecessary people involved in your sick schemes. Did you fucking forget that you tricked people into ingesting human blood?"

She ignored his near-infuriated outburst. She bent down to her knees. She used a finger of her other hand and lightly dipped it in the inky black substance. She began drawing on the ground with the black ink.

"I wanted to live up to those fools' expectations just to show them how idiotic those expectations are. Excuse me. I am in a bit of a rebellious phase, you see."

Zero observed as she almost finished drawing a strange symbol on the ground.

"I was powerless as my ordinary self." She finished her drawing.

Her lips spread wide into an insane, creepy smile. "Which is exactly why I must now become taboo!"

(A/N: Another scene done. Remember- I'm still waiting for anyone to take over- and turn this into a proper story.

Until then, thanks for reading and leave a review.)