AN: Alright, alright, I am back. Now, I don't like to retread too many of Code Geass' early plot points (the later ones are getting totally butterflied away by the Destiny stuff), but this chapter will cover all of the main beats from Shinjuku in the original. Also, it's one of the few scenes in the opening episodes that shows off Lelouch's chess master skills that I am not excising, because I want to make it clear that Lelouch still has his strategic prowess. That being said, this chapter will be short - next one will drop some big revelations, so this one can afford to be short.

XxXxX

"...Everything."

Absalom froze up at those words. His guardian remembered…everything?

That…that…that wasn't possible! No guardian remembered their past, at least not one with a living Ghost - Eris was proving things weren't exactly set in stone. But to remember everything? There was no precedent for that happening anywhere. It was-

"Absalom?"

"Yes?"

"The girl at my feet. Is she still alive?"

Forced out of his musings, the Ghost glanced at the green-haired corpse and ran a quick scan on her. "...Yes, she is. Her body is showing signs of healing, and she has an energy signature unlike any I've ever encountered. Also, please get your helmet back on-"

Suddenly, a Knightmare burst into the warehouse, causing Absalom to vanish - best not to raise too many questions right now. Though the situation wasn't looking too good with all the corpses around them…

"What happened here, boy?!"

"I order you to come out at once," commanded the Young Wolf, Slayer of Gods and Hero of the Red War.

This just seemed to annoy the woman in the machine. "What? Who the hell do you think you are to order me?"

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" wondered Absalom.

"Just testing the limits of my new power," was Lelouch's response before turning his attention back to the Knightmare. "My apologies. My name is Norman Williams, and my father is a duke. The terrorist took me as a hostage. I have my ID card in my collar. Once you've verified it, I'd like to request your protection."

The woman listened to all of that, and after a few moments, exited her Knightmare.

"Wow, sucking up to nobility," noted Absalom. "Feudal cultures are the same everywhere, it seems."

Unsurprisingly, Lelouch used the opportunity to issue a new command, asking for the woman's machine, and smirked as she handed over its operating key to her.

For a moment, he considered using his new power to kill her. A glance at the corpses around him, however, changed his mind.

"When this battle is over, you will have the bodies of everyone in this room given a proper burial, understood?"

"Yes," the woman confirmed blankly.

"Good."

A few moments later, Viletta Nu was wondering how her Knightmare had vanished.

XxXxX

"So, what do we do now?"

Lelouch glanced at his Ghost. "If this were a normal Vanguard mission, cut through the enemy forces and take out their leader. But there are numerous extenuating circumstances here - I only have one heavy combat vehicle, this area is filled with civilians, and the enemy leader-"

"Is your brother."

"So you did hear that declaration."

"Hard not to. So, you are a prince?"

"Were - I renounced my right to the throne as a child."

Absalom did the Ghost equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "Really? The records say otherwise."

"Seriously? How…considerate."

"You don't like your father?"

"No. The full details can wait until later."

"Understood. So, do you have a plan?"

"Yes - it seems we will need the aid of the terrorists for this."

"And what will you do after we have won?"

Lelouch took a deep breath. "If the military had this girl, then that means they know something about Paracausality. And I need answers. Now see if you can patch me into the Terrorist's communications, as well as those of the Britannians."

"On it."

XxXxX

Damn it, why had things gone to hell so fast? How had the Britannians reacted so quickly? Naoto's plans had always worked out for them before, so why were they failing now?!

These thoughts surged through Kallen's head as her Glasgow surged through Shinjuku, desperately trying to stop the Britannians from purging those living within. It was a futile struggle, though - she was the only Knightmare user her allies had, and she could only be in one place at a time.

That she was currently being pursued by two Sutherlands made things considerably more difficult.

"You might want to consider ejecting," noted a female voice.

"Not now, Asuka!"

"The West Entrance."

"What?!"

Kallen glanced at her communicator - that voice was not one of her comrades. "Who is this?"

"It doesn't matter - you want to win, use the tracks to head for the West Entrance!"

Kallen froze up - this person was offering her a chance to win? To stop Britannia, here if no where else?

"…What do you think Asuka?"

"We don't have many options, so listen to him."

"Alright."

Taking her companion's advice, Kallen piloted her Knightmare toward the target destination. "What do I do once I get there?"

"There'll be an oncoming train, jump on it."

Sure enough, when Kallen reached the West Entrance, there was a train heading toward her. Hastily jumping on it, she listened intently as her pursuers tried to follow. What followed wasn't exactly clear to Kallen, but it sounded like a third Knightmare attacked one of her pursuers, because when she turned around, one of the Knightmares had fallen off the tracks and the other was taking aim at something in the distance. Sensing that her chance was here, Kallen charged the Sutherland, with the following impact forcing her foe to eject.

Kallen wanted to thank her savior, but a look upward revealed that he had already vanished.

"Kallen!"

Any pondering Kallen would have in her savior was cut off by the sound of her name being called. Turning, she found Hgi and her brother Naoto making their way toward her, with more of her friends following close behind.

"What was that message earlier?"

"What? He called you too, oniisan?"

"Yeah, and Yoshida. His group should be over here in a moment."

"Hello?" Asked the mystery voice once again. "Are you the leader of this group?"

"Wh-Yes!" Confirmed Naoto, surprised by their savior's sudden return to communication. "Who is this?"

"Currently unimportant. Now, if you'd look inside the train, I have something for you all."

Somewhat apprehensively, the group obliged, only to gasp at what they saw: Sutherlands, alongside energy fillers and ammunition.

"I admit that you have no reason to trust me, but if you heed my commands, I can assure you victory today. So please, listen closely."

XxXxX

Absalom listened intently as his guardian gave out orders - Lelouch was one of the rare few who could excel both in direct combat and as a commander. His skill at Go was just one manifestation of that.

"Is there a reason you're giving them all chess designations?"

Lelouch glanced at his ghost. "I used to play chess prodigiously before…well, becoming a guardian."

"Huh - I know you're skilled at chess, but you always seemed to prefer Go whenever we were at the Tower."

"Some things changed when I was resurrected, it seems. And before you ask, I did play against Clovis. He never came close to winning."

"…You think you can beat him now?"

"Clovis never changed tactics months in the years he ruled Area 11 before I ended up in Old Russia. He's too easy to predict."

"Maybe not today, though."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"There's a special prototype Knightmare being held in reserve for this mission - a product of the Camelot Engineering Corps. They're a special unit funded by Prince Schneizel, and they've been working on…many new technologies. Currently, they're still looking for a proper pilot among the deployed forces, and are even filing through the ranks of the Honorary Britannians."

"Huh. I'll keep that in mind."

"Um, whoever this is, we're in position."

Lelouch smirked - time for the game to begin.

XxXxX

A few minutes later

'Where had it all gone wrong?'

Such was the thought of Viceroy Clovis, who had spent most of the day feeling quite confident. Yes, the Elevens had stolen his secret research, but he's allowed it to occur - chasing the rats back to their nest would allow him the opportunity to cut out the heart of their operations. Further complications occurred when the truck carrying her had exploded, but Clovis was confident they could retrieve her from the rubble. Having to cleanse the whole Ghetto was an annoying waste of time, but at least it gave him the opening to rebuild the area in honor of Lelouch and Nunnally. Plus, Bartley had managed to recover the holding container for a different set of test subjects. So, overall, a win.

Then things had gone wrong - somehow, the terrorists had rallied, and began picking off his forces one by one. He'd tried everything - pulling in new units, using new maneuvers, changing frequencies, even sending in his personal guards - but nothing had worked. For the first time he could remember, Clovis was on the back foot. Whoever was leading his foes was good - maybe even better than Tohdoh. And that made him shudder in fear.

But he was Viceroy of Area 11. And he would not lose!

"Lloyd," he asked the lavender haired man on his screen, "will it work? Will your you defeat the terrorists?"

The Early Asplund just smiled. "Please, Viceroy, call it Lancelot."

XxXxX

"Uh oh," spoke Absalom.

"What?"

"The new machine is being sortied."

"I see. Anything about it that I should be worried about?"

"Most of the details are being left out because Schneizel doesn't want Clovis to know about his pet project and…oh."

"I need specifics, Ghost."

"The machine is called Lancelot. It has speed beyond any current generation Knightmare, new sword and rifle weapons, with the latter having similarities to fusion rifles, though thankfully it isn't equipped with one right now-"

"Anything else?"

"..It has energy shields."

"What? How?"

Any further elaboration was cut off when one of the Terrorists reported engaging a new foe, only to be forced to eject. One by one, the others reported something similar, until only a few remained.

Cursing his luck, Lelouch ordered a retreat, but unfortunately, the Lancelot had seen.

"Damn it," groaned the Young Wolf. "If I had a Drake, I might be able to take it down, but without one…"

Before Lelouch could react, though, a red Glasgow rammed into the Lancelot. The white Knightmare managed to repel its crimson foe, only for a Sutherland to open fire and give the red machine a chance to reposition.

"This is Q1. Consider this repayment for saving us earlier."

"K1 reporting. We'll keep you in the clear. Now move."

Lelouch was surprised by the aid, but complied nonetheless and fell back. At least, until he was somewhere where he could quietly leave his Knightmare - he wasn't quite finished with this fight, but the machine would be too cumbersome for the next phase of his plan.

That phase required a conversation with the Viceroy, after all.

A groan turned Lelouch's attention to a different portion of his cockpit - it seemed there would be three humans involved in this conversation.

XxXxX

Clovis glared at the figure holding him at gunpoint. "Does that suffice? Is that everything you requested?"

'That' referring to an immediate ceasefire, his forces allowing the Elevens to leave in peace, and an extension of medical aid to all injured parties.

"It does. Though that hardly completes my requests."

The prince rolled his eyes. "If you seek more from me, you'll have to examine my corpse - I have no intention of aiding you any further."

The figure before him just laughed. "Oh, but you will."

Clovis was about to offer a retort when his captor took off his helmet, revealing a dark haired, purples eyed face that looked vaguely familiar. Then the prince's eyes widened as a familiar red bird symbol appeared in his foe's eye.

"Now then, please do as I say."

Clovis has no time to react before the boy's Geass overrode his mind. "Oh course."

"Do you know anything relating to the murder of Marianne vi Britannia, disregarding the fate of her children?"

"No. Though I suspect that my brother Schneizel and my sister Cornelia have some awareness."

"What do you know about the green haired girl in the gas container?"

"She appears to have some form of immortality - she can regenerate from fatal wounds, and her likeness has been recorded in events dating back to the hundred year's war."

"Is there anything else you you recovered from where you found her?"

"No, but a secondary research base in the Narita Mountains found a strange gateway and acquired several oddities from it. Some of them are in the container in the corner of this room."

"I see. Can you provide me with any information on military deployments and special research units in this Area?"

"Of course. If you have a flash drive, I can download the data now."

The figure did not have such a drive, but found a way to download the desired data.

"Thank you. I have no further orders."

The Geass soon wore off. As it did, Clovis noted a faint white bird symbol coming from his captor's other eye. "…What was that?"

"Nothing important," spoke the figure as he put his helmet back on.

Clovis glared. "So, what now? Do you intend to kill me?"

"No. I'd rather leave that to someone else."

Without leaving time for Clovis to answer, his captor stepped aside….revealing a familiar green haired girl.

Clovis' bravado soon deserted him. "You?!?!"

"Yes, me."

"I, um, well, please…don't kill me."

"That's too merciful for you."

Clovis tried to say something else, only for the girl to put her hands around his head.

And then all he knew was pain and madness.

XxXxX

While the girl did something painful to his half brother, Lelouch examined the container Clovis had mentioned. Finding it locked, he set Absalom to work getting it open. That, naturally, didn't take long.

As soon as the lock was opened, Lelouch lifted the cover of the container.

Two purple eyes peered within.

Over a dozen others peered out.

"…What-"

"FREEDOM!"

Without warning, a flock of Ghosts burst out of the container, momentarily shocking the girl while Clovis begged for his mother. Lelouch just felt very surprised.

"Thank you!"

"No problem. How'd you get in that container?"

"It's a long story," answered a female ghost.

"I'm not surprised. Do you want to head back to the city?"

"…not yet." This time the speaker was a masculine-sounding ghost.

His response did not surprise Lelouch - they probably wanted to find their Guardians here. "I understand. Just, please, follow me."

"Okay."

Glancing at his green haired companion, Lelouch wordlessly asked on her status, and received a gesture that told him she was ready to leave. Uncaring that his half brother was alternating between crying in terror and frothing at the mouth (and also noting that the Viceroy had soiled himself), Lelouch opened the nearest exit.

Standing just outside was a teenage girl in dark attire.

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.

Then the girl bolted.

Lelouch tried to say something to convince her to stop, but no words came, leaving him, Absalom, and an unbonded Ghost to watch her flee.

Groaning, Lelouch called for his companions to follow - best leave now before others arrived.

XxXxX

Half an hour later, Lelouch stood beside an abandoned building, the girl nearby, shown Absalom looked at the remains of the structure. The ghosts has since dispersed, leaving the three of them alone.

A few people would later report seeing strange flying objects dispersing into the settlement and the ghetto, but few would pay them any mind. Fewer still knew what they meant - not the honorary Britannian who had piloted the White Knightmare, who was now watching injured elevens be treated by the military.

Not the Margrave who wondered why the ceasefire was happening.

The two white haired boys in the area didn't know either - one was too obsessed with trying to find the green haired girl he loved, the other was trying to pierce together his memories.

The dark attired girl had idea what was to come, even as the masculine Ghost watched her take three heavily injured young girls to the army for treatment.

The dark skinned pure blood woman just wanted to know why she had blacked out.

Only three individuals knew what the strange floaters meant.

Two stayed at Ashford Academy and had apparently developed imaginary friends.

The other was a redhead currently arguing with no one in her Knightmare while her brother wondered if she was losing her mind.

But all of that was of no concern to Lelouch - his attention wa solely on the green haired girl.

"…So, you want to talk?"

"Yes."

XxXxX

AN: And I have returned!

So, yeah, not much changed. Just Lelouch acting a bit differently.

Wanted to show off some minor differences between canon!Lelouch and Guardian!Lelouch. Among other things, his resurrection brought on a difference in taste for strategy games - Go is the oldest strategy game in existence (as far as I know), and involves two players trying to use stones to control the playing field. The game ends when one person gives up, because the board is big and you get a lot of stones.

I generally make a point of keeping Clovis alive in case I want to use him later in a story. That doesn't mean he comes out unscathed. And while Lelouch has less attachment toward his hatred to Clovis from canon, C.C. certainly hasn't forgiven him. And knows how to make him suffer without dying.

Oh, and a bunch of ghosts showed up to start looking for Guardians. Wonder who they will choose?

Read and Review at your leisure! This is Flameal15k, signing off!