Code Geass: Lelouch of the Night

by dalek117

A Fateful Meeting with the mysterious C.C. has Lelouch's entire existence change, in more ways than one. AU with Geass replaced by vampires. Lelouch x Harem. Inspired and Based on the excellent fanfiction 'More than Just a Man' by Thanathos with permission. Now crossposted to Archive of Our Own.

7. Chapter 6

This fic was inspired by Thanathos' 'More than just a Man'. That fic was unfortunately abandoned way too early and I found that I really needed to at least tell my own interpretation of a vampire Lelouch and C.C.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. Many of the Vampiric characteristics were inspired by 'More than just a Man'.

Also to note, I am Australian so I will be using a lot of Australian spelling for many words. Aka, expect to see a lot of 'u's and replacement of 'z's with 's's.

"Hello" - Speech

'Hello' - Thought/Mental Communication

"Hello" - Radio/phone/walkie talkie

"Hello" - Speaker

Warning: Lime Scene ahead. If you don't want to read it, I will leave a warning so that you can skip past it

---

Aftermath, Confession and Arrival

August 2017 a.t.b

C.C. smirked as she watched the chaos unfold on the screen as Lelouch tore the Pureblood's credibility to shreds with merciless effort. Eating a box of pizza she had ordered from Pizza Hut, she was just lying down on the couch in the living room. While Nunnally would normally be here as well, since it was one of the closest rooms to her bedroom, she was actually listening to the broadcast through a radio in her room alone, as per her wish.

However this didn't mean that C.C. was alone in the room. In fact Sayako was with her, keeping an eye on her. And what a watchful eye it was, always keeping C.C. in view, even if it meant that Sayako had to stand behind the couch and not sit on something, but C.C. assumed that it wasn't even close to the most uncomfortable thing the Ninja maid had done before. And the stare was one of not so much hostility as it was distrust and disgust.

C.C. sighed as she finished her box, just as Lelouch had jumped off the edge of the bridge, along with dear Kallen and Kururugi, putting down the box only to look straight at the screen with a sudden intensity as Lelouch pulled off a one in a million move, shooting a Knightmare right in the Fact Sphere and disabled it. Well, one in a million for a human. For an experienced vampire, it was closer to one in a thousand. And that was the point; for an experienced vampire. Lelouch was anything but experienced.

'This is both interesting and concerning,' C.C. thought to herself as put her hand on her mouth in the manner of someone concentrating. 'The fact that he was able to do that from instinct alone…' she gave a chuckle. 'Well, Marianne, he very much is your son.'

"That's not normal," Sayako said out loud, looking concerned. "Even a vampire shouldn't be able to do that."

"That's not true," C.C. corrected, "But not a new vampire like Lelouch. He's changing, and growing stronger faster than I would have ever imagined." Only centuries of experience and control ensured that C.C. kept herself from expressing the worry and concern that she was feeling. If he was progressing this quickly, then maybe They will take notice of him. And C.C. couldn't allow that. Nor would Charles and Marianne, but they weren't here in Japan, nor did Marianne have a properly working body, being little more than a parasite at this point.

"Will he go out of control?" Sayako asked, a dangerous undertone present in such a calm voice.

"Not if he embraces his vampiric desires," C.C. said, wincing as a bad memory flashed in her mind, a white haired young boy smiling fanatically at her. Shaking the thought away, she looked behind her at Sayako, who looked confused at C.C.'s statement.

She sighed before giving a slight answer. "I was planning on telling this to Lelouch himself when he comes back, but the very, very brief answer is that if he keeps on trying to deny the vampiric part of him, he can only do so for so long before the desires overwhelm and consume him. By embracing them, but not giving into them, he can control it and keep himself sane and be powerful at the same time."

Sayako nodded at the explanation, yet still stared at C.C. with scrutiny. "Is that why you forced him into doing that to the officer last night?"

"So he did tell you," C.C. said before nodding, "But yes, if only to fast track his progress and acceptance. On his own, he will stubbornly resist. And I won't have that happen again, not with the consequences for him and everyone around him."

Sayako's glare softened slightly but before she could open her mouth, the doorbell rang. C.C. raised her eyebrow as she felt the presence of the Ashford heiress at the door of the Clubhouse, no doubt wishing to talk to Lelouch.

"Maybe my talk with Lelouch has been delayed," she informed Sayako. "Someone else I think is wishing for the same thing, and I don't think she'll take too kindly to me butting in to be first."

---

Lelouch entered Ashford around midnight, sneaking in without any of the occasional student who was outside spotting him. He had already changed out of his Zero outfit and was dressed in his casual wear, making him seem much more inconspicuous to most eyes. It was past midnight, and he really needed to get back home, just so he could get some sleep as it was a school day tomorrow, and while his actions would have caused a lot of chaos, he doubted that Reuben would cancel a whole day due to it.

But that wasn't what he was focusing on. Right now, he was thinking about Suzaku, how he hadn't changed much at all, still being the same old naive boy that believed in black and white, refusing anything that he thought was underhanded. And the parts that had changed, he had changed for the worst.

'What happened to him?' he wondered sadly to himself. 'Suzaku was never this defeatist, even during the invasion, he did have that spark until… Oh, his father,' Lelouch theorised. 'Maybe that could be the thing that sparked this change. But why?' he shook his head. 'I can't theorise much else, I have too few pieces of the puzzle as it is, so I'll have to leave it alone for now,' he reluctantly thought to himself.

At the very least, he knew that Nunnally would be very happy at Suzaku no longer being the suspect at all for Clovis' death, so there was a positive to it. Another positive was that his friend was alive and well, despite his changes, or lack thereof. Something that did put a small smile on Lelouch's face.

"I do want to see Nunnally's face when I come home," he muttered out loud as he stood within visual distance of the clubhouse.

However, that sentence then made him think of something he was not looking forward to seeing when he entered. His smile disappeared as he thought of what C.C. made him do yesterday, well actually now two days beforehand, to Villetta, controlling him initially with her powers. That really infuriated Lelouch, who viewed it like a betrayal. She better have a good excuse for that, as he was going to give it to her when he next saw her.

'Why bother,' the unwanted guest in his head, as he had begun calling the vampiric voice, spoke up. 'You were very much enjoying yourself. That sexy, big breasted Britannian woman was ripe for the taking, slowly giving herself to us and…'

'Not by my choice!' Lelouch declared, 'and certainly not by her choice!' He sighed. 'You're right,' he admitted, 'I was getting into it, and she is sexy, but that was still sexual harassment, without any meaningful consent whatsoever. It was the same with Kallen.' He rubbed his eyes. 'I don't want to become one of the things I despise…'

Surprisingly the voice went silent, as if it accepted his point, so Lelouch took this chance to finally approach the Clubhouse. He managed to arrive in front of the door before the voice returned, this time subdued for the first time.

'A noble effort,' it acknowledged, 'if a futile one. Make no mistake, Kallen, Villetta, and the others; they will be ours eventually. Whether it starts by hypnosis or not, they will all eventually wish themselves to be yours, remember that. We shall stand by your wishes, for the most part. But you can never silence our voice, for we are you, free at last.'

That statement actually caused shivers to run down his spine. What did the voice mean by it being him, free at last?! And the fact that it claimed that the girls would soon start seeking him out? That frightened him, properly. Questions began to pile in Lelouch's head, questions that he had no answers to, but he knew someone who probably did.

He had to go see C.C. now. This was getting out of hand, and he can't ignore the problem anymore. So he went to open the door, and found Sayako at the door.

"Sayako?" he asked, seeing the concerned look on her face.

"Master Lelouch," she greeted, "Mistress Milly is here, and she doesn't not look happy at all."

"Why would Milly…" Lelouch began before he finally realised something. "Oh…"

His promise to her from last week. He had almost forgotten about it, being too caught up with his new vampiric nature, creating his persona of Zero and organising Suzaku's rescue. She would definitely be disappointed, if not really mad at him for that.

He sighed before straightening up. Might as well face the music now, instead of using an excuse to avoid confronting Milly, he wasn't a coward and it would be very disrespectful of his oldest friend.

"I'll talk to her," he firmly told Sayako. "Is she in my office?"

"No, she is currently conversing with Nunnally in the dining room," Sayako answered him.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at that. Normally, Milly would wait in his office in the few times in the past where he made her upset, but this time she was with Nunnally, meaning that he would have to go to her eventually. She really didn't want him running off. Too bad in this case her effort was wasted, but it did drive home what Milly must be feeling to Lelouch.

After Sayako opened the door fully to let him in, he walked straight towards the dining room. As soon as he entered, Nunnally rushed to him in her wheelchair, all the way to his feet with a big smile on her face.

"Did you hear!" She happily cried out to him. "The real killer came forward! Suzaku's innocent!"

Lelouch couldn't help but smile at her reaction and how happy she was. It was so bright and encompassing that his discomfort over Suzaku's rejection fell away, at least temporarily, and made the whole rescue that much more successful in his eyes. As long as Nunnally was happy, he was happy.

"I did," he assured her. "It's wonderful news. And I'm sure that they won't hurt Suzaku any more."

"I hope so!" she said, "Milly was just telling me of how that 'Orange' man on the tv has been arrested already instead."

Lelouch looked away from Nunnally to see Milly standing up from her seat at the dining table, a smile on her face, yet her eyes sent a clear message to him; After he speaks to Nunnally, they have to chat. He gave her a nod, to which her eyes softened from the harsher tone they were before.

"I would imagine that they wouldn't hesitate to do so," Lelouch commented to Nunnally, "Not after he helped that Zero person escape."

"Speaking of Zero," Milly interrupted, "I can't believe that he made that one in a million shot on a Sutherland as well."

Lelouch again looked at Milly, just missing the frown on Nunnally's face, as if she was recognising something. "I'd imagine it to be luck," Lelouch said out loud.

"Speaking of luck," Nunnally said, "apparently some people were saying that poison gas had been released, but when they actually checked, it was nothing but coloured smoke." She sighed. "I'm glad there wasn't any gas at all."

"I'm sure Zero would never stoop that low to use something like that," Lelouch quickly assured her.

At that, Sayako entered the room. "Mistress Nunnally, it's time for bed."

"Oh, ok Sayako," Nunnally said, sounding a little disappointed. "Will you take me to bed, big bro?"

"I will tonight, Mistress Nunnally," Sayako said quickly before Lelouch could open his mouth. "Master Lelouch and Mistress Milly have some things to discuss for the student council."

"Oh yeah, Milly did say that there were some things she needed from you," Nunnally said. "Alright, good night big bro! Good night Milly!"

"Good night, Nunna," Milly said, walking over and hugging Nunnally.

"Good night, Nunnally," Lelouch also farewelled, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

With that, Sayako wheeled away Nunnally, leaving just Lelouch and Milly in the dining room. They stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Lelouch spoke first. "Do you want to talk here, or in my office?"

"Your office," she answered curtly, her smile dropping from her face.

Lelouch winced at her tone. Yep, she was pissed. Internally sighing, he escorted her to his office upstairs, opening the door for her, to which she did acknowledge so he wasn't completely in the dog house yet. However, as soon as he closed the door, she immediately smacked him across the cheek.

"... I probably deserve that," he admitted out loud, rubbing his cheek.

"Damn right you do," she said, her eyes watering. "What did you promise me last time we were here?! That you would tell me when you had a plan!"

"Well, this was a spur of the moment…"

"BULLSHIT!" Milly shouted. "The car, the way you took command of the whole thing, the escape, and don't get me started on the DAMN GAS!" The ferocity in her voice caused Lelouch to take a step back in shock. He had never seen Milly like this, ever. "All of that was NOT a SPUR OF THE MOMENT! YOU PLANNED THAT!"

"Only over the course of a day!" Lelouch was now shouting, though not nearly as loud or as much heat as Milly currently, though he was quickly getting to that point. "I didn't have much time to do anything more! And besides, IT WORKED!"

"This time it worked!" Milly corrected, stabbing her finger into his chest. "Next time you may not be so lucky! Next time, maybe they won't be so stupid as to stand there and let you talk! Maybe next time they'll be just HAPPY TO SHOOT AT YOU AND…!" she gulped as tears began to flow down her face, as she lost her composure for good, "AND… YOU…"

She couldn't finish the sentence before she broke down, collapsing onto Lelouch, who caught her. The sight of her crying in his arms caused him to feel a large amount of guilt, so to help calm her down, he brought her closer to him and wrapped her in a hug. They stayed that way for a moment, with Lelouch letting Milly cry into his shoulder, as he finally realised how much she was worried about him.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Milly," he said quietly as her crying started to falter and die down.

She took a series of deep breaths as she calmed herself slightly. "Is this… Is this worth risking your life? Is this rebellion worth Nunnally and I losing you?"

Lelouch was silent for a moment before answering in a low voice, "If I don't do this, who will?"

"There are always others," she muttered, though half-heartedly. She already knew what Lelouch's reply would be.

"That's what everyone tells themselves every day," Lelouch didn't disappoint. "Each and every time someone says that, they give power to this awful world that we live in. No more. I can't let the Emperor continue to strangle the world in his iron grip." His hold on Milly tightened. "If I want to create the world that Nunnally wants, I have to continue on. If that means risking my life, then so be it."

Milly gave a sad laugh. "Nunnally would burst into tears if she heard you say that."

"She would," Lelouch agreed, nodding. "Which is why she can't know about this at all."

"I know," Milly said. "But still…"

There was a pause before she spoke again. "I knew that you would do this sort of thing from what you told me last week, but actually seeing how any wrong move could have resulted in you dying… yet I can't talk you out of it, no matter how much I wish I could, nor does a part of me want to." She let out another laugh, this time more bitter. "Some friend I am."

"Don't say that," Lelouch said, letting the hug go so he could push her away slightly, enough so that he could look her in the eyes. "You've been my best friend for most of my life. Other than Nunnally, there is no one else I trust as much as you, even if you are a She-Devil." That got her to snicker slightly, with her lips edging upwards slightly. "You've been by my side for so long, don't sell yourself short." He paused again before continuing. "If there is someone that's a bad friend, it's me," he admitted, to her shock. "It's just…"

"Hard to trust people after being betrayed when you were so young," Milly finished for him, looking down. "I know. But you weren't the only one who was betrayed then. Nunnally was too. My family was too, though not to the extent you were." She looked back at his face. "Please just tell me this; are you keeping a lot of secrets from me? Even before Shinjuku?"

Lelouch paused, his mouth opening then closing as he struggled with the question. Not because he didn't have an answer, but because his mind was torn between his instincts of keeping someone he cared about as far away from danger as possible, and the instinct that he could trust her and tell her something.

It seemed he was taking too long to answer when Milly sighed in reluctance and turned away from Lelouch. "I guess that's enough of an answer from you," she said before she walked to his desk, sitting on one of the guest chairs.

Lelouch just stood there, taking in the sight of how Milly just slouched in defeat, as if she had just given up. Milly never gave up. She may let something go, but would always come back to it, all upbeat and gearing to go. This was the opposite. And that caused something in Lelouch, the part of him that at the best of times hesitated to trust anything, and most of the time pushed him to avoid being truthful, snapped.

He strode behind her with purpose and hugged her again, this time from behind, causing her to jolt in surprise.

"I can't tell you a lot of things," he admitted to her, "because I don't even know much if anything at all about some topics, and I don't want you or anyone else to be caught up in it. Because I am afraid that you all will get hurt, or worse, if I make a mistake."

"Lelouch…" Milly said in shock to Lelouch actually admitting a fear outloud and was going to speak out but Lelouch continued on.

"I'm scared to lose everything again, except this time it would be even worse for me," he said as tears began to form in his eyes. "I have a feeling in my heart that if I don't control this new thing in me, Nunnally may lose more than what she already has, and we may lose you and that is unacceptable. So Milly, I can't get you involved, no matter how much you want to help."

Milly opened her mouth but then closed it as she processed his words. Finally she spoke. "Fearing loss is ok, Lelouch. I feel the same way about you and Nunnally. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to be involved with the both of you and to help you out, even if it meant confronting the truth that you were doing something dangerous." She placed her hand on his arms that were wrapped around her. "Sometimes you have to face your fears in order to live."

"But I feel like I haven't been living," Lelouch said, a certain memory popping into his head, causing him to frown in anger and hurt. "Not as Lelouch vi Britannia. Not since Mother was murdered."

"Then maybe it's time you change that," Milly said, twisting herself in her seat so she could face Lelouch. "I noticed that you often lacked that spark in your voice, the one you had when we were playing at the Aries Viella. But on the broadcast, while your mask shrouded your voice, I could tell, you had that spark again. Is being Zero for you something that makes you feel alive?"

Lelouch didn't speak, but nodded.

"Then let me be there for you," Milly pressed gently. "You don't want me involved in your rebellion as a part of it, that's fine, I'm fine with that. But if you need someone to talk to, or someone to just listen, someone who knows who the real you is."

"Maybe he doesn't exist anymore," Lelouch said. "Maybe Lelouch vi Britannia disappeared a long time ago. Maybe he's been replaced by both Lelouch Lamperouge and Zero."

"Maybe you're right," Milly said, "but I can tell that the one hugging me right now is the Lelouch I've always known. Whether that is Lamperouge, vi Britannia or Zero, I don't care. As long as you remain you, I'm fine."

"So please, just let me in," she finished, gently pleading with him.

Lelouch hesitated again but then muttered, "All right…" as he made his choice.

Milly immediately raised her head in shock then started to grin despite herself, before Lelouch grabbed her wrists gently. "But what I say goes nowhere, except between you and me. Not Nunnally, not Sayako, not Shirley, Rivalz and the others, not Rueben. No one!"

Milly nodded earnestly. "I got it…"

"Promise it, Milly." He stressed hard, eyes narrowing.

"I promise Lelouch," she said, punctuating each word for emphasis.

Lelouch waited a moment more before letting go of her wrists, sighing as he then looked to the corner of the office. "You have a very bad habit of eavesdropping, C.C." he said out loud.

"Maybe you and your lady friend shouldn't shout so loud," C.C. retorted, as she walked up to the two students, appearing as if she had emerged from the shadows.

"Gah!" Milly said, completely surprised at the appearance of the green haired girl, jumping off the chair and out of her embrace with Lelouch. She recovered quickly enough and looked to Lelouch for an explanation. "Lelouch…"

"Don't worry, she knows pretty much everything about my situation, and more…" Lelouch explained.

"That doesn't explain who she is," Milly said, "and how does she know about you?"

"Because I've known him since he was born," C.C. said, walking up to where Milly stood. "Well, in a manner of speaking that is. But that's besides the point, Miss Ashford. You may call me C.C."

"C.C.?" Milly repeated, "That's a unique name."

"If you're actually asking if that's my birth name, it's not," C.C. clarified. "But it's the name I've gone by for centuries."

Milly blinked. "What? Centuries?" She shook her head, holding her hands up. "Wait, wait. Are you serious?"

"She is," Lelouch confirmed. "Though I have a feeling she doesn't like talking about her age."

C.C. shrugged in response. "That's just me being a woman. No proud women likes to talk about their age."

"But how?! That's impossible for any human!" Milly shouted in disbelief.

C.C. didn't verbally reply to this, instead giving a smile that showed her teeth. Lelouch and Milly both stared at her as C.C.'s canines extended into fangs, and her golden iris turned red. Lelouch, having never really seen her bring out her fangs before, only feeling the aftermath, was intrigued with how easy she did so. Milly however looked on in shock, eyes wide and her skin paling, taking a few steps back before her back was against Lelouch's desk.

"You're right, but I'm not human," C.C. said, "haven't been for a long, long time."

"...You're a vampire…" Milly whispered.

"Correct," C.C. said, nodding, her fangs disappearing and her eye colour returning back to its natural golden yellow.

It took a few moments for Milly to get over her shock, with Lelouch having to snap his fingers in front of Milly a few times to get her attention as her entire world view shattered. He hoped that this would be the worst of it and that she would be better with all of the other revelations he had for her, especially regarding himself.

"Where did you meet her, Lelouch?" Milly asked, now having regained her composure.

"In Shinjuku," Lelouch replied calmly. "She's the 'Poison Gas' the terrorists stole from Clovis."

"Wait, back up a moment," Milly pleaded, holding a hand to her head. "'Poison Gas'? You never told me about poison gas before." She stopped as her mind caught up. "But that's what the terrorists thought they stole, right?"

"Yes, Clovis' dirtiest secret," Lelouch confirmed, sitting down, one eye on C.C. to see if there was any reaction from her about her ordeal. "That container that I used earlier today was in fact what Clovis used to keep C.C. contained. The terrorists, believing it to be poison gas, stole it from him to show the world how horrible he was." He gave a bitter chuckle. "How little they realised…"

Milly paled at the insinuation, slowly turning to look at C.C., who shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing. But Lelouch could tell there was some pain behind her eyes, no matter how much she tried to hide it. He stood up, about to comfort the green haired woman when Milly beat him to it, surprising both vampires by hugging C.C., though Lelouch took a small amount of amusement from the utterly shocked look upon the normally unflappable C.C.'s face.

"I may not really know you…" Milly began, "But no one deserves that fate. I'm so sorry."

C.C. blinked before smiling and returning the hug slightly. "Thank you," she said in an honest tone, "it means a lot."

Milly let go after a few seconds and stood back next to Lelouch, with an expectant look on her face. "I'm assuming that that's one of the reasons why you killed Clovis."

"Actually it was C.C. who killed him," Lelouch corrected. "I was there and gave her the weapon, but I am a firm believer of the phrase 'Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned.'"

C.C., now back to normal, flicked her hair backwards. "Let's hope he has that lesson burned into his very soul as he rots in the depths of hell."

Lelouch couldn't help but shake his head fondly at that, which Milly noted, a tinge of jealousy entering her core, though she stamped it down, as Lelouch began talking again.

"The story I told you was mostly true, just with certain things excluded or changed," he confessed. "After the truck stopped, and the group of soldiers found me, one actually arrived before them, an honorary Britannian…"

"It was Suzaku, wasn't it," Milly said.

"Yes, and he was present when the container opened up, revealing C.C.," Lelouch said, gesturing to said vampire. "After he was shot, I grabbed C.C. and we ran. We didn't go far before we felt the tunnels vibrate as Clovis initiated his massacre." Lelouch clenched his fists unconsciously at that. "But I wanted answers and the only one who could give them at the moment was C.C. so…"

"So he took off the muzzle on my face, and began questioning me," C.C. took over, "all the while I asked certain questions of my own." She gave a smile, a smile not unlike the one she gave him just before she turned him in Shinjuku. "To gauge his intention and dedication. After he had satisfied my curiosity, I," she gestured to herself, "sired him."

Milly's eyes widened as she looked to Lelouch this time. "Y…You're a vampire now?!" Her tone was filled with shock once again, though this time, there was a tinge of… excitement.

"Yes," he answered succinctly. "I still don't know how someone can be turned into a vampire, only that she bit me and drained me enough that I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I had faster reflexes and reaction times."

"... That's it?" Milly asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "Nothing else."

"Not when I regained consciousness," Lelouch corrected. "Besides, I had C.C. beginning an explanation of what had just happened, and some of the changes that I am still undergoing, but we were interrupted by the fighting and the need to escape."

He then proceeded to explain everything about Shinjuku that he had excluded beforehand, only excluding his reaction to Villetta shortly afterwards. Milly rarely interrupted, though her expressions varied with each section, from intrigue at C.C.'s explanation, horror at the confrontation with the Royal Guard, glee at Lelouch's handling of the situation, interest at the arrival of the Lancelot and of course a mixed expression at Clovis' death. Anger and satisfaction due to Clovis' actions and crimes, but also sorrow due to memories of both her and Lelouch's childhood in Pendragon when Clovis did treat them well.

After he finished, Milly was silent, biting her lip as she processed the whole situation.

"So that's everything about Shinjuku, though you seemed to skip over some details about that pureblood lieutenant you… 'hypnotised'," Milly noted, causing Lelouch to sweatdrop at that. Sometimes Milly was too sharp on some things for his liking. "Also I am surprised that you haven't drunk anyone's blood yet. I would assume that it's one of the first things a new vampire would do

"You're correct," C.C. said, causing Lelouch to spin around to glare at her, though that didn't deter her at all. "But keep in mind, we've only been talking about Shinjuku, not anything else after it, or the other urge that vampires would have."

"And what would that be?" Milly asked innocently, while Lelouch began sweating even more, becoming more and more worried with each passing second.

C.C. smirked and leaned in closer to Milly, as if sharing a secret between the two of them, before muttering a single word. "Sex."

At that Milly's face turned red as she blushed heavily. Normally she would be unfazed or even encouraging with this kind of talk in the sort of teasing manner, but the way C.C. had said the word, as well as Milly realising how she had begun to react to Lelouch after Shinjuku, caused it to click in her head.

Lelouch for his part groaned and held his head with one hand as C.C. opened the one can of worms he did not want opened with Milly. Why did she always have to make things difficult!

"You see, I have a bit of a problem on my hands regarding our dear Lelouch," C.C. said in a sweet tone of voice to Milly, "He is constantly resisting the urges that his new type of existence and that is going to cause problems not only to himself but everyone around him."

"Is this about the drinking blood or the other urge…" Milly softly asked.

"Both," C.C. said. "Well, to be precise, not exactly sex for the latter. Not yet. I doubt he's even interested in sex right now. Just other things that involve physical pleasure."

"Why?" Lelouch asked, a bit infuriated. "Is it because of how you said I would go insane? Even if I don't go through with those urges this soon after being changed?"

"Exactly that," C.C. said. "You may be new, but that only makes it more and more important for you to placate the urges now. I've told you before, they will only get stronger over time, but by placating them, you get used to them and can control them. Denying them only makes them bolder, which will cause you to create more than one personality in your head, which will eventually cause your mind to break and go insane." She paused, looking away. "That's what happened to the last individual I sired."

The pain in her voice caused Lelouch's irritation to dissipate. Sometimes, due to how young C.C. looked and how she acted, Lelouch almost forgets that she has lived for centuries and experienced so much pain and loss, something he could not even begin to comprehend right now. But then what she said registered in his mind. "How badly did they go insane?"

C.C. laughed scornfully at that, mainly at herself. "He became a near psychotic mass murderer. Due to his starting power, he quickly grew to hate large gatherings of people, thus always sticking in the rural areas, only going into cities if he needed something specific, and also making him not want to do anything other than drink my blood. But eventually his denial of his instincts caused him to snap and he became a serial killer, drenching himself in the blood of his victims, only after he tormented them with his words alone."

"What happened to him?" Milly asked, sounding concerned and a bit scared. "Is he still around?"

"Unfortunately he is," C.C. said sadly. "I did try to put him down, but he managed to exploit a certain weakness of mine, and also threatened to unleash a blood curse upon an entire city. I had to break that first, giving him time to escape, though not before ensuring he could no longer use blood curses."

"Blood curse?" Lelouch asked. "You've never mentioned them before. What are they?"

"I've never mentioned them because they are quite irrelevant," C.C. answered. "In the past century, there have only been a handful of people who ever even considered using them at all, and only one who has actually done so."

"You still haven't said what they are," Lelouch stressed.

C.C. was silent for a second before sighing in resignation. "Imagine this: You are looking at someone and suddenly they start bleeding. At first it's just a regular nosebleed, but then blood starts to trickle down from their eyes and ears, then that trickle becomes a flood as more and more blood starts to come out of anywhere it can, withering their body at a rapid pace until they explode into a pool of blood, sickly blood for that." Upon seeing the look of horror on both Lelouch and Milly's face, she grimaced. "That is one such result of a blood curse, where the usage of blood magic leads to a curse on anything or anyone ranging from an individual to an entire city's population, potentially dooming them to such a painful death like the one I just described, which is one of the less painful outcomes, or worse. And that end is the best case scenario."

"Oh god…" Milly covered her mouth, her face turning green, with Lelouch not that far behind.

"As I said, in the last century, there has only been one use of a blood curse, and that was only used on an individual, not on a city," C.C. assured them. "While vampires tend to be disconnected from the events of the political stage of the world, and sometimes regard humans as nothing more than food, only the most psychotic vampire would dare to utilise a blood curse, as the very instance they conjure a notable one, or are discovered, they become pariahs and are hunted down with extreme prejudice by ALL vampires." C.C. shrugged. "Those hunts are actually quite cathartic, bringing the pariahs to justice. The few that I've been involved in always succeed, so it's become a very, very big deterrent from anyone crazy enough to use it." She also opened her palm, where a light shone from it, as well as on her forehead hidden behind her bangs. "It also helps that I have a unique ability to seal someone's blood magic, thus you'll be protected as long as I am around."

"Good to know," Lelouch said gratefully. The very idea of blood curses made him feel sick right to his core, openly horrified at such an existence. And yet he knew that there would be quite a few of his own siblings who would wish to use such an abomination.

"Ok, now that I feel sick, let's get back to the previous topic," Milly said, "I would rather talk about sex than about… that."

"Agreed," Lelouch said automatically. Usually he would be completely against that, but this was the sole exception, and understandably so.

"I'm very much happy to do so," C.C. said smiling. "Back to my point, I really don't want you getting to the point where you go insane, Lelouch, so that is why I intervened back at the Viceroy's palace."

"I really shouldn't be surprised you were there at all," Milly commented. "But I gather that it involves something… spicy."

"Yes, but I'll get there. So Lelouch here after years of his sex drive all but dead has finally had it awakened by becoming a vampire. And let's just say, it's…"

"Proven to be a nuisance," Lelouch interrupted. "Almost every single thought I have, it tries to infiltrate and distract me, and make me do things I would rather not do."

"I rest my case," C.C. said. "But he's not completely wrong, but his reluctance poses a huge issue to his development as a vampire. But he did manage to finally bite someone two days ago." She looked at Lelouch with a sly smirk. "Why not tell dear Milly here how dear Kallen's blood tasted."

"Wait, Kallen was your first?!" Milly cried out. Lelouch was taken aback slightly by the intensity in her voice. "And how did you manage to bite her?"

"A simple thing of Lelouch having a knack for mental manipulation," C.C. explained, "subconsciously putting her under a trance that made her more docile and delayed what she was seeing and experiencing being registered in her brain while she was in the shower, then accidentally putting in the command for her to pretend it never happened as he bolted from the scene."

"The shower? Was that when Rivalz and you accidentally showered some champagne all over her?" Milly asked Lelouch, who nodded, a slight blush on his face as he recalled biting Kallen.

'Shit,' he thought to himself as his jaw began to ache again, this time with a lot of intensity, and his vampiric instincts started to flare up as well, as if in response to the very thought of a naked Kallen. 'Just stop. She's not here!'

Naturally they didn't listen, his mental focus turned inwards, trying to ignore how his throat suddenly felt dry like he was thirsty for something other than water, as Milly looked away, blushing slightly while C.C. cheerfully told her about some of the details of how Lelouch bit Kallen. He only refocused on the conversation, not on keeping his growing instincts in check, when C.C. actually got to explaining how 'cute' Lelouch acted when biting Kallen.

"What?!" Lelouch snarled. "I was not 'cute'!"

"Yes you were," C.C. smirked, "trying to keep the charade up as your instincts overwhelmed you, while your subconscious charming of Kallen took root in her. It was so adorable."

"Your definition of adorable is very different from mine," Lelouch deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Milly internally was stunned. Her best friend and crush was now a vampire, which Milly wasn't adverse to, since he wasn't too different and the idea of vampires existing not scaring her that much. But it still caught her off guard, as well as the fact that the person who turned him was secretly living in the clubhouse with him, a fact which Nunnally probably didn't know about as well. But the fact that this person was living with him, had a decent(?) rapport with him, as well as Lelouch having bitten a girl who he hadn't really known for that long as well, made her feel slightly jealous, an ugly feeling in her chest which she hated but couldn't help.

But another feeling also began to emerge within her as a result of that jealousy. A small voice in her mind that maybe she should be his next victim.

C.C., pausing in her banter with Lelouch, quickly eyed Milly, as if being able to tell just what the busty blonde was thinking. Smirking once more, C.C. moved on from the banter back to the main cusp of the whole discussion.

"But since then, Lelouch hasn't bitten anyone since. Nor has he acted on his instincts without a push from me, not even in a room with a very attractive soldier that he had hypnotised in Shinjuku. In that case I did have to intervene, but before he could bite her, a phone call interrupted him. So I need a solution to this problem of ours, and I think you can help, Ms Ashford."

"Me?" Milly repeated, with Lelouch looking surprised before narrowing his eyes at C.C., having an idea of what his mischievous sire wanted. And again, his instincts flared up again, stronger than before, though this time in anticipation in regards to Milly. His eyes unconsciously drifted to Milly's neck and chest, though he always drew it back to C.C. as if trying to keep himself in check.

"Yes, you," C.C.'s hand went to Milly's chin and moved her slightly to the side, as if exposing Milly's neck more to Lelouch's vision, which immediately made all of Lelouch's efforts to look away futile. "You see, Lelouch's vampiric instincts have already figured out which individuals he would like to bite and you're one of them."

Milly's eyes widened at this, not even having a chance to open her mouth before C.C. grabbed her arms and spun her around so she was facing Lelouch properly. She didn't really struggle all that much, as she was beginning to realise what C.C. wanted. She also noticed that Lelouch had frozen, while shaking slightly as he looked directly at her neck and chest with a gaze that showed a battle between self-control and desire. And as she looked to confirm this in his eyes, she found her mind beginning to become sluggish.

"So, would you mind if Lelouch, once a week, drinks your blood?" C.C. asked Milly into her ear in a seductive way.

"No," Milly said coherently, and honestly, even with her mind becoming influenced by Lelouch subconsciously. "I don't mind at all…"

[Lime scene ahead. Skip if you don't want to read]

"Good," C.C. smirked, before starting to undo the buttons on Milly's jacket and shirt, taking off her tie and throwing it and the jacket to the side. As C.C. did her work making Milly's outfit more 'presentable' for the circumstances, Lelouch just continued staring, his mind completely fixated on seeing Milly getting partially stripped, his mouth open slightly as he actually drooled, fangs extended in preparation. Internally, he could hear the exasperated mutterings of the guest in his mind, mostly following the script of egging him along, though with a lot of exasperated sighing and saying 'finally!' a lot. He would later react to that evidence of an actual personality in the voice, but his mind was very much preoccupied.

It only took a minute for C.C. to prepare Milly, her shirt unbuttoned and pulled open enough that it was completely off her shoulders and had fallen down to her lower arms, completely revealing her upper body, the only thing preserving her modesty being her black bra that seemed to be straining under the weight and size of her breasts. Milly, whose gaze almost mirrored that of Kallen's when she was charmed in the shower, barely reacting with a moan as C.C. gave them a squeeze.

"Damn, completely natural," she said, her tone envious. "I do really like the size of my breasts, but Milly really hit the jackpot on the genetic lottery in terms of looks!" She gave Lelouch a playful glare. "I would have gladly taken her for myself if you didn't already claim her for yourself."

Lelouch answered that with a snarl, baring his fangs at C.C. The message was clear: Back off. In his current state of mind, Lelouch completely forgot about denying that he claimed anyone as his own, his vampiric instincts now in control of him.

C.C. merely smirked from his non verbal declaration, but obliged, stepping away from Milly, leaving the two of them to just stare at each other, Lelouch breathing heavily as if his rational mind was making one last ditch effort to stop himself, while Milly had completely fallen under his charm, her mind blank.

Lelouch made the first move, moving up to Milly and tilted her head to the side, brushing away her hair from her neck to give it even more exposure. Yet instead of lowering his mouth to her neck and biting down like he did with Kallen, he instead moved his mouth to her collar bone and lowered his mouth enough that the tip of his fangs were able to touch her skin, which he then used to lightly rub on her skin, moving down her breasts towards her bra, causing her to moan from the pleasure. He removed the bra so that when his fangs got close to her nipples, he raised them away before giving her left nipple a small kiss.

Milly gasped as she felt her nipples begin to get played with by Lelouch's mouth, even as his hands slowly made their way to her rear. He grabbed her butt and gave it a slight squeeze, while continuing to play with her nipples, another moan emerging from her mouth as her dull eyes half closed, the only thing present in her mind being the pleasure she was feeling.

To her disappointment, he stopped with his ministrations, taking his head away from her breasts, but it didn't last long before he grabbed her and carefully flipped her so that her back was on his desk, and he went on top of her, panting, his arms on either side of her head, eyes now red as he looked at her with such want. Even with a blank mind, a pleased feeling swept through her as one of her hidden desires had become fulfilled, as she raised her arms to his neck and pulled him closer to her, which he allowed. As he got closer, he went back to her breasts, this time using one of his hands to play with one breast as he used his mouth on the other.

After a solid minute of moaning and twitching on Milly's part, Lelouch finally stopped, dragging his mouth on Milly's skin to her neck, where he found the position he wanted, then bit into her. Milly reacted instantly, arching her back as her eyes widened in shock for a split second before half-closing again as she pressed herself against Lelouch, as if begging him to continue. Lelouch did notice this, but was mainly concerned with the sweet nectar flowing into his mouth. He had no idea how much he had missed the taste of blood since biting Kallen, even if this was only the second time he had drank any blood.

But again, he had to cut it short so that he didn't cause any harm to Milly. So with great reluctance, he pulled his fangs out of Milly's neck and slowly raised himself away from the temptation of more blood. And like clockwork, as he panted from the sheer adrenaline that he got from falling under his instincts, his normal, rational self regained control.

'Oh god…' He quickly looked down at Milly in horror, not aimed at her, but at himself, feeling that he had just betrayed his oldest friend. Even if she looked like she was in nirvana, her eyes still glazed over, her chest moving with her rapid breaths that glistened with sweat, making her look even more beautiful than normal, something that while his mind was so focused on self-decapitating himself, his body was naturally reacting to her. It didn't help that a lovely smell was coming from under her skirt as well, further inflaming his body's reaction.

Slowly he got off her, and backed away, actually falling off the table in order to move as far away from her as possible, not willing to risk hurting her or abusing her trust again like he felt he just did. C.C. was about to intervene, but Milly herself beat her to it, suddenly reaching out and grabbing Lelouch's arm, preventing him from moving away.

Turning back to look at her, he saw the dullness in her eyes fade as her mind rebooted itself before, still holding on to his arm, she sat up, looking down at the floor between the two of them. They sat in silence before Milly just said "Wow… that was something."

[Lime End]

"Are you alright?" he asked pensively.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, rubbing her neck where he had just bit her. She felt the holes in her neck almost done healing already, and blood had stopped flowing from them almost as soon as Lelouch's fangs had left her neck. "That was so weird."

"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I should have stopped myse…"

"Lelouch, it's fine," Milly interrupted. "I should actually be thanking you, that felt… so good, like you wouldn't believe." She blushed as she looked up at him. "Just that, actually registering everything that happened all at once after the fact is very… stimulating. But I never felt any pain."

"I still took advantage of you," Lelouch argued. "You only agreed once you were beginning to fall under the charm that I had no control over."

"The answer would have been the same if I wasn't under," Milly countered calmly. "You didn't hurt me or betray me. Everything is fine," she stressed, giving him a smile.

After a moment, Lelouch nodded. He still felt like he did take advantage of her, but he wasn't feeling nearly as bad as before. As he calmed down, he then noticed one huge detail about the situation the both of them were in. He blushed, looking away.

"Um, Milly, I can see your chest," he said.

Milly looked down and found that yes, she still was giving Lelouch a view of her naked chest, a sight that many of the male students and some of the female students at Ashford would kill to even get a glimpse of it for a few seconds. Blushing herself, she lightly crossed her arms over her chest, but was inwardly pleased as her feminine pride cried out in victory. Those cries increased as she spotted a bulge in Lelouch's pants. After all, what girl would not find it nice that they could cause a physical reaction from their crush, even one as romantically oblivious as Lelouch.

A part of her wanted to capitalise on the moment, but she threw that thought in the rubbish bin, where it belonged. No, that would be taking advantage of Lelouch, as she could feel that he wasn't ready for anything like that yet. But she also had a feeling that allowing him to bite her was the first step to actually achieving her dream of getting together with Lelouch, though with a lot of caveats.

No, patience was the name of the game, and one that she had a lot of practice with in this regard. So she would bide her time, let Lelouch get comfortable with all this. It was the least she could do for him.

"Um, C.C., could you pass me my bra?" she asked the green haired girl.

"Sure," she answered, with Lelouch jumping up in surprise, as he had become so invested in Milly that he had forgotten she was still in the room with them.

C.C. scooped up the bra from where Lelouch had left it and handed it to Milly who slowly put it on, as if appeasing the side of her wanting to seduce Lelouch by dragging out showing him her naked breasts for a few seconds longer than normal.

"That was a very lovely show you two put up for me," C.C. congratulated them. "I'm now feeling very hot and bothered from that."

That caused the two of them to blush again. "Please don't say that," Lelouch begged.

"Why?" C.C. teased. "Worried that I may jump you?"

Lelouch scowled, but couldn't deny that he may enjoy that, while Milly's eye's hardened slightly at that, though that hardness disappeared when C.C. turned to her. "Same goes for you."

"Me… Oh, you also like both genders?" Milly vocalised.

C.C. shrugged while nodding in response. "After the first few decades, you tend to lose any conceptions of sticking to one gender most of the time. But yes, though only with those I feel like I would enjoy their company anyways even without the sex and pleasure."

"I would imagine you would be quite a bit of fun in the bed then," Milly said, her she-devil side starting to rear its head. "Oh, I can just imagine the scandals you would cause here at Ashford."

"Not worried about me seducing half the cohort?" C.C. leaned in. "Or is it an invitation to join in?" She teased.

"I think that's enough for tonight on that type of topic," Lelouch interrupted, not wanting to see what the two devil-like females would go from there.

"Oh, ruining all of the fun, after you hogged it all," C.C. mock pouted, holding back a laugh, while Milly failed at that, already clutching her stomach as she laughed.

Lelouch put a hand to his head. "Now there are two of them… Lord help me…"

This caused the two girls to laugh even harder for a moment. Lelouch deadpanned at them, though the hint of a smile made its way onto his face.

After a moment, the laughter died down. Milly was about to get off the table to grab her shirt before a thought came to her. "Hey, C.C. how many girls has Lelouch 'marked' yet?"

"Four," C.C. answered. "You, Kallen, the Britannian officer and that orange haired girl in the council with you."

"Shirley?" Milly asked, with Lelouch nodding in confirmation. In response, Milly sighed in relief. While she did want to date Lelouch and have him as a partner/lover, she didn't want it at the expense of her friend's feelings, one of the reasons why Milly hadn't made a move yet on Lelouch. So right now, Shirley had a chance of also being bitten and she had a feeling the orange haired girl would be interested.

"Do you think there will be others who Lelouch may want to bite as well?" she asked.

"I hope not," Lelouch immediately said.

"Probably," C.C. answered. "Depends on who he meets in the future, and if they have any history, which can be a huge factor sometimes."

"But I had nothing with Villetta," Lelouch said, putting a hand to his chin as he thought about it. "Same with Kallen. We may have been in the same class for the year, but I only really noticed her when I saw her after being turned."

"She was the pilot of the Glasgow, and you saw how much skill she had," C.C. surmised. "And Villetta is a trained soldier, so maybe that kind of thing did get the initial attraction set up." She shrugged. "Everyone's marking is different. I know I had some weird requirements myself that I never fully realised until later."

"Good to know," Lelouch deadpanned, before going back to the topic. "But I doubt it wholeheartedly fits Milly and Shirley, as while athletic, especially in Shirley's case…" He froze as a thought popped up in his head. "I'm going to react badly to her wearing a swimsuit, aren't I?"

"Yes." "Probably." Both C.C. and Milly answered.

"But that is the history factor coming into play, as you've known Milly for most of your life, and Shirley in the past two to three years," C.C. pointed out.

"Oh, that reminds me," Milly popped in, her tone a bit more serious despite her wearing nothing but her bra on her upper body, "Just before coming here, Grandfather was contacted by Cornelia."

While technically speaking, Milly did have to pronounce Cornelia's title whenever she spoke of the second Princess, she never has really in private since the early days in Pendragon, as she did know Cornelia personally.

"What did she have to say?" Lelouch said, intrigued, his mind now refocusing on the more important topic in his mind, rebelling against Britannia.

"Euphie is on her way here," Milly dropped a bomb that caused Lelouch's mind to grind to a halt. "Like, as in right now, she's on her way."

"Euphie… why?" Lelouch quickly came to a potential conclusion. "She's going to be the Sub-Viceroy, isn't she?" When Milly nodded, he continued on. "But still, after all these years, Cornelia would be even more overprotective of Euphie than in the past, and she would normally prevent Euphie from coming over to an unstable Area where a sibling just got murdered. Cornelia isn't coming yet, though?"

"No, she isn't. It's just Euphie and one of Cornelia's subordinates," Milly answered. "But her being the new Sub-Viceroy is part of the reason why she's coming so early. Apparently, there's something she wants to discuss with the Ashford Foundation involving the bureaucracy of the Area."

"..." Lelouch remained silent as he processed not only what Euphie may want, but also that she was coming over here. While he had kept tabs on her somewhat over the years, he always kept a distance from the news directly about her, the little there was, as if not wanting to risk tainting the memories he had with her in their childhood. He didn't want to ever face a reality where the kind, lovely Euphie that he knew could potentially grow up turning into the same pit of vipers that he despised.

There is also the possibility that if she somehow managed to enter Ashford Academy, that she would instantly recognise him. That on its own if it was in a vacuum wouldn't be terrible, but if she told Cornelia and others, then to say things would get even more complicated would be an understatement. Something that he could ill afford at the moment.

Milly looked on at Lelouch as he stood in silence. Her own relationship with Euphie was also complicated in a similar manner. They hadn't even seen each other in years since the assassination, nor even talked, though that could be due to a variety of reasons, as well as an overprotective Cornelia, so she never blamed Euphie at all. While they were also close friends in Pendragon, oftentimes they were also on and off rivals for Lelouch's attention and affection. Maybe that has changed for Euphie, but not Milly, so she didn't know what would come out of Euphie potentially seeing either Lelouch or Nunnally.

"... Do you know when she will arrive?" Lelouch asked finally.

Milly shook her head. "Only that she will contact me when she lands and wants to talk. She may have something to do first."

"Ok, that makes things easier to deal with." Lelouch sighed. "If she's only wanting to talk to you about Ashford Academy, then Nunnally and I can simply be absent for the day and she would be none the wiser."

"I'll have grandfather prepare the contingencies, especially the ones regarding the school roster," Milly said.

"Please do," Lelouch said. "But that may be in vain if she decides to be at Ashford for significant periods of time, if not outright becoming a student."

"That… may not be as unlikely as we would like," Milly admitted. "Her schooling was mostly done in warzones away from the Homeland. In facilities made for Royals and the Nobility, yes, but that wouldn't make much of a difference in terms of interruptions and disruptions."

"Agreed." Lelouch sighed. "Plus the fact that she would have been forced to travel a lot due to Cornelia's campaigns would have made things much more difficult for her. She would definitely have adapted to it, but wouldn't have liked it."

"What happens if she does stay?" Milly asked.

"There's not much we can do about it," Lelouch admitted. "All we could hope is that we convince her that telling anyone else is a bad idea."

"There is another way," C.C. chimed in. "You could always influence her through your vampiric powers."

Lelouch swivelled on the spot, a fierce look on his face. "Never!" he declared. "I won't use it on any of my friends and close family!"

"You technically just did," C.C. pointed out, causing the scowl on Lelouch's face to deepen. "Oh, don't give me that look. You deny ever using your hypnosis on those close to you, yet if there was a time where using it would be the difference between them being hurt or being safe and happy, you would use it. Maybe even you would use it to keep those you care about out of anything regarding your rebellion."

Lelouch opened his mouth but no words came out as he realised she did have a point. But still, hypnotising Euphie?! That alone should have made him really, really mad, and it did.

"Even still, all the hypnotising I have done on purpose so far was for the rebellion, and only on those I didn't know at the time. And the charming has just been subconsciously when I gave in to the vampire side of me! Never by my full consent! And I won't hypnotise Nunnally or Euphie!"

C.C. was silent before giving a small chuckle. "Ha, I thought that your one true weakness was Nunnally alone," she scoffed. "But it seems you have another. A soft spot for your sisters."

She got closer to Lelouch. "It's good to have a moral line that you don't want to cross, but in this case, it may be the lesser evil for you to hypnotise your half-sister so she keeps quiet, than have her spill the beans."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Lelouch asserted.

C.C. shrugged. "If you say so. But do keep it in mind in case you're wrong." She then gave him a pointed look. "Another thing to consider is your vampiric side, how it will react to her. Maybe you would hypnotise her without meaning to, or it influences you to do so."

Lelouch clenched his fists. That thought honestly scared him. While his thoughts towards Euphie were complicated, it was always with fondness and nostalgia. She was probably the one link to the Royal Family, his blood family, that he wouldn't want severed ever. He could never hate her, but was scared at what she could have become in the absence. The first girl he had ever liked, and there was the potential of doing something horrible to her. That thought alone was sobering.

Milly, having spotted how Lelouch may be feeling, decided to interrupt. "I'll find out when we meet up. It'll probably be tomorrow when she arrives in Area 11."

"Most likely," Lelouch agreed, glad for the change of topic. "Try to see what she wants from Ashford, and also maybe when Cornelia arrives, though it would probably be in the next few days, if the campaign in the Middle East goes as I predict, most likely ending tonight in Britannia's complete victory."

"Another Area to add to the empire…" Milly said bitterly. "It would make that eighteen areas?"

"Yes. Eighteen…" Lelouch trailed off. "Now Britannia will begin focusing more and more efforts on the EU with the last of the Middle Eastern Federation about to be extinguished. The state at least. The populace will be another matter entirely."

C.C., agreeing with Lelouch, decided to look at the clock on the wall. "Hm, you two do have school tomorrow, right?"

"Yes…" Milly said, before following C.C.'s gaze and gasped. "2am… Oh, I should get going soon.

"Yes, we should both be getting to bed," Lelouch agreed, "you especially, since you need to recover from that blood loss."

Milly blushed at the reminder, but nodded.

She was about to get off the table, but then paused. "Um, Lelouch?"

Lelouch, who had gone to pick up her shirt off the floor, looked up at her. "Hm?"

"Are you… Do you want to bite me each week?" she meekly asked, something that was out of character for her.

Lelouch froze at the question. His rational mind wanted to say no, as one time was enough, but he had to admit, the taste of Milly's blood was… indescribable, same with Kallen's blood. The fact that Milly did look very beautiful and the thought of having this special time with her was becoming more and more appealing to the more primitive parts of his mind. What did seal the deal though was how Milly seemed to look at him, begging him to say yes.

"I'm… I'm fine with that," he said, causing her expression to brighten significantly. Seeing that, his vampiric instincts decided to influence what he said next just a bit. "Though when you do come over to be bitten…" he struggled to word what he wanted to say, being too embarrassed. "...could you wear something that showed off a lot of skin, including your neck and chest…" As he finished, he blinked, realising what he just asked, looking away in shame and horror.

Milly blinked as well, caught completely off guard by the request. As she processed the request, her blush intensified, realising that maybe Lelouch was slowly being influenced by his new vampiric side, but in this case she wasn't complaining.

"That's something I can definitely do for you, Lelouch," Milly said honestly.

After that, Milly got dressed and left the clubhouse to go to her room, with Lelouch escorting her to the door, while C.C. remained in the office. He did come back, looking like he wanted to continue the discussion about her actions at the Palace, but instead announced that he needed to go to bed as well. So the two of them went to his room, where she once again drank from his blood as he fell asleep.

---

The Next Day

Euphie sighed as she sat restlessly in the aeroplane, waiting for the journey to end already. She knew they were near the end of their journey, but the anticipation was killing her. For the first time in what seems like forever, she was away from the front lines with her sister, not that she didn't like being with Cornelia, but she would admit it had become rather stifling at the very least for the now sixteen years old Euphie.

So while she was presently in a compact plane with not that many people in it, with very little room to actually move, she felt as if some invisible shackles had finally fallen off. Not all of them, but enough to feel like she had more freedom than ever before in the past seven years.

Still, she wasn't alone. Andreas Darlton was sitting next to her, his posture stiff and uncomfortable as he struggled to relax enough to pass off as a civilian, though the scar on his face did sort of ruin that, or make him seem like a veteran retiree. His presence, while still a reminder that she really couldn't escape her sister's watch, was a very welcoming one, as she did trust him with her life. In many ways, he was the closest thing she had to a proper father figure, considering that her actual father didn't really put aside any real time for her before the assassination of Lady Marianne.

That didn't really bother her as much as it should have, as Father had proven himself to be a despicable person if Euphie was being honest with herself. Throwing Lelouch and Nunnally away for being 'useless' to him after their mother had been murdered, then invading the country they were exiled to was just the step too much for Euphie to handle, thus her loss of trust and even familial connection to Father, even if she still called him that out of habit and truth.

For now, while the in flight entertainment system did keep her entertained for the first half of the flight, when she wasn't sleeping, now all she could do was look out the window to see the cloudy skies they were traversing through. She would normally be a bit talkative at times like this, but all of the topics that came to mind were pretty much classified and not something she should speak about in public while disguised as a regular Britannian civilian, in case someone overheard.

"... How long until we land?" she asked Darlton.

"Less than an hour, Euphie," he answered softly and quietly, with a smile on his face, as if she hadn't already asked that same question a dozen times prior.

Her mood brightened slightly as she only had to endure the flight for a bit longer. She then took a look behind her seat, where the people sitting in their seats were enjoying themselves through watching the screens on the seats, listening to music or even reading a book. A part of her watched them with envy, as they seemed to live a satisfactory life compared to her, who was ironically royalty and had access to everything. Not for the first time did she regret in many ways being the spoiled little princess who had most things done for her at her whim, or at least able to do so.

She sighed as she turned away from them, looking straight ahead, her mind back in the past in Pendragon with Lelouch, Milly and Nunnally. What she wouldn't give to have that again. Her heart clenched at the very thought, mainly whenever she thought about Lelouch especially. Her kind half-brother who was always there for her, the first person outside of Cornelia who showed her genuine kindness and the one person she developed a crush on during her younger years, a crush that hasn't gone away, despite Lelouch being dead for seven years.

She sighed as her eyes watered in response to the sadness and longing she felt, quickly wiping away the tears that threatened to flow down her face. This wasn't the time or place to think about Lelouch and Nunnally, not when she did have a duty to fulfil when she lands.

Speaking of which, she turned to Darlton and whispered to him, "who do you think will meet us at the airport?"

"Most likely Margrave Jeremiah or someone he trusts," Darlton answered quickly, "depending on the situation in Area Eleven."

"What makes you think the situation will change that quickly?" Euphie asked. While on the civilian plane, they couldn't keep track of the current situation, they did memorise the situation when they took off from Dubai, Cornelia having conquered it about a month ago with its world class airport still intact, with Area Eleven's stability having been reduced significantly and in constant unrest, but she doubted that could change so quickly.

"You'll be surprised at how even a bad situation can get worse," Darlton dryly commented. He looked away, to the regular citizens inside the plane. "Britannia has been comfortable with its status for too long now without any major hiccups," he told Euphie, an indecipherable expression on his face. "Everything has become complacent, meaning that we've become more vulnerable to surprises." He went quiet after that, not wanting to verbally list any more reasons why he believed the situation could deteriorate further, but both him and Euphie knew that the main one was the Area and Numbers policies, that had created several powder kegs under Britannia's nose, all waiting for a single spark to send it crashing down.

It was Darlton's fear that this Zero was that spark, and that worst case, the match had already been lit.

---

"Case No. 157, Private Suzaku Kururugi, Area Eleven Military Forces."

Suzaku raised his head at his name being called out as the Judge started to close the hearing through the announcement of his freedom, as any evidence that had been thrown against him had easily been identified as false.

"In the case of his Highness' murder, due to evidence showing your lack of involvement, you are no longer a suspect," the Judge announced, to the grumbles of the prosecution and some on the jury, "and are free to go."

Suzaku blinked at the sheer silence as the announcement rang out inside the courtroom, a silence that continued even after he was allowed to stand up, the cuffs on his hand unlocked and taken off by his two guards. As he was escorted out, he was thrown an insult or two from some in the audience, though he ignored them.

Soon enough he was outside the courthouse, dressed in casual clothes, wearing sunglasses so no one would recognise him easily, waiting to be picked up by Miss Croomy and Lloyd. They had called up almost as soon as he left the courtroom, telling him that they'll be there in a short while. As he imagined that he wouldn't be welcome back in his old barracks, Suzaku was quite glad that the two of them were willing to do this.

He looked down at his hand, where he still held his father's watch, one of the few things that were confiscated with his clothes when he was arrested, and was kept with them until today where he could grab it. As he turned it around, he noticed the dent in it, where the bullet that came the closest to ending his life impacted. He frowned as he looked at it, his mind a jumbled mess as it seemed to conjure a lot of memories, especially the ones during and since Shinjuku, though the one that played in his mind the most prominently was where he told the Royal Guard Commander that he would not shoot Lelouch.

'If my life ended there, at least I would have saved my friend,' he thought to himself, almost sad that it didn't come to pass. Would have been a perfect end for him, but alas he was still alive, still needing to atone for his sins.

A truck driving down his side of the road caught his attention, especially when it stopped right in front of him. The passenger door opened, revealing Miss Croomy, with Lloyd sitting in the driver's seat.

"Ah, hope we didn't keep you waiting, Suzaku," Croomy said, giving him a small smile.

"Not at all," Suzaku replied, pocketing the watch. "If anything I should be thanking you for doing this for me."

"Oh, it's nothing," Croomy said, waving him inside, where there was a third seat in between them.

"Good to have you back, Private Kururugi," Lloyd spoke up this time. "My dear Lancelot would have been made incomplete without its devicer on hand, so please try not to get yourself arrested again next time."

"Glad to hear you're thinking about me," Suzaku deadpanned at Lloyd as he got into the truck and buckled up. "Besides, I doubt it will happen again, what with Captain Kewell…"

"Don't underestimate the ferocity of a cornered animal," Lloyd cheerfully said, "Especially one that continues to claim that he's innocent."

Suzaku scowled. "Does he have no integrity?!" he angrily demanded. "Everyone saw him fold at Zero's ultimatum last night, so shouldn't he accept the system's condemnation of him, right?"

"If only that was the case…" Croomy said, slightly disheartened.

---

At the same time

Three Sutherlands sped down a highway close to the Shinjuku Ghetto, all three armed with their Battle Rifles, along with their spare stun-tonfas attached to their forearms. In front of them lay several damaged Sutherlands, some sporting the colours of the Purebloods, and an apc with its top ripped off, while soldiers were cordoning off the area, and getting people to safety.

The three Sutherlands came to a stop in front of one soldier in the middle of the field of wreckage, who was looking at a pad, processing information as he seemed to be barking orders at the nearby soldiers. The lead Knightmare lowered its rifle as the cockpit opened up and Jeremiah Gottwald stood up.

"What happened?" he asked the soldier. "Where's Captain Soresi?"

"My Lord, captain Soresi's escort was ambushed and attacked," the soldier spoke, looking away from his pad to Jeremiah. "They managed to free captain Soresi before fleeing in that direction," the soldier pointed towards Shinjuku Ghetto. "The escort managed to destroy half of the attacking Sutherlands before being wiped out. Only three managed to eject safely. Several Pureblood knights have been identified from the destroyed attacking Sutherlands."

'Damn it!' Jeremiah cursed to himself. Somehow, several of his former subordinates managed to escape either arrest or surveillance and have sprung up to get Kewell, most likely out of either loyalty to Kewell or a way to get back at Jeremiah for 'betraying' them as the self deluded fools believed (in the past five hours, Jeremiah had actually interrogated over a dozen Purebloods who actually believed that, which was completely incredulous to him). And now they've killed their fellow soldiers in this farce of a rescue attempt.

Still, Jeremiah, when he got the SOS from the escort, had reacted quickly, using his position as interim Viceroy to organise the nearby available elements of the 33rd Garrison Division, one of the five main Military Units that garrisoned Area Eleven, made up of the smaller battalions, companies, regiments and platoons, into assisting in cordoning off the area, with one specific Mobile Squad acting as a Rapid Response Force, which Jeremiah has attached himself to. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the Division had been spread out across the Kanto and Chubu Regions of the Area, so he could only assemble a hob-podge of mixed and matched units, something that the logistical officers were bemoaning about, which he couldn't blame them for.

With his current team of three Sutherlands, he had quickly reached the scene, though after Kewell had obviously escaped. Now he had to chase him. Thankfully, the soldier here had provided a general direction, and the rest of the RRF had scattered to act as scouts.

"Lord Jeremiah!" one of the aforementioned scouts reported through his radio. "We've spotted several Knightmares converging in the main stadium in Shinjuku Ghetto, Sector 4."

"Sector 4?" Jeremiah questioned. "There's nothing there. Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"...Alright. Send me the coordinates," Jeremiah ordered. 'Kewell, what are you up to?'

"Lord Jeremiah," a new transmission came in, this time from Villetta. "The plane has arrived at Tokyo Airport."

Jeremiah suppressed a smile at the news. He hadn't seen Princess Euphemia in years, and was looking forward to meeting both her and Darlton again. But this wasn't the time for that, and he had to deal with this so that her Highness didn't have to.

"Go meet the VIPs there," he told her. "I'll handle the hunt here, you protect the Princess and act as her escort. Just make sure she doesn't head down to Shinjuku Ghetto, Sector 4."

"Understood."

---

Euphie sighed in relief as she and Darlton finally got off the plane, relishing in the chance to finally stretch her legs after sitting down for so long. Of course, that wasn't the only thing she had to deal with, as evidenced by the fact that the first location she went to upon entering the terminal was straight to the toilets, with Darlton waiting outside, repressing his own need as his duty was more important and it wasn't critical yet.

In the meantime, while Darlton waited, he scanned the foyer room and quickly found a screen showing the news. So far, it seemed to be the same, until a news announcement said for all citizens to avoid Shinjuku Ghetto. That sent an alarm bell ringing in his head, as Shinjuku had all but been abandoned from what their intel told them.

As he pondered about this development, Euphie walked out and went to his side, a questioning look on her face. "Andreas?"

"Ah, your… Euphie," Darlton barely stopped himself out of habit. "Just looking to see what the news can tell us."

"Anything good?" she asked.

"Mostly the same, though one thing may prove troublesome," he said. "But we head out to security to get checked then head out to meet whoever Jeremiah sent to escort us if he isn't here himself."

"Of course, lead the way," she said.

It didn't take them long to do so. Security was tight, as expected in the aftermath of Zero's emergence, but thanks to the id carried by Euphie, a special official fake id that was on the Britannian Intranet as a regular citizen, not a member of the royal family, and her lack of appearance in the public thanks to Cornelia keeping her close for the past seven years, made it so that no one even gave her a second glance in security. So when they made it into the main arrival room, where a few dozen people awaited the passengers, they were instantly drawn to a chocolate coloured woman with silvery blue hair and yellow eyes, who while dressed in civilian clothing so she didn't stand out too much, had the posture of someone in the military, and nodded discretely to Darlton when she spotted them.

"That's who we're meeting," he told Euphie quietly, who nodded. Together the two of them walked towards the lady, who motioned for them to follow her, which they did. After exiting the airport, they arrived at an armoured limousine. After getting in, with the dark skinned woman opening the door for both new arrivals before getting in herself, she finally spoke up.

"Apologies for the lack of a proper introduction, your highness," the lady said. "Dame Villetta Nu, at your service."

"Pleasure to meet you, Dame Nu," Euphie greeted back. "This here is General Andreas Darlton, my sister's second in command."

"It is an honour to meet you, my Lord," Villetta said, with Darlton nodding in response, but deciding to move on to business as soon as he could.

"I assume that since you're here, Margrave Jeremiah is busy with a severe issue," he asked Villetta, who nodded.

"Captain Soresi, while being escorted to a more secure prison than the one he was originally incarcerated in, was freed by a small cadre of Purebloods." While Villetta spoke in a professional manner, the experienced Darlton could tell that she was slightly distressed by the news. "Lord Jeremiah is in pursuit, having tracked them to the Shinjuku ghetto."

"Shinjuku, where Clovis was killed?" Euphie asked.

"Correct, your Highness," Villetta answered.

"Were you present in the operation my brother was leading?" Euphie followed up.

Villetta hesitated, hearing the undertone of disappointment in her voice. "Yes, I was…"

"Did you participate in the massacre my brother ordered?" Now there was also an undertone of steel alongside the disappointment, and more noticeable as well.

Villetta took a glance at Darlton, who seemed slightly taken aback by Euphie's tone. Seeing that, Villetta decided to answer honestly about it, well omitting any details about her true master.

"I was involved in the first part of the operation, in finding and intercepting the initial terrorist vehicle," she clarified. "After his Highness escalated the situation, I did receive his Highness' orders, but Lord Jeremiah had ordered me to prioritise finding the vehicle, ignoring the rest of the battalion's operations in order to do so. I didn't achieve that objective, as I quickly found a building where a squad of his Highness' royal guard had been killed. I got out of my Sutherland to investigate and was promptly knocked out by someone, who Lord Jeremiah believes to be Zero."

"That was a rookie mistake," Darlton admonished, with Villetta looking down in guilt.

"But it did prevent you from participating in the massacre," Euphie interrupted, "Correct?"

Villetta nodded, causing Euphie to smile in relief.

"That's good," she said, the tones of steel and disappointment now gone, as if they were never there.

"Were you able to even glimpse who Zero may be?" Darlton asked.

Villetta shook her head. "Didn't get the chance to," she said. "Even after scanning the area, as soon as I disembarked, I was hit from behind."

That caused Darlton to raise his eyebrow in surprise. "He managed to hide that well?"

"That's what we believe," Villetta corrected.

Villetta was saved from further interrogation by the two arrivals when a screen emerged from the ceiling, switching on to reveal Jeremiah inside his Sutherland. "Your Highness, My Lord, it's good to see the two of you arrive here safely. How was the flight?"

"It was boring," Euphie commented immediately. "I think I've become too spoiled even with the military transport that Sister travels with. Economy class was very cramped."

Jeremiah gave a slightly guilty chuckle. "Sorry about that, your Highness, but it was the only discreet flight that we could book so you could come as soon as possible."

"It's fine," Euphie waved away the apology. "Other than that, the flight was fine."

"Indeed," Darlton agreed. "Even if her Highness found it boring, it was the good kind of boring, where nothing bad happened. Worst part was trying not to call her 'your Highness' in front of everyone."

"Old habits die hard, my Lord," Jeremiah commented.

"Indeed," Darlton agreed. "What's the situation regarding Captain Soresi."

"He has a head start," Jeremiah explained, "But we've found where he's heading, so I'm on an intercept course. Thankfully his numbers are low, as most of the Purebloods have been put in situations where they can't assist him." He then had a worried expression. "But the way they are acting, firing upon their own comrades… they've gone crazy. I'm worried that if we don't contain them now, they may do something else like target her Highness if they find out she's here."

"Will you need assistance?" Darlton asked, volunteering himself. If they could pose a threat to Euphie, then he had to be proactive in combating that threat.

"Most likely," Jeremiah admitted. "As I said, his numbers are low, but so are mine, as the RRF I set up is spread out. My three-man team will be the first to get to his location, the others varying times behind. I don't have any Gloucestors you can use though, General, if you want to join in."

"That's fine, I can work with a Sutherland," Darlton said, a small yet feral grin on his face. "It'll be a good warm up after fighting those knock off Knightmares the Middle East deployed."

"There are some spares at the Viceroy's Palace," Jeremiah said. "You're on your way there anyways."

"Excellent," Darlton said, before turning to Villetta. "While I am gone, the responsibility for her Highness falls to you. I don't expect Zero to know of Her Highness' arrival, so I doubt there will be anything you'll need to do but escort her and show her around. But if something does happen…"

"I'll protect her with my life," Villetta promised, saluting Darlton before knocking on the driver's window. "Move out, double time it to the Palace!"

"Yes, my Lord!" the driver said.

"...Jeremiah, Darlton," Euphie called out the two men. "Could you two please tell me when the fighting is done? I wish to pay my respects to the fallen."

"Of course, your Highness," Darlton said.

"In the meantime, while you stop Soresi, please take me to Ashford Academy after dropping off Darlton," Euphie said to Villetta. "I do wish to catch up with an old friend."

"I'll inform the academy that a VIP is on their way," she said.

"They'll know it's me," Euphie said. "I talked to the Principal just before we left. We're old acquaintances so it won't be as if I'm appearing out of nowhere."

"I'll… still call just in case they're aren't expecting you at this time," Villetta said.

"Please do," Euphie said with a smile, internally giddy with excitement and wonder at what or who she may meet at Ashford Academy.

---

Lelouch sat down on the seat outside in the yard of Ashford Academy, pulling out his laptop to do some 'homework', mainly researching the various resistance groups within Area Eleven. While he had now worked with the group called the Kozuki cell, named after Kallen's dead brother Naoto, Kozuki being their true surname as he had discovered through her old middle school files, he had no real knowledge about the other numerous resistance groups such as the Blood of the Samurai, the Yamato Group and various others, with the exception of the Japanese Liberation Front.

He may not have had any personal dealings with the JLF before, but he had with one of its leaders, Colonel Kyoshiro Tohdoh, who was one of the individuals that Lelouch met and interacted with regularly in his exile to Japan, even considering him his sensei in a way, though oftentimes trying to get out of his lessons due to his hatred for physical activities, a hatred that was slowly being worn out through his daily exercises by C.C. He couldn't help but snort as an old memory of Tohdoh crossing his arms at Lelouch as Suzaku easily dragged him to the dojo, the veteran soldier sighing in resignation at another escape attempt.

'Now I'm getting nostalgic about those lessons…' he thought to himself, 'how things have changed…' a sudden message alert popped up on his laptop screen. "Huh, from Milly…" He quickly opened it, only taking a few seconds to read through the brief message, by the end of it frowning.

Euphie, due to an ongoing issue with the Purebloods and Captain Soresi, or 'Orange' as everyone has started calling him here in Ashford, which always bring a smile on his face, has decided to come here first instead of cleaning house at the Viceroy's Palace, though she could be waiting for Cornelia to arrive first before doing that. This was very worrisome, as it was during school time and he very well couldn't just leave mid day without attracting attention. He wrote back to her, asking for any eta on Euphie's arrival. Her reply came within seconds: within the hour.

"Shit…" he swore under his breath. Nunnally was hanging out with her friends on the other side of the school, and he couldn't send her a text due to obvious reasons, plus she didn't have her phone with her today and Sayako was helping out in the clubhouse, so there was no way to contact Nunnally and get her to hide when Euphie comes.

He messaged Milly again, asking if she was able to limit Euphie's exposure of the Academy to just the Principal's office, or at least if she moves around, to monitor her so that he could move around before she could spot him or Nunnally. Milly's reply was that she believed that it was what her Grandfather had intended upon learning the news, especially since he had manipulated the class locations after lunch so that both Nunnally and him would be as far away as they could from the office. Also Milly did say that she was seeing if there were any 'errands' for her to organise to get Lelouch away temporarily. To be honest, Lelouch couldn't tell if that was Milly being a she-devil and joking, or actually a legitimate thing she was doing.

"Um, Lelouch?" Kallen asked, walking up to him in her sickly persona, bringing him out of this conversation. "Do you have a minute?" she asked.

Lelouch calmly yet swiftly closed the lid of his laptop, hiding his messages and research. "Uh-huh, what seems to be the issue, Kallen?"

"Um, you know that phone call the other day," Kallen asked, rubbing her left arm. "The one before…" she blushed. "You know… in the bathroom?"

"Ah, that one," Lelouch struggled to hold back a blush himself, "What about it?" he asked innocently.

"Is there any way to find out the Caller id?" Kallen asked. "I wanted to talk to that person again."

"Unfortunately not," Lelouch answered honestly. "It was a school phone and due to the amount of times people call or get called using them, it's all but impossible for the school to even track the number, especially one that would have called on a private number."

"Is that so?" Kallen said, sounding disappointed. "But with current technology…"

"Normally yes, but as I said, with it being a private number, there's no realistic way for the school to track the caller." Lelouch shrugged. "We're not the military."

"...Ok, thank you," Kallen said, about to walk away before freezing in place as she saw Milly jog towards them, looking a bit worried.

"Lelouch!" she said as she stopped in front of the two of them, "Can I borrow you for a bit?"

"Of course," Lelouch said calmly, yet internally he was getting worried. Why would Milly run towards him unless something just went wrong with Euphie's visit?

Kallen, meanwhile, seemed to be fixated on Milly, as if noticing something about the blonde. A strange feeling of… connection had sprung up, as if they had the same thing happen to the both of them together, yet they absolutely haven't, at least not to Kallen's recollection. But something was there now, and…

"Sorry, Kallen, but I will have to go deal with whatever Milly needs right now," Lelouch said, bringing the red head out of her thoughts.

"Oh, of course," Kallen said. "But could you please keep what we were talking about in mind?"

"Certainly," Lelouch said, "But I doubt that my answer would have changed the next time we discuss it."

The two of them began to walk away, leaving Kallen confused at herself, especially the way she felt down when Lelouch didn't really react to her hinting at the bite that they still had to pretend didn't happen, or when Milly suddenly came and interrupted their conversation… Wait, why was she disappointed about that? The conversation was pretty much over. And the way she wanted to keep that dead end going with him for some reason… Something was very wrong with her.

Still, the most mind boggling thing for Kallen was this connection to Milly, nothing like what she felt with Lelouch, with him biting her… 'no, pretend it didn't happen,' she repeated in her head again, but since the pretend incident in the bathroom, she had felt a sort of… longing for the pretend incident to repeated in some sort of way, which was also very alarming in on itself. Why did she want to be bitten again, when the memory of it is so fuzzy now

'Maybe because the pleasure felt from it is still fresh in the mind,' a part of her reasoned.

That could be it, since that, and Lelouch asking her to pretend, never seemed to disappear from her mind for long, as if it was burnt into her subconsciousness. But that still didn't explain the thing with Milly, especially since it just happened today, when it never even existed beforehand. Could it be something to do with Lelouch?

As this came to mind, she looked at the two of them about to enter the closest building, stepping into the shadows as Milly passed something to Lelouch, who looked at it, his expression shifting to surprise and annoyance.

Seeing that, Kallen, frowning at the feeling within her, decided to try to ignore it for now and focus on other things, walking away.

---

Lelouch frowned as he made his way through Clubhouse, opening the door to his room to find C.C. lying on his bed, eating another box of pizza. She didn't seem to react to him, though he knew that she had already noticed him entering the clubhouse. He threw down a form onto the bed.

"What's this?" he asked.

C.C. finally acknowledged him, looking at him with the side of her eye, still munching on her current pizza slice. After finishing, she looked down at the form, an enrollment form with the name 'Cera Celestia' and a picture of her with her hair tied up.

"Oh, that," she said offhandedly. "It is quite stifling just being here in the clubhouse all the time during the day. I need something to keep me interested, and what better thing than going to school and seducing people."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at that last part. "I don't need you going around, biting everyone left, right and centre. Things are already getting complicated with Euphie about to arrive. I don't need you making things more difficult."

"Oh, relax," she said, putting the box to the side. "I'm not a whore, I can contain myself. That said, I am going to find my own set of people to bite on the odd occasion." She gave him a look. "I can't very well sustain myself solely on your blood after all, and I do have other needs as well, needs that I am sure you don't want me forcing upon you whenever I wish."

Lelouch blushed at that. While he generally agreed with that sentiment, a part of him definitely wouldn't mind that, especially with how beautiful she looked… No, no, no, don't go there. He had other things to worry about.

"So you're making a harem for yourself?" he asked.

"Yep," she answered unabashedly. "Good way to get a good set of nutritious blood and a way to satisfy myself without getting bored of one person." She then got up off his bed and lightly tapped him on the check in a teasing manner. "Don't worry, I'll always keep you foremost in my mind," she said in a mix between a seductive and teasing tone, causing Lelouch to blush again as he lightly slapped her hand away, causing her to laugh.

"Besides, you're well on your way on making your own," C.C. continued to tease, causing Lelouch's blush to deepen. "I wonder who would be next for you to bite?" She began to circle Lelouch. "Dear Shirley Fennette, the girl with the impossible to hide crush on you? Or Villetta Nu, your own personal hypnotised slave girl, who's also a trained warrior?" Her smirk widened. "So many possibilities… A great Vampiric king in the making." She then put on a mocking imitation of a thinking expression, tapping her chin with her finger. "That does beg the question, who will be your Queen?"

"My Queen?" Lelouch asked, his embarrassment temporarily forgotten as C.C. once again sprang a new bit of knowledge about vampires upon him.

"The one lover and/or sired, or in some cases, multiple lovers/sired, who act as your right hand," C.C. explained, ceasing her circling. "It's a very old vampiric tradition, especially in hierarchical societies and harems, where the main vampire lord, whether as a King or Queen, has one/s who they trust as their second in command, delegating part of their duties and power to them as a sign of trust and so much more." C.C. put her hands together behind her back. "It's like a consort. A queen if they're female, a king if they're male." She looked at him with a serious gaze. "And they don't necessarily have to be a vampire as well. Many in history often have a preferred human who they want as their head consort, so if you think you'll need someone to act as your right hand, don't worry about having to turn someone, it just has to be someone you've already bitten."

Lelouch frowned, deep in thought, as he pondered the implications and possible advantages of having a 'queen' so to speak. Something to think about in more depth in the future. He looked back at C.C. "Is there some sort of ritual needed to actually designate someone as a consort? Like a ritual?"

"Well, no," C.C. answered. "But you don't really have to worry about it yet. I only said so because I was curious who you would choose between dear Kallen or Milly?"

Lelouch opened his mouth, paused before closing it again. He suddenly had a feeling that he would get a target on his back if he answered that right now.

Meanwhile both Kallen and Milly separately sneezed, feeling as if someone was talking about them.

Back to Lelouch, he was about to walk out of the room, when C.C. suddenly called out to him. "I was wondering about something for a while," she said, causing him to stop. "This rebellion of yours. I can understand it more if you were Japanese, or an eleven as they have been labelled now, but you're a Britannian, one still living in a pretty good situation. You said in Shinjuku that you want to avenge not only yourself and Nunnally, but also Japan. Why is that?"

"Is it good to be strong?" Lelouch asked. "Starvation, filth, decay, constant war and terrorism. The strong devour the weak, like rats running in a wheel. It never ends, and everyone suffers the consequences, one way or the other, even those that consider themselves 'the strong'. A cycle that my father perpetuates with his dogma of Social Darwinism. That cycle has to be broken!"

"How idealistic," C.C. said. "Humanity and the world has had this cycle for thousands of years. Do you really think you can end it all."

"I'm not that arrogant," Lelouch replied. "No, all I need to do is to change the world into something that Nunnally would love to live in, a world where people won't have to lose their loved ones, or at least a world without war."

"And to have this utopia, you'd…"

"It's simple," Lelouch said. "When someone wins, the fighting will end."

"Somebody?" C.C. said in a knowing tone, causing Lelouch to smirk.

"Even if you believe you can achieve this goal, you can't do this alone, nor can you rely on your vampiric powers," C.C. cautioned.

Lelouch's smirk disappeared as he nodded in agreement. "You're right, I can't." He then walked over to a draw and pulled out a chess piece, a black queen. "But that's what I am doing right now, setting up the conditions to assemble the pieces to achieve Nunnally's dream, and our revenge."

"Our?" C.C. asked.

"Yes, our," Lelouch emphasised. "I want revenge for what Britannia did to Nunnally, Mother and I, as well as Japan. You, I imagine, want revenge on Britannia for what Clovis did. And the Japanese would want revenge for Britannia's occupation and continuing genocide. We all want revenge on Britannia, and we must all assemble to make it happen."

"So you do wish to help the Japanese, not merely using them as a means to an end?"

"I do," Lelouch said. "I owe Japan so much for taking us in and helping us out, including saving our lives in the first days of the invasion. For that alone, I'll fight for an independent Japan for the Japanese, though maybe not the Japan that was. That Japan is long dead now…"

C.C. scoffed. "I can't imagine many of the resistance groups currently active would appreciate that last point."

"No they won't, but once I cement myself as the main force opposing Britannia, with serious momentum behind me, they won't have much of a choice. Besides, as I said, I will still give the majority of them, and the vast majority of Japanese what they want; an Independent Japan."

"Made in your image?"

"No," Lelouch shook his head. "I'll most likely have some sort of influence over it, but the Japanese will be the main architects on how the new Japan will function and be. As long as it adheres to Nunnally's utopia."

C.C. nodded at this, and was about to return to the bed to continue eating when Lelouch called out to her again, a question popping up in his head.

"Wait, speaking about being made," he began, causing her to look at him with a curious eye, though he was looking at the chess piece in his hand. "About vampires. How were they made…"

His throat suddenly constricted enough for him to stop speaking, the infamous feeling of C.C. controlling him now enforcing itself onto his body. He didn't find his mobility restricted, so he turned to look back at C.C. with a confused, hurt and betrayed look, a look that faded into shock when he saw the expression on C.C.'s face: Fear. Complete and utter Fear.

"Don't," she warned, her tone mirroring her expression. "Never ask that question ever!"

The way she said it made Lelouch's feelings of betrayal dissipate, as it seemed that she was well and truly scared of the question, for some reason. She was even more emotional than mentioning her time being Clovis' captive. Whatever could make a centuries old vampire that scared… Well, to say that Lelouch suddenly became nervous was an understatement.

After a moment, C.C. released her hold, and made her way back to the bed, just lying down, not even picking up her pizza box. That alone would have sent alarm bells ringing in Lelouch's head, but they were already blaring very loud.

He then proceeded to walk out of his bedroom, mind wondering about why that question was so frightening, a part of him wondering if he would ever find the answer, and the other part dreading if he ever did.

---

In the baseball stadium, a dozen Knightmares had assembled, all sporting the colours of the Pureblood. Most were on the edge, keeping a lookout, while four were in the centre, their cockpits open as their pilots, one of which was Kewell, were discussing their next move.

In the distance, Jeremiah and his two escorts had arrived, out of sight of the renegade Knights. Right now, they were waiting for reinforcements from Darlton and whatever he could scrap up, so that the General could take command. He didn't have to wait long, as he soon spotted a squad of Knightmares approaching from the west.

"Margrave Jeremiah, is our target present?" Darlton asked over the radio.

"Yes, my Lord," Jeremiah answered. "Awaiting your command to engage."

"Hold for now until my squad gets into position," Darlton ordered, before switching to the squad wide frequency. "All units, formation Delta-5. Await my orders to engage."

""Yes, My Lord!""

It only took half a minute for the strike force to manoeuvre as per Darlton's orders, Jeremiah and his two Knights following along as well. As Jeremiah used his slash harkens to climb to higher ground on the broken stadium, he noticed that Kewell had finished talking with his followers and had reentered his Sutherland. Landing quickly, Jeremiah raised his Battle Rifle up, ready to be used when ordered, Kewell's Sutherlands in his sights.

"All forces in position," he reported.

"Commence the attack." Darlton ordered. "If possible, leave Soresi alive for interrogation. However, if he leaves you no choice, end him before he can become a bigger threat to the empire!"

"By your command!" Jeremiah said before firing a single burst from his Rifle, which managed to hit Kewell's Sutherland in the left arm, destroying it completely. "All forces, Engage!"

With that, the loyalist Sutherlands leapt into action, catching the surprised Purebloods off guard, half of them being crippled within the first few seconds. The rest recovered enough to fire back, causing three Loyalist Sutherlands to be destroyed, leaving no chance for the Pilots to eject. However, this only served to enrage the Loyalists, as the Purebloods had just shed their last chance of being considered still loyal servants of Britannia.

Darlton quickly sped in, destroying three Pureblood Sutherlands alone before speeding off after Kewell, who had decided to flee. However, he was beaten to the punch by Jeremiah, who had landed in front of Kewell, forcing him to stop.

"Kewell! Stop this nonsense!" Jeremiah called out over the speakers, his honour and history, even if not the closest, with Kewell making him give Kewell one last chance. "Surrender and I promise that we will…"

Kewell interrupted by firing his slash harkens, destroying Jeremiah's rifle. "No! I have to keep going! I have to prove that it wasn't me!" Kewell shouted as he ran at Jeremiah, his stun-tonfa extended and aimed at the centre body of Jeremiah's Sutherland, blocked at the last minute by Jeremiah's own stun-tonfa.

"You're only making yourself seem more guilty!" Darlton called out, his rifle destroying Kewell's legs. "Escaping captivity. Killing your own comrades. What would you expect her Highness to feel about that!" Darlton approached from behind as the remaining Loyalists, having finished off the Purebloods, circled Kewell, rifles raised

Inside his Sutherland, Kewell's eyes were wide with madness, his expression one of fierce anger and insanity. With his remaining arm, he pulled out a chaos mine and threw it at Jeremiah.

Before Jeremiah could even react, a white blur flew in front of him and landed squarely in the path of the chaos mine. He blinked as the Lancelot stood there, arm raised, the Blaze Luminous active as the Chaos Mine spat out streams of shrapnel and projectiles out at it, never even piercing the shield.

It only took a few seconds for the chaos mine to empty, falling onto the floor, completely expended, no harm done to both the Lancelot and its intended target.

Everyone looked on in shock, especially Kewell, as the Lancelot lowered its arm.

"Enough!" the voice of Suzaku Kururugi called out. "You're all Britannian soldiers!"

Darlton's eyes widened as, while he had never seen the Lancelot, the fact that it was so different from any other Knightmare he had seen, could guess that this was in fact the Eleven that Jeremiah had talked about when he delivered the news on Prince Clovis' death. He was supposed to be released only a couple of hours ago yet here he was, already back into the fray at the most powerful Knightmare currently active, moving at such speed that even Darlton's veteran instincts and skills had trouble keeping up with him.

He couldn't help but smile, intrigued with this new Knight in the making.

Jeremiah breathed a sigh of relief. He opened up a channel to the Lancelot. "My thanks, Private."

"It's only my duty, my Lord," came Suzaku's reply.

Meanwhile, Kewell was shaking with anger and shock, frothing at the mouth as he realised who was in front of him. His mind, already fractured from the way what was to be his rise to power and influence, being the true patriot of Britannia, became his downfall, and one of the individuals responsible, in his eyes at least, was right in front of him!

"DAMN YOU!" He shouted, charging recklessly at the Lancelot, his eyes only seeing red.

In turn, the Lancelot unsheathed two swords that began to glow red, crossing them in front of him.

"My god, they perfected the MVSs," Jeremiah muttered in shock.

With a single slash, the Lancelot cut the Sutherland in half, the upper half intact enough that Kewell's eject system automatically activated, shooting him away, only for his pod to collide with the walls of the stadium, causing it to spin out of control, as parts of it lit up in flames. Everyone gasped in shock as they witnessed Kewell's pod to flail about in the air. The Lancelot was the first to move, easily speeding towards the huge gap where part of the wall used to be and fired his Slash Harkens to grab the pod, but a sudden explosion on the pod caused it to spiral out of reach, falling down with a crash in the distance.

---

Inside the Lancelot, Suzaku's eyes widened in shock as he realised that his attempt to rescue Kewell had failed, and it was partially his fault. Even if the person was someone who tried to frame him and get him executed. But as he lowered his head in shame and guilt, he was quickly contacted by someone.

"You had no control over this, Private," an unfamiliar voice said over the radio.

"But I was the one who cut his Sutherland in half…"

"Only because he attacked you. It was in self-defence. Don't hold yourself accountable for his error."

"Um, may I ask who this is?" Suzaku asked.

"General Andreas Darlton, of the 3rd Army, under the command of her Highness Princess Cornelia li Britannia, 2nd Princess of Britannia."

Suzaku stiffened up, turning the Lancelot around to find a Sutherland landing right next to him, opening up to reveal a middle aged man with a large scar running along his face. Suzaku in turn activated his hatch so he could stand up out of the Lancelot's cockpit and salute the man. "My Lord!"

"At ease, Private," Darlton said, returning the salute. After Suzaku relaxed slightly, Darlton spoke again. "I've heard from Margrave Jeremiah that this is the second time you've piloted a Knightmare?"

"Um, yes my Lord," Suzaku answered, caught off guard by the question.

"Well then, I must say that you have an enviable amount of talent and knack for piloting a Knightmare, especially one as advanced as the Lancelot," Darlton congratulated, a small smile on his face. "I'll admit I doubted the report the Margrave gave me, but today has made me reconsider."

"Ah, thank you sir! It's an honour to hear that from you," Suzaku said, trying to hide his smile. Not from the praise, but the way that Darlton was acting towards him, the lack of either suspicion or disgust that he has experienced in the past. It was as if Darlton didn't seem to care at all if he was a Number or not.

'Maybe this is proof,' he told himself, 'proof that there are people in the system who can help me change it for the better!'

He was brought out of his thoughts as three Sutherlands sped past him, towards where Kewell crashed. "Um, what happens now, sir?"

"Those three Knights will locate Kewell, whether he's alive or dead," Darlton explained. "Us, in the meantime, will head back to the Viceroy's palace. Is the Camelot staff nearby?"

"We're right here!" Suzaku heard Lloyd call out, as both him and Croomy walked out of one of the entrances to the baseball field, the latter holding a riot shield for protection. "I must say, Private, you've impressed me once again. You really were fated to be the devicer for my dear Lancelot." He gave a small snicker. "And the data from the Blaze Luminous and the MVS Blades is simply grand."

"I take it you must be Earl Lloyd Asplund?" Darlton asked.

"In the flesh," he gave a condescending bow, with Croomy doing a much more sincere salute.

"Suzaku, once you're finished with the General, the trailer is parked at the same spot you left it!" Croomy called out.

"Got it, Ms Croomy!" Suzaku replied.

"Actually, I would like for the three of you to come with us back to the Viceroy's Palace," Darlton said. "I think we should have a discussion about making Private Suzaku's situation with the Viceroy when she arrives later." he turned to face Suzaku. "After this, I'll recommend that you have the opportunity to work with our unit in the near future."

"It'll be an honour." Suzaku replied.

Darlton grinned from his answer. "Excellent. However, that is a discussion for a later time. Right now, I have to get back to the Palace to drop off this Sutherland and then head out to meet someone. I should be back before midnight at the latest, so if you wouldn't mind waiting at the Palace along with Margrave Jeremiah…"

"It'll be no trouble at all," Suzaku said.

"Indeed," Jeremiah said, having arrived there in his Sutherland as well. "I'll be happy to escort Camelot to the Palace if you need to get to her Highness quickly enough."

"That is fine, Margrave Jeremiah, I am in no true rush." Darlton said.

"Well, off to wait for her Highness I guess," Lloyd commented, with a sigh of exasperation from Croomy at his comment.

---

Kewell dragged himself out of the wreckage that used to be his pod, his legs broken, blood dripping on the ground from his various wounds. He felt himself touch the soft muddy dirt of his surroundings before the ground collapsed, sending him rolling a metre down the side, into a small river, just as the pod exploded, an explosion that would have undoubtedly killed him if he had stayed there for a few more seconds. He flailed about in surprise before pulling his head out of the water, trying to grab onto the side to pull him out.

He was happy to find a hand extended out to him, to which he clutched like a drowning man, as it pulled him out of the water. He coughed out both water and blood, looked up to try to see his rescuer only to find himself being tasered at the neck, falling unconscious.

His 'rescuer' put away the taser and motioned for his companion to help carry him away.

'What luck,' the person thought to himself. 'Here we were, looking for possible subjects for Project Evolution, and here we are, one just happened to show up.'

"What should we do with this one?" his companion asked. "He's still alive, but barely."

"Give him to Code-R," he answered. "He's in a good enough condition for them to use him for Evolution."

"Poor bugger," his companion mocked. "He's soon going to wish he was dead."

---

And that is Chapter 6 done! Sorry for the delay, but my muse was once again being difficult. This time, we have Lelouch return back to Ashford, only to be confronted by Milly. After Milly appeals to him to let her in, he goes a step further and reveals his vampiric nature to her, as well as C.C. Of course, this also ends up with Milly being the second person he bites (with an accompanying lime scene), and the revelation that Euphie is on her way to Ashford, whether to be heavily involved or even as a student, which will cause lots of issues for Lelouch and Nunnally's anonymity. We go back to Euphie, on her way to Area Eleven with Darlton. Suzaku has also been released, yet not meeting Euphie like canon, instead with Cecile and Lloyd coming on time to pick him up. Jeremiah searches for an escaped Kewell, with Darlton joining the hunt when he arrives, as Villetta escorts Euphie to Ashford. Milly tells Lelouch that C.C. is going to join Ashford, and here is the first hint about one of the major deviations in canon that I have in store later on. Then we finish off with Jeremiah and Darlton confronting Kewell in a short clash, with Suzaku joining in with the Lancelot. Plus another deviation, where Kewell is picked up earlier than what Jeremiah was, by a hidden group to be experimented on for a Project Evolution…

While not as large as the last chapter, this one was still very big. Hope you all enjoy this one, as it is mainly setting the stage for things in the future. Next time, Euphie's meeting with the Ashfords, Cornelia's arrival and more.

Also, in case anyone hasn't noticed, I have also cross posted this story onto Archive of Our Own. With the recent issues with , I felt that this was a necessary move. Please subscribe to the Archive of Our Own page of LotN for the best way to know when the fic gets updated!

Special Thanks to the Seerking for Beta reading this chapter. Go check out his awesome content!

Regards,

dalek117