Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

Nunnally was finally scheduled to meet with her brother Schneizel. She had arrived in Japan a day ago, but she had been forced to wait until his schedule was freed up. It wasn't surprising, considering she suspected him of planning something that was going to cause a major shift in the world, it was to be expected he was too busy to see his little sister without much prior notice. It still hurt however. Regardless of his history of using cruel methods, part of her still had some amount of love for her brother. After all, most of her siblings had been killed in the war when Schneizel had tricked her into destroying Pendragon.

The irony wasn't lost on her. To still love someone who tricked you into committing mass murder. Her only living siblings to her knowledge were Lelouch, Cornelia, and Schneizel. Carine was alive too, but the girl suffered from amnesia, and they had never been particularly close either. In fact, Carine frequently used to bully her. Schneizel at least was polite, even when he was hiding a knife to stab you in the back.

She waited patiently for Schneizel's arrival, her body guards flanking her on either side. Even since her kidnapping, it had been recommended she had them attend to her anytime she left her home. It was bothersome, and she would have much preferred Sayoko than perfect strangers. Sadly, the maid was now a member of the Black Knights. Whether she was still working with them currently, or she decided to part ways was unknown to Nunnally. No one outside the old Student Council members had contacted her since the public reveal of Lelouch still being alive. She was happy her friends had been worried enough to contact her, but she wanted to be more directly involved.

She sighed deeply. Being out of the loop was depressing. That was why she had come here. Partly to stop whatever her brother had planned, but also to be more involved. She didn't care about being in a position of power of authority, but she liked to be hands on.

"You know the Japanese have a saying. Sighing will drive away good fortune."

Nunnally looked up, and saw Schneizel, with Kanon Maldini, and Gino Weinberg flanking him on either side. She didn't say anything as he came over to hug her lightly. She stiffened at his contact, before eventually forcing herself to relax. She just couldn't help but be on guard in his presence.

"I'm sorry we couldn't meet under more pleasant circumstances brother. I'm afraid my good fortune has been rather lacking as of late. You would know, considering the recent kidnapping." She paused, and waited for any reaction from Schneizel. Nothing. His expression didn't flinch.

"Ah yes, how insensitive of me. I deeply apologize for my rudeness. It must have been quite harrowing." False concern. A common tactic he employed. Nunnally knew he was hard to read, but she also knew her brother better than most.

"Yes, quite. I'm fine now though. After All, my brother did come and rescue me." Nunnally unsubtly dropped the reason for her visit.

"Ah, yes. Your brother. So that's the reason you're here." He turned to Kanon and Gino, before motioning for them to leave the room. "I'm sure we'll need time to catch up on family matters. Why don't we let the others leave for the moment. After all, there's no danger here."

Nunnally suppressed a shiver from running down her spine, before following suit. A quick dismissal of her own body guards, and Schneizel and her now had the meeting room to themselves.

"Please make yourself comfortable Nunnally. I wouldn't want things to tense for us. You are my beloved sister after all."

"Schneizel. Is that true? Do you really care about your family?"

"Of course I do, I'm not a monster."

"I'm not so sure. Why did you turn everyone on Lelouch? He was content to go into hiding on his own." A tense silence filled the room. He didn't even move for a few seconds.

"He was a monster. He manipulated the masses to make a grab for personal power. I'm merely punishing a criminal"

"Schneizel, that's a lie. I know you're making this personal." Nunnally decided to be as blunt as possible. She wouldn't let him play at being ignorant.

After letting loose a sigh, he met her gaze. "Fine. I was trying to play the part of the charismatic older brother. You should have been content to not go poking around where you really oughtn't." He pressed a button on the seat he had taken, and Nunnally heard a loud bang from outside the meeting room. Her eyes widened, and a well of panic started bubbling up in her.

"Brother, what did you do!?" She was starting to grow afraid. Those were clearly gun shots she had heard.

"Those were your guards being disposed of." A second later, Kanon and Gino walked through the door, a pistol in Kanon's grip. Nunnally blanched.

"How could you!? They were innocent!"

Schneizel stood up, a bored look on his face. He brushed some invisible dirt from his coat. "Hardly, after all, they were protecting a terrorist."

"What? What do you mean by a terrorist?" Her face grew pale at the implications.

"Exactly what I said. How disappointing to find out that my own sister was involved in the plot set up by Lelouch. I initially thought you were a victim."

Nunnally shook her head in denial, too shocked at the absurdity of the statement for words.

"Take her into custody. We'll sort the details out later. I'm too disheartened to deal with this right now."

Gino and Kanon stepped forward, Gino taking control of Nunnally's wheelchair. Kanon still had the pistol in hand, which was threateningly pointed in her direction. "You can't do this! Gino please, you know I'm innocent!"

He looked away, a guilty expression on his face. "Sorry about this. Orders are orders." He escorted her out of the room, her cries of denial falling on deaf ears.

Schneizel turned to Kanon after Nunnally had been taken away. "Really, all my siblings are starting to be more trouble than they are worth. She should have stayed in Britannia."

"That was cold even for you."

"Really? I didn't think you were a bleeding heart Kanon."

"Oh, I could care less. It's just, a year ago, you would have continued the facade for a while longer."

"Is that so? Maybe I've grown numb to the plights of others. Perhaps Nunnally is right, I guess I really am a monster." A cold smile etched his face, an aura of malice palpable around him.

Schneizel was slowly finding himself more vengeful. He still aimed to take control of the entire world eventually. However that plan was taking a back seat to dismantling his brother and those loyal to him.

Nonette Enneagram soared through the air at speeds she never imagined possible. Compared to the Lancelot Club, the monster she was piloting now was on another plane. When she had first heard from Schneizel that she was wanted to help track down the now rogue members of the Black Knights, her gut instinct had been to turn him down first. However, when she had learned from him of Lelouch's Geass, and everything that the man had done behind the scenes, it all made sense. At the time when she had seen Schneizel's motives come to light, she had assumed him every bit the mad man his brother was. Now though, understanding that Schneizel had been under the effect of Geass, it appeared he was every bit the 'White Prince' that his reputation made him out to be. After all, the Black Knights had been under his command for over a year now, and he had never once made any moves hinting at ulterior motives. He had even been the one to start the Black Knights now famous peace missions. Word had come through the grapevine that the next area to visit was France, who was still rebuilding from its conflict with Euro Britannia.

The fact that she was now piloting the Lancelot Albion Zero, or as she preferred to call it, the Albion Club, was the icing on the cake. When she had first seen it, she fell in love. The only thing that wasn't to her taste was the near full black color scheme. After having it customized to the Club's white and blue colors however, it was much more her style. She even picked out one of those fancy new ECM lances, the ones capable of generating Blaze Luminous shields. The one thing that still bothered her about her new toy was the red Energy Wings though. It made the Knightmare far too menacing in her opinion.

Her breath hitched as she completed a tight roll at high velocity, giving her a rush she had never experienced before. This was euphoric. She knew eventually she'd be fighting that other 9th Generation frame. The Guren. Kallen Kozuki was infamous in the Knightmare Ace circles. She had famously killed Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten. In the same battle, Suzaku Kururugi had nearly perished by her hand as well. Nonette didn't buy into the hype. In her opinion, it was likely the performance gap between the Guren and the older Knightmare Frames that gave her such a dominant performance. She knew that she had supposedly defeated Suzaku while he was also piloting the original Lancelot Albion, but considering he had turned out to later be alive, that too was suspect.

Either way, she was going to put the girl through her paces. It was guaranteed to be more interesting than any fight she had been a part of for the last year. While she didn't discredit the global peace that had been obtained, as a Knightmare pilot, it was rather uneventful.

She wrapped up the test flight, and made her way back to the Ikaruga, which had gone under rapid repair after Kallen had destroyed a portion of the hangar.

Zhou Xianglin slammed her fist onto the screen of the Knightmare combat simulator. Ever since Xingke passed away, she had vowed to follow in his footsteps. He had been an incredibly skilled pilot, commonly touted to be on the level of Suzaku Kururugi. While she herself had never been interested in piloting a Knightmare, finding herself more comfortable taking control of issuing orders when Xingke had been preoccupied, that had now changed.

One of her driving factors being that the Shen Hu was now collecting dust. It was far too difficult for most people to pilot. Of the members of the Black Knights, maybe two or so individuals had been capable of it. Unfortunately those numbers included Kururugi and Kozuki. With them having their own custom 9th Generation models to use, that left the Shen Hu short an operator. Thus her idea to become a pilot herself. That had been months ago. Sadly, even in the simulator, her proficiency in the Shen Hu had never breached 34%. Xingke had been able to handle it at slightly above 40%, the threshold for it to be considered combat effective. It was such a small difference in numbers, but to her it was the difference between heaven and earth.

She sighed, and exited the simulator, giving up for the time being. As she exited, she was surprised to see Schneizel, Kanon and Gino shadowing him.

"Commander. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I see you're at hard as work as ever. How goes your progress?'" He seemed to be making small talk, which didn't particularly bother her, but it seemed out of character.

"Awful to be frank. I've plateaued to be honest. I'm still stuck at 34%." She frowned, not happy that her insufficiency was being brought up.

"I see. That's rather unfortunate. However, what would you say to a little proposition?"

She raised an eyebrow, curious what he was referring too. "Go on"

"I assume you've studied the conflict in Zilkhstan?"

"Yes, it would have been arrogant not to. Regardless of his unsavory goals, Lelouch's victory was a master stroke in strategy. He took a force of twenty or so individuals and came out on top despite the 600 to 1 odds."

"While that's true, I'm referring to the Knightmare combat specifically. I know you saw the replay of the battle between Suzaku and King Shalio. Do you know the reason for Shalio's strong performance in that duel?"

"I assume it was that 10th Generation frame of his."

"That was it in part. In order for his disabled body to keep up with the strain however, he was overdosing on an experimental steroid. One that was fed directly into his blood stream."

"Steroids? Was it safe?"

"Yes, but using it for extended periods of time can cause permanent damage, and lead to side effects such as bleeding from various orifices."

Zhou bit her lip, thinking over the risks. It seemed to be the quickest way to progress forward, but it left a bad taste in her mouth. "How effective is it?"

"Estimates of increased reaction times are roughly 15%, and increases in physical strength are over 35%." Zhou gawked. Those numbers sounded too good to be true, but given the nature of the steroid, it would explain the dramatic increases in performance.

"How quickly do the drugs take effect?"

Schneizel fought a smirk from forming. "In approximately 20 or so seconds. Faster in women. It's assumed to have a slightly more potent effect due to differences in hormone levels. King Shalio was apparently very effeminate."

That was it. Such instantaneous and drastic improvements were too good to pass up. "What do I have to do to get a hold of the drugs?"

"Simple. I want you to join Nonette Enneagram and a small elite strike force to hunt down the rogue former Black Knights, and bring them to justice. If you agree to this, the drugs and the Shen Hu are yours."

"Deal". No hesitation. The Shen Hu was her only goal in life right now. If this was what it cost, then it was worth the potential risks. A hand shake later, and she knew her life was about to be irrevocably changed.

Kallen leaned on the railing of the cargo ship Ohgi had hired. The group was currently on their way to France, hoping to get ahead of things if possible. According to Tohdoh, the Black Knights had delayed the trip to France by a few days. The reasons weren't entirely known, but apparently Nonette Enneagram had arrived the day prior. Kallen had a sinking feeling she knew why. Schneizel was building his own force of elite pilots. One that would be loyal to him. It reduced his dependence on the older Black Knight members. This could only be trouble.

Ohgi and her had finally met up with Jeremiah, Anya, and Sayoko. They had arrived on the Mordred Buildup and Sutherland Loyal, which had finally been equipped with its own Air Glide System. It was only a couple of Knightmares, but having aces such as Jeremiah and Anya backing her up calmed Kallen's nerves. She was an excellent pilot herself, but one person was hardly sufficient to fight an army on her own.

She was lost in thought, when Ohgi came up next to her, carrying a couple of steaming mugs. "Cold? It's pretty chilly out here." He offered her one of the mugs.

Kallen shivered despite herself. She had been zoning out, his reminder of the current weather caused her body to react in kind. "Yeah, please." She accepted, and took a long sip. " I was just thinking..."

"About?"

"What do you think our chances are? Things are worse than we could have imagined. I mean, Sayoko said that Tamaki was..." She didn't want to repeat it. The news of his potential fate had blind sided both of them. Until that moment, the possibility of their deaths had been in the back of their minds, but that had cemented the reality of it to them. She had always found Tamaki annoying, but he was still as good as family to her. It shook her confidence in their success."

"Only slightly better than they were when we were trying to liberate Japan."

"So close to zero." Kallen bit her tongue, the Freudian slip worsening her already tenuous mood.

"Speaking of Zero, I wish we knew were Lelouch was. I would be a lot more confident if her was leading us again."

"So would I. We haven't the slightest clue where to find him."

"Maybe we'll get lucky. Last time you ran into him by sheer coincidence."

Kallen smiled, remembering how strange the events that had led up to their reunion had been. "True enough. Maybe we need a little luck in our lives. We could certainly use a shift in our favor."

The Captain of the cargo ship the 'Peony' hung up his phone. He didn't have anything against the man who had hired him. Part of him might even have wanted to believe the story he had told. However, in the end he had to look out for his crew and himself before anyone else. He had been paid handsomely for ferrying them across the Ocean, but he had been contacted by someone with a much more generous offer. All they had wanted to know was the current location, future destination, and current course of travel of his ship. He supposed it was just bad luck on the part of that man Ohgi. Sadly, he couldn't bring himself to care too much. Not when his pockets were being lined with gold.

Ohgi answered his ringing phone, it was Tohdoh. They had agreed not to contact each other outside of an emergency, so his stomach did a small flip before the other man spoke.

"Ohgi, it's urgent. The Ikaruga is finally moving out. It launched the Albion Zero and the Shen Hu. They're currently inbound to your direction. I think they're aiming to take you all out at once."

Ohgi blanched, Kallen's inquisitive look following suit as he repeated news to her. Ohgi hung up, now firmly shaken up. "Let Jeremiah and Anya know. Tell everyone to get inside their Knightmares now. I'm not sure how long we have. It could be a matter of only minutes.

"Right!" She ran off to do as she was ordered, her adrenaline spiking into high gear.

"Shit. This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted a change in luck." Then it dawned on him. How did Schneizel know their current location. It could only mean one thing. Someone had sold them out. He wasn't sure who, but one idea instantly came to mind. The Captain of the Peony. Regardless, things were about to get intense.

Tohdoh was outraged. Chiba and himself had been ordered to stay behind. He guessed it was some sort of roundabout punishment for failing to apprehend or dispose of Kozuki. If they had been allowed to sortie, it would have been premature, but they could have moved ahead with their plan to join forces with the others. As things stood, that option had been ripped away for the time being. All he could do for now was continue to drum up more support for the eventual splintering of the Black Knight forces. Sadly, the only major supporters he had gained were Minami and Sugiyama. He had wanted to approach Rakshata, but she was apparently busy with some major projects on Schneizel's orders. Things were beginning to look grim. Kozuki and the others wouldn't have any backup in the quickly approaching battle.

Whether they survived or not was entirely up to them. He had given them fair warning. He just hoped that was enough to tip things in their favor. At least it would be an even fight. No one had the element of surprise. He supposed it was the best they could ask for in the given situation.

With things spiraling out of control. The world was about to have the first clash of 9th Generation Knightmare Frames in over a year. He just hoped Kallen Kozuki was ready to face another Knight of the Round. From what he knew of Nonette Enneagram, she was one of the most fearsome warriors Britannia had ever produced.

A/N: Another chapter finished. A major conflict is brewing, and Nonette and Zhou are leading the charge. They aren't the only dangerous pilots showing up to play. The others will be a surprise. Thanks for reading. Until next time.