A/N: I don`t own Code Geass.

VI Chapter.

Assassin from the past

Deep into the Gobi Desert, Chinese Federation

The desert. One of the worst locations to spend your time in. Given it`s autumn, it`s at least tolerable, but the scale of Gobi Desert was enormous. Unending desert from one side of the world to another. Countless miles of sand. Of sand and of nothing else, aside from small winds.

In the middle of it, stood one oasis. From the outside, it seemed like a mountainous island in the middle of the Pacific, absolutely alien to harsh local climate conditions. No human life anywhere near it, no traffic and no military bases.

In short – the best location to do your illegal or secret activities.

Deep beneath the mountain, in the secret base of Geass Order, two men sat near the gigantic gates. Well, only one of them could be called by his looks a man, as other was no older than 14, but looks can deceive an untrained eye.

"Honestly, I`m surprised how easily you learned your abilities and how little it took for you to delve into Geass. Were you born with such talents, Jeremiah?"

A man in question sat on a wooden chair, which could well be over a hundred years old. In his hand, he held a glass of champagne, relaxed.

"No. If something my loyalty demands to do, then this I must to do. Especially, if this brings light on certain events of past."

Boy let a small laugh, "Heh, I see. Your determination does deserve respect."

"Returning from pleasantries. Is the information we received is correct?"

"Absolutely. It was confirmed by my sources." V.V. responded, in the same tone as he spoke before. Jeremiah though could tell – boy is a little bit worried, or angry. Most likely both.

For an immortal he`s incredibly emotionally unstable. V.V. had a lot of experience and practice of hiding his emotions. 'If only Charles didn`t try to undermine my efforts, I wouldn`t try to rush this. He is still too young.'

Considering Jeremiah had interacted with less collected members of the Royal Family in his lifetime, the boy isn`t that bad.

"So, my mission is as you instructed?"

"Yes. Now, you know what you have to do. Delaying the mission won`t give us anything useful. Contact me from the Tokyo Settlement after 24 hours."

On the submarine

"Is this true?"

"Zero has been wounded?"

C.C. stood before the crowd of the Black Knights, with Ohgi and Tohdoh on her sides. "He won`t be in charge of the organization for some time, and he is not to be disturbed."

"What a timing! Is my pal okay? I planned to take him to meet our recruits…" Tamaki pleaded, as some other voices raised their own questions.

"But how`s Kallen? She was with him when we lost contact with them both." One officer asked. Tohdoh, with stoic yet slightly sad face responded "Kozuki wasn`t able to get out of the island. We suspect she was captured."

"The most important thing is to protect the organization as we are right now down a brilliant commander and an ace" C.C. returned to the topic. "Some of the plans Zero had can`t be executed. For a while, we have to rest and to return our strength."

The discussion with the Black Knights continued for an hour, with the question regarding Zero`s health and what to do next being the most asked. C.C. sat in a chair near the stage, trying not to deal with these matters. She waited patiently for this meeting to be over.

After all, there are some more interesting things to do.

The meeting was over, as most of the soldiers dispersed back to their posts.

C.C. went to her room, that was once Zero`s. He wouldn`t mind if she took it, or rather that was her belief. Near the door, she was approached by Tohdoh. "About Zero`s identity…" C.C. tried to redirect the topic "Not now, I know you have a lot of questions but now we don`t even have a contact with him."

But now, she has to split the room with one other roommate.

She held a small paper crane in her hands, with the wish that had yet to come to life.

Was it 400th? Her memory was good enough to remember, but conditions in which she was living in were completely different. And that`s not even mentioning how she had to live near Zero, the man whom she hated for killing Clovis.

Sayoko sometimes was missing, and Nunnally had yet to understand what she was doing. She had some ideas, but why`d her loyal maid participate in terrorist activities was beyond her.

The doors opened.

"Oh, Ms. C.C., you finally came here."

Ashford Academy

Rival`s was tired.

Work at the student council was boring and hard. The amount of paperwork could easily kill him if it was literally dropped on his head. It wasn`t more than usual, but now there are two pairs of hands missing. Lelouch and Kallen were pretty much the only ones who had actually helped with this burden.

Milly wasn`t doing anything, as she sat on the table with an unusual sad expression. He could try to ask her what`s the matter, but he was uncomfortable enough to speak to her, and this deal could be hard if even she`s sad.

Is it because of that fiancée of hers?

There`s also Nina, but she`s Nina. She always has some scientific work of hers to do.

There was also Shirley, but her eyes wander from chair to chair, on which those two sat. He wasn`t sure: was she jealous or genuinely confused. The latter was strange, but her behavior wasn`t any better.

If there`s nothing better to do, then why not to ask her, at least?

"Shirley, is something the matter?" he begun, and quickly got joined by Milly. Probably she also wanted to clear her mind. "Oh, poor Shirley, how can Kallen help out Lulu better than you? Maybe she will even develop some feelings for him"

Shirley`s expression haven`t changed for a bit. That in itself is strange, she isn't the person to not fall victim to Milly`s teasing. "Lelouch is nowhere to be seen for almost a week. And not only him and Kallen – Nunnally is also missing."

"You`re right, that doesn`t seem like my friend. Maybe they`re having a nice discussion or trip somewhere" he went along to tease Shirley, but she is completely invulnerable to this. 'Did they really have a fight?'

For a moment, he could`ve sworn he saw on Milly`s face a glimpse of sadness.

Milly poured herself a glass of water, and drank it instantaneously, to clear her head for a bit.

"Damn, you`re also different now. What has happened that I don`t know?"

"Yeah…well… I can`t gather words for it. I probably know where`s Lelouch, but…" How can she tell though? Shirley had a fight with Lelouch, her reaction to telling her that her beloved was a prince in disguise and is headed for Pendragon for his impending doom isn`t that great. Rival`s could also be broken as a result of this.

"But what?!" he exclaimed. "Your riddles are hard and that`s no time for this!"

A heavy and long silence ensued. Rival`s was trying to understand what she was saying. Milly was trying to respond, somehow. She tried to prepare the speech for her fellow friends from the student council, but she still had no idea how to approach this.

Shirley sat in her chair, almost thrilling her eyes into the chair where Lelouch sat. "I`m going to get some fresh air. Let`s continue with this paperwork tomorrow."

Rival`s wanted to stop her, but he himself had no idea what to do.

"So, this is it, then. Well, see you tomorrow, President!"

Milly was left alone in the room. "Damn, Lelouch, everything gets boring without you… I really hope you will survive whatever Charles prepared for you."

Euphemia sat in her cabinet, with her knight by her side. Her mood was quite sour.

Suzaku couldn`t miss this, it wasn`t in her style to be depressed. "Euphy, is something the matter?"

She sighed, leaning back into her chair. "I had hoped to meet Schneizel, and now he`s too busy. Father is also coming to the Area, as he finishes interrogating Zero." Her look only worsened at saying it. Had Suzaku been a different person, he`d thought she knew him personally.

He didn`t have that much to think what that meant, as she took his hand. "Tell me, Suzaku, am I doing everything alright?"

"Yes, yes you are, Euphy"

The moment quickly dissipated, as Cornelia stormed in, followed by her knight at the safe distance. Her face was painted with worry, anger and confusion, all combined in one emotion.

"Sub-Viceroy, I`m happy to meet you in a good health and on your workplace, but what did you plan to do? What is this SAZ plan that I was informed of?"

Euphemia was surprised, but she decided to protect her idea.

"This was the plan to improve the life conditions in the Area 11, that would make it a better place to live for everyone. I even wanted to consult Schneizel for that matter,"

Cornelia threw a look at Suzaku. "Guilford, leave us. Kururugi, you as well"

He looked at Euphemia, who nodded to him.

As they were left alone, Cornelia sat in a chair opposite of her sister.

She held her hand to her face, closing her eyes. "Oh, Euphy, Euphy. I understand that you want to help me, but this isn`t it. What should I tell Charles when he arrives here? How should I protect you? It`s absolutely against our state policies, and I fear that the emperor`s reaction wouldn`t be that nice. I will speak with Schneizel about it later, but right now I want to settle it with you". She opened her eyes, looking straight into her sister`s. "Euphy, why did you do this? If Suzaku made you push for it, I`ll cut his head right here."

Third Princess looked up hearing this. "No, he did not! I just…" She looked away to the portrait Clovis once made with members of House Vi Britannia depicted on it. "I just… thinking, whether Lelouch would support what we`re doing right now. Nunnally herself would be a staunch opponent of our current policies. Maybe they`d even hate us for what we`ve done."

Cornelia rushed to her side, taking her hands. Euphemia continued, breaking into tears. "They saw how we conquered Area 11, and now how we police it. Could…could…" she gulped, "could we do more than we did? Could they be happy watching us from above on how we change it for the better? I…simply can`t accept how ruthless we are…"

Second Princess pulled her into the hug. "I know, I know. I`m simply afraid you`d lose your head and I`d lose you as well as Clovis, Lelouch and Nunnally. I couldn`t ever allow something bad happening to you." She released her hands around her sister. "For now, take a break, and rethink your plans. You can add some details or you can manage to contact Schneizel about them, but just not now."

Euphemia looked up, to meet her sister`s hand with a document in it. She took it and quickly read it.

"The emperor arrives next week. I`m afraid he can be disappointed with how we managed governing the Area, but for now we have to prepare to meet him."

Cornelia turned around, heading to the exit. "Take care, Euphy. Lelouch won`t be disappointed as long as you`re trying."

She looked up to her older sister. "I will. Thank you"

Downtown, Tokyo Settlement

Shirley strolled mindlessly through the empty streets. On the walls around her, on the glowing billboards were poster of Charles, with the date of his arrival marked under his enormous portrait.

The night Tokyo wasn`t sleeping. On one building she saw an advertisement of funicular, that strangely caused a pain in her chest for a moment. On the other – a general goods store with a discount for chainsaws.

On one side there were some gun-dealers. On the other – a shop, where she bought her phone. Her memory was screaming about the lines she wrote in her diary on this. On how she was afraid to ask for Lelouch`s phone number. But that diary was nowhere to be seen. Her roommate helped her to find it, but with no avail.

Where she was going – she had no idea. Simply to relieve her mind from all this. Sometimes she was passing some strange people. Some of them looked like a Black Knights, but that didn`t really fell into her eyes. Their visors, that kept their eyes unseen, were so familiar for some reason. But why?

She strolled until the early night. Skyscrapers changed skyscrapers, shops, boutiques were replaced with small houses, and now she stood in the docks.

In the docks…

It was familiar, for some reason.

She never went here, but why is it so familiar?

Shirley decided to follow her heart, that was screaming of familiarity. Container after container, full of usual industry goods, were before her eyes. Just a normal dock, nothing that interesting.

She caught her gaze on one of the hangars. Shirley approached it. While she had no idea why was it so interesting, but she felt like she was here. A small explosion even ringed in her memory, as her gaze wonder to the sea.

As she decided to move closer, scenery was becoming more and more similar to one of the warzones. Trashed containers, some of them punched with inhuman power. Shirley thought for a second that it was damaged when dropped onto the ground from the ship, but as her gaze met remnants of destroyed Sutherlands, she quickly understood. Here was a battle, the one she has no memory of but a feeling of seeing one.

One certain container brought her attention. Some sides of it were covered in blood. The ground on the side near it was scratched. The reason for it quickly was seen, as she saw a cockpit lying on it. An open cockpit, ejected from some knightmare.

For some reason, she felt a deep emotional connection to it. Like it was her, who shot. But whom? But why? But when?

"This is the 9th place" Jeremiah spoke, overlooking busy street from a small hotel room. Near his leg stood a small coffee table with a glass of water on it. On the same table a communicator with the Geass Order HQ was lying.

A child`s voice rang through the speaker in his communicator. "Yes. There`s also the 10th, after which your orders are to use Geass Canceller near one of the bases of the Black Knights. Ideally, your orders are to gather some information on their activities. If you meet Zero – I trust your judgement" The call was ended.

Jeremiah smiled. Finally, with his help, he can show his loyalty and even take revenge on that incident.

He drank some water, as he took his communicator and left the building.

Step after step, his untiring legs guided him towards a certain trade ship. He looked previously into the records, and it had arrived only two days ago under the alias of local manufacturing company.

He approached the ship. Untrained eye could easily miss the Black Knights, sitting in several observation posts on the perimeter of the ship, but Jeremiah is by means an untrained soldier. Experience he got in the Royal Guard was enormous. Not only that – spending time near the most brilliant KMF ace of all time could provide a lot of inspiration for new tricks and maneuvers.

As he approached one of the posts, he heard some of the soldiers having a conversation. "Wait, Zero was wounded?" one asked, with shocked tone in his voice. "Yeah, sum Britannian bastards got him on one of the raids. I even heard he was captured but he escaped before damn brits could do anything."

They didn`t seem to catch a present of cyborg behind the containers, but could they be blamed for that?

'Oh, that`s interesting. Loose lips are the biggest enemy of any serious organization'. Jeremiah was pleased to hear it, but there was still not enough information to catch the bastard when he`s the most vulnerable.

First soldier continued "I tried to find him in the medical bay today, but they told me he wasn`t there. Probably they put him in his cabinet. Hell, I`ve even heard they placed sum brit girl there as well. Dunno why, but he prolly knows more than I. Never thought he was interested in that stuff." He let a small laugh and almost dropped his rifle from it.

'To speak so low of their commander... Are they drunk to speak like that? That doesn`t seem like a ploy, but this is too good to be true'

Second soldier was as shocked as cyborg was. "Is it true though? I mean, that you said he was wounded and not in the medical bay?"

"That`s what I`ve heard."

'Fantastic.' Jeremiah then jumped to another post, getting closer and closer to the ship. He used his Geass Canceller on the last spot, and he run further inside.

The soldiers turned their heads in his direction, but were too late to spot even his silhouette. "Damn, winds are strong. I thought that there was a human for a sec. Wait, wasn`t that lover of Zero livin` there already?"

"Where?"

Second soldier facepalmed. "How can a newbie get this drunk on his first day?"

"Eh, Ta…Tamaki said that that`s the norm to drink, I don`t see the issue…"

"Did you hear all this from Tamaki?"

"Yeah, he seems like a nice fella, even bought us drinks"

First soldier shook his head. 'How someone this stupid could even be appointed in this organization to work with newbies? What will grow from these recruits…'

Silently bypassing post after post, trying to not bring enemy attention by killing the watchmen, he reached the deck. Going further was quite risky, but there was no choice.

He carefully went inside, to the cargo bay. Sure enough, there was no goods stored here, but a military submarine, with the entrances into it unsealed.

Jeremiah stopped, as he saw a shadow in the corridor, headed for the balcony. He approached it from behind, only to stop himself again, seeing how deadly drunk his opponent is. He was shaking and held a bottle in his hands.

At one point, he sneezed.

"Who the hell dares to speak about me, Zero`s best friend, behind my back?!"

He swung a bottle of shochu, which was probably some Japanese beverage, Jeremiah wasn`t a fan of local drinks to know it. Trying to hit a person he thought was badmouthing him, Tamaki hit absolutely nobody and lost all balance in his body. He slammed himself to the floor, raising his head for a second, before passing out.

'One obstacle out' Jeremiah noted. One of the rooms was open, with the lights on. He carefully approached the doors. It was filled with uniforms of the Black Knights, some of them even unmarked with no name of the owner written on the inside of them. 'Some of the terrorists spoke about getting new recruits, so this should be their new uniforms.' He glanced to the newest uniforms, which were left without any markers and names. 'This should be spare ones. The guards aren`t that collected, they will allow anybody inside if he`s in the uniform, since here are a lot of newbies.'

In a minute, he changed himself to the terrorist uniform, while hiding his previous clothes into a suitcase.

Jeremiah went to the submarine, passing the passed-out Tamaki on the floor. This was getting too easy.

On the entrance, he saw a guard, standing mindlessly.

The cyborg approached him, and he saluted. He saluted back, entering the submarine.

'Now, to find you, Zero'

Shirley stopped herself near one of the boats. Her heart continued to scream to go further, but seeing the guards near it, Shirley decided to sit and observe. Even worse, these were the Black Knights! To go near them would be stupid.

Her eyes wander from soldier to soldier, container to container. 'They should be celebrating, if this much beer bottles are lying around. Even Rival`s has a better sense of what`s too much that they.'

One particular post caught her gaze. Two soldiers were standing and speaking about some unimportant things. But it wasn`t the thing that caught her eye, but a… person standing behind them. Not only he hid himself perfectly behind the containers, it seemed that he didn`t breathe at all!

He then jumped off and proceeded to run to the ship. She decided to follow him from some distance. She left her cover and run towards the other, while guards weren`t looking, when it hit her.

'Wait, what am I doing?'

A signal, an impulse of some kind, hit her. All the memories, sealed by Lelouch`s geass, of her father, of Mao, of Narita – everything returned.

She struggled to get everything systemized. Tears begun to flow from her eyes, dripping on the asphalt beneath her. She even stopped in the middle of the platform, not reaching her cover.

She begun to crumble. "How…why`d he do this? What…should I do now?" a tearful voice flown out of her.

Guards turned around, pointing their rifles on her. "What are you doing here?".

In that moment, Shirley passed out.

On the submarine

For some reason, a lot of newcomers had Britannian ancestry. Jeremiah kept that in mind, trying to go to Zero`s cabinet without meeting one of them in his way. He could be recognized by some of them, so bypassing them was the only choice.

Going through the hangar, Jeremiah heard a familiar voice, giving some commands in English. He hid behind one of the boxes, and peeked out to see that face properly.

Diethard Ried.

To see a long-forgotten reporter was nothing short of surprising. He worked with him as an interim-viceroy and as a pilot, seeking his vengeance and revealing the secrets Zero had hidden before. And now he stood, no longer a Britannian reporter, but some kind of high-ranking officer in the terrorist organization. He seemed tired and

Jeremiah waited for him to go back to his cabinet, and went further.

Most of the Black Knights were gathered in a dining hall, so the corridor to the Zero`s room was left relatively unguarded.

First room…second room…then the corridor. Turn left, then right, then straight ahead.

And there it is. Zero`s cabinet. As expected – left unguarded. Jeremiah looked around. There really was nobody here, but if Zero truly possesses Geass, he may have some geassed guards inside. Using geass canceller is risky, but can be useful.

He reached the door with his hand, opening it automatically. His eyes wandered through the room, meeting only two silhouettes in it.

In the left part of the room, he saw a couch with a small table near it. In front, there was a desk with some folders, portable PC and half empty cup of coffee on it. On the couch, a yellow haired woman was lying, and between her and a table, some silhouette was sitting in something close to a…wheelchair?

Jeremiah stepped inside carefully, trying not to disturb whoever is the second person in the room. His skills were immense, and the benefits of being cyborg significantly improved his stealth, but as he made a first step inside, he was spotted by a person in a chair.

"Who are you? You don't sound familiar. Are you a Black Knight?" a soft and quiet girlish voice asked. "Please, can we sit and talk? I understand the pain you went through." This alerted C.C., who finally stood up to face him.

"So, you`re Orange? Didn`t expect to see you here. Do you hate Zero this much to risk such operation?" C.C. smirked, being already in her stance to fight him.

Jeremiah was stunned. Out of all people, he wasn`t expecting to see her here.

Tears flowed from his eyes. "P…P…Princess Nunnally, is that you?"

The person in question frowned, facing him. "Yes, I was. Do you intend to take me back to Pendragon, as you did with my brother? To face the emperor again? Or to use me as a lever on my brother, to hurt him?" She spoke with anger and disgust, as if she was trying to fend her opponent off.

"No, Your Highness. I was ordered to gather information on the Black Knights. I honestly expected to see Zero in this room to take revenge on him, but that can wait." He rushed to her side, kneeling before her. "Your Highness, what are your orders? I can rescue you from the Black Knights if that`s your wish. Is your brother alive as well? I will take both of you to safety."

C.C. stood with surprise written on her face. Same could be said about Sayoko, who already rushed from behind to stop him. She froze in the middle of the room with two kunai`s in her hands, ready to throw at him.

"Jeremiah, you`re mistaken. She doesn`t need to be escorted anywhere…" C.C. begun, but loyal knight couldn`t be convinced so easily. He stood up, ready to fight with any interloper he sees. "So, you`re all working for Zero? For a person, who can manipulate human wills for the sake of his meaningless rebellion?"

C.C. threw a glance at him. 'He knows about Geass? Interesting'. "Did V.V. send you here? First Charles, and now V.V. sends his courier. You really don`t have to fight us, you know?"

Jeremiah was filled with rage. "How can I not fight? You kept Her Highness here all this time. I will protect her, so I advise you to step back!". She saw some small movement in his cybernetic eye, revealing his power. "If you`re here against your will, this is your chance. If not – I still will leave this place with her! I would be eager to avoid mindless murder, especially of women"

The next moment a wave of Geass Canceller was released by his eye, enveloping the entire ship in it. Sayoko`s face twitched, but she was unwilling to back down. "I would like to avoid mindless murder as well, so back down"

He smirked, as he went in to attack her.

'He seems loyal, but should I tell him about Zero`s identity? There are some risks to it' C.C. stood outside their fight, but one interesting thing caught her eyes, as she looked back to the wheelchair.

They all stopped when they heard Nunnally crying, with her eyes open.

"All this time…"

"…you could see?"

She took her head in her arms. "I…I remember that father approached me in the hospital, and then I…"

Jeremiah shook his head. "So His Majesty made you lose your sight? Why? I don`t understand."

"Neither am I" Sayoko responded.

C.C. approached Jeremiah. "We have to talk, to resolve some matters. Don`t worry, Sayoko will protect Nunnally, as she did for the last seven years."

He threw a suspicious look at the Japanese maid in question. She certainly was a terrorist, but she had no intent of harming Her Highness. She had a lot of combat skills and is one of the best fighters he ever met in combat. He can trust her, for now.

A/N: That`s it for now. Next chapter will be returning to, like, the obvious main protagonists themselves. Until next time!

Another note: I was in the middle of writing another chapter, as I saw how poorly elements of the story were separated. I got used to work with Word, and kinda forgot that some graphical details may be missing. Now it should be easier to be read, a hell of a mistake I`ve made. Whoops