AN: I appreciate the reviews, and I'll be responding to some now

Raymond21: I'm glad you liked the chapter, and fair enough with your opinon on Villeta, becuase personally, I always felt it was kind of weird how she fell in love with Ohgi, especially with how he kidnapped her and manipulated her, and while I'm not mad that he did that (after all, Lelouch manipulates people all the time) it still rubs me the wrong way with how that ended up. (especially since Ohgi basically R'd her while she was in a vulnerable state, and yet Villeta still fell in love with him.)

RanVor: I do agree, Kallen was side-lined in that chapter, but only because I wanted to focus on Lelouch and Naoto; especially on their teamwork and Naoto's skillset. Also, I do believe Jeremiah was racist, I just don't believe he was racist as hell, simply because both Villeta and Kewells presence. All three of them participated in the plan to incriminate Suzaku, except Jeremiah was the only one to really stop his racist remarks after it; and you can totally put that on the fact that Suzaku saved him from Kewell, but considering he was the leader of the purist, which again, were the most racist faction in code geass, I expected him to be more racist (even as messed up as that sounds).

XxPistolgun: I'm personally excited for that moment too.

One more thing: Since we're getting news on R3 on the 18th, I would like to know what you'd want to see from it, or at least hoping to see.

Chapter 10: Anamnesis

"Are you sure it's going to be safe here?" Lelouch asked as Naoto taxied the Glasgow next to a forklift.

They were currently in an old underground hanger that was covered in rubble during the second pacific war. Naoto's cell managed to find it through one of their tunnel networks in their base. Despite its age, the lift that was used to transport vehicles like tanks, jeeps, and trucks still worked, and they used it to transfer the Knightmare inside. "Without a doubt in my mind!" the resistance leader's voice echoed through the empty hanger, "By the way, could you hit the lights? The controls are right next to you"

"It's a good thing you didn't put the original Glasgow here, otherwise, your base might've been compromised," Lelouch said while turning to his left, where he saw a breaker box.

"I suppose being paranoid that day was a good thing, because from the jump, I had a feeling something was gonna go awry," the red head responded, "That's why I found that empty warehouse at the last minute."

"Smart. Though, I can't help but feel like that means you doubted my planning"

"Not everything can be perfect, Lelouch."

The Prince reached for the breaker, and upon opening it, he flipped a few switches, causing the hanger to come to life, but there was just one problem, "What is that?" he asked while walking over to a strange amalgamation of parts

"What is what?" Naoto asked as he stepped out of the Glasgow, before his eyes came upon the object in question, "What is that?"

The rebels stood in front of the machine with their bandana's down; their heads slightly tilted to the left, then they swayed them to the right simultaneously, mimicking each other's movements, "It kind of looks like a Glasgow…" the Prince muttered while pointing at its legs

"Yeah, if a Glasgow didn't have a head… or a cockpit… or any arms…"

Then they looked at each other, "Your cell… they didn't, did they?"

"They might've…" Naoto muttered as he pulled out his cellphone, and called Ohgi. The phone picked up after two rings, "Kaname." the resistance leader started in a cold and commanding voice, "Why's there a Knightmare in the hanger?"

"That's where you put it!?" Ohgi exclaimed, clearly talking to someone else

Regardless, this caught Naoto's attention, "Who's there with you?"

"Uh… just Tamaki… Naomi… and Minami…"

"You snitch!" the voice of Tamaki cut through

"This wouldn't happen to be the same Glasgow that you almost got caught in, right?" Lelouch pointed out, "From the way you described it that day, they're almost identical."

"Who is that?" this time, it was Ohgi asking the questions

"That's my informant," Naoto replied effortlessly, "We just bagged a special present, and we're storing it in the hanger."

"I thought you said to lie low for the next two months!" Naomi scolded the Kozuki through the phone, "And to think you're still trusting that… that good for nothing after what he did to us!"

"Is she talking about me?" Lelouch asked with a tilted head while pointing at himself

"Calm down, Naomi. He didn't sell us out; the Glasgow must've been a trap created by Britannia to lure us out. If it wasn't for him warning us, we might've died that day."

"If it wasn't for his poorly conceived plan, then we wouldn't've gotten ambushed in the first place!" the Indigo haired woman argued, snatching the phone away from Ohgi in the process

Naoto sighed, and responded in a serious tone, "It's not his fault. I fell for the same trap, so if you're going to blame him for the ambush, then you'll also have to blame me too."

"That's not-"

"But it is." he cut her off, "Today, we successfully managed to pull off a mission together, he even saved me from getting my head blown off… or even worse. So please, do me a favor, and trust him."

"I… I… Fine." Naomi responded while slowly handing the phone back to Ohgi with a light blush; it was clear there was more she had to say, but she couldn't find the words now.

"Ohgi. If you want to see what we've procured, then swing by the hanger, I'll be here for the next two hours, setting everything up. Until then, goodbye." the resistance leader hung up the phone, and turned to Lelouch, who was smirking

"Quite the savant with your words, aren't you? I knew I made the right choice on whom to inspire the Japanese people." the Prince responded with a slow clap.

Naoto shook his head at the comment, and reached for his camera, however, it wasn't there, "OH NO! Where is it!?" he shouted while running back to the intact Glasgow

"Where's what?"

"My camera! I must've dropped it during the fight!"

Lelouch's heart sank, "Oh no… Naoto, if that gets put into the wrong hands-"

The resistance leader popped his head out from the Glasgow with an exasperated expression, "I know! Let's just hope it doesn't come to that…"

Meanwhile, in a hospital ward, the camera in question was currently being held in a plastic bag, placed on a small table next to a hospital bed, "This is the only thing of interest we've recovered from the scene, Ms. Nu," a police officer told the dark-skinned Britannian as she sat up in bed

"Good. How's Lord Jeremiah?" she asked while her heart rate monitor steadily beat

"From what the doctors say, he's set to make a full recovery in due time, however, both of you will be on medical leave for the next three months at the very least. Also, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for the terrorist that did this," another officer responded as Villeta reached for the camera, and cycled through the pictures.

"Thank you. Now please, leave me, I need time to… think," the woman responded while stopping on an image of a red-haired girl piloting a Knightmare, holding up a raven-haired boy in its hand.

September 21st 5:27 PM

"Welcome back, Master Lelouch," the Japanese Maid, Sayoko, greeted the Prince as he entered the clubhouse with an orange bag, "You have a visitor today. She's currently playing with Miss Nunally in the kitchen, however, no matter how much I insisted she head home, she told me she wouldn't leave until you've had a conversation with her."

"Thank you, Sayoko," Lelouch responded weakly, still in shock from the bomb Naoto dropped earlier, "Damn it. I still can't get that off my mind," he thought while he strode towards the kitchen, "Hopefully, the camera was damaged upon hitting the ground, and the files got corrupted, because if they trace those images back to Ashford, then everything will be-"

"Good Evening, Lelouch~" Kallen called in a creepy tone as he opened the door to the kitchen,

"Crap."

"Good Evening, Big Brother!" Lelouch's loving sister, Nunally, greeted him, "Kallen and I were just talking about the festival today!"

"Yeah, we had so much fun today," the red head continued, "I even got some pictures to… cement the memories in my mind…" she then slid over several photos of her and Nunally at several stands, eating food, and… one of her dressed in a turkey costume.

"Kallen found me while Sayoko and I were searching for you on the festival grounds, she said you had just left campus to get something for the festival," Nunally said with a saddened expression, then she began smiling, "But then she offered to hang out with me for the rest of the day. Of course, I agreed!"

"That's… nice," the raven-haired boy said while taking a seat at the kitchen table across from Kallen, with Nunally on his left, "It sounds like you two had a lot of fun today…" he then looked over the pictures and smiled, "It looks like it too."

Suddenly, he felt something kick his leg, causing him to look at Kallen, who gestured to his bag, which was now set on the table. She then passed a handwritten note that said, "Nice headband."

Lelouch sighed and turned to his sister, "So, you guys seem to be close; after all, the only other person I know to call you Nuna is Shirley."

"Surprisingly, we did get pretty close!" the young girl responded, "With how Milly described Kallen, I was kind of scared of her… after all, she somehow got you of all people to dance!"

"Oh… yeah… that's great…" the boy replied while writing something on a piece of paper, before sliding it over to Kallen.

The red head picked up the paper, and it read, "So Milly got you?" after reading it, she delivered a swift kick to his shins, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Are you okay, Big Brother?" Nunally asked

"Yeah, he just burned himself on his tea."

There was no tea on the table.

"It's getting pretty late, don't you think you should be heading home now, Kallen?" Lelouch asked with an irked expression

"Oh really? I'm sorry Kallen, I didn't know…"

The red head in question patted Nunally on the head, further annoying Lelouch, before saying, "Don't worry, it was my choice to stay." she then turned to the boy, "What time is it, Lelouch?"

"It's 5:32 now."

Nunally clasped her hands and suggested, "Kallen, why don't you stay in the guest bedroom tonight? I'll have Sayoko prepare you a change of clothes."

"What is going on?" the Prince thought

"Oh, I would love to!"

"No, seriously, what's going on?"

"You wouldn't mind either, right, Lelouch?" the Princess asked with an innocent smile

Lelouch's face slowly contorted into a smile, "Of course not. Kallen can stay the night if she wants." he answered calmly, while on the inside he was cursing that smile.

"Just what did you do to my sister?" Lelouch questioned the red head as he closed the door to his room.

"I already told you. We hung out the whole day, and shared some interesting stories about you. She even knows about the deal I made with you at the Cross-Dressers Ball." Kallen replied while casually taking a seat on the boy's bed.

"Maybe she really is a psychopath?" the Prince thought while taking a seat in his desk chair, then he continued, "What kind of stories? You hardly know me."

"Oh, but I beg to differ. You see, your sister told me quite the bit about you; embarrassing stories from middle-school, and-"

"Who are you?" Lelouch asked while clutching the handgun in his orange bag with his left hand.

Kallen noticed his grip, and took on a serious tone, "I'm just the little sister of a resistance leader."

"But why? Why're you so intent on getting to know me?"

"Who said I was intent on doing that?"

"The first day you returned to school, you sought me out, with no real reason or goal," strike one, "Then you outwitted me at the ball," strike two, "And now, you're getting closer to my sister, for no apparent reason." strike three.

Kallen was now on thin ice. The way the boy was speaking, it reminded her too much of Zero; always on guard. She felt if she misspoke, all the progress she made in the last month would be lost. With a deep breath in, she began her explanation, "Well, I just thought your sister looked so sad today while looking for you. So I wanted to cheer her up. Of course, I didn't tell her about your… rebellious activities."

It was a fair explanation, after all, she knew about Lelouch's collusion with her older brother, Naoto. If Nunally had begun questioning others of his ware bouts, she would've eventually found out about him running off with a strange man. In this case, she was saving both Lelouch and Naoto by keeping Nunally pre-occupied.

"As for outsmarting you during the ball, that's only because I remembered what Milly told me about you. Without her help, I probably would've given up."

For Lelouch, there was no way for him to tell if this was true; though, it made sense as Milly wanted to get Lelouch's photos for the yearbook. So, to achieve this, it was within reason for her to tell Kallen how he would act.

With those two hurdles out of the way, all that was left for the Kozuki was to explain the toughest question, and this was one she didn't have an answer to. Realistically, there was nothing she could say that would make sense… unless… "Well… you see… the truth is…" the red head began to twiddle her thumbs nervously, "I actually have a… crush on you…"

Lelouch quickly pulled out his gun and said, "Do you think I was born yesterday? Tell me the truth now, or else."

It hurt. While a bit cheesy, there was some genuine truth behind that confession, but at least it didn't die without a purpose, because now that the Prince rejected her first answer, there was a higher chance of him believing her second, "Fine." Kallen responded while holding back tears, "The truth is, I was tired of pretending to be a sickly girl. So I thought, by befriending you, the boy renowned with a cold-heart, I could slowly unveil myself as someone who wasn't so frail."

This explanation would've been shot down the first time due to the lack of explanation, however, thanks to her previous answer, Lelouch filled in the blanks himself, and eventually, "So that's it? You just wanted to use me?" he put down his gun, hiding it in his desk.

Kallen internally sighed with relief, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all. In fact, I would've done the same thing in your situation. I find it quite admirable."

The red head didn't know what Lelouch filled in the blanks with, but she didn't care. Right now, she needed to leave the room, as the dam for her feelings was about to burst, "Well, I think that's enough for today. I'll be going to bed now." of course, she still had one last card to play, "By the way, I'll get you back for abandoning me with Milly."

This made Lelouch shiver slightly as his door closed, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Kallen quickly ran to the guest bedroom and shut the door, before allowing her tears to fall, "I knew it would end up this way… but it still hurts…" she whispered while collapsing onto the bed, "Those cold eyes… how he pulled out that gun without hesitation… why was that so scary? My life's been threatened before, so why'd that get to me?"

Of course, the answer was simpler than she hoped.

The boy she loved just threatened her life. She doesn't want to die yet, not when she'd accomplished so little!

No… that's not it. What hurt the most, was the boy she loved, denying her feelings, staring at her coldly, with the same look he gave everyone else. Kallen had known Lelouch for so long, she'd forgotten how cruel he could be.

Or perhaps… what really hurt the most, was the realization that the Lelouch she fell in love with, was gone. Replaced by a boy who had the same face, but none of the same memories.

Time travel was painful. Kallen knew so much, yet could do so little.

That night, Kallen Kozuki cried herself to sleep.

?

The next thing she knew, the red head awoke in a strange clear plain… with nothing in sight for miles except for a few ruins, and a large sword made from hideous screaming bodies. Just as she stood up, the sword bellowed, sending out a blood-curdling screech throughout the plain, forcing Kallen onto one knee. Through her body, she simultaneously felt rage, fear, and loneliness.

The sword was lost. It didn't belong here. It yearned to complete its duty, and that was… to slay god.

"The sword of Akasha?" Kallen muttered while looking up, and there stood a huge planet resembling Jupiter with a massive Geass symbol on it, "Wait… what did I just say?"

Nothing will stop the march of time.

"Who said that?"

That's when she suddenly felt a cold hand on her shoulder, and the noise stopped. Instinctively, Kallen jumped back, only for her eyes to meet a familiar face, dressed in his white royal garbs, with a red splotch at the center of his chest, "Lelouch…" she muttered

"You're not supposed to be here." the boy muttered with a scowl

This can't be real

"But it is"

Why're you here?

"Is that really the question you should be asking right now?"

Stop being so cold.

"Would you please speak? It's tiring hearing your thoughts ramble on."

Kallen's eyes were now strained with fear; this was the Lelouch she knew, but why was he-

"Here? I don't know. I was hoping you'd answer that question."

That's a lie!

"You're right. It is. I have some kind of idea why I'm here." the Prince replied while approaching the massive sword, "God… took my command a little too literally."

"God? Who's God?"

"Oh? So you can speak."

"Just answer my question!" Kallen demanded with a mixture of fear and anger.

Lelouch turned around and smiled, "It's actually called, the collective unconscious. Basically, it's something all of us humans share, and keeps us connected. An in-depth explanation would be quite monotonous, so while we have the time. I have a favor to ask."

"A favor!?" the red head exclaimed, "You bastard!" she punched Lelouch, causing him to fall on his back, then she climbed on top of him, and delivered several more blows to his face, "The first thing you ask of me after all this time is a favor!? Not hi, or hello. Just a favor!?" she punched him again, "Do you know how much pain you caused me!?" and another, "If anything, I should be asking you the questions!" she clasped her hand together, ready to deliver a final strike, "What do I mean to you!?" the tone she used made the question seem like a threat.

Lelouch stared at her blankly, his face wasn't bruised in the slightest no matter how much she attacked him; he was in complete control, "You'll get your answers soon enough. For now, I need you to do something for me."

Kallen slammed her fist just barely above the Prince's head, and put her face close to his, feeling his breath on her face, just like in the locker, "What is it?"

"Really? Just like that?" Lelouch asked in a mildly surprised tone

The red head moved her hands to his neck, and squeezed, "If it's to get a straight answer from you. Then I'll do it."

Feeling the pressure slowly increase, the boy smiled, "Good. Then I need you to continue what you're doing." this confused Kallen, but the pressure didn't let up, "I want you to continue living normally, and allow me to explore this place. Once I find something, I'll try to contact you again with further orders."

The Kozuki slowly removed her hands, placing them on Lelouch's chest, "How will you do that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I'll try to replicate the same conditions as today, or perhaps it'll be different next time."

"And you'll keep your word?"

"Just trust me, Q1." the Prince responded with a smile

Kallen punched him again, "Don't get ahead of yourself." she stood up and continued, "But while we're here, explain to me-"

Before the red head could finish her sentence, she suddenly faded away, leaving Lelouch alone in the vast plain, with a screaming sword, and a Geassed planet, "Nice timing. Now then, what do I do?" he wondered as someone rose up behind him, "Oh? You're here too? Good. I need your-" the mysterious person suddenly lunged at him, delivering a roundhouse kick that knocked him back, "Wait a minute… you're not!"

Without saying anything else, the assailant continued his assault, forcing the Prince to back away as fast as he could, "I'll kill you!"

Lelouch ducked a strike, and turned tail; in the real world, he wouldn't have been able to play keep away like this, but in C's world, where your mental strength reined supreme, he could run as fast as he wanted, for as long as he wanted. "Get back here, Lelouch!" the person shouted

"I don't know why you're chasing me!" the boy responded, "But I would appreciate it if you stopped so we could just talk things out!"

"No! No more talking! I'm through trying to talk with you!"

Lelouch sighed and thought, "I've got no idea what I've done to you to make you act like this, but it's not something I can worry about. Right now, I have to make sure I don't run into either Charles, V.V, or mother in here. So my best bet is…" with the sword of Akasha slowly fading away in the distance, the only thing that could be heard now, was the echo of their footsteps as they ran endlessly through C's world.

"Kallen, wake up," Lelouch's voice called while shaking her, "Nunally said you'll be late for school if you continue to sleep in." She was back in the real world. Back to the empty template of Lelouch before her, "And you went to sleep in your school clothes? What was even the point of giving you pajamas?" he muttered while exiting the room.

Kallen slowly sat up, and thought, "Continue to live normally? Huh?"

"Good Morning, Kallen," Nunally greeted the red head as she entered the kitchen, where Lelouch was seated at the table, with Sayoko cooking something in the background.

"Good Morning, Nuna," Kallen returned the greeting effortlessly while taking a seat across from Lelouch.

The Prince glanced at the girl and thought, "I made a serious error yesterday by threatening Kallen. Whether she knows it or not, she's got me in a bind." then the Japanese maid set their breakfast in front of the teenagers; today, they were having scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. After thanking Sayoko, they began to eat, "It really wasn't a smart move to threaten my co-conspirator's sister; I can only think of the things he'd do to me if he found out. Though… the psychopath accusations don't seem to hold any weight, as her mask didn't seem to slip once during my interrogation. Which could mean one of two things; she's not a psychopath, or… her mask runs deeper than I thought."

After the delicious breakfast courtesy of Nunally's kindness and Sayoko's cooking, Kallen and Lelouch left the clubhouse… together. "We should probably separate soon before Milly see's us," the Prince commented as they walked down a concrete path.

Suddenly, Kallen stopped walking and said, "Lelouch… listen, about yesterday-"

"Do you really want to talk about that now?" he replied while taking in their surroundings

"Yes, I do." she then took a deep breath, "I didn't get the chance yesterday, but I would like to know how your mission went with my brother"

"It went well, we've acquired a new Glasgow, and we've placed it in a large underground hanger, where we found an… interesting machine that your friends have stored."

"That's good…"

"But…" the red head then looked at the boy attentively, "Ashford might be compromised."

"What happened?"

"Your brother lost his camera; we have no idea where it is, but my guess is that it's been acquired by the Police, or worse, the Military." he then went on to explain how everything went down, including Naoto's duel with a certain orange boy.

"To think… things would change this much just with Naoto being alive," Kallen thought before asking, "If the Military shows up here, what do we do?"

"Keep our head down, don't leave campus in the middle of a school day, be normal." Lelouch suggested, "They shouldn't suspect us too much, considering that Naoto took a lot of pictures, but… there was a good portion of them that focused on you. So, if an investigation does come to pass, you'll have to be extra careful."

Kallen nodded in agreement, then she felt someone looming behind her, and judging from Lelouch's head shaking, it was probably- "Kallen and Lelouch, huh~ what're you two doing at such an hour? Alone?" Milly.

"Good Morning, President," the raven-haired boy greeted the blonde politely.

"Stuff it Lelouch. I saw you two leave the clubhouse together, and after questioning Nunally, she told me Kallen stayed the night!" Milly pointed at the red head, "Look at you! Your clothes are all wrinkled, just what were you two doing~"

Realizing her implications, Kallen quickly shook her head in denial, "No! It's not what you think!"

"I don't have time for this," Lelouch thought while walking away with a sigh

"Aha! You can't avoid my questioning forever!" Milly shouted at the boy's retreating back, "I'll find out what you two did soon enough!" she then turned to the red head, "So, how're you gonna break the news to Shirley?"

"Like I said, it's not like-"

"Don't lie," the blonde ordered in an oddly serious tone, "Shirley's my friend too, and she loves Lelouch. I see from the way you treat him, that you also have feelings for him; it's also clear that he's built some semblance of care for you, too."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Lelouch doesn't just hang out with anyone, and while Rivalz thinks he was just hanging out with you to get out of piloting the Ganymede, I think otherwise." she then turned toward the direction Lelouch headed off in, "Please, don't break Shirley's heart by not telling her. I know she'll be devastated no matter what, but at least it'll soften the blow."

Kallen looked down, "Does Lelouch really care about me?"

In an instant, Milly's tone turned from serious, to teasing, "Unless of course, you're hoping to share~" this made Kallen's entire face beet red, prompting a hearty laugh from the blonde, then she continued, "By the way, when you slammed him into that locker in the student council room, did that turn him on?"

"I thought Lelouch deleted that footage!" the red head blurted out, "Damn it, I'm going to kill him!" she then ran off into the distance, now on a mission to find the Prince, and make him pay.

Milly, on the other hand, watched as Kallen slowly disappeared, then her smile faded, "So, he was deleting footage, huh? Does that have anything to do with the man he entered the elevator with?" she sighed heavily, "Lelouch, you better not be up to what I think you're up to."

AN: The main plot is starting to form in the background

I always found it hard to believe that Milly never investigated Lelouch for his absences, espcially since she's supposed to be someone who always looks for secrets. But then again, she probably had other things to deal with (like potential suitors).