AN: I'll be trying to use italic's for thoughts now. Though, it is my first time using them for this, so let me know how it is.

I'll also be using line's to distinguish between scenes now.

Chapter 16: Clovis Land

"Pick up the pace!" Milly shouted as Clovis began to slow down

"Don't you know who I am!?" the Prince shouted through struggling breaths, "I'm Clovis La Britannia! And I demand you show me some respect, woman!"

Shirley watched the exchange from behind; she was currently at a casual jogging pace, making sure she didn't lose them, "Please stop! We beg of you!" one of the guards demanded from behind the group.

"Damn you, Kallen! Why'd you have to leave us like this!" the President cursed as the group left the water park, and entered a jungle themed part, where a statue of Prince Clovis in a safari uniform stood proudly at the center.

"Uh!? How boorish! Why'd they have to dress me in such an ugly color!?" the Prince in question yelled in outrage, "And my nose! Why's it so big!?"

Milly and Shirley rolled their eyes at the comment, and quickly ran down a path to the left of the statue, sprinting through overgrown foliage that was a lawsuit waiting to happen, considering that due to it, the group could barely see two feet in front of them, meaning…

"Ow!" Clovis groaned in pain as he crashed into someone.

The person rubbed their temple, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just watch where you're going next time," the Prince responded rudely as he got up, and ran out of the forest.

After he left, the person walked out of the foliage, revealing themselves to be Lelouch, who continued to massage his temple, "Wait… was that… no. Why would he be here?"

"Are you okay, Lamprouge?" Villetta asked the boy as two men ran past her

"Yes, Ma'am, I'm fine."

"We've been walking around for twenty minutes, and yet Milly still hasn't come up," the teacher commented while, "I'm beginning to think you're lying to me."

Lelouch shook his head profusely, "No, I'm not! You know this park is big! They could be anywhere, in fact, they could be at a place we've already searched, but they only got there after we left!"

"What're you saying?" Ms. Nu put a hand on her hip

"I'm saying, we should split up! You know, cover more ground!"

Villetta grabbed the boy by his ear, "Just so you can pull a fast one on me? You think I'm stupid or something!?" she exclaimed, "We're sticking together until we find Ms. Ashford. And if we don't find her by 3, then I'm strapping you to the Clovis Launcher!"

"Can we please take a break?" Clovis pleaded as they entered a shady area by a large Ferris wheel.

"He's right…" Milly panted, "I think we can take a short break, after all, I think we've lost your guards… for now!" she said the last part ominously.

"Speaking of which, when's this event gonna end?" Shirley asked, "I mean, do we have to take you to a specific area or-"

That's when the Prince put his foot down, "How dare you! Do you really think of my being as some sort of attraction to satiate your amusement? I am Clovis La Britannia, Viceroy of Area 11 and the third Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire! Show some respect when you're talking to me!"

The President tilted her head in confusion, "wait, you're really Clovis? The same Clovis from Aries Villa?"

"Aries Villa?" Clovis turned to Milly, "But the only people who call it that are…" he looked at her blonde hair, of course, that didn't give anything away, as he met plenty of blonde girls at the villa, so he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Milly Ashford." the blonde proclaimed

"Ashford… Ashford…" the Prince began to pace back and forth, while deep in thought.

"Wait… if he recognizes me, then that means-"

"Oh! I remember now! You're the one who hung out with Lelouch at the villa, right?"

Metaphorical glass cracked in the background, "What?" Shirley muttered in disbelief, "How does a Prince know Lulu?"

"This isn't good. Damn! I can't believe I forgot about how much of a big mouth Clovis has!" Milly clenched her fist slightly, then quickly unraveled it, "It's okay, he doesn't know Lelouch is alive. And as long as Shirley doesn't say anything, I can talk my way out of this."

"Speaking of which, how's your family doing? After Marianne's death, the Ashford's dropped off the face of the earth." Clovis continued, luckily, he wasn't giving anything big away.

"Well, we did lose all of our credibility after her unfortunate passing… so we were ousted from the capital since Marianne wasn't around to protect us any longer. Then, my Grandfather took us to Japan- I mean, Area 11, where we lived ever since." Milly explained

"Ah yes. It's a shame, after all, I was almost certain you and Lelouch were to be betrothed to one another someday; it's truly unfortunate how things had to end that way."

"Betrothed!?" the orange haired girl muttered, "Lelouch and Milly?"

Shirley thought they were talking about Lelouch Lamprouge, causing her only further heartbreak and confusion upon hearing that Lelouch and Milly were to be married someday. Of course, they were talking about THAT Lelouch, but that's not the point. She felt betrayed; even through all the teasing Milly put her under, she still thought of the blonde as someone she could trust, because behind all that, laid a genuinely good person, who would help her friends through their toughest times.

But now, the poor girl didn't know what to think.

"Milly," she was desperate for an answer, "Who're you talking about?"

Clovis and the President turned to her, "Oh, we're just reminiscing about old times; back when my brother and his sister were still alive, everything just felt so… perfect," the viceroy was the first to answer, "Despite me always losing to him in chess, I never really got mad. Instead, each loss filled me with anticipation. Anticipation for the next game, where I could test my mettle once again."

Shirley let out a sigh of relief, "I'm sorry for your loss… for a second there, I thought you were talking about my friend."

"Oh goodness no. We're talking Lelouch Vi Britannia."

"Vi Britannia? I don't think I've ever heard of a Prince with that name"

"Really?" Clovis turned to Milly, "Just what is your grandfather teaching in school? Every Prince and Princess of Britannia should be researched in history class, you know that, right?"

While Ashford Academy did spend time studying the Royal family, they only paid attention to the important figures, like the Emperor, Schinezel, and Cornelia; everyone else didn't really matter because they hadn't achieved anything worth noting.

"Um… I'll be sure to talk to my father about that," the President responded while looking for a distraction that would lead them from this conversation, then her eyes landed on a small shop with Clovis shaped lollipops, "Oh look! I didn't know you had lollipops made!"

The Prince approached the stand, "Ah yes; while I am proud of the final product," he picked one up with droopy eyes, "I wished they'd all turn out like the one they showed in the meeting." he pointed at the hair, "The flavor of my hair is lemon," he moved to the skin, "And my skin's peach flavored." finally, he touched the eyes, "While two gumballs take the place of my gorgeous eyes, of course, that's the easy part to mess up, so you'll hardly find an intact Clovis Pop."

"Wow. That must be so cool! Being able to design your own candy," Shirley, who was no longer sad, added.

"Yes. I told them I wanted something with a taffy center, so they created this," he put down the Clovis Pop and grabbed a box containing a relatively large Glasgow, "This is a Glasgow gummy. It's a root beer flavored with a chocolate taffy inside; obviously, the thing isn't designed for one person to eat, instead, it's made so that a couple can share, isn't it great?"

Milly looked at a tag and scoffed, "Yeah, and so are the prices"

"$9:99 for a lollipop!? That's criminal!" Shirley exclaimed, "And… $19:99 for the Glasgow Gummy!? That's even worse!"

"We're running a theme park here, not a charity," Clovis replied effortlessly, "Some may not be happy with the prices, but people will pay."

"That's terrible…"

"It's business. If you don't like it, then don't pay."

"That's rude Clovis! What if your sister was here? How would she feel hearing you sound like that?" Milly chimed in.

"Don't try to guilt-trip me with Lila!" the Viceroy shouted, then muttered, "She doesn't even care what I'm doing anyway…"

This piqued the blonde's interest, "What happened?"

Clovis sighed, and after paying for three lollipops, he took a seat on a nearby bench, "After Lelouch and Nunally's death, I headed off to Area 11 to punish these filthy Eleven's for taking the life of my siblings. However, Lila protested against it, saying I was blinded by my hatred, and that I should think things through before taking any action. Obviously, I didn't listen to her," his breath hitched, almost like he was about to cry, "then… before I boarded my flight… she cursed me, saying she never wanted to see my face ever again." he pushed a hand through his hair, "And that was it. I haven't seen her since."

Milly looked at Clovis with sympathetic eyes, as in trying to avenge two of his siblings, he lost his sister along the way. If you ignored the actions he took against the Elevens, you could almost feel sorry for him, "I'm sure she's probably over it by now-"

However, her sentence was cut off, "No! I sent a letter a few months back, and you know what came back? Another letter, containing my previous letter torn to shreds, with a message saying, 'don't come back!', there's no way she's forgiven me."

From behind a nearby tree, Kallen listened to the conversation, "I see… so is that why he's rumored to be a womanizer? Because he's constantly trying to fill the empty hole in his heart with superficial love?" she shifted slightly, getting a better view of the trio as they licked their lollipops, "Even still, that doesn't admonish him of his actions. He has to pay regardless. But not now, Naoto said to help him, and while I don't see why we should help a snake like him, I'll try to go through this plan regardless."

Meanwhile, Shirley was having completely different thoughts, "That's strange… he had a sibling named Nunally? I know it's probably not true, after all, his siblings are dead, but… how cool would it be if Lelouch was a Prince? Imagine how romantic that would be… of course, he's probably not a Prince, because everyone knows Prince's are noble and very uptight," she then glanced at Clovis, "Never mind… maybe not all of them are…"

"Prince Clovis!" a guard began running at the group, "Please, sir! The NAC are demanding to speak with you!"

"Those idiots again, huh?" Clovis muttered while standing up, "Tell them I deemed today my day off!" he shouted while throwing his Clovis Pop at the guard, forcing him to duck.

That's when Kallen made her move, "Hey! Over here!"

"Ah, Kallen! I was wondering where you went!" Milly called as herself, Shirley, and Clovis ran toward her.

"I've met up with some people who could help us get out of here,"

"Get out of here!?" the Prince exclaimed, "No way! I want to act in the Conquest of Area 11 Drama!"

The name delivered a sour taste to Kallen's tongue, "The what?"

"Today, we're having our first showing, and for that showing, I want to personally act in it!" Clovis replied as the group ran into a cowboy-style town, where they now ran atop red sand.

At the center of the town, stood a Clovis statue with him dressed like a cowboy, playing a voice recording that said, "So you wanna be a cowboy baby? Why don't you be my cowboy, baby?"

The three girls stared blankly at the real Clovis who shrugged, "I'm not apologizing"

"Please, Viceroy!" their pursuer arrived in town, this time, with his partner at his side.

"C'mon, my friends are just up ahead!" Kallen reminded the group as they ran past the statue, and into a restaurant that was designed like a saloon.

"Oh great! Now we're cornered!" Milly shouted, causing everyone in the restaurant to stare.

"Relax!" a black-haired man stood up with two men, "We'll take things from here!"

Shirley saw their green wristbands, making her eyes widen with surprise, "Elevens!? Why does Kallen know these people?"

Tamaki, who had on a sombrero, put Clovis on his shoulder and ran with him outside, shocking the two guards, "Too slow!" the brown-haired man shouted as he shifted right, completely dusting the chasers before they could react.

"Let me down, you cretin!" the Prince demanded as they left the dusty town, and entered the jungle once again, this time, the path was cleared by Ohgi and Naoto, who ran ahead, pushing the foliage out of the way. "Somebody help! I'm being kidnapped!"

Naoto quickly ran beside Tamaki, "I thought you were shouting about not wanting to do paper work? Don't tell me you want to go back there!"

"Of course I don't! But the last thing I need is help from an Eleven like you!"

That hurt.

"Listen, we're just here to help you!" Ohgi pleaded

"Oh yeah? And I bet you're expecting some kind of reward from this, right?"

While those weren't the words Naoto would've used, yes, the did expect some kind of reward out of this.

Clovis, of course, noticed their lack of answering, "So you are!"

"Hell yeah, we are!" Tamaki couldn't take it anymore, "Anyone who does a good deed always expects something in return! That's just common sense!"

That's when Naoto struck his arm, "You're not supposed to say that!"

"My lord!" the voice of Jeremiah Gottwald broke through their conversation.

"Mr. Gottwald! Thank goodness, help! I'm being kidnapped!"

Instantly, the Margrave rushed into action; first, he charged forward, forcing Tamaki to take a step back due to how fast he was moving, however, just before he could get close, Naoto stepped in and caught Jeremiah's fist, "Get moving!" he shouted at his friends.

In the background, the two guards broke through the forest, stumbling upon the duel between the Margrave and Naoto, "Where'd Prince Clovis go!?" one shouted

"This isn't good! I don't want those Eleven's being near Clovis any longer, however, I don't want those guards to find him!" Jeremiah pushed Naoto away, and shouted, "He went toward the water park!"

The Margrave chose to lie. Sure, it was counterintuitive to what he was trying to do, or at least that's what it seemed to Naoto; little did he know, Jeremiah saw something in the distance he didn't.

"Stay here, Lelouch!" Villetta ordered the raven-haired boy as she ran to the scene.

"What's going on?" he asked thought aloud as Jeremiah and Naoto traded blows

"Lord Jeremiah!" Ms. Nu shouted, gaining the Margrave's attention

"Villetta! I need you at the Clovis launcher, right now!"

"What's wrong?"

Naoto delivered a swift jab at the Margraves face, however, this was easily dodged, and countered with a kick to the stomach, "Prince Clovis is being kidnapped by these bastards! You need to save him right now!"

"No! You're wrong!" the Kozuki proclaimed while standing up, "We're just trying to help!"

"Liar!"

Villetta nodded, "Don't worry, I won't fail you, Margrave!"

With that, the dark-skinned Britannian made her way toward the Clovis launcher, running past Milly, Shirley, and Kallen, "What're you girls doing here!?" she shouted, startling the girls, "It's not safe here! Go meet with Lelouch back in the forest area. Once things clear up, I'll come back for you!"

Milly shook her head in denial as the soldier ran out into the open, "There's no way I'm going to miss out on such fun!"

Kallen followed soon after, "I have to be there to clear both Tamaki and Ohgi's name. Otherwise, Clovis might execute them!"

However, Shirley wasn't as impulsive, "Wait… Lelouch is here? If that's true, then I can't leave him alone, right?" She began running back into the jungle area, "He's probably just as confused as I am!"

As this was going on, Naoto and Jeremiah were still locked in a stalemate, unlike their last duel, they were equally matched this time, although, one particular person wasn't very happy with this, "Damn! All of that training, only just to match him!?" Naoto thought as he dodged a strike aimed for his body. Next, he countered with a palm strike to the Margraves shoulder, causing his leg to lift slightly, then he went for a sweeping kick, but Jeremiah saw this coming, and just like before, put his foot down, stopping the motion.

"Those moves… it's you, isn't it!" he shouted while kicking the resistance leader in the chest, sending him flying back, "You might've changed your hair, it's definitely you!"

Naoto stood up immediately, "I really don't want to prolong this fight…" his eyes scanned the area for something he could use. However, there was nothing in sight.

Jeremiah charged forth, delivering a swift punch to his opponent's gut, lifting him off the ground slightly; luckily, Naoto's guard held firm, effectively absorbing 70% of the blow. After that, he grabbed the Margraves arm, and delivered a swift knee to his stomach, before lifting him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

Jeremiah felt the air get sucked out of his lungs with that slam; despite this, he managed to barely roll away before Naoto stomped on the area where his head was.

"He's got good movement. I must be careful." The Margrave took three steps back as Naoto charged forward, then he sent a swift moon-kick, forcing his opponent to block with both arms.

"So heavy!" Naoto thought as he was sent tumbling into the Clovis statue's base.

"You've gotten better," Jeremiah complimented, "It's a shame you didn't join the military. You would've been a fine soldier."

"You say that like Honorary Britannians get the same treatment as regular soldiers," the Kozuki snapped.

The Margrave ignored the comment, "Do you know Prince Lelouch?"

Naoto's eyes widened in shock, "Has he already been found out!?"

Seeing this, Jeremiah continued, "Relax. I've already come in contact with him, and don't worry, I'm on your side."

"What? How'd Lelouch convince the Margrave to rebel against the Viceroy?" questions such as this and many more were circulating throughout the rebel's head, however, they all came to a halt as soon as the voice of the boy in question cut through their conversation.

"He's telling the truth. As it turns out, Jeremiah gave an oath long ago to serve me and my sister; that includes my rebellion against the Empire." luckily, the Jungle area was relatively empty due to the commotion caused by the Margrave and Naoto, so Lelouch could speak freely here. Even so, he still chose to speak in a hushed tone, "Jeremiah, why did you continue to fight Naoto even after you found out who he was?"

"That's simple, my lord. He wouldn't have calmed down during the ferocity of our engagement, so I had to create a gap like this to have a conversation with him."

The Kozuki stood up, dusting himself off in the process; surprisingly, he wasn't half as hurt, "I would've liked a little forewarning about this development, Lelouch," he complained.

"I'm sorry, but there was a chance the cell towers were being monitored."

"You could've sent a note or something"

"Do you even have a mailbox?"

"I'm not homeless, you know!"

Lelouch chuckled slightly, "While that might be true, I still don't know your address." then his tone turned serious, "Nevertheless, there's another development: someone else may know my identity."

As the Prince explained to Naoto his problem with Diethard, a certain orange-haired girl was listening to their conversation the whole time, hiding behind a generator that masked itself as a large decorative rock, "So… Lelouch was a Prince the whole time… and Milly knew?" she felt her world become colorless once again, "Just how much don't I know about Lelouch? Was the Lelouch I knew even real? He seems so cold here… so ruthless…" images of the smiling, happy Lelouch she knew flashed through her mind, "He's talking about killing a man so easily…"

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lelouch asked Naoto

"Originally, I came here to have fun with Tamaki and Ohgi, however, I managed to come across Kallen who told us about…" he cleared his throat, "Your brother…"

Lelouch's eyes widened, "Clovis is here?"

"Correct. We were trying to save him before some oaf started attacking us," he gave Jeremiah a side-eye.

"How was I supposed to know you were telling the truth? From my perspective, you three were just some Elevens kidnapping a Prince of Britannian."

"What were you trying to achieve by helping him?" Lelouch asked

"Well… I was just thinking we might be able to gain his favor…"

"Impossible!" the raven-haired boy proclaimed, "From what I've seen, Clovis has a deep disdain for numbers, and I doubt you three helping him here will change that."

"I understand that! But… there's still a chance!" Naoto responded

"Oh? So you're an optimist?"

"Of course I am! This whole rebellion is built on optimism!" Shirley's eyes widened upon hearing those words, "Optimism that Britannian doesn't bring the hammer on the ghetto's wiping out Japan in one fell swoop! Optimism that I'll be able to see the next day after each operation!"

"We haven't done anything to prompt that thought."

"Maybe not yet… but I've got a plan! We managed to find replacement parts for the destroyed Glasgow, and with it, I really think we stand a chance!"

"Chance to do what?"

"Raid that chemical factory we talked about a few months ago"

"Months ago!? Lelouch has been in contact with terrorist for months!?" Shirley was about to faint at any second; the revelation that her friend was a Prince was enough to make anyone's brain short-circuit in disbelief, but also finding out their friend's a terrorist? The poor girl just can't handle this information, "Lelouch… what would prompt you to go to such an extent?"

Regardless of the questions she had, Shirley couldn't pop out of her cover; she was just so scared. Though, she didn't know why she was scared. Was she afraid of Lelouch killing her? Or was she afraid of something else?

Nevertheless, the girl didn't move an inch from her spot.

"We'll discuss your little plan later. For now, let's go help your friends." Lelouch replied coldly.

The footsteps of the trio leaving faded into the background, and once they completely disappeared, Shirley released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her world was just turned upside down; she felt sick to her stomach, like she wanted to throw up what she just heard. But no matter how much she wanted to reject it. The man she loved was a Prince and a Terrorist. Was that something Shirley could accept?

Ohgi and Tamaki ran around a corner, with an angry Villetta hot on their heels, "Stop right there!" she shouted, gaining the attention of multiple bystanders, who thought what was going on was an event.

"Let's cut through there!" Ohgi told his partner while pointing at a store full of stuffed animals

"Wait! Don't do that!" Clovis pleaded as his head crashed into a pile of plushies that were lined along the top of the store's front door, knocking them over in the process. However, that wasn't all, as Kaname grabbed a rack of toys, and threw it on the ground, blocking Villetta's path.

Once the men exited the other side, Tamaki now held a brown Glasgow plushie, while Clovis held onto a Clovis plush, "Ugh, this doesn't look like me at all," he muttered while looking at its discolored eyes, which were clearly made with two different kinds of thread, then he tossed it to the side.

"Tamaki, toss the plushie!" Ohgi commanded

"Oh come on! It's so cute!" Tamaki protested while pointing at the plushies eyes, "Look at its stupidly cute eyes! Glasgow's don't have that!"

"We don't want to commit an actual crime here!"

"Fine…" the brown haired boy then tossed it into a fenced off area where two oak trees proudly stood.

They then took a right, running alongside the trees while simultaneously looking into the stuffed animal shop, where they saw Villetta expertly slide under one of the obstacles Ohgi created, before cartwheeling out of the shop, dodging the plushies that were on the ground. Then, her eyes immediately locked on the men, who's jaws were promptly dropped upon seeing her athleticism. However, they were about to go lower, as Villetta leapt upon the fence that separated the main path from the oak trees, then she began to swing from branch to branch, picking up the Glasgow plush in the process, before landing on the path that the men were on.

This, prompted all three of them to scream in shock, then Ohgi asked the Prince, "Wait… why're you screaming?"

"Move faster, you idiots! There's no way I'm letting a woman save me!" Clovis commanded, "The great Clovis La Britannia is supposed to save damsels! Not the other way around!"

As Villetta handed the plushie to a little girl who was passing by, Tamaki and Ohgi quickly came across a fork in the road, "Left or right?" they wondered aloud.

"Just go right, stupid!" the Prince shouted

The two rebels shrugged, and took the right path just as Villetta resumed her chase. "Whoa, is that a mirror maze!?" Tamaki exclaimed as they entered the new area, which was filled to the brim with rigged games, and a massive building with a neon sign that said, "Clovis' mirror maze of fun!"

"We are not going in there!" Clovis protested, "I'd rather not see you ram face-first into a mirror!"

Despite this, the men began running toward the maze, "Don't worry, this is something that Tamaki specializes in!" Ohgi replied reassuringly.

"Are they idiots!? I'll be able to catch them for sure in there!" Villetta thought as the men entered the building, nearly trampling a group of guest who were about to enter. Soon, the dark-skinned Britannian entered, and walked aimlessly through the maze, "There's no way they got out of here that fast, right?" The inside of the maze had mirrors that made a person's reflection look like Prince Clovis, so for the guests, it was extremely trippy. Nevertheless, Villetta checked each corner, slamming her face into a few mirrors in the process, "Where'd they go!?"

Little did she know, about 30 seconds after entering, the men exited the maze in record speed, surprising the attendant who guarded the exit, "How the hell did you do that!?" Clovis exclaimed as they now made their way toward the Clovis Launcher.

"Tamaki always had a special skill in navigating mirror mazes," Ohgi explained

"Yeah! It took me over a hundred tries and dozens of concussions, but I finally figured out how to identify a mirror in those things!" the brown-haired rebel boasted

However, Clovis wasn't as impressed, "Do all of you Elevens specialize in useless skills?"

"Hey man! That 'useless skill', just saved our bacon!"

This caused the Prince to laugh upon hearing his reaction, "You're right. That skill did save our 'bacon'." his hate for numbers was still there, but right, Clovis was swept up in the excitement of it all. This was the first piece of entertainment he had in months, and he was thoroughly enjoying it, "Now, then drop me off by the Clovis Launcher!"

After a minute of running, they finally reached their destination, where both Milly and Kallen were impatiently waiting, "What the hell took you idiots so long!?" Kallen shouted

"Well, you didn't have the terminator chasing you!" Tamaki retorted while putting the Prince down.

"That woman was indeed far more persistent than any suitor I've ever had," Clovis said while dusting himself off, "You. Elevens. While I don't condone you EVER picking me up. However, just this once, because you managed to entertain me, I'll let you off the hook with a warning." his tone then turned serious, "But, next time you do something so… vile. I'll execute you where you stand, understood?"

Tamaki and Ohgi nodded their heads, knowing they couldn't afford to get on a Prince's bad side right now. Despite his serious tone, Clovis began to laugh with a genuine smile, causing the men to laugh, while the girls stared at them in confusion, "My lord!" Jeremiah Gottwald cut through their joy, "The play's about to start!" he rushed to Clovis' side, "Once I told them you were coming, they made room for you in the first showing!"

"Excellent work, Margrave!" the Prince praised the soldier, "Now then, let's go!" however, no one else moved, "What're you waiting for? Come on. Otherwise, you'll miss the show!"

The group was confused at first, but soon followed the Prince inside.

Meanwhile, Lelouch and Naoto watched them from a distance, "Looks like it ended well… certainly better than I thought it would," Naoto commented

"It seems I misjudged Clovis. He always likes going to fancy parties because he likes being the most important person in the room, but I guess even he likes to act like a kid sometimes." Lelouch muttered, "He'll probably forget everything that happened by tomorrow morning."

"Looks who's talking."

They heard the sound of the Clovis Launcher in the background, followed by a ton of screams, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look at you. Have you even had fun today?"

"What does it matter? I came here looking for Milly with Villetta; I'm not supposed to have fun here."

Naoto frowned, "Did something happen?"

An image of Kallen flashed in Lelouch's mind, "Your sister… she's figured out my identity"

"Really? How'd she do that?"

Lelouch shrugged in response, "She said she's known for a month now… as for how she figured it out… I don't know."

The duo took a seat on a green bench, where a statue of Clovis separated them in the center, "Did you do anything to her?"

"No."

Naoto knew he was lying, "Lelouch. We might've only known each other for a few months, but I know how you are." his tone turned serious, "What did you do to my sister?"

The Prince sighed, "I just yelled at her… that's all…"

The resistance leader raised an eyebrow, "And how would you feel if I yelled at Nunally?"

"You already know the answer to that…"

"Then you understand?" the Kozuki asked while getting up.

Now, he towered over the boy with his fist clenched, "Just hurry up-"

Before he could finish that sentence, Naoto delivered a swift punch to the left side of his face, knocking him off the bench, "Now then. I want you to apologize."
"Oh c'mon! She almost exposed my identity! How do you think I came in contact with Jeremiah?"

Naoto's eyes widened, "Wait… Kallen did that?"

"Correct."

"But why?"

Lelouch stood up while rubbing his cheek, "I don't know. She said she knew about Gottwalds oath to me through your father, but that grants more questions than answers."

"Father did? Kallen… what're you doing?"

"Our relationships a bit… rocky right now. So I don't know how well an apology would be received…"

Naoto sighed, "Sometimes, it's the gesture that means more than the apology itself. I'm sure she would appreciate one, after all, Kallen may put on a strong front, but she's still a teenager at the end of the day. She has feelings too, and I'm sure she didn't appreciate being scolded by her friend the other day."

Lelouch scratched the back of his head, "Apologies aren't my strong suit," the Kozuki cracked his knuckles, causing the boy to immediately back track, "However… I'll try my best… for Kallen…"

"You better." Naoto turned to the Clovis Launcher, which just sent another batch of people, "You're getting off light right now. If I didn't need your face semi-intact to apologize to her, I'd make sure you'd be hospitalized."

"Thank you for your graciousness…" the Prince muttered sarcastically as he sat on the bench.

"I can still do that."

"Please don't."

Naoto laughed, "Alright. Then how about this," he pointed at the Clovis Launcher, "You and I are going on that."

Lelouch gulped upon seeing how tall the ride was, however, this was a better punishment than getting his face caved in, "Fine. Though, I doubt we'll be able to get on. Just look at that line."

The line for the Clovis Launcher was no exaggeration, extended all the way outside its actual area, and into the stone path where people lined up alongside the railing as per instructed by the staff, "Don't worry. We've got plenty of time."

"Good afternoon, everyone!" a lady announced while walking out on stage

Currently, Kallen, Milly, Ohgi, and Tamaki were seated in the front row of a medium-sized open-roof auditorium; they were surrounded by wooden walls that kept people from the outside looking in. Though, the seats were less than comfortable as they were just back-less benches made from concrete.

"I am proud to announce our first showing of: the Conquest of Area Eleven." the name put a sour taste on Ohgi, Tamaki, and Kallen's tongues, "And to solidify this momentous occasion, the Viceroy, Clovis La Britannia has come to personally play the role of the narrator AND himself. Please give a round of applause for our Prince as he walks out on stage!"

Just as she finished her sentence, the Prince walked out on stage, followed by a great round of applause, "Thank you for coming everyone!" he spoke into the mic with elegant swagger, owning the podium like he belonged there, "Now, we start our story, with the Emperor's orders." behind him, the red curtain raised itself, revealing five people dressed as guards, and one person dressed as the Emperor.

"Today, we shall invade Japan in full force! That way, we'll be able to seize their Sakuradite reserves, and be within striking range of the Chinese Federation!" the Emperor announced.

That's when a man dressed as Schneizel entered from the right, "Father, allow me to lead the first landing. With our new Knightmare's, we'll be able to crush the Japanese in a few months."

Then, a woman dressed as Cornelia entered from the left, "No father, allow me to lead the assault. With our superior air power, we'll be able to crush the Japanese in a few months."

"However, my siblings were all naive, as what we needed was a brilliant AND charismatic leader. So that's when I stepped in!" Clovis narrated as he took the stage, "No Father, allow me to subjugate Japan! They won't stand a chance against MY charms, as they'll realize the battle will be futile in a few days time!"

This never happened.

The Emperor stood up and said, "You're right, Clovis! As my most charismatic and successful son, you shall lead the assault on Japan!"

This also never happened.

"Thank you, father. I won't disappoint you," Clovis bowed before returning to the podium; the curtains closed behind him, and the backstage team scrambled to set up the next scene. "And so, I lead my forces to victory alongside General Bartley," the curtain rose again as Clovis continued to narrate, this time, there were two cardboard tanks on stage, "With our superior tech, we managed to take over Japan in a months time," two people dressed as Glasgow's ran out on stage, shooting the tanks with rubber pellets, before someone back-stage hit a button, causing smoke to rise from the cardboard. Mimicking their destruction.

"However, that's not where it ended," Clovis continued once the curtains closed again, "You see, after brandishing Japan as Area Eleven, we needed someone to become the Viceroy, so once again, I stepped up!" the curtains rose, this time, there were now two Britannian flags hung in the background with a pedestal in the middle. Clovis took the stage again, "People of Area Eleven, I swear to you; I will do my best as Viceroy to make this war-torn nation great once again! And to you Elevens, I hope that you'll realize how great Britannian society is, and thus, you'll become honorary Britannians! When that happens, we'll welcome you with open arms, I promise you that!"

Another lie. Clovis didn't care for the numbers, in fact, he didn't even give a speech when he became Viceroy, instead, he started passing policy after policy that continued to oppress the Elevens.

Once again, the curtains closed, and Clovis returned to his podium, followed by a round of applause from the crowd. After a few seconds, the applause died down, and Clovis continued, "Now. Normally, the production would end here, however, since this is such a special occasion, I shall now paint a piece of art representing how I feel about Area Eleven's subjugation. This piece will be proudly displayed above stage for future guests to see."

The curtains opened once again; now, there was an easel with a blank canvas and a stool at the center of the stage, of which Clovis promptly took a paint palette from, and began painting. Silence overcame the audience as the Prince painted peacefully; the gentle sound of the brush floating across the canvas stimulated their ears, allowing the audience to enter deep into thought.

"The Glorification of invading an enemy territory, it makes me sick with how normal it is for Britannians to talk about it." Ohgi clenched his fist with that thought. "No, I can't make a scene here. Naoto wouldn't like it."

"He didn't even include the part about Lelouch and Nunally dying… was that on purpose?" Milly thought as she watched Clovis dip his brush into some blue paint, "perhaps he just forgot. Though it is thought-provoking, the Glasgow's used in the invasion were originally created by the Ashford Foundation, of course, we were phased out of the market afterward. So any Glasgow's created after were made by some other company, or Britannia exclusively." she then let out a sigh, "Oh well, there's no use worrying about it now. After all, I wasn't the one who created those machines."

"I wonder what he's painting…" Tamaki tilted his head, trying to get a better perspective.

Kallen leaned forward and clasped her hands, "I know what to say to Lelouch… now, I just have to find him."

"Now… it's done." Clovis announced, stepping back from the easel, "It could use some touching up, but right now. I'm happy with this."

The audience admired the painting in silence, which was of Marianne Vi Britannia, and two kids, one that Milly and Kallen recognized as Lelouch and Nunally. Of course, the audience blindly applauded the painting, thinking that the main focus was on Marianne and not the kids, however, after a knowing glance from Clovis, the girls knew otherwise.

After that, Ohgi, Tamaki, Milly, and Kallen left the production, coming face-to-face with Shirley and Nina who were waiting outside, "Sorry about leaving you guys," the orange-haired girl apologized as Tamaki and Ohgi left searching for Naoto.

"Well, you missed out on the big play!" Milly replied, wrapping her arms playfully around Shirley's neck, "It was so exciting too! They had big battles, and the Prince even drew a portrait of Marianne!"

Nina meekly hid behind Kallen as Ohgi and Tamaki faded from sight, "Was it good?" she asked the red head

"It was okay. Though, it wasn't as long as I thought it would be, given the hype."

"Oh… that's a shame…"

"Anyway, can we go on the Clovis Launcher now!?" Kallen shouted, bringing the girl's attention to the massive ride in front of them, "It looks like the line's died down a lot!"

"But… I don't like rollercoasters…" Nina whispered

"Luckily, it's not a rollercoaster! Instead, it just launches you straight up into the air!"

That didn't help with the poor girl's anxiety.

"Don't worry, Nina. We'll all go together, that way, you won't be scared!" Milly suggested

So, while reluctant, Nina waited in line with the girls, however, Milly's Lelouch senses were going off, and she saw the boy near the front of the line, alongside Naoto, Ohgi, and Tamaki, "Oh look! It's Lelouch!" she shouted, while ignorantly cutting everyone in line, earning disgusted stares.

Lelouch, of course, felt the pressure, and desperately tried to hide his face with his jacket, "Oh god… first it was those clowns, and now it's Milly… I really don't want to be one of those guys"

Realizing his embarrassment, Milly decided to pile on even more pressure, "Why're you hiding!?" she announced to the whole world, "I thought we were best friends! Don't tell me you're ashamed of that!?"

"Go away…" the boy muttered while Kallen, Shirley, and even Nina joined him in line

This earned a hearty chuckle from Ohgi, Tamaki, and Naoto, "And to think you were making fun of me a few seconds earlier!"

"Keep your voice down…" Lelouch pleaded as even more people stared at them. "In about two more rotations, it should be our turn… then my personal hell can finally end…"

"So you know this guy?" Ohgi asked Milly.

"You betcha! He's the Vice-President of the student council!"

"Oh great, all I need is those two knowing who I am…"

Before Tamaki could say anything, Naoto whispered something into his ear, which prompted the man to ask, "And who are your other friends?"

They didn't want anyone else to figure out they knew Kallen, so Naoto told Tamaki to ask such a question, of course, Milly and Shirley knew otherwise, but that wasn't the same for everyone else in line, "This is Kallen, Shirley, and Nina!" luckily, Milly got the message, "And we're just having a girl's day."

"And yet you harass me." Lelouch muttered as another group got on the ride.

"Aw… don't be such a party pooper, Lulu~"

"Don't call me that!" he responded with a red face of embarrassment

"Why not, Lulu~"

"You're just doing that on purpose now!"

"Of course I am!" Milly continued to tease the boy as they moved forward in line.

That's when Kallen grabbed Lelouch's arm, and pulled him toward the back of the group, "Lelouch… I want to talk to you…" she said as Shirley, Nina, and Milly began talking to one another, while Tamaki, Ohgi, and Naoto did the same.

"What is it?"

"It's about the other day… I just want to say-"

"I'm sorry." the Prince spoke in a hushed tone, but still beat her to the punch, taking her by surprise, "I over reacted, and I understand if you're angry at me. It won't happen again."

Kallen still held a firm grip on the boy's arm, as if he was going to run away at any second, "Lelouch… I don't know how much you and Nunally have gone through, and I probably never will, but it was wrong of me to keep such a secret from you," then she shoved a finger onto Lelouch's chest, "But don't think that excuses your actions. Next time you try something like that, I'll make sure you see stars for the next morning, got it?"

Kallen's confidence was back. Whether it was just another front was up for debate, but regardless, her sass was back, which made Lelouch smile on the inside, "I understand. From now on, though, no more secrets, right?"

The red head used her hand to grab the boys, before wrapping her pinky around his, "Then let's make it official."

"What's this supposed to be?" Lelouch asked

"It's called a pinky promise." Kallen explained, "Cross my heart, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles if you lie." after saying that, the red head unraveled her pinky, "It's an old Japanese promise."

"I'm not a kid." the Prince responded

"It's not the promise that matters, it's the gesture."

It wasn't much, but it was a start. With this promise, the healing process could finally begin.

Before their conversation could continue, Milly called, "If you two are done flirting, it's our turn!"

"We were not flirting!" Kallen and Lelouch shouted.

Upon hearing this, Ohgi elbowed Naoto twice, and despite not saying anything, the Kozuki knew what his friend was trying to get at, "Shut up." he muttered, prompting his friends to chuckle slightly.

The group finally got on the Clovis Launcher and strapped in, waiting for the attendants to check their safeties. Naoto, Ohgi and Tamaki were seated next to each other with Naoto being toward the center, followed by Kallen, Lelouch Shirley, Milly, and finally Nina. "At least I'll be able to go home after this…" he muttered as an attendant checked his harness.

"By the way, Lelouch. Did you complete those task I gave you earlier?" Milly asked, sending goosebumps down his spine.

"Um… Ms. Nu stopped me from doing so, after all, she was pretty mad that you were missing in the middle of a school day…"

"So you told her where we went?"

"Yeah…"

"Wow… and you called Rivalz a snitch…"

"Hey! There's a difference! If I didn't tell her where you were, she would've had me running around the track until the end of the day!" Lelouch argued

"I suppose you're right," then Milly smiled deviously, "Then that just means you'll have to deal with my punishments for today…"

Upon hearing this, the Prince sighed in defeat, "Today's gonna be a long day…"

Suddenly, the attendant pressed the button to activate the launcher, sending the group flying up; Lelouch felt the pressure force his head down, then the machine slowed down; he felt his heart drop upon seeing how high up they were. After they sat there for a second, the machine dropped, stopping halfway before sending them back up, and doing the same thing two more times. The screams of his friends fell into the background with each motion; now, Lelouch was only focused on not throwing up.

Luckily for him; the ride finally ended. Milly and Shirley helped Nina off the ride, while Naoto, Ohgi, and Tamaki left on their own. Kallen grabbed Lelouch's arm, and helped him down the exit ramp, putting him on a nearby bench that had another Clovis statue on it.

Today was going to be a long day.

AN: I only have one more chapter planned for this, then we'll be done with Clovis Land.

Also, Lila (Clovis' sister) was shown in movie trilogy, meaning to some extent, she is canon. I never played the mobile game she was featured in, so I won't be using that version of her. In this, she's gonna have a bad relationship with Clovis, as she's only 13 years old, and probably has the same outlook as Nunnally does on life. That'll be my explanation as to why he doesn't mention her in the original timeline.