AN: I do not own Code Geass

Chapter 35: Burden

January 6th. 10:00AM

"Enter." Carine ordered as someone knocked on the door to her office, "Ah, Dasko. I assume, with such a serious look, you bring me good news?"

"Oui, my lady." her Knight took a seat across from her, and placed a manila folder on the table, "Within the first day of our operation, we sent out 55 ambassadors. Of this, 46 didn't check in after making contact with their resistance groups. The rest reported that they were threatened with violence upon contact."

"And what about the 46?"

"Upon further investigation, we managed to retrieve 38 out of 46 bodies, and of those, 25 were maimed and put up on display. The remaining 14 were simply found dead on the roadside." Dasko watched as Carine turned to the next page, "As for the rest, they've been pronounced MIA."

"No, put them down as KIA." the Princess ordered, "You and I both know those savages killed our folks. Oh, and you did make sure to retrieve their audio bugs, correct?"

"Oui, my lady." Dasko bowed, "As for the rest of the ambassadors, they were met with the same hostility as those of the first day."

"Excellent. Once I show these results to Lila, the slaughter will begin. Who do you think we should start with first?"

"Might I suggest this list?" her Knight reached into the manila folder, and pulled out a piece of paper detailing numerous resistance groups and their locations.

"Oh! You know me so well, Dasko!" the red haired witch took the paper eagerly, "Let's see… which one would send the best message to the rest?" with a red marker, she crossed out multiple groups with ease, stopping at a few, "The JLF, Blood of the Samurai, and Saitama Resistance? Interesting…" the Princess looked at her Knight innocently, "Which one do you think we should start with?"

Dasko smiled, "Well… from our reports, the JLF and Blood of the Samurai have proper bases that are built within mountains. The entrances aren't known to us, so it'll be hard to flush them out." he noticed Carine's face change into one of disappointment, "That means we won't be able to use our bombers effectively given how dug in they are."

This made the red-haired Princess grin joyfully, "So what you're saying is…"

"That we should deal with the Saitama resistance first, as you'll be able to properly enjoy yourself with the symphony of their destruction."

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Carine exclaimed, "So, when can we roll out?"

"Monday at the latest."

"And the earliest?"

"Tomorrow, though, we'll have significantly fewer troops prepared."

The Princess sighed upon hearing those words, "Fine… I guess I can wait until Monday."

"An ambassador?" Naoto muttered while looking out his window, "So it looks like Princess Lila really does want to try and work with the resistance groups."

"It would seem so. However, from how you described the interaction, it was less than peaceful," Lelouch responded over the phone, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"Things have been busy here in Saitama." the resistance leader responded as dozens of Saitama residence, armed to the teeth with rifles, patrolled the streets, "These bastards stormed my house a few hours after that incident and confiscated my phone, saying 'we don't want you contacting those Britannian pigs'. Something big's gonna go down soon, and unfortunately, I'm probably about to get caught in it."

"Why don't you just leave if that's the case? Better to live on your feet, than to die with fools."

"Wish I could. But these 'fools' have blocked off all entrances and exits to the Ghetto. Apparently they don't want any 'rats' meeting up with the Britannian's."

"Do you need assistance?" Lelouch asked with a hint of concern. "If what they say is true, then it's only a matter of time before they kill you."

"Oh? Is that concern I hear?"

"Just answer the question."

Naoto sighed, "Maybe… I would appreciate it if you kept a back-up plan in case things go south. And don't worry about them coming here to kill me; if they try anything, I'll take care of them, just like I took care of the guys who took my phone."

Unlike the Shinjuku Ghetto, Saitama was crime-ridden, with multiple shootings and burglaries happening within mere minutes. Of course, with crime at an all-time high, it was common practice to keep a gun in your home. In Naoto's case, he thought he could change things, that's why he didn't fight back when his home was broken into by Saitama Resistance members. However, once he realized they couldn't be reasoned with, he dealt with the group of rebels properly.

"Will do."

"Oh, and Lelouch…" the older Kozuki took in a deep breath, "Could you… not tell Kallen about this? I don't want her worrying about me. And if it's possible, keep her out of this back-up plan."

"Naoto, I thought we were over this sacrificial streak a month or so ago. Do you really want to die that badly?"

"Of course not! It's just… I don't want her to worry about me…"

"Then you don't want me to include her in this plan because?"

"You already know the answer to that."

Lelouch chuckled slightly, "You know she can take care of herself, right? As much as I want to keep her out of danger, Kallen's a spitfire. She won't just stand idly by while her brother's home is being attacked by Britannia."

"I know that… that's why I don't want you to tell her-"

"Tell me what?" Kallen's voice finally entered the conversation. As it turns out, she was present the whole time, lying next to the Prince while he conversed with Naoto in his bedroom.

"Ah… that's… a problem…" her brother muttered.

A bead of sweat dripped down the boy's face as his girlfriend snatched his phone, "Listen here, Naoto. I'm not going to abandon you to die in that stupid Ghetto, if things do go awry, expect Lelouch and I to come charging in to save your sorry ass, you hear me!?"

"Give that back." the boy in question took back his phone, "Listen, I agree with Kallen. We're not going to leave you or any of the other resistance members to die."

The resistance leader sighed, "It looks like I've become a burden again…" then, he laughed, "I can't stop you from doing so. All that I can ask; is to be careful."

"Don't worry. As long as I'm around, I won't let Kallen do anything stupid." Lelouch responded while the girl lightly punched his arm.

Silence took hold of the conversation as Naoto slumped into his chair, "I'm sorry." he was the first to break the silence.

"For what?" the Prince asked as Kallen left the room upon hearing Nunally's call.

"About the festival. I treated you like shit, and insulted you for no good reason." the Kozuki leaned into his chair further, "It just felt… good to see you finally fail at something. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." instead of getting an equally heartfelt response, Naoto was surprised to hear Lelouch let out a loud cackle, "Hey! Why're you laughing!? I'm giving you a genuine apology, and your response is to just laugh in my face?"

"No… it's not that…" the Prince's laughter slowly died down, "Listen, I just think it's ridiculous that you'd think I'd care about such a thing. After all, I make fun of you all the time. It was about time I finally got a taste of my own medicine."

"So… you're not mad?"

"Of course not, you idiot. I'm not some child who gets offended by everything."
"But what about Kallen? Isn't she mad at me?"

Lelouch hummed, "So that's what this is about? Don't worry, I'll tell her about your apology later, that way her anger will be subsided… maybe."

Naoto sighed while covering his embarrassed face with one hand, "Wh-whatever… just remember to tell her, okay?" With that, he hung up, "God… these chairs really are uncomfortable."

Lelouch left his room, only to be met with his little sister and Kallen fawning over her new goldfish, "Does he like the fish flakes?" she innocently asked as the red head put in some food.

"Yeah, I mean… he's eating it. Though, I can't tell if it's out of necessity, or if it's really just that good."

Nunally playfully slapped her friend's arm and said, "Hey! I'm sure he wouldn't be eating it if it wasn't good."

"If you say so…"

"Don't be like that!"

"Like what?"

"You know what!"

The two girls giggled as the black goldfish eagerly ate its food, unaware of the display case it was put in, "Don't you think he'd like a bigger bowl?" Lelouch asked, "I mean… it looks big now, but that's only because it's empty. Also, don't you think he's lonely in there? Maybe you should buy him a toy or two?"

"We're not trying to teach him how to play fetch." Kallen bluntly responded, "Though, maybe he'd like someplace to hide, or sleep in."

"Why not a castle? With it, he'd have rooms to sleep in, and he could hide in the main gate!" Nunally suggested.

"I don't know what kind of castle you're imagining, but it can't be that big, after all, this bowl's too small for something so grand." the red head said while putting the food down, "By the way, what're you going to name him?"

"Hmm… I don't know…"

"Why not googly eyes? Because his eyes are too big for his head." Lelouch offered playfully.

"No way!" his sister clearly didn't take his gesture as playful, "It can't be something stupid. A name is something special. His name has to make him stand out amongst all the others!"

The Prince rolled his eyes, "There aren't any other goldfish in the tank."

"Lelouch, please take this seriously." Kallen scolded. "Why don't we name it…"

"Nemo?" C.C walked into the room nonchalantly, making the two resistance members panic.

"Oh… is that you, C.C? What are you doing here?" Nunally asked.

"There was just something I had to investigate."

"Investigate?"

Lelouch and Kallen blankly stared at the green-haired girl as she laid on the couch, "It's nothing you need to be concerned with. By the way, Lelouch. I need you to sign this."

The Prince watched as his contractor lazily flailed several sheets of paper, like she was some sort of queen demanding a peasant to take care of her. "What are these?" he asked while taking the papers.

"Some things I need signed by the student council president before I fully enroll into Ashford, but due to the President being… absent. I have to get your signature as a substitute."

This, of course, was a lie. Though, thanks to Nunally's perception of the student council being warped thanks to Milly, it worked, "Really? Lelouch, you have to talk to Milly about this. She needs to stop pushing her duties onto you!"

However, her brother didn't respond. Instead, his eyes narrowed while reading the document, "So… there's a Geass user in Ashford?" he turned to the next page which detailed a blonde middle school student, "Her name is Alice Lanfranc, and she'll be transferring here after winter break?" the Prince turned to the immortal and said, "C.C, do you mind if I speak with you in private? This matter isn't something we should talk about in front of others."

"Of course. We can speak in your room." as if rehearsed, the witch effortlessly replied within seconds.

After they entered Lelouch's room, the questioning began, "How do you know about this?"

"Well… it's a bit complicated, but since I'm able to contract Geass to certain individuals, this also gives me the ability to sense Geass in others. And that girl is one of them."

The Prince felt like she was hiding something, but he didn't have the ground to ask such questions. If he pressed too hard, he'd get nothing out of this, so he had to be strategic, "How'd you come across her?"

"I saw her meet with the Principal. From there, I sensed her Geass."

"So… what do you think she's here for?"

C.C shrugged, "I'm not a mind reader. If you want to figure out why she's here, why don't you just ask her?"

"Wait… does that mean…" Lelouch smirked, "You can't use Geass, can you?"

The witch froze for a second, "What makes you say that?"

"My first clue was when you gave me a Geass to complete some sort of requirement in our contract. But that raised my first question: why? If you have your own Geass, then why give me one? Is the quest I undertook something you can't do alone? Of course, I didn't have any definitive proof, so I kept quiet about my suspicions. Then, my final piece of evidence stems from our conversation just now. 'Since I'm able to contract Geass to certain individuals', that's interesting wording. Not only that, but you can sense Geass users as well, why would you need to do that? Especially if you're the one giving away Geass, wouldn't you know all of your contractors? That's means there are more-"

"It seems I've underestimated your intelligence…" C.C responded, cutting off the Prince from further conversing, "Though, I'm bored with your explanation. Do whatever you want with this information. Geass her, kill her, I don't care, it doesn't make a difference to me." the witch got under the covers of her contractor's bed, "I'm going to sleep now."

"It's only-"

"I said I'm going to sleep."

Alice stared at the four special 7th Generation Knightmare frames that laid before her, each were specially designed to fit their pilot's needs, "We call them the GX series. These Knightmare's are made to enhance your Geass' performance greatly, allowing them to affect the very machine itself." Colonel Madd, leader of the Britannian Special Honorary Foreign Legion, explained, "Do treat them with care, as the parts to repair them are in short supply."

Their captain, Sancia, raised her hand, "I'm aware of the upcoming battle at Saitama Ghetto on Monday, will that be our first task with these special frames?"

"That's correct. Princess Carine is allowing us to prove ourselves on the battlefield with these Knightmare's, so under no circumstance do I want to see you experience defeat. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the four members responded.

"These things look even better than in the simulation!" Dalque, another member, shouted joyfully, "Man, I can't wait 'till I take this bad boy out for a joyride!"

"Is it just me, or is your Knightmare bigger than ours?" Lucretia, the final member, pointed out.

"You're right! Aren't we supposed to be identical or somethin'?"

"No. Your frame is designed with the massive strain your Geass would put on it in mind. If you were in one of ours, they would surely crumble like tin cans." Sancia explained calmly

"Teehee. It looks like I'm just a bit too strong for you guys, aren't I?" the dark-skinned girl replied while playfully bonking her head.

Their captain sighed, "Whatever. Just make sure to get some practice in with our new equipment. We'll be bunking with ASEEC for the next few days."

"ASEEC? Don't they have the Eleven Pilot with them?" Lucretia asked.

"Yes, they do. What about him?"

"Well, maybe he could teach us a thing or two about managing a 7th Generation Knightmare?"

"Absolutely not." Sancia put her foot down, "I don't want unnecessary individuals knowing about our Knightmare's. Besides… I don't fully trust Kururugi…"

"Why not? Wasn't it already proven that he didn't kill Prince Clovis?"

"No, it's not that. The problem I have with him is… indescribable."

"You got a bad feeling about him?" Alice finally chimed in, "You're not alone on that one. Something about him just… rubs me the wrong way. It's as if he's about to snap at any moment."

"Really? From what I've seen, Suzaku seems like a normal guy." Dalque added.

"Whatever the case, just be careful around him. We don't want to accidentally poke a sleeping bear."

"If there is one at all…" the dark-skinned girl whispered into Lucretia's ear.

Despite hearing what the girl said, Sancia paid her no mind, "Alice, have you gotten those special orders yet?"

"Yes. I'll be enrolling in Ashford Academy after they return from winter break."

"And do you know what you'll be investigating?"

"I'll be looking into Milly Ashford and her sudden Knightmare frame production boon."

Sancia nodded, "Good. Make sure you take this seriously. Because, you know what happened to the last two who slacked off, right?"

"They were killed." a new voice entered, "That's why I'm here to mop up their failures."

"Clara Lanfranc. It's nice to finally meet you!" Colonel Madd greeted the Eden Vital member eagerly.

"Stuff it, baldy. I'm not here to be friends with your group of rejects." the girl brushed her long pink hair, "I am assuming you're Alice, right? Well, we'll be working together from now on" she shook the blonde's hand, "Remember, we're supposed to be sisters transferring into Ashford Academy in a foreign exchange event.

"Don't worry about me. You do your job, and I'll do mine" Alice responded bluntly.

This caused Clara to let out a hearty laugh, "I'm glad we could come to an understanding after our first meeting." she turned to the Colonel, "By the way, do you have any information on Master C.C?"

"Unfortunately, no. She's most likely somewhere in hiding, as we haven't even gotten one reported sighting since Shinjuku."

"Jeez. When Master V.V said your group was full of failures, I didn't know it was this bad."

"Hey! We're not failures! Our bodies have been mixed with Master C.C's cells, giving us Geass abilities that are superior to yours, so be careful who you call a failure around here!" Dalque interjected, "That's not even including the fact that we've been given advanced military training, while you haven't!"

"Dalque, please calm down." Lucretia pleaded.

"What!? No way! She insulted us! That's the equivalent of having a glove slapped in our faces. This is a challenge for our honor!"

Clara chuckled, "Oh… but don't those same cells destroy your bodies without special medication to halt the process? But your abilities are supposed to be superior to mine, right?" her left eye flared with a red Geass symbol, "Then let's test that theory, shall we?"

Everyone gasped upon witnessing such a sight, but it was only Dalque who readied herself for combat. It wasn't until the voice of General Bartley Asprius cut in when they finally backed down, "That's enough! Clara, Master V.V made it clear that you weren't meant to intervene with the Foreign Legions operations. You two are ordered to act independently of one another."

"Ah, how ironic. A failure is telling me how to interact with other failures. Aren't you supposed to be at Narita now? Or did you have trouble fitting through the door?"

The General was growing more annoyed with every passing second he had to interact with the pink-haired girl, "Please… Rolo should be arriving in two weeks to a month, and you know how much of a loose cannon he is."

The two shared an intense stare-off for a few seconds. It wasn't until Clara shrugged and said, "You're right. If anything dares to disturb Rolo's 'feng shui' during an operation, he's sure to kill the first guy he sees. Honestly, the guy's too much of a perfectionist at times." she headed toward the hangers exit, "For now, I'm going to survey the city. See if I can spot anything useful."

Once the pink-haired girl was gone, everyone let out a breath, "Jeez, I wonder what kind of Geass she has to make us feel like that…" Dalque muttered

"You idiot." Lucretia said in a dull voice.

"What? You have to forgive my hot head sometimes…"

"But she's right though." Sancia added, "When compared to her, we're failures. Sure, our Geass abilities might be more potent, but in truth, our power's utility can't even begin to compare to what someone like her has."

"Why do you say it like that? Our powers are awesome! And they have so much utility. Remember when you guys had me move the office refrigerator because it was too heavy?"

"I don't think she means that kind of utility." Lucretia chimed in.

Dalque turned to Bartley, ignoring her friends comment, and asked, "Hey, what is Clara's ability anyway?"

"I cannot reveal such vital information to you."

"It was worth a shot…"

"That's enough chit-chatting!" Colonel Madd finally recovered from his fright, "If you want some practice with these new frames, you better hurry up! Oh, and in case you forgot, try not to damage them too bad, as parts are scarce. I'm looking at you, Dalque."

"What!?"

"You think you're better than us, punk!?" a voice on an audio recording shouted.

"Please…" a man's struggling voice responded, "I'm just… an ambassador sent by Britannia to-"

"We already know who you are!" another voice shouted, "And guess what? We don't care!" a gunshot went off, shocking Lila, who was intently listening to the conversation.

"Good riddance," the first voice added, "Let's get out of here before some idiot comes to investigate."

Carine paused the recording and said, "Lila, I'm sorry that the Eleven's reception to your help was… less than civil. But this just shows how terrible these Barbarians truly are!" she put down pictures upon pictures of dead Britannian ambassadors. Some were nailed to walls, while others had their guts ripped out. "For these savages, we need to eradicate them. There is no negotiating with them, do you understand?"

"Yes… I understand, but…" tears welled in Lila's eyes, "I don't want to kill all the Japanese." her referring to the eleven's by their original name made the red-haired Princess annoyed, "If you can… please only kill the resistance groups who hurt our ambassadors. Spare any civilians that may come in the cross-fire"

"So… you approve of my plan?" Carine points at the piece of paper detailing an intricate operation that needed to be approved by the Viceroy.

"As long as you promise to evacuate the innocent civilians beforehand, then…" the innocent Princess carefully picked up her stamp and pressed it onto the paper, "I'll approve it."

Inside, the red-haired Princess laughed maniacally, "Oh Lila, there's no way to tell the difference between a terrorist and a civilian! To me, they're all the same. Anyone and everyone in that Ghetto is now considered my play-thing!" of course, she kept these thoughts to herself, instead responding with, "Don't worry. I promise to evacuate the civilians first."

January 9th. 9:00AM

"Thanks again for letting me stay at your place." Naomi told Naoto as she relaxed into his chair.

"No problem. You're not the only one who doesn't feel safe in their own home." the resistance leader responded while getting her a drink, "By the way, what do you want?"

"A coffee… please." the indigo-haired girl was currently wearing one of her leader's oversized t-shirts. "I hope your back doesn't hurt from sleeping in this chair last night, it's pretty uncomfortable."

"It's fine. I'm used to falling asleep in my chair anyway." the Kozuki responded cheerfully, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Your bed's very comfortable. By the way, thanks for lending me your shirt. I really should've packed some sleeping clothes before coming here."

"That's all right. You were rushing to get here. And honestly, I wouldn't want you to spend a second more in that apartment."

Naomi blushed upon hearing that statement, "R-really?"

"Of course, I don't want to see any of my friends hurt."

The girl shook her head, and tried to change the subject, "Have you heard the rumors? That Britannia is going to attack the Ghetto?"

Naoto's eyes widened upon hearing those words, "Wait… what? Where'd you hear that from?"

"You haven't heard? It's all anyone can talk about these days."

"Have I been out of the loop that much?" the resistance leader stared at his reflection in the coffee maker intensely, "When's that supposed to happen anyway?"

"I dunno, it's just a rumor anyway. I mean, why would Britannia attack here of all places, right?" Naomi said while turning on the TV, "Viceroy Lila did say she would help us, right?"

"I don't doubt that she means that." the Kozuki handed her a cup of coffee, "I put in the same amount of sugar and cream in both of ours."

"Oh, thank you."

Suddenly, the TV turned to static, before finding itself on the news station, where Carine ne Britannia was smiling, "Good morning, citizens of Area 11. In the past week, I've sent out ambassadors to over 400 terrorist groups who pride themselves as being the last of this county's retched history. Our intent: to make peace with these groups so we can work together to make Area 11 truly prosper for both Numbers and Britannian's alike. However, our attempts were met with needless hostility. Our ambassadors were killed, threatened, and unfortunately tortured while only seeking out these groups with good intentions. That's why… I plan on making an example out of one of these especially violent groups." the camera switched to Saitama Ghetto, which was already surrounded by a Britannian army. "I've already evacuated the civilians of this Ghetto in preparation for this battle. Now witness what happens when you harm those with good intent!"

"That liar!" Naoto shouted, spilling his coffee, "There was no evacuation order. She's just trying to slaughter as many of us as possible!"

The once silent streets of the Ghetto, were now flooded with incoherent screams of outraged citizens, "Damn those Brits! Do they really plan on killing us all!?"

"Fuck. Is the same thing that happened to Shinjuku going to happen to us?"

"I don't want to die in a place like this!"

Naoto and Naomi, now dressed in their regular clothing, rushed into an alleyway as artillery bombarded the resistance leader's apartment, "We have to get to the subway!" he commanded as the building collapsed into another, kicking up a dust cloud as they scurried down the substation stairs.

"Just when I thought those Britannian's might've been trying to help, they stab us in the back. I should've known better!" Naomi cursed herself as they went deeper into the subway.

"There's no use worrying about that now. Let's just focus on meeting up with Ohgi and the others at our hideout."

The two stopped dead in their tracks once they heard gunfire from within the station. It was four members of the Saitama resistance fending off a platoon of Britannian soldiers. Obviously, the resistance members didn't stand a chance.

"Fuck, we have to get out of here!" one shouted while hiding behind a sandbag emplacement on the track.

"No way! If we fall here, then those pigs will have access to the entire subway network!" his friend shouted while blind firing his machine gun.

"Amateurs." a Britannian soldier muttered while tossing a grenade on the enemy position.

The explosive ordinate landed right next to the two resistance members. At the sight, the duo tried to get away, but were gunned down upon standing up. The same happened to their comrades on the opposite track. Soon, the Britannian platoon flooded the station, forcing Naomi and Naoto to hide in the upper level.

"This is Carrius. Report, grid B7, substation, has been cleared of enemy terrorist. Warhammer is free for arrival." one soldier spoke into their headset

"Copy that Carrius. Warhammer is on their way. Continue clearing out each substation until you meet up with Madstomp. Overlord, out." their commander radioed back.

"Connor, take your team and head topside. Make sure the area is clear for our Knightmare pilots."

"Yes sir."

Naoto watched as the soldiers professionally split up into two groups, with a single squad heading upstairs, "We have to get out of here." he told Naomi, "Damn it. We don't stand a chance like this." his eyes turned to his phone, which was dialing the Prince's number, "C'mon Lelouch, pick up…"

"I already know." Lelouch said upon answering the phone. "We'll be there soon, just hold on for as long as you can."

Carine eagerly watched the screen of the G1 as numerous sectors were cleared with blue in just a matter of minutes, "Wow, it looks like your plan really worked, Dasko!"

"I am flattered by your praise, my Lady," her Knight responded with a bow, "I took notes on the spectacular failure of General Bartley's Shinjuku Skirmish, and sought to improve it by adding my own strategies." the G1's screen changed to show the sublevels of Saitama Ghetto, "Just like Shinjuku, we believe the terrorist use these tunnels for hit-and-run tactics on our troops. So, to prevent this, we've sent numerous teams to clear out the subway stations. We'll use these stations as launch pads to bolster our attack with Knightmare frames."

"How beautiful!" the red-haired Princess clapped her hands, "Well done. With this…" the G1's screen changed once more, this time, it showed the body cams of their soldiers, as they slaughtered the residence of Saitama, "The Symphony of Destruction has begun!"