"Incoming!" Kallen's voice warned just as the Black and Green Lions exited Earth's atmosphere. Blurs colored in yellow, red, purple, orange, and blue met them halfway.

"Hey, hey! You're alive after all!" Rivalz greeted from Polaris.

"Yeah, we are," Lelouch nodded, "Are the rest of you all right?"

"Yeah… I can't believe three more Knights of the Round showed up!" Shirley exclaimed.

"I know," Lelouch acknowledged, "Head back to the castle and meet in Zen's hanger. We have some things to discuss."

"Roger!" Suzaku said before the other Lions whipped back towards the castle.

"Wait! Was that-"

"You'll see in a minute, Euphie," Lelouch smiled and winked.

Smoothly but quickly, Lelouch glided Zen back into her bay with Zerith right behind them.

"Stay here until I call for you, okay?" Lelouch told Euphie. He knew the other Paladins would have questions once they saw her, but he had to make a few things clear first.

Euphemia nodded, anxiously glancing out Zen's eyes as her brother disappeared outside.

Stepping out into the bay, another surprise met Lelouch as he saw Rai lead none other than Nonette Enneagram out of Zerith. His stunned look was shared by several of the other Paladins and crew too. Zerith must have scooped her up with Rai by accident.

The Knight of the Round had her hands raised and was glancing around at the other people present. Lelouch was sure she was shocked to see that the enemy she was fighting was a ragtag group of Japanese and Britannian rebels, plus aliens.

Kallen looked like she was about to say something when Rai stopped her.

"It's fine. She…" he stopped trying to find the right words, "She's coming quietly."

This statement caused several reactions from surprise to skepticism, especially from Kallen and Allura.

"Um… okay then," Suzaku eventually said.

This snapped Lelouch back to attention, and he gestured for Sugiyama and Sayoko. Coran fumbled for a pair of Altean cuffs before tossing them to the ninja maid, who caught them quickly. No one else spoke as the two handcuffed the knight.

"Looks like you'll be seeing Cornelia a little earlier than you thought," Lelouch quipped, though there was little malice in his tone.

"I'll tell her you said hi!" Nonette shot back. The knight nearly stopped in her tracks when she spotted Nunnally, though, standing with the help of some advanced crutches. She huffed out a laugh as she was led out of the room. If her hunch about Zero's identity was right, his request to tweak her terms made sense.

Well played. Well played indeed.

"Um… Lelouch, do you still have...?" Rai asked, glancing anxiously at the Black Paladin.

"Yes, she's inside," he answered, taking his helmet off.

"Who?" Shirley asked.

"Before you see, I need to make something clear," Lelouch said authoritatively, "I expect our other… stowaway to be treated as a guest. If I hear that anyone has done less than that, they'll answer to me. Am I clear?"

There was silence for a good three ticks before everyone murmured their consent and understanding.

"Good," Lelouch's tone turned pleasant again. He then turned to Suzaku, "Would you mind going to grab them, Suzaku?"

"Huh? Why me?" he asked, blinking dubiously.

"Trust me; you'll understand when you see who it is," Lelouch said, barely hiding a grin.

Suzaku's expression didn't change, but he calmly strode towards Zen's open mouth, his footsteps echoing in the chamber. It was silent for a beat, only to be followed by a delighted squeal and squawk of surprise and laughter. Several seconds of babble followed before everyone finally spotted Suzaku's faint shadow reappear in Zen's jaws, along with someone else's.

Once the unknown passenger appeared, another round of gasps filled the room, and Princess Euphemia raised her free hand, the other Suzaku was firmly grasping, giving a small wave in greeting.

"EUPHIE!" Nunnally shrieked, her crutches clattering to the floor as she bolted towards her sister. In response, Euphemia gasped and rushed to meet her, catching Nunnally before she could trip on her still slightly unsteady legs. Her arms wrapped around her sister whipcord tight, tears forming as they both embraced.

"Aw!" Shirley cooed, feeling her own eyes getting wet as she watched the princess' reunion. Rivalz struggled to hide a sniffle next to her and failing miserably.

"Nunnally, it's-" Euphemia gasped, stepping back slightly to fully take her sister in, "-and you're walking...running! And you can see…!"

"I know!" Nunnally exclaimed, hugging Euphemia again.

Euphemia gladly returned the embrace as she looked in her brother's direction, "Why didn't you…?"

Lelouch just shrugged, his lips curved upwards, "It was a surprise."

While mostly everyone else enjoyed watching the reunion, Milly's eyes lingered on Lelouch. That smile… It was one that she hadn't seen on the Black Paladin's face for years. Sure, Lelouch smiled, especially around Nunnally, but she could tell it was almost always just a front. A model smile to hide the intense pain and anguish that he felt nearly every day since Lady Marianne's death.

Now though, she observed with a little beam of her own, that smile wasn't fake at all.

"Lelouch, why is she here?" Allura asked, eyeing Euphemia suspiciously. From her appearance, the Altean guessed that this was Cornelia's sister, and while Lelouch had only said good things about Euphemia, the princess couldn't help but be cautious.

Lelouch's smile soon turned into a grimace, "I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked, glancing at the team leader. Sure, he was glad to see Euphemia again, but he wouldn't deny that this seemed relatively sudden too, as he waited patiently for his friend to answer.

The answer was not one he was expecting, nor wanted.

"Haggar's on Earth."

"WHAT?!" Kallen exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts as they all stared at Lelouch in horror, faces begging him to deny or start laughing because it was his twisted version of a joke.

Noticing the sudden change in the room, Nunnally and Euphemia glanced up and looked around in concern. Euphemia was especially worried when she saw the terror-struck expression Suzaku wore.

"You're absolutely certain, Number One?" Coran asked urgently.

"Yeah, L-Lelouch, are you sure?" Shirley stuttered, looking nearly panicked. Shirley still remained the only paladin besides Lelouch to actually see the frightening witch. The image of her bearing down on Lelouch still haunted her.

"Yes," the Black Paladin confirmed, "Both Rai and I saw her."

Rai bobbed his head, skin an unusual puce color.

"Hold on," Suzaku said, shaking out of his stupor, "If you saw Haggar, and she's Zarkon's right hand, how come a whole Galra fleet isn't raining down on Earth right now?"

"Yeah… yeah, I mean, wouldn't we know if the Galra were on Earth already?" Kallen asked, "And if not, why did she come by herself?"

"I don't know," Lelouch shook his head, but his frown remained, "But when we saw her, she was disguised as a Britannian soldier. At least until I attacked her. If she's really the only one from Zarkon's forces on Earth, there must be a reason for that."

"Come to think of it, Lelouch," Rivalz said, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, "Didn't Ulaz say that we were being tracked? That's why it was such a huge risk coming to Earth in the first place."

"Yeah, if that's true, about the tracking part, wouldn't Zarkon have found by now?" Shirley asked.

"...Maybe that's why Haggar here," C.C. mumbled. All heads immediately snapped in her direction.

"What do you mean, C.C.?" Allura asked sternly.

"I'm not a hundred percent certain myself, and there's no way to test my hypothesis, but there could be something here on Earth that's blocking whatever Zarkon's using to track us. Perhaps that witch came here to investigate it before bringing any other forces."

"And that would be?" Suzaku asked, pressing further.

"As I said, it's only a theory, and since we have no way to prove it, we shouldn't dwell on it," the immortal said in finality, "All we do know is that that witch is on Earth, and if she is, then Zarkon is likely not far behind, especially now that she's aware that we're aware of her. Preparing for their arrival should be our top priority right now."

Lelouch's gaze lingered on C.C. for a few more ticks. He also had a theory he knew what Haggar was investigating, but the immortal was right. Haggar had lost the element of surprise, and that could cause her to call for reinforcements (and Lelouch had a feeling that Zarkon himself would be among them) sooner than she originally planned.

"Coran," he addressed authoritatively, "What's the research team's status on our space Knightmares?"

Straightening, Coran responded, "Structural, weapon, and mobility-wise, they're good to go. But we're still running into one small snag that's keeping us from announcing their completion."

"And that would be?" Lelouch pressed.

"Fuel supplies," Coran answered.

"Fuel supplies? What do you mean? I thought Kyoto was smuggling us more than enough Sakuradite?" Kallen asked.

"And we do have vast stores of them," Coran assured, "The problem is, a single energy filler of this material simply burns through the Knightmares too quickly. Not to say we can't use the Knightmares in battle, but using them for long, drawn-out ones would be rather foolish unless we had a way to either replenish the fuel quickly or make it last longer."

Suzaku's face looked thoughtful, "That… makes some sense. I remember hearing Lloyd talking about a similar problem with the airborne Knightmares on Earth. During the Kyushu mission, he warned me that my fuel would burn out quickly during flight, so I wouldn't have much power to fight with melee weapons. It's why I was only the starting attack. They knew I would run out before I could retake the base."

Coran nodded in understanding, "Yes. I believe the reason for that is due to gravity. Because both ours and Britannia's Knightmares are airborne, they're expelling extra energy just to stay in the air and maneuver. Space further increases the amount of fuel they need to use since there's no gravity in open space. The Knightmares have to produce their own inertia just to maneuver properly. Nothing's stopping the machines from going in one direction forever unless an opposite pressure is applied."

"Right, right, Newton's First Law and all that jazz," Rai muttered, his scientific brain spitting out the info as he listened to Coran's report.

Lelouch grasped his chin, eyebrows furrowing, "So we either need to find a way to make the Knightmares more efficient with their fuel usage, somehow figure how to make the Knightmares store more or extra fuel on them, or we can only use them for guerrilla warfare tactics or quick hit-and-run attacks."

"Or we find another fuel source either on Earth or elsewhere that can work better than the Sakuradite," Milly added.

"Milly, as tempting as that option sounds, we don't have time for that," Lelouch said, "Developing another power source that's better than Sakuradite can take months or years on Earth, and we simply don't have enough technologically advanced races as allies yet. We'll just have to deal with what we have and pray that Rakshata's team eventually comes up with a solution."

At the mention of allies, something tickled in the back of Rivalz's mind, his memory strangely flashing back to when Sendak ambushed the castle back on Arus. Sure, he had been unconscious for most of it, but he could still pick up flashes of colors and whispers of voices.

"Without a crystal, the castle has no power…"

"...get a new crystal to get the castle working again…"

"...Why don't we just use the same thing that's powering the castle?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Any further conversation abruptly halted as all eyes shifted to the Blue Paladin.

Squirming a little under everyone's gazes he continued, not sounding so sure anymore. "Well, I mean, the Balmera crystals, we're already using one huge one to power this entire Castleship, plus the old one before it blew up was being used for 10,000 years just to keep these two," he gestured to Allura and Coran, "alive. So if a giant one can power a spaceship like this, even dormant, for that long, there shouldn't be any problem using it for smaller stuff. Right? Right?"

There was silence for about a dobash as everyone thought over Rivalz's reasoning, Coran stroking his bushy mustache thoughtfully.

"...I think you might just be onto something there, Number Seven!" Coran exclaimed.

"It's at least worth a shot," Rai said, nodding in agreement.

"Rivalz! You little genius, you!" Milly grinned, giving him a good-natured noogie in the process.

"How long will it take to get those crystals?" Lelouch asked seriously, but no one missed the layer of eagerness in his tone.

"Not long," Coran answered confidently.

"All right, then take Rakshata and her team and head to the Balmera we liberated. Get those crystals."

"Righty-o!" Coran jovially exclaimed.

"Can I go too, Lelouch?" Shirley asked, "I can take them in Zinnia, plus if there's an emergency, we can get back to the castle faster and have a way to defend ourselves if something attacks us out there."

"You just want to see you BAFF Shay again!" Milly teased.

"BAFF?" Kallen asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"'Best Alien Friend Forever' duh!" Milly translated.

"Well, that too," Shirley admitted, rubbing her elbow with a blush.

"I'll allow it," Lelouch says. It made sense on a tactical level as well. Zinnia being the most heavily armored meant that if they were attacked, they had the best chance of defending their prize until they returned to the Castleship. Plus, considering the Orange Lion's close relationship with land and earth made it the most suitable for a place like a Balmera.

Then the Black Paladin's eyes wandered to his sisters, who had been standing near the center of the room listening to the conversation, eyes flickering back and forth between speakers like a tennis match.

"...Take Nunnally with you too."

"Wha?!" Rivalz squawked, looking at Lelouch like he had just opened a third eye on his forehead. Most of the other Paladins shared similar expressions.

"Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Lelouch Lamperouge?" Milly accused, pointing at their leader.

"You mean it, big brother?" Nunnally asked, sounding a little shocked herself.

"This'll let you get out of the castle for a while," Lelouch smiled, "Plus, I think you'll enjoy the scenery… as long as Sayoko goes with you as well."

"False alarm, he's back," Kallen quipped, causing the occupants to both sigh and groan at the familiar condition.

"Well, if that's settled, I'm going to head for the lab and let Rakshata know our plan," Coran said, "Shirley, why don't you and Nunnally look for Sayoko so that you three can prep for the trip?"

"Sure thing," Shirley nodded before picking up Nunnally's crutches and passing them over to the young princess, "Come on, Nunna!"

"Okay!" she nodded before following after the Orange Paladin. She waved over her shoulder towards Euphie one more time, "I'm glad you're here, Euphie! I'll see you later!"

"Have fun, Nunnally!" Euphemia waved back with a bright smile.

"Okay, so that's done," Kallen said, "What now? I mean, we can't do much until they get back with the crystals."

"There are still some things we need to discuss," C.C. said, "And now that the immediate problem's out of the way, this may be our best chance to do so."

"Is this about that theory you mentioned about Haggar?" Allura asked.

"Partially," C.C. replied, "but now that certain factors have come into play, I feel there are a few more things you must be aware of."


Back on Earth in the Viceroy's Palace, Schneizel was having a discussion with the present Knights of the Round along with Darlton and Guilford. With the loss of Nonette and the destruction of the Thought Elevator device, as well as the appearance of that strange individual, there was much to talk about.

"Thank you again for your assistance on Shikine Island, Lord Bismark. Yours as well, Anya and Gino. I'm impressed how quickly you were able to get over here on such short notice."

"You flatter us, but just be grateful that the Emperor answered your summons. It's thanks to his orders that made our arrival so prompt," Bismarck said dismissively.

"Speaking of orders, you still never answered my question. We were told to help capture that lion, but nowhere in our orders did it say that we'd be throwing Nonette to the wolves in the process!" Gino exclaimed in frustration.

"Weinburg, silence yourself!" Bismarck barked.

Gino scowled but shut his mouth, knowing that anything he said would be meaningless.

"Nothing can be done about it now," Anya said in her usual monotonous voice, "However, the fact that Voltron now has three members of royalty in custody is concerning."

"Yes," Schneizel bowed his head, "It's unfortunate that Euphemia got caught in the middle of all of this, but understand, I had no way of predicting that she would attempt something so rash."

"So then, now what?" Darlton asked, "If this was a plan to get Princess Cornelia and Nunnally back, it's failed! Surely you've thought of another way to retrieve them!"

"Unfortunately, until further data is gathered on this enemy, I'm afraid it may be too risky to attempt another operation like this."

Guilford gasped, "What are you saying?! You're not just giving up on them, are you?"

"How dare you-"

Schneizel held his hand up before Bismark could chastise the knight, "I understand your feelings, Guilford, but even with the information we have, Voltron remains a major wildcard. It would be best to withdraw and observe for now instead of wasting resources on attacks that will likely fail."

"But the Knights of the Round are with us now!" Darlton protested, "Back on the island, they fought those lions to a near standstill!"

"Yes, but only to a standstill. Am I correct?" Schneizel glanced at the knights.

"Indeed," Anya frowned, "From the data that we gathered, despite the lions' size and armor, most of the attacks weren't nearly as refined."

"You telling me the pilots of those lions are rookies?" Gino asked.

"No, but it seems most haven't been in as many battles and lack experience," Anya amended, "if that black lion had managed to enter the fray, however, they likely would have been the victors of that fight, not us."

"Then… how exactly are you planning to retrieve data to analyze then?" Darlton asked after absorbing this information.

"We already have a small piece of alien equipment in custody. Bartley's group has been observing and studying its properties since we managed to retrieve it. It's thanks to that research that we were able to find a way to disable the Black Lion."

"Yeah, by once again putting Nonette in direct danger!" Gino said again.

"Weinburg! One more word from and I will be forced to-"

"No, Bismark," Schneizel said, "Lord Weinburg has every right to be upset. Believe when I say that sacrificing comrades is not something I wish to resort to often, but I wouldn't have put her in that situation if there had not been a chance for us to save her. It was a gamble, one that cost us, but it had to be done."

Gino still frowned but accepted the explanation with a frown.

"In any case, while Voltron still remains a threat to our people, we still have other affairs that must be dealt with on our planet as well. We're still working through negotiations with the Chinese Federation. We'll have to play our cards carefully, or we may risk further conflict both on and off our world."


A light flickered in the atmosphere above the Balmera as the wormhole closed behind the Orange Lion. Even from high above the creature's surface, the sparkle of its crystals twinkled almost majestically.

"There it is, Nunna!" Shirley exclaimed, pointing out the window with a grin.

Nunnally gasped in wonder as she looked at the beautiful pla-no, not planet she reminded herself. This was a giant animal! And it was still alive too!

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Indeed!" Coran smiled, "In my opinion, the sparkling surface of a Balmera is one of the greatest sights one can see."

"And you mentioned that this one used to be under Galra control?" Rakshata asked.

"Yes," Coran grimaced for a moment, "Oh, when Shirley and I first saw it in the state the Galra had left it in, I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to save it. However, as you can see that while it still has a ways to go in recovery, the fact that we can see the crystals so far out is a good sign that it's at least healthy."

"I'm glad it's feeling better now," Nunnally said sincerely.

"Yeah, so am I," Shirley said with a smile, one that matched Sayoko's.

"So, may I ask how exactly these crystals work?" Rakshata inquired as they slowly descended into the atmosphere.

"Well, you see, the crystals themselves aren't ordinary minerals. They're petrified pieces of the Balmera's quintessence. Quintessence itself is considered the purest form of energy in the universe, holding the highest known energy per unit volume. Not only that, but it's also a self-generating one, which would answer your question earlier about how the castle lived off of a single crystal for 10,000 years."

"So, unlike other energy sources, this quintessence can recharge and reproduce naturally, all on its own?" Sayoko asked.

"Exactly, but the keyword being 'natually' there," Coran explained, "When we first came across this Balmera, the Galra had practically stripped the beast dry of all of its crystals, not giving it enough time to recover and rejuvenate its energy. Without either sufficient time to build up its stores again or a rejuvenation ceremony, the Galra were slowly killing it."

"Speaking of which, considering Allura's the only one that can perform that ceremony, is it even safe for us to be doing this?" Shirley asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"No, this one shouldn't cause much damage. The size of the crystals for the Knightmares are nothing compared to a battle-class crystal like the one for the castle. Of course, I'm not just going to wrench it out of the beast, either. You should understand what I'm talking about, right Shirley?"

Shirley thought for a moment, then remembered, "Oh yeah. You didn't perform the ceremony, but you still… talked to it, right? Using your own quintessence?"

"Correct," Coran nodded, "Plus, we'll have the other Balmerans there to help as well. Since they're born and raised here, they can naturally communicate with the creature, and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to assist us."

Shirley landed the Orange Lion lightly on the Balmera's firm surface, and before exiting, she could already see several Balmerans rushing to greet them, spotting several familiar faces already.

"Shirley!" Shay exclaimed in excitement as she and her family greeted the group as they exited the lion.

"Shay, it's good to see you again!" Shirley waved back happily.

Shay returned the smile before looking at the new faces, "Who's this?"

"Allow us to introduce Rakshata, Sayoko, and Lelouch's sister, Nunnally," Coran said, gesturing to each human in question.

"Pleasure," Rakshata nodded, and Sayoko gave a short bow in greeting.

"Nice to meet you!" Nunnally said, her eyes lingering on Shay's ear hoops, "I like your earrings."

"Oh, thank you," Shay said, her hand swiping over one.

"We welcome all of you to the Balmera," Shay's grandmother stated, "what brings you here?"

As Coran and Rakshata began discussing the crystals they needed, Nunnally's eyes wandered across the Balmera's surface. The crystals looked even more pretty up close and-

Nunnally gasped softly as her eyes landed on a large crystallized structure in the distance. Unlike the other crystals, though, she could see something was inside of it.

"Um, Shirley," Nunnally asked nervousness, "What's that over there?"

Shirley blinked before following Nunnally's line of sight and gasping herself. She quickly regained her composure, though, "Oh, that's a monster, we called them Ro-Beasts, that the Galra sent to fight us when we first liberated this place. The Balmera was the one that trapped it in the crystals like that. From the looks of it, it hasn't moved since, which is a relief."

Despite the insistence that it couldn't hurt them, Nunnally couldn't shake the small pit forming in her stomach. Even stuck frozen like that, the Ro-Beast looked scary.

"Are you all right, Nunnally?" Sayoko asked, noticing the princess's expression.

"I'm fine," Nunnally reassured her, "I guess seeing that thing is making me nervous."

"Well, there's nothing that you need to worry about Nunnally," Coran said confidently, "When the Balmera trapped that ro-beast in the crystals, it was crystallized both inside and out. There's very little chance that it's still alive at all."

"You said that the Galra created that?" Rakshata asked, eyeing the beast with a calculating expression. "I certainly wouldn't mind taking a peek inside of it if they're capable of making readily made Voltron-sized roots like that. Perhaps we can create a countermeasure for them other than Voltron itself."

"Yes, that would be a wise decision, but I believe we discuss it in length later back at the castle," Coran said before leading everyone towards the tunnel ladders.

Just before Nunnally was helped down the first ladder, she took one last look at the frozen monster. The pit in her stomach didn't fade.


After a brief tour of the ship, courtesy of Suzaku, Euphemia anxiously waited for the elevator to reach the floor that was currently holder both Nonette and her sister as captives. Of course, Euphie had no way, nor intention of releasing them. And even if she wanted to, she didn't know the code to open the cell. Plus, based on the suspicious glances she had seen the female Altean (Allura her brain supplied) shooting her as Suzaku lead her around, she had a feeling the only reason they were trusting her was on her brother's word alone.

She understood. According to Suzaku, Allura and Cornelia didn't exactly have the most cordial of introductions, so it was natural for one to assume that any immediate family would act similarly. She hoped she'd be able to change Allura's mind eventually.

According to the castle's time, which was set to Earth hours for the Paladins' benefit, it was around dinner time, and someone would typically be taking food to Cornelia's cell. Since she was heading down there herself, Euphemia volunteered to take it. She smiled in pity when she saw that the food was the same strange green goo that she and Lelouch had eaten on the island. She had been able to stomach it by eating it along with the berries she found, but her sister had likely been eating it with nothing else. This was probably torture all on its own in Cornelia's eyes. After all, unless she wanted to starve to death, she'd have to eat it eventually. Even Lelouch admitted that it still wasn't his most favorite thing to eat, and he and the other castle occupants had been living off of it for the past few months!

Finally, the elevator slowed to a stop and opened with a slight hiss. Her heart picked up when she spotted her sister and Nonette in the cell at the end of the runway. Lelouch had assured her that Cornelia was fine, but she wanted to see for herself to reassure herself as well.

The sound of her steps must have alerted the two women as they looked up from their conversation.

"Euphie!" Cornelia exclaimed, both in alarm and relief leaping to her feet.

Seeing that Cornelia was all right, Euphemia picked up speed, "Cornelia! I'm so glad you're okay!"

The sheet of glass kept them apart, but their hands easier aligned from both sides. Euphie was quite shocked to see tears in Cornelia's eyes.

"Nonette told me what happened… Schneizel…" her tone soon turned dangerous, "...I will never forgive him for this! You could've been killed!"

"But I'm not, sister!" Euphie assured her, "I'm fine. Lelouch kept me safe while we were on that island."

Cornelia could only nod; her emotions still jumbled between relief and fury.

Her thoughts were interrupted at the untimely sound of her stomach growling.

Euphemia giggled as her sister blushed and scowled in disgust when she saw the goo on the plate she had.

"You… have been eating, right, Nelly?" Nonette suddenly asked carefully. Cornelia had been held captive for about three weeks, so she certainly hoped so. Then again, if these Alteans were advanced enough to cure Nunnally of her blindness and paralysis, she wouldn't be surprised if they had a unique way of keeping prisoners healthy without food as well.

"...Only when I had to," Cornelia admitted. Truthfully, the viceroy managed to refuse about twelve meal offerings of that goop (deciding to count the days that passed based on the number of meals), but by the time the fifth day started, she forced herself to eat a little of it, if only to ease her stomach from ripping itself apart. It was only through sheer willpower that she didn't barf it back up. The only bright side was that the water she was given was completely normal (demonstrated when the Black Knight who brought it to her took a sip of it), so it quelled the feeling of hunger just slightly. No water, no life after all.

Euphemia smiled sympathetically before finding the button to open the meal slot. "It's not that bad, Cornelia," she said in a tone that she hoped sounded encouraging, "and if Lelouch was able to stomach it the past few months, I'm sure you can tolerate it a little longer."

Cornelia seemed to pout as she eyed the goo like it was cow droppings before she finally picked up the spork and scooped up a small amount, her revolted grimace still plastered on her face.

Still not used to the slimy texture, Cornelia almost immediately upchucked it but stubbornly kept her mouth closed and forcing it back down. She felt Nonette patting her back behind her.

From outside, Euphemia winced in sympathy. She wished she could get her sister something else, but the plants in the greenhouse weren't ready to be harvested yet, and the indoor rice field still had about three months to go before it was ready. According to what Suzaku told her, the green onions and radishes were getting close since they grew the quickest, but there weren't many dishes that could be made with those alone. They had about a couple dozen chickens now, so the crew had started throwing eggs into their diets, and they were in the process of trying to smuggle a couple of cows and some goats up the ship. There was also talk of possible plans for some fish farms.

"All Milly's idea," Suzaku had informed her.

"I'm sorry, sister," was all Euphie could say, "Hopefully, this won't last too much longer…"

She hoped so anyway. The information that Lelouch shared with her on the island, about Voltron, the Galra, what they'd been up to the last few months.

"Sister, how much has Lelouch told you about what's going on?" she asked after Cornelia managed to choke down another couple of bites, "About the Galra, I mean?"

Pushing the goo away, looking relieved for a change in subject, Cornelia admitted, "Lelouch hasn't told me much. Nunnally was the one that filled me in on the situation."

This caught Euphemia by surprise. Did Lelouch still not fully trust Cornelia, even after learning that the two of them had nothing to do with his mother's death? It wasn't too surprising… all of that distrust and suspicion wasn't going to fade after one conversation, and he was likely remaining cautious because up until now, Cornelia had technically been his enemy. Either way, she was glad that Nunnally was at least willing to trust her, and as she listened to her sister summarize what she was told, she realized it was about the same amount of information that Lelouch had told her.

Everything except…

"Did Nunnally mention anything about a witch when she came to see you?" Euphemia asked.

Cornelia blinked dubiously, "A witch? What do you mean?"

"I suppose that's a 'no' then," Euphie sighed.

"Wait, are you talking about that cloaked woman that Ze-I mean, Lelouch attacked?" Nonette asked.

As Euphemia nodded, Cornelia raised a skeptical eyebrow. Aliens? Okay, maybe she'd believe that. A literal witch, though? She wasn't so sure about that.

"After you were led out of the room, Nonette, Lelouch talked about her, and Suzaku mentioned that she's Zarkon's right hand. I don't know much else besides that, but… even just talking about her, Lelouch and Rai, they were terrified."

"If that's true with them just talking about her, she must be a big threat considering their reactions to physically seeing her on the island," Nonette observed.

Cornelia sat in shocked silence. Even as a young boy, not many things scared Lelouch, the sole exception being their father. So the fact that both her friend and sister were insisting that her brother was terrified of this witch person was deeply troubling.

"Lelouch… just who exactly have you been fighting?" she wondered softly, aloud.


C.C. frowned in concern as her hands lifted from Lelouch and Rai's heads. Once again gathered in the lounge, the two Paladins gave a quick summary of the events that transpired on the island to Allura and the other Paladins (though Shirley was absent). The moment they mentioned that the island's structure had done something to their Geasses, C.C. insisted on checking them.

"So?" Lelouch asked expectantly.

"Both your Geass have grown significantly, but not by natural means," she explained, "V.V. likely had a hand in this."

This caught everyone's attention.

"That other Code-bearer you mentioned?" Kallen asked.

"The same," she confirmed, "He likely triggered the Thought Elevator in an attempt to make one of your Geass go out of control."

"Thought Elevator?" Lelouch asked, "Is that what that structure is called?"

"Yes. Those structures have captured your father's interest in for a while now." If C.C. didn't have Lelouch's full attention before, she did now. "I don't know much about its origin, though. No one really does."

"Wait, 'structures'? So there are more of these things?" Rai asked urgently.

C.C. nodded, "Not counting the one that was destroyed on the island, there seven others all over the world. I don't know the exact locations of them, but I do believe they are connected to Geass somehow."

"So, even you do not know how this power came to be?" Allura asked.

"Well, I wasn't always immortal," C.C. reminded them, "I used to be a normal human too until a Code-bearer granted me my own Geass. But it happened so long ago that's lost count of how many years it's been."

"Oh… sorry," Rivalz said sympathetically. It was hard to imagine the pain C.C. had to go through, watching people that she had come to care for other the years grow old and die without her.

C.C. sighed before continuing, "As I said, Charles and V.V. have been studying these structures for years. Decades even. I don't know much about what they're planning with them, but it seems their knowledge has grown since I left. V.V. likely used them to transport Lelouch, Rai, Nonette, Euphemia, and the Black and Green Lions to that island to spring his trap."

"And yet Zen destroyed it, and she did it all on her own," Lelouch noted, "It wasn't via my orders."

"So basically, V.V. brought Lelouch and Rai to that island specifically to trap them?" Suzaku asked.

"It was likely an attempt to increase their Geass power to a point where they couldn't control it anymore," C.C. added.

"Like with Mao?" Milly asked. C.C. nodded in confirmation.

"Do you believe he acted alone on this plan?" Allura questioned, "It's clear from how you've talked about them that this V.V. and the emperor are close. And if that's the case, they're likely aware that Lelouch has this Geass… but why bring Rai to the island as well? Was it coincidental because he landed in the area first, or was Lelouch his only target?"

"I think I know…" Rai said, shoulders sagging and gazing at the ground.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Rivalz asked, leaning towards him.

Rai knew that his team wouldn't leave him alone until they found out what was wrong, so he spoke, "My memories. I got them back… all of them."

Everyone at first was taken by surprise, but then Milly smiled, "Well, that's great, Rai! Congratulations!"

"Yeah! Totally!" Rivalz nodded and gave a thumbs up.

However, Rai seemed to curl in on himself slightly, "Now that I have them back though… I wish I didn't."

This extinguished any further praises as everyone stared at him, stunned.

"What do you mean?" Milly asked, "Ever since we found you, getting your memories back was your top priority! Now you don't want them? Why?"

"If you really remembered everything… that means your time as a prisoner too, huh?" Kallen asked.

"Oh…" Rivalz grimaced, realizing how messed up this was becoming.

Allura looked down before approaching the Green Paladin and placing a hand on his shoulder, "I know this may sound hypocritical of me, Rai, but if you're willing to tell us what you remembered, we can help you get through it. But you can only do it if you let us."

Rai bit his lip, not sure where to start, so he just started talking.

"Well, first of all, my name isn't Rai. It is Zephyr. Zephyr zar Britannia."

Though Lelouch had been suspicious ever since Nonette said it, he couldn't help the shock he felt at what it being confirmed. Before Lelouch could say anything, though, his half-brother continued.

"And my mom… her name was Erina Kururgui."

Suzaku choked and had to take a step back to steady himself, "...Aunt Erina?"

"Do you know her Suzaku?" Milly asked.

"Only by name, I never met her directly," Suzaku explained, "She was my father's little sister, but he never liked to talk about her, and I think now I understand why."

"Yeah… you can probably guess who my dad is," Rai said sarcastically.

"Charles zi Britannia…" Kallen scowled, though her ire wasn't aimed at the Green Paladin.

He nodded, "He and my mom never got married. They had a secret affair, but her brother, Suzaku's dad, eventually found out. When the rest of the family learned what she did, they disowned her and threw her out of the Kururugui clan."

"Makes sense," Suzaku nodded, his expression pained, "people that have been disowned from families like mine usually aren't spoken very highly of after."

"That's so cruel!" Allura exclaimed, horrified.

Kallen shrugged helplessly, "That's just how some families work, unfortunately. Reputation is everything in their eyes. Why do you think Kyoto covered up the fact that Genbu Kururugui was killed by his own son?"

Suzuku covered his face with his hands before glaring at Kallen, "You had to bring that up?"

Kallen cringed a little, blushing in embarrassment, "Sorry…"

"Considering I never knew about you, I'm guessing the emperor kept you and your family a secret from the Royal Family too?" Lelouch queried.

"Yeah," Rai confirmed, "It was just me, my mom, and Sophronia. She gave my sister and me non-Japanese names if Charles ever decided to take us to the homeland. She probably thought other members wouldn't target us as much."

Lelouch hummed thoughtfully. He wasn't sure if that would have worked, but he could understand Erina's line of reasoning.

"So, not only are you half-Japanese and half-Britannian, but you're Lelouch's half-brother and Suzaku's cousin?" Rivalz summed up. He leaned back from his position on the lounge's sofa, whistling low, "Talk about a bombshell."

"Rivalz," Milly elbowed the Blue Paladin, "be more sensitive!"

Rivalz muttered an apology, rubbing the area the elbow hit.

"So… wait, if your family was supposed to be a secret, where did you live? And how does Nonette know you?"

"Nonette was my personal knight, assigned to keep an eye on us," Rai answered, "We were moved to an island called Fiji. Well enough out of Britannian territory so no one would know about us, but not a part of any of the other major superpowers to look suspicious."

"That makes sense," Lelouch nodded, "Even now, Fiji is still seen as an independent nation and has remained fairly neutral from other countries' squabbles."

"Okay… so you lived on an island, and nobody knew about you, neither from Japan nor Britannia… So how did the Galra capture you?" Kallen asked.

"I was getting to that," Rai said, "Nonette had been called away to deal with some uprisings in the Philippines. One of Sophie's favorite things to do was climb up to the roof of our home and stargaze. She loved looking for constellations because of how clear the sky was. I would join her from time to time. Nonette would too. Whenever Sophie would show us a constellation, she'd tell us why it was called what it was. Her favorite constellation story was about Orion the Hunter."

Rai was rambling, but no one interrupted him. It was nice to hear him talk about his sister. They could all tell they had been close.

"Anyway, one night while we were stargazing, we saw what looked like a falling star, but it passed right over our house and landed further into the island. Sophie thought it was a meteorite and wanted to go see," Rai chuckled ruefully, "She's super stubborn at times. Once she decides to do something, nothing will stop her, so I went with her."

"Five guesses on what that 'shooting star' was," Kallen muttered, "and the first four don't count."

Everyone chuckled slightly at the joke but quickly sobered up when Rai continued.

"It was about a half-hour hike up the forest when we finally found what it was. Now I know it was a Galra ship."

"Knew it," Suzaku muttered, confirming everyone's suspicions.

"At that point, I wanted to get out of there, but Sophie wanted to check it out. Before we could move, though, our mom came up behind us. She must have seen us leaving and followed us… and a Galra had her at gunpoint."

Everyone gasped, horrified.

Rai bit his lip, hands clasped on his knees, shaking, "Sophie screamed when she saw him… and he laughed. Said how we were naughty kids in a place we shouldn't be. I think that's when the second one turned up. He covered our mouths… asked if we should be shot. The first one said that they didn't have… specimens from our planet yet."

"Oh, quiznack…" Milly muttered, looking horror-struck.

"Mom was begging them to let us go and just to take her, but they said the younger ones had more potential than older ones…"

"They took you," Lelouch stated.

Rai nodded, some tears escaping his eyes, "Cuffed us and shoved us into the back of the ship. Sophie wouldn't stop crying. She kept saying it was all her fault, even though mom and I insisted that it wasn't. And then…"

Rai tried to say more, but his tongue felt like lead, and his breathing became heavy.

"He's having a panic attack," C.C. said calmly but urgently.

"Rai! Calm down! You're safe!" Milly exclaimed, shifting to lay a hand lightly on his knee.

"Deep breaths, in," Suzaku inhaled loudly, "and out," he exhaled just as loudly. The entire group joined in until the Green Paladin calmed again.

"Sorry… I can't share anymore… not now," he stuttered out.

"That is fine," Allura said gently, "You can tell us more when you're ready to… I'm so sorry that this happened to you and your family."

Rai took another breath in, "Thank you. I just wish I knew if they were alive now or not. I need to know to find out. I have to find them."

"And you will!" Kallen declared, "We already said we'd help you look, and that promise still stands!"

"Totally!" Rivalz agreed.

"All the way!" Milly confidently clenched her fist.

"...Thanks," Rai gave a small smile before frowning again, "...oh, and Haggar…" he winced, as if in pain, "It's still a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure she gave me my Geass. We didn't form a contract, though."

"Was it through an experiment?" Lelouch guessed.

"I think so…" Rai looked nauseous for a moment, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his wrist, a puncture scar from where an IV (or the Galra equivalent of one) had pierced his skin so many times, "...they did so many things to me."

"When you're ready," Allura reminded him.

"Yeah…" he nodded.

"Speaking of Haggar," Kallen said, changing the subject once Rai had regained his composure, "What exactly are we going to do about her? She's been on earth for who-knows-how-long, and if she was disguised as a Britannian soldier, she was likely interested in that Thought Elevator thing too. And if there's more of them..."

"She clearly seems to know something about Geass. The fact that Zarkon has some twisted version of it is proof enough of that," Lelouch said.

"She must have been here long enough for Mao to have gotten that black Geass," Suzaku concluded, "she must have evolved it or twisted it somehow."

"Okay, but why that psycho?" Milly asked, "Doesn't exactly seem like a guy to follow orders."

"Great," Rivalz threw his hands in the air, "Once again, we got more questions without than answers."

C.C. had been quiet for a while, her eyes closed, as if calculating a decision she was about to make before she opened them, answer clear.

"Well, with the information we now have, especially about Rai," she said, drawing everyone's attention again, "I think there's something else I must inform you of."

"And that would be…?" Kallen asked fiercely. She was starting to get really tired of all of C.C.'s secrets.

"V.V.'s real name… is Victor zi Britannia, brother of Charles zi Britannia."

And there it was. Both Lelouch and Rai looked stupified while Milly and Rivalz shouted in shock. Suzaku's face was hard to read, and Allura looked horrified.

"Must I ask why you decided to wait until now to tell that?" Kallen exclaimed, just looking completely fed up.

"Because it didn't seem necessary," C.C. insisted, "Once I realized who Rai really was, however, I believed it would be best to inform you now."

"Okay, but how does this change anything besides knowing his full name?" Rivalz asked, "I mean… I guess this makes it more personal for Lelouch and Rai, but…"

"Officially, Victor zi Britannia is deceased. No one within the Royal Family knows of his existence. At a young age, Victor received a Geass of his own and eventually a Code as well."

"I'm guessing you knew him?" Lelouch asked.

"I worked alongside Charles and V.V. for many years, but I left when they asked me to do something I wanted no part in," C.C. said, though she didn't divulge what this request was.

"You mentioned that V.V. gave the emperor his Geass power. Is he the only one that he granted this power to?" Allura asked.

"No," C.C. answered, "V.V. is the head of an organization called 'The Geass Order'. It's an organization that not even the Empire is aware of. Almost everyone in it holds a Geass."

"Great! Now we got an army of freaky eye-power power people!" Rivalz groaned again.

"Was Mao a member of this order?" Lelouch asked.

"No, he wasn't. I made a contract with him after I left the order-and before you ask why I didn't mention this before," C.C. stressed, seeing the expression on Kallen's face, "is because when I left, the order only consisted of myself, Charles, V.V. and a handful of other people. I don't know how big it's grown since I've left. But considering how obsessedV.V. and Charles are with Geass already…"

Only then did it sink how much more dire this situation was becoming.


"Is that the last one?" Shirley asked as the final extendable bag was hoisted into Zinnia's mouth.

"I believe so," Coran chirped, "These bags have enough mini-crystals to power an entire army of Knightmares from the looks of it."

Rakshata'seyes sparkled as she had just opened a chest full of gold and treasure, "I am going to have a lot of fun trying these out on my children!"

"Awesome," Shirley said with a smile before rejoining the crowd of Balmeras outside the Lion.

"Thank you for your help again, Shay," Shirley said to her friend, "We owe you one."

"There's no need for thanks," Shay insisted, "we're just glad we were able to help."

"You were all amazing!" Nunnally praised. It was so incredible to watch the Balmerians communicate with their home, the small crystals falling like raindrops from the tunnel walls and ceiling.

"We are grateful for all your help," Sayoko said.

A shift at the corner of Nunnally's drew her attention. It was Balmeran that had stuck close to Shay for the whole time. Rex or something? It reminded her of her brother.

"Are you all right?" Nunnally asked him in concern.

The Balmeran jumped, looking a little embarrassed.

"Rax?" Shay asked, looking at her brother.

Rax frowned, before sighing, "It is just, I've never reconciled my folly to you when you first came here. My actions put my family and you in danger. And for that, I am sorry. But I understand if you can't forgive me."

Shirley was stunned for a moment. She honestly never expected an apology because she could understand why he did it. He was trying to protect the family he still had. It reminded her of how Lelouch had been before they found the Blue Lion.

"Rax, it's okay," Shirley assured him, "I never blamed you for that. It was a bad situation, and you were just trying to Shay and your family safe. I get it."

"But-"

"I get it too," Nunnally said before Rax could protest, "My brother, Lelouch, he's the same way. He's overprotective and has taken it to the extreme before, but I know he's only doing it to protect me and because he loves me. And sometimes he makes mistakes too, but our mistakes aren't what define us if we're willing to fix them."

Rax was silent, but he finally nodded, "I understand, and thank you. I will not doubt Voltron again."

With a smile, Shirley held her hand out to Rax, hoping that he understood what the gesture meant. Fortunately, she was proven correct when the young Balmeran grasped it firmly.

"Well, we got to get moving! Everyone's expecting back at the Castleship soon!" Shirley said, pulling away and going to hug Shay once more, "I'm glad I got to see you again, Shay!"

"You as well, Shirley," the Balmeran smiled.

With one final wave to the cheering Balmerans, everyone boarded onto the Orange Lion and flew off, soon disappearing into the sky.


Three varga later, Zinnia returned to her bay, carrying her Paladin, crew, and precious cargo back at the castle. Rakshata immediately ordered the scientists under her to take the crystal bags down to the lab and begin testing them on the Knightmares immediately. She informed Lelouch, who had been waiting in the Orange Lion's bay with the rest of the Paladins, that he'd be notified the moment they had a successful test. They would need to begin human test runs immediately afterward, now that the urgency of an attack had heightened significantly.

"Actually, Rakshata, if all of you could follow us to the bridge, we must discuss our next move immediately."

Rakshata whined a little, a little peeved that she'd have to wait even longer to see the results of those crystal tests, but eventually nodded, "Fine? Can we try to make it quick, though?"

Lelouch shook his head lightly, "We will dismiss you the moment we can afford to."

"Fair enough," the scientist consented as they were all led out of the room.

"What's going on, Lelouch?" Nunnally asked anxiously, Sayoko helping her catch up with her brother.

"Nothing yet, Nunnally," he told her calmly, "We just need to discuss some things with all core members. You can tell me all about your trip afterward, okay?"

"Okay," Nunnally gave a small smile, accepting the answer.

"Did something happen while we were gone?" Shirley asked, her question directed at all the Paladins, not just Lelouch.

"You can say that," Milly said, passing the Orange Paladin a tablet. All of the details of the conversation they had while she was gone jotted down.

Milly then quickly pulled it away for a second, whispering in Shirley's ear, "Please don't ask questions now. If you want to talk to Rai about it, save it for after this."

"Okay…?" Shirley asked, the confusion only adding to her growing concern as Milly gave her the tablet. What did Rai have to do with anything?

Even if the information was in summary, Shirley couldn't help but gasp and glance in the Green Paladin's direction. She couldn't believe that this was what happened; what had been buried in his memories.

"Shirley?" Nunnally asked, noticing the Orange Paladin's face.

"Um…" the Orange Paladin gulped, whether this was appropriate to share with the younger girl. Noticing the ninja maid walking right next to them, she passed the tablet to Sayoko instead.

Sayoko's face remained stoic as her eyes swept over the points. Her expression grew pained, turning the tablet off.

"Your brother will talk to you about it later, Nunnally," Sayoko said softly.

Many questions formed in Nunnally's head, but she just nodded, understanding that this wasn't the time for this.

The doors to the bridge hissed open. Inside, Allura stood on the teludav. Surrounding her, waiting for the Paladins' arrival was C.C., Kaguya, Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords, Ohgi, Tamaki, the rest of Naoto's old team, and Euphemia.

"How was the retrieval from the Balmera? Successful I hope?" Allura questioned.

"Extremely princess," Coran reported, "the scientists under Rakshata are taking the crystals down the lab for testing as we speak."

"Excellent," the princess nodded with a pleased smile before becoming solemn again, "Now… onto the more pressing issues now that everyone's assembled. Does everyone here know what happened while Lelouch and Rai were stranded on Kamine Island?"

"I thought that was what we were here to talk about?" Tamaki asked, quirking an eyebrow, hands on his hips.

"That's a 'no' then," Lelouch himself spoke, "Then for the benefit for all who aren't aware, I will summarize," Lelouch explained how he, Rai, Princess Euphemia, and Nonette Enneagram, along with the Black and Green Lion had been transported to the island when Schneizel attacked with his new airship. Both Lions had lost power, which prevented the Paladins from leaving. All four of the stranded met up the next day, and a structure called a Thought Elevator activated in an attempt to affect their Geass. He reassured everyone that at the moment, neither Paladin was feeling ill-effects of the attempt, but shortly after, the Britannian military nearly cornered them. It was only due to the timely rescue of Zen and Zerith that they managed to escape while accidentally kidnapping Nonette and Euphemia in the process.

"Which brings me to the reason for this emergency meeting," Lelouch explained, "While we were facing the Britannian military, someone else was spotted among their numbers. Princess?"

With a nod, Allura pressed some buttons on the holopad, and a familiar figure appeared on the screens of the bridge.

"This is Haggar," Allura informed calmly, but if one listened closely, they could hear the thin veil of hatred in her tone, "From what Lelouch and Rai have informed us, they spotted her in disguise among the Britannian ranks."

"Wait, is this that witch you were telling us about when we first came here?" Ohgi asked, remembering asking Coran about her during a session with the gladiator.

"The very same," Coran confirmed, picking up where Allura left off, "And as I'm sure we've mentioned before, we don't know much about her personal history, but these things we do know. She's a powerful foe, as well as the leader of the druids, and personal adviser and second in command to Zarkon himself, despite not being Galran herself."

"We also believe that she gave Zarkon a Geass of his own. We confirmed that he has one during Voltron's brief attack on the Galra's Central Command," C.C. added, "We still aren't aware of what exactly his Geass does, or if it holds any other powers."

"Wait, wait, the leader of the Galra has one of those too?!" Minami exclaimed.

"Yes, but as C.C. said, we don't know what power he has specifically. We do know that she has given Geass to other people as well. One of them being our own Green Paladin through personal experimentation she performed on his person while he was in their captivity."

Lelouch felt it was a bit cruel to reveal this, but Rai had consented to it should it be necessary. He spotted several people shoot Rai sympathetic looks, especially Shirley and Nunnally.

"Lelouch, can I assume the reason you called this meeting to inform us of this is that you believe the Galra may be arriving even sooner now?" Tohdoh questioned.

This elicited gasps from most Black Knights present before turning to their leader for an answer.

"You caught on, I see, Colonel," Lelouch said, practically confirming this theory, "but yes. It's a high possibility. We don't know how long Haggar has been on Earth or what she's been doing coming alone. But up until this point, she's kept her activity completely undetected until she blew her cover on that island. That means she can likely call for Galran forces at any time. For all we know, she's doing it now."

"By now, we've informed and educated all of you on the Galra's strategies and weaponry," Allura spoke again, "and while improvements have been made to your Knightmare devices, that doesn't change the fact that we are still heavily outnumbered and outgunned. The fight we have ahead, which will likely happen soon, will not be easy."

There was a strained silence as everyone let the information sink in.

"Are you saying that we need more help, Lelouch?" Euphemia piped up, all attention now on the princess, "Because if that is the case, I may have an idea if you're willing to listen?"

"Lelouch," Chiba spoke, "I'm not a racist, but may I ask why a member of the Britannian royalty is a part of this meeting?"

"And must I remind you, Nagisa Chiba, that both myself and Nunnally are still officially members of that same royalty that you speak of?" He glanced around at everyone else, still noticing a few distrustful expressions, and had he turned around, he would have seen a similar face on Allura as well. "Must I also remind all that one of our ultimate goals is for Britannia to join us in this fight? We can not afford to exercise prejudice or mistrust among our ranks if we have any hope of successfully cooperating with Britannia when the time comes to do so."

"We should at least hear her out," Suzaku added, "I can vouch for Euphemia myself."

A couple of people still looked uncertain, but when no one else spoke up to object, Lelouch nodded towards his half-sister.

Euphemia took a breath, gathering her thoughts before she spoke.

"Well… this is an idea I planned to present to our brother Schneizel, to try and stop the fighting and to try and bring a peaceful solution between Britannia and Voltron."

"And that would be?" Kallen asked impatiently.

"It was called the Special Administrative Zone of Japan," Euphemia explained.

"A 'Special Administrative Zone'? What's that?" Rivalz asked.

"Well, within the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan, it would permit Elevens to call themselves Japanese. Any restrictions against Elevens and special rights for Britannians wouldn't be permitted within the zone. Basically, it's a place where anyone, whether a number or Britannian, could live side-by-side as equals."

There was a stunned silence for several seconds before Rai was the first to speak, "Euphemia, I don't mean to sound offensive here, but you don't seriously think that that would work, do you? Even if Schneizel cleared it, there would be no way that the Emperor would permit something like this!"

"I agree as well," Allura said, "Considering that man banished two of his children just because one of them spoke up against him and forced another to live in exile despite it being a neutral territory, I highly doubt he would have allowed you to enact this plan. Especially since it involves needed to recognize a land that he has already conquered as a part of his empire."

"Yeah… it's not that we don't think it was a nice idea, Princess, but considering how much the empire has done to our land already, I don't think he would have let this slide," Ohgi agreed, many of the other Black Knights sharing similar opinions.

Euphemia was about to say more when Lelouch himself spoke, "Ohgi's right, Euphie. I understand your heart was in the right place when you thought of this, but I've run through this scenario in my head too, and a man like the Emperor wouldn't take something like that lying down. He would retaliate in one way or another, whether by attacking you, Cornelia, or even launching another attack on Japan again."

"I know that!" Euphemia protested, "But, I also wanted to use it to try and bring the world together, and that's something you need more than ever now, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Inoue questioned.

"Well, Lelouch told me about the Galra while we were on that island, and I think it's only fair if the rest of the world was aware of them as well! If they knew there was a larger threat, bigger than even Britannia, it could at least force the other world leaders to listen to you! Isn't that what you said you're trying to achieve? You want the other nations to stand with Voltron? Well, this could give them a reason to do so. The rest of the Royal Family won't be able to turn a blind eye. It could bring more people to your side, like Marrybell or Odysseus!"

"It could work!" Nunnally exclaimed, "Plus if we can prove that Voltron isn't hostile, that could help too! I can show them how the Alteans healed me. We just have to show them that working with Voltron was much more beneficial than working against it!"

"Display the pros and cons," Suzaku said with, "I'm sure once all the facts are laid out, they'll at least hear us out!"

"And so far, there are way more pros to working with us than cons. And vice versa for working against us," Rivalz pointed out.

"Well, not many people can say that they miraculous healed a crippled and blind little girl in such a short amount of time," Milly pointed out.

"Yeah, the medical advances would be a huge advantage on its own!" Shirley agreed.

A murmur of positive agreement seemed to shift in the group before Lelouch cleared his throat, expression still grave.

"As optimistic as that sounds, we already discussed this very situation when we were first departing Arus. Even if Earth and Voltron manage to repel the Galra, and it is possible if plan strategically and carefully, it isn't what happens during the alliance that matters the most. It what will happen after."

"Yeah," Kallen nodded, eyeing her fellow Paladins, especially, "Don't you remember what Lelouch said? Sure, say we succeed, and we repel the Galra? Whoo-hoo yea for us! But what's to stop any of the superpowers, especially Britannia, from simply back-stabbing us and going right back to square-one after it's all over?"

"Yes, I agree," Tohdoh spoke matter-of-factly, "once the overall threat has been dealt with, there would be no reason to keep an already shaky alliance together. It would take one misstep for it to all fall apart again."

"I understand, and… I know what kind of man the Britannian Emperor is," Euphemia acknowledged, "but think about what else we'd be doing besides fighting together? Voltron could also work to change the system from the inside. I'm not naive enough to think it can be changed overnight, but the more Voltron and the Black Knights push the Galra back, that will garner more support for change from both the other nations and Britannia."

"Lelouch, I told you I spoke with Cornelia shortly after what happened with Mao," Nunnally said, "She told me that she would be willing to fight with us too if we gave her a chance! She even said she knew people in the military that would join us too if she asked them to."

"What about Nonette?" Rai exclaimed, "She's a Knight of the Round, and on Kamine Island, she told me point blank that if she had to choose between my family or Britannia, she'd side with me. Us. She's bound to have a lot of influence in the military too, maybe even with her colleagues. If we can convince some of the other knights, that would greatly increase our battle prowess."

"Yeah, sure, say that your dickwad dad does try to backstab us when the Galra leave," Rivalz said, "but if we have most of the rest of the world, and even the Britannian people on our side, we'd be at a huge advantage, wouldn't we? I mean, even he can't fight the entire world and Voltron and hope to win! Right?"

"It's a lot of moving pieces," Coran stroked his chin, "but I can see this result coming to fruition if all goes accordingly."

"Yes, it would be strategically sound," Lelouch admitted, "but as you said, Coran, there are a lot of unknowns and what-ifs that can still go wrong."

"Lelouch," Suzaku cried, "I know you're the kind of guy that wants to make sure that everything is planned out the way you want it, but we… we don't have time for that! You yourself said that if Haggar's on Earth, Zarkon's not far behind. He's probably on his way here now with dozens of fleets at his beck and call!"

Silence once again filled the bridge, a silent debate communicating with everyone in the room before they all looked back at Lelouch and the two Alteans at the center.

Allura breathed out, "I am reluctant to move forward, but Suzaku is right. As of now, with the little time we have, this may be our only option. At the very least, we can warn Earth as a whole about the Galra and the threat that they pose. Let's just pray that this brings your planet together instead of tear it apart further."

Lelouch let out a breath, "...Let's go."


"Viceroy!" a guard nearly tripped over his feet as he sprang into Schneizel el Britannia's office.

"What is it?" he asked calmly, but he could see the evident distress on the soldier's face.

"It-it's Princess Euphemia!"

"What?!" Bartley exclaimed, having been in the office to discuss something with the prince when the guard entered, "Did you find her?"

"No! Well… I mean… not exactly…"

Schneizel frowned, "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"The princess, she… She's on international television right now," Schneizel's eyes widened, "You have see this!"

Schneizel cleared whatever had been on his screen previous and pulled up the news app. Just as the guard said, there was Euphemia. He couldn't make out where she was from the background, but it was clear it wasn't on Earth.

"This is live?" Bartley asked.

"Yes, and it's being broadcast world-wide, not just Britannia!"

Schniezel's frown deepened as he turned up the volume.

"I am Euphemia, sub-viceroy of Area Eleven of the Holy Britannian Empire. There is something of great consequence that I wish to tell you all today! I, Euphemia li Britannia, hereby declare an immediate ceasefire between Britannia and Voltron!"

"WHAT?!" Bartley gasped, mouth gaping in horror.

"I also order for the immediate halt of all Britannia expansion. Not just in Area Eleven, but all other occupied areas as well."

"Sh-she can't do that! She doesn't have the-the authority to order that! What on Earth is that girl thinking?!" Bartley protested further.

Schneizel didn't respond; his focus solely on his sister on the screen.


"Um… is that something she can do?" Gino asked, glancing at Bismark and Anya.

"She does have some control over Area Eleven's activities due to her status as sub-viceroy," Bismark acknowledged, "but ordering it in other areas is completely out of her jurisdiction."

"And yet she's ordering it anyway… this may become troublesome," Anya observed.


"I, Euphemia li Britannia, also hereby declare the formation of the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan in the area surrounding Mt. Fuji!"

"What?! Britannia has-?!"

"They're recognizing… Japan?!"

Her audience had several mixed reactions from all over Area Eleven. Several Japanese citizens and even Britannians looked in surprise in amazement. Nina especially, from within her dorm at Ashford, looked terrified and even repulsed at such a thought.

"Hear me, people of the world! Britannia and beyond!" Euphemia continued to announce, "Voltron is not a threat! They are not the true enemy we face! So please, join me in not only protecting this world but ensuring where it has a peaceful future! Not under Britannian subjugation, but a place where freedom is the right for all people!"

"LONG LIVE PRINCESS EUPHEMIA!" a loud cry could be heard even from outside the Viceroy's palace. People from not just the ghetto but even within the settlement rejoiced for the princess.


"..."

"...You know we can't just let this slide Victor," Charles argued, glaring at his older twin.

"Watch your tone with me, Charles!" Victor practically thundered, "This SAZ is the least of our problems! One of the Thought Elevators was destroyed!"

"And whose fault is that?" Charles hissed. V.V. stepped back, eyes bulging, "If you hadn't sent my sons to that island with their Lions, that likely wouldn't have happened!"

"I only intended to send those two sons of yours there," he spat the word out like poison, "But somehow the Lions went with them! Even when I tried to separate them! It was like… like an unbreakable cord was connecting them together!"

Charles frowned, thinking over this information, before shaking his head, "Regardless, there was no need to send them to that island in the first place! Now that they've seen the Thought Elevator, there's no stopping C.C. from telling them about the rest!"

V.V. reeled back, "She wouldn't!"

"Considering my… source," Charles had to stop himself from saying her name for her safety, "has been unable to contact her, nor have you, for the last several months, nothing stopping her from doing so! If that Black Lion was strong enough to destroy a Thought Elevator with one blast, the other Lions could easily demolish the others!"

"H-Hold on!" V.V. gasped, "Yes, perhaps C.C. will tell them, but she still doesn't know where they're located! That will take time! We still have a chance to recapture her before that happens!"

"And how to plan to find her. It's clear she's with Voltron, but now of our forces have been a match for them!" Charles argued, "Even sending three Knights of the Round to battle them it resulted in a draw at best!"

There was silence between the quarreling brothers as Charles clenched his fists. Lelouch, his son, had changed. He had no clue what sort of ideas this Voltron had been feeding him, but it was clearly rubbing off on him. Forgetting his roots, forgetting who his true father was! And now, even if it was ignorantly, he was destroying the very dream they had vowed to make come true.

"Destroying the dream me, you, and Marianne all shared," Charles muttered softly. Back turned to the code-bearer, Charles failed to notice the brief scowl on his brother's face at the mention of Marianne.

"So, this is the source of this world's power…"

This new voice made the two brothers jump. Twisting around, the pair spotted a hunched cloaked figure, female from the sound of its voice, slowly advancing towards them.

"Interesting."

"Who are you?" Charles shouted, "How did you get in?!"

'Guards! I request you-' suddenly, V.V. gasped as he felt something not only block his telepathic link but grasp his entire body as if in the hold of a giant's hand. Off to the side, Charles gapped in horror as a violet aura surrounded his brother before being thrown to the other end of the platform with a sickening thud.

"Now, now, there's no need for rudeness," the woman sneered, hand still raised, "Although, I will say, I'm surprised to find another like that female Earthling so soon."

"Are you talking about C.C.?!" Charles demanded before he could stop himself, "How do you know her."

The figure cackled, "Let's just say we've met once. Though I wished it had been under more… appropriate circumstances."

Charles seemed to freeze in a shocked stupor as the woman looked him up and down curiously.

"So, you are Charles Zi Britannia... the father of Zero."

This seemed to snap the Emperor out of it as he growled, "I don't know who you are... but you've made a terrible mistake!" he declared, his eyes flashing red.

To his shock, though, the woman just laughed, "Don't waste your time. Geass does not affect me whatsoever."

Despite the warning, Charles attempted to use it anyway, but to his growing horror, it had no effect. The woman's smile seemed to grow larger as the realization slowly made itself clear on the Emperor's face.

"Are you… are you like C.C.? And my brother?" he stuttered out.

She hummed thoughtfully before shrugging aloofly, "Who can say? But, if you're so eager to compare our power… let me give you a taste of mine."

The woman lifted her hand, and a globe of dark, twisting energy formed from it.

Suddenly, Charles and V.V.-who had finally started to regain consciousness- felt themselves being thrown forwards into a familiar place.

"Wha-" a shrill scream interrupted Charles, followed by a crash. Whipping around, the twins stood in horror at the sight that began their crusade so long ago. The corpse of their freshly murdered mother laying nearly decapitated under a carriage.

"No!" V.V. gasped, "This is… This is just a memory!"

Soon more scenes followed, of the hell the two boys faced in childhood, but it soon shifted to more recent events.

Another crash sounded behind them, and Charles gasped when he saw a bloodied corpse of his son, Lelouch, impaled through the stomach on a mounted pike. All around him were the dead bodies of the rest of the royal family. Nunnally, Euphemia, Clovis, Cornelia, Marrybell, Schneizel, even siblings he wasn't as close to, like Carine and Guinevere.

"Y-You," Lelouch gagged on his own blood, but his eyes glared at his father with hatred, "You… did this!"

"NO!" Charles bellowed as Lelouch finally slumped on the pike, eyes forever staring into nothingness.

"Enough!" Charles cried before suddenly snapping back to reality. He realized he was on his knees, clutching his head, and V.V. was in the same position not too far away.

"I will admit," the woman said callously, pacing around the two brothers like a snake stalking prey, "I am impressed with how far you've come with such limited power, but you are barely even penetrating the surface. To compare what you call 'Geass' to what I have experienced is the equivalent of comparing a single raindrop to a vast ocean. But still... there is great power and potential in this primitive world…"

Though physically exhausted, both brothers glared up at the witch (because what else could she possibly be?) though neither made a move against her.

"What do you want?" Charles said through gritted teeth.

The witch scoffed, "If I intended to kill you, I already would have," she turned a looked directly at V.V., "And don't think your so-called immortality can save you. I'm quite certain I can find a chink in that supposedly impenetrable armor of yours. Nothing is ever truly invincible."

V.V. growled, "You still didn't answer... what do you want from my brother and I?"

To their surprise, the witch smiled, "I have an offer for the both of you."


AN: So... no real excuses except that college hasn't been kind to me this last month. I hope that this makes up for it.

I also hope Coran's explanation with the Knightmares makes sense. I'm in no way a science major, so if I got something wrong, I'm sorry.

And also, CRYSTAL POWERED KNIGHTMARES! Did you see that coming at all?

Any, I will try to make a more consistent effort to get more chapter out, but with the holidays coming up, I'm honestly not sure what my schedule will look like.