AN:

Guest: I imagine that the Chinese Federation has some kind of iron hand over the Internet, keeping information from leaking to other nations. Also, that's a very good point about leaving Empress Tianzi to run the country. After all, the idea of the High Eunuch who govern in her stead is very viable. The only reason it's a problem, is because the current Eunuch became corrupted. So, effectively replacing them with Xingke, someone who's already close with the Empress, is a great idea.

DarkDremora: To be fair, Tohdoh wasn't trying to beat Xingke toward the end, that's when he started getting overwhelmed. Of course, I could've (and probably should've) put a bit more into their fight, but I didn't have a solid vision for it, considering how much of a mismatch it was.

Chapter 111: Self Destruction

"Get out of my way!" Kallen shouted while kicking Suzaku off to the side, "I have to get to Lelouch!"

"Not so fast!" the Knight burst through the rubble, and stood in the red head's way, "First, I'll kill you, then I'll take care of Lelouch!"

The Guren tackled its opponent into the dirt of the battleground where the Kagero once faced the Aquila and Equus, "Ugh. Don't you have anything better to do!?"

"Yeah, and that's killing Lelouch!" Suzaku sent a punch toward his opponent, who hit him with a cross-counter, knocking him away and amplifying his headache.

"You won't be doing anything in that state!" the red head flew toward the mountains, only to get tackled midair by the Conquista as it recovered from the previous strike. The two Knightmares crashed into the forest, where they broke several trees on their fall, coming to a stop at a clearing, "Just roll over and die!" she brought her fork knife down, which was easily blocked by her opponent's MVS.

"I could…" Suzaku coughed, "Say the same to you!" he pushed her into a tree and kicked her chest, causing the foliage to crumble beneath her weight.

Kallen recovered by grabbing a fallen log with her surger, and slamming it into the Lancelot as it approached, sending him flying backwards in pain, "This is pathetic…" she thought while leaning against a tree, "I should be absolutely crushing him right now… yet these burns…" she winced as she felt her sides ache, "Are prohibiting my movement."

Suzaku stumbled to his feet, still feeling the effects from the surger as his nose began bleeding once more, "I can only imagine what those twins will do with Lelouch if I don't get there. If they plan on Geassing him, then the whole world could be put in danger." to him, it was obvious that to achieve victory, he either had to kill the twins, or kill Lelouch. Though, he preferred both.

Kallen sent her surger forth, tearing through a tree as Suzaku ducked the strike, countering with a gut punch, followed by a spinning kick.

The red head ripped a tree out by its roots while recovering, before throwing it like a spear at her opponent, who slice the trunk in half with his MVS. Even so, this was merely a front to mask the Guren's approach, which delivered a devastating punch to his face with the surger, sending him flying backwards through a set of trees.

Suzaku wiped the blood from his lip, and leapt at the opposing frame with a spinning kick, causing it to block left due to getting used to his habits. However, that's what the Knight accounted for, as he feinted left, and hit them with an overhead axe kick, knocking the red head to her knees, "You're out of your league!" he tried slamming his MVS into her cockpit, only to be avoided at the last moment by a roll.

"And you're out of your depth!" Kallen responded by knocking him up with a sweeping kick, before bringing down her fork knife, which was blocked by his MVS. Though, the force caused him to crash into the ground, where he struggled to push away his assailant, and roll away.

"You've never faced the challenges I have! The shoes I had to fill!" with one strike, he knocked the Guren's fork knife away, and pulled back just as her surger swatted his blade into the air, "To me, you're still an infant learning to walk!" he cocked his fist back to meet the surger, only to fake it out once Kallen threw her fist forward, and wrap his arms around her shoulder, body slamming the Guren in the process. Though, this came at the cost of him coughing up a significant amount of blood.

"You have no idea the hardships I went through, Suzaku!" Kallen rolled onto her feet just as her opponent did a handstand, sending two repeated kicks toward her frame, which she easily blocked, "Anything you've done, I've probably done ten times better!"

Just as she readied for a counter-attack, the Knights MVS suddenly came flying in from above, which he kicked toward her head, taking off the horn. He then followed up by sending both feet into her chest, causing her to stumble back into a tree, where she remained for a solid second, before being bombarded by a flurry of punches, forcing her to block. The red head waited patiently for her opponent to back away, giving her an opening to fire her harken, tearing off a portion of the Lancelot's head, following it up with a punch from her surger.

Suzaku did a backflip to recover, staring down the Guren with malice as he stayed low to the ground, "Fine. Then allow me to show you the Suzaku Kururugi who bested Bismarck Waldstein, the Knight of One, in a Knightmare Duel." he spat blood onto his dashboard and wiped his face, ready to continue the fight despite being in poor condition.

"Have a taste of my Loyalty!" Jeremiah announced while spinning the Siegfried rapidly, forcing the Zeus to retreat.

"Too heavy!" Rai thought as he tried piercing the armor with his wrist blades, only to be deflected by the orange frames protruding harkens, "And worse yet… I don't have enough Energy to fight this guy. Maybe if I was full up…" he shook his head and flew downward, shifting between main streets to side streets, dodging the heavy Giga Fortress as it crashed through multiple buildings chasing after him.

"Rai!" Nonette called over the radio, "The Black Knights are getting dangerously close. If we don't take off now, we might get caught!"

"Damn it… just get the Avalon in the air with as many Knightmares as possible! We'll load the rest onto the cargo ships." Rai hastily ordered, "And I'm guessing Suzaku isn't back yet?"

"Correct."

"I wish we could just leave him. But Euphie wouldn't like that." suddenly, he noticed the absence of the Knight Giga Fortress, allowing him to feel silence for the first time, "Something's wrong." the Knight tried using his factsphere, only for the wall on his left to be obliterated without warning, followed by his opponent.

"Nobody can escape the Loyalty of Jeremiah Gottwald!"

"Did he get better?" Rai flew higher, escaping the narrow street, "Or is it just that strange Knightmare? Too hard to tell." as he grew closer to the docks, he noticed dozens of Sutherlands getting loaded onto the Avalon, while Guilford stayed outside with Darlton and the Glaston Knights.

Originally, the Knight was going to lead Jeremiah to the Britannian defensive line, where he would be supported by the rest of his force. However, when he turned around to make sure the former Margrave was still following, he was already retreating, "Did he know I was going to trap him? Or is something else going on?" he refocused on the Britannian defensive, "No. I can't think about that right now. We need to get out of here, and if that Margrave is just going to let us go, then I'm fine with that."

C's World.

Lelouch kept his hand firmly on the pedestal as his other self ran through a tree line, using it the natural forestry to avoid incoming shots. Then, he leapt onto a building, hopping from one to another, reaching the Regalia where he delivered a strong right hook to its face, forcing the massive Knightmare to stumble slightly, "Ugh." he heard in his ear, disrupting his viewing.

"What do you want, Kallen?" he questioned as the red head's hand held firm on his shoulder.

"Nothing." she mumbled while watching the other Lelouch narrowly dodge a shot aimed for his head.

"Tell me the truth." the Prince commanded as the Kagero tackled its opponent into the river, where the frames thrashed wildly, sending water in every direction.

"Hm…" she groaned in frustration.

"Kallen."

"Fine." the red head smirked as the Black Knightmare retreated into the town, leaving the Gold Frame in utter confusion, "He's doing well, don't you think?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose?"

Lelouch turned his head, only to meet the girl's palm, which redirected him forward, clearly not wanting to be looked at, "What do you want me to say?"

"I dunno…"

"Can you stop speaking in rhymes?" he tried to turn around once more, only receiving the same response as before, "And can you stop doing that?"

"Why do you wanna see my face so badly, huh?" Kallen asked while keeping his head straight, "Just focus on watching yourself."

"Oh. I see what's going on." the Prince smirked.

"See what?" the red head wrapped her other hand around his throat, and squeezed it twice, "Choose your next words carefully."

"Hm? Well, considering all the evidence I've compiled, from you watching what's going on constantly, to you always trying to spy on me while I'm on the pedestal, and finally with how you've been so… conceited lately…" he felt her grip tighten, but continued nonetheless, "And now that I've got a look into your mind through direct contact-"

"Y-you bastard!" Kallen sputtered, "I told you not to do that!"

"And yet you do it to me?" Lelouch turned around, escaping her grip as she hid her face, "Tell me, does my other self really intrigue you that much?"

Kallen's face remained bright pink as her hands rested at her side, "Oh, shut up. I don't need you making fun of me."

"I'm not going to." the Prince shrugged, "It's just amusing, that's all."

"Oh yeah? What's so amusing about it?" the red head put her hands on her hips, "Because I'm not into you, if that's what you're thinking."

"I didn't say that." Lelouch said while returning to the pedestal, "After all, it's not my business whether you like me, or that other version of me."

Suzaku silently watched while standing between the two – he was present the whole time, but chose not to intervene, "Is that why you read my mind then?" Kallen asked, bringing the conversation back, "Because I don't see any other reason… unless you're jealous."

Lelouch rolled his eyes at the suggestion, earning a response from the Knight, "Um… should I leave you two alone, or…"

"No. Lelouch started this, and now he's too afraid to contend." Kallen stated boldly, "If he wants, we can continue watching his other self fight off those twins."

"Ugh. It's annoying having her able to read my mind so freely." the Prince thought to himself as the red head returned to watching the duel, "However, at least I've learned something regarding her feelings about that… other me." his mind wandered while watching the Kagero dodge the spear, "Though… I can't say I'd like him marrying Kallen. Especially considering their relationship wouldn't have happened if-" he shook his head, "No. I can't think about that. I have to take care of V.V first, then I can focus on… that."

Chinese Federation

"Damn it… this is way too much." the Prince thought as a bead of sweat dripped down his brow, "I'm starting to feel light-headed too…"

"Stay still!" Pollux shouted while slamming his spear into the ground, breaking up the dirt as his Big Brother approached. Castor followed this up by firing a single cannon shot into the Kagero's chest, which was blocked by the Blaze Luminous.

Lelouch crashed through a tree, landing in the Regalia's fist as it appeared behind him, dealing massive damage that made his eyes roll to the back of his head. As the Kagero spun through the air, Castor followed up by firing a cannon shot at it, causing the Black Knightmare to be sent crashing into the water below. The Black-haired Prince landed in the water, where he swiftly recovered, dodging a punch aimed for his head in the process. To counter, he sent a spinning kick into the Regalia's side, forcing it to stumble left, before following up by climbing the massive Knightmare, and kicking its head.

"Bastard!" Pollux shouted while trying to grab his Big Brother, only to miss completely, and get countered by a kick to their chest cavity.

"Despite that area being especially weak, there's no way I can win just by striking it repeatedly." Lelouch slid across the water, kicking it up to create just barely enough cover for him to flank his opponent, and fire his slash harken at their leg, only for it to bounce off, "The only thing that could possibly work in my favor, is that spear." as he thought that, the Regalia swung its weapon downward, splitting the river and charging in with reckless abandon, "But to do that, I have to get in close. Extremely close."

The Kagero slid between the Massive Knightmare's legs, exiting the other side and staying down as it swung its spear in a 180. Once the weapon passed, Lelouch got up and sent two jabs into his opponent's chest, before following up with a massive hook that did no damage. Even so, his objective was to draw out the Regalia's attack, which followed shortly after his combo. The black-haired Prince ducked the spear, and laid a firm hand on the Regalia's arm, trying to break it with his palm. However, the Massive Knightmare's shoulders opened up, revealing dozens of missiles that flew out, and circled after him.

Castor quickly flew himself and Pollux out of there, leaving Lelouch to deal with the incoming missiles alone. If this were him a few months ago, this would've certainly spelled the black-haired Prince's end. Luckily, it wasn't.

Using the Zero system, the masked man charted the best possible route and zoomed forth, dodging a missile aimed for his feet, exploding upon contact. He continued his run through the village, leaping over houses as they were struck by the explosive projectiles, until he caught sight of the Regalia landing at the center. In an instant, the system calculated his next best move, but this solution was one he had already come up with; all the Zero system did, was telling him the best possible route to achieve it, "Amazing. I mean, I knew this before, but the system really has adapted to my style."

Lelouch zipped between houses, using them as cover while rapidly approaching the twins, which were panicking in their cockpits, "Sh-shoot him!" Pollux ordered.

"I'm trying!" Castor shouted as he fired their cannons wildly, whiffing most of the shots, striking numerous houses in the process.

"Well, you're not trying hard enough!"

In one final push, Lelouch burst from behind a house, sending shards of wood toward the twins as they tried to gain a visual. However, once they heard something rustle behind them, they instantly whipped themselves around in fear, coming face-to-face with their Big Brother, who placed his hand on their back, keeping them in place as a lone missile struck the upper half of the Regalia. While the damage itself wasn't major, the shockwave from the blast rattled the twin's cockpit, causing Castor, who was the closest, to scream in pain.

"B-brother!" Pollux called, enraged, "Damn you!" he grabbed the Kagero with one firm hand, keeping it in place as he raised his spear.

Though, instead of retreating, Lelouch cocked his fist back and sent it crashing into the Regalia's center cavity, forcing his to stumble into another missile that struck its back. "That's enough!" the Aquila's pilot shouted while spreading his wings, and grabbing firing a shot toward the Kagero, forcing it to dodge left, only to get viciously grabbed.

Pollux then flew them into the sky, reaching just above the clouds before releasing the Black frame, forcing it to enter a free-fall. Lelouch felt weightless as he hurdled toward the ground, watching as the Regalia flew behind him, and delivered a devastating punch that sent him spiraling upward. The Zero system tried its best to search for possible paths to victory, only to come up short due to the lack of proper footing. Or at least, that's what Lelouch thought.

Once the gold frame lined itself up to impale his frame from afar, the Zero system sprung to life with three possible counters. Even so, none of them were good, and at best would lead Lelouch trading blows with Castor and Pollux – but that had to be enough. As the Regalia flew in, the black-haired Prince managed to correct himself slightly, allowing his left hand to grab the spear, redirecting it to his right, where he would wrap one leg around it, and slam his fist into the hulking Knightmare's head.

"Not good enough!" Pollux shouted while punching Lelouch's chest, shattering the main plating and causing the masked man to groan in pain as the shock overtook his cockpit.

Castor tried following up by aiming his cannon at the Kagero's head, only for his weapons to be destroyed by a swift kick, leaving their right side vulnerable to another strike, "You're incredible, Big Brother! So incredible!" he shouted while trying to use the wings to cut the Black frame in half, getting blocked by its Blaze Luminous.

"But its over!" Pollux added, diving their Knightmare toward the ground, body slamming the Kagero into the dirt.

Inside his cockpit, Lelouch groaned as the twin's stood over his body with glee, "I can't win in the sky…" he mumbled while using his landspinners to get away, only for the Regalia to quickly fly behind him, and punch him back into the dirt, where he would front flip into a recovery, and take cover along a building.

"Let's end this!" Pollux declared, breaking through the structure with his spear, finding an absence of their target in return, "Where'd he go!?"

From below, the rubble exploded forth, revealing Lelouch as he grabbed the weapon, and tried disarming the hulking Knightmare. However, the Regalia took off in response, hoisting the Kagero into the sky as it fought for the key to victory. Zero watched as they came to a stop midair, followed by his opponent cocking their fist back, intending on knocking him away. That's when he forcefully positioned his wrist cannon to face their head, and fire relentlessly, doing no damage, only causing a distraction. But that's all he needed.

Due to losing its sight, the Regalia's punch soared past the Kagero's helmet, taking off a chunk, but avoiding a vital injury, leaving themselves exposed for a kick to the chest, which gave Lelouch just barely enough leverage to free the spear from their grasp. He spun the weapon midair and raised it over his head, "Die!" he shouted while plunging it through their chest cavity, barely in front of Pollux, whose face dropped in fear as they began hurtling toward the ground once more, this time with the Gold frame acting like a cushion for the Kagero.

"B-Brother!" Castor cried with the violent crash, splitting their frame in twain, followed by multiple pieces exploding, catching the ground on fire.

Kallen watched the explosion from afar and shouted, "Lelouch!"

"Keep your eyes on the fight!" Suzaku demanded while delivering an uppercut, followed by grabbing her leg, and slamming her into the ground. Though, the red head would recover by kicking him away, and punching him in the chest with her surger, knocking him through several trees in a surprising burst of power – one that the Knight didn't know was possible. Even still, he recovered and fired a harken at the Guren, forcing it to duck as he flew at it with a spinning kick, chopping a tree in half before landing behind her.

Kallen flew into the sky, escaping the cover that the Knight was using to his advantage, effectively forcing him to follow desperately. The red head fired her slash harken Suzaku, causing him to strafe left, where she would appear with her surger cocked back, launching it shortly after he came to a stop, sending the boy hurtling back to the ground, creating a large crater. At the center, the Lancelot laid unmoving with its pilot knocked out cold.

Even so, Kallen had no time to finish him off, and quickly sped toward the fire, trying to reach her boyfriend as soon as possible.

Zero stood motionless in the epicenter of the destruction with his frame's right arm missing, being torn off in the crash, "Did I… win?" he wondered as his face turned pale, adding to a feeling of nausea.

"Brother!" he heard in the distance, where the largest part of the Regalia remained intact, "We have to get out of here!"

Lelouch slowly guided his Kagero over, before opening the cockpit, letting the steam escape, cooling himself off with a refreshing wind from the river. Though, this coolness was soon overthrown by the heat of another fire spreading to the house on his right, "L-leave me, Castor!" Pollux pleaded while being pinned underneath a piece of the Regalia, still wearing his fake Zero outfit, "You have to live… become Emperor…"

"Who's leaving?" Lelouch asked while kneeling his Knightmare, and hopping out.

"Big Brother…" Pollux coughed as blood streamed down his face, "So you've come to finish the job?" he chuckled while trying to push Castor away, only for the boy to stubbornly stay, "Congratulations, you've won…"

"Don't give me that, bastard." Lelouch reached to his back pocket, only to find his pistol missing, being left in the Kagero – not that he would need it for what would come next.

"Ah, right. You want your reward, right?" the psychotic looking Prince reached into his left inner pocket, and pulled out a tape, before tossing it to Lelouch's feet, "Here, it's yours. I trust that you'll be able to write your own comeback script with the contents."

"W-wait! You can't be admitting defeat yet!" Castor pleaded as their Big Brother picked up the tape, "What about our dreams!?"

"Well… sometimes you need to act strong when you are weak…" Pollux slyly stared the black-haired Prince in the eyes, and activated his Geass, "And other times, weak when you're strong!" he then shouted his command, "Be my slave!"

Lelouch responded by doing the same, only giving a different command, "Silence!"

Two bird-like symbols flew out from their eyes, and clashed at the center, causing Pollux to laugh maniacally, "Haha! We're equal, Big Brother! Castor, if you join in, then we'll-" his sentence halted abruptly as he noticed his symbol begin to crack, signaling his defeat as it shattered shortly after, "N-no way! This isn't how it was supposed to-"

At that moment, Pollux choked on his words as the command took over, causing him to make incoherent noises like he was gasping for air, yet it wouldn't fill his lungs no matter what, "Brother!" Castor shouted while turning to Zero in outrage, "Damn you!"

Though, before he could do anything, Lelouch activated his Geass and ordered, "Kill Pollux Rui Britannia."

The bird-like symbol flew into the cyan-haired boy's eye, causing him to scream in pain, "N-no! I can't… I want… to become Emperor!" he tried his best to fight against it, "And to do that… I need to kill… to kill…" red rings formed around the Prince's eyes, and he gazed upon a piece of metal shrapnel, "I need to kill my siblings to become Emperor." he picked up the sharp object, and began ruthlessly stabbing his Brother in the back, causing him to let out a silent screams of pain as he desperately tried reaching out to Lelouch for help.

Only, the black-haired Prince didn't move a muscle, only staring at the twin's as blood splattered everywhere, until Castor severed his Brother's head with one last swing. This seemed to break the command, and his senses returned, "N-no…" he mumbled, stumbling back, "Th-this can't be! This can't be! Lelouch! You bastard! What have you made me done!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Zero responded cruelly, "I made you kill Pollux. However, considering how easy it was, you mustn't have had a good connection with him."

"This was our perfect plan! Our perfect Victory!" Castor slammed the ground repeatedly with his fist as the Guren approached in the background, "I swear, Lelouch, I'll make you pay for this! Even if it comes at the cost of killing you, I won't let things stand, not like this!"

"Lelouch!" Kallen shouted as she hopped out of her Guren, "I managed to shake Suzaku, but it won't be long before-"

Thinking on his feet, Castor activated his Geass, shocking Lelouch, as he tried to block his line of sight to Kallen, "A second Geass!? Damn it, I didn't expect that!" he turned to his girlfriend, trying to warn her, "Kallen-"

"Kill Lelouch Vi Britannia!" the psychotic cyan-haired sibling shouted desperately as the Lancelot flew overhead.

The Geass symbol flew into the red head's eye, causing her to reel back in pain, falling to the ground while clenching her head, "No! I can't!"

Lelouch rushed over, while shouting, "Kallen! Look at me!" he activated his Geass, intending on giving her another command to fight it off. Only, when he reached her, she pushed him away.

"Stay away! I can't… I can't look at you…" Kallen pleaded while crawling away, "Please… it hurts, Lelouch…"

"Just look at me." he grabbed her hands, forcing them down as a red ring formed around her eyes.

"No!" she closed them shut and turned away. Even though she knew that Lelouch could provide a command of his own to help, the very idea of being Geassed by him terrified her to no end. For that reason, she couldn't look him in the eyes."Just go, Lelouch! Please!"

"Kallen, stop being so stubborn!"

In the background, Castor stumbled into the forest, trying to get as far away as possible, while Suzaku continued to watch like a vulture, "And where do you think you're going?" he scowled at the cowardly twin as he tried fleeing the scene, "While I do thank you for sicking Kallen on Lelouch, I still don't appreciate such a Geass roaming freely. As such, I'll dispose of you properly."

"Go away!" Kallen pleaded while practically trying to bury her head into the dirt, "Please… I don't want to…" tears streamed down her face as she tried her best to fend off the command, "Not again… not again… I don't want to hurt you again…"

"Then you should kill yourself." Suzaku's haunting voice called from behind her.

The red head found herself sitting on the couch of Lelouch's room in the Ikaruga – a blanket wrapped tightly around her. Though, she quickly noticed a few significant differences, such as the dresser with her clothing being missing, alongside other confections, "You again?" she muttered in a drowsy tone while eyeing a purse on the coffee table.

"You say that you don't want to hurt Lelouch. I don't understand it." the corrupted Knight drew his pistol, and put it to the back of her head, "Too many lives have already been endangered by his existence. If you're too cowardly to finish it, then you should kill yourself here and now. Think of it as atonement for living so free."

"The hell are you talking about?" she turned her head to face him, "I didn't come back to kill Lelouch. I want to make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes as before."

Suddenly, Suzaku's face seemed to change, turning crude as he heard those words, "Seriously? That's how you're gonna frame this?" he slammed her into the coffee table by the head, "Have you seen what he's done!? And you're telling me you're helping him not make mistakes to perpetuate this evil!?"

"That's not what I said!" Kallen shouted, trying to fight back, only to feel the strength in her body disappear, "I'm preventing-"

"Silence!" he slammed her into the table once again, causing the purse to fall over, spilling out a package of pills, which Suzaku grabbed and crumpled in his hand, and forcefully shoved into her mouth, "I hope you fall asleep permanently!" he placed his foot on her throat, and pointed his pistol at her head, before pulling the trigger.

Kallen sat up in a red shallow river, with the moon beaming down on her overhead, providing light by reflecting off the water. In the distance, she saw one boy hunched over the bloody body of another, which seeped into the river, "Who are you?" she asked the cyan-haired boy.

"Kill…" he mumbled repeatedly, "Kill Lelouch Vi Britannia…"

Those words forced the red head to her feet, "Get out of my head!" she commanded, only to notice the water reflecting memories of her past, effortlessly floating down stream to form a Geass symbol, "I won't do it! I won't hurt him! Not again!"

"Why?" Suzaku asked from behind her, wearing a red and black pilot suit, "Those memories… he was a horrible person in your timeline too. So why? Why are you adamant to defend him?"

"You don't understand!" Kallen turned around, only to feel a cold hand placed on her back, keeping her in place.

"You know…" the Cyan-haired boy now stood behind her, "All of your problems could be solved… if you only killed Lelouch. He wouldn't be able to make those mistakes anymore, and everyone else would live happily ever after."

"I could never live with myself if I did that!" the red head shouted, shaking him off.

"Then don't." Suzaku added bluntly, "Kallen. Once you kill Lelouch…" he pointed at her, and mouthed two simple words, ones that he had said before – yet this time, no sound came from his mouth. Not until he followed up by saying, "That way, perhaps you'll be reunited in the next life, where you'll be able to achieve the happy ending you seek."

"Isn't that something you want?" the Cyan-haired boy asked with a sadistic smile.

Red rings slowly formed around Kallen's eyes, "Maybe…" she looked down, "Maybe that would be nice…"

"Yes." Naoto appeared on her right, "You'd be able to escape Britannia's grasp, and live a normal life."

"Normal…" she mumbled while looking at her reflection.

"Normal." the boys chanted simultaneously, grabbing her shoulders and slowly pushing her into the water. Though, not every part of Kallen agreed. No. Deep inside, she wanted to live her life with the Lelouch she has now. Not 'getting to know him in the next life'. What they have now, is something she truly desires. Obviously, she could want more in the future, but that's neither here nor there. Even so, the protest fell on deaf ears, as the overwhelming voices from the surface drowned her out.

"Kallen!" Lelouch called, shaking his girlfriend by the shoulders, "Look at me! Look at me!"

"Lelouch…" the red head responded in an eerily calm tone, "Please… run…" with one final push, she sent her boyfriend tumbling away, "Get C.C… she can help…"

"Kallen, stop being stubborn and-"

"Lelouch!" out of nowhere, his girlfriend reached into her pocket and pulled out her pink pouch, ejecting the blade and stabbing it into his shoulder. Though, the rings around her eyes faded upon realizing what she had done, "N-no…" she mumbled while curling into a ball, "Why… why…"

The Prince groaned in pain while falling backwards, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his body as he retreated to the Kagero, where he would contact C.C's Gekka, "About time you contacted me. I was honestly getting a little worried-"

"Can it!" Lelouch ordered as Kallen slowly got up, and ran to her Guren, "Kallen's been Geassed, and she said you could help, so tell me!"

The Immortal's eyes widened with shock as she heard those words, "W-well… I didn't expect-"

"Tell me already!"

"R-right…" C.C quickly moved to contact Jeremiah, explaining to the Prince in brief what the former Margrave is capable of.

While he would normally question the idea of a 'Geass Canceller', Lelouch couldn't care less about why or how it exists – hell, he didn't even care to ask how she found Jeremiah. All he needed, was for him to save Kallen, "How soon can he get here?"

"The Siegfried moves pretty fast, so probably shortly after Mario and Maya."

"Lelouch!" Kallen's horrifying voice called as she attacked him in the Guren, "You will die!"

The Prince narrowly dodged her surgers attack, only to get hit by a front kick, "Lelouch, you'll have to last for as long as possible." C.C said in a worried tone, "Make sure you use the Zero System to dodge-"

"You don't have to tell me." he mumbled as blood continued seeping out of his wound, "I can't believe it's come to this…" Lelouch let out a shaky sigh and engaged his Zero System, "This is my fault… I was too clouded by rage, that I didn't take the opportunity to kill those bastards. Even so… this punishment is too cruel."

The Guren struggled to stand straight due to the pilot still trying her hardest to fight against the command, succumbing to it once again moments later, "Lelouch… please die for me." she said in an eerily sweet tone, "You don't have to worry about taking care of the world anymore. Nunnally will be fine thanks to what you've already accomplished."

In the distance, the Gawain crests the mountain side, carrying a large capsule containing the special weapon Naoto promised, "I'm sorry Kallen, but I know you don't want that." Lelouch responded while getting into a fighting stance, "We'll save you… I promise."

With a tear streaming down her face, the red head hesitated before whispering, "Thank you."

AN: So... I had planned the Kallen getting Geassed thing for a while. It did come out differently than originally planned. Also, when it comes to people 'fighting off' Geass commands, it's hard for me to quantify how long they should fend it off. With Cornelia, I tried giving enough time from hearing the signal, to shooting Euphie for her to fend off the command. For Kallen, I had her go through that inner turmoil sequence.

I also felt like Kallen wouldn't want Lelouch to Geass her, even if it was to help her fend off the command from Castor's Geass. Obviously, the thought of being Geassed by Lelouch terrifies her, plus she also knows Jeremiah's around, so he's a quick solution to the problem. Though, if you think differently, I could probably see the reasons, but this is the route I've chosen.