This is being written two weeks out from Christmas, and yeah, the heat's still keeping members of the family away. This means that this story will end the week before the big day, which I gotta admit is a bit of a bummer for me as I enjoyed plotting and writing this. It was a fun premise.

Sidenote: This was meant to go up YESTERDAY, but I underestimated how drained I would be after Christmas celebrations. If I wasn't sleeping off the food and booze, I was helping clean up the mess.

Chapter 12: Black vs White. The Brothers' Last Talk

Schneizel, a man who was used to wearing a carefully crafted mask that concealed whatever emotion he might be feeling at any given moment, felt that mask slip for the first time since he saw the massacre of the SAZ. Just like then, it resulted from the same man he had loved, respected, and feared.

Lelouch, his rebellious yet ingenious and daring little brother. His ploy to get him to lower his guard had worked marvelously, though perhaps it was because he needed time to prep the counter to the FLEIJ. It mattered little, as what did was the result. His ace in the hole had been countered, and with his shields, mental and physical, down, Lelouch had capitalized on it, flying through their Blaze along with the two deadliest machines piloted by some of the best pilots in the world.

Such a small strike force more than made up for its numbers with its raw firepower as reports and alarms had been ringing almost as long as they had been close, the Guren, Lancelot, and Shinkiro leading the charge in destroying his floating castle, taking out whatever point defense they had to try and combat them, and also targeting the fortresses many redundant float systems, already 15% of which had been destroyed or damaged to the point of being automatically shut down, which meant their rate of ascension had slowed.

'At this rate, it won't even be 3 minutes before we start losing altitude.' Schneizel thought to himself, grinding his teeth as the speed of destruction had slowed, but that was because the Shinkiro and Guren had broken away from the rest and blown a hole into his domain and were now inside Damocles, no doubt searching for him and its key.

But like ever, Schneizel managed to regain his composure. "My kudos, Lelouch. I'm not so petty to refuse to accept when I have been outplayed and forced to implement such a drastic contingency."

At his words, Kanon turned to him, surprised. "You're really going to do that?" he asked, Schneizel noting that Diethard was also paying attention to him; he would have been insulted if he hadn't.

"Yes, turn the Damocles into a prison for Lelouch and his followers," Schneizel ordered as he got up from his seat, a smile on his face as he couldn't help but appreciate the man his little brother had turned into. And grieve that their father's short-sighted-exile of him meant that he was never able to mold him into someone who could have stood with him.

"After we've abandoned ship, you'll destroy Damocles with a FLEIJA from within." He continued as, at that moment, Lelouch, Kallen, C.C., and 3 others raced through the halls of lower levels of Damocles, meeting no opposition as most of the forces he kept on the reserve had deployed to fight off Lancelot's attempts to see them fall like a stone.

"What a fine coffin, little brother. You'll find it most fitting for a man who has achieved so much at a young age." Schneizel would have tipped his hat if he had one, but they had more pressing matters as he instructed the staff to start the self-destruct process and begin evacuations as he, along with Kanon and Diethard, made their exit.

Dozens of floors below, Kallen lead the charge through Damocles with C.C. to Lelouch's rear. They hadn't encountered opposition, how little that would have mattered, but the fortress was so massive that the fact knightmares could just roll on through was an afterthought. They knew that the FLEIJAs were stored near the base just from how the weapon was launched, but Lelouch knew his brother wouldn't have the means to counter the weapon there, the only place such controls would exist would be the central control room, which if he hadn't already abandoned, he would be in the process of.

The issue was that they had no idea where that was and were only moving deeper in as Lelouch used his machine's cutting-edge processors and scanners to scan the structure for places that could feasibly be their target destination.

"Suzaku, you better be doing your job out there!" Kallen yelled at Suzaku, who had remained behind to ensure that the fortress didn't reach satellite orbit; otherwise, they would be trapped.

"I should say the same to you, but the Damocles is massive. Even with the float units we've already destroyed, it's still rising, but it's moving slower than before." Suzaku replied as he continued to lay down an overwhelming amount of firepower. The lower parts of the Damocles were already smoking but not burning, as they were extended past the point where the oxygen levels around them weren't thick enough for fire.

"It benefits us as if it ascends higher than its ever-decreasing engines can sustain, it'll lose lift and descend." Lelouch reminded them as he cycled through data for the best bits to double-check and then disregard once he saw it was useless.

"You mean fall, with us in it?" C.C.'s retort certainly had its bite and sass but no concern. There would have been a time when he assumed she was merely speaking about herself; after all, from her memories, he had seen she had suffered plenty of gruesome ends, so potentially falling into the ocean would be in the top 10, but not the worst-at least for her.

But Lelouch smirks as he detects a hint of her true reasons for her lack of concern. "We'll be out of there before the; I just need to finish mapping out the internal structure, " he replies, doing his best to ensure that his witch's faith in him isn't misplaced. He finishes clearing the date for around 40% of the structure, and low and behold, the next bit he finds seems right on the money.

A space large enough for a control center was located close to the center of the fortress, protected by walls upon walls of reinforced concrete, steel, and tungsten. It seemed to be drawing a considerable amount of power from Damocles' powerplant.

"Keep at it, Suzaku. I've located a possible target point, and we'll divert to it now." Lelouch ordered as he looked through additional data, finding plenty of evidence to support his suspicions; he sent that to their lead unit, which Kallen received and turned down a new hallway, the rest following after the red knightmare.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Suzaku replied as relayed those orders to the rest of their forces, who had been busy keeping Schneizel's modest security units off him as he worked. He could have done it himself, but he had the most firepower and left such lesser targets to them.

Riding an elevator away from the control room, Schneizel had regained complete control over himself. Despite the structure shaking around them and lights flickering overhead, he remained as collected as ever. He had already been informed that the self-destruct had been implemented and would go off in 10 minutes.

Good, with it started, only he had the 3 passwords and biometric data to stop it; taking into account the time it would take for Lelouch to find the control room, it would be too late for him to then try and locate him as he would be long gone, as he and his most critical supporters would have escaped from the blast area in jets that were designed for high altitude flying, enjoying a much smoother ride then whatever forces Lelouch left in the storm battling against whatever was left of his loyalists.

"Damocles and the FLEIJA are simply machines in the end. We can always rebuild them." Schneizel admitted that, though it could admit, it would miss the place, as it would take at least two years before a comparable structure could be constructed if they had the same supplies, manpower, and funding.

"But sir, you know the Totamo agency doesn't have the resources, nor does Rosenberg?" Kanon reminded him, as Totamo had severed itself from Britannia when Lelouch came to power, and he had moved quickly to cease or destroy all their remaining assets within the empire. The same was true for Rosenberg, which had been ordered shut down and its chief officers arrested as suspected loyalists to Charles.

Even if both were still standing, now that the world and, more importantly, Lelouch knew about Damocles, neither would be able to finish even a third of any project without being interrupted and the unfinished Damocles destroyed.

Schneizel understood that fact, especially regarding logistics alone. However, he wouldn't rely on those two agencies even if both stood. "That is true, but Lelouch has made many enemies since coming to power. Suppose it came to light that Damocles and the FLEIJA destroyed him. In that case, plenty of organizations would be willing to aid us, both within and outside Britannia."

Kanon frowned at that, the first time in a while that he disapproved of his master's decisions. It wasn't due to it being wrong, as Lelouch had taken a hammer to the old guard and old ways of Britannia. While he had crushed all opposition against him, that didn't mean that there weren't organizations, companies, and noble houses that didn't secretly despise him, much like they had been during Charle's reign; the only difference was that such players were wise enough to play along with the reforms and Lelouch's rule.

But if the man were to be slain by Schneizel, the much more traditional prince, they would be happy to bend the knee to his rule should he choose it. But he knew his master; if he wished for the throne, he would have taken it before Lelouch claimed it or fought for it after the fact. No, he wouldn't want Britannia; he wanted the entire world under his thumb and peace. That didn't remove such groups as supporters; quite the contrary, they'll easily be bought by offers of more excellent land, wealth, prestige, and power.

"But is that not terrorism? Besides, there are Princess Nunnally's concerns to consider." Kanon reminded him that the young princess was so similar to Euphemia that it was no wonder why Cornelia had gravitated to her, but that also meant that they couldn't keep this from her.

"Why care for what she says? Bait has no opinion." Diethard's statement was harsh and to the point, but Kanon could ignore the media man turned traitor if only his master refuted it. To his horror, Schneizel remained silent.

"What do you mean? You're abandoning her?" Kanon asked, to which Schneizel then responded.

"World peace, for the life of a single girl. As unfortunate as it is, one can't be compared to the other." Schneizel stated that he could admit that he didn't enjoy the thought of it. Still, he didn't enjoy killing Cornelia, nor did he enjoy killing his other siblings.

But he doesn't do what he does because he enjoys it; he does it because it's necessary for his goals. He killed his family to send a message; he killed Cornelia because she was a loose end. And Nunnally would die as well as she had gone along with him so long, but he was no fool, should she learn of what was needed, she would prove unable to offer what little help she could, but considering that Lelouch could suppress his brotherly love for her…

Well, it wouldn't be an essential loss.

As Damocles continued to shake beneath, up to its highest point, the gardens, Nunnally continued to crawl around, trying to find the Damocles key. She heard it fall, but not down into the water, the grass, or even, thankfully, the stairs. That didn't stop her from biting her lip in frustration, as the key was supposed to be close, but no matter where she reached, she couldn't find it, and she was running out of time.

"I need to find the key. I have to stop Lelouch. I'm the only one who can do it." She pushed herself further from her chair in pursuit of it, anger bubbling within her not for the first time that she was trapped in darkness but all those other times she got angry that she couldn't see the sun, the faces of her friends, or something as simple as the clothes she wore, which paled in comparison to now.

If she had her eyes, she could find it; if she had her eyes, she could fight; if she had her damn eyes, she wouldn't be in this situation; she wouldn't be the weak little girl everyone thought she was that everyone lied to!

She was sick of it, sick of all of it! She had asked for Schneizel to entrust her with the key, yet all it took was one shake, and she dropped it? How pathetic was that? How could she be of any worth to anyone when she couldn't even find it? To hell with it; she had her pride too, and she refused to let Schneizel or Kanon, or whoever else was sent to get her with Damocles, surely doomed to be abandoned, see her crawling around for something that they could no doubt spot without trying.

Her anger and desperation were at a boiling point that they had never reached; something had to give.

"I can't let him have it! I can't let him do more…evil…" Nunnally paused before her head turned side to side, stopping when it faced the right of her as she let out a gasp, not understanding what was happening but desperately wishing that this wasn't some cruel trick, a waking dream like the many she had had over the years that tricked her into thinking, at least for a moment, that she could…

Wordlessly, she crawled closer to the key and grasped it.

Within one of the Damocles' private hangers, Schneizel and his entourage were just escorted onto the plane's boarding ramp. Around them, security and crew were hard at work to ensure that they could take off as soon as possible. "Standing by for departure, rendezvous point with Sir Heartfield as planned, no changes." The prince nodded at that, meaning Sir Heartfield had followed orders and stayed back from the primary battle.

However, before the man could even take a seat, the television mounted at the front of the small cabin came on as connected to a signal, but there were only a few other people who could know about the plan, and even fewer that would have the codes, the only place that could-

His suspicions were proven accurate when the connection went through, and he saw Damocles control him, with his younger brother turning the chair he had been sitting into the camera, a smugness not unlike the ones he would get whenever he bested Clovis or Cornelia at chess clear as day on his face. "I've been waiting for you, Schneizel. Why don't you take a seat so we can…talk."

"I suppose that would be a good move, especially when you have me in checkmate," Schneizel stated as Diethard and Kanon realized that they had been found out, but Diethard knew Lelouch wouldn't have called if he didn't have a plan, they could just…dammit, he was already here, wasn't he?

Kanon also realized it as he looked towards the guard that had bowed to them as they entered. When he looked closely at the man's face, he saw the telltale signs of being geass in his pupils, those red rings around them being something they should have realized before. But if Lelouch got the one, that meant he had brought to all of them, leaving them trapped.

Schneizel merely sighed as he sat, getting comfortable in his defeat. "Though, now that you've won, indulge my curiosity. How did you figure out what my plan was?" Schneizel didn't just have the one hanger; he had 17 that he could have done, too. There was no way Lelouch just picked one at random, as this wasn't even the closest to the control room.

His little brother's smugness didn't change as he lounged back into his chair, no doubt reveling in taking his first win against him ever. As in China, their chess game was never finished. When they were cornered, Schneizel had loaned his forces to the Eunuch but wasn't in command when Lelouch pulled out another of his miracles and claimed victory.

No, this was the first true victory Lelouch took over him, so he could forgive him for being perhaps a bit too immature in how smug he seemed. "I didn't need to figure out your plans, I only needed to study your natural patterns and instincts."

Schneizel raised an eyebrow. "My pattern?"

"Correct, and from that, I was able to conclude something about you: You don't have the desire to win." The prince frowned at that statement, his eye-catching Lelouch twirling around the black king chess piece in his hands, almost like second nature with how fluid it was. "Do you remember the chess match we played at the Vermillion Palace or the betrayal of the Black Knights?"

When Schneizel nodded, Lelouch continued. "You don't play games you can lose."

That was it? Schneizel was disappointed. He had expected more from his brother as that seemed so…easy, a surface-level understanding of reality. "And? Is that not practical? Why risk when you can avoid it?"

Lelouch quickly countered his claim, a passion scorching as he gazed down at him. "False. To gain anything of value, there will always be some level of risk, some chance of loss and defeat. As the old saying goes, The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. I play to win; that is why I move, even when there are no guarantees; from my days as Zero to now, that hasn't changed as I could have just as easily been annihilated by your FLEIJA as I could have been shot to pieces when I debuted as Zero."

Yes, Schneizel could see that his brother was a bold one. Many of his plans involved a near-unhealthy level of bravado and confidence in having worked nearly as well as they did, which made his escapes when they failed all the more fantastical. He recalled from Narita that Cecile had penned how Lancelot had cornered Zero only to then go berserk as Suzaku suffered what was called a momentary wave of madness.

"I can soundly say that you would have never done the same, that you never did the same as if you did, you would have made a move against father years ago." Lelouch's smile changed, gaining an edge as he disapproved of Schneizel's choice to remain inactive, the wiser move in hindsight as neither he nor Schneizel knew that their father had geass on his side.

"So because you understand my aversion to risk, you predicted I would abandon the Damocles?" Schneizel assumed, resting his head in his knuckles, to which Lelouch nodded.

"Schneizel, my arrogant elder brother. This time, I'm going to ensure that you taste defeat." Lelouch told him, whichworried Kannond as he looked back at theplane's exite, where the two soldiers stood, rifles at the ready. He knew he could maybe gun down one, and Diethard could take the othe,r but the reporter hadn't been trusted with a gun. Even if he had been, they were still more outside.

"Meaning," Schneizel, on the other hand, had accepted that he would die and faced it with dignity and grace befitting his birth and station. "I'll be put to death."

Far from the battle, floating in the Yellow Sea off the Korean coast sat Horai Island, the floating island serving as the headquarters of the Black Knights. Ever since the disastrous summit, things had been hectic on the island, made all the more frenzied when news broke of the attack on Pendragon. The Ikaruga had briefly returned to the island the evening before, allowing non-essential staff to disembark before it returned to battle.

One of those who had left was Viletta, who wished to follow Ohgi into battle, as she had experience in knightmares. Still, the man had convinced her to stay because she wasn't just putting her life on the line anymore.

That made the wait all the more agonizing for her and others. When they heard that the Ikarurga had been critically damaged, followed by Schneizel breaking the agreement and using FLEIJAs, Viletta wasn't the only one terrified of what waited for them.

"Any news?" She asked Claudio, the last surviving Dalton and member of the Glaston Knights, as Guilford had fallen in Tokyo not too long ago.

Such losses weighed heavily on the young man, who had fled Britannia when Lelouch took power. Having been part of the ambush that nearly captured him at the shrine, he knew more than others. He refused to follow the man who had somehow twisted a man as honorable as Guilford to become a traitor. Even now, he shuddered about how to explain things to Princess Cornelia.

"Afraid it's the same as before. They're withdrawing from the combat area, but it's so chaotic they can't do a proper head count yet," Claudio replied, as they both understood how messy a retreat like that could be.

"But someone could just get in contact with him." Viletta urged as Ohgi had last made contact over 40 minutes ago, and since it had been nothing.

"Believe me, I understand the feeling, but from what we heard, Ohgi remained on the Ikaruga managing the evacuation, and its communications went dead minutes before it hit the water. He could have boarded a lifepod, but…" Claudio didn't finish the statement, as with the freak storm that the FLEIJAs had caused, the sea had been violent, enough so that one could only worry that some lifepods would be breeched and find their way to the ocean floor with all hands lost. That was if Ohgi had even managed to get to a lifepod.

"They didn't have time to retrieve them before they were forced from the field," Viletta stated, as that was another factor to play. How things had turned so bad so fast that they couldn't even recover any lifepods and cockpits, especially as the Britannians had continued to fire on them even as they pulled back from the battlefield, making it suicide to try and recover those left behind.

"All we can hope for is that the Britannian navy fishes him and everyone else off the water." Claudio turned back to the window, gazing out at Horai island, leaving out the part where they would put their faith in an enemy that, historically, would recover their own and leave the rest to die, a policy that neither had ever thought about. Still, now that they were on the other end of the stick, it was an outcome they hoped that bastard of an emperor had changed.

"Yes, I understand." Viletta nodded before leaving the Glaston Knight to his thoughts. As she did, she had to wipe away tears from forming at the idea that she could lose Kaname.

'Dammit, Kaname, you don't get to just die! Not when we've been through so much, and I finally realized what I wanted.' She had chased noble titles for years, believing that it was the best thing for her. Only when she lost her memories thanks to Shirley nearly killing her did she find herself experiencing absolute joy, and with a Japanese man of all people.

When she regained her memories, her old ideals told her that her feelings were wrong, that Ohgi wasn't worth it, and she chose to believe in those instead of what her heart desired. It took not even two weeks before she realized her mistake, but she thought it was too late by then. The Black Rebellion had failed, and Ohgi might have survived, but he was imprisoned and set to be executed.

'It made working with Lelouch…pleasant.' She smiled, recalling her time monitoring the brainwashed prince turned rebel and how he turned it on its head and coerced her into working with him. She understood her life was always in danger, but it wasn't like she disliked it, especially when he saved Ohgi and the rest of his command, giving them another chance. But it would seem that Lelouch wasn't something she could get rid of despite their efforts, as now he was a more significant threat to her happiness and family than ever.

She placed a hand on her stomach, still as flat and toned as ever, but it wouldn't be long before the signs started to show. What she and Ohgi become visible for all to see. 'Don't make me a widow and a single mother before we're even married or can meet our child.'

"My Lord!" Leila looked away from the map of the situation as one of the sailors saluted her. "We've spotted a large escape ship floating in the water, it's broadcasting on the international emergency channel."

She frowned. "So it's not one of ours." Any Britannian would use their own distress signal; all countries had them. Using the international one showed how desperate they were to be recovered before the sea took them under.

"My Lord?" The sailor asked; the former E.U.E.U officer turned Britannian officer pursed her lips, vaguely aware that the rest of the crew were watching her out of the corner of their eyes, wanting to know what move she would make.

"How close are we?" She asked.

"It's around 900m southwest of it, but the storm is throwing it around the waters; we can be sure it's moved since." Yes, it could easily be at least a kilometer away with how bad things were. It would take considerable time to get to it, as the turbulent waves would slow even a large ship as theirs.

"Such a ship would carry dozens of people, much more than any pilot pod…" But on the other hand, she couldn't just ignore the possibility of saving so many lives, it was just a part of her, why she had been so proud to serve the E.U., to join Akito and the others on their missions, why she sided against Smilas' attempted coup and eventually, why she joined Lelouch and his journey to make their homeland better.

"Captain set course for that signal. Have the deck crew prepare for its retrieval." She ordered, turning from the sailor to the captain of the vessel.

"Understood!" The man saluted her before handing out the orders to the helmsmen. They made a hard turn to port, which faced them into a wave, which they crashed straight through. The water slashed high enough that it reached the window of the bridge.

Leila didn't focus on that. They had done all they could for their sailors, and those still on deck tried to fix points so that even if they were swept off their feet, they wouldn't be taken by the sea.

Lighting flashed through the sky as she looked up into the dark clouds. She couldn't make out the shape of the Damocles. Still, she could see the remnants of its forces being moped up, including the Modred. Jeremiah and Ashley worked with Akito to defeat the hulking knightmare without outright destroying it. It would seem they would be taken their second Knight of Round prisoner.

'With how things are right now, the final battle will surely occur in Damocles. Lelouch, C.C., Suzaku, Kallen. Be safe up there; you can never be too careful about Schneizel.' Leila hoped, as she hardly knew 3 of them, but she did know Lelouch and knew he would pull through- that he would work a miracle for them.

She couldn't help but smile at the idea. 'Maybe he can do something about this storm.'

"Now that I've sated your curiosity, I ask you to do the same for me. Were you planning to use the Damocles as a means to dominate the world?" Lelouch asked.

"No, I was only trying to give everyone what they wanted. To give peace to the world." Schneizel replied, giving him the same response he had given Cornelia.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "Even if that meant disregarding humanity's true nature?"

"That is a matter of opinion," Schneizel replied, as perhaps his brother was similar to Cornelia, but who was to say which was correct? Was what he planned evil? Of course, it was, but good and evil weren't concepts that humanity handled all that well, to begin with.

"So, you truly thought you could achieve it, maintain the world is a permanent state of 'now'. Such a thing can be all things but life, only experience." Lelouch retorted.

"Yet link those together, and they become knowledge, don't they?"

At his response, Lelouch smirked, leaning his head to the side as if to present his neck to be struck when no one could reach it. "Schneizel, I despise our father, and I shall continue to do for as long as I draw breath, perhaps even beyond that, but it would seem that he gave me a blessing you sorely needed."

Schneizel thought it strange that he changed topics like that but went along. "And what's that? Your geass?"

Lelouch shook his head. "No, it was my banishment. Because of you, while you remained in your ivory tower, superior to all, I was cast into the dirt and blood. In the grime and horror, I witnessed the worse of humanity, its vices, and sins, but also saw its best, strengths and virtues."

"Yes, I saw that what people truly desire, but drives them even through the depths of hell and suffering is the promise of the future." Lelouch's gaze grew passionate and intense, much like the boy he had once been, but more incredible thanks to time and experience.

And with that passion and strength, he made his declaration. "That is where we differ, dear older brother. Our father sought the past, which was kind to him; you seek the present, which you can understand. But I will obtain the future."

"And yet, how many have believed they could usher in such a golden age since the beginning of civilization itself? How many have failed? The future can be even worse than it is now, dear younger brother. That is just a fact of human nature." Schneizel reminded him, as both studied history, the rise and fall of nations and empires, and how, for most, it wasn't enemies but internal strife, in-fighting, apathy, corruption, and civil unrest that doomed them all.

"You're correct on all fronts; humanity's history is conflict, but the future has just as much promise to be better because no matter what, people will always fight to secure happiness, for the hope that things can get better. For themselves, for their families, their friends, nations, and even for the whole of humanity." Lelouch retorted.

"Even if that means making them greedy?" Schneizel asked, only to laugh at how silly his brother could be. "Your folly knows no limit, Lelouch. You're really too emotional about this. Hope and dreams are mere names for aimless fiction."

Schneizel, too, had seen it, had seen how people act, and had been thoroughly disappointed by it. "When people are given the choice, they'll choose short comforts and not have to worry about the world's problems. Of course, people would grumble under my new world order, but I doubt they'll complain longer than a year or two before returning to their little bubbles."

Cornelia thought his opening move once this battle was over was inhumane. Still, he saw it as a necessary evil—a means to remind people that they were better off not fighting him, as were similar tactics used by kings, chiefs, and presidents across history.

Lelouch chuckled back at that. "How ironic it is, Schneizel. You, once one of the most powerful people in the world, are so restricted. Constrained by the symbol of a royal family, the title was Prime Minister. Because of that, you haven't seen what I've seen, that people can and will struggle against fear, anger, loss, and pain. They'll forsake even their own happiness and joy if it means they can help others and better the world around them. The human will is far stronger than you could ever imagine."

Schneizel countered him there. "Lelouch, it seems the irony falls on your head as well. How can you, who continually denied the will of others, stand here defending the will of mankind?"

"That is a hypocrisy I'm well aware of, brother, but as an old friend once told me, it was my responsibility to turn my falsehoods into reality. That is why I took on the mask, why I took on the crown, and while I took on you, White King." Lelouch pushed back, his crown seated perfectly on his head despite the hard battle he had waged just to get to the control room.

"And yet, it was all for naught. Let's end this farce, shall we? Kill me now, or leave me to die; it doesn't change the fact that a FLEIJA will see you wiped from the earth. Pyrrhic it might be, it's a victory I can accept." Lelouch had delayed them long enough that if by some miracle, they killed the soldiers and managed to take off, they'll no doubt still be caught in the after-effects of the FLEIJA detonation.

At this, Lelouch's smile turned demonic. "Kill you? I never said I was fighting this battle to kill you, but you did leave behind an issue."

Schneizel felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up to see who it was.

"Which led me to another better idea." Lelouch pulled out the white kingpiece and set it down on the armrest.

"You shall obey four commands from me," Lelouch, who stood behind him, said, leaving Schneizel stunned. How was he here?

"You never intended to kill me-!" Schneizel, much like everyone else who met his gaze, was powerless against his geass as it pierced into his mind and rewired him to obey. At the same time, the command to root, the Lelouch on the screen laughed as he toppled the white king with the black one before the feed cut.

Kanon and Diethard were powerless to stop this or speak up as Lelouch had even appeared behind them, Kallan and C.C. had quietly entered, and both drugged and restrained the two men. "Y-your highness," Kanon uttered, too weak to fight back as Schneizel was made into a mere puppet who got up and bowed to his new master.

"Dammit…I should have seen it coming." Diethard struggled against C.C., but the immortal kept a tight grip on the man who had proven to be quite bothersome.

"Could you? I doubt it, Diethard. After all, I'm the only one who's ever seen him pull a stunt like this," She mocked him before she turned to Lelouch, who spared both a glance and a nod for a good job. "But I have to say, Lelouch, being able to predict entire conversations like that." Perhaps it was easier for him to do it than with Mao, as he knew Schneizel, where Mao was unknown and had an unstable mind.

"I'm just surprised he was able to record the entire thing and keep the timer in the background off to what it should be." Kallen pointed out that Lelouch had been careful in choosing a seat that would allow him to present his entire body. However, only the bottom half of the massive screen displayed the countdown, which was still going.

"Order me to do whatever you wish." Schneizel started as Diethard looked in, furious at how things went.

"Schneizel, a man that has no desire to win, should never even play the game," Lelouch stated, seemingly already bored despite taking such a massive victory, probably the biggest victory of their modern era. He couldn't even be bothered to smile?

To hell with that, drug or no drug, Diethard found a burst of strength and managed to push C.C. off him, pulling her gun from her hand and shooting her point blank before he turned to Kallen, who had already drawn hers but hadn't aimed it at him.

"Don't move!" Diethard was shaking, his strength already dwindling thanks to the drug in his system, but he would be damned if he didn't take Zero with him as he aimed for him. "Zero, your story is finished! You should have never even come this far, you shouldn't even be alive, you bastard!"

A shot rang out, but Lelouch remained untouched as he apathetically watched Diethard's aim slack, the red spot appearing on his chest right above where his heart would be before he fell over. "How are you to judge my right to live? No one, that's who." Lelouch turned from him and approached C.C. who remained slumped by the wall, her blood decorating it. "Are you all right, C.C.?"

To the surprise of the dying Diethard and the limp Kanon, C.C. got back up from what should have been a lethal shot and only looked mildly annoyed. "If you make it a habit for me to take bullets for you, I'll have to rethink our contract." Lelouch snorted but looked away before she could see it.

"Z-zero…at least…f-finish me with your geass." Their attention went to the dying man.

"How sad is that? The reporter claimed to wish to be close to the action but instead wished to control it to suit his narrative. Now that same man begs for my geass." Lelouch mocked him before his mockery gave way to rage as he knelt at the man, looking him in the eye the entire time.

"You're a fool to think I would honor you when you dared to shoot my empress," Lelouch told him, the man seemingly shocked at his words, but whatever he felt was unimportant as it breathed his last, leaving Kanon defeated as he had to accept the scene. His master, the man who sought to do so much, had been reduced to a puppet that would kill for his master even without being ordered to.

He didn't even fight as Kallen tossed him into a chair and restrained him; he had nothing left to fight for.

"Now, Schneizel, the first order I have for you is to cancel the self-destruct of Damocles," Lelouch ordered, to which his brother immediately agreed.

"Understood; however, Nunnally is the one with the FLEIJA control switch." Hearing that made Lelouch turn to him angrily, as C.C. and Kallen were equally surprised by that information.

Kallen could see that Lelouch contemplated killing Schneizel then and there, but she also saw how unbalanced he was. "Lelouch…are you okay?"

"No, I am very much not," Lelouch sighed but stood straight as an arrow. "But the world doesn't care for such things. Get ready for the next and final phase of the plan, I'll handle Nunnally."

Kallen stood in front of him, keeping him in the jet. "Like we're let you handle this by yourself."

"Kallen." Kallen stopped him before he could try to convince her. She was here because she wanted to be, and that meant she would do as her heart compelled her, damned the consequences. Was that selfish? Yes, but did it make her happy? Also yes.

"No, you shouldn't do this alone, so I won't let you. We're here to help you with your burdens, same as you help us with ours." Kallen told him that because of him, she had a better relationship with her mother, could grieve her brother better, and found the person she wished to be. Even C.C., she was sure, owed something to him. This was what love was, helping the people you cared for, and Lelouch wasn't about to get away with having a conversation that was sure to be emotionally scarring for everyone involved.

"Everything else should have been handled by now. Pretty soon, Suzaku would have finished his part of things." C.C. spoke up, stepping past Diehtard's corpse to rest a hand on her emperor's shoulder. "Let's close this chapter."

"All right." Lelouch started as they turned and left, Schneizel close behind them to carry out his order.

Having to use another order, Schneizel informed them where Nunnally was. Kallen noticed that the gardens at the top of the fortress were too far from any of the hangers, and if Nunnally was still there despite Schneizel's plan to abandon her, she was being left to die.

She was sure Lelouch and C.C. must have figured that out as well, but neither moved nor mentioned it, so she kept her piece on the ride up the elevator. The only thing spoken was when Suzaku radioed on to inform them that the Damocles was no longer ascending and had started to descend, its remaining float units incapable of maintaining their current altitude.

Lelouch confirmed the message and told him that Schneizel had been handled and that they were on their way to secure the FLEIJAs, but he left out how they were doing that. Again, neither she nor C.C. mentioned that since, as much as she hated Suzaku, she didn't want him to realize what was about to happen.

When they finally reached the gardens of the flying fortress, Kallen could hardly pay attention to how expertly designed and handled the place was. Sure, it was pretty, but her attention was on one thing, the one person who was there. Walking up the stairs to its second level, Kallen frowned when she saw that person. Nunnally, in her wheelchair, a frown on her face as she had placed herself in a way that would greet them.

Lelouch was even more distraught, though he hid it well as he tried to maintain a poker face and keep his resolve strong while C.C. was as unreadable as ever. Kallen wondered what was going through the pizza-loving witch's head.

Nunnally remained silent as they approached. She had expected her brother as he had managed to breach Damocles, and then it was only a matter of time before he learned who held the FLEIJA key. But she hadn't expected him to bring others. 'Then again, do I really know him?' she asked herself, having thought he would have liked to keep this between them.

One set of steps she could figure out well enough, having heard them plenty around the council building when she still attended. C.C.'s presence was perhaps not the biggest surprise as she was close to her brother since the start, being connected to geass in ways that Schneizel and Cornelia hadn't truly figured out.

But it was the second set that left her surprised. She also recognized them, but she couldn't have imagined that Kallen would be here as well and with her brother. 'Did he get to her?' she asked herself. She was a Black Knight, wasn't she? But then, unlike the others, she was close to her brother. Had she known? Was she always a puppet of his?

Nunnally didn't know, and it both frustrated and scared her.

"Hello, big brother, C.C…Kallen." Kallen paused at that, both at Nunnally being right and at how she sounded. It was somber.

"Your sense of hearing is as precise as ever, little sister." Lelouch came to a stop as well.

"Nunnally…It's been a while. I didn't want us to meet again like this." Kallen stated, not really knowing how to approach this. She had thought what she would say, but this was still something she had hoped would be better.

"And yet we did," Nunnally's rebuttal wasn't loud, but it was like a thunder strike as she turned her head toward Lelouch. "So, Big Brother, did you come here for this?" She held up the Damocles key, Lelouch frowning more when he saw the thing, the source of his troubles…in the hands of the person that had been his reason to live, to fight for years.

"I did, it's dangerous, Nunnally." Lelouch took a couple of steps forward, but no more.

"I know, that's why I won't close my eyes to it anymore," Nunnally stated as her eyelids started to flutter. For the first time in nine years, she opened her eyes, her orbs a lighter shade than her brother's but still carrying a sense of pride and strength.

"What!?" Kallen yelled. That shouldn't be possible. People didn't just get over the trauma.

'But Charles' geass, did she manage to break it?' C.C. knew more than Kallen did, but even then, she had been caught entirely off guard as geass commands like Charles' didn't just get overcome. One might resist, but they always fall for it. Even Lelouch, during his time as Kingsley, didn't completely overcome the geass command on him. He just weakened it enough till he was nearly driven mad by the false memories contradicting the real ones.

'I see…yes, those eyes,' Lelouch's surprise faded, replaced with a cold, familiar feeling of pain and resentment. His sister's eyes were so much like his own that it was disturbing, and he understood what lay in his gaze. "It seems hatred flows in both of us, my ignorant little sister," Lelouch observed.

Nunnally didn't need context; she figured that he realized that it was a sheer overflow of anger and hatred that she pushed past her trauma. She also knew that he must have been saddened to know it took this for that to happen. "It always has, big brother. But now that I can see, will you also use your geass on me?"

Another long chapter, but that just leaves the final one, which will be up to readon January 2nd, I'm serious here, I would have time to rest from New Years so this doesn't repeat.

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