(A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who voted on the poll so far. Since the announcement, poll traffic has increased by 50%. But, don't despair as the poll will not be going away or have its results revealed until after Part 1: Academy has concluded, which will take a while.

I will say that with how many votes are in, the top 11 do not surprise me at ALL. Now if only I could say the same about the top 15 XD.

Well, that's enough of me blathering about, let's get to it, shall we?)

3rd Day of the Wyvern Moon

Since her rescue at the hands of Byleth, Lelouch and others, Lila la Britannia had adjusted extremely well to the environment at Garreg Mach. She arrived at class two minutes early, ate well, and studied hard. One could call her a model student. Yet, for a girl who constantly threw herself at her studies, some might call her distant. As, for someone related to a social butterfly like her brother, she seemed to desire not to stick out amongst her peers.

Someone among her peers decided it was best to fix that. That someone was her own half-sister, Euphemia li Britannia.

"Lila!"

With a playful tackle from the side, Euphemia grappled her sister, chest pushing into one shoulder, arms wrapping around the other.

"Hello, Euphemia," Lila responded, as if she was a cat being picked up when it preferred to be left alone.

"Oh, you can call me Euphie when it's just us, Lila," Euphemia said as she ruffled her sister's hair. Lila was one of the few siblings Euphemia was close to that was actually younger than her—15 going on 16 in Lila's case—so Euphemia felt justified in doting on her the way one would a small child.

"…Euphie," Lila uttered to correct course.

"There you go. Now it feels more like you never left home. Speaking of, do you have time for tea? It feels like you've been avoiding me since your rescue. I've been worried."

Lila sighed, hanging her head. "All right, fine. We can have tea."

"Excellent, I'll make sure to get your favorite pastries together. You still like blueberry and lemon, right?"

"And raspberry."

"Excellent! I'll get a fresh batch."

Lila rolled her eyes to the sky as Euphemia trotted off to get the tea and snacks. There she goes again, little miss energizer bunny. Not a care in the world in that empty head of hers.

Euphemia return with a tray of tea, snacks and a kettle and the two sat outside in the luxurious Garreg Mach tea garden, each pouring their own cup.

"It's been practically a whole moon and you and I haven't really spoken since your rescue," Euphemia said, frowning, feeling neglected.

"I mean, I have had to catch up on six moons of schooling in only one to justify my stay here, Eu…phie," Lila remarked, making sure to call her half-sister by nickname. She took a sip of tea.

"Oh, yes, I suppose that would make sense," Euphemia responded as she gently sipped her tea.

Things were quiet as Lila stuffed her face with two pastries before downing half of the contents of her tea cup, pouring herself a new helping.

"Say, Lila…what happened to you, exactly?" Euphemia asked. "Everyone was really worried when you disappeared."

"And by everyone who do you mean exactly? I know his majesty hasn't shed a tear," Lila responded dryly.

"Well, me, Schneizel, Cornelia…um…I think Guinevere?" Euphemia speculated on the last one.

"Guinevere…you think? Euphie, was I missed or not? Come on!" Lila complained.

"I mean…" Euphemia didn't know how best to answer that.

"Well, it's fine," Lila said, eyes closed, pulling the tea cup up halfway, before blowing on it and taking a sip. She exhaled in content of the warm fluid flowing past her throat. "It's not like I was close with anyone other than my brother, whose now dead, mind you."

"Yes, a tragic day for everyone. You disappeared shortly after the funeral. Lila, where did you go?"

"Adrestia."

Euphemia nearly spit out her tea. "Lila, that's a foreign nation!"

If Lila had hopped on a plane or boat to a foreign nation, it would have made headlines, or required pre-approval.

"Look, I grabbed a bunch of money from the Gemini Villa treasury and set off on my own." She smiled all giddy like, seemingly proud of herself. "It's amazing what you can pay for on the black market with other people's money."

"Weren't you scared?" Euphemia asked.

Lila took a deep breath. "I was more scared of what was about to happen to me." She gripped the tea cup. "Mom…wasn't well. She was acting like my big brother was the only thing that mattered. So, if she didn't want a daughter, she wasn't going to have one. Not that Gemini Villa was going to stick around for much longer with the way she was acting. I don't think she even noticed I slipped out with nothing but a cloak and some cash."

"But…why? Why do that to her?" Euphemia asked.

"Look, I wasn't thinking straight, okay!" Lila argued. "I didn't want to end up like Lelouch and Nunnally, thrown to the gutter and left to die with no one to love them. I needed a home. And…Britannia wasn't it."

"But why Adrestia?" Euphemia asked.

"I was going on…" Lila tented her fingers and glanced over her shoulder, thinking how best to phrase it. "A pilgrimage let's call it." She put her hands down and gazed directly at Euphemia with a smile. "Garreg Mach was my ultimate destination since Lady Rhea is so kind to refugees. But, I wanted to see the world with my own eyes, learn foreign policy from the ground up, so that I didn't make the same kind of mistakes Clovis did."

"Mistakes?" Euphemia questioned, confused.

"What? You didn't know? Clovis made lots of mistakes as ambassador." She glanced sideways. "I'm honestly surprised he lasted at the role as long as he did." She took a loud slurp of tea. "It was his own dumb fault for getting himself locked up and leaving me all alone."

Euphemia paused. Something about Lila felt…off. When it came to Clovis, Lila was always his biggest supporter. Whenever anyone teased him, she was the first to jump to his defense. Whenever Lelouch thrashed him at chess…

"!" Euphemia hatched on an idea. "Lila, how about a game of chess?"

"Uh, chess? S-sure…" Lila stuttered.

"Excellent! Don't go anywhere. I'll grab my chess board. Be right back!"

Lila was left to her own devices for a good ten minutes, eating more pastries, texting…someone, and drinking more tea before Euphemia returned.

She helped Euphemia set up the board, picking black while Euphemia picked white.

Euphemia started with the classic move, pawn to e4, with Lila following up with pawn to c5 and then Euphemia continuing with pawn to d4. Lila followed with knight f6. Euphemia continued with knight g3. Lila then went on the offensive, Queen a5. Check. Euphemia countered with bishop d2. Lila moved her Queen to b5. Euphemia moved knight a3. Lila continued her offensive assault with queen takes b2. Euphemia moved rook b2. Lila continued with a tremendously powerful offensive with Queen takes a2.

Euphemia hovered over the board in awe. Was Lila always this good? Clovis was a complete amateur.

Still, Euphemia was not about to be outdone. She studied the board carefully finding only one move that could even work: bishop c4. Lila countered quickly: Queen takes a3. Desperate to end Lila's barbaric queen attacks, Euphemia moved rook to a1. Lila moved Queen to b2. Euphemia moved Rook to b1. Lila moved Queen a2. Euphemia started to sweat. Lila had her in a bind here. The game state was in a very delicate balance and the wrong move would hand Lila the game. Fortunately, Euphemia found a good way out, knight to e5. Now if Lila tried to take her light-squared bishop, her knight would counter and if Lila tried to take her rook, she'd have her own queen taken by Euphemia's queen.

In anticipation of Euphemia's next move, Lila moved pawn e6.

"Lila, when did you get so good at this?" Euphemia asked her. It was only last year that Lila was struggling to comprehend when to castle, and now here she was playing at a competent level.

"Oh…you know…you meet some rather…gifted chess players in your travels. I'm still a noble after all. You become important. People invite you to parties."

"Well, it's a marked improvement and it's making this really challenging for me, so it definitely worked," Euphemia said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, whatever, I can tell you're stalling," Lila said with a dumb grin, rolling her eyes.

Euphemia laughed. "Was it that obvious?"

Having no better options, Euphemia castled king side. Lila pressed her attack with Bishop d6, threatening Euphemia's remaining knight. Euphemia wasn't fooled though. Her pawn on d4 would attack Lila's bishop, should it attack her knight. So, she played instead queen to f3, allowing her rooks to see each other, a classic chess strategy. Lila chose this moment to castle kingside as well. Euphemia then played bishop e3. However, with nothing protecting one of her pawns, nothing stopped Lila from playing queen takes c2. Euphemia then made her first capture with pawn takes c5.

Unfortunately, she'd miscalculated with bishop takes e5. Euphemia had lost both of her knights. Euphemia only had one safe play left: pawn g3. Or at least…she thought it was safe. Lila played Queen takes c4. Euphemia threatened Lila's queen with rook c1. Lila moved Queen b2. Euphemia could see that threatening Lila's queen again would be a waste of a move. All she had to do was move Queen c6 and she'd be completely out of danger. It was best to focus on a counteroffensive…what little she could muster of one now. She moved pawn h4. Lila moved rook to d8. Euphemia moved her deep in pawn to c6. With her pawn on the d aisle, Lila moved pawn takes c6, given her rook an empty column to move through. Euphemia moved bishop to c5, a daring move. If Lila didn't move her knight or her rook, Euphemia would fork them, forcing Lila to give up one of them.

But with an open file, all Lila needed was a safe space for her rook. The safest one of course being d7, which she selected. Now Euphemia couldn't even attempt her attack on Lila's knight. Lila's rook would take her bishop. So, she made a different move: Queen e3. Lila made another daring move: rook to d3, forcing Euphemia's queen to move. Euphemia moved Queen e2. Lila countered rook b3. Euphemia countered Queen to c2. Lila moved her rook to f3.

With few safe moves left to play, Euphemia played pawn h5. Lila attacked with bishop takes g3. Euphemia moved pawn takes g3. Lila immediately moved to check yet again with rook takes g3. Euphemia escaped check with king h2. Lila moved knight takes e4, which Euphemia took with her queen, but this was a mistake. Lila moved her queen to b3, protecting her rook with her queen. With her back to the wall, Euphemia saw an open file. She could still turn this around: rook d1. Lila saw what was happening. If Euphemia peeled down the open file, it was checkmate. So, she made a move to counter: knight to d7. This not only blocked Euphemia's checkmate, but threatened her bishop on c5. To discourage this, Euphemia moved her queen to d4.

Realizing she needed to get her king to a safe square should the queen or a rook move to the back row, she moved pawn to g6. Euphemia, rather than take the bait and capture Lila's pawn, moved pawn h6. If Lila moved wrong now, Euphemia would win with her next move. Fortunately for Lila, she knew what to do: pawn to e5. This blocked Euphemia's queen and, if she decided to capture it, would see it captured by Lila's knight. Needing to get a safe space for her queen, Euphemia found one in Queen to d6.

Lila prepared her endgame with pawn b6. Euphemia took to the offensive: Queen c7. Lila, however, was already martialing her attack with bishop to a6, threatening Euphemia's rook. Euphemia moved rook to e1. Lila was now free to move rook to h3. Check. Euphemia had only two moves: king to h1 or g2. Unfortunately, both moves led to checkmate in the same amount of moves. No matter which move Euphemia made, Queen to f3 would be next, forcing Euphemia to g1. Rook to h1. Checkmate.

So, bowing out gracefully, Euphemia tipped over her king, laughing. "Wow, Lila. You really have improved. That was really good."

"Heh, well, good to know my skills haven't rusted," Lila said with a self-assured smile.

"No, if anything they've greatly improved. I felt like I was playing a completely different person," Euphemia said, clapping, eyes brimming with cheer.

"Ah, well, you know what they say, people can change quickly when you take your eyes off them," Lila responded, nervously chuckling.

"Yeah, maybe we've both changed," Euphemia responded, suddenly sounding sad. "Do you miss him, Clovis I mean?"

"Well yeah, of course. He was my only brother, full-blood, I mean," Lila corrected mid-sentence, glancing to one side. "I…I don't understand why he had to go and do the things he did." She stared miserably at the table. "And why he left me behind."

Euphemia felt a bit more reassured by Lila's behavior now. Perhaps the girl had simply come to terms with what Clovis did and was struggling to comprehend it. "So, how did those mages get their hands on you?" Euphemia asked.

"I got jumped making my way to the Faerghusian embassy in China. I was going to charter a plane from there to Rome when I got knocked out and crammed into a cage basically. Not sure what they wanted with me, probably my crest if I had to guess." Lila rolled up her sleeve, showing the minor crest of Daphnel on her arm. She rolled her sleeve back down. "They were after Flayn's crest too, right? At least, that's what I've heard."

"Really? I didn't know that. Who did you hear that from?" Euphemia asked, scratching her temple.

"Professor Hannemann. He was talking about it while I was passing by his office. It sounded like a heavy conversation, whoever he was talking to, so I walked by pretty quickly, but I happened to hear him say something about Flayn's rare crest blood as I passed by," Lila explained.

"A major crest of Cethleann, right? Gosh, a saintly crest and a major one too. Flayn's so lucky," Euphemia remarked, clapping.

"I wouldn't call it luck if there are bad people after her. Crestology is a dangerous science with illegitimate research going on," Lila warned. "You be careful, okay sis?"

Euphemia smiled. That was very like Lila to worry about her family. "Don't worry," she said with a smile. "I have Cornelia to protect me, oh and Dimitri now too, I guess." She laughed.

Lila held up her index finger. "Be careful with that guy, Euphemia. Sometimes the nicest people hide the biggest scars."

"Yes, well, I have faith in Dimitri to always be a good person," Euphemia said with a big smile. "And one day I'm going to marry him."

Lila's eyes said it all and it took Euphemia a moment to realize she'd said that out loud. "Er, I mean…look over there!" she pointed.

Not even realizing Lila wasn't falling for it, she grabbed her chessboard and booked it away from the tea garden.

Lila just rolled her eyes, shook her head, and had another sip of tea.

4th Day of the Wyvern Moon

Suzaku Kururugi was doing his usual patrols around the monastery when he spotted a familiar face leaning over the edge of the wall that separated the northern section of the Officer's Academy courtyard from the ravine below. They weren't leaning over so far that they were in danger of falling, but more like resting their arms on the ledge. Suzaku only knew that because he knew the idler rather well.

Walking up to the student, Suzaku took the same posture, standing so close, his elbows were almost touching the person he'd crept up on.

"Hey," he said, causing Lelouch to turn to look at him. "You okay?"

Lelouch turned his head from Suzaku to the ravine. "It's a long way to the bottom, don't you think?"

"Lelouch, if you're thinking of jumping, I'll have to report you to Manuela," Suzaku stated seriously.

"I've got just a bit too much to live for," Lelouch responded with a tired smile. "But no, that's not what I meant. I'm talking less about literal falls and more one's fall from grace. Zero's been giving lectures down in Abyss all this week. The people that attend them, you wouldn't expect some of them to be there."

"Right. Zero," Suzaku grumbled loudly, reaching his hands further up his arms.

"Ah, right, I forgot," Lelouch said with a cheeky smile, "Mr. Love and Justice here only counts justice when it's done while following the law."

Suzaku stood up straight, scowling at Lelouch. "If Zero really wanted to do right by the people, he could just join the Knights of Seiros. He's instilled loyalty and leadership in the Ashen Wolves. So why would—"

"Suzaku, have you actually been down to Abyss yourself?" Lelouch asked.

Suzaku blinked rapidly. "Er, no, not personally. It's um…not on my patrol."

Lelouch ran his hands through his hair, clutching the top of his head. "There's good people down there, Suzaku, people who never did anything wrong in life, people just trying to scrape by with the hand they were dealt. And what does the world think of them? They want them gone, forgotten, to rot away and never return. The church has given these people refuge," Lelouch lowered his arm, glaring at the ravine. He spoke in a more aggravated tone. "But what they cry out for is justice, justice for the wrongs that were put upon them for merely being born, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The church isn't interested in helping these people, they're interested in peace, not justice."

"If it's as you say, each of those people suffering can—"

Lelouch cut Suzaku's righteous indignation off, "Can what? They can file a complaint with the church and ask the knights for help? It's not always that simple. There's a girl down there, the surviving heiress to House Nuvelle." Lelouch turned to look Suzaku dead in the eye. "Her entire estate flattened and all of her money lost to the ether. I don't think revenge on the people who invaded her home and left her homeless, which is all the knights can offer, is what she's looking for. She wants to make a fresh start, but the nobility of Adrestia would sooner leave her discarded and forgotten, just like I was discarded and forgotten!"

"Okay, calm down, or you'll draw a crowd. Let's go talk about this someplace else," Suzaku urged.

Lelouch took a deep breath and turned back towards the ravine, palms pressed down onto the ledge of the stone wall. "We're fine right here. It's noisy enough in the courtyard around this time," Lelouch responded.

"If you say so," Suzaku shrugged mentally. He and Lelouch stood almost shoulder to shoulder. "What you described sounds like an Adrestian problem though. The church gave Miss Nuvelle a home. They're doing their job Lelouch."

"And what about those people that Rhea had executed? They weren't offered a trial. They wronged the church, therefore they're evil and need to be eliminated," Lelouch pointed out.

"Lelouch, we're talking about an assassination plot spelled out against Lady Rhea," Suzaku reminded him sternly.

"Does the punishment fit the crime? Even in Britannia, you're only execution for assassination and first degree murder," Lelouch countered.

Suzaku was quiet.

"I thought so," Lelouch responded.

Suzaku and Lelouch stood there in silence for a good long while before Lelouch spoke again.

"Did you know Abyss has its own library, a library full of books Seteth has deemed unfit for the public eye. Old editions of historical records that were written by failing empires, as well as fanciful tales of literature. …Some filth thrown in there as well," Lelouch then added, craning his head up to the sky, "So the process has some merit, but still—"

"Where are you going with this?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch turned his head slightly towards Suzaku so that the young man was just inside Lelouch's peripheral vision. "One of the books I found details that had the church found me when I went into hiding, I would have been placed in Abyss, along with Nunnally."

This shocked Suzaku. While he had not been to Abyss himself, he knew its reputation, even before Lelouch told him of his own experience. The idea that Rhea would have just…thrown Lelouch down there without a second thought… "No…there has to be some kind of mistake."

"Open your eyes. The church you fight for isn't interested in what's good for mankind, only the power it holds over it. You are becoming a proponent of that system."

"You're wrong," Suzaku responded strenuously.

Lelouch's tired smile returned as he went back to facing the ravine. "Well…maybe I am. Maybe I'm a liar." He craned his neck up to gaze at the sky. "Lady Rhea surprised me, pardoning Zero, I mean."

"She's not the monster you've painted for yourself in your head, Lelouch. She's a good person trying to do what she thinks is best. If you'd just come talk to her with me, I'm sure she could explain her reasons for wanting you in Abyss."

"My father," Lelouch grumbled, glaring at clouds.

"The Emperor?"

Lelouch nodded. "Per his instructions, he wanted me out of sight and out of mind. He knows I'm alive. From what I can gather, Rhea and Seteth haven't caught onto my true identity. I'd prefer to keep it that way, if you don't mind."

"Lelouch, your talents are wasted just…wallowing in your own self-pity. When the year is up, please, I'm almost begging you, join the knights with me. You could do so much good for the world."

"By what, spreading the word of the false goddess and her lies? No. Thanks."

"Listen I—" Suzaku began, putting his heart of his chest.

"Were lost and found your way to salvation by welcoming the goddess into your heart. I know. I've heard the story before. It sickens me to my stomach how an establishment can prey on people's emotions by promising them peace in the next life in order to control their behavior. It's a cult, Suzaku, a cult that seeks to sap the individuality out of its followers until they're nothing more than blind sheep, blind to the very tyrannical actions of the establishment they've been made to worship." Lelouch collapsed into his arms. "At least…that's what I used to think."

Suzaku put a hand on Lelouch's shoulder. "What changed your mind, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Like I said, I hadn't expected Rhea to pardon Zero. When I first came here, I saw her as nothing more than a bloodsucking tyrant, not like my father, but just as callous and inhumane through different means."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Suzaku stated. "We were together when the church first invaded. I've never understood, besides disliking how Japan was treated, why you painted Rhea as such a monster."

"Did you see what happened after we separated?" Lelouch asked.

"You're going to have to be more specific," Suzaku told him. "I went straight to Kyoto from Tokyo, passing south of Mount Fuji. I'm to understand you ended up elsewhere."

Lelouch nodded. "Fukushima was my destination. And as my ride passed through Tochigi, I will never forget what exactly it was I saw."

30th Day of the Verdant Rain Moon

2010atb

While being escorted through the highways of Japan in a vehicle with his sister, Lelouch couldn't help but gaze at the war going on around him. High in the sky, the white painted Seirosian war machines descended like angels of death across the landscape. Lasers were released as landscapes were absolutely and utterly torched. Lelouch watched parts of Shinjuku and Saitama get obliterated in an instant as the shockwaves blew the van he was riding in even from all the way where he was on the highway.

And then, from the glow of the sun, came a really, really big one. Descending from Rome from on high, it was like the end of times had come and the harbinger was coming to see the souls of the living to their demise. And then…that roar.

"GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!"

It was like nails on a chalk board were performed by the skeletal digits of the grim reaper themselves. And that was nothing compared to the gigantic form of the beast whose two wings and shining metal body blotted out the setting sun.

"Big brother, what's happening?" Nunnally asked, terrified.

Lelouch didn't answer. All he could do was keep staring, watching as the metal monstrosity flew over the Tokyo skylight, its chrome-tinted dragon-like body soaring higher over the horizon than even Tokyo tower. Lelouch watched the stomach and throat glow with pink light, the spine of the mechanical beast seeming to charge up from tail to the back of the neck. And then, a beam emitted from the artificial creature's throat and smashed into the city of Tokyo proper, vaporizing Tokyo Tower on contact, effectively de-atomizing it, taking streets, cars, homes and other office buildings with it before the residual energy shot up into the air like a refracted laser cannon with a loud KA-POW that tore through the skyline and distorted the clouds. The flash of light was so bright it temporarily blinded Lelouch and the force was so strong it sent a shockwave that caused his ride to nearly run off the road from the impact.

He was at high enough altitude that he could see the giant multi-dozen foot crater the monster had made before it landed on all fours in it, roaring once more:

"GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!"

4th Day of the Wyvern Moon

2017atb

"That's what that was? I only saw the flash of light and learned about Tokyo Tower afterward."

"If I hadn't been staring directly at it, I wouldn't have believed it myself. Suzaku…I don't know what that…thing was, but Rhea has it and she authorized its use, a weapon of mass destruction not even Britannia is fit to deal with," Lelouch pointed out to him.

"That death toll…has to be in the thousands, Suzaku. And it was that one attack that ended all resistance to the Japanese people. Upon that show of strength, the country that would sooner fight and die, and considered surrender cowardly, knew that they had no hopes of beating whatever that was."

"I…never knew. Nobody reported on it."

"Of course no one did because the church controls global information. They probably wrote it into their deal with Japan not to speak a word of it. I sometimes kept thinking I was crazy. I sometimes kept thinking I had maybe conjured it up in my own haunted mind," Lelouch said, shaking his head. "But nothing will ever erase the fear I felt when I witnessed thousands of people being slaughtered from 400 meters above sea level. An explosion that tore away the lives of people just trying to live in peace, and Rhea had the audacity to send them to her so-called Goddess just to make a point! That is the true face of your archbishop, Suzaku! A heartless killer willing to sacrifice whatever lives she wishes just to maintain control over the human race!"

"And…you changed your mind about that?" Suzaku asked, still wanting to return to the original point.

Lelouch turned back towards the ravine. "Since I've been here, I keep wondering exactly how high the death toll actually was. Did Rhea or Japan have the area evacuated before the attack happened? I can't find any sources because I can't trust the church. However, the more I stay, the more I learn about just what could have happened if the church hadn't stepped in and taken Japan under their wing by force."

"You're talking about the war with Britannia that never happened," Suzaku stated.

Lelouch nodded. "Rhea was complicit with Britannia's savagery, taking matters into her own hands rather than directing the world at Britannia's corruption."

"Lelouch, you're talking about a bloodbath that would have seen Britannia, Adrestia and Faerghus losing millions of lives!" Suzaku exclaimed, horrified.

"I know," Lelouch answered, conceding the point. "Lives were lost…so that many others could live. It was…a bad situation…and a bad decision was made to correct it. But…" Lelouch clenched his fists and glared at the ravine. "That doesn't excuse what happened!"

"So Zero's the answer! That's what you're making it sound like! You can't sit there and validate vigilante terrorism, Lelouch!"

"I'M NOT!" Lelouch shouted, looking at Suzaku with an expression of frustrated rage.

"Then what are you advocating?" Suzaku asked with a stern and serious expression.

"Justice for those who are helpless. Britannia lit the spark, the church fanned the flames. The world we live in is disgusting and rotted, Suzaku. I will fix it," Lelouch promised. "I swore that to you when we parted ways that day. I told you that I would lay waste to all that corrupted this world!"

"So, what, you're going to join Zero's crusade? Is that it? Lelouch, I don't have any trouble cutting you down if you become a criminal. I hope you know that!" Suzaku exclaimed. "I don't want to, but I will."

"So that's what I mean to you, huh?" Lelouch asked, disgusted.

"N-No, I-I didn't mean it like that," Suzaku backpedaled. "I just…I'm trying to dissuade you from putting me in that situation, you know? You're my best friend. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to treat you like a criminal. Let me talk to Rhea. Let me ask her about that monster you saw. Let me talk to her about what you told me. …Is that book you found still in Abyss?"

"Do fish eat where they procreate?" Lelouch asked rhetorically.

Suzaku rolled his eyes. Typical Lelouch it seemed.

"Just go," Lelouch said, turning back to face the ravine.

"No, not yet," Suzaku said, sliding up alongside his buddy. "I can't walk away when you're like this. I know you're angry. I felt it all the time when we hung out. But…at some point you just have to move on, forget the past and seize the future." Suzaku gazed at Lelouch not with scorn but with concern. "I have. So can you. I'm not going to ask you to start attending services or anything, but…you find your own path. If you continue down a road of misery and spite, you're just going to end up dying alone in a ditch somewhere, not surrounded by your loved ones."

Lelouch's mind traumatically flashed to when Kronya tearfully dug him out of the rubble of the explosion Aelfric had trapped him in. No, he certainly didn't need to go through that again. Suzaku had a point.

He turned his back to Suzaku, facing the training grounds in the distance. "You seem to have come to highly respect the archbishop."

"Well, yeah, she's my boss," Suzaku said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"No, it's almost like you're starting to revere here." Lelouch looked over his shoulder with a smug smirk. "Has the archbishop charmed you with more than just her radiance and honeyed words?"

Suzaku coughed, blushing. "Lelouch, that's scandalous and heretical to even suggest it."

"Uh huh," Lelouch remarked unconvinced. "Remind me what the going rate for a reception at Castello Brancaccio is again."

Without even hesitating as if he was giving an answer to a tourist, Suzaku responded, "It's about 5,000 for a full house of two-hundred, but, additional pews can be construct…ed…for…" Suzaku trailed off now seeing the raised eyebrow and amused expression on Lelouch's face. He frowned. "You know what? On second thought, I have work to do. I'll see you later, Lelouch."

Lelouch just let Suzaku walk away. He knew his friend too well. Suzaku said what he said, but Lelouch knew guilt would eat away at the man if he didn't talk to Rhea when he had the chance. And, if he didn't, that was fine with Lelouch too.

He turned back towards the ravine. Sometimes you have to work out problems yourself without asking for help. Eight moons and I've seen neither plate nor wire of that monster. Maybe it's time I asked Yuri about it.

5th Day of the Wyvern Moon

With Zero now allowed above ground and able to walk around the Monastery freely, the Ashen Wolves no longer needed to hide from the surface either. While some, like Balthus and Yuri, preferred to remain underground for their own reasons, others like Akito and his fellow Japanese, preferred the light of the sun. Akito especially liked, since the Ashen Wolves were now recognized as an official house, being able to get free food from the dining hall. The meals were exceptional compared to some of the low quality ingredients found in Abyss—not to mention that the cheapest and filling food around was Pizza Hut. Additionally, rather than eat in the dining hall, Akito preferred to take his food to the marketplace and people watch, if for no other reason than that he could now.

After finishing a plate of barbecue lamb pot pie, and asparagus, Akito returned his dish and silverware to the kitchen. He then proceeded to head for the training ground to get some sword practice in. On the way, however, as he crossed the courtyard, he heard a voice call out directly to him.

"Oh! It's you!"

Akito turned his head to see Leila Malcal not too far from his current location. Of course, he hadn't yet learned her name.

"You're the one that saved my life," Leila said, approaching with a smile.

Akito smiled back. "Only because you spared mine at Magdred Way."

Leila's smile turned to shock as she gasped. "Oh! Where are my manners?" She bowed. "I'm Leila, Leila Malcal."

Akito bowed in a more traditional Japanese style. "I'm Akito, Akito Hyuga."

"First name first?" Leila questioned.

"Ah, I was born in Faerghus, so even though I'm Japanese, I wasn't exactly raised on all of the culture," Akito responded.

"Ah, I see. Zat is quite different," Leila responded cheerfully.

The conversation got awkwardly quiet.

"S-So um…Zero?"

"What about him?"

"Well…um…wh-what made an upstanding, honorable gentleman such as yourself fall in with a fiend like him?"

Akito stared at the sky. "Fiend, huh? I guess I can see why you'd call him that, but…Zero's…how do I put this?"

Akito's mind traveled back in time to the early days of Zero's presence.

"When he first appeared, I thought he was a lunatic, just another homeless guy spouting nonsense. But…it was what he was aiming for that one me over: justice for the helpless," Akito answered honestly.

"I have heard he has a way with words. Yet his methods…"

"Take it from me. Zero has good intentions," Akito told her, putting a hand to his chest. "I wouldn't still be following him if I didn't believe in what he stood for. And…my friends believe in him too. I think he's good for the world, even if the church disagrees."

"Well…" Leila poked her cheek, glancing to one side. If Zero could be taken at face value, she would count amongst the helpless, unable to change her fate of being married to a man she did not love.

"Maybe you'd like to sit in on Zero's lecture tonight, or maybe another night. I could treat you out to dinner beforehand, given it starts late."

Leila blushed, jolting upward. "Ah! Are you asking me out?"

"Well…yes, actually," Akito admitted, blushing.

Leila stood there in abject silence, needing to take a moment to process that a boy, a cute boy, asked her out. Granted, he didn't know her circumstances. For the sake of her family, she should say no. …And then she thought about what she'd heard Sylvain and Milly were getting up to. But…no. She wasn't like them. She was…she had more pride than that.

Still…it was just dinner. And he seemed friendly.

"Very well, I accept. Where should we meet?" Leila asked.

"How about by the elevator leading down to Abyss. I'll come up to get you at, say, 7:15?"

"I vould be honored," Leila responded, bowing.

"Uh, sure, th-then it's uh…um…" Akito blushed, scratching his head.

"It's a date!" Leila exclaimed forcefully, face pinker than a newborn mouse. "Ve vill go on this date and do…date things."

The teenage awkwardness was so stifling, it could suffocate passerby.

"S-sure, s-see you later," Akito stated and then walked to the training ground.

Akito Hyuga, Leila thought, watching him go. What a fascinating gentleman. And so handsome too. It took her a moment to process what had just gone through her head as her eyes began to swirl about in a panic and she slapped her cheeks, face redder than the rising sun on a Japanese flag. Hold on! Vat is vith me? I'm turning into just a normal lovestruck school girl! She did her best to compose herself, taking a deep breath and slapping her cheeks twice. But…maybe zis is a good thing. Love should be the reason you want to be with someone, not politics. Akito Hyuga… Leila gazed up at the sky, using her hand to shield her gaze from the bright sunlight. I hope you will become my Black Knight in Shining Armor.

6th Day of the Wyvern Moon

If Oldrin Zevon were to ever be asked by a reporter what her favorite part of being a knight was, she would have answered in two words without hesitating: helping people. Nothing gave the head knight of the Glinda Knights more joy than aiding the helpless, be it a child with a scraped knee or shooting a terrorist trying to plant a bomb. The justice involved in such tasks were their own reward.

Still, ever since coming to Garreg Mach, Oldrin had certainly seen her workload increase. Not just because Rome appeared to have a myriad of lost tourists and the occasional thief on the lose, but also because of the monthly tasks assigned to her house by the church. There was also the weekly group activities, her social obligations to engaging in church services once a week, and that wasn't even getting into the homework and activities Byleth, and now especially Cornelia, loved to assign to her and to her class.

As Oldrin sat in the study lounge, gazing at the details of one of her assignments still due by Monday, someone approached her with swagger in their step. "You there! I am to understand you are the head of the Glinda Knights, are you not?"

Oldrin looked up to see a woman in the Ashen Wolves school uniform with short blonde hair and purple highlights…or maybe it was purple hair with blonde highlights. The way this girl's hair was styled, it was impossible to tell.

"Oh, um, hello!" Oldrin responded, lifting a hand to shoulder level, palm facing outward. "I'm sorry, can I…help you with something?"

"You most certainly can!" The girl responded with gusto. "Oldrin Zevon, correct?"

Oldrin awkwardly stared at her fellow student. "Yes, that's me, and you are…"

"Ah, but of course. Where are my manners? I am Constance von Nuvelle of House Nuvelle!"

"House Nuvelle?" Oldrin scratched her temple, trying to recall the name.

"It is understandable if you have not heard of it. My venerable estate was unfairly dismantled by an invading country some ten years ago, now residing in Duke Gerth's hands. Ah, but the kind duke has informed me that the lands are merely being held over until I can reclaim my status, title and all!"

"Okaaaaaaaay," Oldrin really wasn't sure what this had to do with her. "Good for you?"

"Now, now, I promise this all has a point. You see, since my home was destroyed by an invasion, terrorists, you might say, surely that means, since the Glinda Knights have already provided foreign aid to Adrestia before, you could, say, invest in my glorious return? I would reward you and your fellow knights handsomely for your contributions, of course!" Constance exclaimed chipperly.

Oldrin blinked a bunch, dumbfounded. "…Let me see if I'm understanding this. You want the Glinda Knights to give you money so that you can buy back land that is rightfully yours in the first place because you lack the funds to receive it back from the temporary regent?"

"That is essentially it, yes! I knew you were a smart person, hence my reaching out to you."

"Wow, okay, where do I start with this?" Oldrin asked, thinking aloud, pressing her fingertips to her forehead.

"You may start with a generous offer," Constance said exuberantly. "After all, think of the perks. Adrestia and Britannia would have open trade with House Nuvelle's resources, once procured, and I would ensure the Glinda Knights VIP status within Nuvelle territory until even your grandchildren are old and gray."

Oldrin's head hurt trying to process Constance's audacity. "Constance, listen, I—"

"Oh, and of course extraterritorial passports for my glorious saviors. Only the finest gifts and—"

"OKAY! I GET IT! ENOUGH!" Oldrin shouted.

"Ah, my apologies," Constance apologized sincerely enough for having sent Oldrin over the edge.

"Listen, Constance, I really want to help you, but the Glinda Knights don't exactly have the highest budge, counterterrorism or no. Most of our budget goes into R and D and weapon and technology maintenance, not to mention the Grandberry's upkeep costs."

"Even a small donation would be most generous, milady," Constance replied, sweating.

Oldrin sighed in resignation. "Okay, let's start here: how much do you need to get back on your feet? Rough estimate?"

"I was thinking maybe perhaps about two million Roman credits, or the equivalent thereof," Constance responded honestly.

If Oldrin had been drinking anything, it would have come flying out of her mouth. "T-T-T-Two million?"

"Why yes, there's the upkeep costs, remodeling my house and also—"

Oldrin palmed her eyes horizontally, holding up her other hand. "Stop…just…stop, Constance." Oldrin didn't even make five percent of that in a year as a soldier. And that was gross income, forget net.

"Is…there a problem?"

Oldrin had to resist the urge to scream. No problem. Just…deal with her like you would Sokkia. "Listen, Constance, I really want to help, but…I don't have that kind of money, nowhere even close."

"O-Oh," Constance stuttered and then sank into misery. "Oh."

"Yeah, I'm…really sorry," Oldrin apologized. "But…hey, maybe I could shop around, see if anyone's interested in Adrestian real estate."

Constance's eyes lit up a little. "You'd do that for me, even though we just met?" Constance inquired.

"Says the girl asking for handouts like she's a beggar on the street," Oldrin responded dryly.

"Ah, point taken. ...Hey! Rude! I am no beggar! I am a distinguished noblewoman through and through!"

"And how much money is in your coffers o' distinguished fine lady?" Oldrin asked sarcastically, adding a bit of poshness to her tone of voice in mockery.

"Ah, you dare mock me?!" Constance exclaimed, off-put.

Oldrin snickered. "Take it easy, Constance. It's called light ribbing. My fellow knights and I do this with each other all the time."

"I am well-versed in this ribbing as you call it. Yukiya, Hapi and Yuri make enough jokes at my expense. I shant suffer them anymore than I have to!" Constance barked.

Talk about high strung, Oldrin thought. "Seriously though, I don't mind helping at all. You were right about one thing, counterterrorism is about more than helping hurt the bad guys. I'd be honored to help you find an investor to get you back on your feet, Constance. If it would improve relations between Britannia and Adrestia, then all the better."

"Aha! I knew you'd see things my way! Ah, perchance do you happen to have any investors in mind?"

"Well…now that I think about it," Oldrin said, scratching her temple, "I bet I could get Princess Guinevere on board. If I remember looking at a map, modern Gerth territory has ocean front property, correct?"

"Ah! Yes! Nuvelle territory, when it was held by my family, held 90% of the ocean front property Gerth territory now lays claim to. Much of our income was from the shipping of goods and the taxing of ports," Constance remarked, heart pounding at the idea that Oldrin might be getting one of the richest women in the world involved in her plight.

"If you can get Princess Guinevere an extravagant summer home, I'm sure she'll go for it," Oldrin replied with a bright smile. "As I hear it from Mary, the crown princess loves extravagant vacation homes."

"Ah! Marvelous! See to putting me in contact with her at once!"

"Sure, right after I'm done with my homewo—"

"At once!"

Oldrin sighed, loudly. "Let's go to my room, I'll see if I can dig up her phone number."

As it ended up turning out, Guinevere could not be reached and the pair had to leave a message.

7th Day of the Wyvern Moon

In between morning and afternoon lectures, Raphael sat in the classroom to work on some tactics homework that Manuela had provided him. The poor man was struggling with it. He was good for two things: lifting and punching. Thinking outside the box really wasn't his strong suit. Still, that was precisely why Manuela gave him the assignment. All students were expected to have at least certain levels of proficiency in all subject matters by the end of the school year and Raphael was having significant struggles with anything that didn't involve physical labor or combat.

Thankfully, Claude was a swell enough guy to give him a hand with it. "Okay, how about this one? Do you get the general idea?" Claude asked, pointing to the diagrams in the textbook.

Raphael gave it a glance over and then started nodding vigorously, scratching his chin with his big fingers, seeming to at least comprehend what he was reading. "So, basically, it's just a matter of defeating the enemy leader, right? Then the solution is just to uh…" he looked at the map. "Uh…um…ugh! No! That won't work! Tanks won't fit through there! …I can't figure this out! I give up!"

"Hey, chin up, Raphael," Claude said encouragingly. "You think I mastered all this on my first try."

"But it comes naturally to you," Raphael said, rubbing the side of his head. "Some people are just better at this stuff than others, you know?"

"Yeah, but anyone can be taught if they try hard enough. That's what I believe anyway."

"But enemies never move how you want them to in a real battle, right? I reckon I learn better on the battlefield," Raphael reasoned.

"Being off the battlefield is actually the best time to learn. If you know the outcome of a thousand battles, you already know the chances of winning and losing before the armies have even taken the field."

"Ah, spoken like a woman after my own heart," Claude said of the person that had just spoken. "Wait, who now?" He just realized he'd never heard this voice before.

In strolled a girl with blonde hair appearing to be in her early teens. She had bright red eyes and her hair was styled in pigtails tied together with red bows. She was dressed in the Knights of Seiros uniform, standing barely a little over five feet tall.

"Oh, hey, she looks like an older version of my sister," Raphael stated, laughing.

"Please do not treat me like a child," the girl requested with a stern tone, but not nearly as crabby Lysithea would. "I'm a full-fledged knight."

"Whoa, same attitude too," Raphael responded, laughing.

"I didn't realize they let children into the knights," Claude stated jokingly.

The girl glanced at Claude with look on her face that silently said, "Really?"

"Ah…ha…so um…can we…help you? Who are you anyway, Miss Junior Knight?"

"My name is Alice Einhart. First year knight, and recent graduate of the Blue Lion house," Alice stated amicably enough, introducing herself.

"Okay, so what do you want with us? We're the Golden Deer."

"I'm looking for an Ignatz Victor. I haven't been able to locate him, but one of your classmates suggested you, the house leader, might know where he is," Alice stated.

"Oh, if you're looking for Ignatz, he's either in the garden or the library," Raphael answered before Claude could. He then looked greatly concerned. "Everything okay? Ignatz isn't in trouble, is he?"

Alice shook her head. "Quite the opposite in fact." She took out her holographic tablet from the satchel around her waist and held up a request form with an "Approved" stamp on it. "Your classmate made a formal request to the knights to respond to a distressing problem in Leicester territory. It was finally approved that the knights would handle it and I was assigned it."

"Oh! That's great! I'll go get him. I bet I know where he is!" Raphael exclaimed excitedly. "Wait right here!"

"I suppose that would be time efficient, yes," Alice responded stoically.

Raphael rushed out of the room, leaving Alice alone with Claude. Her piercing gaze stared straight through him, almost daring him to start small talk.

"Sooooo, how old are you anyway, exactly?" Claude inquired cautiously.

"Fifteen."

Claude whistled in astonishment. "Boy, you must have really wanted to be a Knight of Seiros then."

"It was the logical choice," Alice answered. She didn't elaborate further.

"I bet you're real fun at parties," Claude quipped.

Alice did not rise to Claude's snark, continuing to stare at him judgmentally until Raphael came back with Ignatz.

"Oh. Hello, um…Alice, right?" Ignatz asked, clearly having been briefed on the walk over.

"Yes, do you have a team assembled ready to go or will my squadron be enough to handle it?" Alice asked.

"Well, um…how big is your squadron?"

"Including myself? Seven. Given the gravity of the situation, I asked if I could include some of my associates and their squadrons, which is what took so long to get approval," Alice stated.

"I…take it given only you're going that you couldn't get approval?" Ignatz asked.

Alice shook her head.

"Well, maybe you could tell us what's going on and the Golden Deer can provide a little support," Claude answered, putting his arms up behind his head.

Alice exhaled, conceding the point. "I suppose there's no harm in it. Very well…" She then turned to Ignatz. "Of course, if that's all right with you."

"Oh, yes, not a problem. I'd trust Claude with my life, so…"

"Realy? High praise," Claude responded whimsically. "I don't even do that."

Alice ignored Claude's clowning and continued, "Starting two moons ago, travel between Gloucester territory and Riegan's dukedom are growing quite dangerous, or at least believed to be so."

"Dangerous?" Claude questioned. "Dangerous how? I mean, it's still hurricane season for another week or two, but still…"

"That's part of it, but wholly not the whole picture," Ignatz explained. "At first, my brother thought it was just a really bad season. Then he got some disturbing live radio feed from the company ships, followed by a couple of disturbing images."

"Okay, color me curious," Claude responded earnestly.

"Six of my father's trade vessels have vanished off the face of the planet. The trade from Riegan to Gloucester territory is always dangerous, but…as he dived into the problem deeper, it gets a whole lot more nefarious sounding," Ignatz elaborated.

Alice picked up the story from there. "With the images that Ignatz provided to the request department, combined with the investigations we've performed, we discovered some shocking news. Only companies traveling from Gloucester to Riegan territory are having what can only be described as "performance issues", resulting in deaths and ships never being heard from again. Ships departing from Riegan to Gloucester aren't experiencing nearly the same level of hardship, even with the tropical storms."

Claude's gaze narrowed. "So, then it's foul play."

"That's what Director Seteth seemed to suspect, but until we can gain additional information, he wouldn't authorize anything more than a recon squadron, hence why he selected me to go," Alice explained.

"Ah, must be small potatoes on his radar if he's not sending Miss Shamir. I hear she's really good at reconnaissance," Claude explained.

"Off the record, that's usually when the church wants a bullet in someone's head. I'm much better and more efficient at up to date local field mapping. I'm also a better team player," Alice responded, showing hints that she didn't like being seen as second best to Shamir.

"Well, well, my apologies." Despite what he said, Claude didn't sound too sincere.

"I'd like if we could send more than just Alice's unit, but it sounds like the church isn't willing to authorize that," Ignatz said. "My brother and my father are about to send out the biggest shipment the company has had to handle since my brother joined the family business. My dad said it's a precursor to my brother inheriting the company, so Klaus can only delay the inevitable. Meanwhile, his barge is just collecting more goods for when he does ship out."

"I get it, the issue became pronounced because your family is now involved," Claude responded, running his hands through his hair. He sounded genuinely concerned. "Well, if the knights aren't going to authorize manpower, I'll just make a quick trip to Professor Manuela's office. Dangerous or no, this involves my family's territory, so I'm sure I can assemble the Golden Deer's golden children to pitch in."

"I cannot authorize civilians involved in dangerous issues they haven't been assigned," Alice remarked.

"Okay, so we're not civilians, more like volunteered help. We're knights-in-training," Claude responded with a smirk and a tone of voice to match it.

Alice looked surly. "This isn't a game." She showed Claude one of the images she received. "Look at this."

The image was grainy and fuzzy, having been taken on a smartphone through the front window of a ship during a storm, but in the distance was an elongated, serpentine silhouette, shrouded by the darkened sky, but with glowing red eyes reflected off the camera's photo.

"Ah, I get it. We're hunting Nessie," Claude joked with a nod.

Alice looked even more infuriated. She had a right mind to strangle him.

"Look Alice, I get you don't want to let us go," Claude said with a lot more seriousness in his voice and expression. "But I've got faith in my Deer. We've worked together for six moons now and our bond has gotten iron tough. Even if you tell us no, we're still going. I have a social obligation in all of this and nobody in the Golden Deer is gonna stand idly by while people are threatened by whatever nightmare crawled out of the ocean depths. They wanna play Godzilla, I'll bring the Oxygen Destroyer. You get me?"

Alice sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Just make my job harder, I guess. How many of you do I need to account for."

"Including the three of us? Nine."

"Huh? Me? I'm going?" Ignatz questioned.

"Well yeah, duh, it was your idea to start this little operation," Claude stated, rolling his shoulders. "Don't tell me you're scared of a little sea monster action? Come on, I bet it's not as bad as it looks. Bet it's a bunch of pirates in a rubber costume, or bad holographic CGI."

Claude wasn't being serious with those accusations, but Alice could tell he was just trying to calm Ignatz's nerves.

"Look, Ignatz, I know you're not enthusiastic about being a knight, but think about it this way, if you prove yourself to your dad that you're doing all right, maybe he'll listen to your troubles more instead of tossing you aside like unwanted garbage," Claude pointed out to him.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Ignatz wasn't sure if he'd get a chance to talk to his father, but it couldn't hurt to at least try. He was honestly more scared of getting killed than anything else, but…well… "I guess if you're leading the charge, we'll be fine, Claude."

"That you have any faith in this clown is beyond me," Alice remarked.

"Claude might love practical jokes, but when it comes to the battlefield, there's few people that are more reliable. You sure you wanna just go it just the Deer though, Claude? We're taking Nunnally, we could always ask Lelouch. Ooh! Or we could ask Zero. He's always sticking up for the little guy!"

"Nah, as far as Lelouch goes, I'd like if he just…didn't know about this," Claude remarked, startled. "Too many cooks spoil the broth, you know. He'll uh…he'll cramp my style." In truth, Claude did not want the conversation of being lectured by Lelouch for bringing Nunnally on a dangerous mission. He felt like Lelouch would give him a five hour lecture on how to properly care for his sister on the battlefield. He looked less stressed as he addressed Raphael's second inquiry. "As for Zero, I'm not really comfortable going to the masked vigilante for help. Yeah, he's got the public's best interest at heart, but I kind of wanna show him up a little. Like, here's an incident where the weak are suffering and the common man took care of it. I wouldn't say I'm against his help if he shows up outta nowhere, but at the same time, I don't believe that you need a revolution to fix things. You gotta repair broken bridges, not burn them down and build new ones. The world's healthier for it, you know?"

"Hmm, seems there is a brain in that clunky looking head of yours," Alice remarked.

Claude threw his head back, laughing. "Whaaaaat? How can you gaze upon this visage and not believe that I have the mind of a super genius?"

"Not answering that," Alice responded, glancing to one side. "I'll meet you at the hangar when you're ready to depart. It'll be an eleven-hour flight so pack snacks, toiletries and whatever you need to get a good nap in before we land. We're unlikely to return until Monday."

"No worries," Claude responded. He then winked. "My homework's done at least, so I'll be just fine."

Alice strolled for the door. "See to it that you're all assembled in an hour. I'd like to depart before lunch."

"One hour. Got it. All right you guys, let's go get the Deer and head out!"

When Nunnally heard that she'd be visiting Leicester on an important mission, she hurried to her room to begin packing. Lelouch, who was next door browsing the internet on his laptop, heard the door to Nunnally's room open. Curious, he poked his in, surprised to see Nunnally packing by herself.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Oh! Big brother!" Nunnally exclaimed, startled. "Yes! Claude has a big important collaborative mission for us with the Knights of Seiros out in Leicester. I'll be gone until Monday."

Lelouch was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to support Nunnally's independence. On the other, he absolutely did not like the idea of Nunnally going anywhere for multiple days without being able to keep an eye on her. Sure, he'd left Rome with the Ashen Wolves for Zero business, but he knew Nunnally was safe in Garreg Mach's walls. The reverse gave him a damn near panic attack.

No, maybe he was overthinking it. Surely it was something safe, but exciting. "What's the mission?" he asked.

The more Nunnally told him about it, the more Lelouch felt he was going to suffer cardiac arrest from shock, especially the part, be it a joke or not, about the giant monster in the Atlantic Ocean. His kneejerk response to being told all of this was "No way! No how! Not in a million millennia!" …However, he couldn't bring himself to say it that way. He was so glad, for one moment, that Nunnally was blind. She could not see the pained, stressed expression on his face.

"Nunnally," he said, sweating a little. "Do you think…maybe you could sit this one out?"

Nunnally shook her head. "I want to help people, Lelouch."

Nope. Time for drastic measures.

Lelouch got onto his knees and took his sister's hands. He spoke right from the heart. No gimmicks. No deception. He said only what he truly felt to his dearest sister. "Nunnally, please, you're the most important thing to me in this world that life hasn't taken from me." He put his head against his sister's knees, almost brought to tears. "Please! If I lost you, I'd never recover! I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt while I'm not there to protect you!"

He felt Nunnally's hand rub the back of his head. "I know," she answered honestly. "You'd do anything to protect me. But, Claude won't let anything happen to me, and I'll be with all of the Golden Deer."

Lelouch lifted his head, looking directly at his sister's closed eyes. "That doesn't matter! What if the boat capsizes! You can't swim!"

"I still have the Royal Miracle! I'm not helpless!" Nunnally argued.

"I don't care if you're not helpless, I have a responsibility to keep you safe and I'm not going to let you throw your life away for people you don't even know!" Lelouch shouted.

"Then why did you let me enroll at Garreg Mach? Why let me train and get stronger if you just want to keep me weak and out of the way?!" Nunnally shouted back.

Lelouch looked away in shame. He'd said the quiet part out loud. "…So that I could keep an eye on you. So that you'd be safe. You…you can't go on dangerous missions, Nunnally. You'll get hurt, or worse."

"I feel the same, you know? You think I like hearing what feels like every other day that no one can find you! I don't know even know what you're up to, so think about how that makes me feel!" Nunnally was on the verge of tears. She choked on her voice and then did start to cry. "I can't see, Lelouch. I can't even walk by myself without my hard light knightmare. Every time you disappear, and I can't even see you, I'm not even able to fathom where you went or where you might be next time! YOU'RE IMPORTANT TO ME TOO!"

Lelouch stood over Nunnally's wheelchair, gripping the handles as she grabbed his academy uniform, sobbing into his stomach.

Oh, he'd stepped in it now. Not only was Nunnally upset that he was holding her back, but he'd also found out juuuust what she thought about all of his "out getting groceries…for three days" behavior.

Lelouch stared at the back of his sister's head, hearing her cry into him, feeling his uniform getting wetter and wetter with her tears. He grimaced in anguish. What was he supposed to do? He absolutely could not let her go on this mission. She could get killed and he'd never forgive himself.

In order to figure things out, he had to calm himself down. He started with a deep breath, and then pat the back of Nunnally's head. He could assemble the Ashen Wolves together and follow in secret, but that wasn't exactly viable. The trip was eleven hours. That meant twenty-two hours he'd be away from the monastery. Quite the cover story he'd have to make for himself, especially since it would be official that the Neverland had departed now that Zero was out in the open. Additionally, the knights might catch wind of the Neverland silently following close behind and it could complicate things. Of all of the times to miss not still being an underground terrorist, rather than at peace and in cooperation with Rhea.

Placing Nunnally's safety on monastery grounds in the hands of others was easy. The worst she could do was fall out of her wheelchair and subsequently into the fish pond if she wasn't careful. Raphael, Shez, Hilda and Byleth were all well-equipped to help her out of such a predicament.

Oh, great job, he suddenly chastised himself. The thought of Nunnally drowning in the fish pond ballooned into her drowning in the stormy Atlantic. Lelouch's blood ran cold. He could not and would not resign Nunnally to such a fate.

As if to compound this troublesome occasion, Nunnally's phone vibrated. It was Hilda sending a voice message, asking where she was.

Swiping her phone off the table, Lelouch responded with a text. "Hilda, come to my room. Now."

Nunnally recoiled. Lelouch never used her phone for her. Not like this. She heard him typing and had heard him swipe it off the desk. She was very alarmed and upset right now, but she hadn't the heart to yell at him. She knew whatever it was, Lelouch was trying to protect her, as he always had. But…that was all the more reason she wanted to go on this mission. If she could survive and actively contribute to helping random strangers, she could prove that she could protect Lelouch, which was the major reason why she hadn't dropped out of the Officer's Academy. She cursed her blindness and her paraplegia, but she wanted to overcome it so that her big brother could rely on her and not have to worry about her.

But…worry for her he did. He always had. Even before the death of their mother, even back when she was just a bratty preschooler, Lelouch was always throwing himself into situations their mother usually had to bail him out of because Nunnally was being bulled in some form or another. Lelouch was always there for her. Always. But…if she never stood up for herself, she'd never grow, and grow she wanted to.

"Um, big brother," Nunnally spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"I…are you going to ask Hilda if you can come along?" Nunnally asked.

"The thought had crossed my mind."

Nunnally wheeled towards him. "I…I'd like it…if you stayed here."

Lelouch's body bristled, but he didn't outwardly respond.

Nunnally clutched his left hand with both of hers. He was still holding her phone with said hand.

"I…I want to be able to show that I can protect you, that I can be independent. Please, big brother!"

Just from the way Lelouch's hand was twitching, Nunnally could tell he was against the idea. However, before he could give her a verbal response, Hilda arrived. She wasn't even shocked to see him with Nunnally.

"Yeah, figured you were here," she said to Lelouch. If a voice could convey rolling eyes by themselves, that was the tone Hilda was using. "Nunnally can't send a text message that fast, and not with perfect grammar."

Hilda was startled when Lelouch put his hands firmly on her shoulders, almost squeezing them. He stared into her eyes, practically glaring at her.

"Uh…" Hilda remarked, swallowing.

Lelouch spoke seriously and to the point. "Hilda, I know you're averse to work, but I'm giving you a hefty responsibility until you return to the monastery. I don't want excuses. I don't want "No." From now until you come back to the monastery…"

…

Lelouch couldn't say it.

The words were stuck in his throat.

"Yeah, until I come back to the monastery?" Hilda questioned, more surprised than concerned. "Out with it."

Lelouch took a long, slow, deep breath. It was like asking someone to take his heart and carry it in a box through a zoo with the bear, lion and tiger enclosures all having been broken and the animals running free.

"From now…until you come back to the monastery, I am placing Nunnally in your utmost care. Treat her as if she's the most important thing in the world to you. Please. I can't ask anyone else."

"B-But Raphael—"

"I'm not asking Raphael! I'm asking you, Hilda Valentine Goneril!" Lelouch exclaimed forcefully. "You're stronger than him. I know you are. I was standing right there when you managed to push back the Death Knight! You weren't even using your Hard Light Knightmare. Nunnally has asked me to respect her wishes to go and so I am asking, no, I am demanding of you because I know you capable of it, protect my sister. Protect her with your very life." He sank to his knees unintentionally, but this was a lot for him to ask and he couldn't bear the thought of Nunnally getting hurt. He wanted to go. By all accounts, he should be selfish and go anyway, but…at the same time, he too was tired of Nunnally being seen as helpless. If there was a chance, even a small one, that she could come out of this alive, that she could have contributed to the success of the mission, he wouldn't have to worry about her nearly as much anymore.

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what it was designed for."

They were words Jeralt told him a long time ago. Lelouch knew what they meant, but now they rang truer than ever.

"Please Hilda…if you keep my sister save, I'll do your homework from here until the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Please…" His hands found their way to Hilda's shoes. His voice dropped several octaves and he stared up at her with sincerely wounded and vulnerable tear-stained eyes. "I'm begging you. Don't let the only good thing I have left in this world disappear. If I let her go without the assurance that you can protect her, all I can picture is her drowning in the Atlantic after the boat gets smashed or blown up."

Hilda just stared at Lelouch in abject shock. She knew Lelouch cared a lot about his sister. He could rival Holst in terms of his big brothering. But…to see the usual arrogant, cold and distant Lelouch brought to this state was quite something. She'd known the guy for six moons. She'd never seen him shed a single tear, even during student movie nights.

Her shock turned to concern, not for Nunnally, but for Lelouch. "Okay…okay I get it. Just…get up off the floor, Lelouch, okay? It hurts to see you in that state."

Lelouch got up, still staring at the floor, arms at his sides.

Hilda gave Lelouch her best, reassuring smile. "Don't you worry about a thing, okay?" she asked rhetorically and chipperly. "Nunna's in good hands." When she realized cheer wasn't winning him over, Hilda spoke to Lelouch with the same seriousness he'd started the conversation with. "You have my word. I'll use every ounce of my strength to protect Nunnally. My crest. My knightmare. All of it." She smiled again. "And don't worry, you don't gotta do that much homework for me. Just tutor me every now and again is all I ask."

Lelouch met her gaze, surprised.

"Hey, come on, I mean, I get it, I'm lazy, but I'm not gonna take that much advantage of you just to do the right thing. Nunnally means a lot to you. I could never take your money or add to your workload over something like that."

Lelouch was stunned. If Hilda didn't take his offer, he half-expected her to ask for a shopping trip instead, maybe even a date. The occasional tutoring? That was it?

"Hilda, do you need a trip to Manuela's office?" Lelouch inquired sincerely.

Hilda nearly guffawed. "Oh for the love of the Goddess!" She chuckled a bit. "Well, if you're in the mood to make jokes at someone else's expense, I guess that means you're coming back to your old self. Tell you what, when Nunna and I get back, I'll treat you out to a nice meal. Girls keep flocking around you for handouts, so I think someone treating you out instead would be a nice change of pace. Don't even think of it as a date, think of it as a big hearty meal to earn back all the calories you'll be giving up from having trouble eating and sleeping while we're gone."

Lelouch had to admit, that did sound nice. "All right, fine. I accept." He then scoffed, smirking. "Who the hell buys someone else lunch as a reward. That's really weird, Hilda."

Hilda laughed. "It's not a reward. It's called doing the right thing. This can't be easy for you. I know you sometimes follow me around when I'm with Nunnally. I may be lazy, but I'm observant you know."

"Ah, busted," Lelouch remarked, sweating. He could have denied it, but what would be the point really?

Hilda laughed silently a bit. "Seriously though, I'll keep a good eye on Nunnally. And don't worry, Raphael, Leonie and I can share the burden, but I get you want me to be basically the airbag to the car wreck, should the worst happen."

Lelouch bowed gallantly. "Hilda, I'm in your debt." He then stood up.

"Really, don't think anything of it," Hilda responded with a smile. She then dropped the act. She spoke seriously and from the heart. Now it was her turn to be a bit vulnerable. "Honestly, I really want to say no to this. I'm not good with responsibility."

"No kidding," Lelouch remarked sarcastically, knowing this was a well-stated fact.

"Hey! I'm trying to spill my guts here! Jerk!" She snapped. She cleared her throat to go back to explaining herself. "Being in charge of Nunnally like this…that's a huge responsibility, one I'm a little scared to screw up."

Nunnally had thought about speaking up in her own defense. She knew she could be self-sufficient. But…she knew Lelouch was just looking out for her. She knew Lelouch wanted her to come back safely. If she denied Lelouch his care…well she didn't want to upset him. She knew she would do the same if the situation was reversed.

"But…I'll do it, okay? People always say the more you do something, the less scary it is. So, maybe I can start with a small responsibility and keep Nunnally safe so that the bigger ones, don't seem so scary, you know?"

Lelouch nodded. He understood perfectly.

"I'll make sure Hilda doesn't have to fret over me, big brother. Unless I'm drowning, I'll be able to take care of myself," Nunnally said in earnest.

Lelouch covered his eyes, sweating. "Please. Don't say it like that."

Nunnally's head tilted down towards her lap. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine. He knows you didn't mean to," Hilda spoke up. "But yeah…with the Royal Miracle at your disposal, drowning really should be the only thing I'd have to rescue you from."

"Could we stop saying that word? This is hard enough as it is!" Lelouch shouted. "I'm…having hot flashes of the worst. The last thing I want to see is a watery grave for the person I care about most."

"Well you won't have to. She's in safe hands, Lelouch. The Golden Deer are on the job," Hilda responded with a firm nod.

Lelouch exhaled all of his tension in one breath. "Thank you, Hilda. This means a lot to me. Honestly, if you bring Nunnally back safely, forget just lunch and tutoring, I'll do my best to get Holst off your back if I can."

Hilda's mouth hung open. Lelouch talk to Holst for her? She wondered if she would suddenly look out the window and see a unicorn gallop across the sky with a rainbow emitting from its multi-colored tail. Still, after processing what Lelouch said, she realized that if Lelouch was putting on the table, that she could at least exploit.

"You know, Holst has actually been wanting to talk to you himself," Hilda said with a smile. "He thinks you um…" she cleared her throat, blushing. "He wants to see if you're um…well…ifyoushouldbemyboyfriend."

Thankfully, or maybe unthankfully, for Lelouch he had exceptional hearing. The faint clink of a pin being yanked out of a grenade, followed by an explosion, burst through his head.

"Oh really, why's that?"

"Well, after we had that…conversation about older brothers…I may have been…mentioning you in some of my chats. Just…good things, hoping he wouldn't worry about me…" Hilda sounded really, really nervous admitting to all of this. "D-don't like, feel singled out or anything, I like tell him about everybody, but…like…uh…"

Nunnally laughed. "You two should date. You'd be cute together!"

"Nunnally!" Hilda shouted in a panic. "No! Er, I mean…I uh…um…ahaha…" Hilda was at a complete loss for words.

"Nunnally, please don't go deciding my future with someone while I'm in the middle of trying to let you go on the most dangerous twenty-four of your life up until now." It could be argued that the day she was found underneath Marianne's body was traumatic or dangerous, but that was a secret only the two of them shared.

Nunnally could only laugh more, feeling better about everything since Lelouch walked in here.

Hilda cleared her throat. "No, but seriously, I'm not ready for a boyfriend yet, but…like…well I don't want to, like…write you off, Lelouch. I mean, not to sound empty or shallow, but you are really handsome. But like…I don't know…" she sized Lelouch up. "When I stare at you, it just doesn't…click, you know? Yet at the same time, you get all the girls just lining up to fall into your lap, and sometimes I think I want a piece of that action myself just to show them all up."

"It's called wanting more out of life than an empty relationship. I know the feeling all too well," Lelouch answered honestly. He began to leave the room. He put his hand on the doorway. "Having said that, I'm not exactly searching for a significant other at the moment myself. So, even if you were interested, you'd be pining after something that didn't exist."

Hilda was now even more shocked. "Wow, and here I just thought you had high standards or, you know, liked men or something. What do you mean you're not interested in a relationship?" Hilda frowned, now way more concerned for Lelouch than with this conversation started. "Aren't you lonely? I mean…I get that you and Nunnally have each other and you've got like Professor Byleth, Shez and Captain Jeralt as like an extended family, but like…you know what I mean, right?"

Even Nunnally sounded concerned. Hilda had a point. "Lelouch, it would mean a lot to me if you found someone to be happy with."

Lelouch sighed, hanging his head. He really didn't want to be having this conversation, least of all with Nunnally in the room. He was ready to be vulnerable about her safety. He was not ready to start spilling his guts about how he felt about the world, his own shredded emotions from the loss of his mother, and why his own ambitions had to come before any long-lasting romantic relationship.

Still, he hadn't really thought about Hilda's question before. Was he lonely? Did he want one? He'd gone so long deciding ahead of time that a relationship was just…out of the question, that he never really considered if the emotional support of even a temporary relationship could improve his morale. Yet at the same time, a short-term relationship was no worse than toying with someone else. He shook his head mentally. He had to escape this conversation and he had to do it now.

He turned around and forced a smile. "Don't worry about me, okay? Nunnally's safety is on the line, so that should be the focus. Give it your all, both of you." He then walked away and went into his room, locking the door.

Hilda sighed. "Well, guess there's no helping it." She scratched the back of her head.

"Hilda."

"Hmm?" Hilda looked towards Nunnally.

"Can you support my big brother where I can't?" Nunnally asked her.

Hilda blushed. "Nunnally, I can't force myself onto him no matter how much you want me to."

"N-No! Not like that!" Nunnally gasped, stuttering. "I meant, like, emotionally, you know, like a real friend. I don't think Lelouch has many people he can call on that are always there to support him, so the more he has, the happier I think he'll be. They say romance always starts with friendship so you never knooooow."

Hilda giggled. "Oh Nunna, cut it out! Ugh! If Holst planning my future wasn't bad enough, I don't need you doing it."

"Speaking of planning, since you're here, could you help me organize my stuff? I don't want to keep everyone waiting."

"Sure thing! You know I'm always around to give you a hand when you want it!" Hilda exclaimed cheerfully.

Before long, Lelouch found himself unable to focus on his internet browsing and found himself wandering the monastery, looking and feeling lost. Much to his surprise, he actually found himself in the cathedral, staring at the statue to Saint Seiros.

From the moment he was old enough to talk, Lelouch had been taught the value of the Goddess, and the value of prayer to her. His mother and his father, and all of his siblings, believed in her. Even Nunnally had attended services at least once during her time at Garreg Mach.

But Lelouch had hardly ever been here, and especially not during services. Sure, it was the best place to encounter Rhea while her guard was down, especially now that he had his Geass. However, the reason he hadn't simply walked into her office and taken her out—knowing full well he could and it would be easy—was because it would be too traceable—not to mention chaotic.

Oh he'd thought about it. He'd thought about how to use his power on her. He could control her, he could force her to kill herself, he could make her disrobe on national television and ruin her. What good would it do? Cameras were everywhere and Seteth was very meticulous. If Rhea died or had a massive change of heart and Lelouch was the last person she'd encountered prior to what happened, he'd be under scrutiny far, far too fast. Sure, a patsy would work. Send a random homeless person in or another student with a knife, but Lelouch had too much moral coding to use an assassin and ruin their life in exchange for what he wanted, and that was only if he wanted Rhea dead.

What spooked him out of just going up to her and doing it was purely the fact that Yuri had outed him and that she had originally wanted him down in Abyss. Sure, he didn't know those things when he first got this Geass power, but back then he hadn't tested its limits. Now that he'd slipped up and Seteth was Geass immune, targeting Rhea became that much harder. Plus, he was also concerned about the fact that she might actually be Seiros, long lived into the days since the rise of Rome's new golden era. If so, he needed to know more about his enemy, or end up in a situation where he was absolutely certain that this was the moment to end it all.

And that wasn't even getting into the fact that Rhea had made peace with his alter ego, Zero. So, as Lelouch stared at the statue of Saint Serios, he had a lot on his mind. His sister, his future, his ambitions, his former family, his current family, and more. But, at the height of his concerns, was Nunnally's safety.

He approached the stained glass window that hung over the statue of Saint Seiros, depicting the Goddess in all her glory. I called you a false goddess, he thought, kneeling before the visage of the sanctified deity. I've trampled upon the very foundation of which I was brought up. He clutched his hands together, eyes shut tight, knuckles whiter than a sheet of paper. But please…if you really do exist, save Nunnally! Let her be safe! I know I've sinned! I know I've hurt people to get here, but Nunnally is the light of my life! I couldn't live in a world without her! Please don't take her away from me! Please don't deal me a cruel fate.

Lelouch could feel his heartbeat in his head, holding his posture, until he finally found enough inner peace to pick his head up. He was about to get to his feet when he turned his head towards the right, toward the room of the statues of the four saints. Someone was in his peripheral vision of that side of him. And when he turned his head, he was both surprised and not to see Rhea right there.

"Good day, Lelouch. I believe this is the first time you've graced my presence personally, although I have had the opportunity to observe you from afar."

"Sorry," Lelouch responded sheepishly, getting to his feet. "I was just leaving."

Rhea smiled. "No need to be in such a rush. It's not as if you're late for class or afternoon prayers were just beginning. But, for someone I've never seen in my cathedral during ceremonies, I happened to notice how desperately you were praying. It isn't my business to ask what for, but…I did see you basically shamble in here. She walked closer to him, taking her usual place right in front of the statue of Saint Seiros. "If you are lost, my child, as archbishop, it is my duty to guide all who seek salvation."

For the first time since knowing of Rhea, Lelouch could not bring himself to growl under his breath and spout his usual, hateful drivel. Perhaps it was her desire to help in his moment of weakness. Perhaps it was because there was a radiant, tranquil calmness to her presence in general. However, Lelouch knew the biggest reason he found it difficult to avoid Rhea's genuine sounding concerned: she came across like a caring mother.

"I…I don't…" Lelouch glanced to one side.

"There's no need to be ashamed. We all show weakness every time and again, even myself," Rhea said, putting a hand on her chest. "If it is something I can help to alleviate, you need only ask."

You could die for one. Ah. There it was. There was his bite.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Lelouch thought to simply leave. The less he deal with Rhea the better. However…perhaps he could turn this to his advantage. Rhea wanted to help? She was about to get far, far more than she bargained for if she was sincere about the offer.

Lelouch checked his phone. It wasn't even noon yet. Nunnally's flight would be taking off in about fifteen minutes. Rhea's office window would catch the skyline of any passing aircraft on its way to Leicester from the hangar. Lelouch put his phone away and took a deep breath. He only had to phrase his request correctly and he could gain a massive advantage against the church for down the line.

"If you're not terribly busy and you're sincere about your offer to help, would you care to play a game of chess with me?" Lelouch asked.

"Chess? I do not mind. I dabble in the game every so often, but…such an odd request."

"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just…I have a lot on my mind, but I learn a lot about someone else from a friendly game. You know, actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes."

Rhea smiled. "I think I understand." She stepped towards Lelouch. "Are you afraid of me, Lelouch?"

The memory of the metal monstrosity that vaporized Tokyo Tower and its echoingly nightmarish roar ran through Lelouch's mind. "Yes. I am."

"Then I do not mind a game at all. I will show you that, as archbishop, I only have the best intentions for all children of the Goddess."

"All right then," Lelouch replied out loud. "Should we go to your office?" However, internally, he only had one word on his mind…

Excellent!

(A/N: Oooh, I hate to cut you guys off there, especially since we have so much to cover before Death Toll actually begins in full, but this chapter is already nearly 15,000 words and after a teaser using Nina Vs Euphemia, I am hoping—if the game wasn't too boring to read—that I can make chess exciting as I show off a match between Lelouch and Rhea. And yes, I'm not going to gloss over Alice and Nunnally's first meeting either for all you Nightmare of Nunnally fans reading this ;D. What? Just cause I didn't like the manga doesn't mean I didn't like the OG cast. We'll see Sancia, Dalque and Lucretia in due time. But, for now, until next time, as always, from all of me to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)