Misla Bael had a lot to catch up on. A few years wasn't much in the lifespan of a devil. But for a mother of two, both of her boys on the cusp of adolescence when she fell ill, it was a tragedy. She had almost entirely missed her boys growing into fine young men. Oh, Lelouch was eighteen, sure, but that didn't mean he was all grown up at all. But all that was left for him was to find his place in the world. Something her enterprising older son had already made great strides toward doing. And Sairaorg. Oh Sairaorg. her beautiful boy, so bright and cheerful. How he used to follow at Lelouch's heels, desperate for approval from someone when his father gave little. And now? Misla didn't know what happened. But she saw that some rift had formed between them. They weren't keen to let her see it, but she knew it was there.

What could she do? She was their mother. She wanted to help. But... She had missed so much. Her boys had grown, changed. If she interfered, would she make things worse in her ignorance? It seemed likely.

There was nothing for it. She would have to dedicate her time to catching up with her sons! Find out all about everything she missed!

And along with her boys, she would need to get to know all the people her boys brought into their peerages. Ah, and all of them were women. Well, she didn't think her boys would be like that, but she wouldn't fault them for it. And they were all just so lovely too!

"L-Lady Bael," Kallen said, blushing from her roots down to her prodigious chest. Her very visible chest that was currently in the hands of her King's mother. "Please stop groping me!"

"I'm not groping you, I'm evaluating you!" the Lady Bael countered, her lips pursed as she hefted the younger devil's breasts in her hands. She nodded with approval. Plump, firm, but with a satisfying amount of give to them. Very nice! "Are you and my son having sex yet?"

"N– What do you mean, 'yet'?!" Kallen squeaked. "Why does everyone assume that's going to happen?!"

"Because you're his Queen, dear. I'm surprised you still believe there's a chance it won't. Devils have urges, you see. And in such close proximity at all times, a young man and a young woman, well," she smiled, her mind going back to pleasant memories, "the genders aren't really important."

"Good thing Lissa isn't here for this," Sara commented from the other side of the enormous bath. Or rather lounging naked on the edge with her feet casually splashing in the water. "You know she doesn't like it when you kiss and tell."

"I was sick recently!" Misla protested. "I can get away with just about anything right now!" She grinned over her shoulder at her former Rook, even as her hands strayed low to give Kallen's backside a squeeze. "Now where was I? Oh yes, so I expect all of you will be sharing my sons' beds at times. When you're ready, of course." She glanced to the catgirl happily performing an (ironic) doggy paddle from one end of the bath to the other.

"Too late for me!" the older catgirl announced without shame.

"For us!" Kuisha corrected hotly.

Ah. So Sairaorg's peerage were already getting competitive over him. "Girls, girls! No need to fight! I'll expect both of you to give me a granchild at some point!"

"A g-grandchild..." Kuisha uttered with a furious blush as she sank into the water, in awe at the idea. "Sai's baby..."

Just what a mother wanted to hear!

The one other in the bath with them, well, Misla didn't quite know what to make of her yet. This divine miracle girl blessed with a constructed soul of purity. What was a devil to do in the face of such a thing but want to stain it? Mash seemed content to ignore the conversation going on around her. Instead playing with Shirone, keeping the youngest member of Lelouch's peerage entertained while the grown-ups talked. It was a good thing, Misla decided. It showed that she had good instincts when it came to children. Perhaps she would do well as the nanny for her son's offspring? And of course, Mash's own among them. Could a homunculus have children? Well, more accurately, could this homunculus have children? It would be a hell of a thing for whichever god made her to leave out.

Well. Misla was sure Lelouch would find out the fun way one of these days. With a body like that and such delectable innocence. It was impossible not to be drawn in. To want a taste.

She felt a sudden pressure, someone pushing her. She turned to see a less than pleased Queen glaring at her, station be damned. Oh. She had been groping the redhead all the while. That really wouldn't do. "I'm sorry," she said, imbuing the words with as much genuine contrition as she could manage. "Fun is fun but I... I find I'm a little more absent-minded than I used to be."

Kallen's glare maintained, but softened as her King's mother backed away, correcting her behaviour on top of the apology. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's... Lingering symptom, you know," she explained with a weak smile. "Usually goes away with time, so the doctors tell me." It wasn't important. Misla shook off the thought, prompting a change in subject. Or a return from their digression. "Let's put aside sexually. How are you and my son getting along?"

"Fine?" Kallen asked more than answered. "I mean, I think fine. He can be a pillock, get into his stupid theatrics and he doesn't half get in a strop when things don't go his way." She paused, considering her continuing answer, or whether the next part should be mentioned at all. "It's strange. It always feels like he's hiding so much from me, but not like he's trying to hide things. More like... He doesn't think it's important, or that it shouldn't be important, so he never brings it up." The redhead grimaced, looking away. "Sorry, that probably doesn't make any sense."

"It makes more sense than you might believe." Misla smiled, thinking back to so many years ago, despite it feeling nowhere near that distant. "Lelouch has always been a strange boy. So often serious, and proper. Taking after his father, I suppose. But at the same time it was like... He didn't learn that at all. One day he was a child, carefree, excitable and all the other things you expect of children. And then the next... It was like he had arrived. Who he was, his nature fully formed, all while in the shape of a five year old boy." The mother slumped in the water, leaving only her head visible. "Ever since I woke up, I see Lelouch and it's like, yes, this is Lelouch. This is who he always was, and now the shape fits the nature. Like his mind was just waiting for his body to catch up." She let out a melancholy sigh. "Maybe that's what it is to raise a gifted child. In that sense, maybe I didn't miss seeing him grow up. He was all grown up at five years old."

The young Queen shifted awkwardly, moving away and leaving her with a muttered, "Maybe."

-(-)-

"Lord Lucifer, Lady Leviathan," Lelouch greeted his guests as they emerged from the reception point for teleportation, his Queen by his side. "It has been quite some time since we've spoken outside the context of some celebration or another, Lord Lucifer. And I believe this might be the first time, Levia-tan."

"Mou!" the young-looking female devil powerful enough to smite him without even moving pouted like an anime girl. "Stop calling me that!"

"I remember you insisting I call you that, Levia-tan."

"Yeah, well that was before I knew you were trying to get me to like you so I'd let you steal So-tan's chastity!" She pointed her sceptre at him dramatically. "It won't work! I have seen through your schemes!"

"It's hardly a scheme when I'm not hiding it, Levia-tan."

"Gasp! He admits it! How brazen!" She shook her head, setting her stance as if she actually meant to fight over this. "I'll punish you in the name of yuri yuri justice!"

Lelouch remained confident. That wouldn't happen. She wouldn't do it and Sirzechs wouldn't let her. She put on a good show but they took their jobs too seriously to jeopardise the political climate over something so silly.

He truly believed that.

Even as the room grew unpleasantly cold.

Even as her sceptre began to shine.

Even as a thick layer of ice formed on the surfaces of the room.

Even... Umm... Sirzechs was taking a long time deciding to stop her, wasn't he.

"Serafall," Sirzechs finally spoke again, to Lelouch's private relief. The bastard had to make him sweat, didn't he? "Let's not be hasty. We should at least hear what he has to say before deciding what punishment is in order." He turned his attention the the woman at Lelouch's side. "Miss Stadtfeld, a pleasure to meet you once again."

"Er... You as well, Lord Lucifer."

No one cared to comment on Kallen's slight failure at proper greetings, having been caught flat-footed. Rudolf had focused on her remaining present but unnoticed during meetings of this level. Sirzechs always had a singular charm and comportment about him. It was why he was the Satan responsible for domestic affairs. Trust him to acknowledge someone who most of the Great King faction would happily ignore.

Lelouch guided his guests to a meeting room. Not his father's, the Lord Bael's office. That was a statement Lelouch was neither ready nor comfortable enough to make. Instead a comfortable lounge near the library wherein two tundra serpent leather couches sat across an ebony table from one another. The Satans taking one, Lelouch the other, Kallen standing behind and to the left of him. "Members of my peerage will be along with refreshments soon. Would you care for anything specific? Lady Leviathan? Lord Lucifer?" He quickly conveyed their requests via telepathy magic, crossing one leg over the other. "We have many things to discuss. Where would you prefer we start?"

"I'd like to begin with the most time-sensitive matter, if it's all the same to you," Sirzechs began. "A cure for the sleeping sickness. It's quite an achievement. One you didn't waste a moment capitalising on, not that I blame you at all. Whether it was for your own reasons or not, you likely have the gratitude and esteem of every pillar house." And beyond them, but that remained unsaid. Acknowledging that Lelouch likely also had the gratitude of the Old Satan faction was not in Sirzechs' best interest.

"True," Lelouch acknowledged with an incline of his head. "I felt it important to get ahead of the story that the affliction is no more. It wouldn't be smart to let someone else try to take credit. Though one of the things I felt we must discuss today is the cover story we will create."

"Cover story?" the Lucifer asked.

"For the real cause of sleeping sickness of course." the Bael heir remarked mildly. "It could be a problem if devil society at large learned the true cause. Not least because I promised the Hellenic gods of sleep and the dead that such a thing wouldn't happen." He watched their reactions. "Oh, are we feigning surprise today?"

"Are you saying H– They're responsible for the sleeping sickness?" Serafall asked, with a carefully perturbed expression.

"You didn't know?" Or they were pretending they didn't know. And perhaps their pleading ignorance was for the best for all involved. He believed they knew. If they did, he understood their decision to not act on it, but it wouldn't change how he would loathe them for it. "In any case, yes. And so an alternative explanation must be concocted. I would appreciate the Satans' assistance with this. It would be in everyone's best interest."

Sirzechs gave him something that could potentially be described as a flat look. More like it was the look of someone who had decided the person they were talking to would be a source of as many problems as solutions, do so without warning, and he was trying to be pleasant despite that. "I agree. Another war is in no one's best interest at the moment. I'm sure Ajuka will be able to come up with something that sounds legitimate."

Or the Beelzebub already had. "Excellent. I'll of course be willing to say something along the lines of working with him on the problem. An easier sell for the public and it makes the New Satans look good. Both worthwhile reasons if you ask me," Lelouch offered with a placid smile. "Oh, and of course, I'll leave any dealings with the chthonic gods to you, Lady Leviathan. I wouldn't want to interfere with the affairs of your office."

Serafall had far less desire to appear polite. She stared, not quite glared at him. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like you."

"Oh, and speaking of the affairs of your office. The Hero Faction."

A knock on the door interrupted. Or rather, was arranged to happen at that moment. Kallen opened it, allowing Mash to enter with a tray of prepared refreshments. "Master! Here are the refreshments! Ana said she couldn't find any of the–"

Serafall leapt out of her seat, taking the tray in hand and placed it on a suddenly appearing ice slide to find its place on the table. All so she could grab the Knight's hands and coo over her with a big smile and shining eyes. "She's so adorable!"

"Ah!" Mash uttered with wide eyes, unsure how to proceed with one of the most powerful devils squealing over her. "Th-thank you?"

"Lord Lucifer, Lady Leviathan, my new Knight. Mash ab-Galahad."

"I'm going to call you Gala-chan!" Serafall declared, brooking no argument.

"Gala... Chan?" Mash asked, eyes turning toward her master.

Only for Serafall to steal her attention again. "Would you like to be a magical girl, Gala-chan?"

"I–I, um, I don't know what that is?"

"It's so much fun! You're gonna love it! Beating up bad guys, saving the world with justice and yuri yuri love powers!" She affected a gasp. "You should be on my show! The audience would just want to eat you up!"

"Yuri... Show...? U-Umm, Master–!" Mash squeaked, begging for help.

"Levia-tan," Lelouch interrupted, earning a scowl from the Satan for his trouble. "She's still adjusting. Maybe you're coming on a little strong." Also like hell he would let his Mash get roped into being in the softcore (and occasionally hardcore) porn show that was Miracle Levia-tan. She wasn't going to be doing yuri yuri anything if he had anything to say about it, which he did. Or... Well, there might have been situations where he would be okay with it, but not when others would get to watch.

Serafall scowled at him, put on a smile as she returned her gaze to Mash, only to see the pink-haired girl overwhelmed and maybe a little terrified. "Ah, fine. But think about it, okay? It'll be a lot of fun!" She let the girl go, then moved back to her seat. "Still, it's good you're here too. I want to get a first-hand account from both of you, what actually happened at that castle."

Mash sat next to Lelouch, his hand on her thigh as she recounted her own perspective, muddy as it might have been in her essentially newborn state. And from there, Lelouch filled in the gaps. Of trailing Arthur and Cao Cao, finding the castle, the assault, what Bedivere had confided and his agreement with Arthur afterward.

"He wouldn't tell you who it was?" Serafall asked.

Lelouch shook his head. "I imagine out of self-preservation. Not just to not invoke whichever god's name. But because it would necessitate devils taking a closer look at that god's activities. Such a sudden interest would be suspicious. And with Arthur breaking ties, the suspect would be obvious. The hunt for him would only be fiercer." The Bael shrugged. "The best I could manage was for him not to distrust me. Considering he's trying to emulate Arthur, I'd say that alone is quite an achievement."

"But it doesn't give us much to go on. Someone is trying to stir up trouble. Gathering a bunch of humans with power? It has the potential to upset our unstable peace depending on who they're looking to pick a fight with."

"It's probably us," Sirzechs sighed.

"It's always us," Serafall agreed with her own sigh. "It isn't a lot to go on, but it's something." Lelouch could already see the wheels turning for how she might make use of that information. It could and was often forgotten that for all of her antics and flighty persona, she was very good at and very dedicated to her work. It almost made him feel bad for dumping two major incidents on her back to back. Almost. Not quite.

"Thank you, Mash," Lelouch told his Knight with a smile and a squeeze of her thigh. "You can go back to whatever you were doing now."

"Thank you, Master."

"Call my agent if you're interested!" Serafall shouted at her as she retreated, which only made her flee the room faster. "She'll call."

Serafall's boundless optimism was also quite impressive.

"Well, if that covers the Hero Faction incident, and we can handle the sleeping sickness issue via Ajuka, that would seem to be everything." Sirzechs announced, sitting forward, ready to stand. "I'm afraid we have other appointments today so we won't be able to stay and socialise–"

"Rias has declared her interest in pursuing me romantically."

Sirzechs slowly lowered himself back into his seat. "In what way?"

"Her intent, as I learned after it was too late, was to become my Queen."

"I see." Lelouch could read the conflict on the Satan's face. There were... Rumblings that the Crimson Satan's affection for his sister strayed into unsavoury territory. Not that such a thing was considered as taboo for devils as for humans. Whether it was true or not, Lelouch could see a familiar conflict in the Satan's eyes. Love warring with possessiveness. Wanting the best for her and wanting to keep her. "Obviously that is no longer possible, assuming you don't wish to relinquish your Queen."

"No." An answer given without hesitation, getting Kallen's attention. Not that anyone cared to comment on it.

"Taking her into your peerage by other means would be a disaster waiting to happen. And given the factional politics involved, marriage is off the table." Sirzechs shook his head, getting to his feet. "If it's what she wants, then I'll be sad to disappoint her."

"I discussed it with Zekram," Lelouch continued, looking up at the Satan with eyes alone. Leaving out a great many details and disagreements involved as he summarised, "He has given permission for me to make Rias the next Lady Bael."

And for the second time, Sirzechs Lucifer slowly sank back into his seat. "I see." His mouth opened, but he repeated the action twice before words continued to emerge. "I don't know how you managed that, but that would remove a lot of obstacles. Is that what Rias wants?"

"Joining my peerage would have been even more of a commitment," Lelouch noted, unable to hide all of his unease discussing this subject. "She would have given up her freedom to be with me. I can't imagine she'd think less of marrying me."

"Charmer," Serafall sniped.

Sirzechs put a hand on her arm, a signal for her to ease up as he continued to look at Lelouch. He breathed a laugh. "You're Uncle Herodotus' son alright. So. Why tell me?"

"Zekram's okay solves the issue of factional politics. It doesn't solve the difficulties between myself and Lord Gremory," Lelouch admitted.

"You're asking for help with my father?" the Lucifer asked.

"He seems to be nursing a very understandable grudge against me."

"Is that what you think?" The red-haired Satan leaned back, interlocking his fingers over his chest. "You're mistaken. You haven't spoken to him since?" Lelouch shook his head. "That's more your fault than his. He doesn't hold a grudge. Mother wouldn't let him keep that up for long. It's more... He doesn't quite know what to make of you."

Lelouch could only feel confused. And perhaps a little suspicion for how carefully Sirzechs had seemed to phrase that. Pausing to find the right words. Putting a pin in that, he concluded, "He wouldn't refuse outright."

"I expect you'd need to negotiate as we all do for these things. Rias' agreement will go a long way, given how the last arrangement ended." Not mentioning how Lelouch was almost entirely responsible for how that last arrangement ended. Bottom line, it was still halted because Rias didn't want it. "If you have Zekram's approval and Rias' approval, Father is the only obstacle, and he's far easier to overcome than you might believe. Despite what you may think, Father wants her to be happy. He thought the Phenex arrangement would be a path to that outcome, eventually. If being with you would make Rias happy, he won't stand in your way."

"Are you planning to break my So-tan's heart?" Serafall interjected. Her question asked with a cold and quiet anger.

"No," Lelouch answered, perhaps quicker and more insistently than he would have preferred. But the appearance of confidence was worth far less when Serafall believed she had a legitimate reason to be furious with him. "This... To be perfectly honest with you, Lady Leviathan," he chose not to use the nickname given the circumstances, "From what I can tell, this was what both Rias and Sona wanted, not that they cared to tell me until their plot fell apart. The idea that I would be Sona's consort to provide her heirs, while Rias would be my Queen, and I would need to find a Lady Bael. Neither imagined I would acquire permission to marry Rias. Becoming consort to the Sitri heiress was unlikely on its own. But now, with how the situation has developed, there is the potential for everyone to get what they want–"

"Do they?"

"Serafall..." Sirzechs spoke with a slight undercurrent of warning.

"So-tan has a crush on you and you kept that going. But do you love my So-tan?" Serafall demanded. "Will you protect her heart and her happiness with everything you are the same as I do?"

"That's an unfair question, isn't it?" Lelouch asked, floundering more than a little. "Our relationship has barely begun. As for protecting her, all the time I've spent with her tells me she doesn't want protection. She wants support." Sona wasn't a girl who wanted a knight in shining armour or anything like that. She wanted someone who was on her level. Someone to be her partner, not her minder.

"And is that what you do? Support her?" the Leviathan asked hotly. "Seeing her once every few months to talk and play chess. That's support? That's romance to base a marriage on?"

"No, but that's not what you were asking–!"

"It's what I'm asking now." The former Sitri glared at him, full of resentment and bitterness. It was plain as day that her objections were more than just wanting what was best for Sona. "I'm not supposed to interfere in my old house anymore. But I always make exceptions for Sona. She's decided she's going to go to school in the human world. Says it's to learn vital skills for her future ambitions. I want you to go with her. I want you to prove you can be more to her than an occasional game of chess. And if you show that your lives are better for the other being such a huge part of them, then..." Her breath hitched, just slightly. Barely enough to be noticeable. "Then I won't stand in the way. But until then, I won't allow it."

Sirzechs looked at his friend and equal, silent for half a moment. Before deciding to take the attention away from her. "Rias will also be going. Not for the same reason. She just... Well. The school is in Japan." Despite the heavy atmosphere, a slight smile found its way onto Lelouch's face. No more explanation was needed. "This would be a delicate arrangement. Potentially massive for mending the rift in devil society. Making sure it's genuine, and with a solid grounding, it would benefit all parties. And... I can't deny Serafall makes a good point. If you want to marry Rias, you should do so for more than the emotional upheaval of youth."

-(-)-

Somehow, Lelouch found himself doing something he never really did. After Sirzechs and Serafall had left, he had a lot to think about. In the past he would do so in the library, or in the training room if his thoughts tended darker. But today, he found himself drawn upward. to the top of the highest tower of Bael Castle.

It was probably strange to be feeling sentimental. It wasn't like he would never come back. Hell, he could come back whenever he wanted. Still... This castle. It had been his home. Longer than any place he had ever lived. The entirety of this new life, eighteen years he had lived in this castle. The idea of leaving at all felt strange. Such a change from his first life when he had never felt secure or safe in any place after Marianne's murder. Always ready to flee at a moment's notice in case they were ever discovered.

Maybe this was the first time he truly felt like he was leaving home.

"Lulu."

Lelouch startled, turning to see his brother wearing a serious expression. "Sai." Things had been difficult between them since their falling out. They hadn't spoken much. And what little they did, it just reaffirmed their problems all over again. "Did you come looking for me?"

"Kallen said something about you living in the human world for a while."

"Yeah," Lelouch confirmed with a nod, returning to looking out across the grounds. "Lord Lucifer and Lady Leviathan want me to... I suppose prove my intent to be a good husband to Rias and Sona. They're going to be attending a school in Japan. We're going with them." He turned back with a hesitant smile. "Don't worry though. It should be fun. Maybe you'll even find some more people to fill out your peerage–"

"I'm not going."

The elder brother's heart sank. "You want to stay here. I understand. We just got Mother back, after all." He swallowed. "Sai, I–"

"I'm not staying here either."

Lelouch was completely lost. "I don't understand."

Moving to stand next to him, the larger yet younger brother observed the same view as Lelouch. His long hair swaying in the wind. Before he regarded his brother again. "I'm going to... Go my own way for a while. I need to figure some things out."

"Sai, you know I don't look down on you or anything like that," Lelouch half-argued, half-pleaded. "What I said before the ritual, it came out wrong. I just want–"

"To protect me," Sairaorg finished. Even smiling while he said it. "I know. I knew at Camelot. You had me and Sara. They had two strong knights and a bunch of weak ones that could never be a threat. But you sent me after the weak ones. You let Bedivere be a threat to you, just so I wouldn't have to fight him alone. And then when you had no choice... You still told me to hold off until you knew what he could do. Until you knew I would win." He shook his head, patting Lelouch on the shoulder. "I get it now. It's not that you don't think I can win. You're terrified of what might happen if I lose."

"Of course I am!" Lelouch confirmed without hesitation. "You're my brother!"

"And you're mine. And that's why I have to go. I'll find my way. And when I get back?" He puffed out his chest, hands on his hips as he wore what he probably hoped was a reassuring grin. "I'll be someone you'll never have to fear losing! The unbeatable, unbreakable Sairaorg Bael!"

"Sai–!"

The more muscular Bael wrapped Lelouch in a hug. "Thank you. Your over-protectiveness is a pain, but I know without a doubt just how much you care." And with a pat on the back, "I love you too, big brother." Without warning, Sairaorg's wings emerged and he carried the two of them up into the air, before kicking Lelouch away to far outside the castle.

"SAI!" Lelouch watched as his brother darted away from his previous position. Disappearing over the wall.

Where would he go? It would be foolish to leave on foot or by air. It would be easy to follow. Which meant...

With all speed, Lelouch moved around to the nearest castle entrance, flying through the halls toward where he knew Sairaorg would be. And he was right. As he entered the teleportation room, he got just a glimpse. Kuroka. Kuisha. Sairaorg's smiling face. And then... They were gone. Lelouch's wings disappeared, leaving him to drop to his knees.

He began to laugh. A terrible, wretched, teary-eyed laugh at just the absurdity of it all. Sairaorg declaring that Lelouch would never have to fear the pain of losing him. And then...

"You idiot..." Lelouch whispered through his sobbing laughter as tears ran freely down his face.

-(-)-

Kallen Stadtfeld sat on her bed, contemplating the day's events. Even with a meeting with the highest authority of the devils, people with 'Satan' as their job title, she didn't think the day would have been quite that eventful. The meeting itself had gone in a direction neither she nor her King had expected. In a direction that had the potential to dictate the next few years of their lives. And then only a few hours later... Sairaorg decided he had enough. Decided to strike out on his own with his own peerage.

She had no idea it would happen, despite the friction between the brothers. She had even less idea of just how hard it would hit her King. His strong front was as fragile as glass. Ana had gone to bed with him, comforting him as she tended to in moments like these.

Lelouch... He seemed like a good person. Shrewd. Cunning. Manipulative. But he had a good heart. Such a strange thing to think about a devil.

But... He wasn't always a devil, was he?

She stared at the vial in her hand. The extract of a certain lotus flower. Lelouch had wondered how she had acquired it so easily. She had told a half-truth, then. Not letting on that she already had some, thanks to Celia Cartier. Who... For her own reasons, had an interest in Kallen exploring her own dreams. In ways similar to how the guildmistress had done so in the past. And had gained her own curiosity regarding Lelouch as a result.

But the green-haired witch had lost her nerve. Had refused to engage with what she had seen. Refused to ask the man himself when he came calling. Instead... She passed the opportunity to Kallen, to take or refuse it of her own volition.

'I saw glimpses of a life I never lived. A single pleasant moment does not change my mind. I want no part in it. But perhaps you might.'

Blowing out a breath, Kallen tipped the substance past her lips, swallowing it down before laying flat on her bed. And just like her King when he ingested the substance, she was out immediately.

"Are you sure about this?" Ddraig asked, flying circles around her in the odd and incomprehensible dreamscape. "I can guide you, and you're safe from the sleep guys thanks to your King's precautions. But... My host. Is this what you really want?"

"I need to know."

"You don't," the dragon argued back. "No one but that witch knows or cares about this. Once you open this door, you might not be able to close it again."

"Okay," Kallen allowed, "I don't need to know. But I want to. I want to know what he's hiding from me. From everyone." He might not have thought it was important. Or maybe he thought it would only hurt her.

But it involved her. It was the reason he brought her into his peerage in the first place. She had a right to know.

"Alright," the dragon sighed. "Stick close."

Kallen jogged along as the red dragon of domination flew in lazy circles around her, guiding her path toward where she wanted to go. A simpler prospect than she could realise. Just by wanting to go there she would find her way there eventually. Such was the logic of dreams.

And find her way she did. To a strange location, with a plummeting spire of odd shapes, faces and objects leading down to what looked like a golden planet.

And as her eyes followed that spire toward the planet, it responded. This inexplicable whatever it was. This representation of Lelouch's secrets. It understood her scrutiny, and provided for her an understanding. A view of something she couldn't know through a window in her waking mind.

And Kallen saw.

Only fragments. But fragments of a life she never lived.

Of a rebellion.

And a revolutionary known only as Zero.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen early by my generous supporters on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! Fear the P! Love the P!