Again, a new Pawn, ready to awaken to her new life.

... Another female peerage member Lelouch realised with a certain disquiet. It wasn't intentional for every member of his peerage save for Sairaorg to be a woman. At least, that was what he kept telling himself, even though they all were, including the ones he traded away. Did he have a bias? Or was he just running across far more capable women than men? There were Arthur's knights, but... Well, he had reason to not take them on. One of them in particular. Bedivere might have been useful, but stealing one of Arthur's subordinates would have been counterproductive for forging a working relationship.

"A fallen angel," Kallen Kozuki commented, arms folded under her bust as she stared at the near nude woman laying in repose. "Won't this be a problem? With, what was his name? Azazel?"

"Maybe but probably not. It would be an incident for Serafall to smooth over if we had killed Raynare and the others in the first place. But we didn't, and Raynare would corroborate that."

"Because you used your geass to make her loyal." The redhead sighed. "You know... With time and distance, I thought I'd get over the kind of crazy love that told me to look past all the horrible things you do. Instead it got worse." She blinked, her posture became straighter. "And she spread it to other people," she said with a Welsh accent before blinking again, her posture relaxing. "And that, yeah. In the end you got your perfect Queen, supporting you in whatever you do. From manipulating love-struck girls to sign themselves into slavery to brainwashing others into the same thing." She sighed in mild resignation. "I guess this time I'm joining you as a villain of the story just like I always wanted."

Lelouch pulled her close with one arm, the other hand tilting her chin up as he stole a kiss. One carrying passion and gratitude. "As for being villains, in a world as vicious as this one, even villains look like heroes. And I couldn't have asked for a finer red Queen."

"Ha! Oh yeah? Funny thing to say when you've got another red Queen. And a black Queen. Maybe you're playing cards instead of chess. Does that mean she's you shopping for your other black Queen?" Kallen asked, glancing at the still sleeping fallen angel. "Ah!" She squeaked as she felt a slap against her backside, that turned into a lingering palm on her ass. "You want her to wake up to us fucking right in front of her?" Even she wasn't sure whether it was said as a warning or a suggestion.

"Tempting." It was with reluctance, but he did let go of her ass, though still held her close. He could feel his Queen's disappointment, but he would be sure to make it up to her. And so the two, or three, settled into a companionable silence as they waited for the new peerage member to awaken.

It was a matter of most of an hour before she did, a time in which Lelouch had dragged Kallen into a chess game. One she was more than happy to abandon for the sake of the new distraction even if she knew Lelouch would have the board memorised ready for them to pick it up later.

"AH!" Raynare woke with a frantic suddenness, launching up into a sitting position and looking around in a panic. "You!" she exclaimed as she spotted her new King. "You... I'm alive? I..." She looked down, saw her uninjured state. With a swallow, she spoke a single word. "God." Two devils flinched, while she felt a stabbing pain in her skull. She doubled over in pain, clutching her head. "Gah! You... You bastard!"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Raynare."

"You turned me! You turned me into a damn devil you son of a bitch!"

"Insulting my mother is uncalled for," Lelouch chided her. "She's a wonderful woman. But yes, I did. Better you live than you die, don't you think?"

"Bastard," she settled for as a response, unable to come up with a better one in the moment. "Mittelt? Dohnaseek? Kalawarner?"

"Dead, I'm afraid. Permanently." He had gotten a chance to see the bodies and... Well, he hadn't intended to take any more of them into his peerage regardless, but the damage they had received was far too much to be repaired by the Evil Pieces. Bisection, decapitation and destruction of the brain? They weren't coming back from that.

"Damn! I can't believe...!" She forced her mouth to shut before she could say any more.

"What happened, Raynare?"

She grit her teeth, flexed her wings only to see they had become devil wings which did her mood no favours. "Those bastard priests!" she hissed as she levered herself to a sitting position at the edge of the couch. "They turned on us! All because of that piece of shit!"

"Who?"

-(-)-

Raynare didn't know what it was about the devil bastard. She had never met him, only watched from afar as was their mission, and yet the very first contact she had with him was so captivating. It was like her entire life revolved around him from that very moment. Like he had such a commanding presence she could do nothing but listen and obey his every command. She had heard stories from older fallen angels. Stories of the Heavenly Father, of the first Lucifer. How they commanded respect and awe.

He was her enemy, yet, she couldn't bring herself to disobey. And although the others didn't say anything, she could tell they felt the same.

Nothing changed that first evening. She spoke to Asia. Reassured her that everything would be fine and they would make sure she was looked after. Then, the next day, she went to the church with Dohnaseek. There to meet one of the Fallen's favoured stray exorcists, Freed Sellzen. A rabid dog of a former priest with a mouth so vulgar that if he tried to read a Bible passage the book would burst into flames before it would let him.

"Ritual is nearly ready! We'll be all good to reach into that sweet little nun, feel around her squishy insides before we send her to heaven!"

"Yeah, we're not doing that anymore."

He had hesitated. Just a little. "Ohhhhh?"

"We'll be following Lord Azazel's original orders," Kalawarner said. "You're no longer needed."

Another hesitation. And this one, Raynare had thought she imagined it at the time, thought he wouldn't have the balls, but there was a glimmer of malice in his eyes. Yet, just like that, in an instant it was gone. "Oooooh, is the little nun just that good at licking your feathery pussies?! I heard nuns are the best at eating box thanks to all the practice they get but–!"

"Enough," Raynare snapped at him. "Just take down the ritual apparatus and get out of here before I clear it all out myself, you included!"

"Ooh, so harsh! I don't get to fuck the cute little nun and Miss Fallen is about to spank me for being bad! Tug on my balls until it hurts, Miss Angel! I deserve it! Ooh!"

Raynare scoffed. "Whatever." She left him there. Assumed he would do as she ordered.

It only became obvious he wouldn't when Asia was quietly stolen from out of her room. Mittelt was supposed to be watching her. Raynare didn't know how the young-looking fallen had failed, whether it was inattention or the exorcists acting quietly, or some form of magic. In the end, some time had passed before they even realised Asia had been taken. The only ones who knew she was there were Lelouch and the exorcists, and so the culprit was clear. They rushed to the church ruins, breached the sanctuary.

And there she was. Beaten, strung up on the cross with Freed in the middle stages of the ritual to remove her Sacred Gear. "Oh look! It's the devil-fucking fallen cunts here to blue-ball me! You couldn't have given me a little more time to get her rocks off?"

"I gave you orders, Freed!" Raynare shouted, watching as the other priests turned to face them. "Lord Azazel–!"

"Oh, is Daddy gonna give me a spanking for being naughty?! Oh no!" He wailed in a childish voice. "Not as bad as he's gonna pound your pasty asses for falling in with a servant of hell!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Stop talking nonsense, she says! Like I didn't see him drag the loli bait home to pop her little cherry! 'Oh no, please Mister Devil, sir! I'm a virgin! Don't ruin my tiny little pussy with your devil schlong'! Then he comes out of the house like nothing happened and all of a sudden you wanna go back on the plan you suggested?! Well I hope you had fun letting him put his stick up your ass!" The priests pulled light guns and swords from their robes, as if they had been preparing for this moment. "Because all your holes are about to get filled with the Lord's cleansing light! Amen!"

The priests raised their guns. "AMEN!" And a volley of bolts formed of light preceded the charge of priests.

"Deal with the small fry!" Raynare ordered as her wings spread wide, flapped twice upward and forward straight at Freed. He met her charge gleefully, the beam of his light sword clashing with her light spear. "Die you worthless, disobedient trash!"

"Ooh, I love dirty talk! Cry sweetly while I fuck you full of holes, okay?!" He was a madman, there were no two ways about it, and he fought like one. That wasn't to say he was uncoordinated. Worse, the unpredictability he exhibited only enhanced the rigorous training he received with the church. Freed Sellzen was a golden boy of the exorcists once upon a time. Trained to be one of their greatest weapons against the devils, taught to hunt and kill any who strayed or defied the will of God. The primary target of such; devils.

Yet as she chanced a glance back, Raynare saw what that meant in real terms. The primary targets of the exorcists were devils. Their weapons designed to feed on their faith, use it to poison the bodies of the sinful creatures of the underworld. Being trained primarily to combat devils didn't undermine how effective the training was against any other opponent, however. Exorcists were trained to kill beings faster than them, stronger than them, with the ability to fly.

Raynare's glance allowed her to see Mittelt consumed by a storm of light bullets.

It also allowed a bolt of light to burn into her own abdomen. "Ngah!"

"Ooh, not sweet enough yet!" Freed cooed plaintively as he licked the smoking barrel of his light gun. "Maybe something more like 'Kyah! No please Master Freed I'm saving that hole for marriage!'"

It wasn't a serious wound. But it spoke volumes. An instant of inattention was enough for him to take advantage. She sucked air through her teeth, burning with fury at the smug creep thinking he could beat her. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Yet... Two hundred exorcists had become about two thirds of that, and Mittelt was gone.

"Dohnaseek!"

And apparently him too... Dammit.

She charged her light spear. Overcharged it.

"Ooh, are we getting serious now?! I'm ready to go steady!"

She didn't take her eyes off him as she launched the powerful attack not at him, but back at the entrance. The javelin tore the air above the exorcists and Kalawarner, before it slammed into the stairway. A blast that utterly destroyed the protections of the sanctuary from the inside, and would declare the situation to any who cared to see. Like the devils.

"Oh Ray-Ray, I don't like you inviting other girls to the gangbang!" Freed complained, swinging his light sword at her, only for her to dodge, go for the cross the girl was tied to.

"Kalawarner!" she called out as she burned the ropes binding Asia, "Cover me!" She carried the girl under one arm, blasting as many priests as she could as she flew overhead.

"Raynare!" Kalawarner shouted back, regret and fury on her face as she once again faced down the army of priests. "I always hated you!"

"I know!" Despite that, as she fled for the exit, Raynare turned and launched another light spear, hoping it might make it easier for the other woman. Maybe give her a chance to survive.

"NOBODY LEAVES THE FUCK ZONE!"

She was falling before she even felt the burn. "KYAHHH!" A shriek of pain left her throat as she saw her seared wing caught between Freed's teeth. She crashed to the stairs, shielding Asia from the impact.

"Oooooh there it is there it is!" Freed crowed. "That sweet voice I wanted. Cry like that while I'm in your ass, okay?! That'd be the best!"

She couldn't stop. He was counting on her. She had to protect the girl. She heard Kalawarner's scream. Stumbled to her feet and ran up the stairs all while Freed took pot-shots at her back. They burned with both pain and shame as she retreated like a coward from some lowly humans, but he was counting on her.

The spring air was almost soothing. Raynare turned, knowing there was only one place the priests could come from and knowing there were no allies who would be among them. All she had to do was turn. Another light spear burned to life in her free hand and was released in a sloppy yet accurate throw. It exploded, killing many and wounding more. Still they came. Freed wasn't among them. The fallen angel, the last of her squad, stumbled back, forcing herself to draw on her light even more. Just enough to kill one. Then another. Even as she felt herself succumbing to her wounds. She couldn't give up. He was counting on her.

"You have something that belongs to me."

"Hurk!" Raynare opened her mouth, to speak? She didn't know what to say. What question to ask. Someone was behind her and... Looking down, she found a sword run through her body. And just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Leaving behind a hole in her belly.

She turned as she fell, saw the ones who attacked her, but that didn't matter. If she fell, if she allowed herself to fall... It would all be over. She was supposed to protect the girl. He had given her a mission. She couldn't disappoint him. She didn't know why his opinion suddenly mattered to her, but she didn't want to be a failure to another person she admired. He was counting on her.

He was counting on her.

With strength she didn't know she had, she slammed her foot down. Rather than fail her, her legs carried her away. There was nothing else to focus on, just to run away as far away as she could, to get away and protect the girl. What was left of her wings worked as hard as they could to carry her faster even if they couldn't support her anymore. But... Even this last desperate burst of strength couldn't last forever. Her body was failing... She was dying.

Raynare collapsed against a tree, cradling Asia in her arms. She couldn't move. All she could do was pray that her enemies wouldn't come for her. That Freed wouldn't follow through on his threats for a final indignity. Her thoughts drifted to Lord Azazel to offer him an apology he would never hear for so thoroughly failing her mission. And then to the mysterious young devil who had so suddenly and unexpectedly captivated her. She did her best. She...

And then... He came.

She didn't know it was him at first. Her vision was dim. When he spoke her name she even tried to attack him, how embarrassing would that have been? "My lord!" she managed to say, but even as hard as it was to form the words, she needed to say more. "I... I did as you commanded, my lord! We protected her!" Just saying that, it took everything she had, but she had to keep going. She had to ask. She had to know. "Are you... Proud of... Of me...?"

Please. Please, someone, be proud of her.

But before she could hear his answer, the world was consumed by darkness and silence.

-(-)-

"... Wait. Why did I tell you that part?" the former fallen angel asked herself, blinking in surprise as during the reliving of her demise she recounted every detail. "Never mind! Pretend you didn't hear that part, got it?! No wait, don't pretend! You didn't hear it! Understand?!"

The aggressive and flushed backpedalling was oddly cute, but Lelouch couldn't focus on that.

So, he was right when he saw that small army of corpses outside the church. He had fallen for the same mental trap as the fallen angels did. He had dismissed the human element. He liked to think it was because he knew what their mission consisted of. They were observing the devils with Sacred Gears. They didn't need an army of priests to do that, or even a handful of them. But, when it came to Asia, they weren't just observing anymore. He hadn't even considered they would bring in outside help for the task of extracting a Sacred Gear. In fact, from Raynare's story they were fairly instrumental in it.

A mistake made once. One that had cost him his chance to have infiltrators among the Fallen. A mistake he wouldn't make again.

"This Freed Sellzen," he prompted.

"Ugh, that bastard." She sounded like she didn't want to talk about him. But there was also a little breath of relief from the change of subject. "A prodigy exorcist for the church who went nuts and went on a killing spree. Granted it was a killing spree of devil contractors, but it was flashy and impossible to cover up so now he's excommunicated and considered a wanted serial killer." Raynare shrugged. "They wouldn't have cared as much if he was quiet about it, but, that's how it is. Problem is, when he was excommunicated it was more like they let him off the leash. He got even more fucked up. Now he's a mad dog we send to solve problems when we don't care how they get solved."

"And he was sent to... You," Lelouch pressed. "To help with the extraction of Twilight Healing."

"Pfft, no. He was our guard dog for the church while we were getting it done. Unfortunately, mad dogs bite their owners."

"That still doesn't add up," Kallen Stadtfeld spoke up, echoing Lelouch's own thoughts. "You don't send someone like that out for guard duty. They're a liability in every way."

Raynare gave her a flat stare. "No. Kidding." Her attention returned to her new King. "We sent feelers out to the more... Ethically open parts of the Grigori, and that's who was sent, along with the other bastards who thought he was worth listening to."

"... Who sent him?"

Raynare shifted uncomfortably, wrapping her arms around her midsection as she looked away. "Kokabiel."

Lelouch nodded, then pulled out some photographs. "The ones who attacked you at the end. You said you got a good look at them. Do you recognise any of these?"

While trying to affect disinterest, she spread the scattered pictures with her fingers, looking at them from the corner of her eye. "This one. And her." Diodora and one of his Knights.

Stadtfeld looked at him. "He must have fled before we got there. And Freed."

Lelouch nodded. It painted a damning picture. Teleportation wasn't something that could be done with the caster getting distracted. The situation as it was, stray exorcists confronted by two devils, there should have been a fight. Instead, the devils were gone, Freed was gone, in the very short time between Raynare's final escape and the Kuoh devils' arrival.

It wasn't a certainty, but along with Freed being chosen for the mission at all, it painted a picture of them working together. Along with this Kokabiel. This wasn't the Old Satan faction. A founding member of the Grigori, getting involved in Diodora Astaroth acquiring a new pet? Lelouch didn't know what the true goal might be, but there were people working together who by all conventional logic shouldn't be working together. It hadn't been how he wanted to learn it, and it came with some humbling mistakes, but he got the outcome he wanted.

Despite his misgivings, he had to get Serafall involved again.

But for now. "Raynare," the heir of Bael said, his tone of voice forcibly dragging her eyes back to him. "You should have informed me of Freed and the exorcists, though I didn't ask so I share the blame. That said, when you discovered Asia was taken, the first thing you should have done was inform me. There was no need to handle this on your own."

"Like hell! This was my problem and I solved it!"

"Not just yours," he reminded her. "And especially not anymore." She looked like his chiding her was physically painful, and so he was glad to continue. "However... You did exactly what I asked of you. You rescued Asia, you protected her with your own life. I'm proud of you, and I'm glad you'll be in my service."

The former fallen gasped, a brilliant flush came to her cheeks as her eyes dilated. And... Well, in her very slight outfit, he could tell her nipples had hardened. "Ah! You...!" However, as immediate as her reaction was, she still forced it down. "You think that makes me happy, asshole?! Telling me you're proud?! A shitty devil?! You even turned me into a devil! Me! And now–!" She leapt over the table and grabbed him by the collar. "You think think that makes me happy?! It does!" Her eyes widened. "Not!" she hastily corrected. "It does not make me so happy I could burst! Why would it?! That makes no sense! Even though the moment our eyes met I–!"

Once again, her eyes widened as she stared at her new master. "Oh no."

Lelouch's eyebrows raised.

Raynare grit her teeth. Seethed. "DAAAAMN IIIIIT!" she screamed, tearing open his pants and pulling aside the slim straps of her clothing. She dropped her soaked womanhood down on his erection in the same moment as she forced her lips against his. "You! You better take responsibility for this you bastard! You damn filthy devil! You took my heart so you better be grateful!"

Kallen, both of her, stared at the display of the former fallen angel, the new devil Pawn, riding her King like a prized stallion. The squelching sounds of her soaked womanhood filled and emptied at a rapid pace as she declared her undying devotion in a way that was both furious and doting.

... Welp. They might be at it for a while. Good time to go get a sandwich.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very very early on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!