Code Guardian (Code Geass X Destiny)

[Flameal15k]

Shirley made her way to the student council in a daze, a feeling of emptiness inside of her. She ended up being the first to arrive (aside from Milly and Nunnally), and swiftly pulled up a charge and sit down, face devoid of emotion.

Soon, they were joined by Rivalz and Nina. Shirley had trouble looking him in the eye, and he trouble doing the same - he was the reason that she was so very, very out of it.

It had happened two months ago. Lelouch and Rivalz had, unsurprisingly, been gambling. Why Lulu wasted his talents on something like that Shirley would never know. Unsurprisingly, he'd won - Lulu never lost a game of Chess. Their opponent had been a lady noble, who'd been utterly dumbfounded by this turn of events. Reluctantly, she'd paid them in full, before demanding they leave, which Rivalz had obliged.

On the way back, though, there'd been an accident, which had forced the duo to take a detour. She wasn't sure what had happened next, but it had ended with Rivalz and Lelouch caught in the crossfire between the military and a group of terrorists, which had ended with Rivalz' bike crashing and Lelouch's phone broken. Trying to seek help, Lelouch had taken shelter in a nearby building and tried to use the phones to call for an ambulance.

Then part of the building exploded. The part Lulu was inside.

The military had checked the rubble after the terrorirsts had retreated, but they didn't find any bodies in there. As far as they knew, Lelouch had somehow been vaporized.

No one in the student council had taken things well. Rivalz had blamed himself for this, saying he should have found a different way to get them back to school. Milly had been more muted in her sorrow, but she had clearly taken the news badly - her family had taken Lelouch and Nunnally in after their parents died during the Pacific War, making them as close as siblings, though Shirley suspected Milly's feelings weren't entirely platonic. Nina wasn't all that close to Lelouch, but Shirley could tell that the bespectacled girl missed the Student Council Vice President.

And then there was Sayoko and Nunnally.

Anyone who knew Shirley knew that she was in love with Lelouch - she practically had her feelings written on her forehead. The teasing she got from the swim team tended to center on that. But Sayoko and Nunnally were in a class of their own - the former had practically raised Lelouch, and the latter was his sister. The two had known him for most of his life, and shared a bond that Shirley wasn't certain even she wouldn't be able to form with the dark haired boy, even before this had happened.

Sayoko had understandably taken the news extremely poorly, outright stating that she had failed Lelouch. It'd been so bad that Nina, who Shirley knew hated Elevens, had offered the woman her sympathies and insisted that there was nothing she could have done to help.

As for Nunnally?

The wheelchair-bound girl just seemed to have shut down. She'd barely talked to anyone aside from Sayoko, only showing up as needed for classes, and otherwise spent her time in her room, where Shirley was sure that she cried quite heavily - that was what Shirley had been doing. Only the student council had noticed, but Lelouch had been a crutch of sorts for his sister, a light that motivated her to keep striving forward in spite of her disabilities. Without him, she just deflated. She was alive, yes, but living meant more than surviving.

Any further musing was cut off by Milly clearing her throat. "Alright, I know everyone still feels terrible about what happened a month ago, but we need to discuss some things. One thing for certain."

"Is this about the budget?" asked Rivalz.

"No," answered Nunnally, much to everyone's shock. "This is about me and my brother."

Rivalz, Nina, and Shirley all froze up. "Eh, right now?"

"Yes," confirmed the brown-haired girl. "I need to get this off my chest."

"A-alright," agreed Shirley. "What is it?"

"A couple of things, but first, I want you to know this - Lamperouge isn't our family name."

"Huh?" wondered Rivalz.

"It was our mother's maiden name - the one she had before she joined the army."

"But you said that she was a fashion design-"

"That was a lie for our safety. Our mother joined the army when she was younger, and she ended up bieng an amazing knightmare pilot - enough to climb very high in the ranks."

"How high?" asked Shirley, sorrow forgotten for the moment. "Was she a Knight of Honor?"

"...Actually, she was the Knight of Two."

You could almost hear the sound of Rivalz, Nina, and Shirley's world shattering. "W-what?"

Nunnally took in a deep breath. "When my mother was married, her name was Marianne vi Britannia."

Nobody spoke up for a long time after that.

XxXxX

At the same time as that revelation, in a hidden grove on the Narita mountains, a bronze form fell to the ground, twitching for a moment, then going still. Nearby were other such bodies, in varying states of dismemberment. Wordlessly, a figure clade in in strange white armor walked up to corpse, taking a moment to look it over before turning their attention toward the horizon and the city that lay on it.

A tiny drone floated up by him, examining the city with curiosity. "I've never seen a city like this before - not even in pictures from the Golden Age."

"Me neither," acknowledged the figure. "But it feels, familiar."

"Really, Guardian?"

"Yes," acknowledged the Guardian, taking off his helmet so that his purple eyes could stare down at the urban settlement before him. "I don't know why, but I recognize it."

"I see. So, what do we do next."

Putting his helmet, the Guardian glanced at his Ghost. "Tell the vanguard what we found while examining the Glassway. Then, investigate this further."

"I see. Understood, Lelouch."

"Thanks, Absalom."

XxXxX

AN: Doing a Code Geass/Destiny crossover, posting it here now.

Bet you weren't expecting for Lelouch to (apparently) die before the story started and Nunnally to reveal the truth to the Student Council.

I did consider having Lelouch and Nunnally both vanish and become Guardians, but I thought having Lelouch vanish and Nunnally spill some secrets to Nina, Rivalz, and Shirley was more interesting.

As for Lelouch's loadout:

Kinetic: Hailing Confusion
Energy: Duality
Heavy: Commemoration
Armor: Channeling Suite
Ghost Shell: Wish Maker Shell
Jumpship: Vaultstrider
Sparrow: Crota's Exile

 

[Flameal15k]

Absalom watched, quietly, as the children retreated from them. For a moment, his guardian observed in silence, then tried to offer them a snack - one of the nutrient bars they packaged for hiking back at the Last City.

When the children proved too scared to accept the offer, though, he was reluctantly forced to move on. He did throw the snack - or five - toward them, though, just in case. Sure enough, when they thought he was far enough away, they descended upon the discarded food. Hunger had won out over caution.

"This feels…wrong. Being treated with fear."

Lelouch sighed. "Yeah. I know. Even the House of Light is more…unguarded than them."

"They are…though, I think I might have an idea why things are this way."

Lelouch glanced at his ghost. "Explain."

"Alright. So, first off, based off what I can scan on the local equivalent to the …I think molder civilizations called it the Internet, I think we are in an alternate timeline."

"With the Vex, anything is possible."

"True. As for some differences, it looks like in this timeline, the various American states never existed - apparently, the revolution that produced the United States ended in British victory. Then, during the Napoleonic Wars, the British Royal family was forced to evacuate to the colonies after some successful campaigns by Napoleon, leading them to christen their new domain the Holy Britannian Empire. From there, they started expanding everywhere they could - they took all of the Americas, then spread wherever else they could. Conquered nations would be renamed as a numbered area based on order of conquest. We're in Japan, or as Britannia calls it, Area 11."

"I see. Where, specifically, are we?"

"We're in Shinjuku Ghetto, thanks to all of your walking. The closest major settlement that isn't filled with rubble would be Tokyo. It's the center of the Britannian Administration and…huh. That's odd."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow beneath his mask. "What?"

"I was checking through the notable places in the settlement, and it turns out that there's a high school there called Ashford Academy."

Lelouch froze up. Wordlessly, he materialized an item in his hand - an ID card, of all things, which be swiftly glanced over. Absalom had restored it in the process of raising him in Old Russia, and while most of the equipment he'd started with had been discarded (excluding his Khvostov), the card had remained, on the off chance he might find out more about it.

Only Cayde of the Vanguard and Ana Bray knew about this, and Caude had taken that secret to the grave.

"…You wondering if you came from here?"

"Yes."

"I guessed as much. Looking through the students now and…oh."

"What did you find? I am on the student roster?"

"Yes. Here's what it says: Lelouch Lamperouge, Ashford Student Council Vice President. High marks when he tries to apply himself, but noted to be lazy and disinterested in class most of the time."

Lelouch heard all of this in silence, then snorted. "I guess I might have been a delinquent, then."

"Maybe, but - what?"

Lelouch was on the alert. "Are we in danger, or were you surprised?"

"The latter - it looks like this Lelouch stopped attending school a month ago. Officially, he received a position that required him to move to closer accommodations."

"…Unofficially?"

"A funeral report was filed."

"…Anything else?"

"Let me check - oh my Traveler."

Lelouch grabbed his ghost and looked him straight in the eye. "What is it?!"

"Something else about you I found important."

"Oh, what is it this time? I had harem? I gambled extravagantly. I'm secretly royalty? I have a corporation to my name?!"

"Not quite?"

"Then what is this important detail?"

"….You have a younger sister."

Lelouch felt his pent up rage freeze and fall out of him. "…What?"

"According to the Ashford records, Lelouch Lamperouge has a younger sister named Nunnally Lamperouge, who due to an accident when she was younger was rendered blind and paraplegic. Apparently, the two of them lived in the Ashford Student Council clubhouse to make things easier for Nunnally. From what I am reading, you two were…very close."

Lelouch remained silent for all of this, but that only lasted a short while after Absalom stopped speaking. At that point Lelouch slumped to the ground, confused and unsure how to act.

"…What do you want to do now?"

Glancing at Absalom, Lelouch took a deep breath. "…We're heading back to the portal. The Vanguard needs to know about this, know where those ghosts went. Then we can-"

Any further conversation was cut off by a strange feeling that passed over ghost and guardian. Confused, both beings glanced in the direction of the Tokyo Settlement, where they could feel something headed their way.

"…What…is that?" wondered Absalom.

"I have no idea," was Lelouch's reply. "But I feel like it is getting closer."

"..You want me to see if there's anything in local communications to explain this?"

"Do it."

"On it…found it!"

"What?"

"It looks like the military is pursuing a group of terrorists toward Shinjuku. Officially, they're after a stolen cache of chemical weapons."

"Unofficially?"

"The target is a top secret weapon that is related to the development of super soldiers. That's all I got."

"…Plot a course toward them. Use tunnels and out of the way paths when possible!"

"On it!"

XxXxX

Milly glanced at Shirley. Then she glanced at Nina. Then back at Shirley.

"Should we-"

"I'll do it," answered Milly.

Then, taking a deep breath, she snapped her fingers.

Shirley promptly let out a shocked 'eep!', then started looking around in confusion. "What happened?!"

"You spaced out."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Was there something on your mind?"

"I was just….thinking about something Nunnally said."

Milly's expression soft ended - Shirley had been taking to helping Nunnally handle things ever since Lelouch had…disappeared. It'd been difficult, but she had managed. Though, as of late, things seemed to be taking a turn for the worst.

"What was it about?"

"She said it was something Hope told her - something about a feeling a change would be coming soon."

Milly couldn't help wincing at that - this was what she had meant by a turn for the worse. About a month ago, Nunnally had started talking about someone named Hope. Who that was she had never specified, leading Milly to eventually come to the conclusion that they didn't exist - at least, not in the real world. It appeared that, to cope with her brother's death, Nunnally had created an imaginary friend. And she was becoming very attached to that friend.

The student council had humored her, at first. Pretended to talk to Hope (who was a she), include her in their meetings, even offer her gifts. They even tried to make up their own friends so that Nunnally would feel less alone. That, unfortunately, seemed to have backfired, because then Shirley started treating her imaginary friend, Ariel, the same way Nunnally treated Hope. This had left Milly, Rovalz, and Nina scratching their heads. Clearly, things weren't working.

Glancing at Nina, Milly made a mental note to hold an emergency meeting later with Nina and Rivalz - it might be getting time to stage an intervention.

Though, that didn't answer the question why Shirley was staring in that direction specifically. The only thing important that way, at the moment, anyway, was Shinjuku, where apparently the Knightpolice were doing…something.

Milly hoped they never ended up coming here.

XxXxX

"What's this about my sister and one of the Ashford Student Council having imaginary friends?"

"It's a recent development," clarified Absalom. "According to what I can tell, it only happened a month ago for Nunnally, and two weeks ago for Shirley Fennette. Milly's privately expressed a feeling that this is a way they are coping with your disappearance."

"I see," was Lelouch's reply. Hitting the air break on his sparrow, Lelouch made a sharp left turn and continued down the tunnel. "Before you go on, is the feeling from earlier getting stronger?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good, I'm not the only one feeling it. So, any updates on that front?"

"Looks like there are two terrorists in the truck carrying the cargo - make that one terrorist."

"Did one die?"

"No - she is piloting an obsolete walker of some sort to try and defend the cargo truck. What are those walkers called - "

"Knightmare Frames."

"Huh?"

"I saw the name on one of the papers you restored with me when we first met in Russia..somehow. I still don't know how you managed to reassemble all of my school things."

"I have no clue on that either. Anyway, the woman is piloting an old Knightmare called a Glasgow against a Britannian force using the newest production models, called Sutherlands. She's…well, she is doing better than I expected."

"How badly is she losing?"

"She's lost one arm and a weapon, and is currently on the retreat. Also, the truck was shot at by a second Sutherland and I believe the driver is injured. He's taking a detour into the maintenance tunnels toward Shinjuku Ghetto."

"Which way do I need to go?"

"Marking route now - I'm going to try and divert him toward one of the lesser used tunnels."

"You sure they're a man?"

"That hardly seems relevant, but it was my fault for being it up, so yes - he is a man. Also, getting worrisome reports from the guy in charge of this place, Viceroy Clovis la Britannia."

"What about him, besides him being royalty?"

"He's looking into coverup methods for this incident already. Worst case scenario? He levels the ghetto."

"…Damn it. Do what you can to obfuscate any orders along those lines, and figure out a way for us to handle things."

This is getting too complicated.

"Wishing you had Eqin and Wendy-3 with you?"

Lelouch sighed. "Any of the Black Knights would be nice right now."

"Well at least you'll have a story to tell when you get back to the clan hall."

"True."

XxXxX

It took an additional fifteen minutes of driving, but Lelouch finally found the truck he was trailing. As they neared, he noted that the vehicle had deployed a distress beacon - one that was unlikely to be detected in this maze of tunnels. Bringing his sparrow to a stop, the Warlock cautiously made his way to the front of the vehicle, trying not to surprise the driver. Said caution proved to be unwarranted, though - the terrorist had passed out, having taken an injury and suffered significant blood loss. After a moment of internal debate, Lelouch had pulled him from the vehicle, used solar light to heal his wounds and stabilize him, and hidden him away in one of the smaller tunnels. Once the fighting was over, he'd either rescue the man himself or direct the rebel's allies to find him - then he could leave this world in peace.

This, however, needed addressing first - whatever was in this truck, it was making all the hairs on his body stand on edge. Approaching the truck's cargo area, Lelouch summoned up his ghost. "Absalom, what's in here?"

The Ghos tin question said nothing at first, instead focusing on scanning the object before them. "Well, the outer shell matches up with the shape of a chemical weapons platform. As for the inside…oh."

"Absalom?!"

"…There's a release switch on the right side of the canister relative to where you are standing. Pull it, because I can't really give a good explanation here."

Though he gave his ghost a non-pluses look, Lelouch obliged him. The bomb suddenly started to shake, then without warning split open, releasing a strange light…

And filling Lelouch and Absalom's world with pain.

Shaking in agony, Lelouch collapsed to his knees, while his ghost struggled to stay afloat. Fortunately, the pain only lasted a moment, and soon he was shakily standing again.

"Absalom, what the hell was that?"

"Not sure, but I feel…wrong."

"How wrong?"

"…Like when we first encountered Ghaul wrong."

Lelouch froze up for a moment, then threw out ab open palm at one of the truck walls. The blast that followed was…disappointingly small.

"…Did whatever just happened..drain our light?"

"..I'd say suppressed, but otherwise, yeah. I think it even affected your link to the Darkness."

Lelouch groaned in annoyance, then turned toward the open bomb canister.

There, much of his shock, was a green haired girl wearing a straight jacket.

'She's the reason my light is suppressed?"

As Lelouch looked over the girl, he soon realized that she was awake and, more importantly, looking at him. Clearing his throat, he prepared to speak, only for Absalom to cut him off.

"We've got company."

Glancing outside, Lelouch barely managed to suppress his shock as a soldier flew at him, directing a spin-kick at his head. Years of Crucible, Vanguard, and Gambit training took over, and the Warlock ducked under the attack, causing his opponent to fly past him and land on the inside of the truck. His foe turned to face him, only for Lelouch to extend his palm. The blast of energy that followed, while small, was enough to hurl the soldier into the back wall and knock him out cold.

Lelouch considered finishing his foe off, but the sound of other soldiers approaching prevented him from following through. Grabbing the girl, Lelouch ducked into a nearby tunnel and started making his way toward the surface.

XxXxX

Ten minutes passed as he dragged the girl through the tunnels, moving cautiously to avoid enemy patrols. Absalom had managed to stay inside of the Britannian network, snd confirmed that the worst possible outcome had occurred - Clovis was liquidating the ghetto and all of its inhabitants. The female rebel his ghost had mentioned earlier had apparently been joined by others in trying to repel this attack, but they were outnumbered, outgunned and outmaneuvered. Lelouch felt the desire to aid them, but with his powers on the fritz, that didn't seem possible.

As he finally newred the tunnel's exit, he heard the sounds of panicking civilians, all wondering what was happening. Sensing a renewed need for caution, Lelouch set the girl down behind a sturdy roof support, then peaked around at the crowd.

He only observed them for two seconds before a Britannian squad burst through and started opening fire.

Lelouch had seen much death in his time as a guardian. But watching the children in that crowd hitting the ground and going still would haunt him for a long time to come.

An errant bullet hit him in the shoulder, causing the Warlock to growl in pain. Instantly, the Britannian squad was focusing their guns at him, demanding he stand up. Groaning, he complied.

The squad leader - a member of the royal guard, according to his ghost - soon demanded he remove his helmet, which he reluctantly complied with. What followed was a spiel about being surprised over the ethnicity of the terrorist, that he was impressed that someone who should still be in school got this far as a terrorist, and mock apologies for having to kill him. Lelouch mostly tuned him out as he glanced at the girl.

"Can you still revive me?"

"Yes, affirmed Absalom. " I have enough power for that.

A shift of his eyes confirmed that the green-haired girl was still behind the pillar, which his would-be executioner had failed to notice. Good, that simplified things - the man would excite him, not notice the girl, then leave, after which Absalom could revive him and they could b Ron their way.

Speaking of the Royal Guard Captain, he'd just finished his rant and was ordering his squad to fire. Oh well - this wasn't the most humiliating way to go, but it did annoy him a little that he had to die in this-

"HE MUSTN'T DIE!!"

What?!

Lelouch watched in shock as the green haired girl fell to the ground in front of him, a bullet lodged in her forehead. Oddly, there was a symbol there he hadn't noticed before - one that resembled a bird in flight.

Confusion filled Lelouch - how could she just sacrifice herself for him, for that was clearly what she had done. He, a boy she knew nothing about, was worth more than her own life.

As the Royal Guard started to complain about what had happened - something about what her brought back alive - Lelouch reached within himself, trying to gather what power he could, for he would not let her death go unavenged. Yet even if death, she seemed to restrain his might, leaving the warlock with only the barest fragments of his strength. Grimacing, he awaited the second attempt at execution, looking forward to shocking the guardsmen when he returned from death.

Then he felt a hand around his own, and everything changed.

XxXxX

Lelouch found himself in what looked like a kaleidoscope- a world filled with innumerable colors. He seemed to be surging toward somewhere, but the exact destination was unknown.

"You don't want it to end here, do you?"

Turning, Lelouch saw the girl's body now drained of color and features except for her face. "You appear to have a reason for living. If I grant you power, could you go on?" Now new images appeared - worlds both familiar and alien, ranging from Earth, to Titan, to a gas giant he thought resembled Neptune, and a desert planet very much unlike Mars. "I propose a deal." Now a new set of images filled his yes and thoughts - men and women struggling, warring aliens, and pyramids traveling through the stars. "In exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different province, a different time, a different life."

Now a final image filled his mind: that of a group of veiled figures resting on sand, staring at a very familiar sphere.

"The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

As the girl finished her question, a new voice filled Lelouch's mind - one that was both familiar and alien.

A convergence with the Ragnorok Connection? So the myth is beginning once again?!"

Whatever this woman was talking about, Lelouch knew that he needed to see it through.

"…Very well. I accept the terms of this contract."

As soon as he said those words, Lelouch felt power surging through him. He felt pain. He felt power.

But most of all.

He remembered.

XxXxX

At Ashford Academy, an Orange haired girl and a sandy brown paraplegic girl stopped what they were doing and turned their glasses toward Shinjuku.

Far away in the capital of Britannia, the current emperor sensed something stirring in Japan.

In an existence detached from the other two, people living within a Last Safe Coty started to panic as the giant sphere in the sky started turning.

Beneath a city on the clouds, a strange entity shifted, unnerving those above it.

Within a Kingdom of wrecked ships, a queen felt a new presence intruding on her domain.

Aboard an asteroid, Nine figures felt their delam begin to tremble.

And on a pyramid just outside the Oort Cloud, a Winnower felt a new piece joining the game.

XxXxX

The Royal Guard Captain gave his men the order / it was time to end this.

"Before I die, answer me something."

…What? "What?"

"How do you think a Britannian who detests their own country should live their life?"

Really? "Are you a radical?"

The guard captain gave a gesture for his men to open fire, but none did.

"Maybe. But why aren't you shooting? I'm just one man, and a schoolboy at that."

…Why? Why couldn't he shoot?!

"Or maybe you've finally realized, that the only ones who should kill.."

The boy closed his eyes.

"…are the ones willing to be killed!"

Both eyes opened, and in the left one, there was a red, bird-like symbol - the same as the girl had possessed. But on his right eye was the same symbol, except it was blue-white.

"I, Lelouch go Britannia, command you! Now, all of you…DIE!"

Before they could react, a power flew into the Royal guardsmen, overriding their minds and given them new instructions. Manic smiles filled their faces as they put their guns to their temples.

"Happily, your highness!"

One chorus of gunshots later, and all of them had died.

"….What the hell was that?!"

Lelouch shot Absalom a glance. "I don't know yet. All I do know is that that woman offered me a power when I gripped her hand."

"…Really?"

"Yes. Please check to see if she is really dead."

"You think she might be like us?"

"Yes. And listen - there's something I need you to know."

"And what is that?"

"Whatever power she gave me…it made me remember."

"Remember what? Your birth name?"

"….Everything."

XxXxX

AN: Our resident demon is back!

Yes, Delorean08, Lelouch did get back his memory.

First off, yes, Lelouch effectively walked all the way from Narita to Tokyo. He might also have used his sparrow - it's not a really long distance from what I've looked up.

Next off, Nunnally clearly isn't doing well, and Shirley might have taken after her. Or is there more to it?

I'm kinda tired of stories that rehash the first episode of Code Geass in its entirety, so you get some truncation here. And yes, Lelouch dodged the Spinzaku kick and knocked Suzaku out cold. Suzaku is still alive, before you ask. As for CC suppressing the Light and the Dark, explain later.

I did want to modify the scene with Lelouch being confronted by the Royal Guard to make it clear he considers dying an inconvenience most of the time.

Can you guess what all of the scenes I mentioned in CC's vision were.

I love Lelouch's first Geass order too much to cut it out entirely.

As for the other Geass symbol, guardians have one power associated with blue - and arc is more specifically cyan.

So, read and Review at your leisure! This is Flameal15k, signing off!

 

[Flameal15k]

AN: Alright, alright, I am back. Now, I don't like to retread too many of Code Geass' early plot points (the later ones are getting totally butterflied away by the Destiny stuff), but this chapter will cover all of the main beats from Shinjuku in the original. Also, it's one of the few scenes in the opening episodes that shows off Lelouch's chess master skills that I am not excising, because I want to make it clear that Lelouch still has his strategic prowess. That being said, this chapter will be short - next one will drop some big revelations, so this one can afford to be short.

XxXxX

"....Everything."

Absalom froze up at those words. His guardian remembered…everything?

That…that…that wasn't possible! No guardian remembered their past, at least not one with a living Ghost - Eris was proving things weren't exactly set in stone. But to remember everything? There was no precedent for that happening anywhere. It was-

"Absalom?"

"Yes?"

"The girl at my feet. Is she still alive?"

Forced out of his musings, the Ghost glanced at the green-haired corpse and ran a quick scan on her. "...Yes, she is. Her body is showing signs of healing, and she has an energy signature unlike any I've ever encountered. Also, please get your helmet back on-"

Suddenly, a Knightmare burst into the warehouse, causing Absalom to vanish - best not to raise too many questions right now. Though the situation wasn't looking too good with all the corpses around them…

"What happened here, boy?!"

"I order you to come out at once," commanded the Young Wolf, Slayer of Gods and Hero of the Red War.

This just seemed to annoy the woman in the machine. "What? Who the hell do you think you are to order me?"

"Seriously, what were you thinking?" wondered Absalom.

"Just testing the limits of my new power," was Lelouch's response before turning his attention back to the Knightmare. "My apologies. My name is Norman Williams, and my father is a duke. The terrorist took me as a hostage. I have my ID card in my collar. Once you've verified it, I'd like to request your protection."

The woman listened to all of that, and after a few moments, exited her Knightmare.

"Wow, sucking up to nobility," noted Absalom. "Feudal cultures are the same everywhere, it seems."

Unsurprisingly, Lelouch used the opportunity to issue a new command, asking for the woman's machine, and smirked as she handed over its operating key to her.

For a moment, he considered using his new power to kill her. A glance at the corpses around him, however, changed his mind.

"When this battle is over, you will have the bodies of everyone in this room given a proper burial, understood?"

"Yes," the woman confirmed blankly.

"Good."

A few moments later, Viletta Nu was wondering how her Knightmare had vanished.

XxXxX

"So, what do we do now?"

Lelouch glanced at his Ghost. "If this were a normal Vanguard mission, cut through the enemy forces and take out their leader. But there are numerous extenuating circumstances here - I only have one heavy combat vehicle, this area is filled with civilians, and the enemy leader-"

"Is your brother."

"So you did hear that declaration."

"Hard not to. So, you are a prince?"

"Were - I renounced my right to the throne as a child."

Absalom did the Ghost equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "Really? The records say otherwise."

"Seriously? How…considerate."

"You don't like your father?"

"No. The full details can wait until later."

"Understood. So, do you have a plan?"

"Yes - it seems we will need the aid of the terrorists for this."

"And what will you do after we have won?"

Lelouch took a deep breath. "If the military had this girl, then that means they know something about Paracausality. And I need answers. Now see if you can patch me into the Terrorist's communications, as well as those of the Britannians."

"On it."

XxXxX

Damn it, why had things gone to hell so fast? How had the Britannians reacted so quickly? Naoto's plans had always worked out for them before, so why were they failing now?!

These thoughts surged through Kallen's head as her Glasgow surged through Shinjuku, desperately trying to stop the Britannians from purging those living within. It was a futile struggle, though - she was the only Knightmare user her allies had, and she could only be in one place at a time.

That she was currently being pursued by two Sutherlands made things considerably more difficult.

"You might want to consider ejecting," noted a female voice.

"Not now, Asuka!"

"The West Entrance."

"What?!"

Kallen glanced at her communicator - that voice was not one of her comrades. "Who is this?"

"It doesn't matter - you want to win, use the tracks to head for the West Entrance!"

Kallen froze up - this person was offering her a chance to win? To stop Britannia, here if no where else?

"…What do you think Asuka?"

"We don't have many options, so listen to him."

"Alright."

Taking her companion's advice, Kallen piloted her Knightmare toward the target destination. "What do I do once I get there?"

"There'll be an oncoming train, jump on it."

Sure enough, when Kallen reached the West Entrance, there was a train heading toward her. Hastily jumping on it, she listened intently as her pursuers tried to follow. What followed wasn't exactly clear to Kallen, but it sounded like a third Knightmare attacked one of her pursuers, because when she turned around, one of the Knightmares had fallen off the tracks and the other was taking aim at something in the distance. Sensing that her chance was here, Kallen charged the Sutherland, with the following impact forcing her foe to eject.

Kallen wanted to thank her savior, but a look upward revealed that he had already vanished.

"Kallen!"

Any pondering Kallen would have in her savior was cut off by the sound of her name being called. Turning, she found Hgi and her brother Naoto making their way toward her, with more of her friends following close behind.

"What was that message earlier?"

"What? He called you too, oniisan?"

"Yeah, and Yoshida. His group should be over here in a moment."

"Hello?" Asked the mystery voice once again. "Are you the leader of this group?"

"Wh-Yes!" Confirmed Naoto, surprised by their savior's sudden return to communication. "Who is this?"

"Currently unimportant. Now, if you'd look inside the train, I have something for you all."

Somewhat apprehensively, the group obliged, only to gasp at what they saw: Sutherlands, alongside energy fillers and ammunition.

"I admit that you have no reason to trust me, but if you heed my commands, I can assure you victory today. So please, listen closely."

XxXxX

Absalom listened intently as his guardian gave out orders - Lelouch was one of the rare few who could excel both in direct combat and as a commander. His skill at Go was just one manifestation of that.

"Is there a reason you're giving them all chess designations?"

Lelouch glanced at his ghost. "I used to play chess prodigiously before…well, becoming a guardian."

"Huh - I know you're skilled at chess, but you always seemed to prefer Go whenever we were at the Tower."

"Some things changed when I was resurrected, it seems. And before you ask, I did play against Clovis. He never came close to winning."

"…You think you can beat him now?"

"Clovis never changed tactics months in the years he ruled Area 11 before I ended up in Old Russia. He's too easy to predict."

"Maybe not today, though."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

"There's a special prototype Knightmare being held in reserve for this mission - a product of the Camelot Engineering Corps. They're a special unit funded by Prince Schneizel, and they've been working on…many new technologies. Currently, they're still looking for a proper pilot among the deployed forces, and are even filing through the ranks of the Honorary Britannians."

"Huh. I'll keep that in mind."

"Um, whoever this is, we're in position."

Lelouch smirked - time for the game to begin.

XxXxX

A few minutes later

'Where had it all gone wrong?'

Such was the thought of Viceroy Clovis, who had spent most of the day feeling quite confident. Yes, the Elevens had stolen his secret research, but he's allowed it to occur - chasing the rats back to their nest would allow him the opportunity to cut out the heart of their operations. Further complications occurred when the truck carrying her had exploded, but Clovis was confident they could retrieve her from the rubble. Having to cleanse the whole Ghetto was an annoying waste of time, but at least it gave him the opening to rebuild the area in honor of Lelouch and Nunnally. Plus, Bartley had managed to recover the holding container for a different set of test subjects. So, overall, a win.

Then things had gone wrong - somehow, the terrorists had rallied, and began picking off his forces one by one. He'd tried everything - pulling in new units, using new maneuvers, changing frequencies, even sending in his personal guards - but nothing had worked. For the first time he could remember, Clovis was on the back foot. Whoever was leading his foes was good - maybe even better than Tohdoh. And that made him shudder in fear.

But he was Viceroy of Area 11. And he would not lose!

"Lloyd," he asked the lavender haired man on his screen, "will it work? Will your you defeat the terrorists?"

The Early Asplund just smiled. "Please, Viceroy, call it Lancelot."

XxXxX

"Uh oh," spoke Absalom.

"What?"

"The new machine is being sortied."

"I see. Anything about it that I should be worried about?"

"Most of the details are being left out because Schneizel doesn't want Clovis to know about his pet project and…oh."

"I need specifics, Ghost."

"The machine is called Lancelot. It has speed beyond any current generation Knightmare, new sword and rifle weapons, with the latter having similarities to fusion rifles, though thankfully it isn't equipped with one right now-"

"Anything else?"

"..It has energy shields."

"What? How?"

Any further elaboration was cut off when one of the Terrorists reported engaging a new foe, only to be forced to eject. One by one, the others reported something similar, until only a few remained.

Cursing his luck, Lelouch ordered a retreat, but unfortunately, the Lancelot had seen.

"Damn it," groaned the Young Wolf. "If I had a Drake, I might be able to take it down, but without one…"

Before Lelouch could react, though, a red Glasgow rammed into the Lancelot. The white Knightmare managed to repel its crimson foe, only for a Sutherland to open fire and give the red machine a chance to reposition.

"This is Q1. Consider this repayment for saving us earlier."

"K1 reporting. We'll keep you in the clear. Now move."

Lelouch was surprised by the aid, but complied nonetheless and fell back. At least, until he was somewhere where he could quietly leave his Knightmare - he wasn't quite finished with this fight, but the machine would be too cumbersome for the next phase of his plan.

That phase required a conversation with the Viceroy, after all.

A groan turned Lelouch's attention to a different portion of his cockpit - it seemed there would be three humans involved in this conversation.

XxXxX

Clovis glared at the figure holding him at gunpoint. "Does that suffice? Is that everything you requested?"

'That' referring to an immediate ceasefire, his forces allowing the Elevens to leave in peace, and an extension of medical aid to all injured parties.

"It does. Though that hardly completes my requests."

The prince rolled his eyes. "If you seek more from me, you'll have to examine my corpse - I have no intention of aiding you any further."

The figure before him just laughed. "Oh, but you will."

Clovis was about to offer a retort when his captor took off his helmet, revealing a dark haired, purples eyed face that looked vaguely familiar. Then the prince's eyes widened as a familiar red bird symbol appeared in his foe's eye.

"Now then, please do as I say."

Clovis has no time to react before the boy's Geass overrode his mind. "Oh course."

"Do you know anything relating to the murder of Marianne vi Britannia, disregarding the fate of her children?"

"No. Though I suspect that my brother Schneizel and my sister Cornelia have some awareness."

"What do you know about the green haired girl in the gas container?"

"She appears to have some form of immortality - she can regenerate from fatal wounds, and her likeness has been recorded in events dating back to the hundred year's war."

"Is there anything else you you recovered from where you found her?"

"No, but a secondary research base in the Narita Mountains found a strange gateway and acquired several oddities from it. Some of them are in the container in the corner of this room."

"I see. Can you provide me with any information on military deployments and special research units in this Area?"

"Of course. If you have a flash drive, I can download the data now."

The figure did not have such a drive, but found a way to download the desired data.

"Thank you. I have no further orders."

The Geass soon wore off. As it did, Clovis noted a faint white bird symbol coming from his captor's other eye. "…What was that?"

"Nothing important," spoke the figure as he put his helmet back on.

Clovis glared. "So, what now? Do you intend to kill me?"

"No. I'd rather leave that to someone else."

Without leaving time for Clovis to answer, his captor stepped aside….revealing a familiar green haired girl.

Clovis' bravado soon deserted him. "You?!?!"

"Yes, me."

"I, um, well, please…don't kill me."

"That's too merciful for you."

Clovis tried to say something else, only for the girl to put her hands around his head.

And then all he knew was pain and madness.

XxXxX

While the girl did something painful to his half brother, Lelouch examined the container Clovis had mentioned. Finding it locked, he set Absalom to work getting it open. That, naturally, didn't take long.

As soon as the lock was opened, Lelouch lifted the cover of the container.

Two purple eyes peered within.

Over a dozen others peered out.

"…What-"

"FREEDOM!"

Without warning, a flock of Ghosts burst out of the container, momentarily shocking the girl while Clovis begged for his mother. Lelouch just felt very surprised.

"Thank you!"

"No problem. How'd you get in that container?"

"It's a long story," answered a female ghost.

"I'm not surprised. Do you want to head back to the city?"

"…not yet." This time the speaker was a masculine-sounding ghost.

His response did not surprise Lelouch - they probably wanted to find their Guardians here. "I understand. Just, please, follow me."

"Okay."

Glancing at his green haired companion, Lelouch wordlessly asked on her status, and received a gesture that told him she was ready to leave. Uncaring that his half brother was alternating between crying in terror and frothing at the mouth (and also noting that the Viceroy had soiled himself), Lelouch opened the nearest exit.

Standing just outside was a teenage girl in dark attire.

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.

Then the girl bolted.

Lelouch tried to say something to convince her to stop, but no words came, leaving him, Absalom, and an unbonded Ghost to watch her flee.

Groaning, Lelouch called for his companions to follow - best leave now before others arrived.

XxXxX

Half an hour later, Lelouch stood beside an abandoned building, the girl nearby, shown Absalom looked at the remains of the structure. The ghosts has since dispersed, leaving the three of them alone.

A few people would later report seeing strange flying objects dispersing into the settlement and the ghetto, but few would pay them any mind. Fewer still knew what they meant - not the honorary Britannian who had piloted the White Knightmare, who was now watching injured elevens be treated by the military.

Not the Margrave who wondered why the ceasefire was happening.

The two white haired boys in the area didn't know either - one was too obsessed with trying to find the green haired girl he loved, the other was trying to pierce together his memories.

The dark attired girl had idea what was to come, even as the masculine Ghost watched her take three heavily injured young girls to the army for treatment.

The dark skinned pure blood woman just wanted to know why she had blacked out.

Only three individuals knew what the strange floaters meant.

Two stayed at Ashford Academy and had apparently developed imaginary friends.

The other was a redhead currently arguing with no one in her Knightmare while her brother wondered if she was losing her mind.

But all of that was of no concern to Lelouch - his attention wa solely on the green haired girl.

"…So, you want to talk?"

"Yes."

XxXxX

AN: And I have returned!

So, yeah, not much changed. Just Lelouch acting a bit differently.

Wanted to show off some minor differences between canon!Lelouch and Guardian!Lelouch. Among other things, his resurrection brought on a difference in taste for strategy games - Go is the oldest strategy game in existence (as far as I know), and involves two players trying to use stones to control the playing field. The game ends when one person gives up, because the board is big and you get a lot of stones.

I generally make a point of keeping Clovis alive in case I want to use him later in a story. That doesn't mean he comes out unscathed. And while Lelouch has less attachment toward his hatred to Clovis from canon, C.C. certainly hasn't forgiven him. And knows how to make him suffer without dying.

Oh, and a bunch of ghosts showed up to start looking for Guardians. Wonder who they will choose?

Read and Review at your leisure! This is Flameal15k, signing off!

 

[Flameal15k]

"So, where do we start?" Asked C.C. "Names?"

"That would be a good starting point, but I have other questions I would like answered as well."

The immortal girl had a good idea on what those were. "I thought you might. To answer the first question, I am C.C."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Really? See-two?"

"Yes."

"…I guess I'll have to work with that. What was that contract you offered me?"

That managed to catch the immortal off guard. "Really? You're not asking how I recovered from a bullet to the head?"

Wordlessly, the prince (her contract had filled her in on some details about him, and whatever she hadn't learned had been filled in by her previous contractor) turned to his floating friend (the immortal witch wasn't sure what to call them yet) and appeared to have a wordless conversation with them. The end result was the boy pulling out a pistol from…somewhere.

"And what is that-"

Before she could finish, Lelouch put the gun to his chin and pulled the trigger.

"-for?!"

The wide eyes and shocked face C.C. had were still present when his body hit the ground. The floating mechanical entity, seemingly unperturbed by his friend's suicide, started counting.

"…one thousand three, one thousand four…"

C.C. couldn't get it - why had her contractor so suddenly committed suicide. Why had his mechanical friend been so indifferent to it. What were they going to say when she told them that their-

"…one thousand nine, one thousand ten."

Finishing his counting, the drone suddenly flew over to the boy's corpse and broke into several pieces, which began to rotate in strange patterns. Soon, they reassembled, releasing a pulse of white smoke that bathed the corpse, which seemed to shift almost imperceptibly.

Then he began to curl his fingers, and moments later he was standing up again and looking her in the eyes.

"Since you asked, I might as well answer: I am…used to the company of death."

"Uh…I see."

XxXxX

When the shock of seeing an immortal with a completely different set of powers from her resurrect himself finally wore off, C.C. decided that she could be a bit more indulging of his curiosity.

"So, this power you gave me, it's called Geass?"

"Yes. I can give it to anyone I make a contract with, though the exact power is random. One person might get the power to read minds, another the ability to summon a Knightmare frame. You got mind control, it seems."

"So I did. I presume that the randomness prevents you from knowing the limitations of my power?"

"Correct. You'll need to find those yourself."

The boy simply nodded at her. "I understand. But what was this about a wish you had?"

"Those like me only form contracts with those who will grant a wish we desire. And no, I am not the only one of my kind to exist."

"I see. Will this wish harm me?"

The emerald haired girl raised an eyebrow. "Not necessarily. Why do you ask?"

"Bad experiences with wishes."

"Oh. Is that something you want to talk about now?"

"No."

"Fair enough. So, where'd you get your power from?"

"Absalom," answered the boy, swiftly pointing a finger at his robotic companion. "He gave me my Light."

"Really? And what exactly is he?"

"I'm a ghost," answered the drone. "Think of me as a robotic space angel that was once part of a robotic space god."

The witch felt her mind grind to a halt. "What?"

"We'll have more time to explain this later," was the Ghost's response. "But first, let me ask a question: were you aware when my Guardian was talking to the man who shot you?"

"…yes."

"So you know who he is?"

"Yes - I've lived long enough to see the succession ceremonies of the Britannian Throne, and I've even met an emperor or two in the past. Before you ask, the current Emperor is not one of my contractors."

"You speak of contractors in plural. Does that mean you can have more than one?"

C.C. looked down after she heard the question. "Yes. I have two other contractors active at the moment, though only one is still in contact with me, and they would like to remain anonymous. As for the other…his life has been detrimental to his sanity."

"I see. I won't press any further."

"Thank you. So, what now?"

"You know who I am."

"Yes, so?"

"Then you know I have a sister."

"Oh. So you want to see her?"

"Yeah. Need to sort some things out."

"Makes sense. So, when do we leave?"

"Now, I guess."

"Then lead the way."

XxXxX

"So," asked Lelouch as he started the truck, beginning the drive toward Ashford, "anything in the news about my sister?"

"Apparently, she went almost catatonic when your death was announced. She spent a few days trying deny it before finally accepting the truth. It looks like she needed some support from another girl to get through her grief, and it still hasn't been fully addressed."

"Is the girl named Shirley Fenette?"

"…Yes. Who is she?"

"A girl on Ashford's swim team. She…really liked me."

"Define liked."

"I'm fairly certain that her being shy around me is the only reason she did say 'I love you' to me.

"Oh…Wait, was she the girl who you remember watching you help that old couple?"

"...Yes. She was."

Guardians normally didn't remember their old lives. But there were some exceptions - Karnstein had been one, remembering that she had once had a wife, but only that said wife had existed, never any exact features. Cayde had been another, though there were questions on whether his family had truly existed or it was something related to all Exos, and even examination of the Deep Stone Crypt had left the Vanguard with no leads there. Lelouch, though, remembered many things - all of them a bit diffuse.

Perhaps now was the chance for Absalom to get everything straight.

"Good to know. Do you know the identities of everyone else you remembered?"

"Most of them. Start asking me and I'll see who I can recall."

"The blind girl you were carrying along with the brown-haired Japanese boy?"

"That was my sister Nunnally, and Suzaku Kururugi - the son of the former prime minister of Japan…Funny - now that I think about it, the teen who attacked us in the truck we found C.C. in looked a lot like how I think Suzaku would look now, if he is still alive."

"Weird. The blue haired boy, blond haired girl, and bespectacled girl you were in meetings with alongside your sister?"

"The blond girl is Milly Ashford, granddaughter of Reuben Ashford and Student Council President of Ashford Academy. And yes, her family paid for the academy. The boy is Rivalz Cardemonde - I guess you could say he was my best friend, and the secretary of the group. The girl with the glasses is Nina Einstein, a member of the science club. I was the Vice President."

"Noted. What about the red haired girl you gave a peach to?"

Lelouch opened his mouth, only to close it with a frown. "I…never got her name."

"Oh. Darn. Okay, last question: who was the old man with the regal attire and curled beard and the woman who looked a lot like you?"

Lelouch froze up upon hearing those descriptions, something Absalom immediately noticed. "Bad memories?"

"Yes. The woman was my mother, Marianne."
"And the man?"

"Emperor Charles zi Britannia, 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire…and my father."

"…Guess you didn't have a good childhood?"

Lelouch took advantage of the upcoming stop to glare at his ghost. "Did you read anything about the events leading up to the Invasion of Japan?"

"Not yet," admitted the Ghost.

"Then you will know that following the assassination of Empress Marianne, her children were given over to the prime minister of Japan to be used as political hostages. They were presumed dead after the invasion, ostensibly caused by Japanese politicking, but I'm almost certain it was naked conquest by Britannia."

"What? How did your mom die?!"

"She was assassinated in the Aries Villa in the Britannian capital of Pendragon. Ostensibly it was due to terrorists, but the Aries Villa was one of the last heavily guarded areas in Pendragon. Whoever killed her, they were in the pocket of another member of the royal family."

"Ouch. So how did you get exiled?"

"My father only performed a perfunctory investigation into her death, even though she was supposedly his most favored wife," replied Lelouch. "I confronted him after he closed the investigation and questioned him as to why."

Lelouch took a deep breath. "For daring to demand that he showed more interest in assassination, which left two of his children motherless and one blind and unable to use her legs, and having the gall to forfeit my royal birthright in outrage over his decision, my father declared me to be dead to him and that I would be sent to Japan alongside my sister to be political bargaining chips."

"…Sorry for pulling up a sore spot."

"It's nothing - I am mad, but I think you needed to hear this to understand how things are."

"…Thabk you. So, what happened after that?"

"I went to Japan, was forced to stay in a shed by the the Prime Minister until my sister shamed his son by accident into asking that we receive better accommodations - which also convinced him to stop bullying me and instead become my friend - and then it was mostly just an odd sense of peace until Britannia invaded. I can't remember everything about the fighting in detail, but I had to carry Nunnally through a corpse-filled battlefield at one point."

If Absalom had a mouth, it would be on the floor. "That's awful!"

"I know. I swore to Suzaku that I would destroy Britannia sometime after the fighting ended."

"Obviously, you never did that. So what happened after the fighting ended?"

"The last time I saw Suzaku, he dropped me off at the residence of the Ashford Family - they had been my mother's closest allies, and so had lost their noble titles and accompanying privileges after she died, even though their creation, the Knightmare Frame, had won Britannia the invasion….Funny - even though I probably would have been married off to Milly if I had stayed in Pendragon, I only ever met her after the invasion."

"Does she like you?"

"I'd probably say yes - you know, now that I am looking back at all my memories with a slightly different frame of reference, I'm pretty sure most of the female student body, as well as some of the guys, had or has feelings for me."

"Any cases where that was reciprocated?"

"…Maybe with Shirley. I'll get back to you there."

"Really?" Asked C.C., surprising the duo as she had not expressed any interest in the conversation. "You didn't have anyone you were interested in?"

"Not everyone has romance, companionship, or pleasure on their mind."

"I know. Just surprised."

With that, the immortal witch tuned out of the conversation once again, though not before muttering something about someone's shipping plans being ruined.

"So," asked Absalom,"what do you want to do once you get to Ashford?"

"Tie up all loose ends."

"Explain."

Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment, thankful for the lack of traffic, before answering. "I still want to destroy Britannia - personal vengeance aside, it's too much like the warlords or the Praetorate for me to let them run wild. But facing the Darkness comes first, so for now, I just want to settle things with my friends."

"So, what, stop by at Ashford for a bit, make sure your friends know you're alive, then find some convenient excuse to leave and take…maybe your sister with you, plus a trusted retainer if you still have any?"

"…Pretty much."

"And how do I factor into this?" Asked C.C.

"I see no reason to introduce you to them, unless you want to get involved. As for what happens afterwards? Well, I have people I need to report back to."

"Fair enough. But if I end up on a lab table-"

Lelouch pointed a finger at C.C. "Not. Going. To. Happen. Ok?"

C.C. nodded.

"Do you know how your friends are doing?" Asked Absalom.

"Obviously not, since we only got here a day ago. I'm presuming you found out something important regarding them online?"

"According to what I have gathered from the internet, it looks like they all spent the time since you died - which was about two months ago - they all went through a period of mourning that they are still working through, despite what they might tell everyone else. It looks like Shirley and Nunnally managed to badger a woman named Sayoko into taking them to where you 'died' to try and get some closure over things. They ended up giving her a heart attack when husk of the building collapsed with them still in it, but it looks like they're fine - must have the luck of the…devil, right?"

"That's the right term."

"Knew it. Also, I'm guessing that Sayoko is the retainer you would bring with you?"

"Yes. She's…well, she's the closest thing I had to a mother after my birth mother died. And even after all I've been through, and forgetting most of my memories, I'd still like her and Nunnally by my side."

"Well, you are good with children."

"Thanks. Though I might add that I have a bit of selfishness at play here."

"Let me guess," intoned C.C., "you have friends who might be able to restore the use of her legs and sight?"

"..Maybe."

The immortal witch snickered at his response. "I almost wonder if you had a sister complex before…however you earned your power occurred."

Lelouch shuddered at the remark. "I did not!"

"Guardian?"

"Yes?"

"You might want to wait until after classes end before confronting the student council, if possible."

"Why?"

"Sometime after you died, there was a bombing at the settlement. Apparently, as a form of protest/revenge against the occupation, the residence of the Stadtfeld family was bombed. The best reasoning I can find is that it was the easiest target to hit that was high enough on the social totem pole for the attack to be seen as more than mindless terrorism. The most likely suspects are elements of the Japan Liberation Front, though from the few transmissions that your incompetent half-brother who shares a name with the patriarch of House Bray managed to decrypt indicates that it was just a mindless attack down by splinter elements of the group, and that those involved were all given a verbal flogging over their stupidity. Also, it did injure Lord Stadtfeld's daughter, but given that she has a notoriously weak constitution, people are more surprised that she just got hurt and not killed in the bombing."

"I see. So, how long until we get to Ashford?"

"A few hours. Think that will be enough time to decide on how to handle things?"

"I hope so."

It wouldn't - a few hours later, Lelouch would find himself standing outside the student council's clubhouse, wearing a hastily made attire that appeared scruffy so that people would take his story as to where he had been all these months at face value. He stood mere inches from the door, about to knock but unable to muster the courage to go through with it. Funny - he had been gone a little over six years, transcended death, faced gods, known true defeat, lost valuable friends, stared the Darkness in the eye, and taken the Darkness' power as his own, but just knocking on a door was proving more challenging than all of that.

But eventually, he did knock.

XxXxX

Milly, Rivalz, and Nina all straightened up at the knock. Sayoko, Shirley and Nunnally, however, showed far less reaction.

The former three had decided that enough was enough, and that it was time to act. Using a student council meeting to stage an intervention was a low blow, even for Milly, but with how Nunnally and Shirley both seemed to be having severe issues processing Lelouch's death, which Sayoko did nothing but enable, they didn't have any other choice.

Of course, the two had objected when the intervention had been sprung, claiming that they were (mostly) fine, and that Ariel and Hope were real, they just couldn't show them to the others. Sayoko had, of course, backed them. Much back and forth arguing had followed, until the duo claimed they and their imaginary friends felt something strange coming their way, eventually stating that someone was at the door to the clubhouse. The trio had balked at that.

Then someone knocked.

For a while, no one did anything - both trios were unsure how to respond. Eventually, the stalemate had broken when Shirley walked up to and opened the door. She just barely had to step out of the way before a figure wearing a dark scruffy attire fell forward, landing on the floor in a heap.

"Who is that?!" shouted Rivalz, while Nina cowered behind Milly, assuming the new arrival was an Eleven that had someone snuck into the school - at times, her phobia of them could get absurd.

"Uh…uh…are you okay?" asked a very uncomfortable and concerned Shirley.

"...Nice…to…see you..again…Shirley," said the figure, to the orangette's immense confusion.

"What?"

"How..how's Nunnally doing?"

"Nunna…wait….Lulu?"

Carefully, Shirley rolled the figure - almost certainly a man or boy, given the sound of his voice - onto his back so that she could get a better look at him.

Purple eyes met yellow, and all doubts were washed away.

"...Lelouch?!"

"Big brother?!" squeeked a confused and hopeful Nunnally.

The figure on the group looked toward the blind girl in a wheelchair, and his face was graced with a small smile when he saw her. "Hello, Nunnally. It's good to see you again."

The room seemed to freeze up at that remark, until an even bigger shock happened as eyes that had spent years shut finally opened and began to well up with tears.

"...Big brother…"

As tears finally began to stream forward from her eyes, Nunnally rolled her wheelchair up to Lelouch and leaned forward so that, for the first time in months, she could give her brother a hug. Lelouch's smile only grew at that, and grew even bigger when Shirley and Sayoko joined the hug.

XxXxX

When the hug had finally ended, Lelouch had been escorted to the nearest shower so that he could take off the torn clothing he had been wearing and take a shower for the first time in who knew how long, while also giving time for his friends to ask him what had happened and how he had survived. Of course, the Guardian gave them only half truths, and had mostly cut off discussion by saying that he wasn't ready to talk about it right now. Assuming that he had been through a lot (which was both correct and an enormous understatement), the student council had obliged him. From there, the planned intervention had been abandoned due to now being a moot point, and things had progressed until eventually it was night, with Sayoko putting Nunnally to bed while the rest of the council either went to the dorms or where they lived off campus, leaving Lelouch alone…at least until he invited C.C. inside.

Making sure that all surveillance was offline, Lelouch had ghost summon the portable holoprojector and sent a transmission to the Vanguard.

Against all odds, it worked, and the images of Ikora and Zavala appeared on-screen.

"Ah, Guardian" began Zavala, "it's good to hear from you again. Have you found the lost ghosts?"

"Yes and no - I found them and freed them from a trap, but they have declined to return through the glassway - it seems they wish to search for lightbearers here."

"Could you define 'here'?" asked Ikora. "Where did you find them? Another world?"

"I think this would best be classified as an alternate timeline."

A look of surprise graced the faces of the two vanguard representatives. "So Osiris was correct?" asked Ikora.

Lelouc nodded. "I don't think it was possible for him to have been wrong regarding alternate timelines, but visiting one is still a shock. Especially with the timeline in question."

"How so?" asked Zavala.

Lelouch took a deep breath. "Because this is where I come from."

If Cayde had been alive, he would have loved to see the faces his fellow Vanguard leaders had. Then again, he would have probably made one just like them.

"What?!" questioned the duo simultaneously.

"I don't know how," admitted Lelouch, "but this is where I originate from. Whatever caused me to end up in the Cosmodrome tore me from this timeline about..two months ago locally. It's…weird, but as far as I can tell, it is the truth."

"I see," acknowledged Zavala. "What can you tell us about this timeline?"

"Apparently, a major point of divergence in this timeline was that the ancient British Empire managed to crush the revolt of its American colonies and, following a war in its home continent, chose to recenter its empire in the New World, where it became the Holy Britannian Empire. Less than a decade ago, they perfected Knightmare Frames - think of them as Fallen Brigs, but human designed and piloted by a person, not another machine - and used them to accelerate their various conquests."

"Intriguing," admitted Ikora, "but also disturbing. Do you know anything else about the empire?"

"It is currently headed by its 99th Monarch, Charles zi Britannia, who is a tyrant, a bit of a recluse outside of court…and also my father."

The room was silent for a moment. And then Zavala spoke up.

"WHAT?!"

"Ahem," interrupted a certain witch. "I believe that I could explain things."

Zavala and Ikora shared a glance. "And who might you be?" asked the Warlock Vanguard."

"The name she gave me is C.C.," answered Lelouch. "She calls herself a…code bearer?" he said with uncertainty, which was soon calmed when the immortal nodded. "They have two special powers - near perfect immortality at least to her knowledge, and the ability to give powers to others known as Geass, with those who receive powers from her being deemed her contractors. There is a randomness factor to what powers she gives, though - the one I received is a verbal form of mind control, and I am still trying to work out the details of this power. Without abusing it, of course."

The last line had been in response to concerned looks from the two Vanguard heads, who softened their expressions after hearing his assurance. "Are there any terms that her contractors must obey?"

Lelouch scratched his head nervously. "In exchange for this power, they must help the code bearers achieve their greatest wish."

Ikora and Zavala's gazes hardened once again. "Are we at risk of having another threat like the Ahamkara?"

"I don't even know what those are," intoned C.C., "and don't worry, my wish isn't something that will harm everyone you know."

Zavala and Ikora were not convinced at this. "You may say so, but we have seen what the wish dragons could do. They were hunted down for a reason."

C.C. chuckled upon hearing that remark. "Wish dragons? You hunted down wish dragons? How long ago was that?"

"Relatively recently in the age of the City," was Zavala's answer.

"And how long has the age of the City been?" asked a still bemused C.C.

"Well, I've been here since the city was just a collection of tents, so while I don't have an exact number of years anymore…a few centuries at the least."

Instantly, the smirk fell off of C.C.'s face. "...what?!"

Lelouch raised an eyebrow as one of C.C.'s eyes started to twitch. "Before we get off topic-"

"Guardian?"

"Yes, Absalom?"

"There's someone at your door…make that three people. I don't know who they are, but they seem to have been here for some time. And I am getting a…familiar feeling from them."

Lelouch glanced at his ghost, then at Zavala and Ikora's projected heads, before taking out a sidearm close to his heart and approaching the door to his room. Carefully, he opened the door….

And in fell Nunnally, Shirley, and Sayoko, all three letting out shocked shrieks.

"What the-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Agh!" yelped Shirley, "Lulu, we're sorry, it's just that Nunnally and me wanted to talk to you some more and-"

"How long have you been eavesdropping?"

Shirley looked a bit embarrassed. "...Since this conversation started?"

Lelouch groaned, then turned to face Zavala and Ikora. "My apologies. This is Shirley Fenette, one of my classmates, Nunnally Lamperouge, my younger sister, and Sayoko Shinozaki, caretaker to myself and Nunnally."

"Ah. A pleasure to meet you," acknowledged Ikora.

"It's rare for Guardians to find those from their old lives," admitted Zavala. "So while your presence leaves me conflicted, I am happy you have reunited with one you hold dear."

Smiling, Lelouch turned toward the trio in his room. "This is-"

"Commander Zavala, Hero of Six Fronts and the Twilight Gap," interrupted Shirley.

"And Ikora Rey, Champion of the Crucible and Leader of the Hidden," finished Nunnally.

Lelouch and the vanguard leaders froze upon hearing those words. "How did you know that?" asked the former prince.

Nunnally and Shirley shared a glance, before clearing their throats.

"Ariel?"

"Hope?"

As soon as the words were uttered, the duo held out their hands.

Moments later, a ghost materialized in each opened palm.

Silence filled the room once more, until Lelouch decided to break it.

"..What..the.."

XxXxX

AN: Chapter summary: Lelouch talks with an immortal witch, returns to Ashford, decides to explain things to the Vanguard, and finds out he doesn't need to keep some secrets from his sister and the girl that loves him.

So, a few things to get mentioned.

First off, I will probably have more time to update my stories in the next few weeks, but not for any good reason - I was laid off my job and need to find a new one. So, yeah.

Two, I'm changing up the timeline a bit so that while Lelouch returned to CG Earth two months after he vanished, Nunnally revealed that she and Lelouch are/were royalty a month after he was presumed dead.

Now, some other things to handle.

Lelouch shooting himself in front of C.C. was a deliberate powerplay - he wanted to show her that she is not the only immortal in the room, and that he has more powers than she has seen.

The part about the wishes was more a hindsight thing for me, but after all the trouble he had with Riven (which I only really thought about after playing Season of the Wish), Lelouch should probably have been more wary about powers that involve wishes. So I included those bits of dialogue to show that Lelouch is aware he may have made a mistake.

C.C. getting twitchy eyed at Zavala revealing the length of the Age of the City (and by extension his own age) was something I wanted to include from the minute I started working on this story - C.C. has spent most of her existence isolating herself from others because she's well aware she will outlive everyone she knows unless she gets her code passed on to another person. So learning that Lelouch knows of people who are as old as or maybe even older than her and that (based upon how many ghosts she saw fleeing the G1) there are a lot of these people is really going to damage her worldview.

Also, while I was looking through the names of Guardians mentioned in the game, one of the ones I noticed in particular was Karnstein, who is mentioned in a set of exotic Warlock gauntlets from Base Game Destiny 2. Karnstein is unique in that she is the only guardian as far as I know who is confirmed to remember her past life, as she remembers having a wife, though not anymore than that. But that was enough for me to decide on modifying a few things, namely giving Lelouch a few memories of his past that weren't mentioned in earlier chapters. These aren't specific things, just things important enough that Lelouch could remember faces and appearances but not names. Once he got his memories back, though, everything came into focus.

Since the memory of the girl with red hair who Lelouch gave a peach to inside something that will make sense unless you read a novel that wasn't released outside of Japan, I'll just tell you all what it was: it was the very first time Lelouch met Kallen. Long story short, Lelouch just went through hell to get peaches for Nunnally (they're her favorite food), one of which rolled up to Kallen, who gave it to him after seeing how he was scowling at her. Suzaku showed up, slaps Lelouch for not thanking Kallen, the two argue until they notice that the bus they were taking is about to leave, and then they run off, but not before Lelouch shoves the peach into Kallen's hand in the most tsundere way imaginable.

Writing Lelouch's thoughts wasn't easy - I wanted to convey the idea that Lelouch's memories are so strong that he still feels a need to destroy Britannia (especially since he's seen or heard of similar entities from the Dark Age or the enemies of mankind) but recognizes that now isn't the time to fight them. Feedback on whether I succeeded would be nice.

Finally, the last part of the chapter, and the reveal at the end - from the get-go, I intended for Shirley and Nunnally to be Guardians. I just waffled over how they would be resurrected, with the only thing I knew for certain being that they wouldn't have dignified ends. Since it's not going to be too much of a surprise, I'll just say it now - the part where Sayoko thought they got crushed by a collapsing building is half-true. They did get crushed, but the death didn't stick.

Also, Kallen getting her house bombed by the JLF CoughKusakabeCough is also probably important.

I need to go to bed now. Read and Review! This is Flameal15k signing off!