AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been rereading some of this and I'm greatly disappointed, especially with the early chapters. It probably doesn't matter much to you, dear readers, but I've begun a massive overhaul of this story, reading through each chapter and rewriting them to be clearer, paragraph by paragraph. In no way is what I've written 'bad' per se, but it could be better, so simply bear that in mind if you decide to read this story.

A past undone, a future to come,

C

The sword plunged deep into Lelouch's slender frame. He had known this was coming. He'd set the whole plot in motion. Still, no amount of preparation could dull the pain that seared through him at that moment, and he threw his head back as his face contorted in surprise. The whole scene played out just as he'd predicted. Lelouch vi Britannia, King of Britannia and Emperor of the whole world, was assassinated in front of a full military escort by the mysterious vigilante-turned-international-peacekeeper, Zero.

Not long ago Lelouch would never have dreamed that this might be how his campaign to make the world a kinder and gentler place would end. But he should have realized things wouldn't go his way. It didn't matter what he intended or what he planned because fortune seemed to hate him. Whenever he reached his lowest point it was as if fate itself became a physical entity just to kick him while he was down.

That's why Lelouch had arranged this assassination himself; his master plan, Zero Requiem. No matter how beneficial his visions of peace would have been for the future of the world, his morale had long been spent. He was a broken man, who, despite holding the whole world in his hand, was too emotionally exhausted to continue living. He conquered everyone across the globe and set himself up as the ultimate tyrant just to have someone wearing the mask of Zero publicly slay him to become the ultimate hero. Lelouch had known his plan wasn't guaranteed to bring world peace, and if it did, it certainly wouldn't last. But he didn't care. He'd sacrificed his comfortable normal life, his relationships, his reputation, and, now that he could feel his life flowing out of him from the dripping red hole through his heart, he would admit he probably sacrificed his sanity too. There was nothing left in him. He'd given it all away to make even the slimmest chance of a new, bright future for everyone else.

The death of Lelouch vi Britannia was simultaneously the most selfish and selfless moment of his life.

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Lelouch's eyes fluttered opened. Where was he? Shouldn't he have been dead? He realized he was on his back, looking up into a white, starless sky. Jupiter hung silently above him, finally giving Lelouch all the information he needed to fully assess his situation.

"I'm in C's World."

Lelouch got to his feet. Below him was a floor of what appeared to be marble, shining brightly from some unknown light source. He was still wearing his white robes, or, rather, his mental projection was wearing his white robes. He couldn't have been physically transported to C's World, so he figured his mind was just making a brief pitstop before being sucked fully into the Collective Unconscious.

"Lelouch!" a voice called to him from some distant place in the endless void. He looked around but didn't see anything. There was only Jupiter hovering in a featureless sky and a never-ending expanse in every direction.

"Lelouch!" The voice called again to him, closer this time. He heard quick footsteps behind him and turned, stopping as he saw something blurring into existence in front of the infinite blank background.

First came a blotch of white, then a brush of pink, then, as the figure's outline came further into focus Lelouch could see it was a person, a woman, running toward him with a smile of pure joy on her face. More of her features became clear as she approached, like a mirage presenting itself, and before long Lelouch could tell her identity.

"E-Euphy...?" Lelouch choked out. He'd been to C's World before, twice in fact, but nothing like this had ever happened to him back then.

"Lelouch. Hey." Another voice wafted in from somewhere around him, and before Lelouch could trace its origin a man walked into his field of vision.

The Black King didn't answer the greeting, instead looking the newcomer up and down with a discerning eye, quickly concluding they'd never met before. And yet, somehow he seemed so familiar. Lelouch wasn't sure if it was the easy smile resting beneath cool blue eyes, or maybe the fiery red hair, or perhaps even the headband he wore, but the man now walking up to stand beside his long-dead sister reminded him of Kallen.

"Brother," Euphemia practically cheered, taking a few more steps forward to stand right in front of him, "I'm so happy to see you. We've all been waiting for you!"

Now what could that mean? He may not have known much about C's World, but Lelouch had experienced more than enough to already know it wasn't worth asking questions. He'd never gotten direct answers out of C.C., and shifting his gaze between the two phantoms before him, Lelouch wasn't sure they'd be able to explain anything either, so he just stayed silent.

Euphemia raised a pale hand and delicately placed it against Lelouch's cheek, her expression softening and her eyes shimmering as they locked with his own.

"I never thought I'd get to see you in person again, in either life or death. But you've come back to me one last time, haven't you?"

Lelouch gently pulled Euphemia's hand from his face and stared deep into her eyes, searching them for some hidden truth. He still wasn't quite sure what was happening, or even if this was really Euphemia, but so long as he had some semblance of her in front of him, he had to check her eyes, if only to ease his own guilty conscience.

There was no orange glow surrounding her irises, and her gaze was focused and soulful. Not releasing her hand from his, Lelouch let out a breath of relief. At least in death his sister was free from the power of his Geass.

"Euphy," he wondered slowly, "are we-...?"

"Dead?" the redhead finished Lelouch's question for him. "Yes. And no. Our lives as humans may be over, but Our thoughts will exist forever in Akasha. As for you though..."

"As for me?" Lelouch didn't like where this was going.

Euphemia pulled away from her brother to stand alongside the mystery man, flashing Lelouch a melancholy smile.

"What you're seeing right now is just an imprint of our minds at the time of our deaths. The only reason we can speak so directly with you is because you're a Code-Bearer."

Lelouch began to sweat and his face dropped into a look of horror. Euphemia couldn't be saying... Code? When had he gotten that!? He thought back to everything he knew about Geass and Code and every opportunity he'd ever had to take that power from someone. There were only two Code-Bearers, as far as he knew, just C.C. and V.V. He was sure C.C. still had her Code. That only left V.V. But he'd never actually gotten close enough to V.V. to... But wait, Charles zi Britannia had attained Code, hadn't he? He could only have gotten it from V.V. So that would mean...

"I took my father's Code the last time I was here - when he tried to strangle me."

The redhead nodded.

"Bingo. And now that we've cleared that up, you may be wondering what happens next."

The pieces were coming together, but Lelouch wasn't very pleased with the picture they were creating. If he were immortal, if he were to suddenly come back to life in the real world, Zero Requiem would fall apart. His last great gift to Nunnally would be ruined, and everything he'd worked for would be undone.

"And what does happen next?" Lelouch ground out through clenched teeth. "You'll excuse me as I've never died and come back to life before."

"That's, actually, entirely up to you." The redhead offered Lelouch his hand. "The name's Naoto Kozuki-Stadtfeld, and you, Lelouch, are being given a very special opportunity."

"Naoto? Kallen's brother?" Lelouch took Naoto's hand and gave it a firm shake.

"The same."

"Why am I seeing you both?"

"Our desire to speak with you was stronger than that of any other mind in the Collective Unconscious." Naoto's lips peeled into a wide grin of triumph. "Euphemia wanted to see you one last time, and I wanted to finally meet the man who shared my dream."

Lelouch was unmoved.

"What opportunity?"

As Naoto took back his hand and returned to stand beside Euphemia again, Lelouch watched them both carefully. He had no reason to believe these two were anything more than cruel mirages taunting him, but even if they were, he couldn't see any harm in at least hearing them out.

Euphemia was the first to speak again, her voice taking on a surreal quality like she wasn't the only one talking.

"The power of thought is the greatest ability of mankind. A single idea can be the spark that changes the world. And the more people thinking the same thing, the more powerful that idea becomes. For example, everyone in the world was tired of war, so when Lelouch the Demon Emperor died they all decided to stop. And so war stopped."

"The Collective Unconscious is a being of pure thought," Naoto continued for her, a similar blend of voices coming from his words, "so if We think it, it happens. The only problem is the same one living people have. We're made up of infinite minds and infinite ideas, so We never think the same thing at the same time, rendering Us essentially powerless."

Lelouch's head was spinning with the implications of everything that was being revealed to him. Firstly, he had taken his father's Code, which meant he was immortal. From what he'd gathered, it took one initial death for the Code to activate and allow immortality, so this impromptu visit to the World of C must've been just temporary until he revived in the real world. More pressing at the moment though was the nature of the Collective Unconscious, and he forced himself to focus on what he was being told as Euphemia spoke again.

"There have only been a few times in existence that We've come to consensus and altered reality. One of them was when, well, Father was trying to kill 'God'. We were in complete disorder and couldn't decide what to do, but then you came. 'Don't stop the march of time.' That's what you commanded. Your Geass forced Us to think that one thought and save ourselves from destruction."

Naoto gestured calmly to Lelouch.

"We wouldn't exist right now if you hadn't saved Us. Charles and Marianne wanted to decide the world's future by themselves, but you gave that choice back to the people. War or peace? Freedom or tyranny? Everyone in the world owes you a debt for what you did, so now, We are giving you a choice too:

"As a reward for saving Us, We give you, Lelouch vi Britannia, one chance to do things over. According to the memories of Clovis la Britannia, you were a perfectionist when you two played chess, and you got upset if you didn't win the game with minimal casualties. How would you like to start your rebellion over now that you've had some practice? We all agreed you were worthy of having the board reset. The Collective Unconscious is in consensus and can put the pieces in place so you can have a rematch. Your time here is running out before you revive back in the material world though, so will you accept Our offer? Or are you happy with the way things turned out?"

Lelouch considered for a moment. This was all very sudden, but he'd long since gotten used to sudden and unusual supernatural situations ever since he'd received Geass. He pondered how he should respond for only a moment before saying just one thing:

"How far back can I go?"

LLLLLLLLLLLL

Lelouch couldn't believe his senses. How could things have turned out so perfectly this time when everything had gone to hell before?

As far as anyone really knew, it had all started almost three years ago, in 2017. There were some though, of course, who theorized that everything that had occurred since then, whether it be betrayals or miraculous and convenient victories, were in fact the result of a massive conspiracy set in motion as far back as a year prior in 2016. Nevertheless, until 2017 on the Japanese islands, known at the time as 'Area 11' under Britannian occupation, terrorist bombings by nationalist factions were a daily occurrence. Then HE appeared. He was a man who challenged the Holy Britannian Empire where no one else would. He was a man who wore a mask in place of his own face and was known by no other name than Zero. As grandiose as could be, Zero declared a mission statement to the world: To undo the corruption that had taken hold of it and put an end to injustice everywhere. The primary target for his rhetoric was none other than the emperor of Britannia himself, Charles zi Britannia. First, Zero listed, would he liberate Japan from its occupation. Then he would move on to seeing justice done upon Emperor Charles. Along with this, he unveiled his personal fighting force, The Black Knights.

Public opinion about the supposed Knights ranged heavily at first. Some considered them nothing more than a small band of naive idealists, radicals who would be completely annihilated in their first stand-up battle against the Britannian Empire. Others took the less nuanced approach of simply calling them terrorists. Appallingly, or so it was perceived at the time, Prince Clovis la Britannia, Viceroy of Area 11 on behalf of His Majesty, Emperor Charles, actually made several public admissions of respect for the masked crusader's virtuous goals, accusations of Charles' villainy notwithstanding. It wasn't long before charges of sympathizing with terrorists were brought before him. Under looming threat of execution for treason, Clovis defected to Zero.

Though he made it no secret that he intended to eventually depose Charles zi Britannia, and would fight a brutal war to do so if needs were, Zero initially took his Black Knights on vigilante missions. Slowly, they worked to purge Area 11 of organized crime and in doing, garnered support from both Britannians who had immigrated to the colony and the beleaguered natives. Occasionally, the Black Knights would come into direct military conflict with the Area 11 Colonial Army under the new viceroyship of Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia, but due to the shrewd planning and seeming clairvoyance of Zero, they would always march away victorious. The more this occurred, the clearer it became to the oppressed masses in Area 11, as well as the nobles and royals keeping them down, that the Black Knights were indeed just as determined and potent as Zero boasted.

As Zero amassed more and more power for his knights and commanded ever increasing influence among the Eleven peasants, full-scale war between the Black Knights and Britannia quickly began to appear as a real, and some would say inevitable, possibility. Amidst this general feeling of dread, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia, Britannian royals long thought dead, revealed they were indeed alive and had been in hiding. They gave detailed explanations of their experiences during the 2010 Britannian-Japanese Trade War - colloquially 'The Second Pacific War' - shocking the public and adding to Zero's ever-growing list of atrocities committed by Emperor Charles. Just as Clovis had defected to save himself from the noose, Lelouch and Nunnally came before Zero to ask for protection. Perhaps that was the moment - the turning point for the Black Knights and the world.

As utterly brainwashed and indoctrinated as Britannians had become through vicious propaganda campaigns, there was no way to stop the apprehension felt throughout the Empire as the vi Britannia siblings recounted their story. Together, they outlined the outright lack of concern Emperor Charles had had for their safety, his actions seeming almost as if he had wanted them dead. This was the bursting point. National confidence in Charles zi Britannia faltered for the first time ever and morale of troops in Area 11 evaporated as Cornelia and Euphemia publicly reeled in horror at the mistreatment of their dear siblings. In short, Britannian citizens were confused and unfocused, and the Black Knights were surer of their purpose than ever. With this, Zero struck.

Though Cornelia may have been sympathetic to her siblings now wearing the Black and Silver, she still rallied her garrison against the rebel army. Zero, leading the charge, threw his bold troops against the Britannian defenders by the hundreds and, despite heavy casualties, came through for his people. The siege of the Tokyo Settlement had started at midnight, and by morning the Black Knights were raising their flag all across the, thankfully, mostly intact city. Once again, Zero had won the day, and the battle for the Tokyo Settlement became the centerpiece of what would later come to be known as The Black Rebellion.

Viceroy Cornelia and Sub-Viceroy Euphemia li Britannia submitted to Zero. Area 11, renamed as the United States of Japan, was now firmly held by entrenched rebels and the future looked more promising than ever. Still though, the objective was ever the same: To root out the corruption of the world, starting with the poison trickling down from Charles zi Britannia into the Britannian Empire as a whole.

Over the next year, the USJ and their military force, the Black Knights, headed by Zero, worked feverishly to rebuild their nation's infrastructure and forge alliances to survive a retaliatory invasion by Britannia. Zero turned first to the Chinese Federation, and what he found was most worrying. The Chinese high eunuchs had arranged a marriage between Britannia's Crown Prince Odysseus eu Britannia and the Chinese puppet ruler Empress Tianzi, all but handing their country to Britannia on a silver platter. For the high eunuchs, this was a chance to gain more power and status in Britannia than they had in the Chinese Federation. For Britannia, it was an opportunity to crush the USJ's hopes of allying themselves to the Asian superpower. However, known to Zero but unbeknownst to the eunuchs and Britannians, the empress's bodyguard, Li Xingke, was planning a coup to eliminate the corrupt regency council of high eunuchs and refocus the government under the leadership of the empress. Unto this, Zero, the rumours of his precognition becoming always more widespread, outplotted everyone and enacted Xingke's plan himself, destabilizing the federation and causing riots to break out everywhere within its borders against the treachery of the high eunuchs. Empress Tianzi, finally in control of her own country, aligned herself with Zero and signed an agreement of coalition with the USJ against Britannia. As a sign of good faith, Xingke joined the Black Knights as a representative for the Chinese Federation. Another victory for Zero.

The European Union too had been suffering, though unlike the Chinese Federation's internal problems, their grievance was entirely external, in the form of Britannia's unstoppable war machine. It hardly even took any soliloquizing from Zero to coax them onto the bandwagon and join the Black Knights coalition against Britannia. With the European power onboard, Zero introduced the idea of the United Federation of Nations, an executive body of elected officials representing every nation on Earth, the Black Knights as their military force to resolve international disputes, and it was met with roaring applause. The year was 2019 and the world was divided by a line in the sand between the UFN and the Holy Britannian Empire.

"Your Majesty?"

Lelouch realized at that moment that he'd been staring into the distance for some time now. It still seemed like a dream, all too good to be true. The Black Knights were victorious, the Geass Order had been annihilated, the Ragnarok Connection was permanently cancelled, Emperor Charles was dead, and Lelouch was installed as the new emperor on top of that.

Taking command of the Empire was hardly a clean and easy affair though. Most Britannians were indignant and viewed Lelouch's succession as usurping the throne with the aid of a foreign army. But then he declared a series of projects that were to take place during his reign. Among the first great projects announced by the Black King was plans for massive social reform and an immediate ending of the Number System, giving full, free citizenship to all those within the borders of the Holy Britannian Empire. Such moves toward greater freedom and fairness managed to endear Lelouch to the commoners, though in turn distressed the nobles immensely. Attempts to threaten or intimidate Lelouch into keeping the old ways, by nobles, corrupt politicians, and holdovers from the Charles regime, were met with an offer to speak about the affairs in private. Every time though, the troublemaker would leave wide-eyed, unblinking, with a blank, soulless stare on their face. And if anyone asked what had gone on behind closed doors, they would answer slowly, robotically: "All hail Lelouch."

Today was a special day. Emperor Lelouch had declared that this would henceforth be a national holiday in Britannia, 'Alliance Day,' so the people of the Empire could always remember that they were now allied to the other nations of the world, rather than standing in opposition to them. Years of exposure to Social Darwinist propaganda was making it difficult for Britannians to get used to the idea of peace between 'the strong' and 'the weak,' but, Lelouch figured, reversing such a mindset would take time, and this was as good a place to start as any.

Lelouch was standing in the main hall of Britannia's temporary royal palace, seeing as the official one had been shot to pieces during the Black Knights siege of Pendragon. For the first celebration of Alliance Day the new emperor had invited officers he knew from the Black Knights, officials of the UFN, Britannian friends and family, and other dignitaries, to a grand ball. He dedicated the party to the goal of preserving peace, but everyone there knew it was more a chance to relax and spend time with each other after surviving such a strenuous few years. Everyone was wearing their finest clothes and more importantly, they were having the best time possible.

"Oh, sorry," Lelouch replied, following with an embarrassed laugh. He idly adjusted the ceremonial crown he wore on his head then took a long look down at the black, gold, and purple of his regal dress coat. "I was just thinking."

Suzaku smiled knowingly at his friend.

Suzaku had only been a lowly foot soldier for the Area 11 Colonial Army when Zero appeared, as if from nowhere, and raised the black and silver flag of rebellion. He'd fought on the Britannian side during the Black Rebellion, and when the defenders admitted defeat, the victors had shown Suzaku particular disdain as a traitor to the former nation of Japan. Lelouch stepped in to save him from the lynch mob though. Since joining up with Zero, he'd accumulated some respect within the Black Knights' ranks and even gained some sway with the masked man himself.

"C'mon, Lelouch, stop spacing out! Euphie's been looking for you."

"Oh, right..." Lelouch nodded sheepishly, still flustered he'd gotten lost in thought. 'Euphemia...'

When Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia surrendered after the Black Rebellion and were taken prisoner, they were allowed to conference with their siblings who had joined Zero. Cornelia left that meeting pledging her support for Zero's cause and her eternal contempt for their father Charles. She even went as far as to swear she would see the man put before a firing squad. Euphemia was less vehement, and certainly less antagonistic, but agreed that the Emperor was wrong and had to be stopped. That's when Lelouch introduced Suzaku to his pretty, pink sister, and even suggested that he be trained as a knightmare pilot. It was as if Lelouch knew something they didn't.

"Lelouch, there you are!" Euphemia raised her hands in delight as her brother and his best friend came into sight. She ran right up to Lelouch and threw her arms around him, wrapping him in her loving embrace. She eventually let go before placing a quick peck on his cheek and going over to Suzaku, taking his hand in hers.

Euphie and Suzaku had totally hit it off, just as Lelouch knew they would. Lelouch hadn't even needed to geass Suzaku to live. Apparently his wonderful younger sister was more than enough reason for his friend to continue living. Not everyone was pleased that the princess was in a relationship with a foreigner, but they refrained from voicing their opinions on the matter. Suzaku Kururugi was, after all, technically Britannian. He'd been an Honourary Citizen for years now. Second, he was a war hero who had singlehandedly fended off three Knights of the Round during the Siege of Pendragon. Third, he was now the Knight of One, appointed by Emperor Lelouch following his coronation a week after the war's end.

Lelouch had been unwilling, at first, to take on the role of Britannian Emperor. After the war came to an end the Black Knights leadership, including the Black Knight Royals, as the siblings who fought against their father's rule came to be known, had held a meeting on the Black Knights flagship, the Ikaruga, on how to rebuild Britannia now that it had been utterly smashed. The first subject was putting a new monarch in charge of the Britannian government - one who would be loyal to the idea of international diplomacy. At this, everyone had turned to face Lelouch, whose eyes went wide as he realized what they were all thinking. He outright refused to take on the job, stating Schneizel, Cornelia, Euphemia, even Clovis would be a better choice than him. But all his suggestions were shot down.

Odysseus was supposed to be the one to succeed Charles, but he was far too indecisive and reserved for such an important position.

Schneizel had beaten the European Union into the dust before they joined Zero, leaving a nasty taste in their mouth at the thought of giving him the throne. More recently, he had fought for Charles against the Black Knights, even being the one to order the bombardment of the Imperial Palace when it was seized by Black Knight shock troops. As far as the victors of the war were concerned, Prime Minister Schneizel was a sociopath and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a position of authority again in his life.

Guinevere was vapid and cruel and wasn't even considered an option.

Cornelia was a warrior first, politician last, believing with all her heart she would lead her country to ruin if she became empress.

Euphemia wanted to have a normal life with Suzaku, or, as normal as she could get as a princess of Britannia courting the greatest knight in the realm.

Clovis scoffed at the idea of becoming emperor, though he was theoretically the most qualified to do so. He had an incredible resume, (at least compared to everyone else), which included political experience as Viceroy of Area 11, a lack of any major scandals to date, and a high popularity among Britannians from his sparkling clean public image. Still, he laughed off the thought and proceeded to leave the conference room entirely to go chat up the technician girls at the Ikaruga's bridge.

Nunnally was the only one left who Lelouch could turn to, but she wasn't going to budge either. Ever since they'd revealed themselves to the world and asked for Zero's protection, she'd been almost completely uninvolved with talks of politics and war. She could always tell though - the way Lelouch contributed to every meeting he attended, the way he would explain every little detail of the shifting politics to her with barely contained excitement - she could always tell this was what he was best at, what he really wanted to do.

Lelouch continued to refuse though, mentioning that he'd abandoned his title as a prince. Cornelia simply replied that Charles had never acknowledged Lelouch's attempt to give up his rights of succession, so he was still technically in line for the throne. Lelouch spluttered with explanations and reasons, all the way up until Kallen cut him off, mid-excuse.

"The world is in ruins, Lelouch. Zero..." She stopped at the mention of the masked hero. "Zero was the leader we all deserved, but not the one we need right now. Zero destroyed the world. We're asking you, Lelouch, to be the one to create a new world in its place." That stopped Lelouch right in his tracks. He frowned and took a deep breath before reluctantly saying only one word.

"Fine."

"... Are you even listening, Brother?"

"Huh, what?" Lelouch shook his head, noticing that Euphie was still talking to him. He must have fallen back into his deep thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I just keep thinking about things."

Euphemia let a worried look onto her face, but shrugged it off.

"Well, we have to check in with Cornelia anyway. She doesn't like Suzaku and me to be alone together for too long. You know how overprotective she can be. I'll talk with you later, okay?"

Lelouch nodded sincerely in response. Euphemia and Suzaku left him alone again and he let his mind continue to wander. He spotted Ohgi and Villetta out of the corner of his eye, staring wistfully at each other away from the crowd.

'It's a good thing I got Jeremiah to rope that bitch into the Black Knights so early,' he thought disdainfully. 'She caused nothing but trouble for me in my last life.'

Indeed, he'd acquired Jeremiah's loyalty early on, almost before doing anything else. He had been Lelouch's right hand during his second journey through life as Zero. In the final battle, he had squared off against Bismarck Waldstein, the then Knight of One, and triumphed. For such a deed, Jeremiah could have asked to become the new Knight of One. But he did not. He requested to remain Lelouch's personal knight for as long as his body was strong and his mind was sound. For this, Lelouch granted him an official title, to be recognized throughout the Empire. Jeremiah was named Knight of Orange, Knight of Honour to the Emperor of Britannia and protector of his family line. More than that, the position was to be hereditary, to be passed down the Gottwald family for generations. It was the single greatest honour the man had ever received.

Lelouch looked over and saw Tamaki making a fool of himself, not that he realized it. Lelouch smiled at the thought of his 'best bud'. Though he may not have been particularly effective at, well, anything really, he was still the most determined and courageous of the Black Knights. Zero had seen to it that the man received a promotion for his efforts. Though he got a new title, a badge to wear, and an officer's cap however, being 'Chief Knightsman' didn't really mean anything. Tamaki would still serve on the front lines, with the rank and file knightmare pilots, and he wouldn't have official command over anyone. But, therein lied the genius. To the men, Tamaki Shinichiro was a symbol of perseverance and improved morale everywhere he went. Though he would function essentially the same on the battlefield, it was his duty to maintain the moral integrity of the enlisted men, and keep their spirits up, in and out of combat. And if he learned of any kind of dissent brewing, he was to inform Zero immediately. As an unexpected bonus, he even got a spiffy new knightmare, built to be especially resistant to damage, given his track record. The frame's serial designation was FIR-18, but lacked an official title. Tamaki called it 'Faust'.

Lelouch noticed Lloyd Asplund having a heated discussion with his engineering buddies from college, Cécile Croomy and Rakshata Chawla. Standing beside him, shaking her head, was Milly Ashford, still engaged to the mad scientist and apparently still planning on going through with marrying him. When she noticed that Lelouch was watching, she waved wildly, and the Emperor gave the slightest of nods and grinned from ear to ear.

"Um, Your Majesty?" a timid voice came from behind him.

Lelouch turned to see Rolo standing there with Nunnally in her wheelchair beside him. Nunnally's eyes were still shut, but Lelouch was certain she'd be able to see again soon.

About a year after the Black Rebellion, Rolo suddenly appeared in the USJ. He was captured by C.C. attempting to infiltrate the Black Knights, her Code protecting her from the boy's Geass. Lelouch ordered him to be thrown in a jail cell and proceeded to question the agent himself. From what Rolo explained under the influence of the Black Prince's Geass, V.V. had sent him, without informing Charles, to assassinate Zero. It would have ended there, with Rolo rotting in a dungeon, but Lelouch had other plans. Better plans. By the prince's suggestion, Rolo began receiving a frequent guest to his cell. Nunnally would come in every day to try to cheer the boy up, and even to try to give him some semblance of family. And after only a few visits, Rolo was almost entirely knocked out of his violent bad habits. By the war's end, Lelouch had again interrogated him, reusing the old Geass command he'd implanted so long ago, and deemed him fit to be released into Nunnally's care.

"Rolo, how're you doing?" the new emperor probed of the boy lightly.

"Your Majesty, I, uh..." Rolo stammered in the face of his king. Nunnally took his hand in her own.

"We just wanted to say hello. Right, Rolo?"

"Uh, yes, Milady. And also, thank you."

'Thank you?' Lelouch thought, unintentionally raising an eyebrow.

"Thank you for giving me a family - for giving me a future. I'm honoured by your leniency, Your Grace." Rolo managed to get out what he was trying to say and took to one knee before his sovereign. The action surprised him, but put a flattered smile on Lelouch's face.

"You're welcome, Rolo Lamperouge." Lelouch motioned for his former surrogate brother to rise. Rolo in response blushed and grinned awkwardly. Nunnally indicated she wanted something to eat and they said their goodbyes.

Once they had left, Lelouch turned back around to continue on his way but immediately bumped into someone again, this time literally.

"Oh, hello, Your Highness!" Gino Weinberg, a former Knight of the Round Table, saluted the Black King playfully. "Great party you have here. Even Anya's having a good time. You probably don't know, but she used to be really mopey. Ever since King Chuck kicked the bucket she's been acting a lot more lively. I wonder why..."

Lelouch just barely managed to keep from smirking. Anya was feeling better because Marianne was no longer randomly possessing her body. He'd seen to that himself.

In his early days as emperor, Lelouch had arranged for a new position, the Knight of Zero, to be created. This knight would be of the finest quality, picked only from the Knights of the Round Table, and would serve in the Black Knights as a gesture of comradery between Britannia and the UFN as a whole. Gino had volunteered himself instantly for the position as soon as it was announced. Aside from the prestige to be associated with such a title, in his own words he intended to "meet babes from round the world."

"Oh, and by the way," the cheerful blonde continued, "I know everyone must want to talk with you, but have you spoken with Lady Kaguya, yet? I recommend you get it out of the way now, while you're in public. If she gets you alone, I wouldn't be surprised if she forced you into having an impromptu wedding night. And if she asks, you didn't hear it from me."

As if the mere mention of her name was enough to summon her, Kaguya bounded into Lelouch and Gino's field of vision. Gino gave the Emperor a friendly pat on the shoulder and offered a quick excuse to leave, something about having business to attend to somewhere else that was anywhere but right there, before scurrying away from the Japanese loli.

"Lulu, my LOVE."

Lelouch sighed to himself. Having the chance to live through Zero's rebellion a second time, he'd been able to appreciate many of the aspects of life he was too harried to even notice the first time around. Kaguya was one of those aspects. There was no doubt in his mind that he had liked Kaguya in his first life. She was certainly fun to be around and wicked clever on top of that. She always knew just what to say in any situation, granted the vigour behind it was also always jarring. Lelouch wasn't sure when, but sometime during this second life he'd realized being around Kaguya was still as tiring as it always was, but he would also feel less burdened afterward. Her goodness and cheer seemed to radiate from her, motivating Lelouch to do more, to be more. Now that the war was over, he was able to put more thought into Kaguya as a woman than as a politician, finally giving in to her after nine years (including a seven year hiatus and only counting his second life) of marriage requests. Her requests to marry him.

No matter how he felt about the girl though, at first he wasn't entirely keen on the idea of marrying her, not being one to let others into his private life. Still, Lelouch couldn't honestly think of an excuse to stall her any longer, and it would be easy to justify the union to the public as a political marriage. With peace finally within his grasp, Lelouch decided to just let go and let Kaguya have her way.

Shortly before the Black Rebellion, Kaguya Sumeragi joined the Black Knights in direct defiance of the rest of the Houses of Kyoto. She could see, she thought, what the old, arrogant former Japanese nobles could not. While they clung desperately to the dying Japan Liberation Front, the remnants of the official Japanese Army, who had been all but eradicated by Princess Cornelia's forces upon taking viceroyship of Area 11, Kaguya looked to a new rebel group. The Black Knights, led by Zero, were the sleekest, stealthiest, and most stylish 'army' fighting Britannia's unjust rule of Area 11. More than that, they were efficient and effective, qualities the JLF had apparently never considered important. As time went on, the Black Knights recruited new members at faster and greater levels than ever. Several of their number were even Britannians who defected for one reason or another, the most notable one among them being Prince Clovis himself. Deciding that she could do no good with the rest of Kyoto, Kaguya managed to set up a private meeting with the Black Knights, at which point she left her elderly companions behind and joined Zero, the man she knew could change the world.

At first Kaguya couldn't do much but be a glorified cheerleader. The Black Knights had been declared terrorists by the Area 11 government and had no real opportunity, nor political weight, to conduct diplomacy with anyone. As such, Kaguya's greatest skills went largely unused. Zero assured her though, one day when Japan was freed from enemy occupation, her powers of persuasion would shine. She trusted in those words, believing in him with all her heart. She was going to be Zero's wife one day, after all! Once upon a time, she said Lelouch vi Britannia was the man for her, but the war in 2010 came and went, and afterward Lelouch was nowhere to be found. He was just assumed dead. Zero embodied everything Lelouch had been for her though. He was cunning and charismatic, kind and just. Then Lelouch really DID turn up. Kaguya hardly knew what to do, as she considered herself engaged to both men, but luckily she had some time to think about it. The Black Rebellion came shortly after Lelouch's miraculous return, and Japan was reclaimed, bringing forth the day Zero promised to Kaguya. Though it was strained, diplomacy finally became an option for the newly christened USJ.

"Milady," Lelouch nodded to his betrothed gently as she ran up and threw her arms around his neck, forcing him to twirl with her before he could get her to let go. Lelouch would have said more, but he knew Kaguya too well. She could talk for the both of them.

"I was just talking to Naoto and Kallen, oh, and C.C. too, and we got to thinking we should take a picture together, to remember today."

Lelouch again would have said something, but Kaguya began dragging him by the hand. In his past life, Lelouch may have been annoyed by this, but he'd gone through so much and gotten to know Kaguya so much better that he didn't even mind. He was hardly paying attention anyway. He'd been distracted all day, his thoughts still racing over the events that led up to this seemingly impossible perfect ending.

Kaguya finally stopped pulling Lelouch when they arrived before Kallen and her brother Naoto, C.C. between the two, teasing them lightly about this and that. Lelouch looked at the three thoughtfully. C.C. held a whole box of pizza in her left hand, using her right to shove greasy slices into her mouth with reckless abandon. She was so much happier than she'd been when he first met her. She was even more pleasant now than she'd been upon meeting him again in this second life.

Lelouch managed to arrange a surprise meeting with Clovis before publicly announcing himself as Zero, and with a little bit of effort, and quite a lot of legitimate threats, convinced him to release the mysterious girl C.C. from her imprisonment in his secret labs.

She didn't know him, of course, but Lelouch knew her, and the first thing he asked of C.C. was to use Code to see his memories. C.C. was understandably surprised that he knew about her abilities, and defensive at first, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she took a peek inside his mind, seeing their shared past through his eyes and realizing just what she meant to him. She was his accomplice, and though he would never admit it, had been the closest thing to a mother figure in his life after his true mother 'died'.

It wasn't the same relationship as it had been before, with only Lelouch remembering the time they'd spent together in his first life, but by seeing his past, at least C.C. was brought up to speed on what was going on, and came to realize there was someone she could trust in the world. She also found out how desperate Lelouch had been to get her back and up to date on everything that had happened before the Collective Unconscious turned back the pendulum.

"So you came," C.C. said mockingly, still chewing on a mouthful of her favourite food. "I knew Kaguya would have to drag you to get you to be in a picture, but I thought you'd be kicking and screaming the whole way."

"Ha ha, Witch," Lelouch replied sarcastically, though the smile on his face indicated he wasn't actually bothered. Naoto stole a piece of C.C.'s pizza from the box, to her horror, and took a bite.

"We were actually thinking of getting a big group pic after this one," he said, ignoring C.C.'s complaints about taking some of her food.

Lelouch looked between Naoto and Kallen, back and forth. He still wasn't sure what to think. Was this the right choice? Was this best for everyone? He looked at the beautiful red dress Kallen wore, at her blue eyes, flashing with joy at simply being here with almost everyone she loved. He stared at her smile directed at him and at the small but ornate silver ring he'd given to her, displayed prominently on her left ring finger. Then he looked at Naoto, at his black gloved hands, at the purple and gold suit he wore with a white cravat at the neck, a black, batlike cape hanging off his shoulders and a spiked helmet tucked beneath one arm.

The Siege of Pendragon was fought alongside dozens of other battles across the world. Because of the military buildup that both Britannia and the UFN had accrued, as soon as the declaration of war was sent by the Federation, the borders of the two countries were instantly turned into a no-man's land and armies fought furiously for almost no major gain of territory. Knowing this would happen, Zero and his officers put all their chips into a gamble. Zero took an army of the most elite members of the Black Knights, including almost all of the Black Knights senior officers from the USJ, the first members of the Black Knights, as well as all the Black Knight Royals, and besieged Britannia's capital. Zero himself led a knightmare vanguard and assaulted the Imperial Palace. With him was his ace pilot Kallen Kozuki-Stadtfeld and her brother Naoto, Princess Cornelia li Britannia and her knight Guilford, Lelouch's knight Jeremiah Gottwald, Lelouch and Euphemia's friend Suzaku Kururugi, and the mysterious woman C.C., with 13 other veteran pilots filling out the team. Their mission was to assassinate Emperor Charles zi Britannia and end the war before it could become a drawn-out slugfest, with both sides throwing soldiers and knightmares against each other without any hope of actually accomplishing anything.

In the final approach toward the palace, Zero's forces were intercepted by several members of the Knights of the Round Table, led by Bismarck Waldstein. Zero's retinue was split in half as Jeremiah moved in to occupy Bismarck's attention and Suzaku was cut off by Gino Weinberg, Anya Alstreim, and Luciano Bradley. Zero himself would have been shot down by the Britannian elites if C.C. hadn't gotten in the way, taking the deadly shots herself and urging him to continue on without her just before her radio cut out.

Zero and what was left of his team managed to reach the palace and get inside, quickly moving to eliminate all opposition and open the way for Black Knight shock troops to march in and start taking the palace over. What happened after that was largely unclear. Zero immediately left his knightmare behind and ran off, his retinue following after him in confusion. Then he was gone. No matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find him. It was as if he had escaped reality somehow.

Shortly after Zero's disappearance, even while Britannian nobles and Charles' own wives and sons and daughters were still inside, the palace was suddenly rocked by explosions. Cornelia came to the conclusion that it couldn't be friendly attacks because their forces were briefed on this mission - the whole purpose of the siege was in support of the attack on the palace. No, she reasoned, someone had ordered a full-scale bombardment of the area to eliminate Zero once and for all, even at the expense of almost certainly killing Charles and his entire court. Without a moment's notice, Cornelia ordered all forces to evacuate from the palace while getting out as many civilians as possible.

Kallen objected. Zero was still in there, somewhere, and would need his people with him when he made his escape. Cornelia was unmoved.

In the end, Kallen and Naoto stayed behind, alone in a rapidly dying palace, waiting anxiously for Zero to return to them. Eventually, he did. He stumbled out of nowhere and fell to the ground amidst a rapidly expanding pool of his own blood. He'd been shot. Once in his gut, once through the palm of his right hand, and once in the back of his right leg.

Kallen and Naoto didn't talk about what happened after that. They flew out of the Imperial Palace together in Naoto's knightmare right before it gave out completely and collapsed. The radio in his frame sounded and they were asked if the mission was successful. They said yes. They were asked where Zero was. No answer. Then, meekly, in a somber whisper from Kallen:

"He didn't make it."

The battle came to a close as the news of Charles' death spread like wildfire, the Britannians surrendering in droves until Prime Minister Schneizel had to admit defeat, calling for a general surrender of all Britannian forces.

The war was over, but Zero was dead. Not once before had the Black Knights been nearly as disheartened as they were by this revelation. There were efforts made to search through the wreckage of the Imperial Palace for Zero's body, but it never turned up. A small, unofficial funeral with an empty casket was held for the masked man with only the founding members of the Black Knights present. It was decided that Zero's legacy would go on. A new Zero would rise to take the place of the first.

Without realizing it, Lelouch had somehow been herded into position with Kallen and Kaguya latched onto each arm. C.C. stood slightly off from them with her box of pizza still in her hand and a slice on its way to her mouth, and the new Zero, face showing and helmet cradled beneath his arm, took up his place beside her. The photographer chosen to take a picture of these most important people, (except for C.C., who was still a mystery as far as anyone but Lelouch was concerned) was a professional. The Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim, brought out her phone and clicked the "OK" button, memorializing the moment forever.

"Sir Alstreim, how's it look?" asked Naoto as he went over to inspect the picture's quality. As expected, the lighting was perfect, no one was caught blinking, and the smiles on everyone's faces were genuine, though in Lelouch's case it was a tad bemused.

"Did you want me to take some more?" Anya said hopefully. The monotone she'd used for years was slowly receding, thankfully. Lelouch furrowed his brow at what she must have gone through. She didn't know, but he did. Marianne, his own mother, had been wearing Anya's body like a suit all this time, just to escape her own death. It had come as a blow, at first, to find out his mother wasn't as benevolent as he'd remembered her, but he quickly came to terms with it. Now, in his second life, he could say with absolute certainty that she was as much a villain as his father, and truly deserved her death.

"Of course!" Naoto ruffled his cape behind him, clearly practicing the little flourishes that made Zero such a theatrical saviour. "Let's get everyone together! We'll get a picture of the Black Knights attending the party, then some with the Britannian Royal Family, maybe a couple with UFN representatives, and how about..."

Naoto led Anya off to fetch more people for group photos, leaving Lelouch alone with Kallen, Kaguya and C.C.

"So, Lelouch..." Kallen started, uncharacteristically timid.

Kaguya was about to interject but C.C. managed to draw her attention.

"I'm thirsty. Pizza's much better with something to drink. Come with me, Kaguya?" The greenette motioned with her head away from Kallen and Lelouch. The Japanese noblewoman got the message.

"Sure! I'm interested in trying Britannian wines. I'll have to know all about them if I intend to marry the Britannian Emperor." She looked over at Lelouch and gave a quick wave. "I'll be back when it's time to be in more pictures!" And with that, she and C.C., pizza box still in hand, made their way to the refreshment corner where royal butlers, chefs and waiters would be able to help them with anything they needed.

Kallen looked deep into Lelouch's amethyst eyes, searching for something that wasn't there. There was nothing strange in those eyes, no shining pink and red, no birds about to take flight. They were just regular, (and dreamy), eyes.

"Can I see it again?" she said, not taking her eyes from Lelouch's. "Please? To remind myself that you're really here?"

Zero shambled out of Charles' makeshift Thought Elevator and tumbled to the floor, thankful for the return to reality.

"Zero...!" Kallen shouted, and she and her brother rushed over to him. He'd been shot in several places.

It had happened when he confronted his father on top of the Sword of Akasha, just as he had in his first life. This time however, the scenario played out more violently than it once did. This time Charles had resisted, tooth, nail, and bullet, before Zero could stop the emperor's last-ditch hope of starting the Ragnarok Connection before his forces back in the real world were overrun. Charles was immortal, which really put a spanner in Zero's works, but still, the Man of Miracles prevailed, albeit incurring several wounds in the process.

"Zero, we've gotta go, the whole place is coming apart!" Naoto had to shout to be heard over the crashing of explosions and the electrical fire that had just started nearby. "Kallen, help me with him!"

Kallen and Naoto tried picking Zero up by his arms so they could limp him over to Kallen's knightmare, since he clearly wasn't up to piloting his own. As soon as they managed to get him up though, he slipped from their arms and fell back down. The explosions from the bombardment were getting louder and closer now. The palace could only be so big. It was only a matter of time before whoever was bombing them managed a direct hit on their location.

"I'mn, mmshehhhhh... Dunszjuspfff..." Zero muttered incoherently. He seemed to fight to get the next words out clearly. "Charles... He's dead... We win... Leave me..."

"No... Zero, NO!" Kallen shouted desperately.

"It's too late for that..."

"No, Zero... Please... Don't go..." She looked at his wounds. "C'mon, we'll get you patched up and out of here in one piece."

Zero was fading fast, but Kallen couldn't stop herself from holding out some hope. There was no way Zero could die, not during his hour of victory over Britannia. Nevermind that she'd seen people die from lesser wounds a hundred times over, this was Zero, a near-mythical figure to her and all the Black Knights. She could save him. She had to save him.

Carefully, Kallen peeled Zero's blood-soaked right glove off his hand, grimacing at the severity of his wound. She didn't have actual bandages with her, so she tore off her headband and used that instead, wrapping it around the, somehow familiar, white skin of Zero's palm, hoping futilely that she could stop him from bleeding out.

Time seemed to stop then as thoughts and memories flooded Kallen's mind. They were foreign to her, and clearly not her own. She saw herself through someone else's eyes. She saw events she was certain had never happened, like Euphemia ordering a massacre, like Tokyo being erased from existence in a bright flash of pink. Finally, she saw herself facing him, both of them standing naked before each other in an empty white abyss. His eyes seemed to be on fire and he whispered to her.

"Kallen, when this is over, will you then return with me to Ashford?"

Kallen drew back her hand from Zero's as if burned, and the visions stopped. She gasped for breath and realized her eyes were wide and beginning to water.

"Zero... It was you? You were..." She fumbled with the words, still unsure of what just happened. She threw herself on top of Zero as she let it all out. "No, I won't leave you! I'll stay with you to the very end!"

Zero's breathing was ragged and deliberate by now, and he wheezed out a call to Naoto.

"Naoto..." Zero rasped. It took everything he had to move his head and look the man straight in the face. Without warning, a hatch in Zero's mask opened, revealing fiercely shining red eyes. "Get Kallen to safety."

Naoto was about to question Zero, was about to say ANYTHING, but the command Zero had given him pounded in the back of his head, over and over, louder and louder, drowning out everything save the command. Without a word he leaned down and started tugging at Kallen, trying to unlatch her from their leader.

"Naoto! What are you doing!?" she screamed, kicking and fighting her brother's grip. "We have to save him, we have to save-!"

Naoto punched Kallen in the stomach and threw her over his shoulder, running at top speed to where they'd left their knightmares. Kallen looked back at Zero as tears streamed down her face. The wind had been knocked out of her, but she still tried to speak.

"Lelouch..."

Laying in a growing puddle of red, Zero, Lelouch, watched the Kozuki-Stadtfeld siblings get into Naoto's knightmare frame and escape, leaving him alone. He took one last breath before the palace's infrastructure finally gave out and the ceiling collapsed on top of him.

"Kallen, you have to live..."

By the time Naoto had snapped out of his stupour, he and Kallen had already gotten clear of the palace, which was now nothing more than a magnificent marble, silver, and gold pile of rubble. Naoto couldn't seem to remember anything after Zero told them he'd killed Emperor Charles, but Kallen could. She knew now. She didn't know how, but she just did. Lelouch had been Zero all along. When they were together in the same place at the same time, it was always a stand-in for one or both of them. C.C. would sometimes play Zero and Lelouch's maid Sayoko would sometimes play the part of Lelouch, yet they were really one and the same. But he was gone now. Lelouch, the real Lelouch, was dead, and so was Zero.

Since meeting Zero, she could honestly say, she'd fallen head over heels in love with him. At first she'd thought of Lelouch as a nuisance. He didn't talk about it, but she'd assumed he was the son of a noble, or something, and he was as lazy as he was arrogant. When he and Nunnally revealed they were Britannian royals and joined the Black Knights, she began to see him in a different way. How he acted at school was a front, just like her sick-girl routine. He was so much more diligent and thoughtful than he appeared at school. She liked him, certainly, but she was in love with Zero, no hard feelings toward the seemingly aloof former school vice-president.

It was slightly shocking, and infinitely upsetting, then, to see Lelouch again on the Black Knights Ikaruga flagship after the Britannian surrender. It wasn't him. She knew it wasn't. Sayoko had to keep pretending to be him. Because Zero was dead. And since Lelouch obviously wasn't Zero, it would be too suspicious for him to mysteriously disappear the moment the masked hero was gone.

Days passed and Zero's body never turned up in the wreckage of the palace. Aboard the Ikaruga, Kallen sat alone in her quarters, just thinking. Thinking and thinking. Where should she begin? Perhaps with what she saw when she touched Lelouch's hand as she tried to bandage his wound? She had seen things and people that were not there and learned of history that never happened. Knowledge poured into her in an unorganized cascade. Kallen was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice the knock on her door.

When she went to see her visitor, it was Lelouch. No, it was Sayoko, dressed as Lelouch, wearing a mask and using a voice changer to complete the illusion. Kallen lowered her head dejectedly.

"Sayoko, you should to find a way to get out of being Lelouch. You know as well as I do that he's gone."

The person wearing Lelouch's face frowned sadly before moving in close and touching her cheek lightly. Kallen only had time to look up in surprise before her heart began to pound and this Lelouch imposter pressed his lips against hers. Her thoughts raced and her face flushed as he slowly released her from his tender embrace. He looked back and forth behind him and was satisfied when he confirmed no one was around to witness this.

"It's me," he said solemnly, and raised his right palm for Kallen to see. Engraved onto his skin like a tattoo was the bright red image of a stylized bird in midflight. Kallen still didn't know how she knew, but she did. This was the real Lelouch. He was alive. He barely had time to say anything else before Kallen threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back, deeply, passionately. She had loved Zero. But Lelouch was Zero. Kallen was certain now. She knew she could honestly say that she was absolutely, positively in love with Prince Lelouch vi Britannia.

Kallen and Lelouch came back to reality as they realized they'd both been staring into each other's eyes, thinking back to those moments of sorrow, of passion, of joy. Lelouch broke eye contact first, his sight wandering down to his right hand. He did as was requested, wordlessly removing the glove covering it and turning it over for Kallen to see, the mark there on his palm undeniable. It was still there: The mark of Geass, the symbol of his Code. It was the proof Kallen was looking for, proof that Lelouch was truly alive, and, she realized offhandedly, would continue to be alive forever.

"I'm glad, Lelouch," Kallen said quietly. "I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad I got to learn the truth and I'm glad I get to be with you-" she paused and rolled her eyes as her smile made its way back onto her face, "-and Kaguya, apparently - for the rest of my life, even though you'll still be young long after I'm gone."

Lelouch closed his eyes and put his forehead against hers.

"It doesn't have to end that way," he said. "C.C. has a Code too, and she says there are at least eight Thought Elevators in the world. There should be six corresponding Codes out there, somewhere, still unaccounted for."

Kallen pulled her head back from Lelouch's and he opened his eyes to see the reason for the sudden movement. Kallen looked stunned. She took a casual look over to where C.C. and Kaguya had gone to get drinks. They were coming back with a whole group of people, probably to be in that group picture Kaguya and Naoto had been so insistent on taking. Naoto was at the front, as Zero should always be. Closest to him was Gino and Anya. Suzaku and Euphemia walked together, as did Cornelia and Guilford, and Jeremiah and Sayoko. Ohgi and Villetta walked with them, begrudgingly listening as Tamaki recounted tale after tale of the funny traditions Britannians kept that he could totally get used to. Tohdoh and Chiba walked together in silence, though Senba, Asahina and Urabe knew they were happy just to be together. Diethard was joking with Darlton, Odysseus, and Clovis as they too came to be in the group photo, "to become a piece of history," as Diethard was proclaiming triumphantly. Xingke and Empress Tianzi were present as well, happily marveling at the world outside the Forbidden City. Lloyd, Cécile, Rakshata and Milly followed behind, Rolo vigilantly accompanying Nunnally as she spoke with the Ashford heir happily.

Since they'd been in Japan when it was annexed into the USJ, Shirley, Rivalz, and Nina had gained temporary citizen status, allowing them to stay in the nation even though it was preparing for war with their home country. Now with the end of the conflict, they had to choose whether to return to the Homeland, or find some other arrangement to avoid moving back across the Pacific, but that wasn't in their minds now. Emperor Lelouch had them specially flown in from the USJ to attend this party. Though they were uncomfortable being mere commoners in the presence of so many honoured guests and nobility, they were overjoyed that Lelouch hadn't forgotten the little people now that he was king.

Kallen took Lelouch's arm as she watched their friends, family, and some former enemies, come towards them, laughing and talking amongst themselves. She looked up at Lelouch for a moment before turning back to the horde of people, crowding together and trying to sort out who would be in which photos and when.

"So, Lelouch," Kallen said finally, a firm but warm tone to her voice. "If you really plan on getting me a Code, and maybe even some for a few lucky others, isn't there something you have to ask me first?"

Lelouch shook his head slightly in surprise before grinning more happily than he had in years. His arm was still hooked with Kallen's and he moved it down to take her hand in his. Without removing his eyes from the people they'd come to know and love, so many of them alive who hadn't made it in his first life, he said the words that came to him instinctively:

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

Kallen didn't look away either.

"I am."

This was truly a special day after all.

LLLLLLLLLLLL