Code Geass: Immortal Amnesiac

Key:

" " - Regular Speech

' ' - Unheard Thoughts

" " - Emphasis / Radio Communication

" " - Amplified Speech / External Speakers / Public Address System (PA System)

Disclaimer - Code Geass is owned by Sunrise Inc.

Chapter I: Memories Forgotten

The Zero Requiem. It was to be Lelouch's final plan, his master piece, the culminating point of a two year struggle in the quest for peace. With his final act, his death, the whole of humanity's hatred thrust upon him, peace would come at last and a time of prosperity would begin. It was flawless, both in its conception and, mere moments ago, execution, the entire arrangement having gone off with neither complication nor confusion, the surrounding crowd cheering their masked savior's name while a restrained princess sobbed over her brother's lifeless body, his blood forming a growing pool of crimson under his limp form. Everything had gone according to plan…

There was a scream, a blood - curdling shriek that echoed between the towering structures that loomed over the imperial procession. No sooner had the sound been heard that the heads of those present turned themselves swiftly in order to focus upon its origin, the rigid and shacking form of Nunnally vi Britannia, an expression of both fear and horror, yet also joy, plastered across her usually delicate and tender features, her eyes widened to almost unimaginable size. Her expression was soon reciprocated by those nearby, an event of unparalleled magnitude occurring before them. Lelouch vi Britannia, 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, commonly referred to as 'The Demon', was sitting upright, alive.

For several seconds, the world stood in utter shock. Here sat a man, whom only several seconds past they'd clearly seen killed, sword having pierced his heart, alive. It was as if waking up from a knightmare, believing that all was fine, only to realize you had never been asleep to begin with. The hope which had surged within each and every spectator had now suddenly turned into utter despair and fear. The Demon lived.

To say Nunnally was shocked would be an understatement. She had clearly seen her own brother die right in front of her, his life slowly seeping away from an utterly enormous wound, testimony to Zero's blade. He had died, right there, lying upon the angled ramp of his float, his final words not but a mere whisper. And now, there he sat, alive, by all appearances seemingly unharmed.

For several moments his eyes appeared glazed over, his head shifting side to side as he observed his surroundings, a look of confusion making its way upon his face. When he turned to face her, his eyes widened considerably, a single, chocked out word making its way from the bottom of his throat.

"Nunnally?" He asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Is that you?"

Herself frozen for the better portion of a minute, the chained princess finally responded, "Onii - sama?"

His form now visibly shaking, no doubt due to the recent trauma he'd only just endured, Lelouch continued. "Nunnally, why are you so…so big?" He began, visibly shocked at her appearance, his expression then immediately shifting to one of concern, "And why are you in chains?! Who did this to you?!" he practically screamed, a burning fury visible in his piercing violet eyes.

Nunnally's confusion only grew at her older brother's latest statement, unsure of how to proceed. Did he truly not remember that it was he who'd had her presented in such a manner? The possible implications were unsettling.

"Lelouch, what's the last thing you remember?" She inquired, her tone being one of comfort and love, hoping she could appease her ever increasingly anxious sibling.

His response was less panicked, though stuttered, responding "The…the last thing I remember is…is kissing you goodnight the night we arrived at the Kuru…Kururugi Shrine, just after our ex…exile from the homeland."

Before she could respond, the tall figure of Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald made its presence known to the duo, his eyes, or eye at least, showing tries of apprehension. "Your Majesty," He began, "are you alright?"

Lelouch's head turned in order to face the loyal cyborg's own, his eyes widening once again before speaking, "Jerry? Is that you? What are you doing here, I'd thought you'd stayed at the Villa when mother died? And what happened to your eye?", the questions came in a now fearful and rapid tone.

The Knight of One's expression turned into one of utter surprise, his mouth opened and eyes enlarged. What had happened to his majesty.

"Jerry?" The emperor asked, "Why are all those people tied to poles? And, wait, is that Kaguya?! Why is she being held prisoner?!", his voice having reached that of a shout, sounding across the airwaves, relayed to all of his imperial subjects, before his hands placed themselves in front of his mouth, caught off guard by the deepened tone of his voice he'd failed to notice up to this point, along with his more physical changes, most notably his height.

"What is going on?!" He cried out, tears now streaming down his face, the confusion and unknown nature of the situation taking its toll upon his, seemingly childlike psyche.

Jeremiah simply stood there in front of his liege's broken form, unable to formulate an accurate response. In a desperate attempt to comfort his lord, he looked back towards the silently observing princess, silently pleading her for aid. As if having red his thoughts, the young girl began, "Lelouch, I know you're scared right now, it's ok, but I need you to order those peoples release, can you do that?" Her tone was angelically gentle and seemed to calm her brother down once more, though not without question.

"You…you want me to order their release? I…I can't due that, I don't have the power, only father does!" Was his still anguished reply.

Still attempting to maintain her elder siblings sanity, Nunnally continued, "Father's not here Lelouch, you have the power. Please just say the words to let them go, then we'll go home and figure this all out together, ok?" The innocence in her demand could not be denied, with Lelouch quickly giving into her orders.

"Re…Release the prisoner's!" He bellowed, still unnerved by the changes in his form that had seemed to appear virtually overnight, the entire situation coming close to overwhelming him.

There was a moment of hesitation among the soldiers, though it was not long before their Emperor's orders were met, the guards releasing the men and women from their binds in a systematic fashion, at which point they then undid the restraints upon the prisoners' uniforms.

Following the approximate 10 minutes necessary for the prisoners' release, Lelouch then starred at his knight and spoke, "Can…can you take us home now Jerry? I just want to go home now…" His voice trailing off, weak and lacking conviction.

Orange, having finally awaken from his rather justifiable stupor, simply nodded his head. "As you wish your Ma…" He caught himself mid - sentence, knowing the phrase would only cause his charge additional pain, before finishing off with, "Your Majesty".

And then, with a swift movement of his arm and a quickly radioed order, Lelouch's float, accompanied by a trailing squadron of Vincent Ward Knightmares, made its way back towards Tokyo Palace, where the Emperor and his sister would seek rest following these unforeseeable events, the lingering crowd watching in still shocked silence. So buried they were that, admits the chaos, no one had apparently realized the abrupt disappearance of Zero from the scene, having vanished into thin air.

Kallen was confused, to say the least, though drowning her sense of confusion were the emotions of both wonder and relief. She was alive. Her friends were alive. And, most concerning of all, Lelouch was alive, though not without serious mystery. Upon his revival, the boy emperor had seemed, dare she say, scared? It was as if he'd no idea what was going on around him, a whirlwind of negative emotions encompassing his fugue and radiating an aura of both terror and panic, his words jumbled and uncertain as he tried to communicate between his, apparently to his horror, chained sister Nunnally and the ever loyal Jeremiah. More intriguing though was the seeming affect Nunnally's words, unheard due to the distance between her and their conversation, had on her former captor, at which point her and her comrades release had been commanded. The entirety of the circumstance made little sense, leaving more questions hanging than could possibly have been answered.

"What do you believe just happened?" A gruff voice sounded to her side.

Turning her head to her left, the unmistakable face of General Kyoshiro Tohdoh made itself known, the elder samurai's eyes starring deeply into her own, reflecting hints of deep thought and genuine curiosity, his cluelessness to the situation being similar to her own.

"I'm not sure." Was her only response, the undertones of the all but recent event having gone completely unnoticed through what she seemed to have been able to grasp. "What do you think?" She asked herself, curious as to what the experience soldier would have to say about the situation.

The former JLF Colonel maintained his gaze and responded, "Whatever it is, I can almost guarantee it wasn't part of their plan." His tone reflective.

Kallen body visibly flinched at the statement, having realized what the miracle worker had just said.

"So you realized it too?" She asked, voice lowered and almost shameful.

A tense silence remained between the two before her partner eventually replied, "Yes, I think I did, and I can honestly say I'm rather disappointed about the whole affair. Those two had always proven to be trouble together, though I would have never thought Lelouch would have believed in something so naive."

She failed to respond to his comment, her consciousness lost in thought as she pondered over her elder's assessment, attempting to extract some meaning of her own. Yet before she could voice yet another inquiry, a single Gareth landed within the center of the confused and meandering crowd, drawing the attention of those nearby.

"I have a message from her Highness Princess Nunnally vi Britannia." Its pilot spoke over his Knightmare's external speakers, his voice loud and strong. "The princess wishes the core members of the Black Knights, along with her Highness Princess Cornelia li Britannia, to please make their way towards to Tokyo Palace. She wishes to speak to you all."

"Why the hell would we go back to that place again!?" Rang out the all too familiar voice of Tamaki, his outrage blatantly evident, "We just barely escaped with our live here and you want us to go back into that pit with that monster?! Are you insane?! I ain't going anywhere till we get some answers!?" He continually shouted, ranting and venting his anger as he spoke.

The hothead's outburst was quickly silenced by Li Xingke's interference, asking, "What is it that the princesse wishes us to accomplish by granting her with our presence?", the intonation in his speech making him loud enough to be heard over the countless hushed conversations around him.

"Her Highness merely desires to discuss both the Empire's and U.F.N.'s future, as well as the Emperor's…condition."

The slight pause at the mention of the Demon's standing, combined with the soldier's apparent unfamiliarity with said man's predicament, cause Xingke to raise an eyebrow, as if questioning the offer's sincerity.

"And if we refuse?" The Chinese general asked, curious as to the soldiers answer.

No sound made itself known from the Knightmare for several moment, the pilot no doubt trying to figure out an appropriate response to the question of calling in his commander in order to be provided with an acceptable answer. Finally, he spoke, "You are not obliged to attend the meeting, however I have been informed that it would be to the advantage of both involved parties that you do, if only for the sake of a diplomatic discussion. As of this moment, Princess Nunnally is serving as acting Prime Minister of the Holy Britannian Empire." A slight pause occurred for nothing but a second or two, at which time the speaker continued, "I've also been informed that security will be minimal, with only Jeremiah Gottwald, the Knight of One, and a dozen security officers being present within the room. You have also been guaranteed diplomatic immunity for the duration of her offer.", the devices finally finished.

Upon having deciphered the meaning of the princesses request, the large majority of the Black Knight's command, save for a still disgruntled Tamaki, accepted the invitation. At worse they would be captured once again, though the lack of a 'heavy' security detail, discounting Lord Jeremiah, whom could be considered as a platoon on his own, would make escape or resistance a much easier endeavor. But such a notion seemed improbable, the Demon'd sister having been a prisoner of her own, her apparent discussion with her older brother having also seemingly caused their release. Out of nowhere, a commanding and female voice made itself heard among the crowd, the origin being a tall, purple haired Cornelia, her knight Guilford and a pregnant Villetta at her sides, "How do we attend the meeting?"

Within the confines of a small chapel, a certain green haired immortal lay prostate upon her knees, hands held together in that which could only be described as the typical position of prayer. A single, damp trail could be seen glistening upon her left cheek, a smile etched across her face where not but mere moments passed a frown had been. An aura glowed around her form, radiating both joy and happiness, an highly uncharacteristic sentiment for the green haired immortal witch.

She had been crying, crying of all things, as she awaited for her and Lelouch's connection to be severed by the scythe of death, praying for his soul over the price he was about to pay for his actions and the rivers of blood spilt along with them. It was strange, really, this feeling of remorse or, better yet, loss. It was something she had not felt for many years. But, then again, shed never met a man like him, so was it so strange he could cause such things to surge from within her? He was called a the Miracle Worker, after all, so there must have been a hint of truth in such statements? In all honesty, it surprised her at the very least, her life having been so long that most things people may believe to be strange or wonderful were not but mundane to herself. She would be alone again, despite his promise, yet she didn't feel any resentment. His sacrifice was for the greater good, herself included. What were but a few more years in the endless flow of eternity?

After several moments of reflection, C.C. finally felt it, the severing of her bond, as if a tight string had suddenly been cut, separating the two in a permanent fashion.

'It's done.' Was her only thought, the lone tear dropping from her cheek onto the chapel's stone floor.

Yet before she rose, a peculiar experience happened. Suddenly, C.C. felt as if a chain had latched onto her mind, its strength comparable to that only of the Code. Yet both V.V. and Charles had been killed, their Code consumed by C's world…unless.

It was then that a rare and genuine smile made itself known upon the immortal beauty's youthful visage, her lips curled in the most wondrous of fashions.

"Lelouch, you clever boy…" She spoke to herself, eyes resting upon the stained glass angel's form, voice joyful and content. "I may not be alone after all…"

Upon entering the inner chamber of the Tokyo Palace's council room, Kallen Kōzuki felt an eerie chill run up the length of her back, as if some forbidding occurrence was about to transpire. While she had come to expect an eventual reunion between the former leader's of the U.F.N. and Britannia, she did not believe such an event would come so soon, to the point, in fact, where virtually all of those present, save Lady Kaguya, whom apparently had been presented with a traditional Japanese kimono, were still garbed in prisoner uniforms.

The chamber was both large and spacious, as could be expected from the new Britannian capital city. After all, both the palace and its architecture were meant to symbolize Britannia's power and prestige, so it was only natural for the room to be of such an expanse. Within the center stood a large, round table, its center hollowed out and allowing for an ease of passage, a series of comfortable looking leather armchairs arranged around the table's perimeter. At the very front sat Princess Nunnally vi Britannia, now dressed in a much more conservative beige ensemble, her eyes soft yet reddened, testimony to what she could only guess as more recent crying.

As both she and her friends filed into the overly large sanctum, her eyes wandered from side to side, where she spotted a series of Royal Guards, along with the ever loyal Jeremiah, keeping watch over the occupants, ready to intervene at but a moments notice. To attempt anything towards Nunnally at this point in time would mean instant death. Not that she expected anyone to act in such a manner towards Lelouch's younger sister, or at least she hoped.

"Please," Came Nunnally's sweat and reassuring tone, "have a seat, we have a lot to discuss." While her voice remained stable, her slight fidgeting and body language hinted to her obvious discomfort, most likely wary of the obvious hatred towards Britannia by the majority of her guests.

'Maybe you shouldn't have sheltered her as much as you did.' Kallen thought as she observed the sweat auburn haired girl. 'She has his eyes.' She internally remarked, having never seen the formally blind exile with her eyes open. The violet color truly was a mark of royalty.

"As you all know," The princess began, "I have called you here today so that we may discuss the future of our world, in light of the most…recent events." He tone was unsure, yet remained strong, as she attempted to direct the situation towards the meetings more formal matters.

A voice spoke out, not far from her right, as the familiar octaves of Ohgi traversed the airwaves, a mere two seats away. "While I understand the importance of these kinds of affairs," He started, his voice as respectful as he could muster, given the situation, "I think we would all like to know about what to do with him.", a sense of malice and disgust having weaved their way into the phrase.

The newly appointed Prime Minister visibly flinched at the inquiry, her face forming a small scowl at the Black Knight's second in command comment. "I would rather not have you soil the…Emperor in that fashion if you…"

Nunnally had been unable to finish as Ohgi cut her off and retorted, "That monster shouldn't even be alive, he's a danger to the world and has done nothing but lie to us all from the very beginning! He doesn't deserve to live!"

Almost instantly Kallen knew Naoto's friend had gone to far, catching a glimpse of what could only be called anger on Nunnally's face.

"Shut up!" The young girl screeched, unable to hold back her vehement anger towards the brown haired Japanese's comment, "You have no idea what Onii - sama did for you and this world! You don't understand what times he had to live through! Who are you to judge his actions!" she wailed, incensed at her enemies rancid accusations.

The tall form of Jeremiah had rapidly made its way towards Ohgi's position as soon as the later had attempted a shot at Lelouch, the cyborg growling in a menacing tone, "I suggest that you sit down, before I forcibly remove you from this room." The threat did not go unheeded, and Ohgi reluctantly took his seat, a frown etched across his face.

Despite the recent outburst, the softer voice of Lady Kaguya rang out, innocently asking, "Princess Nunnally, why was I the only one who was provided new clothes? And where did they get such traditional kind if I may ask?"

Nunnally's voice was almost imperceptibly low, barely above a whisper, as she answered, "My brother, um, Lelouch, thought that you would appreciate the gesture."

The remark left the majority of the room's occupants rather confused. Why would the emperor provide Kaguya with such a luxury, as simple as it might have been. True, he had been acting quite strangely during the procession, though the details of his, so called, 'condition', still seemed to be lacking.

"Princess Nunnally," Came Xingke's calm voice, "What exactly happened to Lelou…I mean the emperor?", he asked, carefully pushing for the answer virtually every person in the room desired to know.

As Nunnally was prepared to answer the General's question, the council rooms secondary set of doors, large and oaken and positioned behind the Prime Minister's wheelchair, drew cautiously open, the familiar figure of Lelouch peeking into the room, an expression of worry plastered across his features.

"Nunnally?" He inquired softly, "Are you alright, I heard some screaming."

Somewhat grateful for the unexpected visit, Nunnally simply graced her brother with a smile, explaining how,"Everything is fine big brother, I'm ok."

The Black Knights did not fail to notice the slight waving of the princesses hand as she answered her brother, the Margrave Jeremiah making his way towards the Emperor.

"Please my Lord," The turquoise haired knight began, "let me accompany you back to your quarters."

"But Nunnally…" The raven haired emperor began, his tone wavering slightly and undertones of worry mixed into his speech.

"I'll be alright Onii - sama, please follow Jeremiah back to your room, I'll catch up soon." The younger sibling replied, a smile still gracing her features.

The older sibling simply stared at her for a moment before releasing an enlarged sigh, allowing himself to be escorted outside the room, the doors closing shut behind them.

No longer patient enough to wait, Kallen finally decided to speak up, "Nunnally, what is it exactly that happened to Lelouch?", she asked, hopping her friendlier and less formal tone would enable her to coax an answer from the younger Lamperouge, knowing just how hard it could be to have Lelouch divulge any kind of information should he not originally do so.

She watched Nunnally take in a deep breath before finally answering the question all stuck in their heads, "Brother has lost his memory. His latest experiences date back to when we'd first been exiled to Japan, around eight years ago."

The news acted as a bomb shell, the revelation sparking dozens of questions within the core members' minds.

This time a ever so shy Tianzi spoke up, her curiosity getting the better of her, "What do you mean exile? Were you forced to leave your home?" The sheer amount of innocence behind the questioned rivaled Nunnally's own naive beliefs, unfortunately addressing a subject that was all to painful to the Lamperouge children as a whole.

"When I was little," Nunnally began, "my mother, Empress Marianne, was assassinated. I was caught in the crossfire, mother having protected me with her body, though I had severe injuries to my legs which paralyzed me as I remain to this day. I also lost my eyesight from the trauma I was subjected too, rendering me blind until much more recently. Soon after, both me and my brother were sent to Japan as political hostages, where we stayed the duration of our time at the Kururugi Shrine.", she finished, taking slightly deeper breaths following the rather long winded explanation.

This detail in Nunnally's, and more interestingly Lelouch's past, only seemed to intrigue the Black Knights to a further extent. The fact that both the prince and princess had been exiled to Japan came as quite a shock to the group.

"I don't believe any of that crap!" An ever impolite Tamaki spat out, headless of his words, "There's no way that bastard could have lived here before the war, he's just as spoiled as all those other royal brats! I swear if you keep…"

The loudmouth's undated commentary was silenced by a rather angry looking Tohdoh who, to the surprise of many in the attendance, gave a quick jab to the man's exposed neck, knocking him out.

Facing the room as if nothing had happened, the aging Colonel spoke, "What she says is true, both the prince and princess were placed under the care of the Prime Minister's family during their exile up until the Second Pacific War. I would know as I personally escorted them there and acted as Lelouch's sensei for a time."

"I remember that!" Shouted an excited Kaguya, seemingly excited of being able to share past memories, "He and Suzaku were good friends, weren't they?"

Yet another additional and previously unknown detail caused many of the order's inner circle to reel back at the possible implications. Suzaku and Zero, for the majority of their struggle mortal enemies, had once been childhood friends?

The question remained undressed as Kallen interjected herself into the conversation once more, the meeting having turned into what could only be described as an informal interrogation, "Nunnally, how did you and Lelouch get out of the war?", she asked. Kallen realized how loaded of a question she'd just posed the currently stressed out sibling, yet she had to know what she had meant when she'd responded to Ohgi on the 'times he'd had to live through'.

The princess seemed to pause for a second, as if trying to prevent tears from welling out of her eyes, as she slowly and half - chocked out a response to the redhead's question, "We didn't." She began, eliciting a shocked gasp from the majority of the rooms occupants, save Tohdoh and Xingke whom, despite having kept quiet, had widened their eyes but by only a fraction.

Ignoring the outburst, Nunnally continued, "I…I'm not sure what happened during the war, considering I was blind at that point. What I do know is that Lelouch carried me during the entire process, never leaving me out of his sight. We'd traveled with Suzaku for a while, but eventually got separated in what I can only guess was a bombardment. I'm not sure of the details, Lelouch never told me what he had to do to survive. All I know is that he would sometimes hide me in rubble or bushes before going off to find some food or water, at least that was what he told me. I know that he had to do some…bad things to keep us alive. I may have been blind but my other senses had to adjust because of my contain, and it was more than once where he'd come back…wet… and crying, though he would always say it was alright. Eventually we reached our mother's friends, the Ashford's, who'd been forced to leave the Homeland as well after her death, their nobility and business having been apparently taken away from them before we had left as well. Lelouch had been sick for around a month following that, though Milly told me he was going to be alright."

Nunnally's brief recounting of her experience in a war torn Japan served as a bitter pill to many who seen Lelouch as nothing more than a spoiled prince, although it had yet to assuage their hatred towards their so called 'Demon'. It did, however, elicit much needed sympathy towards Nunnally, who was only too grateful for the lax in venom that seemed to be impeded within the questions she'd been asked so far.

Kallen herself was personally shocked, neither Lelouch nor C.C. ever mentioning this particular portion of his life, though she could understand the unwanted resisting of such painful memories.

It was Ohgi who took the reigns of the conversation once more, his temper apparently fallowed by the heart wrenching story at least for the time being. In a much more respectful tone, the former resistance leader then asked, "Why didn't you just return to Britannia? I'm sure there would have been family to look after you…" Despite the question, the manner in which Ohgi had presented the fact lacked conviction, as if he could only predict the answer.

"Brother," Nunnally began yet again, clearing her throat and wiping away tears, "didnt't think we'd be safe if we decided to go back to Pendragon. He told me that even if we were taken back in, father would probably just use us like tools again and maybe even separate us, something neither of us wanted to happen. So we decided to stay dead and live under our mother's maiden name, Lamperouge, while staying at the Ashford's. While I tried to keep busy, Lelouch took care of me in any way he could, acting as my sole company until our made Sayoko came along. I was happy when she'd entered our service, it allowed Lelouch to have some time for himself and I got to make another friend. She's the one who even taught me origami." At this statement the young princess brought forward a pink origami crane, most likely crafted out of habit and stress as the interrogation continued. It was flimsy in appearance, considering how it had been made out of a napkin, though the defining characteristics were definitely still there, so little worries.

Before she could elaborate any further on the situation, a knock resided across the oaken doors behind her, Jeremiah having reentered the council room.

"Your highness," He began, "Your brother is growing worried about you, he would like to see you if that's possible. As for your meeting, I suggest you continue tomorrow considering the hour, its passed 11 currently." His tone was soothing and respectful, as he attempted to ease his second charge's unease.

"Yes, I suppose your right." Nunnally began, "If you'll excuse me, I going to have a talk with big brother for now. You'll each be given a room and board for the time being, so please rest until the morning, we'll continue our conversation then."

And with that statement, the members of both parties made themselves scarce and found their ways to their respective beds, all to eager for rest and solitude to ponder over the recent information they had learned about.