"... Urghhh. I swear to Me that author-teme is the biggest friggin moron your world has ever seen. He lacks any sense of priority or organization. He's like Doug from Up.

'Alright, time to work on the next chapter of Shinobi Tra- Oh! What's this series called Blood Blockade Batt- Squirrel!'

Seriously, this shtick is getting stale, even for me. Apparently he saw some interesting parallels between the main protagonists of both series, and decided to do something about it. The dumbass doesn't even realize how unpopular this xover will be by virtue of one of the series not being a very well-known one. Still, going in you'll see he used his 'author powers' to shift a few things about for the sake of the story.

Whoop-dee-doo..."

(-)

Lelouch vi Britannia, known only as Lelouch Lamperouge to those around him, moved his knight piece across the chessboard as he dispatched another one of his opponents pawns. His unfortunate adversary was an arrogant Nobleman of Britannia who had far too much money than he was deserving. So the exiled prince felt it necessary to lessen the mans burden. Plus, he was always happy to have an excuse to stick it to one of his fellow countrymen. Making a nice sum of cash on the side was just an added bonus. And tormenting the poor bastard by running circles around him was also enjoyable, especially as his face shifted through a myriad of colors following every move.

"Hey Lelouch, do you really think now's the best time to prolong this guys suffering?" asked one of his two companions. "If we don't head back soon, Shirley is gonna get suspicious of what we're really doing. And then Nunally will find out from her and get upset."

The dark-haired teen let out a small sigh as he nodded his head in agreement. "True. Best to finish up before that happens."

It only took another two moves before the teen declared 'checkmate', and the Nobleman reluctantly parted with the money he wagered as if it were a precious friend he would never see again. O' how Lelouch was amused by the look of defeat on the arrogant prick's face.

As Lelouch pocketed his winnings, he and his two friends made their way outside and were greeted by a news report on the outdoor jumbo screen about the recent terrorist bombing at a Britannian lab. And it just so happened that the person giving the report was the Viceroy of Area-11, the Third Prince of Britannia, Clovis la Britannia himself.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at the sight of the pompous ass that was his elder half-brother. Back when he was still a member of the Royal Family, Lelouch did well to conceal his distaste for the arrogant fool. He lacked any sense of strategic capability, and would likely fold like a house of cards the moment things go south.

So one would have to forgive Lelouch if after Clovis' 'charismatic and inspiring' speech, the teen felt like scoffing and shaking his head in disappointment. Still, that would be out of character for him, so he restrained himself. One of his friends however, had no such qualms about voicing his opinion.

"Man, that guy must really like the sound of his own voice. Can't help but feel like he's trying to compensate for something." remarked the 'oddball' of the trio. Their fellow teen was often referred to as the 'quirkiest' male member of the Ashford Student Council. He never had any problem stating what was on his mind, and could easily shift between being confident in the face of Milly, to cowering in the face of an 'angry' Shirley. Not to mention he always had a strange pair of goggles hanging from his neck, along with the fact that his eyes never opened wider than what was necessary for him to see. There was even a reward for the first person who could get a picture of his eyes when they are completely open.

"Careful what you say Leonardo." remarked Rivalz. "I'm sure the Viceroy and his men would take offense to that."

Leonardo chuckled at that. "I'm sure they have better things to do than crack down on little ol' me. Take Lelouch and his constant disgracing of Noble's in chess matches." he passed the buck as he jabbed a thumb at their partner in crime.

"Trust me, no Noble is going to make a formal complaint about how a high-schooler absolutely crushed them at a game of chess." said teen responded in confidence.

Having no further reason to stay put, the trio hopped on Rivalz's motorbike and side-car and made their way back towards Ashford Academy. As they sped down the road, Lelouch's gaze drifted towards the Shinjuku ghetto's. He found it deplorable that a once prosperous country like Japan had been reduced to such a state. Everything in sight was the result of his bastard father and his desire to continually expand Britannia's influence across the world. The exiled Prince actually enjoyed his short time in Japan when it was still Japan. Now it's nothing more than a number, stripped of the right to even bear a name.

"What's with the long face Lelouch?" Leonardo asked from his seat behind Rivalz. "I'd thought you'd be happy with your winnings. That, and knocking a Noble off his high-horse."

The dark-haired boy quickly schooled his expression as his gaze returned to the road ahead of them. "Just trying to think if I have enough time to study for tomorrows math test."

"Gah! That's right, we have a test!" Leonardo exclaimed as he began to panic. "It completely slipped my mind! I'm totally going to fail!"

Rivalz was tempted to laugh at his friends predicament, but with him being in a perfect position to strangle him, he wisely decided against it. That didn't stop Lelouch though.

"Quit laughing! I need you to help me study as soon as we get back home!"

"Sure." Lelouch replied earnestly. Just before his lips curled into a smirk. "All you have to do in exchange is let me see your eyes."

Somehow Leonardo managed to narrow his eyes even more than they currently were, and gave Lelouch a look of betrayal. "You are an evil monster. And now I'll fail the test as a result!"

"You seriously don't want to show anyone your eyes, huh?" Rivalz opined as he turned off one of the exits. "Why? Will they turn people to stone?"

"No, they'll turn them to glass." Leonardo replied in deadpan.

"You can't be seri-"

*BEEEEEP!*

The trio were startled by the loud truck horn that went off behind them. Turning their heads back slightly, they saw a massive nondescript truck that was almost on top of them. Though they couldn't get a good view of them, the driver seemed to be making some very rude gestures with the intent for them to get out of the way.

"Whoa!" Rivalz exclaimed as he was forced to the right in order to avoid getting rammed. Though it seemed karma was on point as the truck proceeded to crash into the tunnel entrance leading to the ghetto.

"Geez! To think that could've been us."

"Maybe next time you should think about going faster on the freeway." Lelouch remarked as he and Leonardo hopped off the bike to observe the scene.

The boys noticed that numerous other cars had come to a stop to gawk at the scene and take pictures, though no one had moved to help. Before he even knew what he was doing, Lelouch was already halfway to the truck with the intent to see if the driver was okay. It seemed that Leonardo shared his sentiment, as the narrow-eyed boy was right by his side. Seeing as how the sides of the truck were blocked by fallen girders, the teens only option was to climb on top of the truck in order to make their way forward. Being that Leonardo was the more physically fit of the two, he had already made it to an open hatch near the front and had stuck his head inside.

"Hello? Anyone alive in here?"

"Poor choice of words Leonardo." Lelouch remarked as he knelt beside his friend.

Suddenly the truck jerked backwards as the driver put it in reverse. Leonardo slipped and fell through the open hatch. However during his descent he tried to grab something to stop his fall. That something ended up being Lelouch's leg. As the duo slammed onto the floor of the truck, they were both knocked unconscious.

(-)

Lelouch was the first to regain consciousness after their unfortunate tumble into the cargo hold of the truck. He had propped Leonardo up against one of the walls, and was about to inspect the strange container which was the sole object in the truck with them.

"Attention! Pull the vehicle over immediately!"

Lelouch's head snapped upwards towards the source of the sudden voice. It was a loudspeaker that originated from somewhere above the truck. And from the sound of things, it was coming from a VTOL.

"Ah! I wasn't speeding officer, I swear!" Leonardo shouted in response to the voice as he woke up from his 'nap'.

"Calm down, your criminal record won't be starting today. We just fell in the truck." Lelouch explained as he helped Leonardo to his feet.

But his bravado was dashed moments later at the sound of gunfire pelting the hull of the vehicle.

"We're getting shot at!" Leonardo cried in alarm. "We try to be good samaritans, and our reward is turning into target practice!"

Doing his best to maintain his own calm, Lelouch needed to settle Leonardo down or else his mood would start to effect him as well.

"Listen!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the teens shoulders. "All we need to do is wait until this whole debacle is over, and then we explain our situation to the authorities. We both have our school ID's on us, so I'm sure they will believe our story."

Leonardo nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah! You're totally right! I'm sure things wi-"

"Terrorists; stop now or else we will open fire again!"

Leonardo let out a noise that could only described as the sound of a cat being strangled with pasta.

Any opportunity the two had for further reaction to that bombshell had to be put to the side, as the door to the main cab began to open. Someone was coming!

Lelouch quickly ducked behind the cover of the large container while dragging Leonardo with him.

In walked a redheaded female who looked to be around the same age as the two boys. However Lelouch had the strange sensation that he had seen her somewhere before.

"Hey, doesn't she look familiar?" Leonardo asked in a faint whisper. Apparently he was of the same mind as Lelouch.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Kallen! Things aren't looking too good!" shouted the driver up front. "Why don't we use it here?!"

"Use your brain for once Nagata!" the girl -Kallen- responded. "If we do that, this will turn into an entire bloodbath! Even the civilians will get involved because of it!"

As Kallen made her way to the next compartment of the truck, Lelouch swore he heard that name somewhere before. No way it could be a coincidence that she looked familiar as well.

"Kallen Stadtfelt." Leonardo spoke quietly.

Lelouch's gaze snapped the the teen at his side, just in time to see Leonardo's eyes fully close before they could be seen. Then his mind registered what Leonardo said.

"Isn't that the sickly girl from school who's always absent?"

Leonardo nodded. "That's definitely her. Though why she's here is a mystery. As well as the reason for her frail persona at school."

Lelouch could ask the same of Leonardo, who was now acting much more calm and collected than he was moments before.

But the nerves of steel he had grown had withered away moments later, when the entire truck shook and the sounds of combat returned in full force.

"I can't die like this! There's still so many things I wanted to do with my life, like live!"

It wasn't much longer before the unintentional stowaways finally caught a break when the truck came to an abrupt and dead halt.

"Ahh... Is the ride over yet?" Leonardo wondered aloud as he stood up from the fetal position.

"I hope that's the case." Lelouch replied as he dusted himself off.

Suddenly the door to the truck opened and a Britannian soldier stood in the doorway. He immediately spotted Lelouch and rushed him, quickly overpowered the teen, and pinned him to the ground with a throat grab.

"Enough mindless murder, terrorist!" the masked soldier snarled at him.

"W-wait! I'm not..." Lelouch choked out as he tried to rip the mans hand away from his throat.

The soldier was about to knock Lelouch out with a swift punch, but his attack was impeded as a pair of arms looped under his own and ripped him away from the student.

"Leave my buddy alone!" Leonardo yelled as he spun and threw the soldier against the wall of the truck. "There is such a thing as too gung-ho!"

Lelouch coughed as he rubbed his throat, trying to alleviate the pain. Meanwhile Leonardo quickly shifted back to a more timid nature as he held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry! We're just a couple of accidental stowaways! Please don't kill me or Lelouch mister soldier!"

"Lelouch?" the soldier remarked in confusion. His gaze then shifted towards said teen and he froze up. "No way..."

"You say enough mindless murder," Lelouch started as he ignored the soldier's reaction. "then tell that to the bastards who go around subjugating everyone in sight!"

Then the soldier did something neither student expected. He removed his helmet, revealing a familiar face to the exiled prince. "Lelouch... It's me, Suzaku."

Now it was Lelouch's turn to stiffen in shock as he was greeted by the boy who he hadn't seen for seven long years. The same boy who helped protect him and his sister during the invasion.

"Suzaku?!" he exclaimed in shock. "Y-you became a Britannian soldier?!"

"What of it?" the Japanese boy countered. "I guess you decided to become a-"

"No!" Lelouch cut him off before he could finish that line of thought. "I'm not a terrorist! This truck crashed and me and Leonardo climbed up to help, but it suddenly took off and we fell inside!"

"Technically I fell in and dragged Lelouch down with me..." Leonardo added in an apologetic tone.

Before their argument could go any further, the large container began to glow and emit light.

"Shit! The poison gas is about to be released!" Suzaku shouted in alarm.

"Poison gas?!" cried Leonardo. "Why are so many things trying to kill me today?!"

Lelouch was suddenly tackled to the ground by Suzaku, who then forced his own gas-mask over Lelouch's own face.

The sphere's four lids popped open, and instead of poison gas, a beautiful girl appeared. She had long, green hair and was restrained by a prisoner's straight-jacket.

"That's the prettiest poison gas I've ever seen." Leonardo opined as he peeked his head around the corner of his cover.

"That is not poison gas." Suzaku was so kind to point out as he and Lelouch stood back up.

Lelouch nodded in agreement as he took a few steps towards the girl. "Something about this screams of foul-play." he remarked as he began to undo the girls bindings. "Be straight with me Suzaku; what the heck does a girl have to do with poison gas?"

"Is that a trick question?" Leonardo nervously opined as he walked over to help Lelouch.

Suzaku let out a sigh of frustration. "That's what my briefing said it was. But now I'm having second guesses."

As the three boys and unconscious girl made their way out of the truck, they were assaulted by a sudden flash of bright light and the sound of guns being leveled at them.

"This stopped being funny after the second close-call..." the narrow-eyed teen muttered weakly.

A short time later...

"Okay, no student should have to go through so much danger on any one day!" Leonardo spoke as he and Lelouch fled from the soldiers with the girl in hand. Suzaku had been shot and left for dead by members of Clovis' Royal Guard, and it seemed that the two students were next on their kill list.

"Our biggest problems should be studying for tests and trying to get a date with some hot chick! Not dodging gunfire in the middle of a warzone!"

"Quit your complaining and keep moving!" responded Lelouch. "We need to get out of their encirclement before they track us down!"

"Easier said then done!" Leonardo replied as he pulled out his cell-phone and began to dial. "I ain't dying like this! Time to call my life-line!"

Lelouch had no idea what his friend was talking about, perhaps he just cracked under the pressure and was trying to call the police for help. Not that it would do them any good.

"Hey, Zapp! I'm in a pickle big enough to supply a million cheeseburgers! Can you send me some help?! The Shinjuku ghetto, that's where! Precise location? Tell her to follow the trail of carnage that's chasing after two Ashford students!"

Yeah, Lelouch was certain that Leonardo had snapped.

"Ten minutes?! We aren't gonna live that long!"

The call cut out and Leonardo whimpered. "Well, it's been nice knowing you Lelouch..."

Lelouch smacked Leonardo across the face, though it was fairly weak given his strength. "Pull yourself together! You don't think I'm panicking like crazy too?! But if we want to get out of this mess alive, we need to keep our heads on straight!"

Leonardo shook the dizziness from his head before clenching his fists. "You're right. As small as the odds may be, I will do whatever it takes to get out of this. Michella is waiting for me to come home!"

Lelouch nodded. "As is Nunally for me."

Peeking around a corner to see if the coast was clear, Leonardo put together a plan on the spot. "I'm the fastest one here, so I'll go ahead and see if the enemy has made it over this way yet. You two can follow once I give the go-ahead."

It was a half-assed plan that barely even qualified as a strategy, but Lelouch had to admit it was the best they could come up with. He was severely lacking in the endurance department, and the girl was no doubt still weak from her time in captivity.

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll need all I can get." Leonardo replied with a thumbs up as he crept forward.

Turns out he was extremely low on luck, as the far wall to the room they were in had exploded inward and flooded the area with light. And of course, the Royal Guard from earlier made their entrance with guns drawn.

"... That's not fair."

The leader of the squad stepped forward to address the trio with an arrogant smile. "Well, well, well, look what we have here~. Three terrorist scum who thought they could get the better of us. I was actually hoping you would give us a better chase than this, but I suppose pathetic worms like yourselves can only do so much."

"W-w-wait!" Leonardo shouted as he stood in front of Lelouch and the girl. "We aren't terrorists! We're just students who got caught up in this mess! You can't do this to us!"

The man chuckled as he drew his side-arm. "On the contrary; Prince Clovis has given me the authority to do whatever I deem necessary to retrieve that girl behind you. So while I could let you plead your case, I think I'll just kill you now and skip the paperwork!"

A gun-shot rang out as the man fired at Leonardo. The teens head snapped backwards and he fell to the ground.

Lelouch was drenched in cold sweat upon seeing his second friend get killed within an hour of the first. His body was numb and adrenaline was forcing his senses into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down as the man shifted his aim to him.

Wait... Time actually had slowed down. It felt like he was having some sort of out-of-body experience.

"You don't want it to end here, do you?" came a soft female voice. Glancing to his right, he saw the verdette looking up at him with interest.

"What...?"

"You still have a reason to live on, yet fate has conspired to end your story here and now. If you possessed power, would you be able to continue living? I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must make my one wish come true."

The dark-haired boy was thoroughly confused by what was going on, but listened on with rapt attention.

"Be warned, for accepting this Geass contract you also accept the conditions with which it comes: You will continue to live in the world of humans, yet you will no longer live as one. A different providence. A different time. A different life. The life you have lived up until now will be cast aside, and your humanity will be replaced with something greater."

Lelouch's mind was bombarded by countless flashing images of things he couldn't yet comprehend. A pair of strange planets, an image of the girl, countless people bearing an odd red mark on their foreheads. The girl was offering him something that he would never be able to take back should he regret his choice.

"The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. You are human. You shall be more than human. And then you will be human no more... Are you prepared for this?"

One final image flashed through his mind. The image of his bastard of a father. And while it was not quite the same shape or location, his father bore a red mark of his own.

Steeling his resolve, Lelouch growled in fury. "Very well! I accept your contract -and its conditions!"

With a powerful jolt Lelouch felt his senses return to his body, and time seemed to be restored to normal.

"So kid, why don't you hand over the girl and I'll let you live a few seconds longer~?" the man with the gun remarked with a sneer.

Slowly, Lelouch raised his head up to stare at the ceiling, and let out a dark chuckle. "Say, as a Britannian who despises his own country, how should I live my life?"

The squad leader snorted. "You some kind of radical? Absolutely despicable."

It would take but a moment for him to pull the trigger and kill the teen before him, but something unsettling about the boy caused the man to hesitate.

"What's wrong? Why not shoot? You already killed one innocent kid, so what does it matter if you up the death toll?" Lelouch mocked sardonically. "Or, perhaps you finally realized- The only ones who should kill are the ones who are prepared to be killed!"

His gaze lowered as he stared straight at the soldiers across from him. However the color of his left eye had shifted, changed, and formed a red bird-like shape over his iris. As soon as the soldiers stared into his eye, they were robbed of the ability to move.

"W-what is this?!" the commander choked out.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you!" the former Prince loudly declared. "All of you, Die!"

It was a surreal thing to watch. The soldiers grinned joyously as they pulled out their hand-guns and took aim at their own heads.

"With pleasure, your Highness! FIRE!"

At his command, every present member of Clovis' Royal Guard committed suicide.

For a few moments, the boy was struck with fear at what had just happened. He may not have pulled the actual trigger, but all the men before him died as a result of his actions. Actions he did with the intent to kill.

Fear was soon replaced with a maniacal grin upon realizing just what he was now capable of. But now was not the time for losing his cool- things needed to be done. The first on his list was to close Leonardo's eyes (if they were even open) in order to put his body to rest.

What the teen didn't expect however, was for his fellow student to suddenly lurch upwards with a shout.

"Ahh! That was way too close for comfort!" the teen remarked as he stood up on shaky legs. Hunched over and trying to catch his breath, Leonardo smiled weakly at Lelouch and waved. "Nice to see that we both got out of that with our lives. Though I think I lost a few years just on principle..."

Watching a man that you swore was just killed right in front of you, mysteriously stand back up as if nothing had happened, was more than enough to temporarily stun Lelouch. Even the girl was momentarily taken aback from the turn of events.

"What?" Leonardo spoke as Lelouch looked at him like he just grew a second head.

"H-how are you still alive?!"

"Oh, that? An old trick I leaned from a video-game. Bullet-Time Dodge." he answered as he mimicked slowly falling backwards.

"Seriously?" Lelouch asked incredulously as he regained composure. "In order to get the timing right to pull off such a stunt convincingly, you'd need to see the exact moment the trigger was pulled."

Leonardo smiled. "And that's just what I did!"

His friend was far from convinced, something he understood as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, since you have a secret about your eyes now," Leonardo started, suddenly reminding Lelouch that he was most likely awake and aware of everything that had just happened. "I suppose it's only fair I show you mine."

The verdette next to Lelouch was equally as interested as Leonardo fully opened his eyes. And when they did open, it revealed glowing pools of blue that were filled with constantly shifting intricate patterns.

"It wouldn't be very far off to say that few things in this world escape my sight."