July 3rd. Moscow, several hours after the battle.

The battle for Moscow was finished. The war between the EU and Britannia ended with said battle, though an official announcement had not yet been broadcasted. Vincent Wards were patrolling the streets as Gareth's aided ground troops in gathering up Alexanders and other war machines left over from the battle. Meanwhile, with the help of the Hounds currently on the ground, soldiers of the Empire were trying to locate and capture any remaining combatants in the city. Medics were spreading out, aiding the wounded wherever they could be found, European or Britannian. As of this battle, the European Union was to join the Holy Britannian Empire in a new age.

Britannia's new monster of war was proudly flying in the air above the city. Nothing could challenge it right now, and its crew no doubt basked in the feeling. The Nemesis levitated in the air, waiting for its master to choose its next target. Knightmares were flying back and forth from the vessel, units from the battle recharging their frames and then returning to the city to aid in the recovery operations underway. Logistics officers were planning where the Empire's temporary base would be located as reconstruction efforts began. The engineers on board the Nemesis were already hard at work repairing damaged frames. While there were many frames to repair, most of their efforts were focused on the machines of the Knight of Two and the Knight of Four. While the Reaper wasn't damaged in any major way, it still needed repair. The Amber, on the other hand... Every engineer on board the Nemesis agreed that they wouldn't let Lloyd know about the damage to the Knightmare. For everyone's sake and sanity.

Members of the Command Staff were still on the bridge, directing soldiers and relief units throughout the city. The throne once occupied by the Emperor was now vacant, as he had left some time ago. There had been no need for him to be there, after all. His commanders were more than capable of dealing with any problems that may arise, and the Emperor was always prepared to return to the bridge should something major occur. But for now, the Emperor had more important things to deal with. After all, he had to prepare an announcement to the world. The announcement they had all knew was coming when this war started. Britannia was victorious!

As they were in command for the time being, they could make any choice needed in the current situation. As long as it fell within the boundaries set out by the Emperor, of course. So, when a Knightmare approached the flagship with an identification code that every one of the staff knew by memory being broadcast, the staff decided not to inform the Emperor. It would no doubt be a pleasant surprise for him after such a stressful battle to see its pilot again.

The inside of the ship looked different than one might expect when compared to the outer hull. The inside didn't have the same color scheme the outer hull had. Instead, a pure white covered the halls. Specific portions of the wall were a distinct shade of violet. As operations continued, these halls were abuzz with activity. Engineers talking with pilots about repairs, medics conversed with commanding officers about injuries sustained by their men and many other interactions.

As these conversations occurred, a common sight amongst the halls were the Emperor's Royal Guard. Usually, the Emperor's personal bodyguards would see to their own machine's maintenance or do whatever their master required them to do. Right now, they were doing something different than their normal duties. They were escorting a prisoner. Though she wasn't technically a prisoner, if the rumours were to be believed. While most believed that she was a prisoner, none would say that out loud if they wanted to keep their heads. They knew their Emperor would not appreciate any false assumptions. No one would say anything until their Emperor gave an announcement.

Leila had never been on an airship before. The closest she had gotten to them was in reading intelligence reports on both the Britannian and the few Federation vessels that existed. Until now, Leila thought that the Avalon was best Britannia had. Obviously, that was no longer the case. The size of this ship put every airship she knew of to shame. As she had been transported to the vessel, Leila had overheard a couple of engineers talking about how this was all created from the mind of the Emperor himself with the help of his top engineers. How he was able to come up with such monstrous creations was beyond her.

Then again, this is the man who managed to outsmart the brightest strategic minds Europe had multiple times over. Looks like he was the one to have all the good luck in this war... Two of Lelouch's guards stood next to her, and she saw two identical guards stationed at the door she was rapidly approaching. The guard to her left moved his arm in a gesture towards the other guards. The soldiers in front of the door nodded in response, opening the door and stepping aside. When the guards turned to look at her, she took it as her cue to enter the room.

As Leila entered, she took in the sight around her. The room was large, to say the least. Leila didn't know its exact size, but she was sure that it could fit the entirety of Wyvern squad's barracks and still have room to spare. The walls were a pristine white in colour, while the floor appeared to be a type of grey marble. A giant TV screen which nearly covered the entire wall in front of her drew her attention before she shifted her gaze to the rest of the room. Taking several steps forward, she noticed a broad white sofa with black edge highlighting sitting in front of an intricate wooden table. On her left, she could see a large wooden door out of the corner of her vision.

Leila slowly walked in circles around the room. Other than the few things she took note of, it was surprisingly empty. The only real thing that stood out to her were the bookshelves sitting against the wall opposite of the screen. As she walked past, she took note of all the different books sitting on the shelves. Leila noted that some of them were written in different languages. She managed to recognize a few of the books, some Japanese in origin that she remembered Akito reading, while others she could recognize as being from countries part of the former EU. But others were completely unknown to her. Out of the ones she recognized, a few topics stood out to her. Medicine, history, economy, even gardening. The last one made Leila smirk. Was the White Emperor taking care of a garden on top of everything else he did?

She found this idea interesting. It made him seem a bit more human than he appeared to be on the battlefield and to the public. Soon her eyes moved back to the center of the room where the table was. A chessboard sat on it, something she hadn't really paid attention to before. She assumed that the Emperor had been playing a game with someone recently. A guard, perhaps? One of the Knights of the Round? She doubted that she'd ever know.

After looking at the board for a moment, she noticed something amiss. Neither the black nor white king were where they were supposed to be. In fact, she couldn't see them anywhere on the table. Leila looked around it, as perhaps it fell somewhere. Many people didn't know this, but she was a perfectionist and couldn't stand the thought of something like missing chess pieces. She got down to her knees and started to look for the pieces. Perhaps they had fallen under the couch or something else in the room. As she was searching for the missing pieces, she didn't notice the doors open and that someone entered the room.

She was so engrossed in searching for the missing pieces, she didn't notice how the person who entered the room had moved in front of her until she bumped into them. She looked up, and as purple eyes met rich violet ones, Leila let out a squeak of surprise. The smiling face of Emperor Lelouch looked at her as he knelt down on one knee, amusement lacing his features.

"Searching for something, Leila?" the Emperor of Britannia asked. There was silence for a moment before Leila jumped back. She took a slightly defensive stance, though her hands and legs were shaking slightly. Her face quickly reddened in embarrassment as she heard a light laugh coming from the man who stood before her. After a moment to calm herself down, she lowered her hands and relaxed slightly.

"Emperor Lelouch! I was just searching for- for the two missing chess pieces." Her eyes fell back onto the chessboard. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him look at the board as well, the amused smile never leaving his face. She said nothing, waiting for his response. Lelouch suddenly pulled out the two missing kings from his chest pocket.

"You mean these two pieces? I apologize for making you look for them. Sometimes I take them with me." the Emperor said as he placed the king pieces back to their proper places. After this, Lelouch looked at her and said, "Forgive me for making you wait, Leila. I was busy giving some final orders to my people."

Leila shook her head. "No, no it's okay, I understand. There must be a lot you and your soldiers have to get done." as she said it, Leila tried to keep as much of her feelings out of her tone as possible, but she had no doubt that some of her bitterness still came through. Leila didn't know how to feel. Several hours ago, she was one of the last remaining Generals of Europe. Now she was waiting at the mercy of the very enemy that had taken her nation from her, waiting to know what he really wanted her for.

Lelouch didn't speak for a moment, simply observing her. After a moment, he said, "I will admit that I am surprised. When I planned to speak with you, I was certain you would be angrier than anything else. It would only be logical, given what had happened. What changed, Leila?"

Leila shook her head. "I will admit, for a long time I was angry at you in regards to this conflict. I was angry because I thought you deliberately took steps to start this war, with the EU Council merely being a scapegoat. I was mad at you when my entire unit was forced to try and avoid your assassins in Italy." Leila said.

After a moment's pause, she continued, "But after that night in Prague, I started to think about your words. I don't know why, but I could never get them out of my head. Nor could I understand why I had the feeling that there was something I was missing. Then I learned about Smilas and your brother's alliance." A hurt look came over her face as she continued. "I learned that the man who was called a hero by the people of the EU was a traitor willing to sell out everyone. That he helped orchestrate the war, even being the one to convince the Council to begin the initial attack. Once I found this out, my anger became more directed at him than you. While I may still be angry at you for some of the things you did, I am at least willing to understand that not all blame in this conflict belongs to you as I once thought it did."

Leila sighed after she finished speaking. Gene was her father's best friend. She had always thought of him as a man of principals. Someone, she could look up to. It had hurt her to find out what he was doing behind everyone's backs. With another sigh, she continued, "To believe that the EU lost everything because Smilas was willing to do what he did. And for what? Just so Schneizel could rule Europe through him?"

A look of pity came over Lelouch's face. He sat down on the couch in front of the chess set, hands folded in front of him. "Leila, Schneizel never wanted to rule Europe through Smilas."

"What?!" Leila nearly shouted as she looked at Lelouch with wide eyes. The man in question simply began to use the chess set in front of him. He was making moves for both sides, starting with a white pawn.

Before Leila could say anything else, Lelouch continued, "My brother is preparing for something. I do not know what it is, but it is large enough in scale that he needs to buy time to have it completed. In order to ensure that I do not discover whatever it is he's up to until it is too late, he needs to distract to me." As he said this, Lelouch moved a black pawn forward. "And what could be a better distraction than a war, one with the very Union that has been desiring to put Britannia down for decades?" He took the white king and brought it up to his face, observing it. "Schneizel knew the EU couldn't win against me. But he didn't need the Union to win the war, now did he?" At this, he looked at Leila, waiting for her to respond. He could already see her eyes going wide.

"He just needed us to occupy you and your forces. When you started pushing further into Europe, it threatened to speed up the war. He sent the former Knights of the Round that were with him to make sure that the war would be extended." As Leila was saying this, anger began filling her voice. "In his eyes, Europe wasn't even a potential opponent for you! We were just cannon fodder!" she shouted with clenched fists.

So many in Europe dead! Soldiers who lost their lives fighting. Destroyed cities and murdered civilians, and I was a part of this... Leila thought as the realization hit her hard. With a defeated look on her face, she sat down near Lelouch on the sofa, unable to look at anything but her feet. With a deep sigh and a hand against her face, she said:

"That viper probably even knew what I would do if I found out about Smilas. Even when I thought I was returning the Union back to the people's control, that viper knew I would fall right into place." The second Prince probably knew that she would fight until the end for Europe. She couldn't just leave, not with so much at stake. In the end, she did exactly what the Prince wanted.

Lelouch, who had been silent as Leila talked, spoke. "His plans, whether intentional or not, have played nicely with mine." Leila turned to him, a questioning look on her face.

"What?"

"My plans for a perfect world." Lelouch answered. Suddenly, Leila remembered how the Emperor had mentioned it when they first met. "Schneizel managed to convince the Union to attack Britannia. While I would have preferred to conduct it differently and without as much destruction, it was an event which I needed to achieve my goal." Leila looked at him with a shocked gaze.

She didn't know what to say. Only one question was on her mind. "Why?" she managed to get out. Why would Lelouch need a war against the EU? Certainly, there were other ways to achieve his goals!

Lelouch simply looked at her and smiled. "The war between Britannia and the European Union was more than just a conflict between two superpowers." Leila wanted to laugh when he called the EU a superpower, he was probably trying to be respectful to her. "This war was between the old order and the new one. The EU, while noble in its original intentions, had become an embodiment of everything that was wrong with the old system. The so-called democracy that was supposed to protect the interests of its people became corrupted. Its leaders were worried only about their own profit, their power and how to save and extend it. They forgot about their nation, about the very people they swore to serve and protect. Leila, answer me this: how many times have disliked or hated Presidents somehow been chosen in 'fair elections'? How many times have they come to power because of support from those already in high ranking positions instead of the people's decisions? How fair is your democracy, Leila? Does it work for the nation or the nation for it?"

Leila was silent. She didn't want to admit it, but Lelouch was right. Europe was corrupt in almost every avenue by the end. Its leaders were nothing but power-hungry backstabbers. Democracy almost never worked how it was meant to. She had lost count of how many times one EU leader was replaced with his or her relative, or by someone in line to replace them if anything occurred before another election. Not to mention that their actual capability to be leaders were… lacking, to be polite about it. The military was only slightly better, though it could be much worse depending on who you served under. She had been lucky to serve under a decent general, even though Smilas ruined everything at the end. Leila was able to rise through the ranks due to her skills.

There were good people as well, of course. Those who did their job while understanding how important it was. They knew that people's lives depend on them, and they wanted to do what was in the interest of the people. Unfortunately, these people were overshadowed by those who cared little about those they were elected to serve. Leila thought back to the last president of the EU. He had been a good man. It was such a shame that he had not been in power before. Perhaps this entire war could have been avoided with men and women like him at the helm. But it didn't matter now. The Union was already dead; no amount of wishing different people had been in control would change that.

She turned to the Emperor before her with a frown on her face and said, "What about Britannia? Your Empire was just as bad as our Union if we go by what you are saying. The only difference between our two nations was that Britannia was successful in the colonizations and forced expansions which allowed it to grow far further than the EU could in a similar amount of time. Britannia's nobles were no better than the politicians you speak of in Europe. In fact, at least our politicians were kept in some form of check and balance. Britannia's nobles could practically get away with anything! Your system enabled things far worse than our system ever could."

She was surprised when Lelouch nodded. The Emperor agreed with her, and with a smile stated, "You are right, Leila. In fact, I can easily say that Britannia deserved complete and absolute destruction more than any other country on this planet." Suddenly, the smile left Lelouch's face. With venom in his voice, he continued, "I wanted that destruction more than anyone else, Leila. I dreamed about the day when my homeland would be annihilated. I hated everything my people believed in. Their belief in Britannian superiority above all else. Their arrogance, the discrimination, the whole philosophy of the strong versus the weak... I wanted nothing more than to watch the entirety of that Britannia burn. Let nothing exist of that philosophy and system but dust. I wanted revenge for everything that happened to me and my sister because of that system." Lelouch's fists were clenched, hard enough that she could see the whites of his knuckles. Leila watched on with wide eyes.

He hates Britannia so much... yet he is its Emperor. I don't understand. Why would he be the Emperor of the nation he hates with such passion?

"...If you hate Britannia so much, then why you haven't you destroyed it already? Why did you become the ruler of an Empire that you hate so much?" Leila asked quietly, not knowing what she expected to hear.

"What are you talking about, Leila?" Lelouch asked with a surprised tone in his voice. His violet eyes focused on the woman before him. "I destroyed the Britannia that I hated. I destroyed the old system and watched it burn. I replaced everything that had caused Britannia to become so corrupt. I destroyed the nobility and their corrupt practices, watching them drown in the hatred they had garnered from the common folk. I annihilated the beliefs of the Purebloods and made those who refused to turn from that belief into more… useful individuals. I gave those once called Numbers the rights to be equal with their masters. I changed the Empire's history. When future generations read history books, they will learn just how terrible Britannia was under the rule of my ancestors. Under my father's rule..." Lelouch whispered those last few words with venom.

"And following their rule, you come forward and changed everything like a white knight rescuing the nation from evil. They will see you as the best Emperor that ever ruled Britannia." Leila said, having come to the conclusion Lelouch no doubt had known she would come to. Lelouch gave a short laugh.

"I am flattered by your analogy, even if I don't see myself as a white knight personally. But still, is it not true?" he asked her. Leila was unsure how to respond. Lelouch, seeing that, decided to continue. "Everything I've done so far, everything I'm doing now and everything I plan to do is for the sake of the future. A perfect future where no one will suffer like me. Like you, Leila." At this, he looked straight into her eyes. "I know what you went through. What happened to you was unfair. It was a mistake." he said with warmth in his voice.

Leila turned away. She didn't want to speak about her childhood. She was about to say that he didn't know what it was like to lose parents, but then she remembered exactly who she was talking to. Miss X's words come to the front of her mind. She remembered how she and W-0 learned about the White Emperor's past. Or at least a part of it. Leila didn't know what was worse. Losing a father, or having Charles zi Britannia as a father. A man who was a literal tyrant to his own children.

No wonder there are members of Royal Family who hated the former Emperor behind his back. Leila thought as she turned back to Lelouch. She knew that being angry at him for what Empire did in the past was pointless. Lelouch hated the old Britannia even more than Leila herself, and he was right about the EU. But she had no idea how he was going to continue to achieve his goals. He was unpredictable at the best of times from what she had seen, and she knew that the man in front of her would most likely not tell her about everything he planned to do. That little fact terrified her. But she had no choice at this point. The best she could hope for was to find a way to ensure she stayed in the loop and try to retain some say of what happened to the people of Europe.

"If I may ask. What are you going to do now, and how does it involve me?" Leila asked.

Lelouch didn't say anything for a few seconds, staring at her before a smile graced his features. "First and foremost, I need to aid the countries damaged in this war with their reconstruction efforts. I tried to minimize damage wherever I could, but unfortunately, there will always be damage. As you no doubt know, there are cities that suffered major damage to the point where we practically have to rebuild some of them." Leila nodded in agreement. Cities like Berlin where the fighting had been most intense needed reconstruction badly before they could let civilians back in safely. "The next thing I'll have to do, with your help, is to convince the people of Europe to join the Empire as peacefully as possible. Britannia won the war. We were justified in pursuing it as well. From what I've been able to gather, there are many people who at a bare minimum understand it, even if they don't like the results. However, there are still people who don't see it that way and see Britannia as the warmongers of old. I fear that they will resort to extremes that will end up doing more harm than good. Leila, if something like that happens, I will have no other choice but to put down such insurrectionists with force."

Leila clenched her fists. She understood what he meant. She could even agree, but she refused to allow more people to die because of this war. "I understand, even though I refuse to allow you to do that. The best way to solve that problem is to win their hearts and convince them that this is for the best. I might have some ideas about what to do."

Lelouch raised his eyebrow as she continued. "The best way to go forward is to prioritize civilian needs, obviously. Hospitals, shelter, the usual needs. But the people aiding rebuilding should be both open-minded Britannians as well as the local populace. Convince the people that the Britannia of today is different from the Britannia of the past. While there will most likely have to be programs put in place to help integrate the people in a more peaceful manner than under the previous Emperor's rule, this will at least help get the ball rolling.

Lelouch nodded. "I had similar ideas. I plan to give orders similar to what you just described to the more recently occupied lands. Western Europe, namely France and Spain, have been receptive of the efforts given so far. Hopefully, the rest of Europe will be as receptive.

Leila nodded, glad to hear that the Emperor had already been thinking along the same lines as she had. "We will have a lot of paperwork to get through. While the countries of the Union are now part of the Empire, many things will need to be changed to make it all work with minimal issues. New divisions for the Special Administrative Zones and their boundaries. Local garrisons for military forces. Training of new forces to meet Britannia's standards. Re-armament and upgrades of the remaining army to meet new standards. Integrating Europe's forces and Britannia's without major complications arising due to hostilities." Leila sighed deeply and sunk back further into the couch. "This is going to be hard. Not to mention the costs involved." Lelouch just waved away.

"Don't worry about money. I've already arranged everything. The money has already been budgeted, people across Britannia have already signed up to aid in reconstruction, and I have access to enough resources to complete this. All of that has already been dealt with. I have enough money and supplies to rebuild Europe at least three times over. As for integrating forces? I have the means to ensure that there will be no such problems on that front. You forget, Leila, I like to plan far in advance. All of this was accounted for at the start of the war." Lelouch said with a smile. Leila stared at him, a dumbfounded look on her face.

"How? Just… how? Leila asked. She was shocked, to say the least.

A devilish smile appeared on the face of the White Emperor. "I'm a man who many people claim to be able to create miracles, Leila. Did you think I wouldn't have thought about the future of the people subjected to this war?" Leila simply stared at him, unable to speak.

Our army had issues in even attempting to gather the funds and resources to build a new stratospheric launcher. We even had difficulty convincing those in government that it was necessary. Yet he managed to prepare everything before he even won. When the war had barely even started, he planned to rule Europe. No, he knew he was going to rule Europe. She thought to herself.

Leila looked at Lelouch with a bitter smile as she decided to get the one question that had been gnawing at her during the entire war off of her chest. "Lelouch, was the Union a weak opponent to you?" Lelouch pondered the question for a moment.

"Yes, it was. Your Union was breathing its last well before I became ruler of Britannia. Even if I had not ascended to the throne, the previous Emperor would have seen to your fall. In fact, part of the reason this war even went on for as long as it did was due to one reason. I wanted to avoid civilian casualties wherever I could. My father would have simply razed everything to the ground and ordered everyone to be slaughtered. So yes, the Union was weak." Lelouch noticed how Leila lowered her head, most likely out of the feeling of worthlessness. He knew how bad it felt to not even be considered a worthy opponent. His father had played that card all too well throughout his life. "But even when I knew that my victory was the only possibility, I couldn't allow myself to be caught off guard. In fact, the EU did manage to surprise me. Those hadron cannons honestly caught me off guard, even if it was only because I hadn't thought you'd be able to get anything Schneizel gave you online that fast. While I had planned for it, it did impress me."

Leila didn't respond. After a moment, Lelouch continued. "Don't feel as if you were worthless Leila. You did more than anyone else in this war."

"All I did was run away from your servants. When I tried to take a stand against you, all of the W-0 unit and rest of the army was defeated with apparent ease." she bit out. She shook her head and asked. "What is there that I should be proud of?"

"Be proud that you gave the people of Europe hope." Lelouch answered with a small smile. Leila thought about it as he continued to speak. "When everything was going downhill, you did everything you could to protect the citizens of the Union. You were running from my people to fight another day. You managed to keep my forces occupied, giving valuable time to save your fellow soldiers. It is not your fault that the EU lost this war. You are a hero, one your people deserve and need right now. I give you my word that you will be allowed to continue fighting for them even under the banner of Britannia."

Leila was silent for a few moments before a smirk appeared on her face. "If I heard those words from anyone I knew, I would dismiss it as misplaced hero worship. You, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. But isn't it odd for the leader of my enemy to be saying such things?"

"I'm just telling you the truth of what I see. I will need you to make things right in Europe, Leila." As he said this, he extended his hand and looked her dead in the eye. "Leila Malchal, will you join Britannia to help guide your people into a better age of the world?"

This was it. Before this moment, everything said before had just been simple talk. Words without consequences. But now, the moment she knew had been coming ever since she surrendered Europe had arrived. Leila thought she would be feeling guilt, despair, or distrust towards the Emperor. But she didn't. For some reason, she just knew that Lelouch was speaking the truth. But not only that, she somehow knew that there was something more to the Emperor than he let on. Something beneath the mask he wore. It made her curious, and she wanted to know more.

Leila reached out and shook his hand. With a confident smile, she said, "Lelouch vi Britannia, I promise to help you in leading people of Europe to a better future."

"Well then, I guess we are now partners in crime." Lelouch joked as Leila smiled.

If somebody had told me a year ago that I would willingly work with the Emperor of Britannia, I would have sent them for psychiatric evaluation for even thinking about something so ridiculous. Leila thought to herself.

The two leaders said nothing as they let their arms fall to their sides, simply enjoying the satisfaction of the moment as they thought about the future they needed to work for. Things were about to turn great for both-

"Oh my. Now, what do I see here?"

The two individuals turned to the source of the voice. Leila's eyes went wide from surprise while Lelouch's from fear, already knowing the conversation he was going to have with her. The woman's gold eyes focused on the White Emperor. A forced smile appeared on her face as she asked a simple question.

"Could you explain to me what is going on here, my warlock?"

Unknown location.

*Click*

Schneizel smiled, his violet eyes focused on the barrel of the gun that was pointed at him. He wasn't surprised at the action. In fact, the second Prince had been expecting something like this from the man before him. It was a good thing that I ordered Kanon to leave. I don't even want to imagine what he would have done right now...

Sometimes his loyal assistant could be overprotective about his master's life. While that was one of the reasons the former prince preferred him to other assistants, as his concerns were useful to point out potential problems arising with his plans, in moments like these it would have most likely lost him an ally.

Giving no signs of concern, Schneizel simply nodded in greeting. A smile graced his features, one he had given many others in hostile situations. "Lord Zevon, it is a pleasure to see you as well. Now, I would be grateful if you lowered your gun, Oiaguro. We have much more important things to discuss."

The identity of the masked man was something unknown to the majority of his forces. Or at least, it was until Schneizel decided to do some digging. He was a little disappointed with how easy it was to find out his identity. Though he supposed not everyone could be like his little brother when it came to concealing the facts. Regardless of the ease, he appropriated the information, it was interesting to learn that the former patriarch of the Zevon family was working with his late father.

"Don't call me by that name." the man hissed with anger in his voice, furious that the Prince in front of him knew his name. He was glad that the multi-colored mask hid his expression right now. It would not do well to give the man any more advantages than he already had. He was tempted to simply pull the trigger of the pistol he had and end the second Prince right here and now. It didn't even matter that he was on board Schneizel's airship and would most likely be dead in mere moments. If it wasn't for the fact that he needed the former prime minister to go forward, Wizard most likely would have done the deed without hesitation.

"Very well, Wizard. Now, can we please get back to the reason we're having this meeting?" as he said this, he pointed at a seat on the other side of the table. After a few seconds, the masked man lowered his pistol and sat down.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Oiaguro was the first to break the silence. "What do you want, Schneizel?" The venom was obvious in his voice, but Schneizel merely smiled.

"I can understand why my father trusted you with important work. Quick and to the point once your temper has been raised." The masked man simply placed his pistol on the table, and Schneizel cleared his throat. "Very well then. We have bad news. Lelouch has just successfully taken over Moscow. Europe is now lost to us." Under the table, Oiaguro clenched his fists.

"Don't pretend like you ever cared about the EU in the first place." Wizard stated. "We both know that is not true. The EU would still be fighting Britannia if you didn't lie to us from the start."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Schneizel said, attempting to wave away the accusation. Suddenly, Oiaguro hit the desk in front of him. The smile left Schneizel's face as a more serious expression came over it.

"Don't play games with me, Schneizel!" the former noble shouted. "I know that you didn't even think of the EU as a potential threat to that demon! You have been lying to me and Gene from the start of this damned war! If you didn't fool that idiot into thinking that we can stop Lelouch, we would still have the Union on our side! At the very least we'd still have more forces available to us. Because of you, now we have nothing!" As the man vocalized his fury, Schneizel had to hold back an undignified snort.

How sad. I thought Oiaguro Zevon was calmer than this. He was able to hide from the Empire as he aided my father, but I'm not surprised that he couldn't overshadow Zero. It appears there was no supposed revolutionary who could challenge Lelouch during his time in Area 11. The former Prime Minister thought as a feeling of pride came over him regarding his little brother. Then an interesting thought came to the front of his mind. Schneizel shook his head. It isn't time to think about that.

"Wizard, you may think that it was my fault that the European Union fell, and it may be solely my fault as you claim. But I remind you that we are dealing with Lelouch. Believe me, my little brother is more dangerous than you think. He has more secrets than you can imagine."

Wizard snorted. "That whore's son managed to defeat everyone else there. You tell me if you know something about him that I don't."

"Not so fast, Lord Zevon. I won't give out information for free. Also, don't forget that Lelouch almost killed you." Schneizel warned. He hid the venom in his voice masterfully, Wizard completely unaware of the sore spot he had hit. While Lelouch may be in the wrong and was being incredibly foolish going against him, Schneizel still cared about him. Even though he knew he would most likely have to kill him in the end, he refused to let someone like the man in front of him vocalize such disrespect. He owed Lelouch that much, at the very least.

"What do you want then?"

"An alliance between us."

Oiaguro scowled. "We had an alliance and look where it got us. The EU is lost to us, Smilas and that fanatic of yours are dead." And now Oldrin knows about me. He added in his head

"While you may have believed that agreement was made to stop Lelouch, its real purpose was to slow him down in Europe. It is not my fault that you misinterpreted my intentions." He kept his gaze locked with the mask of the man on the other side of the table and continued. "I was surprised when you gave the Union hadron technology so late into the war. If you wanted the EU to continue fighting, then why didn't you do this in the first place? Certainly, that would have helped them fight."

Oiaguro's blood boiled in anger as he watched the second Prince smirk. "Anyway, with Europe in Lelouch's hands, he will be busy for some time changing the Union. This will prove to be a much larger delay than what you would be capable of. My little brother is well acquainted with how to deal with small units. The method you would no doubt use would have simply wasted resources that could be used to delay him for a longer amount of time. An amount of time already used by extending the final confrontation at Moscow. We will this new lull as a chance to prepare."

"And what you want to do? We don't have an army that can oppose Britannia. How are you planning to fight him without one?" Oiaguro growled out.

"Lord Zevon, you are mistaken if you think we need an army to defeat Lelouch. Of course, having an army is important. But that can be obtained later from other sources. We do not lack people who hate or distrust the intentions of my little brother, after all. No, what we need is something different. Something more powerful than anything my little brother has. Something my forces are already hard at work building."

Wizard stared at him for a second before asking, "And that is?" A smile appeared on Schneizel's face, one that wasn't the fake one he used to deal with nobles or negotiators. A smile he only showed when he was confident he would be victorious. He said one word:

"Damocles."

Oiaguro, who didn't understand what Damocles was, asked. "What is it?"

"My friend, do you remember what happened during the second battle of Tokyo?" After a few moments, Oiaguro carefully nodded. Every nation of the world was aware of what happened and the monstrous weapon that caused it. "Now imagine if we had more of that weapon. Imagine what would happen if we had a fully operational battle station that could fire this kind of weapon to any place on the planet." Oiaguro's eyes widened in shock and fear. New anger came over him, but this one not out of hatred. This was anger out of disgust.

"Schneizel, this is madness!" he declared. He stood from the table as he grabbed his pistol. "If that is what you plan, then..." He raised his pistol and took aim at Schneizel. He could stomach the war. He could stomach the deaths of civilians if there was the need. But he refused to be a part of such pointless destruction and slaughter like Schneizel appeared to be suggesting just to combat one man.

Schneizel didn't react as he stared down the barrel, simply musing how this was beginning to become a familiar sight. He stood from his seat and placed hands on the table. "Oiaguro, I understand your anger. But this madness as you call it is the only way we can stop Lelouch. The only way we can outmaneuver him and his geass."

Oiaguro was about to pull the trigger when he froze completely. Schneizel held back a smirk as he knew what was running through the man's head. Fear laced Oiaguro's voice as he said in a hushed voice, "Geass? You mean to tell me that Lelouch has had a geass this entire time?" The man's gun arm slowly lowered, trembling as he did so. "How?" he asked. He didn't even have the motivation to be angry that Schneizel hadn't told him about the boy having a geass. At this point, it didn't matter.

Schneizel slowly sat down. "I will be happy to tell you a fascinating story. I will only tell you, however, on the condition that you join my alliance." he said, knowing that Oiaguro couldn't say no.

The man in question didn't respond. He moved his hand to the mask that covered his face. He slowly took it off, revealing the green-blue eyes of Oiaguro Zevon. With a nod, the man sealed his fate. He hated that he had to agree with this madness. But if the boy had a geass, there was no telling what could arise. Schneizel's solution may be an option he didn't agree with. But when geass was involved with an enemy, only a method of madness could compete with another method of madness.

Schneizel smiled in victory. Lelouch, you might have won the war and obtained Europe. But at the end of the game, you will find that it has done you more harm than good to focus on that, my dear brother.

Moscow.

Inside the Emperor's chambers, hostility filled the air. Lelouch was frozen in place as the green-haired witch stared at him. She was standing just inside the doorframe wearing the same black dress that he gave to her at Pendragon. Behind her, Lelouch noticed the appearance of his Scarlet Guard. He couldn't see their faces, but for some reason, he could tell that they were apologizing. He waved them away and they left.

He hadn't been expecting her to be back on board the ship for a couple of hours at least. While C.C might have been smiling, he knew that it wasn't her real smile but a forced one.

"Partners, huh?" she said in a neutral voice. Lelouch knew that she was anything but neutral at the moment, however. Crap. She's angry.

Lelouch raised his hand in defence. "C.C, I know what you're thinking, but it's not-"

"Not what, Lelouch?" she interrupted. Gold eyes met violet as she continued. "I'm sorry Lelouch, but I'm pretty sure that I heard you ask this girl to become your partner. Am I wrong?" she said, placing emphasis on a certain p-word. Lelouch could hear the venom in her voice as she said it. Leila simply looked on in confusion, temporarily forgotten as the couple spoke to each other. "After what she did in that castle, I'm surprised you haven't shot her yet. You do remember what she did, don't you?" she asked.

"Wait! You were in Lupobianco?" Leila asked. When the green-haired girl didn't answer, Leila's eyes widened as she recognized where she remembered the girl from. "You're that assassin that almost killed me! But-but how did you survive?" Leila could swear she heard her voice somewhere else as well as from being the assassin, but she couldn't place it.

C.C looked at her with a bored look. "Took you long enough, girl." she muttered in disappointment.

"But how-?" Leila began to stutter from there, unable to comprehend how the woman who had tried to kill her was standing in front of her. Lelouch waited, curious as to how his witch would answer.

"It seems you can't even destroy your castle properly if I'm still alive. Then again, knowing how the war went I'm not surprised you failed there as well." Lelouch would have laughed if he knew he wouldn't be angering his witch further. "Maybe I should finish what I started there? You don't have the toys you had in Rome to save you again." she said. She began to make her way towards Leila with something in her hand. Lelouch gulped as he realized that C.C was serious.

I need to stop this before it gets out of hand.

Lelouch thought and quickly stood between two girls. He raised his hands before C.C in an attempt to stop her. "My witch, why don't we slow down and take a moment to speak about this like adults?" C.C raised her head. Her face was just inches away from his. After a moment, she said two words.

"Her. Out."

"Understood." Lelouch immediately replied and turned to Leila. He began to quickly move Leila towards the door as confusion became evident on her features. "Leila, we will finish our conversation later. Forgive me but there things that I need to take care of. I'm really sorry about this." he said as he opened the door.

"Wait, Lelouch. What is going on? I don't under-" Before she could finish, one of the Scarlet Guards appeared.

"Lady Malcal is tired, take her to one of the guest rooms." Lelouch turned his head to look in the direction of his witch. Knowing what she was capable of, especially in the mood she was in, he added, "Don't let anyone entire her room." The Scarlet Guard placed his right hand on his chest and nodded. He glanced at the blonde girl next to him.

Leila didn't understand what was happing but decided to do what the White Emperor was telling her to do. Besides, she really didn't like how she felt around that other woman, it was like her life was in danger again. The guard began to walk, and Leila followed him. Lelouch closed the door and pressed his back against it. He let out a sigh as he looked at the scene before him.

C.C was sitting in the same place where Leila had sat mere minutes ago. She was staring at the chess set before her, curled up with her legs against her chest. As Lelouch walked up to her, she looked at him with an empty gaze.

"Lelouch, are you tired of me?" she said. Betrayal laced her voice as she said this.

His eyes went wide from the question. He couldn't fathom how she could ever have come to that conclusion. "Where did you get that ridiculous idea, C.C?" She looked at him with conflicting emotions dancing across her eyes as he asked the question.

"Maybe because I saw you making a partnership with that Malcal girl? I failed to kill her twice already, and now she is here with you calling her your partner." she quietly said. Lelouch's eyes went wide as he realized what she meant.

"C.C... did you think I was going to replace you with Leila?" he asked slowly. The girl in question immediately turned away from his gaze. Lelouch didn't see it, but a shade of pink appeared on her face.

"Don't think too much of yourself, Lelouch." she said, trying not to let any emotion into her voice. "I was afraid that you might forget about your part of our deal. That's all." When she didn't hear anything from him, C.C turned her head to look at him."Lelou-?!"

Suddenly, Lelouch closed the distance between them. His hands wrapped around her body. His face pressed up against her neck. C.C didn't know how to react. Physical affection wasn't something out of the ordinary for the two of them, but she didn't expect Lelouch to do something like this on impulse. They sat like this for what felt like an eternity. Slowly, the black-haired boy raised his face to her right ear and whispered into it.

"Cera." he said, warmth colouring his voice. She shivered as he said her name, the way it was said setting off emotions she long kept under control within her being. "I will never forget about my promise to you, my dear witch. Don't ever think that I would replace you for someone else." he whispered. C.C didn't respond. All she did was allow her eyes to close as she melted into her lover's arms. It just felt right to her, more right than anything she had experienced before in her long life.

After staying like that for a few minutes, Lelouch moved his head. C.C opened her eyes to find her warlock looking directly into her eyes. "Don't ever think like that again. It pains me to hear such things coming from you of all people. Although, if you had been feeling like this, you could have handled it much better." Golden eyes blinked in confusion.

"...What?"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at her. "You heard me. We haven't seen each other for a long period of time, and instead of asking me what was going on and letting me explain, you act like an over-imaginative schoolgirl worried her crush may plan to replace her with every girl he speaks to. Not to mention that you make me talk like a schoolboy admitting his love to a crush."

She blushed slightly at his words. While Lelouch may not always realize it, that statement was closer to the truth than many realized. While she may have lived a long life, she had little experience dealing with love firsthand. With everything that happened to her, actual love was as new as it was to a child first experiencing it. So his statement wasn't actually that far off…

"Well, first of all, you didn't graduate from Ashford. So technically, you are still a student." C.C stated. Many people in the Empire tended to forget that their great and powerful White Emperor hadn't even finished high school, something Cera was surprised no one had mentioned to him yet. Then again, that was probably something that wasn't even on the mind of most citizens in the Empire. "Second, how can you still have shame after everything you've done? Never mind you being so outrageously flamboyant as both Zero and the Emperor. You've flirted with many other girls and even slept with the physical manifestation of the Collective Unconscious itself. There shouldn't be anything that embarrasses you, boy." C.C stated.

Her warlock rolled his eyes. "Those may seem to be more embarrassing to you. Saying something like this to you is another thing entirely to me. I didn't think we needed to say anything like this to each other to understand how we feel, Cera." Lelouch threw his arms in the air. "Do I need to say this to you every time something like this happens so you won't forget it?" he sighed. He turned away and pressed his back against the sofa. C.C didn't stop staring at him as he did so.

"You just need to say three words."

Lelouch slowly turned to look at her. There was no hint of emotion on her face. Her golden eyes were staring at him, waiting for him to say the words she wanted to hear. The warlock turned to his witch and took her right palm at his hand. It was small and warm. He didn't break eye contact with her. His heart started to beat a bit faster, and he could feel her pulse speed up slightly as well at the action. Finally, Lelouch said it.

"I love you, Cera."

Lelouch waited for her to respond. To his growing concern, C.C simply kept staring at him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was waiting for C.C to say the same thing back to him. Instead of saying those three words, however, a Cheshire smirk appeared on her face.

"I know."

"..."

"..."

"You damn witch." he said with a frown on his face. C.C couldn't help but giggle at the look her warlock was giving her. Lelouch facepalmed and let out a tired sigh, leaning back into the couch.

"You should have expected it, boy." C.C said with a satisfied smile on her face. Unbeknownst to Lelouch, she was having a hard time holding down the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. Regardless of her teasing, his words did mean a lot to her. Lelouch just let out a groan. He glared at her.

"I hate you."

"We both know that is a lie," she said with a proud smile. C.C stood up from her place on the couch and started to walk around the room, most likely searching for pizza. The raven-haired teen threw his head back, letting himself sink back into the couch as silence filled the room.

After a few minutes like this, Lelouch decided to break the silence "Hey, C.C." When she didn't turn to face him, Lelouch continued. "Do you know the one reason why I wanted Leila on my side? Other than her help in controlling Europe?"

"Because you want to sleep with that little girl." she said, still searching for the pizza which she knew was being kept somewhere. Lelouch cringed.

"Terrible phrasing aside, that's not the reason. The reason is you, C.C." he said. The pizza lover quickly turned to face him a spark of curiosity in her golden eyes.

"Explain." she commanded.

"As you know, her geass can destroy the geass of other people, my own included." He was glad that this power didn't appear to work through lenses. Either that or Leila didn't know how to. He hoped it was the former in his case. C.C said nothing, waiting for him to continue. "Some time ago, I started to think about the future. You know, things like world domination and the usual stuff like that. And one thought crossed my mind that I hadn't really thought about before. About you and me, Cera. About our future. How we will live together after all of this." he said, sadness colouring his voice for a moment. C.C lowered her head. She didn't want to think about it. Not now, not ever. "But then a question crossed my mind... hypothetically, could Leila's geass manage to destroy your code?"

C.C froze as he said this, her breath catching within her throat.

"I know that might sound rid-Ahh!" Lelouch wasn't able to finish as C.C's hands grabbed him by the collar of his royal robe, yanking him upright. Sometimes he could forget just how strong and how fast his witch truly was. Her face was just centimeters away. Violet eyes met gold ones as something he only could call hope lit the golden pair up.

"Please tell me this isn't a joke to get back at me. Are you being completely serious?" she asked. She couldn't believe that there was a way to get rid of her curse without her warlock taking it. She had tried everything in the past and had long since abandoned any hope to get rid of her curse without passing it onto some unfortunate soul. But now a new hope sparked inside her heart.

"Yes. D.S said that when Charles was erased from our world, his code disappeared as well." He didn't tell her, but Lelouch had always thought that there was the possibility his father's code had been passed onto him. The possibility scared him. While being immortal had its benefits, he found that there were more negatives than positives.

While I might be able to spend eternity with Cera and rule world as I please, I will be forced to see everyone around me slowly die. I don't want to see the people I care about die as I live on. Lelouch thought. He had considered the implications before, and he didn't like them. Perhaps at one time, living an eternity with C.C would have been perfect for him. But now? After going over his list of people he still cared about, he was surprised that there were many more than the four people he initially thought it consisted of. That list proved to him that he couldn't bear watching them grow old and die.

Returning to his witch he added, "D.S also said that if the first code could be destroyed, then it's possible we could also destroy a second one. When I mentioned Leila's power, she said it could be possible. Cera, there's a chance for you to become mortal again! We will be able to grow old together!" he declared happily. He waited for her to say something, but she had a shocked expression on her face. Starting to get worried, he asked, "C.C? Are you oka-!"

Before Lelouch could finish, his green-haired partner closed the distance between them and covered his lips with her own. They stayed like this for what felt like hours. A simple kiss, but more meaning than what could ever be put into words. He was amused by the taste of pizza on her lips but focused on the warmth he felt instead. As for his witch, C.C was trying not to cry out of happiness. She had a chance to live happily with her partner. Not as an immortal, but human again. Moments later, the two of them started to feel the need for air. They let each other go, their eyes never looking away.

"Aren't you going to say something like 'I love you'?" Lelouch asked with a grin, expecting to hear those words. To his dismay, C.C just shook her head.

"Don't think too much of yourself, boy." she said in a neutral voice. Before he could say anything, she leaned in and whispered, "I don't need to say such an obvious thing to you now, do I?" The raven-haired teen simply looked on with a smile gracing his features.

C.C turned and made her way towards the huge doors that were on the left side of the sofa. Peeking inside the room behind them, she asked, "Lelouch, have you slept here?" She didn't want to ask the question that came to her mind after it. Knowing about the other girls, she didn't want to spoil her own mood.

"No, tonight will be my first time here." Lelouch said. After a moment, understanding has come to him about what C.C wanted. With a small smirk, he asked her, "Why are you asking, C.C?"

The immortal beauty turned to him; her hands were behind her back. A Cheshire smirk appeared on her face again, but this time it was different. This time, not only did Lelouch want to see it, but a hungry look accompanied it. "It's been quite some time since our last session of 'night training' in Pendragon, Lelouch." she said in a seductive tone of voice. Lelouch could feel the arousal start to build within him. With a slight kick of her leg, she opened the door leading to his personal bedroom. "I think I need to make sure you didn't forget anything while you were in Europe without me. Who knows? Maybe you learned a thing or two from that D.S." she said, the sly smile never leaving her face.

Part of Lelouch's brain tried to remain rational, reminding him that he needed to finish his conversation with Leila and hash out the details of their agreement regarding Europe. But when C.C sat down on the bed and beckoned him to come inside, moving so that the smooth skin of her legs were on display in front of his eyes, Lelouch decided to ignore that part of his mind. Just this once.

I think Leila needs some sleep after everything that happened today. Besides, it would likely be better to declare the news in the morning. He thought, deciding then and there to go have sex with his beloved witch. Lelouch walked into the bedroom and closed the door. His partner wanted him and Lelouch refused to make her wait any longer.

The Empire could run itself for the night, after all. And besides, he deserved some time alone with his witch.

Kazakhstan.

It was sunrise when they arrived at the nearest UFN forward operating base. The ground units of W-0 were accompanied by the flying Knightmares of the Black Knights. The Japanese pilots hadn't suffered any loses during the battle. Only the Guren was heavily damaged, out of energy and desperately needed repairs. After a quick ID check and confirmation from their border patrol, the two military units were let into the base.

During the trip, no one had been in the mood to talk. After Claus informed everyone about what happened between Leila and Lelouch, everyone was shocked. To say that the morale of the W-0 unit fell would be an understatement. For them, it felt worse than running away from Britannia. While many were upset, some were furious. Angry at the Emperor, at Britannia or in some cases even at Leila for leaving without saying anything to them. But that wasn't the entire source of their anger.

Their best units had been defeated. Wyvern Team had been forced to surrender while Asura Team had been heavily wounded and needed medical aid. If their best couldn't deal with Britannia, then what could they really do? Even meeting with the Black Knights didn't raise their morale.

At the moment, everyone was busy. Engineers were repairing Alexanders, or at least what was left of them. European soldiers were either sleeping, exhausted from the battle they had come from, or in the medical department to have wounds treated. As for everyone who wasn't working, they were busy trying to come to terms with what had happened. That they had just lost everything they had been fighting for.

One of W-0's top engineers was hiding from her friends. Tears were falling from her face; her bright green eyes were red from crying. The genius scientist Anna Clément didn't want anyone from W-0 to see her like this. The girl didn't know what to think, what to do. Her best friend left them without saying a word to them, to her.

"Leila, why did you leave me?" she whispered the question as she closed her eyes. She didn't know what happened in the city, but whatever the White Emperor had said convinced Leila to leave with him, to leave them. With another defeated sigh, she sat on the cold earth, wrapping her hands around her knees. Anna didn't what to do now. "Leila..."

"What are you doing here?" a new voice asked. Green eyes went wide in surprise. Anna raised her head and looked at the newcomer, but the purple-haired girl didn't recognize her immediately. Anna knew she had seen her face before, but the name eluded her. Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise as she finally remembered where she had seen the face.

"You're the pilot of that Japanese Knightmare, the Guren." Anna was never a sociable person and paid little attention to people, but Knightmares were something she could never forget. Feeling embarrassment, she said, "Sorry, I don't know your name. Miss.."

"Kallen. Kallen Kozuki." the redhead girl said. She was wearing her pilot uniform and a Black Knights jacket. Even though she had a deadly duel back in Moscow, she didn't look tired or badly wounded, minus a few stitches where she had been cut in her machine. "So what are you doing here?"

Anna lowered her head. "After everything that happened, I needed some time alone..." she said. Kallen stared at her with a neutral gaze. With everything that had happened, she probably wouldn't care about someone crying. But Kallen knew if she just left her, the decision would come back to gnaw at her conscious. With a heavy sigh, she knelt down to Anna's level.

"Come on, you need to get some rest." she said as she took the other girl's hand. Raising her up without saying anything further, Kallen started to lead her to where her teammates were resting. Anna wasn't expecting this and blushed in embarrassment. She tried to stop the redhead soldier, but Kallen wouldn't listen to her. A few moments later and Anna gave up. She started walking on her own, as being like led this made her feel like a little child.

The two were silent as they walked. Kallen didn't need to ask where to go. She knew where W-0's members were bunked. There were a lot of people wandering around, most from the W-0 unit. The unit was being kept here temporarily until Kallen and Tamaki were ready to head back to the UFN's main base. As the two women passed by a security post, they heard a familiar voice come from within.

"People of the world! The war between Britannia and the European Union is finally over!"

The two stopped when they heard the familiar voice. Moving towards the station, two soldiers were watching the news. The two soldiers looked at her in surprise, not expecting to see her there. She paid them little mind as she focused on the TV before her. Anna stood behind her; the genius engineer wanted to see what the Emperor was about to say.

Moscow was in ruins, still burning as both Britannian and whatever remaining European forces attempted to put out the blaze. Knightmares could be seen around, attempting to help control the blaze. Even after how long it had been since the battle concluded, the blaze only now looked as if it was coming under control. The monster of an airship hovered over the city, its crew no doubt prepared to follow whatever their Emperor commanded of them. Those who had seen what the monstrous airship was capable of tensed as their memories replayed before them.

Below the ship, surrounded by his Scarlet Guard was Lelouch. But what drew the attention of many people around the world was the woman who stood next to him.

"Lelouch/Leila." Anna and Kallen said in unison. The Emperor of Britannia looked into the camera for a few moments. His gaze hardened as he began his speech.

"A month ago, I went to Europe with the intentions of ending the hostility between our two nations. However, when my ship entered the Special Administrative Zone of France, I was forced to watch as the European Union began an attack that would cause untold destruction to both the county and its people." he said. Anger was evident in his voice, and anyone perceptive enough would be able to notice the look of shame that crossed Leila's face for a split second. "The EU's leaders thought of me as an incompetent child who wasn't ready to lead Britannia. They decided that this was their chance to establish hold over lands taken by my father, Charles zi Britannia. They attacked their own people in the hope of destroying Britannian presence in the area. They didn't hesitate to kill their own citizens, not in the collateral damage they caused, nor when my soldiers attempted to protect them. They did not care what happened, as long as their desires were fulfilled. They believed they could take on Britannia. The corrupted regime of the EU wanted war. I ensured that they reaped what they sowed. But I do not intend to focus on the past. Today I look towards the future as I am more than happy to announce that this war comes to an end." the Emperor of Britannia declared as he placed right hand on his heart.

"There are many that don't believe this, but I cared about the lives of everyone in Europe. I regret that this war ever had to occur. I regret that people have lost their homes. I regret that so many people had to lose their lives. It is my intention to help Europe rebuild and help it recover under my rule. The EU of the past was corrupt. Its leaders wanting nothing more than to extend their power and assert dominance. In that way, the old Britannia under my father's rule and the EU were the same. The old regime didn't care about the people who had put them in power. In fact, they were willing to betray the trust of the people to further their own goals. Even in its last moments, the old regime betrayed you. But I'm sure Lady Malcal will tell you more." Lelouch stated. Leila, who had been silent until now, began to speak.

"Citizens of Europe, you all know who I am. I fought for the people of the EU, and have always held the people's safety as my primary concern. You only need to talk to anyone who has worked with me to know that fact. When this war started, I was working under the command of General Gene Smilas. During the opening days of that war, I thought that we were doing the right thing. I believed what my superiors told me. I believed that were freeing the nations that had once been a part of our Union and allowing them to choose their future once more."

A bitter smile appeared on the face of the former general. "I always thought of Britannia as our enemy. I am sorry to say that I was just as arrogant and blind as many others in the EU. Our real enemy was hiding behind our backs entire time! Gene Smilas was our true enemy. Emperor Lelouch's words speak true. He originally attempted to come and solve the long-lasting hostility between our two nations. But General Smilas managed to use the greed and arrogance the former EU council had to convince them to attack and start this war. He was responsible for starting everything. Unfortunately, his intentions were not noble. Before the end of the war, before the final battle of Moscow, I met with the new council due to recent discoveries I had made. When Gene Smilas convinced the old council, it was not out of a desire to free the people from supposed tyranny. It was not to prevent another war. No. It was because he had been promised that, if Britannia could be pushed back, he would become the undisputed leader of Europe."

At this, confused voices began whispering amongst the soldiers behind Kallen, and she had no doubt that sentiment was mirrored by many others in the world. Kallen knew what was coming next, as she had suspected it ever since her conversation with Lelouch.

"You may be asking how he planned to achieve this. It is quite simple. I discovered that Gene Smilas was acting behind the backs of both the people of the Union and the very council he made promises to on a daily routine. In exchange for starting this war and for pushing Britannia out, he was being promised this leadership by the former Prime Minister of Britannia, Schneizel el Britannia."

As Leila said this, Kallen could hear the cries of outrage behind her, most likely coming from the bunks of the W-0 unit if the noise was anything to go by. It was likely that the people of Europe were having a similar reaction.

"What Gene Smilas did was unforgivable. He began a war that we could not win. He convinced the leaders of the council to continue to fight. But while he may be responsible for the majority of the problem, he is not the only one at fault. The EU's leadership, it's military leaders, and everyone whose arrogance lead to supporting these acts are at fault. That includes myself." she said with sadness in her voice. Anna, who had been silent until now, silently mumbled that Leila wasn't at fault. "It was because of people like us that the people suffered. No matter what I do, I know that I will never be able to forgive myself for contributing to such a pointless war. But now we must look forward instead of backward to what is already done. Homes need to be rebuilt. The wounded must be healed. But in order to do that, there is currently only one group which has the resources in place to do so. I know this will be difficult for many people to accept. It was difficult for me to do so, and anyone who looks at my history would be able to figure out why. But it is for the best, and I ask that you give me the chance to help atone for my mistakes. Therefore…" as she spoke, Leila turned towards Lelouch and kneeled before him.

Everyone who saw the scene on the TV couldn't believe their eyes. Those who knew the real power of Demon Emperor believed that he had used his geass on her. Two people, however, did not. Kallen, due to her conversations with Lelouch and Sayoko, and another person, due to what Leila and Claus had talked about before he was forced to leave.

"I, General Leila Malcal, pledged myself to serve the Holy Britannian Empire and its Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia. I swear to obey your orders and to do whatever it takes to protect the people of the Empire." she said with confidence in her voice. Determination could be seen on her face as she said these words. Anna froze, not able to believe what her best friend just said.

Meanwhile, sitting in his bunk, Claus smirked at the words his friend had just said. Chuckling, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Surprised you managed that, kid. Didn't think I'd ever see Leila bow to anyone." As a serious expression came over his face, he couldn't help but worry as he muttered, "Don't forget the promise you made, kid. I'm going to be holding you to it."

Lelouch, who had been silent, pulled out his sword. It was an elegant red sword with an emblem of geass plated in gold seated at the hilt. He slowly placed it on Leila's shoulder.

"I, Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia accepting your pledge, Lady Malcal. In return, I swear to do everything in my power to help the people of Europe integrate with the Empire. To provide aid, to protect them, and to guide them into a new age of mankind. An age where such destruction will have no reason to exist." As he said this, Lelouch turned towards the camera. His violet eyes gazed through it as if he were looking into the eyes of every individual who was watching the broadcast. With the sword in his hand, he shouted. "Hear me world! I have destroyed the system of corruption that had subjugated an entire people! The old order, an order shaped by men and women like Gene Smilas and my father Charles is coming to an end! It is my hope that you take today's words to heart. I do not wish to pursue war. I am not afraid to fight, as these last few months have shown. But it is my desire that such wars shall be unnecessary. That nothing like this shall ever happen again. It is my hope that we will be able to work together towards a better future." he finished as a smile appeared on his face. One that promised he would hold to his words.

Kallen let out a sigh. Lelouch was hopelessly overdramatic. The worst part about it was that she didn't know if she liked it or not. Suddenly Kallen coughed, trying to think of something else. She also wanted to speak with her mother right now, so...

Anna looked down to the ground. W-0 was already tired both physically and mentally. This was likely to only harm them more.

Unknown location.

Schneizel couldn't help the smile that came over his face. He was proud to see his little brother triumph. Even if it didn't matter, as Lelouch would lose this game in the end, he was proud to see how far he had come from the boy who had never quite been able to beat him in chess. Schneizel turned around to see his Knights. He wished Wizard had remained here so he could see the man's face right now.

One of his Knights clenched his fists in anger. His green eyes glared at the image of the raven-haired Emperor. He wished it had never gone this far. Suzaku wanted nothing more but return to the time when Lelouch was still in Japan so he could finish him there, forever preventing any of this from happening...

The other Knights were silent, unable or unwilling to say anything. At least, that was the case until Kanon coughed.

Schneizel smirked at his assistant. "Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me, Kanon. It seems I won our bet." Once again, everyone was shocked. Most of them had forgotten about that silly bet Schneizel made at the start of the war. The only ones who didn't were Gino and Nonette who snorted and gave him the money. Violet eyes glanced at the others now looking at him. With a confident smile on his face, he asked, "Does anyone wants to make another bet?"

Japan. Ikaruga.

Back in Japan, the Black Knights knew that they were running out of time. They needed to be prepared for Zero's wrath. But while the leaders of the Black Knights debated about what their next actions should be, the Chairwoman of the UFN was still thinking about what the White Emperor had said to her. Kaguya was still unable to sleep properly due to her frustrations after that.

Fiancees. I couldn't make him fall for me while he was here, and yet some group of vixens managed to do so in two months... This is so unfair. the Japanese girl pouted in her mind with bags under her eyes.

Moscow.

Lelouch smiled. The entire world had heard his words and reacted. The majority was cheering, welcoming their new ruler. A welcome thought to the people of Europe after hearing of the betrayals their old government had conducted. A vengeance fulfilled for the people of France who had lost so much due to the attacks of the EU. Others who he knew would most likely oppose him were no doubt beginning to feel the beginnings of fear course through them. But there was one thing everyone knew. Lelouch had proven himself victorious. And everyone would wait with bated breath to see what he would do next.

Now, it is time to start the real game. Lelouch thought with a smirk.

Unknown Location

"So, you're saying that the war is over?" Nunnally vi Britannia asked as her sister finished updating her on the current situation.

She was sitting inside the room she had been assigned, a simple one with few luxuries. Even though it was small, it was enough. Her sister, Cornelia, was standing next to the door. She had entered her room and had been telling her of everything occurring regarding her brother. She and Suzaku had done this before, giving her news about what was happening in the world. According to them, the war between the EU and Britannia was over. While she was glad that it had ended, she didn't know what to feel about Lelouch having come out the victor. While she wanted to believe in him, she couldn't just ignore what Cornelia, Schneizel and Suzaku were saying about him as well as the evidence they presented her with.

"Yes. We lost Europe to him. Now the Demon Emperor is even stronger than before." her older sister hissed. She was frustrated, but not just because of Lelouch's victories. For some reason, Schneizel refused to inform either of them of his plans to stop Lelouch. While Nunnally didn't have much of a problem with it, Cornelia was starting to become increasingly angry with his secrecy.

"It's alright, big sister. As long as we don't give up, we'll find a way to make it through this." Nunnally didn't want to admit it to Cornelia, but it was tearing her heart apart knowing that they were having to fight her big brother. She never wanted to have to fight her brother in any way, not after what they went through. But now, there was no other choice. It was the only way to stop the Demon Emperor, and maybe make her world sane again.

With a heavy heart, one thought ran through her mind. Big brother… I hope you'll understand one day. Understand why I'm doing this. Lelouch… we are enemies now.

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And this arc finally finished! Hooray! How long it was? 3 years? Anyway, I'm happy it is finally over but don't worry 'His Britannia' isn't over yet.

Okay, I'm sure that some of you have questions about the chapter. First of all, I want to apologize to the people whom I said that this chapter will be released sooner. Sorry. Now, about geass and code.

I know about the movie but I won't be adding the movie plot or charters in fanfic. Forcing movie plot now will complicate everything. I never liked the idea of Lelouch becoming immortal. While it does have an interesting concept, I always thought that it makes things way to easier for him and makes the story less interesting. Also, I don't think Lelouch really wants immortality in the first place., I like to think that after being with C.C he had understood that it's not worth it. And so Leila's geass can destroy codes as well, why not? It is the Code Geass universe, a weird place that we love.

Also, Nunnally is alive...Nothing new, but seriously don't be surprised, I was giving you hints throughout the entire fanfic.

And now, you will wait for another 7 months for a new update...I don't know if I'm actually joking or not.

But until then I present to you this! (Actually canon).

The Nemesis.

Lelouch was in a good mood as he walked towards his chamber. His speech had gone perfectly, and Leila played her part to perfection. Now he needed to solidify the Empire's position in Europe and begin building an army to protect his newly acquired lands.

When the White Emperor entered his chamber and opened the door, however, he felt as if something was wrong. First of all, the lights were off. Secondly, after he turned on the lights, he noticed that C.C wasn't there to greet him. Glancing over to his guard, he decided that it was nothing serious. It was most likely the fact that C.C wasn't there that was bothering him. He had been worried that she might try something against Leila, after all. But given that his guard hadn't said anything, he assumed that everything was fine. He entered the room and, after dismissing the guard, closed the door. It was then a voice spoke out.

"Finally. I was worried that I may have to come and drag you here, your Majesty." a female voice said. He turned to face the source of the voice. Cinder Fall was lying on his sofa with a pleasant smile on her face. She was in her full Knight of the Round uniform.

"Cinder? I thought you were still resting." As he said this, the black-haired girl rose from her place and walked towards him.

"A couple of scratches won't stop me... Not from receiving my reward, at least." she said, the last part spoken with a seductive tone to it. Cinder's face was now close enough for Lelouch to feel her breathing. He gulped as she said this, remembering what he promised to her.

Yeah, almost forgot about that. Lelouch thought to himself.

With a small smile, he asked, "And what that would be my white queen?" he asked, expecting to see her usual reaction. However, instead of the usual shade of red on her face, Cinder gave him a sly look as excitement danced across her eyes. For some reason, it put him on alert.

"I have something in mind." she said as she closed the distance between them. Their lips met as Cinder wrapped her hands around his neck. Lelouch was slightly surprised. It was their second kiss but unlike the first one, this one wasn't rushed. This one was slow and calm. Slowly, she pulled away with a smile, her gaze falling on the door leading to his bedroom. "How about we continue it?" Lelouch quickly nodded.

After the two of them were inside, Cinder's eyes sparkled as she saw it. Lelouch, on the other hand, was glad he had professional cleaners on board who didn't question anything. After his and C.C's late-night 'training,' he made sure that everything was clean. "Oh, I'm already liking it." she stated. Looking at Lelouch, she asked, "Lelouch... can I ask you a question?" When he nodded, she continued, "Have you done it with her? With Kallen?"

Lelouch froze. Back when he was in Japan, he hadn't thought about Kallen in that way. He had been either too emotionally blind or emotionally compromised most of the time to even consider anything more. Forget sex, they didn't even kiss. He looked away and answered, "No, we haven't done that."

"Is that so." Cinder replied. Unbeknownst to Lelouch, Cinder was ecstatic that she was about to do something the Red Queen couldn't. Lelouch felt two hands on his chest as she pushed him back. He fell on the bed and looked at her with surprise and interest in his eyes. With a single motion, Cinder took off her white cloak and climbed onto the bed, slowly leaning forward and granting Lelouch a peek at her cleavage.

A smirk appeared on the Emperor's face as she closed the distance. With a chuckle, he said, "My dear, I'm beginning to think I should have stayed with you back in Berlin." Cinder gave him a small giggle at the response.

"Maybe you should have." she admitted as she went for another kiss. This one was much, much more passionate. He felt Cinder slide her tongue past his lips, squirming around his own. Deciding to play along Lelouch started to do the same, making the Knight of Two moan in his mouth. He felt how her hands slowly wrapped around his. Everything was going well-

*Click*

Lelouch's eyes went wide as Cinder broke from their kiss, a sly smirk never leaving her face. He felt something on his wrists and saw that they were handcuffed to the posts of the bed. He looked at her with a confused expression. "Cinder, what are you doing?" he asked. Cinder simply tilted her head in response.

"You know something, Lelouch? As children, every girl dreams of a prince that will make them their princess. Yet it never happens in real life. Oh, people like to say it does, certainly. But it doesn't really happen. I certainly never thought I'd be one such person. Yet, here I am, and I have an Emperor instead of a prince. But there's only one problem. I'm not the only one my Emperor has." she said. Lelouch nervously laughed.

"Cinder, if you want to talk abo-" he wasn't allowed to finish as the black-haired beauty placed a finger on his lips.

"It's okay, Lelouch. While I don't like it, I can accept that I'm not your first or only one... it is normal for Britannian Emperors, after all. But even if I can't be your only one, it doesn't mean that I can't be your favourite one now, does it? I'll just make you forget about the others and think only about me." she purred.

"Cinder, I don't-"

"Not now Lelouch. Let's not ruin this beautiful moment. I accept the fact that it won't be your first time as well as mine, but it doesn't mean that we can't have a great time." Before he could say anything, Cinder unbuttoned her tunic and took it off, revealing the red bra that nicely covered her C cup breasts. Lelouch was frozen for a moment, as she asked, "Like what you see?" She smirked as Lelouch gave her a slow nod. "Good boy. Anything you want to say before we start?"

After a moment of contemplation, and knowing how unpredictable Cinder could be, Lelouch asked, "Please be gentle?"

A devilish smile that usually could be seen on Lelouch's face now appeared on Cinder's as she went for another kiss. The White Queen had her reward. And the best part about it? She got it before the Red Dragon could.