Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, nor do I own Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Ever notice the similarities between the Human Instrumentality Project and the Ragnarok Connection? So did a lot of other people. Seriously though, this story is the product of me being unable to focus on a single story, my anticipation for the release of the dub of the second Rebuild movie, and my general obsession with Evangelion. I've wanted to write Eva stories for a long time, but haven't for varying reasons. This story is mostly the result of someone I know making a comment that unintentionally sparked the idea for this story. And no, it wasn't the above comparison.

Also a to note to avoid confusion: Since this story takes place in 2015, like in Eva canon, rather than 2017 like Geass canon, the Geass cast will all be two years younger.

In the year 2000 a.t.b., a meteorite impacted earth in Antarctica causing an explosion so great, it caused the Antarctic ice cap to melt, leading to tsunamis and rising water levels that resulted in the immediate deaths of over two billion people in the southern hemisphere. The axis of the Earth was also shifted as a result, which also lead to global climate changes, vast environmental damage, and many natural disasters. The event, which was the worst disaster in recorded history, came to be known as Second Impact.

It was a relatively peaceful day for Lelouch Lamperouge, who was as far as most knew, an average fifteen year old boy. He closed his text book, already having enough of studying Second Impact. The sun was setting, and the cicadas were chirping as they did every day. His dear sister Nunnally had gone out shopping with their maid, Sayoko, and he decided he was going to prepare dinner for their return. The two of them lived together on the grounds of their school, Ashford Academy. As he was getting a pot out of a cabinet, the phone rang.

"This is Lelouch. Who am I speaking to?" he answered, not thinking much of the call at the moment.

"Mr. Lamperouge." Ruben K. Ashford, the Headmaster of the school addressed him from the other end. "I need you to come to my office. There is a guest who wishes to speak to you waiting here."

"A guest?" he repeated into the phone, but he had already been disconnected by the one on the other end hanging up. "I don't like where this is going." he said to himself with distaste, already getting a very foreboding feeling about what was possibly to come, unaware of truly how greatly this meeting would affect the course of his life from this point on.

Lelouch walked to his destination silently, pondering just who his mysterious guest could be. He didn't like mysteries. It was hard to plan for the unknown. The headmaster's tone was serious, so he assumed that whoever was wating for him was not someone he wanted to meet with, but would have no choice. Any possibility he could come up with on the matter was not a good one. He frowned at the situation as he approached the office that belonged to the headmaster.

As Lelouch entered the office, he instantly took note of three things. The first was that the headmaster himself was not present. The second was the presence of the man sitting at the headmaster's desk. The third was the identity of the man. He sat at the desk, his hands crossed, covering his mouth, and he wore a pair of glasses. "You are Gendo Ikari." Lelouch stated as he did his best to try and sound neutral, trying not to give away how he might feel about this encounter.

Gendo Ikari, often called such names such as Gendo the Traitor, Gendo the Snake, and many others, had originally been a brilliant scientist and a politician who had even been an ambassador to Britannia before the war. However, he collaborated with the Britannians and assassinated Genbu Kururugi, effectively ending the war. Impressed by the man's ruthlessness, and drive to accomplish his goals at any cost, he was made Grand Duke by the Emperor, saying he truly exemplified the ideals of Britannia. The man was hated by many people, Britannian and Japanese alike, but he was a truly powerful man, answering directly to the Emperor of Britannia himself, and was head of a secretive organization known as NERV.

"Hello, Lelouch Lamperouge. Please have a seat." Gendo addressed him. "Or shall I address you as Lelouch vi Britannia, your highness?" the man before him questioned in a tone that Lelouch recognized. It was the tone he himself would often use during his many chess games. It was the tone of a man who held the upper hand, who was sure of his victory.

'How the hell does he know?' he thought, trying to keep his appearance as passive as possible, but he was aware that he was probably failing. He clenched his fist in anger, but said nothing as he sat down in the chair before the desk. His true identity should be unknown to all but a very select few, Lelouch's true name Lelouch vi Britannia, formerly the Eleventh Prince of Britannia. He and Nunnally were supposed to be thought dead to the world, and they had been living a normal life for the past five years. They had been so careful. "How do you know about me?" he asked.

"I've secretly been keeping tabs on you ever since the war ended, and you 'died.' Don't worry, I haven't informed your father." Gendo stated.

'And why should I trust that?' Lelouch hostilely thought to himself, but didn't voice. He knew he couldn't trust this man, as if it was instinctive. After all, this was the man who had sold out his entire country for power. "What is it you want from me?"

"Theres a special project that NERV has been working on. I want you to pilot it one of them."

"Pilot? What, you mean a Knightmare?"

"Negative."

"So then what is it?"

"That information is classified. You will know if you agree to pilot it."

"Why me?"

"Not just anyone can be the pilot to it. It takes a special person, and you are the individual who is most qualified to be the pilot."

"And if I refuse?" Lelouch inquired. He knew he wouldn't be able to refuse. He knew that this man had something up his sleeve to force him to bend to his whims. He had to know what that was, though. Was he going to threaten to hand him over to his father if he refused to cooperate?

"While you are the most ideal subject for the task at hand, you are not the only one qualified to do it. There is one other candidate."

"So if you have someone else lined up if I refuse, why bother trying to get me? And why bother outright telling me that theres someone else who can do it if I won't?" Lelouch voiced his question. Almost immediately after he finished speaking, he realized just who the other candidate was. "No! You can't mean-"

"Nunnally Lamperouge." Gendo stated. "One of you must be the pilot. If you refuse, the offer will be extended to her in your place."

"You bastard! You want to use my sister as your pawn in your sick and twisted game?" Lelouch accused the man, anger welling up inside of him. "Nunnally would never agree to such a thing!"

"Are you sure? Even if it was to protect you?" Gendo questioned the boy. "I told you; I've been keeping tabs on you two for some time, so I'm aware of how close you two are. She is as fond of you as you are of her. She would agree to my request in a second if we told her it was to protect you."

"So if I refuse, you're gonna kidnap me to blackmail my sister into piloting?" Lelouch stated, pure hatred for this man could be heard in his voice.

"On the contrary, we won't do a thing to you. We'll leave you right where you are." Gendo stated, catching the boy off guard. "There is a great threat to humanity soon approaching, and if we don't have pilots for the Evangelion to combat the threat, humanity is sure to perish."

"And how would Nunnally, or even me if I were to agree, know you're not making up such a tale just to insure our cooperation?" the boy asked, the tiniest mount of curiosity leaking through his anger.

Gendo then pulled out a file from a briefcase that had been at his side, and placed it in front of the boy that sat before him. Lelouch picked it up read through the file briefly, taking special notice to the heading of the file, and the ID that was also present with it. It read "Lelouch Lamperouge - The Fourth Child". 'Bastard. He acts as if he already knows I'll accept. This man... Hes just like him.' he thought to himself. Looking upon Gendo Ikari, his cold demeanor, and how he viewed him and his sister as nothing more than pawns, he reminded Lelouch of only one person: Charles di Britannia, the Emperor of Britannia, his own father, and the one person he truly hated most in the world. Of course, the resemblance in nature to him, and the fact that he was held in such high regard by that man was quickly earning Gendo Ikari the 'honor' of being right below his dear father on the list of those he hated most.

"You will report to NERV HQ in two days. You will be taken there by Lieutenant-Colonel Misato Katsuragi. There, you shall receive the proof you need." Gendo stated as he got up from the desk, and picked up his briefcase and walked towards the door.

"Why can't I go now?" However, Gendo ignored this question and walked out of the room without another word. Lelouch slammed his fist onto the desk. This was the angriest he had been ever since that day, five years ago...

Outside the building, Gendo Ikari got into a limousine that waited outside the front gate of AshfordAcademy. Inside sat five people. The first was an older Japanese man. The second was a woman with blonde hair, though her brown eyebrows gave away that her hair was only dyed that color. The next person was young girl of fourteen with pale skin, short light-bluish hair, and red eyes. The last was a bespectacled Britannian man who also possessed light-bluish, who sat next a young Britannian woman with blue hair. "Forgive me for the wait, Mr. Asplund and Ms. Croomy." he said to the two Britannians.

"Its quite alright." the man, Lloyd Asplund, replied. "Prince Schneizel sends his regards."

Gendo nodded in acknowledgement, then turned the the blonde woman. "Dr. Akagi, I have arranged for the Fourth Child to be present at NERV in three days."

"So he agreed?" she asked as she set down a paper she had been looking at prior to Gendo's arrival in the car. On the paper was a list of seven names with a title next to five of them.

The First Child - Rei Ayanami
The Second Child - Asuka Langley Shikinami
The Third Child - Shinji Ikari
The Fourth Child - Lelouch Lamperouge
The Fifth Child - Mari Illustrious Makinami

"Not yet." Gendo replied. "But he will."

"You're so sure?" Lloyd inquired.

"I'm positive. He will have no other choice."

"Well, whatever you say. Thats not even my job, anyway. You only brought me onto your little project help you make weapons for your little toys." Lloyd said. Cecile Croomy, the woman who sat next to him, sighed at her superior's brashness. "And I really must thank you, Mr. Ikari, since thanks to you, my prescious Lancelot is finished way ahead of schedule thanks to you, your people, and the funding and support you've provided me with. Why, it might have taken another year if it wasn't for NERV's help."

"Rei." Gendo addressed the you girl who sat across from him.

"Yes, Commander Ikari?" the girl, Rei Ayanami responded, very little emotion could be heard in her tone.

"You will begin to attend this school starting tomorrow."

"Yes, Commander Ikari."

As the limousine pulled away from Ashford Academy, two people approached the school grounds. The first was a Japanese woman who was wearing a maid uniform. The other was a young Britannian girl of eleven years old, with long chestnut colored hair. Both of them were carrying grocery bags. "C'mon Sayoko!" the young girl called out as she ran ahead, and stood outised the gate to wait for the woman. "Lelouch is waiting for us!" She was Nunnally Lamperouge, Lelouch's beloved younger sister.

"Yes, I know." Sayoko responded.

"Ugh. Naoto, why do I have to go to this Britannian school?" a girl with bright red hair complained to a young man standing near her. They were in a room with a dim light, and there were several others there with him.

"Kallen, you know that I want you to get a good education. This is my condition if you want me to let you join my resistance group." the young man, Naoto Kozuki replied.

"But its a Britannian school!" the girl who was known as Kallen Stadtfeld, though she preferredto go by Kallen Kozuki and was Naoto younger sister. She was half-Britannian and half-Japanese, though despite half her heritage, she hated Britannia and Britannians.

"Not all Britannians are as terrible as most of them. Its not always about race. After all, there are Japanese who are just as bad as the worst Britannian." Naotosaid. Unlike his sister, he didn't hate all Britannians indiscriminately. He hated the country, but not all of its people. He only longed for his nation's freedom.

"Yeah, like that bastard Ikari." a man with reddish-brown hair and a goatee commented.

"Tamaki, stay out of this. Its between those two." the only woman among the group scolded.

"The school is top-notch, and it even allows Japanese students to attend." Naoto said. If he could have his way, he didn't want his sister to have any part of his resistance cell's activities, even if she was talented when it came to Knightmares. But the girl was fierce, strong-willed, and was dead set on joining. She wanted to help him

"But-" Kallen began as she tried to protest.

"No more buts, Kallen." Naoto said sternly. "Thats my terms. If you want a part of the group, you have to agree."

"...Fine." Kallen said as she looked down. "I'll go to this Ashford Academy." She was already enrolled to the place, and had been for some time, but chose not to attend. However, if it meant that she could help Naoto, she would have to agree to go.

Far away from Japan, known primarily as Area 11, across the Pacific in Britannia, a girl of fourteen with fiery red hair sat in a hangar. Tomorrow she was to be flown over to Japan, with the contents of the hangar being sent a week later. She yawned. "It sure is boring as hell." she commented to herself.

"Don't be like that, Asuka." a man with his hair tied into a ponytail said as he walked over to the girl. His chin was covered with stubble. "Once the airship arrives, we'll be off on our way to Japan."

"But Kaji, when is that stupid thing gonna get here?" the girl whined. She was Asuka Langley Shikinami.

"Who can say." Kaji replied. "Just have patience."

"I'll never get to fight an Angel at this rate. They'll all be gone that stupid boat gets here." Asuka pouted. "We have to leave my poor Unit 02 behind. And why are they even bothering to send over Unit 03 if it doesn't have a pilot yet? Heck, Unit 01 doesn't even have a pilot yet!"

"Actually, I heard that both the Third and Fouth Children have been located recently." Kaji told her.

"What? Really?" Asuka let out in surprise.

Back in Japan, a boy with brown hair, who had a pair of headphones in his ears that were connected to an old SDAT player looked down at the message in front of him. It was addressed to him, Shinji Ikari. The message was from someone he hadn't seen or heard from in three years: His father, Gendo Ikari.

And there is the first chapter. What do you think? Does it pique your interest so that you find yourself interested in what is to happen next? I hope so. This chapter was shorter than I would have liked, but I planned from the start to end the chapter with the last scene shown. Anyway, I'm sure you must have lots of question. As you might note, some things are similar to, and others different. For example: Lelouch and his sister were still shipped off to Japan, yet Nunnally is neither blind nor crippled is the first major difference. Kallen's brother Naoto is still alive is another. I don't think it was ever stated when exactly he died, so I figure he was still alive at least two years before time period the series took place in. Anyway, I plan to blend elements of both the Evangelion and Code Geass, though if you want to know how you'll have to read as I don't feel like elaborating too much just yet. I will at least give this heads up though: C.C. probably won't show up until the third chapter, since that would be the earliest I can fit her in.

Anyway, what thought do you have of this story so far? Do you like it? Hate it? At least curious enough to check out my next chapter when I get it out? Please let me know your thoughts, questions, etc. as I love reviews that do those things. Please review.