AN Note: This will [and is] probably the final 'update' that you'll see for At the Hands of Betrayal – as of now I am beginning to write Que Sera, Sera. Many of the ideas that found their way into Betrayal will also be featured in Que Sera, Sera as well. I hope you see you all there.

Rivalz Cardemonde was depressed; more so than the other students gathered in the Council Hall. He, and the rest of the student council, had lost most of their enthusiasm nearly a week ago; Nunnally, Lelouch's younger sister, had informed them that he [Lelouch] had not made it home the night before.

The night that he and Lelouch had skipped afternoon classes to play that illegal chess match. The one where Lelouch had gone to help the crashed transport truck – and aside from a quick, nonsensical phone call to Shirley, hadn't been heard from since.

He felt himself to be at fault as it was his idea that Lelouch take over for the old guy that day,

'If only we hadn't gone...'

'It's not your fault Rivalz, you had no way of knowing.'

'If we hadn't gone to that game, Lelouch wouldn't be dead!'

He was exaggerating, he knew. Lelouch wasn't dead, as far as anyone knew. Mid-way through the week Nina, Shirley and himself had drawn up a rough draft of a missing persons poster and had wanted to report their friend as missing to the police; an action that was vehemently opposed by both [shockingly] Nunnally and Milly.

'Why shouldn't we report this?'

'Its.. complicated.'

'How complicated?'

'Hmm...'

'You could never see my brother nor I again.'

'…'

'That bad huh?'

And that had been it. The two girls had offered no further explanation for their reluctance to seek police aid. Nunnally had only given him a small hint that she and Lelouch wouldn't be able to seem them anymore if they had – and that was enough for Nina and a reluctant Shirley... but not for him. Rivalz needed more.

And he was shocked to learn that Sayoko, the maid that Lelouch had hired to help him take care of Nunnally, had turned out to double as a bodyguard with some serious martial skills. He'd probably have had his arm broken if it wasn't for the fact that 'he was a friend of Master Lelouch's'.

"We're being called to the Assembly Hall this afternoon." Milly spoke after a few minutes of tense silence.

"Do you know why?" Rivalz voice came out quiet.

"It seems that the Viceroy has an announcement to make – and the media was instructed to make it a global event."

"Huh..." And there was really nothing else to say to that. It wasn't exactly unheard of, but it was rather rare that a member of the Imperial Family had something of such apparent importance to announce.

And so, a few short hours later, Rivalz and the Student Council, along with the entirety of the student body of Ashford Academy, found themselves seated in the Assembly Hall [the single largest room on the campus]. And no-one had any idea on what was going to be announced to the world.

Then the, rather large, screen turned on.

And Lelouch's face took up the majority of the display. And the students did gasp.

Rather than the school uniform; which is all anyone there had really seen him in, Lelouch wore what could only be called Royal Regalia. His long, ebony hair had been pulled back into a slick pony tail, and his violet eyes seemed to be staring into the souls of everyone witnessing the display.

"Attention, entire world!" Lelouch's voice was commanding, and harsh.

"My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, the prince abandoned by his Empire."

"On this day do I begin my retribution against the Holy Britannian Empire and the ruling class. Too long have they sat themselves on high, abusing their wealth to give them false power to hurt the weak. Subjugating those they feel are below them by the circumstances of birth; the privileged few ignoring the plight of the masses!"

"Spreading their influence around the world by forcefully annexing new lands and oppressing the native peoples. This ends today. In conjunction with the EU and the Chinese Federation, along with the resistances from each of the so called 'Areas', we now fight back. And we will begin with this."

The camera panned left, so now Lelouch only took up half of the frame, and revealed the Viceroy of Area 11, Clovis la Britannia. The prince was bound and gagged, held bent forward in disgrace.

"Clovis la Britannia ordered to destruction of the Shinjuku ghetto and the execution of all it's citizens. All to hide the existence of Code-R – a research project that focus on human experimentation."

The bound prince's eyes filled with desperation as his dirty laundry was aired to the world.

"I Lelouch vi Britannia cannot condone this. What right does one man have to mutilate others in some fruitless hunt for whatever gains he sought. So here we are. The ruling prince of Japan, bent knee before us, subject to our justice."

"I, Lelouch vi Brtiannia, do sentence you, Clovis la Britannia, to death. For your crimes against humanity, we have stood in judgment and deemed you worthy of only this; no other punishment is just enough. Have you any last words, brother?"

One of the unknown soldiers that stood beside the captive prince reached down and removed the gag.

"Lelouch! You cannot do this to me. We're brothers, you and I. We may not have the same mothers, but we are blood! Father will not stand for this!"

"That's entirely the point, Clovis. The people of the world will no longer stand by and allow the Britannian Empire to commit such travesties any longer."

"You're a Britannian as well, Lelouch!"

"Indeed. History shows that when the leaders question the actions of a nation, the people are more likely to question them as well." At this the barrel of the gun Lelouch had at his side was pressed against Clovis' temple.

"Que Sera, Sera." Lelouch's voice was crisp as he turned the safety off.

"What ever will be, will be." The two unknown guards replied not a second later.

"The last thing I remember that day was the sound of a gunshot echoing in the Assembly Hall. My friend was a prince, and had just murdered his brother on a live, international broadcast; and then, there was war. Britannia vs. the World. You know the rest."

Post AN Note:

How Que Sera, Sera is going to work:

When re-watching the series with my roommate; I noticed something that just kind of fell short of what I'd have liked to see. Lelouch with a gambling habit. It's how we were introduced to the character in the first place, and re-introduced in the second season. Yet, aside from those two episodes, it's never really touched on again. No explanation for why he gambles, or how he got into it.

So I came up with the idea of Que Sera, Sera. The entire story is a gamble. And in it, you'll see more of Lelouch's gambling nature. How this is going to work is as follows: After a chapter (not all, mind you) or whenever there is a one-way, two-way situation – He could do this, or he could do that – I'll flip a coin. Depending on the result of the flip, depends on the way the story flows.

Now before you panic; the entire story[ies] is[are] planned. Every possible outcome has a rough draft on what happens after it. That being said, I don't know exactly how Que Sera, Sera is going to end, only it's possible endings as they are now.

Also, expect deviations from canon.

And maybe, just maybe, this scene will be in the official release. It's one of the possible deviations [or alterations] that can result from a coin toss.