#same for nightmare of nunnally

[lured-into-wonderland]

Being there. Chatting with them. It all gave Nunnally such a family-like vibes; the feeling of the family she had never had, but always wanted to have. One that laughed together and chatted together in the lazy mornings in the kitchen. Even when she thought her father was just a trustworthy businessman, Nunnally had always felt she was missing something. And after it all had happened, she started to miss it more and more, and denying these needs more and more as well.

“I used to sleep long when…when I was younger.” – she commented – “Now I am up quite early.” – and although that was an honest statement, Nunnally didn’t feel like adding that she also went to bed late. Slumber and dreams, as much as they were her escape, they weren’t something that brought her peace. Not nightmares as well. Nightmares were rare. So, it needed to be something in between. Though it still made her tired in the morning.

She chuckled when Roberto mentioned that Ravein was up as soon as the fresh scent of coffee was filling the air of this house: --

“I thought you were not a coffee person…” – Nunnally remarked jokingly. Now her eyes were not clouded anymore, and were showing much more internal happiness. As much as Nunnally tried (and often succeeded?) in changing her way of thinking to better accommodate Ravein’s needs (and the consequences of his past), this time she didn’t link it with his awareness of the changing environment. It was more like she liked coffee herself, and would assume she could be woken up in the same way. 

“Yes, Ravein…” – she smiled to the ex-assassin – “Let me prefer some tea for you…” – she walked to the counter that Roberto pointed to her, opened the can, and smelled the blend that Ravein seemed to like. It was a nice combination, and despite being first and foremost a coffee person, Nunnally did not enjoy some good tea – “It seems that there is some chamomile in it?” – she asked looking first at Roberto, and then turning her head to face Ravein.

“Oh, I am a boring person when it comes to coffee…” – she attempted to joke again – “Black. No milk nor sugar. I just like…good blend I suppose.”

“Tough I can prepare more than that…” – she started but that ‘ding’ interrupted her thought and a sentence; Roberto went away to attend to the customer, and Nunnally was left with Ravein alone.

“Well, then. Let’s prepare something more complicated for Roberto then. Something with cardamom…” – she looked at Ravein to provide some guidance to her – “Or perhaps I should be more adventurous…” – she was asking, trying to find out where Roberto might have kept his spices – “Do you think star anise would be to his liking? But then we would need to have dark roast coffee beans…and a grinder…”

“Does he like more sweet things or rather bitter?” – she asked. Making coffee was fun. She had always liked it – “Do you have a favourite tea cup…or mug, Rav?” – she asked – “Is there his somewhere…”

Surprisingly for herself, Nunnally felt pretty comfortable in this kitchen. Like opening and closing the drawers and cabinets came quite naturally for her. As if she was not only a l l o w e d to do it, but also e x p e c t e d to act like that. Suddenly, she stopped with an unexpected thought: --

“Perhaps I should get myself a very special mug for here…” – she laughed happily; it was a nice foolish thought, but Nunnally liked it. She wasn’t sure why, but she did.

“Thank you,” Roberto politely responds, quite happy with her compliment. It was a kitchen that he was proud of, and it brought him joy that he could have a job that allowed him to interact with people on his own terms. Sure, there were times where the customers weren’t the most pleasant to deal with, but for the most part, they were kind people. Being self-employed had it’s perks of allowing him to do as he pleased.

It may not be the most lucrative job, but it was very fulfilling to make use of his hobby to bring some joy to his customers. It was convenient too, that the customers were rather calm, so it was a nice environment for Ravein to observe people slowly. He had considered changing from a café to a bar, but when Ravein came into his life, he decided keeping the café would be the safer bet.

Maybe, whenever he decides to retire, Ravein can take over and continue the legacy.

“You’re not wrong, I get to enjoy the first batch of coffee for the day. It’s a good thing that I’ve always been a morning person, so I don’t struggle with waking early in the morning to cater to the morning rush crowd.” Roberto explains, looking at Ravein. “This one here wakes up the moment the smell of coffee fills the air.” The ex-assassin was quite sensitive to changes to his surroundings, and smells were very important informational queues one couldn’t ignore when on a mission. It was something akin to an occupational hazard that made him wake up when his nose picked up a new smell, or if he heard a sudden noise nearby.

A ‘light sleeper’, is how most people would term it.

Her offer to prepare a drink for them was a surprise, but not in a bad way. If she wanted to do so and get a feel for the kitchen before officially settling on this place as the location for their lessons—that was fine by Roberto. “A cup of coffee would be splendid, thank you Miss Nunnally.” Roberto glances at Ravein who was thinking about what kind of beverage he’d want. “Maybe you’d like some tea, Rav? There is a special blend of herbal tea in the one cannister labeled ‘Ravein’ on the counter over there.” Roberto pointed out the one counter space that had cannisters of teas.

Ravein preferred to drink things that weren’t caffeinated, and calming teas worked wonders on his nerves, so Roberto had gone and blended a mix of herbs for him. “As for myself, I enjoy most ways of enjoying coffee. If you also enjoy coffee, perhaps you could share with me the way you enjoy your cup of coffee?” There was something about sharing interests and preferences with others that made it all the easier to grow closer or accustomed to another person. They knew that she liked a sweetened milk beverage, and Ravein enjoyed hot chocolate. Roberto loved coffee, but he also enjoyed a variety of alcohol (the reason why he considered opening a bar).

There was a ‘ding!’ sound that could be heard, and that was the sign that someone was at the counter, waiting for Roberto to come back out from the kitchen. “I’ll be back shortly. If you need help finding anything, Ravein can help you.” Roberto excused himself to check back with the front of the store, leaving the two young adults in the kitchen alone.  

[familiasworn]

I'm gonna head to bed soon, but I was thinking as I replied to that last post--

I know I've said that I won't rp with other Sasukes. Not as 'twins', not as 'clones'...You legitimately can thank the code geass spinoff nightmare of nunnally for that. I felt fine replying as an adult sasuke to a teen sasuke for a crack thread tho. Hm.

So I think those are the rare occasions where I'll just shrug it off--but also it was funny.

I do follow other Sasukes--they're free to interact with the next gens if they want, but for the most part, on this blog, I just enjoy watching their portrayals and sharing the same love and appreciation I have for Sasuke. uvu<3

[raintranslated]

eep i'm sincerely sorry but if i may ask you another question... (feel free to ignore ask if you want or are busy, i'll understand!!) i'm wondering if you can reccomend any more manga like Lelouch the Tutor and if there are any other translations of other mangas such as those, may you please tell me? Thank you for your time 💝🍀🍀. maybe even if they're not translated...if you know what sites to read them or buy them-? 💜

I mean... no, not manga. CG has had a LOT of manga spinoffs, but LtT is very much the only fluffy high school AU (apart from maybe Code Black), and I think it is probably also the only manga with a canon Lelouch/C.C. pairing (though one presumes that's where Re;surrection will eventually head). For example, in Suzaku of the Counterattack, C.C. actually dies and Suzaku winds up with "her"* Code.

See, you have to understand: almost all CG manga were either plotted out or literally completed before the original anime concluded, and Sunrise's approach to licensed spinoffs (at least with this property) has always been very hands-off. It was Gorou Taniguchi, I believe, who said that they didn't want to hamper the creativity of the people working on spinoff manga, video games, etc.

So, in Lost Colors, the PS2 game released early in 2008, your (male) player character can date a number of the female characters, C.C. included, as well as Lelouch himself (though in a much more subtextual form, as one might expect from a non-BL game of the time period).

In Nightmare of Nunnally, Nunnally is a Knightmare pilot herself and the Knights of the Round are, like, creepy zombies, and Rolo is Lelouch's twin.

And, IIRC, the eponymous manga Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion... just doesn't have any mech in it, and ends very differently from the TV series.

For the more canon-compliant manga, it's either like Renya or Oz or Lancelot & Guren (and therefore not really about Lelouch-and-C.C., much less Lelouch/C.C.), or it's... well, again, the only other thing even slightly like LtT is definitely Code Black: Lelouch of the Shred Guitar, but that's much shorter even than LtT, and it — like the vast majority of these — is just not very 'shippy.

You might like them, you might not, but there are no explicitly romantic kisses in any of them. The Code Geass 'ship wars were, for a long time, firmly undecided, and that's reflected in these manga adaptations. There might be subtext, or unrelated minor character relationships, but that is about it.

A few of these manga did get licensed translations into English — the one just called Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Suzaku of the Counterattack, and maybe Nightmare of Nunnally...? But I can only find the first one on Amazon with a quick Google search, and they're all going to be out of print. (Bandai Entertainment was really ambitious with its initial release of CG stuff, but then it... well, went bankrupt.) Your best bet for English copies is going to be eBay, probably.

Now, if you want doujinshi, fan-made amateur comics, I'm sure there have been plenty of cute ones centered around Lelouch and C.C., but I wouldn't really know where to go looking for them, sorry. 😥 😔 😟

*Well, I mean, it wasn't a direct transfer, he sort of just manifests one from sheer will. But again this manga was completed before the original TV show.

ETA: Also gosh, you're not bothering me. I'm just sorry this answer is so very definitely not the one you were hoping for!! Since Sunrise keeps making these spinoffs, there's always the chance something more like LtT will materialize in the future. ❤

[samwritesforyou]

nightmares

fandom: code geass

word count: 1.7k

main characters: suzaku kururugi (mentions of lelouch, nunnally and euphy)

It was one of those nights. A young man with brown curly hair framing his features has woken up in sweat and a heartbeat that would equal a person who just ran a marathon.

He was still breathing hard, slowly putting his hand up and running it through the locks of his hair.

Another nightmare.

He closed his tired eyes again, but all he saw in front of himself was pure horror of his past mistakes, so he involuntarily flushed his eyelids open, looking around.

This won’t do.

Suzaku got up with a long, shaky sigh, making his way towards a desk standing in a room, plopping himself on the hard surface of the chair beside it and turning on the light.

His emerald eyes pierced through the window, seeing nothing but darkness outside. It was around 3am, probably.

He looked down at the table and the notebook that was waiting for him there.

With another sigh he opened it, looking at all the scribbles, broken words and syllables that were hard to read.

New Zero started to go to therapy, no matter how funny it might sound.

After the requiem and killing his best and only true friend he never really recovered and he could count nights without terrible nightmares on his one hand for the past year.

His therapist advised him to keep a diary of the dreams and after waking up from them he had to write them down immediately with as much details as he could remember.

Suzaku could start a whole damn book from all the material he got already.

Today another nightmare, he thought in his mind and took a black pen without hesitation.

Pens were strictly divided by the types of dreams he got.

Blue were for bad ones with some weird scenarios which he didn’t recognise - some abstract play of his brain. Black were for the bad ones where the events were familiar and actually happened, in the most part. Red was saved for the ones where Euphemia appeared in.

He never got the courage to give these nighttime scribbles to his therapist yet - which is understandable because of the circumstances - but this way he couldn’t really even make some mental health progress from them.

It just piled on as the bible of his sins.

Suzaku shot a glance to the single knife laying in the box with all the pens and considered taking it instead, but his eyes faintly flashed red and he cursed under his breath, returning to his original task.

And he started writing out his dream.

.

.

It was a day when Lelouch told me he’s Zero. I knew it. Long before he told me, I already knew, the details just weren’t adding up.

Oh wait, they were. Because he thought of everything, as always. But my gut just didn’t believe it and that was enough for me.

“Let’s meet at the Kururugi shrine, just the two of us,” I said firmly in the phone, my words were for some reason really echo-y in my head and lingered in the air for longer than they normally would, if it wasn’t a dream.

He agreed. Of course he did.

At the moment I felt almost only hatred towards him, I didn’t understand his position at all, I thought he didn’t have any remorse for what happened to Euphy.. but I was wrong. Now i know.

Suddenly it was day later and I was already there. I don’t remember getting there, I just was already.

I was wearing my school uniform. Maybe to feel like we’re just two students again? Simpler times?

No, it was never simple with him.

But isn’t it what thrills me, though?

I wait only for a little while until Lelouch appears in front of me.

There’s a huge staircase leading to a shrine, so that’s why I see him like in some kind of movie, cinematic.

His inked hair appears first, shuffling by the movement of his body, then his brows, furrowed together.

Eyes, ever purple like always, nose, mouth twisted in a worried line.

Our eyes meet. I feel like someone punched me in the stomach with a knife and left it there. Maybe piercing me a few times for good measure.

For some reason I think he feels the same.

We stand in silence for a long moment before each other. Both in student uniforms. Both covered in lies.

Lies and hatred, confusion, miscommunication.

Hope.. for something better, maybe.

Originally I thought he didn’t feel anything at all, but.. I’m not so sure anymore.

Without a word he dropped to his knees and bowed his head, fists on his thighs, white knuckles.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

As simple as that and the whole dreamland feels like it’s shattered. I literally hear something breaking.

I look up at the sky and it looks like someone is tearing it apart. It reflects my soul.

“You won’t get away with only a sorry, you-“ I came to him and push his head towards the rocky ground with my foot, shoving him harder into the surface, all anger building up in me.

“I’m sorry, Suzaku.. I’m so sorry,” he kept apologising, his words becoming more muffled as I was thrusting him harder into the ground.

When he started coughing I let the pressure from my leg go and crouched down, whipping his head up to look at me by gripping the back of his dark hair.

“What happened?.. What happened with us? Where did it go wrong?” I asked, tears suddenly filling my eyes.

It was just so unfair. We were supposed to help each other. I had nobody to lean on. I ended up alone because of him, I-

“What happened?” for some reason, Lelouch’s face twisted into a wicked grin with his eyes wide open.

I let him go and flinch away from him, landing on my back, now sitting on the ground.

“We could’ve achieved independent Japan by now already if you didn’t hand me to Charles,” he laughed bitterly, “Or did you forget already? What are you fighting for? A high position in this corrupt society so you can make rules yourself? They will just keep spitting on you. Over and over,” he got up from his knees, something evil flashing in his eyes, and by that I don’t mean geass at all.

His “over and over” kept repeating as an echo in my head and the sky above us started to turn red ever so slowly.

I stopped feeling my legs so I had no option to get up from the ground and face him on the same level.

“Human beings are so weak, and i’m not talking about you specifically, but in general, you know?” said Lelouch and I saw more of a Zero in him now than a boy who I once knew.

“They can’t withstand anything. Not enough food? We die. No water? We die. Too hot? Dead. Too cold? Dead as well! One stupid bullet? Bled out!” he started yelling, gesturing his hands in his usual manner, continuing, “But some of us have a strong willpower. Stronger than death itself or any circumstances. You can either gain it by experiences or be born with it through genetics.. I have it fucking doubled, Suzaku, you know?” he laughed maniacally and crouched in front of me, getting closer to my face.

I tried to pull away but for some reason gravity forces were working against me and I just physically couldn’t.

“And whatever you do won’t kill me, unless it’s gonna be a spear through my fucking heart!” he basically yelled in my face and after I realised what these words really meant the scene immediately changed, crashing sound too loud for my ears and now I was in the Zero suit and a mask, already in the full swing with my blade pointing to Lelouch’s chest.

It was happening as if my body was moving on it’s own, without me even giving it any consent of the actions and I just looked in horror how my own hands are piercing a spear through his heart, making him bleed, his body leaning towards me, his bloody slender fingers caressing and sliding over the left side of the mask, leaving a red trial behind them.

I released the blade from his chest, leaving his fragile and dying body to roll down towards his sister.

To another person I cared for.

I look at my hands in the purple gloves that are all soaked from the blood too.

Blade is nowhere to be seen anymore, there’s no people around, not even Nunally is in sight.

There’s only me, my bloody hands and Lelouch’s body laying a few meters next to me.

I take a few careful steps towards him and inspect what I see below me.

My vision fills with madly red colour and I hear my scream. It seems never-ending. I keep screaming until I’m filled and consumed with red.

I keep drowning in it.

That’s when I wake up.

.

.

Suzaku literally pushed himself from the table and the notebook, the pen rolling away from him somewhere underneath the furniture.

He sits with his hands curled in fists, shaking. His emerald eyes are wide open in shock.

Normally Nunnally would come to his room and calm him down, sensing his unsettlement.

But as of for a month already she moved away from the mansion where she was living with him because it was the best for the social status of hers not to be seen living with Suzaku, since he was supposedly dead to the majority of people and all the general public.

So he was alone.

He didn’t go to sleep that night.

And day after day he wakes up and takes either a blue or a black pen in his hand, to document another product of his mind that tortures him.

Every once in a while it’s a red pen though. And these are the only dreams where he can find safe haven for himself, just laying on the grass with his princess, her cloud gazing, and him just breathing in the air into his lungs that for once aren’t filled with guilt.

[naruwitch]

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 36: At Least With Sorrow

Shirley wished with all her heart that this was simply a nightmare that she would wake up from at any moment and find herself wrapped up cozily under the covers in her room on the Castleship. Possibly snuggling one of the pill bug aliens in the process (Milly claimed she'd already done it several times and had a few pictures to keep for 'later.' A.k.a. blackmail material in its finest).

But the screams from below and the flashes of violet lasers and red-lined ships only confirmed the hellish reality as through blurred tears, she and Zinnia smashed through a group of about five Galran fighters.

With a battle cry, Rivalz used Polaris's ice ray to freeze multiple fighters, and it was quickly followed up by Zen shrieking through them with her jaw blade active. The ice did nothing to quell the explosion that occurred a second later.

While from their position in the air, it seemed that the Galra were only targeting the area around the SAZ, they knew it was only a matter of time before they started spreading into the settlement area, and the Paladins knew that the Galra didn't care, and they certainly wouldn't take the time to see who was Japanese and who was Britannia before destroying any building or home in their path. The Emperor would gladly sacrifice an entire area of the empire if it meant getting his way.

'Mom, Dad,' Shirley thought sorrowfully, 'please hang on!'

"Heads up!" another voice that Shirley couldn't place right away shouted through the comm. Snapping her head up, the Orange Paladin gasped as she saw what looked like a glowing blade penetrating the center of a Galra ship before swiftly cutting through the front of it. Once the blast cleared from the destroyed ship, Shirley had to take a moment to gape in awe at the sleek black Knightmare frame that was now hovering not too far from Zinnia.

The Seishin Knightmare frame itself was black and dark grey, but all of the crevices that pieced the Knightmare together were glowing a faint blue color, identical to the Balmera crystal she knew was powering it.

"Thanks, um…" Shirley hesitated before the pilot answered.

"Asahina," the pilot responded, and Shirley's brain spat out the image of the bespectacled member of the Four Holy Swords. One of Colonel Tohdoh's men.

"Thanks, Asahina," she corrected quickly.

Though she couldn't see him, she was sure she felt him nod before his Knightmare sped off after another Galra fighter.

Around in the air, the Seishins, though some were more unsteady than others, swung and swiped at the fighters with the same blades, easily keeping up with the fighters' speed. Several were firing multiple rounds of laser bullets from their built-in shoulder guns while also trying to avoid being shot out of the sky as well.

Two Knightmares in particular, stood out among the rest. The red glow of the Guren's Radiant Surger was hard to miss, and there was a Seishin with two dark blue appendages by its head, almost like a strange cape.

The same Seishin sliced a Galra fighter clean in two with a spinning strike before expertly dodging a barrage of shots from another. Four more hovered around it, picking off and dispatching any fighters that targeted the first.

Many Knightmares were also descending towards the SAZ, lasers already firing at any Sutherland and Gloucester they could see, forcing the Britannians to stop shooting the people below and divert their attention to the Seishins above them.

A streak of purple and blue flashed by two ships before they exploded. Yoru roared thunderously as she pounced onto another, ripping the top of the fighter clean off.

"Suzaku!" Nunnally exclaimed once she saw the Purple Lion, "Suzaku, is Euphie…?"

There was silence for a moment until he answered, "She's in a cryopod. She'll be fine."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Milly gasped.

"Yes, I'm glad to hear that…" Lelouch whispered the relief he felt rippling through his very bones.

"Zero!" Ohgi exclaimed, his Seishin gliding next to Zen, "How do we know who's on whose side?"

"Cornelia and her guard are with us, along with the Glaston Knights," Zero answered, his link open to all Black Knights, "Other than that… If they're shooting at the Galra, they're with us. Protect the people and destroy any Galra ship you see!"

"Got it!" Ohgi said before steering away.

"Right… Hold on, Nunnally," he warned his sister before addressing his fellow Paladins, "Time to take this battle! Form Voltron!"

While to the Paladins, it felt like it several moments to form the robot, to an outsider's perspective, it seemed the Lions joined in a flash of light, and with barely a blink of an eye later, Voltron stood in their place.

"Form bow!" Zero ordered.

Shirley plunged her Bayard into Zinnia's port, and Voltron's bow and arrow formed instantly. A single arrow formed in Voltron's hands, and he pulled back on the bow's string. Multiple targets emerged on the Paladins' screens within the cockpits—dozens of Galra fighters about to meet a fiery end.

"FIRE!"

In a flash of blue, the arrow was released.

Despite the promise of providing back-up from the ground, Cornelia's forces, the few who were actually listening to her anyway, were having zero luck against any Galra vessels that shot near them or descended low enough for their bullets to reach. Even the Hadron cannon being fired from the Le Fey was only having partial success, only melting the ship's outer metal instead of destroying them. The Blaze Luminous shielding was taking significant damage as well.

They were able to eliminate several Knightmare frames that were still firing at the escaping Japanese. Despite being locked up for almost a month, Cornelia had piloted a Gloucester long enough that her muscle memory easily allowed her to dive into the hoard. She didn't earn the moniker Goddess of Victory for no reason after all.

She was also certain that most of the other Britannian Knightmares, besides her own hand-picked men and the Glaston Knights, were only assisting her because they didn't want to end up on the wrong end of her Knightmare's lance. They could weed out the scum later, and she would do it personally if she had to.

There was a flash of light above their heads, and Cornelia smirked when she saw Voltron appear in the air, fire an arrow, then blast off into the main fray.

"No!"

Said smirk quickly faded with Darlton's cry as one of the Glaston Knightmares was engulfed in flames from a fighter's blasts. Said fighter was destroyed moments later by the custom red Knightmare with the strange claw. Didn't Lloyd say that one was called the Guren?

"Alfred!" Edgar Darlton exclaimed before swerving to avoid a barrage of blasts himself.

Cornelia grit her teeth. While they had finally got back-up via the sky, they were still taking heavy losses. Their Knightmares were simply not equipped to deal with the Galra ships.

"Nonette!" Cornelia exclaimed over the comms, "Any word from the other Knights?!"

"No, nothing!" the Knight of Nine said, impaling a Sutherland with her spear, "It's weird! It's like something is jamming my communication with them."

"Perhaps they-augh!" whatever Bart Darlton was about to say was cut off as a rain of lasers practically cut his Knightmare in two before it also exploded like his brother's.

"Asplund! Croomey! Any word from Schneizel?!" the princess demanded next. As much as she wanted to kick her brother's butt for nearly killing Euphemia back on the island, they needed all the help they could get right now. In fact, it was strange that Schneizel wasn't already dispatching his own men onto the battlefield. So why wasn't he doing so? He wouldn't sit back and simply watch this!

"No, nothing from the Viceroy!" Cecile's voice shouted through the comms, "The Le Fey is taking heavy-"

Cecile was cut off by a large crash on the other end of the comm, and looking up, Cornelia saw the airship take a heavy hit from the side. From the laser's size, Cornelia could only guess that the blast came from one of the giant ships where the other fighters were flying out of.

"Oh, dear! We're going down!" Lloyd exclaimed from the ship.

Fortunately, the Le Fey didn't get far, as several of the space Knightmares latched onto the ship and were able to slow its descent to the ground. She saw several fighters fire at them, a couple exploding, but not before the escape pods fired from the main body.

"Princess, look!" Guilford exclaimed, his Knightmare halting and looking at the sky. Above them, Voltron's weapon had transformed from a bow into the giant sword they had first seen when Colonel Tohdoh had been broken out of his prison. The robot was flying straight towards the closest cruiser and, with a mighty swing, much like how the original Avalon was destroyed, sliced straight through it, dragging the sword with a metallic tearing along before exiting out the other end. The cruiser erupted into an inferno, lighting up the sky as if a second sun had appeared above them.

Voltron shot directly for its next target, not wasting precious seconds, the sword shrinking to normal (or normal in giant robot cases) size, slicing through ships and Galran forces almost every second.

Reinvigorated by her brother's attack, Cornelia charged forward, a righteous battle cry issuing from her throat, not even bothering to see if her men were following her as she knew already they were.

Commander Corza frowned as a large chunk of her forces were taken out in Voltron's counterattack. While she knew that such sacrifices were necessary, it still seemed like a blow to her pride to see one of the cruisers go down.

A glow of blue drew her attention, and her eyes narrowed as she saw the Altean's wretched castle itself join the fray, lasers and shots firing from the particle barrier and its other weapons systems. She growled when she saw a concentrated shot rip through dozens of ships and take out the front end of the second cruiser; however, the ship was able to remain airborne.

The control panel in front of her flashed red, signaling an incoming call, which she promptly answered. The face of Zarkon's trusted witch greeted her, her hood casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Commander Corza," Haggar addressed, "recall your remaining forces and regroup at once."

"Vrepit sa," she intoned with a salute before the video call was terminated. As ordered, the crew pulled her main cruiser away from the planet's atmosphere, and she commanded the remaining straggling Galra to retreat.

Corza couldn't help but scowl. Those fools on this backwater planet only managed to decimate so many of her troops because Voltron was kind enough to protect them.

"But…" she smirked sadistically, "Enjoy this small reprise while it lasts, you fools. It's only a small taste of what fate awaits your people."

Seeing that the Galran forces were pulling back, the Black Knights took this as their cue to land on push back the remaining Britaiannain forces, which wasn't too hard. One look at the Seishin Knightmares' weapon arsenal sent most anti-Numbers Britannians running or surrendering on the spot. What really sent them running was the Castle of Lions itself landing in the now destroyed area that would have been the SAZ. Lelouch was grateful for this. While the castle had a limited number of cryopods, he knew there were other medical supplies they could still use to assist.

"Cornelia!" Lelouch exclaimed, landing near his sister's Gloucester (Voltron had dispersed as the castle began to descend), the hatch of which had opened up to reveal the ex-princess. For the most part, she seemed unharmed, though she had a fair stream of blood coming from her forehead. She must have hit her head at some point in the fight.

"I'm fine!" she replied, waving him off, "It's not me you need to worry about right now."

Lelouch grimaced, then nodded. He ordered a small handful of Black Knights to create a perimeter around the zone, at least until the castle's particle barrier turned on again, but he knew that several Japanese would be making their way over from beyond the barrier's reach, so he informed Allura to keep it down for now. He then grabbed a first aid kit that all the Lions were equipped with and exited Zen to try and help any wounded he could.

As he approached a small family, the mother of whom was cradling a girl no older than ten, he saw from the corner of his eye that the other Paladins and Black Knights were doing similar acts, and he even saw the elevator from the Castle of Lions descending, likely with Coran and C.C. to help and possibly escort heavily wounded to the healing pods. He ignored the look of awe that the family, especially the child, gave him as he helped pull the girl's arm into a sling. After checking over the mother and father, he ordered them to start making their way to the castle, where they would be further accommodated inside.

This pattern continued for what felt like hours. Look for an injured human, patch them up as best you can, then send them (or flag another able-bodied person over) towards the castle. Repeat.

During this time, Suzaku managed to dig Cecile and Lloyd out of the now-destroyed Le Fey, and Nonette followed behind Rai after helping her out her Gloucester to assist with the injured.

Zero was about halfway through the strange Altean wrapping gauze (he was fairly certain he had bandaged a good few dozen civilians already and wasn't in the mood for his brain to hurt as he thought about how this is possible) when the particle barrier flashed to life above him, frightening the teen that he was wrapping the ankle of.

"It's okay," Lelouch assured him, "that's up to protect us."

He tied off the bandage before shooing the teen off towards the castle, supported by a girl around his age.

Looking up, almost automatically ready to attend to the next injured civilian, Lelouch had to blink to see that almost everyone was already attended to or making their way to the Castle.

"Lelouch…"

The Black Paladin jumped a little and turned to see that Nunnally had wheeled her way out of Zen and found him. His heart nearly shattered when he saw the look on his sister's face, her eyes brimming with tears as she sadly gazed over the landscape.

"Big brother, what are we going to do now?"

Lelouch could only sigh, "I don't know, Nunnally," he murmured, "I'll think of something soon."

Nunnally just nodded, hugging her sides and desperately trying to hold her tears in.

She gasped when she felt her brother's arms encircle her, and her tears finally overflowed, and she clung to him as she let it all out.

Lelouch was also silently crying under the mask, but these tears weren't just of sorrow.

'Charles zi Britannia,' he thought through gritted teeth, a hot red rage building in his chest, 'I swear… you will pay for this atrocity!'

It was a rare yet terrifying sight to behold when Schneizel el Britannia was angry. Out of all the Royal Family members, the Second Prince was considered one of the calmest and most level-headed of the emperor's children. Not to say that he didn't get frustrated or annoyed from time to time, but everyone knew that it took a lot for Schneizel to lose his temper.

And right now, he was at his boiling point.

The Viceroy's office doors swung open with a resonating bang as the Second Prince stormed out and walked briskly down the hall. A flabbergasted Kanon matched his speed while a profusely sweating Bartley actually had to jog to keep up with the two.

"Get me an audience with the emperor this instant!" Schneizel snapped at the closest officer he could lay eyes on, most of whom were scrambling trying to establish order again within the palace itself. It didn't help that Bismark, Gino, and Anya had mysteriously vanished shortly before the emperor's announcement.

"Your Highness, all of our communications with Pendragon have-urgh!"

The officer was cut off as a barrage of lasers melted through him like butter, dropping dead to the ground.

"Dear god…" Kanon gasped before the three registered the sound of metal clamping against the tiled floor. Schneizel's eyes narrowed as several silver robots crowded the halls, either taking the palace staff hostage or shooting the ones who fought back on the spot.

Staying calm, Schneizel slowly lifted his hands in surrender, and he saw that Kanon and Bartley were mirroring him. It would be foolish to get killed now.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!" Bartley stuttered before feeling a sharp butt of the robot's gun against his back, pushing him and the others forward.

The robots lead them outside where Schneizel saw several more robots corralling soldiers away from guarding the Knightmare frames.

"So…" a purr of a voice drew Schneizel attention to the center of the courtyard, where several dark grey ships were parked. In the midst of the robots, he spotted a purple furry being with a slender yet muscular figure, large cat-like ears, yellow glowing eyes, and hair (at least he was sure it was hair) tied in several braids and tied back. Her armor was bright red, accented with black and dark grays. The woman (?) held out a long slender blade to the prince's neck, "...This is my partner, is it? I'll admit, I find myself disappointed."

"Why you-!" Bartley gasped in offense despite the situation, "You dare raise your blade to a-"

The man was promptly shut up as burning pain shot through his head, emanating from his right ear. The man shrieked and clutched the area now flowing with blood where his right ear once was, now hanging precariously from the tip of the alien's blade.

"Oops," Corza sneered insincerely, "I couldn't figure out where your off button was. I bet it's underneath all of that fat you're lugging around. Perhaps I'll save you the trouble and shave some off, hmm?"

This sadistic threat coupled with the pain from his severed ear had Bartley collapsing to his knees, keening and sobbing like a frightened child.

"Enough," Schneizel said as calmly as possible, "There is no need for violence here. What do you want? Present your terms, and my men and I will adhere to them."

Corza chuckled mockingly, returning her sword to Schneizel's neck, "So, there is someone with a brain here after all. Well, for your information, your so-called 'emperor' insisted I keep you alive, which by the way, Lady Haggar only felt the need to agree to because you're more useful as a prisoner at the moment. But let me make one thing clear," Corza leaned close to Schneizel's face, "behave yourself. I may have orders but… As the saying goes, 'everyone makes mistakes' now, don't they?"

Schneizel fought to keep a straight face. This creature reminded him too much of Luciano Bradley in terms of bloodlust, and from the demonstration with Bartley's ear, she wasn't lying either about killing them if they stepped out of line.

As of this moment, he was in a deadlock.

The best he, and hopefully his subordinates, had of surviving was to accept their situation and wait for the right moment to either escape or fight back.

From the outside, the SAZ seemed completely deserted, now laying in ruins, and the bodies of dozens of Japanese men, women, and children littered the streets, all lost to a selfish emperor's order.

At the center, though, shining like a star in a moonless sky, a large cyan dome illuminated the battlefield, the survivors of the SAZ all herded safely inside… For now.

Many of the survivors were still in need of medical treatment, so all of the cryopods in the med bay were quickly filled. Coran pushed the pods into their highest and fastest setting that could be used safely so that they could attend to as many injured as possible.

The rest (both Japanese and Britannian) who were mostly uninjured or only suffered fairly minor injuries were currently gathered in the Castleship's ballroom. Above the crowd, situated on the balcony, stood Nunnally, Guilford, Darlton, Nonette, Ohgi, Sayoko, Tohdoh, Kaguya, and Kirihara. Zero was standing in the very center of them. Cornelia, Lloyd, and Cecile had also been brought up to the Castleship, but Cornelia had insisted on checking on Euphemia first, and Lloyd and Cecile kindly (being the word Lloyd used) offered their services to Rakshata's research team in the Knightmare bay.

In the front of the group on the balcony, Rover hovered faithfully, waiting for the signal from Rai to begin a worldwide broadcast.

It was time for Earth to unite, to fight against the intruders who had invaded not only their country but their very planet, the planet that all humans called home.

The Galra may have surprised them, but now Voltron had a little surprise for them.

"All set on my end, Zero!" Rai's voice crackled in Zero's commlink, "Whenever you're ready."

"And this will be broadcast to every electronic device on the planet?" he inquired.

"Yes, this program should keep any viruses the Galra develop at bay for a while."

"Very well," the Black Paladin nodded, "Begin."

"Got it!"

Zero could hear the righteous fury in his half-brother's (Lelouch was still getting used to calling Rai that) voice as Rover beeped in affirmation, and his camera blinked three times, signaling him to start.

At that moment, every digital device, televisions, laptops, jumbotrons, and even smartphones were hacked simultaneously, all broadcasting this very message.

It wasn't just Japan, though. It was broadcasting in the Chinese Federation, the European Union, and all other nations of the world were tuning in to this announcement.

"Attention, people of the Earth," Zero began loudly and dramatically, "and all who are oppressed by the empire of Britannia! Long have I waited, all through the struggles against Britannia's injustices, I've waited for them to come to their senses! The Special Administrative Zone of Japan, created by the kind-hearted Princess Euphemia was a genuine attempt to unite the world against a common enemy and end the fighting that has long since plagued our world, spearheaded by the fascist Britannian Empire! And how was she repaid for this act of selflessness?! Betrayed by the very man she called 'father'! Who would prefer to throw his lot in with a hostile alien regime and sell out his own world to save his own skin!"

The people down below began to scream in outrage. Not only the Japanese but the brave Britannians who willingly chose to oppose the emperor's actions.

"Never forgive the emperor!"

"Murderer!"

"Filthy coward!"

"Hypocrite!"

"Burn in hell Charles zi Britannia!"

"But fear not!" Zero continued when the cries started to die down, "For from this moment forward, we hereby declare the independence of Area Eleven from Britannian subjugation! But don't take this to mean the resurrection of your fallen nation! It is the birth of something new, a nation where nobody is oppressed for their gender, race, ideology, or even species! This is… The United States of Japan! And with that, I also hereby announce the formation of the Voltron Coalition, with its first member being the Planet Earth, and the nation of the United States of Japan led and protected by the Black Knights!"

This announcement resulted in even more cheers from all the Black Knights, Paladins, and gathered citizens.

'The United States of Japan?' Suzaku thought as he looked up at Zero from the crowd. He had to give Lelouch credit, he was going all the way and showing no signs of slowing down.

'They've done it,' a fanatically smiling Diethard hidden among the audience thought, 'Despite everything, they've actually created a whole new nation!'

"Once the land of Japan breathes freedom once more, we will continue our crusade of freedom to the rest of the planet, from the tyranny of Britannia and the Galra alike. From there, our cause will continue to spread beyond, reaching every planet and people in the universe, until the cries of the free will never be extinguished again! For freedom!"

"For freedom!" the crowd roared in response, fists pumping in the air.

"For freedom!" Kallen shouted, followed by Rai, Tamaki, Chiba, Asahina, Urabe, Senba, and all the rest of the Black Knights in the crowd.

"For freedom!" Ohgi shouted, raising his fist high, along with Kirihara, Kaguya, Sayoko, and even Tohdoh raised his katana. "For freedom!"

Even Guilford and Darlton, though hesitant at first and feeling out of place, raised their fists and joined them. "For freedom!"

"My first objective was successful. Princess Euphemia li Britannia is dead. However, unfortunately, I could not fulfill the second objective regarding Princess Nunnally. Forgive me, my Lords."

V.V. couldn't keep the small scowl from his face at this news as he and Charles stood tensely on Haggar's command ship. Nebrios was their most skilled assassin in the Geass Order. His Geass, dubbed 'Ward of Absolute Suspension,' was the perfect weapon for assassination and other related jobs. Therefore, it was a no-brainer on who would be responsible for removing his two meddlesome nieces. Well, at least one was out of the way. He could deal with Nunnally later.

"That's fine," Charles intoned next to V.V., "We still have time to correct this error. Remain on standby until further instruction."

Nebiros glanced at V.V. from his side of the screen, and he nodded. It still irked V.V. that Charles insisted on capturing Nunnally instead of simply killing her (the true order V.V. gave out). It seemed even in death, his brother was still soft with anything involving that bitch Marianne.

"Yes, Your Highness," Nebiros bowed before cutting off communication.

"I warned you, did I not?" the voice of their newest 'ally' made the twins jump and turn around. Almost melting from the shadows, Haggar approached the pair, "Once again, you underestimated the Paladins as well as Voltron. That is what led to this failure and all your past failures until now."

Charles scoffed, "They're only children! They-"

"And yet you yourself use children to do your own dirty work," Haggar interrupted with a sneer, "Your arrogance is blinding your judgment. Fail to contain it, and it will be your downfall."

"How dare you-" V.V. choked as Haggar raised her hand, causing his body to be engulfed in a violet aura and rise from the ground. The immortal's hands clawed at a non-existent hold around his neck before he felt himself being thrown backward and crashing hard against one of the ship's steel pillars. He felt several vertebrae in his back snap on impact as he cried out in agony.

"Victor!" Charles exclaimed, but he froze as Haggar raised her hand towards him as well, forcing him to his knees.

"Remember our agreement," Haggar hissed, "Earth will be yours to rule, but only from within the Galra Empire. As of this moment, you are both servants of Emperor Zarkon. Do I make myself clear?"

As V.V. struggled to sit up through the pain as Charles bowed submissively, though he grit his teeth furiously.

A low beeping sound drew Haggar's attention to the main screen again, and she waved her hand to answer the call.

The being that appeared on the other end made Charles's blood run cold. He was sure in another life, he would have been in a similar position, with those under his command cowering below him.

V.V. also, through the pain of his slowly repairing back, felt himself shaking in genuine fear at the sight of the figure before them.

Now, they were the ones cowering as the face of Emperor Zarkon flickered onto the screen.

"My Lord," Haggar bowed in respect, "have you successfully received our latest weapons?"

"Yes," Emperor Zarkon's deep, haunting voice vibrated, "the druids are making final preparations. When they are ready for launch, I myself will be joining you at your location, Haggar."

Haggar's poisonous smirk widened, "Of course, my Lord."

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Castle of Lions was a buzz of activity. After Zero finished his speech for the entire planet to see, the Black Knights, along with their latest Britannian recruits, got right to work. Coran was herding the Britannians down the armory to fit them in their spacesuits and then give them a crash course of how the suits functioned and how to properly use the Seishin Knightmare models.

Despite the crew's hustle, though, there was a layer of distress as well. While the Paladins and Black Knights managed to rescue many of the SAZ's attendees, many more died, and even more were succumbing to their injuries before they could be placed into the cryopods in time. Even though the pods were working at near overdrive, and human doctors and some Altean medical droids that Coran managed to reactivate were treating them, the reality was that even they couldn't save everyone, and the infirmary was still overflowing with injured.

Nunnally looked on with sorrow as she saw one of the pods with a young child inside. The little girl had been shot several times in the chest and stomach, and her arm had gotten badly mangled in the attack. Coran was honestly unsure if the pod could completely fix it. Even if it repaired the muscles, the nerve damage was extensive, meaning she may never have full use of her arm again.

Lelouch and C.C. together managed to shoo Cornelia out of the medical bay to get fitted in her armor with the promise she would be updated on Euphemia's condition.

So far, Euphie was stable, though Coran did note that the assassin who attacked her knew what he was doing. She had been lucky that the bullet had only nicked her heart wall. If she had been brought up only a few minutes later, she would have likely bled out and went into cardiac arrest. The cryopods could pull someone from the brink of death if they are put inside in time, but they couldn't do anything with a corpse.

The pod had frosted over what was below Euphie's neckline to preserve her modesty. Due to the severity of the injury, they hadn't had time to change her into a cryosuit. This wouldn't alter the healing function, but it was likely that most of her dress would dissolve during the process. From what they could see from her face, though, she didn't appear to be in any pain.

"The fellow in the third cryopod should be done in another varga," Coran informed, the depressed quiet of the room getting to him.

"That's good," Shirley whispered half-heartedly.

The feel of death and destruction was being felt by all of the Paladins, feelings of sorrow, anxiety, and even rage permeating the room, though some were better at hiding it than others. Rai and Kallen looked especially angry, but the clenched fists that Suzaku and Lelouch shared made it clear what their feelings were as well.

"Dammit…" Kallen muttered, clenching her teeth and fists so hard she was sure they'd be bleeding if she was barehanded.

Despite the Paladins' effort to keep their feelings suppressed, Allura showed no such action.

"What kind of disgusting, ludicrous, quiznacking kazrlgi must you be to willingly join the Galra!" she ranted furiously whilst pacing. She looked two seconds from tearing her hair out, "How can someone be so stubborn and shameless?! How could…" the princess faltered, "...How could it come to this?"

"Why are we acting so surprised?" Rai asked bitterly, "We knew with Haggar on Earth, the rest of the Galra weren't far behind. Maybe she struck a deal with the emperor. One that he couldn't turn down."

"A deal that includes enslaving his planet and people with himself on top?" Milly asked skeptically, "Since when does Zarkon actually agree to a partnership like that? From what we've seen of the psycho, he doesn't seem like the type."

"He isn't," Coran confirmed, "Alfor attempted to negotiate a peaceful solution with Zarkon when he was still alive, but he couldn't sway him from his ways."

"I'm quite shocked that Charles agreed to this as well," C.C. said, "As we've stated before, Charles is just like Zarkon. He won't negotiate unless it ends with him as the sole ruler and beneficiary of the deal he's struck. He's not the type to submit to anyone. The only person he sees as his equal is V.V., but they're partners at best. He only trusts himself to fulfill his plans. And yet… He still did this."

"Do you think… Maybe Zarkon's Geass did something?" Shirley suggested quietly, "Maybe he's using it to control the emperor and V.V."

"It's a possibility," C.C. admitted, "but we can't know for sure, especially without knowing the type of Geass Zarkon has, or if it can affect a Code Bearer."

"It doesn't matter," Lelouch finally snapped, "Charles made his choice, and we've made ours. There's only one path left for us… Straight forward."

Everyone in the room looked up at the Black Paladin before Rai rose from his spot by one of the pods, "No turning back, right?"

Slowly, one by one, everyone got to their feet.

"Let's do it," Kallen said, cracking her knuckles.

"No way am I turning around now!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Same here!" Shirley nodded.

"...Right," Suzaku murmured, his eyes blazing.

"We promised we would support you, Lelouch," Milly said solemnly, her bayard suddenly flashing to life, "and that hasn't changed."

Trance-like, in unison, everyone else's bayards flashed to life. A bow, a rifle, a katar, a kusarigama, a katana, a cestus.

Allura gasped softly, and Coran's eyes widened. C.C. also looked intrigued as she took a small step back.

"What's…?" Nunnally began before her brother stepped forward, his hand traveling to his waist. When he removed it, a small knife wrapped at the hilt was grasped tightly in his hands.

All meeting in the center, the seven Paladins of Voltron raised their weapons above them.

"No turning back," Lelouch intoned strongly.

"No turning back!" the rest of the Paladins echoed.

There was a silent awe in the room as the four outliers watched the Paladins make their vow, the Warrior's Bond forging anew.

As the Paladins slowly parted, C.C. smirked, "Well, don't leave us out of the fun. We're in this just as much as you are."

"Quite right!" Coran exclaimed, "We're with you, Paladins! No point of the universe is treacherous enough to deter us!"

"Yes," Allura nodded resolutely, "We, Voltron, are meant to protect the weak, defending them from those who would wish them harm! That mission has not changed, nor will it now."

"We're with you, Lelouch!" Nunnally piped in, her hand gripping his arm.

Lelouch couldn't keep the grateful smile from his face as he squeezed his sister's hand back, "Thank you… All of you!"

After smiling at his team, his face soon relapsed into a stoic mask, "Kallen, Rivalz, Milly, Shirley. Head to the settlement and get your families. Now that your faces are known, I doubt the military will be leaving them alone. Bringing them to the castle is the most secure place to hide them. Rai, Coran," he turned to the two in question, not waiting for the latter four to respond, "Head down to the launch bay and assist Rakshata's team with our newest recruits. Run them through the Knightmares and weapons operations. Suzaku," he looked towards his oldest friend, "You're with me and Allura. We'll regroup with Tohdoh and the rest of the leadership to organize our forces. Everyone understand their orders?"

When no one objected, he nodded, "All right! Move out!"

"Lelouch, is there anything I can do?" Nunnally asked as most of the rest quickly exited the room.

Lelouch knelt on one knee (Nunnally was still in her hoverchair), "Just stay here with Euphie, Nunnally. If she wakes up sooner than expected I think seeing a familiar face will help her stay calm."

Nunnally nodded in acceptance before wheeling closer to her sister's pod. Lelouch then looked towards C.C., "Will you look after them?"

C.C. nodded while shooting a look at him that said, 'You still had to ask?'

Lelouch smiled a little bashfully before turning to leave the room himself, only to stop short when he saw Suzaku standing at the doorway.

"Suzaku?" he asked in concern. The Purple Paladin jumped, looking embarrassed.

"S-sorry, Lelouch," he stuttered, "Can you just…? I'll catch up with you later. I need a moment."

A sympathetic look crossed Lelouch's face before he nodded and patted Suzaku's shoulder. "Take your time."

Suzaku nodded and jogged down the other hallway as Lelouch rushed off to catch up with Allura.

Neither Paladin noticed C.C.'s concerned look as she watched Suzaku disappear.

"This must be unbearable for Suzaku," Nunnally said softly from behind the immortal, "I mean, big brother loves Euphie too, but not in the same way that Suzaku does. Lelouch tries to hide it, but I can see the pain in his eyes… I can only imagine what Suzaku's feeling right now."

C.C. frowned and looked back down the hall.

"Nunnally, stay here for a moment," she finally said, "I'll be right back."

Suzaku trudged down a deserted hallway, wondering if this is what it feels like to be a zombie. No emotion, no thoughts, he felt like he didn't even have a heartbeat.

Being numb wasn't a foreign feeling for Suzaku. He remembered this feeling well eight years ago after driving a knife into his father's heart. The months that followed came in flashes to him, but he knew that it took forever for him to start feeling decent enough to function again.

Now the feeling had returned tenfold. Like a huge hole had been punched through his chest. He had held the love of his life in his arms as she was dying. Bleeding out from an assassin's bullet, and he couldn't do anything to stop it at the time. He had promised he would protect her, and he had failed. Just like he always did. Why? Why did this keep happening?!

Eventually, the Purple Paladin slowed to a stop. The hole he felt inside him suddenly grew hot. His breath came out in short hisses as it exited through his clenched teeth. His vision became blurry as anguished tears built in his eyes.

With a cry of agony, Suzaku brandished his Bayard and swung it wildly against the wall, leaving a dark scar in the pristine white of the Castleship's walls. Letting this new bubbling rage guide him, he kept swiping at the walls. Eventually, this wasn't enough for him, and he threw his Bayard, still in sword form, to the ground and his fists collided with the wall. He knew deep down that he wasn't accomplishing anything by doing this, but right now, Suzaku's feelings were completely feral. He was a rabid and broken animal that couldn't find solace.

A hand snatched his wrist, keeping him from punching the wall again. This act felt like an icicle to the back, icy cold reality hitting him and the furious rage vanishing. Looking to the source, tears and even snot covering his face, Suzaku saw C.C.'s somber face staring back at him.

Only now was the reality of the situation sinking in. The Emperor of Britannia had shot Euphemia through the hands of an assassin. Her own father didn't so much as bat an eye as she lay bleeding to death on the SAZ's stage.

Now Suzaku wasn't an idiot. He'd heard enough stories both from Lelouch and others about how stubborn the emperor was, but this… He actually had the audacity to side with Zarkon?! Not even Lelouch predicted that his father would make such a move, so… Why?!

With these thoughts buzzing in his head, all fight left his body, and he sunk to the floor.

"If there's one thing I know about Charles from my years of knowing him," C.C. said as if reading Suzaku's mind, "it's that he's an incredibly ambitious man. More importantly, when he sets his sights on something, nothing is off-limits, and he will resort to any tactic possible to fulfill his goal. Sacrifice anything… Or anybody."

Suzaku didn't move from his spot on the floor, but he was listening.

"I'll admit, even I was blindsided by his decision to side with the Galra, but when you think about it, this actually isn't too out of character out of him," C.C. paused to think about to word this correctly, "Voltron represents everything he disagrees with about humanity, but it also stands as his biggest obstacle toward his goals, and right now he's trying to remove that obstacle. In his mind, siding with the Galra is the most logical choice."

Suzaku finally reacted with a hysterical laugh. "Logical?! What is so logical about this?! We were offering an olive branch, a chance at a peaceful resolution! We were so close! So close to finally achieving peace! The dream that I… that Euphie thought was possible!"

C.C. sighed, "Suzaku, what you must understand about Charles is that he isn't interested in peace. His only interest in life is making the world the way he wants it. He wants his version of peace, not anyone else's."

Suzaku fell silent again, just staring sightlessly at the floor.

C.C., apparently tired of the silence, speaks again, "Suzaku, I want to ask you something, and I want an honest answer. When you first joined the Britannian military, did you really do it to change the system on the inside? Did you truly believe that Britannia could change?

Suzaku doesn't answer right away. His head and his heart were screaming two different answers. His heart was saying yes, he did! But his head was louder this time, and the truth was…

"...When I met Euphemia, I really believed that she had the power to do it. To change the system, to change Britannia. And I was ready to give her my full support, even my life if I had to. That's how much I believed in her. But… when I first signed up… when I first became an Honorary Britannian… No. I didn't believe that."

"You only told yourself that so that you could put yourself in a situation where if you died, you would die a "heroic death" and redeem yourself for what happened to your father," C.C. said.

"Yes…" Suzaku nodded slowly.

"So… What are you going to do now?" C.C. asked, "I hope you're not planning to give up now, especially not after that display by the cryopods. I won't tell you what to do, but there are people here who truly need you, and Euphemia is one of them. When she recovers, and she will, she might have family and friends who are there for her, but she might need you even more; that is if you truly feel the same way she feels about you."

Suzaku's mind wandered again, this time starting from the very moment they shot into the sky in Polaris, meeting Coran and Allura, becoming the Purple Paladin, finding his Lion aboard the Galra cruiser, forming Voltron for the first time, and training and bonding with all of Paladins. Then learning Lelouch's true identity as Zero and the shock and horror he had originally felt, but still agreeing to help if only to not break up Voltron, as thanks to Lelouch's first attempt to leave they all learned were hard to find. All of the battles the Paladins went through and the crazy training trips Coran sent them on. He noticed that over time, something slowly changed in him, in all of them. He stopped silently questioning Lelouch's plans, began following orders more willingly, and began risking his life not just because it was convenient for the circumstances but because he wanted to. He wanted to follow Lelouch and his other friends. He wanted to protect people. He wanted to save the universe from the Galra.

And Euphie… Dear sweet Euphie. Not one day went by on the Castleship that he didn't think about her and miss her. He constantly thought about what she would think if she was in his position. One thing was for sure though, he was sure she would have persevered, even if it was painful.

"If I stop now…" he started, "I won't just be failing my team, I'll be failing Euphemia too. It would be a mockery to her dream, the one I know she still has. I'm ashamed it took me so long to see reason, but… I'm not going to let this chance go to waste."

Standing up fully, he turned to C.C. and held out his hand. "C.C., I want to form a contract with you."

C.C. actually took a step back in surprise. Out of all the Paladins, the immortal had honestly believed Suzaku would be the one not to get a Geass, much less ask for one.

Suzaku noticed her look and said, "You've made contracts with everyone else so far."

"Yes…" C.C. said slowly, "But there was no telling the type of ability they would get or how it would manifest. The same still applies to you, including the risks involved."

"I know that," Suzaku nodded but didn't lower his hand.

"...Are you sure this is what you want, Suzaku?" she asked again, "If you're making this decision purely based on your emotions there can be negative consequences on your mental state… Like with Mao."

"I know," Suzaku said, "I'm sure about this, though."

"...All right," C.C. relented, reaching out to grasp his hand, "Just make sure you don't become too dependent on it."

With this final warning, her hand fell on top of his, and Suzaku's world burst into color.

"We're sorry! We're working as best as we can!"

"We weren't fast enough! We managed to keep the news off the Net, but there are insurrections all over the map!"

"Not just Elevens either! Even Britannian forces! Voltron is absorbing and rallying all of the masses against the settlement!"

"With so many honorary Britannians, and even full-blooded Britannians turning on us, our enemies number in the tens of thousands!"

Corza growled, "You Earthlings can't even keep control of your own people? Pathetic!"

Schneizel remained silent with two Galran sentries looming over his chair, rifles raised, knowing that speaking up or correcting her would likely worsen the situation.

"Report in! Our units have been unable to detain the Fenette, Cardemonde, and Ashford families. They all managed to escape!"

"What?" Schneizel said aloud, but more out of confusion than shock as he was sure he never issued an order to capture those families. However, he quickly confirmed his own suspicions and figured Charles had given that order instead. It was logical from a strategic point to take hostages, especially if they are friends or family of the enemy.

"There are reports of the Orange, Blue, and Yellow Lions intercepting the units. The targets were gone by the time they left. We've also confirmed reports of the Red Lion attacking the Eastern Penitentiary. Several inmates are confirmed to have escaped, likely on the Lion!"

"Likely gathering more forces that way," Corza mused, but chuckled, "Not that it will matter. Plenty more Galra vessels will be arriving shortly. It won't matter how many humans stand against us. They were doomed from the start."

"Okay, let's fire this one up!" Rai called as he was lowered back to the ground. He had just finished installing a Balmera crystal into the Lancelot's power generator. Despite the Le Fey being unsalvageable, Lloyd and Cecile managed to lead some Black Knights to retrieve both the Lancelot and Gawain Knightmare frames from the wreckage. They were also in the process of modifying the remaining Glaston Knights' Knightmare frames. They didn't have time to install everything, but they had a much higher chance of surviving the upcoming battle now compared to using normal Knightmares. The Gawain had also been modified to one passenger seat instead of two.

"All right, Lancelot startup sequence beginning… Now!" Cecile announced. With the engine roaring to life, the Lancelot's system booted up, the Balmera crystal's energy syncing in. Like with the Seishin Knightmares, the Lancelot outlines began to glow a faint blue, and even the green 'eyes' of the Lancelot shifted into a cyan color.

"Oh my! This is greater energy than I ever anticipated!" Lloyd exclaimed like a kid in a candy store.

"Well, if you're a good boy, Lloyd, I might let you take a look at my notes from the original test runs," Rakshata smirked.

"'Might'?" Lloyd pouted.

"Might." Rakshata giggled while Lloyd continued to sulk. Cecile rolled her eyes while Rai and Coran shared a chuckle.

"Excuse me," someone cleared their throat from behind them. Turning around, the group spotted Claudio, David, and Edgar Darlton, and they were all clad in their new Black Knight space uniforms and armor.

The armor looked fairly similar to the Paladin armor, but with several distinct design changes. The helmets were nearly identical, but small three spikes were branching out from above the forehead (above the dip in the 'v') and two off to the sides of their ears. Altogether it looked much like the symbol for the Black Knights. The suits' arms and legs were armored in the same way as the Paladins, but the neckline was tighter and the shoulders broader.

The only other major difference was the color scheme. Compared to the white and black with different colored accents for the Paladins, the Black Knights' armor was black, the undersuits dark rusty red, and the highlights silver.

On the back of each of the uniforms, just beneath the jetpack that bore the Black Knight symbol, was another feature. A single homing device. This was sewn into the suits as a safety precaution. Just in case one of the Black Knights got 'lost in space,' or otherwise, the Castleship could hone in on the device and retrieve the wayward pilot.

They were also designed to withstand all of the extremes of space, from 2.6 to nearly 5810 Kelvin ("If I'm converting your Earth measurements to the ship's correctly, that is," Coran had said), and (according to Earth standards) were completely bulletproof.

"Ah, Andreas's little boys," Lloyd greeted, "How do you do?"

"You're surprisingly chipper considering the situation," David scowled back.

Lloyd just shrugged, "Eh, what can I say? It's my nature as a sociopath."

"Perfect timing, though," Rai interjected, "We just finished modifying your Knightmares a couple of dobashes ago. We didn't have time to upgrade them completely, but they're better than nothing. You should have time to do a couple of practice runs around the moon to get used to it."

"'Around the moon,'" Edgar echoed softly, before laughing in disbelief, "I can't believe I'm actually hearing something like that."

"Thank you," Claudio nodded, "We were actually coming to inquire about that."

"So… about the suits," David said, examining his helmet skeptically, "Is this seriously supposed to help with the interfacing?"

Coran laughed jovially, "Of course not, young man!" The three brothers looked at him dubiously, "It's supposed to help keep you alive out there!"

At this admission, the Glaston Knights felt themselves pale and glanced at one another. Rai smiled sympathetically while Cecile bit her lip.

"From the reports that are pouring in, it seems that most of the settlement has been evacuated," Ohgi pointed out from his position on the bridge, "So I don't think we'll have to worry too much about civilian casualties."

"Good," Zero nodded to everyone presented, which included Suzaku, Tohdoh, Allura, Ohgi, Cornelia, Darlton, and Guilford, all of whom were looking over the terrain of the settlement on the screen, "Then we can continue with final preparations. The Castle of Lions will provide support, while Voltron engages the Galra head-on. In the meantime, the Black Knights will attack the stragglers in the Britannian military. It's a shame that we couldn't collect any further support from the other branches."

Guilford and Darlton both scowled at this reminder. Shortly after being taken aboard the castle, the two had attempted to contact any military personnel they had connections with. Much to their disappointment, though, most of their allegiance remained steadfastly with the emperor's decision. Only a couple of newer Privates and other soldiers who were brave enough to desert answered their call.

"It seems that several of the outlying rebel groups still in the area are offering assistance as well," Allura said, "Many are providing weapons and other resources at their disposal."

"Yes, General Katase made contact with me about an hour ago," Tohdoh nodded, "Several groups from Yamanashi and the remnants of the Blood of the Samurai are being rallied as we speak."

"Good, we'll have them focus on the Britannian ground troops," Zero said, "Try to keep them out of areas heavy with Galra forces."

"Still no word from the Knights of the Round?" Suzaku asked, glancing at Cornelia. Nonette was currently in the engineering area getting prepped for the Lancelot's new modifications, but she said she'd try to make contact with her colleagues in the meantime… She also admitted that it was unlikely they'd help due to being under the Emperor's direct orders and answering almost exclusively to him.

"No nothing," Cornelia shook her head, "We've been unable to make contact with any of the leadership either."

"You mean there's still no word from Prince Schneizel?" Guilford gasped.

"Nothing yet," Cornelia said with a frown. She still wanted to gut Schneizel for his stunt on the island, but having him as an ally at this point would be a hundred times better than not. She and Lelouch knew that it was extremely unlikely that Schneizel would support this, so if they couldn't get in contact with him, it was likely that the enemy had captured him. They would likely have to come up with a rescue operation if they managed to at least locate him.

"Well, we should find him then!" Suzaku said, "If he's with us, I'm sure more Britannian forces will be willing to side with Voltron."

"Suzaku, as much as I do agree, we don't have time," Zero said, "We don't even know where to start looking, or whether Schneizel's even still in the settlement or not!"

Allura had heard many mixed reviews about the Second Prince, most of which took a nosedive after Shikine Island. However, if cooperating with this ambiguously moral individual meant this planet would survive, she was willing to swallow her pride and do it. She had already agreed to work with Cornelia after all. "If we do manage to locate him during the battle, we'll assign a team to retrieve him," Allura decided, "But until then, I'm afraid Zero is correct."

"That's it then," Darlton said gravely, "Unless there's anything else that needs to be discussed?"

"No," Zero shook his head, "You all have your duties and squads assigned. It's time to get moving!"

With this final exclamation, everyone except Allura, who would monitor the battle from the bridge and provide the support Zero mentioned, exited the room.

'If the Britannian military wishes to side against us, so be it,' Lelouch thought gravely as he marched briskly toward Zen's chamber.

This was it. This was only a few Earth minutes until midnight. All the Voltron Coalition forces and their supporters from the insurrections had surrounded the settlement and were waiting anxiously for Zero to issue the order to attack. Up above the ruins they now occupied, Voltron himself hovered strongly at the front of the settlement, surrounded by hundreds of Seishin Knightmares, the Lancelot, Gawain, and the remaining Glaston Knights.

On the ground, there were also multiple ground-units, including tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry.

While Voltron's troops looked impressive, the settlement was also heavily guarded. Not just by the bulk of Britannia's military stationed there, but also a small Galran fleet. Dozens of Galra ships hovered around the Tokyo settlement, circling it like hawks ready to swoop in and snatch its prey.

"Hear me, Britannia! This is Zero!" Lelouch exclaimed from Voltron's head, "A rebel against oppressors who abuse their power! We will wait until midnight. You have until then to surrender! This is your only warning — heed it. Twelve midnight, not a single tic later!"

Lelouch didn't expect a reply, but according to the scans of the enemy they were picking up, the foe had begun to converge around the edge of the settlement. It seems they had their answer.

"So be it…" Lelouch murmurs mostly to himself before turning to the comms, "Rai, is the virus ready?"

"Affirmative!" Rai answered, "I have it automatically set to activate at midnight just like you said."

"Good. Now we wait, it seems…"

"Um… Lelouch?"

Lelouch blinked, and if one had been looking at him, they would have seen the faint circle of red around his iris.

"Milly?" he responded mentally, "What's wrong?"

"Well… This may be a bad time to bring it up, but when I went to Ashford to pick up my grandfather, I tried to look for Nina too. I couldn't find her, though. Shirley and Rivalz said they haven't seen her in a while either. Do… Do you think she's okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine, Milly," Lelouch reassured her, "She's likely been evacuated with the other civilians. Besides with us, that's likely the safest place she can be right now. We can try and find her after the battle."

"If you say so…"

The ring in Lelouch's eyes faded. They had yet to completely test out how far Milly's range could reach, but depending on it, especially if the Paladins were separated on different missions, Milly could easily be a liaison between teams. The only drawback they'd found with her Geass so far is that she could only use it on one person at a time, and she had to say the person's full legal name to connect to them.

"Lelouch," this time, it was Kallen's voice that drew his attention, and he turned on the video camera.

"What is it, Kallen?"

"I was just thinking… We know that Haggar's here somewhere, whether in the settlement or one of those ships. So… what the chances that Zarkon's here too?"

Lelouch didn't answer at first, but he felt his hands shake slightly. Despite not having seen the Galra overlord for a couple of months, the thought of facing him still terrified the Black Paladin. The… Violating feeling he felt when Zen was ripped from his grasp at the Galra HQ still haunted him, and he wondered if he was strong enough to stand up to the warlord this time.

Shaking his head, Lelouch looked up, "There's nothing we can do about that now. If Zarkon does show up, we'll deal with him."

"Um…" Now Rivalz's face joined Kallen's on Lelouch's console, "Not that I want Mr. Negative here, Lelouch, but the last time we fought Zarkon, he nearly wiped the floor with us. He almost killed Kallen and Suzaku, and they're the best pilots out of all of us!"

"It doesn't matter!" Suzaku's face joining the conversation, "We weren't expecting to fight Zarkon the last time. But we've gotten stronger since then. We're not going to let him beat us around this time!"

Lelouch nodded with a small smile before he sent a signal to Shirley, Milly, and Rai to turn their monitors on too.

"Listen, before this all starts," he said after the three appeared alongside the others, "I feel like I need to apologize to you all. I feel like I dragged you into my problems-"

"This again, Lelouch?!" Milly exclaimed, annoyed, "How many times do we need to tell you? None of this is your fault!"

"Yeah, if your dad weren't such an asshole, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Rivalz agreed.

"We all agreed to stand by you and see this through to the end!" Rai said, "No way we're backing out now!"

"We trust you, Lulu!" Shirley held up her fist confidently.

"We've been through a lot already as a team," Kallen said, "and we plan to keep it that way. So you're stuck with us."

"I...We're not abandoning you, Lelouch," Suzaku said, "Not like he did."

Lelouch struggled to keep the tears in his eyes from falling as he smiled at them all in gratitude.

"Thank you… All of you…"

With a final round of nods, his fellow Paladins cut the comms just as the timer reached zero.

Almost like a rippling earthquake, the Tokyo Settlement rattled at its foundation before collapsing in on itself like a giant sinkhole. From Voltron's head, Lelouch could see that a majority of Britannia's forces—Knightmares, tanks, armored vehicles—got caught in the shock of the attack as streets were ripped apart and buildings crumbled, some of which took out several enemy planes with them, and collapsed under them, leaving them buried and destroyed.

This seemed to spur several fighters into action, but before any could fire, the Castle of Lions descended from the clouds and with a blast from its central cannon, and shot straight through a Galra battleship, nearly cutting it in two. Seconds later, it erupted into a fiery inferno.

"You told me to learn the gambles of war, Father," he whispered aloud. But these words were not for him. They were for his sworn enemies, Zarkon and Charles zi Britannia, who had brought this tragedy to Earth, "But I think I've already learned them. Have you? You think your Galra allies will save you? You think Zarkon will come and protect you? None of that will change your fate. Hell, I welcome it even. It's what you wanted right? You want a war? Well, now you've got one."

[cxdemusings]

There’s some things that Nightmare of Nunnally ruined for me. Twin AUs. It’s the reason I can’t write with someone who has the same muse as me. I might still follow but--won’t rp with.

Then there’s the fact that it’s ROLO they made be Lelouch’s twin, completely stripping him of his own identity, one of the things he struggled with in Code Geass as Nunnally’s ‘replacement’. The moment they brought up the forgotten twin plotline, I dropped the spinoff.

I couldn’t tolerate it. I won’t. You don’t disrespect Rolo like that.

[sinofdelusion]

SINoALICE x Code Geass: Resolve to Take Up a Sword: Turn 3

*As usual, text that is just italicized indicate in-battle dialogue

-

Part 1

"This is all your fault!" A young man suddenly yelled, attacking Suzaku. "You?!" "Why did you kill the shrine maiden?! Even though she wished for the peoples' happiness!" With those words, Suzaku guessed in that instant. This young man was probably the chief priest the girl had mentioned. "... It can't be helped. It couldn't be helped. She became a Nightmare." "You made her do that!" "No! I tried to help her!" "But you killed her!"

"Once someone becomes a Nightmare, they're no longer human. Surely you know that? If I had let her be, more people would've died." "Yeah, I know that. What you did was right. People will praise you for it. But do you understand what killing someone precious does to someone?!" The chief priest's shout struck Suzaku's heart. (... Euphie, I...) "Even though there might have been a way to turn her back to normal... Shrine maiden, shrine maiden...!" A black mist slowly covered the chief priest who was howling with fury.

" W h y  d i d  y o u  k i l l . . .  w h y  d i d  y o u  k i l l  h e r . . . "

"— If I had left her like that, she would've killed other people!"

"W h a t ' s  w r o n g  w i t h  t h a t ? !  I  h a v e  m a n y  m o r e  l i v e s —  I  l o n g e d  t o  b e  c l o s e  t o  j u s t  o n e  p e r s o n ,  I  j u s t  w a n t e d  t o  s a v e  h e r !  I s  t h a t  w r o n g  a s  a  h u m a n ? ! "

Suzaku looked at his sword in half-dazed state, the corpse of the chief priest who had loved the dead shrine maiden dearly in front of him. The blade of his sword was wet and red with the blood of the things he had killed. (Since that day, both of my hands have been soaked in red.) — Yes, from when he was very young, trying to stop his father from escalating the war. And then— (Now my entire body is... covered in blood) How many would you say you've killed for the sake of saving people? How many people's desires have you trampled? "Aa... aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Suzaku screamed, overflowing with unending repentance, but at that moment—

"Don't, you'll be swallowed up!" At the familiar sound of his best friend's voice, Suzaku regained his sanity. "Lelouch...?" "I finally came in time."

Breathing heavily, Suzaku met that familiar figure halfway. "Lelouch... is that really you?" "Yeah, sorry for being late." With the entrance of his childhood friend, a question burst out of Suzaku. "Lelouch, I've killed a lot of people. I've taken someone's beloved with these hands!" "Suzaku..." "What should I do—?!"

- Part 2

In front of his disoriented childhood friend, Lelouch took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. "Suzaku, listen well. The abnormalities in this world are our fault. So let's end it all." "How do we end it all?" "... You really don't know?" "What?" "With our own hands, we have to—" At that point, Lelouch stopped talking. (I'll let him calm down a little more before I continue talking... It's too soon right now.) "Suzaku, we're moving."

"My ally's house is here."

"Ally, you said?"

"Yes. My goals align with hers. To return the world back to normal."

"..."

Lelouch pointed ahead, to a house that looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale. "You made it this time." "Thanks to your help. Thank you, Alice." Inside the house, the girl called Alice stared blankly at Suzaku. "... Sleeping is the best way to recover. Because those who are weakened become a burden." "Eh? Y-Yeah." "Use the bed as you like." "Let's take advantage of her kindness. Come, Suzaku." Lelouch walked briskly, like he already knew the place.

Laying on the bed on the second floor, Suzaku spoke to Lelouch. "She's a little strange, isn't she?" "But her skills are reliable. She has deep knowledge of this world." "Alice... Like the 'Alice in Wonderland' Nunnally likes." "Yeah..." "Speaking of, Nunnally... your little sister..." Whether it was out of relief that he met up with his best friend or not, Suzaku lost consciousness.

- Part 3

Suzaku awoke to the sound of faint voices talking. Killing his presence, he headed towards the voices, where Lelouch and Alice were talking. "Is that so?" "Yeah. This world is looping according to Suzaku's desires. If we want to end it, he has to change himself." "The method for that is.... that, isn't it?" "Suzaku has to kill the Nightmare behind all of this with his own hands. The Nightmare in the form of someone dear to you. For you, it would be your little sister, Nunnally..." Killing someone dear to you with your own hands— The truth made Suzaku feel dizzy.

Without realizing it, Suzaku was outside of the house. (A Nightmare in the form of someone dear to you...) He knew that without a doubt, and he'd surely met it many times. That was the person who acknowledged him. The person he swore loyalty to. The person dear to him. — Someone he hadn't wanted to lose. "Euphie..."

"Can I kill this Nightmare that looks like Euphie... with my own hands?"

How many times has it been? How many mistakes have I made? How many lives have been taken by my hand? The truth is, I know. That Euphie died. The truth is, I know. What I have to do to that thing with Euphie's form. I have to have the resolve to move forward. Even so, I've always believed. In this world, you can live alongside everyone before you make a mistake. "... But that's no good. Time moves on."

- Part 4

Grasping his knight's pin tightly, Suzaku raised his voice. "Come out! I'm here!" Responding to his voice, the Nightmare with Euphemia's form appeared before him. "Suzaku... my knight..." Euphemia's hands reached for Suzaku. "... Thank you, Euphie. And, I'm sorry. I— can't take your hand!" A strong flame burned in Suzaku's eyes.

"Trust me, Suzaku. You can start over in this world!"

"I can't, Euphie. I... don't want to waste the real you's death!"

"Goodbye, Euphie." Suzaku turned to stop Euphie with one strike. But at that moment— "I'll tell you the truth." What he thought had been Euphemia's body dispersed in an instant and wrapped around Suzaku. "If you know the truth of how I was killed, will you still say you blame me?" Something popped up in his eye and images streamed in. "This is—?!" "Do you know why I massacred the Japanese...?"

Cold rain fell from the red skies. Cold drops fell relentlessly on Suzaku's body. "This is where you were, Suzaku!" Perhaps Lelouch had been looking for him, breathing heavily as he ran. "Let's go back in, you'll catch a cold." "You've been lying to me, haven't you?" "Suzaku...?" "You drove Euphie mad and killed her for your own goals— as Zero." "......... That's right." In the pouring rain, only the mystery and Lelouch's response echoed.

- Part 5

Lelouch's confession threw Suzaku's heart into disarray. "What about all that talk with Alice earlier? To stop this world's loop, I tried to kill Euphie, but is that really a Nightmare?! Isn't that... isn't that the real Euphie?!" "Calm down, Suzaku!" "You want to go back to the world where Nunnally is so you want to use me to—!" "No! I've already killed Nunnally to end this loop! It's useless if we both don't overcome this!" "You've betrayed me!" "Suzaku...!"

"I can't forgive you for this. Because it's important, because you're my friend... I can't forgive you... for lying to me and betraying me! You lied in both this world and in our world! Lelouch! You're covered in lies!"

"I am a liar. But that's enough! You're the only one who can defeat the cause of this abnormality!"

"Aa... aaaaaa!"

After yanking Lelouch close, Suzaku struck him with all of his strength. "You can't do anything alone!" "... Ah, that's true, isn't it." Spitting out the blood spilling out of his mouth, Lelouch grinned and laughed. "Alone, huh." "— tsk! Damn it!" By the time Suzaku noticed, his field of vision was spinning and his back was on the ground. "Tsk! Alice!" "Be quiet for a bit. Are you okay, Lelouch?" "Yeah..." Lelouch's eyes seemed sad as he nodded.

- Part 6

How much time has passed? The fortuneteller with dull rose-colored hair came to visit Suzaku while he was restrained to the bed. "You're..." "I'm Cinderella." "You're... Cinderella?" "If you say I'm different than you'd imagine, how about I take one of your arms?" She wasn't lying, only telling the truth, as the smile on her face showed. With that strange intensity, Suzaku gulped. "Now then, should I talk to you for a bit? If you don't change, the loop will never end. We can't go back to our world either."

"You know that too, don't you? That the Euphie or whatever's a fake. The more you loved the real thing, the better you can pick out the flaws in the fake." "... Ah." "You averted your eyes from that woman's death. This world captured that weakness. The real you would've had the courage to face that thing and give it what for by now." "Then I'm..." "A shadow that was left behind... or something." "That Lelouch too?" "The same as you. A shadow that averted his eyes at the moment that woman died."

"Well, I noticed the loop pretty early on and tried to get out of it quick." "Then Lelouch actually...?" "This isn't real. I killed it by declaring my weakness." "..." "If you two don't stop the loop, both of you will be suffering here forever, trapped in your regrets. Both of you need to get over it." "Both of us..." "Remember what the old lady said. There's some things you can't get across if you don't talk, yeah?" With that, Cinderella untied Suzaku and quietly left the room.

After a while, Suzaku left the room and knocked on a nearby door and Lelouch came out. "... Lelouch, I want to talk to you for a bit." "... Okay." The two said no more words than what was necessary, silently leaving the house.

"A human who has become a Nightmare can't be changed back."

"That's right. There's no way you can help them."

"... You drove Euphie mad. But I have regrets."

"... Ah. But that's why we're here."

"... Why?"

"That was an accident. My power went rampant..."

"Geass... an unusual power that lets you control other people."

"As long as I use it properly... I... wanted to take Euphie's hand..."

"Lelouch..."

"I used Euphie's death to make the most out of it. That was the path I believed I was bound to go down. But my feelings of regret brought forth this world..." "... I see. You accepted Euphie's death in your own way and tried to take responsibility for it." "Yeah, that's why I can't forgive my own weakness. And—" Lelouch pointed to a large number of Nightmares, all of which were being eaten by Euphemia's figure. "Whatever she is, I can't forgive her blasphemy!"

- Part 7

"Suzaku, those are the true colors of the one who's been showing you illusions. If we kill her, this world will return to the way it was before!" Suzaku pointed his sword towards the thing in Euphemia's form eating Nightmares. "Lelouch, before that, one more question. What happens to the people who turn into Nightmares?" "All of them will die. But the world will be saved." "... I have seen this world many times.There are those left behind by the people who were killed, mourning them." "Ah..." "You're..."

"You're telling me to bear the burden of all that hatred?" "Yes. Only those who are prepared to be killed should kill. But Suzaku— you've made a mistake." "Eh?" "You and I both carry that burden." "— Ah. Yeah, you're right! Lelouch!" "Let's go, Suzaku! To change this world without a future!"

"Don't you feel like we've been forgotten, Alice?"

"I don't care. As long as we can return to our original world. I only want to hurry up and revive my author."

"As usual, you're a boring girl."

"Are you two friends?"

"Ahaha! No way! Won't we kill each other at any rate?"

"Because only one person can have their wish granted."

"It doesn't matter if we're only temporarily fighting together. I'll use your power as I please!"

-

"Thank you... thank you, Suzaku. Your stubborn side and your kind side.... your sad eyes and your awkward side... the side of you that gets bitten by cats... I came to love all of it. Suzaku.... meeting you truly made me happy."

- Ending:

"It looks like we say goodbye here." "Are we finally free? God, those fucking dolls. Dragging us into annoying issues like this." Suzaku smiled and held out his hand to the two girls who had helped them. "Thank you, both of you. If it weren't for you two, Lelouch and I... we'd surely still be wandering around." "Thank you too." Seeing Alice as expressionless as ever, Cinderella let out an annoyed sigh— In the end, without shaking hands with anyone, the girls returned to their original world.

"So, what do we do now?" "We're shadows after all. Maybe one day, we'll disappear..." Lelouch held his hand over his left eye, where his power dwelled. "Maybe this world will be consumed by war again. And the weak will be oppressed. A world without a future will appear. To guard against that, this power of Geass will be needed." "Lelouch..." "Until the day I disappear, I intend to protect this word. I believe that's my duty, as one who holds the power of kings." "Yeah."

"So Suzaku... won't you wield your sword for that?" "— Of course. If we're together, nothing's impossible!" Lelouch and Suzaku's eyes met, and they laughed as they did when they were children. "Alright, let's go, Suzaku. To bring a future to this world." "Yeah!" Unnoticed by anyone, the swirling, red sky above turned a brilliant blue.

-

"And with t h a t ,  case closed."

" H a p p i l y  e v e r  a f t e r ~ ! "

"For a  w h i l e ,  I was  w o r r i e d  about what would happen."

" A s  e x p e c t e d ,  the power of friendship is strong."

"Now this  w o r l d  has a  f u t u r e . "

". . .  I s  t h a t  s o ? "

"Is something  t r o u b l i n g  you?"

"Is the loop  r e a l l y  over?"

"... Oh my,  o h  m y .  What an  o m i n o u s  thing to say."

"...."

" H e h e h e . . . ! "

" H e e  h e e  h e e . . . ! "

" W e l l  t h e n ,  everyone."

"Have a  g o o d  d a y . . . "

[toryinnismoved]

dont even get me started on nightmare of nunnally its the biggest disappointment ever

the concept is something i REALLY like and it couldve been so interesting! nunnally getting geass instead of lelouch, and we dont even know if lelouch is alive? sign me the fuck up!!!

but its just..... what the fuck. why did you change everything about the lore and the characters. why is rolo now lelouchs twin brother that they dont know about because he was abandoned for some reason but now hes back in the britannian empire. who is nemo. who are all of these geass soldier people?? why is one of them clearly inspired by mao and has the same name but is a completely different character???? why does zero look like hes wearing a muscle suit underneath the costume

[familiasworn]

Hi! So question for mun. I recently made a blog for my oc that happens to be Sasuke’s twin. You say you rp adult Sasuke. I don’t really roleplay anything during Boruto cause I’m not quite caught up on it, and was wondering if before the events of Boruto counted? Like After shippuden.

Hi! Sorry this took a bit for me to answer, because I was thinking about how to...especially because I get worried about hurting people. I don't vibe well with the whole twin AU thing--because of a spinoff of another series(that I love) that completely ruined it for me.

Code Geass: The Nightmare of Nunnally.

They turned one of my favorite characters into a twin of the main character and just...Ruined it for me. Ruined everything. So I don't exactly like twin AUs at all. I say the same thing to other Sasukes, simply because it will create a twin/clone AU...

BUT!! I see you found @historias-multorum!! They're a good person to gravitate toward, and I definitely recommend! I wish you luck!

(I really really hope I didn't come off as rude! You deserve to find rp partners that work for you and mesh well!)

[theconservativebrief]

German authorities searched Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters for a second straight day on Friday as part of an ongoing money-laundering probe into the country’s largest bank.

Over 150 police officers and federal tax authorities raided Deutsche Bank’s headquarters and five other sites in the area on Thursday. The search area included board members’ offices and one employee’s home and continued into Friday.

The investigation is focused on two Deutsche Bank employees, identified only by their ages, and potentially others who are suspected of helping their clients create offshore accounts and failing to alert the authorities of suspicious transactions.

Basically, when they saw something fishy, they were supposed to say something — and they allegedly didn’t.

The raids are related to the Panama Papers, a huge trove of documents exposing a global web of money laundering and tax evasion that were leaked in 2016.

If you feel like you’ve heard of Deutsche Bank behaving badly in the past, that’s because you probably have. The lender has faced tens of millions of dollars in fines from authorities in the United States and Europe in recent years, for misdeeds ranging from money laundering and Russian “mirror trading” to misleading investors in its sale of mortgage-backed securities. As part of the mirror-trading scheme, Deutsche Bank helped clients get billions of dollars out of Russia by letting them buy stocks in Moscow in rubles and selling the same quantity of shares in London in dollars, thus transferring rubles into dollars.

The German bank also has ties to President Donald Trump and is one of the few financial entities that will still lend him money. It has also extended loans to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, and last year it reportedly received a request from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team asking for information on financial transactions made by Trump and his associates.

But it doesn’t look like the current raids have anything to do with Trump.

On Thursday morning, German police and other authorities raided six different properties, including Deutsche Bank’s headquarters, in relation to its probe of the bank.

According to the New York Times, they took papers and electronic records related to an investigation into whether two employees, age 50 and 46, and others failed to report suspicious transactions when helping clients create offshore accounts, “although ample grounds existed” for them to do so.

The period in question started in 2013 and stretched into this year. Employees eventually started to flag the transactions as suspicious, but only after the Panama Papers came out. Prosecutors say a Deutsche Bank subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands helped 900 customers with transactions worth over $350 million in 2016 alone.

“Deutsche Bank helped customers found offshore organizations in tax havens by transferring illegally acquired money without alerting authorities to suspected money laundering,” prosecutors said, according to the Times.

Deutsche Bank acknowledged the searches in a series of tweets Thursday and said it believed it had “already provided the authorities with all the relevant information” regarding the investigation, but that it would “fully cooperate” with investigators.

As far as we are concerned, we have already provided the authorities with all the relevant information regarding Panama Papers. Of course, we will cooperate closely with the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt, as it is in our interest as well to clarify the facts.

— Deutsche Bank (@DeutscheBank) November 29, 2018

As raids continued on Friday, the bank released a fact sheet on what was happening, saying the “preliminary proceedings” concern the period from 2013 and 2018 and that the search included several board members’ offices. The bank said that it had sold the British Virgin Islands subsidiary that helped provide customers with “a structure that made money laundering possible” in March 2018.

“It looks like the German government is conducting these raids and running these searches to gather additional information that could support money laundering or tax evasion-type cases,” Rob Long, a partner at law firm Bell Nunnally & Martin and former federal prosecutor at the Justice Department, told me.

Deutsche Bank’s stock price has plunged in reaction to the news. Jason Kennedy, the chief executive officer of recruiting firm the Kennedy Group, described the scenario to Bloomberg as “a nightmare with eyes wide open.”

Deutsche Bank’s legal woes have been a detriment to its bottom line in recent years.

Deutsche Bank has seen its fair share of run-ins with government officials.

At the start of 2017, for example, it agreed to pay the New York Department of Financial Services $425 million over a so-called “mirror trading” scheme that moved $10 billion out of Russia between 2011 and 2015. British authorities fined Deutsche Bank over the same scheme.

The Federal Reserve also fined Deutsche Bank $41 million in May 2017 for “deficiencies” after determining that it had failed to maintain an effective program for complying with anti-money-laundering laws. And in June 2018, the New York banking regulator fined the bank $205 million over violations relating to the company’s foreign exchange trading business.

Christian Sewing, who replaced John Cryan as CEO of Deutsche Bank this spring, has been trying to turn things around at Deutsche Bank, not only in terms of its legal troubles but also with regard to its financials. According to the Wall Street Journal, as the raids were underway on Thursday, he took part in a pre-scheduled lunchtime meeting with Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision.

News of the Deutsche Bank raids has also drawn attention again to the bank’s ties to Trump, though it appears the searches don’t involve anything Trump-related.

Timothy O’Brien at Bloomberg outlined the president’s long-standing relationship with the financial institution and noted the possibility that Democrats in the House will subpoena Deutsche for banking records and other information on its Trump ties. California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, who is expected to take over as chair of the House Financial Services Committee next Congress, has signaled that she plans to look into Trump’s Deutsche Bank dealings.

Deutsche Bank, O’Brien wrote, “is in trouble again. And, to a certain extent, Deutsche’s troubles are going to be President Donald Trump’s troubles.”

Original Source -> Deutsche Bank’s German office raids (apparently) have nothing to do with Trump

via The Conservative Brief

[sinofdelusion]

SINoALICE x Code Geass: Resolve to Take Up a Sword: Turn 2

*As usual, text that is just italicized indicates in-battle dialogue

-

Part 1

"Where in the world is this place?" In this world that is neither a dream nor reality, Suzaku wanders. (First, I have to gather information...) Now, as he looked around the vicinity to evaluate the circumstances, he decided to enter the big shrine for the time being and began walking there. An unknown land. Suddenly, a monster called a Nightmare appeared. And then— (I feel like I saw Euphie...) Suzaku grasped his pocket watch, thinking of his lady that should be dead. There, in the middle of the road, stood a woman with hair the color of a dull rose.

"Don't go any further. You said you needed to find it, right? Find it quick. The meaning of holding a sword." "What are you..." "How many times do I have to repeat myself? God you're a pain." Saying that, she turned on her heel and disappeared back into the forest. "Wait. You— !" Suzaku made to run after her, but a Nightmare blocked his path.

A little lost after fighting the Nightmare, Suzaku came across a decaying hut. (There couldn't possibly be anyone living in such a dangerous place...) However, contrary to his expectations, he could see the form of an old woman inside. Suzaku was impatient, and unconsciously called out to the old woman. "It's dangerous here! There's monsters wandering around the area, you should flee immediately—" "I'm sorry. I understand what you're saying, but this is a very important place to me..." "But—" "You look tired. If you can stay for a bit, I can make you some tea." The old woman gently invited Suzaku in.

- Part 2

The next morning, he was worried about the old woman, but when he awoke, she wasn't there. Panicking, he rushed outside, but the old woman was right there, laying flowers on a grave right next to the house. "Ah, you're awake now?" "Good morning. Um, that's..." "Yes... it's my husband's grave." (Ah, I see. So that's why this person—) Learning the reason why the old woman wouldn't leave this place, Suzaku felt an indescribable feeling. However— "There's no time to waste on sentimentality." Suzaku cut down the attacking Nightmare in one blow.

"Thank you for protecting me. You're strong, aren't you." "No, I'm not..." "You know, your power isn't for saving this old granny. I wonder if you could use it to save many more people." "... If I did that, I would surely regret letting you die. I don't want to make the wrong choice again." As he said that, the old woman reached over and patted his head, like one would do to a child. "You're kind, aren't you."

"I'm kind...?" "That's right. Kind people hesitate in their choices. And they have a lot of worries. Is it okay if I talk for a bit? Right now, what is the biggest thing that's troubling you right now?" Lulled by the old woman's voice, Suzaku said what was bothering him without hesitation. "The person who killed.... someone precious to me..... might be my best friend..." (Isn't that right? Lelouch...) Nothing answered his heart's objection to those words.

- Part 3

"Shall I tell you a little about my husband?" The old woman began to speak tenderly to Suzaku after he voiced his worries. When she was young, her husband would ask her what she wanted for her birthday every year. She wanted flowers, but she was stubborn and thought they wouldn't suit her so she couldn't say what she truly wanted. And so when her close friend gave her flowers for her birthday, she said she was going for a walk because she deplored the smell of flowers. But her husband always gave her something that wasn't flowers.

"But I've been giving you flowers every year since a certain year. Do you know why?" "No..." "Easy. You said you wanted flowers." She said bashfully. "It's no good if you don't say anything. That's why you have to talk to your best friend." "But where are you going now..." "I'm going to the capital. There's lots of people there." "The capital..." "Have you seen the grand shrine? It's there." "I understand. Thank you very much. But before that, I have to do as much as I can." Saying that, Suzaku took up his sword.

"Before she goes to the capital— let's eliminate the monsters in this area. So that the old lady will be safe..."

When Suzaku finished off the Nightmares around the hut, he made a bouquet. (If it's just this, I wonder if there's time to go into the woods to pick flowers.) If he went to the capital, he could get information and come back here quickly. If there was a connection between them— was what Suzaku thought before he opened the hut's door. What was reflected in his eyes was... The old woman dyed with blood, and the form of a bandit splattered with her scarlet blood.

- Part 4

When the bandit who killed the old woman saw Suzaku, he nervously began spouting excuses. "I didn't mean to kill her! She could've handed her valuables over quietly, but this hag resisted! I was desperate! If you're just doing your best to survive until tomorrow, you have to steal from others!" "That's why you say it's okay to kill people?!" "S-Shut up! It's no use! I'm trying to protect myself! That's right, if it's to protect my family, I will—" A black mist began to gather around the robber as he assumed a fighting stance.

" K i l l . . .  T o  p r o t e c t  m y s e l f ,  I ' l l  k i l l  y o u ! "

"You are already... no longer human."

When he cut down the bandit and approached the old woman, she was still breathing, just barely. "Granny?!" — But her wheezing breaths showed that she wouldn't live for much longer. "It... hurts..." "Granny, hang in there!" ".... ll me. In a moment. To where that person is..." "...!" As the old woman wished, Suzaku's sword took her life with a single thrust.

Suzaku stared at the old woman's blood staining his hands. "Aa..." The lukewarm feel and musty odor jolted his memories. It was the same as that time he killed his father to stop the war— "Aa... aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Having an intense headache, Suzaku collapsed on the spot.

- Part 5

When Suzaku opened his eyes, there was a small child sitting in front of the bandit's corpse. "Dad... Dad..." "... Are you that person's child?" "Why did you kill my dad?" "That's because your father..." "Even though all my dad did was protect me! Is that wrong?! So you killed him?!" "Don't... don't ask me!" "Don't run away! Look at your sins!" The girl turned to Suzaku, showing him her father's bright red blood soaking her hands. "For what do you kill?!" "I... I...!"

"You killed him. Dad, come back!"

"I'm sorry... I..."

"BRING HIM BACK!”

"Where on earth did I make a mistake..."

Making a grave for the old woman, the bandit, and his daughter, Suzaku held a funeral for them. "You still don't understand?" When he looked up at the voice, he saw the dull rose-haired fortuneteller standing there. "... It's fine, whether it's reality or a dream. Will you condemn me? Before I make another mistake." "I hate it. Why do I have to wipe your ass? Do it yourself. You'll lose yourself if you don't take responsibility for the lives you've taken."

"And you're not ready to accept the hatred of those left behind." "Responsibility... and hatred..." "If you're not ready to bear all of the responsibility, then you shouldn't have a sword. Just be a bystander that shuts himself away in a corner of the world for the rest of his life." The fortuneteller called irritably over her shoulder as she left Suzaku.

- Part 6

Since then, Suzaku has shut himself away in the hut. Was it right or wrong? He kept thinking and thinking about it until he fell unconscious, then woke up thinking about it again. And he kept seeing endless nightmares. (How do... I...) There was no answer to that question. The answer he came to was—

"I won't forgive you."

"Yes, I won't forgive you."

"To just die like that—"

"We definitely—"

"—won't forgive you."

Suzaku woke to his own shouting. "I... I...!" A black mist gathered around Suzaku as he crouched, holding his face in his hands. The mist gathered, and gradually solidified into the shape of a person. "... Suzaku." "Euphie...?" "It's painful, isn't it? But it's okay. Do you want to start over together? Over and over again, for eternity..." "... Ah, that's right..." The black mist slowly engulfed Suzaku...

"It's no use. It seems that we're too late." Alice said calmly, running up to the hut and seeing Suzaku turn into a Nightmare. "Your best friend was swallowed up again." "I see...." Behind Alice, a slim boy with black hair and violet eyes came running. "I'm sorry, Suzaku. Next time, I will definitely save you. And—" The slim boy's face twisted as he looked up at the sky. "... I'm sorry, Nunnally. Again, I..." The sky he looked up at was dyed bright red.

---

"E h ?  Is it split  a g a i n  ? ! "

" P l e a s e  think of  t h e  s t a f f . "

"If it's the Pokelabo staff, then we don't  n e e d  to  w o r r y  about them,  d o  w e ?  Pokelabo is  w h i t e . "

"As  e x p e c t e d ,  h u h . "

" —  W e l l ,  joking  a s i d e . T h i s  world is  f i l l e d  with ill will. For those who  l o s t  t h e i r  w a y  in this world,  t h e r e  w a s  a  massacre that happened in their original world.  F o r  t h o s e  that were killed, resentment  f i l l s  the world."

" I  s e e ,  I agree."

" I f  Suzaku commits a  m u r d e r ,  the main cause would  b e ,  e v e n  i f  h e  avoids  i t — would be to  a v o i d  a n o t h e r  t r a g e d y ,  i s n ' t  i t . "

"Isn't killing  n e c e s s a r y ? "

" Y e s .  That's why he should  a c k n o w l e d g e  i t . "

"His  w e a k n e s s . "

" L e t ' s  prepare."

"To accept the  p r i c e  o f  s i n  b e f o r e  w e  g o . "

" O n l y  t h e n  w i l l  t h e  l o o p  e n d . "

[naruwitch]

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 19: The Black Paladin

Rai directed Zerith back to the Castle of Lions as quickly as possible. The longer they took to make their plan, the more danger Allura and C.C. would be in.

The moment they landed, they rushed out of the Lion and onto the Castle's main bridge. Coran was there, waiting for them. When he saw that only the seven Paladins returned, he knew immediately that something was amiss.

"Rai, scan the download from the ship. Find out where Zarkon's Central Command is," Lelouch ordered fervently.

"On it!" The Green Paladin acknowledge, practically launching himself into his control seat and bringing up the computer screen, Shirley and Milly looking over his shoulder.

"What happened?" Coran asked, running over to them, "Where's Allura?"

"She and C.C. were captured. They sacrificed themselves to save me and the information. I didn't have a choice," Lelouch regrettably told the advisor.

"Wha-how is that possible?" Coran demanded, eyes wide and heart racing in panic. This was his worst nightmare coming to pass!

"Coran, I'm sorry things didn't go as planned, but we can't focus on what went wrong. We've got to figure out how to make it right. Rai, anything?" Lelouch shouted at the Green Paladin urgently.

"Guys, you need to see this," Rai said with wide eyes, pulling the image up to the main screen. Everyone's eyes widened at the massive size of the Central Command Center. It was probably the size of a small moon at the very least!

"Look at the size of it!" Coran gasped in fear.

"Are you saying that C.C. and Allura are being taken there?!" Shirley asked, visibly shaking.

"Lelouch, I think we should go in right away," Kallen said to her team leader, "Every minute we waste gives Zarkon time to prepare for us."

"I agree," Rivalz nodded, "We form Voltron, fly in, fly out, dust off our hands, and walk away."

"Um, do you guys not remember the Balmera?" Shirley asked, looking at them all anxiously, "We could barely take out one fleet. But this... a base this size could hold a thousand fleets!"

"I hate to admit it, but Shirley does have a point…" Milly agreed with a worried frown.

"Maybe we should consider other options," Suzaku said, "going after C.C. and Allura may not be the best course of action. We'll be delivering the universe's only hope to the universe's biggest enemy," as he talked everyone's, even Lelouch's faces morphed from confused to shocked. Was this seriously coming out of Suzaku's mouth?! During the mission, he was the one most concerned for Allura's safety besides Coran. Now that she was captured, he was saying that they shouldn't go after her at all?

Noticing their expression Suzaku was quick to reiterate his statement. "What I'm trying to say is, maybe we should look at options that don't involve charging head-on. Maybe we can use stealth. We use Zerith's cloaking to sneak into central command, and once inside, Shirley's Geass can cloak us further. We find C.C. and the Princess and then just get out! We won't even need to fight!"

"I don't know if stealth is an option, Suzaku," Rai admitted, looking back at the base on the screen, "just look at this thing. The defensive capabilities seem nearly impenetrable!"

"Besides, we might not have time for stealth anyway!" Kallen added, "That takes planning and timing, which we just don't have right now! Plus, what do you think would happen if Zarkon finds out C.C. is immortal or about Geass? Who knows what he could do with it?!"

Suzaku's eyes widened, "I-I didn't think about that…"

"Of course you didn't," Kallen sneered, "just like you assumed that everything would be fine and dandy if you became an Honorary Brittanian!"

"What?!" Suzaku squawked in shock, "What on Earth does that have to do with anything?!"

"You think things would get better if you just followed orders like a good boy and maybe your people would be treated better?! I don't know what kind of fairy tale you're playing at Suzaku, but it definitely isn't reality!"

"First of all, this is a completely different situation! You have no right to judge me!" Suzaku argued back, gritting his teeth in anger.

Before Kallen could bark back, Rivalz got in between them, "Guys stop! Listen, we're all upset that we lost C.C. and Allura, but fighting isn't going to help anyone!"

"No! Lelouch is the one that lost them!" Coran exclaimed, looking pointedly at the prince.

"Hey! Last time we checked, you weren't even there! You got no room to put the blame on Lelouch like that!" Kallen glared hard at the advisor, fists shaking.

"That's enough!" Milly suddenly shouted authoritatively, "Sitting here and arguing isn't going to help anyone, especially Allura and C.C.!"

"Alright," Lelouch said after taking a deep breath, "First things first, we need to locate the base. We find that we'll find them."

o~o

The Galra ship was just coming to dock at Central Command. The crew themselves seemed quite elated. Who would have thought that a routine stop at an outpost would've led to capturing one of the biggest enemies to the Empire? The Emperor would likely reward them nicely, maybe even promote them to the main fleet.

The two prisoners in question were seated together in a single cell, as it was big enough to house both of them. They were both seated and silent, anticipating what was to follow.

As they felt the ship dock, C.C. gasped as she felt a pulse in her head, the Geass mark on her forehead flaring slightly.

Allura didn't have time to ask C.C. what was wrong when they heard the door to their cell opening. Standing there to greet them were three druids, the middle one being the very leader of them herself.

"Come with me," Haggar ordered, her tone showing that any other option would result in dire consequences.

As the two women were being led out of the cell, cuffed, C.C.'s headache intensified, the mark resonating even more.

Hearing her slight groans of discomfort, Haggar stole a glance at the Princess's companion. Overall, she looked similar to the other Earthlings that the Galra captured just a few years ago, however… the witch could certainly sense some abnormal energy emanating off of the girl. And it felt vaguely familiar.

'Interesting…'

o~o

"Anything?" Lelouch asked around the bridge as everyone was working on trying and finding either a weak spot or an entry point into the base.

"There's just no way in," Rivalz said with a frown.

"He's right," Suzaku confirmed from his station, "They'll have us tracked from every direction."

"Keep looking! There's got to be something!" the Black Paladin ordered. He then looked towards the central computer, seeing Coran. The advisor hadn't said a word since they'd all begun their search. Lelouch's expression turned solemn. He had a pretty good idea of what the advisor was feeling right now. It was likely similar to how he felt when he learned what had happened to his mother. But unlike the Empress, Lelouch swore that they would get Allura returned safely.

Lelouch approached the advisor cautiously. He wasn't exactly the best at comforting people unless it was Nunnally, but he had to say something. Despite what the others said, Allura and C.C. were still captured on his watch, and he had to take responsibility for it.

"I know you're worried about her. We all are. I'm sorry I let her slip away," he apologized, looking down forlornly.

Coran looked sadly at the Black Paladin, "I know it's not your fault. It's just... I've already lost so much. I can't lose Allura, too."

Lelouch smiled painfully, "I feel the same way about Nunnally."

"Your sister, correct?"

"Yes."

"...I've heard Allura talk a lot about you, and your sister with her father," Coran admitted. Lelouch looked up at him in surprise. "She's discussed whether or not we can not only improve your sister's condition but also improve the state of affairs on your planet. One of the things she wants more than ever right now is for all people to live peacefully, and that includes yourself."

Lelouch blinked and then smiled slightly. Though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he was greatly touched by what Coran said. He really hoped that such peace could become a reality someday.

He quickly turned his thoughts back to the situation, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to get her back. We just need a way to get close to Zarkon's ship unseen."

"Wait a tick, I think I've got a way!" Coran suddenly realized, as the image of one of the small planets orbiting the base expanded onto the screen.

o~o

The platform rose slowly, bringing its occupants to the main level of the center. The windows gave a perfect view of the universe outside as stars sparkled in the distance. But their majestic luster was lost as the two women were brought closer to a lone figure in a red cape.

As C.C. laid her eyes on the Emperor of Galra himself for the first time, a little bubbling sense of anxiety began to swell inside her. It was an emotion she hadn't appropriately felt in years, and to feel it rising up now of all times terrified her even more.

"Princess Allura," Zarkon's baritone voice acknowledge, not even turning to face his captives.

"You monster!" Allura exclaimed, charging furiously at the Emperor, "You destroyed Altea!" Before Allura could even reach the Emperor, though, Haggar's evil magic gripped the Princess in the air before she collapsed to the ground, panting from the pain of it. "Voltron is going to put an end to your empire!" she glared daggers up at the leader.

"No, it will only make me more powerful," Zarkon countered, "Your father knew that as well as I. That's why he led me to believe he destroyed it all those years ago. But now, your new Paladins will come for you, and they will deliver Voltron to me, and, with it, the key to unimaginable power."

The Emperor's eyes then tracked to their other captive. The green-haired Earthling that was supposedly traveling with his enemy, "Who is this?"

"I am uncertain," Haggar said, before she raised her hand again, her magic gathering, "but I intend to find out."

C.C. gasped in pain as Haggar's magic also lifted her in the air. And she was unable to contain her screams as what felt like hot knives and claws began ripping into her mind, ripping it open and exposing long-buried memories to the surface.

"No! Stop!" Allura cries as she tries to rush to help C.C., only for the two other druids to restrain her with their own spells.

Haggar's eyes widened slightly as she saw the Geass symbol on the girl's forehead begin to glow, images of her memories flashing before her eyes.

"He mustn't die!" she cried as she leaped in front of a young boy as a bullet embedded itself in her skull. Moments later, the same boy is crouched over what he thinks is her lifeless body, only for the said body to grasp his hand, linking him to the mysterious power that she held inside of her.

Another human, this one in the uniform of the Orange Paladin, gasps as she grasps her hand, the same link forming between the two in the Balmeran prison.

Other bits and pieces flashed past her eyes. A large human with white hair standing in what appears to be ancient ruins, a female human with long flowing brown hair standing next to him, with a very young Earthling with long flowing blonde hair. He looked no older than an adolescent, but he emitted the same energy that this girl was giving off.

Then her captive grunted, and a mental wall suddenly burst up, shoving Haggar's mental probs off of her mind. The woman collapsed in a heap, breathing heavily and bracing herself shakily on her hands and knees as she struggled to stand.

"Interesting," Haggar muses as her gaze stayed on the girl a few moments longer before turning to her Emperor, "I wish to examine her. I dare to say this, but I believe we found something with greater potential than Voltron."

As C.C. raised her head to look defiantly up at her captors. The bubble of anxiety slowly morphing into an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time, one that spread down her spine and almost all the way to her toes.

Fear.

o~o

Lelouch winced slightly as he felt a small needle of pain pierce his skull, but it wasn't painful enough for him to cry out. He heard a gasp and a groan behind him, and as he turned, he saw that Rai and Shirley had similar expressions.

Something inside Lelouch turned cold. Whatever was happening to C.C., and probably Allura by extension, couldn't be good. They needed to move fast!

After shaking away the feeling, he turned to Team Voltron, "Eyes front. We've got a plan to get Allura and C.C. We're going to jump to the heart of the enemy, unseen and undetected."

"Wait, I thought we needed Allura to open up a wormhole," Milly asked, confused.

"It's true that Allura powers the Castle's ability to travel through wormholes. However, I think we have enough of her residual essence stored in the system to make one jump," Coran explained, as he and Lelouch turned to the bridge's main computer screen, the base and the planets surrounding it being pulled up. "We'll hide the Castle here, inside one of these giant gas planets in Zarkon's command system. The gas is so dense, we'll be hidden."

"From there, we'll use the Castle to scan for Allura and C.C. on Zarkon's ship. We'll form Voltron, find them, and get out before Zarkon knows what hit him," Lelouch finished explaining.

"There's only one hiccup," Coran confessed, turning back to the group. "We have enough energy to wormhole in, but, without Allura, we won't have enough energy to wormhole out."

"So leaving without the Princess isn't an option," Suzaku summed up.

"That's correct. Remember, we're not here to fight, though we will inevitably have to. This is a quick in-and-out mission. We are not going to drag things out here."

"Lelouch, no offense, but this is a far less complex plan compared to the ones you come up with on Earth," Kallen noted. "If we mess this up, we're basically handing Voltron over to Zarkon, gift-wrapped and with a bow on top."

Though she didn't mean to, her comment made most of the other Paladins squirm apprehensively. The reality of their situation was slowly unraveling in front of them, and it scared them all.

"I know there are risks, but either way," Lelouch said, as he turned around and walked towards this seat on the bridge. He opened a compartment on his armor's gauntlet, pressed some buttons, and then slammed his hand down on the gauntlet's inside. His uniform's color suddenly morphed. Gone was the white with black accented armor of the Black Paladin, and instead appeared the black and gold accented armor of the masked leader of the Black Knights. He picked up his helmet, which is where he always kept it by his side. He slipped the mask on his head and narrowed his eyes, "we're not leaving without them."

o~o

"Sire, allow me to send my fleet to protect the command system. I will stop Voltron before it can get close-" Prorok began, trying to petition his Emperor as he sat upon his throne along with all the other loyal Galran commanders. Zarkon interrupted him.

"You will do no such thing, Prorok," he ordered, "We will allow them inside our perimeter."

"Once in, they won't get out," Haggar sneered at his side.

"Ready all fleets," the Emperor commanded, "On this day, the Paladins will be destroyed, and I will have Voltron."

"Sire, if I may," Thace spoke up, "what if this Zero character appears? It's more than clear that he is working alongside the Paladins."

"He will be dealt with accordingly," Zarkon answered, clasping his hands together, "he's nothing but another nuisance to squash."

"Indeed. If Zero does show himself in this battle, your orders are to bring to me. Alive," Haggar ordered as her eyes narrowed menacingly.

o~o

"We're here," Zero announced, standing high and confidant at the front of the bridge, his Zero uniform, minus the cape, making him look even more so, as the Castle of Lions exited the wormhole and they hovered in their hiding place. Just as they predicted, the gas planet was so thick, the enemy hadn't detected their presence yet.

They hung around the very edge of the planet's cover and were able to see the base with their own eyes. Just like on the images, the base was enormous, and seeing it now, the uneasiness within the Paladins seemed to spike up another level. Shirley was the one that looked the most scared as she was literally shaking in her seat and almost hyperventilating. Though the other Paladins weren't showing as many outward signs, they were all nervous. Even Kallen had to swallow back some bile that unexpectedly worked its way up her throat. Suzaku felt sweat drops descend down his forehead.

"I'm detecting Allura and C.C.'s energy signatures. From this distance, the signals are pretty weak, but they're both somewhere in Zarkon's main ship," Coran tells them as he continues to type furiously on the main computer.

"That's a starting point," Suzaku mutters as he and the others look up at the main screen.

"Once we get closer, we'll be able to narrow down the location where the Princess is being held," Coran continued.

Shirley suddenly hurled off to the side, causing everyone to jump and look at the Orange Paladin in horror.

"I can't do this," she says as tears start to roll down her face as she clutched her hair into fists, "I'm sorry, I can't Lulu. We're practically entering hell right at the devil's doorstep."

Before Lelouch could reach out to calm Shirley down, Kallen beat him to it, "Shirley, it may not look like it, but I'm scared too. We all are. But we need to push forward. Allura and C.C. need us to do that. That's what it means to be both a Paladin and a Black Knight."

"You can do this, Shirley," Lelouch says, causing the Orange Paladin to look up at him. "I have faith in you. I have faith in all of you," he took a moment to look at each of his fellow Paladins, "We can do this."

Though it was short, Lelouch's speech put the entire team at a little bit of ease, and Shirley managed to pull herself together enough to draw a full breath.

"Alright, Voltron is going to come in fast and without warning. We'll smash our way into Zarkon's ship and grab C.C. and the Princess. Before they know what hit them, we'll have them back on the ship, and we'll be on our way."

o~o

The Lions roared out battle cries as they sprang out of the Castle hangars and into battle. Limbs shifted, and parts connected as the great warrior and Defender of the Universe came to life right before the enemy's eyes. The Paladins that piloted, all of them facing forward and determined to face the enemy head-on. The juggernaut blasted out of the gas planet and rocketed straight for the base.

o~o

"Emperor, we're detecting Voltron within our perimeter!" Prorok alerted Zarkon as they both stood on the main bridge.

"Engage the solar barrier immediately. Attack!" he ordered.

"Yes, Emperor," Prorok saluted.

Within moments, a dark barrier began to form around the entirety of Galra HQ, quickly locking any foes foolish enough to get in, or any from getting out.

"Thace, scramble the fighters!" Prorok ordered his second in command.

"Yes, commander."

From all over the base and the surrounding ships, hundreds of Galra fighters began swarming out of their launch bays, all of them en route and targeting a single enemy.

"Haggar, it is time," Zarkon said to his chief priestess. She, in turn, bowed to her master. It was finally time to reclaim Voltron.

o~o

As Voltron drew closer to the main base, the Paladins watched in apprehension as the violet barrier closed around.

"What is that?!" Rivalz asked, voice quaking.

"I don't know," Rai said, "but I hope once we get C.C. and the Princess, we can find a way out of here."

"Heads up, they're going to fire!" Suzaku shouted as dozens of Galra battleships set their sights on them and started firing their ion cannons relentlessly at their massive foe.

Lelouch grit his teeth and propelled themselves forward further, dodging around lasers and cannon shots. He and Kallen then pulled Aka's head back, and with all the force they could muster, slammed the Red Lion's head through one of the first cruisers. With their grip now steady on top, Zerith balancing them on the other side, Lelouch cried out, "Form sword!"

With a slam into the key port, Suzaku's Bayard flared to life as the giant sword they were all too familiar with blazed into form in front of them, inside the vessel. The sword now embedded inside, Voltron gripped the blade with both hands and propelled himself forward with his thrusters, the cruiser's surface cutting like butter underneath the mighty weapon. Within seconds, the sword exited the cruiser on the other side, and it blew up in an inferno of flames.

They didn't stop there. Building up as much speed as they could, they thrust the sword into the side of another cruiser, pushing it off course to the side. It built up enough, the cruiser eventually slammed into the ship next to it, and Voltron propelled through both. And the one after that as if they were made of cardboard. All three cruisers were destroyed in a matter of moments.

"More trouble, straight ahead!" Milly alerted as a wave of battle cruisers ahead had banded together and began firing rapidly at them.

The sword wouldn't do for this.

"Form bow and arrow!" Lelouch ordered.

Shirley, with a shout of her own, slammed her Bayard into the keyhole, and the sharp sword was immediately replaced with the sleek form of a bow, an arrow of energy already notched within it. With a single pullback of his arm, the arrow fired, dispersing into thousands of tiny energy beams, each hitting the Galra cruisers in rapid succession.

Once the barrier of cruisers vanished, the bow vanished to be replaced with the sword once more, and Voltron shot once more to its destination. Very few cruisers dared to stand in their way as the main base rapidly came closer and closer.

"There's Zarkon's ship!" Lelouch announced as the thrusters propelled them forward once more. As the main base nearly came within striking distance, right underneath it, Voltron pulled back his sword ready to strike.

But before they could do so, Voltron suddenly froze. Everyone gasped in shock. The sword flickered out of existence as they all wondered what was happening!

"What's going on?!" Rai exclaimed.

"We lost the sword! Something's malfunctioning!" Suzaku shouted.

"What's happening?!" Coran asked from the bridge of the Castle. He, too, watched in horror as Voltron froze in place.

"Somebody do something! Voltron's frozen up!" Rivalz cried as his face appeared on the Castle's screen.

"Lelouch!" Kallen exclaimed in a panic.

"I can't hold it!" The Black Paladin shouted as he felt an unknown pressure pressing down on top of him.

Unbeknownst to them, directly above them, Zarkon was beginning a plan of his own. The druids on all sides of the Emperor were pumping quintessence through his veins. He smirked darkly as his eyes shut for a moment.

"You're a fool to bring Voltron here," his eyes snapped back open to reveal a black symbol within his eyes. A symbol that was nearly identical to the one that rested within the eyes of the Black, Green, and Orange Paladins.

The Paladins all yelled in pain as the pressure from Lelouch's cockpit suddenly spread to all of them. They didn't just feel their own emotions, but of their Lions too. And whatever was happening right now, they were afraid. Zenobia, most of all.

In a flash of blue light, the Lions split apart from Voltron, all scattering to different areas of the battlefield.

"Wh-What just happened there?!" Shirley exclaimed, eyes wide in fright.

"Something tore us apart!" Milly said.

"I don't know, but we've got bigger problems right now. Look!" Rivalz pointed as nearly all of the Galra cruisers, and millions of fighters pouring from around the base began soaring towards them.

"Why do I have the feeling these guys knew we were coming?!" Kallen exclaimed.

Without another moment of hesitation, the Lions all sprang into action, charging head-on into the horde of Galra.

All except Lelouch and Zen.

The pressure that Lelouch felt earlier in Voltron intensified even more as malevolent violet energy seemed to engulf the Lion. The same power that was emanating from the bottom of the main base.

In the battle, Maeraka fired her beam at a Galra ship, causing it to blow up moments later as well as blind a few other fighters and a cruiser due to the light. Zerith wasn't too far behind as she and Rai fired a beam across the haul of another ship, leaving a burning trail in its wake, causing an explosion. Just as the vessel combusted, Rai directed Zerith away and back into the battle. Suzaku and Yoru put the suction ability to use, pulling in small Galra fighters and tearing them to pieces once they came within range.

Nearby Polaris and Rivalz fired off their ice beam upon and froze multiple Galra ships at once. Aka flew in from the left and fired off her own beam and shattered two of them, while Zinnia shattered one by head-butting into it. But moments later, she was shot with another blast from the enemy, causing her and Shirley to swerve off course before the Orange Paladin managed to regain control.

"Ah, there's no end to these guys!" Shirley exclaimed in despair as she saw another ship charging its ion cannon. Before it could fire, a large blue beam from above hit the cruiser first, setting it aflame.

Looking up, the Paladins were elated to see the Castle of Lions itself zooming into the battlefield.

"Coran attack! I've waited ten thousand years for this!" the advisor howled out a war cry as he charged in.

All of the Paladins burst into cheers at seeing some back-up. All but Lelouch, who remained silent, too concentrated on trying to fight off this building pressure, that seemed to be getting stronger by the minute as he and Zen were dragged closer and closer into the base.

Lelouch grit his teeth and groaned as he tried to get Zen to move. Preferably away from the base and into the battle. His Lion was silent, and no controls he pushed or pressed were doing anything to rouse her.

Within the midst of the fray, Kallen expertly destroyed two more Galra fighters flying in front of her. She and Aka weaved smoothly in and around explosions and other attacking ships. As her path of destruction led her close to the main base, Kallen called out to her leader.

"Lelouch! Are you okay?!"

"Something is overriding the controls!" Lelouch managed to grunt out, "Zen is not responding!" Before Lelouch could give anything more, he cried in pain as more of the intense pressure came down around him.

"Lelouch is in trouble! I'm going in!" Kallen exclaimed to the others as she dove towards the Black Lion.

From within Zen, Lelouch instinctively activated his Geass, not knowing if it would help, but knowing that something needed to be done. Surprisingly, the pressure lessened, only slightly though.

From above, Zarkon's eyes widened in minor surprise as he felt Lelouch's Geass activate. But…

"So, you wield that power as well," Lelouch's eyes widened and his head shot up as he heard the voice of the Emperor in his mind. But what really caused his blood to freeze in horror was what he said. He couldn't be implying- "No matter. Yours is nothing more than a feeble ember compared to mine."

Lelouch could only watch in horror as Zen's controls finally reactivated, but all of it was in Galra script, highlighted in blood red. The pressure in his head became overpowering as the inside of Zen's cockpit lit up, and Lelouch was shot backward.

Before Lelouch could truly comprehend what was happening, he felt himself tumbling out of Zenobia's mouth and into space. What frightened him more was that just as he was ejected, a symbol he was all too familiar with had flashed through his mind. The black Geass had overpowered his own entirely, no matter how hard he tried to press against it.

"Lulu!" Shirley exclaimed as she watched Lelouch continue to tumble through the air. She immediately tried to propel over to him, only for about twenty Galra fighters to ambush her from below. With a gasp, Shirley hoisted Zinnia up and flew off to the side to try and lose them.

Lelouch eventually managed to activate his jetpack to slow his descent. It didn't help much as moments later, the Black Paladin's back collided with the side of the base, causing the packs to get damaged. Lelouch managed to grab onto a small piece of the side to stop himself from floating away further, but now he was stuck. He looked up in terror as he watched Zen being drawn even closer to who he assumed was Zarkon himself.

"What do we do now, guys?" Rivalz exclaimed over the commlink, "Our plan isn't really working out as... well, planned!"

Lelouch grit his teeth, "I'm getting Zen back! The rest of you focus on finding C.C. and Allura!"

"I've identified their exact location!" Coran responded from the Castle, "Uploading the coordinates to you now. In the meantime, I'll provide covering fire from out here, all alone, against an entire fleet. So, yeah, do you mind hurrying?"

"My jetpack's damaged. I'll need to go through the ship," Lelouch said as he scanned around for any possible openings. He noticed the small outcropping that saved his life earlier and slowly glided towards it. Geass on, Lelouch channeled his lightning into his hand, almost like an electrical spear, and shoved it into the crack. With the little physical strength that he had, he lifted the metal open. He covered his mask as a burst of air followed before he promptly descended into the entrance.

o~o

Meanwhile, Kallen continued to weave Aka in and out of the laser of Galra ships everywhere, shooting off lasers of her own in the process.

"Guys, get the Princess without me, now!" Kallen shouted through the intercom.

"What?!" Suzaku exclaimed, eyes widening, "No, Kallen, it's too dangerous to go off on your own! What are you even doing?!"

"Whatever I can!" she gritted out as she and Aka shot like a rocket towards the underside of Zarkon's base, and slammed into Zen's unresponsive body. She knocked the Black Lion out of the path so hard, Zen went tumbling through space before landing on the surface of Zarkon's lower ship, the violet glow fading away.

o~o

Inside the base, Lelouch, or Zero to others, crouched at the end of one of the halls, waiting for two sentries to come around. But instead of waiting for them to pass, Lelouch leaped out with a battle cry and impaled both of them with his lightning infused fists.

Unlike other situations, he wasn't taking chances with being seen, he couldn't afford that right now.

As he continued to run down the dark hallway, Lelouch's mind began racing. Images of the battles he endured flashed through his mind. Confronting Sendak, him resisting his Geass, the mentioning of the druids, and Rai admitting the familiarity of them, and now this!

Lelouch almost stopped dead in his tracks as the dots finally connected.

"No… Zarkon has Geass?!"

o~o

The Emperor in question glared down at the Lions from above before shedding the heavy armor and cape that he always donned. The black Geass emblem glowed brightly within his pupils as he calmly let himself fall from the ritual platform above into open space below. He then activated his rocket boosters on his heels to shoot towards where Zen had landed.

As he landed in front of the Lion, Kallen was hovering close on the other side. Her eyes fell on the Galra, and she thought she felt a chill run down her spine, glaring daggers at him. She had a feeling she knew who that was, but she needed to confirm it.

"Who is that?" she asked Coran through the comlink, bringing up a video feed in the Castle.

As Coran looked at the screen, he gasped in horror, "It's Zarkon! Kallen, get out there, now! Zarkon's too powerful!"

Kallen wasn't listening, though. Once her suspicions were confirmed, only one goal made itself apparent, "This is my chance to put an end to the Galra Empire! I have to take it!"

Kallen thrust Aka's controls forward and dived down towards the Galra Leader, ready to fire a beam at Zarkon to end him.

"Kallen, don't!" Coran's cries fell on deaf ears as Aka's maw let loose a beam of light directly at the Emperor. The explosion that resulted almost convinced Kallen that she had actually gotten him, but something caught her eye that caused ice to curl in her stomach.

Zarkon had blocked the attack with what looked like a giant purple energy shield. Moments later, it dissipated, and Kallen could see a familiar object in Zarkon's clutches.

"Is that-Is that a Bayard?!"

"You may have a Lion," Zarkon said, holding the dark Bayard up to his chest, "but its power is weak in your fledgling hands."

The Bayard then glowed as a sword that seemed to be made of energy formed from it. Then with a single swing, Zarkon flung a wave of energy towards the Red Lion.

Still in shock from seeing the Bayard, the Black Bayard, in Zarkon's hands, Kallen would've been hit, had the Purple Lion not rammed into her, and pushed her out of the way. The shot barely missed Yoru as the two Lions spun in the air for a few moments before recovering.

All of the other Paladins heard the person Kallen was facing, and Suzaku rushed to help, being the closest one. "If we stop Zarkon right here and now, then this battle is over. Earth will be safe," he declared from his Lion as the two spun to face the Emperor once more, their Lions both growling in challenge.

Zarkon didn't even blink, "You cannot stop me. The Black Lion will finally be returned to its original Paladin."

o~o

Lelouch finally made it to what looked like one of the main hangars. He was out of breath and panting from running, but he was sure he was close to Zen now.

When he was about halfway across the hangar, the door behind him slammed shut, causing him to jump and turn in confusion.

"So," a voice behind him drawled, making the hair on his neck stand up, "you're the infamous Zero." He turned back around to see a hooded woman standing in the middle of the bay. She had long white hair and what looked like navy blue skin,

"You will answer my questions!" Lelouch ordered an eyehole opening in his helmet, and his Geass flashing as he caught the eye of the druid (what else could it be?) in front of him.

She seemed to grunt for a moment before she quickly dispelled the power that attempted to take her over. She then looked up, curiously at him, "How do you wield this power?"

Lelouch took a step back in shock. Just like with Sendak, his Geass hadn't worked, and he had made sure to make eye contact through his mask. It seemed his theory of the Galra and Geass being connected in some way was being confirmed even more as this woman seemed to show some familiarity with it.

The woman's eyes then seemed to widen before a contemplating smiled adorned her lips, "I see, that explains the woman. She granted you that power, didn't she?" Lelouch continued to stand frozen in front of her, "I wonder how many others she's granted it toward. No matter, I'll find out one way or another."

This seems to shake Lelouch out of his frozen stupor as he grit his teeth, Geass still flaring, and charged at the druid, hands flashing with electricity. Just as it looked like he was about to make contact, the druid disappeared and reappeared behind him, laughing. Lelouch turned and blasted behind him, only for her to vanish yet again. Then multitudes of the druid began to appear around him, all cackling with what he assumed was sick glee. He whipped his head from one end to the other, energy crackling in his palms. He was completely surrounded.

o~o

Back on in the battle, Rai and Zerith fired at an onslaught of fighters that came their way. Shirley was right. There was just no end to them at all!

The Green Paladin then gasped loudly, Zerith screeching to a halt. He felt something in the back of his mind. A presence. One that he knew, but knew he didn't at the exact same time.

'So, the Champion returns,' the voice seemed to purr in his head, and it certainly wasn't from his Lion.

Due to this latest episode, the Green Lion had left itself open for several fighters to fire. The only reason that Rai wasn't blown to pieces was due to the timely arrival of Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley, who shot all of them down before racing to Rai's side.

"Rai! Rai, dude, what's wrong!" Rivalz asked urgently.

"Are you okay?" Shirley questioned as well.

Rai quickly shook his head, but his eyes were wide with fear now, "We have to get out of here! Now!" he proclaimed, fear clearly present in his tone.

"We've finally managed to locate Allura and C.C," Milly reported, bringing up her tracking on their screens. "They're in this part of the ship." Her scanners showed a lower area of the main base.

"Okay, how do we get in?" Rivalz asked.

"I-I can try and hack one of the cargo bays," Rai stuttered, still recovering from the scare from earlier.

"No, we don't have time! Shirley, you'll just have to bust through!" Milly ordered.

"What?! Seriously?!" the Orange Paladin asked in shock.

"Just do it!" Milly shouted back.

"O-okay!" Shirley didn't question further as she thrust Zinnia forward, barrelling straight towards the coordinates that Milly passed to her.

o~o

From inside their cell, Allura and C.C. looked up in shock as they felt the area around them shake violently.

Outside, the head of the Orange Lion, crashed through the wall of the prison, the two sentries guarding their cell, raised their guns to the intruder, but Shirley was faster. As Zinnia's mouth opened, she fired one arrow at the first sentry, spun around and dodged a blast from the second one, before hitting it as well. To her pleasant surprise, those were the only two robots that were guarding the prison, at least in this area.

o~o

Up at the central command center, Thace's screen started beeping in alert. The Galra looked up to see that a part of the haul had been broken through.

"Sir, the hull's been breached. It's one of the Lions," he reported to Prorok.

"Focus fighters on that quadrant," the commander ordered. He would retrieve those Lions for his Emperor!

o~o

On the outside of the base, with the backside of the Orange Lion hanging out of the ship, the Green, Blue, and Yellow Lions surrounded it, guarding Zinnia and Shirley against attacks that would be coming from the hoard of fighters that was coming their way.

"Looks like we've got to cover Shirley's butt!" Rivalz shouted as he swerved Polaris around several fighter shots, gritting his teeth.

o~o

With her arrow, Shirley shot a hole through Allura and C.C.'s cell. As the Orange Paladin entered, she was relieved to see that neither woman looked too hurt.

"Shirley!" Allura gasped.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Shirley shouted, motioning to her newly made exit.

"What are you doing here?" Allura demanded, "Tell me you didn't bring Voltron straight to Zarkon's central command! Where's the Black Lion?"

Suddenly, from over their comlinks, they heard Lelouch yelp in pain as if he had been hit with something.

"Lelouch is in trouble!" C.C. exclaimed as she sprung and ran out of the cell. "We have to save him."

As Allura and Shirley ran behind her, Shirley felt pain of her own just behind her left eye. C.C. was right. Something was happening to Lelouch right at that moment.

"Shirley, did you get C.C. and the Princess?" Rai asked through their helmets.

"Yeah, but there's a change of plans," she replied, blinking rapidly, trying to disperse the throb.

o~o

Lelouch grunted as he attempted to blast one of the druid clones, but it quickly disappeared into the air.

"You're nothing but a child," she taunted from behind, "tampering with forces you can't even begin to understand."

With a shout, Lelouch spun around and punched the clone directly behind him, only to be hit with a powerful blast of her own, sending him flying across the room with a yell.

"You're only scratching the surface of the power that you possess," she hissed as a ball of energy appeared in her hand and fired in Lelouch's direction.

Gasping, Lelouch managed to narrowly roll out of the way, and chargee her again, seeing as the clones had vanished. He dodged two more blasts of energy that were shot at him. With a battle cry, he flung his arm forward, attempting to swipe at her again, only for her to vanish directly behind him.

With a sneer, she thrust her claw forward, her hands glowing with her magic, deeply scratched Lelouch's side. With a choked gasp, Lelouch collapsed, agony running up his body from the wound inflicted.

Her enemy incapacitated for the moment, him kneeling and clutching his glowing wound, Haggar wasted no time probing his mind for information. Lelouch grit his teeth and tried to fight back, but due to the fatigue of battle, her influence was too strong.

Small glimpses of his childhood back on Earth flash before his eyes, and he can only assume that the druid is seeing them as well. His mother's assassination, Nunnally comatose in a hospital bed, bandages wrapped around her head and legs. The confrontation with his father and his resulting banishment.

Then, another image flashes by, one that even causes Lelouch to freeze. It was the face of his father, Charles Zi Britannia, and a Geass of his own flashing in his eyes.

He felt his head being physically jerked back. The druid had grabbed onto his helmet, and he felt foreign energy seeping through the mask and into his mind. She was trying to rip in closer, get as much information as she could.

Lelouch groaned in anguish, but he grit his teeth. She'd already seen more than she needed. He'd push her back as best as he could. She wouldn't get anything else!

o~o

"This is insane!" Kallen shouted as she sent another blast in Zarkon's direction. She and Suzaku had been engaging the Emperor for nearly ten minutes, and it didn't seem like they were leaving a single dent on him.

The Purple Paladin himself doesn't say anything, but his thoughts are very similar to Kallen's as well.

Once again, Zarkon quickly blocked the blast with his Bayard like a rubber ball against a brick building.

"To think that fate would bring me to face these two Lions in battle once again. What a disappointment of Alfor and Melenor's legacy," Zarkon said.

Suzaku then tried to take the moment of distraction to try and crush Zarkon underneath him with Yoru, but Zarkon jumped out of the way, his Bayard morphing back into a sword once again.

Simultaneously, the two Paladins lunged their Lions forward, both of them racing upon the base surface, shooting lasers at the Emperor as he flew towards them at high speed. He easily dodged out of the way of all of them.

Just as Zarkon was about to hit them, Suzaku attempted to suck the Emperor in with the black hole function. Instead of being pulled in and finished off, though, the Emperor seemed to simply use it gain more momentum and sliced his blade right at the Lion, who immediately fell to the ground.

Suzaku groaned as he felt the impact. Okay, this was getting ridiculous!

"Suzaku! Move!" Kallen shouted from above. The Purple Paladin lifted his head in time to see Zarkon produce a huge cannon from the Bayard that was aimed directly at him!

With a grunt, Suzaku managed to sweep out of the way, just as the blast nearly grazed Yoru's shoulder. The shot didn't hit them, but Kallen and Suzaku both looked in horror as the blast easily sliced through one of the base's outer layers. Zarkon didn't even seem to care!

What kind of a monster were they facing?!

"Kallen, Suzaku, get out there!" Coran's voice echoed through the link again, sounding even more desperate now.

The two Paladins didn't have time to reply as Zarkon then flew into the air, the sword once again in hand, and attempted to dive-bomb them. They managed to jump out of the way, but the impact that Zarkon made caused a massive explosion as well.

Zarkon was literally tearing his own base apart just to get to the Black Lion!

"Do you copy? You don't know what you're dealing with! He's too powerful! Listen to me, it's imperative that neither of you engages the-" Coran's voice was cut off as the two Paladins simultaneously slammed the off button to the communication link. Both of the Lions readied themselves, blades appearing in their jaws as they both shot off and charged the Galra at full speed.

Zarkon was waiting for them, as he Bayard turned from a blade into a large metal whip that he threw towards them.

At first, the Lions were able to dodge around the weapon until Aka's leg got caught by it, and Zarkon slammed the Red Lion into the Purple Lion.

With both the Lions down once again, Zarkon's blade appeared once more, and he charged towards them, aiming to finally end the two Paladins at once.

"No…" Kallen groaned as she forced Aka to stand up with her own willpower. Suzaku, behind her, was still somewhat dazed from the attack and wasn't moving. As Kallen stood between Zarkon and her comrade, she took several deep breaths, her anger, and determination building with each one, before screaming out a battle cry.

At the same time, she felt something twist within her bond with Aka, and appearing on top of the Red Lion's back, was a giant cannon.

Seeing this development didn't slow Zarkon's descent towards them as the cannon charged up. With a flash, Aka unleashed a cannon blast so massive and powerful that it actually forced Zarkon to stop and block the attack. It even drove him back a couple of paces.

With a grunt of his own, Zarkon finally dove out of the way of the attack. The remaining power from the attack flew past him and hit the outer base once again, causing a large chunk of it to go up in flames.

Kallen stared wide-eyed at not only the destruction she seemingly caused from that single attack but also the fact that Zarkon had been able to block it! "Whoa!"

"Kallen! Come on!" Suzaku shouted as the two Lions ascended into the air once again. With the ray gun still activated on Aka's back, Kallen fired another shot at the Emperor. To her pleasant surprise, Zarkon actually flew out of the way of the attack instead of blocking it. It left a fiery trail behind the Emperor as a result.

Suzaku took that opportunity to try and dive bomb Zarkon again, but somehow, the Emperor anticipated this and sliced Suzaku out of the air once more.

"You fight like a Galra soldier," they heard the Emperor commented to the Red Paladin.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kallen spat. She knew that out of all of the Paladins, even out of all the Black Knights, she was undoubtedly the most… battle-savvy for lack of a better term. But she knew for a fact that she was human. There was no way that she was related to the Galra, neither were any of the other Paladins for that matter… right?

"But not for long!" Zarkon proclaimed as Kallen watched him leap into the air, and with the Bayard transforming what could only be a giant club, beat Aka out of the air. She slammed back into the ground, right next to Suzaku with a gasp.

o~o

Allura, C.C., and Shirley all burst into the fighter hangar, all under the protection of Shirley's invisibility. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw Haggar bent over Lelouch's fallen form, her hand and the Black Paladin's body glowing a sickly purple.

Shirley immediately pulled out her Bayard and aimed it at the witch, "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she shouted as released the single arrow that had been notched.

Her shout was the only thing that alerted Haggar to their presence and managed to let go of Lelouch and dodge the arrow just in time. She sneered before she teleported away.

With Haggar's hold on him gone, Lelouch collapsed back to the ground with a gasp, barely bracing himself on his hands so he wouldn't fall flat on his face.

"Lulu! We have to get out of here!" Shirley exclaimed, rushing over to the Black Paladin and helping him to his feet. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of his wound, but they would have to deal with it later.

As the four of them left the hangar, C.C. couldn't help but stall just for a moment, her eyes trailing back to the spot that Haggar disappeared from. A chill ran up her spine. In all of her long life, she'd only met a few people that she would admit she was frightened of, and Haggar was only her latest addition.

The last time she had felt this way… was when she met V.V.

o~o

Yoru and Aka lay still on the surface of the base. Neither of them was moving despite their Paladins doing everything they could to get them to. Even a twitch would have been reassuring!

Above them, Zarkon's Bayard transformed once again. This time, it took the form of a giant spear, that the Emperor had aimed directly at the two Lions. With a burst of the jets on his legs, the Emperor charged towards them.

"Come on! Come on!" Kallen shouted from the cockpit, frantically pushing down levers and pressing buttons.

Suzaku, on the other hand, stopped. The moment he had seen Zarkon's Bayard flash, he had stopped struggling. And as the Emperor drew closer to finish them off, Suzaku's eyes closed. If this was how he died, at least it was fighting for something he believed in. Really believed in.

However, death would not be the case, as just moments before Zarkon could strike, a roar to his right drew his attention. His eyes widened as the Black and Orange Lions shot off attacks of their own, throwing the Emperor off in surprise, and saving Kallen and Suzaku.

Not even caring if his shot actually hurt, much less hit, Zarkon, Lelouch, with Shirley right behind him, flew down and scooped up the Red Lion in his jaws. Shirley did the same for the Purple Lion.

"We got you!" Lelouch shouted as the four of them flew back to the ship as fast as possible.

As the four lions returned to the bays, Zarkon watched from afar, his eyes boring into what was nearly his prize. He had been too focused on the battle with the Red and Purple Lion. He should've taken the Black Lion right then and there. However, this was only a minor annoyance. The Black Lion would be his once again, one way or another.

o~o

As Zen set Aka down within the Red Lion's bay, C.C. had to catch Lelouch was keeling forward and hitting his head on the console. The wound at his side pulsed darkly, causing him to gasp in pain.

From the Orange Lion's bay, Allura raced out of the Zinnia as Yoru was placed down next to her. She ran to the bridge and swiftly put her hands on top of the teludav pillars, the familiar blue glow washing over her.

"All right, Paladins, time to get out of here!" she announced as she attempted to open a wormhole. However, to her shock, no wormholes opened up.

"Hello? What's going on? I don't see a wormhole," Milly asked, her face appearing on the Castle's screen.

"The Galra barrier is jamming our ability to create one!" Coran exclaimed in a panic. They were trapped. Even though they had Allura back, there was still no way out. Nor was there a way for them to fight all of the Galra troops that were slowly closing in on them.

o~o

From inside the base, Prorok turned back to the lieutenant stationed behind him, "Send in everything we've got! Corner them!"

Prorok failed to notice the absence of one of his top subordinates.

o~o

The spy cautiously made his way done the hall, his Luxite blade clutched tightly in his hand. He approached the area of the energy barrier and ran into a sentry that was guarding the door.

The robot turned to him and addressed the Galra, "This sector is off-limits-"

Before the droid could say anything else, the spy jammed his blade into the sentry's neck, effectively destroying it as it collapsed to the ground.

Not wasting another moment, knowing that each one counted if Voltron was to escape, he entered the control room.

To his relief, there was only one other sentry stationed at the main control board, and he wasted no time stabbing his blade into the sentry's back. The robot collapsed onto the floor with a clunk.

He hurriedly entered his passcode into the computer, a lever uncovering itself in front of him. He grasped it and pulled down.

o~o

"They have us completely surrounded!" Coran cried just as the solar barrier around them suddenly shorted out, much to the Paladins' shock.

o~o

The spy let out a small sigh of relief as he watched the barrier successfully shut down.

Now just to get rid of the rest of the evidence.

Thace bent down and snatched his Luxite blade from the body of the sentry.

The job was done. Voltron was free.

o~o

"What just happened?" Rai asked.

"Who cares?! WORMHOLE!" Shirley practically screamed.

Not wasting this window of opportunity, Allura activated the teludav once more. This time a swirling wormhole appeared before the Castle. Allura directed the Castle towards it, failing to notice the danger that was erupting behind them.

With a shriek of anger and power, Haggar slammed her hands into the magic circle on her ledge of the Galra base. With a dark flash of light, a beam of black energy shot towards the Castle of Lions and the wormhole they were attempting to escape through.

The Castle wasn't hit directly, but the wormhole was not so lucky. As the energy was absorbed into the hole, the familiar blue of the walls twisted into dark, unstable maroon, static energy flashing across the field as they descended.

"Coran, what's happening?!" Lelouch shouted as he and C.C. felt the shaking from Zen's interior.

"The integrity of the wormhole has been compromised! It's breaking down!" the advisor shouted in fear.

"What does that mean?" Rivalz asked, gripping Polaris's controls.

"It means we have no control over where we're headed!" Coran exclaimed, just as a loud bang shook the Castle.

Before either Lelouch, Kallen, or even C.C. could react, the bang shook the Castle hard enough that it dislodged both Lions from the bay, causing the passengers to yell as they started spiraling out into the wormhole.

They weren't the only ones; the other five Lions soon followed, all being flung helplessly out of their bays, their Paladins in tow.

One by one, each Lion disappeared into the wormhole's wall. Their destination?

Unknown.

[lured-into-wonderland]

Ever since she had arrived here, she had never felt fully at ease. She had been seeking his attention and affection. Struggling to make Regulus acknowledge she was the most important one, and failing (miserably) in achieving all that. But today…today was the first day since she had arrived in this little kingdom, in this perfect palace, that Nunnally felt simply happy. And relaxed. Without any disturbing thoughts. She didn’t need anything more at that very point in time.

Why? Why was it like that? She could not exactly tell why. But most likely because it was not about the kidnapped girl, the heiress of her father’s wealth and power, and the most powerful man in the world, the Archbishop of Greed. It was finally about Nunnally and Regulus.

Regulus and Nunnally.

Or so she thought. And felt. In that very moment the time had stopped for her. And it was not Regulus who stopped it this time.

It was not that Nunnally was not aware that all that wouldn’t be possible without his powers. Of course, it would not. They could not sit on the cloud. But for once it didn’t seem it was only (or mainly) about it. For once it seemed it was about something else. About t h e m. Not about him. Not about her. But about them.

So, when Regulus seated them on that cloud and accepted all the gifts she had prepared for him, it was already enough for Nunnally to feel special. It was already enough to make her forget about all his other wives and this place she was stuck in. Yes, it was a perfect place in a way, but it also felt like a perfect golden prison. A cage. A comfortable one, but still a cage.

“Hmmm…” – she hummed softly; looking at the beautiful landscape beneath them. Why was it that she didn't notice before how beautiful it was here... – “I am so happy, Regulus…” – she whispered in a voice laced with a light surprise. Nunnally expected this day should have been a nightmare -- (a day made for romance and love spent with a man who did not truly understood what love was; or at least did not share the understanding she had) -- but it turned out to be a wonderful day. A day when she was receiving all (and more) that she have wished for.

And it actually turned to be even more. How was that possible at all!?

Nunnally didn’t expect Regulus to have anything for her. She was painfully aware he considered her as one of many. So, when he opened his hand and showed her that blue diamond, the same one (or almost the same one?) as he wore himself, Nunnally was aware something magical was happening. Was he going to tell her a story of these diamonds? A glimpse into his past? Would she learn why he was wearing a single one instead of a pair?

But Nunnally did not expect (and would not even dare to hope for) Regulus actually giving her the second matching one. She almost froze in place (and time?) when he put it into her ear.

“…Regulus…” – she whispered; her heart still for a few moments and then starting to beat as if it wanted to jump out of her (his) chest. She had no words to explain to him how she was feeling; no words at all, but it was more than that ring he gave her on a day they had met. She had just given him her vows willingly; and he accepted her vows one more time with that precious stone. Was it what was happening...!?

If she had not understood before that their lives were linked together, it was now the concept she wanted to embrace. She touched the stone now settled so naturally in her ear: --

“Forever Regulus.” – she said.

And as surprisingly as it might have been for her (if she had ever thought about it, but she did not then and she never would), Nunnally did not think what it could mean to others that he gave her the diamond. She only focused what it meant for her. For him. For them.

Regulus and Nunnally. Nunnally and Regulus.

There were only them. They were the only ones that mattered.

He can touch your soul. And there is a difference between having your heart break and having your soul shatter.

HE LOATHED SMILING …

It was the one thing he could not bare to look at, a smile on a beautiful face, he allowed it to slip when he would find these maidens, when he would appear before them as if he was their savior, a god descending from the heavens. As if he was truly a divine being that he claimed he was, and not the monster that has reduced the world into the pitiful state it is, with nations closing borders, endless wars between them, throwing the blame at one another for the countless massacres, entire chunks of lands, being erased with no life remaining, all blaming one another, when it was truly the most simple of reasons.

One person's pursuit to find love.

At any cost.

At any cost …

“It is all so small Nunnally …” As he looked down for the moment and held out his gloved hand to show her for the moment, just how powerful he was. That nothing more than a twitch, from his smallest white finger, and the entire world below them would shake, another, and the oceans would go into a frenzy, his fingers twitch once more and raise up, as mountains around the world break, crack and shatter, as he closes his fingers inwards, and the entire world almost gasps, as if this was the moment, he has become so tired and sick of everyone having, what he cannot have himself, before he opens his hand and stops.

“Do you know, that was the only thing I ever wanted …” As he glanced down, was for all the way back then, two centuries ago when he was mortal, was for someone, anyone, no matter who they where, where they came from, just to actually sit down with him and talk to him, treat him like a person and not some little peasant that he was, some filthy, unwashed, dirty, witch scented creature that everyone looked upon and hated with all their hearts, that there love was for themselves, but not one mere droplet for him, so why do they get there happily ever after, there continued existence, and he gets nothing.

He has become so strong now.

He was the strongest being alive.

And yet .. after everything he has done, all those women he has saved, none of them loved them as much as he loved them.

“This …” As he held out his hand to accept the offering to him, as he looked down at it, he had crowns, he had the finest chains forged by the best within the world, and he pulled them from what rained down from the heavens when he flicked his finger up and erased an entire city and scattered it and everyone within to the winds.

“No one tells me, what I can and cannot wear.”

He obeyed no one, he was a king, the king, everything here he has built, everything here he has made, he has made a land for himself, where he will never go without, never be poor, never be weak again, a kingdom built on strength, love and perfection, just like him now.

As he looked at the second gift that was given to him and he looked down, as he would place the chain around his beck and slip it into his clothing to reat on his chest, as he takes the small offering, gently folding it lightly and placing it within the front of his jacket to stick out and appear, he was not like the others.

Nunnally had to see that.

He was not like the cult of the witch, he wore no black, he carried no sword, he used not daggers to make offerings to the witches, his version of the cult, was purity, the people of the world united, all hearts linked, beating as one and everyone, everyone here can live, forever, they will never be harmed, the world cannot hurt him, he has done something that no other came, and it was because he has become so powerful, the world cannot stop him anymore, no one can stop him.

“Hm …” He closed his eyes for the moment and shifted a little to be closer to her, this was .. the most he has ever talked to one of his wives, and it reminds him all the way back, to when he truly became immortal, why he paused his time, why he froze his hourglass and trapped it in place, so he could not die, because the happiest moment in his life turned into the saddest moment in his life, the reason why he wore only one earring and kept the other out, was a simple one.

It was only meant to be for the person he felt something for, really felt something for.

As he opened his hand once more to show her the blue diamond he wore in his ear, and matching one meant for someone else as he nodded and moved forward and placed it within her ear, the same as his own and settled it there, he really, really, hated when people smiled, he could not stand it, it made him lash out, it was an insult, he made his temper, but oddly.

He really, liked it.

When Nunnally smiled.

[familiasworn]

We don't interact (let's change that someday) but I like seeing you on the dash xD and I think your writing is super cool asdfghjkl!!!!

Please come to my ask and tell me a reason you ENJOY RPing with me.

Yeah, let's!! Since you're a multi, I'd gladly rp with your other muses(I sadly don't rp with same muses--you can thank Nightmare of Nunnally for that. No twins/clones for me, thanks)

But again, you do have other muses, as I also have separate muses I could throw at your Sasuke! If you've seen a @whispersofdeceit reply to something of yours, that's me as well. c:

I have like...technically 3 multimuse blogs. Oop. Here's my business card lol. Let's interact! XD

The multis:

@cxdemusings

@whispersofdeceit

@fragilefates

And on top of that...other side blogs. I need to learn to stop. >u>;;

[dasmondkuss]

Nunnally twirled on the bed, making Autumn wonder if she was having a nightmare. Considering everything they went through less than a couple hours ago, it was likely. He wouldn't deny he was worried, but that was all he felt—a slight fret sensation on his nape. He got rid of it by checking the expiration date on their supplies, and it wasn't long before Nunny's twirls became random phrases that made no sense under her mumbling.

Still, Autumn got closer to her to discern what she said, and that was when she screamed. It caught him off guard, causing his first reaction was to grab a rifle and point it at the bunker's hatch.

Nothing.

Just like the woman's mind.

"You're kidding, right?" Autumn put the weapon away and referred to her sweetly. He didn't think it was the time for a joke like this, but if she could find some joy despite the past events, he wouldn't dare to take it away from her.

"I know that with all these weapons, it is hard to say if I'm still on your side, but I am." He reassured her. Autumn couldn't even dream of a world where he would hurt her, and he thought that Nunnally was on the same page as him until he guided his hands toward her head to return her hair behind her ears. But she retrieved. Nunny's entire body jumped against the wall like a fearful little animal.

Autumn chuckled in disbelief. "It's okay. You can drop the act, doll. This is my mentor's weaponry, if that's what you're trying to ask." Autumn guessed she could be making all this up to get answers instead of making a straightforward question. It wouldn't be her first time creating a weird situation to get the truth or whatever she wanted to hear over the truth.

"I never talk about him, but if there's something to know about is that he was an obsessive motherfucker. Here is the safest place you could ever be." Autumn said, looking around the room like he hadn't been there before.

Silence.

No questions? No remarks for language? No complaints about being called a doll?

He looked at her, and she was still petrified on the corner of the bed, disheveled with fear and words clearly stuck in her throat. It was then that Autumn's alarm began ringing in the back of his head. "You're kidding, right? Nunnally?" Did he hit her that hard? It was impossible. But the only way for the impossible to become possible was if Nunnally had previous inflammation on her brain, which in their current conditions could be one of the worst scenarios.

He must be overthinking it.

"We can not pretend that nothing happened. We aren't playing that game today. Drop. The. Act." She had to be lying, Autumn thought. She didn't want to talk about those men because she didn't want to give any explanations; she had dragged them into this position and wouldn't admit it. Why?

Unfortunately, betrayal was more plausible in Autumn's head than amnesia. But what could she probably want from him?

Autumn pulled her out of the bed by the wrist, twisting both Nunnally's arms behind her back to immobilize her. "You only have this chance to spit everything." Autumn threatened her. After his words, he realized how much it affected him. He was feeling nauseated and heavy. Oh, Autumn was hurting—Fuck.

It was dark. It was cold. She was tired and hungry. But the overwhelming pain was the worst. And fear. That it would never end. Because it would not. At least sleeping did offer her some short consolation. But she was so rarely allowed to sleep without her slumber being broken by cruel hands. What was her name? She didn’t remember. Or she never knew. They didn’t tell her. They didn’t allow her to have a name. A girl. That was what she was.

Sleeping. It was when she didn’t feel. When she was allowed not to think, not to feel.

But Nunnally starts to feel she’s waking up.

“Please no!” – she whispered under her breath – “Let me sleep a bit longer.” – but her body would not listen to her. Her eyelids were slowly opening. She tried not to move, though. She needed to be quiet, because otherwise, they would come. They would anyway (no matter what she'd do), but it was better if that moment could be postponed as much as possible. But Nunnally opened her eyes.

And then...the girl didn't recognize the room. It was dull. Almost dark. She was lying on a bed that was surprisingly comfortable.

So, was it still a dream? So, was she only dreaming that she was waking up? She moved slowly, softly as if to try if her movements had any consequences. But they didn't. It was a dream. It must have been a dream. Otherwise, they would come for a girl. They would drag her out from her room (from her cell) to that terribly white room with that bright light (she hated bright light; she was a creature of dark, of shadows), and do things she didn't understand.

Oh, Nunnally did try. She had tried so hard to give them what they wanted to have (though she didn't truly understand what that was). Perhaps if she knew, she could give that to them, and they’d leave her alone. Even if that would mean she’d not survive. But she didn't want to live. She didn't deserve to live. She was small, but she already knew that. She was a nuisance; even her parents had thought so and had given her to these men.

( "It’s warm" ); she suddenly realized. ( "But why? Oh, that’s a dream." ) She looked around. It was nice. And then she saw…him! A silhouette in the other corner of the room. She didn't recognize him either, but it didn't matter. Whoever came to her was her enemy. Whoever came, only wanted “it” and only wanted to hurt her.

She didn't feel cozy anymore. Her eyes turned dull; she didn't see anything anymore, so focused on that man approaching her. He was speaking to her but Nunnally didn't understand his words. But it didn't matter; they always said the same thing.

“Don’t please…don’t! Don’t hurt me!” – she curled on the bed, pressed herself against the wall as if she wanted to become one with it – “Please…please…please…” – she repeated frantically as she burst into tears. She knew what was going to happen. She knew that all too well.

( “Wake up Nunnally”) – the girl heard a soft voice in her head; but who was that "Nunnally"? Was her name Nunnally? ( “Yes, it’s you… Wake up, you’re not a child anymore. You know it. It’s all in the past.”)

But Nunnally didn't believe the voice. She voice was lying: it was not in the past. It was happening now!

“No…!” – she screamed...

But she looked at her hands, at her dress… These did not belong to a child. The voice was right.

She opened her eyes again. Nunnally didn't recognize the room. She didn't recognize the man.

“Where am I…? And who are you?” – did she really ask or did she only intend to ask?

What happened? Who are you? What happened? Where am I? What happened? Who are you? What happened? Where am I?

What happened? Who are you? What happened? Where am I? What happened? Who are you? What happened? Where am I?

“Are you going to hurt me?”  

What happened? Who are you? What happened? Where am I?

[lured-into-wonderland]

She was becoming anxious. Perplexed even. Regulus (Nunnally was sure the white donkey was her husband) was behaving oddly. As if it wasn’t Regulus after all. He seemed to be watching her quietly; judging (and criticizing) her every move and yet speaking nothing. Regulus Corneas who didn’t talk? That couldn’t have been happening! She wouldn’t have been surprised if he attempted, but failed and instead let out some donkey sounds, but this…!?

This was different. This was odd. This was scary.

She still tried to behave reasonably. To prepare them some nice breakfast (or rather snack). She still talked to him waiting for Regulus to r e a c t in the way he should have been acting. But…

…all that was in vain…

Regulus Corneas (aka the white donkey) was QUIET. Did it mean d a n g e r? Did it mean he was going to snap at her? Or perhaps to punish her? Or something else that she wouldn’t like. But it wasn’t coming either…Instead there was silence. Silence that made Nunnally more and more terrified. Silence that made Nunnally thinking she was losing her senses.

Because WHAT IF? What if it wasn’t her husband? What if all her assumptions were wrong and the Witch of Greed had not changed the Sin of Greed into that cute animal in front of her? WHAT IF it wasn’t Regulus that was cursed, but her Nunnally? Perhaps she was seeing the white donkey, but in reality she was only seeing him in that form. What if Regulus was still a human, a man of the extraordinary beauty, and her eyes didn’t show her the true reality?

-- (Though most likely he would do something about her insulting talk then.) --

WHAT IF she was abducted and imprisoned in some odd reality? Trapped in this castle with the silent donkey as her only companion? Was it the Witch’s doing (for that her, Nunnally, had never wanted to fully abandon Regulus)? That still wouldn’t be the worst option. But perhaps it was the doing of Regulus's true enemies. And Echidna's? Did they have same enemies, by the way? What if it was someone who despised her husband and the witch? After all, there were many going after the cult (not that she truly cared about the cult). There were many who wanted their ultimate destruction. Their death perhaps. They were never strong enough to achieve it, but what if…!?

WHAT IF!

And it wasn’t that she was that unimportant (and definitely not innocent). Even if it was Regulus who had seduced her. She was a fair maiden and these were the easiest to blame. What was going to happen next?

She opened and closed her eyes. Quickly. As if she was wanted to check if something was to change if she had blinked furiously. But no! No matter what she did, there was always a white donkey eating the cookies and slurping his tea!

“Regulus!” – she cried in sudden panic. Although he probably wouldn’t hear her too focused back there to leave their prison.

Echidna. Perhaps Echidna was her only hope.

“Echidna…” – she whispered; but how the witch was supposed to hear her? Although in one reality, she was just there, in other she was only visiting her in dreams. Dreams! Should she fall asleep?

“Is it a dream…” – she whispered – “A nightmare…”

She blinked again and again and again…until she gave up.

“I’ve got a headache…” – it was not clear if she said that to the donkey or to herself – “I need to lay myself down in my chambers…”

“If I still have chambers at all…”