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Deep in the private quarters of the Demon Emperor Lelouch, the faint sighs of lovemaking could be spied.

C.C., completely naked save for a pair of thick leather boots, rocked up and down on the bed. Her milky-pale skin gleamed with sweat from her tireless exertion. Her ample bosom rolled and jiggled; her long emerald hair, matted by sweat swung around lively.

Below her was Lelouch Lamperouge, now Lelouch vi Britannia, the Emperor. He was currently enjoying one of the few fruits of his newly-won throne, as he pumped up quickly into the literal sex goddess above him. They'd made love several times already, but it was always clear to Lelouch that he was in some sort of disadvantage, or that he was never able to please her to an extent.

Today he was trying his best, as per usual. He tried not to succumb to the pleasurable jolts that shot through his body like electricity as her loving hole clasped tight around his length, milking him again and again with its remarkable tightness. He knew she'd had centuries of existence, and he also knew she loved to lord that fact over her partners, with her latest being Lelouch. In the bed, in private, she always goaded him on, calling him "boy" and a lot of other things, while teasing him with her booted feet.

"Are you going to cum?" she asked, her cheeks flushed. "So come, little Emperor. Fill me up. That's it… Give yourself to the pleasure…"

"Haahckk… Khhhaa..!"

She squeezed him again and again, her many folds meeting his every advance inside her with an ambush.

"Don't be shy," she purred. "There's no reason to hold it in. Cum. In. Me. Now."

And she twisted her hips about, giving him a finisher that made his back arch, his cum instantly shooting inside her. C.C. chuckled, uttering the throaty laugh of a victorious woman; and despite the heady pleasure that surged through his boy he couldn't help but feel annoyed that he was once more unable to get her to submit to him.

"That was… adequate," she said later, as they spooned under the covers.

He snorted. "Everything's damned 'adequate' with you, except the pizza."

His idle musings were interrupted by an insistent bleeping on his communication device. It was the one with a direct line for emergencies.

"Yes?"

"Apologies, my lord, but we need your presence! We've just captured Cornelia li Britannia!"

"… Send her to the throne room at once. And double the guards on duty," he said without pause. "How strange…" He glanced at C.C. who shrugged her shoulders. He quickly donned his royal robes, and left the chambers.

Ever since he had ascended Britannia's throne, Lelouch had been working hard to consolidate what the nation possessed, including all the necessary supplies that would be needed for his Zero Requiem. With much of their resources tied up in foreign land and under threat from the alliance he had himself crafted as Zero, he had been working overtime to ensure the loyalty of much of the Britannia military, along with the military-industrial sector that supplied its might.

Defections and other losses, most importantly of those forces in the hotly contested region of Area Eleven were folded into his calculations, and were even expected. This included the forces under such leaders as his brother Prince Schneizel, who'd commanded a sizable chunk of the military before Lelouch's ascension, and Cornelia, who ran her own cell.

He had never expected for Cornelia to be captured so quickly, though. Instinctively he thought this was some sort of scheme, unless Jeremiah had also been compromised, which fueled into a conspiracy. Still, he couldn't call himself a leader if he doubted his subordinates all the time—especially a person like Jeremiah Gottwald.

He arrived at the throne room and instantly saw Cornelia's distinct silhouette. She was bound and surrounded by several guards, including Jeremiah. He checked and made sure that the soldiers were still under his Geass, through a secret order he'd given them and no other that allowed him to determine their allegiances at a glance.

Seeing that his soldiers weren't compromised, he next turned to Jeremiah. "Report."

The "Knight of Orange" saluted. "She approached one of our checkpoints in an old Knightmare rig. Declared she was the Princess Cornelia. She agreed to be restrained and detained, after which we brought her straight here. So far, she had no suspicious devices on her person or on the Knightmare. And…" He tapped his Geass Canceller. "I have also confirmed no Geass on her."

"I see. Good work." He turned to Cornelia, who looked at him with silent anger. He knew she would never forgive him for Euphie, so why had she done this? Judging by her expression it was clear her feelings hadn't changed.

"Do not worry, sister," he said. "I will not mistreat you; I will treat you well, far better than our other siblings, at least. Your mercy and kindness during our youth is appreciated. Of course, you will need to be detained."

"Wait, Lelouch…"

"Hm?"

"There's something you need to know."

He glanced sidewise at Jeremiah, who nodded subtly, his body tensing.

"What is it? I permit you to speak."

"This is an emergency. I don't know how to explain this… but you must stop Schneizel."

"Hoh… Of course, your brilliant mind has already grasped what is truly needed for my reign to succeed. Yes, brother Schneizel is indeed an obstacle I must face."

"No, you bloody fool," Cornelia hissed. "Schneizel is far more dangerous now than he was. I was there, Lelouch; I had allied with him to take my vengeance on you. Despite that, I still could not condone the lengths which brother and his allies have gone to."

"Such as…?"

She bit her lip, hesitating. "Something far worse than Geass," she said, spitting out that last word vehemently.

His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Had I not known of the existence of such fantastical powers I would have dismissed my foreboding, and would perhaps have been ensnared myself. But Schneizel has tapped into a power far more insidious than I could ever imagine. If I were to describe it, it is as if he and his fellows have indulged in consorting with demons."

"Demons…" He tried to make sense of what his sister was saying. It was true that Geass had broken common sense long before, and that something similar to it would not be surprising. Still, it seemed far too fantastical for there to be actual demons involved. "Are you sure they were not simply… advanced Geass powers? It is a power few really understand after all."

"Can Geass make a man spew out green fluid from his orifice, make his eyes glow an otherworldly color, and allow him to shoot sorcerous bolts, each as fatal as a hadron cannon?" Cornelia snapped. "That was what I saw, little brother. If it is a Geass—"

"Wait."

The sudden voice from behind announced C.C.'s arrival at the throne room. She was fully clothed now, and didn't look like she had been cavorting with the Emperor just a few moments past. On the contrary, her face looked quite serious, as she fixed her gaze upon Cornelia's.

"You."

"Tell me," C.C. said. "Did you say that they emitted… a certain glow from their bodies? You are not mistaken in seeing it? Green?"

Lelouch looked back to Cornelia, who nodded grimly. "I'll not soon forget that color. The bastards seemed drenched in that damned color."

"My god," C.C. breathed. "One more thing. Did you ever hear anything or anybody mention the name—Aetherials?"

Cornelia started, and stared suspiciously at C.C. "…Yes."

C.C. exhaled, and Lelouch was quick to catch her body before she sagged to the ground. His skin crawled, much like the time she'd told him about Mao. "My god," she repeated faintly. She gripped his arm. "Lelouch, we have to stop them. Hunt them down, now. As it stands they've already achieved a foothold, but if we commit all of Britannia's resources, we can drive them out—"

"H-hold on," Lelouch said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The Aetherials," C.C. pronounced. "An old enemy of humanity's. Calling them 'demons' would be appropriate, but they are far more sinister than that. They're from another plane of existence, and work to possess a mortal body, through which they can then enact their vile schemes."

"You've met them before?"

"They were not my personal enemy, but I have faced them before. My body allows me to completely resist their influence, but their mortal agents always wished to use my body as a battery to create willing subjects. I only know that their goal is to invite more of their brethren into this world, and to that end they send whispers into the hearts of people, that they might allow them to be willing hosts inside their bodies."

Lelouch was already calculating, his mind racing a mile a minute. "So these things are destructive as well?"

"A fully manifested Aetherial may be something from out of a fiction story, what with its destructive powers. It is almost as if it were a conduit for lightning."

"So how do we stop them?"

"You have to kill their hosts, obliterate its form completely in order to banish the Aetherial possessing it. And that becomes difficult if an Aetherial contrives to hide in plain sight, pretending to be the person they possessed before striking unawares."

Lelouch frowned, and turned back to Cornelia, fully expecting her to transform all of a sudden. But then, before Cornelia could protest, C.C. approached her, and laid her hands on her forehead.

"She is clean," C.C. announced. "The power of Geass serves to banish Aetherials. I would imagine she might have already struck if she sensed the power you hold, Lelouch."

"You will have to tell me more about it," Lelouch said, as he strode towards his master console, through which he could issue commands to his personal army. "Cornelia, where are Schneizel and these Aetherials?"

"We were at France, a week ago, but I expect they're gone by now," Cornelia said. "However, I do know, before I discovered them, that Schneizel was going to negotiate something with the Black Knights."

He gritted his teeth, at the mention of those who'd given him up. Still, to hand them over to a monster was not in him, unless they were already too far gone. And Kallen Kouzuki, for example, was a talent that should absolutely not fall prey to Aetherial influence.

Lelouch dialed Suzaku's number, recalling him from his previous orders. He also activated his spy network in Japan, ordering them to find the location of the Black Knights.

"Lelouch," C.C. said quietly. "The previous infestation occurred three hundred years ago. It was the previous monarch, your ancestor, who accomplished it, and only because he had the aid of an Inquisitorial group that were investigating it." She smiled. "I should know, I was part of that group. Then, we had anticipated their arrival, and did everything we could to stop them, even massacring entire villages."

"I know what I must do," Lelouch said fiercely. His hands were already stained with blood.

"You misunderstand," C.C. said. "I do not question your resolve. But three hundred years ago, we had anticipated their arrival. We eradicated them so completely we thought they would never be able to return. But I see we were chasing a false hope. Now, we're only scrambling to react, with only Cornelia being our saving grace. I remain hopeful it is not so, but you must accept that it is possible…" C.C. bowed her head. "It is possible the world may already be doomed. They may have already enacted their foul plans. So take that into consideration."

Lelouch glared down at the console, as his vision of Zero Requiem started evaporating into dust. After inputting a few commands, he whirled towards his knight.

"Jeremiah!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"The strike team is assembled. Go!"

At the Black Knights Headquarters, Kallen Kouzuki was reviewing the latest intelligence about her former superior, Lelouch Lamperouge, who had now embraced his heritage as Lelouch vi Britannia, Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire. The mood since his ascension had been grim, as the members of the Black Knights, which had since been folded into the interim Japanese government, had become divided as to their attitude towards their former boss.

Some, like Tohdoh, adopted a hard-line stance: that he was and would always be their enemy, especially now that they knew of his insidious Geass.

Others, like Ohgi and Tamaki, who'd known Zero the longest, had advised caution, as there was a chance that Lelouch would become a far more reasonable alternative to the oppressive Britannian regime.

Kallen cared little for their disputes on ideological grounds—the young woman had been completely affected by Lelouch's last words to her. She longed to know what that brilliant mind, which had always dazzled and confounded her, had hidden inside, to understand why he had become what he was.

"Kallen, it's time," Ohgi said, knocking at her door. The redhead nodded, and stretched as she rose. Today, they would be meeting once more with Schneizel. Here was another Britannian upon which the Black Knights had been divided. Initially, they had been grateful to the Prince for unveiling Zero's duplicity. But he was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to deliver on his promise of a completely independent Japan, and that was long before Lelouch's ascension. He had constantly rebuffed their queries, and it was only now that he deigned to respond, urging that they meet personally for this.

Once more, Tohdoh and his faction urged a complete break with Schneizel or any other Britannian, believing that their position now was adequate enough without being embroiled in any of the Britannians squabbling, as was sure to happen now that Lelouch had taken the homeland with Schneizel abroad.

Ohgi and the rest were still exercising caution, though, and to keep an open mind. While allying outright with him against Lelouch would be difficult, perhaps his aiding them in propping up Japan as a truly independent nation would be better; and perhaps in the long run they would still fight against Lelouch, should his ambitions stretch towards them once more.

It was strange that Prince Schneizel would come here personally, but perhaps he thought it would be a good way to ingratiate himself with the Black Knights. No one could deny that Lelouch had secured them a promising role as a premier fighting force, if nothing else, despite their ideologies.

Kallen cared little for Schneizel, and saw him as the cause of much of their current woes. She suspected that things would have gone quite a lot different had Schneizel not decided to reveal everything to the Black Knights. She saw the Prince as an opportunist as every other Britannian, who'd seized the opportunity to weaken and divide the Black Knights.

Whichever the case, she had definite reservations about the Prince's aims in meeting with them.

They were set to meet at the Knightmare hangar, as the Prince had informed them that he had brought with him several experimental units as an olive branch. She, and the Guren's designer, Rakshata, had scoffed at that, which was the reason why the woman had refused to come to the meeting.

Tianzi, as well as the Lady Sumeragi Kaguya, were also abstaining, for security reasons. Li Xingke was here as the former's representative, while Tohdoh would be the formal representative for the latter. Kallen greeted Xingke with a nod as they met in the corridor. Together they went into the large hangar, where many Knightmares were stored.

The Prince's delegation had arrived. Standing before them were the Black Knights who had come here early, including Tohdoh and his group, as well as Ohgi and the freedom fighters. Schneizel's entourage included some Britannians she did not recognize, but there was one she did: Diethard Reid, who had unofficially left the Black Knights.

Slimy bastard, she thought. Behind the prince's group were the Knightmare Frames they had brought, all covered in a large tarp. The others looked at it and discussed it amongst themselves eagerly, while cooler heads regarded the Prince with a wary gaze.

"I greet you once more, Black Knights," Schneizel said warmly. "It appears we have arrived at a most opportune time." He spread his hands. "After all, times are uncertain, and my Father's shadow continues to stretch over the whole world. My brother, bless his soul, will likely as not attempt to create his own shadow."

"And where do you stand in all this?" Tohdoh said. "If not to ensure that it is your own shadow that ends up triumphant after it all?"

"You mistake my ambition for my kin's, brave Tohdoh," Schneizel said. "I have already proved, time and again, in all my past dealings with both the Chinese Federation, with the EU, to have a fair and just hand, ever poised to extend the hand of mercy and understanding. Frankly, these matters of war are to me a needless expenditure. If Lelouch would only step down and renounce it all, I would be grateful. However, you and I both know that is not the case. He is a malicious man, who seeks to profit from the bones of those who support him, trampling their dreams and their wishes for his own ambition."

You're wrong, Kallen wanted to shout, but knew she would be just like a barking dog.

"You say many big words," Ohgi said. "But we should sit down and focus on concrete things. Realities. After all, Zero's not here anymore. We no longer speak in his name, but must decide as one. You'll have to convince each and every one of us that your cause is just, and not only because you bring gifts—or that you're the well-dressed Prince." She blinked at her old rebel leader. He really was sounding like a respectable man; Viletta would be proud.

"We have slain many like you, Prince Schneizel," Tohdoh said. "If you will forgive my bluntness."

"Very well. My best battlefields have always been the meeting table, after all—"

The alarms blared. A voice in her comm-device screeched. "Warning! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Squad of Knight—"

Kallen moved on autopilot, immediately stepping into action as she dashed for her Guren. Yet right before she could reach it, the far corner of the hangar exploded inward, and from the steaming flames emerged several black-colored Knightmares.

Shit! She cursed, as she was blown back from the force of the explosion. Have to get inside, before—

"Ah, Lelouch. So predictable. This one extolled your brilliant mind most of all, but it appears you can be lured in just as easily," came Schneizel's voice, yet now it sounded higher, joined by a grating, awful screeching sound that rang in her ears with every syllable. Kallen looked to the side, and caught a glimpse of the tarps being unveiled, revealing something green and monstrous—

-Then many things happened at once. Several explosions followed, then the awful sound of something like meat moving through the floor. She heard her comrades scream and shout. She looked up. The hangar was in complete chaos, but most troubling of all was the unearthly green fire that coursed through everything, igniting everything it touched. She saw one engulf an invading Knightmare, and watched it literally melt. She could almost imagine hearing the pilot's screams from within.

Move. She moved, jumping towards her Guren. She didn't know what exactly was happening, but it was far better and safer to be inside her Knightmare. She could assess the situation later. She bounded inside, immediately hitting the ignition as the cockpit sealed tight around her.

What the video feed showed her was no less pandemonium. There was also another thing—from the direction of her party she saw several shambling shapes, each as large as a Knightmare Frame. But they weren't Knightmares—they were more like walking, stumbling hunks of flesh, with green light attached to their bodies like stitches. They moved fast, charging forward to engage a Knightmare and neatly punching a hole straight through the middle, instantly killing a pilot.

The hellish, otherworldly sight was her first instinctive enemy, even over the invaders. She bounded forward, delivering a neat blast of hadron energy that sliced through two abominations. Yet they seemed unfazed despite the gaping holes in their bodies. One immediately turned around to strike her, and she was barely able to raise her Knightmare's shields to defend.

Bam!

She was punched with such force that, despite the shield holding, she was knocked backward, flying straight over the air.

"Kallen!" she heard someone say in her ear. She blinked, realizing that it was Lelouch.

"I have her, Your Majesty!" someone said, and she felt the Guren being caught by another Knightmare. It was one of the black invaders.

"Kallen, we have to leave," Lelouch's voice urged.

"What? Screw that, my comrades are still there!" she shouted back.

"They're caught up in it now, Kallen. They're a force no one can overcome yet! It'd be suicide!"

"Like hell! I'll cut through them like butter!" she snarled.

"Q-1, please!" She halted, gasping. "I can't afford to lose you. Please understand! Everything will be explained. But please retreat with us! I won't let Schneizel have you!"

Still unable to process what the hell had happened, she nodded numbly, and turned to follow her black-painted savior out of the hangar. Outside, she saw that nothing less than an Avalon-class cruiser was outside, its armaments blazing. She saw that the Shinkiro was also there, making her heart leap.

A moment later, the Lancelot came from beside her, approaching the ship with something in its arms.

"I've retrieved them, Your Majesty," said a familiar voice.

Suzaku, she thought. It was a given that the Emperor would have his "Knight of Zero" close by. She saw that he clutched in his hands some sort of platform upon which were Kaguya, Tianzi, and several others.

She turned around once more, towards the base, where all her friends were.

"Good work. We're falling back, now. C.C.'s presence will have cowed them, but we should not chance our luck. Kallen, please enter the ship dock. We'll be moving fast."

Biting her lip in regret, she nonetheless did as she was told, forming up behind Suzaku of all things towards the inner recesses of the ship.

"Give them a full salvo!" she heard Lelouch shout, before the doors closed behind her.

"What the hell is going on?" Ohgi asked, as the green fire surrounded them. The walking monstrosities, tall as Knightmares, had now returned to a formation encircling them.

A few of them had broken through the circle, like Kallen, though it was unclear if they had survived. Tohdoh was one of them, and perhaps it was only his lightning-quick reaction to the initial invaders that had prevented him from being entrapped by this inhuman threat. Then again, they might have already killed him.

Tamaki was dead, having tried unsuccessfully to defend against "Diethard Reid". Only, he knew it wasn't Diethard, not anymore.

The man's eyes were glowing the same shade of unearthly emerald as the rest of the room. Veins of that same color pulsed angrily over his bare skin, and he was covered in a sickly green aura.

It was the same thing for Schneizel, and the rest of the Britannian group. The Prince's pristine uniform was now torn and ripped, as several similar protrusions had jutted out, turning him into something more monstrous. His fair, handsome face was twisted into something pug-like and fierce, jaws dripping a green, slime-like substance.

"This is salvation, human. A righteous dawn has arrived on your miserable existences, and your weak, pathetic race shall know the bliss and wonder of our glorious forms. Not even your vaunted Emperor can stop us: not anymore. Be grateful for the new life we grant you!"

And with that, the being once known as Schneizel pointed towards Tamaki's bleeding corpse, and a green, filament-like thing emerged to wrap itself around it. Tamaki's body jerked and trembled, as a green haze suffused his entire form. A moment later, there was a blinding light; and then there, rising from the floor was Tamaki—though it was not Tamaki. The once bright and boisterous rebel had become a shambling monstrosity, eyes glowing that same blasted emerald.

"All shall be enlightened," it announced, then pointed its hand towards Ohgi.

The ship had moored itself outside Kaminejima. Yet again, Lelouch and Suzaku had returned to the infernal island. Inside the ship's operations room, the Emperor sat, his hands jetting around quickly all over the console as he received and processed reports from all over the Empire.

The others, including Kallen Kouzuki and a few other survivors from the Black Knights, sat in stunned silence, still processing the revelations that they had heard. Hard as it was to believe that such a race of other-dimensional beings existed, but the evidence had been right there before their eyes.

It was only fortunate that Kaguya and the others hadn't gone down to the hangar, or they would have been caught up in the Aetherials' vile schemes. Kallen had been more fortunate in that regard, as not even Suzaku could have saved her from the Aetherials massed there.

They were here at Kaminejima to answer C.C.'s request, as she had pressed urgently to return to the island. Apparently, it was some sort of terminal not only to C's world, but also a conduit to other sites just like it.

"I will need to interface with the rest of the terminals and force them to activate. I dare not rely on the others to enact the countermeasures, as they may still not realize the threat," she said.

"Others?" he'd asked.

"I am not the only one tasked with watching for the Aetherials," she said. "Other groups exist, in the EU, in the countries under the Federation, all keeping watch over places like Kaminejima. However, I have no contact with them—I don't even know who they are, exactly."

"What is it you're doing then?"

"By activating the terminal here and in other places, we prevent the locations from being used by the Aetherials as spawning grounds. Without the World of C's protection, they could easily rip through reality and manifest anywhere, now that they have established an anchor."

"I see."

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, there's only so much places that the terminals can cover. And it will not stop their spread, if they still manage to physically send their forces in. But it's a start, at least."

"Are there terminals at home?"

"Yes," she said. "Pendragon sits on an important one—it's why that site was chosen. I'd activated it before we left. It should be safe from Aetherials manifesting—not that it will be safe from invasion, like I said. However, I cannot say the same for the rest of the continent."

"You leave that to me," he said darkly.

In the present, Lelouch was hastily coordinating his entire military force, consolidating all of Britannia's resources into several key places deemed "safe" by C.C. The rest he had to abandon, like in the Britannian Areas outside the homeland. He gave his Geassed soldiers final orders to use improvised suicide tactics to take out as many of their enemies as they can; while he ordered all the citizens to return to the homeland on pain of death. He knew that many would not be able to make it, even with all the transports he'd sent, but that was fine.

Secret envoys were also sent to the other nations, urging them to start preparing, though he knew his word was worth nothing. If it was possible, he'd wanted a united response to this threat, but normally that would take months of diplomacy. And he didn't exactly have the most stellar of reputations.

"Lelouch."

"Yes?" he said, hastily scrambling for the connection to C.C.

"I've done it, but you're not gonna like what I'm gonna say."

"Just say it," he said.

"The conduit was able to sense huge spikes of Aetherial energy. One is here, right in Japan." That caused several heads to turn, including Suzaku's and Kallen's. "Another at Europe. And the last at the homeland."

"Pendragon?"

"No, but fairly close. Close enough that you will need to expect an assault soon."

"Damn it all! What are they even doing?"

She sighed, as if she loathed being the bearer of bad news, but knew she had to do it. "They're opening a big gate on each of those sites, to allow their brethren to enter. That means a surge of Aetherials will be coming in. I couldn't tell you how many they'll be."

He took a breath, then looked towards his fellows, who each had stricken faces just like him. "Come back to the ship, C.C. It seems we've got plenty of things to do."

C.C's prediction was correct. Over the next twenty-four hours he received reports of Aetherial sightings, at first thought by the others to be some sort of engineered Britannian weapon. That assumption was soon thrown to the wayside once the invasions began in earnest, with the Aetherials sending monstrosity after monstrosity to sweep through the cities and nations of mankind.

Lelouch's foresight had helped stem the tide in Britannia proper. Though monstrous, they were still vulnerable to conventional weaponry. And his soldiers were immune to being possessed—while they were still alive. That made their assaults on the heart of Britannia much less destructive, though he could still not muster a strong enough force to counter-attack and cut them off.

Word from the Areas was much less promising, with many falling dark after a heroic last stand by his soldiers. Other countries fell too, consumed by the green flame. There were several pockets of resistance, ostensibly those close to a terminal somehow. But still, the nations were wholly unprepared for this new menace, and Lelouch could do nothing but watch.

Ironically, his "foresight" had earned him a heroic reputation from his citizens, especially among those he'd urged to return before the chaos erupted. It was a long way from the Demon Emperor he'd wanted, but at least it was something.

By this time, he'd received the preliminary estimates from his scientists. Fully sixty percent of the world's population were said to be dead, or an Aetherial slave.

Story commissioned by theqman, thank you. A reminder that the story is commissioned.

If you'd like a story commissioned, feel free to contact me here, or on archiveofourown under "RHoldhous".