I don't own code geass or anything that is related to it.

Sorry for not updating sooner. I should have posted a temporary hiatus notices. I'm also sorry to say that things in my life still aren't routine enough to promise the next chapter soon. But have no fear for I will never abandon my story. And I'm sorry so few people actually liked the last chapter. Hard as I tried I couldn't make it anything more than a filler chapter. And from the lack of responses compared to my first two chapters, you all could tell. I hope this chapter is up to my better standards.

Memory

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon speak"

Chapter 4: The Soldiers of the Underworld

"I told you so," said Rolo with an air of annoyance.

"Yes, you did," was my bored response.

"I told you 'there is a fine line between crazy genius and crazy stupid.' Did I not say that?" Rolo ranted from where he was pacing near the door to my chambers.

"Rolo do try to relax. Ever sense Tohdoh and the other officers had us locked in here you haven't stopped pacing," was my calm response.

Stopping in his tracks, Rolo turned to look at me as I continued to lounge on one of the couches around the center table idly reading a book. For a brief moment I thought he was going to take my advice and sit down.

"You know, you could at least admit that you're worried. Or that this hasn't gone according to your predictions. Or you could let me in on your escape plan," Rolo pleaded. "Come on big brother, you're the one that stopped me making our escape the least you could do is tell me why… … … Would it kill you to throw me a bone?"

"You know, you don't usually get this worked up," I comment, as I try to understand why. "You're really worried about this aren't you?" I ask as I turn to look at him.

Rolo's response was to glare at me from across the room before he went back to pacing.

I can't really say that I blame Rolo for his reaction. 'He's right, this was not what I intended.' I contemplate as I recall how we became locked in this room.

…Flashback…

"Alright Zero, what's this all about?" asks Tohdoh the moment the doors to the conference room close. I make my way to the front of the room, moving between the long tables to the left and the right, and I stand before my officers. As everybody slowly takes a seat, my tension begins to rise. I'm about to tell a room full of people who celebrate being called terrorists, that I was the son of there most hated enemy.

As I look out at all of the murderous faces staring back at me I realize, ' I must have a death wish.' Resigned to my fate, I let out a heavy sigh. Slowly, I bring both of my hands up and take hold of my mask. And to the shock of all those in the room, I reveal myself.

"That's much better." I proclaim, to the utter silence that the room had fallen into. I run my left hand through my hair and place my mask on the table in front of me. I try to forestall my inevitable crucifixion for as long as possible. "Alright, I'm not really sure where to begin. So I'll just let you ask whatever questions you want and I'll answer them honestly." I tell them.

It took a moment before anybody spoke. Soon they all began whispering at once to the people sitting next to them. 'They're probably discussing what to ask me first.'

"Who are you really?" Tohdoh asked seemingly not interested in anyone else's opinion. Once again, I am faced with a very difficult choice. The same choice I had to face when Kallen was pointing a gun at me. 'Whether this situation was more or less dangerous is a question Rolo and I will probably enjoy discussing later.' But for now, I have other matters to attend too.

"That's a loaded question. My current name is Lelouch Lamperouge. I'm a student at Ashford Academy." At the word "current," Tohdoh went from simply staring at me, to almost burning a hole through my head with his eyes. Glancing at Rolo, who is located next to the door on the opposite side of the room, I try to get his opinion. If the near panicked look on his face wasn't enough of a message, slowly shaking his head was. It was clear he didn't want me to do this. 'He's right; it might be a stupid thing to do. Buts it is still the right thing to do.' Turning back to Tohdoh, I save him the trouble of having to ask me again. "But I was once called Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince of the empire, and son of Marrianne the flash… and the emperor himself." I growled out between my teeth. My parentage is a rather sore topic with me.

As if a bomb had suddenly exploded, the room became alive with voices of panic and anger. Some were calling for my life. Others were talking about holding me hostage. Some wanted to ransom me for their freedom. They seem to think I was actually worth something to the emperor. 'It must be some cruel irony, that a tyrant's own children understand what a monster he is better than his victims. Obviously, I'll have to help them understand.'

"Don't bother with a ransom or hostage situation. The emperor has absolutely NO interest in the safety of his …relations." I told them with some venom in my voice.

"Why shouldn't we ransom you?" asked Ohgi. "Your return could buy us our country back. After all, he is your fath-."

"THAT THING IS NOT MY FATHER." I roared at the entire room. My sudden declaration had stunned them all into silence. They all looked at me in utter shock. Some were even frightened enough by my outburst to fall out of their chairs. Even the normally stoic Tohdoh was staring at me with wide eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I unclench my fists and try to calm my sudden rage. I may be forced to admit that I'm the emperor's son, but I don't think I could stand to call that man my father, or even a father. Those that had gotten over my sudden outburst were staring at me confused. Obviously, I would need to explain my anger.

"You may not believe me when I tell you this. You all probably think that I am some spy or another Britannian vying for power among his siblings. But let me make one thing clear. I have nothing but contempt and resentment for the royal family." I declare with as much passion as I can, hoping that they would see the truth in my words.

"How can you expect us to believe that?" was Ohgi's angry query. "The royal family lives in luxury for their entire lives. And you stand there acting like your life is as horrid as ours have become. Do you think that we are fools?"

'It seems that I have no choice but to tell them now.' I think to myself. I had hoped to forestall admitting this part of my past for as long as possible.

"I am not, and have not been a member of the royal family for many years." I begin.

"I was born on December 5 as Lelouch vi Britannia. My parents were the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne. This made me the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. I was seventeenth in line to the Imperial throne prior to my mother's assassination, an event which left my beloved sister blind and crippled for the rest of her life." I declare, almost choking on my words at the end.

Some of the black knights began to whisper to each other. They must have been trying to figure out which sister I was talking about. As far as they knew, there was no crippled Britannian princess. But, looking across the room to where Kallen was standing next to Rolo, I could see on her face the dawning recognition. She knew that I was talking about Nunnally, but she obviously hadn't realized that to be my sister, she had to be royalty as well. 'This is painful to talk about, but I must tell them. They have a right to know everything.'

"When I was ten years old I confronted the Emperor after my mother's assassination and accused him of leaving my mother defenseless. I even went so far as to renounce my entitlement to the throne." I could see the shock plainly on all of their faces. Looking at Kallen I can see that she is just as shocked as everybody else to hear this. 'Clearly she thought that she knew everything about me. I should try to enjoy proving her wrong.' "In response, my father banished my sister and me to Japan, where we were used as political hostages in the Sakuradite conflict."

"It was during our stay at the Kururugi Household that I first met Suzaku Kururugi, with whom I did not initially treat well. But we later became friends." Surveying the room, I could see that it was Tohdoh's turn to look shocked. "However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames and decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, my sister and I became discarded as diplomatic tools. Fearing for our safety, I hid our true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were my mother's allies."

"My mother's death and my father's apparent lack of concern in regards to it were huge blows to my world views. Since then, I have felt that the situation was unfair for both my mother and sister. And for that reason, I made it my goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally. This is why I founded the black knights, so that I could create a better world where she would never suffer again." I announce with as much conviction as I could. 'I also wanted to discover the true reason for my mother's death. But that is a moot point now.' I think sourly.

Nobody spoke for a few moments after I finished. The silence was not broken until, "What the hell are you talking about?" Tamaki suddenly shouted. "We know all of the members of the Britannian royal family, and there is no crippled and blind princess named Nunnally." Tamaki finished with a self-satisfied look on his face.

'He probably thinks that he just caught me in some lie.' I think with annoyance.

Looking around, I see that some of the people in the room are again whispering, and nodding their heads at Tamaki's words. I was about to try and convince them of my honesty. But before I could even open my mouth, I was interrupted by the last person I expected to come to my defense.

"He's telling the truth." Kallen quietly declared.

As everyone turned to fix their gaze upon her, Kallen quickly became very nervous. Clearly she hadn't intended to speak when the tension in the room was quite so high, if she had intended to speak at all. And though she did little more than whisper that one sentence, it got the attention of every person in the room. Realizing that the officers of the black knights were expecting her to elaborate, Kallen appeared to gather her courage and began her explanation.

"I've met Lelouch's little sister Nunnally. She was living at the Ashford Academy with him while I was posing as a student there. I didn't know she was a princess of course and it didn't occur to me until now. But she is Lelouch's sister, she is blind, and she is in a wheelchair. So I can assure you that she does exist." Kallen concluded with a strained voice. It was rather comical to watch her give her little speech, standing stiff as a statue the whole time.

I honestly didn't anticipate anybody, even Kallen, would come to my defense. 'And from the look on her face, she most likely won't be doing that again.' I think with no small amount of humor. 'I had probably better express my gratitude.'

"Thank you Kallen. I appreciate your help." I tell her. As the focus of the room moved back to me, I look a visibly relaxing Kallen in the eye and see her nod in acknowledgement. But the tension in the room hastily returned with the next question.

"Do you honestly expect us to believe that?" Tohdoh almost growled as he rose from his seat and began to move toward me. "All this time we thought you were an enemy of Britannia that was trying to help us. Instead, you're just another royal trying to gain power at the expense of others."

Tohdoh was standing in front of me now. His voice had slowly risen as he spoke to where he was almost shouting in my face.

"Were you just using us you SPINELESS COWARD." He roared in my face as he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt.

"You know that isn't true. I'm not your enemy." I quickly try to reason with him. "Lord Kirihara himself once told you I'm a true mortal enemy of Britannia. He knew my identity and he told you to trust me. Shouldn't that…"

"ENOUGH." He shouted. I could see that he was barely keeping a hold of his rage. His voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke to me, "If you were any other man… I would kill you where you stand."

"Tohdoh wait." I quickly try to interrupt him. But I didn't act quickly enough.

"Take him to his chambers and keep him there until we decide what to do with him." Tohdoh ordered as he almost throws me into the restraining arms of two others.

'I can't let them lock me up. There is far too much they need to know.' I think desperately.

"Wait there is more that you need to know. I have information that is crucial for your survival." I tried to tell them.

"Enough, we won't hear anymore of your lies." Tohdoh says as he looks me in the eye. One look at the anger that showed on his face and I knew that he wasn't going to listen to anything that I would say.

"LET GO OF HIM." Came the abrupt shout from behind me.

Suddenly I found myself no longer restrained, the two who had me were on the ground unconscious, and Rolo with a knife in his hand was standing between me and Tohdoh.

"Can't you see that he's trying to help you?" Rolo roared at Tohdoh.

"Don't be a fool boy. He's just using you as well." Was Tohdoh's quick response.

But Rolo didn't move one inch from where he stood defending me. Realizing that he wasn't going to move, Tohdoh did the only thing that he could.

"We can't take any chances. Lock them both up." He ordered.

Realizing the reaction this would get from Rolo, A massacre of the Black Knights, I grab his shoulder and turn him to face me.

"Rolo don't." I whisper to him. "We aren't going to win their favor now. We'll have to wait for the right moment." The disbelief at my declaration was clear on his face. "They will still need our help. So we will wait and when they come looking for answers we will make them listen." I explained.

He didn't say anything in response. He just looked around us at all of the gathered Black Knights who had risen from their seats. He gave me one last worried look, and handed them the knife that he was holding.

…End Flashback…

'That was hours ago.' I ponder with some resentment. 'It doesn't matter now. Nothing to do now but sit, read, and wait for them to come to me. I had better decide what I'm going to say to them when they do come.'

But any plans about what I was going to say to the officers when they came to ask question were driven from my mind by the sound of klaxon alarms going off throughout the embassy.

…Embassy Main Gate Moments Earlier…

'Just another boring night with nothing for us to do. Why does third watch always seem to take forever?' The young man contemplated with no small amount of boredom. He and his partner stood guard at the front gate of the Chinese embassy.

'Even with Zero here, the Britannians would never attack the embassy.' The young man reasoned as he leaned back against the giant wall surrounding the Chinese Embassy.

He was just about to lose his battle with boredom induced sleep, when his drooping eyes caught sight of somebody walking toward him. The figure, only a few yards off, was shrouded in darkness. A long hooded cloak obscured all of this mystery man's features, as he moved with purposeful strides toward the guards.

"Stop right there, whoever you are." I shouted as my partner and I, suddenly feeling much more awake, stood at attention and raised our firearms. But the shadowed man (I thinks it a man, hard to tell with that cloak on) continued to move toward us.

"You're trespassing on Chinese Federation territory. Stop where you are or we'll open fire. This is your only warning." I shouted the urgency in my voice clear. 'I may hate being bored, but I don't want to liven up my night by shooting somebody.'

But to my dismay, the figure continued moving toward us without the slightest indication that he had heard my declarations. With a quick glance and nod to my partner, we bring our weapons to bear, and open fire on the cloaked man.

Our guns recoiled, fire plumed from the barrels, and bullets went rocketing through the air at the cloaked man. The man stumbled and twisted where he stood before dropping to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

I stare at the fallen man for a moment. Taking stock of what my partner and I have just done. 'We just killed him. We didn't even know who he was. We didn't even know if he was Britannian or Japanese, but we killed him. What a waste.' I think to myself.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the communicator in my ear crackles to life. "Main gate, we're getting reports of gun fire. What's going on?"

"Somebody tried to approach the front gate. We warned them not to, but he didn't liste-…" My voice tapered off at the end. I was too shocked by what I was seeing. The man on the ground, the one my partner and I had just riddled with bullets was getting up.

I was too stunned to do anything but stand where I was and gape as the cloaked man not only stood up, but began to laugh at us.

"Oh, is that the best you can do?" The cloaked man asked in a strange voice, almost like there were two people talking at the same time in perfect sync. We didn't have time to ponder this before the man seemed to fly at us and wrap his hands around both my partners and my throats. I could hear a voice coming from my earpiece, shouting at me to report what was happening. But I was unable to respond as this strange man lifted me and my partner off the ground like we were nothing.

With my hands wrapped around his wrists trying to break his grip, I look down at his hooded face. "I do hope that Lelouch puts up a better fight than you two." He says. And as I look at his shadowed face, he opens his mouth wide and begins to take a deep shuddering breath. I was perplexed as to what he was doing, until I looked into his wide-open mouth and saw something truly bizarre. Rising out of his throat is a deep purple light, almost like he had swallowed a black light. My confusion turns to horror, as the last thing my partner and I see in this world is a torrent of black flames rising from the man's throat, before he breathes them at us.

…Embassy Rear Entrance Same Time…

'Panic that's what I'm feeling. I'm about to be consumed by absolute panic, and something tremendously worse.' I think as I reflect on how we had gotten into this situation.

It had been turning into another boring third watch (or the "graveyard" watch as some preferred to call it). Boring until the distant sounds of gunfire from the other side of the embassy reached our ears.

Turning to face the massive door we had just been guarding, my partner and I were riddled with suspicion about what was going on. Pointlessly starring at the door in the futile effort to see through it and find out what was happening; my partner and I tried to communicate with the Operations Room to find out what the situation was. But we received no response.

That means that whoever is on duty in there is either ignoring us (unlikely), or they were too preoccupied with something else to bother to answer us. A far more likely scenario, one that unfortunately meant something bad was happening. Of course we became distracted from our speculations over what was happening at the front gate by our own desperate circumstance.

We were so distracted with trying to find out what was going on that we never noticed the cloaked figure stroll up behind us. We weren't even aware of his presence until it was too late.

"Something troubling you boys?" An amused voice spoke from right behind us.

We look over our shoulders to see this figure that had gotten within arm's reach of us without us even knowing it. But as we turned to face him, he raised his arms and blackness filled our vision.

I couldn't see. I could still feel the gun in my hand and hear the sound of my partner's gun hitting the ground next to me so I couldn't be dead. But I couldn't see. 'Did this guy blind me somehow?' I ask myself.

But my musing about how this could be possible was interrupted by a strangled gasp from my fellow sentry somewhere to my left. Suddenly a pain erupted from my throat. I brought my hands up to cradle it only to feel a warm liquid coating my skin, coming from a slice that hadn't been there a second ago. My throat had been slit. I keep trying to breathe but all I can take in is my own blood.

I fall to my knees; my strength is leaving me quickly. I hear the sound of my partner collapsing on the ground next to me… and then I don't hear anything from him. 'I'm going to die.' Was my final thought as I hear the sound of footsteps slowly moving away.

…Embassy Corridor…

"Your orders are to aid the guards at the front gate. Get there now."

"Yes sir, right away sir." Came my quick response to the voice coming from my earpiece. "I just wanted a quite night to relax and watch a movie. Is that so much to ask?" I say to myself as I run down the hall toward the front gate. I was one of the black knights that were freed by zero earlier today. And after rotting in a prison cell for a year I was enjoying my first hot shower and home cooked meal in all of that time. I was just about to sit down in my room and watch a movie when all hell broke loose. 'All I wanted was one night to relax. So close and yet so...'

Pulled from my thoughts, I stop in the middle of the corridor. Something strange was happening to the wall in front of me. It was making a strange crackling and bubbling sound, and it was shifting. It slowly began to pour down onto the floor, almost like it was melting. It appeared as though that was exactly what was happening sense the melted wall material was now pooling on the floor.

"What the HELL is going on here?" I ask aloud as a large hole opened in the wall in front of me.

"I think you just answered your own question." A female voice responded.

From the hole in the wall stepped a figure shrouded in a black cloak. A woman if the slim build and voice are any indication. 'She must be one of the intruders that set off the alarms.' I reason. She doesn't look particularly threatening, but given the alarms and the fact the she somehow just melted a wall I couldn't take any chances.

"Don't move a muscle lady." I shout as I bring my gun up to point at her.

"I thought gun waving guys like you were supposed to say 'freeze'." Was her sarcastic response.

"Yeah well I say move and your dead." I told her, thinking she would back down and come quietly. Instead she just laughed at me.

"And I say I'm dead, and I move." She proclaimed as she started walking toward me.

I was about to shout a final warning to her before I opened fire. But I never even got the chance to defend myself. Moving too fast for me to react, she ran right at me and placed her hands on my rifle. To my horror, my gun started melting before my eyes.

Looking at the woman's smiling face she tells me, "But you won't." and she brings her right hand up and lays it on my face.

…Lelouch…

I had risen from my seat the moment the alarms sounded. 'What's going on? There was no attack in the previous timeline. So why is this happening now?' I ask myself. 'Alright, logically as the only thing that diverges from the original course of events any changes that occur are caused, directly or indirectly, by me.' I reason with myself as I stand and turn to face Rolo.

'So what could my changes have caused? I've tried to stay as close to the time line as possible so far, so what could this be-?' I'm ripped from my thoughts as the door to the room was unexpectedly blown off its hinges. This was a huge dilemma for Rolo, who was still pacing by the door, became pinned beneath the door that collided with him, knocking him unconscious.

My first thought was to rush to his side and help him. But that thought was derailed by the appearance of three cloaked individuals walking into the room.

"Oh, did I knock to loudly? So sorry." Came the mocking declaration of the one in front. "Lelouch, how good to see you again. I was beginning to think I'd lost you."

"Do I know you?" Was the only reply I could give to that statement. I didn't know what else to say given how distracted I was by the strange double voice of this man in front of me.

"Oh you don't remember me?" The man lowered his hood and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. "You know that's just rude."

"That's not possible." Was my dazed response. "You can't be you." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That silver hair and thin pointed face belonged to only one man. "M-Mao?"

He just laughed at me. "Not exactly." In the blink of an eye I found myself hoisted off the ground and slammed into the wall behind me and Mao's (or at least this person who looks like Mao) right hand wrapped around my throat.

'He moved so fast. All I saw was a blur.'

"You know that really hurts my feelings. After all you and I became so close, in hell." As the Mao look-a-like spoke, his double voice changed. Like one voice had ceased speaking and all that was left was this deep haunting baritone voice. It's a voice that I know well. It's a voice that fills me with dread. The mere sound of frightened me so that I could feel the blood drain from my face and my heart stop.

I know who this man is now. He's haunted my nightmares ever since my resurrection. This was the demon who had tortured me and countless others in hell.

"Cordesh." I manage to whisper. To which he only laughs in my face.

"Oh not just me." He tells me his voice returning to that bizarre double voice. "I've got some old friends here to see you."

That's when the two other hooded figures walked up to stand next to Cordesh and lowered their own hoods. Up to that point, I didn't think anything could frighten me more than seeing Cordesh again.

I was wrong.

"Oh god, please no." The words had left me before I even realized I was speaking.

"Sorry dear brother. God isn't going to save you this time." Were the words of Euphemia Li Britannia.

"So true." Dread filling me, I turn to the figure on my left that had just spoken; terrified of what face I was going to see.

I'm horrified to see my brother Clovis standing there with a knife in his hand. "It's a regular family reunion, isn't it dear brother?" Says Clovis before he thrusts his knife into me.

…

Well that's it. Sorry about the long wait. I've gotten what I need from the poll, but I'll leave it up for a day after I post this chapter. So if anybody who hasn't voted has a last minute suggestion, I might consider it.

Finally, if anybody has any comments good or bad let me know. Your opinions positive or negative are what motivate me to continue. Send me reviews, until next time: Where there is doubt there is freedom.

Next Chapter: The messenger of heaven