I do not own Code Geass or any of Sunrise's products

The sky is blood-red, heralding the end of day and the start of night. Beneath this sky, three figures can be seen: two boys and a girl in the wheelchair. One of the boys, with curly brown hair, turns towards the other two.

"When you say "dead", are you talking about yourselves?", the boy asks.

The other boy, black-haired and wearing a look of resignation, replies, "That's not all. We might have to change our names too. We have to hide ourselves from Britannia for now. There is a chance that Nunnally and myself will be used as pawns again. I can't allow that."

The first boy stoops to sit on a nearby rock. He puts the bag which he had been carrying with him on the ground. "Are you two planning to live by yourselves?" The other gives no answer. He shifts his gaze to the girl in the wheelchair and asks, "Nunnally?"

"I'm satisfied as long as I'm with nii-sama.", the blind, blond-haired girl replies.

There is silence. If one were to look on this scene, one might assume that these three were the closest of friends. Yet there is a feeling of tension in the late summer air, of a deep-seated emotion of regretful farewells.

It is the black-haired boy who breaks the silence. "Everything's ready. The Ashfords will be arriving soon."

"You mentioned it before...that that family is your ally? But then-"

"I don't intend to trust them completely," the other interrupts. "We will just make use of them for the moment. Besides," he continues with a wry expression, "the Ashfords only regard us as insurance."

"By insurance, you mean..."

The black-haired boy looks away. "They have their own problems..."

The other boy's glance returns to the ground. "Well, I know well that you can figure it out...", he sighs.

"Yeah," the other answers in a firm voice.

Sweet little Nunnally speaks up. "What about you Suzaku-san? What are you planning to do?"

The black-haired boy shifts uneasily. "Your master, Tohdoh, wasn't that his name? Will he be the one to look after you?"

The other boy picks up a pebble from the ground. "I wasn't able to contact sensei...and Kirihara-san went to central headquarters...I think..."

"Central headquarters - you mean the Britannian's?," the boy's eyes widen, realizing the implication.

"It can't be helped," the other sighs sadly. "Kyoto has agreed to support Britannia."

"What about the Sumeragis?"

"Kaguya is the only successor left of the house."

The girl lowers her head. "Suzaku-san..." Smiling, the sitting boy mutters, "I'll be fine. Look, the situation is very dangerous right now, it's best to seek protection." He tosses aside the pebble. "After all, I'm a child of the Kururugi house." He looks at the two again.

"Is that so? I guess that's right...", the raven-haired boy mutters in turn. The other boy nods grimly. There is another silence among the three, with only the sounds of the cicadas chirping in the late summer air to be heard.

The brown-haired boy stands up and started to walk away from the other two. His current emotions were that of sadness and regret. Sadness, that their short and joyful summer was coming to a close; and regret, for the inexcusable thing he himself had done to cause it. Suzaku Kururugi struggled to find a meaning to his worthless self.(as he perceived himself to be)

"Suzaku-san." Nunnally calls out to the boy, who stops and looks back at the two. She raises her arms, "Please give me your hand."

Puzzled, the boy walks back to the two, and grasps one of Nunnally's hands. "What is it, Nunnally?," he asks hoarsely.

The blind girl firmly grasps the boy's hands with both of hers. "Please don't forget. My mother once told me, 'One day, a helping hand will reach out for you.'" The girl smiles brightly at the boy.

The feelings of sadness within the boy threatens to swallow him then, and it took all he had to stop from breaking down in tears on the spot. Instead, Suzaku gave the former Imperial princess a grateful smile. "Thank you, Nunnally," he whispers.

The girl holds the twined hands to her face. "Until we meet again, Suzaku-san."

"Yeah," the boy replies, holding his hand out to the girl's face. The girl giggles softly. The sight of the girl's joy stirs something within Suzaku. "Please take care of yourselves before then, Nunnally."

The two slowly take their leave, the black-haired boy guiding the wheelchair in a direction opposite to where Suzaku was going. Suzaku, after taking a final glance at the two, turned to stare at the setting sun framed in the horizon. He was then bitterly reminded of his country's own flag.

It's my own damn fault. It's my own fault that I'll never see them again, he thinks to himself. I'm just a useless little hindrance. Because of me, Nunnally and L-

"Suzaku."

Startled, the boy turns his head. The black-haired boy had come back, and was looking at him with a forlorn expression.

"Lelouch! What-"

"Suzaku," the boy repeats. The boy's face starts to distort, transforming its normally handsome features into an ugly expression of fury. "I will...DESTROY BRITANNIA!!" The boy shouts, surprising Suzaku. In that moment, wrathful amethyst met confused emerald, and for the two, the both of them knew, something dangerous and potent had been kindled.

The next day, after a frugal breakfast, the two former Imperial heirs, Lelouch vi Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia, headed to the place where their "benefactors" would soon be arriving at. The younger sibling, Nunnally recalled their last meeting with Suzaku yesterday, and the memory nearly brought tears to their eyes. Why must our happiness always be short-lived? she furiously thinks to herself. Her heart was filled with resentment for whatever force had made them lose all the precious happy times, but she took care not to show her inner thoughts to her brother.

"Nii-sama."

"Yes, Nunnally?" Lelouch looks down at his sister. He had been mulling over the issue that was the Ashfords, their supposed "protectors" in the troubled time, and was thinking up counter-measures should they prove uncooperative in the future.

"Our names, will we really have to change our names?"

"Yeah, we have to. It's the only way that Britannia won't be able to discover us. But don't worry, I'll still be Lelouch and you'll still be Nunnally." He pats his sister on the head.

"I see. Lamperouge...is it..."

"Don't worry, Nunnally. We don't need that filthy last name anymore. We don't want to be associated with-"

A loud, booming sound interrupts his ravings. It is the arrival of the Ashfords' aircraft. It was a curious little vehicle, more of a military jet than anything, as evidenced by the transport hub, as Lelouch surmised. Strangely however, as noted by the youth, it was not holding any sort of Britannian marking or insignia, instead there was a single symbol shaped like a bird taking flight embedded on the jet's frame.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes in suspicion, tightening his hold on his sister's wheelchair. If this was someone from his family, then-

His suspicions were confirmed when heavily armed men started to descend from the transport hub. Thinking quickly (as he had already somehow foreseen this event), he turned his sister's chair and crouched as he began to carry Nunnally on his back.

"Nii-sama, what-"

"Nunnally, we have to go, NOW! It's a trap, the Ashfords, those BASTARDS, have-"

Behind them, they heard the shouts of the men, who seemed to have identified the royals. Lelouch, holding on tightly to his sister, started to run carrying his burden back the way they had come that morning. The blood rushed to his limbs, his panic granting him the adrenaline he needed get a headstart on their pursuers.

Inside his head, Lelouch started to think nonstop on contingency plans for the aftermath of the chase, yet nothing seemed to conclude completely in his thoughts, distracted as he was by the chase. Damn those Ashfords, damn them!

Their pursuers hurried footsteps seemed to be growing closer. Barely a minute after he had started running, Lelouch was again afflicted by the curse of his weak constitution, causing him to pant heavily and his pace to gradually slow down.

Nunnally was not oblivious to this development in her brother, and she whispered, "Nii-sama, please let me down."

"NO!," Lelouch panted, sweating profusely. Nunnally could hear her brother's tachycardic heartbeat, and knew that he was almost at his limit.

"Please, nii-sama. I can take care of myself. I know that they won't hurt me...", she had started to loosen her hold on her brother's neck.

"NO! Nunnally! I...will...not..let..", he was visibly starting to slow down now, and their pursuers had already nearly closed the distance. "I...promised myself...when I faced...father...after..." He tightened his grip on his sister's legs. "I will NOT LET YOU GO!"

He seemed to have gotten a slight burst at this point, and he seemed to have picked up speed. However, the little exchange between the siblings would cost them dearly, as Lelouch could no longer pay attention to the path before him.

When he focused again, his heart seemed to threaten to drop to his stomach. There, a cordon of soldiers had established themselves, pointing their menacing weapons at them. They flanked us, I should have known! This terrain, I should have studied it better beforehand! But how was I supposed to know-

The soldiers behind had closed in on them as well, forming a semi-circular barrier around the two, yet somehow maintaining their distance. Lelouch fell to his knees, exhausted to the point of unconsciousness, and was forced to place Nunnally on the ground. He collapsed headfirst into the ground, still breathing heavily.

The girl, blind as she was, panicked, and searched around for her brother's body. Finding it, she mustered the strength to pull him close, and placed his head on her lap. "Nii-sama," she sobbed.

Lelouch, in between gasps, said, "I'm sorry...I'm so weak, so stupid..." The boy could not even find the strength to lift a hand to console his sibling.

His gaze found the masked soldiers, their rifles still trained on them. Was this a private execution? Was one of their esteemed siblings removing a possible claimant to the throne? Was the Emperor himself the one who gave the order, having finally decided to follow through on the fact that they were "dead" to him? Lelouch could only rage against this development, remembering his promise to Suzaku yesterday. Suzaku...

Suddenly , the soldiers lowered their weapons. Lelouch saw a gap form within the circle, and narrowed his eyes at the figure that walked casually through the gap.

It looked like a young boy their age, with hair blonde and long, extending down his back. It was dressed in regal robes, elegantly designed. The figure strolled casually to the siblings in the center of the circle, giving the two an appraising look.

Nunnally, hearing his footsteps, waited with apprehension. Lelouch could only glare at the "boy". The figure seemed to spend minutes looking at the two, when suddenly, he gestured to the soldiers surrounding them.

In an instant, some of the soldiers stepped forward, bringing gags and other restraining devices with them. Realizing their intent, Lelouch struggled to rise, but all he could accomplish was rising to a sitting position before he was roughly seized by strong hands and restrained.

"Who are you? LET ME GO! Nunnally!!" He struggled like a wild animal, reaching out with for his sister. His arm nearly broke from the attempt, as his limbs were forcibly bound tight by metal chains.

"Nii-sama!"

"Who are you?! If you are working for the Britannians, I'll have you know-"

"Lelouch vi Brittania." The figure suddenly spoke, regarding the youth with an impassive look. An eyebrow rose. "You are dead, are you not? Both you and your sibling. You were supposed to be dead, as the Emperor said. I am only here to collect and...make use of the unfortunate remains of his lamented spawn." He raised his hand. "Rest assured, I will be making good use of your 'corpses'."

"Mmmmppph!!!" The boy and the girl had been gagged and bound in constricting vests. The last thing Lelouch saw before he saw darkness was the boy smiling softly.

"As to who I am, well, you can call me uncle, if you wish. Though I imagine this will be the last time you will see me in this world."

Progress Notes:
The subjects have just arrived. One is uncooperative. Had to use high-grade anesthetics to pacify.
Am worried if boss will be angry for slightly spoiling his meat. Will exclude it from report.
Official report. Also, the sakuradite that Dr. Aiyme demanded all week. Also just arrived.
I believe she will be ecstatic. However, I believe euphoria will be short-lived, if Dr. Valdez is to be an indication.

Dr. F.F.P.