Author's Note:
I never would've thought that the day would come that I would post this. And yet, here I am, posting my first real attempt at writing fan fiction. . .
Well, enough of the pointless rambling.
To whoever may end up reading this: Thanks for checking this out, and enjoy the prologue!

Aside from our own time line, there exist many different time lines in which history differs greatly from ours.
In most of these time lines, there would be no point in telling this story, either because we already experienced most of it ourselves, or because it was already told.
This story however is different.

In this alternate history, things have really been going well for the British Empire.
During the times of the Roman Empire, the Celtics living on the British Islands were able to keep the Romans almost completely off their land.
Several centuries later, during the early Middle Ages, an highly energetic material, which would later be known as "Sakuradite" was discovered.
In those times, it was referred to as "Philosopher's Stone".

Another few centuries later, the British were able to stop the American Revolution, in this world known as "Washington's Rebellion", by getting Benjamin Franklin on their side.
This victory was however followed by the loss of the British Islands. They were conquered by Napoleon, forcing the British Nobility to flee to the colonies, where they established their new state, known as The Holy Britannian Empire.
Napoleon meanwhile managed to bring all of Europe under French rule, under which it would remain for several decades.

This only changed when a Prussian noble named Otto von Bismarck rebelled against the French rule, and eventually completely overthrew it by uniting forces from all over Europe against the common enemy, and making use of the newly re-discovered science of Alchemy.
He then founded the Great German state in the center of Europe, as well as an union of all European - the EU, the "European Union".
Britannia meanwhile conquered all of the American continent, crushing any resistance of natives, and bringing them under their rule.
Over the years, the conflict between the The Holy Britannian Empire, the EU, and the world's third major superpower, the Chinese Federation continued, and several wars were fought between them, some major, some minor. None of these wars however upset the balance of power.
But while the EU and the Chinese Federations mostly remained within their borders, Britannia started conquering independent nations as colonies, stripping them of their names and renaming them as numbered "Areas", oppressing their citizens, treating them like second-rate humans. Any attempts at riots were quelled.

But then, in 2010 a.t.b. things started to change.
In this year, 98th emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, banished two of his own children, Lelouch and Nunally vi Britannia, to Japan, due to Lelouch calling him out on doing nothing in response to his mother's death. His mother was killed in a terrorist attack, which also left Nunally blind and crippled.
Only a few months later, Britannia invaded Japan, aiming to claim it as "Area 11". The reasons for this lay in the fact that Japan was the world's biggest resource for sakuradite, which was the main source of power for Britannia's newly developed super-weapons, the Knightmare Frames – humanoid robots, piloted by humans.
Japan was under Britannian rule in less then a month.

And filled with nothing but hatred towards his father, Lelouch vi Britannia, surviving the war, vowed to his newly-found friend, Suzaku Kururugi, son of the last Japanese Prime Minister, to destroy Britannia.
Seven years later, something happened that would further these plans.
After a series of rather unfortunate events, Lelouch was reunited with his first and best friend, Suzaku Kururugi, who had joined the Britannian army in hopes of changing the system from within.
The reunion, however, was short-lived, and not long after thei reunion each of them again thought the other was dead.

But both survived. And while Lelouch gained a power called "Geass" from a mysterious girl called C.C., which in his case allowed him to give a person any order he wanted, Suzaku was made the pilot of the experimental 7th generation Knightmare Frame, the Lancelot. While both learned that the other survived shortly after, neither of them was aware of the others new identity.
In the time following this, Lelouch took the identity of the masked freedom fighter Zero to form his own army, the Black Knights, his "Knights of Justice". Suzuku on the other hand gained the trust of the Britannian army, and eventually even became the personal knight of Area 11's sub-viceroy, Euphemia li Britannia, Lelouch's half-sister.

The battle between the Black Knights and Britannia waged back and forth, with the Black Knights steadily increasing their influence and power while avoiding any open confrontation with Britannia.
But then everything changed, when Euphemia li Britannia, after learning Zero's true identity, announced the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, an area in which Japanese would have the same rights as Britannians, and were free people.
In many possible time lines, Lelouch would end up accidentally using his Geass on Euphemia to order her to kill all the Japanese, one way or another.
This story, however, is different.

-0-

"I have an important announcement to make."

It was the day of the school festival at Ashford Academy, and so far it was a rather light-hearted and easy-going day (minus a few more serious moments) for Lelouch Lamperouge, member of Ashford's student council, and secretly Zero leader of the rebel group known as "The Order of the Black Knights", an organization fighting for Japan's freedom.
However, as he now was watching his half-sister Euphemia li Britannia standing in the hands of the third-generation Knightmare Frame Ganymede, (which was, amusingly enough, intended to be used to create the world's biggest pizza today at the festival) preparing to talk to the reporters in the crowd in front of her, Lelouch got the distinct feeling that this day was about to become a lot more serious.
Hiding behind a stand together with his younger sister Nunnally, he waited for Euphemia to continue.

"This is Deputy Viceroy Euphemia, of the Holy Britannian Empire. I have something I would like to tell all of you. I, Euphemia li Britannia, hereby declare the establishment of The Special Administrative Zone of Japan around Mount Fuji!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd exploded into chatter. The reactions within it ranged from joy to anger to outright fear in at least one case. Lelouch meanwhile was only shocked.

"What?! Britannia is acknowledging Japan's existance?" He wondered aloud, while Euphemia continued her speech.

"Within this special district of Japan, the Elevens will be returned to their true name of Japanese. All restrictions on Elevens' actions as well as special Britannian privileges will be overruled in said area. Britannian and Japanese will exist as equal!"

Realizing what she was actually meaning, Lelouch started to become enraged."Stop it, Euphy." He thought to himself. "I have thought of that already. It's just a dream. It'll never work!"

"Can you hear me, Zero? I question neither your past, nor your identity, so please, be a part of the new Japan!"

This caused murmur within the crowd.
"Zero? He shot Clovis!"
"I guess she really has a thing for Japanese, just look at her knight..."

"Zero, join me, and create a new future from within Britannia!"

"Long live Euphemia!" The people shouted in unison, now suddenly all sharing the same opinion.

However, while everybody else was cheering for Euphemia, Lelouch was simply furious, his mind racing.
"I'm done for. No matter which side I chose, the Black Knights are history! I've lost my life's pursuit. How could this have happened so easily?! So that's how you plan to take all I have, our sanctuary included?! If so, then you are truly blind and deaf. I am a masked terrorist, and you..." Euphemia, having discovered his hiding place already earlier, was now looking directly at him, a friendly expression on her face. He could almost imagine her saying to him in her usual, cheerful tone:
"Lelouch, it can be just like before!"
"No." He 'replied'.
"It can NEVER be the same, Euphemia!"

-0-

"Special Administrative Zone? Racial Equality? I'll never accept it!"
A few days had passed since Euphemia's announcement. Lelouch was together with Rivalz in the Tokyo Settlement, where they saw a Britannian nobleman hit a child that was advertising the SAZ with his cane, obviously being hurt in his pride.
"You think we're equal? Obey your elders and superiors, Eleven slime!" He shouted.

Following a sudden urge, Lelouch decided to walk up to the noble. "Indeed, that is the true goal of the Sub-Viceroy's noble plan."

"Who are you?" The nobleman asked, confused at seeing a student daring to interrupt him.

"It must feel good to look down on another as you do." Lelouch meanwhile continued, completely ignoring the noble's question.

At that point, the noble's bodyguard decided to intervene. "That's close enough, kid. Step back."

Lelouch however wasn't willing to leave this scene just yet. "You should be going home, shouldn't you?" He asked the bodyguard, making use of his Geass of Absolute Obedience.

"That's true. I'll get going then." The man answered, a barely visible red ring forming around his pupils, while he was walking off.

This only served to make the nobleman both more angry and more confused. "What?! Hey, what are you doing?! Get back here!"

"What's the matter, Mr Nobleman? It seems like you mistake an hired hand's strength for your own." Lelouch continued to lecture the noble, while activating his Geass to give another order. "You should just go off and d-" Before he could actually give the order, a sudden strong pain shot through his eye, making him clutch it. "What...? What's with my Geass?"

Before he could give it however any further thought, Rivalz entered the scene, trying to end things more peacefully. "Why don't we just leave it at that? Maybe you should apologize, dude."

"Impudent cad! I am-" The noble tried to protest, but Lelouch cut him off. "Get lost!"

Obviously having had enough, the noble followed this order, without Lelouch having to use his Geass. And while the kid that the noble had been hitting was thanking them, Lelouch started thinking.

"Suzaku... Euphy... if you could see this, would you still believe that the SAZ can solve all of our problems? You would probably both just say that people just need time to get used to the thought of equality...
But I can't let it get this far! I need the Black Knights! Zero needs to be the symbol of hope for the Japanese people! I need to destroy Britannia!"

-0-

When Lelouch finally arrived back home at Ashford Academy's student council clubhouse, Nunnally was waiting for him, as usual. Despite her ignorance of her brother's true identity, she felt that something was wrong.

"Are you worried about something?" she asked. "Euphy, perhaps? I don't want to insist on seeing her again. I don't want to cause you and Euphy any trouble..."

Lelouch however didn't answer his sister's question, and instead, asked her something himself. "Do you like Euphy?"

Nunnally's answer came without any hesitation. "Yeah. You do too, don't you?"

"Yes..." He said after a short moment of hesitation on his part, before continuing on his thoughts.
"I did. But that was before she tried to replace Zero as the symbol of hope for the Japanese. Euphemia... you won't take this away from me! Zero will become a Messiah to the people, even if it means using my Geass on you!"

-0-

EU Central Command
Berlin, Great Germany
3:45 AM, Local Time

It was an historical day. Today, on September 1st, 1962 AD, or 2017 a.t.b. if one were to go by the calendar used by the Holy Britannian Empire, said empire would do something unprecedented in its entire history: Giving the citizens of one of its areas rights equal to that of the Britannians within a special zone. For that special occasion all of the European heads of states had gathered in the EU's Central Command in Berlin, watching the ceremony life, despite the ten-hour time difference, due to which it was still night in Europe.

They all had been gathered around one long table, men and woman alike, regardless of nationality, all of them wearing suits that gave them the distinct look of politicians – except for one man, who was sitting alone at the end of the long table, the only one directly facing the screen on the other side of the room, with his one eye that wasn't covered by an eyepatch. The man was wearing the blue uniform reserved to the German members of the EU's collective military forces.

To anybody who knew a thing about the EU's military uniforms, the insignia on the man's uniform left no doubt about his rank, and by proxy, his identity. His rank was that of the Fuhrer President of the German military, which also automatically made him the head of the Great German state. His name was Bradley von Bismarck.

He stared at the screen which showed the preparations for the opening ceremony of the SAZ. There was an almost chatter between the various politicians, who discussed various things among each other, while Bismarck remained silent.

"What do you think are the Black Knights going to do about this?"

"There is no way that they would ever oppose peace like that."

"Pah, as if this princess actually means what she says! She can pretend to be a messiah as much as she wants, but I bet that in the end, she'll probably just order the soldiers to kill all the Japanese!"

"No, even Britannia wouldn't dare something like that. The Black Knights would never take that."

While however all the other heads of state knew that, no matter what would happen during the ceremony, it wouldn't require them to directly react in any way, Bismarck was even searching for a something that would require them to react.
Little did he know that he would find something.

-0-

In Area 11 meanwhile, in the stadium where the opening ceremony would be taking place, everything was ready for it to start. The stadium was filled with Japanese that had signed up for the SAZ, a G-1 Mobile Base had been parked behind the stadium, and all the officials were on the stage in front of the Mobile base, among them most of the representatives of the Kyōto House, Darlton, and Euphemia.

Everything seemed to be ready – but yet, Princess Euphemia didn't begin. Instead, she kept staring at the only empty seat left one the stage, meant for Zero.

Suddenly, murmur arose among the crowd, as a larger-than-average black and gold Knightmare Frame appeared off in the distance, flying towards the stadium, a cloaked figure standing on it.
"It's Zero!"
"Zero's here!"
"Zero!"

"You came!" Princess Euphemia whispered, visibly reliefed.

Andreas Darlton standing next to hear, however gloated in a satisfied way. "So you admit defeat, Zero..."

Once the Knightmare Frame landed on the stage, Euphemia began greeting its masked rider. "Welcome Zero, to the Special Administrative Zone of Japan!"

"Euphemia de Britannia, I wish to have a word with you once I dismount."Zero said, not addressing her greeting in any way.

She hadn't expected Zero to demand something like that. "With me?"

"Yes. With you, and alone."

After her initial moment of confusion, Euphemia decided to agree to Zero's terms, and so they both entered the G-1 Mobile Base behind the stadium, where Zero was searched with a metal detector for safety reasons. Once the man in charge of doing this gave his OK, Euphemia got ready to lead him into the room where they would have their conversation.

Suzaku Kururugi was however not willing to let her go like that, being still suspicious of Zero."Princess Euphemia, I believe it would be dangerous to be alone with him. Please, allow at least me to accompany you!"

"It'll be all right. Believe me!" she said, trying to ease his worries, before she and Zero then finally headed towards their private conversation.

In accordance with Zero's terms, Suzaku and everybody else had to wait outside of the Mobile Base, and so Suzaku found himself standing outside of it, together with a few other officials including Darlton, ready to act if something were to happen.

"What do you think Zero is talking about in there with her?" Suzaku suddenly asked, speaking to no one in particular.

"I do not know..." Darlton replied to him "but God have mercy on his soul should he actually kill Euphemia, because Cornelia will most certainly not!"This earned him a few nervous chuckles from the other officials. Suzaku however found himself to nervous to laugh, being too concerned about Euphy.

Then, all of a sudden, Suzaku got the feeling that he was hearing something from Zero's Knightmare Frame, the Gawain. He turned towards it, and immediately saw a weird green light in the shape of a young woman, resembling the girl that he had seen in Shinjuku together with Lelouch, floating outside of it – which however nobody else seemed to be able to see.

Not knowing what else to do, he simply gasped, which got him a few quizzical expressions from the other officials. Suzaku didn't care for them.

"What are you doing with Zero?" he instead asked out loud, and sure enough, the young woman that Suzaku had seen both in Shinjuku and Narita climbed out of the Knightmare Frame, placing herself in front of Suzaku.

"I- it is you!" He stuttered, unable to think of anything else to say.

Retaining a serious expression, she examined Suzaku. "Answer me this. Are you-" Before she could however finish her sentence, she fell down to her knees, clutching her forehead, which for some reason seemed to glow.

Shocked at seeing her collapse like that, Suzaku ran towards the girl, attempting to help her. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Before he could however even do as much as touch her, a series of images flowed through his mind, none of which he was able to properly recognize. Only a few seconds later, he too collapsed.

At this, some of the officials, which until now had been ignoring Kururugi and the girl, ran towards the two. "Major Kururugi! What did you do to him?!"

But just like Suzaku, they too collapsed before they could even reach the girl, who was still holding her forehead in pain.

At this point, a loud, and definitely male scream came from the Mobile Base.

Acting quickly, Darlton send a few soldiers to bring Suzaku and the knocked-out officials to the Avalon so that they could recover, before he himself headed back into the Mobile Base with two soldiers, ready to kill Zero, depending on the situation that they would find inside it.

-0-

Finally, about half an hour after she left for her private conversation with Zero, Euphemia finally returned to the podium. Zero, Darlton and the two guards following her followed only a few moments later, as if nothing noteworthy happened.
She went over to the microphone at the front of the stage, preparing to finally begin the opening, while Zero, without any comment, took a seat, the young green-haired woman accompanying him standing behind him.

Euphemia looked one last time over the crowd, and then finally began her speech.

"I'm sorry to keep you all waiting...
Now then... Japanese! Welcome to the opening of the Special Administrative Zone of Japan! In this special zone the people of Japan will hold the same rights while remaining under Britannian government. I am also especially glad to announce that Zero and the Black Knights will join us in the constru-"

At these words, Andreas Darlton suddenly rose up from his seat and marched towards Euphemia.
His scarred face was distorted with anger.

"You have got to be joking, your highness!" he shouted, wildly gesticulating with his arms.
"You are honestly collaborating with this terrorist that has killed your own brother, challenged Britannia's authority, and brought nothing but chaos and disaster over Area 11?! First you take one of these low-lives as your knight, then you decide to open this ghetto in which these numbers have rights equal to us Britannians, and now THIS?!"

He paused for a short moment, angrily shaking his head. "You've betrayed your father- no, even worse, you have betrayed Britannia itself and everything it holds dear!"

"Bu- but-" Euphemia stuttered, but before she could say anything, Darlton cut her off.

"Shut up, you brat! It is about time that somebody gets rid off you, and puts an end to this child's play!"

He drew his pistol, and before anybody could react in any way, he shot her in the center of her body.
The sound of the gunshot echoed trough the stadium. Every person in it, regardless of whether they were Britannian or Japanese, soldier or civilian, only watched in terror as Euphemia, a shocked expression on her face, collapsed. Blood started to spread across her motionless body from the wound just over her belly.

Darlton was however not finished yet. Still holding the pistol in his hand, he turned towards the crowd, and started addressing the Britannian soldiers.

"Fellow Britannians! The time has come for us to put an end to this rebellion of these conceited numbers! Now is our chance to crush the Black Knights and Zero, and put the Elevens back into their place!"

Zero however was nowhere to be seen – not that anybody cared, though. In the short silence that followed Darlton's speech, everybody had other things on their minds. The silence was finally broken when one of the royal guards on the stage raised his voice.

"He is right! It is already bad enough that we're supposed to accept numbers having the same rights as us, but working together with these terrorists that killed Prince Clovis?!"

"Yeah! Down with the traitor princess! Put these numbers back into their rightful place!" Another royal guard agreed.

One after another, the Britannian soldiers voiced their agreement, with the loudest voices coming from members of the Purist fraction. The Japanese within the stadium meanwhile started to panic, and tried to reach the exit – only for Darlton to raise his gun again, and fire it into the crowd. The soldiers followed his example, and within a few minutes, the floor was covered in blood and corpses.

It didn't take long, and the entire scene bore an heavy resemblance to the incident at Shinjuku Ghetto: All over the place, there were armed soldiers, both on foot and in their Knightmares, shooting down helpless people, which in turn tried their best to escape the carnage.

But just as in Shinjuku, a few moments later, the Black Knights arrived at the scene, coming out of their hiding place in a nearby forest, rushing towards the stadium in their Knightmare Frames. Zero had placed them there for a worst-case-scenario - a wise decision, as it now showed.

Upon hearing about the Black Knights getting directly involved into the battle, Darlton immediately send all Britannian soldiers outside the stadium – an order they gladly followed, each of them hoping to finally defeat the terrorists that had challenged their rule for so long. The surviving Japanese civilians meanwhile used this chance to escape the death trap.

Only a bit later, the stadium was almost void of any living beings, with only Zero, and another man a few meters behind, standing in the middle of the corpses.

"Sorry..." Zero murmured beneath his helmet, looking at the dead body of a little girl, no older than five years. Her eyes were closed, and blood was running over her expressionless face. "There was no other way..."

He then turned around, towards the only other living man in the stadium: Darlton.

"Andreas Darlton! You have played your role well, but now it is over. It is now time for you too to die!"Zero said in his usual, dramatic tone.

In response, Darlton only shouted "Yes, your majesty!".
Zero then shot him.
Until his death, nobody had noticed the slight red rings in Andreas Darlton's eyes.

-0-

"People of Japan! Princess Euphemia's intentions... were genuine! However, she did not realize the true nature of the nation that she was trying to change, and thus was devoured by it! She is gone!"

After the Black Knights defeated the handful of Britannians that were present in the area in and around the stadium, the surviving Japanese had returned to it. All of them were now eager listening to Zero's speech, together with their saviors.

"We however will not stand for this injustice, and thus begin our open rebellion against Britannia's rule! We will free this land and establish the United States of Japan, or die while trying to do so! Where George Washington has failed so many years ago, we, the Black Knights, shall succeed!"

The people in the stadium, Black Knights and civilians alike, cheered at these words, and started chanting Zero's name over and over again. They all were outraged after seeing Euphemia, the one Britannian official that openly cared about the Japanese, being shot by one of her own soldiers, and now were only too willing to join Zero's rebellion.

Throughout all of Area 11, the Japanese were now either listening to Zero's words, or acting according to them. Multiple riots had broken out, most of them even without the Black Knights.

In both the Chinese Federation and the Euro Universe, the recent events had spawned heated discussions on how to react to the recent events. While however the discussion between the Eunuchs in the Chinese Federation didn't really reach a conclusion, the discussion between the heads of state in the EU was slowly but steadily moving in the direction that Bradley von Bismarck wanted it to.

-0-

The instant Suzaku awoke, he realized that something was wrong. The last thing he remembered was him... trying to help the green-haired girl that was with Zero, who had suddenly dropped on her knees. But now he lay on a bed in an unfamiliar room, staring at a mechanical-looking ceiling, with his head feeling as if Arthur had bitten him repeatedly during all the time where he was unconscious.

Trying to ignore his headache, Suzaku straightened up. Looking around, he spotted Cécile, who appeared to be doing some work on a computer.

He tried to ask her what had happened, but instead of words, he only got only an exhausted groan out of his mouth. This however already seemed to be enough, seeing as she turned towards him, visibly relieved to see him conscious again.

"Ah, Suzaku! We were worried when Darlton sent you back here... thank god you're alright!"

"Here... where is here? Where are we?" He mumbled, still not completely having regained his senses.

"We are on the Avalon. Darlton didn't want you lying around unconscious when they open the SAZ, you see..." Cécile explained in her usual friendly tone.

Slowly coming a bit more to his senses, Suzaku listened. "Right, the SAZ... the opening ceremony is probably already over? What exactly was with Zero now?"

To this however, Cécile did not answer. She only stared at Suzaku, seemingly unable to think of what to say.

In an instant, Suzaku's headache was gone, replaced by a feeling of pure fear."What happened?... Did Zero do something? Is Euphy alright?!"

"You... should better see it for yourself." She said hesitantly, and moved aside from the monitor on which she had been working on earlier. It now showed what appeared to be a life broadcast from the opening ceremony. The people in the stadium seemed to be cheering, and at first Suzaku thought that Cécile had just played a dead prank on him – but then he saw the corpses, and the Black Knights among the people. And then Zero was shown.

"People of Japan! Princess Euphemia's intentions... were genuine! However, she did not realize..."

Throughout the entire speech, Suzaku didn't say a word. Once he was finished, and the broadcast stopped, he turned back towards Cécile, his previous feeling of fear having turned into one of complete horror.

"Britannia... devoured Euphemia? What does he mean by that?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"It was Darlton." Lloyd entered the room, and just like Cécile, the otherwise quirky scientist seemed to be in an unusually series mood.

"Darlton? Bu-" Suzaku tried to object, but Lloyd cut him off.

"It happened shortly after you were sent back here. Euphemia and Zero returned, and apparently had reached some sort of agreement about the Black Knights helping the construction of the SAZ. But when Euphemia properly announced that... Darlton lost it. He called her out for 'betraying Britannia' and then... he shot her. After that, he called out the soldiers for following her, and they..."

At that point, he just dropped off – but he had already said enough for Suzaku. Feeling physically and mentally more exhausted than ever, he dropped back on the bed.

"Suzaku..." Cécile started, but Lloyd shook his head, giving her a sign that made clear that she should better not say something now. After exchanging another look, the two then left the room. Before Lloyd however left, he turned around once more towards Suzaku.

"Suzaku... no matter what your going to decide now, I want that you know this. To us, it doesn't matter whether you are a Number or a Britannian. You're our colleague and our friend, and that only because you are the only one that can properly pilot the Lancelot."

Suzaku only gave him a simple nod to show that he heard him being already too deep in his on thoughts to really say anything.

Darlton... he was the first one to applaud for Suzaku during the ceremony in which he was instated as Euphemia's knight – the first one after Lloyd that is. Why did he do that, if now he just shot her? Did he hope that she was still "redeemable", if they would give her what she wants for now? Was his hatred for Numbers really that much stronger than his loyalty to both Euphemia and Cornelia? But that didn't make sense... he himself had said that anybody who would harm Euphemia would have to be insane in provoking Cornelia's wrath like that.
And the soldiers... why would they attack Japanese just like that, after a princess had gone so far to assure equal rights between Japanese and Britannians? Did his belief in the emperor's philosophy really run that deep? Was it even possible to change Britannia from within?

"This is useless..." Suzaku mumbled to himself. "It's not like somebody is going to show up who is going to answer me any of these questions..."

However, as if to make fun of him, a monotone voice suddenly replied to him.

"You are right, Suzaku Kururugi. I may not be able to give you answers to whatever questions are on your mind right now, but I am able to give you some other answers."

Suzaku sat up as quickly as possible and looked around. Standing in the middle of the room was a kid, roughly ten years old, with hair longer than its body. While going by looks alone, it was almost impossible for Suzaku to figure out of what gender the kid was, the voice that he heard before sounded distinctively male.

His curiosity outweighing his uncertainty, Suzaku decided to talk to the boy. "Who are you? And what are these answers that you speak of?" He asked.

The boy gave him a little smile while otherwise keeping up his stoic behavior. "My name is of no importance now. As for my role... you could say that I work as an agent of sorts for his majesty, the Emperor. My answers meanwhile are all about one person: Zero."

"Zero? What could you possibly tell me about him?" Suzaku questioned, his curiosity growing.

"Don't you too wonder about all the miracles that Zero was able to perform? How the loyal member of the Purist Fraction, Jeremiah Gottwald, handed you over to him, just like that? Or how an otherwise obedient soldiers such as you suddenly only cared about saving his own life, when it was threatened along with Zero's life on Shikine? Or... how Andreas Darlton just shot Princess Euphemia during the opening ceremony of the SAZ?"

At that point, the boy made a short dramatic pause too seemingly enjoy Suzaku's shocked expression, who now finally started putting the pieces together.

"To all this" the boy continued, somehow managing to act overly dramatic despite his stoic manner "there is only one answer: Geass."

"Ge... ass?" Suzaku repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes, that is what I just said. There is no need for you to repeat it." The boy confirmed sarcastically.
"Geass is a power that manifests itself differently in each person. In every case however, it is something that only affects other human beings. And in Zero's case... it seems like he has the Power of Absolute Obedience, which allows him to force others to follow each of his commands.
This is the truth that lies behind his miracles..."

And without any indication, the boy simply turned around and attempted to leave the room. Suzaku however still wanted to hear more. He tried to get up and grab the boy before he left the room – but he was to late, and before Suzaku got up, the boy had already left the room. The Lancelot's pilot ran after him, into the hallway – but when he got there, the long hallway was completely empty, with no sign of the boy to be found.

Confused, Suzaku went back into his room, and sat down on the bed once more, again sinking into his thoughts.

Geass...he thought. That would be a good explanation for all the "miracles" that Zero was able to perform... but still. If Zero wants me on his side so badly, then why did he use this "Geass" to curse me to "Live" when he could just as well use it on me to force me switch sides?
...That would mean that Zero either still holds the free will high enough to not just use this power on his potential allies, or that he cares for me personally enough than to use it on me - or both.
But aside from Lloyd and Cécile, and the Ashford Student Council, there's no one that would care for me enough... the former two couldn't possibly be Zero, and among the latter -
He immediately stopped his thoughts as he realized, what the implications of that what he just thought were.
No. No. NO. I've suspected this before, but there's no way it can be like that. There's no way that can be. There's no way that HE can be Zero. I won't accept it! But... it's the only logical solution... all those times when he was away from school... all those times when we just thought that he was out gambling... and wasn't he always away at the same time when I was fighting the Black Knights with Lancelot? And wasn't he the only one who could've known what I did to my father?
But... that also means that he is responsible for Euphy's death. Or... is he? There's no way in hell that he would ever harm Euphy... I could understand Cornelia, but not Euphy.
I guess there is no other way than to find him, and get the truth out of him. I must find Zero! I must see for myself if this "Geass" is real and whether he really is -

-0-

September 1st, 2017 a.t.b.
11:50 PM
Britannian Air Fleet Battleship Avalon

Suzaku prepared himself. Only a few minutes ago, Zero and the Black Knights, who were currently waiting just outside the outskirts Tokyo Settlement had given an ultimatum to the Britannian government under Cornelia to surrender before midnight. It was obvious that Cornelia wouldn't even think about surrendering, despite having lost Euphy only a few hours ago to her own countrymen, and as such, Suzaku prepared himself to join the battle in the Lancelot.
He would tear through every single member of the Black Knights to get to Zero if necessary, and then force the truth about what happened to Euphemia out of him.

But at the same time, he was still doubt-ridden because of the information that the long-haired boy had given him. And as such, he decided to now go for the easiest solution before moving out, and called Lelouch on his mobile.

After a few painful seconds in which Suzaku still hoped that Lelouch would not answer, he finally heard the voice of his friend. "Suzaku, what is it?"

Not having properly thought through what he would say to him, Suzaku hesitated for a short moment before he replied in a slightly hoarse tone.

"Hey, Lelouch... say, do you know the feeling of being unable to trust absolutely everyone around you? As if really everybody around you could be secretly working against you, without them even realizing it?"

To this, Lelouch gave out a small chuckle. "You're talking to a man who has lived seven years of his life so far trying to hide himself from Britannia all the time. Shouldn't the answer be obvious?"

"Right, I forgot... Lelouch, will you answer me another question?"

"Well, that depends on the question."

"Are you Zero?"

Suzaku could hear Lelouch gasp. Whatever his friend had been expecting to hear, this was most definitely not it. Shocked by the bluntness of the question, it took Lelouch a moment to answer.

"That... you will have to find out yourself." The exiled Britannian prince finally answered, before hanging up, not even waiting for what Suzaku might have to say to that.

The Lancelot's pilot was however satisfied enough with the answers that he got. Putting his cellphone aside, he headed for his Knightmare Frame, now even more determined than before to find Zero.

"Don't worry, Leloch" he said to himself. "I will find it out."

-0-

The mood in the Ashford Academy Student Council building was more than depressed. Ever since Princess Euphemia had been shot at the opening ceremony of the SAZ, the members of the Student Council had all been gathered in the same room, following all possible media for news on the Black Rebellion. The Student Council was however far from complete – nobody exactly knew where Lelouch or Kallen were; Suzaku was, being Euphemia's knight, obviously busy right now, and Nina had, after hearing about what had happened at the opening ceremony, locked herself in the Academy's warehouse.
Due to this, only Milly, Rivalz, Shirley and Nunnally were present, all of them being deeply worried about the others, and eager to hear anything new about the Black Rebellion.

But the news that they did get weren't good. Due to another one of Zero's miracles, the Black Knights were quickly advancing through Tokyo, with almost no one standing in their way. At this very moment, they had taken over the TV stations, interrupting all broadcasts, and instead showing the Black Knight's symbol on all channels.

"Now all the television stations have been taken over as well..." Milly muttered. Just like everybody else, she realized the graveness of the situation, and acted accordingly.

Their situation was however going to take another turn for the worse, as just now, the door opened, and three members of the Black Knights stormed in.

"Hands behind your heads! This school is now under command of the Order of the Black Knights!" the apparent leader of the small group shouted, a brown-haired loudmouth with a red headband, who for some reason didn't deem it as necessary to wear the Black Knights standard cap-mask.

Rivalz, who saw this as an opportunity to win Milly over for him, moved in front of her and the others. "Put your gun down!"

The loudmouth, however, did not seem all too willing to cooperate. "Just who the hell do you think you are, making demands like that?!"

"Rivalz! What do you think you're doing?" Milly whispered to him in a warning tone.

"Just let me act cool here for once!" He whispered back, before speaking out loud towards the loudmouth again. "I'll protect everyone!"

Hearing that, the loudmouth only laughed. "Is that so? Then let's see you try!" He shouted, raising his gun above his head, preparing to hit Rivalz to it.

Before he could however finish his attack, a very familiar, metallic-sounding voice echoed through the room. A masked figure wearing a cloak entered, together with a red haired woman, who was wearing the standard Black Knights mask-cap.

"Stop it, Tamaki! It told you not to resort to violence!"

Taken aback, the loudmouth that Zero had called "Tamaki" began to stutter. "B-But! You said that you wanted to turn this into a command center..."

Milly couldn't believe her ears. "Command Center!..."

Zero turned towards her and the rest of the student council, now addressing them. "This school shall be used by the Order of the Black Knights. We shall run it as our command center."

Acting as the voice of the Student Council, Milly took over the task of speaking to Zero. "We cannot say no, right?"

"I can guarantee the safety of all of you."The masked revolutionary tried to reassure them.

Rivalz however didn't buy it. "Who'll believe that?! Your in a war. A war with our Britannia!"

Before Zero could however reply to that, the red-haired woman stepped forth, taking her mask-cap off. The face under it was just all too familiar to the members of the Student Council. "Kallen?!" Rivalz shouted.

"Rivalz, please..." Kallen said in a reassuring tone. "Do as he says. He will keep his word."

Rivalz however, still wasn't convinced. "Like I'd be able to believe that! You all hate Britannia! Who guarantees us that he -" He pointed at Zero " - will not just order to kill as all off should the Black Knights begin to lose the battle?!"

"You really are concerned for the safety of your friends, aren't you? Well, if you don't believe me..." Zero looked around in the room, until he seemed to notice Nunnally at the far end of the room. "Yes... perhaps you will believe her."

He took a few steps towards the girl in the wheelchair, before suddenly stopping dead in his tracks, as if he had changed his mind about whatever he was planning. He then turned back towards Kallen. "Kallen, accompany me. You other three, make sure that these students don't look in this direction, and don't look yourself, either."

Confused, Kallen, Tamaki and the other two Black Knights did as they were ordered, and so, together with Kallen, Zero walked up to Nunnally, and kneeled before her wheelchair.

Then, to the great surprise of Kallen, he took of his mask, revealing Lelouch's face underneath it. He was covering his left eye with his hand. While Kallen let out a small gasp of disbelief, Lelouch took Nunnally's hand. "It's me, Nunnally. Don't worry. I will make sure that absolutely nothing happens to either you or the others."

"Big brother..." she whispered. "...Why?"

Lelouch let out a sigh. "I will explain it to you, once this all is over. Until then, please help me make the others cooperate."

He then turned towards Kallen. "The same holds true for you... when you want to stay with me, that is. If you want to leave now, I won't stop you."

Kallen looked down on the man that she would have never expected to see behind Zero's mask for a moment, before she replied. "You sure picked a great moment to show your face to me... like I could leave now, that we're this close to winning!"

Lelouch smiled while he put his mask back on, before standing up. He then turned back towards the other side of the room, where the members of the Student Council as well as Tamaki and the other two Black Knights were standing.

"I think that should clear this situation. You can turn around again." He said.

And while they all turned towards Zero, Kallen and Nunnally, the last one out of the three raised her voice. "He isn't lying." She said. "No matter what happens, neither he nor the Black Knights will harm us."

At that moment, another Black Knight rushed in. "Zero!" He shouted. "Lancelot-"

"Ah... he finally came!" Zero said, obviously satisfied.

While he however made his way out of the room, Shirley, who until now had remained completely silent, spoke up, her voice shaking. "Lelouch... this is you, isn't it?"

For a short moment, Zero stopped. "I... have no idea what you're talking about." He said without turning around, before leaving the room.

-0-

"You filth! You want to take hostages?! What kind of one on one battle is this?!"

Suzaku was furious. Ever since he left the Avalon, he had been tearing through the Black Knight's lines in Tokyo, all with only one goal: To find Zero, and force him to take off his mask.

When he finally found Zero, the masked terrorist had offered him an one-on-one fight, to settle their differences once and for all. As it however turned out, Zero wanted to have their battle take place above Ashford Academy, where both of them were currently hovering, Suzaku in his Lancelot, and Zero in the stolen Gawain. This would put Suzaku at a severe disadvantage, since he didn't want to hurt any of his friends at the academy.

But if Zero really is Lelouch, then he'd never hurt them, either, especially not when Nunnally' is there... or would he?

"You'll have to understand the difference between our situations, Suzaku Kururugi. If you are to kill me now, then my entire rebellion will most likely fail. However, if you were to die here, it would make no big difference in the Britannian's forces for victory. As such, it is only natural for me to make sure that you will act with care in our fight."

Suzaku didn't even bother replying to that, and instead tried to think of a strategy to overwhelm Zero before he would even get a chance to do anything that might threaten those in the Academy.

I will try entering lower aerial space, and then suddenly getting close...

Without a warning, the Lancelot fell for a few feet until it and the Gawain were at the same level, and then sped towards the larger Knightmare Frame, attempting to punch him.

Zero however was able to react quickly enough, and evaded the attack by dropping himself just above the ground, apparently trying to confuse Suzaku by hiding himself among the trees in the Academy's garden.

Suzaku followed him to the ground, trying to hit the Gawain with one of his trademark spinkicks. While the Gawain was still pulling back, it didn't seem like it would be able to evade the attack this time around. Suzaku got ready to follow up with another attack...

...when, without a warning, the Lancelot completely shut down. The last thing that Suzaku could see over the Lancelot's monitor was an all to familiar green shine. "This is... a Gefjun Disturber?!"

With nothing else left that he could, Suzaku now began shouting over the open channel of his radio. "Zero! Until the end, you're nothing but a liar!"

Zero however was already flying off. "I have neither the skill as pilot, nor the time to put up with you. Goodbye, Suzaku Kururugi. I promise you, the next time that we meet, Japan will already be free."

-0-

Only a few minutes later, the oversized Knightmare Frame Gawain landed on the garden on top of the Viceroy's Palace in Tokyo Settlement. It was a surprisingly peaceful garden, designed by Prince Clovis himself after the garden of Aries Palace in Pendragon.

Cornelia however, who was hiding among the trees in her Gloucester, had no eyes for the garden surrounding her, and instead only focused on Zero's Knightmare Frame in front of her. Ever since she had seen Darlton shooting Euphemia on the broadcast, she had been seized by madness and anger – anger which she was about to let Zero feel.

It was due to him and the Black Knights that Darlton had shot Euphemia... Darlton was still missing, so it was only likely that Zero had already disposed of him before Cornelia had gotten the chance to get her revenge on him. Now there was only Zero, the reason as to why he shot Euphemia in the first place.

The moment that the Gawain's feet touched ground, she revealed her presence by shouting over the open channel of her radio. "Welcome, Zero. You really were lured here by the report of the aerial strike... Now... it is time for the dance! Do you like to dance?"

It was taken every bit of willpower that she had to not just start attacking Zero. Euphemia was gone, and she would make sure that someone would PAY for it. Anyone who would have heard her and was still by his senses would have tried to get away from her as quickly as possible, but Zero remained where he was, not even giving any sign that he heard her. Cornelia couldn't however have cared less for that.

"Revenge... for Euphy!" She shouted, her voice full of madness, and dashed faster than it normally should have been possible her Knightmare Frame towards Zero's Gawain, her lance held out in front of her to stab him.

Trying to evade her attack, Zero pulled back, which earned him taunting laughter from Cornelia. "What's wrong, Zero?!"

And just now, Zero started talking. Despite Cornelia clearly outmatching him despite her overall inferior Knightmare Frame, he still remained calm while speaking over the open channel. "This frame is clearly better suited for just overwhelming ones enemy..."

And with that, the Gawain reactivated its flight system, bringing itself a few meters above the ground.

Cornelia, however, was prepared for that. Shouting "Weak bastard!", she fired of her Gloucester's slash harkens, grappling the Gawain. Using the slash harkens to pull herself up, she then jumped onto the larger Knightmare Frame, sending it falling to the ground again.

"I caught you! Your life is now in my hands!" Cornelia gloated. She would make sure to enjoy every second of her revenge...

To make sure that the Gawain would no longer be a threat after its impact, she then destroyed the feared Hadron Cannons on its shoulders before jumping off it again, landing just a few meters in front of it.

Holding her lance in front of the Gawain's cockpit, then spoke over the radio to Zero. "You have exactly one minute to get out of that Frame of yours. If you're not out of it by then, I will simply stab you."

Just a few seconds before her ultimatum ran out, the Gawain's cockpit opened, and out of it climbed the one man that Cornelia had been hunting for the past few months: The revolutionary Zero, leader of the Black Knights.

"Put your hands where I can see them, and don't try anything funny while I climb out now!" Cornelia warned him over the speaker.

While Zero did as he was ordered, Cornelia got out of her Gloucester, keeping a gun pointed at Zero at all the time, until she stood right in front of him. "And now... take off your mask! I want to see the face of the people that I am going to kill for Euphy."

Despite the dangerous situation that he was in, Zero remained calm, and started removing his mask, just as Cornelia ordered him. "As you wish... sister."

Standing on front of her, covering his left eye, was her younger half-brother, whom she had believed dead seven years ago in Britannia's war against Japan: Lelouch vi Britannia.

Cornelia stared at him for a moment, before then breaking out into hysterical laughter. "Of course, of course! The hatred you must feel for Britannia... it all makes sense! You are doing this for Nunnally, aren't you?"

Unimpressed with her outburst, Lelouch kept looking at his older half-sister, a for his situation unfittingly conceited expression on his face. "Yes. I will destroy this world, and rebuild a kinder, gentler world in its place, where Nunnally can live in peace, without having to be afraid of Britannia."

Cornelia only continued to laugh. "Do you really think that you are in a situation to throw out claims like this? It is as I said: Your life is in my hands. Without you, the Black Knights will not be able to win this fight. And don't believe that just because you're my brother, that I'm going to forgive you... no, for causing Euphemia's death, you will pay... you will pay dearly."

But still, Lelouch remained calm. "Believe me, neither my situation, nor the situation of the Black Knights is as bad as it may appear to you. But enough of this. You know what I want to hear about."

"It seems like you still don't quite realize what situation you are in. It is my decision whether you live or die now – you shouldn't be making demands." Cornelia replied, regaining at least some of her composure. "But alright – let's talk about your mother's, Marianne vi Britannia's death."

At the mention of this name, Lelouch's eyes narrowed for a moment, but he didn't say anything out loud.

"I don't know who killed your mother. On the day where she was assassinated, Lady Marianne gave me specific orders to lift the security in and around Aries Palace, without giving me any reasoning for it. I tried to investigate what exactly happened on this day – to make up for my bad conscious about not being able to save you and Nunnally during the war with Japan" - Lelouch's eyes widened, and he let out a gasp - "but all that I was able to find out was that our father, the Emperor himself covered up the incident, and Schneizel removed any remaining evidence, including her body. If anybody knows what happened that day, then it would be one of those two."

Completely overwhelmed by the information he just received, Lelouch could do little more than stare at his half-sister with widened eyes. It was obvious to her that he didn't expect anything of that what he just heard. Cornelia patiently waited for him to calm down, when a female voice came from the Gawain's speakers. "Lelouch! Get out of there! Your sister has been kidnapped!"

Lelouch quickly looked back and forth between Cornelia and the Gawain, and then removed his hand from his left eye, revealing a blazing bird-like symbol in it. "Drop your weapon and let me go!"

Having no choice but to follow his Geass order, Cornelia threw away her gun. "Understood."

Before however canceling the use of his Geass on Cornelia, Lelouch hesitated for a moment, and then gave her one more order. "Answer me this: What you just said... was that true?"

"It is true." Cornelia said, still keeping her Geass-induced dull expression.

Lelouch stared at her for a few more seconds, before then finally turning around, and running back towards the Gawain.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that..." He said to C.C., before both of them flew away with the Gawain, an insane Jeremiah Gottwald, who suddenly appeared in a big battleship shaped like a spiked orange, following them to get his revenge on Zero.

-0-

Suzaku and Kallen arrived on Kaminejama only a few minutes apart from each other.

Suzaku had been saved from Zero's Gefjun Disturber trap by Lloyd and Cécile, who had shown up at Ashford Academy with the Avalon and a Knightmare Frame consisting of spare parts for the Lancelot. The two had quickly repaired all damages done to his Knightmare, before telling him to go after Zero.
After leaving Ashford, Princess Cornelia had ordered him to the top of the Viceroy's Palace, where she made him an official knight of Britannia, and gave him the task of hunting down Zero, knowing that his Lancelot was the only Knightmare Frame capable of flight that was suited for the job. She also told him that he would find Zero on Kaminejama, and made some remarks about Zero's true identity, talking about him as "her brother".
While this further increased Suzaku's doubts, he still tried to reject the thought that Zero was who he thought he was.

Meanwhile, Kallen had been given the task to find and bring back Zero by Ohgi, after the former had left the control of the Black Knights to Kyoshiro Tohdoh and Diethard Ried.
Taking the aerial equipment of the Black Knight's reinforcement squad, she then simply followed the Lancelot with her Guren in a safe distance, until she too arrived on Kaminejama.
Kallen, like every other member of the Black Knight knew that they would need Zero to win the Black Rebellion, and therefore she gladly took the task, despite still being in an emotional turmoil after learning that Lelouch is Zero.

The sun was already rising as Suzaku entered the cave, the single most peculiar place on the island. At the end of the cave, he could see Zero, who was examining the symbols on the wall, as if trying to find a way to get through it.

Suzaku shot the wall just next to Zero to make him aware of his presence. "Seems like you couldn't keep your promise. Japan isn't free. And now turn around. Slowly."

The masked revolutionary didn't move. "Didn't you hear me, Zero? I'm telling you to face me."

Finally, Zero turned around. "Andreas Darlton slaughtered your people and shot your Princess! Without having to do much, he convinced the soldiers to turn against the SAZ, and yet you still fight for Bri-"

Having heard enough, Suzaku cut him off. "Geass sure is an useful power. You force your will onto others, hide yourself in the dark, and have others take the responsibility for your crimes. Traitorous and manipulating, that is what you are." He then turned around towards Kallen, who was right now running into the cave.

"Kallen, don't you too wish to know Zero's true identity?"

This left Kallen unimpressed. "I already know his true identity. I am only here to bring him back to Japan, so that we can win!"

"Hm. Well, I still wish to know this." Suzaku said, a little taken aback that Kallen already knew Zero's identity.

Zero meanwhile seemed to have accepted his situation, and reached up to his mask. "All right Suzaku, if you want to see my face that badly, then I guess I can oblige you."

And for the third time this night already, Zero removed his mask, revealing Lelouch's face underneath it – only this time, he didn't even bother to cover his left eye, leaving his Geass clearly visible.

Seeing that what he had feared for several hours turn out to be true, Suzaku now became almost eerily serene. "Until now, I tried to deny that it was possible... tried to deny that it was true... I really should have known better. You lied. You lied to me, you lied to Euphy, you even lied to Nunnally!"

The mention of Nunnally finally caused Lelouch to lose his calm, shaking him visibly. "Nunnally... Suzaku, please, let us not fight now! Whoever told you about Geass – he has kidnapped Nunnally, and is now behind this door! Please, just for now, let us work together to save her together!"

Now Suzaku was losing his serene mood as well, his anger rising. "I can still save Nunnally myself after I have dealt with you! For killing Euphy, you! Will! Pay!"

What however came after this left Suzaku surprised. Instead of becoming enraged himself, Lelouch started laughing. "Ha! Suzaku you fool, do you honestly believe that I would go as far as killing my own half-sister if it could be avoided?"

Unable to believe his own ears, Suzaku stumbled backwards a bit. "Wha- What are you saying?!"

A wide grin spreading across his face, Lelouch spread his arms, using this opportunity to act up. "Isn't that obvious? Euphemia... is alive!"

Suzaku was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth a few times as if to say something, but closed it already shortly after, each time without saying something. Kallen was also surprised, but not to the same extent as Suzaku was.

After a few minutes of silence, Suzaku seemed to have finally regained his speech. "You-" He started, only to immediately cut himself off again. He turned towards the entrance of the cave, as if he had seen or heard something. Lelouch and Kallen followed suit shortly after, as they too realized that something was going on there.

Steps could be heard from the entrance of the cave, and two figures appeared, the rising sun behind them making it impossible to recognize their features.
"Well, whaddya know, bro..." The one figure seemed to be saying. "We were sent here to simply find Zero, and now we not only find him, but we also get to see who's behind the mask!"

-0-

In the moment that under other circumstances would have led to his and the Black Knight's greatest defeat, changes happen, changes that might allow Lelouch to still claim victory.
But what will the intruders from the EU's military do? What will Lelouch do about them?
Next time, Code Geass: The Alchemists of the EU: Unerwartete Einmischung
Are they the kind of ally that he needs?

Author's Note:
And that concludes the Prologue. As you might (or rather, should) have noticed, the actual "Crossover" aspect of this chapter is quite minimal. The reason for this is the simple fact that I want to get the Code Geass part of the story out of the "Stations of Canon" as TV Tropes calls it as quickly as possible, while also properly setting up the premise.
The other thing you'll notice is that I deliberately renamed King Bradley to "Bradley von Bismarck". The reasoning behind this is also quite simple: In this setting, Germany is basically Amestris, a place where you are not very likely to run into somebody with "King" as their first name. That, and his origins are - as you will see - different from canon.
Now, lastly, the biggest question that anybody reading this might have: Is this a crossover with the 2003 anime of FMA, or the manga? Well, I am sorry that I have to say this, but. . . I'm not telling. Yet. Just wait and read on, and you'll eventually see.