It took two hours for him to walk to that damned orange farm. One, because he didn't get a chance to consume any food and two, because the sun was beating upon him. Honestly, it felt like a desert had set its sights on burning him to death. Suzaku was one hundred percent sure that the 'live' geass was telling him to go into the nearest patch of shade and sleep for a couple thousand years. Ugh! Everyone would have gathered by now, and he would be dying from heat hundreds feet away from a tree that gave orange circles. It was going to take forever to get over there. The farm wasn't even in his line of vision. Why? Why didn't he hail a cab? Oh right. Suzaku thought that calling a cab would take too much time since one seemed to come around once an hour in that small town. Dragging his duffel bag forward, he let out a sigh and pushed himself ahead.

Just when he was really about to throw in the towel, a row of trees and a pink haired girl on a ladder came into his line of vision. "Anya!" Suzaku said joyfully and dashed towards the trees. He had been walking/running for about twenty miles now and it was would be a lie to say that he was perfectly fine. Jumping over the white fence that surrounded the orchard, he immediately dropped himself under the tree Anya was working on. It had been years since he had ever felt this tired from just plain running. "H-hey… Got any water? I went through the three bottles in my bag." His response was an orange thrown at this face. Being the person he was, Suzaku managed to snag it out of the air inches before it hit him square in the eye. Then, being the optimistic guy he was, Suzaku took it as a gift from Anya. "An orange? Thanks!" He smiled and quickly tore off the peel began eating away happily at it. Never in his life had a little orange tasted so good. "Can I have another one?" On that note, Anya stepped down from the ladder and began throwing oranges at rapid speed at him. "H-hey! Stop it!"

Quickly jumping to his feet, he either deflected, dodged, or caught every single one of them that Anya targeted him with. In the end, Suzaku ended up carrying an arm full of fruit. "Wow! That orange really gave me strenght… Say, can I eat all of these as well?!" It was just natural instinct for him to avoid whatever was being thrown at him. It was extremely strange that, even when he was so exhausted, Suzaku still had the ability to do that. He thought about it for a moment before dismissing it without a thought. They were reflexes from war. The cold scars of battle and bitter memories will never leave him, whether positive or negative. A flash of pain crossed his eyes before they returned to their shimmering bright emerald. That was the past. The Black Rebellion led by his best friend was the past. Anya's observed him with the same emotionless look that she always held.

"Suzaku. You're slower than you use to be. Lloyd and Cecile called to inform Jeremiah and I about the current situation. You honestly believe you can beat Raven so easily? Don't forget that she was one of us, no matter how weak or strong you think her abilities are. Yes, the numbers are on our side, but what has she been doing these three years? If hatred drives her forward, Raven wouldn't be sitting around waiting for you to come and stop her, Suzaku." There was still no emotion on her face as she said the words, though there was still a hint of anger and annoyance. With those words, Suzaku gently dropped all the oranges at the base of the tree and met Anya's eyes. In some way, those words were true. If Raven had been training and making herself stronger, while the rest of them sat and grew fat… it was possible for them to lose-even with Kallen, himself, Gino, and Anya. In the end, it all came down to her strength and how many people Raven has with her. If she has a team of men with her that rival her own ability, then they would have major problems.

"I understand that completely Anya, but there are stronger soldiers on our side. I have confidence in our abilities. In the case that she does have a geass, Jeremiah will be there to assist us. Believe me in, no matter what stands in our way, if we work as a team… I'm sure we can do it." The confidence in his voice betrayed his real thoughts very, very badly. After dealing with Lelouch, it was like "expect the unexpected" and no way in hell did he want that to happen with Raven. The first step to making sure everything went smoothly, was to assure others that it would. Suzaku decided to deal with the problems when they arrived. It was annoying to think about everything over and over again. It was much, much easier for him to make the plan up as he went along. Giving Anya a semi-annoyed/confident look, he sighed. "Don't worry Anya. Things will work out. They always do. Can you take me to Jeremiah now? We need him for this."

The pink haired girl hesitated for a second before nodding and turning around, "Come." He let his pace fall three steps behind her, as they navigated through the hundreds of trees that gleamed with sweet fruit. Wind pushed his hair into his eyes, before blowing it back a second after. Although the area seemed to calm and gentle, the tension between the two Knights was horrible. The pair walked in silence for ten minutes before Anya spoke again. "What if no one decides to save Lelouch? What will you do?" Shock filled his face before Suzaku stopped walking. Actually… He knew the answer already, but he didn't know Anya's opinion of Lelouch. Plus, if she did decided to tell the others, it would be a major flaw in his plan. With or without the others' support, he was going to rescue Lelouch. No one deserved what his former best friend was putting himself through. That kind of punishment… What was Lelouch thinking?

"Britannia is a democracy now. I will go allow with what the others decide, but making sure the enemy doesn't find Lelouch is a must. Personally, I don't care about what happens to him. Lelouch took everything from me and I don't owe that bastard anything." Suzaku scowled angrily to keep the facade up. It wasn't particularly hard. His hatred for Zero was quite real and nothing could erase it. But, his heart still held onto the fact that Lelouch was not Zero. The mask was a different entity from Lelouch and himself. Anya gave him this pitiful look, before continuing to walk in the direction of the white house as if she saw through his scowl. The minute she looked away, Suzaku's angry expression dropped. Ugh. It was hard to look so furious when he generally wasn't. At the current moment, he was more annoyed than anything. Anya kept throwing these questions at him that invaded his personal thoughts. Before long, a white house appeared into their view, with Orange sitting on a rocking chair reading a book.

"Jeremiah. Nice to see you again. I'm sure you've been well informed of the situation. Will you be returning to the palace with me to rescue Lelouch?" He asked as he slowly approached the older man. Suzaku watched as Jeremiah looked up from his book to frown slightly. It wasn't a look of anger, or hatred-just disappointment. A couple of moments passed before he finally spoke again, "Your Geass canceller would be very useful to use."

With those words, Jeremiah laughed lightly, "You sound so much like his majesty right now. Lelouch has made a major impression on you. Hasn't he? Making the orders instead of taking them…" Jeremiah looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "I have a question for you. If Lelouch refuses to come with you and sees you as an enemy, what will you do?" Again with the questions! These… He didn't even know the answer to himself. Why does everyone expect for him to know these right away. Couldn't he just make the decision when the times comes? If he wasted all his energy figuring out what could happen and when, it was still possible that what he predicted wouldn't happen. Then, all that time would have been for absolutely nothing! To him, it was better to spend his time training and working out. As long as he was called to battle, it would benefit him. The overanalyzing wasn't. Suzaku watched as Jeremiah set the book down to wait for his answer.

"He won't. I know Lelouch. And even though… These years… I know him. Lelouch holds hatred very well, but this isn't hatred. It's…" If it wasn't hate then what was it? Speaking truthfully, he had no idea to how think about Lelouch's feelings right now. It was extremely hard to pin it on one emotion. His old friend could have begun to hate, but it wasn't likely. Knowing Lelouch, it would be regret and shouldering the blame on himself. Though, the faces he wore could convince others differently. But now it didn't matter, Suzaku could ponder all he wanted later. At the current moment, he needed Jeremiah to simply agree to come and testify for the Zero Requiem. The faster he finished this, the better. Hoping for the best, he continued his answer, "Disappointment, frustration, sadness, heartbreak, and annoyance. But not hate. Lelouch and I could never hate each other. I hated Zero and Lelouch hate The Knight of Seven, but we never directly hated each other. We just saw things differently." Suzaku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. How many times had he lied today? Twenty? He couldn't keep up the fake confidence much longer.

"You seem to have confidence in you opinions. That's good." Jeremiah stood and smiled slowly. "Well. Anya grab your suitcase and let's go. It's about a four hour drive from the orange farm to the Palace and I'm sure we've already kept the others waiting for awhile." The man disappeared into the house with Anya, before exiting it a couple minutes later with his clothes packed. Jeremiah turned and locked the door before looking at Suzaku strangely, "Where are your things?" Then it hit him. Oops. He had forgotten all his clothes by the tree where he found Anya. It was those damn it be questions that threw him off guard.

"Heh… I left them by that tree. Y'know? The one where I saw Anya." His response was a sigh from Jeremiah and slightly annoyed look from the younger girl. "I'm sorry, here, I'll run over and get them. Turning away from them, he broke into a run and made a mental note to ask for water when he returned. Trying to remember the path, he looked for the different landmarks on trees. From afar the fruit trees looked more or less alike, but up close it was easy to spot thousands of differences between them. Suzaku matched each detail with the ones he had in his memory. Bam, he was at the place in ten minutes. Then, the first thing he noticed on his duffel bag was bird poo. Really? He had left the bag for twenty, maybe thirty minutes and there was a splatter of white on the zipper. Releasing a long sigh, Suzaku slowly picked it up and dashed back. Great. How could this already exhausting day get any worse? Oh wait. He had to spill the beans about the Zero Requiem. Hopefully that 'Live On' Geass would keep him in one piece.

He ran back. Wasting no time, Jeremiah hustled them into the car and drove.

~A crazy long drive later that almost drove Suzaku insane because Anya kept taking photos of him~

They came upon a mansion that looked like it might have belonged the Empress herself. A driveway loop was positioned in the front with a garden and fountain in the middle. Made from marble, the fountain stood proudly as the center piece, spewing out clear blue water. The flowers were all in full bloom as if they were greeting Suzaku's return. The colors ranged from white to purple. Any color of rose you could image was in the entrance garden. Flower trees created an amazing border to finish it all off. Then from the loop, a small stone path connected the mansion and driveway. A black gate with a white fence was also placed on that connecting path. Not to mention, the thirty guards that stood at attention with weapons. Yup. Zero was the hero of the world and everyone thought that he should have a "little" extra. The house itself was absolutely amazing. It was painted white and gold, with windows evenly placed on both insides. With over forty rooms, each created beautifully, it was the dream house of anyone.

Jeremiah pulled up into his (Zero's) personal Villa, before glancing back at him from the front. "I'm guessing you have your costume in that duffel bag. Get changed, they won't let us through that gate if you don't have identification. Anya close your eyes and no pictures." Suzaku flushed a light red and unzipped the duffel separating the pink haired girl and him. He watched as she nodded and turned around with her hand over her eyes. Taking out the costume, he quickly stripped (thank God for those tinted windows) and squirmed around to put on the outfit. It was probably one of the most annoying experiences in his life. Releasing a loud curse on Lelouch for having designed Zero's clothes like this, he finally place the helmet on his head. Considering how hot it was in that car, he was sweating the moment he started changing clothes. Taking the ID card from the bottom of his bag, he sighed. Along with the card that he had to show to them, there was a password that changed everyday that was sent to his phone. Because how easy would it be for some to simply make a Zero costume? Grabbing the decieve from his pocket, Suzaku quickly checked before muttering it once to himself.

Stepping out of the car, he pushed the cape behind and watched as the soldiers snapped to attention. "Master Zero. The Empress has been expecting your return. The others in the car with you, should we allow them to come in as well?" Suzaku's eyes automatically narrowed inside the mask. They just let him in without the proper identification and the password. Security needed to get it's act together. Especially since a conflict had arisen, everyone needed to be on their toes. These guards were no exception. "Is something wrong, master Zero?" They asked again after he didn't answer.

"Yes. There is. How can you prove that I'm not an imposter? Information that the Empress requested me does that mean that you can assume I am Zero. Even though the evil The Demon Emperor has been vanquished, there still is a minor threat. If anyone comes to this gate, I want identification and the password from their mouths. Is that clear?" He tossed them his card to examine before taking it back swiftly, "Green apples is the password for today. The two people will be given lodging in my home and give them their own ID cards. Tell them to wait in coffee room for now, then bring a car upfront." With those words, he swept past them and continued walking to his home. Muttering a thank you as a servant opened the door, he picked up his pace to headed to his own personal room. There were a couple things he needed before he was prepared to face the others.

Navigating through the halls, he finally reached the room. Suzaku headed straight for the false panel under the marble tile in the bathroom. A small, white safe was placed there that held his personal items. He entered the code before snatching the three items out and hiding it under his cape. His two symbols of Knighthood hung from a ring, one blue and white from beautiful Euphy, and the other gold and black from Lelouch. A scrapbook which contained many pictures of his times at the Kururugi Shine and the amazing times at Ashford with everyone. The last one was his father's pocket watch. He held it with gentle care in his hands as he walked to the coffee room where Jeremiah and Anya were waiting. He entered the room, "Let's go. It's now or never."

Jeremiah nodded and stood. As did Anya. The trio slowly walked to the car that was prepared and slid inside. Since the palace was about three miles away, they arrived within a matter of minutes. Suzaku sucked in a breath of air, his hands still full with the items he was carrying. Shifting all the items onto one arm, he pushed open the door and frowned underneath his mask. It was very possible that Kallen and Cornelia were going to kill him violently for this. Stepping out of the sleek, black car he slowly approached the main doors of the palace with Orange and Anya behind him. Once reaching a decent distance, he quickly flashed his ID card and the guards allowed him to continue. The trio's footsteps echoed through the halls as each step brought them closer to the meeting room. Stopping in front of the doors, he took in a long breath and mumbled, "Ready?"

Anya and Jeremiah both replied with a nod. With that, he pushed opened the doors into the meeting room.

Well. The automatic response was very interesting. Everyone sat straighter in their chairs when he walked into the room. Apparently even though Lelouch created Zero, everyone still respected him. Gino almost fell over when he noticed Anya. That almost made Suzaku burst out laughing. A couple of them tensed at Jeremiah, but didn't utter a word about it. Then, Schneizel simply sat there with a smirk on his face, as if he figured the entire thing out years ago. Ugh. It reminded him of Lelouch. The way the smirk looked as if it belonged on his damn face. No one moved though. The group of twenty people remained silent and wait for Zero to speak.

"Hello. Today's the day that I wish to share with you who I really am. Please stay silent and refrain from trying to kill me." Suzaku let the words sink in before he slowly raised a hand up to remove his mask. Beforehand, he asked that he cameras be shut off and that their meeting room had no windows from the outside. It would be a horrible mess if anyone else saw.

He was fully aware that it wasn't the very best way to start his speech, but if they were to trust what he had to say, it was important that his identity was known. Besides, they couldn't actually kill him. (Kudos to Lelouch. Yet again.) Placing his palm on the cool glass part of the mask, a small hissing sound was made as it slowly detached itself from him. The noise was the only thing to be heard in the entire room. Each one person had different reasons for wanting the truth: some were curious and others a theory they wanted to back up. A pit of worry and doubt filled Suzaku's stomach as he held the mask in front of his face. What if this didn't work? What if no one agreed to save Lelouch? What if… The world would crumble again because of this? How will the others react? Will they still hate him? Questions spun in his head. But it was now or never.

Closing his eyes, he dropped the mask to the floor. Raising a hand to pull off the mouth cover, he spoke, "It's been a long time hasn't it?"

AN: Hey. I'm sorry about this chapter being a bit longer and that the reactions aren't everything you wanted. It's hard to measure every characters' reactions so I plan to do that soon. There's a poll on it that I would so glad if you took.

Then there's the matter of Raven. It's been decided that she WILL have a Geass. I can promise it won't be too overpowered, but I'll open a poll for you to vote on the three powers that I'm stuck between. So that's the second poll that I would so glad if you looked at.

Thanks for reading! Pop me a review if you have the time.