Here is the first chapter of my attempt at a Code Geass fanfic. Please bear in mind that the first couple of chapters will be near copies of the actual show, with only slight modifications to the plot occurring at first. There are also some minor changes to the settings, but nothing incredibly big. Please write a review with any comments or concerns. Thanks, and enjoy.

1 - Awaken

"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Ascension Throne Britannia (A.T.B.) 2010

The palatial iron doors swung open with a resounding bang. As the youthful boy strode into the vast hall, the royal crier identified the child to the gathered nobles. "Announcing Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, seventeenth heir to the Royal Britannian Imperial Throne!"

As he walked down the regal red carpet, the ten year-old heard whispers from the various aristocrats that stood scattered about the room. His ears picked out various rumors and hints of the events that had brought him to where he was. In spite of the pestilential background noise, he kept his eyes straight forwards. He wasn't there to discuss politics with some pompous nobles, but to attend to business.

"Hail Your Majesty!" said the boy, his youthful voice making the sophisticated vocabulary sound odd. "My mother, the empress, is dead!"

"Old news. What of it?" The crowned sovereign of the Holy Britannian Empire responded boredly.

The boy stared in disbelief. "What of it?!"

The emperor glared. "You sought audience with the Emperor of Britannia simply to inform me of that?" He then turned to his appointment manager standing off to the side. "Send the next one in. I have no time for these childish games!"

The boy abandoned his stoic attitude. "Father!" he yelled as he ran up half of the steps that led to the throne.

Two imperial bodyguards rushed to intercept the youth, but the enthroned monarch raised his hand to wave them off.

The soldiers stopped immediately. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The boy cried out in anguish. "Why didn't you keep Mother out of harm's way?! You're the emperor! The greatest man in this nation, if not the world! You should have protected her, and now you don't even visit Nunnally!"

"I have no use for that weakling!"

The prince blanched. "That... Weakling?"

"That is what it means to be royalty!"

The boy, Lelouch, shook with scarcely contained rage. "... Then I don't want to be your heir... I give up my claim to the throne!"

Gasps and murmurs echoed throughout the chamber. Surely the prince didn't just renounce his inheritance to the most important position in the world?

There was a tentative atmosphere as the potentate coldly regarded the boy before him. After fifteen seconds, he scoffed. "You think that this is a matter open for contention? You believe could give up your birthright that easily?" He chuckled haughtily. "It isn't my fault that your mother is dead, and your sister is crippled! They were weak! And yet you think that by trying to revoke your very bloodline, by defying the stamp on your back, you would be achieving something?"

He rose, a rare act for the absolute monarch. "I shall tell you now." His booming voice echoed throughout the imperial court. "You are and always will be Lelouch vi Britannia, and I will not allow you to abandon your princehood like some spoiled child! You can run as far as you like, but you will never be free of the royal blood of the empire pumping through your veins! There will come the day when you will face this fact, this absolute truth, but for now, leave my sight!"

A.T.B. 2017

Lelouch Lamperouge stared out the open window into the blue firmament. His mind drifted aimlessly as class dragged onwards for all of eternity and then some. The teacher's lecture had slowly faded until it was just another muffled part of the din that went on around him. Ideally, he would have remained in such a state until the end of class, but he was dragged (kicking and screaming) back to reality by a sharp poke at his back. His body jerked upright from his slouched position. "Hm?"

A hushed voice hissed at him. "Lulu! Pay attention!"

He sighed. Of course. It was Shirley. "Why should I? It's all pointless information. There's nothing to gain from it."

Shirley scowled at him. "Of course this is import-!"

"Lelouch! Shirley! Save it for after class!" Their teacher frowned.

"Yes, sir." They spoke in unison.

Twenty minutes later, lunch session began. Shirley packed her things quickly, but Lelouch had left as soon as the bell tone played over the speakers. After searching for him in the spots he frequented throughout the school, she asked around and was told that he was last seen leaving the school with Rivalz. Defeated, she walked back to her friends.

Milly Ashford and Nina Einstein were already seated at their usual mealtime spot. Shirley sighed as she sat down. "What took you so long?" Milly asked. "Lunch started ten minutes ago!"

Shirley stuttered ever so slightly in her improvised lie. "W-Well, I just was just talking with my teacher!"

Milly smirked. "She honestly thinks that I would believe that?" She went back to eating her lunch. "Whatever. I suppose I could give her the benefit of the doubt."

After a few minutes of quiet eating, Milly asked "Where's Lelouch?"

Shirley frowned. "He went somewhere with Rivalz."

Milly narrowed her eyes. "What? Maybe it's poker this time?"

Shirley quickly became agitated. "They seem to forget that they're on the Student Council! They're off gambling for money!" She brandished a fork-skewered tomato. "Lulu may be smart, yet he wastes his brain on stupid things! If only he applied himself in school! He'd get high grades!" She bit down on the tomato, a pout dominating her face.

Milly's eyes taunting her orange-haired friend. "Oh, I wish my darling Lulu would be a serious young man!" She laughed. "How adorable is that!"

Shirley blushed deeply and stared at the ground. "Please, Madame President!"

Lelouch stood from his seat. The nobleman sitting across from him sat agape, staring twitchily at the chessboard between them. The teenager's pawn, knight, and king held his opponent's king in checkmate, securing his victory and 5000 pounds sterling.

"I love playing against the nobility!" Rivalz remarked as they walked. "They always pay out of pride! By the way, eight minutes, thirty two seconds is a new record!"

Lelouch responded boredly "He also didn't have much time to move either. And as opponents go, the nobles are tepid. They're just overprivileged parasites, that's all."

"Well then, why don't you challenge one of the Elevens?" Rivalz said as he ran ahead and spun around. "They're nothing like us Britannians!" He opened his mouth to say more, but was distracted by the loud talking going on as they exited the building.

The two friends surveyed the crowds of people talking darkly to one another. The atmosphere was a mixture of sadness, annoyance and fear, but was mostly comprised of anger. Shouts could be heard from the more vocal Britannians as they made their opinions heard.

"What are they trying to prove by killing all of those innocent people?!"

"Those Elevens terrify me."

"What's wrong with them?"

Lelouch scowled. It irritated him to no end that these warmongering imperialists could be so defensive when their crimes vastly outweighed those of the Japanese.

From a large screen on a neighboring skyscraper bearing the Seal of Britannia, a cool female voice spoke over the din. "We apologize for the delay. Now, His Royal Highness Prince Clovis, third prince of Britannia, will address the nation."

The imperial sigil transitioned into a live feed of a handsome and solemn blond man wearing extravagant clothing. Lelouch felt a mixture of nostalgia and annoyance upon seeing the prince. They had a pleasant relationship when Lelouch and Nunnally were still in Britannia, and the chess matches that Clovis instigated so often were, in all honesty, quite enjoyable. However, the raven-haired boy had witnessed Clovis' cruel actions as the Viceroy of Area 11, and knew that there were countless nameless people who had been slaughtered by his savage decrees.

"To all my imperial subjects!" The man orated, passion palpable in every syllable. "Including, of course, the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the empire of Britannia!"

Lelouch tuned out the majority of his half-brother's speech. He knew from firsthand experience that Clovis la Britannia was an outstanding actor and could lie through his teeth flawlessly. He was almost certain that the aim of the prince was to create a fervent speech that would stir the blood of the Britannian masses into a weapon that could further secure his position as Viceroy of the prosperous Area 11.

Lelouch and Rivalz were walking up to the motorbike when the female voice returned. "A moment of silence, please."

Lelouch ignored the appeal as he went about printing the ticket. Rivalz asked in an expectant tone "Well? Aren't you going to join in?"

His friend looked back at him, casually smiling. "Aren't you?"

Rivalz looked down sheepishly. "Eh... It's... Kinda embarrassing."

"And I agree with you. Besides..." Lelouch grabbed the ticket as it was dispensed. "Spilling tears over those people won't bring them back to life now, will it?"

Rivalz snapped on his goggles and smiled at his friend. "Dang! That's dark, buddy!"

Lelouch turned to look at the huge screen behind him where his half-brother solemnly stood. "It's all about self-satisfaction. Doesn't matter how hard you try. You can't do it. There's no way you can change the world."

For some time, the two sat in silence while Rivalz navigated through the traffic of the always-busy city streets. By the time they reached the open road, Rivalz voiced a question that had been bugging him. "I'm not the best in chess," he thought "but it still doesn't make any sense!"

"That first move you made..."

"Hm?"

"Why'd you start with the king?"

After a lapse of silence, Lelouch responded calmly. "If the king doesn't lead, then how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

Rivalz shot a sidelong glance at his friend. "... What's with that?"

"What's with what?"

"Do you fantasize about running a major corporation?" Try as he might, Rivalz couldn't help but imagine Lelouch to have such a job. It was difficult for anyone who personally knew the raven-haired boy to think that he could one day end up working under someone else. Despite always being laid-back, Lelouch always carried a certain air of authority, as though he possessed some hidden trump card.

"No way! Ambitions like that will ruin your health."

A loud honking from right behind them broke his concentration. Turning, he only had time to register that there was a big green truck barreling towards them before Rivalz screamed "Ah! We're going to die!" and drastically sped up.

Lelouch, to put it lightly, was not a remarkably athletic person. Though his brain may have functioned on a level attainable only to philosophers and military strategists, his speed was mediocre, his strength was lacking, and his stamina was sub-par. Needless to say, when situations requiring physical exertion suddenly appeared unannounced, Lelouch lost all functionality. This is why time seemed to jump for him from one moment staring at an rapidly approaching truck to the next trying to hold onto the sidecar with all of his might.

The motorcycle screeched to a halt. The two friends surveyed the huge clouds of sand that billowed up from the construction site where the truck had gone and evidently crashed.

"Uh... Was that our fault?" Rivalz frowned as he tried to discern the vehicle in the thick.

"I don't think so..."

As the clouds cleared away, Lelouch caught sight of... Something. "What is that?" A sparkling dust seemed to be emitted from an opening on the top of the truck. At the same time, he felt an irrational pull towards the source of the light, as though the answers to all of life's question was contained within.

"What the hell...?"

He distantly heard Rivalz complaining about the motorcycle. While he knew that they would be having some problems getting back to school on time, it seemed utterly insignificant at the moment.

"Yeah..." He responded dazedly. "Rivalz, come check this out."

The twinkling lights faded away, leaving Lelouch mildly disoriented and bewildered. "What was that?" He thought. He wasn't easily rendered mute out of complete confusion, but the strange lights and the senseless beckoning he experienced was simply... Odd.

As he recovered from the brief shock, he swept his gaze and noticed the people gathering to look at the crash. In spite of the many people, not one of them made an attempt to go help out the drivers of the vehicle, instead choosing to spectate or ask if anyone was going to help.

Lelouch felt his eyes narrow at them as his hands twitched. "They're like unguided sheep! Can they not grasp the seriousness of this?!" He thought.

"All those idiots!" He gritted his teeth.

Rivalz stiffened. He knew what was going to follow. "Lelouch...!"

It was too late. As Lelouch took off, he made a note to apologize to his friend later on, but there wasn't time to waste. He ran down to where the truck was sitting. And began trying to push aside the rubble covering the front of the car.

"Hello? Are you alright in there? Can you hear my voice?!" As he began climbing a ladder that allowed him entrance, Lelouch felt dread as he imagined the pictured the lifeless body of the driver. "Are you okay!?"

Suddenly, another strange sensation washed over him. A distant voice called to him, though he couldn't pick up what it was saying. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it was gone.

"...? Where...? Hello? Are you in there?!" The truck abruptly shifted into reverse, and Lelouch found himself tumbling into the open top. Only with a sliver of instinct did he manage to roll upon hitting the ground and avoid breaking his neck. "What the hell are these people doing?!"

"Stop! I'm in here!" He yelled, but it was futile. His voice remained unheard in the din. All he could do was find a way to stabilize himself in the chaos. After a few seconds being thrown around by the sharp turns the vehicle was making, Lelouch was able to safely stand up. As he surveyed his surroundings, he saw, to his great dismay, that there was no way of climbing out. "You would think that they would stick a ladder on the inside, too!"

He began attempting to climb up the strange object he was sharing the storage space with in an attempt to climb out. As he tried to find handholds, he was halted by a loud voice commanding the driver to stop. Lelouch paused as he waited to learn more about his situation.

"Surrender now and you'll get the chance to defend yourself in court!"

"Stop, and surrender at once!"

"Defend myself in court? What are they talking about? Are they speaking to the driver of this thing?" Lelouch wasn't given much time to ponder this, for shortly afterwards the loud banging of gunfire ripped through the air, and Lelouch found himself slipping about once again as the truck began to swerve. "I'm getting really tired of this." He thought. "I just wanted to help out, and now I'm being caught up in someone's crime?'

"If I jump out now, I have the choice of breaking my neck or getting shot." Lelouch mused. "I can try to call-"

The door hissed open unexpectedly, forcing Lelouch to hide himself in the shadows of the peculiar metal object. He poked his head out to watch a young woman with spiky, pink hair walked in. As she made her way across the chamber, she barked to the driver. "Can you enter the subway via the Azubu route?"

The motorist didn't answer her question, but instead exclaimed "Kallen, let's use it here! Why not?"

"Because that would mean a blood bath!" The girl named Kallen shouted back.

The driver groaned. "Ugh. You're right!"

Lelouch felt a hint of recognition as he watched Kallen ascend the stairs to another strange object. "I've seen her before..."

Once the girl had entered the odd device, Lelouch reviewed his situation, which was now more complicated than before. He was stuck in a van with two criminals with law enforcement in pursuit. If he had a chance of bargaining his safety with the criminals before, it was gone now that he had actively hidden himself from them. "Think, Lelouch, think! There must be a solution to escaping... But what is it?"

The door in the back slowly began to slide open. As it did, Lelouch noted that the machine the girl had entered had begun to emit a loud hum. Suddenly, a loud whirring noise filled the chamber. Lelouch watched in awe as the device leaped out the vehicle, revealing its humanoid form as it did so. Lelouch had seen enough to know that it was a knightmare of Britannian model. He dragged his attention away from the robotic weapon too late to notice the open door that it had exited through was closing. Despite reacting as soon as he had observed this, he was far too late to devise any method of escaping.

"Crap!" He exclaimed. "These guys are real terrorists!" He had had a sliver of hope that the whole scenario was some sort of elaborate prank, though he never truly believed it. He scrambled back into his hiding place and whipped out his cell phone. Glancing at the bars, he quietly groaned. "No reception. We're out of range." He quickly thought this through. "Judging from the darkness and road surface, we must be driving along the old subway lines. They're headed for an exit somewhere in the ghetto. Getting out will be dangerous, but still... Okay, I've got it. I'm not big on the military, but I'll take their protection... Oh, wait, I forgot..."

Lelouch sat silently in the darkness for several minutes. "What do I do? It's already dangerous enough to be remotely involved in this, but right now, either side could attack me! There's no place I can turn to for assistance!" These thoughts chased each other about in a crazed frenzy, growing more and more desperate by the minute. Unexpectedly, the truck plunged, leaving Lelouch momentarily suspended by his momentum.

Lelouch picked himself up from the ground once again. "An accident? Or else..." "Have we been captured?"

He ducked for cover as the door slid open. After peeking out, he determined that there was no one in the immediate area. "Now I can use this chance to climb up." He mumbled to himself. "This nightmare is almost-" He spun around to see a person in combat gard leaping up into a spinning kick. As he watched the attacker's knee extend, Lelouch brought up his arms to protect himself from the blunt of the blow. Nevertheless, the strike was sufficient to knock the adolescent off his feet.

Lelouch shook with effort as he attempted to push himself off of the ground. "A-Are you Britannian?"

The assailant grabbed Lelouch's neck and pinned him down with one hand. With the other, he released the lower half of his helmet. "That's enough mindless murder." His voice was rough, but still somewhat youthful.

"W-Wait, I'm not one of-"

"Planning to use poison gas? Don't play dumb with me!"

Lelouch somehow managed to muster the strength to kick the other man off of him. He stood. "I'm not here by choice! And if that's poison gas, it was made by Britannia, wasn't it?"

The other male gasped softly, but Lelouch was too angry to pay any attention to it.

"Mindless murder?" Lelouch seethed as he stepped forwards. "Then why don't you just obliterate Britannia?!"

"... Lelouch." He blinked. The man was removing his helmet. "It's me. Suzaku."

Lelouch gasped. Kururugi Suzaku. He was the son of the last Japanese Prime Minister, Kururugi Genbu, and Lelouch's best friend after he had left Britannia. They had parted ways only a few months after they had met, after Britannia had conquered Japan.

"You... You became a Britannian soldier?"

"And what about you? You're a-"

"What are you saying?!"

Before the joyous reunion of the two could continue, the machine that Lelouch had just learned contained poison gas hummed loudly and began releasing various pressure seals. Vapor hissed as the device's internal computer encountered an error and began to prematurely open. A blinding golden light filled the room. Suzaku tacked Lelouch and covered his mouth as an impromptu protection against the poison gas that was sure to follow.

However, they were both surprised as the weapon opened up like a flower, revealing a chamber in which was a green-haired girl restrained in a straitjacket.

Suzaku whispered to both himself and Lelouch. "That's not poison gas... What is it?"

Lelouch slowly crawled to the girl, who appeared to be barely awake. After easing an arm around her shoulder and lifting her head off the ground, he got to work in releasing the ties that was restraining her. As he worked, he spoke to his old friend. "Tell me the truth, Suzaku. Poison gas? This girl?"

Suzaku joined him in freeing the girl. "Hey, it's what they told us in the briefing. I swear!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when a new light filled the room. As the two boys' eyes slowly adjusted, they saw the outlines of several figures. Lelouch's felt great dread as he took notice of their military uniforms.

"Stinking monkey!" The one in front spoke, contempt quite conspicuous. "Being an honorary Britannian will not excuse you!"

Suzaku leaped to his feet and ran forwards. "Uh.. But Sir! I was told this was poison gas!"

"How dare you question orders!" The man growled.

Lelouch's mind was reeling. While unbinding the girl, he had partially speculated that she was of some strategic worth to the empire, but he couldn't grasp how. But now... "A poisonous situation... Which would pose a threat to Suzaku's superiors if it's unleashed!"

"However," The man continued "In light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient. Private Kururugi, take this and execute the terrorist!"

Lelouch's breath caught in his throat. "He's talking about me!"

Suzaku turned to his childhood acquaintance. "But sir, he's not a terrorist! He's a civilian who got caught up in all this!"

"You... Insubordinate little... That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty and life to Britannia?!"

"Yes... But..."

Suzaku looked down. Lelouch, still holding onto the freed girl, felt his whole body go cold. "This is the end." He thought. "I'm about to die to my old friend in the name of my father's empire." This prospect paralyzed him. It just couldn't be.

"But... I can't." Suzaku's voice was filled with a pained tension.

"What?!"

"I won't do it, sir. I won't shoot a civilian." He turned and smiled gently towards Lelouch. Lelouch could barely refrain from screaming at Suzaku. While he was genuinely touched by the Honorary Britannian's actions, it was pointless. If Suzaku refused to kill him, that only meant that there would be one extra casualty. There would be no difference to the ultimate outcome.

"I can't follow your orders, sir."

"Very well." The captain nodded and shot Suzaku without the slightest hint of hesitation.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch screamed out. He watched in pain as his friend fell to the ground, blood trailing behind him.

The man turned his eyes away from the fallen soldier. "Well, Britannian School Boy, not a good day to cut class!" He then spoke to the men with their guns drawn flanking him. "Collect the girl. After you've secured her, kill the student."

The soldiers spoke in unison. "Yes, My Lord!"

Lelouch stared uncomprehendingly as the men rushed forwards. In a few mere seconds, he, Lelouch Lamperouge vi Britannia, would be dead. Forever. However, before they even reached him and the girl, the crashed truck exploded. Fortunately for Lelouch, the blast was only strong enough to knock him forwards. After collecting himself, he grabbed the girl and began to run under the cover of the smoke. Not much longer after they took to the tunnels, the ground began to shake periodically. "No... They wouldn't... Unless..." The girl tripped and fell. "Is she really worth massacring a population of people?!"

"What the hell are you?!" Lelouch leaned against a wall as he held his head delicately with his left hand, a practice he resorted to whenever he needed to think things through. "This chaos is all your fault, isn't it?!" He stared intently into nothingness, his mind struggling to grasp the magnitude of everything that was going on around him. His world was quite literally falling apart. This truth was amplified with the sensations of explosions and the nearby popping of gunfire.

He let out a shaky groan that carried the culmination of his fear and rage. "Not only that, but Britannia has..." He paused. "... They even killed Suzaku!" Lelouch cursed his weakness. "I'm only useful when something requires mental strength. As soon as I'm put in situations like these... I'm weak, aren't I? Yes... It's exactly as he phrased it. I'm achieving nothing!"

He pushed himself off the wall. "Come on. If we continue traveling along this route, the next exit should leave us less than a quarter mile from the edge of the Shinjuku Ghetto. If we're careful and pass through only areas that have already been swept through, we have a chance of surviving this nightmare."

Eventually, the two found the exit Lelouch spoke of. Once they reached the base of the steps, Lelouch ordered the girl to keep hiding and to not make any noise. Before he reached the top of the steps, there was the drumming of machine gun fire, then the sound of a body hitting the ground. Lelouch slowly peeked out of the exit.

"Report!" The killer of Suzaku demanded.

"We found nothing but Elevens here, sir."

"Hmmm... You're sure of it? That exit comes out here?"

"Yes, sir. It matches our map of the city."

Lelouch was about to duck back into the ruins of the subway when the sound of a crying child nearby echoed throughout the room. Then, the machine gun started up again. Lelouch looked back and saw the body of a girl that couldn't have been older than five collapse, blood flowing freely from her body every which way. Tears threatened to overflow as he wrenched his eyes away from the sight. "One day, I swear..."

The ringing of a cellular phone echoed throughout the room. Lelouch's face felt like ice as he slowly reached down and turned off his phone. But the damage was already done. The soldiers ran up to the stairwell where the two were hiding and grabbed Lelouch and the girl. After pulling the latter away, the soldiers (whose sigil, upon closer examination, was that of the Royal Guard) kicked Lelouch towards a wall.

"What an appropriate location for a terrorist to meet his end!" The leader chuckled. Lelouch's mind was racing. "There's... Nothing. There's nothing I can do! There's no distractions or exits, no way out of this! I-I could show them my seal... But no... They would still kill me, even if they knew I was a prince. They could just hide the body. This girl is valuable enough to slaughter hundreds of innocent people, Japanese and Britannians alike, to hide any evidence! There's... Nothing I can do!"

"Y-You scum..."

"Still, you did well for a student, but that's to be expected. You're a Britannian." He paused, pulling out the same gun that had killed Suzaku. "Unfortunately, my clever young friend, you have no future."

Lelouch squeezed his eyes and waited for the shot to fire. In his mind, he saw the smiling faces of his friends. Nunnally, Rivalz, Shirley, Milly, and Nina. Even though it had been a long time since they had played together, Lelouch also saw Suzaku, smiling as widely as he did seven years prior. Lelouch struggled with the thought of dying without doing anything, but ultimately resigned himself. There was no point in struggling.

The man's finger seemed to take forever to pull the trigger. However, right as Lelouch thought he was truly out of time, the girl rushed out. Somehow having freed her mouth from the straitjacket, she screamed "He mustn't die!" and placed herself in between the gun and Lelouch. There was but one pop, and the girl fell.

"You shot her!" Lelouch shouted. He slowly stepped forward to watch as blood pooled around the girl's slackened face.

The Royal Guardsman showed no concern. "Hmph. Our orders were to bring her back alive if possible... Oh well, nothing can be done about it now." His face took on a look of contemplation. "We'll tell our superiors that the Royal Guard found the terrorist hideout and killed them all. Regrettably, the female hostage had already been tortured to death. What do you think, Schoolboy?"

Lelouch reached out to touch the girl's hand, but stopped. His hand shook with a mixture of sadness and anger. It was the third time that day that he was faced with death, and he felt his sanity slipping rapidly. "How can this be happening? First Suzaku's killed, then this girl! Now I'm about to die... Before I've had a chance to do a single thing with my life! It's gone in a heartbeat..." An image of his sister sitting peacefully in a meadow flashed in his mind. "Nunnally!"

Suddenly, the dead girl's hand reached out and grasped Lelouch's wrist. No sooner had it happened than Lelouch experienced himself falling, as though he had been suddenly teleported into a free fall. The crushing darkness around him was lit up by glowing cables attached to Lelouch's arms and legs that twisted every which way. Around Lelouch, more lights appeared as a girl's voice spoke into his mind. "You don't want it to end here, do you?"

Lelouch couldn't believe what was happening. Everything seemed to... Be. He was experiencing a new state of mind he had never known existed. Unknown images, thoughts, and feelings seemed to flow from an unknown source. "What?"

"You appear to have a reason for living." It was the green-haired girl's voice.

"The girl... That's impossible!"

"If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal." Lelouch saw two strange worlds pass by one another. "In exchange for this power," the voice continued "you will make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you will accept its conditions, while living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life." More images flashed in Lelouch's mind. He saw himself being suspended in an eternal void. He saw a strange, bird-like symbol stamped in stone. He saw strangely colored and tattooed children standing together. Lastly, he saw a distant, orange planet, not unlike Jupiter in appearance. However, Lelouch knew, for some odd reason, that it was something far different.

"The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

Lelouch felt energy surge through his body, as he began to truly grasp the magnitude of what was happening. "Yes. I hereby accept the terms of your contract!"

Reality returned. Lelouch was still crouching over the girl. His mind was reeling from what had just happened. As soon as he had agreed to the deal, he perceived his body being overwhelmed by a strange foreign presence. The sensation rapidly began to concentrate itself into his left eye. As soon as it had done so, he knew. He knew of his Geass. There was no process of learning. He simply knew.

He slowly rose, keeping his eyes on the girl. He was unsure who or what she was at that point, but that wasn't the priority. Lelouch felt a smirk grow on his face. He was still confused, but it didn't matter. The important thing was that now, he, Lelouch, held all the cards. "Say..." He spoke to the soldiers with their guns pointing at him. "How should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?"

The officer that killed Suzaku and girl was a little confused. Just a second ago, the boy had apparently given up all hope, but now he was posing theoretical questions? "Are you some kind of radical?"

Lelouch stood and taunted the men. "What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Or do you finally understand that dogs of war are nothing more than dogs?" Lelouch felt the power in his left eye grow active.

The men started trembling in fear as they beheld the bird that seemed to be glowing in the boy's eye. "What's happening here?!"

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you: Do as I say!"

All the men seemed to snap. Some twitched violently, while others' eyes went out of focus. Their superior officer momentarily covered his ears and closed his eyes, shuddering as his capability to command his own mind and body was yanked away. But after only five seconds, the Royal Guard all straightened and saluted, their loyalty absolute as they spoke as one. "Yes, Your Highness!"

Lelouch felt excitement whelm up in his body. This was it. This was what he had been destined for his whole life. Everything had led to this. This was the day that he would change everything.