DISCLAIMER: I don't own Code Geass...as much as I really wish I did. One of the sickest, most awesome anime ever conceived. Hat's off to you, Ichirou Okouchi!

P.S.: This will be the only time I write this disclaimer. Repeating myself is annoying. So administrators, if you need to see it again, just refer back to this chapter. Thanks, now on with the show!

Chapter 1 - "My Name Is..."

"…Run…Run…Run…"

The stillness and quiet of the ghettos in Area 11 were broken by the hasty footsteps of a frantic shadow darting about. The darkness hid his features well, though one could still make out the tattered rags he wore as clothing: torn black pants, the shredded fabric that was once a hospital gown, and boots that didn't seem to fit the man's feet well at all. But none of these inconveniences hindered him, as he continued to follow the voice in his head…well, one of the voices in his head.

"Blood pressure's dropping! Up the dosage!"

"-finished injecting the velocity 6…"

"…your destiny has only just begun, little one…"

'Dammit…get out of my head!' the crazed individual screamed mentally as he continued on his erratic path, looking over his shoulder every few seconds. He could've sworn he heard the soldiers on his tail, but every time he checked behind him, there was no one. But he wouldn't be fooled, 'Seriously, it's like they're ghosts or something…why are they chasing me?'

He suddenly paused as a flash of light went off in his brain, temporarily blinding him. Suddenly he had a brief vision of…a strange temple. Though the image was fleeting, he was able to make out a mountain of sorts…and many pillars…along with a strange arcane symbol that felt…familiar?

'Just what I need…strange pictures in my head…what the hell is going on with me?!'

Hearing the footsteps behind him again, the mysterious youth picked up his pace, not realizing the blinding speed at which he was running. Nor the unbelievable height of his jumps as he cleared fences and barricades that dotted the ghetto he was in the process of escaping. The fleeing figure idly noted the moment when he hopped one barricade, his fingers left deep impressions in the concrete, but that observation took a backseat as more lights seemed to flash everywhere, disorienting him while he was bombarded with more voices.

"-vitals are stable, beginning the next phase-"

"there's my little sochi! Where did you go-"

"-you need strength in this world if you wish to change anything…"

"Run…Run…don't stop….keep running…!"

"AAAARGH!" he screamed out loud as he clutched his head in his hands and knelt down to the hardened ground in pain. The young man's breaths came in quick pants as he tried to relieve the pain.

"Hold on! I think I heard something down this way!"

Barely hearing the 'ghosts' through his pain, the young man suddenly leapt up to his feet and ran again. The panicked boy never stopped for a moment, even when the environment around him began to change from destroyed buildings and bomb craters to elaborate skyscrapers and cleanly paved roads. Soon, even those surroundings changed to lush grass and forests. It was only when he no longer heard the 'ghosts' that the strange youth slowed down.

"Hah…hah…hah…I think…I lost them…" he wheezed before trudging over to what appeared to be a series of arches placed above a paved walkway, though it was too dark to see the vast campus that opened up before him. Placing a hand on the first arch to steady himself, the exhausted youth looked up and read the words written on a fancy looking gold sign, "…Ashford…Academy…"

Shaking his head as more whispers echoed in his mind, the young man clumsily trudged further along the walkway, making it to the side of the main building before his strength finally gave out and he surrendered to unconsciousness.

"YOU LOST HIM?!"

The jittery soldiers could only cringe under the terrifying glare being leveled at them by their superior, General Bartley Asprius of the Holy Britannian Army. The large, balding man seethed as he heard the report from his field scouts, especially at the part about their failure to recapture the target.

"W-We almost had him in the Shinjiku Ghetto, but he was able to tap into his abilities and give us the slip," the head scout reported, fighting the urge to tremble, "The latent drugs in his system must have caused a sizable release of adrenaline, allowing him to access his new 'talents' and escape…"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES FROM YOU IMBECILES!" the large general shouted, his soldiers recoiling back from the sheer force of his voice, "If we don't re-acquire him immediately, then all of our work will be exposed! Not to mention his implied aptitude with the other test subject!"

Turning his back to his cowed underlings, Bartley approached a rather complex computer system and brought up several files, one of which included a picture of a strange red pod, "Until we get him back, we cannot efficiently continue our other tests! So to prevent this colossal crap up from getting any WORSE, I order you to assemble squads eleven through fifteen and DOUBLE, no, TRIPLE your search radius! I want that boy found, and I want him found NOW! AS a matter of fact, I want him found YESTERDAY!"

Unseen by his subordinates, the general was internally sweating buckets and only through sheer will was he able to conceal how nervous about the situation he actually felt, 'First we lose Code R, then I don't hear from the Prince for days, only to find out that he's dead, and now this?! It's almost as if God himself decided to step in and completely screw over this entire project for his own sick pleasure!' he thought to himself as he gave a hard glare to those still lingering soldiers who were too frozen in fear to move.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR, A WRITTEN INVITATION?! GET MOVING YOU BRAINLESS INGRATES!"

"YES SIR!"

'Well…at least mindless soldiers haven't changed much,' the general sneered as he watched the room erupt in activity, 'Still afraid of the badges and stripes…sadly the only things I have going for me now.'

The following morning seemed to start off rather blandly at the reputable Ashford Academy, the campus steadily coming alive with students heading off to class or any number of club activities. The mood seemed to be a mix of liveliness and complacency, though all of the students had a happy, cheerful, and peppy air about them as they headed for their destinations.

…well, almost all of them.

"Please tell me again why you felt the need to come into my room and drag me out from bed," a tired-sounding male voice whined, only to receive a giggle from their mischievous companion. Walking up the path towards the main entrance of the illustrious academy were two seemingly regular students. One was a very tall, thin young man of about 17 years of age, with pale skin, sharp amethyst-colored eyes, and ebony hair that elegantly framed his face. He was dressed in the Ashford Academy's male student uniform, comprised of a closed short black overcoat with gold detailing, and similarly designed pants ending in dark shoes.

The half-asleep young man was accompanied by a highly attractive and vivacious young woman, with blonde hair and light blue eyes that belied a playful nature. She was garbed in the Academy's female student attire: a white dress shirt with green tie, a light gold blazer, and a short, dark skirt, dark blue long socks, and black dress shoes.

"Ohohoho, seems like someone decided to stay up past their bedtime again," the woman teased, "Were you and Rivalz out gambling again, Lelouch? You know that behavior is quite unbecoming of the Student Council Vice President, you know~"

Lelouch shot his friend a narrow glare, "For your information, Milly, I was home the entire night. Nunnally was having a nightmare, so I needed to stay with her to make sure she could go back to sleep."

Milly's smile dropped from her face, switching to a concerned look. As much of a prankster and tease as she was, the blond haired girl could become VERY serious when the safety and happiness of her friends came into play, especially one as innocent as Nunnally. The poor girl had suffered enough through her life and nightmares just seemed to add to her troubles. "Oh dear, is she alright?"

"She's fine. It was probably just remnant memories from…back then."

The bubbly girl's disposition seemed to sag, causing Lelouch to switch topics, lest she enter a funk for the rest of the morning, "So, you were saying something about a scavenger hunt before?"

Milly perked up again and launched into the subject, "Oh yes! The student council was thinking about organizing a campus-wide scavenger hunt! It will be so much fun! I was thinking we could-"

The tall young man yawned as he tuned out the majority of the young woman's explanations. Instead, he thought back to what had really kept him up the previous night, 'Damn, I've gone through several different theories and scenarios, but none of them seem foolproof enough to pull off this rescue attempt without severe drawbacks.'

For the past couple of days, Lelouch's mind had been working tirelessly to come up with ideas to save his friend, Suzaku Kururugi, from being wrongfully executed for the murder of the presiding Viceroy of Area 11, Prince Clovis la Britannia.

'I should have realized that they could possibly use him as a scapegoat, especially since he's Japanese, that title of "Honorary Brittanian,"be damned…' Lelouch mentally spat at the title in his head, 'Maybe I should have used this new power to convince one of the guards to kill Clovis instead of doing it myself…'

He shook his head slightly to get back on track, before he could start overthinking his past actions, 'What's done is done. Right now, I have to come up with a way to get him out of this situation. Maybe I can recruit those rebels to assist me again? They owe me one anyways for saving them. Disorganized as they were, I'm pretty sure that without my intervention all but the pilot of Q1 would have died yesterday.'

The calculating young man recalled his success with the assistance of the resistance fighters back at the Shinjuku Ghetto. Though a bit clumsy and disorganized at first, the ex-prince of Britannia had been able to coordinate them enough to score a massive victory against the Britannian forces, as well as create the opening the dark-haired man needed to infiltrate Prince Clovis' transport and personally end his life.

'Right…if this works, I can not only save Suzaku, but I'll also create a true resistance force…maybe I can even convince Suzaku to join us-'

"Lelouch! Are you even listening to me?!"

Startled from his thoughts, Lelouch looked glanced over to see an annoyed Milly staring back at him, arms crossed as they walked along the side of the main building, "What? Oh, sorry Milly, I guess I got lost in my thoughts for a second."

Milly glared at the sheepish-looking young man, "Seriously! You always seem to just block out the world at the worst possible moments! I swear-"

The young woman's tirade was stopped when she suddenly tripped on something sticking out from the bushes on the path. Somehow, Lelouch managed to maneuver himself just in time to catch the lovely girl before she could hit the ground. Weak as he was physically, even he wasn't inept enough to let a woman fall flat on her face like that, never mind a close friend…even if she was a bit of a witch at times. "Milly! Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine…thank you Lelouch," Milly replied, still a bit shocked from the fall. She looked down to see what exactly it was that had tripped her, "Uh…L-L-Lelouch…?"

The ebony-haired young man looked down towards where his friend was pointing a very shaky finger. Sticking out from the bush was the lower portion of a person's leg, the skin scratched up and the fabric of the pants tattered. Quickly moving the rest of the bush out of the way, Lelouch uncovered the unconscious body of a young male, possibly around his age. The mysterious person had silver hair, his clothes torn in several places, yet there were no signs of open wounds or any serious external injuries. The ex-Britannian prince's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a lithe, but powerful physique barely hidden due to the sorry state of the man's attire. Looking closer, despite the tatters, he could tell that his clothing reminded him of something…like a restrai-

'Wait a minute! That's the same clothing the woman I found in that capsule was wearing!' the black haired teen realized as he saw what looked to be the remains of a straightjacket strap on the back of the outfit. 'Was there more than one capsule? If so, how did this one break free? Hm…that green haired woman's turning out to be more trouble than she's worth, I'll have to stay on guard…but first to make sure this poor guy is still alive.'

"Oh my goodness, is he alright?!" Milly exclaimed as she moved in for a closer look. Lelouch pressed two fingers to the man's throat, "Hmm…he still has a pulse, although it's a little weak. We better get some help."

"I'll call the rest of the council to come help move him," the young woman quickly brought out her phone to dial the medical staff. While she busied herself with her task, she never noticed Lelouch taking an even closer look at the man now that Milly wasn't panicking around him.

'He looks to be of similar age to me…although something seems a little…off about him. Could he possibly be a spy from father, wearing the same clothes as that woman to throw me off?' he thought to himself, eyes narrowing in suspicion, 'I'll have to keep an eye on him for the time being…as well as keep him away from Nunnally. No need to put her at unnecessary risk…'

A cacophony of voices and unwanted visions surged through the boy's mind, all of them coupling with more nightmarish images he wasn't able to identify.

'Onii-chan, when can we…'

A decadent looking house out on the plains surrounded by a pure lake…

'…have invaded the coastal regions and are seeking…'

'I promise, to all of you….'

A firing squad executing POWs…fire…pain…

'Why are we ki….'

'My name is….'

'Uncle!'

'They're all dead…dead…dead…'

STOP!

MAKE IT STOP!

At his frantic shouting, everything ceased all at once. Darkness suddenly overtook him on all sides, confusing his senses, rendering him unable to determine if he was up or down. Trying his best to move, the silver-haired youth craned his head up, but as for the rest of his body, it remained deathly still.

"Where…am I? I remember…running…some large building…voices," he questioned, for some reason not panicking at the loss of movement in his limbs. At the moment, he was just thankful for the peace and quiet that came with the void space he was now in. Those memories and those voices…they all felt so real, almost as if he could reach out and touch them if he was so inclined to.

'Still…who could those voices have been?' he thought, closing his eyes and trying to sift through the ghostly cries that plagued him, 'and why did they sound…familiar?'

"Trying to rediscover the past, are you? Are you not getting a little ahead of yourself, ***?"

The youth's eyes sprang open, his head wildly moving about the void in his search for the newcomer, "Who are you?! Show yourself!"

"Oh my…there's no need to be so afraid. It is truly amazing seeing how much the loss of your memories has changed you since you were put into that…thing," the voice mocked haughtily, though a tinge of disgust could be heard towards the end. "Also, look more carefully you silly human, I am right here."

The silver-haired youth looked to his left to see…a dark silhouette, with voluminous hair that ran down its back and beyond its feet, floating next to him. Due to the darkness, he could not make out its face, but something told him that the shadow was looking at him with a smug expression despite the fact that it had a rather…short stature. It was a little annoying to him frankly.

"Who are you?" he asked the shadow again, his voice a bit firmer, "And what are you talking about?"

The shadow raised a hand to its face to stifle its laughter, "Well isn't this ironic…you who wanted to run from his destiny after just barely grasping it...you who wanted to run from his chosen path when there was nothing left barring your way…and yet, the minute you achieved all you set out to accomplish, you threw it all away…Hah! You were always an interesting being, ***, but this is just too much!"

"Stop laughing at me!" the boy called *** shouted, finally releasing some of the anger that had been building ever since being chased around the ghetto, "Why can't you just give me a simple answer?!"

"There is no such thing as a simple answer in this world, boy," the shadow's sudden, cold reply threw *** off for a second, "And you have not the right to speak to me with such a tone. If I wanted it, I could render you as helpless as a child. After all…I AM the one who gave you your power all those years ago…"

*** became puzzled, "Power? What power?"

"Hmm…well I suppose I can answer that question," the shadow mused, before an eerie smile came over its face, not that *** was able to see it, "Actually, on second thought…why don't you wake up and find out for yourself?"

The youth noticed the short silhouette's hand moving towards him. Deep down, he sensed danger from that encroaching limb, but try as he might, he couldn't move away, "W-Wait! Wh-Wh-What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry little ***…the great journey can now begin," the shadow said, a teasing tone in its child-like sounding voice, "You have nothing to fear…not really anyway. Everything will be just fine…you won't even remember any of this little conversation."

As soon as the shadow's hand touched his face, images surged across ***'s mind. Temples in the sky, a group of people with a strange symbol emblazoned on their foreheads, conquering armies trampling across desolate battlefields…the images were endless. One particular one stood out: it was of a younger *** standing with two much younger boys with blond hair, looking up at him with admiration and awe as he saw a throne in front them waiting to be sat on. Before *** could get a better grasp of it, the image disappeared, while more flowed into his brain.

"Behold all that you have been…and know all that you can be…with the power of Geass," the shadow intoned as it pressed its hand against the youth's face, "I look forward to seeing what you decide to do with this world…"

Incomprehensible pain soon racked ***'s body, almost as if every part of his body was being stabbed by white-hot stakes. He wanted to cringe, his body breaking into a fit of chaotic spasms, no longer held down by the mysterious force that had once confined him.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

All through his pain, the malevolent voice continued to laugh and taunt him with the same line, over and over again.

"Don't worry….everything will be alright."

"Everything will be alright…."

"Everything…"

"GET OUT OF MY HEEEAAAD!"

*** sprang up, panting heavily as sweat ran down his face in rivers. Taking stock of his surroundings, the first thing he realized was that he was no longer in that terrible void, but in another person's bedroom. The soft mattress and sheets were a stark contrast to the hard ground that he had collapsed on the previous night.
The second thing he realized was that he couldn't remember anything before being hit with an intense pain throughout his body. Not his parents, his friends, where he was from, nothing. It was almost enough to send him into a panic, but after taking a few breaths, the silver-haired amnesiac was able to calm himself down.

"Oh my…it seems our mysterious friend is awake!"

…until he made the third realization. He was NOT as alone as he thought he was.

Looking up with a slightly frightened gaze, *** spotted a mixed group of people walking into the room; a rather beautiful blonde girl with mischievous-looking blue eyes, a tall, ebony-haired man with amethyst eyes slightly narrowed at him in suspicion, another attractive girl with long, orange hair and yellowish-green eyes that gleamed excitedly, a smaller, shy looking girl with green braided hair and glasses, and a happy-go-lucky looking boy with blue hair and grey eyes.

Appraising the group for a quick moment, the silver-haired young man forced himself to relax, as he was unable to sense any hostile intent. He noticed they were all dressed in similar uniforms, leading him to believe he was at some kind of institution.

"Where…where am I?" he asked in a raspy voice, "W-What is this place?"

The blonde stepped closer to answer him, "Ashford Academy, the most illustrious academic institution in Area 11!" she threw her arms out to the sides, ending in a grandiose pose as she gestured to the area around her, "It is here that the youths of Britannia come to learn and harvest the great minds that will lead us to a marvelous future!"

"Oh boy, there she goes again on her spiel," the blue-haired young man whispered to the taller boy, who barely smirked in reply, eyes still narrowed at the amnesiac in the bed.

*** stared at the energetic blonde with a slightly lost expression, which said girl realized after several moments without a reaction from her audience, "Oh, pardon me, where are my manners? I am Milly Ashford, granddaughter of the president of this academy and acting president of the student council, comprised of these fine lackeys behind me."

"Hey! Who are you calling lackeys?"

Milly ignored the orange-haired girl's complaints as she motioned towards the ebony-haired boy, "Allow me to introduce first, our Vice President, Lelouch Lamperouge."

Lelouch nodded towards the amnesiac, "Pleasure to meet you."

"Next is our treasurer, Nina Einstein," Milly motioned towards the small, bespectacled girl, who timidly waved back, "And the one that talks at a mile a minute, our Public Relations Officer, Shirley Fenette."

"I do NOT talk a mile a minute, that's all you Milly!" a flustered Shirley defended before shooting a beaming smile at ***, "It's nice to meet you! Are you feeling any better? You were in pretty bad shape when we found you."

*** nodded, a bit overcome by the girl's friendliness, "U-Uh, yes, I'm…doing ok…thank you, for asking."

"And last but not least, this is our Chronicler, which is just a fancier way of saying our journalist or errand boy, Rivalz Cardemonde," Milly ended by pointing at the blue-haired boy, who smiled sheepishly at the explanation of his title.

"Pleased to meet'cha! Hope we get along!"

Once more *** nodded, before noticing that the rest of the council was looking at him expectantly. After a moment of silence, Shirley asked, "So…uh…what's your name?"

The silver haired youth looked down at the bedsheets bunched up in his hands, "My…name…," the sound of mocking laughter rang out in his head, a faint image of the silhouette of a person flashing through his mind, "…my name…is…"

A brief hiss of static screeched in his ear, causing him to hunch forward while clutching his head as a strange whisper seemed to enter it despite him blocking everything out.

'R…A…..I…'

Gasping and shuddering slightly after the brief mental episode, he took a few slow breaths to calm his frantically beating heart, and slowly returned to his original position on the bed before looking up at the now cautious student council members and responding, "Rai…my name is Rai."

The student council sans Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief, Milly nodding in content before continuing, "Well then, let us be the first to say welcome to Ashford Academy, Rai-san! You can stay as long as you need to recover. Our facilities and staff will provide you with anything and everything you think you may need, so you don't have to worry about anything at all!"

Rai nodded in gratitude, although the council president's words struck a chord in him, as if he had heard them recently somewhere else. In the dark recesses of his mind, the mocking voice laughed once again, sending a shiver down his spine.

'The great journey will now begin…you're going to be just fine…'

Author's Note: Salutations and peace to the planet! Welcome to my latest self-challenge / fanfic project! This is actually a collaboration fic between myself and my awesome beta reader, Cloud Link Zero. He came to me with the idea a while ago, and through a lot of work (and him pushing me to get off my ass and just write), we've finally produced this. Since I'm also still working on Kyoshiro no Tenchuu (my epic Love Hina fanfic...yes I'm shamelessly plugging it in here), updates on this will be rather slow, but I will be working on the next couple chapters in the coming weeks, so sit tight. As always, constructive criticisms and reviews are welcome and requested, flames will be put out with liquid nitrogen with extreme prejudice.

Til next time, Ciph signin off.