"W...W...what the hell was that?!" exclaimed Rivalz, completely unable to contain his shock.

"Lulu...what-"

"I apologize, but I can't answer your questions. Not here, at least."

"Lelouch," began Milly.

"Not. Here."

Milly was about to protest once more, only for Sayoko to put a hand on Milly's shoulder. Turning to face her former maid, Milly was surprised by the stern look on Sayoko's face.

"Master Lelouch and his sister need to leave right now - they have people they need to meet and explain certain things to."

Then, the maid turned her attention toward the rest of the student council.

"I'm certain he would also be willing to share those details with all of you, if you would follow him."

Milly opened her mouth again, only to close it after a moment of thought. Eventually, she let out a sigh.

"..Can we tag along, Lelouch?"

"I suppose so."

"Thank you. But you will explain this to us!"

Lelouch couldn't help but flinch at Milly's assertiveness. "O-of course."

'I hope that Asaru won't mind all the new faces.'

'Already warned him, big brother. He'll manage.'

'Thanks, Nunnally.'

XXXXXXXXXX

At the construction site, the Kozuki Resistance Cell and Prince Clovis' forces were milling about, occasionally exchanging annoyed glances, waiting for their mysterious acquaintance to arrive.

"Miss Nu, have you managed to find out anything about the unknown foes we faced earlier?" questioned Prince Clovis, uncaring of the harsh stares directed at him by the Japanese.

"No, not yet," replied the knight in question. "Oddly enough, I found some information about a similar force from...several decades prior, though."

"Wait, what?!" questioned the prince, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the gathered soldiers and former terrorists -all of them had heard the woman's statement.

"I know, suprising, but I haven't been able to access any additional information on those records - in fact, most of them appear to have been deleted. It seems someone wanted these details covered up. Why, though, eludes me."

"Well, you'll find out soon enough," replied a familiar voice.

Turning toward the source of those words, the unlikely allies found themselves staring at Lelouch.

Suzaku couldn't help but smile at his best friend, something Jeremiah and Clovis noticed. Before they could make a move, however, Suzaku put a hand on their shoulders'.

"Just wait a moment. He has something he wants to explain to us first, so let him explain."

Ohgi and his companions, however, were more focused on Kallen.

"...Kallen? Whatare you doing with all these-"

"Long story, Ohgi."

"One that can be explained later," interjected Lelouch. "Now, is everyone who was present at Shinjuku here?"

A variety of affirmations filled the air.

"Good. Now, I apologize for asking such an odd question, but could you follow me?"

"Where, exactly?" questioned Kewell.

"Into the construction site. Or, at least, what's been finished so far, seeing how we are on its outskirts."

The gathered military and resistance personnel looked at each other, then shrugged - he wasn't asking that much more of them.

"I suppose so," replied Clovis.

"Thank you. And I apologize for dragging these students along with me - circumstances conspired such that this was the most...efficient way to ensure their safety."

"You could certainly word that better, big brother."

"I didn't exactly plan to bring them here with us."

"Fair enough."

"So, where are we headed?" asked Ohgi.

"This building will be a new subway station. The train tunnel is actually already complete...and we have a train to catch."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Sure enough, within the tunnel, there was indeed a train waiting, albeit one unlike any the new arrivals had ever seen before.

"What the...what kind of train is this?" questioned an amazed Cecile. "I've never seen this design before."

"Going by looks I'd say it's a bullet train. Something that the Elevens have been working on for the last four years. I never thought I'd see an active one so soon."

"Well, I can assure you that this is not the most advanced thing you will be seeing, Mr. Asplund," spoke a strangely synthetic voice over the surprisingly functional intercom.

"Hello, Julian."

"Greetings, Lelouch. It appears that you have brought a larger crowd than expected today."

"Circumstances forced a change in group size."

"That was not intended to be insulting. Now, may we move on to dividing up the arrivals for transport?"

"Sure."

"Excellent. Would Prince Clovis, Lord Kewell, Lord Gottwald, Lady Nu, Private Kururugi, Kaname Ohgi, Shinichiro Tamaki, Nagisa Chiba, Takeshi Nagata, Kento Sugiyama, Toru Yoshida, and all Ashford Students please report to the front car of the train? All others, file into the other cars in an orderly fashion."

"Wait, how did you-"

"Mr. Tamaki, we are very cautious about who we allow to know of our existence, and we have both deep pockets and many allies. We made sure to research everyone who would be brought here. Now please, do as you have been told."

"...Fine."

It took about five minutes for everyone to be settled in.

"Thank you for your compliance. The train will depart shortly. I have...prepared some video assistance to help my friend explain our organization to you. Please, focus your attentions on the nearest video screen."

XXXXXXXXXX

While the rank and file did as was told, those in the front car had their attentions focused on the former prince.

"So, are you finally going to offer an explanation?" asked an uncertain Rivalz. All eyes were on the Eleventh Prince of Britannia and his sister, though Nina's occasionally darted uncomfortably toward the various Japanese that occupied the car.

"Yes. Julian, could you ready the screens?"

"Already on it. Also, Lady Dierdre has arrived on base. She would like to have a word with you."

Though barely perceptible, Lelouch and Nunnally both flinched in surprise. Those present to witness this were shocked by the display, but chose not to press the matter - there were more important topics to discuss.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, then. I suppose now is the best time to explain things."

As the last word rolled off the prince's tongue, the train began to move. Many were surprised by how fast it accelerated.

Their attention soon focused on the screens, however, which now showed an old newspaper article depicting, ironically enough, a terror bombing.

"Fifty years ago, Britannia, the EU, and the Chinese Federation were all plagued by a wave of bombings done by an unknown force. In light of this event, Emperor Wilhelm ri Britannia, Prime Minister Sigrun Wolfcastle of the United Republic of Europia, and Emperor Xi Qin of the Chinese Federation created a joint military force to determine who had caused the bombings and bring them to justice. Thirty years passed, however, without the group being able to determine who perpetrated the attacks, and the force was essentially disbanded due to their lack of success."

"I presume that this ended with them finally locating those responsible for the bombings - or at least finidng evidence that closed the case," remarked Clovis.

"Somewhat - components from the initial bombings were recovered and stored at the Britannian main base for this group, which, by the time the culprits were discovered, was the last base in operation, though the staff were still from all across the world."

"It appeared that thirty years of escaping detection had given the terrorists a false sense of security, leading them to launch another bombing, this time on a Britannian natural gas power plant. This time, though, they neglected to leave the scene before they could be caught, allowing the Global Counterrorism Unit to uncover who they were. The results were...not as expected."

Before the group could ask broach a question, a new picture appeared - one of a bug eyed, grey skinned, mouthless creature, similar to ones that had been seen at Shinjuku.

"This creature, along with two others, were discovered at the bombing site. Autopsies performed on-base revealed that they were unlike any creature found on Earth...for a very simple reason."

This time, the picture was replaced by live footage of the bug eyed creature in battle...alongside what looked like a flying saucer.

"These creatures were not from Earth."

The front car fell completely silent at this, which lasted until Tamaki managed to find his voice.

"...Are you saying we're fighting aliens?"

Leouch merely nodded. "We are. This alien, designated a sectoid, was part of the first wave of the invasion, acting as slave troops for the true masterminds of this conflict, the Zudjari. Evidence found later in the war indicated the invaders had hoped to set off a global conflict with the bombings carried out three decades prior in an effort to weaken mankind before initiating their invasion. When their plans failed, however, they decided to wait an additional thirty years before external circumstances forced their hand. Those are not to be discussed now."

"With their forces now revealed, the aliens launched a massive attack on the public base of the unit that had discovered them: Groom Range. Those who escaped the battle retreated to the true base, where this mixture of old warriors and new recruits formed the basis of the newly rebranded Extraterrestrial Combat Unit-"

"XCOM, for short?"

"...Yes..."

"Lord Jeremiah Gottwald."

"Ah. I see. Do you have any further interruptions?"

"No. I apologise."

"Apology accepted. Now, continuing on, for this conflict, only the best would be brought into the fold of XCOM, which produced a group you might find rather surprising."

Now occupying the screen was a picture of what was presumably the first XCOM. Many were indeed surprised by who they saw amongst its number.

"Lady Marianne-"

"-Grandfather-"

"-Is that Tohdoh.-"

"To answer your question, yes, The Empress to be Marianne vi Britannia, Reuben Ashford, and Kyoshiro Tohdoh were all members of the original XCOM force, as were General Peter Van Dorn of the EU and Li Jun of the Chinese Federation. Whilst the majority of those named fought on the frontlines, Sir Ashford assisted Doctors Alan Weir and Heinrich Dresner in developing advances needed to emerge victorious in the war. including the first knightmare frame, designed based upon enemy combat walkers."

"...How did you win?" questioned Suzaku.

"Ultimately, we were able to kill of the leader of the invading forces, Origin. As he had essentially enslaved his entire species via a network of cybernetic implants known as Mosaic, his armies immediately sued for peace once free."

Any further questions were put on hold as the train finally reached its destination. Those who looked out the window were amazed to find themselves in what could best be described as a high tech loading dock, surrounded by drones and workers busy moving supplies to various decks.

"I do believe that is the end of our ride. Please exit through the doors on the left side of the train."

Obliging, the group found themselves greeted by a middle aged pair - one a man, the other a woman. Better descriptors beyond both having grey hair, though, were non-existent.

"Greetings, Lelouch," spoke the man.

"Former Director Faulke, it's a pleasure to see you."

"Pleasure is all mine, kid."

"And Deirdre, it's good to see you-Mmph!"

Whatever the prince had desired to say was cut off as the now named Lady Deirdre pulled the prince into a hug, one that was swiftly joined by his sister, who was assisted by Sayoko.

"It's been a month and you have sent me so much as a message. What would your father say?"

"Do you think I will listen to him?"

"...True, he was a jerk."

"Ahem."

Deirdre turned to look at Kallen, who had just cleared her throat.

"My apologies, but who are you?"

"Ah, where are my manners. I am Deirdre Faulke, Myron's wife...and Lelouch and Nunnally's paternal aunt."

Unnoticed to everyone else, Suzaku, Jeremiah, Milly, and Clovis blinked three times in succession before staring in shock at the woman.

"...So you're full name would be Deirdre Faulke, nee Lamperouge."

Deirdre simply gave her nephew a funny look, before turning to look at the red head.

"No. Lamperouge was my nephew's mother's name. I am Lady Deirdre Faulke, nee di Britannia."

All assembled froze up when they heard those words.

"... Wiat, so you're-"

"Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of Britannia, seventeenth in line for the throne, at your service."

Through all of that, Lelouch couldn't help but look embarrassed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: It lives!

Alright, some quick stuff before I collapse from lack of sleep:

Deirdre was a character I had planned out months ago - she's Charles' half sister. V.V. and Charles never figured out what happened to her after Charles took the throne.

Forbidden Citadel is the codename for XCOM Global HQ.

Having Tohdoh and Van Dorn be members of the Bureau was something I intended from the beginning.

As for Jeremiah, XCOM scouted him as a potential member and let him in on their existence, but he turned down the initial offer. This will be elaborated upon next chapter. If I get there.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!