Disclaimer: Code Geass belongs to Sunrise, Sebastian Connor belongs to me, Nathan and John Anderson belong to Wing Commander White Wolf.

Rise of Swords

By Storm Wolf77415

Turning Back the Clock

The Gottwald Orange Farm, twenty miles outside of Miami, Florida is one of the most prolific citrus orchards in all of Britannia, selling all kinds of products. Run by Jeremiah Gottwald, and his wife, Sayoko Shinozaki-Gottwald, along with their adopted daughter Anya Alstreim-Gottwald. Every day they're up at the crack of dawn, tending the hundreds of orange trees. This day is like any other.

Thirty-eight year old Jeremiah, former Margrave in the Britannian nobility, and leader of the Purist Faction, gave a sigh of satisfaction as he poured another load of oranges into the basket. He'd always loathed the business that brought his family their fortune. He never imagined he'd find such simple joy tending to the round citrus fruit. It was a warm spring afternoon, turning into evening.

"Jeremiah! It's dinnertime!" Thirty-three year old Sayoko called out. Jeremiah couldn't help but smile warmly at the woman of his heart. Tending to the oranges gave him drive and focus, but it was the former ninja turned maid which made his life complete. Even to this day, she still wore the small white hat which was the sign of her station from her time as a maid in the service of the Ashford family.

"On my way, my love." He replied back. His face became solemn, "Where is he?" Sayoko looked up to a massive hill overlooking the entire orchard. "Ah, I see."

"I sent Anya to get him." Sayoko shook her head. "It pains me so much to see him like this. I'm glad he's finally going out of the house, and showing some activity, but he still seems like he's lost all will to live at times. It just breaks my heart…I feel like I failed him." A Jeremiah wiped the tears out of her eyes, and put his arms around her neck.

"I know, my love. But we've done all we can for him. I can't help but feel a certain bit of responsibility for his current state." His hand went up to the orange mask covering the left side of his face. "If not for my Geass Canceller restoring her memories. She would have lived."

Up on the hill, a tired looking twenty-eight year old man sat on a broken stump, staring out into space. His dark brown hair heavily streaked with patches of gray. Jet black circles lined his sunken in, dull blue eyes, a haunted gaze someone as young as him should never have permanently engraved on his face. Sebastian Connor, once known to the world as Blade Wolf, right hand man and personal knight of the masked revolutionary, Zero, leader of the Order of the Black Knights, and secretly Eleventh Prince, Lelouch vi Britannia, was worn and tired.

The stump overlooking the orchard was his favorite place to think. His attention was now on a tattered photograph of his one and only love, Shirley Fenette. It was a picture taken in a happier time, she was sitting on a lounge chair, wearing a tight blue one piece swimsuit, which showed off her large chest, running her hand through long, strawberry blonde hair, vibrant green eyes, and a bright cheerful smile. He gave himself a rare smile, "Oh Shirley…" he rasped.

A pair of hands on his shoulder brought him out of his reflections. "It's time for dinner. You know how Sayoko gets when you don't eat," Anya intoned. Time had turned the former Knight of Six into a beautiful young woman of twenty four, her pink hair grown out down to her shoulders. Her voice was still a low monotone, but the concern she showed for her adoptive older brother was quite genuine.

"Thanks, Anya." He croaked, putting the picture of Euphie away. He watched as Anya walked back to the house. He sighed. "Oh, if you only knew what I was about to do." The last nine years had been hard on the young warrior, but anyone looking close enough would see a small gleam in his otherwise dark eyes. He stood up and followed the pink haired girl into the house and sat down to a simple meal, before turning in for the night. Sebastian was wide awake in bed, sleepless nights a familiar area for him. He looked over at the alarm clock which blinked 2:37 AM.

Sighing, he crawled out of his bed, peeling off the light pajama pants he usually wore, changing into a pair of weathered jeans, a plain dark green t-shirt, and a dark blue AC/DC "Back in Black" hoodie. He slid on a pair of battered tennis shoes, and walked out of the house towards the old barn. Sebastian heaved the door open, the musty scent of old hay assailing his senses.

"It's time." He wheezed to no one in particular. He walked to the farthest back of the barn, where a shrouded figure sat. He pulled off the massive tarp, revealing a Knightmare Frame in a dark forest green, with white shoulders. Mounted on its left arm was a massive MVS switchblade/VARIS rifle combination. Two standard MVS blades mounted on the hips. This beast was IFX-V226 Maelstrom, Sebastian's personal Ninth Generation Knightmare Frame during the last part of the Zero Revolution, as the Black Knights' two year long battle became known as throughout the world.

Maelstrom had been shot down by his former comrades in the final battle over Mt. Fuji, but now, it was restored to its former glory. Sebastian managed a small, wistful smile. Even after so many years mired in gloom and depression, he felt a rush of exhilaration looking at the mighty war machine. Maelstrom was integral to a plan he been hatching for the last few years, and now it was time to put said plan into action. He hopped onto the machine's leg, the hatch in the torso opened. Sebastian sat down in the chair, strapped in, bringing Maelstrom to life. "Sebastian Connor… Maelstrom…ready for departure." He said, throttling the engines, the Air Wing Glide System unfolded, flaring to life with a green flash.

Maelstrom hovered over the house, the Blade Wolf taking one last look at the place he called home for nine years. "Forgive me, Jeremiah, Sayoko. You two stayed with us until the very end, and did your best to care for me. But I can't stay here…hopefully, if this plan works, we'll all be able to go home together. Farewell." Sebastian whispered, as he turned Maelstrom and started flying west towards Japan.

A week and half later…

Sebastian sucked in a breath as he stood before the Japanese style temple that was the control room of the rebuilt Sword of Akasha. Maelstrom stood placidly on the platform next to him, "It's time, no going back from here." He walked into the darkened control room. A single column of light illuminated a pedestal containing a big red button, labeled 'Press to initiate great cosmic reset. Do not push unless you REALLY mean it!' After nine years, he was going to set things right. He was about to hit the button when footsteps came from behind him. Mentally cursing himself, his hand went to his father's old Colt M1911.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" he declared in the loudest voice possible, ready for a fight. His eyes bulged at the figure stumbling out of the shadows. "No…fucking…way…YOU!" coming out of the darkness…was the former 99th Emperor, Lelouch Vi Britannia himself! He looked as he did in the moment of his death, still clad in the blood stained white robes he died in! Before the former Demon Emperor could even get a word in, Sebastian wound up and slugged Lelouch clean in the jaw, before dragging him out onto the platform.

"Sebastian? What's gotten into you?" Lelouch ran his hand along his jaw.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! THAT'S FOR LEAVING ME ALONE FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS YOU FUCKING COCKBITE!" He roared, tears running down his face as he held Lelouch eye to eye with him. It took him a few minutes to connect that he just punched a dead man. "Wait a minute…how ARE you here? Last time I checked…you're dead."

"I…really don't know. I was surrounded by darkness for the longest time. I could see a light in the distance and I just kept walking towards it. I felt something inside pulling me here. I heard your voice the closer I came. Next thing I know I'm here. Sebastian…this looks like the Sword of Akasha. What are you doing?"

"Yes, this is the Sword of Akasha. As for what I'm doing, I'll tell you what I'm doing, Lelouch. Fixing the mess your fucking Zero Requiem made." Sebastian's normally dull blue eyes were ablaze with a mix of emotions. "You have NO IDEA what my life has been like since you died! Alone with no one except Jeremiah and Sayoko to keep what little of my sanity from slipping away! To not even have the comfort of my OWN BROTHER? I don't have a pack to run with, or even have a cause to fight for!"

"Sebastian, please understand. I believed the Zero Requiem was the best chance for peace. I still believe that. I did this because I learned sometimes…you have to be willing to put everything on the line. You have to be ready to sacrifice your own life for the good of the people. Even if it means you become a monster in the eyes of those same people you wish to protect."

"Not to me!" he spat back, sounding more and more like the Blade Wolf of old, his voice raising with each word. "We needed you! Kallen needed you! C.C. needed you! Nunally needed you! I needed you! What about Euphie? Would SHE have wanted to see Suzaku MURDER you? She'd have died right there!" Sebastian sucked in a big breath to keep his voice from cracking. "Between losing you, Shirley and Euphie, I've been miserable! So much, I tried to follow you into hell! If you know what I mean? And I know you do!"

"Sebastian…you didn't!" Lelouch said in horror. The Black Prince's heart sank at the sight of the Blade Wolf's sinister smirk. "It seems all I do is harm the people I care about, even when I try to help them."

"Well, I'm glad you finally admitted how much you fucked up! But I'll tell you a funny thing happened when I tried to off myself… I LIVED! I jumped off a rocky embankment on Jeremiah's property, and I lived! You know why?" Sebastian held up his hand and the sigil of Geass appeared. Lelouch recoiled. "That's right! I have the same power C.C. does…the same power your father did. I inherited his Code, because my Geass was fully evolved when you killed him. My mortal death unlocked the Code and opened my eyes. The Code is so much more than immortality. It's the collective memory of humanity as seen through the eyes of the previous Code bearers. The Sword of Akasha is so much more than Chuckie intended for it. It has the power to transcend time and space itself, I can use it to get back everything what I…what we, lost."

Lelouch put his chin in his hand. The wheels in his head already turning in his head. "Are you telling me…you can bring all those we lost back to life?" Sebastian emphatically shook his head.

"No, as wonderous a device as the Sword of Akasha is, it can't do that, nothing can resurrect the dead. It CAN, however, do the next best thing. I'm going to reset time back sixteen years to 2010, and do everything in my power to create a better outcome for the future."

"Ah, time travel, a rough venture in itself. You know, there's no telling what could happen if you go through with this." Lelouch warned.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised to hear you of all people tell me that, Lelouch. You're the Chessmaster. I'd think you of all people would appreciate a little 'calculated risk.' But you are right, just by returning to the past would create a ripple effect, causing changes neither of us could anticipate. But I've come too far now to give up."

"Just what exactly did you plan on changing that far back, anyway?"

"I was…planning on having Euphie come with us to Japan, Maybe Jeremiah too. Those times in Japan before the invasion were some of our happiest in my eyes. You, Me, Suzaku, and Nunally, playing hide and seek. I want Euphie to share those times with us. Our times at Ashford would be so much brighter with her there. Plus we need all the preparation time we can get. Lelouch, we can learn from our mistakes, and do things right this time. Euphie's death isn't the only one we can prevent. You know what I'm talking about."

"Indeed, I made many foolish decisions the last time around. Euphie, Shirley's father, Shirley herself…" Lelouch swallowed hard at the last one, remembering Shirley's final words to them as the life in her eyes faded out, tears staining her cheeks as her voice strained to utter those last few precious words.

"Sebby, I love you. Lulu, you were a good friend. Even knowing how you caught my father in all this. I simply couldn't hate you two. Even though Lulu made me forget everything I still always loved with you. Even though my memories were tampered with, I fell in love with you all over again. No matter how many times I'm reborn. I'll keep falling in love with you, Sebby. I suppose that it's simply fate. So is that okay then Sebby? And as I'm reborn, I'll fall in love with you over and over. I'll keep falling in love with…"

Lelouch quickly pushed the memories to the back of his mind, not needing to be reminded anymore. "You're right, Sebastian, we can learn from our mistakes and do things better this time. Your idea holds merit, with Jeremiah present we'll have a strong protector for when the invasion starts, and Euphie can rally the people to the cause of the Black Knights as our public face."
The Blade Wolf smiled for the first time in nine years, "It takes a big man to admit his mistakes, and an even bigger man to try and fix them. Speaking of the Black Knights, are you going to reveal your true identity to them?" Sebastian asked.

"Not right away, but eventually. I will reveal Geass to them at our first meeting. Schneizel turned them against me because he twisted my words to think I brainwashed them. I won't give him that advantage again." Lelouch's eyes blazed. "You must have been outraged if your idea of a 'resignation letter' involved breaking his arms and legs, slitting his throat and disemboweling him with a machete. If you wanted the severance package, all you had to do was ask."

"Oh, that is BAD, man! BAD! It only took you nine years to notice? Yeah, I was outraged at both of you. Outraged at you for coming up with such a ridiculous idea, and outraged at Schneizel for turning the Black Knights against us, and feeding Nunally all that garbage."

"That's one thing I'll never forgive him for. Because of his actions, I had to make Nunally cry…" Lelouch's memories floated to the moments of his death, remembering his sister's tearful pleas.

Everyone could only gaze on in horror and astonishment at the scene unfolding before them. Zero, the man once known as Suzaku Kururugi, had made his way through the Vincent Wards and Jeremiah himself and now his sword was pointed directly at Lelouch's midsection. To the Black Knights and everyone else, it seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it only lasted 2.8 seconds. Within those 2.8 seconds, Zero's blade was buried all the way to the handguard in the 99th Emperor's chest. Lelouch's once pristine imperial white robes stained red with the Demon Emperor's blood. Zero pulled the blade He stumbled forward, sliding down to where Nunally, bound in chains, sat.

The Eleventh Princess crawled over to her brother, "Lelouch?" Nunally asked, gazing into his brilliant violet eyes. Even after all that had happened, he was still her big brother, and in the depths of her heart. Their bond as siblings still existed. With trepidation, she took Lelouch's hand in hers, and a bevy of images washed over her. Lelouch and Suzaku discussing the Zero Requiem. The symbolic passing of the torch as Suzaku received the mantle of Zero.

"It can't be! Lelouch, you were?" Nunally gasped. She picked up her brother's hand. "Oh, brother, I love you!" Lelouch tried to form those words, but he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Yes…I destroy…the world…and make it…anew." Lelouch breathed his last.

"You can't leave me! You can't! Please! Open your eyes, big brother! Please! BIG BROTHER!" Nunally sobbed hystercially, as her brother went limp in her arms.

"Lelouch the Demon is dead! Free his prisoners!" Cornelia barked. The crowd erupted into chaos as they swarmed around the float containing the Vi Britannia siblings.

The captive Black Knights whispered amongst themselves. "Is that who I think it is?" Kyoushiro Toudoh asked as he gazed at Zero.
"It's him!" Kallen Kozuki said through clenched teeth, "It's Zero!"

"It's not fair! You can be so cruel, big brother! All I ever needed to be happy was to be with you! How can I ever look forward to the future without you?" Nunally's anguished cries were swallowed by the chants of "Zero! Zero!" from the crowd around her.

"I remember that day, too. I went ballistic when you finally explained what the Zero Requiem's true purpose was. But I was still there…I just couldn't stay away." Sebastian replied as he remembered the fateful day from his point of view.

Sebastian stood on a nearby rooftop, clad in a dark blue hoodie, jeans, and a backwards baseball hat with sunglasses to hide his identity as the triumphant Demon Emperor lead his prisoners to their execution. As far as the world knew, Sebastian Connor, one of the two Knights of Zero had died during the Battle of Mount Fuji. He wanted nothing to do with his best friend's demise. But as with Nunally, Sebastian saw Lelouch as family, and no amount of hate could completely dissolve such bonds. All he could do was be witness as the world changed forever. His clenched hand slammed on the concrete wall in anger, as tears fell from Sebastian's eyes. "You damned fucking fool!" he choked out. A pair of delicate hands gripped his shoulders.

He turned to his companion, Sayoko Shinozaki, the thirty-seventh heiress to the Shinozaki Ninja School. Sayoko had been hired by the Ashford Family and served as maid to Nunally, and protector to all three children since the invasion of Japan. Her loyalty was rock solid as Jeremiah's. Even when the Black Knights turned on him, she remained faithful to the very end.

He looked into Sayoko's chocolate brown eyes. "Where do we go from here?" He sniffed. "He's all I had left!" Sebastian broke down into tears, burying his face into her chest as she held him.

"Come on Sebastian, we're going to join with Jeremiah and retreat to his farm in Florida. There's nothing left for us here. Let's just follow Lelouch's final request and live the rest of our lives best we can." She said, her own eyes misty. He nodded obediently, and the two headed off the roof.

"I was so consumed with making the happier world she wanted, I pushed her and ignored her," Lelouch's voice was heavy.

"You're only human, Lelouch. It's natural to feel that way." Sebastian reassured his friend. "I'll admit what I'm doing is very selfish. But if I had to choose between either a lifetime of loneliness and solitude or taking a chance to regain my loved ones. I'd take option two every single time. Besides, my only company for the past decade was a former noble turned cyborg, his ninja-maid wife, and the formerly deadpan loli they adopted. By the way, Anya grew into a beautiful young lady. She just turned twenty four."

"What about…her?" Lelouch asked of the green haired beauty which had started everything for the two men.

"Our resident witch? She came by the farm after my Code awakened. Said I'd 'need her help to adjust to being immortal.' Personally I think she was just bored. Although she is quite wild in the sack." Sebastian grinned a mile wide.

"Wait what? You…and the witch?" Lelouch couldn't believe his ears. Sebastian just chuckled low.

"I was immortal and lonely, She was immortal and lonely…we were both in mourning for our long deceased loved ones, pretty common way for romances to start. It didn't last long though. My heart only belonged to Shirley, but C.C. made those days a little easier to get through. I'm not going to lose her again. If I see either Mao or Rolo, I'm going to kill them."

"The best protection for her is to join the Black Knights." Lelouch concluded.

"I wonder how'd Shirley would look in C.C.'s dress?" Sebastian giggled perversely at the sight of Shirley wearing the black and silver gown, complete with fingerless opera gloves C.C. wore during the second half of the campaign.

"Well…perhaps we should stop talking and get to work. I had come to terms with my death, to be forever known as the Demon Emperor. However, it seems someone has seen fit to give me a second chance…if you're willing to let me…brother." Lelouch said, holding out his hand. Sebastian wasted no time firmly grasping it.

"We're together again…the way it should always be. Well…my prince, let us set on our path. BTW, I've set us up with a trump card," he pointed to Maelstrom.

"Ah, you found the remains of your old Knightmare and rebuilt it. Suzaku's not going to have an early advantage anymore." Lelouch smirked.

"I'm not going to sic Maelstrom on him right away. If Britannia learns the resistance has a sophisticated Knightmare Frame in their possession with technology outstripping their very best, they'll wonder where it came from and probably try to capture it. Although I wouldn't mind taking Maelstrom and giving Suzaku and his precious Lancelot a thorough curbstomping for all the times he interfered in the early going. Come on, let's get this dog and pony show underway."

The two walked into the control room. Lelouch could only smirk at the start up button and accompanying warning. "By the way, I love your control setup, a giant red button with the blatantly obvious warning, 'Do not push unless you REALLY mean it?' Some people would call that over the top and cliché."

"Hey, don't knock the big red button! The big red button is completely idiot proof! TAMAKI couldn't foul this up. I'm not sure how Chuckie intended to start this thing, and I'm of the 'keep it simple stupid' approach. So I went the path of the big red button! We gonna do this or not?"

Lelouch held his hand up to the button, "For Euphie…"

Sebastian mirrored his friend's action "For Shirley…"

"Let's do it!" they both said, pounding the button that sounded with a loud AHWOOGA! Machinery started up. Electricity started arcing. As he looked at Lelouch, the Blade Wolf felt the years fall away from him. A new sense of hope filling his body, the future wasn't fixed, they could make a better tomorrow and do it right this time around. "Hang on, girls…we're coming back to you both." He thought as the Sword activated, and a brilliant red tinged light washed over the two men, the last thing both saw was the bright yellow sigil of Geass. Little did Zero and Blade Wolf know what effect resetting time would have on the world, while on track to fixing their original mistakes…new problems would rear their heads, but new allies would come to the Black Knights' aid.

September 2009, Anderson Plantation, South Carolina

Two families supported Marianne Lamperouge in her rise to power. The Ashfords, led by Reuben Ashford, Earl of Baltimore, and the Andersons, led by Jacob Anderson, Grand Duke of South Carolina, The Ashfords were Marianne's main patron, Reuben recommended her to be knighted, gaining entry into the prestigious Knights of the Round as the Knight of Six. But it was the Anderson family's personal forces, the Silverwing Brigade, who were Marianne's muscle in battle. Any threat to their empress would result in their full might crashing down on their head. A fact that Victor Di Britannia, now known as V.V. knew all too well.

So it was as V.V. gunned down the woman known as "The Flash" in the ballroom of the Aries Villa. On the other side of the Britannian homeland, just outside Charlotte, South Carolina, the Anderson family plantation was a wash of blood. Geass Directorate soldiers in Royal Guard uniforms burned the massive hundred year old three story mansion and the equally old barn. V.V. ordered his men to spare none of them, in fear the Andersons would seek revenge for Marianne's death. His fears would prove true.

Two of the most important members of the Anderson clan, Jacob's two sons, Eighteen year old Nathan and eight year old John already fled the plantation. John on his brother's back. Nathan took a moment to look behind at the burning remains of his home, the flames rising ever higher into the night sky. At that moment, he'd love nothing more than to run back down the hill, shooting at anything that moved, but the safety of his little brother came first. "Don't worry, John, everything's going to be okay. We're going to head for the St. Marcus and hook up with our forces. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Nathan…" John whimpered, tears running down his small cheeks. "They're all gone."

"I know…I know." Nathan set the boy down and dug a small foxhole. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Nathan placed John inside, placing branches to hide him. He picked up his bag and headed off into the woods with death and destruction in mind. A searing pain stopped him in his tracks, The pain of a thousand rusty scalpels stabbing into his brain forced him to his knees, screaming in unholy pain and agony. The racket attracting the attention of nearby soldiers.

"WHAT IS THIS?" He roared in agony, as the pain centered itself in his left eye, a bevy of images racing through his head.

"NATHAN!" John screamed, climbing out of the foxhole to help his brother.

"STAY THERE!" he yelled seeing a squad of Britannian soldiers approach, raising their rifles. "Damn! There's too many of them!" He prepared to fight to the death, when everything became clear as crystal and time slowed, "What the?" he didn't wait for an answer he drew a short blade and his pistol out of his coat and began to lay waste to his enemies. In the span of twenty minutes, the entire squad was dead.

Nathan ran back to John, rooted to the spot where he stood, his expression a mixture of awe and fear. "Brother...what happened? One minute they were going to shoot you and then the next you were moving like a blur."

The elder Anderson shook his head, "I don't know. Right now I consider it a blessing." he pulled his cell phone and dialed the number of the only person he could trust.

"Hello?" A smooth, cool voice answered the phone.

"Viletta, this is Nathan. Get your car and pick my brother and I up a few miles from the plantation. Please hurry, now!" his tone was a little shaky and panting.

"Nathan...are you okay?" Nineteen year old Viletta Nu said worriedly.

"No time to explain! Just get here and pick us up! Hurry!" he urged.

"Okay, give me a few minutes." she replied, the line going dead.

"Alright." he hung up. "Hang on little John." Nathan picked up the boy, "She's comin'." They trekked through the woods a little further until they reached a stretch of road which led back to the plantation. Viletta's car appeared about forty five minutes later.

"Nathan, what in the hell is going on here? Why are you and John in the bushes?" She looked at the two battered, dirty men, and then looked to the glow in the night sky. "Nathan…what happened?"

He placed the boy in the back seat, got in and slammed the door shut. "Royal Guard came…They're dead…Mom, Dad, all of them" Nathan panted, "Drive...head to our family's lake house. Only Mom and Dad knew about it."

Tears leaked from Viletta's eyes as it sunk in for her. "Oh...Nathan, I'm so sorry!" Viletta's heart broke at the realization Nathan's entire family was wiped out. She had loved Jacob and his wife, Patricia as much as she loved her own parents, and both of them reciprocated those feelings in full, hoping to call her their daughter-in-law one day.

"Don't be…you would have been killed too if you had been with me. Viletta, I hate to say this, but you're gonna have to stay with us from here on out. By helping us escape, you've become involved too."

She shook her head dismissively "Doesn't bother me! I'd follow you anywhere, you know that. But still, from a rational viewpoint, why would your family be slaughtered like this? They've been nothing but loyal to the Emperor!" she asked.

Nathan shrugged, leaning back feeling a slight jolt of pain in his side. He reached to his side and felt something warm and wet, Blood and to make things worse there were metal shards imbedded in the wound. "My adrenaline must have been pumping."

"Nathan? Nathan, you're bleeding!" Viletta said in horror.

"This is nothing, I've had Knightmare accidents worse than this. We can fix this up once we reach the lake house," They drove in silence for the rest of the night. John slept in the back, Nathan silently gazed out the window. Eventually the three reached the Anderson's summer home as the first rays of morning broke out over the mountains. The car slowly rolled up the driveway.

"Looks quiet enough," Viletta remarked. "But that can mean anything." Nathan nodded.

"Stay in the car, if anything happens, don't worry about me, just take John and get as far away from here as possible." he grabbed his Five Seven and fitted it with a suppressor and got out of the car. He explored the house and came back motioning to Viletta, holding a sleeping John in her arms, to come inside. "It's clear. We'll be safe here for a while." Nathan took the sleeping boy from his girlfriend before taking him to his room and closed the door.

Viletta turned on the light and the two sat down at the dinner table. "Now that we can talk freely, what happened back there?"

Nathan removed his bullet ridden long coat revealing his custom built body armor. The fabric of his vest was shredded full of holes as he peeled it off along with his shirt. "I just don't get it, Vil. I was reading John a bedtime story, when I saw hordes of Royal Guard troops coming onto the plantation grounds. Dad demanded to know what they were doing, and they opened fire on everyone." he pulled a first aid kit from a cabinet and handed it to her. "I'll need your help removing the shards."

"That looks really painful." She remarked, wincing at the myriad of metal shards stuck in his skin.

"Try having hot two inch thick armor fragments the size of your thumb from your Knightmare embedded inside you, this is bee stings compared to that." Nathan said.

She chuckled slightly, taking the tweezers and starting to tug out the shrapnel a piece at a time. After she pulled the shards out, she rubbed ointment all over Nathan's back and applied some bandages, "So...what do we do now?" she said, washing her hands.

"I'll get you and John to the St. Marcus. Right now they're probably all which remains of our family's troops. I recall hearing one of the soldiers mentioning hitting all of our assets, but we kept its location secret. After that, I'll talk to Lady Elizabeth. I'm still leery of most of the royal family right now, but I know she's at least trustworthy."

Viletta raised an eyebrow, "Your family's airship? It's complete?"

Nathan smirked. "And completely operational, we can trust the people "

The dark skinned beauty kissed him, "You know I'll stand by you, no matter what."

"I know my love." he smiled at her as he pulled the steel plate out of the back of his vest. "Whoa." he stared at the plate. "Ninety-five rounds." he examined the chest plate. "Forty there." Viletta looked like she wanted to faint.

"How did you survive something like that? That's not possible...even for you, hon!" Viletta said.

"I have no Idea and yet they got me with a frag... Wait." he turned each plate over and laughed upon seeing the engraving on the plating. It read: Steel Fox T-Carbon 3 IA. "There's your answer, Vil. This armor was of my own design. It could take anything."

Viletta shook her head. "No, Nathan. That's not what I meant. I know how strong the body armor your family is, but that alone shouldn't have been enough to save you. Something else had to have been at work."

Nathan thought back to the incident with the guards, "Well, now you bring it up, I remember having a massive headache, like someone was using a rusty scalpel to hack my brain apart. A rush of images, and then... my mind was crystal clear, I could see everything, the birds, my brother hiding under the branches, even the soldiers themselves. Then time just slowed to crawl. It was like a shooting gallery."

Viletta frowned. "Strange, what images did you see? Were there any faces you recognized?"

"Prince Lelouch, and Sebastian Connor when they were older. If I didn't know better it would have been seven or eight years from now. Sebastian looked like a train wreck, his eyes were all sunken in, and his skin was white as a sheet. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he hadn't seen the light of day in years…and Lelouch's clothes were stained in blood. I don't know what that means. Vil, we've got a long road ahead of us."

Viletta wrapped her arms around her neck. "And I will stay by you and John to the end…I love you." They kissed as the morning sun came out over the horizon, a new day had dawned.