I was really challenged writing this. Due to contraints, I decided only to include certain parts of an over 10,000 word chapter. The other parts will possibly appear in my drabble work, A Thousand Cranes for You, which is a dump for all the touching, euphoric, fluffy, hurt, and love scenes that I can't add here. Currently, A Thousand Cranes For you contains one removed excerpt from this story set more than five chapters away. Think of it as a preview.

Characters:

Lelouch - Britainnian prince that created the alternate persona of Zero and fought to liberate Japan. He then eventually came to rule the entire world. Possesses the power of geass via a contract with C.C.. Later he entered the top secret Orion program after faking his own death. He is an expert tactician and strategist. Cold, calculating, hyper lethal.

C.C. - Eternally young, immortal girl that gives Lelouch geass, allowing for him to start his plans to rebuild the world. Now she could possibly give the key to destroying the world as we know it to A.A. She is deeply smitten with Lelouch, and is his lover.

A.A. -Mysterious creature from another world. Is thought to be after C.C. And is known to be thousands of years old. No further Intel is available at this time.

I.I. - Orihime Inoue is her real name. She was originally the captive of Sosuke Aizen, but since his victory over the Soul Society, she has become an accomplice, and now is acting as an emissary to A.A.

V.V. - Charles zi Britainnia's older brother, an eternally young, immortal child, whom teamed up with his brother to try and create a new world.

Charles zi Britainnia - Former emperor, defeated by his son, Lelouch.

Emil - experimental super soldier. Current in all forms of combat, weaponry and vehicles. Is brash, bold and heartless. Works for Office of Planetary Defense

Motoko - experimental super soldier. Current in all forms of combat, weaponry and vehicles. Specializes in technological skills. Works for Office of Planetary Defense.

Suzaku - Talented pilot, former Knight of seven, and former Knight of Zero. Now serves as Zero under Lelouch's contract. He is seeking answers right now concerning Lelouch's whereabouts, and intentions.

Kallen - Talented Pilot, Served as pilot directly under Zero. Now Black Nights specialist.

Ohgi - A Commander in the Black Nights. A teacher before he was a rebel. He now directs control immediately under Zero.

Tohdoh - Former Japan Liberation Front member. Talented warrior, traditional and reserved in mentality. He followed Zero without question. Currently Black Night specialist

Dr. Akagi - She was in charge of multiple highly volatile projects, including Evangelion, Genesis,STARS, and ORION. Lelouch is actively working with her to discover more of earth's ancient past. Works for Office of Planetary Defense.

Urahara - Former Soul Society Research and Development head. Seems to be working on the ORION project.

Yoruichi - Former Stealth force head. Seems to be working on the ORION project.

Rukia - Spec ops shinigami. Remnant from Soul Society's destruction.

Ash - Geass user. Given geass by C.C. Infatuated with her as well.

Renya - Geass user. Given geass by C.C. Infatuated with her as well.

Misc:

Office Of Planetary Defense - Secret organization that does not waver even in changing governments and politics. Works in the shadows to ensure that life on earth keeps spinning. Has been watching Lelouch ever since his involvement with geass.

ORION - prototype super soldier project. No further intel is available at this time.

Black Nights - Former resistance group, then freelance military. Now Japan's military force. Sectioned to provide all military needs, including intelligence.

Soul Society - Defeated head of spiritual affairs. No further intel is available at this time.

Mysterious creatures -Xfor - Possible alien lifeform that seems to be after C.C.. Intel is being gathered at this average two meters tall, with long silvery armored bodies. They have humanoid features, including the same facial arrangement, pale skin, and feature feathers behind their ears. Hair seems to represent rank in relation to length. Some have been discovered with geass markings, along with twenty seven other similiar markings. The geass 'bird' symbol is believed to be the fourth symbol in their alphabet, and alone, the character means 'Manipulation'.The creatures are thought to be alien to the planet, but that may not be the case.

Epsilon Base - Office of Planetary Defense's South American base and observatory. multiple story installation with twenty floors of subterranean laboratories, shelters and armories. With no government backing since the fall of Brittainnia, funds and supplies are limited.

Chapter 9- Peices

THIS CHAPTER IS IN "BITS AND PIECES" FORMAT. The entire events aren't described. The battles that take place are only mentioned, not described.

Screaming and explosions reached Lelouch's ears. He rose from bed, only grabbing a weapon. C.C. had been curled up beside him, now wide awake, confused at what was happening.

"Get dressed." He ordered. "Hurry, somethings happening."

"Motoko, whats going on?" Lelouch asked over his comm.

"It's the creatures we saw in the Tokyo settlement.", She informed, "They're dropping in the base courtyard."

"I'm going to take C.C. to the underground labs. I'll come up and assist in a moment." He finished.

C.C. dressed quickly, not having time to fix her long green hair. In moments Lelouch led the way from his quarters, carefully protecting her. After turning several halls, he led them to an elevator.

Moments after Lelouch pressed several buttons, the elevator lurched downward.

"Were going down. Way down." C.C. obviously pointed out.

"Indeed." He answered, " Only the most secretive and vital people and items go down here."

"Vital?" She asked. "How vital am I?"

"Priority 1." He replied.

She didn't say anything, unsure of the meaning.

Lelouch thought for a moment. "More valuable than all world leaders combined."

C.C. felt no need to reply. Soon the elevator came to a stop, opening its smooth sliding doors, revealing several scientists working in a subterranean laboratory.

"Well, well, Lelouch...You finally come to visit?" Rakshata asked, looking up from her work.

"No I brought you something to watch." He pointed to C.C., softly pushing her out of the elevator.

"We're not babysitters!" Lloyd exclaimed, "Its bad enough that you abducted all of us to work for you!"

Lelouch said nothing, only giving C.C. a small smile as the elevator doors closed. Soon he was on his way back up to the surface. The green haired girl turned, looking at the group of scientists in front of her. She was already familiar with Lloyd, Cecile, and Rakshata, giving them a rather awkward greeting.

The only scientist she didn't know was a short haired blond in her mid thirties. She wore a small pair of glasses, typing at a computer terminal with insane speed.

"I'm Dr. Akagi.", The woman introduced herself, " You have been brought down here because you are a high priority target. You're over twenty stories underground."

C.C. said nothing, her eyes watching the woman as she work.

"Come here." Dr. Akagi asked her. She hadn't looked away from the terminal while she had addressed C.C..

The green haired immortal stepped close to her, unsure of what she wanted. In several moments the doctor stopped typing, standing up from her chair. She lifted C.C.'s bangs, looking at the geass mark that was upon her forehead.

"And this is why you are so special." Dr. Akagi exclaimed. "How old are you? Several centuries?"

C.C. fidgeted. "I don't remember."

"Thats natural." Dr. Akagi sighed, " Your human mind can't hold enough memory for you. You eventually forget while other memories fade into blurry images."

C.C. merely nodded in agreement.

"Do you have telepathy?" Dr. Akagi asked flatly.

"Yes." C.C. agreed.

"Let me in, It'll make this allot easier." Dr. Akagi ordered, taking C.C.'s hand.

The immortal had never met someone that seemed to know so much about her situation so quickly. Reluctantly she agreed, letting the woman into her consciousness.

"Ahh, I see." The doctor's voice echoed, "Let me tweak a few things. Your mind isn't made for living so long. I can fix that. This will alleviate all those problems your probably feel with pointlessness and hopelessness, and I can reconfigure the way your memory stores information so you can keep more critical memories over time."

C.C. came back to reality, shocked what this woman was doing to her. She felt strange, but Dr. Akagi didn't stop there. She walked away, leaving the room for a moment, then reappearing with a large syringe. At the size of the needle

C.C. slowly took a step back.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be." Dr. Akagi warned.

C.C. got ready to run as the woman was coming closer. In the past few moments, the green haired girl had suddenly developed a fear of needles.

"What did you do to me?" C.C. asked.

"I adjusted you mentality in conjunction with you consciousness." Dr. Akagi sighed "It makes life easier for immortals like yourself. It only normally happens whenever one dies and passes on, I just did it for you...wait... I probably should have administered the serum first...immaturity is an effect of such a procedure...oh gawd, your not scared of needles now, are you?"

"Very." C.C. meekly admitted.

"Hold her down." Dr. Akagi ordered. C.C. looked around in horror as Lloyd, Cecile and Rakshata grabbed her. She struggled desperately, trying to avoid the needle at all costs.

Several moments later, C.C. sat beside Dr. Akagi as she worked. The green haired girl had tears in her eyes, sitting complacently.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Lloyd asked.

C.C. shook her head in agreement. She suddenly felt like a child, and such a painful shot was an issue.

As a sudden nostalgia set in she felt like crying some more. She soon started to sob to the dismay of the scientists.

"What did you do to her?" Lloyd screamed.

"She is living for a long period of time." Dr. Akagi explained. "Her subconsciousness needed to be configured for that. Unfortunately she is now slightly immature as a side effect. It'll wear off soon enough."

"Slightly?" Lloyd sarcastically replied, "She's bawling like a six year old!"

"Don't cry!" Cecile gently comforted.

"I waaaant Lulu!" She cried.

"Lulu?" The scientists asked, unsure of the name. They looked at each other, wondering what she could mean.

"Lelouch?" Cecile wondered.

"Mm-hm." C.C. nodded.

All of the scientists looked at each other. Cecile suddenly brightened up, running out of the room. She came back with a box of crayons and paper, showing the assorted coloring utensils to C.C.. The girl's face suddenly brightened, taking the crayons and paper eagerly.

Several moments later, C.C. found it strange that she was coloring like a child. She shrugged it off, continuing to color.

"Lelouch! Get down here!" Rakshata yelled over the comm, now clearly agitated.

"I can't! Fire's to heavy!" He replied over the comm.

"Damn it." Rakshata cursed.

"He's not coming, is he?" Lloyd asked, sighing at the possibility of their project's capture.

"We can't let the Black Nights capture this, nor Britainnia...Lelouch might be the only one that can interface with it now." Dr. Akagi pointed out.

"This is definitely a problem..." Rakshata sighed, trying to think of a solution. Her eyes came to C.C., who sat on a crate, a Cheese-kun plushy in her arms. She complacently stared off into the wall, as though she was detached from the world, not caring about the desperate situation that surrounded her.

"One who is a giver of geass has psychic abilities, right?" Rakshata asked Akagi.

"Indeed." Dr. Akagi answered.

"Do you think we could substitute that for the advanced neural interface?" Rakshata asked, a tinge of hope in her voice.

"I believe we could rewrite the coding and recalibrate the interface for it..." Lloyd chided in, "...I assume it could provide a near instantaneous method to communicate with the user, giving performance parallel to the Lancelot."

C.C. looked up to see scientists closing in around her. She jumped up only to be grabbed by her arms and drug away.

"What are you doing?" The green haired immortal screamed, grabbing onto a door frame they passed through, desperately trying to resist.

"We know you'll never agree to this...so were going to force you...sorry!" Rakshata cutely explained.

"All of you are insane!" C.C. screamed.

In several moments, she had been thrown into a closet with a skintight flight suit, locked in until she changed into it. She reluctantly switched outfits, the flight suit easily sliding on, and then automatically coming to a skintight fit. It was a dark gray and plain with gold details, and felt almost weightless.

"Hurry now!" Lloyd insisted, opening the closet, pulling the girl out of the room.

C.C. was quickly hurried to a thick black piece of body armor. The scientists shoved her in, suddenly sealing the back of the armor with a suction that knocked the breath out of her. Soon they were throwing on metal pieces, each one being fastened to the armor, while Rakshata worked on the back, inserting vital components.

"I thought all of you were creating a next generation Nightmare frame." C.C. pried, realizing that this was entirely not a Nightmare frame.

"We were. Lets say we stumbled on some tactical revelations that our going to revolutionize vehicles and armor." Lloyd answered.

Soon the immortal was in a large suit of armor that was not bulky as Nightmare frames were, but smaller and more agile in appearance. Her figure was even somewhat visible in the form fitting structure, aside from the metal plating that wrapped around the limbs and chest. The only thing missing was a helmet.

"How does it feel?" Lloyd asked.

"Tight." She replied, trying to move in the armor.

"Its not powered yet. You'll feel better in a moment." Lloyd comforted.

"Ready?" Dr. Akagi asked.

"Ready!" Rakshata exclaimed happily.

"Alright, C.C., were about to enable the power core. All systems should cycle through checks at that moment. You will have motor control and feeling soon." Dr. Akagi informed.

In several moments, C.C. felt a sudden 'extra' sense. It was as though the armor suddenly had become part of her. Every breath she took was with the armor now. The girl wiggled her fingers, surprised at the easy movement she had now. It no longer felt heavy, it was light, as though she had nothing covering her body. She could even feel the slight breeze that passed through the laboratory as it touched the armor.

"What is this?" C.C. asked.

"Its high-powered assault armor. EVA-C variant. Its made for specialized combat." Rakshata answered.

"What do you want me to do with it?" The green haired girl asked.

" Test Run." Dr. Akagi replied, pushing up her glasses, "You are to help Lelouch. You yourself and the armor are priceless. An ironic pair. Under normal circumstances we would not allow you to do this, but we are under siege. Our calculations indicate you are safer in the EVA-C variant, and since Lelouch can't get back here, your going to fight in his place. Can you?"

"I can manage." C.C. replied confidently.

"O.K, were going to give you full motor control and release the restraints. Take a walk around." Rakshata instructed.

C.C. suddenly found herself able to move in the armor, stepping, trying to get her balance. In a few moments she was walking, and then doing short sprints.

"Its like I'm lighter than air." C.C. smiled, finding it very easy to move in the armor. Dr. Akagi produced the final piece to the armor – the helmet. It was silverly, as though it were made of complete glass, a full visor covering the wearer's face, and extending atop the head, coming to the end in the back, where metal greeted the glassy visor.

C.C. slid the helmet on carefully, suddenly surprised as the helmet's vacuum sucked air out, resulting in an airtight seal. She looked around, shocked that everything around her looked as it without the helmet on.

"O.K. Get going." Lloyd ordered. "Were out of time."

"What about all of you?" C.C. asked.

"We are going to disappear for awhile. I suggest you get that armor to Lelouch. He'll appreciate your help." Dr. Akagi replied.

Dr. Akagi handed her a pistol. C.C. took it in hand, glancing at it.

"I don't keep it loaded, you'll have to find ammo as you go." Dr. Akagi pointed out.

C.C. nervously stood in position as the elevator's doors opened. Several silvery creatures stood in front of her, their weapons drawn. Instantly she drew her weapon, returning fire. She managed to kill one, diving at the other. In a swing of her arm, it sent the creature flying, killing it with a single blow.

She looked at the armor, not believing it was so powerful. Soon she snapped out of it, and continued on, dozens of creatures coming down the hall.

One day later...

C.C. woke up, not able to remember what had happened. She tried to look around, but realized she didn't have any feeling in her body.

"Have you snapped your spine before?" Lelouch asked. He was near, but out of her eyesight as she lay. She could merely look around with her eyes, unable to turn her neck to find him.

"Not that I remember." She replied. " I think its going to take a little longer to heal than other injuries though."

"I couldn't get to you before the medics could. They got you out and bandaged the hell out of your wounds." He informed.

"Wounds?" She asked blankly

"I can't believe that they put you up to this." Lelouch sighed.

"I don't remember. C.C. admitted.

Lelouch finally leaned over her, his face visible to her. A moment of silence came between the two.

"You piloted the prototype EVA-C high-powered assault armor." Lelouch explained, " You fought against the Xfor with I and the Orion soldiers. Quite well, I might add."

"Xfor?" She asked, trying to confirm his explanation.

"The creatures - thats what they call themselves. Now rest."He bluntly ordered.

With that she closed her eyes again, slowly drifting asleep again. He merely sat again, opening his book and reading again.

More than six hours later, Lelouch still sat, reading intently. He was soon interrupted though by someone at his doorstep.

"Lelouch, its us, can we come in?" Kallen's voice came through the door of the room.

"You may." Lelouch admitted them. Kallen, Tohdoh and Ohgi came in, each one of them with several bandaged injuries. They took a seat in several chairs on the opposite side of the room.

"I thank all of you for fighting." Lelouch said flatly, closing his book, and putting it away.

"It doesn't change anything." Ohgi darkly said, "But we realize there is something more going on here than we understand."

Tohdoh's eyes fell on C.C. in the nearby bed. He felt sympathy for her. The green haired girl was bandaged heavily, her head was wrapped, and one of her eyes covered. Her arms lay over the covers, one of them bandaged completely.

"Is she the one that piloted the armor?" Tohdoh asked.

"She is." Lelouch replied. Ohgi and Kallen glanced over to her. They too felt a tinge of empathy for C.C.. She looked terribly injured.

It was at that particular moment that C.C. awoke. She blinked a few times, rising in bed. The blankets fell around her, revealing her bandaged body. Her chest all the way down to her torso was completely bandaged.

"Hey! Don't get up so suddenly!" Ohgi jumped up, trying to gently lay the young woman down.

Lelouch motioned him away. Reluctantly Ohgi sat back down. C.C. glanced at him oddly. In several moments the green haired woman started to unwrap bandages around her head. Kallen, Tohdoh and Ohgi all watched in exasperation, expecting to see terrible gashes and bruises.

As the bandages fell off, C.C. lifted a hand mirror from a nearby nightstand, looking at her face.

"Everything seems in order." She said flatly, giving a smile.

"But how-" Ohgi was shocked. Even blood stains were visible on the bandages, yet she seemed healthy enough.

"She's immortal." Lelouch explained, " She recovers from most injuries within hours."

"Thats right." C.C. added, now removing her arm's bandages, revealing smooth pale skin underneath. Soon she jumped from bed, feeling fine too soon. She was wrong, as soon as she put weight on her legs, a pain shot through, causing her to collapse. Lelouch barely caught her, as she tinged with pain.

"You should give it a few more minutes." Lelouch advised, setting her on the bed. She nodded, slight tears in her eyes from the pain. She wasn't one to cry in pain. Lelouch watched her cautiously, noticing that she was acting much differently.

"Immortal? How is she Immortal?" Ohgi asked.

"Geass allows the contractor to live until they are killed by a user." He explained.

"The user...that would be you, right?" Tohdoh asked.

"Correct." Lelouch answered.

"How did you fake your death at Zero's hands?" Kallen asked, hoping he would reveal if he had staged his own death in front of thousands and on international Tv years before at Suzaku's hands.

"I didn't" Lelouch admitted.

"But your alive, aren't you?" Tohdoh pointed out his clear contradiction.

"Not by my own choice." Lelouch replied, " I have a job to do. A higher power won't let me leave earth , putting it simply."

The three absorbed the cryptic answer, shooting glances of doubt from one to another.

"So, you are working for someone?" Ohgi asked, hoping for him to clarify.

"Yes, I am. The Office of Planetary Defense." He replied, glancing over to C.C., who in impatiently sat on his bed, waiting to rise once her wounds had healed.

"How long have you been working for them?" Kallen asked.

"That's something I can't disclose." Lelouch replied, only adding more confusion to the trio's minds.

"We caught several of the creatures," Lelouch changed the subject. "They try to commit suicide when captured, but we prevented most of them. They speak ancient Sumerian, one of the first languages on the planet. From what we can tell, they are targeting us because they are looking for an "oracle." "

"An oracle?" Tohdoh asked in curiosity. Lelouch motioned to C.C., whom gave a smile as everyone else's eyes fell to her.

"Why then, did you have her fighting on the front lines?" Kallen asked, questioning his leadership.

"It wasn't my idea." He shrugged, " Also statistically, she is safer in EVA-C armor than anywhere else...She still piloted excellently and gave us for a strategic victory."

Lelouch glanced back at C.C.. She gave him a smile that he returned. He ruffled her hair, and she giggled at him in a childish way.

Kallen felt a surge of jealousy as she watched C.C. smile. Kallen had been his pilot, easily his best while Lelouch was Zero. The green girl before her wasn't only his mistress, but she was now getting complemented for competently assisting him in combat. That had been Kallen's job.

With that, a red faced Kallen rose, leaving the room. Ohgi and Tohdoh looked at each other, shrugging, unsure what her problem was.

"My fellow Orion members managed to board a ship in the chaos." Lelouch explained to Tohdoh and Ohgi, "I can only hope that they signal the location of where the creatures are stationed."

Lelouch took a long sigh, "Arthur, Emil and Motoko boarded an enemy drop ship unnoticed. As soon as they find an chance to contact me, we'll prepare an offensive."

"An offensive?" Ohgi raised an eyebrow to this. "You and what army?"

"I have sixty Orion soldiers at my disposal. Depending on the situation, we will devise a strategy." Lelouch explained.

"And what about us?" Tohdoh questioned.

Lelouch shrugged. "I don't have all the answers right now. Why don't you guys help clean up the place a little? Security and staff need a hand."

"Ummm...O.K." Ohgi awkwardly answered at the oddity of this situation. With that, Tohdoh and Ohgi departed, walking out of the room. Once in the hall, they began to reel with uncertainty.

"What do you think?" Ohgi asked Tohdoh, curious about the other man's opinion.

"I don't know. Alien creatures...strange secret wars, organizations and magic. It all seems far fetched." He sighed deeply.

"Well, its our problem though. Suzaku's orders were to capture Lelouch and return him to Japan. We are still Black Knights." Ohgi reminded.

"Lelouch isn't trust worthy. I can't believe he expects us to side with him in a conflict that means so little." Tohdo remarked back.

"And what of the memories he showed us?" Ohgi stopped walking at this.

"I'm not sure. If those...memories are indeed true, then it changes everything...but If he can even manipulate our memories...and use geass too...We might have no way of telling what he could have done to us." Tohdoh suggested.

Upon hearing this, Ohgi's eyes went wide. "Your right...I think we need to disregard the memories...We should capture him and get in contact with the Black Knights."