Ch.10

"He's… missing?" Rolo asked, slightly confused. Everything had been going so well. Lelouch had taken control and gone after V.V, most likely to insure his death. Rolo had stayed back as instructed, but he was sure that Lelouch would be able to handle it. What had gone wrong?

"Well, to say 'missing' wouldn't be accurate." The man speaking was taller than Rolo, but he seemed to be unable to look him in the eye. Rolo treated the Black Knights the same as the OSI; don't get in his way, then there will be no problems. Rolo sighed.

"Could you please explain that," Rolo said, forcing his voice to sound gentle. The man attempted to look Rolo in the eye but looked away after barely a second.

"Well… he disappeared. There's no trace of Zero or his Knightmare frame. It's like he vanished into thin air." Rolo's eye widened. What could that possibly mean? Rolo thought. He tried not to panic. No… we might be able to find him…. Rolo took a deep breath.

"Where's C.C?"

"…Also missing."

"And Jeremiah?"

"He's inside. He's looking over the casualties." The man finally looked Rolo in the eye. "What should we do?" he asked. Rolo faltered. He himself was unsure. The man moved his hand toward Rolo. In his hand was a multi wave head set.

"You're the closest to Zero here. Maybe you could give out instructions…" Rolo hesitated, but ultimately took the set from the man. Rolo walked back to the Vincent and got aboard. He sighing, not doing anything . I should know by now, wishful thinking never goes anywhere. Rolo straightened up and put the headset on, pressing the power button.

"I need everyone's attention." He said into the head set. "These orders come from Zero. You are to search solely for the scientists. If need be, you are to kill any of the soldiers, however, it is preferable that you detain them." Rolo sat down in his knightmare, the top still open, and took the head set off. Lelouch had wanted very little casualties. True, Lelouch had said that he wanted to end Geass, but he also said that he wanted to understand it. Rolo was aware that Geass had caused a lot of trouble, and he could empathize with Lelouch's wish to end it, but Rolo was sure that it would lead to a massacre. However, just as Lelouch had said, if they went in and directed their attack toward V.V, then the noncombatants at the order would escape. Rolo thought it was a bit ineffective, but it was the doctors and scientist that aided in giving the Geass, so they were the ones that were necessary. But given all that was going on, Rolo wondered if the plan would actually be success. He closed the Vincent and headed off in the direction of the order. Using the screen to find Jeremiah, he was able to see the ground. There was very little deaths, but several people were injured. Rolo landed his Knightmare frame and got out. He hadn't noticed it, but he had happened to land near Jeremiah. He was leaning over a man, clearly dead, who was dressed as an official. The man was heavy-set and Rolo could have sworn he knew the man but the name escaped him.

"Was he a friend of yours," Rolo asked walking toward the man.

"… He was a colleague. Bradley was his name. I'm just surprised that he was even here… oh yes, what are Lelouch's next orders?" Jeremiah asked.

"You haven't heard about Nii-san? He's gone missing."

"His majesty? What happened?" Rolo sighed.

"I don't know. I was informed by one of the Black Knights that he had gone missing while going after V.V." Rolo turned to face Jeremiah. "I was told it was as if he vanished." Jeremiah looked back at the young teen, the confusion evident on his face. Neither of them were sure what to do. If they were to be honest, the only thing that they could do was wait for Lelouch to reappear… if he ever did.

Rolo used his Vincent to maneuver around the order. A few walls had been destroyed upon intial impact, but everything still looked the same to him. He hated it. He continued slowly until he came to a sudden stop.

"You guys? What are you doing here?" Rolo asked through the intercom. It was the group of kids from earlier. A young girl with pigtails came forward.

"We can't find V.V… big brother, what should we do?" He could see the fear in their eyes. Like him, these kids were basically being raised by V.V. He was all they knew. Rolo gritted his teeth, but opened the Vincent. He use the rope to get to the ground where the kids were.

"Listen, I can't promise you anything," Rolo started. He watched as the kids looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. He leaned down so that he was level with the children.

"I want you guys to be safe. If you refrain from harming the people of the Black Knights, then you might be able to get out of here alive." One of the children gripped Rolo's hand. A part of him knew that it would probably have been easier to kill them. But there were two things stopping him. The first one, was that his Geass was being erratic. He wasn't able to determine when it would activate without an issue, and he wasn't willing to test it. The second thing that stopped him was that he genuinely wanted the kids to get out safe. He had been given an opportunity to get away from V.V and possibly be able to live a normal life. If they were to get out of the order safely, then they too could live a normal life; and since they were so young, they would probably be able to adjust faster than he did. Just as Rolo thought that keeping the kids alive was a good idea, he heard the sounds of a Knightmare frame coming his way. He could recognize it; it was the man who had seen the kids before.

"You really are one of them," the man said. He pointed the gun at the group Rolo looked back at the man at first remaining still. He noticed the kids tense up. Unlike him, their Geass worked fine, and they had no problem getting rid of people who posed a threat. Rolo stood up and faced the man.

"You're wrong. It's true, I came from this place, but I've devoted myself to Zero."

"If you're following his orders, then why are you talking to them? His orders were to capture the test subjects!"

"I'm fully aware of Zero's orders. He did indeed say to capture them, but who said they had to be dead?" The man faltered with that statement. He seemed hesitant, and Rolo was unsure what he would do in this state. Rolo cleared his throat to regain the man's attention.

"Your name is Mori, right? You have my word that these kids won't hurt anyone from the Black Knights as long as they aren't attacked. If you promise to keep them safe, then I give you my word that they won't hurt you." Rolo looked up at the Knightmare frame. He was unsure of what Mori was thinking, or if he believed him, but then the Knightmare frame lowered it's weapon. Rolo smiled.

"Thank you," he said. Rolo turned back to the group of kids. "I need you guys to follow him. He'll try his best to make sure that you stay safe." The children nodded. Rolo remained in his spot as the kids trailed closely behind Mori, walking away. He needed to focus on finding out where Lelouch was.

Thanks for Reading! If you can, leave a review, I would really appreciate it :)

So, in this chapter I didn't go into Lelouch's interaction with his dad. I don't plan to stray from the actual plot on that end. If I were to write it out, it would be me literally typing out what went down when Lelouch and his Dad went to that place. I hope you guys don't mind that I chose not to pust so much focus on that! Don't worry, the next chapter, Lelouch will be back! :)