Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass

…

Kallen gripped at the steering wheel, her eyes focused on the road in front of her. While she had never driven a car before other than the mobile base that had been the Black Knights command centre (and one could hardly call that a car) it was ridiculously simple compared to the Guren MK II. She didn't even know why she was comparing the two but she needed to shift her mind from the bombshell that had been dropped on her and Shirley earlier.

Geass.

Lelouch had a power allowing him to make anybody he made eye contact with obey a single command. Such a preposterous idea had only had solid backing because of what CC had shown them when they had stopped for fuel, slashing open the palm of her hand like it was nothing (Shirley's screams nearly having burst her eardrums). She watched in disbelief as the wound vanished, her skin melding back into one at a rate that was clearly unnatural. Needless to say, it made the entire concept of Lelouch's unbelievable power that much more plausible.

Gripping tighter at the wheel, Kallen pondered whether or not Lelouch had used such a blatant act of control over her. Had she become whole heartedly loyal to Zero because she was told to? Had she only accepted the fact that she would become part of the student council because it was easier than for Lelouch to keep an eye on her? Or had she committed some atrocious action of which she would never know what she had done or what the consequences of her actions were?

"Are you alright?" asked Shirley from the passenger seat, noticing that Kallen's knuckles had gone white from the intensity in her grip.

"…No," admitted Kallen as she let out an elongated sigh. "Just trying to figure out which part of my life is a sham and which is real."

"Just because Lulu has this…um…power, doesn't mean he used it all the time, especially since CC said he could only use it on a single person a single time," said Shirley. Looking over her shoulder she was able to spot the green haired woman sprawled out over the entirety of the backseat, snoozing away soundlessly. She had seemed completely unfazed by having dumped such a huge secret on them as if it were nothing of importance. Did that mean that this had been planned in advance or did something so significant really have no affect over her?

"I suppose you're right," said Kallen silently praying that Lelouch had opted not to use it on her in the past. She had been a resistance fighter well before Zero had even made his first appearance (which she roughly assumed was when Lelouch acquired this power) so she doubted that her faith would have needed to be bound to a powerful figure.

For a couple of minutes the two of them merely sat in silence, unsure of any kind of conversation topic they could touch on without stepping on some unspoken line. "Can we turn on the radio?" asked Shirley, breaking the silence.

"Oh…yea, sure," said Kallen as her fingers twisted the necessary dial, a pop song from one of the current famous artists (who all sounded the same to her) filled the car with music. Kallen meanwhile kept the volume at a relatively low level, not wanting anything to particularly distract her from the drive. Somewhere out there were the answers she was searching for and she wanted to be ready for whatever she discovered.

…

Viletta took a brief glance out of the window at the skies around her, grateful that the weather had opted to be kind for her flight back to Britannia. Relatively clear skies with no forecast of rain ensured that it should be smooth sailing from here on out.

Plenty of time to once again go over the schematics of her new personalized Knightmare.

AKA the glorified Sutherland.

Part of her was fuming over the fact that she wasn't getting anything freshly developed like the Knightmares that the previous Knights of Round possessed. She did manage to calm herself though by reminding herself that at the end of the day she wasn't the greatest pilot imaginable. Sure she could hold her own in a fight to a certain degree but her numerous skirmishes with the Black Knights when they were enemies reminded her that she was by no means an ace. More often than not she ejected when she knew she was defeated as opposed to trying to find someway out of the situation.

Not like she'd have many chances to show off her lack of skills in the foreseeable future.

She knew what she was; a figurehead before everything else. A highly decorated pawn who was to be showed off like a peacock, praised by all for being the catalyst which brought Zero into custody and as a result peace to the world. Arguably there were dozens if not hundreds of small steps in-between her capturing the fugitive prince and her being summoned to be a Knight of Round that she had no part of. It made her question whether or not she was worthy of such a title.

"Champagne?" offered the stewardess, a glass of the finest Britannian vintage held upon a silver tray. Villetta took the drink and grumbled out something reminiscent of an appreciative thanks before focusing her attention back on the schematics in front of her. Sipping away, she wondered whether or not the custom Knightmare had already been completed or was yet to be constructed.

Sure alterations could be made after the frame had been put together; extra plating here, alter the tonfa into something more lethal but in the end what was the point. As soon as she had passed the basic Knightmare training program she had gone straight into the Purist Faction and had her time spent chasing down terrorists and revolutionaries. It was hardly Knightmare against Knightmare and as such she could admit to having gotten somewhat sloppy since her training had only really come into play in the last few months when the Black Knights had surfaced and actually provided competition, one that she had been ill prepared for.

Placing down her champagne, Viletta picked up a pen and began scribbling down important details that needed to be looked into. These notes weren't limited however to just the Knightmare frame she was looking at but also her own capabilities. It had been years since she had passed through the academy, she thought that it was time to pick up a refresher course or two.

…

"Didn't break any records my ass," said Rivalz in disbelief, Suzaku having successfully evaded any and all attempts of having been trapped, cornered or hunted down by the student body. Even in a corridor full of people he had leapt from wall to wall like some kind of ninja. His sheer speed had also made him unable to be caught by the Equestrian club, something which seemed physically impossible.

"If you weren't the fastest soldier the military produced I don't even want to know how cheetahs can't compare with your competition," said Milly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well there's a reason," started Suzaku as he turned his gaze downwards at the table they were sitting at. "During training, Honorary Britannians were looked down on by both our peers and our superiors. If you performed at the back of the back you were scolded, made fun of and generally hated by anyone. If you outperformed any of the Britannian soldiers however you were treated even worse."

"So by showing off your skills you actually became a bigger target," said Nina.

"Exactly," said Suzaku solemnly. "If you started performing better than the son of a noble who wanted nothing more than to help with the extinction of your own race, chances were that you wouldn't survive training. One guy did the best they could, Nejito or something like that, never saw him after the first week. Asked the commander who said that he was killed due to a weapons malfunction. I could tell straight away that it was a blatant lie, but what could I do? If I argued against him I would have been the next to fall victim to an 'accident' and I wouldn't be here as a result."

"I knew the Japanese were looked down upon but not to that extent," said Milly as she bit at her thumb. "Then again, the media only ever showed the positives of the Britannian government and such an incident against someone of a foreign background would have been wiped under the rug. If nobody asked any questions there was no point searching for answers."

"Families asked questions," said Suzaku. "They were given the same lies that we were. They however were dealing with the death of a loved one but knew better than to express their rage against their oppressors and simply decided to stew away in silence. Somehow one still wonders how terrorism began."

"Rather bleak," said Rivalz.

"Indeed," declared Milly, slamming her palms down on the table. "We need to showcase to the student body that the Japanese are not something to be feared but rather a culture that we can learn from."

"So….a Japan Appreciation Festival?" asked Nina.

"Exactly!" declared Milly. "Suzaku, what are some traditional Japanese food stall items?"

"Oh…umm…Takoyaki would be a good one?" suggested Suzaku.

"Takoyaki? What's that?" asked Rivalz.

"Octopus balls."

"Gross!"

"Stop that!" exclaimed Milly. "If we're having a traditional Japanese festival we need traditional Japanese food!"

As Milly started preparations seemingly out of nowhere, Suzaku couldn't tell whether or not he had unleashed a monster onto the Japanese culture.

…

With just a single finger he lifted the blinds just a fraction of a margin, allowing a single beam of sunlight to enter the room after what felt like years spent in darkness. A frown crossed his lips as he spotted people searching for him. It wasn't the first time by any means, after he had filmed a man dressed as his costumed alter ego strolling away for the destruction he had caused the army had been searching high and low for him. A handful had found him but never knew that they had only a handful of seconds after making eye contact.

This would be different however.

Of the three people currently questioning the townsfolk, one of them his curse simply wouldn't work against while one of the others he had already used upon once before. One of the three also knew exactly what she was looking for, so regardless he wasn't getting out of this scot free.

Sighing deeply, he got to his feet, maintaining his balance with the oak crafted walking stick that rarely left his side these days. Adjusting his shirt, he wondered just what their response would be when they saw him; a husk of who he once was.

For a moment he pondered whether or not to equip the mask he had taken with him the day of his execution. Deciding against it, he merely patted the top of the iconic mask like it were a tame pet waiting to be fed. There simply was no point in wearing the mask when he no longer had the prowess to don such an item.

After all, last anybody saw of Zero on the news was that the vigilante had two arms as opposed to the singular one that he donned at the moment.

Sighing, he made his way slowly to the door, figuring that it was better to get this over and done with as opposed to allowing it to drag on for however long it would. Rhythmic clunks crashed against the floorboard with every step as he hobbled to the door. CC, Kallen and Shirley wanted to find him.

He would show them just what had become of Lelouch Vi Britannia.

…

Hope you enjoyed.