It is not always true that people die when they are killed.

Schneizel was known for his quick mind, yet in all of his years had he rarely been in a position where he was so absolutely confused. Still, he was not known for his genius intellect for nothing - so after his momentary lapse, his mind quickly searched for explanations as to why Zero of all people could be there, when he knew without any shred of doubt that Zero, Lelouch vi Britannia, was dead. He had seen the pictures, he had heard the testimony, so that could not be Zero standing there in the throne room of the Emperor of Britannia.

It had to be Kururugi, he knew that his brother and Kururugi were of the relatively same height, and so it was the only possible explanation as to who was donning the mask. It could have been C.C., but he doubted that she would be able to fill the shoes considering it would not survive a passing inspection to note that Zero most definitely did not have breasts.

"Guards!" Guinevere shouted to his expectations, "arrest these terrorists immediately!"

"Really now," came the voice of Zero, the voice synthesizer preventing him from being able to tell who was behind the mask; but then to his shock, Zero reached up to his mask, "I wonder if you would be just as willing to arrest-," the mask proceeded to retract in the back and was removed, causing Schneizel's blood to freeze.

By all that is unholy, he thought as his widened eyes took in what could not be possible.

"-your new Emperor," came the cool, yet somehow amused, tone of Lelouch vi Britannia as he was revealed to the world.

"It's can't be," Schneizel murmured, unable to comprehend what he was seeing before him, "it can't be him. There's just no damned way, he's dead. Villetta said he was dead. Communications confirmed he was dead."

"What the hell is going on?" he roared as he shot to his feet, causing Kanon to physically flinch, both at the fact that his prince had lost his composure and the fact that he had cursed aloud.

And yet, Schneizel could only stand stand there and watch the broadcast. He was too far away to make any difference in what was happening; he could only bear witness to it. Even as he watched, his mind was trying to figure out exactly how Lelouch was going to execute whatever it was that he was planning. Would he use Geass to enthrall the nobility? If he did that then people would recognize that something was off about what was happening, but would his brother even care?

"Lelouch, it is good to see you that you are alive, what with the news of Princess Nunnally's survival," Odysseus, "But aren't you taking this a bit far, dressing in the garb of the Empire's worst enemy, standing beside one a terrorist, and claiming the throne?"

"By what right do you deny my claim, dear brother?" came Lelouch's response, the amusement gone, in its place and tone that would chill even the bravest of souls, "I have never renounced my claim to the throne, nor have I ever been stripped of that right."

"The Emperor-"

"Charles zi Britannia is dead. As such, I hereby claim what is rightfully mine by law, as 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire."

The tone had not changed, but if anything, the piercing amethyst eyes were narrowed. Schneizel was straining to see if he could see the sigil of Geass, but there was none. Yet at the same time, those words hit him like a haymaker as he realized that with the Emperor's death by Lelouch's claimed hands, Lelouch, by a stupid, outdated law the Emperor had brought back, had every right to the throne because he had killed Charles zi Britannia.

"Surely you jest," Odysseus replied, but before Lelouch could reply, Guinevere had shouted again for the guards to kill Lelouch. He could only watch helplessly as the honor guards charged forward, their ornate spears gleaming in the light, only for Kallen to engage and easily disarm two of the guards. She seemed to miss two others as they got got near Lelouch, but his brother's expression never changed.

It turned out for to be for good reason, as Suzaku came from the rafters and landed upon the two men, impossibly breaking their pikes with nothing but a kick, before taking them down. As Suzaku finished, Lelouch proceeded to walk back to the throne and sat in it, his expression now with a faint smirk, the Stadtfeld girl moving to his left and Suzaku to his right.

"May I introduce Lady Kallen Kōzuki, my knight, and Knight of the Round above all others, the Knight of Zero," he continued as if the skirmish that had taken place before him had never occurred, "and Lord Suzaku Kururugi, my Knight of One."

As the chaos continued, Schneizel was becoming even more desperate to figure out exactly what was Lelouch's endgame here. There was no way he would place all of his pieces at risk for a simple gambit, just what was it that he was going to do? How was he going to escape this?

"What is his plan?" he voiced the thought aloud. But the answer was not coming from him, as he watched Odysseus attempt to try and calm everyone; as the nominal heir, it would be up to him to try and defuse the situation as Guinevere's ham-fisted approach had blown up spectacularly in his face.

"Lelouch, that is enough, you are making a scene, I insist that you cease this joke-"

"By what right do you deny me my Empire?" came the simple question, spoken in a whisper, yet it was like a gunshot as suddenly the commotion ceased. "Tell me Odysseus, what is it that makes an Empire?"

"What are you asking?"

In response there was only silence as Lelouch leaned back in the throne, the smirk gone, replaced by an expression that was neutral, though Schneizel could easily tell that Lelouch was priming something to occur.

"I asked you what is it that makes an Empire? What is it that makes Britannia strong? Is it the land it holds? The technology it uses? Its military prowess? Or maybe the mandate given by God?"

Before Odysseus could answer, the doors to the throne room burst open, and people began flooding into the room, armed. But instead of them being soldiers, to the stunned murmuring and shock of Schneizel, they were ordinary people. Commoners.

"The answer is none of those," Lelouch said, his voice returning to a whisper, even as his eyes hardened, "It is the people that make this Empire what it is. The very same people whose labors you take advantage of so willingly in order to fulfill your twisted sense of self-entitlement."

He then came to his feet, "That is why I, Lelouch vi Britannia, 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, as my first act, hereby abolish the aristocracy and return what is rightfully the peoples' to them."

"You said you killed him," Tohdoh hissed at Villetta as they stood there, camps firmly created as the news from Pendragon had been streamed to them.

"I did," she responded angrily, "you saw the proof of his death, General. There is no way he could be alive. It has to be an imposter!"

"Settle down," Ohgi spoke, trying to prevent all out war between everyone. He had no doubt now that the Black Knights would be fractured at this announcement, "the question we should be asking is what do we do now?"

"There is nothing we can do!" Tamaki cried. "We're so screwed. He's not going to forget what we tried to do to him."

"For good reason," came the response from Chiba, "the man was controlling us with that power. He needed to be taken down."

"What about Schneizel?" Ohgi asked Villetta, who shook her head.

"I don't know. I have not heard anything from him yet. As soon as I do, I'll make sure to let you know."

"We need to do something."

"We wait. That's all we can do - that's all Sumeragi will likely allow us to do."

It took several hours of a situation in flux, but finally, it was done. As Lelouch now sat in the Exelica Garden, looking out onto the water as the lights from around him created an artistic tableau upon it, his thoughts lay elsewhere instead of on the beauty before him. It was the first time in the last month he had finally been able to do anything but plot and scheme. A month in which he had flown by the seat of his, no, he reminded himself, their pants.

Yet, they had done it, and he could not help but feel a small bit of pride in their accomplishment. They had succeeded against all odds, and now they were in the position to begin the changes that were necessary.

He looked up as he felt a new presence approach him, a small smile flickering across his face as Kallen walked up and sat down beside him on the bench. She didn't say anything, instead looking out to the water just as he had done earlier. They sat like that for a long while, silently absorbing the atmosphere and the intimate moment between the two of them.

Finally, it gave way as Lelouch was the first to speak.

"Did you ever once believe when you joined the resistance that you would one day end up here?" he asked, finally turning to her.

"No," she admitted solemnly, "never in a million years."

He offered a wan smile in response, turning back to look out upon the water.

"I never wanted any of this," he finally said, before shaking his head. "It's strange. Here I am, the most powerful man in the world, and none of that power can do what I want most."

Kallen didn't respond, knowing full well what Lelouch meant. All the power in the world and he could not bring back Nunnally, Shirley, Euphemia, or Rolo.

No one else but her knew just how much Lelouch hid his heart from the world, because if they did, it would truly be one of the most pitiable things imaginable. That was not to say that she knew the full breadth of the burden he carried; he still held many things from her still, but in the month that had passed, she had grown closer to him. She wouldn't say that their relationship had evolved into something you could write a romance about, but it was a relationship between the two of them that would best be described as forged from respect and understanding.

To be perfectly honest, she was satisfied with this right now, considering they were a long way away from anything more permanent, and Lelouch was only beginning to truly be open with her. It was an adjustment period for the both of them really, and one that she was not keen to change until the storm had passed.

Speaking of storms, her eyes narrowed as she saw in the distance smoke rising from a fire. It seemed that the storm was just only beginning. Lelouch probably was aware of it, but she had seen the reports of the people were celebrating a change, with many taking to the streets and destroying the 'icons' of the old system. Lelouch had deployed units that were loyal to him to cover those groups, but for the most part, the threat of the people against them kept the nobles from acting out, and Lelouch was preventing the people from acting violently against those that had previously held power over them. All in all, it was a relatively benign change of power, even if the proclamation was world-shattering. At least in the civilian sector; the military on the other hand, well, it was a mixed bag. The nobles never suspected that the very commoners that made up the vast majority of their military would turn against them when provided with the possibility of something more

"Schneizel's out there," Lelouch said, his gaze having caught the very same thing Kallen did, "and he won't be taking this lying down. I took everything he had built and used it against him - but now, he has a group that will be loyal to him as soon as they have an outlet."

She nodded, "It's going to get worse before it gets better."

"Yeah."

Again an easy silence descended upon the two of them, each lost in their own thoughts and just enjoying the simple atmosphere they had in what was a complex situation.

Alas, like everything, it has to end as Jeremiah came walking up to the two. He was probably the core reason they had been successful in this coup, serving as the intermediary with many of their contacts within the Empire who sided with Lelouch. Without him, they would not be where they were.

"What is it, Jeremiah," Lelouch asked, acknowledging the man who swore fealty unto death to him. From the expression the man had on his face he was bearing grim news.

"I apologize, Your Majesty," he began, "but we were unable to recover Lady Kōzuki's mother."

This caused both Kallen and Lelouch to stiffen in response. They had hoped to be able to extricate Kallen's mother from Japan, preventing either Schneizel or the Black Knights from using her as a hostage, and getting her to safety.

"Who has her," Kallen asked, her voice suddenly hoarse.

"Schneizel."

The worst possible scenario, Lelouch thought with a curse. There was no doubt in his mind that Schneizel would attempt to use Kallen's mother as leverage against her. It was just how Schneizel operated. Of course, for the benefit keeping up his magnanimous act, he would merely frame it as he was taking care of her instead of any type of hostage situation - but the fact remained was that Kallen was vulnerable, and by extension he was as well.

His eyes trailed over to Kallen, who looked ready to explode.

"Kallen," he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "calm down, we knew this was a possibility."

"But he has-"

"I know, but we both knew it was a long shot that we would be able to get your mother to safety. As it is, she is safe."

"And how do you know that," she snapped angrily.

"Because Schneizel can't harm her without it blowing up on him. For the time being, she is merely going to be his guest, that is how it's going to work."

For a moment, Kallen stared at him, trying to ascertain the veracity of what he was saying before she relaxed, satisfied with the explanation if not the situation at hand.

"I want her here, Lelouch," she said, "here, and safe."

"I know, and I'll do what I can to ensure that. But, for now, we have to wait until Schneizel surfaces, which I guarantee will be as soon as his project in Cambodia is finished," he then looked back to Jeremiah, "what of the secondary objectives?"

"Both are currently en route. No problems in their retrieval."

"Good. You are dismissed Jeremiah."

Snapping a crisp salute, he turned face and left the two of them alone again. The only problem being now the atmosphere that the two of them had enjoyed was now decisively ruined.

Kallen was the first to get to her feet.

"I think I will get some rest. I have a meeting with Suzaku in the morning to see if we can reclaim a few of the Knights of the Round to our side. According to him, we might be able to recruit the Knight of Nine from Schneizel's camp, she was never a fan of his."

He knew that was only an excuse so she could go think for herself, but he accepted it with a nod and a "Good night".

As Kallen disappeared from view, he sighed aloud, "You can stop hiding behind the hedge C.C., I know you're there."

Said green-haired immortal—or former immortal, anyway—stepped out from behind the aforementioned hedge and came over to sit beside him.

"You know it's not going to be long until people start noticing it," she said softly, neither looking at the other.

"I know," he finally said.

Amethyst eyes regained focus from what had previously been unseeing, air rushing back into lungs that had previously expelled their last breath. Unconsciously his hands shot to where he had been shot what seemed like an eternity ago, fingers feeling the telltale sensation of the pattern of where bullets had gone through fabric and the scarred skin underneath.

"No," he breathed, realizing what had happened and the new curse he bore.

"And you are fine with this burden?"

"I never asked for any of this," he finally said after a pause, "whether I am fine or not is not a choice I can make - it's whether I can live with myself because of it that I have to decide. Living to see eternity; to see Kallen waste and wither away while I never age."

"You know, I could help you."

"That is not my choice, C.C.," he snapped, "any such discussion you need to have with Kallen. It is her choice."

"And you aren't the least bit interested in what she will choose?"

Silence was his only response. It wasn't that he didn't want to know if Kallen would choose the possibility of living with someone who would live forever, it was that he was worried that she would choose not to. He could understand the rationale behind it, but it was one of those things that he was honestly conflicted about. The idea of living forever was something you could not take lightly, especially when you factored in the requirements to achieve it.

There was of course Suzaku's Geass, but he was not sure of when, or if, it would mature to the point that Suzaku would take the Code from him. No, the problem remained that, until C.C. discovered how V.V. gained his Code, he was the last remaining immortal in the world thanks to C.C.'s actions in giving him the code to save his life.

He could not focus on his immortality now, nor could he focus upon the ramifications of the rash action that led them to this point. That could come at a later time.

"I'm worried about what Schneizel is planning to do, C.C. I'm worried how the rest of the world will react to my reforms. I am worried that I will fail before we change the world for the better."

With that, he got to his feet.

"Good evening, C.C."

He then walked away, leaving the witch to her own counsel, intent on preparing for tomorrow and the inevitable response from the world.

So.

This is exactly what you think it is.

I didn't write it (that was entirely AlSmash; he sent me a message last week or something and said he was thinking of writing the next chapter of Second Chances. Obviously, I thought that was a great idea, so I told him what little I could remember of my planning, and he came out with this), but it is, in fact, an update, more than two years after they stopped.

If you're wondering why Al was inspired to write this, well... Second Chances leads into Lelouch's timeline in Resurrections.

This is the story of his ascension, and his annihilation.

Enjoy!

P.S in your face, Emiya Shirou.