Disclaimer: I own none of the characters presented in this fiction, except one. All characters aside from Ulrike are the property of Sunrise.

Quick Author's Note: Pre-story thanks are due to firelordzuko, who pointed out a glaring error in Lelouch and Cornelia's battle strategy. It has been corrected to the best of my ability, but please let me know if you have an idea to make their strategy more effective in such a context. In the words of that Fire Nation priest/coronation guy: "All hail firelordzuko!" (Damn, I love Avatar…)

[When] the people [are] in accord with their ruler, […] they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger…

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

THE STRANGER, THE SAINT, THE HORN, AND THE WORD

Chapter 7 – Aggressions

Incipio.

"Zero! Sir!"

Lelouch turned around, and returned the soldier's salute.

"The stationary units are hot. They should show up as active on the enemy's radar."

Lelouch nodded. "Good. That should throw them off for a while." The soldier saluted again, and returned to his Knightmare.

Lelouch grimaced behind his mask. Well, they're up now. Let's see what she does.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Cornelia. "I've just assigned the special Knightmare to the Kōzuki girl."

"Good. If any of them can pull it off, she can."

They both faced the battlefield, trying hard to look assured and confident.

Cornelia muttered, "God, there's no way this will work."

Lelouch chuckled. "I don't know, Cornelia; you've done quite well with extremely limited resources. If we go down here, at least we'll have gone down fighting for what we need to fight for." His tone soured a little. "Though it will be a little embarrassing to go down to Carine…"

"Bleah. More than a little. Don't remind me."

Lelouch checked his watch. "Ah. It's time." A flare went up from the prison, and briefly lit the darkening night, and a mass of hostile units could be seen moving in the illumination. "They've even provided entertainment. Wonderful." He offered his arm to Cornelia. "Shall we dance, sister?"

"Let's, brother."

Thirty minutes earlier.

Carine faced her men with the hardened resolve of a battle-scarred veteran (which she was), the compassion of a slave driver (which she also was), and the remorse for what she was about to do of a certified sociopath (which she most certainly was).

"Well, troops, it's routine. More bugs we get to squash. Those cretins in masks need to be taught a lesson, and we're the ones who can teach it to them." She giggled. "Just follow my lead, and everything will be fine. Oh, and one more thing." She licked her lips, looking oddly carnivorous. "I'm leaving a contingent of two Knightmares here, to carry out the execution of one Naoto Kōzuki. And I'm not going to stop it for anything. So you'd better halt every one of those rebels before they get to the execution site, or there'll be hell to pay." She giggled again. "My own special flavor. Now get moving and get killing, troops. I'll be joining you in Guren."

The men moved out, muttering amongst themselves. Carine looked at them with distaste. None of them seemed capable enough... except… hmmm. "Mmmm… you," she addressed to one Jeremiah Gottwald, "I've got a verrry special job for you…"

Margrave Gottwald strapped into his cockpit. He was on edge. Carine's task would indeed give him an opportunity to redeem himself for his failure towards Empress Marianne and her children, but still he fretted: he hated the Elevens because they had killed Lelouch and his sisters, but what Carine did to them was evil.

It was his duty to watch what she did, as he helped to cause it, and surely the world was better off without so many Elevens… but he couldn't help his dislike – and fear – of her and her methods. He prayed for a transfer every day, but none ever came; undoubtedly not enough men were transferred to Carine's force already, but as she was a princess, as well as an effective policeman for Area 11, the brass preferred to maintain the status quo rather than have her raise an uproar about lower troop numbers. She went through them very, very fast. And Jeremiah was sure she would go through him very, very fast if got on her bad side – which was bound to happen eventually; there were some lines he wouldn't cross.

So he was walking on eggshells around Carine, and hoping that his commanders changed their minds before he was drummed out of the service or worse for "insubordination".

But for now, I'll do what she says. He smiled slowly. Guess who's coming to dinner, Zero. I've got a few tranqs with your name on them – and Infinity's as well.

Cornelia faced the small group of snipers, and took a deep breath. These were, after all, the elements on which most of the plan depended… if they failed…

"All right, my friends. You should know that you bear the second-heaviest weight of responsibility for this plan's success – it is very unlikely we will win without you." They nodded, looking solemn.

"Even if you are prepared, it will be difficult. The majority of you will be stationed on the ridge surrounding the copse we plan to direct Carine's assault towards. The others will be spread out around the other choke points, one or two to a point, depending on how heavy the concentration of active Knightmares is."

She gestured toward their clips. "Now, as you may have noticed, your bullets are somewhat different from the usual fare. That perception is correct; they are slightly heavier, and you will need to adjust your aim to compensate. No, don't worry, you don't have time to practice now, get a few practice shots in before the attack begins once you're in position, and you should get the hang of it."

"Here is your objective. You are to get at least one bullet – they are armor-piercing, by the way – into the cockpit of each enemy Knightmare – their un-scratched-off sigils should tip you off to which is which – and try to get bullets into the limbs, as well."

They stared at her, perplexed. One raised her hand and asked, "Ma'am? Why are we doing this at all? Surely bullets won't do much good against Knightmares? I suppose we might hit the pilot, but isn't that fairly unlikely due to how armored the cockpit is? And if to kill the pilot is our objective, why not just use regular bullets that we can already shoot?"

Cornelia raised a finger. "Ah. That is not our objective. Or rather, I should say, kill them if you can, but that's not what these bullets are for. As soon as they get into the Knightmare, they will incapacitate it. But you need to hit the cockpit for it to become completely useless; if you hit the arms or legs it will only lose the use of that arm or leg. These bullets, you see, are made of a powerfully ferromagnetic material. It will render Sakuradite unusable as a superconductor, and thus, rob the machine of power."

She huffed a laugh. "Unfortunately, the designers seem to have foreseen the folly of having all parts interconnected electronically, so the only place that will be a absolute kill shot would be the Ragnarok drive – and if you can hit that, you've either got a cannon of a gun, incredible aim and luck, or you've already torn apart so much of it that it doesn't matter. Any more questions?"

The team shook their heads. Cornelia nodded. "Good. Let's go smash some Knightmares." She got a roar out of them, and then dismissed them to their posts.

Thirty minutes later.

"Ah, a messenger," said Carine. "Let's hear the news, troop."

The captain saluted. "Yes, your Highness!" He took a map screen out of his pocket, and laid it on the table. "Here is the current troop positioning."

"Give me the tactical."

"Yes, your Highness. Our scouts – of which one has been lost, unfortunately – reported these positions of Knightmares around Sarubami Forest." He tapped the screen a few times, and around thirty red markings showed up on it, glaring ominously. "We got a good picture, and we still have a few scouts surveying the movements if we need to get real time. We do need to move fast while we still have fresh intel; some of the spots look fairly hot. With that in mind, I recommend attacking this area on the far left; they've left it understaffed, undoubtedly because that area is naturally defensible, and they intend to hold it only for flank attacks. Shall I give the order for the – "

"Shut up, troop. If I had wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it. Don't make the mistake of assuming that you're brilliant; you're not, and you should know it."

The captain's face darkened, but he only said, "Yes, your Highness."

"Good. Now give the real time feed from the scouts on the screen."

The captain silently tapped it a few more times. Carine studied it for a few moments, and then giggled. "Ah, you buffoons, you thought you could outwit me with dummies? Please."

The captain's brow crinkled in confusion. "What, your Highness?"

Carine rolled her eyes. "You idiot. Haven't you noticed something? Around half of their Knightmares are stationary. Doesn't that rather point to them being unoccupied?"

He frowned. "I'd… well, I'd assumed they were guard units. From their placement… well…"

Carine sighed. "Are you dumb enough to think they can waste units guarding when they're up against a full battalion of Knightmares? No, those are dummies, and so are those two masked losers. Clearly they were trying to force us to a certain point." She rose from her chair, and walked toward her Knightmare. She added over her shoulder: "I want contingents of twenty Knightmares sent to each of their locations. That should screw over any resistance still outstanding." She sighed happily. "My, my. Maybe they've gotten dumber since Shinjuku. I hope they enjoy prison… and what I'll do to them there." She giggled again, her face alight with malice.

The captain forced down a shudder as he walked out. Royalty…

"Zero, Zero! Come in, Zero!"

Lelouch flicked on his radio. "What? What is it, J-6?"

"Enemy contact! A group of around twenty Knightmares is rushing our position!"

"Evasive maneuvers! Try and lead the enemy to open spots! Stay alive at all costs!"

"Yessir!"

Lelouch had barely returned his attention to the map when –

"Zero, sir! R-3 here! We have enemy contact at all points in my line!"

Lelouch cursed. She was moving too fast. He couldn't blow the dummies now, he would take out too few enemy troops… but it looked to be shaping up so if he didn't, he would lose at least one choke point… and if he lost any choke point, his forces would immediately become susceptible to pincer movements, with no reliable force ready to eliminate enemies that got through. What should I do? Think, think…

It only took him a split second to decide on a course of action. "R-3?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I want every group in your line to scatter into the forest. Try and coax at least a few of them to follow you in. Then head straight for one of the trap placements that should be marked red on your map… now. Get a few of them embroiled in the kunai traps."

"Yes, I see them, sir!"

"Good! Once I give the order to move back towards the choke points, do it while keeping the majority of her forces on your tail. When you have arrived, wait for my signal. I will need you to get at least a half a mile away from the choke points in ten seconds, so be ready on the hills."

"Yessir!" R-3 switched off his radio, undoubtedly to relay the orders further down the line.

Corporal Cristensen was beginning to think he should never have joined the military. He wasn't very good at piloting a Knightmare; to his bunkmates' amusement, and his chagrin, he had somehow managed to knock down his entire squad yesterday; their current leader was as mad as a hatter, but no less absolutely terrifying for that; and worst of all, he had a sneaking suspicion that what he was really cut out for was paperwork.

His radio crackled into life. "Cristensen! You in formation?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now try not to screw this one up… Margrave Jeremiah'll have your stupid head if you lose your squad."

Cristensen sighed. "Yes, sir. I'm sure you're right, sir."

"That's right. And don't you forget it." The radio clicked off.

He turned on his all-squad circuit. "All right, men, we're going to sweep up behind the rebels. Ignore stationary Knightmares, only target moving ones. Head towards the ridge when we're out in the open. Got it?"

His squad chorused, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Let's go, boys!"

He charged out into the clearing.

And heard a quiet ping.

Suddenly, he was sitting in the dark.

"Hello?"

His radio wasn't working. He jiggled his Knightmare's controls. They weren't either.

"Ohhhh… shit."

"Heheh. Eat Japanese steel, motherfucker."

Inoue reloaded, adjusted her sights, and hit another. This was really fun.

Kallen approached the Guren cautiously. This thing was blazing fast, but it had absolutely no weapons to speak of – even the Slash Harkens were gone – so she wanted to make sure she could get away before she engaged Carine.

Okay… let's see… she hasn't started up yet… she must be checking tactical… now's as good a time as any to check the route.

She brought up her map display on her main screen, and superimposed Infinity's proposed route. It had her avoiding as much of the woods as possible, no doubt in order to make the best use of the modified Glasgow's speed. The route terminated in a glade… no doubt that was where Carine would get her surprise.

"Let's not keep her waiting, then," murmured Kallen to herself.

All right… extruding false Radiant Wave Surger… now!

The plan was fairly simple, but it was sure to distract Carine. A very fast Knightmare with a Radiant Wave Surger would attract attention anywhere… especially if it was heading toward the compound where Naoto was being held before his execution.

Okay… she should start moving in a couple of seconds –

Let's not give her a chance! Go!

Kallen revved up her Glasgow and sped past the Guren, and was gone before Carine had a chance to snag her.

"Wooooooo-hoo!" she screamed, though with her radio off. I love this thing!

"Ah-ha," she heard behind her, sounding a little distorted from the speed, "what do we have here? A one-man rescue force? Come on, slow down so I can congratulate you for getting this -" Carine's playful harangue cut off abruptly. When her speakers clicked on again, the playfulness was gone, replaced with something less vaguely sinister and more immediately alarming. "Where. The. Fuck. Did you get that Radiant Wave Surger, you little bitch?!"

Whoa. That did not make her happy. Kallen smirked. All the easier for me, then. She clicked on her speakers, and looked over the words Zero had told her to taunt Carine with. Once she hears these, he had said, with a bit of vindictive humor in his voice, she will instantly want to murder you as painfully as possible. I would suggest that you then vacate her immediate area very quickly, because if you don't, you will become considerably less alive.

That probably was meant to scare Kallen into taking Carine seriously, but it had just made Kallen more eager. She hated the sadistic little militant, and she wanted to stick it to her, not just for her crimes against Japan, but for trying to kill Naoto.

So she and said the words with a laugh in her voice. "Where did I get it, Miss ne Britannia? Why, the same place you got yours. Ah – this is the upgraded model, actually. I should have thought you would have known that at least – or is your military intelligence not quite up to snuff? Speaking of military intelligence -" (Kallen didn't really understand this next part, but she said it anyway) "– the vi and li Britannias send their regards from the other side of the fight, and hope that you are well."

"WHAT?!" The woods echoed with Carine's amplified scream. "You fucking little liar! It's not true! It's not true! I won't believe it! I won't believe it!"

"Choose to believe whatever you like, Miss ne Britannia. I do have a message, from them, though," yelled Kallen, while dodging Carine's wild swipes. "If you couldn't beat us, you can't beat these two. – With love from L. and C."

Carine snarled incoherently, "I'llkillyouI'llkillyouI'llkillyouI'llKILLYO –" She cut off and ended in a long, low growl.

Kallen, looking back at the Mk. 1, felt a little shiver of excitement – and fear, too, maybe? It had been getting faster and more unpredictable throughout their conversation, which meant that Kallen must have successfully enraged Carine to the point of single-mindedness. Unfortunately, it also meant that Carine wanted to kill Kallen more than anything else, but that couldn't be helped. But most of all, it meant that Carine's force was now unsheperded and headless. Which meant…

While still managing the Herculean feat of dodging Carine, she clicked her radio over to Infinity's private circuit. "I've – rrr – managed to distract – uh! – Carine! Am leading her to interrogation point! Over!"

She now gave her full attention to survival.

Cornelia clicked over to Lelouch's circuit. "Lelouch, Carine's out of the picture. You can advance the schedule."

"Ha! I knew she could do it!" he responded jubilantly. "All right, you're up, take your guard to the trap! I'll blow the dummies after we've got Carine's forces clumped, and then I'll get to the interrogation point to interview Carine, while R and W Squadrons form up at the execution yard."

"Roger that." Cornelia nodded. It was all going according to plan. For now.

Zero's voice came in through the All-Units circuit. "Attention, all units! Approach the choke points and fall back behind them – fast! As soon as you are clear of the explosion zone, give me an all-clear. Once I have all of them, I'll blow our little surprise, which means, the faster you move and the more units you entice into following you, the fewer you'll have to take down to get through to Infinity and her guard. Now go!"

Ohgi smiled, and shouted through his squad channel, "R squadron! The trap is sprung, I repeat, the trap is sprung! Draw your attackers to the choke points and then move! Let's go, let's go!"

Lelouch listened intently for the last "all-clear"; it would be coming from J Squadron, and it had better come soon, Carine's troops were almost halfway through the choke points, in a couple of seconds the explosives wouldn't be able to do enough damage to –

"All clear!"

Lelouch reacted instantaneously, and had mashed the detonator before he was aware that he had.

KA-BOOOOOOOOM…

Intermingling pink explosions lit up the night for a brief, devastating instant, and, just like that, three-quarters of Carine's forces were so much twisted metal and burnt flesh.

Jeremiah looked at his display in horror. Over half the little blue dots that represented his allies had just blinked out.

Oh shit. How the hell did our forces get so bunched up? Where's Carine? What happened to those stationary units? How did they just trash half of us?

He frantically searched his display for the little crown that marked Carine's position, and with indignation, saw it chasing, at a very high speed, a slightly faster unit to –

Oh SHIT.

He clicked his radio over to the command circuit, and yelled into it, "Your Highness! You're walking into a trap! Stop chasing that unit, half your force was just –"

"Shutcher face, y' shit! Or I'll come ov'r there and kill y' m'self!"

Jeremiah drew back before the ferocity of Carine's rage. Clearly advice was not going to be appreciated for a while… which mean he couldn't stop this trap from being sprung.

"Rrrg!"

He slammed his fist into his control panel, making his Knightmare do a little stutter-step. I can't do anything!

Except…

He glared, and regained his composure. Except catch those two Eleven masterminds, and give them the cleansing of Britannia!

He clenched his controls with renewed fury, remembering the reason he did this – Empress Marianne, Lelouch, Nunnally, Euphemia, Cornelia, lost because of me – and scrolled around till he found the signal he was looking for.

I've got you.

He revved up and moved toward the command unit, which, as it happened, contained Zero.

Cornelia fingered her gun; it didn't feel right. She supposed it must just be the heavy bullets, but still…

Kallen's harried voice crackled through her walkie-talkie. "Am approaching destination! Advise extreme caution, pursuant is very – ow! – incensed! Over!"

Cornelia immediately lay down in sniper position, and put her eye to the sight. She looked around at the frozen corpses of Knighmares around the valley. My. The other snipers certainly did their job well. 6 or 7 Knightmares disabled, just here, beautiful!

Movement in the trees caught her eye; she zoomed in and held the sight steady at that location. She waited a moment –

The modified Glasgow burst explosively through the foliage, and dodged left for no apparent reason. It was explained when the Mk. 1's Radiant Wave Surger smashed through the space where it had just been. The Guren's speakers let an animalistic growl loose.

Cornelia smirked. She is angry. She led the Guren as it jerked around, trying to catch the speedier Glasgow, and when the Guren was right in her sights –

She let loose a fraction of a second too late.

She cursed as the bullet spun off the wrong way. Damn, now she's going to be twice as hard to peg.

Unless I…

Unconsciously the Geass sigil flared up in her eye, and she twitched her hand toward the Mk. 1.

Ping.

The Guren went dead.

Cornelia gazed in shock at her hand, which reflected the light from her eye a second more before the sigil faded. I must have made it hit the Ragnarok core.

How did I do that?

It dropped from her mind when she remembered that she needed to be supporting the attack battalion. She sprinted to her Knightmare, and zoomed off.

Lelouch was in a good mood. Everything was going perfectly, which it almost always did when he was around. Just a few more minutes –

"Zeroooooooooooo!"

He jerked up in his seat and hastily scanned his display.

Uh-oh. High-ranking officer, in an advanced model. Against me, in a beat-up Sutherland.

Time to test the field, I think.

He clicked on his speakers. "I am Zero! What do you want with me? I fight only for justice; your weapons of tyranny cannot defeat me!" He almost gagged at the idiotic revolutionary sentiment, but some people went in for this stuff, and you never knew…

"You? Fight for justice? Tell that to your masters, whom you spurned and killed! Tell that to your own kind, whom you betrayed and murdered! You do not fight for justice; I come to put an end to your lies, Zero!"

Aaand it's not just a "keep out" piece of property, it's a minefield. Great.

Well, if negotiations won't work, maybe Sayoko's traps will!

"If you fight for justice, prove your justice greater than mine by catching me!" riposted Lelouch. The officer snarled in response, and charged.

Immediately Lelouch started weaving; through the trees, through undergrowth, through old cottages. He managed to hold the distance between them relatively even for the first mile or two, but he was no star Knightmare pilot, and he could tell the officer was very experienced, as the distance began to close, and quickly.

Fortunately, Lelouch saw a red dot ahead on his map.

Oh, Lord, I've never been so happy to see red.

The trigger area of the kunai trap was small enough that a very careful Knightmare pilot could get around it – as long as he or she knew it was there, which he did.

But to ensure his maximum safety, he would have to slow to a crawl to get around it and be sure of making no mistakes.

I suppose I'll have to trust to luck, just this once. Here goes!

He sped toward the trap, did a half-twist, and –

Got through.

The officer was not so lucky. If he had known where the trap was, he might have been able to avoid it, but as it was, he had no chance.

He only had a chance for one irritated growl before the kunais thudded into his cockpit. His speakers went dead, and his Knightmare with them.

Lelouch turned away, smirking to himself. That's what you get.

He moved off toward the interrogation zone.

Jeremiah smashed his fist onto the control panel. Again! He escaped me AGAIN!

Furious, he pried open his Knightmare's cockpit, and jumped down. He examined the kunais that had brought his vengeance to such an abrupt halt. Each of them had a little tag attached to them. Frowning, he ripped one off the nearest.

They read: "愛を込めて、日本から".

From Japan, with love.

He crumpled the paper up and threw it away as hard as he could.

Lelouch approached the interrogation zone, and saw, with mounting pleasure, that Carine had already been captured and restrained. She looked… incandescent with fury.

He sighed happily. This day just keeps getting better and better.

"Comrades!" he exclaimed. "You have done magnificently!"

The rebels surrounding Carine looked up at his approach and saluted. "Sir!"

"Their resistance will crumble now that we have their leader. Now, go and join Infinity at the execution grounds, and help her secure Comrade Kōzuki! I will stay here to interrogate her, and will meet you at the southern ridge in half an hour."

They looked at each other uncertainly. "But, sir… that will leave you alone with her. You need a bodyguard."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I can handle considerably more than a pampered princess." He heard Carine snarl behind him and smiled behind his mask.

"If you're sure, sir!" They saluted and were in their Knightmares in seconds.

He watched them speed off, then turned to Carine. "What's wrong, princess? Cat got your tongue?"

She screamed, "Y' m'therf'ckr! Bitch! I'll kill y'! I'll kill y'!"

"Shush," ordered Lelouch. She did not obey. He sighed.

"Maybe this will jog your memory, little sister." He opened the slit in his mask, exposing his royal eyes.

Carine's tirade halted; her eyes widened, then narrowed. "So, that little bitch wasn't lying. You really are alive. How does it feel to be banished, Lulu?"

His eyes narrowed this time. "Just fine, now that I have you here, Carry."

"Don't call me that!"

He snickered. "You haven't changed at all. Still the same little hotheaded, callous, sadist braggart, aren't we?"

She smiled sardonically. "Look who's talking. Checked your ego lately, Lulu?"

He took on a falsely sweet tone. "No, can't say as I have, given that every one of our siblings betrayed us! Did you know that was going to happen, Carine? Did you know?"

She gave him a supercilious look. "Yeah, I'm going to tell you. What do you want me to say, Lulu-chan? That I felt so sorry for you and Cornelia and poor little Nunnally and Euphemia? I didn't. It's sink or swim in Pendragon, Lulu-chan, and you four sank like stones." She snickered this time. "Along with that sap of a brother of ours, Clovis. He could have had this job, you know. But he was sooo sad when you four died, he let dear old Gwen have his job, and disappeared off who knows where. His credit's pretty low right now."

Lelouch's voice dropped to an arctic pitch. "You know something, Carine. You've met my expectations exactly. Cornelia thought you might be able to be reasoned with, but I said no. I knew better. I knew you. I remembered you, trying to hurt Nunnally and pass it off as playing. I remembered you, making Euphemia cry when Cornelia wasn't looking. No, you won't be reasoned with."

Carine giggled. "Aww, did I make you sad when I did those things, Lulu-chan? I'm sho shorry… I promise I'll make it up to you! I'll be as nice as I possibly can to Nunna-chan and Euphie-chan when they turn up on my doorstep due to you and Cornelia having suffered a sudden case of death."

"That's it," said Lelouch. "That is it."

He knelt down in front of Carine and, grabbing her chin, looked her straight in the eye.

"Hey! What the –"

"Lelouch vi Britannia, Seventh Prince of Britannia commands: You will tell me all you know about the circumstances surrounding Empress Marianne's death, and will lose consciousness for several hours after telling me what you know. You will remember neither this conversation nor me having it with you, or my revelation of my identity."

Carine's eyes glowed with a red rim, and she answered without emotion: "I do not know the identity of Empress Marianne's killer, and I myself had no hand in it. I did, however, hear several rumors as to Schneizel's involvement. Guinevere will know more, she has collaborated with Schneizel." With that, her head slumped back and her eyes rolled up into her skull.

Lelouch closed the slit in his mask and walked away, shaking with anger. Carine certainly knew how to push his buttons. He got into his Knightmare and headed for the southern ridge. He had an appointment to keep.

Cornelia watched Lelouch's face as they walked back to the Vili. He was still disappointed that Carine had been of little use, as well as discomfited at her needling. She felt she had to try and cheer him up, at least.

"Did you see Kallen's face when she saw her brother was alright? I don't think I've ever seen her look so happy."

He responded stiffly. "Yes. It was very touching."

She grimaced inwardly, but kept trying. "How about when Naoto saw Ohgi?"

"Also nice."

She blew out her breath. "Dammit, Lelouch, I'm trying to help, but you have to give me some ground here!"

"Well, maybe I don't want help right now, Cornelia! Did you ever think of that?" he shot back.

"Sor-ry," she said, temper flaring. "You know, we did pretty well for a force as small as ours! I think I deserve some thanks for getting you some time with Carine at all, even if she was useless!"

He shook his head, looking penitent. "Sorry. Sorry… it's just…" He faced Cornelia, and there was real anguish in his face. "Carine… Carine reminded me of something. If we fail… if we die… we'll leave Nunnally and Euphemia alone. Alone! And… they'll get hurt, maybe even killed if we're not there! Should we maybe… stop?"

Cornelia stared at him, shocked. "What?! No! No! No, we're not going to stop! We can't! In the first place, this is the only way we can ensure that they'll really be safe, forever! And in the second -" here she assumed a pleading look "– don't you have any feeling for the Japanese? They're a lot like us, and we're giving them a taste of victory for the first time! Please, Lelouch, we can't stop now! What will we do with the Geasses? What will we do with ourselves, when we know we've failed?"

He looked at her strangely for a second. "I – yes, yes, of course. I – I don't quite know what I was thinking." He gave her another look. "But – what if we do fail?"

She gave him her iron smile. "We'll just have to avoid that, won't we?"

He laughed and nodded, and they started to move off.

That was odd, Lelouch is usually forcing me to continue… something's off…

"God's breath!"

A shadowy figure stepped out of an alley and watched the two depart. She had had the boy, she had had him, and she had almost made him resolve to stop, when that girl had started interfering with her. When the girl spoke, the figure had lost control of her Geass, and that had been the end of it there. Now the girl was on her guard, and less likely than ever to stop. She struck the wall of the alley, and swore again.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?"

She looked up to see a blond-haired girl regarding her suspiciously.

"Nothing," the figure muttered. "I depart."

"Not until you tell me what you were doing following my friends. If you're an assassin, be advised that I'm a high-profile target; at least three men have observed me walking into this alley, and they'll be quite interested if I don't walk out again."

The figure glanced at the blond-haired girl's chest, and said dryly. "Not surprising."

The girl raised her eyebrows, and indicated her breasts. "Hey, these babies ain't just for good looks, you know." She seemed to consider her statement for a moment. "Well, they are, I guess, but they can do other things too. So what are you doing, Stalker Lady?"

"Trying to save countless lives! Preventing souls lost! Vital things!"

"Why are you following my friends, then?" said the girl skeptically. "No, you don't," she admonished, catching the figure's arm. "I want an explanation."

The figure stared at her. She felt the power through the contact. She… is a potential User.

"I see, so this is the way it must be…" The figure looked at the girl and, stepping into the light, smiled.

"What is your name, girl?

She gave the figure a strange look. "Milliarde J. Ashford. Why?" and clapped a hand over her mouth. The figure knew she had not meant to say anything.

"I greet you in the name of the Lord, Milliarde. I… am J.J. And I have a bargain to strike with you."

Chapter 7 – Aggressions

Consumo.

Author's Note: And with that, this story is officially out of hiatus status. I really am sorry about that, you guys… but I can't guarantee it won't happen again. My enthusiasm ebbs and flows for everything, and if my enthusiasm isn't high, I can't write on it. Just an occupational hazard of being a writer, I guess. I do want to thank all my loyal readers who didn't give up on this story while I was in "off" mode. Thanks, you guys.

In other news: So, my first OC comes to light. The delightful J.J. will be a main character from this point on, and will mainly be interacting with Milly and the folks at Ashford; she's the catalyst to their subplot. Interesting note: J.J. is actually (loosely) based on a historical character (with added awesome in the form of Geass, of course). I don't want to give you too much information as that would spoil the surprise, but think pre-Enlightenment and not too obscure. Another note: I decided not to have this beta-read in order to get it out faster, so if you notice any glaring errors, feel free to review or PM me, and I'll try to Fix-It, Fix-It Felix as fast as I can! (I LOVE THAT MOVIE XD).

I am such a massive nerd.

Kribble the Mighty