Hey! New project. Not sure if it'll go anywhere. Reviews will decide that (hint hint). So yeah I know there are quite a few of these 'Lelouch goes back in time to fix it all' stories out there. Gotta say, some of them I like. And I have to admit I like a good do-over story. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do one of my own.
Just the prologue for now, to give you a taste of my writing style. If you like it, tell me. If it needs improving, tell me. If you think I should cut it out and do something else, by all means be polite about it.
So, without further ado...what's that? A disclaimer? But I wanna get on with the story an-
Admin: Tahkaullus01 has been suspended due to copywrite infringme-
*beats the admin to death with Zero's mask*
Okay, okay! Anyway, the following is a fan-based piece of literature. The characters, locations, and events of Code: Geass - Lelouch of the Rebellion are all owned by Sunrise, Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi. Please support the official release.

Prologue

If he could have been in two places at once, Lelouch may have applauded himself for this final deception.

The plan was brilliant, turning the hatred of the entire world, soldier and civilian alike onto himself. He held no belief that the legion that stood either side of his convoy held any love for him, or that the pilots of the Vincent Ward Knightmares preceding him and his former comrades, now his captives, would truly fight to the best of their ability to defend him if any certain interloper just happened to appear. Even his former Red Queen, Kallen Kouzuki, had to despise him by this point, and he already knew that any affection that his sister had for him was long gone.

It had to be this way, otherwise the appearance of Zero, the mask now worn by his last remaining friend and one-time enemy Suzaku Kururugi, would not have had as satisfying a silence as the one that now overtook the entire procession. Disbelief was likely written on the faces of every citizen present and around the world as the last remaining Black Knight, believed to have been killed in the second battle of the Tokyo Settlement three months ago, stood tall and proud before his long time enemy, now personified in the form of the man who created him. The odds were impossible, one man against six Vincents with nothing but a sword to protect him? Preposterous. But then...

'Wherever oppressors use their power to attack those who are powerless, we shall appear again, no matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be..'

The words of a lifetime ago, when he had only just been starting out, echoed through Lelouch's mind and he could help but feel his lips tug upwards as he watched his symbol of freedom charge forwards.

So far so good, Zero had appeared. The rest would be up to Suzaku. Considering how good he always was at ruining my plans before, this should be a cakewalk for him.

He almost laughed at the stunned cries of the crowd as they watched their masked saviour weave around the bullets of the Vincents. Couldn't they see that this couldn't possibly be their Zero? The man who made grandiose speeches and dramatic motions was a strategist, not a front-line man. He was broader too, thanks to Suzaku's continuous training over the years, which had meant additional adjustments to the suit. Being tailor made, it had required a whole new jacket and shirt to complete the look. The shirt had been easy to replace, the jacket not so much, and Suzaku had had his own comments to make about the outfit, insisting that the trousers be given a bit of slack to allow for easier movement.

"After all," he'd joked, "if I'm gonna kill you, shouldn't I be able to get around without the suit bunching up around my-" Lelouch had shut him up right there, not wanting to hear it, and just agreed to go along with whatever modifications he wanted. It had been one of the last times the two of them had truly been able to laugh together.

I guess knowing you get to kill your love's murderer makes you forgiving. He thought to himself grimly, the invisible smile becoming a bitter one as he remembered that disaster.

Zero had now cleared the Vincents, by jumping over the lead one. Again, Lelouch marvelled over how the crowd was lapping it all up, knowing that he could never have pulled something like that off. Nevertheless it was effective in its own way, as all eyes were on Zero now. Not the Vincents or the former Black Knights, not Schneizel or Jeremiah even as the latter took his cue and called for the Knightmares to cease fire, jumping down to give Zero the last push he needed to reach his goal. Everyone's attention was now on the masked knight of the people, the last of his kind, as he soared through the air, pushing off of Jeremiah's shoulder the same way that they had practised over and over again until it was perfect.

He landed behind Schneizel and then he was gone.

He knelt down in front of Nunnally for only a moment, and then he leapt away, his target finally within reach.

And at last, Lelouch and Zero came face to face. Emperor and Saviour, Demon and Knight. Destroyer and Creator, though that last one was a bit blurry.

This is it...and for an insignificant moment, Lelouch hesitated. This was the moment that he had planned for, since the final death of his mother and father. The destruction of the old world and ushering in of a new one in its place. But for that world to end, he also had to be done away with.

Though he had already told Suzaku that he would gladly relinquish his life without a second thought if it meant peace, the truth was that Lelouch had searched for a different solution throughout his short reign, anything else that could be done other than that. He'd delved into the very core of his mind, gone through every strategy, every possible outcome, everything he could think of. Because he had to know, for certain and without a doubt, that his death was the only way to end it. He'd even, to his shame, considered taking C.C's Code of Immortality for himself in one bleak moment, and had immediately smacked the idea away. Such an act of betrayal would have been right up there with what he'd done to Nunnally and Euphie, he couldn't do that to her as well. Not her...not his Witch.

She wasn't here, but then he knew that she wouldn't be. Though he had made no comment, Lelouch hadn't wanted her to be here, to see him fall even if it was required.

She'd once made a sarcastic remark about his worry over her, he'd responded that it was because she was a valued combatant. The truth was much more...but he couldn't say. He didn't have the time to say...and now he'd never get the chance.

Ever since that first journey into the C's World, when he had discerned the true terms of their contract, Lelouch had seen her in a different light. Or rather he'd seen what C.C protected. Cera, that scared quivering girl she had been before Geass made her the focus of every man, woman and child's affections, so far that some had gone to the lengths of building a cult around her.

He could only hope, as time started to move again, that she would find another to make a contract with. For now, his cue had been given, it was time to end the show.

Scowling furiously at the masked knight, the Emperor rose from his throne. "Impudent fool!" He snarled, reaching into his jacket, "You should have stayed hidden in the rabble!"

Zero said nothing, even as the Emperor pointed a pistol at him, he didn't have to. It was the actions of the man within that made the knight, so it had been with the first Zero and so would it be with this new one. With one swift motion, he disarmed the Emperor with his sword before bringing the blade before him again.

Here it comes... he didn't steel himself for whatever pain was to come. Instead he welcomed it. This was his punishment after all, for the price of using his Geass to get him this far. For Cornelia, the sister he had disgraced, and Euphie, the sister he had violated. For Kallen's confused state of mind. For Ohgi and Tohdoh. Kaguya and Rakshata, hell even for Diethard the opportunistic bastard. For the whole Order of the Black Knights, for the whole world Lelouch vi Britannia would sacrifice his life as the Demon Emperor, the enemy of all, and give everyone the chance to begin anew.

And then it was done...there was no pain, then again it was Suzaku who was killing him. For a professional soldier this was an easy job, practised for more than a thousand years.

But even as everything quieted, he could hear the hitched breath of his oldest friend behind the mask, the tell-tale give away that he was crying. If it was any other time, he would have asked him why, why shed a tear for the man who had taken so much away?

Oh well, not that it mattered. Nothing mattered now. Only his last orders remained, their mutual punishment was nearly complete and then he could rest at last.

It was just the two of them, they were too far away for anyone else to figure out what he was doing, though he suspected by Kallen's brief outburst as this last act was played out that she was figuring things out. Clever girl. All the same though, this needed doing. For the good of the world, more than one man had to die today.

Resting his head on Suzaku's shoulder, Lelouch drove his own brand of sword into his friend. "The punishment for what you have done shall be this then..." he whispered, dropping the role of the Emperor completely, raising a bloody hand to the black mask, caressing it gently "you will live on, always wearing that mask, serving as a knight for justice and truth. You will no longer live your life as Suzaku Kururugi. You shall sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of your life in benefit of the world, for eternity."

There was a brief pause and for a moment he wondered if the plan was about to fall apart, as only Suzaku Kurugi could cause it to. If there was no Zero, then the nations would fall into turmoil again, without this first figurehead of justice then how could others be expected to arise? The world needed Suzaku to die just as much as it needed Lelouch to.

And then he heard a steady breath, the grip on the sword impale in his chest becoming that little bit firmer. "This Geass..." Zero replied, "I do solemnly accept."

The sword then made its return journey out of his chest, the momentum of it pulling him forward. His body little more than a puppet that had lost its strings, Lelouch could do nothing but follow it forward, with his nervous system destroyed there was nothing he could do to control his legs...he couldn't even feel his legs. He tumbled forwards, going head over heels and then sliding down the walkway and leaving a bloody smear in his wake over the Britannian coat-of-arms...his final act of defiance in a way.

A human only had to lose half his blood supply before the body's functions began to shut down, he had to have lost more than that by now. He barely felt Nunnally as she knelt by his side, trying to understand what she had just witnessed.

He couldn't see her anymore. How fitting. For what right did a brother who manipulated his beloved sister the way he had, even if it was for her own good, to look upon her? There was not a shred of doubt in his mind as everything faded away that her last words were to curse him. Nevertheless, he had done it. At last he had done it.

Nunnally's world, Euphie's world, a gentler world was about to be born.

Yes...it was over. Only one remained, but that problem should take care of itself momentarily."I...destroy the world..." he was so tired... "and create it..." so very tired... "anew." It was time to sleep.

And so the Zero Requiem concluded.

All tasks at hand have been achieved.

He really should have known better than to think that...

A/N Every time he thinks that something goes wrong. Now before you rail at me, no I haven't changed the canon ending. Nunnally's words were exactly the same as in the anime. However, we're seeing this from Lelouch's POV and he's dying, which means he likely couldn't hear her. But then I've never died so I couldn't say. This is just my interpretation.
Anyway, what do you think? I'll have chapter one up in a bit so take your time with that one as well. I'm going to try to build off the canon until the SAZ and the...incident that occurs there. Not sure where I'll go from there. Only time will tell.