Chapter 17: Royals

Within the royal palace, the day had come and done without much issue, and if Prince Hydron was honest, he was a little bored. He had all he could need or, more importantly, wish to do for entertainment, but they could lose some of that appeal when he had done most of it at least once. His father would tell him that his whims would bring him back to it soon enough. He didn't appreciate being referred to as a mere feline. Still, it at least helped to distract him from the fact his collection remained incomplete.

He had just had his lavish 5-course dinner. He was prepared to perhaps read a little before retiring for the night early when he was informed that Spectre had something he wished to report.

Expecting good news from the masked leader of the Vexos, Hydron replied that he'd take the call in his throne room. Entering, he dismissed his staff and sat before activating the holo-screen. He was mildly surprised when he saw that it wasn't just Spectre. Still, the screen was split into 3 to show Lync and Volt.

“Spectre, I assume you have some good news for me?” Hydron asked, the subtle threat in his words making Volt’s gaze slightly narrow while Lync looked away, his face growing sweaty.

The only one who did not react was Spectre, whose face was a mask of calm and smooth control. "Unfortunately, my prince, I must disappoint you." His words were much the same: "Alpha City's dimensional controller was destroyed."

Hydron’s jaw clenched, surprise and anger boiling in him. “Destroyed?” He reached for a lock of his hair, his finger twirling around it as he tried to keep his cool. “Explain. How did this happen? Was proper maintenance not done? Was there a lapse in oversight? Sabotage?"

“I believe it was sabotage by the resistance, my prince," Spectre replied before he added. "As Alpha was under Volt and Lync's protection when this happened, they can give you a more detailed explanation."

“Well?” Hydron turned his ire towards the two Vexos members, the supposed best of the best who couldn’t even stop some measly resistance.

Lync was clearly not going to respond, not when he looked terrified, and while Volt had opinions on Spectre throwing them under the bus, he was a man of duty. With a steady, measured tone, he explained what happened. With him taking the lead, Lync chimed in here and there, mainly with his part where he had been battling Mira when his new mechanical Bakugan suffered a mechanical problem.

Hydron wasn’t pleased with that, and despite Lync mentioning that the professor had managed to perfect it, he was still focused on the fact a dimensional controller was destroyed with the two Vexos clueing him in on how the resistance infiltrated the Bakugan Battle tournament while unknown to the Volt and Lync, their other 2 members had snuck through security and tampered with the dimensional controller’s power extraction system, making it that as they continued to battle, that power just kept building up till it raptured.

Lync, true to character, left Volt to do most of the talking but also added a few times that this wasn't their fault, as they were busy with the tournament, and that Alpha's security should have caught Mira and Baron while he and Volt handled Zero and Ace.

"Zero just walked in, and no one realized it was him?" Hydron questioned their excuse as if this was true; he would question their intelligence. They knew what Zero looked like, with or without the mask!

"Both he and Ace were in disguise…I think." Volt's otherwise no-nonsense face shifted, hesitation floating to the surface. "We're sure that it was Zero; they even used the same Aquos Bakugan Zero does, but they were a woman. They even sounded different."

At his incredulous look at that absurd statement, Spectre chimed in with some evidence to back his brawler's testimony. "Here are some photos taken from Professor Clay's lab and during the battle tournament."

On his screen, the prince saw the images, and as much as he hated to admit, he couldn't fault them for not realizing it. Heck, he was unsure if this was Zero's true face, as no one could be that good at disguise…right?

Feeling a headache, he moved on to the meat of the issue. "And the tower, when will it be up again? A week? A mouth?"

"That's the issue, my prince. They refuse to do anything about it for fear of the political risks." Spectre replied, to which Hydron's eyes flashed as he nearly jumped from his seat in rage.

"Political risk? With Alpha down, we've lost a third of our cover over New Vestroia! What political risk are they babbling on about?"

“They claim that the brawlers managed to sway a sizable portion of their populace to their radical and dangerous beliefs. If they act now, it could spark a riot." "And if I may, my prince, you shouldn't get involved, as if you need to order it, and things get dirty as they most likely are…" Spectre didn’t need to finish that statement for the prince to understand its meaning.

"What about a communications blackout?" Hydron asked as they needed to do something about this. Otherwise, he'd need to report this to his father, and that was not a call he would look forward to. He needed a win, something to sweeten this.

“It’s too late for it; information has already spread. Mercifully, Beta City seemed unaffected by this rabble, and Gamma is largely for research. Still, if communications were to be cut, those bad actors wouldn't take much to stoke the flames." Spectre advised, his mask giving nothing away of what he felt, his tone the same as it had been from the start of the call.

"I shall take your advice into consideration, Spectre. But remember, who has the real authority here." Hydron reminded his top brawler, who silently nodded as the prince sighed, leaning back into his throne. “Anything else to report? Any further news to sour my evening?”

"There is, and it's about Zero. We confirmed…their identity via their energy signature, which matched what I had detected in my first battle with him. However, there was a noticeable spike during that last battle; right as the dimensional controller went offline and the Bakugan were released, his power surged along with theirs."

"Was it similar to the legendary Bakugan?" Hydron asked; as this was new, he could be intrigued by it, and it didn't make him want to scream and fire someone.

"Much more so than the first readings, but the professor will need to confirm by how much," Volt replied, as the professor would confirm anything by around morning.

"Well, if we needed more proof of this unknown's relations to my prized prey, we have it." Hydron mused, tenting his hands as he wondered about this. What was Zero? Where did he come from? What was his connection to the 6 Legendary Bakugan? He was missing something; he didn't know what, but he would find out, as he just knew if he did, it would bring him closer to completing his collection and handling this resistance nuisance once and for all.

“Have you increased security around the other two dimensional controllers?” Hydron asked, to which Spectre placed a hand on his chest and bowed.

"I have already taken the liberty to triple all security and ordered modifications be made to both to ensure that a feedback loop as in Alpha simply can't occur," Spectre replied. Hydron was happy that he had a proactive servant in the masked man, though he didn't trust the man nearly as much.

"Make sure you're ready for the brawlers. If they go after one controller, they'll target the rest," Hydron reminded them.

“Of course, my prince.” Spectre obeyed.

"We're on it," Volt added.

"Next time, they'll be in for a nice surprise." Lync threw in, having found some more confidence with the call ending.

Line Break

In another country, in another world, the world to which Zero owed his birth, another figure was pondering news that he received, though not as recently as Prince Hydron.

98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, Charles Zi Britannia, reclined in his personal office, the space befitting a man of his rank and power. Despite his long hours in it, it carried few personal touches.

Why would it when he was not the sort of husband to celebrate wedding anniversaries or allow pictures taken of the times he would spend with his consorts? When he was neither a present, proud, or even supportive father to his over 200 children? Or like his father before him, a man who had taken to big game hunting and horseback riding, which would net him several trophies or mementos.

No, his office reflected the man; it was grand but sparse, imposing yet obscure, opulent yet largely practical. Turning his chair, he looked out the window, down at the gardens of Pendragon Imperial Palace, yes, but also to the sprawling lights of Pendragon proper. A city of unchallenged grandeur, an elevated metropolis built on the edge of the Mojave Desert as a symbol of how Brittania could conquer the land as they did their enemies.

It was a city of palatial estates, towering skyscrapers, and green, clean, and beautiful boulevards, all of which made the Rome that Augustus had built in his lifetime seem cheap and plebeian. The hundreds of noble families who called Pendragon their home had spent decades and tens of billions turning it into the brightest gem in the imperial crown.

Charles saw it all as paranoid avarice, an overdesigned and pretentious insult on the eyes. Its location was chosen out of pride: a man-made mountain in the flats of the desert where resources were scarce and yet were still wasted by the fools who called themselves 'superior' to commoners. So-called superiors that cloaked themselves in wealth to mask their insecurities as none trusted another and feared that any day, their wealth and power would be cast aside, as they would anyone who found themselves in hard times

“Parasites, mindless and deceitful parasites.” He stated, his face set in his typical frown, only deeper as he thought about the failures of this city, of its flaws and sins, and what it had taken from him. "Animals at least have the excuse of being mindless, of acting on instinct, but these people…they're far worse."

"But where they lie, cheat, steal, and kill, it makes so transparent, it has its uses." Yes, for as much as he despised the city and nobility he ruled over, their bankrupted morality made them easy to keep tabs on, to instill fear in them of his attention, and thus, keep them under control.

And yet, despite that, he could rest easy these nights as they approached their real goal, the reason he fought through the Emblem of Blood, why he claimed the throne when he hated all that it embodied and continued to carry out that dogma, to encourage that rot.

All for his dream world, the dream he shared with his brother, and the only woman he ever loved, Marriane.

Yet, things could not proceed as he wished, not with such uncertainty, which relates back to his rebellious fool of a son.

As much as he hated to admit it, he did fancy the boy. He was much like his father, though he knew Lelouch would hate being told such. He was driven, intelligent, a hard worker when needed, and a fantastic actor. And like him, all of it spurred on by the death of his mother. In a better world, he would have been able to assist him or perhaps explain to him why he couldn't allow the investigation into Marriane's death to continue or why he couldn't visit Nunnally in the possible.

But such things were beyond a child, and his son was far too immature to not act on that knowledge and either put himself at risk or endanger Ragnarök, so he exiled him.

Years later, he decided to raise his head again, now as this masked Zero. He didn't know why he chose to dress like that, and he didn't care to figure it out. Marriane seemed to enjoy it and kept up with any news about him. It was just like her not to be proud of the man their son was turning into, to be gleeful about his successes, particularly Narita.

Charles wasn't as amused by it all, as Lelouch was still killing imperial soldiers and destroying hundreds of millions in equipment and weapons. But it at least meant they knew where C.C. was, so when the time came, they could start their plans, but they couldn’t now.

'Of all the things to occur because of brother's meddling, a dragon?' He wondered about that, as Schneizel had given the report, along with several signed witness testimonies and video, to confirm his son wasn't being controlled by geass.

Somehow, his son seemed to have summoned a dragon and then vanished with it via the Though Elevator. To where? He knew not, and with it being a month now, they were no closer to that answer.

There was a knock at the door, drawing his attention. He knew that no one just 'knocked' on his door. His assistant would have called ahead to inform him of a visitor, and his security, including Bismark, would have ensured they weren't a threat and had permission to approach.

A short list of people could approach without such and just knock on his door. "Enter." He spoke, to which the door opened, and a small child, no older than 12, walked in. And yet, Charles knew better than anyone this was more mere child.

"Brother, I trust you have news," Charles spoke.

The child immortal known as V.V., the elder twin of the 98th emperor, nodded as he moved to take a seat, his flowing hair and elegant robes trailing behind him. "I do, though it’s not as pleasing as we would want.”

"I've studied this along with the researchers and files of the order, and we found nothing about what my unruly nephew has done," V.V. spoke, Charles, playing the fool about knowing Zero's identity, which his brother had only discovered through his trap which had only partially worked.

“Nothing?” Charles asked as this was not good news.

“Not even a mention of a theory of such happening!” At that point, V.V. lost his cool but had to stop and breathe to act, not his appearance. "The Thought Elevators, admittedly, are far older than even the order, and sadly, they have nothing about real dragons or other beasts entering through them."

“Not even a geass that could do something similar?” At the question, V.V. shook his head.

"There have been many geass that can make people believe they've seen such, and while our research into the science of geass is still young," Charles had to snort at V.V.'s statement. They had been studying geass for the past 30 years, though he guesses when the order was over 1000 years old, 30 felt like a summer fancy. "We concluded long ago and re-affirm with each new contact that the power does not affect machines.”

“That is unfortunate, particularly as the OSI and other intelligence groups can't find a trace of Zero anywhere in the world," Charles noted, as he had hoped his son might have merely accidentally used the Thought Elevator and teleported to some random other one, and with several under his control, they could dispatch people to find him.

But such efforts proved fruitless as each remained untouched and unvisited by anyone who didn't have prior permission or reason to be there. He had even considered the possibility that he was teleported close to the elevators, as V.V. had done when he pulled his children, along with the Guren and Lancelot's pilot, towards Kamine island, but in that month since the incident, even these broader searches gained nothing.

"I would love for the boy to be dead and gone, as it would solve our terrorist problem in Area 11 and leave Kamina Island safe," V.V. stated. However, Charles had to hide his glare at the statement. He knew damn well his brother just lied to his face; the little troll would be happier than Lelouch would be gone because he was Marriane's child, simple at that. "However, if he were to have perished, then it leaves C.C. with little reason to remain where we can find her, and she's crafty enough to vanish without a trace for years at a time."

Yes, that was the reason he had used when V.V. first approached him about the possibility assassination of Zero after the Narita business. He viewed him as a threat, though he didn't know who he was, just that he had geass. Charles, knowing who Zero was, had been able to argue with if C.C. made a contract that she'd remain close by and, thus, easier to locate once Ragnarök was to start.

Again, his brother wasn't the only one keeping secrets. However, Charles couldn't tell him that his supposedly dead wife survived her betrayal and assassination attempt and frequently communicated with C.C. via a telepathic link, as the troll would, of course, realize Charles would have known from the start V.V. tried to kill Marriane and then lied about it.

The fact that he had to lie to the person he thought he could trust with his life and dreams only made him hate his brother, but decades of practice made it too easy to disguise such feelings.

"Then we can reasonably be sure that Zero is still alive, somewhere in C's world, or behold it." Charles spoke, and if this was a month back, he would have never uttered such a thing, but seeing how both he and V.V. had searched C's world for his son and found no trace, they could only assume he had used it more as a bridge than a final destination.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. It would also explain why he could summon forth his scaley beast from, as while fantastical in nature and possibly born from human thought, I can't find a shred of evidence that can back that up." V.V. replied though he wasn't happy about that for several reasons.

Geass and its origins still remained a mystery to them. Even an immortal like C.C., with over 700 of life, was younger than it and would have had the same files, scripts, scrolls, and tomes as he did. In fact, he believed he had more information as the Britannian conquest meant easier access to other cultures' history and cultural sites, which could be raided for anything geass-related.

And yet, nothing of substance. Why would it when their research painted even the youngest set of ruins they've located at 4400 years and the oldest at well over 6000 years? Even now, their best guess was that an ancient pre-bronze age civilization first learned of, not discovered or invented, geass, which left the origins of the power unknown.

Was this dragon, whose power he felt that day dwarfed his own, part of that story? Was it from the same realm as geass? It had to be, but how and why, then? Why appear before Zero at that moment?

The matter took so much of his attention that he and Charles hardly cared about the puppet government the Chinese set up in Kyushu to contest their control over Area 11, leaving that to Schneizel on the political front and Cornelia on the defense front.

“Brother-” Charles’ words slurred, slowed and then froze. V.V. looking up in confusion at his brother’s frozen face. Immediately, he suspected a geass user, perhaps one similar to Rolo, which explained why he was unaffected. Still, when he glanced out the window, his gaze shot back out.

He could see a flock of birds flying, frozen in the middle of flight. Getting up, he raced to the window and looked at the garden, seeing that the water in one of the ponds was also frozen, not like ice but suspended in space.

"What is happening?" V.V. asked himself, as this couldn't be geass, but what else-!

“That would be me, human.” A voice spoke up, not from his brother or some speaker hidden in the room but in his head.

"Who said that?!" V.V. jumped around, trying to find the source of that disturbance. He couldn't hear voices in his head; he had a code; he was immortal! Geass couldn't-it shouldn't affect him!

As if reading his panicked thoughts, the voice let out a chuckle, hard as a rock yet imposing as a rumbling volcano. It sounded ancient, otherworldly, cruel, and demanding.

“I have what you seek, boy.” Again, the voice spoke, giving off heavy tones of age, arrogance, and control.

“Boy? Do you know who you’re talking to?!” V.V. barked back.

“Silence!”  His bark was overtaken by a roar so powerful it made even the frozen space shake, dropping V.V. to his knees in pain and primal terror the likes of which man inherited of the dark and what lay within it. “You think a mere 50 years makes you a man? You are human as the living fossil frozen in time, but that isn't why I bothered to grant you the honor of my attention.” That arrogance was sharper, harsher, with a heavy hammer of fury at being spoken to in such a way from a being it viewed no greater than an ant.

And with how paralyzed by fear he was, V.V. didn't feel like he was anything but.

“T-then what is?” He gulped, finding that he was sweating from the presence of a mere voice—utter lunacy. But at this moment, a part of him, that core survival-coded part of his primordial brain, screamed that if he wished to live, he didn't dare speak like he had any means of control here.

The voice, amused and mercifully calmed by his show of fear, pulled back some of that menace, though left it hanging in the air like a knife to the throat. “You have an issue that I have taken an interest in, one pertaining to this masked human calling himself…Zero, I believe.”

"You-wait, are you the one who-"

“I did not." The voice didn't need to say it, and V.V. understood immediately that it would be unwise to speak over the voice again. That was the handiwork of my sister. She stands in opposition to my rightful place at the top of things, and I can see you have experience with that. Sadly, for me, killing her wasn't so simple, nor did it solve my issue.”

V.V. immediately thought back to Marriane, and while he had questions on how this voice knew about her or his involvement in her death, he focused on what he felt wouldn't get his head bit off.

“What did she do?” V.V. asked how anything or anyone could stand against such a force as this?

The voice was pleased to be the question, not the one V.V. spoke, but the one he thought. The voice was strong, stronger than anything V.V. could ever hope to achieve, and he was right to believe it was abnormal for his sister to stop him from achieving his goals. “The dragon you saw whisking away Zero, that was my sister. She has taken him as a champion to fight on her behalf, and should she have her way, she'll finally have the means to bar me forever from my goal.”

“She…she’s a dragon?” V.V. couldn't believe it, but in some part of him, he believed it made sense. After all, what else could match such a force than a dragon? But…wouldn't that mean this unseen force was also a dragon?

“There is more to life than pitiful hairless monkeys can imagine. But this is a task which I believe you could do for me. If you succeed, know that Naga can be generous, and I shall grant you a generous boon. Your dream.” V.V. thought back to his childhood, to the horror and fury of his early memories. His mother was killed as collateral, the imperial court devouring itself like a mad beast, and the vow he made with his brother.

“You could, but why should I trust you?” He asked this…Naga character, as for all its power, for all the fear coursing through his veins, what was stopping this one from being any different from those parasites?

Naga, again, was amused by V.V.'s suspicion and deep-rooted fear of not having the power in the deal. But Naga hardly cared for the opinions of the humans, only that he was useful.

However, he could always do him what V.V. wished and give him some much-appreciated truths. “Because you have no choice. As we speak, your brother has known for years you tried to kill his consort and is plotting to steal your code for himself. He’s known who Zero much longer than you; the band has refused to act because it knows it keeps you distracted.”

V.V.'s gaze grew alarmed, his head snapping back towards his still-frozen brother; the man hadn't breathed so much since this time stop happened. That was impossible; he had ensured no witnesses. Marriane had even helped by sending away all her security and staff for their meeting, unknowingly sealing her fate. Even if she had suspected, she would have- he would have noticed. No! This was nonsense, utter nonsense to play on his fear, and he wouldn't be so easily tricked.

“Charles would never-!”

Naga didn't have the interest or patience for his denial and sent another pulse of his power through the connection. However, it also weakened it, shortening his time to speak with his possible pawn. “You voided your little agreement when you lied to him, boy. And don't think Marriane isn't still alive; she's alive in a sense.”

“Where? How? I shot her, I watched her bleed out!” V.V. demanded.

“Do as I wish, and I'll grant you that information and ensure your dream is realized. However, if you betray me...” All of a sudden, V.V. felt his mark of code start to burn, burn as if the fire was flowing through his veins, the immortal screaming as he dropped to the floor, rolling to try and put out the flames that weren't there, to relieve the pain which only grew. He could feel his body start violently shut down, but right as he was about to die, it stopped. The flames, the pain, the dread of death he hadn't felt in decades. It all ceased.

Satisfied that the boy knew his place, Naga moved to end this talk so he could get back to conserving his strength. "I can do many things, even in this disgustingly weakened presence, so don't think your little code will protect you from me. So, do we have a deal?"

Line Break

“-trust you to look into this on your end, while I handle things on mine. If we can locate where this dragon came from, we might locate Zero and secure him, to which we can use him as bait." Charles finished his question, time flowing normally once did, not a hint wrong or out of place in the room.

“…Yes, I can, brother.” V.V. took a moment to respond, still reeling from that unholy experience. Now, if you're excuse me,” he got up and walked out, Bismark letting him through without fuss. As he walked towards the secret entrance he used to enter the palace undetected, he wondered about what had just happened.

‘Was that a dream?’ He thought as he turned his right hand over, only to see a new tattoo he hadn't had moments prior. It was of a white dragon with evil red eyes that, even through the ink, seemed to glow with an insatiable desire for power. ‘No, it was real. All of it.’ He clenched his fist as he recalled the info that Naga had sent him. About that night, how Marriane survived, how she told Charles why C.C. had first left, and how his brother had been keeping tabs on Lelouch for years and had already known he was Zero long before V.V. did and yet refused to act.

‘Charles, you can’t be trusted. You were corrupted by that mother of abominations, Marriane.’ V.V. seethed. His disgust for Marriane felt larger, deeper, and much stronger—enough so that he felt nothing but contempt for her and wished that he had made her death all the worse.

But through that torrent of hate, he could smile. Yes, she was still alive, but that just meant he had a chance to correct his mistake and ensure she was broken before he put her down for good. 'But, now I know, and I can work towards it. The world that I want, the world that deserves.' Yes, his dream-it was his and his alone. He was the only one who still believed in it, fought for it, and worked so hard to see a world without lies.

Marianne was a leech, a woman who tempted his brother like Eve did Adam. Lelouch was her son in every way, a threat that needed to be handled because his brother had some misplaced soft spot for him.

‘Zero…Lelouch, Nunnally…’ Reaching the secret entrance, he walked past his geass order guards, shaking his head to clear away the plans he was concocting on how he would find Nunnally and kill her.  'No, that would be too hasty, wouldn't it? I want you to see it; I want to make you and your she-devil of a mother suffer first before I put an end to you both and break your evil hold on my brother; then everything will be right; it shall be as it should be.' Yes…yes, that would do nicely. He had to enjoy this, and that meant being patient.

He had all the time for it, after all.

'I just need an ideal pawn for this, and I'm just the person in mind for this.'  A young pink-haired woman came to mind. It would take some time, but with Naga's help, it could be done.

Line break

If there was a hell, he hoped Zero burned in the darkest depths of it, but he knew that he did not when the masked bastard could seemingly escape any attempts on his life.

Still, he wished for the chance to upset, to slowly beat the man to death for what he had done and continued to do. Such were the thoughts of one Suzaku Kururugi as he sat in the lifeless, silent room. The only sound came from the grandfather clock, which seemed to mock him with each tick, every twitch of its minute and hour.

This was a reminder that he had failed, and another minute, another day had gone by with Zero out there and Lelouch missing.

"You should eat, Nunnally." He spoke, lifting the porcelain tea cup to Nunnally's lips, but the girl did not answer; instead, the depressed angel gave the barest of nods.

As he slowly helped her drink what had been her favorite blend, he couldn't help but notice how skinny she had gotten. Despite Lelouch seemingly pouring so much into her plate, she was always on the small size, but now, she was closer to a living corpse. Her school uniform was seemingly 2 sizes too big for her. Her cheeks were sunken, and despite her eyes being closed, he could spot the large, deep bags beneath both.

She hadn't taken to the news of Lelouch missing well. Still, this…this was worse than he had ever thought possible, and as time passed, his efforts to keep her spirit up seemed to return diminishing returns.

She wasn't a fighter like her fighter, but she was strong—perhaps one of the strongest people he had the pleasure of knowing. But without Lelouch here, it was like…her strength had shattered, and he had heard from the others how she had cried herself to sleep—that was when she could sleep.

Wiping her mouth with a tissue, his heart ached even more. This wasn't his task; this wasn't his role. This was supposed to be Lelouch; he should be here! Showering his baby sister with more love than she knew to do with, to scare off boys wanting to ask her out, tucking her in at night, and welcoming her in the mornings.

But he wasn't…because he couldn't, because he was gone; at this point, Suzaku had to stomach the idea that he was dead. No, not dead, killed by Zero and his Black Knights.

He had no proof of it, but he knew there was a connection between Zero's dragon stunt and subsequent disappearance and Lelouch dropping off the face of the earth. Zero already hated the royals, the same as most other Elevens. He proved as much when he killed Clovis and bragged about it and his many attempts to kill Cornelia.

If he had figured out Lelouch was also royal, exile or not, there was no doubt in his mind he would have made a move. Doing so reduced something as innocent and good as Nunnally to this.

Yes, he had to be him. That was why Kallen was at Ashford, wasn't it? Zero was watching Lelouch and waiting for the moment to strike. 'If I just figured it out sooner, if I had captured her then…' Suzaku felt rage and shame flood his system, but he reigned it in. He was the fool. He believed Kallen could be shown the right way, but she was too far gone, and he had surely helped her masked master carry out this unforgivable act.

“Has…” Nunnally spoke up. “Has there been any news about my brother?” She asked. She had asked them many times now, and his heart broke all the more each time he had to answer.

"No-but don't lose hope! We're searching high and low for him and have some good leads, which could prove promising! We're…I promise we'll have him back here, safe and sound again." He tried to keep her spirits up, even as his fury rose.

He'll find Lelouch, and if he can't…then Zero and his ilk will bleed for it.

Line Break

We are back with another chapter, one that acts as a sort of continuation of the previous one. While I was able to get Kallen and some of C.C. because she's cagey like that, even in her own head, this chapter, if the name didn't make it clear, focuses on how a particular group is handling things. I had to make some changes to the timeline in CG, as you'll see during it, but I think it came out nicely.

And before I forget, I've been having some issues with my chapters for Golden Ending. Chapters 4 and 5 of the DLC are gone because they went against guidelines. I'm contesting that, but well…it might not turn out in my favor. Luckily, chapter 4 is already up on my Ao3 and FF.net, and chapter 5 will join it tomorrow, so if you read that one, apologies for them just vanishing.

Line Break

Well, we got 3 flavours of royals here and 3 royals of hater. For Hydron, the arrogant hater. V.V. and Naga, the women haters with delusions of grandeur, and lastly, we have Suzaku, the number 1 wilful idiot hater. As Kallen already accepted, Lelouch and Zero are one and the same. Still, Suzaku refuses to do the same, probably because he knows if he did. He'd need to accept his role in Nunnally's current condition, but we all know he's a coward like that.