Chapter 24: Refrain

With school out for the day, most students had returned to their dorms or gone out to hit the town. With no council meeting, its members had also scattered: Kallen had returned home, Shirley was out with swim practice, Nina was in her room, Suzaku was back with the military, and Rivalz and Lelouch were off at the movies.

Milly typically had her own entertainment outside the council or worries. Still, today, there was an exception as she had been called to her grandfather's office to collect something he discovered that he thought would be best if they were delivered in person by his granddaughter. All leading up to now, Milly had left the campus ground and made her way to the Stadtfeld family's estate, at least one of them, as she knew that Lord Stadtfeld didn’t frequent Area 11 all that much, despite having strong business ties here. Instead, he was often back in the Homeland.

Still, for what was essentially a summer home, the grounds were large, well maintained, and had an elegant-looking mansion at their heart. Approaching the front door, she rang the doorbell and waited. Moments later, one of the main staff opened it.

"Good afternoon, mam. How may I help you?" the maid asked, her head bowed so Milly could pick up some details. Primarily, her Britannian was good, near perfect, which was rare even among Elevens who worked in the settlement. Secondly, her appearance—while lacking make-up or proper beauty care, was still quite attractive, more so for a woman who had to be 15 years her elder at the minimum. But there was something else to her, something…familiar that she couldn’t pin down.

Not wanting to come off as rude or strange, she responded quickly to the question: "Good afternoon to you as well. I'm Milly Ashford. I have some files that Kallen would like to see; they're school-related."

"Please wait while I call her." The woman bowed again and walked deeper into the foyer, looking up the main stairs. "Mistress Kallen." She called out a couple of times, with a door opening and Kallen peeking out. The redhead saw the open door and, suspecting she was having guests, came out to see who it was, being mildly surprised with who it was.

"Madam president." She asked as she wasn't expecting to see her.

“I dropped by to give you something.” Milly held up her bookbag, and while Kallen missed it, Milly’s gaze went from her fellow council member back towards the maid and that familiarity finally made sense. Kallen’s skin tone was much closer to her own, but that face structure was closer to the maid’s.

Lastly, the eyes—were the same shade of blue, and the maid's eye shape even matched Kallen's in her dozier mode. The realization opened up a door to the possible implications, but Milly didn't speak a word of it, nor did her face shift as the maid turned to Kallen.

“Where would you like me to show her to? The parlour perhaps?” She suggested only for Kallen’s face to twist with a bout of annoyance.

“We’ll be in my room.” She cut the servant off.

"As you wish, " the older woman hardly reacted, merely bowing her head in a way that made Milly wonder if she just knew her place or if Kallen's apparent short temper with this woman was common.

"Oh, I heard you had a friend down here." The three looked up to the second floor, where another middle-aged woman stood. Her long blonde hair was done up in an elegant updo, and she wore a purple dress. Her bust was covered by a light blue bust cleavage cover.

Milly noted that she had gold earrings and an expression much closer to what one would expect from a noblewoman as she looked down on them all. Kallen was no exception, though Milly could guess why.

With a well-manicured hand resting on the guard rail, the noblewoman fully turned her attention from Milly to Kallen. "I was sure it would be a boy. Out all night and missing school, not to mention all your visits to the ghetto. You're lucky your father's back in the Homeland." Milly couldn’t see her face, but she could bet that Kallen wasn’t pleased as the noble looked towards the main, her gaze only growing harsher.

“No fighting one’s blood, is there?” She sneered, the maid backing away, her head bowed, which came off as submissive. But Milly noticed that she didn't stop and that behind the maid, a few paces away, was a stand with a rather expensive-looking vase.

"You're the one enjoying Dad not being around here, aren't you?" Kallen's backhanded accusation only made the situation all the spicier—or it would if this was a soap opera—but it only worried her, especially when Kallen's stepmother's gaze grew angered, but not in a way that implied innocence.

Before things could get worse, a smash drew the two arguing women's attention to the maid and the shattered flower vase on the floor.

"Oh my, what have I done?" Milly observed that the maid was a fantastic actress, as she nearly believed that she had just bumped into the stand on accident. But the ploy worked, as Mrs. Stadtfeld turned away from arguing with her daughter to shame the maid.

“What’s wrong with you?” Mrs. Stadtfeld yelled at her as the maid quickly went to work picking up the shattered pieces.

"Forgive me, my lady." She didn't look up, though Milly wasn't sure if it was because she knew not to or because she didn't want to expose whatever expression she had.

"Can't you do anything right? Besides selling your body, that is?" As the lady of the house derided the help, Milly noted that Kallen remained silent. Her face was a storm of conflicting emotions, but one that seemed the strongest was frustration and scorn, similar to the looks she had seen on a certain vice president's face whenever he thought no one was looking or on those rare days when something got past his mask.

Line Break

"Quite the complicated homelife you have here." Milly started the conversation now that the two were in Kallen's room, the blonde heiress having picked up that Kallen's private space was both sparse but also telling as it was messier than one would expect from a girl of high birth, but what she saw lying about implied frequent use which made her question some things.

Like how an apparently sickly girl would need dumbbells and a barbell? In fact, if she could trust the snide remarks of Mrs. Stadtfeld, Kallen seemed to have an eccentric night-life, though considering what she carried with her and what she had seen in the foyer-perhaps that last bit wasn't as shocking as it should be.

“So what is it you wanted to give me?" Kallen asked, slightly annoyed, but not with Milly and more with the woman she was forced to call stepmother. It seemed that she enjoyed riling her up.

In response, Milly opened her bookbag and pulled out a folder before sliding it to Kallen. "Grandfather wanted me to give you a copy."

“The principal?” Kallen asked.

"It's your transcripts; they go as far back as middle school," Milly explained as Kallen opened the envelope and saw the seal of her previous school, along with her other name. "He and I thought you'd appreciate it if we spoke about this off-school grounds."

She looked up at Milly, now wary of the older student. “So my secret’s out then? That I’m actually a Britannian halfblood.”

Milly shook her head. "I wouldn't say it's out. Grandfather hasn't told anyone about this, and I don't intend to do so either." She promised, which seemed to relieve some tension from Kallen, the redhead having spent enough time around her to know she wouldn’t lie about that, but that left another issue. “Mrs. Stadtfeld, she’s your stepmother, isn’t she?” Milly asked.

"As much as I hate to say it," Kallen grumbled, glaring at nothing as she had to think about…that. But that wasn’t the only thing giving her issues right now. “That clown of a maid you saw, she’s my biological mother.”

Milly already knew that, but it helped that Kallen said it aloud so she could further discuss it. “The dots connect, so your father ended things with your mother when the war happened and married that other woman?" Kallen nodded, which left Milly thinking.

International marriages happened quite a lot among the nobility. The allure of foreign lands didn't stop at food and culture but extended to lovers as well.

Commoners did it as well; in a world where business and vacations could take you to any corner of the world, people were bound to find love with other nationalities and people. However, it was frowned upon in the nobility as it could lead to half-bloods like Kallen becoming heirs to noble houses and titles, and many were treated as bastards.

But there was an issue here. Why hadn’t Kallen's father disowned her yet? He divorced his Eleven wife when it became a liability to keep her around, even remarried to a Britannian noblewoman. Still, Milly didn't see any signs of children running around. He had a child, so it wasn't like he couldn't produce, and if his wife couldn't, well, it wouldn't be strange if she was booted in favor of someone else.

But he wasn't around often, was he? Was it just work, or was it something else? Milly had some ideas about why, but there was too little concrete information to be sure of them.

As she contemplated this, Kallen rested her head on her folded arms. "My mother's such a fool. He left her years ago and hasn't looked back, yet she stays here, a servant to a man who doesn’t want her. She doesn’t even have skills or pride; she just takes it with a laugh like it’s nothing.” Her glare grew stronger as she hated seeing that nearly every woman who raised her was treated like trash. But she hated it more that she stuck around despite that, all for a man Kallen hadn't seen in person in the last 4 years, as he seemed to hate this house as much as she did and made it a habit to rarely return.

On the other hand, Milly thought about it differently, but she couldn't say it, so she did what she could. "Do you hate your mother?" Milly asked as Kallen sighed.

“I just find her depressing.” Kallen reached for the teapot, the two having only requested something light to drink from the kitchen.

"Well, things are getting a little heavy, aren't they?" Milly mused as she looked out the window as Kallen poured them something. "The wife, the daughter, and the other woman all living under the same roof."

"Things get…rough, as you probably guessed,” Kallen admitted, setting a cup down for Milly. “But it could be worse: 3 square meals, a roof over my head, and a warm bed. Not a bad deal, better than most people with even a drop of Eleven blood can expect."

“Still, some things in life we can bear on our own, but when you add them all up…they'll eventually break you," Milly stated, Kallen falling silent for a moment as she stared into the crimson liquid in her cup before she looked back at Milly who caught her stare.

“Oh, don't worry. I'm always hungry for secrets and gossip, but I'm not ignorant about what they can do, and I won't be malicious about them either. I can promise you that none of this will ever be repeated by these lips." Milly assured her, but she still reached over, placing a hand over Kallen's, a genuine and sympathetic light in her eye.

"But maybe you should talk about them more; I'm a great listener, as I do the same with Lelouch; else, that grumpy old dog wouldn't be able to function." She joked at the end.

“What could get him so stressed?” Kallan asked, as she knew about the stuff with Zero…but not much about him.

Milly waved her finger at Kallen. “Didn’t I just say I don’t talk about other people’s private stuff? If you want to learn about them, you’ll just need to earn our gambling addict of a VP’s trust.” She teased.

Line Break

Out of sight, Kallen's mother returned to her small sleeping quarters. The space was hardly large enough for her bed and a single chest of drawers. The walls were covered in vile and hostile messengers the other Britannian staff left. But the woman didn't notice them, at least not enough to care as she had removed them in the past, only for worse to appear within days.

So, like the rest of it, she learned to just take it and not complain, a skill that wasn't just skill alone as she pulled out a key, her hands growing shaky as she reached for one of the draws, slotting the key in, she turned it, unlocking it before she opened it, grateful that the others wouldn't touch this, not when she used some of her measly pay cheques to ensure it was locked. It protected the thing that helped her deal with all of this, with how her life and family had fallen apart.

When she pulled it open, she let out a relieved breath when she spotted the small box, half filled with vials, the empty ones lying about the drawer and the injector.

Line Break

The following day, Lelouch and Suzaku found themselves in the student council room, the rest absent. The soldier was busy setting up some accessories to their already built cat play set while the Exiled Prince sat at the table, reading through a magazine on neural science, of all things. Suzaku couldn't make heads or tails of it and just assumed his friend was interested in the medical field.

“I can’t believe you cried over it, the entire thing happened over 2 weeks ago.” Lelouch flipped the page to an interview on brain chemistry. “So embarrassing.”

"It's called being honest," Suzaku clapped back, only to wince when Arthur bit him. Lelouch wondered why Suzaku had even tried with the feline when it was loved to try making a meal out of him. If he wished to spend time with some animals, the hounds were good for it, and unlike the bra-stealing cat, they wouldn't bite without reason.

"Despite my misgivings about some masked regicide being anywhere near Nunnally, I am grateful that Zero and the Black Knights saved them.” Lelouch let out a little chuckle. "Now I owe him 2 life debts for you and my sister."

Having gotten Arthur to release his jaws from his hands, Suzaku inspected the minor wound. "If they wanted to catch criminals, they could have joined the police force. Why don't they, I wonder." Suzaku pondered.

“Weren’t you falsely charged and near executed by the police?” Lelouch hardly bathed him an eye as he continued reading. “Zero only saved you and exposed the rot through being an outside agent.”

"It wasn't the police that did that; it was the Purebloods." Suzaku defended, as that sounded like an endorsement for vigilantism.

Lelouch turned his head over Suzaku’s way. “Even if your point is true, and the police had been forced into compliance with the Pureblood’s schemes, the fact remains that they couldn’t fight that scheme, and in the end, you, an innocent man, nearly died." He happened on that point, as Suzaku could believe what it wished, there was a simple truth:

"They bow to power, same as everything else in Britannia. Say the members of the Black Knights join the police; they could chase down a suspect and a murderer, but if that person has wealth, connections or the crime is inconvenient to their superiors, they could be ordered to let the suspect go, even create, burry or destroy evidence." Lelouch stated as he had heard plenty of stories of such happening in his gambling matches going back years. How something bad or inconvenient came up, only for a friend in the prosecutor's office or police to help handle things.

"If they tried, that might hold water, but as long as they don't, that's all just self-righteous theorizing." Suzaku countered, only for Lelouch to return to his magazine.

“Any good theory is created from evidence gathered through observation and experimentation.” That might have been for scientific research, but it could also apply to this. "Can you say that that scenario I laid out wouldn't happen? Hasn't happened?" Suzaku didn’t respond, which was a response if of itself, even if his soldier friend didn't want to say it.

"In a way, I do feel bad for law enforcement; they had to be good people, gullible people," He smirked towards Suzaku, whose frown only grew, to which Lelouch rolled his eyes at how serious Suzaku was. “But good people whose efforts to achieve justice are hamstrung by red tape and corruption."

"Maybe corruption exists now, and maybe justice is being countered, but if you just decide the system is a failure, it'll never change. People must participate and fight for change the right way; otherwise, whatever you gain will be worthless." Suzaku disputed that things were bad, but that is why he chose to fight so hard to change things.

“Worthless?” Lelouch repeated, his grip on his magazine tightening as he recalled how it went when he tried to recruit Suzaku and how he denounced him and his goals as little more than bloodletting.

"What even is justice in their eyes, what standards do the Black Knights use? What do they see as evil? Even if a system isn't perfect, it has a clear set of ideals and standards. There is a process of investigation, arrest, and trial, but with the Black Knights? They appear in the dead of night, and slaughter people wholesale before vanishing before anyone can stop them." Suzaku was firm on that, as the entire settlement had seen the news, many had seen the bodies, left strung up like old holiday décor.

Was that justice? Who gave the Black Knights such a mandate to ignore the law and carry out its punishments? No one but themselves, because they had the strength to do as they pleased. Didn't they see that was the exact thing they claimed to fight? How could they hope to change things when they used the same tools?

Lelouch calmed himself with a breath. This…this was a dialogue; this was progress, slow as it might feel. "I don't dispute the comfort of a system, Suzaku. In knowing such things,” Lelouch conceded. "However, there is comfort to be found in the methods of the Black Knights."

“What?” Suzaku questioned.

“Justice comes in 2 forms: Punitive and restorative. The former is the most common form, the punishment of the guilty; the latter is correcting the injustice or injuries done by the unlawful actions. In a way, a day in court can be restorative for those victims, knowing that those who wronged them were, in fact, wrong and are being held to account." Lelouch certainly wouldn’t have complained if his father had done his job and found those who killed his mother and put them on trial for it.

"But there can be relief found in seeing those who wronged you bring brought low. There is a reason that executions across cultures and periods were public events." But at the same time, he would love to see those assassins brought to the gallows where the executioners' axes waited.

"With the Black Knights? Do I agree with everything they stand for? No. Do I agree with their actions? Also, no," Lelouch spoke as Lelouch Lamperouge.

"But do I disagree enough to oppose them, even if verbally? No. Like it or not, too many of the guilty get away. The system is either unable or unwilling to go after them, so if the justice that does fall on their heads sees them slaughtered like pigs and posted up to be found the next day, well, I won't lose any sleep over it. I'll pray for their mortal souls, but that's about it."

Hearing all that only deepened Suzaku's frown. It wasn't as if Lelouch was talking nonsense; he rarely did. While his arguments were rooted in rationalism, there was something deeper to them—a deep, thick, and perversive hatred and fury that seemed to always burn at Lelouch's core.

The door opened before he could ask him about it, and Shirley walked in. “Oh, it’s just you two?”

"Anyway, I should return to the base pretty soon." Suzaku got up, dusting his pants off before walking towards the door Shirley had just entered. “See you around, Shirley.”

As he passed her, he winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up. “You got this.”

“What are you-!” Shirley nearly yelled before she clamped her mouth shut. Of course, he would say that, but Lulu was already dating something! She wouldn't try to tempt him or be the 'other woman'!

But then again…polygamy was legal in the empire, and up till now, she worried that Lulu was even interested in dating, so what was the harm in just making her feelings clear?

Approaching, she worked up the courage. They were alone, and neither was busy. This was her chance; she just needed to say it! “So Lulu, I was…”

“Go back, what an interesting word choice.” Lelouch interrupted her, a scowl forming on his face as he unknowingly shut down any romantic attempt from her. He wouldn’t have noticed regardless as he turned over Suzaku’s words in his head, feeling his perpetually burning anger rise ever closer to the surface. "He said he had to return to the military as if he belongs there…"

Line Break

“Refrain?” Kallen had been out, somewhat reluctantly, at an outdoor event when she got a call from Ohgi about their next target. Though the word was known to her, she had only ever heard it in passing.

“It's a psychotropic. It makes you think you've gone back to the past." Ohgi explained as Kallen frowned, though, as she was out in her school uniform, she couldn't act out her anger

very well.

"It must be all the rage here, " she stated. Looking over the mall, she mainly saw Britannian faces, their occupiers out enjoying the day and shopping. The few Japanese present were all workers, doing their best to avoid attention. Cornelia's Saitama stunt had only hardened Britannian sentiments of superiority, whatever guilt or claims of morals born from Shinjuku were already fading.

“Yeah, well, who doesn't long for the days before the occupation?" Kallen glared at the wall at that, as she too had fond memories of those days, but more than anything, she wanted to make more fond memories. “This stuff was specifically targeted at the Japanese; can't very well ignore it. Zero's intel has already been confirmed, though I still have no idea how he knew all that. Once the Sutherlands have been stocked, we move.”

"Supplies keep rolling in, and I hear lots of people want to join us," Kallen noted. Last she heard, they gained another 20 people, 20 who passed their entry requirements. Zero had been clear that they needed standards, if not in skill, then in character, or else someone wearing their uniform would pull something like the hotel jacking or worse.

“Well, we are the heroic knights for justice. I’ll call when the ammo gets here." Ohgi hung up, Kallen left if she could continue with her day, but she didn't have much choice as the Black Knights would all be busy, and she would sooner sing praise to the empire than return home now. Maybe she could try heading back to school?

The decision was put on hold when she heard a distance. "Come one, Eleven, say something! You are sorry, right?" Looking in the direction of it, she saw that some Britannian punks were harassing a Japanese person; the man hardly looked that much older than her and was already on the floor, where his tormentors kept on kicking and picking on him.

"Bowing your heads is what you Elevens do best, isn't it?" She wasn't the only one who saw this, but the Britannians who did hardly seemed to care and continued with their day. Why wouldn't they, she bitterly thought? This wasn't rare; it probably was happening in other spots all over Area 11.

Some of the few Japanese showed anger, but more than that, she saw resignation as they turned their heads away and hurried back to their work or to get where they needed to be. That response, more than anything, made her blood boil.

“Eleven…” She repeated, about to storm over and knock those punks into their asses when a hand grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place. She snapped her head around to see who it was, about to handle them first for just grabbing, calming only when she saw it was Lelouch, with Pedro at his side in one of the rare times Lelouch bothered with a leash.

“Don’t,” Lelouch cautioned.

“You can’t be serious, look at him!” she shot back.

“And how would you, Ms. Stadtfeld, help him? You'll be sent to the hospital by just 1 of those ruffians; taking on 5 would be a death sentence,” Lelouch reminded her of her role. Maybe Kallen could best them-no, she definitely could best them, but it wasn’t the Kallen she was right now who could.

“And what about you?” Kallen challenged. “Isn’t this the perfect time for Pedro to scare them off?” Pedro looked up at her when she called his name, but he didn’t move.

"Look at him." If Lelouch was insulted or angry at the slight she just laid against him, he didn't show it. Instead, he pointed not to the man getting abused but to his cart, where he seemed to sell hot dogs and drinks. “If we step in, he won’t be able to sell anything tomorrow. The people here might not show it overtly, but they support those bullies. They’d buy from him out of pity—but if we interfere to defend him, they'll see him as already fortunate, and he'll lose business."

"This is just the price you pay to work in the settlement; you become a slave to the empire, and they'll treat you as such." Lelouch parroted, which Kallen took issue with.

"Well, even so?" Kallen was about to counter, but then the punks noticed them.

“You got a problem over there?” one called out as they all approached. "Feeling sorry for this Eleven, are you?"

“Nah, they feel the same way as we do.” Another joked, with Kallen’s brow twitching when she saw 2 of them blatantly eying her chest.

Lelouch looked them over, appearing unimpressed. “Of yes, because we all have the time in your days to beat on the weak, but considering your choice of clothes, you don’t strike me as the employed type.”

‘What is he doing? He just said we couldn’t fight for that guy!’ Kallen wanted to yell at him as the punks looked both insulted and ready to beat them senseless.

“You want to repeat that, you uppity brat?” One looked like he was going to pull out something, probably a knife, only for a growl from Pedro to silence that. The four were gulping as they eyed the massive dog being held back by such a tiny leash.

Lelouch smiled at them, but it looked nearly as dangerous as the beast he called a dog at his side. "What's wrong, afraid of a little pup. I assure you he's well-trained. Only vermin need to fear what he'll do,"

"Now, my patience is running thin, but I imagine you're the same," Kallen couldn't see it. Still, Lelouch blinked and activated his geass, ensuring he looked all four men in the eye. “So why don't you stop bothering us or beating on Elevens, chaps?”

With that, his geass took effect as the man seemingly followed his warning and backed, turning to leave the path to do whatever they did outside, abusing Elevens for entertainment. “Well, buffoons they might be, they were able to catch a clue.” Pedro barked at Lelouch’s comment.

“What just...” Kallen shook her head; she could wonder about it later. Right now, she had something more important to focus on as she rushed over to the beaten man's side, his growing bruises looking worse up close. “Are you okay?”

The man shook his head, about to respond, when he opened his eyes and saw her uniform. “A Britannian student?” Like a switch had been flipped, he smiled at her, the picture of perfect customer service, and he would have been if not for the dirt and bruises. "My apologies. What can I get for you? How about a nice California hotdog, miss. And something for your boyfriend, too." He added that when he saw Lelouch approach, the man did not even notice Pedro, who he did, and was hiding it, which Lelouch didn't know.

Line break

Reluctantly ordering something, the two had found a spot to sit, as they couldn't just leave the man hanging. Pedro let off his leash and left to run about as the area was marked for dogs. Other canines also played and ran about, some even playing with one another. Pedro was no exception, finding an energetic Basset Hound, which lured him into a fun little game. However, Kallen would hardly focus on that.

As he ate his hotdog, Lelouch decided to speak. "In some ways, Area 11 is better off than before the empire. Being made a colony has stabilized its economic and military position worldwide."

"Elevens can even obtain full citizenship through the legal system, a process sped up by Prince Clovis. Because of that, it's as easy for an Eleven to become an Honorary Britannian as it would be for a Nine. It's just a matter of pride, though I can certainly understand why they'd resist." Lelouch snorted when he mentioned Clovis' name, as the irony wasn't lost on him, nor on Kallen, though she wished she could curse his name.

"And knowing all that, what does Lelouch Lamperouge think of it? What does he want to do?" Kallen asked, as they had been busy these last couple weeks, too busy for her to sit down with him properly. With Milly's words coming to mind, she couldn't resist this chance to get a deeper look at her leader.

Lelouch sipped his cola, humming as the cherry flavor hit his tongue before he responded. "I have no intentions of rocking the boat, as like you, Ms. Stadtfeld, it's nothing we should really think about. It's better for us to bow our heads and accept things as they are." He might have been speaking about them, but all Kallen could see was her mother and the miserable state she had reduced herself to.

“I refuse to accept such a world.” Kallen seethed, gripping her can so tight she started crushing it. Lelouch quickly drew her hand away so that the carbonated drink didn't soak into her skirt.

"I agree, but what can you do to change it? What does acting out now get you? The same thing it’ll get me, nothing good.” He reminded her that, as to the world, they were little more than the sickly girl and the orphan boy, who were far from the sort that could make any change.

Kallen was about to snap back but calmed her fury. As much as she hated it, she knew he was right. But still, she wouldn't him off the hook. “All right then, then what does Zero think of all this?”

“And how, pray tell, would I know what that masked vigilante thinks?” Lelouch smirked at her, to which Kallen looked ready to punch him, damn the fact Pedro would see it. Lucky for both of them, Lelouch didn’t hold out. “But if I had to guess, I can see why Zero would dismiss such arguments.”

"Yes, being part of the empire shields Elevens from foreign threats, but it leaves them open to domestic exploitation, abuse, and violence. Reporting such, at best, does nothing and, at worse, only paints a bigger target on your back." Lelouch noted that one didn't need to frequent circles of Japanese to hear stories of what happened to people who reported abusive bosses. Many people were lucky if they had just been fired.

"A better economy means little when nearly all those benefits are restricted to just Britannians, with even those who manage to secure citizenship as honourary Britannians getting the scarps of those boons; one only needs to ask that hot dog vendor." The settlement was a technological marvel, a city planner's wet dream. It was designed to handle all that nature could throw at it while maintaining a thriving city.

But it was a city built on blood and slavery, one where only 30% of the population were Japanese, and many were forced to live in the poorer lower levels, out of sight of their so-called betters.

“Zero sees past the veneer and propaganda to the harsh and brutal truth. For Elevens, for numbers-even for some Britannians, this entire system is rotten to the core. If left unchecked, it will fall part-destroyed, not the E.U. or the Chinese, but will be destroyed by internal issues. And Tens of millions will suffer." Lelouch sighed, as he often likened Britannia to Rome or to the Mediterranean before the Bronze Age collapse, an event that even now, researchers couldn't find the cause of or agree on possible causes, but they could agree on the results.

Societal collapse, rampant disease, crop failure, mass immigration, entire civilizations falling to ruin, languages and customs are forgotten. Britannia was a global empire, and should it fall apart from one of the many issues his father's rule allowed or, worse, encouraged. It won't just be Britannia that suffers. Just their arms stockpiles would make a civil war or collapse into a global disaster. Resource-rich places, like Area 11, would not be spared but would be one of the hot spots, even if the Chinese didn't get involved and added men and blood into the madness.

Kallen was floored by that commentary. She had always known that Zero was forward-thinking, but she had never considered that he envisioned that. But despite seeing that it could only be called a global catastrophe, Lelouch still sat there as if he didn't care about any of it.

“How can you be so calm?" she asked, as even when the council, including his sister and lover, had been taken hostage, he was able to keep up a visage of composure and only gave way when she pushed him to. Even then, if she hadn't known who he was, she doubted she would have picked up on his mood.

Lelouch took a deep breath and exhaled, his shoulders slumping as he looked toward the clouds above. "I can maintain a cool mask because I have to," Lelouch's retort didn't explain; if anything, it only made it seem that much more important than he did.

"I made the mistake once. I let my emotions get the best of me," he said, recalling that audience with his father, a spike of fury flooding into his heart as he said the man's words. I won't make that mistake ever again."

"I'll maintain my mask and act out my cover perfectly to ensure that I always get the best results, " Lelouch said, to which Kallen frowned.

“That sounds lonely…” He let out a soft, dejected laugh at that.

He sighed. "It's more draining than anything else. I'm not okay. I'm plagued by all I've witnessed, all the sins that the empire commits, and I just want to scream and shake everyone else until they see it." From then on, he had been exiled, his time as a political hostage, the invasion, and the three years he had to care for Nunnally on his own before Lord Ashford stumbled on him by chance in the settlement.

All of that had given him a front-row seat to everything, and he had no means to ignore it over and over again. People cheat, steal, and kill, coming up with deceptions, justifications, and rationalizations to continue the cycle.

“But for Nunnally’s sake, you bear it.” Lelouch snorted at Kallen’s sympathy.

“I bear it.” He didn't deserve it. He was no different. How many times had he lied, cheated, and killed? He lost count. He couldn't even remember the last time he felt remorse or hesitation when it came to taking lives. He knew that at some point, he was sickened by the fact, as in the end, those he killed were people too, but now? When he killed enemies, he felt nothing or a sick thrill, the high that came from victory.

As he often did when such thoughts weighed in his troubled mind, he felt the weight of his silver cross across his heart.

Line Break

Her hands were shaking more than usual, making it hard to open the drawer. To her dread, when she looked inside, Yuri saw only empty vials.

Line Break

Jeremiah and Villetta met at a bar close to their barracks for a drink. The two had been worked to the bone ever since they were placed under General Dalton's command, as the man had them doing nothing more than menial tasks.

Jeremiah wished to complain but didn't. He had only himself to blame, but he wished that they had the chance to redeem themselves. He had been called up last for Saitama. Still, with Zero not taking the bait, he here merely observed the entire operation, never allowed to head out. When it was over, it was back to that he had been on since the Viceroy demoted him.

“Lord Jeremiah, about this Eden thing,” Villetta started, Jeremiah flinching at that reminder as it had become an insult against him. Others called him Adam. "Sorry to bring it up, but remember what I told you about how I lost my Sutherland?"

Jeremiah turned his eye towards her. "I can't forget. It's not like you to have lost your unit like that."

"I'm trying to piece things together, and I admit, I still can't recall everything, but I recall something. Right before the gap, as I found the dead Royal guard, I saw 2 people; one looked to be a high school kid." Villetta explained, which drew Jeremiah’s full attention.

“You believe that they’re involved?” He asked as this might be the first breakthrough they had.

“How else would you explain them being in the same spot as a squad of dead royal guards? Royal guards, whose deaths were themselves suspicious?" Villetta countered, as even now, they had no explanation for that other than perhaps Zero or someone under him tamed a horde of rats. "With everything else, I wouldn't be surprised if they were connected to Zero somehow, and maybe they could lead us to Project Eden."

Jeremiah pondered it. "That's a fair assessment, and if we're lucky, we could search the registries of schools in the Tokyo settlement, but it will go faster if we got approval from the viceroy."

Villetta disagreed with that last part. "We should hold back on reporting this, Lord Jeremiah. At least until we have some evidence to back it up. Otherwise, she'll dismiss us." She sighed. "It's not like we have much pull as it stands anyway."

Jeremiah despondently agreed. Even when the Viceroy returned from North Africa, he doubted she'd be in the mood to grant him an audience, much less take them at their word when Villetta couldn't explain how she was seemingly duped like a rookie and lost her unit in the middle of battle. "True, we'll just have to handle this ourselves, as I can't trust the rest not to cause some incident or otherwise ruin things. That'll delay any progress but at least ensures its quality."

"I can recall the uniform—enough of it to recognise it if I saw another example. Once we've zeroed in on the school, we can investigate its student body, " Villetta said, to which Jeremiah nodded.

Line Break

As night fell over the settlement, the Black Knights were again on the move. Far from the light and busy night-life of the settlement's center, they staked out a warehouse, one of many identical units. However, Tamaki wasn't pleased with all of it.

“What the hell is Zero thinking? We could be hitting Britannia where it hurts or hunting more of those Code-R bastards. Instead, he has us doing the police's job for them.”

“It still feels pretty good to have the will of the people behind us," Ohgi replied. He and the rest were hiding behind cover as they watched their target. Their Sutherland, painted in Kallen's colors, was at the back, with the girl seated in the open cockpit.

“He’s right, we certified heroes on the net," Sugiyama added.

“We have to be…we just have to," Kallen recalled her talk with Lelouch and the sight of her mother.

Ohgi picked on her mood and felt concerned for her. “Kallen…”

He couldn't ask her about it as Inoue spotted three flashes of light coming from the target's roof, followed by another 4. “There’s the signal from Zero.”

“Again? How does he do it? It’s like he just walks into shadows and pops out wherever he wants.” Tamaki started to think this guy was a shinobi.

Line Break

Inside the warehouses, despite the late hour, people were hard at work moving products from their pallets, opening the boxes, and packing them into smaller cases like briefcases to be distributed to their street dealers. Overseeing it was the boss, though he was nervous, dabbing at his forehead to get rid of the sweat. "Hurry up with the Nagaya. The last thing we need is to be raided."

His second came up to him, confused as to why they were moving so fast. They were an hour ahead of schedule, and yet the boss looked like he was looking around for death itself. “What? You’re afraid of the police?”

“Not them,” Right as he spoke, one of the roll-up doors was shot to pieces, killing a couple of his packets and wounding several more. Having dived for cover, he cursed as their luck ran out. “They’re here!”

Kicking the damaged door down, the Black Knights made their entry, weapons drawn. “The Black Knights have arrived!” Tamaki fired into the group as the deal dealers and packers either ran for cover or took up arms, engaging in a rushed firefight. Overhead, on the walkways, the guards tried to fire on the Black Knights from above.

“Kill the-” One was shot through the neck before he could even pull the trigger, falling over the edge as the others looked to the side and nearly had an heart attack when they saw Zero approaching, like a wave of shadows.

“It’s Zero!” Forgetting the targets below, they aimed for the masked man, trying to smash the head of the snake, but Zero proved to be too hard a target. Lelouch made ample use of his cape to obscure where his body was, shifting about so that they shot at it and not him, all while picking them off with quick, well-placed shots from his hidden gun.

When one of its small magazines ran dry, he reached for something he had been carrying, concealed by his cape. “Shoot him, he’s just one man!” The woman who yelled that, trying to rally the rest, screamed in pain as buckshot tore off her left leg, dropping her onto her front, her gun falling from her hands to the floor below, one which was slowly filling with the blood of her fellow criminals.

Looking up, she saw that she was the only one up there still alive and that Zero had closed the distance and had his sawed-off shotgun to her back.

“If only that were true, you would have had a better chance. Now repent in death.” She felt terror form in her before Zero pulled the trigger, and she felt nothing else.

Reloading the weapon, Zero looked below and saw that their shock and awe assault had managed to push deep into the warehouse, but the criminals had formed a defensive line near the back, one with no cover for them to advance.

Lucky for them, they wouldn’t need to advance on foot as Kallen rushed in.

“Dammit, a knightmare!” One called out, turning and running.

“Where’d they get a Sutherland?” Others followed, Kallen not bothering to gun them down as the criminals routed in panic at the war machine.

Zero reached for his helmet and activated his radio. “Q1, smash right through. We'll clean up the stranglers here.”

“Right.” She responded, turning the corner and spotting another roll-up door rapidly closing. Reasoning that whatever was on the other side was important, she charged through their gunfire and smashed into the darkened space.

Hearing people over the speakers, she activated her unit's night vision and was disturbed by what she saw. Dozens of people, all Japanese, are high on refraining. Those whose words she could make out speaking of happier times. Birthdays, anniversaries, upcoming marriages, and promotions.

All happier memories to them, cherished memories but only reminders of how much they had lost when Britannian invaded. She even spotted the hot dog vendor, still covered in bruises and dirt, exclaiming how he would be studying abroad and that getting into the Berlin Academy was a hard journey.

“Still, some things in life we can bear on our own, but when you add them all up…they’ll eventually break you.”

Milly words rang in her head, as Kallen only felt her resolve harden. “This is why I’m here.”

“Kallen…” Her heart nearly jumped from her chest as she heard a familiar voice, but one that shouldn’t-“Kallen, be careful.” She saw her mother, out of uniform and wandering around the place, just like the rest.

“Mother-!” She couldn’t believe her eyes, but when she saw her mother about to trip, she didn’t think as she quickly caught her in the knightmare’s hand. But her mother didn’t notice, lost in some lost memory.

“Really, Naoto. I need you to keep an eye on your little sister.”

Was that it? She was reliving those days before everything fell apart. Kallen couldn’t take it, tearing up at the sight of her mother, brought so low. “My God, how weak a woman are you, mother? First Britannia, then a man, and now this? My brother is gone; let him go-!" She was thrown in her seat as her knightmare's arm was shot to pieces, but there shouldn't be anything there that could do that.

That was proven wrong when she looked at the sight and saw a Glasgow, one painted in white and blue, which meant it could only be one thing.

“The knightpolice?” She called out as the unit didn't respond, only firing its machine pistol at her, and once more, without thinking, she took off with her mother in her remaining hand, the rest catching up in time to see the knightpolice giving her chance.

“Is that a police unit?” Yoshida asked as Ohgi turned to Tamaki.

“Tamaki!”

The brash man was quick to defend himself. “Don't look at me. When I checked it out, I saw that there weren't any cops involved!”

“Corrupt filth.” Zero called out, though he was angry more at himself than Tamaki as he had also gone over the tip. It looks like he would be paying that informant for a visit later, but right now, "Get the people out of Kallen's way; she can't handle it if she's worrying about killing them!”

“R-right!” Ohgi nodded as he and the rest turned to go just that, the sounds of knightmares firing loud and unmistakable in the confined space.

Zero stopped Inoue before she could head off with the others. “Inoue, you're with me. We're going to try to help out Kallen by distracting that unit.”

Even with the visor, Zero could tell she looked at him like he was mad. “But we didn’t bring anything that can even put a scratch on it!”

“Well, we'll just have to get creative now; come on!” He pulled her along, but ultimately, she followed as they chased after the two knightmares. ‘Dammit, Kallen. How’d you let yourself get tagged like that?’

Up ahead, Kallen was struggling to fight. She was off her game, had lost her arm holding her weapon, and was carrying her mother in the other, shielding her from the police unit, but she couldn't keep this up.“ You’re in the way!” She cried, moving her arm to drop her mother, but she could do that at this speed; she could hurt her, maybe kill her, but was that a bad thing? “Dammit, I don’t need you, I don’t want you!” She didn’t know anymore, and she was hit with more bad luck when her right knee was blown out, sending her tumbling forward with a crash, skidding to a stop.

Looking around, a bit dazed, she saw that her unit's hand was empty. Freaking out, she feared the worse but saw her mother a little ways ahead, looking a little dirty but alive…she was fine…mamma was still safe. The knightpolice reminded her of its presence when it continued firing on her, trying to shred through her unit’s armour.

Her saving grace was that while it could damage her with its primary weapon, it was designed for police work, not combat, and thus lacked enough penetrative power, though that didn't mean it wasn't damaging everything it could in its attempt.

“Q-1, head up!” Zero called over the radio. She looked back and saw him jump off one of the shelves like a madman, landing on the modified Glasgow. Zero quickly reached for the cockpit latch, but the pilot inside was too quick for him. His fingers graced it as it shifted, trying to throw him off.

Zero held on for dear life, knowing he was in a fight he had no business fighting, much less winning, but he needed to buy Kallen time. When he finally let go, he made sure to roll with his landing and dive to the side as the unit tried blasting a hole through him. Zero responded by firing an explosive slug into its face. Still, it did nothing but anger it as he again rolled for cover.

With the unit following Zero, no doubt seeing him as the greater target, Inoue fired from the corner, aiming for the cockpit where she knew the latch to open it was, hoping that by some miracle, she could force it to open up.

“Eject already, your unit’s too badly damaged!” Zero didn't dare take his attention off the unit as it rushed him as he mimicked, sliding under its legs and firing another slug into its crotch, but still no damage as he pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and turned around.

“I…I…” Kallen was breathing heavily, her mind a mess as she heard Zero’s grenade go off as he and Inoue bought her precious seconds. But if she left, that would leave her. "Get out of here!” She yelled at her mother, who was still too out of it to even realize the danger they were all in.

“Whose she’s talking to?” Zero asked, nearly a moment too late, as a bullet larger than his slugs nearly blew off his arm, leaving a noticeable hole in his cape. He ran for cover, using the massive shelves for cover as the knight police unit continued to give chase, focused on killing him and ending the threat of Zero.

With Kallen, she was about to scream again, only for her mother to turn to her unit. “I’m here for you…” She called out as if she could see her, with Kallen seeing just how much love and warmth there was in her mother's gaze. Did she know she was here. “I here for you, Kallen. I will always be here for you.”

Hearing that only made her head hurt more as she recalled what she once believed, what she hated about her mother, but now…

“I can maintain a cool mask because I have to…

"I'll maintain my mask and act out my cover perfectly to ensure I always get the best results."

“It’s more draining than anything else. I’m not okay…

“But for Nunnally’s sake, you bear it.”

“Is that…is that why you stayed in his house?” Now she realized how wrong she was.

“Q-1, I can't buy you any more time. Eject!” Zero called out as the knightpolice, having grown tired of trying to hunt him when Zero could scurry around like a rat, turned to go kill the Sutherland.

“…I was such a fool.” Kallen bowed her head but raised it and fired her slash harkens, both sinking into the wall right as the knight police turned the corner. Pressing the retract button, she was pulled towards the wall, slamming into the Glasgow, which didn't have time to respond as she rammed them into it. Her unit's head was smashed, but so was her enemy's cockpit.

With the threat over, the rest, having moved the people to safety, rushed in to help Kallen out. In contrast, Inoue and Zero, both lucky to be alive after that suicidal move, approached the woman that Kallen had been so adamant about protecting. “I'm so happy for you. You can finally do it now, Kallen. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you, know, darling." "And you’re free to travel and use the phone whenever you like.”

‘So this is her mother…what a tragedy.’ Zero thought as he removed his cape and draped it over the drugged-out woman's shoulders; all while up in the raptors, C.C. had watched it all. The woman was mildly annoyed with her contractor for pulling that stunt; tonight was one of the unexpected things.

"False tears bring pain to others, but a false smile can bring pain to oneself," C.C. noted, a memory playing in her head as she watched things for a moment longer before stepping back.

Line Break

“It’s an aftereffect of Refrain,” a nurse explained. The morning had come, and while Kallen was in her school uniform, she was already missing first period. She wouldn't have been able to focus on school when her mother was laid out in the hospital, unresponsive. “She’ll recover, but—”

Kallen took her mother's frail hand, gripping it tightly. "Mother, your sentence…you got twenty years." She wasn't sure if her mother could hear her, but she pressed on. "But wait for me. I'm fighting to change things. I'll make a world where we can be mother and daughter again. We don't have to suffer just to stay in each other's lives. So please…."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. None of this was fair. None of it was right. She was breaking—but then, she felt her mother’s fingers weakly squeeze her own.

“Hang in there, Kallen… my little girl.”

Her breath caught as she searched her mother’s face, hoping for recognition in those familiar blue eyes. But they remained empty, unfocused, staring at the bedsheets.

Still, that squeeze was enough.

She smiled through her tears, her heart aching but lighter than before. "I will. I love you, Mom. I hope you know that." Kallen cried, unashamed of her tears, as she spent a little longer with her mother, trying to ensure that she knew she was there for her and that she really meant it before she got up to leave. She found Milly and Lelouch in the hallway, both also in uniform and looking worried for her.

She surprised both by hugging and squeezing them as hard as she could. "Thanks for keeping this between us. I know that the council isn't bad, but-"

Milly returned the hug. “You don’t need to say it. This was something important. If you need some time off school, I can handle things with my grandfather.” She offered for her, as it would be hard to explain her own absence, but Lelouch had something of a reputation.

"No, it's fine. Just…thanks for the hospital. I didn't think she'd get something like this." Kallen shook her head. This hospital was meant for Britannian patients, high-paying ones at that, yet her mother had managed to get entry and a private room.

Milly gestured to the lone male in the trio. "Thank him. He made a few calls and had her transferred overnight."

"One of the hospital directors owed him a favor and a large sum of money. Cashing that in for this wasn't even a hard choice." Lelouch shrugged, but Kallen appreciated it. At least it gave her mother a fighting chance.

Line Break

And it's done; the last chapter of that commission was posted Friday, so for the next few weeks, that's one less thing to worry about as it means that I won’t be posting stuff as late anymore as this is being uploaded Sunday morning, around 1AM. I was even able to get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. When it came to this, I was experimenting with perspectives a lot, as some of you might have noticed in the previous chapter about how the Stadtfeld scene was written.