Chapter 12: Royal Finale

At Pendragon’s 10th-anniversary festival, Milly’s celebration reunites families and lovers—Artemis’s debut, Anya and Gino’s tender moment—then Kallen surprises everyone with Nunnally’s return.

This chapter takes place 10 years post-canon. Anya and Gino are adults in their 20s; all romantic interactions are between consenting adults (18+). Child characters appear only in non-sexual family contexts.

In times sentenced to the past, Pendragon, the now lost capital of the Holy Britannian Empire, was awash with parties, dinners, and gatherings of all kinds. It was to be expected that for the upper class, such events carried 3 meanings.

The first was a means to display wealth and status at court, often leading to parties with budgets tens of millions of dollars higher than necessary.

The second was to indulge, as when one is born into wealth and surrounded by it, their reality becomes luxurious, extravagant, and wasteful. In an empire where the law and morals didn't apply, many such 'parties' could become dens of sin and debauchery; many of the noble families Lelouch had stripped of their titles, lands, and wealth in his early days had been known for such, hosting events where things out of nightmares would occur for the amusement of the guest lists. 

The last was networking. As it wasn't enough to have a private meeting or tea with allies, one needed to advertise alliances, paint out rivals, and scope out the political scene through events.

And in the years since the new emperor took the throne and threw the entire empire and the world into chaos, all of this had been reduced. Events still happened, but when the emperor was much more present at court, and known to not tolerate needless excess, many decided that smaller events were best, if they held them at all, as Pendragon's destruction had dampened even the hedonistic tendencies of the imperial court.

But Milly thought that was all boring as dirt. With the 10th anniversary of her dear ole Lulu’s ascension to the throne, she had hoped that they could create something she had only dreamed about as a high schooler.

So, when she received an imperial request to lead the celebration committee last year and was given a budget of 24 million… well, Rivalz had to explain to their daughter why mommy was cackling like an insane woman. She pulled some strings and got some old friends and classmates from Ashford on board, many still living in Japan, which made it especially funny when she recruited people from around the empire.

They had been dismayed at the scale she wanted and the budget she was allotted. They had asked, begged her even to speak with his Majesty, and request that the budget be increased, they believed they couldn't produce anything worth the scale and weight of the event with anything less than 48 mil

Majestylearly, they didn't know what she was capable of pulling off with less, yes it was a much smaller scale but if she had exceptional minions, she knew she could perform her own miracles, mask not necessary.

And now it was set to start.

“Citizens of Broceliande, and those watching at home, it's a really good morning!” Milly’s voice rang through hundreds of speakers set up across Broceliande, some so small they could fit in the hand, others so large they’ll need 2 people to lift into place.

“I thank my fellow citizens of Britannia, and all our lovely guests, for waiting because the biggest party of the decade is to commence, the 10th anniversary of our 99th Emperor taking the throne!” Milly, at the imperial palace, stood with a microphone set up for her, and hundreds of cameras, both to keep a good eye on the mood and security. However, she was only watching things on around a dozen screens.

And what she saw was good, as across the city, things had been prepped in these last few weeks for today. Stalls set up for games and wares to be sold, stages for performances and musical acts. Décor covering the city with pure white, gold, and purple accents, the colours of the emperor.

Even local businesses, especially local businesses, had gotten in on the fun, not just hosting event-exclusive discounts and wares, but following the themes and colours and decorating their establishments to match. At the same time, thousands of 'mini knightmares' walked the streets. Sadly, she couldn't get the real thing. Still, she could get thousands of custom costumes done similar to the empire's latest knightmare models and people to wear them to act as event staff.

“To mark this fantastic day, this is the most open event in the empire, citizens, residents and all you tourists-don’t hide, I can see you,” Milly giggled through the microphone, the Duchess spotting some noticeable foreigners amongst the crowds, though separate from the common people. “everyone is welcome to dance, sing, eat and watch all the wonderful events we have that’ll go on till midnight!”

“But before the fun times can start, we need our adorable crown princess to call for the open!” Milly presented herself on her side, dressed to the nines, her hair done by her sisters and handmaidens. Artemis let Milly lift her so she could speak into the microphone.

“Hello, I'm Artemis-I mean, I'm Crown Princess Artemis ci Britanna, and to start things off, I have one thing to say…” Artemis corrected herself before she took a deep breath, having practiced to make sure this would be perfect.

“Meooooowwww!” The voice of the princess echoed through the streets, and, to the amazement of nobles who decided to partake rather than remain in their estates, they watched thousands of commoners, rich and poor, cry out in support of the catcall.

“Did she have to use that?” Lelouch groaned. The emperor is standing in his palace's main foyer. He was dressed in more classical robes, but chose them for their ease, movement, and cleaning.

“Bad memories?” Suzaku, wearing his dress uniform, asked with a knowing smile, since the two weren't alone but stood with their families, ready to make for the festivities rather than host an elite party.

“Let’s just say I’m not all that sad Arthur finally bit the bullet," Lelouch muttered, so only Suzaku could hear, as he didn't dare say anything that could upset his kids, who at present were like wild animals smelling blood; they had been looking forward to this.

“Well, we had kittens so…” Lelouch slowly turned to Suzaku, a look of dread painted across the sovereign’s face.

“No,” Suzaku smiled wider as Lelouch looked like he had just been told half of his kids died to Charles' ghost.

"Afraid so, he left one day, came back with the misses, and she gave us 5 kittens. Diana loves them." Suzaku smiled as he gestured to his daughter, who was busy discussing what they would do first with Naoto and Atalanta.

“Keep them out of the palace.”

Leila let out a soft laugh, one that, even after all the years of marriage, never failed to sound like choir angels to Lelouch. Approaching the two, she offered Suzaku a friendly smile, one he returned, before she kissed Lelouch on the cheek, needing to push even in heels to reach it. “You never have issues with Eliza.”

Lelouch had learned a long time ago that marrying Leila meant having Elizabeth around, a cat who would go through thick and thin, had remained with Leila even after she left the E.U. army. A cat who would be with them, if she weren't a senior citizen by cat standards, who spent most of her days napping, far too old for playing with kids as she used to.

“Because she, unlike other felines I’ve met, seems to respect privacy.” Lelouch chose wisely as he replied, with Leila’s knowing retort silenced by the patter of tiny heeled feet. Turning, they saw Artemis racing ahead of Milly, the little girl’s eyes lighting up as she spotted her family.

“Daddy!” With reckless abandon, she jumped right off the stairs, scaring the hell out of the guards who rushed to catch her. Still, the emperor, long used to how his kids could move without thinking, was in a position to catch up like she weighed nothing at all. Spinning her around, his black heart was soothed by how she giggled in her arms before she pressed her cheek to his. “Did you hear?”

"I'm sure the entire world heard you, you, my little spinach head, have just made your big debut," Lelouch mentioned, as he had been concerned about it, but Dorothea pointed out that they had already gone out with baby Alicia, so no harm could come from Artemis announcing herself. C.C. also pointed out that it wouldn't matter much after today.

Artemis pouted at her father. “I don’t care about what the world says, I’m asking what you thought!”

C.C. giggled, her youngest biological child, Pelops, held in her arms as she bounced the 3-year-old, who seemed eager to rush out. “Someone wants to know what her father is thinking, don’t disappoint, hubby.”

Lelouch rolled his eyes, but kept his attention on his eldest, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. “I thought you did great.”

Artemis didn’t seem that pleased with it. “Really, but I messed up…”

"And recovered wonderfully. Remember the story I told you about how I once tripped up You did a lot better than I did. Isn't that right?" Lelouch reminded her that she might only know a sanitised version of his part, but he had been sure to keep the lessons he learned in for her and her siblings.

Turning to the rest of her siblings as he asked, they didn’t disappoint.

“Hmmm!” Atalanta happily supported her sister.

“It wasn’t bad…” Naoto was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Still, not even his everlasting competition with his big sister could keep him from being there for her.

“I liked the meow; you sounded like a real kitty!” Pelops clapped as the rest of her siblings offered similar sentiments. At the same time, her 3 mommas all agreed with it, and Artemis hid her head in her father's neck so they wouldn't see how flushed her face was.

She really was a princess as she had a super great family.

Lelouch chuckled, but didn't let go of his daughter, not when she was holding onto him so tightly. When she recalled she was a 'big girl,' he'll let her down, but till then, he would keep a firm hold on his little princess.

“Well, let’s get going,” Suzaku stated as Cecile retrieved their daughter.

“Somewhere to be?” Kallen asked, as she was almost looking forward to spending time with Suzaku, both to beat his ass in a few…dozen festival games, but also because of her plan, which was already in motion.

"We have a guest to find before his head spins off his shoulders," Suzaku replied, as he too had some plans for the event, and someone he went to considerable lengths to get here.

“Do heads do that?” Diana asked as she and her family walked out, the door closing behind them before one of the royal siblings got any ideas.

“Is the area secure?” Dorothea asked, her attention to the captain of the imperial guard, who just so happened to be Auntie Monica.

The bastard royal nodded, having been kept up to date with things. “Security is handling repeated sweeps and undercover agents, and police are stationed on every street."

"Well, kids, let's hit the town and see what Auntie managed to cook up." Leila proposed, which the kids loved to hear.

“Yeah!”

Line break

“Stay cool…stay cool…”

Out in one of the plazas, Anya stood by herself. She had arrived the night before with Jeremiah and checked into one of the best hotels in town. Still, she had made it clear she would head out to meet Gino on her own, and she was only slightly regretting not having the cyborg around to offer up support.

It didn't help, but she sat by a fountain. Still, its flowing water was drowned by the sheer mass of people around them, as even in the parks, stalls, booths, and games had been set up. Everyone, from the elderly to young families, was taking part. She blushed as she caught sight of a few couples, many of whom were younger than her.

Would…would Gino do the same? She knew he wasn’t shy, did she want him to? She…she wasn’t against-stop it stop it!

Wringing her hands, she tried to keep her composure, but then she looked at her hands and wondered. "Should I have brought a gift? Dad said I didn't need to, but we're not like others, Gino probably would have appreciated some cookies…no, we can get some here, but where do we go to…?" Shit, she wished she had more advice to go on. Jeremiah wasn’t…the best, and when she reluctantly asked her friends at work, oh boy was she barraged with so much she could barely think.

Still, while they all agreed it wasn't her job to bring a present, she…she felt like there was more, at least in the moment. She could maybe look around for something, but then she could miss Gino, and she had seen enough rom-coms to know that if she made even the slightest change to things, they would spend the entire day near missing each other.

Shaking out of that, she glanced to the side, which showed a very inaccurate depiction of a knightmare battle…no, that was knightmare duelling. “They have knightmare duels, would he want to do that? Oh shit, this isn’t good…”

“Hey, Anya.” A voice called out.

“Wha!” Anya would have typically gone for her sidearm, one she always carried on her person, and drawn it, ready to put a bullet in whoever snuck up on her.

But that was the Anya who had been a soldier. And she was no longer that person, and years out of practice. And thus, what was her reaction?

Tipping over and nearly falling into the fountain, only saved from that thanks to Gino's own fast reflexes, he gently grasped her wrist and pulled her to her feet, pressing against his tall and very broad chest, which only made her face feel super hot.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Ignorant of his effect on her, Gino dusted her off and stepped back to get a proper look at her. “Wow…”

Anya, back in the day, had never been one for fashion or dressing up, opting to wear her Knight of Round uniform wherever she went, changing only to PJs, which she sometimes wore to official meetings.

Since she left the army and regained her memories, she still wasn't a woman who paid much attention to fashion, and she would rather wear cheap, comfortable clothes because she helped out so often around the farm. Even when she left and got her own place as a doctor, she didn't break that new habit.

That wasn't her now. She wore a slim purple-and-white checkered dress and thigh-high black boots covered in pink and blue cat motifs. Her hair, which she had left grow out a little, was styled into a braid, with white and yellow flower pins woven in. Lastly, she wore a white-and-purple checkered jacket, with her purse supported by a strap around her shoulder. At the same time, she touched up her makeup, mainly eyeliner and lip gloss.

“I know I don’t look good in-” Anya started, but Gino pulled her close, and this time, he kept enough space so that she could look him in the eye and see just how intense his genuine words were.

“You look gorgeous. I mean, you always look good but…damn, you found a way to top that.” Gino gulped, as damn…he was not expecting to feel like a goofy younger man again, but dammit did Anya awaken things in him. He didn't care that he'd seen more fashionable things at court during his time as a Knight of Round; Anya could wear a potato sack and still compete for most stunning woman in a room.

But when she put in effort, dear Lord, could she outshine them like the sun did the stars.

Anya’s blush was red hot at how he looked at her, the girl looking away before she did something stupid. “You mainly see me after work, when I look like a mess,” She retorted. “You look good, too.”

Gino had gone for a pair of slim-fitting black slacks, with gold and white dress shoes, which he must have polished religiously to get the sort of shine, as no way it was because they were new. He wore a blue dress shirt, pressed and very form-fitting, as she could see more than feel his muscles through it; above that, he wore a black-and-red-trimmed vest with a handkerchief secured in the pocket. His collar was popped, and sleeves rolled up to showcase his tats, while he had similarly styled his hair to how he had once done when he spent his days in the Tristan.

“Thanks, and my point still stands,” Gino laughed as he stepped back once more, rubbing at his head. "The guys at work helped pick this one out. We had a bit of a budget issue, but I think we found something that works."

“Oh, thank God," Anya breathed, but then realized she misspoke. "I mean-I didn't have a money issue, not because I'm rich, but Jeremiah kinda is, but I didn't want something flashy because I was going with you and-!"

Gino laughed, and while her face remained red, so was his. “Boy, I love this side of you.” He bent over, and without pause or time to second-guess, he cupped her face and kissed her briefly. Anya blinked in surprise, then laughed and hugged him, cheeks pink as she squeezed his shoulder. She thought it would develop from there, maybe some tongue, but Gino pulled back, leaving it to be more innocent.

“Really, I do. Each emotion, each expression, each smile…I love it all, Anya. And you look great.” Gino uttered, as her cherry lip gloss was still on his lips.

“Thank you.” Anya smiled as she shifted so that she learned into his side, Gino wrapping an arm around her, making it clear as day who she was with.

“Don't thank me yet, I have the entire plan worked out. Have you had something to eat?" Gino asked.

“Just breakfast.” She replied, as it wasn’t even midday yet.

“Well, let’s hit the food stalls before they fill up! I saw a place with some Cuban food, wanna try it out?” Gino proposed, pointing to a stall not far from there, though it already had a seriously long line. She would say he didn't know what full was, but knowing how things get when Milly was involved, and how her hotel was booked full, this was the slow hour, when lunch came alone…

“You just want to try it again.” Anya focused on that, as Gino was a real glutton on their trips across the empire, always seeking out none-Britannian foods and finding out the hard way that he had a shellfish allergy.

Gino's laugh only made her feel warmer, but in a good way. “I’m not hearing a no.”

Line Break

“You know, she wouldn’t like it if you watched her like this.” Jeremiah barely turned as someone addressed him.

“Maybe not, but I’m not the only one who struggles to leave one’s duty for time away.” Jeremiah retorted as he turned to face his guest, one Sayoko Shinozaki.

Now was one of the few times Sayoko was not dressed as a maid, wearing a simple brown-and-yellow kimono and letting her hair loose, reaching her shoulders in silky waves. Jeremiah, for his part, wore brown baggy shorts, brown leather sandals, and a green-and-orange polo shirt. What most wouldn't notice was that he wore fake skin along his limbs to hide the metal.

The two weren't far from where Gino and Anya were, as while she insisted she handle this on her own, her words didn't mean he couldn't…supervise from across the street in a packed restaurant.

Taking his silent offer, Sayoko graciously took the empty seat. “It is my job to watch over his majesty and the royal family.” She reminded him, the conversation pausing as a waiter came up, quickly jotted down what she wanted, and left to get it to the kitchen.

Jeremiah let out a small chuckle at her response. “As it is for any grandmother. I would have thought you would have gone out with them.” He noted that, as he wasn't privy to all his Majesty's plans, he knew enough to know that his Majesty planned to explore the capital, mainly on foot, with a carriage to follow for when the young princes and the Majesty eventually tired but refused to head home.

Sayoko, a trained killer. A loyal attendant to the vi Britannian family, a woman who became a cyborg, pouted like she was a teenager again. "I was…relieved of duty today. Lelouch was quite firm about my needing time off. But I'll join them after lunch. Thought it would do to…explore on my own." She admitted, as she was sure he hadn’t seen her, Sayoko had long mastered and revolutionised the art of moving without being noticed, even in broad daylight.

But she was also loyal to the fault. Once she heard her master calling, and with her enhanced senses, he couldn't be fooled by geass, she presented herself, and he was not pleased when she confirmed she had no plans for the day.

“Sought me out, have you?” Jeremia questioned, pausing again as Sayoko’s plate returned, the woman having only requested a turkey sandwich and water.

“Nope, it was pure chance.” She shook her head, but then he eyes went out to where Jeremiah had been focused before she arrived. "She's grown into quite the young lady. You must be proud."

Jeremiah glanced out, seeing Anya and Gino in conversation, and even from this distance, both their superhuman sight could see just how cheerful Anya was. "She was dealt such an unfair hand in life, and she's managed to come back from there, stronger than ever…she's always been a remarkable person, she just needed the chance to show it."

Sayoko hummed, as she didn’t think it was that simple. “No praise for her guardian? I know she relies on you a lot, and that your love for Anya surpassed whatever lingering sentiments you had towards…her.”

The less said about Marriane, the better.

Jeremiah, once one of the former consorts' most ardent supporters, only sighed, but didn't fight Sayoko for her Tartarus' low opinions of the emperor's biological mother. It wasn't as if he had a high opinion of her. If anything, he felt shame for ever being fooled by her.

Not focusing on that, he kept the topic on point. "It wasn't just me. Gino…He makes it hard to hate him. I can't even bring myself to threaten castration should he break her heart because I know he'll sooner die than do such." Jeremiah chuckled, though a part of him pained, knowing that Anya had gotten to a point where she nearly did something she couldn’t walk back, and if not for Gino…

So no, he didn't wish harm on the blonde goofball. He wished he had manned up earlier and asked Anya out.

“Aw, you missed out on one of the joys of fatherhood.” Sayoko chuckled as she started to eat her sandwich, taking quick, small bites, almost like a chipmunk. It was quite adorable, if Jeremiah could say.

"I would say the same to you. The young…well, not so young Majesty now wasn't like traditional boys, was he?" Jeremiah had to recall that the emperor was no longer a teen revolutionary.

Sayoko rolled her eyes. "Gambling for money and thrills, and the one time he brings a girl over, it's for anything but 'getting lucky.'"

Jeremiah held up his glass of chilled cider, tipping it towards Sayoko before taking a sip. "It was the same with Anya. Oh, she had male friends in high school and college, but you'll need to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to realise she felt nothing for them, shame some thought they had a chance."

"Makes sense, a girl like that would break hearts just by being herself," Sayoko noted, as Anya, in many ways, reminded her of the female company Lelouch kept at Ashford. Even the mousy Nina had some people who wished to make moves on her. Shame she was both incredibly shy and not interested in boys.

“Speaking of broken hearts, any luck?” Jeremiah asked, prompting Sayoko to pause.

“Far too busy for such, my job is quite demanding, same as yours.” She reminded him.

“But I believe you had something planned with a Diaz.” Jeremiah brought up, leading Sayoko to groan ever so slightly.

“It didn’t pan out…turns out she wasn’t so interested when we…well, got behind closed doors.” She admitted, which immediately set off alarm bells in Jeremiah.

“Was she trying to gain something?” He asked, but she shook her head.

“Less gain, more felt uncomfortable with a woman with a cybernetically enhanced body.” She gestured to herself, as she looked utterly average. A benefit for a kunoichi, but under the skin? She was something else.

“Weren’t your augmentations-” Jeremiah started, but she corrected.

“Yes, but it wasn’t the form, but the feats. Turns out people aren’t as excited by a person with superhuman stamina as they are in fiction.” Sayoko had nothing to hide from her fellow augmented servant. Besides, she knew he also had issues with that, though he could fake being…satisfied.

Really, at times, she wondered if the Code-R research on which their new bodies were based was made up by fools whose minds were in the gutter. How does sexual stamina relate to combat missions?

Jeremiah, despite the topic, couldn’t help but chuckle. "Well, if misery desires company, my own endeavours in romance have yet to bear fruit. Helping Anya made me realise just how few skills I have in it."

"Well…since we have some free time, would you…like to try again?" Sayoko suggested.

“We weren’t that good together the first time.” Jeremiah didn’t refuse, and she caught that.

“No, but we matured.” She reminded.

“You mean gotten more desperate.” Jeremiah joked, prompting Sayoko to laugh.

“Only a little.” She admitted, which only made Jeremiah laugh as well, the two enjoying each other’s company.

"You know, why not? If nothing else, we know what we want and what the other wants. We can better compromise." He concluded.

Sayoko clapped, but then a devious look formed in her eyes. “Excellent, now I heard they have something called laser tag set up a few blocks away.”

Jeremiah matched that look, liking where this was going. “Well, it would be fun to utterly embarrass some civilians who wouldn’t know the first thing about combat, just don’t bring fake knives.”

"I bring real ones, as not all of us have one built into our arms." Sayoko giggled as both plotted their fun.

Line break

Fun they had. Not just that, but everyone who came for the celebrations. Lelouch, C.C. Kallen, Leila, and Dorothea had their hands full managing their many children as they explored. Much like in Cuba, they gained immediate attention, but lucky for them, the novelty of seeing the empire walking the streets faded as more and more people saw him and his consorts as parents first and foremost, and almost overwhelmed parents at that, as they, so used to a controlled environment, couldn't have enough of the city.

Suzaku and his family were far from the royals, having gone to meet up with Nonette and Guilford, the latter as uncomfortable with the hurricane that was Nonette as one would expect. Still, he seemed happy as they discussed Cornelia quite a bit, the two reminiscing about the fallen princess and how she would have seen the changes the empire had undergone. Suzaku and Cecile were more there to keep Nonette from dragging Guilford into something crazy, as they all knew Rai wouldn't.

Milly also explored the city, one she rarely visited, and only for this event. She and her family made sure to locate the best sights she would have known about, and took so many pictures. Little Shirley was as happy as her mother, partaking in all the games they could get in line for, without having to wait 30 or more minutes. Rivalz even won both his wife and his daughter some prizes at a strongman contest, with Milly sure to take pictures of his arms flexing as he raised the hammer.

Even Sayuka was out and about, yes, with Ash but also with her father and best friend. The old man, loving how much he could embarrass his daughter, got into a dad-off with some rando guy, leaving Sayuka and the other man's preteen daughter to share in their misery, but break out in giggles at how goofy both men were being.

But eventually, time came for Kallen’s surprise.

Line Break

As the afternoon wore on, the party didn't stop; if anything, it seemed to grow larger and louder, but even in such an atmosphere, there were quiet parts. One of which was a park on the outskirts of the capital. Lelouch and the rest were surprised when Kallen insisted they come here, but they didn't fight it.

But what they didn’t expect was to find others already there, or more accurately, arriving at the same time. “Wait, isn’t that?” Tianzi spoke up as she and Kaguya walked into the clearing from one path.

“Kaguya?” Suzaku was the next to speak up, as he and his family walked in from another route.

“Suzaku? What are you doing here?” Lelouch asked, as his friend had claimed he would be taking the day to relax with Cecile and Diane.

Kallen clapped, drawing everyone's attention. From the imperial family, her sister-in-law Monica, Kaguya, Tianzi, Suzaku, Cecile, Diane, Sakuya's group, and lastly, Jeremiah and Sayoko. Quite the odd gathering, but that was how she planned it. "Let's save some time. We're here because I wanted us to be."

“Why?” Sayuka asked, as this didn’t match her sister-in-law’s direct mindset.

“Because today’s meant to be a happy one, so I went and got someone who's been missing from our lives. It took a lot, but I managed to pull it off." Kallen called out as the final person walked out. Having been told to hide in the tree line, she was someone whose presence stunned the gathered.

“How could you be…”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute.”

“But I thought…”

“Nunnally…?” Lelouch uttered, as here was his younger sister…walking, even if with a cane. Her eyes were wide yet not looking at him, at anyone but him. Wait, how was she?

"Hello…brother," Nunnally spoke, and if there was any doubt to who she was, her voice, different and yet the same, killed Sayoko, who gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, tearing up as Jeremiah openly cried, but didn't dare move.

“Papa, who is that?” Leave it to the young, those with no baggage, to break the silence as Marie pointed at Nunnally.

Lelouch couldn’t fight the smile even if he wanted to, as he took a step forward. "You remember Auntie Nunna?"

Marie and several others gasped, proving Kallen right about Nunnally, as they saw each of the kids light up at seeing her. Seeing the woman, they had heard stories about. “That’s here? She looks so pretty!”

"I…I know this isn't what you expected, but-!" For the first time in years, Lelouch rushed his brother and embraced him. Nunnally, falling back on instant honed through blood and loss, held onto him just as tightly.

"You foolish girl, you could have called ahead; we could have gone on the rides together." Lelouch couldn't help it; the man was crying as he held onto Nunnally.

“I think…I prefer this.” Nunnally sniffed as she spoke, but she smiled wider than she had in a decade.

“As do I,” C.C. glanced at Kallen, who looked really proud of herself. Lifting up a picnic basket they bought, she shook it for the group to hear. "So, let's take advantage of the quiet and have a nice picnic. We have some food we were going to store at home, but now's as good a time as any."

Line Break

And at last, we've reached the end of the road for this story, which I must admit I didn't think I would ever write, as the first story was kinda self-contained. Now I'm hoping I don't get a commission to continue this, as I have no clue where I could go with it.

This was started later than the norm because I got caught working on a WIP yesterday, which cut into the writing time for a Third Way, and well, yeah, it snowballed. I'm just happy I don't have anything to post tomorrow, so this little oopsie ends here.

As for the chapter, it was a little hard to write because I set up a lot of stuff; the father’s day celebration didn't count, since that was handled. I had plenty of characters, and I wanted to give each of them their time to shine, with this being the end of the road.