//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Lelouch vi Britannia: Preparation for Rebirth 
// Story: Viva la Vida 
// by Arkhamwolf2012 
//------------------------------//

	The room which Lelouch and ‘Luna’ appeared in appeared to be some sort of War Room, from the days before mobile command centers. It was nostalgic, in some way or another. After all, he was world renowned(or at least Zero was) for his intelligent tactics and unrivaled mind.
Some called him a miracle worker, which was pretty funny.
Around the table were several armored guards, all resembling Western Knights, if they were horses. They were armed with swords, and were eyeing Lelouch, who merely smiled, understanding the unspoken hostility. But, if they were desperate enough to call him...
“There I go, thinking this is real...” he muttered to himself, under a sigh, “So, what’s the situation?”
“Our capital city of Canterlot has been completely overrun. They put up a powerful shield around it, and the only way through without flying is by train. Our enemies are masters of disguise, and being empowered by their queen, who is stationed in the castle. We’ve tried assaulting it from above, but it proved futile.”
“What is the enemy capable of?” Lelouch asked, looking over the city itself, before fixing his eyes on the castle. If they were held together by concrete, he could easily use siege weapons...
“They were able to quickly take over Canterlot, despite the added security for the wedding.” a knight replied. He seemed out of place among the gold plated knights, for he had more of a... black knight look to his armor, “I don’t think our ‘traditions’ will be able to win this battle.”
“Traditions?” Lelouch’s brow became arched. What tradition could get in the way of warfare?
“Most of the guards are too soft. We haven’t fought anything in... forever, really. Hardly any guards, unless they were positioned on the border, have combat experience. As such, they think the philosophy that kindness, love, and friendship can save us. Thankfully, we have a handful of guards who know how to fight, and more importantly, take another life.” This news brought a frown to Lelouch’s face. Luna seemed surprised, and added,
“Most of my Lunar Guards have combat experience, but it would take some time to deploy them...”
“Very well. What am I looking at in terms of weaponry?” Lelouch asked, holding his head in one hand, frowning.
“As far as siege weapons, we have enough ammo for our trebuchets, and three siege towers. Our initial supplies were wasted on a hasty counterattack, which was a diversion to get the civilians out.” Luna replied, nodding to herself.
“We already made sure none of them are Changeling, and are in the process of triple checking them.”
“What about our actual troops? What offensive capabilities do they have?” Lelouch was looking at a chess board, and smiling.
“In technological terms, we are equal to the changelings. In terms of horsepower, they outnumber us, five to one.” Lelouch cracked a smile. ‘Horsepower...’
“We have machines ready to uncloak the Changelings, and they’ve proved effective in our initial assault. All that’s left is to have them activated. They have a maximum effective range of 1 KM, and we have them positioned within range of each other. Once the attack begins, you’ll have to activate them yourself.” the ‘night’ pony handed me a switch. A simple device, not unlike the many he’s handled before.
“Now then, I require absolute control over all men who are going to attack, even the siege weapons. I’m taking it you don’t have wireless communications?” Lelouch asked.
“Sadly, no. However, Princess Luna could relay your messages, via telepathy.” the knight motioned a forehoof over to the navy winged unicorn, who nodded in confirmation.
“Alright. you just leave the Changeling Queen for later, understood? Our objective is capturing the city, the castle we’ll assault from all sides once we have complete control over the whole city, and regroup. Got it?” Lelouch asked, placing the pieces onto the chess board. However, he kept the Queen and King off, having a hunch they wouldn’t interfere.
When he looked back up, he was dumbstruck to see the man in black sitting across from him, with a shit eating grin on his face.
“It’s been a gloriously well ride thus far, has it not, Emperor Lelouch?” he spoke in a broken pattern, some syllables having more emphasis on them than others. Now Lelouch got a good look at the strange man, who sat cross legged across from him.
He wore a finely pressed tuxedo, as he guessed, but the shirt beneath it was snow white, making the black tie stand out. His deathly pale skin also stuck out, but his long hair(not unlike Li Xingke) was made more vibrant as a result. Had he not this... otherworldly feel to him, Lelouch would have attempted to use his Geass, to find out more about who he was. Sadly, Geass’ track record with people who had long hair wasn’t a good one. Sitting next to his seat, was a black suitcase. Lelouch risked a look away, only to find the room had been frozen. Everyone and everything in it was frozen. Lelouch tried to move, but found he was only able to move his head.
“Geass?” Lelouch asked, looking at the man, who shook his head.
“Call it... an effect of me being here. But, I’m not here to talk about that, I’m here to talk about your... plan.” Lelouch looked surprised. How had he known what he was thinking? If it wasn’t Geass... what kind of power did this guy have?! “You plan on taking out the Changeling Queen while the big fight happens in the city, giving Luna instructions from within the palace. But, why take that risk?” The man picked up the suitcase, placed it on his folded leg, and opened it. Try as he might, Lelouch couldn’t move. But, that might have been because he was never as athletic as he should have been. maybe it was because he was a prince?
“I can give you a gift, Lelouch. All you have to do is accept it, and you can pilot the Shinkirou once more. What do you say to that, Lelouch vi Britannia? There’s only... one catch. My... employer paying tribute to... his heroes. All you need to do, is live your life. Live it long, Lelouch, away from the eyes and filth of humanity.” the man smiled, as he handed Lelouch some sort of black whistle, that looked suspiciously like Suzaku’s Knight badge.
“And why would you give me this, if you wanted me to live peacefully?”
“Why do you leave a ball of yarn with a cat?” he asked, “You want to see what the cat does with it. I’m not saying you’re going to use it. I’m not going to punish you for destroying the whistle. Simply... do with it what you will.” he slid the whistle into Lelouch’s front pocket, and patted it. Giving a deep breath next to his ear, Lelouch shuddered, “Long live life, after all. And, as you said, what’s a life without change? Why not make the change something for this world to remember?”
“This fake world?” Lelouch chuckled, shaking his head.
“If that’s what you want to call it, yes. This ‘fake’ world.” the man got up, and neatly closed his briefcase, before checking his watch, “I hate to leave you like this, Lelouch, but I simply must be going... Lily has a habit of evading me, and I am running out of time before the hawk and the weasle are due.” the man snapped a rather irregular snap, and vanished. Motion and life returned to the small room, and Lelouch stood awkwardly, looking at the place where the human once was.
“Was that real...? Or, just my mind playing tricks on me further...?” he muttered, under his breath.
“Lelouch? Are you alright?” Luna asked, looking at the man in question. He turned to her, and gave a fake, warm smile.
“Very. Just... spaced out for a bit, if you’ll forgive me.” he smiled. ‘Even if it’s fake, I have a match to win...’ he told himself, ‘I’ll poke around after that...’