Which led to him rushing full pelt down the corridor, into the elevator and taking it down to the basement alongside Kallen and C.C. who were, annoyingly, not even the slightest bit winded, nor hunched over to clutch their knees.

"Man, and I thought your exhaustion during gym was a ploy of some sort," Kallen said.

"Shut… Up…!" Lelouch wheezed." Trying… To… Think!"

"Hmph! Seeing you like this is disgusting," C.C. sighed. "At the very least - " Her pinky shot out and struck him in the chest. His entire body went rigid. The pain was unimaginable. "Try to breathe in a less off-putting manner."

"Are you insane?!" he yelled at the witch, who was already shrugging and turning her back to him. "I'm not in the mood for your…" he trailed off. His breathing was coming through more naturally now. He still felt like he might collapse at any given moment, but… It was difficult to properly express. It was as though his lungs were behaving more efficiently than they had in years. Lelouch caught himself against the side of the elevator. He was a little light headed, but -

"You're welcome," C.C. mocked. "Don't give me that look. Keep your head screwed on. Sometimes the very thing that makes a person lose what they cherish most is the fear of losing it."

- Lulu's Bizarre Rebellion Chapter 39