"But there was also a second weakness," Schneizel said. "This is the weakness that Lelouch has taken advantage of… To defeat both of them."

"A second weakness…?" Kanon said. "I don't understand. Given the information available, I cannot perceive any other weakness - May I enquire what this weakness is?"

Schneizel smiled. Yes. This was definitely pride. Lelouch had given a good answer. More importantly, an interesting one.

"He cannot stop himself from reading minds."

Kanon was, unusually, baffled by this observation. Oh dear. His assistant was at least usually able to follow the steps of his thinking process, but it seemed that in this instance he wasn't quite thinking abstractly enough. How best to explain?

"You really did chose some lousy audio equipment as well!"

"It's like you said. He's desperate! Why else would he use equipment that makes that awful screech?"

On the monitor, the two Stand users winced and then Lelouch finally spoke to the two powerful Stand users, confirming Schneizel's suspicions with another three words: "You've lost, Mao." And then his half of the transmission abruptly ended, allowing the entire screen to be devoted to the death of two Stand users who didn't know they were dead yet.

"How did you put it earlier, Kanon?" Schneizel asked. He was still holding onto the White King, so he held it up at eye level, which was rather far off the ground for he was a rather tall man. Even when sitting, he cast a more imposing figure than even he was comfortable with. "The Chessmaster's Paradox, I mean. The exact words you used, I believe, were…"

Schneizel drew back his hand, and then tossed the white king from his right hand into his left, where it landed with a thud that echoed throughout the room.

"He knows…"

"I've lost, have I?" Mao sneered. "No, Lelouch! You're the one that's going to lose!"

"Lose everything!" Kewell jeered. "You know, I just had a great idea!"

"Oh, yes! It's delightfully wicked!" Mao tittered and applauded.

The white prince drew back his left hand, and sent the white king flying back into his open right palm, where it landed with another dramatic thud. "That I know…" he said.

"Although I do rather like your addition to the plan," Kewell added. "Just that little extra touch of cruelty to really spice it up!"

"I know, I can hear that you like it! It'll let them feel just the tiniest taste of your - Ngg!"

"Gah! That… That noise! That irritating whine!"

The two of them suddenly stopped, and clutched at their ears in unexpected pain. Back in the control room, Schneizel threw the chess piece back into his waiting left hand. "That he knows…"

"But… Lelouch cut the broadcast!" Mao said. "Gyaaa! Where -"

"Where's that screeching coming from?! Where?!" Kewell yelled.

"... What screeching?" the General asked. "The only sound since his highness Prince Lelouch cut communication has been their voices."

"No General," Kanon said, finally releasing the contradiction. "The real question is why there was a noise to begin with." At the General's baffled stare, Kanon elaborated. "When you have a microphone connected to a speaker, and carelessly place that microphone next to the speaker, then the microphone will pick up any kind of sound and feed it back into the speaker, which will make a louder noise that will be picked up by the microphone. This is called the Larsen effect… Or more commonly:

"A feedback loop."

While his assistant had been realising the nature of Lelouch's strategy, Schneizel calmly stood up and walked back over to the chessboard. Amazing. He exploited their psychological and supernatural weaknesses perfectly. He turned two powers against one another, and in the process removed two terrible threats to public safety in a single - albeit complicated - move.

"Make it stop!" one of them cried out. Schneizel didn't care which anymore. It didn't really matter.

"Get out of my head! Stop thinking!" At the point two people have the same destiny, even he could not much care for the difference between them anymore.

"Shut up, shut up shut up! C.C. help me!" Was this what it was like for him as a child? Unable to keep the noise out. Begging for that oasis who was mysteriously immune, to give him the peace and companionship he craved without understanding it.

"I've finally reached it… At last! Limitless hatred, rebounding in my head. I can feel my thoughts fading away." And as for him, a distinguished career ruined by malice and madness.

"You two idiots! Drop me! Put me down! Argh! I can't even tell which of you I'm controlling anymore! Stop thinking! You have to stop thinking!" The poverty stricken orphan driven by love. The high ranking nobleman driven by hate. A pair of opposing forces come together to obliterate one another.

With nothing else to do but order the aerial bombardment to finish them off for good, Schneizel returned the king to its rightful place on the board, feeling satisfaction at witnessing the outcome of this dreadful Stand battle. And that his brother's potential was everything he ever dreamed.

"Ad infinitum," Schneizel concluded.

Mao/The Truth: Deceased
Kewell Soresi/Almost Human: Deceased

-Lulu's Bizarre Rebellion Chapter 39