Sometimes, the only way to find something is to lose everything else.
The crimson queen ascended in the lift, in the grey metal box that was the only entrance to Zero's quarters. Officially, she was here to summon – no, not summon, the masked man was not someone you could summon. Officially, she was here to request his presence down in one of the Ikagura's numerous warehouses, but unofficially? Unofficially she was here for Lelouch, for the man behind the mask, the man who'd lost the dearest thing he had – his sister, a kind, sweet girl by the name of Nunnally.
Kallen had always liked Nunnally, and her experience of the crippled princess whilst imprisoned had done nothing to change that. If anything, it had made her like her even more. But now she was gone, and from what she remembered of last few moments before the retreat, Lelouch had not taken it… well.
She was many things, but what defined Kallen to the rest of the world was her captaincy of the Zero Squad. She was Zero's personal guardian, a sword to strike his enemies and a shield to defend his wellbeing – both physical and mental. And right now, she sensed he needed all the defending he could get. The thought of someone comforting Zero, no, the thought of Zero needing comforting would have made her laugh at any other time, but this wasn't a time for laughter. Millions of people incinerated, turned to ash in an instant by Britannia's newest weapon. Countless Black Knights lost forever. No, it was most certainly not a time for laughter.
The lift opened and she walked out slowly, wondering what she should say to him. Wondering what she should do, wondering how Lelouch was feeling inside, wondering if there was anything she could do. She reached the door and knocked, once, twice, three times, but there was no response. The room was soundproofed, from what she remembered, so hopefully the fact she couldn't hear anything was attributed to that and not something more… sinister. She called out; perhaps he just didn't hear the knocks, or didn't think whoever was out there was important enough at a time like this.
"Zero, are you there? Can I come in?"
No response.
"It's me."
This time the door slid open, just before she had time to finish what she was saying. It was like the door had opened once Lelouch knew it was her, not because of what she was officially here to do. Her first glance around the room confused her – C.C. was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she was sleeping somewhere, but no, at a time like this? Not even that lazy witch would do something like that, not with everything that had happened. But she had a job to do; that was a problem for another time.
"Ohgi asked me to bring you to Warehouse Four."
"Why there?" His voice was soft, lacking the vibrancy of command that sometimes sent shiver down her spine, like it had been sucked out, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.
"Sorry, I didn't really get the details."
Before she could say anything else, a shy voice called out from behind a door, as an alabaster face framed by green peeked out around the side.
"Master? Please take off your clothes; I'll do the best I can. I promise!"
That… that was C.C.'s voice! In the midst of her fury, and although she'd never admit it, her jealousy, Kallen didn't notice how different the grey witch sounded, nor did she remember that C.C. usually had no problem with flaunting her closeness to Lelouch.
"What the hell have you two been doing in here? While I've been rotting in a cell!" A little corner of Kallen's mind tried to tell her there was something she was missing, but she ignored it – hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
"No, you've got it wrong!" Lelouch cut across her; it seemed to Kallen that life had returned to him, at least for a little while. Before she could respond, he started to speak again – this time his tone was one of sadness. One of loss.
"She was… C.C. lost her memory."
She lost her… how? Why? Now that Kallen looked closer, she could see the truth of it. The C.C. that trembled slightly behind the door wasn't the same C.C. who didn't seem to fear, or even care, for anything. There was something… missing in her eyes; they didn't have that tired, ageless look any more, the look that Kallen would rather die than admit to being jealous of. Lelouch started to speak again, slowly, each word like he was slamming another nail in his own coffin.
"It happened because of me, so the C.C. you knew is gone now. Erased. And it's my fault."
Erased? But the witch was immortal! What could possibly do that to her? It had to be Geass, or at least something related to Lelouch's cursed power. Maybe after the meeting she'd ask him about it – with C.C. seemingly gone, he was the only one who could explain…
Kallen realized something almost horrifying. With Nunnally dead, and C.C. no longer the C.C. anyone knew, Lelouch was all alone. His beloved sister lost. His closest confidant gone as well. And yet it didn't even look like he'd cried!
"Lelouch… are you all right?" Her words were hesitant, like she was stepping past some invisible line she shouldn't cross, and in a way she was. Q-1 did not ask Zero if he was 'all right', no, she simply followed him. Followed and obeyed. But this was Lelouch; there was no trace of Zero in the man she saw before her. He laughed a quiet, bitter laugh. The sort of laughter that tastes like ash.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Lelouch, when my brother died, I… it was hard. Really hard. But aft—"
"I don't need your sympathy. I don't need anything from you." He spat the words out, but there was no venom in them, merely a sort of tired desolation that reminded her of… of brokenness.
"Damnit Lelouch, your sister is dead! You don't even know who C.C. is now! There's nothing wrong with grieving!"
For the first time in their conversation, he raised his head, staring directly into her eyes. His gaze was dull, empty, like the man behind the mask had been erased along with everything else he held dear. It matched the way he spoke.
"You don't think I don't know that? They're gone, Kallen. Gone." The last word slipped out as a whisper, like merely mentioning their fates would turn them into truth, into the reality they already were. It slipped out like the tears that trickled slowly down his cheeks; they splashed to the floor one by one, like blood seeping from an open wound. The open wound where his heart used to be.
"So tell me… what am I supposed to do?" The anguished cry of despair echoed throughout the room – in the back of her mind, Kallen saw C.C, or at least the woman who was once the witch retreating towards what must be Lelouch's bedroom. But she had more important things to worry about. Lelouch was here, and he was crying. So she did the only thing she could - she hugged him. Q1, the captain of Zero's personal forces, but never anything more than a soldier to him, in her eyes, sat down on the couch next to the broken wreck of her leader, and held him tight against her. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart pounding at his closeness.
"Oh, Lelouch..."
He didn't react, didn't move as she slowly shifted her body until his head was resting against hers, tucked into her shoulder. The only thing that showed he was still alive were the tears dampening the front of her uniform, and the quiet sobs that were the only thing breaking the silence between them, the silence that reminded Kallen of her brother's funeral. There was never an official ceremony-the Stadtfeld family quite simply did not have a son called Naoto, oh no-but Ohgi had arranged something. Kallen was the first one to arrive, and by far the last to leave the patch of earth that held his corpse, and the whole time she hadn't spoken. The only sounds she'd made had been those of despair, and those same sounds were all that she could hear right now. And so she held him, hoping that maybe her embrace told him he wasn't alone. That he'd never be alone. For to Kallen, Lelouch was more than just her commander, more than just a faceless symbol of hope. She'd tried to fight it at first, after finding out who he was, after learning of his cursed power and everything that went with it, but she'd given up long ago. Lelouch was more than just Zero to Kallen - he was the man she loved. If only it were so in return.
Time passed. Kallen wasn't quite sure how long it took, but in the end Lelouch literally cried himself to sleep. He must have been up all night, planning the attack, and how to rescue Nunnally, and the million and one things only he could do.
Her phone rang, and, reaching absently around with one hand to find it whilst the other still held Lelouch, she glanced at the caller ID, starting slightly as she realised she had supposed to have been bringing Lelouch to one of the Ikagura's storage bay - Warehouse Four, as far as she could remember. Not that there was any chance of that now; Lelouch was in no state for any sort of meeting with anyone. He needed time to rest, to be a brother rather than a leader. Kallen answered the phone, almost taken aback by the Ohgi's demanding tone.
"Kallen! Where are you? And where's Zero?"
"I'm in Zero's quarters, and so is he. I know I was supposed to bring him, I'm sorry, but what's got you so worked up?" she said in a hushed voice so she wouldn't wake Lelouch.
"We need to see him now!"
"Why?"
There was a pause, like Ohgi was searching for an answer.
"I can't tell you right now."
"Why not?"
"I, uhh... Never mind that, we need to see him now!"
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Zero's been hurt pretty badly and I'm not talking physically."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really think I'm allowed to explain, but I'll try and tell you what I can. You know C.C.? Something... happened to her recently, and she's become a complete amnesiac. She doesn't know who Zero is any more, who I am, or anything like that. She's gone from his closest confidant to a complete stranger, and it cut him pretty badly. And I really, really shouldn't be telling you the next bit, but before this battle, Zero wasn't an only child. The FLEIJA took a lot more away from him that just a battle - it took his sister. The only family he had left.
I know he doesn't really seem human, but the man and the mask are two different people, and right now the mask is broken. He still is Zero, though, so if you can wait a few hours I'm sure he'll be fine."
Silence fell - Kallen thought it was probably because Ohgi was digesting the fact Zero could feel pain, which is why the next question completely surprised her.
"Kallen, have you seen Zero's face?"
It took her a while to respond, because she wasn't sure how much to tell him. But it was Ohgi, one of her oldest friends, and she was pretty sure Zero trusted him, so she supposed she should at least say something.
"... Yes. But before you ask, yes, I know his real name and no, I'm not telling you anything more than that. Remember what he said when we first met him? He wears the mask for a reason, and trust me; it's a pretty important reason."
"So you know who he is?"
"Yes. Why are you asking me these questions?"
"Oh, uhh, no reason. Fine, we can wait a few more hours. Just make sure you bring him!"
"Okay, okay, I already said I would."
The call ended, and Kallen placed the phone down and returned her arm almost unconsciously to where it had previously rested across Lelouch's chest, a puzzled expression on her face. Ohgi was normally calm and gentle - she'd never heard him being so, well, almost aggressive on the phone? And what was with the abrupt subject changes - it was like he was trying to hide something. Not that it really mattered though, she was sure Lelouch would be able to handle whatever it was they wanted him to for. Like she said, he was Zero, after all. Kallen wasn't a fool - she knew a few of the Black Knights were wondering if following Zero really was their best bet, but it was just idle chatter around a meal, quickly shut down by various, different arguments.
Perhaps that was why Ohgi had seemed so evasive - in light of such a disastrous battle, even if Britannia's superweapon had inflicted just as many casualties on them as it had on the Black Knights, as well as Lelouch's behaviour just before the ceasefire... Oh dear, she thought as she yawned unconsciously. I told them Lelouch had a little sister killed in the blast, and the moment the explosion had died away, he started demanding that they find Nunnally to the exclusion of all else. Ohhhh dear. I wonder wha... Her head hit the back of the couch, but she didn't even notice - probably because she was sound asleep.
Kallen must have been more tired than she realized, because when she awoke from what could only be described as her catnap, according to her phone it was about two hours or so after Ohgi's call. She guessed the battle had worn her out more than usual as her eyes moved slowly around the room, wondering what had awoken her. It couldn't have been Lelouch - as far as she could tell, he was still fast asleep, and regardless of his current state of consciousness, he was still within the circle of his arms. She tried to avoid thinking about how much he felt like he belonged, for down that route lay madness. Madness and despair, for while she might have crossed the line long ago, Lelouch didn't seem to recognize there was another side to the line.
Of course, she was dismissing all evidence to the contrary, but the problem with dealing with someone like Lelouch is that she was never sure that anything he did wasn't part of some brilliant, manipulative and downright fiendish plan to achieve some unknown purpose. Which made it all the easier for the part of her that thought she wasn't good enough for him to rationalize everything nice he did for her as, say, another way to secure her loyalty and nothing more. That he was just using her, like he used everyone else. But what she'd never tell anyone, what she refused to tell herself, was that she wouldn't care about any of that if he spoke three simple words. He could use her, abuse her, play her like a pawn, do whatever he wanted, and she would still protect him. Still defend him, still shield him, if only he would... if only he would love her.
Kallen Kozuki was many things, but above them all she was ruled by her emotions. Often it was anger that held the casting vote, and she was not ashamed of that, because anger tempered steel faster than any fire ever could. But sometimes it wasn't anger that overcame her - like anger, it stole her reason, and like anger it set her alight, made everything seem just that much more real. Made her feel alive, patching the holes left by what she'd seen, by what she'd done. It had everything in common in anger, like the two sides of a coin tumbling through the air, switching between sides so often they morphed into one, like his face and his mask. And sometimes she couldn't tell them apart, not when she was looking at him. But it wasn't anger. It could never be anger.
She knew she sounded ridiculous in her head, that her thoughts were jumbled, jumping from one extreme to another, flitting from point to point like moths around a flame, but in the end that's what he did to her. She didn't even know what to think, not when she danced between love and anger and everything in between. Perhaps that was why she was so good at what she did - because if she focused hard enough, she could ignore everything else, could let the anger rise above everything else.
Kallen was saved from descending further into introspection by, of all things, Lelouch's timely awakening as he yawned and shifted slightly, eyes blinking as they adjusted to the light The fact that the reason for, and somewhat the subject of her restless thoughts was the one distracting her from them brought a smile to her face, just as Lelouch turned his head to face her.
Lelouch slowly opened his eyes, blinking away sleep and the sudden onset of light, wondering what had awoken him, or more importantly, why he was asleep in the first place. He remembered Kallen coming to tell him about a meeting, but then she'd said something about Nunnally and C.C. and he didn't remember much past that point, apart from despair and an angel's bright blue eyes.
The mention of their names, even in the confines of his consciousness, still sent vicious spikes through his heart, but they weren't the same as before. This pain was fresher, sharper, but also more bearable. Before, it'd been everywhere, invading his mind, invading his soul, tendrils constricting everything he did, everything he thought, like a virus consuming him from within. Now it was like he'd been shot, but only once, not over and over again like the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune were pelting him from every side, each projectile a burning brand on what remained of his humanity. The pain had been dulled somehow; it still hurt—he didn't think it'd ever stop hurting—but something had sealed over the cracks, taken the pain and put it... elsewhere.
His melancholic monologue was interrupted by his mind finally recognizing where he was. He was in his room - that much was obvious from the general layout of what he could see, and the fact he wasn't wearing a mask and yet was still alive. But why had he fallen asleep, and what was he resting on? It didn't feel like the couch - it was too soft and yet too unyielding, and there was the fact that the couch didn't have two arms (at least, he thought they were arms) to wrap around his waist so he wouldn't fall down. Lelouch turned his head slightly as something red flickered at the edge of his vision - later, he would realize it was a lock of Kallen's hair, but for now he was distracted by the sight of her.
The first thing he noticed was her smile. It was a smile he'd never seen before, and for some reason disappointment flashed through his mind, like he wished she smiled like that more often. It reminded him of Nunnally, and the way she looked at him sometimes, but strangely the reminder didn't hurt, like he was remembering something that could only ever be associated with happiness. And it made him feel… it made him feel a lot of different things, and none that made sense to the man of cold reason and logic he'd always pretended to be.
It died almost as soon as she noticed him looking at her, replaced with a faint blush that dusted her cheeks with crimson. He frowned unconsciously, disappointed that she'd stopped smiling, and oddly… unhappy that she'd done so because he looked at her. Her arms hastily disengaged from his body, shifting him to the side so he wouldn't fall over as she hesitantly asked him a question. The blush still hadn't gone away.
"Lelouch, are you… feeling better?"
"Yes, I am. Although I don't know why. The last thing I remember is you saying something about Nunnally and C.C., and then I woke up. You're very comfortable, by the way."
Normally, the last almost-barb would have drawn some reaction from her, but for some reason Kallen ignored it, her face an odd mixture of relief and disappointment. What had she been worried about? Not that it… well, it did matter, it was Kallen, but he did have important business to attend to, like this meeting he'd apparently been supposed to go to. Before he could ask about it, Kallen's voice distracted him.
"That's good to hear." She smiled as she spoke, a smile that seemed to Lelouch to be somehow… real. Like she was actually glad to hear he, not as Zero, but as Lelouch, was feeling better. He smiled in return.
"So, about this meeting I was supposed to go to," Lelouch glanced at the clock, "about two and a half hours ago."
Kallen blinked a few times, like she wasn't expecting such a rapid change of subject, but responded nonetheless.
"Well, after you fell asleep, Ohgi contacted me asking me what was going on, so I told him you… weren't feeling well, and that you couldn't make it for a few hours. He seemed really insistent on you going, demanding actually, but he wouldn't tell me why, or what the meeting was about. I'm a little confused, actually."
Lelouch's mind started whirring, processing the new information. Ohgi wouldn't tell Kallen about the purpose of the meeting, so it had to be something he didn't want Zero to know, or didn't trust Kallen with. Considering it was Ohgi, Lelouch considered it to be almost certainly the former. However, even though he wasn't supposed to know what the meeting was about, his presence was required importantly enough for Ohgi to try and order Kallen around, knowing full well she was outside the normal command structure and technically outranked him.
But what made the least sense about the situation as a whole was that nobody had come to try and get him. If Britannia had attacked again, or launched another F.L.E.I.J.A, or the situation of the war itself had changed in any way, he knew at least Todoh or Deithard would have insisted on him being there, because they best of anyone understood how important he was to the Black Knight's cause.
So whatever was going on wasn't something he was supposed to know about beforehand, which wouldn't give him any time to prepare anything before he arrived, if he took the cynical viewpoint. It was important enough that Ohgi would try to order Kallen around, but not important enough to tell him about, or to come and fetch him. The more Lelouch considering the information, the more confusing, and the more worrisome it became.
Kallen must have noticed how deep he'd fallen into thought, because her voice broke through his concentration as she asked him a question.
"Lelouch? Is something wrong?"
He considered his answer for a little while, before deciding that it couldn't hurt to tell Kallen what he was thinking – maybe she'd know something else about it.
"I'm actually starting to get a little worried. There's too many… oddities in what you've told me. Whatever Ohgi and presumably the rest of the Black Knights want me for, it's important enough that it seems he tried to order you around, but he wouldn't tell you about it, which makes me think they don't want me to know about it. And nobody came to get me, which means it's nothing to do with the war, or at least nothing to do with the fighting."
A sudden thought struck him, and he prayed to the God he didn't believe in that her answer was negative, because otherwise… otherwise he was fairly sure he wouldn't survive until tomorrow, at least not as Zero. The thought bothered him more than he thought it would – with Nunnally dead and C.C. erased, what reason did he really have to live anymore? He turned to look at Kallen, deciding to ask her anyway, because if the worst came to the worst, he might be able to keep her out of it.
"Kallen, did anyone arrive on the Ikagura before you got here? Anyone from Britannia?"
"Uhh… I'm not sure, I don't know anything specific, but I heard a few rumours while I was coming to get you that someone had arrived from Britannia to negotiate for Cornelia's release. Don't know who – I was going to tell you about it on the way there."
That was it. Schneizel was here, and the Black Knights knew who he was. Nobody else would have dared to come aboard the Ikagura, and the White Prince was a man of politics far more than he was a man of war.
He'd have used the excuse that he was here for Cornelia, and that's what everyone would assume, but Schneizel knew who he was, and thanks to that bastard he'd once called friend, he had the recording. And his brother had just shown the Black Knights the sort of power he possessed, a weapon that rendered tactics useless, and nullified pretty much any strategy he'd planned on using against Britannia. Between the unspoken threat of F.L.E.I.J.A and what Schneizel knew, there were very few possibilities remaining. The moment he arrived in Warehouse Four, he would either be shot dead, arrested and returned to Britannia, or possibly arrested and then shot dead.
Think, Lelouch, you have to think. Your move. Perhaps we should start by consolidating the pieces we have. For some reason, it was difficult to think of Kallen as merely a piece, even for the coldly rational part of him that only existed to manipulate the world to his liking. In fact, he couldn't stomach the idea of using Kallen as a method to victory, not when the path could lead to her death.
But wait… there was no victory here, was there? Deep down, Lelouch knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn't run, Zero didn't run and he suspected Schneizel would at the very least have a guard out, just in case. He couldn't hide – the Black Knights had enough people to search the whole of the Ikagura, and Zero did not hide.
But neither could he fight, not with words nor actions. He doubted they'd be open to anything he said – Schneizel had got in first, and even if he was a Britannian prince, well, so was Lelouch, and even if some of his evidence wasn't quite right, Lelouch would still seem like the guilty party before he could say anything. And the problem with Schneizel's evidence was that it was so close to the truth that Lelouch couldn't disprove it. Hell, the only things his brother would have wrong would be the reason behind Euphie's massacre, and he doubted the Black Knights would be satisfied with reasons.
Why did he care about this though? The Black Knights were going to betray him, and even if he understood why, the facts of the matter remained. They were going to turn traitor on him, sell him out to the enemy, after everything he'd done for them. After he'd created them. And right after his sister—Nunnally, a corner of his mind wept—had been killed? It shouldn't even matter to him that he couldn't find a way out of this, not with her gone and their betrayal and everything else. He should hate them as much as he hated Britannia. But for some reason, whenever he pictured the Black Knights as a concept in his mind, he saw Kallen, and even the thought of his hatred died as quickly as it came. For reasons he could neither explain nor understand, she made him almost want to get out of this, rather than just accept the inevitable, and let Britannia finally take something from him that he didn't value.
Speaking of Kallen, he realized two things. One, she'd been staring at him for a while, probably wondering what he was brooding about, but she blushed slightly and looked away when he turned his gaze to her. Two, he was going to make sure that even if he didn't survive, they wouldn't take her down with him. For she was something he… he valued, in every sense of the word he knew. He would protect her from what was going to happen, somehow. And so he finally decided what he wanted to do. He didn't like it, not at all, even if he didn't quite know why the thought of losing her hurt as much as it did, but it was the only course he had left. So he began to speak, his voice a mixture of urgency and command.
"Kallen, I need you to listen to me – please don't interrupt until I've finished talking. It is almost certain that the Black Knights, or at least the highest echelons of command, know who I am, as well as about my Geass and everything I've done with it, including the story behind Euphie's massacre—don't interrupt, you'll find out later. I also suspect Schneizel—yes, I think the visitor was Schneizel—will have at least insinuated I may have used it on them as well."
He paused, collecting his thoughts as Kallen's face shifted through expressions, from shock to something that seemed like fear, but fear of what he wasn't sure. Probably fear of him.
"So, Kallen, do you trust me?"
"Yes, Zero." Her response was a lot faster than he thought it would be.
"Good. I have a plan, but I need your cooperation. As such, you must obey any order I give you, understand?"
Her expression morphed into one of confusing, mixed with a slight wariness as to what his plan entailed, or perhaps why he specified he needed her to obey his every order.
"And Kallen, if the worst comes to the worst, I want you to remember one thing. You are far more than just a piece on my chessboard, far more than just another soldier in this bloody war. If nothing else, never forget that, I beg of you."
Before she could say anything else, before he could wonder what the kindling flame behind her eyes meant, before he could wonder why she blushed and looked away, he donned his masks and walked towards the door, opening it and heading towards the lift that would take them to Warehouse Four.
"Shall we?"
She followed hastily, and as the elevator descended, Lelouch almost started chuckling – just as hell, domain of demons and the souls of the damned lay below, so too did he move down to damn his own soul, to solidify himself as a demon. The half-thought that followed, to save an angel, he dismissed as merely the ramblings of his own mind as he headed to what could be his death.
He removed his Zero mask, hands brushing his face as it came off just before the lift doors opened, and as Kallen looked at him oddly before determinedly walking out before him, he threw it, skittering it across the floor, before walking out behind her. The moment the gunfire tore down around it as viciously bright floodlights burned the floor around him, he knew his suspicions were correct. Strangely, by some odd quirk of fate, every shot missed the mask as it slowly rolled to present the 'face' of Zero towards where, now that his eyes had adjusted, he could see all his most senior officers, and Tamaki, arranged with assault rifles. By the looks of it, Tamaki was the only one who'd fired – he'd probably panicked, thinking they were under attack. Some of them were wearing visors, but Chiba wasn't, perhaps trusting that he'd already Geassed her and couldn't do so again. Or perhaps she just wanted to see his face properly as they cast him out. The reasons didn't matter. Tamaki wasn't wearing one either, but knowing Tamaki he'd probably just discarded it sometime during the wait.
Surprisingly, the first voice he heard was Kallen's – it seemed between the mask, the fact he'd arrived before them without it and Tamaki's gunfire, they'd been too shocked to speak.
"What the hell is going on here?" Her voice was outraged – it seemed she hadn't quite accepted the truth of his words. Her tone reminded him of his own, the day he'd confronted the Emperor about his mother. It was not an event he cared to draw parallels to.
"Isn't it obvious, Kallen? These," he gestured almost casually towards the row of men and women staring him down with assault rifles, "These traitors have decided to stage a coup, to hand me over to my brother. Curse their sudden but inevitable betrayal!"
He paused before speaking again, not moving his head like they didn't even deserve to meet his gaze, tone shifting to one of even more sardonic disdain, if that were even possible.
"Tell me, oh Todoh of Miracles, what was I worth? A free Japan, perhaps? Not that it's really within Schneizel's power to grant such a thing, considering he's not the Emperor."
He sensed he'd both stuck a nerve with his last statement and confused them, if the reactions he got were anything to go by. Ohgi's voice echoed out, almost as outraged as Kallen's was previously, and Todoh's almost cut across his at the same time.
"Shut up, Zero," Ohgi almost spat, "You're the only traitor here, you manipulative Britannian bastard."
"What do you mean it's not within his power?" Todoh's face was thunderous, and his gaze like the lightning that accompanied the thunder, but his voice was much more restrained than Ohgi's, like the calm before the storm.
"Ah, so you did trade me for Japan. Schneizel certainly got the bargain out of that one."
Todoh's face twisted into anger, as did Ohgi's and every other Black Knight – his taunts and arrogance seemed to be hitting the mark. Kallen didn't turn to look at him, but he could sense that her expression was thoroughly confused. She was close enough that he could whisper to her, and so he did. Two words. "Trust me."
She nodded, arms still spread wide from where she shielded him from their fire. Before he could do anything about it, Chiba's voice rang out, filled with anger.
"Give it up, traitor! You've played us for far too long with your despicable Geass, and now you're going to pay."
"Well, I'll agree with you on that one, I've certainly been playing you. I wonder, did you ever stop to think about your callsigns? P-1, B-1, N-1, R-1, even Q-1. Sound an awful lot like chess designations, don't they?"
He smiled as arrogantly as he could, like he was the one winning here, whereas in reality he'd already lost. All he could do was protect Kallen, and he'd make damned sure he did that. He wondered if her expression was conflicted, if she was wondering if he was lying then or lying now. Not that it mattered, either way she'd be safe, but for some reason the thought of her doubting him hurt. He brushed away the thought and continued to speak.
"But I guess that never crossed your minds. No wonder you were so easy to manipulate. Of course, now you've caught me. War has always been the grand game, hasn't it? The only place where you can gamble with lives, with countries, rather than other, petty things."
The more he spoke, the angrier the Black Knights became – he could see some of them fingering their guns, like they were planning to shoot him now rather than just hand him over. Good. Now all he needed was to get Kallen out of the way, and deprive Schneizel of his victory. Lelouch might not have been able to win this exchange himself, but he could at least make sure his brother didn't either. Tamaki's voice rang out, and Lelouch smiled. Excellent.
"Quit talking big while you're hiding behind a woman, Zero!" Along the wrong, he could see Chiba raising her rifle slightly, like she was preparing to shoot. Tamaki's was already up – nobody else had seemed to notice. Smile widening as everything fell into place, Lelouch brushed past Kallen, whispering as he moved.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to be like this. But my life has no value to me, not anymore."
For the first time since he'd arrived, Lelouch raised his gaze, where the burning wings of Geass illuminated his left eye, the eye he'd been hiding from them until the time was right. So intent was he on his task, he missed Kallen's soft whisper of "It has value to me."
"So what are you waiting for? Shoot me."
The command soared through the air, seemingly pointless – after all, the Black Knights were all wearing their visors, weren't they? By the time the rest realized it, Chiba and Tamaki were already depressing their triggers. The bullets tore towards him, little lumps of lead oblivion bringing his one-way ticket to the void, to the nothingness that lay beyond everything.
"Yes, your majesty!"
As he closed his eyes, he swore he heard Kallen moving before he lost all sensation.
Come one, come all, and welcome to my newest fic! As you may have guessed, this is a rewrite of the betrayal scene. Unlike Extinguished, however, it's not intended to be a one-shot, so if you like it, rejoice, because there's more to come! =D
No, I'm not cancelling Breath of Life or putting it on hiatus, the idea for this just came to me, plus a few other hopefully really awesome scenes that relied on the initial premise. So I decided to start writing, and 6,000 words later I'd finished this chapter. Hopefully you like it =P
So, first things first, what do you think? Does the story intrigue you? Do you have any guesses on what's going to happen next chapter, or indeed further into the future? I promise you, this story will roughly follow canon, but suffice to say that knowing what happens next in canon will not necessarily tell you what's going to happen next in Second Chance. Or maybe it will. Who knows? Oh, right, me. Carry on!
Anyways… that's actually about it from me for this chapter, apart from requesting reviews – I really like them (seriously, I get rather excited about reviews, big or small), and more importantly, they tell me whether the story is on the right track or not. But you've probably all heard that before anyway =P
Until next time,
Magery