A Code Geass Story: BETRAYAL FROM WITHIN

PART ONE: A KNIGHT WITH A CONSCIOUS

A laboratory inside Britannia Headquarters.

The Knight of Two, Vincent Glasgow, observed the scientists as they experimented on the recently decreased Jeremiah Gottwald. Well, almost decreased. The man didn't have a defeatist attitude; but Zero had destroyed his reputation which nearly crushed the man's will to live. He tried to restore it by defeating Zero in battle, but failed. Yes, Orange Boy, as he was now known by, failed miserably.

But there was no record anywhere, military or otherwise, that entitled Jeremiah Gottwald's involvement in an operation known as Orange for which Zero claimed. It was almost like the terrorist leader fabricated it to discredit the man and to cause dissention among his men. And it worked. And due to that claim, Jeremiah Gottwald was demoted. He never recovered from the shame.

Glasgow approached the glass cylinder containment tube Jeremiah Gottwald was encased in; he was floating in medical fluid. His limbs were attached to wires feed by an overhead device. He was being kept alive with an intravenous tube and a breathing mask and countless other machines. Around him were hordes of computer equipment both used to monitor his vital signs and to evaluate the continued experiment involving Gottwald. Covering his left eye was a yet unknown metallic device.

Glasgow pressed a hand to the glass and gazed at Jeremiah. Not only were the scientists preserving his mental facilities through chemical means, but they were also increasing his muscle mass like some type of super soldier, toning him. His naked body showed a tightening of every ligament.

Jeremiah was a childhood friend, and Glasgow hated to see him being treated like some rat in a cage. He was being used in yet another one of the Emperor's pet projects. But for what purpose? It wasn't fully determined. But he wanted to be involved, even in a minute manner. He had volunteered Jeremiah to be an experimental guinea pig, otherwise he'd be dead right now. And Glasgow didn't want Jeremiah to die if he could help it. But to see Jeremiah used like this brought a sourness and a guilt that would not hinder.

Glasglow turned to the head scientist, a man with a long and almost unpronounceable name, and asked simply, "When will he be done, doctor?" Not even trying to say his name.

"When he's done," the doctor replied straightly. "I won't rush genius, Glasgow. The Emperor appointed me head of this project. He knows I'll deliver results. Now back off."

Glasgow's eyes narrowed sternly. "You speak to me like that again, doctor, and you'll replace Gottwald in this experiment. Got it?"

The doctor chuckled amused. "Despite your knight status, Glasgow, I outrank you in this endeavor. You were only assigned as an observer, nothing more, nothing less. So your threats mean nothing to me." He adjusted his glasses smugly on the bridge of his nose.

Glasgow glared at the doctor. He was a thin man of average height with ruffled black hair. The doctor continuously appeared unshaven, which annoyed Glasgow. It was like the man didn't care about his appearance. For some reason, the other scientists accepted him like this. But he looked like a slob.

He hated the man's confrontational, flippant attitude. If he had an opportunity, he'd rip the man's spine out and feed it to his dog. Every man should feel comfortable in his own skin, Glasgow thought, but he should also hold in regard respect for others, even in appearance.

The doctor was nothing more than a selfish bastard. But he was correct in one regard. The Emperor had put him in charge and that trumped any order a Knight of the Round gave.

Hate filled Glasgow's eyes. "When this is over, doctor, I'll see you beg for mercy at my feet. Men like you are despicable creatures and should be left to rot in the deepest, darkest hole!" Glasgow turned to leave, his cloak whipping around as if just caught in a heavy invisible wind.

"I beg to differ. Men like me make this world, and we make the weapons you knights use to slaughter your enemies. And you're the one who volunteered your friend as a guinea pig, so don't present yourself as high and mighty to me, Glasgow." The doctor sinisterly chuckled. "And the name's Dopplegangersmythe for future reference, fool! You never could say it. Even Bismarck can say it. You must be retarded."

Glasgow stopped at the laboratory's threshold, but he didn't turn around to face him. "I'm not retarded, doctor. And trust me, I don't need to know how to pronounce your name to remember it. It's etched into my memory, as it will soon be chiseled on your tombstone."

And Glasgow left.

Lelouch vi Britannia needed a way to escape his imprisonment, but he was isolated in an unknown room in an unknown location, laying on a bed, wearing a straight jacket. Suzaku had not pulled any punches. As soon as Suzaku defeated him on Kaminejima Island, Suzaku immediately incarcerated him, then brought him before the Emperor bound in a straight jacket to be sentenced for his crimes.

It was then my father attempted to use his Geass to wipe my memory, but he failed. My will is much stronger than he gave it credit for and my own Geass helped hinder that erasure. He tried to make me forget my sister, but I could never forget Nunnally. I only pretended to forget. Eventually, they will catch onto my ploy, but I'll play it down to make them believe they've won. And if I'm lucky, they'll release me back into the populous. Then I'll continue my vow to obliterate Britannia. My father's a fool. He could never kill me; he's too weak for that. That's why one day, he'll fall by my hands a broken and defeated man!

He tried to wiggle his way out of the straight jacket, but to no avail. However, he couldn't make any alarmist movements or it would show on the camera above the door that was pointed at him. They were monitoring him. He had made his movements as if he was merely repositioning himself sleepily, looking away from the camera. He didn't want to give himself away.

All he could do at the moment was plot and scheme his next move for when he did escape.

Vincent Glasgow, still infuriated with his most recent encounter with doctor what's-his-name, slammed a fist into a wall outside the laboratory, and made a sizable hole. But he didn't care. He removed his fist, unharmed, then walked down an adjacent corridor. He tried to pronounce the man's name, rolling it over in his mind time and again, but he continued to find it difficult.

As a child, he did have a speech impediment, he stuttered a lot, but he thought he had gotten over that. Afterwards, on occasion, when he got anxious he would stutter, but it didn't happen very often. He received help from one of the best psychotherapist's in Britannia throughout his teen years for the problem. Now, he couldn't remember the last time he had stuttered.

"Damn foreigners!" he cursed. "They're a disease to the purity of Britiannia!"

But the doctor had been born in Britannia, so he was guaranteed immediate citizenship under its birth law. He just had a longer name than usual.

However, his parents had been foreigners, and they had to earn citizenship just like everyone else applying to reside in the Great Britannian Empire. But if it wasn't for a chance encounter with the Emperor years ago, his prodigy like mind and countless earned PhD's, the doctor wouldn't be in the position he is in now. He was one of the few who had squeezed through the system, and mostly due to Nepotism.

What the doctor is creating is a creature beyond the Natural Law of Man and he's using my friend to do it, Glasgow thought.

He didn't know all the logistics of the project yet, not everything had been revealed to him, but he knew bringing a man back from the brink of death and experimenting on him was sick.

But I did volunteer Jeremiah for the experiment, so what does that make me? After everything is done, they might just erase his mind and use him as a super soldier.

He shook his head. "What have I done? Jeremiah, my friend, maybe you were better off dead."

To be continued