Re-published edition!
Thanks to Winter's-Light for the Beta-Reading!
R&R please! Thanks a lot!
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Stage 1 The Day a New Demon Was Born
魔神 が 生まれた 日Majin ga Umareta hi
2010 a.t.b., August 10th.
The New Britannia Empire declared war on Japan, the neutral islands in the Far East. Between Japan and the world's only superpower, Britannia, there was an epicenter of the deeply rooted diplomatic conflict created by Japan.
During the mainland battle, the Britannian army used the Mobile Humanoid Armor Vehicles, Knightmare Frames, in combat for the first time. Their power was beyond anything imaginable and the Japanese defense forces were easily defeated by the Knightmare.
Japan became a territory of the Empire and had its freedom, rights, and name taken away.
Area 11.
That number was the new name for Japan after the war.
‡‡‡‡‡
2017 a.t.b., seven years after the war.
Britannia Suburb, Tokyo City.
"This is an image of the terrorist bombing which occurred in Osaka last week. This attack, which caused the death of eight Britannian citizens as well as 51 others, is…"
A news spokesman continues to relay her news while two men are sitting, playing chess. The timer for the older man just sounded a "bip".
"Your time has run out," one of standing men says, "from here on, I would ask that you make your moves in 20 seconds."
"So he says," answers the man of nobility.
Just when the older one puts on a panicked expression, the door suddenly opens.
"Has your substitute arrived?" the noble man asks.
"I'm saved!" the older man stands up. "Is it okay with your school?"
"Oh?" the noble man put despised face. "A student?"
"Oh?" one of two youngsters who entered the room mocks. "A noble?"
"Youngsters are so lucky. They have plenty of time," the noble man says, "time to regret. Your name?"
"Lelouch Lamperouge," the dark haired male answers.
"Hey, hey!" another male, this time a blue-haired boy says as looks onto the chessboard. "You can't win this no matter what, can you?"
"Rivalz," Lelouch says, "when should I depart from here in order to make it to the next class?"
"Uh…," Rivalz thinks, "if we hurry, then in 20 minutes or so."
"Then I'll be asking you to drive safely on your way back," Lelouch says simply.
"Huh?" Rivalz makes a confused face.
"It'll end in nine minutes," Lelouch takes his seat, "Master, about that thing I mentioned last time…"
"I understand," the man who is replaced by Lelouch quickly answers. "I'll talk to them."
"Nine minutes?" the noble man says again. "It's 20 seconds per move."
Lelouch picks the black King chess piece and says, "That's enough."
The noble man has surprised expression on his face, "The King?"
He laughs heartily while Lelouch only puts a simple smile on his face.
‡‡‡‡‡
Meanwhile at Ashford Academy, three girls are eating their meals.
"Where's Lelouch?" the girl with long hair asks.
"Rivalz took him away," the blonde one answers.
"Another match?" the long haired girl demands, looking mad.
"I wonder…," the blonde girl ponders simply.
"Neither of them have the right attitude for the Student Council! They're betting money on it!" the long haired girl says. "Even though he's got brains, Lulu's way of using them is weird! If he'd study, then his grades would be better too…"
The girl with glasses only smiles. The blonde girl smiles too and says, "Even though our Lulu-chan is such a serious guy? How cute!"
"President...," the long haired girl only can say that.
‡‡‡‡‡
Back to Lelouch and Rivalz, they leave the noble man with more surprised face with Lelouch won the match.
"Nobles are the best! They have pride so they will definitely pay up!" Rivalz says out loud, "on top of that, a new record of 8 minutes 32 seconds!"
"He didn't have much remaining time left either," Lelouch says as he walks, "and nobles are so indifferent. They're just considered masters because of their special rights."
"Well, would you like to play against Jaireven then?" Rivalz walks pass Lelouch. "We are different from Britannians…"
A crowd of people from outside of the building gain the attention of Lelouch and Rivalz's.
"That's so horrible; involving innocent people…"
"Elevens are so scary…"
Suddenly the big monitor changes from a picture of a flaming building into the Britannia flag.
"Thank you for waiting," a voice says. "There will now be a public address by His Majesty Clovis, the Third Prince of the Britannian Empire."
After that, the picture changes again. A blonde man appears on the monitor; he is the Third Prince of the Britannian Empire, Clovis.
"To the people of the Empire and, of course, to the many Elevens who are cooperating with us. Do you understand? My heart is now being ripped into two! It's being pulled into a heart of anger and a heart of grief! However, I, the one who has responsibility over this Area 11, cannot bend to the terrorists! Why? Because this is a fight for justice! The justice which protects all peace! Now, everyone, let us all lift up our condolences to the eight who sacrificed themselves for the sake of justice, shall we not?" Clovis passionately preaches.
The female voice from beginning says, "Let us pray silently."
"Oh, you're not doing it?" Rivalz asks Lelouch while he puts on his helmet.
"What about you, Rivalz?" Lelouch asks.
"It's embarrassing," Rivalz answers.
"That's true," Lelouch says and picks a ticket for the motorcycle parking, "and even if we cry, the dead people won't come back to life."
"Whoa!" Rivalz slides on his goggles, "that's harsh!"
"In the end, it's all just self-gratification," Lelouch turns to see the monitor, "no matter how hard you stretch, the world won't change."
‡‡‡‡‡
At another place, the cameras shut off as Clovis walks down the stairs after his speech.
"That was wonderful, Your Majesty," one of female guest praises.
"It's hard to imagine that you were enjoying yourself at a party just now," another female states.
"The governor is the face of the government for Area 11, so doing this sort of thing is expected…," Clovis says pompously.
"Oh my, you are full of confidence," a guest says.
"I am merely preparing myself," Clovis tries to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes properly. "Showing myself without confidence will only make the people of the media happy."
"No, no," one man answers, "we were hoping that if we could provide His Majesty Clovis with even a little bit of information."
"But, Your Majesty," a girl with silvery blue haired cuts in, "will everything be okay?"
"Oh, Yueria," Clovis walks to the girl, "you're such a kind girl. Don't worry, we will handle everything. Why don't you just enjoy this party?"
"That's right, Yue-Hime," one of the guests says. "It's your first day in Area 11 right? Your arrival will be headline on news tomorrow: Yueria Evouriote just arrived in Area 11!"
"I prefer not to announce my arrival here. After all, I only come here to accompany His Majesty Clovis," Yueria protests.
"Accompany me as my fiancée!" Clovis corrects Yueria's words. Clovis kisses Yueria's hand and asks her for a dance before suddenly someone interferes him.
"Your Majesty!" a man enters the room with a panicked expression.
"What is it? How impolite! I just want to enjoy my time with Yueria," Clovis says.
"Please forgive me! However…,"
Clovis growls in angry voice, "You fool!" just as the man finishes.
"W-we have told the police that it was just some medical equipment. If we move all of our forces…" However, before the man can finish, Clovis cuts in.
"Send out the supervisors and the Knightmares as well!" Clovis demands.
"What happened, Your Majesty?" Yueria asks. "Is something dangerous happening?"
"No, it's alright," Clovis says. "Why don't we just continue our party, Yueria?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Yueria apologizes. "Actually I want to ask permission from you because I want to leave this party earlier. I don't think my body is quite well now. May I go back to my room, Your Majesty?"
"Oh, what a pity!" Clovis looks disappointed. "But I guess you must rest since your body is weak. You can come back here after your health is better."
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty," Yueria says and then proceeds to exit the party with her twins maids.
"You're truly well, aren't you, Yue-Hime?" one of her maid with green eyes whispers.
"I guess I can't fool you, Frathia," Yueria answers while entering a room. "I want to investigate what happened. I'm sure what makes Clovis-sama mad has relation with the incident happened this afternoon. Well, for that, I need your help, Frathia, Frethia."
"It's not good to act by yourself, Yue-Hime," one with brown eyes looks worried. She gives Yueria some clothes from the wardrobe. "This isn't the first time, Yue-Hime."
"I know but I'm sure I will be alright. Don't worry, Frethia," Yueria says as she takes the clothes from Frethia and changes her white gown to the light blue shirt, pink skirt, and white jacket.
"I guess it's enough to cover myself."
‡‡‡‡‡
Lelouch and Rivalz are in the way back to the Ashford Academy.
"Hey, about the first move…," Rivalz asks with curious tone.
"Hm?" Lelouch reacts.
"Why did you start by moving the King?" Rivalz asks.
"If the King doesn't move, then his subjects won't follow," Lelouch answers the question simply.
"Hey…," Rivalz says.
"What?" Lelouch asks without removing his eyes from his book.
"Lelouch, do you want to become a company director or something?" Rivalz asks once again.
"Of course not," Lelouch answers, "strange dreams will only serve to destroy yourself."
Unexpectedly, a green truck appears behind them, causing Rivalz to fly into panic mode and screams, "Waah!! What the hell?!"
He drives in panic without proper control. This makes the truck driver mad who then swerves the truck to the left and crashes into a closed field with a loud "BANG".
"Um, was that our fault?" Rivalz asks Lelouch.
"Of course not," Lelouch looks into the smoke causes by the truck crash. He sees something sparkling from the truck direction. Lelouch takes off his helmet and mumbles, "What's that?"
Rivalz, who doesn't pay attention to what Lelouch had said, speaks, "Hey, Lelouch, it looks like the energy line got cut…"
"Yeah," Lelouch answers without any great concern. "Hey, isn't that…"
Sounds of people gather around distract his words. Some of them try to take a photo of the incident.
"Hey! Over here!"
"Whoa! That's bad!"
"What? What? An accident?"
"Maybe they're drunk?"
"They're so stupid."
"Hey, someone go help them!"
Lelouch looks those people with disgusted looks, "Hmph… All these people…"
Lelouch put his helmet on Rivalz's motorcycle and runs to the truck location, leaving Rivalz alone to repair the motorcycle.
"Oh, a school boy rescuer has arrived!"
"Hey, can't someone at least call the cops?"
Lelouch tries to move thing that makes the door stuck as he shouts, "Hey! Are you okay?"
Since he can't move it, Lelouch tries to climb the stair to reach the top of the truck and continues to yell, "Hey? Can you hear me?"
"I found it!" a girl's voice calls, catching Lelouch's attention, "my…"
"Where did that come from?" Lelouch tries to find the voice source. He looks into the truck.
"Are you there?" he asks again but the truck begins to move. Lelouch loses his grip on the truck and falls into it.
"Hey! Stop!" Lelouch yells loudly, but it looks like no one can hear him.
Trapped inside the truck, Lelouch only can complain, "Hey, at least put a ladder on this side too."
He tries to grab onto something that would allow him to climb on to get out the truck. He can hear voices from outside. One saying, "This is a warning! You may hire a lawyer! Quietly give yourselves up!"
After that, some shoots were heard.
"The next attack won't miss! Give yourselves up!" the voice says again.
"Getting out is dangerous," Lelouch notes, still trying to find a way out, "the situation doesn't look too good. I should use my phone to call…"
The door from driver's seat opens with a jolt and a girl enters. She doesn't notice him as she says, "We can get to the subway from the other route."
"Karen, let's use 'that' now!" the driver's voice says.
"That's suicide!" the girl replies.
"Eh, you're right…," the driver says.
"That woman…," Lelouch thinks as he watches her.
The next second, a red Knightmare jumps out from the truck to attack the helicopters. Lelouch tries to get out before the door closes but it's too late.
"Damn it!" Lelouch curses."These guys are real terrorists!"
‡‡‡‡‡
Wondering what has happened outside, Lelouch tries to use his cell phone but there was no reception.
"This vehicle is running along an old subway corridor. I don't know where I am and getting out would be dangerous. But…," Lelouch thinks.
"Alright. I can see. The situation is clear. My apologizes to the military but I'll be taking the terrorists' transmitter as a gift," Lelouch grabs the transmitter and remembers about Rivalz. "Oh, I forgot about him…"
‡‡‡‡‡
Yueria is standing behind a tree. She is heading to Shinjuku Ghetto because she heard that's where the terrorists are. Yueria decides to find out whatever it is that makes Clovis mad.
"Did the terrorists take it? From what I heard, it is a chemical weapon, so in other words, it could be a poison gas. But why did Clovis-sama made such thing? Do the terrorists know about it?" Yueria's frantically tries to figure out what is happening.
She starts to walk again and sees a group of Britannian soldiers jumping down from a plane to find the terrorists.
"Looks like I need to hurry before they find me," Yueria mumbles.
‡‡‡‡‡
The terrorist truck with the bleeding driver stops after hitting a hole.
"An accident? Or…," Lelouch, still trapped in the truck, tries to keep his balance. Before he can figure out the answer, the door opens.
"If I climb up top now…," Lelouch says to himself but before he even starts to climb, a soldier attacks him.
Lelouch tries to defend the kick with his hands but he is thrown back.
" A Britannian soldier?!" Lelouch thinks.
The soldier grabs Lelouch's neck and says, "Don't kill anymore!"
"Wait! I'm…," Lelouch tries to explain.
"And poison gas on top of that!" the soldier cuts in, "even if you try to talk your way out of it…"
Lelouch kicks the soldier, "That's why I'm trying to tell you…!"
The soldier jumps to back while Lelouch tries to stand up again and says, "It was Britannia that made the poison gas in the first place, right?!"
"You…," the soldier looks like he realizes something.
"Don't kill?" Lelouch steps forward. "Then destroy Britannia!"
"Lelouch?" the soldier says and opens his helmet, revealing his face, "it's me, Suzaku."
Surprised, Lelouch stammers, "You… So you became a member of the Britannian army?"
"What about you?" Suzaku asks. "You don't mean…"
"What are you saying?" Lelouch doesn't understand.
Unexpectedly, a light comes from the big object in the truck. Suzaku covers Lelouch's mouth. The object opens to reveal a girl with long, flowing green hair. Her mouth is covered and her hands are tied.
"It's not… poison gas?" Suzaku looks surprised.
Lelouch releases the mouth-cover from the girl, "Answer me, Suzaku. Is this girl a poison gas?"
"But, in the briefing, I sure heard…," Suzaku's words is cut by a light.
"You, monkey," a man says with a lot of soldiers behind him. "I don't recall giving that much authority to an Honorary Britannian citizen."
"But I had heard that this was a poison gas…," Suzaku tries to explain but the man cuts in.
"You have no right!"
"This is bad," Lelouch thinks. "This definitely IS poison… A powerful poison that would make Suzaku's supervisors nervous. If it were to leak to the outside…"
"But, I will allow you to have that right and give you an order," the man takes out a gun to Suzaku, "Soldier of Britannia, use this to kill the terrorist."
Suzaku turns to Lelouch, "He's different! He's merely a civilian who has been caught up in this!"
"Bastard!" the man curses, "this is an order! You pledged allegiance to Britannia, didn't you?"
"That's…," Suzaku is lost for words.
Lelouch is helpless until Suzaku suddenly answers, quietly, "But… I cannot."
"What?" the man can't believe what he heard.
"I won't do it," Suzaku repeats, "I can't shoot a civilian like him."
"Then," the man points the gun at Suzaku's abdomen, "die."
The man pulls the trigger and there is a loud thud where Suzaku falls.
"Suzaku!" Lelouch shouts.
"From what I can tell, you appear to be a student of Britannia. This was unfortunate," the man speaks to Lelouch. "Retrieve the woman, then kill the student!"
"Yes, My Lord!" the soldiers answer.
Before anyone can even move, the truck suddenly blows up and covered in fire.
‡‡‡‡‡
"Yue-Hime, do you hear me?" Frathia says with panic.
"I can hear you. You don't need to shout," Yueria answers the phones silently. "You said Clovis-sama commanded the army to destroy Shinjuku Ghetto?"
"Yes, that's right! Now, please, come back here, Yue-Hime! You're at Shinjuku Ghetto, right?" Frethia takes the phone.
Yueria keeps silent before answers, "Sorry, but I will go back SAFELY later. Now, I will turn off my cell phone. Bye."
Yueria ends the conversation and turns off her cell phone.
"Will everything be okay?" she thinks deeply, "I can't return to Clovis-sama now. It's not like he will listen to me."
‡‡‡‡‡
Lelouch and the mysterious girl take their chance from the explosion to run from the soldiers. The girl stumbles and falls down.
"What are you?!" Lelouch yells. "All this commotion… It's your fault! Britannia… Britannia even killed Suzaku!"
There is no reply from the girl.
‡‡‡‡‡
Yueria stops. She's been running for a while in an effort to reach tunnel where the truck may be.
"I can't keep running. My body can't take it," Yueria says to herself.
‡‡‡‡‡
"Listen up… Wait here!" Lelouch says to the girl. Both of them are sneaking to get out from the mess.
When Lelouch tries to go outside, someone is shot by the soldiers so he hides again.
"How is it?" the man who shot Suzaku asks.
"It appears that there are only Eleven's here," one soldier replies.
The man looks unsatisfied, "It must be around here, right? There's only one exit."
"Yes," the soldier answers. "Maps of the area are no longer used but…"
Lelouch can hear a child's cry, then gun shots; the child is shot. Unexpectedly, his cell phone rings, making the soldiers aware and turn to the source. Lelouch quickly turn off the call but it's too late.
The soldiers grab the mysterious girl and one decides Lelouch would be a good punching bag.
"A location worthy for the end of a terrorist," the man says.
"You…," Lelouch tries to say something.
"Well, for a student, you've tried hard," the man praises. "As expected of a Britannian. However, your future has just ended."
The man points a gun to Lelouch. Lelouch closes his eyes, helpless to do anything else. Then the mysterious girl jumps in front of him to cover Lelouch from the shot and shouts, "Don't kill him!"
The bullet hits her forehead. The girl falls, dying and causing Lelouch to be more confused than before.
"I would have preferred her alive…," the man says calmly, "this is what we should tell the higher-ups: 'We, the elite troops, found the terrorists base and destroyed it. However, the hostage had been beaten to death by the time that we got there'."
"What do you think about that, student?"
"What is this?" Lelouch thinks, overwhelmed with confusion. "Suzaku, this girl… Am I going to meet my end here, too? Without being able to do anything… So quickly…
"Nunnaly!"
He can feel the girl's hand grab his.
"You don't want it to end here, do you?" her voice asks.
"What…," Lelouch doesn't understand.
"It appears that you have a reason to live," the voice continues.
Lelouch tries to clear his mind, "Is it the girl? No way…"
"If you have power, will you be able to live?" the voice asks. "This is a contract. In return for power, I want you to grant one of my wishes. If you agree with the contract, you will live as a human, but differ from other humans.
"A different source, a different time, a different life… The power of the King will make you isolated. If you are prepared for that…"
Suddenly another image appears: "The union of Ragnarok. The land of legend… once again!"
"Fine then…," Lelouch finally answers, "that contract: I'll bind it!"
‡‡‡‡‡
Lelouch stands up and covering his left eye with his right hand, "Hey, how should Britannians who hate Britannia live?"
"Are you an ideologist?" the man points his gun to Lelouch again but suddenly looks surprised.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to shoot? Your opponent is a student or have you realize it that those who are allowed to shoot are only those who are prepared to shoot?" Lelouch lowers his hand. His left eye shows a mark.
The man trembles, "What's that?"
"Lelouch orders those of Britannia, all of you…," Lelouch speaks, "to die!"
All of a sudden, the man laughs and replies, "Yes, Your Highness."
He points his gun to his own neck. His soldiers follow in suit. As they shoot themselves, the same maniacal grin stays on their faces. Each soldier follows Lelouch's order.
‡‡‡‡‡
"From that day on, I've always been lying to myself. The fact that I'm alive is a lie. My name is a lie. My history is a lie. Full of lies.
"Being so fed up with a world that didn't change at all but being unable to give up the despair of a lie. But what I obtained: Power.
"Then…" Lelouch smiles mysteriously.
Next Stage:
The White Knight Awakens
覚醒 の 白き 騎士
(Kakusei no Shiroki Kishi)