If you do this, there's no going back.
Cornelia couldn't deny the truth of those thoughts bubbling to the surface. You've always said her safety comes first.
No, the first one roared right back. No, this is different. Her safety takes priority over her happiness, her independence. That's understandable. That's forgivable. This is not. If you do this, she will never trust you again.
She lied to me first.
Cornelia's guts churned, and a burning sense of shameful betrayal washed over her. Euphie had lied to her. Lied to her face. Lied about the very thing that would permit Cornelia to bring this whole damn war to an end. To protect Zero.
And now she was sneaking out. Again. What if she was meeting...?
No, impossible. Kururugi. As difficult as it was for Cornelia to admit it to herself, Kururugi was trustworthy. More than trustworthy. His loyalty to the Empire was ironclad... and Euphie loved him dearly. The Black Knights were after his head. There was no way she would go so far as to aid the enemy when her beloved was fighting against them.
But there was no way she'd go so far as to lie to you to protect Zero's identity, wasn't that right...?
She rolled the flash drive around in her hand. Shame and undeniable compulsion battling it out in her head as she thought about what it contained. And the more she thought, the more she became tempted to listen to that second voice.
You've -already- gone past this so-called point of no return, anyway. You've -already- done the deed. All that's left is to observe.
The other voice countered. The betrayal isn't complete until you observe. It may not make a difference to her, but it ought to make a difference to you. You still have your honor. You still can keep your promise to Euphie. After all the others you've broken, shouldn't you do whatever you can to keep this one?
Cornelia hung her head in shame, wringing her hands together. Eventually, however, her head lolled up, and she faced the computer screen. Her hand clenched around the flash drive, and inserted it.
After all the others you've broken, what's one more?
...
Cornelia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief despite her confusion. Ashford Academy. The device that had tracked her sister's movements gave Cornelia all the proof she needed that Euphie wasn't meeting Zero. All the sneaking out lately - it had almost entirely been centered around Ashford. Whoever she was meeting there, the Academy was most certainly not Zero's headquarters.
Who -was- she meeting there? It clearly wasn't Kururugi. Cornelia had asked him, and he had point-blank said no. And he'd meant it, Cornelia grimly acknowledged, recalling the flash of suspicion and, she felt sorry to say, inadequacy that had sparked behind his expression when he denied that Euphie was engaging in any secret rendezvous with him.
He should know she'd never cheat on him. He should, but Cornelia knew why he wasn't sure. One of the few points on which they both agreed.
She's out of your league. Euphie was bound to Cornelia by blood, but she had no such ties to Kururugi. Her ties to him were by choice, and though Cornelia knew the true depth of Euphie's convictions, she also knew that Kururugi must be tormented by the thoughts, whispering endlessly in his head at night, that he would never be good enough to deserve her.
Of course you're not good enough to deserve her, Cornelia mused. No one is. But she chose you. And she meant it. And someday you'll realize that.
She hoped he'd realize it before he broke Euphie's heart.
Euphemia had purchased a burner phone with cash. It was a rare enough thing for a princess to carry cash anyway - if Cornelia wanted, she could have figured out where her sister got the money. But that was a lower priority. Whoever was helping her sneak out of the palace would be dealt with later, if at all. For now, she had to know where Euphie was going.
Euphemia had made the mistake of tossing it out while being tracked, on camera. She'd made the double mistake of tossing it into a trash can that was rarely changed. She'd cracked it in half, but only the battery and screen had been destroyed. The memory card was easy enough to retrieve and read.
Three outgoing calls, unanswered. Then an outgoing text. Then an incoming call, fifteen seconds long. The calls were beyond Cornelia's skill or authority to recover by herself. Not without attracting attention from Pendragon. And the text itself seemed... innocuous, for all the secrecy that had gone into concealing it.
"Pick up your phone L! I want to talk to N!"
So clearly L was an intermediary between Euphie and N. Equally clearly, he (she?) was a busy person. Busy enough that they'd ignore three calls from a princess who'd taken time out of her schedule as sub-Viceroy to sneak around and contact them.
The returned call was only fifteen seconds. L had called her back. Evidently to explain (briefly) the situation preventing that from happening. Euphie had probably slipped up and failed to fully destroy the phone out of frustration with L.
It was doubtful the number would still work. But the longer she waited, the less likely she was to have another opportunity.
Cornelia punched the number into the burner phone of her own. She wouldn't call, of course. She hoped they hadn't set up a password in their texts that she'd been missing, one that would signal L to go to ground. For some reason she had a feeling L wasn't worried about Euphemia becoming compromised.
"L! come outside!"
It was late at Ashford. Late enough that a student emerging from the clubhouse, phone in hand, was enough to mark him. A boy, Euphie's age. Wearing a dark jacket and calling this phone. Cornelia answered, but didn't speak.
"Enough, E. It's late and I'm tired. ... I don't see you. What is it this time?"
The voice made Cornelia shiver for some reason. It seemed like an echo from somewhere in the distant past. Or a ghost.
"E? Did you fall asleep? It's too late for you to meet N tonight, she's already asleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow. No more going around behind you-know-who's back for a few days, all right? I'm not going to risk it and you shouldn't either."
Cornelia was about to do her very best job of imitating her sister's voice when the boy, thankfully, hung up and went back inside.
Into the student council clubhouse, instead of the dorms.
None of the lights were on. They weren't having a late-night meeting.
And the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't have any more time to wait to act. The next conversation Euphemia and L had, he'd realize that the call hadn't come from her. If indeed he wasn't already packing his things due to how suspicious it was to have his call answered without a word on the other end...
She had to act, and she had to act soon. Whoever this L was, if she didn't get her hands on him tonight, it was unlikely she'd ever see him again.
Her disguise was hardly professional, but it had sufficed a few times before, and it would have to do tonight. A pair of thin-rimmed, stylish glasses perched on her nose, hair tied back in a ponytail. Gone were any clothing that suggested royalty or authority. Instead she wore a pair of jeans and a university hoodie. No one glimpsing her would believe that Princess Cornelia was out walking the Academy grounds. Only that a visiting alumna from the mainland was probably out exploring old haunts, and happened to share a strange resemblance to the Viceroy. She even had a name for the alter ego. The last name was a given, one she'd used before and could be relied upon to recall under duress. Stuart. The first name was her cousin's. Elizabeth.
It wasn't entirely in character for Elizabeth to begin checking doors and windows, though. But as fortune would have it, someone had propped a large bay window open right underneath a cat scratch post. She did her best to avoid knocking it over with her leg as she slipped inside, putting gradually more weight on that first foot to avoid squeaks, and at the very moment she fully entered the dining room, she heard a door shut in the hallway. L was on the phone again. To who? If it was Euphie, she was sunk, but as she drew closer, she could tell it wasn't. And for some reason his voice sounded odd...
"Q1, you still don't trust me by now? Just get them where they're supposed to be, I've already taken care of the rest. ... There've been complications. We need to be more cautious for a while. ... I'm done talking about this tonight. Just send your confirmation when it's complete."
Complications? Seems he already knew she was onto him.
A knock came on the door closer to the study. He was almost upon her, and she'd neglected to bring any sort of weapon. Well, not neglected. She'd left one in the staff car. That was stupid. She'd just been taking a brief glance around the room for anything she might be able to improvise as one, when her eyes fell upon a picture of the student council. Underneath it, a list of names.
Lelouch Lamperouge was one of them. And then his voice came.
"Goodnight, Nunnally."
Her blood froze. Had she really heard the voice say that name, of all names? She must have misheard. But the name on the plaque... That appearance... The fact that they lived here under the Ashfords' protection...
The footsteps receded again, climbing a staircase. Cornelia clenched her hand on the doorknob, gave it a very delicate twist, trying to figure out if it would make noise as she opened it. The hallway was dimly lit, and the door closest to where the voice had come from was shut tightly.
She put her hand on the door, opening this one a crack as well.
She had to catch herself before the door swung into the wall. She'd grown, but it was unmistakably her... Another ghost from her past, tucked neatly into bed, cheek on the pillow, her long brown hair cascading over the sheets behind her. She was fast asleep, her steady breaths rising and falling, even as Cornelia slowly approached, putting a hand on her hair. The wheelchair in the corner told her everything she needed to know. Any sense of denial had fled completely. Nunnally was alive. And that meant Lelouch was upstairs...
She considered waking Nunnally up. But there were answers she needed to demand, and she needed to catch Lelouch before he fled. She delicately trudged up the stairs, keeping her footsteps close to the edges, and listened for any noises coming from the doors on the hall. Another faint buzz came from a room a few doors down, no doubt Lelouch's phone buzzing with another text. Probably from that Q1 he'd been speaking to a moment ago. But if it was from Euphie...
She purposely strode forward and grabbed the knob. Tugging slightly, finding it was locked, she didn't leave any more time to act.
Knock, knock.
"C.C., I told you, I need to get some rest. We can talk about it in the morning."
Cornelia grimaced. He lived with someone else, too? And they had a habit of knocking on his door late at night...?
She knocked again. He shuffled in his bed, before letting out a noise of aggravation, and suddenly the door flung open and Cornelia found herself face to face with her brother's annoyed glower.
"Don't you have better things to do than to-" Lelouch froze. His annoyed frown had shifted into a wide-eyed, open-mouthed look of shock.
Cornelia wasn't sure what look was on her own face, but it had to have been similar. But she'd had a couple of minutes to deal with this revelation. She'd braced herself for what she would do if he opened the door for her, and so, with only a moment's hesitation, she did it. Surging forward with a shoulder, she shoved the door open and quickly slammed it behind her. Locking and latching it even as Lelouch began to back away.
"Cornelia."
"Lelouch. It's been a while." Cliche, she knew, but as long as she could keep talking, perhaps she could keep him from bolting or clamming up.
"How much do you know?" Lelouch stammered, his eyes darting around the room. His expression had shifted to momentary despair, but for some reason, Cornelia detected a hint of relaxation behind it.
As if he had her right where he wanted her.
"I'll be asking the questions tonight, Lelouch Lamperouge. How long have you been making her hide it?"
"Not long. You should know that. Are you here to bring me in?"
"I don't know. Should I?"
His expression shifted, inscrutable. He almost seemed disappointed. "Then she didn't..." He started to say something, but stopped himself.
"Didn't what? Is there something else you're hiding from me?"
"How did you get in here, anyway?"
"Someone left a window open. By the way, as easy as it was for me to find you, you're an idiot if you think Zero couldn't do the same thing."
Even more disappointment manifested upon his face. "What makes you think Zero would be interested in finding us?"
"He seems to have an interest in assassinating royalty, so I would say we're all at risk. And although I'm a higher priority target, you're a far softer one."
As she spoke, Lelouch's fist clenched gradually tighter, before he turned to her.
"Cornelia, we don't need you to protect us or to rescue us. You aren't welcome here. Go home. And tell Euphemia to stay away, too." He spoke deliberately, calmly, but with evident fury in his voice.
"So that's why you were blowing her off. You just don't have the guts to tell her face to face. Not that I blame you for not wanting to break her heart, but how can you do that to Nunnally?" Cornelia's indignation was rising as well, as she stepped forward to meet her brother eye to eye. Mentioning her name had set him off, and now his fury was raging hot, even as he managed to keep his voice down, to avoid waking the girl sleeping below their feet.
"Don't you dare say her name. Don't you dare, Cornelia."
What is his problem? Cornelia couldn't comprehend it at first, but then... as her mind made the connections... Oh.
He still thinks I had a hand in...
She looked down. Looked away. "I can see that any further discussion with you is pointless."
"Get out."
She touched the door, but paused there. For a moment she hesitated, and so did Lelouch.
"Why did you come here? What did you think would happen? Do you..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Do you know how long I've been trying to get a moment alone with you, and now it falls into my lap and my pride won't let me seize it?
"Do I what?"
"... Did you truly think I'd be happy to see you?"
"Obviously not, or you wouldn't have been spending so much effort to hide from me. From us. How'd Euphie find out, anyway?"
"She... It was a coincidence. She recognized me right away. I don't know how, but..."
"That sounds like her." Despite herself, Cornelia began to smile. She couldn't bring herself to put her hand back on the doorknob, but it seemed Lelouch wasn't about to demand she leave, either.
"She's given us both a lot of trouble, hasn't she, sister?"
"... She loves you with all her heart, Lelouch. Nunnally too. Whatever you believe I'm responsible for, please don't take it out on her because of me. I won't come back here again, but... please let Nunnally know I love her... and please let Euphie see her at least once."
"... I know, Cornelia. ... And I know you love her too. ... What you did was unforgivable."
"It was."
"Why?"
"I made a mistake."
"Yes... yes, you did." And perhaps I did, too. "Who was it?"
Cornelia turned to face him, but her eyes fell at the last moment as she let out a breath. Slowly, they returned to his. "I don't know."
His anger bubbled up for a moment. Would she be so bold as to lie to him after coming all this way? But something within him told him his Geass wasn't necessary.
"Then who gave you the order?"
"Before we discuss this any further, Lelouch, you need to sit down... and you need to lower your voice." Cornelia glanced downward, at the floor, and Lelouch, not even having realized his voice was rising - or that it had been shaking - quickly dismissed his sister nonetheless.
"Out with it, Cornelia." Not for a moment would he relent. Not after he'd come so far... killed so many. The answer was in his grasp.
"She did."
He stared at her, long and hard. Denial would have been his first reaction. Would have, but...
Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to tell him the truth.
He could say it. He could be sure.
But he was sure.
"... You mean my mother..."
"Ordered me to withdraw her guard, yes. As well as any surveillance feeds. ... She was having a meeting, and did not want anyone to know about it."
"A meeting with who...?"
"If I knew the answer to that, I'd know whose name to give you. Not that I'd expect you to be able to reach them before I could."
"So you truly have no idea beyond that? I suppose Euphie was telling the truth about your investigation..."
"She would never lie to you." Now it was Cornelia's turn to be bitter.
"... So that's what this is about. You feel betrayed because she kept our secret?"
"I feel upset because she seems to agree with your opinion of me. Perhaps I deserve it, after what I've put her through."
"Well, you did drag her to this place."
"No... that was her choice, actually. I meant with her life while she's been here... I've put so many restrictions on her, told her who she shouldn't befriend, where she shouldn't go, who she shouldn't empathize with. All in the name of her safety, and what do I have to show for that? Her safety's been in my hands, and I've been failing time and time again. I haven't made her safe, I've only made her miserable. Zero's had her at his mercy twice now, and he's released her unharmed each time. She trusts him more than she trusts me." Cornelia was the one who ended up sitting first. And despite himself, Lelouch could not bring himself to chastise her. Instead, he watched as she sat down on his bed, put her hands on her knees, closed her eyes. Hung her head.
"What makes you say she trusts him?"
"It's... Never mind, it's not important. You don't need to concern yourself with Zero. On the contrary, you and Nunnally need to get out of this Area while you still can."
"You're hardly in a position to tell me I need to do anything, Cornelia. You just said it yourself, you've failed to keep anyone safe. Perhaps you should stop trying." Lelouch wasn't sure why he felt the need to drive the knife deeper. Perhaps he was angry at something bigger than his sister before him, and perhaps her factual innocence in the matter of his mother's death didn't alleviate his need to be angry.
To hate someone.
Who am I going to hate now...? His father was a given, but... Here was the penultimate showdown to that. One he'd imagined going entirely differently... Having Cornelia at the point of a gun, like Clovis. Could he have had the stomach to dispatch her the same way? Looking at her now, he wasn't entirely sure. Cornelia was guilty of a great many things, but there was nothing false in her. She was nothing like the old man. She was nothing like Clovis, either.
If anything, she reminded him far too much of himself.
"I'm sorry, Lelouch." Cornelia spoke the words he'd longed to hear from someone, from anyone in the royal family. And yet her guilt was the least among them, and her apology felt...
"... I'm sorry, too, Cornelia. I wish things didn't have to be as they are." This was wrong. This was all wrong. She'd ruined everything. I can still hate her... The last grasp of that vicious desire clawed its way back up, but soon enough, it grew weak, and fell a final time.
"There's no point in hating you for your mistake. But I am never going back to the homeland, and I will never forgive that man for what he did to us after mother died. And you serve him." He drew a disdainful gaze down upon her, and Cornelia let out another soft sigh.
"For now, yes. You of all people should know why."
"Euphemia." He spoke her name, and nothing else needed to be said.
"When I'd heard you two were gone... she was all I had left. All this time she's been the only thing... my only thing..." Cornelia trailed off, and Lelouch didn't need to ask her to finish the sentence. My only reason to live.
"And that's the reason you didn't come with us, either."
Cornelia nodded.
"... I'd have done the same thing." Lelouch forced himself to admit it. It was the most uncomfortable thing he'd said all night.
"Who knows? I'm not asking you to forgive me, or to accept me. I'm asking you to accept her. She's done nothing wrong." Cornelia brought her gaze up to his, and Lelouch broke it, glancing off to the side and closing his eyes.
"... Fine. She can come meet Nunnally." Lelouch paused, mouth open, stomach churning. He hated himself for what came next, but... "And you should meet her too. Nunnally doesn't belong to me. We both know what she'd want. Come downstairs."
"She's asleep. It can wait." Cornelia protested, hands clenching on the sheets. She wasn't sure she was ready for another reunion.
"It may be now or never, Cornelia. Take it or leave it."
"Very well." She rose, dusting her jeans and following him.
As they descended the stairs, he murmured. "What is with that outfit of yours?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"You look... wrong, somehow."
"You mean I don't look like Cornelia li Britannia? That's the goal."
"No, you look like Cornelia li Britannia trying too hard."
"Then perhaps you can give me pointers, after all, you've had years' worth of experience blending in with commoners."
"I am a commoner, remember?" Lelouch growled.
"You're family, I don't care what the old man said."
Lelouch had to growl a little more after that. Why did she have to continue to make him feel like it had all been for nothing?
If he'd just popped out of the hatch that day in Saitama and said, 'here I am!' perhaps they'd have ended up in the very same situation they were in right now, minus thousands dead.
But with Japan's future in the hands of the JLF, and with the world unaware that the Empire faced any serious threat from within. No, it wasn't pointless, he reminded himself. Even when plans had to change, there was a goal at the end of it all. If only he could prevent his sisters from trying to help...
They came to Nunnally's bedside, and Lelouch took the sleeping girl by the hand.
"Nunnally, I'm sorry to wake you."
Nunnally stirred gradually, before coming to and rubbing an eye, then yawning heavily, sitting up in bed. "What's going on, Lelouch? It's still late..." She could tell because of the birds. Or rather, their silence.
"I know. But we have a very important guest." He took Nunnally's hand, leading it over to Cornelia's. Nunnally seemed cautious as her fingertip touched Cornelia's, only for her fingers to quickly join with the woman's. Cornelia bent down, as Nunnally reached out a hand. It ran along her face... Along her hair. Finally touching the rim of her glasses, and Nunnally smiled.
"That's a silly disguise you have on, Cornelia."
Cornelia took Nunnally in a warm, tender embrace, sitting on the edge of the bed and burying her face into the girl's shoulder. Despite herself, a trickle of tears began to pour down her cheeks, and despite himself, Lelouch felt his resentment softening. This was a love every bit as genuine as his. Even the blind could see it. And he'd be a fool to deny it.
"Nunnally... I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Don't... Cornelia, don't cry, please don't cry." Nunnally began to sniffle herself, unable to keep her empathetic tears from flowing, as she hugged just as tightly back. "You're gonna make me cry too... Cornelia, you don't need to be sorry. I'm just happy you're here now... What's going on? Is Euphie going to be here too...?"
"She can't make it tonight, but I promise you, she'll come to meet you very soon."
"You have to pinky swear, all right?"
Cornelia nodded, interlacing that finger with Nunnally's. "Of course. Cross my heart. I won't ever let anyone separate my family again."
And again, despite himself, Lelouch hated the feeling of warmth that began to spread when those words left Cornelia's lips. My family. How long would that resolve last when she found out the other secret Euphie was keeping from her, he wondered?
For some reason, he began to wonder what would happen if it turned out her resolve could last even despite that.
Was this checkmate, or was he resigning? The game had merely changed players, and changed rules. But the goal remained. There was a King he needed to topple. And whatever Cornelia's role in that... she had better get out of his way.
Because at the end of the day, she and Euphie were just pieces, and if he couldn't turn them his color, they'd have to go back in the box.