Chapter 2: Preparation
Lelouch sped away from the ghetto as fast as he could. He needed to put as much distance between himself and Shinjuku as he possibly could before the military discovered Clovis' body. Once that happened, they would no doubt put the place into lock-down and mount a search for the culprit.
He knew that they wouldn't find anything, but the increased security would make it near impossible for him to move around undetected. As he neared the exit to the ghetto ditched Villetta's knightmare in a collapsed building on the side of the road and made the rest of the trip on foot. The quickest way back into the Tokyo Settlement from the ghetto was a single heavily guarded checkpoint.
Thankfully for Lelouch, most of the military forces stationed at the ghetto were either dead or desperately trying to reestablish a perimeter, which meant that the bare minimum of guards was on duty. Lelouch was already dressed in a military uniform he'd taken from a soldier in the ghetto, so he was able bluff his way close enough to the checkpoint to geass the duo of guards on duty to allow him to pass unhindered.
Once he was safely back in the settlement, he quickly changed back into his school uniform and pulled out his cell phone and called Rivalz for a ride. Classes had ended by the time they arrived at Ashford, so Lelouch headed straight up to his room. He knew that Sayoko had taken Nunnally out for a walk today so he had some time to himself. He sat down on his bed and began to plan. Tomorrow the military would announce Clovis' death and Jeremiah's Pureblood Faction would try to pin the murder on Suzaku.
While Lelouch certainly did not approve, he could see the strategy behind their decision to use Suzaku as a scapegoat. By claiming Clovis' assassin was not only an Honorary Brittanian but also a knightmare pilot, it would give the Purists the perfect excuse to abolish the Honorary Brittanian System and take complete control of the Brittanian military. As for Suzaku himself, he would be extremely lucky if they let him live.
The best he could hope for was a life sentence in a Brittainian military prison where he would likely die anyway from abuse from the racist guards. Lelouch was determined to make sure that didn't happen. He would have to contact Kallen and Ohgi and start building the Black Knights again, which would be much easier this time because he wouldn't make the mistake of making himself look suspicious to Kallen.
Of course, there was also the issue of figuring out just how he'd been sent back in time in the first place. Lelouch didn't like having unknown factors in his plans. He had no idea if any other members of the Black Knights would end up getting memories of the original timeline or if he alone had this advantage. More importantly, Lelouch wanted to know if the mental time travel would end up happening again. Needless to say, the idea that every time Lelouch died he would end up going right back to the start was very, very disturbing to him. It might seem convenient at first, but he would eventually start to wonder why he should even bother trying to save he world at all if thing would just go back to the way things were as soon as he died.
Perhaps the time travel had something to do with geass? He would have to question C.C about that when she showed up later. But until then...
He pulled out his laptop and cell phone. He would think things over while he started putting his plans in motion for the Black Knights. He booked an appointment with talented Brittanian Tailor to make his Zero Costume, then scheduled a few chess matches to acquire a little extra funding. Geass was an excellent way to get people to offer their resources to him for free, but eventually people would wonder how he got all his equipment, or why so many nobles and businessmen couldn't remember where all their money had gone.
Not long after he finished setting up his plans, he heard the front door open.
"We're home!" Sayoko called from the door.
Lelouch immediately rose from his bed and headed towards the front door.
'Nunnally...'
There she was, just as Lelouch remembered her. Lelouch felt his emotions begin to overwhelm him as he approached his sibling. Her face had been the last thing he'd seen in his last life before the time travel. "Welcome home Nunnally..." was as far as he got before he grabbed his sister and pulled her into a bear hug.
"L-l-lelouch!" Nunnally gasped in surprise, then returned her embrace. 'What's going on?' she thought. 'Lelouch is rarely so emotional like this. Did something happen today? Is he hurt?'
Lelouch fought back the urge to shed tears. He'd become the enemy of everything his little sister stood for at the end of his last life, and had hated every second of it. But now he'd been given the chance to make sure that would never happen, to make the gentle world his little sister deserved.
As he sat there hugging his beloved little sister, he silently thanked whatever supernatural powers had given him this second chance.
"...Big brother..."
"Yes, Nunnally?"
"Y-you're crushing me..."
Lelouch gasped and let go of his little sister. He could see the worry evident on the faces of both Nunnally and Sayoko. "Is something wrong master?" the ninja-maid asked with concern.
Lelouch slid a mask of calm over his face with practiced ease. "Nothing to worry about Nunnally," Lelouch began calmly. "There was trouble today when I went gambling today."
"What do you mean?" Nunnally was very worried for her brother now. Rarely, if ever, did Lelouch show so much worry about anything. Whatever happened must have been serious to shake him so much.
"Sayoko and I ran into Rivalz on the way here," she said, "He told me that you had him pick you up in Shinjuku today. What happened?"
"A car crashed into a construction site as we were coming back from a chess match," he explained gently. "I got out to see if anyone was hurt, but they didn't realize I'd climbed on their van and they took off into the ghetto." Nunnally raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Lelouch must have noticed Nunnally's surprise because he quickly continued, "I'm alright Nunnally, it was only a misunderstanding. Once I got their attention they pulled over and I climbed out. I just walked until I reached the edge of the ghetto and then I called Rivalz. When i heard that the terrorists release poison gas in the Ghetto, I was relieved to have gotten out in time."
Nunnally frowned. She didn't completely buy Lelouch's story. Most people wouldn't notice it, but members of the royal family were exceptionally good at detecting deception from others. It was a quality gained as a byproduct of their upbringing in the Imperial Court, where deception and politics went hand in hand. She decided not to press the issue. Whatever happened was clearly making her brother uncomfortable and was hopefully over now.
"I'm glad you're okay." she said smiling, but her voice became more serious. "Shirley's right you know, if you keep gambling so much, you might get really hurt next time." As she spoke, Nunnally reached out to take her brother's hand. She didn't miss the way he shied away from her touch at first.
He chuckled nervously. "I guess you're right. I'll talk to Rivalz tommorow about cutting back for a while."
Then Lelouch and Nunnally had their first meal together after two long years. After putting Nunnally to bed, Lelouch went to his room and turned on the televison to check if the military released anything new about the Shinjuku ghetto.
"Yesterday tragedy was averted as the military prevented a a potential biohazard threat." the newscaster began. Lelouch leaned forward with interest.
"The military received word from anonymous sources that a band of Eleven terrorists hiding in the Shinjuku ghetto were developing a deadly new form of poison gas. Their mission: to deploy their new bioweapon in the Tokyo settlement and kill as many innocent Brittanian citizens as they possibly could. Police and military launched a preemptive strike on the ghetto in order to capture the terrorists before they could enact their sinister plot."
A clip of shaky camera footage played of a squad of Sutherlands advancing down a street in the ghetto.
"Military encountered minimal resistance from the terrorists, until they activated their new weapon in an attempt to escape, showing absolutely no concern about the effect it would have on their own people." Another clip of amateur footage began playing, showing a droves of Japanese people running down the street away from what appeared to be a cloud of green gas before cutting off abruptly.
Lelouch scoffed at that. He knew there had been no poison gas attack. Familiar with the work of Diethard Reed, Lelouch could tell the 'poison gas' was nothing more than footage of a cloud of dust from a destroyed building edited with visual effects to appear green. If the clip had been allowed to play a moment longer, everyone would have seen a knightmare emerge from the cloud and begin firing on the fleeing crowd.
"Massive Eleven causualties have been reported, and many Brittanian soldiers are still unnacounted for. Nonetheless, Area Eleven may rest easy knowing that their sacrifices tharted a potential disaster. In other news, Pizza Hut has announced plans to..."
Lelouch didn't bother listening to the rest. Lelouch lied down in his bed and had the most peaceful sleep he'd had in a long time.
The morning of the next day passed by rather uneventfully. Lelouch didn't approach Kallen and as a result she never suspected him having any involvement in the Shinjuku battle. To her, he was just another Brittanian pretty-boy living large off the suffering of her people. That would make it all the more surprising when he eventually revealed his identity to her and the rest of the Black Knights.
When it was time for he and Rivalz to go gambling, Lelouch convinced his friend to first stop at the tailor's to pick up the Zero costume.
Usually it would have taken a great deal of time for such a elaborate outfit to be made from scratch, especially when being made from such a popular tailor who had many other clients. However, the offer of a very large bribe made the man more than happy to devote his full attention to crafting the costume.
"Let me do the talking, alright?" he told Rivalz as they entered the shop. They went straight to the counter and Lelouch handed the man his ticket. "I'm here to pick up my order." he told the elderly tailor.
"Mr. 'L.L' I presume." He asked after a moment of silence. Lelouch nodded. "Very well then. Here you are."
The man pulled a black briefcase out from under the counter and set it down in front of Lelouch. Lelouch eagerly flipped it open and laid eyes on his new and improved Zero costume for the first time.
The actual outfit was unchanged, but the mask had undergone some major modifications. While externally it was near identical to the original design, the inside was now outfitted with an improved voice modifier that would make it impossible to recognize the wearer's actual voice as well as amplify it so it could be heard farther away. Also built into the mask was a communicator that would allow Lelouch to deliver orders to his men outside of a Knightmare if he needed to.
He grinned evilly as he pulled out the mask and held it in front of him, the identity he would use to change the world…
Rivalz looked around uncomfortably. Lelouch's psycho grin was giving him the creeps. He nudged Lelouch in the shoulder with his elbow.
"Hey, pal… What's going on here?"
"hmm?"
Lelouch blinked and shook his head, snapping out of his daze. He put on a reassuring smile.
"It's nothing Rivalz, I just thought we could use a couple disguises if we're going to keep going out to gamble. It won't end well if someone we play against is a sore loser and comes looking for a little payback."
Rivals chuckled sheepishly. He'd never thought of that before. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He looked back at the briefcase in confusion. "But why did you only get one then? I want a flashy costume too if we're going-"
"Obey my orders." Lelouch said suddenly in an imperious voice.
"Yes, your Majesty!" Two voices answered in unison.
Rivalz was standing at attention beside the tailor, the red glow of geass evident in both of their eyes. He sighed. "Sorry Rivalz."
Lelouch didn't like having to use his power on his friends, but Rivalz was the only way Lelouch could get off campus without drawing any suspicion to himself. He couldn't afford to have someone asking questions or looking into where exactly he went after school, even if that someone was one of his best friends.
After taking a moment to regain his focus, he turned to the tailor and said, "Give me the costume for free and destroy any records you have of it's making. Then continue on normally until I contact you again, I may have some use for you in the future."
"Yes milord." The tailor answered reverently while bowing his head. Then Lelouch turned to Rivalz.
"Forget and ignore any suspicious or unusual behavior during our outings. Otherwise continue on as normal."
"No problem pal!" Rivals answered with a grin and a thumb up. Lelouch smirked at this. Even under the power of geass, Rivalz was his usual goofball self.
The rest of the afternoon passed by uneventful. Rivalz forgot ever going into the shop once they got back outside and they proceeded on to the chess match that Lelouch had scheduled for that afternoon. Lelouch briefly considered using his geass on his opponent to get him to lose the game on purpose but decided against it. Overusing his geass might cause him to develop geass runaway earlier on, and he didn't want to have to deal with that unknown factor until he had a way of counteracting it.
After totally destroying his opponent, Lelouch and Rivalz made a few extra short stops around the settlement in preparation for Zero's debut. By the time they actually returned to Ashford Academy, the sun had already gone down.
"How the heck did it take us this long to get back!? I've gone that way hundreds of times and it's never taken that long before!" Rivalz exclaimed.
Lelouch just chuckled to himself and started making his way to his room. The lights were already out when he arrived and Sayoko was in the dining room cleaning the table. She looked up and smiled as Lelouch walked in.
"Welcome home master. I'm afraid you missed dinner tonight and Mistress Nunnally has already gone to bed. I could warm a plate for you if you'd like."
"No thank you Sayoko. I'm just tired right now. I'm just going to head to bed now."
After wishing Sayoko goodnight, Lelouch silently went to his room sat down on the bed. He regretted not spending dinner with Nunnally, especially after that akwardness last night. He would have to make it up to her after he finished his work on Zero's debut. Lelouch didn't bother turning on the television to check if Suzaku had been arrested. He had a long day and needed his rest for his meeting with the Black Knights tomorrow.
Besides, with his knowledge of the future, Jeremiah wouldn't stand a chance.
Jeremiah Gottwald was having one of the wost days of his military career.
It had all started when Prince Clovis ordered the purge of the purge of the Shinjuku ghetto. At first the operation had gone normally, with the royal guard easily exterminating the majority of the Eleven population with little resistance. Then, inexplicably, the Elevens started to turn the tide of battle.
Unfortunately, Jeremiah had been one of the first to discover they weren't dealing with run-of-the mill terrorists when an enemy piloting a Sutherland ambushed his squad and forced him to eject. He'd been lucky to make it out of that encounter, the gaping wound in his left leg was evidence of that fact.
One of the shots the terrorist fired at him pierced the armor of his cockpit and hit him in the leg. He high caliber shot didn't score a direct hit, or the lower half of his leg would've been torn off, but it still took a good chunk out of his leg. Even with the grievous injury, he still managed to eject from his knightmare, then limp all the way through the ghetto to the checkpoint, bleeding out all the way. Brought down by a filthy Eleven. How embarrassing!
He fell unconscious due to the blood loss a short while later and spent the next day in a coma. The doctors were surprised he even survived the walk back, considering the amount of blood he'd lost. He'd only regained consciousness a short while before Villetta and Kewell, his two highest ranking subordinates, came to see him and gave him even worse news. Jeremiah listened in silence as his two subordinates brought him up to speed.
Apparently, the train that he'd stopped while pursuing the Glasgow had been carrying a shipment of Sutherlands fresh from the factory. After the terrorists looted it and hijacked the sutherlands inside, they actually managed to defeat the prince's remaining royal guards, break into the command center, kill the prince, and escape before anyone could see them.
While he appeared calm on the outside, he was seething inside. Another member of the royal family he'd sworn to protect had been killed on his watch. When his beloved Lady Marianne died at the hands of assassins, Jeremiah had been fortunate enough to gain the favor of Prince Clovis. Both he and Clovis had respected the late empress greatly, even though she was not of noble blood. When the Prince extended an offer to join his royal guard and serve him in Area Eleven, he'd accepted without hesitation.
And now he'd been assassinated as well. While the Prince had not been Marianne, Jeremiah had still sworn his loyalty to Clovis and his death was another blow to his honor and pride.
'I swear, I'll find whoever assassinated his highness and execute them myself...' he thought.
After a few moments of tense silence Villetta began speaking again. "Lord Jeremiah, this is an opportunity that we cannot ignore. While his highness' death is unfortunate, it leaves the position of Viceroy open. This is the perfect chance for us Purebloods to take control." Beside her, Kewell nodded in agreement.
Jeremiah grunted with effort as sat up in the hospital bed. "Indeed. We must take advantage of the situation while we still can. But don't forget we have to woo over the other nobles first."
Yes, if the Purists were to take power in Area Elven, it would only end in disaster without the support of the other nobles. Bartley and the other remaining members of the Late Prince Clovis's entourage would no doubt try and oppose them and the infighting would topple their regime before any meaningful changes could be made.
And speaking about Bartley... "What's going on with General Bartley? What was he doing when his highness was killed?"
Kewell was the one to speak this time. "General Bartley and his officers were wandering in the ghetto at the time of his highness' death. He claims to have no memory of what he was doing there or anything involving Prince Clovis' death."
"Say what?"
Kewell smirked. "Coincidentally, the general is also heading the investigation into The prince's murder. The same investigation that has failed to yield any results since it began."
Jeremiah frowned. He understood perfectly what Kewell was implying. Bartley might somehow be involved in the murder, and using his position to cover up his involvement. If he succeeded, not only would Jeremiah and his subordinates be denied a chance to rise in power, but the bastards that killed the prince might get away as well. There was no way Jeremiah was going to let that happen.
Bartley needed to be taken out of the picture. The fact he'd left the prince alone and vulnerable could be used to Jeremiah's advantage. Coupled with the general's suspiciously specific 'memory loss', it was more than enough to imply to the nobility he played a part in the murder, or was at least a total incompetent. And even if he wasn't involved as he claimed, this disgrace would rob him of the support he would need to rally the nobles and stop the takeover. Perfect. Just one more obstacle out of the way on the Pureblood's path to power.
"We need to act fast. Kewell, find Bartley and arrest him for his failure. I don't know if he played a hand in his higness' death, but he still failed to protect him."
Kewell nodded and left the room. Once he was gone, Villetta turned to her superior officer. "Lord Jeremiah, even with Bartley taken care of, we still have to worry about Prince Clovis' assassin. Prince Clovis has been dead for a day, we can't conceal the fact he's dead much longer. If we report to the media that we don't kn-"
Jeremiah silenced her by raising a finger to her lips. "Leave that to me." he smirked confidently, a plan forming in his eyes. "Get me the records of all Honorary Britannians that were in the field during the Shinjuku incident. If the press wants a terrorist, we'll give them one."
It was noon the next day when the breaking news announcement was made that Prince Clovis had been found dead. Lelouch and the rest of the student council immediately gathered around the television.
"The announcement was made just minutes ago that Viceroy Prince Clovis has been found dead. It's been confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the heart, which killed the Viceroy near instantaneously..."
"No way! Is he serious?" exclaimed Shirley.
"That means that the prince was..." Muttered Nina, trembling slightly.
Lelouch sighed. 'About time,' he thought. He'd bee worried when he awoke that morning and learned the announcement hadn't been made yesterday. What could Jeremiah be up to?
"We take you now to the live press release being held at the Viceroy's Palace by Lord Kewell Soresi."
Lelouch gasped in shock at what he saw. Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen! Instead, an orange haired pureblood, Kewell, if he remembered correctly, was standing at the podium flanked on both sides by the rest of the Pureblood faction. He was in the middle of delivering a speach near identical to the one spoken by Jereimiah in the original timeline. Jeremiah must have prepared it in advance.
"Prince Clovis is dead. Our beloved Viceroy fought for justice against all the Elevens and was killed by them for it! He died a martyr! I give you my word his death will not be in vain, we will not rest until the Elevens responsible for his death answer for their crimes!"
The screen cut back to the newsman. "Until a new Viceroy can be selected, Lord Jeremiah Gottwald, the leader of the Purist faction will take over as acting consul. He will take office upon his recovery from injuries sustained during the terrorist attack on the Shinjuku ghetto. Until then, Lord Kewell will be directing..."
Lelouch had heard enough. He stormed out of the room, ignoring his freinds as they called after him. 'Jeremiah's been injured? What did I do to cause this to happen!?'
This was bad, things were already beginning to move out of his ability to predict. If events diverged much further, he wouldn't be able to predict the actions his enemies would take. What did he do that could've caused this? He didn't think he'd made any changes large enough to cause something as different as this already.
He needed to act fast. Kewell was a wild card, an unknown factor. He'd only dealt with the man briefly when he tried to stop him from rescuing Suzaku. If he was taking over for Jeremiah, he was the biggest potential threat to Lelouch's plans at the moment.
He started thinking and planning his next move.
'Jeremiah must not be in too poor condition, or the Purists wouldn't even consider allowing him to become acting consul while wounded.' He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing Kallen's number. 'If he's in good enough health that he'll be able to act as acting consul soon, he's probably in good enough condition now to give orders. Jeremiah might be using Kewell as a figurehead until he's able to lead directly. And if Jeremiah's still giving the orders, he'll still try and use Suzaku as a scapegoat.'
Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief, partially because he was relieved that he could still salvage the situation and because Jeremiah wasn't too badly injured. Racism aside, Lelouch knew Jeremiah was at heart a decent man and a loyal subordinate. Hopefully he could confront him and bring him over to his side before he was forced to fight him or ruin his career like last time.
But now, preparations needed to be made. He had to begin gathering his forces now in case Kewell tried to pull something even more unexpected. Lelouch looked out his window and saw Kallen in the courtyard. 'Perfect,' he thought as he dialed the number. Kallen pulled out her phone and excused herself from her circle of 'friends'.
"Hello?" she said softly in her schoolgirl voice.
"It's good to hear from you again, Q-1."
A priceless look of surprise washed over her features when she heard Lelouch's voice.
"It's you!" she gasped. "How'd you get my number? Who are you?" she asked in her regular voice.
"All in due time, Q-1. Meet me in six hours at Tokyo tower, bring the others as well if you can."
"But-!"
Lelouch hung up. He smirked as he watched Kallen run off, dialing another number as she ran. He left the room he was hiding in and made his way toawrds his room. He glanced at the televison in one of the rooms he passed. Another breaking news claimed that the Purists have apprehended a suspect. Just as he predicted, Suzaku's mugshot flashed on the screen. Regardless of recent complications, the rescue would continue as planned.
'Don't worry Suzaku,' Lelouch thought. Arrived at his room and pulled the briefcase containing his costume out from under the bed.
'Zero's on his way. If Jeremiah wants a terrorist, I'll give him one!'
AN: And there's chapter two. Apologies for it being a tad shorter than the first chapter, just getting the necessary preparations for the action next chapter out of the way. Lets just say that Zero's rescue will go much differently than the last time...
"Marcus Finch commands you. Review!"