Kallen, after following after Lelouch, has agreed to join up with him to take down Charles vi Britannia, Emperor of Britannia. This seems to be a huge challenge for just two people, but Kallen knows that if anyone can pull this off, Lelouch can.
Suzaku continued to stand in the crater caused by the FLEIJA warhead in Tokyo next to the pool of water that had been created from river water trickling down into the crater. He continued to stare into his reflection, struggling to believe what he had become.
He'd stood to change the Britannian system of power from the inside, giving numbers some more power in the hierarchical system. He, himself, had become a shining beacon of hope for Elevens and Honorary Britannians to move up the system themselves to reach a better standard of living. The general happiness of the people in Area Eleven was increasing as people became more hopeful for the future.
And Suzaku had just detonated a weapon that would not only have killed hundreds of thousands of people, Elevens and Britannians alike, he also was the cause for the sudden drop in motivation in the area. The shining ray of hope for the Numbers had just killed many of his own people using Britannian technology.
He had a lot to answer for.
Continuing to stare at his reflection, he noticed how dark his eyes looked. They'd looked that way since Zero… since Lelouch killed Euphie, but it seemed more… prominent now. Like they'd become even darker.
Raising his head, he looked up to the warship that Zero used as his hub or sorts, the Ikaruga. Right now, Schneizel was currently aboard the ship making negotiations with the Black Knights since Zero was seemingly out of sorts once the FLEIJA went off.
Suzaku was unfortunately unable to do anything at the moment, since he, too, was also 'out of sorts.' He could only hope that Schneizel and Cornelia would be able to negotiate the Black Knight's surrender.
Just like clockwork, however, a knightmare, what appeared to be Zero's, flew out of the airship after a sudden glow of red light enveloped part of the airship itself.
Upon seeing this, Suzaku began to laugh uncontrollably. His true enemy, Lelouch, was right in front of him. He knew that Lloyd had another Lancelot available for him if he needed it, and with his current version of the Lancelot being reduced to nothing but the main body and a single arm, he would need it to take down the leader of the Black Knights.
Climbing into the remains of his knightmare, he activated the float system and began heading up to the Avalon, getting ready to pursue his enemy.
Starting up the Guren SEITEN, Kallen flew the Knightmare to a height where it was just hovering above the forest as she waited for Lelouch to join her. She was overjoyed that she'd managed to join Lelouch again, that she'd managed to become trusted in his eyes after the betrayal that she'd been forced into.
And whilst Kallen still had her questions, not to mention a little bit of doubt as to whether Lelouch was able to pull of this task. However, she was determined to push both of these things that would potentially affect her new mission to the back of her mind. She trusted Lelouch, and he'd promised her answers; that was all that mattered right now.
As the Shinkiro joined the Guren SEITEN in hovering above the forest, Kallen's radio sprung to life with Lelouch's voice. "Turn off your IFF signal, otherwise people may end up following us."
"Good thinking. I don't think the others will be as forgiving as I was." Kallen replied jokingly, receiving a small chuckle in response. She did as she was told, before following Lelouch as he headed toward an area on the coast of Kamine Island, an area that, if Kallen remembered correctly from when she was last here, when she'd found out that Lelouch was Zero, housed the temple like area where Zero's identity was revealed.
After a very short period of flying, they touched down roughly a mile away from their destination. Exiting her Knightmare, she stood next to the Shinkiro as Lelouch joined her.
"Why have we only landed here? Wouldn't it be smarter to get closer to the temple?" Kallen asked, confused.
"A fair point, but it's very likely that the Emperor will have put defences in place to make sure no one stops his plans." Lelouch explained, "Most likely the Knight of One, at least. It's also extremely likely that Suzaku will be on his way here too."
"Not to mention C.C.." Kallen added. "Any other reason why we're here?"
"A simple one: I'm going to 'convince' some Britannian soldiers at a nearby base to join my cause."
Kallen laughed, "You've always been good at 'convincing' others to join your cause." Kallen paused, a huge question she had on her mind making its presence known to her. "Lelouch…" she began, "I know you've told me that I followed you out of my own free will, but I must know: have you ever used your Geass on me?"
Lelouch's face dropped slightly, not expecting this question to be posed to him. Or, at least, not yet.
"I'll be truthful with you, Kallen." Lelouch answered. "I have used my Geass on you."
Kallen's face dropped. Lelouch just admitted that he'd used her at some point, causing her to feel betrayed by the man she'd just regained trust in.
"However, I did not use it on you in the way that you're currently thinking that I did." Lelouch continued, with Kallen waiting for his clarification. "Do you remember the day where I said not to mention Shinjuku?" Kallen nodded. "I had used my Geass on you moments before to get some answers out of you. I have never, in any way, used my Geass to make you a loyal soldier."
Lelouch's answer seemed to put Kallen's mind at ease, but she still had questions. "What kind of answers did you get out of me?"
"Whether you were piloting the Glasgow during the Shinjuku incident, why you were part of a terrorist group and your lineage." Lelouch listed lazily. "Nothing important."
"I see…" Kallen muttered in response. "I better hope you're not lying to me, Lelouch."
"At this point, I wouldn't have any reason to lie to you." Lelouch replied, the honesty in his voice coming through more than Kallen had ever heard in all of their time together. "Anyway, let's go create some Britannian rebels.
Charles zi Britannia had just touched down on Kamine Island, followed by his most trusted knight, Bismark, the Knight of One. Heading towards the gateway that would lead to the World of C, he knew that all the remaining pieces of the puzzle towards the creation of the Ragnarok Connection were falling into place.
He had (forcefully) acquired his lying, promise-breaking brother's code.
He was certain, through his connection with the World of C through his code that Anya Alstreim, a mere shell for Marianne vi Britannia, was on her way towards this island too, with C.C. in tow.
And the biggest headache he'd ever experienced, being Lelouch vi Britannia, his son with his pathetic little rebellion against the empire with those terrorists, was reported dead.
Very little else could get in his way.
"Your majesty!"
Such an example just made itself present.
"Sir Kururugi, I'm very busy at the moment. I'll speak to you later."
"With all due respect, your highness, but this can't wait."
Sighing, Charles turned to face the Knight of Six.
"You'd better have a good reason for forcing me to stop, Kururugi."
"Sir." Suzaku responded immediately. "I'm certain that Lelouch and another rebel are here on this island, most likely to attempt to assassinate you."
The emperor of the Holy Empire of Britannia had to raise his eyebrows at this statement. "Sir Kururugi." He began, "Just by saying that, you are accusing several different people at once of very deplorable things, such as mutiny."
Suzaku's eyes widened, surprised to hear this from the Emperor himself. "Sir, why would I have any reason to lie about something as serious as this?"
"I suppose that's true." Charles zi Britannia replied. "However, we have no way of determining how truthful you are."
"Majesty." Bismark spoke up, "One way that we may know would be to see how he acts in combat. Might I suggest that he duel against me?"
"A good suggestion, Bismark. I shall leave you to duel with him while I sort the final stages of the Ragnarok Connection in the World of C."
"Of course, your Majesty." Bismark replied, drawing his sword. Seeing this, Suzaku's Geass command placed upon him by Lelouch to 'Live' ordered him to draw his own sword. Getting ready for combat, Suzaku slowed his breathing and prepared to charge.
Silence fell between the two, each waiting for the other to make an opening. Neither seemed to want to move, as the first blow would likely determine the winner within seconds.
However, neither would have to take the first shot.
An explosion blew up between the two duellists, causing Suzaku to fly backward, smacking his head off of some collapsed ruins, knocking him out, while Bismark merely was forced to cover his face as a reaction to the explosion.
"What?!" Bismark yelled, surprised to be interrupted in such a manor.
Suddenly, several Britannian Knightmares, such as Glasgows and Vincents, rapidly sped up to the entrance of the ruins, their weapons brandished.
"Glory to his majesty!" The pilots yelled in sync, firing their guns at the doorway to the World of C.
Seeing this, Bismark dashed forward, using his behemoth sword to damage the legs of the Knightmares, rendering them useless.
"I must stop the rebels!" Bismark yelled, climbing into his Knightmare.
C.C. was currently sitting behind Anya Alstreim, currently under the control of Marianne vi Britannia, inside the Mordred currently travelling toward Kamine Island.
She'd been lucky that Anya was nearby when Lelouch had left with his brother, Rolo. Having lost herself in her memories after Charles zi Britannia's last attempt at enacting his plan with the Ragnarok Connection, she had reverted back to her mentality from before she'd even met the nun who gave her the code that now burdened C.C..
Fortunately, Marianne's Geass that she'd placed upon Anya upon her death was now controlling Anya herself, with Marianne in the pilot's seat while Anya was just a passenger, along for the ride, and because of Marianne's intervention, she was able to get C.C. back to being herself.
As they closed in on their destination, Anya's head popped up slightly, as if surprised to see something that she wasn't anticipating.
"Bismark's flying above the island..." She muttered, with C.C. looking over her shoulder to see for herself.
"He could get in our way…" C.C. advised.
"I have a plan." Anya replied, launching the Mordred towards Bismark.
Once she was within range, she began to attack him. "Bismark!" She shouted over the speaker as she fired a shot from the Mordred's cannons, "How dare you betray his Majesty?!"
"What are you suggesting?!" Bismark retorted, slicing part of the Mordred's float system, causing it to descend slowly, effectively disabling it. "I would never betray his Highness!"
"I see." Anya replied, attempting to control her descent, "Then how are we going to control the rebels?"
"I should be able to handle them myself, but your assistance would be much appreciated."
"I'd join you, but my float system has been damaged beyond repair."
"I see." Bismark grimaced, realising that he was the cause of losing such a potentially useful ally against these rebels. "Go ahead and land on the island, I'll take care of them myself."
"Very clever, Marianne." C.C. said, amused. "You attacked him first to prove that you're not a rebel."
"Exactly!" Marianne said happily, winking. "Now let's hurry up and get into the World of C."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Kallen asked Lelouch as they stood at the massive door like structure in the ruins, having managed to get past Bismark with the help of the surprising rebellion from the Britannians on the local air base.
"Positive. It would be dangerous for someone with such little exposure to Geass, such as yourself, to enter the focal point of such a power." Lelouch replied, a touch of concern hidden in his voice.
"Alright. So I just have to place these around the door and detonate, right?"
"Yes, that will trap him in there with me." Lelouch began, "There will be no easy way for anyone without a code, or without the help of someone with a code, to get in or out. And he won't want to leave whilst his biggest enemy is standing in the same location as the base of his plans."
"Sound logic as always." Kallen smiled, lifting the bag of explosives onto her shoulder.
Just as Lelouch turned to enter the mysterious world beyond the door, Kallen called out, "Lelouch!" He turned to meet her gaze, wondering what she wanted. "…good luck."
Upon hearing this, Lelouch smiled – an honest, true smile – before heading through the doors. Once they closed, Kallen got to work.
Suzaku's head was aching from the sudden impact of the explosion. He slowly opened his eyes, and once focused he saw the face of Anya Alstreim, a fellow Knight of the Round, crouched down in front of him with a marker in hand.
"Anya?" He struggled to mutter.
"Damn." She replied, "You woke up too fast."
"Probably for the best." C.C. made herself known to Suzaku, "I can see something that may cause a few headaches for all of us."
Both Anya and Suzaku looked in the direction that C.C. was referring to, and saw Kallen Kozuki, ace of the Black Knights and Captain of the Zero Squad, planting explosives onto the massive door within the ruins.
Just as she placed the last one and took cover, Suzaku spoke for the others: "Oh, fuck."
A massive explosion rocked the area around the ruins, debris falling from the ceiling creating a horrid mess around what was left of the door.
Suzaku, Anya and C.C. ran forward to meet Kallen, but Suzaku was first to act, grabbing Kallen by the collar and lifting her up. "Why?!" He yelled, furious. "Why would you do that?! His Majesty is in there!"
"And so is Lelouch." Kallen replied, disdain smeared across her face. "I only did it on his orders."
"Lelouch wanted this?" Suzaku muttered, disbelief clouding his judgement. 'Had Lelouch planned a suicide mission?'
"I'll go on ahead." Anya muttered before placing her hand on the remains of the door, then promptly passing out.
"Anya!" Suzaku yelled, dropping Kallen and managing to catch his friend before her head hit the ground. "What's happened to her?" Suzaku asked C.C., worried.
"Anya is fine, Marriane's 'soul' has just entered the World of C."
"Marianne?" Kallen asked.
"Lelouch's mother." Suzaku clarified. "But she'd dead."
"Not entirely. The long and short of it is that she used her Geass to live on inside of Anya."
Silence fell between the trio, as both Suzaku and Kallen were currently digesting this information that C.C. had given them.
"And what about you?" Kallen finally spoke up. "Are you going to join her in there?"
C.C. smiled gently, "Of course. I have an agreement with Lelouch, after all."
As C.C. stood up, Kallen and Suzaku followed suit, "Take me with you." They managed to say in sync before glancing at each other in surprise.
C.C. burst out laughing after this. Once the laughter died down, she agreed to do as they wanted.
"I see you've all come to join me." Lelouch said, turning his head slightly to see C.C., Kallen and Suzaku all standing behind him in the World of C.
"You knew this would happen?" Suzaku asked.
"I've known you all for at least 2 years, and you expect me to not know how you will act?" Lelouch replied nonchalantly.
"More interlopers?" Charles zi Britannia asked. "Bah, it means nothing. Nothing can stop the Ragnarok Connection now!"
"What is this plan of yours?" Kallen asked.
"Ignorant Eleven." The emperor replied, causing Kallen's face to darken with slight anger. "The Ragnarok Connection is the perfect plan that my treacherous brother and I came up with. It will change the future… by preserving the past."
"Preserving the past?" Suzaku piped up, "What does that even mean, your highness?"
"The past has been better for everyone." Marianne answered, "By preserving the past, we'd also be making the present and the future more like the past."
"So you'd forsake the entire world just to establish this little plan of yours?" Lelouch countered, still shocked that his own mother, the woman he'd been trying so desperately to avenge, was on the side of his father, his mortal enemy. "You'd take away people's futures just to relive the 'good old days'?"
"Everything we've done is for the sake of everyone." Marianne spoke softly, with Charles nodding in agreement. "We sacrificed so much for the happiness of you and Nunnally, Lelouch."
"So what?!" Lelouch snapped, swinging his arm in anger. "Regardless of that, it was still a waste! Not only is this a stupid idea, but Nunnally is dead!"
"That was… regrettable." Charles replied, avoiding Lelouch's eyes. "However, once the Ragnarok Connection is completed, you may still be able to interact with her… just as I was once able to speak with Clovis in this very room."
Lelouch's face dropped. He could speak with Nunnally? His most precious little sister? His reason for living? If he allowed his enemy to enact their plan, he would still have his sister…
"That's absurd!" Kallen shouted, snapping Lelouch away from his thoughts. "You mean to say that I'd be able to talk with my brother again? That's impossible, he's dead!"
"She's right." Suzaku added, "My father was killed by my hand. There's no way we could speak together again."
"It's an incredibly selfish plan." C.C. spoke up for the first time in this encounter.
"Exactly." Lelouch added. "And I refuse to let this plan go through!"
"Well, what can you do, Lelouch?" Charles countered, "There's no one you can use your Geass on in here. You're done. Checkmate."
"Not quite!" Lelouch yelled, taking his contact out, revealing that his Geass had spread from his left eye to both of his eyes. "There's one other 'person' here, isn't there?!"
Charles narrowed his eyes, unsure as to what Lelouch meant. Once Lelouch looked upwards, he understood completely.
"God!" Lelouch yelled, with the collective unconsciousness known as 'god' moaning in response. "I command you… stop my father's plan!"
The spectators stood there, waiting for a reaction, when suddenly the 'thought elevator' that had been there since Kallen, Suzaku and C.C. entered the World of C began to disintegrate. At the same time, Marianne vi Britannia and Charles zi Britannia also began to follow suit.
"Lelouch, no!" Marianne cried out in pain, her legs fading into nothing.
"Lelouch!" The emperor of Britannia reached forward, grabbing Lelouch by the neck.
"Oh no!" Kallen cried out, about to move forward to help Lelouch before he raised his hand to stop her.
"Your time is long since past, old man." Lelouch taunted, "Now… Away with you!"
At his command, both Marianne and Charles flew backwards, into the remains of the thought elevator. Soon, only Lelouch, Suzaku, Kallen and C.C. were the only ones left in the World of C.
"What now?" Kallen asked.
"Let's get out of here." Lelouch said, with the others following him.
Once outside of the World of C, Suzaku drew his sword and point it towards Lelouch. "Lelouch… I can't let you leave."
"Why?" Kallen asked, "He just defeated the single greatest threat in the world! Surely that should be something to be celebrated?"
"I suppose…" Suzaku muttered, "But he killed Euphie!"
"What of it?" Lelouch replied, not even fazed.
"What of it?" Suzaku repeated. "How dare you?"
Just as Suzaku began to thrust his sword forward, C.C. dashed in front of Lelouch, using Suzaku's forward momentum to push him aside and send him clattering on the ground.
"Don't get cocky, boy." C.C. glared down on Suzaku, "You're either with us, or against us."
Kallen just stood on in surprise, as she had not expected C.C. to jump in front of Lelouch as she did. She also inwardly swore at herself for being too slow to do that herself.
"Suzaku." Lelouch spoke softly. "If you choose to be my enemy, then I will not hold any prejudice against you. However, should you choose to be my ally, I will welcome you with open arms."
Walking away and beckoning Kallen and C.C. to follow, he finished with "The choice is yours, my old friend."
Once out of the cave, Kallen had questions that she wanted answered.
"Lelouch, when will you give me my answers? And where are we going to go now?"
Lelouch turned to face her, looking straight into her eyes as he said "You'll get your answers after we accomplish the next task, my dearest Q-1. And for now…" He continued, "Wouldn't it seem a little silly for the next emperor to be late to his own crowning ceremony?"
Fun fact – this was finished 4 days ago.
Not so fun fact – I had no internet for 4 days.
So I'm sorry for this being late, but it was entirely out of my control. Hopefully this will live up to expectations, especially with it being over twice as long as the first chapter. I hope you've all enjoyed it.
And if you can't tell, due to the overwhelming number of reviews that I got, we'll be taking the "Ruler of Britannia" path! Hope you're all looking forward to that!
As for the next chapter, to be safe, I'll say that it'll be out within 2 weeks – that'll cover any unexpected delays that may occur.
Reviews would be very much appreciated!