Turn 03: Confrontation

I don't own Code Geass. Anything I use is property of its creators.

Welcome to Chapter 3. This time Kallen gets a unique perspective from a person who she least expected it from.

(Kallen P.O.V)

As I opened my eyes I found myself wondering just where today went wrong. Zero summoned us for a new mission involving a Britannian V.I.P arriving in Area 11 and Zero's desire to capture the person. To add to the fun, Suzaku was there with his Lancelot and it was the perfect opportunity to put an end to the traitor's life. Rakshata, the women who created my Guren, had even prepared a way to trap him once and for all and it worked like a charm. Of course then came a group of missiles aiming to finish off master Zero once and for all. I rashly jumped in because I wanted to protect Zero and I lost my Guren in the explosion. Looking around I could tell that I wasn't in Tokyo anymore and that I had come to an island somewhere near Japan. The question is where the hell was I? Luckily for me my clothes were still intact and now it was time to find a source of water, and hopefully get a bath.

(Scene Skip)

After a bit of searching I found a nice spring and decided to get a quick soak before trying to find Master Zero and figure out how the hell I was gonna get out of here. For a while everything was working out fine but then things changed. "Kallen? Kallen Stadtfeld is that you?" A voice shouted out to me before coming out of the bushes. Lo and behold it was Suzaku, and naturally I was freaking naked! Why the hell do I keep showing random guys my naked body? This is bullshit! Of course to make matters worse, not only was I naked, but Suzaku could tell that I was a Black Knight because my uniform was by the spring. One rash decision later and I was captured by Suzaku. Yeah, this day was DEFINITELY not getting better.

(Scene Skip)

Nightfall had finally arrived and, considering the circumstances, it wasn't completely awful. We had just finished having dinner and Suzaku treated me rather well for a P.O.W. The fact that he was so concerned about Zero's identity was something I didn't quite understand, but considering my own suspicions, this was as good a time as any to ask. "Hey Suzaku, tell me something." I asked calmly.

"Hmm? What is it?" Suzaku replied calmly.

"Why are you, the son of the last Prime Minister of Japan, fighting against a group who aims to free Japan?" I wondered calmly. I had to admit that something about the whole situation didn't make sense.

"I plan to change Britannia from within. I believe that if I continue to work hard and do the right things then I can make life better for Japan." Suzaku admitted and I couldn't help but laugh.

"You must be kidding me, Suzaku. I'm half Britannian and I know that's impossible. How in the world could you truly believe that you could change things given your circumstances?" I scowled angrily. This guy was naïve as can be.

"There's always a peaceful way to do things and I'm aiming to do just that." Suzaku insisted.

"I don't know who I feel worse for. Your father, Lelouch, or Zero." I scowled at his completely idiotic thinking. How in the world could Zero want somebody like him at his side?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Suzaku replied indignantly. Good, it seems like I hit a mark.

"Your father could never take being enslaved by Britannia and killed himself as a result. Now his son is being subservient to the people who took his country from him, and that's AFTER they framed you for murder. It's actually pathetic really. Though that's not your biggest mistake, your best friend was royalty, and yet you really believe that you can change Britannia knowing what happened to him. Now one of the few people Lelouch trusted is working with his enemy and against the people who saved his life." I scowled and I could see Suzaku's eyes widen. Once again I was glad that I hit a mark.

"Hold on, how did you know that Lelouch is a Prince and about my connection to him?" Suzaku exclaimed.

"Milly told me a while ago. I was curious about Lelouch for certain reasons, and I ended up finding out about his life story. It was something else." I admitted.

"I see." Suzaku replied nonchalantly.

"God, you're hopeless. How can you act so nonchalant?" I scowled.

Suzaku looked like he was about to respond but stopped. "Hey Kallen, you mentioned Zero as one of the people you felt bad for. What does he have to do with anything?" Suzaku wondered. Damn it, I wish I hadn't mentioned that.

"Not that it should matter to you, but after he found out you were the Lancelot's pilot, it really stressed him out." I admitted. I had nothing to lose unless master Zero found me so I tried to appeal to the little sense he seemed to have.

"Is that so?" Suzaku said calmly almost in thought.

"What's wrong, Suzaku?" I asked nervously. He realized something and I needed to know that.

"Nothing, but I do know why Zero wanted me so much." Suzaku said calmly. It's as though he figured out something from my words.

"What are you saying?" I asked angrily. What did he figure out?

"I'll give you a hint, Kallen. Lake Kawaguchi." Suzaku said calmly.

"Lake Kawaguchi. What does that have to do with anything?" I questioned angrily.

"No offense to you guys, but your operation at Lake Kawaguchi should have failed miserably. Things only went well for a single reason." Suzaku said coldly.

"Yes, because of Zero's genius." I said angrily.

"I wouldn't call it genius. What I would say is that there's only one person who could've done what Zero did that day." Suzaku said cryptically.

"One person….. So that means." I gasped.

"Yes, I know who your leader really is. Now it's up to you to figure out whom." Suzaku said with a smile before going to sleep. This was infuriating. What did Suzaku figure out that I couldn't? As I went to sleep I tried to figure out what he meant, though I didn't have a clue.

(Scene Skip)

The next day I took another bath, this time without interruption or interference, and Suzaku and I made our way towards a light we saw the next day. Annoyingly enough, I still couldn't figure out what made Lake Kawaguchi so special. We made it to a small clearing before a voice caught me off guard.

"Suzaku!" A voice yelled out and I couldn't believe my eyes. Princess Euphemia was on the island.

"Don't move!" Zero said coldly as he pointed a gun at the princess's head. Wait a minute; Zero was with Euphemia the whole time. Plus, what was with the look on her face as she looked back at Zero. It wasn't a look of nervousness but one of confusion. Wait a minute, Suzaku mentioned that Lake Kawaguchi shouldn't have worked and I was beginning to realize why. Luckily for me, Suzaku wasn't paying attention so I grabbed him hoping to take control of the situation and in hindsight that was a mistake. A little bit of arguing and struggling later and then the ground seemed to open up causing the four of us to fall down. Despite running into a military operation at some ruins, we managed to escape on a knightmare that the group was using. As we flew away, I was still thinking about what Suzaku told me.

(Scene Skip)

After we finally arrived at the base, I waited until I could get Zero alone and discussed something that bothered me. As Zero flew the Gawain, the nightmare he stole from the Britannians on the island, I thought about what happened at Lake Kawaguchi and I realized what Suzaku meant.

"Will you take Clovis, who is dead, or Euphemia, who is alive?" Those words were the ones that changed everything and the more I thought about it, that didn't make sense. We were with Zero the whole time, and based on all the footage, there was no way he could've known that Euphemia was there. After all, the JLF themselves didn't realize it and they had everybody trapped. Somehow Zero did and he used that to his advantage.

Arriving at his door I knocked hoping to speak to Zero for a moment. "Hello?" I said nervously. Typically when this happened the door was kept shut and Zero spoke to me. I'm guessing it was when he was without his mask. Surprisingly the door opened and I walked in. Zero was still in his outfit and alone.

"What's wrong, Q1?" Zero asked calmly.

"I was wondering something, if you don't mind."

"Of course."

"During the Lake Kawaguchi incident, you asked Cornelia if she would choose between Clovis who was dead and Euphemia who's alive. How did you know that Princess Euphemia was in the building when even the JLF themselves didn't? Moreso, we hadn't even received any intelligence that Euphemia was even in Japan." I questioned.

"Because there was nothing else that made sense." Zero replied.

"Explain." I asked angrily. That wasn't an answer at all.

"Before I met up with your group I planned to destroy Britannia alone." Zero explained calmly. I was shocked that he planned to do that but his next words shocked me even more. "As a result, I did research on notable Britannians, and one of them was Cornelia. I realized that she was ruthless towards terrorists and the fact that she allowed them to survive as long as they did bothered me."

"That doesn't answer my question." I said angrily. He wasn't wrong but he was hiding something.

"One of the people I learned information from was a person close to the royal family. They told me that Cornelia's one weakness was her family, in particular, her little sister Euphemia. I realized that the only possible reason that she had to spare them was if Euphemia was there."

"I see." I replied. That was a complete lie and I knew it. Zero was good, but if he could get access to the Royal family to that degree, he wouldn't need us. Plus there was the fact that Euphemia was with Zero on that island, and she was alive and seemingly unharmed. No, it was something else.

"If that's all, I believe you should get some rest. You've had a tough time and I'm sure the others want to speak to you."

"Alright." I said angrily as he seemingly dismissed me. Zero was hiding something and I needed to know what, now more than ever. Perhaps if I killed Suzaku I could earn my master's trust. That meant that, whether I liked it or not, I had to return to class.

That's it for Turn 03. Next time the class festival takes place and Kallen's problems along with those of the Black Knights amplify.