Greetings Fanfiction Readers! When we last saw Lelouch, he was busy killing Andreas Darlton after the latter had pierced Cornelia's Knightmare Frame through, causing it to fall to the ground. Let us see what will happen next between the two. Although, if you watched the Anime, that isn't much of a problem.
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass. Someone does, but that person is not me.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Turn Twenty-Five
"I see." Cornelia said after Zero had taken off his mask and was walking over towards her before stopping. "So you were Zero...the entire time...Darlton was right...he said it was someone with a grudge against the Britannian Imperial Family...Y-you did this for Nunnally?"
"Correct." Lelouch answered, a hand over his left eye to draw attention to it. "I will demolish the present world and build a new and better one in its place."
"You killed them all for the sake of that madness?!" Cornelia said, sounding a bit incredulous. "Clovis...even Euphy?! Of whom you drove to kill all those people and drive her to madness?!"
"You're one to talk, my dear sister, considering how you idolized my mother, Marianne the Flash." Lelouch said.
"It would seem..." Cornelia said, sitting up a bit. "That talking with you further would be utterly pointless."
"Indeed. Well, then..." Lelouch said before removing his hand and causing his cape to flourish a bit. "Lelouch vi Britannia orders you to answer him!"
"Go on." Cornelia said after the Geass took ahold of her.
"Sister, are you the one who killed my mother?" Lelouch asked.
"I'm not." Cornelia replied tersely.
"Then who was it?" Lelouch pressed.
"I don't know." Cornelia said.
Lelouch was taken aback by this. "But you were put in charge of her personal guard, were you not?"
"Yes." Cornelia said.
"Then why did you withdraw her escort?" Lelouch asked.
"I was asked to." Cornelia answered.
"By whom?!" Lelouch demanded.
"Lady Marianne." Cornelia said.
"Mother did?!" Lelouch exclaimed. It's impossible! My mother knew she would be attacked that day?! No...That can't be...If she did, she would have gotten us out of there! "What really happened back then?! Who killed her?! Who killed my mother, dammit!"
Cornelia then moved her mouth to speak, but realized she had no such knowledge to speak of.
"You don't know the truth?" Lelouch said, clenching a fist at his side. "Then who does?! Someone must know! You yourself investigated what occurred that day!"
"I remember His Majesty the Emperor ordered Schneizel to transport the body out of there." Cornelia said.
"The body? You mean mother's?" Lelouch pondered. "Then what was in that coffin?"
"Hey, get back in here!" C.C. said after detecting something.
"I know!" Lelouch said before beginning to walk back over to the Knightmare Frame. "The Government Bureau Defense Forces will be here soon."
"No!" C.C. said, reaching a hand down for Lelouch to jump onto. "Your little sister's been kidnapped!"
"Hmm?" Lelouch said. "C.C. this is not the time for jokes. We'll take Cornelia back to the Command Center as our hostage." Lelouch then went to put Zero's mask back on.
"She's been taken!" C.C. exclaimed. "I just know because she's the reason you live! She's on Kamine Island!"
Kamine Island? Lelouch thought, the statement stopping him momentarily from putting his mask back on.
Just then though, dust was swept up behind them as something emerged.
"ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" Jeremiah shouted as he emerged from the ground. "Mr. Zero? Can it really be? What?! Oh, what luck! What fate! What evil fortune!"
"Is that you, Orange Boy?" Zero inquired as his mask was back on and he was being lifted into the Gawain.
"Oh! Oooohhh!" Jeremiah exclaimed, as if the knowledge of Zero in front of him was enticing him. "I beseech you!" He said, clasping his hands. "I'm begging you, please die."
"Damn!" Lelouch said, getting back into the Gawain Knightmare Frame. "Get Cornelia!"
C.C. then moved the Gawain Knightmare Frame to pick up the slumping princess, when she was stopped by Jeremiah's Siegfried Knightmare Frame running into them.
The force sent them both back into the air.
"Zero! I..." Jeremiah said, lowering himself into the Siegfried. "must rid the world of the empire's enemies! Yes!" He added as lights in the machine turned on. "And so...ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"
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"It's a damned disgrace!" Bartley said, slamming his hand palm down onto the ground. "If we report to the prince what happened here..."
"It's only his emotions running wild." The scientist in front of him said. "His behavior's too hard to predict right now."
"I wish we could communicate with him, get through to him somehow!" Bartley said.
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"Ugh." Zero said, removing his mask. "Out of the way!"
"ZEROOO!" Jeremiah yelled.
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"Currently passing through Ozu Area." A male voice said through the Avalon.
"Why did you try to stop Suzaku?" Cécile inquired as she was putting her clothes on.
"I'm a military contractor." Lloyd answered.
"You didn't want him killed, did you?" Cécile asked as she was putting on the sleeves.
"Why should I care? You know as well as I do." Lloyd replied.
Cécile then turned to look at him out of her peripheral vision as he continued.
"The biggest human flaw is that we're so pitifully fragile in our bodies, our hearts, and our relationships with each other."
"Nevertheless," Cécile said, putting on a communication device as she was done putting her clothes on and was now looking at Lloyd sitting outside the door. "you can't bend the world or people any which way you want."
"I want every part in my mechanisms to function exactly as I wish." Lloyd said, a patch of white on the cheek Suzaku had punched. "If we lose Kururugi, we'll just have to find another Devicer."
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"Be careful, please!" Rakshata said as a Knightmare Frame prepared a torch. "Any Knightmare entering the field will shut down immediately!"
"Understood." The man inside the Knightmare said as he moved the torch in to pierce through the Lancelot.
"Hmph." Jeremiah said as he dodged the Hadron Cannon.
"He's very good." C.C. commented.
"Ohgi, it's Zero." Lelouch said over the phone.
"Zero! Thank God!" Minami exclaimed.
"Hmm?" Zero said, wondering why Minami was answering. "What? Minami? Where's Ohgi?"
"Someone shot him!" Minami answered, a hand on the side of his face to listen better to the call. "We're treating him, but he's unconscious. And the culprit who shot him is still..."
"All right, you'll do." Lelouch interrupted. "The girl in the wheelchair, do you know where she is right now?"
"Uhh," Minami said in confusion, lowering the hand pressed to his ear. "isn't Ohgi more important?"
"I'll arrange for his replacement later!" Zero said. "The girl in the wheelchair comes first!"
"His replacement?" Minami repeated, turning to look at Ohgi.
"Confirm her location! Hurry!" Zero said.
"All of the students we had confined alone have disappeared in the confusion when Ohgi was shot..." Minami said. He soon found that Zero had hung up.
"Bring as many as you can, medicine too!" One of the people tending to Ohgi said.
"Hang in there, Ohgi..." Another said.
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"Lelouch, this is a bad time..." Rivalz whispered after he answered Lelouch's call.
"Is Nunnally there with you?" Lelouch asked.
"No, she's in the clubhouse." Rivalz said. "We're just a short distance away."
"Understood!" Lelouch said before hanging up.
"No, wait!" Rivalz exclaimed. "Hey, where are you anyway?!"
Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz then found a gun aimed for them.
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"I can't get through to Nunnally or even Sayoko!" Lelouch said, dodging a wire that Jeremiah fired.
"Lelouch, you know I'm here with you as your accomplice, but also as your ally." C.C. said.
"So I should just trust you, take the word of a woman who won't give me any reasons?" Lelouch inquired.
"Look, I don't want you to die." C.C. said, looking at him. "At least, that's true."
"Hmph!" Lelouch scoffed. "That's just a one-sided convenience!"
"Third Squad, enemy aircraft!" Lelouch said as he flew by the squad. "Synch fire and shoot in down!"
"Roger!" A man inside a Knightmare said, his gun aimed for Jeremiah. "Tracking enemy...Fire!"
"I see them..." Jeremiah said, dodging the projectiles as his voice echoed and the Siegfried glowed inside.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!" A man said as he saw the projectiles weren't harming the Siegfried at all.
"Captain Kagezaki!" A man exclaimed before Third Squad met their end when Jeremiah barreled through them.
"Zero!" Jeremiah shouted, his arm reaching out as if to grab him as he fired something at them. "ZERO!"
"That's it!" Lelouch said, typing away at his keyboard. "I don't have time to fool with cannon fodder like you! C.C.! Get to Twelfth Street now!"
"Talk about one-sided convenience!" C.C. said, echoing what Lelouch had said.
"You missed!" Jeremiah spat as he dodged the Hadron Cannon once more. "You can't hit me, Jeremiah Gottwald."
"You're wrong, Orange Boy." Lelouch said. "You're being hit right now."
"Coward..." Jeremiah said, seeing the building about to collapse on him. "behind from back!"
"Be crushed to dust, you relic!" Lelouch said. "All right, now to get Nunnally."
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"Damn, that's a thick hatch!" Tamaki commented, a gun cocked behind his shoulder. "Wish we had the sword with the rotating blade."
"Tamaki." A dark haired Black Knight said. "What do you want us to do with them? Should we lock them in the dorms or the gym with the other students?"
"Students?" Suzaku repeated.
"Call Zero!" Shirley said, her hands behind her head. "I guarantee you that Zero wants us to be safe! If not, something's wrong! He's trying to guard us!"
"Aw, shut up!" Tamaki snapped. "Zero and me are tight – I know the man better than anybody! And he's not gonna hesitate to shoot anyone at a time like this!"
"Sounds like you don't know him as well as you think you do." Rivalz said.
"Why you little-" Tamaki said, aiming his gun for them.
"Stop!" Suzaku said, gaining his attention.
"Oh, what's this?" Tamaki pondered, aiming his gun for Suzaku as he came out of the Lancelot. "The Japanese Knight comes out to help the Brits, huh?"
"Suzaku..." Rivalz said.
"That white Knightmare is all we came here to get!" Tamaki continued. "A dirty traitor like you can die right there!"
Before Tamaki could pull the trigger, a cat ran up and jumped the gun. This caused him to fired a few shots into the air.
"Arthur!" Suzaku said as the cat hissed at Tamaki.
"Stupid-ass cat!" Tamaki snapped, aiming his gun at the cat. He then called over his shoulder. "Screw this, just kill all of 'em!"
"Good evening, everyone!" Lloyd exclaimed, gaining the attention of the people below with his voice and the light that came from the Avalon.
"Retreat!" A Black Knight said as a Knightmare driven by Cécile came in. "Let's pull out!"
"You're kidding!" Rakshata complained. "That Earl of Pudding actually came out to the front lines?!"
Rakshata. Lloyd thought. I thought it was you.
"C'mon!" Milly said before running away.
"Halt, you...!" Tamaki said as Shirley and Rivalz followed.
He then stopped to fire at the Knightmare that landed in front of him.
"Well, Miss Cécile, how are the test parts working out?" Lloyd inquired over the communication device.
"They're ready to be practically applied." Cécile replied.
"It's back on!" Suzaku commented after the Lancelot came back online after the devices surrounding it were destroyed.
"Unlock your fuel hatch." Cécile said after Suzaku got back into the Lancelot. "We'll replace your energy filler."
"Right!" Suzaku said. "But why did you come out here, too, Miss Cécile?"
"Good question." Cécile admitted as she put an energy filler back into the Lancelot. "Why did we, Lloyd?'
"Why else?" Lloyd said, a hand on his glasses. "To recover the Lancelot, and do a few other things as well."
"It's a Sutherland arm." Cécile explained as she put it on. "Is it showing contact?"
"It's cleared the compatibility check." Suzaku answered.
"Good, now leave this place to us." Cécile said. "You go after Zero."
"Thanks to you, I will." Suzaku said. "Please protect Ashford Academy and everyone here!"
"Yes." Lloyd said. "After all, my fiancée is here too."
Suzaku then went into the air, looking down at Arthur before a noise started to sound inside the Lancelot.
"Hmm?" Suzaku said. "Royal Private Channel?"
"K-Kururugi?" Cornelia managed.
"Vicereine Cornelia!" Suzaku exclaimed.
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"Damn their tenacity!" Tohdoh said as three of the Black Knights were fired at and destroyed. "I'd expect that of Cornelia's elite!"
"Tohdoh!" Lelouch said.
"Hmm?" Tohdoh inquired.
"From here on, I'm leaving all operations in your hands!" Lelouch said. "Ohgi's been wounded. Have Diethard assume his duties."
"Hold on a second!" Tohdoh said. "What do you mean, leaving them to me?!"
"I'm afraid there's another urgent matter that requires my attention." Lelouch explained as he was flying to Kamine Island along with C.C. "I won't respond to any further communications from you!"
"W-wait!" Tohdoh said. "What else could be more urgent than this, Zero?!"
"Seventh Squad, wiped out!" A male Black Knight said.
"What?!" Tohdoh said.
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"Remain calm!" Milly said as a group of people were lifted into the Avalon as Cécile protected them from the Black Knights. "You're safe, so wait your turn! Youngest students go first!"
"We gotta fall back!" A male Black Knight exclaimed.
"Destroy any records you can't take!" Another said.
"Hurry! Hurry!" Another imputed.
"This battle situation..." Cornelia said. "bodes victory for my forces...Am I clear? Do all you can to hide the fact that I've been wounded. It'll only upset them...Guilford...and the Glaston Knights...You're the only one...I can tell..."
"Don't try to talk anymore." Suzaku said.
"Kanime Island...That's where Zero's headed." Cornelia said as realization of something dawned on Suzaku. "Any more than that...It's no use. I can't remember."
"Geass!" Suzaku said.
"Y-you're Euphy's knight, aren't you?" Cornelia asked, turning to face him. "Then you must go on and clear her dishonored name!"
"Y-yes!" Suzaku said.
"I know...this is a bit informal." Cornelia said, raising two fingers to put on his right shoulder. "But I dub thee Knight of Honor of Britannia." She then lowered them. "You are now a knight in both name and station. Go, Suzaku Kururugi..."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Suzaku said.
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"What, does this mean that Zero's disappeared?" Kaguya asked over the phone.
"Not at all, he's simply transferred command to us on-site here." Diethard answered. "Right." Why...why now, of all times...?
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"I wanna know why Ohgi was shot!" Tamaki demanded, holding up Minami by his collar. "And where the hell is Zero?!"
"I said I don't know!" Minami said.
"Can't someone get a hold of him?!" Sugiyama said inside a Knightmare Frame.
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"It makes no sense." Rakshata said as she was flanked by two of her associates. A man with a thin build and brown hair and a man of a stout build and dark hair. "He had no reason to run away."
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"In spite of Tohdoh's experience, he doesn't see the entire picture." Asahina said.
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"Zero..." Kallen said. "I don't know what to do next."
"K-Kallen..." Ohgi said.
"Ohgi!" Kallen exclaimed. "Are you all right?!"
"Yeah...Kallen, listen to me. Go after Zero!" Ohgi said as someone was refitting the Guren Mk II. With a Sutherland arm. "There must be...a reason..he's acting this way...Save him...Zero...the one who will realize...Naoto's dream..."
"But...how do I find him?!" Kallen wondered.
"You should see it soon..." Ohgi said.
Kallen then looked up to see something. "That's...the Lancelot! What would be drawing him away from here?"
"Rakshata...put a transmitter on it..." Ohgi said.
"Understood!" Kallen said. "Supply Corps, send a captured air transport to me ASAP! It's top priority!"
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"Dammit!" Tamaki said as he was in a Knightmare Frame. "Can't we at least hold this place?!"
"It will only be until all the students are aboard the ship. Hang in there." Lloyd told Cécile.
"Yes, I will." Cécile said. She then noticed somewhere on the ground from the air. "Why am I reading a thermal reaction in there?! As she said this, something was being lifted above.
"A Knightmare!" Tamaki said.
"What in the world is that antique doing here?!" Rakshata commented.
"The Ganymede...?" Milly said. "Nina!"
"Oh, hell!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Cease fire! That does for you too, Black Knights!"
"Huh?" Rakshata pondered.
"Call a temporary truce!" Lloyd shouted, sounding a bit hysteric. "We can't fire on that!"
"Listen, everyone, do what he says!" Rakshata shouted. "Hold your fire!" If it's got Lloyd that panicked, then...
Lloyd then put a hand on his chest as he breathe a sigh of relief. "Nina, did you complete it?"
"There wasn't enough time to test it." Nina said, sounding like she was off in another world. "I don't know if it'll explode. Still, I try to..."
"Nina, what did you mean by "explode"?!" Milly asked, running over to her.
"It's dangerous!" Cécile said, blocking Milly. "Stay back!"
"You see, if her theory is correct, that thing may destroy the entire Tokyo Settlement." Lloyd explained.
"But that is impossible!" Tamaki said as Milly looked up towards the Avalon.
"Believe it!" Milly said. "She's even using Sakuradite!"
"Zero...where is he?" Nina said, holding a trigger in her hands. "Tell me where is he! Princess Euphemia will be avenged! WHERE IS ZERO!"
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Lelouch had his hands clasped under his chin as he was thinking on their way to Kanime Island. If i've lost Nunnally...then what have I been fighting for till now? What's the point of this war of independence? Why did Euphy have to be sacrificed?!"
"Kanime Island in sight!" C.C. said, breaking Lelouch of out his musings.
I'm taking Nunnally back...No matter who tries to stop me!
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Lelouch and C.C. then landed in front of the cave on Kanime Island.
"It figures it would be here." Lelouch said. "Do you have some sort of connection to this place?"
"Not this one." C.C. said.
"Hmph. Meaning there are other places similar to this one? Lelouch inquired. "Does Nunnally's abductor have a Geass power?"
"I don't know that much." C.C. said, clarifying when it looked like Lelouch would snap at her again. "It's the truth."
"I don't doubt it." Lelouch admitted. "We're still accomplices, so at the very least I should give you the benefit of believing you."
"Thank you." C.C. said.
"What's the matter?" Lelouch said as C.C. suddenly turned to the front, looking panicked.
"I see!" C.C. said, fumbling with the controls as the blue invisible waves went under the Knightmare's feet. "This is-!"
"What?" Lelouch said.
"Calm down!" C.C. said. "We're caught in a trap that was set for intruders. The one who activated it is-" C.C. was then interrupted as the trap took hold.
"What is this...?" Lelouch wondered as he saw visions in his mind. "The past...?
"C.C.!" Lelouch said after seeing her. "No...But..."
"Hold it right there!" The male soldier demanded as C.C. had leaped into a trench.
The man then shot C.C. straight through her head.
Lelouch then saw several images go by: A mob of people throwing stones at a building, what looked to be a long, bleeding cut going from the left breast of C.C. that appeared to be in the shape of a Geass Symbol, her screaming while being burned alive at a stake.
"Stop it..." Lelouch said as he was shown other images. C.C. presumably in an Iron Maiden. A guillotine most likely used to decapitate her. What looked to be a volley of arrows. Her lying in front of a stain-glass window of a church, looking to be in immense pain as she was clutching the place in the middle of her breast as she was covered in blood. "STOP IT!"
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Meanwhile, Kallen was holding onto an aircraft as she was transported to Kanime Island.
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"C.C., these visions," Lelouch said. "Are those of your..."
"All I have left are my memories from when I was a witch." C.C. said. "Other than that, I don't even know if I was ever human to begin with. Every person who has ever hated me and each and every one that has shown me any kindness are gone forever; they've vanished into the current of time. Always existing with the endless flow of eternity; I am utterly alone."
"You are not alone!" Lelouch said.
"Huh?!" C.C. asked.
"We're each other's accomplice." Lelouch elaborated. "Therefore, if you're supposed to be a witch, then perhaps I should be a demon."
C.C. chuckled. "Odd thing to say at a time like this."
Lelouch and C.C. were then brought back to the present.
"C.C., you okay?" Lelouch asked.
"Don't you know who you're talking to?" C.C. said.
C.C. then moved the Gawain Knightmare Frame before Jeremiah could impale it with a lance fired from his Siegfried.
"Zero! It is I!" Jeremiah said, bringing the lance back. "Repent is now!"
"Stubborn ass!" Lelouch said.
Lelouch and C.C. then flew below Jeremiah. Jeremiah then fired his lances at the Knightmare in an attempt to destroy it.
"The section Cornelia damaged before!" Lelouch said after Jeremiah had hit the Knightmare with a lance.
"There's one shot left in the Hadron Cannon!" C.C. said.
"It's time for my wonderful vindication!" Jeremiah said as he charged for them.
C.C. then turned to face the water as she fired the Hadron Cannon at the water, engulfing them in the mist it brought.
"Insidious isolation impudence!" Jeremiah spat.
"I'll handle this lunatic!" C.C. said. "You go after Nunnally!"
"But, we're out of energy!" Lelouch said.
"I'll be all right!" C.C. said. "Well...I am nervous."
"Hmm?" Lelouch asked.
"You have to prevail," C.C. said, turning to face Lelouch. "over your own past," C.C. then rose from her seat. "and over the outcome of your own action." C.C. then kissed Lelouch upon his lips.
Jeremiah was spinning his Siegfried to try and clear the mist.
C.C. then lowered Lelouch onto the island.
"C.C., don't die." Lelouch said.
"Who are you talking to?" C.C. said.
"Hmph." Lelouch said before putting his mask on. "You have a point."
"I've found him!" Jeremiah declared as C.C. flew up to him.
C.C. then fired the wires from its hands, latching onto Jeremiah's Siegfried Knightmare Frame.
She then slammed the Gawain into his Siegfried.
"You're not my first pick to commit suicide with, but..." C.C. said as she was atop the machine. She then pressed down on the machine, pushing it and herself into the water.
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"Hold your ground! Victory's within our reach, be strong!" One of the Glaston Knights said as they were firing at the Black Knights.
"Dammit, we can't hold out!" Inoue said.
"Enemy reinforcements will be here soon!" Sugiyama exclaimed as they were moving across the battlefield. "What should we do?!"
"Inoue?" Sugiyama said as Naomi Inoue's Knightmare Frame's top half was attacked, effectively killing her. "Where the hell is he? ZEROO!"
Sugiyama then fired from the Knightmare's gun at the opposing forces.
"All forces, charge!" Guilford said. "We'll smash these filthy rebels with one blow!"
"Fight to your last breath!" Tohdoh said as he was fighting off the advancing troops. "Stop at nothing! Because if they break through here, our forces will collapse completely!"
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It's not that Tohdoh isn't a brilliant military leader; he simply lacks the incredible charisma Zero possesses. Diethard thought. We need him...He can't run out on us...not now!
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Oh Zero, have you really abandoned us? Kaguya thought. Have you abandoned Japan?
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"I wonder how the killing of the Japanese is going?" Euphemia said as she was staring at the ceiling on the floor. Her eyes still rimmed with the effects of Geass. "I wish I could be there helping with the effort."
"Princess Euphemia." The man who kept watch on the princess said. "You shouldn't say such things."
"But," Euphemia said, cocking her head to the side. "all the Japanese must die."
The man merely shook his head.
"Japanese...Suzaku..." Euphemia murmured, getting up before looking out the window. The man following close behind to keep a watchful eye in case she did anything erratic. "Must...die...or...does he?"
And in that brief and fleeting moment, the old Euphemia was there as the orange color around her eyes flickered. Suzaku...I love...you...
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As battle was raging through the Tokyo Settlement and the outlying areas, a person groggily got up from the rubble of their Knightmare Frame.
"Well, that was...intense." The person, a female, said. She was rubbing her temples as she hobbled off towards where her allies were.
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Lelouch then ran into the cave, running towards the platform at the end.
That trap at the entrance was designed to buy them time. Lelouch thought as he stopped in the center of the platform. Was I the intended target...or was it C.C.? No matter. Lelouch then walked over to the end of the platform. The first thing to do is make sure Nunnally is all right.
He was stopped from doing anything though when a bullet was fired near his right hand.
"Turn and face me, very slowly." Suzaku said.
Dammit, why now?! Lelouch thought.
"Didn't you hear me, Zero?" Suzaku said. "I said, "turn and face me, very slowly.""
Zero then turned to face Suzaku. "Euphemia randomly murdered throngs of innocent Japanese people. You'd fight for a woman like-"
"Your Geass power is quite convenient, isn't it?" Suzaku said, interrupting Lelouch as he was slowly stepping forward. "You get to hide in the shadows while others take all the blame for doing your dirty work. You're just an arrogant coward. That's your true nature, the real you." Suzaku then stopped on the platform. "Kallen! Don't you want to know Zero's true identity, too?"
"What are you saying?!" Kallen said, a gun on Suzaku as she stood behind him.
"You have a right to bear witness." Suzaku said before raising his gun.
"No, wait!" Kallen shouted.
"Now Suzaku." Lelouch said before he could pull the trigger. "Would you really shoot," Lelouch then removed his helmet and threw it to his right side. "your best friend, Lelouch?"
Lelouch? Kallen and Suzaku thought as they saw his face.
"But how..." Kallen said, stepping backwards before falling to her knees. "How could you?!"
"I didn't want it..." Suzaku said after lowering the gun and sniffling a little before becoming angered. "to be you."
"L-Lelouch is the...? Kallen stammered.
"Yes, I am Zero." Lelouch said. "The man who leads the Black Knights, who challenges the Holy Britannian Empire, and the one who holds the entire world in his hand."
"Wait. You used us...the Japanese people...?" Kallen asked, sounding to be on the verge of tears. "You used me?!"
"And as a result, Japan will be freed." Lelouch said. "You certainly can't complain about that."
"I don't even know what to believe." Kallen said, putting her hands to her hand as she starred at the ground.
"I should have arrested you when I had the chance." Suzaku said, looking to the ground at his left.
"You knew it was me?" Lelouch asked.
"I wasn't sure at first." Suzaku said, looking to the ground at his right. "So I convinced myself it wasn't true. But I really wanted to believe in you." Suzaku then turned to face Lelouch. "But you were lying to us. To me, your sister Euphy, and Nunnally!"
"Yes, and now Nunnally's been kidnapped!" Lelouch said. "Please, Suzaku, can't we call a temporary truce? I need your help!" Kallen then started to approach the platform, recovering a bit from the recent revelation. "Together we'll be able to save Nunnally! There's nothing in the world that you and I can't do together!"
"I'm done with that!" Suzaku said, aiming his gun for Lelouch. "Had you only joined up with Euphy first, we wouldn't be here! If you and she had combined forces, things would be different! The world could have been-"
"Had I joined up with Euphy?" Lelouch repeated, interrupting Suzaku before shaking his head. "Poor, misguided Suzaku." At that Suzaku stiffened a bit. "Do you not see? I had every intention of joining up with Princess Euphemia and the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan."
"Then why didn't you!" Suzaku snapped, his rage and sadness clear as day. As opaque as the blood of the Japanese spilled on that fateful day of genocide. "And why did you order Euphy to kill all the Japanese!"
A tear then came down from Suzaku's left eye.
"What does it matter?" Lelouch said flippantly. "That's all in the past! Over and done."
"Past!" Suzaku said, sounding and looking aghast.
"You killed your own father, didn't you?" Lelouch said. "Wallow in remorse when you have time for it!"
"No, you're hopeless!" Suzaku shouted, putting both of his now shaking hands on the gun.
"What?" Lelouch said.
"I know you! In the very end, you'd betray the entire world, the way it's betrayed you!" Suzaku shouted. "I'm not going to let your sick, twisted dream be realized! I won't allow you to manipulate anyone else! To kill anyone else!"
Lelouch then laughed, his smirk on his face. "You fool! You think everything is just simply black and white? No distinguishable shades of gray? You think ideals alone can change the world?! That the truths you so hopelessly cling to can come to light?" Lelouch then threw his cloak up dramatically as he placed a device on his chest.. "Fine, then go right ahead and shoot me, come on! Set your aim on this liquid Sakuradite! If my heart stops, this vial will explode. You'll both die with me."
"Damn you!" Suzaku spat.
"Listen, I'll make a deal with you." Lelouch said. "I want to know who told you about Geass. Did they abduct Nunnally?!"
"Nothing that happens now is any of your concern!" Suzaku snapped. "Your very existence is a mistake! You need to be erased from the face of the earth! I'll take care of Nunnally!"
"SUZAKU!" Lelouch shouted as he pulled a gun out on Suzaku.
"LELOUCH!" Suzaku screamed.
A gunshot then went off as a trigger was pulled.
Author's Notes: Oh dear! That certainly was intense. I could just feel the raw emotion between the two characters. Anyway, I guess this means that I ended the first season pretty much the same way. Well, see you guys later. And will Euphemia ever become who she used to be? And who was that person that emerged from the battlefield that hobbled toward her allies? Both these questions and more will be answered eventually.
Also, soon I'll be starting up school again so I'll have less time to write. Don't worry about it though. I plan on finishing this story. Although, if the updates become infrequent, it is most likely due to a lack of time.