My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I read the results of the pregnancy test. My hands trembled. I could not believe my eyes! I was going to be a mother soon! Schneizel is to be a father! We are going to have our first child! A soft whisper of thanks to the Almighty erupted from my lips and I nearly jumped with the excitement in the prospect of having my own baby to cuddle and love. I danced, crazed but happy, around my room, laughing to myself as I did so. Who cares if someone heard and called me demented? They would surely share in my joy once they learn the reason why.
A full hour passed before I thought about telling my husband the good news. I dressed nicely, in the yellow dress he always loved, and ran out of the room. I rushed up the elevators and down dark corridors. Frankly, I did not know where to find him. The Damocles was a huge fortress, almost three kilometers long, with lots of corridors and secret passageways that one could easily get lost. (Perhaps even the personnel aboard it do not know the entirety of the fortress.) I stopped upon realizing my foolishness and tried retracing my steps. But it was all in vain. I could neither find my room nor recall the floor where it was situated. I cursed my foolishness again and again.
Purposelessly, I walked down the corridor I was on, opening doors to see what was inside in hopes that I might see Schneizel inside one of them. All was in vain for I was usually greeted by darkness or empty rooms with blank, lifeless walls. I soon grew tired of the fruitless ritual and was about to give up when I opened a huge door at the end of the corridor. It was dark and empty, just like the other rooms, but it was spacious and tall, white pillars adorned it. Windows as high as the ceiling showed the view from outside: a dark, cloudy night with no sign of the stars. There was also a marble statue of Euphemia inside. It was situated on a stage-like place on the other end of the room. A huge screen was mounted on the far wall. There were also what seemed like machines in front of it. It looked like a ballroom more than anything, if not for the screen.
The over- all appearance of the room somehow piqued my curiosity and I went in, closing the door behind me in the process. For some unknown reason, my heart was beating wildly and my mind seemed to tell me to get out of the room. But I was persistent and, carefully, I tread down the carpeted floor and came up to one of the pillars. I was about to touch it to feel the texture of the stone when, suddenly, a door from the right opened. I hid behind one of the pillars, looking intently to see who it was. I could see the silhouette of two people but I could not clearly distinguish who they were until they were near enough. Schneizel and Cornelia. My husband was smiling while his sister looked troubled. They stopped in front of the stage, facing each other as if in a duel. I watched from where I was to see what would happen.
"You," Cornelia said. "You didn't give warning to the people of Pendragon."
"Yes. What about it?"
Her expression turned to complete horror. "You mean the people of Pendragon were--"
"I made them vanish. It was better for them than a life swearing loyalty to Lelouch, won't you say?"
"They're our own people! And you told Nunnally--"
"Lies are expedient. There's no need to tell Nunnally things that would get in the way of her opposition to Lelouch, is there? She'll never know the difference."
"You used everyone?" She accused. "Even your own sister?"
"Cornelia," Schneizel's face was now serious. "What is it that people truly want? Starvation and poverty? Discrimination and corruption? War and terrorism? They want the problems that are flooding the world to go away forever. People can't understand each other under these situations at all."
"Your theories don't justify butchering civilians!"
He sighed and walked up to one of the machines. "Even civilians who have rejected war depend on the police, don't they? Everyone knows, don't they? That people are driven by their own desires. The lust that dwells within the soul of man cannot be denied." He pressed a few buttons and the screen lit up, showing the map of the world and the condition of the Damocles. "So why win hearts and minds, or tout some shining ideology? Why not bring peace to the world with a system and power?" He watched contentedly as Cornelia frowned. "In ten days, the Damocles will enter the airspace of the United States of China and then switch over to a secondary acceleration. After that, we're scheduled to ascend 300 kilometers above the surface. From there, we will hit every enemy nation with FLEIJAs."
Cornelia's voice rose. "Are you insane? We only agreed to use them against Lelouch!" She looked at the image on the screen. "This will destroy the world! You're trying to control people through fear!"
"Mankind's history is war. Peace is an illusion. To turn illusion into reality is an arduous task. It requires discipline."
"And you plan to discipline the whole human race by yourself?" Cornelia scoffed. "Only a god could pull that off!"
"Then I shall become a god." Schneizel replied. "If that's what it takes to bring peace to the world."
Cornelia looked at her brother with shock in her face. I would have done the same, if I were in her position. In that moment, I fully understood the reason Schneizel had for building the Damocles and for keeping it a secret from his father. I shuddered with fear and asked myself many times if this was really the man I used to know. The 14 year-old child I met in that party. The 27-year old man who worked hard for his homeland. The man I had loved. The Schneizel I had married... I repeatedly told myself to run from that abominable place and try to find my room once more. Then, later, I would tell Schneizel the good news, as if I had never heard his conversation with Cornelia. But my feet stayed rooted where I stood. I couldn't urge myself to move. The surprise was too great.
"You're deranged!" Cornelia said with contempt.
"Magnificent!" Diethard remarked, bursting into applause. He went up to the siblings, mouth wide with a grin. "I knew I was right to change sides and support you! Surpassing Zero's chaos with a state of perfect nothingness and a kaleidoscopic transformation!"
"Prince Schneizel," Kanon said, following Diethard. "We've made contact with the Black Knights. They say if you plan to kill Lelouch, they're willing to join you immediately."
"Thank you, Kanon." Schneizel nodded to his assistant and looked at Cornelia. "Those who've experienced Lelouch's tyranny first-hand will have no alternative but to choose the lesser of evils."
"Is that why you stayed back and let Lelouch get away with this until now?" She asked.
"It was a way to minimize the damage. But," He said with an expressionless face, as if killing people was an ordinary thing. "In the end, we have to sacrifice one or two billion lives to achieve the state of permanent peace."
"You're wrong!" Cornelia replied, unsheathing the sword she always wore on her belt. "Peace attained by force is not peace!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Schneizel snapped his fingers. Immediately, a secret panel opened and guns came out, shooting down the princess. I looked on as Cornelia tripped and fell down on the floor, bleeding from her wound. The horror of the scene unfolded before my eyes. I averted my gaze and cupped my mouth with my hands to stop myself from crying out. I could not believe that my dear Schneizel could be doing this. It was utterly impossible! Wasn't Schneizel compassionate and peace-loving?
"This is so sad, Cornelia... I never thought that you would oppose me." He remarked as he gazed down at his sister's fallen body. "Kanon, have her taken away."
Kanon saluted. "Yes, Your Highness."
The assistant dialled a number on his phone and, a little later, two nurses with a stretcher came in and placed Cornelia on it. After this, one of them cleaned the blood puddle on the floor. They moved quickly that there was almost no indication that the princess had been shot there. Following this, the two carried the stretcher and left hurriedly.
Tears were already beginning to form in my eyes. Perhaps, it was all a mistake. Maybe it was all a dream! That I would soon wake up. Oh, I would have given anything to turn that moment into a dream! But the echoing of the gunshots in my ear reminded me that it was true. Schneizel had killed the people of Pendragon and wounded Cornelia, his closest sister.
The three men were about to leave...
"Schneizel..." I said in a whisper. They would not have heard me if we were in open air. "What is your reason for killing innocent people? How can you do this?"
He looked at me for only one moment and chose to look away. He had never wanted to see me crying. "Sofia..." Schneizel said. "So you were here."
"Yes, and I heard everything you said, Schneizel. Everything!"
"I cannot explain myself right now, my dear. I will see you later. For now, I have important matters to attend to."
"What important matters? Does that involve killing anyone who gets in your way?" I asked, feeling anger burn in my heart. "Is that it? If I get in your way, will you shoot me also?"
He sighed and reached out to touch my shoulders. "Sofia, please--"
"No!" I backed away. "Don't touch me!"
"Sofia, these are things you probably don't understand right now, but you will when I tell you the reason behind it all."
"Liar!" My palm hit his cheek. I had sworn to myself before that I would never hit him but, here I was, doing the complete opposite of what I vowed. The action was completely against my will, as if my body moved with spontaniety. "You want the world for yourself! That's the reason, isn't it? Or is it because you're jealous of your younger brother, Lelouch, who gained your father's favor?"
"You ungrateful witch!" Diethard interrupted, poison in his tone. "How dare you hit the Prime Minister of Britannia? You ought to be--"
Schneizel raised up his hand to silence the man. "Quiet, Diethard. I do not want to hear you calling Sofia by such abominable names again."
The journalist bowed. "I apologize, Your Highness."
"Now," He said, turning back to me. "I want you to go with Cornelia. I'm sure she needs someone to talk to when she wakes up..."
"Very well," I replied. "I would prefer being with her than staying one more moment in your cursed fortress!"
The good news forgotten, I stormed out of the hall, crying bitter tears of betrayal and hatred. Lo amo con tutto il cuore ma le sue azioni lo rattristano molto. Non so cosa fare adesso. Il mio cuore è pesante dalla tristezza non rivelata. Non so se potrò mai perdonae quello che mi ha fatto. Mi ha tradito.
(Translation: I love him with all my heart but his actions sadden me much. I don't know what to do now. My heart is heavy with untold sadness. I don't know if I can ever forgive what he did to me. He betrayed me.)
- - - - -
A couple of hours later, Lelouch's forces arrived and engaged the Damocles in a battle. The Lancelot Albion was among the dispatched Knightmare Frames, controlled by ace pilot Suzaku Kururugi. But Schneizel had the Knights of Round and the Black Knights under his wing, an absolute advantage over his brother's forces. The exiled prince refused to give up; he was focused on rescuing his beloved sister, Nunnally. A bloody and ghastly onslaught took place, that which involved the use of FLEIJA warheads. Never will the world see another conflict as savage as this...
It seemed as if Schneizel's side was winning, but the tables were turned in one brief moment. Nina Einstein, the developer of the FLEIJA, had succeeded in eliminating the last warhead. After this, Lelouch had triumphed in creating an opening in the Damocles' seemingly impenetrable shield. His forces came in quickly, conquering the fortress. Schneizel, realizing that he was doomed to fall, decided to activate its self-destruct capability. He made up his mind to save himself and leave his half-sister behind. As he was about to leave, Lelouch's image appeared on the screen, telling his brother that he had clearly won. Schneizel scoffed at his brother, not knowing that it was just a recorded video and that Lelouch was right behind him, ready to force him to do his bidding...