(Ichigo: Yay! Chapter 9 has arrived!
Aki: Chapter 10 coming soon! In the meantime, read, enjoy and review!)
Disclaimer: We don't own Code Geass...or a certain incident that happened in the last ep of R2 wouldn't have happened
Chapter 9: The Curtain Rises
Human nature has always been a strange, convoluted thing. Despite the fact humans claim to be sympathetic to the plight of others, thousands lined the streets, even more crowded in front of televisions, and computer monitors in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the Eleven that had killed Clovis di Britannia, the prince and former leader of Area 11.
The suspect in question, Suzaku Kururugi, had his head bowed, arms bound behind his back, a collar around his neck. He was perfectly still. Even a small movement would cause the collar to shock him.
In Ashford Private Academy, much of the Student Council were seated in the meeting room, eyes glued to their television.
Nunnally stayed in the Lamperouge residence, a green radio poised in her lap.
Marina stood in front of the courthouses, Suzaku's final destination, glaring at the horizon, praying Suzaku and his escort would never appear there…
Lelouch, instead of simply waiting and praying, was about to take action with Aurora at his side and a group of rebels behind him…
Phase One had begun.
'Is this really going to work!?' thought Kallen, swallowing hard as she inched the modified vehicle slowly across the bridge. Subtly, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Rei seated in the passenger seat.
She looked like she was enjoying herself…
How could she be so calm!?
Her smile even got wider when one of the Knightmare pilots ordered them to stop and reveal themselves, and murmured that she was disappointed that she was going to miss Zero's entrance.
It was all Kallen could do to stop her from falling headfirst into the steering wheel-and inadvertently sounding the horn. One of the few girls she knew who was involved in anti-Britannian movements…and she had to be crazy…and she was stuck with her in the small cab of a gaudy looking white car, dressed in an equally gaudy white suit she would otherwise never be caught in…even dead.
This was just her luck…
At the man's behest, Lelouch in the guise of Zero, appeared in a burst of sparks as the Britannia flag that adorned the roof of the car burst into flames and disintegrated, sending the news reporters, the crowd, the Knightmare pilots and Suzaku into a frenzy of emotions.
During it all, Lelouch-Zero- stood calmly, waiting. His face behind the mask calm and composed, waiting for everything to die down, so he could make his demands and unveil his trump card.
That opportunity came when one pilot, Jeremiah Gottwald, commanded that he remove his mask. For a moment, Zero appeared to be complying…but then he snapped his fingers and part of the car fell away to reveal a bulb-shaped canister. The item was unfamiliar to the citizens on the same but to those in the army, they knew what it was…
Zero had a capsule of poisonous gas…enough to kill everyone gathered on the bridge, and though the spectators didn't know it, Suzaku did, as did Jeremiah and the other Knightmare pilots.
"Go ahead and fire," Zero taunted when Jeremiah drew a gun and pointed it at him. "You can't miss."
"Fine then," Jeremiah lowered the gun. "What do you want?"
"A trade. This for Suzaku Kururugi."
"No! This man killed Prince Clovis, I just can't hand him over!"
"No, you're wrong, Jeremiah. He didn't do it. The one who killed Clovis was I!" Zero proclaimed. "In return for one Eleven, you can save the lives of hundreds of Britannians. That's not a bad deal, I think."
Inside the car, Lelouch's-no, Zero's-words startled Aurora, hiding inside her calm, bored façade as Rei. Lelouch did it…? He killed Clovis? Suddenly, she remembered that Lelouch had been sick the morning of the day Clovis' death was announced. No, it couldn't be true, and yet, there was no way it couldn't be true.
"This man is insane!" yelled Jeremiah, his voice loud and angry. "I challenge your confession! You who uses His Highness' carriage to your own perverted ends!"
"Are you certain? You'll sully your reputation, Orange," he tapped his heal on the roof of the cab, and Kallen, nervously but obediently, inched the car forward. "If you die, you will regret killing me. If you do not want that to happen…"
Suddenly, a section of the mask slid away, revealing Lelouch's eye, the one that contained his Geass, which he promptly invoked shouting, "Let us all go! That man, too!"
Naturally, Jeremiah obeyed the command, and thus he said, startling all his subordinates and those around him, "Very well. Give him that man! Give him over! No one is to interfere!"
Suzaku, stunned and wary, was released and allowed to descend to the street and approach the masked and cloaked individual. Even though he had been freed, the collar was still fastened tightly around his neck. A fact he was painfully reminded of when he tried to speak and received an electric shock.
"As I thought," said the masked man. Zero, he had called himself. "You can't speak."
"Zero," said someone from behind them. They were dressed in a white suit and cap, Suzaku couldn't get a good look at their face. Neither the driver or the girl who had stepped down from the cab. "It's time to go."
"Well then, we'll speak later," Zero promised before pulling a device out of nowhere and pushing the button.
Suddenly pink gas came streaming out of the device attached to the roof, sending the civilians into a panic. With the gas acting as both an distraction and a smokescreen, Zero, his companions and Suzaku-whom was more or less picked up and carried-, jumped off the bridge, only to land in some semblance of a safety net, which was deposited into a truck. As soon as they were inside and the hatch in the roof closed, the truck drove off, leaving Britannia in a state of chaos.
Collar removed, arms no longer bound, and covered in cuts, scrapes and bruises, Suzaku glanced around the crumbling remains of a once prosperous theatre before he turned around and his eyes landed on the man who had brought him here, the same longhaired woman from the bridge at his side.
"It seems you were poorly treated," Zero observed, eyeing the visible cuts on Suzaku's face. The white scratch marks were particularly noticeable against Suzaku's tanned skin. "You know how they do things don't you, Private Kururugi? Britannia is rotting to the core. If you wish to change the world--join me!"
"You…Did you really kill Prince Clovis?" Suzaku asked.
Lelouch nearly balked. Even behind his mask, could feel the piercing stare Suzaku was giving him-no, the piercing stare Suzaku was giving to Zero. Even with that realization in place, the realization that Suzaku was not glaring at Lelouch, he couldn't bring himself to tell Suzaku that he had killed Clovis. Even now, after all these years, the thought of Suzaku disapproving of him still affected him.
"This is war. Do I need a reason to kill my enemy?" is what he said instead.
"What about that poison gas?" Suzaku's voice was rising, shaking. With fury, fear or nerves, Lelouch wasn't sure. "You took all those civilians hostage!"
"Bluffing is an important negotiation tactic. In the end no one was hurt."
"In the end? I see…so that's how you think…"
"Come to me," he said, extending his hand. "Britannia does not deserve your loyalty."
It was an order. It wasn't a request. Suzaku, Lelouch, Aurora all knew it wasn't a request.
Which is why when Suzaku turned his back on them--him--and began walking towards a large hole in one wall, his stride and posture clearly indicating his intentions to leave and never come back, the pain that lanced through Lelouch was particularly sharp.
The pain only intensified when Suzaku began to speak…
"That may be, but that's why I want to change it: to make it worthy. From within Britannia. I do not believe there is any worth in a victory won by dishonest means. Now, if you'll excuse me, my court martial begins in an hour."
"A-Are you an idiot!?" Lelouch gasped out, Zero's plans for treason giving way to the concerns of a childhood friend. "They'll convict you! The judge, the jury, the lawyers, they're all biased! They all hate you!"
"Even so, it's the rules. If I don't go, there will be much suffering among both the Elevens and Britannians."
"Are you an idiot!?"
Suzaku managed a small smile. "An old friend of mine used to call me an idiot. It may be my weakness…but I want to capture you. To beat you at your own game. If I am to be killed, I want to die for the people. Thank you, though. For saving me."
And with that, Suzaku was nothing more than an ever shrinking figure. Smaller, and smaller his back became until he disappeared entirely out of sight.
Instead of gaining an ally, Lelouch had gained an enemy. And that enemy was one of the last people Lelouch wanted to be his enemy.
"You…idiot…!" he hissed through gritted teeth, hands curling into fists. His grip slackened, however, when Aurora--she had removed her illusion, he duly noted--placed a hand on his arm.
"Hmphf. Have you come to tell me you're leaving as well?" he asked, removing his mask. It was just the two of them, after all. There was no reason to hide.
"No, not at all…"
"I am a killer, you realize."
Aurora cringed. She had been hoping he wouldn't mention that. She had been trying to forget that. "Yes…I know…but…I said I'm here to help. I'm not going back on my word, whether you're a killer or not. I'm going to keep my word."
Lelouch stared at her, shocked by her words. He was silent for a moment before he snorted and shook his head. "Really? Is everyone I know idiots?"
"Well, I'm sorry for being an idiot, then," she said, smiling.
"It's not as though you can help it."
Aurora, taking offence to his comment, stuck out her tongue at him and blew a raspberry, causing Lelouch to snort again. Even though he was laughing at the ridiculous nature of her actions, and thus her, Aurora was glad that the mood had lightened, one way or another.
"We should go home now…Nunnally must be worried," he slipped his mask back on, and his confidence returned. "Let's go. As quickly as we can."
Aurora nodded, using her Geass to reform her disguise and followed Zero out.
It had been a long, long night.
"Nunnally, I'm home," Lelouch said an hour or so later, entering the dining room. "Aurora's staying the night, do you mind--"
He trailed off as he noticed two other people in the room with Nunnally, all folding origami. The girl from before with the long green hair, and an unfamiliar brunet.
"Ah! It's you!" Aurora cried.
The brunet looked up and beamed. "Ro~!"
Lelouch pressed his lips into a thin line.
Looks like the long, long night wasn't over just yet.
