Chapter 14. The Future Emperor of the World
As planned, Ohgi and Viletta are buried at the Kururugi shrine. All the Black Knights are present, grim-faced, but respectful. Kallen is quiet, but C.C. can tell it's a kind of silence that doesn't hold just grief. It holds fury.
As she looks at Ohgi's grave, there is something akin to hatred in her eyes. She cannot forgive the fact that Ohgi's actions almost caused Lelouch's death.
C.C. sticks to Lelouch's side and remains silent. Suzaku isn't here, since he couldn't absent himself from work. Rolo is on Lelouch's other side, quiet and watchful. The whole thing is clearly bothering him a lot. It's not just Viletta. The Black Knights' insistence to dig into Lelouch's heart issues have made him even angrier at Suzaku. C.C. hopes it won't become a problem at a later date.
For the moment, his job is to keep an eye on Tohdoh and make sure he isn't suspicious. They are testing his memories, to make sure how likely it is that he'd remember the young Britannian prince who once lived here. So far, there's been no sign of anything.
Should push come to shove, Lelouch can use his Geass on the man, but he doesn't want to waste it. After Viletta, it's become obvious that they need to be even more careful with its use.
Sometimes, C.C. wonders why Lelouch refuses to simply enslave the Black Knights like he did to the Britannian soldiers in the Requiem period. She supposes that's one of the reasons why he's special. He may have the power of the king, but he's never truly abused it, not until he became emperor, at least. She suspects that's part of the reason why the Dimensional Supervisor gave him a second chance to begin with.
Lelouch holds a small speech for Ohgi, praising his work in the service of the Japanese people and studiously ignoring the way that service ended. It should have been awkward, given that Ohgi almost caused Lelouch's death, but Lelouch's true gift is inspiring people and making them believe what he wants them to. Amusingly, more than one Black Knight is touched. Tamaki even tears up a little at Zero's 'generosity'.
Viletta is buried with little pomp, and her gravestone carries the name Chigusa Ohgi, in Japanese writing. Ironically, it was Kallen's idea. "She would have hated it, I think," she explained.
They're all relieved when the grim affair is over, but the mood of the Black Knights is still dark as they return to their base. Lelouch sets up a guard rotation and orders everyone else to take a day off.
"Tomorrow, we have to return to work, but a break will perhaps do us all good."
The Black Knights are visibly relieved. They are surprised when they learn Zero does not intend to leave the submarine as he usually does, but he waves it off. "Paperwork," he explains.
C.C. carefully watches their faces as Lelouch turns to leave. They're finally understanding that he is just as human as them, but he holds himself at a far higher standard.
"Don't worry," she says. "I'll sit on him and get him to eat and sleep."
She doesn't wait to assess their reaction and instead rushes after him. As soon as they're in his quarters, Lelouch takes off his mask and lets out a long breath. C.C. plops down on his bed with her arms extended like she's a starfish. "It's a little surprising, isn't it? Their reaction."
"A little." Lelouch laughs. "I half-expect them to distrust me while I'm in the field, just because I don't look superhuman anymore."
"You tried that once and it didn't work. Who knows? Maybe this will turn out better."
"If it doesn't, I have plenty of contingency plans."
He does. After all, there's a reason why he needs so many funds, and it's not just because of the SAZ. "Making progress on the safe house?"
"Everything will be ready soon. I've already wiped all the records of the existence of the house from electronic files, and had the physical evidence destroyed."
"I honestly can't believe it was so easy to get General Cao under Geass." It is through Cao that Lelouch is setting up everything he needs done in the Chinese Federation. His jurisdiction over Liaodong makes him ideal as a pawn in Lelouch's new chess game.
"It's Cao's own fault for working with Sawasaki," Lelouch says. "Anyway, I don't want to resort to that just yet, not until we see what happens with the SAZ and get it up and running."
He's already starting to boot his laptop, no doubt intending to go over the reports he had pending. C.C. knows she should probably help, but she's bored. They've done enough work for the day. Just dealing with the stupidity of the Black Knights should warrant a prize.
"Lelouch, come to bed."
Lelouch shoots her a bemused look. "Witch..."
C.C. arches a brow at him. "It's hardly fair that they'd be the only ones to have a day off, now is it?"
She can see him succumbing already and mentally pats herself on the back. She's half-regretful, half-relieved Suzaku isn't here. This way, she can have Lelouch to herself for a change, but at the same time, it would be nice to have their little triad complete.
Ah, well. Suzaku is sure to compensate for it at a later date.
Before Lelouch can go through with her completely reasonable request, a knock sounds at the door. Left with no one to cuddle, C.C. grabs Cheese-kun and holds him close.
"You should probably get that," she tells Lelouch.
Lelouch grimaces, but puts his mask back on. C.C. leans against the pillows, watching the door with little interest. She hopes whoever it is will leave quickly. They should understand who Lelouch really belongs to.
As it turns out, their unexpected and unwanted visitor is Diethard. Lelouch lets him in with little fanfare. "My apologies for interrupting you in your private time, Zero, but I wanted to discuss something with you."
"And what's that, Diethard?" Lelouch asks.
"It's about your recent health issues." Lelouch goes very still, but Diethard faces the blank Zero mask without flinching. "I want to understand how you wish to... present this information to the rest of the Black Knights. This new approach you have been taking is different from what I've seen in the past, but I doubt you would let something like this slip if you didn't intend to."
C.C. analyzes Diethard closely. Other than Kallen, he was always the Black Knight with most confidence in Zero. His strange idea, his idealization of Zero's image, could easily backfire on them. Or it could help them.
She wonders what path Lelouch will take. He's less resentful over Diethard betraying him over Schneizel in the first life since the man did make an honest attempt to support him. But is it enough?
"Tell me something, Diethard..." Lelouch says. "Who are you loyal to?"
"You, Zero," Diethard replies without missing a beat. "You know that."
"And who am I to you? What do you expect of me?"
Diethard almost seems surprised at the question. "What I expect? I expect you to destroy this world order and rebuild it in your image. It's my dream to document these momentous events as they occur."
"I see. All right, Diethard. I will give you this chance, to document Zero's true story. But for now, it must stay between us."
A manic light shines in Diethard's eyes. "Yes, of course, Zero. I understand."
Lelouch sits down on his couch and crosses his legs. Making the sacrifice of abandoning Cheese-kun, C.C. leaves her spot on the bed and plops down next to him. She leans against him and Lelouch idly pets her hair. "Did you ever learn, Diethard, what was in the canister I opened that day, when I released Suzaku?"
"I believe, officially, it was supposed to be the poison gas the terrorists stole," Diethard replies.
"It was never poison gas. That canister held C.C."
Diethard stares between Lelouch and C.C. "Pardon?"
"For a while now, Britannia has been involved in human experimentation. C.C. was one of the subjects. So was I. I won't bore you with the things that were done to us, but I will tell you this. The reason behind my chest pains is that I was stabbed in the heart. It was a lethal wound... But I lived because of C.C. and Suzaku."
C.C. is beginning to understand where Lelouch is going with this. Diethard always did want to turn Zero into a god. He betrayed Lelouch when it became obvious that his god was falling, but with this revelation at this point in time, his loyalty would be assured.
"Britannia's aim is to create a form of superhuman, but so far, their results are very random," she says. "Allow me to demonstrate."
She gets up and retrieves a letter opener from the table. Without hesitation, she stabs herself through the arm.
It hurts, but after all the physical deaths she has experienced, it's largely irrelevant. She's been burned alive, crushed by oceanic pressure, suffocated and tortured. A tiny stab wound leaves her cold.
She pulls the small knife out of the wound. Lelouch retrieves his handkerchief and wipes her arm clean of blood.
The wound heals before their very eyes. "I want pizza," she demands.
"Sure," Lelouch offers. "I'll see what I can do."
They look up at the other occupant of the room. Diethard seems torn between shock and manic glee. "And you... You're like that too, Zero."
Lelouch shakes his head. "My power is different. I can order anyone to do whatever I want them to. I could order you to die right now, and you would take your gun and shoot yourself. I've done that to many people in the past. Britannians. My enemies."
He gets up, and there's something about him, an aura, that seems legitimately terrifying. Not to her. She knows him to well for that. But all the blood on Lelouch's hands has left a mark on him too. She's sure he's smirking behind the mask, that mad little smile that always heralds unfortunate events for the people around him.
"Are you scared, Diethard?" he asks, sounding strikingly calm.
Miraculously, Diethard finds his voice. "Yes. No. I'm not sure." A pause. "Is that how you killed Ohgi?"
Lelouch laughs. "Ironically, no. I did plan for something similar, and Viletta was ordered to kill him, but he freed her of his own accord. But unexpected things happen all the time."
"That's why Suzaku and I exist," C.C. adds. "I am his shield and Suzaku is his sword."
"The video," Diethard whispers. "That's why it was edited. One of you did something, something the rest of us weren't supposed to see."
"Precisely. I can't tell the rest of the Black Knights any of this. I've never used this power to acquire their loyalty. I could, but I have no desire to surround myself with zombies. That doesn't mean my ability wouldn't cause fear. Inoue might have witnessed the whole episode with Viletta, but anything she saw can be set aside as influenced by shock. Video evidence is entirely different."
Diethard is already convinced, but Lelouch must want to drive the final nail in the coffin. "I am not just a terrorist, Diethard," he says. "I am the future emperor of the world." He pulls off his mask. "Lelouch vi Britannia."
"Le-Lelouch... vi... Britannia... The... lost... prince..."
Diethard is shaking, and C.C. is vaguely disturbed by his expression, wondering if he's having an orgasm on the spot. Lelouch ignores the weirdness. "So Diethard. What are you willing to do for me?"
"Anything," Diethard blurts out, dropping to his knees. "Anything, Your Majesty."
While Diethard is on his knees and looking away, Lelouch puts on his contacts, to keep himself from accidentally using the Geass on him. "Good."
When Diethard leaves, it's with orders to monitor the information flowing between the Black Knights and make sure it doesn't undermine Zero's position as a leader. C.C. isn't surprised when Lelouch doesn't Geass him to keep the revelations a secret. Sometimes, the most powerful Geasses are the ones you place on yourself, and Diethard's loyalty has been completely assured.
"That was amusing," she comments. "Human experimentation?"
"It's close enough to what happened, and it's a logical explanation I can provide should the truth ever come to light. This is just the beginning, C.C. You know that."
"Yes. I suppose I do."
And because of that, because she knows all to well what is at stake, Lelouch's paperwork is once again delayed, just like C.C. wanted.