Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Rules of the Game
Rivalz and Cornelia had managed to lead the people to a secluded area of the city away from Bloodbeard and Lelouch's fight, a ruined hotel but in the chaos of recent days it had become a mass grave of obvious suicides. Cornelia was sure that they were safe but the sounds of the battle sounded far too close.
"That sounds pretty serious," said Rivalz.
"It sounds like Armageddon out there," said Cornelia.
"Have you ever heard anything like it?" asked Rivalz.
"Every time I went off to war but…but this is something different," said Cornelia. "I've never seen anything as monstrous as Bloodbeard and I can't imagine what horror Lelouch is going to have to face…alone."
Rivalz looked at Cornelia's despondent face and could clearly see that the worried sister was winning out over the hardened warrior within her.
He could hardly blame her given all that had happened to her and her family over the past few years. She, Nunnally, Euphemia, Schneizel, and Lelouch were all that remained of the royal family and only four out of the five of them actually acted like a family.
"I'm sure Lelouch will be alright," said Rivalz.
"Can you really be certain of that?" asked Cornelia. "You've seen the power Bloodbeard has when he's in that form."
"I've also seen how powerful Lelouch can be," said Rivalz.
Rivalz knelt down beside Cornelia and looked the most feared military commander of the age square in the eye, his amber orbs twinkling with his youthful joy, and chuckled when he saw the surprise in Cornelia's eyes.
"I might not know as much about Lelouch as I thought I did but I do know this," said Rivalz, "he's a fighter and a winner. He'll find a way, just watch, and no matter what keep your chin up. Believe me there's nothing worth looking at on the ground when there's a whole world in front of you."
Cornelia chuckled at Rivalz's kind words and was actually reminded of her bare feet and realized how sore she was after all that running on broken concrete. She pulled up her sore and blistered feet and began to lightly heal her minor wounds.
"You think it would have killed Morgan to give me some shoes when she dressed me like something out of a fairy tale," said Cornelia.
"If it helps I think you looked great," said Rivalz.
"I'm going to ignore that because my feet hurt," said Cornelia with a light chuckle, "god why does it feel so good just to have a little laugh?"
"We're hiding with a bunch of semi-traitorous people in a mass grave while a titan and a demigod are ducking it out in the city," said Rivalz. "The living cowering amongst the dead, wondering if this is the day they'll join them."
Cornelia noticed the dark tint in Rivalz's eyes and didn't like how well he seemed to understand what he was saying.
"Don't be dark," said Cornelia, "consider that an order Blue Knight. I order you to smile, to make me laugh, and to keep us happy even in this place so we don't lose our collective sanity. Please Rivalz, don't let us be sad."
Rivalz smiled and gave a light bow to the princess even though he had something he felt he should bring up.
"I'll do my best your majesty but…I'm not a knight," said Rivalz. "In fact if I remember correctly impersonating a knight is punishable by death."
"You should also remember that Nunnally abolished the death sentence," said Cornelia. "Besides your actions today have been the actions of a knight. You could have made Knight of the Rounds."
"I don't know about that," said Rivalz. "Here, let me help you there."
Rivalz knelt down and took Cornelia's foot in his hand and began to give a gentle, yet firm, message to her sore and aching feet. His hands tickled her soles just a little bit and the princess tried not to laugh but she was failing to do so.
As she laughed at the tickling her mind retreated for a brief moment from the gloom. She was a child again and her siblings, her family, were playing with her in the gardens with Marianne watching happily in the shade of a large tree with a light smile on her face. When she looked at Rivalz, Cornelia thought back to those moments, and wondered if Lelouch had him as a friend because something about the little blue boy reminded him of his lost innocence, or what happiness was like, and what it must have been to be normal.
'Normal,' thought Cornelia, 'common and plain. That's what I am now instead of a princess. I am just another person just like all those here. I'm afraid, I'm tired, and I'm here hiding like all those poor fools who hid when I laid their cities to ruin and their soldiers low. Is this what everyone felt about Britannia? That they were about to be devoured by some great, unstoppable beast, and all they knew, their entire way of life was coming to an end.'
Cornelia suddenly felt a rough ache from her foot that brought her out of her daze.
"Be gentle," said Cornelia.
"Sorry, I didn't expect our Goddess of Victory to be so fragile," said Rivalz.
"Don't make me hurt you little boy," said Cornelia, "indestructible armor or not."
"Noted," said Rivalz, lightening up on Cornelia's foot.
"You seem to take obeying orders like a fish to water," said Cornelia.
"If there's anything I've learned from Milly Ashford is that when a woman with a strong will tells you to do something you best damn do it," said Rivalz. "Even the mighty Lelouch was forced to obey her will."
"I have a feeling you could tell me some very interesting stories," said Cornelia.
"If you want me to keep you happy then I have nothing more to offer than stories of Lelouch in High School," said Rivalz.
"Then start telling Blue Knight," ordered Cornelia with a light chuckle.
"I'm still not really a knight," said Rivalz.
Cornelia hummed a bit as Rivalz took her other foot in his hand and began rubbing it and her eyes turned towards her sword.
Before Cornelia could act on her thoughts the ground shook and the sounds of battle refused to be ignored.
'Be careful Lelouch,' thought Cornelia.
The pilot in the green Knightmare proved himself to be skilled and although Lelouch tried to focus on the plan and the giant monster in front of him, he still couldn't get over how the archer gave Nunnally's name in such a familiar manner. Of course there was the possibility that this was the archer that Bloodbeard was talking about earlier, the one who was supposed to stand with him, Suzaku, Gino, and Rivalz before Bloodbeard's tower with Nunnally ready to be used for the terrible plan.
'That prophecy is false and I shall prove it,' thought Lelouch. 'This ends now Bloodbeard. For Nunnally, for Euphemia, for Ashford, for Japan, for Britannia, for Kallen, for my child, and for C.C, this battle ends here.'
Lelouch flew and quickly slashed through Bloodbeard's large eyes, the purple fire and lightning coursing through his ocular fluids and erupting in his skull. The titan's howls of pain sent Lelouch's heart racing and he felt his old bloody warrior instinct come back from the dead, especially as the beast blindly followed his enemy's scent and played right into his hands.
'In the end Bloodbeard you are just an animal,' thought Lelouch, 'and you've fallen into my trap like a rabbit in a hunter's snare.'
Lelouch flew out and he saw a large cash of dynamite tied together flying towards him and caught it in his hands. He then turned back to Bloodbeard just as the archer struck a powerful blow that made Bloodbeard's mouth open in a roar of anger.
'You just never seem to stop eating me don't you?' thought Lelouch as he entered the mouth of the beast and went down to the belly.
"Exactly as planned," said Ohgi.
"My god, what makes you think he can even survive that?" asked Chiba.
"By now you should know that trying to kill that boy is close to impossible," said Lloyd, "or at least very difficult."
Ohgi pulled out the handheld Geass Canceller that Lelouch had given him and thought about it.
'With this device any Geass user I face will be powerless,' thought Ohgi, 'the perfect weapon to defeat a Geass army should one ever arise. Lelouch supposedly destroyed all the followers of Geass before the second battle of Tokyo but with that lunatic Bloodbeard we have no idea how many he might have contracted. Besides it looked like Lelouch wanted me to have this to kill him with it if I ever needed to.'
"Or for the world to kill all of us if necessary," Ohgi whispered.
Tohdoh heard Ohgi's statement and turned his attention to the group's second-in-command and when he noticed the device in Ohgi's hand he activated his Geass to learn its strategic value. Ohgi noticed Tohdoh activating his Geass and pressed the button on the device.
'In an Arms Race with the Gods man has been given an edge,' thought Ohgi. 'Damn it.'
"Hey, do we know who the guy in green is or did I miss that part of the plan?" asked Tamaki.
"Whoever he is he seems to be fighting against Bloodbeard," said Viletta.
"Given his personality I have no doubt that he would have scores of enemies we wouldn't know about," said Xingke.
"What I want to know is where he got that Knightmare Frame," said Lloyd. "I've never really thought of using a bow and arrow in any of my designs."
"I have," said Rakshata. "I thought of this lovely machine based upon my nation's legendary hero Rama and it would have made my precious Guren so jealous. If it could feel emotions."
Nunnally mused silently about Mikhail and Lelouch while Milly scrubbed her hair with shampoo. The blonde haired girl had volunteered to take over Nunnally's routine while Sayoko spent time with Anya, trying to understand why she vanished, although Nunnally had a feeling that the ninja knew about Anya's dalliance with the disgraced Gino Weinberg.
Nunnally didn't mind Milly taking over and was glad to see her smiling again even though Rivalz's whereabouts were still a mystery, or at least to everyone but Milly it seemed.
"You're in a good mood Milly," said Nunnally, "does this mean Rivalz's alright?"
The former president froze for a short while and Nunnally silently chastised herself for bringing up such a sore topic and waited for Milly to respond.
"He's…he's doing something great," said Milly.
"He's awake?" asked Nunnally.
"Yes," said Milly, "he's awake and…and we've made love."
Nunnally gasped at the scandalous news and jumped in the water she and Milly were sharing.
'Why is it that everyone tells me that they've had sex,' thought Nunnally, 'first Anya and now Milly.'
"But Rivalz would only make love to me if I agreed to marry him," said Milly.
"Really?" asked Nunnally.
"At school once we rebuild it," said Milly.
"Can I come?" asked Nunnally.
"Of course you can," said Milly, "and you can bring your boyfriend."
Nunnally blushed brighter and Milly knew she had the young Empress right where she wanted her.
'It's not every day I get to dominate a queen,' she thought.
If not for the purple glow of his power Lelouch would have been in darkness as well as in filth. He didn't like what he saw and found that he liked what he smelled and as he was being forced down the esophagus he couldn't help but feel the least bit claustrophobic. He managed to keep his wits about him and kept a tight grip on the explosives Suzaku had tossed him. He could not let it fall into the stomach acid.
He took out Caledflwch and began carving his way out of the esophagus and into the chest cavity, Bloodbeard's blood pouring over his body like an unholy baptism, and despite his best efforts he couldn't keep the blood from getting in his eyes, nose, and mouth but despite it all he kept going, the faces of all those Bloodbeard had killed and all those Lelouch wanted protected filling his vision when the blood blinded his eyes.
As Lelouch cut his way through Bloodbeard's body the foul titan was stuck in place, chocking on his own blood, and with the archer firing missiles at him constantly.
Suzaku watched on, feeling more powerless than he had ever felt before, and actually found himself wishing for a FLEJA bomb just to avoid the risk Lelouch was taking. That thought brought the image of a destroyed Tokyo to mind, destroyed by his own hand, and Suzaku remembered that Euphie had been told that he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people while she was held captive by Bloodbeard.
'I was responsible,' thought Suzaku, 'no one else but me controls my life, despite my status, and Lelouch's Geass. Bloodbeard and M.M are wrong about fate.'
"Be mindful of your thoughts," said M.M, "you never know whose listening in on them."
"I have nothing to say to you," said Suzaku, "and when Lelouch gets out of that monster's body I will tell him."
"Tell him what?" asked M.M.
"That his sins aren't his," said Suzaku, "that he's been used and manipulated…by you."
"By God, who uses us all when you think about it and trying to say that God does not have the right to play with mortal lives is a futile declaration," said M.M.
"Shut up," hissed Suzaku.
"You are angry, that's good," said M.M. "Rage can be a powerful tool if disciplined, aimed, and focused, but a deadly enemy to you and your allies if not properly controlled. You have discovered depths of rage the likes of which you never thought you were capable of achieving."
"And that rage has caused nothing but pain to those I love and decimated the lives of innocents," said Suzaku.
"Emotion is the rawest form of power and to be the Champion is to tap into all your sources of power," said M.M. "That is the key to mastering the power of Absolute Strength, to utilize all that gives you your might. This means being very in touch with your emotions and learning to control them. This brings us to the other great form of power, Knowledge, but the power of knowledge is different than the power of emotion. It takes time and practice and while you have worked your body to near perfection, you have yet to discipline your emotions, to control that which gives you your most immediate power. This is the difficulty of being the Champion, everything about you is strong, not just your body, but your emotions. That is why you would listen to no other opinion other than your own or why you fight so passionately for your principals. Your hate, your courage, your joy, and even your love are so great that you toss aside anything that goes against them."
"Just like a child," said Suzaku.
"You are a child no more," said M.M. "You are a warrior, you always have been, and you always will be. Even as a child it was all you were meant to do and deep down you have always known it."
"So…I can never be with Euphie again," said Suzaku. "If my emotions are as strong as you say, no, they are, I know that is true, then my rage combined with my power, no matter how much I resist, could force me to hurt her. Just like Kallen and Nunnally."
"Yes, you are capable of great rage, and have succumbed to it in ways that would give nightmares to Attila the Hun," said M.M. "But this is to be expected. Lancelot, Cuchulainn, Hercules, all the way to the first Champion Enkidu, all held such a powerful rage that the demons of Hell trembled before them. However do not believe that Euphemia cannot be yours because she is one of the few who can help you manage your strength."
"What does that mean?" asked Suzaku.
"Enkidu, when he was bestowed the power to quell the arrogance of the God-King Gilgamesh, was at first driven mad by his strength," said M.M. "He became a monster in the wilderness until he met a beautiful woman who quelled his rage and brought forth the man. As I said before, even your love is powerful, and Euphemia has a natural gift for peace. She will quell your violent passions and give you focus so that you may hone your great strength and passions."
"I have no doubt about that," said Suzaku, "but if Euphie is the one who can quell my anger then why did you take her from me and sick me on Lelouch?"
"As I said before Lelouch needed it," said M.M, "but in many ways you need it too."
"WHAT?" yelled Suzaku.
"I asked you once; if you did not hate Lelouch so passionately how could you have realized that you loved him so deeply? Even as you hunted down Zero, remembering the pain of knowing who was under the mask, you never stopped loving him and the sheer passionate energy of loving and hating someone so much was naturally bound to blow in a brilliant spectacle that would shatter all that stood before it," said M.M.
Suzaku remembered the FLEJA and how his lust for revenge had been so great that he was willing to carry a weapon of mass destruction into the right just to kill Lelouch.
"If I really loved Lelouch like you said then why did I agree to kill him?" asked Suzaku.
"You know the answer to that," said M.M.
Suzaku wanted to curse the wizard but he knew that he was right. Lelouch was in pain, he wanted to die, and he wanted to give the world a chance to live and despite how he well he tried to hide it, Suzaku could see how broken Lelouch's heart was.
"I shouldn't have stabbed him," said Suzaku. "I shouldn't have done a lot of things but I doubt that you're going to tell me I could travel back and fix them all."
"Time should not be meddled with," said M.M. "We all hold regrets over our past actions but if we let them become weights then we are chained down and unable to travel to the future. You are the Champion, Suzaku Kururugi, the holder of Absolute Strength. You can break your chains but only if you want to. You've seen the devastation caused by your uncontrolled strength and now it's given you wisdom you never would have had if you had not been so furious. This adds to the strength of your knowledge but strength alone is nothing unless you wish to use it somehow. That is the question you will face for the rest of your life Suzaku, how will you use your strength?"
M.M vanished and left Suzaku alone once again in the construction yard. He looked up to see the great monster that his friend had willingly fed himself to and felt stick to his stomach. He allowed Lelouch to go into the belly of the beast with no real guarantee that the crazy plan would succeed.
'I made a promise to Kallen that I would return Lelouch to her,' thought Suzaku. 'If everything about me is strong then shouldn't my sense of honor be strong too? Shouldn't my feelings for Lelouch give me more than enough reason to disobey him or pull him out of an idiotic plan when it might kill him even if it gives us victory?'
Suzaku clenched his fist tightly and pressed it against his heart. He felt hot tears coursing down his face and he had reached his final decision, one that would define his life from now on.
"Screw Lelouch," he growled, "screw orders, and…SCREW THE SYSTEM."
He activated his powerful Geass, his body filling with heat, and as he tensed up his leg muscles he held his objective in his mind. From now on Suzaku Kururugi was a man of will, his most powerful emotion, and no matter what life threw at him, he would not back down. He would fight those whom would harm others, no matter who they were, he would stand by those he loved despite all odds and circumstance, and his will would forever be his.
He leapt up to what he knew was a situation that could mean certain doom, but as Lelouch's command tried to make him stop, he would not and if he could look into his own eyes Suzaku would see the red ring around his iris that Lelouch had cast and he would see it break.
"Lloyd, I have a surprise for you," said M.M as he suddenly appeared on the bridge of the Valhalla.
"Oh, really?" asked Lloyd.
"Yes, in the hanger of this ship there is a long white box and what's in the box is something I think you're going to enjoy playing with," said M.M.
"Hold on wizard," said Rakshata, "are you going to give all the good surprises to the Earl of Pudding or do I get something to play with?"
"In due time," said M.M, "and please do not think of using that Geass Canceller on me Ohgi-san because I am far too busy to be held up on such trivial things."
"Geass Canceller?" asked Tamaki. "Is that what that thing is? Where the hell did you get it?"
"Lelouch stole it from Bloodbeard," said Ohgi. "He gave it to me. I think he wants me to mass produce it."
"Damn strait," said Tamaki. "With that thing we'd take out any Geass freak that started causing trouble."
"You mean like Lelouch," said Kallen as she entered with Gino.
Ohgi turned in the command chair to find one of his dearest friends looking at him with such content.
"Lelouch did bring up that possibility Kallen," said Ohgi, "but that doesn't matter. You shouldn't be here."
"I need to be here and don't try to force me or you just might get to test your device after all," said Kallen.
She turned her head to see the chocking monster and she could tell that Lelouch was the cause of Bloodbeard's discomfort.
"He's in there," she said, "and you're just hovering here."
"Lelouch needs to open the chest cavity so we can get to the explosives he's placing in Bloodbeard's heart," said Ohgi. "Don't worry; I'm confident that it takes more than this to kill someone like Lelouch."
"My baby's father has just been eaten and you're telling me not to worry," said Kallen, "while you sit there holding a device that could be used to kill him."
"Not just him if I read his meaning right," said Ohgi.
"What do you mean?" asked Xingke.
"The world now knows the existence of Geass and when humanity is given this device then there's only one end for the Geass users of the world," said Ohgi.
"But Lelouch killed the Geass cult and once Bloodbeard's gone that…"
"That's right Tamaki, it'll just be us," said Ohgi.
Ohgi's words hushed the Black Knights and uneasy minutes passed as they processed his words, or at least for those who were not 'mad' scientists such as Lloyd who left the moment Kallen entered to go find M.M's surprise for him.
Cornelia giggled as Rivalz continued massaging her feet, tickling her slightly, and she reclined, actually relaxing for the first time in what seemed like years.
"Miss Ashford is certainly going to be satisfied," said Cornelia.
Rivalz had told Cornelia about his time in C's World, his training with G.G, and his conversation with Milly, although he left out the lovemaking scene. In return Cornelia told Rivalz some of the stories of her childhood with Lelouch, Nunnally, and Euphemia. It made Cornelia sad to hear how she missed watching Lelouch and Nunnally grow up surrounded by friends and wondered if she had but tried more to help after Marianne had died that she could have lessened the burden of his life and Lelouch would not have had to suffer so terribly.
"If I had known Lelouch and Nunnally were alive and what my actions would have caused I would have taken Euphemia and left the military for a life among commoners," said Cornelia.
"With Lelouch and Nunnally you mean," said Rivalz.
"Exactly," said Cornelia. "That's the problem with being in the Royal Family, we don't act like one."
"Well at least those of you who are left can be a real family," said Rivalz.
"I suppose," said Cornelia, "of course Euphie and Nunnally are going to be very happy when they hear they've got two new additions."
"What do you mean," asked Rivalz.
"Lelouch and Kallen Kozuki have married and Kallen is pregnant," said Cornelia. "I'm going to be an aunt and so are Euphie and Nunnally."
"Wow," said Rivalz. "I never expected Lelouch to settle down and have kids."
Memories of Shirley came back to Rivalz's mind. Her love for Lelouch had led to suffering and to her ultimate doom. His own friendship with Lelouch had cost him his memories until Nunnally had Jeremiah restore them. Suzaku had lured him, Milly, and Shirley to the former Emperor Charles and had their minds tampered with. Rivalz was a kind and gentle soul who could find the strength to forgive, but that did not mean he was incapable of being angered.
"Ouch, careful," said Cornelia.
"Oh, sorry," said Rivalz, "I didn't mean to be so ruff."
Rivalz gently placed the princess's feet down on the ground and his hands on his knees. He shifted his eyes away from Cornelia, thinking as the sounds of the battle continued on, and while he thought Cornelia watched him with a curious and concerned gaze. She also looked out to the people who were huddling with corpses in fear, fear that they would be just like the poor souls who took their own lives to avoid being eaten alive or enslaved. Cornelia knew then that now was the time to give the people a reminder that Britannia was still alive. She stood on her feet, holding her pink sword in her hands, and rehearsing the proper words in her mind.
"Princess?" asked Rivalz.
"Kneel and remove your helmet Rivalz Cardemonde," she said softly but with authority.
Rivalz did as told and looked up at Cornelia in confusion while the scant soldiers and scared civilians looked on in shared confusion.
"Do you, Rivalz Cardemonde, swear to uphold the laws and traditions of the Holy Britannian Empire?" said Cornelia.
Rivalz immediately realized what this was and even though he still had his doubts he steeled himself and responded.
"I swear," he said, loud enough to be heard.
"Do you swear to uphold the dignity of the crown and church of the empire and to safeguard the liberty and security of all citizens of the Empire?" asked Cornelia.
"I swear," answered Rivalz.
"Do you swear to lay down your honor and your life for the protection and growth of the Holy Britannian Empire and to swear all loyalty to the Empress Nunnally VI Britannia?" asked Cornelia.
"I swear," said Rivalz.
"Then by the rights and powers bestowed upon me, Cornelia Li Britannia, First Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, in the name of St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. George, I knight thee Sir Rivalz Cardemonde, the Blue Knight of Britannia," said Cornelia, tapping her sword's tip on Rivalz's shoulders. "Now arise, Blue Knight."
Rivalz did as told and arose to the sound of applause from Cornelia and from those whose lives were now in his hands. It felt strange, suddenly being thrown onto the stage as some hero, but Rivalz felt that he would just have to deal with it and when he heard the sounds of explosions he had a feeling that he was going to have to live up to the oath that he had just sworn too, a duty he wasn't entirely happy about.
"Aw, now what could this be?" said Lloyd with a chuckle.
He, Rakshata, Nina, and Cecile went to the hanger and found a large white container with built in rockets and when they looked in they saw what looked like a small white Knightmare Frame in the shape of a suit of samurai armor with the Yin-Yang symbol featured prominently on the chest. However the symbol's signature mismatched white and black dots were replaced with small black and white symbols of the Geass.
"It looks like some kind of compact Knightmare Frame," said Nina, "but there's no way that this thing could be a Knightmare."
"As a matter of fact it is," said M.M.
"Yet again you appear in a blink but with intentions as clear as the smoke you come out of," said Lloyd. "Now what is this delightful little toy?"
"I really didn't come up with a name for it so I'll leave that to its owner," said M.M.
"Suzaku?" asked Cecile.
"Yes," said M.M. "This is what he will need for this battle and for all his battles to come. Merely launch the armor and rest assured it will find its master."
"What do you mean?" asked Cecile. "We need to run tests, analysis, and just launching it out into the middle of a battle is absolutely reckless."
"Trust me," said M.M, "and know that if Kururugi goes into battle without that armor he will be met with certain difficulty."
"Difficulty?" asked Cecile.
"Yes, it's hard to fight when you are dead," said M.M.
Lelouch carved his way through tendon, muscle, and bone, all the while trying not to drown in the blood even though the urge to inhale what flowed into his mouth and nose. Luckily his ears were still sharp and he could hear the sound of Bloodbeard's heartbeat and he soon managed to find his target. The thumping sound was as loud as thunder and as he drifted in the murky bodily fluids of his enemy he felt something large and boney, the ribcage. He wasted no time in tying the rope to the rib just as he felt he was about to burst from the air in his lungs needing to come out.
His mission accomplished Lelouch followed the flow and with his clarity still about him he drew his sword, focused the power, and charged forward.
Bloodbeard had been staggering in pain ever since he swallowed his hated enemy and he could feel the foul side effects of his conniving meal. To Suzaku it meant that the plan was working but it also meant Lelouch would soon run out of air. There was also the question of who the pilot of the green Knightmare.
'Whoever he is he's skilled,' thought Suzaku.
He leapt through the air as high as he could and when he came to a skyscraper he forced his way in and scaled higher until he neared the height of his enemy. He didn't know what he would do, what he could do, but he knew he had to do something.
He was about to leap forward when he noticed something coming out of the Valhalla. It looked like a white missile and even worse it was heading straight for him.
'What the hell are they firing at me for?' thought Suzaku.
As the missile came closer towards him Suzaku instinctively leapt out the way only for the missile to follow him and to his surprise a white man-sized Knightmare Frame burst forth and separated into individual pieces. The white armor then began to latch itself onto Suzaku's falling body, piecing together over his skin, all the while Suzaku continued falling to his doom from his ill-conceived leap and he was completely helpless as the armor finished piecing itself to him with the last component, a white samurai helmet with a blank white face mask, attaching to his head and face.
Just before he hit the ground a pair of energy wings burst from the back of the armor and using his perfect speed and agility Suzaku maneuvered himself so that he was upright, with only inches to save, and let the adrenaline rush through his body.
"What is this?" asked Suzaku aloud, his vision being completely obscured by the mask.
Suddenly a video image of Lloyd, Nina, Rakshata, and Cecile appeared in front of his eyes.
"So how do you like M.M's latest gift?" asked Lloyd.
"M.M?" said Suzaku with a hiss.
The four scientists didn't notice the contempt in Suzaku's voice and continued on.
"Yes, the wizard said you could name that armor whatever you liked and that it's actually a very compact Knightmare Frame," said Lloyd.
"This is a Knightmare?" asked Suzaku.
"M.M didn't give us enough time to run a full diagnostic but if it works anything like the Valhalla then it should be made from C's Metal and get its power directly from C's World," said Cecile.
"But, it's so compact how am I supposed to work this thing?" asked Suzaku.
"M.M didn't say," said Lloyd.
Before Suzaku could ask another question he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
"What the hell?" he growled.
The four scientists were joined by the wizard suddenly on the screen.
"Those are a series of nano-bots that are attaching themselves to your nervous system so that you can move the armor as easily as you would any other article of clothing," said M.M. "All it takes is a little mental discipline and you can use the various weapons and tools within the armor as you would use your own hands. Merely remember your pilot instincts and the armor will comply."
"Why the hell should I accept this 'gift' of yours?" growled Suzaku.
"Because you cannot fly and Lelouch is going to fall," said M.M.
Before Suzaku could respond Bloodbeard roared in pain and the video image vanished to give Suzaku a clear picture of the world around him. He looked up and saw a purple light shining in Bloodbeard's chest and in a burst of energy the flesh tore open and a bolt of purple lightning burst forth.
The mask's built in cameras zoomed in and Suzaku could see Lelouch coming out of the hole he created and it was obvious that he was drained. Wasting no time Suzaku leapt up and the flight gear on his back aided in giving him the speed to catch his friend and fly away from the open wound as the green Knightmare and the Valhalla opened fire.
"Thank you Suzaku," Kallen whispered.
When she saw a lone white figure grab Lelouch and take him away from the onslaught the Black Knights were laying into Bloodbeard her heart was at ease.
"Holy shit this thing actually worked," said Tamaki.
"Immortal or not that's should be enough to weaken him and force him to his human form," said Xingke.
"Then all we need is Lelouch to go down and finish this once and for all," said Chiba. "My god we're so close."
"Yes, this world will finally be free of Bloodbeard and then his forces will be hunted down and destroyed," said Guilford. "They sought to make this world forever evil, their own private slaughterhouse, but now their end is nigh."
"Jesus, dial it back Shakespeare," said Tamaki.
"Can you blame me for being dramatic? My fiancé is missing in case you forgot," said Guilford.
"She well Sir Guilford," said M.M.
"I'm not even surprised by you anymore old man," said Tamaki.
"Keep focused," said Ohgi in a commanding voice. "We need to keep laying it on Bloodbeard. If we lighten up for even a second he'll hit us with that damn acid spray of his."
The crew did as they were told and continued to fire their weapons into the monster's chest until the Mad Titan was forced to fall.
'My baby, the safe world I wanted you to be born in is finally coming into reality,' thought Kallen, stroking her belly.
Nunnally was dying, or that was what it felt like to her as Milly relentlessly tickled her for information about Mikhail.
"Tell me about your boyfriend," Milly ordered for the umpteenth time.
"Never," Nunnally laughed. "Stop…please."
"Sorry dear Nunnally but here you're not my empress," said Milly, "and my god I never knew how ticklish you were. Does your boyfriend know?"
It wasn't that Nunnally didn't love and respect Milly as a surrogate sister that she wouldn't tell her about Mikhail; it was that she knew what Milly would do with such information.
"Very well, if you're going to be this way then I'm simply going to have to towel up and get Kaguya, Tianzi, Anya, and Sayoko all together and we'll simply tickle the information out of both you and Anya," said Milly.
"Please don't," said Nunnally. "If Sayoko or Jeremiah knew about Mikhail, who he was, then they would hurt him."
Milly stopped her relentless torture of Nunnally and gave a confused and concerned looked.
"Milly, Mikhail…who he is isn't who his father is," said Nunnally. "I'm sorry but that's all I feel comfortable telling you right now. It's not that I don't trust you Milly but I can't let too much about Mikhail slip out for if Lelouch found out he'd kill Mikhail and then I would be forced to hate him forever."
"Nunnally…I don't understand," said Milly.
"Milly please, I know you would never betray me but I just need time," said Nunnally. "I love Mikhail, it's foolish and sudden but it's so true and wonderful too and the last thing I want is to be torn between the two men I've loved most in my life. If Lelouch and Mikhail were ever forced to fight before me I don't know who I would want to win and I'm afraid of how my feelings would change for the victor."
Nunnally, despite her disability and her age, was quite strong but she was not afraid to show her emotions and the motion Milly was seeing her young friend wear was one of turmoil and fear. She wrapped her arms around Nunnally's body and held her tightly to her breast, letting a sisterly love flow through her.
'I think I can understand you Nunnally,' thought Milly. 'If Rivalz and Lelouch were to come to blows, who would I want to win and how would I feel for them afterwards.'
A great sound, like a massive tree falling, echoed throughout the city, even in the den of corpses that Rivalz and Cornelia had hidden their charges.
"What the hell was that?" asked Rivalz.
"It must have been Lelouch," said Cornelia.
Rivalz ran out to the entrance of their hiding place and he could see a large stack of smoke where he was certain the battle had taken place.
"All I can see is smoke," said Rivalz, as Cornelia ran up to join him. "I'm going to go check it out. If I can I'll try and flag down the others and send them to you. In the mean time you and the soldiers should seal up the entrance this might take a while."
It didn't hit Rivalz that he had just given an order to the princess who knighted him but mere minutes ago until he had finished his sentence. He immediately expected, given Cornelia's reputation, that he would lose his head within the blink of an eye but to his surprise Cornelia did not seem offended.
"That does seem to be our only viable option Sir Cardemonde," said Cornelia. "Carry on then Sir Knight."
That last sentence was spoken by the old Cornelia, the military commander, and Rivalz gave a low bow to his princess and began on his trek.
"Sir Cardemonde," said Cornelia.
Rivalz turned back and stood at attention and to his surprise princess Cornelia Li Britannia kissed him on the cheek.
"Your majesty…what was that for?" asked Rivalz, becoming red instead of blue.
"For luck and your reward for saving me," said Cornelia. "In return, when we meet again you will be given the honor of kissing your princess on her royal cheek."
The Blue Knight suddenly became even redder and wondered if for a second he would turn as purple as Cornelia's hair. Not wanting to look like a fool in front of the princess Rivalz cleared his throat, smiled, and with a sweeping motion of his arm he removed the helmet from his head and bowed dramatically before Cornelia. The princess chuckled happily as Rivalz rose and took her hand in his, bringing it to his lips, and giving a small kiss to her hand.
"Then by your leave my lady," said Rivalz.
Cornelia nodded and Rivalz took upon his helm and went off to the scene of chaos.
"Tread well Blue Knight," whispered Cornelia, her hand to her heart.
Lelouch vomited an untold amount of blood and bile and tried clean the blood out of every other hole in his body.
"Next…time…I vote to go inside a giant monster," Lelouch coughed, "please hit me."
"I'll get Kallen to help," said Suzaku.
"She already hit me," said Lelouch.
"Apparently not hard enough," said Suzaku.
"Bite me," said Lelouch.
Suzaku chuckled and patted Lelouch on the back as he continued to expel as much of Bloodbeard's bodily fluids as he could. He wondered if on some parallel earth he was doing the same thing he was now only instead of blood Lelouch was vomiting the beer he had drunk and that instead of fighting a battle they were celebrating something joyous. His thoughts then turned to the wizard and what had transpired between them earlier.
'Do I dare tell you that you've been manipulated?' thought Suzaku. 'That all your guilt was undeserved and that you've been betrayed by the man your predecessor loved like a father? Lelouch…the man who lies deserves the truth.'
Lelouch finished pouring out the fluids that soiled his body and began to breathe deeply and slowly, trying now to regain his composure.
"God, that was unpleasant," said Lelouch.
He sat down and looked up at the stack of smoke that rose where Bloodbeard once stood as a great beast and smirked.
"It won't kill him but a blow like that will weaken him enough so that he will be forced to revert to human form," said Lelouch. "Then it's merely a matter of keeping my head clear and cutting his head off, the power of Geass, the power of my mind, proving that I do not believe in immortality."
"Then he'll finally die after centuries on earth," said Suzaku. "We can finally put this hell behind us."
"Not exactly," said Lelouch. "It'll take a lot of work to rebuild the world after today Suzaku but yes, this is the day that Bloodbeard dies. Does that armor have a communication system?"
"Yes," said Suzaku, "but why?"
"I need Gino to leave his duty of protecting Kallen for a moment," said Lelouch. "First I'll have him look for Rivalz…if…if Rivalz really is here and then the four of us along with that Archer, whoever he is, and we'll end him. The God-King, the Champion, the Hero, the Cavalry, and the Archer will stand before the tower of the Beast, Bloodbeard's own words, and I see a large tower of smoke left in the ruins of the Beast. Bloodbeard fulfilled his own prophecy."
Suzaku looked at Lelouch's face, seeing shades of the Demon Emperor, and it disturbed him slightly. He didn't like to see hatred in Lelouch's eyes, they opened a window to a soul that frightened Suzaku to the bone, and whenever he looked into Lelouch's eyes when they were like that he could see fire, a fire that would shame the sun and strike fear into dragons. That very same fire was what caused so many lives to be lost and ruined.
'Is that what you really are Lelouch?' thought Suzaku. 'Are you neither good nor evil but like fire, a force of nature, and like fire those who play with you are justly burned. If that's the case…will God and his wizard be next on the pyre?'
"Is there something on your mind Suzaku?" asked Lelouch. "You've been staring at me for a while now and you have a look on your face that makes me uncomfortable."
Suzaku thought about the horrible truth in his head, and remembered how Lelouch constantly lied, and he found an interesting thought, almost as if he had a dark epiphany. There is no truth, only truths, and Lelouch told certain truths in his life. He told the truth to the Japanese that he was a hero for justice; he told the truth to the Black Knights that he used them, and he told the truth to the world that he was a violent demon. But he also told the truth to Nunnally that he was a loving older brother, to the Student Council that he was a loving friend, and Suzaku could tell that Lelouch was telling the truth to Kallen that he was a loving husband.
Good and bad, violent and kind, saint and sinner, all were true about Lelouch. In the end he really told no lies, only truths, and only the stupid called them lies.
"Suzaku?" asked Lelouch, sounding worried by his friend's silence.
Suzaku responded by wrapping his arms around Lelouch in a tight and loving hug, catching Lelouch by surprise, and let flow the tears from his unmasked face onto Lelouch's shoulder.
'Damn you wizard,' thought Suzaku, 'you were right.'
After Euphemia died Suzaku hated Lelouch as Achilles hated Hector and it took the pain of that hatred, the pain caused by vengeance, for Suzaku to realize that in the end Suzaku loved Lelouch and could barely keep his nerve on that fateful day, the day he had stuck Lelouch's heart and cast him down like Saint Michael had cast Lucifer into the pit. The world had hated Lelouch that day, but Suzaku, as Lelouch's blood poured over him in a grim baptism, loved him in ways that would make the icy heart he had carried up till that moment melt like the last bit of winter before the spring's heavenly warmth.
Suzaku could not say that he loved Lelouch in the way he loved Euphemia, although in some alternate world perhaps he did, but this world's Suzaku Kururugi loved Lelouch as someone he could simply not live without. A brother he could not bear to be separated from for the pain was too great. He could not have come to this truth, this dark, horrible, beautiful truth, if he had not been so angry with him. Thus the wizard's words had been spoken and proven true.
Lelouch did not question Suzaku's shocking display of affection. If anything he returned it in fully, hugging Suzaku tightly and warmly, not caring for the reasons. He had never once stopped loving Suzaku like a brother, no, as a brother, despite all that had happened. There were few in the world Lelouch would campaign to make the world better for and Suzaku was one of them. He had a true and heroic spirt and deserved a system that reflected his shining righteousness and Lelouch wanted to develop that system for him and place him in command as the captain of the righteous army of mankind he wanted the Black Knights to be.
"Uh, I'm not interrupting something am I?" asked a voice that Lelouch and Suzaku thought they would never hear again.
The two broke off and looked to find a man dressed from head to toe in blue armor looking at them and although most of his face was obstructed by his blue winged helmet they could tell that the man before them was none other than Rivalz Cardemonde.
Without a second's hesitation the White Knight and the Black King ran over and tackled the Blue Knight and held him like a vice, both crying their eyes out over the return of their supposedly lost friend.
"It's really you," said Lelouch. "My god Rivalz it's you."
"I thought you'd never come back to us," cried Suzaku.
"Guys…you're killing me," moaned Rivalz.
"We just thought…we thought…god Rivalz we're just so relieved," said Lelouch. "So forgive us for being emotional."
"No…you're literally killing me," moaned Rivalz.
Suzaku and Lelouch, realizing that they were crushing Rivalz's body, broke off their blue friend and watched as he tried to regain his breath.
"It's…it's good to see you too guys," said Rivalz.
"What…what happened to you? Why are you dressed in that armor?" asked Suzaku.
"Oh, you like it? M.M gave it to me," said Rivalz. "He also gave me a new Geass; something called the Power of the Hero."
Suzaku flinched slightly when Rivalz mentioned M.M's name but tried to think beyond it as he and Lelouch listened to Rivalz's story. He told about his time in C's World and how he met with and trained with G.G, and that he was reunited with Milly and became engaged to her.
"My god…you fucked Milly," said Lelouch.
"I…I wouldn't put it like that," said Rivalz. "Anyway that's not important. Princess Cornelia and a bunch of civilians and some soldiers are bunkered down in a ruined hotel not too far from here."
"We'll take care of them after Gino and the Archer get here and we take care of Bloodbeard once and for all," said Lelouch.
"Archer?" asked Rivalz.
"Don't worry you'll catch up," said Suzaku. "I'll contact the Valhalla to get Gino to come to us."
"That leaves the Archer to me," said Lelouch. 'It'll give me time to ask how he knows Nunnally and why he mentioned her name.'
"Ten minutes and still no sign of movement within the smoke cloud," said Xingke.
"You don't think Lelouch took his immortality before we hit him do you?" asked Tamaki.
"We have no idea if trying from the inside would even work," said Ohgi. "For now we keep vigil until further notice."
"We're being hailed," said Viletta at the communication console.
"Open up the channel," said Ohgi.
"Can everyone here me up there?" asked the voice of Suzaku Kururugi.
"Loud and clear Kururugi," said Ohgi.
"Is Lelouch alright?" asked Kallen.
"He's fine and Rivalz's here too if you can believe it and he says Princess Cornelia and all the soldiers and civilians are safe," said Suzaku. "Lelouch wants Gino on the ground along with the Geass Canceller he gave to Ohgi. The four of us are going to rendezvous with the pilot of the green Knightmare and finish off Bloodbeard. This ends tonight."
"Agreed," said Ohgi. "We'll send Gino down along with the device. Hold tight and we'll trace your location."
The connection was severed and Ohgi pulled out the Geass Canceller.
"Don't do it," said Kallen.
Ohgi cut a look at Kallen who was looking furious for reasons he couldn't quite tell.
"If you give that device to Gino he'll murder Lelouch with it," said Kallen, glaring at her 'bodyguard'.
"I'm sorry Kallen but Lelouch has given us his orders and we must comply," said Ohgi.
"Just like if he used his Geass on you," said Gino.
"That doesn't matter," said Ohgi. "Just get this down there and try not to kill him before you kill Bloodbeard."
"Then what? Do you really think that you can trust Lelouch to not use the powers he now possesses against you?" asked Gino.
"Can Lelouch trust us not to use the powers we don't possess against humanity?" countered Ohgi.
"Enough," said Tohdoh. "The longer we waste time arguing Bloodbeard is using that time to heal his wounds and he will continue his onslaught and won't stop until everyone in this city is dead."
Ohgi handed Gino the device and continued operating the ship under Lelouch's orders while Kallen continued to scowl angrily at Gino.
'At least…the world will be safe for you,' Kallen thought, stroking her belly.
"The boy is going to be so very disappointed," said Morgan, stroking Bradley's tail while he slept.
The new work force, Red-Cap's enhanced soldiers, had finally arrived and completion of the tower would soon be underway.
The old God-King stood upon the high stones of the circle where in the center a beautiful Japanese woman, the representation of her consciousness at least, rested peacefully. She had been through so much in her life, losing her children, her freedom, and her dignity. Arthur knew her history very well; being connected to 'God' allowed him such information and his heart broke when he thought about her tale. Had she been a citizen of his kingdom such horrible plagues would never have befallen her and when he heard that Mordred had raped and enslaved her, the chivalrous king could not stand idle as a spirit.
With his old friend the wizard's help he traveled into his son's consciousness and plucked her from the hell of Mordred's mind. She had not yet fully recovered but for now she was at peace and Arthur stood over her to ensure her safety.
He knew the woman as the mother of Kallen Kozuki, Lelouch's love, and upon looking at her Arthur could tell that beauty ran in the family. He looked at her never with a lustful gaze but with a gaze of wonder at her beauty and her resilience. He marveled at the kind of will it took to try and survive during such a harsh dictatorship where she was forced to be a serf in the house of her former lover and endure her own daughter's misplaced disdain as well as the hatred of her lover's wife for years on end. Yes, she gave into drugs but she was only human.
Arthur stepped down from his perch and brushed a bit of hair out of Hanako Kozuki's beautiful face, and placed a small kiss upon her troubled brow.
"Forgive me my lady," he whispered, "your pain should not have happened and forgive me Lelouch for fate cannot be avoided."
Mikhail had kept a vigil over the smoke screen that his father's monstrous form had fallen into, his Knightmare's bow and arrow trained on the target, or it was until Lelouch flew into his line of fire.
'Damn, I'm going to have to face him,' thought Mikhail, 'lying wizard.'
Mikhail opened the hatch and stood up, leaving the Robin Hood on hover, and stood before Lelouch on equal footing so to speak.
"Who are you and how do you know Nunnally?" asked Lelouch.
"I am a warrior who is loyal to the empress," said Mikhail. "For her I shall go to the ends of the earth, to the pits of hell, and to the farthest star. Is that not a sufficient answer?"
"Not really," said Lelouch.
"I hold no allegiance to that creature in the smoke and if we continue to waste time on your petty suspicions he will rise again," said Mikhail. "If you seek my aid to end him I will give it. Her majesty, the glorious Nunnally, must be restored to her throne and that can only happen if that thing is destroyed."
"On that we can agree but I'm not a person who is easily convinced," said Lelouch. "Who are you?"
"The son of a murdered mother and the loyal servant of the empress," said Mikhail, "and someone who will ensure that her majesty's safe is ensured by eliminating monsters such as the Mad Titan... or the Demon Emperor, should he return. I know of how you chained her as if she were your private slave for you to practice your lust on."
Lelouch cringed angrily at that memory. He hated having to strip Nunnally have her dressed and chained like a slave but it was a necessary sin.
"What I do I do for my beloved empress," said Mikhail, "for now let that be all and let us kill this beast. We can discuss this in further detail later and believe me it will be a long discussion."
Lelouch growled deeply and angrily but found that he had no choice, time was being wasted, and Bloodbeard was the greater threat to Nunnally than this archer.
"Fine," said Lelouch. "Follow me then."
The God-King flew down towards the meeting place with the green Knightmare in tow and he could already tell that even if the nameless archer wasn't one of Bloodbeard's agents he was not going to be one of his friends.
Under the cold eyes of Suzaku, and out of a need to look human in front of Rivalz, Gino had relinquished the Geass Canceller to Lelouch and the five young men went into the smoke cloud that Bloodbeard had fallen in. The smoke was thick and dense but Gino was able to filter out the smoke with his speed and soon enough, as if the universe was finally smiling on them, they came across the wounded, naked body, of Amadeus Bloodbeard, born Mordred Pendragon.
"Well, well, well, how the mighty have fallen," said Lelouch, pressing his foot against Bloodbeard's body.
"I…admit…I should have seen that coming," said Bloodbeard.
"Of all your sins one of your greatest is gluttony," said Lelouch, "eating anything and everything that moves before you on the land."
"If you're talking about sins I can see four out of seven," said Bloodbeard. "For you Lelouch I see pride, for Kururugi it's obviously wrath, Weinberg over there is envy, and the good Cardemonde, with his pursuits of that blonde slut, is Lust. Our fifth friend…is a mystery."
Rivalz ran up and threw his short sword, the sacred sword Ascalon, into Bloodbeard's pelvis.
"That's for calling Milly a slut you son of a bitch," yelled Rivalz.
"End this Lelouch," said Suzaku. "No more of his forked tongue lies and tricks and no gloating on your part for once. Let's just end this and get on with our lives."
"Agreed," said Gino.
"Here, here," said Mikhail.
"As you say my war company," said Lelouch. "Farwell Bloodbeard."
Lelouch raised Caledflwch and threw it down, aimed for Bloodbeard's head, his heart, mind, and soul focusing on the destruction of his code and the power, straight from God, flowing through his very blood.
"Nunnally dies!" yelled Bloodbeard.
Nunnally slept peacefully in her bed until suddenly she felt a sharp, hot pain run through her body. It was strange and sickening, it was the second time she had felt so ill, the first being when the UFN was about to disband before Lelouch saved them. She believed it must have had something to do with Lelouch and possibly even Mikhail and even as she was suffering her only thoughts were on those two men closest to her heart.
"Mikhail, Lelouch, please be alright," Nunnally prayed.
Lelouch had stopped the blade just inches above Bloodbeard's face.
"What are you talking about?" growled Lelouch.
"If I die then Nunnally will die with me," said Bloodbeard. "The time of the Eternity Chalice is coming, it is inevitable, but it won't just come out of the blue, even when it is needed, when all conditions are set, and the world is absolute shit, there must be a final arrangement."
"He's just stalling for time Lelouch," said Gino. "Kill him now."
"Let him speak," said M.M, making the smoke clear with his appearance. "Hear him out and learn the rules."
"Rules? What rules wizard?" yelled Mikhail, notching his bow.
Bloodbeard's eyes darted towards the archer and widened when they recognized the bow.
"Impossible," he whispered silently.
"What is he talking about?" yelled Lelouch, grabbing Bloodbeard by the throat.
Bloodbeard's mind was brought back to the present situation and he smirked.
"The tricky thing about salvation is that it has to be earned," said Bloodbeard. "You already have the Fisher Queen, the one who will bear the cup, in your possession as you have since day one. It cannot be like that, the Eternity Chalice, the Holy Grail, must be sought after, quested for, and earned. If you already have it and are in no danger of losing it then the game isn't fair."
"Fair?" said Rivalz. "What about anything involving you could possibly be fair?"
"As he said, salvation must be earned, won in a competition of fierce strength," said M.M.
"We've been in competition wizard and we're about to win," said Suzaku. "Mankind has earned salvation."
"Have they?" asked Bloodbeard. "Weinberg, you've seen what the rest of Britannia looks like. Tell them about it."
Gino narrowed his eyes as all turned to him.
"People are going nuts," said Gino. "It's not just the UFD invading them but members of what's left of the Britannian military have formed their own militias along with a few nobles and they're acting like complete barbarians. People are being raped and murdered in the street and crucified on telephone poles. It's like the Dark Ages."
"Home," said Bloodbeard. "Humanity has fallen back into their primitive habits. Order has been replaced by chaos, or freedom as you would call it, and they are proving themselves to be everything but worthy of salvation."
"You're the one who has made the world this way," said Lelouch, "all the more reason for you to die."
"That is not how the chalice works," said M.M. "The Eternity Chalice must be presented before both sides of the board, placed up as the prize, and claimed at the end of the game. The Chalice has not come to the Fisher Queen and if it comes and the board for the Final Game is not set Nunnally will die."
Lelouch and Mikhail both felt their hearts stop.
"If the Chalice does not physically come into the world in the hands of the Fisher Queen then the heavenly power that comes with holding the Chalice will burn Nunnally's soul and her body," said M.M.
"That's horrible," said Rivalz. "How can that possibly happen? The Holy Grail is the cup of life and all things good."
"But if it is not released, not earned, and used then it is meaningless," said M.M. "Kill Mordred now and you will remove your opposing king before the game even begins and without him to bring the world to the edge on that day Nunnally will die. Even as we speak, as the world rots, Nunnally burns with divine purpose and without the fated players on the day of judgment to fulfill her purpose she will die and the chance to save this world will be lost."
"That can't be true," said Suzaku.
"According to the legends the Fisher King and his lands were dying together," said Rivalz. "If Nunnally's supposed to hold the Holy Grail then that means she and the world are connected."
"But that's why we came here," said Suzaku. "We were going to fight the UFD and stop the rotting of the world so the Chalice wouldn't have to come."
"But the world is going to rot even without the UFD," said Gino. "All humanity has embraced the darkness. If we ever needed real Jesus Christ style salvation we need it now."
"At the cost of your Empress?" yelled Mikhail. "You would risk an angel's life to this demon in an uncertain game?"
"I don't know who you are but I know you have no place in this discussion," said Gino.
"Oh I don't think so," said Bloodbeard. "He's the archer of the prophecy and…he's closely related to this issue."
"But what the hell is this about 'earning' the Chalice?" asked Rivalz. "I don't get it."
"Good vs. Evil, on an equal field," said Bloodbeard. "A board where neither Lelouch nor I would have the home field advantage, an epic struggle for the victory of either one of humanity's possible futures, redemption and madness. Having the means to redeem mankind in your own house without having to struggle for it isn't really a victory. It's like having the enemy king in your pocket before you even play the game of chess and you do love chess don't you Lelouch?"
Lelouch was speechless, the horrible truth had been revealed to him, and his mind was blank. To win the game, to save the world, he would have to risk Nunnally's life and forsake the chance to kill his enemy now lest he seal her fate with the swing of his sword.
"You wanted to prove that you have free will here is your chance," said Bloodbeard. "Either play God and M.M's Final Game or destroy me now and bury Nunnally next to me."
Author's Note: So now the truth is out and Lelouch must make a choice and Mikhail will not like it. Rivalz is now officially a knight and is beginning to develop a bond with Cornelia. Suzaku's 'Live' command has now been broken by his strong will, and Ohgi is contemplating the Geass Canceller.
Also I double-spaced this chaper while I was writing it so don't complain about the spacing this time because it's the site and not me.
Next Turn: Freedom and Fate