Turn 02 - A Change in Direction

Kallen tore through Shinjuku, attempting to escape from Jeremiah and her other pursuers. She was well-aware of just how masterful a pilot Jeremiah Gottwald was, and she really didn't want to fight him head-to-head, even if he were alone.

"Come on, Kozuki, you can do this. Shake him off…" She said, as she turned another corner. "Dammit! I can't get away." She said, feeling her hope slowly slipping away. "Ohgi… Naoto… Lelouch… I'm sorry."

"The West exit."

Kallen's attention snapped to the communicator. "Who is this? How did you get this code?" She shouted. "Dammit, have we been compromised.

"That doesn't matter right now." The voice said. "Just trust me. If you want to win, follow my instructions."

"To win?" Kallen said. "Okay, now what?" She said, moving to the west exit.

"Now, jump onto the train tracks."

"Right!" She said, doing as he said.

Jeremiah smirked. "Oh come now. If you run away, it really isn't much of a hunt now, is it?" He said, a hint of genuine disappointment in his voice.

"Since you followed my orders, you're going to win. Jump onto the train."

She nodded. "Got it." She leaped onto the train cars in front of her as Jeremiah's Sutherland came to a stop. "So that's your escape plan, is it. How disappointing." He said, turning to the knightmare behind him. "You there. Go after the Glasgow."

"Yes, My Lord." The knightmare jumped into the air, but before it could land, a pair of slash harkens slammed into it, causing the pilot to eject from the Sutherland immediately.

"What? But how did…" Jeremiah said, seeing the offending attacker inside a run-down building. "Shot by friendly fire? Or-" The Sutherland began opening fire. "No, a terrorist?" He ejected moments before his knightmare exploded.

Kallen smiled. "You saved me. But how did you get a hold of an enemy Sutherland?" She asked, the knightmare in question no longer in the same position.

"Kallen!" Ohgi said. "Who was that, just now?"

She looked confused as she poked her head out of the Glasgow. "He called you too?"

Ohgi nodded. "Yeah. He said for everyone to meet back here and-"

"Are you their leader?"

"Wait…" Kallen thought. "I know that voice."

Ohgi looked a bit awkwardly at the device in his hand. "Uh, yeah I guess."

Kallen felt emotions welling up inside of her. She thought that she had lost him, but as she heard him assigning code names, she knew it was him. "Woman in the Glasgow."

"Yes?"

"You will be Q-1."

She nodded. "Of course… K."

Lelouch was a bit surprised at first, but then he began to laugh slightly. "There is no need to call me that."

She nodded. "Well then, what should I call you?" He thought about it for a moment, but couldn't think of a response. "Nothing? Alright then… Zero it is."

"Zero?" Lelouch said, with a smile. "I like it. Thank you, Q-1. Now, swap out your energy filler with a spare. I'll contact you again in fifteen minutes. I need you in the Glasgow so you can run decoy."

She nodded. "Yes sir!" She said, the words naturally rolling off of her tongue.

Lelouch sat back and let out a sigh. "Looks like she caught me. No matter, if necessary, I can always take care of that later." He said. "Although, I'd rather not use this power on her unless absolutely necessary."

"I don't know about this." Tamaki said. "How do we know we can trust this guy? What if it's a trap?"

"Why would they need to set a trap?" Kallen said.

Ohgi nodded. "I agree with Kallen. They're holding all of the cards in this war. There's no reason for them to set a trap."

"Also." The voice of Zero came through. "The opponent isn't that good a strategist. Trust me. I've seen tactics like his before. His strategy is pitiful."

Kallen smiled. "No doubt about it." She thought to herself. "Guys, we can trust him." She said.

Tamaki looked confused. "Huh? What makes you say that?"

She smirked. "Just a feeling."

Ohgi nodded. "Alright Zero. What now?"

"Q-1, fancy a trip down section A?" Lelouch said with a smirk. "P3, B2, you two are in position, correct?" The two of them responded, letting him know they were. "Good."

For a long while, Lelouch gave command after command, taking down the enemy forces like they were nothing. "I can do this… I can defeat Britannia." He said, nearly unable to contain his laughter.

"Zero? What are my next orders?" Kallen asked.

He smiled. "You're an eager one, aren't you, Q-1?" He said, making the Glasgow pilot blush a bit. "Do you have a map of the area?"

"Huh?" She asked. "Yes, but It's only of the old city."

He nodded. "It'll do. I've got a move we can make together, if you're up for it."

"O-of course."

The two of them made their way underground and once a large amount of enemy forces were above them, they took out the support pillars, causing the ground beneath the enemy Sutherlands to collapse into the rubble.

Lelouch chuckled. "I can only imagine how Clovis is reacting to all of this." He thought to himself as he twirled the chess piece in his hand. "I'd almost hoped for a real challenge."

Meanwhile, in Clovis' transport, he was losing his mind trying to figure out what was going on. "What? Then send in Stratford's squad!"

"They were wiped out in that ground collapse as well, your highness."

"But then… alright, send in Lawrence's-"

"The ambush in sector 9 got them too."

"What the hell am I up against?" He said. "Send in... anyone!"

As Bartley attempted to find forces, a window opened up on the screen in front of him. "Ah-hello~ You seem to be in quite some trouble."

"We are in the middle of an operation!" Bartley shouted.

He smiled. "Ah yes, but you see I happen to have a solution to your little problem."

Clovis grimaced the bespeckled man in the monitor. "This again?" He said. However, he had seemed to have fun out of options. "Very well. But do you really think your toy can defeat them."

The man let out a sigh. "My Lord, please be so kind as to call it Lancelot..."

"So you read the manual?" Cecile asked.

Suzaku nodded. "Pretty much."

She gave him a disapproving stare. "I don't want to hear 'pretty much.' This is the first 7th generation knightmare frame. If you get injured because of-"

Suzaku smiled. "I read it all, Miss Cecile. There's no need to worry."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Good, because I would be quite saddened if you were to injure yourself any more while piloting the Lancelot. How's your side?"

He placed his hand to the wound. "It still hurts, but I'll manage." He climbed into the cockpit of the Lancelot and got ready for the launch.

"Suzaku, just so you know, you are not to do anything reckless. This is a new system, so there is not an ejection block on it." Cecile said.

He nodded. "Right, got it."

"Well, if you're ready Suzaku, shall we proceed with the initial startup?" Lloyd said. They ran through all of the system checks for the Lancelot and finally it was off. "Hahaha! Running full-throttle right out the gate!"

"Hey, Zero?" Kallen said. "Um, I just wanted to confirm something real quick."

Lelouch nodded. "Okay, what is it?" He asked as he was watching for enemy patterns.

"Are you-"

"This is B group, reporting enemy presence!"

"What?" Lelouch said. "Reinforcements? I suppose this is a real battle after all. It would be different…" He said. "Status?"

"Everyone's ejected."

"What?" He said, confused. "Enemy numbers?" He said, seeing nothing on his monitor.

"Just one. But it looks like a new model."

"New model?" Lelouch said.

Kallen's eyes widened. "The enemy. What color is it?"

"It looks like white and- AH!"

"N-2?" Lelouch said. "Respond! N-2! Dammit!" He said, annoyed.

"Zero!" Kallen shouted. "I think I know what it is! It's an experimental knightmare frame. This isn't like the other ones. We have to pull back!"

Just as Lelouch was about to give orders to the others, he saw it appear in front of him. "What? So this is the one that's ruining my plans?"

Suzaku glared. "Are you the guy in charge here? The one that's in command?"

Lelouch glared back. "Dammit. Just one pilot could…" He said, as the Lancelot slammed his Sutherland through to the ground level of the building he was hiding out in. "Damn! I have to get out of here!"

Suzaku started to attack again, but Kallen's Glasgow moved in just in time to stop it. "What the… Q-1?"

"I'm returning the favor from earlier!" Kallen said. "Go, I can't hold him much longer in this thing!"

He nodded. "Right. Thank you, Q-1." He said, ejecting from the Sutherland.

Kallen smiled as the pod flew off into the distance. "Good. Now it's my turn." She said, ejecting as well.

"I'll have to keep an eye out for that one…" Both of them thought.

Lelouch got out of the capsule and started analyzing his surroundings. "I see. It looks like I've landed in a rather useful spot."

"You there! Freeze!" A soldier shouted. "What? Hang on, what's a student doing out here in Shinjuku."

Lelouch smiled and turned toward him. "You there. I'll need your armor."

Kallen made her way to the rondevu point, agreed upon through communications, finding that everyone was accounted for, except for Nagata and… "Where's Zero?" She asked. "Didn't he say this is where everyone should…"

Before she could finish, one of the walls was blown down, revealing several knightmares behind it.

"You see!" Tamaki shouted. "I told you we couldn't trust him!"

"So this is where you Elevens were hiding! Well now, in agreeance with the orders of his highness, Prince Clovis, we shall now execute you here! Ready?"

Kallen dropped to her knees. "No… is this where it ends? But… I never went anywhere. I never did anything in my life. In the end… it was all a waste… Naoto… I'm sorry."

"Cease fire!" Clovis' voice shouted. "All forces, cease fire at once! I,.Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia, hereby order all soldiers to cease the destruction of buildings or property. All casualties, Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice!"

"What the…" Kallen said, hearing Clovis' statement. "Did he… do that?"

The lights in Clovis' transport turned off as he glared into the darkness. "There, are you satisfied?"

Lelouch nodded. "Quite."

"And what now? Shall we sing a lively ballad, or perhaps play a nice game of chess?"

"That certainly has a familiar ring." Lelouch said, tossing off his helmet. "What's wrong? Don't you recognize me? You and I used to play chess together. Of course, I would always win." He said, stepping closer.

"Lelouch?" Clovis said in disbelief. "B-but I thought that-"

"That I was dead?" He said, smugly. "You were wrong. The eldest son of the late consort Marianne and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service."

Clovis smiled. "My god, it's been so long! Come, we shall return to the homeland with-"

"I don't think so." Lelouch said, confusing Clovis.

"What do you mean? Do you not wish to return to-"

"Nunnally and I were exiled, if you recall." Lelouch said. "We wouldn't be welcome even if we wanted to return."

Clovis didn't understand. "But Lelouch, even Marrybell is in talks to be welcomed back into the homeland. I'm sure we could-"

"You don't get it, do you?" Lelouch said. "The Emperor didn't just send us to Japan as political tools. He abandoned us. You remember that, don't you? After all, you were there when they sent Nunnally and I away."

Clovis nodded. "Yes, but you were only children then. If you spoke with father now, then-"

"It seems you've forgotten why we were used as tools in the first place." Lelouch said. "That's right, it was because my mother was killed." He said, his anger growing. "She held the title of Knight of Honor, but was a commoner by birth. No doubt the imperial consorts held her in contempt. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists. I'm no fool. You people killed my mother!"

Clovis held his hands up defensively. "I didn't do it! I had nothing to do with it! Please, you have to believe me!"

"Believe someone who, so casually, ordered the slaughter of the Shinjuku ghetto?" Lelouch said.

"You don't understand!" Clovis shouted. "Lelouch, I'm only here because I thought you and Nunnally were dead!" He shouted. "I was only so harsh on the Elevens because I had thought they killed you!"

"You what?" Lelouch said.

"Lelouch, when I had heard that you and Nunnally were presumed dead, it broke my heart." He said. "I never told you or Nunnally, but I loved all of my siblings deerly. Cornelia felt the same way. The only reason I became the viceroy of Area 11 was because I promised her I would properly punish the Elevens that took our siblings' lives."

"You're a fool, Clovis." Lelouch said, silently. "The Japanese people didn't kill us. They saved us." He said, remembering Suzaku falling to the ground after being shot. "And you repaid their kindness with oppression and murder."

Clovis was shaking with fear, looking at the gun in Lelouch's hand. "Wait! I promise if you don't kill me, I-I'll turn over a new leaf! I swear I will!"

Lelouch glared at him. "And why should I believe anything you-"

"I swear on Lenora's grave, I will!" He shouted.

Lelouch suddenly stopped. "What?" He said. "I see… so she's dead." He thought to himself.

Clovis nodded. "Yes… Lelouch, I promise you, I will try to change for the better now that I know that you and Nunnally are alive and well. So please… spare my life…"

Lelouch couldn't tell if he was lying, but decided to continue down the road he was on. "I've had enough of this. Answer my questions."

Clovis' expression relaxed as his eyes glowed with the power of geass. "Of course."

"Who killed my mother?" Lelouch asked. "By whose hand was she slain?"

"Second Prince Schneizel and Second Princess Cornelia… they can tell you." He responded. "I'm afraid… that is all that I know."

"They were at the heart of this?" Lelouch said. "Second question. Do you really mean it when you say you will turn over a new leaf?"

Clovis stared for a moment. "I will try."

"I don't want to hear 'try.' Either you will or you won't." Lelouch said.

"I will."

Lelouch sighed. "Final question… can you swear to me that you will say nothing about me or Nunnally being alive?" He didn't want to kill Clovis, necessarily, but if he couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut… he would have to.

"Yes."

Lelouch released his geass and watched as it faded from Clovis' eyes. Almost immediately, he went back to the terrified state he was in before. "Lelouch, please, don't!"

"I won't." Lelouch said. "But there are three conditions you must meet if you want me to walk away and leave you with your life."

Clovis nodded. "Of course."

Lelouch nodded. "First, you have to truly agree to change and stop the pointless mistreatment of the Japanese people."

He nodded. "Of course, I will."

"Second, you won't say a word to anyone about Nunnally or I being alive. If word gets out it will ruin everything."

"Yes, my lips are sealed." Clovis said, hopefully. "And your third requirement?" Lelouch smiled and pointed the gun at Clovis. "Wha-wait, what are you doing?! I thought we had a deal!"

"We did." Lelouch said. "But I need you out of commission for a while to move forward in my plans. If you swear on Lenora's grave that you will keep to your word, I'll shoot you so the bullets won't kill you."

Clovis stared into Lelouch's eyes. He could tell that if didn't do what Lelouch said, he would die here. "Very well. I swear. But Lelouch-"

"Good." He said, pulling the trigger. "Remember to keep to your word, Clovis. I got to you once. That means I could easily do it again." With that, Lelouch left.

As he walked away he began to question why he didn't just kill Clovis then and there. It would tie up loose ends. Especially since he noticed that his geass hadn't worked when he gave Clovis those orders. "So… it only works once on a single person…" He said to himself. "Even so, I think I can trust Clovis not to say anything. He's too much of a coward to go against his word… especially if he would swear on his fiancée's grave." He thought.

I actually almost decided to have Clovis die still, but it seemed like a good place to make something very different right from the start. Though I had him scream out his fiancée's name to add a bit of humanity to him and show that he is serious with what he's telling Lelouch. Him swearing on his dead loved one's grave is also the only way I could make Lelouch not killing him make any semblance of sense. Obviously in the original show there is no Lenora, but we also don't really know all that much about Clovis, so I decided to play into that. I do plan to have Clovis appear again, since he isn't dead.

The other reason though that I decided to have Lelouch not kill him was to show that Lelouch has an understanding that these are people already. Seeing Kallen deal with her brother's death as well as knowing that she is on the front lines fighting clicked with him sooner because he has a personal connection which will make him less likely to just sacrifice his people moving forward. He still did shoot him and leave him in a situation where he would bleed out without medical attention, so it's not like he didn't do anything. And yes, Kallen comes up with Zero as a joke in this story, but I thought it might be nice to have that happen, partially because she's supposed to know that name already, but you know… amnesia.

Oh and don't worry, I still intend to include his iconic line from the original scene somewhere in this story. "You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty." is too good a line to cut out entirely.