The Journey of the Unholy Trinity (English Version)

by Arremi

Six months have passed since the Zero Requiem, and the young Empress Nunnally has been presented with the opportunity to see the truth about the path her brother traveled, but the truth will show more than the story of Lelouch vi Britannia, since the life of the Demon Emperor has always been attached to the lives of the White Reaper and the Immortal Witch. (Watch the show fic)

2. The Day a New Demon was Born

Chapter 1: The Day a New Demon was Born

Three weeks had passed since the mysterious D.S. had given Nunnally and Suzaku the boxes with the discs and the list of people who should be present. During those three weeks Suzaku with the help of Schneizel contacted the people who appeared on the list and chose a date where everyone would have enough time to observe the three discs, although Suzaku does not tell anyone the reason for this meeting, at Nunnally's request, because she wanted to be the one to explain in detail what the whole thing was about. Finally, it was agreed that the guests would arrive on Friday and could stay both Saturday and Sunday, so that finally on Monday morning everyone could return. Finally, after everyone was able to put their affairs in order, the date Nunnally had been looking forward to arrive.

In front of the entrance to the room that had been chosen to serve as the place where the records would be viewed stood the young Empress and her knight waiting for their guests to arrive.

The young Empress looked around anxiously, unable to wait for the people she had invited to arrive before finally starting the event. "You don't know how much longer it will take, Suzaku?"

"It won't be long now, Your Majesty. I already asked your brother to bring them directly to you as soon as they all arrive, and don't forget that as soon as the others arrive, you should refer to me as Zero, not as Suzaku."

Immediately after Zero replied to the Empress, the guests began to arrive. Leading them was the former Prince Schneizel el Britannia, just behind him was his half-sister, the former Princess Cornelia li Britannia, who was accompanied by her loyal knight, Gilbert G.P. Guilford.

Behind the former royalty and Guilford were several former members of the order of the Black Knights and one of the Knights of the Round Table, among those entering was the current Prime Minister of Japan Kaname Ohgi, along with his wife Villetta Ohgi, formerly called Villetta Nu, who revealed a rather large belly, showing her several months of pregnancy. Next to them was the founder of the Cafe Zero, Shinichirō Tamaki. A little behind was the former leader of the Four Holy Swords, Kyoshiro Tohdoh together with Nagisa Chiba, finally there was also the star pilot of the Order, Kallen Kōzuki, who was chatting with the former Knight Gino Weinberg.

After the entrance of the knight, arrive the young chairwoman of the UFN, Kaguya Sumeragi and her friend, Empress Tianzi, who was accompanied by her loyal advisor and commander Li Xingke.

Near them were some of the world's greatest scientific minds, being present the infamous scientist Lloyd Asplund together with his assistant Cécile Croomy, behind them was the young Nina Einstein, looking nervously around. Finally, there was the famous Indian scientist Rakshata Chawla.

Among the guests was also a small group of civilians named Milly Ashford and Rivalz Cardemonde, both of whom had already met the others during the wedding between Ohgi and Villetta. With Jeremiah's help, the two had also managed to recover their original memories, but they did not know in detail how their memories had been altered in the first place.

Finally, behind all of them three people entered, one of them was the cyborg Knight Jeremiah Gottwald, next to him were the former Knight Anya Alstreim and the former servant Sayoko Shinozaki.

Schneizel, approaching Nunnally, kneels before her. "Your Majesty, I have brought the guests."

Nunnally quickly thanks him and then looks around at all the people who arrived. "I suppose you're wondering why I invited you, especially considering I even asked you to arrange everything so that you'll be able to stay for the whole weekend."

"Yes, why did you call us?" asks Tamaki with his characteristic disinterest in politeness.

"Tamaki!" Ohgi scolds his old friend. "You are in front of the Empress, have some respect."

"It's okay, it doesn't bother me at all," Nunnally says kindly to Ohgi. "To answer your question, I have to tell you that I have received something very special."

"What do you mean, Nunnally?" Kallen asks curiously.

"Three weeks ago together with Zero, I received three boxes containing one disc each, the first two discs contain the whole story of my big brother."

Kallen looks at Nunnally as she can't believe what she has heard. "Lelouch's story?"

"Why would we have to see the story of the Demon Emperor!" shouts Chiba angrily. "We know he simply used his Geass to gain power."

"Geass?" Milly mumbles in such a way that only Rivalz can hear her, both looking confused as they don't understand what a Geass is.

"Silence, woman!" shouts Jeremiah to Chiba, "I will let you insult the name of my Lord."

A discussion then began among the guests, between those who did not wish to have to see anything that reminded them of the former Emperor and the others who did wish to see what was on the discs.

"Silence!" shouted Zero with all the authority he could muster, which brought the discussion among the guests to a halt. "I understand that some of you do not wish to see what is contained in the records that tell the story of the ancient Emperor, but this matter is not only about the past, it also concerns our future."

"What do you mean, Zero?" asks Tohdoh.

"It is a long story, and I think it would be better if Your Majesty told it."

Nunnally begins to explain to her guests the encounter she and Suzaku had with the mysterious D.S., the young woman narrates how the mysterious woman offered them to see the true history of Lelouch vi Britannia, what were the orders they were given to be able to see that truth, and even, how they were given the opportunity to see the future. No one in the audience could believe their ears, some like Schneizel were able to hide their surprise, but most had a look of disbelief on their faces.

"Are you kidding? Do you really expect us to believe that we can see the future?" Tamaki asks in such a way that it is obvious that he does not believe a word of what Nunnally had said.

"As much as it pains me to say it, I have to agree with him," says Cornelia looking at Tamaki with annoyance, then looking at her half-sister. "Nunnally, I know the idea of seeing the future is appealing, but I really don't see how this could really be possible. Don't you think this could be a trap?"

"I know it sounds hard to believe, but I'm sure it's true," says Nunnally. "Besides, sister Cornelia. I think these records can show us what really happened to sister Euphy."

Cornelia, upon hearing that, shows an expression of pure surprise, and then remains silent for a moment, but finally she speaks again. "I see, if these records can show me what happened with Euphy, then I have to see them." Cornelia then looked at everyone in the audience. "I know many of you still wish to leave, but I ask you to please stay so that I can watch these recordings."

Zero couldn't help but shudder a little when he heard Euphemia's nickname, but besides that he could not show a bigger reaction. Nunnally had already explained to him earlier that maybe they could find out what really happened between Lelouch and Euphemia.

For a moment the room was silent, while the visitors thought about what they should do, until a voice was raised.

"I think we should watch the videos."

Everyone immediately turned to look at the source of the voice, it was Kaguya who had made the proclamation while flashing her typical smile.

"May I ask why you think we should see what's inside the disks, Miss Kaguya?" asks Xingke with curiosity.

"I won't lie, part of the reason I want to see them is to satiate my own curiosity, but I think that since many of us are in positions of power and leadership, it would be irresponsible of us to ignore this opportunity before us, for not only would knowing the future be of great help to us in keeping the peace, but the past could also end up giving us something that would be of use to us."

Upon hearing Kaguya's reasons along with Cornelia's request to see the disks, the visitors begin to agree one by one, until finally they all agree to see what the disks contain.

Nunnally, seeing that she will really get to know her big brother's story, could not suppress a big smile, then escorted with Zero's help all the visitors to the room where the videos would be shown. The room was a spacious place with several sofas and chairs, around each of these there were small tables with various snacks and drinks. As they begin to settle inside the room so that everyone can see the screen perfectly, three people quickly approach the Empress.

Jeremiah along with Sayoko and Anya get as close as possible trying not to raise the suspicions of the other people in the room, until finally Jeremiah whispers to the young Empress, "Your Majesty, do you really think it is wise to show this to all these people?"

"I understand that you don't completely agree with this Mr. Jeremiah, but I really need to know the whole truth, and I think it would be good for them to know it too."

Jeremiah simply looks at Sayoko and Anya, all three knowing that if these recordings show the whole truth, then it may uncover the true state the former Emperor is currently in, but since they cannot refuse without having to explain why they do not wish the recordings to be seen, the three decide to simply go sit in their respective seats, hoping that Lelouch's condition can be kept secret.

"Seeing that everyone is ready, let's get started with this," says Zero when he sees that everyone is in position.

Empress Nunnally with the remote control in her hand presses the button that starts the first recording.

The screen goes black for a moment until finally, as if an eye opens, what appears to be the sky appears, to quickly change to a golden colored eye that seems to belong to a woman, followed by sunflowers, Mount Fuji, an insect, and finally a small hill where two children begin to climb it, all while the sound of cicadas screeching.

"What the hell?" commented Chiba, not understanding what she had just seen.

"Was that C.C.'s eye?" asks Kallen to herself as she remembers how C.C. had the same eye color as the one that appeared on the screen.

"I think so." Ohgi replied as he listened to her. He also remembers the woman who everyone thought was Zero's lover.

"Who are those children?" asks Gino. "I thought these videos should show us what happened with Lelouch."

Tohdoh quickly recognized the two boys who appeared in the video and answered Gino. "Those are Lelouch and Suzaku when they were children, during their childhood they had been best friends."

The audience upon hearing this, with a few exceptions, were surprised, most of them had no idea that the Demon Emperor had been friends with Suzaku Kururugi, or that he even knew him personally before appointing him as his knight. Most simply believed that Suzaku had joined Lelouch to gain more power.

"How did they become friends?" asks Ohgi. "Lelouch was a prince of Britannia and Suzaku was the son of the former prime minister, I don't see how they became friends."

"I'm sure the answer will be shown to us at some point." Tohdoh replied.

Suzaku climbs quickly, while Lelouch seems to have difficulties to do it, the camera approaches Suzaku, who turns to help his friend to climb, then the same golden eye is shown again, when finally, Lelouch manages to climb, it is seen that a figure is watching them.

Kallen, recognizing the woman, can't help but frown.

"C.C.! What is she doing there?"

"Who?" ask Milly and Rivalz when they don't recognize the green-haired girl. Sadly, they are ignored by the other spectators, who are too confused to pay attention to them.

"I'm more curious about her appearance." Rakshata says as she also recognizes C.C. quickly. "I know we can't see her completely, but I always thought she should be the same age as Lelouch, apparently she's quite a bit older than him, even though she didn't look like she'd aged a day. What's her real age?"

Nunnally seeing for the first time the one who in the past she thought had been his big brother's possible girlfriend or fiancée, and who had accompanied him to the end did not know how to feel, because thanks to Lelouch's memories she recognized at least that she was the one who had given the Geass to her big brother, but above all she could not stop thinking about how right it was that the video started with her big brother and the two people with whom he managed to change the world.

Milly along with Rivalz were confused, neither of them knew who this C.C. was, and how she was connected to Lelouch.

The camera begins to switch to several different scenes as C.C.'s voice is heard explaining how Britannia declared war on Japan, explaining the disputes over Japan's resources and strained diplomatic relations, how the decisive battles introduced mechanical knights called knightmares, whose power surpassed any of the Japanese forces, and finally narrating that Japan ended up being conquered by Britannia, how its citizens lost all rights, and finally how Japan was renamed Area 11.

The Japanese having to listen to what had happened to their Nation in the past could not help but gnash their teeth at the horrible memory, Chiba would have even shouted insults at the Britannian military present in the room, were it not for Tohdoh to calm her down by reminding her that it was all in the past and that Japan was now a free Nation again.

"Why is C.C. narrating?" asks Ohgi in confusion. "Did she work together with D.S. to do this?"

Nunnally is also confused by the fact that C.C. began to narrate. "I couldn't say for sure, but from the way Miss. D.S. was talking about C.C., it didn't sound like they had cooperated at some point."

"How was this recorded in the first place?" asks Guilford.

"I really don't know, Miss D.S. never explained it," replies Nunnally.

Lelouch, Suzaku and a Japanese soldier are shown next to a truck, several destroyed buildings and a burning wooden structure, the soldier paying his respects in front of the structure and Suzaku sitting looking at the ground depressed.

"I swear... Suzaku, I swear!" Lelouch's voice is heard, which makes Suzaku look at his friend, who with an angry expression says, "I will destroy Britannia."

Cornelia hearing this couldn't help but put on a sad expression and think to herself. "Do you really hate us that much Lelouch? Enough to finish off Euphy and Clovis without any remorse?"

Schneizel while not showing it like Cornelia, can't help but regret the way things ended, for even if he would be willing to sacrifice his family, that doesn't mean he enjoyed it. "What a mistake our father made, if it hadn't been for his decision to exile you along with Nunnally, then Britannia wouldn't have lost such a valuable asset as you ended up being, Lelouch. And we wouldn't have lost so many siblings."

"Destroy Britannia, of course," says Chiba sarcastically. "He simply wanted to conquer it, I bet Kururugi simply accompanied him to gain more power."

Cécile listening to Chiba can barely contain her desire to stand up and tell the Japanese woman that Lelouch and Suzaku exclusively wanted to help the world, she could only restrain herself when Nina grabbed her shoulder and with a look told her that it was not the time to say it, to which Cécile takes a deep breath to try to calm down.

Jeremiah is also upset by Chiba's comment, but like Cecile, the cyborg manages to calm down with the help of Sayoko, who is also upset by the Japanese soldier's words, but manages to hide it better than Jeremiah.

After Lelouch's words, what appears to be a title appears on the screen.

Code Geass

Lelouch of the Rebellion

"So... this is supposed to be like a show, right?" Kaguya asks when she sees the title.

"That's right, Miss D.S. said she made the recordings look like a series for our convenience, although I didn't expect her to put in so much effort as to put a title on it," replies Nunnally.

Milly seeing that the word "Geass" appeared in the title and remembering her previous mention can't help but start asking, "I've been curious, what is a Geass?"

"Yes, I'm curious too." Rivalz seconds.

"I promise that all your questions will be answered, but to give you a simple explanation about the Geass, let's just say that it is like a special ability possessed by the ancient Emperor," replies Zero.

"A special ability...", Milly thinks. "I wonder if it has something to do with our memories."

It goes all black until quickly the Black Knights symbol appears on the screen along with the words "Stage 1", followed by "The day a new Demon was born."

"The day a new Demon was born..., what a fitting title to begin this story." Lloyd says with humor, a humor that is not shared by anyone else in the room.

Mount Fuji appears and the words "Seven years after the war 2017 A.T.B", then Tokyo settlement appears with the words "Britannian Residence, Tokyo settlement".

A helicopter with the Britannia symbol is following a truck, the helicopter pilot, a Britannian policeman is giving directions, "Alpha 3! The target is moving from Delta 12 to Delta 14. At a speed of 130 km per hour!"

"CP to all units! I'm declaring Code Three from floors five through two. All units, take 2-8-8. I want the target intact," says another Britannian policeman.

Kallen sees the truck and immediately recognizes it, so she looks at Ohgi, who looks back at her as he also recognizes it.

It shows what appears to be a bar where two men are playing chess, on a television a news anchorwoman is heard giving the news. "This video is from yesterday's terrorist bombing in Osaka. Eight Britannians and 51 others were killed in that horrific incident."

The time of one of the players, who is an old man, is running out, so one of the guards tells him that from now on each move should only last 20 seconds, all this while the other player who appears to be a nobleman simply polishes his nails with a confident look on his face.

"Wasn't that old man one of the possible victims of the Geass?" Tamaki asked, thinking he remembered seeing the man's face on the list Schneizel had given them.

"Yes, he was one of them." Tohdoh replied. "I wonder what he's doing there?"

The old man begins to panic not knowing what to do, when suddenly the door opens, this causes the nobleman to ask his opponent if his fright has arrived, while the old man stands up and happily says that he has been saved.

Through the door enter two figures that appear to be students, they advance until it is finally revealed that they are Lelouch and Rivalz.

A silence filled the room, even if they had already seen Lelouch as a young man, it was nothing compared to seeing him again as they all remembered. As soon as he appeared on screen various feelings welled up in every member of the audience, some felt sadness, others experienced anger, several showed happiness, but for some reason one feeling that prevailed among all the members of the audience, with the exception of Zero and Nunnally, was fear, fear of seeing again the man who accomplished what no one else in all of human history had accomplished, bring humanity to its knees and conquer the world.

Nunnally, upon seeing her big brother again, could not stop a single tear from coming out of her eye, a tear that contained all the guilt and self-hatred she had sown since her big brother's death. Kallen had a similar reaction, she like the Empress couldn't help but feel guilt for Lelouch's fate, she couldn't help but think about her actions. "If only I had stayed by your side. Lelouch... What was I in the end for you?"

Zero is the only one who does not show even the slightest reaction, but the reason for this is that the man under the mask does not know how to react, seeing his former friend again, who had perished by his own hand, simply makes him only remember his mistakes, remember the things he lost and remember the old friendship he had with Lelouch "Really, after all, I never thought that a world without you could be so lonely."

"Who are they? Students?" asks the nobleman.

"Who is he? A nobleman?" Lelouch answers him with the same mocking questions.

"What were the two of you doing there?" asks Xingke to Rivalz.

Before Rivalz could answer, Milly stepped forward and answered him. "Gambling, Lelouch and Rivalz were always skipping class to gamble with nobles."

"Gambling?" said Cornelia, dumbfounded, unable to believe that her brother would stoop to gambling.

Milly, seeing Cornelia's expression, can't help but let a smirk appear on her face. "Yes, Lelouch was always out gambling. Who knows what else he did? Maybe he hung out with different women at night?"

Cornelia hearing this couldn't help but blush, she knew that Lelouch had committed despicable acts, but the idea of Lelouch doing something as carnal as sharing a bed with a woman was not one she wanted to imagine. Nunnally, like her sister, couldn't help but blush, while Schneizel just laughed silently, to him the idea of Lelouch having that kind of relationship was too bizarre to take seriously.

Kallen can't help but frown at Milly's words, remembering a certain green-haired witch who always accompanied Lelouch to his chambers.

Lelouch's words cause the annoyed nobleman to tap the table lightly. "I envy youth. You still have plenty of time. Plenty of time to regret. Your name?"

"Lelouch Lamperouge."

"I have a question." Kallen says as she turns to Nunnally. "Where did Lelouch and you get the surname Lamperouge?"

"I really don't know; it was my big brother who decided to use it."

"Really? I honestly thought it would be your mother's original surname."

"No, Mom's surname was different," Nunnally replied, remembering her mother. "Using our original names was risky enough, my big brother wouldn't use a name that would put us in more danger of being found."

Rivalz approaches the chessboard, on which it can be seen that the black side is at a great disadvantage. "Damn! You can't win this game, no matter what you do, can you?"

"It will take him maximum nine minutes," Schneizel thinks as he looks at the board.

"Rivalz, how many minutes do we have to be out of here to get to the next class?"

"Well, if we go fast, in 20 minutes."

"Then, I'll ask you to drive carefully to get back." Lelouch says, surprising Rivalz. "I'm going to need nine minutes."

"Isn't it too arrogant of him to say that he will win in nine minutes? I'm not a chess expert, but I can see that the black side is at a big disadvantage, doing it in nine minutes is simply impossible," comments Chiba, annoyed at Lelouch's arrogance.

"You can tell you don't know Lelouch, he has never lost to any of the people we went to bet with," says Rivalz with confidence.

Tohdoh and Cornelia nod at Rivalz's words, they have witnessed firsthand what Lelouch is capable of.

Lelouch quickly sits down to start playing, but first he says a few words to the person he replaced. "By the way, about yesterday..."

"I understand; we'll talk about it later."

"Nine minutes?" says the nobleman, not believing what he has just heard. "You have only 20 seconds for each move."

Lelouch simply grabs the King's piece and says, "That's enough time."

"What, are you starting with the King?" asks the nobleman, only to immediately start laughing as he thinks he's playing against a rookie. Lelouch simply gives him a fake smile.

"Where is Lelouch?" asks a female voice, as the camera switches to show Ashford Academy.

"President, I think that's your voice," says Nina as she recognizes Milly's voice.

Milly smiles. "It looks like it's time for my debut."

"Rivalz took him," says another female voice.

Everyone who had studied at Ashford could not help but shudder when they heard the voice, as they could all immediately identify who it belonged to. It was hard to forget the voice of a former friend who had died less than a year ago, especially when the possible cause of death had been suicide.

Villetta hearing the voice couldn't help but sigh sadly, she may not have liked being a teacher and coach at the Academy, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel bad about the death of one of her students, even if that student had shot her earlier.

Ohgi, noticing his wife's sigh and Kallen's shudder, asks, "Do you know the girl of the voice?"

"She was a friend, she died some time ago, it is believed to be a suicide." Milly answers, grieving as she remembers Shirley.

"Is he subbing again? Is it poker now?"

"They don't seem to know they're on the Student Council." The camera finally shows that the second voice is none other than Shirley Fenette, who appears to be eating her lunch. "They bet money"

Seeing her again was harder than they expected, none of the Student Council members knew how to react, none of them expected that they would ever hear her voice again, much less see her as if she were still alive.

"Shirley…" Zero thinks as he remembers the kind young woman. "Did your death have anything to do with Lelouch as well? A selfish part of me wants to think not."

Shirley continued chatting. "Lulu is smart, but he uses his intelligence for weird things. If he studied hard he would have excellent grades, don't you think?"

"Lulu? You called him Lulu?" Tamaki asks, then starts laughing at the nickname.

"I like it, it's cute," says Tianzi, smiling at the adorableness of the nickname.

"Yes, that's a really adorable nickname." Kaguya seconds, smiling just like her friend.

"If only my dear Lulu were such a serious boy, how adorable!"

Shirley upon hearing Milly's words can't help but blush slightly. "President, please..."

The interior of the truck seen earlier is shown, in it are two people, a black-haired man and a red-haired woman, the man begins to speak. "Damn it! We finally managed to steal it..."

"Nagata... I hope you rest in peace." Ohgi thinks sadly as he looks at his old friend who has passed away. "We did it, we liberated Japan."

"Wait a minute... Kallen it's you," says Gino making the audience except for Ohgi and Tamaki look at her. "What are you doing? What's this about a robbery?"

Kallen, seeing that they are looking at her, quickly responds, "That's when the Black Knights were not yet formed and I was part of a resistance group, we had stolen poison gas from Clovis."

"Clovis would never use poison gas!" shouts Cornelia angrily, for her Clovis had always been a kind and gentle brother, who simply wanted to create art.

"I'm not so sure sister. I know Clovis seemed to have a secret project, maybe that project was some kind of poison gas." Schneizel says calmly. Cornelia listening to her brother's words is still upset, but decides to keep silent, still sure that Clovis had nothing to do with a poison gas.

"It's because Tamaki couldn't stick to Naoto's plan!"

The scene changes again to show a falling file followed by the nobleman staring in disbelief at the chessboard, while Rivalz's voice is heard. "I love to beat a nobleman! His pride makes them pay you what they owe you." Lelouch and Rivalz appear leaving the building. "Besides, eight minutes and 32 seconds is a new record!"

Schneizel simply smiled, happy that his prediction proved correct and a little proud of Lelouch, the former prince expected nothing less from the only man who has managed to defeat him.

"He didn't have much time either, and nobility makes them uninteresting opponents. Their privileged lives make them look like parasites."

"Why don't we try an eleven? They are not like us, the Britannians."

"What do you mean we are not like you!" shouts Chiba full of anger while looking at Rivalz, the poor boy can only shrink back in shame and fear.

"Calm down Chiba," says Tohdoh trying to placate her. "He's just a student, and he doesn't seem to feel that way anymore, right?"

"Of course, sir." Rivalz answers quickly.

Rivalz turns to hear the murmurs of the crowd, which is watching the news on a giant screen about a terrorist attack, suddenly the screen shows the flag of Britannia followed by Prince Clovis. "For my imperial subjects!" Lelouch at the sound of his brother's voice squints his eyes in anger.

"Clovis...", thinks Cornelia sadly at the sight of her deceased brother, only to have her face show fury afterwards. "Lelouch were you really so heartless to murder Clovis? He was next to Euphy the one who was most affected by your and Nunnally's supposed death, he had even accepted the position of Viceroy just to honor you."

Nunnally upon seeing her deceased brother doesn't know how to really feel, she knew from Lelouch's memories that Clovis ordered the Shinjuku massacre, but remembering when everything was simpler and everyone was happy, she can't help but be saddened for the one who had once been one of her favorite half-brothers.

"And, of course, to the many eleven who collaborate with us."

"We are not eleven! We are Japanese!" says Kallen, annoyed at Clovis' words.

"Don't you see; my heart is breaking in two! It becomes a heart full of sadness and fury!" Clovis proclaims while holding his chest in a theatrical gesture.

"You always were a fan of theatricality, Clovis," says Cornelia, holding her forehead in annoyance.

"I guess we can see that being dramatic ran in the family," says Rakshata as she recalls all the gestures their former leader made when delivering a speech. "Very different from the attitude of today's Zero."

"But isn't it good for him to worry?" Tianzi asked, believing that Clovis was honest in his words.

"I doubt he is being completely honest, Your Majesty." Xingke replies as he recognizes Clovis' dishonesty.

"But as Viceroy of Area 11, I will not allow any kind of terrorism, because the reason for the battle we fight is just, a just battle to protect the happiness of all! Now, do you not join me in this sorrow for the eight people who died serving justice?" Clovis' speech continued, while the camera changed to show different parts of the settlement.

The camera changes to show Lelouch and Rivalz, who are preparing everything to go back to the academy. Rivalz while going to his motorcycle and listening to Clovis' speech asks Lelouch, "What, you don't agree with him?"

"What about you?" Lelouch answers with another question, making Rivalz chuckle.

"I would feel uncomfortable."

"You are right. Besides, crying for them won't bring them back to life."

"Wow, how cruel." Rival put on his glasses to ride his motorcycle.

"In the end it's all about self-satisfaction. No matter how hard you try, there is no way to change the world."

Lloyd upon hearing Lelouch's words begins to laugh uncontrollably. "Who would have thought? The man who conquered the world by saying it would never change, it really seems like a bad joke."

The room where Clovis made the transmission is shown, in it there are also many other nobles, one of these nobles goes to Clovis to congratulate him. "You were magnificent, your Highness! No one would realize that he was at a party."

"Tch, the idiot wasn't even working, he was just having a good time." Tamaki says angrily. The insult towards her brother makes Cornelia frown, but she doesn't say anything, even she knows there is no way to defend her brother for partying.

"Mr. Tamaki, I ask you not to insult Prince Clovis," Guilford scolds Tamaki when he sees that insulting Prince Clovis angers his princess.

Tamaki looks like he is about to answer him, but before he can do so Ohgi manages to calm him down by grabbing his shoulder.

"The Viceroy is the face of Area 11. I must be able to switch roles quickly." Clovis said arrogantly as the servants removed his cloak.

"You have a lot of self-confidence!"

"I'm ready. Self-confidence? I'm just trying to please people in the media."

"No, don't say that. We are happy to be of help to your kingdom, Prince Clovis," says another nobleman, while a certain television producer can be seen in the background.

"Hey, it's Diethard," said Tamaki when he recognized the producer, "What happened to him?"

"I honestly don't know; I didn't see him again after the Battle of Damocles." Kallen replies.

"He's dead, Lelouch was the one who ended his life." Schneizel simply said, omitting the fact that it was by his own hand that the producer died, still remembering when Kanon told him what had happened after Lelouch used his Geass on him.

Suddenly General Bartley enters the room, surprising Diethard. The General runs to Prince Clovis to give him a message. "Prince Clovis!"

"What? You're annoying us."

"I beg your pardon, your Highness, but..."

Diethard believing this to be foolishness stands firm to leave without wanting to listen to the conversation between the Prince and the military man. "Another special? I hope the subject is..."

"Stupid!" Clovis shouts, catching Diethard's attention.

"The police were told it was medical equipment." Bartley says as if trying to explain himself. "If we get all the troops together..."

Clovis, tired of the General's words, interrupts him, "Send my personal troops! And also the knightmares!"

The screen shows several soldiers preparing to board the knightmares, including Jeremiah Gottwald and Villetta Nu.

"Coach, I didn't know you were part of the military," says Rivalz.

"Eh..." Villetta expresses without really knowing how to respond. Her time in the army was not one she wanted to remember, much less for other people to see. Ohgi seeing his wife worried, grabs her hand in support, to which she thanks him with a smile.

Rivalz and Lelouch are returning to the Academy, when suddenly Rivalz starts a conversation. "That first move... Why did you start with the King?"

"If the King does not lead, how will his subjects follow him?"

Schneizel listening to Lelouch can only smile slightly. "How typical of you, brother. You always started with the King, and it seems that in the war you didn't stop doing it."

"About that..."

"What?"

"Do you want to run a company or something?"

Lelouch with amusement replies to Rivalz, "No way. Having weird dreams like that will ruin your..." but before he could finish answering the truck seen earlier almost ran over them, scaring Rivalz.

"That was you!" said Kallen and Rivalz at the same time, looking at each other.

Nagata is annoyed by Rivalz's driving speed. "He drives so relaxed, without a care in the world." In order not to collide with the teenagers Nagata makes a sharp turn.

"Stop! No, that way!" says Kallen, seeing that they would end up colliding.

The truck, due to Nagata's turn, drives into an abandoned building, finally crashing into it. Rivalz stops when he sees what just happened. "Hey, was it our fault?"

"I don't think so." Lelouch replies.

"What do you mean, no!" Tamaki shouts angrily. "Nagata died in that operation, he might still be alive if it wasn't for you."

Rivalz could not react, he did not want to think that he had been responsible for someone's death.

"Tamaki!" Ohgi scolds with a stern tone. "Don't forget that everything happened because you didn't follow the plan, it's not the boy's fault." Tamaki upon hearing Ohgi's words remains silent, even he knows he shouldn't talk about it anymore.

The helicopter driver sees the crash and gives the news over the transmitter. "Control, the target has crashed into an abandoned building."

"Hold on! The army is in charge of this, General Bartley is in command." A military officer warns the policeman.

"The General?" says the policeman, not understanding why someone of such high rank would get involved, all this happening while the screen now shows Bartley walking.

"We must get it back without fail! That thing is...", the General thinks to himself with concern.

"This recording is even able to show us people's thoughts!" says Cécile with surprise. "None of our technology is capable of such a thing."

"I guess it shows that Miss D.S. really is someone special," Sayoko says as she recalls the explanation C.C. gave her and Jeremiah and Anya about the whole Lelouch's mind thing.

"It doesn't seem that the General is too concerned, I know that poison gas is a serious matter, but I don't see why Prince Clovis would get so personally involved," says Gino.

"It's certainly interesting how much the Prince seems to care about that gas," Lloyd smiles. "He even allowed me to use my precious Lancelot to retrieve it even though it would make him owe the Prime Minister a favor."

Outside the truck, strange green and gold lights begin to appear, which Lelouch notices. "What is that?"

"What the hell! What were those lights? Tamaki asked, not understanding what he had just seen. No one in the audience could answer him, they were all just as confused as he was.

"Hey, Lelouch, I think our power line is cut." Rivalz says, unable to glimpse the strange particles, which seem to be taking an ambiguously human form.

Civilians begin to approach the scene of the accident, several of them pulling out their phones to take photos and videos, but none of them approach to see if the people in the truck are injured. Lelouch simply looks on in annoyance at the apathy of the people in the face of possible injury or even death. "They are idiots." Lelouch heads to the truck while Rivalz tells him to wait.

"Even though it pains me to say it, I have to agree with him," said Chiba, also annoyed that the civilians only cared about recording the accident. "You'd expect that someone would have come by now to see if the people inside the truck were all right."

"Sadly, that's the reality, most people don't care if something bad happens if it's not related to them." Guilford replied.

"Ironic that the only one who peeked out to see was the one who in the future would be known as the worst dictator in history." Rakshata says humorously. "I guess no one is born a Demon."

"So, do you think it's possible that something happened to make Lelouch become a tyrant?" Xingke asks the scientist.

"Who knows? In the end these records are supposed to show us the truth, maybe the power just went to his head, or maybe there is some other reason."

At Rakshata's words the audience was left thinking, most of them had conflicting feelings about Lelouch, none of them forgave his actions during his reign, but the idea that perhaps his behavior was caused by something unknown, was very appealing to several of them, especially those who still saw him as someone dear.

Kallen and Nagata are unconscious from the crash, until Kallen starts to wake up. While this is happening, Lelouch approaches, which causes the civilians to start talking again. Lelouch, already close to the truck, tries to approach the front door of the truck. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Okay, look... I know it's the right thing to do, but I'd like you to stop showing off your petty pride." Rivalz says as he steers the motorcycle on foot. "We'll be late for class!"

"Nagata? Nagata!" says Kallen when she sees her wounded companion. Lelouch tries to climb up the ladder outside the truck to see if he can communicate. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Suddenly time seems to stop and a female voice is heard. "I found you, my..."

"Okay... I'm not understanding anything. Who was that voice? And why does it seem that, like the lights, only Lelouch is able to notice them?" asks Rivalz

"No idea, maybe it's just hallucinations or something," says Xingke trying to make sense of the situation.

"Where? Are you in there?" Lelouch says as he checks inside the truck trying to find the source of the voice.

Nagata without noticing the teenager on the stairs starts the engine to go in reverse, this causes Lelouch to fall into the truck. "Hey, stop! I'm not..."

"Lelouch was there!" Kallen shouted as she saw Lelouch fall into the truck. "How didn't I notice?"

"So that's what happened, and I thought Lelouch had just abandoned me," says Rivalz as he finally figures out why he couldn't find his friend that day.

Rivalz simply watches the truck drive away, not noticing that Lelouch fell into it. "Is that called "running away""

Lelouch inside the truck tries to find a way out. "Why isn't there a ladder in here?" as he tries to climb the strange capsule inside the truck, he is surprised to hear the voice of an army officer.

"Warning, surrender now and you will have the opportunity to defend yourselves in court!" The helicopter from where the officer's voice is heard moves into position and prepares his weapon and then starts shooting at the truck. "Get in now!"

Nagata simply tries to dodge the officer's attack as best he can. "They called the army! What shall we do?"

Kallen simply takes off the cap she was wearing and says, "That's why I'm here, don't you think?"

The truck entering a tunnel manages to protect itself from its attackers for a moment, which Lelouch takes advantage of to gather his thoughts. "It's dangerous to get out of here. There seems to be trouble out there. Maybe I can use my cell phone..." suddenly the inner door of the truck begins to open, Kallen enters through it and takes off the clothes she was wearing, revealing that underneath it she was wearing an outfit that revealed much more skin and seemed to be useful for combat.

Gino upon seeing Kallen simply gave a whistle at the sight. "You really look good in that outfit; it certainly shows off your figure."

Kallen upon hearing Gin simply blushes, but her eyes showed more annoyance than anything else. "Thank you Gino, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't comment on my body."

Ohgi and Tamaki are also upset with Gino's comment, both of them saw Kallen as a little sister, so neither of them like to see a man flirting with her.

"Can you enter the subway through the Azabu route?" asks Kallen walking.

Nagata ignores her question and says, "Kallen, let's use the gas here!"

"That would result in a massacre!"

Nagata, realizing the consequences of using the gas, regrets suggesting it. "Yes, you are right."

"That woman...", Lelouch thinks as he watches Kallen.

Kallen is a little annoyed at the way Lelouch called her, she understands that by that point she and Lelouch were complete strangers, but it still hurts her to hear Lelouch refer to her that way.

Meanwhile, Rivalz was still at the site of the abandoned building looking for Lelouch. "Where are you, Lelouch? We must get back to school!"

"The target is moving from the facility to the ghetto," says one of the soldiers chasing the truck.

"That's right!Run them down!"

"All right."

But before the helicopter can shoot at the vehicle again, a slash harken comes out of the rear door of the vehicle and pierces the helicopter, causing it to explode, close to other helicopters.

"A slash harken?" says another pilot when he sees one of his allies being destroyed.

The rear door opens fully to reveal a red knightmare Glasgow model.

"A knightmare!"

The Glasgow jumps out of the truck and slides across the pavement. Immediately after the Glasgow jumps out, the back door of the truck closes in front of Lelouch, who seems to realize the seriousness of the situation he is in. "Shit, these guys are real terrorists!"

"You know very well how powerful this is!" says Kallen inside the Glasgow, as she continues to dodge enemy fire while using the same attack as before to destroy more helicopters.

"Stand back. I'll handle it," says Jeremiah as he stands inside a Sutherland, which is being carried through the air by a VTOL. "I don't know where you got that from, but an old Glasgow can never stop a Sutherland." Kallen tries to attack him, but Jeremiah manages to defend himself as he falls to the ground. "Much less a damned eleven who does not appreciate the affection of our Emperor."

"We are not eleven!" Tamaki shouts angrily at Jeremiah. "I almost forgot the fact that you're another Britannian idiot."

"I will admit that my attitude at the time was wrong." Jeremiah admits honestly. "It doesn't excuse my behavior, but I had my own reasons for acting that way."

The battle continued. Jeremiah had managed to give a direct hit to Kallen's Glasgow, which made the Glasgow quite damaged, suddenly Nagata's voice is heard. "Kallen, we have to split up! We can't both die. Escape!"

"But..."

Another Sutherland which was between two buildings suddenly jumps in front of Nagata, so he has to make a sudden turn. The pilot inside the other Sutherland is shown to be Villetta, who has an arrogant expression. "How naive!"

Villetta again shudders at the actions of her former self, now knowing that she was possibly one of the causes why one of Ohgi's friends is dead, she can also feel the gaze of several other people in the room, causing her feeling of discomfort to increase. Ohgi seeing his wife's condition approaches her and whispers in her ear. "It's okay, I know it's hard, but believe me, I'll be with you until the end." Villetta hearing her husband's words can only smile gratefully.

Kallen tries to attack Jeremiah again, but for some reason the Glasgow starts to miss. "What's wrong? Damn it!"

"Wasted scum!" Jeremiah insults the Glasgow again while attacking again, but luckily Kallen manages at the last moment to launch a counterattack that generates a lot of damage, which she uses to escape. Jeremiah upon seeing this simply smiles. " My God, I like that spirit, but..."

Lelouch inside the truck was checking his phone. "Tch! I'm out of the service area. This darkness and the street surface. We must be over the subway lines at full speed. They're heading for a ghetto. It will be dangerous to get off the truck. However..."

"He was able to decipher all that just by the light and the terrain?" Villetta says, surprised by the amount of information Lelouch was able to obtain.

"You shouldn't be surprised, no matter what he was like as a human being, we can't deny that he was a genius," says Tohdoh.

Lelouch seemed to have come up with a plan. "Well, I know. The conditions are clear. I don't like military protection, but if I give them a communicator?" but, in a momentLelouch seemed to realize something. "Wait. I forgot..."

Rival is shown pushing his motorcycle that doesn't seem to be working anymore. "You're leaving me in a lurch!"

"You reallyhad no idea what was really going on, eh Rivalz?" said Kallen, smiling with amusement at how out of place Rivalz was.

Rivalz listening to Kallen couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. "Oh come on, as if anyone would believe his best friend was in the middle of such a problem."

Suddenly Lloyd appears staring into the camera. "I see." Lloyd was looking at General Bartley, who looked nervous.

"How do you know about that?" Bartley asks the scientist. In the background, different military equipment is being prepared.

"Well, isn't it?"

"Why...?"

"You exaggerated." Lloyd said confidently. "The terrorists stole something you and the Prince were working on. Getting it back will be simple, but they also want to get rid of your compatriots. If you let the terrorists go, you will find their hideout."

"So that was the reason we were able to escape, not because we did the plan the right way, but because they let us escape to finally finish us off." Kallen grinds her teeth, she was infuriated by the idea that the only reason they were able to pull off the robbery was because the Britannians saw it as an efficient way to find their hideout.

Ohgi and Tamaki were also angry, for them what the scientist had just said was an insult to all the people who fought to achieve the liberation of Japan.

Lloyd suddenly turns around showing that Cécile was behind him. "Congratulations! Your reasoning is sound." Lloyd congratulates his assistant, who simply tries to pretend it's no big deal.

"No, I just thought it was strange..."

"Enough," says the General, cutting off Cécile's explanation. "So, what does the Special Corps want?"

"I say it could be helpful for the cleanup." Lloyd replies

"Helpful?"

"Yes, I want information."

"You really have no heart, Earl of Pudding, seeing that you are willing to help just so you can get information," Rakshata says to her rival.

"Please, we both know you would too, after all our research will always be the most important thing to us," replies Lloyd, to which Rakshata simply snorts.

"What did they steal?" Cécile asks the General.

Bartley hesitates for a moment, but finally responds, "Chemical weapons. In other words, poison gas."

"Clovis... Why?", asks Cornelia to herself as she has to accept that Clovis was involved in a chemical weapons affair. The Clovis she remembered was an artist, a sensitive man who just wanted to be with his family, not someone who created chemical weapons.

Nagata was still escaping through the subway; the royal guard could be heard. "The terrorists are hiding on the subway tracks. Your mission is to find the weapon the terrorists stole. Investigate the old subway in the Shinjuku ghetto where the eleven live. Notify them as soon as you locate them. Recovering the target will be commanded by us, the Royal Guard. You have the title of honorary Britannian, but originally, you are elevens. The stench of these filth must be familiar to you. If you want to earn the right to possess the weapon, bring results! This is your chance to prove your loyalty to Britannia." As the royal guard gave orders, the destroyed ghetto was shown and its inhabitants fled at the sight of the military.

"Yes, my lord!" all the soldiers under his command answer him.

"I don't know which is worse, the state in which our countrymen found themselves, or those who threw away their honor to become Britannians dogs?" Chiba says angrily.

"I know it's sad, but we can't blame those who decided to become honorary Britannians, some just wanted to be able to give their family a decent life," says Tohdoh trying to calm Chiba.

Nagata was still driving, his blood pouring out of the wound he had made earlier. The truck sadly ends up getting stuck, causing the interior of the truck to shudder.

"An accident? If not..." says Lelouch almost falling from the movement.

A soldier seemed to notice the event. Nagata was still trying to escape from the hole where he was stuck. "It's not good at all. Please, Ohgi. Find me." The Japanese man ends up opening the outer door of the truck.

"Nagata... forgive me," says Ohgi depressed at how his former friend was waiting for him to find him.

Villetta notices her husband's sadness and grabs his hand as a sign of support.

Lelouch, noticing that the door opens, hides, while a soldier manages to find the truck and see the container, and then send the signal to his superior.

"The 4-0-4 found the target."

"Received! Prepare to retrieve it."

The soldier who found the truck, noticing that a person is inside, quickly runs to stop it.

"I can use this opportunity to climb..." says Lelouch, but before he can put his plan into action he sees how the soldier gives him a spinning kick that makes him fall to the ground. "A Britannian?"

"Big brother," says Nunnally worried when she sees the kick that Lelouch has just received, she knows that her big brother survived that situation, but she can't help but be worried when she sees him being hurt.

"That kick... where have I seen it before?" Kallen asks to herself, the kick the soldier gave Lelouch seems strangely familiar.

Before Lelouch can get up the soldier subdues him. "That's enough senseless killing."

"Wait, I'm not a..." Lelouch tries to explain, but is interrupted by the soldier.

"I can't believe they want to use the poison gas." Lelouch, hearing the soldier's words, tries to break free from his grip, but the soldier won't let him. "Don't be a fool!"

"Let go of me..." Lelouch shouts at the soldier while trying to kick him. "If there is any poison gas, it was made in Britannia, wasn't it?"

"I'm surprised Lelouch managed to get the soldier to let him go." Milly says honestly.

"Could it have been adrenaline? It wouldn't be the first time he's gotten someone to perform feats that are normally impossible for him," suggests Rakshata.

The soldier finally sees Lelouch's face clearly and is surprised. "You..."

"Don't you want any more deaths?" says Lelouch to the soldier approaching him. "Then you should take Britannia down."

"Lelouch?" says the soldier as if he cannot believe his eyes. Lelouch is surprised that the Britannian soldier knows his name. Immediately the soldier takes off his coat revealing that he is Suzaku Kururugi. "It's me, Suzaku."

"What a coincidence, who would have thought that these two would meet again in such a way." Tohdoh said upon seeing his two former students reunited as teenagers. "It almost seems like fate."

"Fate...", thinks Zero when he hears Tohdoh's words. For him meeting Lelouch that day was a bittersweet memory, sweet in being able to meet again with his best friend after so many years, but sour in the fact that that moment was the one in which started the whole chain of events that would make the two people he has loved the most end up dying. "I guess it was fate that we met that day, but that same fate was the one that ended you, Lelouch. What a cruel irony."

"You became a Britannian soldier?" says Lelouch, unable to believe that his stubborn friend would agree to bow down on his knees to Britannia.

"What about you? Don't tell me that..."

"What are you saying?" Lelouch replies, offended that his friend thinks he would stoop to terrorism.

Unexpectedly the poisonous gas capsule begins to open, noticing this Suzaku quickly runs to Lelouch to knock him down and put his mask so that the gas does not hurt him, even though this means a death sentence for himself. But when the capsule opens, instead of poisonous gas, a girl with emerald hair comes out, wearing a prisoner suit.

"C.C.!" Kallen shouts in annoyance at the sight of the green-haired witch. "What the hell is she doing there!" Kallen recalls the time she had spent with the green-haired woman, remembering how even though they formed a strange camaraderie, she had never learned much about her, even after working together to get Lelouch back.

"This doesn't make any sense. It was supposed to be poison gas," says Ohgi, not understanding what C.C. was doing in the capsule either. "What would Clovis do with C.C.?"

"You don't... you don't think he kept her as some kind of slave for him, do you?" Rivalz says, trying not to think of the worst-case scenario.

"Don't talk nonsense, Clovis would never do something like that!" Cornelia shouts angrily at the fact that anyone would think her brother would do something so horrible.

"I doubt he kept her as the kind of slave you think of, Mr. Cardemonde." Schneizel says, not trying to think through the implications of Rivalz's words. "But he may have kept her for other, more scientific matters."

"Are you talking about human experimentation?" Gino asks the former Prince. "I don't want to believe that Prince Clovis and Britannia would be capable of such a thing."

Anya upon hearing Gino's words simply looks sadly at Jeremiah. "Believe me, I am absolutely sure they would be capable of it."

"It's not a poisonous gas," said Suzaku not believing her eyes. The green-haired girl simply looked at the two teenagers for a moment, she seemed to be soaked in a strange golden liquid.

The screen changes scene to another part of the subway where Kallen is still inside the knightmare reporting to Ohgi on the radio. "Sorry, with all this confusion I left my radio in my jacket."

"That's fine. We can use the Glasgow system. Anyway, were we right?"

"Yes. I think it's poison gas, just like our intelligence said."

Lloyd simply began to laugh. "Well, it looks like your intelligence was all wrong."

"Lloyd!" Cécile scolds her fellow scientist, then quickly turns to Kallen. "I'm sorry for his words."

"It's okay, it's not like he was wrong after all."

"What about Nagata?"

"I don't know. I think he's in the subway." Kallen replies while Nagata is shown on the screen still bleeding from his wound.

C.C. is seen being held and released from her clothes by Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch confusedly starts to question Suzaku. "Answer me, Suzaku. Poison gas? This girl?"

"That's what they said at the presentation."

Suddenly a light flash in the tunnel caused by several soldiers, which are led by a member of the Royal Guard who quickly begins to scold Suzaku. "Your filthy bastard! Not even the honorary Britannian has the authority to do what you did."

Suzaku quickly saw his superior and ran to him to explain. "But I was told it was a poisonous gas."

"How dare you question orders!"

Lelouch listening to the exchange between Suzaku and the guard can't help but be completely tense. "We are in trouble. This is a toxic situation that could endanger Suzaku's superiors if it gets out."

"However, I will be merciful for your military achievements. Private Kururugi, use this to execute the terrorist," says the guard as he hands and offers a pistol to Suzaku.

"I am honestly surprised," says Tohdoh upon seeing the scene. "Any other officer would simply use the open capsule as an excuse to get rid of one of us, that he gave Suzaku a chance is more than I expected, he even offered him a weapon."

"Maybe it won't be so bad then, maybe Suzaku can convince him that Lelouch wasn't a terrorist," says Gino hopefully.

"I doubt it, most likely he was simply smart enough not to waste a soldier who could be very useful to him." Anya commented sadly. "Suzaku proved many times that he was a very skilled soldier."

Suzaku listening to the words of his superior tries to explain the situation to him. "He is not a terrorist! He is a citizen who got caught in this situation."

The guard is furious when he hears Suzaku's words. "You, little one... It's an order! Didn't you swear allegiance to Britannia?"

"I guess there goes my hope that this can end peacefully," says a resigned Gino, seeing the guard's attitude.

"But... I can't," says Suzaku surprising Lelouch.

"What?" says the guard, not understanding Suzaku's insubordination.

"I won't. I won't shoot a civilian. Not him." Suzaku announces as he turns smilingly to look at Lelouch.

Nunnally upon hearing Suzaku's words grabs Zero's hand and murmurs, "Thank you." Zero upon hearing Nunnally's words simply squeezes her hand comfortingly, even though inside he can't help but feel depressed.

"You shouldn't thank me Nunnally, I don't deserve it."

"You damn hypocrite," Chiba says angrily. "He says he wouldn't shoot a civilian, but he shot thousands of other Japanese who were just looking for their freedom."

Tohdoh frowned at Chiba's words. "Chiba, no matter what he did in the future, not shooting a civilian regardless of his nationality is the right thing to do."

Chiba blushes at his superior's scolding, but nods quickly. "If you say so, General."

"Then die," says the guard to Suzaku while shooting him in the back.

Nunnally shudders at the sight of Suzaku being shot, she grips Zero's hand tighter as if to check that it was real. After losing Lelouch, the thought of losing someone else filled her with dread. Zero noticing the state of his Empress decides to stay still and simply let her squeeze his hand as hard as she wants.

"Son of a bitch!" Tamaki mumbled as he observed the guard's actions. He may not have had the slightest regard for Suzaku, but he would not allow someone to be shot in the back for refusing to kill a civilian.

"Tch, you bloody Britannian!" says Chiba, also annoyed. "I don't care about Kururugi personally, but that man is a coward, only someone like that would attack one of his subordinates from behind."

Tohdoh and Cornelia nod at Chiba's words, for them as Generals the very idea of shooting one of their subordinates in the back for refusing to kill an innocent person seems repugnant.

"How did Suzaku survive that?" asks Kallen.

"I know the answer, but I'm sure the tapes will show it," says Lloyd, completely unconcerned.

"Suzaku!" shouts Lelouch as he sees his best friend being shot.

"You look like a Britannian student, but it's not your day." The guard says to Lelouch, who is still in shock at what he thought was Suzaku's death. "Bring the girl and kill the student."

"Yes, my lord!" The other soldiers answer their superior in harmony.

"How dare you attempt to assassinate His Majesty!" Jeremiah shouts angrily at the idea that a mere royal guard would try to harm Lelouch. "That imbecile didn't even try to do an identity check."

"Undoubtedly a big mistake by that officer." Schneizel seconds. "He didn't even pretend to see if the boy he was about to kill was a nobleman, I can't even imagine his reaction if he found out that he wanted to assassinate a member of the royal family, especially one who was so dear to Clovis."

"I don't know why you are surprised, Britannian soldiers are always taught to shoot first before they speak," says Tamaki mockingly.

Guilford, offended at being put on the same level as that guard, confronts Tamaki. "That's not true, just because one guard decided to do it doesn't mean the others would have done it too."

"Bloody Britannians..." Nagata says, with what seems to be his last bit of strength as he looks at a photo of a kinder past and presses the self-destruct button on the truck causing it to explode. "Long live Japan!"

"Rest in peace Nagata, we made it," says Kallen as he watches the last moments of his former comrade.

Away from the site of the explosion is Prince Clovis' personal vehicle, with various military personnel receiving news about the operation.

"Did they escape?" said Bartley, annoyed at the incompetence of his subordinates. "And they claim to be the Royal Guard?"

"Forgive me, my Lord! The explosion was directed upwards, but the foundations..."

"Do you understand why I told only you about this?" asks Bartley, interrupting the guard.

"We will continue the investigation!"

"The plan has advanced to the next phase." Clovis proclaims as he sits on his throne after listening to the exchange between the two soldiers.

"But, Your Highness..."

"If people find out about it, I will be disinherited."

"Would he really be disinherited?" asks Tianzi.

"Surely, maybe as a prince he can do human experiments on the sly, but if it were to come to light he would most likely be disinherited to save face," Kaguya replied. "Few people regardless of their status would agree to a member of their country's royalty participating in such experiments, it simply gives too much of a negative reputation."

"Tell them that we are carrying out a planned urban renewal." Clovis continues to tell the military as he stands up. "I, Clovis, the third Prince of the Empire, command you to destroy the Shinjuku ghetto! Do not leave a single survivor!"

"Monster!" Kallen shouts angrily when she hears Clovis. "He wasn't even planning on letting the children and elders live."

"Brother Clovis... How could you?" asked Nunnally sadly as she listened to her brother order an extermination just to hide his experiment. "What happened to the brother who valued human life above all else?"

Cornelia is also saddened by Clovis' actions, she never expected that her brother who had decided to become Viceroy just to honor his deceased brothers would be capable of committing such harm to the population. "Schneizel, do you think it's our fault? When did we tell him that a leader should be tough and not kind?"

Schneizel can only let out a sigh at Cornelia's question. "I'm sure his attitude is partly due to our words, but I think his hatred for the Nation he believed he had taken from his siblings was the biggest trigger. Clovis was never someone capable of getting into the political world, he was too emotional for that."

Cornelia is simply resigned, she knows that what Schneizel has told her is true, but she still can't shake that feeling of guilt.

Upon Clovis' proclamation several soldiers in their knightmares set out to carry out the orders their Prince had given them. The soldiers begin to destroy Shinjuku and kill indiscriminately. Inside a building an elderly married couple prepares to escape, the husband looking out the window at the destruction caused by the Britannians, asks himself, "Why are the Britannians doing this?"

"Darling, please!" his wife shouts at him to hurry up and leave with her. Sadly, even before they could leave their home, they were shot by a couple of soldiers.

Most of the audience can't help but cringe at what they are seeing, several of them may not be unfamiliar with this side of the war, but that doesn't mean it's pleasant to watch, others look like they are about to vomit, as is the case with Rivalz and Milly.

"Your enemies are scum who will never be honorary Britannians! Eliminate them all!" a soldier's voice is heard as the army appears and further destroys the ghetto.

"Naturally," says Jeremiah, carrying out the orders he has been given.

"Supervisor Jeremiah, General Bartley would like you to take command of Area 2..." a soldier tries to tell Jeremiah, but Jeremiah interrupts him.

"Bartley has military officers, right? It's been years since I've had this much fun on the front line."

"Fun... Fun! How dare you treat the death of innocents as fun?!" Ohgi raged angrily.

Jeremiah simply looks at him indifferently. "I won't try to make excuses, at that time I was an idiot, but I could see salvation, I could reach salvation thanks to His Majesty! Yell at me all you want, it's your right to do so, but I already know what I did wrong!"

Lelouch along with C.C. are escaping from the ghetto, they run trying to avoid being killed by the explosions until C.C. trips and falls to the ground, causing Lelouch to stop running.

"What the hell are you?" asks Lelouch as he leans against the wall. "All this chaos is because of you, isn't it? But, besides, Britannia has... They even killed Suzaku!" C.C. simply looks at Lelouch without saying anything to defend or explain herself.

The scene shifts to outside Clovis' personal vehicle, where Lloyd and Cécile are standing. "Isn't she there?" asks Lloyd to his assistant.

"It looks like he's on the front line," she answers him.

"Even though we brought the Lancelot?"

"Ah, my dear Lancelot, soon we will be able to see your first magnificent start," says Lloyd with a fatherly smile. "I wonder if this is how parents feel when they see a video of their child taking his first steps after several years."

"What should we do?"

"We've come this far, but we don't have a Devicer to use." Lloyd comments depressed while holding the key to activate the Lancelot.

Lelouch and C.C. were crawling up some stairs trying not to be detected, Lelouch turns to C.C. to give her instructions. "Wait here." Lelouch raises his head a little to detect possible threats, but before he can do anything a soldier shoots a civilian who was there. The soldier was commanded by the same guard who had shot Suzaku.

"¿And?" asks the guard to one of his soldiers.

"It seems that there are eleven citizens, sir." The soldier answers him, making the guard angry.

"Are you sure the exit is this way?"

"Yes sir, it matches the map of the old city."

Suddenly the cry of a baby is heard, causing Lelouch to turn to look for where the sound is coming from, but before he can do so the sound of gunshots is heard causing Lelouch to cringe and flinch as he immediately understands what had happened.

Everyone in the audience was disgusted by what they had just heard, some of them could hold their own better being used to war, but none of them could help but feel a certain apprehension in their chest.

Tianzi upon hearing the baby's whimpering followed by the gunshots, can't help but panic and whimper a little, to which Kaguya immediately goes over to comfort her. Even though she is also horrified by what she had just heard.

Milly and Rivalz were not much better off than the young Empress, neither of them ever expected in their lives to witness someone end the life of an innocent baby, it just seemed too horrible an act.

Nunnally also shuddered at hearing and seeing the scene, but tried to maintain as much composure as possible, thinking that as a leader she should be able to handle it. "My big brother had to live through this. I have to endure it, it's my duty."

Lelouch tries to hide from the soldiers, but at the worst possible moment his phone starts ringing, he immediately turns it off, but it is too late, the guard and his subordinates already heard the noise. The person who had called Lelouch was Shirley. "That idiot hung up on me, I can't believe it!"

"Oh, Shirley," Milly says uncomfortably, seeing how Shirley had to call at the worst possible moment. "I can't even imagine how she would react if she found out she put Lelouch in danger."

"It really was a stroke of bad luck." Rivalz seconds.

The military noticing Lelouch pushes him against the wall while pointing their guns at C.C., the guard turns to Lelouch. "A fitting place for the death of a terrorist, isn't it?"

Lelouch pulls himself together and looks at the General and his soldiers. "You..."

"You seem to be a student, you were good," says the General arrogantly. "As expected of a Britannian man! However, your future dies here."

The General prepares to shoot Lelouch, but before he does, C.C. runs towards Lelouch to try to protect him. "Don't kill him!" as she pronounces these words, the General, without fully processing C.C.'s actions, pulls the trigger, but instead of hitting Lelouch, he hits C.C. right in the forehead, where a strange red symbol is visible.

"Impossible!" shouts Kallen, completely stunned. "She was alive, I saw her with Lelouch hundreds of times, I even talked to her."

The other members of the audience with few exceptions were just as shocked as Kallen. The Black Knights were the most shocked by the scene, they had all seen C.C. next to their leader multiple times, so seeing her take a bullet made no sense to them. The only ones who weren't completely confused were Nunnally, Zero, Cornelia, Jeremiah, Sayoko and Anya.

Nunnally could process the situation better, thanks to Lelouch's memories already letting her know that C.C. had some kind of regenerative power. Zero already knew about C.C.'s power. Cornelia simply remembered the blonde boy who had proclaimed himself as her uncle and who also lived after receiving a death wound, while Jeremiah along with Sayoko and Anya were not the least bit surprised, after all they already knew about C.C.'s ability, not to mention that she was not the only person they had seen alive even when she should be dead.

"This doesn't make sense!" says Tamaki utterly confused. "No one should be alive after being shot in the face."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," says Cornelia.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty? asks Guilford.

"I met someone in combat some time ago, I gave him a wound that should have killed him, but he was still alive."

"Do you think it might be related to C.C. in some way?" asks Kaguya.

"Probably, I guess we just have to keep watching."

Lelouch, seeing the woman who had just taken a bullet for him, crouches down to try to approach her. "Hey!"

The guard, seeing that he had just killed the woman they were supposed to recover, simply sighed with annoyance. "We should have taken her alive if possible, but... We will tell this to the superiors. The royal guard found the terrorists' hideout and destroyed it, but the hostage had already been tortured and killed by them. What do you think, Mr. student?"

Cornelia, seeing the attitude and behavior of the guard, can't help but look at him with displeasure. "What a disgrace of a soldier! Not only does he execute his subordinates unjustly, but he also planned to lie to his superiors! He is the worst kind of soldier that can exist!"

Other members of their respective armies agree with Cornelia. The behavior demonstrated by the guard is unacceptable, both morally and professionally.

"It makes you wonder how he made it this far," says Xingke.

"Surely in a horrible way," comments Chiba in disgust.

Lelouch, seeing the horrible situation he was in, could only tremble with fear and helplessness. "How could this happen? First Suzaku and now this girl... Now, I'm going to die without having accomplished anything in my life. So easily... Nunnally...!" as Lelouch was consumed in his own despair, the image of his beloved sister in a field of flowers appeared in his head.

Nunnally, seeing how Lelouch, even in what seemed to be his last moments thought of her, almost made her break down with guilt. "Big brother... sorry, sorry for abandoning you, sorry for not trusting you and sorry for being alive even when you are not."

Zero, seeing how his Empress seems to be about to start sobbing, tries to console her discreetly. "Your Majesty, believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to apologize for, your brother wouldn't want to see you like this. Never feel guilty for living, that would only hurt Lelouch."

Hearing Zero's words makes Nunnally able to pull herself together a bit, she still feels extremely guilty about Lelouch's fate, but knowing that his wish would be for her to live to the fullest gives her strength.

Just when it looked like it was all over for Lelouch, C.C.'s hand suddenly moves and grabs Lelouch's arm.

"Hell, it almost looks like something out of a horror movie," says Gino, surprised by the sudden movement.

In the blink of an eye the whole screen turns black except for Lelouch, which turns a white color, several blue lines start to appear and spread across Lelouch's limbs, while green lines start to appear in the background, all this happens when C.C.'s voice is heard. "You don't want it to end here, do you?"

No one knew how to react to what they were witnessing, the whole scene was too surreal and bizarre for them to comprehend what they were observing, what they were seeing did not seem or should not belong to the real world, it was something that should only appear in a show or video game, but it was real, even though it defied all logic and reason.

Now, on a white background, several copies of Lelouch began to appear all over the screen at a rapid pace. Lelouch's expression being pure disbelief. "What is...?"

"Apparently, you have a reason to live." C.C.'s voice continued to be heard as a bunch of nerves of the brain appeared on the screen.

"The girl? It can't be?"

"If you had the power, would you live?" several copies of C.C. appeared out of nowhere and then showed what seemed to be two strangely shaped worlds about to collide. "I will make a deal with you. In exchange for power you must fulfill my wish. Accept this deal and accept these conditions, as long as you live in the world of humans, you will live a different providence, a different time, a different life like no other. The King's power will condemn you to a life of loneliness, are you ready for it?"

"King's power?" says Kaguya confused. "Do you think she means the Geass?"

"It's the safest thing." Tohdoh replied. "I guess this confirms that it was C.C. who gave Lelouch that power, although it seems she didn't do it out of kindness."

"She said he would have to fulfill her wish." Kallen says with a frown. "What will that wish be?"

"I'm more curious about the whole living differently thing." Ohgi comments. "It almost seems like the Geass is more of a curse than anything else."

The screen begins to fill with white feathers, then quickly switches between scenes, first showing Lelouch, then a symbol carved in stone, a bunch of tattooed children, space, and finally Emperor Charles with other people in a strange place.

"A convergence with the Ragnarok connection?" says Charles, apparently noticing that something has happened. "So the myth begins once again."

"Ragnarok?" says Cornelia in confusion. "I don't understand. Did Father know about the Geass? And what's all this Ragnarok business?"

Schneizel upon hearing Charles' words simply tried to remember where he had previously heard about Ragnarok. "If I remember correctly, Ragnarok itself was the end of the world as we know it in Norse culture."

"The end of the world!" says Tianzi in anguish. "Does that mean the world will end?"

"I doubt it, Your Majesty." Xingke tries to calm Tianzi. "After all, the world still does not end even after the death of both Emperors."

"Yes, I accept the terms of your contract." Lelouch accepting the contract brings everything back to normal, with the whole bizarre sequence ending with two gears coming together.

Nunnally watching as her brother accepted the contract that would make his fate change, could only help but wish he hadn't, even though she knew that if he hadn't accepted it, he would have died that day. "I know that without the power of the Geass you would not have survived, but if there was even a small chance that you would have survived without the power, I would pray that you would not have accepted. I don't care if the world is not at peace, I simply wanted you by my side."

Lelouch finally stands up while covering his left eye. "Tell me, how should live a Britannian who hates his country?"

"Are you some kind of radical?" asks the guard as he prepares to shoot again, but before doing so, he pauses for a moment as a strange expression crosses his face.

"What's wrong? Why don't you shoot? Your opponent is a simple student." Lelouch says mockingly. "Or have you finally figured it out? The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to die." Lelouch stops covering his eye, showing that it has the same symbol that C.C. had on her forehead.

"Lelouch... You said the same thing back then." Zero thinks as he recalls the moment when Lelouch gave him the helmet. "Was Zero Requiem one of your possible plans from the beginning? If so, then you really were someone to fear."

The guard noticing the change in Lelouch begins to tremble with dread. "What's going on?"

"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you." Lelouch says as he begins to gesture with his hands. "All of you... die!"

The symbol in Lelouch's eye begins to glow, it seems as if it flies into the eyes of everyone in the room, changing something in them, changing something in their minds.

The guard begins to laugh madly, a red gleam in his eyes. "Yes, your Majesty." As he utters those words the guard, along with the other soldiers, point their weapons towards his neck, all of them have a smile of pure madness.

For a moment the room is completely silent.

"Open fire!" announces the General, and immediately, together with the other soldiers, they end their own lives by pulling the trigger.

"Oh my God!" says Milly in horror as she covers her mouth in disgust.

"What a horror!" comments Kaguya as she holds Tianzi to try to shield her from view.

"A power capable of breaking people's will." Cornelia pronounced with revulsion. "A power that could only belong to a demon."

Zero and Schneizel seeing the Geass act can't help but shudder, both still feel that power within them, a power that will awaken to force Zero to live, and Schneizel to obey. It is repulsive to both of them, but Zero has come to accept it, while Schneizel still hates it.

Anya is also uncomfortable at the sight of power, but for a different reason. "It's not the same as Marianne's, but, still, it really brings back bad memories. Thank you Jerry, thank you for bringing back my memories," thinks Anya, who upon finishing her reflection, simply grabs Jeremiah's hand, to which Jeremiah allows her to do so.

With each shot blood flies out, some of it falls on Lelouch's face, who doesn't seem to realize what he has really done, his face contours into an expression of horror as he watches the massacre he has committed. "That was the turning point. Since that day, I have lived a lie. The lie of living. My name was also a lie. My personal history, a lie. Nothing but lies. I was fed up with a world that could not be changed. But even in my lies, I refused to give up in despair. But now this incredible power... is mine..." Lelouch's expression turns into a malicious smile, a smile that promises destruction and death, a smile that belongs to the man destined to destroy the world. "Welcome!"

---

And here is the real first chapter of this translation, I hope you enjoy it. This is actually the first long chapter I've ever written in English in my whole life, so I'm sorry if there are more mistakes than in the prologue, but I guess it's inevitable.

As always, I invite you to leave your comments and criticisms, both about the story and the translation. I'm still looking for any beta reader or editor who would like to help me with this translation, so if anyone is interested please send me a private message. Well, see you in the next chapter.

The text below is the original chapter notes.

Here I bring you a new chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have to say, writing a story like this has been quite interesting. I will try to update this story every two to three weeks.

One of the things I thought from the beginning was about the origin of the surname Lamperouge, I know that the vast majority believe it was Marianne's maiden name, but in no official source has it been confirmed, even in the novel that talks a bit about Marianne's past they only refer to her by her first name. The idea that Lamperouge was Marianne's surname I like, but looking at it logically, I doubt that someone as paranoid as Lelouch would use his mother's surname, keeping their original names already carried risks (I always wondered how nobody noticed that curiously two siblings shared name and age with the exiled prince and princess, I know that surely the existence of Lelouch and Nunnally was not well known by people, but still I think at least someone should have noticed it).

As you will see, Xingke is not dead yet, I know that for Re;surrection he already died, but I don't think I remember that we were told an exact date of his death, so for this story I will say that he died about two or three months before the movie. Villetta is also still pregnant, and soon to give birth, but she is still pregnant, seeing that it has been about 7 months since the battle of Damocles, and at that timedoes not seem that she was more than a month pregnant.

As always, feel free to comment your opinions, or if you notice any mistakes I made. I hope to see you in the next part.