Things Fall Apart

"What did you do?" Nunnally snapped. Suzaku was caught slightly off guard. He'd expected she'd start off by asking for information about what they knew. From her words and tone, however, he almost felt like she was daring him to spin her a little yarn.

"Nunnally, the…"

She cut him off, her eyes burning-hot pincers. She quickly closed them, visibly seeming to try and hold herself back. "You are Zero, the current Commander-in-Chief of the UFN directed Military Order of the Black Knights. You are granted limited authority to act in command of the military forces of any member nation in response to such threats as jointly assessed by the UFN and the member nations. Your authority does not exceed that of any nation's ruler.

"I am Nunnally vi Britannia, 100th Empress of the Holy Britannia Empire. Though she may have been tarnished in her past, and may have grown weaker than she once was, Britannia is a proud and strong nation, among the most powerful in the world. As her monarch, I do not think it's suitable that I should be treated as a child more than half a dozen years into my reign, as I try to make sense and manage an act of naked aggression against my country.

"Now, I ask you again, Zero, what did you do?"

Suzaku nearly fell over where he stood. As dressing downs went this certainly was not the most thorough or fearsome one could imagine. But to have it come from Nunnally with such visible irritation and strained patience was humbling. She was clearly ready to offer a scorching rebuke. She might as well have said in plain language that she knew already the answer to her question, but wanted to hear him say it out loud to her.

He'd known this moment would come at some point, but even so his words caught in his throat. It was as though in that moment the gravity of what he'd done doubled or tripled all at once. For a brief moment he could almost hear Nunnally ordering her guards into the room to arrest him and hold him for execution. The lunacy of the idea brought him back to his senses though, and then added more weight to his shoulders. He hadn't really pondered it before, but had they been taking advantage of her tolerance and relative meekness? Sure, she could erupt in anger when in private, and partially vent her frustrations loudly. But there was typically no consequence. Hardly ever were there reprimands, let alone tangible punishments; far from consideration was the idea of executions.

He could almost feel her pressing a blade against his throat, telling him to speak now less she slit his throat open. And that itself was foreign. He felt cornered and defensive, and he found himself suddenly searching for a way to avoid telling her the truth. It wasn't just avoiding the subject now, but actively coming up with a lie to tell her that would save him from her ire. That was something he'd swore he'd never do with her.

"C.C. was dangerous," he finally said, firmly and gravely. "Her sympathies regarding Geass were a liability since it was clouding her judgment regarding our crisis. But we also knew there was no way either of you would see it that way or agree to sever ties with one another. The hope was that with some time away from her influence, you would begin to see how – improper – her reasoning was. For your sake as empress, for the sake of Britannia, and for the sake of the world, we decided it was best to force her to stay away.

"We put her to sleep and carried her to a secret location to be cared for in isolation from our efforts to subdue the Alters. She was there for fifteen days. No harm came to her at any time. She was provided food, water, fresh clothing…"

"Why would you do that!?" Nunnally screamed. A hot cup of tea flew from her hand and struck Suzaku as he stood before her. He just dodged the cup itself, it whizzing by his head and shattering on the wall behind him. The tea splashed him. If not for his suit he'd have been burned, though the fury in Nunnally's glare said she might just pour scalding tea all over his exposed face regardless.

"We had to do something to minimize the danger towards you, Nunnally. It was for…"

"Don't you dare try to smooth things over by being so familiar with me!" she bellowed. "I'm the Empress of the Holy Britannia Empire, not some little girl to be coddled! And you and my sister went behind my back and did such a horrible thing not only to my close friend, but to someone who was doing so much to help us!"

"With all due respect, your majesty, that woman is dangerous. As the empress of Britannia, it is unreasonable for you to think you can keep such a person as a close friend, let alone trust her to be so close to everything that we do, influencing your decisions. No good has come for anyone who has ever associated with that woman too long. We're only looking out for your best interests, your majesty."

"No! This was about you and your egos and insecurities! If you were thinking about me or Britannia, you would've stopped to think for a moment how important it is that C.C. stay here with us!"

"That is a miscon…"

"Stop arguing with me! Just shut up and leave! Now! I can't stand to see you right now!"

"As you wish. I will return later, your majesty."

He didn't intend to agitate her more by making a snide remark, but he knew as soon as he said it that his aside about returning later would probably have that effect. He knew as soon as Nunnally found out about what he and Cornelia did, Nunnally would be absolutely livid. One of the hardest things for Nunnally since she became empress was the sense of isolation she felt. As a young princess she was waited on hand and foot by servants, spent her time as leisurely as she pleased loafing with her relatives. In exile, unable to see or walk, she was doted on, watched after and cared for constantly. Even if she wanted to do things on her own, she didn't functionally have the ability to do much. She was always surrounded by people who she could spend time with at leisure.

But here now she was an empress who had to keep so much of herself inside. She couldn't rely on anyone for anything. She didn't have friends like Milly and Shirley to talk nonsense with or share silly stories. She didn't have a brother anymore who would come home at the ends of the day and ask her about what she did that day. Even as much as she'd tried to befriend her maid, it wasn't the same as it was with Sayoko. She hadn't only grown up, but she was now the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. She was a hegemon that was a supporting pillar of the world. She didn't have time to waste pining for childish fancies.

Moreover, she shouldn't be spending idle time with a woman so closely linked to misfortune and tragedy; a woman whose actions were so closely responsible for the tumult, chaos, and destruction currently threatening everything. Suzaku and Cornelia agreed that, even knowing how hurt and furious Nunnally would be once she ever found out, they had to separate Nunnally and C.C.

"I'm glad Cornelia was away," Suzaku thought to himself. "Hopefully Nunnally will calm down by the time she gets back. It's hard, but it had to be done."

Of course, Nunnally didn't see things quite that same way. To describe her as angry would be an understatement. The fury that was boiling inside of her was driving her insane for lack of an outlet for it all. The pain and frustration was eating away at her.

More so than the fact that she said the words, she hated that she didn't feel like she was wrong in saying that Suzaku and Cornelia had betrayed her. "An empress can't be childish. An empress can't be selfish. An empress must be considerate of her actions." She could hardly count how many times she'd heard them tell her that. And she followed that advice, even though it had been the prerogative of those before her to be childish, or selfish, or inconsiderate, whenever it suited them. But she didn't want to be like them. She didn't want to make the same mistakes her predecessors made. But did that mean relegating herself to a life of loneliness, until they decided she should be foisted off to marry some man and bear an heir to the throne? That obviously wasn't any guarantee of happiness either, if her own mothers' lives were any indication.

Was it so bad to count C.C. as a friend? The last person that knew her dear brother, a sage witness to more history than anyone alive? That alone should have been completely invaluable. Yet they were treating C.C. like a pestilence, and treating her like a child. If she were empress like they liked to say so often, should they be telling her who she could associate with? Shouldn't she at least be trusted enough to know who to choose as friends, what advice to take from them, and how to use that advice? Had she ever done anything without consulting Cornelia and Suzaku first, to say that she was taking this friend's advice and implementing it on her own?

The more she thought on the matter, the more her blood boiled, and she wanted to explode with rage. She had no idea how to extricate that feeling. Even while thinking she had to keep calm, she could only bristle with rage.

For close to two hours, she refused all visitors. In what could likely be considered an unadvisable choice, she was sequestered to her own thoughts, left to stew in the feeling of isolation and loneliness she was feeling and was the proximate cause of the anger she held at the moment. It was perhaps not the best thing to leave her be for so long.

But when the empress commands you to leave her presence, and does so with the authority conveyed by rage, you don't typically strain credulity by preaching to her more life lessons. The last thing Nunnally was in the mood for was to hear another lecture about what was best for her. All anyone wanted to do, it seemed, was tell her what was best for her… except C.C.

Cornelia returned about three hours after the confrontation between Suzaku and Nunnally. She had been away to the African Union Governor's Meeting. It was a biannual gathering of the various leaders of the nations of Africa where various political and economic issues were hashed out. In the past it was also a gathering that planned the strategy for avoiding conflict with Britannia, inviting leaders and their representatives from other nations to form alliances and the like. It was only in the year after Nunnally's ascension that Britannia was invited to participate at the forum. Cornelia had gone as Britannia's representative to discuss the matter of the Alters.

Cornelia was on the flight back to Pendragon when she heard the news of the attack on the secret prison where they were holding C.C. Her first question was how Nunnally was doing. She knew right from the start that Nunnally would be furious. She'd actually debated telling Nunnally sooner or later. She hadn't honestly expected C.C. would be broken out of there, but knew there was a potential as each day passed that Nunnally would figure out that C.C. hadn't merely gone off like a capricious cat.

There was a time when Cornelia thought of Nunnally as "that cute other sister." Euphemia had always been her world, but she couldn't deny there was a certain infectious charisma about the mischievous Nunnally. After all, Nunnally was the child of the woman she admired so much. She did grieve when it was thought Nunnally and Lelouch had died in the final campaign to take over Japan. With everything that happened with Lelouch, the Black Rebellion, and all that business with Geass, Cornelia saw purpose in protecting and supporting Nunnally.

"I've lost many siblings, and the loss of Euphie will always be the hardest for me to bear. But she's still alive. I couldn't help Euphie when she needed me the most, and I couldn't do anything to repair the image that was unfairly placed on her. But maybe I can so something to help Nunnally now." She'd said this to Guildford when she told him of her intent to join Nunnally's government.

There was always a little of Euphie in Nunnally. She didn't know if that was just misplaced affection from missing Euphie, or there was something really there, but she had considered that the sisters were more similar than she'd thought. To be sure, Nunnally was more apt to spontaneous bouts of anger, and had a terser temperament in general. But there was a sensitivity, a loving and embracing, yet shy, quality the two shared that was unique in the family. When the two of them genuinely smiled, it was a heart-meltingly wonderful thing. Cornelia wanted to protect that.

That is why C.C. was an obstacle. Geass was a wicked, inhuman, power. Its purveyors were devils in human guise. So long as C.C. was out of sight, Cornelia was willing to look the other way and ignore her existence. But seeing her nearly every day, watching her hanging around Nunnally, was like watching a poisonous wasp buzzing near your loved one, waiting with bated breath in the hopes it won't sting them. She couldn't stand it. As far as she was concerned, C.C. held a lot of blame for the travails of the family, and in Euphie's death.

Cornelia was content to allow Nunnally a little space. She busied herself with other things while waiting for Nunnally to readily receive her. She may not regret the choice to lock up C.C. as she had, but she wasn't so cold to Nunnally's feelings to force her to accept it on the spot. Perhaps if Nunnally had simply stopped everything altogether it would have been different. But she was still receiving briefings, still going about some work as empress, just with restricted visibility.

Everyone knew about the attack on the facility, that was obvious enough. Euphemia Alter's every move, at least those with any visibility, was always being covered as doggedly as you might expect. So the empress's sour mood seemed easy enough to explain without anyone asking any details. The question most had, however, was why attack that facility in particular. They had no idea what was there, as it had seemed to be a depot used only for storage since being decommissioned as a regular base years ago. Of course, those with better sources than others would lean on those sources, even if only out of pure curiosity, as to what it was all about. Kallen was going to have a meeting with Suzaku that afternoon anyway to go over information about the planned assault against the Alters. Knowing if there was a particular reason she would attack a seemingly unimportant depot would be valuable for assessing strategy.

There was a good chance that even if you weren't quite sure what the sound was, given how hard she struck him, the whole palace heard it when Kallen slapped him. The slap, she figured, was a kindness. She wanted to do worse, but in her estimation, more so than Suzaku, she considered the consequences of more extreme action.

"You're an ass," she muttered, furiously glaring at him. He'd recalled seeing that exact expression from her before. It was when he'd captured her during the war, when he was siding with Charles against Lelouch. It had been shortly before he'd end up firing the FLEIJA that devastated much of the Tokyo Settlement.

"I hadn't realized you two had become such good friends," he said coldly. Since a slap to one cheek didn't seem to quell his stubbornness, she gave him a fist to the other.

"Did you lose your minds!?" Kallen berated. "This was absolutely the stupidest thing you could do! And lying to Nunnally all this time too? How could you not see how badly this would go!? If…" she paused.

"Go ahead," Suzaku challenged. "You were going to say that Lelouch could have done things differently if he were still here, weren't you? But he isn't. Lelouch died. So did Euphie. And Shirley. And Marrybell. If this terrible nightmare has taught us anything it's that the dead have to stay dead. We have to move on, no matter how hard that is. Someone like C.C., a being who exists outside of time, who can't die, is a constant reminder of that buried past. Her presence alone makes it harder for Nunnally to move on, and that's before she spends her days just telling stories about the past."

"If you think pushing your own insecurities on a dead man will fix things, then go right ahead. But the fact is it just looks like you made an irrational choice because you were feeling guilty. You think saying you took good care of her, didn't force her to talk to you about anything, is supposed to make it seem like it wasn't that bad? That just makes it all the worse, because then you can't even claim to have done any of this for any benefit other than your own egos. After she stood behind you two and your plan, to satisfy your want of revenge against Lelouch, Nunnally was made to watch her brother die right in front of her. And for the sin of wanting to get along with the only person to know him anywhere near as well as she did, you decided Nunnally's closest friend in this isolated and massive palace was too much of a bother to have around anymore. I feel sorry for Nunnally if you're supposed to be her most trusted shield."

Kallen looked equal measures of angry and sad. She walked by Suzaku and left him in the room. Nina saw her leave the room. She'd been loitering the halls a bit herself much of the day. She was meant to discuss some data with both Suzaku and Nunnally today, but with the fallout from the C.C. incident, she took it upon herself to not potentially make a nuisance of herself. She did still want and need to talk to them. It would have been a little different story if she were set to deliver some good news.

After the incident at Cornelia's home, the impetus had been placed on hurrying with a solution to the Alters. The lack of information from the investigations was interminably frustrating. There didn't seem to be any indication of any nation-state or non-nation-state actors that could be involved. The consensus therefore amongst analysts both inside and outside the government was that the masterminds must be some hereto unknown agitators. The lack of a claim of responsibility also meant that they likely had some absolute goal in mind, not merely terrorism to force a bargain. Given the asymmetric power the Alters seemed to have at their disposal, the idea of terrorism had quickly dwindled, terrorism usually the tool of a weaker military force to overcome a more powerful one.

The whispers about the potential use of the FLEIJA began to shift to quiet discussions. An unsigned proposal began circulating in the Senate and was sent to the empress, explaining the rationale behind moving towards limited production of new FLEIJA warheads to be used as tactical weapons against the Alters, specifically against Euphemia Alter. Initially the Senate was upset about the fact their proposal got out. They expected a swift and vicious batting down by the public and other nations. But the silence from most, the mealy rebuttal from others, emboldened those who had quietly drafted the document to at least speak on it favorably, if not fully embrace it.

Nunnally's cold response was not unexpected. She suggested she would think on it, but the consensus was she was being polite in saying no. No good was likely to come of being too abrupt, especially with the Europa nations seeing two cities already devastated and many seeing no harm in finishing the job of wiping those cities clean as started by Marrybell. Had they the means, certainly one of those nations likely would have already developed and launched their own version of the FLEIJA. Lacking that, they had little else to do but lean into any plans Britannia had that might be viable.

Complicating matters was Marrybell's now public request to have her self-acclaimed new nation join the UFN. That had sped up the clock. There was now a deadline on an answer the world was set to give to Marrybell. If Britannia had a weapon capable of defeating this monster, and were willing to use it, then there was no reason to entertain her talk of joining the UFN. Absent that, the issue of Marrybell became a decision of actual consequence. Infighting amongst the top ranks in Britannia was the last problem the world needed right now.

In the late afternoon, Nunnally summoned several individuals to her chambers. It wasn't an ask, it was a summons, a distinction not easily missed given the normal precision of Angela Driscol. When Suzaku arrived, Cornelia was already in the room. He took quick notice of her, looking to see if he could read her expressions or demeanor to get a sense of the tone this meeting would take. He wasn't sure he much liked what he was seeing. Cornelia seemed just a bit sheepish, a little unsteady. She seemed upset and yet still content. He couldn't imagine Cornelia receiving a verbal lashing from Nunnally, and perhaps that was precisely the reason for Cornelia's look. Perhaps it was how guilt looked, guilt for angering the empress, her younger sister.

Nina was also already in the room. She was harder to read too, if only because she always seemed the same regardless of the situation. He couldn't speak well of the zealotry she displayed when under Schnizel's umbrella, but it would have been nice for her sake if she could have focused that same determination and self-confidence towards her work and life now. Instead, she'd reverted to the mousy and skittish persona of her high school days; always seemingly afraid of saying anything to upset others. For that reason, her demeanor could mean everything was great, things were terrible, and every variation in between.

Angela opened the door to let Lloyd and Rakshata in, Kallen following behind. It was obvious Lloyd and Rakshata had tabled some debate about something or another just before entering, Kallen's expression saying she'd had about as much of that discussion as she cared to hear for a while.

"Everyone has arrived, my empress," Angela said with a curtsy.

"Thank you, Angela," Nunnally said pleasantly enough, offering a bright smile to her attendant. It was terrifying in what it didn't convey. It would have seemed she'd not been at all angry in her life, let alone that day, for how pleasant and joyful the short bit of gratitude seemed.

"Thank you for arriving so quickly everyone," Nunnally continued. "I have made several decisions that I wanted to convey to you all first. I have asked Ms. Cecile to travel briefly with my brother Prince Schneizel to deliver some classified documents and a personal message from me to Lady Kaguya.

"Before we continue, Kallen, I would like to ask you something."

"Su… I mean, yes, your majesty," Kallen slightly fumbled. She was feeling an odd pressure on her to be extra formal, recalling her days of playing the dutiful prim and proper aristocrat's daughter. Seeing Nunnally offer her a warm smile with a slight tilt of the head only made the unintentional effort seem all the more foolish.

"Would you consider becoming my knight?" Nunnally said, sucking all the air from the room.

"I… your… I don't…" Kallen fumbled again, caught entirely off guard.

"As you know, the former Knights of the Round system ended under my brother's reign, and I chose not to revive it," Nunnally began to explain. "And even now I don't intend to revive such a system. However, there were certain duties and responsibilities that fell to those select individuals – responsibilities that now reside in a diffuse number of hands.

"You previously said that you had no desire to return to the battlefield, and I intend to respect that wish wholeheartedly. However, there are duties a knight can perform that are not focused on attending to the battlefield. Among those is the organization and facilitation of the protective duties of the royal family. The attack on the castle, the incident at sister Cornelia's home, are all evidence that existing system is not working as it should.

"If you would accept my request, I would name you an honorary knight with the task of overseeing all aspects of the security of myself and my family. You would have the power to make any changes you see fit regarding our safety and security, even naming your own replacement if you so choose."

"Nunnally… this is so… I don't even know how to answer you right now," Kallen replied in a hurry. To say her feelings were jumbled was an understatement.

"That's okay. I won't force a decision on you," Nunnally said, still offering her soft smile. "I would like you to take some time to consider it.

"In the meantime, I've asked sister Cornelia to take a step back from her official duties. Until we know more, I have to assume that my sister was targeted because of her role in my government. I will not allow her or my niece to come to harm, so in order for her to ensure her own safety as well as that of her family, I've told her to step aside until we can be more certain of our ability to secure her safety."

You could see Cornelia tense up at this announcement. This was clearly what had gotten to Cornelia, what had made her seem so off balanced. She was stuck in an unwinnable argument. To anyone knowing about the C.C. issue it would seem Nunnally was pushing away one of the ringleaders. But she'd chosen an easy and unassailable way of doing it. Cornelia was going to have a hard time arguing she was secure in thinking there was no danger to her, Guilford, and Euphiane, and an even harder time suggesting their security meant so little that she would allow herself to remain stationed in the capital. Anyone else trying to make such an argument on her behalf would have likely been seen immediately to be callous and unfeeling.

"Additionally, after discussing the matter with Lady Kaguya, Zero will be returning to Lady Kaguya's side at the UFN. Given her needs and the needs of the UFN in the coming days and weeks, Zero's skills and attention are better served there. The decision on what to do about Marrybell's request to join the UFN is due in a few days. Regardless of what decision the UFN as a whole makes, things are likely to become very difficult and challenging in Europa. It has been unfair of us to monopolize the attention of the UFN's Commander-in-Chief of military operations. Lady Kaguya will be looking forward to your expeditious return."

Suzaku had to contain himself. He wanted very much to argue with her. But yet again, the framing was locking him out. He would absolutely have to talk with Kaguya first before he had any chance to argue with Nunnally over this decision. It had been a longstanding complaint in the world at large about why the commander of a military arm of an international union was spending so much time in the seat of a single nation. There had been calls for the Order of the Black Knights to almost fully relocate to out of Britannia. Kaguya herself had occasionally grumbled in private over the fact she had to compete with Nunnally and Britannia for the ear of her own military commander.

Despite the excuses afforded for why that was the case, it didn't make it any easier for them to fight back the criticisms as the months and years separated the present from the war. With the Alters, it was clear that Europa was in greater need of whatever aide the Black Knights could offer. Afterall, Britannia wasn't experiencing a humanitarian crisis, or scores of millions dead. Even if it was just an excuse, it was a perfectly viable one to use.

"There is still time before member nations must submit their vote," Nunnally continued. "But Kaguya believes that with a set of preconditions a tentative acceptance will be allowed for Marrybell's request.

"I will be authorizing Operation Casket. Our military command will be updating me in two days on their planning and, if I am satisfied with the state of preparedness, I will then give approval for any necessary collaborative efforts. In the meantime, we will still need any information possible about the Alters, so I would like Ser Asplund and his team to continue their efforts to figure out who they are and what their true goals are. I will be authorizing an unlimited expenditure for this project, Ser Asplund. Please use it wisely."

"Of course, your majesty," he answered with a rare seriousness and somber look one would consider foreign to him.

"Very well then. If there is nothing else, you may all leave now."