A/N: I don't own Code Geass or Batman Beyond. They are owned by Sunrise and Warner Brothers Animation. So please don't sue me or arrest me. So here we go Chapter 9.
One week later
"What do you mean you're done being Batman?!" Suzaku asked as Lelouch began to put away various gadgets that were apart as his arsenal when he was the dark knight.
"I've only made things worse Suzaku," Lelouch explained as he closed shut one of the many compartments that were holding his gear. "As Batman, I escalated things and caused Schneizal to take desperate action to try and remain in power. If I hadn't come out of hiding or put on a mask and tried to play hero again, he would never have gone this far."
"You don't know that!" Suzaku countered. "For all we know, Schneizal probably had been planning this for years now."
"But we, no, I caused him to step up his schedule and take such an action!" Lelouch fired back. "Just face it Suzaku, this is all my fault! Everything that's happened since Shinjuku has been my fault!"
"You're not the only one to blame Lelouch," Suzaku reminded him. "I've made mistakes too, and I've lost a lot as well. The broadcast was my idea! If anything it's my fault that this happened!"
"You were only doing what I asked you to do!" Lelouch said. "I was the one who wanted you to find a way that we could take down Schneizel in a way that was justified. And now look where it's got us!"
There was a long silence in the room as the two friends contemplated each other's words. Finally, Suzaku asked the most important question. "So now after a week of weeping down here trying to come up with a solution to this, you decide to give up, but what happens next?"
Lelouch looked over at Suzaku, a look of sadness was held in his eyes. He then dropped his head down low in depression. "I'm going to turn myself into a Schneizel." He told his lifelong friend.
Suzaku's face morphed into complete disbelief. "WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! HE'LL KILL YOU!" Suzaku yelled.
"I know," Lelouch said mournfully. "And I'm perfectly fine with that. So long as he stops his mad quest for peace."
Suddenly, a hand flashed across Lelouch's face, knocking him to the floor. It also left a prominent red bruise that stung when Lelouch touched it. He looked up to see Suzaku standing over him with an enraged look in his face.
"Do you really believe that if you turn yourself in that Schneizel is gonna stop all this?" The Japanese boy asked rhetorically. "If so, then you're an even bigger idiot than me! Already in the last week, he's destroyed three cities for rising against him and his 'era of peace'. And you think if you turn yourself in that he'll just stop?!"
Lelouch began to stand back up. "What other choice do I have Suzaku?" Lelouch asked. "If I chose to fight, I'll be engendering Japan. Schneizal knows just how much I've come to love this country, and he'll waste no time in destroying it if you or I interfere."
"You could fight!" Suzaku answered him. "You could lead! You could inspire people to rise and-"
"AND DO WHAT SUZAKU?! DIE?!" Lelouch's voice boomed, shocking Suzaku."I'M DONE RISKING OTHERS LIVES FOR THE SAKE OF MY GOALS! I'M NOT GONNA ASK ANYONE TO RISK THEMSELVES FOR ME ANYMORE! I'D RATHER BE DEFEATED A HERO THAN BE VICTORIOUS AS A DEMON AGAIN!"
As Suaku stared at the eyes of his best friend, and former worst enemy, he saw that Lelouch truly meant every word he said. He didn't want to be a demon again or make others die for the sake of his goals. He truly wanted to be a hero, and Suzaku knew he couldn't dissuade Lelouch. He had no right to do that to his friend.
As Lelouch put away the last Batarang, he took one last glance at the batsuit. "You know," Lelouch began, his voice cracking with sadness, eyes glistening with tears "I did love being Batman. I loved being the hero that I always made myself appear to be as Zero. I loved helping those people. I loved every minute of being Batman. And I truly believed that if I kept at it, I could make an even bigger impact on the world than I ever did as Zero."
He gave a small 'heh' and a sad smile as he looked back fondly on his exploits and adventures as Batman. He then moved his hand over the switch that would lock the batsuit away. His smile turned into a frown as his finger hovered above it.
"But I guess there are no second chances in this world," Lelouch said mournfully, "Not really."
His finger was centimeters from pressing the button-
"ALERT! ALERT!"
The sudden ringing from the alarms and the robotic sound of the bat computer shocked Lelouch out of his action as he turned to the supercomputer, Suzaku beat him to the punch as he brought up the alert notification to see what had caused it.
"There's an intruder outside the bat-bunker trying to get in!" Suzaku called as Lelouch threw on his suit.
"Can you get a visual on the outside cameras?" Lelouch asked as he put on his silver utility belt.
Suzaku grunted in frustration as his answer. "Nothing, they're all disabled!" Suzaku answered his friend. He turned back to see that Lelouch was holding his mask in his hands. "You think its Schneizal or the Black Knights?"
"Probably," Lelouch said as he pulled the black mask over his face. "But we can't be sure. So keep your guard up." Suzaku had already grabbed his sword and pistol. He nodded a confirmation that he was ready.
They moved over to the elevator that would take them upstairs. Batman pulled out a Batarang from his belt and held it at his side, ready to throw it if the intruders planned on a firefight. When the duo reached the top, they moved to the side of the door to the entrance and waited for the door to open.
When the door opened and a figure stepped in the room, Batman and Suzaku reacted immediately. Batman went to grab the assailant's hand, but they seemed to be both an expert in martial arts like the duo, even more so.
They grabbed Batman's hand and did an aikido throw over their shoulder. Suzaku attempted to get the figure in the neck with his sword, but they ducked beneath and struck Suzaku in the gut.
Batman did a sweep with his leg that knocked their assailant on the ground. He moved to knock them unconscious, but they were able to counter his attempt and strike him in the neck, knocking him back. Seeing their opponent was stunned, they delivered a kick to Batman's chest, and he collided with the wall.
When they straightened, they felt a blade on their neck. "Na uh!" Suzaku stated as he held his blade at their neck and held their arms with his free hand. "No your gonna give us some answers! Who sent-argh!"
Suzaku didn't get to finish as he suddenly felt a cut on his right leg. Looking down, he saw that the assailant had drawn a small knife and cut his leg. The assailant then gave a roundhouse to Suzaku's face knocking him to the floor.
They then brought their knife back up in a counter-attack to Batman's punch, the blade locked in with his forearm blades. The assailant then pushed back against the dark knight and continued slashing with her knife, with Batman barely able to keep up.
When the blades locked again, Batman then threw his arm upward and the knife followed. However, that did nothing to slow the intruder down. Instead, she used this opportunity to leap and kick Batman in the chest knocking him to the floor.
The assailant then pinned him down to the ground and grabbed the knife just as it was coming down. Acting instinctively, Batman pressed a button on his belt. Suddenly, a current of electricity flowed all around his suit and onto his pinner. The shock caused the assailant to howl in pain and shoot up off of him.
Taking this opening, Batman grabbed the woman-as evident by her scream from the shock-by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall. "Who are you?!" he demanded.
Now that he got a minute to get a look at her, she was grabbed in an all-black outfit, one befitting of a ninja. Her face was covered with a mask, which Batman quickly removed. And gasped.
Before he could say anything, she used his surprise as an opening and kicked him in the royal family jewels. Batman let out a groan and was pushed down to the floor. The woman reached and grabbed another knife-
"Sayoko wait it's me!" Lelouch called, causing the ninja/maid that had served both he and Nunnally well over the years to freeze. Quickly, Lelouch pulled back his mask, and the woman gasped.
"Master Lelouch?!" Sayoko said in disbelief. When Lelouch got to his feet, the woman wasted no time in giving the boy a big hug. "Thank goodness you are alive! I was so worried about you!"
Lelouch stiffened slightly before returning the hug. "I know." He said simply. "I missed you too." He then pulled away as he looked her in the eyes, "I thought you were dead! How did you survive?"
"I was able to get out of the blast radius before the explosion went off," Sayoko explained. "But my injuries caused me to pass out. When I awoke, the Black Knights reported that you had died." She then looked down in sorrow. "I didn't return to them after that, because I had failed to protect both you and lady Nunnally."
She then looked back at him with slight anger. "Then I saw that the Black Knights had you given over to your brother Schneizel," Lelouch could hear the rage that was present in her voice, "and I felt like a fool for believing anything they said. They betrayed you out of fear of destruction."
"No," Lelouch corrected the maid. "That's not why, they betrayed me because I lied to them, and Schneizel manipulated them. It was my fault for what they did, I wasn't honest with them. And I paid the price for it."
"Well you always did have a problem with the truth," Suzaku said as he stood up, the cut on his leg already bandaged up by a piece of his clothing.
Suddenly, Sayoko stepped protectively in front of Lelouch, knife pulled out ready to cut at his other leg.
Lelouch puts a hand on Sayoko to stop her. "It's okay Sayoko," Lelouch assured her, the ninja/maid looked at him with a concerned look in her eyes, "He's with me."
She slowly, almost reluctantly, put the knife in her hands down. "Seems we have some catching up to do."
"That we do master Lelouch," Sayoko said as he gave him a look over, and frowned slightly. "For starters, why are you dressed as a bat? As I recall, Lady Nunnally told me that you were afraid of those flying creatures as a child."
Lelouch groaned. "It's a long story."
"And also how are you in remarkable physical condition?" Sayoko stated amazed. "I remember a time when you couldn't even lift a box of pillows a flight of stairs?"
Suzaku couldn't stop himself from laughing as Lelouch's face went red with embarrassment. Why did everyone have to bring up how weak he was when they saw him again?
"I'll explain that later as well," Lelouch said trying to find a way to change the topic, then one thought entered his mind. "Sayoko, if you survived, then does that mean-"
The maid just shook her head in sorrow. "I'm sorry but I wasn't able to get to Lady Nunnally before the explosion went off," Sayoko confirmed.
The room then fell silent as the three individuals mourned over Nunnally with a brief moment.
After a moment of silence, Suzaku asked. "How did you find this place? We've been able to be kept off the radar for more than six months? So how did you find us?" Lelouch looked toward Sayoko, himself curious as to how she found them.
"It took a little while," Sayoko admitted, "But we were finally able to track the trail left by the Kōmori's energy wings to this location."
"Wait 'we'?" Lelouch asked. "Who's 'we'?"
Sayoko smiled at his question. "Well, why don't you two come with me and find out." She told the duo as she made her way to the exit, with the boys following.
When the two stepped out of the shipping container that was the secret entrance to their bunker, they gasped.
The crate was surrounded by people the two knew. Jeremiah, Cornelia, Guilford (who survived the FLEIJA explosion?), the Knight of Nine Nonnette Emmgram, a dozen Britannian soldiers and Black Knights, Lloyd, Cecile, and Rahkstha. Wait- was that Milly, Nina, and Rivalz in the crowd?!
As they gazed at the crowd of people standing before them, Jeremiah came forward and bowed before Lelouch, in a way that seemed to be asking for forgiveness.
"Your Highness," Jeremiah began, his voice shaking, "Forgive me of my insolence and failure to believe in you! I let myself fall prey to the Black Knights lies and believed you had perished! I have no excuse for my behavior! I only ask that you give me a swift punishment!"
Lelouch's mouth was held wide open. Even after all that has happened, Jeremiah's loyalty was still legendary and fierce. And at times a little overdramatic. Nevertheless, Lelouch kneeled to Jeremiah's eye level and stared the Knight of Orange dead in the eye.
"You are not to blame Jeremiah," Lelouch declared, causing the loyal soldier to look at His Highness in the eyes, tears almost gathered in them, "The betrayal was my fault. I was arrogant and foolish, I never trusted others, and that caused them to turn on me. But you, you remained loyal to me after all this time. I should be the one apologizing to you." Jeremiah's (and everyone present) face lit up with wonder and amazement. "I don't deserve one such as you to be this loyal to me. I am unworthy of your loyalty, but you still serve me. For that, I am grateful beyond words."
He then rose and presented his hand for Jerimaih to take. The Knight hesitated for a moment, then smiled as he grasped the hand of the man he pledged his life to service to the best of his ability.
Lelouch then looked over to the crowd of Black Knights. "What are you all doing here?" He asked.
The group stayed silent for a moment before one, a Japanese man, stepped forward and boldly declared. "We've spent years fighting Britannia! And now we're expected to shake hands with the man who destroyed the Tokyo Settlement and is holding the world hostage with a superweapon! No way! And besides, if we're teaming up with a Britanian Prince, it might as well be the one who killed the Emperor and inspired hope to us!" The rest nodded in agreement.
Lelouch then looked over to his former Ashford Academy peers. Milly only gave him a fiendish smirk. "You remember what I said during the cat party, if one of us goes down we all do. So we're here to make sure we all don't go down by making sure you stand up!" Rivalz grinned like the idiot he was.
Nina looked timid before she spoke up. "I never meant for my idea to become a weapon such as that! I want to make up for my failure by trying to stop it for Princess Euphemia!"
Lelouch grimaced. Again, all this could be traced back to him making the choice to accept Geass.
"What about you two?" Suzaku asked the pair of scientists that belonged to opposite organizations.
"Well with Schneizel going behind my back and giving funding to those fools in genetics," He was cut off as Cecile whacked him on the head, he sighed, exasperated. "And because he was experimenting on innocent people and destroyed Peradragon, I decided to leave him."
"I left because I couldn't stand the stupidity of the Black Knight leadership." Rakshata spat as she pulled the pipe to her mouth for a smoke. After a moment, she removed it and continued. "A man just destroyed his capital, and they want to ally themselves with him, that is beyond foolish in my opinion."
He then glanced at the one who got him stumped by being here to help him. Unless she came to kill him, then that would have made more sense. But she did not move so Lelouch had to ask. "What are you doing here Cornelia?"
The air in all those present was tense as the two half-siblings stared at each other with gazes that could frighten even the bravest men. Those present looked back and forth between the two as if waiting for something to happen. Instinctively, Jeremiah and Sayoko moved to stand protectively in front of Lelouch when Cornelia began to walk forward, but Lelouch signaled them to hold back.
Finally, Cornelia said a statement that was obvious to Lelouch. "I can never forgive you." She said in a cold dark tone. "No matter how much time passes or what you are now or what happened, I can never forgive you for what you did to Euphie."
"I know," Lelouch said truthfully. "I know you won't, and I don't want you to forgive me." Truly, he didn't want her forgiveness, he had to have at least someone to remind him of his greatest crime so he could remember why he was being Batman.
After a long moment of silence, Cornelia gave out an exhausted sigh. "But," She began, "We need to put that behind us for the moment. For now, we have bigger problems that need to be solved. Schneizel needs to be stopped, and quick!"
Lelouch frowned slightly at Cornelia's urgency. "What is it? What's Schneizel planning?" Lelouch asked, fear rising in his stomach.
"I'll explain inside."
"Commander Ohgi!" One of the bridge officers yelled. "Message from Prince Schneizel, it says 'Remain on standby until you are called on for help. Thank you for your cooperation.'"
"Thank you, officer Marcos." Ohgi saluted as the man sat down and resumed his duties.
Ohgi then turned and gazed out at the rebuilding city of Tokyo. 'Just a little longer, and this city, and this country, will be ours again.' Ohgi told himself as he thought back on the previous week.
Some of the Black Knights weren't happy that they were allying themselves with a Britannian Prince that experimented on innocent people and destroyed his own nation's capital. Some of them even quit the knights. Where they went, they had no idea.
Thankfully, the leading members of the Knights stayed behind and supported Ohgi's decision, along with a majority of the Knights. Unfortunately, of the members that left, one of them was Rakshata, that left the Black Knights without a top scientist.
'Then of course there was...' Ohgi thought as he brought his hand to his still broken nose as he remembered the 'event' that happened after he confronted Schneizel last week.
Flashback
"What do you mean we're allying with Schneizel?!" Kallen cried as Ohgi had just finished telling the Knights the deal he made with the Second Prince. "He just destroyed his capital and experimented on innocent people?! How can we still want to work with a man like that?!"
"Kallen, I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Please." Ohgi pleaded with Kallen. "While I admit that the fact he destroyed Peradangan is concerning, I believe that is why we should ally with him because we can guarantee Japan's safety by accepting this deal. I also asked about the people in the video, and he told me they were dangerous criminals who had nothing to live for, he didn't do it on innocent people."
"AND YOU BELIEVE HIM?!" Kallen roared causing all those present to take a step back in shock. "Just because he says something that means you can trust him?! And just because they were criminals makes it okay to experiment and torture them?! Who the heck are you?!"
"Kozuki!" Tohdoh hollard to get Kallen's attention. "While I admit I am also sickened by this deal we made, it's for the best. With it, no more blood will be spilled getting Japan back!"
"Which we could already have back if you didn't let that scum go!" Chiba shouted as she glared daggers at Kallen. "He was right there, and you didn't take the shot! We could already have Japan back if you just killed that con man on the spot in the hanger before that traitor Kururugi showed up! What were you thinking Kallen?!"
Kallen didn't speak as she looked down, avoiding everyone's gaze.
"Kallen," Ohgi said, his take on a level of sympathy as he grabbed Kallen's arm comfortingly, "I know it's hard, but we have to do this to get Japan back." He then played a card that he knew would get Kallen to listen to him. "Please. It's what Naoto would want."
At the mention of the deceased former leader of the Kouzki resistance and Kallen's older brother, those in the room apart from the original resistance stiffened at the mention of his name. Kallen meanwhile, had her eyes hidden by her hair.
"Don't you dare," Kallen said, her voice taking on a new level of dread unlike any of the Black Knights have seen before.
"Wh-What?" Ohgi stuttered, sweat falling from his head, fearing that he just made a grave mistake.
He got his conformation as Kallen stuck him right in the nose. He felt something in it break as he fell to the floor. He felt the warm blood come down his nose as he gazed up at Kallen with the biggest look of shock he ever had on his face, as did everyone else in the room.
When they got a look at her eyes, they remembered why it was good to never anger a woman, especially redheads. Her eyes were like an empty abyss where if you looked in it, you would be lost in the dark forever and never find your way out, losing your soul in the process. And her voice was even darker.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE HIM AS AN EXCUSE TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL JUSTIFIED!" Kallen declared with a roar even greater than that of a dragon. "YOU KNOW WELL THAT NAOTO WOULD NEVER WANT IT THIS WAY! AND IF YOU DIDN'T, THEN YOU WERE NEVER MY BROTHER'S FRIEND! AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM AT ALL! AND YOU DON'T KNOW ME EITHER!"
And with that, Kallen raced out of the room the leadership was in and made her way down to the hanger where the Guren was. The leadership was still too shocked to even comprehend what happened for a solid minute until Ohgi stepped up and tried to get after her.
But he was too late as Kallen had begun the start-up procedure for the Guren. Ohgi made his way, and activated the blast doors on the Ikaruga! But that did little to stop Kallen as she activated the radiant wave surger and blasted a hole in the door for her to leave.
"KALLEN WAIT!" Ohgi tried calling her as the Guren moved toward the exit. The ninth-generation framed stopped to turn back to the leadership of the Knights as it was at the edge of the door.
"I'm done fighting for someone who acts out of fear and anger! I'M DONE WITH EVERYTHING!" Kallen declared. She turned again to face the exit as she activated her energy wings. But before she left she said one last thing. "You know?! Batman was right about one thing: Without Zero, the Black Knights are nothing but a terrorist group like before!"
And with that, she took off into the night!
Flashback end
Ohgi sighed at the memory. They had tried to find some trace of her, but she must have disabled the IFF signal in her Knightmare. They also tried calling but she wouldn't answer. And they couldn't ask Rakshata to find her because she had already left when Kallen bolted. And her leaving also caused some of the other knights to leave.
Though the loss of Kallen was hard on him, he saw it as a blessing in disguise. At least this way she wouldn't have to fight anymore, which is exactly what Naoto wanted.
'Or was it?' A voice in his head questioned him. Ever since the incident, Ohgi began doubting what it was that Naoto ever wanted. Would he want his little sister away from the fighting out there alone with nowhere to go? Would he be fine gaining Japan back if it meant that they would be at the beck and call of a man with a superweapon?
Ohgi shook his head. Of course, Naoto would want to get Japan back in a way that involved less bloodshed. Or at least, Japanese blood.
In this life, one had to make choices, choices only that person could make. And Ohgi made his choice.
He could only hope he made the right one.
"Wait. Schneizel plans to bombard every major city in the world with FLEIJA?!" Suzaku yelled in disbelief that was shared by everyone at the table as they just heard from Cornelia what Schneizel's plan was.
"Yes," Cornelia said bluntly.
"B-But why would he do that?!" Rivalz asked, clearly confused about what was going through the Second Prince's head. "I mean, if he wanted to bring peace to the world, then why would he do something that would destroy millions, possibly billions of lives?!"
Cornelia waited for a moment before she answered the boy's question. "To quote him 'To ensure permanent peace for all time.'"
Flashback
"Why did you destroy Peradangan?!" Cornelia asked her now eldest brother in shock after seeing the broadcast.
Schneizel merely gave her an impassive look. "I can't have anyone stand in my way Cornelia," Schneizel simply said, "Humanity needs to be brought to peace and I can't let anyone try to restrict me."
"But have you considered that they may want that peace as well?" Cornelia asked. "That they are as tired of this fighting as you are and wish to work with you to make that peace?!"
Schneizel only looked at Cornelia, causing her to gasp. His eyes were all the answer she needed.
"You-you've already considered that thought have you?" Cornelia asked in disbelief. He believed that it may be possible that the Royal family would support him, but he still took action to eliminate him.
Schneizel merely ignored her and walked over to a screen that showed a diagram of the Damocles.
"Tell me, Cornelia," Schneizel began calmly, "What is it people desire?"
The question took the Goddess of victory off guard. But before she could answer, Schneizel continued.
"Is it death," Schneizel began listing off, "poverty, hunger, famine, war, violence? No. What people want is for those things to disappear and to live on. But with how humans are, they cannot connect and resort to killing each other over misunderstandings."
The diagram then shifted to show Damocles move high above the atmosphere that made it seem it was a judgment for the Earth.
"Like the mythical sword, Damocles will stand as judge over the world and its action." Schneizel continued, while Cornelia's eyes could only grow wider. "Once it reaches a height of over 300 kilometers over the Earth's surface, the Damocles will be able to fire upon any point on Earth in 90 minutes."
Then Schneizal turned to face Cornelia, donning a devilish smile that could rival, even surpass one given by Lelouch. "Once Damocles reaches that height, we will target every major city on the planet and destroy it."
Cornelia gasped! Did she hear him correctly? "But you said the Damocles would be used to preserve peace! How does destroying thousands of cities and killing millions of people going to keep the peace?!"
"Simply really sister," Schneizel stated as he came toward her. "By showing off the full capabilities of the Damocles, we'll be able to ensure that no one will even think about rebelling and attacking the fortress, or each other. They will comply with whatever I say so that they may live."
"YOU'RE INSANE! YOU'VE GONE MAD WITH POWER! NOT EVEN LELOUCH OR FATHER EVER HAD A PLAN LIKE THIS!" Cornelia hollard in shock.
"Which is why I must be the one to do it." Schneizal started with a proud smile. "Only I have the strength to pull this feat off. Lelouch and father were too weak to pull off something like this. Father because he was wrapped in his delusions, and Lelouch because of his foolish compassion and love for others."
Cornelia froze when she heard Schneizel say those words. Schneizel had just stated that Lelouch cared, truly cared, about others over himself, even when he stated that he only used people as pawns to further his own goals. But in reality, Schneizel was speaking of himself and placing those traits onto Lelouch.
And there, for the first time in her life, she saw what kind of man Schneizel el Britannia is. A man so wrapped in his ambitions, that he never truly cared about what happened to those around him, so long as he came out on top at the end of it all. A man who would watch the world burn, with a smile on his face, so long as he accomplished his goal.
Suddenly, a noise that sounded like someone was clapping came from the corner of the room. Cornelia looked over to where the source was, to see Kanon and a Britannian man in a fancy Black Knight uniform. She recognized him immediately.
"Outstanding!" Shouted Diethard Reid, the Black Knight who was obsessed with reporting the story of Zero's triumphant over Britannia. "Truly outstanding, not even Zero had ambitions such as that! You will be more than worth my time to film a story about than Zero was!"
As Cornelia glanced between the greedy newsman and her mad brother, she made a decision. She gripped her sword tightly in her hand. "I will never be able to forgive Lelouch for what he's done..." She spoke softly.
Then, she ripped the blade out of her sheath and shouted at the top of her lungs. "YOUR WORSE THAN HE IS!"
She then charged her brother, knowing that she would die, but hoped that she could at least end this madness before it could be unleashed on the world.
BAM
The bullet hit her dead in the chest, just inches from her heart! She collapsed onto the ground, feeling cold instantly. She struggled to move, to try and stop her brother's mad obsession with peace. But she couldn't move, she could only lie there and listen to her Brother.
"Pitiful Cornelia," Schneizel insulted. "I truly wished you would see things my way, but it seems that you value Euphie too much to accept what can be. You're as foolish and naive as she was, in a different way."
"Your Highness," Kanon spoke, "The Black Knights' Command wish to speak with you concerning the matter of the experiments."
"Ah! Well, I'll just say they were criminals who had no hope of ever-changing, that might still ensure their cooperation." Schneizel stated as if it wasn't a big deal.
Cornelia tried to stay conscious, but her eyes were becoming heavy. She couldn't do anything, in the moment when she wanted to do something that would benefit the world, she was completely powerless. Defeated, she closed her eyes and embraced the cold fibers of death.
Flashback end
"However," Cornelia said as she finished recounting Schneizel's plan, "Thanks to both Guilford and Nonnette, I was able to survive. For that, I'm eternally grateful to both of you." She gave warm smiles to both knights that decided to stand by her.
"So that's his plan," Batman muttered, his mask on to conceal his identity to those who didn't yet know, still shocked that his brother would go that far. As a child, and even now, Lelouch never believed Schneizel had these kinds of ambitions to enforce peace. Or maybe, Lelouch never really knew Schneizel at all. He wore a mask, just like Lelouch used to.
"We have to stop him!" Suzaku declared. Murmurs of agreement followed quickly behind him.
"Okay, quick questions though: How?" Milly voiced out.
"Yeah! I mean, Schneizel's got the support of a majority of Britannia's military, and the Black Knights. And he's got those bombs that can destroy an entire city!" Rivalz pointed out to those present. "So how are we gonna get close enough in the state we are now!?"
Those present in the room frowned as the facts started to sink in. How were they gonna pull this off with the resources they have now?
"Well, who said anything about having to strike him now?"
Everyone in the room turned to the source of the voice to see Lloyd smiling in a grin that meant he knew something they didn't.
"What are you getting at Lloyd?" Suzaku asked.
The Earl of Pudding merely adjusted his glasses. "Well before we left Britannia's military, I did a quick scan of the Damocles and found something very interesting in the design."
"What was it?" Lelouch asked hope was beginning to fill his voice.
"A very interesting fact that may give us the ultimate victory over him and get around his threat to bomb the world." Lloyd continued to beat around the bush, not working to give a clear answer.
"Answer His Highness' question you blabbermouth or suffer the consequences!" Jeremiah threatened as he pulled his sword out of his cybernetic hand.
That was enough incentive to get Lloyd to give them a clear answer. "Well, I noticed that the Damocles has an experimental float system capable of lifting a structure of that weight to the desired height is not complete yet."
"But what does this mean?" Sayoko asked, not getting on to Lloyd's train of thought.
Before Lloyd could answer though, Rakshata beat him to the punch. "It means that Schneizel will need time to create a stable float system to carry the Damocles up to that height." She then took a glance at the Damocles' data, ignoring a glare from the Earl of Pudding. "And judging by this, it seems he'll need way longer than a few days."
"Well, then how long will he need to get this float system up and running?" Guilford asked the question on everyone's mind.
The three scientists then proceeded to look over the data collected. "Judging by the Damocles' size and weight, along with the height Schneizel desires, and that he lost the leading expert in the float system." Cecile explained, while both Lloyd and Rakshata said 'Me' when Cecile said the last part, causing the two to glare at each other in anger. "I'd calculate that it would take at least a month to get it fully operational to reach that height. Give or take a day or two."
That small fact caused the brightest light of hope to shine on Lelouch. At first, he believed he was alone against Schneizel and his forces, that he had no time at all. But now he had an army, or something close to it, along with time to prepare.
"Okay now we have time, which is great, but what about the Black Knights?" Rivalz voiced out. "They are still the most technologically advanced military unit in the world and their backing Schneizel. How are we gonna take them down along with him?"
"By turning them against him!" Nonnette declared, causing the room to look at her in surprise. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a disc. "We were able to record the whole conversation between Schneizy and Nelly before it got deleted. Along with a couple of other words that would guarantee the Black Knights turning against Schneizel."
"That's great!" Milly shouted in joy. "I can get the message out through the News! That way everyone can know the kind of scumbag that Prince Schneizel is that so-"
"No!" Batman cut off her rant. "It's just like what happened when Suzaku aired the illegal experiments. That will only make Schneizel desperate and he'll probably lash out at the Black Knights and destroy Japan, along with the UNF. And cause him to start his whole destruction of the world plan early."
"Batman is right!" Suzaku started standing beside him. "We need to be as prepared as we possibly can when we face Schneizel!"
"But that still leaves the FLEIJA," Sayoko spoke up. "How are we going to get past that before it obliterates us?"
The group frowned in thought. They still had the most powerful weapon to deal with before they could make a dent in Schneizel's armada.
Then a hand raised in the group and a shy, timid voice spoke up. "I-I think I can do it." They all turned to see that the voice and hands owner was Nina. She then shifted uncomfortably under the gazes that were sent her way.
"You Nina?!" Rivalz cried in disbelief. "What makes you think you can stop a weapon like that?!"
"Yeah, I know you're a super genius, but what makes you think you could stop that?" Milly voiced out.
Lelouch and Suzaku looked between the two of them and Nina. 'So they didn't know yet.' They both thought.
"It's because I-" Nina struggled to say the words she needed to say, "Because I was the one who built the weapon."
"WHAT?!" Came the cries of those who didn't know that was present
"I had originally built it as a way to make a substance that could replace Nuclear energy by adding Sadakarite to the mix." Nina began to explain. "But after Princess Euphemia was killed, I worked to turn it into a weapon to kill-" she then cast a worried glance over to Batman, "-to kill Zero. But I had no idea the destructive power it held."
"IT WAS YOU THEN!" Came the angry voice of a Japanese Black Knight. He then made his way over to strike her. "IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THEY WERE STUCK WITH A TYRANT!"
However, Batman quickly caught the man's hand and then twisted it, yet didn't break it. The man that shot through the soldier was excruciating.
"She didn't mean for this to happen!" Batman shouted in her defense, still holding the man's hand behind his back, and twisted harder. "She had no idea what would become of it, she only wanted to kill Zero-no to kill me, because I killed Princess Euphemia! So the only one here to blame is me!"
He then threw the man into a group of Black Knights who caught him. He then turned and looked in awe at the vigilante. 'What he said, could it be that he was really-?'
Batman then turned back to face Nina who looked at him with wonder in her eyes. She had tried for over a year to kill him, yet he saved her in a heartbeat.
"Do you think you can create a way to counteract the FLEIJA?" Batman asked with a sympathetic tone.
Nina nodded shyly. "Yes, with the time we have, I should be able to find a way to stop the explosion with the resources here."
Batman nodded. "Okay." He then turned to the remainder of the group. "We have one month until Schneizel enacts his plan for worldwide destruction. In that time, we need to create as many Knightmares as we can and create a way to destroy the FLEIJA. Let's get a move on people!"
One month later
It's been over a month since Kallen left the Black Knights. She didn't return to the Stanfield mansion or any of her other places of living over the past two years. Instead, she returned to an abandoned apartment complex in the Shinjuku Ghetto, specifically the one where her brother lived before he died. She parked the Guren in a place where no one would ever go daring.
In that month's time, she didn't do much. Besides getting food, and cleaning the house up slightly, she pretty much sat in any of the rooms of the house either crying, yelling in anger, or just sitting quietly. She just sat and pondered when her life had gotten so complicated.
How could things be so different than what happened before all this? When did things become so complicated for her? The answer always came in the picture of a raven-haired violet eye exiled Britannia Prince, turned arrogant student, turned masked revolutionary, turned masked vigilante.
Ever since he entered her life, Kallen's world became infinitely more complicated. But also happier, and meaningful, like what she was doing was making a difference. But then she found out who he really was, and then it was just complicated again. Who was he? Why did he do what he did? What does she mean to him?
Only when she believed she had him figured out, did he surprise her yet again? By stating that she and the others who followed him were nothing but pawns broke her heart.
Yet again, he surprised her by saying she had to live. And she did, in agony for the past seven months over who Lelouch vi Britannia really is.
And when she saw him again, it was in the form of yet another mask. The mask of a bat. He claimed he wanted to make up for the sins and mistakes he made as Zero, and Kallen could just tell he meant those words.
Yet again she lost her chance for a straw answer when he left the Viceroy Palace with Suzaku. She hasn't seen him, nor had Schneizel or the Black Knights to her knowledge, for the past month.
She needed to get her feelings out. She needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't lie to her, or make some lie to manipulate her.
Which explains why she was at the prison specifically designed for 'elevens' in Japan. There was one person she could talk to that would always give her an honest answer, even if it wasn't what she wanted, it was what she needed.
The door that led to the prison on the other side of the glass window opened, revealing a Britannian prison guard and a Japanese woman with brown hair and matching eyes to Kallen's. When the woman saw Kallen, her face lit up with joy as she sat and took hold of the phone that could allow them to talk to each other.
"Hi, mom," Kallen said smiling at her mother.
"Hello, Kallen." Her mother smiled back, holding the happiest smile on her face.
After Batman/Lelouch saved her, the police took Mrs. Kouzuki back to the prison to finish the remainder of her sentence for using Refrain. Though ever since the kidnapping, her conditions have at least lightened up in the prison. The guards and prisoners were less harsh to her now, she had a better cell room.
Also the best part, she was allowed visitors, so long as they were family, which was the only thing that mattered to her, so long as she could see her daughter.
Kallen had stopped by to talk to her once a week for the past month now, feeling slightly better each time she got the chance to talk with her mother. Though most of the visits at first were Kallen apologizing for how she treated her when she was still a maid at her father's house. Also, Mrs. Kouzuki was apologizing for how she went on drugs after Naoto passed away.
But the last visit they were able to put all their mistakes and wrongdoings to each other behind them and have a normal mother and daughter relationship.
Well, as normal as you can get when one of you is behind bars.
Since then, they talked about what Kallen's life had entailed. Excluding the Black Knights, both because the Britannians would come and arrest Kallen and kill her mother, and because Mrs. Kouzuki would most likely collapse when she learned her daughter was a terrorist.
After making small talk for the past half-an-hour Kallen's face fell slightly when Lelouch entered her mind again. Noticing this, her mother inquired what was wrong.
"Oh! It's nothing mom." Kallen tried to assure her mother.
Not quite believing her daughter, due to her 'mother's intuition', Mrs. Kouzuki took a quick but deep look at her daughter's eyes. After a few moments, she found the problem and gave an exhausting sigh.
"So what kind of man is he?" Mrs. Kouzuki asked with a playful smirk on her face.
Kallen's eyes widened in confusion and surprise. "Wh-what do you mean? Who are you talking about?!" Kallen stuttered.
Mrs. Kouzuki gave another sigh. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked rhetorically. The playful smile returning to her face. "The boy my daughter's madly in love with."
Kallen's face burned an even brighter shade of red than her hair at her mother's words. "MOM!?" Kallen shouted in embarrassment.
Mrs. Kouzuki chuckled. "I knew it!" She declared.
Realizing she fell for the obvious trap, Kallen's face then fell into a submissive stance as her face continued to glow red in embarrassment.
After a few minutes of houmous silence (at least to Mrs. Kouzuki), the elder of the Kouzuki's asked her previous question. "So what is he like?"
Kallen looked back up to her mother, and her face fell into sadness and confusion again. "That's the problem, I don't know," Kallen admitted. "He wears like so many masks and tells so many lies just to come up with excuses not to interact with people. I don't know what he is."
Mrs. Kouzuki stared at her daughter for a few moments, pondering on what her daughter shared with her. Finally, she asked. "What do you know about him?"
Kallen pondered over those thoughts in her head before answering. "I know he's suffered a lot. He lost his mother, his sisters, and a friend who loved him. He's been betrayed and abandoned by people he helped and people who were supposed to love him and who he helped. He has a lot of anger for those responsible for his pain. But he's also sad. He carries in himself so much sadness and pain that he doesn't want to share with others. He desperately wants to make the world a better place but he keeps making mistakes that end up causing him more pain. And he keeps putting on a different mask to try and cover-up that pain so others don't worry about him."
Kallen then smiled when another fact about Lelouch came to mind. "Also apparently he's scared of bats." That caused both women to laugh.
After the laughter died down, Kallen continued. "He can come off as cruel and calculating, but he's also kind and generous. But every time I feel like I finally figure him out, he unveils another mask. I just don't know what kind of person he is?"
Mrs. Kozuki pondered on the description that her daughter gave her. It seems that her daughter found a grand man that was able to capture her daughter's heart. But at the same time, he was also someone who seemed to be an individual who has experienced heartbreak and pain unlike most people his age.
Mrs. Kozuki then asked. "Have you ever wondered why he wears so many masks?" The question caught her daughter off guard, but she continued. "People wear masks for many different reasons. Sometimes because they want to be someone they truly aren't, others to get help in something they can't do alone. But I think it's mostly because they're scared."
That last statement caught Kallen off guard. "Scared that if people see who they truly are, they'll be left alone and abandoned. Or maybe that if they let others in, they'll only end up feeling pain. Or even end up hurting the people they care about."
Kallen's mind dawned on revelation. She had never thought about it before. Could it be that simple?
"And I think that's why the boy you love keeps wearing and changing masks." Mrs. Kozuki continued. "Because in reality, he's scared of being hurt again. He's afraid of feeling the pain of losing people he loves. I'm not saying he's justified in lying and you shouldn't give him a piece of your mind when you see him." That comment caused Kallen to let out a small laugh. "But you should know that he's probably just scared of being hurt again."
Mrs. Kozuki's knew they were running low on time to talk, so she decided to finish up with one last piece of advice. "I won't tell you what to do Kallen. But I will give you one piece of advice: when you have a clear mind, follow your heart." To emphasize, she moved her right hand to cover that part of her body. "Because I know that with a clear and focused mind, along with your heart, you'll never lead you astray. Because it's what led me to stay by your side all those years."
Kallen mirrored the action of her mother and placed her hand over her heart. Yet she had one last question concerning that matter. "How will I know when my mind and heart are clear?" she asked.
Mrs. Kozuki merely smiled. "You'll know." Was all she said before the prison guard came and pulled her back to the prison.
Kallen walked home from prison with a new level of understanding. Maybe all she needed to do was talk to Lelouch to get this all figured out? But with masks, not with guns or Knightmares, but just two people trying to figure out what they mean to each other.
Lelouch suddenly sneezed violently and unexpectedly. 'Someone must be talking about me?' Lelouch concluded in his head as he walked around the Wayne Enterprise research and development warehouse that he and everyone made their base a month ago.
After calling Warren to see if he could give them some more research materials for their resistance if that's what you could call them, he gave them one better. He allowed them one of the most secretive and advanced research stations in Japan.
This was surprising considering how he was able to pull these kinds of strings when he was a Japanese working in a Britannian company. Warren simply stated that his boss was someone who was against Britannia's ideologies. Lelouch had been wanting to meet the man ever since, but he was always out.
The past month, Lelouch and his alleys were making steady progress. They began developing more Knightmares and weapons for them to use, as well as training others to use them.
He had also gone through more intensive training in the past month. In addition to Suzaku; Cornelia, Nonnette, Jeremiah, and Sayoko have been working to improve him even more in Knightmare piloting and physical combat. Which was more painful than anything he ever went through!
Lloyd and Rakshata were also making many upgrades to his Knightmare. They both constantly argued about how to do it, which had to be managed by both Cecile and Lelouch at times, but they managed to make significant upgrades to the performance ability and systems of the Kōmori that Lelouch could never do on his own.
They also made him a new suit, which was mostly like his old one. Yet this one, according to the pair of mad scientists, would greatly help him in piloting the upgraded Kōmori. And they also said the material and fabric were more durable to weapons made from Sadakarite and other materials than the old one was. The only outward difference to the suit was that the red parts of the suit were now yellow with a glowing gold-colored bat symbol.
Also, the Kōmori had its red color scheme, along with its red energy wings, which were replaced with a glowing golden color scheme matching his new suit. Lelouch named his new Knightmare the Kin Kōmori or as translated 'The Golden Bat'. They also hinted at several other surprises.
Nina was also busy at work. Though she didn't have much to work with, she was able to at least build at least two possible counter to the FLEIJA warhead. She commented, or complained, that if she had the entire resources of Britannia's science, she could finish it in less than two days. But she would only get those resources of Lelouch was Emperor, and he was not willing to do that just to get resources.
'But would it all be enough?' Lelouch found himself asking more than once. Would everything he was doing to prepare to be enough to defeat Schneizel? Sure he had grown in both skill and strength over the months, he has two Knights of the Rounds working with him plus the so-called 'goddess of victory', a genius who invented the weapon threatening the world, and multiple soldiers that were willing to follow him.
But would it be enough to defeat Schneizel and the Black Knights? Before all this he had stacked the Black Knights up with every little advantage he could get his hands on. And Schneizel was an excellent commander who could outsmart Lelouch at almost every turn. Also, he had the remainder of the Rounds supporting him, along with some Black Knight aces. And though he had proof of Schneizel's lies and manipulation, would it all be enough to cause the Black Knights, and quite possibly a majority of the Britannian military, to turn against him.
As much as Lelouch thought over this, he couldn't come up with a sure plan of victory, unless it involved him to return to the demon he once was as Zero. And he refused to back down into that place again.
But even still, Lelouch had faith. Faith in his comrades, his friends, his family. But also faith in himself. That he could overcome this challenge that always stood in his way from becoming a symbol greater than he was as Zero.
As people began to form a circle around Lelouch, while wearing his cowl to hide his identity, and his 'high command' (which consisted of Suzaku, Cornelia, Sayoko, Jeremiah, Rakshata, and Lloyd). As Lelouch looked out at the crowd before him, he realized that this is the first time he's leading people ever since he gave up the identity of Zero. A part of him doubted he could do it again, or at least as effective when he was Zero.
But he had to try.
"Everyone!" He called to the crowd. They turned to face their leader. Batman moved to stand on a sturdy table for all to see him.
"I would like to begin by thanking all of you for being here. I am grateful for your being here and for providing me with your assistance. I have to admit that I could never have done any of this without you."
He paused then to sigh dramatically.
"But you're not here to receive praise are you?" He asked rhetorically to the crowd. They all shook their heads in answer. "No, you're here, because you decided to make a stand. Because you decided that you wanted to make your own decisions. Because you decided to choose freedom over a false peace!"
Roars of excitement followed his words.
"You are here today because you all desire the future! Not the past! Not the present! But you all want a future! You want to live in a world without fear of destruction! You want your children to live in a world without war! And their children! And their children's children!"
More cries of agreement shouted as Lelouch continued his speech.
"But we can't have that world!" Lelouch suddenly declared, silencing those in the room. "Not until the abomination known as Damocles and FLEIJA have been destroyed, and Prince Schneizel el Britannia pays for his crimes against the world!"
"He believes that we, as human beings, are incapable of having peace unless it is forced upon us! He believes that through the terror that mankind can make work together to make a better world! But he will see that his form of peace will cause us to rise against him and break his broken view of the world!"
"So now I ask all of you: Help me stop this madman from ruling this world with terror! Help me destroy this world that is living in the past and create a new one that embraces the future! A world where all people regardless of race, nationality, social standing, or otherwise-are equal! Where we don't have to wage wars to get what we desire!"
He then clenched his fist.
"My comrades," He looked out at the Britannian and Black Knight soldiers.
"My friends," His eyes then fell upon Milly, Rivalz, and Nina.
"My family!" He then looked at those who were standing beside him.
"I ask you, I ask all of you!" He then shot his fist in the air and declared with greater than ever before power in his voice!
"RISE!"
A/N: And here we go, the battle for the world is on the Horizon and Lelouch will face his greatest challenge yet to defeat his greatest enemy!
Sorry, this didn't come out as soon as the others as I said, I wrote most of the chapters before I posted this story. This was the first chapter that I started from the moment I posted the last chapter, and it will be the same for the next.
Also the new Batsuit. I got the inspiration for that from a Youtube video. I figured having black and gold was more to Lelouch's colors than black and red. if you want a visual on what it might look like, search up 'yellow batsuit batman beyond and you'll at least have a visual of what it looks like.
By the way: I would like to see what ideas you could give me to add to the Kin Kōmori, I would very much like to hear what ideas you have and I'll see if I can include it in the Knightmare.
I hope you enjoy the story, read, and review!
Next time, Batman and his allies are the only ones standing between Schneizel and the destruction of billions of lives.
