Interlude 4: Through The Looking Glass
Some days, I think the world has gone mad.
Nothing makes sense anymore. Most of the city is either damaged, burning, or destroyed after the Siege of Tokyo two days ago ended in a decisive victory for the Britannian Army. The Black Knights are on the run and Zero is presumed dead.
But...there's rumors and videos circulating in the dark web. That although the Black Knights blasted a kilometer wide scar into the city? That it was Prince Schneizel, and not them, who was responsible for the majority of the destruction. That he was the one who ordered the city bombed.
I don't know what to think anymore. The Black Knights are the enemy, and every news network and public source of information says they're the ones who caused the devastation by use of strategically placed bombs and napalm.
...Before talking to Lelouch and seeing...Code-R, I might have believed that. Now? I've seen too many inconsistencies and things that don't add up.
No one can claim Zero is any kind of saint, least of all the man himself. But despite his brutality? Never once has he targeted civilians.
Even the mysterious weapon he used was targeted at the Viceroy's Palace, not at the civilian shelters scattered across the city. Asking around on forums and back corners of the internet shows they went out of their way to fight away from any area that wasn't part of the military apparatus.
But if that's the case, then one has to ask why the media is so persistent in painting them as the sole force responsible for the destruction and absolving our own forces of responsibility.
As a Britannian, I'm supposed to support our armed forces, to believe that we're the ones acting for the side of justice. That the...Elevens...are just ungrateful barbarians coldly spurning our help and forcing us to crack down on them...
In the face of available evidence, however? Logic...dictates that this is not what's happening. Instead, the more I see how Britannian forces act, and how the Black Knights act...I'm forced to ask myself a hard question, one that's been lurking in the back of my mind ever since I spoke to Lelouch all those months ago.
What if Britannia isn't acting for justice? What if we are, in fact, the villains?
A notion that makes me all the more worried about my friends. Shirley is gone, having departed for the homeland some time ago after Lelouch broke her heart, something I wouldn't have understood, if I hadn't known the truth about who he really is.
I can only imagine he was acting to protect her, to keep her away from the chaos of the Royal Family. It's heartbreaking. She truly loves him, and he sent her away to ensure she's protected and able to live peacefully. It makes me tear up, just thinking about it.
Kallen...Nobody has seen Kallen for days. The last time was before the SAZ Incident. Before Euphemia...left with Zero. Given her delicate health, maybe she's at home recovering from shock? I almost fainted when I saw the broadcast, I can't imagine how much worse it affected someone as fragile as her.
Lelouch and Nunnally, I at least understand. Neither of them would want to be found by Zero or Britannia, so they probably ran away or escaped somewhere to evade both sides. Which means Milly may have gone with them. And Suzaku was on the front lines, so he's accounted for, too.
That still leaves the one person whose absence doesn't make any sense. Where is Rivalz?
"Well, they can't be in too much trouble or I'd have heard something by now. After all, what's the worst that could happen?" I say, nodding to myself as I finish the calculations I'm working on.
I'm still concerned about the direction of the Empire, but I'm just a schoolgirl. What can I do to change something like that?
A loud bang startles me as Rivalz and Milly slam the door open, locking it behind them, both of them looking exhausted and terrified.
"Milly?! Rivalz?! What's going on?! Where have you been?!" I yell out as I get to my feet.
Rivalz peers out one of the windows, grimacing, "No good. They're onto us. We're not going to be able to get away."
Get away? What is this?!
"Lulu's secret passages were sealed after Nunnally was evacuated," Milly says, pulling out her phone, frowning at the beeping sound coming from it. "Jammed."
I pull out my phone and try to make a call, only to get the same beeping noise coming from it. Jammed?! Who's jamming the phones?! Who's after my friends?!
"Milly! WHAT IS GOING ON?!" I scream at her in fear.
Right then, Milly's attention focuses on me and she turns to look at me with a look of pure pity...
"Oh god...Nina...I'm so sorry..."
Rivalz lights up a...what did Lulu call them, joints? And sighs after taking a deep breath from the mixture.
"Welp, we're fucked. With Lelouch down for the count and the Black Knights going underground, we've got nobody to turn to. Milly, Nina?" he says, giving us a thumbs up with a resigned smile. "It's been great being friends with you."
"Likewise, Rivalz," Milly says as she wraps me in a hug. And all I can do is stare numbly at the wall.
Lelouch is down? Black Knights...oh god. Are they with the Black Knights? Lelouch and Nunnally are in danger!
"Did...the Black Knights take Lulu and Nunna...?"
Oof. Why...why is Milly tearing up as she's hugging me?
"Nina...there's so much I wish I could tell you, so much more going on..."
Milly breaks the hug, looking around the room.
"This way!" she says, pulling me to one of the closets and putting my laptop in with me.
What?! Why am I being put in a closet?! WHAT IS THIS?!
I turn frightened eyes to Milly, who then touches my cheek gently, looking like she's about to say goodbye.
"No matter what you see or hear, don't make a sound or move. Please, I am begging you, Nina. Keep yourself safe."
I nod slowly, not understanding why she's saying, but the seriousness in her gaze tells me that for once?
Milly isn't teasing or joking around.
I hear the door click closed as I'm shrouded in darkness, save for the gap in the closet doors and light from the keyhole.
Suddenly there's a sound of breaking splintering wood as what I think is the outer door to this room breaks from some outside assault.
Trembling, I listen to the sound of boots and men entering the room as a scuffle ensues...and quickly stops.
...I have to know. I have to see why my friends are in danger. And thus, I slowly look through the beckoning keyhole.
...What? Who are these men in hooded cloaks and carrying heavy weapons?
A tall imposing figure enters, his face covered by a hood. Something about him though...his very presence makes me shiver...he's taking off his hood...
"Holy shit, the Emperor!" Rivalz exclaims from the chair he's sitting in, guns trained on him and Milly.
The Emperor...OH DEAR GOD! IT IS HIM! Anyone from Britannia would recognize his face anywhere! But what's going on? Why is the Emperor of Britannia here?!
His majesty merely raises an eyebrow in response to Rivalz's exclamation...wait...why does that look familiar? It looks like...Lelouch...He really does take after his father.
Rivalz gulps as the powerful figure turns his gaze towards him. If I had to face those eyes, I think I'd pee myself...
"I have but one question to ask, Millicent Ashford and Rivalz Cardemonde," the emperor says, narrowing his eyes as he looks downward with an intense and penetrating gaze.
"Where is Zero? Or should I say, Lelouch vi Britannia?"
A small sound escapes my mouth before I clamp both hands over it desperately, praying I didn't make a sound.
Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!
LELOUCH IS ZERO?! It can't be! There's no way that he could be...
...Oh my god, I'm so stupid. Of course he's Zero. That personality, that presence, his rhetoric and ideology...
I just didn't think he would risk himself or Nunnally like that...
Rivalz shivers as he meets the Emperor's gaze, "No way, your Majesty. I ain't turning on my best friend. Not even for you."
Milly turns an angry glare back at the man who rules one third of the world, "Like hell I'll tell you anything!"
Milly...Rivalz...even as terrified as I am right now? I'm so happy to have friends like them. And I can't help hoping that I'd be able to tell someone like that no without losing my nerve, even if I think it's impossible...
"So, Lelouch yet lives," the Emperor says with a nod.
Rivalz looks away, refusing to continue looking him in the eye.
That look...that smirk he's making right now...I've seen that expression before. Lelouch and Nunnally, even Cornelia...they really are his children.
"Good. It would be a horrific waste for him to fall so easily. A king should not be vanquished by a cheap trick like that."
"Since when do you care what happens to him or Nunnally?! You threw them both to the wolves, years ago!" Milly snarls back at him, an angry glare in her sky blue eyes.
Rather than become angry at the disrespect like I'm expecting? He's sitting down, stroking his beard, deep in thought.
"There was more going on there than you are aware of, Miss Ashford."
More going on? What is he talking about?
Milly tries to move forward, only for a heavy hand of one of the guards to clamp down on her shoulder, "I know you covered up your wife's murder at the hands of your own brother!"
Wait...he's sighing as he closes his eyes...Oh my god...Zero was right. He really did cover it up...
"Do you really think I cared so little for Marianne...?" His Majesty says with perhaps the most emotion I've ever heard him use in a single sentence.
"Understand this, former Duchess Ashford."
And just like that, the moment passes. Instead his eyes open with a fiery rage burning in them, a rage I've only seen flickers of in Lelouch's eyes at times.
"I was not aware of who killed my wife at the time. But rest assured. There will be a reckoning for it soon enough."
His violet eyes meet her glaring blue ones, a searching look to his face.
"And since you will not remember this conversation, I will do you the honor of carrying a message to the Demon King when he finally comes for you."
His massive hand reaches out, holding Milly's chin gently as his eyes narrow, focusing with laser intensity on her.
"Tell Zero that this game is not yet finished, and that I await his return to the stage. I expect great things from him and his sister."
Great things? What is he talking about? Is this some kind of game to him?!
"Guards, hold their eyes open."
The robed guardsmen instantly pin Milly and Rivalz to their chairs, gloves hands holding their eyes open as the emperor stands, his presence towering over...them...WHAT IS THAT?! DID HIS EYES JUST CHANGE COLOR?! WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHAT IS THAT LIGHT?!
"WHAT THE FUCK?! HE'S GOT GEASS TOO?!" Rivalz yells as he squirms in the chair, helpless as he's held down.
Geass? I've never even heard of that word! But, every instinct I have is telling me to run, that something in that red eyed gaze is a danger I can't fight or comprehend...
"So, Zero has told you of it. Interesting. But I cannot have you asking questions yet. This is not your time. And thus—!"
Every fiber in my body is telling me that something HORRIBLE is about to happen!
"Charles zi Britannia condemns you to a false life and false existence!"
I shut my eyes in fear as I hear my friends screaming, the red light streaming in through the small keyhole visible through my eyelids as my body quivers in sheer terror.
The sound of screaming keeps going and going...but...I can't hear them struggling anymore...what is he doing to them?!
After what feels like forever, the sound finally stops as the light fades away. Still trembling, I open my eyes slowly.
The Emperor slowly walks over to Milly, a faint smile on his face as he touches her shoulder, his chest heaving as he takes a deep breath in.
"Marianne was right about you..."
"Your Majesty?" one of the guards responds, his tone confused.
"My wife once told me that Millicent Ashford would make a wonderful wife for Prince Lelouch someday."
The Emperor looks down, as though he's reminiscing over something from long ago, before pulling his hood back over his head, sighing to himself.
"She was right, as she almost always was about everything. The girl is everything a Princess of the royal line should be. I would have been proud to have her as a daughter-in-law."
He turns on his heel, the great cloak on his shoulders whirling around him, "But? Such a thing was denied by this world of lies. Put them somewhere that won't look suspicious. We're finished here."
"YES, YOUR MAJESTY!"
The guards solemnly pick up Rivalz and Milly, strangely taking care not to hurt them as they follow His Majesty out of the room...
All of them unaware of my still form hiding in a closet, tears pouring down my eyes as the totality of what I've just seen crashes onto me.
Rivalz...Milly...I'm so sorry...please...find in your heart to forgive me for being a pathetic little coward...
