Interlude 6: Diabolic Revelation Part 2: Straight Through The Heart

Gods be damned. The Butcher of Africa is due here in two days, the city is still in ruins, and Euphie is still nowhere to be seen...

I'd be drinking myself into a stupor if Doctor Howardson hadn't told Darlton to make sure I didn't drink for a week. Given the sympathetic look Andreas gave me, he'd rather I have a nightcap than not.

Infrastructure repairs are progressing steadily, or as much as they can given the condition of the roads and city. It's fortunate that Schneizel didn't destroy more of the foundations of the city...

Not to mention the death of my own soldiers at his hands. He may have struck down some of the black knights in his zeal to rout them, but how many of my troops paid the price for his edict?

Dealing with that man is ever a trial.

"Penny for your thoughts, My Princess?"

Oh, I must have let out a sigh or something in my musing. Dear faithful Gilly, sometimes I feel I don't deserve a man like you by my side.

"Just bemoaning the senseless loss of life and my own inadequacies in handling this entire snafu, Guilford."

Rather than respond to my grousing? Guilford moves to behind my chair, working those strong and flexible hands of his into my shoulders as I sigh in relief, sagging back into the chair.

"Nelly, we shall all be glad to quit this blasted and blighted country as soon as possible. And do not ever blame yourself for this. The fault lies with that blackguard Zero, and our illustrious prime minister," he whispers, the last part said with biting sarcasm.

Truly a testament to how worn his nerves are, that he can even utter such a thing in private.

A knock at the door a moment later startles us both out of our quiet.

"Enter."

Andreas certainly looks haggard, not surprising. He's been handling my workload while I was unconscious from what I hear.

"Andreas, how are the boys?"

A snort is his response before sitting down, "Thankfully, they got under cover when the bombs started falling. I sure as hell ain't happy with your brother right now."

The understatement of the year. I'd say longer, but my ability to judge hyperbole is out of sorts after spending half a year fighting Zero.

My fingers fumble around in my desk, looking for my cigar case...drat.

"Guilford...did you by chance, go through my desk?" I ask with half lidded eyes.

Looking up over my shoulders at his eyes, the guilt is obvious. But I want to hear him say it.

"My Princess, Doctor Howardson pulled rank by virtue of being your primary physician while you are recovering. I can only offer my zeal in hoping you recover as apology."

Dear dear Gilly, how would I ever do without you?

The faint smile I give him as I pat his hand is says all is forgiven.

"Any word on the Black Knights?"

"Not a peep. I think they're hiding at this point. And we still have no clue what the status of Zero is. Frankly Nelly? I wouldn't expect anything out of them for awhile. Especially after the Gawain got shot down," Darlton says, gulping down some cold tea, making a disgruntled face as he does so.

Blast it all. If only we had some kind of baseline for what their numbers were before this battle. Damned terrorists.

"Did we capture any high profile targets at all? Why aren't we interrogating prisoners?"

My mentor's jaw tightens like he's swallowing some vile concoction before replying, "Nobody high up, as far as I know. And what I know is less than I should. The prisoners I was able to confirm, got grabbed by OSI with orders from over my head."

"I'm sorry Nelly, but I ain't in da mood ta sit play n' nice with those yellow bellied polecats today, so I walked off and let my staff handle the paperwork."

...Darlton never uses his real accent unless he's stressed, or in a very good mood. And I'm certain this isn't the latter.

"General...that is a dangerous sentiment to bandy around," Guilford cautions with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah? I dun see ya arguing that I'm wrong, do I? Ya'll hate those backstabbing stonedfaced bastards as much as I do," he says with a sideways glance at us, loosening the collar on his uniform.

If I never come back to this hellish country, it will be too soon. Damn it all to the pits of hell. I should have just put this entire country to the swo-

What? What was that sound? I'm certain I heard something just now-!

Guilford freezes in his ministrations on my shoulders and Darlton is looking at me with sharp cold eyes.

"Cornelia, Don't move," he says in a commanding tone.

My eyes widen in mute shock as I see the reason for his tone, a red dot of a sniper sight upon my heart.

"My apologies, Your Highness. but I could not take the chance of you, Sir Guilford, or General Darlton trying something out of hand upon seeing my face," a voice says from...what the blazes?! When was a secret passage installed in the corner of this office?!

Why was I not informed about this?! How did traitors penetrate this far into our command structure?! Is this a last act of spite by the Black Knights for their defeat at Schneizel's hands?!

"Forgive me for not saluting, but as you can see?" Jeremiah Gottwald says emerging from the shadows, a bandage around his forehead and wearing a uniform sporting a few bullet holes around his torso.

"We have both come a long way from our days in the royal guard at Aries Villa, Captain li Britannia."

I snarl at the sheer gall of this man, to dare to address me with such a hallowed and familiar title! Him, a traitor to crown and country! I'll make sure his death is one that even that blackguard Zero would applaud for suffering!

"Gottwald! You treacherous rat! Come to do the bidding of your foul master?! I should have realized your treason sooner!" Guilford hisses, his hand doubtless itching to grab a pistol and silence this vile pretender's heart.

Strange, he's not angry at that declaration...? He looks almost...melancholy?

"I am already atoning for failures uncounted, most recent succumbing to injuries sustained in the line of saving my master, and thus failing to protect him from those who would have succumbed to base fear and treason and sought to end him," he rasps out, his eyes determined and broken at the same time.

...What's happened to him? The Gottwald I knew was never like this! A regicidal terrorist could never compel such bravery and loyalty from him! Only one person ever made him act like-!

...No. That can't be true. A farcical fantasy of my mind being weary and exhausted no doubt. Surely it cannot be.

"But? I am here today not as your enemy, at least, not at this juncture. I am here today as escort for my lady."

"Yer lady? Who's that? The Red Queen?"

A motorized whirl sounds through the room as a masked figure in a wheelchair rolls up behind Gottwald, pushed by a young blonde girl wearing a black knight's coat and skirt, her hair done up in pigtails.

"Orange, stand down. Cornelia is not our enemy. And she will not harm me of all people."

What? Absurd. Why should I spare a commander of the Black Knights for any re...

Oh god...no...it can't be...no no no no!

"After all? To do so would betray a broken oath even further, right, big sister?" the now unmasked face of my lost and left for dead baby sister Nunnally says with a frozen and contemptuous tone.

THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! HOW?! HOW CAN NUNNALLY STILL BE ALIVE?!

Darlton turns around as the red dot vanishes, looking wide eyed at the small girl in the wheelchair...the small blond haired girl with hauntingly familiar purple eyes...

"Good god...I know you. But...how the hell did you...?"

The girl lowers her opera mask, wiping the wetness from her eyes.

"I'm sorry to see you again under these circumstances, General. It's been a long time since we last met at Aries Villa. I am Princess Nunnally vi Britannia, 87th in line for the throne, and ally to Zero."

ZERO?! That base villain dares to try and ensnare my beloved sister Nunnally just as he did Euphemia?! I'LL RIP HIS BLACK MASK OFF AND MOUNT HIS HEAD UPON A PIKE IN PENDRAGON AFTER BURNING HIS FACE TO A CINDER!

The pig tailed girl looks at me with an expression I can only call pity and then turns back to Nunnally, "You should tell her, Nunna."

Nunna? Who is this girl to address my sister with such familiarity?

Guilford moves from behind me to stare down the child with an intense glare emanating from behind his glasses, "You will address Her Highness, Princess Nunnally, with greater respect, child."

This girl...something about her says she's no ordinary girl. There's a glint in her eyes, a look like a soldier. And the way she moves...someone taught her, someone exceptionally skilled.

"Ok kid, who are you, and why are you with Princess Nunnally?" Darlton whispers, rubbing his chin in amusement.

The girl inclines a nod at him while slowly drawing a knife from a side holster and a pistol with her other hand, holding them in front of her, knife under the gun, pistol pointed at Guilford's heart.

"Alice Hargreaves. Knight of Honor for Princess Nunnally. And Nunna doesn't want me to act like a stick in the mud noble, four eyes."

A gruff laugh breaks the tension as Darlton looks her in the eyes, "Well I'll be damned. You're Bob's niece, aren't you?"

Bob?

Alice gives a raised eyebrow, "What's it to you?"

"Ha. I shoulda known. He's the only one who uses that combat stance. How's the old bastard? Still retired in Los Angeles?"

She lowers her weapons, giving a searching look before shrugging, "He's still a jerk, but less rough than he used to be."

Turning to Darlton, I put on my best intimidating gaze, "Andreas? Who is this girl, and why do you know who she is?"

"I didn't know her until she said her name and I recognized her stance. What I do know is who trained her to fight and how dangerous he is. She's Robert Plisskin's niece."

Robert Plisskin...? I'm sure I've heard that name some-!

"She's related to Snake Plisskin?!" I hiss out in surprise as the name finally rings a bell.

Robert 'Snake' Plisskin. One of the best OSI operatives in the history of the organization. A man considered on par with legends like Lady Marianne and Bismarck Waldstein himself. His skills were instrumental in securing the empire following the emblem of blood.

And how the hell did Andreas know about his niece?!

"Andreas, explain."

He smiles sheepishly at me, "I was a hot shot fresh out of the academy. Plisskin was a guest instructor at my boot camp for a year. Mean bastard, but the best damned drill sergeant and combat instructor I ever had. He used to talk about his niece sometimes. I went to visit him in LA one time, he said he was done with the military and just going to spend time with her from then on."

Nunnally wheels forward, putting her hand in Alice's...ah. I see. So they're in that sort of relationship.

Barely before I can begin rising from my seat, Nunnally turns and levels a hateful glare at me.

"How could you?"

How could I what? What have I ever done to little Nunnally that she would look at me so...?

"How could you betray Lelouch and my mother like that?"

...what? Betray Lelouch and Lady Marianne? Impossible!

"I would never, dear Nunnal-"

"THEN WHY DID YOU CRIPPLE MY BROTHER! WHY DID YOU ABANDON US?! WHY DID YOU LET HIM THROW US AWAY ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!?"

Cripple Lelouch?! Throw them away?! What madness is this?! I have ever been loyal to the vi Britannia family, protecting and putting them second only to my own mother and Euphemia!

...Wait. Cripple. Lelouch is still alive!

"Please Nunnally! You have to tell me! Where is Lelouch? Where is Euphemia?! I must know!" I plead with her as I slowly rise from my desk and walk towards her, finally face to face with her.

As I slowly get to within a few feet of her, she grimaces in pain, holding her hand out for Alice, who moves to lend her shoulder for support...and my sister, with tears in her eyes and grimacing in pain, uses her arm to stand up for just a moment, looking me in the eyes.

And then she strikes me across the face before collapsing back in her chair, her face red and panting for breath.

"Lelouch is Zero. Euphemia is with him. You let him get hurt by that gigantic knightmare monster. You want to know where he is? Safe, away from you and everyone who wants him dead. You let this happen to him, just like you let it happen to my mother! My mother, who you swore you'd protect!" she screams at me, before letting out a cry of pain and collapsing into herself, tears flowing from her eyes.

No. No. No. No no no no no! It can't be true! HE can't be Zero! It's not possible! Not Lelouch! He cannot be that madman who's deadset on burning the empire to cinders!

I collapse to my knees, my face white with shock and disbelief. Guilford's looks on, unsure of what to do or say, and Darlton? My mentor has collapsed back into his chair, mouth open in numb surprise.

"How? How can he be Zero? Why would he abandon us? Why would he try to kill his own fami-?"

"Family? You...you call us family? AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO US?! AFTER YOU LET THAT MONSTER WE CALL FATHER THROW US TO THE WOLVES! AFTER WE HAD TO FLEE FOR OUR LIVES ACROSS THE BLOOD SOAKED BATTLEFIELD OF JAPAN FROM OSI ASSASSINS?! HOW DARE YOU CALL US FAMILY, CORNELIA!?"

Please god no...please...not like this...the last thing I ever wanted was this. Oh cruel heavens, I prayed that my siblings died peacefully, that they knew I loved them...but for them to be still alive and for them both to hate me so...this is a cruelty beyond even that of the imperial court.

"Your pardon, Your Highness Nunnally, but why did Prince Lelouch not reveal himself to Princess Cornelia? She had searched for you and he immediately following the invasion and fell into a deep despair when she could not find you," Guilford quietly inquires, his eyes seized with bewilderment at the events transpiring.

Alice scoffs, "Because Nunnally's brother is an vengeful bloodthirsty idiot. He wanted to beat her first and then talk to her."

...Zero's bloodlust was not an act then. Lelouch...he truly hates me.

"No, Alice. Lelouch wanted to defeat you, Cornelia, because he blamed you for failing to protect us after mother died. But he was never going to kill you. He wanted you to change sides after he proved himself on the field of battle. I...I hoped we could be together as a family again. So I didn't fight him on this," Nunnally says, some color returning to her face.

Salty tears drip down her cheeks as she sniffles, "I should have told him not to risk himself. I should have stopped him. But, I thought you were too stubborn to listen and even Euphie wasn't sure you'd step aside without being defeated, so we let it go."

"But….Euphemia is accused of treason….if she doesn't return…."

Nunnally's eyes widen in surprise at the news, "And you said nothing to stop it?! You didn't think to why she would dare to take such a dangerous course?!"

I flinch at her voice, looking away, "I am disgraced in the eyes of the court. Father will not listen to me. Even now, I await the Knight of Ten coming to replace me as Viceroy…."

She hits her small hand on the panel of the chair, looking me in the eyes...and I cannot meet her gaze. Those heartbroken and pain filled eyes, that look so like her mother, it is too much to bear...

"If I'd known you would abandon your own sister to being branded a traitor, that you'd stand by while you slaughtered innocent people with a blase expression, that you'd fight with my brother rather than take a moment to wonder why Euphie left and why he knew so much about what happened to my mother? I'd never have let him do something as foolish as try to save you."

...Oh god. She's right. It was there. It was all there right in front of me. All the clues to his identity were there before my eyes. And the only thing stopping me from considering it was...

"Pride."

I look up from my position kneeling to meet the tearful eyes of Nunnally.

"You were too proud to admit that you and the empire could possibly be wrong. Or that Euphemia was right that things needed to change."

I shake my head in denial, "You don't understand. The numbers aren't like us. And everything I did was to protect Euphemia from the imperial cou-"

The little blonde knight gives a raised eyebrow at that statement, "The same imperial court that's just condemned your sister to a traitor's death? The same one that let Nunna be thrown away? That's what you consider paramount? Wow, I'd hate to be your sister."

Guilford steps forward, snarling in anger to defend my honor, despite my knowing that Alice has a point...

"You dare to denigrate My Princess so?!"

She turns her nose up, "I'll push back against anyone doing something so heinous as betraying their own family. That's wrong, and even your princess knows it. Look at her!"

Guilford turns his head to look at me, and his face pales, no doubt my features carry a ghastly countenance at this moment.

"Tell me, Nelly."

Hearing that old familiar nickname makes me gaze into my baby sister's face, and I can do is shudder as all the pain within my heart that I locked away gushes forth like blood flowing from an opened wound.

"When did you stop being my big sister, and become the Emperor's bitch?" she asks quietly, despondency written upon her face as tears flow down unto her dress.

And I? I have no answer.

"I have one last question before I leave."

Saying that, she takes a deep breath, wiping her eyes away. In an instant, her eyes take on a sharpness and cutting gaze that I have seen reflected in Lady Marianne and our father. She would have been so proud of you, Nunnally…..

"Where are Suzaku Kururugi and Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt?"

Darlton scratches his chin, "Suzaku I get, it's obvious he was working with Zero based on what happened. But who's Kallen?"

"You would know her better as the Red Queen, pilot of the Guren Mark 2, General. She is the Ace of the Black Knights and someone dear to my lord's heart. Now, where is she, General Darlton?" Gottwald solemnly answers, his rifle in front of him, not raised, but ready to be aimed.

Andreas snorts, "You ain't got the guts to shoot an unarmed man, Gottwald. Or maybe I should say, yer too much of a knight to do so."

Gottwald hesitates a moment before raising his weapon to point at Darlton's forehead, laser sight primed.

"You are correct. But for my lord and master Lelouch vi Britannia? I would gladly accept any dishonor. And he too, would rend you to pieces if you have injured Lady Kouzuki-Stadfelt."

Light from the afternoon sun glints off Guilford's glasses as he glares in impotent rage at the traitorous margrave.

"Base cowardice and treason! You would dare to do such a thing?! I should have cleaved your head from your craven body the instant I was suspicious of you!"

"...We don't have her."

All eyes shift to me on the floor.

"We found the wreckage of the guren from leftover traces of radiation. Schneizel handed me an intelligence report on the status of the machine."

The room goes utterly still before my hollow voice answers as to what was discovered.

"When we examined the machine, the cockpit was shown to have been forced open, and information recorded on the black box and internal cameras reveal the pilot was removed from the machine alive but unconscious."

Was this woman truly so important? Given the look of horror on my sister's face, it would seem so. At this point I have no reason to lie. And less reason to care, given that this was done without my knowledge.

Gottwald looks askance at us in disbelief, "But where is she then? Is she not in your detention block?"

My knight hisses in anger, ever eager in his zeal to defend me despite my dilapidated and pitiful state, "Her Highness told you what she knew! If we had her, do you think she would not have said so! This was done by someone else! I suggest you cease impugning her character, Margrave!"

"Enough."

Nunnally's voice quiets the room with but a word as she sinks back into her chair, her entire body visibly fatigued and emotionally worn from our conversation.

"I'm leaving now. I came here to see you one last time. And to deliver this letter. It's from Euphie. I only ask that you read it carefully, and for once in your life, consider things from another point of view," she whispers, holding out an envelope with a crest stamped onto a wax seal.

Euphie's signet ring...I'd know that crest anywhere.

Alice places the envelope on the carpet in front of me before resuming her position behind Nunnally's chair.

"I don't want to fight you, Cornelia. But if you don't make the right choice? Lelouch and I will have no choice but to consider our enemy."

My head jerks back in shock as I move backwards on the carpet, staring at Nunnally as though seeing her for the first time.

Nunnally as my enemy?! Inconceivable!

"Big brother wanted you by our side. So does Euphie. But if you won't listen to reason? He won't be as merciful to you when he returns and fights you again."

As the chair retreats back into the darkness, I hear her voice speak one last time.

"Farewell, General li Britannia."

And like the ghost of Christmas past from that Dickens' novel? Not a trace of them remains as the secret passage reseals.

Gingerly as though it would crumble to dust at the slightest touch, I break the seal and begin reading.

"Dear sister Cornelia,

I'm sorry. I feel that I bear some measure of the blame for what happened. I should have been braver, should have made Lelouch speak to you directly rather than challenging you for control of Area 11.

But he would not listen to reason. And I doubt you would have either. There is so much anger, so much darkness in him. And we? We are to blame for this. We should have protected him and Nunnally from the evils of the court, and from our father.

And yet? For all his righteous anger and his sorrow at what happened to him? It is eclipsed by his desire for justice, rather than vengeance. And that too, is tempered with kindness. More than anyone has any right to expect of him, given all he has endured.

He truly loves us, big sister. And he can be reasoned with. But he will not be stopped. And neither will I. I have seen the evil of Britannia go unanswered for far too long.

Ultimately, the SAZ failed, not because it was such a terrible idea. Or because of anything you, I, or even brother Schneizel did.

It failed because none of us understood a simple truth. The people of Area 11, no, Japan, rejected it. They didn't want a pittance offered as succor for their pain and misery. And instead, they chose someone else to speak for them.

Zero. The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.

He did not destroy the SAZ merely with his charisma and presence. He brought it down because it was based on a lie. A lie that even I didn't realize I was telling. That we, the Britannian empire, knew better than the numbers. That they would obviously react with joy towards our kindness.

But even then? The Black Knights, and the people of this country? They understood what I was offering. And they do not hate me for it. You are wrong about the numbers, big sister.

They're people every bit as worthy as we Britannians. In some cases, better, such as my beloved Suzaku.

I would love to return to your side, but I cannot. You can survive without me, you're the strongest person I know. As long as you're not afraid for my safety, no one can stop you. And we both know Lelouch would never harm me.

But Lulu is heartsick. He needs me more than you do. I have to keep his heart from burning away with all the blood and misery he has taken onto himself.

He intends to kill our father. And after seeing all that he has done, and continues to do, not just to the numbers, but to the people of our country and indeed this world? I cannot fault him for it. But to do will mean he must fight through our family to get to him.

And I would save as many of our family from that as I can. So please big sister, don't make us fight you too...

If you wish to see me again, come to the location I marked on the bottom of the letter in two days, call the number on a disposable phone and wait for us to pick you up.

I love you, Nelly. Please come back to me.

love,

Euphemia li Britannia."

The letter slips from my boneless fingers as a muffled sound of something hitting the carpet…...her ring. It's Euphie's royal ring, the same one whose crest was on the seal of this letter.

I lift the ring up, cradling it in my palm, praying that this isn't real. That Euphie wouldn't abandon me like this…..

But she has. I betrayed her. I left my own sister to the wolves….just...like I...did...Lelouch...and Nunnally-!

WHAT HAVE I DONE?! HOW COULD I DO THIS TO THEM?!

Guilford's arms around me do nothing to abate the sobbing and grasping pain within my heart as the weight of my guilt and shame crashes down upon me….

Forgive me, my lady. I have disgraced your memory, and failed you and your children…...