"What?" Clovis, Viceroy of Area 11 and Third Prince of Britannia raged.
"Your Highness," General Bartley frantically repeated, "Several of the Code-R experimental subjects have escaped from the lab at Narita, including the one successful subject! We aren't sure how he did it, but cameras show him vanishing into thin air!"
"He escaped into the Metaverse, then," Clovis murmured darkly. He sighed. "Contain the situation at any cost. Kill the escaped subjects on sight, and any who might have come into contact with them. They are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous."
"Your Highness, how are we to find them if they've escaped into the Metaverse? We don't know how to cross into it ourselves! They could be anywhere."
"They can't stay in the Metaverse forever. They'll have to return to reality eventually… and when they do…". The Viceroy clenched a fist.
"Not a word of this to anyone, Bartley! If this gets out, I'll be ruined!"
"Understood, your Highness!"
Clovis put his head in his hands. Why did it seem that everything was falling apart at once? First that news article that was circulating on the net… it was very carefully worded, speaking of corruption in his administration while stopping short of accusing the Viceroy of embezzlement, but how had something like that got past the censors? Then word of the breakout at Narita…. What was next?"
There was a knock on the door. "Clovis? May I come in?" Leila's voice asked.
"I'm busy right now!"
"I really think you should see this…"
What had her so worried?
Taking a deep breath, Clovis composed himself, so as to appear the ever perfect gentleman. Even in such trying times, he was still the marquis actor of Area 11.
"Very well, Leila," he said, turning off the speaker and pressing a button to reject any incoming calls. "I'm sorry for being so short with you. You may come in. What appears to be the matter, my love?"
"We received this," she said, her voice trembling as she handed him a red card emblazoned with the image of a helmeted black chess piece.
"What is that?"
"I think it will be easier to understand if you read it yourself…"
"Let me see," Clovis said, holding out his hand. She gave the card to him silently.
"To Viceroy Clovis la Britannia, the great sinner of Vanity, who erects monument after monument to hide his own insecurities and dishonors those he claims to cherish: We know of your plans to commit genocide against the people of Shinjuku and of your inhumane research. Therefore, we have decided to make you confess your crimes with your own mouth. We will steal your distorted desires without fail. This will be done within a day's time. Signed, The Black Knights."
"What is this slander?" He erupted.
"It's not true, is it Clovis?" Leila asked, looking tearful.
"Of course not, Leila," he said after a moment, gently smiling at her. "The Elevens will come up with any manner of fabrication to weaken Britannia and sow distrust amongst us." He stroked her cheek. "We must stay strong. Put it from your mind. As Viceroy, I am the sworn protector of all citizens of Area 11, and I shall see to it that these miscreants are put down. The truth shall prevail!"
xXx
The room flickered around Leila, and she found herself face to face with Shadow Clovis, her cognitive double at his side.
"I'll deal with you for this treachery soon enough," Shadow Clovis snarled at her. "Yes, let the truth win out… my truth!" He laughed. "Come, Black Knights. Steal my Treasure if you can! There will be no plays to remember you… I'll write you out of history! All hail Britannia, and the glory of my reign to come!"
The distortion faded, and Clovis was back to his ordinary self.
"I'm so sorry that you had to see that, Leila," he said. "Will you be alright?"
"I'm stronger than you give me credit for, Clovis."
"Of course. Your fortitude is commendable." He shook his head. "I'm sorry that we must part like this, but this matter requires my undivided attention. I'm sure you understand."
She nodded and turned to leave. "May you receive all that which is your due, Clovis."
xXx
"This is it!" Lelouch shouted. "Today we steal the Viceroy's heart and put an end to his madness! Our target is his Treasure, materialized in the Aries Villa at the bottom of his Theater! The Palace will be on high alert, but failure is not an option! Follow my lead! The layout is the same as the real Aries Villa, so I know it like the back of my hand! Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!" Tama, Queen, Diamond, and Bishop responded in unison.
"They let us begin the heist!"
The Black Knights proceeded swiftly through the lab and down the stairs, quickly overpowering Shadow Clovis' increased security and leaving them behind with smoke bombs stockpiled from Nina.
"Isn't it a shame, Clovis, that we're not just figments of your mind?" Lelouch smirked as they reached the Aries Villa. "We're very real, as you soon will find…"
A pair of Shadows guarded the grand staircase in the Aries Villa, where his mother had been murdered, but he couldn't let past tragedy deter him from his goal now. In a darkly ironic re-enactment of that event, bullet fire from the Black Knights smashed through the windows, forcing the Shadows to take cover, but that was just a distraction as Suzuka Gozen plummeted in from above and eliminated the Shadows in seconds. At the same time, smoke bombs and handmade firecrackers were being set off on the other side of the Villa, drawing out the guards to investigate the commotion.
"We're in, Zero!"
"Excellent. The Treasure is just ahead."
"My heart is racing!" Milly beamed.
"Here it is!" Arthur proclaimed triumphantly.
"Another painting of Clovis? That's his Treasure? I know he's vain," Kallen said, "but really?"
"I was sure it was going to be - " Leila started.
Lelouch held up a hand. "It's alright… I expected something like this… prepare for battle."
"Huh?" Milly said.
"That's not the Treasure," Lelouch replied. "He thinks he can trick us by moving it. He'll have the real Treasure on his person. Where better for him to keep it safe? As you were saying, Bishop, what is the real the Treasure most likely?"
"That portrait of you, your sister, and your mother."
"Exactly. Though he since became lost in his own vainglorious desires, Clovis' descent into darkness started with our exile and supposed deaths. What better to symbolize his distortion than a representation of his lost family?"
"So where will we find Clovis?" Kallen asked.
"He's most likely cutting off our escape at the stage even as we speak. It's fine… we've been through this before. We beat Leviathan, didn't we?"
"I don't want to imagine what his true form is," Milly frowned.
"We'll find out soon enough," he replied.
"What do you want us to do with this then," Milly asked, gesturing at the false Treasure.
"Just leave it here. No sense in having it encumber us."
xXx
"You went to such lengths and didn't even retrieve my Treasure?" Shadow Clovis taunted, waiting for them on the stage, Cognitive Leila at his side.
"Nice try, Viceroy," Lelouch smirked. "You've been gracious enough to bring your Treasure right to us."
"Clever," Shadow Clovis sneered. "But you won't claim it. I'll end your miserable little lives here. What do you think of that, Leila?"
"Once you crush them, you will receive everything which is your due, dear Clovis" Cognitive Leila said lovingly.
Leila removed her mask. "And I thought I meant that you would be made to repent for your crimes when I said that."
"Lies, witch!"
"But you know, Clovis," Lelouch said, smirking, "Aren't you at all curious who the leader of the Black Knights, who has been a thorn in your side since we entered your Palace, is before you kill us?"
"I hardly see how it makes any difference," Shadow Clovis replied.
"You'd be surprised, dear brother," Lelouch said, removing his own mask, and making a dramatic bow. "Lelouch vi Britannia, Seventeenth Prince of Britannia, at your service. I've returned from the depths of hell, brother, and I'm here to change everything."
"No… that's impossible…" Shadow Clovis said…. "You…"
"Thought I was dead? As you were meant to. But I don't die that easily."
"Y-you're really alive?" Shadow Clovis asked. "I'm not seeing things? L-Lelouch… I am overjoyed! Is Nunnally alive as well? But first you must leave these riffraff at once! Then we can return to the homeland and -"
"Why, so you can kill my friends?"
"They're thieves, Lelouch! They are beneath your company as a prince! This is all just a misunderstanding between us!"
"Was your plan to wipe out the Shinjuku Ghetto a misunderstanding, brother?" Lelouch asked bitterly. "How about your precious Code-R? I'm sure your victims will all agree that it's just a misunderstanding. And Leila's parents? No, you weren't gloating about orchestrating their deaths, were you? I'm sure they just died from a car accident."
"You're right…" Shadow Clovis said, dropping to his knees and hanging his head. "I'm sorry, Lelouch." He wrung his hands before him, pulling at his hair. "I don't know where I lost my way!" The Viceroy's Shadow let out a heart-wrenching sob. "I won't make excuses for my crimes, Lelouch! But you and I are still blood! I surrender! Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
"You're not going to fall for that, are you, Zero?" Kallen asked.
"It is quite the performance," Leila said, "but overdone."
"We see through your act now," Milly added coldly.
"Crocodile tears, that's what they call them", Arthur smirked.
"Hand over your Treasure, brother, and we'll talk," Lelouch said, his eyes boring into Shadow Clovis' golden ones.
Something flared around Shadow Clovis, and his expression suddenly changed into an ugly one, all signs of false contrition gone. "Never! I'm sorry, Lelouch, but it seems that you'll have to die for real this time! But don't worry. You at least will have the finest memorial in Area 11, which will be remembered as my architectural masterpiece!" He began laughing uncontrollably, and dark energy swirled around him.
"Here he comes!'
"Unghhh… arraghh…. ahhhhhhhhh!" Shadow Clovis screamed before he was ripped in two, blood spraying everywhere.
"Huh?" Milly said, taking a step back. "Did he really just - "
"No," Leila said. "Look!"
The blood congealed, forming two large, oversized masks, floating side by side, one white and one black, joined by a red ribbon. Both bore Clovis' visage, but Clovis's expression on the white mask was joyous, while his expression on the black mask was contorted into a hideous scowl. A Comedy Mask and a Tragedy Mask…
"I am the Demon of Vanity," both masks said in unison, "Clovis Azazel la Britannia. I shall tolerate no imperfections in my work!"
"You really are two-faced through and through," Leila said coldly.
"Magnificent!" Cognitive Leila cried.
"Oh, shut up!" Kallen shouted back. "Suzuka Gozen!" Her Persona impaled the false Leila with its blade. The imposter only had enough time to widen its eyes in surprise before dissipating into black flames and vanishing.
"You'll pay for that!" Azazel hissed. Azazel's Tragedy Mask lunged forward toward Kallen, suddenly revealing sharp rows of teeth, while his Comedy Mask conjured multiple small whirlwinds around the Black Knights. Kallen nimbly avoided the Tragedy Mask's bite, but was buffeted by the Comedy Mask's winds. Milly was knocked to her feet by the sudden gale, but Arthur, Leila, and Lelouch remained standing. The whirlwind that would have struck Lelouch bounced off of Ippon-Datara, striking the Comedy Mask, but the spell faded away and was harmlessly absorbed back into the Comedy Mask.
"That's so unfair!" Arthur cried.
"Whoever said life was fair, alley cat?" Azazel sneered, lashing out with the ribbon and wrapping it around Arthur's foot, before using it to throw Arthur to the ground.
"Then take this!" Kallen shouted, Suzuka Gozen rushing forward once again. Her Persona unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, almost too fast for the eye to see. The Comedy Mask reeled, but the Tragedy Mask laughed off her attack like it was nothing.
"You're the hot-headed one. I think you need to cool your heels, rebel," Azazel laughed. A block of ice crystallized around Suzuka Gozen, immobilizing the Persona, and leaving Kallen shivering uncontrollably.
"Jeanne d'Arc!" Leila cried, healing energy settling upon her allies.
They barely had a chance to get to their feet before the Tragedy Mask lunged forward again, forcing the Black Knights to leap back. At the same time, the Comedy Mask laughed, "Let's see how well you burn, witch!", and Leila was struck by a fireball, setting the hem of her dress on fire.
"Ow! That's hot!" She dived to the ground, attempting a stop drop and roll to extinguish the flames.
Lelouch frowned. This wasn't good. It seemed that Azazel's Comedy Mask had enough elements at its disposal to target all of his teammate's weaknesses, and they would be in trouble if the Tragedy Mask got a good bite in. More than that, it appeared that the Comedy Mask absorbed magic, while the Tragedy Mask nullified physical attacks.
But there was always a way to plan around his enemy's strengths.
"Apsaras!" He called out, first casting a barrier against electric attacks around himself to cover his Persona's own weakness - and not a moment too soon, as the Comedy Mask zapped him with Zio no sooner than the barrier had been erected. He still felt a small jolt pass through him, but it had saved him from suffering serious damage.
His next priority was Leila, as she was the group's most skilled healer. Technically Lelouch could rival her healing abilities with his improved and expanded range of Personas, but he would need to focus most of his efforts on shielding his allies from the Comedy Mask's spells. A wall against fire settled around her, freeing Leila to focus on getting their allies back into the fight rather than avoiding being burned alive.
"Queen, Diamond, and Tama, focus on the Comedy Mask! Use physical attacks!"
"Got it! Suzuka Gozen! Assault Dive!"
"Understood!" Milly cracked her whip eagerly.
"Master Cat!" Arthur's Persona thrust forward with its rapier.
"This isn't funny!" The Comedy Mask shrieked as it was knocked to the ground under the successive strikes from the Black Knights. Lelouch used the lull in its offense to cast another pair of barriers over his teammates, an ice wall to shield Kallen, and a wind wall to cover Milly. He couldn't maintain more barriers at once, but Arthur was small and easily able to dodge many attacks.
"Switch to magic!" He ordered. "Target the Tragedy Mask!"
"Roger!"
Fire, wind, radiation, and psychokinetic power converged on the Tragedy Mask.
"Argh!" Azazel screamed in agony as his Tragedy Mask fell to the floor.
"The enemy is down! Launch an all-out attack!"
"Don't think you've won just yet!" Azazel shouted as his two halves managed to rise above the barrage, battered but intact. "You'll find that I can be quite charming when I want to be!"
The Comedy Mask released a pink mist that spread across the stage.
"I don't like the look of that!" Arthur shouted.
"Oh, Clovis," Leila sighed. That wasn't the Cognitive Leila. That was the real Leila.
"You're so handsome, your Highness" Milly fawned.
"I don't know what I was thinking trying to fight against you and Britannia," Kallen said, her eyes misted over.
Kallen would never say that of her own free will.
"The girls are brainwashed!" Arthur yelped.
"I'll let you three beauties handle this," Azazel laughed. "Now excuse me while I heal those injuries that you so thoughtlessly inflicted upon me."
"Your wish is my command," Leila, Milly, and Kallen said in unison.
'Suzuka Gozen!"
"Ippon-Datara!"
Kallen's Persona rushed at him, outstretching its clawed hand.
"Now!"
Ippon-Datara swung his hammer, striking Suzuka Gozen's wrist with great force before the deadly claw could close around him and bathe him with radiation.
"Agh!" Kallen groaned as her Persona was struck. It appeared he had broken her wrist as well. It was unfortunate, but broken bones could be healed. Disintegration at the hands of Suzuka Gozen's nuclear fury could not.
"How unchivalrous, Lelouch, striking a woman like that!" Azazel taunted.
But Kallen was nothing if not tenacious, and being brainwashed by Azazel could not change that. Suzuka Gozen spun around with its blade in its other hand. Ippon-Datara's hammer was too heavy for Lelouch to be able to raise it to intercept Suzuka Gozen's attack in time, but the embittered blacksmith had another tool in its other hand: a pair of blacksmith's tongs. They didn't have enough mass to stop Suzuka Gozen's swing, but they didn't need to, instead directing the blade off-course.
Suzuka Gozen fell back, while Jeanne d'Arc appeared to heal Kallen, which left Milly to take up the offense on Azazel's behalf.
"Medea!"
The sorceress materialized and took to the air, once again spreading her cloak like wings. Medea chanted and conjured fireballs into existence along the length of her wings, before releasing them with the command, "Maragi!"
The fireballs rained down rapid-fire, erupting as they struck the ground and leaving singe marks on the stage. Thankfully, Ippon-Datara was resistant to fire, perhaps due to his nature as a blacksmith, so Lelouch escaped mostly unscathed, while Arthur darted to a safe distance.
"Tama, knock Medea out of the sky!"
"But - "
"Do it!"
"I'm sorry, Diamond! Garu!"
Thankfully, the barrier protecting Milly had worn off, or else Arthur's spell would have had little effect. But it struck true.
"You little!" Medea shrieked, as Milly fell to her knees.
"Not bad," the Comedy Mask grinned.
"The tragedy of having to fight your friends," the Tragedy Mask sneered.
"While your little harem has been rather disappointing, we've saved the best for last," both halves of Azazel said in unison. "Leila! Kill Lelouch, and all will be forgiven!"
"I won't disappoint you again, dear Clovis," she replied slavishly. She ripped off her mask and let out a cry. "Jeanne d' Arc! Psi!"
A dizzying array of colors swirled around Lelouch. Ippon-Datara had no innate defenses against psychic attacks, and he was forced to bear the brunt of Leila's.
Besides the psychokinetic force of the blow, which was like a fist in his gut, Lelouch experienced a most curious sensation - that of Leila's mind brushing against his, probing his defenses. Fortifying them, he brought into his mind's eye the mental of image of a line of black pawns, arrayed so that they could protect each other, with noble pieces placed to capture any white pieces that might take them.
"Is that how you want to do this?" Leila's disembodied voice asked telepathically. "A rematch? Then I shall oblige." Her mental probe shifted, taking the form of an opposing line of white chess pieces. Her pieces advanced swiftly, ignoring the rules, moving two or three at a time, without regard for whether they were lost or not. Whenever he captured one of her pawns, a new one would replace it on the board. It took all of his concentration to hold off her onslaught.
"This isn't you, Leila," he told her. "It's beneath you to cheat. And don't you remember what you said to me? "What good is victory if you've thrown away everything to achieve it?"
"Silence!" Leila shouted in his mind, her voice now layered with that of Azazel. "I'll avenge my defeat, and I'll have you at my mercy, Lelouch!"
"You'd kill me over a chess match? Now I really know I'm not talking to Leila. More than any of us, you were opposed to the idea of killing."
The mental onslaught relented for a moment.
"What are you doing, Leila?" Azazel demanded. "Finish him off!"
"You can do it, Leila. You can beat him. Remember why you're here. Remember your parents."
"Leila, if you do not - " Azazel continued threateningly.
"Get out of my head, Viceroy!" she shouted.
Suddenly, they were back on the stage. Lelouch felt himself double over, still sore from the force of Leila's spell, but there was a triumphant grin on his face.
Azazel screamed as Leila's psychic attack was turned upon him, thrashing wildly. Unable to maintain his concentration, Azazel's hold over Kallen and Milly waned.
"What was I-" Milly said, blinking.
"You'll pay for humiliating me like that!" Kallen snarled, driving Suzuka Gozen's blade into the Comedy Mask.
Healing energy from Arthur wrapped itself around Lelouch, and he rose to his feet again.
The Tragedy Mask snarled, shooting out its ribbon and wrapping it around Leila's neck, lifting her off the ground and squeezing tightly. "You could have had everything! You could have been my princess! But you're an ungrateful traitor! Die, like your parents!"
Lelouch wasn't having that. Darting forward, he took his dagger in his hand, and sliced through the ribbon with one stroke. Cut off from the rest of Azazel's body, the ribbon dissolved as if into a mist, leaving Leila gasping as she caught her breath.
"It's time to finish this, brother."
"You are so right, Lelouch," Azazel replied. "Every play has its surprises, but now the curtain must fall. Goodbye, Lelouch."
A purple haze spread out from the Tragedy Mask, and suddenly Lelouch found himself lost amid the darkness. cut off from the other Black Knights.
"Do you see, Lelouch?" Azazel's voice echoed from around him, every word suddenly like a crushing weight. "You've lost… No one can defeat me, or Britannia…"
It was foolish to even try.
"Tell me, Lelouch. What did you really think you would accomplish? In the end, you are but a stepping stone to my own glory." Azazel laughed. "The Demon of Vanity I may be, but which of us is more vainglorious? To think you could do anything to change this world on your own is the height of conceit!"
That wasn't true… was it? But it was getting hard to think clearly. Lelouch clutched his head, trying desperately to remember.
"It's useless, brother," Azazel sneered. "Despair can be as much a part of art as any emotion. This is some of my finest work yet. Shouldn't you be honored that I saved it for you? Now drown in it!"
Azazel had won. Any strategy he tried to grasp slipped from his mind.
"Alone and abandoned, the miserable thief meets his just end. Poetic, don't you think?"
There was no way out of this. He had failed, not only himself, but Nunnally too. He couldn't protect her. She would be heartbroken. And for what? Maybe it would have been better if he had never…
"Zero!" a distant voice called out.
That voice!
"Snap out of it!" another voice called.
"Don't you remember what you just told me?" A third voice cried. "You can beat him!"
"This isn't a time to give up, lie down, and be a scaredy-cat!"
Slowly, Lelouch rose.
'Impossible…" Azazel hissed. "Silence, all of you! He is finished! I have won! Without him, you're nothing but a ragtag band that would fall apart at a moment's notice!"
"You're wrong, brother. Chained though I may be to Hell itself, I shall see my justice through to the end, as long as I have them beside me. Arsene!"
His original Persona laughed maniacally, the darkness dissipating as the demonic gentleman thief spread its wings.
"Eiha!"
Arsene's curse struck Azazel's Tragedy Mask, followed by spells from the other Black Knights, save Kallen, who was keeping the Comedy Masked pinned to the floor with Suzuka Gozen's blade.
"Good to have you back, Zero!" Milly cried with relief.
"It got Tama too, but he snapped out of it pretty quick," Kallen explained.
"Are we ready?" Leila asked.
He nodded.
The Black Knights unleashed their all-out-attack against Azazel.
The Demon of Vanity gave one last scream, and was defeated. In Azazel's place knelt Shadow Clovis in his human form once again, his will broken.
"How could I be defeated?" Shadow Clovis gasped. He looked up at Lelouch. "No… I already know the answer… I never could defeat you Lelouch…. Not at chess, and certainly not now."
"Hand over your Treasure, brother."
"Please, Lelouch…," Shadow Clovis begged. "I won't survive if I do that…. The Black Mask…"
"Don't listen to him, Zero. He's lying again," Kallen said, folding her arms.
"No, I actually think he's telling the truth this time," Leila said.
"Who is this 'Black Mask'?" Lelouch asked.
"The assassin who I hired… The one responsible for the mental shutdowns…"
"You mean the Black Mask is the one who killed my parents?" Leila asked.
"On my orders, yes," Shadow Clovis nodded weakly.
"Who is the Black Mask?" Lelouch pressed.
"I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to," Shadow Clovis. Kallen glared at him. "Please!" He cried, putting up his hands. "I don't know! But he'll kill me!"
"The only ones who should kill, Viceroy, are those who are prepared to be killed," Lelouch replied coldly.
"You can't just let him kill me!" Shadow Clovis moaned. "You need me to confess to my crimes, don't you? I can't do that if I'm dead!"
"He has a point," Milly admitted.
"We can't just let this assassin remain on the loose," Leila agreed. "Otherwise more people will die."
"We will hunt down this Black Mask and bring him to justice," Lelouch said with resolve. "You have my word, brother."
"Thank you, Lelouch… I can rest easier now," Shadow Clovis said, his expression relaxing. "Very well. You can have my Treasure. I'll face the consequences for my crimes, whatever they may be."
He produced a painting, and handed it over to the Black Knights. As they had predicted, it was a group portrait of Lelouch, Nunnally, and Empress Marianne.
"Now, go," Shadow Clovis said. "This theater will collapse soon without that Treasure… I'll follow shortly and return to my real self. Say hello to Nunnally for me…"
The Palace began rumbling around them, and as much as Lelouch would have liked to spend a few minutes to interrogate Shadow Clovis while they were there and see if he could gain any further insights into his mother's murder, they didn't have that time. If Clovis knew anything, it would all come out during his confession, along with his other crimes, anyway.
"Okay, we've got the Treasure. Let's get out of here!" Milly shouted.
They rushed through the lab, as vats shattered around them, spilling chemicals, and equipment overloaded and exploded. Moving into the halls of the theater, holes opened up in the floor around them, and chandeliers fell without warning.
"Almost there!"
The Black Knights cleared the perimeter as the Theater of Vanity went into its final death throes behind them.
"Back to the real world!"
The world twisted around them, sweeping them out of the Metaverse.
xXx
"They should be clear by now," Shadow Clovis said to himself. "I should be going too."
"You're not going anywhere, Viceroy," a distorted voice said, stepping from the shadows.
"You! Please, I'll…"
There was a muffled sound, and the room fell silent.
Days Until Shinjuku is Demolished: 7
xXx
The fight against Azazel had been far closer than the Black Knights would have liked. Azazel might not have been a gigantic monster like Leviathan, but he had tested their bonds in ways unlike any challenge they had faced thus far, and they had emerged stronger than ever for it.
"Most impressive, Trickster," Igor told Lelouch in the Velvet Room. "You have triumphed over your half-brother, which will soon send a message that your foes cannot ignore. But Ragnarok still looms beyond the horizon. There will be far more trials to come. Your true rehabilitation begins now. Will you be able to inspire the masses to rise up and open their eyes to the truth? Or will they condemn you, and continue mindlessly marching like lemmings to ruin? I will continue to watch your career as a thief and your rehabilitation with great interest."
The power of the Fool resonated, and Lelouch felt slightly stronger.
"It is done. Until we meet again, Trickster."
xXx
The days continued to rush by. There was no official word from Clovis yet, save rumors that the Viceroy had been feeling unwell and had retreated into his chambers. Leila confirmed these rumors for them. He refused to see anyone, taking meals only through his door, and was said to spend much of his days weeping.
They would have to wait to be absolutely sure, but it appeared that the change of Clovis' heart had been successful.
Lelouch hung Clovis' Treasure in his room inn the Ashford Academy, a reminder of happier times and everything he fought for: to avenge his mother and protect his sister. It was a shame that Nunnally couldn't see it, but then again, that would raise more questions than it was worth. It wasn't like anyone else other than Sayoko went in there, and she was already in on his plans.
Lelouch continued to meet with his confidants, from training with Sayoko, to hanging out with Rivalz, to working in the lab with Nina or doing Student Council paperwork with Milly, to folding cranes with Nunnally at night, to arranging secret meetings with Diethard and Jeremiah. The former Purist leader expressed some faint misgivings at seeing the state that the Viceroy he had once pledged to serve had been reduced to, but affirmed that his loyalty was first and foremost to Lelouch now, and expressed the hope that he would be able to meet Lady Nunnally one day.
And so the day of truth arrived.
Days Until Shinjuku is Demolished: 0
xXx
"Attention, all students. By Royal Proclamation of Viceroy Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia, a special assembly will be held at 9:00 a.m. today to hear an emergency address to the nation. Attendance at this assembly shall be compulsory."
The Ashford Academy gymnasium was packed, with row after row of students standing at attention, herded into the building to hear Clovis' address.
"What do you think this is about?" Lelouch overheard students murmuring.
"Do you think it was another Eleven terrorist attack?" Nina nervously asked Kallen, not realizing the irony of whom exactly she was speaking to.
"Your attention please," Headmaster Ruben Ashford said, looking tired. "The Viceroy's address will begin momentarily."
A projector flared to life, casting the image of the broadcast onto a screen that had been drawn down over the stage. Britannia's national anthem, "All Hail Britannia," blared over the speakers, a march with a male chorus.
"Truth and Hope in Our Fatherland, and Death to Every Foe! Our Soldiers Will Not Pause to Rest, We Vow Our Loyalty!"
Lelouch clenched his fist. He hated this song, as he did all things symbolizing the Britannian regime.
"Old Traditions they Will Abide, Arise Young Heroes! Our Past Inspires Noble Deeds, All Hail Britannia!"
"Live from the Government Bureau, Hi-TV brings the Third Prince's unexpected address to all citizens of Area 11!"
"Announcing his Royal Highness, Prince Clovis," a voice said, as Clovis, in his full Viceroyal regalia, took the podium.
"Citizens of Area 11… Japan!" Clovis began, causing some murmurs amongst the assembled students. "I come to you bearing grave news! I am here to account for the crimes of one who has at every step of the way deceived you, defrauded you, and committed atrocities that I tremble to speak of, all for his own selfish advancement and futile attempts at glory!" Clovis clutched at his heart. "This most vile of criminals of whom I speak is none other than myself!"
Gasps could be heard from the student body.
At this point, orders would certainly be going out to most networks to cut the broadcast immediately. But Hi-TV kept the broadcast running. Lelouch grinned. Excellent work, Diethard.
"Some of you may have already heard of the Black Knights," Clovis continued. "They stole my corrupted heart and now I am here to confess all of my sins to you! I cannot bear the guilt of them any longer!"
"I have ordered the demolition of countless Japanese neighborhoods, in the name of urban renewal, but I will now call it what it truly is: genocide. Most recently, I ordered the Shinjuku Ghetto to be razed. This order has now been rescinded. I know most of my Britannian subjects have no love for the Japanese, but I have also stolen from the treasury, embezzling funds for secret projects. The research done in these projects is so twisted and depraved that I shudder to think that I had any part in them, but they were carried out with my full knowledge and approval! Those with weak constitutions may wish to stop listening to this broadcast, to spare yourselves of these horrors, but if you can brave it, I insist that you listen! Unethical, inhumane experiments were conducted on hundreds of human subjects, Japanese and Britannians alike, kidnapped off the streets and brutally tortured and murdered for my selfish curiosity and vain desire for ever greater power!" Clovis reached a climax in his speech. "The name of this project was Code-R, and it-"
Clovis suddenly clutched his chest, an agonized expression on his face, as if he had been struck.
"A-Agh… ah…" Clovis groaned incoherently, his eyes bulging as he twitched spasmodically.
"Is the Viceroy having a heart attack on national television?!" A girl gasped in panic.
Clovis' eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his head fell down limply onto the podium, coughing up black ichor.
"Viceroy Clovis!"
Clovis breathed weakly, and then lurched upright again, but something was profoundly wrong. The Viceroy's movements were zombie-like. Only the scleras of his eyes could be seen, and more black ichor oozed from his every orifice.
Screams of horror echoed throughout the gymnasium. Lelouch could hear many students retching as their breakfasts vacated their stomachs, filling the room with an overpowering, nauseating stench. Even he soon found that he couldn't contain the contents of his stomach, which came spewing out.
The broadcast finally was pulled, and was replaced with a static image showing a beautiful field of flowers on a sunny day.
"We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by."
That wasn't a heart attack.
That was a mental shutdown.
Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of the Empire and Viceroy of Area 11, was dead.
He was glad Nunnally couldn't see it.
"I-I d-don't believe it-," a student nearby blubbered uncontrollably. "T-the-the B-Black Knight… They… they… they murdered the Viceroy!"
"Th-those things he was saying… were… were they true?"
The Black Knights now had no lack of notoriety.
But Lelouch sensed their mission was going to only get harder.
A/N:
I drew upon several influences for the Shadow Clovis / Azazel boss fight. The most obvious is Madarame, whose role Clovis largely occupies in this story, who also split into a form with multiple parts and is considered a wake-up call boss in P5 for his ability to easily exploit the party's elemental weaknesses, which Clovis inherited as well. However, there was also a significant influence from Shadow Kanji in Persona 4, who provided the inspiration for status ailments that targeted only one gender or the other, Brainwash/Charm for the girls in this story, and Despair for the males, which I also thought fit the themes of Comedy and Tragedy rather well. Kunino-Sagiri in Persona 4 is also briefly able to take over multiple party members at the end of his fight. As for the depiction of Lelouch while under the influence of Despair, I modeled it partly off its depiction in Persona 4 the Animation, when used by Shadow Mitsuo, but I think a far stronger influence was the Id-Return scene in Fire: Emblem Awakening. The power of friendship getting the hero out of a bind may be a cliche, but that's how Persona rolls. Hopefully, drawing inspiration from these different sources kept the fight fresh and surprising, rather than being a straight rehash of Madarame's boss fight.
Yup, Clovis is dead. I usually think it's inconsistent with Lelouch's character to let Clovis live in Code Geass stories, unless he has an extraordinarily good reason to do so, which he arguably does in this story, but as I said in the last chapter, my version of Lelouch was still perfectly willing to off Clovis after he had served his purpose. He may have a good case of adaptational heroism in the story, thanks to his increased need for the support of his friends, but Lelouch is still an antiheroic character at heart and hardly a selfless paragon of virtue. Besides, did any of you really think the Conspiracy would allow Clovis to live after he started blabbing about Code-R?
Lelouch threw up at the end there, as I thought that would be a natural reaction to Clovis' death, especially in so graphic a manner and considering that he did the same in canon after murdering Clovis himself.
Next up, Interlude, Interrogation, Part 4, and the start of the 3rd Palace arc! As I said, my rate of updates is likely to slow for a while to once every few weeks as my vacation draws to an end, but I hope you will stick around, and maybe leave a review. The feedback, positive or negative, all helps!