The next episode begins playing, but the first 34 seconds are all the same summary told by C.C as before, so Nunnally asks A.A if they can skip it.
After watching the opening song again, the title of the episode reveals itself.
STAGE 2
The White Knight Awakens
Suzaku sighs. He doesn't want to be reminded of the fact that he was called the White Death, knowing that the term White Knight refers to a hypocrite, which he was. He preached the very same ideals he couldn't follow so self-righteously, and then he did exactly what Lelouch was doing.
Lloyd grins. "Here we go. Time for Lancelot's big reveal!"
A tank can be heard driving past Lelouch's location as the camera begins by panning up from the grotesque shot of civilians murdered by the same soldiers that were trying to kill Lelouch.
The student is on a knee beside C.C, paying his respects to her dead body.
Lelouch: "I don't understand what it is you wanted me to do. Why did you give me this bizarre power?"
He contemplates the question, knowing she won't respond.
Suddenly, an explosion rocks the building he's in as a knightmare slowly rolls in.
The pilot is Villetta Nu. The KMF's head opens up like a butterfly and scans the area with its camera, and her HUD zooms in to survey her surroundings, only to find a squad of dead Britannian troops as well as a suspicious lone survivor.
Villetta: "How could all these Royal Guards be dead?"
She presses a button to activate her KMF's microphone to talk to Lelouch.
Villetta: "What happened here, boy? And why is a Britannian student in a place like this? Are you deaf?! Answer me or I'll-!"
The woman is clearly impatient, so she fires her machine gun at the wall behind Lelouch several times, causing his hair to whoosh from the wind caused by the bullets.
However, he doesn't even flinch.
"Oh? Impressive," Schneizel smirks.
"Most impressive," Gino adds. "He didn't even flinch."
The kids from Ashford Academy are all impressed and wary of Lelouch, as well. They're civilians just like him, but they all know that they would've at least done more than just flinch, if not cowered in fear in such a situation.
Villetta: "Answer me!"
Lelouch: "I order you to come out. At once!"
The audience sees him activate his Geass, and they wait with baited breath.
However...
Villetta: "Who the hell do you think you are to order me?"
"What? Did his Geass fail him? No... That can't be." Tohdoh is running the variables through his mind.
'But none of it makes sense. His power shouldn't fail him. Unless...'
Lelouch: 'I see. It only works with direct eye contact.'
Tohdoh's eyes widen.
Next to Tohdoh, Xingke is thinking the same thing as they exchange looks.
Geass has its limitations.
Now wondering what other kind of limitations Geass imposes, the two feel a small sense of dread that perhaps they were the ones in the wrong...
However, for now, they push that thought to the back of their minds to focus on what they're watching.
Then, Lelouch lies as effortlessly as he breathes while raising his hands up in a "don't shoot" gesture.
Lelouch: "My name is Allen Spacer. My father's a duke."
Villetta: "Nobility?"
"Does Allen Spacer even exist? I've never heard of him," Milly asks.
"He does," Cornelia responds. "He's just not as popular as many others."
Rivalz tilts his head. "Pres, why are you keeping tabs on some guy you've never even met? It couldn't have been an important name, right?"
Although, deep down, he's feeling a little jealous if this Spacer guy has caught Milly's attention.
"Well, technically, I am the granddaughter of a Duke."
"Huh?! You're nobility?!"
"Yep!"
Lelouch: "My ID card's in my breast pocket. After you confirm who I am, I'll request your protection."
He's gambling on his words to persuade her to come out of her KMF.
Fortunately for him, it works.
Villetta presses a button, pulls the USB-looking key out of its slot to shut down her knightmare, and pulls a lever to open her cockpit's canopy, to which Lelouch can't help but smirk evilly as she repels down.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Ohgi gulps.
"I'm fine, though. He didn't hurt me."
The silverette frowns. 'But this must be where he used his Geass on me, right? I think it is around here that I lost part of my memory. It has to be.'
Villetta: "Keep your hands up in the air, I'll take out your ID."
Lelouch: "Now then, hand your knightmare over to me." He activates his Geass.
Villetta: "Understood."
Just like that, she tosses the key over to him while telling him the access code.
A few minutes later, the Britannian woman finds herself snapping out of her Geassed stupor as she was just staring at the wall she shot earlier.
Villetta: "What the..."
She turns around to find her knightmare gone, not remembering what happened.
"Seems he used his Geass on you, Mrs. Ohgi," Cornelia snarks. "I wonder who else fell to his influence?"
The purplette casts an obvious glance at Kallen, but much to her surprise, she ignores her.
The scene shifts to Lloyd peering down at Suzaku smugly as the soldier wakes up.
Lloyd: "So are we having a bad day?"
"Forgive me for asking, but by any chance, are you gay, Lloyd?" Rivalz says.
Lloyd simply cackles like the mad scientist he is. "No. Why?"
"Nothing. I just heard from Nina that you were supposed to have an arranged marriage with Milly but didn't go through with it."
He's saying it in the best way he can so that he doesn't give away the fact that he has feelings for his club president, but he also asked the question because of the way Lloyd talks.
Milly casts a surprised look at Nina. "Nina! I didn't take you for a gossiper," She teases, making the nuclear physicist squirm and stutter excuses. "Don't worry, I don't mind. Just try not to let that sort of thing slip, okay? I'm not mad at all~"
Nina nods. "Right."
Lloyd: "Looks like you missed a chance to go to heaven, Private Kururugi."
Suzaku: "I did? Where?"
Lloyd: "Hmm? Ah, we're still in the Shinjuku Ghetto."
Cecile: "With Prince Clovis nearby this is probably the safest place anywhere."
A camera shot of the outside reveals that he is in one of three Britannian APC's meant as mobile medical wings and that they're near Clovis' HQ.
Cecile: "This is what saved your life, Mr. Suzaku."
The Britannian woman that cares for him and secretly loves him like a son hands him a pocket watch she's carrying on a handkerchief.
Lloyd: "You're lucky it was under your protective suit because that's what deflected the bullet."
Cecile: "Is it a keepsake?"
Suzaku: "Yeah. Very."
He takes the pocket watch and stares down at the damaged object with sadness, but also as a reminder of what he's fighting for.
It was once a gift from his late father, after all. Genbu Kururugi, the last Prime Minister of Japan before the nation fell to Britannia.
Lloyd: "You Elevens believe that gods live inside of everything, even objects, don't you? I guess this one-"
Suzaku: "Is Lelou-! ... What's the latest on the situation?"
Lloyd: "It looks like the poison gas was released. Massive Eleven casualties have been reported."
Cecile: "They haven't caught the perpetrators yet."
Suzaku: "They haven't, huh? Not yet?"
"Don't you just love how the idiot is able to eat up all that propaganda at face value? Tch!" Chiba scowls.
"For once, I agree with you." Kallen nods.
Lloyd: "Private Kururugi, how much experience do you have in piloting a Knightmare frame?"
Suzaku: "Wha-?! But there's no way an Eleven would be made a knight."
Lloyd: "Well, supposing you could?"
He flashes the key to the Lancelot.
Suzaku blinks in confusion.
"This early on, and he's already getting the Lancelot?! What exactly has he done to earn a prototype knightmare, much less one of Britannia's best pieces of technology?!" Kallen shouts.
"Things, such as his service record, are usually kept classified," C.C says. "Besides, even if you knew what he accomplished, it would only make you angrier."
"I know that! It's just..."
"Suzaku Kururugi was a traitor. We should all be grateful that he's dead," Zero states.
"Tch! Of course you would say that, you asshole."
Lloyd: "Congratulations, the only Knightmare of its kind awaits you! Once you take the controls of this big beauty everything will change, you and your world."
Cecile: "Whether you want it to or not."
The Lancelot is shown hidden under a massive black tarp to prevent it from collecting dust.
.
.
.
Back in Shinjuku, the massacre is still continuing, a jarring change in scenery for the audience, which greatly disturbs them.
A tank mows down a few fleeing Japanese men with its machine gun when a slash harken catches its side, destroying the tank as the slash harken is pulled back into its KMF, a familiar Glasgow that's missing its left arm.
It's Kouzuki.
Kallen: "Those damn Britannians!" She shouts, holding back tears of rage at seeing her countrymen getting slaughtered.
"Er... Remind me to never piss you off or upset you, milady." Gino places a hand on his chest and bows to her.
"Sure. Just obey the rules of war, don't bully others, don't be a hypocritical treacherous piece of shit like Suzaku, and don't be a pervert. A simple four-step process."
Ohgi: "Kallen, can the Glasgow still move?"
Kallen: "Don't worry, Ohgi! it's all right! I'll decoy them! Get the people out of here! The only ones that'll be captured are those of us in the resistance!"
"She's offering herself to be bait so that whatever Japanese civilians still alive in the ghetto can have a chance at fleeing," Says Guilford. "Even if you were once our enemy, Kouzuki, you have my respect. I know I would do the same for the ones I love."
Ohgi: "I know, but we're trapped! They've got us completely surrounded!"
The two are shouting over the radio to hear each other over the sound of gunfire as a member of Ohgi's resistance standing right behind him fire's off an RPG up into the air at an unseen target, most likely a chopper.
"Mr. Ohgi, you were standing out in the open! Doesn't it worry you that you could've been shot at any moment?" Rivalz is flabbergasted.
Ohgi shakes his head. "The fear of being shot or blown up is always there, but if you're a leader in a military, you have to keep such thoughts away from the forefront of your mind."
.
.
.
The Ashford Academy girl's swim club is shown, or at least a few members of it alongside Shirley, who receives a phone call from Lelouch, who is driving down the decimated streets of Shinjuku in his newly acquired Sutherland.
Shirley: "Lulu? What in the world have you been doing? Where are you now? If you keep cutting class, you'll get held back."
"He's making a phone call in the middle of a warzone?" Cornelia is annoyed. "Doesn't he realize how dangerous that is? Military satellites and stations are always focused on communication frequencies, radio waves, and any other information they can intercept in a battlefield."
"Lelouch told me he programmed his phone to be untraceable," Kallen said.
On his end, gunfire can be heard in the background, and judging by the rate of fire and pitch, it is most likely from a light machine gun, but Shirley can't hear it over the phone.
Lelouch: "Are you near a TV?"
Shirley: "A TV?"
Lelouch: "Sorry, but this is important."
Shirley: "Hmph! Hang on. Hey, can I change the channel?" She asks some other girls, who are watching TV on some kind of mobile device with an antenna.
Student: "Huh? To what?"
Lelouch: "The news, is there anything about Shinjuku?" He says as he is furiously hitting keys in his cockpit to mess with his KMF's computer, hacking into communications, tuning into different frequencies, and trying to retrieve information in written in electronic text.
Shirley: "News? Uhh, let's see... There's nothing on. Traffic restrictions?"
Lelouch : "Why is it restricted?"
Shirley: "I don't know. They're not saying."
Lelouch: 'I get it. Once they finish everything off, they'll release news that favors the military.'
Shirley: "Ooh, you're gambling again, aren't you? I've warned you before more than once how dangerous that is!"
His KMF's optics zoom in on the ground, focusing on a chessboard as his eyes narrow in amusement.
Lelouch: "Yep, you caught me. By the way, tell my little sister that I'm gonna be late home tonight, would you? Thanks."
He hangs up.
Shirley: "Oooh! Why does he always hang up on me like that?!"
She tries to call him back only to find that his number is not in serviceable range, a telltale indication that Britannia is censoring traffic, not wanting anyone to know what's happening in Shinjuku.
While the Ashford students laugh at Shirley's annoyance, Nunnally is again reminded of her sorrow.
The person she cared about the most, and still cares about, was lying to her, hiding the fact that he was off fighting in the war.
"History truly is written by the victor, and we're seeing how it's being done in today's day and age," Tohdoh muses bitterly.
As Lelouch is hiding in a building, he opens IFF map that shows all of the Britannian KMF's, and there are hundreds surrounding him within a few miles.
Lelouch: 'They need to keep a lid on this information, so it'll be hard for them to call in reinforcements. They'll have to make do with the pieces they have on the board. But I'm hemmed in here, and it'll be tough to break through by myself. Gaining refuge carries its own risk, too.'
He opens the canopy and stands on his seat out in the open, and again, not flinching as he stares in annoyance at an ear-splitting explosion where Kallen's Glasgow used its slash harkens to obliterate an Apache and its wreckage falls like a comet while enveloped in a ball of fire.
Lelouch: 'I want payback for being dragged into your fight.'
"Payback?! He must've been planning to use his Geass on us!" Ohgi exclaims.
"No, he wasn't," C.C defends Lelouch. "He was simply planning on bossing you people around. As Lelouch said, he never wanted any part of what happened in Shinjuku, but because he experienced it, he blames your group for being an unorganized group. In his eyes, you were still terrorists until he brought you all together."
"Still! That doesn't change the fact that he used us like tools!"
"Or he was just playing a game of toy soldier, but okay, think what you will. You still have your thoughts, and that's proof enough that I'm right."
Cornelia grits her teeth. 'How can that woman defend him, despite knowing what he did?'
A pair of Sutherlands round a corner and stop behind Kallen.
Jeremiah: "It's our Glasgow friend."
He aims his machine gun and shoots, but Kallen dodges behind a wall for cover and retreats as fast as she can, zig zagging behind a couple more corners to get out of their sight.
Her energy filler starts beeping to alert her that her KMF's battery is beginning to die.
Kallen: "Just 30 minutes left!" She panics.
"How long do knightmare's usually last in combat before their energy filler needs to be changed?" Rivalz directs his question towards any of the three scientists most well acquainted with knightmares.
Rakshata answers, "Usually, they only last between an hour and four hours, depending on how much the knightmare is exerted."
"Also, I don't know much about knightmares, so could you please explain the difference between energy fillers, the Yggdrasil Drive, and Sakuradite?"
Lloyd interrupts, "Sakuradite is the superconductive material needed to make the Core Luminous, which is a small cube. The Core Luminous, by the way, is the center piece of the Yggdrasil Drive."
"Indeed," Rakshata adds, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "The Yggdrasil Drive is located at the waist for most Knightmare Frames and placed in a small, yet very heavy tank. Let me ask you a question, Cardemonde. Do you know what superconductivity is?"
"Er... No. Haha. Sorry."
"That's fine. Superconductivity is a set of properties in a material that make said material completely non-resistant to electricity to maximize power efficiency. That's why Sakuradite, the world's most valuable superconductor, is used to make the Core Luminous in Yggdrasil Drives."
The Earl of Pudding interjects his opinion again, "The Yggdrasil Drive tank is filled with antifreeze because antifreeze is actually pretty conductive. I'm sure that when they show my beloved Lancelot launch, the Yggdrasil Drive powering up will be shown. As the Core Luminous begins spinning, you'll hear a wet sound because the tank is filled with antifreeze."
Rivalz nods. "I see. I now get what the Yggdrasil Drive is for since it powers the knightmare frame, but then what is the point in the energy filler?"
"It's a battery to make the basic instruments and components of a knightmare work that doesn't involve movement and combat, especially the things that get the Core Luminous up and running," Rakshata says.
"It's a battery for the battery that turns the walking tank into a game-changing tool of war," Lloyd finishes. "Although, one could say that the Core Luminous acts more like an engine, but I disagree. It's both."
"A knightmare is basically a much faster, more agile tank, but because they're as heavy as tanks, they need two power sources. The Yggdrasil Drive is what allows them to move so quickly. Some really special prototype knightmares even take multiple energy fillers at once. Actually, one could call knightmares walking fighter jets or flying tanks nowadays since the ability to fly them was invented in 2018. Today's knightmares basically have the toughness of an A-10 Warthog and the combat prowess of multiple tank divisions, at least with a good pilot."
"By the way, did you know that 70% of the world's Sakuradite is found in Japan?"
"No one asked you for your opinion, Earl of Pudding."
The two begin bickering a bit before A.A has to stop them, having paused the episode the moment Rivalz asked his question, knowing what was coming.
As the episode resumes, poor little Tianzi, the loli Chinese Empress, tries but fails to understand their conversation, her eyes swirling.
In order to communicate with the so-called terrorists, Lelouch now needs to use the radio he got from Nagata's truck.
Lelouch: "The west entrance," He says into the radio. "Use the tracks to move to the west entrance." He refers to the train tracks.
Kallen: "Who's this?! How do you know this code?!"
Lelouch: "That doesn't matter. If you wanna win, you're just gonna have to trust me."
Kallen: "To win?"
Unsure of the voice but having no better plan herself, she maneuvers her Glasgow and jumps onto the bridge as she begins heading west, her landspinners grinding on the rails while being followed by Jeremiah close behind.
Kallen: "Okay, what am I supposed to do now?"
Jeremiah: "You pathetic Eleven. If you simply run away, this hunt hasn't much to offer in the way of sport."
As Chiba is about to bust a vain about Jeremiah's past racism, Schneizel, who quickly catches on to Lelouch's plan, is surprised by on-screen Jeremiah's ignorance of the situation. "Lord Gottwald, you mean to tell me you didn't know what those trains carry?"
Jeremiah shakes his head. "No, Prince Schneizel. I didn't."
"Huh. It sounds like there were some serious communication issues under my brother Clovis' rule, even before this operation. He really wasn't a good leader at all."
"Indeed."
Lelouch: "Since you trusted me, you're gonna win. Jump onto the train!" He says as Kallen sees an incoming train.
Kallen: "Gotcha!"
She jumps onto the train but doesn't stop as she begins bunny-hopping away while Jeremiah uses his KMF to stop the train.
But he doesn't realize that the Sutherland in the building perpendicular to his left is Lelouch.
Jeremiah: "You think you can get through that way, hmm? If that's your plan, then... You! Go after the Glasgow." He barks at the Sutherland next to him.
Sutherland 2: "Yes, My Lord!"
However, as the other Sutherland leaps into the air, he is immediately intercepted by two of Lelouch's slash harkens, as the Prince hits his KMF in two of its three vital spots other than the cockpit: its head, not allowing the pilot to see anymore from the cockpit as the KMF is decapitated, and its waist where the Yggdrasil Drive is.
The KMF flies off the train tracks and falls, likely killing or severely injuring the pilot.
"Oh my god..." Gino is in awe at Lelouch's skills. "He shot those slash harkens from nearly a hundred feet away! Not only that, but to hit those two spots specifically while the knightmare is moving like that takes not only the knowledge of the knightmare's anatomy, but the anticipation of shooting before that pilot jumped."
Kallen nods. "Lelouch's skills as a pilot were severely underrated. He may not have been a brute force type of person like Suzaku and me, but he was really the smartest person I've ever known."
"Or just a mad genius," Cornelia huffs.
Jeremiah: "What the...? Shot by friendly fire? What's your name and your unit?! We're after the one armed Glasg-"
Before he can respond, Lelouch raises his machine gun and fires at him.
Jeremiah: "Oh my god! A terrorist?!"
He tries reversing away to protect his cockpit, but he can't go any further when one of his landspinners is destroyed, making his Sutherland drop onto his only remaining knee.
Enraged, Jeremiah raises his weapon to shoot back.
Jeremiah: "You son of a-!"
Before he can, Kallen comes charging towards him to force him out of action with a war-cry, so seeing the impending danger and that he's been cornered into a well-planned trap, Jeremiah pulls two levers on either side of his seat and ejects to safety.
Well, as safe as being without a knightmare in a battlefield full of terrorists is.
Looking back at it, to fall for that trap was an easy victory for Lelouch, but Jeremiah still can't help but feel proud of his liege, even if he himself is the one that lost to his master.
The Glasgow pilot can't help but feel good about that one.
Kallen: "You saved me. But how did you get ahold of a Sutherland?" Her question is directed towards Lelouch, so she turns towards where he last was.
However, Lelouch is already gone.
Kallen: "What? Where did he go?"
Ohgi: "Kallen! What the hell was that radio message earlier?"
Kallen: "What?! He contacted you, too?!"
Ohgi: "Sure did. And Yoshida's group ought to be here soon."
The radio in Ohgi's hands crackle to life.
Lelouch: "Are you in charge?"
Ogi: "Uh, yeah."
Lelouch: "I present to you the cargo in that train over there. They're tools for your victory. If you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."
One by one, the train compartments are opened by the resistance members, and Kallen gasps in awe.
In them are dozens of Sutherlands, a pretty damn good upgrade over their Glasgows.
L.L smirks. 'Just like that, I gave them a massive morale boost simply by providing them superior equipment. Sun Tzu once said if you know your enemy, and you know yourself, victory will be easy. That saying also applies to ones own comrades. It's important to know what they need to fight better.'
"How did he know the trains would carry Sutherlands?" Tamaki says.
Cornelia explains, "Clovis was easy to see through. Lelouch knew Clovis was the kind of person that would place knightmares on trains instead of somewhere more inconspicuous because Clovis thought he could trick a terrorist commander by choosing the hiding in plain sight method, but that won't work on someone as formidable as Lelouch."
"Or even half as smart as me," Tohdoh says. "And there are a lot more commanders that can outwit me than I thought."
Lelouch: "Woman in the Glasgow!"
Kallen: "Y-Yes!"
Lelouch: "Stay where you are. Your unit's gonna run decoy. You got that?"
Kallen: "Understood."
Lelouch: "Energy filler status?"
Kallen: "About 15 minutes worth."
The camera pans to the downtown high-rises of Shinjuku, showing that Lelouch is currently in one of the more structurally-intact buildings.
Lelouch: "Then recharge it! In 10 minutes, I'll contact you with your next instructions."
He sits back and exhales stressfully.
Lelouch: 'This is wearing me out. Regardless, I'll need determination to succeed. After all, I'm betting my life in this game.'
He tosses up and catches a black king chess piece.
"This was all just a game to him!" Cornelia glares at the screen. "Do the lives of your siblings mean nothing to you?! Even if we were only your half-siblings, we still shared the same father! Spent so many memories together! Bonded!"
"Sister..." Nunnally calls out. "I know Lelouch cared, but as you saw with all the Black Knights, he must've had his reasons-"
"WHAT REASONS COULD HE POSSIBLY HAVE FOR KILLING EUPHIE?! SHE WAS MY ONLY SISTER BY FULL BLOOD!" Cornelia snaps at Nunnally, because in her eyes, Nunnally is defending Euphie's murderer.
Suzaku steps forward, and using the voice modulator in his Zero mask that makes him sound like Lelouch's Zero, spreads his arms defensively in front of Nunnally. "I don't care that you're a Princess of the Empire. I will not allow you to raise your voice against her majesty."
Cornelia glares at the masked vigilante, but she brings herself to calm down. It wouldn't do to fight against him, of all people. She saw the way he moved when he assassinated Lelouch, dodging bullets like it was nothing. There's no way she could best him in a fight.
However, her own knight, Guilford, stands up and postures in the same defensive way in front of her, glaring at Zero.
Zero continues, "Her Highness is not defending the murder of your sister. She simply wishes to peacefully know the reason all this happened. Maybe it was a game to Lelouch, maybe it wasn't. Who's to say for sure. He was definitely an evil person, but he was never pure evil, or at least he wasn't born that way. He was molded."
The audience falls silent, and slowly, Guilford sits back down, so Zero returns to his standing position behind Nunnally as they resume watching, despite the tension and anger in the air.
Bartley is shown delivering a sit-rep to Clovis, who boredly tells him that what the public think is all that matters, so the General replies they'll keep searching for C.C.
Back with the resistance, Tamaki and Inoue are standing outside while he converses with Ohgi, who is sitting in from of them in his KMF.
Tamaki: "Hey, are you certain about this whole thing? They've all had their IFFs removed. What if this is a trap?"
Ohgi, wishing to break the tension between him and Tamaki, who is still mad at him, says, "You actually said something smart, even though you were wrong. However, it's good to be cautious."
"That Brit bitch by your side has turned you into a real narcissist," Tamaki grumbles.
Ohgi: "The other side has total advantage in this war. They don't need to set any traps."
"Well, we never needed to until Lelouch took command of you guys. Prime Minister Ohgi, even back then, Lelouch gave you a small glimpse of just how smart he really is, but you still thought yourself inferior under his command," Schneizel observes.
"W-Well, I suppose I did for a while. That is, until our next big move after this, which was when we resc-"
"Shh!" Zero holds a finger up and gestures for him to be quiet, not wanting for him to mention how the Black Knights were the ones that rescued Suzaku Kururugi from a public execution.
Ohgi: "All right people, let's move. Get to your assigned points."
Lelouch: "P1, can you move? It operates basically the same as what you're used to."
Frustrated, Ohgi picks the radio up, wanting to know more about their mysterious new commander.
Ohgi: "Can't you tell us who you are?! At least your name?"
Lelouch: "I can't do that. What if these signals are being intercepted? Anyway, if Q1 is on schedule, enemy Sutherlands, probably two of them, will reach you in 23 seconds. Shoot them through the wall."
Tamaki: "Aaarrrgh, he's out of his mind!"
Ohgi: "Everyone, double check your weapons."
Tamaki: "What?! Are you serious?!"
Kallen chuckles. "You really doubted Zero a lot in the beginning, now that I think about it."
Tamaki sighs at his past self's stubbornness.
Lelouch orders Kallen to drive her Glasgow in a certain direction as her IFF transponder clearly indicates her position to the enemy, using her as bait.
And much to his amusement, Clovis and Bartley fall for it when Kallen drives through a street next to some of the resistance members, who immediately use their new Sutherland's machine guns and open fire on a pair of surprised Britannian KMF's through the walls of a wrecked building, killing them.
Clovis: "Hmm? An ambush?"
"Nah, they just disappeared off the map for no reason- Yes, an ambush!" Cornelia rages at her brother's incompetence.
Meanwhile, the enemy terrorist commander, a mere 17-year-old boy, chuckles.
Lelouch: 'An ID signal can be a double edged sword. Besides, if the terrorists follow the orders I issue, my task at hand is sure to be completed.'
Lelouch: "P1, P4, P7, move a hundred meter to the right and fire your slash harkens toward 3 o'clock."
Ohgi: "You heard him! Do what the voice says!"
"Yeah! Do what he says! Then stab him in the back later!" Kallen chastises Ohgi, who sighs.
C.C lets out a sadistic giggle. "Not quite cut out to handle those who you outrank in both politics and military, are you, Prime Minister?"
"Well, what have you done?!" Ohgi is beginning to feel defensive.
"Huh? What have I done? According to the contract I made with the Demon Emperor, I'm half the reason why you got your Japan back and why the world is now at peace. The other half is Lelouch."
"He used us like tools!"
"Then you don't know him. He cared about all of you."
Tamaki: "Damn, what else does he want us to do?"
Lelouch: "P5, ready?"
Tamaki: "Yeah- Quit calling me that!"
The resistance ambushes another Britannian soldier, one who tried to inform his command that the Japanese are using the same KMF's as them, but he gets forced to eject part-way through.
Clovis: "This means... terrorists have our military weaponry?"
His tone indicates a slight sense of rising alarm, hoping to bring the situation under control in his favor soon.
Unfortunately for Clovis, his forces are about to be completely and utterly annihilated.
Bartley bickers with his officers that the terrorists have intercepted their transmissions and that they need to change their encryption codes a fourth time.
Clovis: "This failure is unacceptable!"
Bartley: "Forgive me!"
Xingke sighs. "This situation reminds me a lot of some of my fellow officers back when I was with the Chinese military. The soldiers can only be as good as the officers utilizing them, and if the officers aren't smart enough, then a situation like this can devolve into a chaotic mess."
Schneizel chuckles. "Agreed. Lelouch made sure to surround himself with the best of the best."
Lloyd's face pops onto the TV screen Bartley and his men were using to oversee the mission.
Lloyd: "Good afternoon!"
Bartley: "WHAT... IS IT?! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN OPERATION!"
Lloyd: "I'd say it's time to deploy the ASEEC's special weapon."
Clovis: "We've no time for this right now!"
Lloyd giggles. "If only His Highness would've listened to me much sooner, then maybe he would still be alive. Suzaku, using the Lancelot, would have saved him. Oh well. Nothing can be done about it now."
Cornelia frowns.
The audience watches in fascination as Lelouch is placing chess pieces in front of him without a board while commanding his troops, resulting in several quick and decisive blows that overwhelm the opposing commanders.
A tank, a helicopter, another tank, and a group of fleeing Sutherlands, all Britannian forces, annihilated.
As much as she hates to admit it, Cornelia can't help but be impressed by Lelouch's tactics. He's hitting them hard and fast, and he's doing it in such little time that Bartley and Clovis are left unsure and doubtful as to how to proceed, resulting in even more devastating victories in Lelouch's favor.
Clovis: "We'll have to bring up Quincey's squad."
Bartley: "My Lord, that will break the encirclement!"
Lelouch: "Now then, the enemy has five options. Their move."
Clovis: "Reinforce the breach with some of the units guarding me! All we know for certain is that enemy forces are here."
Cornelia facepalms. "It has already been several minutes since the resistance began fighting back under Lelouch's command with their new KMF's, and he still doesn't realize that the resistance has no IFF's?! Clovis, how are you this stupid?! I would've withdrawn all my forces and place them at my HQ, if I were him, and then bomb or shell the hell out of the ghetto! That would either force the resistance to come out in the open, retreat the other way, or surrender."
"I see what the issue is," Tohdoh states. "Britannia is an empire that has leaders that know they have nearly infinite resources, but because of this, most of those people grow complacent and arrogant, and they teach others of that arrogance.
Quite simply, this isn't even much of a battle so much as it is a one side mindlessly throwing their troops into the fray to be slaughtered because their enemy knows what they're doing."
"Similar to the old USSR, who had extremely few competent tacticians in the Second World War," Leila says.
"In this war, one side relies on strength in numbers, the other relies on guerilla warfare," Xingke adds. "The old Americans under Washington did that, but they lost their 1776 revolutionary war to Britannia only because France had chosen not to support them since Benjamin Franklin failed to convince them to join the war. Instead, he defected to Britannia."
Akito says, "The problem with people, the reason Britannia kept winning victory after victory, is because there was always someone who was willing to negotiate against them. What I've learned from history is that no one learns from history. Well, except Lelouch, probably. I don't see him willing to negotiate."
Tianzi and Kaguya nod along, seriously intent on learning military tactics from those around them and the people they see on the screen, especially Lelouch. Well, Tianzi is a pacifist, but she does intend to have the right people as allies.
C.C. finishes the conversation by saying, "In short, Lelouch was a brilliant leader, but Clovis was so bad that this victory doesn't amount to much."
L.L frowns. 'Way to make my victory feel devalued, but whatever. I've won far more challenging battles than this.'
Sensing what he's thinking, she smirks inwardly.
On foot, Jeremiah watches the KMF's that were supposed to surround Shinjuku enter the battlefield.
Jeremiah: "Who ordered them to break formation?"
Lelouch: "Well that's a more stupid move than I expected."
Gino chuckles. "Yeah, I tend to think it might be a bad sign if the enemy were retreating instead because I expect something big headed my way."
"How big?" Anya says. "Knowing you, you can be a bit cocky."
"Bigger than you- I'M KIDDING! DON'T SHOOT!" Gino jokes about her height but immediately regrets it when she pulls out a gun and points it at him.
She puts the gun away. "Hmph."
Cornelia frowns. "I thought all our weapons were taken away?"
"It doesn't seem that way, Your Highness."
Lelouch: "You, Q1, do you have an area map?"
Kallen: "Yes, I have a map of the old town. But it has no current land marks."
Lelouch: "It'll do."
Clovis: "All right, send in Burts and the others too." Clovis seems way too happy, as if certain he will win, but overconfident.
Lelouch: "Mission number 3 now."
Clovis: "Concentrate our forces there. Surround them!"
The live situational map shows the blue arrows representing Britannian forces surrounding and closing in on a red unknown IFF in the center.
Lelouch: "Is everything prepared?"
Clovis: "The enemy's main force is that center dot. Finish every one of them off."
Lelouch lets out a triumphant chuckle.
What Clovis doesn't realize is that dot he ordered his forces to head towards isn't where he expects them to be.
Right as his two-pronged attack closes in on the dot, it disappears as Britannian KMF's on one side end up facing their own forces on the other.
It's a miracle that there wasn't any friendly fire.
Clovis: "What?! Where's the enemy?"
The resistance KMF's are revealed to be traveling underground right beneath the feet of the Britannian forces.
Lelouch: "With this, I call check."
Kallen's Glasgow turns around, fires her slash harken at the ceiling, and runs away as the street collapses with all the Britannian KMF's in the area.
A massive area.
All the forces Clovis deployed are put out of commission, whether it's that they were disabled or killed, somewhere around 46 Britannian KMF's.
Lelouch: "HAHAHAHAHA! My plan worked, didn't it. I can do it! I can! I can defeat Britannia!"
L.L mentally facepalms at his past self. 'I got-'
"He's getting ahead of himself," Schneizel frowns.
The Viceroy steps back from the map, shocked, fear overtaking his body.
Clovis: 'Who? ... Who in the hell am I up against?! What if... he's even better than Tohdoh?!'
"No. Lelouch was far better than me."
"But sir, his Geass was a cheat!" Chiba protests.
She's ignored. "I'm called Tohdoh of Miracles because I managed, on only one occasion, to funnel in Britannian forces and destroy them on the island of Itsukushima which, for those of you who don't know, is located in the Hiroshima Bay."
"But you defended that territory and not only did you give Japan its sole victory of the war, you did it without using any knightmares! That has to count more for all that Lelouch has done."
"Yes, it is true that it is easier to defend the territory that we're familiar with than it is to go on the offensive, which, at the time, made it much easier to do without knightmares than to go on the offensive WITH knightmares. That may be true. However, I only ever took out a few brigades, and while Lelouch is facing smaller forces than I did here, he ended up taking out entire armies in much larger, far more difficult battles and throughout the course of the war. I am no match for him."
Clovis: "Lloyd!"
Lloyd: "Yeeeees, Your Highness."
Clovis: "Can it win? Will your toy beat them?"
Lloyd: "My Lord, please be so kind as to call it Lancelot."
The audience watches in awe as Suzaku enters the Lancelot as it is equipped with an energy filler and powered up before he takes off as soon as he gets the green light.
"Showoff..." Kallen mutters.
Tamaki: "Huh? What is that? It doesn't look like a Sutherla-"
He watches the Lancelot suddenly close in on him rapidly. Before he can finish talking, Tamaki's KMF gets decapitated, safely knocking him out of action without killing him.
"Fuck! He always takes me out first!" Tamaki glares at the Lancelot.
Lelouch: "Hahaha... Another push and the checkpoint will fall."
Resistance: "This is B group, reporting enemy presence."
Lelouch: "Hm? Reinforcements? Real battle is different, isn't it? Status?"
Resistance: "Everyone ejected, but they took out four units in nothing flat."
Lelouch: "Enemy numbers?"
Resistance: "Just one. I think it's a new model. I've never seen anything like it- Ah!"
Lelouch: "What's happening out there?!" He demands to know.
Meanwhile, Suzaku stands, or rather the Lancelot stands menacingly after taking out another resistance member, almost looking like he's trying to pose arrogantly instead of taking his job seriously and just continue hunting for the next one.
Resistance: "Bastard!" Two resistance members scream as they shoot at him, only for the bullets to glance off.
Lelouch: "What? It reflects bullets?"
Resistance: "Arrh, what do we do? Ishida! Ah!"
Lelouch: "Useless so called terrorists. With all the resources they have, they're being beaten by one unit."
"See?! All he can think about is how useful we are to him!" Chiba scowls.
Lloyd pushes his glasses up his nose. "In all faaaairness, the Lancelot is unstoppable."
"And yet, my prototype knightmares have beaten it many times," Rakshata fires some shots.
The Lancelot has its slash harkens on top of both wrists, a massive advantage over other KMF's. It fires them and thrashes a Sutherland around before jumping high in the air and dropping down with a front flip kick to the other's head.
Suzaku: "Yes, I can do this. With Lancelot, I can stop all this at once."
"Look at me!" Tamaki mocks Suzaku. "I'm Suzaku Kururugi! I'm the biggest fucking idiot in the world! Time to stop violence with, who would've guessed it, moooooore violence! Fucking asshat."
Suzaku sighs. 'I really was an idiot.'
Lelouch: "N4, N5, hold there. When the rear units arrive, surround that thing."
Resistance: "Gotcha."
Despite their best attempts the Lancelot cuts through them like scissors. They throw bullets, smoke bombs, and slash harkens, but the Lancelot appears to only be moving faster and faster, a one-man army.
Resistance: "We can't stop it!"
Ohgi is seen firing damn near a hundred bullets at the Lancelot, but it zigs and zags, dodging like crazy while closing the large distance between them at an insane pace, and when he finally did, Ohgi knew it was over, screaming in terror as the Lancelot throwing a hard punch that takes him out of action.
Suzaku: 'If I can stop all the Knightmares, then this battle is over. No matter what it takes, I've gotta save Lelouch and that girl.'
"He didn't think to, I don't know, maybe ask around? Cecile seems like she would've helped him find out what happened to them," C.C is annoyed at seeing on-screen Suzaku cause so much stress for Lelouch.
Cecile sighs. "Even if I did ask around, I doubt I would've come up with anything. Lelouch received his Geass and had joined the terrorists, and even if I somehow got Prince Clovis to send a party to retrieve Lelouch where Suzaku last saw him, that would've ended with your capture... unless you made it out of there by then, seeing as you're here now."
The Lancelot is equipped with thermal cameras, and on one of the high-rises with several destroyed windows, he spots the heat signature of Lelouch's Sutherland, so he immediately uses his slash harken to grapple hook his way over there.
As soon as he reaches the same floor as Lelouch, he rushes towards his Sutherland and attacks him with a kick, which Lelouch barely blocks using his arms.
Lelouch: "You mean this thing's what's ruining my plan?"
Steadily, Suzaku begins pushing Lelouch back.
Suzaku: "Are you the guy that's in command?"
However, Lelouch digs his landspinners into the floor to stand his ground, causing both their tires to screech as they're unable to move.
Lelouch: "Nothing more than a pilot! How dare he!"
Due to the intense stress of their weight combined with the destruction caused by the war, the floor beneath them gives, and they fall through a few stories.
Lelouch: "No choice, I've gotta get out of here."
Unfortunately, before they can leave, the smoke from the fall dissipates and the Lancelot is hovering in the sky over the floor he landed. As soon as he's visible to Suzaku, the Honorary Britannian launches his signature 720 degree spin kick at Lelouch's Sutherland, knocking him to the floor.
Lelouch grits his teeth in frustration.
The Lancelot stands before his laying form, unmoving, as if thinking he won, but suddenly, help arrives for Lelouch in the form of an attack at the Lancelot.
It was Kallen.
She throws a punch with her one-armed Glasgow. However, the Lancelot casually turns and catches her fist with one hand.
Kallen: "Hey! I'm returning the favor!" She yells at Lelouch.
"Holy... This is so badass! Go Kallen!" Tamaki cheers.
Gino joins him. "Atta girl, Kallen!"
Suzaku feels betrayed by Gino, but he smiles.
Kallen fires a slash harken, but the Lancelot catches it in its other hand easily, shocking her when the slash harken is squeezed and destroyed by the enemy's bare hands.
Kallen: "I can't-"
Sinking to a knee as one of the legs of her KMF gives under the intense stress she put the machine through, she knows she has lost, so she ejects, but she brought enough time for Lelouch to get away from the building and back on the street as he flees.
Lelouch: 'I must remember that. The most vital element in battle is the human one.'
"And yet, some people here claim he didn't care. Disgusting!" Kallen shouts.
His thoughts are interrupted by a beeping. His sensors have picked up the Lancelot, and it is already right behind him and rapidly catching up, so he whips around and fires his machine gun while driving away.
The Lancelot suddenly jumps to the left side of the road and then all the way to the right and up, wall running as he dodges every bullet Lelouch throws his way.
Debris from buildings is torn off in massive chunks.
Lelouch: "That damn monster's unstoppable!"
Suzaku: "Bastard. He's tearing things up for no reason."
However, a scream alerts Suzaku of a civilian in trouble. He sees a woman falling from the sky with her baby in her arms, so he stops chasing Lelouch and jumps up to save her, catching the two before setting them down gently as the terrified woman runs away.
Lelouch and everyone watching at the Britannian base find that action quite strange for a soldier, to save someone in the midst of combat.
This time, Lelouch has to accept defeat as he ejects.
Suzaku smiles sadly. 'At least I did one right thing while serving Britannia.'
While Cecile worries if Suzaku can keep going, a figure unknown to the audience has already made it to the Britannian HQ, dressed with a soldier's armor, passing right past Lloyd.
Soldier: "Stop there! Your ID. This is Prince Clovis's personal transport!"
?: "At last, the checkpoint. And barely guarded, per my plan."
The figure takes off his helmet.
The voice of the unseen soldier is clearly Lelouch's.
"Uh oh. This is where he'll use his Geass, I'm guessing?" Akito says.
Cornelia cringes. "Lelouch seriously took off his helmet. Did he even consider that he could've been seen, by both people and cameras?"
Soldier: "Your plan?"
Lelouch: "That's right. Now I'd like you to let me pass." He activates his Geass.
Soldier: "Yes, sir. Understood."
The audience gets chills.
Nunnally bites her lip. 'I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing big brother use his Geass.'
Some members of the resistance are seen in a warehouse full of people, but it's mostly civilians seeking refuge there.
Tamaki is waving his rifle around.
Japanese Man: "It's your fault. This is what happens when you oppose the Britannians."
Tamaki: "What!? Why, you gutless coward!"
A Japanese woman cries, "How many people were killed because of this!?"
Tamaki: "Shut up! Do you know how many of us were killed or captured?! Do ya?! Quit crying! ... Did ya hear me?! I SAID STOP CRYING! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! SHUT UP!"
The audience is mostly paying attention to a conversation between Kallen and Ohgi, but Kallen frowns at Tamaki's harassment of one of their own.
"Not cool, Tamaki. Someone's gotta teach you to be better with civilians. I remember you doing similar things with the Ashford students during the First Battle of Tokyo."
"Yeah, yeah! I got it."
Kallen: "Ohgi, who was that voice we heard?"
Ohgi: "Damned if I know. He doesn't answer when I call so maybe he brought i-"
Kallen is the first to sense an ambush. No longer in a KMF, she feels instantly vulnerable and afraid for herself and her people as the gates to the warehouse explode.
Pouring in is a large squad of Britannian soldiers and a tank, all pointing their guns at them.
Tamaki: "There, you see! Instead of following somebody we don't even know, we should've used the poison gas."
Ohgi: "But he-"
Tamaki: "Damn Nagata to hell!"
Tank Commander: "So this is where you Eleven vermin scurried off to. Prepared to fire!"
Kallen: "Naoto!" She calls the name of her dead older brother, hoping he would save her somehow.
Soldier: "Commence-"
Suddenly, before the soldiers can fire, the Viceroy's voice orders a cease fire over a mic, saying how casualties on both sides are to be treated as equal.
"Thank god for Lelouch!" Kaguya holds a hand to her flat chest, grateful he prevented any further death.
The lights in Clovis' HQ turn off as he finishes his speech.
Clovis: "Are you satisfied?"
Lelouch: "Very. Well done." He begins slowly walking forward.
Clovis: "And what shall we do now? Sing a few lively ballads? Or perhaps a nice game of chess?" He says sarcastically.
Lelouch: "That has a familiar ring."
Clovis: "Hmm?"
The person Clovis doesn't recognize takes off his helmet and lets it drop to floor, his gun still pointed at him, but he still doesn't recognize him because he can't see him in the dark too well.
Lelouch: "Don't you recall? The two of us used to play chess together as boys. Of course, I would always win."
Clovis: "What?"
Lelouch: "Remember? At the Aries Villa?"
Clovis: "You... Who are you?"
Lelouch: It's been a long time, big brother."
As Lelouch steps into the light, recognition hits Clovis full force as well as shock.
Lelouch: "The eldest son of the late consort Marianne and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service."
Clovis: "Lelouch?! B-But I thought-"
Lelouch: "That I was dead? You were wrong. I have returned, Your Highness. And I've come back to change everything."
Next Episode Preview
The audience can hear Lelouch's voice, but as with all next episode previews, they cannot see any of the scenes playing out.
Lelouch: "How could a single student ever be able to change the world? It isn't realistic; just think about it for a moment and you'll see that. Nevertheless, now that I hold the advantage, there may be a strategic move I need to play."
-End of Episode 2-
"... Wait. I'm so confused," Milly says. "Are you telling me Lelouch killed Clovis? But I thought Zero did."
"Yes. Lelouch killed him," Zero says, not elaborating further.
"This is crazy," Rivalz rubs his eyes. "And we were friends with him? Some of you guys made it sound like Lelouch is Zero, but that sounds a little strange to me. I mean, Lelouch is supposed to be some kind of big, bad villain while Zero is the like a superhero, right?"
Oh, how little he knows.
"Guess you'll have to find out in the next one," A.A. starts the next episode.
To Be Continued