Chapter 5.987 Uproar

"Ne, Cornelia... have you found big brother?"

Cornelia felt a sudden twinge inside her heart. What should she tell her long-lost sister about this? That Lelouch was also here, locked inside one of the detention cells in the palace? That Lelouch was Zero, and also the one that shot Euphie that led to her death? Or should she lie to her? Saying that Lelouch was no longer—

"He must be worried..." Cornelia glanced back towards Nunnally. "He hasn't come back to the clubhouse for a few days, and if he did... if he couldn't see me at home, he would have been so terrified. Back then, it was the same too..."

Cornelia frowned at her sister. "Back then? What did you mean, Nunnally?"

Nunnally just shrugged. "Back then... when we were sent to the Prime Minister Kururugi's place. One day, I tried to go out exploring by myself. Big brother was not around at that time since he went out to buy some food." She paused as Cornelia urged her to continue. Nunnally sighed.

"I... fell into some underground bunker—Suzaku said it was his other secret place—and I couldn't get out. But Suzaku found me... and later on, we managed to escape. Big brother was just too happy afterwards... but even if he didn't say anything, I could tell that he must've been crying a lot when he couldn't find me." Nunnally turned her face towards Cornelia. "Big sister! I can't... make brother worry like that for me anymore—!"

"Of course..." Cornelia just said, before holding her sister tightly. Yet, she couldn't help thinking back to the time when she had just rushed into the cell without thinking earlier. How Lelouch suddenly started screaming at her the moment he heard that she has found Nunnally.

Back then she thought Lelouch was just behaving erratically as he wants—as to how she used to think Zero had been; just rebelling against them just because he could—but then, the more she thought about it she wondered... was that just Lelouch in a panic? Because of the mere thought of Nunnally might be taken away from him...

Suddenly the alarm was sounded throughout the palace as Cornelia had a foreboding feeling.

BOOM!

The building shook, as Cornelia let out a silent curse, hating the fact that her instinct was correct. The sound of alarms could be one thing; either the palace was under attack or...

Lelouch! , she gasped. Of course, what else would it be for?

Cornelia got up as Nunnally glanced at her, worried. "I'm just checking on something, wait here..." she said before rushing off.

She immediately headed towards the lower floors, where the detention cells were located. But then she changed her minds before heading towards the security office. It was then when she found out about the sudden dispatch of military squads that led them away from the palace, as well as the sudden explosion at the palace's imperial courtyard.

And while Cornelia was checking the security footages, she caught sight of Lelouch and a girl trying to escape the compounds. Right away she ran off towards the supposed location.

xxx

By the time she arrived at the place, the area was already in ruins. She found a wrecked Knightmare on a far-side wall before taking off towards the more badly damaged area.

But nothing. Cornelia could find nothing. Her heart had thundered at the thought that she might find her dead brother's body somewhere underneath the rubbles.

Yet the fact that she found nothing put her in a quandary. Should she be glad that there's a higher possibility that Lelouch could've survived with his friend? Yet if he did, would that mean she would have to fight with him again the next moment 'Zero' made his appearance?

Cornelia felt her heart nearly gave way when she saw a small pool of blood on the corner of a pavement that was littered with pieces of shrapnel. A part of her wondered if those blood belonged to her brother—before suddenly her ears caught a sound of movement not far from her.

Her eyes barely got a hint of green flitting into the shadows. Cornelia frowned.

As the sound of the approach of the royal guards came near, Cornelia decided to turn back. She might as well don't mention any of this towards Nunnally.

A/N: At some point, I'm probably gonna regret doing all these odd chapter numberings... nah.