I'm nuclear, I'm wild
Kallen Stadtfeld, Britannian Knight
Over the Pacific Ocean
R2 ep21 parallel, one month after Ragnarok
Kallen turned her bored gaze out of the window, taking in the endless azure ocean sparkling under the dazzling sunlight, sometimes a flock of birds or fish leaping out of the water would flash past her view and become only a memory. Unquestionably many would find such a sight to be exceedingly stunning and sublime, but for Kallen, she had been in the same setting a dozen too many times.
Her own reflection in the window was that of her combed Britannian hairstyle without the tacked-on meek personality. As she studied the headband firmly bound to her wrist, Kallen reminisced about her intense aversion for always playing the part of a politely sick student in school. Back when she was naïve and blind, she imagined her fiery spiky hair was a symbol of her rebellion towards the system, so it was only fitting to discard her old persona now that she was an essential part of the same system she contested.
"—Pilot, ETA to destination?" Kallen dialled the phone by her armrest and called her aerial chauffeur.
"—Roughly two hours and ten minutes, My Lord." With a weary sigh, Kallen dived into the pocket of her civilian clothing and fetched for her phone while thinking about listening to her playlist for the fourth time.
"Kallen, is it really that boring?"
"Not for the first five trips, but if you fly around the world forty times, you'll be sick of it too."
"You've flown that much distance in your life?"
"It was a metaphor, you buffoon, unless…" Kallen retracted her statement and did some rapid-fire math in her head only to grow bored of it not a minute later.
"Still, it's super cool that you can fly a Knightmare. I wish I could go out into battle like that, it's pretty awesome."
"Look, I appreciate your admiration but here's the thing. Warfare isn't a game, okay? I probably have a kill-count up in the… triple digits by now, and I'm not proud of every one of them. I'm dirtying my hands so that people like you can have a better future, don't confuse your respect for soldiers and the weight of their deeds." Kallen harshly reprimanded her passenger, she wouldn't allow someone to speak so lightly about her line of duty.
"-But before this you were with the Black Knights, going around killing Britannians… to suddenly turn face and join us like this…"
"…Einstein, you wanna pick a fight?" It wasn't the facts which Nina stated that got on Kallen's nerves, it was the way she said it so timidly like it wasn't tangibly correct.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Nina tremblingly cowered into her backrest, her frightful reaction to Kallen's provocation made the Knightmare Devicer recoil lightly out of shame.
"C'mon, Kallen. No need to be so aggressive." Rivalz charmed in too, relocating himself to comfort Nina's fear.
"Sorry, look I— listen, it's… a lot of things have changed, okay? I realized— I mean it's not that I'll become a jingoistic patriot now, I just saw some mistakes I've made and want to correct them… sorta." Fumbling over words she couldn't stream into sentences, Kallen grasped how absurd her situation must have appeared to anyone not down with the details.
The former ace cherished by the Order of the Black Knights was now a formal knight in service to the Britannian Empire, and her ranking was only going to climb higher from there.
"I-I don't want to sound spiteful… but how can you just ask others to accept who you are? For however long, you were an enemy to Britannia and killed so many of our people, now you just want us to forget all that's happened and welcome you with open arms? I don't know whose knight you are, I just hope you know it won't be easy integrating yourself into our society."
As the young scientist attested, there was no trace of malice in her words and warnings, so Kallen attentively took to heart Nina's advice of repercussion and pondered her distinctive state of being. Until finally she was ready to provide a side of the story that mended her self-conflict.
"When you say us, who is this 'us'? In fact, what is Britannian? Race? Culture? Place of inhabitation? I can't tell which one of those you identify yourself with. As for me, my Britannian self wants to finish what my Japanese self couldn't. So I don't expect anyone to forgive me for what I've done since what I want to do will change what Britannia is."
"…Just- just what're you planning? Is- all of this… is this whole thing a scheme by Zero?! Did you lie to us when you said that you've defected from the Black Knights and is taking us to safety?!" More antagonistic in her overreacting dread than before, Nina's eyes darted around in a frenzy searching for whatever she believed would protect her. "Oh no- Rivalz, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you tag along…"
"What? What're you even talking about? That's not what I'm after at all! I'm under orders from my liege to bring you to Pendragon because there's something he'll need you to do. Jeez, girl, just like- calm down, alright? I'm your friend…? kinda? I know you don't like me too much, but I'm not gonna harm you, I swear."
"Yeah, Nina. Kallen might not always be who she says she is, but she's always cared about the Student Council members." Rivalz added his word to the new knight's reassurance, crediting him with a few more good friend points in Kallen's head.
"I-I understand… apologies, I sometimes still panic too fast. And I don't dislike you, Kallen, you're doing what you think is best for your people and that's… commendable. So, can you please tell me why you left the Black Knights? Why did you give up everything you fought so hard for?"
To answer Nina's honest question, Kallen forced herself to dive back into her distinctive past which had been beckoning her endlessly since a month ago when the half-breed warrior shed her previous mask. Assenting those echoes of a forsaken life to surface to the forefront of her soul wasn't a preferable way of affirming her new allegiance, however the genius researcher who came such a long way from the bigoted girl deserved at least a partial truth.
"The Black Knights… they betrayed Zero, they killed him. And I couldn't do anything to stop them, I was powerless… and weak, even though I knew Zero never did the things they accused him of I couldn't see through his lies to protect him. It's why I left them and aligned myself with whatever is left of Zero's ideals."
"He was killed by the Black Knights…? Zero was…?"
"No wait, not literally, don't believe the Black Knights' lies. They killed his mask, but not the man." Kallen hurriedly rectified, not wishing for Nina to receive a wrong impression.
"So you know who he is under the mask. Will you tell me?"
"I cannot. I've said too much as is." To her surprise, Nina didn't push for Kallen to reveal more information about the person who slain her idol.
"Then why did you join the Britannia military and become a knight? It's such a drastic change."
"Sometimes you just have to pick a path, and I'd like to think I chose wisely. You'll meet the new lord I serve soon, and he's… he sure is a character, I'll tell you."
"But he's Britannian, right? And you're willingly working under him?"
"I am."
"…I just- I can't understand it. how do you work with people who used to be your hated enemies? I just can't see myself doing something like that." The nth question Nina posted to Kallen on that flight was another difficult one for her psyche, but it at least came with a transparent response.
"I found something more important to me than mulling over past anger. And I'll admit I was wrong when I thought all Britannians are the same, that was immature of me. People are people, good and evil are sometimes purely subjective."
"But what about someone that… you know you hate and cannot forgive?" With a little bit of perceptive analysis, Kallen could guess who the prodigy girl was referring to.
"Then you don't have to forgive them. But maybe you shouldn't let yourself be ensnared by that hatred forever."
"…I think you're right. Everything… it's just very tiring to me. After all that I've done, I don't have the right to bear grudges against anyone anymore." Not knowing a proper consolation to offer, Kallen sat soundlessly as she studied the way Rivalz patted their friend on the shoulder and comforted the damaged youth.
"What about you, Rivalz? You have something you wanna say?" Diverting the topic, Kallen sought to do all her explanation at once.
"Not really, I'm happy that you're fighting on our side now, I guess. But honestly, the complicated stuff just went straight over my head, really ain't made for this." Rivalz's short comment dug a peal of hard-earned laughter out of Kallen, a noise she hadn't heard in quite a while.
"You're just… such a guy, Rivalz. Lelouch would be so glad to have you with him."
"What is this about Lelouch?"
"Oops… well, it should be about time anyway, I'll show you." Kallen said, not long before she turned on the television built into the cabin of her private jet.
"—One month has passed since the destruction caused by the F.L.E.I.J.A warhead. Today, there will be an important announcement from His Majesty Emperor Charles, we will be bringing you a live international broadcast from Pendragon Imperial Palace." On the screen, the reporter who they all recognized as Milly was reading the cover page news to the camera.
Kallen noted dispassionately in the conversation discussing their ex-president's new career, knowing the real bombshell was yet to come.
"—Presenting, His Imperial Majesty!" There, that was the start of a good show.
"I bet you two are gonna love this…" Kallen whispered with a smirk attached. If anything, she was the one most exhilarated for the grand reveal.
As the crowd at the palace and countless people in front of their televisions watched simultaneously, what they saw wasn't the familiar shape of the old Emperor disinterested in the world, but a young man dressed in the Ashford Academy uniform with a mysterious smile plastered over his mouth.
"No… no way! That can't be!"
"…I don't believe it… How…?" Listening to her friends, Kallen was certain their bewilderment was shared by millions around the globe.
Once the student took a seat on the throne rightfully belonging to him, he spoke with alluring elegance and assertiveness in every syllable.
"—I am the ninety-ninth Britannian Emperor, Lelouch vi Britannia." The chatter from the masses only rose in volume.
Afterwards, there were shouts and questions all directed at Lelouch from every angle. The new king replied to some of them, but his attention seemed to have shifted once the man Kallen identified as Odysseus, the Crown Prince stepped away from the masses. The first son of the last sovereign walked closer to the podium to distinguish himself from the rest, his purpose being to post a crucial inquiry of what happened to the previous Emperor.
"—The ninety-eighth Emperor, Charles zi Britannia was killed by me." Another unthinkable divulgence was so casually spoken. "—Which makes me the next emperor!"
The thundering commotion escalated to heights never before seen in the Imperial Palace, many on-site couldn't believe their very own eyes and ears. Eventually, a fanatical yell for security was quickly followed by four Imperial Guards rushing Lelouch's position. However, the task they sought to achieve would never be carried out.
"Holy crap, that's…!"
"Is this really… happening?"
"Suzaku… did you seriously spin kick twenty metres down for your debut?" Astounded by the excitement of seeing a plan come to fruition, even Kallen couldn't help herself from voicing a little bit of glee to the Suzaku across her screen, not that she would ever say such words of praise to him in person. "Nice one."
"—Allow me to introduce, one of my finest knights, Kururugi Suzaku. He is the Round that overcame all Rounds, thus I grant him the title, Knight of Zero."
That was the news which Kallen found to be most unsettling. Regardless of their past feud and opposition, she believed herself to be most deserving the title of Knight of Zero. Even though Lelouch had painstakingly reminded Kallen why she couldn't stand in the public spotlight, understanding that her lack of recognition was on such a muddy basis only slightly mended the hit to her pride.
"—This simply won't do, Lelouch, Sir Kururugi. How could you pull such a bad joke on an international broadcast?"
Knowing the inevitable, Kallen was actually paying her full attention to every word muttered by the persons at Pendragon. It was the most disagreeable part of his succession even if also the most necessary. From where she was, hundreds of kilometres out at sea, she could only pray for Lelouch to at least heed a bit of her suggestion.
"—Well then, why don't I make this easier for you all to understand? My brothers and sisters, my many relatives and families all furtively fraying for vast power. It is I who have earned the right to rule through means you'll never bother to understand, therefore, I shall only ask you all to acknowledge my claim to the throne!" It wasn't the kindest method, but Kallen judged his demand as being generous enough.
"—Yes, Your Majesty!" The crowd praised Lelouch's name, their minds altered to the absolute power of Geass. "—All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch!"
The chanting continued and grew in intensity just like Kallen's eagerness for a reunion as she entered the airspace of Britannia's capital, Pendragon.
Three days earlier
Japan
"—It's me, Q-1. The line is untapped."
"—Report."
"—I've secured the VIP plus one. We're on our way to meet with the OSI contact, should be out of the country in two days."
"—Who's the plus one?"
"—I decided to pick up Rivalz too, I thought he'd want to see you, and it'll be lonely by himself at Ashford."
"—…Q-1, you're compromising the mission. Your order is to extract Nina Einstein and escort her safely back to the homeland, don't going around adding unnecessary objectives to your task."
"—I'm sorry… I just thought it would be nice for you to see a friend. At this rate, Japan will only become more and more unsafe for Britannians."
"—It's alright, did you meet with anyone else? Did anyone recognize you?"
"—I talked a little with Milly, but she promised to keep everything a secret!"
"—I see, very well then. I know this kind of job isn't your favourite. If there's anyone else more suited for the work, I wouldn't have asked."
"—Thank you. As long as I can be with you, I'll do anything."
"—Q-1… I'm glad to have you by my side."
"—Likewise, Your Highness."
"—…Moving on, any other updates?"
"—Oh, well my dad called a few days ago. He said he wanted to visit me in Japan but I told him I don't live here anymore, so I'm thinking once I've settled down in Pendragon, I can invite him over instead…?"
"—I meant in regards to the mission."
"—Ooh… errr, then no. Everything is proceeding smoothly, other than what I just reported."
"—Wonderful, I'll see you in a few days then, maybe you'll be here in time for my accession."
"—I'm looking forward to it."
"—Q-1, your father is a Noble, right?"
"—Wha-? Oh- yeah, he's a… an Earl of somewhere on the East Coast, or something."
"—Are you not worried about your father for what I'll do to the aristocrats after I come in power?"
"—I… I think you'll do the right thing, Your Highness."
"—Am I known to do that?"
"—…Then can I just ask one thing of you, Your Highness?"
"—I'll hear it."
"—I just want you to be more… considerate of the people, you know? I don't think just because someone is of nobility means they're guaranteed to be bad guys, and the opposite is also true. I just think that… you know, if I never grew out of my prejudice for Britannians, I wouldn't be here. And a lot of these people are born into their way of thinking, so it's like… if you suddenly punish people for what they've been conditioned to do their whole life, you won't make a very popular emperor."
"—…That was awfully preachy of you, Q-1."
"—Y-yeah, I guess so. S-sorry, it was probably childish of me to tell you all that stuff. Just forg—"
"— -No, I'll take your suggestion into consideration. Inequality is not an inherent evil, it is men's right to scuffle and compete for progress, only those who fall victim to their sinful selves deserve punishment."
"—Right… what I said."
"—I'm grateful for your insight, Q-1. These are topics my knight or my witch would never bring up."
"—Well, happy to help! That's it from me, really."
"—I'll see you soon, Q-1. Goodbye."
"—Yes, Your Highness. Goodbye."
Nina Einstein, scientist
Imperial Capital Pendragon
One day after Lelouch's accession
Elaborate ornaments and priceless artifacts decorated every inch of the Imperial Palace, surrounding her were engravings of art and paintings of history the Britannia Empire held in its prideful possession over the millenniums since its foundation. Even a guest room like the one she resided in was not spared from the consistent reminder of her nation's great might.
But Nina cared very little for such antiquities nor for the beauty of the artwork, she was fretting over subjects of much eminent proportion than that.
Five days ago, she and Rivalz were discovered at their school and captured, or at least coerced into returning to Pendragon by their former classmate and vigilante soldier turned official Britannia knight, Kallen Stadtfeld. Only to witness the usurpation of the throne by their other classmate, Lelouch Lamperouge, real last name vi Britannia, instead. And that was just two days shy of a month since that day the WMD she developed wiped out the Tokyo settlement killing over thirty-five million people.
Nina was modestly positive in believing that it had been the craziest month of her life, so far.
"-Lady Einstein, Emperor Lelouch will see you now. Are you ready?"
"Ye-yes! I'll be right out." With one last check in the mirrors, Nina felt slightly unnerved by her own extravagant clothing and dazzling jewellery but complained nothing else.
"Nina, I'm glad to see you in good health." She knew she should've expected to be greeted by him, yet the shock still lingered on a dozen seconds longer.
"…Suzaku."
The Knight of Zero standing in front of her appeared no different from how he was a month ago, although the ridiculously long outfit paired with an equally oversized cloak dyed in black, blue and red with gold trims did take her attention off his familiarity.
"Follow me, I'll take you to Lelouch."
"…Okay."
On the way, neither of them engaged in ordinary chatter. Whether it was from Nina's bashfulness or Suzaku's detachment, or purely because there was not much to discuss.
"We're here." Suzaku gestured for her to pass through a set of double doors, presumably leading into Lelouch's office.
"Suzaku… why are you here?" She didn't want to see him leave without at least one question.
"I'm told to bring you to the Emperor."
"You know what I mean!" Her desperation was enough to motivate Suzaku to meet her stare, for a bit his piercing gaze struck through her indigo irises and induced Nina to think it wasn't such a good idea.
"We made a promise, Lelouch and I, to create a new world. Not just a world for us, but a world that Nunnally and Euphie would've wanted as well." And the Japanese man left, without giving Nina the time to review his aspiration.
Nothing else was stopping her from facing the Emperor other than her own grit, Nina ultimately concluded that standing by her lonesome wouldn't give her the certitude she needed.
"Enter." The reply to her knock was heard, and Nina stepped forward.
"Y-Your Majesty…" Nina took a short bow to Lelouch who was sitting behind his desk, but the former prince only waved off her polite gesture.
"Nina, how's Milly?" The pitch of his concern wasn't that of the emperor, but of Lelouch Lamperouge.
"She's… she's pretty good. She's working as a reporter for KT-TV, right now they're based out of Ashford Academy."
"I'm happy to hear, did you and Rivalz say goodbye to her before you left?"
"Yeah, Miss Ko- Miss Stadtfeld gave us some time before we left school." Understanding her update, Lelouch went quiet for a short period.
"Do you remember Kallen? Back during the days when she was on the Student Council, I mean."
"Yes… if only we can go back to those days, back before everything that happened." Lelouch curiously listened, only to nod once after her story was over. He soon rose from his spot behind the office desk and offered her to sit on the sofa, himself taking a seat opposite to her.
"I'm sure you're filled with burning curiosity about me, I've been rather peculiar, after all. If you want to ask anything, go ahead."
"I actually have just one thing on my mind."
"And?"
"Lelouch… you're Zero, aren't you?" Shortly after his initial reaction of stupefied bewilderment, Lelouch collected himself and adopted a tiny grin.
"What led you to that deduction?"
"It only makes sense, seeing how often you and Kallen missed classes and how you're always gone when Zero was at large. But most importantly, Kallen wouldn't have switched sides so easily if it wasn't for you."
The crushing pressure of her daring publicity was weighing down her nerves much more than her past classmate's, Lelouch was definitely amused by her guesswork even if he showed no signs of humour. Nina supposed it only made sense that she would be the only person in danger, the Britannia Emperor as he stood had many solutions to an issue such as this.
"...At least you gave me an explanation, Euphie just said it was a hunch."
"So you really are…!" Without realizing it, Nina's body was trembling at his every breath under her dress and she was powerless to stop it.
"I am Zero! The man who's been granted an unworldly power, the man who's sent the world order into chaos, the man favoured by the will of the universe… and the man who killed his siblings without remorse."
"When you killed… Princess Euphemia… is it really just for the Black Rebellion? Please tell me, just so I can finally be at ease and move on!" Nina wanted to project the hatred and despair she held inside herself all these times into her words as she interrogated Zero, but the strength to accost him wouldn't come to her aid.
"Are you willing to trust Zero, the man who lied, cheated and murdered his way to the world stage?"
"I… I will believe you, you have no reason to lie to me." Nina couldn't back up her assessment with the flimsiest shreds of evidence, however she was just too worn-out to keep playing the game of deception with someone she truly thought of as a kind acquaintance if nothing else.
"I was given the power of absolute obedience. I can make anyone do anything I desired with a vocal command when our eyes meet. However, just as no power is limitless, no man is omnipotent. When I met with Euphie, my power went out of control and I used it on her by accident." To Lelouch's tale of tragedy, Nina only nodded in affirmation.
"An accident… I see…"
"You're willing to believe me?"
"I believe that Princess Euphemia would've never done something like that of her own volition. I'll take your word for it, even if it's just so that I can keep the pure memories of her in my heart." Nina couldn't be positive if Lelouch sought after exoneration from a mere peasant like herself, however she wanted to think he was relieved to have received it nonetheless.
"You're an exceedingly kind person, Nina." Lelouch's gesture softened, along with his troubled frown.
"Don't be mistaken, Lelouch. I don't think I can ever forgive Zero for what he's done, but… I have to find my own way forward. I can't let myself be dragged down by pity and distress."
"That's valiant of you, perhaps more than anything else I know."
"And I have my own sins to atone, it's not something anyone can help me do." When she turned to Lelouch after commemorating the death of millions at her hand, his expression darkened even further.
"Then I suppose I must renew your hatred of me. Nina… why do you think I brought you to the capital." Her genius instantly knew the reality of her presence as clear as day, but her heart couldn't accept such cruelty.
"Please… no, you can't…"
"Nina, I need you to create F.L.E.I.J.A.s for me."
"No… no…! Y-you can't ask that of me! Why does it have to be like this…! Why am I… the only one!" Tears she thought she had already drained empty was again washing down her pale cheeks, fogs of misery clouded her lens and were leading her astray on a road every soul must walk.
"Because you're the only one who can, and without it, the world will succumb to its terror. You're the only one who can protect us from it." Even when her spirit was devastated by the phenomenon of existence, Nina still heard a crucial detail she hoped could save her.
"What… what do you mean? F.L.E.I.J.A. is the ultimate instrument of destruction, how can it protect anything?"
"It can protect us from itself. It's a weapon too great to ever be used, yet a weapon no one can resist its potential."
"I don't understand, y-you can't detonate a F.L.E.I.J.A. inside another one, they won't cancel out!"
"But I can detonate one on whoever used it against me." Only then, was Nina starting to figure out Lelouch's design.
"The knowledge of your procession of F.L.E.I.J.A. will discourage others from using it…"
"It'll be a deterrence, the only protection we have."
"But to protect us from whom?" Lelouch pressed a few buttons on the remote he withdrew from his dress, a screen rolled down from the ceiling above and its pixels formed its content.
"Just recently, the Toromo Agency situated in Cambodia cut all connections with us. From this action, we're to assume they've turned traitor and sided with Schneizel who was the main benefactor of their research. I'm sure you know this." Nina hastily nodded, sensing the change of tone from Lelouch's own attitude. "And what they've been working on in secret for months, is this."
On the monitor, many pictures appeared, all were of the same technological miracle.
"Sky Fortress… Damocles."
"Correct, it is a floating stronghold capable of launching F.L.E.I.J.A long distance. With enough height, it can destroy every city on this planet, all at Schneizel's whim."
"Absolute dominance over the world…" Nina too could easily comprehend the gravity of such a weapon in action if it was not stopped.
"I don't know how long it'll take for Damocles to become active, that is why I need you to build F.L.E.I.J.A.s for me as soon as possible. Even its Blaze Luminous cannot defend against its impact."
"But… but you have no guarantee that Prince Schneizel is going to use it! If I built you F.L.E.I.J.A.s, how can I know you won't just destroy the research base!"
"Just as I have no guarantee of Schneizel's reluctance to act, I cannot do anything more than promise that I won't land the first strike. Although, I've known my brother for years now, more or less, and I can guess just about what he'll do." Lelouch paused for the young scientist to interject. When she didn't, he resumed. "Schneizel doesn't play games he can't win, and a duel with world destruction at stake is the riskiest game of them all."
"So if both of you hold F.L.E.I.J.A.s, you can force a stalemate."
"Correct, I'm certain he won't use Damocles if there stands a chance of it being destroyed before fulfilling its purpose. As for me, like I said, you'll only have my word."
Nina shifted uncomfortably on the couch, goosebumps spreading like wildfire over her soft skin, her veering eyes unsure of where to look to avoid such an overwhelming hardship. Her favourite pair of circular glasses was collecting droplets of tears as she hung her head low in irresolution. She felt the unfair consequence of her invention and regretfully cursed the world under her breath for its malice.
She just wanted to explore science with the best intentions, but now she had to suffer such anguish for the one innocent misstep she took in the pursuit of knowledge.
"Lelouch, if I say no… will you use that power on me too?"
"Yes." No hesitation in his resolution, as Zero was famous for.
"Must I choose… the lesser evil?"
"I have a question for you, Nina. What do you when there is an evil you cannot defeat by justice? Do you—"
"-Do I dirty my hands with evil so as to destroy evil, or do I uphold my justice even if I must surrender to evil?" For a second, Lelouch seemed almost sulky for having his grandiose speech stolen. "You must be running low on creativity if you have to repeat a previous oration."
"…I didn't think you'd have heard this one."
"I've heard everything Zero said, zealously."
"…Please don't say something like your justice lies with Euphie." To his out of character joke, Nina chuckled lightly.
"No, I won't. Right now, the current me doesn't possess enough justice or evil to stop anything."
"Then Nina… will you?"
"I will build your F.L.E.I.J.A.s, Lelouch. Not that you leave me with much of an option. So please, I'm powerless to force you, but promise that you'll keep your word. Promise that the abhorrence of F.L.E.I.J.A. won't consume humanity, by Prince Schneizel or otherwise." From within the Emperor's violet eyes she stared into for the first time, there was only genuine compassion and kindness for her to spot.
"You have the word of Lelouch vi Britannia. I'll do everything in my power to ensure no person ever sees that dread of pink again." Even if it was a void pledge, Nina could only take what deal was offered. "Someone will soon pick you up and take you to Lloyd's lab, I'll also arrange for you to move to a quarter of your choosing."
Having no topics left to debate or pleasantries left to share, Nina soberly took a bow and headed for the door.
"There is one last thing, actually." However, just before she made her exit, the demurred scientist recalled something else worth a mention.
"What is it?"
"Have you told Suzaku what you told me? About Princess Euphemia?" Lelouch was stopped dead in his tracks by her nervous question.
"I… I… no, not in its entirety, not the real cause of it."
"Is there a reason?"
"It's no longer information he would concern himself with, not anymore."
"Are you sure you're not avoiding confronting him about it?" Instinctively, Lelouch conveyed a bothered and disturbed scowl so painful Nina herself jittered almost immediately as a reaction. "I-I'm sorry! I just-!"
"No, it's alright, I shouldn't have. Nina, do you care about Suzaku?"
"…I believe I do, he's the first Elev- Japanese person that didn't scare me, and he used to always be so cheerful and kind with Princess Euphemia… and nowadays he's just so… miserable. Maybe if he knows the truth of what happened…" For a long span, Lelouch replied nothing and his expression was entirely unreadable.
"If you want to tell him what happened, you're welcome to do so. As for me… perhaps I still lack the courage, I'm still not the person I'm supposed to be."
"But one day…?"
"Maybe, or maybe never will I find that strength." The sadness in Lelouch's tone told her more of his agony than words ever could, but Nina knew enough bleakness had been shared for one day.
"…No man is omnipotent, Your Majesty. But it's only thanks to our incompleteness that we have the drive to strive for betterment, and I believe it is in the same spirit we can move forward towards the future. A tomorrow… of optimism." As she left, Nina presented a more exquisite bow than she was daring to perform.
— —
Author's note
Huh, apparently people do like this story, how about that. Everyone, thanks a lot for all of your support, I seriously didn't think it'd do as good as it did. I knew there was some interest in a story like this, but it's pretty impressive how much people wanted to see more. Shoutout to everyone that subbed and wrote a thing, I'll answer some reviews below.
This chapter isn't the most exciting or amazing, not gonna lie. But you really can't get away from worldbuilding or exposition. I hope that Nina's mini-arc is somewhat good and true to her character. I don't think we learn in the show when she knows that Lelouch is Zero, but her reaction in the last couple episodes showed she's mostly gotten over her psycho thing. I don't think she's a super deep character, but I don't hate her so intensely like some people do.
And I'm pretty sure there'll be people unhappy with Suzaku being the Knight of Zero, if you don't already hate him for being in the story at all. But I'm gonna say it, guys, I like Suza- (immediately gets arrested by the Code Geass police and put through a kangaroo court and then executed).
I dunno, I won't hate on him unreasonably, guy's alright. Euphie's pretty cute and it's a whole feelsbadman moment.
What else, in my plans for this story I'll make up one new totally original and badly written Geass power. I wanna do it because I like my ideas, but also don't wanna do it since bad OCs are bad, man. Hopefully this fic will have enough of a following by then for me to decay into a downward spiral.
Just remembered, most of you guys want me to do a harem pairing with Kallen and C.C., some people don't, but I can't please everyone. And I think I will, while C.C. is a well-written character and very engaging and entertaining for the viewing experience. She's probably a pretty terrible girlfriend long term, you two will be having pointless bickering all day because she never gives ground or admits mistakes in an apologetic way that leads to mending the relationship. Also imagine unironically eating pizza everyday, will definitely get old, even if you're not eating it you're probably paying for it.
So I dunno, I like both waifus and their designs, but Kallen is more interactable? And reliable? Anyway, I'm not too sure where I'll be taking the shippings exactly but expect more of Kallen being the main chick and C.C. being the side chick that also matters. Some people say that C.C. kinda betrayed Lelouch with all her secrets and stuff, I don't wanna get into why it is or isn't right, but if canon Lelouch never held a grudge against her, it'll be pretty unfair for me to write him that way.
To reply to some reviews. Now, I appreciate everyone that leaves me a message, regardless of what it says it's cool to know that someone cares enough to actually type out a thing. With that said, I won't reply to every review, kinda impossible. Look how padded out this note is already.
For: Awareness Bringer, talking about the length of time for Anya's possession and Kallen's in the resistance. Anya's being possessed for exactly 8-9 years, it says that on the wiki, I wrote a decade in the dialogue. You got me there, I changed it, credits to you for catching it. As for Kallen, I meant 16 years like 16 years of her life before she met Lelouch, I know she's 17 at the start of season one, but baby time doesn't really count.
For: islamy96, talking about grammar. Lmao I can't tell if you misspelled 'Kallen' as a joke, but the irony is there and it's pretty funny. I'm actually using Grammarly right now, it's pretty meeeeeh. The main thing is I often misspell a word by spelling a word that has similar spelling, so most autocorrect won't catch that, or straight-up miss a word somewhere and not have it caught.
Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and equally long AN, let me know if there are any mistakes, or if you wanna tell me anything.
A mistake was corrected by GabrielRavier, thanks man.
