Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.
Thanks to Slayer's End for bringing the number of reviews into triple digits.
Quick note: From here on, Italics indicate that someone is speaking Japanese. This is the first chapter where it matters since Cornelia knows at best only a few words of the language, while most of the Black Knights are bilingual to varying degrees. (Although never mentioned before, Euphemia has a firm understanding of Japanese after spending so much time with the Black Knights.)
This chapter starts just about 90 minutes after chapter 11 ends.
A steady hum of machinery could be heard near the rectangular hole in the floor. The elevator's engine pushed the platform's six hydraulic lifts up from the depths below, ending with a metallic creak as it reached ground level. Standing on the elevator's platform were six knightmares in two rows. In the back row were four black Burai frames, suffering various levels of damage from slash harken and explosive ordinance hits. In front of them on the right stood the Guren. Although no serious damage was visible, the custom knightmare's distinctive crimson paint was heavily damaged, burned away from the heat of explosions.
Almost all eyes in that section of the warehouse were locked on the black Gloucester to the Guren's left. It too had considerable cosmetic damage. In addition to missing paint, the right side was clearly damaged from brutal combat. A crackling sound emanated from the right arm as electricity arced between several of the deep gashes in the frame. Held in firm grasp of the Gloucester's left arm was a damaged cockpit block.
The Black Knights that had not participated in the battle were glued to screens of all sizes, watching the engagement from the excellent vantage point of the HiTV news aircraft. They all knew who was in that cockpit. Their stares of awe and silence ended, and a tsunami of sound rushed forth as they began to cheer.
Still sitting in her seat, Cornelia could hear the sound, muffled by the metal and ceramic composite armor surrounding her. She was unexpectedly calm. The Second Princess had never once considered the possibility of being captured by an enemy force. She always believed that defeat would mean certain death on the battlefield. The fact that she was still alive after being decisively beaten was almost a confusing concept to her. Cornelia was well aware of how much the Elevens hated her. Fear began to break its way in as her brain concluded that her fate most likely involved degrading, humiliating, and unimaginably painful torture.
Two silver cars pulled up in front of the Ashford Academy's main gate. Four people dressed in Ashford uniforms exited each vehicle. One team of four moved toward the entrance itself, and the other started walking west next to the wall.
One minute later the exterior team spotted a slim man with blonde hair in a similar uniform walking toward a deserted bus stop.
"This is Amethyst 2-1, confirming target has been spotted." One of the four students said to his collar. He received a confirmation in his earpiece seconds later, and motioned for everyone to move forward.
They crossed the street and approached the bus stop. A quick look around confirmed that the area was indeed clear of everyone but the target.
"Amethyst 2-1 proceeding as planned." The leader said lowly into his hidden mic.
The four students entered the semi enclosed bus stop and moved to surround the blonde haired man who was sitting on the bench.
"Alan Spacer?" The lead student asked.
"Yes?" The man with blonde hair replied, not bothering to take his hands from his pockets. He didn't move as all four of the students around him drew silenced pistols. The single female member of the team sat down next to him and placed her weapon's cold barrel against his right temple.
"OSI, hands on your head. Don't even think about resisting." The leader ordered coldly.
Their target's eyes began to emit a faint red glow. "OSI? I've been expecting you." Alan Spacer replied in a monotone voice. The leader froze as he finally recognized the man as one of the deep cover agents sent to recon the Academy. Inside his left pocket, Spacer clamped down on the pressure switch in his hand. The device clicked, and an electrical current flowed up the wires concealed under his clothes, and into the specially designed vest he was wearing under his coat.
The vest contained a 360 degree layer of high grade plastic explosive. Adhered to the layer of creamy white explosives were over one thousand nails, and small metal ball bearings. The current entered the explosive compound, triggering the device. In an unimaginably small fraction of a second, the powerful suicide vest detonated, reducing all five of the bus stop's occupants to semi cooked ground meat and blood spatter.
At the very same that Amethyst team was approaching their target, Sapphire team successfully picked the lock on the front of the Academy's club house. The second team of four undercover OSI agents removed their shoes to minimize noise from the wood floor as they entered the building. They trained their silenced pistols on the doors and staircases as they advanced across the room, looking for the source of the light piano music they could hear in the dark room.
Sayoko had already completed Lelouch's orders. Nunnally had been moved to a secret, untraceable safe house in Hokkaido two days ago. The maid watched from the darkness as the intruders approached the first set of stairs. She had set up a stand in the upper right corner on the same wall as the main door. With the building's power cut, the only light was that which shone through the ballroom's glass windows.
The OSI team found the phone that was playing the music on a table next to the stair case. Sayoko pressed a button on her own phone, and the other phone's camera flash activated, severely disrupting the false students' vision. As they struggled to regain their sight, the assassin quickly nocked an arrow to her high powered compound bow. With a barely audible twang, a black, razor tipped broadhead arrow crossed the distance with deadly accuracy. The extremely sharp tip penetrated the back of one man's neck, effortlessly severing his spine before exiting the front of his throat and pinning his corpse to the wooden table in front of them.
With their vision impaired from the blinding flash, none of the other Sapphire team members could see into the shadows. They tried to scatter for cover, but without knowing where the attack was coming from, they stood little chance.
Barely three seconds after the first man had fallen, another black shaft flew across the darkened room. It connected with an OSI woman's head, penetrating her hair, skull, and brain as if it were jello. The arrow dug deeply into the wood of the wall, its composite materials strong enough to prevent the dead woman's body from falling to the floor.
Sayoko correctly calculated that the remaining members' sight would be returning. She put the bow down and jumped from her shadowy perch, her expert hands raining deadly kunai upon the survivors. Three kunai hit one man who struggled to see her against the darkness. They penetrated his throat, right eye, and forehead, quickly reducing the number of living targets to one.
The last OSI agent began firing her silenced pistol. Unfortunately for the last girl standing, she was not fast enough to match the ninja's agility. Before she could get a fourth shot off, Sayoko was upon her. Striking as if she was made of pure lightning, Sayoko sliced through the tendons on both of her target's wrists, preventing resistance. Her blades quickly sliced the target's throat before penetrating the base of her skull from behind.
Sayoko quickly recovered and wiped down her projectiles and knives before placing the stealthy weapons back in their suitcase. After collecting everything, she walked out the front door into the cool night air as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Cornelia was jolted out of her thoughts as the Gloucester half dropped her cockpit down to the floor.
"I know your cockpit's secondary systems are still functional. Open the door and come out, or I'll cut it open." Ordered a voice loud enough to be clearly heard inside the sealed cockpit. Cornelia hesitated for a second before reaching for the button to disengage the cockpit door's locking mechanisms. Assuming that the same Gloucester that she had fought was there, there was no point in being stubborn. One of those MVS swords would slice through her cockpit block as if it were warm ice cream.
The door's locks disengaged as she pressed the button, and the armored plate behind her fell back. She slowly extended her seat out from inside its armored shell. Surely enough, the same customized Gloucester from earlier was standing right there, still carrying both of its swords. She looked around in an attempt to figure out where she had been taken.
Men and women in Black Knights uniforms were moving around everywhere she looked. She saw them repairing knightmares, reloading weapons, and moving supplies around. She looked left and saw two rows of black knightmares, a mixture of Sutherlands and Burais. At the end stood the Guren, facing her. A maintenance team was replacing the unit's energy filler and repairing the crimson paint job. The sound of an opening cockpit drew her attention back to the right.
Riding down the line with one foot in the loop at the bottom was the knightmare's pilot. She stood in direct contrast to the five Black Knights in standard uniforms that were also approaching. Her white and red uniform, adorned with the Black Knights' emblem, appeared to indicate that she held authority. The replica Zero mask in matching white and red all but confirmed to Cornelia that the Gloucester's pilot was some kind of elite.
"Follow me." The pilot's altered voice commanded her. Cornelia stepped down from her seat and walked toward the pilot. The five assault rifle wielding Black Knights infantrymen formed a surround on her as they walked, two on each side and one directly behind.
The seven of them turned a corner around a row of four Sutherlands to find a large mobile home parked in the back of the gigantic warehouse. Cornelia saw another woman in an identical white and red uniform approaching the same door from a different angle. She got there first, holding the door as they climbed up the two steps into the vehicle. The five strong infantry escort remained outside as the door closed.
Cornelia stepped into the main room of the mobile home and nearly froze. Far from being some kind of torture chamber, she had been led into a room that had the appearance of a VIP lounge. Amazingly, the room was not full of masked men prepared to update her definition of agony, but rather a number of familiar faces. Her eyes immediately identified Jeremiah Gottwald, Viletta Nu, Kyoshiro Todou, and unbelievably, Diethard Ried. Footsteps coming down the stairs to her left alerted her to the presence of another occupant.
Zero walked down to the table in the center of the U shaped couch and turned to Diethard.
"Is your camera equipment ready?" The cold voice asked the reporter. As he went about explaining what still needed to be done, Cornelia began to feel slightly sick as her expectation of torture was replaced with the prospect of a televised execution. She snapped out of it just in time to hear that the cameras and broadcasting equipment was ready to go. There was a knock on the door, and it opened a second later. A soldier came inside.
"Excuse me sir, but the Four Holy Swords have just arrived. They wish to see Todou." The infantryman informed.
"I will go brief them on the current situation." Kyoshiro said as he got up to follow the soldier.
"Jeremiah, take our guest upstairs. I would prefer if she did not see this interview live."
"Understood." Jeremiah and Viletta, still in their full combat gear, moved to escort Cornelia to the room.
Jeremiah shut the door behind them as they entered the bedroom. As the three of them went to sit down at the small round table , there was movement on the bed. Cornelia turned to look, her guards appearing to already know who was there. From under the blanket emerged a puff of green and white.
CC sat up and yawned, still wearing her straight jacket, and turned to see who it was.
"How nice of you to come wake me up again Cornelia. I don't suppose you're going to wave a gun in my face this time." CC said to the speechless princess who was in the middle of remembering the first time they met eight years ago.
"You two know each other?" Viletta asked as their gazes fought for supremacy.
"Eight years ago I caught this woman sleeping half naked on Empress Marianne's bed." Cornelia tried to explain.
"And then she told you to forget that you had ever seen me." CC finished for her. Cornelia turned back to Jeremiah.
"Who is she?" Cornelia asked, convinced that CC would not be any more willing to answer the same question eight years later.
"Actually, that's a good question. You've always been here, and even I don't know what you really do, CC. I never could figure out why Zero always keeps you so close." The armored commando inquired. Both Jeremiah and Viletta were in fact well aware of what CC really was, but Cornelia didn't know that.
"You mean my beauty isn't enough?"
"Should I call you his lover then?" Jeremiah asked her
"Kallen's the only one that really loves him. But she's not enough to keep me out of his bed, or his pants for that matter." CC said with a smile as she watched their minds swirl.
The crew of the Avalon kept the news playing on their main screen as they flew from the Shikinejima naval airbase to Tokyo. On the airship's bridge, Suzaku, Schneizel, and everyone else had watched in a state of near shock as Cornelia's defense was systematically ripped apart by the Black Knights' assault and sniper support. Less than five minutes after they had witnessed Cornelia's capture, Suzaku had requested a rescue mission. Schneizel was quick to agree, and they were working out an initial plan when the looping footage with commentary on the news channel suddenly changed.
"We have even more breaking news for you tonight. It has just been confirmed that our own Diethard Ried has managed to obtain an exclusive interview with the leadership of the Black Knights. We will be bringing that to you live momentarily. Due to the Black Knights' precautionary measures, there will be a seven second delay as the stream runs through an anti trace program." The HiTV desk anchor announced over their broadcast.
Upon hearing the announcement, everyone on the Avalon tuned in. The screen blacked out for a second, before switching to a view of a room with a table surrounded by a U shaped couch. At the center of the U sat two women in matching white and red uniforms, matching Zero style masks guarding their identities. To their right was Zero himself. To their left sat Diethard, microphone in hand. The view then switched solely to Zero.
"To all the people of the world, good evening. I am Zero, founder and leader of the Order of Black Knights. As I am sure you are all well aware, less than three hours ago the Black Knights assaulted the Britannian maximum security military prison in Chiba. Our objective was to prevent the execution of Kyoshiro Todou, a hero of the Japanese people. Our efforts proved to be very successful.
However, instead of the light resistance we had anticipated, our units were personally engaged in direct combat with Second Princess Cornelia. Where lesser forces would have been annihilated by the combination of her excellent leadership and exceptional skill in battle, the Black Knights were up to the challenge. Our own elite warriors proved more than a match for Cornelia and her knight. After an intense two against two battle, Cornelia had been decisively defeated and ultimately captured.
This victory was not the result of my planning or preparations; it was the result of our strength, skill, and unyielding determination. Tonight you will meet the champions of our revolution, the two Black Knights strong enough to bring down the Goddess of Victory." Zero spoke to the camera. As instructed, the view then shifted to Diethard and the two Black Knights sitting in the middle. Diethard brought up his mic.
"This is Diethard Ried coming to you live from what appears to be the Black Knights' primary base in an unknown location. The Black Knights have taken every precaution to ensure that this installation remains hidden. To be here for this exclusive broadcast, I volunteered to be blindfolded, searched, and was forced to listen to loud music for several hours under armed guard as I was driven here." He turned from the camera to face the interview's subjects.
"I have been repeatedly informed that the two of you hold extremely high ranks within the Black Knights. Seeing you personally escort Princess Cornelia from the remains of her knightmare certainly confirmed this. What exactly is your role within the Order?" Diethard began.
"We are the Zero Squad, the most elite pilots of the Black Knights. We technically operate outside of the regular chain of command, taking our orders only from Zero. Although in reality we usually fight with or in support of other units. Almost everyone holding command positions today are long time veterans, many from the old days when we were just the local Shinjuku resistance. We are not just soldiers fighting for a flag, we are a family fighting for each other. Real orders are a rare formality once the battle has started." The masked woman on the right explained.
"So instead of being given a strict set of orders by a superior officer, you are free to move around the battlefield to fight where your allies need your support?" Diethard asked.
"Within limits. We usually receive a guideline or an objective that needs to be completed. It's typically up to us to determine how it gets done. The most common exception is when enemy ace pilots such as Cornelia or Kururugi take the field. At that point, Zero typically gives a very specific set of instructions for how we should act. When Zero's brilliance is combined with our combat power, the results speak for themselves." The woman on the left replied with her mask's altered voice.
"Judging from what we saw only hours ago, you are indeed a pair of knightmare aces with very few equals. I, and most certainly the entire world as well, am curious to know the real people behind the masks and distorted voices. While it is certain that Zero himself is definitely not going to be removing his mask on camera any time soon, what about you? Is hiding your identity a requirement for your elite positions?" Ried inquired.
"Actually, it's not. In truth, we almost never wear these masks. It was a critical part of Zero's plan for my identity to remain hidden from Cornelia until she was taken up into that soundproofed room upstairs." The woman on the left revealed, noticably increasing Diethard's excitement. This was it, a moment that would be forever remembered in Britannian history. Britannia's angel had fallen weeks ago, her white wings stained red with blood. And this was the moment of her public resurrection, the culmination of her transformation from gentle princess to deadly revolutionary warrior.
Euphemia took a deep breath as her gloved fingers found the lock on the back of her mask. The click of the unlocking was audible in the almost deathly silent room. A second click signaled that Kallen was doing the same. The scales along the back folded up as the lock disengaged, releasing her shoulder length pink hair. She placed her palm over the front of the faceplate, and removed the mask in the same way she had seen Zero do it countless times. As she placed the mask down on the table in front of her, Diethard's heart nearly stopped. It was a face that he had last seen over two months ago, and never expected to see again.
Sitting only six feet away was Euphemia li Britannia, the not so dead Third Princess.
Dozens of miles away onboard the Avalon, Suzaku collapsed to his knees and began breathing heavily as he tried to fight back the sudden and powerful feeling of sickness that engulfed him as it was revealed to the world that the elite enemy pilots that had defeated Princess Cornelia were people he had considered to be some of his best friends.
Close by, Schneizel was visibly surprised to find out that his sister was not only alive, but openly admitting that she was the first person of royal blood to switch sides against the Empire in living memory. Instead of being paralyzed by the shock and awe effect, his powerful mind was already at work going over what he knew . She had become an extremely capable knightmare pilot, and was not afraid to send live rounds along with her words.
He was much more concerned with the political situation that she would cause. Euphemia had a lot of supporters, especially in the lower classes of society. Not only was she kind, charming, and unbelievably beautiful, her world view was radically different than most of the royal family's. Although she never got up in front of crowds millions strong to give speeches about politics, it was widely known that she was a believer in a simple form of equality. To sum it up in her own words, "Even though we are not all born equal, we are all created equal." The message was a simple one: Real equality is not an issue of race, gender, or social class, but a universal right shared by all of humanity.
Britannian policies were in actuality, very unequal by design. Under the law, only people of Britannian ancestry were given the rights and benefits of full citizenship. The native populations of conquered Areas were routinely denied even the most basic rights held by Britannian citizens. Their cultures and languages were actively suppressed, and they were in effect treated as sub humans.
Although it was well known that Zero held similar ideas to Euphemia, he previously had no effective way to spread them through the Britannian populations. Princess Euphemia, however, was a household name, and an instantly recognizable face. She also had the advantage of being widely loved by the populace. Poll after poll consistently showed that the Britannian people had more good things to say about Euphemia than the next five names on the list combined.
There was not a doubt in Schneizel's mind that Zero was trying exploit her public image to maximum effect. With Euphemia, Zero had a way to get his revolutionary message across to the Britannian people, and that was one hell of a scary prospect for the Prime Minister.
Euphemia and Kallen had been telling the world a slightly altered version of their true story for nearly ten minutes. Diethard was feeling absolutely electric. This was what he had always wanted, the real story of a lifetime. He barely noticed Zero get up and begin ascending the stairs.
He entered the nine digit code on the door's lock and clicked it. The door slid open and the masked leader stepped inside. He took a look around his bedroom as the door closed itself behind him.
CC was sprawled out over his entire bed, sleeping with a smile on her face. Cornelia, Jeremiah, and Viletta occupied three of the five chairs surrounding the wooden round table.
The Second Princess looked uncharacteristically detached from the world around her. Zero estimated that being defeated, captured, and locked in a room under the guard of people that had betrayed her, all in the space of four hours, had caused more psychological trauma than he expected.
"What happened to the fire, aggression, and the white hot rage? I did not expect you to be so...depressed." Zero asked as he approached the table.
"When your people pulled me from my Gloucester, I was expecting all manner horrible tortures followed by an execution. What did I get? Locked in a bedroom with two traitors and a terribly annoying enigma. I'm disappointed." Cornelia replied as she slowly looked up to face him.
"Now why would you be expecting anything like that?" Zero wondered as he sat down.
"You mean why wouldn't I? You shot my brother in the head, and had these people murder my sister. Although now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if you were waiting to shoot me yourself. No man in history has ever managed assassinate two members of the royal family with his own hands."
"I have no interest in being remembered as an assassin. I don't want to torture and kill you, I just want to talk, like civilized people." Zero told her.
"A murderous Eleven terrorist wanting to be civil?" Cornelia laughed.
Zero got up and walked over to a bag leaning against the bed. He pulled four thick folders from it before returning to the table. He drew four photos from the top folder and displayed them to Cornelia. A dead mother and infant, an elderly Japanese couple shredded by fragmentation grenades, and the bullet ridden bodies of two brothers that tried to shield their sister from a firing squad. The fourth picture summed up the story. A shot of a fully geared Britannian soldier executing a Japanese girl no older than ten, with bodies on the floor and bullet holes in the wall around her.
"Clovis earned the bullet I put in his head when he ordered thousands of innocents to be murdered as he tried to cover up his dirty secrets."
"Dirty secrets? You mean that Orange thing you mentioned after confessing to my brother's murder on live TV?" Cornelia asked, unshaken by the images of death in front of her.
"You really don't know what happened in Shinjuku, do you?" Zero asked, mildly surprised.
"Some terrorists stole a capsule of poison gas and you showed up to rescue them." She replied.
"The Shinjuku resistance, which would later become the core of my Black Knights, only thought they stole poison gas. In reality it was a critical component of Clovis's Orange Project."
"It might help if I knew what Orange was, Zero."
"To put it simply, Clovis was conducting immortality research. He was so paranoid about keeping it a secret, he had his test subject's holding cell designated as a container of high potency poison gas. The resistance ended up stealing her, thinking it was a chemical bomb." Zero explained.
"Her?" Cornelia wondered aloud. Zero looked past her right shoulder over to CC on the bed, hugging her cheese kun. Cornelia slowly turned around.
"CC was the test subject. I will probably never know how many unspeakable things they did to her in Clovis's secret labs."
"You mean my brother was using that witch over there in some kind of immortality experiment?" Cornelia inquired.
"Not you too." CC moaned at being called a witch by yet another person.
"More precisely, he was attempting to find out why she cannot die. Most likely in an effort to reproduce the effect for his own benefit."
"Do you really expect me to believe that she's immortal? Cornelia asked, obviously not convinced that she was. Zero looked over to Jeremiah, who shared his masked leader's thought. Gottwald pulled a pistol and aimed it toward CC.
"I swear, if you tell him to shoot me I better receive some very substantial compensation."
"Certainly." Zero said just before Jeremiah squeezed the trigger. The bullet impacted between her eyes, passing through her brain and exiting the back of her head. Cornelia looked at the two of them, shocked that she really just got shot in the head.
"Well, I better go call Pizza Hut." Viletta announced in a tired voice as she got up to leave the room.
"Go see for yourself." Zero told Cornelia. She got up and slowly went over to the corpse on the bed. The princess put her fingers to CC's neck, feeling for a pulse. There was none. No breathing, no pulse, no movement.
"She's dead." Cornelia reported as expected.
"And in five minutes she will yelling at me for having her shot, then probably demand that I take my clothes off."
"Why would she..." Cornelia began before she remembered what CC said earlier.
"There are only two things that can satisfy that woman. Pizza and sex. She's going to want plenty of both after that. To get back on topic, Clovis was doing his experiments without the Emperor's knowledge. He effectively embezzled hundreds of millions of pounds of government money for his little science project. All he actually accomplished in doing so was the torture of an innocent woman."
"I assume that's what you meant when you threatened to reveal it during that fiasco on the bridge."
"Correct. Clovis will be remembered as an excellent artist, not the corrupt monster he really was." Zero told her.
"And what about my sister? Are you going to try to tell me she was some kind of monster too?" Cornelia asked, her level of anger increasing as her control began to slip.
"Not at all. If Euphemia was sitting on the throne in Pendragon, there would be no need for war. She would have been happy to draw up plans for a better world in ink rather than blood. If only she were still here." Zero watched as something snapped in Cornelia. The comparatively calm, if slightly depressed princess blinked as tears began to form around her eyes.
"Stop. Please just stop it." Cornelia sobbed out as she tried to maintain some semblance of self control.
"Oh? Did my words strike a nerve?"
"Stop bringing back those memories!" She lashed out.
"What memories?" Zero asked. The man under the mask was having trouble holding back his laughter. Cornelia was not strapped in tight enough for this emotional roller coaster ride. Being defeated, captured, then locked in a dull room before the shock of watching Zero order the execution of what appeared to be his mistress without a care in the world. The constant shifting had fractured the dam holding back her pent up emotions. She could not plug the leaks fast enough, and it was breaking her from the inside.
"Do you know why I came here, Zero? I came here to seek vengeance for all the pain that these cursed islands have caused me. Ever since my father had the oh so wonderful idea of invading this place, it has done nothing but tear away the people I love. I tried so hard, but you were always there to stop me." The walls were breaking. The combined weight of the knowledge that she had failed to deliver justice for her brothers and sisters, along with the fact that life as she knew it was effectively over, proved to be too much.
"It was never my intention to cause such personal damage to you. My enemy is the Holy Britannian Empire, and by extension, the Emperor." Zero began to explain. Cornelia looked through her tears to where Zero's eyes would be. "You seem to be forgetting that the Emperor that ordered the invasion and enslavement of Japan is the same Emperor that sent them here." Zero pulled the third folder from the stack and slid it across to the princess. "Have you ever heard of Imperial Order 2163?"
"No." She began as she opened the folder.
"I went to some very extreme lengths to acquire the full, uncensored, original copy of 2163 from the secure OSI archives in Pendragon. Knowing how you feel about your brothers and sisters, the contents of that folder are going to turn your black and white world a very murky shade of gray." Zero informed her.
Cornelia opened the folder and began to read. It was an issue of extraordinary powers, dated in 2010, and signed by the Emperor himself. Order 2163 was directed to the OSI's Special Activities Division, their elite covert military force. Under Britannian law, the assassination of Britannian citizens was strictly prohibited, legal only with the written approval of the Emperor or Prime Minister. This document was not just an issue of permission, but the Emperor's direct order for the assassination of two Britannian citizens. Cornelia read lower down the page. She had been unaware that the Emperor had ever given such orders. She turned the page and froze. The second page contained information about the targets. Staring back at her were pictures of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia. The order directed that the SAD was to spare no expense in having them eliminated. The third page contained lists of their known associates and residences in Japan.
Zero watched in motionless silence as her tears began to fall with renewed intensity, running down the papers. It was clear to him that the documents were having their intended effect.
"How...could he? How could he order the deaths of his own children and then lie to us about it for all these years?"
"You're talking about a man that routinely orders the brutal conquest and enslavement of entire nations. Out of the tens of millions of innocent lives Britannia has ended on his behalf, why would two more mean anything to him?" Zero reasoned.
"They weren't your family!" Cornelia shot back.
"As I recall, Lelouch and Nunnally spent just over twenty two weeks here in Japan. You wouldn't imagine how many powerful friends they could make in such a short time." Zero replied, hinting that he knew much more than she had thought.
"Are you implying that you knew them?"
"Indeed I did." Zero replied.
"What happened to my brother after he was sent here?" Cornelia asked, realizing that there was unlikely to be another chance to find any information about them.
"Lelouch was sent to the Kururugi family, as I'm sure you know." Zero told her. Cornelia nodded. That was basically the full extent of what she knew about their exile. "Being at the top of the Japanese political pyramid put him in frequent contact with the nation's elite. The Kururugi family, Kyoshiro Todou and other senior military figures, even the leaders of the future Kyoto Group. Lelouch wasted no time befriending them all. When the first round of airstrikes came in just ahead of the invasion fleets, Lelouch was standing on a hill with Suzaku, a few hundred meters from the house he was staying in. It was no accident that the building was hit with enough ordinance to level a city block." Zero studied the princess's face as she listened. "A week later, Japan surrendered. He was once again with Suzaku upon that evening. As the sun was setting, Lelouch looked out over the darkening eastern sea. He swore an oath to all that would listen, demanding the destruction of the Holy Britannian Empire, and justice for those that the Empire had destroyed. I intend to carry out that oath to the very best of my ability." Cornelia was lost for words. The extreme suddenness of all these shocks and revelations left her jumbled, unable to form a truly coherent response. The plan was working perfectly.
"You never did find their bodies. Lelouch and Nunnally were given funerals in Pendragon with empty caskets." His words catapulted distant memories of that sad day to the front of Cornelia's mind.
"Would you like me to show you where they are?" Zero offered. It took several seconds for his words to fight their way through the swirling chaos of Cornelia's thoughts.
"You know where my brother and sister are buried?" She asked with desperation.
"I did the burying. I'll take you to see them on one condition. Renounce your loyalty to the Emperor." Zero said. Although it was not technically worded as an order, the statement had all the effect of one.
Jeremiah, who had been sitting off to the side and nearly forgotten by Cornelia, handed Zero his phone. A few touches on the screen later and he had a camera ready to record yet another historic event. Zero turned it on, a tiny red light indicated to the shattered princess that it was recording.
"I, Cornelia li Britannia, Second Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, renounce my position, and any loyalty I once held for my father, Charles zi Britannia, 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire." Zero was impressed at the fact that she could still call forth a commanding voice. He clicked the button on top again, cutting the recording.
"There, Zero. I just committed treason on video for you. Now take me to them!" Cornelia commanded, her voice laced with desperation. Zero ignored her, hitting another button on his phone. The interview was scheduled to end three minutes ago.
"Euphie, would you please come upstairs? With your mask on." Zero requested using the fact that Cornelia had little exposure to or understanding of the Japanese language to his advantage.
"When are we going?" Cornelia asked, her patience running dangerously low.
"Going, Cornelia? We're already here." Zero informed her. Before she could say anything, he reached behind his helmet. With a click, the lock disengaged, and the scales retracted. Just as Euphemia had done for the camera, he pulled the mask from his head, slow enough for added dramatic effect. He placed the iconic headpiece on the table, front facing forward. He sat silently, waiting for her to deliver the final blow herself. Six seconds passed. On the seventh, her eyes went wide, and she inhaled sharply.
Lelouch leaned back slightly, producing a black king piece from a pocket on his outfit. Twirling it around between the fingers of his right hand, his eyes silently said "your move." The door opened behind him.
"Lelouch..." Her soft words indicated that she still recognized him.
"What a lovely family reunion you're having there." The freshly revived and still bloody CC commented as she walked past Lelouch to the door. "Three royals and a palace guard. I feel left out."
"Three royals?" Cornelia asked, her eyes turning to the masked pilot now sitting at the table.
"Wondering how many more surprises I have under my cape, Cornelia?" Lelouch motioned to the new arrival. "This is Q2, the Gloucester pilot that you fought earlier tonight. Quite a talented warrior, isn't she?"
"Nunnally?" Cornelia asked, wondering if the woman in front of her could possibly his sister. She took the mask off for the second time. Even with the shortened hair, she was still the same beautiful Euphemia.
"Euphie." she corrected her sister. As Euphemia moved to comfort her broken wreck of a sister, she turned to Lelouch. "Please. You've already traumatized her enough tonight."
"You're right, Euphie. Our sister's going to need an angel to fix all the psychological damage I just inflicted upon her. At least she actually has one." Lelouch replied with a smile before moving for the door.
On TV screens around the world, the expert analysis of the night's world changing events was interrupted by a new addition. Prime Minister Schneizel appeared live on the broadcast. Standing at his right side was the Knight of Two and Knight of Ten. On his left side stood Suzaku Kururugi, renewed fire in his gaze.
"Tonight we have witnessed two terrible events. The terrorist Zero has captured one princess and corrupted another, in addition to claiming responsibility for the murder of prince Clovis. This man's terrible crimes against the Empire will not go unpunished.
By the established order of succession, Suzaku Kururugi would have become Area 11's new Viceroy as the result of tonight's events. However, after careful consideration, I have determined that appointing a man unskilled in the intricacies of politics to the position is not in the best interest of the Empire. Under the authority bestowed upon me as prime minister by our Emperor, I name Secilia Vasburg, the honorable Knight of Two, as the new Viceroy of Area 11." Schneizel stepped aside, allowing Secilia to take the podium.
"The time for games is over, Zero. Let's see how well you can play chess when I cut off your hands."