Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.
Cornelia took the advice of a nearby Black Knight and picked up some heavy ear protection before stepping through the door into their base's makeshift firing range. A clever setup consisting of thick plastic walls and a layer of sound absorbing material, the enclosure contained twenty eight old shipping containers organized into seven rows. At the back of the firing lanes sat a small mountain of sand with a large angled steel plate backing to absorb the incoming small arms fire.
She was immediately greeted with the noise and reverberations of assault rifle fire. A quick glance down the line revealed that only lane five was currently occupied. The newly converted princess had come here to simply shoot something for the first time in a month. Based on the amount of traffic that came in and out on a regular basis, she expected the place to be full of anonymous Black Knights she didn't know.
Upon noticing that her sister was the only one firing, she just stood and observed for a few moments. Euphemia was sending rapid three round bursts down range, accompanied by bright muzzle flashes and a rain of spent rounds bouncing off of the metal wall next to her. For Cornelia, it was a truly amazing sight to see her looking like a professional soldier. The assault rifle clicked empty after what she unconsciously counted to be the sixth burst. She fluidly switched the empty rifle for a Britannian military issue pistol and unloaded an additional thirteen rounds. Cornelia approached her as the firing stopped.
"Who taught you how to shoot so well?" Cornelia asked her sister, walking up to her in her new gold highlighted black outfit.
"Lelouch did, after Narita." She answered.
"It's still hard to imagine him doing the shooting in person."
"Nine on the bridge of the G1 at Shinjuku, and four JLF soldiers at the Kawaguchi Hotel." Euphemia counted aloud.
"You don't need to remind me about Clovis. I don't know how he could live with himself knowing that the first person he killed was his own brother."
"He never told you, did he?" Euphemia asked her sister.
"Told me what?" Cornelia wondered.
"Clovis was not the first person he killed." Euphemia ejected the spent magazine from her pistol and reached for a full one. "He told me about it one night. Just after the invasion of Japan he was carrying Nunnally through a village the Britannian military had attacked the previous day to reach Toudou's remaining forces..."
2010 ATB, 97 hours after the start of Britannian ground operations in Japan.
Lelouch panted as he walked down the sun baked road. Although it would have been hard enough anyway, carrying Nunnally on his back made it a grueling endeavor. He thought about finding a shady place to rest in the village in front of them, but quickly decided against it as they got closer. For the first time, he was glad that his little sister was blind. Her curse happened to be a gift for the moment, sparing her the gruesome sight in front of them.
Along the main road down the center of the village were the remains of its residents. Dozens of corpses were still laying where they died. Men, women, and children, all dead, mostly civilians. Multiple gunshot wounds on every body indicating that this was clearly no accident. These people were murdered simply because they were Japanese.
Lelouch was pulled out of thought by sounds up ahead. He quickly identified them as two Britannian marines, most likely part of the initial landing force. He told Nunnally to keep quiet as he moved them both out of sight next to a bullet scarred wall.
"Stay here and cover your ears. Those soldiers will hurt us if they know we're here." He instructed. Nunnally nodded before covering her ears with her hands. Lelouch looked around the corner to see what the Britannian infantrymen were doing. What he saw almost made him sick. The two men had their rifles slung on their backs and were picking through the bodies on the street, looting the dead. He saw them kick the body of a child away from his mother to sift through her corpse, taking a necklace and a ring.
The young prince simply could not bear to watch any longer. After looking around to see that they were the only two Britannians in the area, most likely on leave, he felt compelled to act. Lelouch quietly got up and emerged from behind the wall to see both of the blue clad Marines facing away from him. He reached down and pulled out the Japanese pistol from the back of his belt. Although it had been nearly six weeks since he had learned how to shoot it when Toudou took him to visit a Japanese military base, the memories were still fresh in his mind.
Lelouch took up the firing position he was taught and aligned the weapon's iron sights over the Britannian on the left. Fortunately for him, they were not wearing their heavy body armor, which would have easily stopped his pistol rounds, due to the fact it was so hot out and they were not in a designated combat zone. The prince squeezed the trigger twice, creating a set of bloody holes in his target's exposed back.
As the first man fell forward, he shifted his aim to the other one who turned around, clearly shocked to see a young Britannian boy holding the weapon that had just killed his friend. He opened his mouth to say something, but was never given the chance. Three more rounds quickly closed the distance to hit him in the right knee, the second grazed the top of his right shoulder, and finally though the nose, creating a dramatic spray of blood and brain matter from the back of his head as the bullet created a sizable exit wound.
Lelouch did not know what he would feel before he pulled the trigger. As the two lay dead in an expanding pool of blood in the middle of the road, the first feeling hit him, and it felt good. He had just protected Nunnally and himself, and exacted some measure of vengeance for the dozens of the Empire's victims around him. In the midst of so much pain and defeat, one tiny victory was enough to renew his motivation. He went back to pick up Nunnally before struggling to carry her four more kilometers to relative safety.
Euphemia extended her hand to her sister, holding the freshly reloaded pistol by the slide. "Our brother has killed more people than you realize, through both his actions and his orders. The invasion really changed him. You could say that the Lelouch vi Britannia we knew really did die seven years ago." Euphemia paused briefly as Cornelia took the pistol's grip. "But Clovis changed as well. The Clovis that Lelouch killed was not the brother I remember. He was always so gentle and peaceful. I don't know what made him do all those horrible things in Shinjuku."
"I suppose you're right, Euphie. Even I didn't believe the reports until I saw the evidence for myself. Clovis certainly didn't seem like the kind of person that could order a genocide with a straight face. I guess power was just too corrupting for him, or perhaps he simply hadn't seen enough death up close to grasp the reality of what he was doing." She brought up the pistol and fired several rounds into the paper silhouette's head, the only spot not covered with bullet holes. All twelve of the shots impacted the center of the black area.
"Getting to our submarine won't be too difficult, but moving this entire base out of Tokyo without drawing too much attention will require some work." Ougi observed as he and several other leading Black Knights sat around a map of central Japan.
"We must be careful. The Knight of Two's army is far superior to anything we've faced before. If she catches us in the open, we will stand little chance of escape. Kallen assessed as she looked over the number and composition of known enemy units.
"Right now they are occupied with their operation to demolish the ghettos." Zero added in. "Based on the way they have been operating, and the direction they are advancing in, their battle plan seems fairly simple. Starting at Shinagawa, they completely surrounded the area and cleared it from the outside in with overwhelming force. Simple, but very effective under normal circumstances. That is, of course, assuming that the enemy is trapped somewhere inside the containment perimeter."
"What are we going to do?"
"At the rate the main Britannian force is moving, they will be surrounding the Nerima ghetto in approximately three days. At that point we can begin rapidly transporting everything we need to take through the subway tunnels where we will surface 20 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. Even then, such a large number of vehicles will draw their attention if we do not provide an effective diversion. The trucks will move with a small security detachment consisting of the Naginata tanks and a few anti air Burais. At the same time,most of our knightmare forces will launch a powerful surprise attack on their containment line at Nerima from the southwest."
"Which would draw their attention as far away from the transport trucks as possible." Jeremiah noticed as he looked at the approximate position of the future battle on their map.
"Correct. Our objective will not be to destroy the enemy army, but rather make it appear as if they have successfully forced us into the open. Once we confirm that our transports are far enough away from Tokyo, we will immediately disengage and escape into the countryside before taking an alternate route to Narita." Zero informed the assembled Black Knights.
"What happens if they discover us at Narita before we have a chance to build up? While the base is definitely usable, most of its exterior defenses were destroyed. We would have to fight a defensive battle outnumbered at least three to one with no air support and no good escape routes." Toudou asked over his video link from the base itself.
"Nina." Zero redirected the question to the genius scientist.
"The Narita area is remote and almost completely uninhabited after the first battle there. If the Britannian army masses to attack us that far into the mountains, we could destroy them with a Mjolnir bomb without risking massive civilian casualties. From the specs I've seen, the base inside the mountain should easily survive anything but a point blank detonation, while the surrounding area would be almost completely obliterated." Nina explained.
"Assembling the weapons should take about two days each, meaning our first missile will be ready for launch shortly after we arrive. If they do decide to attack us once Mjolnir is operational, we could then seize a sizable portion of Japan before Britannian reinforcements arrive, if they even decide to come at all." Zero explained, highlighting the strategic significance of a well used super weapon.
"If those missiles are going to be on the sub, who's going to be commanding it? We don't have anyone with much naval experience." Kallen asked, wondering who would receive such an important responsibility.
"She's right. Since the Black Knights have no qualified naval officers, the task will go to the person I feel most capable. Congratulations on your promotion, Admiral Kaname." Zero announced.
"Admiral? Me?"
"Would you prefer a different rank? Not that it means much at the moment since we have only one naval unit. Besides, every other excellent leader that we have is also an ace knightmare pilot, and we will need all of them up front in the coming battles. I think that you're the best man for the job. There are few I would trust with that much responsibility.
"Thank you, Zero. I guess I'll start going over the sub's layout and pack up."
"Why do you get all the badass weapons?" Luciano Bradley, Knight of Ten, asked Viceroy Secilia from his position on ground level as he watched her Gawain fly up to a fortified machine gun position on the 14th floor of a nearby apartment building, and cleave through it with her glowing hot MVS scythe.
"Because Bradley, the Gawain does not have the agility needed to properly use swords. A scythe this big does a lot of damage and covers a large area with one swing, and it's not like I need another piercing weapon with ten slash harkens." She explained as her gigantic black and gold knightmare turned in mid air to look down at his white Gloucester.
"So why not an axe or a bigger sword? Admit it, you just want that monstrosity of yours to look absolutely awesome." Luciano remarked as he rained explosive rifle fire onto a black car driving full speed toward his position. The vehicle suddenly exploded with a disproportionately large amount of force, indicating that it was filled with explosives. She smiled back at him. "These Elevens aren't putting up much of a fight. This is even easier than Cairo was.
"That's because the Black Knights aren't helping them yet. All our forces have been running into on this side of the city are poorly equipped excuses for militias."
"You think they're running scared yet? One good look at your knightmare and I wouldn't be surprised if they were."
"Be patient Bradley. They are waiting, not hiding in fear. Notice how there have been almost no Elevens left in these ghettos besides the militias? They probably know they don't have a chance in hell of beating us in the open. With no civilians in the line of fire, they have no reason to show themselves. The Black Knights will attack us when they are good and ready to, or when we find their base. Either way, we'll get to kill them eventually." The Viceroy reasoned, just as multiple rockets were launched from an adjacent building toward her. She released the Gawain's left hand from the scythe and launched the five finger slash harkens. Three connected with the incoming RPG rockets, detonating them at a safe distance. The last two continued on to the origin of the attack, one impaling an insurgent through the torso before retracting. The nearly bisected body falling off the finger to the ground below.
The other few infantry fighters on that floor began running toward a stairwell on the other side of the building. A brightening red light to their left caught their attention as they fled. The Gawain's left shoulder opened, and the men had just enough time to hear the hadron cannon's chilling howl as the single crimson beam connected with the building in front of them. With the slightest movement of her thumb, Secilia directed the superheated energy weapon to sweep over them, rapidly boiling away brick, metal, flesh, and bone.
"Infiltration successful, my lord." The man quietly spoke into the collar of his Black Knights uniform.
"Excellent. Your mission is to search and observe only, remember that Newell. If you find her, do not take any action alone. You are to report her position and any relevant details immediately." The voice on the other end instructed through Sir Newell's tiny ear receiver.
"Understood, my lord. However, it may take some time to search their base without being detected. The Black Knights rarely seem to let their guard down." Newell reported to his boss.
"Take your time, Newell. She's the last one, we need to be absolutely sure. Report back when you finish."
"Yes, my lord."
Although Sir Newell thought he had found a well hidden position in the warehouse to contact his handlers, one pair of eyes had managed to find him amongst the shadows. Yuzuru Sasaki, a life long criminal and former Yakuza gangster turned Black Knight, had lived on a knife's edge long enough to see what few others could. From the age of seven, he had been honing his ability to spot those that didn't belong.
In the past, spotting law enforcement officers, undercover agents, and rival gangsters was a matter of life and death. Like most Japanese post invasion, especially the Yakuza, Sasaki was a patriot first. Before, it was usually his life on the line, but now it could be the future of all Japan, and he was not about to leave it to chance. He calmly and quietly slipped away from the spot he had been observing the Britannian from, making sure he had seen enough of the man not to forget his face.
The Black Knights' main elevator began to raise itself up from the dark tunnels below. When the platform came into view, Zero was relieved to see a large truck marked as carrying raw sewage. The drivers from Kyoto had followed the complex directions they had been provided without much difficulty.
As the first truck drove off of the platform, the elevator was lowered back down into the old subway system to raise the second truck. The vehicle came to a stop, and the back of the large metal tank opened. A ramp led from the floor up to the three mint condition silver knightmare frames kneeling inside. Just behind the three units sat a small collection of diagnostic gear and additional weapons.
The first truck's doors opened as the second one was driving off of the pad. As Zero and several other Black Knights approached the truck, they were surprised to see no Japanese drivers from Kyoto, but four Indian engineers wearing white coats.
The second truck opened itself up seconds later. Stored in the large metal tank were an additional four of the silver knightmares, the one in the back being noticeably larger than the other six. The occupants of the second truck also disembarked. Another three white clad Indian men that looked almost identical to the first group were the first out. The seventh broke the stereotype.
An Indian woman with long blonde hair stepped out of the truck, constantly twirling her pipe in her right hand. She then ordered her assistants to begin unloading the Gekka frames and their equipment from the transports.
"Rakshata Chawla, I was not informed that you would be coming in person. Welcome aboard." Zero stepped forward.
"But of course. How else am I going to acquire the combat data I need? Besides, I actually need your help with my latest project."
"You need my help?" Zero asked, intrigued.
"You did somehow manage to steal almost all of Earl Lloyd's research data, did you not? The last thing I need is a part of the energy shield technology he developed, and you currently have." Rakshata explained.
"Would that project have something to do with the last knightmare in that truck? I was expecting to get seven Gekkas."
"Technically, it is a Gekka. That knightmare is a prototype for a greatly enhanced version of my original design, the key feature being a flight system. It's not complete yet, but the prototype still performs slightly better than the standard models." She elaborated.
"How long until it is ready for combat?"
"The frame itself is ready now, actually. The flight system is going to take some work. Maybe five or six days for the entire package once I get my hands on a Blaze Luminous." Rakshata estimated.
"Unfortunately, you are going to have to wait for now. We are relocating this entire base to an abandoned JLF fortress in the Narita mountains, starting in about 40 hours. See what you can do for our knightmares until then. We are going to need every last one of them working perfectly." Zero informed her. Before Rakshata had a chance to reply, A Black Knights infantryman came running over to them.
"Zero! We just captured a Britannian infiltrator. Miss CC requested that you interrogate him personally." The soldier reported. Zero turned to follow him.
"What happened?" Zero asked the soldier as he followed him across the warehouse.
"Corporal Sasaki noticed someone acting strangely and decided to keep watching. A half hour later, he reported it. When we went back, you could just tell there was something off about this man. We pulled him aside and decided to search him. Sasaki was right about him. We found a tiny transmitter hidden in his uniform."
Zero and the soldier walked into the room to find the target handcuffed to a chair. Two other armed Black Knights were standing guard, one in front and one behind him. CC was standing next to the front guard, staring coldly at the prisoner. Zero motioned for the guards to leave the room. As the door shut behind the last of them, CC was the first to speak.
"He knows who I am. Nobody that doesn't has ever looked at me like that."
"Are you certain?"
"I've seen those eyes more than enough times. He definitely knows." CC replied. Zero turned to the man bound to the chair.
"Who are you?" Zero asked the prisoner. The man remained quiet, staring off into space. "If you think you can just sit there and remain silent,"
"You'll do what?" The prisoner cut him off. "No amount of torture is going to break me, and I'm not going to talk."
"I know. So assuming CC is right about you, and you do indeed know exactly what she is..." Zero began as he removed his mask and activated the crimson light of Geass in his left eye. "You would know that this is the only chance you have before I do something far more horrible than any torture to you."
The prisoner was either too scared or too unconvinced to say anything in the next six seconds, the exactly amount of time it took Lelouch to lose his patience. He looked into the man's eyes.
"Obey." The Geass command entered the prisoner's mind, instantly crushing his free will. Glowing red rings around his eyes indicated that the power had taken effect.
"Who are you?" Lelouch asked his newly dominated subject.
"My name is Sir Edward Newell, OSI Special Activities Division Section 7." He answered without emotion.
"What is your mission?" Zero continued.
"To track down the last immortal not under our control and report the any relevant details that would have an effect on the outcome of a capture mission." Lelouch stood for a moment and let those details sink in, slightly shocked that they had managed to track CC to his otherwise well concealed base.
"Tell me about Section 7." Lelouch ordered.
"OSI Special Activities Division Section 7 is a hand picked unit formed to conduct field operations and reconnaissance for Code R. We operate outside of the regular OSI command structure and report directly to Code R." Newell replied.
"What is Code R and what does it have to do with CC?"
"Code R is a black program with the objective of capturing and analyzing the immortals not under Britannian control. Code R was created by Emperor Charles zi Britannia in 1997 with the assistance of the immortal VV. Since then, three of the four other immortals have been acquired. CC is the last remaining target, and has been by far the hardest to track." Newell revealed.
"And how did you manage to find her here?"
"After the death of Prince Clovis, we became aware of his highly secret Orange project, which in many ways closely resembles Code R. Everyone ever found to be a part of Orange was rounded up and thoroughly interrogated, revealing that CC's abduction from their custody by the resistance group that would evolve into the Black Knights was the real cause of the Battle of Shinjuku. From your reveal on live TV, it was clear that you had opened and modified the container she was being transported in. It was logical to assume that the Black Knights were either in possession of CC, or had information that could lead to her."
Lelouch glanced over at CC while Newell was talking. She seemed visibly worried, almost afraid of what he was going to say. But that wasn't going to stop him from extracting every last thread of information out of the prisoner.
"What does Code R intend to do with the immortals?" Lelouch continued.
"Code R researchers have been studying the properties of both Code and Geass since the first immortal was found by Section 7 operatives in 1999. Originally they were attempting to find ways to copy some of the effects of Code for practical applications, such as self regeneration of battlefield injuries. They were never successful in their efforts.
The focus of Code R was changed dramatically in 2009 when The Emperor's Geass reached a state of perfection." As those words entered his ears, Lelouch felt the icy touch of pure, unmitigated fear for the first time in years. "With the knowledge that a perfected Geass provides the ability to acquire a Code, Emperor Charles performed an experiment. He killed one of the other immortals and was successful in acquiring his Code, while also retaining his perfected Geass." Newell calmly spoke.
"No! That's not supposed to happen!" CC blurted out in shock at what she had just heard.
"What is not supposed to happen?" Lelouch turned to her, worried to see her so afraid.
"When you take a Code you are supposed to lose your Geass. I've only ever seen it happen four times, and they always took the Code of the immortal they formed a contract with. I didn't know it was even possible to take a different Code than the one that granted you Geass."
"Emperor Charles made his contract with VV, who is still very much alive. After becoming immortal by killing a different Code bearer, he then attempted to kill another to find out what would happen if one person possessed two Codes. He instead discovered that it is impossible to have two Codes, and the immortal regenerated as normal. The Emperor then directed Code R to begin work on a new research project, which I do not know the nature of." Newell further explained.
As terribly disturbing as this revelation was, Lelouch finally understood what his father's true intention was. By acquiring Geass, and then a Code, Charles had effectively become the most powerful being in the world. Exactly what any diehard Darwinist dictator would dream of.
"Stay there and be quiet." Lelouch ordered Newell as he put his mask back on. He grabbed CC by the arm and led her quickly out of the room, only pausing to order the guards outside to kill Newell if he attempted to speak.
Nine minutes later, Lelouch had CC alone in the main bedroom of their large mobile home, the door securely locked.
"Tell me everything, now." Lelouch commanded her in an angry tone.
"Lelouch..."
"That man just told me that my father is the closest thing to a god this world has ever known. He also told me that it is possible to kill an immortal. You said yourself that you have seen it done before. Tell me exactly how to do it."
"I didn't want to tell you how to do this." CC began.
"Why not? Afraid that I would someday betray you?"
"No. I was actually hoping for it." She said calmly, looking directly into his eyes.
"What?..." Lelouch was surprised.
"Lelouch, your end of our contract is to kill me. I wasn't going to tell you until you were ready, because I was afraid you would refuse. I haven't had a contract strong enough to perfect a Geass in three centuries, and I was praying that you would finally be the one to set me free." CC reluctantly revealed. "To answer your question, killing a Code is actually quite simple. Once your Geass manifests in both eyes, it is considered perfect. Then you just have to kill them while touching their mark." CC explained , tapping the red tattoo that re appeared at will on her forehead.
"I don't understand why you would want me to kill you."
"To free me from this curse. I'm immortal, Lelouch. Everyone I have ever loved; every friend I have ever had. I have had to watch them all die, knowing the whole time that there was nothing I could do to save them. It's torture beyond imagination. I just want it to end."
As Lelouch listened to her words, he remembered just how much it hurt when his mother was killed. Then he tried to imagine having to endure even a tenth as much suffering over and over again for fourteen centuries. No wonder CC felt immortality was like a curse.
Suddenly, Lelouch remembered one crucial detail of what the captured OSI agent had told him, and a plan appeared in his mind. A borderline insane, unbelievably risky, yet incredibly brilliant plan.
"You were right, CC. I'm not going to kill you." Lelouch replied after several seconds of silence. She said nothing, instead just looking back at him, her eyes pleading, almost begging the former prince to reconsider. "You don't want death. You want an escape from the endless cycle of suffering caused by being immortal in a mortal world. And you have always viewed permanent death as the only way out, am I right?" CC nodded yes. "You're right though, death is the only way for you to free yourself." Lelouch put his mask back on and got up to leave the room. "So let me free you my way instead."
Two hours later, Lelouch had assembled CC, Kallen, Euphemia, and Cornelia in the holding room with Sir Newell, who was still bound to a chair and had yet to make a sound.
"Who is that?" Kallen wondered.
"Sir Edward Newell, an elite OSI infiltrator." Lelouch informed them. "I have already extracted all the information I need from him. But before we begin, I have one question for all of you. A simple yes or no will do." Lelouch paused for a moment. "If I could offer you immortality, would you take it?"
"Immortal like her?" Cornelia asked, looking at CC. She still clearly remembered her getting back up as if nothing had happened after taking a bullet in the head. Lelouch nodded.
"Just like her. You will never age, and never stay dead for more than a couple hours at most. Your body will always regenerate back to the way you are now." Lelouch explained. The room became almost completely silent for about thirty seconds.
"I'll do it." Kallen was the first to volunteer. Another minute passed before Euphemia also agreed. Cornelia, unwilling to let her sister do it without her, also nodded.
"Very good. Now tell me, what is the number one reason great and powerful empires eventually collapse? Alexander the Great's empire for example." Lelouch asked them. Although the question was not actually directed at him, the Geass command forced Newell to respond.
"Because their great leaders eventually die, and their replacements are never strong enough to keep it together." The chained OSI man replied.
"Very correct, Sir Newell. And that brings us to the single greatest problem I have ever encountered. I have been informed that Charles zi Britannia has broken the rules and effectively found a way to cheat destiny."
"What do you mean by 'cheat destiny'?" Cornelia inquired.
"To put it bluntly, he has been immortal for eighteen years, among other supernatural abilities." Lelouch told them, and waited a few seconds for them to understand what he had just told them.
"What other powers does The Emperor have?" Kallen asked, the only one of the three aware of the existence of Geass. Lelouch thought about trying to explain it first, but decided it simply wasn't worth the trouble when he could just demonstrate instead.
"Sir Newell, what is the effect of the Emperor's Geass?" Lelouch asked with a brightly glowing left eye, to the shock of the princesses in the room.
"I do not know precisely what effect his power has." Newell answered truthfully. Lelouch walked over and pulled a key from his pocket before unlocking Newell's cuffs. He pulled a combat knife and, being watched by everyone else in the room, handed it to Newell, who took it by the blade.
"I do not need you anymore. Kill yourself." Lelouch ordered calmly.
"At once, your highness." Newell responded as he reversed his grip on the knife before jamming all seven inches of steel into his neck and pulling forcefully to the side, nearly decapitating himself. Cornelia and Euphemia stood wide eyed at seeing this man kill himself with literally zero hesitation and no consideration for the extreme pain such an action would cause. Only Kallen was not nearly as surprised, as she had witnessed Geass induced suicide before, and was aware of how absolute a command could be.
"What...the hell just happened?" Cornelia hesitantly asked, her eyes locked on the knife buried completely into Newell's neck. She became slightly paler upon looking up to see Lelouch's left eye radiating red light. He turned to face her.
"I told you that CC is immortal, not why she is immortal." He began to explain. "There are five supernatural powers known to exist in the world, called Codes. Whoever possesses a Code becomes immortal for as long as they have it. CC is one such Code bearer, along with our father and his ally VV."
"Every Code bearer has the ability to form a contract with an ordinary human, granting them the power of Geass. How Geass manifests itself is different in each person, and appears to be influenced by that person's strongest desire at the moment they acquire it." CC further explained, adding a detail that Lelouch did not know. She looked over at him. "What did you feel just before that moment, when Clovis's royal guardsmen were about to execute you."
"Anger and hatred because I no longer had control of my own destiny." Lelouch recalled.
"And so when you accepted our contract, your Geass became exactly what you most wanted in that moment. Absolute Obedience, the power to control anyone."
"You can force someone to kill themselves, just like that?" Euphemia asked her brother, a hint of fear in her voice.
"I can do so much more than that. You don't have to be afraid though, it only works once. No matter what order I give, it will not have any effect on either of you."
"What did you do to us with that power?" Cornelia demanded to know, her tone making it very clear that she was not amused at having been on the other end of Geass.
"Nothing harmful." Lelouch turned to Euphemia. "I commanded you to overcome your weakness during the hostage rescue at the Kawaguchi hotel. Without that limitation, Euphie, you chose a path that you would have been too afraid to pursue otherwise. When you stood up for Nina against armed JLF soldiers with only words, you proved to yourself that you had the potential to be something greater. All I did was open the door for you."
"As for you Cornelia, do you remember the day Alan Spacer walked into your office?" The former Viceroy remembered that event very well. After apparently blacking out, she knew exactly where to find the JLF's most elite unit of knightmare pilots, how to capture them, and where to send them. "I used my Geass and a disguise to manipulate exactly how you would capture Toudou, and exactly which cell to place him in at the Chiba prison. In doing so, I effectively set up the battle to secure his loyalty and capture you with one move." Lelouch truthfully explained, hoping that his sisters would not be too furious at being forcibly manipulated.
"There's clearly a reason you are telling us all this, Lelouch, and I know it's not out of a sudden desire to be honest. But first, I want proof that this ridiculous power of yours only works once." Cornelia caught on.
"Alright. Look into my left eye." Lelouch instructed, Geass still active. "Take your clothes off and start dancing for us." Cornelia blushed slightly, and was about to say something before Lelouch cut her off. "See, if it did work twice you would be unbuttoning your shirt right now."
"Of all the things you could have said..."
"What?" Lelouch replied with a smile. "Regardless of what they think of you, most of the world agrees that you are absolutely beautiful. But yes, there is a reason you are hearing this." Lelouch came back on topic.
"As you know, I intend to kill the Emperor. But by the time we reach that stage, it is not inconceivable for him to have multiple immortals and or Geass users defending him. There is only one way to kill a Code bearer, and I can only do it once. Therefore, I will need your help. The only way to kill a Code bearer is to take their code from them. This can only be accomplished by someone with a perfected Geass power that appears in both eyes, at which point they will become immortal themselves, and be unable to take a second Code." He paused for a moment to let them digest this information.
"To achieve complete victory, we will need four perfected Geass powers to kill the Emperor and the three Codes his allies will undoubtedly possess."
"And the five of us would become immortal." Kallen observed, excited at the prospect. As she finished saying this, CC suddenly understood what Lelouch meant earlier. He was going to give her something she had never thought possible, a family that she wouldn't have to watch time tear away from her. She smiled at the thought of the plan. Nobody else could come up with such an elegant solution.
"Correct. We could do more than just create a better world, we could make it last forever."
CC, easily figuring out what her immediate role in Lelouch's plan was, stepped in front of Kallen and held out her right hand.
"When you're ready, take my hand." She instructed. Kallen slowly reached forward, and life as she knew it suddenly changed forever.
Zero monitored the status of the transport convoy as he maneuvered his Gekka frame through the dark subway tunnels. Around him, 89 other knightmare frames of all types, all but four of the Black Knights' inventory, were also moving through the tunnels toward the operation start points just outside of Nerima.
The main Britannian force conducting Operation Wildfire had encircled the Nerima ghetto three hours earlier than expected, and primary combat operations had begun just over an hour later. Britannian infantry, armor, and knightmare units advanced into the ghetto under the cover of Shortsword air support. Inoue reported from her Naginata siege tank that the transports and their escorts were underground and ready to move.
Ten minutes later, Black knightmares began surfacing from five exit points just outside of Nerima. Zero called a ready check. One by one, every P, R, B, and N units all reported as ready for combat. Zero Squad, call sign Q, were all that was left.
Kallen took a deep breath and glanced at the custom Gekka and Gloucester next to her Guren. She looked into the reflection of the crimson light radiating from her left eye...and smiled.
"Q1 ready."