Hey everyone and welcome back to Code Geass Bonds of Rebellion and this is the start of Season 2. I know it's been a while, but I really wanted to start another story after I finished Season 1 and since the anime ended on a cliff-hanger and took a while to air the next season, I figured I would do the same. Hope you all enjoy it.
23. The Day A Demon Awakens.
Year 2018, Area 11, Skies Above The Tokyo Settlement.
It has now been one year since the events of the SAZ took place. In that period of time, the Tokyo Settlement and its people have gone through many different changes. Right now there is an orange blimp flying over the skies of the Tokyo Settlement. The pilot of the blimp is currently contacting the flight manager via radio.
"This is 2-D-4." The female pilot contacted. "We're now entering Tokyo Settlement-controlled airspace."
"Roger." The male A.T.C. replied. "Your flight objective here is commercial advertising, correct?"
"No change in that. As filed the duration of our flight will be fourteen hours."
"That is confirmed. You're cleared for flyover."
"Acknowledged. I appreciate it." The female pilot is revealed to be C.C who then turns off the radio and smiles.
Inside the blimp behind C.C is Urabe and Six members of the Black Knights along with Six Burais. They all look determined and ready for their mission.
"Everything is in place. After all this time, we the Black Knights have been waiting for this mission, and absolutely cannot fail." Urabe said, determined. "Soul and R.R are moving into position and, Kozuki is in her post waiting to give the signal. Now, all we need to do is rendezvous with Lyre and wait. Once Operation Flying Swallow 4 is successful, then."
"Yes." All of the Black Knight members said in unison.
"Forgive me," Urabe said looking down at his sake cup. "Here's to you. To victory." Urabe drank from his cup and then threw it to the floor, shattering it to pieces. "We shall reclaim Zero!"
"We shall reclaim Zero!" The Black Knights present all said in unison copying his action.
Ashford Academy
In a private Academy for Britannian Students, there was a boy walking down the halls of Ashford. The boy wore his Ashford High School uniform and had straight dark brown hair that went down to the back of his neck and stood 5'9. It was an eighteen-year-old Lelouch Lamperouge, a third-year Student and current Vice-President of the Ashford Student Council. As Lelouch continued his walk down the halls, he turned around when he heard someone approach him.
"Lelouch!" A female voice spoke out.
Lelouch turned around to see. "Ah not again…" He said lightheartedly as he faces, Villetta Nu A Academy P.E teacher, formally a soldier among the now-disbanded Purist Faction of the Brittanian military. "You are persistent."
Villetta smiled. "You are not going to get away this time. Ah—"
Villetta was surprised as Lelouch quickly ran away from her, and ran down the hallway, Villetta chased after him.
As Lelouch ran, he passed by many other Students in the hallway, they just looked amused as if this was a normal occurrence.
"Hey Lelouch, about what you said…" One of the male Students called out as Lelouch ran past him. "That thing from last time-"
"Sorry! Catch ya later." Lelouch said with a playful smile, not stopping.
"Lelouch, you come back here!" Villetta called out as she chased him.
Lelouch passed by a lot more Students, most of the female Students were cheering him on.
"Vice-Prez!"
"Hope you get lucky! Go!"
"Yeah, whatever…" Lelouch muttered.
Lelouch ran inside of a science lab that had a large number of beakers and test tubes, with the lights off and was breathing heavily, tried from all the running. Villetta caught up and stood in front of the open door.
"You lost the moment you turned this into a contest of strength and speed," Villetta said as she walked in.
"Aren't you overreacting? I mean this is just about making up a P.E class." Lelouch said.
"No. Quit cutting class, Lelouch." Villetta retorted.
"I have more than enough school credits to pass, don't I?" Lelouch asked.
Lelouch then placed a finger on one of the test tubes and poured the contents on top of a petri dish of pink liquid on the table. The result was a small burst that created a pink gas cloud that covered the entire room. Villetta not knowing what the gas was backed away worried. Lelouch took this chance to escape and ran out the door, running down the hall again.
"Don't worry. It's only coloured smoke!" Lelouch called out while running.
"Wait!" Villetta called out.
Lelouch made his way to the stairs and started making his way down. On a staircase above him was Milly Ashford who was holding a bag of food.
"Hey Vice-Prez, hang in there!" Milly called out, throwing him the bag of food.
Lelouch catches it and continues sprinting down the stairs.
"Ah, thanks a lot," Lelouch said.
Villetta arrives at the staircase and gives Milly a look of annoyance for her action.
"What kinda Student President are you?!" Villetta berated.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Lost my head." Milly said absent-mindedly with a smile.
Lelouch is now outside the Academy building and still running away. Villetta is standing in front of an open window and spots Lelouch.
"Lelouch!" Villetta called out.
Villetta proceeds to jump from the building window and lands on top of Lelouch, she smiles believing she had finally caught him.
However, the person she landed on reaches for their head and removes a wig that looks exactly like Lelouch's hair. It is revealed to be Rivalz Cardemonde who was disguised as Lelouch to take as a decoy.
"Ouch, are you trying to kill me, coach?!" Rivalz mused.
"Rivalz?" Villetta asked, surprised. "But how did you…"
Villetta then looks to her right to see a little distance away by the School Gate was Lelouch in the side-car of Rivalz' motorbike and Rolo who was in the driver's seat was driving away heading out of campus.
"I need to borrow your bike, Rivalz. See ya!" Lelouch called out as they left.
By an open window in the School building, in the hallway, Shirley Fenette looked out the window and see Lelouch leaving.
"What are you up to now, Lulu?" Shirley asked herself.
The Highway Of The Tokyo Settlement
On the Highway Lelouch was riding in the sidecar of the motorbike and Rolo was driving. The two of them were heading downtown.
"For crying out loud, can't they give me a break and leave me alone after school?" Lelouch complained.
"But they only do that because you are always skipping class, Lelouch?" Rolo reminded him.
"Because I find them insufferably boring." Lelouch reasoned. He opened the small bag of food given to him by Milly and took out a piece of bread which he splits in half and holds one half out to Rolo. "Here. Have some. It's from Milly."
Rolo reaches his head out to try and take a bite but it causes him to slightly lose control of the bike and almost crash before regaining control.
"Wow, I can't eat and steer," Rolo said.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Lelouch said with a soft smile.
Lelouch then looks out with his eyes narrowed while he thinks to himself. "It's been a year since The making of the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan was first formed by the Former Sub-Viceroy and the Black Knights, the organization instigated by Zero and Soul. Things have hardly quieted down since, especially here in Area 11. When it all began, no one could have predicted how everything was going to pan out. This whole Area is in a delicate situation, a conflict could start up any day now. At one point, I considered returning to the homeland, but still have reasons for staying." Lelouch thought to himself.
"Did you hand in your career guidance report yet?" Rolo asked, bring him out of his thoughts.
"Ah?" Lelouch turned to him curious.
"That's the reason Ms Villetta was so upset." Rolo clarified.
"Oh…" Lelouch said, understanding.
"So, what about college?" Rolo asked.
"Well, I haven't decided yet," Lelouch said with a small smile. "I am sick and tired of being a student. But I'm not ready to get a job and join the system, either."
"A typical answer?" Rolo said, with a knowing smile.
"Besides, what could I ever hope to attain by entering the workforce? Big corporations and the nobility would still be above me. A structured mature world. I would simply be absorbed into the hierarchy of adults." Lelouch thought to himself, dissatisfied.
They Both then turn to see a large screen and see Live Footage of the current Viceroy of Area Eleven beside him are a squadron of soldiers holding guns and in front of them are a small number of Japanese people dressed in prison garb. Viceroy Calares give the soldiers the order to shoot the prisoners and they open fire. The prisoners are gunned down.
"We all need to understand that this is not discrimination, but rather, it's differentiation!" Calares declares. "The Elevens revealed themselves to be a dangerous, belligerent race. They followed the scoundrels Zero and Soul, along with the treacherous Euphemia! They stole Britannian territory to build their own Blasphemous Zone and took up the name Japanese, a name that denies everything our Empire stands for! The defeated have no rights, their Zone and the name Japanese is something we can never accept. And while we can't take action against those within the Zone. It's our duty as Britannians to control and educate the Elevens outside the Zone so that there will never be a second uprising!"
"Everything changed in Area Eleven after the Zone was built." Lelouch thought to himself. "After Zero and Soul agreed to lend support to help the Zone, Euphemia give up her position as an heir to the throne among the royal family and her position as the Sub-Viceroy. The Black Knights then gave her a place among their ranks and she now has joined hands with them, the Britannian population consider her to be a traitor to her people and have given her the name Princess Treachery, while the Japanese inside the Zone think of her a saviour along with Zero and Soul. Britannian Nobles and aristocrats have been trying to bring down the Zone, but before it even began the Black Knights formed a contact with the Chinese Federation. Heh, guess they were thinking ahead. Now they have the strength and the authority to hold back the Britannians with the threat of war hang over their heads, though the Britannians are still trying to negotiate with the Chinese to break their contention to the Black Knights, even now. Both sides can't do anything back glare at each other from their borders. As for the Elevens who couldn't fit into the Zone, they are forced to stay in either the Settlement or the Ghettos and the Britannians just treat them even worse than before to take out their frustrations, it's pitiful. What I don't understand is, creating the Zone is what created a Third-Class system, and so by all rights, the Elevens should look at the Zone and the Japanese with hatred and envy, yet no matter how you look at it, that isn't the case, I wonder why?"
The motorbike they are on then drives past several billboards with posters of Zero on them, all talking about his disappearance.
"Zero, that's something else I've been wondering," Lelouch thought to himself. "Shortly after the special Zone was formed he vanished off the face of the earth. The Black Knights tried to cover it up, but it could only stay hidden for so long. Zero disappeared, leaving a hole in the hierarchy of the Black Knights, Soul has actually been capable of leading them this past year, but how long can that really last? Zero, where did you go and what are you thinking of right? No matter what you try, the world is just a…"
Lelouch shook his head then looked out at the sky.
"But still, that's not the only thing I've had on my mind." Lelouch thought to himself. "I often wonder why Suzaku did what he did. Before Suzaku was also a Hero to the Japanese, but six months after the Zone was made he left Euphemia and gave up his position as her Knight in order to join Second Prince Schneizel in the E.U wars. After a while, he became promoted by the Emperor himself and gained rank among the Knights of the Round. The Japanese now consider him a traitor just like his father. Ironic, a former Britannian Princess is a Hero to the Japanese, and a former Japanese soldier is now a Knight of Britannian, and both their homelands consider them to be traitors." Lelouch thinks of the time he spent with Suzaku. "Suzaku, I don't know why you did what you did, but I'm sure you had your reasons."
Lelouch then turned to face Rolo.
"Another thing I have on my mind is how Logan is doing," Lelouch thought to himself. "A year ago, Logan left Area Eleven to go study aboard at the E.U, he's still there right now, it's a shame, things were always easier in life when he was with me. But because he went alone he asked me to look after his little brother Rolo for him. I accepted, after all, I have no problem with Rolo and Logan has always been my best friend, I would gladly do him this favour."
Area 11 Government Bureau
Outside the Government Bureau Viceroy Calares is having a conversation with a soldier, while Gilbert G.P Guilford and the Glaston Knights stood behind him while listening to the conversation.
"Viceroy Calares, please hurry. The delegation from the Chinese Federation is waiting." The soldier informed.
"I understand. Are those O.S.I. people going to carry it out? What about the Intelligence Agency's plan?" Calares asked.
"Yes. At Babel Tower, my lord." The soldier confirmed.
Calares sighed and looked towards Babel Tower which could be seen in the distance. "On today of all days. What could His Majesty be thinking? The Black Knights can't do anything to us at this point without the risk of starting a war… Besides, they can't do much while Zero is missing.
Construction Sight Near Babel Tower
Meanwhile, near Babel Tower was a construction site where constructors were working on a building. Britannians and Elevens are working, but the Elevens are shown to be working in much more extremely unpleasant conditions. One of them is breathing heavily, feeling exhaustion. One of his Britannian supervisors sees this and yells at him.
"Quit slacking off, lazy Eleven monkey!" The Britannian Supervisors warned.
"Y-Yes, sir!" The Eleven worker replies fearfully.
Monitoring Room
Inside a monitoring room, there are a group of soldiers from the Office of Secret Intelligence, a special division of undercover soldiers who work directly for the Emperor were watching Lelouch and Rolo from a distance and tracking his location and movements on a monitor.
"Target arriving as predicted." An O.S.I Soldier informed.
"Run foot patrol to me, sending ID numbers of vehicles." A second O.S.I Soldier contacted over a radio.
"Target now entering the fifth gate from B3. Coming in from B3 to the Fifth Gate." The second O.S.I soldier reported.
"Do you think she'll show this time?" A Third O.S.I soldier asked the group commander.
"I just know we can't afford to fail." The O.S.I. commander responded. "We're taking the huge risk by letting Lelouch go to the settlement's outer edge."
Babel Tower Parking Lot
Lelouch got out of the sidecar of the motorbike and prepared to head inside the building while holding a briefcase.
"All right then. You can come with me but I warn you, you have to watch out. Because today I'm going to be breaking a law." Lelouch told Rolo.
"Don't get caught," Rolo warned him.
"Cops don't scare me," Lelouch replied amused.
"Why do this?" Rolo asked, taking off his driving helmet. "'Cause, I mean, you are not even doing this for the money, are you?"
"Need you ask? It's because I wanna battle more challenging opponents." Lelouch answered as the two of them went inside. As they were going up in the elevator Lelouch had a look of boredom on his face. "That's a lie. I do this out of sheer boredom. In short…I'm…"
Babel Tower Main Gambling Hall
The elevator soon reaches the top floor and Lelouch and Rolo enter a gambling hall. Inside are many rich Britannians who are taking part in many different types of gambling, ranging from Slot, Roulette, Black Jack, Poker, and even a lower floor pit fight.
Inside the pit, two Elevens who share a resemblance to each other are having a brutal fight while wearing handcuffs, above them on the upper floor is a crowd of Britannians watching them fight while laughing.
"Today's main event is a brutal match between brothers. Which sibling will win? The older one or the younger?" The announcer said over a loudspeaker.
Lelouch and Rolo arrive and see the fight. The two brothers are doing everything they can to beat one another. Rolo looks uncomfortable while Lelouch remains stoic.
"We don't belong here. Let's go." Rolo said, not liking what he was seeing.
"It's simple to figure out. Just relax. Look there." Lelouch said pointing to the audience. "The Britannians like ourselves are laughing and having fun. The ones who are being laughed at are the Elevens. You pretend not to notice but in the end…"
"But then why?" Rolo asked.
"I know…but it's the truth," Lelouch said bitterly. "The Elevens have no other place in the world. First, they lost their place when Area Eleven got colonized and again when the Japan Special Zone had no room for them. How could they rebel when they don't have the strength."
Lelouch then bumps into a waitress/prostitute dressed in a revealing pink bunny suit, causing her to drop two glasses of wine onto his leg.
"I'm terribly sorry!" The waitress apologizes while getting on her knees and wiping his leg with a towel.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry." Lelouch tries to pardon her.
"But I am an Eleven. And you are a Britannian student. This is inexcusable." The waitress argues still wiping the wine off.
"All the more reason to excuse you. I hate having our social class held over you like a sword." Lelouch said bitterly while putting down his briefcase and kneeling to look her in the eye.
"It doesn't matter." The waitress stops and looks up at him, revealing herself to be Kallen. "Powerless have no choice but to bear their lot in life. Regardless of if their oppressor is wrong." She quoted what Lelouch once said to her.
Lelouch frowns. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't push your values on me. I'm not interested." He replies, not recognizing her.
Rolo looks at her seriously.
"Kallen, then it's time." Rolo thought to himself.
"I beg your pardon." Kallen continues to try and wipe the spot, notably holding a small tracking device in her hand. She tries to plant the device on Lelouch, but a hand reaches out and grabs her by the hair.
Kallen lets out a painful shriek as the hand is revealed to belong to a large tan-skinned man with blonde hair, he is wearing expensive clothes and has a condescending look on his face.
This action causes Kallen to drop the tracking device without Lelouch noticing.
"Come here." The man said, kneeling down to see Kallen's face. "Let me take a look at you." He smiles. "Hmm…nice goods you've got here."
"Yes, Mr King, We have a large quality catch of bunnies today." A man in a suit who appears to be the manager said with a smile while rubbing his hands together. Behind him are three other girls wearing different coloured bunny suits, and two imposing looking bodyguards.
Lelouch narrows his eyes at the scene he is witnessing.
"You're wrong, sir. I'm not for sale." Kallen said hurt.
"But you are for sale." The man argued. "You should know by now. Losers don't have any rights."
Monitoring Room
O.S.I. is still watching Lelouch from the monitoring room, and notice what's currently happening.
"Alert. Unforeseen trouble occurring." One of the soldiers informed.
The squadron command looked annoyed.
Gambling Hall.
Back at the casino, The large man is still holding Kallen by her hair.
"Curse your own wretched birth for not having been born with power. That's what His Majesty always says, isn't it?" The man large mocked, confident.
"His Majesty…" Lelouch muttered, upset.
"The strong feed upon and devour the weak." The large man continued. "That's the rule, kid."
"The guy is mafia, Lelouch," Rolo whispered, warning him.
"What an arrogant display," Lelouch said with a glare, getting his attention. "Feeding upon the weak are you?" He asked, picking up his briefcase.
The large man stood up, still holding Kallen by her hair, and looked at Lelouch annoyed. "This is the grownup world in here, schoolboy, so get lost."
Lelouch smiled, not feeling intimidated. "Then will the adult world devour the student or is it the other way around. Why don't we find out the answer with this?"
Lelouch opens his briefcase to reveal a Chessboard along with black and white Chess pieces.
"With chess?" The large man asked.
"Lelouch, don't!" Rolo warned, running up to him.
"Too late, fellows." The large man said, with an amused tone and grin. "Right boys?" He looked back and asked his two bodyguards.
The two bodyguards simply laughed in agreement.
"Students really don't know much of anything, do they?" The large man said confidently while letting go of Kallen.
"That's not true, Mr Black King," Lelouch said addressing the large man, surprising him. "You're a famous chess player in the gambling arena, aren't you?"
"So you know who I am, huh?" The Black King asked, clenching his fist.
Sky's Above The Tokyo Settlement
The Orange blimp that C.C was piloting with Urabe and several other Black Knights inside was getting closer to Babel Tower, they could now see it in the distance.
Inside the blimp, C.C picked up a communicator and made a call on it. "Soul, this is C.C, I have a status update."
Inside A Hidden Base Somewhere
Inside of a base somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Soul was in a small meeting room sitting in a chair while talking on a phone. Soul's uniform was different from one year ago. He wears silver-white gloves on his hands, each with a grey band on the wrist, while the rest of the glove, which has three black buttons lining one side, bells outwards. There is a black pauldron on both of his shoulders, each attached to his coat by two straps. He also wears black pants and black, silver-lined, knee-high boots. He is also wearing a black leather coat that is red on the inside and lined with yellow, and also has a large grey section that covers the lower half and shoulders of the coat. Upon closer inspection, this grey section seems to be attached by several small pins or buttons around the hip and neck sections of the coat, as well as by a belt that wraps around his back and attaches to the rim of the coat. This coat is high-collared and completely unzipped, showing the second, shorter jacket the Rebel wears underneath. Soul's second jacket is white and high-collared much like the outer coat. It is mostly buttoned being closed up by three buttons and two belts near his waist, only to flare outward again, leaving three buttons undone. On the Jackets back is the Black Knights emblem, but it seems to be just decoration as it appears attached to the long coat. His mask however looked the same as before.
"I see, then it's just as we expected," Soul said on the phone. "Wait until I get there, we'll finish the operation and take out the O.S.I."
Soul then hung up and put the phone down. After a moment the door to the room opened and a person walked in. That person was Euphemia li Britannia, the former third Princess and current co-leader of the SAZ. Her outfit was her usual Princess attire. She had a worried look on her face.
"Euphie, have you learned any information on the current situation?" Soul asked.
Euphie nodded. "I did, it seems the Viceroy is planning a meeting with a delegation from the Chinese Federation. This time it's one of the High Eunuchs who is being escorted by Xingke. It's scheduled for today."
"That's a problem, we sent Lady Kaguya to the Chinese Federation to form a connection to the Empress and gained contact with Xingke, but the High Eunuchs have their own agenda. No doubt Xingke on his own can't stop one, if the Viceroy and the High Eunuch come to an agreement we'll be at a disadvantage."
Euphie frowned nervously. "And about your end, has anything new happened."
"As a matter of fact, I have good news," Soul said standing up. "We're all ready to move out, if things are successful we can bring back Zero."
Euphie's face became hopeful. "Really, is that true?"
"Soul nodded. "It is, I'm going to meet up with Orpheus and the others, you get things ready on your side as well."
Euphie nodded. "Right, I understand."
"A whole year we've prepared for this." Soul then picks up a strange rectangle-shaped device. "Once we get back Zero, we can make our move, and flip the whole board upside-down."
Babel Tower Gambling Hall
Back at the casino, Lelouch and the Black King were in the middle of their Chess match, as the game went on a crowd of onlookers gathered around the two of them. Lelouch was sitting on a chair while Rolo and Kallen were standing beside him, while the Black King was also sitting in a chair with his two bodyguards standing beside him. Lelouch was using the White Pieces while the Black King was using the Black Pieces. Lelouch was currently winning.
"And that's Checkmate," Lelouch said as he moved his Bishop piece.
"Impossible…" The Black King said in shock at his defeat.
The audience was also surprised.
"The student beat him." An onlooker whispered.
"Black King lost." Another onlooker whispered.
"How could he lose so easily." A Third onlooker whispered.
"Looks like you're the one who's been devoured here," Lelouch said.
"Damn. That's inconvenient." The Black King said with a shrug. "How will I ever be able to show my face in public if word of this gets around."
"I would never spread rumours," Lelouch said.
"No, schoolboy. Not that. What I'm saying is that others will hear how you cunningly cheated me." The Black King said with a grin.
"I…what?" Lelouch asked shocked.
"Such a naughty little man." The Black King taunted.
"Now, wait a minute!" Lelouch tried to deny it.
"Cheat? But in chess how could you?" Kallen asked, not believing it.
"There's no way to do it," Rolo said in agreement.
"Get him and hold him." The Black King orders one of his bodyguards, the bodyguards nods and walks over to Lelouch. "Now to whip up a little evidence against the kid."
"You filthy lying adult!" Lelouch said, standing up outraged.
"Fair play doesn't win the game. Learn that, schoolboy." The Black King said, pulling out a gun.
His two bodyguards grab Lelouch and small his head down on the game board.
"Let him go!" Rolo said, about to use his Geass.
Suddenly everyone stops and a loud explosive crash is heard. The lights start to flicker and the whole building is shaking. The patrons of the casino all stop and looking around in fear and worry for their own safety. Rolo and Kallen narrow their eyes, knowing what's about to happen.
"Terrorists?!" The Black King said shocked, standing up.
Kallen uses this distraction to remove her bunny ears and punches him in the face followed by kicking him in the head which knocks him down. Outside Babel Tower hovering above the roof is the orange blimp C.C is piloting, the blimp proceeds to begin firing machines guns at the building. Back inside the casino Kallen jumps in the air towards the two bodyguards, they pull out their guns and try shooting at her but they miss, Kallen kicks out at the two of them and knocks them down. Inside the blimp Urabe power on his Gekka and prepares to move.
"Black Knights Move out!" Urabe orders.
C.C and the other members of the Black Knights in the blimp all enter Burais and drive their Knightmares into the building.
Inside the casino, everyone is in a panic and starts running away. Kallen grabs Lelouch's arm and drags him off with her.
"Come on! This way!" Kallen said running.
"H-Hey!" Lelouch asked, surprised.
"Lelouch!" Rolo said, loudly following them.
The Knightmares of the Black Knights burst in from the ceiling.
Monitoring Room
Inside the monitoring room, the members of the O.S.I. are now entering their own Knightmares.
"An airship…hum…their final gasp?" The O.S.I squadron commander asked while entering his Knightmare.
The O.S.I. squadron commander once inside his Knightmares cockpit activates his Knightmare.
"Office of Secret Intelligence. Initiate Operation Valhalla Seven." The O.S.I squadron commander orders.
"Yes, My Lord!" The members of the O.S.I chanted in unison.
Babel Tower Gambling Hall
Lelouch looks around at all the destruction around him and is horrified and confused.
"What is this? What's happening? What!?" Lelouch thought to himself, shaken.
In Front Of The Area 11 Government Bureau
Outside the Government Bureau Viceroy Calares, Guilford and Military soldiers were standing in front of a transport plane welcoming the two delegations from the Chinese Federation, the two of them exited to plane and stood in front of the Britannians that came to welcome them. One of them was Li Xingke, he looked exactly as he did one year ago, the other was one of the High Eunuchs, a ruling class that governed the Chinese Federation along with the Empress. He is Gao Hai, a pale-skinned and young-looking man with red marked patterns on his nose and forehead, his attire is the standard High Eunuch attire.
"We welcome you here to Area 11." Calares greeted.
"We didn't expect an armed reception even though we heard that zero was missing and Area Eleven was in a stand-off against Soul and the Special Zone." Gao Hai said.
"Standoff?" Calares asked, before smiling. "You have the wrong idea. I hoped it would offer you and the other representatives of the Chinese Federation a better understanding of us Britannians."
"My, an uncommonly straightforward approach." Gao Hai replied.
Two members of the Britannian military approached Xingke.
"May we have what you're carrying, sir?" One of the soldiers asked, referring to Xingke's Sword.
"Our security is perfect. You don't need to carry that antique weapon here." The second soldier insisted.
Xingke narrowed his eyes and quickly drew his Sword, he then slashed out and then put it back in its sheath and the two soldiers looked down and saw that Xingke had cut off their belts.
"Xingke, that was rude of you." Gao Hai scolded.
"Please forgive me. But I hoped it would offer you and any other Britannians a better understanding of the Chinese Federation." Xingke said with a smirk.
"Why you…" Calares said with a glare.
Soon an explosion was heard and both of them turned to see it was coming from Babel Tower.
Babel Tower Gambling Hall
Back at the casino Rolo used his Geass and grabbed Lelouch's arm, he then ran off dragging Lelouch with him.
"Lelouch this way!" Rolo said while running.
Unbeknownst the Lelouch Rolo took the tracking device Kallen had and placed it on Lelouch, allowing the Black Knights to track his whereabouts. Rolo turned his head and looked at Kallen with a nod.
Kallen nodded back at him and ran in the opposite direction.
"Rolo, keep him safe until we're ready." Kallen thought.
A part of the ceiling collapsed and rubble fell down.
Inside The Blimp
Six members of the Black Knights were still inside the blimp and one of them was contacting Urabe.
"Really? We've got a signal on the target?" Urabe asked over the communicator.
"Yes, that is correct. He's with R.R right now. We will be going in now." The Black Knight member informed.
"Understood," Urabe responded.
Inside A Sutherland Cockpit
The O.S.I. squadron commander was inside the cockpit of his Sutherland and was driving through Babel Tower while contacting other members.
"The terrorists attacking Babel Tower appear well-equipped. They're armed with several Knightmares." An O.S.I member reported over the communicator.
"At the commencement of the operation. Perimeter cleaning complete." Another O.S.I member reported over the communicator.
"Good. Now enter the Seventh Sequence." The O.S.I squadron commander ordered.
"Commander, Viceroy Calares is…" A third O.S.I member contacted.
"Pay no attention to that low-level bureaucrat." The O.S.I. squadron commander interrupted, unconcerned. "Our orders come directly from the Emperor himself."
"Yes, My Lord." The third O.S.I member responded.
Babel Tower Top Floor Lobby
There was mass panic among the civilians inside Babel Tower as they were all trying to quickly evacuate the building. A large number of people had gathered around the elevator and tried going down, however, there were too many people inside and the elevator wouldn't move.
"Elevens can take the stairs!" A nobleman shouted.
"We're overloading!" A civilian shouted.
"Don't push it!" A civilian outside the elevator shouted.
Meanwhile, Lelouch and Rolo were in the centre of the lobby and running around looking for a way to escape.
"Terrorists?! What are the Black Knights doing here? What could they possibly how to gain?" Lelouch thought worried.
Just then a hole in the ceiling burst open and a Burai came down appearing in the lobby and landing right in front of Lelouch. The Burai faces Lelouch and holds out its hand, this action confuses and surprises Lelouch.
At that moment, Sutherlands piloted by members of the Britannian military burst in from the window and appear with their guns ready.
"Britannian Military!" Rolo said, surprised.
The Sutherlands then begin to open fire, shooting at the Burai, and all the civilians including the Britannians. The Burai stand in front of Lelouch and Rolo and shields them from the gunfire while firing at the Sutherlands.
Lelouch and Rolo take this chance to run away.
The Burai then starts taking more damage and one of its arms are blown off, it then drives away.
Babel Tower Lower Floor.
on one of the lower floors of Babel Tower, the floor was deserted and all the power was off. Kallen was running down the hallway.
"Filthy Britannians!" Kallen said while running.
Kallen soon stopped at the centre of the floor she was on and in front of her were two Burais piloted by Black Knight and a mental Knightmare container.
"Hey, I wasn't able to bring him the device like we planned," Kallen informed them.
"We heard. Urabe and the others are following their end too, and Soul has already arrived in the tower right now." A Black Knight reported.
"Understood," Kallen said.
"Then there's only one thing left." A male voice said.
Kallen looked to her right and saw a person approach her. He was a man the same age as her who had bright blonde hair, his face was covered by a silver metallic mask that covered his eyes forehead and the sides of his face but revealed his mouth. He was wearing a white noble-looking attire that has yellow outlines and a black vest-jacket.
"Lyre," Kallen said.
"Here Kallen." The now named Lyre tossed Kallen her key to the Guren MK II. "Let's begin the final phase of this operation.
"Right." Kallen nodded.
The Knightmare container opened and inside revealed the Guren MK II, Kallen entered the cockpit of her Knightmare and used the key to activate it. Kallen, Lyre and the rest of the Black Knights prepared to move out.
Storage Closet
Back at the upper floors of the building Lelouch and Rolo ran inside a storage closet to hide. Lelouch opened the closet door and got in.
"Rolo, this way!" Lelouch told him.
Rolo ran inside the storage closet and Lelouch quickly closed the door. Lelouch then got on his knees and started breathing heavily.
"What the hell is going on? That Knightmare earlier… Was it trying to..?" Lelouch thought, remembering the Burai that reached out to him.
Another explosion was heard.
"Lelouch, what'll we do now?" Rolo asked, worried.
"Don't worry. We'll be all right." Lelouch said, reassuringly as he got up. "I promise you. I'll get us out of here."
"Yeah… I'm sure." Rolo said, with a smile. "We'll be fine. We're…"
Rolo was cut off when Lelouch saw a soldier on a steel beam and notices he is holding a gun that is aimed at Rolo.
"Rolo!" Lelouch yelled as he ran up to him and pushed out of the way.
Soon there is another explosion that is followed by a blast of debris, it blows away the enemy soldier but also knocks Lelouch off his feet and down a giant pit. Rolo rushes over to him and tries to reach out and grab his hand, Lelouch tries to do the same but they are too far apart and Lelouch falls.
"Lelouch!" Rolo yelled seeing Lelouch fall.
Ashford Academy
Meanwhile, at Ashford Academy Milly, Shirley and Rivalz are all working on their rooftop garden. While Shirley is trimming a hedge, Rivalz is working on a plastic design sculpture, though Milly is just sitting on a chair looking at their design plans.
"And now Lulu's giving all of his same bad habits to Rolo," Shirley complained.
"Admit it, Shirley. You're worried about your darling Lulu." Milly teased.
"No, I am not!" Shirley denied loudly.
"There she goes again.." Rivalz chimed in.
Shirley blushed then looked away.
"Whatever. Besides Logan won't be happy if he sees Lulu become a negative influence of his little brother."
"But, Logan did the same stuff when he was around." Rivalz pointed out. "So I'm sure he won't mind."
Shirley sighed annoyed.
Babel Tower Underground Floor
After falling from the pit Lelouch now finds himself on an underground floor of Babel Tower, Lelouch landed on a green tarp which broke his fall. Lelouch gets up and looks around at his surroundings.
"R… Rolo?" Lelouch said, looking up to see how far he fell. "ROLO!" He called out. Lelouch then takes out his cell phone and tries to call him but gets no signal. "I'm out of range? What do I do now? At this rate, we'll both be…" Lelouch thought to himself. Lelouch then starts climbing up a long flight of stairs. "No, I have to try and save him. The least I should be able to do is save him, my best friend's only brother! Even I ought to have enough strength in me to do that. I have to…"
Lelouch makes his way through the building trying to find Rolo while avoiding being seen. As he heads up he comes into a room littered with corpses that had just been gunned down including the bunny waitresses/prostitutes, the two brothers from the pit fight, and the Black King.
"Terrorists are responsible for this? But Elevens were killed too…" Lelouch thought, falling to his knees feeling sick at what he was seeing.
Lelouch then looks at one of the bunny waitress/prostitutes and notices the corpse has a bloody picture of Zero and Soul.
"Are these people still counting on Zero and Soul to rescue them?" Lelouch asked himself. "Is that why they didn't revolt? Because they believed that those two would fix their problems?"
Lelouch then looks up and notices a Knightmare is now standing before him, and it's the same Burai from before. Lelouch got up and was worried.
"The Black Knights…" Lelouch said fearfully.
The cockpit of the Burai opened and the pilot was about to come out.
"What do I do?" Lelouch asked himself, fearing for his life. "Will they kill me? Even if I run…."
"Lelouch." A female voice spoke surprising Lelouch.
The Burai turned around and the pilot standing on the open piloting seat is revealed to be C.C.
"I came to get you out of here, Lelouch. I'm on your side and an ally. And your sworn enemy is Britannia." C.C told him, surprising Lelouch further. "We have a contract. You and I are both accomplices."
"Contract? Accomplices?" Lelouch asked, not understanding.
"I'm the only one who knows you, the real you." C.C continued. "Along with Logan."
Lelouch's eyes widened now shocked.
"Logan? What does she mean? How does she know him? And what does she mean Real me?" Lelouch asked himself, more confused than ever.
Then as if he was in a trance Leloch started walking approaching C.C, and C.C holds out her hand towards him. But suddenly gunfire is heard and C.C is shot in the back. Both of them are shocked by this.
"L-Lelouch…" C.C spoke before falling from her Knightmare.
Lelouch quickly runs and catches her in his arms before she hit the ground.
"H-Hey! Are you all right?" Lelouch asked desperately, but C.C doesn't respond. Lelouch then looks in front of him to see the soldiers from the O.S.I along with a Sutherland.
"Why are soldiers…" Lelouch said but didn't get to finish as the soldiers spread out and took out flamethrowers which they used to ignite all the corpses intending to burn them all.
"Hold on…what are you…" Lelouch muttered, but then stopped when he heard a woman scream from being burnt. "Stop it! That woman is still alive!" Lelouch shouted, though the soldiers then ruthlessly shot the surviving woman to death, Lelouch looked horrified.
From the Sutherland, the O.S.I. squadron commander came out of the cockpit.
"You served your function well, good Lelouch Lamperouge." The O.S.I. squadron commander said pleased.
"Function? What are you talking about?!" Lelouch asked, shaken and confused.
The O.S.I. squadron commander then takes out a book with a picture of the Britannian flag on the cover. "We've had our eye on you for a very long time now, young man." He then opens the book and starts reading. "Wakes up at 6:59 am. From 7:12 am, watches the news with his best friend's little brother while eating breakfast. No ideological deviations with the program he watches. 8:45 am, goes to class. Doesn't attend his morning homeroom or first-period class. Instead, he reads on the roof. During his second period physics…"
"Those are things… I've done today…" Lelouch said surprised.
The O.S.I. squadron commander then puts the book away.
"I prefer to think of it as a pet diary or bait journal." The O.S.I squadron commander said.
"Bait journal?!" Lelouch asked.
"Or call it a trap, if you wish, for that witch. All to lure C.C out of hiding." The O.S.I squadron commander explained.
"No, wait, please! What's going on?!" Lelouch asked loudly, still confused.
"Boy, I'll have you know that I am a baron. I'm through wasting words on bait like you." The O.S.I commander said both annoyed and condescendingly. "Now time to dispose of you. And there won't be any witnesses left."
All the soldiers aim their guns at Lelouch.
"Dispose of? Is this…the end for me? Without even knowing why? So matter-of-factly?" Lelouch thought in despair. "To hell with that! Power…if I only had power…power to escape this place…power not to lose the world!"
At that moment C.C regained consciousness and take out the rectangle-shaped device Soul had and holds it up in front of Lelouch. Once she does the device activates and a blue sphere of light resembling the red sphere that is produced when Rolo's activates his Geass covers the two of them. When this happens two red rings of light appear around Lelouch's pupils before they vanish. Lelouch then found himself in a Geass illusion involving Jupiter.
"…what…what is this?" Lelouch thought
"You desire power?" C.C's voice asked inside the illusion.
"That voice… The girl who was shot?" Lelouch asked inside the illusion.
"You already possess the power you seek. It's merely imprisoned within the cage of amnesia. Remember…Remember who you really are…the power of the king… Now let the seal be broken...!" C.C's voice shouted.
Lelouch sees visions of the Geass sigil and then he starts to visions of himself and the events of his past.
"I see now… Persistent irritation that pricked me like thorns in my everyday life. Yes…huh…it was all the phoney memories implanted in me. But I remember now…" Lelouch thought while seeing visions of Charles, of Marianne, and finally of Zero. "I am…I am… I am… …ZERO!"
At the end of it, Lelouch sees a vision of Logan wearing his former Soul uniform without the mask. "Lelouch, so long as one of us exists, our ambitions won't end. After all, we're the Heart and Soul of Rebellion, aren't we?"
"Yes…I thank you for reminding me… Logan!" Lelouch thought loudly as the end of the vision.
Now on the outside Lelouch and C.C both stand up.
"Before you dispose of me, I'd like you to answer a question," Lelouch said in a more calm tone.
"That girl's still alive!" One of the soldiers said shocked.
"Impossible! She was shot through the heart!" Another soldier replied.
C.C then stands at the side of Lelouch while Lelouch starts to approach the O.S.I.
"If being powerless is so terribly wrong, then does having power make you right? Do you find vengeance evil? What's your value of friendship? Is it justice?" Lelouch questioned them while approaching.
"There is no justice or evil. The only truth that's left for you bait is the simple reality of death." The O.S.I. squadron commander answered confidently.
"I see. Then that reality is all that remains for you as well." Lelouch then stopped and smiled. "Don't you agree?"
"Yes, I agree completely!" A male voice called out.
At that moment the ceiling above them bursts apart and debris comes crashing down behind the members of the O.S.I. They all turn around to see that appearing from the debris is the Seventh Generation Black Knightmare Frame, the Agravaine.
"The Agravaine?!" A soldier cried out.
"But that means…Soul!?" Another soldier cried out.
The Agravaine then draws its VARIS-Rifle and points it at them.
"Die!" Soul said loudly from his Knightmares cockpit.
The Agravaine then open fired on the O.S.I soldiers and quickly killed them, the soldier commander tried to escape in his Sutherland but the Agravaine shot him down as he attempted it, the VARIS blow off one of the Sutherlands legs and it fell to the ground. With his Knightmare destroyed the O.S.I squadron commander tries to escape on foot, but Soul swiftly exits his Knightmare and jumps to the ground, he grabs the O.S.I squadron commander by his head and pins him to the ground.
Lelouch and C.C simply watch this unfold and approach.
"It seems you're the only one awaiting the reality of death," Soul said. "How quickly the tables have turned."
"How? you weren't supposed to be here?" The O.S.I. squadron commander spoke, now fearing for his life.
"The fact that you would even consider I wouldn't be with C.C for this operation is laughable," Soul answered.
The O.S.I. squadron commander grit his teeth in frustration.
"But don't worry, I won't be the one to kill you, I have something more poetic in mind," Soul said.
Soul then held up his head and made him face Lelouch.
"Thank you, Soul," Lelouch said before activating his Geass. "Now I, Lelouch Vi Britannia command you…die!" Lelouch ordered.
"It can't be—" The O.S.I. squadron commander said before the Geass took control.
Now under the control of Lelouch's Geass, the O.S.I. squadron commander reaches into his pocket, pulls out a gun, and shoots himself in the head. Thus killing himself. Lelouch looked on emotionless.
"Ever since that day, my heart simply couldn't accept it. This fake life I was never able to fit into. All the time that was lost. These false memories planted in me giving me a life as one of the herd. Yet…The truth continues to guide me toward itself." Lelouch thought, now having regained his memories. "That's right! It wasn't me who was wrong. It was the world!"
Soul then walks up to Lelouch while removing his mask, revealing the face of Lelouch's best friend Logan Raymond.
"The world has to change. So we will change it. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" Logan asked with a smile.
Lelouch smiled as well.
"I knew I could count on you, you saved me," Lelouch said, gratefully.
"I wasn't the only one," Logan said.
After that, two more Knightmares come down from the hole in the celling the Agravaine created. It was the Gekka that was piloted by Urabe and the Guren MK II that was piloted by Kallen. Both Knightmares got on one knee and bowed to both their leaders.
"We've been waiting for you, Master Zero," Urabe said. "Please, we await orders from both of you."
"Very well. Because, after all, I am Zero. The one who'll crash the world and the one who'll recreate the world anew." Lelouch declared ready.
Logan smirked, knowing the operation was a success.
"The time is now." Logan thought. "The Black Knights, are back."
Pendragon Imperial Palace, Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire
In the lounge of the Knights of the Round. Suzaku Kururugi stood there alone, wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Round. It was a formal-looking white suit with a black undershirt, black gloves that reach up to the wrists and black boots. Suzaku was talking to someone on the phone with a serious expression.
"I see, so the operation was a success," Suzaku said waiting for a reply. "Well then, I suppose it's time I head to Area Eleven myself."
Suzaku then hung up the phone and closed his eyes.
"Lelouch…Euphie." Suzaku thought.
TO BE CONTINUED
And that's the start of chapter one. First of all, it's one year after the events of R1 and as you can see, Area 11 is now changed in that time. I decided to make it so the SAZ is still there but barely hanging on, but thanks to the help of Xingke they are able to hold it together for a while. And as you can see Euphie is still around, she has a very important role in this season, not to mention she's now working with Soul. And the thing that gave Lelouch his memories back was a device instead of C.C, the device was a Geass canceler in case you didn't notice. Also The Black Knights now also have the aid of Lyre/Orpheus Zevon. Confused? Well, a lot happened the past year, the details will be seen in the next chapter, along with Suzaku's role. So until then stay toned.