Entropy 7: (R1;6) The Stolen Mask
Behind his mask Zero closed his eyes in resignation. Slowly, he brought up his hands to his helmet, prepared for the storm that would hit when he finally revealed himself. He was never as good as Lelouch at keeping secrets anyway.
"That's so unfair!" Rivalz pouted loudly, to no one in particular at first. "At this rate I'll be the last one to figure out Zero's true identity. Hey, Zero-" he waved to Zero sitting next to Nunnally by the center aisle, "-if I come over there would you tell me who you are? C'mon and be a pal, I won't even spill the secret to anyone else!"
Zero blinked behind his mask and unthinkingly dropped his hands back to rest against his legs.
"Mister..." he began in reply, trailing off as he remembered Zero wasn't supposed to know Rivalz very well. "Cardemonde, was it? I was actually just about to-"
Milly cut in, interrupting Zero with a laugh to scold her high school friend.
"Oh, come, Rivalz! I don't know who Zero is either. And so long as I don't cheat to get the answer, then neither should you!"
"Aw, but Milly..."
"I won't be having any of that, mister! Play fair and figure it out just like everybody else."
Rivalz continued to protest, not quite so serious anymore, earning another laughing admonishment from his crush, and Zero sat back, their mock argument playing out in the background while a new thought occurred to him. He was just about to reveal himself, wasn't he? So why did he even bother staying in character when he responded to his blue-haired Ashford buddy? Why did he expend the effort to keep up the lie?
Jeremiah's powerful voice boomed from the back row of the theatre, the cyborg's arms crossed and his single visible eye shut in consideration.
"Does it even really matter that you know who Zero is? I'm sure you'll find out eventually, and then what? What will it change to know who's behind the mask? Last episode Zero even told you that he had no other identity. He gave up any claim to it long ago."
That was right. Zero had abandoned the name of Suzaku Kururugi to become the infamous Knight for Justice the very second he plunged his sword through Lelouch's heart. He couldn't die, not with Lelouch's Geass command to live still gripping him, so there was no other way to redeem himself for all the crimes he'd committed in Britannia's service - and even before that - and all the lies he'd told to gain more and more power for himself, all amounting to nothing in the end.
Zero gave a short laugh, coming out as an ominous scoff through his helmet's voice synthesizer. Words he'd spoken to Lelouch once upon a time, when his hands were still clean of the evil that was FLEIJA, began to flood into his mind, and he nodded to himself, realizing, deep down, that they were still just as important now as they were back then. Zero had to turn his falsehoods into the truth. He was no hero, not like Lelouch had been, but it was his duty to keep acting like he was. For Lelouch, for the world, Suzaku had to keep the lie going. To the very end. Until his secret was fully exposed he couldn't reveal himself. No matter what came, he couldn't forsake Zero Requiem.
There was an explosion in Shinjuku close to where Suzaku and Yuffie still spoke together. In an old stadium, derelict and weathered, Jeremiah stood one against four in his Sutherland, without backup, without cover, and completely trapped by Kewell and his conspirators. The Margrave was disgraced for his role in helping Zero escape when he made his first public appearance, and the other Purebloods decided it was best to wipe that disgrace from their organization with blood.
Luckily for Suzaku, always ready to fight to protect others, even the man who'd wrongly accused him of murder, Lloyd and Cécile had been following him around all day in their truck, at first to give him a ride back to base from his trial, and then just because they were curious what he was up to with a strangely familiar pinkette. And in the back of the truck was the Z-01 Lancelot.
"Oh and by the way," Lloyd smirked to Suzaku, "what a shame about your acquittal. Because now you'll have to work for me again."
Tamaki shivered at the engineer's tone - the easy, sleazy way words glided from his mouth - and gave a look to the man on the other side of the aisle. He had the same disconcertingly smug grin on his face now as he did onscreen, and it made the brash Black Knight's skin crawl.
At first it seemed Lloyd wasn't going to let Suzaku go out in the super-knightmare, but the young Honourary Britannian had a single trick to play.
"Wait, please! Isn't this an opportunity to gather battle data for the Lancelot?"
Lloyd raised a brow, obviously amused.
"Oh~ho~?"
"Okay, seriously," Tamaki groaned. "That is the gayest sound ever."
Lloyd glanced back at his accuser and his grin widened.
"What? You mean when I do th~is?"
"Yeah, that!" Tamaki cringed and drew back as far as he could in his seat. "Would'ja stop!?"
The mad scientist only shrugged.
"Mm~ohhh~!"
Gino wasn't paying any attention to the exchange, instead watching the Suzaku onscreen with a mix of admiration and regret. Suzaku had truly been a noble warrior, even way back then before becoming a knight. What changed between then and the rise of the Demon Emperor? What caused Suzaku to abandon that chivalrous spirit and join the mad tyrant? And for that matter, what got into Lelouch to turn him from a hero into a monster? Everything onscreen was apparently accurate, corroborated by others in the audience, but the character of those two friends didn't match up at all with what Gino knew of them personally. It just made no sense.
Jeremiah was an excellent knightmare pilot, to be sure, among the top tiers of knights in Britannia, but in a clunky Sutherland, unprepared for battle, and outnumbered, he was no match. Bit by bit the Orange Knight's frame was disarmed and crippled, and at last Kewell and his traitors lowered their lances to deliver the final blow. As one they shouted.
"All hail Britannia!"
Then from above came a slash harken, red and gold, interrupting their kill. It was Suzaku, the Lancelot standing at the top of the stadium before the setting sun.
"Stop it! You're all Britannian soldiers!"
"What business does the Special Corps have here?" Kewell demanded through his frame's speakers, holding off his attack. "Interlopers will die!"
Suzaku didn't take well to such a declaration and drew the Lancelot's newly developed MVS swords. He leapt down from his perch, dodging in the air as the traitor Purists fired their slash harkens at him. Kewell had started this fight, but he was going to end it.
"Mm~, Lancelot!" Lloyd practically moaned with pleasure. "He's brilliant, isn't he?"
Tamaki shuddered again in disgust while Rakshata shook her head.
"Poor Earl of Pudding, always one step behind me. Your Lancelot is predictably conventional compared to the Guren, and only half as amazing."
"Nonsense! Cécile, you know Lancelot is the best, right?"
Cécile frowned as she considered the rival knightmares. The truth that Lloyd didn't seem to want to recognize was that the Guren actually was more powerful, if only slightly, and it was only because Suzaku was a better pilot that he could turn a defeat against Kallen's war machine into a stalemate.
Lloyd huffed when he didn't receive the answer he wanted immediately and turned instead to Milly.
"What about you? You're on my side, right, Milly?"
"Huh?" Milly blinked at the bespectacled man beside her. "Well, I suppose. From what I've seen so far the Lancelot is pretty amazing. I bet it could even toss a pizza better than any other knightmare in existence."
"Aha!" Lloyd disregarded her last statement and threw up his hands in joy, and before she even realized it he'd dropped them down to wrap loosely around Milly's shoulders. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!"
Milly didn't blush at the unexpected touch, instead only giggling at Lloyd's enthusiasm. Rivalz though didn't much share her opinion and crossed his arms in a huff, attempting to focus his attention only on the action onscreen.
"Lord Jeremiah!" Villetta jumped into the fray with her Sutherland.
"Quick question," Ohgi whispered to his wife beside him. "Did you two, you know...?"
Villetta blushed in embarrassment, giving her husband a frustrated slap on the shoulder.
"Of course not! He was my superior officer and..." She trailed off, looking away for a moment. Jeremiah had confided in her his deepest fears and deepest regrets. She'd been with him through everything, and was even inspired to transfer to Area 11 because of him. In her pursuit for power Villetta had stabbed every back and burned every bridge, but she never even considered betraying Jeremiah. "He was a good friend for a long time."
Kewell's men were still alive but their KMFs were wrecked, and they now stood four against two elites and one next generation super-knightmare. They could keep fighting, but the battle was already decided.
"Men," Kewell commanded through a clenched jaw, "stand down."
The other Purists rolled their Sutherlands back, leaving Kewell to stand against his foes alone. Before anyone could move though, through the entrance to the stadium came Yuffie, bounding breathlessly in to help in any way she could.
Nina gasped and Cornelia sat forward, eyes bulging.
"Euphy, no! What is she DOING!?"
Kallen tensed in her seat, confusion settling in.
"Didn't she know what was going on? Why would a pampered princess like her go toward the battle?"
"You'll see," Zero whispered, tilting his head to Kallen so she could hear. "Euphemia was..."
"You understand, then?" Suzaku's voice filtered through the Lancelot's speakers. If it was possible to end this without fighting he would do anything.
A hatch in Kewell's knightmare opened and he drew out a cylinder. It seemed he'd made his choice.
"I'm using a chaos mine."
Yuffie ran up just as the chaos mine was thrown, coming to a skidding halt in front of the Lancelot and freezing, realizing she'd made a grave error in interfering.
Cornelia and Nina screamed in unison, momentarily forgetting that Euphemia had survived that encounter somehow.
"NO!"
Nunnally's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide as the chaos mine activated, spraying hundreds of superheated shards of metal down upon her sister, upon Suzaku behind her, and Jeremiah and Villetta behind him. From the front row Tianzi threw her hands over her ears and shut her eyes.
The Lancelot shot into action, activating its Blaze Luminous shielding and dropping its arms into position, two thin walls of green light all that stood between Yuffie and certain doom.
The barrage lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed to drag on for minutes, until finally the chaos mine's payload was exhausted and it dropped harmlessly to the dirt.
Cornelia sat back in her seat and exhaled, relieved. Nina still sat forward, not daring to draw a breath until she was sure nothing else could happen to her beloved princess. She didn't mean to draw attention with her reaction to the scene, but now that Cornelia was settling down it had grabbed hers.
"You're Nina, right?" the warrior woman asked carefully.
"Uhm, uh, yes! I mean, yes, Your Highness."
"You called out like you knew Euphemia." Cornelia didn't like the way the shy girl was acting. As soon as she'd started talking to her, Nina had begun to blush and look nervously away. Something about that behaviour made Cornelia very uncomfortable. "Did you know my sister?"
"Oh, well, I..." Nina attempted in reply. She continued to look away, and without realizing it began to fidget. "I didn't really know her, but I respected her from what I saw of her public appearances. You might even say that I..."
She didn't continue, and Cornelia scrunched her face in dismay, not knowing quite what to think of the young woman beside her.
"I see."
For a lingering second everything stood still, and Yuffie's face grew stony, either adopting the semblance of strength or more likely showing her true self.
"Everyone!" she called, her voice full and sure. "Lower your weapons at once! In my name, I command you! I am Euphemia li Britannia of the Empire, and the Third Princess of the Royal Family."
Nunnally's brows knit together as she watched, the power in her sister's voice and the ease with which she took control of the situation reminding her so much of Lelouch. There was a certainty there, one that she herself had never fully developed, that the mere invocation of their names would could bend people to their will. It was true Nunnally was getting better, and as Empress her name held more weight than Prince Lelouch or Princess Euphemia's ever could, but the scene before her only reinforced in Nunnally's mind that either one of them would've been better suited to reign than her.
The Britannian Empress blinked, small driblets of saltwater forming at the edges of her vision.
'No,' she decided to herself, shaking her head slightly. 'I won't cry anymore. They wouldn't want me to weep for them.'
As Kewell and his men bowed their knightmares to the princess Suzaku sat his cockpit, astounded. Yuffie was... She was Euphemia? Suddenly the name she'd given him made sense.
"Euphy!"
The pinkette turned round to look upon Suzaku, jumping from the Lancelot to stop before her, fist to his heart. He addressed her respectfully and lowered his head, but when she looked upon him, treating her as the royalty she truly was, she seemed so sad.
"She seems really nice." Tianzi looked to Xingke beside her and smiled. "She's my favourite so far, right after you and Kaguya, Xingke!"
Rivalz scratched his head.
"So, this is official now? We're saying who our favourite people are, like they're characters in a TV show?"
"Guess so," Anya answered with shrug. "Are we keeping score?"
"Yeah! I can make a list on my phone with everyone's name and who their favourite person is. How much do you want to bet Rivalz Cardemonde gets the most votes for best character?"
Tamaki scoffed.
"Sorry, kid, but everybody's gonna say I'm the best once they see me in action on the big screen! Yeah! Go Team Tamaki!"
"Your Highness," Guilford whispered to Cornelia, placing a hand to his mouth to hide his lips from view, "these people are clearly mad."
She nodded.
"Mad, but mostly harmless, I imagine. Still, stay on your guard, Guilford."
Later that night Cornelia finally arrived in Area 11, a lineup of soldiers to her either side as she walked down from her military airship to greet her sister waiting below. After only a brief and stilted conversation the new viceroy turned to one of Clovis' ministers, now her minister, and demanded a report.
"Yes," he answered immediately. "My lady, the first order of business is a welcome party we've arranged for Your Highness-"
He cut his words short as Cornelia levelled her rifle-saber at his head.
Kallen sat back, mildly surprised.
"Wow, you really don't like parties."
Tamaki and some others in the audience snickered while others decried her as being rude, but as always Cornelia didn't need help defending her actions.
"Zero was on the loose and there were rebellions to put down, and that fool wanted to faff about with wine and cakes as if I were soft like Clovis!"
Anya giggled from the back row.
"So, would you say you were instituting a Zero tolerance policy?"
"The more I hear about him," Kallen added again, grinning at how easily they could ruffle people's sensibilities, "the more Clovis doesn't sound so bad anymore. He probably would've surrendered to the Black Knights right away; then the Demon Emperor wouldn't have come to power."
Before anyone could argue, Rakshata rolled her eyes.
"I think we're all missing the larger point. The design of that gunblade thing's grip would break your wrist if you actually swung it like a sword."
Cécile frowned.
"That's all you got out of the scene?"
"Mm," Lloyd considered, scratching at his chin. "Well, Cécile, she's not wrong."
The next day at Ashford there was a new student in Lelouch and Kallen's class. It was none other than Suzaku Kururugi.
And just like that the episode was at an end and the screen went black. Kaguya giggled.
"So, that's how my silly cousin and Princess Euphemia met. I think they would've made a great couple."
"WHAT!?" Cornelia wasn't quite so warm to the idea. "I always thought it was strange Euphy chose him as her knight, but if that brat so much as touched her...!"
Anya crossed her legs in her seat and leaned back with a smirk.
"You'd what? Go dig up Suzaku's grave and give him what for? Too bad he's not there."
She was implying something else, but Cornelia recognized Anya's words as referring to the Knight of Zero's corpse never being recovered. Before she could reply, Cécile spoke up.
"Suzaku and Princess Euphemia were quite close, actually. I mean..." The Vice-Director of ASEEC backed off as she recalled the secret couple's conversation during the Battle of Kyushu. "I'm sure they would've been happy together."
Gino's face was scrunched in thought, and finally he said what was on his mind.
"Honestly, I always thought Shirley should've gotten with Suzaku instead."
Milly, Rivalz, Kallen, and Nina turned in unison to the Knight with expressions like he'd just revealed he thought clouds were made of cream and rained milk.
"Gino," Kallen drawled, "that's the stupidest thing I've heard all day. And I'm sitting next to Tamaki."
Tamaki frowned to his fellow redhead beside him in bewilderment.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Ignoring the now concerned Tamaki, Gino crossed his arms and shot back at Kallen.
"How's that dumb? I went to Ashford for a little bit and it seemed like they really got along!"
From the back came the Knight's reply, from someone few would've expected.
"Shirley was head over heels in love with Lelouch," Villetta said matter-of-factly. "There wasn't even a chance for her and Suzaku. If anything, you would've been a better match with her."
"Me?" Him with Shirley? That was something Gino had never considered. "Why do you say that?"
"Shirley was intrigued by Lelouch's good looks, eloquence, and general attitude. In other words he looked and acted like a fairytale prince."
Milly picked up for her former coach.
"The only problem was Lelouch was so gloomy all the time. I think she would have been good for him if... You know..." The words went unspoken: If she hadn't killed herself. "But you're a cheerful guy, Sir Weinberg, and you've got that same noble bearing too. I can see where Miss Villetta's coming from."
Tamaki nodded, following along as best he could, thinking over everything they'd seen since starting 'R1' and trying to come up with something witty to add.
"I got it!" he laughed. "Lelouch was a good guy, right? But then he met C.C.-" he paused to mutter under his breath before continuing on, "-(who's a total bitch) and then she turned him evil! It all makes sense now."
There was a small groan from the audience as a whole, once again only annoying everyone being the best Tamaki could manage, then Ohgi dared argue with his stubborn friend.
"Or she could've been the only one who was able to tolerate Lelouch's evil."
Kaguya shook her head from the front row.
"It looks like they bickered a lot at the beginning, but later they were so close! I think they completed each other."
As the talk went on, Kallen realized she was growing ever more irritable. Her face was tight in a scowl and she was fidgeting her leg impatiently. They'd only been watching for a little while, but the truths that had been revealed so far were enough for her to make up her mind about something that had been troubling her for a long time. And now that she was sure about it, she decided she'd held it in long enough.
"You know what?" she burst out, everyone else quieting immediately. "I'm just gonna say it. I loved Lelouch, and I think I would've been the best for him to be with."
The announcement hit like a bomb, the entire room collectively gasping and staring at her wide-eyed. All except Zero, of course, whose mirrored helm revealed nothing of his expression though his posture made up for it. He'd actually raised his gloved hands in front of him defensively in shock, and sat frozen in that position for some time. It was no surprise he hadn't known about her feelings ahead of time. The person behind the mask, someone Kallen once knew before he lost himself to hypocrisy, was always a little naïve, she figured - no, not a little - VERY naïve.
Chiba was about to voice her utter revulsion at the idea of anyone loving Lelouch, but Gino was faster to comment.
"Oh..." The blond had never been more deflated. "You don't think me and you could ever...?"
Kallen gave him a bored glare.
"No."
"Oh! Oh..."
"Kallen," Ohgi began hesitantly, gulping slightly as they locked eyes, the blue in hers alight like ice-cold flames, "are you okay? What did Lelouch do to you?"
Kallen clenched her jaw without thinking and bared her teeth, that final statement pushing her over the edge of rage. She snarled and let out another torrent of emotion in the form of words, everything that she'd been left to ponder over alone since Lelouch's death - her love, her anger, and all of her sorrow over her greatest regret of leaving him.
"I'm fine! You saw what happened!" She pointed to the black screen before them, paused while everyone rambled. "He could only use his Geass on a person once, and he wasted it on me! I followed him because I chose to, and for no other reason! And I loved him of my own will too! You will NEVER make me second guess Lelouch again! NEVER!"
There was dead silence once again. Nunnally had originally set up this meeting with herself in mind, thinking at the time she'd get the most out of the Gift of Truth, but now it appeared quite obvious there was more that had gone on behind the scenes that she'd been blind to. Everyone here seemed to have secrets they weren't willing to share, and already their bonds with each other were beginning to break down as previously unknown or personal information became available to all. Or perhaps some of the bonds had been fake from the start - manufactured. A thought like a half-remembered dream from Lelouch's own memories slipped its way into Nunnally's mind, of Villetta inserting herself into the Ashford friends' lives, and the Empress shook her head to be rid of it.
They had to proceed to the next episode quickly. They were all starved for more truths and if they were allowed to bicker any longer some in the audience might get physical and attempt to extract those truths by force.
"And the entropy grows ever greater," Jeremiah muttered sagely from the back row.
Sayoko nodded beside him and steadied herself, sure that violence was soon approaching, perhaps, by her estimate, erupting in full by the middle of the seventh episode. Anya only shrugged and smiled. Whatever happened, she was sure it would be amusing. And if for some reason she came under fire at some later point, well, she'd just have to deal with that when it came up.
Nina squirmed in her seat and looked up at the blaze that was Kallen's fury. She began to add her own little quip, not meaning for anyone to actually hear, but as soon as the words left her lips she realized too late that the redhead had finished her rant and now stood silent.
"I always thought Lelouch and Suzaku were..."
Though the audience was silent their faces clearly displayed their thoughts on the proposed pairing. Except for Tamaki, who was never silent.
"Dude... Gross..."
"Ah! I mean... Lelouch always turned down dates from girls at school, and he and Suzaku were really close, and when Lelouch was Emperor they were always together, so I mean, I just thought..."
Nunnally didn't spare another thought to that subject and without a word pressed the PLAY button on the remote to signal an end to the discussion. Milly didn't take the hint.
"While Rivalz keeps track of who everyone's favourite character is, I'll just keep a list of pairings and which one everyone supports."
Zero let out an unprofessional groan.
"Please don't include that last one."
"Too late! Suzaku and Lulu - supporters: Nina."
The screen lit up with an image of ruins under an eternal dawn, and standing alone before the unending horizon was a shadowy figure.
While others in the room weren't quite sure what to make of the scene in its opening seconds, Zero tensed and leaned forward, knowing exactly what he was looking at.
'That's...' he thought to himself, suddenly breathless as a chill ran down his spine. 'The Sword of Akasha! And that would make the person there..."
"Your Majesty," someone new, a man dressed in robes and a hood, stepped into the ruined temple and addressed the lone figure, "the remains have arrived."
The one standing there was Emperor Charles, his voice easily enough to give away his identity as soon as he replied.
"I was just conversing with Clovis, actually. The project must proceed without a moment's delay."
The audience sat stunned. Charles was speaking with... With Clovis? But that couldn't be. Clovis was...
Before anyone could voice their questions the scene shifted to Ashford, to the very end of Suzaku's first day. He was an Honourary Britannian, and though opinions of him from his new classmates were mixed, still no one dared to approach him. Not but one.
"Well he doesn't look all that scary to me," Shirley smiled, taking a step toward Suzaku's desk where the boy in question was getting ready to leave. "Why don't we just talk to him? I'm sure he's totally-"
She was stopped by a hand on the shoulder from Rivalz.
"Hey, the guy just got here. Give him some space."
Zero smiled behind his helmet. The members of the Student Council really were something else. He'd always thought the whole school was against him until that cat chase, but it seemed even before that, before Lelouch spoke up for him and secured his place with the Council, they were already willing to accept him on good faith alone. It was an unexpected and happy surprise - the kind Zero thought he'd never have again.
As for the others in the room, their opinions ranged greatly. The Ashford students weren't surprised at all since they were there at the time. Cornelia and Guilford only raised a brow each, barely phased but still caught off guard by the kindness of the simple school kids. Xingke didn't show any outward sign of anything, but privately he was intrigued. The ones to show the greatest shock, of all them, were actually the assembled Japanese members of the Black Knights, Tohdoh, Chiba, Tamaki, and Ohgi.
"How could they be so trusting?" Chiba questioned in a whisper to Tohdoh, glancing across the aisle to the former Ashford group. "Britannians are racist bastards."
Tohdoh frowned.
"Schools are meant to be more free-thinking than society at large to produce better graduates. In this case though, it seems it was limited only to the people Lelouch surrounded himself with..."
Tamaki leaned in to listen to the higher ranked Knights and hummed in thought, following Chiba's gaze.
"So out of all the asshole Britannians, we all got lucky enough to hang with the few good ones? Sweet."
Gino wasn't paying any attention to the small talk, instead letting a silly grin slide across his face as he pointed to the screen.
"There! That's a Shirley and Suzaku moment."
Milly nodded in quick response and pulled out her phone, selecting the list she'd started of potential pairings from the history unfolding before their eyes.
"Noted! One point to Suzaku and Shirley - supporters: Gino."
Rivalz coughed slightly.
"Rivalz and Milly?"
"Did you say something, Rivalz?"
"Aw." The poor guy slumped. "No, I didn't say anything."
A little later Lelouch and Suzaku met in private on the school's roof to talk and catch up, and despite the lies Lelouch told to keep his activities secret, it was a genuine moment of friendship between them. Eventually the subject of why Suzaku was at school at all came up and he explained what little he knew. Apparently someone had pulled strings for him to get him a fair trial, and moreover arranged for him to be enrolled at Ashford Academy. Suzaku knew who was helping him, but didn't let on, and as he spoke the scene transitioned to give a clear hint for the audience.
Zero smiled behind his mask. Euphemia had been insistent after leaving Shinjuku! A boy should be in school! Back then he wondered if he should have mentioned meeting Euphemia, but he figured at the time that it wasn't right to remind Lelouch of his past. Even before the war, the dark prince was especially negative about it.
Back then, Suzaku at least had some understanding of Lelouch, hadn't he? So where had it all gone? Zero didn't know when or how the two friends began to grow so distant.
Nina's face lit up at seeing Euphy onscreen again, and from the other side of the room Kaguya gave a cheeky grin.
"If Lelouch was a fairytale prince, then Euphemia most certainly would qualify as a fairytale princess."
"She really was," Milly answered casually, making another mark on the pairing list on her phone. "I'm adding Euphemia and Lelouch here. What does everybody think?"
Nina and Cornelia went wide-eyed.
"EH?"
Zero shook his helmed head furiously.
"No way! I mean... They were siblings. They'd never work out together."
"Oh yeah," Milly muttered, rather put out as she remembered. "I guess I forgot. It's just, before we moved to Area 11, the Ashfords were a respected noble family. I met all the princes and princesses, but I don't remember seeing Lelouch at all."
"You really don't remember us, Milly?" Nunnally's brows knit together in concern as it became apparent once again Milly's memories, and that of some others too, had been somehow changed.
"Well, I remember you, Your Highness. Not at school, but back in Britannia. But Lelouch... It's almost like there's a blank spot in my memories."
Cornelia scoffed.
"That's Geass for you. It's an evil power, and Lelouch used it on you to make you forget. I've been saying it this whole time but everyone insists otherwise."
Milly shook her head vehemently. No matter if this was Princess Cornelia or not, it was downright perverse to even consider that Lelouch had tampered with her mind. His rule as the Demon Emperor might have granted some weight to the warrior woman's claim, but deep down Milly refused to believe it, and she knew at least Rivalz didn't either. Something was wrong with her mind, yes, but it couldn't have been Lelouch who caused it. It just couldn't have been.
"Well," Anya interrupted with an innocent observation, setting everyone back onto the previous subject, "Lelouch and Euphemia were only half-siblings, and royal families have been known to marry off half-siblings in the past..."
Anya had to stifle a laughing fit not a second after floating out her comment into the unsuspecting audience. The looks on everyone's faces were priceless.
Next was a short scene featuring Cornelia and her incredible skill with a knightmare. Ruthlessly she carved through Japanese resistance fighters and took on their central base alone, gunning down everyone in her sights indiscriminately.
"BITCH!" Tamaki stood up and pointed. "Ya know, I almost forgot that you were a horrible person with all that happy school crap. How can you just sit there and not be begging us Japanese for forgiveness, HUH!?"
Cornelia's mouth twitched, the only indication that she was more than just annoyed.
"Back then I was a commander in the Britannian military, as well as Viceroy of Area 11," she began coldly. "It was in my interest and the interest of the Royal Family to maintain and expand our Empire. There's nothing to apologize for."
"Oh yeah?"
"If somehow Japan had risen and colonized Britannia instead, I wouldn't be at all surprised if your nation did the exact same thing as us. It's just proper protocol to eradicate opponents to the regime when occupying territory. I refuse to apologize as if my actions weren't completely logical and appropriate for the political climate of the time."
The civilians in the audience had no response to Cornelia's defense while the soldiers present either grumbled or stayed silent, aware of the validity of her argument even if it didn't excuse anything. Tamaki just tilted his head as his face fell in dumb confusion.
"Uh... I don't think I got all that."
Cornelia shut her eyes and shook her head in disappointment.
"Fool."
"Hey." Tamaki answered with frustration in his tone and pointed to himself. "Cut me some slack. I already said, English isn't my first language."
That night Lelouch invited Suzaku over for dinner and to see Nunnally. It was a heartwarming moment, even for the most jaded in the audience, but all too quickly it drew to an end when Suzaku had to go back to base.
"Don't worry," he reassured Nunnally. "I've been reassigned to the Engineering Corps. It's a lot less dangerous."
"HA!" Lloyd broke into a fit of laughter, pointing at the screen and doubling over in his seat. "'Less dangerous' he says! LESS DANGEROUS! Ha HA!"
There were a few scattered snickers, from Gino, from Anya, and surprisingly even from Zero, but few others were as amused. Guilford huffed, voicing their shared concern.
"Lord Asplund, do you find this funny?"
"Why, of course! I never made enemies out of anyone here, nor do I have any dastardly secrets to worry about being revealed, unlike the lot of you, so I'm just relaxing and being entertained. Are you really so adamant about having me join your moping session?"
"Hmph." Deciding it was futile to discuss any further, Guilford adopted the same frown as Cornelia beside him and went back to watching the show. "Nevermind."
Elsewhere, Jeremiah Gottwald, taking the fall for Zero's debut and escape, and also for the infighting within the Purebloods faction, had been locked in a cell, but was released by none other than Guilford due to lack of evidence tying him directly back to the masked hero. He was given an ultimatum: Either return to the army as a demoted knightmare pilot or quit, Guilford rubbing the Margrave's disgrace in by suggesting he cultivate an orange farm.
Jeremiah let out a hearty chuckle as he looked at his own face before him, horrified and humiliated. What a turn of fate indeed! If only he'd known back then how things would turn out.
"Well, Guilford!" Jeremiah placed an arm around Sayoko and leaned back in his seat, checking around the room and being pleased to find at least Zero and Anya had also gotten the humour from the other knight's words onscreen. "Jeremiah Gottwald is SO loyal that he accepted BOTH parts of your offer! An orange knight I am, and ever will be! HAHA!"
To her left Kallen thought she heard a guffaw, and she turned to see Tamaki, still somewhat bothered about his exchange with Cornelia, but at least wearing a half-smile.
"That Jeremiah guy is pretty cool, actually."
"Yeah," Kallen answered back slowly, still a little unsure what to think about the odd cyborg. "I guess he really changed from how he was back then. Lelouch had that effect on a lot of people."
The next day at school Suzaku was treated to a similar abundance of neglect as he received the day previous. This time though, there was an added bonus of some of the students vandalizing his belongings when he wasn't guarding them.
As for Lelouch, he spent his day as lazily as he usually did, with one exception.
"They were the largest group we had in Central Japan." Ohgi reported Cornelia's attack on another resistance cell over the phone to a stony-faced, calculating Lelouch. "Look, Zero, it won't be long 'til she comes after us."
"Just keep your head," Lelouch replied simply. "Our chance will come."
"But-!"
"Sit tight, I'll contact you later."
Ohgi's jaw dropped at what he saw. Lelouch took his calls at school, right out in the open? He didn't at least go into a secret hideout or something? Was conspiring for the downfall of an empire so mundane to him? As he considered it, Ohgi decided it was a silly question to ask. After everything he'd been witness to, with the rise and fall of Zero and his vengeful return as the Demon Emperor, it seemed fairly apparent the answer was 'yes'.
With that, Lelouch put his phone away and grew pensive.
'He's getting too overly familiar. Maybe I better cut my ties with them.'
"Hey!" Ohgi blurted. "We did everything he wanted, but he was just willing to throw us away!?"
Anya was about to say something to frustrate the Japanese Prime Minister, but before she could Kallen answered instead.
"Zero earned our trust, Ohgi. He proved he could do anything. But we didn't do the same for him, so what reason did he have to trust us?"
"Kallen, we saved Suzaku, - you, me, and him. We did everything right and even stayed in contact. We bent over backwards for him because we thought we could trust him, then he just went and threw us away just like he wanted to back then!"
"Who threw who away?" Kallen let the spark back into her eyes. "If I recall, you were the most vocal about betraying Zero."
"He betrayed us first!"
Gino, as well as Milly and Rivalz, sat aghast as Ohgi and Kallen again picked up their favourite argument, for the first time fully hearing about the Black Knights' mutiny. If they had anything to say it was quickly pushed from their minds as Kallen let her fury grow. Luckily Zero came to the rescue.
"Please calm yourselves!" His helmet's mic had been turned up again and he stood, throwing his arms wide. "Debating over the facts before they are all revealed is a wasted effort! We must remain united no matter what we may see."
Ohgi took a deep breath, helped by Villetta's calming hand grabbing his, and Kallen snorted disrespectfully in Zero's direction.
"Whatever, wannabe."
In the Student Council room Nina was typing something down on the club computer when Nunnally entered. The bespectacled girl was on edge, more so than usual, even. She was frightened by the Honourary Britannian who'd joined her class, though she settled on labelling him an Eleven.
Several pairs of accusing eyes fell upon Nina while those more forgiving cringed on her behalf. It didn't stop them from leaning away though, of course. The glares from Tamaki and Chiba alone were enough for anyone to want to distance themselves from the poor girl. They didn't say anything, and neither did anyone else. Judging by the way Nina was attempting to burrow herself into her seat and hide, it was clear she already knew what they were thinking anyway. After all, she was thinking the same thing.
'Idiot! Idiotidiotidiotidiot! I am in so much trouble...'
School had just ended for the day when a delivery from Pizza Hut arrived at Lelouch's door, not for the first time and far from the last. C.C. greeted the deliveryman without a word, which was about as cordially as could be expected from her at the time, but while she was busy accepting the boxes of cheesy delights a familiar grey cat happened to wander its way past her.
Inside, Lelouch was creating a storage device to hide his mask, the already infamous spiked helm of Zero, known round the world from only one appearance, and he carried diligently on with his work as C.C. entered with a box of pizza in her hands, oblivious as the interloper cat followed her in to explore his home.
Cornelia narrowed her eyes at the screen as the cogs in her brain began to turn.
"I have a feeling something very stupid is about to happen."
The door to Lelouch's room opened and on the other side was Nunnally, calling her brother for tea. She smelled the pizza, again not for the first time, and certainly not the last, and she giggled.
"Lelouch, maybe you should cut down on the pizza. You don't want a blubbery belly."
Lelouch laughed with his sister and went to join her, but his mirth didn't reach his face.
"Just don't touch or rub it, okay?"
Nunnally blinked, taken quite aback. Back then, she'd thought he was talking to her about his blubbery belly. Her reaction onscreen demonstrated as much. But at the same time he'd been speaking to C.C., warning her with his stern frown and the inflection in his voice not to disturb his mask. How very clever, but at the same time, distressing. How many other times had Lelouch made use of Nunnally's blindness to deceive her?
Arthur the Cat had somehow gotten into Lelouch's mask case when he and C.C. weren't looking, and with a confused mewl he wandered away once more. He stopped in front of Lelouch and Nunnally having tea in the dining room though, and just in time Lelouch managed to catch sight of what was on the silly kitty's head.
"THE MASK!?" Milly, Rivalz, and Kallen all uttered the words at the same time, the mystery of the Cat Hunt finally solved. Zero, Nunnally, and Nina were similarly surprised, but had the sense not to blurt out their thoughts. Zero couldn't let anyone know he'd been involved with that ridiculous event in order to keep his identity hidden (from the few who still didn't know it), Nunnally had to stay dignified as the Britannian Empress, and Nina still didn't feel safe showing her face after everyone seeing her 'Eleven' comment.
Lelouch stood up from his seat and gaped, a horrified, high-pitched scream escaping his lips. It was an unnatural sound, especially from him, the kind of sound only uttered when the absolute worst possible thing just occurred. The Mask of Zero was comfortably in place on Arthur's head.
While Lloyd, Anya, and Rakshata descended into another laughing fit, Cornelia's hand planted itself against her face. Her brother - her evil, megalomaniacal brother who schemed and killed and conquered until all the world was forced to bend the knee to him - was about to be exposed by some random cat literally off the street. Considering this, it called into question whether he was actually an evil supergenius or just got really lucky.
"Hey...!" Lelouch's weak protest sounded almost like a child challenging the playground bully. Still, it was enough to scare Arthur into a run. "Give that back!"
"This is funny!" Tianzi exclaimed with a cute grin, checking to her right to see Kaguya was smiling just as wide, gasping as short bursts of girlish laughs escaped her mouth.
"Yes, Empress." Xingke stifled a small chuckle. "This actually is quite amusing."
From the back row Rakshata's neighing laughter continued.
"Imagine how much fur got into that mask! It was probably still tickling him all the way until the Black Rebellion!"
Despite the other woman's good humour, and the hilarity that was beginning to overtake the audience bit by bit, Cécile's expression grew concerned.
"He could have washed it out, couldn't he?"
Zero shook his head solemnly.
"Once cat hair gets onto something you never get it all off. Trust me. I know."
As Lelouch sprinted as fast as his untoned muscles would take him, C.C. watched the chase leave the building and continue outside through the window.
"That wasn't my fault, was it?"
"Yes!" Kallen was one of the last to start laughing, mostly because she knew exactly what Lelouch was feeling at the moment and shared his distress. She'd almost been exposed a few times as well. "Yes, you pizza-witch, it WAS your fault!"
Milly, Rivalz, and Nina must have seen Lelouch tearing through the school courtyard on their way to the clubhouse, because the scene shifted next to the three of them standing before Nunnally just outside its door, wondering what was going on.
"I think a cat ran off with something pretty important to him," the princess in hiding explained. As she spoke Nunnally's voice grew tremulous, worry for her brother lacing her every word.
"Important?" Milly probed.
"I'm not sure what, exactly, but I'm positive it was something of value to him."
Nunnally sat in her seat without any idea how to react. She'd been right that Arthur unwittingly stole something important to Lelouch, but she couldn't have guessed how important it really was. The truth never got out back then, the whole debacle ending up as a wild goose chase (or wild cat chase), but now knowing exactly what was taken added to the absurdity of the situation, and the Britannian Empress couldn't help but giggle a little bit.
"That's weird," Rivalz decided. "What could be so important to the guy?"
Nina tried a suggestion first.
"A love letter?"
Then Milly.
"An embarrassing photo?"
Rivalz was last to speculate.
"Poetry he wrote?"
Nunnally seemed to have lost the thread.
"Poetry?
Milly and Rivalz turned to each other with mischievous glee in their eyes and smirks on their lips, and they practically cackled with delight.
"Leave it to us!" Milly suddenly declared. "We'll get our hands on this thing before Lelouch has a chance to blink! Just you wait."
The laughter coming from the audience was so far divided into healthy chuckles and awkward giggles. Villetta in particular was feeling very uncomfortable watching this. It brought up bad memories of being a coach and having to participate in the madness that was Ashford Academy. Gino and Anya were laughing perhaps the hardest so far, in the former's case because he remembered his own time at the school and how extraordinary that had been, reinforcing his positive feelings toward the hilarity still only winding up onscreen. In Anya's case, she was laughing just because she could, getting the most out of each gasping breath to make up for years of emotional deadness.
Not surprisingly, Guilford wasn't laughing at all, instead looking genuinely upset. He looked to Rivalz and Milly a row ahead of him with a furrowed brow and a slack jaw, open in astonishment at how casually they'd decided to out their School Vice-President at the time.
"You kids are horrible friends."
"Naw," Rivalz snickered in reply. "Ol' Lelouch would've done the same for any of us."
Guilford pondered the boy's phrasing for a moment and eventually shook his head, understanding not coming to him.
Arthur had somehow gotten onto the roof while Lelouch still chased futilely after him, strategizing but not watching where he was going. He stumbled and fell as he crossed paths with some garden shrubbery, and the masked kitty simply trotted right by him toward the school proper.
A thought came to Kaguya, and her lips formed an 'O' as she let out a scandalous guffaw, laughing before she'd even started her comment.
"The pussy was so close, but the bush got in the way!"
Some of the Britannians began to laugh harder in response while others shrugged to each other, not getting the joke. Tianzi attempted to ask Xingke what was so funny but he declined to answer. Nina went red while Cornelia and Guilford beside her, ever the wet blankets, frowned and shook their heads in disapproval. Lloyd joined in the fun with a snort.
"That pussy really gets around!"
The laughter around the room increased, Anya's face going as pink as her hair as her chest heaved under the weight of her own laughs.
"Oh my god..." Kallen put a hand to her head to support it as laughs of sheer disbelief ran their course through her body. Even she could only hold out for so long before she had to give in and just enjoy Lelouch's suffering for the entertainment it was.
"Ahhh," Gino sighed. "Double entendres, am I right?"
Tamaki scratched his head.
"Double what, now?"
Arthur ran into the school, being sighted by two girls then scampering off again, Lelouch hot on his trail and using Geass to remove their memories of the mask on his head. And then came Milly's voice over the school broadcasting system.
"This is Milly Ashford, your Student Council President. Cat Hunt, everybody! There's a cat loose on campus that needs to be rounded up. Put everything on hold, people. Participating clubs'll get budget priority. And whoever catches our feline friend will get an extra special prize: A big ol' kiss from one of the members of the Council! Aha! Hahaha!"
Kaguya sucked in a breath as stars twinkled in her eyes.
"Miss Milly!" she said in admiration. "That was a wonderful idea!"
Milly tossed her hair to the side and grinned.
"Anything to sweeten the deal, right?"
"I wish I could've gone to your school."
"I wish you could've too. It sounds like you appreciate my special brand of genius."
Multiple clubs practically, and in some cases even literally, jumped into action, the Film Club, the Gardening Club, the Rugby Team, and the Equestrian Club being only a few of those enticed by Milly's promise. Kallen and Shirley however didn't seem to like the idea. As members of the Council themselves, they weren't about to let just anyone catch that pesky furball.
As a final note, Milly had Nunnally explain what Arthur sounded like, and she thought for a moment before speaking into the mic, her voice ringing all across the school and beyond:
"MEOW!"
By now almost everyone was practically rolling on the floor in hysterics, even Cornelia chuckling lightly at Nunnally's impression of a cat. Zero was laughing openly as well, the volume on his voice modulator turned down so it wouldn't boom over everyone else.
More scenes of students scrambling to capture the elusive kitty flashed onscreen, until finally Kallen and Shirley had him cornered. He hid under a table, so they never managed to catch a glimpse of Zero's mask, but in the end that was as close as they'd get to success.
"W-wait a sec," Shirley said, causing Kallen to stop before reaching out to grab under the table.
"What's the matter?"
"Who would you want to get a kiss from? Is there anyone in particular? It wouldn't be Lulu, would it?"
Kallen's laughing subsided a little as she remembered that conversation. At the time the thought had been revolting. Her? With Lelouch the lazy, selfish, aloof, supersmooth, always-has-an-excuse Student Council Vice-President? No way. But if she'd only known back then. If she could've kissed Lelouch the cunning, brave, selfless, supersmooth, always-does-the-right-thing hero instead, she would've answered Shirley on the spot. Yes. A hundred times, yes.
In the heat of the moment, neither girl noticed as Arthur slipped between their legs and escaped once again, running up the stairs, now followed not only by Lelouch but Suzaku as well, far outpacing his out of breath friend.
The search led them to the top of another roof, this one with a precipitous incline, and shortly after Lelouch began climbing, following after Suzaku well ahead of him, he began to slip.
"Hm," Zero considered to himself, viewing the scene more calmly and clearly than he had at the time. The way it seemed at first was that Lelouch had lost his grip on the rooftop tiles, but from a different perspective he was able to see what no one that day had. Lelouch purposely let go to draw Suzaku's attention away from Arthur. Was he even in any danger to begin with? "Either way, you knew me well, old friend. You knew exactly how I'd respond."
Suzaku looked back at Lelouch and his eyes went wide, and without a second thought he turned and almost flung himself back down to grab Lelouch's hand, 'saving' him from a dangerous fall.
Shortly after, he managed to recover Arthur, who just moments before dislodged the Mask of Zero from his head, and brought him before all the school, assembled and watching the drama unfold. They were quiet at first, unsure what to think of the Honourary Britannian that saved their Vice-President, but showing their accepting character yet again, Shirley, then Rivalz, then Milly herself went up to Suzaku to congratulate him.
It was at this moment that Lelouch reentered the equation, calm after recovering his mask and pleased that Zero's identity was still a secret. He spoke up, firmly, using a tone that was to become well-known by his future Black Knights, and then his subjects around the world, telling everyone there exactly what he thought of Suzaku.
"He's my friend. Madam President, would you permit him as a member of the Student Council?"
Milly briefly pretended to consider then cheered her approval, followed by both Lelouch and Suzaku receiving the prize for capturing Arthur, one big ol' kiss on the cheek from a member of the Student Council, albeit Honourary, Nunnally Lamperouge.
Jeremiah felt he could beam no brighter at what he saw before him. It warmed the cyborg's heart, and both his artificial secondary hearts too, to see his lieges and their knight so happy, even if it was a fleeting moment soon to be followed by the deception, betrayal, violence, and hate that consumed them all, erasing who they truly were and forcing them three to live a lie.
Suzaku was doomed to live behind a faceless mask. Lelouch could never go out in public again. And Nunnally had perhaps the most cruel fate of all, lying to the world that she was a capable and willing queen, and not even having the small luxury of a fake name to hide behind anymore. Suzaku merely had to keep up the standard of the Zero character. Lelouch had the new identity of L.L. to distance himself from the Lelouch of his past. But she, Nunnally vi Britannia, had only herself - had to portray herself as strong and confidant; no mask like Zero, no arcane title like L.L. Just herself.
Such thoughts may have put a damper on the episode, which so far had been beyond enjoyable and gave the Knight of Orange a fascinating look into the life of his lord before turmoil took him beyond the horizon of despair, but Jeremiah smiled on. For he knew he shared the knowledge with Anya and Sayoko alone that at least the end of everyone's shared journey had been salvaged. And that was just fine with him.
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