Code Geass: Black-Blooded Orphans
Stage 16: The SAZ
Viceroy's Palace, Area 11
Cornelia was in her room pacing back and forth. She tried everything to insure that Zero or the Black Knights would not become a huge threat, but due to the strings of failures and the losses she suffered in numerous battles, people have begun to see just how incompetent she was getting. She tried to think about any or every solution possible, but nothing she had in mind would not work. Not against Zero. Not against the Black Knights.
'Damn it all. If I can't find a way to defeat Zero and the Black Knights, I'll be removed and replaced. How in the hell will I defeat Zero? If only Schneizel was here instead of Clovis, none of this would have happened.' Cornelia thought.
Euphemia was trying to think of something that might finally solve all the issues going around. The Glaston Knights were ordered by the emperor to head to Area 11 to bolster the troops there. Euphemia looked through a book containing multiple laws and systems the empire has of now. One of them was in the book that grabbed her attention. The program was called the Special Administrated Zone. This would allow any numbers in the zone to be referred back to their original nationalities and gives them equal status among the Britannian populous. The project is nothing more but a puppet state though however. Though her father would object to this, Euphemia was determined to do it no matter the cost. She went to go ahead and have the SAZ Program announced to the entire Area Colony itself.
Tokyo Settlement
TVs across the entire colony soon had Princess Euphemia's face on them.
"My people. I, Princess Euphemia Li Britannia, third princess of the empire hereby renounce my claim to the throne." She proclaimed with dignity, "Now for those who are confused by this, here me out. This action was made for the initiation of the Special Administrative Zone Program, starting with Area 11 or what it was once called Japan."
Black Knights HQ
"Wait what?" Tamaki muttered.
"This Special Administrative Zone will grant any numbers living in the area where the SAZ resides will have all their rights restored and will go by their original nationalities." Euphie said.
'Wait….. then that means—!' Tamaki thought.
Unknown Location
Back on the mysterious altar that floated in the air, Charles clenched his fists and teeth with anger surging from within.
'That child…. she will learn one way or the other that she can't do whatever she thinks she can without my consent. Even if she renounced her claim to the throne!' The emperor thought.
Ashford Academy
The student council was looking at the TV with shock. Lelouch however seemed to have a heavily concentrated face.
'So it comes down to this. Guess I'll have no other choice but to initiate my ultimate plan.' Lelouch thought.
'Euphie…..' Suzaku thought.
Black Knights HQ
Naoto was on the phone with Lelouch. However he seemed very livid from what he was hearing.
"No. Out of the question. If you do that, who knows what's going to happen. You'd be betting your damn soul for that to work!" Naoto said.
"I know Naoto, but if I don't do this…. no, if I don't think of something, all of this would be for naught." Lelouch said.
"But—"
Lelouch suddenly hung up on him.
'You damn bastard. You better hope it works or I'll—!' Naoto thought.
Kyoto House
Kirihara gripped his walking stick very tight.
'This is nothing but a disgrace to what the people desire.' Kirihara thought.
Viceroy's Palace
Cornelia looked rather concerned about the SAZ being implemented. She went to talk to Schneizel for his opinion.
"Well if you ask me Cornelia, this will finally put an end to the resistance movement. All that's needed now is for everything to simply calm down." Schneizel said.
"But…. what about the Black Knights?" Cornelia asked.
"They only have two decisions. But if I know Zero any better, he might have alternatives." Schneizel said.
Ashford Academy
"Zero! Do you hear me? I ask of you to join the Special Zone. Not out of pity, but as a sign of peace. Please, I swear that I am not lying to you." Euphemia said.
'Oh I'll do it, but not because you asked me. But because now you gave me the biggest weapon I needed the most.' Lelouch thought.
The Next Day…
Black Knights HQ
The Black Knights were having a meeting concerning the Special Zone. Most of the inner circle was at the meeting.
"This Special Zone sounds promising, but I'm not sure if we should support it or not." Tamaki said.
"Well if we support it, we'll lose our autonomy." Todoh said, "But on the other hand, if we don't, the people will be against us."
Naoto and the others thought carefully.
"Are there any alternatives?" Naoto asked.
"Well… we could make a deal with the princess, but then it would be a scandal." Ohgi said, "Besides, Kyoto seems supportive about it."
"I'm sure Zero must have an idea." Kallen said.
"Well then we'll wait for his decision." Alice said.
Viceroy's palace
Rai and Suzaku were walking heading towards Euphie's room. Rai was looking at the statistics on the SAZ as it stands to the public on the polls.
"About 200 thousand have attended the Special Zone. This might actually work." Rai said.
"Yeah, but I'm afraid that we might be in a jam." Suzaku said, "First of all, Cornelia is kind of discriminatory towards numbers, so I don't think she will show any support for it. Her father will never let it slide. The Black Knights however must be trying to at least find a way around this. They won't fork their autonomy over, but they don't want the people against them. They might be thinking about alternatives."
"Oh come on. Everything will be fine as long as nothing goes wrong." Rai said.
"Well I'm a bit worried about Lord Guilford. His mental state is a wreck. He looks fine for now, but if he goes out in battle, I'm afraid he'll lose his mind." Suzaku said.
"Now what could possibly trigger him other than the battlefield?" Rai asked.
"Well his loss at both Saitama and Narita must have broken him. Narita slammed the nail in his head." Suzaku said, "The way he was fighting clearly shows that he is already losing it. It's best he stays here for the time being until we know for sure that he seems mentally stable."
Euphie came out of room. Her eyes gleaming with determination.
"Um….. Euphie?" Suzaku muttered.
"Suzaku, Rai. We're going." Euphie said.
"Right." The two men said.
Sector F-208
There was an area that had a huge ceremonial stadium built. There was about over 200,000 people there. Euphie was on the stage with Suzaku and Rai. The members of Kyoto were here as well. The Black Knights along with the Isaribi was stationed outside the sector. They were waiting outside. The Avalon was flying over to the area. Schneizel was on board the Avalon.
"People of Japan, I thank you for coming to this place. From here on out, the first step to equality and peace will begin here. In this Special Administrated Zone of Japan. Thank you for supporting this program. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have made this possible. I thank all of you." Euphie said.
A gust of wind suddenly blew down. It was the Gawain. It was flying toward the ground.
'So he did come.' Euphie thought.
The Gawain landed on the stage behind Euphie. Zero got out of the cockpit. He stepped out.
'Do or Die Lelouch. Make it happen.' Lelouch thought.
Zero walked calmly toward the crowd. The eyes of the world that were watching the ceremony were centered on him.
"Hello, People of the world. I am Zero." Zero said.
The crowd cheered.
"Now I will make it i'm not supporting SAZ, nor am I against the SAZ." Zero said.
Now the crowd seemed very confused. Even Euphie was confused.
'Wait a minute…. No…. if he's about to do what I think he is going to do…. Oh my god….' Suzaku thought.
"The Reason I'm here…." Zero said as he reached for his mask as the clamps disengaged.
Zero took off the mask and out of the mask came Lelouch's face. Suzaku and Rai's eyes widened.
"The real reason why i am here is to have you finally take a glimpse of my true face." Lelouch said.
"You're…..!" Rai said.
"That's right. The real identity of Zero is none other than me, Lelouch Vi Britannia, who has risen out of the pits hell." Lelouch said.
'Lelouch….. You… you….' Euphie thought.
Unknown Location
Charles looked absolutely furious at what he has just witnessed as his hands clenched even more.
"LELOUCH!" the emperor roared in fury and anger.
He punched a pillar next to him, shattering it completely. His anger was so mighty, a mere punch could easily break a man in half.
Viceroy's Palace
Cornelia's eyes were dilating. She had now realized why she kept losing to Zero. The very enemy she fought was her own half-brother. She stepped back in disbelief.
'You mean to tell me that I lost to you? You were alive and you hid under my nose while defeating me again and again and now you destroyed not only my title as the goddess of victory, but you brought shame on me with that mask?!' Cornelia thought, 'You're nothing but a ghost! That's right! A ghost who resembles my own half-brother!'
Pendragon
The Royal Family was watching the entire thing as the world suddenly paused.
"He… He's alive?" Carine wondered.
"That little bastard." Guinevere said, "He really did fake his death."
"F-Faked his death?" Odysseus asked.
"He must have faked his and Nunnally's death and used it to hide themselves. To think that both Clovis and Nelly were sloppy enough not to know that they hid under their noses….. It makes me feel sorry for one or the other." Guinevere explained, "And it was all in preparation for something on this scale."
"He really is alive!" Carine said happily with tears in her eyes as she shedded those tears of happiness. She was secretly in love Lelouch, but couldn't get close to him because of both Nunnally and Euphemia.
Ashford Academy
Most of the students watching it were undeniably in shock.
"Isn't that the Vice President of the council?" a student asked.
"To think he was a Prince AND The leader of the Black Knights." another student asked.
Reuben was utterly shocked as well.
'To think he was raising the flag for rebellion…. He really has grown.' the old man thought.
Sector F-208
The crowd was confused. To think that Zero was a Britannian Prince who was alive from the start of and at the end of the Second Pacific War had stunned them all. It was silent. Not one person muttered a single word.
"Now before you pass judgement or anything, allow me to tell you why I have gone down this path from the very beginning." Lelouch said.
Unknown Location
Charles was already losing his cool. His anger was as hot as the core of the earth.
'That little bastard! He has the biggest weapon already and he knows it!' Charles thought, 'he planned it all out. Every since he managed to fake his own death!'
Special Administrative Zone of Japan
"When I demanded that my mother's killer be found and killed, my father ignored it and tossed me and my sister out to this very country, only to use me and my sister as a martyr for his own ideals of Social Darwinism." Lelouch said.
"The hell is going on?" Tamaki asked.
"This was a little plan that Lelouch had in mind. This was only for emergencies only. Basically put, he spills out his entire life story and then a huge domino effect will happen." Naoto said, "Basically put, if everyone believes his story and stands behind him, Britannian colonies will have lots of riots and the Chinese and the Euros will attack Britannia from both sides while sending several troops to aid in our fight."
"That is just incredible." Kallen said.
'Looks like he's done it again.' Rivalz thought.
"For years I helped the Kouzuki Resistance Cell that also went by the name Tekkadan. I have been the reason that they soon became the Black Knights that you see now." Lelouch said, "The reason I hid behind the mask was because that I was afraid that you would no longer trust me. To my Black Knights who have been with me for so long, if you feel like you no longer want to stand behind me, I won't stop you at all."
The crowd was silent. The silence was broken as a child among the crowd began to chant Lelouch's name. Soon the entire crowd began to cheer Lelouch on.
Ashford Academy
The students were cheering on their Vice President of the student council regardless what the teachers said. Reuben was stunned at what he saw in the students.
'Even after he revealed himself to have been a prince and the leader of the Black Knights, the people still support him.' Reuben thought.
Viceroy's Palace
"Street riots?!" Cornelia yelled.
"That's right your highness, even the commoners are mixed in with the rioters." A soldier said.
"Well put them out then!" Cornelia said.
"Well that's the problem. Our forces are spread way too thin as we sent multiple battalions to get these riots under control." The soldier said.
"Then do something about that broadcast." Cornelia said.
"Well we tried, but it's impossible." The soldier said.
'So then he practically—!' Cornelia thought.
"Your highness! They're riots erupting throughout the empire! Even the Homeland itself is affected by this!" A government official said.
"What?!" Cornelia said.
Britannian Homeland
Various riots have erupted in the homeland. Some are even waving the flag with the logo of the Black Knights. Some were even chanting Lelouch's name.
Pendragon, Britannia
Charles was very furious. Not only did Lelouch just firmly casted him as the villain, but now he has to put up with the riots occurring all over.
'Damn fools. Don't they know who they are dealing with?!' Charles thought.
Special Zone of Japan
Lelouch was amazed at just how the people are willing to trust him even though he had hidden his face for such a long time. A tear soon fell down his left eye as he realized that he was no longer alone. He had the resistance cell which he saw as a family, he had the student council as a group of friends that anyone could ever have. He even had Kallen, Shirley, Kaguya, and even CC as the women he loved. Now he has the people who will lend their aid to him no matter what it takes.
'Thank you, everyone.' Lelouch thought.
'Mind. Blown.' Rai thought.
'That magnificent bastard pulled it off.' Suzaku thought.
'Lelouch…. You really have changed.' Euphie thought.
Isaribi
Bridge
"Incoming signals, they're Knightmares!" Minami said.
'Oh hell.' Ohgi thought, "Zero, We got company."
Special Zone of Japan
Lelouch quickly got his mask back on and hopped inside the Gawain. Suzaku was getting a call from Lloyd.
"Suzaku, I think Viceroy Cornelia has had enough of this. I think you get to the Lancelot. We'll send it via remote control. You still have the key right?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah. Just get it over here." Suzaku said.
"Right…" Lloyd said.
Cornelia's forces were slowly approaching. She looked absolutely livid. She was just as furious as her father was right now.
"Kill him…. Kill Zero… Kill him….." Cornelia said.
"Your highness! Please, we can't just come in like this! Besides, this is being broadcasted to the world. If we show up with the intent of killing Zero….." A soldier questioned.
"SHUT IT YOU! I will not let that ghost taint my half-brother's reputation no more!" Cornelia roared.
Suddenly, Sutherlands bearing red bird markings appeared inside the area, shooting up the entire Special Zone. The Sutherlands with the red markings were part of the Geass Order. Apparently Charles knew that Cornelia would only go after Zero and the Black Knights.
'Those Sutherlands….. They're not under Cornelia's command, or rather they are being ordered by my father. I knew he would do something like this. He wouldn't count on Cornelia to do it despite coming here only to kill me thinking I'm still dead and thinking that I am just a fake as opposed to the real me.' Lelouch thought, "Black Knights! The Emperor of Britannia has begun the destruction of the SAZ. Save the Japanese and Euphemia! Quickly!"
The Black Knights charged down into the Special Zone. Princess Euphemia along with her Knights began to escape.
"Isaribi, Launch!" Ohgi said.
The Isaribi flew up and flew toward the SAZ. The SAZ itself has become a battleground. The bloodiest day in history after the 7 years of Britannian occupation of Japan has begun.
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