As the years go by, the world has become a stable place. The UFN doctrine has ensured peace across the globe in all world powers. The Britannian royal family has grown back to its former glory, with the vi and li Britannia's being the largest of the families. Julius Kingsley resigned after fifteen years of service, his skill will be missed by those who can remember him.
Under Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, the empire has entered its golden age. Science and art are the main focus of the empire, lead by Prince Schneizel and Princess Cornelia. But as time goes on, everyone slowly fades away. Only I will remain, watching over Nunnally and protecting what is dearest to me. Although she too will eventually fade, but I will remain by her side to the very end. I will see my contract through to the very end.
Sixty years have passed since Nunnally took the throne of Britannia.
Within Nunnally's quarters in the palace, Nunnally is on her deathbed. Having contracted an unknown disease, her health has slowly declined over the years until she has become bed ridden. Zero sits on a nearby window sill, watching a storm pass over Britannia. He then hears Nunnally coughing, and looks over in her direction. Nunnally, waking up, looks around the room until she sees Zero. "Zero, you're still here." She says, weakly.
"Of course, I'm still here, your majesty." Zero says. He then gets up from his spot by the window and heads over towards Nunnally. "I won't ever leave your side, Nunnally." He says, taking Nunnally's hand in his.
"Thank you, Zero." Nunnally says, and then coughs. "Zero, could you do me one last favor." She says after her coughing fit.
"Anything, your majesty." Zero replies.
"I'd like you to show me your face one last time." Nunnally says. Zero then lowers his head.
"At once, your majesty." He replies. He then removes his mask, revealing his youthful face.
"Oh, Suzaku, you're so young." Nunnally says, as she sees Suzaku's face for the first time in decades.
"I'm still older than you, Nunnally." Suzaku says.
"I'm just so happy to see your face again, Suzaku." Nunnally says with a smile on her face. The doors to her quarters open and Akito enters the room.
"Your majesty." Akito says, as he enters the room.
"Yes, Akito." Nunnally replies.
"I'd like to thank you and Zero for the opportunity you gave me, that you gave all of us." Akito replies.
"Akito, do you wish to know my identity?" Zero asks.
"Not really, Zero. But if you're willing to let me know, then go ahead." Akito replies. Zero then looks at Nunnally, who nods in approval. Zero then turns and faces Akito.
"Akito, you haven't aged a day." Zero says, as he looks upon Akito's still youthful face. His hair, however, has become a slate grey over the years.
"Zero, you're…" Akito says as he sees Zero's face for the first time.
"Yes, I'm Suzaku Kururugi, the first Knight of Zero." Zero replies.
"I guess Kingsley was right. The dead really do have a hard time of staying dead." Akito says. Suzaku chuckles when he hears this.
"That's something Kingsley would say." Zero replies. He then hears Nunnally coughing again and heads over to her bed.
"Zero, does it hurt, dying?" Nunnally asks.
"That depends on how you die, Nunnally." Zero replies. "Yes it hurts, if you're awake for it. Lelouch and I both died in pain. Although it was quick, it wasn't painless." Zero continues.
"I have died before." Akito adds.
"Really? How?" Nunnally asks.
"I was given pills. My brother killed our entire family, but something in me refused to die. It didn't hurt, but I bear the pain of that event whenever friends and family die around me." Akito replies.
"Nunnally, as I see it, you will pass on peacefully. And when you do, I'll see you in C's world." Zero says.
"Thank you, Zero." She says and then begins to cough. "Zero, my time is limited, as you know." She continues after recovering from her coughing fit. "I hereby pronounce your contract fulfilled, my knight." She says. She then sees Zero tearing up. "You are free to go whenever you like, Zero."
"I understand." Zero says. He then grabs his mask and puts it back on. He then bows before Nunnally, before he turns and heads towards the door, with Akito following right behind him. As they leave, a servant enters the room.
"Take me to Aries Villa. That's where I want to spend the rest of my time." Nunnally says.
"At once, your majesty." The servant replies.
Zero and Akito head towards the Chamber of the Rounds, but before they enter, Zero stops. "Akito, have you thought of finding your replacement?" Zero asks.
"Replacement?" Akito replies.
"No one lives forever, Akito. You may have cheated death, but where does that leave you?" Zero replies.
"I haven't thought of finding a replacement. The Knights of the Round have all found their replacements, but if I leave, who will further train them?" Akito says.
"Your replacement would be rather particular, for they need to be affected by geass." Zero says. He then extends his hand. "Take my hand, and let's try to find them." He says. Akito takes Zero's hand, and is shown a scene with the future Knight of Zero.
"What was that?" Akito says, as the scene fades.
"That was your successor." Zero replies. He then enters the Chamber of the Rounds, with Akito right behind him. The Knights present salute Zero and Akito as they enter. "Akito, I hope that you are ready to pass on the torch that is the Knight of Zero." Zero says.
"I hope so too." Akito says, heading for his quarters.
Zero then heads for the hangar, where the knightmares are all stationed, with the Knights following him. He then heads for the Shinkiro and climbs aboard the knightmare. "Zero, are we going to train in this weather?" One of the Knights asks.
"No, my fellow Knight." Zero replies, turning around to face them. "My time here in Britannia has come to an end." He says, extending his right arm out to the side. "As much as it pains me to leave, there is nothing holding me here anymore." He continues, placing his hand to his chest. "I bid you all farewell, and may we meet in another life." He says, entering the Shinkiro. The hangar doors open and as the Shinkiro leaves the palace, Akito enters the hangar, dressed in his full Knight of Zero attire.
"Not you too, Akito." Another Knight says.
Akito, seeing the Shinkiro leave the palace, heads towards the Arthur. "I too must leave. When this knightmare returns, the new Knight of Zero will be the pilot." Akito replies.
"You're not coming back?" A third Knight asks.
"I intend to find peace with myself." Akito replies. He then climbs onto and enters the Arthur, and leaves the palace in search of the next Knight of Zero.
"This is Commander Zero, returning to Horai Island." Zero says over the radio, once he enters Horai Island's air space.
"Welcome back, Zero. You've been missed." One of the Black Knights replies. Zero then continues on his flight to the base. He flies into the hangar and lands the Shinkiro. When he emerges from the knightmare, he sees a crowd of Black Knights gathering in the hangar to finally meet their commander.
"Welcome back, Commander." Naoto says, greeting Zero for the first time in decades.
"Thank you, Naoto. I'm glad to be back." Zero says.
"Zero, your former Aces, Kallen and Gino, will meet you in your quarters." Naoto says.
"Final farewells. We will all part our own ways." Zero says, leaving the hangar and heading for his quarters.
When Zero enters his quarters, an elderly Kallen and Gino turn to face him. "Zero, we thought you'd never return." Kallen says, greeting Zero.
"You both know why I'm here." Zero says. He then heads towards one of the walls, which opens into a small room.
"We heard that the Empress had fallen ill, some time ago." Gino says. "We didn't think she'd be that ill." They then see Zero remove his mask.
"Suzaku, you haven't aged a day." Kallen says.
"Neither has Lelouch or C.C." Zero replies. He then enters the room and changes out of the Zero suit.
"Suzaku, what are you going to do now?" Gino asks.
"Now? My contract is complete, I no longer have a reason to be Zero." Suzaku replies.
"But you can't leave the Black Knights. Who is going to lead them?" Kallen says.
"The next Zero will, Kallen." Suzaku says. "I take it that Lelouch and C.C. are here, on the island?" He asks.
"How did you know, Suzaku?" Gino asks.
"We are connected by geass." Suzaku replies. He then emerges from the room, dressed in his Japanese training garb. He then sets the Zero suit on the central table, with the mask facing the doorway. Then the door opens, and everyone turns to face whoever has entered the room.
"I heard that the Commander has returned." Cyrus says.
"Indeed you have." Suzaku says. Cyrus then sees Suzaku.
"I guess I'll never know who Zero really is." He says, noticing the suit on the table.
"We are all Zero. Whether or not we want the burden of actually being Zero is up to us." Suzaku says. He then heads back into the room and grabs his Knight of Zero cloak. When he emerges from the room, he closes the panel, then he looks at the suit on the table. "Zero is cursed." He says.
"How so?" Kallen asks.
"For as long as there is geass in the world, Zero will remain." Suzaku replies, placing his cloak over his shoulders. He then raises his left arm over the Zero suit. "Whomever dons the name Zero shall receive the power of geass, and be bound to a contract." He says, his code lighting up. A red glow envelopes the suit, and when the glow fades, the geass symbol can be seen in the mask before it fades into the visor.
"That's a heavy price to pay for becoming Zero." Gino says.
"It's a necessary one." Cyrus says. "Anyone could become Zero, but this curse will make it so that the correct Zero is masked."
"And with that, my time here is over." Suzaku says, placing the hood of his cloak over his head, and leaving the room. When he leaves the base, he makes his way towards the docks of the island.
"Ready to depart, Z.Z." Lelouch says.
Suzaku looks behind him towards the base, and then looks back at Lelouch and C.C. "The past is behind us, R.R." Suzaku replies. He then boards the boat with C.C. and Lelouch, and they make their way towards Kamine Island.
Many years have passed since Suzaku was relieved of his task of Zero. Nunnally passed away, surrounded by her family. All of the veterans of the Black Rebellion have also passed on. The geass community on Kamine Island has grown, and new members join every now and then. Lelouch and Suzaku have dropped their real names, much as C.C. did centuries ago, for they are now known as R.R. and Z.Z.
R.R. and Z.Z. enter the cave on Kamine Island, approaching the thought elevator. "R.R., why are we doing this? I thought the past was behind us." Z.Z. asks.
"Yes it is, but those we lost are still alive in C's world. In R's world. In Z's world." R.R. replies. "Besides, I promised the student council that I'd launch fireworks with them. And the way I see it, now is the best time to do that, with all of us being together again." He continues.
"R.R., you can't let go of the past, can you?" Z.Z. says.
"Not entirely." R.R. replies. When they reach the reconstructed thought elevator, R.R. and Z.Z. bring their coded hands up to the gate and enter into C's world.
When they enter C's world, R.R. and Z.Z. find themselves in an empty realm. "Let's change this up, shall we." R.R. says.
"What are you thinking of, R.R.?" Z.Z. asks.
"The clubhouse roof. That is where we'll launch our fireworks, with everyone else." R.R. replies. He and Z.Z. again hold out their coded hands and create the rooftop garden of the clubhouse. They then proceed to summon all the members of the student council.
"I don't see why I have to join you. I was never part of your group." C.C. says, as she brings fireworks with her.
"You stayed at the clubhouse for some time, C.C." R.R. says. "I only see it fair that you join in on the fun."
"Fine. As long as I can bring someone here as well." C.C. says.
"Fine by us." Z.Z. says. "This is a time to honor the ones we have all lost."
The student council slowly begins to appear into C's world. Nunnally is the first to appear, along with Rolo. "Where am I?" Nunnally asks. She then sees her hands. "I'm… I'm young again." She says, happily. She then looks around the area.
"What am I doing here?" Rolo asks. He then hears Nunnally's voice, and looks in her direction. 'This is for big brother' He mentally says, reaching for his knife, but is shocked to find out that it is missing.
"I'm so glad to see you two again." R.R. says.
Nunnally and Rolo both look in R.R.'s direction. "Big brother!" They both say, rushing towards R.R. When they reach R.R., Nunnally sees Rolo for the first time.
"Come here you two, give your brother a hug." R.R. says.
"If she is your sister, then I am not your brother." Rolo says.
"Rolo, don't be like that." R.R. says. He then sees Z.Z. walk towards the railing as more of the guests appear.
"But, Lelouch." Rolo complains. He then stops as he sees R.R. pull out the locket he had. "You kept it?" He asks.
"No, Rolo. I left it with you." R.R. replies. "This is the locket I wanted to give to Nunnally, but I gave it to you instead."
"Oh, big brother!" Rolo says, hugging R.R., who drops the locket, which opens. Nunnally then picks up the locket and sees two pictures with Lelouch, one with her the other with Rolo.
"This is a beautiful song." Nunnally says. She then walks towards R.R. and hugs him and Rolo.
"The Lamperouges are together at last." R.R. says. He then sees more of the guests arriving. Milly, Rivalz, Nina, and Shirley appear looking around, seeing where they are. He also sees Euphemia and Cornelia appearing beside Z.Z.
"Welcome to the student council, Euphy." Z.Z. says, as Euphy appears.
"What? Where am I?" She asks, looking around. She then sees Cornelia beside her. "Cornelia!" She says, hugging her sister.
"Euphy!" Cornelia says, hugging her back.
"Princess Euphemia!" Nina calls out, when she hears Euphy's name being said. Euphy then looks towards Nina.
"Oh, Nina, you look so lovely, with your hair all tied up." Euphy says as she sees Nina. Nina blushes from the complement. "Suzaku, what are we doing here?" She asks Z.Z.
"I wanted you to join the Ashford Student Council, if you were to survive that is." Z.Z. replies.
"Oh, is this everyone?" Euphy asks. "And why is Cornelia here?" She says, releasing Cornelia.
"Yes, Kururugi, why am I here?" Cornelia asks.
"You're Euphy's sister, besides R.R. has told me how much you care for her." Z.Z. replies.
"R.R.?" They both ask.
"It's a long story." Z.Z. replies.
"Lelouch!" Rivalz calls out, as he sees R.R. He and Milly then tackle R.R. after Nunnally and Rolo have moved away from him. R.R. staggers, but keeps his balance, holding both Rivalz and Milly up.
"Wow, Lelouch, I didn't think you were this strong." Milly says.
"You have no idea how unbearably heavy the both of you are." R.R. says, straining to stand up. He then falls down with Milly and Rivalz right on top of him. He then hears someone laughing, and he looks up and sees Shirley approaching.
"Lulu." Shirley says, kneeling down on the ground, in front of R.R.
"Shirley, we're finally together again." R.R. says, smiling
"Oh, Lulu, how are you going to get yourself out of this one." Someone says. R.R. panics, recognizing the voice.
"Get off of me." R.R. says. He then gets to his feet as Milly and Rivalz get off of him. He then turns around, and is face to face with the last person he'd ever expect to meet again. "Mao, why are you here." He asks
"Oh, the great Zero doesn't know why I'm here." Mao says, laughing and clapping his hands.
"Mao, behave yourself." C.C. says.
Mao turns and faces C.C. "Oh, C.C., is it really you. Can this really be happening, I haven't been forgotten. I knew you really loved me. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" He says acting like a child. "Wait, you… you shot me. If I'm dead, then this is… unless you're… but why are they here?" He says, rather confused.
"Dead?" Milly asks. "Lelouch, would you care to explain."
"Everyone here has died, except for the three of us." R.R. replies, indicating himself, Z.Z., and C.C.
"Suzaku!" Milly says seeing Z.Z.
"Milly, I'm glad to see you again." Z.Z. replies. He then winces in pain as he feels a very familiar pain in his ankle. He then looks down and sees Arthur. "And hello to you too, Arthur." Z.Z. says, greeting and picking up the cat. "You have no idea how much I missed that." He adds. Arthur then bites Z.Z.'s thumb.
"Well, you did ask for it." Euphy says, laughing.
"Perhaps we can start launching the fireworks now." Z.Z. says.
"Fireworks?" Milly asks.
"I intended to stay true to my word, Milly. We are all together now." R.R. says, as Kallen, Gino, and Anya appear.
"Then I'll hold you to your word, Lelouch." Milly says. "Now let's start this celebration, this reuniting of friends." She says, taking a firework.
"Let's hope we brought enough fireworks." R.R. says. "If not, then we can do this again some other time."
"We could always get more, Lelouch." Rivalz says.
"Outside of this realm, yes." R.R. replies.
"Realm?" Rivalz asks.
"This is a realm of memories." R.R. says.
"I like the sound of that." Milly says, preparing her firework. "If this is a realm of memories, then we will stay together forever. Nothing can separate us, nothing will break us apart."
"Then let's get started and make this moment last." R.R. says, grabbing a firework. Everyone present grabs some fireworks, and launches them after Milly has launched the first one. This goes on for some time until they run out of fireworks. Everyone bids the trio farewell as they prepare to leave the realm. The trio leave the realm in a flash of red and return to Kamine Island.
Meanwhile in Zero's quarters, on Horai Island, the suit has been moved. In the small room, a young Britannian dressed in the cursed suit, prepares to place the mask over their face. When they place the mask over their face, a flash of red appears inside the mask, and a few voices can be heard.
"You are now Zero, the masked hero of the world." One of the voices says.
"You have sealed your fate, and therefore started a contract." The other voice says.
"We will grant you geass, the power of the king." The first voice says.
"Whether you're a savior or a scourge, is up to you." The other says.
"Make the best of your new life, and seek us out for guidance." The two voices both say at once. The red light fades from inside the mask, and a faint glow of the new Zero's geass remains, before that too disappears.
Thus ends Suzaku Kururugi's journey as Zero, the masked spirit. The future of the world is up to the new ruler of Britannia, and the new Zero to lead the Black Knights.
