Author's Note: Sorry for the wait this time, some things came up. A big thanks to Vividintwilight for her great pre-reading,
of which without I'd be submitting a vastly inferior fanfic. Once again, C&C is greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its characters.
Chapter 3: Realization:
For a moment, a second sun dawned on the horizon, and then there was nothing. Blinking the pinkish blur from her vision, Kallen looked out the window and gasped. Kyoto was gone. There was no dust or smoke, it had simply disappeared. It was complete luck that she'd chosen a location so far from the city. If they'd been just a bit closer...
Is it... Fleija? Kallen's mind worked furiously. Why here? I thought only the Damocles had the technology. Could it have been someone else? Or was it Schneizel? Why would he do that?
Turning on the television yielded nothing but static. Trying the radio produced similar results. She was about to test the Guren's communication system when the TV screen suddenly flickered, and an image of Schneizel snapped into focus. He stood tall, hands on a podium, without a single hair out of place.
"Citizens of the world," Schneizel started. "My name is Schneizel Vi Britannia. By now you will have realized, or seen the effects of, the strategic weapon, Fleija. While I regret I had to use such force to get the attention of your leaders, understand that this was necessary."
"The main military forces of both the Black Knights at Kyoto and Britannia at Hawaii have been completely eradicated," he declared, in a refined yet authoritative tone. "All of the nations currently at war have been shown an example of the destructive power of Fleija. Any attempts at military mobilization from this point on will be met with overwhelming force, as will the funding of any such activities."
He paused. "What I have done is unforgivable," he closed his eyes for a second. "But it was necessary! The sacrifice of the people who perished this day will secure the lives of our children, as well as humanity."
"War," he emphasized. "Will soon be a thing of the past. Too long has the world wept at the whims of a few. Too long has blood flowed and innocence been destroyed for the sake of money and power. War... is something I understand too well. Something we all understand too well." Here, he took out something: a butterfly brooch. He looked down at it regretfully as Kallen gasped, recognizing the ornament.
"I am all that's left of the Britannian Royal Family. This brooch was given to me by my last sibling, Nunnally, as she lay dying in my arms. To remember her dream of a peaceful world, she said." Schneizel paused for a moment, seemingly too emotional to continue. "We... are only human. My brother, the Demon King Lelouch, killed her for getting in the way of his ambitions. But I don't blame him. As long as power exists, we are tempted to take it. Ambition is born from that temptation. And once we have power, we are tempted to use it: just as I was tempted, and gave in, to that temptation. Temptation to use this Damocles, to make sure no one is ever tempted again! To make sure this world becomes the one my sister would have wanted."
"Know that those that sacrificed themselves today, died for a great cause, the greatest possible cause. For the world my sister dreamed of, for the world everyone has dreamed of... a peaceful world." He clenched the brooch tightly, the brooch's sharp edges digging into his glove. "The first step of the journey is always the hardest. However, at the end of this road, the promise of a peaceful future awaits. At the end of this road lies a dawn so bright it will wash away all the bloodshed, discrimination, and pain that so defined this era. But not our memories, because we will never forget those that sacrificed themselves here today, and all those who died for the dream of a gentler tomorrow."
The image clicked off, the static returning. Kallen felt the power of the speech, even though she knew he was lying. But everything else... Nunnally, dead? The Black Knights... gone? Everyone? She sank to her knees as she tried to wrap her mind around the concept.
They... wouldn't have died so easily! Kallen's mind screamed. They can't be dead!
She soon found herself in her Guren, frantically trying to raise someone on her comm system.
Ogi is always there for me. When I lacked the will to go on, he was there. When my brother died, he let me lean on his shoulder until I could move forward.
Kallen tried connecting to the local network.
Rakshata likes to give me tips on how to increase my synchronization rate. Like that time she told me to dress like the Guren. She told me I'm the most interesting part she's ever had.
"Headquarters, this is Captain Kōzuki, please acknowledge."
General Toudou practices Aikido and Jujitsu with me in his spare time. He tells me I'm a natural at fighting. But in calligraphy, I've never come close, his brush strokes are beautiful. It's then I remember he's not just a warrior, but an artist.
There was nothing. She tried the base at Horai Island.
Tamaki is a lech, and useless besides. But sometimes, in these rare moments... he can be kinda cool.
"This is Captain Kōzuki, please respond." She spoke. They can't die. Because Ogi is always there, and Rakshata never seems to lose her calm and even a Fleija wouldn't kill her, and...
"Li? Anyone? Someone respond!" Kallen screamed at the blank screen. "Toudou, it was Kaguya and I that told Chiba that the shower was free when you were in there! I admit it, so please talk to me! Tamaki, tell me a joke! It's alright if it's horrible, tell me one so I can tell you what an idiot you are! Ogi, tell me everything is going to be alright just one more time. Please, just once more..." And she was crying and pounding her fist against the hard walls of her Guren and it hurt like hell but she didn't care, because if she could hear Toudou's stern voice or Rakshata making a comment about her hair just one more time everything would be alright. But she knew she wouldn't, and it won't be. It won't be alright.
Kallen stayed there until she had screamed herself hoarse and her fist bled, until she felt empty, of tears and feelings. She looked at the bloody stain on her knightmare. "Sorry, Guren." She whispered as she closed her eyes. Tired. she thought, as the mantle of sleep crept over her. If I sleep forever, will I see them again?
The sun was already sinking on the horizon when Kallen left the warm embrace of her Guren. The grey stone walls seemed to mirror her mood as she stalked through the corridors, no particular destination in mind. Which is why she was surprised when she found herself in front of Lelouch's cell. She let herself in.
His face had begun to bruise, and she belatedly remembered the ice she was supposed to bring.
"You look horrible." Kallen noted intelligently.
He chuckled. "Oh? And you're any better?"
Then she realized how she must have looked at the moment, after that episode in the hanger.
"So, Schneizel executed it, did he?" Lelouch asked, turning serious, resigned. "His plan."
"You knew about it?"
"Istanbul, Constantine, Leipzig, Bagasra, Al Qahirah, to name a few... his goal is not devastation, but fear."
"How do you know what cities he targeted?" She questioned before she could stop herself.
"It's what I would've done." He replied, as if that explained everything.
"Why... didn't you warn anyone?"
"It wouldn't have made a difference. The opponent is Schneizel. The moment I was taken out of the game, it was checkmate. The game is over, he won." He paused. "Tell me, what happened to the Order of Black Knights and my forces?"
"They were both... totally destroyed. Everyone."
"Nunally?"
"She's gone, Lelouch. I'm sorry."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"It was nothing less than I expected from him, but it's surprisingly painful. I didn't think he'd move this quickly." His smile was bitter. "With this, my plans are finished."
Kallen didn't know why her spirits dropped at that. She had thought she had stopped relying on Lelouch, on Zero, but there was a part of her that had never stopped hoping, hoping that he would pull something out of his sleeve, a plan, something spectacular, just like he always did. To see him powerless troubled her. If he can't think of anything, what chance do I have? She thought grimly.
"I understand now what you meant when you spoke to Guilford that day," Kallen spoke. "You became evil to defeat an even greater evil... right?"
"Those words... it's almost as if someone else said them."
The guilt that was rising in her was like a tidal wave, inescapable. I did this. Ogi, Rakshata, Li, Toudou, Tamaki, Nunnally... and the blood of hundreds of millions of people. All on my hands. I killed them all. Kallen thought hysterically. Because I wanted to defeat Lelouch. Because I didn't believe in him. She wanted to beg him for forgiveness, to say sorry for doubting him. Instead, what came out was: "It looks like you weren't evil enough."
Lelouch laughed, a pure, clean laugh. "In a few years, the whole world will curse my name as the greatest menace this world has ever known. It's probably already started. Schneizel will be the hero that saved the world from my tyranny. He who is victorious controls history."
"Some will remember," Kallen whispered. "I will remember. What real evil is. And justice."
"A memory of justice... is it?" Lelouch leaned his head back against the wall. "In this new world, it might be better to forget such things."
"There's nothing you, we, can do?"
"Only when you plunge the world into darkness will it know the value of peace. Though Schneizel's methods are brutal, war truly will soon be a thing of the past," he mused. "And the damage is already done. Given enough time, I'd be able to think of something, but by then I would be who breaks the peace: the peace that has already been paid for with the blood of millions. Who would be the villain, then?"
For awhile they sat in silence, neither of them knowing what to say.
"You did what you thought was right," Kallen spoke suddenly. "So did I."
Lelouch looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled gently. "Thank you... Kallen." For forgiving me, he seemed to say. I forgive you too. I forgive you.
Before she left, she stopped in the doorway to look him in the eyes, those violet eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.
"But... you should have brought me with you."
She left the door unlocked.
