A/N: Sorry again for the long wait. I did a few re-writes of the chapter, trying to see what I wanted to put here. It's admittedly not as long as the last three, but I definitely didn't want to overload it. The other scenes I wanted to put into this chapter will likely appear next chapter, making it quicker to write.
Wasn't R2 Episode 21 an acid trip? (for those who have seen it). Quite honestly, while some of it was a bit hokey, there were some really cool elements in there. In fact, it influenced this chapter, most prominently in the end.
This chapter is definitely for the Kallen and Suzaku fans (not as a couple, separately, lol). An anonymous reviewer pointed out something to me that I didn't realize, so I wanted to make sure I filled in some blanks.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: I changed the Cornelia bit during Lelouch and Suzaku's conversation. I didn't intend for it to look like Cornelia all of the sudden hated Euphie. Ticked off, yes, but not hate.
"So exactly how are you able to fold these so well?"
Gino Weinberg was with Nunnally, the Eleventh Princess and the royal he was assigned to protect. She was trying to show him the Japanese art of origami, but embarrassingly for Gino, he couldn't get the hang of it. It made him feel worse that a girl who was blind could make better paper birds than him.
"Well, once you get used to the feel of the paper between your fingers, it's easier to manipulate it, like this," Nunnally explained, holding out another perfect paper bird.
"So this is what you did in Area 11, Your Highness?" Gino asked, throwing his mangled paper bird on the table.
"Yes. Back at Ashford, I had a Japanese maid who taught me how to do origami. It was so much fun, that I haven't stopped since!"
Gino had to admit, Nunnally was definitely an enigma of a person. He had heard the stories; her mother Empress Marianne was assassinated. The bullets targeted at her mother also struck Nunnally, crippling her. The devastating trauma also drove her into a state of hysterical blindness. Then, she and Lelouch were sent to Japan as bargaining tools. Then, for seven years, she had to disguise her name to protect herself from terrorists. Yet, through all she's been through, she remains positive.
He couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her or her family. It was the curse of a rich upbringing, one his friends told him. A person sheltered from the world's harsh realities with money wouldn't understand. When following that logic, Gino couldn't possibly have an idea into the extremely complicated situation that landed Nunnally in the wheelchair next to him.
It was the other curse of a rich upbringing; he did have an idea.
"Nunnally," Kallen said as she walked into the room. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine Kallen."
Kallen looked at Gino, both confused and annoyed by his presence. She turned to Nunnally and asked, "What is this guy doing here?"
"Oh, this is Lord Gino Weinberg," Nunnally said. "He's my new Knight."
"We've met before," Gino interjected. "Right, Ms. Stadtfeld?"
Kallen cringed at the use of her last name. "Yes, we met briefly at the ceremony," she said.
"Terribly brief," Gino added, flashing a smile at her.
"Nunnally, I will come back later," Kallen said, turning back around and leaving. Gino smiled again, and then said to Nunnally, "I think she likes me."
Kallen was headed back to her room, but she ended getting herself lost in the seemingly endless hallways of the Imperial Palace. It wasn't the first time she was lost in a place built with Britannian hands. On her first day at the Stadtfeld home in the Tokyo Settlement, she got lost among the many floors and rooms. She was eventually found by one of the maids, who dragged her to her stepmother, who scolded her.
Just like the Stadtfeld home, the Imperial Place seemed to lack warmth. Before her brother died, she lived in a house filled with energy, vibrancy, and love. She sensed nothing similar emanating from the walls of the grand Palace. It wasn't very surprising, though. Kallen had decided Britannians were cold people naturally a long time ago, when her mother was forced to be a maid just to spend time with her. Her stepmother was a cruel airhead. Her father was a master of neglect, preferring the so-called aura of the Palace to spending time with her.
Kallen didn't even bother trying to find him at the Palace, not that he would care enough to grant her an audience. She was hoping to avoid seeing him altogether during her stay. She just wanted to aid Lelouch in his plans and then return home to Japan, the real Japan, with its name and culture restored. She trusted that Lelouch would deliver that to her, for her.
"Are you lost?"
Kallen turned around and saw a tall, blonde man standing behind her. It didn't take her awhile to recognize it was Schneizel el Britannia, a prince of Britannia and, hard to believe, Lelouch's brother.
"Um…" Kallen didn't know what to say. Although she was lost, the last thing she wanted to do was admit that to a man, let alone a prince of the empire she despised.
"You must be Kallen Stadtfeld," Schneizel said. "You are Lelouch's companion?"
I am actually Kallen Kozuki, and when Zero and I are done with you all, you will be begging for mercy, Kallen thought about saying. Instead, she said, "Yes".
"So you also are the woman who gave my foolish younger brother a dose his own medicine?" Schneizel said with a smile.
"Yes I was," Kallen said, a little more proudly than she intended.
"Don't sound too happy," Schneizel chuckled. "Cassius may be terribly rude, naïve, and classless, but you could've very gotten into trouble because of him."
"Well, I am sorry if I offended you, Prince Schneizel," Kallen said.
"So, there is that Japanese respect that I have heard so much about," Schneizel quipped, causing Kallen to completely freeze.
"Excuse me?" Kallen asked.
"Your father, Earl Stadtfeld, is a good friend of mine. He told me of your parentage during a casual meeting."
"I see," Kallen said in relief, happy that her cover wasn't blown.
"Follow me," Schneizel turned around and held out his hand. Kallen hesitated, causing him to say "it would be rude to defy a member of royalty."
"Of course, my apologies," Kallen said softly.
Kallen took Schneizel's hand and he began to lead through the halls of the palace. "Are you close with your Japanese mother?" he asked as the two moved closer to Kallen's room.
"Before I answer your question, Prince Schneizel, I have to ask, why do you keep saying Japanese?"
"Are you offended?"
"No," Kallen said hesitantly. "It's just that most Britannians refer to the Japanese as Elevens. It's a national policy, or at least that's what Milly said."
"Call me a natural-born diplomat, Ms Stadtfeld," Schneizel said. "It's better for future relations if a person's culture is observed properly."
"Prince Lelouch?"
Suzaku Kururugi turned around from the Lancelot's main computer when Lloyd said his name. There Lelouch was, a re-titled Prince of Britannia, wearing the complimentary dressing. For someone who hasn't worn the royal robes since he was a mere child, he seemed surprisingly comfortable.
"What are you doing here, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.
"Fool!" Lloyd gasped. "You are addressing a prince of Britannia!"
"Lord Asplund," Lelouch said. "Suzaku doesn't need to formally address me. He's been my friend for a long time. In fact, he's the reason why I'm here."
Lelouch did enjoy spending time with his best friend, but he had other pressing matters to deal with at the Dallas Laboratories. Britannia's main scientific research center was the home to every major research project worked on by the government, military or otherwise. Although the Lancelot was a specialized project, Lelouch vi Britannia was allowed access without any questions. The other, top-secret projects were only accessible to the upper-levels of government, like Schneizel.
Lelouch sat down next to Suzaku, who was watching the last use of the Lancelot through the Frame's camera system. It looks I came at the right time, Lelouch thought.
"So, how was the meeting with Empress Ophelia?" Lelouch asked.
"Take a guess."
"Disastrous?"
"Exactly," Suzaku sighed. "I felt worse for Euphie than myself. She's been trying so hard to get people to accept me."
"But?"
"You should've seen the looks I was getting at your ceremony, Lelouch," Suzaku said softly. "It was worse at my Knighthood ceremony. It's been terrible for Euphie. Princess Cornelia has been referring to her as Sub-Viceroy."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Lelouch said. "There's no way that Cornelia would all of the sudden turn on Euphie. Nothing is going to break that bond." I should know, he thought. I ended up using that bond to my advantage.
"Still, I hate that I'm causing the smallest rift between them."
As he listened to Suzaku, Lelouch made sure to also pay some attention to the computer screen, which had automatically began running the Lancelot's diagnostic test.
"It's almost Britannian law to treat citizens of the Dominions terribly," Lelouch explained. "To be honest, Clovis' Honorary Britannian program was just a way to appease the conquered."
"I see."
While Suzaku looked away, Lelouch curled his hand and reached underneath his shirt cuff, pulling out a small flash drive. In a second, he reached behind the computer and plugged it in. It vibrated, signaling the beginning of the download. Soon, every bit of information regarding the Lancelot would be his.
"The last thing I want to do is ruin Euphie's life here," Suzaku said. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
"You still don't," Lelouch said before he even realized it.
"What?"
"It is true, Suzaku. You still won't forgive yourself for your father's death."
"How am I supposed to forgive myself for killing my father?" Suzaku asked in a harsh whisper.
"You didn't intend on killing your father," Lelouch explained. "You wanted to stop him from potentially destroying your homeland. If you hadn't tried, Japan would've been nothing but a war state between the three big superpowers."
"Now Japan is just a war state of one, Britannia," Suzaku said, quite bitterly. When he saw Lelouch's surprised reaction, he apologized.
"Why would you, Suzaku? Britannia is an imperialist nation. It doesn't care about the people of Japan as long as its goals are realized."
"So," Suzaku said. "I was in a lose-lose situation. If I hadn't killed my father, the country would've been ripped apart in a geopolitical disaster. Chances are, he, and I, would've been killed. By killing him, Japan simply allowed Britannia to take over. Either way, Japan loses everything it holds dear."
"That's right."
"Then why did you come back?" Suzaku asked loudly. "You and Nunnally were happy in Japan, weren't you? Why would you come back to an empire that you know is evil?"
"The same reason you joined the Britannian military."
Ignoring Suzaku's look of shock, Lelouch continued, "You joined the Britannian military for two reasons. One of them was to atone for the sin of patricide by hoping die in the line of duty. Yet, you knew the chances of your death were rather minimal, considering the strength of the army you patronized. This led to your second goal. You wanted to prove to yourself, your father, and to the government who protected you but handed over Japan, that peace could be achieved through the means that you don't believe are contemptible. You believed that you could change the Empire from the inside, by slowly moving through the ranks and gaining more and more power. Well, I believe I can do the same."
"You do?"
"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, the Eleventh Prince of the Empire. I have access to more power than you could even conceive of."
"So what do you plan to do as prince, Lelouch?"
"Have you forgotten the promise I made to you all those years ago, Suzaku?"
A young Suzaku looked down at the dirt. Everything about his country, even the dirt, was ravaged by the weapons of Britannia. He didn't know what he would do, where he would go. The government aides didn't tell him anything. His life was in the hands of people who probably hated him, for taking away their last sign of hope.
"I swear."
Suzaku looked up from the hardened dirt underneath him at Lelouch, the Britannian prince who he called friend. He was leaving, and chances were, they would never see each other again.
"I swear, Suzaku, so help me, I will, one day, obliterate Britannia!"
Suzaku had written Lelouch's promise off years ago, believing it was something he said to help him carry on. He never thought it would be referenced again.
"Maybe the language was a bit dramatic, but the goal is still the same."
"Lelouch, you can't be serious."
"I am," Lelouch said. "Britannia, and its Emperor, have to answer to the people they have hurt.
"They will answer to me."
The lifeless body of the Empress Alexandria Di Britannia was strewn across the steps of the atrium of the Castle of Eowyn, the home of Britannian Imperial Family. Nobility, family members, and the Empress' two young children, Charles and Vincent were witness to what was called a tragic accident. The Emperor, Frederick Von Britannia, was notified of the death, but his position in Europe made it virtually impossible for a quick return.
His absence left the citizens of Britannia uncertain of the Empire's future. The nobles were already searching amongst their own ranks for suitable consorts. The other members of the Family were silently deciding who would be next. As for Charles and Vincent, their mother's supposed accident was just another example of a world filled with lies and betrayal.
So, again, what did you think? Please don't forget to review. It's a serious inspiration boost!
BTW, when/if you review, if you could also tell me which character (that I've mentioned) you are most interested in during this story, that would be great. I'm thinking about expanding a few character's roles (I can tell you Odysseus is one), and I want to see which characters my readers like the most in this story.