Alright… whew, I'm still pooped from the last chapter.
Let's have some fun with this one.
Ryuu Ranger, nope it isn't.
WWDW, that's what I was going for.
Chaos Guy, I read the special up until some way in the G/S/C arc where it ended in Onemanga, and I know it's much further on MangaFox and MangaToshokan, but yeah.
Heraklinos, I'm only warming up.
Karasu, that review was scary to read. GOOD JOB!
For the rest of your questions, wait and find out.
-}+{-
The world Nunnally desires… the world Nunnally has chosen…
If that were to happen…
Zero is her biggest obstacle.
Nunnally's safety is guaranteed. She has the Britannian army and Suzaku protecting her.
He's my worst enemy, granted, but he's the one I trust with her the most.
I can trust him to protect Nunnally
That is, if he's not busy shaking up with Euphie…
Though… why can she remember? I could sense it… she isn't affected by the Geass I accidentally placed upon her… why…
"Honestly?" Euphie told Suzaku. "I don't know."
"Eh?" he asked.
"I was in the garden, where you came to visit me, and, all of a sudden, everything clicked." Euphie explained. "I… killed a lot of people, didn't I..?"
Suzaku was about to lie, then looked down. "It's Zero's fault." He snarled. "He made you do this-"
"No, you're wrong." Euphie told him, touching his face. "It was an accident."
Suzaku sat up. "How could it be an accident!" he asked angrily. "He used his Geass on you!"
"Geass…" Euphie sighed. "So that's what it's called…"
Suzaku calmed down, lying back next to the princess.
"The Geass turned on by itself." Euphie told him. "Zero wanted me to stab him at first, making everyone lose their trust in me and starting a rebellion, but I talked him out of it. Then, he was explaining his power and it… just turned on by itself just as he was listing examples of what he could make me do."
"I don't know…" Suzaku sighed, lying back. "Euphie… Zero is Lelouch."
"I know. I knew since Mirage Island." she confessed.
"Eh!" he shouted, sitting upright.
"That was why I wanted to make the Special Administrative Zone in the first place." Euphie explained, pulling her knees into her chest as she sat up. "So we could be together, me, you, Nunnally, Lelouch…"
Suzaku put an arm around her silently as she began to cry. "It's okay." He told her, pulling her into a hug. "It's alright…"
"I… I just wanted… everyone to be happy…" Euphie sobbed. "I… didn't want anyone to die…"
"I know…" Suzaku told her, kissing the top of her head. "I know…"
"How're you holding up?" C.C. asked Lelouch as she walked into his room on the Abyss.
"About Nunnally?" Lelouch asked from his hammock as C.C. took a seat on his swivel chair. "Surprisingly… well." He answered. "I've had some other things on my mind, which helps."
"Such as?" she asked, opening her arms for Jiro to fly into.
"Euphemia's no longer under the control of my Geass, and she remembers everything."
C.C. looked up. "That's impossible." She stated. "Your Geass's powers are absolute. There is no way that the effects would fade after just that."
"I know, which brings me to a worrisome conclusion."
"Which is?" C.C. asked.
"Cyrus has given someone a Geass which allows them to cancel the effects of other people's Geass's." Lelouch decided. "That, or he removed my Geass in person."
"I was only able to restore your memories because I was there for a large part of your life as Zero, so I was able to transfer them to you mentally." She told him. "That opened a lot of holes in the Geass your father placed upon you, so everything else fell into place."
"Are you suggesting that Cyrus could not restore Euphemia's memories of the massacre because he wasn't there?"
"That is correct."
"Hmph." Lelouch grunted, rolling over in the hammock. "There was something else." He added. "I used my Geass on a Deoxys."
"As a pokémon, it wouldn't have had any effect." C.C. commented.
"I know, but the human brain inside its body obeyed my command." Lelouch said. "This suggests that the Geass travels the optic nerves exactly the same for a pokémon's nerves or a humans, yet only a human brain will accept the command."
"So how do you intend to use this?" C.C. asked. "Cut out Tamaki's brain and plant it into a primeape? I'm warning you, it'd be a waste of a perfectly good primeape."
Lelouch smirked. "Agreed. When I first tried it, there was no effect, but it's gotten stronger since that first day. I think that by using my Geass on a pokémon, I can make it flinch at the most."
"Jiro, go get him." C.C. commanded her jirachi.
"Get me a pie." Lelouch ordered the oncoming pokémon, who stopped for a second, then continued its attack, striking him with all of its might with a furious Double-Edge attack.
It wasn't very effective…
Lelouch smirked as Jiro rose to try another assault. "Thank you, C.C."
"It is a useful discovery." C.C. complimented as the little pokémon squeaked and started jumping up and down on top of Lelouch. "But I doubt that it'll work on a pokémon more than once."
"I don't intend to use it for that method at all if I can help it." Lelouch told her, pushing the jirachi off him. "It's a lot of effort to buy a cheap second, but that wasn't the only thing I realised."
"You've been thinking." C.C. sighed, rubbing the bump on Jiro's head "What else?"
"Remember when you told me that Suzaku straddled the line between human and Pokémon?"
"My head is still spinning from yesterday~!" Tucker chuckled the next morning, sitting down at Annabel's table in the Knight's private restaurant without any announcement. "Why was Suzaku so grumpy about it, though~?"
"You can ask him directly," Annabel said without looking up from her breakfast, pointing at the doorway to the restaurant where Suzaku had just appeared in her peripheral vision.
As soon as the Dome Ace saw Suzaku, his eyes lit up with giddiness as he spotted something not even Annabel could see.
"Oooh, Suzaku~!" Tucker shouted, skipping over to his fellow knight. "I see you got lucky last night~!"
"Eh?" Suzaku asked. "Wait, what!"
"Don't be shy~!" Tucker told him. "I can just tell these things, you know~?"
"Well… yeah…" Suzaku admitted.
"Knew it~!" Tucker sang happily, pulling Suzaku close and dragging him to breakfast. "So, who's the lucky fella~?"
"WHAT!"
"How do you do everyone?" Nunnally asked at her inauguration. "I am Nunnally Vi Britannia of the royal family, 87th in line to the imperial throne. Due to the unfortunate untimely loss of Duke Calares recently, I shall be assuming the role of Area Eleven's governor."
"I cannot see nor walk properly." Nunnally continued. "That is why I ask for everyone's help. So, I look forward to working with everyone." She concluded, bowing in her extravagant wheelchair.
"It is rather early, but I would like to ask for everyone's co-operation about something." She added, sitting upright. "I would like to re-establish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan."
The room was filled with gasps and mutterings, even Suzaku turned to Nunnally in shock.
"Inside the SAZ, Britannians and Numbers will be treated equally." Nunnally continued. "And Elevens will regain their old name of 'Japanese'."
"In the past, unfortunate happenings took place within the Special Administrative Zone of Japan." Nunnally admitted, turning her ear towards the blonde woman in glasses at her side. "But, I believe that what it aimed for is a goal worth seeking; that of a good, and gentle world…"
"I would also like to ask everyone from the Black Knights to take part in Japan as well." Nunnally said. "You cannot have a country within an embassy forever. If we can admit our mistakes, then this time we can make this work. That is what I believe.
"Did you put her up to this?" Suzaku asked Euphie afterwards.
"No, actually." She replied. "It was her motivation for applying for the role of Governor in the first place. I merely regained my memories to request to be chosen as her aide."
"Alright." Suzaku sighed. "But it won't work. There's… just too many bad memories of the last SAZ."
"I know." Euphie nodded sadly. "But still… we have to try."
Red didn't notice Lelouch leave during the live broadcast of Nunnally's inauguration, so he wasn't there when Lelouch took the midnight train going anywhere.
At first, he had ignored these thoughts and focused with C.C. on the curiosities of his discoveries. But to actually see it… to see the sister he loved begin to build something he knew he would utterly shatter if he took even one step forward…
'The world doesn't need them anymore.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'Zero, the Black Knights, any of it.'
His pokénav began buzzing. Q-1.
Lelouch took the device in both hands and snapped it, tossing it out of the window.
"It's the same shit, all over again." Tamaki groaned inside the Abyss. "They just put a pretty girl puking some pretty words and they expect us to line ourselves up against the wall so they can shoot us in the backs."
"So, what're we going to do?" Ohgi asked.
"What do you think?" Tamaki shouted. "Wage war on Britannia!"
"Even though it took all we had, plus three Knights of the Round just to stop that monster they used last time?" Minami asked.
"That's why we have Zero!" Tamaki shouted.
"Indeed." Princess Kaguya announced, walking into the room. "What you say is correct, Tamaki, but why is Lord Zero not here?" she asked. "His newlywed wife is here for him! I didn't even receive any mail from him while I was in the Chinese Federation…" she sighed, putting a finger to her cheek.
"Who knows?" Blue yawned. "Maybe he's having an affair with another woman?" Tamaki burst out laughing and Ohgi tackled him to shut him up.
"Don't go saying things like that!" Kallen shouted at her, before spinning around to the young girl. "It's okay, he's not, it's not true Princess Kaguya!"
"I don't mind." The princess replied. "Rather, I would be relieved if that were the case."
"Eh?" Kallen asked in shock.
"As they say, 'Heroes are fond of sensual pleasures'." Kaguya quoted. "So, if we consider the physiology of mature men…"
"Wh-what're you talking about!" Kallen shouted as Tamaki and Ohgi stopped wrestling each other in surprise, Blue laughing her head off.
"It's wonderful that you are more of a woman than you appear." C.C. complimented the princess, appearing from nowhere as she always did.
"I thank you for taking care of him during my absence." Kaguya told her, offering a hand of gratitude.
C.C. looked at her questioningly, then took it. "There's no need to thank me for that." She replied.
"And you too Kallen." Kaguya said, offering another hand to the red-haired trainer. Kallen hesitated, so the princess grabbed her hand forcibly and pulled it in atop of C.C.'s and her own. "We three who support Lord Zero- ah!" she realised. "We're the three court ladies!"
"Whooo!" Blue cheered with a huge grin. "Go Zero's bitches!"
Walking into the deserted bar with Misty, Ash immediately spotted who he was looking for. "Found him! Just give me a sec, Mist."
Strolling casually up to the pool table, he grinned at the teenager playing alone. "Hey, well if it isn't Gold! Care to have a game?"
"Been a while since I've seen you, Red," replied the kid, returning the grin. "Go ahead and grab a cue. I doubt it's pool you want to talk about though."
"Oh yeah? How did you figure?"
"'Cause you're always whining to me when you want something," the kid told him, netting two balls at once with a carefully aimed shot. "It's always 'Gold, breed these pokemon for me!' or 'Gold, save me from petrification!' or 'Gold, come training on Mt. Silver with me'. Not that I'm complainin' but why did you even single me out anyway?"
"Because you beat me."
"Once." Gold pointed out.
"Heh, once was enough. But I'm not here to reminisce. I'm here cause—"
"You want my help. Yeah, I guessed that the moment you pretended you wanted to play pool. So what do you want?" the younger teen asked, lining up his next shot.
"It's about my brother. I want you to help him out with something… big." Red replied vaguely.
"How big?"
Ash told him.
Gold missed the shot. Specifically, his shot was so askew it sent the white ball hurtling off the table, smacking off the walls and breaking the light bulb above them before landing in Gold's coat pocket. He turned to face Red, disbelief on his face. "You're kidding, right? No, no even you would…"
"C'mon, it'll be fun! Whattya say?" Ash said, grinning. His mood sombered quickly though. "Seriously though, we need powerful trainers. I'm only asking the ones I trust the most but-"
"I'm in." said Gold, placing the white ball back on the table and returning to his game of pool. Ash couldn't help but notice the cue was trembling so much Gold could barely aim it.
"You sure? You don't have to answer straight away."
Gold made the shot. The ball ricocheted around the table, potting three others. "Sure as sure. Only reason I haven't joined up already is cause I didn't want to have to kick your ass again."
Ash smirked. "Yeah, glad I'm safe then. Thanks."
Gold just nodded as Ash walked back to Misty.
"You sorted what you wanted to do?" she asked him.
"Yeah, he's gonna—" Ash paused, then glared angrily to the side.
"What's up?" Misty asked him.
"For some reason, I have an incredible urge to go punch my brother." He replied, Geass humming under his cap.
"PAY UP, ASSHOLE!"
"Quit yapping and give us the money first!"
"Loser!"
"Stop…" the beaten man on the floor gasped. "You guys are Elevens like me, aren't you?"
"You want the Refrain?" Surge asked the man with a smirk. "Bring me my money first."
"Japanese devouring other Japanese…" Lelouch muttered, glad to have something to take his mind off Nunnally for a few more seconds. "By becoming dogs of Britannia…"
Surge laughed. "He said Japanese." He told his Elevener underlings, clicking his finger.
"We don't need no sympathy from Britannians." One growled, cracking his knuckles as he approached Lelouch menacingly. "We are Elevens!"
"Damn School boy." Another glared, walking behind Lelouch. "We don't need people talking shit about what we do for a job."
"They are happy about the fact that they're being used by me, kiddo." Surge explained, walking over to Lelouch, grabbing his face.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Lelouch shouted, his right eye aching as Surge backed off slightly. "Go suck a dick."
"Heh. Alright." Surge replied, turning to one of his underlings. "You, drop 'em."
"You." Lelouch ordered another man. "Dance."
"Whoo!" the man he just Geassed declared as he moved around the alley awkwardly. "Yeah! Alright!"
"Bark like a growlithe." Lelouch ordered a third man, before turning to the man who Surge was sucking at. "Make sure he doesn't stop. Spin on the ground like rattata in a wheel." He ordered a fourth man, then turned to the fifth. "Take Surge up the ass."
Lelouch watched the madness unfold before him, and laughed.
"I don't mind if he doesn't come back here." C.C. told herself, tossing Zero's mask up and down in his chambers. "All that matters to me is that he stays alive. No…" she chuckled. "Just to quit being Zero is easy. It's just not that romantic of a thought."
She caught the helmet. "But… at this rate, the Black Knights are doomed."
Jiro hovered near her, tilting its head questioningly. "Jirai?"
"Yeah, 'Zero exists for Nunnally's sake'." C.C. sighed. "That's what he said, Jiro."
"So, this is where you were." Lelouch looked up at Kallen looking at him in disdain. "Shinjuku. Where Zero began- no, where you started everything." He looked down at his wrist as Kallen approached him. "Lelouch, I have something for- that better not be what I think it is."
"Refrain." Lelouch answered, gesturing to the pistol-like object in his hand, aimed for his rolled-up wrist. "Kallen, you know about this too, right? You can go back to the good ol' days…"
"DON'T JOKE LIKE THAT!" Kallen screamed, kicking the drug out of Lelouch's grip. "So WHAT if you failed once! Just think of another plan to get her back! Command us like you always do!" she shouted desperately. "You want me to kill someone? Search for some bait? Track down mew for crying out loud! Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"
"Then…" Lelouch sighed. "Comfort me."
"Eh?" Kallen asked, stepping back from Lelouch as he stood up.
"That's what Ashford does when he's depressed." He told her, stepping close to her, his hands seeking her waist. His touch was light, but it felt like iron chains to Kallen, holding her in place without hope of escape. He leaned forward, his face becoming far, far too close. "It's something women can do, right?"
This was all wrong. His voice was all wrong. This wasn't the Lelouch she…
"No!"
"Guh!" he grunted, hands reaching for his crotch, but Kallen's knee was currently occupying that space.
"Snap out of it Lelouch!" she begged him. "You're Zero right now! You carry the responsibility for showing us a dream! Even if that was a lie, you have to see it through! So… KEEP LYING UNTIL THE VERY END! This time…" she cried. "Show us Zero's act… properly!"
She leant back, tearing herself from his grasp, and ran.
Lelouch almost followed her, but collapsed against a girder instead.
Why not just forget about it?
It's all just painful and cumbersome until the end…
Be it Zero, the Black Knights, or even Nunnally…
No.
Nunnally's my sister.
It'd be for her sake too…
If Zero disappears, Area Eleven will become peaceful.
I could return to being a student.
I could travel the world with Ashford.
I could grasp happiness…
What's wrong with wanting to be happy?
It wouldn't hurt anyone…
I could turn back now and pretend that it never happened…
Silver even said that he'd take over as Zero…
That mask…
It's heavy.
Not only the Japanese, but the entire world's hope rests on the shoulders of he who wears it.
But… someone needs to…
…
A long time ago, Nunnally, Suzaku, and I talked about something.
We wondered what happiness would look like if we could give it a physical form.
If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Suzaku that said that the shape of happiness might resemble glass.
His reasoning made sense. He said that even though you don't usually notice it, it's still definitely there.
You merely have to change your point of view slightly, and then that glass will shine when it reflects the light.
I doubt that anything else could argue its own existence more eloquently.
But… just like glass… Happiness is so… fragile.
It's easy to break.
One slip, one badly thrown stone, and it shatters into a thousand pieces.
I remember that time we broke a window at Suzaku's house.
They couldn't repair it, so they had to replace the window with a new one.
Happiness that has been destroyed cannot over be repaired completely…
Not without burning the cracks…
But…
One can find the same happiness elsewhere.
A new happiness, one that makes you feel the same as you once did…
Indeed… this fight of mine is no longer for Nunnally…
"Pika?"
Lelouch looked down at the yellow rodent.
"You know, your friends are under attack down in Vermillion." Ash told Lelouch, tossing him a hat. "You might want to cover your eyes."
"My eyes?" Lelouch asked, taking the hat and standing up.
"Pika!"
Lelouch looked down at the Light Screen pikachu was holding up.
Two Geass-branded eyes stared back. Lelouch stared at his reflection in shock, then focused, attempting to toggle it as he used to. His right eye, his older Geass, remained active, but his new left eyed Geass could shut down, like his old Geass could when he first got it. 'Could it be… my Geass has evolved?'
"Use it." Red told his brother, grinning from behind his Geass. "You've got a world to save."
Lelouch reached up to the cap of his hat, and pulled it down over his face. "You made a cap that converts into Zero's mask…" Lelouch smirked. "You really are an idiot, Ash."
"Q-1, can you hear me, Q-1!" Lelouch said into his new black pokénav as Britannian soldiers attacked the Abyss. "Down trim, 50 degrees. Head for point…" he consulted the map on his device. "L14. Emergency Dive."
He smiled at the encouraging cheers from the other end of the line as Lancelot came out of one of the boats. "Launch a Surf wave attack." Lelouch ordered, and smiled as the three foremost ships capsized under the massive wave, and the Britannians realised just who they were dealing with.
All of the underwater soldiers using Dive were thrown into the air. "Now, use Dig." Lelouch declared. "Silver. Get out there with a heavy ball. Take a pokéflute for afterwards"
_\_ "Are you -^- nuts?" _\_ Minami shouted. _\_ "There's nothing out here except lava!" _\_
"And you have an entei." Lelouch pointed out. "Just do it. You'll find what you need once you're out there. Ohgi, focus on everyone's safety. I'll hold off Kururugi until Silver can do his part."
_\_ "WAIT!" _\_ Kallen shouted. _\_ "Your mask is down here! Your identity-" _\_
"That is irrelevant." Zero told her. "You have your orders, now obey them."
He hung up the pokénav and ran off the pier, landing on lugia as it rushed out from underneath the wood.
"BRITANNIA!" he shouted, flying on his pokémon, jacket flying as a cape.
"Zero!" Suzaku shouted, flying next to Lancelot. "So, this is your answer…"
"If you attack, you will be going against your master's orders." Zero declared. "I will be accepting Governor Nunnally's invitation. Yes, for the Special Administrative Region for Japan! Zero shall command… That ALL MEMBERS OF THE BLACK KNIGHTS PARTICIPATE IN THE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATVE ZONE OF JAPAN!
"You'll… cooperate?" Suzaku managed, before steeling himself. "That doesn't mean that your sins can be erased."
"If I had my full armour with me, I could make a gesture about my hands being stained with blood." Zero sighed, lamenting how the universe doesn't always follow narrative convenience. "Would you like me to go and collect it?"
"No…" Suzaku snarled. "We'll retreat for now… ALL UNITS!"
Zero waved at Lancelot before it turned to follow Suzaku. "Now, Lugia, to the Abyss."
Zero strode into the throne room of the Abyss, where the Black Knight's leaders, sans Silver, were gathered.
'Why does this base even have a throne room?' Lelouch pondered. 'It seems somewhat pointless considering what we're fighting against.'
"Zero." Kallen stated. "You—"
"LORD ZERO!"
Everyone turned to see the little Kaguya tackle Zero to the ground. "I missed you so much! How could you make your wife wait for you like that!"
"It comforts me to see that you still possess your usual energy, Princess Kaguya." Zero told her.
She smiled. "You look surprisingly handsome in civilian clothing, though." She commented. "I never would have expected it from you."
"You always assume you know my face." Zero chuckled. "I never grow tired of it."
"You always surprise us too!" Kaguya replied excitedly. "Announcing out of the blue that we're taking part in the SAZ like that!"
"Y-yeah." Ohgi managed. "What's up with that?"
"Like I told you Ohgi." Tamaki chuckled wisely. "We'll pretend to play along and then we'll kick their Britannian asses!"
"Fight, fight, fight, and then what?" Zero asked him, much to the shock of everyone. "We kill them, they kill us, and the cycle never ends."
"Hold it!" Rivalz snapped. "You want us to just let everything slide? I've given up EVERYTHING for this! Unlike you, tucked safely behind your little mask!"
Lelouch looked at his friend, and at Kallen, who avoided meeting his gaze. He turned his attantion at Ohgi, at Toudou, at Asahina, Chiba, C.C., Tamaki, Minami, Blue, Kaguya, and Rakshad.
"Let me ask you a question." Zero said, removing his mask and looking down. "What are the Japanese?"
No-one answered.
They were too deep in shock at the sight of Zero's face.
"What does it mean to be a nation?" Zero asked, having replaced the lens to cover his right eye and cutting the Geass in his left eye. "Is it a language? Blood? Territory?"
"No." Kaguya said, the first to recover, shaking her head. "It's in the heart."
"So to be a Nation is to be of one heart." Zero asked, nodding. "So, it's a feeling within, of belonging, dignity, pride, the culture is carried in the heart. You are Japanese no matter where you are."
"So, you're just saying to accept this and try to change Britannia from within!" Toudou snapped. "Boy, we fight for independence—"
"Boy?" Lelouch asked, chuckling. "Without this boy, Toudou, you would be a dead man.
The Black Knights went into a shocked hush as Lelouch turned his gaze to the rest of them. "Without this boy, all of you would be dead. Be it a death of the body, or of the mind, or of the soul, none of you would be here today without me."
"And you think we can't exist without you, so you call all the shots?" Asahina asked, angrily.
Lelouch sighed and replaced the mask. "Do I look more authoritive with this on?" he asked. "Because people listen to me when I wear this."
"STOP SCREWING AROUND!" Ohgi shouted, grabbing Zero by the scruff of his neck. "Because I swear, if you don't get your act together—"
"Zero!" Silver shouted as he ran into the room, covered in ash and with his hair still on fire, but holding a heavy ball high in the air triumphantly. "You bloody genius!"
"FINALLY!" Zero shouted. "Someone GETS it!"
"You're taking off from school?" Ash asked Suzaku a few days later as the student council worked on Milly's berry garden.
"Yeah." Suzaku nodded. "It's gonna get pretty hectic on my end."
"The Special Administrative Zone of Japan, huh?" Shirley asked.
"Hey, what about my garden project?" Milly asked.
"Sorry, I'll return once things are settled." Suzaku apologised.
"Hey, Suzaku…" Shirley asked. "About Kallen and Rivalz… is there really no way to help them? Like, plea bargaining or something?"
"World peace is great, but family and friends are more important, right?" Lelouch asked him.
'Lelouch… have you really lost your memories?' Suzaku asked himself while inspecting the soldiers for those to work in the SAZ. 'Or, if you have regained your memories, answer me… was what happened to Euphie really an accident..?'
"SUZAKU KURURUGI YOU TRAITOR!" the soldier screamed, charging in on his ponyta. "PREPARE TO DIE!"
Suzaku, possessed by the Geass, kicked the horse's feet out from under it and rammed the soldier's helmet into the concrete below.
'I desired the punishment of death deep inside my heart.' Suzaku continued soliloquising. 'Yet you cast the Geass upon me to 'Live On'. A person like you wouldn't want me to survive out of the goodness of your heart… so why..?'
_\_ "Yes, I suspected that that might happen." _\_ Diethard Ried told his Lord Zero. _\_ "So I sent Sayako Shinozaki along ahead of time." _\_
"Well done, Diethard." Lelouch told him. "You are superior after all. You stand out among people, a truly talented person without peers."
_\_ "Thank you very much!" _\_ Diethard replied, and Lelouch could practically imagine the reporter's face, as if he was climaxing. _\_ "It is truly an honour! Shall we continue as planned like we discussed?" _\_
"Of course." Lelouch smirked. Diethard was as easy to play as a game of chess against an expert player. "Our tactical objective may have changed, but our strategic objective has not. I'm counting on you."
"Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?" Red asked him as he closed his pokénav.
"Despite his skill in predicting the flow of events, he isn't the brightest man." Lelouch smirked. "He's so blinded with adoration for Zero that he cannot apply reason with how fake I am with him. I might as well have placed him under a Geass of unending adoration."
"Heh." Ash smirked. "You hear about Surge?"
"What about him?" Lelouch asked his brother innocently.
"He's still at it, three days later." Ash smirked. "I understand that he was dealing drugs and a general prick, but does anyone deserve that?"
"I wasn't exactly myself." Lelouch sighed. "Hopefully, Euphie will be kind enough to heal him like she was."
"If she can." Red countered.
"Yeah, there's the possibility that she was healed without her knowledge." Lelouch sighed. "No matter, I never liked the man."
"Sorry I'm late." Villetta said as she came into the empty chess club room. "Club activities went on a bit longer than expected. What do you want me for, Zero?"
"Now, Miss Villetta, you'll blow my cover like that." Lelouch joked.
She grunted. "Sorry. How can I help you Lelouch?"
"Better." Lelouch smirked. "How would you like to see Ohgi?"
Meanwhile, in the Dallas laboratory…
"Nina!" Wallace declared as he entered the lab with Prince Schneizel and his aide, Kanon. "I've brought you some presents!"
"Ah, Mister Wallace!" she shouted, turning around from her computer and running over to them, collecting the steel briefcase Wallace had placed on the table. "When did you return from the EU?"
"Just now." Wallace replied. "We've managed to make peace with France."
"You could've just conquered it at that rate…" Nina sighed.
"If one wins too much, defeat awaits around the corner." Schneizel told her. "Humans exists for hope. Winning crushes that hope. It's the same for enemies or allies. Everyone desires something.
"Which brings me to the purpose of my visit." Schneizel told Nina. "What would you say that Deoxys aims for?"
"Eh?" Nina asked. "To kill, what else?"
"Perhaps you haven't had time to read this report from Area Eleven?" Schneizel asked.
"I-I'm sorry, it's just that we're nearing a breakthrough in increasing Deoxys's half-life, it's just—"
"I understand." Schneizel told her with a disarming smile. "But apparently, Deoxys spoke with our knights."
"Eh!" Nina shouted, grabbing the report in question and skimming though is quickly. "This… this is…"
"An issue?" Kanon asked.
"No, not at all!" Nina shouted, rushing over to the tank of tentacles. "Deoxys can learn…" she gasped. "It can communicate…"
Schneizel smirked. This girl was always an interesting person to visit.
Red whistled as he walked through Olivine City towards his destination. He knew what Lelouch had been working on, having already recruited Brock, Volkner and Wattson to his cause, but Red wanted to give his brother a little surprise to sweeten the plan.
Which was why he was headed for the Gym, to speak to the Steel-Clad Defense Girl herself, Jasmine.
Walking into the cool, quiet gym, he scanned around for a sign of the young leader.
"Um… Who is it? A challenger?" came a voice, and Red turned to see Jasmine, a pretty girl not much older than himself, walking out from behind a sheet of metal which turned out to be her steelix, one of the first discovered. A gift, from his mother Marianne the Flash herself, Red remembered.
"Well, I'm ready to go if you are," Red replied with a flirtatious wink.
Jasmine missed the innuendo, blinking in surprise at her guest. "Oh! Lord Red! This is a surprise! Um… what can I do for you?"
"Well, I was wondering something, and thought you could help me out," Red replied vaguely. Jasmine nodded for him to continue. "You're one of the people contracted to develop armour plating for things like Prince Schniezel's Rayquaza and Cynthia's Bahamut aerial fortresses, aren't you?"
"Well, Cynthia mainly used Brittanian and Scottish contractors, but I was a consultant, yes." Jasmine nodded. "Why are you-?"
"I'll cut to the chase," Red said, clapping his hands together. "Friend of mine is working privately on something, a pet project. He needs an armouring specialist who can work large scale, and he wants the best. Who better, I said to him, than the Steel-Clad Defense Girl herself? You've trained under Marianne. I wouldn't be surprised if you could surpass her, if given the right challenge. What do you say, interested?"
"Y-yes, very!" said Jasmine, a bit overwhelmed. "But who is this friend of yours, and what is he looking to build?"
Red grinned. "That's the fun part. He's—"
His Geass flared.
Annabel was practicing her shooting using entei and latios as high-speed moving targets.
She was, of course, using blanks, not that her pokémon couldn't fend off actual bullets, but it still hurt them.
She almost fell over as a persian jumped up her, somehow catching her off guard. "You're Suzaku's…" she recognised, kneeling down and setting the gun aside.
"He seems to like you." Suzaku told her.
"Japanese clothing?" Annabel asked, taking in Suzaku's traditional robes.
"Yeah." Suzaku nodded. "I always wear this while training. For ease of movement."
"Same," agreed Annabel, indicating her tank top and sweats, though she had light elbow and shin guards strapped on too. "Still, I favour defense. You?" she asked, aiming the question at the person walking up to them.
"Comfort." A young woman with long black hair explained, gesturing to her own clothing.
"Lucy!" Suzaku asked, surprised to see the Knight of Seven. "What're you doing here?"
"SAZ." The Tube Queen replied dismissively.
"Lord Kururugi." The Glaston Knight Thomas said as he approached the three. "There you are."
"What is it?" Suzaku asked as Thomas handed him a document.
"We need you to sign the order for capital punishment on the Eleven that attacked you." He explained. "With the acknowledgement of someone of the rank of Rounds or higher, the order will be carried out.
"The deoxys are advancing rapidly, your highness." Nina explained to him. "We're using the generous funding you've given us, and the precious meteorites Britannia has gathered for us very wisely, and as you can see we are producing better and better results…"
Behind her, Kanon tapped curiously at a tank filled with several writhing deoxys as Wallace watched. The tentacles immediately latched onto the spot where he had tapped, shaking the glass. Wallace took a few precautious steps back, but Kanon merely stared, enthralled.
"Um…" Nina hesitated, momentarily distracted by the deoxys and her own nerves. "Back… during the Black Rebellion… deoxys died after a few minutes of life… but we're making his DNA more stable with each day…"
"You took action on Euphie's behalf." Schneizel told her as Wallace rejoined them. "Though she left her name in history in an unfortunate manner, I believe in her. Like Cornelia, Kanon, Wallace, Suzaku, Nunnally, and now, you. I trust you because of that. Which is why I can tell you that she has recovered from her long… episode."
"That's good…" Nina smiled. She had often visited the princess, and had eventually come to find her obsession with murdering the Elevens to be disturbing. Now that she had recovered though… "Where is she now?"
"She's hidden her identity and is acting as an aide to Nunnally as she tries to revive the SAZ of Japan, this time to carry it out without any bloodshed." Schneizel told her. "Suzaku is with her."
Nina clenched her fist and looked down at the floor. Wallace put an understanding arm around her.
"He's… what?" Jasmine frowned slightly. "Lord Red, are you alright?"
"Perfect…" said Red, turning to the side to scan the room. His Geass was buzzing in his mind, warning him not to say anything more. Someone was… watching. This was a bad idea, if he screwed up, Lelouch and Nunally would be…
"Uh, sorry, just a headache." Red lied, massaging his temples. "Really though, he seems psyched about it but I don't know the specifics. He'll call you himself, okay?"
Jasmine's confused frown deepened. "Um, okay. Is that really all you wanted to ask me?"
"Yup, just putting in a good word for my friend," Red replied jovially. "I said good things about you to him, I said good things about him to you, hopefully you two can get together and make good things happen between yourselves."
Jasmine blushed. 'Oh, sure, she spots the unintentional innuendo.' Red scowled inwardly.
"Oh… okay. Thank you for this," she bowed.
"Pleasure's all mine," Red replied with an extravagant bow in return, quickly leaving the gym afterwards.
Jasmine smiled, intrigued by Red's offer, before heading back to her steelix.
She froze before she got there, as if she were possessed by some greater power. Taking out a pokénav, she dialed a number she shouldn't have known. The only woman who did had died eight years ago.
The call connected immediately. "Charles, I think our boys are up to something," Jasmine said, smiling to think of how much her sons had grown.
"Umm… Lord Kururugi?" Thomas repeated.
Lucy reached out into the marble gazebo and took the document from Suzaku's hand, scribbling her own name in the place of Suzaku's and handing it back to Thomas.
"Lucy's a Round too." Annabel pointed out.
"Yes, that won't be a problem then." Thomas nodded, taking the document with a salute. "Please excuse me." He added, turning to leave.
"Suzaku?" Annabel asked as the Glaston Knight left. "Are you… a masochist?"
"Huh?" he asked.
"You enlisted in Area Eleven knowing that you would be hated." Annabel explained. "You are the hero of the numbers. You are the man who betrayed Japan. You are Zero's enemy. This is the defendant's fortress. Jealousy and hatred will kill you."
"I don't care about wanting others to understand my actions." Suzaku told her with a smile. "I don't need that anymore. I… have someone who understands me. Besides…" he looked down at the ground. "I've been a sinner from the beginning."
"I can see why Tucker calls you grumpy," Annabel said, a note of humour hidden in her casual expression. Suzaku frowned at her.
"That's Suzaku." Lucy shrugged. "Also, Fairy."
"Hee~ooh!" Tucker shouted, shaking his shoulders with jazz hands as he danced up to the three Knights. "Zero's on the line!"
Suzaku, Lucy, Tucker, Annabel, Euphemia, Lloyd, and Cecil in a very revealing dress gathered in the lounge.
"Oh, you look fabulous darling~!" Tucker gushed over Cecile.
"Dressing up?" asked Annabel.
"I-I was just trying on the dress for the ceremony when we got the call," she replied, blushing at the attention she was getting from the Knights.
"Careful." Lucy told Cecile, tapping the lab assistant's chest, causing an event that made Suzaku turn away with a blush, something neither Cecile nor Euphie was very happy about.
"I-I will be!" Cecile snapped, pushing her breast back inside the cloth. "Honestly…"
"Hm, it seems we're being connected." Lloyd announced, completely uncaring of the events going on beside him.
_\_ "Hm? Four Knights of the Round?" _\_ Zero asked once he was connected. _\_ "I certainly feel honoured, but no governor?" _\_
"This is a talk between officials." Suzaku told Zero.
"I've gotta ask." Lloyd pointed out. "Are you the same person behind that mask as the previous Zero?"
"Zero's worth shouldn't be measured by his identity, but by his works."
"Ah, a philosopher I see." Lloyd smirked.
"Mind games." Lucy replied.
"Have your knights reached a decision?" Tucker asked. "Since you said that you'd participate in the SAZ…"
"We have gathered a movement of one million people." Zero told them.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "One Million?" Cecile asked.
"Careful." Lucy reminded her.
"Are you serious?" Suzaku asked.
"But I have a condition." Zero stated. "I want you to overlook me. Now, I understand that letting me go will not be acceptable in the eyes of the public, so why don't you decree that Zero is to be exiled from Britannia?" he suggested.
"What about the Black Knights!" Suzaku shouted, standing up.
"He'll toss them aside like an old pair of rhinestone-jeans." Tucker shrugged. "In order to preserve his own hide."
"If they were to find out, you'd be lynched from within your own organisation." Lloyd announced, standing up beside the most valuable part of his Lancelot project.
"Which is why I'm speaking to you in private, so I don't get killed." Zero told them.
"Boring." Lucy sighed.
"Article 12, item eight of the Area law extensions." Euphie quoted, having memorised all of these during her incarceration. "If we use that, then Nunnally- our governor would have the power to exile him."
Suzaku glared at her. "Did you plan for this?" he asked.
She stared at him in shock. "NO!" she shouted. "I'm just saying that it is, legally, a viable option! I'd never take part in something like this!"
Suzaku sighed. "You're right, I apologise."
"So how about it?" Zero asked. "You can announce it at the ceremony, for your sake…"
"It's not a bad deal at all~!" Tucker pointed out, swinging his arm around Suzaku's neck. "If the leader escapes, then all the Eleven terrorists will just evaporate into mid-air."
"But… a criminal…" Suzaku snarled.
Once the negotiations were over and the video link was cut, Lelouch took his mask off. "Haha…" he managed, giving a thumbs-up to cameraman Tamaki.
He gave a bigger grin and handshake up to Ohgi, who smiled and glanced at Toudou.
Even he smiled.
It was a brilliant plan.
Even if it all hinged on the hope that Britannia wanted to avoid another Euphinator incident at all costs.
"Hey, you all good?" Ash asked Lelouch, as he locked the door to the house that night.
"Yeah." Lelouch nodded, walking away. "I no longer have any attachments to this place."
"Hey!" Misty shouted, running up to them with a rucksack over her shoulders. "Sorry… I'm late…"
"Misty?" Lelouch asked.
She saluted with a grin. "Reporting for duty, Lord Zero." She told Lelouch.
He facepalmed. "Ashford…"
"Just so you know, it's not just Mist. Morty, Koga, Falkner, Erika and Flannery are all meeting us there with Winona." Ash told him. "Volkner, Brock and Wattson are already in position with Silver. You wanted Gym Leaders, so I got them."
"Between you, them and that friend of yours, Gold, we've got enough to start our own league and Elite Four…" Lelouch sighed. "Alright, have they got their cases?"
Misty pulled a thin, black case with the Silph logo on it. "Yep!" she grinned. "What's in 'em?"
Now was Lelouch's turn to smile. "You'll see." He told her, leading the way down the street. "Come on."
"The Elevens are complying, nobody had illegal pokémon, everything's running smoothly~!" Tucker sang as the crowds of people gathered onto the grassy hill for the opening ceremony. "The tide is strangely high, but the sun is really blazing. It's a won~derful day, but something's bothering me."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, curious, so Tucker explained. "After Zero betrays all the Elevens, won't there be a revolt?"
"Pretext." Lucy replied. "Then we purge."
Tucker laughed. "Cruel and efficient, just how you like it Lucy~!"
_\_ "To all Japanese, I welcome you to the Special Administration Zone of Japan." _\_ Nunnally's voice broadcast over the large monitors places around the field as the sun shined brightly. _\_ "I am extremely happy that so many of you have gathered here this day. Please, lend me your hand in creating a new page in history." _\_
_\_ "Before we begin, we shall announce the terms of which we negotiated with Zero." _\_ A stern woman declared, Euphie not daring show her face on camera. _\_ "First, all imperial citizen's pokémon are to be reduced by up to twenty levels by means of Doom Seeds. Second, all C-class criminals or below shall have a stay of execution. However, the pardoning of their leader's various offences, such as the murder of the former Governor Calares, cannot be allowed. Under article 12, item eight of the Area Law extensions, only Zero shall be exiled from this country." _\_
They waited a moment for the riot.
It didn't happen.
_\_ "Thank you, Britannia!" _\_ Zero declared from the screen. _\_ "I am deeply moved by your generous statement." _\_
"Ah, you came!" Nunnally declared happily.
"SHOW YOURSELF ZERO!" Suzaku shouted. "I will personally escort you out of this country to safety!"
_\_ "I do not need your assistance." _\_ Zero replied._\_ "However, Suzaku Kururugi, I do need to ask you something. What are the Japanese?" _\_ he asked. _\_ "What makes a Nation? Is it land? Language? The bond of blood?" _\_
"NO!" Suzaku shouted. "IT'S OUR HEART! THE PEOPLE UNITED MAKE A NATION!"
_\_ "That is my answer too." _\_ Zero nodded. _\_ "A Nation is a home, a place where people of the same heart can be together as one. Self-awareness, standards, pride, In other words, as long as one still possesses the heart that is at the root of their culture, then no matter where that person lives, they are still Japanese." _\_
"That has nothing to do with the fact that you are running away on your own." Suzaku retorted smugly.
_\_ "You're wrong, Suzaku Kururugi." _\_ Zero declared as smoke filled the fields. _\_ "It has everything to do with this. And please, don't try to quell a revolt that isn't going to happen." _\_ Zero added as Lucy and Tucker reached for their pokéballs, the screen cutting out.
"All units, prepare for battle!" Tucker declared. "Do not attack unless they do first! THAT IS AN ORDER!"
The smoke cleared to show Zero in his traditional robes step from the smoke. "So, he was here all along…" Annabel commented, aiming her rifle.
"Skarmory!" Zero declared, tossing the ball into the air. "DEFOG!"
The fog cleared, showing a black sea of over one million Zeroes.
"HE HAD THIS UP HIS SLEEVE!" Tucker shouted. "EVEN I CAN'T CHANGE THAT FAST!"
_\_ "TO ALL ZEROES!" _\_ the armoured Zero on the screen declared, the static vanishing. _\_ "Abide by Governor Nunnally's orders! ACCEPT YOUR EXILE SWIFTLY! No matter where we are, WE WILL ALWAYS BE JAPANESE!" _\_
_\_ "Now..." _\_ Zero declared as the sunlight grew brighter. _\_ "ONWARDS! To the new haven!" _\_
"To all Zeroes!" Zero announced. "Let us make way to the new haven!"
"Let's all get exiled together!" Zero shouted. "Because we're all Zero!"
"That's right! We are Zero!" Zero announced to all the other Zeroes.
"Exile!"
"Let's go, my fellow Zero!"
"STAY CALM!" Tucker announced. "There is no way they could transport over one million people-"
"GGRAAAHH!"
Everyone turned to see the waves fall and a city rise out of the ocean- a clean, steel city built on bedrock. The buildings, some nearly ten stories high, were cascaded, each topped with solar panels and sparking greenhouse roof gardens with soil, grass, and all manners of fruit and vegetables. The city continued to rise, slowly making itself over to the assembling crowd of Zeros.
The purple bubble faded from it, and a Zero with his mask under a cap and a red cape on his back stepped forward, kicking down a bridge from the new island to the fields. "COME NONE, COME ZERO!" he shouted. "TO THE NEW, ZERO CITY!"
"BUILT UPON THE FINEST GROUDON ZERO COULD FIND!" Another Zero in a blue cape and silver armour declared beside him. The Zeros cheered and rushed towards the city.
"ZERO!" Villeta shouted, jumping into the crowd. "Remove your masks, now!"
"Damn!" Zero grunted, pulling out a gun. "Brit bitch-"
"STOP IT!" Zero ordered, pushing the gun down and stepping in front of Villetta. "We're not here to fight."
"Ohgi?" Villeta asked.
"Erm… no, I'm Zero." Zero replied.
"ZERO!" Suzaku shouted at the screen. "ORDER THEM TO REMOVE THEIR MASKS! A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T!"
_\_ "It's meaningless if you do not know our identity." _\_ Zero told him. _\_ "Besides, this is a non-violent method, just like you wanted. This way, the Black Knights disappear, Area Eleven gains peace, and the new governor isn't involved in a massacre. It's a win-win situation for both sides, is it not?" _\_
"Your call." Lucy reminded Suzaku.
'Dammit… I cannot forgive Zero… to let him go… is that to forgive..?'
"That was why I wanted to make the Special Administrative Zone in the first place." Euphie explained, pulling her knees into her chest as she sat up. "So we could be together, me, you, Nunnally, Lelouch…"
Suzaku put an arm around her silently as she began to cry. "It's okay." He told her, pulling her into a hug. "It's alright…"
"I… I just wanted… everyone to be happy…" Euphie sobbed. "I… didn't want anyone to die…"
"I know…" Suzaku told her, kissing the top of her head. "I know…"
"That's right…" Suzaku realised. "Both Euphie and Nunnally forgave him…"
He slammed a fist into the stand, splintering the metal around his fist. "ZERO IS TO BE EXILED!" Suzaku ordered. "ALL OF THEM! BRITANNIA HAS NO USE FOR A NATION OF ZEROES! Promise me, Zero…" he snarled, looking at the large TV screen. "That you'll save them."
_\_ "Of course." _\_ Zero nodded. _\_ "And promise me, Reaper, that you'll save the Japanese remaining in Area Eleven." _\_
"I will." Suzaku glared, before turning back to the crowd. "What're you waiting for?" he asked, waving an arm. "GO! YOU'VE BEEN EXILED ALREADY!"
'This strategy was devised under the knowledge that I wouldn't order the soldiers to attack.' Suzaku realised as the crowd began to move. 'Zero knows me very well.'
"Sayonara, Britannian." Zero told Villetta in a soft tone as he began to migrate towards his new home.
Villetta watched him leave with loneliness in her eyes. "Ohgi…"
'This strategy was devised because I know you are my arch rival.' Lelouch thought to himself on the way to his new office. 'And that you understand Nunnally and Euphie so well. And for that, I thank you.'
-}+{-
Varanus: Hey Zero. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
ROAD TRIP! China or bust!
Now, who wants to go live in Zero City? Because believe me, that place just gets a whole lot better.
Varanus: Sign me up. You know, the best thing about Zero City isn't the fact that it's built on the backs of behemoth and leviathan, it's that it's totally eco-friendly and self-sufficient. Because if there's one thing Lelouch cares about, it's the environment.
Way to spoil the big reveal Varanus... Ah well.
Now, I accidentally gave Lelouch's initial Geass in his right eye, back in the day, when in canon it's his left eye. I screwed up back then, but I'll run with it now.