Chapter 25: The End of the Beginning
"Is that… a Knightmare?" C.C.'s question might have rocked the foundation of the world, if only the true meaning of those words had been known at that time.
"Knightmare? That thing?" Jeremiah questioned the idea. To his knowledge, Knightmares were and always had been huge destructive machines, but the outfit covering Bai's body was just big enough to fit his body in, more like a suit than a machine. It couldn't possibly be as efficient or as powerful as their weapons, even if he had just seen it withstand an explosion and destroy the Guren.
"No Jeremiah, you are mistaken." Bai answered, confusing Jeremiah and Suzaku. This is not the kind of Knightmare you are familiar with. In this age, C.C. was the only person who had knowledge that this kind of Knightmare ever existed."
C.C. began to ask a question. "But… how did you-"
"I found it. The information about these Knightmares is all kept within your memories." Bai said.
Being told something like that, C.C. could think of only one way for what he said to make any sense. "Your Geass?"
"Correct." Bai answered. "As you deduced some time ago, I held back the true power of my Geass from you for my own plans. My Geass's true power is the ability to step into the minds of others, and then have the power to physically recreate anything within that person's memories or imaginations perfectly; or at least as close as humanly possible.
"Using that power I stepped into your mind, and admittedly I became practically entranced with the vast amount of knowledge you kept within your mind. Naturally, I learned then of Infinite's true identity and your true plan for the Reverse Rebellion; but most importantly I found the detailed information about these wonderful machines: Knightmares." Bai spoke this last bit with a tone of ecstasy as he motioned to the black metal suit on his body. "Of course you should realize that this is not a perfect recreation of the previous Knightmares C.C. That is one thing that truly does exist outside of human potential; but you may now look upon the closest thing mankind could ever hope to achieve!"
C.C. narrowed her eyes in anger. "Bai… you bastard."
"Call me whatever you'd like." Bai responded to C.C.'s insult immediately. "Nothing you say can possibly change your fates."
However, as if to deny that, an idea came to Jeremiah's head. "Wrong! If this Knightmare was created with your Geass, then I…" He shouted and quickly the cover over his left eye, the 'Geass Canceller', moved out of the way so he could use his power.
His left eye was given the power to remove the effects of any Geass, so as long as Bai was incapable of creating the machine he took such pride in without his Geass, it could be torn to scrap by his Geass Canceller. But just when he attempted to use it, Bai stretched out his left hand and then Jeremiah felt his heart stop as if he had been shot in the chest by a bullet.
But the reality of the event was a dart the length of a fingertip that had jammed its way into Jeremiah's shoulder. The dart must have been coated in a heavy duty poison or tranquilizer, because Jeremiah lost consciousness in less than a second and fell to the floor, now unable to do anything.
Suzaku and C.C. both were left speechless when they realized what had happened, and sweat was now dripping down Suzaku's face as he stared at Jeremiah's body as he lay face down on the ground. His focus was only brought away from that sight by Bai's voice addressing him directly. "Now then, 'Zero', if you would be so kind as to hand Lelouch over." He said, holding out a hand to receive his demand.
"What?" Suzaku was dumbstruck by that demand. "What would you possibly want with Lelouch's body?"
"To show the world the true culprit behind their suffering of course." Bai answered while keeping his arm outstretched as if he believed he might receive it at any moment. "Just imagine the reaction of everyone when they find out who Infinite really is; and who you are."
So that was Bai's plan. He wanted to expose Suzaku and Lelouch for who they really were to make the entire world see just how badly they had been played. There would be a number of people who would not react kindly to that, even if it had been for good reasons.
"You're insane if you think I'll just hand him over!" Suzaku shouted.
However in response to this, Bai just laughed. "Oh, I knew you'd say that, so I brought along another little invention of mine." Bai proclaimed with pride as he reached his right index finger up to the side of his helmet.
When he tapped his head, a small electronic click was heard and a camera lens appeared on the center of Bai's helmet, and a pair of antennae near the back. "This camera and the transmitters are specifically made broadcasting tools that will instantly jam any and all radio frequencies and television channels, replacing them with what will be seen and heard as recorded by me." Bai explained, and held up his hand, in which was now a hand-held button. "And once I press this button, a live feed will be sent from this camera to every single radio and television within a grand radius of 50 kilometers of me."
Suzaku's eyes would have bulged out if they weren't already spread as wide as they could go. A radius that large could cover half of Beijing, and would undoubtedly reach every Knightmare and KnightCrawler currently on the battlefield. But before Suzaku could come up with any kind of way to avoid Bai's plan, he pressed the button in his hand.
It was instantaneous, the second Bai pressed the button, the radio screens of every machine in a battle against one another received the same transmission showing them an image of something they could not believe. "Attention, Reverse Rebellion and Zero's Army. Please put down your arms." Bai's voice came in through the sound.
And it wasn't just the Knightmares and KnightCrawlers either, every television and radio within Bai's specified radius was suddenly hacked so that the normal people whose live were also impacted by Lelouch and Suzaku's ruse could know what happened. But in regards to the Knightmares and KnightCrawlers, it took a moment, but everyone eventually felt a need to stop what they were doing when they realized just what the feed they were getting was showing them.
"The image you see before you is not faked or pre-recorded. This is a real, live feed that I, Bai Fuyan, am graciously sharing with all of you. I am sharing this feed so that all of you, on both sides of this war, as well as those who are uninvolved in the military, can understand just what kind of fools you have been taken for." Even as Bai spoke and continued to record, Suzaku was unable to do anything in an attempt to stop him. His fear had paralyzed him beyond anything but shaking, and C.C. did not move because she knew just what that 'Knightmare' was truly capable of. "As most of you have no doubt realized by now, this image you see before you is showing you that the faces behind the masks of Zero and Infinite are in fact two people we have long thought to be dead: Suzaku Kururugi and Lelouch vi Britannia."
The people who were watching were shocked beyond belief, and there were some that were in fact even more so. Cornelia's hands were shaking with unimaginable pain being brought back to her. She could not understand how those two people had escaped death in the first place, but now the idea that Suzaku had been helping lead their world for the last year behind a mask and that the 'demon' Lelouch had caused even more havoc on their peaceful land was almost too much to bear. "This… can't be happening." She growled to herself, trying to block this image in front of her from her mind.
Nunnally on the other hand, saw the image and was taken over by a different type of grief. In the image, she saw Lelouch bleeding out, his life gone. But he was supposed to be immortal, so perhaps this was like a momentary coma that took him before the healing began and revived him. But no matter what that scene in front of her meant, she knew what she had to do. Using her Knightmare's superior speed, she turned from the motionless battlefield and soared to where Lelouch had taken Suzaku. She needed to save them; and it was possible that she was the only one who would save them after seeing and hearing this.
As that happened, Bai continued to speak. "One year ago, Suzaku came disguised as Zero and supposedly murdered the hated dictator Lelouch. But all of this had been a trick played on the entire world. Some of you listening to this broadcast are familiar with the power known as Geass, and the power that gives it to others, the Code that the woman C.C. once bared. Before that faithful day a year ago, Lelouch was given the Code, and with it became immortal. Through this, he survived and came back a year later under the guise of recreating his own empire.
"Because of these men, the world has been caused much suffering and grief; too much pain and loss. And now these men stand convicted of crimes against humanity for pulling this grand scheme, this worldwide curtain down over our eye and blinded us to truth. I implore every single one of you fighters, cease fighting each other and focus on our true enemies, Suzaku Kururugi and Lelouch vi Britannia." Bai now got to his desire. "Join together under me, and I will lead this world into a new era of truth and prosperity!"
To some, it may have sounded insane, especially if they knew that he was only a young boy. And yet, when Bai requested this from the two sides of the current war, mean who piloted KnightCrawlers began shouting his praises. "All hail Bai! All hail Bai!"
The men who first began saying this were people that Bai had already secretly informed before now. When Lelouch had spoken with Bai about acting outside of his duties, this is what he had really been doing. Before today, Bai had already had half the Reverse Rebellion under his command by sharing this information with them; but those that had not known until this moment were confused and bewildered.
"Soldiers of the Reverse Rebellion, understand me when I tell you that Lelouch, your 'Lord Infinite' never had any intention of leading you to victory in this war. He played all of us yet again, swirling the world back into the chaos we thought had been avoided so long ago. He is not your ally; I am. Join me, and your dreams may yet be realized.
"But those of Zero's army do not misunderstand my words. Even if Lelouch is not our ally, he is still your enemy. He played all of you just the same as he played all of us, your beloved 'Zero' as well. They are traitors to the world, which gives us a common enemy. Join with me and the Reverse Rebellion, and you can still have your peace!"
Even if they did not want to, one had to admit that Bai was making a very convincing argument against Suzaku and Lelouch. But even so he was still only giving them his perspective of how things were. He was omitting the purpose of everything the two of them had done it all for. They did it so that the world could be in peace, they did it for the good of everyone.
But Bai would not let them know that, he would only tell them what he wanted them to hear. He would only share with them the information that would bend their ideals into what would be most profitable for him. It was obvious from his words: Bai's goal was complete rule; the entire world as his throne. That was what the Reverse Rebellion had been fighting to create for Infinite, and now, that was what Bai wanted them to fight to create for him.
It would not be surprising if, after all of this, even people who had been fighting the Reverse Rebellion up to now would have a change of heart from the words of Bai Fuyan and follow him, believing it to be the better choice.
Already people from the Reverse Rebellion that had not been part of the initial cheering had begun to join in, declaring: "All hail Bai! All hail Bai!"
Finally, Bai began to tell the people what he would do now. "And now, I will prove my loyalty to the world by riding it of the elements that should have died long ago yet have continued to plague the world until today. I here today, will execute Suzaku Kururugi and Lelouch vi Britannia."
When Bai said this, he tapped his thumb and middle finger together on his right hand, and in it suddenly materialized a blade of solid energy, like Suzaku's new swords, only without any physical object propelling its shape other than the mechanisms in Bai's Knightmare. Bai began walking toward Suzaku, who realized how futile it would be to try and fight something as monstrous as the Knightmare he was clad in with his bare hands. Even if he were to somehow make it back to his Lancelot, he somehow doubted it would be of much help.
But then, when Bai was only half way to Suzaku, a Knightmare suddenly crashed through the wall from the side, hurtling toward him. "What the-" Bai had not seen this coming, he had expected everyone to be so shocked they would be unable to even think of moving, much less coming charging at him in defiance of his cause.
He looked at the Knightmare, which in consequence revealed it to everyone watching. It was the Guinevere. "Nunnally!?" When Cornelia saw this, she gasped and suddenly realized that she had been paying so much attention to Bai's speech that she had not even noticed her sister leave the battlefield; no one had.
Bai had absolutely no time to react. The Guinevere's massive hand smashed into him and threw him through the next wall. Nunnally's Knightmare, destroyed half the floor of the building by crashing into it, but Bai's Knightmare was not destroyed. He and his machine had survived the attack and he stopped himself in mid air with miniature versions of the Energy Wings that in fact looked more like wings than the current ones did.
In accordance to what they had seen so far, it would not be surprising if it was much faster as well. The Knightmare's camera was also still in effect, so the people were still watching what was happening.
The Guinevere's hand stretched down to Suzaku and C.C. "Come on, we have to get out of here!" She told them.
The two of them did not miss a step, immediately, C.C. ran back to pick up the unconscious Kallen and Suzaku carried over both Lelouch's body and the unconscious Jeremiah to the Guinevere's hand. The second they were all on, the Guinevere began flying away, away, and away.
And yet strangely, Bai did not follow them. Instead, he spoke once more to his audience. "Do you all see? Now Suzaku and his followers are fleeing like cowards. They are not fit to lead the people of the world. Join me, and I will be your savior."
Even as Bai spoke, the people of the Reverse Rebellion were still chanting: "All hail Bai! All hail Bai!" And many people on Zero's side were simply left speechless.
And it struck Cornelia most of all. She had heard everything and understood its meaning. And because of that she could not come to understand what Nunnally was thinking when she went and rescued Suzaku from danger and ran. And now, the only thing that echoed in her head was the chanting of Bai's followers as the video feed came to an end.
Bai continued to look after the Guinevere until it was out of sight and muttered to himself. "You believed this battle would mark the end of your endeavor, Lelouch vi Britannia; but you were very, very wrong. The only thing the end of this battle marks, is the end of the beginning…"
Bai now stared off into the horizon for a moment and then turned around to go to the battlefield, and get everyone's response to his request. It was as he said; this battle only brought an end to the beginning. The real fight had only just begun, and he planned to see it through personally, and unlike Suzaku and Lelouch, he planned to do it without a mask.
To Be Continued in… "Code Geass: Bai of the Conquest"
Author's Note: And so I have brought a close to this story.
But I must say, at first I had absolutely no intention of having a sequel following this Fanfiction; in the beginning Bai was only meant to be a means of explaining how Lelouch managed to build so many KnightCrawlers in such a short amount of time. But as I continued to write, his character developed on its own until it came to this. I know some of you have had a number ofconcerns about how I managed the characters and wrote the story, particularly in regards to Lelouch's goals and reasoning behind what he did and how he did it; so I want to thank you all for sticking through my story anyways and hope these last couple of chapters have helped clarify things a bit.
The Sequel will not come for some time, but I hope all of my readers here will keep an eye out and look forward to the story that I am sure will be much more well written and very epic with the revelation of the 'Knightmare' Bai controls.
Again I wish to thank all of my readers for keeping with me and hope you will all follow me into my sequel: please be on the lookout for "Code Geass: Bai of the Conquest"!
Until then, happy reading!