"Don't you know people get hurt in the dark?" C2 smiles.
Nunnally sprints forwards to try to get a quick glimpse of C2's Geass only to have a trash can lid whipped at her. Kallen quickly rummages through a maintenance cart finding little useful except for a pipe.
C2 stalks over to Nunnally's hiding spot. "Come out, come out! I only want to play!"
The pipe grazes C2's shoulder as Kallen swings it around.
The woman disguised as C2 whirls both blades around in wide arc, which Kallen barely deflect. Heavy pipes aren't the best weapons.
Nunnally copies C2's Geass.
C2 is suddenly confronted by an image of herself. The imposter hesitates for just a fraction of a second, enough to let Nunnally slip through her defenses to land a blow to the solar plexus. The woman doubles over, backing away and glaring as she gets her wind back.
"Nunnally, go get some help. I'll hold her off." Kallen put the pipe into a ready stance.
"Right!" she shifts back onto her usual form, discarding the borrowed Geass.
C2 charges at them, intent on stoping them.
Despite herself, Kallen was enjoying playing this imposter like a harp.
Kallen blocks a strike aimed at Nunnally's throat. "Who are you? You aren't the C2 I know!" She wrenches her improvised weapon around in a quick circle, disengaging.
"You never really knew me, did you?" The C2 imposter slashes her sword with enough force to cut through a slim palm tree Kallen had grabbed and thrown. "All you knew was that I was always there for him, no matter what."
Kallen whirls the pipe around with a blow designed to smash C2's head in. "Lelouch was a traitor! He went and made himself Emperor over a land he had publicly condemned!"
"No, he didn't condemn it. Zero did. And what came of it? He watched the empire fall into a state of anarchy before his death."
Nunnally grabs a wrench an whirls it at C2. It glances off her shoulder causing her to face the new threat, only to be hit from behind by Kallen's pipe.
o-o-o-o
"Are you serious? Zero is actually Kururugi in disguise?" for the second time that evening, Milly mentally berated herself for acting like a new reporter fresh out of school. Not that she'd ever been as clumsy as some of her coworkers/rivals.
"I'm as sure as can be. I intercepted a communication from Zero to one of his compatriots, a man named Elliot, who referred to him by name. Since the communication was of the video sort, I got a good look at him as well."
Refusal replaces his image onscreen to a picture of Suzaku, in Zero garb holding a helmet.
At this moment, the moment of proof, the intelligent viewers of Milly's program figure out what had happened during that parade twelve years ago.
The station's email servers quickly fill with emails of people who had figured it out, with the initial ones poorly worded, but getting the point across. The producer prints a few of the better written ones and hands them to Milly during a commercial break.
"How are you holding up?"
Milly looks down at her slightly shaking hands. "I have absolutely no clue."
o-o-o-o
The man and the woman run through the sewer towards their operational headquarters.
"Any excuse to get away, huh?" the man amusedly questions.
"Actually, I do fear that woman."
"Really. You of all people are afraid of C2."
"No, I'm afraid of the woman beneath."
"Fair point." the man continues running. After a minute or two, "Did we get a hit?"
"Yes. The drones successfully triangulated his location."
"Excellent. Let's go."
They turn down the next path to head to the newly discovered location.
o-o-o-o
Kallen and Nunnally watch as the woman sinks to the floor. Her disguise slips, and a smallish woman with pink hair lies in the spot.
Neither Nunnally nor Kallen recognized the girl.
Nunnally shapeshifts into C2 again. "It seems I can still borrow her power while she's unconscious."
Just then, a radio in her pocket squawks. "All guards check in."
"Veciloraptor, green."
"Gator, green."
"Treble, yellow. People are getting restless."
The first voice cuts in. "Cat, what's your status?"
There is a small silence. "Cat?"
Nunnally speaks into the radio. "Yeah, um. I'm ...orange? Someone pulled a pipe on me, but I disabled them."
"Alright. Deliver the captive to central and head for Treble as backup. Everyone else, check in."
Nunnally tunes out the radio. "Ready to become a captive?"
Kallen had never seen such a devious look on Nunnally's face.
o-o-o-o
"According to several experts on the subject, the assassination of Emperor Lelouch has been called into question. With us is Gilderoy Killion."
Milly keeps a smile plastered on her face as Gilderoy's face appears onscreen.
"Thank you, Milly. My name is Gilderoy Killion, and I am a historical researcher. The assassination of the Emperor Lelouch hasn't been analyzed to thoroughly. I believe it's because of the pain he caused, much like how the Japanese do not like to talk about them losing their home under the last two Emperor's thumbs, but on a worldwide scale."
The man pauses to take a breath. "Emperor Lelouch and Suzaku Kururugi have a lengthy history together. They were childhood friends after Lelouch was given to the Japanese as a gift, only to be separated by the war. Now, once Lelouch took over the mobile weapons platform, Suzaku was given Lelouch's right hand position."
Milly politely cuts in. "So why did Suzaku stab Lelouch on the day of the parade?"
"I have three theories I'm working on." Gilderoy's face scrunched up. "I'll start with the most likely and work my way down. First of all, Suzaku may have felt remorse. All of the non Brittanian forces present were prisoners, and a lot of them were friends or former friends of Suzaku. The man also used to have a heart of gold, rescuing everyone he could."
"How likely is this to be the case?" Milly has spent so much emotional strength today that she is starting to feel physically tired.
"Not likely, I'm afraid. But it is still an option. My second theory involves some documents from the confusion before and during Emperor Lelouch's reign. Suzaku's superiors felt that he had a chronic backstabbing disorder, whereas he would trade up for a higher position by switching side in the war whenever he felt like it. Most of the documentation is sketchy, hastily written or recorded during battles and in preparation. Still, it would fit this scenario for him to kill the Emperor in order to end the menace and assure his spot of high power."
"That's awful!" Milly is unable to hide the shock on her face. "I used to know Suzaku in school, and he was a very kind man. He did drift away after... Well, its a jumble now but for a while, he lived for being at school."
"Yes. This is also not very likely. My last theory is my best guess, and what I calculated as the most likely, but I wish I hadn't found it, because it raises more questions than answers."
Milly glances to the side. Her director gives her the thumbs up. "I would like to hear this theory of yours, if you will share."
The man heaves a breath. "Are you familiar with a Thanatos gambit?"
o-o-o-o
A man and a woman kick down a door leading into a building. They had sent out a swarm of drones to find the source of the signal that Refusal had been broadcasting, and they had located him in a warehouse complex near the docks. Once they had made it there, they had decided to storm the place.
Two normal people wouldn't stand a chance, but two immortals might just be up to the challenge.
The man pulls out a small pistol and presses it again the surprised guard's forehead. "You have two choices: walk away now, or die where you stand."
The man practically flies out the door.
"You know, at one time you would have killed him on the spot."
"Sue me. If I'm getting soft, it just means I'm earning my soul back."
They continue down the empty corridors, rarely encountering a guard. When they do, the same choice is offered and the same answer received.
"Do you know why none of these guards have Geass?"
"My guess is the Geass users went off to the mall, like the disguised woman."
"Fair point. If he thinks he's untouchable, he wouldn't hold anything back."
o-o-o-o
Nunnally, disguised as C2 (and rather liking the swords) shoves Kallen in front of her. Kallen has rope bound around her wrists with a little catch that would allow the ropes to come off with a simple pull. She's also been gagged, mostly because she hadn't liked the plan and Nunnally was feeling giddy about it and she was making it worse.
One of the guards approaches the pair. "So, you got one, huh?"
"Yes. Take her to the cells. I must be off to help Treble."
"So sorry, ma'am, but I can't leave my post. The cells are right down that way, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting her secured."
Nunnally fakes an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Hurry up." she prods Kallen in the back.
Kallen shoots her a dirty look.
The cells are currently empty except for the far right one. Inside is Lady Kaguya.
Nunnally shoves Kallen over to the cage beside her while glancing around for keys. She finds them on a table on the opposite side of the room. She gently bumps Kallen into the cage a turns around to get the keys.
Out of the shadows, Suzaku springs his attack.
o-o-o-o
"A Thanatos gambit is a plan which involves the planner's death to be successful." Gilderoy pauses a second. "If he combined it with a zero approval gambit, it fits. In layman's terms, Lelouch may actually have told Suzaku to kill him. Lelouch has been known to be a brilliant tactician. What if his goal was peace all along? We've had twelve years of peace because we wanted to make sure there was never another Emperor Lelouch."
Milly sits in her chair, dumbstruck. In the back of her mind, she can hear herself getting fired for acting so unprofessional on camera.
"My theory is that Lelouch purposefully made himself out to be the worst person he could, so that he could let the hero behind the mask take over after his death. In this scenario, Lelouch never meant to finish that parade, and the prisoners were in no real danger. If you recall, not a single person died except for Lelouch on that day."
"He also erased every trace of his ancestors, purging all those who followed his father's ways. He cleansed the world of the Brittanian empire, including himself."
It made way to much sense. Milly's mind is reeling, but she manages to get out a question. "He always wanted to make a world where his sister was protected, even before Zero showed up. Do you think he did this for her sake?"
Gilderoy looks thoughtful, tapping his chin with his index finger. "It's a distinct possibility. I wouldn't put it past the mastermind."
Milly collects what little composure she can muster. "Thank you, Gilderoy. You theory's have provided much insight into this matter."
o-o-o-o
Refusal sits in his command chair, inordinately pleased with himself. He had the complete upper hand, not a single thing had gone wrong. He glances around at his monitors, viewing status reports from the mall.
Everything is green, green, green, green, gre-
Wait a minute.
The cell next to Lady Kaguya's is now occupied.
He leans into the monitor to read the small text next to the alert box.
"Opened five minutes ago. Why wasn't I told of this?"
He flips a switch in preparation of communicating to the field commander.
"I wouldn't do that." Cold metal presses into the base of his spine.
Behind him a man and a woman stand, one holding a gun, and they are both inordinately pleased with themselves.