(A/N: I know I said I wouldn't update this until I finished Soul Chess, but the truth of the matter is that I have a lot of inquiring minds and interesting comments that I felt that this was a good idea to make this second chapter. Plus my other new fic Legend of Zelda: Dragon's Roar has a two part pilot so I felt this series should get a fair cut of the pie. Thanks to Greatkingrat88 on deviantart for his beta assistance and the initial scene to this chapter).
Disclaimer: Code Geass belongs to Sunrise Entertainment
3rd Person pov
Looking out over the night sky of Tokyo from her luxurious governor's suite, Cornelia poured herself a generous drink. God knew she needed one; these last few days had been tumultuous. Her emotions were in conflict- at once, Lelouch and his little sister Nunnally were revealed to be alive, and it thrilled her- but at the same time... Lelouch was not the Lelouch she once knew.
Taking a swig of the expensive cream brandy, Cornelia lost herself to thought. Lelouch, the son of her hero, was alive- but he had become a murderer and a terrorist. He had intentionally killed in cold blood a loving older brother, who had treated him with respect and kindness. Whether it was justified or not was beside the point. She was not naive; she had done some digging and it was indeed true as Lelouch had retold it. All things pointed to Clovis ordering the Shinjuku ghetto massacre for no particular reason- personally, she was not overly concerned with the deaths of a hundred or so numbers, but killing them only to cover for his own failure was incompetent, cowardly. Sloppy. It was precisely the kind of panicked move she would have expected of Clovis.
Sighing, she downed her drink. Lelouch, having lived with more common folk for all this time, would have less disdain for the common riff-raff; she understood his position. But at the end of the day, he had murdered his brother. He was but a teenager, but he had held that gun with premeditation and conviction, and put a bullet into his brother's skull. She was a military woman, and she had killed many times. The first time when she was nineteen, and it had shaken her. But it was her profession, and it got easier with time. Lelouch was different, though- he had been raised a civilian, and yet he had not shown even a hint of remorse. He had given the impression of a man justified in his actions, and that was troubling. So ready to kill, with so little regret—how badly had their father's treatment bent him? Or worse yet, was he not just bent, but broken? Was this all a mistake? Would everything she had and knew be endangered by her taking him under her wing?
Ashamed and angered with her doubt, she slammed the drink glass down on the buffet where she kept her liquor. He was family, and she had vowed to protect him, no matter what! Still, the callous attitude with which he had dismissed Clovis was troubling.
Would you be so lenient with him if he wasn't Marianne's son? A little voice whispered in her head. No, not likely Cornelia answered back. The Britannian royal house had very strong opinions on murder, and stronger still on fratricide. Blood runs thicker than water. She thought back to herself. And I will protect him. If he is broken, I will repair him with a sister's loving hand. If he is dark, then I will give him reason to be bright. I will protect him, even if it means protecting him from himself.
"Are you coming to bed, Cornelia?" It was Euphie's sleepy voice.
"Of course, Euphemia," Cornelia said warmly, walking over to the luxurious bed where Euphemia had already made herself comfortable. Slipping under the covers, she laid down next to her little sister. Cornelia felt a thrill of joy seeing her sister next to her. Euphie was here, next to her, warm and, most importantly, alive. Even better than only having Euphie with her, her half-siblings Nunnally and Lelouch were alive as well. The notion of a family, a real family and not just the cold, uncaring, ruthless alliance-oriented climate of the royal siblings at court, was just around the corner. She and Lelouch would forge a world where they could all live together comfortably.
"Is something troubling you, sister?" Euphie asked, sounding half asleep.
"...nothing, Euphemia. You go to sleep now, or you'll look terrible tomorrow."
"Please don't lie to me, Cornelia," Euphemia said, frowning. "You never drink this late unless you're cross with somebody or something."
Cornelia sighed. Euphemia knew her slightest characteristics, and it was a bother sometimes.
"It's nothing important."
"Liar."
Cornelia sighed. Should she tell her about Lelouch and Nunnally? No, not just yet- she had to confirm beyond all reasonable doubt that Lelouch would not betray her. Still, some things were worth mentioning.
"I was thinking about Clovis' killer." Cornelia said, grudgingly.
"And?"
"You will not be happy hearing this, Euphemia li Britannia." Cornelia warned, using her full name for emphasis.
"I'm not a baby anymore, you know." Euphemia said accusingly. "I am your deputy viceroy."
Sighing again, Cornelia agreed. "Yes, you are my deputy viceroy, and not really a child anymore, so I suppose you might as well know." She took a deep breath. "Your brother Clovis was always good to you, yes?"
"He was always very sweet," Euphemia agreed. "A bit showy, but a nice person. I miss him."
"Who he was with you and who he was at work was two different people, Euphemia. I investigated the circumstances of his death. I am in no way condoning the actions of whatever revolutionary trash dared take his life, but in a way, he caused his own downfall."
"What do you mean?"
"Clovis...I don't know why he did it, but..." This was true; she was still unsure of what exactly had been going on. Perhaps it had something to do with the woman in her custody, but somehow she doubted Clovis had known much more than she did. "He ordered Britannian troops to massacre the Elevens in the shinjuku ghetto. Dozens of people who had done no ill were killed."
"...why?" Euphie sounded distressed, a little pained hearing this.
"I don't know. Clovis was a good man, but perhaps not that good a politician. I think he panicked, and thought the best solution was to stage a massacre and blame it on the rebels. He lost something- something confidential, I don't know what- and he acted without thinking."
"But how was it his fault? Nobody deserves to die!" Euphemia spoke with the naive conviction only a teenager could muster.
"That he would die was a crime against our royal house, against Britannia and against god himself," Cornelia said. "But there is no doubt that had Clovis been a better ruler, he would not have been murdered. A good ruler rules with a firm, but not harsh hand." At least she hoped so, hoped that Lelouch had killed him not out of spite, but out of principle.
Euphie rolled over. "You're right. I did not like hearing that."
"It's a reality we must all face as rulers of our nation," Cornelia said softly. "If you want to be a good deputy viceroy, then you will have to learn to cope with things such as these."
"Let's just go to sleep," Euphie said. She did not sound cross, just sad. Cornelia wondered, was it right to reveal this to her? No, it was- she was part of the royal family, and eventually she had to learn. Sighing, she laid back to sleep.
The Next Day
Cornelia sat at her desk, slumped over the desk in frustration. She had been trying to work up a plan, but every time she thought of what to do she ran into some sort of trouble. She thought she'd finally had things completely laid things out way back when she first became General in Chief of Britannia's armies, had the whole lay of the land. What changed? What was different?
Well, her half-brother was actually alive, posing as a normal high school student...and a Japanese Terrorist. The worst part was that she could not afford to ask anyone for help, like she had often done during the past few years. Until she was ready to execute the first stage of her plan, she could not ask the counsel of either Guilford or Darlton. Trust was a major factor, and Cornelia had to make sure she could convince her men that this was the right thing to do. Certainly, they followed her orders, but she was about to commit high treason in the name of a better world. These men were patriots bred to serve king and country; persuading them would be no mean feat.
Her ideas were lousy, as they stood without being able to put good faith into them. First, she had considered asking Schneizel's counsel. His charisma and reputation would win the Britannian people over immediately, but she could impossibly trust Schneizel. He was too ambitious and far too clever. He was a politician to the core, and as such he would look to what he gained the most from. He would most certainly gain more from turning her in than risking everything on a bold, risky enterprise. No, he would likely use them both and throw them aside once he had the throne. She could not risk that he would hand Lelouch back to Charles. She would not let that happen. Charles had left Lelouch to die before. Lelouch and Nunnally were really only safe in her hands, and her hands alone.
She had thought to call in Darlton or Guilford into her office and speaking in hypotheticals, but Cornelia lacked Schneizel's or Lelouch's, silver tongue. She'd never convince them to betray Britannia without a true and tried game plan. Lastly, she thought of bouncing ideas off of Euphie, but she couldn't drag her sister into this, not this soon.
Cornelia's problem was, of course, that she was trying to do everything at once, create one master plan to set off everything like a nuclear warhead, instead of letting them fall like dominoes. This was why she would always lose to Schneizel and Lelouch in chess. Whenever terrorists reared their ugly heads, Cornelia was always called upon to silence them. However, most terrorists were comparatively easy to track, and none of them had ever succeeded in killing a member of the royal family. Though not an incompetent stateswoman, nor unintelligent, Cornelia's field of skill was military; not political or intellectual. She could break enemy lines, but a coup d'état?
She was no politician. She was a soldier. She wanted to fight; battle tactics were so much easier than diplomacy. Cornelia sat up and slumped back in her chair, defeated, unsure of what to do. She had no resources to work with and no one to bounce ideas off of.
No…wait. She did have someone she could talk to.
Cornelia went for the intercom, "Guilford."
"Yes, my princess?"
"Please escort Miss CC to my office. I wish to speak with her," Cornelia told him.
"Yes, your highness."
CC was promptly escorted to Cornelia's office by a soldier. The soldier saluted to Cornelia and then left the room, leaving Cornelia to talk to the green haired witch. "You know, you could have better timing. I was in the middle of lunch," CC sat down with a huff.
"Quit complaining and have a seat," Cornelia ordered, scowling at CC as though the green haired woman was one of her soldiers. "I needed someone to talk to about this whole arrangement and it sickens me to say it, but, and it pains me to say this, you're the only one I can trust."
"Really? You have two loyal soldiers, Gilbert G. P. Guilford, your personal knight, and General Andreas Darlton. You trust me, a woman you only met a few days ago who is also an accomplice to Lelouch vi Britannia, currently calling himself Lelouch Lamperouge and is also the terrorist Ze—"
Cornelia cut her off. "Enough!" she exclaimed quickly. She didn't want to hear the end of that sentence. It sickened her enough that Lelouch was Zero, that he would be so driven and hateful that he took to terrorism. She was almost trying to forget it, but try as she might she knew that she'd have to use Zero to her advantage in her calculations. If she was going to unite the residents of Area 11, the numbers, the honorary Britannians and the Britannians themselves, she needed Zero on her side. Cornelia sighed and spoke with a serious tone to CC. "Tell me, how long have you been working with Lelouch?"
"Long enough," CC responded.
"That's not an answer," Cornelia glared.
"Does it matter how long I've worked with him? I'm his accomplice. I share his ideals and I choose to work alongside him. Would any length of time spent at his side, really make a difference?" CC asked.
Cornelia leaned back in her chair, "No, I suppose not. You can't have been working together very long though based on how I perceive things. I am, of course, putting your alliance on the day of Clovis' death as an assumption. Even if it were a day or two, perhaps a few weeks before that I doubt that ploy could've been planned for more than a month, and that's being generous. I've read the reports, and given the situation I'd almost be led to think Lelouch jumped into the middle of a battle already in progress."
"That's quite the assumption."
"While it sounds ludicrous, given the factual evidence it is the only thing that makes sense. I simulated what happened at Shinjuku with Saitama, because I was interested in seeing if I would be confronted by Zero in the exact same manner. I probably would have, as the only reason he lost the other day was because his followers had no loyalty, no faith. They were amateurs. Lelouch was also dealing with superior firepower. If I had gone out there in person, it would've meant the end for every last one of those terrorists. However, Lelouch knows my tactics, that's how he was able to figure out I was onto his fake distress signals during the battle.
"That's why I need his alliance. Originally I had hoped Schneizel would join me once Britannia controlled the world, once I was in a position to goad him to my side, but plans have changed. Though Schneizel is Lelouch's senior, I have firepower and Lelouch has intelligence. Together we'd be an unstoppable duo."
"Do you really trust Lelouch? You, the Witch of Britannia? Goddess of Victory? You place your faith in a terrorist simply because he is your half-brother?"
Cornelia slammed her fist on her desk, leaning forward. "Lelouch is not a terrorist!" She started to breathe heavily. Sweat dripped down her forehead. She flattened her hand out onto the desk, regaining her composure a little, and spoke gravely to CC. "Lelouch felt abandoned, alone, scared. I can only imagine the trouble he went through just to survive when he thought we left him for dead. I do not blame him for one second." Cornelia put both her hands flat on the desk and glanced down as she bent her knuckles. "When I think of the consequences it drove him to, it only makes me feel worse for failing him."
"Failing him?"
Cornelia walked around the side of the desk and glared at CC as she recalled the event. "I tried to save Lelouch. I wanted to bring him home. I failed."
7 Years ago
August 2010 atb
Cornelia stood amongst the ruined city. Her enemies had finally been felled for good.
"All targets down," Cornelia radioed.
"I think that'll do it Colonel," A soldier radioed to her. "Let's head back to-"
Before the statement could be finished, Cornelia screeched the wheels of her Knightmare and took off towards Tokyo. She hadn't come to Japan just to fight.
"Colonel li Britannia, where are you going?" Her superior, a brigadier general, asked.
"I'm going after my brother and sister. Is that a problem, brigadier general? I didn't come here just to fight. I came here to save the children of Lady Marianne!" Cornelia lashed out.
"Colonel, you don't even know where they are. Turn around." The order was firm; even her royal heritage was not enough to let her disobey orders wantonly.
"They were sent as political hostages to the Japanese prime minister's house. I know how to get to Tokyo! Leave me be!" Cornelia shouted.
"Colonel, you're acting irrationally. This is not the behavior of a model soldier! Col-"
Cornelia switched off her communication links. She didn't care if she lost her job or not, she would save Lelouch and Nunnally. A car driving at 90 km/h could make it to Tokyo between an hour and an hour and a half from her current location. Cornelia was determined to do it in less. Cornelia grabbed the motor controls to her Knightmare Frame and cranked up the speed to 130 km/h. I will save you! I will save you! I will save you! Cornelia's mind chanted in her head over and over again as she drove her Knightmare to the country's capital city. Her expression was determined, anxious and panicked all at the same time. She was pushing the Knightmare's systems into complete overdrive. I will save you! I will save you! I will save you! The words played over and over in Cornelia's head.
She heard two helicopters flying overhead, behind her. Since Cornelia was not using her onboard communications they had to radio her from high overhead. "Colonel li Britannia, you are ordered to cease and desist immediately. Bombs are being dropped over Tokyo. You will be caught in the blast. Repeat, you will be caught in the blast."
Cornelia ignored the warning. She cranked the speed of her Knightmare up to 145. I can make it! I won't lose you! I will save you! Cornelia told herself. She overtook the helicopters, and continued to drive towards Tokyo.
"Warning: systems at low power. Less than twenty percent battery efficiency remaining," Cornelia's on board computer told her. "Slower speed directly enforced."
"Override." Cornelia grit her teeth, almost muttering the word.
"Warning: Power will go critical. Further propulsion of high level speeds could result in permanent damage to system or an unconditional shutdown. A speed cap and velocity reduction must commence."
"OVERRIDE!" Cornelia shouted, glaring at the computer like a mad beast.
"Acknowledged," The artificial intelligence droned.
Cornelia wrenched open a panel, and used it to activate her fact sphere to look up into the air. She could see the flight of planes that were carrying the bombs. In her head, she calculated an estimated time of arrival and drop off of ten to twenty minutes. She looked at her GPS. She didn't have nearly enough of that time. She punched the speed of her Knightmare to 200 km/h. Red lights began flashing. The core cockpit began to heat up and Cornelia began to sweat under the intense temperature build up.
"Warning: System overheating. Power cannot be sustained for longer than ten minutes." The computer warned.
I will only need eight. Cornelia continued to drive. Tokyo came up in sight. She slowed down to a safer 60kmh as she neared.
"Power systems heavily depleted. Five minutes of power remaining in stock at current speed."
Cornelia took the information into account, and grabbed her transmitter from within the cockpit of her Knightmare Frame to talk to all who would listen. Tokyo was war torn and desolate. Not a soul could be seen in sight.
"LELOUCH! NUNNALLY!" she shouted into the transmitter. "IT'S ME! IT'S CORNELIA! I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU! PLEASE RESPOND! IF YOU'RE ALIVE, COME OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!" Cornelia looked like she might cry if she wasn't given some form of sign that her siblings were okay. "LELOUCH! NUNNALLY! I'M HERE TO RESCUE YOU! PLEASE, LET ME SEE YOU!" Cornelia continued to drive until she heard the airplanes flying overhead. "SOMEBODY!" They were close, but they'd have to get closer to her location and lower their altitude to accurately drop the bombs. "ANYBODY!" She realized she had to start making her way out of the city. "Please."
She continued to drive when she saw something right out of her main window. She zoomed in and was horrified. "No." She looked up overhead. She had three minutes to get completely out of Tokyo, or she could well be caught in the explosions. The idea was to bomb Tokyo as a symbol of Japanese defeat. It was to be cowered, but not destroyed.
Knowing that, Cornelia had to make certain of what she was seeing in the time she had. She ejected from her Knightmare, and ran towards the wreckage which contained what appeared to be a destroyed chess set. The pieces were chipped and damaged from the scuffle and battles that had been going on, scattered about by a destroyed makeshift home right nearby. She found the board, broken in half, not too far away. Please no. Please no. Please god, no! She flipped the board onto its back. To her horror, the board spelled exactly what she feared: Lelouch's name written in script on the back in silver marker.
Cornelia dropped to her knees, clutching the half of the broken board. Her half-brother was gone, and Nunnally with him.
However overwhelming her grief was right now, she knew she would join them if she stayed. As much as appeal as the idea had, she knew Euphie needed her. Cornelia took the broken half of the board with Lelouch's name on it, and picked up the nearest chess piece. It would be her memento of her siblings, that she would never forget them. The piece she had picked up, though scratched along the sides and chipped on the bottom, was the black queen. Cornelia got back in her Knightmare and plotted a course out of the city. She reached the city limits and escaped.
The bombs dropped half a minute later. She looked back at the explosion as the dust clouds formed and she watched the city burn. I'm sorry Lelouch…Nunnally…I'm sorry I could not…protect you. Cornelia thought as she looked on, mouth hanging open with tears dripping down her face. I'm sorry.
Present Day
Without a flicker of emotion, CC's only response was: "Lelouch would want to hear that story."
"I'd rather tell it to him when he's in a position to tell me what happened to him." Cornelia's heart had hardened over the years so she hadn't a flicker of emotion of her eyes either after retelling the story.
"Well, you've certainly changed since then. From the sound of it, you used to have hope. You used to believe there was still good in the world."
"There is, but it's deeply buried. Like a diamond underneath layers and layers of dirt, as new dirt constantly buries it deeper down," Cornelia spat.
"And are you one that can dig out this diamond? Do you truly believe you have that power?" CC asked.
"Not alone, that's why I need Lelouch. That's why…" A thought struck Cornelia, a thought she was only realizing now and smacked her palm to her face over her right eye, and began to laugh. She had been so blind, so silly!
"Are…you okay?" CC asked Cornelia, finding her behavior strange.
"I'm fine," Cornelia chuckled and then cleared her throat, resumed her stoic manner and put her hands behind her back, right hand grabbing her left wrist. "You are dismissed from my office."
"But I like it here."
Cornelia was about to force her out, but figured that if she wanted Lelouch to trust her she should be nice to his ally. She walked over to the intercom. "Guilford."
"Yes, my princess?"
"Call Gottwald, Nu and Soresi. Tell them I want Lelouch brought to me immediately, but make it subtle. I don't want a disturbance at the school."
"Yes, your highness," Guilford stated.
Ashford Academy
As Jeremiah, Viletta and Kewell were only supposed to observe Lelouch from a distance to make sure he stayed on Academy grounds, preventing Lelouch from going to his underground chess meets, they didn't stop the boy from cutting class, though all three were in agreement that they should. When Jeremiah first found out that he would be keeping tabs on Marianne's firstborn son as he was, contrary to his belief, actually alive, he was overjoyed. None of them knew Cornelia's true intentions with Lelouch or how she found him. All they knew was that it had occurred somewhere at Saitama and, from it, mysteriously lifted Jeremiah's demotion. Viletta and Kewell were more than a little disconcerted by this, but Jeremiah totted it as that the princess could see reason.
Jeremiah hoped that, given how things seemed to be progressing, that Cornelia was interested in forming an alliance with Lelouch through a promise she made to her younger half-brother long ago. As a member of Marianne's guard, he had watched Lelouch grow up for a few years and seen the bond he and Cornelia shared. He knew of Lelouch's genius and knew of Cornelia's strength. Together, they would be unstoppable. He and Cornelia would both shield Lelouch from harm and from the rest of Britannia. He was Marianne's son. He wanted to run over and apologize to Lelouch, declare his loyalty to the eleventh prince, but knew how foolish and bizarre that would look.
Viletta, for her part, couldn't understand Jeremiah's enthusiasm. Although she too had served under Cornelia in Marianne's guard, she had been with Cornelia ever since the woman was promoted to Colonel, her loyalty was to Britannia and to its army. Cornelia would have to make a convincing argument to win her over.
Kewell was more complex than that. His younger sister, Marika, was a soldier under the command of Luciano Bradley. A man that, once the alliance was forged, if one was forged, would soon be his enemy. Unless Cornelia could ensure Marika's life, Kewell would be hard pressed to join her in defection.
Besides that, there was also to consider how much backing she could possibly get. Even as General-in-chief, she did not have the entire Britannian army fiercely loyal to her. Most of the troops currently stationed in Japan would remain at her side, especially her own royal guard, but uniting Japan would make for a mighty obstacle.
Lelouch was currently inside a hallway on a radio. He had been aware of Jeremiah, Viletta and Kewell's locations at all times. He knew exactly where they were and exactly how much privacy he had. Knowing that, he talked to his heart's content.
"What do you mean, you're unable to get out here? We could really use your help, Zero."
"Patience Ohgi," Lelouch told the freedom fighter, "I'm in the middle of forging a great alliance. If this works, with your force and the one I am creating I will have an unstoppable force at my command to lead. I must know though, as long as we are fighting against Britannia and for Japan, are you on my side regardless of our allies? Will you fight the good fight, risking your life as long as it is in Japan's best interest, to take Britannia down?"
"I would, sir."
"That's all I needed to know," Lelouch hung up the radio. Ohgi's unit was the last group of individuals he had communed with that he had spoken to in order to get help. Thankfully, because of his reputation as "the miracle worker", none of the groups he had spoken to desired to lose his leadership. They felt they would be lost without him. Lelouch thought perhaps one or two groups would abandon him like the ones at Saitama, but it seemed he had weeded out the weak hearted and only the strong remained. Besides Ohgi's group, there were two more patches of resistance that Lelouch had met as Zero. Beyond that, Lelouch also knew that the JLF would have to see things his and Cornelia's way, or there could be trouble. However, the best thing out of all of this would be that there would be no more trouble from the White Knightmare. Lelouch had seen only a preview of its power, with its schematics in his hand Lelouch could optimize its efficiency and with it he could dominate any opponent. He also had connections to the Kyoto House and they had promised him several Knightmares, including one prototype: the Guren MK-II, completely Japanese engineered.
Now that Lelouch had his troops under his thumb, his suppliers had to be kept on hand immediately. However, before he could dial for one he heard footsteps and hid the radio and rushed down the stairs, but didn't get more than half a flight, before putting his hand against the wall and panting. The person who had been coming down the stairs caught up to him: Suzaku.
"Shouldn't you…be in class?" Lelouch panted.
"Shouldn't you?" Suzaku shot back.
"What…do you want?"
"Viceroy Cornelia wants you in her office. Gottwald, Nu and Soresi were all asked to bring you in, but Gottwald asked me to retrieve you myself to avoid problems. How exactly did she find out about you Lelouch? I thought you were hidden. What's going on, exactly?"
Suzaku was out of the loop. Cornelia had assumed that he and Lelouch had to have some sort of friendship. If they were not friends, then Suzaku would've turned Lelouch over to Britannia the moment he found him at Ashford Academy. Lelouch was hiding and obviously Suzaku understood he wished to remain hidden.
After being radioed by the trio outside, this was Suzaku's first time hearing anything about what was going on. He knew the school was being watched, but he had no idea why. What bugged him even more was that Jeremiah had addressed Lelouch by his Britannia name. Something was fishy and Suzaku wanted to know what.
Lelouch looked left to right, up and down and all around. "Did you pass anyone on the way here?" Lelouch asked.
"Everyone is in class, Lelouch," Suzaku told him.
"Well then. Allow me to explain," Lelouch threw his arms wide and put on a really big smile, "I am Zero." Lelouch felt that if Suzaku didn't know now, he would find out sooner or later. He figured it was best to avoid conflict with the one person he felt he could probably trust the most within the alliance.
Suzaku's reaction was just as Lelouch expected. The honorary Britannian began to laugh, holding his sides as he laughed so hard. Lelouch was Zero? The very idea was ridiculous. He saw though, as he calmed down that Lelouch had a serious look on his face. "Wait, you're not serious, are you?"
Lelouch smirked again. "Well if you don't believe me, why don't you sit in on the meeting? I'm sure Cornelia would let you since Jeremiah brought you into this."
Viceroy's Office
The ride to Cornelia's office had been very quiet. Lelouch didn't say anything to any of the officers or Suzaku. Since Jeremiah ordered the action to have Suzaku bring Lelouch out, a simple "he is involved now" was enough from Lelouch to convince the others to let Suzaku come along.
The only time Lelouch spoke was when he made a phone call to Sayoko to tell her to tell Nunnally that he had some personal business to take care of and to not let Nunnally worry about him that, if things turned out well, he would tell Nunnally himself.
In Cornelia's office, CC was still in a guest chair munching on pepperoni pizza with a deep dish crust. Lelouch rolled his eyes at the sight. He wondered why Cornelia was even permitting such a thing as she sat at her computer doing proper work.
Cornelia saw the four men, plus Viletta, enter her office. "Good. All of you except for Lelouch and the Honorary Britannian, clear out," Cornelia commanded. Jeremiah, Kewell and Viletta saluted, and all marched out. Cornelia folded her arms and remained silent, glaring at Suzaku for intruding upon her business. She did not feel too keen on him being in her office. Lelouch elbowed Suzaku in the ribs to let him know that he should say something in his defense before Cornelia opened her mouth first.
"Viceroy," Suzaku saluted, "Captain Gottwald asked me to bring Lelouch in so as not to cause a disturbance, like you ordered. Lelouch convinced the others to allow me to come out here. He also suggested I sit in and learn about what's going on."
"He speaks the truth," Lelouch confirmed.
"So I was right—you two are friends," Cornelia said and shut off her monitor and focused her attention on the two teenagers in her office. I suppose I'll let it slide then. The more things I can do in Lelouch's favor the better chance I have of getting him to agree to all of this. On top of which, if we can convince a single Honorary Britannian- the son of the former prime minister, no less- to join our cause, it bodes well for the success of the plan as a whole.
Lelouch nodded. "So what's the plan?"
Cornelia leaned back in her chair, "I've come up with nothing and that's precisely the reason I called you in Lelouch. I am no politician. My brain only goes as far as the battlefield. Right now, you're the only one I can truly trust to execute this plan."
"Plan?" Suzaku sounded confused.
"Keep your mouth shut for a little while, Suzaku. You might learn something," Lelouch teased. Lelouch looked at Cornelia. "So you want me to come up with the plans to unite Area Eleven- no, Japan? You can't pull it off, so you ask for my help?"
"Not without risking a security breach in our alliance. Until I can know with absolute certainty that the majority of my subordinates will follow me, I cannot make it work."
"Wait, what do you mean by uniting Japan?" Suzaku asked. He was completely confounded, unsure of what was going on.
"You want to tell him? He's your friend."
"I already did. He wouldn't believe me," Lelouch stated.
Suzaku backed away, realizing that Lelouch hadn't been joking earlier. "You…really are Zero?"
"Oh, so now you believe me? Yes, I am Zero. And, as Zero, I take into consideration all the possibilities available to me and that has led me to one possibility I didn't realize I had: Cornelia and I will forge an alliance," Lelouch said, looking towards Suzaku. "Our aim is to unite this area under one single banner. We aim to turn on Britannia and crush it, ushering in a new, peaceful era for Britannia and the world."
"But that's treason!" Suzaku cried.
"It may look like treason, but this was always my plan right from the beginning," Cornelia got up to her feet. "I was interested in taking complete control of the world with Britannia's military, then taking the throne and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. However, the moment I found out Lelouch was alive, that changed. With him at my side, Britannia will crumble."
"Both of you, think about what you're doing!" Suzaku shouted. Though Cornelia was his superior in rank, that didn't hold water if she was talking about treason even hypothetically. A traitor held no rank. Suzaku could, if he wanted to, leave the room right now, turn in Cornelia and suffer no negative repercussions, or so he believed.
"Kururugi you will hold your tongue!" Cornelia demanded. Suzaku stood rigid on instinct from intimidating shout and icy glare being sent his way. "Nothing is set in stone yet. If you tried to turn me in now rest assured you'd fail. Despite what you may think though both Lelouch and I have thought about what we're doing, very carefully I might add."
"We have decided that this is the way things should go," Lelouch picked up on Cornelia's train of thought, "My mother, Cornelia's idol, died because of our father. This is vengeance, a world without pain and suffering. We will create everlasting peace."
"Innocent people dying every day, dying like animals. I became consumed by hate because I thought Lelouch was dead. I thought your people killed him, Kururugi. I see now that such is not the case. You let him live and for that apologies will be meaningless so I will save my breath. For sparing my brother and sister your country has my gratitude. Before I didn't care how many numbers got in my way, but now I know that I was wrong. Unity must occur so that Britannia may prosper. It is the only way."
"But just because you're the general-in-chief does not mean everyone will follow you. If you turn your back on the empire, then…"
"Yes, a Britannian Civil War. I already brought that into my calculations," Cornelia said grimly. "The importance of the matter is to know where everyone stands. Kururugi, as an Honorary Britannian this was once your country. Don't you want it back? As Viceroy I have the power to unite this nation with Lelouch's help."
"If you're not with us, Suzaku, you are against us. We are already taking a risk telling you this much. If you choose to not accept we would be fools to let you run around freely. You're my friend and that's enough that I won't kill you, but I don't think things will come to that if you think rationally. Understand reality, Suzaku: this is to protect Nunnally and Euphemia from harm. We can all work together," Lelouch extended an arm to him.
"Euphie would never want this," Suzaku grit his teeth.
"On the contrary, Euphemia has always desired that your nation be given back its land, that there could be peace between Britannia and the numbers. That is the side I fight for. Would you continue to fight for the Emperor and his cruel, backwards way of thinking?" Cornelia asked.
"I…"
If we can convince Suzaku, someone who resisted my alliance once before, but now proposed a new one, one under the banner of a woman wishing to save Britannia, I have no doubt that we can convince most of her army. So how about it Suzaku? What's it going to be? Lelouch thought to himself, smirking mentally.
"You know, on a meat lover's pizza there's all different kinds of toppings. Some people never acquire a taste for it. Some say it's too salty, others find that the meat doesn't go together if the toppings touch," Lelouch, Cornelia and Suzaku all looked oddly at CC as she spoke and then took a bite out of her pepperoni pizza despite talking about another one entirely. After swallowing she continued, "But the toppings do go together, the ones who dislike it are the ones that won't give it a chance to try it out. Different things in delicious harmony make for a good meal."
"Was that…"
"That was the oddest pizza metaphor I have ever heard," Cornelia said, taking the words right out of Lelouch and Suzaku's mouth.
"But she has a point," Lelouch said, completely understanding the metaphor. "Will you join us, Suzaku? What exactly do you have to lose? You gain everything by joining us, you lose what little you have left if you change sides. What could my father possibly offer you? You're nothing."
Suzaku hesitated. CC's metaphor was odd, and wholly unconvincing, and Lelouch had yet to truly persuade him.
"Did you forget you were shot merely for disobeying orders? For refusing to murder a civilian, me no less?" Lelouch asked bluntly. Suzaku's mind flashbacked to that moment in time when he was shot in the back during that incident.
Hearing this, Cornelia became incredibly agitated. "Unacceptable! Shooting your own men for refusing to shoot civilians? That's the kind of empire you're going to fight for Kururugi? Despicable!"
"N-no…I-I…" Suzaku was at a loss for words, but shook his head. "Oh yeah well what about Saitama?"
"Shooting an unarmed civilian, which, from what it sounds like Lelouch is implying, is vastly different from gunning down a potential terrorist. I said it before and I will say it again: apologies will never be enough for the lives I've taken. However, in the olden times of war there were such things as civilian immunity. Still, shooting your own men for not complying with those kinds of orders is deplorable."
"Oh yes let's hear that from someone who skewered one of her own in Saitama," Lelouch joked, though that was detrimental to Cornelia's argument. He wanted to hear her counter it.
Cornelia spoke with a sly, well-informed tone, realizing Lelouch's intentions. "I knew that was you, rather you as Zero, trying to set a trap for me," Cornelia waggled her finger, "I'm not so easily played a fool." She looked back at Suzaku. She spoke crisply and still kept that icy glare in her eye. "I would never shoot a fellow soldier for refusing to comply with orders even I would find myself hard pressed to carry out. And even then I'd never outright order the deaths of innocent civilians. Subjugation of the individual would be perfectly fine and a confidentiality contract would suffice."
"There, you see," Lelouch said, "My sister understands the proper way to conduct military business."
Suzaku simply stared at Lelouch, giving off the impression of a man still unconvinced.
"Then the only thing I can say to you is this: Euphemia will understand our methods. She will understand that what we are doing is the best way of going about things. Changing the system from within? That's the naïve belief of a soldier with too many ideals." Cornelia cleared her throat to point out the hypocrisy of Lelouch's statement, but Lelouch was quick to point out the difference between her and Suzaku. "You intend to use your influence to mount a revolution. Suzaku firmly believes that a high rank would allow him to act as he pleases. Diplomacy is a joke. People no longer respond to anything but force these days."
"As much as I hate to admit that to be the case, that is certainly true."
Suzaku thought on everything again. Lelouch and Cornelia definitely made a convincing argument, but he wasn't so sure that they were trying everything they could before resorting to such things.
"Why did you become a soldier?" Cornelia asked Suzaku. Suzaku was surprised by the sudden question. "Soldiers don't win wars by talking down the enemy, they fight. We are the first and last option our nation has when it comes to doing what must be done. However, what must be done and what the leader wants done is something that all soldiers should think for themselves. As an Honorary Britannian you may not understand this as well as someone with full blood, but our nation used to be a very proud nation. Our father has turned it into a tyrannical empire. I intend to see things change. Euphemia said that was what you desired, so why must it take so much to convince you? Or are you really a traitor to your own nation?"
Suzaku realized, from that last set of statements that Cornelia ultimately was attempting to do what she felt was right. He also understood that Euphie would never want him against her sister. He would lose that argument and now Lelouch too was on Cornelia's side. Suzaku knew that he himself had been attempting to change Britannia in his own way. And there was CC's metaphor which now, given everything else, made Suzaku understand the situation in which he stood. Was his ideal of rising in rank to change the system really naïve? Were Cornelia and Lelouch right? There was only one way to find out.
"I'll do it," Suzaku agreed, "but not for your sake. I'll do it for Euphie."
"Fair enough," Lelouch accepted, "In time though, I think you'll realize that this is the true way for things to go Suzaku. And on that note Cornelia, I think I have an idea."
Lelouch worked with his sister to gather all of most loyal officers and ranked officials together in the barracks. Lelouch wrote a speech for Cornelia. Cornelia had wanted to write her speech herself. These were her men, so they should hear from her, but Cornelia humored her half-brother and let him write the speech. Upon review she found it to her liking more than she originally expected, though she did make a few changes. Still, she wasn't absolutely certain she could deliver such a speech with a straight face. Lelouch's over the top mannerisms and words were tough to match. Cornelia found herself giggling once or twice during practice when Lelouch was trying to dictate her delivery, ultimately deciding that she'd deliver it how she saw fit. With a smile Lelouch put up his hands and backed off, letting his sister do as she desired. Cornelia had been in the army for the entire latter half off her life. She had delivered plenty of speeches before, most of which weren't prescripted.
When all of her soldiers were at the assembly, Cornelia stood at the podium. They were not told why they had been assembled other than that Cornelia wished to speak to them at assembly. Rumors started floating around, as though her soldiers were gossiping high school students, about potential resignation, but Guilford, Darlton and several others were quick to quash such rumors.
Cornelia waited and watched as her soldiers stood in neat little rows, filling up the entire room, standing at attention, waiting for her to speak. Cornelia took a deep breath, this was it: the beginning of the point of no return. "My fellow soldiers," she began, "you have all served me well in my few years as General-in-chief of Britannia's armies, and more recently as Viceroy of Area Eleven. Many of you have been with me since I first started out as a Second Lieutenant at the young age of fourteen. Others of you I have lost and regained and others of you still I gained as I rose in rank. However, now leader of the entire army, I am not as close to all of you as I was when I was lower in rank. All of you who know me trust me and fall in line with my orders due to my trust, but those of you who were with me when I first became a second lieutenant will remember the first lesson I ever taught you: to take corruption to task when corruption is seen, and I see corruption rife within our own Empire." This was already starting to sound like a resignation speech, but Cornelia quickly turned it around. "And so I beseech you all to put your faith in me on the biggest gamble I am about to take. I need your allegiance and I need your loyalty. Many of you will recall when we captured the terrorist Zero the other day. What a majority of you may not know is the true identity of Zero. Your prince: Lelouch vi Britannia!"
Lelouch permitted his identity spoken to the soldiers; he intended to come on stage and Geass them all to forget that declaration once they had sworn their allegiance to Cornelia. He did not believe that information was crucial to those truly loyal to her, but it was necessary in order for Cornelia to explain her actions. To prevent his Geass from being placed on Suzaku, Lelouch had him omitted from the meeting since he was already on their side. Jeremiah and Viletta had already been Geassed so Lelouch had asked them to stand guard in front of the reinforced doors. As a follow up, he suggested to Cornelia that she question that neither officer heard crucial important facts they were not supposed to hear. However, as being involved in the situation, and with Kewell in on the meeting, Lelouch wanted them in close proximity to avoid their suspicion. He advised Cornelia to simply discuss things with them about what was said, though in less words with fewer details.
Upon the revelation, of Lelouch's identity as Zero, as one could expect, there were murmurs, chatter and confusion amongst the ranks. "Silence!" Cornelia thundered and all of the soldiers shut their traps. "My word is truth. The children of the late Empress Marianne live. And so I ask, will you continue to follow an Empire built on lies and deceit? The Elevens did not take our prince from us. Our own Emperor is responsible for this atrocity. Zero was our prince's act of revenge. Against us he was our enemy, but if we forge an alliance, rebel against what Britannia has become to create a new Britannia, under my banner," Cornelia stuck her right arm up, out, and to the side, "Zero will become a hero to the numbers. We can unite the world, create everlasting peace." Cornelia lowered her arm so that it was parallel to the ground. "Will you join me? Will you continue to follow me and fight under me against the land you once called home so that you may continue to fight for the right cause?"
Andreas Darlton, Cornelia's general pushed his way through the crowd, "My lady, is this the truth you speak? Do you intend to commit treason against the empire for your own personal view of Justice?"
"What have you to worry for, Darlton? I thought you would share my views," Cornelia's response was rehearsed as Lelouch had predicted Darlton would step forward to speak as he just did. This only furthered Cornelia's faith in her half-brother.
"I think I speak on behalf of all of the troops gathered here when I say to show the men proof. Not all of us were gathered at Saitama the other day and how do we know that the man you captured is simply not a look-alike?" Darlton asked, again playing right into Lelouch's predictions.
"You want proof? Do you all want proof?" Cornelia asked. "Then," she gripped the podium, "I give you," she stood straight up, "Your prince," she stepped aside and spread out her arm, "Lelouch vi Britannia!"
Lelouch stepped forward and stood upon the podium. Now it was his turn to rally the troops and prove his worth. "My fellow Britannians, and you Honorary Britannias that have joined the army, as your Viceroy and General-in-chief said, I live!" Lelouch extended his arms outward briefly before dropping them at his sides. "My actions were in direct vengeance for the death of my mother, the late Empress Marianne. I was cast aside," Lelouch threw his arm out at his side, "used as a hostage," he dropped it down and spoke gravely for the remainder of the sentence, "but I lived. I lived so that I could take my vengeance and crush Britannia." Lelouch slammed his left fingers onto the base of the podium and briefly paused before continuing. "However, at Saitama, Cornelia outmatched me and we had a little talk. I intend to use my status as Zero to unite the Britannians and the Elevens, no, the Japanese, to create an unstoppable army. When we are through, despite the ensuing civil war, the only enemies we will have to fear are the Knights of the Round. If you are worried about your families, fear not. Our judicious uprising against Britannia does not come quite yet. We will unify this nation. With my intellect at the head of intelligence, we will deceive Britannia and we will be able to unite the world. If you cannot do it for me and the General-in-chief, do it for your families, for your friends, and for those that you cherish. Do it to ensure their survival. Do it to ensure the future of a world where they do not live in fear. Aim your guns not at each other, but at the true enemy: Emperor Charles zi Britannia, the man who led you to believe my death, the man who would conceal the truth from you and lead Britannia to its destruction!
"Cornelia and I will not lead you astray. There was once a time when the nation of Britannia was seen as the greatest nation of the world, but now we are seen as nothing more than an imperialistic bully!" Lelouch began gripping the sides of the podium tightly. "Together we will bring Britannia back to the militaristic, ideological and political spirit of the Elizabethan era. We were a strong nation, a proud nation and a nation that no one looked down upon. And we can bring that nation back to that perception by the rest of the world, but we need your help. Generals do not win wars, they merely control them." Lelouch extended his left arm out over the crowd, palm outspread, to the soldiers. "It is you, the individual soldiers that fight for our freedom, justice, and ideals, that make it all possible." Lelouch pulled his arm in, turned his wrist, bent his elbow and clenched his fist, pulling his arm towards him. "We will unite ourselves with the Japanese." He thrust his arm out to his side again. "We will assimilate the nearby areas and nations, and we will become a fighting force that my father's Britannian army will never be able to defeat." His arm dropped down at his side and he went back to gripping the podium. "From this day forward, regardless of the faction you are under, whether you are my sister's soldiers, or mine, we will all be members of the Confederacy of Britannia. All hail the Confederacy!" Lelouch extended his right arm out towards his sister and turned his head slightly in her direction so that he had one eye on the soldiers and one eye on her. "All hail Cornelia li Britannia!"
"All hail the princess!" A soldier shouted and there was an uproar of cheers within the room. The soldiers stationed in Japan made up only a small amount of Britannia's entire military, but it would grow. All of the soldiers loyal to Cornelia were in Japan, every last one. Now it was just a matter of obtaining the allegiance of the Japanese.
Kewell was reassured by Lelouch's words. If what he said was true, then there was time for him to get Marika out of the mainland. He liked the plan. Like many other soldiers, Lelouch had convinced him that this was the right thing to do. His loyalty should be to Britannia's future, not to its current state; that was the common sentiment amongst the soldiery. Before that though there was one last tiny detail to attend to.
Lelouch waited for the uproar to die down before speaking again. He had his arms at his sides and spoke calmly. "Now, all of you who have sworn your allegiance to us, I must ask you to do me one favor. You will forget that I am Zero. Do not forget my involvement, but forget my connection to Zero. Do not reveal that I am alive to anyone until it has become public knowledge. The Japanese cannot know the identity of their hero. Obey my command!" The Geass activated and Lelouch stepped off the stage, leaving Cornelia to take the stand once more.
"My fellow soldiers, I ask for one final time: are you with me?" Cornelia asked.
"All hail the Confederacy of Britannia! All hail Cornelia!" The soldiers cried out. It seemed like things were in perfect order.
As Lelouch headed back to Cornelia's office through the elevator he smirked to himself. His plan had worked like a charm. Upon arriving up on the floor though he came face to face with one person he was hoping he could delay bumping into for just a few more hours: Euphie.
"Lelouch?"
"Euphemia?"
The two stared at each other like deer caught in headlights. Euphie, as far to Lelouch's knowledge, had been kept out of the loop. She shouldn't even know he was alive or what was going on. What would this chance, sudden meeting, bring?
To be continued…
(A/N: Hmm, I may do a third chapter just because there's a bit on my mind in regards to stuff that needs to happen before I should really make an outline before I wind up screwing myself up with this magnificent story. So as you can see Cornelia has the loyalty of all of her soldiers. Emphasis on her soldiers. The soldiers in Japan are the ones that are fiercely loyal to her and probably don't even make up 15% of Britannia's army and perhaps even less of the air force and Navy as Cornelia is only in charge of the army aka the ground troops. But she need not fear, Lelouch will work behind the scenes to unify the rest of Japan to get Cornelia, and himself, the army they need to fight back. The rebellion will be delayed so canon is forced to march on, but soon there will be complete and utter unity. All Hail the Confederacy! All hail Cornelia! Oh jeez now they got me doing it).