"I am Zero." Lelouch Di Britannia

"It's almost time." The TV announcer said on the television. "Any moment now. It is truly a site to see. The people on the bridge. The throngs on the roof. All of them waiting on bated breath. Waiting for the accused murder of Prince Clovis to pass by. Honorary Britannian and former Eleven: Suzaku Kururugi."

The announcer was indeed right. The number of people that were on the bridge and the roofs was astounding. Everyone in the entire world put their hatred on this one innocent child. The bridge was completely lit up for the occasion as people waited for Suzaku to pass on by. X was done there being a film crew for the military. He was sending the additional feed to Diethard, but had cut out all the technical jagon that was included on it. X was to transmit this data to the military to further test his analysis abilities. Jeremiah was convinced that Suzaku had done the crime, but the fact X had done a little bit of homework to try and help Suzaku impressed Jeremiah: both in terms of bravery and function.

Unfortunately, it was not enough to convince Jeremiah to release him.

X was currently assigned with Diethard as "additional hardware" as Jeremiah put on his resume. Not a term that X enjoyed, even if technically they were correct. Diethard however enjoyed the fact that his TV crew was getting shots that weren't normally possible.

"Camera five is a little slow." Diethard said in his TV station car. "Talk to me Charles. Your team been deployed yet?"

"We're on the field now." Charles said over the phone. "But the studio wants feed now."

"What the studio?" Diethard asked. "Let them wait. Everything is going according to plan."

Diethard watched each one of the screens as he monitored what was going on in each one. He watched as one of the TV anchors suddenly turned his head to the right. He knew that Suzaku was on his way now.

"X, get on top of the bridge and give me a nice elevated shot." Diethard said.

"On it." X said over radio.

"I see them!" The news anchor shouted. "I see them! They have the suspect! Suzaku Kururugi is heading this way!"

Diethard smiled as he watched everything go by. He was a master at the art of media: both equipment and set up wise. But he had done this too many times in his life. He was starting to become bored of all of it.

"Like clockwork." He said, switching off his radio. "What a circus this is. I'm as corrupt as anyone of them."

Although X was at a high elevation, he could still hear everything that was going on as perfect well. He heard the sounds amplified from below making it much easier to hear everything that went on. He could hear the crowds below, hissing at Suzaku, throwing insults at him; most along the lines of: "You damn eleven." "How could you do that!" "Go to hell!" X tried to keep his anger under control, telling himself in his mind that they were simply ensnared by propaganda and it should not be thought upon with hatred. He had this before in his cyber elf form on many occasions when Copy X ruled Neo Arcadia…many innocent Reploids suffering the same fate. And he thought by now he would be used to it.

But he wasn't in the end. It didn't make him like it any less.

"Margate Jeremiah will be leading this case as acting console." The TV anchor said.

X began to get some close shots of Jeremiah as he had requested prior before the march.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm as corrupt as anyone here. But all I can do is impress my superiors, until one day when my voice matters.

Lelouch was already set up to face the entire people of Britannia. He had prepared his costume, had a replica of Prince Clovis' car made. Hijacked a train in order to use it as an escape route. And even captured a construction grade Knightmare. Thanks to his hard work and determination, he was about to not only become a symbol, but knock the Britannian leaders right off their feet. Kallen was currently driving the car towards the column. Kallen was currently driving the car. Zero sat in the passenger's seat right next to her. Zero covered himself with a cloak to conceal his entire body…the same one as before He already knew that X was with the Britannian army. He had no desire to reveal himself as a terrorist.

Lelouch sweated just a little. He could not ignore the fact he was scared. But he decided to endure it.

Right. There is no need to turn back. The die is cast!

"Acting Consular Jeremiah." A Marine from radio contacted.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Vehicle approaching from the east bound transit." The Marine responded. "We just let it through as you instructed, but…"

"Do you think it could be terrorists?" Jeremiah said.

"It was prince Clovis's car." He responded.

For the first few seconds, what the fuck was all Jeremiah could think of.

"Well looks like we got a comedian. Don't worry; let him through to us." Jeremiah responded. He then waved his hand in the air. "All units stop!"

All of the Knightmares and units stopped right there. The people were astonished when they saw that. They didn't think they would stop.

"This is not a scheduled stop." The anchor said. "Could have been some sort of accident. This is site five. A vehicle is approaching the column."

A car that looked very similar to prince Clovis's car began to approach the area. A car that had the many Britannian colors: Gold, blue, and white; painted on it. The Britannian symbol was on it as well. The truck itself looked like a normal everyday truck you would see on the road, but far more luxurious. Kallen drove the car, but she was in fear that she would die. She drove with an expression of gloom and fear on her face. Zero looked over to her and saw her worry. He put his hand on hers. Kallen shot up to Zero's blue eyes staring at her.

"Stay calm." Zero said. "I won't let you die."

The truck drove right in front of the convoy. It stopped right in front of Jeremiah's Sutherland and stopped right in front of him.

"You dare desecrate his highness's transport!" Jeremiah shouted. "Come on out of there!"

Kallen lit a match from the inside and a fabric that she had prepared. The fire quickly ate away the thin piece of fabric to reveal a being unlike any other. He stood there with his cap covering his whole body. A helmet with a spike like front, staring at the whole crowd of people. He stood there. Unfeeling. Uncaring. Not showing any emotion whatsoever. A being that seemed to fill the air with mystery.

Kallen did her part. Now all that mattered was Lelouch's performance.

"I am…Zero!" He shouted to the crowd.

"Who is this!" The news anchors shouted. "Who is this man who's calling himself Zero! What is he doing in front of a full military convoy! Are we gazing upon a terrorist?" Certainly not the wisest choice of action is such is the case!"

"Zero?" Diethard asked himself. "What, do you mean as in nothing?"

Is he an Eleven? Suzaku asked himself.

I will repay the favor to you Suzaku. Lelouch said to himself.

Jeremiah at first seemed to have a hard time grasping the scenario at first. But then he just regained his senses and decided to do what he considered was the best choice of action: Make an arrest. After all, he was now in the public spotlight.

"I've seen enough Zero!" He said. "This little show of yours is over!"

Jeremiah fired his pistol into the air. Several Knightmares that were hovering above the truck descended to the ground and landed right by the truck. Kallen screamed a bit, but Zero remained perfectly calm. He squeezed her hand tighter to keep her under control. Kallen instantly felt Zero's had begun to crush hers so she regained control of herself quickly.

However, a second later, Zero began to become a little skeptical. X who was on the bridge from before leaped down from the bridge and began to descend to the ground below. X punched into the ground creating a shockwave. Mega Man X was now pointing his X-buster at the truck. Zero shot up a bit when he saw X. Not because he was surprised. But because X's existence was now confirmed.

So Leviathan was telling the truth after all. What are you doing here X? Did you learn nothing of what happened because of your support with such corrupt people? Because of your support in the beginning…the Elf wars happened. But I guess I can't be surprised…you are who you are…and at least you know what you're fighting for. I'm still skeptical of my reasoning's.

"First things first." Jeremiah said. "Why don't you lose that mask?"

Lelouch reached up for his mask. But instead of taking it off, he put his hands in the air and snapped his fingers. The top half of the truck came off to reveal a large spherical machine with cylinders built into it. Jeremiah nearly screamed in terror when he saw that.

Yes Jeremiah. You never saw inside this thing so you assume it holds poison gas.

"No wait!" Suzaku shouted. "That's the gas…"

An EMP wave shout straight into his brain. Suzaku felt pain from simply talking.

"Can you see it?" The news anchor shouted. "Zero has revealed an unusually looking device. Although its purpose is unclear. Stay with us. And we shall see if this so called terrorist has anything to say."

Jeremiah was stumped. He had no idea what he could do. A combination of fear, anxiety, paranoia, and anger consumed into his mind.

You bastard. He's taken all of these Britannians hostage. And he's done it without them even knowing it.

"Get that sound up by him." Diethard shouted.

"Sir this is getting kind of dangerous." A news crew man said.

"Hmph!" Diethard grunted in disgust as he grabbed a camera himself. "Amateurs!"

Jeremiah lowered his gun. There was nothing he could do.

"All right!" He shouted. "What are your demands?"

"This for Kururugi Suzaku." Lelouch said.

"Like hell!" Jeremiah shouted. "He's charged with high treason with murdering a prince! I can't hand him over!"

"You're wrong Jeremiah." Lelouch said. "He's innocent of that crime. The man who killed Clovis…was myself!"

People everywhere began to scream in terror and shout as Lelouch said that. Jeremiah became consumed of anger even further than he already was. He had the military and the people stumped at one time. Lelouch was turning the death march into nothing more than a show.

"Holy crap this is awesome!" Diethard shouted.

"He confessed!" The news anchor said. "This masked man…no were not sure what he is. But in any case, he has claimed to be the real assassin. So where does this leave private Kururugi?

"There's no way out of there now!" Ohgi said.

"We are so screwed." Kallen said in despair.

Zero squeezed her hand again. A minor crack was heard.

"Ow!" She said. "I think you broke one."

"My apologies." Zero said. "Don't worry; I doubt this man would have come here if he believed he was going to die."

"For a single Eleven…" Lelouch continued. "You'll save scores of precious Britannians. I find that to be a bargain."

Jeremiah was now pissed off. He had no way out of this other than to hand over Suzaku. His next best idea was to turn the crowd against Zero and make it look like he was insane.

"He's mad I tell you!" Jeremiah shouted. "Disguising his truck as his highnesses! He'll pay the prince for marking the crown!"

All of the Knightmare's machine guns pointed right Lelouch. Despite having bullets bigger than him pointed right at him, Lelouch continued to show no fear.

"Careful." He said. "You don't wish the public to learn of orange do you?"

"What?" He asked.

"Orange?" X asked himself.

Lelouch tapped his foot on the truck twice and the truck began to move forward. It moved so it was within 100 meters from the Sutherland.

"If I die, it'll go public." Lelouch said. "If you don't want that to happen…"

"What are you talking about?" Jeremiah said.

A piece of Lelouch's mask opened up to reveal a single eye. The Geass symbol appeared in it as Lelouch looked right at him.

"You'll let us all go free with all of your power." Lelouch said. "Your prisoner as well!"

Lelouch bestowed his Geass then upon Jeremiah. Jeremiah fell under the spell and became Lelouch's pawn in his game.

"All right." He said. "I understand. You there; release the prisoner."

"Lord Jeremiah!" Viletta shouted.

"He's letting him go?" X said. "He's seriously letting him go?"

X turned to look at Zero. Lelouch looked at him as he passed by to meet up with Suzaku.

I see. So Britannia itself is searching for Reploids themselves.

"Are we just going to let Suzaku go?" X said. He continued to point his arm buster at Zero, but made no move to fire until he received the order.

Suzaku was released from his stand and went over to where Lelouch was. Kallen and Zero walked up behind him, Zero making his best attempt to cloak himself from X. Lucky for him, X was more intent on blasting Zero and then arresting him while he was incapacitated so he didn't scan the cloaked the figure.

Suzaku went over to where Zero was and looked at him, trying to figure out what he had hoped to accomplish.

"So who are you supposed to…"

A bolt of electricity shot straight into Suzaku's brain. Suzaku gritted his teeth to avoid screaming, but the pain inside of him was pretty intense.

"I see." Lelouch said. "They forbid you to speak."

"Let's get that off of you." Zero said.

Zero activated his beam saber, and sliced the mechanism off of Suzaku. X looked at this figure in shock.

A beam saber!

"Zero." Kallen said. "It's time."

Lelouch pulled a detonator from his cape. The same one he used to take out that supply base.

"Well then; until next time." He said, pressing the button.

The machine opened up to reveal a pink gas like substance unleashing on the masses. The people suddenly realized they could be in the path of deadly gas and began running for their lives. The entire area became a panic as people ran from the bridge. Even the TV crews were running. Lelouch through the entire area into a panic. Viletta became angry with Zero as she pointed her gun at him in her Sutherland.

"You damned eleven!" She shouted.

Before she could fire, Jeremiah attacked her Sutherland, knocking the gun out of her hands.

"Lord Jeremiah!" She said in shock.

"Stay out of this!" He shouted.

"Don't worry my lady!" Two pilots said as the turned at Zero. "We'll get him!"

Zero turned around and pointed his newly constructed arm cannon under the cloak and fired two Z-Busters at the Knightmares. The Busters smashed into the Knightmares, causing them to explode on impact. If there wasn't a panic before, there was now.

Well…it worked better than I thought.

X stared at the cloaked figure in mere amazement. No mere blaster was strong enough to even remotely damage a Knightmare. He knew for a fact that only a reploid grade weapon would have been able to do that.

"That wasn't a bullet!" X shouted. "That was an arm cannon buster!"

X knew what this figure was. There could be no mistaking…it was a Reploid. He knew what he had to do. He grabbed his beam saber from his back and activated it as he charged at the cloaked figure.

"Stop; in the name of justice!" He screamed as he brought his saber down upon Zero.

However, Zero moved his saber up and deflected his.

"What!" X yelled as he and Zero fought to push the other's saber away. "He's so fast!"

"Stay out of this X!" Zero said. "Don't make me destroy you."

"Who are you?" X said.

Zero used his strength and pushed X away from him. Zero then leapt of the bridge like everyone else. X dashed over to the bridge to watch as the four beings fell down towards a train that was sitting there. A construction grade Knightmare fired a net on the wall that caught all four and stretched long enough for the four to land safely on the train.

"We did it!" Ohgi shouted for joy. "I can't believe we…ARGH!"

One of the surviving Knightmares attacked the Knightmare Ohgi was in. The bullets shattered the arm and legs clean off. Ohgi jettisoned the cockpit before the Knightmare took any more serious damage and became a threat.

"You think you can get away!" Guwel shouted.

"Lord Guwel!" Jeremiah shouted, pointing his Sutherland machine gun at his Knightmare. "Are you going against my orders? You better obey me! Because believe me, they're will be repercussions. Follow my orders! Do everything in your power to let them get away!"

"Lord Tohdoh!" A JLF member said. "Are you sure this Axl kid is a trustworthy ally?"

Axl at the time was merely getting to meet with the JLF within the last twenty-four allies. He proved his worth to the Liberation front by disguising as a Britannian scout using his transform ability and then tricking Britannia to send three Knightmares to a trap. Then, using a large sniper rifle that he created himself that instead of bullets, fired shells, disposing of all three Knightmares. Tohdoh then let Axl join the JLF as a mercenary. Axl asked for no money.

He just asked for a means of making something for himself.

"I have complete trust that Axl will be a valuable ally to the JLF as we continue our fight against Britannia." Tohdoh responded.

Axl at the time was busy fiddling around with several of the objects around the Dojo.

"Oh wow this looks nice." Axl said.

"Hey put that down!" A guard said.

"But it's pretty!" He said.

"I said put it down!" The same guard said as he charged at Axl.

Axl simply activated his thrusters and began to fly in the air. The guard was then jumping up in the air trying to catch Axl, but having no such success.

"Didn't think I could fly huh?" He said.

"Axl." Tohdoh said. "Please put that down. I would appreciate it if you didn't break everything in sight."

"Me break stuff?" He said with the vase and pistol in his hand. Axl began spinning the pistol around his finger. "Trust me. I am all about control."

While spinning though, Axl accidently pressed down the trigger and the gun began to fire bullets all around the room. Axl was now busy trying to get the pistol off of his finger while balancing the vase at one time. Everyone else (except for Tohdoh) ducked and covered. Axl eventually managed to get the pistol off his finger, but not after making a mess of things. Axl watched as everyone glared at him, including Tohdoh. He made an embarrassed chuckle and shrugged his shoulders.

"Heh heh." He laughed. "No one said I was perfect."

"Clean this mess up." Tohdoh.

"Yes sir." He said.

Suzaku meet with Lelouch in a private area in. It looked to be the ruins of a theater. Zero also was with Lelouch, staying behind him in case something happened. He kept his cloak down for he knew that this boy might know X and had no intention of making X know he was here. By firing those busters and killing those pilots, he knew X would condemn him.

"Your abilities are wasted with Britannia." Lelouch said disguised as Zero. "As well as your poor treatment. Britannia is rotten to the core. If you wish to change the world, join us."

"You…" Suzaku said. "Did you really kill prince Clovis?"

"This is war." Lelouch said. "Do I need a reason to kill my enemy?"

"What about the civilians?" Suzaku said. "You took them all hostage."

"Bluffing is an important negotiating tactic." Lelouch said.

"What people believed as poison gas was nothing more than mere colored smoke." Zero said. "Like the smoke bomb firework. If anything there's just going to be a weird smell there for a while."

"In the end, nobody died." Lelouch said.

"In the end?" Suzaku said. "I see. So that's how you think is it?"

"Come to me." Lelouch said. "Britannia is unworthy of your service!"

"That may be." Suzaku said. "But…"

Lelouch looked at Suzaku with a confused face. Of course, nobody could tell.

"That's why I want to change it! From within! To make it worthy!"

Change?

"I do not believe in a victory won through dishonest means." Suzaku said as he turned and walked.

"Wait!" Lelouch said. "Where are you going?"

"MY court martial is within an hour." Suzaku said.

"Don't be a fool." Zero said. "You're marching to your own death!"

"That may be." Suzaku said. "But it's the rules. If I don't go, the suffering will increase."

"You will die!" Zero shouted.

"I don't mind." Suzaku said.

"Are you an idiot!" Lelouch said.

"A friend once called me that." Suzaku said. "It may be my weakness, but I want to capture you. To beat you at your own game. If I must die, then I want to die for people. Thank you though. For saving me."

Lelouch just stared as Suzaku as Suzaku walked away from him. Suzaku didn't look back. Lelouch just stood there, stumped.

You…you idiot!

Lelouch tried to move forward, but Zero reached out his hand and stopped him from moving.

"Let him go." Zero said. "He's made his choice. All we can do is watch now."

Lelouch clutched his fist as he stood there in anger.