A week later, Zero had been put into a cell. Cornelia, Guilford, and Darlton opened the cell and went inside. They stood in front of Zero, who was sitting on the ground. Guilford looked at Cornelia, while noticing the ripped sleeves on her outfit.

Guilford said, "Your majesty, if you'd like to change before -"

Cornelia interrupted him, by saying, "This is an execution, not a fashion show." She folded her arms, while having a massive smile on her face. She said, "Zero, are you awake?"

Zero said, "Indeed I am. Before you get rid of me, I have an important question: How did you know I would try to make a sneak attack, tonight, at eleven p.m.?" Diethard walked in the room, while smiling. Zero felt disappointed, while saying, "Diethard Ried, you were a traitor."

Diethard shook his head and explained, "I told Princess Cornelia about your secret plan, because if I didn't, the fight would have been so boring. You would have had an easy victory and that's not how things are supposed to go. True heroes have to deal with the hardest of challenges. It makes their victories feel more exciting and genuine."

Zero said, "You seem to care more about the perfect broadcast, rather than Japan going back to being the perfect country."

Diethard replied, "No disrespect to Japan, but when it comes between a country and a broadcast, the broadcast gets my vote and my support."

Cornelia said, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Ried. You are now required to leave."

Diethard shook his hands in the air, while saying, "Hold on, your majesty. I have to see and record what happens next." Cornelia signaled to Guilford and Darlton, who escorted Diethard out of the cell.

Zero looked at Cornelia, while saying, "I'm betting you think you've accomplished some kind of outstanding victory, by putting me in here."

Cornelia paced around, while having her hands on her hips. She said, "I sure have succeeded. You see, Zero, you were a failure ever since you gave up on your country and started fighting against it."

Zero replied, "As soon as I learned what this country was about, I instantly started being against that. In a way, you could say I've never been a supporter of my own country."

Cornelia gave Zero a disapproving look, while saying, "That behavior is shameful and disloyal. Your disloyalty is as strong as Jeremiah's loyalty. He's robotic, yet, in a ironic twist, he's more human than you."

Zero asked, "Can you gush about orange-boy, some other time?"

Cornelia took a deep breath and started calming down, before saying, "I would normally be annoyed, by your rude remarks and cheap insults, but not this time, because this is your big finale. I hope you treasured your freedom and your life, while you had it, because you're about to lose both of those things."

Zero replied, "Ah, Cornelia. As usual, you think you've won, but you didn't. I'm still in control of the situation."

Cornelia scoffed and angrily frowned at Zero. She started feeling paranoid, even though she was trying to remain intimidating. She asked, "How could that be possible? You are trapped in a cell and are about to be sentenced to death and you're gullible and arrogant to think you're the winner in this situation?"

Zero answered, "Indeed I do."

Cornelia looked back at Guilford and Darlton, while saying, "It appears Zero has another trick up his sleeves."

Darlton had a grumpy expression on his face, while saying, "Frankly, I'm sick of his games."

Cornelia replied, "You aren't alone, Darlton. We must wrap up Zero's finale. We'll unmask him and stab him with our swords, as quickly as possible."

Guilford and Darlton nodded. Cornelia had an evil smile on her face, while walking closer to Zero. She started putting her hands on his mask, while saying, "This is your grand finale, my dear Zero. You will never get to outsmart the Britannians and act like a smug troublemaker, ever again." Cornelia took off Zero's mask and saw Lelouch's face. She, Guilford, and Darlton raised their eyebrows. Guilford and Darlton walked closer, so they could get a better look.

Guilford looked at Cornelia, while saying, "Your highness, this man looks like how your late half-brother, Lelouch, looked like, back when he was a child."

Lelouch replied, "I am Lelouch. However, I changed my last name to Lamperouge."

Cornelia looked confused, while asking, "How can it be you? The royals told me you died, during the night Lady Marianne and Princess Nunnally met their untimely end."

Lelouch replied, "Think about what you were told more clearly, Cornelia. Think about what our father told you."

Cornelia thought back to a time, where she was a young lady and was talking to her father, Emperor Charles, in the throne room. Cornelia walked up to her father, while looking concerned. She said, "Father, I heard what happened. Lady Marianne and her children are gone?"

Emperor Charles had an impatient look on his face, while replying, "Yes. That's common knowledge, at this point. Did you really have to visit me, to ask information you could get from anybody else?"

Cornelia felt embarrassed, while replying, "I'm sorry, father. Um, I heard a rumor, that Lelouch managed to get out it, alive."

Charles angrily grunted, while responding, "Lelouch is dead to me."

Cornelia said, "I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could have done."

Charles angrily stared at Cornelia. Cornelia started stepping away. Charles walked up to her, while saying, "If you wanted to be of use, you would of tried to prevent what happened, but you weren't even at the scene of the crime."

Cornelia replied, "But I had no idea the crime was going to happen."

Charles said, "You want to be a part of the Britannian military. You want to guard and protect this kingdom, yet you failed to do anything of value, when my kingdom was in more danger than ever before?!"

Cornelia nervously looked down, while saying, "I'm sorry."

Charles responded, "Countless amounts of people have been saying their sorry. It means less and less to me, the more I hear it. Now, get out of my kingdom, so I can go discuss my problems with people who can actually help me. If you want to be considered worthy of being one of my children, you will start following my orders and beliefs and will start doing something productive with your life."

After thinking about her rough memories, Cornelia stared at Lelouch, while saying, "It appears you were alive, this whole time. However, I fail to understand why one of Emperor Charles's own children would try to defeat the Britannian Empire. Are you a power-hungry tyrant, who wants to get rid of the old man and take over his empire?"

Lelouch replied, "I cringe at the thought of having that royal of a position. The Britannian kingdom is the most corrupt, misguided, and manipulative kingdom, that I've ever seen. That's why I became Zero, teamed up with the Black Knights, and started a war against all who oppose me." Lelouch spit on Guilford's glasses. Guilford took off his glasses, so he could wipe the spit off.

Cornelia said, "We must get rid of Lelouch, before he tries distracting us."

Lelouch made eye-contact with Cornelia, Guilford, and Darlton and started using his geass on them. He said, "I, Lelouch Lamperouge, also known as Zero, command you three to release all the members of the Black Knights. After you do that, you will pass-out and will not wakeup, until tomorrow morning."

Cornelia replied, "Okay, Lelouch, aka, Zero. Darlton, Guilford, let's go rescue the Black Knights and then get some sleep."

Darlton said, "As you command."

Guilford said, "Sounds like a nice plan."

Lelouch had a smug-looking smile on his face. Lelouch (talking in his head): "I can now laugh in your face, Cornelia. I wanted to get defeated and brought here. I couldn't stop you, without the use of my geass, but in order to do it, that would require direct eye-contact. Since I have to keep my identity a secret from my teammates, I had to be in a private area with you and you gave me that. Thank you, sister."

Cornelia, Guilford, and Darlton unlocked the cells the Black Knights were in. The Black Knights looked confused and a bit worried, but excited. After opening all the cells, Cornelia, Darlton, and Guilford yawned. Cornelia said, "Alright, guys. It's about time we got some sleep." Cornelia, Darlton, and Guilford got on the floor and fell asleep.

Cornelia, Guilford, and Darlton woke up. Instead of being in Cornelia's palace, they were in one of Japan's run-down streets. They looked around, while feeling confused. Cornelia helps Darlton and Guilford get up.

Guilford asked, "Where are we?"

Cornelia said, "We're in some garbage dump of an area."

Darlton stated, "We're certainly far away from the kingdom."

Guilford had a confused look on his face, while asking, "How did we get here?"

Zero walked up to him. Darlton reached for his sword, but it was no longer with him. Zero said, "Greetings, Cornelia and friends. I had you dragged out here and I had your weapons removed."

Cornelia gave Zero an angry look, while saying, "Lelouch, what the heck are you up to? If this actually an attempt to stop us, you are truly pathetic. There's no way you can escape your fate. The best you can do is delay your punishment, which is a pointless waste of time. Will you just surrender?"

Zero replied, "Cornelia, do you have any idea where we are?"

Cornelia took another look around and said, "I know we're not in Britannia, but I don't know where we are."

Zero answered, "This is Japan."

Cornelia said, "So, you brought us to a random area of Japan, that's in bad shape? Is that actually supposed to make me undergo some kind of guilt trip?"

Zero replied, "Yes, it is, but this isn't any random area. A lot of people live around here. Why don't you take a closer look, at the people living here?"

Cornelia walked around, while having a curious look on her face. She saw a Japanese mother and her two daughters. The three of them were clad in rags. They shivered, while looking like they were in poor health. Cornelia looked at Zero and said, "Don't get me wrong, Lelouch. This is a sad sight, but what does this have to do with me?"

Zero explained, "The woman you were looking at is a widow. She had a job, that helped get the bills paid, but didn't do much else. When Japan got changed to Area 11, our brother, Schneizel, had every working man and woman's paycheck lowered."

Cornelia asked, "Why would he do that?"

Zero explained, "Since Japan was treated as a random number, rather than a country of significance, Britannia was allowed to treat the Japanese as poorly as possible. Schneizel was no doubt excited about that and took advantage of Japan's declining economy, so he could afford new weapons to use on his enemies."

Cornelia could hardly believe what she was saying. She stayed in denial, while saying, "You're wrong about Schneizel. He's the kindest gentleman in the family. He's been a heck of a lot more noble than you've ever been."

Zero pulled a recorder out of his pocket. Cornelia and her knights stared at him, while wondering what he was planning. Zero explained, "This is a recording, that C. C. got from Professor Lloyd's laboratory."

Schneizel, talking in the recording, said, "Professor Lloyd, your eccentric talents will be most useful, in what I'm trying to build."

Lloyd, also talking in the recording), replied, "Oh, you have me intrigued. What are you building?"

Schneizel explained, "I need to develop a warhead, that could eliminate millions of people. With such a device, I could scare all countries into giving up on our current wars and any future wars."

Lloyd responded, "I see and what will you do, if the warhead doesn't intimidate them?"

Schneizel said, "Then we'll just have them eliminated. If anything, we'd be making the world a more peaceful. If a few countries and their citizens have to go in the process, it's a necessary evil."

Lloyd replied, "How delightfully frightening. I'll help you with that."

Zero looked back at Cornelia, whose eyebrows were raised in fear and surprise. Cornelia said, "I can't believe Schneizel would approve of such a thing."

Zero replied, "That's not all our family has caused. Look at the buildings across the street. I'll walk with you."

Zero showed Cornelia a row of buildings, which had been blown to bits. He said, "Prince Clovis heard a rumor, that a few spies, who were aiming to antagonize Britannia, lived in there. Clovis was too paranoid and uncaring, to look into the matter. He just had his men blow up the buildings, with everybody in it. Innocent adults, loving couples, kids, even babies lost their lives, for no clear purpose."

Cornelia looked horrified, while asking, "How many people lived in those buildings?"

Zero explained, "A few hundred. Britannia has cost even more Japanese people their lives. Britannia took away the Japanese's hospitals and health care plans. Hundreds of Japanese people die on a daily basis, just so the Britannians can have the worthless comfort of knowing their country is superior to Area 11. Let me ask you something, Cornelia: Can you really support a country that causes the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, a day? Can you sleep in your Britannian palace and truly feel content with yourself, while your siblings cause good people to lose everybody and everything they need?"

Cornelia said, "I could never support a country that allows that. I didn't know this was happening."

Zero said, "I see this sort of stuff, every day. On my drive to school, I saw people begging for money, Japanese people getting discriminated against, and innocent people losing hope in the world. This is what Britannia has caused and since you're the leader of the Britannian military, this is the sort of stuff you're responsible for." Zero signaled to C. C. C. C. made a noise, which led to dozens of scruffy-looking Japanese people walking in a crowd. They stood in front of a confused-looking Cornelia.

Cornelia asked, "Who are all these people?"

Zero explained, "These were all middle-class Japanese citizens. However, when Emperor Charles started enforcing discrimination and lack of funding for Japan, the middle-class became poor and the poor became more desperate than ever."

Cornelia fell to the ground, while looking emotionally devastated. Guilford and Darlton put their hands on her shoulders. Guilford raised his eyebrows, while asking, "What have we been doing?"

Darlton looked ashamed, while saying, "We've been trying to save our own country, but it never needed saving. Japan needed to be saved, because of the damage we brought to it."

Tears fell down Cornelia's face. Zero walked closer to her. Cornelia said, "Zero, you have proven your point. I never thought you could make me see things from a different perspective. I was always too stubborn, but in this case, there's no excuses or denying I can do. I've failed both Britannia and Japan. I ask that you spare Guilford and Darlton, but if you must, you may execute me."

Zero sternly replied, "No. That's not what I want from you, Cornelia. I could eliminate you or lock you up in a cell, but neither of those things would help Japan. You have the resources and the authority, to change both Britannia and Japan, for the better. You've lived the life of a villain and you've seen how miserable that's made you and the rest of the world. How about becoming a hero and joining me, in making the world a better place?"

Cornelia nervously smiled and shook hands with Zero. Cornelia faced the Japanese citizens, while saying, "I'm sorry. I used to think Britannia was superior to all countries. In fact, I used to believe what my father said, about this place not being worthy of being called a country. That was the biggest mistake of my life. Britannia isn't superior to any country. Some countries may more good people and resources than others, but at the end of the day, all countries are equal. I'm sorry I didn't realize that in time."

Zero replied, "You're still alive, so you still have time to make a difference, Cornelia. I admit I'm not rather fond of you and I know you're not crazy about me, but our petty differences don't matter, right now. I already used my geass on you, so I can't hypnotize you into following my path of saving Japan. That's a choice you have to make on your own."

Cornelia walked back to the Japanese mom and her two daughter that were still clad in rags. Cornelia softly said, "I think I can help you." She removed her military uniform. She handed her uniform to the mother and said, "You need this more than I ever will. Keep it." She also gave away her gloves, cape, and boots.

Cornelia was only wearing her underclothes, so the mother said, "You're going to freeze."

Cornelia confidently replied, "I'll be okay. Take care of your daughters."

The mother said, "I will. Thank you, young lady." The mother wrapped the cape around her daughters. The daughters smiled, while feeling cozier than before.

Cornelia walked back at Guilford and Darlton. Guilford blushed at the sight of a scantly-clad Cornelia. Cornelia looked at the Japanese citizens before facing Zero. Cornelia said, "I was never one to admit when I've been beat, but I suppose there's a first time for anything. How can I help?"

Zero replied, "Have the Britannian military join the Black Knights. With our two teams combined, nobody will be able to stand in our way."

Cornelia responded, "Okay."

Zero said, "First, you better put on some pants. You're embarrassing the whole family."

Cornelia looked amused, while asking, "I'm embarrassing the family? You're the one who calls himself a zero."

A day later, Zero, the Black Knights, and the Britannian military burst into Prince Schneizel's palace. Schneizel looked around and saw over a hundred people, who were in mechs and were armed with weapons. He nervously smiled and waved a surrender flag.

A while later, Zero was standing on a skyscraper, while saying, "Thanks to Princess Cornelia and I coming to an agreement, Prince Schneizel realized he was no match for us. He lost his royal title and he and got arrested for attempted murder. Our father, Emperor Charles, was a more stubborn and hard person to deal with. We had to fight off Charles' loyal protectors, the Knights of the Round. Things got even more complicated when Suzaku joined the team. I won the fight, but I lost a fight. Suzaku was arrested for his crimes, and I never saw him again. Emperor Charles suffered a heart attack, from putting too much pressure on himself. He died before I got to ask him who was really responsible for Marianne and Nunnally's deaths, but Charles's former top knight, Bismarck, claimed it was the work of Charles's late brother, V2. Cornelia inherited the position of Emperor from him."

Meanwhile, Cornelia was having a public conference, in her palace, where she shook the hand of Japan's Prime Minister. Zero said, "Empress Cornelia didn't take advantage of her power, for shady purposes, unlike our father did. She gave Japan their name and their freedom back. In fact, with her watchful eye, she made sure Japan was better off than ever before. Poverty was brought down, and she encouraged our relatives to start focusing on helping those less fortunate, rather than starting wars and arguing about who's superior. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm proud of her."