Chapter VIII

Creating a new path

13th of September

Three days before return to Aries Villa, Kamine Island

A small group, illuminated by some lights on the walls, was proceeding inside a cave.

"Where are we going?" Lelouch asked, looking around. Behind him were two guards, with their visors covering their eyes.

"You`ll see" Anya responded, escorting him. His mind recognised this cave as the same cave he 'took' Gawain. Some signs of battle were still here, like bullet holes on the columns and several crushed Sutherlands near the entrance. Gawain itself was probably taken, as any debris weren`t lying anywhere around.

She approached an old rock, which looked like a gate. Her hand guided his towards it, pressing his palm against the stone. Lelouch threw her a strange glance, like he was asking her for explanation. This sure looked like a gate, and it probably was, as he himself was intrigued by it, but her intentions remained quite vague.

As he pressed his hand against the gates, his mind felt a stream of different feelings reaching him. As he recollected himself, his surroundings completely disappeared, leaving him alone on a floating platform. Lelouch took a look around. This place seemed to be in the skies of something, with nothing below it. The two-level platform was decorated with all sorts of columns or elements of antiquity, connected together by stairs.

"Welcome again, Lelouch!" The person in question looked up to the source of the painfully familiar voice. Charles stood on the higher end of stairs, looking down on him. "I did promise you, that I would explain a lot of things later."

"And now is the time" Charles said, with a wave of a hand, as he went deeper into the temple. Lelouch scaled up the stairs, following him, taking a look around. "It is impressive, but why is this place important?" he asked.

"Because this is a weapon that will kill God!"

Charles then turned his back to Lelouch. The location begun to change, quickly changing the appearance to the old library, similar to the one in Pendragon`s palace. At the same time, Charles took one of the books from the shelf.

"To show what lies has humanity covered itself in. To show what the world is without all the masks and lies – that is what the Sword of Akasha is."

"Masks and lies are a part of humanity. They are ones, without which humanity cannot progress or even exist" Lelouch smirked.

"And with that in mind, why have you tried to seek truth? First after Marianne`s murder you demanded it from me, and now from Clovis." Lelouch took a step back, with his face surprised. "If lies are a part of everything, then what had driven you to try to uncover what they had hidden?

Before you ask – yes, I spoke with Clovis, the day after you killed him. Must admit, he was a failure of a ruler, but with a pull of a trigger you killed your brother, whom you held dear before your childish tantrum 7 years ago. The truth is – you didn`t kill him only because of the blood on his hands"

Lelouch faced him again, with fury written all over his face. "And that is better than to send you children to a country you`re planning to invade? I`ve seen what Britannia brought to a once peaceful nation, and what Clovis was doing may be normal for someone, who never observed real combat, but not for me. The ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!

You said yourself to me, that your youth was spent in the bloodiest decade for the Royal Family, with assassinations and plots everywhere. So tell me, as I spent my childhood with no support, with danger both from Japanese and Britannian armies, supporting my sister, how can I not enter the path of blood? How can Clovis`s death be of any importance to stop your tyranny from devouring millions more?"

He looked his father in the eyes, meeting little understandement, as if this wasn`t that important or even truthful. "For a child, who lived in lies, such words are to be expected" Charles slightly turned to him, placing the book back on the shelf. "You do not understand, what this project will bring to humanity. What wonders could`ve been achieved, had we lied off all of our masks! Ability to reconnect with the loved ones, sharing wisdom with the people of the past – this world will be much better than the one we have" He met his gaze. "Surely, you would see benefits of it, as we both looked death in the eyes."

"Or rather you do not understand, how little good it will do to the world. It will make humanity stagnant!" Lelouch retorted. "This will be a world of the past, with insufferable present and with no future! This will be a world, where death and life are both meaningless. A world, where you would have no individuality, no privacy of your own mind!"

Silence fell between the two, as both continued to glare at each other. A small grin formed on Charles`s face.

"Convincing you was as hard as I expected it to be. However, you will come to realize how future lies with Ragnarok Connection, how it will make death a small nuisance than a tragedy"

Lelouch twitched a brow.

Charles turned his head to the seemingly empty dark corner of the room.

"Marianne, you can come in"

The same day

The Black Knights submarine

Jeremiah proceeded through the submarine, now with no care for stealth. C.C. did get him a highest security clearance, on level of Tohdoh or Diethard. He knew a lot and there was no easy was to extract information off him. Who could physically torture invincible cyborg?

In the end, fate is truly the biggest joker ever. He, a dignified Britannian military officer, once holding position of Interim-Viceroy, who had officially KIA in Narita, now wandered through halls of the base, belonging to a man, who singlehandedly annihilated any reputation he had. Moreover, Jeremiah now was a one of the high-ranking officers within the Black Knights, with knowledge of so many things that most of his now-comrades were not acquainted with.

It was nice that most of the Black Knights had a party, because meeting a leader of Purist Faction in the hall of your base might be confusing at best. Jeremiah tried to recount, whether anybody was acting strange, as he forgot to limit the radius of his Geass Canceller, but nothing particularly strange had happened.

He reached the command bridge, which should`ve been mostly unmanned, as he spotted several officers from it on the party. As Jeremiah opened the door, he instantly saw a person inside of it reaching for his katana.

Unsurprisingly, Tohdoh was standing on his post as a commander of the submarine, and he didn`t seem to leave himself unarmed. Something a normal person would do after being captured and almost executed.

Tohdoh took his stance, with his blade directed at the intruder. Jeremiah thought to unsheathe his own blades, but ultimately decided against it.

"Jeremiah Gottwald. To what I owe this unexpected visit?" Tohdoh spoke, with resolve in his voice.

"Kyoshiro Tohdoh. I shouldn`t`ve been surprised to see you here, your reputation does speak for itself" Jeremiah stood against him, with no hints of aggression. "Though we were enemies, it`s no longer the case. Britannia is rotten, and I will help my lord to change it."

Tohdoh didn`t move an inch. "I have no trust in you, especially to such sudden 'defection'. I don`t see a reason to trust you".

"You don`t have to." Jeremiah continued, stopping for a second to gather his thoughts. "I came here with orders to kill Zero, but now, as my eyes were unclouded, I find my place here, as his faithful servant."

Tohdoh narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly. "How can I believe you? As long as I remember, you were loyal to Britannia to the core. What makes this sudden change?"

"Because of her, the guest, identity of whom you have to know" Jeremiah hinted, as Tohdoh closed his eyes and nodded. "I had to guess this was your motivation, even though your reasons to join aren`t close to mine or to most of the Black Knights." Tohdoh thought for a moment, seeing no benefit for hostilities to remain. "If your loyalties are true," he sheathed his katana, "then I`m welcoming you into our organization. I believe others aren`t informed of your arrival?"

Jeremiah nodded. "With this, I have to leave. I hope others will be willing to speak with me without quickly jumping to the conclusions."

'The Black Knights are now leaderless, though the structure His Highness made is brilliant. But who will lead the organization?' As his mind raced through this question, his eyes fell on a lone Indian woman, and he got an idea.

Lelouch was confused. The temple could`ve been manipulated, and he himself saw how much it could change almost seamlessly. There were thousands of possibilities of what he sees, how it could be faked.

But he knew, that it wasn`t.

"Hello again, Lelouch! I hope I didn`t interrupt you two". She eyed both of them, with her playful tone still present. She wore everything she had on normal day. Light brown dress, the same shoes, even the hairstyle was the same. But she was meant to be dead!

"Mo…" Lelouch found himself stuttering. His initial doubts were leaving him, as she truly was Marianne.

"Yes, I am. It must be surprising to see me again, but these are the benefits of the system!" Marianne curtsied, after pointing at the Sword of Akasha.

"When the Ragnarok Connection will be initiated, there is a chance for her to return to her body" Charles added. "This is another benefit of this plan."

Lelouch was still shocked. "But… why, what was the point of it? She died, I saw her die!"

Charles looked at her, as if he was seeking support. As Marianne nodded, he sighed.

"Because, that wasn`t the full story."

"So, the experiment is a success," Rakshata took another puff, as she read through the new data. Her new 'test subject' swiftly left the area, without her catching the sound of it. "Working with projects made by complete buffoons isn`t my hobby, but with a few fixes this one may be worthy of being called my work."

Lelouch was flabbergasted. Not only the projects the emperor told him about was insane – it was pretty much normal, as he himself held mind-controlling abilities and had an immortal accomplice – but seeing his mother alive again, and to hear her support Charles`s idea was…incomprehensible.

Charles turned to him, with a glimpse of sadness in his eyes. "As you knew it, Marianne wasn`t killed by terrorists, but by my brother, V.V. That day she was to meet him, in regards of the Ragnarok, so she withdrew all of her guards. Who knew, that even though he was older than me, he could throw a tantrum, by shooting her and destroying everything we worked so hard on!"

Teenager fell in thought for a moment. "So, only you two and him knew of all of this?" He swung his arms, pointing at the Sword of Akasha. "You haven`t consulted anybody?"

"No, Bismarck also knows about it, as well as a portion of Geass Order," Charles responded. Marianne threw a suspicious glance, as he didn`t mention C.C. "So, what is your final decision on what I presented to you? Will you join us in recreating this world anew, as the future lies behind Ragnarok Convergence, that we have been building for more than 20 years?"

Lelouch sighed, letting his arms fall. "No. All of this – is not what humanity wants. You spent big part of your life building it, but you haven`t considered whether it is really a solution." He then looked him in the face. "You haven`t lived through what I lived, haven`t spoken to the people whom you happen to rule, completely disregarded human nature, and why would I choose your plan?"

Behind that stoic mask, he could see anger flashing through Charles. "I won`t be repeating myself now, but this is sad how much you fell into your idealism."

As he spoke, he could see something familiar flaring red appearing in the emperor`s eyes. Marianne, who stood on his left, hasn`t spotted anything, until it was too late.

"You will learn, how much have you been mistaken. And with it, Lelouch vi Britannia, I`m erasing your memories about Ragnarok, about Marianne, Nunnally and your stay in Area 11. You will be nothing more than a broken shell. However, you will keep your memories of being Zero, as you will prove your worth to me as a punishment."

Marianne dropped her mask, as she turned to face Charles. "Charles, this is too far, we must convince him to join, maybe even at least force him from interrupting it, but not with this!"

Lelouch, in the meantime, tried to break away from his gaze, but his limbs felt numb, and his legs weren`t obeying him.

Charles paid her no attention to her, as he continued. "With it I`m, Charles zi Britannia, sealing your new and altered memories of a different life!"

An ear-piercing scream was heard throughout the temple.

16th of September, Tokyo Settlement

Charles looked up, to the stars. He never was a stargazer, despite Marianne and most of his children were. Just now, he had to somehow to calm himself.

Lelouch was for far too long outside the court. They`d devour him easily. If a word came out about his arrival... Let`s say, that V.V. wouldn`t be the only one seeking out to kill him. Worst of all, Lelouch is far from understanding it. Or he simply distrusted him too much to trust about his decisions.

Something within his son really was resisting his will. Perhaps, there is a lot of room to coerce him in the right direction even after this, though his son may be slightly more stubborn after he used Geass on him.

In such moments, Charles could wish for a cigarette, but dying from lung disease before achieving his ideal world would be too bad to even laugh at.

'Second checkpoint passed. Halfway done'

Mark passed guard after guard, as they were letting him through. Initially, he planned to reach the warehouse in one of the supply trucks, but reinforced security and CCTV cameras inside he ultimately decided against it. Firstly, he dropped off near the gates, opening them and cautiously proceeded further.

Everything proceeded as planned, in some parts even ahead of schedule. Nobody seemed to report him or neither he saw any dogs nearby. However, his gut seemed to scream at him to return.

Mark heard some car noises, as he approached the main entrance. He retreated out of their sight as a precaution, though they would doubtfully see him. What was his surprised to see a Knight of Six accompany his target, as well as an unknown red-head.

Plan A meant him entering the main hall, and waiting until opportunity comes, but now he had to rethink his plans. Information on the mission told where his objective should be placed, so he could still enter through different door and still be successful.

His eyes flared red for a second. The guards on duty stood straight, not dropping hold on their weapons and looking for any possible dangers, with only barely visible red rings on their eyes. That meant he could move again and deal with his task faster.

They weren`t lucky, as they weren`t informed of that small power Mark had.

Or so Mark expected it to be. He knew his power wouldn`t work on his boss, but these soldiers would have no opportunity to somehow be invulnerable to it.

At the same moment he stood a step away from entering, he saw his eyes in the reflection on the doorhandle turn blue. The confusion this detail brought for a second to him was important. Why was that important? Because, as he later reflected, the punch from the guard on his left that knocked him down could`ve been easily avoided.

An unknown figure was silently observing the palace before him.

Usually, he`d try to enter normally, passing through checkpoints, but the orders forbade him from it. So now he was forced to sit in bushes, waiting for the right moment.

When he saw a young boy moving unnoticed through the grounds, he understood why he was ordered to firstly observe Aries Villa from safe distance. He followed him without making any noise or leaving any hints at his presence.

His temper to only observe him was failing, as firstly his target entered the Villa, escorted by Lady Alstream of all things, and secondly as he saw that young boy trying to enter the palace from the side entrance.

His mechanical eyes confirmed the boy is within his range, as he used his Geass Canceller. Sight of that poor agent getting knocked down and held to the ground made him satisfied.

He still should visit Lelouch soon, as he was ordered.

On the base

Tohdoh stood before the other officers of the Black Knights, with an announcement.

"Because of recent events that you all know about, as well as newcomers entering the organization, there are new changes to the command structure." The audience carefully listened, as the battle with the emperor left them quite shaken.

"Firstly, Zero is captured. We found an alternative to temporarily replace the person behind the mask. She is preparing for her role, but the High Command of the Black Knights will have to step up in the matters of responsibilities, as she herself isn`t that competent in leadership. Who will replace Kozuki as the leader of the Zero Squad is still under question." Tohdoh then took a remote control for the TV. "All of this changes don`t mean that the efforts to get them back will be stopped.

In this task, we found the unlikely ally. Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald is currently in the Britannia Proper under the orders to get communication with Commander Zero"

The announcement was hard to believe. They knew some information would be at the very least strange, but to have a former occupation leader as an ally was not the thing they expected to hear.

Chiba was speechless. Tamaki was the first to ask. "Wait-wait-wait, you mean we sent a literal Britannian bastard who hates our guts to rescue Zero? If he was only Britannian it`d still be stupid! I`m against it!" Diethard was confused to hear his former part-time ally to be on his boat yet again. "While I`m not supporting everything Tamaki said, why did Gottwald decided to help us? His loyalty towards Britannia and to the Royal Family was unshakeable as I recall."

"Dealing with him as an ally is not something I wanted, but now our goals had aligned. His loyalties and motives are completely different from ours, but he still is loyal to Zero."

'So something about Orange was truth, after all.' Diethard smirked, 'I`m curious what had Zero found so incriminating on him that he completely betrayed Britannia.'

Tohdoh then opened a folder, lying on the table "This is an official report of Britannian losses during Narita operation, presented to Cornelia and also gotten by our agents," A Britannian military insignia was clearly visible on the outside, "From it, Jeremiah Gottwald is officially considered to be KIA during Kozuki`s initial assault. If they don`t expect him to be alive, then this is another positive factor to the success of operation"

He placed the folder back, returning to the other topics. "For now, we are to continue to recover and gathering strength."

"But, Colonel, isn`t the emperor here with the reinforcements? I doubt Britannians would think twice to attack us yet again" Asahina spoke. "As well as his arrival does give us a lot of opportunities" Diethard added.

"The emperor is here, but most of the forces will be protecting him for some time. Killing him will be near impossible. He isn`t an honorable man by any means, but falling to his level will be counter effective."

"But before that, we actually do have a plan for the near future," newly-appeared Zero spoke up, entering the room. Zero quickly gathered the attention, before revealing a quite ambitious plan. "Let`s see how much Britannia has lost its guard."

...

Lelouch was angry. Whoever planned this assassination attempt couldn't've been less lucky to face his wrath right now.

The issue with Charles was far from being resolved. The matter of his mother sometimes retaking control over Anya`s body was also unnerving. He was sure she didn`t reappear during the events in the villa. Marianne could be both an ally and an enemy should he misunderstand her interests.

There was also Kallen. She wasn`t showing it, but he dropped a lot for her to process. In her eyes, he is simply a royal, who took charge of the resistance and who could sell all their efforts to Pendragon should his interests change. Lelouch knew that he should speak with her again.

Distance between him and the Black Knights couldn`t been greater, both mentally and physically. In case such situation happens (as it did), C.C. was to establish contact with him, ideally retrieving him from the Britannia.

He smirked. Situation was far from what he wanted, but perhaps it can be exploited.

A/N: That`s it, for now. Should`ve posted this on 29th of February, but not everything happens the way some may wish.

There is already some vision formed behind this story. I can only hope that I won`t fail to properly guide this story to a proper intended finale.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.