2009-12-08 03:35![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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code_geass
inulovinkit.livejournal.com in code_geassFINALLY got this finished.
Rating:PG-13.
Summary: So, what would have happened if Suzaku had received the Geass in Stage 1 instead of Lelouch?
Chapter 1 here
It wasn’t unusual to see a group of Britannian schoolchildren wandering around Pendragon. The city was the largest in all of Britannia, after all. It was near the end of the day when the schools were just getting out—and groups of three or four of them would sometimes, while talking and laughing about their day, wander a bit too close to the royal district.
This was one of those times.
The guard on duty gave a sigh as the teenagers continued to wander and talk, without any care that they were too close to the royal household to be ignored.
“Oh come on, you can’t be serious, can you? I bed he’s never even picked up a basketball in his life!” the green-haired girl chuckled, the black haired boy next to her glaring.
“I’m serious! When he used to play with all of us when we were little—shame, though, he always lost—“ the pink haired girl continued, getting a laugh from the brown-haired boy next to her.
“I did not always lose!”
“Oh yes you did, even the youngest among us could always beat you!”
His annoyed mutter trailed into the distance, as the two girls continued to laugh. The embarrassed boy slammed his fist against the fence in annoyance—
And that is when three royal guards descended. “Excuse me!” they ordered at once, surrounding the teenagers, though they did not draw their weapon as protocol ordered—they were just kids, after all. “Walking this side of the street is strictly prohibited, surely you know that.”
All four of the teenagers looked at each other. “Really? I didn’t know about that.”
“It’s all right,” the most senior of the guards said, in hopes of not alarming them. “If you would just vacate this street, we’ll forget it ever happened.”
“You’re right about that,” one of the boys spoke up. As the three guards looked to him, a smirk grew on his face, as he reached up towards his eye.
“Just a pistol?” C.C. complained, examining the weapon. “You’d think that the fence guards would have a little something more…automatic.”
“It’s no better than what we have already,” Suzaku muttered, kicking the body that they had dragged into an alley nearby. “In fact, I think our guns are better. They have less likely of a chance of getting stuck in a cinch. All we can use them for is to take their armor for a disguise.”
Lelouch rolled his eyes. “You can, at least. C.C. and Euphie won’t fit in it and with my geass, I don’t need that—”
“Speaking of Euphie,” Suzaku glared, grabbing Lelouch roughly about the arm. “Did you have to do that right in front of her? She didn’t have to see it!” Green eyes glanced toward the end of the alleyway, where a distraught Euphie sat at the end, forcing herself not to look at the bodies hidden inside.
“Are you suggesting I asked the men politely to come get in the alleyway before I gave my order?”
“Well, with a geass like yours, you might have been able to—”
Lelouch shrugged out of Suzaku’s grip, matching his best friend’s glare. “You already warned Euphie what we might have to do here. No, I don’t want my sister seeing this, but there was no other choice. She knows that the only way to take back Britannia is to fight for it.”
Suzaku said nothing, but only turned away to check back on Euphie, still not convinced that Lelouch’s way was the right way. Still, what else could they do? They had to get into Pendragon castle somehow.
“Lelouch,” C.C. put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Suzaku’s just worried about her…After all, with what she went through—”
“I know.” He did not want to get reminded about it again. The second they had decided to set out for Britannia, he had to deal with Suzaku lecturing him that Euphie wasn’t ready, despite the latter’s protests. When he explained the plan, Suzaku protested again, though Euphie said it was all right. Suzaku was only looking out for her, and despite the fact that Euphiemia was Lelouch’s own sister, perhaps Suzaku had earned the right as her protector.
It wasn’t like Lelouch had done the greatest job when he had his turn.
No, he had to stop thinking about it… He closed his eyes. He had to stay calm. Everything depended on this plan going off without a hitch. Rescuing Nunnally—and setting the world right. He couldn’t allow petty weakness to get in his way.
Opening his eyes once more, he said, “Come on, we have to hurry and get a move on—they’ll notice a few of their guards will have escaped soon—”
It was interesting how many guards believed that a group of three Britannian schoolchildren had special permission to go on a tour of the Pendragon castle—as long as there was an official guard with them. It was quite hard for Lelouch to keep himself from smirking as they were led deeper and deeper into the castle.
Interestingly enough, no one seemed to notice that the “tour” merely consisted of said teenagers being led into the Knight of Rounds quarters.
“No one around?” Suzaku muttered underneath the heavy guard uniform.
“Nope. Camera’s looking the other way. Hurry up and do it!”
Suzaku slid the keycard through the slot next to the door of the former Knight of Seven’s room. Instead of the little beep they were used to, the door did not budge as a red light on the slider flickered on.
“Damn it, guess this won’t work…” Suzaku pressed another button as a keypad emerged from the wall.
“Remember your password?” Lelouch asked, glancing towards they keypad. Though he couldn’t see Suzaku’s eyes under that helmet, he was sure they were giving him a glare. A second later, Suzaku typed in “FOREUPHIE”.
A small little beep, and the door slid open.
“Quick!” Suzaku whispered as the girls slipped in. Lelouch, however, paused before hurrying inside.
“For Euphie?” he raised an eyebrow.
Suzaku shoved him inside. He wasn’t about to give an answer for that.
“Well, anything missing?” asked Lelouch as Suzaku doffed the heavy, sweaty helmet.
“Doesn’t look like it—I think they wanted to confirm me dead or a traitor before they clean out this room.” Suzaku cast a glance around the small room—yep, his spare uniforms were still in the closet, spare weapons still stowed, and—he gulped, hoping Euphie didn’t notice too quickly—pink lock of Euphie’s hair still on his nightstand, right next to a picture of the princess.
Yep, he blushed, turning away quickly, he really hoped she didn’t notice that too soon.
“So, we all know the plan?” Lelouch sat on the bed, which, he noticed, was still unmade—like Suzaku had jumped out of bed at the order that Zero was afoot. Suzaku was at least thankful that Lelouch, skinny as he was, was able to block the view of a certain few embarrassing items on his nightstand.
“Lelouch, you ran us through it seven times on our way over, I doubt we could mess it up if we wanted to by now,” C.C. chuckled.
“I’m just making sure that the plan will go flawless, Witch,” glared Lelouch.
“There is a point where that borders on obsessiveness.”
“You—“
“Lelouch,” Suzaku cut him off, Knight of Rounds uniform in hand. “Don’t worry, we know what to do.”
“I should hope that you do,” Lelouch told him pointedly. “You have the most important job of all.”
And Suzaku, breaking the serious tone, gave him a smirk back, “And who else should you trust with that but your loyal knight?”
Lelouch stared a moment, before smirking back. “Of course.”
Suzaku left for that small bathroom to change, while Lelouch went through the plan one last time so he could be absolutely there were no errors.
“Suzaku will distract the guards—if necessary, he’ll use his geass to give us a bigger time window if needed. And C.C., you will…?”
C.C. sighed, yes they really were going to have to recite this whole thing again, weren’t they? “I’ll head with you to the main security room. Once inside, the men will be geassed instantly. Then I will stay to monitor the guards’ while you leave to rescue Nunnally.”
“Right. I’ll find out where she is in the main security room. I’ll head down there alone. I’ll probably need to use my Geass in a pinch, but I don’t want to use it more than necessary. I’ll find Nunnally and save her—then once I give the signal, we will all head to the throne room. That is where I will announce to the world that Lelouch vi Britannia has claimed the throne as Emperor.”
“Um…” It was now time for Euphie, who had been mostly silent, to speak up. “Do I really have to stay here?”
What was she up to? “With all the castle in a rush to stop us, it will be safer if you stay here,” Lelouch explained. “We can leave you with a weapon in case of problems, but if the door is locked, no one will think of—”
“But, I don’t want to stay and hide! I don’t want to hide while you all are risking yourselves for this!”
“Euphie…?” By now, Suzaku had come out of the bathroom, dressed once again in his Knight of Seven uniform, dumbfounded by her words. “But…here you won’t…you won’t have to see it. It’ll be a very bloody battle, Euphie.”
She stood up, annoyed. Why did both of them have to treat her like a child! “I am prepared for that! Earlier, it took me off guard, but if that is what it takes to rescue Nunnally, then I am prepared for it. This is my country, too, you know! I don’t…” By now, she started twirling a lock of her pink hair in her fingers; a nervous gesture. “I don’t know exactly what happened over the past year, but I know that this country is not the same one that I left. I want to help change it, too.”
Both C.C. and Suzaku looked at her in surprise, having never expected to hear those words from her. Lelouch, however, seemed to almost expect something like this. “Please, Lelouch, let me do something. I want to fight, too.”
Lelouch sighed, and then stood up as well. “This is a battle, Euphie. Are you prepared for what you might have to see? People will die.”
If anything, that served to strengthen her resolve. “I am.”
“If I send you out there, you’ll have to take a gun. In a worst case scenario, you might have to shoot someone, can you do that?”
“Lelouch!” Suzaku glared, cutting him off. Lelouch met his friend’s eyes, but didn’t change his expression. This was something that needed to be asked.
Euphie hesitated; of course she would. A gun is something she should never have to hold. But this was a desperate gambit, in hopes of a better world where she wouldn’t need to even look upon such a thing. “I’m…prepared.” Before all of their eyes, she bowed to him, reminding Lelouch of that time a year ago, when Zero bowed before her after promising to serve as her knight. “Please let me serve you, Your Majesty.”
Even Lelouch couldn’t keep a straight face after that. “Get up, Euphie,” he said, serious face cracking to a small smile. “If you want to go, then you can go with C.C. to take command of the security room, but stay with her at all times, you understand?”
Euphie nodded. “Of course.”
“All right,” Lelouch grabbed his gun from where he had set it down beforehand. “We’re going to have to get moving soon—before people get too suspicious about the missing guards—”
Apparently, only C.C. had heard him. He heard Suzaku telling Euphie, “You don’t have to do this—”
“Suzaku, I want to.”
“But it’s dangerous! You could get killed or—” He grabbed her by the shoulders and almost shook her, hoping that would wake some sense into her.
“I’m not going to be left behind! I want to rescue Nunnally as much as the rest of you, and I want to do my part!” Her determined face was reminiscent of a face Lelouch saw at the Special Administrative Zone of Japan…just before everything went wrong…
“Perhaps we should give them a few moments?” C.C. smirked to herself, grabbing Lelouch and pulling him towards the door. Lelouch scowled a little bit, but nevertheless followed her out without complaint.
“Euphie…” Suzaku still wasn’t quite ready to allow this. He had already seen her gunned down in one firefight. He didn’t want to see it happen again.
“It’ll be all right,” She smiled. “With you and Lelouch working together, you will make a miracle.”
Make a miracle…? Suzaku gave a sigh. That was right. If he and Lelouch worked to accomplish this plan, they could do the impossible, isn’t that what they always said? “All right, just…just be careful. I don’t want to lose you again.”
After that, he gave her a kiss for courage, but in his mind, he was pleading, Euphie, you came back from the dead to me. Don’t you dare leave me again!
“All finished?” Lelouch snidely remarked as Suzaku and Euphie came out of the room. Euphie blushed; Suzaku shot him a none-of-your-business glare.
“Fine, anyway, Suzaku, you know what to do,” Lelouch nodded. Suzaku nodded back and drew his sword from his belt.
“Keep an eye on Euphie,” he said, glancing desperately at C.C.
“I’ll keep my word,” answered the green-haired witch.
With one last look at Euphie, Suzaku took off down the hallway.
“All right, this way,” Lelouch shuffled the girls in the other direction, handing Euphie a spare gun to keep at her side. He hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
For a few minutes, they heard nothing. No one must have spotted Suzaku yet. Though there were a few odd encounters—without their “guard” escorting them, a group of three Britannian students (Britannian students dressed in the uniform of Ashford Academy, a school in Area 11, no less) was sure to arouse suspicion. Luckily, well placed “Ignore us” geasses were quite effective.
“Okay, we’re almost at the stairs,” C.C. whispered. “Now we go to the bottom floor and take a left—”
That was when the security alarm rang out overhead. “Intruder in the Palace!” From the floors above, they could hear the rush of soldiers in Suzaku’s direction.
“Looks like they noticed Suzaku,” Lelouch smirked. Good…now all the soldiers would be heading towards him instead of where they were heading. “Let’s get moving.”
Euphie closed her eyes and sent up a small prayer as they hustled into the stairwell. Suzaku…
Shots rang out—The bullets barely whizzed above his head. They were all too slow!
“You dare fire upon a Knight of Rounds!” he roared, rushing towards the first few and slicing at them with his sword.
They cried in pain, as their blood sprayed across the walls of that corridor. That’s what you get for trying to fight a superhuman, Suzaku smirked to himself.
More shots; more times he dodged. Now he grabbed his pistol and fired back—another guard fell, as one more came to take his place.
Now, he would just have to keep this up until he got the signal—then everything would be won.
“Suzaku!” shouted a voice he recognized.
For a second, Suzaku stopped shooting, looking up at the one that approached. He gasped out, “Gino?”
The Knight of Three glared back as he approached, calling the guards to a halt. “Suzaku, we thought you died on Kamenejima.” His trademark smile was nowhere to be found.
“Well, I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking.”
“Don’t give me that!” roared Gino in a way that Suzaku didn’t think was possible. “Your knightmare was never found! There were rumors that it was seen crossing into Japan! You deserted, and now you come back here to attack Britannia itself!”
“That’s right. I’m surprised you got that much—I always thought you were a bit thick,” Suzaku snarled back.
“You’re an idiot if you think this will do any good!” Gino drew his own sword, glaring daggers back at his former friend. “Why betray your country anyway! This is just a suicide mission!”
“All the better.” Suzaku was tired of this pointless talk; he rushed towards Gino and slashed—the other Knight parried without so much as a struggle.
“Why do you insist on doing this?” Gino continued. “What are you trying to do?”
Suzaku swung his sword again, this time with enough force to knock the Knight of Three back. When Gino recovered, he saw Suzaku, standing before him, sword pointed right at his face.
“I want to build a better world,” was all the answer Suzaku was willing to give him, before swords clashed once again.
The door to the Main Security room was kicked open, before any of the men in the room had a chance to fire their weapons, the Geass was already upon them. “Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to follow his every order!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The soldiers stood ready and waiting as Lelouch, C.C. and Euphie filed into the room, Euphie looking nervously at the geassed soldiers a moment before catching up with the other two.
“Here,” C.C. handed Lelouch an earpiece while she took up a headset. “I’ll watch the cameras for you.”
“Thanks, Witch,” he smirked. “But keep an eye on Suzaku, too.”
“Who do you think I am?” she put the headset on, sitting at the main console. “I look out for all those that have contracts with me.”
Lelouch could only give his accomplice one last smrik before turning back to Euphie. She glanced around, looking a bit out of place. “Euphie? Will you be all right?”
She nodded. “I’ll…I’ll be okay. After all, I’m with Miss C.C., right?” she attempted a smile. “You just go rescue Nunnally, Lelouch.”
He nodded. “Right…” That’s right…he couldn’t spend all his time worrying about Euphie—that was Suzaku’s job. He had to go save Nunnally. That was more important.
“The hallway is clear,” C.C. turned back to him, “You should go now. Nunnally is on the third level dungeons, the largest of all the cells.”
Placing the earpiece in his ear, Lelouch turned back to the geassed soldiers. “Now, we will go rescue Princess Nunnally.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the soldiers obeyed, as Lelouch, their new master, led them on.
After a few long, silent minutes, Euphie came up to the screen, next to C.C. and asked, “How is Suzaku?”
“He’s fine right now—he’s fighting another Knight of Rounds, but he seems to be holding his own.”
“Oh…Good…” Still, Euphie didn’t like this. Whenever Suzaku went into combat, sometimes he got a little bit…self-sacrificing.
C.C. saw her fear. “You needn’t worry about Suzaku. He won’t do anything stupid. Lelouch took care of that.”
“Lelouch?”
“You don’t think Lelouch would just sit there and let his best friend kill himself, do you?”
“No…but…” Lelouch really did take too much on his shoulders. At least once he rescued Nunnally, then they would finally get some time to rest.
Finally, they could create that perfect world they had all been wishing for, right?
Suddenly, the door burst open. “There they are!” two soldiers with large, menacing guns charged in. C.C. barely had time to turn around and draw her weapon, the soldiers already had their fingers on the trigger—
Two shots rang out. Two bodies hit the floor.
C.C. let out a breath she had been holding, lowering her gun. She had only fired one shot.
Euphemia dropped the gun that she had just fired, breathing heavily as she stared at the bleeding and dead guards in the hallway—one of them that she had just shot. One of them she had just killed.
But but—she didn’t mean to! It’s just they burst in and then they had guns and they raised them and she was scared so all she could think of was to do something and she had a gun in her hands and then—
Euphie fell to her knees, still staring in terror at those bodies in front of her. Oh God, she really did just—
With a sigh, C.C. walked over to her. Well, she couldn’t very well have the girl freak out when they were in the middle of a serious operation like this. “They would have killed you if you hadn’t done it,” she reminded her. “You did the right thing.”
“But…But I…” She had just killed! It was’t right! She wasn’t a killer! She wasn’t—!
The gun felt so heavy in her hands, but she couldn’t put it down…Another shot and blood splashed across her face, but that didn’t matter as long as she did her task…
Euphie let out a gasp, clutching the side of her head as the images flashed across her brain. “Hey, you all right?” C.C. grabbed her across the shoulders trying to shake it out of her. “What’s wrong with—?”
Suzaku being shot in the leg, crying, pleading…looking at her in disbelief…
Lelouch pointing a gun right at her, eyes flowing tears…no, this was…
Hadn’t he asked her…?
The Japanese running in terror, crying out as they were gunned down…
Japanese…
“Hey!” When C.C. shook her again, Euphie’s eyes shot wide open. The witch gasped in shock. The princess’s eyes were ringed with red.
He had asked her to, didn’t he?
Kill all the—
“Hey!” C.C. shook her one last time, causing her to blink. And when she blinked, the red was gone from her purple eyes.
She came to, and didn’t quite understand that worried look on the witch’s face. “Miss C.C.?”
C.C. had to shake that away fast. Now, with everything so at stake, she bringing it up wouldn’t help. “It’s nothing.”
Looking back at the bodies in the doorway, she said, “We’ll have to drag them inside before anyone noticed.”
“D-Drag them?” Euphie did not look thrilled at that idea.
While the princess still looked disgusted at the idea, but resolved to do what was best anyway, C.C. continued to watch her carefully.
The only thing that is holding back the geass inside her is the fact that she is still missing her memories from that time…if she were to get them back…
Then there will truly be nothing we can do for her.
Nunnally vi Britannia leaned against the cell wall, looking up at the dark ceiling.
When she had come to, her sight had come back. Yet here she was in this place, no explanation given. All she knew was that Alice was dead, and she was here.
How long had she been here? She didn’t know. She could barely move around the cell, her legs still of no use to her. When they brought food, it took ages to crawl to it before she could eat.
Dark, lonely, miserable. This was how her life had been since that day.
Would she ever get out? Would she ever feel the sun again?
She closed her eyes, and gave a that thought like she always did. Onii-sama…
Shouts. Her eyes popped open. She could see nothing, but she heard it. More shouts. And then the sound of shots. A slam—and then a scream and a final shot. What was going on?
Her breath hitched in her throat. What was happening? Were they coming for her? Were they—
Suddenly, there was a loud scraping sound as the door to her cell was forced open. Bright light—too bright for her—flooded into the room. She shut her eyes at once; the light hurt.
The sound of lone footsteps walking into the cell.
Those footsteps…soft, kind…but at the same time, tall, commanding…wait…she knew those steps—!
Her eyes opened to slits. Someone was blocking the light flooding in; the shine encircling him like a halo.
He stepped closer. “Nunnally…”
And now, she knew him. “Onii-sama!”
“The Emperor has arrived,” a familiar female voice said over the palace-wide intercom.
The signal! Suzaku knew it at once. Charging towards Gino, he swung his sword widely. The Knight of Three blocked it, but was thrown back by the force. As he fell, Suzaku shot past him, ramming the hit of his sword into the gut of any soldiers determined to get in his way.
“Hey, Suzaku!” Gino yelled after him, but Suzaku was already gone.
He had always intended to leave him behind.
The remaining guards ran into the audience chamber, nearly falling all over each other in the chaos. The throne was empty, yet they knew it would be filled soon. The Emperor? He was finally back after nearly a month’s absence? Well, finally someone would put this mess to an end! He would get rid of these intruders and—
The door to the throne room burst open.
There was the sound of blows—a few of the guards at the entrance fell—as the rest of the hall turned, to see three figures standing in the doorway. One was the Knight of Seven, Kururugi Suzaku, sword carving the way, followed by two women, both carrying guns.
“Who are you?”
But before any more guns could be turned on them, the Knight of Seven yelled, “You dare threaten emissaries of His Majesty?”
“His Majesty?” the gasp went out all around. But where was His Majesty? If he was here—
And then another one walked through the door.
Silence caught in the throne room—silence only broken by those footsteps.
But…who was he? He was just a Britannian student, and in his arms was a younger girl. While clinging onto him, her piercing purple eyes started out at the hall, glaring sharply. Wait…didn’t that girl look like Princess Nunnally?
He descended the steps to the throne, girl still in his arms, staring the crowd down. When the three others followed him up, now, there were shouts of protest. “Wait, where is His Majesty? We were told he would be—?”
“The late Charles di Britannia is dead!” the boy said in a commanding voice. “I killed him.”
“Killed him? Killed—! Traitor—!”
“You dare,” Suzaku stepped forward, sword flashing menacingly in his hand. “Speak ill of your Emperor?”
“Emperor? What is this—”
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the boy smirked. “My name is Lelouch vi Britannia. And now, I am your 99th Emperor of Britannia!”
“This is an outrage! We demand—!”
All was over as one green contact was removed from a left eye. “Your Emperor demands respect!”
There was a great boom throughout the hall; the sound of hundreds of knees hitting the floor at one instant.
Lelouch continued to smirk; the others at his sides could only look on in thankfulness that their plan worked. “Allow me to introduce, my Knight of One, Kururugi Suzaku,” he stretched his hand towards Suzaku, who gave a small bow back to his emperor in return.
“And also, my Empress, C.C.” C.C. couldn’t help it, a smirk formed on her face as well.
At last, their perfect world could be created…
Now, even Suzaku, C.C., and Euphemia bowed towards him.
“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!”
“What is this?” Kallen demanded, upon seeing the news report the next day. “Britannia crowns 99th Emperor—Lelouch?!”
Ougi sighed, “You sure it’s him? The same one who was Zero?”
Kallen didn’t want to believe it. Oh God, she didn’t want to, but…she had seem him leave with Suzaku that day. And now, here he was, with Suzaku, and…was that Princess Euphemia? Wasn’t she dead? What on earth had happened?
“That’s him…” the words caught in her throat, but she forced them out. She would have to say them. She would have to accept that this was real.
“Well, should we declare an attack on Britannia, you think?” asked Ougi, rewinding the press footage. “If the former Zero is going to—”
“No…we should wait.”
“Wait? But…”
“Let’s figure out his intentions, first,” was all she could say, and then she had to leave the bridge. She couldn’t stand the faces they gave her any longer.
She had been the closest to Zero, after all. And now, that Zero was…
Back in her room, she hugged her pillow to her chest, fighting the urge to bury her face into it and cry. This meant…he really never cared about her, did he?
Still…
He once said that he wanted to destroy Britannia to free Japan. Now that he ruled Britannia…what would he do? Would he do what he had said, or…
Lelouch…I thought I knew you. I guess I was wrong…
“Now that Britannia’s accepted the change, we should start getting to work on releasing the Areas.”
“You sure you want to release all the areas? There are a few that are useful.”
“Keeping the Areas instead of giving the land back to the original owners only causes anger and dissent. Surely you know that, Suzaku,” Lelouch smirked.
His Knight of One could only glare back at him.
“We can announce that we’ll release the Areas to their own governments in a few days.” Lelouch leaned back against the garden wall, a slight smile on his face. “Once the transition is complete, then we can get to work on changing Britannia to become a peacekeeping nation, not a warlike one.”
“It’ll take a lot to get it to change,” warned Suzaku. “The people won’t take to that sort of change easily.”
“That’s what geass is for, isn’t it?” Lelouch smirked. Suzaku didn’t smile back. “Once the people realize this is better for all, they’ll get used to it. It is necessary for our perfect world. The perfect world I will create for Nunnally…and the one you will create for Euphie.”
Suzaku couldn’t help but crack a little smile at that. “Yeah…”
After everything, it seemed like they really were going to do it. This world they wished for would finally see reality. Everything was perfect…Japan would be freed, and they all—Euphie included, could live in this peaceful new world. Lelouch would use his geass an instrument to oversee peace, and he would as well.
Everything was going according to plan.
Still, he never expected to see Lelouch take command as Emperor of all things. It was even more amusing seeing him in that outfit he had made for himself—a draping white outfit adored with red jewels. At least he wasn’t wearing the hat here. Every time Suzaku saw the hat, he burst into silent first of laughter. Lelouch offered to get Suzaku some new clothes too, but he politely declined. His Knight of Seven uniform would do fine for his updated status as Knight of One.
“I can’t believe you managed to pull this off,” Suzaku muttered, looking up at the peaceful blue sky above. “Out of everything that could have gone wrong, you managed to do it.”
Lelouch smirked, “I am a man of miracles, after all.”
“Right” Suzaku snorted. “Though without me, you would have been hopeless.”
“You’re right,” Lelouch looked back at him, a truly grateful smile on his face. “Without you, Suzaku, I wouldn’t have been able to make this miracle. I thank you.”
Suzaku couldn’t remember the last time Lelouch had thanked anyone. It took him off guard enough that he almost blushed. “When…when did you get so humble all of a sudden?”
Lelouch gave a laugh. “Oh, I’m not like this with everyone, just you, my loyal knight.”
“You had better stop that, Euphie will get jealous.”
“Oh, will she?” Lelouch smirked. “Then I shall say it as loudly as I can every time I’m in her company.”
“Will you now?” came the voice of Euphemia as she came around the corner. She was dressed beautifully—in a pure white dress of elegant Britannian design. Only fitting for a princess of the Empire. She came up beside Suzaku, tucking her arm alongside his. “Just remember this, Lelouch. While Suzaku is your knight now, he was my loyal knight first.”
Lelouch rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his neck. Oh, didn’t he know it. “Of course. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to share Suzaku, dear sister. Make sure you keep him in fit condition for when his Emperor has need of him.”
“Hey!” Suzaku cut in, though both Euphemia and Lelouch couldn’t help but smirk back. Maybe it really did run in the Britannian royal family…
“Well, now I’m off,” Lelouch shrugged, heading back towards the palace.
“Huh? Where are you going?” demanded Suzaku.
Lelouch looked back with a grin. “Off to find my Empress…she should be hanging around here somewhere. I hope she’s not ordering pizza using the entire Britannian treasury.”
“I’m sure,” muttered Suzaku as Lelouch left them alone.
“I just got back from visiting Nunnally,” Euphie spoke, as they walked through the garden.
“Really? How was she?”
Euphie sighed, fingers brushing up against violets growing along the path. “She’s recovering…that stay in the dungeon made her ill. But she’s getting better.”
“That’s a relief. How long do you think until she’ll be back to full health?”
“Only a few more days before she’s allowed to go outside, I think. She told me the first thing she wants to do is visit Alice’s grave.”
“Really…” Suzaku couldn’t help but fall silent. That little girl that he had positioned as Nunnally’s bodyguard gave her life when the late Emperor came for her. She had been honored by Lelouch in death the highest honor a Britannian agent could receive, but it could not numb the wound for her family. The girl was barely fifteen, after all. “Lelouch will probably find someone to replace her as Nunnally’s bodyguard…he’ll probably fuss even more now, after this.”
“He’s been fussing over me, too,” Euphie sighed, as they turned to find a large grassy area in the middle of the garden. “He says that I should stay in the palace as much as possible. He’s telling me that if I must leave the castle, then I’ll have to wear a disguise and use a fake name! The only other person he let me see is Onee-sama, and that was only through a video link—!”
“He’s right,” Suzaku cut her off before she could vent anymore of her frustration. Euphie simply didn’t understand how much danger she was in. She was declared dead, and as long as they kept that cover up, the Japanese would be content. But if they were to discover that the “Murderer Princess” was actually alive…
It wasn’t just that, either. There was another reason that Euphie would have to be kept a secret. If it got out that she was alive, it wouldn’t just be her life in danger, it would be her sanity. Perhaps it was cruel, but secretly, Lelouch had made sure that no information relating to the incident at that Special Administrative Zone could ever leak into the castle.
Euphie nearly had a fit when she was forced to shoot someone during the taking of the castle. If she learned what her own hands had done on that day…she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
“It still isn’t fair that I’m not allowed to go visit Cornelia in the EU by myself. He said that even if you accompanied me, it’d still—!”
How could he make her understand? “Euphie—,” He drew her to him. “You need to understand. That day at the Administrative Zone…there was chaos. The Black Knights attacked and you…you couldn’t do anything to stop it. When the Britannian troops came in to save you, the Japanese took it as an attack. That’s just how propaganda works. They like to think that you allowed it, so even though you did nothing wrong—” He nearly choked on those words. Yes, she did nothing wrong! It was never her fault! “They still would target you.”
“It’s still not fair, keeping me locked up like this,” pouted Euphie. “I want to do some good, I don’t want to hide like a spoiled princess. I want—!”
“Euphie, I know you’re frustrated but…there’s nothing I can do. Until we achieve peace…you’ll have to stay here. Here, you’re safe.” Yes, as long as she was with him, she was safe. He’d never let anything happen to her!
“Hmph,” Euphie rolled her eyes. “You both treat me like I’m some sort of porcelain doll. I’ve been in battle before. I know how to pilot a knightmare. I even shot someone in that last battle—!”
“I know, Euphie,” Suzaku smiled. “You’re strong. But that strength doesn’t mean you have to try to charge into battle like we do. Your strength is in here,” He took her hand, and then gently placed it over her heart. “Once we have peace, you can use that strength to make the world a better place.” With that, he kissed her gently on the forehead.
He knew she was strong, sometimes much stronger than her when it came to strength of heart.
But in strength of mind…she was fragile. So fragile that they all feared that one tiny misstep would cause her to crack and shatter.
Lelouch found his Empress in his private quarters, lounging on her favorite couch. She seemed to like this new change of scenery, adapting to it well. Already she had found herself some pretty impressive outfits—today she wore a black dress accented in white, the design a mere color flip of his own attire.
“Where’s Suzaku?” asked C.C. when Lelouch came in alone. “You two are near inseparable these days.”
“He’s with Euphie,” Lelouch ran a hand through his hair, coming to sit at the opposite end of the couch. “I felt it proper to leave them alone.”
C.C. smirked, “Getting used to it quick, aren’t you?”
“Getting used to what?” he rolled his eyes, yet he held a soft smile on his face. “It’s not like I had any objections. Suzaku is good for her…I guess.”
C.C. continued to smirk, as she crawled up the couch towards him, settling to lean over him. “I remember a time you didn’t think that.”
“Heh, that was then, and this is now, Witch. I also remember a time when I said I would crush Britannia with my bare hands, and now…this.”
“Hmm, have you perhaps gone a little soft?”
“I decided that it wasn’t Britannia that was my enemy—it was my father and his insane plans,” Lelouch spat the last part out. “I decided that instead of obliterating this country, I might use it for my advantage—‘change it from the inside, if you will’.”
“So that was a change of heart then.”
“Not really,” Lelouch continued to smile softly, while turning to look out a large window to the sun high in the sky. “I guess you could say it was learning something from an old enemy.”
C.C. sighed, “I suppose this means things are going to get more boring around you. I kind of miss the old days.”
Lelouch brushed a strand of her green hair off her shoulder. “Even if things are a little more boring…Still be my accomplice, Witch?”
She gave a small chuckle, “Of course we are accomplices…the only way to rid you of me…” Her fingers brushed across his cheek, underneath those contacts with the hidden geass eyes. “Is death.” And then she kissed him, binding that contract to death.
Security was really lax here, he noted, as he made his way towards the rooftop. Either that, or Emperor Lelouch, hadn’t trained his guards to deal with threats of the geass kind.
A smirk formed on his face. Foolish of him indeed.
As V.V. made his way up, he couldn’t help but widen his smirk. He had climbed through Hell and back, but at last, he would pay. They would all pay.
The sun was setting, and Suzaku had fallen asleep on that grass, underneath his own Knight of Rounds cloak. Euphie giggled at the sight, content to leave him there. When he wasn’t caught up in the seriousness of his job, he really was adorable.
She stood up, to go find those red flowers she had seen earlier. They had made him sneeze. She could tickle his nose with them until he woke up. Or, a grin formed on her face, she could try to find Arthur, and that would surely wake him up—
She wandered along the path, close to the edge of the garden. This area had a small wall that only went about waist height to keep small children from falling over. She paused a moment, to look at the fantastic view of the setting sun, remembering it when she had seen it years ago in this very spot—back before she knew Lelouch was alive, back when Cornelia was allowed to see her—back before everything changed…
“Good Evening, Princess Euphemia Li Britannia.”
Euphie turned at once, seeing a small boy with long blond hair walking up the path. “Who are you?” she demanded at once. Not many people were to know who she was yet!
“Oh, merely someone who wishes to tell you the truth, for once,” the boy smirked.
The Truth? What…? “What do you mean? The truth about—!”
“About what you’re missing.” The little boy came a step closer. He was small, yet there was something sinister in those violet eyes. “You’ve been asleep for a year, and when you awake, the world has changed. In fact, you don’t even remember how you got like that, do you? You just have to take what everyone says on faith.”
Her eyes widened. How did he know all this? Yet…did he have a point? She didn’t remember many things…the world was different when she awoke, but…Lelouch and Suzaku wouldn’t lie to her, would they? Miss C.C. was telling the truth when she said…? “Who are you?” she demanded at once. “In the name of Princess Euphemia Li Britannia, I demand you tell me your name!”
The boy’s smirk widened. “My name…is V.V. And I’m here to fill in the gaps of your missing memory, Your Highness.”
“I don’t want—!”
“Of course you do. Everyone wants the truth. Don’t you? Don’t you want to know the real reason they are hiding you here, forbidding anyone from seeing you? The real reason they are keeping watch over your every move?”
“I…”
V.V. let out a small chuckle. He stepped forward once more, Euphie backed up against the wall. She wanted to get away from this child, now. Her instincts told her that nothing good would come of it, but… “I’ll give you the key to unlocking your memories. You’ll know why they are treating you like a child instead of the strong and capable princess that you are. Isn’t that what you want after being out of it for so long? Answers?”
“Answers…?” Yes, yes she did want them. It unnerved her to no end that they treated her like a child, and watched her like a hawk. How they tried to keep her locked away like some hidden mistress instead of the princess of the blood that she was! Wouldn’t her memory solve all that? If she only knew…
That was the only consent that V.V. needed. He reached for her—
In the distance, Euphie spotted him rushing down the path. So, he had awoken. “Suzaku…”
“Euphie—!” he cried, drawing his gun.
But it was too late. The second the boy touched her, her world was draped in red.
“Impossible! How could he get in here, I thought he was dead!” Lelouch yelled, as they ran (in his case, trudged) up the stairs.
“You cannot kill someone with the Code,” C.C. reminded him from at least a flight above him. “And I felt him just now…he’s here, and he used his power. How he got out of the World of C is the question we should be asking—”
They both managed to burst through the rooftop exit, guns at the ready.
But when they saw the scene before them, they knew it was too late.
“Euphie! Euphie—!” Suzaku cried, holding the princess in his arms as she screamed, her eyes a flickering red. “You bastard! What did you do to her?” his gun pointed at V.V., who made no move to protect himself.
“I merely showed her the truth. The truth that you all were so willing to hide—!” He was cut off when a bullet ripped through him, shutting him up temporarily. The one who shot was Lelouch, as he ran towards his sister.
“I don’t…don’t make me…please don’t…” Euphie continued to sob, her eyes still flickering.
“Euphie, snap out of it, Euphie!” Suzaku cried, shaking her. “C.C.! Can’t you do something?”
Even the witch looked upset. “I cannot. The only way to block a geass is to block those memories. But if those memories come back…”
A soft hand came up, to gently cover Suzaku’s over his gun. He looked down, into the princess’s eyes. They were their usual shade of violet, now laden with tears. “Suzaku…”
“Euphie?” She fell forward, hand still over his. “Euphie!”
And then the gun was twisted out of his hands.
Euphemia, the Murderer Princess stood before him, gun inches from his face. Her eyes had fallen to that ring of red. “I must…kill all the Japanese.”
“No…Euphie…” Tears now formed in Suzaku’s eyes. “Don’t…”
“Euphemia!” Lelouch came and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t give in! Euphie, you know you don’t want to do this—! You beat it once, you can beat it again—!”
“My job…is to kill all the Japanese. You asked me to do it, remember, Lelouch?” A soft, almost sinister now, smile came on her face. “And I did. Now I have to kill the rest. Because that’s what you asked wanted me to do, right, Lelouch?”
“Euphie—!”
“Isn’t that my job?”
Even Lelouch couldn’t keep dry eyes at this moment. “Euphie…” His teeth clenched. Well, there was one thing he could do! “Forgive me, Euphie!” He grabbed for her, intent on just getting that gun out of her hands—
A shot rang out.
Lelouch staggered back, clutching his thigh in pain. The bullet had only grazed him, but it still hurt like hell. “I can’t have anyone getting in my way. I must kill all the Japanese.”
“Lelouch!” Suzaku grabbed him as he stumbled back. “Get away from here.”
“Why? What are you planning to do against—!”
“Don’t worry about it! Just get yourself out of here—!” There was a way that Suzaku’s words hitched in his throat. He wasn’t considering—!
And yet he grabbed Lelouch’s discarded gun. “Even if it costs me my life…I’ll find a way to cure her.”
“You can’t be considering—!” Lelouch grabbed at his friend’s collar. “You want to throw your life away again?”
“I let that monster do this to her!” Suzaku pushed him aside. Lelouch fell hard on the ground, shooting pain flaring up his already hurt leg. “It’s my fault…So because of that…I’ll fix the problem!”
“That’s not the only problem,” C.C. told them, as V.V. slowly got to his feet, bullet wound disappearing.
“You monster!” roared Lelouch as V.V. smirked back. “Why did you do this? To Euphie of all—!”
“Because, this is the only thorough way to live out my revenge,” V.V. continued to smirk. “It was all of you…all of you together that destroyed Charles’s plans, and then his life! C.C. decided that she wouldn’t play by our rules. Lelouch, you denied your father’s plan for your eternal glory! You threw it back in his face! But most of all, it was you, Kururugi Suzaku who let this all fall to pieces! If it wasn’t for your meddling every time, then the plan would have succeeded! So now, what will you all do? Will you kill your beloved princess, or will you let her kill you first?”
Euphie’s eyes flickered once more. “Why…? Why must I…?” The red gained control once again, as her gun pointed back at Suzaku’s face. “Suzaku…you’re Japanese, aren’t you?”
“Euphie, please, don’t…” Suzaku could only keep his gun leveled at her, but he could not bear doing what he might have to do. “Don’t make me do this…”
“Interesting,” V.V. taunted. “How will it end? Will you kill her? Or will you let your lover kill you first? Perhaps you’ll fire at the same time, then you can die a dramatic death together!”
“Or perhaps—“ This time it was C.C. who spoke up, her own gun in hands. “It will be you first.”
She fired—V.V. fell flat. And then she took that chance. She darted forward, grabbing the boy by the throat. But as she grabbed him, another shot rang out—this time, she was the one that fell.
“Perhaps you have forgotten how to aim?” V.V. smirked, standing up while the minor wound in his side healed. “At least you’re out of the way for a little while—”
He was caught off guard as a knife slammed between his ribs from behind. “What—?” V.V. choked as C.C. still healing, kneeled behind him.
“And perhaps you have forgotten, that I am several hundreds of years older than you, boy. If I want to, I can regenerate as fast as I wish.”
Lelouch managed to hobble his way over towards them. If V.V. was going to die, then he was going to kill him with his bare hands.
“It is futile,” V.V. smirked. “No matter how many times you kill me, the Code will keep bringing me back.”
“Hmph, the boy talks like he knows what toys he’s playing with,” C.C. smirked. “Before you, I was the leader of that Geass cult in China. And let me tell you something…I learned all there was to learn about Geass…and about Codes.” She grabbed him roughly across the scalp, snapping V.V.’s head back, making the boy cry out in pain. “So much, that I know how to give Codes with ease…and…how to take them away.”
The red Code on C.C.’s forehead lit up; the red mark on V.V.’s palm shone through his gloves as well. And the boy screamed. Screamed in absolute pain as the source of immortality was ripped from his body.
Lelouch hobbled up, C.C.’s gun in hands, ready to shoot that little bastard right through the head the minute C.C. said it was okay—
But V.V.’s fist shot out, grabbing Lelouch’s collar, pulling him forward into that red light. The gun clattered to the ground in the struggle. “Lelouch!” C.C. called out, as if from a great distance, but she could not move until she had finished. She could only watch as V.V. tried to run the show.
Despite the pain, V.V. managed to smirk back at the boy who had foiled all his plans. Lelouch’s eyes nearly shut in pain as his geass flared up, reacting to V.V.’s touch. “I hope you enjoy the punishment I’ll send you from Hell.”
He could barely hear him, his geass hurt so bad…Why was it so much pain? Even like this, did he have that much power?
“That’s enough!” C.C. yelled, the light fading. “Lelouch! Now!”
The Emperor fell back, still blinded from the light and from the pain behind his eyes. Still, he wasn’t about to stay put—Everything that had happened to him, everything was because of V.V.!
Lelouch didn’t even think—he just charged, throwing out a punch at V.V.
In hindsight, physical violence wasn’t his strong sport. But when he hit V.V., the boy stumbled back. Far enough to stumble back against that small wall. Now, C.C. didn’t waste a moment. It was just a simple push—no more of a tap, really—but it was enough. Enough to send him over the edge.
He fell—they didn’t know how far, but they didn’t dare look. His Code had been stolen. Whatever was left of him could be cleaned up by the palace guards. For now, there was something more important to be taken care of.
V.V. was dead. Yet Euphie still was…
“Don’t do this, Euphie…” Suzaku begged. “You don’t want to…you know you don’t…”
Wait…Euphie’s fingers fell slack. Didn’t she hear something like this before…?
“You don’t want to kill the Japanese! The Euphie I know would never want something like that!”
Yes…it seemed vaguely familiar…
He had grabbed her by the shoulders, that Japanese boy dressed in the uniform of her knight. His green eye had turned red. “Euphie…Euphie could never do something like this. She could never order this—she could never live in a world that was this cruel—she couldn’t live with herself if she allowed something like this to happen! Euphie can’t stand aside and allow people to die! She couldn’t watch as people were—”
Euphie…Euphie could never live in a world like this…She couldn’t live with herself is she allowed something like this to happen…
The red faded once more. Yes…yes she had allowed something like that to happen, didn’t it…? That day, the Black Knights attacked, but only because she…!
Kill all the Japanese…
It was her! She had done it!
“No…I…I didn’t want to…How could I have…?”
It was her that had killed those people! She caused the Special Administrative Zone to fall! It was her hands—her hands—that murdered hundreds of people! She did it!
“I was the one who—!”
She never wanted to kill anyone—yet that day, in cold blood, she had ordered—Why had she done it? Oh why? How could she pretend she wanted peace when she had—
You are the one that caused the Black Knights and Britannia to fight each other again. You are the one that made Lelouch and Suzaku keep on fighting…if it wasn’t for you…if it wasn’t for you—
The reason they couldn’t let her out…was because the Japanese wanted to kill her. And they should want to! After she had—she had—murdered—all those innocent people, she deserved it. They should want to kill her…they should…
“I…”
The red came back to ring her eyes. “Euphie could never live in a world that was this cruel—she couldn’t live with herself if she allowed something like this to happen!” Suzaku’s eyes widened, as he realized what she was saying. That geass he had put on her that day…but…it didn’t work, right?
Something was happening. Euphie was struggling, but she still hadn’t dropped the gun. “Euphie, Euphie please…” Suzaku begged. “Please, you can’t want this…just stop…”
“Yes…I’ll stop…”
The gun fell slack for a moment. For a second, hope bloomed in Suzaku’s eyes. “Yes, Euphie, stop, and everything will be all right. Everything will be—”
There was no red ring around her eyes. Or was there? They couldn’t tell…everything happened slowly, like in a dream. Slowly, she looked at the gun, and then raised it…but not aimed at anyone else.
It was only a second when they realized what she was going to do. “Euphie? No! Euphie—!”
And then came the final shot.
How long had it been since any of them moved? They didn’t know…Suzaku cradled Euphie’s limp, bloodied body in his arms, still sobbing. Lelouch looked on, not stopping the tears flowing down his face. Even C.C. bit her lip, wishing she could have done something different—something that would have stopped this.
“Lelouch…” Suzaku’s voice, watery with his tears begged, “Please…do something about my Geass. Release me from it.”
“What? But…Suzaku—!”
“Just do it!” his Knight of One turned to him, his face fierce with despair. “Just let me go—let me die! It was my fault—I let this happen!”
“Suzaku, you didn’t, it was V.V.—!”
“It was my Geass! My order that made her do—this! It was because of me that she’s dead! I’m the one that killed her! I deserve to die!”
“ Suzaku…” Lelouch knelt next to him, hand on his shoulder.
“Just let me do it…just let me die,” he continued to beg, not caring anymore. “I did this…I let her die…I can’t live with that…I can’t…”
Lelouch closed his eyes a moment, sucking in a breath. And then he stood up. “Very well.” Suzaku, even C.C. looked at him in surprise. “I’ll grant your wish. But first…”
He remembered V.V.’s words, screaming about the great and foiled ‘plan’. That plan that his father had…the plan to dominate the world in the name of peace. “We were set up from the beginning to fight each other…and because of that plan, Euphie’s now…” After a pause, he clenched his hand into a fist. “Why don’t we try it out? Their plan. Let’s see if it was so great after all?”
“What?” Suzaku looked back at Lelouch, and if he wasn’t seeing things, it appeared that Lelouch was scheming something…there was a glint of a wild madness in the back of those eyes.
“Why don’t we see which one of us is more fit to rule the world?”
Just one more chapter after this.Hopefully I'll get it done before Christmas. HAHA LOL.
Chapter 17 here.
Rating:PG-13.
Summary: So, what would have happened if Suzaku had received the Geass in Stage 1 instead of Lelouch?
Chapter 1 here
It wasn’t unusual to see a group of Britannian schoolchildren wandering around Pendragon. The city was the largest in all of Britannia, after all. It was near the end of the day when the schools were just getting out—and groups of three or four of them would sometimes, while talking and laughing about their day, wander a bit too close to the royal district.
This was one of those times.
The guard on duty gave a sigh as the teenagers continued to wander and talk, without any care that they were too close to the royal household to be ignored.
“Oh come on, you can’t be serious, can you? I bed he’s never even picked up a basketball in his life!” the green-haired girl chuckled, the black haired boy next to her glaring.
“I’m serious! When he used to play with all of us when we were little—shame, though, he always lost—“ the pink haired girl continued, getting a laugh from the brown-haired boy next to her.
“I did not always lose!”
“Oh yes you did, even the youngest among us could always beat you!”
His annoyed mutter trailed into the distance, as the two girls continued to laugh. The embarrassed boy slammed his fist against the fence in annoyance—
And that is when three royal guards descended. “Excuse me!” they ordered at once, surrounding the teenagers, though they did not draw their weapon as protocol ordered—they were just kids, after all. “Walking this side of the street is strictly prohibited, surely you know that.”
All four of the teenagers looked at each other. “Really? I didn’t know about that.”
“It’s all right,” the most senior of the guards said, in hopes of not alarming them. “If you would just vacate this street, we’ll forget it ever happened.”
“You’re right about that,” one of the boys spoke up. As the three guards looked to him, a smirk grew on his face, as he reached up towards his eye.
“Just a pistol?” C.C. complained, examining the weapon. “You’d think that the fence guards would have a little something more…automatic.”
“It’s no better than what we have already,” Suzaku muttered, kicking the body that they had dragged into an alley nearby. “In fact, I think our guns are better. They have less likely of a chance of getting stuck in a cinch. All we can use them for is to take their armor for a disguise.”
Lelouch rolled his eyes. “You can, at least. C.C. and Euphie won’t fit in it and with my geass, I don’t need that—”
“Speaking of Euphie,” Suzaku glared, grabbing Lelouch roughly about the arm. “Did you have to do that right in front of her? She didn’t have to see it!” Green eyes glanced toward the end of the alleyway, where a distraught Euphie sat at the end, forcing herself not to look at the bodies hidden inside.
“Are you suggesting I asked the men politely to come get in the alleyway before I gave my order?”
“Well, with a geass like yours, you might have been able to—”
Lelouch shrugged out of Suzaku’s grip, matching his best friend’s glare. “You already warned Euphie what we might have to do here. No, I don’t want my sister seeing this, but there was no other choice. She knows that the only way to take back Britannia is to fight for it.”
Suzaku said nothing, but only turned away to check back on Euphie, still not convinced that Lelouch’s way was the right way. Still, what else could they do? They had to get into Pendragon castle somehow.
“Lelouch,” C.C. put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Suzaku’s just worried about her…After all, with what she went through—”
“I know.” He did not want to get reminded about it again. The second they had decided to set out for Britannia, he had to deal with Suzaku lecturing him that Euphie wasn’t ready, despite the latter’s protests. When he explained the plan, Suzaku protested again, though Euphie said it was all right. Suzaku was only looking out for her, and despite the fact that Euphiemia was Lelouch’s own sister, perhaps Suzaku had earned the right as her protector.
It wasn’t like Lelouch had done the greatest job when he had his turn.
No, he had to stop thinking about it… He closed his eyes. He had to stay calm. Everything depended on this plan going off without a hitch. Rescuing Nunnally—and setting the world right. He couldn’t allow petty weakness to get in his way.
Opening his eyes once more, he said, “Come on, we have to hurry and get a move on—they’ll notice a few of their guards will have escaped soon—”
It was interesting how many guards believed that a group of three Britannian schoolchildren had special permission to go on a tour of the Pendragon castle—as long as there was an official guard with them. It was quite hard for Lelouch to keep himself from smirking as they were led deeper and deeper into the castle.
Interestingly enough, no one seemed to notice that the “tour” merely consisted of said teenagers being led into the Knight of Rounds quarters.
“No one around?” Suzaku muttered underneath the heavy guard uniform.
“Nope. Camera’s looking the other way. Hurry up and do it!”
Suzaku slid the keycard through the slot next to the door of the former Knight of Seven’s room. Instead of the little beep they were used to, the door did not budge as a red light on the slider flickered on.
“Damn it, guess this won’t work…” Suzaku pressed another button as a keypad emerged from the wall.
“Remember your password?” Lelouch asked, glancing towards they keypad. Though he couldn’t see Suzaku’s eyes under that helmet, he was sure they were giving him a glare. A second later, Suzaku typed in “FOREUPHIE”.
A small little beep, and the door slid open.
“Quick!” Suzaku whispered as the girls slipped in. Lelouch, however, paused before hurrying inside.
“For Euphie?” he raised an eyebrow.
Suzaku shoved him inside. He wasn’t about to give an answer for that.
“Well, anything missing?” asked Lelouch as Suzaku doffed the heavy, sweaty helmet.
“Doesn’t look like it—I think they wanted to confirm me dead or a traitor before they clean out this room.” Suzaku cast a glance around the small room—yep, his spare uniforms were still in the closet, spare weapons still stowed, and—he gulped, hoping Euphie didn’t notice too quickly—pink lock of Euphie’s hair still on his nightstand, right next to a picture of the princess.
Yep, he blushed, turning away quickly, he really hoped she didn’t notice that too soon.
“So, we all know the plan?” Lelouch sat on the bed, which, he noticed, was still unmade—like Suzaku had jumped out of bed at the order that Zero was afoot. Suzaku was at least thankful that Lelouch, skinny as he was, was able to block the view of a certain few embarrassing items on his nightstand.
“Lelouch, you ran us through it seven times on our way over, I doubt we could mess it up if we wanted to by now,” C.C. chuckled.
“I’m just making sure that the plan will go flawless, Witch,” glared Lelouch.
“There is a point where that borders on obsessiveness.”
“You—“
“Lelouch,” Suzaku cut him off, Knight of Rounds uniform in hand. “Don’t worry, we know what to do.”
“I should hope that you do,” Lelouch told him pointedly. “You have the most important job of all.”
And Suzaku, breaking the serious tone, gave him a smirk back, “And who else should you trust with that but your loyal knight?”
Lelouch stared a moment, before smirking back. “Of course.”
Suzaku left for that small bathroom to change, while Lelouch went through the plan one last time so he could be absolutely there were no errors.
“Suzaku will distract the guards—if necessary, he’ll use his geass to give us a bigger time window if needed. And C.C., you will…?”
C.C. sighed, yes they really were going to have to recite this whole thing again, weren’t they? “I’ll head with you to the main security room. Once inside, the men will be geassed instantly. Then I will stay to monitor the guards’ while you leave to rescue Nunnally.”
“Right. I’ll find out where she is in the main security room. I’ll head down there alone. I’ll probably need to use my Geass in a pinch, but I don’t want to use it more than necessary. I’ll find Nunnally and save her—then once I give the signal, we will all head to the throne room. That is where I will announce to the world that Lelouch vi Britannia has claimed the throne as Emperor.”
“Um…” It was now time for Euphie, who had been mostly silent, to speak up. “Do I really have to stay here?”
What was she up to? “With all the castle in a rush to stop us, it will be safer if you stay here,” Lelouch explained. “We can leave you with a weapon in case of problems, but if the door is locked, no one will think of—”
“But, I don’t want to stay and hide! I don’t want to hide while you all are risking yourselves for this!”
“Euphie…?” By now, Suzaku had come out of the bathroom, dressed once again in his Knight of Seven uniform, dumbfounded by her words. “But…here you won’t…you won’t have to see it. It’ll be a very bloody battle, Euphie.”
She stood up, annoyed. Why did both of them have to treat her like a child! “I am prepared for that! Earlier, it took me off guard, but if that is what it takes to rescue Nunnally, then I am prepared for it. This is my country, too, you know! I don’t…” By now, she started twirling a lock of her pink hair in her fingers; a nervous gesture. “I don’t know exactly what happened over the past year, but I know that this country is not the same one that I left. I want to help change it, too.”
Both C.C. and Suzaku looked at her in surprise, having never expected to hear those words from her. Lelouch, however, seemed to almost expect something like this. “Please, Lelouch, let me do something. I want to fight, too.”
Lelouch sighed, and then stood up as well. “This is a battle, Euphie. Are you prepared for what you might have to see? People will die.”
If anything, that served to strengthen her resolve. “I am.”
“If I send you out there, you’ll have to take a gun. In a worst case scenario, you might have to shoot someone, can you do that?”
“Lelouch!” Suzaku glared, cutting him off. Lelouch met his friend’s eyes, but didn’t change his expression. This was something that needed to be asked.
Euphie hesitated; of course she would. A gun is something she should never have to hold. But this was a desperate gambit, in hopes of a better world where she wouldn’t need to even look upon such a thing. “I’m…prepared.” Before all of their eyes, she bowed to him, reminding Lelouch of that time a year ago, when Zero bowed before her after promising to serve as her knight. “Please let me serve you, Your Majesty.”
Even Lelouch couldn’t keep a straight face after that. “Get up, Euphie,” he said, serious face cracking to a small smile. “If you want to go, then you can go with C.C. to take command of the security room, but stay with her at all times, you understand?”
Euphie nodded. “Of course.”
“All right,” Lelouch grabbed his gun from where he had set it down beforehand. “We’re going to have to get moving soon—before people get too suspicious about the missing guards—”
Apparently, only C.C. had heard him. He heard Suzaku telling Euphie, “You don’t have to do this—”
“Suzaku, I want to.”
“But it’s dangerous! You could get killed or—” He grabbed her by the shoulders and almost shook her, hoping that would wake some sense into her.
“I’m not going to be left behind! I want to rescue Nunnally as much as the rest of you, and I want to do my part!” Her determined face was reminiscent of a face Lelouch saw at the Special Administrative Zone of Japan…just before everything went wrong…
“Perhaps we should give them a few moments?” C.C. smirked to herself, grabbing Lelouch and pulling him towards the door. Lelouch scowled a little bit, but nevertheless followed her out without complaint.
“Euphie…” Suzaku still wasn’t quite ready to allow this. He had already seen her gunned down in one firefight. He didn’t want to see it happen again.
“It’ll be all right,” She smiled. “With you and Lelouch working together, you will make a miracle.”
Make a miracle…? Suzaku gave a sigh. That was right. If he and Lelouch worked to accomplish this plan, they could do the impossible, isn’t that what they always said? “All right, just…just be careful. I don’t want to lose you again.”
After that, he gave her a kiss for courage, but in his mind, he was pleading, Euphie, you came back from the dead to me. Don’t you dare leave me again!
“All finished?” Lelouch snidely remarked as Suzaku and Euphie came out of the room. Euphie blushed; Suzaku shot him a none-of-your-business glare.
“Fine, anyway, Suzaku, you know what to do,” Lelouch nodded. Suzaku nodded back and drew his sword from his belt.
“Keep an eye on Euphie,” he said, glancing desperately at C.C.
“I’ll keep my word,” answered the green-haired witch.
With one last look at Euphie, Suzaku took off down the hallway.
“All right, this way,” Lelouch shuffled the girls in the other direction, handing Euphie a spare gun to keep at her side. He hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.
For a few minutes, they heard nothing. No one must have spotted Suzaku yet. Though there were a few odd encounters—without their “guard” escorting them, a group of three Britannian students (Britannian students dressed in the uniform of Ashford Academy, a school in Area 11, no less) was sure to arouse suspicion. Luckily, well placed “Ignore us” geasses were quite effective.
“Okay, we’re almost at the stairs,” C.C. whispered. “Now we go to the bottom floor and take a left—”
That was when the security alarm rang out overhead. “Intruder in the Palace!” From the floors above, they could hear the rush of soldiers in Suzaku’s direction.
“Looks like they noticed Suzaku,” Lelouch smirked. Good…now all the soldiers would be heading towards him instead of where they were heading. “Let’s get moving.”
Euphie closed her eyes and sent up a small prayer as they hustled into the stairwell. Suzaku…
Shots rang out—The bullets barely whizzed above his head. They were all too slow!
“You dare fire upon a Knight of Rounds!” he roared, rushing towards the first few and slicing at them with his sword.
They cried in pain, as their blood sprayed across the walls of that corridor. That’s what you get for trying to fight a superhuman, Suzaku smirked to himself.
More shots; more times he dodged. Now he grabbed his pistol and fired back—another guard fell, as one more came to take his place.
Now, he would just have to keep this up until he got the signal—then everything would be won.
“Suzaku!” shouted a voice he recognized.
For a second, Suzaku stopped shooting, looking up at the one that approached. He gasped out, “Gino?”
The Knight of Three glared back as he approached, calling the guards to a halt. “Suzaku, we thought you died on Kamenejima.” His trademark smile was nowhere to be found.
“Well, I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking.”
“Don’t give me that!” roared Gino in a way that Suzaku didn’t think was possible. “Your knightmare was never found! There were rumors that it was seen crossing into Japan! You deserted, and now you come back here to attack Britannia itself!”
“That’s right. I’m surprised you got that much—I always thought you were a bit thick,” Suzaku snarled back.
“You’re an idiot if you think this will do any good!” Gino drew his own sword, glaring daggers back at his former friend. “Why betray your country anyway! This is just a suicide mission!”
“All the better.” Suzaku was tired of this pointless talk; he rushed towards Gino and slashed—the other Knight parried without so much as a struggle.
“Why do you insist on doing this?” Gino continued. “What are you trying to do?”
Suzaku swung his sword again, this time with enough force to knock the Knight of Three back. When Gino recovered, he saw Suzaku, standing before him, sword pointed right at his face.
“I want to build a better world,” was all the answer Suzaku was willing to give him, before swords clashed once again.
The door to the Main Security room was kicked open, before any of the men in the room had a chance to fire their weapons, the Geass was already upon them. “Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to follow his every order!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The soldiers stood ready and waiting as Lelouch, C.C. and Euphie filed into the room, Euphie looking nervously at the geassed soldiers a moment before catching up with the other two.
“Here,” C.C. handed Lelouch an earpiece while she took up a headset. “I’ll watch the cameras for you.”
“Thanks, Witch,” he smirked. “But keep an eye on Suzaku, too.”
“Who do you think I am?” she put the headset on, sitting at the main console. “I look out for all those that have contracts with me.”
Lelouch could only give his accomplice one last smrik before turning back to Euphie. She glanced around, looking a bit out of place. “Euphie? Will you be all right?”
She nodded. “I’ll…I’ll be okay. After all, I’m with Miss C.C., right?” she attempted a smile. “You just go rescue Nunnally, Lelouch.”
He nodded. “Right…” That’s right…he couldn’t spend all his time worrying about Euphie—that was Suzaku’s job. He had to go save Nunnally. That was more important.
“The hallway is clear,” C.C. turned back to him, “You should go now. Nunnally is on the third level dungeons, the largest of all the cells.”
Placing the earpiece in his ear, Lelouch turned back to the geassed soldiers. “Now, we will go rescue Princess Nunnally.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the soldiers obeyed, as Lelouch, their new master, led them on.
After a few long, silent minutes, Euphie came up to the screen, next to C.C. and asked, “How is Suzaku?”
“He’s fine right now—he’s fighting another Knight of Rounds, but he seems to be holding his own.”
“Oh…Good…” Still, Euphie didn’t like this. Whenever Suzaku went into combat, sometimes he got a little bit…self-sacrificing.
C.C. saw her fear. “You needn’t worry about Suzaku. He won’t do anything stupid. Lelouch took care of that.”
“Lelouch?”
“You don’t think Lelouch would just sit there and let his best friend kill himself, do you?”
“No…but…” Lelouch really did take too much on his shoulders. At least once he rescued Nunnally, then they would finally get some time to rest.
Finally, they could create that perfect world they had all been wishing for, right?
Suddenly, the door burst open. “There they are!” two soldiers with large, menacing guns charged in. C.C. barely had time to turn around and draw her weapon, the soldiers already had their fingers on the trigger—
Two shots rang out. Two bodies hit the floor.
C.C. let out a breath she had been holding, lowering her gun. She had only fired one shot.
Euphemia dropped the gun that she had just fired, breathing heavily as she stared at the bleeding and dead guards in the hallway—one of them that she had just shot. One of them she had just killed.
But but—she didn’t mean to! It’s just they burst in and then they had guns and they raised them and she was scared so all she could think of was to do something and she had a gun in her hands and then—
Euphie fell to her knees, still staring in terror at those bodies in front of her. Oh God, she really did just—
With a sigh, C.C. walked over to her. Well, she couldn’t very well have the girl freak out when they were in the middle of a serious operation like this. “They would have killed you if you hadn’t done it,” she reminded her. “You did the right thing.”
“But…But I…” She had just killed! It was’t right! She wasn’t a killer! She wasn’t—!
The gun felt so heavy in her hands, but she couldn’t put it down…Another shot and blood splashed across her face, but that didn’t matter as long as she did her task…
Euphie let out a gasp, clutching the side of her head as the images flashed across her brain. “Hey, you all right?” C.C. grabbed her across the shoulders trying to shake it out of her. “What’s wrong with—?”
Suzaku being shot in the leg, crying, pleading…looking at her in disbelief…
Lelouch pointing a gun right at her, eyes flowing tears…no, this was…
Hadn’t he asked her…?
The Japanese running in terror, crying out as they were gunned down…
Japanese…
“Hey!” When C.C. shook her again, Euphie’s eyes shot wide open. The witch gasped in shock. The princess’s eyes were ringed with red.
He had asked her to, didn’t he?
Kill all the—
“Hey!” C.C. shook her one last time, causing her to blink. And when she blinked, the red was gone from her purple eyes.
She came to, and didn’t quite understand that worried look on the witch’s face. “Miss C.C.?”
C.C. had to shake that away fast. Now, with everything so at stake, she bringing it up wouldn’t help. “It’s nothing.”
Looking back at the bodies in the doorway, she said, “We’ll have to drag them inside before anyone noticed.”
“D-Drag them?” Euphie did not look thrilled at that idea.
While the princess still looked disgusted at the idea, but resolved to do what was best anyway, C.C. continued to watch her carefully.
The only thing that is holding back the geass inside her is the fact that she is still missing her memories from that time…if she were to get them back…
Then there will truly be nothing we can do for her.
Nunnally vi Britannia leaned against the cell wall, looking up at the dark ceiling.
When she had come to, her sight had come back. Yet here she was in this place, no explanation given. All she knew was that Alice was dead, and she was here.
How long had she been here? She didn’t know. She could barely move around the cell, her legs still of no use to her. When they brought food, it took ages to crawl to it before she could eat.
Dark, lonely, miserable. This was how her life had been since that day.
Would she ever get out? Would she ever feel the sun again?
She closed her eyes, and gave a that thought like she always did. Onii-sama…
Shouts. Her eyes popped open. She could see nothing, but she heard it. More shouts. And then the sound of shots. A slam—and then a scream and a final shot. What was going on?
Her breath hitched in her throat. What was happening? Were they coming for her? Were they—
Suddenly, there was a loud scraping sound as the door to her cell was forced open. Bright light—too bright for her—flooded into the room. She shut her eyes at once; the light hurt.
The sound of lone footsteps walking into the cell.
Those footsteps…soft, kind…but at the same time, tall, commanding…wait…she knew those steps—!
Her eyes opened to slits. Someone was blocking the light flooding in; the shine encircling him like a halo.
He stepped closer. “Nunnally…”
And now, she knew him. “Onii-sama!”
“The Emperor has arrived,” a familiar female voice said over the palace-wide intercom.
The signal! Suzaku knew it at once. Charging towards Gino, he swung his sword widely. The Knight of Three blocked it, but was thrown back by the force. As he fell, Suzaku shot past him, ramming the hit of his sword into the gut of any soldiers determined to get in his way.
“Hey, Suzaku!” Gino yelled after him, but Suzaku was already gone.
He had always intended to leave him behind.
The remaining guards ran into the audience chamber, nearly falling all over each other in the chaos. The throne was empty, yet they knew it would be filled soon. The Emperor? He was finally back after nearly a month’s absence? Well, finally someone would put this mess to an end! He would get rid of these intruders and—
The door to the throne room burst open.
There was the sound of blows—a few of the guards at the entrance fell—as the rest of the hall turned, to see three figures standing in the doorway. One was the Knight of Seven, Kururugi Suzaku, sword carving the way, followed by two women, both carrying guns.
“Who are you?”
But before any more guns could be turned on them, the Knight of Seven yelled, “You dare threaten emissaries of His Majesty?”
“His Majesty?” the gasp went out all around. But where was His Majesty? If he was here—
And then another one walked through the door.
Silence caught in the throne room—silence only broken by those footsteps.
But…who was he? He was just a Britannian student, and in his arms was a younger girl. While clinging onto him, her piercing purple eyes started out at the hall, glaring sharply. Wait…didn’t that girl look like Princess Nunnally?
He descended the steps to the throne, girl still in his arms, staring the crowd down. When the three others followed him up, now, there were shouts of protest. “Wait, where is His Majesty? We were told he would be—?”
“The late Charles di Britannia is dead!” the boy said in a commanding voice. “I killed him.”
“Killed him? Killed—! Traitor—!”
“You dare,” Suzaku stepped forward, sword flashing menacingly in his hand. “Speak ill of your Emperor?”
“Emperor? What is this—”
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the boy smirked. “My name is Lelouch vi Britannia. And now, I am your 99th Emperor of Britannia!”
“This is an outrage! We demand—!”
All was over as one green contact was removed from a left eye. “Your Emperor demands respect!”
There was a great boom throughout the hall; the sound of hundreds of knees hitting the floor at one instant.
Lelouch continued to smirk; the others at his sides could only look on in thankfulness that their plan worked. “Allow me to introduce, my Knight of One, Kururugi Suzaku,” he stretched his hand towards Suzaku, who gave a small bow back to his emperor in return.
“And also, my Empress, C.C.” C.C. couldn’t help it, a smirk formed on her face as well.
At last, their perfect world could be created…
Now, even Suzaku, C.C., and Euphemia bowed towards him.
“All Hail Britannia! All Hail Lelouch!”
“What is this?” Kallen demanded, upon seeing the news report the next day. “Britannia crowns 99th Emperor—Lelouch?!”
Ougi sighed, “You sure it’s him? The same one who was Zero?”
Kallen didn’t want to believe it. Oh God, she didn’t want to, but…she had seem him leave with Suzaku that day. And now, here he was, with Suzaku, and…was that Princess Euphemia? Wasn’t she dead? What on earth had happened?
“That’s him…” the words caught in her throat, but she forced them out. She would have to say them. She would have to accept that this was real.
“Well, should we declare an attack on Britannia, you think?” asked Ougi, rewinding the press footage. “If the former Zero is going to—”
“No…we should wait.”
“Wait? But…”
“Let’s figure out his intentions, first,” was all she could say, and then she had to leave the bridge. She couldn’t stand the faces they gave her any longer.
She had been the closest to Zero, after all. And now, that Zero was…
Back in her room, she hugged her pillow to her chest, fighting the urge to bury her face into it and cry. This meant…he really never cared about her, did he?
Still…
He once said that he wanted to destroy Britannia to free Japan. Now that he ruled Britannia…what would he do? Would he do what he had said, or…
Lelouch…I thought I knew you. I guess I was wrong…
“Now that Britannia’s accepted the change, we should start getting to work on releasing the Areas.”
“You sure you want to release all the areas? There are a few that are useful.”
“Keeping the Areas instead of giving the land back to the original owners only causes anger and dissent. Surely you know that, Suzaku,” Lelouch smirked.
His Knight of One could only glare back at him.
“We can announce that we’ll release the Areas to their own governments in a few days.” Lelouch leaned back against the garden wall, a slight smile on his face. “Once the transition is complete, then we can get to work on changing Britannia to become a peacekeeping nation, not a warlike one.”
“It’ll take a lot to get it to change,” warned Suzaku. “The people won’t take to that sort of change easily.”
“That’s what geass is for, isn’t it?” Lelouch smirked. Suzaku didn’t smile back. “Once the people realize this is better for all, they’ll get used to it. It is necessary for our perfect world. The perfect world I will create for Nunnally…and the one you will create for Euphie.”
Suzaku couldn’t help but crack a little smile at that. “Yeah…”
After everything, it seemed like they really were going to do it. This world they wished for would finally see reality. Everything was perfect…Japan would be freed, and they all—Euphie included, could live in this peaceful new world. Lelouch would use his geass an instrument to oversee peace, and he would as well.
Everything was going according to plan.
Still, he never expected to see Lelouch take command as Emperor of all things. It was even more amusing seeing him in that outfit he had made for himself—a draping white outfit adored with red jewels. At least he wasn’t wearing the hat here. Every time Suzaku saw the hat, he burst into silent first of laughter. Lelouch offered to get Suzaku some new clothes too, but he politely declined. His Knight of Seven uniform would do fine for his updated status as Knight of One.
“I can’t believe you managed to pull this off,” Suzaku muttered, looking up at the peaceful blue sky above. “Out of everything that could have gone wrong, you managed to do it.”
Lelouch smirked, “I am a man of miracles, after all.”
“Right” Suzaku snorted. “Though without me, you would have been hopeless.”
“You’re right,” Lelouch looked back at him, a truly grateful smile on his face. “Without you, Suzaku, I wouldn’t have been able to make this miracle. I thank you.”
Suzaku couldn’t remember the last time Lelouch had thanked anyone. It took him off guard enough that he almost blushed. “When…when did you get so humble all of a sudden?”
Lelouch gave a laugh. “Oh, I’m not like this with everyone, just you, my loyal knight.”
“You had better stop that, Euphie will get jealous.”
“Oh, will she?” Lelouch smirked. “Then I shall say it as loudly as I can every time I’m in her company.”
“Will you now?” came the voice of Euphemia as she came around the corner. She was dressed beautifully—in a pure white dress of elegant Britannian design. Only fitting for a princess of the Empire. She came up beside Suzaku, tucking her arm alongside his. “Just remember this, Lelouch. While Suzaku is your knight now, he was my loyal knight first.”
Lelouch rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his neck. Oh, didn’t he know it. “Of course. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to share Suzaku, dear sister. Make sure you keep him in fit condition for when his Emperor has need of him.”
“Hey!” Suzaku cut in, though both Euphemia and Lelouch couldn’t help but smirk back. Maybe it really did run in the Britannian royal family…
“Well, now I’m off,” Lelouch shrugged, heading back towards the palace.
“Huh? Where are you going?” demanded Suzaku.
Lelouch looked back with a grin. “Off to find my Empress…she should be hanging around here somewhere. I hope she’s not ordering pizza using the entire Britannian treasury.”
“I’m sure,” muttered Suzaku as Lelouch left them alone.
“I just got back from visiting Nunnally,” Euphie spoke, as they walked through the garden.
“Really? How was she?”
Euphie sighed, fingers brushing up against violets growing along the path. “She’s recovering…that stay in the dungeon made her ill. But she’s getting better.”
“That’s a relief. How long do you think until she’ll be back to full health?”
“Only a few more days before she’s allowed to go outside, I think. She told me the first thing she wants to do is visit Alice’s grave.”
“Really…” Suzaku couldn’t help but fall silent. That little girl that he had positioned as Nunnally’s bodyguard gave her life when the late Emperor came for her. She had been honored by Lelouch in death the highest honor a Britannian agent could receive, but it could not numb the wound for her family. The girl was barely fifteen, after all. “Lelouch will probably find someone to replace her as Nunnally’s bodyguard…he’ll probably fuss even more now, after this.”
“He’s been fussing over me, too,” Euphie sighed, as they turned to find a large grassy area in the middle of the garden. “He says that I should stay in the palace as much as possible. He’s telling me that if I must leave the castle, then I’ll have to wear a disguise and use a fake name! The only other person he let me see is Onee-sama, and that was only through a video link—!”
“He’s right,” Suzaku cut her off before she could vent anymore of her frustration. Euphie simply didn’t understand how much danger she was in. She was declared dead, and as long as they kept that cover up, the Japanese would be content. But if they were to discover that the “Murderer Princess” was actually alive…
It wasn’t just that, either. There was another reason that Euphie would have to be kept a secret. If it got out that she was alive, it wouldn’t just be her life in danger, it would be her sanity. Perhaps it was cruel, but secretly, Lelouch had made sure that no information relating to the incident at that Special Administrative Zone could ever leak into the castle.
Euphie nearly had a fit when she was forced to shoot someone during the taking of the castle. If she learned what her own hands had done on that day…she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
“It still isn’t fair that I’m not allowed to go visit Cornelia in the EU by myself. He said that even if you accompanied me, it’d still—!”
How could he make her understand? “Euphie—,” He drew her to him. “You need to understand. That day at the Administrative Zone…there was chaos. The Black Knights attacked and you…you couldn’t do anything to stop it. When the Britannian troops came in to save you, the Japanese took it as an attack. That’s just how propaganda works. They like to think that you allowed it, so even though you did nothing wrong—” He nearly choked on those words. Yes, she did nothing wrong! It was never her fault! “They still would target you.”
“It’s still not fair, keeping me locked up like this,” pouted Euphie. “I want to do some good, I don’t want to hide like a spoiled princess. I want—!”
“Euphie, I know you’re frustrated but…there’s nothing I can do. Until we achieve peace…you’ll have to stay here. Here, you’re safe.” Yes, as long as she was with him, she was safe. He’d never let anything happen to her!
“Hmph,” Euphie rolled her eyes. “You both treat me like I’m some sort of porcelain doll. I’ve been in battle before. I know how to pilot a knightmare. I even shot someone in that last battle—!”
“I know, Euphie,” Suzaku smiled. “You’re strong. But that strength doesn’t mean you have to try to charge into battle like we do. Your strength is in here,” He took her hand, and then gently placed it over her heart. “Once we have peace, you can use that strength to make the world a better place.” With that, he kissed her gently on the forehead.
He knew she was strong, sometimes much stronger than her when it came to strength of heart.
But in strength of mind…she was fragile. So fragile that they all feared that one tiny misstep would cause her to crack and shatter.
Lelouch found his Empress in his private quarters, lounging on her favorite couch. She seemed to like this new change of scenery, adapting to it well. Already she had found herself some pretty impressive outfits—today she wore a black dress accented in white, the design a mere color flip of his own attire.
“Where’s Suzaku?” asked C.C. when Lelouch came in alone. “You two are near inseparable these days.”
“He’s with Euphie,” Lelouch ran a hand through his hair, coming to sit at the opposite end of the couch. “I felt it proper to leave them alone.”
C.C. smirked, “Getting used to it quick, aren’t you?”
“Getting used to what?” he rolled his eyes, yet he held a soft smile on his face. “It’s not like I had any objections. Suzaku is good for her…I guess.”
C.C. continued to smirk, as she crawled up the couch towards him, settling to lean over him. “I remember a time you didn’t think that.”
“Heh, that was then, and this is now, Witch. I also remember a time when I said I would crush Britannia with my bare hands, and now…this.”
“Hmm, have you perhaps gone a little soft?”
“I decided that it wasn’t Britannia that was my enemy—it was my father and his insane plans,” Lelouch spat the last part out. “I decided that instead of obliterating this country, I might use it for my advantage—‘change it from the inside, if you will’.”
“So that was a change of heart then.”
“Not really,” Lelouch continued to smile softly, while turning to look out a large window to the sun high in the sky. “I guess you could say it was learning something from an old enemy.”
C.C. sighed, “I suppose this means things are going to get more boring around you. I kind of miss the old days.”
Lelouch brushed a strand of her green hair off her shoulder. “Even if things are a little more boring…Still be my accomplice, Witch?”
She gave a small chuckle, “Of course we are accomplices…the only way to rid you of me…” Her fingers brushed across his cheek, underneath those contacts with the hidden geass eyes. “Is death.” And then she kissed him, binding that contract to death.
Security was really lax here, he noted, as he made his way towards the rooftop. Either that, or Emperor Lelouch, hadn’t trained his guards to deal with threats of the geass kind.
A smirk formed on his face. Foolish of him indeed.
As V.V. made his way up, he couldn’t help but widen his smirk. He had climbed through Hell and back, but at last, he would pay. They would all pay.
The sun was setting, and Suzaku had fallen asleep on that grass, underneath his own Knight of Rounds cloak. Euphie giggled at the sight, content to leave him there. When he wasn’t caught up in the seriousness of his job, he really was adorable.
She stood up, to go find those red flowers she had seen earlier. They had made him sneeze. She could tickle his nose with them until he woke up. Or, a grin formed on her face, she could try to find Arthur, and that would surely wake him up—
She wandered along the path, close to the edge of the garden. This area had a small wall that only went about waist height to keep small children from falling over. She paused a moment, to look at the fantastic view of the setting sun, remembering it when she had seen it years ago in this very spot—back before she knew Lelouch was alive, back when Cornelia was allowed to see her—back before everything changed…
“Good Evening, Princess Euphemia Li Britannia.”
Euphie turned at once, seeing a small boy with long blond hair walking up the path. “Who are you?” she demanded at once. Not many people were to know who she was yet!
“Oh, merely someone who wishes to tell you the truth, for once,” the boy smirked.
The Truth? What…? “What do you mean? The truth about—!”
“About what you’re missing.” The little boy came a step closer. He was small, yet there was something sinister in those violet eyes. “You’ve been asleep for a year, and when you awake, the world has changed. In fact, you don’t even remember how you got like that, do you? You just have to take what everyone says on faith.”
Her eyes widened. How did he know all this? Yet…did he have a point? She didn’t remember many things…the world was different when she awoke, but…Lelouch and Suzaku wouldn’t lie to her, would they? Miss C.C. was telling the truth when she said…? “Who are you?” she demanded at once. “In the name of Princess Euphemia Li Britannia, I demand you tell me your name!”
The boy’s smirk widened. “My name…is V.V. And I’m here to fill in the gaps of your missing memory, Your Highness.”
“I don’t want—!”
“Of course you do. Everyone wants the truth. Don’t you? Don’t you want to know the real reason they are hiding you here, forbidding anyone from seeing you? The real reason they are keeping watch over your every move?”
“I…”
V.V. let out a small chuckle. He stepped forward once more, Euphie backed up against the wall. She wanted to get away from this child, now. Her instincts told her that nothing good would come of it, but… “I’ll give you the key to unlocking your memories. You’ll know why they are treating you like a child instead of the strong and capable princess that you are. Isn’t that what you want after being out of it for so long? Answers?”
“Answers…?” Yes, yes she did want them. It unnerved her to no end that they treated her like a child, and watched her like a hawk. How they tried to keep her locked away like some hidden mistress instead of the princess of the blood that she was! Wouldn’t her memory solve all that? If she only knew…
That was the only consent that V.V. needed. He reached for her—
In the distance, Euphie spotted him rushing down the path. So, he had awoken. “Suzaku…”
“Euphie—!” he cried, drawing his gun.
But it was too late. The second the boy touched her, her world was draped in red.
“Impossible! How could he get in here, I thought he was dead!” Lelouch yelled, as they ran (in his case, trudged) up the stairs.
“You cannot kill someone with the Code,” C.C. reminded him from at least a flight above him. “And I felt him just now…he’s here, and he used his power. How he got out of the World of C is the question we should be asking—”
They both managed to burst through the rooftop exit, guns at the ready.
But when they saw the scene before them, they knew it was too late.
“Euphie! Euphie—!” Suzaku cried, holding the princess in his arms as she screamed, her eyes a flickering red. “You bastard! What did you do to her?” his gun pointed at V.V., who made no move to protect himself.
“I merely showed her the truth. The truth that you all were so willing to hide—!” He was cut off when a bullet ripped through him, shutting him up temporarily. The one who shot was Lelouch, as he ran towards his sister.
“I don’t…don’t make me…please don’t…” Euphie continued to sob, her eyes still flickering.
“Euphie, snap out of it, Euphie!” Suzaku cried, shaking her. “C.C.! Can’t you do something?”
Even the witch looked upset. “I cannot. The only way to block a geass is to block those memories. But if those memories come back…”
A soft hand came up, to gently cover Suzaku’s over his gun. He looked down, into the princess’s eyes. They were their usual shade of violet, now laden with tears. “Suzaku…”
“Euphie?” She fell forward, hand still over his. “Euphie!”
And then the gun was twisted out of his hands.
Euphemia, the Murderer Princess stood before him, gun inches from his face. Her eyes had fallen to that ring of red. “I must…kill all the Japanese.”
“No…Euphie…” Tears now formed in Suzaku’s eyes. “Don’t…”
“Euphemia!” Lelouch came and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t give in! Euphie, you know you don’t want to do this—! You beat it once, you can beat it again—!”
“My job…is to kill all the Japanese. You asked me to do it, remember, Lelouch?” A soft, almost sinister now, smile came on her face. “And I did. Now I have to kill the rest. Because that’s what you asked wanted me to do, right, Lelouch?”
“Euphie—!”
“Isn’t that my job?”
Even Lelouch couldn’t keep dry eyes at this moment. “Euphie…” His teeth clenched. Well, there was one thing he could do! “Forgive me, Euphie!” He grabbed for her, intent on just getting that gun out of her hands—
A shot rang out.
Lelouch staggered back, clutching his thigh in pain. The bullet had only grazed him, but it still hurt like hell. “I can’t have anyone getting in my way. I must kill all the Japanese.”
“Lelouch!” Suzaku grabbed him as he stumbled back. “Get away from here.”
“Why? What are you planning to do against—!”
“Don’t worry about it! Just get yourself out of here—!” There was a way that Suzaku’s words hitched in his throat. He wasn’t considering—!
And yet he grabbed Lelouch’s discarded gun. “Even if it costs me my life…I’ll find a way to cure her.”
“You can’t be considering—!” Lelouch grabbed at his friend’s collar. “You want to throw your life away again?”
“I let that monster do this to her!” Suzaku pushed him aside. Lelouch fell hard on the ground, shooting pain flaring up his already hurt leg. “It’s my fault…So because of that…I’ll fix the problem!”
“That’s not the only problem,” C.C. told them, as V.V. slowly got to his feet, bullet wound disappearing.
“You monster!” roared Lelouch as V.V. smirked back. “Why did you do this? To Euphie of all—!”
“Because, this is the only thorough way to live out my revenge,” V.V. continued to smirk. “It was all of you…all of you together that destroyed Charles’s plans, and then his life! C.C. decided that she wouldn’t play by our rules. Lelouch, you denied your father’s plan for your eternal glory! You threw it back in his face! But most of all, it was you, Kururugi Suzaku who let this all fall to pieces! If it wasn’t for your meddling every time, then the plan would have succeeded! So now, what will you all do? Will you kill your beloved princess, or will you let her kill you first?”
Euphie’s eyes flickered once more. “Why…? Why must I…?” The red gained control once again, as her gun pointed back at Suzaku’s face. “Suzaku…you’re Japanese, aren’t you?”
“Euphie, please, don’t…” Suzaku could only keep his gun leveled at her, but he could not bear doing what he might have to do. “Don’t make me do this…”
“Interesting,” V.V. taunted. “How will it end? Will you kill her? Or will you let your lover kill you first? Perhaps you’ll fire at the same time, then you can die a dramatic death together!”
“Or perhaps—“ This time it was C.C. who spoke up, her own gun in hands. “It will be you first.”
She fired—V.V. fell flat. And then she took that chance. She darted forward, grabbing the boy by the throat. But as she grabbed him, another shot rang out—this time, she was the one that fell.
“Perhaps you have forgotten how to aim?” V.V. smirked, standing up while the minor wound in his side healed. “At least you’re out of the way for a little while—”
He was caught off guard as a knife slammed between his ribs from behind. “What—?” V.V. choked as C.C. still healing, kneeled behind him.
“And perhaps you have forgotten, that I am several hundreds of years older than you, boy. If I want to, I can regenerate as fast as I wish.”
Lelouch managed to hobble his way over towards them. If V.V. was going to die, then he was going to kill him with his bare hands.
“It is futile,” V.V. smirked. “No matter how many times you kill me, the Code will keep bringing me back.”
“Hmph, the boy talks like he knows what toys he’s playing with,” C.C. smirked. “Before you, I was the leader of that Geass cult in China. And let me tell you something…I learned all there was to learn about Geass…and about Codes.” She grabbed him roughly across the scalp, snapping V.V.’s head back, making the boy cry out in pain. “So much, that I know how to give Codes with ease…and…how to take them away.”
The red Code on C.C.’s forehead lit up; the red mark on V.V.’s palm shone through his gloves as well. And the boy screamed. Screamed in absolute pain as the source of immortality was ripped from his body.
Lelouch hobbled up, C.C.’s gun in hands, ready to shoot that little bastard right through the head the minute C.C. said it was okay—
But V.V.’s fist shot out, grabbing Lelouch’s collar, pulling him forward into that red light. The gun clattered to the ground in the struggle. “Lelouch!” C.C. called out, as if from a great distance, but she could not move until she had finished. She could only watch as V.V. tried to run the show.
Despite the pain, V.V. managed to smirk back at the boy who had foiled all his plans. Lelouch’s eyes nearly shut in pain as his geass flared up, reacting to V.V.’s touch. “I hope you enjoy the punishment I’ll send you from Hell.”
He could barely hear him, his geass hurt so bad…Why was it so much pain? Even like this, did he have that much power?
“That’s enough!” C.C. yelled, the light fading. “Lelouch! Now!”
The Emperor fell back, still blinded from the light and from the pain behind his eyes. Still, he wasn’t about to stay put—Everything that had happened to him, everything was because of V.V.!
Lelouch didn’t even think—he just charged, throwing out a punch at V.V.
In hindsight, physical violence wasn’t his strong sport. But when he hit V.V., the boy stumbled back. Far enough to stumble back against that small wall. Now, C.C. didn’t waste a moment. It was just a simple push—no more of a tap, really—but it was enough. Enough to send him over the edge.
He fell—they didn’t know how far, but they didn’t dare look. His Code had been stolen. Whatever was left of him could be cleaned up by the palace guards. For now, there was something more important to be taken care of.
V.V. was dead. Yet Euphie still was…
“Don’t do this, Euphie…” Suzaku begged. “You don’t want to…you know you don’t…”
Wait…Euphie’s fingers fell slack. Didn’t she hear something like this before…?
“You don’t want to kill the Japanese! The Euphie I know would never want something like that!”
Yes…it seemed vaguely familiar…
He had grabbed her by the shoulders, that Japanese boy dressed in the uniform of her knight. His green eye had turned red. “Euphie…Euphie could never do something like this. She could never order this—she could never live in a world that was this cruel—she couldn’t live with herself if she allowed something like this to happen! Euphie can’t stand aside and allow people to die! She couldn’t watch as people were—”
Euphie…Euphie could never live in a world like this…She couldn’t live with herself is she allowed something like this to happen…
The red faded once more. Yes…yes she had allowed something like that to happen, didn’t it…? That day, the Black Knights attacked, but only because she…!
Kill all the Japanese…
It was her! She had done it!
“No…I…I didn’t want to…How could I have…?”
It was her that had killed those people! She caused the Special Administrative Zone to fall! It was her hands—her hands—that murdered hundreds of people! She did it!
“I was the one who—!”
She never wanted to kill anyone—yet that day, in cold blood, she had ordered—Why had she done it? Oh why? How could she pretend she wanted peace when she had—
You are the one that caused the Black Knights and Britannia to fight each other again. You are the one that made Lelouch and Suzaku keep on fighting…if it wasn’t for you…if it wasn’t for you—
The reason they couldn’t let her out…was because the Japanese wanted to kill her. And they should want to! After she had—she had—murdered—all those innocent people, she deserved it. They should want to kill her…they should…
“I…”
The red came back to ring her eyes. “Euphie could never live in a world that was this cruel—she couldn’t live with herself if she allowed something like this to happen!” Suzaku’s eyes widened, as he realized what she was saying. That geass he had put on her that day…but…it didn’t work, right?
Something was happening. Euphie was struggling, but she still hadn’t dropped the gun. “Euphie, Euphie please…” Suzaku begged. “Please, you can’t want this…just stop…”
“Yes…I’ll stop…”
The gun fell slack for a moment. For a second, hope bloomed in Suzaku’s eyes. “Yes, Euphie, stop, and everything will be all right. Everything will be—”
There was no red ring around her eyes. Or was there? They couldn’t tell…everything happened slowly, like in a dream. Slowly, she looked at the gun, and then raised it…but not aimed at anyone else.
It was only a second when they realized what she was going to do. “Euphie? No! Euphie—!”
And then came the final shot.
How long had it been since any of them moved? They didn’t know…Suzaku cradled Euphie’s limp, bloodied body in his arms, still sobbing. Lelouch looked on, not stopping the tears flowing down his face. Even C.C. bit her lip, wishing she could have done something different—something that would have stopped this.
“Lelouch…” Suzaku’s voice, watery with his tears begged, “Please…do something about my Geass. Release me from it.”
“What? But…Suzaku—!”
“Just do it!” his Knight of One turned to him, his face fierce with despair. “Just let me go—let me die! It was my fault—I let this happen!”
“Suzaku, you didn’t, it was V.V.—!”
“It was my Geass! My order that made her do—this! It was because of me that she’s dead! I’m the one that killed her! I deserve to die!”
“ Suzaku…” Lelouch knelt next to him, hand on his shoulder.
“Just let me do it…just let me die,” he continued to beg, not caring anymore. “I did this…I let her die…I can’t live with that…I can’t…”
Lelouch closed his eyes a moment, sucking in a breath. And then he stood up. “Very well.” Suzaku, even C.C. looked at him in surprise. “I’ll grant your wish. But first…”
He remembered V.V.’s words, screaming about the great and foiled ‘plan’. That plan that his father had…the plan to dominate the world in the name of peace. “We were set up from the beginning to fight each other…and because of that plan, Euphie’s now…” After a pause, he clenched his hand into a fist. “Why don’t we try it out? Their plan. Let’s see if it was so great after all?”
“What?” Suzaku looked back at Lelouch, and if he wasn’t seeing things, it appeared that Lelouch was scheming something…there was a glint of a wild madness in the back of those eyes.
“Why don’t we see which one of us is more fit to rule the world?”
Just one more chapter after this.
Chapter 17 here.
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Can't wait to read the last chapter ;~;
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I hope in the new anime, she doesn't end up with such a sucky fate, though. She's such an great character, and yet Sunrise killed her off too soon.
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Finals suck, don't they? D:
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