Fanfic: Death Plays Chess - Stage 02

[jjblue1]

Title: "Death Plays Chess: Stage 2 - Cerberus Awakens"
Author: J.J.
Warning: It's unbetaed. It's an AU. It contains SPOILERS for the whole "Code Geass" and some Japanese words (the Dictionary is at the bottom), Chess and Death’s references, plus everything you might find in an ordinary episode of "Code Geass".
Notes: This had been building up in my mind from the moment I set my eyes on "Code Geass" and so, now that the series is about to end, I thought to type it down.
Disclaimer:
"Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch" belongs to Sunrise. I'm merely using its characters and setting because I love them...
Ehy, Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensible heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews... so please be honest but nice ok?
Summary: Can some different moves change the result of the game?


‘The chessboard is the world.’ (Thomas Huxley)

2009 a.t.b. Britannia - Aries No Rikyuu

Four children were running as fast as they could through a barely lighted tunnel, running as if they were being chased by Death itself… which wasn’t probably that far from the truth as it could seem.

“Lelouch… where’s… Cornelia-Oneesama?” the pink haired little girl asked, clearly panting. “Why… isn’t she… here to… protect us?”

“I… I… don’t… know… Euphy,” the dark haired little boy said almost breathlessly. He was sweating copiously as he ran, dragging along another little girl with her light brown hair tied in two tails. Despite being smaller she seemed to manage to keep up with his pace fairly well, but maybe it was because he looked so worn out he seemed about to faint or, at least, to feel sick. Running should be a pain for him and yet he kept doing it, even as his vision grew slightly blurring. “The… guards… they… weren’t… anymore…” he tried to say then tripped and fell down, unwillingly pulling the little girl on the ground as well.

“Niisan! Is everything all right?” the fourth kid, smaller than him, asked him worriedly, immediately rushing at his side and helping him to sit up. “Do you want to…”

Lelouch struggled to breathe, feeling nausea rise. He had no stamina. He had no strength to keep running but…

“Oniisama! Oniisama! Don’t die!” the little girl with the two tails cried, clinging to him and making even harder for him to breathe.

“Nunnally… Rolo… let him… breathe!” Euphy ordered while still panting herself, pushing weakly away the two other kids, as she tried to unlatch the buttons of his shirt with nervous, shaky hands and ending up ripping them. “Breathe, Lelouch! Breathe!” she ordered and, as he focused his gaze on her, he struggled to obey. He was the only one who knew the way out of there and they couldn’t stop, they couldn’t stop or they too would end like Kaasan… and… and…

“Hey, look what I found here,” an adult male voice said. The children turned toward it, Nunnally, Rolo and Euphy clinging instinctively to a still out of breath Lelouch as they saw a strangely dark dressed guy walking toward them. “You’ve gone a long way children but your little escape attempt ends here… You know too much to be left alive…” he told them, then they saw him aiming at them and… and…

2017 a.t.b. Area 11 - Britannia Kyojuchi - Tokyo Sokai - Shinjuku Ghetto

The ruined subway was poorly lighted and not well ventilated. The smell of blood - the smell of death - rising by the Special Forces’ members’ corpses was suffocating, the grins they still had on their faces sickening. They had killed themselves, obeying like good, little soldiers to the order a boy had given them, the order the boy had casted on them using the power a green haired girl had given him. A green haired girl that now lied as dead as them in front of the boy she’d made a contract with (But hadn’t she been already dead when he bound the contract? It made no sense…) and the boy had fallen sit, still laughing, still laughing over the giant joke that his life was. He’d cheated death again. It still tasted like ashes like the first time and yet… it still meant to live and he still wanted to live despite everyone and everything. He wanted to live. He had to. He wasn’t aware of his siblings calling him, shaking him, asking him over and over if he was all right. At first. Then… then it downed on him as his mirth died down and he clung to them, hold them tight against himself as if he was about to slip in a dark hole and they were the only thing that could support him. Then… then whatever had seized his heart and mind… dissipated… no, not really, it just loosened its hold on him a bit but he could think, he could think rationally again… kind of. Emotional rush gone, he felt… dethatched… dethatched from the situation, Rolo and Euphy’s embrace almost surreal as his mind began to process facts in a rational manner, ordering them, filing some away for future examination while placing well in evidence the ones that truly mattered. As the one they still were in a subway, with a bunch of dead soldiers and a dead girl, a massacre or something close to it going on outside and no one to help them. Out of here, he had to get them all out of here, he would think later at everything else. Later.

“It’s all right, Euphy, Rolo, it’s all right, now let’s get out of here, right?” he said tiredly, trying to do his best to look as if he really was fine. Well, he was, at least he was still alive but… but… Two pairs of eyes looked at him in deep disbelief.

“You call this ‘all right’? Lelouch, I…” Euphemia had started in a motherly reproachful tone but then words failed her and she just looked at him. Their situation was horrible, the worst ever and she was dead scared and Lelouch was clearly ‘not all right’ and she wanted to help him, to protect him and had no idea what to do and she felt so helpless and frustrated she would have cried if she had the strength to.

“Niisan… are you all right? I mean… do you feel all right? I mean…” Rolo began asking anxiously, still clinging to him as if he feared he would disappear. No, more likely as if he feared he would have a heart attack just then and die. Lelouch swallowed as, for a second, made another mental analysis of his conditions and found nothing wrong… physically at least, then nodded slowly and stood, even if a bit unsteadily as if his body found hard to obey to his mind’s orders. He felt Rolo supporting him, clinging to him with an almost painfully tight grip. “Niisan!”

“I’m all right,” he repeated even if he wasn’t sure he was… or that he’ll ever be. He and Rolo looked at each other. Cursed. They share the same curse now, he was sure of that. “That was… Geass, wasn’t it?” Lelouch asked in a low, tired tone.

“Wait a moment, you don’t mean…” Euphemia asked, eyes widening in worry as she clung to Lelouch’s arm as well. “Are you fine?”

Geass. Power. Curse. Something that gave people control over others. Something that might end up controlling you and destroying your life.

Rolo lowered his gaze and nodded.

“I… I think so but… but she’s not VV-sama and…” he trailed off, unsure what else to say. “You… you sure you’re well, Niisan?”

“I’m fine,” Lelouch insisted, forcing a smile as he placed his hand on his younger brother’s head and caressed his hair while embracing Euphemia again. “I’m fine and I’ll get you both out of here, now I’ve the power to do this and… and we’ll worry about this later, okay?”

“Okay,” his siblings agreed weakly. The three of them stared at the dead girl next to them.

“You gave me this power… but I’ve no idea what you wanted me to do… anyway I thank you… for saving my life… and giving me and my siblings the means to survive,” Lelouch said softly, smiling bitterly, before beginning to walk away, looking straight ahead, as if he refused to pay attention to the corpses on the ground. Euphemia just stared at the girl for a moment, a large side of her feeling pity and thankfulness the other… just scared and confuse. She whispered a quick ‘thank you and I’m sorry’, before following Lelouch and wrapping both her arms around his own.

The prince and his princess.

She shuddered as she thought that, in that moment, they probably looked more like Hades and Persephone walking through their kingdom than two fairy tales’ main characters.

Rolo said nothing as he followed them but his eyes never left the dead girl on the floor, staring at her as if she were a dangerous enemy about to get up and attack them and he didn’t want to be caught unaware.

As they walked on the situation didn’t get any better, they merely found more corpses, they merely smelled more death. They found ruined stairs and climbed on them ending in a warehouse, that too filled with corpses.

“They… they… there are even children here and…” Euphemia noticed with horror then buried her face against Lelouch’s arm. Lelouch said nothing, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make it better. This horror… who could have authorized it? Who? Rolo said nothing either, just moved a little closer to Lelouch. Death was something terribly familiar to him, something he’d grown used to see and not mind at and yet… when he was close to his brother he could almost pretend it wasn’t. When he was close to him he felt almost like a normal boy. Lelouch had promised him a future, a future with him, and, even if his brother hadn’t been able to make it perfect… their life together was the best thing Rolo ever had and the only one he wanted to protect.

Then, with a loud crash, part of the wall of the warehouse crumbled. Euphemia clung to Lelouch who glared at the entrance while Rolo prepared to follow his brother’s commands. A purple and red Southerland emerged from the cloud of smoke the broken wall had raised and entered in the place, the layer protecting the Factsphere sensor placed on its head retreating so it could focus on them better. It didn’t seem to belong to the Special Forces but this didn’t mean it wasn’t a threat.

“Niisan, if I…” Rolo began in a low tone but Lelouch shock his head.

“I’ll handle it, you don’t have to worry,” he said simply and, even if Rolo wanted to complain, to complain and say it was dangerous for Lelouch to do this, that he could handle it, each time Lelouch acted like the overprotective older brother he was Rolo was always rendered speechless and filled with a warm feeling he had no name for. Euphemia looked at them in confusion, unsure about what they both were up to.

“What are Britannian students doing in a place like this?” a female voice asked from inside the Southerland. “Answer me, otherwise…” she trailed off as the Knightmare shoot at the wall behind them. Lelouch felt Euphemia clinging to him tighter but he didn’t flinch. The one in the Southerland merely wanted to scare them but, differently from the Special Forces, she didn’t seem to aim to kill them, at least not without a good reason... which reminded me even among the Britannian soldiers there were decent human beings, but there was no time to indulge in those thoughts. If he’d been cursed with the Geass power… well, that was the time to put it to use.

“Get down from there. Right now,” he commanded. Rolo and Euphemia tensed and looked at him worriedly but he… he could sense no change in himself that would indicate that power armed him physically. However…

“You… what do you think you’re doing?” the voice from the Knightmare asked in a clearly irritated tone, refusing to obey to his order. The siblings blinked in surprise for a second as they realized the power hadn’t worked.

“Nothing!” Euphemia replied in Lelouch’s place, worried this could lead the Knightmare’s pilot to harm her brother. “We just…”

“We’re the children of Spacer-Koushaku,” Lelouch finished for her in a calm and confident tone, raising his arms and ignoring Euphemia’s surprised gaze as he realized his power needed to be seen firsthand for it to work, which meant he had to get her out of that Knightmare. “We can show you our ID cards. After you check them we’d like to ask your protection… and your discretion. Our father won’t like we came playing gambles here instead than going to class,” he explained, sounding vaguely embarrassed. Euphemia stared at him but said nothing, knowing the gamble Lelouch was playing _just now_ was dangerous but also that it wasn’t the moment to point that out so, all she could do was to raise her arms like he was doing and keep her fingers crossed and hope it would work. Rolo said nothing as well, trusting his brother’s plan blindly and following it obediently as he diligently raised his arms.

There was a moment of silence then they heard a hissing sound as the cockpit opened and the pilot dismounted her Knightmare, still aiming at them with her gun.

“Keep your hands up,” she ordered. “I will take the IDs out myself.” She walked toward them with elegance and confidence toward them, the light at her back, causing her face to be in the dark, her behaviour painfully reminding Euphemia of Cornelia-Oneesama. She noticed the woman’s long, pale hair were only partially tied in a long tail, the rest let to frame the right side of her face and she wore high heels. Euphemia had the feeling she was rather pretty and thought it was odd how her mind would linger on such meaningless thoughts at that moment. Maybe it was just to stop her from going insane…

“Give us… your Knightmare,” Lelouch commanded as she came closer and they all hold their breath for a second as the woman stilled then…

“All right. The password is XG2,” she said simply, handing them her gun and throwing them her Knightmare’s activation key. Rolo caught it and hurried to retrieve her gun as well. Euphemia released the breath she was still holding and Lelouch allowed himself a satisfied smile.

“Very good, now wait here until we’re gone,” he ordered her and she nodded obediently, standing still.

“Lelouch, are you fine?” his siblings asked him simultaneously.

“Yes, this power doesn’t seem to hurt me… thought I need to get in eye contact with people for it to work,” he explained, sounding more relaxed. “Now lets go. Rolo, you drive.”

Rolo nodded then motioned to the soldier, which was still standing there, as if waiting for orders.

“What about her?” he asked, looking at her as if she was garbage that needed to be thrown away.

“Rolo!” Euphemia reproached him, knowing he wouldn’t listen but that she had at least to try. Lelouch hesitated for a second, then shrugged.

“Forget about her, she didn’t really try to harm us,” Lelouch said simply. Rolo shrugged as well, even if he didn’t look persuaded then they both climbed on the Knightmare.

“It’s… tight here…” Euphemia pointed out as they squeezed inside.

“Well, the cockpit is designed to contain only one person,” Lelouch explained her sounding uncomfortable as well as he held her seated on his lap. “Can you make it move, Rolo?” he asked then as Rolo, who had to share half the pilot’s seat with him, began the activation sequence with ease, as if he had practice doing this sort of things.

“Yes, the controls aren’t that different from the Glasgow,” he assured keeping himself slightly forward on the seat so as to let space behind himself for Lelouch and Euphemia as he began to drove the Knightmare out of the warehouse. He didn’t mind being that close to his brother… even if it made driving a bit more complex. “Now, where are we going to head?” he asked.

“Let’s scout the situation and search for an escape route out of here,” Lelouch said as he tried to get into a comfortable position while still leaving Rolo enough space to drive, mentally swearing that, if one day he were to have his own Knightmare, he would make sure the cockpit would be larger, much larger. Not that this was going to happen but still… just in case…

“Roger,” the boy replied.

“Lelouch… do you think… we can call Nunnally? We… we should have gone back to school long ago and she… she’ll be worried,” Euphemia asked meekly, mentally trying to persuade herself she has to keep being strong, that she couldn’t think to Suzaku yet. However, now that the fear had lowered it was getting difficult not to think at him… and at how he… Lelouch lowered his gaze and shock his head in denial.

“I… I’m not sure what we could tell her that wouldn’t worry her even more she already is,” he admitted reminding her that, while Lelouch was rather good at lying to anyone else, he loathed doing it with his family’s members. Rolo eyed him but said nothing. He didn’t look particularly concerned about worrying Nunnally but, she thought, after all he had developed a strange sibling rivalry with her about who should have Lelouch’s whole attention. Actually, at least in Euphemia’s opinion, Lelouch didn’t really have a favourite sibling. He simply loved the three of them in three different ways and Nunnally merely got to be the most spoiled because she was the younger (and probably also because she was a girl and Lelouch was weak against girls…). Rolo instead was the one allowed to tag after Lelouch everywhere Lelouch went, the one who was implicitly let in every secret, every plan Lelouch had come up with and even allowed to help, sometimes he was even asked to help when normally Lelouch was persuaded he could do without people’s help and didn’t let anyone in his private life. As for Euphemia… she was Lelouch’s moral support of some sort, the other ‘adult’ in their small family. At sixteen she wasn’t an adult and neither was Lelouch, who was merely a year older than her, but they were the oldest and so responsibility rested on them. Sayoko-san, Ashford-san and Jeremiah-Ojisan… they were a big help but… they weren’t family. It wouldn’t be fair to ask too much from them.

“Yes… I’m not sure I would know how to explain things to her either…” she agreed sadly, knowing she was much worse as a liar than Lelouch. Good at keeping secrets, yes, very good at that, but lying… it wasn’t her thing.

“We might call Shirley,” Lelouch offered. “And tell her to deliver a message to Nunnally. The swimming club activities shouldn’t have been started yet… Besides… there’s something I need to check and I’ll need her help to do so…”

Euphemia nodded with a small smile. It wasn’t the ideal solution but they hadn’t better options and she was sure Lelouch would manage to tell Shirley some sort of reassuring story so as not to worry Nunnally. Normally she disliked having him lying but… but she disliked worrying others even more. Rolo said nothing even if he frowned slightly as Lelouch dialled the number.

As Lelouch had said swimming club activities hadn’t started yet but they were about to do it soon. In the dressing room many girls were already wearing Ashford Gakuen blue swimming suit, chatting among them and watching a comedy show on a small portable television. Shirley, who despite being one of the Seitokai members, was also a full time member of the swimming club had just finished wearing her own suit when her oval pink and white phone, which was currently resting on her white shirt inside her wardrobe, began ringing the tune she had assigned to Lelou’s number. She picked it up, planning to chew him out for disappearing for all the afternoon dragging along Euphy and Rolo, not mentioning worrying everyone. Not even Rivalz, who had managed to return back, had an idea about where Lelou and his siblings had gone, rambling they left him to help some stupid truck driver (who’d been having an incident for driving in a careless way) and then disappeared. Fine, so helping someone was a good thing (despite what Rivalz could say) and she wasn’t worried for Lelouch at all, okay, maybe a little, fine, make it a lot, but she wasn’t going to admit it. At least not now and not on Lelou’s face.

“Lelou? Why are you calling only now?” she began while combing her hair with movements a bit more energetic than necessary that would have revealed her emotional state to whoever were to look at her. “Where are you and the others? Do you have an idea how worried Nunnally was?” To be fair Nunnally had hid her worry admirably, saying with a bright smile she was sure her Oniisama knew how to take care of himself and the others. Sometimes Shirley believed she put too much faith in Lelou. He was only seventeen and had the worst stamina ever and, even if he was smarter than most, she shouldn’t expect him to be capable to handle everything! Lelou however didn’t reply to her question.

“Is there a TV there?” he asked instead. There was an odd background noise as he spoke, like he was on some sort of vehicle but she couldn’t guess which one.

“TV?” she echoed. Of all the things she had been expecting him to say he had to ask about TV?

“Sorry. This is kind of important,” he said simply in a serious tone. There were more background noises now, that made harder to hear him and she wondered again where in the world he had ended, if he were in troubles, if… but if he were in troubles he wouldn’t tell her. He was made just like that. All she could do was to play along. She sighed.

“Wait a minute,” she told him then asked to the other girls if she could borrow for a moment their portable TV. Lelou asked her if the news were saying anything on Shinjuku. “News?” she echoed as she searched for them. She blinked as she found what she was searching, confused. “Hum… they say there’s just some traffic jams, but nothing other than that,” she reported wondering why this would be important. Was Lelou stuck into traffic as well? Or did he plan to take the Shinjuku route (Going through the Ghetto? Really this didn’t seem such a bright idea…) and…

“And the reason for those traffic jams?” he prodded, still in that same serious tone, background noise rising and lowering again as he spoke. She didn’t like that noise but she couldn’t really place it. Maybe he was near to some construction works?

“I don’t know. It doesn’t really say here,” she replied, feeling a bit of relief at the idea maybe he was merely stuck in the traffic. After all he sounded so calm he couldn’t really be in a bad trouble, could he? Unless… “Hey… you’re doing some weird type of gambling again, aren’t you?” she prodded, feeling a bit of irritation at the idea all her worry (No, concern! It was concern not worry!) had been caused by Lelou’s bad gambling habits. “I told you before that it’s dangerous and…”

“Yes, I know. Please, tell Nunnally we’ll be getting home late, okay? Bye,” he cut her, his voice softening when he mentioned Nunnally, then he interrupted the communication before she had the chance to say something. It was a bad habit of his to cut the conversation like that and it never failed to make her mad. She tried to call him back and give him a piece of her mind but his number wasn’t reachable anymore. Likely he had shut down the phone, another bad habit of his. Really, sometimes she had no idea why she put up with him.

“Well?” Euphemia asked, looking at him with some concern. Being forced to stay so close to him she hadn’t lost a word of the conversation, even if she hadn’t participated in it. “What’s about traffic jams? This can be hardly called…”

“They’re covering this up… for now,” he explained. “They likely plan on having the army make an announcement after everything is over.”

“Everything is over? They… they are killing everyone and destroy everything! It’s like… it’s like a massacre but they can’t really be planning on doing one, can they?” she asked in disbelief, knowing it was very likely but refusing the idea. Lelouch just gazed at her and she shook her head in denial. “This is so… this is so… Lelouch, can’t we do something to stop this? I don’t know, tell the army something?” she asked then, looking at him pleadingly and he just stared at her, looking like he had no idea what to say.

“Oneesan, we should think at going back at Ashford Gakuen all in one piece instead than worrying about this. It’s simply impossible to stop an army with just a Southerland,” Rolo pointed out, trying, as usual, to persuade his siblings not to get involved in other people’s troubles, especially when they were of this magnitude.

“But Lelouch is so smart I’m sure he can find a solution for everything and you’re a great pilot, Rolo! I know I’m pretty useless but there must be something you two can do!” she said heatedly and here laid the real problem Rolo had in dealing with Euphemia-Oneesan. She wasn’t saying that to flatter them both and persuade them to help, to her it was a mere fact. She trusted them both to be capable to make the difference. Rolo, who believed would never get used to receive praises, lowered his head in embarrassment.

“I’m not so good as a pilot,” he muttered in a grumpy tone, feeling it was unfair how, despite Euphemia-Oneesan not being even remotely comparable to Niisan, she still managed to affect him somehow, to get close to him. She wasn’t family but… she was close to it. Even if he didn’t feel ready yet to admit it.

“Rolo’s right, it’s not so simple, Euphy,” Lelouch admitted with a sigh, turning his gaze away from her and looking to the screen with that fatalistic look he had when he believed the world was an hopeless place that would never change. She would have liked to snap him out of it, to give him back the hope and the enthusiasm he had when he’d been a child and looked up at his mother like she was some sort of deity that could do everything, when he planned up some sort of secret code just for them to use, when he challenged Shneizel-Oniisama to chess despite him being much holder than him but then she noticed something had caught his interest. She glanced at the screen as well and saw the poor remaining of some child’s toys and, among them, some chess pieces. He smiled as he stared at them, going back to a confident expression again. She smiled as she remembered chess had this effect on him, calming him and giving him inspiration and this might be what they needed right now.

Short later, Lelouch had taken possession of the abandoned chess pieces (despite Rolo sighing and Euphemia rolling her eyes) and was looking like he was coming up with a plan.

“Ne, Euphy, Rolo, look,” he said tapping the green screen which was currently showing them their position and the one of the other Knightmares in the area. They were the still yellow point in the middle of the screen, while all the others were the small forms nearly all in an azure colour moving around the area. “As long as the situation is hidden from you it’s difficult to determine reinforcements that you must send. In other words, those are all the pieces for the board,” he explained. “Even so, getting through this many enemies by ourselves will be difficult. It’s also dangerous to approximate things.”

A loud crash interrupted his explanation. A red Glasgow had just destroyed a Britannian helicopter not too far from them. A red Glasgow. Undoubtedly its pilot was a terrorist, maybe the same girl they saw in the trunk.

“How about the terrorists paying us back for getting us involved in this?” he asked as his plan began to take shape.

“Paying us back?” Rolo echoed, not seeing how.

“You don’t mean you plan to do something bad to them, do you, Lelouch?” Euphy asked, frowning slightly.

“No, Euphy. I’ll lead them to victory. I’ll lead them to victory against the Britannian army!” he stated, grinning confidently and his siblings could only stare at him in surprise.

Euphemia hated being the only one who felt nervous about the whole thing. She trusted Lelouch, she trusted him more than anyone else but defeating the Britannian army…. was a goal that seemed a little too… huge for them to reach. Even if they were to ask the terrorists’ help (and she wasn’t sure this was a good thing, she understood their motivations but still she disapproved the use of terrorism) how could this make the difference? The terrorists were few and poorly armed, their Knightmares likely all Glasgows… if they had more than one. Sure, Lelouch had thought of a way to correct this and probably had a bright plan of his up on his sleeve but still… still… Defeating the Britannian army… She stared worriedly at the green screen, holding her hands against her chest, mentally counting the many azure forms that represented the Britannian vehicles. They were so many… and so many of them were probably Knightmares…

“Don’t worry, everything will go well, I can handle this,” Lelouch reminded her in a calm tone, his gaze focused on the screen as he kept turning the black king in his hands, and she could only look at him and think ‘But you’re only seventeen! Even if you might be capable to handle this you shouldn’t have to handle it!’ but she kept this to herself. She had been the one stupid enough to ask him to ‘do something’ and he had merely risen to the challenge. Sure, she hadn’t expected him to do this but… but… Well, it was too late to complain now. Now the only thing left to do was smile at him as if everything was fine and reply ‘I know’ because, as impossible as this seemed to be, if there was someone who could do it that was Lelouch and she was his sister and she was supposed to, at least, support him since she couldn’t do anything else. He turned toward her, a soft smile on his lips and she caught a glimpse of pain and nervousness in his eyes before he turned on the screen again.

“Rolo, are you ready?” he asked while retrieving the terrorists’ transmitter they stole from their truck.

“Ready, Niisan!” the younger boy replied, smiling up at Lelouch as if he believed things would work just fine. Maybe he did or maybe he was simply happy he could be part of Lelouch’s plan. Rolo’s biggest joy seemed to be being with Lelouch and helping him out doing whatever Lelouch wanted…

“Good, then let’s start,” Lelouch said slowly as he activated the transmitter. “The west exit!” he ordered into it to the Glasgow’s pilot. They heard a female voice making a surprised sound. Female voice. So was she the same person they had seen in the truck? “Use the railroad and move towards the west exit!” he clarified.

“Who are you?” she inquired in an aggressive tone and yes, that voce was exactly the same of the girl they had seen in the truck. “How do you know this code?” she asked and, despite the tone she was using, there was fear in her voice. She had looked young, probably their age, and yet there she was, involved in a war against a whole army and with little chances to get out of Shinjuku alive. “It doesn’t matter,” Lelouch replied in an authoritarian, almost aristocratic tone he normally didn’t use but that was his birthright to have. “If you wish to win, believe in me.”

The girl did, even if it hadn’t been a terribly difficult choice since she basically didn’t have any other option, and they saw her taking the route Lelouch had instructed her to chose, followed by two Southerland. Definitely an unfair fight, two against one, Southerlands against a Glasgow, Southerlands with both arms against a Glasgow that had, apparently, lost one, adult soldiers against teenager girl but war was unfair and this was war or, at least, an approximation of it.

Her voice came again from the transmitter, ‘Hey! What I should do now?’, urgent, scared, nervous, young and yet trying to sound confident, as the two Southerlands were after her and coming closer. Euphemia held her hands tighter, praying the unknown girl wouldn’t die, praying Lelouch’s plan would work. Lelouch grinned as a train showed up on the railway, moving in her direction. Yes, all according to plan, he thought. “In exchange for believing me, I’ll let you win. Jump up onto this.”

“All right!” she replied, quickly doing so, while the Knightmare behind her, finding itself to face the train all of sudden, tried to stop it with its arms, managing solely to slow it down while, as expected, the one behind him tried to jump over the train as well and chase the girl.

“Now, Rolo,” Lelouch said simply after shutting down the transmitter. Taking aim and using the Slash Harken against the Southerland, seriously damaging it and sending it to fly on the ground was a matter of few seconds for Rolo and, even if the ejection mechanism didn’t activate (probably because it had been damaged by the blow), there were few chances the Southerland would stand and fight again.

From the Southerland transmitter a male voice (likely belonging to the pilot of the Southerland that was still stopping the train) asked them angrily what were they doing attacking someone on their same side and from which platoon they were from. Rolo replied shooting at one of the Southerland’s arms, breaking it. With only one arm it became troublesome to stop the train’s course, causing one of the Knightmare’s Landspinners to break. As the terrorist’s Glasgow headed back to attack it, the pilot’s only option become to eject so as to escape to secure defeat.

“Rolo, let’s leave before they’ll discover us. We’ll help the terrorists but this didn’t mean we’ll show us to them,” he explained and, obediently, Rolo drove the Knightmare away from sight.
“Thanks god she’s alive!” Euphemia commented happily, feeling a deep relief all of sudden despite having only seen the Glasgow’s pilot once… and definitely not in the best occasion.

“Don’t get too worked up, Euphy, the real game start now,” Lelouch warned her grinning, the grin Cornelia-Oneesama had when she was going to face an interesting opponent she was anxious to defeat and, for a moment she wondered if it was a good thing he was getting so much into this but decided that wasn’t the moment to dwell in that thought. After all, once this would end and they would be out of Shinjuku Lelouch would never again have the chance to do something like the thing he was going today. Never again. She saw him turning on the transmitter again, again talking with the terrorists. They could see them without being seen from the position they were in, a small group of people collected near the Glasgow.

“Are you the leader?” Lelouch asked simply and a brown haired boy replied uneasily ‘yes’. She definitely didn’t sound like some seasoned, confident commander. Lelouch had been probably right thinking Britannia would have an easy job against him and his men. “I’ll give you the things that are inside of the train there as a present,” Lelouch went on. “They’re some tools that you can use in order to win. If you wish to use them and win, enter in under my command!” The terrorists didn’t reply immediately, preferring to check what was in the train first. From the transmitter they heard their surprise as they discovered the many Southerlands stored there, their voices sounding exactly like the ones of children at Christmas. Lelouch gave them some time before imparting the next order. “You there in the Glasgow!” he called and Euphy’s heart gave a jump as she thought back to the girl. “You stay in here. That machine is geared toward disturbance tactics,” he ordered and she agreed, surprise in her voice. “How is your energy filler?” he asked then.

“About 15 minutes left…” she replied and Euphy mulled the number in her head. 15 minutes. Probably less if she were to use her Knightmare to full potential. If Lelouch hadn’t saved her in less than 15 minutes she would have been… no, maybe even sooner, she doubted she would have handled for long a fight with those two Southerlands…

“Then, get a new pack,” Lelouch instructed her. “In 10 minutes I’ll send you some new orders,” he told her before cutting the communication and sighing.

“Niisan?”

“Lelouch?” Rolo and Euphemia called simultaneously, concerned eyes on him.

“It’s all right, it’s just this is more tiring than I thought,” he replied smiling at them, still turning the chess piece between his fingers. “But the trick is to remain steadfast to see this through the end,” he said returning serious. “The stakes of this game are people’s lives… therefore I can’t lose.” Euphemia smiled at him. Even if Lelouch spoke of the whole thing as a game… he was worrying for the lives involved. With his actions he was trying to save people, so who cared if he needed to see the whole battle as a game of chess? It was the intention what really mattered, it was the result they would obtain if his plan were to work. Names… they didn’t matter. Especially for them who couldn’t use their real ones.

“I know you’ll do it,” she stated, voice dripping with trust and pride. Despite what they had gone through Lelouch was still the kind and caring soul he’d been when they lived in Britannia… only now he did his best to hid it behind a mask… but who were to look carefully could still see through it.

“Sure, there’s nothing Niisan can’t do!” Rolo agreed, smiling to him.

“Good, then let’s start,” Lelouch stated, smiling as well before preparing to activate the transmitter again.

Rolo was eyeing the situation carefully. The terrorists were taking control of the Southerlands as the green screen showed that the Britannian army was still scanning the zone, starting to come closer to their position. He heard the click that signalled Niisan had turned on the transmitter and then him speaking in a calm tone.

“P-1, can you move it? The controls should basically be the same.”

“Who are you? At least give me your name!” it was the rushed reply of the one that had identified himself as the leader. Why was he finding so important to know Niisan’s name in such moment was beyond Rolo’s comprehension. They couldn’t check if Niisan was telling them the truth or not so, how would a name make the difference? Or they merely wanted to know if Niisan was an Eleven like them? Would a ‘Fukuyama Jun’ sound more trustworthy than a ‘Johnny Bosch’? Wouldn’t it still be a lie? And even if they were to know Niisan’s real name or the one he had used during all those years… how would it help them? Especially considering who Niisan really was…

“I can’t do that. What if the transmission is being monitored?” Niisan replied, deciding he wouldn’t give them any name not even a fake one. Either he too didn’t see a reason to do it or Niisan had his own hidden agenda. Rolo had learned long ago Lelouch’s plans were filled with so many routes they were worse than the Minotaur’s maze. If that guy was hoping he could make sense of them then he was in for a severe delusion. “More importantly if Q-1 is on time then in 23 seconds the enemy Southerlands will be there. Most likely to your right. Just fire on the line there!” Lelouch went on instructing the guy as the red light that represented Q-1 moved on the green screen toward the position she’d been instructed to take and another male terrorist’s voice commented ‘Jeez, what does he think he’s saying?’ before they heard the terrorists’ leader speak again in a resolute tone.

“All of you, check your weapons!” Another click as Niisan turned off the transmitter again and they all smiled. The terrorists were going to cooperate. They were now Niisan’s soldiers and Niisan would lead them to victory as he had promised, Rolo was sure of this.

Short after they saw some blue points near Q-1’s red one disappear.

“The ID signal is a double edged sword,” Niisan explained to them. “And if the terrorists follow my commands we’ve already won.”

“Lelouch… you think the pilots of the Southerlands managed to eject?” Euphemia-Oneesan asked, looking at the screen worriedly and this was the main problem with her. She worried too much about people she didn’t even know.

“The ejection system self activate as soon as a Knightmare sustain a fatal damage. The pilot can also activate it if he feels like the situation is getting too dangerous for him to handle,” Rolo replied before she could infect Niisan with her unnecessary concern for those enemy soldiers who wouldn’t likely hesitate a second in killing the three of them. And of course it was entirely possible that the ejection system hadn’t activated in time but really, that wasn’t the moment to worry about that. They were already doing too much saving the rebels’ lives. Britannian soldiers would have to take care of themselves on their own. Euphemia-Oneesan didn’t look happy but Niisan said nothing to confirm or deny Rolo’s words and the discussion was dropped entirely as Niisan began to give more instructions to the terrorists who began obeying him a bit more enthusiastically even if one of them protested at being called ‘P-5’. Euphemia-Oneesan commented evidently not everyone was as chess lover as Niisan but, even if she tried to make it sound like a joke, her gaze was lowered and Rolo figured once they would be home she would go in full depressing mood. He hoped Niisan wouldn’t join her as well. The fight progressed and more azure points began to vanish. As impossible as this could seem a bunch of terrorists was really winning against Britannia. Slowly but securely all the Knightmares were being defeated, their forces decimated and when with the last order Niisan caused the majority of them to be destroyed leaving only few sparse units he declared check and laughed out loud.

“It _IS_ possible! I can do it. I can do it! Britannia can be defeated!” he exclaimed while laughing but there was something strained, bordering to hysteric in that and Rolo and Euphemia looked at him worriedly.

“Is everything all right, Niisan?” he asked unsure, knowing he never reacted like that before. Was this a side effect of… but it make no sense, why after so much time from when he used it?

“We won, Rolo, Euphy, we won!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, like a child who just won at his favourite game.

“Lelouch,” Euphemia called in a calm, loving tone, resting her hand on his cheek. “You’ve been good, you saved all those people,” she told him and he stopped laughing and blinked at her as if startled, then leaned into her touch, returning serious again. Rolo wasn’t sure what went on here but he figured it was better if Niisan was calmer. Somehow, even if he’d been laughing, Niisan hadn’t seemed all right before, reminding Rolo of the moment in which that cursed girl infected his brother with her cursed power. He shouldn’t have allowed her to taint Niisan with that power… he should have protected him, protected the only person who gave him happiness and instead… He was startled as he felt himself being embraced from behind, his brother leaning slightly on him as he held close him and Euphemia-Oneesan and Rolo thought that was what meant to be part of a family. Being held close, as if he was something precious.

“A little bit and all will be ended and everyone will be able to go back home… us included,” he murmured softly.

“This is B-group! Enemy sighted!” an unknown voice from the transmitter declared, interrupting that siblings’ moment. Three pair of eyes turned on the screen as Rolo and Lelouch wondered simultaneously if it was possible the enemy had backup.

“Real battle is different from chess,” Lelouch commented, sounding slightly bothered by this, before turning on the transmitter. “What’s the situation?”

“Everyone escaped but four troops were instantly…” a voice replied filled with fear.

“Number of enemies?” Lelouch asked calmly as his mind was already working on those data.

“One troop, just one!” the voice replied, fear rising. “Is it a new model? I’ve never seen that type bef…” the sentence was interrupted as the man screamed. Then they could only hear the sound of statics. Euphemia stared, wide eyed. That man they just talked with… he wasn’t dead, was he? Rolo scanned the screen, trying to figure out where was this so called new model and if it could turn into a trouble for them. If it was a new model it would likely be superior to the Southerland… at least on the paper. And if it had a pilot that could use that superior power… things would be troublesome.

Lelouch meanwhile was trying to collect data but what he heard wasn’t encouraging. The new Knightmare could stop bullets, he was told before a new scream interrupted the communication. He frowned. Terrorists were useless. How couldn’t they manage to handle just one troop? Even if it was a new model surely it couldn’t be that powerful…

“Lelouch, do something! That guy will end up killing everyone!” Euphy urged him and he tried… but no matter what he ordered the terrorists to do, they couldn’t stop the Knightmare and even P-1 was defeated. His hand clenched on the transmitter. The enemy… was it really only one troop?

“Niisan! Something is coming closer!” Rolo warned him. Lelouch had no time to ponder on this as, all of sudden a white Knightmare appeared and attacked them. Rolo moved the Knightmare fast enough to block the enemy’s punch but it was obvious the Southerland was having problems facing the other’s strength as it was pushed backward.

‘So is this guy! The one messing with my plan!’ Lelouch thought, feeling fury rise. He’d been gambling on those terrorists to save all the people in the ghetto and now… now… ‘A mere pilot! How dare he?’ No, he wouldn’t let him mess up with his plan. He had enough of Britannians chasing and murdering innocent people just because they could.

“Rolo! Can you stop him?” he asked to the boy, holding Euphy tightly against himself in attempt to keep her shielded.

“I can try but the Southerland…” he didn’t manage to end the sentence as the ground under them gave away under their excessive weight and they fell through the floors of that ruined building until they reached ground floor. Rolo managed to have the Knightmare land not too badly and made it stand it immediately but the system was already signalling they got damaged.

“Damn, this is no good!” Lelouch realized. “Rolo! Let’s retreat! The Southerland can’t compete!” Niisan instructed him, but it was easier said than done.

“It’s charging again!” Rolo stated, seeing the white Knightmare come their way. He managed to avoid the blow out of sheer luck but he doubted he would be that lucky a second time. Niisan wasn’t really interested in Knightmares but Rolo was sure he’d never saw that model before and that it was powerful, too powerful for their Southerland to manage to escape in such situation. Of course, he had his own resources to handle a Knightmare that was too fast for him to match but… if the Knightmare was so fast maybe it was also more resilient and so… would the Southerland’s weapons work? Another attack and this time the white Knightmare managed to graze the Southerland… he wouldn’t avoid a third attack so he has to…

“Eject! There’s no point in challenging him!” Niisan ordered instead and Rolo half smiled as he glanced quickly at him. Niisan always worried too much for him but, if they were to eject, wouldn’t they just turn into an easier target? He didn’t trust past the Britannia army to destroy the ejected cockpits… and he had already failed to protect Niisan once, causing that girl to lay her curse on him… No, this time he had to do things his way… He… He never managed to do a thing as the red Glasgow, Q-1 as Niisan had renamed it, came to their aid, attacking the white Knightmare. Its pilot was good but a Glasgow had even less chances than a Southerland and even if the girl said ‘they would get him back for this’ she lost the fight before Rolo could even use the distraction she caused to hit the white Knightmare.

“The ceiling, Rolo! Hit it then let’s leave!” Niisan shouted as the girl ejected. Rolo obeyed out of instinct, shooting at it and causing part of it to crumble on the white Knightmare. It wouldn’t really stop it but the surprise gave them the time they needed to escape.

“I guess I must learn with humans there’s no perfect plan,” he heard Niisan muttering and felt his heart ache as he wondered if he referred to the fact Rolo hadn’t managed to defeat the Knightmare but it didn’t last as he felt his brother ruffling his hair. “Good job, Rolo,” he said simply, softly, and that was all he needed to hear to feel his heart beat normally, really.

“Yes, you’ve been great!” Euphemia-Oneesama agreed but her voice was shaky and her smile forced as she clung to Niisan. She looked pale and had been probably very scared but at least she hadn’t screeched the whole time in fear. Euphemia Lamperouge was tougher than many people gave her credit, he knew that. “If it wasn’t for you, that Knightmare…” Something beeped, interrupting her.

“Damn, it’s following us!” Rolo and Lelouch stated at the same time as Euphemia covered her mouth to silence herself.

“Niisan, it’s too fast for us to leave it behind!” Rolo pointed out.

“Then we’ll slow its run!” Lelouch declared, refusing to surrender to the Knightmare. “Rolo, have those ruined buildings falling on him!” he instructed. They were abandoned building, Shinjuku was filled with high-rises it seemed, and by then people should have already been persuaded by the terrorists to leave their houses. It was risky, someone might have not yet managed to leave what, for the poor Elevens residing into the Ghetto were their homes but… they had no other choice if they wanted to live. Ending up in Britannia’s hands wasn’t an option for them and, even if it had been, he was sure the Britannia’s army had been instructed to let no survivors.

Rolo obeyed, turning the Knightmare and shooting at the buildings behind them without hesitation, causing them to begin crumble, part on the white Knightmare, part on its path, obstructing it. It was pointless, the white monster was still managing to avoid any obstacle, as if they were nothing for him, as if…

“A woman’s falling!” Euphemia screamed in horror. Lelouch’s eyes widened, she’ll die, she’ll die and it would be because he ordered Rolo to shot, but he said nothing. He knew what that order could cause and he’d been willing to face the risk… even if it was a tremendously bitter pill to swallow. They however didn’t saw the woman smash on the ground with her infant son. The white Knightmare caught her in one of its hands, cradling it carefully so as not to hurt her or the kid.

“Saving a person in the middle of a fight…” Lelouch whispered.

“It means he’s not a bad person, isn’t he?” Euphemia asked hopefully.

“Sure, he only murders people after he’d checked they’re Elevens or terrorists. We all saw what the army did to the Elevens we met on our way here,” Rolo countered coldly.

“But…” Euphemia protested.

“Hmpf, if he wants a moral victory lets him have it. We’ll eject now,” Lelouch decided definitely sounding unpleased.

“But Niisan, without the Knightmare…” Rolo began to protest.

“With the Knightmare we’re easier to locate. We destroyed most of the Britannia army so the way should be almost free for now and I’ve a plan to clear it even more before they’ll manage to regroup and attack the people again…”

Not much later three foot soldiers were making their way back to the G-1 Base in the Shinjuku Ghetto, where the temporal headquarters were stationed, one of them trying hard not to look nervous and scared.

“You both shouldn’t have come,” the tallest of the three whispered grumpily. “I could have handled this on my own.”

“I’m safer with you and anyway I won’t let you two do something that risky on your own,” the nervous soldier replied, whispering as well, in a definitely female voice.

The shorter soldier instead didn’t reply, he just looked at him with those clear amethyst eyes of his in that manner that said ‘where you go, I follow’ and the tallest one sighed. He was surrounded by stubborn people. Their path was interrupted by a soldier pointing his weapon at them.

“Halt!” he shouted in an authoritative tone. “Where are your IDs? This is Clovis-denka’s apartment!” The nervous soldier tensed, the shortest soldier readied himself to act as for the taller one…

“Finally a guard, huh?” he observed, grinning slightly as he removed his helmet. “You’ve become quite spread out, as I’ve planned.”

“Planned?” the soldier echoed.

“Yeah, I want you to let us pass,” the other went out in a self satisfied, commanding tone and, after he said so, the other soldier agreed obediently. He placed back his helmet on his head, using it to hide his features as the three of them continued their walk. The nervous soldier breathed in relief while the shorter relaxed slightly.

“The inhabitants of the Ghetto… will they be safe?” the nervous one asked quietly. “We won’t be too late, will we?”

“They probably are hiding… but now that the terrorists aren’t keeping the army busy the soldiers will begin to search for them again… if it hadn’t been for that stupid white Knightmare…”

“But he saved that woman and her child,” she protested weakly. The others sighed.

“I’m not saying he’s a bad person… just a blind idiot. He probably has no idea he saved her only to have her killed by the army short later…” the tallest one explained herself. “When you become a soldier… idealism doesn’t do you a good service. War’s cruel not merciful and uses man’s best to do man’s worst. That pilot will either learn it or be killed by it for insubordination like…” he trailed off, evidently thinking of someone else who’d been held back by his ideals from doing something wrong and had only ended up killed. Silence fell for a long moment. “Let’s not think at this. We aren’t here for that. We’re here to get a friendly chat with our beloved Soutoku,” he stated darkly.

“You think if we explain things to him he’ll listen?” she asked hopefully. “After all back in the past he…”

Everyone in the Shinjuku Ghetto was thinking that would be the end for all the Elevens living there. The Britannia forces had needed some times to reorganize but now they were ready to restart their massacre. The white Knightmare wasn’t with them, by then he’d been called back to the base but he wasn’t needed anymore. The rebels’ Knightmares had been destroyed and the rebels themselves were hiding with the population like scared bunnies. Scared bunnies that had just been found by the Britannia Army. They wouldn’t have any chance of survival, they would all be killed there when a voice echoed for the whole Ghetto, clearly transmitted through all the Britannian transmitters.

“To all troops: cease fire immediately. As Area 11’s Soutoku, I command you in the name of the 3rd Ouji Clovis La Britannia. All troops, cease fire! Cease all structural destruction activity. Aid the injured ones regardless of whether they are Britannian citizens or Elevens. I command you in the name of Clovis La Britannia. Cease fire immediately. I will not allow anymore conflict!”

As soon as Clovis finished his speech the room he was in fell into partial darkness as the lights were shut down as the one of a theatre after the show had ended.

“Is that all?” he asked, sounding slightly bored, as he was seated comfortably on the throne-like chair reserved for the G-1 Base’s commander.

“Yes, that was perfect,” a smooth voice, which belonged to the tallest of the three soldiers that had intruded in his command centre, replied from the darkness. It had a familiar tone in it, one he couldn’t quite place but maybe it was just his mind playing tricks or he had merely already heard the turncoat in front of him talking in the past. Only… he couldn’t place when or where.

“What’s next? Shall I sing a song for you three? Or be your opponent in chess?” he wondered in a mocking tone, evidently believing the three in front of them wouldn’t dare to hurt him in any way even if they were pointing their guns at him. Well, actually only two were, the tallest and the shortest. The third (who had something girlish in his posture so maybe was he a girl?) looked like he (she?) hated that situation and wouldn’t mind to leave. Not that this would save him (her?) from death penalty for threatening a royalty.

“It brings back memories,” the tallest went on, removing his helmet, soon imitated by the other two. He couldn’t distinguish their features in the dark but noticed the third one had been hiding definitely long hair under the helmet, reinforcing his suspicions about him being a she. “Do you not remember? We always would play chess together, even thought I always won.”

“What?” Clovis asked confused and felt the sound of the gun being armed. Uh, oh, this wasn’t promising anything good. And who in the world could this guy be anyway? Of all the people he played chess with only Schneizel-Oniisama defeated him regularly (he assumed his father could beat him too but his majesty had always declared he hadn’t the time to play with him) but that boy surely wasn’t Schneizel-Oniisama and he couldn’t think at anyone else (he wasn’t that good but no one would dare to defeat a prince of Britannia after all) except for a person of his past but that person… that person was… No, how dared this guy to wake up such memories?

“Remember? At Aries No Rikyuu,” the soldier continued and Clovis frowned in irritation. “Bastard,” he hissed. How dared this stranger to say that? The one he’d played against at Aries No Rikyuu was long dead, his young body destroyed by the fire that burned the whole place along with the ones of all the people who resided there and of… “Who are you?” he questioned. How dared he to bring up the name of a place that had been the stage for a tragedy, a name no one dared to say out loud anymore?

“It’s been a while…” the soldier replied, coming closer followed by the others, their guns still pointed at him. “… Niisan,” he added and… and his face was in the light now… and Clovis’ eyes widened as he saw those features, those dark hair, those purple eyes… those purple eyes that were capable to stare so intently to the pieces on a chessboard… but that could soften and become so gentle when they rested on a person he loved… Clovis hadn’t forgotten them, he hadn’t been able to, he… “I’m Marianne-Kouhi’s eldest son and 17th successor to throne, Lelouch Vi Britannia,” he finished introducing himself, bowing to him.

“Hello, Clovis-Niisama…” the girl, yes, she was a girl, and he knew her, he knew that delicious soul that had been chirping her youthful enthusiasm from basically her birth, always so filled with trust and love for everyone it was impossible to hate her… the girl walked closer as well, long pink hair still dancing around her form as they had done in her childhood as she lowered her eyes with a guilt look on her face. “Do you remember me? I’m Euphy, I… ah… I mean… I’m Euphemia Li Britannia, Cornelia’s younger sister… I…” she trailed off and curtsied a little clumsily in that soldier’s uniform, missing the presence of a gown.

The third boy didn’t introduce himself, face expressionless as he looked at him in silence without bowing or lowering his gun, but Clovis didn’t really need for him to introduce. He didn’t remember his name but it was obvious that teen was the same strange kid that used to follow Lelouch everywhere he went, clinging to his hand like a lost puppy and literally worshipping the ground Lelouch walked on, but gazing everyone else the others as if they were objects for which he had no use or interest and that unfailingly managed to unnerve almost all the other members of the royal house.

“Lelouch? Euphy? But you two are supposed to be…” he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, unable to make sense of what was happening. Lelouch and Euphemia, his half siblings, had been declared dead among the casualties of the terrorist attack at Aries No Rikyuu and yet now they were here and… and…

“… supposed to be dead?” Lelouch, because even if it was impossible he was sure that boy was Lelouch, finished for him. He stared at them, speechless. Euphemia seemed nervous but Lelouch… there was something in him, something that made look his shy and sensitive little brother almost… scary and reminded him that boy was the son of Senkou no Marianne or Marianne The Flash, who in the past was also known as the Knight of Six, one of the two Rounds who had remained loyal to the emperor during the Blood Emblem Incident and those nickname was born by the spray of the blood she had shed from her enemies. A lovely yet dangerous woman who’d been a match to the actual Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein. And he was facing her son who, despite being bended on his knee, was looking at him like a cat would look to a mouse. “We have returned, Denka… we have returned in order to change everything.”

JJ’s usual ramblings, notes and what else
When I plotted this I hadn’t noticed yet how small were Southerlands’ cockpits and realized it only re-watching the episode. I figure being inside there should have been almost claustrophobic for the three siblings. Ironically, later in the ‘Code Geass’ series, Lelouch is the one with the Knightmares with the largest cockpits…
Also, the names Rolo thinks Lelouch could give are respectively Lelouch’s Japanese and American subbers.

Dictionary (for who’s unfamiliar with the ‘Code Geass’ universe)
Energy Filler: It contains the Sakuradite which recharge a Knightmare.
Factsphere sensor: Located in the beginning on the ‘head’ of a Knightmare but moved on the shoulders in late models and commonly protected under a layer of armor which can be retracted to improve system sensitivity they gather visual data. They have thermographic capability and an array of other data-collection functions which are collated in real-time.
G-1 Base: A Britannian land cruiser usually employed as a mobile command center and a field hospital.
IFF: Short for “Identification Friend or Foe”. An identification system that enables military and national interrogation systems to distinguish friendly forces and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator. It exists in real life and it’s implemented in ‘Code Geass’ military vehicles as well.
Kouhi: “Wife Of The Emperor” or “Empress”
Koushaku: Duke
Landspinner: Self-propelled roller skate attached to the ankles of a Knightmare, which allow them to achieve high mobility and speeds on most terrain.
Niisama: "Brother" or "Older Boy"
Ojisan: "Uncle" or "Older Man"
Ouji: Prince
Senkou No Marianne: Marianne The Flash
Slash Harken: Rocket anchors that Knightmares use as weapons.

For more info:
http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/

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