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“I need to know the specs of my weapon, don’t I?” Lelouch remarked, glancing at C.C.
They were standing on a balcony at Ashford Academy, watching a girl etch another mark into the brick wall, as she had done yesterday and the day before.
“And what will you do with that knowledge?” C.C. idly challenged. “You have the ability to twist people to your will, to violate the sanctity of their minds and enslave them. An ordinary man would balk at using such a power to its full potential.”
Lelouch scoffed. “I’ve already told you my intentions for Britannia. Did you think that was just talk?”
“Who knows?” A moment passes. “Oh relax, you and I are in this together. I simply need to know the specs of my weapon, don’t I?”
Back at his home, Lelouch was deep in thought. C.C. was right, in the end: the full extent of his geass is pretty disturbing. He could turn everyone around him, friend and foe alike, into unwilling slaves; he could wipe out their individuality, their self, with a single command.
But he had already done that, hadn’t he? On the night he first obtained his power. Ordering someone to kill themselves erases their self just as thoroughly as anything else.
The destruction of Britannia could not come without blood. He knew this. Logically speaking, enslaving people’s wills is no different, no more heinous. But then, if he’s shown a willingness to kill with geass, why does it feel worse to enslave with geass?
An image flashes into his mind, of Zero hiding away in a secure facility where nobody can touch him, while fanatically loyal minions bring people before him so he can enslave them as well. He could take over Ashford Academy, even, and conduct this war without even missing any classes!
“The king leads from the front,” Lelouch muttered to himself. That seemed to be the cause of his discomfort. Only a coward would order people to die while remaining safe in an ivory tower.
“Thinking about chess again, Lelouch?” Nunally asked.
Lelouch smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. Nunnaly rarely played chess herself due to her blindness, but she liked talking about it with him. Given the subject of his thoughts, perhaps… “I was just thinking about the philosophy of it again. The king’s orders are absolute, and chess is a deadly game. Many pieces lay down their lives simply because the king says so.”
Nunnallly hummed in consideration, clearly giving the topic its due diligence.
Lelouch continued. “But as much as I say that, the king is still the most important piece on the board. If it comes under threat, it is forced to order its subjects to throw away their lives for its safety. Can that really be called leadership?”
“I think the king is just doing its best to keep its subjects safe,” Nunnaly said. “You never sacrifice pieces unless it’s to protect other pieces.”
Lelouch chuckled. “Well, some strategies do involve throwing away pieces just for a more advantageous position. Sometimes the fastest route to checkmate requires a lot of sacrifice.”
“But when you get checkmate, the game is over and all the pieces can go home,” Nunnally countered. “The king gets to protect the pawns that would all die in midgame.”
Lelouch raised an eyebrow. “And does that justify all the sacrifice? Or is the king still a tyrant playing with the lives of his people?”
Nunnally paused for a moment. “I think it might depend on what the king’s goal is. When you play, I like to imagine that your king is fighting for peace.”
“For a kinder world, yes. Thanks, Nunnally. When I play my next game, I’ll make sure not to let you down.”
“Obey me unconditionally!”
Geass the receptionist, geass the security guards. The receptionist takes Zero to whoever’s in charge, who he also geasses. Then, simply for completion, geass the employees one by one. If anyone resists, the security guards can restrain them long enough. In a matter of minutes, the entire building is subverted.
“When not carrying out a direct order from me, continue your ordinary life as if this never happened.”
A momentary disruption, and then everything is running as smoothly as it had been ten minutes ago.
“These are the blueprints for the newest Gloucester models, Lord Zero,” the manager helpfully provided, showing Lelouch schematic after schematic. “Note the enhanced close-combat capabilities relative to your ordinary Sutherland. They’ve been in production for a few months now, and the first models have started arriving in Area 11 recently.”
“Wonderful,” Zero said. “Copy all the data to a flash drive, and then forget I was ever here.”
Running through the sewers after the disastrous confrontation against Cornelia in the Saitama Ghetto, one thought runs through Lelouch’s mind: that shouldn’t have happened. The rebels he supported were unreliable, buckling under pressure and falling for traps even as he shouted warnings in their ear.
The indignation roared through his head as he fled the scene. The Yamato Alliance wasn’t sufficient to achieve his plans. No, the biggest problem was Cornelia. She moved too fast, laying this trap before Lelouch had his pieces in place. She’s nothing like Clovis.
But no-one’s defence is perfect. Her royal guards may make it impossible to infiltrate her base on the battlefield and confront her directly, but she’s not surrounded by Knightmare Frames 24/7. He just needs to infiltrate the Viceroy’s Palace, geassing his way through the guards and servants, until he’s face to face with his dear half-sister.
In the end, it really is that simple.
It would be easy to subvert Area 11. With Cornelia’s support, he can go anywhere and geass anyone. He could take over the upper brass of Area 11 and forge it into a rebellion against the rest of the empire.
It wouldn’t be enough. Britannia defeated Japan once and already controls a third of the world, it would simply crush the fledgling state. Or at least, that’d be the opinion of the average civilian. There’d be no support for a rebellion like this. Some Britannian nobles defecting from the greater Empire to carve out their own fief, only inviting the horrors of war upon an already hard-pressed people? Britannian and Japanese civilians would unite against their government in simple opposition to the war.
Lelouch may have the power of the king, but even he cannot geass an entire population. And besides, what justice is there in Britannia slaying Britannia?
No, his rebellion must be Japanese. The people of Japan, rising up against their oppressors. The people Lelouch has subverted can play the role of covert sympathisers, providing the rebellion funding and intelligence while outwardly putting up a facade of resistance.
But that leaves a question. Should the charade go all the way to the top? Cornelia’s been ordered not to pursue Zero any more, but she’s still in charge of quelling unrest and rebellion. Lelouch could attempt to choreograph conflicts with her, orchestrating the ideal victory stories for the Japanese people to rally behind…
“Lelouch? Lelouch! Come on, stop daydreaming and help. The club budgets are all kinds of messed up!”
“Sorry Rivalz, I got lost in thought. We have a lot ahead of us, don’t we?”
“Can you hear me, Cornelia? This is checkmate.”
The battle at Narita had gone entirely according to plan. Upon Corenlia’s discovery of the main base of the Japanese Liberation Front, she set out to destroy the rebels with overwhelming military force. A perfect opportunity for Lelouch to battle-harden his new Black Knights.
Of course, Cornelia was feeding all strategic information to Lelouch, and is under standing orders not to kill Zero’s unit, and to avoid complete victory over the Black Knights should the Britannian side find themselves at a decisive advantage.
A show battle, really. The Black Knights are in no true danger, yet it looks for all the world as if Cornelia is moments away from ending their rebellion with extreme prejudice. With no other way out than to put their faith in Zero, the Black Knights prepare for war.
The landslide initiated by the Gurren Mk. II is exactly the miracle the Black Knights needed to have a fighting chance, wiping out the bulk of Cornelia’s forces and throwing the rest into disarray. And just in time, the Japanese Liberation Front’s Four Holy Swords show up with Knightmares of their own.
In short order, Cornelia is isolated from the rest of her army, caught in a trap set by Zero. Exactly as they both planned.
With Viceroy Cornelia surrendering to the Black Knights, morale and support will shoot through the roof. The Japanese people will see hope again, begin to think that the Black Knights might actually be able to stand up to Britannia. Zero’s will have a battle-hardened core and the force of a reinvigorated population behind him. Then he will be ready to take his plans to the global stage.
“So it is, Zero.” Cornelia responds, lowering her weapons. Between the Gurren in front of her and the Knightmares behind her, there’s no escape. “I surr-”
With a thunderous crash, a white and gold Knightmare crashes into the battlefield. “Viceroy, are you alright? I came to help, your highness.”
“Again? It’s him again?!” Lelouch seethes in frustration. Cornelia can’t surrender if the white Knightmare successfully rescues her, but Cornelia also can’t resist the white Knightmare without breaking character.
The conflict between the Lancelot and the Gurren Mk. II is brief but spectacular, and ends with the Gurren falling down the side of the cliff, defeated.
“Grrr, retreat! All Black Knights, move to your escape points!” It’s not the outcome he wanted, but if the Gurren can’t stop the white Knightmare it’s better to cut his losses. Today is still a victory.
Lelouch never expected that the Lancelot’s pilot, the single greatest thorn in his side, would be Suzaku Kururugi, but the problem is solved now.
In retrospect, his first folly was not taking full control of the administration from the beginning. It takes some time, especially to track down staff members on sick days or otherwise not on facility, but once the Viceroy’s Palace is fully subverted there’s no need in playing shadowy games. Nobody can betray him, so there’s nothing to fear.
Day after day, diplomatic visitors stop by, and as they arrive they are greeted by Zero. Those with useful contacts across the world are sent back to contrive reasons for others to stop by, and the rest are simply returned to their ordinary lives none the wiser.
Day after day, the Japanese become more invigorated. It’s difficult for Cornelia to balance losing strategic battles with the need to still appear a capable viceroy, but her keen strategic mind doesn’t make a misstep. The defection of the Lancelot to the Black Knights is the smoothest operation, played off as the insignificant loss of a single unit despite the extreme battle power it’s displayed every time it’s been deployed.
Eventually, everything comes to a head. His agents in the Chinese Federation and United Republic of Europia have enough influence to control key parts of the governments, and with a few quick plane trips their heads of state are geassed as well. The Viceroys of other Areas are also covertly subverted, one by one, forged into weapons against the Empire. Most critically, the zeal of the Japanese people has risen too high to be contained.
The Black Knights’ Knightmare Frames march on the Viceroy’s Palace and Cornelia resigns. In front of the entire world, Zero declares Japanese independence. Within the day, half the world has declared their support of the United States of Japan.
In Area 11’s military, officers loyal to Zero defect en masse, ordering their subordinates to follow their lead. Some acquiesce, others resist, but either way no Britannian forces remain on the island chain.
Across the world, Britannia’s other colonies rise in coordinated revolt. Instead of sending troops over to quell the rebellion in Area 11, armies from all across Britannia march on Pendragon, intent on dethroning Charles Zi Britannia.
It’s ever so easy to run a conspiracy when nobody inside it is physically capable of defecting. Charles Zi Britannia's seat of power in Pendragon may be mighty, but with the entire rest of the world arrayed against him he doesn’t stand a chance.
A seemingly-young man known as V.V. manages to escape into the night.
A few short months later, the Geass Canceler project reaches completion.