Death of a Dream, Life of a Princess

Kururugi Suzaku was not what most people would think of when the words ‘Royal Knight’ were mentioned.  Truth be told, he would prefer not to fight if it could be avoided and he was slow to anger in most situation.  In fact, most anyone who knew him would admit to just how confused they were by his employment in the military, let alone his efficiency as a soldier.  Euphemia li Britainnia, Third Princess of the Empire and the woman he’d sworn to serve was perhaps the only person who truly understood with him and agreed with his ideals.

Even if he wasn’t her Knight, Suzaku would give his life for her.

Which would explain why he was so panicked currently, having not put up any fuss as he quickly handed over his service pistol, shoving his way past the guards and into the medical ward as he did so.  The fact that he had left any means of defending himself, including the Lancelot, in the hands of the Black Knights, was of little concern as his feet pounded the tilled floor, moving him further into the quickly locked-down wing of the hospital nearest the Special Administrative Ceremony.

Finally, finally, Suzaku burst his way past Kallen Kozuki as she screamed out an indignant retort and rushed after him into a room that smelled of blood and disinfectant.  The door shut behind them just as a muffled scream of pain shot through the air, punctuating the strange scene they beheld.

The young Knight’s immediate concerns were allayed by the pink-haired woman seated by the bed, restraining the person resting on it.  There were tear-tracks down her face, her features were contorted somewhere between immense concern and, impossibly-

Anger.

The serene, loving young woman Euphemia should have been had been replaced with a tense, barely restrained ball of rage and sadness such that it shook Suzaku to the core of his being.  Physically, though possibly not mentally or emotionally, his princess was safe and his eyes immediately scanned the room for any possibly threats that would endanger that wellbeing…

Those same eyes came upon, in quick succession, a discarded cape, a black and blood-stained shirt, and a black, featureless mask set on a bedside table before traveling to the partially-disrobed and bloodied figure in the bed.  Kallen’s breath caught her throat audibly beside him as she, moments before he, came to a shared conclusion.  Immediately, their brains seized with the sheer insanity of the notion they had to comprehend, taking in once again the cape, shirt, blood, and mask as they mentally rebooted.

They were still struck speechless.

The teen on the bed, all muscles strained in a pained cry as a pair of long metal tweezers pulled a lump of metal from his body, possessed dark hair, soft features, and the deep violet eyes that marked him as Lelouch Lamperouge.  Currently distorted with pain, his gaze unflinchingly matched the two sudden intruders as his unrestrained arm grasped the iconic mask of Zero and pressed it over his features in the vain hope that the fallout could be averted.

C.C, holding the metal instrument that was currently buried inside the rogue-Prince’s wound, gave the intruders a foul look as she removed a second bullet.  Really, was it too much to ask for a little politeness as she saved an idiot’s life?

The door burst open again as three men rushed in and were easily identified as Ohgi, Tamaki, and Todoh of the Black Knights.  All three froze at the unexpected shock of seeing their leader partially striped of his uniform and at his most vulnerable.  The commanding voice from behind the mask broke the tense moment.

“Report!”  Zero barked in a tone that demanded obedience.

“We’ve secured the Special Administrative Zone without further violence, Zero.  A joint task force of our own men and those placed under the Third Princess’ command have captured the individuals we believe were responsible for the attack.  They don’t have any obvious signs that would affiliate them with any government or terrorist group.  We’ve placed them in holding cells at the former prefectural administration center.”

“Very good, what of the populous?”

Ohgi stepped forward from behind Todoh and took over the report, “They’re nearing riot level, Zero.  If it weren’t for the Knightmares, they would have stormed the Britainnian settlement already.  Princess Cornelia is rallying troops in the event that happens, but so far we haven’t hit the breaking point yet.  If a battle does break out, however, we have little hope of taking on the brunt of the Glaston Knights as well as the regular army units station around the settlement.”

Zero was silent a moment as he mentally calculated the changes he’d need to make to the plan in order to salvage this complete disaster.  “Have…our public relations unit relay that I have sustained minor injuries and am receiving medical attention-“

“Bullet wounds aren’t minor!” Euphemia cried worriedly as she tried to keep her half-brother reclining on the bed.

Zero studiously ignored her, “Ask that all civilians return to their homes for the time being and urge a cessation of all violence against Britainnians and their forces.Don’t release any of the ceremony footage until I give the say so. I’ll make a speech as soon as I’ve had the wound sewn shut.”

“You most certainly won’t!”  Euphemia stated in a fairly good impersonation of ‘mother-hen Cornelia.’

Ohgi nodded and rushed out the doors to relay the messages.

“Todoh, keep the troops on a tight leash.  If anyone starts a fight, I don’t want it to be us.  Up security around the prisoners and try to resist any Britainnian pressure to turn them over citing my injury as the actual crime they committed and Zero’s status as a non-Britainnian if they force the issue of jurisdiction.”

Todoh nodded and made to leave, but hung back as he remembered the two ‘enemies’ in the room.  “What about these two, Zero?”

The masked man considered the question for another moment before speaking.  “Leave them, I need to speak with them anyway.  Kallen should be able to protect me if anything unforeseen happens and Kururugi is a reasonable person…usually, and his princess should be able to stop him from doing anything rash.  Post guards outside the door though, with instruction not to let anyone through that door unless it’s an emergency.”

Todoh and Tamaki snapped to attention and gave a salute as the two rushed out the door as quickly as they had come.  “Euphemia, would you please shut and lock the door?  I’d very much like to have the remainder of ballistic shells in my body removed without further interruption.”

The Princess’ eyes watered at the words, but she complied as quickly as possible, if only to get back to making sure Lelouch aggravated his wounds as little as possible.  The mask swiveled to face the two still-stunned Knightmare pilots as a timeless moment passed between the three…

Which was abruptly broken by a hiss of intense pain from behind Zero’s mask, punctuated by the clatter of a third small bullet onto a tray.  The green haired witch raised an eyebrow and mopped up more of the seeping blood, “Baby.”

The black mask was somehow able to convey the teen’s glare as he stared down the immortal.  Softly, a voice broke the tableau as C.C. continued tending to the wound.  The unmistakable feminine voice twisted Zero’s mask back to face Kallen as the repercussions of the revelation of his identity sank in played vividly across her face.

“Lelouch?”

He winced internally as betrayal, shock, anger, disbelief, and a fierce loyalty warred across his classmate’s visage and behind her eyes.  Her arms and legs tensed as she seemed ready to hurl herself at him, before some lasting manner allegiance to his alter-ego took hold of her, staying her hand and conflicting her further.

Resigned, he reached up a hand and released the switch on his mask, allowing the room’s occupants to see his face, unobstructed, once again.  “Hello Kallen.”

“No, no, nononononono,” Kallen recited in a mantra-like trance as she tried to refute the truth.  Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she collapsed into an uncomfortable hospital chair behind her.  The Gurren’s pilot took a deep breath and released it as her most common emotion, anger, reasserted itself.  Accusation flared in her eyes as she stared into Lelouch’s.

“Why?”

“Would you have really followed a Britainnian student into battle?”  Lelouch asked unrepentantly.  “Besides, you’ve already met my reason for fighting Britainnia.”

Kallen blinked, racking her mind for what Lelouch was referring to before a small, kind, quiet girl came to mind, sitting in a wheelchair.  “Lelouch, what happened to your sister?  Why is she…?”

The rogue prince sighed, “Our mother was assassinated, Nunnally was caught in the crossfire.”

Kallen winced, then started in surprise, “Wait!  What about that time in the shower!?  How did you-?”

Suzaku and Euphemia went wide-eyed at the comment and the ensuing silence, drawing Kallen’s attention to the exact wording she’d used.  “NO!  It wasn’t like that!  I was…He was…we…arrg!”

Lelouch favored the aggravated girl with a tired smirk, “I recorded the comments and had someone play them back over the phone.”

“Oh,” Kallen said, calming down.  “So you’re really him, huh?  You’re Zero?”

“He is,” C.C. confirmed as she stuck a needle into his skin with ruthless precision.  “He’s also, for all his tactical genius, an idiot.  Throwing yourself in front of a bullet when we still have a contract?  How do you think you’d fulfill it if you were dead?”

Lelouch grunted, “I was more concerned about Euphemia at that point in time.  You’ll forgive me for my lapse of rationality, of course.”

“XL, Triple cheese, everything on it, stuffed crust,” C.C. demanded in a no-nonsense tone as she bit the thread off and wiped the wound clean.  “Well, you might be an idiot, but you’re a lucky one at least.  All three shots hit muscle and you’ll be sore for a month or two and I’d discourage excessive physical activity or you’ll pass out due to blood loss, but you should be fine.”

Lelouch donned a long-suffering look and sighed out the word, “Witch.”

Euphie gave him a dark look, “Lelouch!  That’s not nice at all!  Here C.C. is, sewing your wounds up and you’re calling her names!”

“Well at least niceties are common among the females of your family Lelouch,” C.C. smiled wryly, “And here I thought Nunnally was the only polite sister you had.”

Lelouch scowled and the expression only deepened as Kallen’s eyes slowly widened in recognition.  Internally, he let off a string of curses that would have turned Euphemia’s hair white.  Externally, he sighed and nodded even before the redhead’s mouth could form the question.

“My mother was known as the Black Empress,” He said with a calm tone.  “She was a commoner who married my father, Emperor Charles zi Britainnia, and she was killed for it.  Her maiden name was Lamperouge.”

Kallen’s legs went limp and she dropped into the nearest chair, trying to deal with the truth of her situation before she asked, “Then it was all a lie?  You used us?  You used the Japanese for revenge?”

“If that makes you feel better, you can believe it,” Lelouch stated grimly.  “The freedom of the Japanese was a component of my goals and a necessary one; just as Zero was a necessary element of your goals.  I wouldn’t blame you if you went to the Black Knights with this, though I would prefer you didn’t.”

There was a long silence as the two stared each other down, before Kallen looked away.  “I want the truth, Lelouch.  The whole truth; if you give me a single lie, I’ll personally tell every Black Knight exactly who you are.”

Lelouch’s frown deepened even further and he opened his mouth to say something