As the Ashford Academy Student
Council watches the news, they worry about what’s going on. Rivalz assures
Nunnally and Shirley that Cornelia’s regular forces are stationed where they
are so they’ll be plenty safe, but he also makes the mistake of asking about
Lelouch. Shirley tells Nunnally that Lelouch is just fine, and Rivalz comments
that he wishes they’d just make up already because it’s weird not having her
call him Lulu. Shirley is confused and asks if she called him that, and Rivalz
is exasperated while Shirley is left puzzled.
In the basement level, Nina
is working furiously on a Knightmare, and when Milly tells her they need to go
upstairs, Nina doesn’t want to. Since Zero is headed their way, she’s convinced
herself that she’s going to avenge Euphemia.
While Suzaku sits beside the
dead body of Euphemia in her capsule again, he wonders aloud why Euphemia gave
the order she did at the stadium. He’s interrupted when a boy with long blond
hair down to the ground speaks to him, asking if he wants to know the answer.
It surprises Suzaku that there’s a child there. The boy greets him, calling him
Suzaku Kururugi and introducing himself as V.V.
Just as things are looking
grim for the Britannian forces, Cornelia emerges from the room, saying she has
the Glaston Knights on standby and that they can still end this. She says that
all they have to do is kill Zero or crush the OotBK. At the same time elsewhere,
Zero is saying the same of Cornelia. If one of them falls, the other wins. He orders
his troops to follow the deployment scheme and stand by. Zero tells Diethard
that he’s putting Tohdoh in charge of the front line, and he puts Diethard in
charge there. As he makes to leave the room, he is greeted with Kaguya, who’s
apparently a stowaway. She wanted to meet him and thus she followed him there,
calling him mean for leaving her like that when she just got the chance to meet
him.
Kaguya also has decided that
she’ll be Zero’s future wife, since he’ll need one after he wins and she’d make
a good public face. When Zero asks if she thinks they will win, she says of
course, stating that she is the goddess of victory. Zero says then that he’d be
lucky to have her, but he’s already made a contract with the devil so he has no
room for deities, and then he and C.C. leave.
Elsewhere, Bartley and his
assistants are trying feverishly to get their experimental subject back to the
homeland, but before they can, the capsule breaks. Their test subject sits up,
and Jeremiah greets the men in the room.
Just outside the Tokyo
settlement, Zero tells the Britannians that they have until twelve midnight to
surrender, or they’ll attack. It is clear that Cornelia will do no such thing,
moving out to battle, and even the wounded Darlton insists on fighting at her
side.
C.C. tells Lelouch that
there’s still time to turn back, reminding him that his actions will bring
about greater conflict and will start a war. His life will be steeped in
battle, and Lelouch says he knows. Their discussion is interrupted as Lelouch
receives a call, the caller ID saying it’s Euphemia. Lelouch answers, figuring that
there is one who would call in her stead. It is Suzaku.
Suzaku asks if Lelouch is at
the school, and he replies that he is not, but he’ll be there soon. Then Suzaku
asks Lelouch for a favor, asking him to tell everyone to not look up at the
sky. When Lelouch is surprised by the request, Suzaku asks if Lelouch has ever
hated anyone enough that he’d want to kill them, and Lelouch replies that he
has.
After that, Suzaku tells him
that he used to think that kind of idea was unacceptable, that if one didn’t do
things for the right reasons, the right way, it was just murder. But now…now he
is fighting to kill someone, and because of that, he’s going to become a
murderer in the skies of Tokyo.
Lelouch tells him to embrace
his hate and to think of Euphemia, and that he decided his own course long ago.
For Nunnally, Suzaku accurately guesses. Suzaku thanks him, and Lelouch says to
forget about it. After all, they are friends, and Suzaku adds for the last
seven years. Then Lelouch says he has to go, hanging up just as time runs out
and midnight is at hand.
At that moment, the pavement
below starts collapsing, the platforms successively destroyed, shocking
Cornelia. Lelouch really seems to have a genius for architectural destruction,
as one goes down after the other, taking out roads and buildings along with
military vehicles. Inside the Gawain, Lelouch says that he dirtied his hands a
long time ago, Suzaku coming to face him changes nothing. He will welcome
Suzaku. After all, they are friends. Then Lelouch starts laughing maniacally. Buildings
collapse and groundwork shatters.
Lelouch thinks as he laughs
that perhaps he’s been wanting this destruction ever since that day, and the
destruction and loss of everything. Destruction is necessary before creation. So,
for that purpose, anything that may make his heart waver, even his conscience,
should be cast aside. The only path he has left is the road ahead, and he grins
as he gets ready to move forward.
Code Geass 23 Page 3
