Chapter Text
Goodness was his one weakness.
Reflecting on it, it was fairly obvious that this would be his Achilles heel. There was a common thread linking his little sister, Suzaku, and Euphemia: their goodness.
In fact, it was for the sake of creating a gentle world, a world where kindness is extended to every person, that Lelouch donned the mask of revolution. He bloodied his hands so that a world of Nunnally’s ideals could flourish. A world of goodness.
Of course, Suzaku, too, took up his sword for this cause, no doubt, but his own web of hypocrisy blinded him to the nature of the world’s more complex evils. Lelouch did not think he was capable of changing the world until he looked at his own bloody hands with open eyes. After all, in order to create, one needed to be willing to destroy.
Anyhow—
All things considered, fighting against Euphemia was pointless.
At first, Lelouch thought that though she was genuinely well-intentioned, Euphemia’s kindness was born from her sheltered and privileged life. Despite their common desire for a kinder world, Euphemia was no Nunnally. No. Nunnally’s love and kindness were tried and tested through grueling hardship and pain. She carried goodness in her heart in spite of her pain, in spite of the cruelty of her own life. She still learned to smile through it for the sake of others. That was the type of kindness that could change this cruel and beautiful reality. That was what Lelouch fought for and what he believed in.
In Nunnally’s world, there would be no black and white. Her world understood that sometimes even lies were needed to create a better reality. Her world understood that love, pain, cruelty, and beauty all existed simultaneously. It was truly seeing the world and appreciating everything in it. She had no delusions about human nature. Her world was no fantasy.
Kindness that persists and perseveres in spite of evil— that was the power of Nunnally’s goodness.
In comparison, Lelouch had thought Eupehmia’s resolve weak.
Euphemia believed in a kind world and wished for change, but she didn’t understand what it meant to be powerless. Someone like that would not have the determination to create peace. She would be unable to reach the hearts of the people. She wouldn’t have the strength to fight when it was needed, to persevere through inevitable pain. How could she, when she was so far above the struggles of the average man, so coddled and sheltered from hardship, and so oblivious to the vultures around her?
Britannia would control her like a puppet, and so blind, Euphemia wouldn’t be able to see and recognize the many deceptive masks that powerlessness wears. She’d assume her simple good actions were doing simple good. A missionary with no understanding of deeper systemic conflicts. Black and white.
A special zone created to placate her own sense of righteousness.
She was still playing in Schneizel’s game. A privileged member of a rotten system. A piece on the board. Yes, she had a good heart, good intentions, but that meant nothing in this spoiled game. Eventually, even this zone would be used by Britannia for grander things at the end of the day.
But, Euphemia’s heart was in the right place and so Lelouch was not going to use his geass to get her to stop. Her desire to help others, as narrow, sheltered, and naive as it maybe— was a core part of who Euphemia was and Lelouch never used his geass to alter a person’s inner truths. So, instead, he had planned to use his weapon, geass, to end her foolish plans by shooting him and running her reputation. That would allow her to stay true to who she was. She’d simply be stained in a bit of his blood.
But then she proved Lelouch wrong.
She was not a princess throwing her words around from upon high. She was willing to become powerless for the sake of goodness, renouncing her royal title. In her own way, she was strong unlike any of her royal siblings.
Euphemia was a warrior.
She wanted to give the Japanese people their own place, free from the iron fist of Britannia. So, she freed herself from its influence and creed. This was not a utopia for her to reign over, it was for the people. She didn’t care about power or privilege— she’d endure whatever may come— for goodness. And it was a simple decision for her. That was her strength. She was strong.
Lelouch couldn’t say no to that. He couldn’t tell her to abandon her own fight. Not when it was founded on the strength and conviction of her goodness.
Not that Lelouch was going to abandon his own fight. Perhaps, if her zone worked, he could achieve his goals of obliterating Britannia and revealing his mother’s killer in a different way. He’d look for a different way.
That being said, Lelouch still didn’t think her plan would work. It might take a few years to crack, a few precious years that Lelouch could have used to further his agenda, but Lelouch did think her plan would crumble.
Lelouch would work with her to make it work and he almost wanted to believe in it, but he couldn’t truly see it working. There were too many ways for it to fail and too few ways for it to succeed, socially, politically, and economically. It was the embodiment of an ideal. A dream.
Not functional in reality.
Because Japan would still be in Britannia’s control. They would come whenever they wanted to. All her work could be undone by the snap of a finger. And Euphemia would experience what true powerlessness was like, when she no longer had any royal influence and was forced to watch all her work come undone. Lelouch only hoped that when that happened, Euphemia would not lose herself. That she would still remain the Euphie who was willing to fight for her dreams.
Lelouch would be there for her if that happened. He’d be there for his sister. He didn’t want to lose her.
And then, when the Black Knights were needed again, they would return with vigor, Lelouch was sure. Those who doubted their methods would see that they were the only way to protect the powerless. That there was no viable alternative.
“You are the worst opponent I have ever faced,” Lelouch admitted and watched hope dance in Eupehmia’s lavender eyes. Lelouch could see all the ways the Special Zone would fail, but he would put down his weapons for now. Not because he was outwitted. But because her heart made Lelouch unable to want to win against her, despite what his mind was telling him. His being couldn’t oppose her.
“You win, Euphemia,” Lelouch shook his head a little fondly. Stubborn little Euphie hadn’t changed during all these wars. No wonder Lelouch never thought it right to kill her, despite all the chances he was given. Zero gave in, Zero wanted to give in. To goodness. It was antithetical to his purpose to fight her.
“Huh?” Euphemia cocked her head to the side, frowning a bit at the soft resigned look that Lelouch was giving her. She recognized the expression, it was the one Lelouch had whenever Nunnally won and got Lelouch to do something he didn’t want to by blackmailing him. But Euphemia hadn’t been trying to get Lelouch to do something he didn’t want to do. She just wanted them to be together. They were both winners.
Lelouch didn’t bother explaining his feelings to her, it was too revealing. “I’ll amend my plans to help out your Special Zone, but not as your subordinate, alright?” Lelouch would try to make it work, and to do that, he’d need power in this system as well. This would be his creation too.
“Alright!” Euphemia’s entire expression lit up with so much joy that Lelouch had to look away, his heart constricting. How could he have ever considered hurting her? She was his sweet little sister. He wanted to protect her. Then, Euphemia giggled sadly, the tension melting off her shoulders, “You haven’t got very much faith in me, do you?”
Lelouch had no idea what she was referring to. He actually had a newfound respect for her, if anything. ”Hmmm?”
“Did you honestly believe that by simply threatening me to shoot you that I would?” Euphemia elaborated pointedly.
Oh, no. Lelouch knew she would never do that. If he was being honest in working with Euphemia to create this better world, he supposed it would be best if he laid all his cards on the table. They were going to work together, as equals and accomplices to create a better world together. And Lelouch didn’t think that Euphie would react too badly to learning about Geass, nor would she tell anyone about it. She was willing to extend a hand to Lelouch’s bloodied ones, she had to trust in Lelouch’s heart and intentions despite what he’d done. He’d even murdered Clovis and Euphie didn’t see him as a monster.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Lelouch’s heart sped up, he didn’t think he’d ever tell anyone about this, “When I really want people to follow my orders, they will not resist me, whether it’s too shoot me, or grant Suzaku pardon, or any order at all.”
Euphemia’s eyebrows furrowed before she rolled her eyes, “Oh, now you’re just being silly, stop playing with me.”
An amused smirk settled onto Lelouch’s face as he teased her into his greatest secret. This was it, he was laying his cards out. “I’m serious. For example if I told you to kill all the Japanese, it wouldn’t matter how you felt about it.”
Lelouch felt a pang in his eye, and he quickly covered it up. It was a sharp shooting pain that he hadn’t experienced before. He looked to Euphie, but she didn’t seem to notice anything.
The pain faded away quickly. Huh. Weird. He’d have to talk to C.C about that later.
Instead, she bit her lip, knowing that Lelouch was someone who was very careful with his words. He wouldn’t joke about something like that. So, she went along with it. “I don’t recall you having his power.”
“That’s because I didn’t always have it.” Lelouch sighed, taking a step forward. He was really doing this. He took Euphemia’s hand in his own, gently, and she let him. Lelouch placed her hand under his eye, his eye that held the power of the king. “Tell me Euphie. While you are aware that I am no amateur when it comes to strategy, tactics, and manipulation, do you not think that there are some risks that I’ve taken that by all means should not have played out in my favour?”
Lelouch saw the gears turning in Euphemia’s head as she seriously thought about his words.
“Euphie.” Lelouch coaxed her in the right direction, “assuming I can order people to do as I please, that means that I could force people to do something against their character. They would not remember it. Recall anything like that happening recently?”
Realization hit Euphemia and she took a step back from Lelouch in shock, retracting her hand to her chest. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving, but not fearful. She put the pieces together, “You! Suzaku…. He defied orders to save his own life. Even though he just told me that he was ready to die. I thought it very odd, though I was grateful… and he said he didn’t remember any of it.”
Lelouch closed his eyes. “Yes.” He spoke plainly, “That was me. I never wanted to use the power on him. He is a dear friend to me and I don’t like twisting people who oppose me like that; it’s against my heart and my pride.”
Euphemia relaxed a little bit at that, agreeing that Lelouch distorting the people around him like a madman didn’t fit his character. Euphemia wouldn’t be standing here if that was the case and he was sure he would have taken over the world very quickly if he just commanded everyone to submit to his will on the streets. And of all the orders he could have given Suzaku, Zero’s worst enemy, he gave Suzaku the order to live. And Lelouch implied that he’d used the power to help Suzaku gain his pardon. “Okay….” Euphemia let her hand fall, “if we are going to work together, I am going to ask that you tell me more about your power. I want to trust you, brother. I do trust you.” Euphemia smiled, those words were the truth. Lelouch was not evil. She was sure of it.
Lelouch took a seat on the switchboard behind him and looked wistfully out the window behind him. He was instantly lost in thought, looking more melancholic than Euphie had ever seen the man. It drew Euphie in and told her that what he was about to say was the truth. She held her breath.
“The story of Zero and the rebirth of Lelouch vi Britannia.” Lelouch looked out as he spoke, “We haven’t much time, the people are waiting for us. So I will keep this sort and I hope that will suffice for now and prove to you that I am being honest.” His deep purple eyes flickered to Euphemia before he leaned against the window.
There was a beat of silence as Euphemia waited for him to go on.
“As you know, Nunnally and I were sent to Japan as political hostages. We stayed at the Kururugi Shrine. But soon after, our father launched war on Japan, not caring that we were there and could easily end up as one of the first casualties of war. That is the kind of man our father, the King of Britannia, is.” Lelouch lifted his gaze to Euphemia to check her reaction. She looked deeply troubled by their father’s actions, she gripped the hem of her skirt. “We were recorded as dead to protect us and we were sheltered by the Ashfords, a family that supported my mother. There, Nunnally and I hide from the world as Nunnally and Lelouch Lamprouge. I knew that one day we would have to leave our shelter and when that day came, Nunnally wouldn’t be safe. You know how Brittianian politics are.”
Euphemia’s eyes prickled at that. Oh God, Lelouch was right. Nunnally would have been used left and right and Lelouch would not be in a position of power to help her. Even Euphemia felt the pull of politics, people trying to force and manipulate her into being a puppet princess despite her best efforts. Nunnally, being blind and crippled would be eaten alive by the court. And with their father’s treatment of her, he didn’t seem like he would hesitate to use her either. Just imagining it was awful.
“Nunnally told me she had only one wish,” Lelouch’s hands clenched into fists and his voice grew pointed, “She wanted… a gentle word.” He looked down as his palm, “I wanted to give that to her. I want so badly to give her that. I want to make a world free of Britannia, the land where the strong oppress the weak. And I want to confront my father about my mother’s death, how such violence could be allowed to happen in his own court!” Lelouch spat next words out with growling venom, his hands shaking, “Everything points to Britannia’s decrepit rot,” he closed his fists sharply, like he was smashing Britannia in the palms of his hands. Euphemia watched the burning hate dance in his eyes and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She knew his hate went deep, it was how she was able to connect him to Zero. Still, seeing his malice dripping from him in person, she was overwhelmed by his anguish.
But then it fell from his face, like water thrown on fire. And somehow this expression hurt Euphie even more.
Lelouch’s expression changed, growing dark, dull, and tired. Like a man who’d walked through hell for an eternity. It made Euphemia’s throat close up. “Every day that I lived as Lelouch Lamprouge, I felt like I was slowly dying. I was living a meaningless existence. Forcing smiles and normalcy. Waiting. Waiting for the day where I’d be able to take down Britannia. I was plotting, but I was just a man with a dream. I don’t know what would have happened if I continued on that way. Who knows how far I would have gotten.”
“What changed?” Euphemia desperately needed to know.
“It was an accident,” Lelouch chuckled. “I’ll get into it another time, but on the day of Clovis’s death, I met an immortal witch. She gave me the power of the king. We call it, Geass.”
Euphemia’s heart skipped a beat. She muttered to herself in confusion, unsure if she heard right, “Geass… an immortal witch,” it sounded so fantastical, but somehow Euphemia knew that Lelouch wasn’t lying. She turned the words over in her head until they made sense, but she couldn’t place them together. If it were anyone else saying this, Euphemia might have thought they were crazy.
Lelouch continued, “We entered a contract. The power manifested in me as the ability of absolute command. Just once, I can command anyone to do anything I please when I make direct eye contact with them. I used this power to kill many. I used this power to kill soldiers chasing after me. To steal Knightmares. I used this power to get past Clovis’s guards. They remember nothing because that is how my geass works.”
Lelouch got up from the table with a sharp clack and approached Euphemia, standing to his full height. By no means should Lelouch be an intimidating man. He had delicate and elegant features and he was of slender build. Yet, Lelouch radiated pressure that could pierce even the toughest of men. It was in the way he held himself like he was larger than life. Unshakable, cold, callous.
The air was heavy and suffocating.
Euphemia found it hard to breathe.
But, Euphemia straightened her back in response, refusing to look away from him. Lelouch continued, looking down at her with only an inch of space between them, their chests almost touching. Euphemia held his stare. Those were his eyes, the eyes that held the power of the king. Euphemia tilted her chin up at him stubbornly. The air sizzled between them as she refused to submit.
Lelouch must have found this acceptable because he was the first to break eye contact after a few moments. He took a step back and announced, “This power enables me to that which no other man can. And I intend to use it to change the world, Euphemia. And now,” Lelouch held out his hand to her, “this power is ours. Working together with me also means working with this power. Do you accept that?”
Euphemia stared at his hand, her heart beating in her ears. The power of absolute command. Euphemia’s first instinct was to reject it. It was evil, it bent people’s wills. It fostered Clovis’s murder. “Your Black Knights…” Euphemia needed to confirm this.
“They are not bound by my Geass to follow me. As I said, that’s not how I operate. I do use this power, I do bend people's wills, but I avoid using it to change who people are and what they value. Suzaku was an exception because… well in any case. If you are afraid I will use it on you, because I haven’t, I can use it on you now to do a menial task. In doing so, you can be assured that I can never use it on you again. What do you want me to do, Euphie?” Lelouch smiled wryly.
Euphemia looked to the floor in thought. She understood. Lelouch was trying to set them up as equals. He didn’t want this power over her. He was willing to give up his edge over her. Euphemia considered accepting. But it also showed that she didn’t trust Lelouch to not use it on her. Euphemia said she’d trust him, all of him, including his power. If Lelouch ever did use it on her, she was sure it would not be in a way that would bring her or the world harm.
Euphemia didn’t take Lelouch’s hand, instead of grabbing it with both of her own and setting it down. Lelouch was visibly surprised by this, his eyes wide.
“I trust you,” She smiled genially. It was simple and so Euphie-like. “But I don’t know how I feel about your power. I can’t say if it's good or evil, I’m no good with that complicated stuff. I can’t even say your revolution or hatred is wrong. I don’t know what I would have done if I were in your position. I don’t like the thought of people dying in this rebellion, but I don’t like the way Britannia treats people either. I don’t know what justice means or what an ideal state looks like. I’ll leave that to you and Suzaku. I just want a world where my loved ones can smile and be happy. That’s why I’m doing this. If your power can be used to help make that world, then I have nothing intrinsically against it. Use it well, if you must. I trust you to use it well.” Euphemia turned around, leaving Lelouch stunned once again by her straightforward and rash strength. She smiled over her shoulder at her brother, “We have kept the people waiting for too long, haven’t we, Lelouch?”
“Remember, I am Zero, the one who is on the side of justice, Princess Euphemia.” Lelouch walked over beside her and put a hand on her shoulder in support. This encounter didn’t go anything like Lelouch imagined. But he couldn’t find it in him to be upset about that. Euphemia was a force of nature, and she likely wasn’t even aware of her own power. Amazing. She was amazing.
“It’s just Euphemia now,” Euphemia smiled wistfully.