Code Geass: Chronicles of Tartarus
Side Story Six:
The Man with the Plan
"Planning is the first step in any operation. This was especially true during the conflict with the Greeks when victory was uncertain for all of us, and none of us had any idea of exactly how to go about dealing with them. Naturally, some people are better at planning than others, but our brother is probably one of the best at it. Pity Lelouch let his damn ego get in the way of his better judgment more often than not. I guess that's why God made little sisters. They help keep their headstrong brothers in line.” —Excerpt from a conversation between Empress Nunnally vi Britannia and her older sister Euphemia during the christening ceremony of the Earth Space Ship Kaminejima, dated July 3rd, 2025 a.t.b.
"I have the target in sight, Alice," Sancia said over her headset communicator as the young woman looked across the street into the hotel from her vantage point in an adjacent building.
"Looks like there are two security personnel at the door to their suite," Lucretia said as she monitored the hotel from another room in the same building as Sancia.
"I see them," Alice replied through the cell phone radio she held against the collar of her maid's outfit with her head. Alice pushed a cleaning cart complete with mop bucket out of the elevator and into the hallway towards where Gino and Kallen were guarding the hotel suite of Lelouch and C.C.
Colonel Madd's voice came over her radio, "Remember, Alice, you need only capture C2 and get Zero to follow you."
"Shouldn't I neutralize him?" Alice inquired as she came into Kallen and Gino's view. The pair had been talking to each other but stopped upon seeing her. They now began walking in her direction.
"Don't worry about Zero," Colonel Madd said with confidence, "our masked benefactor Count Amontillado has a plan to deal with him."
"Very well, sir," Alice whispered into the phone, "I've got to go now."
"Be careful, Alice, C2 is sure to sense you as soon as you use the SPEED!" Colonel Madd hung up just before Captain Kozuki and Commander Weinberg reached her.
"Hey there," Gino said with a halfhearted motion at Alice to stop. "Can we help you?"
"What are you doing up here?" Kallen barked at her.
Alice answered her in a sweet voice, "The front desk sent me up here to clean the bathroom and change the sheets of the penthouse. Is that okay?"
"Not until we check you out," Kallen stated with a narrow-eyed look at the young woman. Kallen took out her own cell phone and called down to the front desk.
"Main lobby, how may I help you?" Dalque asked over the intercepted call.
"Did you send a cleaning lady up to the penthouse?" Kallen inquired.
"Yes, ma'am, we did." Dalque's tone was apologetic. "Is there a problem?"
"No," Kallen answered her gruffly, "just next time please inform security before you send someone up."
"Absolutely, ma'am," Dalque said. "You have our sincerest apologies."
Captain Kozuki put her phone away and turned to Gino. "Cover me while I give her trolley an inspection."
"No problem." Gino put his hand on the butt of the pistol that sat in his shoulder holster as Kallen went through Alice's cart.
It took Captain Kozuki only a moment. "Nothing." Kallen sounded disappointed. "Sorry, but I have to frisk you now. No offense."
"None taken," Alice smiled nonchalantly as Kallen patted her down for weapons of any kind.
Captain Kozuki examined Alice's cell phone then sighed, "Alright, you're good to go."
"Thank you," Alice said with a wide grin. She then proceeded to the door of the penthouse suite and knocked on it softly.
"Who is it?" C.C. asked from within.
"Room service," Alice replied as Kallen watched her from a few meters down the hall.
"Just a minute," C.C. answered. A few moments passed then the door opened.
C.C. greeted her at the threshold. "Please come in."
Alice stepped inside the lavishly decorated penthouse suite's main living area. Within the spacious room was a large, fine, cherry oak wood table with five ornately carved chairs around its polished surface. The mirror finish reflected the light from the brass chandelier that hung from the center of the ceiling. A pair of coffee end tables and matching chairs flanked a large fireplace on top of a richly woven Oriental rug carpet.
Zero sat at one of the tables staring at Alice as she made her way into the room.
"If you don't mind, ma'am, I'd like to start in the bathroom," Alice said to C.C. as Zero watched her from under his mask but said nothing.
"That would be fine," C.C. told her as she walked back over to sit next to Zero.
Alice made her way over to the bathroom following her memory of the penthouse layout she had studied prior to the mission. She found her way through the spacious suite quite easily and into the large, marble lavatory and washroom.
Alice pulled out her cell phone and switched it over to a coded frequency. "I'm in."
"Open the side window to your left," Lucretia instructed her over the phone.
Alice proceeded over to the lead glass window and turned the brass handle until it was open fully. "Now stand back, Alice." She did as Lucretia instructed her to. In an instant, a puff of smoke from the adjacent rooftop sent what looked like a bazooka rocket through the window.
The large rocket-propelled grenade shell landed harmlessly on the large shag carpet throw rug next to the bathtub.
"Open it quickly," Sancia's voice came over the line.
Alice unscrewed the nosecone of the RPG and pulled out the contents of the missile: a pair of dark sunglasses, a metal box, and three submachine gun magazines, fully loaded.
Alice pushed a button of the side of the box and unfolded a compact submachine gun then loaded the weapon.
"Professor Einstein developed the bullets in those clips especially for shooting C2," Sancia said over the radio. "They'll knock her out and put her into a temporary coma for at least an hour, but after that her Code will revive her, so you have to get her and leave as quickly as you can. Dalque is moving to her Vincent-Advanced as we speak in order to pick you up as soon as you've acquired C2. Just shoot her, get back into the bathroom, and jump out the window. Dalque will pick you up."
"She'd better," Alice said as she thought of the long drop to the street below, "or else you'll have to scrape me up off the pavement."
Sancia tittered, "Don't worry, Alice, she'll be there."
"Okay," Alice said as she put on her anti-Geass glasses and cocked the submachine gun, "here goes nothing."
Alice burst out of the bathroom and walked briskly to where C.C. and Zero were talking.
"What the hell?" Zero barked at Alice as the girl opened fire on C.C. The specialized rounds tore through the witch's clothing and riddled her body.
Lelouch opened up his mask's eyepiece and used his Geass. "I, Zero, command you to stop!"
The anti-Geass glasses reflected his power back at him and dissipated harmlessly off the lenses. Good thing these glasses work, Alice thought to herself as she fired at Zero.
Kallen and Gino burst into the room with their pistols drawn.
Kozuki fired on Alice as soon as she saw her.
"Too slow," Alice shouted out loud as she used her the SPEED! to dodge the rounds and grab C.C. In the next instant, Alice was through the bedroom and back in the bathroom, with Zero and Kallen in hot pursuit while Gino secured the room.
"STOP," Zero ordered Alice as she leapt out the open window into midair.
Zero nearly jumped out after them before Kallen grabbed him and stopped him. "Lelouch, no!" Kallen exclaimed as she held him fast.
Captain Kozuki had no way of knowing that Alice had heard her. Alice didn't have long to think about the implications of Kallen's words before Dalque caught her and C.C. in midair.
"Dalque, GO!" Alice yelled to her comrade as Zero and Kallen watched from the bathroom window above.
"We have to go after them now!" Zero turned towards Kallen.
"I realize how you feel, Lelouch, but there's no way we can..." Kozuki started to say.
"I don't have time for your jealous nonsense, Captain!" Lelouch barked at her. "This isn't about my personal feelings, this is about the possibility of C2 being captured by members of what can only be the remnant of the Geass Cult."
Zero darted out of the penthouse suite towards the elevator with Kallen and Gino close behind.
"What the hell are you on about, Lulu?" Kallen demanded from him as they piled into the lift.
Gino hit the button for the garage level.
"C2 was the kidnapper's intended target, not me," he said as if speaking to a child. "That means they know what she is, and there is only one group that has that kind of knowledge that I know of."
"Fine, but you don't have to be so damn condescending about it, you know!" Kallen scolded him.
"Sorry, Kallen, but we've got to get her back lest she fall into the hands of the people who served my father, and we know where that could lead," Zero told her as the elevator descended down to the garage level.
"A return of the Geass Cult's influence on the world," she answered him with a sarcastic grin. "I'm aware of what could happen, Lelouch."
"Then let us make haste," Zero stated snidely as the elevator doors opened up.
* * *
"Do you wonder how soon they'll return?" Kaguya asked Nunnally as the two of them sat side by side within an aerial shuttle.
Nunnally looked out a viewport window at the deep blue of the sky. "Yes, I wonder just how much time we have left before Athena and the Greeks decide to launch an invasion of our world."
"I see." Kaguya gave her friend a weak smile. "I guess that could be any time." The lady-chairman eyed Nunnally mischievously. "But I'll bet your brother has a plan."
Nunnally smiled at her friend's keen sense of perception, "He does."
"Care to let your old friend Kaguya in on the details?" Sumeragi asked with a raised brow.
"The plan was made nearly a year ago." Nunnally looked out the window of the shuttle with a blank expression. "It was back on Kaminejima right after the battle with Charybdis and my jaunt through Enoch's Quantum Castle. Enoch, Suzaku, the Red Dragon, and I had come through Enoch's rather unusual Room of Many Worlds into the Ashford Academy Library in order to pick up the Hakodeshim Uriel and Gabriel. We used them to return to Kaminejima, as we intended to transport back to Britannia via the Thought Elevator that was on the island."
The Britannian empress snickered, "You can probably imagine my shock and awe at meeting Zero standing beside C2 and Jeremiah while my brother's casket laid on its dais, empty."
"Did Lelouch try to deny he was Zero?" Kaguya whispered.
"Of course," Nunnally rolled her eyes and laughed. "As if I'm that stupid. Ooh, his arrogance really burns me up sometimes."
"But you did play along, didn't you?" Sumeragi inquired with a titter.
"To a certain extent I did," Nunnally lamented, "but I probably shouldn't have. I made it clear that I knew who he was right to his face. Although, I regret not making him come clean right then and there and tell all of you that he was alive. It would have saved some time and helped solidify the plan that I was putting into motion."
"You?" Kaguya blurted out in surprise.
"Indubitably, my dear Kaguya." Nunnally lifted her chin. "Who else could have pulled off such a smooth plan of action that didn't involve some game show host presentation by Zero to feed the egotist behind that mask?"
Sumeragi put her hand on Nunnally's shoulder as she chuckled, "Do tell."
"Well, after Zero and I had finished squabbling about his identity, we sent Medusa and Jeremiah outside to intercept Suzaku then got down to formulating a plan..."
* * *
"We don't really have time for this nonsense!" C.C. pleaded with Zero once Nunnally finished interrogating him within the Geass Temple of Kaminejima.
"She's right," Enoch said as he sat down on the empty coffin that had held Lelouch's corpse. "We've a limited amount of time before Schneizel's allies get here. Our decisions at this point will be the fulcrum that swings the scale of victory either for or against us."
"And who are you?" Zero asked.
Enoch gave him a playful smile as he wrapped his arm around Nunnally. "Your sister's new boyfriend."
Nunnally poked Enoch in the side and laughed, "You wish."
Lelouch was speechless as C.C. let out a hearty laugh and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about him. He's an old friend...and a prankster."
Lelouch sighed as he removed his mask, "I guess there's no point in hiding since the three of you seem to know who I am."
"That should have been obvious, big brother." Nunnally folded her arms as she moved away from Enoch. She tried to scowl at Lelouch but couldn't.
Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm happy to see you again."
Lelouch wanted to be angry at her for forcing him to reveal himself, yet he found it difficult just to keep from crying. He was barely able to hold back the tears that welled in his eyes upon seeing his beloved sister again. "And I you."
Lelouch walked up to Nunnally and embraced her.
The Red Dragon moved forward and started to remove her helmet, but Enoch put his hand on her arm and stopped her. "Now is not a good time," he whispered.
C.C. gave Enoch a puzzled look as The Red Dragon dropped her hand to her side and slowly nodded.
Nunnally took hold of Lelouch's gloved hand. "This time we work together in this struggle. No secrets between us."
"No secrets," he said as he kissed her cheek.
Nunnally's eyes grew wide. "OH MY GAWD!" She looked over at C.C. "You two...in this place...how could you?"
Lelouch turned beet red as he realized his mistake. "It wasn't my fault. It was Euryale's Code! You should have been able to see that too!"
C.C. blushed as she put her head in her hand. "Oh, dear."
"I'm lost," the Red Dragon said with a shrug at Enoch.
Enoch sniggered, "I think C2 and Zero have finally consummated their relationship."
"OH!" the Red Dragon giggled.
"In his tomb no less," Nunnally announced in a mortified tone. "I mean really, Lelouch, back at Ashford every girl on campus was after you, and you showed no interest in any of them. Is a crypt the kind of setting it takes to get you involved with a woman?"
Enoch turned to the Red Dragon and shrugged. "Maybe rigor mortis was the only way he could get an erec—"
"ENOCH!" C.C. yelled at him. "Do you mind?!"
Enoch gave her an innocent look. "What? I'm just saying…"
"I know what you're saying," C.C. sneered at him playfully through her ear-to-ear smile.
"Can we get down to business?" Lelouch inquired with a blank expression.
"I'd say you've already done enough of that," Enoch cackled.
"Okay," Nunnally put her hand on her brother's arm, "we've picked on him enough. We do need to formulate a plan for a counteroffensive."
"I'm sorry, I get carried away sometimes," Enoch said as he held out his hand to Lelouch. "I'm Enoch Apsu, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Lelouch shook his hand reluctantly. "I'm Lelouch vi Britannia, pleased to make your acquaintance."
* * *
"No, we cannot allow the Greeks to invade Britannia!" Nunnally scoffed at Lelouch's plan to trap the Olympians in the uninhabited regions of the country and use FLEIJA to decimate their forces.
"Their mecha have already exhibited an ability to absorb FLEIJA energies," the Red Dragon pointed out. "We don't know if they have any other machines like it, but the possibility does present itself."
"Then how are we supposed to neutralize their superior technology if we don't lure the bulk of their forces into a position where we can crush them?" Lelouch asked firmly. "Medusa has already informed me of the power of the Apollyon. If we battle that machine over a populated area, the results will be disastrous."
"Well then, we'll just have to ensure that we engage it over the ocean," Enoch pointed out. "That shouldn't be too hard considering their battle plan certainly revolves around securing the sakuradite in Japan."
"That fact troubles me," Lelouch said as he cupped his chin. "Schneizel is well aware that the Fuji mines have only just been repaired and are operating at less than ten percent production. They're useless for the amount of sakuradite the Greeks require."
Nunnally put her index finger to her lips then spoke, "Unless Schneizel intends to betray the Greeks?"
The others looked at her in shock as the revelation she put forward sunk in.
"That's it, Nunnally!" Lelouch told her with a smile. "It's the only logical answer to why Schneizel is pushing the Greeks away from Britannia. He's using Japan as bait to exhaust the resources of the Olympians without resupplying them."
"But Schneizel has to know that the Greeks will discover his betrayal at some point," C.C. remarked.
"Then Schneizel must realize that has to die," Enoch stated in a nonchalant tone, "and the Greeks have to be the ones that do it."
"He's our brother!" Nunnally scowled at Enoch.
"No, Nunnally," Lelouch smiled, "Enoch is right. Schneizel must know that at this point, defeat is a very real possibility for him either at our hands or the Olympians. The best way for him to execute whatever plan he's concocted would be for him to perish at the hands of the Greeks...or at least appear to."
"But Schneizel won't know about any of our plans in this," the Red Dragon pointed out. "He could just as easily really be killed by the Greeks if we set this type of plan in motion. Doesn't that mean anything to any of you?"
"It may be for the better if he dies," Lelouch said sadly. "We don't know how much information Schneizel has acquired about Geass. We know from Medusa that Schneizel himself now possesses the power. He may have also gained access to what Clovis and Bartley were working on while he was in control of Area 11 through Doctor Viviane since she was a lead researcher on their project."
C.C. folded her arms. "You mean Code R, don't you?"
"What's Code R?" Nunnally asked.
C.C. smiled at her, "It was a project that involved the artificial replication of Codes and Geass by using my DNA structure and cells. It was started by Charles zi Britannia in order for him to create an army of immortal Geass-wielding clones and augmented humans that could help him solidify control of the world. It also dealt with learning how to activate and control the Sword of Akasha to kill God."
Nunnally looked at them dumbfounded. "What is the Sword of Akasha?"
"A mobile planet that exists in a different dimension," C.C. said in a distant voice. "It was created by the ancients to tap into the power of the known universe and defeat death itself. How they made it and where it is now was lost through the passage of the eons from when it was first built. Now it is only accessible through the Thought Elevators."
Lelouch had a grave expression as he asked C.C., "Do you think Schneizel might be reviving that plan?"
"I'm not sure," C.C. shook her head slightly.
Nunnally regarded them all with a thoughtful look, "I remember an argument that Schneizel and Cornelia had on the Damocles while I was with them that may shed some light on this situation."
Lelouch nodded towards her, "Please, Nunnally, let's hear it. Any information will help at this point."
Nunnally took a breath. "Cornelia and Schneizel had expressed how they both despised Geass for what it did to our family and to the world. Cornelia hated it for killing Euphie and corrupting you, Lelouch. Schneizel wanted to find its source and destroy it to stop its influence from continuing to plague mankind. The part they argued over was how to go about finding and purging the origin of Geass. I wonder if Schneizel might be putting that plan into motion."
Enoch contemplated what Nunnally said. "It seems clear to me that the first order of business in our counteroffensive will be to stop Schneizel." He leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling of the tomb. "Your brother clearly has a plan of his own in this conflict, and thus he must be neutralized first if we are to have a clear shot at defeating the Greeks and obtaining a victory without fear of being routed by a third party."
"Assuming we do find and defeat Schneizel, what then?" C.C. asked.
"Then we'll have to contend with the city of Tartarus and its forces," Lelouch stated as if it should be obvious. "We'll need to use the combined forces of both Britannia and the Black Knights to do so. Medusa's description of the city was clear. It's a floating fortress armed to the brim with weaponry and filled with mecha."
"Then there's no way we can defeat it through brute force," C.C. remarked with a frown. "You should know that."
"I want to know what the hell is going on in there," Suzaku's voice emanated from the mouth of the tomb.
"We better get over there and stop him," C.C. said to the Red Dragon.
The Red Dragon nodded, "That's a good idea."
The two women briskly made their way to the entrance of the chamber and intercepted Suzaku as he tried to push past Jeremiah and Medusa.
Lelouch picked up his helmet in case he needed to don it quickly.
He, Nunnally, and Enoch waited until Suzaku and the others closed the door of the chamber behind them.
Enoch pulled out a small, cell phone-sized, black case. "I didn't want to talk about this in front of C2 because she'd never agree to what I'm about to propose. However, I feel that it may be the only way to defeat the Greeks." He paused a moment as Lelouch and Nunnally gave him their full attention. "A direct assault on Tartarus is not going to work, we simply don't have the firepower, but there may be another way."
He held up the cell phone-sized pouch and removed a gray- and bronze-colored cassette tape-sized device. "This little gem should take care of the Tartarus if we can get it into the main engine room of the city."
Lelouch gave him a skeptical look. "And what, pray tell, is that?"
"This is a computer input device that has a virus which will rewrite the command and control programs of the Tartarus." Enoch handed the device to Lelouch. "It will cause the city's hyperspace fold system to activate and jump the metropolis into space a few light years from Earth. The virus will then cause the fold drive computer to classify the Sol system and thus Earth as a nonexistent star-system. Therefore, the Greeks will not be able to return with the Tartarus for some time, as they'll have to purge their computers of the virus and reboot the whole city."
"How long will that take?" Lelouch inquired as he examined the small, gray device.
Enoch let out a chuckle, "A few years, maybe more depending on how soon they can figure out the virus' programming code."
"That would provide us with the means of securing a more permanent peace and unify the world," Nunnally blurted out as she thought about the article she had read in the Galactic Tribune back in Enoch's Quantum Castle.
"How so?" Lelouch inquired.
Nunnally smiled at him, "What's the fastest way to stop warring factions?"
"By introducing a threat greater than they are," Lelouch smiled at his sister.
"Exactly," she smiled back at him. "We'll force the UFN, Britannia, and the EU to unify against a common enemy. One that is powerful enough to be convincing and one that exists beyond our reach."
Lelouch laughed, "Nunnally...that's brilliant!"
"But how do you two intend to deliver this device?" Enoch asked. "Getting into Tartarus isn't going to be easy."
"I'll have to be the one that does it," Lelouch stated firmly. "Only a very few people know that I'm alive with a Code and the power of Geass."
"I can't just let you go headfirst into that city." Nunnally gave Lelouch a pleading look. "I'll not lose you again."
Enoch smiled, "You won't lose him, Nunnally. If we plan this carefully, we should be able to pull this off without any major problems…assuming everything goes as planned."
* * *
"Did it?" Kaguya interrupted Nunnally's yarn.
"Not entirely," Nunnally grinned, "but the majority of what we set out to do was accomplished. Since the war with the Greeks allowed us to create the Commonwealth of Earth and the space forces, we achieved three of our major objectives. Now all we have to do is put the next phase of our plan into motion."
"Next phase?" Kaguya inquired with intrigue in her voice.
"Yes," the empress smiled. "Lelouch is convinced that the mobile planet, the Sword of Akasha, is in orbit around Jupiter because when he faced my father in C's World, he saw the red gas giant above the mobile planet."
Sumeragi held a befuddled expression on her face. "But didn't you say it's in another dimension?"
"Yes, but the Greek Champion Jason once told me that Eden Vital, what we call Geass, is connected directly to the fabric of this universe. When I told Enoch that privately at his Christmas party, he explained to me that Jason was wrong. While the Greeks may believe that Geass and Eden Vital are the same, Enoch said they are not. Eden Vital is the energy which Codes and Geass spring from, not the power itself. That energy exists in an alternate dimension, but must be anchored to this universe for it to flow here. Otherwise, there would be no Geass."
Kaguya stared at her wide-eyed. "How did Enoch know this?"
"The Geass Cult's records that Enoch had stolen contained this information," Nunnally told her. "Since the mobile planet is moored in this universe, Lelouch and Enoch surmised that it must be using Jupiter as an anchor. It's a planet that is certainly big enough but not so large as to be a star, which they both thought would damage the mobile planet."
"Oh," Kaguya said nonchalantly, "so that's why you convinced me to push for the creation of the new space fleet? You want to go hunting for this mobile planet someplace out near Jupiter, is that it?"
"Basically," Nunnally blushed. "We fear that if anyone gains control of the Sword of Akasha, they'll have the power to access the Eden Vital, and who knows what kind of danger that could pose."
"So, finding this thing is imperative," Sumeragi grumbled as the aerial shuttle started to descend towards the landing platform of Buenos Ares. The silhouette of a large, cylindrical ship in the distance caught Kaguya's attention. "And that's why we need the Kaminejima."
"Yes,” Nunnally answered her as they touched down.
* * *
"Zero is giving chase on a motorcycle with a redheaded, female driver," Lucretia informed Dalque as her Vincent-Advanced headed for the harbor.
"I could just take him out, you know," Dalque said over the radio.
"No," Alice told her over the channel. "I heard that redheaded security guard call him Lelouch. If she meant Lelouch vi Britannia, then we must assume he has a Code and cannot be killed by normal means."
"Are you sure of that, Alice?" Colonel Madd's voice came on the line.
"Yes, sir," Alice replied.
"Dalque, proceed to the Z-1 submarine at pier seventeen," Madd instructed her.
"Understood, Colonel," Dalque replied as she maneuvered the Vincent-Advanced towards the docks.
* * *
Colonel Madd watched the motorcycle chase Lucretia's Vincent-Advanced on the overhead monitor on the bridge of the Intruder.
"Colonel, we're receiving a transmission from Count Amontillado," a female comm. officer informed him.
"Put him through," Madd told her.
The masked visage of Count Amontillado came on the screen. "Greetings, Colonel. What's the status of your operation?" the man inquired in a soft tone.
"We've captured C2, and Zero is in pursuit. However," Madd cleared his throat, "Alice informs me that Zero may in fact be Lelouch vi Britannia."
The emotionless mask didn't move. "Really, how marvelous," Count Amontillado stated coolly.
"Sir?" Madd asked in confusion.
"Have they reached the Z-1 yet?" Amontillado inquired patiently.
"Almost, but if Zero is Lelouch, our people on the submarine will be vulnerable to his Geass," Madd stated with concern.
"Don't worry, Colonel," the masked man's voice held an air of confidence, "Rai will deal with him."
