Smoke stained the sky before Zero even arrived on the scene.
The air reeked of gunpowder and burning metal.
A reminder of how quickly peace could be ripped from his hands. One hour ago, he'd been sipping tea with Nunnally, her eyes wide in wonder as she looked at flowers for the first time in years.
Now?
Now flames danced across the ruined edge of the Black Knights' Narita hideout.
Lelouch stood at the edge of the hill overlooking the crumbling structure, his Zero cloak billowing in the wind. The underground station, their fallback base, was partially collapsed. A transport truck was overturned near the entrance. Gunfire cracked like thunder through the air. Flames licked the ground, threatening to spread even further.
The Britannian military had struck hard and fast.
A small infantry unit, likely reconnaissance, but still armed and aggressive. Dozens of soldiers had stormed the area, setting fires and exchanging shots with the Black Knights. But thankfully, no Knightmare Frames.
Just flesh and blood.
Lelouch knew how to break flesh and blood easily. Especially when he is pissed the fuck off.
He moved with purpose.
Down the hill, into the smoke and fire. Into the subway stations.
"Ohgi! They're circling around the back!" one Black Knight said as he spotted more soldiers.
"I see them!" Ohgi shouted, crouched behind a metal barricade hastily constructed from scrap steel and supply crates. He turned to return fire, while Tamaki and two others sprinted past, carrying wounded from the left flank.
The station was a war zone now. Stray bullets ricocheted off broken beams, the roar of collapsing support walls echoing in the tunnels. It wasn't safe to stay here for too long.
"Ohgi!" Kallen's voice cut through the chaos as she ducked beside him, rifle slung over one shoulder. "We're losing ground at the east entrance!"
"No," another fighter grunted, reloading his weapon.
"We're buying time. That's the only thing that matters."
Then the firelight twisted as the figure of Zero stepped through the smoke.
Lelouch moved through the chaos like a phantom, the red lining of his cloak catching the flame's glow as if it were stitched with blood. One of the Black Knights turned to him with wide eyes.
"Zero…"
Lelouch didn't respond.
He stepped over rubble, past the bodies of the fallen. Toward the barricade.
"Kallen," he said, voice a thunderous calm. "Take six men and hold the east entrance."
She nodded instantly. No hesitation.
"Ohgi, rally the wounded to the trucks."
"We're surrounded—"
"Not for long."
Lelouch turned, climbing some equipment to get to the highest viewpoint. From here, he could see the Britannian soldiers advancing. The enemy squad was pushing through with brutal precision, rifles raised, shouting orders as they tried to break the Black Knights out of their final defensive line.
His eyes narrowed behind the mask.
They had ruined a very special day.
They had ruined her day.
His rage boiled beneath his skin.
"Enough!"
The mask opened up just enough to reveal his burning left eye full of hatred.
The Geass activated.
The moment the first Britannian soldier turned and made eye contact, Lelouch shouted the command:
"Die!"
The man's expression went slack. Then he fell. Neck snapped.
The soldier beside him turned, confused. He looked at Zero.
"Die!"
Another body dropped to the ground.
One by one, Lelouch turned toward them, his eye alight with power, each command sharper than a bullet. "Die! Die! Die!"
Soldiers screamed. Some clutched their chests and collapsed. Others simply fell mid-run, faces frozen in terror, as if death itself had reached through their helmets and gripped their throats, unable to resist the command. In this moment, Zero became death itself.
Panic erupted through the Britannian ranks.
"He's cursed!"
"Don't look at him!"
"It's the Demon of Narita! Zero!"
The soldiers turned and fled, stumbling over rubble, slipping in blood, dropping weapons in their haste to escape a power they couldn't understand. A man able to make you do anything just by looking into his eyes.
Behind him, the Black Knights stared in stunned silence.
The flames hissed, reflecting in Lelouch's eye as the light faded and his mask slid back into place.
"Ohgi," he said coldly, "get everyone into the trucks."
No one argued.
Ten minutes later, the station was crumbling behind them. Fire licked the ground, dancing over crates and melted steel. Ash fell like snow, turning the entire tunnel system into a vision of hell. Ohgi's truck was the first to pull away, loaded with wounded and supplies. Kallen rode shotgun in the second, her rifle across her lap, expression hard but shaken.
Lelouch stood at the last truck, helping the last group of fighters climb aboard.
"Go," he ordered. "Head north. I'll join you later."
"Are you sure?" Kallen asked, leaning out the side.
"I need to cover the retreat."
She hesitated, then nodded once.
The truck rumbled to life, fading into the darkness of the tunnel system beyond the burning hideout. Zero watched them go. When he was alone, he turned and walked through the ash and flame, boots crunching over the dead.
He vanished into the smoke, into the shadows.
By the time he returned to Ashford Academy and changed into normal clothes, it was night.
The sky was dark, stars hidden behind clouds. The campus was quiet, wrapped in its illusion of peace. Lelouch walked toward his home slowly, his Zero cloak tucked into his bag. He needed to do laundry for it. It gave off a slight ashy smell from it.
When he opened the door to the Ashford residence, a hush settled over him.
He could hear laughter as he opened up the door to the tea room.
Nunnally's laughter came from outside the window.
It came from the garden outside, where he watched Nunnally happily smell the flowers and talk to a nearby duck. She stood under a cherry blossom tree. The scene was peaceful and beautiful despite the sky being so dark.
His chest ached.
I won't let them take this away from you. Not now. Not ever again.
He thought to himself as he smiled and waved to his sister as she spotted him.