A DAY THE DEMONS AWAKENS

The year is now 2018, just under a year after the events of the Black Rebellion. At the Tokyo Settlement, a giant
orange blimp is shown flying over. A woman on the blimp speaks to a flight manager via radio, and gives him the
flight path, purpose of flying (advertising), and flight duration (14 hours). However, the woman is revealed to
actually be C.C., who after finishing her call smiles to herself. Behind her, Kosetsu Urabe talks with six other
members of the Black Knights and several Burai, and tells them that they are all that remains of the once-mighty
organization. He declares that it is too early to give into despair despite the absence of Zero, and acknowledges
that they must win this fight. As he begins to appear emotional, all of the men drink from white cups, then shatter
them on the ground while declaring, "Long live Japan"!

However, at that same moment, Lelouch Lamperouge is seen walking around the halls of Ashford Academy when
someone calls his name. As Lelouch remarks on her persistence, the person is revealed to be Villetta Nu, who says
he won't get away. At that moment, Lelouch sprints away past the other students, who cheer him on. Tired, he
eventually runs into a science lab, where Villetta corners him. Lelouch questions why she would go so far just so
he will make up a PE class, though Villetta says it is for all of his classes. While saying his grades are fine as they
are, Lelouch pours some liquid into a Petri dish of more liquid, covering the area in harmless pink smoke and
allowing him to get away. As he sprints down the stairs, Milly Ashford sees him and gives him a bag of food,
which he takes; Villetta chastises the move, but she rides it off as being absent-minded. Villetta then sees Lelouch
running across the sidewalk, and proceeds to jump from the building onto him. However, it is actually Rivalz
Cardemonde in disguise, who muses if she is trying to kill him. Villetta then sees Lelouch speed away on Rivalz's
sidecar, promising to return it. From a window, Shirley Fenette notices the commotion and wonders what is up,
notably calling him "Lulu". While on the road, Lelouch is shown to be in the sidecar, with another boy driving.
Lelouch muses on how the teachers will never give him a break when he is clearly bored with their lessons, and the
boy, who calls Lelouch "Big Brother", says it's only because he always is skipping class. Lelouch then hands him
some of Milly's bread, which nearly causes them to crash when the boy reaches down to take a bite. Lelouch then
reflects on everything that happened since the Black Rebellion, but appears to have no memory of the fact that he,
in fact, was Zero. Instead, he notes that things have quieted down since that day, and that he almost thought of
returning to the homeland with the boy, whom he also refers to as his brother, whose name is Rolo Lamperouge.
Rolo then asks if he has filled out a college/career form Villetta wanted him to sign (revealing she is a coach at
Ashford), but Lelouch says he is doubtful about it because he is anxious to get out of school but also not wanting
to get into the adult world. He then notes to himself that even if he graduated, there would still be people giving
him orders. As they are stopped at a red light, they see a man give the order for a firing squad to gun down several
people. The man declares that it is not discrimination but differentiation, and also a necessity because of the Black
Knights; images are then shown of numerous Japanese people getting maltreated, showing that even after
Euphemia li Britannia's massacre, no one's well-being has changed. Rolo then drives by several wanted posters,
with Kaname Ohgi, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, a bruised Shinichiro Tamaki, and Nagisa Chiba listed among the captured,
Diethard Ried and Rakshata Chawla listed among the wanted - and Zero among the executed. Lelouch declares
Zero a fool, and that the Elevens should have just accepted their place in the world.

Meanwhile, at Britannia's Area 11 headquarters, the man from the video, who is revealed to be the new Viceroy,
Calares, receives a message that delegates from the Chinese Federation are waiting for him, while Gilbert G.P.
Guilford looks on. He is also notified that forces are heading towards Babel Tower, but Calares questions the
necessity of this since the Black Knights could not possibly do anything. At the same time, Elevens are shown
hideously working at a construction site, while a group of soldiers are shown monitoring Lelouch; they debate on
whether or not they should allow Lelouch to go so far away from Ashford and whether or not a woman will show
up, and it is shown that Lelouch and Rolo are heading to Babel Tower. When they get into the parking lot, Lelouch
allows Rolo to come with him but notes that he will be breaking the law today; although supportive, Rolo
questions why he would do this, and Lelouch says it's because he wants to face more challenging opponents,
though on the elevator Lelouch thinks to himself that he only does it out of sheer boredom.

When they get inside, they come upon a casino, and at the bottom they see two Eleven brothers brutally fighting
each other while Britannians laugh at the scene. Rolo asks to leave, but Lelouch says it is easy to figure out the
scenario, and notes how this very scene shows how Elevens can never match the Britannians, as shown with
Genbu Kururugi and Zero. Lelouch then bumps into a waitress/prostitute dressed in a revealing pink bunny suit,
causing her to drop two glasses of wine onto his leg. Apologizing, the waitress gets on her knees and begins
wiping the stain with a towel, calling the act inexcusable. Lelouch tries to pardon her by saying that Elevens
should not have to have the Britannians constantly imposing them, but the waitress says that they can live an
ordinary life if they just bow their head to Britannia, and it is revealed that the waitress is a disguised Kallen
Kozuki merely quoting her old friend. Lelouch, however, does not appear to recognize her, and rubs off "her"
political values. Kallen continues to try and wipe the spot, notably holding a tracking device in her hand, but a man
suddenly grabs her by the hand and pulls her up, causing her to drop the device without Lelouch noticing. The man
inspects the "bunny" and decides to choose her from four other bunnies despite Kallen's claims she isn't for sale;
this appears to anger Lelouch, and the soldiers seem to notice the commotion. The man, who is revealed to be part
of the mafia, then notes that Charles zi Britannia claims that the Elevens have no rights. Lelouch calls the man
arrogant, and when the man tells him to leave "the adult world", Lelouch challenges him to chess. Rolo tries to get
him to stop, and in turn the man decides to brush him off again, but Lelouch reveals that the man is The Black
King, a famous illegal chess player. At the same time, C.C.'s blimp files overhead.

In a prison cell, some prison guards push a bounded Tamaki onto the ground, who curses them by saying that if
Zero were there they wouldn't be doing this. Chiba, sitting around her cell, promptly tells him not to mention "the
traitor's" name, and the guards continue to abuse Tamaki. In another cell, a fully recovered Ohgi says that there had
to be a reason, but Chiba rebukes this. Across the hall, Tohdoh tells everyone to stop, because regardless Zero is
dead; Ohgi appears shocked at this. At the same time, Lelouch defeats the Black King at his own game, to
everyone's shock. The Black King proceeds to twiddle his thumbs and wonder about the game's reputation, then
proceeds to claim Lelouch cheated. Lelouch promptly denies it, as does Kallen and Rolo, but the Black King tells
his guards to apprehend him. Lelouch claims that he is lying, and it is shown that he is just to win the gamble by
proceeding to pull out a gun as Lelouch's face is slammed into the ground. Before anything further can happen,
C.C.'s blimp comes right above and shakes the foundations, distracting the Black King long enough for Kallen to
promptly kick him in the face and knock out his bodyguards. The blimp proceeds to begin firing machine guns
while Urabe deploys the Knightmares (including Lelouch's old Burai), while Kallen suddenly grabs Lelouch's
hand and drags him away from the scene, to his horror and confusion, as Rolo follows. At the same, the soldiers
watching Lelouch deploy Sutherlands.

Meanwhile, Calares meets with two delegates from the Chinese Federation, Li Xingke and Gao Hai. Hai questions
why they are all armed when Zero is dead, and Calares denies it by saying Britannians always do this. Two guards
then approach Xingke and ask him to hand over his sword, claiming their security is fine, but Xingke proceeds to
take the sword and slice off both of their belts at lightning speed; Hai says that that was rude, but Xingke says that
Chinese always do this. They all then notice the commotion at Babel Tower. At the tower, Kallen suddenly sees the
illusion of a small heart-shaped locket and falls on the ground, with Rolo taking the opportunity to take Lelouch
away from the scene; Kallen tries to follow, but rubble blocks her path. Kallen reports this to the blimp, prompting
the other Black Knights to head in after Urabe. They defeat several helicopters while the Britannian soldiers move
in, and it is noted that Calares has no idea about Zero's true whereabouts. Lelouch and Rolo come into a lobby,
where Zero's old Burai appears before them and gestures for Lelouch to come with it. However, the soldiers move
in and proceed to not only shoot off one of its arms but also gun down several civilians. As Lelouch and Rolo head
for an exit, Kallen rendezvous with other Black Knights and activates the Guren Mk-II, now equipped with a silver
prosthetic to replace the one destroyed in the Rebellion. Lelouch and Rolo head into a storage closet, where they
prepare to hide and try to find a way out, although Rolo seems uneasy about it. Lelouch then notices a Black
Knight shooting at Rolo, and when he pushes Rolo out of the way, a blast of debris suddenly pushes him off a rail
and down a giant pit. At the same time, Shirley complains about how Lelouch is passing all of his habits to Rolo
while Milly and Rivalz tease her, proving that Shirley likes Lelouch again somehow.

Lelouch falls onto a green tarp, breaking his fall. He tries to call Rolo, but gets no signal. With no other choice, he
heads up a long flight of stairs, desperate to try and save his brother at the very least. As he heads up, he comes
into a room littered with corpses that had just been gunned down, including the Black King, and believes the Black
Knights killed them as Elevens also are dead. As he nearly gets sick, Lelouch notices one person holding a bloody
photo of Zero, and questions their allegiance. Just then, he notices the same Burai from before, and is forced to
stop. The pilot, however, comes out of the Burai, revealing herself as C.C. She tells him that she is there to rescue
him, and mentions their contract as well as how she is the only one who knows who he truly is. Confused, Lelouch
approaches C.C., but she is suddenly shot in the back and falls into Lelouch's arms. As Lelouch tries to shake her
awake, he notices the same Britannian soldiers staring down on him, and watches as they set everyone's bodies on
purple fire, even gunning down a woman, revealing that they killed all the people. The head soldier, a baron, tells
Lelouch that he served his function well, having monitored his moves the entire day; the baron then says that they
were trying to lure C.C. out of hiding the entire time. They then prepare to dispose of Lelouch by gunning him
down. Lelouch begins to fall into despair, and bemoans that if he only had power, he would be able to change the
world. At that moment, C.C. regains consciousness, grabs him by the head, and kisses him. This causes Lelouch to
receive a Geass illusion involving Jupiter. In the illusion, C.C. reveals that Lelouch has been suffering from
amnesia, causing the Geass he has to be suppressed, and tells him to remember who he truly is before activating
her Code mid-illusion. Lelouch then begins to see illusions of what actually happened that previous year, and notes
how phony memories were implanted into his brain, revealing that he remembers everything again, including that
he is Zero. He then remembers a certain figure refusing forgiveness, because they are friends.

With all his memories in place, Lelouch and C.C. stand up, and the former questions the soldiers on whether or not
power is evil, and proceeds to command all the soldiers to die with his Geass, which has reactivated, notably
showing a new mental vision when it happens. All the soldiers proceed to gun each other down, and Lelouch
muses on how he lost a year in his current state, but that it's the world's fault it happened, and he will now change
the world. Urabe and Kallen then come in and ask for his orders. And meanwhile, in Britannia, Charles meets with
the regal figure from Lelouch's past - Suzaku Kururugi, who appears to still be insane from Euphemia's death -
along with two others, and listens as Suzaku declares that he, personally, will kill Zero.

PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT JAPAN

As the battle continues on, Britannian forces stage themselves outside Babel Tower. As several Sutherlands head
upwards, they pin the Burai pilots, and Kallen tells them to hang on until Zero can get control of the building. She
then reminisces on what really happened at Kamine Island. When Lelouch and Suzaku fired their guns at each
other, Lelouch went for a head shot but instead destroyed his communicator, while Suzaku shot his gun and
promptly twirl-kicked Lelouch onto the ground. Kallen tried to help Lelouch, but Suzaku aimed a gun at her and
continued to manipulate her into thinking that Lelouch tricked her just to kill all the Japanese, at the same time
wrestling away the sakuradite capsule. Unable to contain her emotions, and left with no other choice, Kallen
promptly fled the scene, rendezvoused with Urabe, met Orpheus Zevon, and eventually rejoined C.C., who told
them the truth. While she left, Lelouch was thrown against the wall and smirked in defeat, leading to the flashback
in the previous episode. From there, as Lelouch recalls, Suzaku arrested Lelouch and slammed him down in front
of Charles, who promptly chided him jokingly on how long it had been. As Suzaku continued to hold him there, he
made a request of Charles: as a reward for capturing Zero, Suzaku wished to be allowed to join the Knights of the
Round, a group of Knights that serve directly under Charles, in the process leaving behind Ashford Academy and
destroying his final promise to Euphemia. Lelouch chastised him for this, and though Suzaku claimed he is only
abiding by his reformism ideals, Lelouch accused him of selling out his friend for a promotion. Suzaku
acknowledged that he doesn't mind in order to further his goals. Pleased by Suzaku's response, Charles decided to
accept the deal and from there approached them, ordering Suzaku to cover Lelouch's Geass. Charles then said that
there was another use for Lelouch, and revealed that he has a Geass in both eyes that allows him to rewrite a
person's memory. From there, as Lelouch wailed in agony and accused him of killing Marianne vi Britannia,
Charles rewrote Lelouch's memory such that he no longer remembered Marianne (and, by extension, that he is a
member of the royal family), Nunnally, or his actions as Zero.

In the present, Lelouch discovers that C.C. did not give Charles his Geass, and that Nunnally vi Britannia is
missing, while Sayoko Shinozaki escaped with Diethard to the Chinese Federation, unaware of Zero's identity. As
Lelouch wonders who Rolo is (while Rolo finds Britannian soldiers and asks about Lelouch's whereabouts), he
begins rummaging through the journal about him and finds a layout of the tower. At that moment, a soldier comes
up to him while C.C. hides and prepares to inspect the dead baron. In this way, Lelouch is able to use Geass on him
so that he gives him his Sutherland; C.C. questions the theatrics, and Lelouch hands the comment right back at her.

At a small Chinese outpost, Calares talks with Guilford on the worsening situation, and offers to join the fight.
However, Calares says he will go personally, since he is the viceroy and Guilford has to keep Gao Hai busy with
his spices. At the same time, Lelouch gets hold of the control room and proceeds to give everyone orders to gain
the upper hand, taking out numerous troops in the process. As Calares arrives at the Britannian outpost, the Black
Knights steal Sutherlands and begin to gain the upper hand, with it being revealed that Urabe knows Zero's
identity. As Lelouch wonders about what to do when Calares arrives, Kallen enters the room (against his orders)
and says she wanted to be alongside Lelouch. Saying they are finally alone, Kallen pulls out a pistol. Meanwhile,
at a Thought Elevator, Charles is with Suzaku, now the Knight of Seven. Charles notes on the battle, and Suzaku is
shown to know all about C.C. Charles then says that Suzaku is the only person who knows about the place,
incorrectly saying that not even Schneizel el Britannia knows about it, and says that he is letting Suzaku in on it
because he is seemingly the only one to know about Geass. When they get to the Thought Elevator, Charles
introduces it as a "weapon for destroying God" called the Sword of Akasha.

Lelouch asks Kallen what she wants to tell him, and she asks that, if he was deceiving her after using his Geass on
her and subsequently pretending to be an ordinary classmate, did he use his Geass to make her unwaveringly
follow him, even to the point of following him to Hell. Lelouch, chuckling, tells the truth and says that he didn't,
and that she should be proud for following him. As he calmly takes the gun away, Kallen tells Lelouch that she is
only loyal to his Zero persona, not his Lelouch Lamperouge one, in an attempt to decipher who Lelouch really is.
Although confused, Lelouch complies, then questions if she is going to take her Guren Mk-II key out of her boobs,
where she had to store them due to her clothing. She promptly hides it from him, when Lelouch gets word that a
gigantic number of aerial troops are breaking into Babel Tower, having been sent by Calares as a way to
completely overwhelm the Black Knights and impress the Chinese, to the point where even Milly, Rivalz, Shirley,
and Villetta notice them. Lelouch, however, simply gives Kallen his school shirt and declares that he is going to
win.

The Britannians soon think that they have taken control of all but one of the exits, but in reality C.C. and some
troops are placing sensors in those areas to trick them. As Lelouch, in a Sutherland, declares that everything is
going according to plan, one soldier radios in on Lelouch and talks of an enemy Knightmare attacking the others
before getting destroyed. Many others mention the same thing, and it begins to appear as if the Knightmare is
teleporting by what can be seen on its radar signal. as the Knightmare heads for Lelouch, Urabe and Kallen come
to block its path, ready to be sacrificial pawns, but Lelouch says that they should not be willing to sacrifice their
lives, because if they are they can't beat Britannia. In response, Urabe sends some Burai pilots down to the level
where it is.

They catch a glimpse of a gold and red Knightmare, the Vincent, exiting a large elevator, and decipher it is a mass
production prototype based on the Lancelot. They prepare to destroy it, but it suddenly vanishes and attacks them
from behind, swiftly destroying them. The Vincent proceeds to bust through a wall and find Lelouch, Urabe, and
Kallen, where Lelouch prepares to defeat the machine with strategy. Urabe and Kallen charge at the Vincent just as
it pulls out two lance type Maser Vibration Swords, then uses it vanishing technique to appear before Lelouch. As
it connects its MVS lances to form a double-bladed weapon, Lelouch tries to shoot it, but it vanishes again and
reappears behind his Sutherland ready to strike but gets its a double-bladed MVS lance stuck in deadlock with
Urabe's Gekka when the latter pushes Lelouch out of the way. While in the deadlock, Urabe tells Lelouch that he
doesn't care about who Zero is, and acknowledges that people are only expendable in the most dire of situations.
Willing Zero's safety to Kallen and the hope of the people to Zero, as well as saying goodbye to Rakshata, he stabs
himself to his Gekka's chest and into the Vincent's shoulder, causing the Gekka to self-destruct and kill Urabe.
Lelouch, grieving Urabe's death, notices that the Vincent is still intact. Kallen tries to follow Urabe's example
despite Lelouch's protests, but C.C. announces that all preparations are made. With that cue, Lelouch takes a
switch, declares that hope begins now, and clicks the switch, setting off a series of bombs that wreck the entire
foundation. A whole section of the building proceeds to be ripped off from the rest, taking the Britannian forces
(and even the blimp) with it, while the Black Knights hide in the basement. As the section falls downward, it
proceeds to fall down and crush Calares and his troops to death, their location having been given away by their
attempts to seal the exits. Lelouch watches the scene and laughs.

As the Britannian headquarters debate on who should take command after Calares' death, Guilford steps into the
room and declares that he will, albeit temporarily, in the name of Cornelia li Britannia. As Guilford makes
emergency preparations, everyone's computer screens suddenly start to sputter before revealing Zero's face, with
Zero declaring himself returned, shocking Guilford, Suzaku, and everyone else, but also delighting Diethard (who
got them in), Sayoko, and Rakshata, who are all in a room watching. Zero continues on to say that he is burdened
by the vengeance that Britannia continues to cause everyone they look at, and so a new rebellion was in order to
make the strong stop oppressing the weak, starting with Calares, with Villetta and Kaguya Sumeragi watch in rage
and joy respectively. The Britannians then track the radio signal to the exact place where Calaris met Xingke and
Gao, who are also in the room Zero is in, as they escaped the area using Babel Tower itself. Suzaku, becoming
enraged at the scene, is comforted by the Knight of Three, Gino Weinberg, who says that Zero must be a fake and
that they can probably storm the place since Zero is a criminal; however, the Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim, muses
that she doesn't care. As a disheveled Nina Einstein also begins watching with an insane look on her face, Zero
declares the formation of the United States of Japan, beginning with that single building (to Rakshata's
amusement); Xingke is doubtful of the move, but Gao, revealed to be under a Geass, approves. As concluding
remarks, Zero says that being a citizen will have only one requirement: doing the right thing.

Xingke goes outside where Britannians are preparing to storm the building, and warns them that if they do so they
will break a vital peace treaty. As the Britannians leave, Xingke wonders how useful Zero will be when the Vincent
suddenly arrives. Xingke asks the pilot to state his identity, and as the pilot - Rolo - comes out, he says he merely
came there to find out the truth and "to kill" before activating his own Geass.

IMPRISONED IN CAMPUS

Just as Rolo activates his Geass, his cell phone begins ringing and he stops the Geass to answer it, to the suspicion
of Xingke's troops. When Rolo picks up, he finds Lelouch on the other end checking in to see if he's okay. This
confuses Rolo, who wonders if the Zero making the speech is someone else, revealing that he knows Lelouch's
identity. He asks where Lelouch is at the moment, only for Villetta to take Lelouch's phone away from him and tell
Rolo that Lelouch has come back to Ashford Academy to make up classes, and that he should also. Further
confused, Rolo tells Xingke that his business is done there, and closes his phone, revealing the locket from earlier
attached onto it. On the news that evening, it is shown that the building they are hiding in is the Chinese consulate,
Calares' death has not been made public, and Guilford has stationed numerous troops outside. While Kallen
watches, Zero comes in, and Kallen congratulates him for everything. However, it is revealed that the "Zero"
giving the speech was actually C.C. in disguise, and she tells Kallen it was only a natural reaction based on the loss
of territory and declaration of war. Kallen questions how C.C. disguised herself, and she says that, while Lelouch
headed back to avoid suspicion, and C.C. used the mask's voice scrambler to create the "magic show" appearance
of Zero giving a speech. Kallen then protests that the Black Knights don't like it when Lelouch and C.C. keep
secrets from them, but C.C. (apparently aware of Kallen's crush on Lelouch) corrects her by saying that only
Kallen doesn't like it, rendering Kallen irritably speechless.

The next day, the Student Council is preparing food, and Milly starts giving all of the orders to Lelouch.
Eventually Lelouch gets irritated and starts complaining, but Milly says that they have no choice but to make him
do everything, since Rivalz has no sense of taste and Shirley is extremely klutzy with kitchen appliances
(exemplified by how she loses control and falls on the ground when using an electric batter to make cake dough
and promptly splattering the cake dough on herself); she then adds that Lelouch would normally follow orders
(provoking Rivalz to mention he keeps track of everything he spends). After that, Lelouch asks Milly if the food is
actually intended for a party to celebrate him and Rolo coming back (further raising the question as to why he is
there), and Milly confirms it, then prepares to go on about how Shirley nearly despaired over Lelouch possibly
being dead, provoking Shirley to cover Milly's mouth with her still-dirty hands. Rivalz then asks where Rolo is,
and Milly says she invited him but he became shy (something he has been known to do with everyone, causing
him to have few friends as Rivalz points out) and left. As everyone continues working, Lelouch notes from their
responses that none of them remember Nunnally, and that Suzaku not only sold him to Charles to be Geassed, but
also Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley all at once, then proceeded to ship away all non-Student Council members to other
schools and bring in new ones, all to create an illusion for Lelouch, infuriating him.

Rolo is seen heading down the same elevator that Lelouch and Suzaku took to reach the sewers and confront Mao,
and opens a door with a key, revealing an entire setup of soldiers (including Villetta) who have been tasked to spy
on Lelouch, him included. There the soldiers discuss how Lelouch has shown no changes whatsoever and that all
of the security cameras would have caught something. Rolo asks about C.C.'s whereabouts, and Villetta says that
she might be in the consulate since she can't be near Lelouch; this appears to get on Rolo's nerves. Villetta tells
everyone to continue working. At the same time, Lelouch figures out where the security cameras are, but because
they are now monitoring him, he will now have to plan his moves carefully. He also comes to the realization that,
if no one knows where Nunnally is, then Charles must have her in his custody as a bargaining chip. To deal with
the situation, Lelouch decides to turn all of the major spies into Black Knights. While walking in the hall, Lelouch
runs into Rolo and Villetta. Lelouch realizes that, since he used his Geass on Villetta already, he will have to sway
Rolo to his cause first.

Meanwhile, in another country (presumably Italy based on accents), Britannia is executing another mass-scale
invasion. The country's forces are able to easily hold the Britannians off and plan a victory fest, but suddenly
Suzaku, in the Lancelot, flies in from above and lands in the middle of the enemy forces, demanding that they
surrender or be killed under his insane wrath. The country's soldiers decide to attack him, provoking him to
savagely murder all of them. Schneizel is then shown to be on one of the ships, where his Knight, Kanon Maldini,
asks if it is all right for Schneizel's former subordinate (Suzaku) to have his own operation. Schneizel says it is, as
his insanity can be used. Lelouch, meanwhile, begins rummaging through school photos, with Rolo being in every
one of them, and realizes that Suzaku must have abducted Nina and Arthur for his own desires since they are gone
also. Rolo then comes up to him and they begin looking at some of the other photos together, including one where
Rivalz won an award for Greatest Unrequited Love and got it presented to him by his crush (Milly). Rolo then asks
how Lelouch was able to escape, as the military had the area surrounded. After making a brief joke about whether
Rolo is wondering about if he escaped from the terrorists or the military, Lelouch says that he took an escape
passage after falling down and tried to call but had no signal (which is the truth, in a way). Lelouch then notices
Rolo is holding the locket, which is revealed to have been given to him by Lelouch as a birthday present. But
Lelouch then realizes that, although October 25th, 2002 is Rolo's birthday, at the same time October 25th, 2003 in
Nunnally's birthday. Coming to the conclusion that they stole it from her, an enraged Lelouch tries to take it back
from Rolo under the pretext that it is a girly present, but Rolo suddenly becomes protective of it and shouts at
Lelouch not to do so. Rolo later meets Villetta in the sewers to note that there are still no changes in Lelouch. As
they discuss Geass, someone walks in and apologizes for doing so. He tries to leave, but Rolo suddenly activates
his Geass despite Villetta's protests. It is revealed that Rolo's Geass can freeze in place any animate object within a
spherical proximity (except himself), making them lose a concept of spacetime as well, which explains why his
Knightmare can teleport. Rolo then takes out a switchblade and stabs the man to death before undoing the Geass.
Villetta asks how many agents Rolo has killed, and Rolo says that it was necessary to avoid knowledge of Geass
spreading.

It eventually has been three days since the battle at Babel Tower, and Kallen is taking a shower. After getting out,
she reminisces on how Britannia could make a move at any moment, but Lelouch has yet to contact them. Hugging
his school uniform, Kallen muses on how Lelouch is Zero when she notices her bunny suit. Outside, C.C. is
talking with Gao Hai and Xingke about how long they can stay in just the consulate when Kallen, draped only in a
towel, walks out, angrily questioning why she had to be "the Bunny Girl" when C.C. could have easily saved
Lelouch by being in the disguise herself. Kallen then notices Xingke and Gao and, realizing how immodestly
dressed she is in front of them, proceeds to run behind a stained glass pane, embarrassed. Gao, thinking Kallen is
Zero, questions his gender in surprise, and C.C. jokingly "confirms" it. Kallen protests, leading to a discussion
about having a sense of humor, which is cut short when the towel begins to unfurl, revealing Kallen's boobs. After
Kallen re-covers herself, Xingke says it is a pleasure to meet her, correctly guessing her identity; when Kallen
questions how he knows it, Xingke merely responds that he is interested in Knightmare pilots. A soldier then runs
in and says that Ohgi and the other prisoners are in trouble. Outside, it is seen that Guilford has taken all 256 of the
captured Black Knights and positioned them outside. He gives Zero until 3 PM tomorrow to face him in combat
and show himself, or else all the prisoners will be executed; Villetta is then seen watching the scene from a TV and
looking sadly at Ohgi.

While Lelouch is watching the event broadcast on live TV in the Student Council room, Shirley comes in. She asks
Lelouch for advice on getting Villetta (who is revealed to be the swimming coach and, therefore, Shirley's coach) a
birthday gift, specifically on what brand of wine to get her to make her mad. Lelouch offers to go with her to buy a
bottle of wine, much to her surprise and acceptance. Unbeknownst to them, Rivalz is listening from the window
with a smirk. Lelouch briefly goes to the bathroom and takes out a contact lens; in a flashback, it is revealed that
because Lelouch now has a Runaway Geass, he has to wear a contact lens C.C. gave him over his eye to avoid
Geassing anyone and to prevent anyone from noticing his Geass has activated. Lelouch leaves the Student Council
building (which he appears to still live in) where he finds Rolo outside. Lelouch tells him where he's going, and
Rolo seems to get sad at the thought of a birthday. As Lelouch walks out, Milly suddenly gives him a hug and tells
him to come with her and Rivalz.
While Lelouch and Shirley are at the mall and are looking through the wine selections, Shirley decides to turn this
turn of events into a date. Lelouch then notices that Milly, Rivalz, and Rolo have followed them there (which he
planned) through a mirror. It is shown that Milly is doing a study on male-female relationships (likely due to her
situation); Rivalz questions why Rolo should follow them, and Milly says it's essential because Shirley might
become a family member, which appears to trouble Rolo. As the three continue to follow the "couple" to an
electronics shop, Villetta is revealed to have positioned her spies in the area. Lelouch acknowledges that they are
there, and begins to decipher who is and who isn't one. He goes over to sign some paperwork, and proceeds to use
his Geass on the store manager to get him to do a favor for him. Shirley, meanwhile, tests out a set of headphones
and while listening she notices a couple leaning in for a kiss, to her dismay. Lelouch then comes back and asks
what she was looking at, and she makes an excuse that she was looking at an ad for a cable car system, giving
Lelouch haunted memories of their encounter with Mao, and vows to himself to make Charles pay for wiping
everyone's memories. He then tells Shirley that Milly has been spying on them, and tells her of an idea for a prank.

He takes Shirley to a clothes shop and selects some clothes, telling Shirley that he plans to wear a disguise and
promptly surprise Milly and the others, while Shirley pretends he is still changing. As Lelouch changes, he calls
the mall security line using a pager he got from the electronics man and, while claiming to be a member of the
Black Knights, gives a bomb threat to them. A terrorist warning is promptly sounded, albeit coded so only the
employees know, and Lelouch continues to masquerade the appearance of a prank. As Villetta is swayed by the
alarm into thinking that C.C. will come, Lelouch walks out while a spy follows him. As Lelouch continues to walk
outside, it is shown that the electronics man has been Geassed to smash open and ring the terrorist alarm at exactly
4 PM. When he does so, everyone tries to flee the mall (causing the spy to lose sight of Lelouch, who chuckles at
the scene) except Rolo, who goes in to check on Lelouch and finds the clothing room empty. As the pandemonium
continues, Villetta decides to leave the area herself, as do the others, to find C.C.

Rolo comes back to the spy room to find Lelouch's location, but finds the room empty. Lelouch then appears
behind him and points a gun at his head, and is revealed to have Geassed the spy following him into making him
his slave, allowing him to feed false info about C.C. to Villetta. He then tries to use his Geass on Rolo to make him
his slave also and use him to find Nunnally, but Rolo uses his own Geass to take Lelouch's gun and point it at
Lelouch, telling him he is going to die. An explosion then suddenly occurs at the Chinese consulate, and it is
revealed that Xingke has suddenly gone rogue and begun preparing to vanquish the Black Knights.

COUNTERATTACK AT THE GALLOWS

The scene flashes back to several years earlier. A group of men, presumably government officials, walk out of a
Capitol-like building when a young Rolo suddenly walks in front of them. They try to pin him down, but Rolo
activates his Geass. He then takes a gun out of one man's pocket and proceeds to shoot another in the throat,
causing blood to fountain out. It is then revealed that Rolo, with the help of his Geass, has been trained to be an
assassin since he was a toddler, and given the longevity of his career he knows about almost nothing other than
killing and killing and killing, oftentimes going undercover. For this assignment, Rolo was tasked to be undercover
as Lelouch's brother following the death of Clara Lanfranc, and although Rolo was skeptical since he never had a
family and didn't know what it meant to be loved, he accepted. Additionally, he was given the order that, if
Lelouch were to regain his memories, he would have to kill him.

In the present, Lelouch questions if Rolo can stop time, but Rolo refuses to answer. Lelouch then realizes that Rolo
can only stop people's perception of spacetime via a remote-controlled videotape; Rolo says that that won't help
him, but Lelouch says that killing him would only cause trouble for Rolo. He explains that if Lelouch dies, there is
no hope for Rolo to gain either of the two things that he has been seeking: C.C., whom Rolo can only capture by
using Lelouch to bait her, and Rolo's own life, which can only be preserved if Rolo succeeds in his mission. Rolo
doesn't believe him at first and chooses to focus on his mission, but Lelouch further promises that, by tomorrow, he
will lure C.C. out of hiding, allowing Rolo to capture, in exchange for being allowed to live and Rolo also serving
him.

Meanwhile at the consulate, thinking that the Chinese as a whole have come to attack, Kallen and C.C. begin
loading their guns, with Kallen being reminded of a battle they endured during the timeskip, deciding that they
have to fight to stay with Lelouch. At that moment, Xingke comes in, and C.C. and Kallen taunt him into
questioning his actions when Gao Hai (whom they know was Geassed into obeying Zero's every command)
approved of the United States of Japan. Xingke says that he plans to kill Gao unless the Black Knights meet his
demands. Kallen tries to shoot him, but C.C. intervenes by noting that he plans to frame Gao's death on them, and
asks for Xingke's demands. At the same time, Lelouch and Rivalz are on a train to go file a report for a missing
vehicle (Rivalz's bike, which they end up finding), while Lelouch, who is reading info on Rolo, notes that since
Lelouch has him fooled, Rolo won't report anything new on Lelouch. However, he also notes that he needs to
target Rolo's primary motivation or else risk losing his loyalty before his plan to save the Black Knights the next
day. He also notes that he can't kill Rolo because that would give his identity away. He decides he will have to play
student for a bit until Nunnally can be recovered, and questions how he will both save the Black Knights and stop
Rolo with one stone. Meanwhile Rolo heads back down to the Office of Secret Intelligence meeting room where
he overhears two men complaining to Villetta about another person he killed (his fifth victim) for merely touching
his locket, and that they refuse to team up with him to get Zero. Rolo then decides to not enter the room, saying
that the mission comes before the team.

Meanwhile, as the other Black Knights begin chatting out of boredom, Guilford is notified that the Black Knights
are approving of the executions, likely due to Xingke. Guilford also tells the Glaston Knights that, even if Zero
does not show up, there is no chance for him to come ahead, as the Elevens will be watching and waiting for him
to pull a miracle; even so, Guilford wants him to show up to get revenge for Cornelia, who has gone missing
(prompting Guilford to keep a portrait of her in his room) and given up her royalty out of insane grief for
Euphemia. At the same time, Xingke confronts Gao personally and questions why he would recognize the United
States of Japan without the consent of the Chinese Federation itself and its empress. Due to Zero's Geass, however,
Gao simply says that Zero must be pleased in every way for his own benefit. Enraged, Xingke throws a whip with
a dagger tip and runs it through Gao's throat, killing him, after which he declares that a "Crimson dynasty" is dead.
The next morning, Lelouch begins rummaging through data to try and work out a plan, but keeps on having Rolo
be a possible hindrance.

The execution starts to go under way, with many Japanese begging that a doubtful Tohdoh not be killed.
Additionally, Chiba keeps on saying that Zero won't come for them since he abandoned them in the Black
Rebellion, but Tamaki vehemently says that he will come. The OSI also prepares to look for C.C. among them, but
Villetta seems to be sad about Ohgi dying. Meanwhile, David T. Darlton sets up a sniping position and prepares to
avenge his father's death, when a soldier (Lelouch in disguise) comes to him to give him orders. Rolo, meanwhile,
takes the identity of a man named "Lord Kimmel" to use while he is stationed, and decides that if Lelouch doesn't
fulfill his promise, he will kill him. At the same time, Xingke tells Kallen and C.C. that if Zero appears, he will
believe they mean no harm and recognize the USJ.

When the time comes, Guilford announces to the desperate Japanese that, since Zero has not come, he was merely
a fake. He orders his men in Sutherlands to take aim, provoking Kallen to shed tears and C.C. to get worried. Just
as Ohgi is about to resign, Zero suddenly appears behind the crowd (as Rolo expected) in his old Burai, albeit
alone, and declares to Guilford that if he kills the Black Knights, he will be killing soldiers, not terrorists. He then
begins to slowly approach Guilford with his Burai, while the crowd begins murmuring, and the Student Council
watches while Kaguya, Diethard, Rakshata, and Sayoko also watch, with Diethard telling Sayoko about a "future"
plan; it is also shown that Rolo fed the OSJ false info about him and Lelouch being at the theater. Zero then rolls
into the Britannian encirclement and invites Guilford to come out of his Knightmare to chat with him, but Guilford
politely declines, saying that he wants to engage Zero in a Knightmare. Though Kallen is worried for Zero's safety
since he is not skilled at combat and can't use his Geass, Zero hops into his cockpit. However, Zero decides to set
some ground rules. First, neither of them can ask for reinforcements. Second, they will each have one weapon.
Guilford decides to take his Gloucester spear, while Zero borrows a shield from a Knightpolice, which both Rolo
and Tohdoh acknowledge is suicidal; Xingke is shown to be watching from a balcony and decides that, if Zero
does not prove to live up to his expectations, he will use the Black Knights as bargaining tools.

As Guilford and Zero prepare themselves, Zero asks Guilford what he would do if he had to fight evil: would he
use evil to destroy the evil, or remain completely just and let the evil grow (as C.C. and Xingke note, evil will still
exist in a paradox). Guilford declares he chooses the latter and charges Zero, but Zero says he chooses the former,
and it is then revealed that he has Geassed an official to kill guards and push the buttons that will elevate the
ground just like he did in the Black Rebellion. This causes all of the Britannians and Zero to start sliding down
towards a cliff face. As Kallen and her troops move in to rescue the Black Knights, Bart L. Darlton tries to use his
Knightmare to stay stable, and proceeds to try and shoot Zero (who deflects it by riding on his shield like a
snowboard), only to be crushed and killed by the G-1 Mobile Base. When the Britannians eventually fall at the
bottom, Zero declares that they are now in enemy territory, and orders the Black Knights to fight them if fought at.
While Villetta makes preparations to find C.C., Alfred G. Darlton engages Kallen in combat, only to be killed.
Edgar N. Darlton then tries to move in, but is stopped, as if they take any action in their territory, it would be
equivalent to declaring war.

At that moment, Rolo takes his Knightmare, called the Vincent into enemy territory, and the prisoners escape
gunfire when Kallen blocks it. Rolo begins pursuing Zero, believing that he didn't keep his promise and deciding
to kill him as a way to open his future, and as Zero tries to flee, Rolo slices off one of his Knightmare arms. Just
then David fires a bullet directly at Rolo, with Rolo being unable to stop physical objects. Just as Rolo is about to
get killed, Zero jumps in the way and takes the shot, sacrificing his remaining Knightmare arm and getting
knocked over. Shocked, Rolo asks Lelouch why he would do that, and Lelouch says that, even though they are not
brothers, their memories together might as well make them as such. It is then shown that all Rolo wanted was
some love, which Lelouch is essentially giving him, and Lelouch then promises to give Rolo a loving future
alongside him. Upon regaining his composure, Guilford tries to run Zero through by throwing his spear, but Rolo
catches it, only to become further traumatized when Guilford questions "Kimmel's" allegiance. Villetta then calls
both Lelouch and Rolo, and Zero picks up, telling her they are in the bathroom and that he'll keep Rolo out of
danger. Xingke then forces the Britannians to surrender, to Guilford's frustration.

That evening, Kallen reunites with the former prisoners, who express gratitude. Tamaki then asks who is piloting
the Vincent, and C.C. says it can't be an adversary because he saved Zero. Rolo, meanwhile, goes into hysterics
seeing C.C., so Zero tells him that he belongs with him, not Britannia. Zero then snickers to himself, and it is
revealed that he Geassed David and gave him a complex set of instructions to deal with Rolo. Zero then snickers
by realizing that Rolo mainly wants to take Nunnally's place in the world, and declares to himself that as
punishment, in actuality he will use Rolo and then dispose of him. That night, a lone figure is shown standing
outside Ashford Academy in school uniform - Suzaku.

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND

The same night the Black Knights prisoners are freed into the United States of Japan, Tamaki signals for everyone
to throw off their prison outfits, leaving everyone in their underwear. Inside, Kallen asks Lelouch what happened
to the Vincent pilot, and C.C. says it left through a escape route Xingke made for Zero. Out of respect for Urabe,
Lelouch decides not to give away Rolo's name, but does say that he is on their side when Kallen asks him, and that
he didn't Geass him. As Lelouch tries to change the subject though, Kallen questions why he would keep the pilot's
identity a secret from her, then asks if his secretive side is a trait of Zero or Lelouch. Lelouch, in an attempt to
appease her, flirtareously responds by saying that not everyone knows about their "relationship", causing Kallen to
shout at him to not say that yet blush at the same time. C.C. also asks if his identity will remain secret among the
three of them, and Lelouch confirms it. Kallen finally asks if she should be in charge of the Zero Squad, and after
receiving confirmation, promptly leaves. C.C. then tells Lelouch that they will talk about Geass later to deal with
other matters, so Lelouch puts on his mask.

Outside, the Black Knights get a giant stash of old uniforms and happily try them on, while Kallen informs Tohdoh
of Urabe's death; Chiba is seen looking at them, and Asahina promptly comes up and tells her to "confess", much
to her denial. Zero then appears, but before he can make a speech, Chiba and Asahina promptly question why he
abandoned them and rebuke him for doing so. The crowd continues to ask for an explanation, but all Zero is
willing to say is that it was for victory over Britannia. When they get angry at him for saying only that with no
apology, Tohdoh tells them to stop. He then personally asks Zero if it was truly to help in the battle; as Zero
confirms it, Tohdoh stands alongside him in support, saying that operations must sometimes be secret and that only
Zero can be so capable. Ohgi also expresses his support due to his rescue despite Minami's memories, and
continues to say that, with the Chinese Federation being incapable and the European Union continuing to lose their
footing, they are the last hope for change. This eventually convinces everyone to follow Zero, but C.C. appears
worried about the situation.

The next day, Lelouch is shocked to see that Suzaku has returned to Ashford Academy. Due to the fact that Suzaku
had all the students shipped elsewhere, the rest of the class expresses surprise at Suzaku's appearance, referring to
him as the "White Grim Reaper" in reference to his savage murder streak. Villetta promptly calms the class down,
saying that Suzaku only chose to reenroll because he has been transferred to Area 11, then tells him to go sit with
Lelouch, inadvertently revealing that Suzaku is actually there to spy on Lelouch. As Suzaku approaches Lelouch
reminisces on how Suzaku was once his first actual friend when he and Nunnally came to the Kururugi Shrine,
only for them to get separated when Charles invaded Japan (specifically, it is revealed that when Lelouch and
Nunnally were picked up by the Ashford family, they left Suzaku behind). They then begin to reflect on their
complicated histories after reuniting, to the point where Suzaku, in his lack of sanity, glares at Lelouch upon
reaching him. However, since Lelouch's memories of Suzaku being at Ashford were left intact, Lelouch is able to
approach Suzaku with a friendly greeting. This briefly manages to snap Suzaku out of his trance, and Shirley and
Rivalz promptly greet him happily, with even Milly ditching class to some see him.

At lunch, Lelouch begins considering how to get Rolo not to spill the beans, but when he looks at him during
lunch, Rolo promptly buries himself in a book. Shirley and Lelouch also explain to Suzaku that all of the students
and teachers were kicked out of the school; hiding the fact that it was him who had it done, Suzaku says that that is
why no one recognizes him except them. The group then begins asking who Zero is since Suzaku was the one that
caught him (Milly thinks it's a girl, Rivalz thinks it's Clovis la Britannia, and Shirley thinks it's a foreign prince),
but after even Lelouch begins pressuring him, Suzaku says that it's a military secret. At that moment, Arthur
(whom Suzaku had abducted from the school as a pet and permanent memento of Euphemia) appears and bites his
fingers, having been brought to the school. Afterwards, Suzaku is shown to be in league with the Office of Secret
Intelligence, and reports to Villetta and Rolo that there is nothing suspicious about Lelouch but that he wants to
investigate further. Villetta agrees, telling him that he can do so during a welcome-back party Milly is planning to
throw him. As Rolo continues to question his trust in Lelouch, he gives Lelouch info on every person who is part
of the OSI. From there, Lelouch uses Geass on them to make them submit to his will, eventually leaving only
Villetta and Suzaku. Rolo suggests killing the latter, but Lelouch tells him not to, and asks him to be more casual
around him to avoid suspicion.

Meanwhile, Edgar and Claudio S. Darlton are looking over attacks staged by other rebel groups, and mention that
Guilford has gone missing. As they worry about sakuradite getting into their hands, they learn of a breach in the
Government Bureau. However, it is revealed to simply be Gino is his Knightmare, the Tristan (which appears as a
spaceship), who promptly mocks the security system. Several Sutherlands begin shooting at him, but he promptly
dodges their bullets with lightning speed and dismantles them. Edgar and Claudio then confront him, and as Gino
notes that they are more concerned about the building, he promptly says he is there to "test" them and transforms
the Tristan into a standard form, causing the two to recognize him. Edgar and Claudio accept the challenge and
clash swords with Gino, but Suzaku, accompanied by Arthur, suddenly appears and demands that the battle be a
draw (even though Gino outranks him). Gino promptly greets him happily, and Suzaku chastises him for not
bringing the Lancelot as he planned. As Gino, who is said to be naive due to coming from a rich family, comments
positively on Suzaku's Ashford uniform and gives him a hug, Anya comes in with her own Knightmare, the
Mordred. Anya asks about the battle, and after learning the "dull" outcome, she looks at a blank electronic diary
entry. Suzaku then notes that, with all three of them there, they can kill Lelouch.

Three days later, the party is held for Suzaku, which is revealed to actually be an extension of Ashford's school
festival. As Suzaku is forced to open the ceremony with a "Meow" (the same way Nunnally opened the last one)
and the events get underway, Lelouch and Rolo are assigned to potato cutting, while a green plushie doll costume
walks around outsider; Rolo questions the extravagance, and Lelouch says Milly is doing it to compensate for last
year's blunder. Noticing that Lelouch knows this as a result of his restored memories, Rolo again questions his
actions and twirls his knife into a fighting position. From there, Lelouch tells him to hold the correct way, and
briefly notices that Suzaku is staring at them with a psychotic glare. As Suzaku leaves, Rolo admits that his Geass
has an Achilles' heel. At the same time, Gino and Anya are touring the attractions. Due to his sheltered upbringing,
Gino revels in all of the "commoner" activities such as making ice cream, but Anya simply takes a photo of each
thing with her electronic diary and mutters "Recorded". To try and liven her mood, Gino suggests they personally
explore the school grounds. Meanwhile, Rivalz goes underneath the store house to find energy fillers for the
Ganymede, as the school is making another attempt at making the world's largest pizza; instead he finds a box
littered with death threats that he notes belonged to Nina.

Lelouch goes over to Carve-tan's wall, where the final mark is left unfinished due to her being transferred, and
makes plans for the Black Knights. However, when he comes to the edge, he sees, to his horror, C.C. heading to
get some of the pizza. After C.C. gets a flier from an oblivious Rivalz, Lelouch rendezvous with her and questions
what she is doing; she merely says that she back to claim something she didn't get the previous year. Chastising her
for her obsession, Lelouch promptly places a grocery bag with eye holes over her head and escorts her away from
the scene, then proceeds to explain the situation to her even though she already knows it. At the same time, Villetta
is forced to pose in a provocative swimsuit along with some of the other swimming team members as a means of
advertisement, allowing the boys to marvel at all of them. Shirley is happy that she agreed to, but Villetta is
enraged and becomes pissed at having to be an undercover teacher; however, she suddenly has a flashback of Ohgi
telling her he used to be a teacher and gets sad.

Meanwhile, Suzaku and Milly are sitting by the Ganymede, and Suzaku informs Milly that the Guren Mk-II was
confirmed to be at the consulate, meaning that Kallen is there. As Milly questions how to feel about her while
playing with Arthur, Suzaku, having complete hatred for Kallen, changes the subject to Nina's well-being, saying
that she just published a professional science paper. They begin to talk about her perfecting the Ganymede, and in
the process Suzaku mentions Lloyd Asplund and Cecile Croomy. Milly then asks if Lloyd has talked about her, and
when Suzaku denies it, Milly admits that they had to postpone the wedding because Milly flunked her graduation
exams and had to repeat some years. Suzaku defends her by lecturing that Lloyd has problems, giving Arthur time
to suddenly snatch his quill pen and run off. Suzaku promptly chases him, as he took that from Euphemia as well.
Milly also runs after him, due to him being the guest of honor, but ends up dropping a checklist; Gino soon finds it
and learns about the pizza.

Lelouch takes C.C. to a giant tomato crate for the pizza, and learns that the same person who gave Charles his
Geass also was the one who seduced Suzaku into insanity. C.C. then tells Lelouch not to get further involved with
the situation, but when Lelouch says he already is, C.C. gives him the person's name - V.V. - and also that Suzaku
did not get a Geass. Shirley then comes looking for Lelouch, and to avoid her noticing C.C., Lelouch quickly
shoves C.C. into the tomato crate and closes the lid. Shirley tries to ask him a favor, but when she climbs up onto
the crate and notices him alone, she questions who he was talking to. Lelouch says it's just the two of them, so
Shirley tries to take the opportunity to ask him out, but when she briefly looks away from him, the green plushie
suddenly appears and clamps its mouth over Lelouch's head and shoulders, causing him to not hear Shirley. It is
revealed that Kallen is controlling the plushie (with her and Lelouch's faces getting uncomfortably close to one
another) in an attempt to disguise herself while recovering "Pizza Girl" (C.C.). Lelouch tells her where she is and
gives her instructions, but ends up being cut short when Shirley, in an attempt to confront the plushie, pulls
Lelouch out of its mouth and accidentally throws him off the crate, to his chagrin. Shirley proceeds to try and rip
off the plushie's head, while Kallen (obviously knowing they remember each other) tries to fight back. Kallen
eventually tries to flee, but Shirley promptly punches the plushie in the nose. Suzaku and Milly then meet up with
Lelouch and ask about Arthur, at which point C.C. begins kicking the side of the crate to try and get out. While
Lelouch climbs up the side of the crate in desperation, the Ganymede suddenly appears and picks up the crate. It is
revealed that Gino has hijacked the Ganymede in the belief that he can do the honors of pouring the tomatoes onto
the pizza crust (a honor actually reserved for Suzaku), and proceeds to gleefully take the cart away to the pizza site
with C.C. still inside. Lelouch and Kallen quickly chase after him, with Shirley chasing after Kallen, and Arthur
ending up in the Ganymede's path, promptly running away, leading to Suzaku and Milly also chasing Gino.
Despite his obliviousness, Gino proceeds to follow the instructions on the checklist while Rivalz waits for
"Suzaku", and starts shaking the crate to mix up the tomatoes, throwing around C.C. Though Lelouch gets a
headstart, he quickly loses stamina and is outpaced by all four of the others, leading him to try and improvise. As
Gino arrives at the pizza place, Suzaku manages to somehow outpace the Ganymede and retrieve Arthur, while
Gino gleefully announces to a confused Rivalz that he is not Suzaku. Gino proceeds to come to the pizza crust with
a screeching halt, nearly running over Rivalz in the process, at which point all the tomatoes are liquified with C.C.
still inside. Lelouch manages to get there first by taking a shortcut, and Geasses one of the other students to
employ a system pattern called "Rouge". As Gino pours the tomatoes onto the crust, causing C.C. to also fall down
onto it, the student pushes the "Rouge" button, which covers the area in pink bubbly smoke, while Kallen throws
Shirley down a hill when she tries jumping on the plushie. As a consequence to the smoke, all of the people in the
area become comically delirious, to Gino's amusement: Villetta runs around to try and find out what's going on but
bumps into Kallen, exposing her body and due to the smoke they cheerfully apologize to each other, but Kallen
regains her senses in time to cover herself; Shirley wakes up to see Anya taking a photo of her, but because of the
smoke they simply say "You're welcome" and "Thank you" respectively; Suzaku takes Arthur into a tree and
begins petting him; and Milly walks around the ground and saying that these things are just natural.

Lelouch, C.C., and Kallen later meet on a roof, and Kallen tells Lelouch about Villetta, recognizing her from the
previous school festival with Ohgi, and also saying that Minami mentioned that Ohgi might have had a personal
collaborator (the excuse he gave when Villetta came to Ashford during the Black Rebellion), and Lelouch
hypocritically seems shocked at Ohgi keeping a secret from him, which causes C.C. to reprimand him, before
whispering something else in his ear. Later on, Rolo and Villetta meet in the OSI room, but Rolo pulls a gun on
her. Lelouch then walks in and notes that Villetta gave away Lelouch's identity to the authorities just to obtain the
title of Baroness, but that she also has ties to the Black Knights. Villetta denies this, but Lelouch reveals he knows
how she and Ohgi were once lovers, and that if anyone were to find out, she would lose her nobility and end up
like Jeremiah Gottwald. He then bribes her by saying that, if she joins the Black Knights the same way Rolo has,
they will keep her secret, and then gives her the wine bottle he and Shirley bought (as part of the favor Shirley
wanted to ask him about), and wishes her Happy Birthday.

Later that night, Lelouch goes onto a roof and calls Xingke while he is in a limo with Kallen and C.C. They briefly
talk about each other's "debts" to one another, and Lelouch asks him another favor: to meet the High Eunuchs.
After finishing the call, it is revealed a ball is taking place below, and Lelouch notes that with Villetta defeated,
only Suzaku remains. Just then, Suzaku appears on the roof with him, so Lelouch asks why he isn't at his own ball,
to which Suzaku says that everyone is having fun without him (although in reality, Arthur is alone, Rivalz is
wallowing because Milly is happily dancing with Gino despite the fact that he is dancing with someone as well,
and Anya is recording the dancing). Suzaku then says he wants to discuss something, and tells Lelouch that he
plans on becoming the Knight of One, the highest-ranking out of all the Knights of the Round. Lelouch tries to
comment on it, but Suzaku, presumably in a state of insanity again, interrupts him by saying that the Knight of One
can have any Area for himself, so Suzaku wants Area 11, which appears to surprise Lelouch. Suzaku then says that
he has lost too much because of Zero, namely Euphemia, and he hopes that by acquiring power, he can protect the
people he loves and destroy Zero and his name forever, finally getting revenge, but leaving out his plans to destroy
humanity as Shin Hyuga Shaing deduced. He then suggests that Lelouch talk about these plans to a certain person:
the new Viceroy of Area 11, who plans to take office the following week. Although Lelouch feels uncomfortable,
Suzaku calls the person and makes Lelouch talk to the person. Lelouch turns away from Suzaku to do so, and
discovers to his horror that the incoming Viceroy is Nunnally, who happily greets Lelouch and appears oblivious to
his brainwashing.

OPERATION PACIFIC OCEAN AMBUSH

As Nunnally keeps desperately trying to get a response from him, Lelouch quickly realizes that Suzaku, in his
insanity, intentionally had Nunnally taken away to lure him out, and now is using her as a crude bribing tool, in an
attempt to get Lelouch to crack and expose himself right then and there. Unable to respond to Nunnally truthfully
without getting caught, Lelouch begins to panic but then notices Rolo at the stairs upon glancing back at Suzaku.
Rolo promptly uses his Geass on Suzaku, allowing Lelouch to talk to Nunnally, but it is shown that his Geass'
Achilles' heal is that it can only be activated for a few seconds, and Rolo is shown clutching his heart. Lelouch
takes the opportunity to reveal himself to Nunnally, to her joy, but also reveals that he is in a situation where he
might get killed, so they have to act as if they are strangers. He then says that he will come for her and that he
loves her before Rolo stops the Geass. From there, as Rolo flees, Lelouch pretends that he doesn't know Nunnally
and that she is confusing her for someone else, fooling Suzaku in the process. He then gives the phone to Suzaku,
who tries to cover up his deception by apologizing. Nunnally is then revealed to be in Britannia, in a garden on the
Avalon. There, Guilford meets with another man, and they talk about Zero being an imposter. Just then, Lloyd and
Cecile appear, with Lloyd prompting calling his new employer (Charles) "L'il Charlie". Cecile promptly
apologizes for an oblivious Lloyd, and then informs them of an item Schneizel gave them, while the other man
begins to have suspicions on Suzaku and Nunnally's relationship; however, at the same time, Nunnally wonders if
Suzaku lied to her.

As news of Nunnally's arrival spreads without anyone releasing her name, in the Chinese Federation capital of the
Vermillion Forbidden City, Kaguya is with the empress of the land, a young girl named Tianzi, who asks her
anything about the outside world, since the High Eunuchs keep her within the walls of her palace in the belief she
can't manage properly outside. Instead, Kaguya reveals that, with Zero returning, she will have to leave the palace
despite being Tianzi's only friend. Lelouch, meanwhile cowers into the OSI office, where he video chats with C.C.
and fiddles with a black king chess piece. C.C. asks if he will fight Nunnally, but this appears to aggravate a
distressed Lelouch. Instead of fighting, Lelouch decides that he will have to take some form of action before
Suzaku and Charles continue to exploit her as bait, then begins spouting about how he is simply Zero for Nunnally.
He asks if V.V. is in the Britannian homeland, and C.C. can't confirm it, but does say that he is Charles' first ally
due to their Geass contract. At the same time, V.V. and Charles are at a Thought Elevator, and talk about slaying
God while looking at what appears to be Jupiter. V.V. then asks Charles why he never told Nunnally who Zero was,
and Charles responds it wasn't necessary. V.V. says he is just a child, and Charles confesses he kind of is before
calling V.V. his older brother. At the same time, on the Avalon, the man from before, revealed to be a commander
named Upson, tries to assert himself on Nunnally's throne.

Meanwhile, Suzaku, Gino, and Anya meet Xingke outside the consulate in an attempt to confront and kill Zero
from there. But when they do, they discover that the Black Knights, including Zero and all of their Knightmares,
have all fled the area, with Xingke giving them plenty of info to avoid any ill will being created for the Chinese
Federation. Anya then suggests they attack. At the same time, it is revealed that Zero has taken the Black Knights,
using aerial transports to pick up the Knightmares, to fight Nunnally's forces, but states to the Black Knights that
their true purpose is to capture Nunnally without harming her in any way. The Britannians try to shoot down the
Knightmares, but the area is covered in green smoke. Kallen, Tohdoh, and the Four Holy Swords then land on the
Avalon and its bodyguard ships, at which point Ohgi leads helicopters to destroy some of the ships, as the smoke
was merely bait. With the float ships having to attack, the Avalon can't fire due to the shields being up, leaving
them after an hour for reinforcements. Zero then enters the Avalon and Geasses everyone in his way to die, trying
to find Nunnally, while Rolo holds his locket and sits on Lelouch's bed. The Four Holy Swords continue to wipe
out troops when they and Kallen notice four enemy Knightmares coming from the rear, revealed to be Guilford in
his new Vincent Commander Model. Guilford promptly defeats Sugiyama, who manages to retreat, before fighting
Kallen, and is revealed to be going against orders. At the same time, Zero comes to the garden and notices
Nunnally there.

The surveillance guards warn Nunnally of Zero's presence, but are gunned down by another guard under the
influence of Geass. Zero, overwhelmed with emotion, approaches Nunnally slowly. Nunnally, obviously not
knowing who Zero is, asks Zero if he is there to kill her like he killed Clovis and Euphemia. Zero doesn't respond,
so Nunnally tries to say that she thinks what Zero is doing is wrong. Outside, Kallen and Tohdoh defeat David T.
Darlton, but then Gino appears in the Tristan and quickly defeats a Burai and Asahina. One of the float ships then
starts heading towards the Avalon, but is destroyed by Anya in the Mordred, who gets warned by Gino not to harm
Nunnally. Believing that he will get demoted for having help in the battle, Upson gets into a gun turret and tries to
kill Tohdoh, but ends up shooting out an engine and promptly get killed himself.

Zero continues to stand before Nunnally, telling her that Britannia is the one that is wrong, since Charles simply
wishes to exploit Nunnally to kill more people. However, Nunnally says that she herself chose to be the new
Viceroy. She explains by saying that she believes peace can be the way to changing the world, and to that end
wishes to recreate the Special Administrative Zone of Japan and honor Euphemia's plan. Nunnally reaches out her
hand to offer Zero to join her. However, this causes Zero to suffer trauma at the thought of what previously
happened. Meanwhile, Senba and Tohdoh begin to look for Zero, Chiba, and Kallen, but suddenly Gino comes in
and stabs Senba, killing him but admitting he regrets doing so, while Guilford fights Tohdoh. Suzaku, at the same
time, gets to the Lancelot via a helicopter and begins to question Lelouch's noninvolvement. He learns that the
Avalon is going to sink thanks to Upson, so he gets Nunnally's coordinates. However, his insanity kicks in, and
after launching his undated Knightmare, the Lancelot Conquista, he tries to kill Kallen. He fires a Hadron blast at
her, and when she tries to block it, Chiba tells her to flee, but Kallen's Hadron arm shatters and she starts falling
towards the sea. Anya then tries to kill Chiba, but can only destroy her Gekka before she ejects. Kallen, with her
eject system failing, begins to despair as she remembers her mother and brother, but Rakshata suddenly phones in
along with C.C. and Kaguya, and tells her of a float system of her own that will be shot up from the Black Knights'
submarine to retrieve her. It promptly fires, installing a new arm and giving her a shield. Guilford and his men try
firing at Kallen, but she deflects it and destroys the Knightmares with a giant long-range Hadron blast, forcing
Guilford to flee.

Gino and Anya then take on Kallen, but she proves to be of equal skill to them. After some sparring, Kallen shoots
a wide-range blast that temporarily malfunctions both of their Knightmares. Kallen then goes after Suzaku, firing a
Gefjun Disturber that can do the same damage in mid-air. Suzaku tries to counter it with a new device, but Kallen
manages to get to him. As she tries to destroy him, both of them get word that they have to find Nunnally and Zero
respectively, as the ship will crash in under fifty seconds. Suzaku gets coordinates and, after escaping Kallen,
barges into Nunnally's ship with a new device. In the garden, Zero questions what he should do, as he can't reveal
his identity or kidnap her as that would cause her to suffer. Suzaku barges in, creating an air vacuum that causes
Zero to start flying midair while he attempts to get Nunnally. Suzaku retrieves Nunnally and, after taking her into
the Lancelot's arms, escapes with her before cursing Zero. Zero, feeling that Suzaku is trying to take everything
from him again for his own selfish goals, helplessly shouts Nunnally's name while Kallen catches him, with
Nunnally presumably hearing and recognizing his voice.

THE ABANDONED MASK

The episode begins with Charles standing before a crowd, denouncing almost every single one of the Ten
Commandments as lies meant to protect the weak, and that they as the strong must defeat these weaknesses, with
the crowd voicing support. Lelouch is then seen waking up from a nap, and finds Rolo sitting by his bedside. Rolo
says that he thought Lelouch was having a nightmare and asks if he is okay, and building off of that, Lelouch asks
if he was saying anything in his dream. As it turns out, Lelouch muttered "Nunnally" helplessly, but Rolo doesn't
say he did so.

Reflecting on everything that happened, Lelouch realizes that Nunnally chose the side of evil because she was
misguided like Euphemia, but that at the very least she will be protected by Britannia and Suzaku, as he originally
hoped. As Lelouch watches Nunnally's arrival on the news, he is shown to be in the Student Council room, where
everyone is getting ready for a school-wide vacation (Shirley is doing research while Rivalz is looking for water
guns). As Rolo comes in and talks to Milly, they notice that Lelouch is kind of down. They try to ask what's wrong,
and he passes it off as it being that he is just that excited for the trip. Just then, the school intercom sounds,
signaling that all the students need to come to the auditorium to listen to Nunnally's inauguration speech. When
they arrive, Nunnally makes her speech using a special touch-based book with Suzaku and her assistant, Alicia
Lohmeyer, by her side. Rivalz comments on her young age, while Shirley thinks it's only because she's a princess.
The Black Knights also watch the speech, with Tamaki and Sugiyama criticizing her desire to help everyone and a
blushing Minami appearing to recognize her; also, Cecile watches with a bedridden Guilford. From there,
Nunnally states her intention to recreate the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, shocking Britannians and
Japanese alike (except Lloyd), most of all Suzaku. As Xingke watches, Nunnally elaborates by saying that,
although she acknowledges that what "Princess Massacre" (Euphemia) was wrong, the concept was not, as it
would make a gentler world, making Lelouch feel even more depressed. She then asks the Black Knights to join
her, but all, including Kallen and Ohgi, refuse. Rolo then notices Lelouch leaving the room.

As Suzaku wheels Nunnally out while Alicia looks at them with apparent contempt, he admits that she surprised
everyone. Nunnally, holding Suzaku's hand, asks if the concept was wrong, and Suzaku in his insanity says that
Euphemia herself was not wrong. Lelouch is seen boarding a train, where he notices two kids looking out a
window in the same direction he once instructed Kallen to, as well as a Zero wanted poster, and comes to the
conclusion that he is useless. Just then Kallen calls him presumably to sympathize, but he hangs up on her, breaks
his phone, and chucks the remains out the window. Saddened, Kallen goes to a room where Ohgi, Tamaki, and
Minami complain about Nunnally's plan. Minami wonders what the next course of action should be when all of
their Knightmares, minus the Guren Mk-II, have been destroyed, and Tamaki says that Zero will simply get them
new ones. Kaguya then comes in and tries to support Tamaki, but becomes saddened when she realizes "Master
Zero" isn't in the room, reminding her of how he never wrote to her during the timeskip. Tamaki jokes that Zero
probably ditched her for someone else (referring to Kallen), causing him to get in a "fight" with Ohgi. Kallen
hastily tries to deny it, but Kaguya says she doesn't mind either way since the greatest men always succumb to
feminine charm and have basic physical needs, making it look like Kallen had sex with Zero. C.C. then says that
Kaguya is actually rather generous, so Kaguya thanks C.C. and Kallen for keeping Zero company while she was
away by making them all hold hands, from there declaring that they are all part of Zero's "harem".

Suzaku, though in the middle of a physical with Cecile, bolts away to go out hunting for more Black Knights to
kill. Lloyd comes in and notes that that is typical of him, then takes a bite out of an intentionally disgusting
sandwich that Cecile made, which he notes is typical of her before bolting out the room. Lelouch, meanwhile,
continues to sit on the train, still in a depressed state. In the process, he is oblivious to Rolo Geassing everyone on
the train, including the engineer, and playing Nunnally's message on the train's TV screens. Horrified, Lelouch
runs off the train and notices a man with pamphlets of Nunnally as well as numerous posters of her, causing him to
flee the scene. Suzaku, meanwhile, gathers up an entire navy for his hunt, and thinks to himself that this is both
Nunnally's and Euphemia's wishes. In an abandoned area, several Japanese who willingly call themselves Elevens
and a corrupt Britannian noble beat up a man that can't pay for Refrain. Lelouch, his depression having turned into
mental instability, comes up to them and expresses his disgust with what they are doing. They try to surround him,
but Lelouch uses his Geass to make all of them do weird maneuvers before bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter.
Meanwhile, C.C. is still on the boat tossing the Zero helmet up and down. She starts talking to Marianne, noting
that she personally doesn't mind if Lelouch quits being Zero as he will remain alive, admitting it isn't a romantic
story but that it's pretty clear that the Black Knights are almost history. The next day, everyone at Ashford
Academy gets ready for the trip, but Milly and Rivalz notice that Lelouch is missing.

491598-code geass r2 07 080

Lelouch preparing to kiss Kallen

Lelouch is shown that evening to have gone to Shinjuku, and is sitting alone on a metal beam. Kallen suddenly
appears there, noting she figured he would because it is where Zero was born. She then tries to talk to him about
something, but quickly notices that he took the Refrain gun and intends to inject it into his arm. As he deliriously
notes how it brings back good memories, Kallen angrily wrestles the gun away from him and throws it on the
ground. She then argues at him by saying that, even though he failed, he could just create some other genius plan;
she then asks for a role in said plan, even going as far as to say she'll do anything for him. With this, Lelouch asks
Kallen to "console" her, then proceeds to stand up and lean in to kiss a surprised Kallen. Although she nearly
reciprocates it, she stops at the last second and slaps him across the face. After Lelouch quickly recovers, Kallen,
with tears in her eyes, tells him that, as Zero, he has an obligation to give the Japanese the dreams he originally
promised them and that, even if he has to lie about it, they still would need him to do so. Lelouch nearly
apologizes, but Kallen runs away, briefly looking back before returning to the Black Knights. After some
hesitation, he decides to follow, but notices Rolo standing there. Conversely to Kallen, Rolo encourages Lelouch to
give up being Zero, as that would rid him of the burdens that are the Black Knights and Nunnally. Lelouch angrily
shouts at him for including Nunnally, but Rolo says it would be for Nunnally's sake. Rolo then walks up very close
to Lelouch, explaining that, if he goes back to being a happy Britannian student, peace will come to Area 11, and
that he will stick by his side regardless.

In the Britannian main offices, Nunnally phones Charles, who asks her why she wanted to become the Viceroy;
Nunnally explains that she knows Lelouch is alive, and wants to do her best to protect him as he has for her. On the
Black Knights ship, which has since left the port, Kallen cradles Zero's mask, when C.C. comes in and notes that it
is heavier than it appears because it bears the weight of so much fate. Just then, Suzaku's navy catches wind of
them and shouts over a transmitter that, since their course of action is ambiguous, everyone aboard must line up on
the deck while he conducts an inspection. Meanwhile, presumably taking Rolo's advice, Lelouch returns to
Ashford with him, where everyone has already left for the trip. As they ponder what to do next, they notice a series
of fireworks launching. Lelouch quickly runs up to find the source, and finds Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley lighting
them up for fun, having decided to stay behind to comfort Lelouch. Lelouch then notices that Shirley is holding a
blue paper crane, her wish being that he, Rolo (which appears to surprise him, as he is hiding behind a door), Nina,
Kallen, and Suzaku would all come to light the fireworks, although she can't remember who (Nunnally) thought
her how to make them, and since only one was made, only even showed up apparently.

As Lelouch smiles while remembering everyone, he remembers a conversation he, Nunnally, and Suzaku had
while hiding in a barn during their refugee days. The three discussed what they each thought happiness would look
like if objectified, and ironically, it was Suzaku that ultimately came up with what Lelouch felt was the best idea.
Happiness is like a piece of glass: it's not always visible but is definitely there. All you have to do is change your
position slightly, and that glass will sparkle to show the light. After then remembering Nunnally's "ultimate" wish
for a gentle world, Lelouch realizes that what she truly sought was the happiness she originally had in life, and that
Lelouch still had that happiness, even with phony memories. Everyone then notices that Lelouch is actually
shedding tears of joy over their show, and although he tries to deny it at first, he then promises that they will one
day all launch fireworks from there again. As he bows his head, Lelouch finally realizes that his battle was never
truly just for Nunnally, but for all the people he loves.

After giving ten minutes to the Black Knights ship, Suzaku has his navy fires missiles at it. This destroys the
tanker, but by then Tohdoh has evacuated everyone into the submarine, and they flee underwater. Assuming that
they would do so, Suzaku has Portmans scout the area and fires aerial torpedoes. The submarine tries to hide
amidst the resulting bubbles, but the resulting pressure starts to create leaks; despite this, Tohdoh refuses to move
the submarine, as they will consequently be spotted if they do. At that moment, Lelouch suddenly blares through
an intercom orders for Kallen, to everyone's joy, while Suzaku gets into the Lancelot. Lelouch orders everyone to
shoot depths torpedoes straight ahead of them and have them detonate after forty seconds. Tohdoh has this carried
out, causing the Britannians to notice where they are. Suzaku has them concentrate on that one point, but the
torpedoes land into the ground near a giant metal cylinder. The submarine then fires anchors into the ground, and
when the torpedoes detonate, the sea basin cracks around the cylinder, releasing a gigantic swarm of what
Rakshata identifies as methane gas bubbles. While the submarine only feels the shockwave, the bubbles stream up
and swamp the Portmans, then rise up and capsize Suzaku's naval ships, but apparently not resulting in any
casualties. Gino and Anya, who happen to also be there, decide that the only course of action they have is to go
after the Black Knights with what they still have, but they suddenly notice Zero riding towards them on top of a
flying Vincent. In another bout of insanity, Suzaku tries to shoot Zero off the Vincent, but Zero tells him that that
would be against Nunnally's jurisdiction. He then elaborates by saying that he will, in fact, join the new Special
Zone, horrifying the Black Knights who view it as a sign of surrender. As Suzaku questions this, Zero continues to
say that all of the Black Knights are henceforth also ordered to participate (willingly) in the Zone.

ONE MILLION MIRACLES

Rolo, who is shown to be piloting the Vincent, places Zero on the Black Knights submarine, and gets further
reassurance on the promise before leaving. Suzaku, Gino, and Anya then fly above him, where Suzaku again tries
to kill Zero, but is told by Gino that they have to pull back. The OSI contacts Villetta about the situation, who
reluctantly says that they have to stop looking for C.C. at the moment. The submarine then heads underwater with
Zero inside. The heads of the Black Knights question among themselves what they must do, where Tohdoh tells
Ohgi that they might have the ability to overrule Zero if the Japanese also refuse to join. Just then, Zero arrives,
and Kallen tries to ask him about it, but before she can Kaguya gives him a great big hug and compliments how he
continues to surprise them. Tamaki then suggests that Zero wants to join the Special Administrative Zone of Japan
to learn Britannia's secrets, but instead Zero says that they can't keep fighting. Everyone promptly argues with him,
with Ohgi saying that they must fight and Tohdoh saying that it isn't what the Japanese want, but Zero barks at the
latter and asks him what it means to be Japanese.
The next day, the Japanese are given the opportunity to apply for the Special Zone, but as Villetta later hears on the
news while working on Shirley's diving, no Elevens end up registering, which the Britannians take as a
consequence of Zero's noninvolvement, as it has not been made public yet. In Nunnally's office, Lohmeyer tells
Nunnally that the Special Zone cannot be just made like that, since it is mostly out of her power to do so; she tells
a distraught Nunnally that from then on she wants Nunnally to get her consent beforehand. At Ashford Academy,
Suzaku tells the other Student Council members, to Rivalz and Milly's dismay (although the latter is only because
she wants him to work on a garden) that he will taking a leave of absence to help run the Special Zone. Shirley
then asks Suzaku if, by chance, he can contact Kallen so that they can talk to her. Lelouch, building on that,
suggests that Suzaku talk to Nunnally about it like he did with her on the phone. This promptly shocks everyone,
but Lelouch makes it look like the scenario was humorous because of her "mistaking" him for someone else and
the resulting awkwardness, unaware of Rolo glaring at him. As Suzaku later leaves to check in on Sutherlands, he
questions to himself that, if he does have his memories and is covering up, why did he kill Euphemia, having been
misled to believe he had alternatives. At that moment, an Eleven disguised as a Britannian soldier suddenly
charges him with a knife and calls him a traitor. Before the man can kill him, however, it is revealed that Lelouch's
"Live" Geass has become permanently etched in his brain, thereby activating every time Suzaku is on the verge of
death. With this Suzaku easily defeats the man, and as he is arrested, Suzaku thinks to himself that Lelouch gave
him the Geass just to mess with his suicidal tendencies and make him look foolish.

While sitting over a chess board in his room with Rolo, Lelouch calls Diethard and gets word that Sayoko is
finished making preparations for something. Lelouch quickly commends him for this, and after he hangs up, Rolo
goes over their "shared destiny": if Lelouch gets caught, the school would be destroyed and Zero will be no more,
and if Rolo gets caught, the school would still be destroyed and V.V. would kill him; Rolo then says his motivation
is having something to protect. Just then, Villetta comes into the room and nervously asks what Lelouch called him
in for. To this Lelouch asks if she misses Ohgi. In Dallas, Nina is working on some science project with three
others when Kanon and Schneizel also walk in, having just returned from peace negotiation meetings with France
and the rest of the European Union, likely involving the affair with Akito Hyuga. Nina suggests that he continue
pressing on with that, but Schneizel says they shouldn't because that would invite defeat, and that they should wait
it out before trampling over the EU. The three then begin riding in a horse carriage, where Nina says that her tests
are going decent but not good enough. In a flashback, it is revealed that, by the next morning on the day of the
Black Rebellion, after Suzaku had already defeated Zero, Nina was finally provoked to trigger the Ganymede
bomb, but it failed to detonate; this gave Cecile time to take the sakuradite and incarcerate her while Milly tried to
offer support, and Schneizel promptly bailed her out so that she could work with his scientists on a working
version of her bomb. In the present, Schneizel says that he has faith in her because she has faith in Euphemia, as he
does, implying that he keeps her stable by constantly mentioning her name.

Back in Area 11, Anya is sitting in Cornelia's garden looking through her electronic diary when Arthur playfully
pulls on her hair. After she calmly pets him for a bit, Suzaku comes up to them wearing Japanese clothes for some
military training. Anya asks if he misses being Japanese (notably saying that exact word), and Suzaku initially
confirms it, but then tries to take it back. Claudio S. Darlton then comes up to them and asks Suzaku to sign a form
that will give them permission to execute the Eleven who tried to kill him. Suzaku hesitates for a bit, provoking
Anya to sign it for him without any argument from Suzaku. As Claudio leaves, Anya asks Suzaku if he is a
masochist because every single person in Area 11 hates him for being traitorous and killing Zero yet he still wanted
to be here, but Suzaku says he doesn't need any love because there was one person (Euphemia) who did. Gino then
comes up to them and notifies them of a video call they were expecting - from Zero - sending Suzaku into another
bout of insanity.

The three join Lloyd, Cecile, and Lohmeyer inside a fancy room waiting for the call, where Cecile questions her
need to be there since she only is because all the other rooms are occupied; Lohmeyer takes the moment to insult
Cecile's skimpy outfit, to her dismay. Zero then phones in and notices that, although the Knights of the Round are
there, Nunnally is not. Lloyd promptly asks if Zero is the same Zero from before or a new one, to which Zero says
that the actions of the man are what matter, not the man himself (which Lloyd finds philosophical). Gino then asks
if all of the Black Knights have agreed to Zero's plan, and Zero says that he has more than that since he has gotten
a million Japanese people to participate in the Special Zone. However, he has one condition: in exchange for the
people going to the Special Zone, the Britannians must exile him from Area 11 altogether. Suzaku questions why
the Black Knights will also not go into exile, and Lloyd correctly figures it's because the Japanese and Black
Knights will rebel against him in protest, and the Black Knights will be left leaderless, which is why Zero is
keeping the talk secret. Lohmeyer then reveals that the Viceroy does have legal action to exile Zero, so Zero
suggests that they announce it at the opening ceremony. As the call ends, Gino decides to support the idea because
if Zero goes the Black Knights will crumble under their own weight; but Suzaku hypocritically says that there is no
justice in the deal. Later, at a memorial candle site for those who died in the Special Zone Massacre, Suzaku tells
Nunnally of the scenario. She decides to let Zero be exiled if it means that she can make peace with the Japanese,
then gives Suzaku a pink candle labeled for Euphie (incorrectly spelled "Euphy"). Suzaku tries to place it in the
water along with the other candles, but suddenly notices a gray candle labeled for "Euphemia". As a surprised
Suzaku tells Nunnally about it, it is revealed that the person who placed it there was Lelouch, who secretly came
there with Rolo.
Some time later in Shizuoka ghetto, the opening ceremony begins to approach just minutes away, with all of the
one million people, including the disguised Black Knights, being present. The news reports that this shows just
how influential Zero is, and Gino says that, once they learn that Zero has betrayed them, he can stop any
consequential riots. Villetta is also seen there going over the Japanese, looking for Ohgi; however, he sees her first
and covers his face with a cap. At the same time, Xingke and an accomplice, Zhou Xianglin, prepare to head home.
Xingke mentions that a consul will be appointed to replace him, furthering his own plans, as well as strengthen
relations with Britannia. He then briefly coughs up a little blood, but says he will manage for a bit. Afterward,
Nunnally makes a speech on stage thanking everyone for coming, and Guilford is seen preparing to kill Zero along
with the Glaston Knights and Gino by piloting his repaired Vincent despite his condition. After that, Lohmeyer
takes the microphone from Nunnally and announces that, because of the Special Zone, all criminals will have their
charges lowered; however, because Zero killed Calares, he will be exiled, which surprises the Student Council. Just
then, Zero replaces Lohmeyer's face with his own on all of the video monitors, thanking the Britannians, leaving
Nunnally to briefly assume that he came. Suzaku, who is on stage with Anya, tells Zero that he will escort him
once he reveals himself, but Zero declines, instead asking Suzaku a question: Does being Japanese depend on
bloodlines? Suzaku instead says that it resides within one's patriotic spirit. Ignoring the hypocrisy in his statement,
Zero says that he agrees, for all people of the world. Suzaku questions the purpose of this, and on that cue, every
Japanese person clicks a switch, creating a white smoke cloud that covers all of the people. As Anya escorts
Nunnally out, Guilford and Gino prepare to gun everyone down. But when the smoke cloud clears, it is revealed
that every single person (and a dog) has promptly changed into Zero costumes with different color schemes,
horrifying all of the Britannians.

It is revealed that the one million people knew beforehand that Zero was going to be exiled, and had everyone
wear a Zero costume. To that end, with the Spartacus maneuver (viewed as legal in Lloyd's book), all of them get
to leave because all of them "are Zero", and regardless of where they go, they will be Japanese because Japan is in
their hearts. As a hot pink Zero (Kaguya) and a dark brown Zero (Tamaki) rally everyone's spirits, Lohmeyer tries
to blare on an intercom that they can't possibly all leave together, but a soldier informs them that someone has
prepared a giant iceberg-shaped ship for all of them to leave; the Student Council reflects on this by noting that
Zero has made himself an icon for everyone. People fear it will melt, but a yellow Zero (Rakshata) says it will
never melt due to its systems, and Sayoko is shown to be on the ship waiting for everyone. To resolve the situation,
Villetta jumps into the crowd and tries to make some take off their masks. Tamaki promptly tries to shoot her, but a
light brown Zero takes the gun away and tells them not to fight; Villetta quickly guesses that that Zero is Ohgi, and
though it is, he simply says that he is Zero when she asks him. Anya continues to escort Nunnally out, who is
concerned about leaving everything to Lohmeyer, but Anya assures her that Suzaku is in charge so she can't do
anything.

Suzaku, in desperation, tries to get Zero to take off their masks or the Britannians will kill them all, but Tohdoh
thinks to himself that that will only happen if Suzaku gives the order, and even if all the masks are removed no one
will know who the real one is. Guilford tries to tell Suzaku that this is rebellion and they all must die, but Ohgi
says it was done to resolve things peacefully. As Suzaku is left in the dilemma, he and Zero both acknowledge that
if the Black Knights leave, peace will finally come to Area 11. Suzaku nearly gives the order to kill everyone, but
when Lohmeyer decides to do it for him by firing into the crowd, Suzaku sees a twisted parallel to Euphemia's
massacre and stops Lohmeyer by taking her gun away, claiming it was not what Euphemia would have wanted,
and that since they are exiling themselves they might as well go. He and Zero reassure each other that the Elevens
in their custody will be protected by them, and Zero turns off the video monitor. It is then revealed that the real
Zero was on the iceberg ship the entire time, and he reveals his identity to a joyous Sayoko before letting everyone
onboard. The people begin heading onto the ship, but not before Ohgi bids a saddened, unconvinced Villetta
goodbye. While Guilford is frustrated, Xingke is informed that the operation went well, and it is revealed that the
Japanese people will be taking refuge in the Chinese Federation. As he watches them go into the sunset, Suzaku
realizes that Zero deciphered his order beforehand and acted accordingly. The heads of the Black Knights look
back at him, with Zero thinking what Suzaku just thought because they are worst enemies, along with Nunnally's
own response, and he decides to thank Suzaku for acting according to the plan, as the Euphy and Euphemia
candles touch each other on the water.