Chapter 1: Three Discs of Truth

(9 months after the Zero Requiem)

Shinjuku, Neo-Tokyo, United States of Japan

Kallen Kouzuki's mind feels unsettling.

True, she has moved out with her mother, the real one, to the city and not in the gaudy mansion of the Stadtfeld family; she has gone back to Ashford Academy to continue her studies after the fateful day when Lelouch vi Britannia, the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, was finally being put down by the avatar of justice, the mysterious masked man Zero; and yes, there is no more war or live-or-death situation for her to worry about. Despite things have got much better than what she had been through in the past two years, Kallen still feels a part of her discontent.

"Why did you push me away? What do I mean to you?" Kallen cannot help but keep asking those questions time and again in her mind to the now dead Lelouch, the man who, despite all the time spent together, remains an enigma for her to understand. "Why did you put Suzaku in that mask and had him played the role as Zero?"

Frustrated, Kallen wanders around the new Tokyo settlement aimlessly, or Neo-Tokyo as it is now called by the citizens of the United States of Japan, until she suddenly realizes herself being in Shinjuku.

'This is where all it started…' Kallen muses as she realizes the place she is at right now.

"Still haven't moved on yet I see?" A distressingly annoying yet familiar voice came behind suddenly.

Kallen quickly turns her head around and sees a lime-haired girl holding a piece of pizza, munching.

"…C.C.? Where have you been all this time? And how…"

"Do you want the truth?" C.C. ignores Kallen's question and suddenly produces three blue-ray disc boxes seemingly out of nowhere.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kallen asks.

"Exactly what I mean," comes the same monotonous voice, "the entire truth behind the rebellion started by the man known as Lelouch vi Britannia."

Kallen is in shock. After all this time when C.C. keeps stalling every effort Kallen has put into understanding the enigmatic Lelouch, she suddenly comes out of nowhere and offers the entire truth to her for no apparent reason? "Why now, why are you offering the truth to me now, pizza girl?" Kallen demands.

However C.C. is unfazed by the question, and simply finishes munching her slice of pizza and hands the three discs, respectively titled "Initiation", "Transgression" and "Glorification", to Kallen before walking towards the opposite direction and says, "Enjoy."

"Wait! Where are you going?" Kallen asks when trying to catch up C.C.

"I have some other business to attend," C.C. says nonchalantly, "and I believe you now have something more important to know than where I am going."

Kallen stops and looks down at the three discs. The truth that she has been yearning to know. The solution to all her unsettling feelings since that fateful day. Kallen has been dying to know the truth and now she is going to have it. And then Kallen suddenly realizes something.

"Did Lelouch want us to know?" Kallen asks C.C., "if he didn't…"

"Well, but you have already figured out quite a bit on your own, right?" C.C. replies, "Lelouch may have wanted to keep the whole thing as a secret, but I can tell that you have already figured out at least something about his Zero Requiem. I just thought that there is no point in keeping you in the dark if you have figured something out already, and I trust you will be able to keep it a secret to those who don't know anything about it."

'Zero Requiem… so that's the name of his plan,' Kallen muses. "One last question: can I show this to others as well?" she asks the lime-haired girl.

"I trust you know who to share this information with," C.C. says, "Besides, you are not the only one who has figured out at least something about the Zero Requiem; I leave it to you to decide who should be privy to the truth."

"Alright… and thank you," Kallen reluctantly says.

"I shall take my leave… for now. We may meet again someday," C.C. bids Kallen farewell as she walks away quietly.

Kallen looks back at the three discs she has just got from the lime-haired girl. 'Who should I share this information with? There are just quite a number of people who have been involved in this. Perhaps I should discuss with Nunnally and Suzaku to decide what to do next. After all, Nunnally is Lelouch's full-blooded sister, and Suzaku is a participant of the Zero Requiem and should have a better idea on who should know what happened and who shouldn't.'

At this, Kallen picks up the phone and dials a number she has never thought that she would call so soon.

"…Hello?" a sweet voice comes through the phone.

"Hello, Nunnally? This is Kallen," the red-haired girl responds, "I have something I need to talk to you about in person…"

(3 days later)

Imperial Summer Palace, San Francisco, Holy Britannian Empire

Nunnally vi Britannia has become the 100th Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire for 9 months already. With Pendragon annihilated by a F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead and Japan no longer the Imperial Crown Colony of the Empire, her new government has been temporarily seated in the Imperial Summer Palace in the city of San Francisco, before it has finally decided on whether to move back to a rebuilt Pendragon or simply to build a new capital somewhere else. Despite having limited prior political experience as Viceroy of Area 11 and lived over half of her life in exile, Nunnally has adopted her new role surprisingly well and have been working on building a new national character for Britannia tirelessly with the help of Suzaku Kururugi, the incumbent Zero, and Schneizel el Britannia, her elder half-brother and once again Prime Minister of Britannia. Today, she is receiving an old friend upon request.

"Your Majesty, Lady Kouzuki has arrived," a lady-in-waiting announces as Kallen walks into Nunnally's office.

"Kallen! Good to see you again!" Nunnally greets Kallen happily.

"Hey, Nunnally! Yes good to see you again! How's life being the Empress?" Kallen greets Nunnally with a genuine smile on her face, happy to see the sweet girl again.

"It's ok, there is a lot of work to do, but with the help of Zero and Schneizel, things are getting better by the day, and the people are gaining hope and becoming happy again," Nunnally replies as she turns to the masked man standing behind to her, "Isn't that right, Zero?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the masked man replies right as he stands behind Nunnally's wheelchair, "Peace has finally come and people can finally get on with their lives without the fear of wars looming everywhere."

Some maids come into the room and serve some tea and biscuits before leaving the room to the three friends. "So, what would you like to discuss with me, Kallen?" Nunnally asks.

"Well… you see, there is some information I have got and I am not sure how to handle it," Kallen hesitates, "and I think it is better to discuss with you and Suzaku before going forward."

'WHAT? How did she know…' Suzaku freezes, but his face expression is shielded thanks to the mask. "Lady Kouzuki, I am afraid you have got the wrong idea, I am Zero…"

"Oh come on, it is obvious that you are Zero," Kallen hisses, "you can't fool me with all the acrobatic moves performed when getting through all those Vincent Ward Knightmare Frames and your superman jump from the ground up that huge white motorcade in one-go."

"You have got it all wrong, Lady Kouzuki, I…" Suzaku desperately tries to wriggle out of the situation.

"…it's ok, Suzaku, it's just the three of us, and both Kallen and I know who you are behind the mask," Nunnally chips in.

'Nunnally knows? Wha…' Suzaku starts to panic. "Your Majesty, I am Zero and I am nobody…"

"I know it's you, Suzaku. I can tell how things are when I touch people's hand. I saw what went through Big Brother's mind when I held his hand at his last moments," Nunnally explains.

Suzaku remains silent for a moment. He then sighs, gives up and takes off his mask to reveal his hazel-coloured hair and emerald eyes.

"Well... it seems that there is no point for me to keep the mask on for now at least, and I get to get some fresh air," Suzaku says. Before the focus of the discussion becomes himself, Suzaku continues, "Anyway, Kallen you were saying?"

"Oh yes… I was saying that I have received some information that I don't know how to handle," Kallen says hesitantly, "…about the truth behind Lelouch's actions."

Nunnally and Suzaku gasps. "What do you mean by the truth, Kallen?" Nunnally asks.

"Well… I bumped into C.C. a few days back in Shinjuku, and she gave me three discs and said, and I quote, 'the entire truth behind the rebellion started by the man known as Lelouch vi Britannia.' I am not sure who should I share this information with, and so I think the best way to go is to discuss with you two, for you being the closest relative to Lelouch, and Suzaku knows what happened on that… day, or at least knows a significant portion of it," Kallen explains.

Suzaku frowns deeply. 'Why did C.C. give the information about the Zero Requiem to Kallen? We had all agreed to keep it a secret forever, for Lelouch will remain the symbol of hate for everyone to focus their hatred on in order to move towards the future, and I will remain behind the mask to be the hero of justice.' "Your Majesty, I think it would be best not to share this information with anyone and…"

"No, we should share them with people who were highly involved in my big brother's actions. And please just call me Nunnally when in private," Nunnally says.

"Nunnally?" Suzaku is surprised. "But it would be dangerous if…"

Nunnally cuts off Suzaku and continues. "I think people who were highly involved in Big Brother's activities or were close to him have the right to know. It would be unfair to deny them the truth and let their hearts and minds be burdened with something that is unreal; all we need to do is to ask them to keep the secret and not telling people who do not have the need to know."

"I agree with Nunnally," Kallen chimes in, "I myself have been very distressed by the whole Zero Requiem thing, particularly because I know parts of it and I just can't get over it because I know there are missing puzzles that I can't find."

The room falls silent. Suzaku is busying in coming up with arguments to oppose to showing the information to more people, but he can't think of any persuasive arguments to convince Nunnally and Kallen otherwise. 'Damnit, why C.C. did this?' Suzaku muses.

"Kallen… did C.C. tell you why she gave you the discs?" Suzaku asks, trying to understand why the pizza-loving girl did something that may jeopardize the Zero Requiem.

Kallen replies, "C.C. said she knew I have already figured out something on my own and saw no point from hiding the facts from me. She also said she trusted me to be able to keep it a secret."

Suzaku keeps thinking for a moment. 'Indeed… if some people have already figured something out on their own already, there is a risk that they may actually go out to seek the truth themselves and may jeopardize Zero Requiem in the process. It may be better to actually satisfy their thirst for the truth and asks them to keep it a secret.'

Making up his mind, Suzaku says, "Ok, I agree with you that it would be better to share the information with trusted people, those who can keep it a secret and nipping any further desire to seek the truth. So I guess the question now is: who should we share the information with?"

"I think I have a list of people in my mind already," Nunnally answers. "Incidentally, I will be travelling to Japan for some state business next week. Let's send out the invitation and have a small reunion at Ashford Academy, shall we?"