Chapter 2- Building Trust

"Over 2 hundred thousand people have joined the Japan special zone. By the looks of it, that number is only going to grow." Suzaku said looking out onto the stadium.

"All thanks to you Suzaku."

Suzaku looked over at Euphemia.

"Because of what you represent to the Japanese people, everybody is uniting together. They truly believe in what we're doing here." Euphemia continued.

"Your highness, you're giving me too much credit. It's more to do with how truly genuine you are. It's beautiful. I'm truly thankful." Suzaku said, looking somewhat flustered at first. Euphemia blushed a little and then smiled back at him, "And I'm thankful to you as well. We have a lot of work to do in the coming months."

"Euphemia is amazing, isn't she? Now all the area 11 rebel groups will lose their public support and dissolve quickly."

"I still don't like the idea, Pendragon won't like this." Cornelia shouted at her older brother through the huge screen.

"Regardless, this will be a good outcome for the homeland. You have sent Dalton to assist her, have you not?"
Schneizel replied.

"As any good viceroy would!"

"Did you approve her future plans as the viceroy or as her sister?"

Cornelia glared back at her brother with a frown.

The main core of the Black Knights are lounging at the base while they discuss the special zone.

"The situation is serious, many of our own members are starting to sign up as well." Tohdoh said.
"I still don't trust these Britiannians." Kallen shouted.
"Yeah! Screw the Brits! They're a bunch of liars!" Tamaki added in.
"Joining the special zone isn't illegal-" Diethard cut off as Ohgi's phone suddenly started ringing. "It's Zero."

"Zero."

"Ohgi gather the main members of the Black Knights for a meeting later tonight."

"You got it."

Lelouch hung up the phone. He looked over at C.C who was laid out on his bed reading over the documents he has prepared for the black knights.

"Good thing you slept in today huh. This looks like a lot of work Lelouch."

"About that other thing, you mentioned that Shirley knows I'm Zero right now right?"

"That's correct. She has been watching you all day today. She even saw how you protected that poor kid from that nobleman."

Lelouch nodded at her reply and then walked over to the bed. He looked into her eyes and she could see the regret and sadness but determination to fix things in his eyes. "I don't want unnecessary deaths this time just because I was being inattentive. If you ever notice any behaviour from anybody please share it with me C.C. I love being prepared, you held too many things back last time around."

"I understand Lelouch. I don't think Ragnarok will go the same way this time around either." Lelouch smiled at this, glad to know that she understood what he was really trying to say.

All the main members were gathered in the main meeting room waiting for Zero to show up. They were all more than a little bit antsy, wanting to hear what their leader thought about this new development that could all but destroy the organization they've worked so hard to build. The doors opened up and Zero walked in, C.C following right behind him holding a stack of documents. He walked to the front of the room and motioned everybody else to sit down.

"Before I tell you how I want to tackle this new issue I want to share a couple of facts with you. Britiannia hates the whole idea of this special zone and it is doomed to fail. Apparently Euphemia has already renounced her claim to the throne in penance for this action. If it does succeed, every other area would be hoping for their own special zone, which would lead to conflicts all over the empire. Euphemia has the best intentions but unfortunately Britannia is not run by those values. She is really too kindhearted and naive for her own good."

"You're talking like you know her." Chiba said matter of factly. The others stared at her before looking over to see if Zero would respond.

"I do. But I'll get to that after I have all of you look over these documents I've prepared for you. These outline several outcomes on how the SAZ could end, as well as several main objectives that we need to pursue in the future regardless." Zero replied back. He then motioned over to C.C, who then got up and started handing out a folder to everybody.

"Please take your time and read carefully. I want all of us to be on the same page moving forward."

As the Black Knights started reading through the documents, Lelouch studied the reactions of his comrades from behind his mask. He could tell they were getting visibly impressed. Todhoh finished faster than everybody, silently giving Zero a nod of approval. As the others started to finish up, Zero got ready to deliver his next surprise.

"Before we go any further, I want to point out that some of you have your doubts about me and my motivations. You wonder if I'm truly noble in my intentions. I want to be able to have not only the respect of the people I serve, but also the trust as well. Therefore I am willing to share my identity with the all of you, and if you want to continue this long road ahead then we shall walk it together." Zero said with charisma. A few of the Black Knights gasped in awe.

"Do you really mean it Zero? Will you actually show us your face?" Ohgi asked politely.

"He doesn't need to! We already follow him!" Kallen shouted quickly.

"Speak for yourself Kallen. I think we have a right to know who we're being lead by, especially because he is not Japanese." Chiba shot back at her.

"Zero I don't care if you show us or your face or not, we're still best pals!" Tamaki said loudly, to the amusement of nobody. Suddenly a loud hissing sound was made. Everybody turned to look at Zero, who's mask was slowly coming off.

"No way!"

"So this is.. Zero?"

"You're just a kid!"

"What the hell!"

"You actually did it huh."

The members of the Black Knights were completely shocked. All around Lelouch could see the looks of surprise on each and every one of their faces.

"You..."

Everybody turned to Tohdoh. "You know him?" Asked Rakhshata.

"Yes. He is Lelouch Vi Britannia. I last saw him when I was training Suzaku as a child. They went sent as political hostages after their mother died. I thought he and his little sister both died during the invasion. It seems I was mistaken." Tohdoh replied back.

"WHAT!"

"He's a prince?"

"We're actually being led by a Prince of all people..."

"Invasion? Why was a Prince here during the invasion?"

"Sister?"

"The last thing the emperor said to me was that I was dead to him." Lelouch said calmly although his voice echoed through the room the same way Zero's would despite the mask not being on.

"My mother was killed at home right in front of my eyes. Nobody should have been able to get that close, so it was obviously an inside job. She died right on top of my sister, who was blinded by the trauma and crippled by the bullets. I confronted the emperor about this and he told me it was 'old news' and that he has no use for a 'weakling' like my sister. I then gave up my claim to the throne and he sent me away here. I stayed with the Kururugi Clan and they actually took me in as one of their own. They treated my younger sister Nunnally like a human being, rather than a worthless little girl. They acted with kindness and respect and upheld these values. Then the invasion happened. Can you imagine carrying your crippled little sister on your back through piles of corpses trying to explain to her what the smell was? I vowed that day I would destroy Britannia."

A few of the black knights were looking visibly distraught at the sad story. Even Chiba who was always skeptical was looking upset. They knew the horrors Britannia could inflict on other people, but they couldn't fathom how they would treat a Prince like that.

"Zero. I have one question." Tohdoh said, finally breaking the silence.

"Ask away, Tohdoh-Sensei."

"What are you truly looking to gain from being Zero? It's clear that Japan is not just the only thing for you."

Lelouch could only smile at that, glad that he gets to explain his motivations more clearly.

"The people suffer. The strong keep oppressing the weak. The world is corrupt all over. I know people yearn for a future of peace and love. Where they aren't discriminated by race, ideology or religion. Where Britannia doesn't look down on half of the world. Where people can actually unite and not spend all their time and resources on war. A kind, truly gentle world is what I wish for and I believe it is possible. And I'm willing to do anything to make it happen, even ridding the world of my bastard of a father."

Tohdoh smiled at this answer.

"I will then pledge my complete support to you, Zero."

The four holy swords followed his example and also pledged themselves. Ohgi got up and pledged himself as well. Diethard couldn't just smiling with excitement, the legend of Zero just got even juicier for him. One by one all of the main members of the Black Knights started to plead their allegiance to Zero.

"Thank you for your support. I'm glad that by me putting my trust in you, that you're able to reciprocate that back to me. There's something else I would like to share with you as well. I have a power called Geass. This power allows me to compel anyone to obey me completely. It's what allowed the intricacies of my plans to work so flawlessly." Zero spoke to the group.

Kallen looked up in surprise. 'I expected him to reveal his identity. But revealing Geass too? This is why the black knights betrayed him last time.' Kallen thought to herself.

"Geass?"

"So that's how you saved Kururugi."

"The absolute power to make people obey your commands?"

"Ahahaha Zero my man you are funny! Do you really expect us to believe that? First you're a brittannian prince and now you also have a superpower too?" Tamaki practically shouted not even trying to hide his laugh.

"Do not speak for the rest of the day Tamaki." Lelouch said as his left eye gleamed red and the Geass sigil appeared. The rest of the black knights could clearly see his purple eye change to new eye colour. They turned to look at Tamaki who was now struggling to say something but couldn't open his mouth. This happened for a couple of minutes until the shock faded away and they started laughing.

"I'm glad someone finally shut you up." Kallen said not trying to hide her distaste for Tamaki.

"I don't like using this power unless absolutely necessary. It's a weapon like anything else and it needs to be used carefully. My father has geass as well. He can rewrite the memories of your entire life. There is also an entire Britannian order of trained soldiers with various abilities. They are hidden in the Chinese federation. I share this information with all of you because I trust that you all with something this serious. If any of you try to step out of line with this information, I will be forced to kill you." Lelouch finished with a glare at Diethard, who flinched a little before nodding in understanding.

"Do any of you have any questions before I continue further?" Lelouch asked, presumably sick with the pleasantries and wanting to get down to business. Chiba decided to speak up.

"How do we know we aren't under your 'Geass' right now?" She screamed angrily at Lelouch.

"You understand that just the ability to question if you are under his Geass is precisely why you aren't under its influence right?" Rakshata replied in a matter of fact tone.

"Only people I have used it from our inner circle on is Kallen while at school in order to question her. I asked her what she fights for. I also used it on Ohgi's Britannian girlfriend."

Kallen looked surprised. 'So I really did choose, didn't I? We really were the traitors that day.' She thought to herself.

"What's this about a girlfriend Ohgi?" Miname asked teasingly.

Tamaki tried to say something but was still unable to.

"She was a member of the pure bloods. A knight who was born a commoner. She found out my identity but was shot by some stalker girl of mine and is now-amnesiac and being taken care of by Ohgi. You honestly truly a wonderful man Ohgi, even if only you took care of her to gain some knowledge of me." Lelouch said with a confident smirk.

'Stalker girl? Does he mean Shirley?' Kallen muttered quietly.

Ohgi looked startled. He nodded his head hoping that his other members wouldn't judge him too harshly.

"We don't know when she will regain her memories so it will be safer to keep her here with us." Lelouch said, noticing Ohgi's reaction.

"Now to the next order of business, Japan will be freed from Britannia's corrupt rule. But first we must wait for the special zone to fail. Sadly, I don't see it lasting more then 6 months. In the meanwhile I feel like we should grow our organization and gain some allies around the world. The high enouchs in the Chinese Federation are planning to marry off their child empress to the crown prince of Britannia in exchange for noble titles. A truly detestable and deplorable act." Lelouch continued.

"That's horrible!"

"Despicable."

"They're no better than Britannians."

"So what's your plan Zero? Chinese federation is uncharted area for all of us." Tohdoh spoke out.

"I will fill you all in as we get closer. The documents provide enough intel on my future plans for Japan and the world. It should give you all something to do in the meanwhile. Zero will officially join the special administrative zone and the black knights will retreat into the shadows for now. Be ready when the time comes." Lelouch got up, picked up his mask and put it on while he started walking out of the room. Kallen and C.C followed after him.

"Lelouch! Wait up!" Kallen shouted in the hallway. Lelouch turned around.

"What is it Kallen?" Lelouch asked.

"How can I help? Outside of the Guren, I still want to be able to serve you Zero." Kallen replied back.

"I need you to stay here with the Black Knights for now. I have something in the works for you but you will have to be patient a little while longer."

"Understood Zero." Kallen saluted and made her way back into the main meeting room.

"I feel like that went pretty well." C.C said as she turned over to Lelouch, both of them walking in stride now.

"All tasks at hand are cleared. But by changing small things, these effects could ripple out and bite us later." Lelouch replied.

"Good thing you're such a genius then right?" C.C said back with a sly smile on her face.

"And you're still a witch."

A/N - This is my first time writing a story like this and I'm glad with the positive feedback so far. I hope this chapter intrigues you like the last one did. It was fun to write and I'll try to rewatch some more episodes to get the hang of writing all the members of the Black Knights. Next Chapter is going to deal with Lelouch trying to reason with Euphemia and I hope you will look forward to that. Also, I have moved some things up from R2, one year isn't that much of a difference. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoy where this story will lead.