Chapter Text
Lelouch couldn’t tear his eyes from the live news broadcast.
He was seeing the world through his mask, but even so, never had everything seemed so dark and hopeless. Not even catching sight of his school friends in the Lake Kawaguchi hotel jacking. Somehow, this was worse. In the back of his mind, he noticed C.C. was silently supporting him by the elbow. His legs were trembling, and without her, he would have fallen. He didn’t care. Icy fear seeped through every blood vessel, tempered by burning rage. The only thing that mattered was Suzaku, beaten and bloody on the television screen, being held hostage by Guilford and Darlton on either side.
“I know he’s your man, Zero,” Cornelia was snarling into the microphone. “And you see what happens to traitors. To spies.”
Lelouch lurched forward, hand outstretched towards Suzaku—the televised version three feet away. His gloved fingers curled into a fist before making contact, at the lightning bolt realization that the real Suzaku was miles away and, at the moment, cut off from help. His heart pounded in his throat. The Black Knights’ reactions were white noise in his ears. The walls of the mobile base were closing in on him.
“If you want to save his wretched life,” Cornelia added, a wicked glint in her eye, “then turn yourself in. You have twenty-four hours.”
The news clicked off.
Lelouch swayed, and he was idly aware of C.C. subtly guiding him to the sofa.
“…ro? Zero?!”
Lelouch blinked, a bit surprised by the tears that fell from his eyes at the motion. Anything to do with Suzaku always made him so emotional, especially nowadays. At least he wore the mask.
“Give him some room!” C.C. snapped, waving the Black Knights back. They gathered in a loose semicircle around the sofa, looking various levels of worried.
“Are you okay?” Ohgi asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Lelouch couldn’t blame the Black Knights for being shocked and scared. He’d never broken down like this in front of them. Still trembling, he wet his lips and tried to speak. “S—Suzaku…”
Tohdoh knelt in front of him, his gaze intent. “Is it true? Is Suzaku secretly a Black Knight?”
He sounded so uncharacteristically hopeful that Lelouch hated to spill the truth. But in this case, lying would do more harm than good. “N—no, but…”
“But he’s wanted Suzaku since the beginning,” C.C. piped up, glaring the other Black Knights into silence. “Now let him breathe.”
“It can’t be just that,” Diethard scoffed.
C.C. quirked an eyebrow. “I didn’t say why he’s wanted Suzaku.”
“Okay,” Diethard allowed, taking the bait. “Then why—”
“Shut up!” Lelouch snapped, whipping his head in Diethard’s direction. He didn’t have time for this! Suzaku’s life was on the line. Again. And this time, he was guarded by Cornelia’s forces. It would be harder to save him, especially when Cornelia was probably expecting Zero to spring into action to save his most special “spy.” Lelouch’s heart flipped at the thought. If only… “Just shut up! All of you! I need to think. We need to save him. We need to save him!”
Ohgi held his hands up palm-open in a placating gesture. “We will, Zero, if it means that much to you.”
“I’m with you,” Tohdoh added, his eyes grave. The Four Holy Swords stepped up in support.
“Good,” Lelouch said, as if it was settled. “I need to—we need to—”
The Black Knights exchanged more anxious glances.
Lelouch knew how disconcerting it was; he was never without strategies—or words. “Anything I do, Cornelia will hurt him worse,” he said softly, clenching his shaking fists atop his knees. His thoughts whirled with discarded possibilities. “I shouldn’t have treated him special after we found out his identity as the Lancelot’s pilot a few weeks ago. This is all my fault.”
Again, the Black Knights looked at each other, worry in their eyes.
With a nod from C.C., Ohgi stepped forward. “This is not your fault, Zero. It’s Cornelia’s—it’s Britannia’s.”
“My actions made him look like a traitor,” Lelouch continued flatly, as if Ohgi hadn’t spoken. “He might lose his life, and I’ll lose—”
Tohdoh leaned forward. “What will you lose, Zero?”
“Suzaku!” Lelouch burst out, erupting into another round of full-body shudders. “I can’t…”
Diethard frowned, taking everything in with narrowed eyes. “He’s obviously very special to you. But you always have a plan. I’m sure you can come up with something to save him.”
Slowly, Lelouch nodded, still feeling frozen at his core. As the seeds of a plan started to sprout in his mind, his insides started to thaw. He could do this. He could save Suzaku. He’d done it before. He’d do it again. As many times as it took, until Suzaku was forever safe. “I’ll start now. You wait here for my orders. Prepare every Knightmare we have for combat, and will someone get Kallen out here?!”
As the Black Knights hurried to obey, Lelouch stared at the blank television screen. Wait for me, Suzaku. I’m coming.
-+-
That night, in his otherwise empty bed, Lelouch tossed and turned until the sky glowed pink.
-+-
Lelouch paused in front of the intimidating Tokyo Settlement prison complex, having confirmed with the outside security guards via Geass that Suzaku was inside. Deep inside. Squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath. His heart pounded like it wanted to escape his chest—like it felt the pull of Suzaku’s presence and wanted to reach its match.
Entering through the front door, he Geassed the first person he saw. “Take me to Kururugi Suzaku.”
His footsteps slapped on unyielding concrete as he followed the guard down twisting hallways, deep into the heart of the complex.
Suddenly Guilford loomed out of the darkness. “Who is this?” he demanded of the guard. “You know this area is restricted.”
Lelouch scowled, releasing the guard from his will. “Suzaku is my…friend,” he said, gesturing to his Ashford Academy uniform to signify their relation. “I can’t allow him to die. At least, not without…”
The female soldier—the one who’d come to collect Suzaku from Ashford Academy that fateful day Suzaku’s secret life was exposed—suddenly appeared at Guilford’s side. “I recognize him,” she said with a nod and a small smile. “This boy is indeed Suzaku’s school friend.”
Guilford hesitated, glancing between Lelouch and the dark cell behind him. “Princess Cornelia’s orders were absolute.”
“Would it really hurt to let his friend have a few words?” the female soldier asked, sending Lelouch a reassuring look.
Finally, Guilford caved. “You have five minutes.”
Nodding, Lelouch sent the female soldier a grateful smile. Then, he braced himself and stepped forward into the darkness. He’d thought what he’d seen on the news was horrifying, but this…
Suzaku was chained to the wall, his pilot’s uniform hanging in filthy, bloodstained tatters off his thin frame. A shock collar rested around his neck, just like the time he’d been held captive for Prince Clovis’s murder. Blood—both wet and crusted—covered his body as though he’d been lashed innumerable times with a whip, dripping plip-plop onto the ground. Pus oozed out of countless infected, open wounds littering his skin. His face was smudged with dirt and bruises, tear tracks obvious even in the dim lighting of the cell. The way Suzaku just listlessly hung there spoke volumes about how they’d beaten the spark out of his every pore.
Lelouch found himself unable to breathe for a second before he forced himself to move. He could hardly swallow the lump in his throat. “Suzaku?”
In agonizing slowness, Suzaku lifted his head. His shadowed eyes widened, and his gaze frantically darted between Lelouch and Guilford as if he were trying to signify that it wasn’t safe for Lelouch to be there.
Typical. Suzaku was being actively tortured, and he was still putting Lelouch’s needs first.
“It’s okay,” Lelouch said softly, jangling the locked cell door that still prevented him from being by Suzaku’s side. “I came of my own accord. I needed to see you.”
“Why?” Suzaku asked, his voice nothing but a cracked croak—right before the shock collar activated, sending electric zaps through his whole body.
“Because I love you, you idiot!” Lelouch snapped, trying to keep himself in check. How dare Britannia treat Suzaku like this? “Don’t try to talk.” He reached through the open slats of the cell door, fingers stretching, though he was unable to make contact with his boyfriend. Rattling the door, he swirled on Guilford. “You’ll let him go if you have Zero, right?”
Guilford nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable after Lelouch’s declaration.
Lelouch stood up straighter. “Then I’m Zero.”
“Nice try, kid,” Guilford said, cracking a smile. “If only it were that easy.”
“I’m turning myself in, like you asked,” Lelouch insisted, stepping forward and holding his arms wide in surrender. “I should be the one in that jail cell, not Suzaku.”
Guilford lifted an eyebrow. “Look, it means a lot that you’d try to sacrifice yourself for your—friend, you said?”
Lelouch sighed. “Boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend,” Guilford corrected himself. “But your ploy won’t work. Kururugi’s in there until the real Zero turns himself in.”
Lelouch turned back to Suzaku, his heart fluttering. “I’m going to get you out of here. Just wait.”
Suzaku managed a small, broken smile. “I love—” he croaked, before the shock collar zapped him. Instead of letting it stop him, he plowed on, crackly voice raised, “—you, too—Please, just…” He inhaled deeply, the sound tugging at Lelouch’s heartstrings, and shifted in his steel cuffs, all his muscles straining as shouted in an equally-strained voice, “Be happy!”
“And how can I be happy without you?” Lelouch shot back, using all his self-control to stick to his plan. “We were going to spend forever together.”
“I know.” More zaps. Suzaku sounded utterly defeated, like they’d lashed straight through his body to the core of his soul. “Listen,” he continued, giving the shock collar a workout, “d-don’t do—anything—stupid.”
Heart stuttering, Lelouch reached for his boyfriend again in the darkness, knowing it was futile but unable to help himself. “I won’t,” he hissed, pressing against the cell door once more. The cold steel strengthened his resolve. “I promise. I’ll find a way, Suzaku.”
“Your time is up,” Guilford said, coming to stand beside Lelouch before Suzaku could respond. “I’m sorry about your relationship. With any luck, you’ll have your boyfriend back when Zero turns himself in. Viceroy Cornelia has some plans in mind to make that happen…”
Lelouch’s jaw clenched. If only he could Geass Guilford to let Suzaku go right now—but that plan was too risky, especially with the number of guards in the compound. Lelouch sighed in momentary defeat. It was better to wait, just to ensure his victory. “Very well. Suzaku, I’ll be seeing you soon.”
Suzaku merely nodded, looking beyond pained.
Turning around against his better judgment, Lelouch motioned for Guilford to walk with him a few feet away for privacy. Then, catching Guilford’s eye under the low light of a flickering torch, Lelouch held a hand to his throat, activated the Power of the King, and murmured, “When I use this signal, you will ensure Suzaku’s safety until he is completely within Zero’s grasp by following my careful instructions…”
-+-
Zero was taking no chances.
The Black Knights had to get this right, the first time, or Suzaku would be lost.
“It’s like old times,” Kallen snorted, though Zero could detect the quiver of fear in her voice over the Knightmare transmission.
Ohgi’s voice came over the line. “Yeah, seems like we’re always rescuing Kururugi. But he’s obviously important to Zero, so let’s do this!”
Lelouch closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, settling himself against his Knightmare’s seat, and brushed his fingers over his discarded mask. It would work. He’d more than covered his bases, going overboard to the extreme—even for him. Then, when he opened his eyes, his blood sang with determination and he straightened his spine. “Suzaku’s location is marked on the maps I’m sending you,” he said, issuing orders to the Black Knights through the Knightmare communication systems. “All cameras, traps, and guards are marked as well.”
“Wow, how do you have all this intel?” Ohgi asked around a low, impressed whistle.
“I did an inside sweep of the cells earlier,” Lelouch said lightly, as if he’d done nothing more than stroll through a public park. “Our objective is to capture Suzaku. Cornelia’s forces will be ready for us, but they don’t know that we know their tricks. Stick to the battle plan I’ve outlined for you all.” If Guilford didn’t come through, then surely the Black Knights would.
“Yes, Zero!” chorused the Black Knights from their own Knightmares.
“Failure is unacceptable,” Lelouch reminded them, his voice tight like he might snap at any second. “We must save Suzaku.”
-+-
Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief when he cornered Guilford in battle. All tasks at hand were now cleared. Opening his Knightmare cockpit, he challenged Guilford directly—“I have a question! What do you do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil, or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?”—and used the hidden signal.
Guilford’s eyes glazed over with Geass, and in the commotion of battle, he escorted Suzaku’s beaten, bloodied body to the Black Knights’ carefully stationed nondescript van. “I choose justice!”
Lelouch’s fingers twitched on his Knightmare controls. “Good answer.”
He waited until Diethard had safely transported Suzaku away before calling for the Black Knights to retreat from the military complex. The battle had been far easier than Lelouch had anticipated, thanks to the insider information he’d gathered during his visit to Suzaku’s cell. Still, it hadn’t been without loss. Suzaku was worth it all.
As an added bonus, the Black Knights had even captured Guilford.
Lelouch couldn’t help but cackle at the irony.
-+-
“Suzaku’s in the medical wing,” Tohdoh reported. They were on their best-equipped submarine. “I’m going to see him now.”
Lelouch nodded and waited for him to leave, then turned on Guilford—bound in a cell, though much more humanely than Suzaku had been. Locking the door, Lelouch waited until Guilford looked at him. “Would you like to know a secret?” he asked around a laugh, removing his mask. “I told you I was ready to turn myself in for Suzaku’s sake.”
Guilford gasped, pressing against the wall. “Y-you! You’re…”
Lelouch laughed again, knowing he sounded almost mad. “Yes. Me.”
“But you’re—!”
“A Britannian schoolboy?” Lelouch filled in, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, but I’m also Zero and Suzaku’s boyfriend. You sealed your fate when you hurt him. So did Cornelia.”
“Kururugi was—”
“Never working for me,” Lelouch interrupted, glaring his captive into silence. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of him hurt, so I ordered my Black Knights to give him distance in battle. Then Cornelia ruined everything. You tortured my soulmate, and for that you will pay dearly.”
Guilford squared his shoulders. “But he—”
Lelouch took a strident step forward. “Suzaku always deserved better than the way the Britannian Army treated him. Think about how he’s suffered at your hands. Think about all the ways you’ve hurt him, and know that I will deliver ten times that.”
Warning given, Lelouch turned on his heel with a swish of his cape and replaced his mask.
Suzaku was waiting.
-+-
As Zero, Lelouch observed carefully from the shadows.
“I don’t understand,” Suzaku was gasping, his hand flying to the deepest gash across his chest. “How did I…? Why did you…?”
Lelouch stepped into the light, motioning Tohdoh aside.
Tohdoh stood from where he’d been anxiously hovering over Suzaku’s prone form. “He’s in better shape than when he got here,” he reported, giving Suzaku a small, approving smile. “He’s a fighter.”
“Of course he is,” Lelouch said, unable to hide the fondness in his voice. “Now leave us. We have much to discuss. Post a guard outside the door.”
Tohdoh nodded. “Very well, Zero. Suzaku, remember to keep an open mind like I always taught you.”
“Yes, Tohdoh-sensei,” Suzaku whispered, his green eyes wide as his glazed gaze slipped up and down Zero’s figure.
As soon as Tohdoh had gone, Lelouch edged closer. Gently, he cupped Suzaku’s cheek and tilted his head up, searching Suzaku’s face for signs of distress. His heart skipped a beat at all the bandages covering Suzaku, at all the bruises and gashes peeking out on tan skin. It was more gruesome up close, but at least he was finally at Suzaku’s side. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Lelouch?”
“Hush,” Lelouch said softly, unable to help himself from tracing Suzaku’s cheekbones with his thumbs. “You’re delirious from pain.”
Suzaku seemed to melt into the mattress under Lelouch’s comforting ministrations. “You think I don’t know you?”
“Hush,” Lelouch said again, just as soft. “Focus on yourself. We’ll talk later.”
Suzaku grinned dopily up at him, obviously hyped on pain medicine. “At least lose the mask? For my sake?”
Lelouch paused. Considered. “Later,” he promised, neither confirming nor denying his identity. “Rest now. Heal.”
Suzaku’s smile faded somewhat, and the lost look in his green eyes deepened. His hand sought Lelouch’s. “Stay for a while, Lelouch?”
“…I won’t leave your side.”