Plan For Independent Japan (episode)

Plan For Independent Japan is the second episode of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.

Summary
Lelouch directs the Black Knights in a counterattack against the Britannian forces and recalls how his memories were altered by the Emperor following the Black Rebellion. The new mass production prototype Knightmare Frame Vincent arrives and wreaks havoc on the Black Knights but Urabe sacrifices himself to buy Lelouch,C.C and others the time needed to collapse the tower. The Black Knights cause the collapse of Babel Tower, which both kills the Viceroy and creates a road straight to the Chinese Federation Consulate, where the Black Knights escape to. Zero broadcasts his plan to recreate the United States of Japan and the Britannian military retreats, but the pilot of the Vincent, Rolo, is not so easily swayed. After arriving at the consul grounds, he confronts Li Xingke, revealing he too possesses the power of Geass.

Plot
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, making her smile.

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 believe themselves as such, 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 with its Slash Harkens and Needle Blazer. 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 its vanishing technique to damage their machines and 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. However, it 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. In his last words, Urabe proclaims how the Four Holy Swords have earned their name. 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.

Battles

 * Battle of Babel Tower (Concluded)

Powers or Abilities used

 * Lelouch's Geass
 * Charles' Geass
 * Rolo's Geass

Quotes

 * "I was defeated by the old me, by Suzaku, and by my biggest enemy. He dragged me before the Britannian Emperor." -Lelouch


 * Conversation Between Lelouch and unnamed soldier
 * "There's only one survivor?" -Soldier
 * "Yes, just you." -Lelouch


 * "This is a weapon for destroying God. It is called the Sword of Akasha." -Charles


 * "Conversation between Lelouch and Kallen
 * "You who abandoned Zero at Kamine Island. What do you want to tell me?" -Lelouch
 * "Lelouch, you were deceiving me right from the very beginning." -Kallen
 * "About Zero being your classmate or about my Geass power? Which one has offended you?" -Lelouch
 * "Both of them. Tell me this. Did you use your Geass on me like you did the others? Did you twist my mind and my heart and make me follow you? Lelouch!" -Kallen
 * "Your mind and your heart are yours alone. As was your loyalty and admiration for Zero." -Lelouch
 * "Don't move!" -Kallen
 * "Kallen, you should be proud of what you did. You decided. You made the choice. You chose, Zero. You don't believe me?" -Lelouch
 * "I wanted to believe so much that I'd become a slave." -Kallen
 * "I see." -Lelouch
 * "But, the one that I believe in is Zero. Just him. It's not you Lelouch." -Kallen


 * "Zero, I don't care if you're really a student or what you're background is. And, I know you meant it when you said we're not expendable. I know that every fighter we've got counts. Kosuke! Protect Zero. He's our last hope and hope is what our people need. Forgive me Rakshata. Zero! Save japan. Help our people to lift their heads again and fight! The four holy swords have proven our worth." -Kosetsu


 * "Urabe. Your sacrifice wasn't in vain. Hope begins now." -Lelouch


 * "Hear me Britannia! All you who have power, head my words carefully. I am burdened by sorrow. War and discrimination, malicious deeds carried out by the strong. The same abhorrent interplay between tragedy and comedy. The world has not changed. The people still suffer. That is why the resurrection of Zero was necessary. So long as the strong oppress the weak my rebellion will continue to grow. It begins today with the divine punishment I have wrought upon the inept and foolish Viceroy Calares... I shall fight against all those who abuse their power. Therefore, once again, here and now, I declare the establishment of the United States of Japan... Starting from this moment, this room shall be the first dominion of the U.S.J.... Race, ideology, and religion will not matter. Being a citizen will have but one requirement: to do that which is just." -Zero


 * "I cannot move a world by waiting. To find Nunnally and get her back I am going to need real power. power stronger than the emperor and Suzaku. I must seize that power and I will use my Geass to do it. With the United States of Japan as my starting point, I'll build a new world that's even greater than Britannia. But before I can do it I'll need to take care of him, my phony little brother, Rolo." -Lelouch (Preview for the next episode)