Zero (episode)

Zero is the twenty-fifth and final episode of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Summary
After managing to capture Cornelia, Lelouch forces her to reveal what little information she knows of Marianne's murder, but the answers do not please him one bit. V.V. takes Nunnally to Kamine Island, and Lelouch abandons the Black Knights to rescue his sister. Without Lelouch, the Black Knights begin to lose ground to the Britannian Army. Suzaku follows Zero, leading to the revelation of Zero's identity to him and Kallen and a final confrontation between the former friends.

Plot
With Cornelia grievously injured, Zero appears before her and reveals his identity as Lelouch to her. She isn't surprised, as she realizes his grudge against the Britannian Imperial Family and his obsession with Nunnally. As he mentions his plan to build a world better than Charles' as a replacement, she berates him, claiming he killed Clovis and Euphemia. Zero counters by saying that she killed Marianne, and she doesn't deny it but instead concedes to him. From there, Zero uses his Geass on her to have her answer his questions. However, when he does so, he discovers that not only was Cornelia not the culprit, but she also doesn't know who it is at all. He proceeds to question her, as Cornelia was in charge of her guard, and learns that Cornelia was ordered to withdraw her guards by Marianne herself, leading Zero to wonder if Marianne knew she was going to be attacked. He then asks if she has any leads whatsoever from the investigation she carried out, and she informs him that Charles had Schneizel take the body away, causing Zero to suspect he was responsible for something.

At that moment, C.C. senses something and quickly tells Zero to come back inside. Zero does, assuming she means that security will soon come and that they should take Cornelia hostage, but instead she tells him that Nunnally has been kidnapped and taken to Kamine Island, refusing to say how she knows that. Just then, Jeremiah suddenly appears in a giant orange ship, preparing to kill Zero. Zero ends up insulting him again, provoking Jeremiah to beseech him to die. Zero then tries to take Cornelia (who passes out) upon getting into the Gawain, but Jeremiah, while declaring he must kill all Britannian enemies, slams the Gawain off the roof, taking itself with it. It is revealed that Jeremiah also killed or injured the scientists before running off, to Bartley's dismay.

Meanwhile, Cecile begins changing into a yellow Knightmare pilot suit. She asks Lloyd, who is sitting alone in a dark hallway with a bandage on his face, why he tried to stop Suzaku when he knew he couldn't. Lloyd answers that humans are incredibly fragile with their emotions, and he was merely trying to keep it under control, since if Suzaku acted too recklessly, he would destroy the Lancelot in the process. At the same moment, Rakshata's team begins trying to cut the Lancelot open. As C.C. fights Jeremiah, Zero calls Ohgi to try and check in on Nunnally, but Minami answers instead and informs him of Ohgi getting shot, although the wound is non-fatal and he is being treated. He asks Minami about Nunnally's condition, but he notes that all of the Student Council members escaped in the confusion, then proceeds to hang up. He then calls Rivalz, who is hiding with Milly and Shirley in the bushes to try and get Suzaku. Zero asks about Nunnally, and Rivalz tells him that she is in the Student Council room. Zero hangs up, and as Rivalz begins protesting, they are re-captured by the Black Knights.

After Zero also fails with Sayoko, C.C. tells him that as she is his accomplice, her decision should be trusted. Zero questions why she won't give him reasons, and again she refuses, causing Zero to see the scene as a "one-sided convenience". He then tries to have a squad shoot Jeremiah down with homing missiles, but when he sees them, Jeremiah turns his ship into a spiked spiraling ball and swipes the squad down. Irritated, Zero has C.C. slice a building in half, and it crushes Jeremiah when he starts getting too cocky. The Student Council members, meanwhile, are bought before Tamaki. Shirley asks him to call Zero, claiming that he wants them alive, but he refuses to believe them. Suzaku then comes out of his hatch to try and save them, and Tamaki decides to kill him since all they want is the Lancelot. Arthur, however, jumps on the gun, disturbing the aim. Just then, Lloyd appears in the Avalon and greets everyone, to Rakshata's shock, although Lloyd claims he's only there to get the Lancelot back. A Sutherland, piloted by Cecile and equipped with a float device, promptly shoots the Black Knights away, allowing the Student Council to flee back into the building (though Milly briefly hesitates). Cecile proceeds to destroy the Gefjun Disturber, turning the Lancelot's systems back on, and gives the Lancelot a Sutherland arm and new fuel cell. As Suzaku powers up again, Cornelia suddenly calls Suzaku.

Fleeing the Tokyo Settlement, Zero calls Tohdoh, who still can't get into the bureau, and gives him all field command, while also telling him of Ohgi's condition and to have Diethard continue his duties. Tohdoh protests, but Zero cuts off his communication. The Student Council proceeds to evacuate the student body onto the Avalon while the Black Knights begin fleeing, escorting Ohgi away (causing him to regain consciousness), and Jeremiah breaks out of the ruins. Suzaku reaches Cornelia, who asks him not to tell the troops of her condition in order to not disrupt her emotions. She then tells him that Zero is headed towards Kamine Island, but can't remember any more info, which Suzaku assumes is due to Geass (in reality, it is due to her blood loss). Cornelia then asks him to clear Euphemia's name. Diethard, meanwhile, is informed of the switch of leadership, and he informs Kaguya of it. The other Black Knights begin to panic, since Tohdoh doesn't have a full map of the battlefield. Eventually, Ohgi calls Kallen, who is being repaired. He asks her to go after Zero via tailing Suzaku, who is on his way, and tells her that Zero might be the reincarnation of Naoto; Kallen obeys after getting hold of a Britannian air transport.

As Cecile begins fighting some Burai pilots, Nina opens a hatch and comes out with the Ganymede. Lloyd, remembering her research, panics at the sight, and quickly tells the Black Knights and his own troops to cease fire. Rakshata, noticing what might be going on, has the Black Knights listen to him. As Nina rolls the Ganymede into a certain area, Lloyd phones in on her and asks if she is testing her theory; she says that she didn't have time to test it, but will try to make the Ganymede explode. Milly tries to stop her, but Cecile gets in the way, as Lloyd announces that if Nina is correct, the Ganymede's sakuradite fuel will cause it to obliterate the entire Tokyo Settlement. Nina then holds up the activation switch and screams at the top of her lungs for someone to tell her where Zero is, intending to catch him in the blast. At the same time, Zero incorrectly muses that if Nunnally dies, the entire purpose of the war is gone, just as Kamine Island comes in sight; it is then revealed that V.V. knocked her unconscious and took her inside the island's Thought Elevator. As the Gawain comes across the entrance, C.C. notes that she has no connection to this specific one. Zero muses over the fact that there are more such places, and the fact she doesn't know whether or not Nunnally's kidnapper has a Geass power.

Just then, as Kallen heads for the island, a psychic booby trap suddenly ignites, trapping Zero and C.C. again in a series of Geass illusions. As C.C. telepathically tells him to calm down over the scenario, Lelouch begins experiencing visions of C.C. getting "killed" throughout history, including World War I, the Hundred Years' War, and the French Revolution, all beset by an illusion of Jupiter, horrifying Lelouch. When the dust clears in their minds, Lelouch asks C.C. if these are her memories. She confirms it, going on to say that she is a witch whose memories are constantly fluctuating, to the point where she sometimes forgets people that loved her or the fact she is human, concluding she is lonely. However, Lelouch says that she has him, and that if she is a witch, then he is a warlock. As the illusion ends, Jeremiah appears, and they have to fight him. He hits a part of the Gawain previously damaged by Cornelia, and C.C. is forced to use the last Hadron Cannon shot by shooting the water, causing it to surge upwards and distort their vision. C.C. decides to handle Jeremiah on her own while Zero goes after Nunnally. She tells him that he has to prevail and make up for the fact that the Black Rebellion will inevitably fail because he left, then, caught up in his warlock comment from before, kisses him goodbye, much to his shock. As she drops him back on the island, C.C. grabs onto Jeremiah's ship, musing she would rather not commit suicide with him, and drives both of them into the sea. Just as C.C. predicted, the Black Knights begin crumbling apart as Britannian reinforcements arrive, and Inoue is killed before Sugiyama's eyes. Eventually, all of the Black Knights are left in utter despair as Guilford leads the final charge to victory. As all this happens, C.C. muses that humans are creatures who all want happiness. All Lelouch wanted was happiness of his own, like any ordinary person. However, people's versions of happiness inevitably conflict with each other all the time, and that those in power will always suppress another person's ideas regardless of whether or not they're right. In the end, it was Lelouch's past that caused the Rebellion's downfall, but C.C., crying with a peaceful smile on her face, decides that because humans search for happiness, they will eventually overcome through the glimmer of hope. She is then crushed to bloody bits by the water pressure along with Jeremiah, but floats to the surface and is reassembled thanks to her immortality (this part is not shown, as it was too graphic and therefore cut out).

Zero arrives at the Thought Elevator wall, realizing the booby trap was merely a diversion. He prepares to touch the wall and get Nunnally, but just then a bullet whizzes by his head and hits the wall. Suzaku comes out from behind the shadows and tells Zero to turn and face him. Doing so, Zero questions why he would be fighting for Euphemia after all the carnage she caused. Instead, Suzaku reveals that he knows of his Geass power, and claims he intentionally caused the Zone massacre. He then says that Zero is merely an arrogant coward, yet even that might not even be his true nature. He then reveals he knows Kallen is right behind him trying to shoot him, and asks if she wants to see Zero's true face when she has a right. Kallen protests, but Suzaku shoots Zero's mask, causing it to split in half, revealing Lelouch's identity while also grazing the top of his head. Kallen, overwhelmed with shock, falls to her knees, but Suzaku merely shakes his head. Left with no choice, Lelouch confesses that he is Zero. Kallen then asks if he had been using them the entire time, and Lelouch, not denying it, says that his actions will save Japan, so she shouldn't mind; Kallen, however, begins weeping. Suzaku then muses he should have questioned Lelouch long ago, having suspected him but refusing to believe himself. He then berates Lelouch and claims that Lelouch was lying to everyone; ignoring the subject, Lelouch reveals that Nunnally has been kidnapped. He offers for Suzaku to join him to rescue her as they did before, while Kallen begins shivering, but Suzaku refuses, claiming he should have helped Euphemia and not killed her. Lelouch denies this, saying that he merely had to kill her like Suzaku did Genbu, and that since it is a past event, he will mourn for her later. Enraged at this, Suzaku trembles while holding the gun, furiously claiming that Lelouch has betrayed the entire world by not joining Euphemia, and that he will kill Lelouch to make his goal be unrealized in favor of a new one he has conceived. Lelouch dares Suzaku to shoot him, proceeding to place a sakuradite vial on his chest which, upon Lelouch's death, will detonate, killing Suzaku and Kallen in the process. Using this as leverage to placate the scene, Lelouch asks Suzaku who told him about Geass, correctly deducing that they have taken Nunnally. However, Suzaku, having reached the pinnacle of his insanity, says that Lelouch has no purpose in the world, his very existence is a mistake, that Lelouch should be wiped off the Earth, and hits Lelouch's limit by saying that he doesn't even deserve Nunnally. Lelouch, enraged, takes out his own gun, and as the former friends scream each other's names, a gunshot is heard, the screen goes to black, and Nunnally's body jumps in the air. The series ends on this cliffhanger, but a Season 2 preview is shown with quotes from the next episode and a new character.

Battles

 * Black Rebellion (Concluded)
 * First Assault on Tokyo Settlement (Concluded
 * Gawain - Siegfried Duel (Concluded)

Powers or Abilities used

 * Lelouch's Geass

Quotes

 * Conversation between Cornelia and Lelouch
 * "I see. So you were Zero the entire time. Darlton was right. He said it was someone with a grudge against the Britannian imperial family. You did this for Nunnally?" -Cornelia
 * "Correct. I will demolish the present world and then build a new and better one in its place." -Lelouch
 * "You killed them all for the sake of that madness?! Clovis? Even Euphy?" -Cornelia
 * "You're one to talk my dear sister considering how you idolized my mother Marianne the Flash." -Lelouch
 * "It would seem that talking with you further will prove to be utterly pointless." -Cornelia
 * "Indeed. Well then, Lelouch vi Britannia orders you to answer him." -Lelouch
 * "Go on." -Cornelia
 * "Sister, are you the one who killed my mother?" -Lelouch
 * "I'm not." -Cornelia
 * "Then who was it?" -Lelouch
 * "I don't know." -Cornelia
 * "But, you were put in charge of her personal guard were you not?" -Lelouch
 * "Yes." -Cornelia
 * "Then why did you withdraw her escort?" -Lelouch
 * "I was asked to." -Cornelia
 * "By whom?" -Lelouch
 * "Lady Marianne." -Cornelia


 * "All hail Britannia!" -Jeremiah


 * "If I've lost Nunnally then what have I been fighting for until now? What's the point of this war for independence? Why did Euphy have to be sacrificed?" -Lelouch


 * "You are not alone. We are each other's accomplice.Therefore if you're supposed to be a witch then perhaps I should be a demon." -Lelouch


 * "Fight to your last breathe. Stop at nothing!" -Tohdoh


 * "Yes, I am Zero. The man who leads the black knights, who challenges the Holy Britannian Empire, the one who holds the entire world in his hand." -Lelouch


 * "People... Humans are beings who look for happiness. What the Britannian boy, Lelouch, wanted to have is nothing but a small happiness. It's nothing special. At least at the root of his motives there were only humble wishes that were simply natural to any human. Who could ever disclaim such dreams and such vows? Who could ever have the right to do that? However, whoever you might be, without choice you have to deal with others and with the world. Have yourself be regulated and set down. Therfore in the face of the world's wills, your personal speculations are so ephemeral, they can't help being overwhelmed. Sins and punishment, destiny and judgement. What stands in front of Lelouch is the past he brought forth by himself. Is it a hatred resulting from the fact that humans are humans? Nonetheless, for now, we should be grateful... Yest, at least, to the fact that humans are beings that look for happiness. A remaining piece of hope, a faint sign of wishes, will be born from despair." -C.C. (Final words for the season)

Trivia
Both this episode and the previous episode were shown together as a one-hour special in Japan, but were later released as two separate episodes on DVD.