It was unexpected.
Everything...
happened way too suddenly.
At the time, I was only a nine-year-old child.
I wasn't aware of anything. I didn't know anything. I couldn't do anything.
My mother, Empress Marianne of Britannia, was killed.
Official records indicated that it was done by terrorists.
However, that is a lie.
It took place at the Aries Imperial Villa, within the imperial capital of Britannia, a place where only royalty live...
How could the terrorists get in?
Someone must have guided them in.
Mother's social standing was that of a noble, though she was originally a commoner.
She was an eyesore to the other Imperial princesses.
There were just too many people who wanted to harm Mother.
Your Majesty, my mother has passed away.
And what about it?
"What about it"?!
Did you request an audience with the Emperor of Britannia just to say that?
Bring in the next one. I do not have the time to play with children.
Father!
Why did you not protect mother?!
You are the Emperor, the greatest person in this country, are you not?!
You should have been able to protect her!
At the very least you could have visited Nunnally.
I have no use for the weak.
The weak?
That is the true nature of the imperial family.
You have been dead since the day you were born.
Who gave you those clothes that you wear on your back right now?
Your home, your food, even your life... I am the one who gave all of that to you!
In other words, you have not even once truly been alive!
And yet, you show such insolence?!
Nunnally and I were sent to Japan, which Britannia had been in dispute with over its underground resource, Sakuradite.
We were to be kept as hostages. The two of us were used as diplomatic tools.
We were sent to the house of the then Prime Minister of Japan, Kururugi Genbu.
There, we encountered Kururugi Suzaku.
Before that, those around me were rivals aiming for the throne and the retainers who supported me.
That was why, to me, Suzaku was the first friend I had.
Nunnally was close to Suzaku too.
We thought we had finally managed to attain peace in this remote, foreign land.
However...
Imperial calendar. August 10th, 2010.
Britannia suddenly declared war on Japan.
They should have known that Nunnally and I were there!
During the mainland battle, the Britannian army used the Mobile Humanoid Combat Armored Knight,
the Knightmare Frame, in combat for the first time.
Their power was beyond anything imagined
and the Japanese defense forces were defeated one after another by the Knightmares.
Japan became a territory of the Empire
and had her freedom... rights... and name taken away.
Britannia had taken away even the small bit of peace that Nunnally and I had found.
That is why...
I'm...
Suzaku...
I'm...
going... to break down Britannia!
Those with power...
Fear us!
Those without power...
Seek us!
The world shall be judged by us, the Order of the Black Knights!
Zero and the Order of the Black Knights.
My own personal army.
I have done well to make it this far.
Just a while back, my name, my records, and even my heart, were all just lies.
Yes. Back then, I was just a walking corpse.
Oh? A student.
Oh? A noble.
Youngsters are so lucky.
They have plenty of time.
Time to regret.
Your name?
Lelouch Lamperouge.
I couldn't change anything.
I was just a student.
No matter how hard I screamed or struggled, it didn't affect the world at all.
It wouldn't change at all.
I lived on that way by blaming myself.
Waaah! What the hell?!
Driving along so carelessly!
Stop! That way is-!
Um... was that our fault?
Of course not.
However...
I...
met that woman...
C.C.
Hey! Over here!
Whoa. That's bad...
What, what? An accident?
Hmph... all these people...
Hey... wait a minute!
Hey? Can you hear me?
I found it.
My...
Bastards, your mission is to find the weapon that the terrorists stole.
You are to search within the residence of the Elevens, the Shinjuku ghetto.
Upon discovery, send back the coordinates.
If I climb up top now...
A Britannian soldier?!
Don't kill anymore!
Wait! I'm...
And poison gas on top of that!
Even if you try to talk your way out of it...
That's why I'm telling you...!
It was Britannia that made the poison gas in the first place, right?!
You...
Don't kill?
Then, break apart Britannia!
Lelouch?
It's me.
Suzaku.
You... so you became a member of the Britannian army?
What about you?
You don't mean...?
What're you saying?
My life was put into motion by my encounter with C.C.
Originally, I thought that I would have to wait a little more before I could start to act.
Well, for a student you tried hard.
As expected of a Britannian.
However, your future...
has just ended.
Don't kill him!
Hey!
What is this...
Suzaku and...
This girl and...
Am I going to meet my end here too?
Without being able to do anything... so quickly...
Nunnally!
You don't want it to end here... do you?
What the?
It appears that you have a reason to live.
Is it the girl? No way...
If you have strength, will you be able to live?
This is a contract.
In return for power, I want you to grant one of my wishes.
If you agree to the contract, you will live as a human, but differ from other humans.
A different source, a different time, a different life...
The power of the King will make you isolated.
If you are prepared for that...
The union of Ragnarök.
Has the legend started yet again?
You...
Fine then...
That contract... I'll bind it!
W-
What's that?
I, Lelouch vi Britannia order you bastards to...
die!
Yes, Your Highness!
Geass.
Regardless of who the opponent is,
it's a power that enforces absolute obedience to any order that is given.
Once they receive the order, there's no way for them to disobey it.
Yes, even if it is to end their lives.
Yes, I've obtained it...
The ability to manipulate the hearts of others.
A power that can destroy Britannia!
Do you like it?
The power I gave you.
As I thought, you're...
Are you unsatisfied?
No, I'm grateful.
You pushed my schedule forward a great deal.
Schedule?
The plan to destroy Britannia.
I thought that it would be a little while longer before I could make my move.
Do you think you can destroy it with just that power?
I was planning to do this even without it.
C.C., the woman who granted me Geass, appeared in my house for no logical reason.
Oh well. It'll be bad if she goes outside and leaks out my secrets.
And it looks like it won't be possible to shut her up.
After all, she is someone who took a bullet in the head and still lives on...
More importantly, I need to understand the power of Geass first and destroy Britannia.
In order to use the Geass, one must look directly into the opponents' eyes.
There is no problem penetrating through glasses.
Maximum distance is about 270 meters.
After having the Geass cast on them, or when it's in effect, there is a noticeable gap in memory.
This is thought to be damage caused by the Geass invading the cerebrum.
If it has the property of light, then reflection is also possible.
You sure have studied it a lot in such a short amount of time.
The opponent is an empire which has subdued over a third of the world.
There is no such thing as exercising too much discretion.
Yes, I need to be discreet yet bold at the same time.
Speed is essential as well.
That's why I started to act. I have bet Geass and everything I have on it.
Give it to me... your Knightmare.
All right.
The access number is XG2IG2D4.
All right.
R2, launch anchor!
B7, a UN Round.
Group N, move forward as you are.
Damn you Elevens!
All right! Send Lerus in too!
Mission number three.
Enclose them!
Concentrate your firepower!
Are the preparations complete?
What?!
The enemy isn't there?!
This is Check.
It IS possible.
I can do it. I can do it!
I'm so happy, Lelouch. I heard that you had died during the invasion of Japan.
Well, thank goodness you're alive.
Who was it... the one who killed her?
2nd Prince Schneizel and 2nd Princess Cornelia. They would know.
They were the masterminds?!
So you really don't know that much.
I-It wasn't me! I didn't do it! I didn't make anyone do it either!
I know that.
However...
S-Stop it. Even though we have different mothers, I'm still your brother!
The world cannot be changed with pretty words alone.
Cornelia...
Don't tell me, with only one attack...
So this means that the creatures of Area 18 have fallen, right?
Clovis's successor was the female warrior who pilots her own Knightmare.
The 2nd princess of Britannia, Cornelia.
Yes, one of the people who knew the truth behind Mother's death.
Don't act recklessly in Area 11.
I understand.
I will find you, Zero...
to avenge Clovis!
P2, N3, cut around behind the enemy.
What's wrong? Respond!
P2, N3!
Dammit...
B1, B5, you guys go!
You've gotta be kidding me!
There's no way that we could win against Cornelia's personal unit!
Hey! We surrender!
We won't resist!
Spare us!
Kill them.
B8, status report.
There's no status-
B8!
Dammit!
Those who are left, report in order from P!
Mission complete.
All troops move into formation four.
They were overwhelmed?
This easily?!
This hasn't been much of a game at all!
So it didn't go the same way as Shinjuku, did it, Zero?
The enemy wasn't just Cornelia.
There was also that white Knightmare that possessed unbelievable power.
What's the situation?
Everyone escaped but four troops were instantly...
Number of enemies?
One machine, just one!
Is it a new model?
I've never seen that type bef-
Hey! What happened?!
Bastard!
What? It can block bullets?
Yeah. What should we do?
Ishida!
These terrorists are so useless.
It's only one machine and they can't handle it.
Dammit!
So this is the guy... the one who's messing with my plan!
A mere pilot like you!
How dare you!
It can't be helped. I need to eject here.
There's also that man who's behind the Britannian Army.
People are... not equal.
Those who are born fleet of foot... those who are born beautiful...
Those who's parents are poor... those who have weak bodies...
Birth, growth and talent, all humans... are different!
That's right, people are born to be different!
That is why people fight and compete with one another!
From there, evolution takes place.
Inequality is not an evil. Equality itself is evil.
What of the EU which made their policies equal for everyone?
They have become mere spectators of a mob-ruled government!
The Chinese Federation, which made its citizens equal, is full of negligence.
But we, Britannia, are not like that.
We fight, compete and continue to evolve!
Compete, take, possess, control!
Beyond that lies the future!
All Hail Britannia!
All Hail Britannia! All Hail Britannia! All Hail Britannia!
I mustn't have any regrets.
Britannia is large and strong.
It's not possible to win this battle with just the Geass.
That's why I created the Order of the Black Knights.
People!
Fear us or seek us!
We are... the Order of the Black Knights!
We, the Order of the Black Knights, are allies of all those who hold no weapons!
Be it Elevens or Britannians.
The Japanese Liberation Front used underhanded tactics, used Britannian civilians as hostages, and killed them in cold blood.
It was a meaningless act.
Thus, we have punished them.
Clovis, the previous Governor-general, was the same.
He massacred Elevens who possessed no weapons.
I can't stand to see these kinds of cruel acts, which is why I punished him.
I don't wish to fight.
However, the act of the strong completely and utterly killing the weak...
That is unforgivable!
Only those who are prepared to be killed should be allowed to kill!
Ever since the Hoteljacking incident,
the world's attention has been on Zero and the Order of the Black Knights.
Disgust, bewilderment, fear, adoration, surprise, ridicule, delight.
Everyone feels differently about us.
To the ghettos, we're heroes. To the settlements, we're villains.
That's all right; there isn't a need for everyone to support us.
Loyalty can only be built up when one side goes through a fair number of challenges.
But it's still not enough.
It's still not enough to drag that man out.
Welcome back, Brother.
I'm home, Nunnally.
You've been coming home late recently. Are you gambling again?
Shirley-san is worried about you.
I've already stopped doing that. Gambling, that is.
Hey, Brother...
Don't do anything too dangerous.
It wasn't easy for us to meet up with Suzaku-san again.
If we could go back to how it was before...
I understand, Nunnally.
Back to how it was before.
Yes.
Nunnally, in order to make that happen,
I shall...
destroy the world!
I am Zero.
I have a present for those who tune in tonight.
A set consisting of the CD of the opening theme song by FLOW, COLORS,
a clear file specially produced for the show, a calling card, and...
a figure of me with my mask off.
This present will be given to 10 people!
It's only available to subscribers of the MBS cellphone service!
This is an order from I, Lelouch vi Britannia.
Subscribe to it at all costs!
Yes, Your Highness!
How fortunate, heaven is on my side.
Who would have realized that Cornelia's weakness was one of the hostages?
That weakness called Euphemia.
Now, it's time for me and the Order of the Black Knights to launch a counterattack
against this world that has imprisoned me, and against my own frozen heart.