Lelouch vi Britannia/Synopsis

The story of Lelouch vi Britannia, also known as Zero, from Code Geass.
==Background==
Lelouch was born the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. After his mother's apparent death, Lelouch was displeased of his father's seemingly uncaring attitude and called out the latter for it, only for the Emperor to banish Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan. Lelouch and Suzaku watched the Britannian Military invading Japan, and C.C. secretly watched them, and after the invasion, Lelouch vows to obliterate Britannia. He then became a student of the Ashford Academy and eventually a member of its Student Council.
==Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion==
===First Season===
Lelouch and his friend Rivalz enter a room where a chess match was being played, with Lelouch claiming he can turn the situation on the chess table in under 9 minutes. He starts his game by moving the King. He effortlessly crushes him in a short period of time, while the noble gapes at his own defeat. Rivalz compliments Lelouch on his victory, and is happy that the ego of the nobles will force them to pay, which he notes also make them loose. As they walk out of the casino, they are interrupted by Clovis' "heart-breaking" speech which turns out to be an act. On the road, Rivalz accidentally cuts the way of the terrorists, resulting in their vehicle's crash. People gather, but to Lelouch's disgust, they are more interested in placing the blame and gawking over the incident than helping, prompting him to go and assess the situation. As he inspects the crash, he hears a voice, but is then thrown in the back of the truck, as Nagata, one of the hijackers, puts it in reverse for an attempted getaway. However, Lelouch is soon swept into the conflict between the Holy Britannian Empire and the pockets of resistance which oppose it when he accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese Resistance operatives. To Lelouch's horror, he realizes that he is trapped in a terrorist getaway. Suzaku, who Lelouch had not met for seven years, finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, who he mistakes as a terrorist. Nagata opens the capsule, to which Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face. The capsule opens, instead of gas, as Suzaku expected, a restrained C.C. appears. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors comes and tells him not to question his briefing, and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. Lelouch and C.C. takes the opportunity to escape. Just as they seem to have evaded detection, Lelouch's phone rings, giving him away. As they are about to kill him, C.C. jumps in front and is shot in the forehead. A desperate Lelouch now thinks of his impending death, his last thought being of Nunnally. He is grabbed by the hand by C.C., who proposes a contract which would allow him to live and endow him with Geass, the power of kings. He accepts, and stands up reinvigorated, and uses his power to make his pursuers kill themselves. He then retroactively contemplates this moment, noting his life is a lie, but that he accepts it as long as he has the power from it.
Following his actions, Villetta Nu appears in her Sutherland and Lelouch decides to take it and uses his Geass on her as well. After making use of his new-found power, he attempts to crush the rest of the Britannian Military that are wiping out the Elevens in the Shinjuku Ghetto. He uses Ohgi's Resistance Group and gives them orders in eliminating the Britannian Soldiers. He initially gains the upper hand, forcing Viceroy Clovis la Britannia to allow the release of an experimental Knightmare Frame by the Special Envoys, named the Lancelot, which is piloted by Suzaku Kururugi. Suzaku defeats most of the rebel's forces and eventually finds Lelouch's Sutherland inside of a building. Unable to defend himself against Suzaku's attacks, Kallen appears in her Glasgow to buy him enough time to escape, stating that she is returning the favour for helping her. Just as the Britannian Army corners the terrorists, Clovis orders an immediate cease-fire under coercion by Lelouch. Lelouch confronts Clovis at gunpoint about the murder of his mother, Marianne vi Britannia, before killing him.
When he returns to Ashford Academy, he discovers that Kallen Stadtfeld, one of the terrorists he helped in Shinjuku Ghetto, attends the same school. The limitations to his power are also revealed to him when he attempts to question her and unsuccessfully erase her memory. Both him and Kallen attempt to gain information from each other, but he creates a cunning deception, through Sayoko, to ease her suspicions of his identity. When the death of Prince Clovis is announced in the media, it is Suzaku who is accused of the murder.
After finding out Suzaku is being accused of murdering Clovis, he assumes the mantle of Zero and reveals himself, in a disguise, to Ohgi's Resistance Group. He convinces them that he will show his power by rescuing Kururugi. During the scheduled public run of Suzaku heading to the courts, Zero appears on top of Clovis' royal transport that was made by Kallen and Ohgi. Debuting to the whole entire whole as Zero, he reveals the capsule that supposedly held poison gas. In exchange for the capsule he wanted Kururugi, but Jeremiah remains steadfast stating that he can not give him up as he murdered Clovis. Lelouch refutes stating that he was the one who killed Clovis. Knowing that Jeremiah would not cooperate, he uses the codeword "Orange" to instill doubt in the Purist Faction and Britannian Military as some sort of bribe or plan in cooperating with Zero. Using this to his advantage, he uses his Geass on Jeremiah to allow them to escape.
To Lelouch's surprise, C.C., the girl who gave him Geass, shows up alive in his residence. He discovers that she is immortal and learns more about his Geass ability.
Arthur, a stray cat slips into the Lamperouge residence on campus and takes off with Lelouch's Zero mask. Milly announced that the one who would catch the cat would get a kiss from any member of the Student Council. A massive, comedic chase throughout the school grounds involving the entire student body follows. Suzaku and Lelouch were the ones that got the cat and got a kiss on the cheek from Nunnally. The student council adopts Arthur and builds a cat house in the council room. Lelouch along with the rest of the student body watches Prince Clovis' funeral on live. During the funeral, the Emperor of Britannia, his father, makes a speech on the virtues of inequality and the social battle for evolution and betterment while Lelouch shows an expression of dislikeness.
Unknown to Lelouch, Cornelia had set a trap for Zero at the Saitama Ghetto by simulating the conditions in Shinjuku Ghetto. Despite C.C.'s warnings, Lelouch takes the bait and goes to the aid of the Saitama resistance. His plan falls apart from a combination of Cornelia's superior tactics and the resistance cell's dissimilar motivations. Lelouch is cornered and nearly discovered, but C.C. dons his Zero costume and distracts the Britannian Army, allowing him to escape. Lelouch blames his defeat on the undisciplined rebels and resolves to build something better than a mere resistance unit, first an army, then "people," and finally a nation.
He later forms The Order of the Black Knights during the Japanese Liberation Front Hotel Incident after rescuing the hostages. He leads the Black Knights becoming a revolutionary and gains popular support amongst the Elevens.
The turning point in his rebellion comes when Euphemia li Britannia declares the region under Mt. Fuji, the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. This effectively destroys any possibility of the Black Knights' rebellion; acceptance would render them powerless and refusal would make them pariahs. Lelouch confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to give up her title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese forces her to do just that. Lelouch is forced to kill Euphemia to end the ensuing massacre, but in doing so becomes a hero of the people. Using this new-found support, Lelouch announces the creation of the United States of Japan and is able to lead an attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally was kidnapped, he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the much better organized Britannian forces.
On his way to rescue Nunnally, he is intercepted by Jeremiah who is piloting the Siegfried, but is able to lose him after an ensuing battle. Lelouch and C.C. make their way to Kamine Island to search for Nunnally, but Jeremiah appears once more. Being unable to defeat him as the Gawain has taken its toll in the many battles it has participated in, C.C. decides to sacrifice herself and drops Lelouch off.
Using the Gawain's slash harkens and damaging the Siegfried's float system, she drags Jeremiah down to the bottom of the ocean. Afterwards, Lelouch is confronted by Suzaku Kururugi. Kallen appears as well and Suzaku reveals to her that Zero's true identity is Lelouch. Lelouch attempts to broker a truce, but Suzaku is distraught over the death of Euphemia and refuses to listen. An angered Lelouch draws his pistol and both Lelouch and Suzaku attempt to shoot one another. A single gunshot is heard as the screen fades to black at the end of the first season.
===Second Season===
One year later, Lelouch is once again a student at Ashford Academy. He has had his memories rewritten by Charles zi Britannia, revealed to possess a Geass power of his own, erasing his memory of him being a prince, being Zero, and that he has a younger brother named Rolo Lamperouge, instead of a sister.
He is seen running away from Villetta Nu who is revealed to be a teacher now in the first episode. He is able to leave Ashford Academy with Rolo to go gamble at Babel Tower. It is here where Kallen and the remnants of the Black Knights attempt to retrieve Zero. After being cornered by the OSI, C.C. appears. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C. and he uses his Geass to kill all of them. Afterwards, Urabe and Kallen appear in their respective Knightmares and he resumes leadership of the Black Knights. Initially, Lelouch makes his base in the Chinese Federation's consulate, using his Geass on the High Eunuch stationed there so they will be welcomed. They are eventually forced to abandon it, however.
When Nunnally is appointed as Viceroy of Area 11, and announces her plans to re-establish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch falls into depression since he would be impeding her wishes by continuing his rebellion. He nearly begins taking Refrain before Kallen stops him. With the help of Kallen and his friends at the Ashford Academy, Lelouch realizes that his mission no longer revolves solely around Nunnally, but concerns the rest of his friends and the Japanese people as well.
Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new Japan. By having them all dress as Zero, he forces Suzaku to exile them and The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High Eunuchs.
During his time in Area 11, Shirley is killed by Rolo after her memories are restored by Jeremiah Gottwald, an assassin for the Geass Directorate. Unable to retaliate against either, as they are now his allies, Lelouch instead wipes out the Directorate, in the process learning of C.C.'s wish to die and that the Emperor has become immortal. C.C. would have had Lelouch kill her and take on her immortality, but instead spares him by placing him inside her memories while the Emperor kills her. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and convinces her to live on, but her memories of her life after gaining Geass are erased during their escape.
Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. To insure Nunnally's safety, Lelouch meets with Suzaku in an attempt to convince him to help. Lelouch takes full responsibility for all that he has done rather than admit the truth, but Suzaku agrees to help since he recognized what Lelouch is doing. Prince Schneizel's troops, having been ordered to follow Suzaku, then move in to arrest Lelouch, convincing him that Suzaku sold him out. Lelouch escapes with the help of Guilford, having used his Geass to make Guilford see him as Princess Cornelia, and begins his attack on Tokyo. Rolo and Sayoko are sent in to retrieve Nunnally and Kallen.
The battle initially goes well, but the hostilities are cut short when Suzaku fires Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb under the influence of the Geass command Lelouch placed on him. Nunnally is apparently among the dead, which leaves Lelouch heartbroken. This is only made worse when Schneizel appears in order to speak to the core members of the Black Knights. Schneizel is able to convice them to betray Lelouch using recorded evidence from his meeting with Suzaku, revealing his real identity of being Zero and his power of Geass. Kallen meets up with Lelouch to tell him that Ohgi wants him to come to warehouse 9. In the elevator, Kallen expresses to Lelouch her gratitude for Nunnally's help when she was captured.
They then arrive to see that the core members of the Black Knights are betraying him, stating they know his real identity and Geass power. With Lelouch backed into a corner, he reveals his identity and lies that everything he has done was for his entertainment in order to save Kallen from dying with him telling her that she needs to live. As they are about to gun Lelouch down, Rolo appears in the Shinkirō to evacuate him, but dies in the attempt as he overuses his Geass. Lelouch comes to terms with his feelings for Rolo and buries him properly, as the little brother of Lelouch Lamperouge.
Following the betrayal of the Black Knights, Lelouch focuses on defeating the Emperor, Lelouch confronts the Emperor in the Sword of Akasha, where he learns the truth about his mother and Charles' plans. He denies their attempt to create a new world and kills both of Charles and Marianne. One month later he installs himself as the 99th Emperor of Britannia and appoints Suzaku as his Knight of Zero.
Following his ascension to the throne of Britannia, Lelouch abolishes the Area codes for the nations Britannia has conquered, allowing Britannia's territories to keep their former names. He promptly begins a devastating campaign to remove all Britannian nobility. He also meets with the United Federation of Nations, only to be challenged by Schneizel, who reveals the Damocles, a flying fortress capable of deploying F.L.E.I.J.A. Schneizel also reveals that Nunnally survived and now resents Lelouch. Schneizel, plotting to use the Damocles to dominate the world, allies himself with the UFN and the Black Knights, and confronts Lelouch and the Britannian forces in a final battle. Although Schneizel's brilliant tactics hammer Lelouch and his forces to the point of desperation, Lelouch reveals that the battle itself was buying time to destroy Mt. Fuji's Sakuradite resources, destroying many of Schneizel's forces in the process. Lelouch, with the help of Suzaku and Nina, is able to board Damocles and confront Schneizel, who was attempting to flee by that point. Lelouch appears to him as a prerecorded message, which at first appears to be a real-time transmission as he and Schneizel debate their respective philosophies. Lelouch then boards Schneizel's evacuation vessel, revealing that not only did he predict Schneizel's answers and counters to his own philosophies, but that he was using such as a distraction until he could personally use his Geass on Schneizel. He orders Schneizel to kill Diethard and then confronts Nunnally so he could take control of Damocles' F.L.E.I.J.A. arsenal. After some hesitation, Lelouch resolves to use his Geass on Nunnally so that she will hand it over, and then announces to the world that he was won, bidding all of humanity to obey him.
Two months later, Lelouch is the undisputed 99th Emperor of Britannia, the CEO of the Black Knights, and the Chairman of the United Federation of Nations. Suzaku Kururugi is presumed dead by this point, and Lelouch is personally overseeing the transport of his prisoners, including Ohgi, Nunnally, Kallen, Toudou, and Schneizel, to be publicly executed. However, Suzaku, dressed as Zero, appears at the parade and impales Lelouch, having been ordered by Lelouch to do so now that the world was focusing its hatred on Lelouch. Suzaku then accepts Lelouch's "geass" to inherit Zero's identity and fight for the peace and justice of the world. Lelouch then falls off the parade float and lands close to Nunnally, who realizes that Lelouch is dying peacefully and with a smile on his face. Lelouch says his final words about creating the world anew, and dies. Realizing that Lelouch did everything to create a gentler world, Nunnally tearfully mourns Lelouch as the crowd celebrates and chants "Zero!"
=== Lelouch of the Re;surrection (Manga) ===
Further on it is revealed that C.C. actually headed to Jeremiah's location to retrieve Lelouch's corpse that Jeremiah had previously recovered (Shirley in the movies' timeline) and discovered that Lelouch had somehow obtained an incomplete Code of Immortality. However, although his body had returned to life and Lelouch no longer aged, his mind had not been restored.
At this point C.C. becomes Lelouch's caretaker while she searches for a Thought Elevator to use to travel to C's world to complete Lelouch's resurrection. On her trip CC meets Kallen, Lloyd and Sayoko again, Kallen gets angry with C.C. when she discovers Lelouch's unfortunate state and that C.C. revived him just so that he would fulfill the promise that Lelouch made to her (Lelouch promised C.C. to make her smile by fulfilling his true wish) and discusses that C.C. was selfish by reviving Lelouch.
C.C. finally manages to access C's World only to discover that the souls are frozen in place, with a dark orb containing the consciousnesses of Charles and Marianne, C.C. approaches the orb which causes the Collective Consciousness to attempt to destroy Lelouch. C.C. tries to rescue him, but she is expelled from C's world without realizing that she has successfully returned Lelouch's memories with the help of Shirley, Euphemia and Rolo (who, although dead, were still active in C's World).
Having returned to life Lelouch saves C.C., Lloyd and Sayoko using his Geass that he can still use despite having a Code (Code of Immortality) confirming that he is a "Failed One" (an almost immortal being that no longer ages but can still use his Geass), he also saves Suzaku who almost beat him to death for thinking that Lelouch had lied to him about being alive only to be stopped by C.C. telling him that she had revived him out of her own selfishness.
After escaping from the Wailing Prison (the place where the Elevated Thought was located) Lelouch again assumes the mantle of Zero and reunites with Cornelia accompanied by some members of the Order of the Black Knights, Lelouch surprises them all by taking off the mask and begging for his help to rescue Nunnally. Furthermore, stating that she will no longer lie, as she has no need to now that the world is a better place, Cornelia agrees and gives full control of her forces to Lelouch.
Lelouch uses his limited forces and his Geass to rescue Nunnally, despite the odds of facing 12,000 troops guarding Gralbahd, while his strategy was impeccable and successful, it ultimately failed due to Shamna's Geass. With a complete failure, Lelouch almost froze with his wounded pride and almost gave up. Fortunately, CC makes Lelouch see reason by telling him how she, despite everything, never gave up on her goal of completing her resurrection and he is able to regain control of the situation.
Having recovered, Lelouch defeats Shamna and uses Shamna's artificial Thought Elevator with the help of C.C. to travel to the C's World and thus be able to rescue Nunnally, having succeeded, Lelouch wakes up a few days. Lelouch tells Nunnally and Suzaku that he cannot stay despite both of their insistence and returns the role of Zero to his best friend.
Lelouch stops C.C. from leaving without warning and tells her that he plans to join her on her journey. He consolidates his decision to stay with her by saying that he will change his name to L.L., an indirect marriage proposal and the two are seen holding hands leaving Zilkhstan, making it understood that Lelouch fulfilled the promise he made by making C.C.'s real wish come true. (which was having an eternal companion who truly loved her and who would always be with her).
In a later scene, we see C.C, and Lelouch (now going by L.L.) are seen wearing wedding dresses and with Lelouch giving a dialogue that makes us understand that they are still together and that they persecute Geass users around the world and eliminate them if they do not have the will to use Geass responsibly.
== Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture ==
Following the timeline of the movies
Lelouch is shown in a flashback of the protagonist, Roze, where he encounters her as Sakura Sumeragi, when he offered to her the Geass powers. In present days, at age 24, Lelouch is now shown to be peacefully living on what appears to be an island, where he discusses with C.C. his decision to grant Roze the Geass powers before they walk away.
Category:Synopsis