Re; Chapter 1

NARRATION
The year is 2018 by the Imperial Calendar--

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KnightMares, the unmatched humanoid highly-maneuverable armored cavalry units at the center of the Holy Britannian Empire's military might,

had been used to expand Britannia's territory considerably by the bold Emperor Charles and the skillful Prime Minister Schneizel, both of whom were vying to take over the entire world.

But then, one year ago, anti-Britannia sentiment suddenly began to rise in the Far East Island Nation of Area Eleven.

-

His true identity concealed with a mask, one man amplified the force of that sentiment with his ingenious strategies and tremendous personal charisma.

His name was Zero.

-

Although once rumored to have died...

...Zero returned to the stage once again, and established the United Federation of Nations from a coalition of countries that opposed Britannia, effectively splitting the world into Britannia and the Federation.

-

And, using it as a foothold for the confrontation with Britannia, Zero declared Area 11 "Japan" once again.

However--

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During the Second Tokyo Settlement Battle, the Britannian Military launched a weapon of mass destruction, FLEIJA, in the skies above Area 11.

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Many people were declared dead or missing...

And Nunnally vi Britannia, Viceroy of Area 11 -- as well as Zero himself -- were among them.

-

CODE GEASS
Lelouch of the Rebellion
Re;

Watch, world! And wait.
In just a few moments, we will arrive.

<there's also a small ad for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion III: Way of the Emperor', coming to theaters 5/26!>

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NARRATION
Imperial Capital of the Holy Britannian Empire, Pendragon

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C.C.
Are you sure about this?

SUZAKU <with increasing formality in his Japanese>
You must have asked that a dozen times already, C.C.
but we have a shared goal.
There is nothing he cannot do.

-

SUZAKU
It's all for the Zero Requiem.

C.C.
...

LELOUCH
A 'goal', huh...?

LELOUCH
(...The aim of what we are about to begin here is one sort of goal...)
(But originally, my 'goal' came from something else that started here in Britannia...)

-

NARRATION
Imperial Calendar, 2009

LELOUCH
Hey, Nunnally! You shouldn't play with Mother's hat!

NUNNALLY
Lookit, lookit, Brother!
Aren't I an elegant lady just like Mother~?

-

CORNELIA
Heehee, Nunnally's a tomboy, just like you, Lady Marianne.

MARIANNE
Oh, I don't think she's as much of a tomboy as you are, Cornelia.

LELOUCH
Well, ladies don't run around in skirts!

NUNNALLY
Hmph! You're mean, Brother.

LELOUCH
You know, when you make faces like that, it spoils your hard-won adorability.

-

NUNNALLY
!
Hee.

EUPHEMIA
Nunnally! Won't you come pick flowers with us!

LELOUCH
<urk>

-

NUNNALLY
Comiiiing!

LELOUCH
(Born a Prince of Britannia, I suppose I was... happy, once.)

-

LELOUCH
(Before that day...)

SCHNEIZEL
Checkmate.

LELOUCH
I lost... again.

SCHNEIZEL
It's already so late, Lelouch... Let's leave it at that for tonight.

LELOUCH
No, wait! Can't we play just one more game, Big Brother Schneizel?

SCHNEIZEL
Absolutely not. I'm not looking forward to telling Queen Marianne that I've even kept you this late.

LELOUCH
...

-

SCHNEIZEL
Although you have a firm grasp of the fundamentals, you're going to keep losing because your endgame is weak.
<LIT. Lelouch has his head wrapped around [the game], but...>

<BLAM BLAM BLAM>

LELOUCH
(Gunshots?!)
(From the direction where my mother and--!!)
(It can't be, can it?!)
(It can't be--)

-

LELOUCH
Ahh... ah... AHHHH...!

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
I lost my mother, I couldn't protect my little sister, and I aimed the feelings I had no outlet for towards my father -- Emperor Charles.

LELOUCH <using polite speech>
Father! Why did you not protect Mother?!
You are the emperor, are you not? The most important man in this nation?

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
Angrily, imploringly, I turned to him.

LELOUCH
And so, you should have protected them!
At the very least, you should go to see Nunnally...

-

CHARLES
I have no use for weak people!

LELOUCH
<shock-->
<squeaks and falls back>

CHARLES
Lelouch!
You and Nunnally will go to Japan.

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
And with those words, Nunnally and I were sent to Japan as bargaining chips.

-

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
But even then...

SUZAKU
Lelouch!

Look!

-

LELOUCH
(That fool!)
(Even knowing Nunnally and I were here...)

LELOUCH
Why would you...
Why would you do this, Father?!
WHY?!

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
That was why I started down this path, to protect Nunnally from a world -- from a father who saw his own children as nothing but political pawns.

-

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
And so I became the symbol of anti-Britannian sentiment, Zero!

-

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
But the end result of that was the worst possible outcome.
And so I...
And so, we...

-

LELOUCH
Suzaku, if we work together...

SUZAKU
Right. There's nothing we can't do.

LELOUCH
Then, shall we go?

-

LELOUCH
Time to take the throne of the Britannian Empire!

SUZAKU
Yes, Your Majesty!

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
That's right, on that day eight years ago, I swore to--
--obliterate Britannia, but things change.

-

NARRATION (LELOUCH)
Before I can fully bring about the gentler world that Nunnally wished for, first I will destroy it.
And so...!

-

LELOUCH <using 'noble' pronoun, washi>
Recognize me!

CROWD
All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch! All hail Lelouch!

-

LELOUCH
<smirk>

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NARRATION (LELOUCH)
Now, let the Zero Requiem begin!