"Here," offering a jug of water, the masked Emperor broke the silence. The tired and newly awoken child warily accepted it. But the thirst was quick to kick in as she gulped down heartily. Seeing her relax a bit more, he sat down whilst asking. "So? What would you like to know?"
"How did you meet my mother?"
Immediate, but also guarded. The red eyes of the pale child resembled the homunculus' own, albeit younger. And perhaps a little bit more naïve if she was this willing to heed his words. Especially the half-truths.
"We started off as enemies. I doubt I need to explain the rules of the Grail to someone whose family invented the whole ritual, yes?"
"I know of it. I was trained to become a Master for it… after news of my mother's defeat reached us."
At this age? Lelouch should've been surprised. Only he'd gotten used to seeing it. Unlike the humans unrelated to magecraft, he'd gotten around to knowing well enough that a magus was a creature that sought to use everything and anything, human or animal, others or their own, even themselves, as mere research material if not pawns for the greater ideology that was every magi's dream. This child was a victim of that and partially explained why she was out alone in the snow fields.
Training. Training to make a child into a Master. No matter how close to death she came.
"Then I offer you my apologies. For it is due to my victory that your mother was defeated."
The girl flinched. She didn't retreat, but her eyes trembled as she stared at him down. "How did she die?"
"I'm certain a child of the Einzbern would know about that more than an outsider like myself would."
She paused, hesitant to break away and think. But when she did, recognition was quick to chime in her expression. "The Lesser Grail. She couldn't hold it back forever."
"Correct," Lelouch remembered that day, that surprise. For one of the participants themselves to keep the prize they were all fighting for inside her, it was an eye-opening shocker. "By the time I realized what was going on, Irisviel von Einzbern had been consumed and birthed in her place was a golden cup. Alas, any attempts on my part to save her had all been in vain…"
"You… tried to save her?" she muttered, a little surprised.
"Would you believe me if I said I meant her no harm at all? No matter what came of the war's end result?" the child shook her head. Lelouch lightly chuckled. "Your mistrust is a given. Truth be told, I was an unwilling participant at first."
"An… outsider? Did the Grail… pull you in?"
"You could say that." He shrugged, playing on the girl's sympathy. "Something definitely forced my participation as, shortly before the war had begun, I was a mere schoolboy who knew nothing of magic. Or 'magecraft' that had rudely intruded on my daily life. Had I been unlucky, I would never have survived through it all, much less win."
He sat back, staring up at the forest canopy as the sounds of explosions rumbled in the distance. The siege was still ongoing. Something was likely stalling Nobu's path of absolute destruction. He needed to hurry this up.
"Truth be told, it was because of your kind mother that I needn't have died so early." That had the child perking up. "When we first came to conflict, I and my Servant sought a path of non-violence. Neither of us wanted to die, but we couldn't afford to lose to anyone either. Hence, it was a godsend when your mother and her Servant chose to stay their hand. But… some participants of the war thought differently."
Some chose combat, assassinations, if not an outright betrayal to get the upper hand. He, of course, was just as guilty as the rest of them. But he didn't inform the child of this as he regaled his tale to her gullible expression.
"I just wanted to survive and get out of it unscathed. To hell with the wish, and if my Servant wanted it, so be it. I would permit her to fight for it so long as neither I nor the enemy Master intervened in the last bout… but… just before the last night of the war came to a close, something happened to your mother."
"What happened?"
"She'd fallen ill, or that was what I'd assumed at the time." Utilizing subtle theatrics, he gently raised the tension in his voice. "Though our Servants had crossed blades before, the two of us had stayed out of their chivalrous duels, in favour of letting them decide the victor. But at the time, the other Masters decided to take matters into their own hands. One by one, other Masters would be defeated one after another alongside their Servants. Explosions, sniper fire, curses caused by forced Command Seals. When four of the Masters had fallen, your mother's health, seemingly perfect before, rapidly declined. But then… something strange occurred."
The girl leaned in closer, still keeping her distance but enraptured by his story.
"Her Servant stopped guarding her side," Lelouch said softly. "At first I thought it was a new ruse of theirs to bait the other competitors. Because of our… you could say 'alliance', I opted to hang back and let things play out. Intervene should it not go in their favour. But Irisviel was not acting. She'd fallen ill and was left unguarded for a time. It was only when my own Servant informed me that she was being targeted that I rushed in, demanding she saved the one Master that spared us throughout the whole conflict."
"You didn't take it as a trap?"
"Could you blame me? I'd never met a magus, let alone fought against one in open conflict. Despite our initial standings in the ritual, I'd come to respect your parent not only as an adversary but as a competitor." Just not the parent she assumed he was referring to. "In any case, when we recovered her, she was not only at death's door. She'd been left out to dry. Her Servant, Saber, was nowhere to be found. Nor were her bodyguards by her side."
"Body… guards…?" the child muttered, crimson eyes widening. "What… bodyguards?"
"Were the two armed with guns not part of her group? The short-haired woman had always been by her side. And though I didn't see him often, there was a man she was often close to during the whole thing, was he not?"
"They… they were. But… That man…" the girl's eyes slowly teared up. But after a second, they steeled sharply that Lelouch's narrowed back. "Where… where did that man go? Did… did you see him… after mother—? After mother had…—"
After her mother died? Been consumed by the Grail? He did. So he admitted, albeit twisting the truth directly at her face. "Emiya Kiritsugu, I remember that's what she called him. The man who armed himself with machine guns and grenades… Yes, he was there. Only, he wasn't guarding anyone, let alone looking for her when I tried my best to convey that I rescued your mother. That bodyguard… he tried to kill me instead. And when I offered your mother back, he chose to ignore my words. He tried to get to me. When the dust settled and I nearly fell victim to his attempts on my life, it was then I realized he was after the Grail and only the Grail. He didn't come for Irisviel."
"But… what came next?" the child's hands had balled into fists atop her knees. Her nails dug into her skin, even her teeth seemed to be biting on her lip. He had her on his web. "He didn't win, didn't he? He didn't win! I'm certain of it! If he had, I wouldn't…"
She wouldn't have had to suffer. He could surmise that, due to their defeat, she was next in line for the meat grinder. Something that would've been literal had he not come to her rescue as he had.
"No, he didn't win." But then Lelouch decided that the next thing he would do was to play dumb. "But that's the thing. He should've won."
"Eh?"
"You must understand, Lady Illyasviel. I didn't want to win. Only survive." He held the silence before standing up and staring into the distant castle that billowed smoke high enough to see over the tree line. "But after I conceded my victory to him, he did the unthinkable. Right as he was the designated victor of the War, do you know what he did?
"… What?"
"…" Pausing for dramatic effect, he turned to the girl so that her own reflection on his mask, a face of broken expectations, was what met her. "… He ordered his Servant to destroy the Grail."
"He… what?" the girl muttered in disbelief. "Kiritsugu… did what…?"
"He ordered Saber, one of the strongest Servants and the one most likely to win by that point, to destroy the Grail. He even expended two Command Seals when she resisted his order, all but guaranteeing she did the deed with her strongest attack. And so… she did. In the end, the war was over… but on that day, the city of Fuyuki was set ablaze and that man had disappeared like the wind. Along with his reasons as to why he refused victory."
It was quite the story, he had to admit. Granted, he didn't make up all of it. Partly due to Avenger informing him of the events that unfolded while his brain had been blown out, he gathered quite the messy story to retell to the Magus Killer's child.
"It… was true…?" she was struck speechless, astonished by the wonderous tale that ended so abruptly. "All this time…"
He expected disbelief. He expected denial. What Lelouch did not expect was for said child to screech as she spat and punched her tiny fists into the dirt.
"HE WAS A DAMN TRAITOR ALL ALONG!"
She punched the dirt. She tore into the grass. She punched and punched until the stones started scaring her knuckles. The blood seeped, but her fists didn't relent out of anger. What made it worse was the fact that she cried.
"Liar… You liar! You lying bastard! What promise to 'bring world peace'?! What promise to… … 'come home' for me?! You never did! You promised yet… you lied! YOU GODDAMN TRAITOR!"
She cried. Tears mixed in with the puddle of blood. To anyone else, it was heartrending to watch. To Lelouch, it was simply pitiful. That his words would cause her such grief… No. He intended to force a reaction. If this was what came of it, then…
"Now, young one," after a while of letting her vent against the earth, he leaned in to offer her a towel to clean herself up. She hesitated to take it, but when she was calm enough to accept it, he prompted her. "Knowing all this, what is it that you intend to do now?"
"… … Isn't it obvious," her eyes tinged red, and both pupils and the corners of her whites were filled with rage. True rage. "I'm going to get back at him! I'm going to ruin the one who ruined me! And… mother's dream… This, I swear—!"
"And?" Lelouch continued. "To fulfil that vow, do you intend to return to what remains of your family home?"
The sound of a distant explosion seemed to bring realization back to the child as she was quick to retreat from him. Lelouch, though, didn't move. He just repeated the question.
"Will you choose to become my enemy, here and now?"
Considering her current state and affiliation, she had no other recourse. He of all people had no incentive to help her. Not when his beloved intended to destroy all that her family was, including the girl, intentions be damned. And setting their agenda aside, the child alone had no one else to turn to. If it was simple murder, a knife was all she needed. But finding her target, much less cutting his throat, was going to be a far higher hurdle.
She had nothing. And as she bit down on her lip, he knew she was well aware of her position.
"I… I don't…" But her resolve remained strong. "I don't wish to be your enemy. I don't care what happens to my grandfather. If you want, he's all yours. But if you dare get in the way of my revenge, you will… I will…—"
She didn't dare finish. Her legs shook as she hesitated. Her form, was small and retreating. Yet, now more than ever, she looked at him dangerously.
There was a fire in her ruby red eyes. A will to live.
Like a cornered rat baring its fangs should he come too close… It seems, despite looking like a child, she was far more than that. Then again, she'd been groomed to be the Einzbern's newest weapon after all.
But a weapon aimed not at him but at his enemies was the best kind. More so when they could be manipulated to align together in the same goal.
"I advise against revenge." Therefore, Zero knelt, earning the girl's surprise as he spoke kindly. "For it is a thorny path that leads to nowhere. You may get some self-satisfaction at the end of that road, but that is all you will gain apart from the endless cuts and bruises."
"Don't treat me like a mere brat! I wasn't born yesterday!" The child—nay, the princess of a magi clan slapped her tiny palm against her chest defiantly. "I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, heir to Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern's legacy, the greatest creation of the artificial intelligence named Jubstacheit!"
"Big words for a powerless child. If it wasn't for my mercy, you'd have died back in the field. You're weak and yet here you are, spouting nonsense you could never hope to achieve alone. Do you think I will let you leave and recover from the blow I purposely dealt your kin?" Harsh words buffeted her bravado, but he needed to test her mettle. So he added. "I ask you once more. Will you choose to become my enemy?"
"I will not!" Fists shaking and balled, she stamped her feet against the rough dirt. All the while, she didn't falter with her words. "I will accept whatever you want of me! Cast aside my family name, enslavement, give you what secrets my clan holds, hell, even torture! I'll accept it all! I've gone through enough that death would be a godsend! But… but I will give up everything… only if you allow me to fulfil my one wish!"
"And… what wish would that be?"
"To kill Emiya Kiritsugu!" Bloodshot eyes, absent of any and all pride and shame, tried to stare through his mask. "Bar that, if I can get the opportunity to stick it to him… to make him suffer as he made me suffer, that's all I want. That's all I need!"
It was far better than he could ever ask for. Knowing that the damned assassin hadn't died that night, Lelouch fully expected him to participate in the next war, if not someone standing in for him. A foe unknown or one he did know but couldn't outright face without risk, either way, he now had a counter-piece should the need come. Plus, he need not use his Geass to acquire her.
"Then, a contract, if you will." He offered her a hand, one fully committed to using her as she would use him. "In exchange for helping you get your revenge, I would request one thing in return, Lady Illyasviel, heir to the Einzbern clan."
She eyed him warily but didn't back down. "What is it you want?"
"The Grail. Not just the Lesser Grail, but the entire thing. I demand the whole concept and objective of the Grail War Ritual."
"Why?" she asked. She knew she didn't have a right to, but she dared ask anyway. Lelouch chalked it up to childish curiosity.
"Because, as you wish to destroy someone that wronged you, so too do I want to destroy what had wronged me."
Killing the Einzberns had been the first phase of dismantling the ritual. But if the system was separate and running on autopilot, then Lelouch needed to be prepared to do anything and everything. What better way to ensure its destruction than recruiting the help of its creators? Sure, she was but a child, but who said he would take anything at face value? What she knew—hell, what she was could be precisely the answer to his and Nobu's mission. From there, it was all a matter of tying up loose ends.
"How can I be certain… that you won't betray me?" the child asked, still guarded.
"What can you do to promise you wouldn't do the same?" Lelouch joked, chuckling as she pouted cutely. "Your worries are warranted. That being said, our goals are the same, if not close enough, that we're better off allied than not. What may come is uncertain, whether I will be the Master to win the next war, or it is you. Yet victory is not our truest goal, is it?"
Of that, she could agree. She, who laid out her truest wish beyond her family's desire for the Grail, did not want victory. No. She only wanted payback. And so too did he.
"If you still can't trust me, then simply trust I wouldn't jeopardize my own objectives by earning your ire. Besides, even if I would wish to pull a wool over your eyes and nab your prey from under you, there's no merit in wasting that much effort at all. No sense in stealing candy from a child if you will—"
"I am not a child! For a masked saviour, you're quite the rude jerk, aren't you?" the girl snapped back but composed herself with a huff, mumbling whilst he simply smiled under his mask. "You're not lying, aren't you? You're sure… you can… help me?"
"I could never claim to be a chivalric knight, little one. It was never my thing. But… I have been called a miracle maker in the past."
"Is that supposed to comfort me?" she retorted defensively, not taking him seriously. But… she dared hope. He could see it in her eyes. The desperation, that is.
"No. It's a promise." He stretched his hand further to her. "No matter how long, no matter the difficulty, I will carry out what I set out to do. And, in this case, that is to help the child of someone I owe a debt to. Be it revenge, be it recovery, be it to find a new life beyond the hell she desires to tread through, I have already decided to act. I have decided to lend you my aid. Though, conditional as it may be, I implore you to consider it. So, will you accept?"
A contract, as it were. He would have offered help in good faith, but the girl didn't need compassion in her time of desperation. Illyasviel didn't need pity, and neither would she truly want such. But… a deal with the devil…?
Though it came at a cost, she had much to gain from his offer. And, so much more to lose. But, needing power, was there really that much she could lose, to begin with? Without backing, without support, without someone she could trust not to stab her in the back as her father had, she no doubt would pay through the skin of her teeth to increase whatever chance of success she could have.
Lelouch could tell he'd once been as she. Powerless, weak, untrusting of the world except for that which he wished to protect. She was the same as he, and therefore, she would accept. She could only accept.
Hesitantly, but slowly, she offered her own hand…
CRASH
"GUH!"
"Eh?!"
It was then that a giant metal palm smashed between them, separating Lelouch from Illyasviel. A sword stabbing through the Gloucester's forearm, nearly skewering his mask, quickly had him on high alert.
"Huh—?!" Just then, Illya's voice told him all he needed. "Wait, who—! No! Let go of me!"
'Her rescue's arrived?!' The impossible thought that someone broke his encirclement was pushed aside, prioritizing the situation at hand. "P1! Retrieve the child!"
The robot tried to react, but red arcs of lightning quickly had it on the defensive. Designed to protect him first and foremost, it could do nought but pull a Guilford and sacrifice its measly body and curl up to block the fleeing saviour's attacks.
'To be able to disable my Pawns…' Lelouch's mind raced. "A Servant…"
Teeth grit, he consciously sent a mental order to one of the other Pawns in the distance.