The Dominion Zwei cut through the upper atmosphere above Europe, the ship trembling as flames crawled along its hull. Inside the bridge, Lelouch stood before a holographic map of Earth. Every red marker was a Federation command node. Every blue one was a political office. Almost all were marked with warning tags.
Ninety-seven percent corruption.
Only three percent were clean.
Lelouch let out a slow breath.
"So this is the leadership entrusted with humanity's future… disgraceful."
His hand hovered over the command console. One instruction—one word—would erase the top of the Federation power structure in minutes. He had enough firepower to purge the planet's political parasitism in a single coordinated strike.
But would that build a better world?
Or only his world?
Just as he began to speak, an urgent alert flashed.
"Encrypted transmission incoming—Lieutenant Daryl Lorenz."
The screen flickered. Daryl appeared, cockpit shaking, alarms screaming in the background.
"Commander! We've engaged Federation units headed for Earth's defense line! Not the main fleet—some reinforcement wing. And… I know the pilot. It's one of them."
Lelouch straightened.
"How many?"
"A small squad, but skilled. If they reach the upper anti-ship network, they'll compromise our approach."
So someone was reacting to his move faster than he expected. A probe? A counter-trap? Either way, chasing them was too risky.
"Hold position," Lelouch ordered. "Defensive posture only."
Daryl frowned. "We can push them—"
"No. They want us to overextend. We will not give them data."
Before Daryl could respond, Lelouch cut the line.
He turned to the comm operator.
"Deploy Aki."
He choose him to see char recommendation firsthand, hopefully his eye is great like his piloting skill.
Moments later, Tomoya Aki appeared on the bridge screen, already in his pilot suit, face little young and look nervous—while he stay to look steady at least he try look composed.
"Orders," Tomoya said little tense.
"Reinforce Daryl," Lelouch replied. "Engage only to repel. Do not pursue. Do not eliminate unless necessary."
Tomoya's nervous but he still ask.
"A trap?"
"Someone is testing my reactions. So I will give them nothing clear."
Tomoya nodded once. "Understood."
The screen faded as he launched, his Gelgoog squad pouring out of the hangar like a spear cutting into the night sky.
The bridge fell silent. The Earth below flickered with scattered fires and broken power grids. Lelouch looked down at it with the calm of someone evaluating a chessboard missing half its pieces.
"So," he murmured, "someone still has the courage to interfere."
He canceled the purge command.
Not mercy—calculation.
There were more moves to see before he chose whether the Federation leadership lived another hour.
Lelouch's Flagship, Europe Upper Atmosphere
Char Aznable enters the tactical room without waiting for permission. His steps are sharp, urgent.
"Lelouch… what exactly are we waiting for? Luna II is destroyed. Earth's defenses are smashed. If your goal is to eliminate every Federation official on this planet, then why are we still holding position?"
Lelouch doesn't answer immediately. He's staring at the tactical table—still, calm, unreadable.
Suddenly, the encrypted communication line flashes.
A message from Lelouch's embedded spies inside Zeon.
He reads it.
His eyes narrow. His lips curl upward into a quiet, knowing smile.
Encrypted Zeon Report:
A Baoa Qu has fallen.
Kycillia captured.
Degwin captured.
Gihren Zabi is dead.
Federation forces have regained full communications.
Earth Federation command already knows Earth is under attack.
Char exhales, stunned.
"…So the battle ended far sooner than expected. And the entire Zabi leadership is gone."
He looks at Lelouch.
"And you smile. Why?"
Lelouch turns toward him, voice soft but absolute.
"Because this is the moment we were waiting for. With Zeon's command erased and the Federation command thrown into chaos… there is no stabilizing force left."
He taps the table.
Icons representing underground bunkers, government shelters, and emergency command posts light up across Earth.
"Order all squads:
—Eliminate every remaining Federation official.
—Flatten every Earth military base.
—Erase the old world."
Char stiffens.
"Isn't this reckless? We have only a handful of elite squads. You already sent Tomoya Aki and Daryl Lorenz to fight the Federation's relief lines. And Earth will call reinforcements from the A Baoa Qu force anytime now."
Lelouch raises one finger.
Silent.
Focused.
His eyes never leave the map.
Lelouch "Char… believe me."
Char pauses. For a moment, he sees the same glint in Lelouch's eyes that he once saw in Casval's when he decided to burn everything that chained him.
A smile of ruthless clarity.
Char:
"…You already calculated this, didn't you?"
Lelouch turns away from the table, cloak shifting.
Lelouch "The Federation fleets can't return immediately. They must reorganize. Their command structure is shattered. Their morale is broken. Their leaders are dead."
He looks out the viewport.
"And Zeon cannot retaliate. They have none left who can lead."
A soft breath.
A whisper of cold certainty.
Lelouch:
"This world belongs to anyone bold enough to take it."
Char shivers—not from fear, but from the realization:
Lelouch already predicted all of this
Shinomiya Corporation, Japan
The war alarms had barely stopped echoing through the underground complex when Kaguya Shinomiya walked into the development lab. The entire Earth Federation chain of command had collapsed; Luna II was in ruins; General Revil—dead. And above them, Lelouch's forces ruled the sky uncontested.
Kaguya wasn't panicking.
She was angry.
And she wanted answers.
Inside the lab, she found Iori Sei and Hiroto Kuga hunched over a projection table filled with schematics, test readings, and newly recovered battle telemetry.
Kaguya folded her arms.
Kaguya:
"Why is my fiancé launching attacks from Earth's upper atmosphere? Why did his fleet crush Luna II? And why did he destroy the Federation's primary defense networks without warning? I want a clear answer."
Sei perked up immediately—classic nerd mode activated.
Iori Sei:
"Ah—Shinomiya-san! Well, uh—if we look at the tactical signatures and compare them to the design throughput of the new FLAG models, you'll see that the enemy's maneuver ratio suggests a—"
Kaguya stared at him.
Expression blank.
She understood none of that.
She cut him off with a polite, razor-edged smile.
Kaguya:
"…Speak human language, Iori."
Hiroto stepped in before Sei could start another paragraph of technobabble.
Hiroto Kuga:
"What he's trying to say is: we've completed development on the FLAG series. Performance-wise, it's enough to rival the Federation's GMs. That's why Lelouch requested the prototypes before the fighting escalated."
Kaguya nodded. That, at least, made sense.
But Hiroto wasn't done.
He brought up another file—a sleek violet-white mobile suit rotating on screen.
Hiroto:
"And this is the new high-performance unit: Gaia Gundam. We assigned it to Masaki Shido for test combat."
Kaguya raised an eyebrow.
She'd read Shido's file before—combat aptitude off the charts, discipline frightening, a pilot with instincts bordering on precognitive.
Kaguya:
"Masaki Shido is handling it? No wonder the data looks this clean."
Hiroto nodded, then smirked a little.
Hiroto:
"He's not the only good pilot here."
Kaguya glanced at him. She knew Hiroto Kuga was excellent—one of the best to ever sit in a cockpit on Earth.
She looked back toward Iori Sei, who was still proudly pointing at technical diagrams like they were priceless art.
Iori wasn't the strongest pilot. He knew that.
But his passion for mobile suits… that was unmatched.
Even Kaguya had to respect that.
Kaguya:
"…So the new units are stable. The pilots are ready. And all this time, Lelouch was preparing for something Earth never saw coming."
Her expression hardened.
Kaguya:
"Then it's time I understand what he's really planning."
The lab suddenly fell silent.
Even Sei stopped talking.
Kaguya's mind snapped back to reality.
She had just realized something.
Kaguya (internally):
Wait. I still never got an answer on why Lelouch is even here. And why everyone keeps saying "Flag" like it's normal.
Her eyebrow twitched.
Anger returning like a cold flame.
Before she could unleash it on Sei and Hiroto again, her secretary rushed into the lab, tablet in hand, face pale.
Secretary:
"Shinomiya-sama! We just received a direct transmission from the remnants of Earth Headquarters. They're requesting—no, begging—for Shinomiya Corporation to begin mass production of mobile suits immediately."
Kaguya's expression soured.
Kaguya:
"Tsk. So now they remember we exist."
The secretary continued, nervous.
Secretary:
"Yashima Heavy Industries and Anaheim Electronics have already agreed to comply. They're preparing to mobilize all factories."
Kaguya clicked her tongue sharply.
Kaguya:
"Of course they are. Cockroaches survive anything."
She turned, facing Sei and his FLAG prototypes lined up like excited puppies.
Kaguya:
"They want MS? Fine. Give them the FLAG series."
Sei blinked in confusion.
Iori Sei:
"B–Boss, you sure? The data isn't complete—"
Kaguya:
"That's why it's perfect. They get what they asked for.
And we get real combat data for free."
Her secretary hesitated.
Secretary:
"This is dangerous. If something goes wrong, they'll blame Shinomiya Corporation—"
Kaguya:
"They want mobile suits. We'll give them mobile suits. Their desperation is not my liability."
She turned fully to Sei.
Kaguya:
"Prepare every ready FLAG. Full production mode. Now."
Sei sighed, defeated.
Iori Sei:
"…Yes, ma'am."
Hiroto stepped forward, far more relaxed.
Hiroto Kuga:
"I'll go to the frontlines to record the FLAG's field performance. Someone needs to do the evaluations properly."
Kaguya nodded with sharp approval.
Kaguya:
"Good. Do that. And make sure the data is clean."
Then, unexpectedly, she laughed—a sharp, elegant laugh that made everyone in the room stiffen.
Kaguya:
"Heh… I'll make that infuriating fiancé of mine struggle on Earth. Let's see how he handles the chaos he started."
Sei silently prayed for all innocent people's safety for his boss crazy mind.
Hiroto shrugged—he couldn't care less.
The secretary sighed, and back to her job.
And Kaguya Shinomiya looked out the window, eyes gleaming with calculation.
Kaguya:
"Let the world burn a little. It's about time Earth learned who actually keeps it running."