On January 12th, Code Geass episode fourteen aired.
The title of this episode was "Geass vs. Geass."
Seeing this title, a lot of viewers were confused, because up until this point, if you did not count C.C. who had given the protagonist his power, only Lelouch himself possessed Geass.
And if it was Geass against Geass, that meant someone other than the protagonist had also obtained the power.
Curiosity swept through the audience, though some also felt a glimmer of hope.
Based on how episode thirteen ended, Lelouch might use his Geass to make Shirley forget everything, which would be heartbreaking.
But if Lelouch was not the only one with Geass, then the situation could play out differently.
Maybe it was one of the protagonist's enemies who would use Geass to erase Shirley's memories instead. If that was how things went, then it would not feel painful at all. If anything, it would build anticipation.
Quite a few people were thinking along those lines, but unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
After the title card, the story picked up where episode thirteen left off.
Lelouch had regained consciousness and had C.C. issue a retreat order on his behalf. But Shirley was gone, and judging from the scene, there had been someone else besides Shirley at the location.
Two people. One had fired a gun, and the other had been hit.
The scene cut away. Shirley was already back at her dormitory, crying as she scribbled something on a piece of paper.
She was unharmed, which meant the one who had been shot could only be the other person.
Lelouch had no way of knowing what had happened, but he recalled catching a glimpse of Shirley earlier and began to suspect that she was involved.
To confirm his suspicions, Lelouch and C.C. snuck into Shirley's dormitory and searched through her belongings, where they found her treasured collection of Lelouch's photos.
Then, using the information in Shirley's notebook, Lelouch deduced that she had likely gone to Narita.
At the memorial in Narita, Shirley was indeed there.
She murmured to herself, "Lulu, why did you have to do something like this?"
At that moment, a strange man wearing headphones appeared, and this man somehow knew everything.
Through his account, the truth of that night was revealed.
It was Shirley who had fired the gun.
The one she hit was a woman from the Empire's side, the same person who had suspected Lelouch might be connected to the Black Knights and who had told Shirley about it.
The headphone man berated Shirley relentlessly, until she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Then came a sudden close-up. In the headphone man's left eye was the unmistakable symbol of Geass.
This man, just like Lelouch, also possessed the power.
In the second half of the episode, Lelouch and C.C. arrived at Narita. When they did not see Shirley, they split up to search.
While searching, a call came in from Shirley's phone. But when the line connected, it was not Shirley's voice on the other end.
Lelouch turned around and saw the headphone man holding Shirley's phone.
"Where is Shirley?" Lelouch demanded angrily.
The headphone man replied that if he wanted to know, he would have to beat him in a game of chess.
Inside a train, Lelouch played chess against the headphone man. Despite chess being one of his greatest strengths, Lelouch lost to this man who claimed it was his "first time playing." He was stunned.
When the train reached the station, Lelouch finally saw Shirley. But Shirley was pointing a gun at him, and she said, "Lulu, just die. Atone for what you've done. I'll die with you."
"What?" Lelouch was shocked.
He then learned that Shirley had shot and killed someone to protect his secret. But he suspected this was all the headphone man's manipulation, and that the person Shirley shot might not actually be dead.
He tried to talk Shirley down, but she fired a shot in his direction.
The bullet grazed past Lelouch's head without hitting him, but the force knocked him backward, and the photos of Shirley's treasured collection that Lelouch had brought along spilled out.
When she saw the photos, Shirley's thoughts dissolved into chaos.
The headphone man had not anticipated this turn of events at all. Realizing he could no longer manipulate Shirley into killing Lelouch, he decided to do it himself.
At the critical moment, Shirley turned and fired a shot at the headphone man instead.
The headphone man used his words to calm Shirley while stepping back into the train. Then he pulled out another gun, preparing to take out both Lelouch and Shirley.
But just then, on the other side of the train, C.C. arrived in time and foiled the headphone man's plan.
As the train carried the headphone man away, C.C. murmured to herself, "I never expected you to show yourself among people."
The scene then returned to Lelouch and Shirley.
"Shirley, it's over. It's okay now..."
"Lulu, I shot at someone, so..."
"It's all my fault. You didn't do anything wrong, Shirley."
Lelouch pulled Shirley into his arms and held her tight.
Shirley was in tears, drowning in guilt.
"But... I shot at you, Lulu."
"I forgive you. I'll carry all of your sins."
"I just wanted you to be gentle with me."
"What's wrong with that?"
"But Dad is dead."
"Then forget. Just forget everything that hurts."
"I can't do that."
"You can. I'll make you forget all of it. Shirley, I'm truly sorry about your father. If there's a next life, I'll..."
As he spoke, Lelouch activated his Geass on Shirley.
At the same time, the song "Masquerade" began to play.
"Lulu, no!" Shirley resisted, crying out.
Two photos flashed briefly across the screen. One showed Lelouch sleeping on the grass, and the other was a photo of Shirley with Lelouch's figure in the background.
Darkness fell.
Before the memorial, Shirley, her memories now erased, turned around. She took a few steps, then stopped.
"Excuse me... did you lose a family member too?" she asked the person standing across from her.
That person was Lelouch.
"No, not family. A friend... yes, or perhaps... someone precious..." Lelouch answered.
"I see," Shirley said, not quite understanding.
"There are things people only realize after they've lost them. That her smile had saved me so many times. I can never bicker with her the way we used to, or laugh together the way we once did."
"You really liked... that person, didn't you?"
"Now, I'll never be able to find out."
"Dawn will come. I don't remember why I came here. Maybe I just wanted to put something to rest. There are certainly a lot of things I can't forget, and memories full of sadness. But dawn will come eventually, so you don't have to force yourself to hold it all in."
"You're right. I think so too... Thank you. For everything."
As Lelouch said this, with Shirley looking on in confusion, he turned and walked away.
The ED rolled in, and episode fourteen came to an end.
In front of their televisions, many viewers had already braced themselves for the emotional blow, but they still ended up in tears.
And for Code Geass, this was only the beginning.
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