A casual morbid joke from Lelouch to Euphemia nearly leads to disaster when he says he can order her to kill the Japanese people, right when his Geass activates out of his control and she is forced to do obey. In one timeline, she kills the assembled Japanese audience and Lelouch is forced to killed her, then slander her name to continue his revolution.
But in another timeline, he is able to stop all of that thanks to some quick thinking and getting to think her order is impossible
The Japanese Are Already Dead
is a Code Geass fanfiction where Lelouch successfully prevents his half-sister's massacre and subsequent death at his hand thanks to quick thinking. It was completed on Dec 27, 2014.
This fanfic contains examples of the following:
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Silence (along with its substitutes Quiet and Lull) is presented as a being that can get tired if used too long or spread out too far. In chapter 3, he even appears in an interview along with his counterpart Jargon.
- Blackmail: In chapter 2, Lelouch refuses to sign a deal allowing free pizza for his administration (read, free pizza for C.C.). C.C. tells him that he doesn't she'll tell Suzaku about what happened during the S.A.Z. opening, specifically with Euphie becoming Geassed.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: To guarantee a peaceful future after killing his father, Lelouch geassed all of his half-siblings save for Cornelia and Euphie to abdicate the throne to him.
- Exact Words: How Lelouch was able to stop Euphie from killing the Japanese people. He first stops her by saying the Japanese are already dead because everyone on the archipelago became Elevens when Britannia conquered them, then cements it by requesting that everyone joining the Special Area Zone refer to themselves as Japanians as a symbol of rebirth with the Japanese having died with the old government. Because no one calls themselves Japanese in the vicinity, the Command in Euphie is put on hold, turning her back into her cheerful, kindhearted self.
- Heroic Willpower: As in canon, Euphie struggles to fight off Lelouch's accidental Geass initially before succumbing. However, her kindhearted nature means she is willing to latch onto Lelouch's wordplay and avoid killing the Japanese.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Marrying or even courting his half-sisters might as well be a violation of law in the eyes of Emperor Lelouch. When he finds that Guilford has Cornelia's handkerchief in his possession, he tries to have the Knight of Honor dishonorably discharged. And when Suzaku tells him that he plans to propose to Euphie after years of dating, Lelouch tries to pin him to the wall and ask Cornelia to get Euphie out of the country before Suzaku knocks him out.
- That Man Is Dead: A nationality example, where Lelouch convinces the people of Japan to change their identity from Japanese to Japanians to be a rebirth from the fallen country that surrendered to Britannia. One of the audience, an old man whose eldest son's death for his country was made meaningless when the old Japanese government surrendered, agrees to bring forth a new country, which spreads to the rest of the newly renamed Japanians.
- Time Skip: There is an eight-year time skip between chapter 1 (when the S.A.Z. event occurred) and chapter 2, which follows Lelouch's rule as emperor.
- Threat Backfire: Adamant against Euphie marrying Suzaku, Lelouch tells him that can keep his sisters safe by any means necessary, taking off the eyepatch from his permanently activated Geass to demonstrate what he's capable of. Just then, Euphie arrives to check on the boys, and she doesn't react to an accidental Geass command from Lelouch. This causes Suzaku to realize that Euphie was already Geassed, and from there suspects that the "United State of Japan" declaration was involved. Luckily (well, relatively lucky) for Lelouch, all Suzaku requests is his friend's blessing to propose to Euphie like he originally asked.
