Lelouch, desperate, commands the Black Knights to search for Viceroy Nunnally. Todoh protests this order, but Zero screams at him to search for Nunnally, causing him to believe something is amiss. Diethard then orders the Black Knights to fall back, to Lelouch's distress. Jeremiah and Rolo capture the Shinkiro and escort Lelouch back to the Ikaruga. Once back in his quarters, Lelouch snaps at Rolo, revealing his hatred for his false "brother" and the fact that he had been trying to kill him for a long time, causing Rolo to run away in distress.
With the battle now ended, the true horror of the FLEIJA becomes apparent. As Suzaku stands in the crater created by the demonic weapon and takes in the fact that he had massacred millions, Nina falls into despair over how she, too, was responsible for millions of deaths.
Aboard the Ikaruga, Cornelia makes for an escape. She is cornered by Diethard and the Black Knights when a diplomatic envoy lands on the airship, carrying with it Prince Schneizel, who has incriminating information about Zero. He gathers Diethard, Todoh, Chiba, and Tamaki to reveal the fact that Zero is actually his younger brother, Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, and that he possessed a power called "Geass", that made others subservient to his will. Diethard tries to vouch for Zero, explaining that his actions were more important than his identity and that Geass was actually a boon to the Black Knights. That's when Schneizel, along with Ohgi and Villetta, reveal a list of all the people whom Lelouch used his Geass upon, including the leaders of the Japan Liberation Front, shocking Todoh, whose information from Asahina before he died in Tokyo also implicated Zero in massacres against the Geass Order.
With Zero's secrets now in the open, Schneizel requests that Lelouch be surrendered into his custody. Ohgi agrees on the condition that Japan be liberated.
Kallen finds Lelouch alone in his room and informs him his presence is requested in the hangar. Lelouch comes out of his despair to accompany Kallen, only to be held at gunpoint by the Black Knights, who now know his identity! Kallen sticks up for him, but Lelouch realizes he is finished: Schneizel has him in checkmate! He takes off his mask, revealing his identity, and proclaims to have started a world war for his own amusement.
Kallen, crestfallen, walks away from him. Before Todoh orders him executed, Lelouch tells her: "You have to live."
Just as the Black Knights open fire, the Shinkiro appears, with Rolo at the controls! In spite of Lelouch's protests and pleas to leave him to die, Rolo takes Lelouch into the Shinkiro, using his Geass repeatedly and over large areas to make his getaway, taxing his heart to the breaking point. He had come to realize that the time he spent with Lelouch as his brother, though they were not related, was real and helped him gain his humanity, and he decided to save his brother as his definitive act as a human being.
They manage to escape, but Rolo uses his Geass so much that his heart finally begins to fail. He claims Lelouch was lying when he said he hated him and wanted him dead. Lelouch, touched by Rolo's act, confirms that he was, indeed, lying, giving Rolo comfort and reason to smile as his life ebbed away.
A small grave by a cliff, unmarked except for the locket that Lelouch gave him, marks Rolo's final resting place.
During the battle for Tokyo, Lelouch learned that the Emperor was en route to Japan. Shirley, Nunnally, and Rolo are dead. He has no more reason to fight, no more reason to live, but if he is destined for Hell, he would take the Emperor with him!
