The air in Lelouch's office was quiet but charged. He sat with perfect posture, gloved fingers resting against the console as streams of battle data scrolled before him. The Southeast Asia front was a scar on the Zeon campaign map, and Tanya's withdrawal had left the remaining Zeon forces bleeding and limping back toward Odessa.
Jason Arkadi stood nearby, polishing his hands on an oil-stained rag, having just finished adjustments to a Zaku II custom unit. "White Base is moving again," he said, glancing at the latest movement report. "Strike Gundam's appearance changed everything. Federation morale is peaking."
Lelouch hummed softly, violet eyes narrowing. "Which means we must adapt faster than they do."
The door slid open with a hiss. A breathless officer stood at attention.
"Colonel! The head of Newtype Research is requesting urgent audience."
"Send him in," Lelouch said, already curious.
The scientist burst into the room moments later, a wild grin across his soot-stained face. His lab coat was scorched, his hair disheveled, but his eyes gleamed like a man who had touched fire and lived.
"Colonel!" he shouted. "We did it!"
Jason blinked. "Did what? Another psychomu interface?"
The man slammed a data tablet onto Lelouch's desk. "Not psychomu — something more. Degwin-sama's directive was clear: create a weapon that could stand against any possible Newtype rebellion in the future. We have succeeded!"
Lelouch's eyebrow arched. "Succeeded how?"
"Through genetic reconstruction and cybernetic augmentation. We found a subject — a volunteer — with the perfect physical and neural profile. We reforged him. Faster than any man alive. Stronger than any ace pilot. His reflexes rival, perhaps even surpass, Newtypes."
Jason's frown deepened. "You're saying you built a living weapon."
The scientist nodded feverishly. "Exactly. The project's codename was GR-01, but Degwin-sama personally approved a name for the result: Grievous."
"Grievous," Lelouch repeated softly, testing the weight of the word.
Jason swallowed, uneasy. "So where is he?"
"In the lower levels of the Newtype Research Facility," the man said, almost reverently. "He has already… proven his capabilities. He killed three security drones unarmed before realizing we were allies."
Lelouch stood. "Take me to him."
Jason hesitated. "Colonel, this sounds dangerous—"
"That is precisely why I must see him with my own eyes," Lelouch said coldly.
Minutes later, Lelouch and Jason descended in a heavy lift, passing multiple security checkpoints. Guards stood at every level, rifles in hand, saluting as they passed.
Jason glanced sideways at Lelouch. "You think this Grievous can turn the war?"
"I think," Lelouch said, "that if he truly is what they claim, he may be either our sharpest sword or our deadliest liability."
The elevator doors opened to a vast, dimly lit chamber.
And there he was.
Grievous stood at the center, towering over the technicians that had gathered to observe him. He was unmistakably human — or had once been. His body was tall and wiry, every limb reinforced with armored plating and cybernetic musculature. Tubes and wires pulsed faintly beneath his skin, and his right eye gleamed with a metallic sheen.
He turned toward them slowly, his movements unnervingly precise.
"So," he said, voice deep but rasping, modulated by a faint speaker. "You are the one they call Colonel."
Jason stiffened. Despite the human face, there was something predatory about him — something feral.
Lelouch stepped forward without hesitation. "I am Lelouch. You are the result of Zeon's experiment?"
"I am its perfection," Grievous said, spreading his arms to show the metal lacing his flesh. "Once, I was a soldier. Flesh, bone, fear — all weakness. Now, I am war incarnate. I exist to kill our enemies."
Jason gritted his teeth. "And if Zeon falls?"
Grievous' eyes narrowed. "Then I will find new enemies. Weakness deserves only death."
Lelouch regarded him carefully. There was no mistaking the hunger for battle in this man, no mistaking the drive that radiated from him like heat.
"You will have your chance soon," Lelouch said at last. "But you will fight under my command. Your strength is not yours alone — it belongs to Zeon now."
Grievous tilted his head. Then, slowly, he smiled. "Then give me enemies to kill, Colonel. And I will show you the battlefield reborn."
Jason exhaled slowly. He couldn't shake the feeling that Zeon had just unleashed something far more dangerous than any Gundam.
Lelouch gestured to the hangar doors. "Bring him out."
The reinforced gates rumbled open, revealing a row of Mobile Suits in various states of readiness. The massive silhouettes of Zaku II units stood at attention, their mono-eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Beside them, the hulking form of a Dom loomed like an armored giant, and the slimmer frame of a Gouf crouched as if ready to strike.
Grievous followed, silent but observant, his mechanical eye whirring faintly as it focused on each machine. "So these are the war machines of this world," he muttered, voice low.
"Yes," Lelouch said, walking ahead of him. "They are the tools with which we will break the Federation."
Grievous stopped in front of a Gouf, tilting his head. "Crude. But functional."
Jason bristled. "Crude? These suits are the pinnacle of Zeon's engineering."
Grievous turned to face him slowly, that faint, unsettling smile curling his lips. "Compared to me, everything is crude."
Lelouch raised a hand, silencing Jason before he could snap back. "Pride is meaningless if it isn't backed by results. Grievous, if you are as capable as you claim, I will have you lead a unit in the next engagement. Consider this your proving ground."
Grievous bowed his head slightly, the gesture stiff, almost military. "Then bring me the battlefield, Colonel."
They left the hangar and returned to Lelouch's office, where the air was once again tense and quiet. Lelouch activated the secure channel, his face bathed in the glow of the communications screen.
Moments later, Degwin Zabi's visage appeared, his deep voice carrying the authority of Zeon itself. "Colonel Lelouch, I have been informed of the project's success."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Lelouch replied, bowing slightly. "The subject is fully operational. He calls himself Grievous."
Degwin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Appropriate. And his loyalty?"
"He seeks war," Lelouch said. "So long as we give him enemies, he will fight for Zeon."
"Good," Degwin rumbled. "Zeon needs soldiers who are more than men if we are to crush the Federation. Keep him under control, Colonel. I do not wish to see this weapon turned against us."
"Understood," Lelouch said firmly.
The screen blinked off, leaving the room dim once again.
Grievous stood by the window, gazing out at the night sky beyond Side 3's colony walls. His reflection stared back at him — a man remade, a patchwork of steel and flesh.
He thought of his past life, the flashes of war that haunted him — the endless duels, the cold sound of lightsabers clashing, the Jedi who had hounded him until the end. He had died a weapon there, and now, in this strange new world, they had made him a weapon again.
"Again," he muttered under his breath, mechanical fingers curling into a fist.
Jason glanced at him but said nothing.
Inside Grievous' mind, a storm brewed. They tell me I can do whatever I wish. That I am free. Yet here I stand, another tool, another experiment meant to kill their enemies.
He wondered if freedom even existed for him — if he was ever meant to be anything other than a destroyer.
And yet…
There was something new here. A different kind of war. A world of massive machines, of pilots who fought not with sabers of light but with sheer will and skill. He could feel a strange excitement deep inside him, warring with his anger.
Perhaps this time, he would not just be a weapon. Perhaps he would choose who deserved to live, and who deserved to die.
Behind him, Lelouch closed the communications console and turned to face him. "Your war begins soon, Grievous. I trust you will not disappoint me."
Grievous smiled faintly, though it did not reach his human eye. "Colonel… disappointment is for the weak."
Jason felt a chill run down his spine. He had worked with Zaku pilots, ace commanders, even experimental cyber-newtypes — but this man felt different. Too dangerous. Too unpredictable.
When Grievous left the room, the echo of his metal-shod boots lingered for a long time.
Lelouch sat back in his chair, fingers steepled. "Jason," he said quietly, "keep an eye on him. If he becomes a threat to Zeon, we will eliminate him before he eliminates us."
Jason nodded grimly. "Understood."
Outside, in the darkness of Side 3's artificial night, Grievous stared up at the colony sky and muttered to himself, "This world may have made me their weapon. But this time… I will decide how the war ends."