Recaps

While Xiao Ran prepared the Legion for war against the BETA, he used a Cross-Zone Mission Card to enter the world of Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, where he sought Lelouch as an ally. Xiao Ran freed C.C. and arranged for Lelouch to receive GEASS, then left him to face the Empire’s massacre as he began investigating how the power worked.

• Xiao Ran sent the Elysion to the BETA-ravaged MUV World, where Delta Squad’s first battle exposed the gap between them and Skull Squadron, while he expanded the Alliance’s influence on Earth and reorganized technical work.
• After Sheryl, Luo, and Durandal returned, Xiao Ran ordered research into Windermere’s condition and Song Weapons, then chose Saki as his companion for a Cross-Zone Mission.
• Xiao Ran and Saki entered a ruined city, identified Lelouch as a potential ally, and followed him into a truck carrying C.C.
• Xiao Ran revealed that he planned to use Lelouch’s identity to build a local faction and mislead rival Legions, and Lelouch agreed to cooperate in their shared goal of destroying the Empire.
• Xiao Ran identified Suzaku in the truck, freed C.C. from the device, and urged Lelouch to stop the Empire’s planned massacre of civilians in the Shinjuku ghetto.
• C.C. granted Lelouch GEASS, while Xiao Ran sensed the World of C and realized he might be able to influence the source of such powers.
• Lelouch tried to command Saki with GEASS, but she resisted, and Xiao Ran explained its limits and left Lelouch to carry the unconscious driver toward the Resistance.
• After Imperial soldiers cornered him amid the massacre, Lelouch used GEASS to make them shoot themselves, while Xiao Ran pressured C.C. to help him grant GEASS to others.

Xiao Ran built the Black Knights with Lelouch while using his GEASS and political maneuvering to secure Suzaku’s cooperation and become Euphemia’s Personal Knight. After Cornelia’s injury made Euphemia Governor of Area 11, Xiao Ran helped her claim authority and pressured the officials to choose whether to support her.

• Xiao Ran made a GEASS contract with C.C., received the Power of the King: Influence, and agreed to protect Lelouch and help Nanalie become Empress.
• Xiao Ran and Lelouch founded the Black Knights, and Xiao Ran examined Nanalie and discovered that GEASS had created a mental barrier behind her blindness and inability to stand.
• After Lelouch rescued Suzaku, Xiao Ran revealed Lelouch’s identity to Suzaku and used his GEASS to force Suzaku to submit to him.
• Xiao Ran met Euphemia while she was exploring Area 11, took her to the ruins district, and accepted her invitation to become her Personal Knight after stopping a Pure Blood Faction fight with Lancelot.
• Xiao Ran won Jeremiah’s support for Euphemia and showed Lloyd designs for advanced mecha, persuading him to lead development of a new unit.
• After Cornelia was injured and Euphemia became Governor, Xiao Ran backed her against Guildford’s challenge and helped her take command of Area 11’s Guard Force.
• Xiao Ran met with Area 11’s department heads in Euphemia’s place, urged them to support her, and offered loyal officials a share in the territory’s prosperity.

Xiao Ran consolidated Euphemia’s government, guided Lelouch in building the Black Knights, and used the hostage crisis to bring the group into public view. He secured a path toward becoming a Knight of the Round, gathered allies and researchers, and removed the GEASS afflicting Nanalie as he prepared to expand his control of Area 11.

• Xiao Ran reorganized Euphemia’s Guard Force, introduced Nanalie, Saki, and C.C. at the Governor’s Mansion, and helped Euphemia establish herself as Governor of Area 11.
• Xiao Ran advised Lelouch to build the Black Knights into a force for justice, revealed that GEASS could be given to trusted members, and made Suzaku his disciple to help develop the Lancelot.
• Xiao Ran helped Lloyd secure imperial support for new mecha projects while watching for the influence of unknown forces, and he agreed to Bismark’s recommendation for the Knights of the Round under conditions that preserved his freedom to serve Euphemia.
• When the Japanese Liberation Front took hostages, Xiao Ran and Euphemia went to the venue, where Lelouch revealed himself as ZERO and explained that the Black Knights had moved the hostages to safety.
• Lelouch announced the Black Knights and their mission, while Xiao Ran remained behind as an exchange hostage, and a black fighter destroyed Britannian air squads as the group escaped with the hostages.
• Xiao Ran brought Lloyd, Cecil, and Suzaku into his plans, arranged GEASS and enhancement for trusted allies, and told them the Black Knights were supporting a prince’s struggle for power.
• Xiao Ran removed the GEASS impairing Nanalie, ordered Saki to guard her secret, and used GEASS and telekinesis to bring the Special Envoy Research Institute’s technicians under his control.

Xiao Ran became a Knight of the Round while uncovering the participant legions’ plans and consolidating control over Area 11. He secured the Crimson Knights’ pledge to Lelouch and left planning to divert Sakura Stone as he prepared to challenge the rival legions and take control of Britannia.

• Xiao Ran defeated Gino and Anya in their assessment, then identified infiltrators targeting Euphemia, the Special Dispatch, and Area 11’s Sakura Stone.
• Xiao Ran and Lelouch used GEASS to question captured participants and learned that ten legions were competing for Sakura Stone, territory, and mission rewards.
• Charles formally appointed Xiao Ran a Knight of the Round and ordered him to fight the Crimson Knights’ commander, whom Xiao Ran defeated with Lancelot’s burst mode.
• Xiao Ran met Lelouch and proposed turning the Crimson Knights against Charles, expanding the Black Knights, and using the rivalry between legions to seize the throne.
• Xiao Ran and Lelouch confronted Knight Koji and negotiated the Crimson Knights’ support, offering Sakura Stone and protection in exchange for allegiance to Lelouch.
• Lelouch used GEASS to bind Koji and the bandaged leader to their cause, and ordered the Crimson Knights to expand their influence and provide Xiao Ran with a powerful machine.
• Xiao Ran warned Koji about Charles’s GEASS and Bismark’s precognition, then told Lelouch they could secure the Crimson Knights’ loyalty through GEASS and access to Sakura Stone.
• Xiao Ran proposed secretly diverting Sakura Stone from Area 11 and controlling the Knight overseeing the mines, while keeping the plan from Euphemia for now.