Zero of Britannia
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Code Geass
Summary: Zero is a symbol. But a symbol can be for anything. In one universe, he is the symbol of freedom, the miracle man that stood again Britannia. In another, he is Brittania. Under different circumstances, Lelouch has grown to become one of the greatest warriors in the empire. Now the world faces the wrath of the Zero of Brittania, Lord of the Black Knights.
Regular speak
Regular Thoughts
Demonic or Animalistic speak
Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts
Non-Demonic Higher Beings will change depending on mood
"All men are not created equal. Those are the words of my father, His Majesty Charles zi Britannia, the ninety-eighth emperor. For a long time, I misunderstood his teachings, like most of my countrymen. It was only after I truly understood them that I embraced them. But my path to understanding started like most do; with tragedy."- Lelouch vi Britannia.
A ten year old Lelouch yawned as he awoke, feeling the Vi Britannia family's private plane bump lightly in flight from turbulence. His mother was coming to inspect a new Knightmare design that had been in development. For some reason, it had to be made in Area 5, the Britannian territory at the southern tip of the African continent. It was, in fact, the largest single area of African land the empire still owned currently.
"Sleep well, Lelouch?" Marianne asked with a motherly smile at her eldest child. She was dressed in her old Knight of the Rounds uniform. All former members kept their uniforms, a keepsake from their glory days. She wore it for practicality, if nothing else. Besides, there was no crime in wearing it. Trying to fool officials that you were the real deal, now that was a serious offense.
"No, actually. I had a nightmare about what Nunnally might do to my room while I'm away," Lelouch answered with a small smirk. Marianne had to admit, Lelouch took after his father. Only that man's genes could allow such an adorable child to seem intimidating by an action as simple as a smirk.
Marianne giggled to herself at the act, "Oh, I'm sure Jeremiah won't let her mess up your room...too much," She assured lightly, not doing anything to comfort him.
"Mom, she got Cornelia to let her and Euphemia paint one of her cloaks pink with baby blue stars on it," Lelouch pointed out dryly, both mother and son biting back a laugh at the memory.
"Well, at least she didn't insist on Nelly wearing it. I don't think the poor girl would ever live down wearing something like that," Marianne pointed out.
"Times like this I'm glad that those two argue over who is going to marry me. Otherwise, they'd be pranking me too," Lelouch commented with a smile.
"So, how are your tutoring lessons going?" Marianne asked curiously, knowing they had a while before they landed.
Lelouch actually looked away at that, almost seeming sheepish, to her surprise. He was a genius of a child, so she found the idea of him struggling a bit odd, "I'm...a bit behind in History," He admitted.
"Hmm, aren't you supposed to be up to around modern history of the empire?" she asked, wondering what the problem was.
"I got side tracked when I got to the Failed Washington Rebellion," Lelouch explained with a shrug.
"Oh...Oh!" Marianne said, finally understanding what happened, "You were figuring out everything we and Washington did wrong in some of the battles, am I right?" She guessed, smiling at his small grin. That explained it then. Lelouch stayed a bit too long in the Colonial War- another nickname for the failed rebellion- because his love of strategy demanded he learn from all past mistakes, "Well, you aren't too far behind, I suppose," She mused thoughtfully.
"I'm caught up until about the time the Britannian Exodus happened," Lelouch elaborated, a few of the guards in ear shot stiffening, some even growling at the mention of the most hated incident in Britannian history, the very reason the European Union was so despised by the empire, the very event the EU calendar counted up from. It was over two hundred now, but that event still burned in the minds of all loyal and patriotic Britannians.
Marianne, however, seemed unphased by the mention of the event and merely looked thoughtful. She knew that Lelouch knew OF the event; few in this day and era over the age of six didn't. But he did not the specifics and Lelouch lived for details, "Well, we have some time," She said as she prepared to tell a tale, "It started with Napoleon leading a war against the monarchies..."
Half an hour later
"...And as a great wind pushed the sails to the west, Empress Elizabeth Tu Britannia proclaimed that the imperial family would never set foot upon the true soils of Britain until it belonged to the empire once more." Marianne finished as Lelouch listened intently, "The rest you can read up on your own. I'm sure you'd love to read and research the Era of a Hundred Wars where we lost and gained territories like Guinevere does money," Marianne joked as her son grinned in response. Lelouch may not be a war junky like his half-sister Carine, but he did love chess and strategy, "So how much of that did you really not know and how much was just you wanting to get a story out of me?" She asked knowingly. Lelouch just grinned a bit wider at that. Nothing got past his mother.
"Milady, we'll be landing in ten minutes," The captain informed over the intercom.
"So, what's so special about this new Knightmare, mother?" Lelouch asked curiously. After all, Knightmares were new to the world and while his mother was the most famous pilot of them in the empire, she didn't go out to test them on a whim. Let alone traveling to a whole other continent.
"There is actually nothing special about the Knightmare itself. If I remember correctly, it's only a bit better than my Ganymede. However, the Ashfords have been trying to find a way to solve a variety of problems with the Knightmares," She explained as they fastened in, "In this case, they are attempting to use a coat of platinum to keep the Yggdrasil Drive from overheating the rest of the Knightmare," She elaborated, Lelouch raising an eyebrow at that.
"Over heating? I never knew that was a problem," He commented, having known a decent bit about the machines from his mother. While he couldn't make one, he was sure he would have heard that kind of issue from his mother at some point.
"It wasn't, before. But we're trying to expand the time limit they can run, among other things," She answered simply. "But, in order to properly test it, they need to put it under great strain of use. In other words, they need a skilled pilot to use it to its max potential without accidentally breaking it and see how it goes."
'...In other words, the empire is going to get a new weapon and is ironing out all the technical issues,' Lelouch thought idly, his overly intelligent and mature brain taking over with that info. He was no fool. Something like the Knightmares would undoubtedly end up on the fields of war. And Britannia had to get theirs ready for war while no one else had them. And if he was right, and he often was, the aftermath would be devastating. A metal giant, and who knows what kind of weapons? The stuff of legends turned into reality. "So...why am I coming exactly?" He asked curiously.
"I lost a bet with Ruben," She answered bluntly, smiling all the while, making Lelouch blink in surprise. He would have said something, but he realized the plane was slowing down, now on pavement. He waited until it came to a full stop and unbuckled himself from his seat.
"Welcome to Area Five, Milady," The captain called over the radio.
"...Mother, I like Milly, kind of, but I'd rather not have to marry her," Lelouch said slowly, a bit nervous as they rose to disembark from the flying vessel.
Marianne laughed at the comment from the young prince, "Ohh, nothing like that Lelouch. Besides, I'd rather not have to worry about Nunnally and Euphemia crying themselves to death over the fact that neither could marry you first. Though, you could just have a double or triple wedding," Marianne joked, Lelouch blushing at it, "Still, the bet was something less dramatic. If I lost, I had to bring you here to see- see, not marry, not date-Milly. If I won, well, he'd install a Knightmare simulator at Aries Villa for free, once they finished working out the bugs in those things," She explained as the hatch of the plane was opened, allowing them to go out onto the steps.
"Greetings, Your Majesties!" Two rows of saluting soldiers were the first thing to greet them at the otherwise empty runway. Lelouch blinked once to adjust to the sunlight as he took in this part of Area Five's geology. The base and runway was obvious leveled and paved over, but he could see bushes, trees, and grass beyond it. Almost none of it was green though. Mostly, all the plants were colored like autumn, with browns, orange, and yellow. The given area was mostly flat but had hills not too far off, and probably mountains in the distance.
Still, keeping his face calm and level, almost seeming bored, he walked down the steps with his mother and passed the lines of guards. If Marianne wasn't so well known, people might assume she was the young prince's knight rather than his mother by their outfits. That would be embarrassing for the misunderstanding party, they imagined.
At the end of the lines of soldiers, there were two men, and a woman. An aging man by the name of Ruben Ashford, their closest political ally and the developer of the first true Knightmares. The woman, Lelouch needed no introduction to her either. That was Cornelia Li Britannia, second princess and the captain of his mother's guard. Oh, and one of his favorite half-sisters.
The other man was significantly younger than the first man, but still older then Cornelia. Lelouch was surprised at the second man, really, once he realized who it was, "Lady Marianne, I hope you had a good trip," He greeted warmly, holding out his hand to shake it.
"It was fine, Odysseus," Marianne assured the first prince with a smile…the Mediocre Prince, as he was called. Lelouch knew this brother of his well. Not because of what he did, but his lack of doing anything. Odysseus Eu Britannia was, probably, the most 'normal' of all the imperial family. If you threw any of the other heirs into the common folk, their attitudes and personalities would stick out like a sore thumb. Odysseus, however, would probably blend in quite well. While first in line for the throne, it was obvious he had no desire for it. All the man wanted to do was make some investments and lead a peaceful life. In a den of wolves, it was an admirable goal in its simplicity, "Lelouch, it's been a long while," Odysseus greeted his younger sibling. And on top of being unambitious, he was one of the kindest people in the family, never speaking or seeking ill of any of his relatives.
"You're the Viceroy of Area Five?" Lelouch asked in surprise. Okay, he knew that wasn't right. He looked it up the day his mother told him they were coming here. The Viceroy was supposed to be a minor lord named Rilten Ayrshire whose ancestor held off attacks from Arabian nations intent on taking the land.
Odysseus laughed good naturedly at the question, "Not exactly, no. I made a few investments in this Area and came to inspect some of them. The former Viceroy and Sub-Viceroy were arrested on some charge or another while I was here, so I was asked to help hold down the fort while they find a new pair to handle things here," He explained simply, "And, since I was here, I thought I might personally see the legendary Flash testing out a new knightmare. I here it's quite a sight from Lord Ashford here," He explained as the old man grinned a bit at that, Cornelia rolling her eyes at the pair.
"My, aren't you the prince charming," Marianne said jokingly to her son-in-law. The emotional relationship between a royal heir and a consort that wasn't his or her mother was usually non-existent if there wasn't some form of hate between them. However, the 'legal' relationship was commonly labeled as 'step-parent and step- child', at least by the public, "So, shall we, old friend?" She asked, looking towards Ruben.
"Right this way, Milady," He said, motioning to a hanger where a Knightmare no doubt was, grinning like an old fox.
"Do I want to know what really happened with the Viceroy?" Lelouch asked to his sister, as his mother left with the two, almost a dozen guards with them.
"Honestly? No, no you don't. And please don't ask Odysseus," Cornelia requested simply. Marianne probably assumed the two half-siblings were either going to catch up or decided to just watch the show from outside the hanger. Both were true.
Lelouch grimaced, but only barely, "That kind of bad?" He murmured, getting the idea that it was something he'd probably lose his lunch over. He was, after all, still only ten. Then again, Cornelia was still only sixteen, "So, where's Euphemia? I didn't think you'd leave her...oh, wait, let me guess, she's at Aries Villa with those two knights of yours, right?" Lelouch guessed smugly.
"You and Schneizel are far too smart for your own good," Cornelia said, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I sent her there, but I didn't know you were coming here. She's never going to let me hear the end of not getting to spend a few days with her precious Lulu," Cornelia said with sigh.
"Don't call me that, Nelly," Lelouch retorted with an eyebrow twitch, "So, you know where Milly is?" He asked, wondering where that blonde she-devil was hiding this time.
Cornelia smirked to herself as she gave Lelouch a pair of binoculars and pointed to the hanger Marianne and the rest went off too. Raising an eyebrow, Lelouch looked through the devices and scanned the area...and then he saw her. Milly Ashford, pouting like the ten year old child she was, leaning on one side of the hanger gates. She was clothed in a simple red dress and a large hat to keep the sun from getting to her. However, her outfit was covered in black smudges and her hat actually looked singed, even having a bit of smoke still come off it.
"I should ask, but I already have twenty different ideas of how she ended up like that," Lelouch said in amusement. "So, why do you think Mom came all the way out here to test a Knightmare?" Lelouch asked curiously.
"If I had to guess? I'd say she just wanted to forget about being an imperial consort and pretend she's a soldier again," Cornelia commented with a shrug. "You know how I feel about politics, Lelouch. I can't imagine being forced to go from military to that with no prior experience in the courts," She added with a shiver for the dramatics. It was well known that Cornelia, for all her potential as a soldier and a general, hated politics.
"Don't worry, Cornelia. I think the only way you'll ever have to deal with that any more than you already do is if you tried to become the Heir Apparent," Lelouch joked lightly. While talking about who would be the next emperor or empress was potentially treason, talking about who the current one would pick was not. Loop holes, another thing Lelouch loved.
"No thank you, I'll settle for becoming High Commander of the Imperial Armies," Cornelia said dryly. While she was a die-hard patriot, that didn't mean she wanted to end up running the empire one day. The nobles were just too annoying; they'd be dead within the first month of her reign.
"So...any more new siblings?" Lelouch asked curiously. Honestly, he hadn't even met most of his siblings. The scariest part was how close the ages of some of them were. Take Marrybel Mel Britannia. Lelouch was only a few years older than her, maybe even less, and the seventeenth in line for the throne. Marrybel was the eighty-eighth in line for the throne. He knew his father had over a hundred consorts, but seriously, that averaged to two royal children born every month for the first three years after Lelouch was born. Did they all get pregnant one right aft- 'I'm going to stop that thought process before I mentally scar myself,' Lelouch thought to himself.
"I don't think so, but I try to blank out such news from time to time. Honestly, I think father is just trying to have enough heirs to run every aspect of Britannia," Cornelia answer with a smirk, a few of the guards stifling a laugh at the joke. Britannian loved their royals, there was no doubt, but there were a lot of them now. Just about all of them born from the current emperor too. Very few people even recalled hearing of anyone in the royal family that was not a child of Charles Zi Britannia.
The Eleventh prince's eyebrow twitched at the joke, "...Cornelia, that makes more sense than it should," Lelouch said evenly, smirking as the hanger doors began to slide open...
Present
"Your Majesty? Are you ready?" A voice called, breaking Lelouch out of his reminiscing in his personal room. With a sigh, he rose from his chair and put his black cloak over his dark blue suit, holding the iconic helmet of Zero under his arm before heading to the door.
"Tell me again, Nonette," Lelouch started as he walked out the door, not sparing the Knight of Nine a glance, "Why is it His Majesty all but ordered me to allow a Knight of the Round to accompany me on this mission?" He asked evenly as he made his way through the metal halls.
"It is hardly what you might suspect, My Prince. I requested to assist in aiding Princess Cornelia and as one of the Knights of the Round, The Emperor could find no reason not to send me," The blonde explained with an unusually serious look on her face, before smirking. "Of course, a chance to spend time with the infamous Lord Zero is something few women would pass up, especially military women," She joked teasingly.
"Right and this has nothing to do with the fact that if Cornelia dies that I might be appointed High Commander of the Imperial Armies," Lelouch retorted effortlessly.
"Don't be so callous, Lelouch. Not everything is a political agenda," Nonette said with a roll of her eyes.
Lelouch stopped at the final door and smirked at her, "It is when you're royalty, Nonette, it is when you're royalty," He retorted smoothly as he placed the iconic mask of Zero over his head and opened the door, walking into the loading dock of the HMS Agravain, a landing ship for the Order of the Black Knights. It was filled with fifty Knightmares, ten tanks, and five military trucks. The moment he entered the dock, all of the personnel stood at attention and saluted their Prince and Commander, "At ease," he waved off as he continued on his walk until he found the man he was looking for, "I trust that the Knightmares are all ready, Jeremiah," Zero stated, not asked.
The Commander of the Black Knight's Knightmare Division smirked in return, "All parties are set to go, Milord. Once we make land, we'll be unloaded and on the march in twenty minutes time," He assured.
"Make it ten," Zero ordered, getting a nod, "Nonette, since you're here, you can tag along with Margrave Gottwald, and tease my sister when she's safe," He offered.
"You're not coming along?" The blonde Knight asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Officially, saving Cornelia is only a side mission, no matter how important it is. Our true objective is to wipe out the resistance here," He explained simply. "So, while you two 'Knights in Shining Armor' save the Princess, I'll crush the enemy forces," Lelouch added on with a tint of humor.
"Lady Cornelia as a damsel in distress?" Jeremaih asked with a chuckle, "The very idea sounds ludicrous."
"Indeed," Nonette said with an evil glint in her eye.
"Knight of Nine, you can slaughter my sister's pride after you slaughter her enemies." Lelouch warned evenly, "How is the Zero Squad doing?" He asked, clearly smirking under the mask.
"They are hardly pleased that you assigned them to a ship you weren't on," Jeremaih said flatly.
"I imagine they are, and that's exactly why I didn't inform them of that particular fact before we were already loaded up," Lelouch answered smoothly.
"Why do you have a personal squadron of elite soldiers that double as bodyguards if you don't keep them close enough to actually guard you?" Nonette asked with a tilt of the head.
"Why doesn't Cornelia invite you to her birthday parties anymore?" Lelouch retorted effortlessly.
"Low blow, Your Highness…low blow," The Knight of the Round said with a mock glare.
"All hands! We'll be making land on the Meobbaai Beach in five minutes! All hands, to your stations! Prepare to disembark!" The captain called over the intercom.
"That would be my cue," Lelouch commented as he made his way to the front dock. That was how Lord Zero liked to start a campaign, being the first of his troops to set foot on enemy soil.
"Hard to believe that he's the same angry child from five years ago," Nonette mused as she headed for her personal knightmare.
"He's not, Lady Enneagram." Jeremaih said to himself with a bitter smile, "He said that he left that boy to die back in Area Five," He explained solemnly.
Meanwhile
Princess Cornelia Li Britannia gritted her teeth as she and her royal guards fought against the resistance in the Namib Desert. Things had been going well for her until recently. Namibia had been a weak country that had been divided and inefficient for fifty years. Over taking their army and government had been sickeningly easy. The rebel remains of the official army here possessed subpar equipment and no Knightmares. All in all, it should have been a clean victory on their part. However, Cornelia had underestimated the native environment.
A sandstorm had rolled in; normally, that wouldn't have been an issue for them as their Knightmares had infrared cameras that allowed them to chase after the rebels, who fled on motorcycles and light vehicles that were modified for traveling in the desert. However, Cornelia realized too late that the rebels had, intentionally or not, led her into a trap.
Their intelligence agents had intercepted a message back earlier in the campaign that gave the location of the now-rebel-army's headquarters. The location was Sesriem. However, Cornelia and her men made a miscalculation, which was more a product of them not knowing the land as well and their maps not being entirely complete. The Witch of Britannia had assumed that Sesriem referred to the small settlement by that name, seventy-some miles from the coast. What the message had actually meant was Sesriem Canyon, just two and a half miles to the south.
Sesriem Canyon is a hundred feet deep, a kilometer long, and less than seven feet wide in some areas. Normally, this is a minor obstacle that is easy to get past. However, with the sandstorm blocking their normal vision, they were unprepared for the sheer drop. The rebels made it across via a make-shift wooden bridge, which could support motorcycles and light vehicles, but a Knightmare Frame? The bridge snapped barely a second after Cornelia herself rolled onto it. Almost twenty men fell into that death trap with her before the rest of the army finally caught on and hit the brakes.
That was where things went bad for Cornelia. Her radio had been damaged in the fall, meaning her men couldn't hear her, they probably weren't even sure she was alive until Guildford informed them of such himself. The Second Princess had to make a choice at that point. Either wait there until the storm cleared and her soldiers could find her or try to find a way out of the canyon herself with the rest of the soldiers down there. Normally she would go with the latter, but there wasn't normally a sandstorm. Knowing better than to flight blind in a situation like this unless she had to, she decided to wait out the storm and regroup.
However, the Namibian Army decided to press their luck, firing RPGs from within and above the canyon, some with High Explosive Anti-Tank(HEAT) warheads. And while tanks themselves weren't used much in warfare anymore, the rule of thumb still remained that if it can tear up tank armor, it is effective against Knightmare armor.
What's more, Cornelia was concerned that too many explosions might make the canyon cave in on her and her soldiers. Call the woman what you will, but she wouldn't cause the death of her own men, especially not by being a coward. With that thought in mind, and considering that the rockets were coming from both sides, there was only one thing she could do. She ran headlong through the storm and the enemy, the men that were with her fearlessly and devotedly following suit after her.
Thankfully, the infrared vision allowed them to still find and attack their enemies, and help dodge an occasional RPG. Even while they were outnumbered ten to one and put through a gauntlet, the gap in skill and equipment still gave the Witch's forces an advantage as they shot at anyone they could see in the canyon as bullets and bombs rained around them. However...
BANG!
That didn't mean the Namibians didn't get lucky from time to time.
"Milady! Are you alright?" Gilbert Guilford called over the com-link.
"I'm fine! It just grazed me! All it did was ruin my landspinner," She commented over the speakers with gritted teeth, knowing that meant her speed was greatly diminished now.
"Soldiers! Lady Cornelia's landspinner was damaged! We'll have to hold them off here!" Guilford ordered.
"Yes, Milord!" The soldier returned, three facing the rear, the two remaining with Cornelia and Guildford looking forward.
"Damn these dogs...," She murmured darkly as she and the six remaining soldiers started to kill every enemy in the immediate area as best they could, making a stand where they were. The trouble was that the rock formations in and along the canyon wall offered decent protection for the rebels.
Just as Cornelia was starting to worry about running out of ammo, gunfire rained down from the top of the canyon. Not on Cornelia though, but the Namibians, "Looks like we got backup," Cornelia commented idly to herself, wondering who it was. The gunfire continued for a good three minutes before it finally stopped, everything becoming eerily silent for Cornelia. She really hated not being able to communicate with her soldiers while in battle. She blinked as the storm finally began to clear and saw exactly who their rescuers were.
Lining the edges of the canyon on both side were dozens of Knightmares. There were plenty of her own soldiers there, yes, but mixed in were Knightmares that were very iconic in their own right. They looked like standard Sutherlands, except on both sides of the canopy and on the chest plate was the silver symbol of the Black Knights.
"Lelouch," Cornelia said with narrowed eyes, "What in God's name is he doing here?" She asked herself.
"Princess Cornelia!" A command-unit Sutherland, designated by a yellow visor on its head, called out to her from a natural ramp into the canyon that was not too far ahead of them, "It's good to see you're unharmed."
"Jeremiah Gottwald. I can't help wondering what my little brother's lackey is doing all the way out here." Cornelia asked suspiciously, yet gratefully, as they headed up the ramp.
"I'll explain everything in few moments, Princess. First, Prince Lelouch is about wrap things up," Jeremaih assured with a smirk.
Before Cornelia could retort, a call went out over all channels, Namibian and Britannian. A voice Cornelia knew all too well, but in a foreign language "Aandag Namibiese soldate! Dit is die prins Lelouch vi Britannia, Zero, die Here van die Swart Ridders! Jou generaals en leiers oorgegee het of vermoor is! Namibië het geval! Gaan sit en almal wat gee sal gespaar word! Almal wat steeds weerstaan , sal uitgevoer word sonder genade!" The voice echoed throughout the area and in the ears of all that heard it, (Attention Namibian soldiers! This is prince Lelouch vi Britannia, Zero, Lord of the black knights! Your generals and leaders have surrendered or been killed! Namibia has fallen! Stand down and all who surrender will be spared! All who continues to resist will be executed without mercy!)
"Zero? Die Swart Ridders?"(The Black Knights?) A rebel murmured, others joining him, as they all started to exchange looks until one soldier came out, "Ek gee oor! Moenie skiet nie!"(I surrender! Don't shoot!) He called as others began to join him, coming out unarmed with their hands up.
"Well, that makes things easier," Cornelia murmured as she prepared to raise her weapon again.
"Lady Cornelia, I advise you to wait," Jeremiah suggested evenly as Lelouch's voice rang over the radios again.
"All Britannian Soldiers! This is Prince Lelouch Vi Britannia, better known as Lord Zero of the Black Knights! I hereby order a ceasefire! Cease all lethal attacks against surrendering enemiyes! Restrain and detain, and kill those that continue to fight! Attend to the wounded. This battle, and this war, is over here." Lelouch ordered solemnly.
"He wants me to spare these dogs?" Cornelia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You know the Black Knights' policy, Princess Cornelia. We don't kill those that refuse to fight back anymore. No sense kicking an already beaten dog," Jeremaih commented, keeping a respectful tone.
Cornelia paused in thought for a moment before nodding to herself, "Very well," She relented. If it were anyone else, she might have pressed the issue. Lelouch? Well, he was her favorite brother, "Where is he anyw-!" Cornelia started as she ducked under a RPG from a stubborn soldier, who barked at his comrades for being cowards.
"Now you can kill him," Jeremaih said with a smirk, blinking a hail of bullets from a Knightmare gun ripped through the foolish Namibian. Everyone looked overhead and saw a very customized Knightmare Frame.
It was mostly purple with white highlights. It stood a head taller than the Sutherlands and Gloucesters. It had a very human shaped head with three yellow, eye-shaped cameras instead of the regular four. On its back were two long barreled guns. On the wrists of its arms were two more gun barrels. This was the Viviane, the personal Knightmare of the Knight of Nine.
"Helllllllo, Nelly!~" Nonette called playfully, making the second princess stiffen, her spine shivering like a wet dog.
Guildford sighed at the sound of that voice, 'Milady, forgive me, I'll follow you into Hell...but you're on own with that woman,' He thought with dread.
"Ahhhh, Jerry~! I was supposed to save the Princess!" Nonette called with a pout.
"Apologizes, Lady Enneagram, but I thought it was best to show her the way out of the canyon first in case the Namibians didn't surrender so easily," Jeremaih said with a smirk, "Though...you could transport her personally to the Mobile Command Center, seeing as her landspinner is broken," He offered.
"No, no, that's fine!" Cornelia assured over the speaker, a bit too hurriedly, "I can ride with Guilford."
"Nonsense, Nelly~! As a Knight of the Round, there is no one better to escort and protect you! Besides, Guilford can help Jeremaih with the cleanup," Nonette reasoned.
Cornelia bit her lip before sighing, 'Lelouch, I'm going to kill you for this, even if I have to beat you to death with your own mask!' She thought vengefully.
End of Chapter
Once again, I'm doing whatI do best by putting a new twist on an old idea. First it was sending it Nunnally back in time, now its keeping Lelouch in Britannia AND having him exist as Zero still. Only, its no secret that Lelouch is Zero.
I've actually had this story planned for several months, but I ran inot technical difficulties that resulted in chunks being deleted that I had to rewrite. And I HATE to rewrite something I've lost. A remake-rewrite is another thing. I've also had that problem with another fic, a Sword Art Online one.
Anyway, I know a lot of you are confused and everything will be explained within the next few chapters, but I will clear up a few things. Zero is a title/nickname given to Lelouch that just stuck, much like how Guildford is the "Spearhead of the Empire", Cornelia is the "Witch of Britannia", or Suzaku is the "White Knight".
As you can all guess, something bad happened back in area five. Something that turned Lelouch into the "Zero of Britannia". But there is plenty more for you all to wonder on. Like if Japan was ever conquered yet or where Nunnally is in all this. Or who Lelouch's knights are.
Also, I have never played the game that Nonette is in(Lost Colors?) so I improvised on her personality. Sorry if it seems off, but this is how she'll be in this story.
While I won't ask you all any QTP, as I prefer not too with CG fics for some reason, I will ask for your opinion on a few things. Namely what you all think of this Zero so far, and what is your opinion of the Viviane?
I confess I'm not that experienced on making up or describing Knightmare/Mecha designs, but I thought this might be an interesting idea. The Viviane is a very artillery-based Knightmare, having a LOT of fire power on it. Viviane is supposedly the name of the Lady of the Lake in Arthurian Legends.
PS I actually did my research on Namibia and Sesriem for this. The language Lelouch and the Namibians used was Afrikaans, a languge that is an offshot of Dutch used in the Southern Africans countries like Namibia and South Africa. I used google translator, so if any of you check the translation, don't expect it to be perfect. I would have used a native language, but the main language of Native Africans in Namibians is Oshiwambo, which I can't find a translator for.