Command Center of the G-1 Mobile Fortress
Friday, Day of the SAZ Opening
10:00 AM
Cornelia sat in a command desk reserved for lead generals or the royal family, placed front and center on the command deck of the mobile fortress. She was alone in the dark room, outside lights barely silhouetting the surrounding equipment. The temperature soared in the absence of air conditioning. The mobile fortress had been deliberately disabled and isolated in preparation of Euphemia's one on one meeting with Zero.
But Cornelia was paying her surroundings little heed. A single blazing monitor on top of a desk displayed a long hallway, courtesy of the skeleton camera system she'd installed for this very reason. The main cameras may have been disengaged, but she could still see everything.
The view clicked again, and there they were. Zero and Euphemia, walking into a side room.
She gripped the railings of the chair unconsciously. Her right hand twitched to the gun concealed in her uniform.
No. She grimaced, forcefully setting her hands back upon her sides. This is in Euphemia's hands.
Zero and Euphemia entered the empty chamber. Emergency lights provided minimal brightness to the dark and foreboding atmosphere. Though the room was of medium size, it was utterly bare of unnecessary furniture. Several steel tables lined in reverse towards the back, all covered with white tablecloths bearing the Britannian emblem. There was a second open doorway in the back of the room.
As the two powers moved to opposite sides of one such table, Euphemia chided playfully. "Won't you take off the mask? I know who you are Le-"
"No. Don't say it. I have no idea if we're being watched or not."
There was a brief pause. Lelouch sighed in a deep undertone. Deliberately, He reached into the folds of his suit and revealed a small grey item.
He held it out; a gun. "This is a needle gun. Fashioned out of silicon, it can not be picked up on any metal detector." His voice was low, threatening.
"Euphemia!"
Cornelia saw the gun and panicked. Her face went pale as she cocked her own weapon, prepared to barrel forward and rescue her sister. They were both just down the hall, if she moved quick, she could for sure cut off Zero before he got the chance. But the next words that bleed through the surveillance camera stopped her in her tracks.
"Zero, I know you're not going to shoot me."
Cornelia looked back at the monitor. She knew that tone. It was an element of complete certainty.
Euthemia absolutely believed that Zero would not shoot her.
"Dammit Zero!" She slammed the blunt end of her gun against the steel walls. The waves of sound clashed throughout the room. She steadied herself with a deep breath.
We all have our battles. I have to let Euphemia fight hers. Against her better judgment, Cornelia remained steadfast at the doorway, inclined to listen for the time being.
Euphemia shook her head in a sad sort of way.
"Zero, I know you're not going to shoot me."
"I'm not going to shoot you." Lelouch said forcefully. "You're going to shoot me. You will cause open revolt and mayhem. Your popularity will instantly plummet, and I will have my revolution."
"But why? Why choose this path?" Euphemia asked.
"Why? Why shouldn't I?" Lelouch extended his arms in an exasperated flourish. "You've nullified most of my future campaigns to liberate Japan. And this special zone, people have flocked here from all over, don't think that you by yourself can guarantee their safety." Lelouch faced backwards. "I give it a month before people get slaughtered. You, and everyone else, will become an irresistible target to every patriotic Britannian."
He stared at the marble floor. He could visualize it in his mind's eye, a brutal slaughter predetermined the day the SAZ was established. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, running and screaming against the unrelenting terrors. Bombs. Explosions. Shots ringing out, rivers of a blood red flow and there, Euphemia, standing amidst the killing, only able to stare straight on as a Sutherland decked in blue and purple turned and raised its gun and….
He felt arms wrap around him, stubbing the rampant flow of thought. Euphemia hugged him close, head nestled on his back. Lelouch froze for a second, before his own shacking hands clasped her arms.
Underneath the mask, he smiled lightly. If they hadn't been abandoned in Japan, If Nunnally hadn't lost her legs and eyes, if his mother hadn't been assassinated, how things could've been different.
"Disgusting, Euphemia's actions around that terrorist!" Cornelia's teeth ground together. "Acting like they know each other!"
"Zero, that's why I need your help." Euphemia whispered, backing out of the embrace. Her face was deadest and grim. Lelouch realized that she already factored in the element of Britannia's treachery. "I can't do this by myself."
"Any why would I help a Britannian Princess?" Words joking, but tone suggesting that he still wanted an answer.
Euphemia chuckled a bit. "Ah now here's something you don't know. It'll probably be publicly announced sometime soon." She took a deep breath. "I've renounced my claim to the throne."
"I've renounced my claim to the throne."
"She's WHAT!" Cornelia shouted, forgetting the fact that Zero and Euphemia were in the room down the hall. She dashed back to the monitor, not believing her ears.
"She's…. really renounced the throne? Why wasn't I told of this!" Cornelia seethed, prepared to bring down the house on the errant worker who failed to inform her.
But more importantly, why was Euphemia telling Zero?
"You've…. you've renounced your claim to the throne?" Lelouch took a step back, genuinely shocked by Euphemia's actions.
"Why of course, it was a simple choice. I had to give up something for harboring the terrorist Zero." Euphemia smiled.
Lelouch reared backwards and gripped his mask with his hand for support as he took in this new piece of information. There was a still moment.
"Euphemia…. you are the worst opponent I have ever faced." Lelouch said softly, before laughing uproariously. He suddenly turned about with a dramatic twist of his cape
"In a typically Euphemia styled manner, you made all of your choices by heart, and still managed to win everything. Very well." Lelouch stood straight and resolute, hand on his heart.
"I swear to help you and your Special Administrative Zone."
" You.. you will? Thank you!" Euphemia let out an audible sigh of relief that was not lost on Zero.
"Ha, you should have more confidence in yourself, princess, you beat the famed leader of the Black Nights." Lelouch said teasingly.
"I know I'm just…. happy." Lelouch shook his head with a smile. Such a cheesy that line that was entirely fitting of Euphemia.
Cornelia stood, intensely watching Zero and Euphemia's actions from the monitor.
"Euphemia did it. She actually managed to do it." Cornelia said, voice filled with pride in her younger sibling, despite her obvious distaste for Zero. "Typical Euphemia styled manner indeed!"
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
A flashing red light appeared from the top of the screen; people moving in the fortress.
"Who…" Cornelia began, tense again. Britanians? No one else was allowed in here, on Euphemia's orders!
Appearing on the screen were a dozen combat ready Britanian soldiers. They were dressed with black pads and extensive bulletproofing across their bodies. Each carried an array of weapons, ranging from multiple pistols to the smaller flash bombs clipped to their sides. All wore night gear lenses. Any normal soldier would've collapsed under the sheer weight.
Looks like…. OSI soldiers. Special combat units strictly conditioned to be the best of mobile infantry. What in the blazes are they doing here? Unless….
They were here to kill Zero.
Cornelia eyed the monitor in disgust at the treachery of Britannia. Zero. Anytime else and I would've let you die like a dog. Cornelia quickly tapped a button on her earpiece, tuning into their audio channel.
"This is Vice-Roy Cornelia. Soldiers, you are ordered to STAND DOWN." Cornelia waited a split second for the order to be carried out.
It was not. The black garbed soldiers crept onwards, closer and closer to Zero and Euphemia.
"Are you DEAF soldiers? I said STAND DOWN!" she shouted into the com link. Still no response.
Oh no. She thought. They're not taking orders from me. I've got no control.
And then, a worse thought.
If Euphemia gets caught in the crossfire...
There was a metallic crash from behind as a door was kicked down. Two figures entered the room, brandishing their guns and advancing quickly. Cornelia identified them as belong to the OSI group of special infantry.
"Stay back you-" Cornelia whipped out her gun. Before she could bring to it full bare, the figure on the left charged forward, grabbing her right arm and pinning it behind her back. The gun clattered uselessly to the floor. The other attacker slammed Cornelia's head against the desk.
"Who… who are you getting your orders from?" Cornelia asked, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth.
The soldier on the left cocked their face at her, eyes unreadable behind glowing green night vision goggles. "We have received our orders from the Royal Council."
Cornelia breathed out. The Royal Council... a council created when a majority of the Royal Family are present, sanctified by the Emperor himself. Besides the words of the emperor itself, the Royal Council was law.
There was no way around it.
Zero was a dead man.
Lelouch's ears perked up moments before they entered the room. He barely had time to crouch below the tablecloth before a squad of five Britanian soldiers filed into the room.
Treachery…. He clenched his teeth and eyed his fallen gun with regret. Of course Britannia would make use of this golden opportunity. And I fell for it. Lelouch's eyes flicked about the outskirts of the room.
No exits. No escape.
Trapped!
"What is the meaning of this!" Euphemia shouted in a brazen tone. "This was ordered to be a private meeting between me and Zero! I won't allow you to harm him!"
A lone figure stood forward from the pack "We apologize for the inconvenience, your highness." The figure stated with a short bow. The voice was low and gruff, male.
He unsheathed an official looking document and began to read it. "These are the official orders from the Royal Council-"
"The Royal Council…" Euphemia inhaled at sound of that name. Her mind tumbled forward, looking for a plan. She'd distract them! Faint, collapse, tumble. She had to buy Lelouch time!
"-so without wait, we carry out the assassination of Euphemia Li Britannia, third princess of Britannia."
"Wh…. what?!" Cornelia squirmed against the arms of her captor. "Assassinate…. Euphemia? NO!" She gathered her conviction and jumped back, smashing a soldier back against the steel bulkhead. "I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
The other had already drawn their gun, tranquilizers clearly loaded. Cornelia dashed forward with a frenzied look in her eyes. She snagged the first soldiers body and held it up to absorb the darts.
With a grunt, Cornelia heaved the body forward, knocking the wind out of the second soldier. In a blink of an eye, her gun was in hand and aimed at the fallen warrior. The green eyes of the night vision goggles didn't plead as she pulled the trigger.
She darted to the body of the fallen soldier, reaching in to find the clasp that held a line of black capsules in place. A rustle from the opposite side of the room notified her of the first soldier's awakening. Her arm blurred as she turned and fired, a single shot to the neck.
There was a soft thump as the Specials Ops soldier collapsed, dead.
But Cornelia was already down the hall, sprinting full out and praying that she'd be in time.
Lelouch, crouched behind the table, listening to the soldiers in shock. The assassination of Euphemia! He felt a surge of deep rooted anger. Treacherous scum!
His gloved arms grasped at straws of empty air. How! How! All the soldiers had night vision goggles on, all the soldiers are armed, all the soldiers are elite. He was caught defenseless and without anything! Nothing!
His eyes gazed forward at Euphemia, her slim form pressed backwards at the wall behind, face comprehending all too much.
"Who… who would order this? Why, why would anyone?" She slumped forward, stricken, her precious ideals finally confronted with reality. "All I wanted… was a gentler world…."
The soldier nodded and raised his gun. "Your majesty, you have my thanks for this wondrous opportunity to cleanse Area 11 of these cockroaches. Your death is a true loss. You have my condolences-"
Lelouch faltered as his sight shifted. His mother lay haphazardly on the grand stair, still, unmoving, riddled with bullet wounds. Underneath her laid Nunnally. Hands shaking. Blood spilled down her yellow dress. And eyes… empty.
They haunted him.
And he could only stare at the sight before him. What was he? Weak, weak, nothing! Not strong enough to stop from being exiled, not strong enough to fight the invasion, never strong enough!
But he had made himself strong.
He had shaped a force that would shake the world! The man of miracles! Zero!
And he'd be damned if he was helpless again.
Cornelia sprinted forward in massive bounds, desperate. She clutched her gun with an iron grip, only to prevent her arm from trembling with fear.
Euphemia, please! Cornelia turned corner and focused on the still doorframe. Words spilled in from the room beyond.
"Your death is a true loss. You have my condolences-" A single shot resounded through the vacant hall.
"EUPHEMIA!" Cornelia shouted, doubling her speed. "By the gods I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE! YOU WON'T LEAVE UNSCATHED-"
Cornelia darted through the doorway and stopped, shocked to a standpoint for the second time in a day.
Euphemia lay crouched with her back turned to the wall. Her eyes were wide, hands covering her face. A fine spray of red lightly covered the top left of her dress.
But she was unharmed. Cornelia stifled a breath of relief.
Before her stood Zero, resolute, excluding the smug air of confidence that constantly accompanied him. His arms and cape were spread wide, shielding Euphemia from view.
A red blossom grew from the top left of Zero's regal coat.
In a play of slow time, Zero collapsed backwards, pivoting on his back heel. His cloak flowed behind him as his hands slumped to his side. There was only a muffled thump as Zero collapsed on the ground.
"Zero!" Euphemia was instantly at his side, eyes pleading. Her hands fumbled with the buttons to the uniform.
"Tch." The lead soldier grunted. He raised his gun for a second volley "This changes nothing! You die here and-"
"Euphemia! Cover your eyes!"
Cornelia tossed the flash capsules into the room, detonating them with following shots from her gun. She scrambled forward after the violent glare faded, jerking Euphemia to her legs. Euphemia stuttered several steps forward and stopped.
"Wait! We can't leave Zero." Cornelia clenched her teeth and turned backwards. Cowardly terrorist he might be, but he saved Euphemia's life.
She hoisted Zero on her arms and continued forward, noting dimly that the soldiers were already recovering from their momentary blindness, stripping off their night vision lenses. Damn, new night vision goggles. That should've left them blind for hours at least!
Unknown to either inhabitant of the room, a barely conscious Zero fingered the button that drew back the slot to his left eye. Crimson fire surged forward from the winged sigil of Geass.
"Die" he whispered. He closed his eyes as Euthemia and Cornelia turned through the doorway.
The duo and the fallen terrorist continued to scamper through the empty passages, looking for an exit.
"Where are we going?" Euphemia asked. The sounds of approaching footsteps increased.
Cornelia reached a hand to her communicator. "Guilford, come in! Repeat, Guilford, do you read me?" Her only reply was the faint sound of crackling static.
She switched channels. "Dalton, can you hear me?" No response. She immediately flicked to the final party that could offer them assistance.
"SUZAKU! COME IN SUZAKU!"
She waited a second longer for any response. Damn! Guilford, Dalton, Suzaku... they've already gotten to all of them!
Cornelia looked forward with growing apprehension. Don't panic. DON'T PANIC. Think of a plan. Something to fight. Something to use. Something to escape...
Her mind traveled to Zero's surprise entrance to the SAZ. "Zero's knightmare, the Gawain! Its flight capabilities can help our escape!"
"But…. what of our soldiers? Can't they help us?" Euphemia asked.
"No. Orders are coming straight from the Royal Council," Cornelia snarled. "We can only assume that our chain of command has been isolated." This morning, there was a new transferred regiment of knightmare pilots for this ceremony. No doubt completely loyal to the Royal Council.
She grunted as she increased her pace. Strangely enough, the previous batch of soldiers appeared to have halted their chase. But a resh regiment had plowed down the staircase, right on their heels.
The two reentered the massive stadium, the crowds of Japanese cheering at the sight of them. Cornelia scanned the area quickly, trying to find any other alternative.
There was none.
Euphemia's attention was drawn to the knightmares dispersed throughout the crowd. Small carts had been pulled alongside of them, delivering bright orange rounds.
Gas grenades! She thought. She recalled the soldier's words; "I thank you for this opportunity to cleanse Area 11 of the cockroaches." Her eyes widened. It would be a massacre!
They were planning this from the start!
"What a fool I've been!"
C.C. scrambled forward at the sight of the two princesses and Zero. The red mark smudging half of his chest did not escape her notice.
That pulse I felt earlier, it must've been Lelouch!
Shots broke out from the opening of the Mobile Fortress as black garbed soldiers swarmed out of the entrance, night-vision goggles discarded.
Britannian soldiers as well? Now this is getting interesting.
Euphemia suddenly broke away from Cornelia, hurtling towards the microphone. There was a short whine as the microphone was turned on.
"JAPANESE! RUN IT'S A TRAP! THEY… THEY'RE PLANNING A MASSACRE." Euphemia breathed in and allowed for a second of indulgence. "And… I'm sorry."
Cornelia paused mid stride to the Gawain, preparing to turn around to help Euphemia.
"Wait!" C.C. called. Cornelia's eyes meet hers. To Cornelia's surprise, she detected no surprise in this white garbed woman that a princess of Britannia was carrying Zero's wounded body. They nodded in mutual agreement as Cornelia transferred Zero to C.C.
"You have ninety seconds before I leave." C.C. stated calmly as she sharply turned. Cornelia nodded again and darted back to Euphemia, whispering under her breath about her sister's foolishness.
C.C felt Lelouch's hearbeat through the fabric of his Zero costume as she made her way back to the Gawain.
Good. Still alive.
She deposited Zero in the forward seat, turning back quickly to watch the two princesses.
The strange soldiers had closed the gap to twenty feet and were firing at Euphemia.
In the time of a second, two bullets tagged Euphemia; one in her leg, and one in her right arm. Cornelia jumped in front of Euphemia, returning fire with a low caliber firearm. She jerked back three time but rebounded instantaneously.
Bullet proofing underneath her uniform. Heh. C.C. thought.
Meanwhile the crowd of Elevens had been thrown into panic. People were trampled afoot the wild movements of the frenzied crowds. The combination of shooting and Euphemia's warning had been enough to propel mass hysteria.
SHHHK. There was a pop as an orange canister was lobbed into the crowd.
It vanished in the back. One second passed, then another. With a small pop, an orange burst of gas erupted from the same location, engulfing everyone within a 20 foot radius. The chemical cloud dispersed as quickly as it had come.
And in its wake were the dead.
C.C. paused, the horror of such actions vomit inducing, even to her. Mass genocide! They're going to kill everyone!
Above her, the sky became blotted with orange rain.
Outside the Stadium
10:15 AM
Kallen anxiously thumbed the trigger switch of the Guren MK-II, watching the broadcast on screen. Zero had situated them there as a precaution, both for his safety and the other Japanese. But she still couldn't fathom it, Zero deliberately playing into the hands of their nemesis.
Britannia.
"Nnn, this waiting!" Kallen punched the sides of the cockpit around her. The uncomfortableness of the cockpit did nothing to help her mood. Though a perfect streamlined position for combat, sitting in that position for hours on end was nothing more than torture. She stared back at the news report to pass the time.
"It looks like someone is exiting the Mobile Fortress, It's the princess! And she's-" The report was suddenly cut off, fading to a black error screen.
"What…" She whispered. But Zero had even planned for this eventuality. "Black Knights, switch to the internal cameras in the stadium."
With a click, the error screen flashed into a full HD display of the entire stadium. Kallen's breath caught in her throat.
"ZERO!" She whispered. Zero was bleeding profusely from a gun wound on his chest. But more oddly, he was in Corenlia's arms… and weren't those BRITANNIAN SOLDIERS shooting at them?
"All units! Advance into the stadium! Protect Zero!" Kallen shouted, reactivating the Guren's systems.
But… what are the Britannians up to?
The screaming began seconds later.
Euphemia could only watch with morbid despair at the the systematic extermination of the crowds in front of her. Bursts of orange smog were materializing all around, engulfing hundreds, thousands of people.
The Britannian knightmares had moved forward with frightening precision, launching gas grenades in a grid pattern. No corner or crevice was spared from the smog.
And all the while, their knightmares had shifted color. At the moment of movement, sheets of purple paint chipped, revealing a coat of cobalt black paint underneath whose intentions were unknown.
But... the monstrosity of it all!
She could barely feel the gushing wounds on her arms and legs, just the rising pain of the people around her.
"Why… it…it wasn't supposed to be like this!" She cried.
"EUPHEMIA!" Cornelia grabbed the paralyzed princess and propped her over her shoulder. She dashed into a forward sprint towards a beckoning C.C., wincing as two bullets tore into her left arm. Her gun clattered to the ground.
They boarded the kneeling Gawain just as the OSI soldiers surrounded them and opened fire. Three enemy knightmares drew lances and prepared to engage them.
"My fault… all my fault…." Euphemia whispered, clutching her shoulders.
"Get us out of here!" Cornelia shouted. She ripped her sleeves into binds to stifle Euphemia's bleeding.
"I'm sorry. But I don't take orders from anyone." C.C. said, before bringing the Gawain into the air anway.
Below the massacre was continuing to unfold. The orange mist had fallen, but the knightmares remained. Metal giants ripped through the crowds.
Cornelia averted his eyes from the gruesome scene. Such open minded bloodlust… horrible. Despite everything, she had always believed that Britannia held the brightest future for the world. But now, nothing, NOTHING, justified actions like these.
Cornelia grabbed the radio from the front console and opened a call on a unique frequency. There was a slight crackle as she punched in a number. A familiar voice responded through the speaker.
"Your Highness!" Cornelia relaxed a second at the sound of Guilford's voice. "I apologize for my absence. The Royal Council has restricted me to my room. I must ask, how has the ceremony been going? I was watching it when the program cut off midway-" Cornelia choked at the Guilford's ignorant knowledge of the day's events.
"It…I…" What had happened today? They had been shot at by their own soldiers. Zero had taken a bullet for Euphemia. The Japanese were being massacred.
"Your Highness!"
"It's… all right Guilford. I need you to route me into all the knightmare suits assigned to the SAZ ceremony and the PA system."
"Yes your Highness." There were several clicks followed by beeps as Cornelia was patched through.
"It has been done, your Highness." Guilford paused, carefully considering his words. "I must ask… what has happenned? Please, tell me your highness, I can help!"
"Guilford," Cornelia cut in. "Thank you. For everything. I know I don't say it often, but you've done more for me than almost anyone else. I… I just needed to tell you that."
"YOUR HIGH-"
Cornelia cut off the line to Guilford and activated the transmission to the knightmares. She took a small breath and flicked the switch.
"Attention Britannian soldiers! You have turned your back on any semblance of honor and decency! It is, with true grief, that I perform the following actions."
She clicked a key on the monitor in front of her. A command prompt asked her for a password.
W…H…O…I…S…T…H…E…D…E…V…I…L..
"Forgive me." Cornelia clicked the button.
"Damn Britannians!" Kallen shouted, Radiant-Wave -Surger finishing off another enemy knightmare. But even she was having a difficult time comprehending it, the audacity of using lethal poison gas on civilians!
The irony of the situation was lost on her.
She turned back to focus at the task at hand. The plans had shown that there were only 40 enemy knightmares on guard, I've seen double that!
She had fought her way into the colossal stadium. But the sight that had confronted her…. it was no less than the stuff of nightmares. Japanese littered the ground in doves, thousands gassed to death. Britannian knightmares were killing any that had remained. This was war, in its truest form.
She desperately scanned the rolling masses for Zero. Last she saw, he had been on stage with Cornelia, Euphemia, and C.C. There was no sight of him, but neither was there of the Gawain.
Good. Maybe he's managed to get out of here. She stopped for a moment of prayer. Zero. Please be okay.
She mashed the Gurren's hand of death into another Sutherland, this one equipped with a heavy duty anti-knightmare machine gun. The recent knightmares she had faced had also been equipped similarly.
These... these knightmares weren't here to kill Japanese. No, they were here for an entirely different reason.
Kallen hissed in anger. All of the killing… to lure out the Black Knights!
The prattle of bullets jarred her to the side of her cockpit. She regained control of the Guren and turned it about.
"You want some Britannian-" She paused. Thirty Sutherlands had managed to surround the Ace of the Black Knights. Each were equipped with anti-knightmare weaponary, high caliber bullets capable of ripping through steel. Most shockingly, each of Sutherland had been painted a midnight black.
She activated the com system on the Guren. "Are you on our side?"
"Just the opposite. I'm a proud Britannian." The cockpit of a black striped Sutherland opened. A single figure stepped forward. "And what do we have here? The Ace of the Black Knights? So you're the one that has caused us so much trouble." His eyes flicked down with disdain. "I can't tell why anyone would consider you a hazard, it takes half a mind to outsmart dirt like you.
Kallen clenched her teeth. "Face me one on one and I'll show you who's dirt!" But behind the façade of confidence, she was panicking. There were too many knightmares for her to think to fight, even with the Guren.
The man flicked back his hair and shook his head in mock disappointment. "I'm sorry, but we're really on a busy schedule." He raised a hand.
"All units! Fire!"
Kallen braced herself for the barrage, and waited some more.
But the heavy thud of bullets didn't come.
"What-" She opened her eyes to find all the enemy knightmares seemingly frozen. A voice was playing through the speakers, a voice she knew all too well.
"- Black Knights, I ask this as a favor. The system is frozen for one minute. Gather up nearby civilians and use this time to escape! Don't try to fight, reinforcements are already on there way."
Cornelia. The Witch of Britannia. Why would she be helping US? Kallen thought back to those fleeting images she had seen on the monitor. Have you switched sides?
And more importantly, why were those knightmares painted black? She shuddered, sensing a sinister motive behind Britannia's actions.
As she continued forward, Kallen could only think of Cornelia as the last person she'd want to be indebt to.
Command Center of the G-2 Mobile Fortress, parked outside the SAZ:
10:25 AM
Nonette Enneagram, Honorary Knight of 9, stood above the technicians and commanders seated below her. She wore monarchial purple and gold robes fitting for someone of her standing. Her hair fell in neat slopes down the back of her shoulders. A foot tap impatiently against the metal deck.
She was not happy. And the others knew it. Beneath the mask was the face of a demon that would make even Luciano cringe. She was known for having shot out the kneecaps of those that had displeased her.
"Status report!" She barked. There was a brief silence as eyes flicked from person to person, an unconscious vote to who would respond. The honor fell to one sweating black haired technician.
"U-um…Princess Euphemia and Viceroy Cornelia appear to have escaped by air in the Gawain." He said hesitantly.
Nonette eyes him neutrally. "Have the fighters been scrambled?"
"N-no."
"Have the drones been launched?"
"….No."
"Do we have a contingency plan for killing them?"
The technicians voice was barely a squeak. "…No…"
"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING!" None of the other pretended to be busy, not daring to look her in the eyes
Nonette sighed and shut her eyes. "I'm surrounded by fools." She stood up.
"I'm going to eliminate them personally."
They had been flying for a minute and were just leaving the airspace of the stadium.
Corenlia was situated in the back seat of the Gawain, trying her best to form a makeshift tourniquet on both her and
Euphemia's wounds. They were only flesh wounds, but both bleed savagely. Euphemia had fainted seconds ago, most likely from shock over the entire situation.
But the real danger was Zero's wounds. It was deep. It was bleeding. And there was nothing they could do about it without medical equipment. Zero was slumped in the front seat next to the woman who had introduced herself to be C.C.
A bang shook the entire compartment, jolting the Gawain to the right.
C.C. scanned and found her attacker on the ground, ten thousand feet away and barely detected by her scanners. It was a unique blue and red knightmare frame. Five factpheres equipped on the arms and legs no doubt provided an advanced scanning system. Metal strips ran down the entire body, accenting the knightmare's protected joints. One Master Vibration Sword hung on the side.
But the rifle it was carrying was a fearsome weapon. It was fifteen feet long with a lethal looking barrel. A giant steel cartridge the size a microwave flung itself out of the chamber and imbedded itself in the ground, an audible click sounding as another was slotted into place.
C.C. recognized the knightmare on sight. It was the Hermes, the ultra-fast knightmare frame built for blink level speed.
"Damn. The Knight of 9." C.C. hissed. She flung the Gawain to the left as a deadly bolt of crimson energy flew past.
"Cornelia! You have to man the weapon systems! I only have access to navigation and movement down here!" C.C. shouted. Cornelia nodded and placed her hands on the console in front of her. A screen blazed to life, showing figures for calibration and aiming of the twin halberd cannons.
"I've got the weapon systems opened, now what?"
"You've got to-" C.C.'s voice was cut as a smaller blast ripped through the front of the cockpit, blowing a hole in her chest.
"No!" Cornelia shouted. She scanned the approaching shots. Some kind of low energy blast, likely more accurate but less powerful than the original shots. Cornelia turned about and activated the targeting system of the Gawain. Twin beams of red and black energy spiraled out of two openings and buried themselves in the ground.
But Hermes had already moved. It was blurring against the landscape, taking nimble shots between movements. Cornelia gasped as one of them smacked the top of her shoulder, while another disabled the flight system of the Gawain.
The knightmare began a slow plummet "Damn it, No!" Cornelia's eyes began to droop from the loss of blood, courtesy of her newly acquired wound. "I can still fight! I can still fight-"
Euphemia found herself situated in the second seat of the downed Gawain. She felt a trill of panic surge through her at the sight of her sister's body. There was blood arcing everywhere, trailing down the back part of the seat and onto the floor. Blood was slowly seeping from a head wound and two other bullet shots in her left arm..
"Sister?" Euphemia asked hesitantly. She breathed out when Cornelia gave a slight cough.
"Euphemia. Run." Cornelia slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Run.. but.. what about you! And Zero! I can't leave you!" Euphemia yelled, not knowing what to do.
There was a screech as an armored hand lifted the Gawain up by the cockpit. Through the open cockpit, Euphemia turned to see a red and blue knightmare, the Hermes, totting a gun that had most likely brought them down. It noticed Euphemia.
Taking great care, Hermes positioned the damaged Gawain on the ground and took five steps backwards. In a second, Euphemia found herself staring down the front of an eight foot gun barrel.
It… it was all over. There was nothing to be done. She was the sheltered innocent girl, the figurehead. Beyond a smile, she was nothing.
A blight yellow light formed at the tip of the barrel.
And she had watched them die. She had seen hopeful subjects crumble beneath her. She had survived on the benediction, the sacrifice, of others. Euphemia clenched her fist and jumped forward.
"RUN! THAT'S ALL I'VE BEEN DOING!" She yelled to the air. Euphemia pushed C.C.'s body to the back of the navigation console and grabbed the control sticks. "I'M SICK AND TIRED OF RUNNING!"
The bright yellow faded to blue before a destructive pitch of red shot out of the gun.
Nonette watched with satisfaction as the smoke cleared. There was only a rather large crater where the Gawain had been situated. She had been expecting more of a fight, as she'd only damaged the Gawain's flight systems. But the pilots must have all died either in her scattered shots or the crash.
She shrugged and moved to return to base. Killing Euphemia, Cornelia, and Zero in a single swoop. For this, maybe I'll be raised to knight of-
The Hermes slammed into the ground by a punch. Nonette was instantly in battle mode, using the forward momentum to twist back into standing position.
"Who dares-" She started, but stopped when she saw the frame; the Gawain. The knightmare had been horribly damaged. Both hadron cannons had been damaged in the crash, and the flight system was in tatters. The left arm had been completely torn off, while the other arm barely seemed to have the capacity to move.
A voice played out over the radio "I dare! Princess Euphemia of the Britannian Empire!"
A pause hung in the air. Nonette laughed brashly over the radio. "So, Princess Euphemia. Are you going to lay down and die with honor, or will you actually try to go toe to toe with a Knight of the Round."
An uppercut from the Gawain's last arm stopped Nonette in her tracks. Had the Gawain been any less damaged, it would have been a winning blow.
Nonette recovered with a forward flip, pissed that Eutheia had somehow managed to land a blow. The pistol clattered thirty feet to the side of a cliff. "Fine. Let's dance princess."
The Hermes blurred again, appearing behind the Gawain. Nonette fired two of her slash harkens, obliterating the Gawain's head.
"See now? You should've died with honor!" Nonette drew her Master Vibration Sword and proceeded to slice along the cockpit.
The cut never came. The Gawain leaned into the swing, ducking under and letting the Master Vibration Sword graze the broken hadron cannons. Turning around, the Gawain jumped and smashed the Hermes back with a wicked kick to the front. It continued to push forward, kicking and punching in a coordinated attack. Five slash harkens fired from the Gawain's open hand.
Growling, Nonette deflected dodged to the right and brought the sword against the Gawain's last leg, sending it flying. Unable to stand any more, the knightmare tumbled backwards to the ground, utterly spent.
Nonette pointed her sword at the cockpit, almost as if knighting the humbled giant. "Euphemia Li Britannia, Die-"
A surge of red light disintegrated the top half of the Hermes.
Euphemia was panting heavily in the cockpit of the Gawain. Never before had she been forced to fight, to commit to the field of battle, not only for her sake, but for that of her brother and sister.
She pressed the switch that would retract the slash harkens from where they rested, clutching the massive pistol that had been knocked away in the first seconds of the fight.
A flickering error screen displayed an almost empty energy filler. The lights of the Gawain went blank.
A/N: Greetings one and all! Feel free to leave questions and comments! I hope to be posting a new chapter every Monday, if things go well. I try to write one chapter ahead of what I have to post, just to give myself some space.
I have NO IDEA what possessed me to spell "Euphemia" "Euthemia"…..
And speaking of which, should I give Euthemia a Geass? I'm somewhat on the borderline if I should or shouldn't.
