Phase 01
THE DAY THE PEACE DIED
MARCH 2023 A.T.B
NEW PENDRAGON
HOLY BRITANNIAN EMPIRE
The dismissal bell could not have come quicker for Nathaniel Laurence. After sitting through an incredibly dull hour of learning information he already knew, the brown-haired sophomore was quick to escape the confines of the classroom and make the seven minute walk across the large campus of Pendragon High School to the only room in all four buildings he truly felt at home at: the band room.
The boy arrived in the band room to find his friends waiting. He approached the other students as Shawn, a short, dark-haired boy, asked, "So how was your class, Nate?"
Nate sighed. "Nothing new, as usual. You guys?" The other two members of the group, Lindsay and Amanda, shook their heads. "I thought as much," he said. "Where's Felix?"
"Right here," came the voice of Nate's twin. The short boy brushed his purple hair out of his face and joined his friends. "Miss Leving asked me to stop by her room after school, but she wasn't there when I showed up."
"That's weird," commented Lindsay and she, Amanda, and Shawn exchanged a strange glance. Nate opened his mouth to comment on it, but decided against it. "Well," he said. "Felix and I should probably head home. We have to…" Nate trailed off as the sound of roaring engines filled the air.
"Is that…" Felix began to say, but trailed off. Lindsay nodded, grabbing Shawn's arm.
"A Knightmare," she said. And the world seemed to fall in chaos.
UFN HEADQUARTERS
HORAI ISLAND
On a small, artificial island off the coast of the United States of China, a group of leaders meet on the first of every month to discuss issues of international importance. These leaders make up the United Federation of Nations, more commonly referred to as the UFN. The UFN had maintained peace and equality throughout the world for five prosperous years, led by Kaguya Sumeragi and the masked man Zero.
While a meeting was not officially in session, the council room was nevertheless locked from the inside. A majority of the seats in the room were occupied, as the leaders listened to the young woman shown on the large screen at the head of the room. Despite her frail, wheelchair bound appearance, the girl was one of the most powerful people on the planet: Nunnally vi Britannia, 100th Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire. Next to her stood a tall European man with brown hair and blue eyes. The man was Bradford Keighley, leader of the Knights of Nunnally.
"As we speak, enemy Knightmares are attacking New Pendragon," said Nunnally. "I'll be safe in Taurus Villa. But the Knights won't be able to stop the attack on their own. I need the Black Knights to help protect my people."
"The problem is, Empress, we don't know who we'll be sending the Black Knights to fight," said Chairwoman Sumeragi slowly. "If the European Union or Republic of Russia is responsible, then any interference by the UFN could be taken as a declaration of war. That's not a chance we can take. Peace must be maintained."
Nunnally opened her mouth to respond, but Keighley beat her to it. "When we signed that agreement to relinquish control of the Britannian military and merge it with the Black Knights, we did it to save lives," he said. "So save them! Send us reinforcements!"
"But by avoiding war, we save many more lives," Sumeragi responded. "I'm sorry, Lord Keighley, but we can't intervene."
Sitting next to Sumergi, the man called Zero got to his feet. "However," he said, his booming voice reverberating around the room, "there is an alternative." With all eyes focused on him, Zero continued, "I will depart for Taurus Villa with the Zero Squad to prepare for battle. Our official purpose will be to guard the Empress. Meanwhile, the Knights of Nunnally will hold off the enemy forces and observe them. If the Knights can confirm that the attackers are not EU or Russian soldiers, then my men will engage the enemy, and the attack will be considered an act of terrorism under international law."
Keighley thought for a moment, then nodded. "Very well," he said. "Empress Nunnally, do you approve?"
"We will move forward with your plan, Zero," said Nunnally.
Zero bowed. "Of course, Empress."
The screen went dark.
PENDRAGON HIGH SCHOOL
HOLY BRITANNIAN EMPIRE
When Nate awoke, he wasn't sure if he was dead or dying. He could see nothing around him but total suffocating darkness. He felt himself being crushed by the darkness, and then he saw a patch of light above and it occurred to him that he had been buried alive.
Sure enough, when he felt around, his hands met rock and rubble. By some miracle, he had not been crushed.
Nate struggled to control his breathing and fight back his fear. He could hear sounds not far away, so it sounded like he wasn't buried very deep. Nate wasn't the strongest, but he guessed that if he applied pressure in the right places, he could push away the wreckage above him. With a groan, he pushed at the debris above with everything he had. It was enough. A broken part of the band room wall fell away, and light shined into the great new hole in the pile of rubble.
Nate pulled himself out of the debris with relief, not wanting to stay in the cramped space any longer. But when he saw what had become of the band room, he nearly climbed back into the darkness.
The entire room had been blown to bits. Smoke filled the air as fires raged, and bodies were strewn across the ground- bodies of friends, of peers. And worst of all: his friends were gone.
"Felix!" Nate shouted. "Where are you?! Lindsay! Amanda! Shawn!" He looked around, and noticed that some of the victims had been crushed like he had, but most had not- they sported bullet wounds. In particular, one body stood out from the rest. The man was not a student or a teacher. He wore the uniform of the Black Knights.
Nate ran over to the fallen soldier and searched him. He grabbed a gun from the floor next to the body and discovered that it had fired several rounds. Surprised that the Black Knights could have made it to New Pendragon so quickly, he continued to examine the body and realized that the soldier had not been shot, but rather hit upside the head with a hard object. Noticing a trombone slide next to the soldier, Nate realized that the soldier had not been killed by the enemy; he had been attacked by a student. And he was still alive.
Nate got to his feet, gun in hand. He hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do about the man. He thought of Felix, his brother, missing. Could the Black Knights have done such a thing? It didn't seem possible that Zero would order such an attack. Still… these soldiers didn't have to be acting under Zero's orders.
Nate made his decision just as the man opened his eyes, and shot him.
As the life left the man's eyes, Nate pocketed the gun and turned away. He wanted to throw up, but it didn't come. He felt no remorse for the man he had killed, even though he knew he should. But at the moment, all he could think of was finding his brother. Leaving the dead body behind, Nate left the decimated ruins of the band room to search the rest of the school for survivors. He observed that the band room had suffered the most damage, but the Black Knights (if they truly were responsible) had left no one alive. Nate began to despair, and suddenly the ceiling caved in about a hundred feet in front of him. The entire section of the hallway crumbled away as four Knightmare frames landed in front of Nate. He watched as the cockpits opened and the pilots emerged. When he saw the pilots' uniforms, he clenched his fists.
It was the Black Knights.
TAURUS VILLA
The mood in the dining hall was grim. Nunnally and Keighley sat in silence, accompanied by a bespectacled Frenchman with dark brown hair and a small beard. Finally, Nunnally looked at Keighley and asked, "How many of the other Knights were you able to contact?"
Keighley sighed. "Kevin and Anna won't make it to New Pendragon for a few hours. I can't reach any of the Knights at the school. Erin left the campus before the attack, but she hasn't seen the other three, and I don't know where she is now. I-"
Keighley stopped as the door burst open and Amanda, Lindsay, and Shawn ran in. Keighley and the Frenchman both jumped to their feet. As Lindsay called out "Dad!" and embraced the Frenchman, Amanda turned to Keighley and said, "It's really bad out there. We need to go back out now."
Keighley looked at Nunnally. The Empress nodded and said, "We can't wait any longer. I'll send any other Knights who arrive here to catch up with you later."
"I'll remain here with the Empress," Keighley told the three friends. He looked at the Frenchman and said, "Tom, you go as well. I'm placing you in charge of this mission."
Tom nodded, but Lindsay suddenly said, "Shawn got hurt on our way back. He can't fight."
Before Shawn could speak, Keighley replied, "Very well. Shawn, you'll stay here with the Empress and I."
"Thank you," said Lindsay with a nod.
Tom looked at Lindsay and Amanda and said, "Let's go." Without another word, the three of them left the room.
PENDRAGON HIGH SCHOOL
"You expect me to believe that?!" Nate laughed, but there was no humor in his voice. "You aren't here to protect me. I won't go with you. I saw your friend. I killed him!" He pointed his gun at the four soldiers. "I'll kill you too!"
The Black Knights commander reached for his own weapon. "Don't be stupid, kid," he said. "You can't take out all of us. Now put your gun down. We're the Black Knights, we're here to help."
Nate continued to aim his gun at them. "You want to help? Then help me find my brother!" His voice raised to a shout. "Where is my brother?!"
"He's safe!" the soldier assured. "We've found him and taken him to safety! You have to trust-" The soldier stopped suddenly as the sounds of gunshots filled the air. Then Nate heard a familiar voice scream.
Felix.
For a moment, Nate said nothing. Then, when the gunshots stopped, he chuckled. "Safe?" he said. "That doesn't sound safe. That was my twin brother screaming. That was Felix."
He took a step towards the soldiers, and the leader shouted, "Don't move!"
"Then again," continued Nate, ignoring the commander, "I suppose you are safe from harm when you're dead. So you're actually right. And now… I'm going to return the favor. No one can hurt the dead." He dropped the gun. He no longer needed it; he could feel a power awakening inside him, and the memories came flooding back. As his left eye began to glow a shade of dark purple, he took another step. "Your people killed my brother." Taking one more step, Nate removed his glasses and stared at the soldiers as a strange symbol appeared in his eye.
"Now you will pay."
END OF PHASE 01
Author Comments:
Huge thanks to everyone who decided to read Code Geass: Brothers of Justice! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the story so far, so long as there aren't any spoilers, so feel free to private message or comment anything you're wondering! Also, a bit of information about my chapter upload schedule: currently my life is kind of insane, so I don't know exactly how regularly I'll be able to post new chapters, but I'll do my best to post whenever possible. Thanks again for reading Brothers of Justice!
NEXT PHASE
In a shocking twist of events, Nate evaded capture by enemy soldiers that seem to be members of the Black Knights using the power of Geass that he had kept supressed for three years. As the Knights of Nunnally, including Nate and Felix's friends Amanda and Lindsay, battle the enemy forces on their way to the high school, Nate will have to find a way to get out of the country before he can carry out his plan to avenge Felix's death, unaware that Felix's role in the story is far from over…
PHASE 02: THE BATTLE OF NEW PENDRAGON