Part two: A new garden.
Excerpt from the Bed of Thorns novel collection.
The prince upon arriving at this new location saw just how deplorable the region was, the huts where made of sticks and mud, the roads where nonexistent, he could see thieves and beggars all over the town, and their where reports the Germans where planning to raid this area again, for any other person being assigned to this province would have been punishment, but to him it was bliss, for turning this region from a shithole into a proper region was a challenger he looked forward to."
(A month after Clovis death and two days after his funeral, Tokyo ghetto, Zero's location)
C.C who was released during the operation in Shinjuku stared at the person in front of her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"So much for gratitude for saving you" Zero replied.
"This is how I express my gratitude by wanting to know you more intimately" C.C replied.
"Very well then" Zero replied and extended his arm to shake hands with her in that moment a wave of energy encased both their minds and which C.C face quickly turned into a smile.
"Do I have to show you my face as well?" Zero asked at which C.C simply shook her head.
"Good, oh and have a seat I suspect my guests will arrive shortly" Zero said to them.
Ohgi and his resistance group walked into a big two story transport which Zero had told them they would meet.
"Are you the voice from Shinjuku?" Ohgi asked as he stepped forward to meet him along with the other members of the resistance.
"Yes, you may say so, I apologize for not being able to show my face, but I am afraid that I fought to many battles and to many scars to call this a face anymore" Zero replied to him.
"That's a likely story, I bet this is some kind of sting operation by the Empire" Tamaki said to those present.
"So the Empires conception of a sting operation is to provide almost 30 knightmares to their enemies have over 100 off their pilots be killed in battle and let their prince be assassinated, I have to say either this resistance group really is such a great threat or your red headed friend over their needs a new dictionary" Zero replied which caused the other members of the resistance cell to chuckle all except Tamami, they had to admit the concept was pretty ludicrous.
"My name is Ohgi, and these are Kallen, Inoue, Minami, Sugiama , Yoshida, And Tamaki" Ohgi introduced them to him.
"You may call me Zero and this woman is C.C, she is my accomplice, now the first thing we do…"
RING RING RING.
Zero tried to finish, but was cut off by Kallen, whose cell phone started to ring.
"Sorry about that, it's my stepmother, she keep trying to make me come to this reception at the government facility" Kallen said as she rejected the call.
"Perhaps you should go then" Ohgi said to her.
"What for?" she asked.
"For who is the reception?" Ohgi asked.
"Well, it said on the invitation is for the coming off the Rose Prince" Kallen replied.
"There you have it, the Rose Prince is a well known and powerful figure in the Empire and the world, we could take this opportunity to recognizance on the enemy" Zero replied before Ohgi could and the matter was decided.
(Government Facility, Lelouch's personal quarters)
Lelouch and Suzaku were their sharing drinks, Lelouch had arrived this morning in Japan and he and Suzaku had spent the time until the reception catching up.
"It's amazing what you and I manage to do to South America, it took us almost three years, but we did it, we eliminated poverty and reformed the Area" Suzaku said as he poured Lelouch another drink.
"I wouldn't go so much as to say reform, the segregation laws instituted by my father are still their it's just that I made a series of punishments for those who abuse numbers, even so it took us one step forward and two steps back just to accomplish that, and even what we did is small when compared to the vastness of the Empire."Lelouch replied.
"Still we did it using the correct means! Results achieved by the methods of Zero or JLF or other terrorists organizations are meaningless if they are paid for in blood, why just look at South America, there hasn't been rebellions there since you became Viceroy." Suzaku replied.
"But your forgetting my friend the born wild horse, and born tamed horse antithesis " Lelouch replied.
"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked.
"A horse who is tamed will always seek human masters to serve, if the master is cruel he will want a kinder one, if the master is kind he will love him, but if either kind master or bad master dies he will immediately seek out a new one, he will not seek freedom because he was raised that way and he is comfortable that way" .
"A born wild horse if captured and tamed will for a while remain docile, but if given the change will always try to run away and be wild again, that is in their nature, regardless of the nature of the master, even if they would live a better life with a master they will always want to be free" Lelouch replied.
"South American's born tamed Horses, Japan is a wild horse, no matter how much time passes, or how benevolent the leader may seem she will always want to rebel, no matter the cost….perhaps what we are doing is just delaying the inevitable…perhaps Zero is right"Lelouch added.
"Don't say that! How can you even say that! What would you want then for that Zero guy who turned Shinjuku into a bloodbath to spread it to the whole country? Have you heard his internet speeches?" Suzaku said to Lelouch.
"But if he succeeds wouldn't that mean a free Japan?" Lelouch asked his friend.
"A country that is free for whom? The countless soldiers and civilians who would have to face a war against not just the Empire but the E.U and the Chinese as well? For the widows and orphans of that war?...No it cannot be done…and even if it is done..how great will the price be?" Suzaku asked.
A silence fell between them until both bursted into laughter.
"You're the same stubborn jock that myself and Nunnally met all those years ago" Lelouch said to him.
"And you're the same smart-ass cocky prince as well" Suzaku replied.
Lelouch then looked at the watch and said to Suzaku.
"Well I guess it's time we go and rob the rich of the Empire" Lelouch said to his friend as both got up and prepared to go downstairs.
"You know that using that box as a wager is dangerous, what if one day you lose?" Suzaku said to his friend.
"Then I will be sure to very selective to who I lose to, now come on Hardy!" Lelouch replied to him.
"Yes Stan" Suzaku replied with a chuckle.
(Tokyo Government facility ball room)
"For God's sake Kallen at least try to smile when the Rose Prince comes down" her stepmother said to Kallen.
"What do you care, you are always saying that the guy is a stain on the lineage of the royal family" Kallen replied to her step mother.
"That fact hasn't changed, the other fact that hasn't changed is his massive fortune which rivals the Emperor himself" her stepmother replied.
xxxxxxxxxx.
"I walk into the ballroom, Suzaku is besides me, he is wearing a military helmet to conceal his identity, the time is not right for the world to know who Autumn Cross really is, before me stand the nobles of the Empire, they all wearing expensive silk clothes lace with silver and gold with jewels to complement them, any normal person would be breathless at the sight…a normal person would…..but not me"
"When I look at their clothes I see dozens of men, women and children working 12 hours in sweat shops making the material, and for their trouble they barely get paid enough to feed themselves, the diamonds and various jewels are obtained trough over taxation and bribes received, each one of those glittering gems means one neighborhood and their peoples lives destroyed….and there are thousands of them…..the smiles on their faces is from the knowledge that they are above the law…I close my eyes for a moment and the illusion disappears and I can see them….the people who slave away in the sweatshops, the cities which lie in ruin, the hundreds of thousands who are dead and the millions of loved ones who are living who are screaming for justice…..only never to receive it….I open my eyes and the illusion one more sets in…the slaves disappear into the light….the ruined cities are covered in darkness…..and the scream masked by music….just like diamonds are cut when found to hide their ugliness….most people can't see the ugliness, the horror….but I am not most people and it makes me wonder…is beauty really only just a product of us covering the flaws?...is there no true beauty or innocence in the world?" Lelouch thought to himself as he entered the room.
The Prince made and announcement that all beggars, thieves and knaves would be invited to the city tavern to eat and drink in the honor oh his ascension to governor of the region
"My lords…..my ladies…." He said as he walked to the middle of the room a warm smile on h is lips, which for a moment maid all of the nobles let their guard down.
They entered the tavern filled with joy of the thought of feasting to their hears content and for free above all other things, they did not know what awaited them.
"….YOUR ARE ALL A DISGRACE!" But it was only for a moment.
The Prince waited until they were all in the tavern, the beggars who were actually to crippled to work he had his men hidden in the crowds bring them out, he then waited until the beggars who pretended to be crippled to reveal their deception and when that was done he slipped out of the tavern …..
"Never in all my life have I seen such a gathering of reaches and mongrel to ever set foot in one room" Lelouch said much to everyone's shock., and to Kallen's surprise.
"I protest! We have made this ball to welcome your arrival and this is how you thank us?" one of the aristocracy said to him.
"I heard his voice, the first one to be shamed and to fall from grace, I turn around and see his face, Count Kolchak, from what information I gathered he is the head of the Japan refrain cartels, up until know I could not prosecute any of these scumbags…..until know that is" Lelouch thought to himself as he turned towards Kolchak.
"And that is why I am so angry with you; my brother's body is still fresh and you through a party!" Lelouch said to him which caught the count off guard.
"Well…..we…I "
"Where are the ones who killed him, why haven't they been found yet?" Lelouch said in a loud tone as two of his soldiers entered the room carrying a large trunk.
"Let me ask you a question count, whose job is it to manage a region?" Lelouch said and a silence befell the room as he awaited the counts answer.
"The n-nobility" the count replied.
"Whose job is to ensure corruption and justice is dealt in the respective region?" Lelouch asked him.
"The n-nobility" the count replied as he was now starting to sweat.
Lelouch then walked towards him until he was face to face with him, the last question came added with fake anger over Clovis's death " And whose job is it to guard the royal family from danger".
"The n-nobility" the count replied as he now shook like a man shook before his executioner, he looked more dead than alive.
The Prince's soldiers the secretly and stealth fully locked the windows and door of the in, trapin the beggars inside.
"Exactly! and you are this regions nobility, your jobs is to ensure peace justice and prosperity are wherever you rule and you failed that!" Lelouch said as he walked towards the trunk and pulled out one of the items in it.
"An m22 infantry assault rifle, corruption is so great in this country that my men bought twelve of these from a back alley street only a few minutes ago…..but you know even if I could overlook the fact that you let my brother die under your watch and that corruption is so great you couldn't cut it with a chainsaw, I cannot over look the various crimes you have all committed" Lelouch said as he pulled out several files from the trunk.
"Like you Baron Medowman, several instances of bribes to the officials who inspected your textile factories in regard to see that it fits the health code, or even our illustrious Count Kolchak, who is the head of the refrain operations in Japan…." Lelouch said as he showed the two files too all those present.
"… And the list goes on…" Lelouch said with a scowl as he kicked the trunk and hundreds of files with incriminating evidence against all those present spilled out of the trunk.
"You think yourselves above the common people, above the law, that you are Gods and can do whatever you want without consequences to your actions…well you may not be Gods…..but here in this Country starting today I am…..and I smite the!" Lelouch said as he snapped his finger sand hundreds of his soldier who were waiting outside the ballroom came in the room to arrest those present.
The Prince's Legions then tossed torches and flaming arrows onto the inn, turning it ablaze, the music and laughter which came from inside was replaced by the screams as the provinces parasites where turned into ash, to the Prince that sound was…..beautiful.
"My Murmilos come into the room and arrest them, one by one I see them as they try to run, squirm, bribe or even threaten their way out of their predicament, under normal circumstances I could never arrest one of them, let alone hundreds of them, but the fact that Clovis died here in this Country under their watch has cost them any favor they had from my father which could have protected them Cornelia who I talked to on the way here agrees with me and wishes she was here to do it herself, Schneizell said to me that what I was doing was what was needed ' kill one man to warn ten' is his policy" Lelouch said as he burned this scene into his memory for him to enjoy it time and time again when he retreated into the sanctuary of his own mind.
"I look at the ballroom after the arrested noblemen are taken away, out of the hundreds who where now in the ballroom only a handful remained"
"I can see that I've killed the mood for the party so let's call it a night" Lelouch replied with a wide grin on his face, he rarely showed emotions, but on this occasion when he made hundreds of nobles pay for their crimes made him drop his mask and savor the moment.
xxxxxx.
"I am standing next to my stepmother who is still trembling from what just happened, but I am equally stunned, this Prince of Brittannia has just brought hundreds of those pigs to justice, and upon seeing his face I can tell that he is savoring every moment, I wait until he speaks and then I take a second glass of Champaign and walk over to him" Kallen said to herself as she did that.
"Champaign? What's the occasion?" Lelouch said as he took the glass from Kallen.
From afar he saw a red headed woman on a horse on the hilltop north of where he stood, she had seen what he had done, she was a native to the province which was under the Empire's rule, the Prince looked at her as is waiting for a response for his actions.
"You look like you want to celebrate…and I'd say what you did deserves celebration" Kallen whispered the last part and Lelouch looked at her and from her facial expression he could tell that she genuinely liked and approved of what he just did or was a very, very good actress.
She nodded in approval, and rode off to continue her plans
"I must say I am rather surprised to find someone like you wanting to celebrate all this with someone like me" Lelouch replied.
"Someone like me?" Kallen said a bit confused.
"What I meant was someone as charming as you would want to be with such a royal pain in the ass as myself" Lelouch replied which made Kallen genuinely chuckle.
"I am afraid that the ball is over, but I enjoyed your company and I hope we meet again" Lelouch said to Kallen.
Kallen looked at her stepmother, she was giving Kallen a look which said.
What are you doing!
Kallen gave her a look which said.
You asked me to be friendly to him, so that's what I am doing
"I would like that" Kallen said to him and Lelouch after a few more minute left
"And I didn't want to come here tonight!" she thought to herself and was glad she did, she would have regretted not been able to see all this.
(Lelouch's private quarters, a few minutes later)
"What should we do with them now that they are our prisoners?" Suzaku asked Lelouch.
"Through them in jail, take what bribes they offer us without rendering services and eliminate from positions of power any person who is still loyal to the, how soon can Jeremiah bring the Murmilos here?" Lelouch asked Suzaku.
"Estimate is roughly two weeks for the whole army, but the third regiment arrived three hours agon and have just finished unloading in port, what's our next move?" Suzaku asked him.
"We go to sleep until morning" Lelouch said as he walked towards his bedroom.
"What happens at morning?" Suzaku asked.
"Why the sun comes up of course" Lelouch replied with a chuckle.
(Tokyo Ghetto, Resistance van, the next day)
"So all that happened in a single night!" Ohgi said to those present as Kallen told them her story.
"You know I never thought I'd say this, but here's to that Lelouch guy!" Tamaki said to them.
"Before you praise him, I'd suggest you watch his broadcast" Zero said as he turned up the volume on the tv.
xxxxxxxxxx.
Lelouch was making a live broadcast announcement to the country.
"Josei wa, Nippon no minasama, watashi wa jibun no nikkunēmurōzupurinsu to ippan Underland to yoba reru Nanbei no governour toshite shira rete iru hō, rurūshu roku buritania, Kiyoshi Britanian teikoku no dai 11-kai ōjidesu."
(Ladies, Gentlemen of Japan, i am Lelouch vi Britannia, 11th Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, better known by my nick name the Rose Prince and as governor of South America, popularly called Underland.)
And everyone who heard it was shocked that he was speaking Japanese.
Kinō kara watashi wa kono kuni no sōin o kaishi shite, coruption wa saikin tame son'na koto o shite, hoshō de wa naku," Underland" ni kumikomu ni wa, kono chiiki no sōtoku no namae toshite no watashi no ito o anoucning sono watashi no nochi ni itte mazu saisho ni sa reru Nippon no kanzen'na keizai infrastuctural healin wa, watashi ga saisho ni kono kuni no antei-sei o kakuho suru hitsuyō ga arimasu.
(Since yesterday I have begun a sweep of this country, corruption will be the first thing to go after that I am announcing my intention as Recently named Viceroy of this region to incorporate it into "Underland" , but in order to do that and insure the complete economic and infrastructural healing of Japan I must first ensure this countries stability.)
Teishi bakugeki-gai no bā ya kui wa, kairyū no jōkyō to wa nani no kankei mo nai mujitsu no minkan-jin o koroshite, gunji shisetsu ni gyakkō shite kidō suru: Karera no jiyū no senshi watashidearu to shuchō suru anata gata ni iu ni wa,-ji ga arukara samazamana terorist soshiki soshite suru Tatakau heishi o kidō suru to, watashi wa anata o ataete iru watashi to tatakau tame ni suru koto o kikai ni, watashi wa Nippon de wa kō goverment soshiki no subete nitaishite honkaku-tekina shōdo kyanpēn kaishi anouncing orimasunode,
(And so to the various terrorist organizations out there who claim to be freedom fighter i have the following to say to you: Stop bombing streets and bars and start going against military facilities, stop killing innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the current situation and start fighting soldiers, you want to fight me I am giving you that chance, because I am announcing the start a fully fledged scorched earth campaign against all of the anti-government organization in Japan)
"And when will this campaign start your highness" the news anchor on the respective channel which was broadcasting his speech asked.
"Right now" Lelouch said as the walls seeing around him fell revealing that it was nothing more than a stage background and it revealed that Lelouch was with his soldiers in the country side.
"Jeremiah begin!" Lelouch said to him.
"Yes my lord! Artillery open fire" Jeremiah said and the artillery started pounding the Blood of the Samurai headquarters.
"Blood of the Samurai! IT's time to bleed" Lelouch said as he mounted his knightmare frame and with the Lancelot besides him he led the charge of knights to the Blood o the samurai's headquarters.
xxxxxxxxxxx.
"And so it has begun…." C.C said to the others, yes it had truly begun.
Read and review, let me know if I should continue.