2: The Deal

Ashford Academy was a pristine school run by the former noble family of the same name, the head of the family being the principle. Currently, it was the lunch hour for the campus, with most of the young students outside enjoying the sun.

"Where's Lelouch?" Asked a shapely blonde girl, a small basket of sandwiches in her lap. "And I don't see Clara around either?"

A girl with orange hair sighed, "They've gone off somewhere with Rivalz again." She said in exasperation. "They're gambling again, Milly, no doubt."

Milly giggled, "What!" She giggled, "Maybe it's poker this time, eh, Shirley?" She asked addressing the orange-haired girl.

Shirley rolled her eyes, stabbing a tomato from her lunch box, "Those two seem to keep forgetting that they're on the student council," she said, waving her fork in agitation, "Instead of setting a good example for the other students, they're off gambling for money!" She said, "And if that wasn't bad enough, he has to let his little sister come along with him while poor Nunna's stuck here!"

"Nunnaly doesn't really mind," said a girl with dark green hair, and glasses, "B-besides, Lelouch puts all the money he wins toward Nunnaly's health," she said timidly looking at the two girls, "He...he wants her to walk again."

Shirley and Milly sighed, both of them giving off somber looks at the thought of Lelouch's youngest sister. Milly had been thrilled when she learned that the girl had regained her sight somehow, even though Lelouch and Nunnaly wouldn't say a word about how it happened, but the girl was still confined to a wheel chair. She had know for a long time that Lelouch was trying to win enough money by fleecing nobles to pay for the operation that would give her back her legs, among other things.

"Be that as it may," Shirley went on, "Lulu's grades are suffering, because all he does is slack off when he's not gambling!" She said, "He'd get good grades if he'd just apply himself a little more!"

Milly gave the girl a dreamy look, "Oh, I wish my darling, Lulu would be a serious young man!" She said in a soft, lovesick voice that made both of her friends blush, "How adorable is that?"

Shirley blushed, and nibbled on her fork, "P-please, Madam President."

Milly giggled again, "Well, you and I both know that there's some hard competition for our darling vice-president," she said, taking a bite of her sandwich, "Don't forget, Clara's unrelated to Lelouch, and has the biggest brother complex I've ever seen."

"Doesn't that count as incest?" Nina asked, a slight frown on her face, "I mean, they're family, right?"

"They're all the same," Milly said, shrugging, "Besides Lulu and Nunna, there's not a drop of blood between anyone in that family." She said, thinking about it for a moment, "If I remember, Clara was adopted into the family just before Lulu and Nunna were. My cousin had a real soft heart for refugees. Too bad about him, though, he was a good man."

"So there's Clara, and me, I guess," Shirely admitted shyly, "Who else is after Lulu?"

"Besides the entire female student body?" Milly asked, which was true, because more than once she'd seen several girls confessing to the boy at once. "Well, me, of course!" She grinned widely.

"You?!" Both Nina and Shirley yelled.

"But of course," she smiled, "I've known Lulu-darling since we were little, and let me tell you - "

Both girls began to blush brightly as Milly went into a detailed story about her time with Lelouch as children.

=x=

Rivalz and Clara walked behind Lelouch, both laughing at the expense of the noblemen the young man had just trounced. "I just love fleecing the nobles," Rivalz laughed, wiping a stray tear from his eye, "They always pay out of pride in the end, and the looks on their faces!" He laughed.

Clara giggled, looking at her big brother in admiration, "And thanks to big brother, we tripled what was promised during the initial game," she smiled, walking up to loop her arms through Lelouch's, "How'd you manage that, anyway, Bro?"

Lelouch looked uncomfortable with the attention, but allowed it, knowing that she'd just pout about it later, that or complain to Nunnaly, then he'd be up the creek without a paddle. "If a King doesn't take the lead, then how can he expect others to follow?" He asked, "Using the one piece on the board that is required to be protected as an advancing piece may seem like a rookie move, but it can often lead to an easy victory...as long as you know what you're doing, and don't let arrogance cloud your judgement."

Clara smiled at him, snuggling against his left arm, "So," she said, "Will this finally be enough?"

Lelouch and Rivalz looked at her, one in surprise, and the other with narrowed eyes. "Are you talking about Nunnaly's operation?" Rivalz asked as Clara bit her lip, realizing her slip. "About that, Lelouch," Rivalz went on, "Does she know what you're planning?"

Lelouch sighed, taking his arm out of Clara's grasp, "To answer your questions; yes, this is, finally, enough," he said, which make both of them smile, "And no, Nunnaly has no idea what I'm planning." He said, his eyes cast down, but a smile lit his face, "I'm sure she'll be happy to have her legs back in working order."

Rivalz smiled and went to bring his bike around. Lelouch then turned to Clara, who looked repentant. "Clara Eloise Lamperouge, what have I told you about talking about my business deals?"

Clara fidgeted under his baleful gaze, "I'm sorry, Brother, but...well, you've been doing this for years, now, and with all the terrorist activity going on with the JLF and Yamato Alliance, I thought - " Lelouch raised his hand, and Clara flinched, screwing her eyes shut...only for Lelouch to flick her on the forehead, "Ow!" She yelped, startled.

She looked up to find her brother smiling at her, "It's okay, Clara, but from now on, just be a little more careful," he said, and patted her on the head, "Besides...it's almost time."

"Really?" The girl asked brightly.

Lelouch nodded, smiling, "Rai's brokering a deal with India's R&D right now for the Guren Type-01," he said, "If we're lucky, he'll be back sometime today with several units to start with."

Clara clasped her hands together, "As long as you make mine pink, I don't care if it's a Glasgow!"

Lelouch chuckled at the thought of one of the machines being painted such a color, but well, to each their own. In truth, he already had a Type-01 waiting for him that had been modified to his specifications. Truthfully, even with its standard equipment, it was a wicked machine, and one of the few Seventh Generation Knightmares produced outside of the Homeland.

His phone then began to ring. He took the phone from his pocket and saw that it was Rai, "Hm, I wonder if the deal went alright?" He said offhandedly as he answered, "It's me, what's going on, Rai?"

"I got the goods," a young voice said, "There's ten in total, and more on the way."

Lelouch smiled happily, "That's good. Did the MZI(Militarized Zone of India) give you any trouble?"

"Nothing that I couldn't handle," Rai said with a chuckle, "The problem's gonna be finding a place to store these things until you're ready to get the ball rolling."

"You let me worry about that," he said, smiling, "Where are you now?"

"Around the Shinjuku Area," Rai said, making Lelouch raise his brow, "I had to do a lot of break-neck driving, but it was worth it to avoid border patrols."

Clara looked at her brother with a frown, "Is Rai speeding again?" She asked with a pout, "I kept telling him not to, but he never listens." She huffed and crossed her arms.

Lelouch chuckled, "Hear that, Rai, you're in the doghouse again," he laughed.

"Yeah, what else is new?" Rai asked with a sigh, "Tell Miss Teddy Bear -panties that it was either drive crazily, or get caught."

"Hey!" Clara shouted at the phone, "I've got some damned good ears, Rai, so I heard that Teddy Bear crack!"

Lelouch winced as Rai chuckled and hung up the phone. "Why do you waste your affections on me when you know he cares about you?" He wondered quietly, even though he knew the girl could hear him.

Suddenly every Tv and video screen lit up with the face of Area-11's Viceroy, Clovis la Britannia. "To all my imperial subjects! Including of course the many cooperative Elevens who choose to serve the empire of Britannia!"

.

"We're not Elevens," shouted the girl in the passenger's seat of the truck, "We're Japanese!"

.

"Do you not see my pain? My heart was ripped from my chest only to be torn apart! The remnants are filled with rage and sadness! However, as ruler of Area 11, I will not tolerate terrorism of any kind! Because the battle we fight is a righteous one, a virtuous battle to protect the well-being of one and all! Now then, everyone! I would like you to join me in observance of the eight who died for justice, in the line of duty."

Clara scoffed as a news reporter asked for a moment of silence. "Can he be any more of a blow-hard?" She asked as Rivalz pulled in front of them on his bike.

The boy looked around at the other Britannian citizens as they bowed their heads, "Well, aren't you two gonna join in?"

"Aren't you?" Lelouch shot right back, taking the sidecar while Clara climbed on behind the blue-haired teen.

The boy grinned a little, "Heh...it's sort of embarrassing."

Clara settled herself behind him as Lelouch took the sidecar, "It's beyond embarrassing," she huffed as they sped off, "Makes me glad we're not back in the Homeland."

"I agree with both of you," Lelouch said, opening a book as they rode along, "Besides, spilling tears over those people won't bring them back, will it?"

Rivalz chuckled, "Damn! That's dark, buddy!"

Clara giggled, "You should hear him when he's mad," she said, smiling down at her brother, "Then he can really put a chill on you!"

Lelouch smirked at little at that, "Only because you're the one I always get mad at," he said, smiling, "And don't think I've forgotten about your little incident in the gym earlier this week."

Clara puffed out her cheeks cutely, which made Lelouch laugh. The girl still had nothing on Nunnaly.

=x=

Rai sighed as he drove his cargo-hauler through the Shinjuku area, "Man, the next time he wants something, he can damn well get it himself," he said, yawning, "I need some coffee," he groaned and reached for a can of soda in his lunch pail.

Distracted for but a moment, he never saw the truck coming up beside him, nor did he see that his friends were only a few feet in front of him as he came up on Rivalz's bike while he came up onto the main highway. The truck began to pass him, honking its horn as it blew by. Rai growled and flipped the driver the finger before he noticed the bike cutting in front of them. "Merde!" He yelped, stomping on the brakes as the truck swerved to miss the bike.

The other truck swerved around the bike for a moment before breaking off and crashing through a road block and into a construction area.

Rivalz pulled over to the side of the road while and his passengers surveyed the incident. "So...was that our fault?"

"Well..." Clara pouted thoughtfully.

"I don't think so," Lelouch said as he looked down at the truck while a crowd began to gather.

Rai saw them and got out of the truck. "Yo!" The trio turned as the younger teen came jogging up to them. Rai was a around Lelouch's age, if only a little younger, with wild silver hair, dark blue eyes. He was lean and wiry, just a little more athletic than Lelouch tended to be nowadays.

"Rai," Rivalz waved in greeting.

"You got here quick," Lelouch said offhandedly, looking at the truck the boy had pulled up in, and then looked back down at the truck, "Man, I hope they're alright."

"Should we go down and see?" Clara asked, somewhat worried.

Lelouch was about to answer when he saw a strange silhouette appearing above the cargo trailer. "What the -?"

Rivalz groaned as he checked over his bike, "Aw, man, this sucks!" He said, "The power line's been cut!"

"Aw, how are we gonna get back, now?" Clara moaned, looking at her brother, "Lulu, are you listening?"

Rai looked over at his friend, who was still staring down at the wreck, "You okay, Lu?"

Lelouch was frowning deeply, 'That looked like...but that's impossible...' He thought, and looked back at his friends, "Hey, I'm gonna go down and see if I can help out."

Rai frowned at him, "I'll see if I can get Rivalz's bike running again." He said, making the boy smile at him, "You be careful. That driver might not be too happy."

Lelouch nodded, not really listening as he ran down the road, and into the construction site, 'It was her,' he thought as he reached the truck, 'It had to be!'

"Hey," Lelouch shouted at the truck, "Are you alright in there?" The truck itself was buried in the construction area, but the trailer was in full display. Lelouch saw a ladder on the side, and went to climb up.

"Nagata," the girl in the cab said, trying to shake her friend awake, "Hey, come on, you gotta wake up!"

Nagata groaned, and sat up, pushing the airbag out of his face, "What the hell happened?" He groaned, looking at the girl, "Did we - "

"We crashed in a construction site," she said, frowning, "Come on, we've gotta get out of here before they call in the military!"

Nagata nodded, and shifted the truck into reverse.

On top of the truck, Lelouch was looking down into the back of the trailer, "Can anyone hear me?" He shouted down, "I'm here to- woah!" The truck lurched backward, throwing the young Britannian inside the transport. "Hey, wait a minute, I'm in here!" He cried out, nearly toppling over as the truck sped off.

Now back on the bridge...

"Lelouch!" Clara shouted as she saw her brother falling into the truck.

Rai and Rivalz looked up from where they were working on his bike as the truck sped back up onto the highway. "What happened?" The silvette asked.

Clara turned to him with an outraged look on her face, "That jerk threw Lelouch into the truck when he backed up!" She cried, "He's stuck in the trailer!"

"What?!" Rai roared, dropping his tools, and rushing over to grab the girl by the hand, "Come on!" He pulled her toward the truck, "Rivalz, the line's patched up, so you can head back! We're going after Lelouch!"

"Wha - ?! But Ra -!" Rivalz shouted as he all but threw Clara into the truck and jumped in after her, "Hey!"

Rai stepped on the gas and screeched forward, Clara yelping as the truck picked up speed, "Rai! No speeding!" She whimpered, terrified of his driving habits.

"Knock it off," Rai snapped, "Lelouch just got kidnapped and you're worried about my driving!" He yelled as a military VTOL flew overhead, "The army?" He wodered aloud as they gained on the offending truck.

The aircraft promptly began shooting at the truck, "What the hell!" Clara yelled, plastering herself against the windshield, "Why the hell are they shooting at big brother!?"

"Stop the vehicle! Surrender now and you'll get the chance to defend yourself in court! Stop and surrender at once! Give up now or we'll shoot to kill!" The VTOL's pilot roared as the shots he fired peppered the road.

"Dammit!" Rai snapped, "Those guys are terrorists!"

"You gotta be -!" Clara yelped, but then her phone began to buzz, "Oh," she picked it up, and held it to her ear, "Lelouch?"

"Clara, I need you to pilot a Knightmare for me!" Lelouch roared, "I'm moving up our plans!"

Rai looked at the girl as she looked over to him, both nodding, "Orders, Your Highness?" Rai said loudly.

"Rai, as soon as Clara launches, you get out of sight until I call for you," he said, as the trailer opened up and a slash harken shot out, taking out the VTOL, "Clara, do you see the Knightmare that's coming out right now?"

"Hard not to when it's right in front of me," Clara quipped, frowning as two more VTOLs came flying in, "Oh, shit, those are Knightmare transports!" She snapped as a red Glasgow jumped out, and two Sutherlands were released, "Okay, I'm going to get a machine!" She said, handing the phone off to Rai, "Keep in touch!"

"Roger!" Rai growled.

"Clara, you stick with the Glasgow, and help her out," Lelouch said while she could still hear him, "That's Kallen Stadtfeld in there."

"Kallen!?" Both teen shouted.

"Focus guys," Lelouch said, "From what I caught, we're heading into the Shinjuku Ghetto via the Azabu root. Rai, you get into the ghetto and find some place to hide. If these two have friends, we arm them with the Type-01s, if not, we get them out, and find others. This it the beginning of what we've been planning for the last three years!"

Rai nodded as tears began to form in his eyes, "Yes, You Highness." He said, reaching for his chest wear a locket was concealed. "Clara, you get out there, and please be careful."

Clara looked at him, "You be careful."

.

"Back the hell off," Kallen shouted as she took out another VTOL, "You know full well what this badass mother can do!"

"The rest of you, back off." A voice shouted over the speakers, "I'll take this guy." The VTOL dropped a purple humanoid machine onto the road, "I can only assume you dug that obsolete relic out of some scrap heap." The machine leveled an anti-Knightmare rifle at her, "An over the hill Glasgow is no match for a Sutherland!" Kallen maneuvered her Glasgow in and out of the line of fire quickly, which was a surprise to the pilot of the Sutherland, but the machine was still slower than a Sutherland, "Not to mention a filthy Eleven who spurns the compassion of our glorious Emperor!" He opened fire.

Kallen shot forward, avoiding as much of the assault rifle's barrage as she could, "I'm not a fucking Eleven, I'm Japanese!" She fired her slash harkens.

The cable mounted blades were shot down, one destroyed, while her left arm took substantial damage. "Kallen, we should both split up! Both of us can't risk being killed! Run for it!" Nagata yelled over the radio as another Sutherland took to the top of a building and jumped down in front of him.

"But -!"

"Simpleminded Eleven." The pilot of the second Sutherland chuckled it opened fire. Nagata turned a hard right, his windshield shattering under fire, and his left shoulder taking a large shard.

Kallen turned on the new arrival, aiming her remaining slash harken at it, but the thing wouldn't fire! "No way?!" She blanched, "It's stuck!"

"Secondhand junk!" The lead Sutherland's pilot roared, coming at her again, and Kallen ejected her damaged arm at it, smashing it into the assault rifle and destroying it as the discarded arm exploded. "I will admit! I really like your spirit." The man chuckled, activating his Stun Tonfa, "However -!"

"However, you talk way too much!" Yelled a new voice. Kallen watched as a new Knightmare lept from a truck that had been tailing them, despite the battle going on. But this frame was unlike anything she had ever seen in her entire life. For one thing, it was even more agile than a Sutherland as it whipped through the air, spinning and tumbling like an acrobat. It was red for the most part, which Kallen found exceedingly attractive, a grey cockpit, black faceplate, and gleaming orange eyes that seemed like the eyes of a demon she had once read about in Japanese legends.

In its right hand was a jousting lance such as the ones carried by Gloucesters, but other than that, she couldn't see any other weapons as the machine landed right in front of her, its back turned to her as it faced down the Sutherland.

"Who the hell -?!" Kallen started.

"No time for introductions," the pilot, a girl, said, "You should go after your friend. My brother should be with him soon to take care of whatever injuries he has." She said, leveling her lance in hand like a spear ready to throw, "I'll handle things here."

Kallen looked at the machine, wishing she knew the face of the pilot, "Why should I trust you?"

"Not asking you to trust me, hon, just suggesting you go," she said, "Chances are that my brother will give you one of these babies, too."

Kallen thought for a moment before she nodded, "Thank you," she said, turning her Glasgow around, "Give'em hell!"

"Hold it!" The second Sutherland raced to intercept, but was cut off by a slash harken fired from the new machine's hip.

"Ah-ah-ah, naughty girl," Clara Eloise Lamperouge smiled from inside her Guren Type-01, "Your fight is with me!"

=x=

Nagato groaned as his vision started to become blurry, "Dammit, I can't die, yet!" He groaned as he drove the truck underground, "I haven't done anything for them, yet!" He growled, looking down at the picture of his family taped to the dashboard. The door behind him opened up, startling him. There stood a boy no older than a highschool student carrying a first aid kit. "What the -?!"

"So I was right, you are hurt," the boy said, frowning as he took up the seat next to him as the man glared, reaching fora gun, no doubt, "I'm not an enemy, nor am I trying to impede you." He said as he rummaged around for gauze, and wraps, "I'm actually glad you guys came along. It gave me a chance to speed up my plans."

Nagata growled, leveling his pistol at him, "And what plans are those?"

Lelouch vi Britannia smiled a frightening smile at him, "Why the total destruction of Britannia, of course," he said, and reached for the man's shirt, opening it up to reveal his wounds, "So," he said, carefully beginning to take the shards of glass from his wound and packing them with gauze, "Let's make a deal."

"Deal?" The man said, flinching as he decided to pull over, seeing no other way to hash things out while he was being worked on, "What kind of a deal?"

Lelouch started wiping away some of the blood with alcohol wipes, which made Nagata hiss, "Sorry, I bet that hurts like hell," he said sympathetically, and placed a square of packing against the wound, "The deal is this. I'm about to start a revolution against Britannia, and the Emperor. If you know anyone that can join my cause against him, I'll provide Knightmares and funding." He said, looking the man dead in the eyes, "I detest my old country, which cast me aside like a piece of garbage, and the fact that they invaded the one place that took me in, cleaned and dressed my wounds, and treated me as a person instead of an object, and turned my new home into a butchery."

Nagata was a little frightened by the seriousness in the boy's eyes. He had seen such eyes before. In the mirror the day his wife and child were murdered while he had been away. In the eyes of Kallen when she had found out that her brother had been tortured to death. In the eyes of all Japanese people who hated Britannia.

Lelouch finished dressing his wounds, and sat back, "That'll have to do," he said, wiping the blood from his hands, "At least you won't have to worry about bleeding to death."

"Say I take this deal of yours," Nagata said, "What can you do that even Todo the Miracle Worker couldn't?"

Lelouch looked at him, a smile on his face, "I've live here for seven years, since the day that Britannia invaded," he said, making the man's eyes widen, "I've lost everything, save for one or two people that are precious to me." He said, thinking of his two sisters and his friends Rai and Milly, "And there is nothing more dangerous than someone that has nothing to lose save for someone that can outsmart even Schneizel. That's when you have a demon of vengeance on your hands."

"And the Knightmares?"

"Seven Generation Gurens from the MZI," he said, smiling, "And I have nine of them to offer as of right now with many more on the way." He held out his hand, "So?" He asked, "Will you make a deal with this demon?"

Nagata thought for a moment, then reached for his radio, "I won't trust you. I can't." He said, frowning as he handed the device to him, "But I'm so damned tired of being on the losing end of things, and not being able to avenge my family!" He looked at the boy, "I accept your deal, Demon."

A deal with a Demon has been made.

Next time the crimson lotus will bloom!

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