Chapter 6: Chelyabinsk & Fuji.
AN: A transition chapter before begining the serious business. Lelouch is bored and gives Europe a victory. It was really cool to imagine the whole scene in my mind. I hope it'll be cool to read for you.
A small precision : Akito Hyuga won't have a Geass cast on him on my story, and Shin won't have a Geass either. Well, it may change if we get more precisions in the next OVA.
February 14th 2018
Chelyabinsk was a city in Russia. Its particularity was that it was both near Kazakhstan and Area 12's borders. In clear, this city was between the Euro Universe, The Chinese Federation and The Holy Britannian Empire. It was the center of the World. Chelyabinsk had suffered many damages from the last war between the EU and Britannia. It had been occupied by the Empire and later on liberated by the European Army. Because of the last war and the fact that this city was now 10 kilometers away from the actual border with Britannia, its number of inhabitants had been divided by 5 during the year 2017, or rather 228 of the Republican calendar.
The sun was rising, revealing the sight to the population of Chelyabinsk.
A sight of horror.
Westward: The European Army led by General Van De Voorde.
Eastward: The Britannian Army led by Theodore za Britannia.
The two superpowers mobilized their troops in order to create a 2000 kilometers front, from Kazakhstan to the Arctic Ocean.
And they advanced during the night, waiting for the meeting with the enemy.
In both sides, the artillery began the barrage fire.
Needless to say, Chelyabinsk's number of inhabitants would be divided again.
Lelouch was on his bed, contemplating the green-haired woman he slept with. She was sleeping, but not for long.
"What are you thinking at?" C.C asked with a sleepy voice.
"Kallen isn't here." Lelouch replied while stroking her hair. "And it's Valentine's Day. It's the first night we spend without her."
"You wanted us two for yourself in this special day, am I right?" She said teasingly.
Lelouch pinned the witch on the bed and locked his lips with hers.
"I'll unleash all my passion upon you, then." He replied after a torrid kiss.
Needless to say, Lelouch wouldn't get out of his bed for another hour.
"So." He said casually after a shower. "What should I do today?"
"Why don't you plan the coup d'état of the Chinese Federation?" C.C asked rhetorically.
Lelouch shrugged. "Xingke can take care of it, the High Eunuchs are under both our control, after all."
She stretched her arms. "You can relax for a while. The World's fate is not in your shoulders today."
He laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Still, I'm going to command the European Army."
C.C raised an eyebrow. "You've put the higher ups of the EU under your control, am I right?"
Lelouch nodded. "One of them is leading the Army in Russia. I'm going to lead Europe to victory through General Peter Van De Voorde."
"Because you're bored." She stated.
"Because I'm bored."
Captain Akito Hyuga was a rather skilled soldier. Even though, the politicians of this country wanted to turn him into a cannon fodder, just because he wasn't ethnically European. Everything had changed for him when he had been saved by someone who wasn't entirely European either, Leila.
"So this is what the St. Exupéry looks like." He said aloud, looking at the aircraft in front of him.
During the truce, the European development team tried to find countermeasures for the Britannian flight-enabled Knightmare Frames. Instead of trying to make a European Knightmare fly, the engineers designed a new generation of aircrafts. They were as resistant as usual Knightmares and as manageable as aircrafts. The unit where Akito belonged, the W-0 unit led by Lieutenant-Colonel Leila Malkal, designed this new model and won the interest of the Government. The factories created hundreds of them, and would create more should The Saint-Exupéry proves to be efficient against the Britannian forces.
Akito entered the cockpit. He was leading an entire squad for an important mission.
"Captain Hyuga." General Van De Voorde said on his radio. "You and your squad will fly over the frontlines at the south of Chelyabinsk and bombard the railway lines coming from Omsk. This is where most of the Britannian reinforcements come from."
Akito nodded. "Understood."
If the Britannian couldn't reinforce their left flank, the European army would profit to create an opening and gain the advantage at the southern front. Most of the important infrastructures where at the south of Russia, and since it was the winter the Britannian occupation forces wouldn't want to force on the North too much. In clear, if his Squad managed to cut down the reinforcements from the Omsk settlement, Europe would win the first battle of this war.
Akito, along with the 20 members of his Squad, took off from the Saratov Aerial base.
Theodore za Britannia, sixth Prince of the Empire and now second in line to the throne, was in the G-1 unit at the proximity of the Omsk settlement. He would command his armies from afar, near the capital of Area 12. On the contrary, his twin brother Frederic za Britannia, preferred to pilot Knightmares. It was his main weakness…
"Tell me, Duke Ivanov." Theodore said to the Viceroy of Area 12, a noble who wished to regain his lands in Ukraine from the hands of those stinky democrats. "I heard that your daughter is on the frontlines today."
Ivanov nodded. "Yes, she's leading a Squad in the south front. Catherine helped taking the city of Chelyabinsk this morning and will continue to weaken their flank."
Theodore chuckled. "She'll do well in the Knights of the Round, don't you agree?"
Of course, it was only flatteries and an alliance proposition. Duke Ivanov was an important aristocrat with a lot of contacts and a web of collaborators. He would be a great ally to Theodore.
"Yes, your Highness." The old noble replied brightly. "If you could have a word with the Emperor about that, I would be greatly honored. It would do well for my family prestige if Catherine enters the Knights of the Round."
'But you have the 99th Britannian Emperor in front of you.' He thought with amusement.
"We'll see about that." The sixth prince replied instead, and then turned to his twin brother. "Frederic, are you ready to lead the aerial units?"
He nodded. "Yes, Theodore, the Europeans won't have a chance with my Vincent and one hundred flight-enabled Sutherlands. We'll crush their front from behind and our troops will be able to walk to Moscow at the end of the week."
Theodore smirked. "That's good, very good." Then he finished for himself. 'And at the end of the week, I'll be able to ascend to the throne.'
Kallen was on the Wako, a Britannian cruiser they stole the year before who was now heading to Taiwan with most of the Black Knights' Knightmare Frames. She was looking at a crimson-colored one with nostalgia.
"Well, I guess I'll spend Valentine's Day with you, Guren." She said casually while reading the manual. "You seem to have all the good old options now."
Someone entered the room; it was Takeshi.
"Hey Captain." He said absently, and then looked at the Knightmare in front of him. It was tall, had a round shield in its left arm, a red katana in its right arm, an incorporated VARIS rifle was replacing the Knightmare's left hand and multiple big-calibers cannons were mounted on its corpse and its shoulders. Contrary to the Guren, who had the Air Glide Wings installed, this unit's float system was integrated. The Knightmare Frame looked a lot like a giant mechanized Samurai.
"The Ronin." Kallen declared. "An eighth Generation Knightmare Frame."
"My Knightmare." Takeshi replied, sighing. "It's a machine made for destruction, I should've seen it sooner."
She shook her head. "Why do you want to destroy Britannia that much?"
"It's not like I have the choice." He retorted. "Zero won't stop using that power until the Empire is destroyed once and for all, and I don't think the other Black Knights will be enough evil to follow him in his task."
Kallen chuckled. "I would."
Takeshi raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. Before I met Zero, I wanted to unleash poison gas on the Tokyo Settlement."
He gulped.
Kallen stroked the metal of her Guren. "And now I want to make the Britannian Army shit in their pants when they see me and my Knightmare." She grinned. "Oh, and I want World peace too, I guess."
"I want World peace, too." Takeshi replied absently.
"Cool." She replied casually. "Welcome to the Liberation Army."
Suzaku Kururugi, Captain of the Area 11 Viceroy's Royal Guard, Knight of Euphemia and former masked messiah by interim was piloting the Vincent Conquista. According to what Lloyd said, it was a model created in order to replace the Lancelot, stolen by Zero. The unit looked a lot like the Lancelot, but it was lighter, more manageable and less powerful. Suzaku figured that this Knightmare could be piloted by someone else in the future, probably a woman. Still, it was a good training for Suzaku to accustom himself with the commands of a Knightmare Frame.
He landed the unit on the littoral of Fuji.
Suzaku got out of the Knightmare and was greeted by the co-administrator of the Zone.
"I thought that no armored units were authorized to the SAZ." Ohgi said sternly.
Suzaku looked at the man who was Prime Minister of Japan in another World. Ohgi was the complete opposite of Lelouch; it was something he remarked when he had worked with him.
"I'm sorry; it was just for a quick flight." Suzaku said apologetically. "I need to speak to Euphemia about something."
The technicians under Lloyd's orders proceeded to take the Vincent Conquista elsewhere.
"May I ask you a question?" Ohgi asked.
Suzaku nodded.
"What's your opinion towards Zero?"
He scratched his head. "Well, you see… At first, I naively thought that destroying Zero & The Empire's Enemies would permit to make Britannia a better country."
"But you were wrong." Ohgi retorted.
Suzaku shrugged. "Yeah, I was wrong."
Lelouch was on a command center in the Forbidden City, looking at a giant screen that showed the Battle of Russia. Through a Belgian General he used his Geass on, The Empire's Enemy was leading a war against Britannia. To win against his father, he would conquer all the thought Elevators in order to destroy them. Lelouch had weakened the northern front and would easily crush the Britannian forces if the railways used for the reinforcements would be destroyed by the Hyuga Squad. Now, he was concentrating on the southern front, trying to retake the city of Chelyabinsk from the Britannians.
Suddenly, something caught his attention.
An Enemy Squad composed of twelve Knightmares was piercing the European's defenses at the south of Chelyabinsk, near the Kazakhstan border. They were doing well, as if the Panzer-Hummel's bullet didn't touch them.
Lelouch chuckled. The leader of the Squad was advancing straight on, even if no one would back them up. "Let them advance and encircle them."
Catherine Ivanov avoided the hits of the European Knightmares with her Gloucester and fired her slash harkens at two Panzer-Hummel that were approaching her position.
"Patterson!" She snarled on the radio. "Cover me."
She fired her missiles from her Sattel Waffen and profited of the confusion to pierce their lines, ensuring her Squad would follow.
Even though her real name was Catherine, she preferred to call herself Katerina. It wasn't like she was proud of her Russian origins, but she would do anything to stay away from the Britannian's standards. At 25, her only future was to be sold by her father for alliances and prestige. That was why she decided to engage in the Knightmare corps, because she was good at it and because she could forget her problems by facing enemies in the frontlines.
The Ivanov Squad made an advance, repelling the European forces. Just when she was piercing a Knightmare with her lance, Catherine understood that she fell into a trap.
The Enemy was now encircling her Squad.
"I don't know who the fucker that trapped me is, but if I ever see him I'll rip his face off!" Katerina snarled in Russian.
She activated her radio and called the G-1.
"I request aerial support!"
Theodore za Britannia just ordered his brother to help the Ivanov Squad in their advance. It was the Duke's daughter, and he would need a strong ally to ascend to the throne. The sixth Prince was the second in line to the throne, and his twin brother was the third. Theodore always knew that Frederic wanted to betray him, after all he was only born a few minutes later and it was something that made him jealous.
Theodore wouldn't take any risks.
He activated a command on his throne, triggering the bomb placed in his brother's Vincent.
Suddenly he began to lose consciousness.
Theodore quickly joined his twin-brother in the death. He would never know that Duke Ivanov put some poison in the command screen of his throne. The poison was fatal in contact with skin. In fact, Ivanov was already allied to his twin brother.
Akito was flying over the frontlines with the St Exupéry along with his Squad, and soon began to see the Britannian aerial reinforcements.
"Put yourselves in attack formation." He ordered on the radio.
The European aircrafts were faster than the flight-enabled Sutherlands, and they would have only one chance to pierce their lines.
Suddenly the Knightmare in the middle exploded, and it made Akito raise an eyebrow.
'Whatever.' He thought to himself. 'It is of no importance.'
"Fire!" Captain Hyuga shouted.
The 20 St Exuperies fired with their anti-Knightmare machine guns and launched their missiles.
Needless to say, the Britannians didn't have a chance.
Lelouch looked at the screen showing the battle of Chelyabinsk. The Britannian forces were slowly withdrawing.
He raised an eyebrow. 'Theodore couldn't have ordered a withdrawal, unless …'
Lelouch face palmed. 'Don't tell me they killed each other during a decisive battle! What a bunch of morons …'
Catherine watched another member of her squad being killed by the Europeans. Well, it wasn't like she cared about her comrades' lives or something, they were only Britannians sheep. Still, it only meant that she would die soon, too.
She avoided another salve coming from a European Knightmare and retaliated with her rifle. Katerina was way superior to her foes, but she wouldn't hold much longer. She needed reinforcements.
"Where is the aerial support I asked?" Catherine shouted on the radio while trying to find an opening by the south.
"There is no aerial support." The Viceroy declared. "We withdraw. Prince Theodore and Prince Frederic are dead."
She couldn't believe her ears. The last member of her Squad just got killed and her father just told her that these two fuckers killed each other in a decisive battle?
"What?" Katerina snapped. "I'm being ambushed! I can't withdraw!"
"Then you're as good as dead." Her father retorted coldly.
She widened her eyes. Her words felt like a knife piercing her chest.
"Ti govniouk!" Katerina snarled, making the middle finger to her father.
Then she ejected.
Katerina would desert. Kazakhstan's border was nearby, and she knew how to take care of herself. She could find a way to get to Astana and then take a plane to China. The Chinese Federation was neutral, so there wouldn't be any problems. And if she would get the chance, Katerina would help destroying that shitty country that was Britannia.
Lelouch was walking around the Forbidden City to regain his apartment. Europe was now dominating Britannia in the Russian Front, and they wouldn't need Lelouch's lead to liberate Omsk. Still, the Thought Elevator in Russia was too far away from the frontlines and he might need China's help to destroy it faster.
'Still.' He thought. 'I think I should wait before revealing to the World that the Federation is an ally to The United States Of…'
Lelouch stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the man in front of him. He had brown hair and green eyes, and was awfully familiar to Odysseus.
"Lelouch?" He asked in genuine astonishment.
The two former Princes of Britannia were standing face to face.
It was nearly the night and Guinevere was drinking tea with Carline in the Pendragon Palace. Well, in fact they weren't really drinking…
"After you, big sister." Carline said with a faked innocent tone. She had a creepy smile on her face that gave Guinevere chills.
"No, I must insist. After you." Guinevere replied without even touching the cup and the scones.
The two sisters stared at each other, trying to find some signs of betrayal in their faces.
"What a shame." Carline said sighing, breaking the awkward silence. "The tea will get cold."
Then she shrugged. "Oh, whatever. What did father want?"
Earlier, The Emperor spoke to Guinevere in the Exelcia Gardens. The First Princess feared that her father discovered the truth behind Schneizel and Odysseus' assassination, but he didn't seem to care. It was probably because she was one of the few remaining useful children that he had.
"He named me Prime Minister." The First Princess replied.
"You'll do great there, big sister." Carline replied brightly. "I hope you'll fire Euphemia."
"Of course." She scoffed. "Tomorrow I'll name a new Viceroy. Jeremiah Gottwald."
"I like him." Carline said. "He had destroyed the Black Knights. Even though, he couldn't land the fatal blow because this blood traitor was Viceroy."
"Yes." Guinevere nodded. "I've bet on that. He'll disband the Special Administrative Zone and then, riots might break."
"I love riots." Carline whispered with glee. "I love the sound of the anti-personal machine guns in the Sutherlands, the look of despair these terrorists have when they face a Knightmare with mere rocks. Hmmm."
Guinevere cleared her throat.
"Sorry." Carline said quickly. "I was digressing."
"The Emperor wanted me to capture Zero." The newly-appointed Prime Minister said. "He even put a Knight of the Rounds under my orders."
Carline raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"
"Lady Alstreim."
Manfred di Britannia was on a security room, being checked for weapons.
"I don't know why this is necessary, little brother." He said while the Chinese security guards destroyed his cell phone.
"I don't want to take any risks." Lelouch said. "What are you doing in Luoyang?"
"I could ask you the same question." Manfred retorted.
He rolled his eyes. "I'm in hiding and the Federation has accepted to host me for a while. What about you? are you there to bring me back to Britannia?"
"I renounced to my claim to the throne, I thought you knew it." The former forth Prince of Britannia replied calmly.
"I was busy these two last days so I didn't really pay attention to the lesser important news." Lelouch said while checking on a computer. "Indeed you're right. Manfred di Britannia renounced to his claim to the throne just before the attack on the palace."
"You see?" Manfred exclaimed. "I have no bad intentions against you. You and I are the same."
Lelouch chuckled. "Really?"
He lowered his eyes. "Listen, I know you must hate the royal family, but can't we be in better terms now? I'm nothing but a commoner now."
"You were Viceroy of Area 3, am I right?" Lelouch asked.
Manfred nodded.
"Were you efficient ruling this zone?" He continued.
"Yes." Manfred said. "But I don't know why it …"
"You'll understand it later." Lelouch interrupted him."If you cooperate with me."
"Cooperate?" Manfred asked in astonishment. "Cooperate for what?"
Lelouch smirked. "Destroy Britannia."
He widened his eyes. "No!"
"Do you want our family to stop killing each other or not?" Lelouch asked icily.
"Well, yeah, but …" Manfred began weakly.
"You've done nothing but running away." Lelouch continued. "Let me help you doing something substantial for once."
He gritted his teeth. "I don't think destroying Britannia would be the best solution."
Lelouch burst out laughing. "Do you think that Britannia can change from within? I'm telling you, it can't. The thing that pushed our family to kill each other is Britannia itself, and nothing else!"
Manfred gulped. He was the elder of the two but he felt that Lelouch had the upper hand from the very start. Even though, he seems to hold a terrible anger against the Empire, which probably meant …
"What happened to Nunnally?" He asked finally.
Lelouch softened a little. "Yeah, about that…"
He activated his Geass. "Do nothing that would endanger my little sister."
"Of course, Lelouch." Manfred replied absently.
Lelouch wouldn't take any risks.
"Good." Lelouch said before his half-brother regained his senses. "So, do we have a deal?"
Manfred's expression became more determined. "What is your plan?"
Shirley was in her bed room in her family house, in a state of depression. It was Valentine's Day and Lulu was away, doing God knows what. Shirley never suspected that he was a prince, maybe because he was good at hiding it, or because he didn't want to think that he was superior. And Shirley always shout at him for not trying to have good grades … Of course it made sense, Lelouch worked hard in order to keep his grades as average as possible, and it was probably because he didn't want to be noticed by the wrong persons. But now, it was over. Lulu left the Academy, surely for his sister's safety and maybe Kallen's. Shirley was jealous of Kallen but still …
The door rang.
"Shirley!" Her dad shouted. "There are friends of yours!"
Shirley got out of her bedroom and descended the stairs.
Milly was there, along with Nina and Rivalz.
"Why don't we spend the Valentine's Day evening all together?" Milly exclaimed brightly.
"Yeah." Rivalz added. "If nothing else…"
Then he got pinched in the gut by Nina.
"Ouch!" He whined.
Shirley had tears running down her cheeks. "Thank you, guys!"
They spend all the night talking about things with or without importance, and it was what Shirley needed right now.
It was the night. Lelouch and C.C were having a romantic ballad over the gardens of the Forbidden City. Nunnally had met Manfred, her half-brother, and seemed to be inoffensive, especially around Sayoko. Lelouch could sleep on his two ears. With V.V and the Geass Order gone, Sayoko was more than enough for Nunnally's safety.
Lelouch and C.C sat on the lawn.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" He asked. "You being Zero, I mean."
C.C looked at him with her beautiful amber eyes. "You will be safer without that costume, and a Knight for Justice isn't expected to destroy Britannia, am I right?"
Lelouch didn't know at first, but there was an imperceptible tone of sadness in her look.
"Yeah." He sighed. "I guess you're right. Zero will spread the word of justice, in the Chinese Federation and in Europe, while Lelouch will destroy his father's Empire."
She grinned and touched his chin delicately. "You're truly an amazing person, you know that?"
"You as well." Lelouch replied. "I love you …." Then he said her real name.
C.C posed her head on his lap. "I love you too."
February 15th 2018
Lelouch was on a park of the Forbidden City, looking at his sister speaking with the Empress.
"I would like to go out of the Forbidden City one day." Lihua confessed. "To see the outside World."
"And I would like the outside World to be a better place." Nunnally replied sadly. "Even though my brother hid things from me I know he had seen horrible things."
"Did he promise you to make this World a better place?" Lihua asked suddenly.
Nunnally raised an eyebrow. "No, he didn't. But I do not hold it against him; I know it is nearly impossible." She finished sadly.
The Empress blushed. "Because Xingke promised me that we'll see the outside World one day."
Xingke appeared next to Lelouch, looking at the scene.
"My sister has grown up." He said. "Can we talk elsewhere?"
Xingke shrugged. "Sure."
After making sure that no one would listen, Lelouch spoke.
"Did you know that the fourth Prince of Britannia was there?"
Xingke shook his head. "I was in Tashkent yesterday; I didn't pay attention to the Eunuchs' reports. Is this a problem?"
"Not really." Lelouch replied. "On the contrary, it increase the legitimacy of…"
Suddenly, Lelouch's phone vibrated.
"Jeremiah?" He asked.
"I am Viceroy." Jeremiah declared. "Guinevere, the new Prime Minister, ordered me to disband the Special Administrative Zone."
"Did you record the conversation?" Lelouch asked.
"Yes." Orange replied.
"Continue to record every conversation with the mainland." Lelouch ordered. "You will not disband the Special Administrative Zone of Japan because you need time to avoid riots. The Emperor knows that Area 11 isn't safe for an official, and he may have suspicions against you. They will probably attack with forces from the outside once they'll understand that you're buying time. Have an escape route just in case."
"Understood." Jeremiah said instantly.
"If my calculations are correct." Lelouch continued slowly. "Guinevere will launch an offensive in three days."
"Are you sure?" Jeremiah asked.
Lelouch nodded. "Probably." Then he smirked. "The eighteenth of February will be in every history books."
Jeremiah chuckled. "Indeed."
Lelouch hung up his phone.
"So?" Xingke asked.
"I must thank you for your hospitality." Lelouch said simply. "But we're going back to Tokyo."
February 18th 2018, 4:30 AM.
Fuji was a city in Area 11. Its particularity was that it became the capital of the Special Administrated Zone of Japan in 2017. During the last year, Fuji's number of inhabitants was multiplied by 50. It held more than 1 million of Japanese, and they were all sleeping.
Suddenly a loud noise awoke them all.
The Japanese people switched on the lights and looked through the window.
And what they saw was a sight of horror.
Southward, on the Pacific Ocean: A hundred of Britannian cruisers.
They were beginning their barrage fire to destroy the Special Administrative Zone, recognized as a terrorist organization by the Empire.
Suddenly the Knightmares coming from Area 9 arrived with their float systems or their aero ported device.
Britannia was planning an invasion.
Every person on the city began to pray for Zero's arrival.
And he finally appeared.
Zero was there, facing the Britannians with the Gawain Mk-II. He was in balance, on the shoulder of his unit. The one who was piloting the Gawain was the Empire's Enemy: Lelouch vi Britannia.
"Japanese people!" Zero began.
Diethard had prepared everything and the images would be sent to the entire World. He was one of the few that understood the necessity of the staging, and probably knew also that Zero orchestrated all of this.
"During these months, I and the main force of the Black Knights have disappeared, because we weren't needed." Zero declared. "But Britannia has chosen the wrong answer, and we are now forced to reappear."
Westward, the Ikaruga came up to surface.
Chelyabinsk and Fuji were the witnesses of the beginning of a War.
The World War.
AN: Things get serious, yay! I will make a pause in the update, one day, mostly because I need to really concentrate on my studies *coughs*
Yeah, February 18th is my Birthday. Rather cliché, isn't it?
See you around, and don't forget to review if you liked the chapter, or the story. Peace :D