Shinjuku Ghetto
Cysgod Eadrom-Dorcha drove the car up to a warehouse. He turned off the ignition and placed the keys inside of his coat.
"Okay, ride's over people." Cysgod undid his seat belt and jumped out of the car. Shirley opened the passenger door and walked around to the other side to get Nunnally. Milly helped a bandaged Nina out of the car, being careful not to rush. Cysgod in the mean time stood in front of a large warehouse door.
"Hello!" He called out. "Kon'nichiwa! I know you all can hear me!"
Seconds later, as though in reply, there was a scraping sound and the door creaked as it was pushed open by a man carrying a rifle slung over his shoulder and a red headband around his head.
"You're the one who contacted us?"
"Yes," Cysgod responded with a bow. The man nodded a few times and gestured at the car.
"Is it going to be okay if we just leave that in the open?"
"I'm pretty sure no one is going to notice. Is everyone else here?"
"Yes, but only after you're searched." This made Nina shiver next to Milly and Cysgod gave an irritated sigh.
"Very well, but the only person you need to search is me." Cysgod held his arms out, his trench coat lifting a little more above the ground. The man looked over the girls briefly before nodding and proceeded to pat down Cysgod, removing a revolver, a dagger, a golden pocket watch with about ten different dials, and a bundled notebook.
"Okay then," the man said, "you can all come in, we'll hide the car later." Cysgod inclined his head a second time and followed him inside. Shirley came in after them, carrying Nunnaly on her back. And last to enter was Milly herding a frightened Nina.
The inside was dimly lit with concrete floors and an untold number of boxes. Apart from the Ashford Students and Cysgod, there were three gaurds in the immediate room. A door then opened and another Japanese person started walking out and was shoved aside as Lelouch ran out.
"Nunnally!" He ran towards them and locked Nunnally and Shirley in a tight embrace.
"Lelouch!" Nunnally wrapped an arm around her brothers neck while still holding onto Shirley. "I was so frightened. It was just like-like-" She faltered as Lelouch held her head close to his.
"Its alright Nunnally, everything is going to be alright."
Shirley listened to them both as Lelouch continued his embrace. She could barley even begin to imagine what Lelouch went through to end up in a terrorist hideaway and then discover that Ashford Academy was under attack. Something gently dropped onto Shirley at the base of her neck. Was that a tear?
It was, and that was probably the first time Shirley ever saw Lelouch cry.
Middle East, Facinus controlled town twenty-one miles from the Persian Gulf [Back in Black (ACDC - Back in Black album) - PLAY (for added effect, PLAY up to 0:06 before actually reading on)]
A small convoy raced into the town from the open dessert. Five jeeps and four trucks, all bearing the crest of the Powers' Facinus.
[Back in Black - 0:27]
Some of the guys in the convoy whooped and cheered as their respected vehicles hit a jump on the sand and landed. They all stopped by a large complex known by the locals as the Arakiss Club, but known officially as the Arakiss Renegade Social Expenditure. In the lead jeep, a figure started to regain consciousness.
"Okay, we all know the drill. Get the merchandise in either Manufacturing or the Mercantile." The figure, laying down in the back of the jeep heard the voice and was puzzled. Who the heck is this guy? she thought to herself, her mouth gagged and her hands bound by zip ties. He couldn't be much older than fifteen, judging by his voice.
"But boss," another voice interjected, "what about those two power plants we picked up? One of them looks completely trashed and the other looks like it's barely operational!" Wait a moment, that kid was the "boss?"
"People will still buy the crap if it looks good!" the kid answered back. "Put them both in Manufacturing. And get that woman into an infirmary, I don't want to lose a product to lack of health."
"Yes Boss Powers," two voices answered at once.
The back of the jeep was lowered and two men came in and picked her up from the forearms. They pulled her from the vehicle and began dragging her through the sand. She then noticed something wrong. The right half of her field of vision was dark. Was her right eye swollen?
[Back in Black - FADE OUT and STOP any point]
They came to a door, and they passed through it. She was now being dragged down a hallway with a tiled floor. There was a pain in her side and at her right shoulder. She also couldn't feel anything below her left knee.
"How much do you think we'll get for this one?" one of the men asked.
"If we get that bullet out of her side, teach her to use a cane, and if her left eye is unaffected, then she would be worth…500,000,000 in any currency." The first guy whistled.
"Sweet, easy money this time round. Hold on, what if she's blind in both eyes?"
"Then we would catch 350,000,000 in value. Unless the Sons of the Serpents buy her. They would only give us several thousand."
"You think! No doubt if they do buy her then they would rape her, beat her, torture her for no reason, and then execute her in public."
"Yeah, I actually feel sorry for her. Who is left of the Royal Britannian Family?"
"Just that one idiot in Japan."
"Wow, that's just terrible." Terrible doesn't even begin to cover it, Cornelia thought, her head hanging and tears silently crawling down her face. Oh Euphemia, she thought, I have failed you.
Tokyo Settlement, Settlement Airport - 45 minutes later
Clovis and his security detail stood in one of the service corridors under the main level of the airport. He was pacing back and forth, constantly checking his watch and looking from one end of the corridor to the other. The doors at one end opened and a young lady with pink hair and a dress fit for royalty. She entered and briskly walked a few paces before suddenly breaking into a run and throwing her arms around Clovis, who returned the embrace with his own."Clovis…" she said weakly, tears pouring down her face and soaking the front of Clovis' tunic. Clovis stroked her head as she continued to cry.
"I know," he said softly, shaking a little though he was really good at hiding it, "we are all that's left Euphie."
Shinjuku Ghetto
Everyone was still and silent. On one side of the room sat the men from the resistance group. On the other side were the others. Milly sat against the wall, rubbing a bandage covering her right shoulder. Shirley helped Kallen with Nina's injury, of which they could only bandage and then place in a sling because Nina didn't trust Elevens enough for them to remove the bullet. The resistance woman, Inoue, watched over CC even though it was evident that the girl was extremely healthy and needed no further medical care. And in a corner, Lelouch sat with Nunnally snuggled deeper into his embrace, clinging to his shirt and pressing her face against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Pacing in-between the two sides was Cysgod Eadrom-Dorcha, his items returned and stowed away in his trench coat. He strode back and forth about fifty times before stopping in the middle of fifty-one and announcing: "There is nothing wrong here." He looked at the two groups and then decided now was a good time to let loose from steam. "Come on people! All of you are on the same side now so-"
"What makes you think we're on the same side?" Tamaki shouted in response. "I don't know what planet you're from Britannian trash; but here, the Japanese are nothing like these interlopers!"
"You think everything stays the same with the extermination of the Britannian Royals? You guys (pointing to the resistance members) have been hunted from the get-go. And you people (gesturing to the others), with the exception for CC, are now all numero-uno on the Serpent's hit list. Britannia is gone, all of it except for Area 11. Yes, it's Japan and should belong to the Japanese, but how long have the Colonists been here?"
"Too long," answered Kallen, making Nina gasp and shrink back against Shirley.
"Debatably correct," Cysgod admitted with a shrug, "but for the sake of the present, both Britannians and Japanese need to face this threat together."
"And you think we will just take your word for it because you're a Britannian?" a man with purple hair and a pair of spectacles inquired in an accusative tone.
"No Yoshitaka, I know you're going to take my word for it because I'm NOT Britannian."
This made the resistance members suddenly stir with a sort of unease that the students felt but didn't understand right away.
"How do you know Minami's name?" demanded the woman next to CC.
"You're not Britannian, then why are you defending them?" Tamaki accused.
"Now everybody hold on a second!" Ohgi was standing now, arms out as though he were preventing two walls from slamming together. He lowered his arms and looked at Cysgod. "You seem to know a lot, how about you tell us why you are here before anything else?" Cysgod nodded a couple of times before replying.
"Very well, how about I tell you as I remove the bullet from Miss Einstien's arm?"
"Fine by me," Ohgi acceded while Nina gave off a high-pitched yelp.
"No!" Nina almost screamed, "I'm fine! I'll just keep the bullet in my arm and I'll-I-I'll work around it!" This made Cysgod laugh.
"I got two things two say. One: that accent of yours makes it clear that you were not born to be a yeller. And two: are you aware that one of the bodies' major arteries happens to be in the arm?"
Nina's face turned a very pale shade of pink and she nodded her head in defeat. She scooted forward an inch or so and gingerly held her arm and sling out.
"Do it quickly…please…"
"Alright then," said Cysgod, kneeling next to Nina and taking off his trench coat. "Now…
…how should I begin?"
SUSA-NCV (Supreme United States of America - Naval Command Vessel) Midway
3 miles off the East Coast of Japan
The Sons of the Serpent on the bridge of the submersible battleship were all a chatter with the latest activity. And all according to duty. Duty is, as duty calls.
"Taskforce has just returned to the Midway. Objectives complete, and only 15 casualties reported."
"Intelligence confirms that Princess Euphemia li Britannia has just arrived and is with Prince Clovis la Britannia at the Settlement Capital."
"There still hasn't been an order concerning the two remaining Royals. Any possible action currently under stand-by status."
"Prisoner has been brought to the brig, status: lightly detained."
"Joint-order issued by UMNE leader, Alexander Daemon. Prisoner to be transferred to a west-bound aircraft to the Middle East. Prisoner to be used as a bargaining chip for appeasement of the Powers' Facinus."
UMNE Airship
Forty-eight miles from Pendragon
Alexander Daemon settled back down in his command chair, having just ordered the delivery of a Britannian student to Alex Powers, the "Chief Executive Officer" of the Powers' Facinus. The two leaders could never see eye-to-eye, but they both knew better than to interfere with their separate ventures. Powers, being the greedy monster that he is, only cares for money and profit. Strangely however, he also enjoyed competition. Why? Because Alex Powers becomes bored easily.
"You were always overdue for a present from me Alex," Daemon spoke quietly to himself, "I'd say you need just a tiny reminder that you can't just go wherever your thirst for contest takes you."
