Hello, I've returned! Man, it's been a month since the last chapter. I'm really sorry for the wait, I blame the writer's block and I've been really busy with school work lately. Thank you for reviewing the last chapter. To 107602: Thank you for giving me ideas, I already started writing some for this chapter when you posted that so sorry for not using them. Well that's about all I've to say, let's begin!
Disclaimer: How can a high school student/crappy fanfic writer like me own Code Geass?
Chapter 8 – Preparations
Britannia Imperial Palace
After parting with Lelouch on the island, Suzaku – now dressed as Zero – flew the Lancelot back to the newly-rebuilt Pendragon in Britannia. He landed the Knightmare inside the gigantic laboratory which was at the far south of the palace. As soon as he stepped out of the Knightmare, Suzaku was greeted by Cecile and Lloyd.
"Welcome back. We've been waiting for you, Su - I mean Zero." Cecile corrected herself when she realized Suzaku was dressed as the former terrorist.
"Thank you, I apologize for making you wait." Suzaku decided that since they have addressed him as Zero, he might as well play along with it.
"Not at all, you were right on the appointed time. Now, let's go, shall we?"
"Yeah, let's get this over with. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can get back to my Knightmares. And I'll be expecting a detailed report about yesterday from you to me by the end of the day, Zero." Lloyd called out as he turned and walked away from the two.
Cecile sighed and motioned Zero to follow her as she walked to catch up to Lloyd.
After walking past numerous grand corridors and hallways in the palace, the trio reached the chosen conference room on the top floor of the main building. Outside the room, a line of Britannian guards stood motionlessly. Two guards closest to the entrance pushed the door open for the three newest arrivals.
"Welcome, Earl Asplund, Miss Croomy and Zero. Now that you're all here, we can start the meeting." Prince Schneizel el Britannia stood up from the giant oval-shaped wooden table to greet said people.
Seated around the table were representatives from many countries and departments. At the far end was Prince Schneizel, Princess Nunnally, Princess Cornelia, Prime Minister Ohgi Kaname of Japan, Li Xingke and Rakshata Chawla. Lloyd and Cecile sat next to Rakshata while Zero was seated next to Nunnally and Ohgi.
"I'm sure you all know the reason for this emergency meeting. We're here regarding the latest invasions from the Russian Federation." Schneizel continued his speech once everyone was ready.
"Princess Cornelia and I have been interrogating a few survivors and witnesses from the attacks. Judging by their descriptions, it seems that the Russian Federation's Knightmares included the mass productions RPI-212 Vincent based on the Lancelot, some imperfect copy of Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements and Sutherlands, all of them include the latest technology such as Energy Wings, MVS and Blaze Luminous." He paused to show the diagrams of the said Knightmares.
"WHAT? How the hell did they get all that?" Lloyd and Rakshata called out and stood up at the same time. Both of them were enraged by the fact that some of their proudest inventions were stolen.
"Lloyd! Sit down and let Prince Schneizel continue." Cecile stood up to calm the glassed man down before he causes anymore embarrassments.
"These are very unfortunate news. Our top suspect is that there might've been spies among the newly-recruited troops who have stolen the blueprints and fled back to Russia. Now that they are able to make these Knightmare Frames, their technology can be compared to be equaled to Britannia's. This is the main reason why other countries have had no chance of survivor."
The room fell silent as everyone contemplated about the newly-given information.
"They might have the latest technology but we have more skilled pilots, if we have the help from the rest of the world in the U.F.N to back up Britannia, we can out-number them." Li Xingke spoke up as a representative for the United Federation of Nations.
"Xingke's right. I've also spoken to the members of the Black Knights, we're all ready under Zero's command." Ohgi said as he and everyone else looked at Zero, who'd been quiet the whole time.
"If that's what the Black Knights have decided then I'll be honored to be their leader."
"Very well, it seems we have our troops sorted out. Britannia will be led by Cornelia and myself while the Black Knights and U.F.N will be led by Zero, Xingke and Ohgi. Is that fine with everyone?" Schneizel waited for the representatives' opinions. He received approving nods and replies from the rest.
"Let's move on to the next issues, we should decide on what our first move will be. What are your opinions, Zero?"
Once again, all eyes fell on the Black Knight's leader as they waited for his decision.
"First of all, I think we should lay low and observe the Russian Federation closely to find out what they're capable of." Suzaku – known only as Zero to most people in the room – said, hoping that it was what Lelouch would have said.
"Haven't we already found that out from the damage they have caused to Korea?" Princess Cornelia questioned.
"Since there was very few to none survivors, we don't know the strength of their firepower or their battle strategies. The only way to actually know your enemy is to face them in actual combats before taking the initiative to attack."
Luckily for Suzaku, that seemed to make sense as most people nodded in agreement.
"So it's decided, our top priorities for now will be ensuring that we'll have enough Knightmare Frames as well as trained pilots in perfect conditions and offering as much help as we can to other countries. We'll also be following Russia's movements closely 24/7 to counter future attacks. As for the Knightmares: Miss Croomy, Miss Chawla and Earl Asplund will be responsible for that. And that is all for this meeting, I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to come here. Our top chefs have prepared lunch in the dining room so I'd be honored if you will all stay for lunch before leaving." Prince Schneizel concluded the meeting and led everyone to the dining room.
Zero excused himself from the party because he was busy - which was not completely a lie - and left for his house. After a 15 minutes' walk from the palace, his house came into view. Actually, it was more like a mansion. Schneizel had wanted Zero to stay in the palace but he insisted in staying at a house in the city. In the end, they compromised with the mansion. Suzaku was about to open the front door when he noticed that it was on the floor. He sighed heavily when he remembered that Sayoko kicked it down a few days ago.
It was a miracle that none of his things were stolen. I guess everyone thought that it'd be too ironic for a terrorist to be robbed. Suzaku let out another sigh and went to look for a hammer and nails to fix the door. After 45 minutes of trying with no result, he gave up. The brunette held the door up to the frame and kicked it back to place. Amazingly, that worked out better than trying to fix it manually. That will have to do until I can find someone to fix it.
Finally feeling like he was alone, Suzaku took off the mask, gloves and cape and threw them onto the table since he was sweating buckets while underneath them. There were still layers of clothing left on which were not helping at all. How did Lelouch manage to wear all these for hours?
For the third time in the last hour, Suzaku sighed as he fell backwards onto the sofa. The brunette continued to lie still and think about the current situations while ignoring his growling stomach. After all the talk about wars and how nervous he was, he probably lost his appetite for the at least the rest of the day. Will I be able to lead the Black Knights? Even though I've been Zero for 5 years, this is the first time I have to lead them into battle. There's no way that I can come up with plans like Lelouch could. Maybe I should go ask him for advice. I'll need an excuse to use the Lancelot though. Crap! That reminds me! Suzaku sprinted off the sofa as he realized he had to give Lloyd a report on an experiment he didn't even do before he could use his Knightmare again.
"What the hell am I going to write in there?" The brunette said out loud to himself as he waited for his laptop to load.
After making up about 90% of the report, Suzaku re-read it for the 5th time and printed it onto 3 pages of paper. I hope this is even remotely believable. With that thought, the brunette put on the rest of the Zero attire once again as he walked to the door with the report in one hand. Before he could leave the house, he had to face the now-completely-stuck door for a second time.
"Oh, come on! Is anything ever going to go right for me today?" Suzaku yelled out in frustration, finally having enough of his very bad day.
So for the next 10 minutes, Suzaku tried yanking the insulting door open with no success. Giving up on doing things the right way, he took a step back and kicked the piece of wood down, again. Without another look back, the brunette left his property and joined the seas of pedestrians while ignoring the weird looks they gave him.
After a few more twists and turns, he reached the laboratory part of the Imperial Palace. Suzaku went straight into Lloyd's office but only to find Cecile inside, sorting out the paperwork. Said woman looked up when she saw Zero entered the room.
"Oh, hello Zero. How may I help you?"
"Good afternoon, Miss Croomy. May I ask where Earl Asplund is?"
"He's with Rakshata in the storage rooms at the moment. If this is about the report on Lancelot then you don't have to worry about it, he was just kidding."
"Really?" Suzaku spoke in his normal voice, getting tired of trying to speak like Zero.
"Yes, we've already tested them before you suggested the idea."
"Oh." The brunette wasn't sure if he should be happy or mad about this.
"OK then. By the way, can I borrow the Lancelot again for awhile? It helps me think better when I'm alone somewhere far away from here."
"I'm sorry, Suzaku. I'm afraid you won't be able to use the Lancelot or any of the Knightmares here for some time. We have to keep them here for maintenance in preparation for the war."
"I see, I guess there's no helping it. I'll be going then. Thanks anyway, Cecile."
"See you later, Suzaku."
Suzaku left the palace and stood outside the gates, wondering what to do next. He decided to head down the beach since he didn't want to face the mess at home again just yet and he really did need sometime alone to think about the problems he's having.
The beach was not too far away from the city central but it was secluded enough at twilight. As he sat on a boulder near a few rock pools, the brunette watched the beautiful sunset as he became lost in thoughts. Without the Knightmares, I guess asking Lelouch for advice is out of the question. All I can do now is try my best to lead the Black Knights. There are just so many things that can go wrong. What if I made a mistake? What if people became suspicious about Zero acting strange? How will I explain things then? God! It'd be so much easier if Lelouch was here. If only there was some way that I could contact him. Even though I know he's alive, I still can't tell Nunnally or anyone else since I already promised him. Even after sitting and thinking until it was night time, Suzaku still couldn't come up with an answer to any of his troubles. Noticing that it was getting cold and dark, he went home.
/
That night, Moscow's Military Base, Russia
The dimly lighted control room was drowned in complete silence, the only sounds that could be heard were the tiny beeping from the computers and the occasional clicks from the keyboards. The endless silence was abruptly broken by the opening automatic doors. The two steel doors opened, a largely-built man wearing a Russian Military General walked in. The sound of his footsteps echoed around the room as he slowly approaches the wall with numerous screens showing scenes from all around the world.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I'm here for the daily report. Is there anything new that I should know about?" The man asked as he stood behind the row of technicians who were operating the computers.
"Yes, General Vladimir. About noon today, many representatives from various countries have gathered in Britannia's Imperial Palace in Pendragon. It seems like they were there for a meeting, sir."
The general looked thoughtful for awhile before his expression changed into a smirk.
"They probably decided to re-unite together to fight us. But, that won't help them a bit if I destroy the countries one by one first. Let's see, if Britannia is involved then Zero would be, too. Heh, that's just perfect, I love a good challenge."
Instead of being intimidated or anxious at the new development, General Vladimir seemed to be in a very good mood as he left the room. His next destination was a meeting for the next attack.
A/N: And that's about it. I think my chapters are getting more and more pointless T-T. The Knightmare part was so hard to write, I had to research on the parts since I suck at those stuffs. Oh, the OC at the end doesn't really have any particular importance to the story, I just need someone to play the villain. So yeah, I'll try to update sooner next time. In the mean time, please reread and review! (By the way, have anyone played the CG R2 DS game? I really need help on how to get endings with that game T-T.)
