CHAPTER 8:
THE ONCOMING STORM
Harry handed the mask back to Lelouch with an irritated glare. "Be careful where you leave this," he said. "It's a bad sign when a charismatic figurehead of anti-Britannian resistance can't keep his disguise from being stolen, especially by a cat."
CC had an amused smirk on her lips as Lelouch took the mask back. "He has a point, you know."
"Quiet, witch," Lelouch said, albeit without any real venom. "That spell you used to get the cat back…it seems useful."
"In combat, yes. I used it to get injured people to safety, not to mention weapons or ammo that was out of reach. The Summoning Charm saved my bacon against a dragon, too. I used it to summon my broomstick. Outside of combat…it's just if I'm too lazy to get a stepladder."
"Hmm, that was in the tournament you mentioned," Lelouch mused as he placed the mask in a more secure spot in his room. Kallen had been roped into some brainstorming session by Milly. "I wouldn't believe half of what you say if it weren't for the abilities I have already seen. Still, between your magic and my Geass, not to mention Kallen's ability as a Devicer, I feel confident in our ability to take on Britannia."
"We still need more people," Harry said. "Kallen's group are pretty small, and the problem is, not all of the groups like working with each other. If the Japanese military couldn't hold off Britannia, Knightmare Frames aside, what can resistance groups do?"
"We do what you and your group have been doing already. You waged a war of propaganda, holding up a mirror to their incompetence or their arrogance, albeit in the form of rather puerile pranks. And you were planning on exposing Clovis' crimes, though events did sort of prevent that. We need to win the hearts and minds of the Japanese people, as well as sow discord amongst the Britannians."
"I think our next big target should be Refrain," Harry said. "It's a big problem amongst the Japanese."
"Hmm. Cornelia is ruthless, but knowing her, she would prefer to ensure that Refrain is not used. She's not a fan of graft and corruption, whereas Clovis doubtless encouraged it," Lelouch said. "Gottwald contacted me, and said that she's arrived in Japan last night. Nearly shot one of Clovis' old staffers because he had the temerity to throw her a party."
Harry laughed nervously. "Seriously?"
"Cornelia despises formal occasions, and she tended to only enjoy birthday parties, especially with myself, Nunnally, and Euphie," Lelouch said, with a sardonic smile. "She'd prefer to get straight to business without wasting any time. Anyone expecting to give her a party when she's here to do business is too stupid to live. Cornelia may be ruthless, but she expects her people to be efficient and not be wasteful or frivolous. She inspires loyalty for a reason."
"Speaking of Cornelia, how would we be able to get any hints as to what she knows about your mother's death? Or Schneizel, for that matter?"
"Research would do very little, but I have asked Gottwald about the matter. He wasn't able to add much more, but he agrees that the likelihood of Cornelia being a willing accomplice, let alone the perpetrator, to be minimal at best. I say willing accomplice, because there's the very real possibility that, if there are Geass users amongst my father's court, then she could have been subverted. As for Schneizel…well, I can't put anything past him, but I doubt he was a willing accomplice or perpetrator either, if only because I was certain he held my mother in high regard. He's still more likely than Cornelia, though, by dint of his ruthless pragmatism. Personally, I think their involvement was peripheral and unwitting at best."
"And your father?"
"Yes…he is a suspect, but I think he was an accomplice than the man who did the deed, or gave the order. I believe that my mother fell afoul of someone at court with enough influence to sway my father, but who works from the shadows. And as I saw the Emperor in my vision, I think he has some link to Geass, perhaps even a Geass himself. Does he?"
This question was put to CC, who shrugged. "I'm not the one who gave it to him."
"VV, then," Harry mused. "Unless there are other immortals capable of granting Geass powers. Are there?"
"I don't know, but it is a possibility," CC said, though Harry noticed she didn't confirm or deny that VV was Charles' contractor.
"What about Suzaku?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"Nothing. Just keep up the façade that you and Kallen do not know him," Lelouch said. "I want you to be civil with him, though I don't expect you to make friends with him. If I'm lucky, I may be able to sway him over to our way of thinking. And to tell the truth, Euphie may be a good influence on him. Maybe she might even make him her own personal Knight, and that may mean he is less likely to come into direct conflict with us. I'd prefer not to kill him if need be. The same goes for Cornelia, though she is an enemy commander. I will capture or kill her if necessary. However, I want to know exactly what she knows about my mother's assassination first…"
Kallen despised having to be part of the school assembly for this, to watch the televised broadcast of Clovis' funeral back in Pendragon. She hated watching that bastard Charles zi Britannia grandstand, using the funeral to espouse his Social Darwinism, elitist views that made her want to vomit copiously.
Admittedly, she didn't hate every aspect of her Britannian heritage, though it took Harry's presence to have her come to terms with that. Their technology was amongst the best, if not the best, in the world, and there were many pieces of Britannian literature and art she loved. But she despised the mindset, particularly prevalent in the upper classes, of 'survival of the fittest', a hypocritical statement given how indolent and corrupt they were. They didn't try to integrate those they conquered, they merely steamrollered over them and established gleaming cities on the corpses of other nations.
Still, she took comfort from Harry being by her side during this. She wished he could hold her hand during this, but unfortunately, they had to observe the forms. She could tell by the set of his mouth that he was trying to avoid showing his contempt for the Emperor's speech, his green eyes flashing with anger behind his glasses. That scar, the lightning bolt-like one that snaked out from beneath his messy black fringe, had faded over time. Now, it was just pale white on his skin. He was a bit scrawny, but he was handsome.
What drew her to him, after what was admittedly a bad beginning, was his fire, like her own, his sense of justice, and his compassion. He could have easily let the Britannian soldier attacking her kill her during that op, after all the things she had done to him, the unkind words and threats and rows. Instead, he came to her rescue, like a knight in shining armour, ablaze with fury. Not that she truly needed his help: she had been surprised by the Britannian soldier, and was actually on the verge of dealing with the soldier herself, but he stepped in and did it for her.
It was that that helped her realise that, even if his story about being from another world was false, not all Britannians were enemies. It was a much-needed shock to her system. And it was after that point that they began to become friends and comrades.
In hindsight, Kallen knew that her hatred towards Britannians had turned in on herself, even if at the time, she wouldn't acknowledge it. Her father had loved her, true, but had to marry that barren bitch in order to keep some standing, instead of standing by Kallen's mother, who was reduced to being a servant in the Stadtfeld household. Kallen had some self-loathing, something that didn't help her anger issues.
Harry, admittedly, didn't know that much about the Japan of his world. Apparently it had been involved in something called the Second World War, on the losing side, and apparently had been rather vicious. But the USA, the country where Britannia was situated, had used a pair of frighteningly powerful bombs, nuclear weapons, to cow Japan into surrender. In a way, it was both like and yet unlike what had happened to Japan here. At least Japan was allowed to keep its name, though Harry had heard of other things that happened afterwards.
Still, a lot of video games came from Japan, along with comics and cartoons, manga and anime. Japan was famous for producing cars and electronics in his world. In the end, Japan, in his world, had possibly retained some of its heart and soul.
Britain, as in the British Isles where the Britannian Empire originated, had once been the centre of a world-spanning empire, but was no longer, replaced by a Commonwealth. He said he knew that Napoleon lost against Britain, that Nelson survived. He said that Elizabeth I never had an acknowledged son, and had been the so-called 'Virgin Queen', with her successor being James VI of Scotland, later James I of England. It still had a monarchy, a Queen, Elizabeth II, but it also had a democracy, something Kallen wasn't sure how that'd work.
That world wasn't without its problems though, hidden magical conflicts aside. Until around the time Harry went to Hogwarts, a Cold War was going on between superpowers, each with nuclear weapons ready to fire off in a madness called mutually assured destruction. Humanity still had racism and cultural divides, and the wizarding world, hidden from normal view, was no exception.
Still, Kallen wanted to see that world one day. It still sounded a lot better than here in some regards. And at least Japan had kept its name, kept something of its soul. Naoto had hoped to see it himself, and Harry wanted to bring them there. They would only visit, long enough to ensure Voldemort was dealt with, and to see the Japan of that world, but they would come back. Because Kallen didn't intend to abandon her homeland.
And what of Lelouch? Kallen glanced at the exiled prince. A rather brooding type, dark, ruthless and cold, though with unexpected shades of light and humour. Theatrical, if his performance as Zero was any indication, but so was Harry. If he was sincere, his motivation for taking on Britannia wasn't power, but for revenge, and for protecting Nunnally. Kallen could get behind that. She would keep an eye on him, true, she had to. Between his lineage and Geass, he was a problem. But he was also an excellent ally. Without him, Shinjuku would have been a near-total disaster, if not total. He had been upfront with them, mostly for pragmatic reasons, but he didn't use the Geass to erase their memories or force compliance, as far as she knew. And that debut as Zero, scary though it was, was brilliantly audacious.
And CC…now Kallen was worried about that one. An immortal capable of granting the power of Geass. Someone who admitted to withholding information. She hinted to there being a wider conspiracy, one that endangered them all if she revealed too much. Kallen wasn't wholly sure what to make of her. And that was what worried her. Lelouch was more of a known quantity than CC.
Finally, Suzaku Kururugi. A quisling. A traitor. And yet, he was so stupidly earnest about trying to change the system from within, or die trying. It was one thing to become an Honorary Britannian for better privileges, she could understand that, even if she despised them for it. But to do so in order to try and change things for the better? The height of folly, she thought. Though she had to admit, he was a damned good Knightmare Frame pilot, even if he was the enemy.
After the service, Harry and Kallen were walking home when they got a call on their phones. Ohgi was calling to let them know that one of the larger resistance groups, the Blood of the Samurai, had their largest base annihilated by Cornelia and her men. It seemed that she wasn't wasting any time dealing with the various resistance and terrorist groups around Japan.
The problem was, Cornelia's ruthlessness could potentially extend to targeting Japanese civilians, especially if it meant drawing out Warlock and Zero. And Harry didn't want that to happen.
Soon, Cornelia would make her move. And when she did, Harry and Lelouch would be in for their greatest trial yet…
CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:
I meant to get to the Saitama battle in this chapter, but the discussions, and the exploration of Kallen's character took up too much space, so…Saitama happens in the next chapter. And not the main character from One Punch Man.
Review-answering time! raw666: Lelouch hasn't asked Harry much about the history of the Potterverse, but we may get to that later. I think he'd be both disappointed at a constitutional monarchy of Britain, but heartened at the lack of, well, Britannia.
Guest (regarding Gundams and the 'Power He Knows Not'): Okay, fair enough. But Harry won't be getting CC's Code. That was only on the cards when I was considering adding CC to the pairing. Instead, Harry will be getting a Geass, and after discussion with Gabriel Herrol via PM, I have decided what he will get. If you're wondering what those are, fans of the Nasuverse might know. Keep in mind, Harry won't be getting such a Geass until much later in the story. He's already OP in the Code Geass world thanks to magic…
OBSERVER01: Sadly, no, I actually intend for Mao to make an onscreen appearance, even if it's only for a chapter.
No numbered annotations this time.
