Chapter 10 - The Valiant Assault
Neo sat in the cockpit knightmare of unfamiliar design across from another unknown knightmare painted in the colors of the Knight of One. It was over the coast of Pendragon, the capital city of Britannia. In the distance an angelic white knightmare with green wings, watched.
The two knightmare began a skirmish, both using the power of Geass to predict movements. They spoke to each other but Neo couldn't hear anything.
"Is this my future?" Neo thought knowing it wasn't real "Is my ambition written in front of me?"
The image changed to show a huge explosion in the sky above Japan and a huge battle around a ascending sky fortress.
"Flying warships, knightmares and Fortresses?" Neo was in complete shock at the sights before him "That weapon could destroy a city with a single blast"
The image changed once more "A parade?" Neo thought seeing the line up before eyeing the prison transports and the people on them "Kallen!"
Neo's eyes were then drawn to the large float in the center "Schneizel, Nunally, Lelouch?...Emperor Lelouch!" The sight before him didn't end like the others but simply played until it showed the arrival of a masked man with a sword slay Lelouch.
"What is this?" Neo thought "Lelouch!"
"Your powers are improved here" came a female voice and suddenly the sight was changed to an elegant hall with floating picture frames and bright light.
Neo turned to spot the green haired girl from Clovis's lab.
"You weren't supposed to see those things before their time" She said plainly "You cannot interfere with destiny"
"Where am I witch and what did you do to me!" Neo ordered knowing exactly what she was.
She cocked her head as she stared at the boy "I'm sure I didn't do a thing" she said innocently "I've only gone to find you"
"What do you want with me?" He asked with anger forming inside.
"I've seen you before" She calmly stated before walking away "Here in my memories"
Neo followed behind her "I've never met a immortal, only heard of them"
"You're here" She said pointing at a frame that showed two babies in a crib "You are like the others I've made a contract with"
"You're C.C." Neo stated knowing the name of the Immortal who had given his mother and Maryanne geass.
"Yes I am" came the girls voice but from elsewhere.
Neo turned to spot the girl again only instead of wearing a blue jumpsuit like the other, this one was wearing a straight jacket.
"You must be the conscious one" Neo said eyeing the second.
She gave Neo a slightly angered look "Isabella's son's, You aren't meant to be here"
Neo shrugged "It wasn't my doing, last I remember was saving Elly from a fall and then I saw visions of the future"
"You probably came close to death and your mind came here where your geass came from" C.C. explained with slight amusement.
"NEO!" Came Elly's voice in Neo's head "Come on Neo wake up I need you"
Neo held his head as he was called repeatedly. He looked to the witch with slight anger "Send me back to where I belong"
"Fine but first answer a question" C.C. said and Neo nodded "In your vision, did you see me at all?"
Neo shook his head "No but I only really saw my future with Marianne's son Lelouch as the emperor"
C.C. smiled "Thank You"
"Will he wake up doc?" Elly asked Neo's doctor while he checked the IVs and Neo's chart.
"His body is stable but he has to want to wake up" the doctor said before walking out.
Elly laid on the bed next to Neo and cried into his shoulder "Wake up you dummy I need you!"
"Who are you calling a dummy, idiot" Neo said with a groggy smile "Why are you laying next to me like that?" Neo asked not wanting his sister so close like that.
Elly looked up and wrapped her arms around his neck "Oh thank god you're okay!"
"How long was I out?" Neo asked as he tried to sit up but slipped when he relied how bad he was hurt "My arm?" He asked shakily "W...Where's my arm!"
"Your escape pod was ejected across the ground and through several buildings" Elly explained looking down in shame "You were so bloody when they found you, Your left arm was mangled, your skull was fractured, you had many broken ribs and internal bleeding"
Neo touched where his left arm was and just sighed and looked back to Elly "How bad were your injuries?"
Elly shook her head and looked at him with a little anger "I only had a concussion and bruising but you should be more worried about your health"
"Fine, where is my phone?" Neo said to her with a hint on annoyance.
She handed him his cell "Who could you be calling at a time like this!"
"Answer my first question" Neo said as he began moving his thumb across the screen of his phone.
"It's been two days since the Shinjuku Incident" Elly explained before giving him a smile knowing he'd like her news "And Clovis was murdered just after ordering a cease fire"
Neo let out a loud laugh of joy "That brightens my mood"
"I knew it would" Elly said hearing the sound of a email being sent on the phone "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting out of here" Neo said before turning his phone off and jerking out his IV.
Elly stood and held her hands out to stop him "You just came out of a secound surgery 5 hours ago. you can't leave yet!"
"Britannian medical technology is reasonably decent" Neo said like he was insulting it. The Valiant medical research teams could have saved his arm "I can move around if I want"
"Neo please get back in bed" Elly pleaded to her brother.
Neo shook his head as he dressed in his civilian clothes "I'm leaving but you can tell me more about what I missed"
A few moments later Elly drove and spoke of the current state of the government and military now that Clovis was gone, while Neo sat calmly listening as they made their way to Valiant's Base.
"Why are we going to Valiant?" Elly after she finished with the latest info.
"Clovis had captured C.C. and was conducting experiments with her in secret" Neo explained "It was her and not poison gas that the terrorist stole"
"C.C. The woman who gave us our geass?" Elly asked shocked.
Neo nodded "They had other projects with her that I sent to my people to improve our medical sector"
"You can't just grow another immortal" Elly joked as she pulled up to the gate.
Neo looked at the hanger full of the now completed Burai as they pasted and spotted a blue car outside of the adjacent hanger "Looks like Kayla's here with the Lotus"
"What's she doing over there during the day" Elly asked angrily "Is she trying to get you found out?"
"This area is shielded by satellites and any other recon devices" Neo stated proudly "The only way to see what's going on here is to walk into one of the hangers"
Elly pulled up to the main building that was a ten story building shaped like a V. The parking lot being in the middle.
"Where are we going in there anyway?" Elly asked looking up at the building.
Neo shook his head "I'm going to see what I can do about this arm situation while you go see Kayla"
"What!" Elly said annoyed "You can't just get rid of me!"
"Neo, Elly!" Came Kayla from the direction of her car.
Elly turned and waved "Hey Kay"
"Hey Ells" Kayla said as she walked over "Where'd Neo go?"
Elly turned and Neo was gone "That asshole!"
Inside Neo stepped into an elevator with a keypad and card reader on the controls to keep unauthorized people out of certain areas. He pushed in a code and the elevator began descending into the lower levels of the building which held the secret projects of Valiant.
"Lord Valiant!" Exclaimed a researcher when he saw Neo step out of the elevator.
Neo nodded a hello to the man as he walked down a short hallway to the lab he had put here six months ago when he got here.
"Dr. Chawla is the device ready for use?" Neo asked in a commanding voice as he entered the lab.
A blonde haired Indian woman holding a pipe looked over at Neo "With that data you sent us this morning, we were able to build a simple starting model that we can upgrade later like a knightmare frame.
"Good then give me a hand" Neo joked as he sat in a chair surrounded by many machines and surgical tools.
Rakshata let out a chuckle as she signaled one of her team to help Neo strap himself into the chair "This isn't a medical unit so don't expect this to be a pleasant experience"
Neo breathed deeply and nodded "Do what must be done Rakshata"
"Neo looked good for someone who almost died" Kayla stated as she and Elly walked towards the hanger being used by the White Lotus as a temporary base that Neo loaned her.
Elly shook her head still annoyed at her brother "He's just going to get himself killed doing those reckless stunts"
"Well it hasn't become public knowledge that Neo was that badly injured" Kayla said as she walked with her hands on the back of her head.
Elly looked down, saddened "But he can't achieve his goal of becoming the Knight of One if he only has one arm"
Kayla opened the smaller door and turned to her friend "I'm sure Neo will be fine. he had friends and his sister who will always be at his side"
As they walked in Elly was treated with the sight of a large hanger with several white Sutherland in parts, with only a few completed. There was also a covered knightmare in one of the racks.
"Wow" Elly exclaimed as several people wearing white uniforms moved around and was working on rebuilding the Sutherlands and their weapons.
"Welcome to the White Lotus hanger" Kayla said throwing out her hands.
A young man that was a little older then Elly, walked over to them. He had short white hair and wore white armor and a black cape.
"Lady Elizabeth it's an honor to meet you" The man said in a deep experienced voice as he bowed to her.
Elly's face flashed red as his voice and his looks were very attractive.
Kayla giggled at her friend before introducing the man "Elly this is my top commander and second in command, Frost"
"Not your real name I presume" Elly said eyeing the man as he smiled widely at her and she could tell he was amused by her not knowing his name "But I can understand not wanting your name known to a enemy soldier. Even if she and her brother was risking their lives to save you"
Frost chuckled and gave Elly a bow "9th prince of the empire, Xavier Va Britannia, at your service"
Elly's eyes became huge as she processed what he had said.
"What wrong Els, cat got your tongue?" Kayla teased when her friend was silent.
"You fucking asshole!" Elly said angrily as she stepped so her face was inches from his "You've been alive all this time and was leading a rebelling and never tried to sent word to Neo and I!" she scolded like a mother.
Xavier started to speak but was stopped when Elly wrapped her arms around him warmly "You shouldn't make your 'loving' family worry about you" she said warmly with a smile before letting him go.
"How sweet" mocked Kayla though she was holding back a tear.
"ah shut up Kay" said Elly.
Deep in the bowels of Valiant Tokyo screams of pains could be heard throughout the Valiant Dark Medical floor. Doctors and scientists stopped their work to watch Rakshata and her team work on a screaming Neo Valiant from a observation windows that were meant for the directors to inspect a project.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Neo screamed in pain as wiring and metal was being surgically attached to his bone, nerves and flesh.
"Neo we're almost finished" Rakshata tried to reassure the boy who had been screaming for the past hour.
"We should've waited until we had more morphine before we did this!" yelled one of the men as he feared Neo would fire him in anger of the severe pain.
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" Neo yelled between gritted teeth since the others had stopped working on the nerves and the bones and now just began closing the new metallic shoulder joint "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE THINGS EASIER!"
Rakshata placed her hand on Neo's right shoulder and gave him a comforting "We're all done Neo" she then had some of her men light her pipe while she washed the blood off of her hands.
"Thank you Rakshata" Neo said, his voice still held great pain "Where's the arm?"
Neo's chair was raised so he was back in a sitting position and Rakshata was holding a arm that looked much like a human arm due to it's plastic skin that covered the robotics and was a identical color as Neo's skin.
"This device is a basic model that will only provide you with about the same movement as a Sutherland but will have improved strength" Rakshata explained as her men prepared to attach the mock arm into the new socket "The first prototype will be completed by the time you sent the first shipment to Kyoto"
"Thank you Rakshata" Neo said while holding back pain from the mock arms circuits connected "I can't have my plans slowed by anything" he said with conviction "With the JLF and theWhite Lotus at my command, I will have Japan liberated and stabilized by the end of the year"
Rakshata chuckled at the boy's ambition "You may die before your goal with the way you behave boy. But nonetheless…" she said before stepping to his side while one of her 'goons' went to a console in front of Neo "lets run some tests to see if all of the systems work"
Neo turned his hand and began moving his new fingers around before making a fist.
"Okay the hand and wrist joints are running at the expected levels" Said a technician at the console that was running the startup of the OS "Next we'll activate the shoulder and elbow joints so try lifting the unit"
Neo gave the man an annoyed look before turning his gaze to Rakshata and impatiently asked "Do you believe this thing will work Rakshata?"
"It was a rush job but it was still made by my hand" She said with her usual confidence while taking a drag of her pipe and pressing the complete activation button on the console knowing what he wanted from their years of working together.
"Now let do a real test" Neo said excitedly before jumping from the chair and grabbing a pipe the ran across the top of the room with just his left arm.
"Lord Valiant we haven't tested the stress system!" the console tech exclaimed as Neo began doing one-handed pull-ups with ease "This is the first time something like this has been done. We don't know of the dangers to the unit or your nervous system"
Neo dropped to the floor and smiled at the man "I'd say it works"
"Well I'll get started on the prototype unit right away" Rakshata said as she pressed a few keys on a console before ordering her men to do various tasks.
"I'd like the unit to mount a small slash harkin and a communication device with scrambler settings and advanced encryption" Neo explained like he was simply ordering dinner.
The Indian scientist held a smiled as she laid down on her exquisite couch and let the cogs in her mind build the unit that would be the first prosthetic to be used by a knightmare pilot.
Elly, Kayla and Xavier had just finished a tour of the warehouse the was the White Lotus base. They were not a strong in numbers but Elly could tell they had spirit and motivation. They were mostly Britannians who deserted the military and the others were numbers who had been saved from prisons.
"Wow Kay, this army of your is impressive to say the least" Elly exclaimed knowing that even her and Neo's team would have trouble with them.
"Well Xavier was the leader in the beginning when it was just a gurilla squad but then I came in with my advanced artillery tactics and we became unbeatable" Kayla bragged with a smile.
"Then our dear brother took command" Xavier said in clear detest "If Schneizel hadn't come we could've saved so many more of us" His fist were clenched in rage at the memory "He decimated our most skilled pilots in the first attack and then proceeded to slowly destroy everything we built over the last six years"
Kayla looked away as the tears began "Gino was leading the team that flanked my rear line of artillery and almost killed me"
Elly could feel the anger of Xavier and the sadness of Kayla and turned into a soldier "You are the leaders of these men! They have entrusted their dreams unto you to led them to a better world!" This caused both siblings to stop their moping and watch Elly "A leader must not show the pain of battle as they are the one who inspire those under them to fight even in times of certain defeat!"
Suddenly the sound of clapping could be heard and they turned to the source.
"How right you are dear sister!" Neo said as he neared the others who were shocked by his sudden growth "A leader must not show weakness or else the men under them lose themselves in fear. A leader must be a god in the eyes of his men. Confront your men with your words and then ordered death with the same tongue"
Elly looked dumbfounded "How did you…?"
"The Valiant Corporation is truly the future of the world" Xavier said glad to see his old friend had recovered so quickly.
Kayla gave Neo a sly smile "You must have Rakshata here if you replaced your arm this quickly"
Elly looked at her watch and had a look of shock "We've only been here 3 hours!"
"The woman knows how to get a job done right" Neo said while swinging his arm around.
That Morning
"What do you mean X is dead!" Ogi asked surprised by what Kallen just told him.
"I just know okay!" Kallen yelled with tears running down her face.
She knew Neo was in the Black Sutherland when it dived to save Elly's Gloucester. She waited two days before telling the others hoping that he was just injured and would call her but finally gave up hope.
"If the guys dead then we have to get out supplies from a new source" Kai said not really caring that his cousin was crying or that a supporter was dead "I was able to intercept a transport to Kyoto a few weeks back that led back to Valiant HQ here in Japan"
"What!" exclaimed Tamaki in rage as he stood from the ground "Why the hell would you go and do something like that for!"
Kai stood to face the adult "There are JLF spies in Valiant sending out supplies to the JLF and with the Grim Reaper out of commission after Shinjuku, we can move in and take what we need!"
"What about their security or the military?" Inoue asked the boy.
"Valiant is based at the edge of the settlement so it would take the military around 20 minutes to deploy to the location or even longer with Jeremiah in command and the infighting" Kai explained while getting impatient.
Kallen suddenly stood up "I say we do it!" this caused everyone to turn to her shocked "We need knightmares and without X we have to take them by force"
Neo, Elly, Kayla and Xavier, all sat in the mess hall that was under the warehouse and were eating an early dinner. It was around 4 o'clock and they just had finished putting back together the White Lotus's Sutherlands and the few Gloucesters they had and were now relaxing.
"Damn it's good to eat!" Neo yelled excitedly as he downed many plates of food.
"You're gonna choke damn it!" Elly scolded at him.
Kayla just laughed "It's just like the old days"
"It is" Xavier agreed.
Suddenly red light filled the room and a raid siren could be heard.
"Lord Frost, Princess!" yelled a White Lotus as he ran into the room.
"What's happening Lieutenant!" Xavier ordered.
"The facility is under attack by the Britannians!" the man said in a panic.
Neo took out a PDA like device and bought cameras of the area on the TVs in the room. He looked a the Sutherland and noticed a marking.
"These are the remnants of the Black Dragons from Shinjuku" Neo said as he zoomed in on the dragon symbol of the Sutherland "We have 4 minutes until they arrive and then maybe 5 more for them to get in position"
"What kind of defense does this place have?" Elly asked seeing the large number of enemy Sutherland, Glasgow and a few Burai that were coming.
Neo showed the map of the compound, along with the outer city and the adjacent ghetto area "The outer cameras can spot an enemy at least five minutes away"
He then moved to show the warehouses and spec that showed their supplies and knightmare "We obviously can't use the White Lotus or JLF units in defense so that leaves the small defense force of around 10 Sutherland units with unseasoned pilots, a single Gloucester that's still being refitted into the new Reaper and the Leviathan"
"What's the plan?" Xavier asked knowing that Neo must've had back up plans for an attack.
Neo showed the display of the JLF warehouse "The JLF and Lotus warehouses have automatic evacuation systems that will take you to the Valiant Dark headquarters" It then showed the Leviathan "While that takes care of the resistance, Elly will lead the evacuation of all Valiant personnel with the Leviathan where they will head for the secondary facility in Kagoshima "
"What will you be doing?" Elly asked concerned for Neo after his near death experience.
Neo thought for a moment before turning to his sister "I'm going to take command of the security forces to buy you guys some time"
"Where were these things at during Shinjuku!" Yelled Tamaki as he gazed at the some 30 Burai and Sutherland units as well as Kai's Glasgow.
"The Burai were stolen from the JLF transports and were being put together in Saitama during the battle" Kai explained as he and his men started up their systems "And the Sutherlands are what's left of the ones stolen at Shinjuku"
Kallen's Glasgow jumped out of it's trailer and stopped next to Kai's "What's the plan Kai?"
"Me, you and the Dragons will lead the attack while Ogi and the others will wait for our signal to extract the supplies" Kai explained his master plan with great confidence.
"Sound good enough for me!" Kallen said hoping to lose herself in battle to stop the pain she was feeling.
Kai stood atop his knightmare with his katana in hand and slashed it forward "Dragons roar!"
"You still defeated me" Jeremiah said with slight disappointment. He sat across from Kira and had just been defeated in a game of chess.
Kira gave his mentor a wide smile "You'll have your day Lord Jeremiah. Your main disadvantage is that your pride get in the way of making a decision"
"My Lords!" Villetta came into the room in a panic.
"What is it Villetta?" Jeremiah asked worried while also happy that something could take him away from his defeat.
Kira placed his hand on her back as she tried to catch her breath after the long run from the CIC to the Viceroy's office that Jeremiah was now using.
"Terrorists are attacking the Valiant facility her in Tokyo!" she said before showing pictures on the screen "These images were sent from Sir Waldstein who is in command of the defense and is asking for reinforcements"
Jeremiah stood and threw on his cape "We will personally assist a comrade and friend!"
Neo stood in the Valiant war room and watched the map that rested in the center of the room and displayed a satellite image of the area and the locations of the enemy.
"Rakshata start with the evac of the White Lotus building first then proceed to the JLF building after" Neo ordered as he watched the red dots spread across the northern wall "Team 1, the enemy is on the north perimeter. Prepare for defense plan 1. We have to get our people out of here!"
"This is Team 2. We are set up inside of the building and awaiting the activation of plan 1" came Team 2's leader.
"Team 1 here. The devices are ready and wait commander" Team 1's leader said.
Just then the north wall exploded leaving several gaping hole along it's length that seemed to spawn knightmare.
"Activate Plan 1!" Neo ordered and the entire facility filled with thick ECM smoke.
"What the hell is this!" Kai said in shock as his radar shut down from the ECM.
"Kai they knew we were coming!" Kallen stated from beside him though they couldn't even see each other.
Just then the smoke filled with gunfire from knightmare from unknown locations outside the smoke.
Kai slammed the side of his cockpit in anger "All forces charge out of the smoke and engage the enemy knightmare where we can see them!"
"So how does this work?" Kayla asked Rakshata who typed commands on a console in the White Lotus warehouse.
"The knightmare will Knightmare docks will be lowered to the Valiant Dark levels of this facility and fill be loaded unto a tram to the main Dark base" Rakshata explained as the Knightmares began to be lowered "That's why we have to do this one warehouse at a time"
Kayla could hear the fight outside as their warehouse was close to the north wall and she knew that Neo was facing impossible odds, even with the early warning system he had.
"Raven it will be ok. Neo is the best there is" Xavier reassured her knowing that she felt uneasy and helping her like a big brother should. He had decided to use her cover name as Rakshata was not a member of the Lotus and they didn't know her.
"Please proceed to the supply elevator" Rakshata said pointing her pipe to where the weapons and other supplies were being loaded to.
Neo watched the cloud of smoke that was but a red mass on his map. So far the plan was working as it had made the enemy stop moving for a moment and he had his Team 1 begin opening fire into the smoke.
"The enemy will try and charge our knightmare units so Team 2 be ready"
Neo ordered.
The Black Dragon knightmare sped from the smoke and began firing at the Valiant Sutherlands that were lined up across the parking lot and were using stacks of cars to make a wall as improvised cover while they themselves were a few yards behind the wall incase of a car exploding.
"Team 2 open fire!" Neo ordered and from windows of the building, several rockets and heavy rifle fire rained down on the advancing Black Dragons causing nearly half of their numbers to be destroyed or damaged enough for an auto-eject.
"All is going to plan commander" Team 1's commander said with joy as he watched the enemy begin to take evasive maneuvers.
Neo watched as the Dragons knightmare still advanced "Team 3 the enemy is in range strike now!"
"Damn it!" Kai said as he watched his numbers begin to crumble.
Kallen gasped "Kai the roof!"
Several Sutherland with cannons fired down from the rooftop, effectively destroying half of the Japanese knightmare below in the chaos.
"Kai we have to get out of here!" Kallen said as she fired her rifle at the rooftop knightmare, destroying two of them while dodging fire from the other teams.
"We're not leaving here empty-handed!" Kai growled in anger "All forces get behind the warehouses to hide from the lower forces and fire on that roof!"
Ogi's voice came over the radio with the sound of gunfire in the background "Kai the military cut off our retreat what do we do!"
Neo watched as the red dots of the Black Dragons were falling back behind the Warehouses, white dots that show the tramway and the Valiant personnel evac teams and then new blue dots appearing at the enemy flank.
"Major this is Jeremiah Gottwald we are closing in on the Eleven scum" said the Margrave as his Sutherland dropped from it's VTOL "What's your status?"
Neo waved his hand to his and his comms officer put him though.
"Milord, My forces have their main attack forces pinned down. Evacuation of personnel is being commanded by Elizabeth on the Leviathan" Neo informed. His fist were clenched in anger, he hadn't expected the military to show up so soon and now he had to rush the JLF warehouse's evac before the military got there.
"We'll drive them to your defenses and sandwich them in, just like the Battle of Southern Africa" Kira's cold voice was heard.
They cut communication and Neo picked up a small hand radio that was tied to the facilities intercom.
Kai and Kallen both stood behind the cover of one of the warehouses as bullets and cannon fire flew all around. Both Glasgow's were covered in damage though they both still had their limbs and were functional.
"Our retreats blocked off and we're pinned down" Kai said to himself but Kallen could hear it.
"Kai what are we gonna do!" She asked scared for everyone.
Kai hands shook at the controls "Naoto was able to get his guys out of danger while facing the Britannian military but I couldn't even defeat a bunch of glorified mall cops"
A loud hum sounded throughout the facility to indicate an announcement but then went to static.
"Now what?" Kai growled.
"To all Elevens who are invading this facility. The military has cut off your retreat and will soon push you into my defenses" Neo's voice was heard "You are facing Major Neo Waldstein, the Grim Reaper of Britannia. You have no chance of victory here"
"Neo!" Kallen said in surprise and joy.
"Surrender now and live as a prisoner of Valiant or fight on and face the devastating power of the Britannian Empire!" Neo said in a fearful voice that made even his own men shake.
Kai began slaming the side of his cockpit in anger and fear and spoke to himself in a near whisper of fear "He's alive. The only advantage we had is gone. Even I can't defeat HIM in command ability"
"Kai we're not retreating!" Kallen ordered her younger cousin with new motivation "we're gonna use their knightmares against them just like in Shinjuku"
Neo walked fast down the halls of the Valiant building as he dialed his phone and placed his earpiece.
"Rakshata the JLF warehouse is surrounded and the military is on its way" Neo said over the phone "Is it evacuated yet"
"We got both Shinobi, the Guren, Gekkas and Burai but the elevator for the Knightshade was jammed and these fools wont go back up there" She replied.
Neo let out an aggravated grunt as he loaded his pistol "Fine, I'm going out there then"
"Kallen are you sure it was a good idea to abandon the Glasgows?" Kai asked as he and Kallen entered a darkened warehouse.
"I know the switch was around here somewhere" She said feeling around the wall near the entrance "Aha I found it!"
Lights illuminated the huge building and showed the contents.
"It's empty!" Kai said in anger at their wasted time "You brought me here to see an empty warehouse!"
"Neo must've emptied it when we attacked" she said now feeling stupid.
A loud bang was heard and humming of an elevator.
"Over there!" Kallen yelled as she pointed her pistol at the elevator that showed that something was coming from below.
The doors opened and the only thing that could be seen was a single red light in the darkness.
"Shoot it!" Kai yelled as he and began firing into the darkness and Kellen followed.
"Childs play" came a sinister voice in amusement from the darkness as a sword was drawn with lightning speed and the bullets deflected or avoided.
Kai looked wide eyed at the dark figure who walked into the light untouched by a single bullet "What is this thing!"
"X!" Kallen said with glee at the sight of Neo's masked face.
"Kallen and Kai Kozuki you assumed I was dead and attacked this facility correct?" X asked but knew the answer.
"You bastard!" Kai growled "We needed you in Shinjuku and for this attack and you already infiltrated Valiant"
X laughed "I was at Shinjuku and I have always been in Valiant"
Kai re-aimed his handgun at the man "What the hell does that mean!"
X held his facemask "As the cousin to my love I will tell you"
"Love?" Kai said confused and looked at Kallen for a moment before turning to X in shock "You can't be?"
Neo removed his mask to show Kai his face.
"Neo" Kallen said happily as tears began to fall from her eyes
"You are a man of many masks" Kai said angrily "I never thought that the reason that the JLF was getting supplies from Valiant was that the CEO himself was the selling to both sides"
"Hold on one moment" Neo said to Kai as he listened to the incoming message from Villetta.
"Major Waldstein we have forced them inside the Valiant walls and are holding here to block their escape" She said with far to much joy in killing Elevens.
Neo turned to the two Japanese "I've ran out of time to evac everything in the base"
"Kai, Kallen We caught between the military and Valiant and can't move" Ogi's voice was heard on Kai's handheld radio.
"Neo tell your men to take out the military before we lose everyone!" Kai ordered in fear for his men.
Neo shook his head and placed his mask back on "Valiant is not ready to battle the empire"
"Then how will we get out of here?" Kallen asked not worried now that Neo was in charge.
"The only way to get you out of here… is to kill you" Neo said plainly.
Kai drew his sword and pointed it at Neo in shock and anger "What the hell does that mean!"
Neo ignored the younger boy and walked to where the Knightshade stood that was now a hole in the ground'
"I don't want this to be destroyed so I'm giving it to you Kai" he said before throwing Kai a sword shaped knightmare key.
Kai looked down the hole to see the black knightmare where it's elevator had gotten stuck.
"You're giving him the Knightshade!" Kallen said in surprise as she saw the machine.
Neo entered the command room in civilian clothes again.
"Lord Valiant the terrorist have retreated to Warehouse 13" A security officer said when he saw Neo "The military is requesting what you want to do and so is Lady Elizabeth onboard the Leviathan"
"Tell the military that I've just returned from scouting the warehouse and I've sighted what appears to be a sakurodite based bomb" Neo said eyeing the map at the center of the room "Tell Leviathan to fall back. Order security to meet up with the military and tell the military to get clear"
"Yes my Lord!"
"That includes you" Neo said to the man before walking into his office that was directly beside the control room.
Neo sat at his desk and logged into his computer "Voice command: emergency protocol. White Light"
The main lights shut down and red siren lights lit the room before the computer chimed "Executive order confirmed. Evacuation of Valiant complete. V-Weapon Status… Armed. Gloucester Type-V1 Reaper-2… ready"
Neo's chair lowered into a small hanger where the Reaper stood.
"Where's Major Waldstein?" Jeremiah asked Emma Sinclair, Neo's assistant when she arrived in Elly's sports car.
"Lord Valiant is securing Valiant assets" She said plainly before she drove off.
Kira chuckled "Neo wont leave the Reaper behind"
Just then a bright light filled the area as the entire facility exploded in a sakurodite explosion.
"Where's is he!" Villetta asked thinking that Neo was dead.
"That man will never die" Kira said seeing a black shape of a Gloucester get bigger "Not until I do it at least"
It was almost sunset. Neo stood in his office at the Valiant corporate building in the business section of the settlement looking out his window as the sun was coming down across the Pacific.
"Lord Valiant you have a incoming call on an encrypted line" came the voice of Neo's secretary Emma Sinclair over the intercom.
"Send it through Emma" Neo requested and a huge screen came down from the ceiling in front of his desk. Neo sat in his desk and was greeted by a familiar face
"Hello Cornelia" He said sweetly still happy with her for transferring him "What can I do for…"
"Neo did you do it?" She growled with anger as she cut him off.
"If you are referring to Clovis then no" Neo said calmly "But I doubt Kururugi did it and by you asking me then you don't think so either"
Cornelia scoffed "That Jeremiah lacks the mind to do a proper investigation"
"What can I do?" Neo asked unsure of her intent "He is the Acting Viceroy, Margrave and a Colonel"
The intercom buzzed again "Lord Valiant we are receiving encoded documents for you. I am sending them to you computer for decryption now"
"What gifts have you given me Cornelia?" Neo asked as he logged into his personal computer. When he opened the messages his eyes grew wide from the shock.
"Neo Valiant, As the head of Valiant Industries and the Valiant Family, you are granted the rank of Duke and given full governance over the Valiant Islands" Cornelia said with her commander voice but showed a hint of joy.
Neo could barely speak "D…Duke?"
"And I will be coming to Area 11 as the new Viceroy after I'm done here and will be leaving some officers behind and I believe after your defense of Valiant today…" She said so Neo could finish as he read the second message.
"Brigadier General!" His voice was a whisper. The shock of his status increase was heavy after the battle and surgery.
"You will command the 24th and 27th Autonomous Knight Corps as well as Kayla's 1st Royal Artillery Corps and Earl Asplund's Special Corps" Cornelia explained with pride as she always wanted Neo to be at her side. To keep him safe and to try and ease his pain like a big sister should.
"Why?" was all Neo could ask.
"It required my brother Schneizel's approval as Prime Minister to make you a Duke and his one request was that I gave you command of his experimental unit" Cornelia explained.
"No" Neo said still confused "Why suddenly give me so much power?"
Cornelia simply let out a small chuckle "Once I clean up Area 11, I'm giving it to Euphie and Kayla to govern and I want you and Elly at the command their army"
It all still confused Neo "Then why give me this power now rather then later?"
"If Jeremiah fails then the military will go into chaos. So now with your rank, you could become the Acting Viceroy at any moment. Now I hope that's the last question" Cornelia said hoping to get to another matter.
Neo sigh and relaxed in his chair before answering "Yes I understand my orders" he said more seriously.
"Good" Cornelia said with a sly smile "Now I want to know about that girl from Clovis's party"
Chapter End
AN: Yay i wrote a new chapter! This takes place just after Episode 3: False Classmate and just before Episode 4:His Name is Zero.
My computer is having some issues so it may take a while before i write a new chapter, i don't know yet.
I'm thinking of writing a Prequel eventually to this that will be about the Neo's career from after his mothers death to the start of this story and will have his many battles along with Kayla's murder of civilian, Jenny's rape and refrain use, Ashley, Amanda, Gino love triangle, Neo's birthday killings and more!