Code Geass - Lelouch of the Rebellion/Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch: Lost Soldiers
by: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters of Code Geass are under the copyright of Goro Taniguchi, Sunrise, CLAMP and Bandai Entertainment. All other characters are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
As the Lost Soldiers are invited to spend time with the JLF, the Britannian military prepares for an upcoming COIN operation to defeat the insurgency in Area 11. Will this operation hamper the efforts of the JLF and the Lost Soldiers in the future? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 10: Empire Strikes Back
Dojo, Japan Liberation Front Base, Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"As the head of the JLF," Katase, Todo and his four Holy Swords and some JLF soldiers and officers were seated in a seiza position. In front of them were Marc, Rai and Ken. The three were seated in seiza position as well with their ballistic helmets, respirators and goggles removed while keeping their balaclavas on. "I would like to thank you all for coming to our Narita mountain hideout." The old JGSDF officer bowed, followed by the other JLF personnel as a courtesy.
"It's not a problem, sir." Marc returned the bow. Rai and Ken followed likewise. The other Lost Soldiers were not in the dojo as their presence was not required.
"I trust that you all didn't have problems with coming here?"
Rai shook his head. "Not at all. We have our ways to get through the Britannian forces."
"I thought Todo-san and the others are suppose to be with Kyoto." Ken raised a concern to Katase.
Katase nodded. "I know. They'll be leaving right now."
"If you would excuse us, sir." Todo and the four Holy Swords stood up and bowed to Katase before they excused themselves from the dojo.
"Katase-san." Ken spoke to the old man. "If you don't mind, the Lost Soldiers do plan to conduct some mountain training nearby the base to refresh our skills."
"Of course." Katase replied. "Feel free to use any of our facilities to help you with your training."
"Thank you." Marc, Rai and Ken bowed in unison before they left the dojo, leaving Katase to meditate by himself.
Conference Room, Governor-General's Palace, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Thank you all for coming to this important meeting." Clovis greeted the military officers, including Ambrosia, Guilford, Darlton, inside the conference room when the third prince made his presence known.
"Well then," Clovis took his seat. "shall we begin the meeting?" When all eyes were on him, the blonde man started. "Today's meeting will be on the upcoming COIN operation against the Japanese Liberation Front. Let's discuss on the matters regarding the operation." Clovis eyed one of the officers, waiting for him to speak up.
"Well, your Highness." The officer, a man with blonde hair and mustache in his late 30s, began to speak from a report that he had printed out. "The knightmare anti-siege weapons called Raiko in Japanese are completely rehauled as the Thunderbolt. As of now, there are personnel already assigned to these units with training conducted a week ago."
"And these units?" Clovis asked. "We only have 2?"
"Yes, your Highness."
Clovis sighed. "I wish we had more, but it's better than nothing I guess." He then stared at the officers. "Anything else?"
"Your Highness." Another officer, a man in his late 20s with short black hair, told everyone in the meeting his report. "Our initial battle plan for the upcoming COIN op calls on the Marines, the SAS and the Guards to Narita. Also, we've received a request from Earl Asplund for his division to participate as well."
The Area 11 Governor-General waved his hand. "Let that man do as he pleases. He's under Prince Schneizel, so I can't say no to him."
"Understood, your Highness. In addition to those forces, the Purists are to participate under Margrave Jeremiah. He just recovered from his injuries in the Lake Kawaguchi incident and wishes to join in."
Clovis nodded. "All right."
"Your Highness." An officer in his 50s began to speak up to Clovis. "I've received word that the Irregulars Division had forwarded a request a few minutes ago courtesy of Colonel Madd. I'm worried that their presence will spark some trouble with the Purists."
"He has a point." Guilford addressed the officer's problem to Clovis as well. "The Purists could give the Irregulars some trouble in the upcoming COIN op."
"We don't have time for this petty squabble!" Darlton reminded the officers. "Isn't the reason why Prince Clovis called on this meeting is for all of us to draw a solid plan to defeat the JLF once and for all?" The officers had been silent, not insisting on the problems regarding the Irregulars and the Purists.
"I don't mind if the Irregulars and the Purists are in on the COIN op." Ambrosia told Clovis and the officers. "The only main concern that I have is to pacify the rising insurgency in Area 11 immediately."
"Agreed." Clovis shared Ambrosia's sentiment on the situation. "Very well, I accept the proposal. Get a battle plan in by the afternoon before our deployment from RBA Tokyo."
"Yes, your Highness!" The officers stood up from their chairs to acknowledge Clovis.
On Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Come on! Let's move it there!"
Marc had personally led the Lost Soldiers in a mountaineering exercise with Edward in along for the ride. All of them were now clad in their Britannian infantry gear with their Colt M-13 rifles slinged on their backs and their S&W M-50 pistols holstered on their respective thigh holsters. They were all climbing the Narita Mountains without any climbing aid aside from ropes with related gear used on them including carabiners, belay devices and quick draws.
"Geez, boss man!" Henri was about to complain. "Is this our idea of a little exercise? I mean, we're packing our respective weapons with us. Not to mention that you said we need to lug around 60 kgs of equipment on our backpacks." The Swiss soldier groaned while adjusting his harness carefully as he was still climbing the mountain.
"Oh god." Rai began to groan; he felt his shoulders were killing him with the combination of the heavy backpack with his firearms while keeping his grip on the climbing rope. "My back's killing me..."
"Know how you feel." Jean tried to console Rai, feeling the same pain. "We've done it like this back in COSMOS in order to infiltrate enemy territory more effectively."
"Boss wants this opportunity for us to build character." Michael replied, shouting a bit for his comrades to hear him. "Besides, he said we need to burn some fat of our bodies." He looked up while he laughed a bit. "Ain't that right, ladies?"
"Shut up!" Yi and Michelle, grumbling something about cutting him down the next time the Lost Soldiers do another mountaineering exercise.
"This is quite fun." Edward chuckled. "Haven't had much fun since my old man took me to the Rocky Mountains back in BC years ago prior to conscription and enlistment in the military."
"I forgot." Marc huffed, ensuring his carabiner was secured on his rope. "You're from BC, Canada eh?"
"Yeah." Edward grunted, climbing up his rope while ensuring his feet were on the mountain slope. "I partially grew up in the country."
"Good for you." Marc continued to climb up the mountain, getting a lead on the other Lost Soldiers and one Britannian deserter. "Now let's see who can get up there first."
Special Dispatch Guidance System Division warehouse, RBA Tokyo, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Ah." Lloyd smiled, greeting Suzaku and Mariel when the two entered the SDGSD's own warehouse in RBA Tokyo. Suzaku had taken off his Britannian officer's formal uniform and instead, wore the SDGSD's brown uniform with the beret under the left shoulder strap. "I'm glad you two were able to make it. I've got some news for the both of you."
"Is it about the supposed COIN op in Narita?" Mariel asked.
Lloyd asked. "Prince Clovis gave his approval. We're just waiting for word to be mobilized right now." He did a hitchhiker's thumb to point the Lancelot behind him. "Cécile and I had been prepping the Lancelot to be combat ready in a moment's notice."
"Good work, then." Suzaku smiled at the white-haired earl. "But where is Cécile?"
Lloyd pointed to a sleeping Cécile, dozing off at the console nearby. "I allowed her to get some sleep. She told me felt tired from getting the Lancelot ready and ensuring that it was free from all bugs."
"All right." Suzaku nodded. "She probably needs the rest anyway, Lloyd."
2009 ATB
Staircase, RBA Camp Red Cloud, somewhere in California, United States, Britannian Empire
Been off duty from attending further work for her co-op assignment with the Special Dispatch division, Cécile noted that a familiar COSMOS soldier was seated alone in a staircase located near the base's main entrance.
"Are you busy?" Cécile asked the young soldier politely.
The soldier stared at her carefully, seeing if she's a threat. Realizing that she wasn't, he nodded.
"Thank you." Cécile sat down at the step next to him, raising her right hand to him. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name's Cécile."
"You have a name?" The young soldier asked Cécile, startling her before he stared at the ceiling.
"That's weird." The young soldier sighed. "I don't recall having it."
Cécile was startled. "You don't have one?"
The young soldier shook his head. "I'm not sure. My designation is Number 33, the codename set to me by my superiors."
"A number?" Cécile murmured. "That can't really be right, can it?"
Special Dispatch Guidance System Division warehouse, RBA Tokyo, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Cécile woke up groggily from her nap after she slowly removed her heads from the top of her arms, which she used to pillow her head on top of the unused console nearby.
"Ahhhh..." The purple-haired woman yawned before she rubbed both of her eyes. What is it anyway?
"So you're awake now hmmm?" Lloyd greeted Cécile, a grin plastered on his face.
"What happened, Lloyd?" Cécile rubbed her eyes. "Are we going to be mobilized out in the field?"
Lloyd nodded. "Yes, indeed my dear." The Lancelot inventor smiled as he danced to his own beat. "It's so exciting, I can't wait to see how the Lancelot will make its fighting debut in a COIN op today."
"No wonder Lloyd's so excited." Mariel sighed. "He just wants to get some fame and glory out in the field."
Summit, Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"How's everyone going?"
Marc chuckled, seeing the last of the Lost Soldiers safely climb the Narita Mountains all the way to the summit. He observed his subordinates carefully, seeing that most of them were now pretty tired from climbing up the mountains.
"I'm tired!"
"Can I get a 20, no 30-minute break boss man?"
"I don't wanna move around for now."
"Give us a break! We're human, boss!"
"Need...water. Dying of thirst here..."
"I'm damn thirsty from climbing."
"Good, good." Marc grinned while clapping his hands slowly. Some of the Lost Soldiers raised an eyebrow at seeing Marc clap his hands. Others were nervous due to the possibility of doing another exercise after practicing mountain climbing. "Because... I plan that we all do a nice, little abseiling exercise once all of you get some time off to relax and break a leg there, yeah?"
"Oh man!"
All of the Lost Soldiers groaned upon hearing the news.
"Come on now." Marc clapped his hands again. "We have the whole day ahead of us." He began to walk away from his subordinates to stretch his muscles. "If you guys don't practice, you won't be able to ensure the skills we learned will be remembered time after time, yes?"
"Hey." Jean whispered to some of the Lost Soldiers. "What say we overthrow the boss in a little coup and install someone else as boss?"
"Who?" Henri was curious. "Like that Zero guy?"
"I don't know." Jean shrugged his shoulders. "Who do you want anyway?"
Balcony, Nunnally's Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Nunnally was alone on the room, with the exception of Sayoko being downstairs to tend to the laundry. She was told by Lelouch himself that he needed to go out for a while and won't be back until later.
"Hmph." Nemo smirked at Nunnally, seated on the balcony railing. "You honestly think that your big brother's heading out alone just because he has to?"
Nunnally didn't answer Nemo, which alarmed her.
"Dammit." Nemo sighed. "You don't get it, do you? Lelouch is the man called Zero. I sense him having geass."
"Big brother?" Nunnally murmured. "He has a geass of his own? Are you serious about that, Nemo?"
She's in doubt that her brother is Zero, the leader of the Black Knights. Geez. I better do something about this.
Nemo raised her right hand and placed it on Nunnally's forehead, sending a little electric shock into her.
"AAGH!" Nunnally felt the pain, but was not serious as Nemo applied a little shock to the disabled girl since a stronger shock would further cripple or kill her off for good.
"Get over it, Nunnally." Nemo held on the wheelchair from the front, placing her hands on the armrests as she glared at her. "If you don't accept that Zero is your big brother Lelouch, then your life will be in danger by other forces out there sooner or later." She hissed through clenched teeth.
Big brother? Nunnally sighed. Are you really Zero? If you can answer me.
Bridge, G-1 Base, en route to Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"It looks like it's come to this."
Clovis was seated on the throne at the G-1's bridge. Ambrosia, Guilford, Darlton and Madd were inside the bridge as well , accompanying Clovis to the anti-insurgency COIN op being launched in Area 11. Following the massive G-1 was the Special Dispatch's knightmare trailer truck holding Suzaku's Lancelot.
"Euphie was pretty insistent on coming along." Ambrosia told Clovis. "At the end, I had to insist to her that she couldn't come for her sake."
"I must admit," Clovis sighed. "Euphie was persistent in standing up to you before you made her stop insisting."
"I know." Ambrosia replied. "I just can't bear loosing another sister. Not after what happened to Cornelia during the Second Pacific War."
"You're right." Clovis stayed silent, seeing Darlton, Guilford and Darlton working with the bridge officers to navigate the G-1 through open space somewhere near the Narita forests en route to their destination.
"Your Highness." Madd informed Clovis. "I was informed that JLF forces in the region have not been alerted to our presence."
"Good work." Clovis acknowledged the report. "Proceed on slowly. We must keep our guard up before the JLF knows we're here."
"Understood."
Somewhere in Narita Forests, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Hiding in the Narita forests were Ougi's Burai and Kallen's Guren Mk-II, accompanied by an AK-74-armed Black Knight guerrilla cell consisting of six men. They hid near and behind the trees and bushes, conducting recon on the approach of the Britannian expeditionary force led by Clovis himself. Their orders were to observe and wait for Zero's orders if they should attack the Britannians or wait and assess the situation in order to pass intelligence back to Zero for him to make the decision.
"Looks like Zero was right." One of the Black Knight guerrillas whispered. "That sick bastard Clovis is closing in on the JLF's Narita hideout."
"But does he have a plan?" Another Black Knight guerilla asked. "You know, an actual workable plan to ensure that we can gain the upper hand against them?"
"Quiet down." Ougi told the cell from his kneeling Burai. "No sudden movements from you people. Not to mention any unnecessary talking. We're here on recon, not for a picnic."
"Ougi." Kallen called for Ougi. "You think Zero will be able to pull this off? I mean, this is the entire military including the Irregulars and the Purists."
"I'm sure of it." Ougi answered, feeling a bit confident. "After what he did for us back there in Shinjuku, I'm sure that he'll be able to do something about this situation and turn it in our favor."
Cab, Freightliner Cascadia semi-trailer truck, en route to Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Two Freightliner Cascadia semi-trailer trucks were now en route to the direction of Narita, both of them driven in a convoy-like formation. The first truck was being driven by Nagisa, with Todo and Shogo next to her. The second one was being driven by Kosetsu with Ryoga.
"Hey Nagisa?" Shogo asked his fellow Holy Sword comrade, trying to get rid of the boredom from driving the truck non-stop from the Mount Fuji hideout of the Kyoto Group to Narita for who knows how many hours were consumed from driving. "Are we there yet?"
"No."
"What time is it anyway?"
Nagisa answered him, raising an eyebrow while maintaining her concentration on the road. "2 in the afternoon. An hour passed ever since we left Mount Fuji."
"I see." Shogo sighed. "I should've brought a good book with me to read on the road. Man, I'm bored." He waved his left arm to emphasis his point. "Really, I am."
Todo decided to meditate on his seat, cradling his sheathed katana with him as the two Holy Swords were talking to each other.
I just hope we can get back to see General Katase on time before it's too late...
Summit, Hill, somewhere in Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"I didn't expect to see you here, C.C."
Zero took off his mask, revealing the face of Lelouch. He had been observing the Lost Soldiers nearby while trying to conceal his presence with the Black Knights for the past hour. So far, it was working.
"I'm suppose to protect you." C.C. explained. "That's why I came along." She saw him staring at the Lost Soldiers.
"Do you expect them to be a part of your plan?" The green-haired immortal asked Lelouch."
"Of course." Lelouch smirked. "Anything that can be a factor against the Britannian military is in my plan."
C.C., however, had a smirk on her own. This had alarmed Lelouch.
"What's that smirk for?"
"Nothing. There's something that you have to know about your sister, Nunnally."
Lelouch grabbed C.C. by the shoulders after putting on his mask. "What about Nunnally?" He then asked, "What do you know about her?"
C.C. didn't answer him, prompting Zero to draw his S&W M-50 pistol at her.
"No need to be angry." C.C. replied.
"Then tell me what I need to know." Zero had his pistol leveled at C.C.
"I don't feel pain. I'm immortal."
"True. But that doesn't ensure that you won't be able to feel all sorts of pain." Zero placed the M-50's barrel on her forehead. "If you want, I can make you experience the sensation of having a 9mm bullet penetrate your forehead once in a while, C.C."
"All right." C.C. titled her head to the left, eyeing the arriving G-1. "Your sister has been granted with a special power."
"Power?" Zero was alarmed.
"Yes." C.C. nodded. "A strange, but strong power."
Command Center, JLF Headquarters, somewhere in Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"General! Come quickly!"
Katase had promptly arrived at the JLF's command center, being informed by one of his subordinates.
"What is it?" He asked the officer-in-charge, who had the rank of Major.
"Sir." The Major informed Katase. "We've detected a large expeditionary force 10 kilometers away from our base."
"What?" Katase was alarmed. "What the hell were our base defense units doing?!"
"Todo was able to radio us, General. He said that he's 2 hours away from the base."
"Dammit." Katase gritted his teeth. "Alert all our forces! Get everyone in battle formations!"
"Yes, sir!" The Major saluted Katase.
"And while you're at it, get the Lost Soldiers." Katase sighed. "We need all the help that we can get from this upcoming battle."
"Understood, General!"
Summit, Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Hey boss!"
Rai got off the radio after he received an encoded transmission from the JLF. "We're being needed by the old man Katase! Britannia's sending in a large force to subdue the JLF."
"What?" Marc gritted his teeth. Observing the incoming G-1, Marc increased the magnification of his goggles by 20x to visually confirming the G-1 himself. "Dammit. How did they..."
"No time." Ken told Marc, grabbing his left shoulder. "We can't stand here and do nothing, we gotta aid the JLF and help them hold out until Todo gets here..."
Marc nodded. "Aahh..." He then faced the Lost Soldiers.
"All right." Marc raised his left clenched fist and grinned at his fellow soldiers. "What say we Lost Soldiers show the JLF how we were able to kick Britannian ass during the Second Pacific War?"
His answer came with a wave of erupted cheers, "Oh yeahs!" and "Awesome!" from his teammates.
He'll need their support and courage to bring the advantage to the home team.
Bridge, G-1 Base, en route to Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Your Highness!"
One of the bridge officers informed Clovis. "We've received visual confirmation from our fighters conducting recon on the mountains. They were able to visually confirm some knightmares in the vicinity."
"It looks like it's time for me to make my debut in Area 11." Ambrosia grinned before she exited the bridge. "Come!"
"Yes, your Highness!" Darlton and Guilford followed Ambrosia while Madd stayed behind.
"My subordinates are ready to be mobilized at a moment's notice." Madd informed Clovis. "And also with the Purists as well."
"Excellent." Clovis nodded, believing that fortune was on his side. "Finally, we'll be able to finish this insurgency problem once and for all."
"Indeed." Madd felt the same way. It makes me wonder though. I've received an encoded message from Eden Vital, especially him that Rolo will be coming here with his reinforcements. Madd sighed. I wonder who that someone is?
Command Center, JLF Headquarters, somewhere in Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"General!" The OIC reported to Katase. "All defense turrets are activated and ready to fire at your word."
"Still no word from Todo?" The JLF commander asked. "And the Holy Swords?"
The OIC shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir. We're receiving some communication interfere just right now between our units and before Todo was able to land contact with us, General."
"Dammit." Katase gritted his teeth. "Electronic warfare. They must have mobilized their equipment already before they made their approach."
"Sir?" The OIC waited for Katase's instructions. "Should I continue to hail Colonel Todo?"
Katase nodded. "Yes. Keep trying. We may be able to contact him if we're lucky, Major."
"On it, General." Katase sighed and watched as the purple dots, indicated to be Britannian forces, were begging to swarm the foot of the Narita Mountains.
If Todo were here, we can perhaps have a miracle and defeat them. I'm not sure if the Lost Soldiers can do the same thing that Todo has done for Japan during the war against Britannia.
Cockpit, Z-01 Lancelot
"Lloyd."
Suzaku poked his head out of the Lancelot, calling for the Earl while Cécile and Mariel began to charge the knightmare's battery with the help of some of the Special Dispatch technicians.
"What can I do for you, Suzaku?" Suzaku didn't seem to figure out that he had that smile on his face. What's with that smile anyway?
"Are we going to be mobilized now?"
"If I remember right." Lloyd began to flex his left hand before he counted his fingers. "The Marines are going to lead the siege, followed by knightmares, F-16s and the Irregulars. I've received word that the SAS will try to siege the mountains to kill or capture high priority JLF personnel if the siege goes well for us."
"Hmmm..." Suzaku pondered on Lloyd's answer.
"Anyway," Lloyd waved at Suzaku. "There's no need to worry. Prince Clovis will tell us when to move out."
"Aren't we suppose to move out after the Marines lead the attack?" Mariel called out to Lloyd.
"Was that it?" Lloyd felt embarrassed. "Oops, sorry." He chuckled, scratching his head.
Honestly. Suzaku wanted to roll his eyes. Why couldn't he tell me that straight?
Cockpit, Sancia's GX-01 Alpha
Sancia was already in her GX-01 Alpha knightmare, ready to move out after receiving orders from Clovis to be deployed from the G-1. So far, Ambrosia, Guilford and Darlton had their Gloucesters prepped up and ready.
Do I have to face him? Sancia sighed, remembering how she had spent time with Marc and the other Lost Soldiers as part of the Irregulars division as they had previously worked together in occupying Areas 8 to 10 before the invasion of Japan seven years ago.
Now she had the prospect of fighthing the ex-COSMOS child soldiers dubbed the Lost Soldiers by world media.
I don't know. I know I can bring him back to us.
"Sancia!" The woman noticed that Alice had sent a transmission to her.
"What is it, Alice?"
"Do you think we're going to fight against those...those Lost Soldiers?" Sancia noted that Alice was a bit nervous. She seems nervous. Perhaps she should be taken off her undercover work in the Ashford Academy?
"Perhaps." Sancia replied. "I'm not sure myself. Right now, our top targets are the JLF. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I got it."
Sancia ended the transmission, shuffling her feet as she waited for the order to move out from the G-1.
Underground Knightmare Hangar, JLF Headquarters, somewhere in Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Jean sighed as he had finished assisting JLF technicians in getting their Burais ready; his Sutherland was already armed and prepped up to move out. As he had the knowledge to maintain the knightmare, the Britannian soldier had personally done maintenance work on it before they shipped out to the JLF's Narita hideout for some joint training with them.
I don't know why I'm doing this. Jean donned on his helmet and goggles after taking them out to assist the JLF and his fellow Lost Soldiers as they would be a hindrance to his work. Perhaps it's due to the need of helping the JLF win in order to fight back and live for another day.
He somehow remembered the last time he visited his cousins at Pendragon Palace.
Before that fateful day.
2008 ATB
Entrance, Aries Imperial Villa, Pendragon Palace, Pendragon, Phoenix, Arizona, United States, Britannian Empire
"I'll see you soon, Lelouch."
Jean said his goodbyes to Lelouch, Nunnally and Marianne, the three of them being there to see him off. His parents had arranged him to visit his cousins at Pendragon with Marianne's consent. The young Britannian found it awesome that an unmarked Mercedes-Benz W211 sedan driven by Royalty Protection Branch officers had picked him up from his house in Phoenix all the way to Aries Villa.
"How's your mom and dad, Jean?" Marianne asked. The W211 had been parked at the driveway, waiting for Jean to get in.
"They're fine." Jean replied, laughing a bit. "I'm just a bit surprised that the family's getting a bit more publicity since you're my dad's relative."
"That's nice." Marianne placed a gentle hand on his right cheek. "That's good to hear. I was getting worried about your dad ever since I got married in the royal family."
"You'll come back to visit us, right?" Nunnally asked, hugging Jean.
"I probably will." Jean hugged Nunnally back. "Who knows." He stared at Nunnally and smiled. "Maybe I can see you next week, yes?"
"Really?" Nunnally felt overjoyed.
"Well, we'll see Nunnally." Marianne smiled at Nunnally. "Isn't that right, Lelouch?"
"Erh, umm..." Lelouch scratched his black hair. "Y-yeah!"
Underground Knightmare Hangar, JLF Headquarters, somewhere in Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"JEAN!"
Jean snapped out of his daydreaming, seeing Marc standing in front of him decked out in his Britannian infantry gear.
"Uh..." Jean shook his head and slapped his cheeks. "Sorry, boss man!"
"Worry about what you're dreaming about." sighed Marc, running toward his Lancelot Club. "We gotta hurry! JLF's in need of reinforcements and we're going to be replacements until Todo and the others get here."
"Understood." Jean ran alongside Marc, running back towards his Sutherland.
Bridge, G-1 Base, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Are we in position?" Clovis asked the officers for an assessment of all Britannian forces.
"So far, so good." One of the bridge officers replied. "We're ready to deploy our forces on your orders, your Highness."
Finally. Clovis gave a deep breath; his forces have the numerical advantage against the JLF forces, half of their forces ready for combat deployment.
"Deploy our forces at once!"
Near G-1 Base, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
At Clovis' words, several Sutherlands began to deploy out of the G-1's launch catapults hidden at its front legs. Among the knightmares that were deployed from the G-1 included the Gloucesters of Ambrosia, Guilford and Darlton after the first wave of Sutherlands were deployed. The GX-01 Alphas soon followed the Gloucesters, with Sancia leading the Irregulars.
Nearby, several BAE Amphibious Assault Vehicle or known as AAV-7A1 tracked vehicles had roared behind the Sutherland force once they cleared a path for the APCs. After halting at a certain distance away from the stationary G-1, the AAV's rear ramp hatches were opened. It allowed heavily armed Britannian Marines to disembark, weapons at the ready. They were almost dressed similarly to regular Britannian army soldiers, with the exception of having camouflaged uniforms and helmets while being armed with the Colt M-13A1 due to the need of having an assault rifle that fired in full automatic.
In the air were ten Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter gunships flown in to provide aerial support for the knightmares and marines on the ground, as well as to conduct surgical air strikes on the JLF's mountain hideout.
The Britannians had truly flaunted their fighting strength in an effort to crush anti-Britannian guerrilla forces. As such, they wish to make the quick and swift of the JLF as an example of how the motherland deals with all kinds of threats against it.
Cockpit, Z-01B Lancelot Club
"Looks like we're going to get a welcome party."
Marc murmured to himself in the Lancelot Club's cockpit, taking Rai, Ken, Jean, Henri and Yi in a knightmare squad to take on the Britannian forces.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to take on the Britannians like this?" Yi hailed Marc on his radio. "I mean, it's not that I'm not agreeing with you or anything, but we could probably use Michael and the others to help us here."
"Don't worry, Yi." Marc assured the Korean woman. "I had a good reason why the others are on foot taking on the marines."
"I sure hope you do man." sighed Rai, following Marc's lead as he led the others in a secret path camouflaged by the Narita forests from the JLF mountain hideout towards an unknown destination.
Somewhere in Narita Forests, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Zero." Ougi hailed Zero in his radio. "Should we launch the attack now?" He was watching the main Sutherland force begin to take on the JLF's Burais near the foot of the mountains.
"Not yet Ougi. Even if we have the element of surprise, we'll surely lose since several of their known knightmare pilot are out there."
"Come on Zero!" Ougi heard Tamaki yell his objection. "There's still time to take on the Britannian forces. We can use this to get rid of Clovis and win the day!"
"QUIET!" Zero shouted. "I am the commander of the Black Knights and the head of this operation. If you have an objection and wish to be the commander yourself, then be my guest." hissed the masked man.
Silence was on the Black Knights' encrypted radio frequency. Since Zero had yelled at Tamaki for his objection, not one of the ex-NRA guerillas were able to object. Not even Ougi and Kallen had the courage to go forth and object.
"I then thank you for your steadfast support, Black Knights."
Cab, Freightliner Cascadia semi-trailer truck, en route to Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Can we get in touch with the base?" Todo asked Shogo and Nagisa after his first initial attempt to do so with the truck's radio resulted in a failure.
"I'm not sure." Shogo shrugged his shoulders.
Todo glared at the spectacles-wearing Holy Swordsman. "Explain by I'm not sure, Shogo."
Shogo swallowed his saliva, feeling nervous all of a sudden.
"Before I was able to establish a proper connection with HQ, I experienced a sudden case of hearing static all over our frequencies. Including the ones we use for emergencies."
"Hmm..." Todo took Shogo's explanation very seriously. "It sounds bad when you think about it."
"The Britannians must've started to jam all our communications before they moved their forces in at Narita." Nagisa gave her explanation to the sudden jamming. "They're nothing else to explain the static."
"Let's assume that the Britannians did jam all of our frequencies," Todo took Nagisa's explanation to heart. "can we communicate with Ryoga and Kotetsu on the other truck?"
Nagisa nodded in reply.
"Good. Hopefully by the time we arrive in the Narita area, we need to brainstorm a plan to use our Burai Kais out in the back." He pointed to the truck's rear with his right thumb. "Otherwise, our time spent to see Kyoto and pick them up will be all for nothing..."
Plains, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"HRHAHA!"
Ambrosia yelled very loud, swatting a JLF Burai with a jousting lance that tried to come near him in order to fire its machine pistol at her personal white-caped Gloucester.
"Is it all the JLF has to offer?" Ambrosia challenged the Burais confidently. "Or are you all cowards?"
"Cowards?!" One of the Burais attempted to jump in on Ambrosia. "Die you..."
"Long live Japan!" Another Burai dashed towards the Gloucester, ready to activate its dual slash harkens at her.
"Princess!" Darlton and Guilford dashed forward in their purple-caped, lance-armed Gloucesters.
"Guilford!" Darlton yelled, stabbing the Burai that tried to leap at her when he used the lance to penetrate the Burai's cockpit.
"NOOOOO!" The JLF pilot yelled when his Burai was destroyed.
Guilford dodged the Burai's slash harkens, using his own lance to swat them away before he dashed forward and struck it by stabbing the knightmare from the top to the cockpit.
"You shouldn't be reckless in doing this, princess." Darlton warned Ambrosia. "One of these days, you'll be in big trouble."
"Hmph." Ambrosia smirked at Darlton. "I'm always careful, my dear Darlton." Eyeing a retractable defense turret on the mountain nearby, Ambrosia fired her dual slash harkens at it. "Really, I am."
The three watched the slash harkens make short work of the turret as several Sutherlands, armed from machine pistols, jousting lances and large cannons came charging forth after seeing the three Gloucester pilots made short work of the initial JLF attack force.
Command Center, JLF Headquarters, somewhere in Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"It's bad, General."
Katase gritted his teeth when he saw the red blips, representing JLF units, were having a X placed over them on the main screen. Dammit! I just hope the Lost Soldiers have a plan up their sleeves to win this battle for us.
"Most of our units are slowly being wiped out." The OIC informed Katase of the situation. "And we still have no word with Todo or with the Four Holy Swords."
"Todo..." Katase whispered. "If you can make it, we can have another miracle at hand like what happened back at Itsukushima..."
"Wait a minute!" A communications officer yelled to Katase. "Something's up..."
"Is it Todo?" Katase asked.
The officer shook his head. "No sir. Some of our units reported seeing a strange and large knightmare just near our HQ."
"Does anyone have a visual confirmation of it?"
Cockpit, Mark Nemo
"This is interesting."
Nemo smirked, seeing the Britannian and JLF knightmares looking at it when it landed literally in the middle of the battlefield. At their confusion, the two factions didn't know whether to shoot it or not.
"You see, Nunnally. Nemo murmured. "Both the Britannian military and the JLF are confused to our presence."
Eyeing her console, Nemo saw a Britannian knightmare charging straight for her.
"Hmm..." The girl smirked. "Things are about to get interesting..."
Cockpit, RPI-209 Sutherland Purist
"Curse you, you damn weird knightmare!"
Jeremiah charged forward, armed with his jousting lance.
"Wait, Lord Jeremiah!" Villeta and some of the other Sutherland Purists came behind her, ready to assist them when needed. "What are you doing?" Around six of them came to follow Jeremiah's lead.
"Can't you see Villeta?!" Jeremiah yelled with ecstasy in his voice. "It's that knightmare back from Shinjuku and Lake Kawaguchi! We must defeat it again to attain the honor of the Purists in the eyes of our countrymen!"
"Everyone, charge!" Jeremiah yelled, pointing his lance at the Mark Nemo.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Jeremiah." Kewell told Jeremiah on his radio. "But I suddenly feel excited with you. I just hope we can make a kill with this..."
"Trust me Lord Kewell." Jeremiah grinned. "I know what I'm doing!" He then shouted. "Everyone, after me! ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"
"ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" The other Purists followed Jeremiah, brandishing either their machine pistols or their jousting lances at the Mark Nemo.
"WAIT!" Villeta yelled at the top of her voice. "You're all reckless! Don't go near it!"
Cockpit, Mark Nemo
"Oh well." Nemo sighed.
Wait! Nemo heard Nunnally shout. What are you doing, Nemo?! Shouldn't we try to prevent this battle from spilling to the city?
"I know, my dear Nunnally." Nemo grinned, seeing Jeremiah's Sutherland Purist coming near her. "Oh well, I gotta do what I gotta do."
Nemo maneuvered the Mark Nemo to jump on top of the charging Purists. While it leaped, Nemo had the Blond Knives activated to attack the Purist squad.
"It's your death..." whispered the enigmatic girl. "if you're so eager to receive it."
Bridge, G-1 Base, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Clovis and the bridge officers watched in horror as the Mark Nemo's Blonde Knives began to systematically take out the Purist squad that tried to attack her.
"WHWHAHAHAA!"
"Oh god, help me!"
"Lord Jeremiah, eje-URRGHGHG!"
"NOOOOOO!"
"Oh Jeez, oh jeez! Got to eje-AAAHHAHAH!"
"Lord Kewell, get away from here! Get awa-ACK!"
"A DEMON! The demon's here to ki-BZZZTTTT!"
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PURISTS?!" Clovis yelled at the officers.
"It happened fast, your Highness!" A bridge officer replied. "It seems that unknown knightmare's multiple slash harkens took out most of the squad. Only Lord Kewell and Lord Jeremiah are still active. Lady Viletta has activated her knightmare's ejection system."
"Get the SAS to send a squad in and pick her up." Clovis ordered. "Immediately. This is a top-priority order until she's extracted."
"Understood."
Cockpit, Mark Nemo
"How troublesome."
Nemo glared at the two Sutherland Purists in front of him. One belonged to Kewell and the other to Jeremiah, somehow being intact with only their Factsphere/head units damaged coupled with a missing right arm that held the lance for the former and the machine pistol for the latter.
"It seems that I need more work on using my Blonde Knives on the TWO OF YOU!"
Nemo yelled, using her Blonde Knives again. This time, she watched with glee as they began to tear through Kewell's Sutherland Purist. After a blonde knife had penetrated the cockpit, it blew up in a huge explosion that killed him with it.
"Damn you!" Nemo raised an eyebrow, seeing Jeremiah charge forward at her.
"Very," Nemo stabbed a blonde knife at a random area of the Sutherland Purist. "very, very persistent of you, aren't we?!"
She eyed the knightmare having the ejection system activated when it began to internally short circuit.
"It seems I'm done with you." Nemo threw the knightmare away, seeing its ejection system activated while it was hurled in the air.
Cockpit, Alice's GX-01 Alpha
"Sancia! I'm going in!"
Alice charged towards the Mark Nemo, brandishing the katana on both of its hands.
"Alice! Wait!" Sancia shouted at the young Irregular. "Fall back at once! That's an order!"
"Alice!" Dalque shouted her objections to her comrade. "We don't a plan yet!"
"My plan," Alice gritted her teeth. "is to defeat you." She raised her katana to strike at the Mark Nemo. "You overgrown bastard!"
Summit, Hill, somewhere in Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
C.C. stared at Zero. "It seems an unknown has arrived."
The green-haired had referred to the Mark Nemo, which had began to clash with Alice's GX-01 Alpha. She knew that Zero was taken aback at Mark Nemo's presence.
"You are correct there, C.C." Zero replied. "I never thought of it enough that I haven't considered it to be an integral part of defeating Britannia."
"So are you going down there? Is it already time for you to attack Britannia?"
Zero shook his head. "Not yet. There's still another factor that I'm willing to bet on."
"Really?" C.C. was impressed by Zero's determination. "And what's that?"
"The Lost Soldiers."
Cockpit, Z-01B Lancelot Club
"ACHOO!"
Marc sneezed out loud while in the midst of sending a transmission to Ken.
"You alright?!" Ken asked. He and the rest of the Lost Soldiers' knightmare squad were still being hidden in a secret pathway that the JLF uses to obtain supplies from the outside world. So far, their position had not been compromised yet.
"Yeah." Marc sniffed. "Just one of those guys that I get to sneeze in my entire life."
"Least you're not getting a cold." Henri chuckled.
"Whatever, Henri." Marc scoffed at his comments. "I'm still fine in case you're still wondering."
"That huge thing of a knightmare's out there." Rai advised Marc on the situation. "What do we do?"
"We'll use it to our advantage." Marc replied. "Use that thing's presence as our smokescreen. Plus, it's creating confusion and panic to some of the Britannians."
"Yeah, but that's not stopping them from trying to advance forth to the JLF HQ." Yi told her comrades. "If we don't do anything right now, then our efforts will be for nothing."
"You're right." Marc sighed. "Listen. Rai and I will sneak up on the main force. Jean, I'm leaving you in charge of infiltrating the Sutherland ranks of the Britannian invasion force. Try to sow much confusion as you can until Todo can arrive with the goods."
"Gothca, boss man."
"All right." Marc faced the Gekka Prototype next to him. "Let's move out."
Cockpit, Alice's GX-01 Alpha
"This is for what you did to Nunnally, you beast!"
Alice tried to land a katana slash at Mark Nemo, which had dodged. Nearby, the Sutherlands continued their main objective in overwhelming the JLF's mountain base. The AH-64D were on hand to conduct air strikes, being advised by the G-1 not to render Alice any assistance for the meantime.
"Dammit!" Alice gritted her teeth. "It's moving faster than I can attack it." She watched the Mark Nemo fired off its Blonde Knives at her.
"I need to use it." Alice pressed a button on her console. "Geass Transfer Circuit, Open!"
She felt a shoulder harness on her back as a syringe administered a dose of the neutralizer on her, allowing the Irregular girl to uses her geass.
"I need you with me," whispered Alice. "The Speed."
A geass sigil appeared on her forehead as she began to deflect the Blonde Knives that were nearing her.
Cockpit, RPI-209 Sutherland
"Damn!" A regular Sutherland grunted, dashing to the side as he fired his machine pistol at a Burai that tried to ambush it after it emerged from the forest. "Take that!" He fired his weapon at the cockpit, destroying his enemy.
"This is Squad 2." The pilot reported back to the G-1. "Sectors 2 and 3 are secured. Moving in to assist Squad 1 in Sector 1."
"Acknowledged, Squad 2. Be on the lookout for traps in the vicinity, over."
"Understood, G-1."
All of a sudden, the pilot felt something was wrong. The screens on his cockpit, visually showing the forests of Narita, began to change to black.
"G-1, G-1? Can you hear me, over?!" The pilot hailed the mobile base over and over when something began to appear in front of him.
"S-stay away from me!" The pilot saw that a monster was approaching him.
"Damn you boogeyman!" The pilot gritted his teeth. "I may have been scared of you as a kid." He fired his machine pistol at the "boogeyman". "But I ain't afraid of you and your damn face!"
The Sutherland began to fire at the boogeyman as it approached his knightmare, showing no signs of being harmed.
"Get back! Get back! Get back!"
Bridge, G-1 Base, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"SOLDIERS!" Madd at the Sutherland pilot on the G-1's radio. "Reform your ranks at once!"
"But sir!" A Sutherland pilot reported back. "The evil monkey's on top of that tree! It's about to attack me."
"Keep back you bastard! I may be a wimp while seeing you take the frustration on mom. But today's the day I'm going to kill you and make sure she's never hurt again!"
"What are you?! What the hell are you?! Stay back! Keep away from me!"
"What's going on?!" Clovis saw that some of the Sutherland began to erratically use their weapons all over the face. What shocked the Governor-General was that some of the Sutherlands began to attack one another instead of attacking the JLF Burais.
"I don't know." Madd sighed. "Reports are coming in that some of the soldiers are claiming to see, some monsters and other sorts of thing are trying to attack them."
"Monsters?" Clovis clenched his left hand before he slammed it hand on the throne's armrest. "What the hell is going on out there?!"
Somewhere in Narita Forests, near Narita Mountains, Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Should we move in now?"
A Black Knights guerrilla asked Ougi, feeling impatient that the seemingly two-way battle between the JLF and the Britannian Marines and Army have now turned into a three-way battle now that the Mark Nemo had interevened. It was still currently facing off against Alice of the Irregulars, with the random Sutherland that tried to aid her only for it to be destroyed by either the Mark Nemo's Blonde Knife or by its katana.
"I mean, the Britannians are being held back by that giant, oni-like thing of a knightmare. Shouldn't we attack now instead of sitting our asses over here or something?"
"Not yet." Kallen advised the guerrilla. "There's no word from Zero on when are we suppose to start moving in on the Britannian forces. Just wait a little longer."
"How about now? Can we start taking them out like yesterday's garbage?"
"Didn't you just hear her?" Ougi whispered angrily. "She said not yet, understand?"
The guerilla sighed. "Yes, sir."
In another section of the Narita Forests near the Britannian forces, Marc and Rai had their knightmares carefully camouflaged with the foliage and trees that we not easily spotted by the Sutherlands, Burais, the Irregular's GX-01 Alphas nor by Mark Nemo. The Lancelot Club and Gekka Prototype were also depowered temporarily in order to avoid being spotted by radar.
"It seems that worked." Marc smirked, feeling the geass sigil pass from his mind before it faded. "Haven't been using that part of my geass in a while."
"Looks like it." Rai came behind Marc and patted his right shoulders. "Like your handiwork." The white-haired soldier smirked as he saw some of the Sutherlands wildly fire at each other. In some cases, they stabbed one another with their lances or blew each other apart like no tomorrow with their cannons. "But mine works better than that."
"Absolute Terror absolutely works, Rai." Marc wanted to laugh, seeing the affected Sutherlands taken out of commission. "Really it does."
"No time for laughing, my friend." Rai sighed. "We need to move out again. No telling when the Irregulars or the Marines will discover our location."
"Hai, hai." muttered Marc, swatting his hand off. "Let's get out of here."
"That, I concur." Rai gave a thumbs up before he began to ascend to the cockpit of his kneeling Gekka Prototype by climbing.
Today's the day I shall have my revenge. Marc began to ascend towards the Lancelot Club's cockpit, watching the battle again with Mark Nemo and Alice's GX-01 Alpha before he entered his knightmare.
Control Room, Special Dispatch Guidance System Division Trailer Truck, somewhere in Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Lloyd hummed to himself inside the parked trailer truck, parked nearby the G-1. The earl was watching the battle results on a computer that showed the positions of the Britannian and JLF forces. He was amused that the Mark Nemo had showed up, nearly throwing the entire operation into a standstill.
Oh my, oh my. Lloyd grinned as he watched the unknown blip take out the random Sutherland that tried to come near it.
The Special Dispatch crew were busy maintaining the Lancelot. Suzaku, on the other hand, was told by Mariel to stay inside the Lancelot until Clovis gave the order for the Lancelot to sortie against the JLF even though he had a suspicious feeling that the Britannians were having some trouble out in the field.
The scientist sighed, wondering about the Mark Nemo as it took on the GX-01 Alpha.
"You're so lovely, Mr. unknown knightmare." Lloyd whispered. "How I love to take you apart and see what's inside of you..."
Chapter 10 END
PS - Hope you guys enjoyed the stuff that happened in chapter 10. As most of you may know, some of the scenes are based on the 1st season of LOTR. However, this is the point where I will completely start to diverge from canon, not counting R2. Although there will be R2 characters in this story too, I'm not sure how much of a role they'll play. Oh well, I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I totally changed the way Narita's fought and won. Hope no one minds. Otherwise... While I'm at it, expect someone to die by the next chapter. I'm not going to spill, but you can take a guess if you like. If you think you know who he/she is, keep it to yourself.
For Ambrosia's Gloucester, I'm using Cornelia's from the 1st season.
In the meantime, please let me know when reviewing the chapter on how the story went. Flames that help me check myself in doing the story are much appreciated too. To those who've put my story in their favorites, thanks again. Let me know when and if you review on how the story is going, okay?
I'm not sure if I did portray the Lost Soldiers doing a mountain climb would be alright. I did want to do rappeling on the mountains, but I thought this would be first since I need to show you readers on some aspects of the Lost Soldier's training when they were still brainwashed child soldiers. Meanwhile, I previously posted a Ga-rei -Zero- fic titled Files of the 4th Division. I'd like to ask you readers to check it out and read/review it as well if you have the time/if you don't mind and see how it is. Thanks.
I probably won't be able to update again this month since I'll be busy preparing for university exams, not to mention that I'm having my Canadian citizenship test in a week. So yeah, if you guys want to drop "wish me luck" stuff when you review Lost Soldiers or Files of Section 4, you can do if you like. Thanks for any. I'll do my best to pass them hopefully. But for the citizenship test, I really need to ace it. But if I update either one of them or both, then it's a treat for you guys. I'll update when I can, I promise. XP
In the next chapter, I'll try to feature the Sutherland and Burai variants seen in the DS game. While you're at it, can you readers do me a favor and let other readers know about this, yeah?
For music on the Narita battle (Mostly), I listened to the BGMs of the Airship and Swamp Stages from Marvel vs Capcom 2.