I have an announcement to make: I'm still alive.
Here is the newest chapter, little longer that usual, so please enjoy.
I read all of your reviews from last time and tried to improve and make Lelouch more in character.
Please enjoy and review.
"I saw what you did there." Kallen commented cautiously, careful not to draw the attention of the dreaded student council president.
"I have no idea of what you're talking about, Kallen." came the casual, yet equally careful reply from Lucas, who didn't even look at her and continued writing on a sheet of paper.
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw everything." Kallen interjected a bit more forcefully than she intended. The president, looking more like a prison guard than an actual student, turned around on the spot, eying both "rebellious" members with narrowed eyes.
Kallen and Lucas both united against a common enemy and quickly closed their mouths. She was berating herself for almost breaking out of her façade while Lucas's mind remained a mystery.
"Do I hear gossip that hasn't been put through me first?" Milly asked, looking like a cruel overlord as she continuously smacked the rolled up newspaper against her hand.
"No ma'am." they both answered without a hitch, already getting used to Milly's antics.
She smiled sweetly and closed her eyes, "Good." she answered before turning around and smacking Lelouch with the newspaper, hard.
He instantly jolted back, clutching the back of his head in agony. "What was that for?!" he protested angrily with an indignant huff.
"You were dozing off again, sleeping beauty." Milly justified with her arms crossed, a grin plastered on her face.
As both Lelouch and Milly faded in the background, Kallen and Lucas continued their conversation.
"I mean, don't act like you don't know, I saw you riling Anya up with what you said." Kallen repeated, more meekly this time "I was just wondering why you did it." she finished.
Lucas stayed silent for a moment.
"Because it's fun." he blatantly declared.
Kallen's eyebrow twitched at Lucas' unapologetic remark. It didn't really matter to her what happened between Anya, Lelouch and Shirley, but she could not in good conscience let someone who toys with people like that to roam free.
"And maybe because I feel a bit sorry for her and want to give her a fighting chance…" he added in a lowered tone, like he was reminiscing something. When Kallen turned around to face him she saw a nostalgic smile playing across his face.
Before she could say anything, Lucas excused himself "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I think that she doesn't have a chance, in fact, I think she will triumph over Shirley, more than that, even, she will mop the floor with her." he stopped writing on his sheet of paper and shrugged "I guess I couldn't resist such a golden opportunity to create some high school drama."
Kallen raised a brow "What are you, a giggling schoolgirl?" again with a more brusque tone than she intended.
"Oi! No name calling here!" he protested, although he wasn't taking the would be insult seriously. In fact, he was rather enjoying this conversation, as was Kallen.
"Then stop acting like a lovestruck schoolgirl" she quipped starting to forget she needed to keep a façade.
"There is a difference between that and good romance." he explained with avid enthusiasm.
"So you did that out of the goodness in your heart, then?" Kallen asked with disbelief.
"The main reason was because it was fun." Lucas corrected, pointing a finger in the air.
"So you will play with people's feelings just for your own amusement?"
"Yep."
A moment of silence came between the two. Kallen stared at Lucas, a bit of disappointment on her face.
"Look, I won't hurt someone just for the hell of it, I'm not that cruel. However, if it's not too damaging, I may humor myself a little." he finally explained.
"I suppose that's good enough." Kallen sighted.
"Good enough for what?" he asked without paying much attention.
"For me to avoid hitting you." Kallen answered.
"Oh God, help me! The sick girl is going to hit me!" he called in a mockingly distressed tone.
It suddenly dawned on Kallen.
She had been out of her façade for too long, why was it that it was so difficult to keep on her mask today?
Milly smacking Lucas in the head with the rolled up newspaper brought her back to the world of the living.
"Don't go making fun of Kallen now." Milly said in an overly sweet tone that would even send shudders up the most experienced Knightmare pilot's spine.
"Yes ma'am." Lucas said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm pleased to hear that." Milly said before returning to her "rounds".
Lucas started speaking again as soon as she was out of earshot "You know, it's quite normal to lose control of your façade like that, humans need some breathing space." he said casually, returning to his sheet of paper.
Kallen's head whipped around to face him in alarm, her eyes narrowing. Was she that transparent?
"If you start to panic others will notice." he quietly warned her.
"I'm not panicking." she defended herself, fingering the knife pouch in her pocket.
"I haven't told anyone, nor do I plan to." Lucas assured her "Truth be told, I don't give a crap about why you do it, but out of respect for you, I have kept quiet and will continue to do so, as will others."
"Others?" Kallen asked cautiously, a hint of fear slipping into her voice as she tried to keep her cool and find out who exactly knew about the mask she had been wearing.
"Milly definitely knows about it, and doesn't seem to really care anyway. Lelouch has probably noticed as well, but he's too worried with his sister to make anything out of it." Lucas casually told her what he had observed since arriving at Ashford.
"Whatever the case, you can trust me, I promise not to tell anyone." he assured her again after a moment of silence.
"How do I know you won't tell anyone?" the red-haired girl questioned in a very serious tone, cocking her head and gripping her knife pouch tightly.
"You don't."
Kallen was unsure, but something about the brutal honesty Lucas carried himself around with made her trust him in a way. Not completely, of course, but she would be able to believe him to some extent.
She nodded and sat there in silence for a moment, watching Milly argue with Lelouch before asking something that had been bothering her. "How did you notice?" although her voice was low, it carried a certain strength that was characteristic of the true Kallen.
"I was born in a hostile environment." Lucas simply said.
"Yes, because the EU is such a hostile environment." Kallen retorted, her voice laced with sarcasm. She remembered growing up in a devastated post-war Japan. That was a hostile environment.
"I was born and grew up in a small colonial settlement in central Africa." Lucas started, his voice leveled as he continued to tell his story. "When I was ten, the colony… the colony was raided by a band of slavers that broke through the encirclement that kept us safe."
Kallen blinked, surprised to hear a very different reality than the life in a prosperous German city she had imagined for him. She leaned in closer, opening her ears and motioning for him to continue.
"By the time EU troops had arrived at the site, I was the only survivor. The whole settlement had been wiped out or enslaved. As for me, at the border of insanity for what I've seen and done, I ran away, unwilling to trust the soldiers that came to my rescue. It wasn't until I was thirteen, when a Britannian strike time found me, that I got out of that hellhole." His voice took a spiteful turn by the end, but quickly got back to normal, making Kallen think she might have imagined it.
"That's why you are in a Britannian school. They saved you." Kallen reasoned.
A bitter laugh escaped Lucas's lips "That might be going a little too far, they only found me useful to carry out their mission. I was an expendable asset. In the end, I managed to use their credentials to sneak into Britannian borders."
Kallen, or at least Kallen Kozuki, and not Stadfelt, wasn't someone who apologized very often, but felt it was something she should do in this situation "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
'Nevertheless, having a tragic story doesn't mean I should relax and let this go, I have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't tell anyone.' she thought, not willing to let her guard down because of a slightly more tragic story than she had imagined.
"However, that doesn't mean I trust you or that we should get all friendly just because you noticed something you shouldn't." She sternly made clear.
"Good, you shouldn't." Lucas agreed and got back to whatever he was doing "However, if yoI'll u find yourself in need of being yourself while in school, if you need some breathing room, you can count on me to have it." He offered, and stood up and left, not waiting for an answer.
Anya was on her way to Lelouch's room, going to remind him about the trip they were supposed to have this weekend to the resort just outside the Tokyo settlement, since he had probably forgotten… again.
She stopped right in front of his door, and unknowingly took a deep breath. She stood there for a moment and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again. Silence.
With a bit of uneasiness, she tried the knob, finding the door unlocked, and made her way inside. At first, only her head peeked out, not noticing anyone in the room before she walked in. Lelouch's scent was the first thing she noticed, a fresh, and strangely pleasant smell that put her at ease.
However, the pleasant smell was quickly silenced by a peculiar stench, pizza. Anya's nose twitched with disgust at the defiling odor that had settled on the room and desecrated the sanctuary that was Lelouch's room.
She took a look around the room and noticed numerous clothing articles on the floor, and the general mess about the room, something very unlike Lelouch. The bed was a mess, boxes of pizza littered it and the covers were jumbled up in a big pile.
Anya reached out and took one of Lelouch's white shirts that was sprawled across on the floor, she brought it up to her nose and took a whiff. It smelled like Pizza, but there was another scent, a more feminine scent that resembled limes and lemons. Under different circumstances, Anya would have considered it as pleasant smell, but as it stood, the scent was that of an invader, a stench to be hated.
She decided to do the laundry and tidy up Lelouch's room in the process.
The pink-haired girl hung the shirt on one arm and walked towards the nearest of the many that scattered the floor. This time it was Lelouch's red jacket. Anaya brought it near her nose, to see if cleaning was needed, and took a deep breath.
This one carried Lelouch's smell, it had only been worn by him. Anya noticed that she hadn't made sure if this piece needed cleaning and brought her closer to her nose. Instinctually burrowing her nose into it and closed her eyes as she took in the addictive fragrance.
"It seems like we have a closet pervert over here."
Broken so abruptly from her trance, Anya turned around to see the Witch's head poking from out of the pile of covers, resembling nothing more than an animal peeking out of it's shell. "Not only do you fail to protect him, but you also sneak into his room to sniff some of his clothes, I'm amazed." C.C. continued, maliciousness and mockery coating her tone.
Anya just ignored her and continued to pick off the clothes, without smelling them this time.
"A knight and a maid, Lelouch sure got the full package." C.C. continued to provoke her, burrowing even further under the covers.
Anya stopped on her tracks and turned around to face the witch "You saved Lelouch, and for that you have my gratitude, but that is as far as we go."
There was a sigh "Same goes for you, Marianne…"
"What did you say?" asked Anya, not sure if she had heard correctly.
C.C. stared at her with emotionless eyes, then burrowed from under the covers and sat on the bed "It's nothing, but…" she inspected her fingernails and continued "let me be blunt and warn you."
The emotionless mask that she usually wore dropped, replacing it was a seriousness that was rarely seen in the green haired beauty. "The closer you are to Lelouch, the more likely he is to fail and die. I need him to fulfill my contract, so I'm warning you, keep your distance."
Anya would have probably reacted violently, had Lelouch not walked inside at that very moment. The door slid open to reveal the young exiled Prince dressed in his school uniform, holding different textbook that were little more than cover for his Black Knights business.
One of his eyebrows arched in mild curiosity, but quickly returned to normal after he lost interest. He, wisely, decided not to comment on the situation and made his way towards the desk where he usually got to work. On arrival to the desk, his brow twitched as he saw the numerous boxes of pizza that littered it.
Reluctantly, he put them aside with his free hand, a little grunt escaped his lips due to his lack of physical prowess. With one hand holding the heavy books and the other with several boxes of pizza he lost his footing, threatening to fall down and lose all of his dignity.
Anya quickly anticipated this and lunged forward, keeping him stable with one hand and grabbing the dreaded pizza with the other. Lelouch, now safe, gave a small nod of thanks and laid the books on the table. He proceeded to sit down and start working, ignoring the two girls in his room completely.
C.C., deciding that the conversation was over, turned around to face the wall and got comfortable under the covers. In a few seconds, light snoring could be heard.
Anya awkwardly stood there, waiting for Lelouch to say something which he did not. She felt like a fool for actually expecting Lelouch to pay any attention to her.
"Lelouch." There was no answer, and Anya assumed he was listening, just that he considered the act of answering a trivial one. "I came to remind you that we have a trip to the hot spring resort this weekend, do you remember, with Milly and the others?" Anya urged Lelouch to remember, since she knew he probably had forgotten.
"Cancel it" came the simple and definitive answer from Lelouch, who didn't even look at Anya.
"Oh…" a drop of disappointment sipping through her voice that fell on deaf ears.
"Someone sounds disappointed" came one of the usual quips from C.C., who had apparently woken up only to annoy the other occupants on the room.
Lelouch ignoring C.C., like he usually did gave a short and easy explanation "there are matters that require my assistance"
"I understand" came Anya's once more monotonous reply.
Lelouch, unfazed by the momentary slip up in Anya's voice continued "You may go if you wish, however it's imperative that I stay behind" his voice was cold and factual, distant to any feelings or emotions.
He had missed the entire point.
She knew that Lelouch didn't care for her answer, not because any animosity that may have brewed between them, but more because he was working and focused. He didn't care for anyone except Nunnally when he was in that set of mind.
Although the thought was disheartening was continued undeterred on her way out of his room and to cancel with Milly.
The faint noise of water splashing could be heard across the loading bay where the Knightmares resided. The faint lights flickered across the cargo hold, giving it an almost sinister vibe to it. It was to be expected since it was late at night and only one person was there.
Anya.
She was on one of the platforms, which was illuminated by the sole flickering light in the HQ, cleaning the damaged, but majestic pink Knightmare. Up on a ladder, Anya was scrubbing its "head" and "chest" with utmost care. Her hands had a strange tenderness to it, cleaning the hull of said knightmare with meticulous care.
She had come here to relax and find solace. To occupy her mind and forget the big letdown, she decided to do something she would enjoy, something that would take everything out of her mind.
The girl's head suddenly snapped up at the sound of approaching footsteps. She quickly grabbed her mask, which sat on the Mordred, and put it on just in case. She didn't return to cleaning her knightmare, opting to simply stand there and wait for the newcomer to show themselves.
"I didn't expect anyone to be here-" An approaching redhead started with friendliness, but her tone quickly changed once she saw who it was.
"Oh, it's you." she finished with a note of disappointment 'Zero's pet' she thought to herself while looking up to the masked girl who resumed the work on her Knightmare without saying a word.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Anya asked with a mechanically altered voice, not showing much interest.
Kallen raised a brow at the monotonous reply "Not really…"
The masked girl didn't answer, and continued with her work. An awkward silence that only Kallen seemed to notice started to fill the gap between them.
She huffed and looked around for a moment, deciding to settle her gaze on her feet. She continued to look at them while she took long, exaggerated strides around the room, trying to get rid of her boredom. Finally she leaned against one of the Knightmares, Anya just ignored her and continued with her work.
Kallen, unable to take any more of the silence decided to "talk" with the younger girl. "You and Zero seem close, what with all that special treatment he gives you." Kallen's voice contained the slightest hints of jealousy.
Anya stopped scrubbing and kept silent for a moment, something Kallen took notice of, then continued scrubbing the Knightmare.
"We've known each other for a long time." she simply answered.
Kallen, noticing the earlier slip up, probed deeper to try and find out more about her charismatic leader that intrigued her so much. "Really? How long have you know each other?"
"If you think I'll divulge any information about Zero, forget it, I won't take the bait."
The red haired girl huffed in disappointment yet again, then had a thought "Say… what should I call you? You haven't given us a name to call you by." she inquired, kicking an imaginary rock on the floor.
"I'm Zero's sword and shield." Kallen flinched at the girl's answer "a name is unnecessary, I simply am." Anya said with hints of conviction ringing in her voice, making Kallen blink.
Kallen raised a brow at how she called herself an object but didn't comment. "Well, if you think in battle I will say "Zero's sword and shield, I need assistance; then you are sadly mistaken."
Anya just shrugged, not really caring for Kallen's opinion, but acknowledging that what she said was logical. She started to think of a name. She never possessed Lelouch's imagination and flair, but she would manage.
"How about Morgana?" Anya finally said.
Kallen looked at the girl incredulously and tried to suppress a laugh "Morgana? What kind of a name is that? It sounds like something out of a fairytale." she said, smiling.
"She was Mordred's mother and King Arthur's half sister" Anya replied, seemingly ignoring the laughing teenager, utterly unconcerned with what she thought.
"Forget it, that's too tacky and cheesy, I'm not calling you something that stupid." Kallen said with a serious tone "How about M, then?" Kallen suggested.
Anya shrugged "Whatever works for you."
Kallen nodded and another awkward silence filled the room. This time Kallen's timely phone was the one who broke the tension. She picked it up, upon noticing the caller ID as Zero, she straightened up and cleared her throat.
"Yes?" she answered the phone tentatively.
"Q-1, I require something from you. Are you near the Headquarters?" Came Zero's commanding voice through the phone
"Yes, Zero, I'm actually there right now." Kallen responded.
"Excellent, do you remember that girl that was with me last time?" Zero began.
"You mean M?" Kallen asked, forgetting that Zero didn't call her that.
"M?" Zero asked, an audible frown in his voice.
"That's what we decided to call her." Kallen quickly explained, a light blush forming on her cheeks.
"I suppose it's fine. She isn't answering her phone, so find her. Once you do, tell her that her presence is required." Zero said, hanging up before Kallen could say another word.
She then turned around to see the girl still hard at work. Zero said she hadn't been answering her phone, didn't he?
"Zero is looking for you, he says he needs you for something." Kallen informed her promptly, stuffing her phone in a pocket.
"I know." she nonchalantly replied, and kept cleaning the Mordred.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Kallen asked, raising her brow at the girl's lack of action.
"Yes."
Kallen was dumbstruck, a superior officer was calling her and she just ignored it. "Look…" Kallen started with a bit of forcefulness "whatever is going betw-"
"Is none of your concern." Anya ruthlessly cut her off with that same monotone that annoyed Kallen so much.
"Fine! Have it your way!" Kallen spat in anger before turning around and storming out of the room.
'Who the hell does that girl think she is? How the hell does she think that she has the privilege of disobeying Zero for some silly personal issues she has with him?!"was the last thing Kallen thought before exiting the room, leaving an uncaring Anya behind.
"This is so wrong on so many levels." Lucas breathed out, shaking his head with disapproval.
"Seriously, most guys would kill for the chance of going to a hot spring resort with the beauties of the student council, not to mention you are the only boy around, that's a one in a lifetime opportunity." Milly responded with a grin, her suggestive tone leaving little to the imagination.
Lucas snickered, ignoring the all-around blush coming from the other females in the cart, and mustered all the sarcasm he could into his next sentence "And what am I supposed to do while you all bathe? Splash in the water like I'm the kid nobody wants to play with?"
Milly brought a finger to her lip and thought for a moment "I thought boys always try to peek in this kind of situation. That should keep you entertained. Mission impossible to try and get into paradise, right?"
"Not interested."
"Awww, that's kind of insulting." Milly said in mock hurt while leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms.
"What's insulting is that you think of me as Rivalz." He retorted, crossing his arms as well and entering a staring contest with Milly who was pleasantly sprawled over her seat with a half smirk that invited a challenge.
"Poor Rivalz, what did he ever do to you? Besides, we all know you were once the same." Milly teased, moving her finger from left to right repeatedly, her smirk getting even wider.
"Well…" Lucas lips contorted into a creepy smile while his eyes became like plates, they were almost popping out of their sockets "that's true."
Milly's eyes also grew wider, but for very different reasons "Wow, that's scary. Good thing Suzaku will be there to keep you in line."
"Kururugi?" Lucas questioned with interest.
"Yep, unlike some people," Milly said with slight annoyance, referring to Lelouch, Anya and Kallen "he does keep his promises. He'll met us there since he had some Military business or whatnot." Milly finished, waving her hand dismissively.
Lucas's eyes narrowed, not because of any resentment towards Suzaku, rather because that was his way of analyzing the situation.
Shirley, who had been quiet until now, watching the exchange between the two with fascination, spoke up "You don't like Suzaku?" she questioned.
"Nah, don't be misled by my comments. I'm very fond of Kururugi and Rivalz alike." Lucas waved it off, looking at Milly as he said it.
"I think he's only disappointed that he won't be the only male on this trip." Milly commented with a sultry voice "Either that, or he is sulking because Kallen isn't coming along. You know, he came running once I mentioned Kallen was coming." She eyed Lucas from head to toe before continuing "Pity she canceled just in the nick of time."
Shirley couldn't help but smile at that comment.
"You are just like Shirley." and the hammer had befallen upon the unsuspecting teen "You know, she sighed all the way to the train station because her dear Lulu wasn't coming. To think she got a haircut as well, such a shame he couldn't come." Milly said, elbowing a fuming Shirley who just looked down while she stammered, trying to get something out.
The train suddenly got out of the tunnel, they had left the Tokyo settlement. Nina tensed up and her breathing got rougher and more ragged. Milly, who noticed this, immediately stopped teasing Shirley and started confronting Nina, grabbing her hand and caressing it in reassurance.
"It'll be alright Nina, the resort is just outside the settlement, security is tight and there are Britannians everywhere. Nothing will happen, I promise." Milly supported her friend, the clever and picaresque smirk that had adorned her face now gone, replaced by a kind smile that said everything would be alright.
Nina nodded, not so sure of it herself.
The blonde squeezed her hand again which seemed to calm the shy girl down a bit. She turned around to meet Lucas's face which was filled with curiosity and a silent question.
Milly, silently surprised than he hadn't caught on since he seemed to catch everything else, gave a brief explanation "Nina feels a bit… uneasy outside the Tokyo settlement."
His only response was a simple nod of acknowledgement. He looked away, deciding to sit this one out and let Milly and Shirley handle it since he didn't know the girl that well.
After a few moments, he thought of something that could help, or at least something that could get him out of this uncomfortable situation. "I'll go get some drinks." Lucas finally said.
Milly turned around to face him "Yes please, that would be ideal." she said with a sincere smile and then got back to tending Nina.
The transfer student got up and made his way to the dining cart. "Excuse me." he politely said as he passed besides another group of tourists. He was halfway there when his phone started to ring. A quick look revealed the caller's ID as Garrus. He answered it without question.
"Shepard here." he efficiently answered the phone.
"Good to hear from you, I have something that may pique your interest." Came Garrus's deep, flanging voice through the phone.
"Is it about Kururugi?" Shepard guessed as he stepped aside to let some chatting teenagers go through.
"Good guess. Remember how we knew about him being the Prime Minister's son? Well EDI and I discovered something even more interesting. It seems that the Kururugi household harbored a Prince and a Princess as guest-"
"Political hostages you mean." Shepard cut him off.
"Exactly. Supposedly, the Kururugi household executed their guest, sparking the Second Pacific War between Britannia and the former Japan, The bodies of the royal children were found in a public square, tied down to posts with gunshots all over, they were subsequently taken to the Britannian homeland and buried alongside their mother who was murdered in a terrorist attack a few months earlier…"
"The name of the children?"
"Nothing, zilch, nada… they were completely erased from any record, no matter how hard EDI tried, she couldn't find a single trace, it's like they were deleted and forgotten…"
Shepard leaned on of the walls of the train, throwing back his head and lightly hitting the wall with it. It was too sad, a family completely destroyed due to the internal power struggles of politicians. Disgusting.
When he finally recovered he started to walk again, not paying much attention to his surroundings. A bump, a fall, a pink blur and a feminine squeak broke him out of his trance.
Shepard looked down to see a young lady, about fifteen or sixteen years old with long, pink hair and a big pair of sunglasses that had fallen off. He extended a hand to the fallen girl, all the while, a trace of recognition nagged the back of his mind.
"I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't paying much attention." he said with a smile.
"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention either." came the sweet voice of the girl as she took his hand. "I'm sorry, but I'm in kind of a rush." she said once she was on her feet and quickly took off.
Shepard just watched her go, her identity suddenly dawning on him.
"Was that-"
"Who?" Came Garrus's intrusive voice.
"I think I just bumped into the Third Princess of the Empire, Euphemia li Britannia." Shepard responded with slight amusement.
"Ah, that one. She's got fame of being kind hearted and gentle, the true ideal of a human being and a Princess. The complete opposite to her older sister, the Second Princess Cornelia li Britannia, who just kills everything with those big-ass robots." Garrus commented on the matter, with not much interest.
Shepard snickered at that "She's a politician. Worse, she's royalty, the worst kind of politicians." he reached the counter where a waiter was waiting and ordered four colas for the group "That kindheartedness is little more than a façade, a joke, pure propaganda to her image. I bet she is a spoiled brat on the inside."
Shepard grabbed the four cokes and started his return "Anyway, back on topic. Did you do what I asked?" he asked, the hostile turn that his voice had moments earlier completely gone.
"Your gear should be stored in your hotel room at the resort."
"Thanks." Shepard said before terminating the connection and returning to the rest of the group who had successfully calmed Nina down.
"What took you so long? I'm about to die from dehydration!" Milly complained, returning to her former cheerful self.
"There was a long, long, long line." Lucas explained with a smile and gave everyone their soda. Nina's hands were a little shaky, but stopped trembling after Lucas stabilized them with his own. She just gave him a grateful look.
"We're almost there!" said Shirley with amazement while looking out the window at the imposing white building that was the resort.
Lucas looked upon the building. This would be an interesting experience.
"Britannian forces led by Viceroy Cornelia are currently laying siege to the famed resort that's being held by an Eleven terrorist group known as the JLF. As of now, we haven't heard any of the terrorist's demands." The reporter said, while a live video feed of the Britannian forces moving around the area could be seen behind her.
'Why is Cornelia not attacking? It's been an hour since the terrorists took the resort, so why is she holding back?" Lelouch questioned. A thought quickly shot through his mind 'What if there was something important to Cornelia inside?'
"Anya!" he called his Knight "Rally the Black Knights. This is the perfect opportunity for their debut." he finished the sentence with a note of excitement.
Anya had been at the Black Knights' HQ with Lelouch all day, and was currently lazily laying on the bed in Zero's room, updating her blog and taking one or two pictures. Like a sleeping cat, she turned her head and stared at Lelouch with emotionless eyes.
"Repairs on the Mordred and most of the Hamburgs are not finished yet." Anya explained to him with the same cold voice she always carried with her.
"It matters not, we won't need them in today's voyage." Lelouch responded with casual ease.
"We should at least arrange an escort of four Knightmares led by the Mordred, Lelouch." She tried to reason with him.
"Impossible. The mere presence of Knightmares would undermine the entire reason for this mission. No, we must do this unarmed, or we'll be seen as invaders, terrorists and the enemy of the people." Lelouch said distractedly, the plans already taking form in his brain.
"I still thi-"
"Your concern is appreciated, but unneeded, Anya." he cut her off with a definitive sweep of his arm.
"I understand…" said Anya, reluctance managing to creep up her voice.
With that said, she went to do as Lelouch asked with a heavy heart and a clenched fist for the second time in that week.
"Nobody move! Do I make myself clear?!" the pseudo Japanese soldier screamed at the hostages. Among them stood a terrified Nina, an uneasy Shirley, a serious Milly and Lucas who had an unreadable expression.
Milly deduced he had been in this kind of situation before, since he exhibited the calmness of a professional soldier.
As one of the JLF members made his rounds, Nina screeched in horror at having her deepest fears realized. She scrambled around, trying to get back with only Milly and Shirley to hold her down. As the terrorist approached her with the intent to silence Nina spoke the dreaded word…
Eleven.
"Take that back!" the Japanese man almost screamed at her, his eyes filling up with rage and a murderous intent.
Nina could only mutter the word eleven again and again.
"Make her take that back!" the pseudo soldier screamed at Milly who defiantly stood up and said.
"Fine, we'll correct her."
This only served to enrage him even further. The situation was quickly getting out of hand, soon someone would be hurt.
"Come here, I'll teach you a lesson!" The Japanese pseudo soldier said, grabbing Nina by the arm and forcibly pulling her towards a closed door. The girl struggled as if her life depended on it, which it in all likelihood did.
It would have gotten a lot uglier had Euphemia li Britannia not stepped in, taking Nina's place as her own.
Lucas had watched the events unfold with avid interest, unable to do a thing due to his position in a corner. The most surprising thing was the way the Princess reacted, it was very far from what he had predicted, and he had misjudged her.
He remembered a time when he had a reason to fight, a time when it wasn't just about results to him, rather how he got those results. A time long forgotten, his glorious past, the years of glory he spent with his crew.
The happiest time in his life, the moment in all his life when he felt like he had a purpose.
So, filled by the bravado of past exploits, Lucas decided he couldn't let this girl die.
He looked around. The room had a gloomy atmosphere impregnated with fear. Nina was still recuperating from the shock with the help of Shirley, and he could spot Milly checking if he was alright, to which he nodded to assure her. The Princess's bodyguard was sulking in the corner, guilt and impotence written all over her face, besides her, a family was huddled up, trying to go unnoticed, comforting each other.
Lucas cracked his neck and moved his shoulders back and forth to get rid of the numbness that had accumulated due to sitting still for a long while, after a few moments he was done. He stretched his legs and back, a pleasant feeling running through him as he did so.
He brought a hand towards the hidden com he had on his ear and whispered on a low voice nobody heard"
"Garrus."
"Yeah?"
"Time to do something really stupid."
So this is the newest chapter, hope you liked it.
On a more serious note however I have a request for you guys. I love all kinds of reviews, even the ones that just say "good story", they give me the same fuel as every other review. However the story is in a difficult situation.
Don't worry I'll continue it no matter what, its not under any threat of being discontinued. However I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, between what I want to do and what you guys want to read. Nowhere is this more evident than in the OCs, most reviewers don't seem to like them that much and there are not at fault here. I thought I could do the OC awesome and I failed miserably because of my inexperience.
So I'll make this clear. The OCs are Mass Effect character, not inspired in them, they are the character, its blatant crossover. I never kept this a secret, every reviewer that PM me and some that I PM has been told about it, yet I was still reluctant of announcing it on an Author's note. Why did I put it here instead of in the crossover section? Its simple. More people would read it, the ME/CG crossover community is almost none existent and this is a story with an unusual paring.
Nevertheless I asure you guys that this is primarily a CG story, Lelouch's story of conquering the empire with Anya by his side and although the ME stuff will be important it will be secondary. People who haven't played the game shouldn't worry, everything that needs explaining will be explained because CG is the central story and its mainly meant for people who have watched it, not for people who have played the games. I promise that the CG part of the story will not be overshadowed.
If you have any questions about the Mass Effect stuff PM me and I will answer you with dedication.
Now back to my request. You may have noticed the precarious state this story is in. That's why I need you guys to review and tell me what you want and don't want. What you think will happen, suggestions of what could happen, what you like, what you dislike. In need you guys to guide me to make this story a great one.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to do so.
PS- Next chap will be more Lelouch centric