A/N A few things I need to tell you is that the outcome of Akito the exiled is completely different in this story, long story short Britannia and the E.U. are locked in the same stalemate they where in when the spinoff series first started due to Leila Malcal and the W-0 unit staying with the E.U. to help retake lost ground against Lelouch when he was Kingsley, as well as Shin, and holding the line against Schneizel rather well. W-0 consisting of all prior members along with Ashley Ashra and Asura strike force, their castle was also repaired and re-fortified as a command center.
So, to sum up, E.U. is Spain to Warsaw and everything in-between, along with Sweden and Norway, and half of Africa along with the isles. UFN is all of the Chinese federation, (Sorta japan but its still brit territory so not really), the other half of Africa and the middle eastern territories along with New Guinea and the other islands between it and china itself. Britannia owns Russia and many other nations around it, along with Canada, Mexico, north America, south America, central America, and all islands in the Caribbean and pacific, Greenland too... oh and Australia, cant go forgetting about the aussies, or new Zealand. I have no fucking clue about Iceland but I can assume they are neutral.
So, the big problem is how in the name of hell is Lelouch gonna deal with this giant cluster fuck... well, lots of grit, spit and ducktape go a long way but it will probably take more than that to get things straightened out.
this means its a voiceover
"The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back."
- Abigail Van Buren -
Leila Malcal stood outside the office of the most important council meeting for the E.U., being held inside the army joint headquarters in Paris. To date, everyone, and by everyone it means truly everyone had heard, and seen the news...
3 days ago Britannia had crowned a new emperor, a new emperor means a whole new game, what will he do next? The council had a decision to make, the E.U. has barely been holding off the Britannian assault since Schneizel took charge, they had been pushed back left, right and center only to take it back to the enemy and hold by the skin of their teeth.
And the worst part? The E.U. was low on any and all available recourses, their army had been decimated, and they where drawing on the freshest of reserves and recruits, morale was at an all time low for both the citizens and the military, riots and protests where commonplace, even in the best cities, their material recourses had been bled thin too, they could hardly replace knightmares, tanks, aircraft, guns, and ammo at the required rate to keep their men fully equipped. Steel, gunpowder, oil, natural gas, Sakuradite, you name it, they needed it.
The Britannian empire was in no such position, they where ready to finish what they started, their morale was high, they still had an abundance of resources, and they had manpower that overlapped the E.U. several times over.
It was almost funny if it weren't so sad, the E.U. had been on a planned war economy for years and years to hold the empire back... and the Britannians?
No, still a free market economy, their military still took up much of their government spending, but they didn't even need to issue a planned economy for war production to push the E.U. to the brink.
She shivered at the thought, the Britannians entering a total war economy? The E.U. might as well surrender now, the empire could probably make far more advanced knightmares than even the type 3 Alexander, and produce about as many in a single damn week as the E.U. could dream of making in an entire year.
She looked down at the floor, her mind abuzz with ideas.
She was technically a pureblood Britannian... if this new emperor was better than the last, she might actually defect to the empire, and W-0 in its entirety would follow her. At this point the E.U. was no better, it was just as racist as the empire is...was? Either way, the E.U. high command used refugee soldiers as cannon fodder, sacrificial lambs for slaughter, it was a confederation of nations run by a broken fucking bureaucracy of backstabbing and greedy politics that couldn't care less if the world burned around them so long as they kept their wealth. The so called democracy failed to serve its people, the civilians where starving, some didn't have running water or electricity, and it showed, the damn thing was holding together by a thread and fear of the empire. If this emperor proved to be benevolent then the only thing holding this whole thing together was string. The whole place was ready to blow.
She felt someone grab her hand, it was Akito, he lovingly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and gave her a comforting smile. On the other side of the hall the rest of wyvern squad where doing their thing. Ayano was leaning against the wall and plauing with her hair, Yukia was on his phone, and Ryo was having a rather excited thumb war with Ashley.
The door to the conference room opened, and formerly Major, more recently Lieutenant Colonel, now Colonel Oscar Hammel stormed out of the room, cursing in French and German quite liberally and pulling his cap off his head, then throwing it to the ground.
"Sir?" Leila questioned.
The white haired, green eyed man breathed deeply through his nostrils, then exhaled through the mouth, picking up his cap and firmly placed it on his head, he did so just in the nick of time as a flurry of other officers and politicians left the room, not even batting an eye at the others, as they talked amongst themselves. After they left, he turned to look at Leila and Wyvern squad.
"The senate has ordered that we continue military operations against Britannia, we are to begin planning a renewed assault immediately."
"Are they insane!?" Leila questioned with her French accent, and Akito looked dumb-struck. The rest of Wyvern squad wasn't fairing much better.
"Those guys are idiots, first you where holding the line against just Euro Britannia, then you barely held against prince Shitzel, do those guys think Europa United can actually fight the empire itself and win? Or did they have their thumbs shoved up their asses the whole damn time?" Ashley deadpanned.
"They think that with a new and inexperienced leader that the Britannians wont be as effective, even with their tech and numbers advantage. I obviously don't buy it, but they thought it was a good idea. Lady Malcal, you should return to castle Weiswolf and prepare, I managed to secure a large amount of funding to begin producing more type-2 Alexanders, so I guess one good thing came out of this."
"I see, thank you, Colonel."
"Of course my lady." He straightened his cap and dipped his head before walking down the hall, and exiting through the door.
"Well, this sucks." Ryo muttered.
"I give it a month before we attack, and then get slaughtered, and then about a week or 2 until they get to Castle Weiswolf and kill us all, and then about 6 or 7 more months tops until all of Europa is either trashed, or surrenders." Ashley said nonchalantly.
"I'll take that bet, I say we last 4 or 5 months tops." Ryo replied.
"This isn't something to bet about you idiots! Our lives are on the line!" Ayano belittled them.
"Well, what do we do commander?" Yukia asked while putting his phone down.
She closed her eyes, and began to think... after a few moments her eyes reopened, she had an idea.
"I'm going to need to call in a few favors..."
Yukia smirked, then he received a ping on his phone, something on social media was spreading like wildfire. He began to play a video titled 'HOLY SHIT! EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS!' That popped up.
He began listening through his ear piece for a few moments, and his face suddenly went from passive, to shock, and happiness, the normally stoic young man looked like he was gonna cry.
"Yukia, are you ok?" Ayano asked.
"Guys, this is amazing, you have to watch this..."
1 hour earlier...
"Hello viewers, this is Milly Ashford, coming at you live with BBC and we are broadcasting live from the imperial palace in Pendragon. The emperor has a very important special announcement to make!" Milly said to the camera while inside the throne room, several members of the royal family, and lower nobility where there, speaking quietly amongst themselves.
"It has been 3 days since the new emperor, His imperial majesty Lelouch VI Britannia claimed the throne. He has refrained from making any announcements since then, allowing the situation to cool down after this most surprising turn of events." She said with a smile as the painted glass windows began to shine light through with the movement of clouds.
The murmuring of the small crowd began to die down, and Lelouch entered from the door on the right, the very same one he came through when he claimed the throne, he stood on a podium in front of the throne and before the crowd.
"Citizens of Britannia, you have waited a very tense, very quiet 3 days. Many questions no doubts burned into your mind, how will I, a young, new emperor lead the empire in the future, today, I answer your questions." He began as the camera zoomed in on his position.
"While I was in Japan, I had to learn to survive, I was a child, abandoned with my little sister in a foreign land with the world burning all around me. For the past 7 years of my life, I lived as a mere commoner in what is now called area 11. I had to watch, as the greed of the nobility tore down an already beaten nation. The Japanese that had once been a proud, and cultural hub of great prestige, was ruthlessly attacked, and destroyed by the empire. It wasn't just the men in the army that died, but the women, and the children... young and old. Countless innocent people gunned down, and the rest where either enslaved, or where forced to become honorary Britannians just to make a living." He began.
The many people watching where stunned by this proclamation, many ordinary citizens of the empire had heard that Britannia helped an already crumbling nation, that they where being just and that the 11 terrorists where anarchists that wanted to kill anyone and everyone... this was completely different from the propaganda they had been fed for so long.
The door of a private apartment in the Tokyo settlement was kicked open by Britannian troopers.
"Today, the Tokyo settlement, or at least what is left, is inhabited by nobles that care not about the lives about their fellow man, that only care about what they want, and do not mind killing hundreds to make a quick pound. At this very moment, hundreds of high nobility all across the empire, from the homeland, to the areas, to Euro Britannia are being arrested by Britannian military police..."
The soldiers rushed forward, killing the bodyguards that raised their weapons, and the Noble's attending a private party where arrested, those that resisted where tackled, or tasered.
"Their crimes are numerous, and inhumane. From war profiteering, to drug cartels, to human trafficking, and the violation of dozens of labor laws, and many more."
Large numbers of them are thrown into police cars and vans with escort of knight police. Leading them was a green and orange custom Sutherland, Jeramiah Gottwald was the pilot.
People all across the empire began to speak amongst themselves, in the streets, at their homes, in their cars, they where horrified at what the nobility that they believed in where doing. And summarily glad they where being arrested.
Back in the throne room, Lelouch continued. "There is more, I have come to see the nations we conquered as more than just more territory or recourses to exploit. Innocent people, Britannian or not, should not be exposed to what the nobility have done to them with the empire's approval. As of this moment, I hereby name all areas under the control of the empire as Special Zones in their entirety. Do you hear me? I return to you your culture, your name, your identity, and your rights as human beings, and officially name all numbers in imperial territory or otherwise as Britannian citizens, who are now protected by the constitutional rights that safeguard all citizens of the empire!"
Akito's jaw dropped in shock, and the affect was similar for the rest of the group, Leila smiled so much her face hurt, and Ayano began to cry tears of joy on Yukia's shoulder, Ryo threw his fists into the air and laughed, Ashley grinned and wrapped his arms around the group.
People in the ghettos outside the Settlement began to practically party, hugs, food, cigarettes, and all sorts of commodities where shared by the community. A little girl with brown hair and green eyes began to play with her friends on the street, it was a massive block parties in the span of a few short minutes. That's when they noticed Britannian knight police rolling down the road with cargo haulers and trucks. The people stopped celebrating and prepared to run on instinct, but the Britannians didn't attack, instead they pulled the tarps off of the trucks, and began to pick up crates, and setting them down in front of the crowd, a trooper without weapons came up with a crowbar and opened up the wooden crate, several others followed, the contents where revealed to be food, water, medicine, clothes, blankets, soap, and many other basic items.
The lead knight police activated his speaker. "Alright, everyone to calmly get into lines please, we are going to start rationing supplies and taking names, don't worry, there is enough here for everyone."
They quickly lined up and came forward, finally, things where starting to look up.
This was happening all across the empire's numbered areas, and conquered territories of the E.U. where receiving mass relief aid.
In the throne room, Lelouch had one more announcement to make.
"And finally, to the leaders of the European Union, I extend an offer of peace, we have been at war for far too long, and far too many people have lost their lives as a result, families and loved ones torn apart because of a petty feud, I await your reply, as of this moment I am ordering a Cease-fire on the part of Euro Brtiannia, they shall stay their blades unless otherwise provoked, I pray you make the correct decision..."
"And as one final note, many of you are wondering why, why am I doing so much for so many people that I shouldn't care about? My question is why shouldn't I care about them? They are people, and I have the power to help them. Our current culture demands that we step on those we perceive weaker than us, people who we see as lesser beings, so what about the young? What about the imperial citizens that are blind, crippled, or sick, family that are hurting and in need of support because they are not strong enough alone, would you kill them? Use them up and throw them away? No, you wouldn't, so why do it to others? Strength is not how much we can oppress those who aren't as powerful, strength, is our capacity for good, the ability to resist using our power for personal gain, to be able to control ones self is the truest form of personal strength..."
With that, the emperor left the world in a state of complete shock...
In Paris, Yukia finally found his voice.
"So, about those plans commander?"
"I have a few new ideas now."
C.C. was sprawled out on the Emperor sized be cackling like a mad scientist... or rather an evil witch in front of the T.V. which had just broadcasted Lelouch's announcement.
Lelouch and Kallen walked in, grinning like Cheshire cats.
"So much for taking it slow huh?" C.C. said while barking out a laugh.
"Turns out I didn't need too, thanks to Rolo and Sayoko we managed to dig up dirt and evidence on every noble that committed a felony. And I ordered their arrests after seizing all their accounts and repossessing all of their valuables. The only nobility left are those that either didn't participate or actively donated and advocated for the rights of numbers." He said cheerfully.
"Those two work fast." C.C. commented.
"Thank you lady C.C." Sayoko said while she and Rolo walked into the room. "We aim to please. And I saw the broadcast Lelouch, I am so proud."
"Thank you Sayoko, now all we need to do is wait and see how the world reacts, I am certain my popularity with most of the commoners, and all the numbers sky-rocketed. I think the U.F.N. will be more welcoming, though there isn't much I can say about the E.U." Lelouch said
"Bah, the E.U. can't do anything now, they've been bled dry on everything and everyone knows it, they can't afford a war, even one where they somehow feed to the people where they have the moral high ground even though you called for a cease fire." C.C. said from her spot on the bed.
"There is still a problem, I created the U.F.N. and I would like the empire to join. That was the plan at first, but now that I have claimed the throne the people wont accept total de-militarization to join a coalition made up of former neutral factions and enemies. That is a requirement to join, disbanding the military and donating it to the black knights, plus, I'm not even sure if I want to disband it, the military isn't just something to prove strength, its part of our culture, and we could use it to help the world instead of conquer it. But at the same time, what if someone claims the throne in the future, and he is like my father, or god forbid Schneizel? Not only that but we need it incase the E.U. decides to go to war, or for some reason the U.F.N. turns on us." He said in exasperation while flopping onto the bed.
Kallen laid down with him and wrapped her arms around him while nuzzling into his shoulder.
"Its alright, we will win in the end, I know it." She whispered into his ear.
"Thanks... I hope you're right." He kissed her on the lips and began to relax.
Prince Schneizel was sitting in his throne, he had watched the broadcast with great attention, when it was over, he simply chuckled, and slowly began to clap.
"Impressive Lelouch, very impressive, you continue to surprise me... Kannon, get me in touch with the E.U. let them know I have a proposition for them."
"Yes my lord."
Nobody noticed it, but soon after Suzaku had silently walked out of the bridge after watching it himself, after being rescued by the nameless Pluton Knight he had been debriefed on his time in captivity, and then put back on active duty like the whole thing hadn't happened.
He stopped a few feet away from the door, checking the hall to see there where no bystanders. He then slumped against the wall, and lightly thumped his head against it.
"Euphemia... is this what you wanted...? It sounds too good to be true, but... Lelouch is doing exactly what you hoped could happen..." He was so tired, he had been exhausted for years, so tired of the lying, the killing, the backstabbing and fighting, he wanted it to end so badly...
"Lelouch... I doubted you for so long... but... if this is what you wanted all along... why did you geass Euphie... why did you kill her... was it a spur of the moment... did... did she ask for it? No, she wouldn't do that... was it... was it an accident? Did you geass her without meaning to?" He pondered quietly.
He silently grasped the pendant she gave him in his pocket, it was always comforting and warm to him, even in his coldest and darkest moments. He pushed himself off the wall and made his way to his personal quarters.
He needed to think.
A/N Yup, he needs to think, and you need to review, there will be a few old faces showing up next chapter.
