Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or its characters. I don't any of the other stuff either.
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Knightmares are the weapon of the future. Any nation without knightmares might as well be fighting with sticks and stones.
Lelouch vi Britannia
Deithard Reid
The Rise of the Black Prince
Neo-Pendragon Press 2020 ATB
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A nation's strength is measured not only by what it has but by what it's enemies think it has. Knightmares have given Britannia an edge from which we may never recover.
Li Xing-ke
Memoirs of the Last Dragon
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Sometimes I have nightmares and Xing-ke has to come and read me a bedtime story
Jiang Lihua, Empress Tianzi
Expose: Inside the Forbidden Palace
Britannian Broadcasting Company
May 29, 2012
Lelouch and Gino are on their way Pendragon. Lelouch is going to visit for a few days before flying to Japan. Gino is going to hang out with him before going off with his parents. On the plane Lelouch is reading one of the books that Nunnally sent him.
Gino looks over at him. "What's that?" He points to Lelouch's book.
"Oh it's this manga called Death Note that my sister sent me." Gino looks a little confused so Lelouch continues to explain. "It's a Japanese book. They have English translations. She has sent me a few others. I'm trying to work on my Japanese so I tell her to send me them. Some of them are quite interesting."
Lelouch spends most of the trip explaining to Gino the plots of various mangas. He also tells Gino about anime. Lelouch promises to get some for Gino when they land. They spend a few days at Aries Palace. Lelouch introduces Gino to everyone there. Well it's just basically his mother, little Evelyn, and the newborn twins. They spend a few days there before Lelouch goes off to Japan for about a month. When he returns, everyone is coming back with him. Gino can't wait to meet them all. Gino goes to see Lelouch off at the airport.
June 3, 2012
Lloyd Apslund looks down at the letter he received from this Prince Lelouch. He decides to at least hear him out. He has been working for the military's special division for few years. There was even talk that Prince Schniezel is interested in Lloyd's ideas. Nothing has been officially or unofficially stated. But now this Prince Lelouch seems interested in what Lloyd could do. He would at the very least hear him out. If only because it would allow him access to some of the newer Glasgows.
Cecile Croomy was finishing her work for the day. She was just beginning her career in the military. It wasn't her first choice but there was nowhere else for Cecile to work out her theories on sakuridite based energy. The person most interested in her work was one of her fellow coworkers named Lloyd Apslund. He was interested in testing out her theories in creation of a new type of knightmare. Well maybe this Prince Lelouch would be capable of offering them funding.
Dr. Leonard Labie was currently working for Prince Schniezel. It was a new arrangement for him and one that he wished to maintain. So when Prince Lelouch wrote about his interest in his work, Leonard wants to decline the young prince's invitation. However his employer wants Leonard to at least attend Prince Lelouch's private knightmare showing in a few weeks. Leonard sighs. He supposes that he would have to take his daughter, Mariel, with him.
As scientist Rakshata Chawla knows when it was time to move on from a project. At this moment medical cybernetics just isn't in the cards. Knightmares seem to be the future of technological advances. While it was her wish for her native India to set itself up as an independent nation, she knows that goal would require help. Not just soldiers but perhaps new technologies. Although she herself is no slouch in that department. This meeting of the minds that this young prince was setting up perhaps would help her develop some new things. It can't hurt to attend. If anything she will have an opportunity to ridicule that damn Earl of Pudding.
Margrave Philip Cummins is quite content sitting around at his estate. He had a hand in developing the latest set of weapons for the Glasgow. In a few years they would take all that development to create a new generation of knightmares. He would have been reasonably at ease watching a new generation of people advancing technology, but his daughter, Sora, is not. Even though she is only ten, her interest in knightmare is intense. Maybe he will attend this meeting with Prince Lelouch. Having a prince as an ally never hurt anyone. Especially since he is only a few year older than his daughter.
June 30, 2012 ATB
Everybody is packed up and ready to go. They originally planned on leaving on July 2. But since they are stopping to drop off Shirley and her mother in Hawaii, Lelouch decides to make a pit stop. The only people that will stay at their Japan home were a few maids and cooks.
They begin to board the private jet. Kallen notices that there is company of Japanese soldiers. They are standing around the jet. She recognizes her brother amongst the group. She lowers her head when she sees him. She looks over to Lelouch who is beside her.
"Lelouch, why are those soldiers there?"
"To guard the jet. They are always here when we come and go." Lelouch looks over at them. "You know, usually they are further from the plane."
Kallen holds onto Lelouch. "I think my brother is over there."
"Don't worry about it." Lelouch looks over to the soldiers again. He doesn't see Naoto. Of course he isn't Lelouch's brother so maybe that has something to do with it.
Euphemia is walking with Shirley behind everyone. She looks over to Lelouch walking with Kallen in the front. Nunnally was walking with Alice and Anya like always. Rivalz is trying to stay close to Milly but she just keeps trying to get away from him. Around them is their security team.
Once aboard the plane Lelouch has no choice but to sit by Rivalz. This way Milly could sit with Kallen. Of course he could sit with Milly. That would just upset Rivalz and force Kallen to sit with Rivalz. His only other option was to sit with Anya or Marika and let the other sit with Rivalz. He just sits down and continued to read his manga. Everybody else seemed to be doing the same. Of course only Lelouch and Kallen are reading the original Japanese versions.
They arrive in Hawaii several hours later. Only Lelouch and Nunnally have ever been here. Their mother brought them here a few years ago. It was an effort on her part to escape for a while the trappings of the court. Euphemia's mother was a little stricter. Once she died there was very little opportunity for anything like this. Lelouch will have to think of a reason for Euphemia not coming with them on their previous trip. Well only Rivalz, Shirley, and her mom need that reason. It will probably be better if he and Nunnally pretend to have never been here. Of course it was a few years ago so Nunnally probably won't even remember much about the trip.
Despite their protesting Lelouch got Shirley's family the most expensive room in the most expensive hotel, the imperial suite at the Waldstein-Astoria. Lelouch has been meaning to ask the Knight of One if his family has any connections to the hotel or if it is just a coincidence.
Since they were spending two nights here, room assignments were going to be contentious. Marika was forced to room with Villetta. Her brother Kewell and Jeremiah share the other room in their suite. Nunnally, Euphemia, Anya, and Alice share a suite. Leaving Lelouch Rivalz, Kallen, and Milly to share another suite. This arrangement causes Jeremiah to raise an eyebrow. Lelouch shrugs it off.
Everybody puts on swimsuits. They go down to the beach. Rivalz is in the water looking at the surfers in the distance. Nunnally, Anya, Marika, and Alice are building a sandcastle. Milly convinces Kallen to join her in some tanning. This leaves Lelouch and Euphie to sit alone.
"Um Lulu, do you miss us?"
"Of course."
"Okay."
They are lying down with Euphie snuggled up next to Lelouch. Suddenly sand comes flying at them. Nunnally and Alice are standing above them with buckets. Anya is giggling as she takes a picture. Lelouch gets the worst of it. He stands up and grins. Before the girls know it, he is upon them snagging the buckets away. He picks up some sand and dumps it on his assailants. Euphie begins to laugh so she gets some sand as well. Kallen and Milly come over and push Lelouch. They begin to bury him in sand. Rivalz comes over to help Lelouch, but one look from Milly stops him. They spend a few minutes covering Lelouch's body in sand. They spend the next two days playing around at the beach. Their private jet comes back for them. To the surprise of no one it is also bringing in Shirley's dad.
As they board the plane Rivalz looks over to Lelouch. "Wow Lelouch that was a real neat thing you did for Shirley."
Lelouch shrugs. He really didn't do it for Shirley. Euphie asked him for a favor and he did it. If anything he did it for is sister. He probably would have done it had it been someone else. The next few hours to Pendragon fly by fast since everybody is tired from their Hawaii mini-vacation.
As they disembark the jet they hear someone screaming from afar.
"Lelouch! Lelouch!"
It's Gino. Lelouch is the only one who recognizes the lanky blonde from this distance. Everybody with the exception of Nunnally and Rivalz find Gino annoying. Of course they have never met him. In which case they would probably find him really annoying. Nunnally likes the fact that he looks after Lelouch. Rivalz likes him because he doesn't really have any guy friends.
Gino runs over to them. He correctly identifies everybody including Anya and Alice.
Lelouch rolls his eyes. "I guess I don't have to introduce you to anyone. Well anyways. This is Gino Weinsberg for anyone that didn't figure it out." Lelouch grins. "And he is as annoying as he looks."
This makes everybody laugh including Gino. Gino signals for Rivalz to follow him. As they walk away Gino looks back. Nunnally and her crew are standing around reading and arguing about manga. Milly and Kallen are standing there having a heated discussion that Rivalz is glad he isn't a part of. Well he may regret that when school starts again. Lelouch is sitting on the ground with Euphie lying down next to him. Gino shakes his head. Just like his new commander to sit around.
Gino looks over at Rivalz. "Hey Rivalz is there anything going on between Lelouch and Kallen."
Rivalz thinks about it. "No, they're just friends and stuff. I think Lelouch really likes this girl Shirley but won't admit it. He always does nice things for her."
Gino smirks. He knows that isn't true at all. He spent a few days with Lelouch at Aries palace. All Lelouch's mother talked about was Lelouch being nice to Milly Ashford. Even when Gino was at home with his parents. They were talking about a future pairing for Gino. And how it was too bad that Milly Ashford and Prince Lelouch seemed to be all but betrothed.
Of course Gino knows not to say any of that around Rivalz. Lelouch told him about the crush Rivalz has on Milly. Gino thinks that Lelouch would be better off telling everyone the truth now rather than later. But it isn't Gino's problem. He wonders if Kallen knows the truth about Lelouch. Gino suspects that Kallen is this best friend that Lelouch is always talking about because it certainly isn't Rivalz.
"Hey Rivalz, did Lelouch have any really close friends when he went to school?"
Rivalz thinks about it. "Well of course me and maybe Suzaku. I think him and Milly are pretty close because they've know each other a long time."
Gino is laughing a little on the inside at Rivalz's obvious naiveté. He knows nothing about the world of nobility. Even if Lelouch was only the duke's son he claimed to be, a marriage to Milly would only strengthen the family prestige since the Ashfords dealt with royalty. Gino gives one final look back. Someone has come to pick Lelouch, his siblings, and friends up. Gino is going to have to find out more about Kallen Stadtfeld.
They wait a little while after Gino and Rivalz leave. Eventually Cornelia to comes for them. She is accompanied by little Evelyn. The little 19 month old child refuses to be carried and insists on walking. She reminds Cornelia a little of Lelouch he was that age. Cornelia can still remember the days before Nunnally was born. When she and Schniezel would play with little Lelouch and Euphemia. Clovis always pouted about being left out. Of course life got in the way of all that happiness and innocence. Cornelia hopes that one day Euphie will snap out it and realize that she and Lelouch have no future together.
As Cornelia looks up at her siblings and friends, it seems as if Nunnally has passed the older Euphemia on the maturity meter. Maybe her friends have something to do with it. Nunnally has gotten over the silly childish idea of marrying Lelouch. It seems as if the young princess no longer needs her older brother for everything. Of course maybe having a little sister and younger brothers has something to do with that. Euphemia is still considered the baby of the family. Some of that blame can be placed on Cornelia.
Obviously the purple haired princess had hoped that being around Nunnally and now around non-royal children would have some effect on Euphemia's attitude. But as Cornelia approaches them, she sees that Euphemia is still very much in love with Lelouch. Cornelia wonders what will happen after Lelouch leaves the military academy. She could have him brought in under her command. Maybe separating them will do some good. However she knows the young prince might not accept this. If not because of the separation from his sisters, then further separation from his friends.
Evelyn allows Lelouch to carry her, of course. Cornelia leads them to their transportation. On the way to Aries palace Euphemia attempts to convince Milly and Kallen to spend some time at the palace. It seems she is onto Lelouch's scheme. Both girls give excuses about wanting to spend time with their families. Euphemia knows that attempting to convince Lelouch to stay for a while is hopeless so she doesn't even try.
Once at Aries Palace they all go to see the twins for the first time. Since Lelouch has already seen them, he stays back and hangs out with Evelyn. She goes over to her toy box and brings back a small case. She hands it to Lelouch. It is a mini chess set. Lelouch sets it up. He knows that it will be few years before she understands to play the game, but he can have some fun with her. He begins to slowly explain the rules. He shows her how to move the pieces. She simply nods. They begin. Naturally she makes many mistakes. Not just is piece movement but obviously in strategy.
"No, please tell me you are not leading that cute little princess towards the dark side."
Lelouch looks up and sees Kallen and Milly standing there. They each have a twin. Lelouch shakes his head.
"It is the game of kings. She will learn it someday."
Kallen continues, "Yes, but there is no need to have her start now."
Milly nods in agreement. She looks down at Lelouch. "Can you guess which twin we are holding?"
Lelouch doesn't even bother looking up. "Kallen has Castor and Milly has Pollux."
He continues to correct Evelyn's mistakes. The little princess seems to take the corrections with consideration. Lelouch remembers that Euphemia and Nunnally always pouted whenever he corrected their chess strategy. Well they still do.
Milly and Kallen are in awe at Lelouch's correct guess. They both blurt out, "How did you know?"
Still looking down at the chess board, "Lucky guess."
Milly doesn't believe him. "Did you show them pictures of us or something when you stopped here before?"
"Yes I showed my days old brothers pictures of my friends and asked them whom they liked. Castor seemed to like Kallen and Rivalz. Pollux likes Milly, Shirley, and Mrs. Turtletaub."
He almost says that with almost no sarcasm. Milly and Kallen pout at that comment. Of course he was right. He has a fifty percent chance of guessing correctly.
"Come on Evie let's go outside and play."
Evelyn looks down at the chess board and shrugs. She begins to carefully put the pieces away. Milly looks around the little princess's room. It is impeccably clean. Even now Milly can barely keep her room clean. She can only imagine what it looked like when she was one. Well of course maids probably do most of the work. But she remembers visiting Lelouch when they were young and noticing that his room was always clean. Maybe Evelyn is the same. In fact as Lelouch picks up is sister, Milly can't help but notice how similar they look. Evelyn looks like a little girl version of Lelouch.
They go outside and are soon joined by the Nunnally, Euphemia, and company. They had to unpack since they are staying here. Eventually Empress Marianne comes over to check on her children. Everybody is tired from Hawaii and the jet ride. Marianne tries to convince Lelouch to stay here for a few days. When he declines she attempts to get Kallen to stay. But Lelouch will have none of that; he almost scolds his mother for her heavy handed attempts at matchmaking.
July 3, 2012 ATB
Lelouch, Milly, and Kallen are traveling with the Knights of One and Two to the site where they will get to 'play' with knightmares. The girls are in awe of the two knights, but Lelouch treats them like servants. In fact Kallen notices that he treats them worse than servants. After all servants can quit and find employment elsewhere. What can these two knights possibly do to Lelouch? The answer is simple if you think about it. The prince is traveling with two young ladies. There is a number of ways to embarrass him. Luckily for all of them they arrive at their destination.
It is a military base apparently one that is very secure. They are allowed into the base. Milly looks around. She has never been in a military base. In fact the closest thing to this for her was the knightmare demonstration two years ago. She wonders if Kallen has ever been in a place like this. Milly can see the look in her face. It is probably close to the same expression that Milly herself is showing.
They enter a hangar. From the outside it looks a little decrepit. In fact the whole base has the same worn out look. But the inside is a whole different story. It is very modern looking inside. At the end they can see a few knightmares. The car comes to a stop as they near a door. Lelouch waits for the Knight of One to open the door.
As Lelouch steps out of the car he thanks the Knight of One. "Thank you Lord Waldstein for securing this site."
It is the first time today that Lelouch is considerate of the strongest knight in the empire if not the world. The Knight of Two scoffs. He thinks it is a waste of time to allow these children to be anywhere near knightmares. Lelouch glares at the man. A few soldiers come out and salute. The Knight of One returns their salute and instructs them to take the children's bags.
The Knight of One looks over to Lelouch. "Follow me your highness."
Lelouch signals for the girls to follow him. Lelouch notices that the Knight of Two stays behind. They follow the Knight of One.
"I'm sorry that the accommodations are not of all first class your highness. Since this location was only chosen a few days ago, it will take a day or two to secure the necessary items. Of course we have to be considerate of our other guests."
The girls think that he is talking about them, but Lelouch knows that their will be others in a week or so. In fact he is planning on it. They get to the end of the hallway. In one room there are three full size beds. In another there is a king size bed. The accommodations are not as bad as the Knight of One made them out to be. Of course for royalty anything but the absolute best is taken as an insult so the Knight of One was just covering his bases.
"This will do Lord Waldstein. I suppose we will need a few more beds for our other guests in a week or so."
The knight of one nods. "Anything else your highness."
"No, I suppose we will be spending today unpacking. Just come and get us for lunch."
"As you wish your highness."
With that the Knight of One leaves. Lelouch begins to walk into the room with the king sized bed. Milly stops him.
"Where do you think you are going?"
He looks back at her. "I am taking this room."
He walks in there. They follow him. Well Milly follows him and Kallen follows her. Kallen is a little unsure about what Milly is thinking.
Milly says, "Well if you are sleeping in here. So are we."
Lelouch shrugs and goes into the room. There is enough space for all their things. After putting a few things away Lelouch decides to explore the building. Since they are spending a few weeks there, he decides that it would be a good idea to know where everything is. The girls follow him for lack of anything better to do. The Knight of One finds them wandering around. It is near lunch time. He takes them to their dinning room. Again despite the shabby look of the building the food is of excellent quality.
After lunch the Knight of One plans on taking them to the simulator room. He leads them on a small tour of the building. It is mostly empty. Once at the simulator room Lelouch lets the girls go first since he has worked on a similar model back at West Point. He excuses himself. As Lelouch walks over to the room, he hears a voice.
"Yes your highness they are here. "
…
"Well Bismarck was showing them around. They should be at the simulator now."
…
"Well if you think it is necessary. I will do what I can."
"May I ask what you are doing Lord Suzerain."
The Knight of Two, Merlin Suzerain, spins around. Standing before him is prince Lelouch.
"I asked you a question Lord Suzerain. As you know no communication is allowed with the outside world except under mine or the emperor's orders."
The Knight of Two scoffs, "I am one of his imperial majesty's knights. I need not answer you."
He begins to walk past Lelouch. Lelouch grabs the knight's phone and throws it against the wall destroying it. The phone not the wall. The Knight of Two glares at the prince.
"Here you are under my command unless his imperial majesty tells ME different. If you do not like that you can leave," Lelouch pauses, "No in fact you will leave. NOW!"
Lelouch walks away back to the simulator room. He will have Bismarck check on Merlin. Lelouch doesn't even remember the man's true name. He wonders if the man remembers it. His nickname seems to have taken over. Of course Lelouch did some checking on when the man began to be called Merlin.
It was during a previous war with the EU. He managed a miraculous, some said magical, feat. At first he was known as the Magician of Britannia. Later on it became Merlin. Over time it became his name. Lelouch looked at the scenario. It seemed to be more luck that magic to him. But it earned the man a rank as a Knight of the Round.
Lelouch thinks about what it means to be a Knight of the Round. It is an honor given to the greatest knights of the realm. In most cases the knights appear to be lucky rather than skilled. This isn't to say that the knights are not good at what they do. It was rather that they were not in most cases the best around. Lelouch gets on a simulator.
The Knight of One watches the three children on the simulator. Well they are a little more than children. Teenagers he thinks might be a better term. Quite naturally the prince comes out ahead of the two girls during this first session. However the young Miss Stadtfeld shows an unnatural aptitude. Even Miss Ashford appears quite capable for her age. After dinner they have one more session. It looks like the young redhead is gaining on the prince. That night Bismarck is not surprised to discover that all three of them are sleeping on the king sized bed. It appears as if the prince takes after his father.
The next day they continue to work on the simulator. They all make substantial gains. By the end of the day Miss Stadtfeld was even with the prince. Miss Ashford isn't that far behind all things taken into consideration. On the third day they continue with the simulator after breakfast. It is now quite obvious that they were beyond the capabilities of the machine. Their scores matched those of the Knights of the Round. In fact Miss Stadtfeld surpassed all previous scores.
After lunch Bismarck takes them to the knightmare hangar. He has seen them reading the manual in their spare time. He has no idea how they managed to get what appears to be the latest manual on the Glasgow. Bismarck himself had only seen the one printed out last year. He skimmed through it and decided that experience is the best teacher. At first they seem to have problems getting adjusted to the knightmares. The machines were built with adults in mind. The three of them were a few inches too short. They spend the first session making adjustments on their particular Glasgow.
After dinner they have their first real go with the knightmares. As with the simulator the prince is the best at first. The next day they continue. In each session the girls improve. Well they all improve. That night they have a mock knightmare battle. Bismarck cannot believe that in two days these three children have surpassed many of the nation's best warriors. He will have a different test for them tomorrow.
As Lelouch wakes up he senses a great evil above him. "Alright Nonnette, you can get off me."
Lelouch feels the Knight of Nine get off him. He opens his eyes. Now standing at the door Nonnette Enngream is flanked by Monica Kruszewski, the Knight of Twelve and Salacia Ravenguard, the newly minted Knight of Five.
"Today you will be playing us on the simulator, your highness. So wake up your," Nonnette slightly pauses, "friends. We will see you at breakfast."
Lelouch gets up and heads for the shower. Once he is done he wakes the girls with a kiss to the cheek.
Milly feels Lelouch lips brushing across her cheek. She forgets where she is. "Oh Lulu do that again."
Milly opens her eyes. But rather than seeing the raven haired amethyst eyed prince, she sees the red haired cerulean eyed girl. Kallen laughs as she hops out of the bed. Milly slowly follows her feeling a little embarrassed. Before heading over for breakfast Lelouch informs the girls of what they are up against today.
At first breakfast is quiet as the girls are in awe of the Knights of the Round. They have gotten used to Lelouch and Bismarck's banter. Even though they have met Monica and Salacia, the fact that they are now Knight of the Round changes things. Of course Lelouch doesn't care about anyone's status. Well neither does Nonnette. She wants to know more about these two girls that the prince personally chose to accompany him here. Naturally Monica and Salacia gave Nonnette a report on what they knew about Milly and Kallen.
After breakfast they all head to the simulator room. The simulator is adapted so that the Knights of the Round can play directly against the children. The controls are also modified to match that of the Glasgow. Nonnette goes up against Lelouch. Salacia chooses Kallen. Leaving Monica to battle Milly.
The Knights start with the obvious advantage of having used the knightmares in battle. Meaning they know what weapons and moves work. It continues that way for the day However the next day Kallen and Lelouch begin to surpass their opponents time after time.
This causes Salacia to get angry. She especially hates losing to Kallen because she knows Kallen is half Japanese. "This is just a stupid game anyways. If we were in real knightmares. "
Lelouch is incensed by this comment. He scornfully replies, "If you would like Knight of Five, there are several knightmares in the hangar."
Lelouch walks over to the Knight of Five. She appears to want to respond to his challenge; however, she remembers her place.
"I am sorry for my outburst, your highness. Please forgive me."
Bismarck calls it a night. As they lie there in bed Lelouch puts his arms around the girls. They both lay their heads down on him. Kallen is the first to speak.
"Lelouch, do you think we could have beaten them in a real knightmare battle?"
Lelouch thinks about it. "No, we all would have got beaten badly," He explains, "Knightmare battles are about more than just control and weapons. They are about strength and endurance."
Both girls consider that. Lelouch adds one last thing.
"This is probably our last night together because some special guests are coming."
The next morning after breakfast Lelouch packs up his things and moves over to the other room. The other knights of the Round have left. A little before lunch the guests arrive. It is three more children. Only it is two boys and in girl. They come into the dinning room where lunch is being served. Without looking up Lelouch greets them.
"Hey Gino, Anya, and Suzaku-sama."
The three respond and sit down to eat. They spend most of the day settling into their rooms. The girls all agree to sleep on the king sized bed so there is no need to bring anymore beds. Of course with more people the bathroom situation is going to get complicated. After dinner the Knight of One has the set up the simulators for the new guests.
June 10, 2010 ATB
After breakfast they all continue on the simulators. Lord Waldstein looks at their results over lunch. He can't say that he is surprised. Somehow despite the fact that he has never been near either a simulator or knightmare, Suzaku Kururugi has scored just as high as Kallen Stadtfeld. Gino is on par with the prince. Anya is slightly behind them. Of course the fact that Kallen Stadtfeld scored so high should also be a surprise. What little he knows about Milly Ashford tells Bismarck that there is no way she should score anywhere the level she is at.
In fact the Knights of the Round should have continually trounced the children even on the simulator. The more Bismarck thinks about it the more confused he gets. He really has no idea what to tell his majesty when he makes his report in a few days. How can he inform his majesty that mere children barely hitting puberty can match the greatest knights in the realm? In fact if they were just a little older and stronger, Bismarck has no doubt in his mind that they can defeat just about anyone in knightmare combat.
That night after dinner Bismarck has the simulators set up for head to head combat again. The match-ups seem to have settled themselves and show good symmetry. Kallen and Suzaku will face off. Gino and Lelouch are going against each other. Finally Anya and Milly are fighting each other. They continue again in the next day. They have a friendly competition between the two groups. Anya defeats Milly. Lelouch has a slight edge over Gino. But Kallen and Suzaku are evenly matched.
June 12, 2012
Today everybody gets to use a Glasgow. The last few days were spent modifying three more Glasgows. They spend two days using the Glasgow and having mock battles. Bismarck soon learns that this is very dangerous. Mostly because they are all very competitive. At dinner they are informed that in two day there will be a big knightmare demonstration which will have many important guests. Lelouch has an idea.
"Lord Waldstein have the pilots for the demonstration been chosen."
"Well it is assumed that the knights of the Round will pilot the knightmares."
"I see."
June 14, 2012
Guests from all over the empire and allied nations are being seated for the knightmare demonstration. Euphemia and Nunnally both attend. They are seated with Cornelia and Empress Marianne. Even little Evelyn and Clovis are there. Schniezel and Odysseus are seated with their assistants. The emperor is with the Knights of One and Two. The remaining Knights of the Round are in the knightmare hangar.
Prince Lelouch's guests are seated in seats of honor. Allowed to attend are Genbu Kururugi and Kyoshiro Tohdoh. Tohdoh looks around for his student, Suzaku. He knows that the young man was here for a few days. It begins.
There are six knightmares. Three are red. The others are gray. There are no real rules for the demonstration. But the unstated rules make it a three on three battle. The Knightmares are labeled 1, 2, and, 3. Each one faces off with its corresponding letter.
At first they are all evenly matched. The Gray 3 begins to gain an advantage over the Red 3. The three red knightmares pull back. They appear to be regrouping. Suddenly they come out and charge their gray counterparts but rather than matching up with their corresponding number they switch.
One of the first things Tohdoh notices is that the movements on the knightmares are not fluid. He wonders how experienced the pilots are. Surely for such a demonstration Britannia would put its most skilled pilots out there. But he sees the Knights of One and Two standing by the emperor. He also recognizes the so called Flash. She is sitting with a group of girls. Perhaps they have decided to give others the opportunity to shine on this stage.
As the red knightmare approach their gray counter parts, Red 1 attacks and overwhelms Gray 3. Soon Gray 3 is disabled. Meanwhile the other red knightmares engage with heir opponents. Again Red 3 is having problems keeping up with its opponent, Gray 2, but Red 1 comes over to help. Soon Gray 1 is left alone. Despite putting up a valiant effort it is defeated. The three victorious knightmares come over to the emperor's booth and kneel. He acknowledges them. Red 1 and 3 take their leave. They help their gray counterparts.
The hatch on Red 2 opens. This puts the Knights of One and Two on alert. The crowd is expecting perhaps one the other Knights of the Round or one of the other royal knights. Instead they get a thin raven haired amethyst eyed boy. The crowd is silent as he stands up and gets off the knightmare. It is so silent that the far away sound of insects and the bustling city are heard quite clearly. The boy kneels before the emperor.
Suddenly there is a loud scream, "Yay it's brother Lulu!"
Nobody stops the little princess from running out and joining her brother. For the most part they are still stunned at what has occurred. If he was piloting one knightmare, then who are in the other ones. She stumbles a little as she reaches her brother. It is a good thing that it is a short distance because she appears to have his dislike for physical activity. He quickly puts his arms around her and brings her down to the same kneeling position. The girl has rarely seen the man in front of her despite the fact that he is her father. She has a nickname for him, but it is very inappropriate to say in public. Finally the emperor gives them leave to stand.
Lelouch stands up and lifts Evelyn. He walks back to the Glasgow and takes her up with him. They ride off.
Tohdoh stands there in awe. Is the machine so simple that a child can use or perhaps this one is exceptional? Lelouch vi Britannia never struck him as much of a physical specimen. But what little he learned from Suzaku, he understood that the boy was quite intelligent. Like the others he wonders who the other five pilots were. Gray A was showing very familiar moves and fighting philosophy.
When Lelouch reaches the back Suzaku and Gino have already left to be with their families. The Knights of the Round are no where to be found. They have most likely have gone to meet with the emperor. Jeremiah, Kewell, and Villetta have returned to the prince's service after having a little time off. Of course they gave detailed reports of what occurred during the year. Jeremiah gives Lelouch a slight nod. Lelouch leads everybody else to a special meeting. He looks down at his list. Everybody he wrote to at the end of May was here except for Leonard Labie. The man confirmed that he would attend. But once Lelouch discovered the man worked for Schniezel, he excused the man. He doesn't want it to seem as if he is stealing his brother's people. Also he doesn't want what is an obvious spy at his meeting.
Lloyd Apslund looks at the people waiting with him for the prince. Despite the fact that Rakshata is there, he is pleased at what he sees. He had expected his mentor, Leonard Labie, to be there. But he now works for Prince Schniezel, so his absence is understandable. The door opens and in walk several people. The prince is unmistakable. Apart form the fact that he is in the middle of the group, the manner in which he walks gives away his royal status.
Flanking the prince are two young men in their early twenties. They are obviously military men maybe also noble. Behind the prince is a woman also in her early twenties. She also appears to be in the military. Lloyd ignores them. He has worked with the military for a few years so he understands them a little. In any meeting with a member of the royal family unless they are advisors the military personnel usually will stay quiet.
Behind all of them are several young ladies. The word harem comes to Lloyd's mind. He is a prince after all. At the risk of being thought a pedophile Lloyd thinks that the girls are quite lovely. This is despite the fact that he rarely thinks of such things. There are four girls. The girl in front is unmistakably the prince's younger sister. If her outburst after the demonstration didn't give her away, her face certainly would. Despite being less than two years old she has a very regal way of walking.
Behind her are three other girls in a line. Then it hits Lloyd as he looks down at his paperwork. They piloted three of the knightmares. The prince takes his seat in the center. The young princess is helped to her seat at the prince's right. Beside her to the prince's far right sits a blonde girl with a very noble look to her. Directly to the prince's left is a red haired girl. She has a bit of a noble air to her but Lloyd senses much more. Beside her is a pink haired girl. She appears to be a little younger than the rest. She appears to be the silent type.
The prince begins, "I would like to thank everyone for coming," He gestures to everyone, "This is Earl Lloyd Apslund, Dr. Cecile Croomy, Margrave Philip Cummins, and Dr. Rakshata Chawla," He looks back towards his girls, "This is Lady Milly Ashford, Princess Evelyn vi Britannia, Lady Kallen Stadtfeld, and Anya Alstreim."
He pauses and looks over to his military people. "I better introduce them as well because they get mad if I don't," He grins, "The aqua haired man is Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald. His military rank is Major. The other two are Lieutenants Villetta Nu and Kewell Soresi."
Lelouch gestures for Jeremiah to turn on the screen at the end of the table. Lelouch brings up several images on the screen.
"Now then let's get started."
Author's note: In case anybody didn't get the hint Evelyn vi Britannia is a girl version of Lelouch. Not Lelouch if he was suddenly turned into a girl but rather Lelouch if he would have been born a girl. Castor and Pollux will be a mix of Lelouch and Nunnally in looks and character.
I don't why I always portray Marianne like a careless mother. I think I wrote the exact same thing when I described their last visit to Pendragon.
Next chapter more letters.