Code Geass: Knight of Revolution
It ain't mine. Bummer.
HOLY S . . . is anyone else amazed at Nunally like I am? She conquered Geass! On another note, Guilford and Cornelia are alive! Final episode . . . I've no clue how this is going to end.
Chapter 12: Baiting the Phoenix
It had been a few days since the debut of Zero and his Black Knights. Raids against corrupt drug lords, corporate swindlers, and other abusers of power were commonplace. Each incident claimed under the justice of the Black Knights began to sweep Area 11 on an unprecedented scale. During this time, Morgen left from the seaside docks with Hal to meet with Rakshata. Guistizia motioned that he remain behind and watch over Nunally whenever Lelouch was out as Zero with the Black Knights.
He began teaching her the ins and outs of the political games, along with basic fundamental military strategy and tactics. She noticed during his time with her that whenever C.C. was present, he switched to an even more respectful attitude. She didn't fully understand, but suspected they knew each other. Where Lelouch began taking the front as the commander, she decided to support him with the more subtle aspects of war behind the curtains. Hal had expressed his concerns for her when she had brought the subject up.
"I hope you realize that walking that path is more dangerous than the one Lelouch walks as Zero."
"How so Guistizia?"
"The world of politics is a cruel battlefield of cloak and daggers. The man you think to be your biggest threat can end up being your greatest ally. Those you assume are your friends are the ones to stab you in the back at the worst moments. In many ways you'll have to become sharper in discernment and prediction than your brother."
"Do you think that's what got my mother killed?" Her suddenly question made everyone present that morning stop eating. Forks and knives were set back on the tables. Nunally could feel the sudden solemn change in the room. Guis nodded even though she couldn't see him.
"Most likely. Even with Cornelia and Euphemia there to help you, you must act as if you are all alone in your endeavors at times. It isn't always prudent to share all of your thoughts and plans with us. As soldiers, we expect some information to be withheld from us at times. So please, even if it hurts at times, don't tell people everything."
C.C. picked up where for him when it looked like she was about to protest.
"Not telling people certain things isn't lying Nunally. Don't be ashamed to keep some things to yourself. We all do that at times."
The girl calmed, appeased by that outlook. Lelouch looked to his allies and smiled. It was good to know that he had such competent knights. He had to grudgingly admit that C.C. could be surprisingly insightful at times. It was one thing for them to lead and guide in battle, but seeing their expertise in other areas was an even greater asset to him.
Meanwhile, onboard the Peregrine, the conversation was of a much different mood.
"I don't know what to say Hal. Rakshata succeeded in a consciousness transplant? So this fighter is really Amelia?"
It's been a long time Morgen. Thank you for looking after Halbdenkul.
Morgen gaped at the displays.
"She told me that after the concert incident, they preserved her brain in deep freeze. When I approached Rakshata about a fighter with a highly advanced AI, she decided to use Amelia instead."
"But where'd she get Amelia from? Who gave her to Rakshata?" She could see Hal grip the controls tightly. His angered growl echoed his inner turmoil.
That's what we want to know.
"How cold, to hide these facts from you, then pop something like this on you. You must've been even more shocked Amelia." Hal put the fighter through a swift aerial roll, letting them drop to lower altitude. Morgen felt her stomach flip; he hadn't given her any warning.
I was at first. But I couldn't fully integrate with the plane until Hal activated it for the first time. I guess I was still recovering from the freeze process.
The plane continued it's decent until it was a few hundred feet above sea level. The ocean waters under them rushed by in a blur. Morgen had to admit the plane was impressive. The entire cockpit was a transparent ovular bubble, allowing full 360-degree vision. It slid up out of the nose to the top of the back of the plane when grounded. It was the first forward swept wing aircraft she'd ever seen. She could tell the lower combat speed maneuverability potential was huge.
"Morgen, I need you to keep this to yourself. Even if Lelouch asks you."
The hesitant timbre in his voice took her off guard. This was not the Hal she knew and had come to have a bit of a crush on. He wasn't normally nervous about things around her and Guis. The fact that he was in front of her and his 'new' sister disturbed her.
"What is it Hal? You've never been like this. It's freaking me out."
"I think we're being deceived."
"By who?"
"Nunally."
She immediately became defensive.
"Hal! You're not yourself! How can you say that?"
"We're here." Hal flicked controls and pushed foot petals, guiding the Peregrine into a Pugachev's Cobra. Adjusting the thrust output and avionic gyros, he tapped the HUD gently.
"You have control Amelia, keep us in this position until the Leviathan class sub arrives."
Understood, maintaining Cobra.
The reverse swept wings rotated to a perpendicular position to the plane that now hovered vertically in the air. Morgen temporarily forgot her accusation at Hal when she glanced down to see the water a mere fifty feet underneath.
'How advanced is this thing? This puts Knightmare technology to shame; well anything older than that seventh generation Lancelot.'
"Morgen, think about it for a minute. When Marianne was assassinated, Nunally got hit in the legs and lost her ability to walk right?" She nodded silently, wanting to understand his reasoning. He'd never said or done anything without normally thinking things through, he was too professional not to. The only time he hadn't done so was when Amelia had been murdered. It was unsettling to have the plane contain her being.
"Alright then, so the medical teams managed to work hard enough so that amputating didn't have to occur, but where are the scars? Nunally has no scarring whatsoever on either of her legs. No matter how advanced our medical teams were then and are now, scarring after something like bullet wounds is impossible to prevent. Even if it were possible, there would be faint traces of some accident. She has unblemished skin around her knees, where the bullets were said to have hit her. Why is that?"
Her thoughts wandered at his insight. When they had met with Nunally and she had touched her, she didn't have any scarring. Now that he had brought the issue into the light, she too, began to wonder. The submersible carrier rose out of the depth to greet them. Signal lightly exchanged messages in Morse Code. The aft launch tubes opened up to reveal a vertical docking bay. Amelia's direct link controls guided the fighter down into its landing position. The cockpit slid back into its dormant position and opened, permitting them to disembark.
"So now it's the Knight of Five? Such powerful people to take care of my children."
"One of which is my sister, or have you already forgotten your lesson Rakshata?" Hal cracked his knuckles in warning. She flinched, but didn't back down like the people accompanying her. They'd all been present when he had lost his composure and punched her. Morgen knew that the one issue you didn't touch around him was the value of life and death.
His sister technically had died, and having her consciousness in the plane he now flew was the result of a grave taboo in their eyes. The fact that it was his sister made it even worse. Bad enough if it had been someone they didn't know, but a dear friend to her and family to him? She knew his wrath to be just. Life was not something that was to be tampered with. They were bordering on God's domain.
"Yes, I remember it quite painfully. Still, can you really blame me for calling them my children? One should care for everything they create, no matter how trivial it may seem."
"I wonder about that. Morgen, I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be in the cafeteria."
Neither woman brooked any objections. Right now he was frightening. His eyes were blazing with cold fire. Morgen had seen that look during their collaborative mission with Guis and Dorothea nine years ago. He'd been a swirling dervish of battle, and not one that she'd want to tangle with. Rakshata had no idea just how close to death she was at the moment.
"Alright Hal," she glared warning at Rakshata, who merely twirled her pipe, "I'll met you later. Rakshata, I believe you wanted to show me something?"
Cornelia sat in the study with Euphemia, reading over the same files the ex-Rounds had given Lelouch before Zero's appearance. She set the paperwork down and groaned, rubbing her temples in frustration and disbelief. Euphie shook, her hands hid her face in shock. Guilford and Bartley grew more and more concerned at the files they read. Three sheets of paper outlined Morgen, Guis, and Hal as well, even the Knight of One was included.
"What is this? Geass? What is father thinking?" No one answered the question. No one could. It was constantly mentioned through out the papers that the three renegade knights had searched and searched but found nothing about Charle's possible plans with such a power. "No wonder Halbdenkul and his friends rebelled, this is unthinkable."
"Yes, but how did they gain this, power of the king?" Euphie and Cornelia paused, then looked at Guilford in mild surprise. They hadn't seen those three files yet.
"What?" He held up the papers with the three of them. The papers held all the details about each of them. Each of them had an eye like the children in the files, a crimson maroon with the eerie bird like sigil just under the iris. Something inside Cornelia's head clicked then.
"So that's how she made that shot. I thought that she was being rash, shooting from such a distance in near pitch black conditions." Guilford nodded, handing her Morgen's file.
Morgendammerung Falsetto, age nineteen, the Knight of Five, inducted into the Rounds after saving Schneizel's mother from assassination via a counter-sniping mission. Reports said that he shot had been made a mile away; her spotter had confirmed the shot. For her, keeping at a distance was her strong point. If the enemy didn't know where she was, she was deadly. She had no family, all killed during a riot when she was thirteen. Enlisting into the military at fifteen, she rose through the ranks and found herself in the Special Forces at age seventeen. It was during that time that she met Guistizia, also a Special Forces operative. She watched over the Imperial Capital of Pendragon with Monica during the invasion of New Zealand.
Guistizia Martin, age twenty-one, the Knight of Eight who was a master of cloak and dagger operations as an assassin in the Special Forces. He hailed from an unknown family of nobility with Martin being his assigned name. Their family was notorious for being undercover operatives assigned to the dirty work of the Empire. Rumors placed him holding the weapon that killed New Zealand rebel leader Yumel Astride during the battle where Halbdenkul and Dorothea received their acclaim on the front lines.
How sure that information was though, she didn't know. Cornelia's mind wandered back to the night he'd revealed himself to Euphie and her. The glove and wires made her shiver as she realized that had been his weapon of choice. Thoughts of strangulation came to mind and she tentatively clasped a hand around her throat.
'His wires were already deployed when he took my weapon. Would he have killed me if Euphie wasn't there?'
She flipped to the next file, Halbdenkul Schlange. The eighteen year old at the time who gained the title of Knight of Two after being proposed to the position by Marianne herself for his excellent service and military savvy mind. Countless people around the world knew his sister, but as the Queen of Rock Elena Houston, not Amelia Schlange. It was only with her tragic death during one of her concerts that the public discovered her relation with the Knight of Two. The public had either sympathized with the young Rounds or ridiculed her as a Britannian. It had been at her funeral that she'd noticed that his once red hair had turned a stark gray. The shock of her death had struck such a psychological blow to him, she silently wondered at the time if the same thing would have happened if Euphie had something like that happen to her.
"Absolute Precision, Masquerade, and Impregnability. How'd they get these . . . these Geass?" It didn't seem to her that Geass was something that was implanted, but who knew for certain? It did concern her that there were reports of those with out of control Geass who had to be killed to stop it. The control of Geass was much of the Collective's primary objectives, seeing as the children were strictly monitored and trained. It was also listed that they had noticed a trend of no one younger than 14 was given assignments regardless of their control level. Those who were, she wondered just how many of these people she'd run into during her life at Pendragon. The thought disturbed her.
"Doesn't seem strange that they have this cursed thing, yet don't agree with it? It seems rather hypocritical don't you think?" Darlton waved a few papers at nothing in particular as he spoke. The three nodded in agreement. An entire organization of people with powers that defied human boundaries . . . just what were Lelouch and the three stray Rounds fighting against?
"I don't think it's the organization they're at odds with sister." Heads turned to the reticent Euphie. She had read the least but had been the most affected by the information. Her opinion made them wonder just what she thought of the matter. Turning to face her older sister, Euphemia, she held a file picturing a little girl with nearly emotionless eyes.
"I mean, yes, they have this Geass, but it's like a tool or a weapon. Yes it's dangerous, but look at what the three of them are doing. They're helping Lelouch and Nunally, protecting them. That isn't evil is it? Isn't it the intent, not the object itself that makes something good or evil?"
Cornelia pondered her words carefully. That was true in and of itself, but just what was a person's definition of good and evil? The possible philosophical arguments that could be made on that subject wasn't something she wanted to go into at the moment. Still, Euphie had a strong case for the mind to work on. Just what was it that they were fighting against? Whatever it was, they apparently wanted anyone they cared about who joined them to join them with their eyes opened. This wasn't going to be any ordinary battle.
"Still, I don't understand why they're helping the rebels in Area 11." Cornelia sighed and placed her fingertips against her head. She could feel a headache coming on.
"Darlton, if you think with minds like those three and Lelouch, it makes perfect sense. If they succeed, then they'll have control of 70 percent of the world's Sakuradite. Should they take Britannia's technology in the process . . ."
"Then they'd be able to produce an unified army on par with the homeland!" He dropped his papers as he caught on to the long-range plan. Guilford nodded, seeing the bigger picture begin to materialize around them. Placing a thoughtful hand to his chin, he looked out the window where the Avalon sat in the distance.
"Still, there isn't much we can do with Prince Schneizel here. What would you have us do in the meantime, my Princess?"
"Hide all this information first of all. Darlton, I want you and Guilford to start discreetly poking through our forces to determine who is truly loyal to me and Euphie. I have a feeling we'll want to work on segregating our forces for when the time comes."
"You mean the unveiling of his highness Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunally?"
"That and our eventual, official allegiance to their cause. We can't afford to have factions in our ranks against a power like this." She motioned to all the paperwork they'd scattered over the past few hours. Guilford and Bartley stood at attention.
"Yes, your Highness."
With the Special Research and Development team, Schneizel watched combat reels of the Lancelot. Lloyd bantered on about his expectations for future developments in the Knightmare Frame. Cecile was pleased to know that the second prince approved of their progress. In the cockpit, Suzaku was tense.
"Hm, an impressive display of talent. Who did you say the pilot was?"
"Ara . . . that'd be our impulsive firebrand Warrant Officer Kururugi Suzaku."
"Oh? Genbu Kururugi's son? Well, I must say that his skills as a devicer are extraordinary. It seems like such a waste, keeping him here as a mere test pilot. Suzaku!"
Poking his head out the back of the Lancelot, Suzaku kept his tone respectful as he could. After all, not anyone got to meet with the Prime Minister of the Holy Britannian Empire.
"Yes your Highness?" Schneizel held up a hand, telling him to relax. He smiled easily while Kanon chuckled lightly.
"Please Suzaku, you've done wonders for the program. I thought it would take much longer to get this far, yet you've past the expected deadline for these kinds of results by a wide margin. For that I am grateful. As reward for your efforts and in return for such loyalty to the homeland, would you consider being knighted?"
The researchers in the hangar all turned to face the prince of Britannia. Cecile gasped and looked to a stunned Kururugi. Lloyd grew an audacious smile as his eyes widened in excitement. The benefits of working on a knight's personal Frame under a Royal family member were huge. His motivations were more along a different thought process though. It would be the first time a Number was given the honor.
Everyone swore that in the utter silence in waiting for Suzaku's answer, one could've heard pins drop.
Well, Hal's eternally pissed at Rakshata, and paranoid about Nunally, but what's this? Schneizel's tempting Suzaku!
How would you respond if Schneizel made such an offer?
Just how did Hal and the others gain their Geass? You know who gave it to them, but why?
ARGH! One more week until the final episode of R2!!