Hey guys Bylackbre back with the newest chapter of this story for you guys to enjoy. So I almost decided to have this posted on Valentine's day because of not only what happens close to the end of the chapter but also because today marks the day that people that aren't sponsors get access to the Volume 3 Finale but I decided to post today instead. This is the chapter that we finally get over 100,000 words which is something I honest never thought I would reach in just fourteen chapters. Well let's start the chapter and hope Rooster Teeth doesn't ruin Valentine's Day with the season finale. Speaking of Season or rather Volume finale, this reboot was first published on the day the sponsors got the first episode of Volume 3 and this chapter comes out on the day the sponsors got the last episode of Volume 3.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Code Geass
Saturday
Beacon Academy, Vale
As part of the celebration and since it was neutral territory between the kingdoms, or at least somewhat neutral, Beacon Academy was selected as the location where the celebration would be taking place. This also served the purpose of allowing all the parties involved to have a key location to gather instead of risking getting lost in the city on their way to the celebration.
Hector Nikos and the rest of the Mistral delegation were the first to arrive a few hours before the celebration started so that Pyrrha could give her brother and the others a tour of the academy. Glynda ran into them at one point of Pyrrha's 'tour' and guided the delegation on an actual tour while Pyrrha was left alone with her brother.
"I am impressed with the school you chose and I think you might have made the right decision." Hector said as the two siblings walked down the hallways.
Wait is he actually saying he approves of my decision to come here instead of Haven? Pyrrha thought as team RWBY came walking down the hall since classes just finished for them.
"We both know that I am very loyal to Mistral but I am fully aware you aren't as loyal as me. I am also fully aware that when the time comes to choose between Mistral and those you call your friends and allies, I am already certain of your decision." Pyrrha's older brother said after Yang waved at Pyrrha. "If something was to ever happen to Beacon Academy I need you to promise me that you will come straight to Haven without hesitation so that I can make sure you stay safe." Hector told her his younger sister who thought about it for a second before agreeing.
"I have a call to make so I will be right over there for a few minutes." Hector said after feeling a little relief about Pyrrha's agreement and walking away to make the call.
"I wasn't aware that your dad was here Pyrrha," Ruby said as her team caught up with Pyrrha. "He must really care about you to come all the way to Vale for the day before your birthday."
"That is actually my older brother Hector. He is here for the meeting that will be taking place during the celebration." Pyrrha explained as Hector continued to talk on the phone while having one hand inside his suit jacket for the duration.
"I wasn't aware that the Nikos family had such powerful connections." Weiss said after Pyrrha explained who the man who was with her was.
"Who exactly is he besides Pyrrha's older brother?" Ruby asked since she never looked into politics except for rare occasions.
"Hector Nikos works directly for the Council and is one of the few members of the Mistral government that if something was to happen to the council or a state of emergency was declared, he would serve as temporary council member until a new one was elected. This way there will always be an odd number of council members instead of an even number that can get into a stalemate concerning a decision." Blake explained before Weiss had a chance to say anything.
"So he is an emergency Council member?" Ruby asked her team members who both nodded.
"In times of emergency he can either replace a dead or absent member but for right now he is working for the council on making sure the kingdom doesn't erupt into a civil war over what country Mistral should align itself with: Atlas or Britannia." Weiss said as she pulled up a news article about an interview with him. "The only thing that worries anyone about him is that he unofficially stands on the Pro-Britannia side of the debate but when asked about it, all he says is that he is 'Pro-Mistral."'
"My brother has always put what's best for the kingdom first in his actions." Pyrrha said with a smile that any observant person would figure is hiding something. "He would never do anything that he sees that would not be beneficial to the kingdom or its citizens."
"If your brother is so 'Pro-Mistral' then why did he approve of your selection to come here to Beacon instead of Haven?" Yang asked since Pyrrha doesn't seem to be the type to argue against those around her and do what they asked.
"Hey you might as well be asking me why I didn't go to Atlas academy instead," Weiss told the brawler as she tended to get annoyed at moments of people asking questions like that.
"Well why didn't you go to Atlas then?" Yang asked the heiress as Yang had to bend over slightly to reach eye level with the person she was talking to.
"Because I wanted to forge my own path instead of follow in the footsteps of my sister and father." Weiss shouted as Hector walked back up to where his little sister was.
"I hope I am not interrupting anything." The taller redhead said before formally introducing himself with a handshake.
He definitely has a politician's handshake but he seems to also be holding back. Weiss thought as she accepted the handshake from the Mistral politician.
Ruby could barely hide the pain in her hand as she could swear the bones in her hand was about to break under Hector's grip. Here I thought Pyrrha's grip was painful. Do strong handshakes run in the Nikos family?
After Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss were done introducing themselves, Weiss noticed a barely visible change in the man's expression following her introduction. Was it something that I said? Pyrrha gave one of her iconic apologetic smiles before ushering her brother away before he could start an Atlas rant.
The members of team RWBY just smiled at the pair of siblings before heading back to their dorm to get ready for the celebration.
A Few Hours Later
In Transit to Beacon Academy, Vale
The Masquerade Celebration was about to begin in less than an hour and Lelouch's stealth ship was just landing in a clearing not too far from the city. A car that was being driven by a disguised Unit 024 was waiting at the edge of the clearing to take Lelouch to the celebration.
After they drove into the city, Unit 024 looked into the back seat to where a masked Lelouch was sitting and internally smiled while keeping her expression hidden from Lelouch. Aigis is going to be jealous of not being able to see what her beloved looks like right now.
Ever since the Battle of Vale, Aigis had been placed on the security detail of the Pendragon Imperial Palace. This benefitted Clovis in two ways since Aigis is doesn't like Schneizel and will keep him away from Clovis and Lelouch would have to fight through a small army of Royal Guardsmen if he wanted to take Aigis back from him.
Lelouch looked out the window and was amazed at the speed of which the city had repaired itself from the damage done during the Grimm Invasion. Craters that were formed when Britannian artillery shells were already filled and buildings that previously had missing chunks from when the Grimm would smash into the walls or Knightmares had been smashed into by the Grimm.
Normally an airship or a normal aerial transport was needed to reach Beacon academy but the land route had been cleared for the guests to travel on and by the time Lelouch and Unit 024 had arrived, the celebration had already started. As they pulled up to the entrance, a valet took the keys from unit 024 and the masked duo walked into the celebration.
The Masquerade Celebration, Beacon Academy
Lelouch wasn't the first of the guests to arrive though he wasn't the last either. The Atlesians were already here as well the Mistral delegation from what Lelouch could tell. I wasn't aware that Winter Schnee was supposed to be here.
"Well would you look at that, one of the former Project Pygmalion scientist is here. I guess that will explain why Ice Queen is crashing the party." Unit 024 said as Lelouch looked over at his current bodyguard. She was wearing a gray and white dress that was the same colors as the uniform worn by Lelouch's soldiers though it covered all of her arms and legs to hide that she doesn't have skin but is rather metal. Her mask was a cross between the mask worn by Lelouch's soldiers and the mask worn by the deceased Metis in that it covered her whole face but the pattern looked like a distorted version of Metis' mask pattern which is what she see through.
Lelouch on the other hand was wearing an expensive suit modified to be bulletproof and made of material that would easily allow him to hide his pistol and several spare magazines if caught in a gunfight. The mask he was wearing was made of a black mirrorlike substance that covered all of his head except for his eyes which were the only thing that anyone could see of head. If an emergency were to happen, Lelouch could activate a switch within the mask that would cover his eyes and activate filters to ensure Lelouch breathe clean air.
Lelouch had used the disguise of "The Nobleman" to gain access and moved through the crowd to learn who all was here while Unit 024 moved subtly within hearing distance of the Scientist's conversation. I know he helped build my generation but I am not sure if he was one of the people behind the executions. If he was one of them, it might be a bit hard to separate him from Winter long enough to kill him and get away with it.
Talking to her younger sister while standing next to a balding man was Winter Schnee. It looked like Winter was introducing her younger sister and Ruby to the older man with her. The older man was wearing his normal lab coat and with a very plain and simple mask while Winter was wearing her full military regale and a mask that was a Schnee Family heirloom.
"I have heard a lot about you from Penny Ms. Rose," the older man told Ruby. Ruby recognized the name of her former friend and smiled under her wolfish mask before frowning at the memory of Penny's death.
"I am sorry I wasn't able to do anything to stop what happened. I really tried but some kind of monstrous being that impersonated Mercury Black and Labrys stalled me." Ruby apologized as she looked away from the older man and down at her red caped dress.
"Don't worry about that Ms. Rose, You were the first and best friend that she ever had and if we rebuild her or make a second generation of her, I will be sure to let you be one of the first people to see the finished product." The older man just smiled after saying this as Pyrrha followed her older brother towards the four people.
"I thought I recognized you when you walked in here." Hector said as he moved past Unit 024 and Pyrrha apologized to the mechanical maiden. So that is my little cousin's killer? I may not technically be related to that Penny girl but that doesn't mean I can't feel sorry for her. Unit 024 thought after telling Pyrrha that nothing was wrong.
"I am surprised that you trust each other enough for you to trust her with your protection and you don't trust him to betray you," Hector said only for Weiss, Winter, and Penny's 'father' to glare at him.
"Why are you calling me a traitor? I have no recollections of betraying anyone." The scientist asked as he started to get agitated and confused at the man's accusations.
"It isn't a person that you betrayed but rather an entire kingdom when you defected to Atlas. It was a shame that you were amongst those that were part of Project Pygmalion but defected when captured." Hector said as the scientist realized what exactly Hector was talking about and remembered who he was.
"I am sorry that your political allies see me as a traitor but it was either die as a member of Mistral Britannia or live and redeem myself in servitude to a more benevolent kingdom." The scientist said trying to justify his actions and revealing that his options were either die or join.
"Tis better to die with honorable loyalty than live as a traitor," Hector stated while looking up at the ceiling to show that he didn't even give the scientist the honor of being glared at for his betrayal of Mistral. The grieving scientist was already balling his fist and was about to punch the younger man but was unaware that a hidden camera captured a picture of him about to hit Hector only for Winter to stop him before he started an incident.
"I apologize that you feel that this very 'honorable' man has offended you and the rest of your kingdom Mr. Nikos but I am here to represent Atlas on General Ironwood's orders so if you have any quarrel with us, let me know." Winter said as she moved between Hector and Penny's 'father.'
"I am surprised that Atlas has even decided to show its foolish face after how it incompetently handled the initial Grimm outbreak in Vale and Roman Torchwick." Hector said with such a tone that Pyrrha was getting nervous of a potential fight and was backing away very slowly.
"The technology that Atlas has developed has done more than make up for the slight mistakes that were made during the Vytal Festival. It was our medical science that helped the medical teams assist with the aftermath and injuries from the battle." Winter calmly replied in a voice that Weiss could tell meant bad news if Hector continued. "You know I don't remember seeing any Mistral military forces assisting in the fight against the Grimm."
"We would have been more than willing to come and rescue the students that were left to fend for themselves but the Treaty of Mistral prevents us from building a military that has the capability of acting as anything but a defense force with no combat capable airships at our disposal." Hector said as he referenced the treaty that liberated Mistral from Britannia and made the kingdom reliant on Atlas for defense. "I will admit that your medical technology is impressive. What is more impressive however is your military technology was also very impressive when it was used to shoot down your own airships and not only kill your own soldiers but also dozens of students and civilians."
One of the most hated parts of the treaty that Atlas made sure to enforce by any means necessary was the strangulation of the Mistral military. Atlas ensured that Mistral would never be a threat to anyone ever again by preventing them from getting to be anywhere near as powerful as they once were during the age of Mistral Britannia. The Mistral navy was nearly nonexistent and the air force was a joke since they weren't allowed to have any flight capable aircraft besides civilian airships. Atlas also stole the prototype Glasgows that would be reversed engineered into the prototypes for the Atlesian Paladins.
A scowl grew on Winter's face at Hector's remark about the Atlesian Knights' betrayal and how he justified the lack of Mistral support by making it look like more than just technology backfired in Atlas' face. "I had several friends that died because of the virus that affected the knights and a few of those friends that died were the developers of the Knights. So I kindly request that you do not speak ill of the dead."
"More than a few students from Haven were amongst the hundreds that died that fateful day and while you may have lost friends, there are families that are barely surviving in villages that had to be informed that their sons or daughters wouldn't be coming home. It's one thing to be informed of your own grown child had been killed by something their superiors created or themselves built, but it is completely different when you are having to tell parents that their child won't be coming back without a chance to grow up and see what the future has in store for them." Hector lamented with a saddened look as he remembered the reports of how the parents reacted to the news of their children's death.
"Had Atlas been more capable of handling their prisoners and didn't design such machines that were either defective like the knights or failures like that mechanical spy you had built, then maybe there wouldn't be as much blood on your hands." Hector said as a small crowd started to form around the two representatives. Are you going to slip up and cause another incident that will appear in the news or not?
Winter fell right into Hector's hands when she adopted a furious look on her face and placed her hand on her weapon. "I will not stand for you to slander Atlas' reputation the way you seem intent on doing. Since you do not seemed convinced that Atlas has any honor or competence, why don't we take this argument outside and I can show you our honor in a duel?" Winter snapped as Hector's face changed into an expression of confused innocence and the hidden camera caught a picture of the two while making it look like Winter was prepared to cut down Hector.
Weiss just looked at Winter with a concerned expression since even though she didn't know the combat capabilities of Hector, she knew that no matter the outcome, Hector's position within Mistral made this a bad situation no matter how you look at it. If Hector accepts and Winter wins, Hector can easily make it look like Winter embodies everyone's view that Atlas prefers to keep Mistral in a defeated state rather than a position of power. If Hector was to win however, it would further the Anti-Atlesian movement in Mistral even more with this Atlesian specialist being shown up by a Mistral politician who didn't even have proper hunter or military training.
"Miss Schnee I would like to see how honorable an Atlesian is in a fight since all of you hide behind robots who fight for you." Hector said as he guided the way for the two to walk out to the courtyard with their small crowd following them out of the room. There was more than an eighty percent chance that she would challenge me to a duel.
"I am going to see how this fight between the elder Schnee and the elder Nikos plays out," Unit 024 whispered to Lelouch before following the crowd outside. It was at that moment when the room became less crowded that Lelouch caught sight of Coco. "Well here goes nothing," Lelouch told himself as he started to make his way to Coco.
"There is a seventy four percent chance that your first strike I will be able to block with an eighty percent chance of me providing a counterattack in response." Hector told his opponent as they continued to walk towards where their match would be.
"If you do not shut up I will not hesitate to cut your tongue out to shut you up." Winter growled only for Hector to give a cocky chuckle in response.
"There was a sixty three percent chance of you saying something about cutting out my tongue."
"I will enjoy making sure your mouth is exactly where it deserves to be once this fight is over."
"Luck had better be on your side since I have an eighty seven percent chance of winning this match without much damage to my aura." Hector told the Atlesian specialist as his semblance started to calculate the chances of thing happening before showing him the most likely odds of the course of the battle. Those are some odds that I haven't had the pleasure of seeing since the warehouse phase of my grand plan.
Thanks to the nature of Coco's weapon being in the form of a fashionable purse when not a minigun, Coco liked to carry it around with her to almost every event she went to. This was one of the events she has gone to where her weapon is slung around her shoulder. "It's nice to see you here." Lelouch told her as he walked up to her.
Besides wearing her purse/weapon, Coco was wearing the dress she had originally planned to wear to the dance she convinced team RWBY to take care of with assistance from the Ashford Academy Student Council. Her mask made her look even more attractive than normal to the point that she almost had a diving level of beauty. "Do you mind if me and Lelouch have a private conversation?" Velvet was asked and who graciously agreed to before walking over to the refreshments table.
"You have a lot of explaining to do and I think we both need to go somewhere you won't be overheard." Coco said as she guided Lelouch out to the Beacon Academy Gardens which were in the opposite direction of Winter's duel with Hector. "Three months with no messages and no proper goodbye can make a girl very angry. It doesn't help when the girl WAS your fiancé who had a lot trust in you." Coco said once they were in a private setting.
"I know it wasn't the smartest move but the longer I was in Vale, the more likely Schneizel was to capture and kill me. I would have given a proper goodbye and maybe take you with me but there wasn't a good time to do it at the moment." Lelouch said as he started to try to explain but was slammed against a pillar by Coco who was pressing her unfolded minigun into his gut.
"Not having enough time is one of the worst excuses you could have used. You had better come up with a better apology before I decide to see how 'holy' a prince of the Holy Britannian Empire can get." Coco said with Lelouch being able to see her glare beneath her mask and the barrels of her minigun started to rotate ever so slowly. "You know I hate these 'Britannian style' discussions." Coco told Lelouch while waiting for his apology.
Yep she is angrier than I predicted. The logical argument for her abandonment was definitely the wrong way to attempt reconciliation, Lelouch thought at first. "I know I really hurt you but that was the last thing I would ever want to do. You are probably angry at me for knocking your team unconscious for the battle but I did it to keep them out of harm's way and to stop them from trying to stop my plan to stall Schneizel. I didn't want you to get angry at me or blame yourself if I got them hurt by keeping them in the battle. I left Aigis with you to keep you safe in case Schneizel tried to send assassins after you but I never suspected that you and Aigis would go up against a small army of Grimm on your own. You know that I am prideful enough to never say I am an idiot but that is exactly what I was. I don't deserve forgiveness for betraying you for three months but can you at least understand?"
Coco continued to glare as she deciphered his words for any alternative meanings before transforming her minigun back into her purse. "I am extremely disappointed in your choice of actions but I do understand and somewhat forgive you. That is still not how you treat your fiancé in that situation though."
Lelouch was relieved to not have the minigun pressed into his gut but he did stiffen when he felt an uncommon experience rush over his body. Coco didn't notice how stiff Lelouch's body got when she hugged him which was an uncommon sensation that he didn't really experience very often. "I am just glad that I got to see you safe."
Right when Lelouch was recovering from the shock of the hug and hug Coco back, his scroll received a notification from Unit 024 that made his eyes go wide in fear. Coco swore she heard him mutter something about Velvet before rushing away and losing track of where her ex-fiancé went. "Did he really just run off without saying goodbye again?"
What had made Lelouch nervous and rush away from Coco was a picture of Julius Kingsley walking towards the area where the celebration was supposed to be.
So this is how they celebrate a temporary peace? Julius thought to himself as he adjusted his mask slightly and noticed Velvet over to the side. Didn't realize rabbit hunting was so easy.
"I wasn't aware that you changed Lelouch," Velvet said as Julius walked towards her. "Well um something happened and I had to get a better disguise." I wasn't aware the cowardly prince was here as well. These idiots are making my job oh so easy.
"Is something wrong with your voice? You voice sounds a little off." Velvet noted as she took a close look at the outfit 'Lelouch' was wearing.
Julius was wearing a Britannian style suit that and gloves while his mask is what was the most unique thing about his disguise. Julius' mask was one that covered all of his face except for his good eye. The pattern on it was identical the one on his eyepatch but centered on the mask so that the part that would cover his good eye was missing. To help differentiate himself from Lelouch, Julius grew his hair out slightly longer than Lelouch's but Velvet didn't realize this since Lelouch was wearing a mask that covered his whole head while Julius was wearing one that coverered most of his face instead.
"I have just been under the weather recently that's all." Julius lied as to not let Velvet realize that he wasn't Lelouch. "You know, I always find you more attractive than Coco," Julius said and was pleased when a blush was visible under the Faunus' mask. So she is easy to emotionally manipulate.
"Coco wouldn't be happy to hear that," Velvet said as Julius pulled himself closer to her.
"Well she isn't here so she doesn't have to know right?" Julius said as he turned his mask slightly to reveal his mouth and kissed Velvet right as Coco came into view and witnessed 'Lelouch's' betrayal of her.
This is going to get very interesting, Julius thought as he saw Coco and then abandoned Velvet to hide in the crowd. Coco however didn't know who she was madder at, her best friend who was seen kissing her ex fiancé or said ex fiancé who Coco still had feelings for yet seeming betrayed them just now.
Velvet got out of the daze that was Julius' kiss and then saw Coco. Velvet tried to plead with her eyes that she doesn't know what just happened but the response she got from her partner's eyes were pure anger and disappointment.
Velvet's shoulders and rabbit ears just drooped with sadness as Coco ran into the crowd with her face turned away from Velvet. I didn't do anything though.
"I will give you one last chance to call off the duel before you humiliate yourself and Atlas." Hector said as the two combatants reached the place they would be fighting.
"You have insulted Atlas too many times to be forgiven that easily," Winter said as she drew her sword and immediately split it into two.
"Going all out already? Well I guess I will let the offended party have the first strike." Hector said as he subtly slid his gloves on his hands before reaching into his suit. Let's see how well you fare.
Right as Hector finished his thought, Winter used her glyphs to shoot towards Pyrrha's brother faster than the audience could keep track. What surprised the audience was how easily Hector blocked the two speeding sword with nothing more than a metal rod he pulled out of his suit.
"Is that the best you got?" Hector asked as an ax blade unfolded from the metal rod and almost hit Winter with a single strike. Winter almost heard an electrical like noise coursing through the gloves before she was forced to jump back and summoned two fake Beowolves to distract Hector.
"Eighty seven percent chance of hitting on the way back," Hector told himself aloud as he threw his ax and quickly killed the first Beowolf. Winter avoided the ax when it came racing towards her and just shook her head.
"I know it looks cool to throw your weapon but I doubt that it will be coming back anytime soon." Winter said as Hector's ax imbedded itself in a pillar. Glynda was elsewhere at the moment but had a strange feeling that property damage was just done on campus.
"I wouldn't so sure if I were you." Hector smugly said as he held out one of his gloved hands and thanks to very strong electromagnetics, the ax came flying back to him at a very high speed.
Winter felt the back of her head get hit by the ax handle before Hector's ax sliced into the artificial Beowolf's back and killed it. "See I told you it would come back," Hector said as he pulled the ax out of the disenegrating Grimm and started to transform the weapon.
"Let's see how you like this then," Winter said as she summoned a large flock of mini Nevermores. This tactic that was previously used against Qrow proved to be even less effective against Hector's transformed ax.
Ruby and Weiss watched in amazement as the ax became a submachine gun like a PPSH-41 and just shredded the fake Grimm. "Do you see how fast that gun is firing?" Ruby asked as Hector was using his semblance to calculate the odds of hitting each Nevermore before it would reach him. The rapid fire of the submachinegun proved to be too much for the artificial constructs as the hail of bullets pierced the birds and a few even impacted Winter's aura.
Utilizing the same tactic that her sister had against Flynt, Winter created a ring of glyphs around Hector and proceeded to bombard him with strikes until halfway through she had to stop.
"That can't be right or even possible!" Weiss told Ruby as Winter was stuck dead in her tracks by Hector grabbing hold of Winter's left hand sword. Unit 024 was even surprised as she saw Hector magnetize Winter's sword to his hand before yanking it out of her grip. Weiss watched in horror as her sister screamed in pain as an electrical current raced through Winter's body until she released the weapon Hector was grabbing.
"Sure you want to continue fighting?" Hector asked as he transformed his submachine gun back into an ax so he was dual wielding an ax and sword. It took Winter a second to recover before nodding and being placed on the defensive.
"So you are still using that tactic?" Ruby heard Pyrrha say before going over to the redhead and asking her to explain. "Hector's gloves are a second and sneakier weapon than people realize. It is similar to my semblance in that it can manipulate magnetics but he does it through electricity. He made his ax out of a special material that will immediately come back to the gloves once they were activated and the disarming trick is something he used to do during my training sessions. Usually he will either do what he just did to Winter or magnetize their weapon to his ax to prevent them from using it while he defeats them. He did the electricity trick on me multiple times while training me for the regional tournaments so that I can endure more pain if someone tried to electrify me with a weapon."
Ruby processed what Pyrrha was saying as Hector used Winter's own sword as a weapon while using his ax to prevent Winter from hitting him with the sword Hector didn't take from her. Weiss could tell that Winter was getting agitated by the fight and was becoming more reckless with her fighting style.
"Come on Winter you can do this." Weiss shouted right before Hector parried a strike from Winter and got her sword stuck in the ground. Winter then rolled out of the way of the next ax swing but after she managed to retrieve her sword, she knew she was beat. Hector had both his ax and Winter's sword crossed across her neck in a position to where he could easily decapitate her if this was an actual fight.
"It seems that the best that Atlas brought wasn't up to the challenge today." Hector said as he drove Winter's sword into the ground next to her and had the ax fold itself back up before going back into his suit. "You might have stood a better chance had your military not relied on defective drones so much and trained their specialists better."
Winter just gave a resigned look to the ground before dusting off her outfit and walking back to where the celebration took place. What she wasn't aware of while walking away was that Hector's mysterious camera that was placed in multiple unknown places had captured a picture of the fight's finale and was already formulating how to turn it into an article about Atlesian inferiority.
"While I am glad that my brother won but I don't like how this is going to appear in the news," Pyrrha said as she hung her head and followed the crowd back to the main area of the celebration. Ruby was a bit confused by Pyrrha's words but decided to think about them later instead of now.
Back at the celebration, Velvet was looking for Coco and 'Lelouch' when she accidently ran into the real Lelouch whose eyes looked relieved to see her. "Ok you are safe so that is good but where is Coco?" Lelouch asked before Velvet could say anything.
"We need to find her quickly before Julius Kingsley can get a hold of her. Oh yeah I don't know if you have heard yet or not but our old friend Rolo has changed his name and came here." Lelouch warned as Velvet finally realized what exactly happened earlier.
"You need to be careful out there. Julius has already deceived me and Coco into thinking he is you so be careful and Coco might be a bit angry at you for something he did." Velvet warned as her cheeks started to blush and help Lelouch find the fashionista in the crowd.
It only took a slight glint of sliver in the crowd for the pair's attention to be turned to a sight that seemed worrisome before becoming horrific. The sight of Julius dancing with Coco was enough to drive chills down their back but Velvet was on the verge of panicking when she barely noticed a small metal object that could have been a small knife placed between two of Coco's vertebrae.
"That bastard sure has a lot of guts," Velvet heard Lelouch growl as they witnessed Julius pressing the knife as far into Coco without actually breaking skin. "I need you to follow my lead because we are going to shut this bastard down now." Velvet nodded as Lelouch pulled her close to him and the pair started to slowly dance towards Julius and Coco.
"You wouldn't mind trading partners would you?" Lelouch asked as when he was behind Julius and traded Velvet for Coco. Stay safe Velvet, was Lelouch's thought after Velvet subtly disarmed Julius and passed the knife to Lelouch.
"Wait I thought he was wait you're not telling me that oh come on." Coco groaned as she realized that the man threatening her life wasn't actually Lelouch.
"I am sorry for what I did back in the gardens. Unit 024 informed me that Rolo, or Julius as he prefers to be called now, was here. I rushed here as fast as I could to save Velvet from him but I accidently got lost and he managed to reach you before I can make sure you and Velvet are safe." Lelouch apologized as the two dance with Lelouch keeping Velvet in his sight at all times.
"So you came to make sure that Velvet is safe by putting me at risk and then placing Velvet in a situation that can be just as dangerous? If he does something to her I will lose all the affection I have for you and personally hunt you down." Coco warned as the pair worked to make sure that Velvet stayed safe.
Julius was furious that the prince and this stupid Faunus stopped his plan but maybe he can have a backup prize in the form of this Faunus. "I hope you know that you aren't going to leave here alive." Julius growled into Velvet's ear quietly enough that nobody but Velvet heard him.
"I doubt you will get the chance to kill me and Coco would rather kill you before you lay a finger on me." Velvet told him as she kept up the appearance that the two were getting along while dancing.
"It's a good thing I already have my hand on you soft yet cold back. If I didn't hate you so much for being an ally of the traitorous prince, I might even find you attractive and spare you from the fate all those who stand with him will suffer from. Even if I don't kill you tonight, the coming war will surely see to your end when your team is sent on a mission to the front lines." Julius said as he pulled Velvet closer to him before twirling her around.
Velvet looked into his eyes and realized that Julius' eyes reminded her of some kind of predatory hunter who had already captured his prey. Stay strong Velvet, don't let him get to you.
"I am feeling generous today so I will tell you what my plans actually are since there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop what will be coming in the morning. A large Britannian military force is hidden off the coast of Mistral and are waiting for me to give the order to launch airstrikes against a multitude of villages before the main invasion force lands and begins to march towards the city of Mistral where they will burn all the people and buildings to the grounds. After the capital has fallen, I will personally see to the destruction of Haven academy and the execution of all the students who thought that the hunter lifestyle, their school, and their kingdom will protect them." Julius told the rabbit Faunus as he dipped her and continued to whisper into her ear.
"When Mistral is done burning to the ground we will find where Lelouch is hiding and I will personally mail his severed head to Coco so she can keep it as a reminder of what WE are capable of. We will justify this invasion as our hunt for the woman behind the Battle of Beacon who claimed to be from Mistral when really it is to destroy an enemy and hunt Lelouch's faction into extinction." Julius said with a smile as he looked Velvet in the eyes. "I am telling you all of this because there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. I will be sure to save you for last when we come for everyone here at Beacon." Julius told the Faunus right before an announcement was made for all the delegates to meet in another room for the actual meeting.
"If I learn that you told a single soul of what I revealed to you, I will let Lelouch know that you were the one that caused me to kill Nunally since I managed to track her down." Julius told Velvet before walking away.
Once Julius was gone, Lelouch and Coco rushed over to Velvet to check on her but she refused to say anything about what Julius said. If I say a single word about his plan, Lelouch would never be able to forgive me.
Unit 024 casually walked over to Lelouch and informed him that now would be a good time to get away since they won't have to worry about Julius following them for a little while. "I understand and go have the Valet retrieve the car," Lelouch ordered the android who nodded and walked away.
"I am sorry for how I acted earlier and I will even allow you to continue surrounding yourself with beautiful women but you have to promise me to stay safe and loyal to me ok?" Coco jokingly asked Lelouch after Unit 024 walked away.
Lelouch's response shocked Coco as he nodded in agreement before pulling off his mask and kissing Coco to reassure her of his loyalty. "You have nothing to worry about. All preparations up until now have been taken care of." Lelouch told Coco before putting the mask/helmet back on and his car arrived.
Velvet had to stop herself from laughing at the dumbstruck expression on Coco's face. Coco recovered just as Lelouch was entering his car and told him goodnight before he drove away.
"I think it's time that we call it a night Coco." Velvet told her partner as the duo started to walk towards their dorm.
A Few Hours Later
HMNS Pendragon, International Waters
As soon as the meeting was over, Julius furiously found out his prey had escaped so he called it quits and started his trip back to the naval fleet. The HMNS Pendragon was the largest of the Britannian Battleship Carriers and would serve as his command center for the initial stages invasion of Mistral.
"We are waiting for your orders in the CIC Sir Kingsley," one of the naval officers told Julius. The officer then guided Julius to the CIC where a large holographic map showed him the air squadrons and troop transports that were ready to invade were.
"Launch the airstrikes and missile barrages. Mistral will finally fly the Britannian flag once more." Julius ordered as orders were relayed to the bombers to target the different villages around the capital while helicopters and amphibious transports started to deliever soldiers from the ships and onto the land.
When this pathetic kingdom falls, I will come for you with everything I have Lelouch. Julius thought as he looked down at a file in front of him. The project was for an experimental superweapon and part of project Alfada' Almayit. This weapon will surely drive you out of whatever hole you are hiding in if it doesn't kill you.
This invasion wasn't completely out of the blue for Hector who had just arrived back in the capital city and was called to meet with the Council. This is going to a very interesting predicament over the next few days. I will definitely need Pyrrha here to ensure her safety in case an Atlesian or Britannian assassin comes after her.
There you have it people. Julius has officially had war declared on Mistral with Lelouch being the end result and the hunt for Cinder and *Spoiler Character* being the secondary objectives besides the kingdom. I thought since I was publishing this on the day before Valentine's Day to include something somewhat heartwarming before the part where Julius starts the invasion. For those of you who are optimistic that Mistral and Haven will not fall to Julius, well just wait and hope is all that I will say concerning that. Also Alfada' Almayit is a very meaningful name for the weapon if you know Arabic or at least the Arabic that Google Translate uses. If you don't want spoilers for what the weapon could be, don't look it up. I wonder if anyone caught the major callback that was in this chapter and the major secret that was revealed with the callback. So anyway this Bylackbre signing out and hoping you guys and girls have a good Valentine's Day this 2016.