Thursday update... Narita part two! And yeah, it would seem that there will definitely be a part three. Turns out there was a lot of stuff I could do in between the fighting. This is a slower-paced chapter, but that just means that there aren't a lot of explosions. There's plenty of interesting stuff that happens. Good character interaction, I think.
Reviews! fool-kitty asks what's going to happen to Shirley when Mao shows up. Kitty... I would really love to see Mao try what he tried in the anime. She would kick his ass . Gaff Gafgarion asks what exactly Gaspar is going to do with Cornelia... well, he's got some options. Technically, she's a prisoner of war. He could Geass her, he could use her as a bartering chip... but he's not going to. No, he's got a very specific plan that you'll learn about next chapter...
Teucrian requests less fourth wall breaking... yeah, okay. That's fair. The "big damn heroes" moment was actually IC- Gaspar was feeling an adrenaline rush at having actually pulled off a hard shot, at having arrived in time, at having, basically, won. So he actually did have an in character reason to get arrogant there. And really, can you blame me? I mean, you can, of course, but... it's my favorite line from one of my favorite shows of all time. It's just so badass. And yeah, that's the only time I've really broken the fourth wall, and I don't plan to do it again. Sorry if it ruined the moment for you, but I enjoyed it, and I think many of the other readers did as well.
nanoman79 thought that Gaspar should have seen who was piloting the Lancelot... yeah, I'm just not ready for that reveal yet, frankly. That's an ace to hold up the sleeves. I really don't want to have to kill Suzaku, if I can avoid it. I've got some plans for him that will make even the most devout Suzaku-hater think twice... but still stay true to his personality. Tpolich comments that it was kind of ridiculous that the JLF and the Black Knights never talked in the anime. I absolutely agree. I think the writers just didn't know what they would do, frankly, so they just ignored that possibility. I don't wish to make the same mistake.
SrgntDrew notes that the chapter lengths are just right, and wishes that the story was in third person. On the chapter lengths, that's actually something I make an effort at- not counting author notes, they're all 4k-6.5k in length. I used to think (before I started this fic) that longer was always better... but then I started reading Shinji and Warhammer 40k, and some of those chapters are just too long. You can't read them in one sitting, and when you come back to them, you've lost your place. It's just too much. So I try to keep them a pretty reasonable size- enough for stuff to happen, but still be readable in one sitting. And about third person... honestly, I think third person is a kind of lazy perspective. You can show thoughts, but you can also switch characters, you can basically show or not show anything you want. It's not bad, but it seems, frankly, too easy to me. First person is so intimate, I really think it works very well for stories like this.
However, I am going to be publishing a new third-person story soon... one I'm pretty happy with so far, unlike A House Divided.
light456 notes that it would be great if there was more Knightmare hacking. Sorry dude... there won't be. Knightmares would have some very high-quality security systems. Lloyd knew the Lancelot and Gurasugo's passwords, and the back doors in the OS, and he invested the time in learning Cornelia's so that he could pull this off. It could theoretically happen again in this story, but it certainly won't become a tactic they use. It's just not feasible. Pectus Noctem is astonished at my speed (thank you!), and asks if s/he's the only one who thinks it was a bad idea for C.C. to leave. She will be back soon... but really, she didn't have a choice. It was that, or the Geass Hunters found and killed Gaspar, which is definitely worse than her having to do a little traveling to shake them off.
Finally, Melamori asks if Guilford is alive, and notes that Cecile is a pretty capable scientist in her own right. Guilford wouldn't die that easily, don't worry =P I imagine he'll be leading the charge to get his princess back, no matter how much he's injured. And with Cecile... that was actually a big part of my motivation for the move. Cecile was always treated like just an assistant, just an Igor to Lloyd's Frankenstein, but she was actually a really pretty brilliant woman. I think it's time she have her time in the spotlight, as the new lead of Camelot. She'll have a hard time at first... but don't think that just because Britannia doesn't have Lloyd anymore that they can't possibly keep up in the tech race.
Enjoy part two of three, folks!
The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon over the Narita Mountains, casting a beautiful crimson light over the battle-ravaged slopes. A few hours ago, they had been covered by the forces of two armies- the Britannian Army and the Japan Liberation Front. The JLF had been on the verge of annihilation, cornered by the Britannians, outnumbered and outgunned, when my Black Knights stepped in, and dropped half a mountain on the Britannians.
To be specific, we detonated the mountain's water table, triggering a massive rock slide. The tide of stone devastated Princess Cornelia's forces, and then we moved in, and drove them into a retreat... and captured Cornelia. But Britannia hadn't withdrawn from the area. I stared into the sky, watching as another transport dropped in more Knightmare reinforcements. The Britannians were building their forces back up... getting ready to reclaim their stolen princess.
They weren't the only ones getting ready. The Black Knights had rounded up their prisoners, repaired and resupplied their Knightmares (as best as they could- some repairs simply couldn't be done in this little time, of course), and were enjoying their brief break from fighting... though everyone was tense. They knew that Britannia wasn't done. You don't just take a member of the Imperial Family prisoner and then walk away.
I leaned against the railing of a balcony overlooking the mountain with my extendable helmet retracted, and took a deep breath, tasting the mountain air. The balcony was the only one of its sort in the JLF base, which was primarily underground. However, as anyone who's lived underground can tell you, sometimes you just need fresh air, so there was this one balcony, poking out of the mountain. The view was simply beautiful.
"Disconcerting, isn't it? Seeing such beauty scarred by our battle," asked a voice from behind. I turned slowly to face Kyoshiro Tohdoh as he stepped out onto the balcony. "Zero... it is an honor to meet you."
"Likewise, Mr. Tohdoh," I nodded, my tone respectful. "I've heard many stories of your skill and brilliance."
"Not as many, I think, as I have heard of you. You are a man with many names, Zero. Beyond your chosen moniker, everyone calls you something. Your men call you 'Zulu,' though I suspect that is merely a reference to the phonetic alphabet. The media call you 'the Prince of Elevens.' The Britannians call you 'the Black King.' Much of the JLF calls you 'Kamen,' meaning 'Mask.'" He leaned against the railing, looking out at the horizon. "Princess Cornelia has called you 'that son of a bitch' several times now," he noted with the briefest of smiles, and then his face turned serious again. "But the Japanese... they call you 'Kibou.'"
I paused for a moment, letting this sink in. "'Hope,'" I translated quietly.
Tohdoh nodded solemnly. "You are their hope, Zero. We have been fighting Britannia for seven years now, and in less than a month, you have done what we could not- make the Japanese believe that you could actually win." He lowered his gaze, looking troubled. "You do not have our resources, or our experience... but you have pulled off some incredible victories. And now you have rescued us... for the moment, at least. I'll ask you plainly, Zero- what are your intentions?"
I stared into Tohdoh's eyes through my goggles. "I will settle for nothing less than the complete defeat of Britannia. I will drive them from this land, wipe every trace of their presence from it... set up a government for the new, free Japan, and then move on to take the fight to Britannia's homeland."
Tohdoh stared back at me. "You do not wish to have a place in the running of this country? I find that hard to believe, if you will excuse my bluntness."
"I am not a peacetime leader, Tohdoh. I am a fighter, I am a soldier, I am an avenger. When Japan is free, I will leave it behind, and seek the Emperor's head myself. Any that would follow me there would be welcome, but I will force no man to carry out my vengeance for me."
"And you would then leave Japan alone? You would restore its glory, and then abandon it? Even if your skills would not be of use to us in a time of peace, you are a symbol, Zero. The people have put their faith in you."
"And the thing about symbols is, they are fluid," I answered simply. "If the day comes that we control Japan again, it will not be Zero that marches on Britannia. It will be the man that wears the mask. The mantle of Zero, the outfit and onus, will pass to another. Someone who can be what Japan needs."
Tohdoh nodded gently. "I respect that... it is a thing you feel you must do, but you are wise enough not to jeopardize what you have achieved already to do it."
There was a moment of silence, and then I leaned over, and picked up the katana I had set against the railing. "I had hoped to encounter you, Tohdoh- I wanted to deliver this to you personally."
He stared at the katana for a moment, and then his eyes widened slightly as recognition set in. "Colonel Kusakabe's sword..." he whispered.
"This blade has tasted my blood once, Kyoshiro Tohdoh. The colonel stabbed me, right here," I told him, tapping my side gently. "Colonel Kusakabe was not an evil man... but he was short-sighted. He didn't care what casualties there were, or who died because of his actions, as long as he got to go out with a bang. That's all he wanted- a good death. He told me as much, when we spoke." I drew the sword slowly, and lifted the blade into the air. "A sword does not judge, Tohdoh. It cuts down all without prejudice or hatred." I twirled the blade in a whirl of steel, and sheathed it again. "Your Four Holy Swords do not judge, do not hate. They follow you with a devotion that is nothing short of love. May you always be worthy of that loyalty." I held out the sword with both hands.
He took it slowly, staring at it as he drew back. "...He was one of us. We knew he was wrong, but still... seeing you capture him like that, it made us furious." He looked up at me. "I have come to accept it, and both I and my Swords are in your debt. But I warn you, some of the JLF will not be so forgiving." He bowed. "Good fortune, Zero." Then he left.
I paused, glanced one last time at the sun as it began to sink below the horizon, and then quickly moved inside, extending my helmet once more. Better get ready for round two...
At first, I was having trouble finding Lloyd, but when I stopped to think about where he might be, it took me no time at all. "Lloyd," I called out as I approached.
He gave me a quick wave without looking up from his computer. "One second, Zero," he called, typing quickly with one hand. It was interesting to watch- apparently he was accustomed to typing while using the mouse to do other things. He must have a custom OS to do that. Interesting. I peered over his shoulder, and nodded. As I thought... he's working on the Guren.
He sighed, slumping over. "Why is it that Rakshata has such brilliant designs, and yet she never finishes them?" he asked, staring at the screen.
I frowned. "Rakshata? The Indian weapons researcher? Did she design the Guren?"
"It's got her fingerprints all over it," nodded Lloyd. "Especially the Radiant Wave Emitter- that's her baby. An amazing device... even staring at the blueprints, I still don't think I could replicate it. The way it... well, anyway, she definitely had a major part in it, though she of course had to be working with other designers."
"Of course. ...What about the Guren is incomplete, exactly? Is there faulty wiring, or something?"
Lloyd looked at me like I was an idiot, and I felt a brief flush of irritation. "Rakshata would never have faulty wiring," he said matter-of-factly. Then he turned back to the Guren. "Honestly, though, that would be preferable- it would be very easy to fix. No, I'm talking about its equipment. It's got excellent response time, great limb strength and Landspinners, it's got a cleverly set up wrist gun- those are tricky to get a good ammo supply on, but she's handled that problem rather cleverly.
"She's got that beast, her Radiant Wave Emitter, making it a monster in close combat... but the frame is so narrow focused! What if you had to take on a bunch of ranged enemies? You'd have no way to defend yourself, other than just speed, and you'd have little way of fighting back either. It's a close combat frame exclusively."
"And yet it still did a real number on the Lancelot," I answered with a grin, and he laughed. "Close combat is Karen's style, Lloyd. She's not a sniper, or a gunner. She's a bruiser. She gets in close, and makes your life suck."
"'Makes your life suck.' How eloquent," he teased. "I dunno, it's just sad to me. It did match the Lancelot... so imagine what it could do if it was actually properly equipped! We could give it a shield, maybe a Master Vibration Blade that deployed from the wrist, and a VARIS rifle-"
"Lloyd," I interrupted, "it's not that I don't agree. You could really push this thing to the limit. You could make it powerful enough to annihilate the Lancelot in Karen's hands. But you really don't have time right now. We've got maybe two hours until Britannia attacks again. Can you do anything new in that time? Doesn't have to be permanent... just something to give her the edge she needs."
He tilted his head, thinking about this. "An interesting challenge... I think I could pull something together if you can get me a tech crew."
"And that's why you came to me, right? For the challenge of it."
He grinned. "Pretty much. That, and it's always nice to work with another crazy. Schneizel was odd, but he was way too reasonable. Too calm."
I froze. "You worked for Schneizel?" I asked quietly.
"Oh, sure. Camelot was his research team. He stopped by now and then, and was irritatingly polite. That seems to be his thing, really," he quipped. "Oh, and by the way... did you mean to say 'Karen' instead of 'Quebec' back there?"
"What?" I asked, shook loose from my thoughts. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
"Nah, it's nothing," he smiled.
"Okay," I shrugged. "Tamaki! Get your ass over here!" I shouted. "That's the official Tamaki Call, if you ever want him."
"What's a Tamaki?" asked Lloyd curiously.
"He's an incompetent ignorant fool who is halfway competent at mechanics. You have my full permission to use and break him as you see fit."
Lloyd giggled. "Excellent."
Tamaki ran in, and dug in his heels, sliding to a stop. "I'm here, Zero!" he announced.
"Lloyd, this is Shinchirou Tamaki. Tamaki, this is Earl Lloyd Asplund, your new boss," I told him.
Tamaki blinked, processing this. "But I thought I was my own boss! I mean, uh, other than you, Zero."
...Are you kidding? I would never make you your own boss. "No. You were working for Chief Tohsaka. Now you're working for Chief Asplund." I spoke clearly and concisely, as one would speak to an idiot. Interesting coincidence, that.
"He's a chief?" asked Tamaki incredulously. "He just got here! I'm not a chief! I'm, like... senior mechanic! And I've been here from the very start! What have I done that could possibly-"
"Do you really want to get me started on how many ways you've screwed up, Tamaki?" I asked sharply, and he flinched, and then shook his head slowly. "Good. Lloyd... he's all yours. Just get to the conference room fifteen minutes, we're having a meeting."
"Yes, sir!" declared Tamaki.
I narrowed my eyes. "A meeting of the Ebon Council, Tamaki. You are not invited." Tamaki's shoulders slumped, and I turned away. How quickly he forgets his many mistakes... I thought, and sighed. I'm running out of patience with him. If he screws something else important up... I may have to Geass some sense into him.
There was still a while until the meeting started, so I decided to explore the base a bit. It was really quite impressive- they had hollowed out an immense section of the mountain to build the base, and it could probably withstand a full-force bombing. I suppose it had already withstood the mountain's water table exploding, which was no small feat. Frankly, I doubted that the JLF could have done all of this themselves- it must have been a military base during the war, and they simply expanded it.
It was when I was walking through the cafeteria that I saw something that caught my eye. In the middle of the room, sitting next to each other at a table, were Karen and Shirley, eating and talking. And within fifteen foot radius of them, there was no one. The JLF soldiers had moved away from the tables directly behind, in front, and to the side of them, and were all watching as they ate, to a man. I noticed Ohgi leaning against a wall, seemingly observing this phenomenon as well.
"Oh, Zero..." he said quietly so as not to draw attention. "It's bizarre, isn't it? Do you think they did something weird, or maybe offended them? I can't figure out why the JLF is keeping their distance like this."
I snorted a laugh. "Ohgi... think about it. They're two of the Order's greatest assets- Quebec, the unstoppable ace who takes on entire squads of Sutherlands by herself, and India Foxtrot, the interrogator who gets answers out of anyone. And on top of that, they're... frankly, rather beautiful young women." I shook my head with a grin. "They're intimidated, Ohgi. Karen and Shirley scare the hell out of them."
Ohgi blinked, and then began to laugh silently. "T-they're scared of Karen? I mean, Shirley can get intense when she's working, but... Karen?"
"I'm just impressed that they're so caught up in being intimidated that they haven't even noticed me. Perhaps I'd better leave before they do." Also, I needed to get to the conference room a minute or two early... I needed to have a talk before it started.
Ohgi nodded. "See you at the meeting in five."
I headed to the conference room, and Chief Yoshitaka was already there, with Diethard in tow. "Sorry to have kept you waiting," I said politely as I stepped inside.
"Not at all, sir," answered Yoshitaka, rising to his feet. "I checked the room twice over- no cameras, no hidden microphones. We'll have our privacy." I nodded my appreciation. Glad to see the JLF isn't as conniving as I am. "You wanted to speak with Diethard and I?"
"Yes. You can probably guess why, of course... Diethard, have you been told about the Ebon Council?" I asked him.
Diethard nodded. "Yes. It was one of the first things I looked into, in fact." Gathering intelligence on his own organization... practical. "There is to be a meeting of it here shortly, correct?"
"Yes. And I wanted to invite you to join, as my Chief of Media and Diplomacy," I said frankly. "You won't be able to assume command just yet, as we're still in the middle of a combat situation- Britannia will be upon us shortly. But afterward, we will set you up with a staff, and everything you'll need for your job. You will oversee all contact with the media- any interviews, press releases, or other, whatever that may be. You will also take care of any meetings with individuals from other organizations, and will handle most of the recruiting. Of course, you will be able to staff these tasks out as needed."
Diethard's eyes were wide, and he was grinning. "Oh, thank you, Zero! You won't regret giving me this opportunity..." he declared.
"I don't expect I will. I'll introduce you and our other new Chief at the meeting, and-" I began, but just then, the door swung open, and Ohgi walked in, followed closely by Karen and Shirley. Then came Tohsaka, and finally Lloyd, who was looking at everyone with curiosity. He's probably the only one who doesn't know who the other Chiefs are... because he just never bothered to learn.
Everyone sat down, and I lowered my helmet, but left the goggles on. While the Ebon Council were the only ones I trusted with the secret of my identity, I hadn't told Lloyd or Diethard yet, as they were such recent additions, and I didn't want to waste time with that now. There was work to be done. "Okay, let's get started. First order of business... I want to welcome our two newest members. Diethard Ried is our new Chief of Media and Diplomacy, who will be dealing with all public appearances, meetings with other organizations, and much of the recruiting."
Diethard nodded gravely. "It is an honor, Zero," he said solemnly. He was suppressing his excitement pretty well, but I could tell it was there.
"Earl Lloyd Asplund is our new Chief of Science. He'll be in charge of the mechanics, as well as development of new weapons and systems." Lloyd smiled, and waved. "Obviously, the organization of their departments will have to wait until we're out of a combat situation. Chief Asplund-"
"I really prefer Lloyd," answered Lloyd frankly. "'Earl' is annoying, and I never was a big fan of 'Asplund' either."
I shrugged. "Fair enough. Lloyd, what is the status of our Knightmares?"
"Hmm... well, we lost 14% in the fighting- which is pretty impressive, by the way- so we have 86% of our Knightmares here. A further 16% is too damaged to be of any use in the fighting, so we have 70% repaired, resupplied, and ready to fight," explained Lloyd casually. "The Guren Mk-II is also up to full capacity, and I should have minor upgrades done by the time the fighting starts."
"Minor upgrades?" asked Karen cautiously. "What are you doing to my Guren?"
"The Guren doesn't belong to you, Quebec, it's quite the opposite," chuckled Lloyd. "But that's neither here nor there, I suppose. I'm outfitting the Guren with a basic shield on the left arm, a pair of missile pods, and a chainsword. They'll take a little getting used to, but this is just a temporary thing." He grinned. "I have muuuch bigger plans for that little beauty."
Karen looked a little alarmed by this, but I could talk with her later. "Good. Britannia will probably attack in... well, I would guess half an hour. The sun will have finished setting at that point, and the conditions will be perfect for a night raid." I frowned. "I still need to talk with the Major General... but that shouldn't take too long. Ohgi, I need you to issue gas masks to the infantry."
Ohgi blinked in surprise. "...Gas masks, sir?"
"The Britannians have to get inside the base, and get Cornelia out alive. They're go for a nonlethal solution until she is secured. Gas is the likeliest move," I explained.
"But sir... gas weapons are banned by international treaty!" he declared.
I sighed. "And somehow I don't think that will stop Britannia. Just take care of it." I glanced at Tohsaka. "Doctor Tohsaka, how is your medical team doing?"
"Better than I'd expected, but not as well as I'd hoped," admitted Raleigh. "Most of the Knightmare pilots that were injured were fairly minor, and they'll be able to get back into the fight... but the infantry took some serious damage. Broken bones, bullet wounds, shrapnel."
I nodded quietly. "I see. How many have you lost?"
Tohsaka met my eyes. "I know you never practiced medicine, Zero, so I'll excuse the mistake, but you don't talk about it until it's done."
I paused, confused. "...What exactly does that mean?"
"It's not hard, Zero," smiled Lloyd. "Doctors and surgeons are just superstitious. When they're doing well, they don't want to say anything about it, because they think they'll jinx it or something."
"There is a thing," began Tohsaka hotly, "called 'tempting fate,' Lloyd, and I would thank you not to make any comments about-"
"Enough," I ordered, and they both backed down. "Fate exists, and it has a sick sense of humor, Lloyd. It's fine if she doesn't make a full report, I understand the situation." I sighed. "Minami, what is the status of the JLF and Britannian forces?"
Yoshitaka opened up a folder, and pulled out a handful of identical papers, passing them around. "This is a brief report on the statuses of the forces involved. If you'll turn your attention to paragraph 3..."
We finished the meeting, and the chiefs began to go their separate ways. "Diethard, Lloyd, please stay behind," I told them. Diethard had just stood up, and he blinked, and sat back down. Lloyd shrugged, and leaned against a wall.
Once the others were gone, I spoke. "Part of being a member of the Ebon Council is that you are trusted with a secret. Obviously, I refer to my real identity. It is for my councilors to know, and no one else. If you do not wish to keep this secret, if you cannot swear to me without hesitation that you will keep silent about it, then say so now."
Diethard's eyes sparkled. "Zero's true identity... of course I will not breath a word of it. This I swear!"
Lloyd shrugged. "Eh, sure. I won't talk."
I smiled. "Excellent. Then let me just make it formal... repeat after me. I, Zero..."
"I, Diethard Reid..." "I, Lloyd..."
"Do hereby join this Ebon Council of the Order of the Black Knights," I stated, and they repeated. "And hereby swear," I continued, and then pulled off my goggles, activating my Geass and staring them each in the eyes, "-[that I will not speak of Zero's identity to anyone other than another member of the Ebon Council...]-" They froze as their eyes glowed red and the Geass wrote their orders into their brain.
"Welcome to the Ebon Council," I told them, staring at them with my unveiled face.
Diethard sucked in a breath. "A pureblooded Britannian..." he said reverently. Lloyd merely raised an eyebrow. I hadn't expected him to be overly shocked.
"I go by the name Lelouch Gaspar, but my birth name was Lelouch vi Britannia," I told them.
That got a reaction out of Lloyd. A smile slowly spread across his face, and then he began to giggle. "From one brother to the next! No wonder you were interested when you heard I was working for Schneizel!" He shook his head. "Very interesting... but I've got to finish up on the Guren, and I don't have much time. We can talk later, if you want." Then he left.
Diethard was still staring, his face pale. "You are Lelouch vi Britannia, the Black Prince?" I nodded gently. "They said... that you died in the bombing. That there was an accident..."
"There was no accident, Diethard. Those bombs were meant for me. They did not find me. I survived, I changed my name. I waited. I prepared."
"Then... this isn't just about Japan," he realized. "You're not just about freeing Japan, you want revenge. You want to burn the whole Imperial Family!" He trembled with excitement. "I knew, I knew that you wouldn't stop after just Japan. I knew that you were bigger than that. Oh, this is amazing..." He stopped, and gathered his wits. "It is an honor to serve, Your Highness," he stated with a bow.
"I'm not royalty anymore, Diethard. I'm just a man with a plan," I sighed. "Go on back to your work, we can talk later." He nodded, and stepped out of the room. I pulled my goggles back on, and extended my helmet. I stood, and just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Zero? It's General Tatewaki," announced a voice.
"Ah... good timing, sir. Come in!" I declared. The door swung open, and the silver-haired man stepped in, his face somber. "I was wondering when we would get a chance to talk."
"You certainly keep yourself busy," he mused, sinking into a chair. "Meetings, reorganization... even upgrading your Guren in all of this mess. Your staff is quite the remarkable bunch."
"I must express my appreciation for your generosity, General. Without you and your men's aid, we'd just be standing out there on the mountainside, waiting grimly for round two," I told him.
He stared at me intently. "You saved our lives, Zero. You saved the Japanese dream of independence. This is the least we could do to repay that service. I expect we will do much more in the future."
I sighed. "I'm glad we could meet somewhere without cameras or microphones... it leaves me free to do this," I said, and then I retracted my helmet, and pulled off my goggles.
General Tatewaki froze. "I... I had suspicions, but..." he began, his eyes wide, "I never thought... you're a pureblooded Britannian, aren't you? A noble. The skin and the hair suggest it, of course, but the eyes... there is no mistaking those eyes."
I nodded. "I am."
He was silent for a moment. "Do your men know?"
"They see me without my mask frequently, so they certainly know I'm not Japanese, but only my senior aides- my Ebon Council- know my identity and face," I told him.
He nodded. "That is for the best. ...I recognize you, you know."
I blinked, stunned. "You do?"
"We met... briefly, at a dinner party at the Prime Minister's house. Seven years ago, when you were staying there. You were not the first member of the Imperial Family I had met, and I remember... I remember thinking about how different you were." He frowned. "Your brothers and sisters... so ignorant, so arrogant. They cannot comprehend what is it like to not be royalty. But even at that age... you understood loss, you understood powerlessness." He took a breath. "What happened to your sister, Nunnally vi Britannia?"
I lowered my gaze. "She died," I answered simply. "General... what is your plan moving forward? If we combined our forces, Britannia could not hope to stop us. They have so many Areas to worry about... they would have no choice but to abandon this one, or face the loss of all of them. They couldn't win against us."
General Tatewaki took a deep breath. "And no doubt you would want me to follow you, rather than the reverse?" he asked.
I sighed. "Is there any other way this can work?"
There was a long moment of silence. "I am not a follower, Lelouch... Zero, and neither are you. Neither of us could follow the other. You are a good man... but your heart is too full of hate for me to obey your orders. And I... I am too old for you to obey mine, as well as not as smart as you." He shook his head. "We would destroy ourselves, Zero. Our union would be almighty for a while, and then it would cave in on itself, unable to take the strain of our two personalities. It could not work."
I shook my head gently. "You're right, of course. I had hoped this could be avoided, but it seems it can't." I closed my eyes, and then I opened them again, staring straight into the general's with my Geass glowing brightly. "-[Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, and you will heed his orders. You will wait until the fighting has begun again, wait until Britannia has begun to attack the base itself. Then you will tell your assistant that you entrust the JLF's future to Zero and to Tohdoh, and kill yourself with the katana you wear at your waist,]-" I ordered.
His eyes glowed, and then he blinked, and shook his head as though to clear it. "I'm sorry things couldn't work out, Zero," he told me, standing. The faint red ring of the Geassed was visible in his eyes. "I must go see to my forces."
"Yes, you do that..." I nodded grimly. "I'm sorry too." More than you will ever know. Godspeed, general.
And next chapter, the fighting will begin anew. And not to hint too heavily, or anything... but I think it's about time that the Circle intervened, don't you? They do have those custom painted Knightmares now, after all.
I don't know if you can expect a Side Story this weekend, I'm getting behind on my writing, and there's a lot of stuff to do. We'll see. But I am working on another story. What is that story? Why don't you ask LordRevanMandaloreofZutara, he might have an idea =P
Review, question, comment, all that jazz, and I'll see you guys next time! Jeez, that's lightning, I gotta unplug all my stuff before it fries my computer. Later!