Silly reviewers, thinking I would leave the development between Lelouch and C.C. as it is… No, I would never do that, but their development comes to it's general climax soon, however. I said from the beginning that this would not be a particularly romantic story - there is more than I had initially anticipated there being because the highs and lows of my love for LelouchxC.C. forced me to throw in the occasional tidbit here and there, but as a general rule romance was a hinted thing with minimal focus at best.
That aside, thank you for the positive feedback for last chapter. I know I wouldn't have gotten it if I didn't deserve it, and I wouldn't have wanted it if I knew I didn't deserve it, but that's irrelevant. It was a real morale booster all the same, so thank you. Hopefully I continue my steady climb from the hell that was Chapter 23.
"You always wanted to put an end to our curse, C.C.," he had said, mirth in his voice even as he spoke words that certainly tore at him from the inside out, lining his soul with fresh wounds that bled, bled, until he had nothing left to give. "And with this, Geass will fade into non-existence, and we will be it's sole survivors."
Never before had C.C. truly been captivated by somebody's words. They were far too flimsy, full of carefully woven truths and lies that kept the world in it's endless cycle of repetition. Lelouch had been doing the same thing until now, following self-interest even if it was for a higher, nobler deed. He was just another in the world's cycle. And she was using him, though she had been unable to remain unattached emotionally, so that she could tear herself away from that cycle.
But Lelouch did it first. She hadn't thought it possible, but he of all people achieved a feat previously unachievable. He tore free of the world's repetition with a flourish, binding her to the very things she had only recently realized prevented her too from escaping in his wake. He would live forever, like her, and he was managing to do so happily. But perhaps that was a temporary thing? Perhaps he would come to realize eventually that the world was doomed to this repetition, and he would grow bored of it just as she had. And then he, like her, would turn it into his plaything... more so than he already had, of course.
Something told her that this would not be the case. Lelouch had known from the beginning that conflict born of hate and war born of spite were elements of a repeating, neverending world. His desire from the beginning had been to change that. And C.C. had never said so, but she mocked him greatly for it. What a farce, to believe that you could go so far as to change the natural order of the world. Such a thing was a fool's dream, nothing more.
She leaned forward, noting with relief that the cold, stone-tiled floor had long since warmed from her presence, and the bitter smell of something she couldn't quite make out had faded the moment her nose numbed itself to the smell. The prison bars in front of her, dyed red as though they were scaldingly hot, were parted just enough that she could fit two fingers through, but they had obviously been designed with the intent to prevent potential escapees from thinking the sort of scenario where they plucked the keys off the wall and escaped would be possible. C.C. didn't really care for such hopeful thinking anyway.
The warmth of the ground - her own warmth, really, but it was comforting nonetheless, - was the only thing keeping her from being engulfed by the cold chill that had once been the only feeling she knew. But because of Lelouch, despite being potentially unintentional, she had escaped that dreadful feeling. Her heart knew warmth, he face knew how it felt to smile and, above all else, she had managed to spend companionable time with the only partner she'd had that had managed to reach her on any sort of emotional level. Mao did as well, she supposed, though that was a matter of her providing him warmth, and any feeling she'd grasped for him was born of her pity towards him, for she kept him around long after she realized he was a failure as a partner.
As was the case with Lelouch, however, her dues to Mao had been paid. His inability to control his Geass was a miscalculation on her part in judging his worth as a potential contract, that much was true. But she - and Lelouch - had done away with him, even if sparing him from insanity hadn't been their primary motive at the time. Regardless of intent, she had done her job and she had covered her tracks in ensuring that she could go on peacefully. Finally, with her last effort at making something of her dreadful life having failed and her finest partner having abandoned and imprisoned her, she could die.
But Lelouch… How would Lelouch feel, were he to know that him rejecting her had sparked her resolve to die? He was a master of using his emotions in a deceitful manner - even if he wanted to reach out and beg her to return to his side, he could just as easily turn those emotions into spiteful ones and urge her to move further away from him. She supposed that was what made him so interesting; his greatest flaw was his inability to keep a proper rein on his emotions, and yet at the same time he could use those emotions as one of his most lethal weapons.
Thinking about it was pointless, she decided. No matter what Lelouch thought of her - and she often had a relatively good idea, for she was not unfamiliar with reading emotions - it no longer mattered. He had rejected her, she had made her mind, and further thinking would only bring bothersome things like emotions to the surface again. Damn Lelouch for doing that to her, to so perfectly shatter her utterly and open her scarred heart for all to see. No, this couldn't go on.
She reached deep into herself, locating the thick shell of her consciousness - also a direct link between herself and the Collective Unconsciousness. Yes… She would go to the World of C, where Charles was waiting for those with the Codes. She would offer her own to the Collective Unconsciousness, as per Charles' will, and die. Lelouch was securely holding the other Code and would not be so foolish as to use it to aid Charles, meaning she could safely do so and die without it having a truly adverse effect on anything. Unless Lelouch showed up, the meddlesome boy…
"But really, boy, that arrogance of your's…" C.C. reached into her hair, sifting through it until she pulled out a set of keys, carefully stolen from one of the guards who had escorted her to the cell. She walked over to the cell door, effortlessly slipping her slim hands through the wider bars and pressing the correct key into the lock. Her wrist cracked painfully as it was bent awkwardly, turning the key in place to unlock the door. The lock chimed and the ring of keys dropped, leaving the door to be effortlessly pushed open by the toe of one of her boots. "… That arrogance is something you should take care of."
o---o
"… Mao?"
"Correct!" Mao cheer-wailed, or somewhere between the two sounds, clapping like a child while he kicked his feet out along the length of Schneizel's bed. The soldiers whom had brought him in stood behind Schneizel, guns raised and pointed at Mao as they had been from the moment the bag had been lifted from his head. It was obvious to all three of them that he was foreign - most likely Chinese, given his vague resemblance to an Eleven while still looking entirely different - and common sense dictated they be wary against such a person, particularly when the Chinese as a whole worshipped Schneizel's half-brother.
"And just who are you?" Schneizel asked warily. One some conscious level he was aware of the fact that this man, clearly insane as he was, may very well respond with something along the lines of. "I told you, I'm Mao!" but decided to take the risk anyway. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained… right? Somehow, Schneizel suspected provoking an insane man with the most surreal looking eyes he had ever seen hardly constituted as following the age old 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' ideal.
Mao seemed to understand the question on at least the most basic level, lifting his head slightly to regard Schneizel critically for a long moment. And then he said, as though it were a casual observation everybody understood without question, "You look like him."
"Him?" Schneizel asked curiously. Odds are 'He' was somebody related to Schneizel, though that hardly narrowed it down. Of his father's children, of which there were so many that they alone could fill the entire ranks of the Royal Guard, at least half of them were male. That being said, such a list did not make matters easier. But on the other hand, there was a certain younger half-brother whom things had been simply drawn to of late, either by his will or by a higher power's. The chance was certainly there.
"Him!" Mao cried, jumping to his feet suddenly. Schneizel composed himself from the mild surprise just in time to stop his soldiers from shooting Mao where he stood, turning the floor beneath him an awful shade of red. "It has always been him, ever since he took C.C. from me! The voices I hear, the thoughts of everybody around me, is nothing compared to his laugh, taunting me as I sleep! His smirk, as he takes C.C. by the hand and leads her away, further and further until she is out of reach! I would welcome the voices if they could take away the pain of him! Damn that Lelouch!"
Schneizel exchanged a look with each of his soldiers, and each lowered their guns almost too readily - timid they may be, but Schneizel was glad to know they saw a good opportunity when it presented itself. "And does Lelouch have anything to do with those… eyes?" he asked slyly, careful he didn't offend Mao with his boldness. Thankfully, if there was any offense to be taken it was forgotten, all thoughts replaced with Lelouch and memories of however it was he had wronged Mao.
"The Geass?" Mao questioned incredulously; to him, the question was apparently one so stupid that it wasn't even deserving of a show of false respect. "C.C. and Lelouch, they have… they have turned the world upside down with the Geass. Reading minds, like I can, is one thing… But he…" Mao trailed off, clenching and unclenching his fists at regular intervals. "Absolute Obedience? Forcing people to do his bidding is beyond unnatural!"
Schneizel took a step back, throwing his arms out behind him to brace himself against his desk as he reeled in shock. Absolute Obedience? And being able to force anybody to do his bidding? So that was the sort of power Lelouch had? It could be assumed that their father too had a similarly devilish power. And Mao… he could read minds. That would be infinitely helpful if they could secure his loyalty. "This power… the Geass, you said…" Schneizel murmured, slowly regaining the ability to stand without support - it took a fair bit of effort, however. "What other powers do you know of?"
"Just his and mine," Mao replied quietly, running both hands through his hair and tugging - hard. He yelped almost inaudibly, but otherwise acted as though the painful action were perfectly normal. "C.C. told me that, besides her, there is another that can give the Geass. But I don't know who. The Emperor has it as well, but I don't know what it is, either."
"I see…" Schneizel acknowledged, nodding his head while he considered those words. It was perfectly fine that getting the Geass appeared to be impossible, as he would not allow himself to sink to such a level just to defeat his brother and father. No, remaining above their lows was necessary to be the ideal leader the world would need in the end. "And your Geass… reading minds… is it possible to control?"
Mao shook his head. "No," he replied honestly, looking very distressed at the revelation. "I can focus my powers on a single mind, but it hurts greatly and it makes my power less effective."
Schneizel smirked then, letting his eyes shamelessly drift over Mao's demonic ones - probably a manifestation of this Geass. "If I promise you that you will get your revenge against Lelouch…" he said invitingly, walking forward and offering a hand, "will you make that power you have… mine? The power to change this world, to better it, the power to be a… King?"
o---o
Lelouch couldn't help smirking at that moment. Now, this was not surprising - smirking was what he did, and he'd been told by more than one bold classmate at Ashford that he looked "Extremely good" doing it. But this was a special occasion, not an "I'm about to do something that will bring my plans to a new level, and thus I must smirk," sort of smirk. Well, that was true too, but that still wasn't the reason.
No, the reason was that he was waiting. Waiting for that soldier across from him, fidgeting with his hands in his pockets and the toe of his boot scraping back and forth along the paved ground, to come to him. Surely he was about to hear something he already knew - C.C. had escaped, and the Hakumei was missing - but he needed to play the act, make it seem like the necessity to abandon the army and run off to Kaminejima right before they set sail for the California base was something that could not be helped.
"C.C. will not be forgiven, will not be forgiven…" he almost sang, disgusted with himself for it immediately afterward. There was only one reason she would be going to Kaminejima, and he would not let her put his plans in such dire risk just for something as selfishly satisfying as death. No, traitor or not, she was his cellmate in their timeless prison, where all clocks were broken and time stood still. Stealing the Warden's ring of keys was a dirty blow for her, though he could understand the necessity to break through the bars that separated them from the flow of time. If only she would come to understand that being timeless was the greatest of boons! Never aging, never dying… so long as you make sure you have something to live for, immortality would be the greatest thing anybody could dare ask for. And they got it without even asking, having it forced upon them by those who had decided it was time to rejoin the flow of time.
Lelouch waved over one of the many soldiers carrying crates of supplies onto the Hogosha, who in response immediately handed the crate off to another and ran over, saluting as soon as he managed to bring his feet to a halt. "Your Highness?"
"Has the Gawain been placed on board yet?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the nervous soldier the entire time. He still had made no attempt to approach Lelouch, and it was starting to get on his nerves, just a little. What kind of soldiers did he have, who were too nervous to speak with their leader?
"Not yet, Your Highness," the soldier replied tensely, saluting again as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Shall we have Rakshata place it on board now?"
Lelouch shook his head, catching the eye of the other soldier and waving him over, smirking again as the soldier began shuffling his feet all the more nervously for it. "Run system checks on it and the Lancelot; I want both ready for immediate launch."
"Immediate?" the soldier echoed, taking a step back to properly look over at the others, still packing crate after crate, some using forklifts to achieve the same result if the crate was too large, up the gangway. He frowned. "Is that possible? System checks would have to be run on the Hogosha, and…"
"We will launch them from the G-1 Base," Lelouch answered with an off-key lift to his voice, a little more upbeat than he had intended. "There is a matter the Black Knight and I need to investigate."
The soldier fidgeted nervously with the color of his uniform, making the chest of it stick out more - revealing a badge that said Private Yagami - in the process. "What about the chain of command? You're needed when we leave!"
Lelouch tossed rebellious strands of his hair behind his ear, smiling crookedly and nudging his chin in the direction of Xingke, who was talking to Hong Gu and Xianglin from behind a clipboard. "The Vice-General will be in command in my absence. Surely then there are no problems."
Private Yagami, the epitome of a grunt soldier - the ones that inevitably died no matter how well planned a battle strategy was, but even so the only ones who knew they'd even died were their loved ones - managed an unusually fierce glare for His Highness, despite the fact that Lelouch could see the sweat pouring off of his brow, and noticed how tense his muscles were. It was an admirable show of determination, but it would surely shatter at the smallest of pushes.
"The Vice-General told that His Highness and the Gawain will be required in the event that Britannia deploys air forces," he replied, though he sounded as though he were reciting Xingke's own words as he spoke. He probably was.
Lelouch nodded absently, running a finger up and down the length of his cheek, dangerously close to his left eye. Private Yagami's resolve shattered then, and he flinched. "The Red Knight and the Gold Knight will take my place. If I do not take care of this matter, Japan - and possibly many other places - will be in grave danger."
It was then that Sergeant Jian, recognizable by the more authorative way with which he walked, the fact that he was one of the few from Xingke's forces to have been given a high standing position in the reformed Anti-Britannian Front and, above all, by the folded up piece of paper clenched in his right hand, walked up to them. He looked to be a nervous wreck still, keeping his eyes anywhere but on Lelouch, though having the resolve to approach his King was noteworthy in itself. "… Your Highness…"
"She's escaped, hasn't she?" Lelouch cut him off, chuckling under his breath at the immediate look of both shock and relief that flashed over Sergeant Jian's face. "That is why I must go. If she reaches the Emperor uncontested, it could be very bad for all of us."
Lelouch reached out with his consciousness, feeling the earth itself ripple around the power he exuded, all the while leaving the world's inhabitants unknowing that such a power was thriving around them. He could feel C.C.'s consciousness, strong and without a solid state, as liquid trapped within the flimsy stone of his reach. But more than that, on a plane beyond his actual reach, he could feel his father. It was unusual that he could, since he could not feel any other Geass-related sources besides C.C.'s, Rolo's and Villeta's, but it seemed that his ability to feel his father came from the fact that the Code rippling within him was the same one that had bestowed Geass upon him to begin with. Yes… This power, strange and uncertain as it was, filled Lelouch with a distinct sort of satisfaction. He felt like a true King, not just somebody with the title of King, watching over those beneath him like a God.
And it felt fantastic.
With this, he truly could forgive the loss of his Geass. After all, he now was in a position where it was hardly necessary to force people into obedience - those who he required obedience from granted it unconditionally, and to force anybody else into obedience would be inhumane. With the Code, he could assert his position as a King. Though the thought of being an eternally living King made him ill, as it was the same as an unchanging world, he managed to dismiss the thought. He could worry about such a thing when the fighting was over. Until such a time came, being an immortal soldier was a boon among boons.
"Who has, Your Highness?" Private Yagami, the more sensibly calm of the two - though, given the way he shook slightly when Lelouch's vibrant eyes swept over him, it was hardly worthy of an award - asked.
"C.C.," Lelouch growled, trying to sound annoyed and surprised - he was the former, though not to the extent they would have liked. His annoyance came more from the fact that she had actually done it; he had fully known and anticipated her attempting to gather the means for an escape, and knew a proper imprisonment without using Geass-based traps would have been foolish. But perhaps, perhaps she would have exercised some form of humility and stayed in her cell, receiving daily meals from Lelouch himself. She would have been treated to more kindness than any other, even if she was a traitor, because Lelouch could not in good consciousness show her as much cruelty as the world had shown him.
But instead she had run off to her death. So, because he was now clearly the dominant one in the fragmented remains of their bond, it was up to him to save her as she had done for him in the past. He would save her, and then dump her back into that prison personally. And after that, there would be no escape. And he could then set about avenging the treachery she had shown to him.
Nodding, Private Yagami ran toward the distant G-1 Base that still held the Lancelot and the Gawain. Two Knightmare Frames who, like the men they had been named after, fought side by side as though they were brothers. There was a treachery in the past of the men from which they had been named that struck a certain chord of irony in Lelouch, though he didn't dare pursue the thought. Treachery and betrayal made him ill on little more than a thought.
Looking over at Xingke, the thought of betrayal became even more ironic to Lelouch. That man had once told him that the Chinese believed him to be the reincarnation of the Hero of Chaos. That was admirable and all, but the true irony came in that one of the Hero of Chaos' greatest enemies had been Lu Bu, a man who's entire life had been based upon betrayal. Betraying and killing his foster father, betraying his second foster father and in the end being betrayed by his men, whereupon he had been killed by the Hero of Chaos. Lelouch found that he was very much like both men, and that both amused and disgusted him.
While Sergeant Jian mutely excused himself and ran off to perform some other sort of mundane task that his higher-ups had given him, based on what had been given to Jian's higher-ups, inevitably looping back to the orders Lelouch had given to those directly beneath him, Lelouch leaned back on his feet. Around him people continued to rush supplies, and now KMFs as well, onto the Hogosha. The ship itself was spread across a long strip of land adjacent to the Tokyo Bay, which loomed behind them like the vastness of the Pacific itself. Lelouch smiled as he glanced back at the peaceful waters of the bay, so sharply contrasting the war torn world around it.
Watching the water, Lelouch wondered what it would be like. As it was, he could feel no lasting pain. No matter what his body suffered, he would live on. Immortal as he was, he could not say he understood the sort of torment C.C. had been through, to have to be on the brink of death so many times only to have the salvation of feeling nothing torn from the tips of her fingers as her Code tugged her back into the realm of the living, healing whatever blemish had been placed upon her skin and whatever scars had been placed upon her insides. And now he was like that, unable to feel the lasting pain of anything that previously would have killed him. He couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to be denied death itself. To feel his body, the body of an eighteen year old man that would look no different twenty years from now, fifty years from now, or even two centuries from now when the great grandchildren of those around him were married and bearing children of their own, crushed and then repaired many times over until the sensation of being embraced by death and then torn back into the world where he could again feel pain drove him to insanity.
"Lelouch." He turned around, nodding in greeting to Suzaku as he approached. Suzaku was dressed in an obsidian black suit of armor bereft of a helmet, with a longsword attached to his left hip. He looked like a warrior from many centuries past, when knights in shining armor and warriors brandishing sword and shield for their loved ones had been the norm, before the age of might and steel had gave way to the efficiency of a well aimed bullet. "Are you going to Kaminejima?"
The thought of not going, letting C.C. die and doing as she pleased - not that the latter was a new experience to be had - once again made Lelouch want to laugh. "Of course I am. What use is creating tomorrow if Charles intends to destroy it?"
o---o
This was it. He felt ill looking at the Geass sigil that shone so brightly on the large, stone door before him, but Lelouch ran his finger along it's length anyway. It was a tangible remnant of Geass' age-old existence, an existence that had transcended that of humanity itself. This door, wherever it led, would take him to a place that the overflowing power within him could call home. A place where, contrary to the repulse they would receive in the world, they would be welcomed with open arms. Well, not really, but definitely welcomed more warmly than they would be otherwise.
Suzaku stood behind him, backs pressed together and their hands laced together. At any moment the door could suddenly activate - Lelouch wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but surely it opened somehow when it came into contact with the Geass - and it would not be unreasonable to assume that Suzaku would be left behind if they were not touching at the time. Lelouch ignored thoughts of their strange contact and focused instead on the door, looking at the indents in the Geass' sigil and all along the door. They were too perfectly carved to have been from any kind of battle that may have taken place, though.
However many miles away, the Hogosha was under Xingke's command, nearing the Britannia base at California, where so many troops that had likely been poised to defend Area 11 prior to it's internal takeover by Lelouch waited for them. Lelouch wanted to wonder if Xingke had a solid strategy planned - Lelouch's own plan consisted of employing Cornelia's idea of bombarding the base from land and sea while Karen and a task force worked on methodically planting Sakuradite-based detonators to destroy the base in it's entirety. Cruel? Yes. Beyond what Xingke could do in good conscience? Probably. But it was effective. And it would ensure victory. That, in the battle against Charles Di Britannia, mattered more than being humane.
"Alright," Lelouch muttered, dismissing thoughts regarding the fate of his men that he had unceremoniously abandoned. With his right hand he tightened his grip on Suzaku's hand, while the other - the one that bore a symbol identical to the one on the door before him on the palm - he placed open palmed to the door, channelling all of the strength that he could physically feel within him through it.
The entire room rumbled as he did so, a foreign strength resisting his every effort. The defenses the door exerted to resist his breaching of it were terribly powerful, but he kept up all the same. Soon, the sigil on the door began to shine brighter, until it shone so brightly he was forced to avert his eyes for fear of going blind in it's depths. And then it was all gone, suddenly, and he and Suzaku were soaring through a plane not unlike the one he found himself in when he had talked to C.C. or V.V. in his mind.
As soon as they broke free of the astral plane that had claimed them, Lelouch looked around at what he considered to be the closest thing to Heaven. There wasn't an endless expanse of white, fluffy clouds and angels weren't going to and fro and there weren't swaths of people enjoying themselves in eternal bliss, but the resemblance was there. A look-alike of Stonehenge stood before him like a temple, and all around it were dilated clouds of a mixed white and brown. Lelouch reached out to touch a cloud, fully intent on ripping at it angrily for so poorly mimicking a place of eternal happiness, but instead his fingers reached an invisible solid long before they touched the cloud. Confused, he ran his fingers along the smooth surface until he came to a small indent, whereupon he pulled.
And then, in his hand and fully visible, was a mirror. … A mirror? Lelouch smirked, wondering what exactly this world was to have been a reflection made from mirrors and other such things. It was interesting all the same.
"What is this place?" Suzaku asked, pulling his hand from Lelouch's and similarly running it along the clouds. Lelouch wanted to laugh when he saw Suzaku jump at the solid, invisible object that greeted him, but this was hardly the time to find laughter in such a thing.
"I'm not sure," Lelouch replied honestly, looking at his reflection in the mirror - definitely a real mirror, he decided, tossing it away. "It's strange, though. Inside me… something is calling out to me." He placed a hand to his chest, trying to suppress the overwhelming amount of the Code's power erupting from him, that hadn't ceased since the moment the door had pulled them into this strange world.
Suzaku inclined his head, looking over at Lelouch while he pulled a mirror from it's invisible resting place. "Are they here?" The question of who 'they' were hardly needed to be said.
"There," Lelouch stated, and pointed forward, where many stairs - so many that had Lelouch been focused on that alone, he would have dreaded them more than what awaited him atop them - led to the temple-like variation of Stonehenge. It looked far too important for them not to have been there, though - common sense dictated that they investigate.
And so they did. Suzaku first, as was knightly instinct, with Lelouch trailing close behind, watching from side to side as though the surreal world would crumble around them. With how easily the mirrors with which the world had been made were torn from place, his worries had merit, he thought. Paranoia was a good ally if it was warranted, of course.
As soon as they reached the top, Lelouch collapsed against Suzaku's back, breathing heavily… and not from the far too exerting climb up the stairs. The power within him intensified to a nearly unfathomable level, such too the point that it rendered him incapable of remaining on his own feet. The power, strangely enough, dared to overwhelm him so utterly that it took his feet out from under him, leaving Suzaku's back as his only solace from landing face first into the ground. "… I'm okay," he managed as he pushed away from Suzaku, though he kept one hand on his comrade's shoulder to remain steady.
In front of them, with no intent of hiding, was the source of his problem. Charles stood with C.C. close behind, though Lelouch could tell with a passing glance that she didn't like standing there, arms stretched out toward the proverbial heavens as a dark stream of energy, shaped like a tube descended toward him. It cackled with lightning bolts and swirls of blue and purple, and looking at it filled Lelouch with a sense of terrible dread that he couldn't shake, hard as he tried.
"Good, you're here," Charles said monotonously, not even looking back to confirm his presence. "To embrace tomorrow, can you stop me from asserting today?"
Lelouch snarled as he pushed away from Suzaku entirely, balancing out the power pouring from him - the power alone, though it could not be felt, made Suzaku take several steps away from him - in an attempt to stand properly. He succeeded with some effort, and advanced toward his father while staring daggers into the back of both his head and C.C.'s.
"Well?"
Snarling again, Lelouch brought his left hand to rest in front of his face. The sigil of Geass on it shone brightly, threatening to blind him. From it exuded all of the power that now threatened him so greatly. "Living for today, or even the past… I cannot allow this. A world without change is worthless!"
"And yet, was it not your devotion to your mother's memory that started everything?" Charles replied casually, but he laughed derisively when Lelouch let out a startled choke in response. "How can you embrace tomorrow when it is Marianne's memory that drives you?"
Lelouch cursed under his breath, but mostly because he realized his father was right. What sort of revolutionary was driven by such things? Sure his mother was to be loved and deserved to be avenged - well, not anymore, now that he knew that she too had abandoned him - but why did that warrant him turning the world upside down, preaching for such things as a tomorrow, an ideal future?
He hadn't. He never had. His desire to avenge his mother and his desire to reform the world had always been kept separate, two burning desires that weighed on him just as heavily but in entirely different ways. And avenging his mother meant nothing to him now, he realized, because deep down he knew his mother hadn't cared for him when she had allowed the attack to happen and had allowed Nunnally to be so horribly damaged for it. The fact that she had defended Nunnally was a small show of motherly instinct that hardly granted her forgiveness for allowing the attack to happen in the first place. Allow the lives of her children to be so horribly disfigured for no good reason.
"This world is distorted," Lelouch replied evenly, looking over to Suzaku as he did. Suzaku nodded. "People fight, people die… conflicts continue. Britannia facilitates this, embraces it, welcomes it. And in turn, the rest of the world is forced to. That is why I fight; to turn this world into one that can solve conflicts with their words, reach out to their neighbours and understand one another.
"Fighting for tomorrow… that is a foolish thing. But I will do so, to make sure that the tomorrow after that will be reached with words!"
Charles turned around then, fury in his eyes like no other before. C.C. turned around as well, but her gaze was softer and she kept it averted from Lelouch's; on some level, no matter how subconscious, she hadn't wanted him to see her throwing her life away like this. "You fool!" he bellowed, glaring down at Lelouch. "Everybody fights for tomorrow, whether their's is different from your's or not! The fighting will continue, the hatred will continue, and it will all begin again.
"If you can understand that, understand that you will give your life fighting a battle you cannot win, then tell so to her." He gestured with his hand, and some of the mirrors to his right became visible, rippling until they opened to reveal a room of white. There was nothing - no windows, no doors, no furnishings. And in the middle stood Marianne, smiling gently as she nodded in greeting to Charles and C.C. and stepped out.
"Hello Lelouch," she greeted warmly as she spotted him. As though she could feel and see the power rippling from him, she brought up one finger to touch the air in front of her. "I've been waiting," she said evenly, running her hand along a wave of energy only she could see, if she even did see it.
"Mother," Lelouch replied just as evenly, though his every instinct was warring with the surprise inside of him. How was she here? She was dead! Then again, this place was very strange. Perhaps, here the living and the dead came together as one. Or even more likely, those with the Geass had free reign over this place even in death. The possibility was there.
"Her Majesty?" Suzaku gasped, reflexively moving to bow, a past formality of this that scattered remnants of his honor to Britannia demand he upheld. Lelouch grabbed him between his gauntlets and the armor covering his arms, hoisting him back into place and shaking his head disapprovingly. "Lelouch?" he then asked, turning to look at him with a disbelieving gaze.
"She is not the Empress," Lelouch ground out, glaring at his mother with as much hatred as he could muster. It wasn't as much as he would have liked, as a large part of him still drew from her sacrifice for determination and strength, but he managed to find some hatred in him for her selfish, idealistic sacrifice. "She is not my mother. Marianne Vi Britannia is nothing to me, and as your King, she means nothing to you."
"You would deny your own mother?" Marianne asked incredulously, though Lelouch suspected that the emotion was forged. Her face was much too blank, like C.C.'s, for it to be a genuine care for him that had made her ask. Well, she probably did care… just not enough to address the fact that she had condemned both of her children to eight years of tormented solitude.
"You were the memory I chased when everything started," Lelouch admitted begrudgingly, clenching his fists as he did so. "Whenever I saw my father on the news, I would curse his existence and ask why you had to die. Why you had to be sacrificed for something I didn't even understand - never did I believe that your death was the crime it had been made out to be.
"But I know now that you, like those around you, were not worth my care." Lelouch threw his arm out, gesturing toward Suzaku with the point of a finger. "You no longer cared about being my mother, and since then I have replaced you. Comrades, allies, friends… they have replaced you. And so, mother, you are nothing anymore."
"You…" Marianne gasped, casting a look to C.C. and then to Suzaku, frowning deeply. "Do you not care about C.C.'s plan?"
"You're defending Charles'," Lelouch pointed out the obvious, keeping his voice dangerously even. "Was C.C.'s plan really worth dying for, though? Worth twisting your son into this? Worth blinding and crippling your daughter?"
Charles and C.C. continued to look on in silence, both looking respectively uninterested and bored with the exchange. Marianne could hardly claim such indifference, stepping forward several paces and reaching out to touch Lelouch, who shrugged away from her hold. "I couldn't do anything about it!" she cried desperately, her eyes showing the genuine care that she held for him. The care he was now denying, as she had denied his care eight years ago. "It would have been selfish of me otherwise!"
Suddenly Lelouch snapped, bringing his hand up and placing it open palmed in front of him, the Geass sigil on it glaring at Marianne like an angry scar. "Have you ever not been selfish, mother? Did you, in sacrificing yourself, ever once think of what it would do to Nunnally and I? Or did you, like everybody else, think only of yourself even as you were assassinated? Thoughts of your children, what would become of them… The only thought you gave us was that I would be a useful tool for your will."
Marianne scowled, though Lelouch noted that she was unable to deny his claim. "This is not just my answer, mother, but Nunnally's as well. Again I will bear the burden of her will, giving her a better life despite her own wishes, and I will deny you for it. For Nunnally, I command you… begone!"
With a flicker of will, all of his power surged around him, cackling angrily and with fierce hunger. Empowered by his emotions, his hatred, the power sought to do his bidding, and with another flicker of thought it all channelled itself at Marianne, who unceremoniously vanished into a rainbow of colourful remnants, her body fading from the feet up far faster than she could feasibly manage. With little more than a cry of surprise leaving her lips, she vanished from his life once more. Only this time, her leaving his life left him with no feeling at all.
o---o
Xingke watched the water below from the deck of the Hogosha as it advanced over the open seas, high above them and certainly out of reach of their wrath. Lelouch had abandoned them with little more than a passing notice, saying that other business that would be frightfully dangerous if it was not attended to demanded his presence. Things more important than his own army, his own decisive actions that he had promised to spearhead? The boy was far too self-centered for Xingke's liking.
And thus he had come to be the leader of their brazen march into the Britannia proper, hoping to swiftly assail a base that had been the impregnable target of Euro Universe military offensives against Britannia for many years. And never had they reached the mainland, for the navy that awaited them and the natural defenses of the California base were every bit as imposing as their base at Haifa was in the Middle East. Even if their recent military operations had yielded questionable success, never could it be said that the Holy Empire of Britannia knew not how to raise a shield. They most certainly did.
Below the Hogosha, a plethora of Longdan mobile fortresses numbering somewhere between eighteen and twenty - exact reports said eighteen, but three separate men had done a count before they had departed and reported twenty - hovered low over the water, immune to the waves but all the while susceptible to the way they crashed against the sides of the army green-colored, pyramid-shaped ships and rocked them from side to side. And they had precious cargo too, in the form of tens upon tens of the newly rolled out Han-Shu KMFs that were sure to dominate over anything Britannia had to offer. It was suicide in the sense that they still depended upon overwhelming numbers, but a single Han-Shu could theoretically contend with a single Sutherland with no problem. Only their blocky shape and their subsequently awkward mobility hindered that thought from being a certainty.
Xingke leaned forward, coming perilously close to falling over the edge and into the waiting depths below, and coughed. It felt raw in his throat, stinging every part of it so completely that he nearly gagged. And when he did so, blood flew forth, staining his chin and probably the water below - the latter to a far smaller degree - red with the dark substance. His chest felt heavy then, as it always did after such an occurrence, and the burning desire to curl up and wait for the ache to subside was almost unbearable. Almost.
Compared to that ache, the uncertain feel of having nothing but the ocean beneath him - Xingke could scarcely claim to being as acquainted with the sea as he would like - was nonexistent. He had come out for some air, to forget that it was not earth beneath them but rather the frighteningly strange depths of the ocean and to calm his frayed nerves, more than shattered from much time spent thoughtfully coming up with a suitable course of action. Of course Cornelia had approached him and told him what she and Lelouch came up with, and while that was all well and fine, the matter of what to do with the main force nagged at him still. A naval assault combined with a daring charge led by Cornelia could only get them so far, and he wanted something more.
Jeremiah would be heading up the Geass Corps in Rolo's stead on land, independent of Cornelia but still generally under her instruction. He was the best suited for the task, as he had served in Britannia faithfully for many years and could likely better handle Cornelia's more brazen fighting style and harsh reprimands better than anybody else could. That, and Rolo would be joining himself in the air, ensuring that Britannia's air forces stationed in the area would provide minimal trouble. Karen too would be on land, and the combination of Ogi and Todo would be managing things from the Hogosha. This left them sorely lacking for personnel when it came to an alternate battle plan to make sure everything else went smoothly.
One of those men - Ogi, as it were - approached him from behind, thankfully having taken no notice of his painful spewing of blood. "Is Lelouch really intending to leave this to us?"
"We can fight without Lelouch," Xingke replied without looking back - he didn't want to see his own doubt, his own unwilling dependence upon the King to be reflected in Ogi's gaze. "We will break through their defenses, seize the port to stop them from fleeing, and occupy the base before Lelouch returns. He is powerful, but we need not be dependent upon him."
"R-right," Ogi murmured, clearly less certain about that than Xingke was. It was to be expected, he supposed; Lelouch, son of their hated enemy or not, was the masked man whom had rose from the charred remains of their hope and offered them a fighting chance to restore Japan. And though it had been in a rather roundabout manner, Japan had indeed been restored. They and their brethren were not Elevens, but Japanese; because of Lelouch. In one way or another, the world itself as it now was, was because of Lelouch. That was not a comforting thought.
"Their defenses will be hitting us hard before we can reach them," Xingke explained, gesturing toward the horizon where, distantly, land could be seen. And on that land, though it could not be seen, would be turrets and many other such defenses that would be bombarding them ruthlessly. "We need to clear a path for the VTOL, and we need to form the fleet into a line to begin work on taking out their defenses. The more damage we can do before we reach shore, the better - the less damage we take, the better."
Ogi frowned, tilting his head forward to watch the rolling of the waves beneath them. "Couldn't you take them out from the air?"
"I could," Xingke acknowledged, "but it would be foolish to presume that Britannia has not accounted for that. Presuming they have, I will have my hands full in the air."
"Mmm…" Ogi hummed. He tugged at the collar of his uniform, stifled by the tight fitting clothing that deprived him of most of the air in his lungs. "This would be so much easier if ---"
"--- No," Xingke quickly interrupted, clenching and unclenching his fists. "We can win without Lelouch. We will win without Lelouch. So that we can prove this world is not dependant upon him.
"Tell Rolo and Karen to launch," he continued, inspiration striking as he observed the horizon, the way the land curved around the base in such a way that made it stick out, much like a peninsula. "Rolo will attack and Karen provide support; they should be able to do some damage to their defenses before having to pull back."
Ogi nodded and turned to walk away, Xingke noticing from the corner of his eye that he was attaching a mic to his left ear and speaking into it simultaneously as he walked. Something along the lines of, "They're already ready to launch?" drifted to his ears before Ogi was gone, leaving him alone to his thoughts. His thoughts and the forthcoming carnage, of course. Both were of the utmost importance to him, though; watching in satisfaction as havoc was wrought upon Britannia by a mind other than Lelouch's was something that satisfied him in a most primative way.
The sound of loudly grinding gears filled his ears as the Hogosha prepared to launch the Guren and the Vincent, both surging into the air not a moment later. The Guren was imposing no matter how distant she got, looking like a massive, red bird of prey to all below it. And in many regards it was, in contrast to the Vincent that imposed a fear matched only by the Lancelot in it's foes. This fear came not from it's own strength, but rather it's strong resemblance to the Lancelot and consequently the association that many made when they spotted it.
Xingke watched in grim satisfaction as the Guren dove to the side, a wide wave of radiation energy surging from it's iron claw hand and down onto the ground, where something Xingke couldn't yet see exploded in a way that told him it was a machine of some kind. The Vincent followed close behind, MVS in both hands and rushing at things in the air that were nothing more than small black marks in the sky from such a distance, though more explosions followed in their wake. Planes of some kind, as Britannia was generally lacking the airborne capabilities that recent technological explorations by Rakshata had granted them. Now, their main forces were still earthbound, but Team Zero was a task force that could rival anything Britannia could put against them regardless. By all accounts, the Gawain was capable of wiping out countless airborne enemies at once with it's Hadron cannons. The Lancelot was only slightly less destructive in that regard, but both it and the Guren had mobility that trumped anything else any military had access to.
"That's right…" Xingke murmured, smirking as even more explosions lined the horizon. Even from such a distance, the warning sirens of an attack on the base could be heard. "Even without Lelouch, we are strong! We will erase Britannia!"
Xingke turned on his heel, walking toward the elevator that granted access to the various levels of the large ship. The elevator took him down for quite some time until he came out in the command center, where many were gathered doing various duties. Todo was standing in the center of the room, watching the same thing Xingke had been watching through the windshield. Throwing his long hair over his shoulder, Xingke advanced on Todo. "How close are we?"
"We will be within range of their defenses in less than two minutes," Todo replied grimly. "The order has been given for the Longdan to prioritize reaching the shore so that we can unleash the main forces, and we are steadily rising to avoid their attacks. But we will be in trouble if we reach the shore and their defenses are still in place."
Xingke nodded, already turning toward the door. "I'll go. Send word to get the Shen-Hu ready."
"Wait," Todo called. Xingke paused at the door, looking over his shoulder and raising his eyebrow in a quizzical manner. "If they see you out there, they may send out their main forces as well."
"I'm counting on it," Xingke replied with an amused edge to his voice. "Make sure all ships are ready to perform creeping barrages while they move."
He kept a leisurely pace while he walked down the desolate halls of the Hogosha. Around him people continued to move about, some mechanics rushing to perform some form of task in preparation for the battle to come and some soldiers moving to their stations, be they defensive posts on the ship or KMFs in the hangar. Subsequently, as he entered the hangar he had quite a following behind him, all of which fanned out toward their respective KMF - Sutherlands, Burais, Gekkas, and Akatsukis littered the hangar in great number - while he made his way toward the Shen-Hu, standing out amongst the rest with it's comparatively irregular structure and blue color.
The lift up toward the cockpit of the Shen-Hu seemed excruciatingly slow, as though time had slowed just to allow him sufficient time to think. Just what was he doing, really? They scarcely had the manpower to be worrying about the fate of others; this battle was certainly a battle wherein objectives needed to be completed, no matter what the cost. All the while, he was willing to throw himself out there before the battle had even begun to aid the two fighters who least needed it? More to the point, he was taunting their main forces into attacking when they in turn could not fight back?
No matter. They would win regardless; the enemy would be too preoccupied by Rolo, Karen and himself, anyway. Or at least he hoped.
Feeling the Shen-Hu as it surged to life was heavenly to his senses. As if leaving his body, his senses travelled from his own sense of hearing, sight, touching… to that of the Shen-Hu's, as if he himself were flying. No matter how much of a tactician he was, and no matter how collected an individual he prided himself in being, there was always going to be an animalistic part of him that loved the battlefield like a second mother.
Again he coughed, unyielding in the pain it struck to his chest as blood splattered his lower lip and chin once again. This time he smirked; the pain was real, and the reality of it was that his time was coming to an end. He truly was a man to envy, with intelligence to rival Lelouch and piloting skill that could keep the fabled Black Knight on his toes. But he had not the time to make use of those talents, which was the Heavens' way of reminding him that one man cannot hold all the cards. He could do so much good for the world, he suspected, if only he had the time with which to do it.
But alas, he did not. But at the very least, he could do as much as he could with those abilities until his time ran out. Britannia, his enemy… he would strike them a blow they would never forget, and die with a smile on his face. Britannia would remember Li Xingke, the legendary commander of the Anti-Britannian Front that crumbled the California base like no other had before.
He arced downward, descending upon the base with a determination none could deny. Two planes spun downward to meet him, and he readied both of his slash harkens and launched them at the planes, destroying them without so much as slowing down. As they returned to his hands he began to spin them in his hands, launching them one after the other at two turrets as he approached.
The base was expansive, but as far as naval bases went it looked not out of the ordinary. Many ships were docked, burning, along the waterfront, buildings and KMFs were stationed along a paved runway that looked more like a landing strip than a base. Most importantly, the many turrets and cannons lining the waterfront and the base itself were imposing, possibly more threatening than the KMFs stationed there.
He spun to the side as another plane attempted to dent the thick armor of the Shen-Hu with bullets, throwing out the slash harken in his left hand with little more than a flicker of effort. The tip dug deep into the side of the plane and then arced downward, driving the plane into the ground where it exploded noisily. As the harken retracted Xingke turned again, swinging out one of the Shen-Hu's legs into the small barrel of a turret, destroying the entire thing. It was so easy, kind of like what one would think killing an unarmed civilian would be like, although the thought was depressing on account of the inhumanity involved in that comparison. But destroying these weapons, unable to defend themselves from such close range, was hardly inhumane.
Karen dove in next to him, facing to the side and loosing a blast of radiation from her hand. The blast streamed across his field of vision, destroying four lined up turrets before it faded away and granted him sight again. As soon as it did, both were forced to back off as something again dove at them from above. To Xingke's surprise, the Vincent turned on him with dual MVS drawn, looking to pick a fight Xingke was sure would be a brutal one. But why would Rolo…
No. It wasn't Rolo. On the left shoulder, where one of the Vincent's Factsphere sensors should have been, was a depiction of King Arthur, holding Excalibur over his head with his mouth open wide, likely loosing a battle cry. And faded behind it, still clear and visible, was the number one. Britannia was pulling out the best of the best, were they…
"The Knight of One," Xingke greeted, dropping the slash harken in his right hand in favour of the short sword sheathed near his shoulder, "Bismarck Waldstein."
o---o
"Your own mother!" Charles boomed, though his voice danced with a laughter that surprised Lelouch more than him actually acknowledging her having been there at all had. "She was a fool, but she did have her uses."
"Is that why you hated her?" Lelouch asked monotonously, lowering his hand. "Because she disagreed with you and your self-indulgent dreams?"
"Hate her?" Charles raised an eyebrow, slowly and meaningfully, the bushy line of hair rising with an arch that made it look even more obscene. "I didn't hate her. We were enemies - you're too weak to understand that your enemies need not be hated."
Lelouch made a dismissive 'Hmph,' sound, turning away from his father and staring down C.C. with his piercing gaze. "It is convenient when you do hate them, however," he quipped, his eyes not leaving her's as he spoke. As could be expected, she started at his harsh words, though she did not even begin to attempt to comment on them. All the same, Lelouch saw and revelled in the hurt he saw in her eyes. They were both so used to that feeling that it was no longer anything noteworthy, at any rate.
"Hate is an emotion that clouds judgment," Charles stated with authority, suddenly looming over Lelouch as the imposing figure he always had been. "Hate your enemies, and it makes it all the harder to judge properly."
"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, aware that he had meant that on a personal level - Lelouch could tell that, in some way or another, his father had just presumptuously claimed a victory.
Suddenly Charles' eyes flashed with the Geass - both eyes, despite the fact that the Geass was not permanently active, which startled Lelouch - and he felt a tearing. Deep within him, the power of his Code was being ripped from his body, taking with it in theory any and everything that got in it's way. It felt like his heart was being constricted and crushed all at once, felt like his lungs were being torn into so violently that it was a miracle he could still breathe. Every bone in his body felt on the verge of crushing, breaking and leaving him no more than a pile of flesh on the ground. And he cried out against it, loudly, collapsing to the ground so heavily that it was only the timely arrival of Suzaku's arms that made it more painful than necessary.
Similarly, C.C. too had collapsed, though she had done so wordlessly. The swirling stream of black energy seemed to absorb their powers, swelling and swelling until finally the clouds in the sky above parted, revealing a whole other planet. It was large, like a moon descending upon them to bring death to all. And yet at the same time it was distant, so far out of reach that he didn't think it posed any threat at all. In fact, the only thing imposing about it was the sigil of Geass on it's face, glaring down at them. The sigil grew brighter by the second until, before long, it seemed as though it were the sun, granting light to all around it.
Lelouch could feel the remnant of the Code inside him, drained as it was, still keeping him alive. He suspected that too would fade when all was said and done, but there was still time. Time with which to stop this from happening, to deny his father's ideals and to deny C.C.'s death. He stood slowly, feeling his bones strain as though they were in the worst pain imaginable under the stress placed upon them, clinging tightly to Suzaku's shoulder as he did so. His friend comfortingly wrapped an arm around his waist, giving him the support he had never truly asked for. A rare compulsion to actually say, "Thank you," swept over him.
This would not end like this. No, there was still hope… He was Zero, after all. With that thought in mind, Lelouch scowled menacingly at Charles, forcing him to raise an eyebrow in something resembling surprise. "You always only thought of yourself… C.C. told me you exiled me for my sake, but I don't believe that. You knew I would survive; you knew I had the will to hunt you down and see you dead by my own hand. But you didn't exile me to make me stronger. You exiled me because you knew it would turn me into another you, someday.
"But it never will," Lelouch said defiantly, lifting his hand again. The sigil shone brightly as it resonated with the energy and the Geass existence around him, neither seen nor felt but clearly there. "I know what becoming you will mean, and I will not give in. I will recreate this world as I see fit, and I will do so by my own will! And you, who would deny the will of the people by forcing their future upon them, have no right to have the Geass!"
Charles laughed a cold, mocking laugh, narrowing his eyes. "The Geass is a means to an end, no matter what that end is. So long as you have desires, ideals, the Geass will give you the strength to achieve them."
"You're wrong!" Lelouch exclaimed, looking toward the planet lingering overhead. The sigil reflecting on it's surface shown brighter suddenly, as though agreeing with him. "The Geass, is a wish! People have wills, ideals! The Geass is a wish to grant those! But Geass is an evil thing, used to grant the wishes of corrupt people, like you. But I will not allow it! If the people wish for the tomorrow you will bring, they will not listen to me!"
He raised both hands into the air, palms facing upward, as if in a prayer. "If the will of the people is their own tomorrow, then stop!" he cried. "A tomorrow forced upon them, a tomorrow that satisfies only one person… Do not allow it!"
The corner of his eye fell on C.C. who, predictably enough, was obviously more irate over the lost opportunity to die - he knew that her desire to do so was a defense mechanism, anyway - than over the potential failure of Charles' plan. This raised the question of why she was defending it anyway, when up until she betrayed him she had been sworn to stopping his plan. "Lelouch, you…" she muttered, though she hadn't seemed capable of saying much else.
"You are a traitor, C.C.," he replied. He could slowly feel his power returning to his body as he spoke, renewing his senses and healing the ache in his limbs. And at the same time, the dark energy that had brought forth the new sky above began to fade, and with it the planet began to fade into non-existence once again. "I thought you to be my partner, my friend - the one person who, in this world that has taken everything from us both, I could call my companion. My friends were my family, my comrades and my allies, but you…" He saw Suzaku blink next to him, but Suzaku didn't appear offended by the special regard C.C. received. "You were there, with power, when the world was ready to forget the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia.
"But no. You, like all others, turned your back on me. You are deserving of your loneliness, C.C., because it is the only thing you are worth."
As the last of the energy returned to his body, Lelouch turned and began to walk once again, ignoring his father's obvious but non-vocal outrage, C.C.'s apparent dismay and, most of all, the tears welling in his eyes. He didn't need to cry for anybody, not anymore. The will of the Geass itself was now on his side, and he could hardly say he cared what either of the two people he'd left behind - Suzaku, though reluctant, had followed him the moment he had turned around - planned to do.
o---o
Xingke gritted his teeth, spewing out more blood as he narrowly dodged one of the Vincent's devastatingly powerful swords. He pulled back as Bismarck pressed the attack, moving up and down and in any direction he could possibly move in, determined to gain enough distance to safely fight back. The short sword had proven to be of limited use, incapable of measuring up to the MVS in strength and useful only in the most extreme of circumstances, when avoiding was decidedly impossible.
The slash harken in his left hand continued to spin, being launched every now and then when distance allowed. Bismarck would easily dodge every attack as if he'd known they were coming all along, and before long Xingke had begun to lose hope of scoring a direct hit.
His insides ached, his brain felt like it may implode, and he could feel the life in his blood draining more and more as he relied more and more on the Shen-Hu's strength. It was running only at forty-five percent of it's power, and even that made him feel as though he were being crushed by the pressure of the power drawing itself from the Shen-Hu. But he cared not, determined only on winning this fight. It would be a boon to die taking down the Knight of One, the finest Britannia had in their military. Yes, dying in battle with such a man was most ideal.
"Commander Li Xingke, correct?" Bismarck asked. His voice was deep, deeper than Xingke had anticipated, and just his voice had the air of a man of many years' experience. Many more than he himself had, at any rate.
"And you are the Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein," he replied, though it was obvious he had already known. He dodged another swing of the MVS, noticing almost too late that it was only his skill that kept him safe; his every move seemed as though it was being watched, with sword swings aiming for where he was going to be as opposed to where he was and kicks coming in from directions before he could even begin to move. Normally, he would have decided that Bismarck was simply a terrifically good pilot and a match worthy of dying to, but Xingke knew enough about the supernatural powers he had recently become aware of to know that this sort of skill was not the natural sort.
"This power… You know what it is, right?" Bismarck asked. He smoothly dodged Xingke's effort to counterattack, taking little more than cosmetic damage as the spinning slash harken in the Shen-Hu's left hand sliced into his right arm. He easily swerved around a swing of the Shen-Hu's short sword, cleaving into the side of it's left arm with one of the MVS in his hands. Xingke narrowly saved himself by moving ever so slightly to the side - he hadn't the time to do anything else, and his senses were swiftly being numbed by the minute as more and more of the awful, iron-tasting blood seeping from inside him filled his mouth, and then everything else once it spilled - so that the blade barely reached into his Frame's arm. It was still highly operational, thankfully.
Xingke huffed while he descended downward, using tact and simply hide-and-seek tactics to lure Bismarck into an effective chase. "I will not let the Geass defeat me," he grunted, focusing on remaining out of Bismarck's prospective range. They went over the water, high in the sky and between the rows of KMFs that still had yet to be piloted at the base itself until finally Xingke turned about and struck, flinging both slash harkens out at once and digging them into the arms of the pursuing Vincent. Karen tried approaching from behind with Rolo on her tail, but Xingke quickly sent her an encrypted message, which took more effort than he would have liked under the present circumstances, telling her to focus on the base. There were, after all, still several pieces of defensive weaponry in place, now bombarding the Longdans and the Hogosha as they approached.
"You hit me?" Bismarck questioned, but he didn't seem surprised. He forced himself away from the slash harkens, which had the desired effect of tearing into the shielding of the Frame's upper arms as they broke free. It was wondrous that they hadn't fallen off, though. "I was right," he then laughed, pulling away to a respectable distance. "You are as strong as Her Majesty was."
Down below, Xingke made sure to keep an eye on Bismarck while he noted the progression of the battle. Karen was lending a hand to the Longdans as they docked, Han-Shus pouring into the base in tremendous number. Above, VTOL units carrying many KMFs - mostly Burai, Sutherland and Gloucester, three of which belonged to Princess Cornelia and her Knights - dropped their cargo onto the base, and from there it was absolute mayhem. The base's KMFs were finally becoming operational, though many had been destroyed in the blitzing assault they had already delivered, and the battle looked painfully one-sided, an obvious contrast to the vicious duel between each side's respective commander.
"This battlefield will be your grave," Xingke ground out, charging once again at Bismarck. The two danced around eachother, swinging and dodging and firing slash harkens in rapid succession. Xingke's entire body had begun to go numb from the stress placed upon it, flipping a switch to his side to increase the power output to even greater heights. The effect was immediate, forcing him to fall forward slightly in his seat. But the additional power was a boon, allowing him to catch Bismarck by surprise with an unexpectedly swift sword swing to the right arm, cutting it off. He soared backwards, keeping his spinning slash harken in front of him as a defense against everything the opposing Vincent shot his way, coughing up more blood during the brief moment of reprieve. Just a little longer, now…
Just a swiftly as he had attacked, Bismarck closed the distance between them and struck, slicing at the cord that he used to hold his slash harken. It continued spinning, slowly curling around the blade of the sword and all the while Bismarck tugged, forcing either him to go with it or for the wire to snap. Finally it did, tearing away from the Frame with an audible rip, leaving him without one of his slash harkens.
"You fought well," Bismarck congratulated, the sound of clapping hands filling the following silence. "Never have I had a fight so heated, not since the death of Her Majesty Marianne. You are a fine warrior, Li Xingke."
"And you as well, Bismarck Waldstein," Xingke replied respectfully. "However," he began charging the Baryon cannon, forcing the Frame's power output to one hundred percent. The strain was fatal, and he could feel the cockpit heating quickly, sweat drenching his body in seconds and his vision fading in and out. "I will not be defeated so easily."
He could feel the blood all but pouring from between his tightly pressed lips, and the life in his body was draining faster than he anticipated. Any minute now, it would end… This is what doctors had explained would happen; the culmination of his illness would inevitably be by blood loss, due to his body's growing inability to store it. Several veins were crying out for a supply of blood that he could not give, making his forearms and legs tingle as though they were having their circulation of blood cut off.
Bismarck charged at him, surely intent on finishing the fight before the cannon could fire, but Xingke knew better than to be worried. At one hundred percent, the extent of the Baryon cannon made it's previous output, no bigger than the radiation surges of the Guren or the Hadron blasts from the Lancelot, look like a child's toy gun by comparison. The blast was enormous, surely visible all the way back where the Hogosha had previously been docked in Tokyo.
There was nothing climactic about his victory, as one would hope from a fight so magnificent. Nothing remained of the Vincent and Bismarck except tiny scraps of metal, confirmation that the blast had done it's job. There was no epic speech given or to be made; Xingke had won, and he had now readied himself to give into the Heavens' will. Slowly his eyes began to drift to a close and he felt the Shen-Hu falling downwards, but all the same a gentle smile graced his lips.
For the future, he was ready to die.
Alright! That pretty much wraps up this Geass-centered mini-arc, and from here we go into more conflict before the two different sides of this story merge into one beautifully Geass and death filled arc that will get us around third base and back home. Sorry the last two scenes seemed a little rushed, though.