Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, if I did I'd have made Luciano twice as rude
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Woot! Everytime I update this fic I'm bugging 200 people!
"So his royal lateness finally decides to grace us with his presence," Luciano spat out, glaring at Lelouch walking up to him, a challenge.
"Oh? You must be the Vampire of Britannia…funny, I pictured you as a pale skinned child who wrote poetry," Lelouch responded, only bothering to look at Luciano from the corner of his left eye.
"The only poetry I write is in blood," Luciano said, glaring straight into the eleventh prince's eyes, forcing him to look at him.
Lelouch stared right back with a look of disinterest, and replied with a subtle smile, "That would explain the scars."
Luciano was taken back, if only for a moment, he proceeded to make a move to grab Lelouch by the shirt, until Karen stepped in and grabbed him by the wrist, "Oy, talk all you like, but assaulting a member of the royal family is a serious felony, even for a Rounds."
"Tch, I don't trust you boy," Luciano said shaking his wrist from Karen's grip, pointing a finger at him, "Be glad you're a prince."
"Oh dear, whatever would I do if I wasn't against such a big strong man like you?" Lelouch mocked, and then with a glare he said, "You may be older, but all that makes you is an immature impotent idiot." Lelouch walked past the seething Knight of Ten, and then he added with a smirk, "Take either meaning you'd like."
Odysseus came walking up, a smile on his face as he raised his wine glass to Lelouch, "Good to see you again little brother, I must say you surprised me when you entered, you've become the spitting image of father."
Lelouch smiled and said, "I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or as an insult. You're doing well as always Odysseus."
At the head of the hall, Tianzi was in her chair shaking again, looking down into her lap now. "You don't need to be afraid of him," Kaguya consoled, trying to calm Tianzi.
"I…I know. I know, but…I can't help it, he's…terrifying, more so than that orange-caped knight. Just standing there, smiling, he's more terrifying than anyone I have ever seen," Tianzi said, barely managing to sit still instead of trying to run away.
"Its okay, you've just never met him before, you're only heard about his accomplishments so of course you'd be scared," Kaguya continued to try and console her.
"Good evening Empress Tianzi, it is an honor to meet you," Lelouch said, standing in front of the main table and bowing to her, however that wasn't what got her attention. It was the fact he was speaking fluently in Chinese while he did so. Raising his head, he had let his eyes take on a more normal appearance instead of their usual intensity, and he was smiling, "I am Lelouch Vi Britannia."
"Ah, uh…it, it is good, to meet you…" Tianzi said, speaking in shaky English, barely managing to look at him half the time she was speaking.
Lelouch chuckled and said, still speaking in Chinese, "Understood, I'll give you some more time." Before he left he stepped a bit closer to whisper something to her so only she would hear him, "You are not the only one forced into this situation, I'm working on a way to postpone it until I can find a way out of it. I suspect you'd like that as well." And with that he turned and went back to mingle with the crowd, Tianzi now watching him, surprised at what he said.
Kaguya leaned in and said, "I have a feeling I know what he just said. It's the truth, we're working on a way out of this now."
Tianzi looked at Kaguya, who was smiling at her, "You, you mean that's why you came?" the small empress asked.
"To help? Yes that's why, just trust him alright?" Kaguya said, as one of the Eunuchs leaned in.
"Now what are you two talking about?" he asked, which Kaguya only looked at him slyly.
"None of your business, its girl talk," Kaguya responded.
Elsewhere, in a hidden portion of the Forbidden City, Xingke was sitting at a table with many high-ranking military officers, and then there was Kain. "So what are the chances of capturing Britannia's airships?" one of the officers asked.
"Not likely," Kain responded, "Not that we'd know how to use them if we did. Furthermore we'd only get one before they noticed and shot it down. Britannia won't hesitate to give it up if it becomes a liability. Hostages don't work against them. Let alone Lelouch Vi Britannia, our main obstacle. Use a hostage against him, and he'll find a way to rescue them and do it from under your nose, probably while stealing your weapons while he's at it. Furthermore, they'll withdraw from the conflict after they get to safety, leaving us with only the Eunuchs and those loyal to them to fight."
"Very good, between your Gawain and the Shen-hu, the Eunuchs won't last long," Xingke said, a smile on his face, "If we work quickly they won't even have a chance to react before we take control of China and rescue Tianzi-hou."
"Indeed, if we act quickly enough. The Eunuchs will likely request assistance immediately following the appearance of the Gawain and Shen-hu. Meaning we will be staring down the Lancelot, Tristan, and Percival at least," Kain said, "All three are impressive frames that would be difficult to beat. I won't say we'll provoke the Dragon right away with this attack."
"Why not?" Xianglin asked, "If the Rounds join the fight won't he do so as well?"
"Not necessarily. The Rounds are under Prince Schneizel's command, not Prince Lelouch's. A strong rivalry exists between the two, Lelouch will not likely be willing to assist his brother unless it benefits him to do so. Meaning we won't have to worry about the Mordred, Guren, and that Apotheosis of his in the immediate future. However, we have to immediately rescue Tianzi the moment the rebellion starts," Kain explained, a smirk on his face the entire time, "He will be obligated to do what he can to remove her from the battle. If he successfully does so, we will have to win quickly or the chances of us losing this coup are almost certain. That Biwa, the Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. And then his advanced Knightmare Frames. If he removes Tianzi from the battle, we will have all but lost if we don't act quickly. Because of those three ships and those three units join the battle, there is nothing we can do to win."
Xingke spoke up first, "I'll rescue her, when would be the best time?"
"As the wedding starts, everybody will be concentrating on that single place. We will know where she is at the point in time. Plus it's more dramatic," Kain said with a laugh, "If we're going to do a coup, might as well make a show of it."
And make a show of it they did, the next day the coup had begun in full, "Neither the stars of heaven nor the people of the earth approve of this marriage!" Xingke declared, leading a small contingent of troops into the wedding hall where the Eunuchs and Schneizel had managed to force their respective 'sacrifices' to marry each other. "China will not accept this!"
"Xingke, what do you think you're…" one of the Eunuchs said as he began to tear through the guards to make his way to Tianzi, the Knights of the Round rushing to protect Schneizel as Carline and Odysseus got behind them. Lelouch was immediately guarded by Karen, however both were standing next to Tianzi, and Anya was nowhere in sight.
And that was when Lelouch interrupted the show, clapping his hands as a wave of despair washed over the chapel while confidence welled over Xingke and his men, Lelouch seemed unaffected by any of it. "Karen, now," he said as Karen flipped a switch that was on her ceremonial sword, then Lelouch spoke up, an intensity in his eyes unlike what he had demonstrated last night, "I was wondering when you'd make your move."
Xingke's stopped as a Knightmare dropped through the ceiling, the Mordred, carrying a large container, which opened up to reveal the Guren was inside. "You…you saw this coming," Xingke said, surprised as he dispatched another soldier loyal to the Eunuchs.
"Of course I did," Lelouch said as he placed his hand on Tianzi's shoulder, pulling her back into the container, and then mouthed, "I await your victory." With that, the Guren took off and the Container closed with the Mordred lifting it up into the air. Inside the Container Lelouch sighed, "That was close, I was worried he wouldn't make his move for a moment there."
"What?" Tianzi said staring up at the man, "You…you mean you, were expecting Xingke to rebel?"
"Counting on it in fact," Lelouch said, a smile on his face, "I hope he wins too. That'll get me out of this situation perfectly. Sorry about this, I'm obligated to 'rescue' you from that situation." After a second Lelouch smirked, "Oh I look forward to what I'm about to get to say."
Tianzi looked up at him, seeing the look of extreme anticipation on his face, "Say what?"
"You'll see," Lelouch said, almost giddy, "Oh I've been waiting to say this for months. Ever since I saw the designs."
A sudden lurch told the two they had stopped, the container opened and Jeremiah was kneeling in front of it, "Preparations are complete your highness."
"Excellent," Lelouch said, turning to Tianzi he said, "Please tell Anya what you'd like to do, you can either watch what's going on or you can retire to a guest room. Oh, and welcome to the Biwa…no I should say, the Azuchi." With that Lelouch turned and made his to the bridge of the Biwa. Entering the Bridge he smirked as he said, "Ise! Omi! Tenshukaku! Donjon! Shed your disguise!" Outside, high in the air, four of the hot air balloons Lelouch had brought with him exploded into confetti revealing triangular airships within them. Each one had a flat bottom and had several cannons along their tops. All four of them moved into position around the Biwa, one below, one above, one to the right, and one to the left. Lelouch smirked, his eyes narrowing as Tianzi entered the bridge, led by Anya, Karen entered the Bridge soon afterwards. Lelouch then declared, "Azuchi! Gattai!"
Outside the ships around the Biwa began to shift position, turning their flat sides towards the Biwa. Schneizel, Carline, Odysseus, and the Rounds had just made it to the Bridge of the Avalon as Lelouch ordered the fusion of the Azuchi, "Dear god…those are the pieces of the Azuchi…" Schneizel said, stopping when he saw just how much more massive the Azuchi would be.
"I was told four pieces," Gino said, just as surprised as Schneizel at what was unfolding, "That's five pieces to it."
On the ground, the Eunuchs had managed to escape the coup and made their way to a mobile command fortress. Xingke was getting into the Shen-hu, a giant bluish purple knightmare that was similar in design to a fusion of the Guren and the Lancelot. Looking up into the sky, he stopped, "…What is that?" he asked.
The Biwa was the first to shift its form, the front end of it opening up into four distinct pieces. Each piece slowly positioning itself to face one of the other components of the Azuchi, extending from the body of the Biwa, and each was met by a piece of the other ships extending and formed a docking bay for the pieces from the Biwa. From the now revealed portion of the Biwa, and enormous cannon could now be seen, extending from it as portions of the other ships shifted out as well. "Azuchi fusion complete!" Jeremiah announced as his left eye spiraled about, Lelouch smirking as the screens showing the status of the Biwa switched to showing the status of the Azuchi. The shape of the Azuchi made from the front was that of a diamond, from the side it looked like a clawed hand with the back portion of the Biwa sticking out further than the other pieces of the Azuchi.
On the Avalon, Schneizel was in shock, "…massive," was all he was able to say looking at it. And it was, in it's completed state, it was three times as large as the Avalon.
"Incredible!" Carline squealed looking at it, "Look at that thing in the middle! It must be a great big Hadron Cannon!"
"Lelouch, this weapon…you had something like this built, what were you planning to do with something like this?" Odysseus said, stunned into a stupor.
On the ground, Kain was looking up at the Azuchi, getting into the completed Gawain with Ogi, "My god, how did he sneak that into this country?" he asked himself.
"This is Xingke!" a voice blared over the Gawain's radio systems, "How the hell are we supposed to take that on!?"
"Relax," Kain ordered, the Hideyoshi and Ieyasu forming up on the Azuchi's flanks, "He's protecting himself right now. If we're quick we will win this coup." Kain then grimaced as he said to Ogi, "You felt it too, didn't you? Our Geass suddenly turned off."
"Yeah…even mine, its back now, but…what happened there?" Ogi asked Kain, "My Geass is permanent now, yet it suddenly stopped working."
"I'm betting our dear little prince has found a way to turn Geass off somehow. This changes the strategy a bit," Kain said, "A Geass Disturber."
In the Britannian Mainland, Charles Di Britannia was watching a broadcast of the whole fiasco in China, a large smile on his face, his eyes wide open while he watched the Azuchi form, "Well done, my son, well done," he laughed out, clapping his hands, "That is the strength of Britannia. Not the piddling effort Schneizel put forward with the Avalon. That, that ship is a representation of our strength."
"I see you've gained an interest in him as well Charles," V.V. said walking out from a hidden corner.
"I've always been interested in him, he truly is worthy of being called my son. With so little, he has gained so much," Charles said, amusement in his voice, "He hid the ship from Schneizel and the Chinese well, and hid the fact it had a fifth piece even better from us. And then that weapon, the one that looks like the main weapon, its power is likely beyond everything we've seen yet….and then there is that little jet of his. S.O.A. Zero One, Apotheosis."
"The Sword of Akasha Version One," V.V. expanded the title, "Apotheosis…what are the chances it does just that?"
"A mechanism for Apotheosis?" Charles asked with a grin, "With him, almost one hundred percent. It is likely a fusion machine, designed to upgrade a Knightmare mid-battle. Seiren, Guren, Mordred, Konjiku, and Junpaku. Five suits it's likely designed to upgrade mid-battle. And it's not the last attempt, he's making it into another Sword of Akasha. We'll see one of the fusions if he joins the fray, this is his bid so he probably will join it. He's selling himself to me, proving to me he deserves to be my successor."
"I say you make him just that," V.V. commented, a small smile on his face, "You could do a lot worse. And it's good to have a backup just in case."
"I may do just that elder brother. But first, lets see what my other son does in this situation, now that he no longer has all the cards," Charles answered, "I want to see who will come out on top. And who to discard."
"Every bit the magnificent serpent, Jormungandr of Britannia?" V.V. teased Charles.
And that's where I'll end this chapter. Yeah I cheated a little bit this chapter. Well then, I've revealed the Azuchi and I've revealed what the Apotheosis really does…and I'm still surprised no one guessed it (I had so many close guesses though). Well then, now onto those questions…
1) What do you think of the Azuchi now that what it looks like has been revealed?
2) The military of the Chinese Federation is split into two here (unlike cannon) which means this is a large scale coup. Do you think Xingke will succeed or do you think the Eunuchs will go running to Schneizel first?
3) Charles is as all knowing as ever, I got a lot of answers for Schneizel being the final villain last time, and now that I revealed Charles does indeed have a nickname as well. So I want to see if anybody changed their mind, who do you think will be the final villain now?
And that's all, now press that review button before Xingke spouts off a heroic speech in your direction.
Ciao for now
Tis has been a message from your unfriendly neighborhood LunaticChaos