Stage 01 - The Day a New Demon was Born (Part 2)
Immediately then, by their will, the Jury is brought back to Lelouch's presence as they all pay heed to the crash scene once more, with something quite strange being shown right off the bat: A green sparkling light sprouting out from the truck's cargo rising and retracting like a cloud.
"What the…?" Mystified, the hidden prince himself felt drawn to the view...
"Ah great! Looks like the power line on the bike got cut in turn." He heard Rivalz complain.
"Right..." Lelouch however didn't bother much with it as the accident unfolded with growing attention. Indeed, the rest of the city's crowd seem finally took notice of the mess, grouping together over rails to watch and witness the mess. Then, like bystanders uncaring of disaster, they didn't even bother to show some empathy to try find any survivors or at least call for help outright, something that unnerved the hidden prince as he saw it, "(Tch, idiots, all of them...)" He judged with contempt.
Not willing to be the same, Lelouch just pulled himself into action, leaving his helmet and friend behind to go around the road.
"Uh, Lelouch!?"
Such act was seen and mocked by the crowds, heeling their amusement on the "student hero" that had come to the rescue, not that prince actually cared for such bland opinions. He just wanted to do the right thing, even though circumstances wouldn't allow it... In fact, unfortunately for him, the crash site was so deep and messy that the truck's cabin was lodged through several steel beams that collapsed on top of it. Accessing it was impossible, unless… Lelouch looked around and noticed a embedded chair, one that he could climb from side of the cargo, leading him to hatch gap in the top.
"Hey, can you hear me!?" He called up, glancing in the darkness below, "Hey!-"
"[It's you… Finally I have found my…]" Yet, in a bizarre and strange echo that almost seemed to pulse into his mind, someone responded.
"...!" It certainly confused the prince for a second but someone nonetheless needed aid, "(Where though...?)" His search, though short, would be abruptly disturbed however, for the vehicle, unknown to him, began to roar in action, suddenly backing up in a rush that it caught him in a surprise, "Wha-!" This throws Lelouch inside in the momentum, almost crashing his head down on the cargo's floor by the force. His only luck is that the tackle allowed him to roll his way to safety, which was a small blessing, "W-wait, I'm in here!" He cried out, hoping for the drivers to hear him...
Meanwhile, the one blue gambler who might be quite responsible for this mess carried himself down on the road, subtly dragging his dead motorbike away from the scene as to avoid being involved as much as possible.
"That guy… I know it's the right thing to do, but I wish he would quit flaunting his pride and just give it a rest for a while. We're gonna be late to school..." He frets miserably to no one in particular. Honestly, he was more like looking for an excuse than anything else...
That said, looking down for Lelouch, Rivalz could only blink a sweat at what was happening. The dust had then settled down and his friend was nowhere in sight. All he could see was the truck pulling off from the wall and moving down on a tunnel amidst the construction site… with no victims, injured or otherwise, found in vicinity.
"Huh, is that what they call a hit and run…?" He commented aloof, blinking in wonder.
Clearly, the truck and it's drivers were certainly in a rush for some reason. This made Lelouch, who was trapped inside, quickly realize that he had get out of there as something really irked him off about all of this…
"Damn. Why don't they have ladder in here!?" He first complained, checking the walls.
And to complicate things further, his suspicions were indeed confirmed to be accurate, "Stop the vehicle!" As in the next second, a shout of the police warning call echoed from outside, with the sound of helicopters putting the hidden prince into alarm, "We have you surrounded and on aim! Stop where you are immediately!" They demanded outright, even delivering a burst of gunfire to tear the street, "Give up now or we'll shoot to kill!"
Things were getting out of control and two drivers, having long recovered from the crash on their own, now had to take the brunt of the danger, "Shit, the army's here! What we're going to do now!?" Shouted the first, growing nervous.
"Have you forgotten? That's what I'm here for!" Yet, unlike himself, his partner didn't even falter. Rather, Nagata could only shiver as the girl took her cap off and moved on to take action decisely.
Little did they know that Lelouch was on their cargo worryingly judging the situation now pushed in this shoulders, "(This doesn't look good, It's dangerous to move outside as it is… My only chance is to call-)...!" However, he had but a few moments to consider his options when a sound startled him down. Hiding quickly, he peeked over a corner just as the door shutter from the truck's cabin opened, giving passage for someone to pass...
"...You can get into the subway if you go through to the ghetto."
It was a young woman, redhead, short on height but close to his own age from appearance. She walked past his spot, taking off and leaving her overcoat on the ground to climb on some cargo compartment nearby all while answering someone over what could be only radio chatter.
"Kallen, why don't we use it here?"
"Because that would cause a massacre!" She shouted out loud.
Yeah, this girl was definitely involved in something quite underhanded to scream the word "massacre" so desperately… But ignoring that though, there was something peculiar about her that Lelouch couldn't figure, "(This woman…)" She actually seemed familiar somehow, which is strange considering how dedicated his long memory is when it comes to strangers. His paranoid senses tingled, as if warning him of something he should know...
What that is though he didn't have the time to ponder on right now. The situation at hand took all precedence for his survival. He needed more details before he could act and none but the Jury could witness this with complete context, watching and listening as the army pursued the running truck with guns blazing outside.
"Target is heading south, towards the ghetto."
"Copy that! Corner 'em!"
And just when one thought they had a clear line of fire on a defenseless target, the cargo doors of the truck opened up a small gap on it's rear... only for a massive wire-guided dart to suddenly burst out, striking and exploding a whole chopper right across the window!
"Wha- A Slash Harken!?" The nearby pilot shouted in gasp, shocked to see their revealed enemy, a giant red automaton, standing with its echoing factsphere sensor glaring right in front of them, "A knightmare!"
Indeed, with a proven display of intimidation, the now recognized red glasgow jumps on the street and aligns it's land spinners to match the truck's speed, having it's full body shielding the vehicle of gunfire.
What about to happen next would be certainly deadly.
"Crap! These guys are real terrorists!" Lelouch can only feel lucky that pilot didn't even notice him amidst it's feet back there for even he knows how outmatched the army is right now…
"You brits know full well what this thing can do!" The girl flared over the hailer, dodging the panicked steam of automatic fire before jumping and slashing out a harken at their direction. Her aim was so spot on that it quickly reaped another tow among the flying units, destroying them one by one in lines that just reduced them to scrap, all in few seconds of engagement...
"The rest of you, back off. I'll take care of this..."
"!?" Her little victory however was cut short, for as it turns out, the helicopters weren't the only ones pursuing the truck in this chase. Rather, right from the smoke of the enemy's remains, a transport wing emerged into sight, carrying what appears to be another knightmare on its rear, purple in armor and visibly armed.
"I don't know where you have dug that relic from but an old Glasglow is no match for a Sutherland!" Dropping down, Kallen reacted quickly to destroy it, only to have an equal slash harken intercepting her own, "...Nor can a filthy eleven who spurns the compassion of our glorious Emperor!" Thus, standing in clear defiance to her, the Imperial struck forth in a taunt of mockery and challenge, firing it's hand-held cannon square over the red glasgow's left arm...
"Gah!" The young ace reeled in the impact, her frame being almost knocked out of balance from the shockwave.
"Kallen, we should split up!" Sensing the trouble amounting from the side mirror, Nagata expected the worse, "Both of us can't risk being killed! Get away from here!"
"But!" Just as he tried to expel her friend out, a second Sutherland rolled up over the highway where they were heading, taking a perfect position for a lining shot…
"Shit!" This forced him to turn the truck aside to survive, doing nothing to stop the overwhelming hail of machine gunfire from shredding the driver seat. As result, the front windows shattered, and massive calibers dug through Nagata's right arm almost bursting the skin off from the glance alone. The truly gritted his teeth but he did yet live, narrowly avoiding what could have been a instant death. In fact, though slightly relieved to have succeeded, Nagata could still imagine the smug face of that damn Britannian as he tried to flee...
"Simplemidded Eleven."
Meanwhile, trying to fight an fully equipped enemy completely disarmed, Kallen turned frantic when her slash harkens failed to turn and aim in this tense moment, "What!? Why now!?" She tried to push the firing lever but it felt stuck, jamming down in the spot along with her only available weapon.
"What a shoddy scrap!" This allowed her enemy to quickly capitalize on the disadvantage, charging forward with a primed tonfa all over her being.
"!?" Kallen didn't think twice then. She just quickly ejected the entire broken arm right off the enemy's face, deflecting the blow in the last second and creating a room so she could escape.
Such act of quick reflex put the Imperial in quite the smoke... it even left him impressed, even though the enemy got away, "Oh ho? Not bad." He first praised, "However..." While she might have fled him, the man still smiled to himself, confident that there was practically no hope of survival for the likes of these terrorists...
And on that line of thought, Lelouch held the same opinion, frowning at himself for getting involved in this mess for just being broodingly altruistic. He glanced at his cell phone, hoping to make a call but quickly cursed in the unwanted failure, "(Tch, no connection…)" Thus, met with a dead end, the prince sat down on a corner and forced himself to embrace an state of serene calm, working the gears of his mind as to process yet another strategy, "(...Judging from the darkness and the road surface, we must be driving along the old subway lines. They must heading for an exit somewhere in the ghetto, which cuts off any safe location for me to get out of this...)" He first thought.
Indeed, given how the map on his phone gave him an indication of what to expect, Lelouch already had something on his hands for leverage, "I see it then. The situation is rather clear." He considered, picking up the remains of the overcoat left behind by that red girl, "I don't know where the army is but I might not have any choice. If I give them this terrorist communicator, then..." He could get out of here intact.
Or least Lelouch hopes so...
"Ah, that's right… Rivalz..." All-in-all though, the Prince had almost forgotten his friend in the rush. He had left him behind, which is bad in a sense but there was nothing to be done now. Lelouch could only hope he had got out of the way of a possible interrogation from the crash they had caused. This incident is already a hassle to handle and the prince doesn't quite want to deal with the police or the military any longer than necessary.
To his luck though, while he had not clue of it, the blue gambler had long abandoned the crime scene, even swearing out loud amidst the setting sun while pitifully pushing his motorbike over the highway.
"Damn him for leaving me behind like that!" Yes, It couldn't be denied that Rivalz was truly tempted to pin this on Lelouch if he ever got the chance to confess. The bastard owes him for this...
"Urg… My communicator..." Kallen facepalmed. Now she understood how things had fit that day. In her mind, she thought Lelouch got Nagata's own since he never returned alive. What a stupid mistake.
"Hm. Say Kallen, was that your first time in a knightmare?" Gino inquired of her, admiring the way she fought a superior enemy with inferior equipment and practically no weapons. That was a harsh challenge to deal with.
"More or less, yes." The young Ace affirms, "I had run only simulations since then and I scored the highest performance rank from our group."
"Right. I can see that." Nodded the former knight. Now, he really wants to spar with her.
"Such talented girl… I'm glad Zero had the vision to see your skills. You have proven to be quite the boon." Rakshata praised, wearing a rare smile.
"A boon in the wrong side, I'm quite sure." Lloyd added in, his eyes hungrily planted on the young Ace, "Obviously you could do better... with the right equipment~ Would you be interested to test what I have?" He requests, drawing all manner of suspicious, if not murderous, stares given his choice of words.
Safe to say, Kallen was a little creeped by that, "Uh… No."
"Aw…"
Alas, interests aside, the valiant skill of what was shown in the stage there only brought sweat in the face of a certain orange knight far off an a silent corner... Indeed, he had heard the students chat there, and considering the circumstances, Jeremiah just learned he had a close call...
"(It is a good thing you were there though, young Ace.)" He reflected, hands curled into a tight fist, "(To think His Majesty was present in that very truck...)" He could only imagine the following disaster had he succeeded on his task. The horror of it... Him, discovering the prince's body among the debris, slain by his own hands. Or worse, the destruction of the truck being so through as to leave a single trace of his remains...
In one way or another, Jeremiah just couldn't bear the shame. It was undeniable here that he had almost killed his very master unknowingly.
"Hmph! And we are simple minded huh?" A mock echoes, coming from none but the resident freedom fighter far off who was still sour from his admonishment from Zero.
"Tamaki, please..." ,"You've done enough man, come on!"
His nearby buddies, Sugiyama and Yoshitaka, tried to save his ass from more troubles but his foul mouth had already done the damage. Villeta recoiled from Ohgi's arms, looking down in guilt for what almost occurred.
"It wasn't your fault. You were just doing your job..." Comforted the Prime Minister.
"I know, but still..." The former soldier had a tough time accepting it. Looking back to one's incessant pride and abhorrent behavior is no easy thing, specially with the bloodshed that she indulged into.
Fortunately for her however, a unexpected distraction drawns hers and the whole Jury's attention in next second, namely, the frozen session from where they stood suddenly began to essentially reverse in motion, warping the events back to when Lelouch had spotted that green mist pouring out of the truck's cargo...
And the reason this happened was due to no other than one of her students, Nina.
"Hmm, how odd. What was this thing Lelouch had spotted? Hmm..." She vaguely inquired, seemly unaware of what her strong willed thoughts has caused to the session itself. It took a few seconds of shock and contemplation, combined with the silence of the whole court that now stared at her for the girl to realize what she had just done...
"W-wow. We can rewind the illusion-vision-thingy?" Milly boasted forth, being the first to break the cold.
Many others experimented with this discovery, splitting the reality around them to paint and view different perspectives of what they have been already shown...
"Apparently, yes." Lloyd declared nodding along ("Neat!" Milly cheered), "But that's not all surprising, dear. Not at all." He retorted, freezing his portion of the illusion into the same scene Nina had interest on, "Given this is our evidence at hand, it should have been obvious. Now, I am curious about this light as well. It comes from the cargo… Why?" He pondered.
"We actually never recovered the stolen poison, did we?" Cecile questioned, now remembering, "What happened to it?"
Looking to Kallen and the former japanese fighters for answers, they all just blinked, "Zero had taken it." The Black Ace stated, recalling the vigilante's next grand act that relied upon meeting him, "Or at least I think he did."
Lost in the uncertainty, the Jury then stared at the man himself, some getting annoyingly anxious at the fact that everything was connected to either him, Lelouch or that cursed Witch in some way, shape or form. The reason why was again obvious, of course, but that didn't help with the clear feeling of suspicion and distrust...
"There was no poison." Suzaku declared, as to quench down their curiosity, "There was… A key, of sorts. A key to something worse." Yet, within the the mask itself, the shell-shocked japanese warrior grimaced, pondering how to explain or even handle the truth they're about to exposed of…
It can't be denied that there was no stopping the illusion now. The Jury now wanted to know. In fact, they had to. If what the Shinjuku Freedom Fighters had stolen wasn't poison, then just what in God's name was there that made Prince Clovis so bloody worried as to send his entire send his entire army down in the ghetto? What is this something worse?
This secret plagued their minds...
Their wish to know however was shortly regretted, for… "Ah-ha!" In a sudden flash, a face practically invaded everyone's personal space! ("!?") The shock on the Jury was instantaneos. It froze the illusion for a second, imprinting the man's unwanted smug in their minds before it continued ("Hehe… Sorry" The culprit apologized under the organized glare)...
"H-how did you know!?"
Either way, apparently such gasp was actually meant for General Bartley, who was confronted by this one sociopath duke amidst a military station at the foot of the imperial palace. And given the man's frowning shock, this was a problem he clearly didn't want to deal with... He had so many things to worry about that when faced with the meddling scientist, it only served to spill his real intentions.
"Ah, so I was right?"
"W-why you...!"
"Now now… It's you who screwed up here." Quite, Lloyd just accursed him with no remorse, freezing the man in how uncaring he looked. His face said it all: It was too late for punishment now, "To sum it up, something that you, alongside Prince Clovis, were researching in secret was stolen by the terrorists. And while retrieving it is simple enough, you want to sweep up every witness in one go. But to do that, you had to let the terrorists go and allow them guide you right into their hideout… Isn't that right?"
"Urgh…!" Without words, Bartley had no way to spin this off to secrecy. The Duke had already downplayed his fumble for him, something that made Lloyd's smile go wider at his conforming reaction.
"Congratulations! Your deductions were on spot." Shouted the Duke behind, praising the very presence of his assistant, Cecile, lurking by.
"I-It was nothing. I just thought it was strange…" The woman shyly recoiled.
"Enough!" Nevertheless, this undoubtedly left the General angry, "What do you want out of this?" He demanded to know, now forced to buy the man's silence lest more headaches stroll into his way...
"As I was saying before, I'd like to help with your endeavor." Lloyd proposed, triumphant.
"Help?"
"Correct. I want data from the cleanup." And pointing around, the scientist gestured towards the hundreds of vehicles and knightmares flowing into formation, one of them being his own truck, ready to bring war to the terrorists as intended.
"..." This made Bartley pause for a moment to realize the implications of this. Data… He wanted combat data. It makes sense given the role of the Engineering Special Corps is in experimental Knightmare frames, but is that really all of it? No bribes, no power plays or anything to add to his pockets? The General stood speechless. He considered the offer for a second but remained wary of the Duke's hidden intentions.
"Excuse me but, what in the world have they just stolen anyway?" Cecile asked curiously.
Glancing at her, Bartley's eyes twitched. If they don't know, then that's at least one problem less, "A chemical weapon… Poison gas." He answered nervously, going with the official lie. Considering how he was still cornered there, It is better to just pull these two in tow now and handle the fallout later. If anything, he could hunt them down for this impudence...
With this decision done, the grand operation could finally begin, much to the duke's happiness to join. Britannian forces in the region would soon begin an encirclement of the Shinjuku ghetto, with a large blockade in the planning. Tanks primed their guns across the quarters; soldiers moved in to obstruct the streets; and waves of planes glided from above, dropping several squads of unarmed troops into the ground, these being the infamous Honorary Britannians in their ranks, former numbers that now decided to serve the grand empire.
Their target? The location of the stolen truck, which now crossed the maze of tunnels below the destroyed remains of Tokyo…
"...The terrorists are hiding inside the subway system. Your mission is to locate the weapon they've stolen and investigate whatever tunnel that these elevens live on in the ghetto. Report in as soon as you spot them. From there, recovery of the target will be handled by the royal guard. Don't forget this: you people may bear the title of Honorary Britannians but were originally born as Elevens, therefore the stench of these monkeys should be familiar to you all. If you want to earn the right to carry weapons then show some results! This is a opportunity to show your loyalty to Brittania!"
"Yes, my lord!"
And frightened to all of this, the poor civilians that lived in the surrounded area only shivered in fear as faceless soldiers intruded their midsts, barging and entering every home they could find. Tensions were rising and the outcome of a skirmish was on the verge of sparking, with every soul praying for some salvation so that they would escape the incoming bloodshed…
Safe to say it, the display of the Britannian military strength did leave quite the image to the Jury as a whole. They had a similar experience once in Lelouch's infancy (discounting the real deal of course), but to see that imposing image of the invasion again still scarred some hearts.
"Wow Lloyd, that's quite was the act there. I didn't know you could be so… persuasive~" Milly commented, admiring somewhat the bold attitude of the flimsy scientist facing a known General.
"Well, I have my ways to keep face. (Namely by being a full blown sociopath.)" The man asserted in a mild reaction. His indifference was the key to it. Granted, Bartley doesn't have that kind of flair or charisma to appear as someone truly intimidating. The man could do well with some work out.
"Did you get into trouble for that though?" The girl continued, making him glance, "I mean, obviously with how of that ended up I'm sure that must have put you into someone's crosshairs." Milly clarified, trying to image the usual outcome of Britannian intrigue. This was like a big scoop for her after all, a secret meant to be recorded and spilled.
"Hmm true, you do have the right idea but fortunately for me the higher ups had more things to worry about. General Bartley did quite disappear after that so in the end I was mostly ignored..." The good scientist responded, much to girl's slight disappointment.
Listening in to their conversation though, none but two had actual inclination to possibly guess what Lloyd words actually meant. Indeed, Cornelia and Jeremiah silently frowned among themselves. They both knew what became of the General's existence. The princess learned this way back when she hunted for the truth of geass while Orange knight didn't have a choice really, he was but an experiment to false masters as they turned him into a weapon.
Regardless however, the point remains that Bartley was the one they both know the end of. He was the one Cornelia had cornered on after years of pursuit, and although Jeremiah was fine the gruesome reality of it, the things she uncovered there… It casts quite the shadow into what she's seeing now in this session.
If anything, the desperation of Britannia is now quite apparent. The sight of the giant planes looming over the broken ghetto did not appeal l well to the Jury's overall mood in the slightest, which made things worse. The way their existence is often accompanied with an image of dread and despair reminded them of what old Empire was capable of, not to mention what they had wrought to the world as consequence…
Tianzi for example shivered alongside the cowering families as the soldiers descended, for even back in the Lelouch's past, the image of that local town burning under flames was still imprinted in her mind vividly. And hearing how that man behind the radio lectured and disciplined his own troops with such cold disgust in his voice, the young Empress of China couldn't understand how these things came to be, or how can someone bear such hatred for another… It is too frightening for her.
But she would not falter, not when her title demanded her strength. She is a Empress, and a Empress had to be strong, "Urgh..." Or at least try to...
"You're okay, Jiang?"
"Oh? A-ah yes! Yes I am!" She boasted, more to herself in fright, than to her friend Kaguya who just smiled. Somehow though, Tianzi could just see that her friends was snickering at her face, making her pout at it. Little did the Empress knew however that just this little interaction was enough to make her forget about the frightening scene that moved on to show in the illusion. She felt inspired to watch now, if only to prove her friend Kaguya wrong.
Either it will work or not however, It has to be seen...
Brought into scene, the truck was back on the center of it all, driven by a bleeding Nagata that barely kept his conscience going due to the grievous wounds he just couldn't treat. He didn't knew for how long he had been driving in these tunnels but at very least his pursuers were no longer on his tail. Somehow, Kallen managed to steer and lose them, making this the one good thing they had so far.
That said, he was far too injured to keep any attention to the road, so when a wide gap in the road appeared, there was no chance for a dodge this time. Thus, in a bumpy crash, the truck was halted on spot as the wheel got stuck in the ruined pavement, grinding but unmoving...
"Damnit..." Nagata cursed, feeling his conscience slip from the impact. He had no choice now, "Please Ohgi… Find me..!" He urged on, doing the only thing he could: Flip the switch to open the cargo walls before falling unconscious.
Meanwhile, Lelouch, startled by whatever that caused the truck rock, frowned, "(An accident? Or else?)" He could only speculate. Chances are it was former though given the noise of the truck's wheel scraping the ground outside. Once it stopped however, the prince broke in a sweat, specially when the side door suddenly opened. Thinking quickly, he moved on to hide and observe, already expecting some company to appear.
Unfortunately for him, that didn't mean he wasn't as unnoticed as well he wanted to be…
One of the faceless soldiers of Britannia, lurking in this particular section of the tunnels, spotted the truck in the distance with his high-tech visor. Unimpaired by neither darkness nor range, his magnified sight eventually caught wind of the exposed cargo that was their target. Thus, with his objective located, he did as ordered, tapping into the communicator in his uniform to report in.
From there, the response above was immediate, "4-0-4 has found the target."
"Understood, all forces prepare for recovery!"
What came next though left the soldier on edge. Seeing the alert sign flash on his visor, he quickly located a unidentified individual crouching down in a corner near the target itself, presumably an possible terrorist tickering with the bomb. That is dangerous. If the enemy fiddled with the sealed poison now, thousands would be dead in its wake. In other words, he had stop him!
So, caught unaware, Lelouch had but a split second to react as a flying spinning kick coming from an impossible angle slammed into his barely raised block, throwing him off his feet to the ground from the force alone.
"Argh!... A-a Britannian…!" Groaning, he looked up only face the soldier pressing on his chest, grabbing his throat around the collar of the clothing to immobilize him down.
The man's mask around the mouth then dropped down only to shout, "That's enough mindless murder!" In a dread accusation.
"Wait! I'm not-"
"I can't believe you people would use poison gas! Are you insane!?"
And Lelouch, knowing how he was not going to convince the man from this position, winded up a kick, "Gr, get off me!" Forcing the man to jump back in a recoil right into a fighting stance, "I was not here by choice!" He told the soldier angrily while standing up, "Besides, this IS a weapon made by Britannia, right!?"
"W-what? You..." Yet, in a unusual reaction coming from his dreaded countrymen, the soldier froze on spot.
"If you wish to stop mindless murder, then why not just obliterate Britannia!?" Lelouch pressed on, staring into the enemy's visor with all the anger and wrath he had long subdued. If shock and awe of this declaration was enough to stun this puppet of a soldier, then perhaps there's still a chance he could use a lie to escape this mess. This is what the prince silently thought through this.
"Lelouch?"
"...!?" However, if there was one thing he wasn't expecting for was his name to be called…
The soldier, taking off his visor, revealed his face, appearing as none other than his old friend, a ghost from his past childhood, "It's me, Suzaku."
"Wha-!" Truly, such discovery put Lelouch into stupor for a second, with memories of joy and horror flashing across his face. Suzaku was alive! Alive and well! This... This is good, he reasoned. It really is... But still, for all the moments they had long spent together before, for all the good times they shared on, finding his friend dressed in cohorts with his most hated nation… It baffled the prince on spot. He had to ask, "You… You became a Britannian soldier?"
"Yeah." Nodded Suzaku innocently, flinching from the sudden frown Lelouch quickly displayed. The anger was explicit and it didn't take long for him to reason why. Considering how they met here of all of places, this was something he couldn't ignore. After all, he is a soldier on a mission, while Lelouch was found is here... on a truck that now belonged to the terrorists, which means, "What about you? Don't tell me you're-"
"What are you saying-"
Yet, in middle of their reunion-turned-interrogation, a light suddenly disturbed their confrontation, bursting out from the sealed container that supposedly held the deadly poison gas. Out of nowhere, the clamps and pumps that kept it's contents closed and pressured just detached themselves for some reason, giving room for a massive array of rainbow light to invade the entire cargo where both teens stood.
"!?" Suzaku, already realizing the worst, primed into action first, forcing the mask he was wearing for protection right into the mouth of his best friend in a attempt to save him. This ended with both of them being pushed into the ground just as the container fully opened…
And what came out of it was not any chemical weapon that they had known of. Actually, it revealed a blinding core whose center wriggled with motion and life. Indeed, in a bizarre display of pristine existence, a silhouette rose from a crouching position, waving its green hair into view as it belonged to a bright young woman.
"It's not poison gas…?" Uttered Suzaku, looking confused. He continued to press the mask into a equally bewildered Lelouch but it appears nothing malicious seemed to occur. The soldier himself just breathed fine.
"..."
"..."
Seconds pass, and the recently woken being stares at them, causing whatever core that held her in to pop open, spilling it's liquid contents down. The woman then fell unconscious, her existence still a mystery to the two of them…
This string of revelations once again shook the jury on their core. Just the sight of Suzaku, the real living breathing naive Suzaku, being the one Lelouch would meet of all honorary britannians was quite the surprise, not enough for some to freeze the illusion really, but still something contemplate. And then C.C appeared… C.C, the very Witch herself, the cargo stolen by the Shinjuku Freedom Fighters, the one key that Zero had mentioned...
Well then.
"Tch, Clovis you fool!" Cornelia shouted, unable to contain her grinding teeth as she slammed the unbendable iron of the truck's surface at this shameful revelation. To think that even her pompous brother was involved in the curse of geass… it just left her livid. Isn't there anyone in her cursed family that isn't irredeemably stained!? Cornelia doubted much… Aside Lady Marianne and some few others like Nunnally, something in her gut said no. They were all raised together in such horrible way that there could be no denial of it, the bad seeds were planted everywhere!
"Your highness…" Even Guilford, seeing his beloved and superior react with such anguish, could barely handle the sheer expression of betrayal imprinted in the Princess-Regent.
"(...I wanted to believe you were clean, Brother. I even FOUGHT in your name and sought to avenge you! And even then, you had to dabble in this horrific crime!? What am I supposed to believe now?)" There was no answer to bear.
"C.C… Big brother… How…?" Truly, Cornelia's big recoil wasn't missed by the rest of the crowd. Nunnally too had her mind filled with questions. Suzaku had told them of this. He told everyone of how there was no poison. But even then, finding C.C here in this place, once at Clovis's custody was indeed was something the Britannian Empress couldn't ignore. Although, Nunnally has long began to doubt the immortal was a friend to begin with, the way disaster always seem to follow her around struck the brunette girl with a terrifying thought: Could she be the cause of her Brother's fall, of her family even? The many clues presented so far seemed to suggest much on this… Even though she doesn't want to believe.
"Now isn't this revealing?" Xingke commented, eyes narrowing, "The key to something worse… How poetic, Zero."
"Hmph."
"So this is a confirmation then? C.C is the source of our troubles all along..." Todoh pondered, reading in between the lines, "She is the one who manipulated both Lelouch and you."
"...To a minor extent, yes..."
Given the vigilante's grumbling answer, this alone cast shiver in everyone's spine, "How troublesome..."
"Wait, wasn't she in Britannian custody to begin with?" Kaguya suggested, her face turning fairly serious, "She was trapped in a container that belonged to a Britannian facility..." She revealed, passing the impression that this might be the one moment from whence C.C started to bear the grudges against Britannia.
And considering this is when she happens meet Lelouch now, the following implication was pretty much clear to rest of the Jury.
"Did you know of this?" Ohgi asks his wife, looking for answers in vain. Villetta did say her job was to find C.C yes, but not to recover her. There's a big difference between the two.
"No, and I don't think anyone ever knew of this back then..." The Britannian affirmed. She did try to calm her husband down though, not that it was working. The Prime Minister was quite shaken by this discovery. Who would have known that the secret Naoto had died for was C.C all along? The thought is unnerving...
"Well, then what do you know of, Britannian?" A soul confronts the tanned woman, spite spilling from her tone, "Can you, or us for that matter, even trust in your own memories?"
"Chiba!"
"I'm sorry Todoh-sama but I can't dismiss this! Everything that is touched by that Witch carries the scent of geass in some shape or form, and the Britannians had her under their whims for who knows how many years! How can we trust them to not be influenced by the same malignance that created the Demon Emperor and that father of his!?"
The accusations from the holy swordswoman opened a scar in Villetta's wounds, "I..." She couldn't quite answer the inquiry without remembering her own disabled memory, with lapses of loss barely flickering through. To this day the effect of geass haunts her still… Which only served to put her into mute shock.
"We have been through this discussion before." Xingke came in her defense, "It is pointless to argue on it. If there was any vestige of power, unwillingly or not, planted in the Britannia's hands, it would have become notorious during the war. In fact, victory would be more than guaranteed if that was the case, specially if they had control of it." He expressed forth, calm and direct.
"How do you do know they didn't use it then?" Chiba retorted, "Lelouch certainly used his to create those false miracles of his but what about the rest of Britannia? All those victories they wrought, all the massacres… You cannot deny this possibility."
"That's not the point, I'm not denying it, I am but stating a fact. Despite all odds, victory was granted to us regardless and not from Britannia's actions alone. Lelouch killed his father, and in turn, was himself slain. This is proof that C.C may have at least acted against tyranny to some minimal degree, independently from who bears the power. It may have been due to revenge, or even to prevent another mistake from happening in Lelouch's case, but that Witch has influenced history enough to have it go in our side when we most needed, and that's something even you have to agree… Unless of course you think willpower alone can defeat the might of geass."
With his argument presented, Todoh's subordinate reeled in her anger, trying to challenged the notion of his proof, but not find the right words, "Grr..." She had to concede to the last point, for that was a truth she couldn't deny. Not matter how much she would have wished, will alone isn't enough...
"..."
"So... Where do this leaves us, sir?" Xianglin inquiries, trying re-align herself in context of what is this all about.
"The Britannians can't be blamed for they cannot control... Not when their leaders were the one who brought this to themselves." The chinese advisor declared, looking directly at Chiba, "They have played with what they shouldn't and have paid the price for their creation, something we all have lived with and fought through, so let's not get our emotions out of hand. We're here to just see what that creation was... The Demon of Britannia." The man declared, directing all eyes back into the scene at hand, frozen illusion of Lelouch...
Indeed, now that they could see it, the pieces begin to fit, much to the dread of the Jury at hand, who watched the still innocent form of fallen prince starting at an unconscious C.C. The only question that remains now is: How it will happen? How will the Demon be born?
The Jury can only stop talking and see it for themselves...
Their will however brought them elsewhere, in another section of the ghetto right where an antenna peeks out of a hole in the ground to catch and pass along radio signs from all around the quarter. Quite, in a strange change of pace, the Jury could only glance as said antenna from the resuming session belonged to certain red glasgow in hiding, one who was primed with its factsphere ready to check for any presence in the region. And the pilot? That fighter girl that manage to outrun the imperial? She was present in her cockpit, slouched back to rest and contact her brethren now that she found some safety…
"Sorry. In all the confusion, I've left the radio in my coat." Past Kallen expressed, answering someone from the comms.
"It's okay, the glasgow's circuitry are usable… " Came the recognizable response from Ohgi, "So, are we right on the plan?"
"Yeah, I bet it's poison gas like our intelligence said." The girl suggested. It had to be given all the hassle amounting outside.
"And Nagata?"
"I dunno. I think he made it underground." Or at least, Kallen wanted to believe that much, though she left it unsaid… Then again, with the army now in play, they risk getting way too much attention the longer this goes on. Surely, It's clear now that some among them would come unscatched from this mess. In fact, if knightmares are rolling free on the field, it's hard to imagine Nagata escaping so easily...
Such thoughts however would prove to be more accurate than she would have wished since her teammate was indeed trapped on the truck down there, seemly unconscious from all the blood loss that he suffered. His on fortune is that his presence was barely noticed or recognized by the two youngsters that now walked away from the cargo, carrying that mysterious girl in their hands. At this point, there were too many questions to ponder on for them to ever bother the sleeping driver on the cabin.
This leaves the then alone once again, forced to handle whatever mystery they just stumbled into.
"Tell me truth, Susaku. The poison gas, this girl… What's happening?" Lelouch demanded first, attending the damsel gently while his friend removed the white straitjacket out of her body.
"It's what they told us in the briefing. I just don't know." The soldier answered in innocence. This blatant disinformation they have been fed with seemed quite suspicious, even for Suzaku.
"..."
Who is she? Why was she there? Why did the terrorists stole her? And from where did they stole from? These and many other hundred questions sprout simultaneously in Lelouch's mind as he tried to reason a clue, something clearly put him into a state of worry. Indeed, what he came up with didn't help him feel good, specially with what his friend just said.
The prince was about suggest something when fate intervened, with a flash of lights flaring out, coming right from the corner of an entrances as to illuminate the tunnel!
"...!?"
Without them even noticing, the two are met with an entire squad of royal guard foot soldiers standing in front of a land vehicle, all armed and primed at them, led by single beret-marked individual that adorned the same red uniform of his men...
"You damn monkey..." The leader cursed, with unfolded anger just from staring the situation, "Being an Honorary Britannian doesn't excuse you of what you've done!" He accused, bearing a tone of immediate reprimand.
Realizing his mistake, Lelouch's friend didn't exactly know what to do outright. Rather, given their sudden reaction, Suzaku reflexively stood to face his officer as to report his actions, only to be met with immediate discipline...
"B-but sir, I was told the weapon was poison gas."
"How dare you question orders!?"
And watching all of this, Lelouch grimaced on sight, "(This is bad…)" With just the little he had heard from the officer's tone, he immediately understood the underlying intrigue he had gotten himself in, "(The clear misinformation, the overwhelming response, and the presence of the royal guard… Suzaku, it all ties to this… this is girl IS the poison, one so deadly that it threatens the life of your superiors if it even gets out!)"
Yes, this is what he deduced. It had to be a state secret of sort, something so dangerous that the terrorists didn't have the slightest clue when they settled on to steal it. Which means, they'll execute anyone who ever comes in contact with this girl...
"Private Kururugi, in light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient this time." The office affirmed, unholstering his own pistol in offer, "Take this gun and execute the terrorist."
Such demand served only shock Suzaku and startle Lelouch as his fears proved to be true once more, "But he's not a terrorist! He's a civilian who got caught up in all of this!" His friend tried to cover for him there, but he was too blind on how bad of situation this was.
In fact, his words only made things worse given the sudden frown on the man's face, "You little…! That's order! Didn't you swear your loyalty to Britannia!?"
"I… Yes... yes I did, but… I can't." Suzaku however resisted, unable form the words to explain himself and fulfill his oaths.
"What?"
"I cannot do this, sir… I cannot shoot a civilian. Not him..." He refused. After all, Lelouch was his friend, his only friend. Suzaku could never find the will in his heart to kill him. Not like this. Plus, he also couldn't of course just explain the reason why, for that is secret too dear to the prince himself. It is a promise that no one was supposed to know, no matter the risk or punishment he may suffer...
Thus, the office then, very slowly and very calmly paused, "Very well..." He first said, just as the hopeful Eleven turned to face his friend with a smile, "Die then." He declared next, right before shooting him right around the hip.
"Gah!"
"Suzaku!"
The bullet put the young man down, his body laying cold on the ground just as Lelouch screamed for him.
"Well Britannian schoolboy, this really is not a day to skip class." Mocked the officer at an shell-shocked prince. At this point his job was practically done now, "Collect the girl and kill the student." He gave his final order and then turned around to leave the rest to the remaining soldiers.
"Yes, my lord!"
Helpless, Lelouch realized rather quickly that this might be the end of the line for him…
His mind worked in overclock as to create any plot he could use to save himself, be it by handing over the girl; by using his duke persona as excuse; or even by revealing his royalty status, all of which was quickly denied and blocked by thought-of complications, a side effects from not having the time to think. Truly, he couldn't even he mourn on his friend, cornered as he was, after this batlant checkmate cast on his table. It was over, the men would just shoot him and there was nothing he could do...
Or at least, he believed so, until the truck behind him spontaneously exploded...
And of course, who wouldn't flinch in complete surprise to such abrupt disruption of a dramatic event? The Jury most certainly was caught in the edge of the scene, specially given the sudden turn of events by the appearance of the royal guard and resolution of Lelouch's fate...
"Well damn! Right through the gut..." Rivals recoiled, grimacing from the shoot his friend just took.
"Actually, that was through the hip." Nina corrects, also showing some disgust in her face.
"Is there any difference?" He retorted, shaking the head. This makes him regret even more having sparked this incident back in Highway. Just how bad will this go because of that!?
"S-Suzaku…" It even put Nunnally into shock again as the poor girl screamed for friend's name in the same vigor as her brother did when the shot happened. If it wasn't for the man's real presence behind her the brunette would certainly cry tears, and that's not even counting the explosion there...
"I don't get it though, did the truck just… explode?" Questioned Gino, mentally rewinding the scene back a few seconds to see it again. It indeed, exploded, but without a single discernible cause by the looks of it. No sparks, no flames, no obvious leaking fluid anywhere. No, it was only the explosion, "Okay, I do have to ask this: Did you guys rig the truck to explode?" He inquired from Kallen who identified with the terrorists.
"Uh... Yes?" She answered, sheepishly.
"Why though? Weren't you guys just planning to ruin the Viceroy's popularity or something?" Milly interrogated, a bit shaken. She just saw two of her old friends get shot and blasted right off the bat there.
"Well yes, that was the plan, but we also couldn't let the Britannians have their poison back." The redhead answers, irked, "My brother died for this secret you know! We couldn't let them get away due our own failures."
That however didn't help with the reporter's anxiousness, "Right, but even so, If that thing actually was poison gas like you suspected, what would happened then? I mean, would you just let… I-I don't know, hundreds of people, of japanese, to die just like that?" She points out, striking a nerve. As far as she remembers it, this was the cause for all the encirclement that had occurred, and that not to mention C.C's appearance, which is another confusing thing.
In either case this certainly deconstructed the red ace there, "W-well, no we wouldn't, that would be…" Bad, Kallen would say, even though the correct term should be massacre, much like she previously rejected. But of course, there was no way to downplay what Milly just implied. The redhead knew well the possible consequences of what may have happened there if their intel was true…
"..." As result, there was only tension and apprehension left between the school council. They had so much to ask about this, as well about that green girl… Yet they just didn't know how.
"Redundancies, my dear! This is the way of war." Alas, breaking the ice through, Lloyd came to the rescue, strangely eager than usual, "The poison had come out in one way or another, so your terrorist friend over there had planned for that, if only to not waste their partner's sacrifice." He affirmed, drawing a bit of sullen contempt from Kallen herself, "Either way, His Majesty was sharp in his assumption of the girl. That C.C is practically a price by itself... enough to wage a massacre on top of it."
"So she's what General Bartley and Prince Clovis were looking into… How horrible." Cecile judged, aggravated. All of the bloodshed, all of the war, the revolution and the rise of Zero, just for this. Such realization really served to provoke the usually kind scientist that she is...
"Hmm, good thing none of that poison was real though. Less of a hassle. But I'll say, that explosion still was really close, and somehow both Suzaku and Old man survived." Rakshata comments, pulling everyone back to the scene, "Jow did the escape all of that?" She asked next.
"..." No one had the answer outright. They knew the conclusion but not the procedure. The explosion might have acted as cover that Lelouch could use yet to what extent he will escape from his situation? The Royal Guard is still there, fully armed and loaded; Suzaku is wounded and knocked out; and there is the entire army of Prince Clovis encircling the ghetto on the surface. Unless C.C wakes up and works her magic out, the fallen prince will need a miracle just to survive.
And everyone knows how those things work out…
In one way or another, the Jury's apprehension was unending. Lelouch's infamy was about to rise, and they all dreaded his rise as they willed the illusion forward once more...
To be Continued...