I hope you all enjoyed your New Year's celebrations and are ready for the new decade because I sure am. It took me much, much longer than I thought to get used to university life but here I am. So I'm hoping that chapter updates will be much more frequent then there were last year. Here's to that I can finish this whole thing with the spy and wrap it in a nice little bow in this chapter. As for the endgame of this story, I find myself seeing that that is a long time away, at the very least 6 chapters away, so at least I know this story will have more chapters then R1 has episodes.
Thristan – If the organisation was smaller than maybe he would have seen the traitor personally but as it stands right now, he's a busy man and they have an entire division whose job it is to ascertain information and interrogate spies, besides this was the first case of such so although it was surprising, it wasn't that big of a deal.
Dragonheart of Ireland – How would C.C eve know that, unlike cannon Lelouch hasn't involved her in the day to day running of the Black Knights, even if she's a turncoat(which would be the wrong term as she never swore to his cause or person), she can't really give up such info if she doesn't have it.
IS6A6E – I'm trying here, I really am and I've already thought up a situation where lightsabers will be used on a stage worthy of them but I've placed in some appetizers in this and maybe the next chapter for now.
Vein Bloodborne – That's up in the air as she is an interesting character but beyond that, I'll have to add in my own stuff to fill in the blanks. As for the other one, I don't hate Nina but she didn't really do herself favours in both R1 and 2, she has more baggage then Suzaku does and twice as unlikeable. As for revealing what he knows to C.C, Lelouch at the end of the day, is a pragmatic, cynical individual with trust issues so that's very unlikely.
Chapter 24: Power of Kings vs The Force
4th October 2020 a.t.b./3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Area 11:
Unknown location in central Japan
"Status." Zero ordered as he along with Suzaku and Nunnally walked down one of the many halls of the III detention facility. Along with them was one of the members of the staff.
"Sir, we interrogated the first one thoroughly but have not yielded any results." The office worker reported as he read through the reports in his hands. "The second on has only been with us for about three hours and although it's premature, she doesn't look like she'll break either."
"How is it that you haven't gotten any results?" Zero asked the man, scaring the hell outta him as he could tell that their leader wasn't too pleased by the lack of any good news.
"Sir, we're trying our best but so long as we stick to international law, there's only so much we can force out of them." The man answered, hoping that he wasn't punished as even though Zero was fair, no-one had really seen how it was like when he was angry and he didn't want to be the first.
"That isn't good enough." Zero countered, sounding close to a physical action if not for Suzaku laying a hand on his shoulder.
"Zero," S.K. told him to try and calm him down. "Calm yourself. We must not let our frustration and anger blind us."
"…As you say, carry on." Zero replied after taking a few moments to breathe before he turned to the worker again.
"Sir, we have already went through both their personal files and interviewed their fellow training cadets and instructors. None of them showed any signs of treachery." The man replied as he handed the reports to Zero so he could see them for himself and from a glance, he was right. Both showed no signs of this kind of behaviour.
"So they're either really good infiltrators or there's something else going on here." S.K. theorised as they came to an intersection.
"All I need is five minutes with either of them, I'll get the information." Zero said as the man quickly took his chance to leave as they turned to walk the opposite direction.
"Zero, please." Someone said as they walked up to them. "Resorting to such methods is not something we believe in." Nunnally finished as she joined the two.
"If it gets the job done, why bother the details." Zero asked them both.
"Because we're better than that, because we're striving to set an example." Nunnally reminded him, these were the moments where she knew she was needed since her brother could be too pragmatic and logical in his way of doing things, which would mean he could care less about morals and ethics at times, she would wonder if it was because of his deeper connection to the dark side or was it a result of their upbringing or some amalgamation of the two.
"Then how would you go about it?" Zero asked her as they stopped and he turned to face her.
"I have…a theory." Nunnally said slowly as she looked away from his gaze.
"Care to explain?" S.K asked to try and lower the tension between the siblings.
"Rather than forcing them to give up the information, why don't I gently probe their minds and see if I can't find anything of use?" She proposed to them both.
"Like what, surfing their minds. Mindreading?" S.K asked as he could heard of such a technique but admittedly only in the anime and manga he had seen growing up.
"Not…in that sense but rather…" Nunnally replied as she struggled to find the right words to explain her point. "Rather I'll enter his mind and observe the events leading up to their regrettable actions and see if I can't find something off."
"Is that even possible?" Zero asked as he had never heard of such an attempt from neither their masters nor the numerous other sources of force powers they had studied over the years.
"Maybe, but's it's worth a try," Nunnally responded before she locked 'eyes' with her brother. "Certainly more humane then just ripping info out of their heads."
"Fine, we'll try this your way but if it fails." Zero relented as he could see where this was going but still posed his own method just in case.
"It won't" Nunnally firmly countered before she looked over to Suzaku. "S.K., could you have then both prep? This is theory I've only discussed with the masters in passing. It'll take some time to prepare my own mind for this."
"I'll get right on that and oh," Suzaku said before he turned to walk back down the path they came down but not before saying one last thing. "Try to keep that anger of yours in check old friend, you nearly made that poor man wet himself."
"Hmph…" Zero sounded as he and Nunnally kept on walking to their destination.
(Later)
Hajime Yuko was having a bad day.
.
Scratch that, Yuko was having a terrible week.
.
.
Things are started out simple enough, he and his new unit were deployed north to attack a colonial convoy. The goal? Most likely to starve the northern garrisons of supplies.
He was so damn happy to be a part of it, to know that his efforts were not only helping to free his country but knowing that the salary-a frickin salary for God's sake-was being used to ensure his family back in his home ghetto to afford heating and food.
Joining the Black knights had been a challenge and he wanted to quit more times than he would admit in basic alone but when he finished it and was assigned to an honest to God Knightmare team? He was so damn proud.
.
.
.
It was also why he felt nothing but pure devastation right now. He didn't remember much but he remember turning on his comrades, his friends. He tried to stop, he tried! But…he just couldn't, it was like he was a spectator to an awful nightmare.
Only….he never woke up, because it wasn't a nightmare.
He killed his comrades, his friends. He nearly ruined the mission, betrayed the ideals he swore to.
And after what felt like weeks of interrogation, he just felt tired. He knew that since he couldn't give them anything that his death was assured.
There was a side of him that wanted to have that last phone-call, if only to tell his family he loved them and he was sorry but another part of him didn't want to face their judgement if they had received word of his actions, he wasn't too sure he would be able to keep it together if he had to. He was in the midst of wondering if he was going to be hung, shot by firing squad or beheaded when he heard the many locks on his door be opened before the large 4 inch steel door swung open and two guards walked in, one carrying shackles.
"Get up." The one with the shackled told him as the second stood by the door with his shotgun posed.
"Is it time?" He weakly asked.
"I said get up." The man didn't answer his question but forced him to his feet.
"Hands." Seeing no point in asking again, Yuko did as he was asked and rose both his wrist to be cuffed. Once that was done, they did the same for his ankles to ensure he couldn't do much. "Good to go." The guard told the other who nodded before sticking his head outside the door and presumably relied the message to other guards outside.
"Try anything and we'll shot you where you stand." The one with the shotgun told him as he was lead outside his cell, the door was shut behind them and now out for the first time in forever, he could see that the set-up of the place was akin to that of a high security prison, he knew from trying to plead and scream for help that each cell was soundproof but monitored by the four cameras that were installed near the four corners of the ceiling. As he was escorted by four armed guards, he could observe even more patrolling on both his level and the upper two. Another feature were the numerous gates they had to walk through that separated every 8 cell doors into mini-sections, most likely to contain any violent detainees.
He lost track of the time as he looked around at what might be his last views but was knocked back to earth when they came to a another room. This was seemed to be more welcoming then his cell but that wasn't saying much. It had a simply set-up of a bed, sink and a large table in the middle where a cloak wearing individual stood.
"We're brought him mam." One of the guards reported as they escorted him in and while two of the guard stayed outside, another two stayed by his side as the door was locked behind them.
"Thank you, you may go now." The cloaked individual said, revealing that they were female going by the soft voice.
"Are you sure mam? It may be unwise to leave you alone with the traitor." The guards asked as one of them eyed him like he was about to attack for something.
"Your worries are noted but have no fear, I'm more than capable of defending myself." The person replied, waving off their concerns.
"As you wish mam, shall we leave him in his restraints?" One of them asked. Now even he was confused, why would they do that?
"No, they won't be necessary." She replied and after a little more coxing, he found himself without his cuffs.
"Mam." And with that, both guard stepped out and closed the door behind them, leaving the two in silence as one didn't know what to say while the other seemed to be observing him.
.
.
.
"Why don't we take our seats, yes?" The women said as she walked over to her seat and sat down, before gesturing for him to do the same.
"Are you my priest?" He asked as he took his own seat, sounding weak. He was certainly not expecting the soft laughter from the women after he asked his question.
"My apologies, but no. I'm quite the religious but not in the way you would assume." She cryptically explained before she changed the topic. "No, I'm here to help you."
"Help me? How?" Yuko asked this strange women, was she supposed to be his lawyer or something?
"That would be proving that you didn't want to do what you did, nor were in control of your actions." She answered him.
"So what, you want me to plea insanity or something." Yuko said, feeling like this was going no-where fast.
"No, we're not a court where such measures would save you, what I want to do to…review if you will, your memories of that day and see if I can't find anything." She explained to him, confusing him even more as he didn't take her for the therapy type with the get-up.
"B-but how? I don't remember much from that day, how could that help me?" he asked her, a small part of him wishing to be innocent but having seen the evidence against him, he doubted he would ever walk a free man.
"That is a secret, I'm afraid." She said before she pulled down her hood and revealed her face to him but before he could act, she waved her hand in his face and spoke once more. "You will do as I say."
"I…I will do as you say." Yuko weakly replied as his mind was caught up the Jedi mind trick.
"I will put you into a deep sleep. Your mind will be open to me. You will have no secret that I cannot see." The now revealed to be Nunnally, instructed him as she kept on using her powers to place the man into a state of mind where he could answer honestly to the best of his ability as well as awaken any latent memories.
"I will be put into a deep sleep. My mind will be open to you. I will have no secret that you cannot see." Yuko replied as his eyes grew droopy before she fell asleep where he sat. Afterwards, she moved him to the bed where she laid him down and placed a seat next to the bed itself. She continued on with her session to both unlock his mind to her as well as ensure it was as painless as possible. This in of itself took another 10 minutes.
.
.
.
"What is your name, age and place of birth?" She asked him once she felt it was safe to start.
"My name is Hajime Yuko, I'm 22 years old and I was born in Choshi." Yuko replied, still asleep yet awake in some sense. A contradiction that would have otherwise scared and confused all those who didn't know of the supernatural such as the force.
"Do you have any living family?" She asked him, trying to set a baseline in the same manner a policing organisation would do to ensure that the results of a lie detector were as trustworthy as possible.
"Yes, I have twin younger brothers and an aunt that cares for them." He emotionlessly responded.
"And what about the rest of your family?" She asked, reaching into her cloak and pulling out a data-pad with his info.
"Dead. My parents died in the war 10 years ago and my elder sister was killed by one of her clients two years." He replied, his answer matched up with both his application form and the info the III dug up when they looked into him.
"Is your sister's death linked to your reasoning for joining the Black Knights?" She asked him, according to the info they had, the elder Yuko had turned to selling cocaine and cigarettes to make ends meet.
"Yes."
"How?" She asked him as she looked over the folders on the screen.
"Up until then, I was too afraid to fight. She always put us first and turned to drug dealing to keep food on the table. When she died, I joined the first local resistance group I could so I could try and make a difference." Yuko explained, baring his reasoning to her, something that was left out of his application form for what she assumed were personal reasons.
"You couldn't stand the idea of losing your remaining siblings?" She said to him, waiting for a confirmation.
"Yes, both are only 12 years old and don't even remember our parents, all they've known is hardship. I want them to know the peace that I did growing up." He confirmed for her. His goal was a noble one and certainly far better than some of the others ones she had heard but she had to press on.
"Do you enjoy your position in the Black Knights?" She asked the man, one of the reasons he could be a traitor was maybe he felt he wasn't getting the recognition he felt he deserved.
"Very much so. With the order, I'm been able to make a great difference for my people and the money I earn doing so means that my brothers can eat three meals a day and keep warm." He shot down that theory as he sounded as content as an emotionless person could be with that answer.
"Did something happen, recently that would shake your faith in the order? Were there any arguments, quarrels, fights you had recently with your squad-mates, CO?" She pressed, they needed to throw out any other justifiable cause for this if they wanted the truth and even small disagreements could lead to violent outcomes as they had in the past. Even if, those circumstances were vastly different than the one they found themselves in.
"No, nothing at all, in fact there was a rumour going around my unit that I was up for promotion to corporal." One more motive removed from the table.
"So to establish, you have no motive, nothing to gain from betraying the order, leaking info, harming allies and killing comrades?" She asked him to clarify things for the record.
"Yes."
"And everything to lose, especially since your ghetto is one of the many the Black knights don't have a presence in, meaning your siblings are not under our aegis?" She included as his home ghetto was one of those who they literally couldn't afford to offer aid to.
"Yes."
(Behind the tilted glass)
"Interesting." S.K noted as his stroke his chin in thought. He alongside Zero, Warwick and Tierra were watching the session through the one-way glass which was cleverly disguised as just another wall. Warwick and Tierra took to the whole force thing better than the others as Alleujah was still having trouble with it.
"He had nothing to gain in doing this, no logical or emotional reason to do so, especially since he has no history of mental issues or conditions." Warwick said as he looked through the monitor in front of him which
"Told you her method would work." S.K said to zero, sounding smug as they both knew he wasn't too hot about this plan of action.
"All that this proves," Tierra intervened. "Is that he had no motive, or reason. We still don't know why."
"Then let's hope she finds it then." Zero spoke as he had kept his eyes in the scene in front of them.
(With Nunnally)
"But did you do it, did you kill your comrades and disobey direct orders to stand down?" She asked him, placing the data-pad away as it served no more purpose.
"Yes."
"Was this a conscious decision?" She asked him, seeking to find anything of use as so far, they had nothing to say why he did it but they did have evidence and a confession that he did do it.
"No."
"Explain." She asked him, now they were getting somewhere.
"There was a…fog…in my mind. One minute I was in control…the next I see something on my monitor." The man tried to explain but clearly the repressed memories were not as clear as they should be, whatever did this to him was powerful.
"What did you see?"
"What did you see private?" She asked him again, this time more firm.
"A….a….chil-no….a teen." The man tried to put into words as he struggled access all that he saw and did that day.
"A teenager?"
"Y-yes…I saw a…boy I believe, he had blue eyes? Maybe, and dark greyish hair. I wondered what he was doing out there and tried to call in it but…" For whatever reason, the man paused, as if trying to make sense of what he was remembering.
"But what private?" She continued. This was good, very good. They could investigate much more thoroughly if they could just get more info to work with.
"His eye, it changed…yes it definitely changed. There was something red in his eye, I couldn't tell but it felt like he was looking me in the eye through the camera." The man voice become clearer, focused. The memories were coming easier to him now.
"And what then? What did this boy do?" She asked him, she turned her eye to the wall-window and knew that her brother was also taking notes on this, to look over later and really dig into this revealing info.
"He gestured to me…I was confused….why did he do that but….my body started to act on its own….I could do nothing, say nothing as I watched as I turned on my own men." He man said, sounding somewhat heart-broken, something she both understood and was confused about as it must have been a very strong emotion for him to be able to express in in this such of mind.
"So you weren't in control of your actions then?" She asked him again, to be clear.
"No."
"I see. Fall back to sleep." She told him as she saw his body relax as he was placed back into the force induced coma. She hoped he was having good dreams so he could escape the reality of the situation, at least for now but was also thinking about what she had uncovered. 'I need to probe his mind myself, if what he says is true…'
(Later)
"So everything he was saying." Zero started as he and the rest of the high command, bar Kallen who was still working on the Guren along with Rakshata sat in one of the more accommodating rooms of the III, discussing that they had just learned.
"Was true. I double checked Zero. His actions weren't his own." Nunnally replied as it had been hours since she finished her second dive in to the second supposed traitor to ensure everything was accurate. They would have had this meeting sooner but Nunnally needed rest after such an exhausting use of the force.
"So what was the cause?" Leila asked, eager to get to the bottom of this.
"It appears to be a foreign thought, a suggestion that was implanted in his mind. As to who implanted it," Nunnally revealed but just as everyone leaned forward in their seats, she had to let them down. "I cannot say, the how would you, aura of the caster was too faded on him."
"But on the other?" Lockon asked as they were two prisoners she had spoken with.
"It was more feasible. What I found was very troubling." Nunnally replied, the frown on her face not matching her normal mood but showing how serious things were.
"What?" Liu Mei inquired.
"It was dark side magic…or at least, close to it." She revealed, making those who understood what the dark side was freeze.
"What!" Alleujah yelled as he stood up, knocking his chair to the floor.
"How is that possible?! There shouldn't be any other force users in world." Suzaku was quick to follow, thought unlike Alleujah, he knew first-hand how dangerous magic could be in the right hands.
"…No….no, it's a possibility S.K. we are of this world, are we not? But what I find upsetting is the fact that there is a force user on world with the training necessary to pull this off." Zero said as he thought about this and came to the conclusion that he did.
"Yes, the realm of mental manipulation, even in the early stages isn't something you must do. It takes practice and guidance." Nunnally added in to give context to this and allow the lesser informed of the group to understand just how rare this was.
"So we know that our enemy has a connection to the force." Warwick spoke up before he turned to look over to their masked leader. "What's the play?"
.
.
.
"Until we can either eliminate or capture this force user, I hereby give the order to suspend all Black Knight related activity outside of the medical corps and management." Zero ordered, surprising the leadership as such a move was rather bold and if they were asked, uncalled for.
"Suspend?" Tierra repeated.
"Don't you think you're going a bit too far?" Leila asked him.
"That'll put us back days, even weeks." Suzaku said, hoping that his friend would change his mind on this.
"It's crucial that we find and fix this issue as soon as possible. Since we don't know much aside from a basic description we can't risk any more operations till we deal with this." Zero replied, his stance unchanging as he stood his ground on this. "I must speak with the masters about this, I have a feeling things are only going to get harder." He finished as he got up from his chair and left the room, soon after the meeting ended as they all went to continue their own duties.
9th October 2020 a.t.b./3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Area 11:
Tokyo Settlement:
Lamperouge Residence:
"Arg! This waiting game is killing me!" Suzaku yelled as he fell onto the sofa. It had been just over a week since the meeting in the III and true to his order, all BK activity was called off. If it could be put on hold, it was.
"I know but we must have patience, Suzaku." Nunnally said as she went about folding what must have been the 100th paper crane of the week. She had recently started doing the activity again as she hadn't done so in years.
"It's been a week already, and Lelouch hasn't been able to find a thing!" Suzaku shot back, their friend wasn't even home as he had taken a shuttle to Mars to speak with the masters in person the previous night. "For all we know, that problem already left."
"Or is just in hiding, waiting for our next move." The younger calmly countered as she placed the finished crane into the table alongside another 9 of them. "We can't afford to act recklessly, all we'll be doing is throwing away equipment and most importantly, lives."
"But if all we do is sit on our hands, what good does that do!"
"We're not and you know it! Not everything can be solved quickly!" Nunnally shot back, losing her own temper before she calmed herself down. "We know next to nothing about this agent, this…force user. For all we know they may have been sent by the Jedi or Sith."
"You don't think…" Suzaku started, the thought brought dread to his heart.
"Earth would be a prime target, all the world's nations combine would be overrun within days. And we both know that the Sith would more than happily glass a third the planet if the other two thirds fell in line." She reminded him as the Sith had enslaved over dozens worlds at this point and were in the middle of expanding that reach. "And as of late, the republic has grown more desperate. If they thought earth could be of use…they'll also send in troops." She finished as the other side in this war wasn't all that much better, at least, not to them.
"And you think the Jedi would just stand back and do nothing?" Suzaku asked, his own bias leaking out.
"That is the sad reality Suzaku, this war they've been waging against each other has already cost the lives of hundreds of millions, whole planets bombed and burned to ash." She reminded him softly, the thought of so many dying and her being unable to help them wasn't one she enjoyed. "What would be one more in a region of space barely anyone knows about?"
"Still…"
"The Jedi hunt and destroy anything even related to the dark side Suzaku. They fear it. And in their fear, they choose to destroy rather than understand. They preach balance but practice the opposite, seeking to eliminate all that doesn't line up with their views." She said as she looked down at her own hands and whispers the last part, thought Suzaku still heard it. "Which includes us."
"Shit." The man said as he lost his anger and just laid there on the sofa, the reality of it all really weighting on his soul.
"We can't just act without thinking, now when those two may be involved." She told him as she reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. The two set in silence for a few minutes but one thought came to Suzaku's mind that made him pause and then realize something.
"Involved….wait a minute, Code-R." He whispered to himself as his brow creased, they never did learn the full story there.
"What was that?" Nunnally asked him as she didn't hear him right.
"Code-R, remember Clovis was trying to find a way to immortality. And what was he using as a source?" Suzaku asked her as he got up and started to pace.
"C.C." Nunnally answered as it begun dawn on her what he was eluding to.
"She can survive things no non force related person could. If she could do it, maybe there is more to this then we know." Suzaku said as it took a second to think about and found that the entire thing did have more to it than they released to the public, partly because they didn't have the full story themselves and someone went out of their way to keep it like that. "But we'll need to ask her."
"There's no need. She's already here." Nunnally said out of the blue before she turned to the doorway. "Why don't you came out of the shadows and join us for tea, C.C.?"
.
.
.
"I'm impressed that you could tell I was here." C.C. said as she walked out of the shadows into their view. "How?"
"I'll answer your questions if you answer some of ours." Nunnally told her, not giving an answer.
"Would they be related to your little problem?" C.C. asked as she came and sat on the seat opposite them.
"Yes," Nunnally replied. "What do you know about this?"
"About what?" C.C said, playing dumb.
"Code-R what do you know about it, what were the goals, methods, reasoning?" Suzaku clarified for, keeping his anger in check.
"Don't you already know?" And once more, the green haired women played the fool.
"Don't answer the question with another question and be straight with us!" Suzaku yelled at her, not in the mood for her mental games.
"Suzaku, calm yourself." Nunnally spoke up before she turned her attention to the seemingly unfazed women. "You said that you and my brother are both things that should be impossible, yes?"
"He said that." C.C corrected as she leaned onto her side, beginning to lay on the seat.
"But you didn't disagree." Nunnally countered and even though it was a small win, she still felt proud that she was right given as the women didn't say otherwise. "What do you think of this?"
"Hmmm?" C.C sounded, not appearing to all that interested in the conversation but her very presence here showed that she in fact, was.
"You were surprised when you saw what I could do but not as much as one would if they didn't believe in the supernatural period. I wasn't the first person to do something you couldn't explain, was I?" Nunnally told her, grateful that when she recovered her sight, she spent much of her time trying to become as observant as she could be to not take for granted her newly healed sense.
'She's got a good eye, being observant runs in the family.' C.C thought to herself, impressed that this young girl would pick up on something as minor as she had spent entire decades perfecting her poker face. "I've seen many things." She eventually said aloud.
"So you do know something." Nunnally said, not asked.
"I know that you two are awfully close minded." C.C rebutted, giving them a riddle rather than an answer.
"We're the close minded ones?" Suzaku sadly, didn't get the subtle nature of the riddle but Nunnally did.
"No, I think she's right, we've been looking at this from one view. We both know that there are other…outlets." She said as she got up and went for the door. "I'll contact brother, you send out a message for a general meeting."
"Huh, okay?" Suzaku said, confused as to what she was thinking about. "What're you thinking?"
"Something that may be of use." Was all she said before he left the room and went for the communications room.
(Later – Secure communications room)
"So," Master Kaden spoke. "What was so important you had to call us?" He asked as he along with Auburna and Lelouch spoke over a holo-projection. The rest of the high command were being shown to her via numerous flat-screen TV screens outfitted to the walls of this soundproof bunker.
"I would like to know that as well." Lelouch said in agreement.
"Master, I have another theory." Nunnally said, once more voicing a theory to them but with her track record, they allowed her to continue.
"[Well then, speak child]" Auburna spoke up, though only the ones that had either been off world or were aliens themselves understood the Wookie.
"Yes master Auburna. With the matter of the force user we've suspect we've encountered. I don't think they'll the traditional force user." Nunnally voiced her opinions to the groups.
"[What do you mean?]" Auburna asked as she and Kaden locked eyes for a moment, seemingly having a silent conversation before she turned back to her pupil.
"Master, we're were planning things thinking they were either Jedi or sith but like ourselves, what if they're neither?" She proposed to the, gaining the attention of her brother and their former sith teacher.
"Oh?" Kaden spoke as she stroked his beard.
"What if they're like the night-sisters, practitioners of the force but one aligned with one side?" Nunnally suggested, in hindsight feeling like an idiot to assume the basic when her sister-in-law was of the night-sisters herself.
"Hmmm, that would explain some things, the night-sisters are far more adept with the force then the average lifeform but no so much as to match that of a Sith or Jedi." Lelouch stated as he looked to be deep in thought in the issue.
"Meaning that whatever befall our soldiers was a force spell not ability." Suzaku realized. Something that was helpful to the non-informed who could compare these 'night-sisters' to conventional witches from folklore.
"Yes but those spells used by the night sisters traditionally fall more alongside the darker aspects of the force." Kaden added in. "There's also the matter of where they learnt such a thing. We've monitor all traffic coming in and out of the system and only our ships ever come here."
"Those same ships which dock first on Mars. There would be no way a store away could reach earth." Suzaku uttered, now they knew a probable cause but not much else.
"That isn't important here." Lelouch said as he came to his own conclusion. "What is, is the fact we know have a solid lead. And if this mind-bending spell really is closer to the dark side, then I can track it to the source."
"[Are you sure? Such an activity would leave you exhausted]." Auburna asked her student. Her concern shining through even to those who didn't understand Wookie.
"Don't worry too much master, I'll still have enough in me to fight if need be." Lelouch assured her with a small smile, though Suzaku figured he'll still need to be nearby to save his ass if things went south.
"So we have a plan of action?" Nunnally asked the group as a whole.
"[Yes we do, you'll set up an attack on a Britannian convoy and Lelouch will search for the agent. Once he finds them, detain them for questioning]." Auburna instructed her three students who in turn bowed their heads and answered as one.
"Yes, master."
11th October 2020 a.t.b./3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Area 11:
Southern Fukushima Prefecture region:
"How are things in your end?" Kallen asked over the radio as she piloted a regular GINNs just like everyone else, they figured that an attack with them 'not present' would present too big a chance for the alleged witch(s) to pass up.
"Everything is going as smoothly as we expected." Suzaku answered as she cut down another Sunderland. They were attacking a small communications station in the dead of night so it looked like they were trying to disrupt imperial chatter as to follow the same theme as their convoy attack.
"Still, you really think they'll show?" Alleujah asked as he blasted apart one of the vehicle bays, now they won't have a place to store those Humvees.
"As far as we know, they're operating in northern Honshu but this isn't that far outside their comfort zone." Liu Meu replied as she aimed down her sight for her unwise target to line up.
"Yeah, and there's the fact we leaked info saying that a small unit of the BK would be attacking this communications station. Though we left out all the details." Lockon added in as he pulled the trigger at the same time Liu Mei did, heavily damaging an APC while she knocked out an IFV.
"Still, there is a number of knightmares I didn't think would be assigned to such a task, meaning that at the very least-the imperials knew we were coming." Tierra observed as he jumped on top a tank and blasted the turret from above for a couple seconds before he jumped off just as the vehicle exploded from the damage.
"We also didn't bring our personal units, as far as anyone is concerned. Zero and his top guns are not present." Suzaku joked as he blocked a clumsy and rather desperate strike before he punched the Sunderland back, damaged the head.
"How you holding up boss?" Warwick asked their leader who for nearly the entire engagement had been silent, seating in a knightmare in the rear alongside the command station.
"This would be much easier if I had some peace and quiet." The masked man replied, his tone showing he wasn't amused by the chatter. "Trying to track something using the dark side takes attention to detail."
"Hehe, sorry." Liu Mei apologised before she logged off the channel, the rest of them following soon. Leaving the man with the relative calm environment he wanted.
'Alright, let's hope her theory holds up.' Lelouch thought to himself as he closed his eyes and calm his breathing and mentally prepared himself for what he was about to try.
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'So far, so good. There are no other force users nearby.' He evenly thought as he could feel the flow of the force over the battlefield. He could hear much more clearly the explosions, the barking of orders, and the cheers of success over an opponent and the pleas for back-up. He could feel the life leave those who fell as they breathed their last. Even the nearby animals. The fleeing birds and rodents having a unique prospective of things as they scurried off for their lives.
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He didn't realize it but it took well over 15 minutes before he could sense something amiss. 'Hmmm, what do we have here? These three are acting off.' He asked himself as he could 'see' three of their knightmares moving away from the battlefield. Just before they did this, he felt a small pulse in the force. It was a slight one but its darker aspects was obvious to those who trained in the dark acts. He focused his search in the area of those three machines and within a couple minutes, he found the source.
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'There!' He thought to himself as he could 'see' the source was small humanoid body. One that the knightmares were all driving towards it. 'Looks like we found our witch. But there's something off about this.' Once he locked into it, he activated his own machine and silently made his way towards it.
"Zero, you wound something?" Warwick asked him as he noticed him moving away from his position.
"Yeah, it's weaker than I thought but its connection to the dark side is clear." Zero replied as he drove towards the source of this dark magic. "I'm going to check it out."
"We'll come with you." Kallen said as she was about to break off from the fight as it was now just becoming a clean-up operation. It would take some time before imperial reinforcements could arrive.
"No, it'll be suspicious if we all go. Stay back in case something happens. I'll disembark from the knightmare in the treeline over there. It'll be easier to move in foot." He ordered as he moved towards the treeline. He figured that he could just go through the forests but that would make too much noise and be very noticeable.
"If you say so." Kallen replied with a tone that said she wasn't happy about his decision.
"Don't worry, I'll watch his back from away." Lockon added to the conversation as he moved away from the battle to try and find a suitable position to get a good view of where Zero wished to go so he could offer fire support.
"Appreciate that." He assured her as she cut the radio as he reached the outer trees. 'Alright, here's my stop.' He said to himself as he deactivated the knightmare and got out of the machine. Once he hit the ground, he was already off. Moving to one of the trees and quickly climbing it, reaching the higher branches.
'Why don't we see where you think you're going?' He said to himself with a smirk as he started to jump from branch to branch, using the night-vision embedded into his helm to see where he was going. He also made use of the force to give himself a boost so he could go further than a normal human could while using the same power to soften his landings to make it harder for the target to hear him.
"Odd, why are they being led so far away? I can hardly hear the gunfire now." He asked himself as he was able to keep up with the knightmares but he could notice that they were moving quite the distance away from the battle, something which was off as the first two incidents had nothing like this.
"Okay this is getting weird. We must have moved like, 400m by now. How could someone sway a target from such a distance?" He questioned as he opted to get a little closer as he could still the dark magic but unlike before, it was moving. In fact, once he closed the distance a little, he could see why.
'I guess there's my answer.' He thought to himself as he could see one of the knightmares was carrying a young boy in its arms who matched the description of both pilots. 'I guess they were both right, it is a teen….no they looked younger than that, maybe 11…12?' This was quite odd.
'Okay…this is definitely not the night-sisters, they would never teach a thing to a male. But that does look like magic….force magic, I gotta get closer.' He resolved as he kept on following them. They would have to stop eventually, right?
(With the two agents)
"Is this all you could grab?" One of the two boys asked. The second had just arrived in the clearing they had agreed to meet in with three of the terrorist knightmares.
"Unfortunately, anymore and I fear someone would have noticed." The first one answered as he climbed down from the knightmare's hand. All three machines acting like dolls as once they stopped, they just stood still.
"Then they'll have to do for now. We need to speed things up, the master is getting irritated to say the least." The first to speak stated as he looked over the enemy units and even though he didn't look it, he was impressed with the workmanship seen in them. Rolo was sure their master would be pleased, but all he knew was after this, he'll just be sent on another assignment. Maybe he'll be sent somewhere warmer like Africa this time around.
"We need to get these ones back then, the sooner we can question them-the better." Reginald said as he took out his phone and was in the mist of calling their transport when unexpected voice spoke up.
"I think not."
"What?" Rolo said as he reached for his SMG, his associate doing the same and pulling out his pistol as they both scanned the area for anyone.
"I was followed? How?" Reginald asked himself as he looked through the treeline trying to spot who just spoke but they were having no such luck, till they did.
"Quietly," The figure said as they walked into the clearing, having an air of both arrogance and power. "I assume you know who I am?" Zero said as he walked into between the three knightmares, his bold actions catching them both off guard.
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"What's the matter? Cat got your tongues?" He spoke up again as he looked the two over, covertly reaching for his duel weapons. "You were so eager to whisk away my men here along with their machines. If I didn't know any better…" He started as he looked Rolo's in the eye with a gaze that made a chill move down the geass agent's back.
"I'll say you're scared of me." He taunted which proved to be enough of a wake-up call to the two as they both moved to aim their weapons at him while Reginald used his control over the three pilots to make them aim their weapons at him as well.
"The only who should be scared is you." Rolo told him, not showing much emotion in his stance and tone as he turned off the safety on his weapon. "Only a fool would walk into this kind of situation. So why don't you surrender. Our master would love to see you dead."
"I'm afraid he would have to get in line. People have been wanting to see me six feet under for years now." Zero joked, as if the numerous weapons of death aimed at his person didn't even phase him.
"Your humour won't save you, what are you doing? Stalling for time?" Reginald asked as he turned his attention to the treeline to see if he couldn't spot an ambush before he happened. The man's laughter proved otherwise.
"Me? Oh no. I came alone. This whole affair was to lure you out into the open, and might I say." Zero replied as he laughter died down. "It was a smashing success wasn't it? You're standing right in front of me, so why don't you make it easier for yourselves and lay down your arms?" He mocked as he rose both arms up, billowing his cloak while also letting them see that in both hands, he was holding something but they couldn't tell what in the light.
'What? There's no way he set up an entire attack just to lure us out!' Reginald thought to himself as he could feel his ire rising at the insolence of this terrorist scum.
"Why would we do that? Last time I checked, you're the one trapped here with us and we're the ones pointing guns at you." Rolo asked him, not really curious but willing to humour him before he was beaten and captured.
"No my dear foolish foes," Zero started, his tone dropping into the realm of scary and foreboding. His hands reaching out to the two machines to his sides. "You're trapped here with me and you just gave me ammo." He finished as he used the force to rip the rifles from the two knightmare before he threw them towards the third unit, striking its' arms and throwing off its aim as it tried to fire on him and missed.
"What the hell!" Reginald yelled as he tried to fire on the masked man but as if he knew he was about the fire, he dodged the bullets before pulling the gun out his hands towards him, once it was close enough-he slashed the weapon in half with his lightsaber. In the confusion, the three knightmares tried to use their anti-personal machine guns but he merely used the force to rip all three cockpits from their units and toss them into a pile, ensuring all three pilots were knocked out cold.
'That report! This is what he can do!' Reginald thought to himself as he recalled the report they got off him from their spy listening in to the viceroy's meeting. But the report emphasized some kind of beast illusion, not this! "Rolo!"
"Got it!" Rolo replied as he activated his geass, suspending everyone's sense of time expect his own. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zero was in fact trapped in his power as well. 'Heavens, to command such power….what kind of geass is this?' he asked himself as he walked over the man in question and took the time to inspect him. He didn't see much with the armour and helm but they were also well made and looked built for function. "Either way, it appears the master will have to see you personally to better investigate you." He said aloud as he aimed his SMG for Zero's leg so he could be captured.
"You….think…so?" Zero asked him, sounding slowed down and slurred. The fact that he was speaking was enough of a shock Rolo didn't pull the trigger, something he regretted as Zero used his mysterious power to pull the weapon out of his hands and cut it in half as well, though at a slower pace than the first time.
"Impossible!" Rolo said as he jumped back and turned off his geass, feeling the relief as his heart started functioning properly again. As he turned his power off, Reginald found that he was moving again while Zero could feel that he wasn't as slow as before.
"Oh, well that was unexpected, I never thought someone would take the phase 'slow down and smell the roses' to such an extreme." He jested as he jumped side to side and true to his own perception, he was moving just fine again. Whatever the boy did to him, it was impressive as he had only heard of force abilities that increased your own speed.
"Rolo, why is he still alive?" Reginald yelled at his long-time partner as he was used to two things happening when the older boy used his power. One, he disappeared or two, their target would be dead at their feet.
"I tried to use my geass and…he was resisting it." Rolo answered, sounding like he was just as stunned as he was which when he thought about, might just be the case.
"What, that's absurd, no-one caught in your power can even move!" He shot back at him, there must have been some kind of trick here, no-one they ever hunted ever withstood Rolo's power.
"Well, first time for everything. That was a nighty trick though. Definitely a branch of the dark side but…" Zero said as he activated both his lightsabers and started to approach them.
'Dark side?' Reginald thought confused.
"What does he mean?" Rolo asked quiet, equally puzzled by the choice of words used by the man in dark attire.
"It's so…water down. Weak, are you two really force users or just a couple of one trick ponies?" Zero asked them, mocking them and their gifts as if they were trivial when they were the blessings that gave them a leg-up on all those they had faced. Something Reginald would not stand for.
"How dare you!" He yelled as he whipped out a second pistol and took aim. "Die!"
Bang!
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"Misdirected passion…" Zero started as he held onto the throat of Rolo, easily lifting the boy into the air and he strangled him. It had happened in an instant. In the second that Reginald had pulled the trigger, Zero once more used his strange power to swing his aim off, making him miss. In the same move, he dashed towards them and not only kicked Reginald hard enough in the gut that he flew back a couple metres but pulled Rolo closer into his grasp. His strong hand finding itself gripping Rolo's neck.
"…Such a waste." The masked man finished as he turned his attention to the boy he had in his grasp, strangling him with ease.
"H-how…?" Rolo gasped out as he tried to lessen the pressure on his windpipe but his hands couldn't do so and his kicks weren't doing him any favours. He could go for his trusty knife but he was smart enough to know Zero would pick that up pretty quickly.
"Don't make me kill you, I still have questions to ask." Zero warned him, having noticed the look in his eye before he noticed something else. "Hmmm, it looks like your friend fled." He noted as he turned his head and true to his word, Reginald was gone.
"He…not my…friend." Rolo was able to get out as he could feel his body get heavier and heavier as spots appeared in his vision.
"No, I wouldn't consider someone like that any companion of mine either." Zero taunted as he lessen the pressure so that the boy didn't pass out, something Rolo saw as his chance, even if he'll regret this later.
"I won't be…captured." He stated as he activated his geass once again, hoping that the lag he noticed his Zero's movements would prove enough for him to counter but alas, it was for nought as he felt the grip on his neck tighten once again.
"Not that shit again, as I said-one trick pony." Zero said as Rolo's geass broke as he found himself unable to breathe under this even harsher hold. He had so many questions, he was so confused but before anything else. Zero decided that enough for enough.
"Now, go to sleep." Zero instructed him as he used the force to put the agent to sleep before carelessly dropping him to the floor in a pile. He looked around and could tell that the other one must have been long gone by now as he didn't feel like putting up a chase, the fool would find his way back to in soon enough he thought to himself.
'The powers you demonstrated. They are certainly more aligned with those of the night-sisters, more manipulation of the mind than anything else but…they're different somehow.' He thought to himself as he looked down at his captured quarry before he reached for his radio. It was time he called in that back-up.
"Either way, this requires further study," He said aloud as he activated his com and awaited for someone to pick up. "And you may just be my ticket."
(With Reginald)
How? How did he resist us?!
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How did he resist both our geass abilities?!
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No-one can do that, the only one who could is the mas-!
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No…..
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That's impossible…he can't be….
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These were the thoughts racing through the mind of the boy named Reginald as he ran through the forest in the dark, he feared that using his flashlight would give away his position to his would be pursuers. Once he saw Zero focus on Rolo, he cut his losses and made a break for it. He didn't know how long he run, it could have been a couple minutes, and it could have been an hour. All he knew was he ran far enough away that by the time he stopped to catch his breath, he was covered in cuts and scratched from the bushes and branches he run into and was surrounded by the silence of night. Once he got some air into his lungs, he reached for his encrypted phone, there was a call in had to make.
"Master…" He spoke once he heard the other end be picked up.
"What is it Reginald? Is the mission complete?" V.V asked him, his tone sounding bored but for someone who had worked for the child immortal for years, he knew not to take that at face value.
"No my master, I'm so sorry but we failed. Rolo's been captured." He regretfully informed his master as a few tears leaked from his eyes, his shame showing through.
"What, do you not know how I treat those who failed me?" V.V asked/stated as both knew those who failed the master and were particularly spectacular in their failings never had a happy fate.
"Please master, I can explain! Zero…he…he was there. He isn't human master!" Reginald tried to explain to his master.
"What are you bubbling on about? Of course he's human." V.V told him, sounding both amused at his pleas and annoyed that he spewing what to him, sounded like nonsense.
"No master…he's isn't! He…he was able to resist the effects of both mine and Rolo's gifts! I don't know how but Zero…he may be…an immortal as well." Reginald finally told him what the most likely theory he had for this was. It was the only possible solution he could think of, the only other one was if Zero was just a state of the art android. At his desperate claim, he was met with silence as no doubt V.V was thinking about this, turning over his words and the small amount of evidence they had in his own mind.
"Are you sure about this?" He finally spoke up, sounding much more serious than he did a moment ago.
"There is no other conclusion….he can do things….things no mortal could ever hope to do…our gifts had no effect on him." Reginald confirmed, sounding like he was calming down but still in the brink of another panic, he looked around himself and hoped that he wasn't being watched from the shadows.
"…I see…return to the safe-house and lay low for a few days, I need time to think about this." V.V said as he cut the line but not before Reginald was able to reply to the order as he thanked his lucky stars he wasn't going to be killed for this, he had chance to redeem himself.
"Yes director V.V."
14th October 2020 a.t.b./3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Area 11:
Black Knight Kanto Command:
"Were you successful?" Oscar asked as he drank some tea.
"I was, it took longer than I thought but I was able to completely purge all the spells effects from their minds." Nunnally smiled as she passed along the good news. "Once more, their minds are their own."
"And yet they still choose to leave the order." Leila said as she looked over the both members approved discharge papers.
"To be expected. Even if they now know it was not of their wish, the fact of the matter is-it was still their bodies that carried out these heinous acts, all while they could do nothing but watch." Akito replied as he could only imagine how that would feel.
"It is a sad thing indeed." Nunnally agreed with him as she envisioned such a felt and felt a chill move down her spine. "To be a prisoner in your own body."
"Yes, but that must be discussed another day unfortunately. What needs to be discussed right now is how will be proceed going forth?" Oscar brought their attention to the real reason this meeting was called.
"Yes, the thought of more of those little mind invaders running about isn't exactly something I enjoy, and now we know that wherever they come from, has a bone to pick with us." Lockon as Zero's representative spoke up.
"And just when I thought the empire was enough of an enemy to worry about." Leila muttered as she squeezed the bridge of her nose as she could already tell this wouldn't be easy by any means.
"Well, what do we know about this shadow group?" Oscar asked them all.
"S.K. and Zero are interrogating the prisoner now but he hasn't been in a cooperating mood, the III haven't been able to get a word out of him." Nunnally replied, sad that she could already predict the poor boy's fate if her brother had decided to step in.
"And that little trick of his had led to 3 different guards being injured by him in two different escape attempts." Akito added in as they had received the reports pretty quickly, within an hour of each escape attempt. Such a power was making them seriously consider upgrading their security protocols and systems.
"Meaning that if he doesn't offer anything to Zero…" Oscar started as he could see where this was going.
"He's as good as dead." Lockon finished the thought for them.
(With the prisoner)
"Alright, you leave me with no choice but to offer you this last deal." S.K. breathed out as he was getting tired with how stubborn the prisoner in front of him was being. They had already been at it for three hours and the boy had barely spoke, opting to just watch him and stick to simply single worded answers whenever he did feel like talking.
"." And just like he had come to expect, the boy kept his mouth shut. Thought that might be because he was wearing a restraining jacket as after his second attempt, the warden decided he was too dangerous not to have one.
"[sigh] Being stubborn won't help you here, trust me on that." S.K. tried to reason with him. "The deal is this: cooperate with us and you will be treated as a POW under international law and transferred to a more comfortable holding facility. Or you can keep your silence and we will extract any info from you the hard way."
"What could you do to me to break me?" Rolo asked, this being the first full sentence he had said since he awoke in his holding cell.
"The fact of the matter is, you don't exist," S.K. told him as he through his paper thin file onto the table for the boy to see himself. "Now I know you're probably know that since as a covert, off-the-books operative working for some unknown shadow organisation, having agents with to records makes sense, no proof that you ever existed makes it easier to operate. But the downside is because you don't exist, you don't classify as both a citizen to any recognised nation nor are you a registered member of any officially recognised armed force the world over." S.K started as he hoped to scare him onto compliance.
"Get on with it." Clearly he tactics needed polishing.
"It means," He said as he leaned closer to him. "That we don't have to worry about breaking any international laws or conventions as you can't classify as a POWs if you're not a citizen or member of an armed force. It means that nothing is off the table in how we can treat you and get away with it." He told him, thought personally he was disgusted with it as he and Nunnally argued against it when Tierra had brought it up but they were sadly, outvoted. "Please, I'm trying to help you, you don't know what awaits you if I walk out that door and you don't agree to this. Take the deal." He begged him, hoping that he would choose life over a meaningless death.
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Regrettably, his prays would go unanswered as all Rolo did was spit in his face, well onto his helmet but his answer was clear.
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"[Sigh] I had hoped you would listen but I see that was a foolish notion." S.K. breathed out tiredly as he got up from his seat and made his way to the door. As he reached for the knob he turned around to look at the boy who what was the last time he'll see him alive. "I hope whatever you're defending, is worth it."
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"You don't have to do this." S.K said as he walked into the observation room where Zero had been watching the entire affair without saying a word. He knew it was pointless but he still had to try.
"You can't talk me out of it, you know that." Zero told him, firm in his stance on this.
"Nunnally can get the information, you know that. What you want is-"Suzaku tried to change his mind but he found himself cut off.
"Justice, I don't know what you saw but I saw someone who manipulated the minds of others to do his dirty work. Someone who left two of our people mentally scarred." Zero cut him off as he looked through the glass at Rolo who still looked like he would refuse to work with them. But it was too late, his fate was already sealed. "Don't act like you don't know, we had to send them to different ghettos under new names because we don't have a plausible way of explaining their actions, their victims now have to live their lives seen as murderers and traitors!" He turned to his friend to make sure he understood the weight of his crimes, about how they had to create new identities for their discharged members just so they could live their lives without being harassed about what happened to them.
"But this won't bring them back Zero."
"Don't lecture me about the dead. If anyone knows that it is me," Zero counted, holding back his fury. "I know we can't bring them back but you and I both know there's a more to life than good and bad guys, they are also the right guys for the job. War is messy and there is no moral high ground in such a barbaric act, only shades and grey and what needs to be done." He finished as he made his way for the door.
"But-!"
"Look at him!" Zero yelled as he pointed to the prisoner. "Does that look like the face of a man worth your mercy? Does he look like he regrets his actions?" He asked him, knowing that the answer wasn't something the other would admit. "Does he look like he feels anything for ruining the lives of two people and killing numerous others!?" He said as he pulled his friend towards the glass to give him a closer look. "You may see a human being S.K. but I see an enemy that is neither repentant of their actions nor willing to cooperate with us and has valuable intelligence." He finished as she let go of him and made his way for the door again.
"We tried this your way now," He said as he gripped the door knob and opened the thing. "We try it my way." He closed the door, leaving his closest friend in the silence as he watched Zero enter the questioning room where Rolo still sat. Rolo looked disinterested still he was picked up via the force and harshly thrown into the wall, he looked away as he saw Zero approaching the downed boy as black lighting started to arc off his hands to the floor.
This….would not be pretty.
'You should have taken the deal' Suzaku thought to himself as he made his way out the room, he didn't want to see where this would go.
As with that, the chapter is brought to a close. This one took longer than usual for me to write as being over 10K words will do that. As stated prior, there isn't much lightsaber action here as there were other means to get the jobs done. I also tried to show more of Suzaku and Nunnally's characters they are both much more caring and humane when compared to Lelouch, they act as foils to his more brutal tactics while we see that Suzaku is of the rash character he was in R1 where as Nunnally is the patient of the two.
As for geass, I decided to make it similar to the force magic the Night-Sisters use so it fits into the story better. It's more akin to the dark side as we've seen some pretty scary geass abilities but there are others which fall more to the light side of the force. This will be explain as the story goes on so be patient. The geass Reginald has basically allows him to use others like puppets. It's not the strangest one we've seen as when the BK attacks the order in R2, one of the children is maybe to take control of one of the pilots by just looking at him and making him attack his comrades, the only difference being in this take of such an ability, you don't need eye contact and the victims cannot speak once ensnared in the geass.
As for C.C, she helped them with that riddle of hers but she also gained more knowledge on what they are doing since she was eavesdropping so no doubt word will reach Marianne sooner or later. Oh at last, I finally gave master Auburna some dialog and if you didn't realize it, like with all Wookies we hear speak, she's speaking in her native tongue, the only reason they could understand it was because those who had been to space(The force unsers) learnt the language years prior while the rest were lucky enough for the transmission to be translated by an built-in translator unit.