Alright, my writer's blocked cleared the other day and I've been able to get those creative juices flowing. I been having this chapter planned for a while now and I hope that it'll be over 9.5k words. I also just happened to finish S3 of Attack of Titan and by God, it was wonderful! That was how you kill off characters and win the battle! Shame bout the beast Titan, that son of a bitch can't just take him lumps like a man and die, can he?
Tf330129: I will, as I've said in the past. This story will have a sequel once I've finished it.
Vein Bloodborne: I try since I always try and look at the flow of things in the story, I never did like stories that just rushed elements of itself for plot convenience.
Blaze1992: If you are referring to me-that hurts. If you are referring to the antagonists, oh yes they will, they will all feel the flames.
Murraymint835: I wasn't shooting down your proposal as he just needs more than just romantic feelings for his love life as he was raised in an environment where political marriages are common and completely normal. Hell, I don't even think he was against his brother Odysseus marrying Tianzi for the more ethical reasons such as the huge gap in age(since she was like what, 14?) but against it because it negatively affected him. I say this was his father was 24 when Marianne was born(I'm surprised that neither of his elder siblings didn't make their bastard of a father a grandpa in cannon), we know she gave birth when she was 20 meaning that they must have had some sort of relationship prior to this.
Chapter 27: The Revelation
30th October 2020 a.t.b. /3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Somewhere on the North American East coast:
"Reginald, this had better be important." V.V said over the phone as he sat on a private train heading somewhere unknown.
"Yes master, I can assure you that it is." Reginald said over the phone as he stood in his apartment safe-house in the Tokyo Settlement.
"Well spit it out." V.V told him, rather impatient with this farce of an operation. Honestly, he was used to having his mission completed within days.
"Sir, while on my assignment here in Area 11, I opted to do some intelligence gathering in the ghettos." Reginald reported but he found himself cut off.
"I already know this, you filed your report yesterday, unless you have something of substance-" V.V told him as he had already read through it. It was rare of terrorist to care for more than fighting. It did tell them that Zero and the Black Knights are more resources than originally believed.
"Yes sir, I do. I swear it!" Reginald cut in, pleading as he knew that his life may very well be on the line.
"If what you have for me isn't good, you regret interrupting me." V.V warned him with a displeased frown on his rather young face.
"Sir, I was able to find out that the Black Knights are holding some kind of rally in three days' time." He heard his agent report to him as he looked out the window of the luxury cabin he was seated in. the snow was already setting in here.
"A rally?" V.V asked him. Now that wasn't something you hear every day.
"Yes, some of the elevens in the ghetto were taking about it but they spotted me before I could get more details. I do know that it'll be held in the Saitama Ghetto." Reginald replied as he had come into that juicy nugget hours before, he would have gotten more if he wasn't made. Turns out the ghettos are pretty xenophobic of white people.
"Interesting, so Zero thinks he can rally the numbers to his cause, does he?" V.V thought to himself aloud as this was a new development. If they could use this to their advantage. "Can my niece deploy anything there?"
"I'm afraid not. Saitama is away from most Britannians sites so the numbers would be sure to spot them coming a mile away. The ghetto is also a lot like Shinjuku, meaning Zero would have a somewhat easy time defending it." Reginald replied as he had a feeling that was the reason it was chosen. Far enough away to be relatively safe but close enough to Tokyo to still be considered a thump to the nose of the colonial government.
"Airstrike?" V.V asked as he knew that his niece had been ordering more air patrols to make up for their ground forces' blunders and had even requested an additional 35 gunships from area 10.
"That would take some time as I don't know how to fly so I'll need to get someone else to do it for me. It would be more favourable to ask the viceroy to send one in." Reginald replied, disappointed that he never learned how to fly as it would be a good skill to have right now. V.V was about to hang up and be done with this conversation when a thought came to mind which caused him to freeze for a second to consider it.
"On second though….delay that last order." V.V ordered.
"Master?"
"Zero might not even show up, not if he knows we can just bomb him from above." He reasoned as he didn't want to show their hand just yet. "I want you to sneak in and find out what you can. The more we know about this masked fool, the better. Oh and, don't tell Cornelia, she doesn't have the patience for these kinds of things." He finished his command as he figured that they will need to learn as much as possible about this unknown immortal. If things go well for them, they may even be capable of capturing him, then they won't need that pizza loving witch anymore.
"Yes master, is there anything else?" Reginald asked his master.
"Nothing, just be on the look-out." He replied before he hung up the call and gave the phone back to his assistant who had been standing next to his seat this whole time. "Zero, you are certainly shaping up to be quite the pain in my side but," He said to himself, to quiet for the assistant to hear as he voiced his thoughts.
"No-one will get in the way of Charles and my dream. No-one." He finished as he felt his grip on the seat tightened in anger at this continued annoyance on the other side of the pacific. "Perhaps I should inform Charles of this, he may have a plan of action."
31st October 2020 a.t.b. /3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/ Sol-#
Area 11(Japan)
Tokyo Settlement
"We need to talk." Suzaku said as he along with Lelouch and Nunnally all but barged into C.C. room. The girl herself was still in her nightwear while he ate some pizza.
"About what?" She asked, not really caring that they were seeing more skin then usually, though it brought some satisfaction to her when she could pick up the two males blush a bit and look away.
"How about…V.V." Lelouch said, the name surprising her though she did her best to hide it. How they know about him? "So you do know of this character." Apparently she wasn't good enough to hide that shock.
"It is a name I've heard before." He answered without giving them a thing. Something that was angering the dark haired rebel.
"Don't play games because I am in no mood for them. Why didn't you tell us about them?" Lelouch got down to the point of the conversation, though he was a couple hundred years too early if he thought he could intimidate her.
"It never came up." C.C answered as she took another bite.
"Why you litt-!" Lelouch started but he found himself held back by his sister who knew he was going to try something drastic.
"Enough! Getting angry will solve nothing. But he does have a point, who keep them secret? Are you working for them?" Suzaku said as he turned to her and asked the question, calmer than his friend who Nunnally let go of when it looked like he wasn't going to try something.
"No." C.C responded, no sense in them thinking she was working against them. She rather liked the house and didn't want to go back to a prison cell anytime soon.
"Are you going to give us more than that? You do owe us for saving your ass in Shinjuku." Nunnally asked her, hoping that she could make it sound more like a deal where there is reward and sacrifice.
"I never asked to be helped, girl." Now that was a low blow. How was she to know that Clovis was more competent then she was lead to believe? His Code-R research plants had some serious security.
"And yet, who was the one in a restraint jacket, starved for oxygen?" Suzaku joked, getting a glare from the witch in return. "Cut the act, we have a problem and we'll like to get on top of it as soon as possible."
"And this is my problem….why?" C.C asked him, not at all invested in this conversation.
"Because we lost good people to this V.V, agents. Good folk that are either dead for mentally scarred for life." Lelouch replied, mildly surprising the green haired women as she would have thought he would be much colder, like his parents. "It would help us stop that from happening again if you cooperate."
'Hmmmm….well it's not like it affects me if I do talk so why not.' C.C thought to herself as she pondered before she spoke up. "V.V, like myself can give people something called geass. Mental abilities that grants the users abilities many could never hope to match."
"Geass? That sounds Celtic. Is that the only name for it?" Lelouch asked, his Celtic was weak but he did pick up a few things studying for his last language test.
"As far as I know, yes. I've never encountered someone used another name for it." C.C said as there was a time when she asked herself the same question but it was always that one term, well that or devil's magic. Good thing she left Salem the first sign of trouble, being burned to death at the stake was one of the worst ways to go.
"Good thing it's mental." Suzaku muttered to himself.
"Why is that?" Nunnally asked him. This was a threat and they were taught to never look down on a potential foe.
"Because Lelouch over here," He pointed to the man in question. "Proved that force sensitive people can resist the effects, and since they can't affect the physical like we can, we have the edge." He finished as he recalled how pissed off he was when he found out the risk he took. There were days when he wondered just who was the reckless idiot between them.
"I recall stating that it might have something to do with the fact we have been extensively trained to resist mind based attacks but yes, being connected to the force as we are would be the obvious primary reason." Lelouch corrected, unknowingly giving C.C information she could pass on to Marianne….when she felt like it.
'So Geass doesn't work all that well, there goes Charlie's plans to bring them to his side anytime soon.' She thought to herself as she found herself more and more interested in whatever these three could do as it went against everything she thought was possible.
"I'm guessing that you can do more than give out power like candy." Suzaku asked with a risen brow.
"Not much else, you all already know about the being very hard to kill part." That was a no brainer as they all knew she should have been dead long before they met. "But there is one thing you should be aware of."
"And what's that? That we have 6 months to live?" He joked.
"That V.V is Emperor Charles' closest ally. If you been hit once, you can be sure it won't be the last." He told them as she had never known V.V to simple let something go, the death of Marianne was proof of that.
"We already figured that part out, though we didn't know how close the two were." Lelouch told her as their new dead and buried prisoner had already revealed that much.
"We also know that he leads some kind of secret spy/assassination network. You know anything about that?" Suzaku asked her. But before she could give them some BS, Nunnally spoke up with those damn puppy dog eyes her mother always complained about.
"Please C.C." "Oh dammit, now she knew what her former contractor was talking about.
'Oh, what the hell.' She reasoned with herself as she gave them something for free. "I can't tell you much, I was once the leader of this network but is stepped down about 10 years ago, so anything I know would be outdated by now. All I can tell you that they have hundreds of agents, maybe a couple thousand by now."
"Great, just what we need. A bunch of geass powered brats running around, messing with our plans." Lelouch said as he held the bridge of his nose in irritation. He thought he wouldn't have to deal with the Nightsisters so long as he stayed out of their region of space, clearly he was wrong.
"But how are we going to tackle this?" Suzaku asked the other two as he could think of a few ways to go about this.
.
.
.
"Lelouch?" Nunnally asked as he being unusually quiet as he thought about this.
"Draw them out into the open of course, if these agents work best in the shadows, we'll drag them into the light and strike them down." He finally answered with a small but cruel looking smile. His mind always racing with all the ways they'll crush this little organisation and take everything of value.
2nd November 2020 a.t.b. /3 9688 BBY:
Unknown Region:
Milky Way Galaxy:
Earth/Sol-3:
Area 11(Japan):
Saitama Ghetto:
'This is it, from what I was able to gather, this is the spot of the big rally.' Reginald thought to himself as he watched from the shadows as elevens in droves into the old Saitama Super Arena. Night had long since fallen and along with thee bitter cold, made this a night he would rather be warm, but his master's word was law and he would obey. "Fits just fine since he's also doomed to fail. But why Saitama?" He asked himself as he stood there, wearing the best old winter clothing he had so he wouldn't stick out too much.
'Of course, they have armed guards, don't want the authorities busting in on them, gotta find another way in.' He observed as he saw 4 guards at the main entrance and could make out another 7 inside through the windows. So he crept along, avoiding both the light from the recently brought in floodlights. He soon reached the other side of the place and was in for a pleasant surprise when he spotted something he wasn't expecting.
'Holy-, are those elevens armed with SAMs? No wonder they were arrogant enough to use this place, clear sky-line for easy targeting and enough ordnance to keep an airstrike at bay.' He observed as he was able to make out not just anti-air vehicles but also regular troopers walking around with SAMs on their backs.
"Okay, I count 11 heavy machine guns on the upper floors, 4 of what looks to be anti-air missile vehicles and 2 guidance vehicles. Combine that with the knightmares all over the place and it's locked pretty tight." He said to himself as he took out his camera to take as much pictures as he could of the area. It also registered in his mind that if they bothered to bring in this much hardware, then Zero must be present.
"There." He said as he spotted in his way into the place. 'A window.' Once the coast was clear, he quickly climbed the three floors to get to it and silently opened it and climbed right on in. he was also careful to close the window again just in case. He walked about for a bit, following the noise of the elevens before he came to the arena itself and in the seats and standing in the many halls were more elevens then he had seen in on place before.
'Now just have to blend in with the crowd, the lighting is shit so as long as I don't pull anything stupid, no-one should notice I'm not an eleven.' He concluded as he walked about like he belonged. He avoided conversation as he may have known the language but unlike Rolo, he couldn't fake an accent.
'Damn, there are a lot of elevens here. At least seven…maybe eight thousand at least. Are they all residents of the ghetto? If so, then the viceroy is going to have a field day tomorrow arresting the lot of them.' He thought to himself as he found an empty seat neat the front and sat down.
"You excited for this?" The guy next to him asked, clearly he was happy to be here going from the tone along, though he could make out the smile on his face.
"Hmmm…oh yeah but I don't really know what's it all about. My stupid friends dragged me here and ditched me." Reginald responded as he pulled down on his hat to hide more of his face out of habit.
"Well that happens, friends can be a pain sometimes. Anyway, no-one knows what this is about." He answered with a laugh.
"Is that so? So many people showed up even without knowing the why?" Reginald asked, now that was interesting. So he didn't miss out on info since no-one knew.
"Well Zero and the Black Knights give us hope for freedom, I know I'll throw my lot in with them if I was younger!" His new source of information replied as he patted his heavy looking gut. Reginald couldn't see all that well but he could see that this man had long since passed the prime of his life.
"How many people are even here? It's too dark to see but I count like seven thousand." Reginald asked to try and gather as much info as he could. The laugher the man responded with was unexpected.
"No way my friend, there are much more than that. From what I hear around the place, there are at least eighteen thousand here." He informed him, not being able to see the shocked look on Reginald's face.
"Eighteen thousand! Shit, I didn't know he had that many followers." He let out by mistake as he never would have thought so many would gather from one ghetto alone.
"Oh he has much more, these are just the folks from around the neighbourhood ghetto. In Japan as a whole, he probably has in the hundreds of thousands." Lucky for him, the man didn't catch his little slip-up and just chalked it up to not being in the know. They would have continued their conversation but then all, the light died down-bathing the place in darkness. Reginald would have reached for the gun he had with him if not for the lights in the middle of the stage set up in the middle of the field coming to life.
"Please welcome, your hero. Your champion, our saviour!" An announcer said as a platform rose from the middle of the stage. On it, was his prime target along with several others. "Zero!" With the announcement of his presence, the crowd applauded and cheered for him as he walked to the edge of the stage, where a microphone had been placed.
'So the big boss actually showed up? He must think we can't touch him, he even brought along more masked bastards, they must be important.' Reginald was quick to notice that along with Zero, was two others in masks and costumes, though one looked more like a militaristic concept while the other looked to be something akin to knight's armour meets ballistic plating.
"Good evening, people of the world." The voice of the most wanted man in the empire rung out over the crowd, strong and confident as he took hold of the microphone. But what Reginald didn't know was that, there were over a dozen different cameras broadcasting this through hacked TV and internet channels to the world.
(Meanwhile – with Milly)
"Millicent! Get down here!" Rivalz yelled towards the stairs as he sat on the couch in their shared living room.
"Wha?- Where's the fire Rivalz?" Milly asked as she came down the stairs, hastily putting on a bathrobe as her wet hair clung to her face. She had rushed out of her relaxing bath when she heard Rivalz call her…using her full name which meant it was serious.
"It's Zero, he's on the TV again!" Rivalz told her as he got up and pushed her towards the couch where he grabbed the remote.
"He's what?!" Milly asked as Rivalz turned the volume up before he crash into the couch as well.
"I was watching the weather updates and the channel went to static before it cut to him. Looks like he's high jacked the TV signals again." Rival informed her before they heard Zero speak once more.
"It brings me great pleasure to see so many of you here, in support of such a noble endeavour. I'm sure they are many others that wish to be here but fear repercussion from our colonial masters. But do not fear, the day where they will fear us will come." Zero said as he looked over the crowd of people who were cheering for him like a famous celebrity.
'Lelouch, what in the hell is going on here?' Milly asked herself as she had a feeling this would be worse for them than Zero's debut appearance.
(With Cornelia)
"How the hell did he bypass our television signal encryptions?" Cornelia demanded of her staff as she along with Guilford, Euphemia and Nonette watched this broadcast that had interrupted regular programming on almost every channel.
"We are working on that, your highness but it will take some time before we can lock him out again." One of the technicians reported as many more tirelessly worked on trying to take back control of the airwaves.
"As many of you must be wondering, what is this rally about? Is Zero merely posturing like a politician? Does he like the camera time?" Zero asked these question as he took hold of the mic and started to walk across the stage from one side to the other. "But I am here to give you the answer. For it is now that I reveal a secret about myself and my true goals. I only ask that you all wait for me to finish before you cast your judgement. Can I hope that you will do so?" Zero asked the crowd, catching their interest and confusion but just like Cornelia expected, no-one voiced objections to Zero.
'What secret?' Cornelia asked herself.
"You have any idea what he's talking about?" Euphemia asked Guilford, before a terrible pit in her stomach came to be.
"No but I have a bad feeling about this." Nonette said, pissed that she wasn't there with her new knightmare to put an end to all this.
"The secret I have to share with you and the rest of the world is that you are all wrong about me. I am no number as classified by our colonial masters. In summary….I am not Japanese!" Zero announced to the entire world, shocking everyone that the rebel leader of the Japanese resistance, wasn't Japanese himself?!
"What!" Cornelia yelled as she nearly stood up. They had already figured out he was no number but what was the point of the damned mask if he was going to drop hints like that!
"Why would he say that now?" Nonette asked herself, one of their plans was to reveal that they suspected he wasn't Japanese to throw off his support base, but clearly he had seen such a thing happening and countered their move before they even made it.
"The man I am behind this mask, is in fact Britannian." At this reveal, the crowd present at the rally started to grow anxious from that last one. Their experiences with Britannians over the last decade making them fearful and resentful of their leader. But most likely foreseeing such an outcome, Zero rose both hands up and spoke once more, to try and calm them down. "Now before you all start something rather unpleasant. I would like some time to speak about this, if you'll let me." Zero asked them, sounding both patient and seeking to them. The crowd for the most part calmed down to give him this chance as he had done many things for the Japanese, so they would give him the opportunity to speak.
'He's controlling the flow of the whole damn thing! There's no way there's someone there brave or stupid to act against him.' Nonette thought to herself as she realised what was happening. She had spent enough time in Pendragon and seen Schneizel work too many times to not notice when a person was controlling a crowd like some puppet-master.
"It is true that both my mother and father are of Britannian heritage, it is also a fact that I was born into quite the well-off family where I believed I was cherished and loved." Zero told the crowd, and the world.
(With Charles and Marianne)
"That's one way to describe the royal family. Might be an understatement but it's no lie." Marianne, in the body of Anya stated as she watched the broadcast along with Charles in his personal study.
"But I was raised to believe nothing but lies. I was told time and time again about how our people and nation was the best in the world, that our expansion was merely our way of sharing our prosperity." Zero relayed to them, giving a heavily edited version of his childhood as to not give away too much information while mixing in his own massage to the world. It was good to not have to use a single lie, he was just leaving out details. "Looking back on it now, I am ashamed that such deceit ever fooled me." He spat out as he turned his head to the side, as he if he really wanted to spit. At this point, both the emperor and his 'deceased' wife paid closer attention.
"The so called Holy Britannian Empire has grown arrogant in its belief that it is the best nation to ever exist, greedy for looking upon the riches of other lands and peoples with envy and desire, cruel in its treatment is our fellow man and corrupt as those who not just allow this but incite such evils go unpunished and profit from it all." Zero said as he spoke each offense with more and more conviction, captivating both the crowd watching on site and many watching this at home and abroad.
"I am not a patriot but any normal means for there is no one country that I swore allegiance but rather, I sore myself to a set of ideals." Zero said to them, his beliefs already public knowledge from his first time on TV.
"So, this is his plan. Reveal enough to make yourself more likeable while keeping your true aces to your chest?" Charles asked, slightly impressed with his errant son, though he'll have to do something better to surprise him. Something that he didn't know was coming.
(With C.C)
"We of the Black Knights do not make war for the sake of war, for the sake of destruction. We do not seek to slaughter everyday Britannian citizens as your government would want you to believe but we wish to wage war against those responsible for the state of the world." Zero stated as he rose his hand and gestured to not just those with him on stage but also the area itself, as the crowd knew he had people all over the place.
"We wage our righteous war against the captains of industry, the nobility and most of all, the true evil behind this madness. The Britannian Royal family!" Zero roared to the crowd, who was silenced by the intensity of his words.
"So, you finally come out about your hatred? Should have known you would make it grand." C.C said to herself as she watched this broadcast with little Alice. She normally didn't involve herself with children but the young girl was nothing if not persistent. It also helped that Nagata was present as a bodyguard.
"We long to destroy these elements for forgetting their own humble roots." Zero went on as he walked from one edge of the stage to the other, looking into the crowd and catching the gazes of more than a few people.
"For you see, over 2000 years ago, Japan and Britannia were not so different. For Britannia was small island nation off mainland Europe. Cut off but satisfied with what they had." And then he started in impromptu history lesson for some reason.
(With the Fenette's)
"Like Japan, this small nation was attacked by a brutal invading power we all remember as the mighty Roman Empire. The romans wished to take their lands and freedoms to further their own ambitions, not caring for what destruction and bloodshed they would have to unleash upon their smaller and weaker foe." He said to them, his account of history and the reason for it clicking in the minds of thousands.
"Why is he bringing up ancient history?" Shirley's mother asked as the two sat in a restaurant in the settlement. They happened to be a TV that they and the rest of the patrons and staff used to watch.
"Because….because he wants to gain the support of regular Britannians." Shirley realised as her eyes widen in surprise at this tactic.
"But to the surprise of the Romans, who had for years gone unopposed, the people of this small island didn't give up so easy. No, for they banded together under a man I've have come to respect. Alwin I, under his leadership and skills, he brought the people together and defeated the Romans before driving them from their shores." Zero announced to the crowd, who were now realizing as a whole what he was doing.
(With the A.S.E.E.C)
"However, I can only imagine that he must be rolling in his grave in the disappointment he must feel in his grave as the country and nation he fought for had become far worse than Rome could ever hope to be." Zero head dropped in….sadness at this last bit, though they couldn't tell if he really meant it or it was an act.
"Well when he puts it like that, I can see our first ruler viewing things like that." Lloyd said as he worked on some data they were able to collect off Rai from his earlier training runs.
"Lloyd!" Cecile yelled at his brazen lack of tact. They were still employed by the crown!
"What? It's true isn't it?" Lloyd asked her, not seeing a problem with his words as he just shrugged his shoulders and got back to work.
"It's obvious that he's trying to paint the government as the villains." Cecile said as he Rai kept quiet as he watched this whole go down.
"Well they didn't make it too hard, now did they?" Lloyd shot back with his regular smirk as the light shined off his glasses.
"It is for this reason that I cannot and will not work with the imperial government, I refuse to lower myself as to work with monsters and fools." Oh-oh, Lloyd had a pretty good feeling that his relatives back home would take offense to that one, though he himself saw no issue with it. It was true, wasn't it? "It is also for that same reason that our prisoners must be trialled for their crimes." Zero surprised them yet again.
(Back in Saitama)
"Prisoners? Trial?" The person seated next to Reginald asked.
'Is that what this is? A public trial?' Reginald asked himself as they all saw a large group of people
"Why don't we all give a warm welcome to our prisoners? Captured during our successful attack on the Imperial air base during Cornelia's failed attempt to stamp out the will of the people." Zero announced as their prisoners from their raid on the air-base in Narita were harshly escorted onto the stage, some of which having to be hit over the head with a rifle but to get them moving. As it had been some time since their capture, they were not wearing their uniforms or gear but rather a bland black and white stripped prison uniform.
"Not much to look at but these men and women have already been positively identified and my men have worked to gather the evidence against them. I won't say who did what since they all know their sins but the crimes committed by the people we have standing before us includes but is unfortunately not limited to: Unfair and illegal taxation, looting of the dead, desecrating burial sites for their own gains or amusements, sexual assault in the form of 'favours' and," Her Zero turned to face them, the majority shaking in their cheap shoes as both the masked terrorist and crowd glared at them. "Killing anyone eleven who dared to fight back."
"The bastards." Reginald's new info source grunted out in anger as the rest of the crowd lost it.
"How dare you!"
"Burn in hell!"
"Your nothing but monsters, you colonials!" This one came a women that sounded to be quite elderly.
"I hope you suffer for what you did!"
"Shut up, you damned elevens!" It was a fair chance someone would do it but Zero didn't think one of the prisoners would be this stupid. And it was obvious that the rest wanted to live as they immediately tried to distance themselves from him.
'Is he an idiot? They all want your blood and you think it's a good time to say that?' Reginald thought to himself as he tried to think of ways to get them out of this,
"Now, unlike the guilty standing before us, we aren't animals. We, or rather I, shall give them a chance to live." Zero announced to the crowd and world, shocking all except the Black Knights troops present who must have already been informed.
"To live? Is he insane?" Someone behind asked and he was attempted to agree. What purpose would this act of mercy do?
'I gotta agree with you there, if this is a public execution, why left some live?" Reginald thought to himself as he tried to make sense of this logic that Zero was using.
"I shall grant each and every one of them a trial by combat. If they win, they may walk free but if they lose, they die where they stand." At this, the crowd couldn't hold back their resentment of such a decision. They howled and screamed at Zero, telling him to give them the death they all deserved, to make them suffer for what they had done. In response to this, the man in question chose to reason with them, not order like one would expect of someone with the power he had.
"People, people please. I understand your frustration, your anger! But we must show these animals that we are the better folk and that we will stand by the code of law and give our fellow man a chance. Something that they never gave to the people they used and abused." Zero said to try and calm down the masses, if Reginald wasn't so damned pissed with him, he would be impressed by how quickly he was able to rein in the elevens who were now not so vocal about wanting them dead.
"So, the question remains." Zero started as he turned to face the soon to be judged. His faceless appearance appearing much more intimidating than normal to them as some even whimpered like scared pups. "How among you wants to live the most?"
.
.
.
"I'll do it. I'll kill any eleven that thinks I would lose." The idiot from before said as he stepped out from the group. In the face of his bravery, Zero only chuckled as if it were an amusing joke.
"So full of arrogance, Mr. Jeremy Spacer. But that should be expected then your crimes were stealing what wasn't yours. But you are mistaken. I never said you would fight a number, or a Japanese." Zero mused as he stepped forward, one of the guards kicking the guy in the back so that he would move forward as well to meet their masked leader. "For your life, you will have to best…me."
(With Cornelia)
"That bastard!" Nonette screamed as she pounded her hand into the table.
"Nonette?" Euphemia asked as her outburst come from out of no-where and as worrying to the rest of the room.
"He doesn't intend for any of them to live, if they have to fight him…they don't have chance." Nonette explained to them as she hadn't gone a night without seeing their encounter over and over, some more violent and bloody then others but she would never forget what she had seen Zero do.
"This is all for show, he's giving a death sentence dressed like a mercy." Guilford stated as he came to the same conclusion. He was going to mask it to it would only increase his popularity with the people.
"Can we trace where they are?" Cornelia asked once more, her patience near its end.
"We can't mam, the signal is being bounced around over 30 different places both in Area 11 and the Chinese Federation." One technician reported as she tried to find the source of the signal only to be met with more false fronts or firewalls.
(In Saitama)
"You?" The captured soldier asked, though whether it was out of arrogance, confusion, fear or some combination of the three was unknown.
"Yes, me. Why would I make someone else do what I'm more than capable of accomplishing myself?" Zero asked him, taunting him as he pulled out one of his signature weapons and toss it to him. "I'll even give you something to help you." He finished as the man was able to catch the offending item and stare at it in confusion.
"The hell is this?" He asked him as he looked down the tube on one end of it, it didn't like a regular gun, he couldn't see anything like a handle, was the curve the handle?
"I wouldn't do that if I was you, as for what it is. It's a lightsaber." Zero instructed him as he pulled out another one and activated it, releasing the beautiful amethyst blade for all to see. "An elegant weapon of a more civilised time." He finished as he twirled his own around the wrist, captivating all those watching with this unheard piece of technology, all but a few who had known about or had seen it before.
'It's the weapon!' Reginald thought to himself as he remembered how Zero used it to slash right through their guns like it was nothing. He had two of them?!
"What's the matter, there is a switch to turn the blade one, you know. Or are you too simple minded for notice?" Zero mocked him as some of the guards on stage laughed at him, who in response to this mockery, found a boon when he was able to see the switch and activate the blade.
"Shut up you damn traitor!" He yelled as he took a standard fencing stance as the blade didn't feel too heavy, in fact it felt as light as a dagger.
"Very well, we'll let our blades do the talking." Zero agreed with him as he took a simple but effective form II stance, holding his blade out with his free hand behind his back.
"Die!" Clearly this offended his opponent as he dashed towards him and thrust his blade towards his chest.
"[sigh] No form," Zero sounded disappointed as he easily blocked the blow and countered with a light slash at his cloths, cutting into his right sleeve. "No skill." He once more dodged another clumsy attack and kneed him in the gut, forcing the air from his lungs. "Are you sure, you've used a blade before?" His response to this mockery was going on the offensive again, not that would help him anyway.
"No matter," Zero started as he stood still and waited for the right moment. Which came when his target was close enough for him to not only counter his slash, but disarm him of the weapon by cutting off the hand holding it. "You're already dead." He finished as he twirled his blade into a reverse grip, pulled the retreating the stunned man closer by his shirt and with one swift backhanded slash, cut right across his chest, ending the fight.
"What…?" He choked out as ruined heart gave one last beat as he fell to his knees and a moment later, he collapse on his face. The wounds not leaking blade due to the blade cauterising them.
"Judgment has fallen on you head. Burn in hell you filth." Zero said as the next person was kicked out onto the stage as the body was dragged off. Unlike the first one, he was pleading for his life as he tried to back away but found himself trapped, so he weakly took the offered weapon and tried to last as long as he could.
(With Schneizel and Kannon)
"Kannon, what do you make of this?" Schneizel asked his faithful manservant and assistant. The two of them had been travelling across the country on board his personal flagship, the Avalon when they intercepted this transmission. It may have been early morning in the Americas but Zero had proved to be worth the early wake up.
"This is an attack your highness. One aimed at the very foundation of the empire." Kannon summarised. "Public executions have always been used as a way of discouraging a targeted group of people. Zero is clearly targeted us, more specifically, the nobility." He finished as he could only imagine that Zero was invoking similar conditions to the times of revolution in France in the modern day.
"Yes, that was my thought as well. This Zero is an expert at going after weak points. The nobility won't really worry about this other than wanting him dead, the common folk on the other hand…" Schneizel was of the same thought there and he could see the genius of it. If Zero can get far enough with his plans, then it won't matter if they defeat him, the damage would have been done and the empire could very well collapse under its own weight. This was made apparent when Zero made a comment about how the nobles would sooner send millions of commoners to die then admit defeat after the son of a baron pleaded for his life by trying to offer money and lands before he found his head cut off.
"This could also be an attack against the military. He is executing POWs on live television and they don't even know where he is." Kannon suggested as Cornelia could be quite the temperamental one when pushed like this, and what better way to push her buttons then killing those under her command in this giant middle finger fashion?
"Cornelia will not take kindly to that I can imagine. Has she requested additional aid?" Schneizel asked as he knew his sister better than anyone. And knowing her, she would want a massive man-hunt for this.
"Yes sir. Shall I have them fast tracked?" Kannon asked as he looked it up on his data pad and saw she did request additional troops and supplies.
"Do so, in fact," Schneizel started before he paused as a thought came to mind. "Through in an additional 100 knightmares with their pilots. After this, I can see the Black Knights swelling with new recruits."
"The situation in Area 11 is turning volatile. If her highness can't bring the heat down," Kanon said to himself, though his prince could still hear him.
"We will have a full blown rebellion on our hands. And that it not even considering that the Chinese will no doubt want a piece of the cake." Honestly, he was rather vexed with the Eunuchs, if only they had agreed to the marriage proposal he put up two years back but those 'men' were incredible greedy and wanted more than he could reasonable give. "A proxy war between ourselves of the federation, which could easily turn into a direct conflict."
"Still, Zero had given us many clues to work with." Kanon tried to see some good from this situation, though his prince shot that down.
"Yes but that must be part of the plan. He gave up details that were no longer on a need-to-know basis. We know what he wants us to know." Schneizel said as he could only imagine that Zero didn't think this was important enough to hide, which speaks to a character where he was willing to sacrifice if it meant victory. "Speaking of knowing, have you found out why our satellites have been malfunctioning?" He asked as it had been an issue for a couple mouths now, it wasn't too major but he would like to solve the issue before it become major.
"Our scientist believe that there is an issue with the components themselves, other than that. We have found no other cause of this." Kanon reported as NASA hadn't found anything too serious when they sent up a team to investigate.
"If this keeps up, we'll have to suspend out spring offensive on the EU. It would be foolish to set another house on fire when one is brewing in our own backyards." Schneizel sighed as he knew his father would be less than pleased but even he would see that it was a necessary move. "Organise a teleconference between Earl Asplund and myself. If there is one thing that this developing insurrection as shown us, is that our regular knightmares are not up to par. We need more 7th Gen machines."
"It shall be done. I'll see if I can't organise one for tomorrow afternoon." Kanon answered with a small frown as he could never get over how flippant his fellow earl was. It always aggravated him how Lloyd acted around his prince.
"Very good, Kannon. That is all." Schneizel ordered as Kanon bowed to him before taking his leave the Prime Minister's study, leaving his prince to think about the situation they found themselves in.
'Cornelia, you may more on your plate then you can deal with.' He thought to himself as he picked up the white queen off his chess board and gazed at it, thinking of how he will tackle this new challenge.
(Back in Japan – With Milly)
"He…he killed them all…so easily…." Rivalz got out as he could nothing but watch as one after the other was slaughtered like pigs.
"He is clearly a master swordsmen. There was never a chance they'll win." Milly said as she could see this was all planned. And the worst part was that it was still 'fair' it wasn't like they didn't have the chance to learn how to fight with a sword, if was just who would pick up such an ancient skill in the first place.
"He…so this was a death sentence for the lot of them from the very beginning." Rivalz said aloud, finally accepting the situation for what it was. Zero could be brutal when he wanted to be.
"Not unless one of them knew how to use a….lightsaber?" Milly said as she tried to recall what he had called his strange weapon. She could tell it was super advanced as she couldn't imagine a noble put there who wouldn't want a sword mixed in with techno-punk. Hell, she wanted one.
"I think that's what he called it. Never thought I'll see an energy sword." Rivalz said as they both went silent as they turned their attention to the TV once more.
(Saitama Super Arena)
"And then there was one." Zero said as the last prisoner stood across from him. Unlike many before her, she didn't buckle under his gaze but held her borrowed weapon strong as she tried to mimic the stance that Zero had been using this entire time.
"I-I'm not afraid of y-you." She was able to say with not much stuttering as she tried and failed to keep her fear from showing but dammit, she would at least got down with her pride.
"That is quite admirable of you, Catherine Pearson." Zero said as he got ready for her attack. At this point, the fact that he knew her name wasn't a big shock as she did recall be questioned extensively about such things. Sure she didn't give them anything but they probably compared her looks to the records.
"So you know." She asked him, not as afraid as before for some reason.
"How could I not. The eldest daughter of Countess Pearson. Rather than marry like your sisters, you chose the military and found yourself stationed here, in Japan." Zero said as he basically announced her name to the whole world. No doubt her mother and two sisters were losing it if they were watching this.
"I was stationed in Area 11." She shot back, hoping to get him angered but it was nought.
"Oh yes, that is what they call it nowadays. But you have blood on your hands, my dear Cathy. You were the highest ranking officer of the soldiers captured. Meaning any crimes they committed while under your command." Zero said as he let her came to her own conclusion.
"Are my responsibility." She finished as he gestured to the bloody trail leaving off the stage to an area where she could make out a truck. Were they just going to dump them? That was cold. "So I will die like the rest of them?"
"Not quite." Zero said as he deactivated his blade and placed it back on his belt.
"Wha-!" She started in shock but was interrupted by a loud and much unexpected gun-shot. She dived for cover thinking she was the one being shot at but the gasps from the crowd didn't agree with that.
Bang!
"I was wondering when you would act, should have known the life of the noble was what it would take." Zero said. She opened her eyes to see that he was the target and by some work of god or the devil, the bullet was still in the air-being suspended in place mere inches from his head.
"You knew?" Someone from the crowd asked as they jumped onto the stage, not caring for the 9 assault rifles all pointed towards him.
"I was able to pick up on your anger and your desire to kill me. I'm no empathy specialist but I can pick up on such emotions quite easily." Zero mocked him as he let go of the bullet and let it fall down to earth. How he had reflexes fast enough to catch it was beyond her but she saw she had a chance with his attention split like this.
"So you're a telepath as well? That's just great." Reginald said to himself as he felt the nervous sweat build up. He didn't plan on this but his training kicked in when he saw a noble in trouble, now he has to deal with an opponent fast enough to catch bullets and a bunch of armed guards.
"You were able to run the last time we came to blows," Zero said as he turned fully to regard this new annoyance. "How do you think you'll do that now?"
"We'll fight our way out." Reginald said as he noticed that Cathy was slowly moving to try and attack him from his blind spot. His observation was cut short when he heard Zero openly laughing at his statement. Someone had some pride issues.
"My apologies, it's just that, you think you can fight me? And win?" Zero asked him as he calmed down, now taking out his lightsaber once more. "My, I haven't ran into someone so arrogant in a while. Unfortunately…" He said before in a move that bewildered the minds of the people how saw it, he threw, like threw his lone lightsaber behind him where it slashed right across the chest of the sneaking Catherine. In the same motions, he rose one hand towards Reginald and just like with Rolo, he found himself being lifted into the air while being choked.
'Shit, this again!?' He thought to himself as he felt his himself grow lightheaded as the blade Zero through returned to his hand like some kind of boomerang.
"If you thought I'll give you a fight like some old knight's tale, then you are gravely mistaken." Zero scolded him as Catherine dropped dead. His lightsaber hilt falling from her still warm hands.
"[sigh] You just had to break the rules of engagement, didn't you?" He asked as he turned around to face the body of his second last victim of the night.
"H-how are you doing this?" Reginald managed to get out as he found himself unable to cast his geass if his windpipe being closed up like this.
"I have powers you could never hope to match. But out time is coming to an end." Zero answered as he lifted him even higher into the air, the pressure around his neck growing stronger. "I hope you said your prayers, since this…is the end." He finished as he clenched his fist and with that decisive motion, he crushed the windpipe of the child assassin. Killing him near instantly as his let go of his body as he fell down, the sound of bones breaking audible to both the crowd and the mic.
(With Charles and Marianne)
"Let this be an example of what's to come. We of the Black Knights will not rest, will not yield till all the guilty are punished. Not until Pendragon burns, the nobles lay dead and Chares zi Britannia and his imperial court meets their ends at the Guillotine." Zero said as the cameras zoomed onto him as he spoke.
"Listen closely Charles, for this is a message for you." He said as he pointed one finger towards the screen, catching the attention of the man he wished to threaten, though he couldn't have known that. "I will take away the fine clothes you wear, the food you eat, I will burn down your castles and villas, salt your fields and poison your wells. And you have nothing but ruin and corpses to your name," he paused for dramatic effect which Marianne could admit was effective since she could practically feel the fear flowing through Pendragon as the nobility and royals watched this broadcast. "I will take your life." And with that final message, the broadcast was cut-returning the screens back to their regular programming, though many couldn't focus on what they were watching before due to the shocks they have been given by this masked man. He didn't matter if you were in Area 11 or some other far off corner of the world, Zero had grabbed the attention of the whole world.
And they will be force to listen.
"Well," The so called deceased empress started as they turned off the screen. They had better things to do then watch mindless television. "If there were any doubts about if Zero was our son, we can throw them out the window. He wants you dead." She finished as she had no doubt that little cryptic line wouldn't get caught by anyone, though only the nobles who were present during his banishment would have a chance of remembering it and they probably forgot it by now.
"No, he wants to destroy me, not kill me." Charles corrected her as he messaged his nose. Great, now his arguable best son wanted to destroy everything he believed he loved and protected to get back at him.
"What's the play? V.V is sure as hell not going to sit back and do nothing after one of his agents just off put down in international television." They both know that boy was one of V.V's best so this slight would not be taken lightly, they could just hope that little imp didn't do anything that could jeopardise their plans. "We also have to consider that more elevens are going to flock to his banner after that. Meaning he'll have a larger pool of supporters." That was also a point that needed to address. They already know the boy had over 6,000 followers but if things were as bad as they thought they were in Area 11, that number could double in a week.
"For now, we will observe the situation and instruct Cornelia accordingly. We don't need to give Schneizel any more wiggle room." Charles said as they both knew Schneizel was gaining more power both in the court and government. They had long since known about his little Damocles project due to their own spies in the Toromo agency, though he'll give the boy credit, it took longer than he wanted but it had paid off greatly. It was how they found out that Schneizel had yet to find anything better than sakuradite powered bombs for his flying fortress.
"Also," Charles started as he had a feeling that this state of affairs had more to deal with his son then he let on.
"Hmmm?" His wife asked him.
"Order the pacific fleet to build up. The federation isn't going to wait for the boiling point, we need more naval strength in the Pacific to keep them at bay." Charles ordered as could foresee that in small invasion by the Chinese was unavoidable at this point. All they could do was keep the damage to a minimum.
"We can send two escort carriers and 7 destroyers via the Panama canal. That should be enough but it'll take at least 11 days for them to get to Area 11." She replied as they couldn't take too many vessels away from the Atlantic fleet otherwise the EU might try something funny. They hay of had the larger navy but France had the superior ships. After they lost the British Isles, they never recovered their place as the lords of the Pacific from their age old nemesis.
"Hmmm, that will have to do for now. Once Cornelia gets a better understanding of the things on the ground, we can make more detailed plans." Charles stated as they would be forced to wait till they got a finger on the pulse of this mess.
"Charles," Marianne asked, sounding concerned which was something he didn't expect from her often. "Are we really going to do it? Are we really going to fight our children?"
"It is the only option we have, they will never willingly lay down their arms. But do not fret," He replied as he didn't wish to see her cry but he also didn't want to lie to her, so he chose the next best thing. "Once Ragnarok begins, we will see them again." He soothed his wife as she wiped away some tears from her eyes as she got up from her seat and begun to walk towards the door.
"Yes, but we must obtain two more thought elevators. The one in England and the other in Spain." She said just as she walked out of the room.
And that is the end of that chapter. If you didn't pick up on it from reading, this was based off Amon's debut in legend of Korra as to me, he was the most powerful villain of the show as he outwitted both Korra and her allies at nearly every turn. Hell, he never even got that final fight as with his blood-bending mastery, Korra could have lost as Aang only broke out of the control by tapping into the Avatar State, something Korra could not do till the literal last episode of season 1. Hell, it could be impossible for any avatar if this kind of blood bender had the power-up of a full moon on their side.
As you can imagine, the stadium could have held more people but remember, it can't be at its best structurally so I kept the number down. The next chapter will have the fallout of this little show and some more action if I can squeeze it in.
