AN: So, I was writing this concurrently with chapter five of the interlude thing.
But that fell through at Ch 6.
'Course, a lot of the references to past events that haven't been posted will have intentionally vague timestamps since X2 is going to occur nearly a full to years after X1 began and I want to leave myself some breathing room for C2 of the Interlude if I ever actually get working on it again.
Also don't expect as quick a output as X1, these are being scratch made rather than being modified from the plots of CG episodes like X1 was, and as such, writer's block will hit significantly harder should I stumble on certain things.
Anyways, all systems are go, standby for mission deployment.
KEY (For here on out so I don't get bitched at about what X special text thing means.)
" "- Speaking normally (obvious)
"Italics"- Thoughts, including thought based communication (Example: Code) (also obvious). Also used for dialogue in opening snippets.
"With bold or italics mixed in"-Emphasis on certain words.
"Italics with normal text and bold mixed in"- Emphasis on certain words in thoughts.
="Text"=-Low level voice modulation, typically Zero's mask.
="With bold text"=- Character with heavy voice modulation.
"ALLCAPS"-Yelling/screaming.
"ALLCAPS WITH BOLD"-Violently enraged or terrified screaming.
["Text"]-Speakers/Radio Communications.
[TEXT]-Computer readouts/networked communications.
"Text with underline"-Geass Command.
"Y'know… I never really thought much of C2 as being more than a tagalong for Zero before getting to know her, but even after that, if you'd told me even two or three years ago that she'd become even more widely known as the 'Valkyrie of Razgriz' for her actions in the Second Black Rebellion… I'd probably call you crazy given how little she actually contributed to combat engagements at the time. Then again, she wasn't really given that many opportunities to deploy and all, what with us being an insurgency and her operating deep cover at Ashford. She was called a lot of things, but a hero? Nobody was stupid enough to call her that to her face given her distaste for being seen as such. Even if she really was far more of one than most of us."-Kallen Stadtfeld Kozuki during an interview marking the fifth anniversary of the first Black Rebellion in 1967 AD/0001 AR era following the public announcement of the interim government of Britannia's reformation into a true Constitutional Monarchy, the United Kingdom of Britannia, at the behest of outgoing Regent Nunnally vi Britannia.
June 6, 2021 ATB.
Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
Near silence was broken as Jeremiah Gottwald, the Knight of Two, barked orders out to Emperor Lelouch's guardsmen, Liath braced with her own blade pressed against Zero's, the masked man and helmeted woman both grunting as their swords remained locked as they dueled atop the float.
"Quickly! Recover the body of his Majesty and get it to safety before the crowd can descend upon it in the chaos!" Jeremiah ordered as he saw an opening, a dozen soldier's in the garb of Emperor Lelouch's personal guard rushing towards the float while Geassed soldiers aimed their weapons at the confused throngs lining the sides of the parade route, those members of the UFN, Maverick Hunters, and Black Knights who'd been readied for their execution gazing at the Emperor's float in a mix of shock and horror.
Atop the float, C2 loomed over a distraught Nunnally as she held her dying brother, the bloodstained White and Gold armored Reploid standing stoically as the troops managed to get around the dueling combatants and headed towards where she was standing.
"Goodbye, Lelouch..." She thought as she turned and allowed the guardsmen to pass her and pry Lelouch away from Nunnally, tears rolling down her own cheeks behind her battle mask as she heard the crippled girl mewl and cry in dismay as her entire world was ripped out from under her, just after finally understanding why Lelouch had done as he did. "It always had to end like this, didn't it? Just the way you wanted."
From every ending, you know the beginning. But not the journey.
June 6, 2019 ATB.
Old Pendragon Airspace, Britannian Homeland.
An immense civilian airship hummed over the city of Pendragon, advertising screens displayed along the sides of its double 'hulled' gas envelope.
["Airship Hotel Four Seven Niner this is Pendragon control, your flight plan has been approved and you are clear to enter Pendragon airspace on an advertising run, do not deviate from it except when otherwise instructed or in the event of an emergency or you will be shot down."]
"Copy that Control, Lima Four Seven Niner acknowledges." A woman manning the airship's communication's console acknowledged before ending the transmission.
"We're in ma'am." She informed the blond haired, red-eyed young woman sitting in the officer's chair at the center of the conn.
Nemo smirked. "Idiots." She whispered softly as she glanced over at the waterfront, spotting the uniquely distinctive profile of one of the moored vessels.
A shame that they had a very limited list of errands to run.
In the airship's cavernous cargo bay, over three dozen KMFs stood at attention, backed by sixteen Scopedog series ride armors.
Most of the Knightmares were the replacement for the old and totally obsolete Burai, the Fifth Gen Ronin, which was derived from surplus Sutherlands that had been sold off when the Gloucester and Vincent series began to replace it in frontline Britannian service.
The remainder were Urabe's Gekka, a pink colored pre-production type Gekka with a developmental wave surger arm, and the four Guren units they'd brought, including the Mark II and Mark II Kai.
Urabe strode forwards to acknowledge the troops, Shirley standing next to him in a high-G pilot suit of the type currently issued to all Gekka and Guren pilots in the Black Knights. "You have all volunteered for this operation in the full expectation that every one of you may die, I have never been prouder to command a force of soldiers so dedicated to their mission. If we succeed, this will signal the rebirth of the Black Knights! And even if we fail, Britannia shall remember the lesson she conveniently forgot after the great Maverick Uprising of the last year, that not even its capital is safe from those who'd wish to destroy its corrupt system!" He declared.
There was a chorus of cheers from the troops, a mix of Japanese, Indians, Europans, Africans, Southeast Asians, Middle-Easterners, Koreans and even some of the veteran Britannians and Chinese who'd defected prior to the Battle of Tokyo nearly two years ago, plus numerous Reploids that had signed up in the aftermath of the Maverick Uprising and the resulting backlash towards Reploids.
Urabe unsheathed his Katana and pointed it to the ceiling. "All Knightmare and ride armor troops are to mount up! All infantry and reserve pilots prepare for drop! Today is the day we bring a demon back from hell!" He bellowed, the Black Knights issuing a battle cry in response as they pumped their fists into the air. "LONG LIVE ZERO!"
"LONG LIVE ZERO!"
June 6, 2017 ATB.
Temple Tower, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
A bored looking guard sighed as he reclined in his chair, watching from the central security room as a new prisoner was brought in, having been apprehended by a squad of R2 series Reploids while casing the prison.
"You'd think the Black Knights would be smarter… Eh Rolo?" The young man sighed as he adjusted his cap over his raven hair.
The other young man looked over at his friend and shrugged. "Well, considering how desperate they are, it isn't surprising."
The first guard huffed under his breath. "You've got that right. Well, we have orders from OSI to fast-track them through security anyways."
He narrowed his eyes, noting how suspicious this all was that a high-ranking Black Knight would be conveniently captured this far inside Britannia's old capitol.
Kallen was marched handcuffed into Temple Tower's prisoner processing center, three R2 series Reploids, more robust and humanoid developments of the mass production copies of C2, striding behind her, busters aimed at her back.
["Attention all personnel, high priority prisoner processing in progress. Code Reminder: Isolate. Contain. Secure."] The automated PA intoned harshly.
Two OV3RW4TCH model Reploids strode forwards to receive her. ="We'll take it from here unit."= The one on Kallen's left stated.
The lead R2 shook its head and chittered in an electronic tone as its monoeye swept back and forth on its track.
The two guard units looked at eachother and then raised their weapons. ="Provide your operating number at-"=
Kallen tensed up, wondering if they'd been made.
A chime echoed from the door, followed by a burst of static, after which the guard Reploids relaxed. ="Status one confirmed by security command, you may proceed to interrogation level."= The unit on the right said, as if they hadn't just been ready to open fire on them seconds ago.
Kallen was ushered through the door onto the waiting elevator, which sealed shut shortly thereafter.
Old Pendragon Airspace, Britannian Homeland.
["Airship Hotel Four Seven Niner! You have deviated from your flight plan! Explain yourself at once!"]
"Uh we have an emergency, really, really, really big emergency here!" The comms operator chimed back.
["State your emergency!"]
"Our emergency is that you're an idiot! Long live the Black Knights!" She cackled as she cut the comms off.
"Shed the exterior shroud, drop the gondola, and raise the radiant wave shields. Order the Shimakaze, Shiranui, and Fubuki to disengage from their own courses, shed their disguises, and move to escort formation around us. And have the transports wait for the order to move in for the evacuation." Nemo ordered.
She resisted the urge to twitch or give off any nervous tics, they were making a massive gamble with their available airships and wouldn't be able to replace any of them for some time if something went wrong.
"Aye ma'am!" The comms operator acknowledged.
"Oh and tell the locals it's go time." Nemo added as the projected feeds from the cameras mounted on the airship went dark and the immense viewports began to slide open.
"Aye!"
June 6, 2019 ATB.
Temple Tower Grounds, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
The guards patrolling the perimeter wall around Temple Tower looked up as they tried to comprehend what a superheavy lighter than air-ship was doing in the area.
Then the shroud around it was ejected, a sleek blue heavier than air-ship revealing itself from inside, its air glide system powering on while the craft's white and orange wings unfurled out from under itself like a gigantic predatory bird.
The alarms began to blare around the facility as Knightmares, Ride Armors, and Mechaniloids began to scramble.
It was then that the false gondola attached underneath the craft landed, its own single-use air glide system pulsing once as it touched down.
Hundreds of anti-material airburst grenades suddenly sprayed into the air from launchers hidden all over the pod, detonating in a brilliant display and wiping out much of the exterior security force as it deployed, shredded Knightmares, Mechaniloids, and Ride Armors collapsing to the ground in heaps of badly perforated scrap while armored cars veered off in random directions, now driverless and operating on inertia.
Then the hatches opened up and the Black Knights emerged, gunfire ripping out of the pod and tearing into the surviving defenders right out of the gate.
Temple Tower, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
["INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."] The Prison's security VI blared as Rolo and his counterpart looked on in horror at the absolute slaughter of their exterior security forces at the hands of the Black Knights.
"Alan! We need to contact the military!" Rolo shouted at him.
"I'm trying but we're being jammed!"
June 6, 2019 ATB.
OSI Field Office, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
One of the OSI agents sitting at the comms consoles glanced at the baron behind him, who simply nodded.
"Capture and kill teams, move in at your discretion, intervention teams keep the regulars not associated with us away for as long as possible."
["Yes, my lord!"]
Temple Tower, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
Six OV3RW4TCH class Reploids marched up to the elevator doors to escort Kallen and the Reploids guarding her to the interrogation center under heavy guard.
Then the alarms began to blare, and their weapons snapped up.
The elevator stopped, its doors failing to open on time.
The Reploids flicked their safeties off, expecting possible hostile forces. ="Open up!"= The lead one on the left barked.
The doors then slid open to reveal a smirking C2, clad in silver trimmed black armor, aiming two buster cannons at their heads.
"You didn't say please." She giggled before gunning them all down.
Kallen sighed and strode out as their smoldering husks hit the ground, two grunt Black Knights Reploids behind her as she flicked the safety on her Type 64 rifle off and adjusted her ballistic vest and helmet.
The disguises they'd worn laid on the floor, C2 having utilized her connection to cyberspace to store their normal equipment for the duration of the infiltration phase.
At a severe cost to her energy levels of course, which were climbing back up to optimal power.
C2 eyed Kallen lazily. "You three follow your part of the plan, I'll go stir up trouble in the Reploid barracks to keep the heat off you and Rokusho until reinforcements arrive."
Kallen nodded in acknowledgement as the two Reploids behind her switched their right arms to busters after securing the launcher and ammo for it they'd brought, buster tech having recently become somewhat widespread outside the Hunters following the Uprising and Britannia's mass proliferation of buster armed R series Reploids.
C2 watched them rush down the hallway, following the designated corridors to ensure they didn't take a wrong turn.
A year ago, she and Kallen would be trying their damndest to avoid getting into a fight.
The circumstances behind her return to the Black Knights, even if it was a more mercenary return at the time, had sort of bridged the gap created in the aftermath of the Black Rebellion.
Saving Kallen's father from being assassinated by his relatives in the Stadtfeld clan had been a key component of that. Now the former Earl Andrew Stadtfeld was a key supporter of the Black Knights, and a major instrument in their rebuilding by increasing budget efficiency and streamlining logistics due to his business experience, allowing Shirley to focus more heavily on what she deemed was being 'overtly useful'.
His daughter had been nothing short of shocked to discover he'd been supporting the Kozuki group from the very beginning.
It'd been a tender reconciling moment between the two, especially since she managed to get Kallen's mother out in the process as well.
C2 smiled softly at the memory as she retracted her older buster and brought up the far more powerful Light Labs Mark 18C she'd acquired during the uprising, shield already drawn off her back and directed forwards as she made her way deeper into the facility.
June 6, 2019 ATB.
East Imperial Palace Command Center, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
Operator Reploids chattered wildly as Executrix Liath strode into the command center where Suzaku was waiting for her. The other rounds were attending to various concerns, Waldstein notably being in the current acting capital of New Pendragon near the west coast, leaving Suzaku and his personal forces to shore up the old palace's defenses alongside the 501st.
="You're certain it's the Black Knights?"= She inquired, tilting her head to look at him.
"Aside from the radio message claiming that's who they are, there are multiple Gurens on the field and the ship hidden inside that blimp shell has their emblem clearly plated on the bow." Suzaku replied flatly.
Liath huffed in response.
They both knew this day would come the moment OSI leaked Zero's location.
Unfortunately, much of Pendragon's defense grid was still being rebuilt after being devastated during the months long Maverick Uprising the year prior, ironically, intel suggested that had been the primary reason various neo-American patriot forces had called off their parts in an admittedly suicidal attack on the capital and bunkered down across the continent.
Which left those who'd actually shown up in a very unfortunate situation.
A bigger irony was that C2, whom Gino had encountered inside the Palace during the affair, had finally earned a name for herself after going on a rampage at the tail end of the battle, slaughtering many of the combatants she'd encountered.
She spared those who'd ceased fighting and fled from her. Anyone who didn't became another victim of the 'Banshee of Pendragon', whose enraged screams heralded the death of those who faced her in battle.
"Multiple explosions in the Nelson district!" An operator shouted suddenly. "Confirming… They're targeting utilities and government facilities!"
"The Black Knights?"
"No! It appears to be 'patriot' rebel forces!"
C.C. frowned behind her mask. "Of course, they wouldn't be so stupid as to not have a distraction to draw off our garrison troops…" She thought grimly, Nemo's skills had clearly advanced outside her expectations, not that she'd expected the Second Rebellion to even start the same way after the Maverick Uprising threw a massive wrench into everyone's plans, let alone the extremely delicate ones she and Charles were working on. ="I want security detachments to sweep the areas around the garrison airfields at once! We can't risk launching fighters or gunships if they have MANPADS or anti air guns!"= She barked at an operator.
"At once your eminence!"
Suzaku glanced over at her. "Can we deploy forces directly from the palace?" He queried.
="Take it up with Franks if you'd like."= Liath replied flippantly, having no desire to spar words with the woman, especially since she'd probably hold the Palace's garrison in reserve out of the possibility the Black Knights would go after Imperial secrets.
Suzaku grimaced. "I'd rather not."
="Then there's your answer."=
He frowned further. "Still… We have to do something, lest we concede defeat."
Liath nodded at him before turning to an operator. ="Contact the Glinda Knights, they should be performing maneuvers on the proving grounds with High General Cornelia's forces. In the meantime, order Fort Grays to scramble fighters with a mix of air to air and air to ground loadouts, we need to stall them long enough for our forces to pin them in."=
"Yes, your eminence!" The Reploid acknowledged as they opened a channel to the proving grounds, putting it under Paralevel Zero to authenticate its urgency.
Suzaku narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Liath out of the corner of his eye. "You think Rolo can stop them if they reach him?"
="Perhaps, only if the Banshee stays out of it though, even with a Vincent he's no match for that Reploid if she intervenes. Maybe a year and a half ago he could take her, but not now."= Liath conceded.
Suzaku clenched his fists, knowing she was right.
June 6, 2019 ATB.
Guard Reploid Barracks, Temple Tower, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
Alarms blared throughout Temple Tower.
Ordinarily this would scramble the guard detachments to action from all stations, including a mass in the barracks.
In this case however the barracks were part of the reason the alarm was blaring.
C2 swept through the section, cutting down every single hostile who stood in her way.
She smashed one's face in with a shield, used another to block a volley of shotgun shells from one of the NCO types with the red optics and belt-fed shotguns, she'd promptly grabbed that unit's weapon and used it to mow down a response squad rushing down the hallway before cleaving its head off using the Sword Soul.
She took a turn down another hallway and blinked as she saw a platoon of guards rushing towards her.
Thinking quickly, she swapped to the Metal Soul, generated two blades, and swapped to the Guts Soul almost immediately.
="SHIT!"= One of the guards shouted as they brought up their rifle.
She flung the razor-sharp ceratanium buzzsaws down the hallway with incredible force, the insanely sharp metal blades sheering all thirty-six Reploids and their weapons in twain before passing through the wall as if it wasn't even there.
"Okay…" An incredulous C2 whispered. "Maybe that was a bit too much overkill…"
The building shook violently again.
"Ah, that must be backup getting closer." She mused as she rushed down the hallway the Reploids had come from. Which meant she was nearing one of the main hangars, which was Shirley's objective.
She stepped through the doorway.
And into a massive hangar filled with nearly three hundred OV3RW4TCH model security Reploids lining a variety of catwalks and spread out across the floor, most carrying assault rifles, but a few with belt-fed shotguns, automatic marksman rifles, 20mm anti-material chain-rifles, SMGs, a variety of grenade and rocket launchers, some recoilless rifles, a few buster cannons, and a plethora of machine guns.
Joining them were sixty riot control fitted G-02 Hunter series heavy mechaniloids with .50 caliber MGs in their right arms, fifty G-01 Beetle aerial heavy security mechaniloids with a mix of underslung 5.56mm LMGs, 25mm grenade launchers, and four shot missile pods, and twelve gen IV scopedog series ride armors with double barreled 25mm chainguns.
In addition to the four F-6t Bigfoot optionally manned Mechaniloid walkers, each with open anti-tank missile pods and spooled up 25mm GAU-7 linear rotary cannons.
Clearly she wasn't nearly as unanticipated as she thought she was because she was staring down an entire armory.
"Oooooh ssshhhiiiiiiit." C2 hissed as she took in the sight before her and heard the clacking of dozens of safeties going off at once.
Her defenses, consisting of energy shielding, a physical ceratanium shield, and of course her armor, was quite robust.
But a barrage like the one she was potentially facing would likely shred through or severely damage just about anything short of the composite belt armor of a modern battleship.
And there was no possible way she could kill all of them before the others gunned her down.
="EXCISE!"= One of the Reploids shouted, C2 bracing herself for the end.
And then an explosion ripped through the wall, distracting her would-be executioners.
Temple Tower, Old Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
Shirley led a squad of Ronin through Temple Tower's Knightmare access hallways with her Guren Mark II Kai, the machine's wave buster blasting apart a hapless security Sutherland that got in her way while her team, consisting of five Ronins and four ride armors, covered her flanks against popup threats.
It'd been a long two years since Lelouch had vanished, and she wasn't the same innocent teenager who'd been drafted into the Black Knights after C2 threatened to kill Lelouch if he'd Geassed her.
She'd lost track of how many people she'd killed at around thirty. Not all of them in self-defense.
Especially after the Uprising occurred and everything descended into anarchy until the various governments and the Maverick Hunters could restore order.
"How much further until we reach the primary air loading bay?" Shirley asked as she kept a wary eye on her proximity sensors.
["The next left and then another three hundred meters straight!"] One of her subordinates replied.
"Right then, we'll hold the site against enemy reinforcements until we can break out as many of our people as possible, and anyone else held unjustly by Britannia for political dissidence."
["Roger!"]
The wave buster crackled as energy gathered between the four pronglike 'fingers' of the wave buster arm.
And then Shirley fired a charged pulse, which vaporized much of the security door standing between them and the hangar.
Two 25mm chaingun turrets began to deploy from the ceiling, and were blown away before they could finish unfurling
The squad passed through the threshold into the hangar.
Right on time to narrowly save C2 from utter annihilation by the security troops.
Shirley narrowed her eyes and swapped the buster to rapid fire, her squad also opening up, the most effective of them being the lone Ronin Cannon's two shoulder mounted 105mm semi-automatic short barreled howitzers, which thundered away at their opponents and sent up sprays of shrapnel and parts as Reploid and Mechaniloid alike were torn apart.
One of the bigfoots ate a shell in its right missile pod, the resulting explosion cooking off the fuel and warheads of the missiles, leading to a reaction that consumed much of the machine and chained onto the one next to it, destroying both and anything close enough to them.
KMF rifle shells and anti-personnel MG rounds continued to spray over the mechaniloids and Reploid security troops, cutting more of them down while slash harkens speared into the ride armors, crushing their mechanical pilots and sending them toppling to the ground.
A missile salvo blew apart the uppermost catwalks and gantries courtesy of C2's Commando Soul, the Reploid switching to the Slash Soul and leaping into a formation, claws glowing with deadly energy sheathing as they carved through entire squads.
Shirley promptly turned her attention to the ride armors and mechaniloids, cutting the remainder down in a fusillade of radiant wave energy.
"Kallen should be at the cell block right about now… And Nemo should be making her way to the warden's office with Urabe…" Shirley thought as another wave of OV3RW4TCH Reploids charged down the side hallways, backed by multiple R1 squads.
She heard C2 scream in rage at the number of opponents here as she herself sighed and opened fire on the newcomers before they could take advantage of their numbers.
Kallen's heart raced as she fired a burst down a hallway, blowing an R1 unit's head apart in a spray of shrapnel and electronics with a few 7.62mm coil-propelled armor piercing rounds.
"Get that breaching charge on the door and have that launcher ready!" Kallen roared at the two Reploids with her.
One of them confirmed the charge was set and retreated back to the alcove they were taking cover in.
The charge detonated, blowing the door wide open.
One of the Reploids stepped out into the center of the hall and raised an RPG-7 laden with a demolition warhead as his compatriot and Kallen dove for cover, the Reploid quickly took a few steps back to ensure Kallen wouldn't be harmed by the backblast.
"CLEAR BACKBLAST! FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He shouted as he pulled the trigger, the backblast funneling down the hallway and perforating a hapless melee optimized R1 unit that had tried to rush them in the lull.
Ohgi jumped in his cell when one of the doors from the outer sectors blew open, having been on edge ever since the alarms started blaring.
Briefly he thought an accident had occurred.
Then the rocket propelled grenade sailed into the 'roundhouse' and obliterated the level seven guard post.
The entire roundhouse was now even more alarmed as energy and gunfire echoed from the hallway, everyone chattering away to try, wondering aloud about what the hell was going on.
And that's when he saw a very familiar redhead rush into the level seven rotunda and open fire back down the hallway with an assault rifle.
"Kallen?!" Ohgi yelled as the Guard Reploids finally regained their bearings.
And then were cut down in a hail of gunfire from above.
A pair of Reploids, a silver stag beetle-themed one he recognized as C2's old XO on Squad 7, Rokusho, and a yellow and white rhinoceros beetle themed Reploid he didn't.
"Hell yeah! We rock!" The KBT type Reploid chuckled as Rokusho slid the door to Ohgi's cell open after smashing the lock.
"Deputy Commander, are you capable of fighting?" The silver Reploid inquired as gunfire and several more explosions echoed through the high security sector, guard Reploids and mechaniloids falling to their demise from stories above, another sizable blast was followed by the center guard tower suddenly collapsing as it pancaked in on itself level by level.
Ohgi nodded as he grabbed his journal, a log he'd written during his stay in temple tower. "Yeah, most of us can." He managed as he watched the dust from the guard tower's destruction begin to settle with wide eyes.
Rokusho nodded as more Reploid and Human Black Knights rappelled down and began to free the other leading Black Knights, as well as most of the other prisoners who weren't there for legitimate concerns such as terrorism or other truly illegal activities. "Very well then, because we're expecting the enemy to throw everything they can muster, including the Kitchen Sink, at us shortly."
Ohgi gulped as he was handed a bullpup Type 64 rifle, an M1911 coil pistol, spare ammo mags and batteries, and a fresh uniform and body armor. "Right then." He acknowledged, beginning to inspect the weapons as Todoh strode over.
"Who's in charge?" The leader of the Holy Swords asked, hoping for clarification on how to follow.
"That would be acting Supreme Commander Nemo." Rokuso acknowledged as the yellow KBT type Reploid struggled to keep Tamaki from ripping a gun out of his hands.
The KWG type Reploid sighed and turned to face them. "Metabee, let him have the weapon."
Both regarded him like a pair of confused chimps.
"I thought Tamaki wasn't supposed to handle weapons." Metabee inquired.
"That was just C2 messing with you." Rokusho sighed in exasperation, putting his palm against his faceplate.
Metabee began chittering angrily as he released his hold on the gun and turned to face his partner. "KEKEKEKEKEKE! AIN'T NOBODY MESS WITH METAL BEETLE LIKE THAT! WHY I'LL SHOW HER-"
Tamaki meanwhile had paled visibly and backed away as he saw who had just appeared behind Metabee.
"Show who what Metabee?" C2 asked sweetly, her tone dripping with false honey. "That you're dumber than Tamaki?"
Ohgi had never heard a Reploid shriek so girlishly before.
"N-n-nothing m-m-ma'am! Forget I said anything! Actually, just forget I exist!" He stuttered in a panic.
C2 sighed in exasperation, her eyes half-lidded in annoyance as she titled her head slightly. "You know I'm not going to do anything to you in battle you idiot, seriously I swear you're actually dumber than Tamaki sometimes." She grumbled as she smacked him on the head.
"Than- Wait! Hey!" Tamaki shouted as he assessed what had been said and realized it was still an insult.
"C2…? I thought you…" Ohgi began.
"Abandoned the Black Knights, yeah I did…" She sighed. "It's a really long story that involves me saving Kallen's parents from an assassination attempt, fighting Mavericks across the globe, ending up in Pendragon with a bunch of Neo-Patriots, fighting against a variety of Reploids who were also gunning for me dealing with the Glinda Knights when they went after the aforementioned bunch of Neo-Patriots, getting laid, etcetera, etcetera."
Ohgi blinked and reeled back a bit. "Wait what was last part?"
"I said I got laid. What? Did you expect me to pull some stupid bait and switch?" The Reploid said with a catlike smirk on her face.
"But that's…"
"Aftermarket mods." She explained with a wave of her hand.
"I thought your chest was bigger than I remembered…" Tamaki mumbled.
"Don't make me cause an accident later Tamaki. You're more useful to us with your feet not reduced to powder." C2 snarled as she eyed him dangerously.
The Japanese man rapidly held up his hands in a placating gesture of surrender.
Todoh rolled his eyes. "That's fine and all but what's our force deployment like?" He inquired as Sugiyama, Takahasi, Suzue, and Minami trooped over.
"Shirley's holding the hangar, Inoue's running the fleet operations overhead from the Ikaruga, Kusukabe is holding position with Diethard for our exit point, and Urabe and Nemo are going to retrieve Zero." She explained.
Everyone did a significant double-take, cutting off the questions about fleet operations, Shirley, and Inoue. "Zero? He's alive? How?" Ohgi whispered, speaking what was on the minds of everyone who'd been imprisoned.
"If they had actually killed him his corpse would've been paraded through the streets of Pendragon, hanging from the torso of the Lancelot for all to see the fate of those who'd oppose Britannia." C2 pointed out as the remainder of the Swords arrived as well.
It was sound logic, and something Britannia would do to prove a point.
"So the Warden's keeping him close 'eh!" Tamaki noted spitefully. "Well considering how he-"
C2 sighed again as she cut him off. "Yeah, I know you all have problems with Zero, especially after Tokyo, I'm the last you'd expect to make excuses for his shit but I'm sure you can imagine the amount of stress he'd been under beforehand, especially after the repeated SAZ curveballs."
Ohgi and Todoh nodded grimly. "Even I'd been near breaking point when we arrived at Tokyo." Todoh admitted.
"Someone Zero was close to was abducted during the battle and he snapped, losing all sight of his intended goal." Minami mumbled, remembering how Zero prioritized one of the hostages over Ohgi at the time.
"So Zero snapped, what're we supposed to do? Just kowtow before him and beg for him to be our leader again?" Tamaki grumbled as the facility shook again, this time from Britannian forces bombarding it. "Like hell we are! He's the one who ditched us!"
"Oh I'll make sure he answers for what happened in Tokyo." C2 growled. "Even if I have to beat him black and blue over it."
"Uh…" Ohgi murmured nervously as the building shook again.
The dull crack of a fighter jet passing overhead at supersonic speeds was heard shortly thereafter.
C2 glared at him idly. "What? I didn't say I forgave him, just that I understood why he snapped and lost focus. The two aren't exclusively connected."
"It's not just that, but I think we've spent way too much time idly talking in the middle of one of the most secure prisons on the planet, while it's presumably under attack from the very nation that's operating it." He pointed out.
"MOVE YOUR STUPID ASSES! THE BRITANNIANS FINALLY SENT REINFORCEMENTS!" Kallen shouted from across the way as people streamed past her out the door.
C2's face flushed red as she remembered that tidbit, having gotten distracted. "Oh, shit, right let's get moving people!" She ordered as they too joined the rush of those escaping.
C2 paused briefly in the hall, having a bad feeling about the ease with which they'd gotten into Old Pendragon, something she hadn't considered until now, the Reploid splitting off and heading to a lift that would take her higher into the facility.
And towards where Nemo and Urabe's teams were advancing on security control.
June 6, 2019 ATB/1964 AD.
Hunter Base, Abel City, Australia.
X looked wistfully at a picture of himself and C2 huddled together in sleep mode that Zero had taken when he recovered them from Chill Penguin's hijacked Antarctic base after the Maverick Hunter turned Maverick had been destroyed.
Incidentally that was the day they'd inadvertently soul-bonded due to him managing to help mitigate C2's latest mental breakdown via... 'Unconventional Means'.
Of course, the moment he managed to resolve that issue she pulled him into a 'horizontal tango'.
To be fair, C2 had been waiting for months for it after unspokenly promising as much back in Tokyo, having paid for the aftermarket mods to make such an act possible, and they'd been trapped for nearly a week by a rather nasty storm that had brewed up thanks to the damage sustained by the weather control device in the facility, which had normally been intended to open breaks in fierce Antarctic storms to allow aircraft to access the remote research bases for resupply or evacuation.
He sighed and slapped his helmet. "X, stop acting like a lovesick teenager, C2'd hit you for that." He breathed before turning back to his reports.
X was immediately interrupted by a frantic pounding at his room's door.
He shot up and rushed over to it, the door sliding open to reveal a grunt hunter from the 17th standing there. "What is it?"
"Captain X! Sir! There's a situation in Pendragon! Commander Sigma needs you in Ops ASAP!" The Reploid informed him.
X resisted the urge to groan.
He knew damn well that C2 was likely involved.
"Well… Looks like we might be back to that old grind." He mused internally.
Except this time both he and C2 were capable of feats that made their little dance in Tokyo look like a slapfight in comparison.
"She's also more experienced in individual combat than me thanks to her those underground brawls she entered while in hiding… Yeah she's going to kick my ass, even with all the battle experience and the weapons chips I gained fighting my former comrades…" He realized after a moment's pause.
Still, at least she had a motivating cause again, considering how bad her mental state had gotten before her trip to Europa, partially due to guilt and listlessness.
That was enough to make him smile as he stood up and headed out the door.
Temple Tower, Pendragon, Britannian Homeland.
The Gekka Pre-Production Test Type tore through the main security levels, Urabe's Custom Gekka following in tow with a pair of Ronin units, having left three of them to guard the primary lift.
"Urabe, I want your team to clear out the local area and begin planting the charges." Nemo ordered.
["And what'll you be doing?"]
"Going after Zero." She stated calmly.
C2 raced down a hallway before the building rumbled violently again and fire spat down a side passage, nearly tripping over a body in the process.
"The hell…? We don't have forces on this floor..." She murmured as she took cover, before noting with some disquiet that the bodies in the corridor were all unarmed prison administration staff, people the Black Knights weren't targeting.
She managed to collect herself as she suffered a brief flashback to the unspeakable horrors she'd witnessed during the Maverick Uprising, expecting hostiles nearby
Sure enough, a sizable force of Reploids and humans bearing spec-ops gear were advancing down the main hallway, weapons raised, backed by Ride Armors and Gloucesters.
"Britannian special forces…?!" She thought as she recognized the patterns.
["All SAD detachments are to capture Nemo and terminate all witnesses. Leave no survivors outside of the target and other OSI forces. Work from the upper levels and then head down."] One of the Gloucesters ordered over its speakers.
"Yes, my lord!" The troops replied in unison.
C2 hissed under her breath as she passed and attempted to chime her comms, only to find them jammed.
"Of course it's OSI." She thought, the Office of Strategic/Secret Intelligence was arrogant as hell, but they weren't stupid.
Or at least most of their staff and operatives weren't, as they weren't even using radio communications to hide their intent.
Of course they were just going to kill everyone anyways so they might not have minded the security risk that much.
Cycling her buster, she checked her internal map of the prison and took a side passage, hoping to get to the others before the OSI did.
Alan Spacer sweated nervously as he watched the security forces dwindle precipitously. Rolo had gone off to speak to the warden and had not returned or contacted him, leading him to believe his friend had been killed.
Especially with the goddamn Banshee of Pendragon running about and slaughtering most of the OV3RW4TCH series units and whatever else she came across with punitive ease.
Another blast shook the building. "Sector four! Report!" He demanded over the comms. "Sector four!"
He checked the remaining and what he saw chilled him to the bone.
In every view, dozens of prison staff and human guards in that sector lay dead in drying pools of their own blood, his hand away from his headset in horror
"It doesn't make any sense, Sector Four was an administrative zone… The Black Knights wouldn't have any reason to go there. Nor kill any of them."
He then noticed the Britannian IFFs moving through the facility and tried to contact them. "Attention Britannian forces! This is Security Officer Alan Spacer of the Temple Tower Detention Center! Are you here to provide support?"
The IFFs flickered off in unison.
The cameras started going dark immediately thereafter.
He briefly caught a glimpse of a squad exiting an elevator and opening fire on a pair of guards before the cameras were shot out.
The young man fell back into his seat in shock. "Why… Why are they attacking us?" He gasped.
"It's simple. Because you're expendable." A voice intoned behind him.
Spacer whirled around, drawing his sidearm and aiming at Nemo as she stood there. "How did you get in here!?" He demanded, unable to shake a sense of familiarity.
"Through the door, how else?" The immortal retorted.
"Don't play games with me! I'll shoot!" He threatened as he flicked the safety off.
She looked down at his gun. "Did you pre-chamber a round?" She inquired.
"Wha…?"
"I asked if you'd pre-chambered a round. You can't shoot me with that 1911 if there's not a round chamber." She pointed out.
As he scrambled to see if the coilpistol had a round chambered, Nemo raised her own sidearm and strode over to him, aiming it at his forehead. "Okay, you're an idiot for not already knowing whether or not you have a round chambered. Now put down the weapon. Slowly." She ordered.
"You're fucking with me." He realized after a moment as he set his pistol down.
"What gave you that impression? Kick it away."
He did as instructed, the gun sliding off to the side where it clattered to a stop against a console. "What're you going to do to me? Kill me? Take me prisoner?"
"I'm here to bring you back Lelouch."
He scoffed. "I don't know who you have me confused with but my name is Alan Spacer, my father's a Duke, a high-ranking member of the Internal Security Bureau I might add."
Nemo narrowed her eyes at him. "So, you got to this position via nepotism? How does that make you feel about your merits?"
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words to reply, a sense of shame flooding over him.
"That's what I thought, you feel cheated because you didn't accomplish this on your own. Yet you seemed almost prideful about your 'father's' position beforehand, why's that?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" He snapped at her.
She stepped around him, keeping the gun trained on the young man. "It's simple, because everything you believe you know about yourself is a lie."
"Bullshit."
A smirk graced her features. "Is it now? Tell me, why have I not heard about this man then? Surely a Duke in the ISB would have substantial documented evidence of his existence. And as acting leader of the Black Knights, why would I not be aware of such a high value enemy target?"
He froze, unable to argue with her cold logic.
"Show me a picture of him." Nemo demanded.
"What?"
"Did I stutter? Show. Me. A. Picture. Doesn't have to be physical, just from your phone if necessary."
"What's the point of this?! You're not making any sense!" He shouted at her, now both confused and afraid for his life.
She clicked her tongue. "This false identity must be more compliant than who Lelouch is, and it has to be relatively recent otherwise I'd be breaking through more easily."
She was about to try her next plan, when she felt a sharp pain tear into her back and collapsed forwards as suppressed gunshot coughed behind her.
'Spacer' ran over and knelt down next to her, Nemo panting as her code attempted to repair the damage.
"How quaint, the bait worked exactly as intended." A man sneered softly as six OSI operatives in combat gear strode up.
"Bait!? What do you mean bait?!" Spacer demanded as he fumbled about for a medical kit.
Nemo rolled her head over to look at them.
Not a single one was wearing goggles or any form of eyewear that would interfere with Geass, either they remained unaware of what she was capable of unleashing again, or they were arrogant. Likely the former all things considered, V.V.'s arrogance was almost as immense as his obsession with his brother.
"My superiors are the ones monitoring you, 'Alan Spacer', however, I could hardly give a damn about what little trite things you do, I simply just kill who I'm told to kill."
"But we're all Britannians!? Why are you killing us?!"
The older man scoffed. "You're an imbecile, everyone in this prison is expendable as far as we're concerned. Especially those lobotomized tin cans you call sentries."
"Lobotomized…?!"
The man sneered and decided to entertain the question. "Why do you think the 'overwatch' series is only used by Britannia? They're converted wholesale from petty Mavericks and dissident Reploids who don't toe that proverbial unspoken line and aren't worth the effort to rehabilitate. The Soviets have a model with similar origins that's commonly mistaken for being the same type, but there's enough subtle differences to tell the two apart. But really, that's irrelevant, just like everyone else on this prison's staff that we've slaughtered."
"Why even bring it up then!?" Spacer yelped in surprise.
The man shrugged indifferently. "Honestly, I just like letting someone learn one last thing before they die, if possible. Really lets the kill feel a bit more personal."
He gasped in horror. "Why!? What reason do you have to do any of us!?"
"Our objective is only to bring this girl in. You, and everyone else, have no such luck however. Scalpel four, kill him."
"No!" Nemo shouted and shot up, shoving 'Spacer' to the ground as one of the operators fired, a round shredding through her heart as she fell on top of him, blond hair flowing about as they collapsed.
Only the protective vests they were both wearing prevented the round from penetrating his body as well, and even then he had the wind knocked out of him.
The team leader clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn, call command to get a bodybag for her, we'll have to report our failure as well, Scalpel three, delete the recordings and then dispose of the boy. He's just a random commoner who thinks he has some power because he works for Internal Security."
"Sir."
'Spacer' simply laid there, Nemo resting on him as her corpse bled out. "I'm going to die, because someone said I have to, for no reason... And the only reason I'm not dead already is that they're toying with me for their own sick amusement! Was… What she telling me true…? Is everything I know a lie?! To hell with it! Power, I need power, the power to escape this living hell!"
"So, you're ready now." Nemo's voice intoned, as if he was hearing it in his mind.
"What?!"
Her eyes opened and then she slid up his body, her lips gently pressing against his.
An unusual, yet oddly familiar sensation crawled through his nervous system.
He saw Jupiter pass by in all its resplendent glory, the sun shining from behind it.
"What… What is this…?!"
"You desire power?"
"That voice again… The girl who was shot?!"
Visions, familiar yet vague played through his mind, the etching of the collective's mark, the throngs of individuals bearing it on their foreheads.
He remembered them, yet also didn't.
"The power you seek, has always been inside of you, merely locked away in a prison of amnesia. Remember, remember who you really are. The power of the King. Now… Let the seal… Be broken!"
'Spacer' was soon taken to an unfamiliar yet familiar place, a white field inside his own mind.
He saw himself, images of a past lived but never knew he had flickering past him.
A caring but crippled sister, close friends and compatriots, arguments and laughter, tears and blood and all that came with them.
He was surprised at the presence of a green haired Reploid with golden eyes, as well as Kallen Stadtfeld, both currently at the top of the Empire's wanted list and attacking the very facility he was inside, in addition to the added surprise of Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Seven, all acting relatively friendly with him.
He saw Rolo, his presumed best friend, in none of them.
More images passed by, a dawning realization coming upon him.
"These are my memories, but how…?"
"Memories of a life once lived, but lost thanks to hubris and betrayal."
He saw C2 shouting at him, the Reploid looking severely upset with something he'd done. The scene shifted to a cavern, with Suzaku aiming a gun at him, disappointment cast on his face while Kallen stood barely visible, her eyes wide in shock.
And then to a mask which was utterly unmistakable, staring back at him.
"I see now. No wonder I had this persistent feeling that something was wrong prickling like a bad itch incessantly at the back of my head every single waking moment of my days, yes… Hah, my mind was inherently rejecting the false memories implanted in me that I was living…"
The images of his true Father, the Emperor Charles zi Britannia, and his true Mother, Marianne vi Britannia, flashed past him, alongside those of his dozens of siblings, his friends from Ashford and his cohorts in the Black Knights, all reflected on the violet dome that protruded from the mask of Zero.
"But I remember now… Yes… I… I am Zero!"
"Lelouch… We're still friends… Aren't we?" A memory of Suzaku asked him with tired eyes as he stood over Lelouch, holding a gun to his face whilst Liath's stormtroopers rushed towards the platform, the claps of their boots almost drowning the young man's voice out as black .
"Yes… That's your answer isn't it… Suzaku!"
"Do you know what you must do now?" Nemo inquired.
His mental avatar smirked. "Yes."
"Then wake up Lelouch, your Black Knights need their leader. They need their Black King."
His smirk turned into a malicious grin.
Lelouch rolled Nemo off him as he slowly got to his feet.
Sure enough, the OSI team simply regarded him with amusement, and then shock as Nemo got up as well.
"Before you dispose of me, I would like to ask you all to answer a question."
"That girl's still alive!" One of them gasped in shock.
"Impossible! She took a hollowpoint round straight through the heart!" Another sputtered.
Nemo sidestepped away while Lelouch strode forwards, letting his bangs cover his eyes, already getting back into his old theatrics.
"If being powerless means my life is worth nothing, then does having power make yours worth any more? Does it make me wrong and you right?" He demanded as he walked towards them. "Do you find vengeance evil? What's your value of friendship, of justice?"
The squad leader backed away nervously and aimed his carbine at the young man approaching him but found himself too frozen by the sudden confidence in Lelouch's stride to pull the trigger.
"Answer me." Lelouch demanded again, flatly this time.
The squad leader's face hardened. "There's no value to evil or good! Only the righteousness of might! That's how the world works, that's how it's always worked!" He snapped.
"I see, and you're partially correct… But he who holds all the might, be it through raw strength or sheer compassion and charisma, can mould the state of the world around him as he sees fit."
"What the hell is he talking about!?" One of the operatives asked.
"Screw it, kill him." The squad leader scoffed. "He's just an idealistic hack."
Lelouch grinned like a predator who'd cornered his prey, his Geass flaring to life, much to the horror of the men before him, who were unable to comprehend what arcane power they now bore witness to. "Then you have chosen your fate, to be consumed by those who have greater power." He chuckled before gesturing at them with his left arm. "Now, behold! The Power of a true king! I, Lelouch vi Britannia!" He relished the look of shock and terror on their faces as he said his true birth name. "Command you! all of you! Die!" He ordered as he swept his arm out, mirroring his flourish from when he ordered a squad of Clovis's guardsmen to kill themselves almost two years before.
The OSI team relaxed and smiled. "Happily, your highness!" They said gleefully as they drew their sidearms and flicked the safeties off, their weapons having been pre-chambered in anticipation of use.
"FIRE!" The squad leader shouted with psychotic joy.
And then they pulled the triggers, the weapons discharging with the metallic pangs associated with coilguns, the lifeless bodies of the OSI kill team falling to the ground shortly thereafter.
Lelouch's grin softened into a self-assured smirk. "This world has to change, so I will change it."
"After all… I am Zero."
A wall standing between the control room and a Knightmare use corridor burst open, revealing Urabe's Gekka and the Guren Mark II through the dust, Kallen having acquired it to reinforce Urabe after Nemo failed to check in on time.
Both Knightmares knelt before him. ["We've been awaiting your return Master Zero. Please, give us your orders"] Urabe stated over his frame's loudspeakers.
He noted that Urabe didn't seem to be phased at all by his appearance and filed it away for when he had the time to act on that knowledge.
"First, I need a status report." Lelouch barked.
["We've freed the prisoners held in the 'roundhouse', while a team under Q3 has currently locked down the hangar against enemy reinforcement."]
His eyes narrowed. "Q3? I didn't give that designation out."
["My apologies, acting Supreme Commander Nemo assigned that to Captain Fenette after Andrew Stadtfeld took over the quartermaster role."]
Lelouch managed to hide his surprise and horror at the reveal of Shirley actively engaging in combat, though he'd somewhat expected Kallen's father to end up working with them at some point, so that wasn't much of a shock. "I see, continue."
Kallen spoke up next. ["Our air flotilla is keeping Britannian air power at bay, beyond a few strike planes that broke protocol and took off from local airfields to bomb the building at high speed before being driven off, but we've detected a transmission to Fort Grays to scramble most of their available combat assets."]
He narrowed his eyes. "Air flotilla? No wonder they were able to risk raiding Pendragon." He nodded. "Is there anything else?"
["C2 reported she was moving to reinforce us but got waylaid by the warden."] Urabe informed him.
That caused Lelouch to display some visible shock. Last he checked, C2 had totally bailed on him, rather harshly he might add. "What happened over the course of the last year?!"
"Very well then. Are there any Knightmares I can utilize?" He inquired.
["There's a number of OSI Gloucesters nearby with their IFFs loaded, all still running."] Urabe reported.
He chuckled, apparently his enemies had planned for a speedy withdrawal once they'd acquired Nemo.
"I guess I should thank them for being so considerate." He joked as he strode over to the closest unit, Nemo following.
He noticed the pink Gekka nearby and watched her turn and head towards it. He smirked and rode the Gloucester's boarding line up "The more things change, the more they stay the same I guess."
"Catch!" Nemo shouted as she tossed something to him after her Knightmare rolled over on remote pilot.
"What's this?" He inquired as he caught the small box.
"It's a special contact lens for your… Condition." She replied, Lelouch nodding in thanks as he closed the Gloucester's cockpit up and placed the contact lens over his perpetually active Geass eye before taking a quick look at the controls to re-familiarize himself with the Britannian standard layout.
Flicking through the systems, his smirk grew again. "I'll have to thank the Britannians sometime for not changing their cockpit layouts beyond minor subsystems." He mused jokingly, even the Lancelot's cockpit was largely standard from what he'd seen on Shikane Island.
Lelouch flicked to the Black Knights channel Urabe had provided via telemetry. "Attention all Black Knights forces, this is Zero! The one who shall crush this twisted world and remake it anew! I am taking command here!"
C2, standing over the smoldering metal shell that had once been Alarm Doberman with her Heat Soul active, smirked as she heard the transmission. "Oh Lelouch, not even twenty seconds and you're already hamming it up. God that always amused and annoyed the shit out of me."
She was still going to punch him in the face though, he deserved at least that much for his shit.
The chorus of cheers over his comms was almost deafening and it made his chest swell with pride, his forces hadn't abandoned him.
He looked over the evacuation plan Nemo was relaying to him from her Gekka, it was quite solid, but he already saw a few ways it could be altered for contingencies. "I will be sending you all revised orders for our escape operation, I need you to follow them to the letter for us to succeed, long live the Black Knights!"
["LONG LIVE THE BLACK KNIGHTS! LONG LIVE ZERO!"]
AN: Heh, using R2 as a basic blueprint for X2 but modifying it extensively is pretty fun.
In essence, X1 and R1 was like comparing a Burai to a Glasgow, modified enough to be different, but quite recognizable to the original.
X2 will be more like a Vincent to the Lancelot, you can see some obvious similarities, but if you didn't already know what was derived from what you're probably going to not recognize it.
Also, as for the 'Old' Pendragon thing, I'd imagine Britannia has two capital cities, old Pendragon, once a major revolutionary city like Philadelphia a-la Cold Calculus, and New Pendragon, which is the city towards the West Coast that's marked on the TV show's map.
As for C2's future title, well, Razgriz isn't exactly an exclusive title despite what AC05 would have you think about the ex-Wardog pilots.
Cipher, depending on the playthrough of AC0, notably earned that title long before any of them sans Bartlett, Pops, and maybe Swordsman ever stepped foot into a cockpit.
Anywho, since the OSI in CG shares its name with a very different OSI from Venture Bros, I'm surprised at the lack of Agent Brock Sampsons running around in CG fics, absolutely slaughtering hapless Black Knights before someone competent steps in.
The Epilogue Prolouge thing, a la Halo:Reach was sort of a spur of the moment thing, it works well without revealing a bit too much of Zero Requiem that I've got planned.
I mean, Lelouch planned to die since day one, not really a big surprise he gets offed, though I did have to cut some lines that were majorspoilers that were originally put in after thinking it over.