Chapter Twenty: Meeting of Brothers
It was odd that Lelouch was only now realizing how appealing Kallen and Villetta were. He'd been intellectually aware of it before, but it hadn't changed anything. Now though, he was in the center of the back seat. On either side of them, the two curvaceous women were sitting with bare legs and arms. They were wearing skintight leotards, and their thighs brushed up against his.
And he had to make a phone call while preventing certain rebellious reactions.
The phone rang several times as the car sped through the streets of the Tokyo Settlement. From the looks of things, Construction Crews were already at work. So Kallen seemed to have been successful. Now and then, Lelouch had seen his subordinates helping with clearing wreckage. All under the watch of the makeshift police force.
And then Nunnally picked up. "Lelouch, is that you? What's been happening?"
"A lot of things, Nunnally. Some good, some bad," said Lelouch. "Listen, Nunnally; I'm going to meet Clovis."
"What?" said Nunnally, voice concerned. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing yet," said Lelouch quickly. "But, we're going to have serious changes in our life after this."
"Well, I'm sure you'll handle it, Lelouch," said Nunnally. "God will look out for us."
Lelouch smiled. "I hope you're right.
"Remember to call the others, Nunnally. They're under a lot of stress, and they'd love to hear from you."
"Right, I will," said Nunnally. "I'm listening to the radio, you know. I keep hearing about how everyone is cooperating to help rebuild the settlement. Or I was, but not there is fighting in Kyushu. A lot of people have been killed out there.
"You don't think it will get here, do you?"
Lelouch wished he could say no with complete truth. "Don't worry, Nunnally.
"I won't let it. I love you."
And he hung up. Lowering the phone, he found himself feeling bitter as they were led into the Viceroy's palace. Villetta eyed him. "Is your call made?"
"Yes," said Lelouch.
"You don't need to look like a man going to his funeral," said Villetta, smiling. Lelouch looked her up and down, admired her body, and reflected that it did not make any difference.
"Ms. Villetta Nu, I have spent years hiding in plain sight. Mostly because I worried Nunnally and I would have our throats cut," said Lelouch. "We were abandoned in Japan despite being hostages and nearly slaughtered. My Mother, the Empress, was machine-gunned to death in front of me, and nothing was done.
"You'll forgive me if I am concerned."
Villetta took the point. "My apologies, your highness. It was not my-"
"And cut the insincere formalities, if you please. Kallen, let's go," said Lelouch, looking to Kallen.
They headed up an elevator and were led to a side passage to a darkly lit room. At the far side of the room was Prince Clovis, clad in a fine uniform. In one white-gloved hand was a book he was reading, emblazoned with the image of a desert and a robed figure on it.
He took no notice of them, and Villetta moved forward, gulping before bowing. "Prince Clovis."
"One moment," said Clovis. "...I've been reading through the classic science fiction novel, Dune. I begin to think it should have been labeled fantasy. Frank Herbert, for all his imagination, seemed to have no understanding of economics. Or military strategy. Or ecology, for that matter.
"The kind of controlled equilibrium described in Dune is impossible. You could never create it, even on a very small scale. Let alone in an immense, galaxy-spanning Empire.
"I prefer more realistic portrayals of economic and social conflict within futuristic societies. Such as Star Wars."
"What's Star Wars?" asked Kallen suddenly.
Clovis sighed. "Oh, it's a very well-made film which was stored in a vault somewhere a long time ago. It advocated for democracy as the ideal system of government. But the Royal Family rather liked it. It was a very good movie and very wholesome, but it said something we didn't want to hear.
"So after its initial viewings, it's never been seen by anyone.
"I must ask, Ms. Kozuki. Did you know?"
Kallen shrugged. "I suspected.
"Though, I only put it together after I talked with you."
Clovis stood up and put the book down with a sigh. "Well then, I thank you for not bringing it up. It would have put me in a very bad position to have it publically known.
"I'm afraid I've had something of an advantage over you, Lelouch. You see, I've known where you were since you joined with the Ashfords."
Lelouch blinked in surprise. "You knew I was there?"
"Oh, come now, Lelouch," said Clovis. "Did you think you'd pull the wool over my eyes? You haven't been nearly careful enough for that. You were living in a huge mansion in plain sight, going on gambling excursions. You ought to have at least died your hair and not said that you and Nunnally were siblings. As it is, if you had been looking to disappear, you've done a very poor job of it.
"Not that it did you any harm since I knew that you'd need someone to help you. Aside from myself, the only other rational routes of escape were Kyoto and Reuban Ashford. So I immediately checked up on both for confirmation.
"All I had to do was read the list of students at Ashford Academy, find one that matched you and Nunnally, and do a background check."
"Then why didn't you make contact before now?" asked Lelouch.
"I concluded that you did not want to be found," said Clovis with a shrug. "And you being found it would just cause problems for both of us. Our Father is... not a gentleman by nature. He would have used you as a pawn, and I guess that is why you chose to stay out of it.
"And he might even be irritated with me for returning you to the fold.
"Since you seemed to be doing well, I saw no reason to press the matter. I discouraged any further searches and focused on running my area. If Villetta Nu hadn't done some research of her own, we wouldn't be here.
"Don't be too hard on her; she had no way of knowing the details."
Lelouch looked to Villetta, who blushed and looked away beneath his gaze and Kallen's. Then Lelouch looked back to the book and thought it had been chosen deliberately. "...Why Dune?"
"It's all in the performance, Lelouch," said Clovis, adjusting his uniform. "When you are speaking to a superior, you must be the very image of a dutiful subordinate. If you talk to the public, you must give them the very image of a charismatic Prince. Either one who is wise beyond compare or well-meaning but out of touch.
"Sometimes, you can do both.
"You play to the crowd.
"As I was doing here. I thought it would be more interesting than sitting on a throne with a stoic expression."
"Yes, but why Dune?" asked Lelouch, pressing the question.
Clovis smiled. "That was your favorite book, wasn't it?"
Lelouch halted and thought about it for a moment. "Was it?
"I don't remember."
"Oh come now, surely you must remember something," said Clovis. "The Empress Marianne gave you the book, and you devoured the entire series."
"Oh, right," said Lelouch. "I had bad taste."
"If I recall, you were always pretending to be Paul Atreides, and Cornelia was the Saudukar," said Clovis.
Lelouch took no pleasure at the memory. The book was immensely popular reading among the royal family. The Emperor was fond of it himself, but it seemed such a childish story these days. He had experienced many of the same horrors the book depicted. All within the same order, Lelouch had come to despise it.
Characters who had once seemed so inspiring now seemed like deluded drug dealing idiots. Murderers who consoled their own depravity. All by pretending as though morality did not exist.
Lelouch tried to remember something related to it and smiled at a memory. "And Euphie and Nunnally fought over who'd be Chani or Irulan. Frankly, Cornelia's part seems the only one worth playing."
"What makes you say that?" asked Clovis.
"Paul Atreides was a cowardly megalomaniac," said Lelouch. "For all his pretensions, he never took the field directly. Simply took credit for the efforts of better men with propaganda.
"And yet the future was all that defined him. His entire life, he spent looking away towards the future, terrified of what was coming. At no point did he ever look around at where he was and what he was doing.
"If anyone in that book had asked 'is this the right thing to do,' Dune would have had a very different ending. But no, so far as Paul Atreides is concerned, the religion he has inserted himself into is but a tool. He does not believe in it, and he has no respect for it.
"The closest he ever gets is condescending whining about how being so powerful is a curse. All these weak-minded religious people can get comfort from their lies agreed upon. But one such as him, he cannot take such simple pleasures."
Clovis seemed to consider it. "His is a high and lonely destiny?"
"CS Lewis," mused Lelouch.
"The undisputed master of Christian propaganda," mused Clovis. "They teach him in intelligence schools, you know. Is Paul Atreides a metaphor for my own rule?"
"Well, interpretations can be made either way," said Lelouch. "Characters within the context of fiction are archetypes. They are given form by our interpretations of them, regardless of the intent of the author.
"You can interpret a ruler in three ways;
"Either they intended everything that happened in their reign to happen.
"They set in motion the events of their reign but did not comprehend what they were doing.
"Or they had absolutely no control at all and were just a puppet."
"You do mean me," laughed Clovis. "Well, perhaps we can reread the book some time and find out if the interpretation stands.
"Would you care for something to drink?"
And he poured four glasses and offered them to Kallen, Lelouch and Villetta. Lelouch eyed the glass, wondering if it was poisoned on habit.
"Oh very well, I'll drink first," said Clovis, taking Lelouch's cup and sipping it before giving him his own.
"So, why Dune?" asked Lelouch a third time.
"Oh very well," said Clovis. "The truth is, I've looked on you in much the same lens. "I was somewhat concerned you are trying to replicate the actions of your role model. Your history in Area 11 has been remarkably similar in some ways. And you have been using religion-"
"I am not using religion," said Lelouch quickly. "I handed out those bibles because Nunnally wanted it. That's the only reason. If she'd wanted a text on Buddhism or Hinduism, I'd have put that out instead. I do not ask for the fealty of those I serve, I serve everyone equally, and I never, ever, make sermons."
Clovis nodded. "You must admit it has given you a certain influence over them. I'm told you've arranged for many of them to go to Itsukushima."
Now it was Lelouch's turn to laugh. "Clovis, even if I could get a mass uprising of the people of Area Eleven, do you they'd stand a chance against seasoned troops? They'd be mowed down in seconds.
"We've already seen the glorious master race envisioned by Frank Herbert. They're very brave in massacring innocent people and little else."
"And who is this Master Race?" asked Clovis.
"Does it really matter whether I'm talking about?" asked Lelouch. "There are far more armies who fit the description in this world than those who don't. The ideology of racial purity is a liability that has been mistaken for a means of control.
"In reality, ideology controls societies. Not the other way around. Once an ideology becomes entrenched in a society, it becomes the new standard. In its infant stages, it can be utilized to prevent unrest and mobilization.
"But when a monster grows up, it eats its parents."
Clovis smiled and looked at Kallen. "And now you know why I'm a moderate, Ms. Stadtfeld."
Lelouch decided to come clean with it. "Would you be interested in hearing about some infant monsters in this Area?"
"If you've seen some, yes," said Clovis.
"Do you know what Milner did?" asked Lelouch.
"I'm sure there are many things I don't know," said Clovis. "You'd better tell me everything."
Lelouch took a drink, and then he told Clovis everything. Clovis listened, now and then, asking for clarification one one thing or another. The meeting with the resistance groups seemed to interest him particularly. At last, however, he nodded. "I see.
"Things really have gotten out of hand, haven't they. He won the Medal of Honor storming the beaches of Area 11, and he's become this?"
"It's power, Clovis," said Lelouch. "When you have absolute power over someone, you show who you really are in how you treat them."
Clovis sighed. "I suppose I shall have to press charges. Which means I'll lose what I thought was a valuable subordinate."
"If I were you, I'd send him to Itsukushima with my own people," said Lelouch, seeing an opportunity. "Give him a chance to redeem himself; most of them are probably going to die anyway. At least he might make sure the line holds a bit longer."
Clovis nodded. "Yes, well, they will be fighting mechanized infantry with AK 47's.
"I suppose the question is; What happens now?"
Lelouch shrugged. "I'd like to join them if you don't mind. I am the one who set all this in motion; I ought to be there when it all ends."
"Are you sure?" asked Clovis. "You don't have much military experience."
Lelouch looked to Kallen and then back. She looked nice in her pilot's suit. "Yes, well, we all seem to be very short-handed. And I imagine it would make things much simpler for all involved either way.
"A glorious victory gives me something I can take credit for."
"And a heroic death means Father has no reason to call up you or Nunnally," noted Clovis. "You seem pretty good at a game you've been out of for a long time. I'd give a flat refusal if I had anyone else to send down there. Very well, Kallen, Village, you will accompany him, as well as a small group of infantry.
"I do have some experienced people on hand now. They could at least provide some discipline.
"You might particularly enjoy this part." Then he turned to a dark-skinned fat man to one side. "Bartley, would you send for Captain Milner? Tell him I have an assignment for him.
Lelouch, stand over there in shadows, would you? You two as well, flank him."
"Ever the theatric," said Lelouch as they did so.
And they went to the shadows and waited a bit, as Clovis sat down, now looked the very image of a stern Prince. Eventually, the door opened and Milner came through. He was flanked by two men, who waited outside.
"Prince Clovis, you called for me," said Milner, saluting.
"Yes, Captain Milner," said Clovis. "I must commend you on locking down the area so quickly. Unfortunately, with the recent arrival of the Chinese, you are no longer well placed. I have decided to assign you as a military advisor to a member of the Royal Family.
"One that has been undercover for some time."
Milner halted. "I see.
"I was not aware of any such royal."
"That was entirely intentional," said Clovis. "For political reasons, it was necessary they remain where they were."
Lelouch stepped out of the shadows with Villetta and Kallen at his side. "It has been some time, Captain Milner.
"My name is Lelouch Vi Britannia, son of Empress Marianne and 11th in line to the throne. And I've come back to change everything."
Milner's face went white as one who has stared into the depths of hell and seen his own soul decaying there. He stepped back a pace before he mastered himself. "Y-your highness."
"May I see your gun?" asked Lelouch, coming forward.
Milner looked to Clovis, who smiled. "Your gun, Milner."
Milner removed his pistol and gave it to Lelouch, who took it. Examining it, he clicked off the safety as Milner flinched, then clicked it back on. "Well polished, no signs of neglect or carelessness. Carefully kept ready for battle.
"I would expect someone who takes such care with his weaponry to show the same care in what battles he fights. Am I understood?"
"Y-yes, your highness," said Milner.
Lelouch handed it back. "Then the matter will be forgotten since no one was seriously injured. Be thankful for that. Bruises can heal, but the dead don't usually come back to life.
"Take me to Itsukushima."
"Ladies Kallen, Villetta," said Clovis. "You will accompany them in your knightmares."
All three obeyed.