"Doctor, I've got a fever, and the only prescription... is writing more of this story that I said would take longer." Anyway, yeah, that's about the gist of it. I've just been thinking a lot about -man and CG recently and thought: "Ah hell, let's give them one more chapter before I jump into Wolven Maw and Beacon's Exorcist." So, here you go, enjoy! I made this chapter extra long to help ya'll through the wait! Just know that this will be the last chapter for about a week and a half or so. I've got to work on my other stories... so, without further adieu, cheers!
P.S. This bastard is eight thousand words long! So I hope you guys enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own -man or Code Geass, all rights go to their respective owners.
Chapter 8: The Bells of Destiny
As Allen's eyes fluttered open, he yawned and stretched out his arms. "God... where am I?" He thought as he rubbed his head, which was still aching from when his curse went haywire. "I wonder what caused it to activate like that?" There were no akuma left in the world, so technically speaking, his curse shouldn't have been able to activate anymore. He frowned as he reached up and touched his left eye, which had reverted back to its normal state. As he shifted about in his bed, he raised his head and scanned over his new surroundings. He wasn't in the pool anymore, and was now sitting in, what looked like, Ashford's nurse room.
"When he dived into that pool he probably reopened one of his wounds." He heard the nurse say from the outside lobby. "I'm glad you managed to scoop him out, Sir Kururugi, or we would've had a real mess on our hands. Before you go inside, is there anything else you, or the other members of the Student Council, noticed when you fished him out of the water?"
"No, besides the nearly black blood, nothing unusual." Allen scoffed when he heard that. How strange was this world that it considered black blood normal?
"Yes, that was probably caused by the new cleaning chemicals the custodians put in the water this morning. I've heard that, with the right blood type and proper amount of specific nutrients, it can have that effect. However, I've never actually seen it happen." Allen sighed as he got up and buttoned his shirt, knowing that he wouldn't have to explain his blood's odd color definitely helped to relieve some stress. And, to make matters slightly better, the nurse had yet to remove the waterproof cast he hid his left arm in.
"Still..." he thought as he gripped his heart, which was beating at a mile a minute. "That was too close." If he wasn't underwater when that happened, Suzaku and the rest of the Student Council would've seen his eye activate. "I need to find out what happened." Something had caused his eye to activate, and he needed to find out what. After taking a few more moments to think, Allen took a deep breath and got up from the bed. However, the second he did so, he tripped and came crashing back down onto the mattress. "Hmm... my legs are more tired than I thought." The area around his kneecaps felt like jelly, and he could barely move his toes. However, after quite a bit of effort, he managed to drag himself back up and walked over to the entrance. "Hello..." he started as he knocked on the door. "If anyone's out there, I'm awake." As he talked, he wrapped his hand around the handle and opened the door.
"So he's finally awake." He heard Rivalz say as he walked over and stared straight into his left eye. "You know, if you had a wound that bad you really should've told us before you got in the pool. You gave everyone quite a scare!" Allen chuckled as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, trying his best to look oblivious and innocent. "The second he saw the blood Suzaku dived in and pulled you out. Your left eye was bleeding pretty bad, no doubt a leftover injury from that scuffle you had with those thugs yesterday."
"I'm really hoping I didn't traumatize anyone." Allen told them as he inspected his left eye in a nearby mirror. When she heard that, Milly laughed and shook her head.
"No, no, no. In fact, when we told everyone that one of your injuries had opened, most of them weren't surprised. You can probably thank the internet for that." For better or worse, thanks to that viral video, they managed to stop the student body from spiraling down into a panic. "We actually took you here for stitches. However, after the nurse inspected your wound, she found that the cut had already started to clot." Allen sighed in relief as he sat down in one of the waiting room benches. It seemed that everything had managed to work itself out. As he stretched his arms, he turned his head over to one of the nearby windows and yawned.
"The sun has nearly gone down!" He started as he turned to the members of the Student Council. "How long have you guys been waiting here?"
"I'd say about three to four hours, give or take." Lelouch told him as his eyebrows narrowed. "If you have injuries that still haven't healed, please tell us Mr. Walker. Telling the custodians that they had to clean blood out of the pool is not something I want to do again." Allen laughed when he heard that and nodded.
"Don't worry, I promise that I'll be more careful from now on." He told Lelouch as he turned to the nurse and politely shook her hand. "Thank you for taking care of me. I know this must've been quite the shock."
"Ah, trust me lad, at this school an open wound or two is nothing. It's the club members that I have to worry about. Well, them and the dueling club." As she spoke, the nurse walked back into her office and plucked a small bottle from her desk. "Here, take one of these, it's a minor antibiotic that will help to ensure you don't get an infection. It's quite draining on the body, so after this, be sure to head straight home." While Allen took the medicine, the nurse turned to Lelouch and the rest of the Student Council and patted Allen on the back. "Just to be sure, I want one of you guys to walk him home. We don't want him collapsing in the middle of the street, now do we?" The nurse told them as she closed the clinic door behind her.
"You guys don't have to do that, trust me, I'm-" Allen stopped when they all heard the nurse's voice from the other end of the door.
"Mr. Walker is one of those martyr types, even if he says he's okay, that means he's not." Allen awkwardly laughed when he heard that.
"She really reminds me of the nurses back in the Black Order." If she was a few decades older, he had no doubt in his mind that she'd be the spitting image of the head nurse. Sadly, that meant she was just as persuasive.
"You heard her, you aren't going anywhere tonight without a buddy." Milly told him as she looked around the room. "Does anyone want to volunteer?" Unsurprisingly, nobody responded. "Suzaku, not even you?" She expected that Ashford's own knight in shining armor would be willing to take the job. However, he just shook his head.
"I've got a required meeting right after this. If I'm being honest, I'm actually over thirty minutes late." Milly pouted as she turned around the rest of the room. Lelouch, obviously, shook his head. And Rivalz and Shirley both had club responsibilities that they needed to attend too. She'd do it, but thanks to her job as the Student Council president, she was already bogged-down with work. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Kallen walked up to her and sighed.
"If all of you are busy, I don't mind watching over him on his way back home. My house is in the same direction anyway, so I know all of the shortcuts." Besides Lelouch, everyone else was shocked. Kallen was, as they knew it, probably the least qualified one for the job.
"Are you sure about that Kallen? You already have your condition to deal with, what would you do if he collapsed?" Milly asked the girl, who simply shrugged and flipped out her phone.
"I think I'm healthy enough to call emergency services if that happens. We aren't out in the ghettos, if things get bad, I'm certain that I'll be able to get Allen to a hospital." Kallen said as she headed for the exit. "Come on, Allen, it's nearly dark. If possible, I'd like to get you home within the hour." She had an important meeting with Zero and the Black Knights in a few hours, so she couldn't afford any delays.
"Right, just let me get my things." Allen told her as he quickly grabbed his bag and coat. In seconds he was out the door and following after Kallen. "Jeez, for a sick girl, she sure is quick on her feet!" He thought as he picked up his pace to a slight jog. Once he finally caught up with the redheaded student. He smiled and slung his bag over his shoulder.
"You sure are happy for someone who nearly drowned." She told him as they walked through Ashford's front gates. Allen shrugged, what could he say? "Hmm... Ashford needs more optimists like you. Besides the people on the Student Council, everyone can be so depressing." Thanks to her efforts with the Black Knights, some of the more... unsavory... students had become quite agitated.
"Is it a crime to be happy that I'm still alive?" Allen asked her, Kallen shrugged. If he was being honest, the actual reason he was so happy was that none of them saw his cursed eye. His life had been so full of bad fortune that, when something lucky like this happened, he'd find himself just standing back and admiring it all. After a few minutes of silence, Kallen asked him a question.
"That girl you saved... did you ever manage to find out what her name was?" She asked him.
"Oh, that... her name is Ikuko." Kallen raised an eyebrow when she heard that. It was obvious that she was expecting more.
"What's her family name?" She asked him, Allen shrugged, that wasn't a question he could answer. "Well shoot, I was going to see if I could find her parents. Or, at the very least, find her a nice orphanage somewhere. A child like that really shouldn't be out in the streets." Allen smiled, he agreed with her, that was why he was letting Ikuko stay in his apartment. "Do you know if she's doing well?"
"Yeah..." Allen started as he stared at his apartment complex off in the distance. "I think she's doing just fine." If he had to guess, she was probably watching television or eating something right now. When she heard that Ikuko was safe, Kallen let out a sigh of relief and led them around a corner. Off in the distance, he could see the roof of her mansion towering over the surrounding buildings.
"I'll never understand why people need such big houses." He thought as his lips curled into a frown. "Are you not stopping here?" He asked Kallen as the pair walked straight past the large mansion.
"I told Milly and the others that I'd make sure you got home safely, and that's exactly what I plan on doing." That wasn't the real reason, of course, the reality of it was that the Black Knight's headquarters was already in that direction. "Once you're through the main doors, I'll go ahead and leave you alone." Allen nodded as he watched the moon's faint outline hover above them. They probably only had an hour or two of daylight left, if that. Eventually, after taking a shortcut through one of the back alleys, they arrived at Allen's apartment complex.
"Great, right on schedule!" Kallen thought as she stared at her disposable phone, which was now ringing. "Ohgi and the others must be waiting for me, I'll have to be quick!" She thought as she reached up and placed a hand on Allen's shoulder. "Allen, I've got to get going. Will you be okay by yourself from here on?" She already knew what the boy's answer would be, but it was only polite to ask.
"Yeah, I should be fine. Thanks for the help." Allen said as he gave Kallen one of his signature short bows.
"Now, now, there's no need for that." Kallen said, her cheeks tinged slightly red. "Jeez, he's a good guy, but some of his notions on modesty are positively ancient." She thought with a smile. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but for people their age, it just looked strange. "Oh shoot..." she mumbled as her backup phone started to go off. "Ugh, if I don't hurry I'm going to be late!" With that, she waved Allen goodbye, and started the jog back to her house.
"For someone with such an extreme condition, she sure is an active person." Allen chuckled as he turned around and walked into the apartment complex. The doors automatically slid open when he got close with a satisfying ding. As he walked in, he looked around the lobby and smiled when he saw the numerous groups of bustling people. It was moments like this that really made him feel alive, and reminded him of his place in the world. "It's my duty to protect these people, to protect these smiles." He thought as he squeezed his left hand into a fist. "That is my path."
"Oh! Mr. Walker!" He heard one of the receptionists call out to him. She was in her mid-twenties with long brown hair, and had a welcoming smile. With quite an amount of effort, she picked up a large box and jogged over to him. "This package arrived for you this morning. Due to the sheer weight, I told the mailman to just leave it here with me." Allen sighed as he reached over and plucked the box from the woman's hands. She looked as if she were about to faint.
"Don't overexert yourself. Trust me, I've got this." He told her as he effortlessly slung the box over one of his shoulders.
"How in the world is a boy your age already so strong?" She asked him as she gulped down breaths of sweet air. Allen shrugged as he nonchalantly flexed one of his biceps.
"It's all because of the training." When he said that, the receptionist laughed and returned to the front desk. "Do you guys need any help?" He asked her and the other receptionists, all of them grinned and shook their heads.
"There's no need for that, Mr. Walker." The girl told him as she typed something into her computer. "You have a good night." Allen smiled as he turned around and headed for the elevator. In the short time since he first moved in, he quickly grew to be one of the building staff's favorite residents. He didn't complain, fixed his own problem, and stayed relatively out of the way. Plus, every once in a while, he'd offer to help carry some particularly heavy mail.
"It looks like they were fairly busy tonight." He thought as he stepped into the elevator. After a few moments, the doors opened and Allen stepped into a large open hallway. "Ah... home sweet home." With a smile, he flipped out his keys and opened his apartment's front door. "Hello? Ikuko? Are you here?" He called out as he rubbed his boots off on the doormat. When he didn't hear a response, Allen raised an eyebrow and walked into the main room.
"I'm in here Mr. Walker." He heard Ikuko's muffled voice say from the back of the apartment. After a little bit of searching, he found out that the girl was actually reading in his apartment's small library.
"Wow..." he mumbled as he watched the girl's eyes greedily devour every page. "What are you reading?" He asked her as he pulled up a chair. Without saying a word, Ikuko lifted up the right cover of the book so that Allen could read its title.
"The Count of Monte Cristo, huh?" Allen was shocked, that definitely wasn't what he was expecting. "Isn't that book a bit advanced for someone your age?" He asked her as he scratched the back of his head. "Is she some sort of child prodigy?" If she was reading that, Ikuko very well could be. However, after a few moments, she pursed her lips and turned to him.
"Mr. Walker, can you read this to me?" She asked him as she practically shoved the book into his lap. From this position, Allen could see the numerous bookmarks that she had shoved into the book's spine.
"Hey... she just bookmarked all of the pictures!" When he saw that, Allen couldn't help but laugh. Ikuko pouted as he chuckled and lightly tussled the girl's hair. "Listen, there's nothing to be ashamed of. If you can't read something just tell me." As he spoke, Ikuko frowned and swiveled around in her chair.
"I... can't read... I'm sorry." Yet again, Allen smiled as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"She is about that age, after all." He thought as he kneeled down and placed a smaller, easier, book in her hands. "I'm not sure how good I'll be, but if you want, I can teach you how to read." When he said that, Ikuko's eyes lit up like Christmas lights.
"Are you serious?!" She yelled, causing Allen to take a step back, he had never seen her so happy. "Please, can we start right now?!" The hunger for knowledge that burned in her eyes was simply incredible. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who, just a day or two ago, he'd struggle with just getting to talk.
"Uh... yeah. We can start as soon as you want." He said as she practically dragged him to the living room. After the two of them got comfortable on the couch. Allen opened the book and flipped to the first page. "Do you know the basic alphabet? Or, if not, some Japanese characters?" He couldn't speak, or read, Japanese. But that would at least give them somewhere to start.
"Before the Britannians burned it down, one of my caretakers at my old orphanage taught me the basic English alphabet." Allen sighed in relief when he heard that. When Mana adopted him, he didn't even know that much.
"Alright, then why don't we start here?" He said as he took out a removable marker and highlighted the book's first sentence. "Do you know how to pronounce each letter?" He asked the girl, who shook her head. After he got himself comfortable, Allen grabbed a nearby piece of paper and handed Ikuko a small pen. "Okay..." he said as he took the cap off of the pen. "You have to start with the vowels first, they're..."
After a few hours of studying, Allen yawned and closed the book. "Well, we didn't get very far..." he thought as he skimmed over what few pages they managed to cover. "But it's something." Ikuko was definitely a fast learner, when Mana was teaching him how to read it took him weeks to even get this far. "Hey... Ikuko…" he started as he gently poked the girl's shoulder. However, there was no response. When he realized that the girl was snoring, he smiled and brushed some hair out of her eyes. "It looks like she tired herself out." After he put the book and studying materials away, he walked over and gently lifted Ikuko up off of the couch. "We can't have you sleeping here, now can we?" He whispered as he carried the girl's sleeping body into the main bedroom. With the lightest, most gentle, hand he could manage Allen placed Ikuko underneath the covers. "Goodnight..." he whispered as he turned the room's light off. Before he walked out, he picked up a small pile of the girl's dirty clothes and tossed them into a nearby hamper. "I'll have to clean those one of these days." He thought as he carried the hamper out of the room. Once he had placed it in a good spot on top of the apartment's washing machine, he opened the door to the balcony and walked outside. "It's a good night." He said as he watched the cityscape below him bustle and churn. Off in the distance he could see a group of Britannian knightmares move throughout the city streets, no doubt heading off towards some dangerous mission. "I wonder if Suzaku is somewhere in there." He knew that the Japanese boy piloted a specialized knightmare, but had no idea what it actually looked like. After that, he walked back into the living room and turned on the television. "Ah dammit, how do you work this thing again?" He cursed as he fiddled with the remote. Even after all of this time, he still had no idea how to properly work televisions. However, after some experimentation, and a lot of cursing, he managed to get the device to turn on.
"Ah! There we go!" He said as he flipped through the various channels. Eventually, he came upon the daily news, and headed into the kitchen. "So Zero's stepped up his game?" He thought as he turned on the stove and got some water boiling. The news he was watching was currently discussing the Black Knight's most recent attack. Apparently, the terrorist organization attacked a military fuel silo a few days ago, causing a whole swath of countryside to become engulfed in flames. "I wonder how much of this is actually accurate." He mumbled as he narrowed his eyes, he knew that the Britannian news was full of propaganda, and was inherently untrustworthy. Out of everything he heard, usually only about a quarter of it was actually true. As he allowed the news to play in the background, Allen went about the laborious task of making Ikuko's lunch for tomorrow. Since the girl was still relatively malnourished, her meals had to be filled with various medicines and nutrients to ensure that she'd heal properly. Once he was finished, Allen wrapped the meal up, and placed it in the fridge. "Now then..." he started as he opened a nearby cabinet and plucked out a bar of soap. "I should probably go take a shower..." his hair was still sticky from the pool, and his body reeked of chlorine. After grabbing a towel and a change of clothes, he headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. "I wonder..." he thought as he turned to the mirror and held his left eye open. When it didn't activate, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "God... what caused it to activate?" He had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer, but still... he had to know why. "That reminds me..." he thought as he walked back out into the hallway as the water warmed up. "I forgot that I have a package to open!" As he lifted the large box onto the kitchen table, he smiled as he carefully removed the tape and removed the box's contents. Inside was a small letter and a large wooden box, after inspecting the two of them for a few moments, Allen opened the letter and scanned over it.
Dear Mr. Walker,
I know that getting this package must come as quite the shock to you, especially after I said that we'd have little contact after you left the Vatican, but believe me, this is all in good spirits. Enclosed inside is an antique that I've had lying about in our armory for years. Normally, I wouldn't give it to you, but after I discovered who the previous owner of this little trinket was, I thought it would be only right to let you have it. I'm sure you know him, before you were forced to leave the Order, he held the title of Inspector.
"Wait what?!" Allen yelped as he immediately put the letter down and opened the main package. "They're giving me one of Link's tools?!" When Allen saw what was actually in the box, he nearly tripped over his own feet. "These are..." he couldn't believe his eyes. Lying inside was a small pair of blades, each one designed to be attached to the wielder's wrists. Clearly confused, he picked the pope's letter back up and quickly read the rest of it.
I'm assuming that your tutors already taught you the basics in how to use these. They are the Crows standard-issue blades, after all. I thought, since you can't rely on that left arm of yours anymore, that they might come in handy. Of course, to get them through processing, we had to make a few changes. The blades themselves are no longer solid steel. Instead, they consist of a polymer-carbon alloy that can cut through metal like butter. This way, you can take them with you wherever you go without having to fear metal detectors. Of course, the downside of all of this is that the alloy is unbelievably heavy, but I'm sure that won't be a problem for you.
"I can't believe it." Allen mumbled as he looked over the blades. Even though the metal itself had gone through renovations, the tool still showed its age. The leather harness that the blades were attached to was covered in scratches and small holes. However, after a few tests, Allen discovered that the weapons still worked perfectly. "You must've polished these things everyday, didn't you?" He thought as he carefully returned the blades to their box and chuckled. "Link always was a workaholic." After that, Allen took the blades and hid them underneath the refrigerator. "Hopefully, I'll never have to use them." With the path he was on, weapons wouldn't really be necessary. However, they were nice to have. "If the situation calls for it and I have to protect her again..." he thought as he found his eyes wandering back to the main bedroom. Allen shook his head, he was just being paranoid. "Oh shoot!" He thought as he felt some steam waft into the kitchen. "I forgot that I left the shower on!" With that, Allen grabbed his things, and headed back into the bathroom.
If there was one word to describe what she was feeling right now, it would be anxious. As Kallen hurried into the conference hall, she sighed and let out a breath of relief. "Thank God, I nearly thought I missed it!" She thought as Ohgi and Tamaki gave her a wave. "What did I miss?" She asked the two as she watched Zero walk into the room. Ohgi shrugged and shook his head.
"Don't know, but I've got a feeling that it has to do with the Black Knight's next big operation. I overheard Zero talking to Rakshata about a big sakuradite depot, but I'm not sure." Kallen nodded as several more people rushed into the room. "Rookies, I swear..." she heard Ohgi sigh as the man walked over to help instruct some of the newer faces. For the past few weeks, new recruits had been flooding in from all over the ghettos. At first, their enthusiasm was inspiring, but now Kallen felt that the sheer number of recruits was starting to slow everything down. If it wasn't for Zero's efforts, they would've been crushed by the wave of bodies.
"Kallen, you look stressed." She heard Zero say as he walked down from the podium. Even though his face was masked, she knew that he was concerned. "Are you having trouble at home?" Kallen laughed when she realized what the Black Knight's leader was suggesting.
"No, no... it's nothing like that." She said as she shook her head. "I'm just wondering what our next mission is." As she talked, Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords walked into the room. Brining quite the commotion along with them.
"Is that General Tohdoh?" One of the rookies said as the entire room went silent.
"So it's true, they really did join the Knights." Another recruit mumbled as the five warriors walked up to Zero, all of them with fire in their eyes.
"Hungry for battle, are we not?" Zero asked Tohdoh as he shook the man's hand. "Don't worry, in just a few hours you'll be able to go after as many Britannians as you want." With that, Zero walked back up to his podium and turned to address his awaiting audience. "I'm sure you are all wondering why I summoned you here." He said as he turned on a nearby projector. "The answer to that question is this." As he talked, Zero held up a small sealed canister of pink liquid. "I'm certain that all of you know what this is. For those few who are unfamiliar, this little bottle contains thirty milligrams of liquid sakuradite. This element is what flows through the veins of most of our knightmares, and is the backbone of Britannia's military. For our next mission, our target will be a shipment of this very element." Kallen raised an eyebrow when she saw an image of a massive armed train appear on the projector. "Now, usually, we wouldn't go after shipment's like this as they are usually very well guarded. However, if we can succeed in destroying this one, I'm sure you'll all agree that the tactical advantage we'll gain as a result will be tremendous." With that, Zero changed slides to a wider shot of the train. And when Kallen and the rest saw the sigil branded on its side, they couldn't help but gasp.
"That's Princess Cornelia's sigil!" She heard Ohgi say as he turned to Lelouch. "Are you sure about this Zero? If this fuel is going to Cornelia and her knights, that train will be practically a moving fortress. It'll be tough fox to catch." Zero laughed as he swung his arm through the air.
"Come on, Ohgi, after all that I've done you think that this is impossible?" He said as he flipped the slideshow to the next picture. This time, it was depicting a smaller container with a dark green liquid stored within. "You see, my friends, our goal for this mission is not to destroy the liquid sakuradite, but to infect it." When he said that, Kallen and the rest of them raised an eyebrow.
"Infect sakuradite?" Ohgi said, clearly confused.
"Allow me to provide you with an example." Zero said as he took a small syringe full of the mysterious green liquid and poured it into the container of sakuradite he was carrying. The second the green liquid touched the sakuradite the pink fuel started to bubble and churn. After a few minutes, however, it stopped and returned to its normal shade. "This green liquid is something that Rakshata came up with, it's a sakuradite neutralizer."
"A sakuradite neutralizer?" Kallen mumbled as Zero tossed the small bottle of sakuradite towards her.
"The sakuradite in that bottle is now little more than pink mush. The neutralizer goes after a specific carbon bond in the fuel which renders it useless. Sadly, the neutralizer is extremely expensive to manufacture. So it's impossible for us to use it on a grand scale. However!" Zero raised his voice. "If we can introduce it to the sakuradite housed within this train, none of that will matter!" With every word Zero flipped to a different picture in the slideshow, before finally stopping on a blurry image of Cornelia's knightmare. "Knightmares must refuel, and those that belong to the royal family are no exception. For obvious reasons, the sakuradite that goes into their knightmares is a bit special. Any and all fuel that goes to a member of the royal family is carefully inspected and tested for any sort of outside interference. Normally, this method has proven to be an impenetrable wall of defense for the nobles and their knights. However, today, we will turn that against them. It's no secret that Cornelia and her soldiers are particularly gifted in battle, but, if we neuter their knightmares, they won't be able to do a thing."
"I get it." Kallen thought to herself as a proverbial light turned on in her head. Cornelia and her knights had been a problem for them since day one. And since Cornelia was a member of the royal family, if they simply destroyed her sakuradite fuel she could easily procure more. However, due to the relatively high cost of knightmare fuel, if they infected her special fuel under the ruse of a sabotage mission, she'd still be compelled to make use of it.
"I see our ace has already figured out my little scheme." She heard Zero say as he placed a hand on Kallen's shoulder. Even if it was only for the moment, being able to keep up with Zero's plans on her own filled Kallen with pride. "We'll assault Cornelia's shipment under the guise that we're trying to destroy the sakuradite. While, in reality, we'll only be trying to infect it with Rakshata's neutralizer. If we succeed, Cornelia and her special knightmares will be out of commission for well over three weeks."
"That would definitely help to alleviate some stress." Kallen heard Tamaki mumble as he scratched his forehead. Cornelia and her knights had a habit of showing up at the worst times. "Now if only we could figure out a way to deal with that Suzaku brat, then it'd be smooth sailing." Kallen frowned when she heard that. Among the Black Knights, hatred for the young pilot of the Lancelot was growing. And, even though she hated to admit it, she agreed with them.
"My Black Knights, for the glory of Japan, let us fight and win this battle!" Zero yelled out as he raised his fist triumphantly into the air. Cheers filled the conference hall as rookies and veterans alike rushed to their stations. "Why don't you go and get the Guren warmed up Kallen? I've got a feeling that we're going to need it." Without saying a word, Kallen nodded and hurried towards the main hangar.
"Hey, what's the rush kiddo? Are you that eager to die?" She heard Sugiyama joke as he and Inoue rushed up beside her. When the pair saw Kallen's confused face, they laughed and shook their heads. "Zero assigned us as the rear vanguard for this mission. Which means we'll be fighting with you!" Kallen sighed, that was probably the best news she heard all day. Inoue and Sugiyama weren't the most outspoken members of the knights, but they had been by her side since the very beginning.
"Let's just hope that the two of you can keep up!" She yelled as she hurried into the locker room to change into her jumpsuit. After a few necessary safety checks, she, Inoue, and Sugiyama rushed into the knightmare bay. Engineers and other various personnel had already filled up the knightmares with fresh fuel. Soon, all of them would loaded into the transports to be sent off to battle. "Testing, testing. One, two, three." Kallen mumbled as she spoke into her microphone. "Can you two hear me?" Once Inoue and Sugiyama were both sat in their knightmares, the two opened their cockpits and gave Kallen a wave. "Okay then..." she said as she put the key in the ignition, bringing the Guren to life. "Let's do this!" And with that, they were off.
Suzaku frowned as he watched the lights of the Tokyo Settlement drift further off into the horizon. From his spot in the Lancelot, the massive skyscrapers which towered overhead looked little more than fragile toothpicks. "Lord Asplund, I don't mean to be rude, but why are we here again?" He asked his superior as he felt the hum of the train's engine whirr beneath his feet.
"Oh, have you finally started to question your superiors orders?" He heard Lloyd joke as the man continued to tinker on some of the Lancelot's circuitry. "Don't worry Suzaku, this is nothing more than a simple escort mission." As the man talked, Suzaku watched as a group of Britannian soldiers walked past him. A few of them shot a couple of resentful glares his way, but the vast majority simply carried out their work in silence. "Incredible, isn't it? Cornelia runs her soldiers with an iron fist. Even if many of them don't like you, not a single one will be giving us any trouble." When he heard that, Suzaku sighed in relief. "Is that grumbling I hear?" Lloyd asked him as he pulled a few wires out of the Lancelot's chassis.
"No, it's just chemistry homework. This essay I'm writing is giving me trouble." Suzaku said as he bit the pencil he was holding.
"You've got to write an essay for chemistry? My word does that sound dull. Don't you think Cécile?" He asked his assistant, who nodded. "Tell me, what's the subject of that little essay you're writing, Mr. Kururugi?"
"It's on the basics of anions and cations, as well as a short summary on the chemical makeup of sakuradite." Needless to say, most of this was beyond what he could study on his tight schedule. However, Lloyd was more than happy to help.
"If you need someone to point you in the right direction, don't hesitate to ask Ms. Croomy or myself. Trust me, we know sakuradite like we know the back of our hands." Lloyd told him as sparks from the torch he was wielding flew up into the air. "Oops, shoot, the cord came loose." He mumbled as the train started to shake. "It looks like we're hitting the rough of it now. Suzaku, make sure you have the Lancelot's dryers on. I don't want the wind to shoot some unwanted water into one of the circuits." Suzaku nodded as he flipped a small switch on the Lancelot's dashboard, causing an array of small heat vents to open-up across the machine. "Hmm..." Lloyd mumbled as he checked his watch and turned to his assistant. "How much longer before we arrive at the station, Ms. Croomy?"
"We'll be meeting Princess Cornelia and her escort in about two hours, give or take. After that, we'll aid in the sakuradite transport, and that'll be it for the night." Llyod sighed and shrugged when he heard that.
"The timings the royal family comes up with, I swear." He said as he craned his neck back to get a look at the rest of the train. They were stationed on one of the back cars. Cornelia and her knights, however, were all stationed in the royals cabin at the front of the train. "If we're supposed to be protecting her, why were we placed so far away from the action?" Cécile rolled her eyes as she turned and looked back up at the Lancelot's pilot compartment.
"Suzaku, are you alright in there?" With the dryers constantly going the way they were, that little compartment they made must've been getting quite stuffy.
"Oh, don't worry Ms. Croomy, I'm fine." Suzaku said as he wiped some sweat off of his brow. "A little heat like this is nothing." He thought as he returned his focus to the essay he was writing. After that, minutes passed by in silence. As the train powered endlessly through the Japanese countryside, Suzaku yawned and looked out at the rolling hills and lakes which passed them by. "How pretty..." the boy thought with a grin as a few nocturnal birds flew through the air above. However, as he watched the birds fly through the trees, Suzaku noticed something rather strange coming from one of the clearings. "Hey, Lord Asplund…" he started as he subconsciously placed a hand on the Lancelot's ignition. "Do you know what that is?"
"Hmm...?" Llyod started as he turned around and stared in the direction in which Suzaku was pointing. "What are you looking at Mr. Kururugi?" He asked him as he straightened his glasses. "All I can see is the breathtaking countryside. Maybe you're-" he stopped. "Ms. Croomy, give me some goggles. Quickly!" He yelped as his assistant rushed to procure the tools he asked for. After she found a working pair, Lloyd took them and held the goggles up to his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, that looks just like..." he thought as he searched for the strange object that he and Suzaku were looking at. Off in the distance was, what looked like, a strange pile of rocks. Normally, he wouldn't bat an eye at something so mundane. However, for some reason, he was feeling curious that night. And, when he finally got a good look at that strange pile of rocks, Lloyd took a step back and reached for his transmitter.
"Lord Asplund? Why are you using this line? It is only supposed to be used for emergencies." Cécile gasped when she realized who Lloyd had contacted.
"Yeah, I know, sorry about that Princess Cornelia. But... you see... this is an emergency." Lloyd said as he took a step back and pressed a small button on the Lancelot's leg, which instantly closed the knightmare's cockpit.
"Lord Asplund, what's going on?" Suzaku asked him as he buckled himself in. Lloyd didn't use that emergency cockpit button unless there was a good reason to.
"I recommend readying yourself for battle, Mr. Kururugi." Lloyd said as he heard the distinct whistle of artillery fire fly overhead. "Because I think we're being attacked!" Right on que, a massive explosion came from the caboose of the train, as well as a hailstorm of gunfire.
"Lord Asplund!" He heard Princess Cornelia say as the train started to shake. "What's going on?" Before he could answer that question, a stray bullet shot past him and tore right through his transmitter.
"Well then, I guess that's the end of that." He thought as a group of unidentified knightmares drove up to the side of the train, with several heading for the royal cabin. "Eh... she'll figure it out." Right before his body was turned into Swiss cheese, Lloyd dived under a nearby tank and waved for Suzaku to start up the Lancelot. Without even waiting for confirmation, the boy nodded and put the key in the ignition. "I'm sure you know what to do Suzaku. Please, remember that the princess is on board, so do try to be careful." He told Suzaku on Cécile's transmitter.
"Yes, my Lord!" He called out as the Lancelot came to life. Before the assailants had a chance to react, Suzaku threw off the tarp that covered the Lancelot and dived into battle. "I'll have to make this quick." He thought as the Tokyo Settlement came back into view. Unless he wanted to get innocent people caught in the crossfire, he had to finish this battle quickly. "Alright!" With that, he activated his main boosters, and threw himself off of the train.
"What in God's name was that?!" Allen thought as the bowl of chips he was holding came crashing down to the ground. After his shower, he decided to do a bit of studying in modern world history. However, right when he got comfortable, several explosions went off in the distance. Without a moments hesitation, he turned on the news and walked out onto the balcony. "Is that... gunfire?" He thought as he strained his ears to listen. Like firecrackers on new year's day, several shots rang through the air.
"Hmm... did you drop something?" He heard Ikuko say from the master bedroom. The girl was still half-asleep, and was practically sleepwalking. The shaking from the explosions must have woken her up.
"No, no, it's just the news. Why don't you get back to bed?" Allen said as Ikuko nodded and closed the door behind her.
"Damn... what could that be?" He thought as he squeezed his left hand and bit his lip. It wasn't in his nature to be a bystander when trouble was brewing. "Should I go see what's going on?" He thought as he hesitatingly looked at his hands. However, after only a few seconds, he shook his head and looked up. "God! What's gotten into me?! Of course I'm going!" Before he even realized what he was doing, Allen grabbed his coat and headed for the front door. But, just before he opened it, he turned around and headed for the kitchen. "I doubt I'm even going to use these..." he thought as he bent over and picked up the blades that he had hidden. "Ouch!" In his haste to equip the weapons, he accidentally cut his right hand. Of course, the wound healed nearly instantly, but not before a small puddle of crimson blood managed to ooze out of the injury. "I'll have to clean that when I get back." He thought as he turned around and headed for the door. "Ikuko, are you asleep?" He whispered as he gently knocked on the master bedroom door. When he didn't hear a response, he smiled, and headed out into the hallway. Suddenly, silence once again overtook the apartment. With the only sounds being, besides Ikuko's snores, the distant gunfire and quiet static from the television. As moonlight peaked through the clouds overhead, the small puddle of blood Allen left behind started to change hue, from a healthy red, to a dark shadowy black.
Author's Note
Hey guys, welcome back to another one of my notes! I hope you all found this long chapter to be quite the pleasant surprise! And I hope it'll be able to tide you over for the next few weeks while I work on my other stories! Anyway, scheduling aside, I hope you guys can now truly see how serious I am about this story (I've never written this much in the span of one month for a FF before, so yeah...).
So, for the pairing, here are the totals:
C.C. - 5 votes
Kallen - 5 votes
Nunnally - 2 votes
Milly - 3 votes
Euphemia - 3 votes
Miya - 2 votes
No Pairing - 4 votes
As you can probably see, the totals are pretty much even (I honestly thought it'd be overwhelmingly one girl over the others, but I guess I'm wrong.) Anyways, like I said before, I'll let the votes keep coming in until chapter 11 releases. Do know that if the votes stay like this, I'm just going to go with no pairing for now. In that case, later in the story, I may change it but that way I can keep the most people happy.
And yeah, speaking of voting, thank you all so much for all of the reviews and feedback! I'm honestly shocked with how much support this thing is getting after only being out for just a few weeks. (300+ visitors in just one week! That's a new record for me!) So yeah, thank you all for the support and reviews. Cause that's what really keeps me going.
Either way, I hope you all have a fantastic day. If you want to leave me some feedback, hey, maybe drop a review. If you're reading the WM or BE I'll see you then (cause they're what's next on my schedule.) But, until then, you all have a good week or so. And I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A New Dawn!
Chapter 9: Saint