Chaos in Area 11: Part 3

Chapter 8

Character Bios: See end of chapter

While Yang and Reinhard were still hard at work finalizing their plans, Lelouch was doing the same thing with his own allies, as he was well aware that they'd need to make a strong and impactful entrance...

Abandoned Building, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11

Lelouch was in a random location, meeting with his comrades, while explaining his general plan. He begins, saying "Since the Britannians plan to execute Suzaku Kururugi, we will mobilize to rescue him while claiming responsibility for the assassination of Clovis. Using the ability I mentioned, which is apparently called Geass, I will influence the nearby soldiers to allow us to pass toward the execution stage. And after that, we will simply free him and escape, using those soldiers to cover us."

The group remains silent to process Lelouch's explanation, until Ohgi says "You've said that your ability can 'command' others. Would you mind explain that to us in more detail?"

Lelouch nods, before he says "Well, I've done a few tests, so I think I know how it works generally. I can only use the ability on one person, to give them a single command. Those commands can be simple or complex, although I still am unsure of how effective more complex commands are. I believe there are other more abstract applications to this ability as well, specifically if used on an ally."

Kallen then looks up, and says "And what's your idea with that? I can't say I'd want to have a command put on me..."

Lelouch nods, and says "Of course. This is all hypothetical, but either way, I would inform you if I planned to do this first. But I believe that I could give a command like 'Fight to the best of your ability!' and it should push your body to its limit. Of course, it wouldn't do anything that you couldn't do before, but it could function like a surge of adrenaline or a brief period of general awareness of the battleground. I don't wish to risk and test this at the moment, but I will try to think more on it in the meantime."

After this, Ohgi, says "Well, I can see how that could be useful, at least..." But then, his eyes widen slightly, and adds, saying "Wait a second Lelouch. Didn't you say that you could only use this 'Geass' one time on any individual person? Doesn't the scenario that you described involve more than one command?"

Hearing this, Lelouch shakes his head, and says "For this, I will use a more general command, having those soldiers obey Zero for the duration of the night. I am not yet sure of how potent more general commands are, so I don't wish to risk things with a long-term command at the same time."

Then, Kallen speaks up, saying "It's only the four of us, with only a single Knightmare Frame. Won't we just be overwhelmed?"

Lelouch taps his chin, deep in thought, until he says "For that, we can simply use the other soldiers who are nearby. It's a reasonable assumption that many of them won't be in their Knightmare Frames at first, so we should have an opening. And I have no doubt that whoever is leading this will be out of their Knightmare Frame."

After he says this, Kallen replies, saying "But you'll have your mask on, right? Won't you need to reveal yourself for this to work?"

Upon this valid concern, Lelouch walks and grabs his mask, before pressing a switch, causing a small piece of the tinted glass to shift out of the way. This surprises the group, as Lelouch smiles and says "With this, only my eye will be visible. And when I use my Geass ability, my eye seems to turn dark red, which would make it difficult to identify me."

Ohgi eventually says "We're massively disadvantaged, so I'll take whatever we can get to help us out. Let's try not to abuse this though, okay Lelouch? I don't want to have to stoop to Britannia's level..."

Lelouch nods, and says "I understand completely. We will be careful with this Geass power, at least when we can."

After this, Ohgi clasps his hands together, and says "It sounds like we have a decent idea now of what we'll do at the execution! Let's begin setting everything up..."

Following that, Lelouch's group begins prepping their van and Knightmare Frame, getting themselves ready for the moment of truth...

Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11

The next day, Julian was ready to visit this well regarded academy, hoping to be able to meet and get to know more people his age, as well as get a more well-rounded education. Yang might have practically been a genius with history and politics, but he wasn't nearly as skilled in other areas. Sadly, Yang was still much too busy to visit the academy with him, as much as he would have loved to do so. As a result, he requested two of his trusted friends, Dusty and Reuenthal, to visit the academy with Julian, to evaluate it in his stead...

Julian was still fairly nervous, as he was walking alongside Dusty and Reuenthal, who were wearing more casual clothing. Dusty sees this, and pats Julian's back, while saying "You've got some first day jitters! You'll be fine."

Reuenthal nods, and says "You're a capable kid Julian. Just do what feels natural to you..."

Hearing those words of encouragement, Julian nods, and says "Thanks guys! I think I'll be alright..."

Once they arrive at the academy front gate, they were greeted by a confident looking blonde student, who grins and waves, while saying "Hi! You must be our new student, Julian Minci. I'm Milly! I'm the academy's class president, so I'll be handling your tour! And you two must be the ones replacing Mr. Wen-li for the tour?"

Julian smiles, and says "Hi! It's nice to meet you, Milly. I'm looking forward to the tour." Hearing this, Milly smiles sweetly back.

Then, Dusty says "Yep! We're Yang's co-workers in the Military here. He's been pretty busy lately, so we're stepping in..."

Reuenthal nods, and says "Yang is someone who values education, so I hope the facilities are of a high quality."

Hearing this, Milly says "I hope our academy meets your expectations as well! I heard that Mr. Wen-li is a famous soldier, but we won't bother you too much about that, Julian..."

Julian lightly blushes, not expecting her to tease him about Yang and his status as a hero. And after Milly feels proud of successfully teasing the new student, she leads the group past the gates and toward the school building.

And as they walk, Dusty leans toward Julian and whispers, saying "She seems like a cutie, huh Julian? And she's probably just a couple years ahead of you..."

Julian simply glares at Dusty, while whispering back, saying "I never thought you'd sound just like Schenkopp. I'm here to learn, not to hit on women..."

Upon that, Dusty backs away and begins to mutter a form of retraction, as Reuenthal says "It seems like Julian has inherited Yang's sarcastic wit..."

Dusty just shrugs to himself, and says "We can all get pretty sarcastic with each other, so it'd make sense..."

Following that, Milly leads the three guests all through the school building, allowing Julian to meet the various instructors. And as they met with them, Dusty and Reuenthal would occasionally ask them questions as well, hoping to see how strong the general curriculum was at the academy. They spend about an hour and a half touring the whole academy, until Milly leads them to the Student Council Room, hoping to introduce Julian to her fellow class representatives...

Academy Student Council Room, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11

Once they were in the room, Milly grins while extravagantly stretching her arms, while saying "And now... Welcome to the student council room!" She then smiles, and says "The sullen looking guy is Lelouch, our vice president."

Lelouch glares, and says "Must you do this now? I'm trying to read..." After that, he briefly looks at Julian, who tries to give him a respectful wave, but Lelouch pays him no mind, surprising Julian.

Milly ignores this, and continues, saying "The guy who looks a bit spacey is our secretary, Rivalz."

Hearing this, Rivalz loudly gasps, while saying "What do you mean by that?!" But then he smiles, and says "But it's nice to meet you, Julian!" He then goes to shake Julian's hand, kindly welcoming the new student.

Milly merely smirks, and says "And the nice looking girl is Shirley! She's just a regular member though..."

After this, Shirley smiles, and says "Hi Julian! I hope you enjoy school here. We at the student council are always here to chat, even if Lulu is acting a bit sour..."

Hearing this, Lelouch puts down his book, and says "Don't call me that in front of new students, Shirley..."

Shirley just lightly laughs to herself, and says "Sorry... I forgot..."

After that, Milly continues, saying "And the red-headed beauty is Kallen, although she's more of the quiet type..." Kallen suddenly drops her pen in shock, as she looks at Milly with a flustered expression, hiding her normal forceful nature away from the others, since she acts as a Britannian while at the academy.

But now that Julian was introduced to everyone in the room, he begins chatting with them, telling them a bit more about himself. He talks about his adoptive father, Yang, and how he is a military officer in Area 11. And after a few minutes, another member of the student council, Nina Einstein, walks into the room...

Nina walks in, and goes to work on some of her school work, while saying "I hear that the military is executing that Eleven solider. Serves him right. Elevens are too dangerous to be in the military..."

The other student council members silently sigh to themselves, well aware that Nina had many 'issues' with the people native to Area 11. But to their surprise, the newcomer Julian answers her, saying "That soldier is an Honorary Britannian, so he has every right to serve Britannia. And besides, they're only 'dangerous' because Britannia forcibly took over their nation and dismantled their government..."

The others continue to watch, as Nina looks over and glares, saying "Who the hell are you...? And what do you know..."

Julian then says "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself... My name is Julian, and I'll be attending school here soon. Milly led me on a tour, and we ended up here..."

Before Nina could respond, Lelouch puts down his book and smirks, while saying "Couldn't you argue that it was the Eleven's fault for being too weak to resist? If they simply accept things, they things would be better for them..." Kallen continues to watch, aware that Lelouch was challenging this new kid to prove that he didn't really care about the Japanese, and she was looking forward to him cracking.

Dusty and Reuenthal share a look, ready to observe this small debate that was about to unfold, hopeful that Julian would defend his stance effectively. Julian shakes his head, and says "I'm not certain. Even if they acted completely subservient to Britannians, they would still be treated as second class citizens. And just because Britannia has a more advanced military, it doesn't mean that their invasion was just."

Then, Nina speaks up and says "But what about all the terrorists? They're a danger to society!"

Julian responds, saying "They might be terrorists to us, but to them, they're just fighting to regain a sense of humanity. Maybe if we enacted policies where they could begin to feel like human beings again, those terrorists would begin to give up..."

Kallen might not have been showing it, but she was impressed by this new kid. Whenever the topic of terrorists in Area 11 cropped up around her, she'd always hear Britannians gripe about how they were dangerous or how they caused issues. They'd never think about it from their perspective, where they just wanted their country back. And here was some random Britannian actually showing empathy toward the Japanese people; and he wasn't even using terms like Elevens or Area 11.

But Nina just grumbles to herself, and walks away, while saying "I can't believe some Eleven sympathizer will be attending the academy. I'll make sure to avoid you..."

As Nina leaves, Julian looks down, and says "I just didn't agree with her viewpoint. I wasn't trying to antagonize her..."

Milly then puts a hand on his shoulder, and says "Nina is a special case with that, so she can be extra sensitive. Don't feel bad, Julian. And you held your own pretty well!"

Shirley then smiles, and says "Yeah! And our chats are usually a lot more fun, so sorry you had to see things get a little ugly back there..."

But then, Lelouch stands up and says "You seem to be pretty smart, Julian... Do you play chess?"

Milly glares at Lelouch, fully aware of what he was planning to do; while Kallen watched curiously. To her, Julian did well enough with that discussion, to the point that she could at least believe that he did not hold any prejudice against Japanese people. But to Milly's surprise, Julian smiles, and says "I can't claim to be an expert, but I've learned a thing or two. I'd love to play a match!"

Following that, Lelouch prepares the chessboard, while the others watch as both Julian and Lelouch started their match. Dusty and Reuenthal had particularly high hopes for him, since they both believed that Julian could one day succeed Yang...

Now that the chessboard was set up, the two begin to play. The match starts off normally, but Lelouch moves his king piece forward at the earliest opportunity, surprising Julian. And as he does this, he smirks, and says "If a king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subjects to follow him...?"

Julian smiles, and says "That's an interesting philosophy. But couldn't it also be argued that a king's duty is to effectively deploy his subjects, and to avoid risking himself in the process? It is true that the subjects are important, but the battlefield would fall apart if the king is dispatched."

Lelouch then furrows his brow and focuses more on the match. He was honestly annoyed that this kid wasn't affected by that line. Every time he's used it on a spoiled noble, they would immediately brush him off, before backing away in shock once they inevitably lose. But this kid accepted his viewpoint, and quickly offered an equally valid counterpoint, without exposing any weakness in his strategy. And after pondering all of that, Lelouch smirks, highly interested in this new kid.

The game continues, as both players remained evenly matched, to the point that it was difficult to determine who was winning. As they played, Milly quietly says "I can't believe Julian is doing so well... Lelouch plays chess all the time..."

Rivalz nods, and says "Yeah! He regularly challenges nob- I mean plays at the local community center..." Lelouch quickly glares in his direction, annoyed that he nearly exposed their secret. He didn't care that much if people knew, but he knew that Milly would pester him if she found out about it.

The match continues, as Dusty and Reuenthal whisper among themselves. Reuenthal says "He's doing quite well, although that other kid is also performing well..."

Dusty nods, and says "Yeah, I'm kinda amazed, since Yang is such a terrible chess player..." They both share a silent laugh, as they continue to observe the match.

Eventually, both players lose enough pieces to only have a few left each, putting them at a difficult standstill. But before either player could claim an advantage, Milly checks her watch while loudly tapping her foot, before saying "Is it okay if we just call it a draw? I need to do something soon, so I'd like to escort Julian and his guests out of the academy..."

Lelouch nods, and says "Fine. I look forward to seeing you at the academy, Julian..."

Julian smiles, and says "Sure! Thanks for the fun match!"

Following that, Milly escorts them out of the academy, before leading them to the front gate. Then, she grins and says "That was a lot of fun! I look forward to when you begin school here! Feel free to stop by the student council room, okay? We always welcome new students to join!"

Julian nods, and says "Thank you for the tour Milly! I really felt welcomed..."

After that, Julian leaves with Dusty and Reuenthal, intending to return to the Yang and Reinhard's dual military office, hoping to tell his adoptive father all about his experience today...

Ruined Ghetto, Town Near the Narita Mountains, Area 11

Around the same time that Julian was visiting Ashford, Yang and Reinhard received a report of a Britannian squad attacking a small group of terrorists from the Japanese Liberation Front. And as they were examining the report, they quickly discussed how to approach it...

Reinhard begins saying "From what it says, the squad seemed to have underestimated the terrorist group, and is now pinned down in a ruined section of the ghetto near the Narita Mountains. The terrorists do not have the equipment to actually rout our squad, but our squad lacks the manpower too..."

Yang scratches his chin, and says "So they're in a stalemate. And it says here that the squad was full of purist faction members, so it's no surprise that they underestimated the terrorists. And even though they could retreat, since it seems like the terrorists are not actively engaging, they are refusing to do so."

Following this, Reinhard says "But if we send a small group of reinforcements, we can forcibly end the encounter. Why don't we send Mittermeyer? He is adept with quick operations."

Yang nods, and says "That's true. He's earned the moniker 'Gale Wolf' after all. I'm all for it."

Now that they came to a decision, Mittermeyer was officially tasked with breaking the current stalemate that existed between their own soldiers and the terrorists of the Japanese Liberation Front, with the additional request to avoid casualties when possible. Mittermeyer readily accepted the assignment, and quickly rounded up some of his men, and approached Narita. He was in a Sutherland Knightmare Frame, leading around five other soldiers in Glasgow Knightmare Frames...

After about an hour, they near the reported location, and as Mittermeyer and his squad approach, he says "We need to act carefully. The best outcome would be to force the terrorists to flee." His soldiers agree, so they move toward the location.

And once they were close enough, they charge out with their weapons drawn, as Mittermeyer announces "Reinforcements have arrived! You have no hope of victory!"

The Britannian squad leader then says "Good! Let us rout those Elevens together!"

But Mittermeyer disagrees, and says "No, we should withdraw! We have no way of knowing if they will receive reinforcements as well. I've only deployed enough soldiers to implement a safe retreat!"

After hearing this, the Britannian squad leader grumbles, and says "Well then you're of no use! I'll dispatch the enemy leader myself!"

And as he charges with his Sutherland Knightmare Frame, he is met by the JLF squad leader's Knightmare Frame, which was painted black and white and wielded a red katana-like blade. That Knightmare Frame easily sliced the Sutherland's arms, effectively leaving it without a way to effectively battle. That Britannian squad leader angrily shouted, yelling "You damned Eleven!"

However, before the JLF squad leader could deal the finishing blow, Mittermeyer fires off his Slash Harkens, pushing the enemy Knightmare Frame back. And as that happened, Mittermeyer yells "Fall back; I'll hold him off!" The Britannian squad leader begrudgingly followed Mittermeyer's instruction, and piloted away from the battlefield, with his pride shattered.

Now that Mittermeyer was facing his opponent one-on-one, the JLF squad leader says "My name is Kyoshiro Tohdoh, former Lieutenant Colonel of the Japanese Military. To whom do I have the honor of facing?"

Mittermeyer responds, saying "I am Wolfgang Mittermeyer, known by some as the 'Gale Wolf'. I will gladly accept your challenge, Tohoh..."

Following that, they begin to clash against each other, with Mittermeyer keeping his distance from Tohdoh's sharp katana. Mittermeyer would frequently make use of his torso-mounted machine gun and his handheld assault rifle, successfully preventing Tohdoh from getting in range with his blade. This exchange lasted a few tense minutes, before both fighters decided that it would be better to just safely retreat, since neither of them needed to subdue the other.

And as Mittermeyer backs away, he says "That sword of yours is incredibly sharp, and it's obvious that you have a great deal of skill in wielding it. I look forward to facing off against you in the future, former Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh..."

Tohdoh responds, saying "I must say, you've avoided my strikes effectively. And I am frankly surprised that you've shown even this much respect to a member of an apparent lesser race..."

Hearing this, Mittermeyer says "It may not seem believable, but not every Britannian subscribes to that rhetoric. My superior officer is a man who is much more focused on the skills of an individual, rather than their background or race, and I believe in that as well."

Tohdoh laughs to himself silently as he returns to his comrades, still retreating from the battlefield, as he mutters "If only there were more Britannians like that soldier's superior. Maybe we wouldn't need to take up arms in that case... Oh well..."

And now that this minor skirmish ended, Mittermeyer lead the Britannian soldiers back to the Tokyo Settlement, glad that the only loss was a Knightmare Frame's arms. He would gladly accept that, over the loss of life, any day...

Milly Ashford's Room, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11

Around after Milly escorted Julian and his guests off of academy grounds, she returned to her room, knowing that she scheduled a video conversation with a family friend of hers...

Milly sits down at her desk, and activates the video console, and sees the other person appear on the screen. This woman had dark blonde moderately shorter length hair and was dressed in formal, but not incredibly formal, attire. Milly grins, and says "Hildegard! You look great! How have you been...?"

The woman, Hildegard Mariendorf, smiles and says "I've been well, Milly. I hope that the academy has been running smoothly. I understand that Prince Clovis was assassinated. Are you okay?"

Milly nods, and says "Oh, you're such a worrier! Things haven't gotten crazy or anything."

Hildegard sighs, and says "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I really hope they don't actually plan on executing that young Honorary Britannian. That will only make things worse..."

Milly responds, saying "Yeah; that kid looks like he's around my age. And he's pretty cute..."

Hildegard glares, and says "Milly! This is a serious situation..."

Milly just laughs to herself, and says "I know... I just like to keep things fun, I guess. And I don't get to see you get all flustered at me anymore, since I'm here in Area 11..."

Hildegard warmly smiles, and says "Well, it might not be that way for long. I've been discussing this with father, but we're planning on relocating to Area 11 as well. Our family still has some influence, although not as much as other nobles, but we can hopefully do some good over there."

Milly's eyes widen, as she says "You're moving here? That's so cool! Now I'll be able to pester you as much as I want..."

Hildegard smiles again, but then she says "I still find it appalling on what happened to your family, Milly. The Ashfords supported Lady Marianne and developed some truly advanced Knightmare Frame designs for the time. No one could have predicted that she would be assassinated, and your family should not have been dragged down because of it..."

Milly just smiles, and says "You've always been such a great older sister to me! But I like my life now, so you don't need to worry. But I'll see you soon, I guess!"

Following that, Milly ends the transmission, and happily sighs to herself. She was glad that there were still people around who cared about what her family did, but she liked her life at the academy, so she didn't need to worry about anything. But the news of Hildegard and her father moving to Area 11 truly made her happy...

And soon, time continues to pass, until the fated day where Reinhard's and Yang's plan would be implemented...

Character Bios

Milly Ashford

Milly is the current heir to the Ashford noble family, which heavily invested in Knightmare Frame technology early in the field's development. They also were staunch supporters of Lady Marianne, who was a skilled Knightmare Frame pilot and one of the Emperor's many wives. However, after she was suddenly assassinated by an unknown assailant, many of the more jealous nobles moved to push the Ashfords out of society.

Today, they reside in Area 11, while managing Ashford Academy, while patiently waiting for a chance to regain their social status.

Milly herself is less concerned with this, as she would rather enjoy her life at the academy and find her own way in life afterward. She sees Hildegard as a kind of older sister, and deeply respects her understanding of political movements and military strategy, even though she couldn't care at all about any of that stuff.

Kyoshiro Tohdoh

Tohdoh was a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Japanese Military, and when the government surrendered to Britannia, he and many of his comrades fled to form the Japanese Liberation Front. He currently leads a group called the Four Heavenly Swords, which consists of skilled Knightmare Frame pilots.

He is an honorable man who only fights when it is absolutely necessary, which has compelled him to fight with the JLF to one day free his people from Britannia's rule.

Hildegard von Mariendorf

Hildegard is a member of the Mariendorf family, which are one of the few families that still respect the Ashford family. Because they are a middle level noble family, there was little that they could have done to prevent what happened to the Ashfords, which is something that her father, Franz von Mariendorf still regrets.

She is a young woman who is much more interested in politics and battle tactics than fancy parties and living the way typical nobles might. And she wishes to use her knowledge and decent social standing and influence to support Area 11, since Milly is still there, who she views as a sort of younger sister.

Nina Einstein

Nina is a young Britannian member of Ashford Academy's student council, and a girl who is gifted in the realms of science and technology. She is a soft spoken girl, and she has a heavy aversion to the Japanese, which leans much closer toward fear than the typical superiority that most Britannians express.

Milly in particular wonders if something happened to her far in the past that caused her to think this way, but this was something for her to silently ponder.

Notes

1) Wow! A week between chapters? That's not common with me. I'm trying to get these out on a slightly more structured basis, so hopefully I keep to it. At least until this arc finishes up.

2) This should be the last chapter of setting up before the big event actually occurs. I just wanted to give enough characters a chance to shine as things progressed.

3) As a general note, I think I will officially state here that I won't be deviating from any canon character pairings. If it happened in either show (LOGH or Code Geass) it'll probably happen at some point in the story too. That also means that characters that do not really have any canon pairings are fair game, and could even be paired up across the two series.

4) Hope you enjoy and take care!

A note about that spam 'review'

You might have noticed a new long review on the story. It's just a spam bot (I believe) as it is posting that same set of text on tons of stories, and even posting them as their own story at times. I reported it, so hopefully it gets removed. You can all safely ignore it.