Cornelia scanned the surrounding area, unsettled by the lack of either sides forces, alive or otherwise, as she approached the plaza. Upon entering it, a frown settled into place, her displays showing her the source of her current displeasure.
"Greetings, Your Highness," The Knightmare, a Sutherland with black paint splattered over the Britannian Flag, making a small bow, "I apologize for the rather forceful methods, but I wanted to speak with you privately."
This wasnt something Cornelia had expected. She had expected more of a confrontation, not an apology. "What is it you want Zero? Forgiveness? Even if you surrendered, you'd be facing the wrath of the Britannian Empire. That's if I didn't execute you on the spot."
The opposing Knightmare stood straight, a few moments passed as she waited, her Factshpere reminding her of the lack of anyone other than them. 'What's your ploy here, Zero.' Her eyes narrowed, her modified Gloucester could handle the mass produced Sutherland in a head on fight. That isn't the issue. The issue was why would he go out of his way to offer her a scenario in which to prove it. Cornelia could feel a pit growing in her stomach as the pieces refused to fit together.
"I seek not forgiveness for my past actions, instead I intend to do right by those who no longer have a voice. For those who would suffer under the banner of not only Britannia, but also those who have been denied the freedoms they deserve. I intend to rid the world of oppression, a world where the strong devour the weak, and create a world where the weak would have as much of a voice as the strong. That is my goal."
The princess scoffed at the statement, "Such noble ambitions, with them you intend to obliterate those who would stand in your way, starting with the Imperial lineage? To deny them the very thing you fight for!?"
"Those who kill should prepare to be killed. I have said these words so often it's like a mantra now. Yes, just like I am ready to face whatever God there is, those who would stand in my way should be prepared for whatever lies beyond. That is, if they don't step aside and accept my new world. Now my dear Cornelia, do you intend to stop me?" The knightmare extending its hand out with the last line.
"I intend to stop the destruction of all I hold dear, Zero. Of all I worked for." Her Gloucester raising it's lance, "Starting with ridding the world of your lunacy."
It was Zero's turn to scoff, "And what then? Let those who would devour your precious Euphie wander free in the process?" This caused the Gloucester to twitch, its devicer obviously at an impass, "To what end? How far would you go to save her when the moment you take action, she would be taken from you right before your eyes."
Cornelia's face grew dark, her shoulders trembling from her rage, "I swear to you, Zero. I will figure out who exactly you are, and when I do, I promise there won't be a place for a coward like you to hide. I will hunt you like the dog you are, and leave you to die like one!" Her voice echoing off the walls of the buildings, malice dripping from every word.
"Oh, I have no doubt you will, Goddess of Britannia, though even you with all your accomplishments," Zero's knightmare moving closer with every word, "you wouldn't even begin to fathom the extent of what I'm capable of." The last word placing him right before the tip of her lance.
A bead of sweat rolled down her face, her face an image of disgust as she glared at the Sutherland. After a moment, she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding, 'He's trying to rattle you.' She took another deep breath, a gloved hand pinching the bridge of her nose, 'He's just another mutt barking up the wrong tree, your not here to debate with him, your here to crush him and all he stands for,' Cornelia letting out a sigh as her hand returned to the console, 'for Euphie's sake...'
Reluctantly, she very slowly and carefully lowered the lance. Once it had returned to her side, she sat back in her seat, closing her eyes as she planned out her next course of action, specifically how to defeat the foe before her, to strike down this demon before he could become a further problem.
Suddenly the screen went red, causing her eyes to snap back to the monitor, her eyes widening as her brain processed what was happening. Then everything went dark.
Dalton couldn't help but be grateful he had dismissed Gilford as he watched in horror as his patron's Gloucester was pushed into the building, the head of the machine gone. As it vanished, he began to issue out orders, "Scramble the Gloucester's, I want a team in there yesterday, Her Highness' life may very well be on the line." He turned towards General Alex, the younger General nodding as he began to make his way out of the room.
"Bring up the map of the Saitama Ghettos, I want to see their options." Within moments the main display showed the ghettos, the grizzled general scanning the map deftly, "I want intelligence on the subway tunnels, old and new, as well as the storm drains, I expect it finished before the Knightmares are ready."
After receiving a couple of acknowledgments, he once again glanced at the message from Zero before picking it up, his eyes wandering over the picture and message once more. 'How was he able to get this close without her noticing? Much less her guard,' His brow furrowed, motioning one of the intel officers over, a young Second Lieutenant by the name of Jorge Reyes, he had graduated from the Officers Academy at the top of his class before being selected for counterintelligence, despite his Latin background he had proven himself excellently in the Middle east, "Lieutenant, I want you and your team on this threat," Dalton handing the brunette the letter,"I want to know everything that went into this picture, understood?"
"Yes, My Lord." Reyes responded with his cultured accent, offering the traditional salute before making his way out of the G1's command deck.
After he watched the Lieutenant leave, he turned back to the main display, three Gloucester's having been deployed. "Give me a sitrep."
"Sir, currently Lords Blackwell, Grier and Herrick have been launched, ETA twelve minutes till contact."
Dalton nodded his response as the officer finished the report, his eyes going down to look at his personal display, the maps of the new and old Saitama ghetto over lapping one another. The major subway and sewer tunnels being highlighted in red. Only two of them being of concern.
He slowly pulled out his handkerchief to dab away the sweat forming on his brow. He couldn't show his concern, his weakness in front of his bridge officers. He had to preserve the chain of command and its morale. He took a deep breath, putting the handkerchief away as he turned his attention back up to the main monitor.
"Assign Lord Blackwell as the lead nu, have the others follow suit. Afterwards proceed to point C17 in accordance with data transmitted. Once their wait for further instruction." The information from his data pad transmitting over their personal frequency. A moment later, Dalton received the three acknowledgments he had grown accustom to.
Cornelia stared down the knightmare, a silent wish that she could tear it limb from limb, "Now what? I doubt you went through all this trouble to try to use me as a bargaining chip," a frown growing on her face as the cockpit block opened.
Slowly the princess eased herself on the front steps to the altar, her leg throbbing with pain, the bone broken when she was forcefully removed from her knightmare.
"Wanting to do the deed with your bare hands?" Cornelia mocked, "Barbarics fitting someone who would fight for these worms."
"Your just lucky I'm not one of them either. I might just be offended." Cornelia's eyes widened as she took in the form of a woman whose voice has been tormenting her.
"You should b-"
"Dead? Don't be so naive," the immortal pulling her mask off, "Though I wouldnt worry about that right now if I was you. Seems like a waste of valuable time."
Cornelia's surprise slowly gave into fury, a report forming in her mouth before she caught a glimpse of something move put of the corner of her eye.
"Show yourself." Cornelia called out, mustering as much authority as she could.
"Cornelia." Zero chuckled from the darkness as he stepped forth, "I hope the journey out here wasn't too harsh? Despite everything that's happened, I still think of both you and Euphie rather fondly."
Cornelia's eyes narrowed as he came into view, her hand instinctively reaching for her side arm. Disappointment evident on her face when it came back empty.
"Don't you dare say that name, you lost every right to when you murdered Clovis." Her gaze level with that damned mask, her face showing only a fraction of her current rage.
Yet, Zero remained unwavered, "Despite my actions, I would rather you sit and listen, you might learn something."
Cornelia opened her mouth to offer a retort, only to be cut off my the green haired woman, "I would listen, it'd improve your lifespan." The immortal phlipantly taking a seat next to Cornelia.
A look of confusion passed over Cornelia's face before she returned her attention to Zero, noticing something in his hand, a black king piece.
"As my colleague said, why I'm here, what I'm meant to do, has nothing to even do with saving this ghetto. If undeterred, I would have been unlikely to stop you. The terrorist? A means to an end. Much like this mask, I needed their assistance to pull you in and isolate you, a rather difficult task, but they performed adequately."
Cornelia gave her full attention as Zero spoke, his demeanor, his tone, his posture. 'Who is it? Who are you, Zero.' At these thoughts Zero turned towards her, his hand slipping back within his cloak.
"I have no doubts you wonder about my identity, and once you ascertain who I really am, repeat from cycles past and try to end me." Cornelia's brow furrowed at the statement, 'Repeat from cycles past? Just what could you mea-' Zero cutting her thoughts off, "Sadly, I won't be able to let you in, however I can help you to understand my motives."
Suddenly, a folder appear in his hands, the bright red stamp at the top unmistakable, "Top secret.. But ho-"
The vigilante raised his hand cutting her off, a tick in her jaw at the second interruption, "Inside this folder is the reason I had executed Clovis, a secret project he was hoping would gather him favor with the Emperor. A foolish task to say the least." Zero gently held out the folder to Cornelia, who in turn took it before opening it.
What laid inside was appalling, if not for composure she would have thrown these documents into a safe and lost the key. The pictures, the experiments, these were not the workings of a kind man, even if he wasn't directly involved, only a monster could have authorized these. Slowly she turned towards the limette beside her, their eyes meeting as Cornelia let out a shuddered breath, the seal at the bottom of the last page confirming what she thought was impossible.
"This would ruin his reputation, at the very least, if not discredit everything we stand for as a nation." Cornelia slowly closed the folder, a hand tucking a loose strand of hair back into place, "Is this all of are you going to reveal another of my siblings projects?"
Zero remained silent as he watched, His head shaking slightly being the only indication he had answered her question.
Cornelia closed her eyes as she sighed, settung the folder beside her and laid back, her mind going through all the implications of this reveal, how many people had supported this.
Slowly she had opened her eyes, fixing her gaze upon Zero, "So how did you know about this?" She waved her hand to the folder, her eyes narrowing, "How did you know this was all going on?"
Zero remained silent, his form shifting slightly beneath the cloak, "I had found my colleague in the midst of the Shinjuku Ghetto, there I had learned of Clovis' true nature and and such took action. The rest is as history states."
Cornelia remained cautious, her eyes looking for deceit but finding none. The robe and mask making reading him difficult. She sighed as she hugged her good leg, her forehead resting against her knee. 'So what does that make Zero?' A small irritating war waged inside her thoughts as she went back and forth before a clap brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality.
Zero's hands were clasped together, "While decorum would suggest the lady be the first to leave, I must go. I have an inportant someone to address" His cloak billowed slightly as he shifted, walking back towards the darkness of the room, C. C. standing and following him.
"Zero, you bastard! Come back here!" Cornelia's voice ringing after him. A small smile on the immortals face being the only reply.
Kisaki Hirojiri didn't expect much from this Zero guy. In fact, he didn't expect to survive till lunch when their cell had received word Cornelia was moving her forces and surrounding their ghetto. Now he had a different opinion as he had been tasked by Zero to camp up in a building and wait as an ambush with a couple others from his squad.
He looked them over slowly, the first being a man looking to be in his thirties holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes and a woman holding one of the two Mk. 32 RPGS they had.
Kisaki sighed as he looked down to his lap, the other of the Mk.32's resting quietly. He touched the cold metal frame of the weapon, his fingers tracing it down to the tip of the projectile. He turned his head towards the man again, this time their eyes meeting, a slight nod from the latter signaling it was time to go. Kisaki stood quickly, slinging the rocket to his back as he pushed out onto the terrace, their targets a couple of streets down, Three knightmares he's never seen before.
Quickly he unslung his Mk.32. The smooth barrel against his tank top strap, his skin forming little bumps as he waited, his prey only a few streets from being within range.
Slowly, Kisaki closed his eyes and focused to slow his rapidly beating heart, his breathing a slow and relaxing tide. As his he finished, he opened his eyes as he slowly pulled the trigger, "Long live Japan."
The rockets sang as they launched, gliding through the air with ease, their aim true as the first impacted the knightmare's frame before detonating.
Walter Von Herrick grimaced as he approached the remains of Lord Blackwell, he was a good man and excellent devicer, proving himself during the Middle Eastern and Africa Campaigns.
-/-"I want a status report now."-/- Daltons voice filtering through the comms link. Herrick's brow furrowing as he answered, "Sir, Lord Blackwell took a direct hit from a high impact anti-Knightmare missile launcher, while the assailants have been disposed of. I remain undamaged while Grier's unit lost it's right arm."
Dalton sighed through the display, -/-"Very well, take point, afterwards press forward to the objective, be on alert as to prevent further casualties."-/-
"Yes, My lord." Then Herrick quickly shut the comms off, turning towards his injured partner. Saying Lord Grier had lost only his arm was an understatement as one could tell that something else had gone horribly wrong. Trying to dodge the missile, he had instead gotten hit by it, the explosion caused his chaos mine to detonate, its ordinance damaging both his left leg and torso. While he is still operational, he should consider himself lucky.
"Still able to move?" Herrick asked, a slight ting of worry in his voice. He had know Staton Grier for years since they both went to occifers academy together, now to see him like this...
He quickly shook that thought away, those would only provide to be a distraction. He turned and began to move towards the objective, double checking to see it Grier was able to move, a slight smile appearing as his friend was right behind him.
"Command, ETA two minutes. Preparing for antiknightmare combat." He deftly loaded the armor penetration rounds into the Knightmare Rifle. His partner instead choosing his own Lance.
After they had finished preparing, explosions started to go off around them. Out of the corner of his eyes, Herrick say Grier get directly hit by a missile, a small frown settling on his face as a moment passed for his friend.
Slowly he began to back away down the street, eventually finding solace behind a building.
"Herrick to Command, I've lost Grier, any attempts forward are meet with heavy opposition. Requesting immediate reenforcement."
The was a moments silence as he waiting for a response, for anything for the matter of fact. The new found silence disturbing whilst he was alone now.
-/-"Maintain position and report what you can, Was there any sign of Her Highness? Is she alright?"-/-
He shook his head, "I wasn't able to see her, though I can attempt to-"
-/-"No, we've lost enough men for today, I want you to remain their and provide reconnaissance, report if the situation changes." -/-
"Yessir." Herrick now finding a small moment to think about what had just happened, a empty feeling forming in his chest as he gently hit the side of the cockpit block.
A sweat drop rolled down Dalton's cheek, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose to attempt to relieve him of his headache. The lost of Princess Cornelia is unacceptable, especially for one of the best army groups Britannia had to offer. Their renown and status wont save their either. Almost everyone of rank will be court marshalled if Zero decides to go public of his capture of the princess.
As his headache came back with a vengeance, one of the officers spoke up, "Sir, we have a transmission. It appears to be Zero."
Dalton's eyes slide from the officer to the screen, his headache becoming more intense. After a moment, the mask of Zero flicked to life.
-/-"Dalton, I assumed you or Gilford to be apart of that little squad you sent, a relief really. I would have hated to crush you already."-/- There was a smugness to his voice, like he had known their efforts were futile. It infuriated the general.
"Zero. What is it you want? To gloat?" Dalton's fury seeped into every word. His hands clenched around the edge of the table, his eyes locked on that damned mask. "To kick us while were down?"
Zero shook his head, "To return which I have taken, I believe you all have learned a valuable lesson here, something I won't take away from by killing senselessly." As he spoke, he motioned off screen, -/-"You may have back your Goddess, but be warned, I don't intend to remain idle for long."-/-
Dalton's brow furrowed, his mouth opening to respond, an officer cutting him off, "Sir, message from Lord Herrick, he says the hostile have backed down, your orders?"
'A trap?' He turned his attention back to Zero, his eyes narrowing, "Is this some sick joke?"
Zero shook his head again, -/-"General, I merely took a chance to teach. While I know I am not the most trustworthy of sorts, I have my moments. Besides,"-/- Zero suddenly outstretching his arms, -/-"What do I have to gain from this?"-/-
Dalton kept his gaze level, his mind churning to find the deception, the lies. He knows he shouldn't trust him, not for his past actions. He knows he should bring in the full force of their army group upon Zero. But he also knows all the implications, the butterfly effects of doing so. 'At least not yet..'
Reluctantly he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let his head sink slightly. After a minute or two of silence, he stood straight his eyes on Zero, "Send in Herrick, tell him to return with the princess immediately."
While they got to work, Dalton kept his eyes on the screen, the mask of Zero firmly in his gaze. After holding it for what seemed like an eternity. Zero cut the link, letting Dalton focus on the retrieval of his Patron and her medical attention.