Well, looks like I kept to my deadline. One more update in the month of March.
Bakura: whoopie
Shut up. Anyway, the next chapter will come out sometime in April. I plan on trying to get the rough draft of this entire story (which, from where I am in the story, is another twenty three chapters that are averaging eighteen to twenty pages single-spaced per chapter) done by the end of May. Wish me luck!
Bakura: it's never gonna happen
Nunnally: GOOD LUCK!
Thank you, Nunnally. (Glares at Bakura) At least someone's being supportive. Anyway, thank you to TC9078, harlequin320, DarthMaine, Shadow-Shinobi666, OBSERVER01, DYnoJackal19, Demons Anarchy of Pride, Blacksword Zero, Shimmering-Sky, Doommajor, Scarease, and B-Kira for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome!
Also, congrats to B-Kira for being my 300th reviewer!
Anyway, this chapter is long, has the long, dreaded scene of Tara's plan coming to fruition—well, not really. Like I'd ever truly kill off Nunnally—and a very brief battle. This chapter really wasn't meant to be focused on a battle, and it's more of a skirmish than anything.
Bakura: GET ON WITH IT, MORON!
Fine! I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
. . .
. . .
August 10, 2012
Saitama Ghetto, Area 11
The situation at the Saitama Ghetto was proving to be a rather easy mission to complete. The terrorists had either gone to ground as soon as they'd noticed that the 11th Regiment was there or had finished what they'd set out to do. Villetta Nu didn't know which one it was but it made traveling through the Saitama Ghetto in her knightmare frame seem like a walk down the street, in a knightmare.
Scanning the area, the young silver-haired Britannian noticed that there wasn't anyone nearby, neither civilian nor terrorist. Keying on her radio, she said, "Sir, there is no one in section 2," she said.
"Keep an eye out, Lieutenant Nu," Stromberg said. "Section 2 was where Lieutenant Colonel Gottwald said the terrorists were heading. They're likely there and are simply hiding. Retreat and regroup with Major Soresi."
"Yes, sir," Villetta said and turned her knightmare around and started to head back the way she'd come. It was a good thing she had; otherwise, she would have been hit by the missile that had struck where she'd been standing only moments before. While she hadn't been hit by the missile itself, the debris that was sent flying as well as the shockwave struck her.
She gritted her teeth and quickly turned her knightmare around, pulling out her rifle as an old tank rolled into the open and began firing at her. She quickly dodged out of the way and fired a Slash Harken at the tank before peppering it with gunfire from her rifle.
"Lieutenant Nu, what's happened?" Soresi's voice called over the radio as Villetta quickly glided on her landspinners out of the way to avoid another series of gunfire from the tank.
"An ambush, Major. It's only one tank but there's also someone with a missile launcher somewhere in the vicinity," Villetta said swiftly as she quickly darted out of the way to avoid the missile she spotted flying toward her on her knightmare's screens. The tank was in front of her, still firing at her but the missiles seemed to be coming from the right.
"Hold on, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Colonel Gottwald and I are on our way," Soresi said firmly.
"The missiles are coming in from the east, Major," Villetta said as she guided her Glasgow into the alley to avoid another burst of gunfire from the tank and burst out onto a street that ran parallel with the one she was on just in time to avoid another missile.
She whirled around and swore when she noticed that two more tanks were on the street she'd just entered and went to contact Soresi but quickly had to push doing that off when both tanks opened fire on her. She danced out of the way and fired her Slash Harkens at the first tank, sinking them into the area beneath the cannon.
The tank glided backwards and Villetta quickly removed her Slash Harken and glided swiftly to the side to avoid another hail of gunfire, only to get struck in her knightmare's side by gunfire from the second tank.
"Villetta! Move west now!" A voice shouted over the radio and Villetta quickly did as Kewell told her and glided backwards, breathing a sigh of relief as she realized why Kewell had told her to move. The missile that had just obliterated a large portion of the street would have hit her directly if she hadn't moved.
She saw that Kewell and Jeremiah had joined her and smiled. "Thank you, Kewell," she said.
"Anytime, Villetta," Kewell replied. "Now why don't we take out these damn terrorists and go home?"
"You buying the drinks, Kewell?" Jeremiah asked.
Kewell laughed. "It's your turn to buy the drinks, Jeremiah," he said.
Villetta rolled her eyes. Boys, she thought fondly at her two friends. "Guys, I'll buy the drinks since you saved my life here but first, let's win this battle," she said.
"Okay," Jeremiah said.
"Let's take out these Eleven bastards," Kewell said and, side by side, the three knightmares launched themselves at the two tanks on the street.
. . .
22
The City of Hakodate
July 15, 2016
Lelouch's Office, G1 Base, Aomori
Lelouch sorted through the reports that Dimitri had managed to get for him, studying the last section in which the outcome of the engagement, how the Britannians lost to the Liberators, was written. He was sorting them because, after reading the first three, he noticed that the outcome of the third was almost identical to the outcome of the first in terms of how the Liberators won.
Three hours had gone by since Lelouch had started doing that and he currently had seven stacks of two reports each, while one had three, each one organized according to the outcome. The way the Liberators won their engagements seems almost repetitive, he thought. According to the fourteen reports Dimitri had managed to get him as well as Schneizel's report, the Liberators had used only seven different ways to defeat Britannia and repeated their strategies at least once.
But why?
Lelouch's brow furrowed in thought but, before he could think more on it, there was a knock on his door. Lifting his head from the reports, he called, "Come in," and watched as Jeremiah made his way into the office. Lila and Dimitri were standing guard outside, though Lelouch had told his Royal Guard to go ahead and get some fresh air and rest earlier. Jeremiah had stayed with him for a while before finally leaving to get some rest himself. "Jeremiah, what can I do for you?"
"I came to see how you were doing, Your Highness," Jeremiah said.
"I'm fine, just...puzzled," Lelouch said, studying the reports again with a frown as he sorted through them, looking for something that would suggest just what the Liberators' strategy was. Why would they use seven different ways—at least, that was how many different strategies Lelouch had managed to determine from the reports Dimitri had managed to get him—to defeat Britannia?
And why would someone go out of their way to ensure that this information wasn't included in the official reports that were submitted to the Archive?
Lelouch figured that they must have a talented hacker on their end in order to get that done but he just didn't see the point. With how they seem to cycle through seven different ways to defeat Britannia and didn't seem to use any other strategies but these seven, it seemed pointless to actually have someone alter the official reports.
Cycle…
Lelouch quickly went through the reports again, picking up the earliest report and beginning to organize them in order from the earliest time the Liberators engaged Britannian forces—in accordance with the reports Dimitri managed to get him—to their most recent engagement against Schneizel. Once he rearranged the reports, he looked through them and immediately noticed it.
"It's a cycle," he whispered and a small smile crawled across his face. "Clever."
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Jeremiah asked in confusion.
Lelouch gestured for the captain of his Royal Guard and his second in command to join him. Jeremiah walked over to stand beside him. Lelouch then gestured to the reports. "Look at just how the Liberators won the first seven engagements in order," he said.
Jeremiah peered at the reports, his brow furrowed in confusion. "They're all different," he said. "They used a different strategy to win each time."
"Exactly. Now look at how the Liberators won the eighth engagement."
Jeremiah looked and his eyes widened.
"Noticed it, didn't you?" Lelouch said, leaning back slightly, a low laugh escaping his lips. "Very clever. By using such a strategy, they're constantly keeping everyone guessing what they're going to do once they retreat. They never retreat just to retreat, they're always planning one final attack and, due to the use of so many different ways, no one knows what that attack will be. However, if you look at the eighth engagement to the fourteenth, you'll notice that it's an exact repeat of the first seven engagements. And Schneizel's battle with the Liberators was the twenty-first engagement against the Liberators since they arrived and they used the same strategy that they used in their seventh engagement and in their fourteenth engagement. It's a cycle that they repeat after seven engagements."
"Why seven though?" Jeremiah asked.
Lelouch shrugged. "They liked the number, it's a lucky number, some people believe that the number seven is the number of completeness, who knows really," he said. "However, if my theory is correct then when we launch our attack on Sapporo, it is very likely that they will fall back on their first strategy. However, we will be ready for them when they do."
"How sure are you that they will continue this cycle after losing to Prince Schneizel?" Jeremiah asked.
Lelouch turned his amethyst gaze to the turquoise-haired young man. "That's why they had someone hack into the database to alter the reports before they were archived. That was to ensure that no one could connect the dots and figure out their cycle strategy," he said. "I probably wouldn't have had I not noticed the missing information in those reports. Whoever altered them did a good job of making it seem as if the reports were complete and only someone who was actually paying attention would notice the missing portions."
"In other words, they're arrogant enough to believe that no one will figure out their cycle and Prince Schneizel figuring out their plan at Cambodia was just a coincidence," Jeremiah said.
"Possibly. They're quite clever though but, still, the chances of them altering their strategy, when it has worked for them for twenty engagements, is slim," Lelouch admitted. "But we'll worry about Sapporo when we get to it. For now, we need to take back the military base at Hakodate. Has Stonewell reported back yet?"
"Not yet, Your Highness. Major Nu will contact me when Lieutenant Stonewell contacts her," Jeremiah said.
Lelouch nodded before returning his attention to the reports, picking up the first and the eighth report and scanned the similarities between them.
. . .
Railway Tunnel, Between Aomori and Hokkaido
Pressing her back against the dark wall and edging her way down the abandoned railway tunnel were flickering lights and her own flashlight were her own source of light, Stonewell pressed her lips together as she scanned the area. Nothing seemed out of place; the tracks were still where they'd been placed. There were no trains since the train line had been discontinued following Britannia's invasion and nothing seemed disturbed but she wasn't stupid.
Making her way deeper down the tunnel, Stonewell knew that she didn't have to worry about the security cameras. The main control for the security cameras was in Aomori and Major Duncan had said that he'd be monitoring them to ensure that no one saw her there. So far, no one was there and Stonewell was able to make her way deeper into the railway tunnel beneath the waters.
She was a bit surprised that they weren't any booby traps. Did the Liberators not know about the existence of this tunnel? She thought, pressing her lips together in thought as she studied the railway tracks. The ground didn't seem to be disturbed and neither did the tracks.
Cautiously, she edged forward, kneeling down and peering at the ground but she couldn't see anything. She crept forward along the edge, noticing a ladder that led to a hatch that she figured was for maintenance. She peered up and her eyes narrowed when she spotted something resting against the hatch.
Gripping the rungs of the ladder, she scurried up them and she frowned when she noticed the odd black device that was attached to the hatch. Turning on the communicator around her ear, she said, "Stonewell to base, I've found something."
"What have you found, Lieutenant Stonewell, over," Major Nu's voice said on the other end.
"Some sort of box device attached to the maintenance hatch. It could be a bomb of sorts but I'm not sure," Stonewell said.
"Can you get a picture of it? I'll send it over to the analysts to see if they can figure out what it is," Nu suggested.
"Yes, ma'am," Stonewell said and she pulled out the camera phone that she brought in case she needed to get pictures and send them to base quickly. Using it, she snapped a picture of the black box and everything around it, making sure the flash was on so that more details could be made out, and sent it to Major Nu's phone. She tucked her phone away; text and picture messages were less likely to be intercepted than regular phone calls since it was much more difficult to intercept texts and picture messages with the encrypted memory cards that the Department of Intelligence had created years ago.
"I've received it. Remain where you are until we find out just what this is," Nu said.
"Understood," Stonewell said and waited for the analyst to figure out what these black boxes were. She didn't know how they would do it since there didn't seem to be many distinguishing marks on it that could identify it. At least none that she could see.
She moved closer to it, frowning at the box, noticing there was a latch on the end facing the hatch. She pressed her lips together but she had never been very good at waiting. Praying that it wouldn't explode in her face if it was a bomb, Stonewell reached for the latch and gently undid it. The lid of the black box popped open and Stonewell swore when she saw just what was in it.
It was a bomb, all right, but Stonewell, due to her boyfriend who knew so much about demolitions and explosives, knew what it was: a Sakuradite bomb.
Jumping down from the ladder, Stonewell darted toward the next ladder she could see and scurried up it, checking the box to see that there was a Sakuradite bomb in there as well. She went to each maintenance hatch and saw that each had a Sakuradite bomb within them as well.
"If those all blew, not only would it take out whatever is in this railway tunnel but it would also cause the entire tunnel to be flooded but what will trigger it? Duncan said that no one was watching the tunnel so it couldn't be a remote detonator like at Osaka. Could it be possible there's a trip wire or something like that that will set them off," Stonewell murmured to herself as she darted back the way she had come, peering at the tracks since that seemed the likely place for the trip wire or whatever would cause those bombs to detonate.
Biting her lip, Stonewell jumped down onto the tracks themselves. She doubted that they were expecting a single person to enter the railway tunnel; they were probably expecting a large convoy so they wouldn't have made the trigger go off with a single person on it. At least, that was what she thought; she knew that it was risky of her to do this but, at the moment, she knew that she could take the risk since she knew no one was watching her but her own comrades.
Her communicator beeped as Stonewell began slowly moving along the old train tracks looking for something that could trigger those explosives. She taped the communicator to turn on the microphone again. "Stonewell here," she said.
"Lieutenant, we haven't found anything on that black box that you sent us a picture of," Nu began, "but the analysts advise that you don't open it."
A small smile crossed Stonewell's lips. "A bit late for that, ma'am," she said. She wouldn't be doing her job if she didn't get all the information that she could possibly get, including what was in those black boxes. Growing serious, she added, "There are Sakuradite bombs in each of those black boxes, Major Nu, and there's a black box attached to each of the maintenance hatches along the tunnel that I found so far. There's no countdown meter on the bombs themselves and since the Liberators aren't keeping an eye on the tunnel itself, I don't think there's a remote detonator. That just tells me that there's a trigger in the tunnel itself that would set the bombs off once someone crossed it. I'm looking for that trigger now."
"I will inform Prince Lelouch of your find, Lieutenant. Be careful," Nu said.
Stonewell smiled to herself. She and Villetta Nu had gone to the Imperial Military Academy together and had grown into close friends. Even though they had gone to separate divisions, with Stonewell coming to Japan and Villetta remaining in the Homeland, they had kept into contact with each other. She could hear the genuine concern in her friends voice and softly went about reassuring her that she would be fine.
"I will be fine but I'll be careful," she assured her and went back to looking for the trigger.
. . .
Aomori, Area 11
Suzaku stretched as he made his way among the soldiers gathered around the pier where the 11th Regiment were milling while they waited for orders from their commander. Most of the soldiers gave him disgusted looks, sneered at him, or just completely ignored his presence but Suzaku, used to this, didn't mind. He just meandered his way around them, looking for his friends.
He had been told by both Laura and Lila to take it easy and was supposed to not pilot the Lancelot for another day at least, something that Lloyd was still complaining about today, but he wasn't complaining. He knew that if he started piloting without letting his injury heal at least a bit more then it could reopen.
He still didn't exactly know what they were going to do. Lelouch had been holed up in his office on the G1 for the past couple of hours, giving his men leave until he was ready to head out. What he was doing, Suzaku couldn't even begin to guess. He figured the prince was just coming up with a strategy to take back the military base at Hakodate though.
He gazed around the city with a small smile on his face. He'd visited Aomori before with his family when he was little. It had been in the middle of winter and the one thing Suzaku remembered from that time was the blizzard that had prevented them from leaving their inn for half of their vacation. He was thankful that they were there in the summer; it was much warmer, though still cooler since they were further north than in Tokyo and especially Osaka.
"Hey, Suzaku! Over here!"
At the sound of his name, Suzaku turned to find Tadashi waving him over from where he was sitting on the pier with Kay and Rayne beside him. While he was a goofball who had a tendency to flirt with every female his age that he came across, Tadashi was also someone who did take things seriously when he had to. He may not be that professional, at least all the time, but he was a good soldier.
Suzaku got along with him well, mostly because they were the only Honorary Britannians who were part of the 11th Regiment. They were already looked down upon by their comrades, with the exception of their friends and Lelouch, and were striving to prove that they were just as good as their comrades, even if it was for two very different reasons.
Briefly, the brunet wondered just how his friends would react to learning that Lelouch had chosen him to be his Knight of Honor. He couldn't tell them though; Lelouch hadn't exactly forbidden him from telling anyone, only said that he didn't want it to become public knowledge, and Suzaku knew enough about Britannia to know that it would be wise if he remained silent until the ceremony.
"How are you, Suzaku?" Rayne asked curiously, leaning back on her elbows and tilting her head back to peer at him.
"I'm good," Suzaku replied, taking a seat beside Tadashi. "How are you?"
"Fine." Rayne turned her gaze to the ocean and smiled. "I've never been this far north in Area 11 before. But then we've never left Tokyo until we enlisted in the military."
"We went through Aomori when we moved to Tokyo but that was very brief and I haven't been here since," Tadashi admitted. "What about you, Suzaku?"
"I visited during the winter when I was a kid," Suzaku said and shivered. "Never again."
"Is it really bad up here in the winter?" Kay asked quietly.
"It depends actually. My family and I were just unfortunate enough to get caught in a blizzard when we came here," Suzaku admitted, recalling that day. He had only been seven but he could still remember curling up by the fire at the inn drinking a mug of hot chocolate while snacking on freshly made onigiri and playing games with his parents. His jaw clenched a little as he thought about his parents and he violently shoved the thought out of his mind.
"That's nice," Tadashi, unaware of the dark memories that were returning to Suzaku, commented. He smiled sadly as he added, "Mom wanted to visit Aomori but we never got the chance before..." He trailed off and Suzaku glanced at him, noticing the sadness on his face that quickly cleared up as he smiled cheerfully and added, "Have ya ever gone skiing?"
Only slightly surprised by the abrupt change of subject, Suzaku shook his head.
"Neither have we," Rayne said. "I'd like to do it but I'm pretty sure Kay would go rolling down the side of the mountain instead."
Kay glowered at his sister. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" he asked.
"Nope," Rayne said happily, popping the 'p'.
Tadashi chuckled. "That nearly happened to my brother but he managed to regain his balance just in time," he said. He stretched his hands over his head and added, "I'm starting to get bored though. Any idea how long we're gonna be here?"
"Who knows? I, for one, am thankful for the break," Rayne said, flopping fully onto her back and gazing up at the sky as she curled her arm under her head.
"So am I," Tadashi agreed. He glanced at Suzaku. "Oh, that reminds me. Guess what?"
Suzaku blinked at him. "What?" he said in confusion.
"Lelouch chose me, Rayne, and Kay, along with Gottwald, Lila, and Dimitri to be part of his Royal Guard. Isn't that awesome?" Tadashi asked with a huge grin on his face.
Suzaku blinked. That he hadn't known but then he hadn't really spoken at length with his friends since he agreed to be Lelouch's Knight. "Congratulations," he said.
Kay glanced at him. "But what I don't get is why weren't you invited to join his Royal Guard?" he asked in confusion. "I mean, we all know that you two were childhood friends and you did save his life twice."
"Yeah, I was wondering that myself," Rayne said with a frown. "Why wouldn't he ask you to join his Royal Guard?"
"He has his reasons. Lelouch never does anything without a reason," Suzaku said.
"Still."
"Well, if ya want, ya can always ask him," Tadashi pointed out. "I gotta admit, I'm curious to know the answer to that myself. Maybe we should ask him." He jumped to his feet at that. "Besides, I think Lila and Dimitri have returned to Lelouch's office by now."
Kay glanced at the watch on his wrist and nodded in agreement. He got to his feet and Rayne flipped to her feet, stretching. "You wanna come with us, Suzaku? I'm sure Lelouch wouldn't mind if you came to say hi," she said.
"Um, okay, I guess," Suzaku said. It wasn't as if he had anything else to do, since he still wasn't exactly cleared to help Lloyd out on any of the tests he was running on the Lancelot. He got to his feet and followed Tadashi, Rayne, and Kay as they led the way toward the G1 Base.
. . .
Lelouch's Office, G1 Base, Aomori
It was evening. The sun was beginning to fall into the night sky, shedding dying rays of sunlight onto the quiet city of Aomori. Within his office on the G1, Lelouch barely noticed this as he pressed his lips together listening to Major Nu's report on what Stonewell had found in the underwater railway tunnel. Sakuradite bombs. If those went off then not only would it practically obliterate whatever triggered them but it would also cause the railway tunnel to be flooded.
"But why would they have a trigger and yet not be watching the railway tunnel?" Lelouch murmured to himself as he dismissed Nu with a wave of his hand.
"Perhaps they don't think it's necessary, Your Highness," Jeremiah suggested.
Lelouch was silent for a long moment. "Hmm, you've got a point, Jeremiah," he said. "If they aren't watching then that might mean that they weren't expecting me to send a single person instead of an entire convoy and thought the bombs would wipe out the advance."
"It sounds like they may be underestimating you if they believe that, Your Highness," Jeremiah said.
"Perhaps but then they may not know who they're up against. If they think they're up against General Andon, whose military prowess is practically legendary, then they wouldn't underestimate him," Lelouch said, his thoughtful eyes flicking toward the general that was observing at his side; he had joined them only a few minutes before Major Nu came in with her report. "Besides, if I am correct about what they're using that military base for then those bombs may very well be in place to alert the Liberators to our approach. That would give them ample time to get word to their forces in Sapporo since we would have been too busy picking up the pieces and changing our route to Hakodate."
"True," Jeremiah said thoughtfully. "So what shall be done?"
"I will know that once Stonewell discovers the trigger to those bombs."
Jeremiah hummed in agreement just as a knock sounded on Lelouch's office door. Both he and Andon glanced toward it as Lelouch looked up. "Come in," he called.
The door opened and Lila and Dimitri came in with Tadashi, Kay, Rayne and, surprisingly, Suzaku just behind them.
"Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness," Dimitri said with a slight bow, holding his laptop in his hands. "But I found something that might interest you.
"And they just decided to tag along," Lila said dryly, gesturing to the rest of the prince's Royal Guard.
"Tag along?" Tadashi pouted. "We're his Royal Guard. We're supposed to be with him at all times anyway."
"Then why were you not with him?" Jeremiah asked with a frown.
"Um, he kinda...kicked us out earlier," Rayne said.
Lelouch snorted, leaning back in his seat. "I did not kick you out. I told you to go get some fresh air and rest," he said. "Now what did you have to show me, Major Duncan?"
Dimitri came up to the desk and placed the laptop in front of Lelouch. "This," he said. "I managed to get a map of the military base as well as the current positions of all the men within. Judging by their positions, I think it is a safe bet to say that your prediction about the true purpose of the base is true."
Lelouch examined the positions, noting that all of them were gathered on the southern end of the base while the northern end seemed undefended. He hummed in thought. "Were you able to get any recent logs from the military base?" he asked.
"Yes. The most recent one was about an hour ago but it was just an exchange of all clears and no enemy approaching."
"They don't know we're here yet then," Lelouch said. "That proves that they don't have eyes in Aomori. That will give us an advantage for as long as we can remain inconspicuous. Anything else, Major?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Keep an eye on the logs and inform me if anything else comes through, no matter how little and even if you don't deem it important," Lelouch ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness," Dimitri said before retrieving his laptop and moving over to sit down on one of the armchairs in the office.
Lelouch returned his gaze to the reports on his desk. He'd been going through every piece of information he had on the Liberators and, while he had figured out the Liberators' cycle strategy, he doubted that they would implement such a plan at the base. The base was simply acting like a watchtower for the Liberators after all.
A rapid knock interrupted Lelouch's train of thought a while later and he, calling for the person to enter, watched as Major Nu quickly strode in. "Your Highness," she said with a salute. "I've received word from Lieutenant Stonewell. She says that she has managed to find and disable the trigger but believes that disabling the bombs would be best to be on the cautious side."
Lelouch was thoughtful. Disabling the bombs would certainly ensure that they couldn't be remotely detonated or that a hidden trigger that Stonewell wasn't able to find couldn't be hit. "Jeremiah, I will leave creating a team of demolition experts to disable those bombs to you," he stated.
"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah stated, crossing his fist over his heart and striding out of the office with Major Nu, once Lelouch dismissed her with orders to inform him as soon as the bombs were disabled, just behind him.
"Once those bombs are disabled, we'll be able to make our move," Lelouch said thoughtfully, leaning back in his seat. "It was clever of them to put that in though. The Liberators really are a cunning group, even if they are terrorists." He couldn't deny that he was impressed with the Liberators, especially since they were able to defeat everyone they ever fought against, except Schneizel. They were certainly an enemy that he could not afford to underestimate. That was why he was in the process of coming up with backup plans in case the Liberators didn't continue to use their cycle strategy when he engaged with them at Sapporo.
He glanced out the window and pressed his lips together in thought. "Approaching tomorrow would be best," he murmured. "It's late now and while the cover of darkness would provide ample opportunity to attack, it's also very likely to be expected." He was also sure it was going to take some time to disable those bombs anyway.
. . .
July 16, 2016
Abandoned Apartment, Shinjuku Ghetto
...So you're letting her go through with this?…
B.B. glanced off to the side as he watched Tara move around the room getting ready for the dance that would be taking place at Ashford Academy in a few hours. She was dressed in a light-blue dress with short-sleeves that went down to her feet with boots under them. While the boots would help her should she need to run, the dress's length wouldn't. Her aqua-colored hair was in a bun at the top of her head with stray strands falling into her face.
"She'll go through with it even if I tell her not to," B.B. murmured.
...Still. I mean she's going after a blind, crippled girl. Prince Clovis, I understood, even Prince Lelouch I could understand but Princess Nunnally? That's like so stupid…
"I have to agree with you, Daniel," B.B. murmured, "but I've given up on trying to convince her to not go through with this plan." Truthfully, when he'd enrolled Tara in Ashford Academy, he'd hoped that meeting and getting to know Princess Nunnally would quench her desire to kill the blind, crippled girl but it hadn't.
"Well, I'm all ready to go," Tara said brightly. "Wish me luck."
"I won't even bother," B.B. said dismissively.
Tara pouted. "Why not?"
"Because I was hoping that getting to know Princess Nunnally would change your mind about taking her out," B.B. said.
Tara scowled. "Who the hell cares what she's like? She's a member of the Royal Family and she deserves to die for that. I thought you would've been happy about that," she said angrily.
"Her death won't benefit me at all," B.B. said simply.
"I don't see why not."
B.B. shook her head, deciding that he'd had enough with dealing with Tara at the moment. "Do what you want. I have a meeting to attend to," he said and strode toward the door, slipping out of it before Tara could say anything.
...What are you going to do? Are you really going to let her go through with this? You weren't able to convince her not to go through with this so what will you do know? Do you really want Princess Nunnally's death on your head?…
B.B.'s lips thinned but Daniel did have a point. He paused in his walking, gazing up at the sky in thought. "No, not really. Besides, Tara did inform me that Princess Nunnally's brother is very overprotective of her. I know the overprotective brother type—you—and I do not want him to be after my ass should he find out I knew of what Tara was going to do and did nothing to stop it. I really am regretting entering into a contract with her," he said.
...I'm going to overlook that overprotective brother comment for now. Then warn them, you moron…
B.B. pressed his lips together before he decided to do just that. Whether they listened to him or not was entirely up to them though.
But who should he warn?
. . .
Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement
Well, at least it's not raining, Kallen thought as she stepped out of the limo and stood up, smoothing the red dress that she was wearing. It went down to her knees and had straps as thin as spaghetti noodles with a lace bodice. She turned to her driver and nodded her thanks. "The dance ends at nine," she said.
"I will be back then to pick you up then, Mistress," George, her driver, said and, closing the door, headed for the driver's seat.
Kallen made her way toward the open gates, noticing that more students were arriving. Even though the dance was to help cheer up Nunnally, Milly, naturally, decided to make it a school wide event. Kallen was thankful that she got to choose her own dress though, otherwise…
She shuddered at the thought of what Milly would have forced her to wear.
As she followed the crowd of students, she frowned when she spotted someone leaning against the wall, watching the crowd of students walk by. His eyes locked with hers and her frown deepened at those calculating amber eyes held her. She didn't like this guy. There was just something...off about him. Maybe it was just his eyes. Either way, this was private property so she strode over to join him.
"This is private property and you're obviously not a student. No loitering," she said firmly, pointing to the sign that clearly said that wasn't allowed.
"Relax. I'm just here escorting my niece," the young man said. "May I ask you something?"
Kallen frowned. "What?" she asked, tightening her grip on her wallet.
"Do you know Princess Nunnally?"
That was not the question that Kallen had been expecting but she still frowned. "Why do you wanna know?" she demanded. If this guy is trying to hurt Nunnally…
"She's in danger," the young man said softly. "I overheard someone stating that they're going to try to assassinate her today. They have a plan to infiltrate this dance and kill her during it. I didn't get a good look at who it was but I felt it prudent to warn someone."
"Why should I believe you? And why not tell your niece?"
"She's stubborn to a fault. She won't believe one of her friends is in danger and believes that the school's too protected to allow in an assassin but, in a case like this with the lack of guards or really anyone paying attention to just who is entering the school grounds, an assassin can slip in."
"Maybe but we have security measures in place and Princess Nunnally does have a few bodyguards with her," Kallen said.
"That's good then," the young man said. "I'm just passing on what I know, however. Do with it what you will." Without another word, he gave a short wave to someone over Kallen's shoulder and turned around before striding off.
Kallen turned but the person he'd waved at had already disappeared into the school grounds. She frowned but decided that even if the guy was lying to her, she didn't want to risk him speaking the truth. Besides, why would anyone lie about something like that? But, since she couldn't afford to break her cover, the least she could do was deliver that guy's warning to Nunnally's bodyguards. At the very least, they could keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
. . .
Ballroom, Student Council Clubhouse
Shirley, dressed in a soft blue dress that hugged her form, gazed around the ballroom before turning Nunnally who was seated on her wheelchair, dressed in a lavender dress with long white sleeves with her light-brown hair in a bun at the top of her head with strands falling into her face. Soft music was playing in the background as people wandered around, chatting with their friends, dancing with their partners, or eating the various foods that had been placed around.
"So are you enjoying yourself, Nunna?" she asked.
Nunnally smiled brightly and she nodded eagerly. "I am. Even if I can't dance, it's nice listening to the music and talking with my friends," she said.
"That's good. Do you want something to eat or something?" Shirley asked.
"Umm, can you get me some of Sayoko's brownies?"
"Sure thing!" Shirley turned around and headed toward the snack table, her long dress trailing after her. Once she got to the snack table, she began filling up a plate of brownies, noticing that Kallen had joined her, sipping at a glass of fruit punch. "Hey, Kallen."
"Hi Shirley," Kallen said with a small meek smile..
"You having fun?"
"Uh huh, except for the many guys that keep asking me to dance," Kallen admitted.
"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot too," Shirley admitted, adding a few cookies to the plate since she knew of how much Nunnally liked them. "I danced with a few of 'em, ya know, to be polite and all but..." She shrugged.
"You'd much rather be dancing with your Lulu," Milly said cheerfully, appearing quite suddenly at Shirley's side and she jumped, nearly throwing the plate she'd made for Nunnally into the air. Milly was in a long blue dress that showed off her curves and her long hair fell in waves over her shoulders.
"Don't do that, Madam President," she exclaimed.
Milly chuckled and Kallen smiled a little.
"Speaking of Lulu, has anyone heard anything from him since yesterday?" Shirley asked curiously.
"Not that I know of," Milly said. "He's probably really busy."
"Yeah, probably." Shirley did worry about Lelouch. While she knew that Lelouch had military training, it was still hard to see her friend as being part of the military, and she also knew that it was dangerous.
"I'm sure your Lulu will be fine," Milly said. "Now, weren't ya gonna do something?"
"Oh, yeah!" Shirley darted back the way she'd come with Nunnally's plate of snacks. She came to the princess's side and, after alerting the princess to her presence, placed the plate of sweets on her lap.
"I added some cookies. Hope you don't mind," she said.
"Nah, I love these cookies, though Big Brother's are still the best. Even if Sayoko found out Big Brother's secret, I don't think anyone will be able to make them as good as Big Brother," Nunnally said, picking up a cookie and biting into it.
Shirley chuckled just as the song changed and Nunnally perked up.
"Oh I love this song,":she gasped.
Shirley smiled brightly. "So do I. It's so pretty," she said, humming along to the music.
"Uh huh." Nunnally began to softly sing along to the song and Shirley found herself singing along as well.
"You're a good singer, Shirley," Nunnally said when the song finished.
Shirley flushed. "Um, you think so?" she asked.
"Uh huh," Nunnally said with a nod and a smile.
Shirley smiled a little. "Ah, well, I don't think I'm that great," she said.
"Oh don't sell yourself short," Nunnally chided. "You have a beautiful voice. I'm not that great a singer myself."
"Thanks, Nunna, and you sounded just fine," Shirley said with a faint smile.
Nunnally smiled and picked up a brownie before biting into it. "I really do love these," she said happily as she took another bite before she turned to Shirley, tilting her face up to her. "Hey, Shirley, can I ask you something?"
"Um, sure."
"Do you think you and Big Brother are gonna be boyfriend and girlfriend when he gets back?" Nunnally asked innocently.
Shirley went red, sputtering incoherently for a long while. While she would love to call herself Lelouch's girlfriend, she just knew that it wouldn't happen; she wasn't noble after all.
"My mother wasn't noble, you know," Nunnally said, making Shirley realize that she'd said that last part out loud. "She was a commoner but my father still fell in love with and married her. I'm sure if Lelouch feels the same way about you that you do about him then he won't care that you're not noble."
"You...You really think so?" Shirley asked, feeling hope well up inside her.
"Uh huh," Nunnally said with a nod, finishing off her brownie. She opened her mouth to say something but, at that moment, Shirley heard Kallen shout out, "Nunnally, look out!" just as the crack of a gun fired.
Shirley did the first thing that came to her mind. She grabbed Nunnally and, pulling her from her wheelchair, threw them both to the ground just in time to avoid the bullet that sailed over their heads.
. . .
Meanwhile, at the other end of the ballroom, Kallen breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Shirley get Nunnally out of harm's way just in time to avoid the bullet. She then looked around, searching for the culprit while realizing that odd amber-eyed young man had been right. An assassin had managed to sneak into the school but, with how crowded the ballroom—that was currently panicking—was, it was difficult to figure out just where the bullet had come from.
Nunnally's bodyguards had immediately rushed to the princess's side. One stayed with her while the other took off in search of the assassin but Kallen had the feeling that the assassin was already long gone.
Putting down her glass of fruit punch, she bolted over to where Shirley, Nunnally, and the first bodyguard were located. Milly, Nina, and Rivalz had also bolted over to join her, looking just as shocked as Kallen was by the sudden assassination attempt.
"Nunnally, are you okay?!" Milly gasped.
"Y...Yeah," Nunnally stammered out, still white-faced with fear.
"It's okay, Nunna, it's okay," Shirley said soothingly, gently wrapping her arms around the terrified princess while the bodyguard shifted so that he was standing between the gathered friends and the area where the shot had originated.
"Damn it, who would try to kill Nunnally of all people?" Rivalz exclaimed.
"The more important question is how did that person get in here to begin with? We had security measures in place to ensure something like this didn't happen," Milly said with a frown.
"They must've disguised themselves as a student or something," Nina said softly.
"But we checked everyone's student ID before letting them in," Milly said.
Kallen swallowed at that as realization settled on her shoulders. Tentatively, she asked, "Does that mean whoever did this was a registered student?"
That caused Shirley, Nina, Milly, and Rivalz to look at her in shock.
"Though I hate to admit it," Milly said, her shock fading into thoughtfulness, a frown on her face, "Kallen does have a point."
"But who would want to kill Nunnally?" Rivalz asked in confusion.
"Yeah, everyone loves her," Nina said quietly.
Kallen's mind flashed to a certain aqua-haired girl and she frowned to herself as she remembered what she had learned about Tara Archer while Tara was part of her late brother's resistance. Tara…
She stood up. "Excuse me for a moment," she said quietly before she turned and quickly walked away, intent on tracking the aqua-haired girl down.
. . .
Upstairs, Student Council Clubhouse
Tara leaned against the wall, panting and scowling. Damn it. If Kallen hadn't interfered, it would've worked, she thought as she slid her gun back into the holster she had hidden on her thigh and dropped the dress over it to hide it from view.
"As I thought," Kallen's cool voice said and Tara whirled around to find Kallen standing there with her arms folded across her chest, her eyes glaring at Tara.
"Kallen, hey, what're you doing here?" Tara asked, trying to sound innocent.
"Save it, Tara. I saw the gun and I already know that you've been wanting to kill Nunnally anyway since the day you suggested to my brother that you could assassinate her," Kallen growled, her blue eyes cold like ice. "I can't believe you would want to kill someone like Nunnally."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tara tried to deny.
"Bullshit. I know you're lying," Kallen snapped.
"So what? You're gonna tell on me? What makes you think they'll even believe you?" Tara spat, angry that Kallen had found out the truth. Not to mention she was still angry that Kallen had warned Nunnally.
"What makes you think they'll believe you if you tell them otherwise?" Kallen shot back.
"If you tell them about this then I'll tell them that you're a terrorist," Tara hissed.
Kallen stiffened and then scowled furiously. "You have absolutely no proof," she spat.
Tara smirked. "Who says I don't," she spat back.
Kallen was shaking with rage, looking about ready to leap at her and strangle her but, before she could, another voice called up from the base of the stairs. "Hey, Kallen, everything okay?" Shirley called. "Oh and Tara! Where've you been? I was looking for you earlier."
"Oh, I got here late," Tara said, plastering a fake smile on her face. "And everything's fine up here. We're just talking, that's all."
"Oh, okay. Well, Milly and I are gonna take Nunnally back to her room. After what happened, it's understandable that she doesn't want to stay here any longer," Shirley said. "Oh and Mr. Storm is gonna wanna talk with both of ya for information on whether you saw the attacker or not."
"Okay, thanks Shirley," Kallen said, adopting a meek tone.
"No problem," Shirley said and walked off to join Milly and a still white-faced Nunnally.
Tara resisted the urge to glare at the blind and crippled girl and settled for glaring at Kallen instead. She moved forward to stand directly in front of Kallen and hissed, "If you tell anyone about what happened here today, I will tell them about you being a terrorist and I will give them the location of your friends'."
"You don't know where they are," Kallen hissed.
"I have ways of finding out," Tara snarled.
Kallen glared at her but Tara held her gaze and, for a long moment, there was silence between the two of them before Kallen broke the glaring contest. "Fine," she spat furiously, causing a wave of triumph to go through Tara. She knew that Kallen wouldn't dare put her friends in jeopardy, especially not after recently losing her brother.
"Glad we had this chat," Tara said, plastering on a cheerful smile before she bounded down the stairs to go speak with Mr. Storm, Nunnally's bodyguard.
. . .
Railway Tunnel, Between Aomori and Hokkaido
After word had reached Lelouch that the bombs and the trigger had been disabled, he and his men had set out. They were very cautious with entering the railway tunnel but Lelouch trusted in Stonewell's ability to scout and find possible dangers. She had found the sakuradite bombs after all. They moved at a steady pace, though; Lelouch opted to travel in his knightmare since he found it easier to keep an eye on his men's position while he was among them.
"It's going to be a few hours to get to the other end at the pace we're going, Your Highness," Jeremiah said.
"I know," Lelouch said, scanning the area on his screens. The lights from the factsphere as well as the flickering lights that adorned the walls allowed for the curving tunnel to be illuminated. Lelouch and his Royal Guard, with the exception of Lila, Tadashi, and Dimitri, the former two of whom were in the medical transport while the latter was monitoring the situation on the G1, were at the head of the group with the rest of the 11th Regiment trailing after them.
"Major Duncan, do you know where we will be when we leave this tunnel?" Lelouch asked after connecting to the G1's bridge.
"The abandoned Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station about 18.4 kilometers northwest of Hakodate, Your Highness," Dimitri said.
"And how long do you estimate it will take us to reach that station?"
"At the pace we're going, about four and a half to five hours, Your Highness," Dimitri responded.
"All right. Has anything changed with the Liberators at Hakodate?" Lelouch asked.
"Nothing as of yet, Your Highness. The most recent logs are still filled with all clears and no enemy in sight, though the Liberators have stated that they believe Britannia will be making a move soon but they haven't said anything about sending word to Sapporo," Dimitri replied.
"All right. Continue to monitor the situation," Lelouch ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness," Dimitri replied.
"I'm surprised that the tunnel hasn't collapsed yet. I mean, it's been abandoned for almost six years," Rayne noted over the line.
"The tunnel is within the seabed itself and I doubt that the seabed will collapse anytime soon," Kay said.
"I hope you're right. I certainly don't wanna go for a swim anytime soon," Rayne huffed.
"You just hate water period, don't you?" Tadashi asked curiously, patching into the line from the medical transport.
"Water's for drinking, nothing else," Rayne stated.
"Man, does that mean you've never been swimming before?"
"Nope."
"Boy are ya missing out! Hmm, wonder what you'd look like in a bikini?"
"...Kay, remind me to smack the idiot when we get to the station," Rayne said.
"Unless I get to him first," Kay said darkly.
"I was just saying! Is it my fault that I can't help but wonder what Rayne and Nunnally, for that matter, would look like since they're such pretty girls?" Tadashi exclaimed.
Lelouch's eye twitched. "Excuse me?" he said lowly.
"Tadashi, you'd best learn how to think before you speak like right now or you're gonna be on the receiving end of a pissed-off Lelouch and, trust me, you do not wanna know what a pissed-off Lelouch is capable of," Suzaku's voice chimed in on the frequency from where he was in the AS.E.E.C.'s mobile base, now that he was medically cleared to leave the medical transport.
A gulp sounded over the line. "Ah, is it too late to take back what I said?" Tadashi asked worriedly.
Rayne snorted. "This ain't the first time you've done that, y'know?" she said.
"I was just complimenting her!" Tadashi cried.
"It's practically ingrained in Lelouch to give death glares to anyone who compliments his sister. I like to call it Overprotective Older Brother Syndrome," Suzaku said.
"Overprotective Older Sibling Syndrome," Lelouch corrected. "Cornelia's just as protective of her sister Euphie as I am of Nunnally, perhaps more so."
"Must run in the family."
"Wait, does this mean...um...do you think Euphie told Princess Cornelia about me, ah, complimenting her during our graduation?" Tadashi asked in fear.
"If she had, you'd already be six feet under," Lelouch said. He wasn't being serious, not entirely anyway. Cornelia wouldn't kill someone just for complimenting her sister, neither would he for that matter. But it was amusing to see, or rather hear, Tadashi's reaction to that statement.
Tadashi laughed nervously. "You're joking," he said uncertainly. "Um, right?"
"So Major Duncan, how long will it take us to reach Hakodate from the station?" Lelouch asked, promptly ignoring Tadashi's question.
"It will depend on the pace you set. I would say about half an hour to an hour," Dimitri said.
"Lelouch, please tell me you're joking," Tadashi said, sounding panicked and not seeming aware of the fact that Rayne was laughing hysterically and Suzaku was trying, and failing, to hide his own snickers.
"Good. Lieutenant Colonel Soresi, I want you and Major Nu to gather two separate parties together to scout out both the area around the station and the road to Hakodate," Lelouch said, still completely ignoring Tadashi's pleas.
"Yes, Your Highness," Soresi and Nu said at once.
"Lelouch!" Tadashi cried.
"Was there something you needed, Private Akiyama?" Lelouch asked casually.
"You were joking about Princess Cornelia burying me six feet under for complimenting Euphie, right?" Tadashi asked uncertainly.
Lelouch's lips quirked. "Of course I was, Tadashi. Overprotective though she may be, she won't do something that drastic just for a compliment and neither will I for that matter," he said.
"Then why are you always trying to set me on fire with your eyes whenever I compliment Nunnally?" Tadashi complained.
"Because it gets my point across, most of the time, and reminds people of the point I'm trying to make," Lelouch said.
"Your point?"
"Mess with or hurt my sister and I'll make your life a living hell," Lelouch said darkly.
Tadashi gulped. "Has anyone ever tried to hurt Nunnally?" he asked almost as if he was afraid to know the answer.
Lelouch thought about it for a moment and scowled at a certain bully that thought it would be funny to pick on a defenseless crippled girl and then shove her out of her wheelchair while he was watching. That had enraged him; it was only some quick talking from Milly that kept him from doing something he'd regret later. "Once. The kid ended up transferring schools," he said.
"...Um, I'm almost afraid to ask but...what did you do to that kid?" Kay asked quietly.
Lelouch snorted. "You make it sound like I hurt the kid," he said. Though it was only 'cause of Milly that I didn't. "All I did was scold him for what he did in front of the entire school. Nunnally was pretty well liked by the student body so when they learned of what that bully did to her, he was forced to transfer schools in order to avoid an enraged student body."
"I can understand why," Suzaku mused.
. . .
East Wing Apartment, Student Council Clubhouse
Nunnally swallowed a drink of the hot chocolate that Sayoko had made for her, both her hands clasped around the mug. She was still shaking but she had started to calm down now that the danger had passed. She was still attempting to wrap her mind around what happened in that ballroom, of that gunshot and Kallen's warning and Shirley's actions coming just in time to get her out of harm's way.
Why would someone want to kill me? What did I do to them? She thought sadly. She was afraid and confused; she couldn't understand why someone would try to kill her when she'd done nothing wrong.
Was it someone who was working with the same people who killed Mother? She doubted that since she doubted that terrorists would be able to get into Ashford Academy, especially not when the students were required to present their IDs before they were allowed in the clubhouse.
But that just brought another question to Nunnally's mind. Was the person who shot at me a registered student? But why? Why would one of my classmates or one of Milly's and Shirley's classmates want to kill me? She thought in confusion.
By nature, Nunnally was friendly to everyone she met and would always treat them with respect. She wasn't mean to anyone and she just couldn't understand why someone would try to kill her.
Or is it simply because I'm royalty? She may only be thirteen years old but that didn't mean she was stupid. She knew that her life would be in danger now that her royal heritage had been revealed but that didn't make it any less surprising. After all, she wasn't sixteen yet and hadn't made her public debut; no one was supposed to know where she was, except for members of the Britannian military, the Royal Family, and the students of Ashford Academy. And she wasn't even that important; she was just one of the Emperor's many children and was too far down the line of succession that it was unlikely she would ever take the throne. Thus, in her eyes and she was sure in the eyes of many, she wasn't a threat.
And yet someone still saw her as one and decided to try and kill her because of that.
She couldn't wrap her mind around it.
"Are you all right, Mistress Nunnally?" Sayoko asked softly as Nunnally put the mug of hot chocolate, with half of it left, on the table.
"Yeah, I just…Sayoko, why did they try to kill me?" Nunnally asked.
"I do not know," Sayoko admitted. "There could be any number of reasons."
Nunnally sighed, chewing on her lower lip. "Is it because I'm royalty?" she asked.
"It's a definite possibility," Sayoko said.
The sound of the door opening came to her and Nunnally froze but relaxed when she reminded herself that she was safe in the east wing. No one could hurt her there.
"Oh dear, Nunnally, I just heard what happened. Are you all right?" Clovis's voice asked worriedly and Nunnally felt her older half-brother take her hands in his after moving deeper into the room.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Brother Clovis," Nunnally said softly.
"It's truly horrible that this happened. I'll be sure to send some more guards over to keep you safe so that this doesn't happen again," Clovis said firmly.
"Would you care for some tea, Your Highness?" Sayoko asked.
"Yes, please, green tea if you have it and two cubes of sugar," Clovis said, releasing Nunnally's hands and she heard him pull out a chair and take a seat. "I'm going to do everything that I can to find the assassin."
"Thank you, Brother Clovis," Nunnally said with a smile, the last of her fear fading away. She bit her lip for a moment before asking, "So how've you been?"
"I've been well," Clovis said. "Haven't really had much free time to focus on my painting but I did finally finish that painting you wanted."
Nunnally beamed. "Great," she said. Even if she couldn't see it, she felt the gesture, the hard work and determination that Clovis put into it, was more important than her ability to see it. Besides, her big brother would be able to see it and she knew that he would describe it to her if she asked him too.
"Oh, that reminds me. Sayoko, can you bring me some origami paper? I wanna make Clovis a crane," Nunnally said. Perhaps that would also help to get her mind off what happened.
"Of course, Mistress," Sayoko said and Nunnally heard her walk away after handing Clovis his tea and she heard Clovis's polite thanks. The maid came back a moment later and placed a piece of paper in Nunnally's hand. Nunnally, placing the paper on the table, immediately began to work on the folds, focusing on the feel of them.
"Sayoko taught me how to make origami cranes a while ago. I find it really fun and it gives my hands something to do when I'm bored," Nunnally said with a soft smile as she patiently worked on the folding. "It's kinda become a hobby, like chess is for Big Brother."
Clovis chuckled. "Lelouch certainly loves chess. I still can't beat him," he said and Nunnally could almost picture him pouting childishly.
Nunnally giggled. "Only Brother Schneizel can beat him," she said. She smiled to herself. Talking with Clovis, and with her friends before they left after the sweep deemed the campus safe for them to leave, had definitely helped her start to overcome what happened. She doubted she would be able to overcome it in an instant but she, at least, was no longer afraid of every little noise.
. . .
Hakodate, Hokkaido, Area 11
Suzaku observed the city of Hakodate that lay in front of him. They were less than a mile from the city itself but no one seemed to have noticed their approach. The city was only slightly better off than the ghettos that surrounded the Tokyo Settlement but the military base that lay on the coast of the Tsugaru Strait shrouded part of the city in shadows.
"Well, doesn't look like we're gonna be part of this battle," Lloyd huffed, folding his arms across his chest with a pout, watching Lelouch calmly brief his men.
"You know that His Highness is simply looking out for his men. Suzaku is still recovering from getting shot," Cecile pointed out.
"But still! I wanna try out the MVSs. I'm sure I've gotten all the glitches out by now," Lloyd whined, frowning at Suzaku as if it was his fault that the Lancelot couldn't be launched.
Suzaku smiled sheepishly back at him, since it was kind of his fault but he didn't regret saving his best friend's life.
"He did a good deed in saving Prince Lelouch's life, Lloyd," Cecile said firmly.
Lloyd huffed. "Yeah, yeah, but still! This just means we're stuck on the sidelines again," he complained and started muttering more complaints under his breath.
Cecile let out a long-suffering sigh and turned to smile at Suzaku. "I'm sure you'll be able to fight in the next battle," she said. "How do you feel?"
"I feel fine," Suzaku said.
"Then why don't you tell the prince that? Then my Lancelot could be launched in this battle," Lloyd complained.
Cecile gave Lloyd a glare that caused him to let out a little eep and step back a little.
"I have my reasons for not including the Lancelot in this battle," Lelouch's voice said and Suzaku turned to find the prince moving over to join them. "Not only is Warrant Officer Kururugi still recovering but I also do not want to show all my cards so to speak in this battle."
"Oh, I see," Lloyd said. "You wanna keep my baby as a secret weapon."
"To put it simply, yes," Lelouch said.
"Well, okay, I can live with that," Lloyd said and disappeared back into the A.S.E.E.C.'s mobile base.
"Is he always like that?" Lelouch asked Cecile.
"Pretty much, Your Highness," Cecile said with an exasperated smile before she bowed and disappeared back into the mobile base behind her boss.
Lelouch then turned to Suzaku. "The battle here should be pretty quick," he said. "Since they don't seem to know we're here yet, according to Dimitri anyway."
Suzaku hummed in agreement. "Then we're heading for Sapporo?" he asked.
"Yes. That's where the real battle is going to take place," Lelouch said, his lips pulled back in a cool smirk that sent a shiver down Suzaku's spine. "If I've played my pieces correctly and the Liberators move as I predict they will then it will not take long."
"You sure are arrogant, Your Highness," General Andon said, walking over to join them and overhearing Lelouch's last words.
Lelouch turned to the green-haired Commander-in-Chief. "I prefer the term confident," he said. "I have some backup plans should they become necessary and the Liberators do not act as I believe they will. But we will see."
Andon hummed, studying Lelouch thoughtfully. "I suppose we will," he said and walked away.
"I can't afford to lose here," Lelouch murmured under his breath. Suzaku glanced at him but, realizing that he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear that, he stayed silent.
. . .
"Things seem rather quiet," Rayne mused as she guided her knightmare through the streets of Hakodate toward the military base in the distance. It was getting late and the sun had already vanished beyond the horizon. "It's almost as if everyone's hiding or something."
"Well, considering terrorists have overrun the city, I can understand why no one is out and about," Kay commented over the frequency and Rayne could see his knightmare moving just ahead of her own. They were part of the vanguard, who would be battling against the Liberators while the rearguard was in place to ensure that no one escaped to report to the terrorists in Sapporo.
"True," she said, leaning back in her seat and stretching her arms above her head. "I wonder if the terrorists even know we're here yet."
"According to the logs Dimitri pulled up, they're still unaware of our arrival," Lelouch put in. "All right, Major Frost, Lieutenant Colonel Soresi, take your squadrons and flank the military base. Jeremiah, come in from the middle with your squad once you see the signal."
"Yes, Your Highness," Kay, Soresi, and Gottwald said.
"Wait, what's the signal?" Rayne asked confused.
There was a long, exasperated sigh. "Pay attention during the briefing next time, little sis," Kay scolded. "And just follow my lead."
Rayne huffed. "Fine," she said and guided her Sutherland after her twin toward the east end of the military base. By the time they reached the base, they were side by side with the rest of Kay's squadron following them. They always did work well together, though Kay was obviously the superior pilot. Rayne made up for it in her hand-to-hand combat skills. Still, she found herself feeling oddly nervous about the coming battle.
It was too quiet.
"They should've been alerted to our presence by now since we're practically on top of them. Why aren't they responding?" she asked in confusion.
"You're right. Your Highness, something isn't right about this," Kay said. "We're meeting no resistance on our end."
"Nor at ours, Your Highness," Soresi's voice sounded over the line.
"Continue onward," Lelouch said calmly.
Rayne frowned. "Are you sure?" she asked. "What if they've staged an ambush or something?"
"Rayne, remember who you're talking to," Kay hissed.
"I assure you I know what I am doing, Lieutenant," Lelouch said calmly. "Keep going."
"Oookay, if you say so," Rayne said, still not sure about what it was Lelouch was planning.
. . .
Back on the G1 Base, General Andon was thinking along the same lines. What is he planning? He thought, casting a sidelong glance at the prince whose eyes were fixed on the map of the military base while he chin was resting on the palm of his hand. He looked utterly relaxed, not seeming concerned with the fact that they were meeting with no resistance.
"We're in position, Your Highness," Lieutenant Colonel Soresi stated.
"So are we," Major Frost stated.
"Then proceed as planned," Lelouch said, shifting with his amethyst eyes still locked on the map of the base. More importantly, his eyes were fixed on the area of the base that the Liberators had last been seen before they'd managed to blind the prince to their movements. It was for that reason that Andon really had no idea if the prince's plan would work; it was a plan created around the most recently known position of the terrorists, a position that had likely changed after they found the breach in the system they were monitoring and closed it.
But he kept his mouth shut. He was there to observe and, occasionally, offer advice when the prince asked for it. However, mostly, he was there to keep an eye on the prince, observe him in action, determine whether he was as skilled as Prince Schneizel seemed to think he was, and be prepared to take over should it look as if the prince was about to fail.
He turned his attention to the map as well, watching as the three squadrons closed in on the base. Major Frost's squadron and Lieutenant Colonel Soresi's squadron moved in at the exact same time, though it was obvious that there was no one there to fight them. Andon frowned to himself, wondering where they were.
Prince Lelouch stood up and walked over to the three-dimensional map of the base, his lips pressed together in thought and his eyes narrowed. "Hmm, there are a number of different moves they can make at this point with their backs against the walls. Eventually, they will have to show themselves," he murmured.
And show themselves, they did.
Andon watched as a large number of the enemy stormed out of the surrounded command center and its surrounding areas. Mostly tanks and Glasgows were used, emerging from underground bunkers on either side of the command center before separating and launching themselves at the two squadrons that were flanking it.
"Perfect," Prince Lelouch murmured, a cool smile on his lips as he tapped his finger against the panel. "Jeremiah, you know your orders."
"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah stated and Andon watched as Jeremiah's squadron shot forward from the streets of Hakodate into the courtyard of the military base, right in the space the Liberators had left when they separated to attack the flanking squadrons before separating to pin the Liberators between them and the command center. He knew that they would do that and so had the Margrave and his men move in to encircle them, he thought, casting a sidelong glance at the prince.
The Liberators were forced back as the Sutherlands quickly took care of the tanks before tangling with the Glasgows. Since Sutherlands had been designed to combat other knightmare frames whereas Glasgows were not, it was a pretty one-sided battle. Sure, he did note that there were some decent pilots among the terrorists but it didn't help them much.
Andon turned to the prince as he continued to watch the battle, his face an expressionless mask and his eyes still studying the map as various 'LOST' signs from the enemy's transponders littered it. "Will you ask them to surrender as you did at Osaka, Your Highness?" Andon asked.
Prince Lelouch nodded.
Andon didn't think that they would agree and, as it turned out, he was right.
"We will never surrender to you Britannian dogs!" The commander of the enemy's forces declared through the channel that Prince Lelouch had contacted them from.
"Very well then," Prince Lelouch said, not sounding surprised at all, before he ordered his men to continue the assault.
As the battle progressed, Andon turned to the prince. "You knew they wouldn't surrender," he said. It wasn't a question.
Prince Lelouch glanced at him but said nothing.
"Why did you bother on asking them to surrender then?" Andon asked.
"I only suspected that they wouldn't surrender. By giving them the option and hearing their response, I learned something more about them," the prince said simply.
"Oh? And what did you learn?"
"They're proud. Their refusal to give in is evident of that," Prince Lelouch said. "Hmm, that helps me with my plans for Sapporo as well."
Andon raised an eyebrow but the prince said nothing more as he turned around and walked back to his throne, sitting down to watch the last of the rather one-sided battle.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: see? There wasn't much of a battle. It's more of a one-sided skirmish
Bakura: yeah, yeah, whatever
Blaze: (glares at Bakura) anyway, I have two questions for my reviewers; one because I'm curious and another because I have an idea and I want to know your opinion on it
Lelouch: I suppose I will ask the first question. Blaze wants to know who your favorite English voice actor is? Or, if you have more than one, who are your top three?
Blaze: mine are Johnny Yong Bosch, Yuri Lowenthal, and Dan Green, just in case you were wondering
Suzaku: the second question is this: Blaze is currently writing a Code Geass/Harry Potter crossover fic that takes place post-Zero Requiem and during Order of the Phoenix and she's wondering if anyone would read it.
Blaze: the only thing I will say about this story is it involves a Code Bearer! Lelouch, a more complex and global spanning war, a couple of Geass-using Harry Potter characters, and the four Wizarding Schools that J.K. Rowling discusses on Pottermore that exist in the Harry Potter universe.
Lelouch: interesting
Blaze: well, whether you'll read it or not, I'm still writing it and I'm having fun with it, especially since I'm exploring writing in present tense
Suzaku: cool
—boom—
Blaze: … Okay, what blew up?
Lelouch: that was either Pendragon, the International Space Station, or the Ministry of Magic
Suzaku: but who did it?
Lelouch: no idea. On a completely unrelated note, where did Bakura go?
Blaze: (smacks forehead) Pendragon and the Ministry of Magic, I get, but what does Bakura have against the International Space Station?
Lelouch: no clue
Blaze: (sighs) I suppose I'll ask when he gets back. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the next chapter will be the prelude to the three-part, and 57 page single-spaced total, battle so that's something to look forward to. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
