Code Tenno Uprising of the Void
ESKK: Well, another chapter let's get started. Also, small edit I decided to not go the route of Tenno Marianne this is mainly supposed to be Geass Vs Tenno, so I'd like to keep it that was as much as possible. So anyway, please enjoy the chapter and remember to leave a review once you are done.
(Start Area 11 Viceroy Palace)
On the top side of the palace many Britannians were united, waiting for the helicopter that would bring back their beloved Princess Cornelia to them. Among those present there are: Guilford, Darlton, Princess Euphemia, some nobles and, surprisingly, Prince Schneizel with his loyal guard Konan. Those present had mixed feelings and for good reason if one were to be asked. Most of them were feeling humiliated that some lowly, band of pirates were able to capture Cornelia, the. The famous "Goddess of War" who'd won many battles and suppressed all the rebellions and terrorists who posed as a threat to her homeland.
Guilford and Darlton didn't have any of these feelings, they would have enough time to feel humiliated and disgraced later. Right now, they focused solely on getting Cornelia back.
Euphemia was really happy that Cornelia would be returned safe and sound, as well as meeting the Tenno in person. She wished to talk to the Lotus about her Special Administrative Zone and would ask the masked woman to join her movement. She could not explain it in words but something about how the woman spoke resonated with Euphemia and she wanted to get closer to learn what it truly was.
Schneizel was feeling quite interested on meeting the Tenno. They had been a thorn at Britannia's side since before the unveiled themselves to the world. Add in their otherworldly abilities and gather them all in their fortress on the sea and the Tenno have in turn made themselves into a formidable fighting force some had considered to be Warrior Gods if rumor holds truth. Suddenly two transport Helicopters appeared from afar making a direct course for their current location. Even if Euphemia hoped it would not be needed, they had a medical staff on standby just in case the Tenno had put something on Cornelia that would be cause for concern. The Britannians had some soldiers around, but they still tensed as the helicopters got closer. It was hard not to seeing what the Tenno have done up until now, it made sense that they were scared. They were about to raise their weapon's but were then stopped by Schneizel who raised his left hand signaling them to lower their weapons.
The first helicopter was the one to arrive on the helipad, slowly descending and landing with a soft thud. The second helicopter remained in the air, close to the first helicopter in case of emergency. A smart move in case a fight broke out but neither side had any intentions of fighting this day.
The door slid open as Zero and several Tenno came out four in all. Umbra was the most recognizable among them seeing as his Warframe was the only one as dark as his. The temporary representative of Area 11, Euphemia, walked forward with Schneizel and Cornelia's Knights: Guilford and Darlton, by her side. Both parties walked forward until they were face to face both ready but neither willing to start something.
"Welcome Zero and Umbra to the Viceroy Palace." Schneizel greeted seeing both Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, and Umbra the poster boy for the Tenno. "I must say it is an honor to meet both of you personally." He began as Ven watched the prince's movements and tone carefully. "The fact that you both were able to shake my homeland Britannia with your actions in worthy of praise." HE said but Ven was able to read underneath as he was trying to intimidate them with a silent message that said, "I will strike you deeper and harder in retaliation soon enough."
"Thank you, your highness." Zero said with a small bow to the prince.
"It is also an honor to meet you, your highness." Ven said as he was getting major vibes from this man that reminded him of Ballas. He may be a prince, but he's a military tactician, a powerful one and is one that shouldn't be underestimated no doubt able to use words to get people to side with him.
In response Schneizel smiled to the duo as he nodded. He saw that these two aren't as bad at all as everyone said. They showed some sense of morality and respect to their enemies. They would most likely be worthy opponents when he has to fight them, for that is an inevitability. But even if they take out Umbra the Tenno were still had a leader in the form of the Lotus. They would need to take out both the Lotus and Umbra if they want to deal a decisive blow to the Tenno. After all, if one were to remove the head and then the body will die.
"Now, it's time for your part to be done." Schneizel said and thus with a nod of agreement they made their moves.
Ven signaled to the Coptor before from the ramp 3three figured emerged. Cornelia slowly came out of the helicopter with 2 more Tenno behind her. She looked perfectly fine, no sign of harm on her body and still dressed in the garb they forced her in but with the restraints loosened enough for her to walk. The Britannians felt happy when they saw that one of their princesses was back and unharmed. Guilford and Darlton were particularly happy to see her, Euphie was beaming with joy and Schneizel just smiled. Of course, they were concerned about the garb but suspected the Tenno were cautious when they brough Cornelia in before.
"As promised, here is Cornelia unharmed." Zero said as Cornelia approached the group, standing between Zero and Umbra
"Brother, I'm sorry"." She said with an ashamed tone, being switched like this was embarrassing for her.
"No need to apologize Cornelia" Schneizel said with a comforting tone to his half-sister.
"It's time for you to fulfill your part." Umbra spoke as he looked to the prince. "We will leave this place, and no one is going to fire at us, understood?" Zero said making it clear that he held his end thus the Royals shall hold their end.
"You have my word, Zero." Schneizel said with a nod and though he wanted to eradicate these two threats, he decided to wait, there's enough time to figure out a plan. After all the invasion of the Tenno's home took priority at the moment.
"Then this will conclude our business." Ven said and just as he and Lelouch were about to leave Euphemia suddenly spoke up as she got their attention.
"Wait!" Euphemia cried out as she moved from the crowd and approached the duo. This opted Zero and Umbra to turn around and face the pink haired Princess.
"Euphie, what are you doing?" Cornelia asked with a tone of demand in her voice.
"I need to speak with them!" Euphie responded as she wanted to somehow have Umbra deliver her message to the Lotus.
"Speak with them? About what?" Schneizel asked as he did not expect this to happen.
"About my dream, I know that you said that they are terrorists, but I don't think they are!" Euphemia spoke as she had been waiting for this moment for some time now. "They share similar ideologies like mine! There is a possibility of turning them into a peace group!" Euphie said with determination in her voice.
"But you know that we can't allow you to speak with them. They are criminals Euphie." Cornelia, hoping to reason with her idealistic younger sister.
"Please, sister. I owe them for saving my life and the lives of the civilians back in Kawaguchi" Euphie said and in turn this got Cornelia to pause for a moment. Cornelia thought about it and concluded that Euphie may be right. The apparent tag team between the Order of the Black Knights and the Tenno had been able to rescue the civilians and neutralize the JLF back during the Kawaguchi incident after all. And that's not even factoring in that the Tenno had taken that mission before the Black Knights jumped in as well.
But before Cornelia could give an answer Umbra spoke up instead. "I'll hear her out." Umbra said making it clear that at the very least he would listen to what Euphemia wanted to say. "Though I cannot speak for both of us." Umbra added as he looked to Zero with a tone showing that Umbra was Zero's ride out of here.
"Very well." Zero said and in turn Euphemia approached the pair.
"First, I want to thank both of you for saving my life and the lives of the citizens at the Kawaguchi Convention Center." Euphemia spoke as she looked to the pair. "I know it was almost a month ago, but I never got the chance to thank you personally." She added despite showing her gratitude to the pair of heroes.
"You are welcome, princess Euphemia." Zero responded as Lelouch was reminded of memories of happier times. "We are the knights of justice after all." Zero said to which Euphemia nodded in response.
"Now, what I wanted to speak about." Euphemia said as she got down to business to which Umbra and Zero listened. "There is an important event that I would like both of you participate in." She began as she looked to the pair. "It's a special administrative zone that I will create and lead personally. It will help greatly all the Elevens…No, all the Japanese of Area 11, or better yet Japan." She spoke as Ven and Lelouch heard her words and found them surprising. "The Special Administrative Zone will become a new home for them, and they will receive all the rights and privileges that are denied to them as colonial subjects." Euphemia said with determination clear in her voice.
This statement surprised both Umbra and Zero. Ven was surprised because of the will of this princess. She seeks out equality and peace for the Japanese who are oppressed by the imperialist Britannia, despite being a member of the royal house that caused said oppression. In a way Ven was reminded of Margulis and those few Orokin who saw the darkness of their empire and tried to cleanse it for the people sake.
Lelouch was really surprised by what his half-sister had just said. Not only does her half-sister acknowledge the national identity of Japan but was also planning to create a home for the Japanese. Not only does her half-sister acknowledge the national identity of Japan but was also planning to create a home for the Japanese. His sister was trying to achieve one of Nunnally's dreams. Could it be that she wished to do so because it was one of her dreams, or was it a result of her own noble soul?
"I…I'm impressed, princess Euphemia." Zero said as it almost sounded like he had stuttered for a moment.
"That's really admirable from you." Umbra said as he honestly wished her the best in such a task.
Euphemia smiled at this as the praises the pair spoke gave her confidence to keep going down this path. "I'm glad to hear that! So, would you two be willing to join?" Euphemia offered and thus Ven was wide eyed by this. Ven can't speak for Lelouch, but he honestly wanted to join if his previous priorities were not in effect.
"That's a generous offer, princess Euphemia." Zero began as he looked to the Pinkett before him. "But I need more time to think about it." Zero said as Lelouch found this information to be useful for a future scheme should the need arrive.
"I on the other hand cannot give a definitive answer that choice belongs to the Lotus alone." Ven said as that was only a lie of omission on his part. While she may portray herself as the leader the truth was the Lotus was more of an advisor for the Tenno than anything else. "She might contact you with a decision at some point because I do not speak for all Tenno." Ven said making sure Euphemia knew exactly what was going on.
"I understand." Euphemia said as she figured it would not be that easy to convince them. "I hope I can receive your answer soon! Thank you so much for hearing me out!" Euphemia said and thus with a nod the two began to depart back to their transport vehicle. Once they were inside the propellors started spinning and thus they were off back to base.
(Later on, the Helicopter)
The ride back to base was a solemn one as the Tenno mainly Ven could sense something was up with Zero. Sitting across from him Zed decided to voice a question. "You seem distracted." Ven said as he sat across from the leader of the Black Knights. "Might I offer payment for your thoughts?" Zed asked as he looked to Zero.
"It's nothing." Zero defended but Zed begged to differ.
"You know... war can bring out the worst in us." Zed said as he was calm about this. "For me when casualties occur it brings out the worst in me." Zed admitted as he was just pulling at straws here. "But at the same time casualties cannot be avoided." Zed added as he had long since accepted that casualties were a part of war that could not be avoided no matter how much one tried. Many times, over those who were not there will call you a monster for civilian lives being killed but they were not there they did not have to make those choices thus it was easy for them to call you such. "My advice... morn those who were lost and gras hold of those still here." Zed said as Zero heard this and was surprised by those words.
Zero suspected that the Tenno were soldiers but by the sound of it they fought in wars before. They claim to be an ancient warrior caste and so far, their words had proven false. There was no such caste system in human history that had begot something like Tenno. This made Lelouch suspect that they might not be forth coming of their place of origins. It sounds insane and outright foolish but when all other answers have been eliminated then the one that remains, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth.
"Thank you." Zero said as his words did help some since his plan had saw to the death of Shirley's father during the battle of Narita.
(Meanwhile with Lloyd)
"Don't worry my darling Lancelot we'll get you back to fighting shape in no time!" Lloyd was heard as he and Cecile were working on repairing the damages Noir had caused to the Lancelot. "I can't believe my dear Noir turned you into the Abel of his Cain." Lloyd added as Cecile sighed at Lloyd's actions.
"I swear he treats these Knightmare's like they are actual children." Cecile said with a sigh over Lloyd's actions while going over some data when she noticed something amiss. "Oh hello?" Cecile said and thus focused in on it. Typing in a few commands Cecile saw something was wrong with the data. It was almost like someone had jacked into their system and copied their data for their own use, but if that were the case then that would mean... "Lloyd!" Cecile called as she realized how the Tenno got the data on the Varas, Swords, and who knows how much other stuff. "The lab's been compromised!" She added and thus Lloyd stormed in and stood next to Cecile looking at the screen.
"What?!" Lloyd asked and thus Cecile did a little defragging to show that they're data had in fact been compromised. What was worse was the fact that Cecile had seen it several times and had not noticed it until now. "My word, this answers everything!" Lloyd called out as he saw that this was how the Tenno had gotten the schematics on the Lancelot's weapons they stole and modified it for their needs.
"What do we do?" Cecile asked with concern because their encryption and firewalls were top notch and the fact the Tenno broke through so easily meant that they were not as well defended as they thought. What made it worse was that the Tenno stole the data right under their noses and not once did any of them take note of it. If the Tenno broke in again then there would be nothing, that they could do to stop them from stealing their data again.
"For once I have no idea." Lloyd said as he knew that the Tenno could not be stopped from breaking in again and stealing their data. "If we report it then chances are they might find just cause to blame dear Suzaku for the theft and if we don't the Tenno will just take even more of our data." Lloyd said as they were a rock in a hard place. "Any new equipment we develop will cause the Tenno to come and we are hardly equipped to trap them." Lloyd said as they needed an edge to protect their data.
"I'll transfer our data to a secret off-sight location that should at least give us some protection for any more thefts." Cecile said as she quickly got to work on updating and upgrading their firewalls to prevent any further incidents with the Tenno stealing their data. It was not much but it was all they can do because the Tenno not only stole their data but improved on it seeing how good the Noir was in battle compared to the Lancelot itself.
"It's a start." Lloyd said as they needed to beef up their security to ensure no further thefts from the Tenno could occur or at the very least make it a lot harder for them to get the data. But they were unsure how to proceed to prevent further thefts from the Tenno on their systems because right now the Lancelot was their best and only method of countering any further attacks by their enemies.
(Scene Break Ashford Academy)
The following day found Lelouch walking about the clubhouse in which he and his sister currently lived in. While there he noted that Nunnally was up, and about which brought a smile to his face. So, it came as a surprise to him when he walked into the main room to find the entire floor covered in parts, Nunnally holding some tools with Ven while Eureka and Sayoko were butting something together. "What is going on here?" Lelouch asked as he tried to make sense of it all while unknown to him Nemo was watching the whole thing.
"A friend of ours was working on this stuff for those crippled from the waist down to help them walk again." Eureka said as this was mostly Ava's doing. "So, I managed to get the measurements needed from Nunally and in turn sent them over to her and she sent this back to us." Ava said gesturing to the instructions on how to put it together. Lelouch took the instructions and gave them a once over as he saw that they were like leg braces but connected to a wireless uplink that Nunally would wear on her head that would bypass her spinal cord to directly send the instructions to her new braces. It would basically be for Nunnally going from needing a wheelchair to needing a walking stick instead.
"Impressive." Lelouch said as he handed the blueprints back to Eureka who went back to putting the stuff together. Though this was just formality really it was to keep Lelouch and Sayako from suspecting Nunnally since technically speaking she just got the equipment today.
"Hey, I found a wrench!" Alice was heard as she came in no doubt also helping put Nunnally's new legs together.
"Thanks." Eureka said as she took the wrench and worked on a bolt.
"Jeez these people." Nemo said with a sigh as she saw the whole thing play out. Thankfully unless Lelouch had his Geass active he could not hear or see her no could Ven even though he knew she was here.
Lelouch meanwhile was a bit suspicious of Ven and his intentions of his sister. Nothing major just a big brother being a big brother was all. It would also be easy for him to learn of it with Geass, but Ven was just a boy a child nothing to be warry over. Then again CC was apparently immortal so who's to say immortality is only for adults. "Well how can I help?" Lelouch asked taking any chance he could to help his sister walk again.
"Can you make sense of this?" Ven asked handing the blueprints over to Lelouch who looked them over and smirked. It was complicated but not for him and thus he knew what to do. "Well, some of these tools aren't needed." Lelouch said and thus they all spent their time working on Nunnally's new legs.
(Scene Break the next day)
Shirley and Lelouch were walking to the summit of Narita where there's a memorial for the people who died during the battle. It was an awkward moment, Lelouch was feeling guilty for indirectly killing his friend's father and Shirley for kissing Lelouch as a form of comfort.
He asked to Shirley if he could go with her to the memorial to pay his condolences to her deceased father. She accepted and said that she was glad to have him with her.
Unbeknownst to him, C.C was following him. The reason was that she felt a strange energy coming from Narita. She didn't know what it was, but she felt some sort of connection to it, almost like the Geass power. And since Lelouch was going there with Shirley, she decided to follow them while avoiding getting noticed. Right now, she was hiding behind some bushes while staring at them.
Of course, CC was not alone as it seems someone else had decided to join her. Looking to her side was Ven using Excalibur Umbra. He had come here to see about searching for survivors but so far there had not been any found. This put him in a sour mood, so he had his team take the mission today while he sat it out to clear his head. Eureka was in charge while Ven was here spying on Lelouch. Of course, his off day was changed when CC had recruited him to help keep an eye on Lelouch. She made a very compelling argument first was that she would pay him, second, she would give him some valuable information on who the Tenno might be trying to locate, and third if he didn't, she's snitch on Ven and Eureka at school.
"So, why are we following him?" Ven asked as he looked to CC.
"I'm not entirely sure but something has happened." CC said as she looked to Ven with concern for what was to come.
"Happened how?" Ven asked as he looked to the immortal clearly wanting answers.
"I'm not sure... just felt like the past is crawling about." CC said as she looked to the scene before her.
Back with the two teens the pair had arrived at the memorial as they looked upon it. "Lelouch" Shirley started to speak once they'd arrived at the monument. He turned his head to look at her. "Thank you for coming, it means a lot to me." Shirley said with a sorrowful tone which caused Lelouch the feeling of hurt. He never thought he would be this hurt by anyone but Nunnally but here he was where it was happening.
Just then a new voice spoke up which got the duo off guard. "Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you two here." A man said as from his appearance he seemed to hail from the Chinese Federation. His appearance showed to them that he was a man with medium, silver-white hair with five long bangs hanging over his face. He wears black and purple headphones, two golden earrings and purple sunglasses that cover his eyes.
Underneath his light blue, short jacket with symmetrical gold and blue designs. The man was wearing something similar to a long, Chinese linen shirt with maroon sleeves. He wore buckles with straps around his wrists and brown gloves. On the man's long shirt, he has eight black strips with golden circles on each side, with three of the strips being on his neck and the others going down the front of his chest. The man was also wearing long, black trousers with brown boots with two straps on both and buckles similar to those on his wrists around his calf.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Shirley asked with a friendly tone that also showed her unease.
"My name is Mao; I have come here to pay my condolences to the unfortunate civilians." Mao introduced himself as he walked forward towards the group.
'What's a Chinese doing here?' Lelouch thought as this man left him unnerved a great deal.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shirley Fenette, and my…friend Lelouch Lamperouge" Shirley said introducing herself and Lelouch as Mao smiled a bit.
"Nice to meet you two too." Mao said as he waved to the pair. Lelouch meanwhile was feeling suspicious of this man. The way Mao spoke and the atmosphere surrounding him made him feel uneasy.
Meanwhile in the bushes Ven and CC saw Mao and needless to say they could both feel it. "Friend of yours?" Ven asked as he looked over to CC.
"Yes, and I hate to say it, but he might already know we're here." CC said as she knew bringing Ven was now a bad idea. She had to stay hidden but to do that she needed to keep Ven unaware of where she was at the moment.
"Why what is it?" Ven asked as CC sighed to this knowing, she might have to come clean.
"You and Lelouch are not the only ones I gave Geass too." CC said as she saw her greatest mistake coming back to haunt her once more.
"So, can I ask you a question? Who was the victim you came to see?" Mao asked as this got Lelouch angry.
"That was rude, Mao." Lelouch snapped angrily at Mao clearly finding such a question unwelcomed to those sensitive about it.
"Lelouch! You are the one being rude!" Shirley responded unaware of the danger they were now in.
"Oh, no, no, no, he is right. I'm deeply, deeply sorry for saying that. We shouldn't fight at this place. This place is to commemorate the dead of the battle." Mao said as he knew that Lelouch was actually feeling very suspicious of him. "I know that I shouldn't say this, and I'm really sorry, but…" Mao began but then stopped there which then caused the air to grow silent.
"But what?" Lelouch asked but was met with an awkward silence that lasted 4 seconds.
"Did you know that it was him who killed your father?" Mao said with an evil grin as he decided to drop the bomb like the magnificent villain he was. Lelouch eyes widened in shock and horror at what Mao just said. If he knew about that, then he had to know about everything that had happened in the battle of Narita!
"W-what?" Shirley asked with confusion clear on her face, still not having processed what Mao just said.
"I asked if you knew that your boyfriend is the one who killed your father." He said, pointing at Lelouch with an accusing finger.
"W-W-WHAT?!" Shirley asked again stuttering her words as they came out. Suddenly she chuckled nervously as clearly the events were taking its toll. "You must be joking." Shirley said between chuckles. "It has to be, it must be a joke, a cruel prank." Shirley said as she slowly began laughing a very nervous laugh.
"Mao! How dare you! You liar!" Lelouch shouted out accusingly at Mao.
"Me? A liar?" Mao said as he pointed at himself with a finger, and then started to laugh as he clapped his hands. "The one who is lying is you!" Mao added as he pointed an accusing finger at Lelouch instead. "You lied to her; in fact, you are telling lies to her right now!" He went on as Ven was ready to move in to help.
"L-Lelouch, what is he talking about?" She said, slowly losing her mind over what was going on.
"Do you want me to tell her?" Mao asked as Lelouch glared at Mao.
"Shut up!" Lelouch barked as he glared at Mao ready to throttle him.
"He is Zero, the leader of the Black Knights." Mao announced and thus sealed the nail.
Shirley dropped her bag as she was now in shock. "No…No…" She muttered as she tried to deny it, but the loss of her father had already dealt a great toll on her mind as is.
Just then from the bushes an energy arrow came out which Mao moved out of the way of just in time. Bursting forth was Ven as he got between Mao and the teens as Umbra glared at the foe before him. "Well about time I was starting to wonder when you would come out of your hiding spot Umbra or perhaps, I should call you V-." Mao began but then had to dodge Nataruk firing off at him. Now Mao saw it coming mind reading and all but for some odd reason he caught it just barely. His foes movements were fast yes but his mind it was a jumble. It was like there were two minds in there and he could not tell which one was which.
This unnerved Mao as Ven glared at his foe with Umbra. He didn't know how Mao knew this stuff and CC wasn't forth coming about the information so there was no telling what he had up his sleeves. What Ven did know though was that he had a Geass of his own and from the fact his and Lelouch own Geass varied as did Nunnally's this meant that the Geass ability varied between each bearer.
If Mao knew who he was then that meant that he had to work hard to make sure this guy kept his big fat mouth shut. This left him with two options kill him here and now or deduce his Geass and make sure he can't use it. Mao then smirked as he looked to Ven as he caught some of his thoughts just now.
"You're trying to figure out if you should kill me now or figure out my Geass right!" Mao said as he looked to Ven who heard this. "Well, I have to say you." HE began only to catch another thought as all of a sudden Ven drew one of his Twin Rifles and fired it at Mao forcing him to run to cover while Shirley screamed and covered her head. Mao was caught off guard as he was trying to find something ANYTHING in Ven's head to use but it was a jumbled mess of thing she didn't understand. Tau, Zariman, Grineer, and other things that did not make sense; just what the Hell is he?
'He figured out my thoughts... if that's what he did then... I see.' Ven thought as he figured out what Geass Mao had.
He then turned to Lelouch and Shirley as he gave them a calm look. "Go, run; hide." Ven ordered as he looked to the pair. "I'll deal with him." Ven added and thus went over to where he saw Mao escaped to. Lelouch was of course surprised by this but nodded and complied with Ven before taking Shirley by her hands and ran away. Ven now had his mark, and nothing would stop him, a Tenno was on the hunt and Mao was that Tenno's prey.
(Meanwhile with Ven's teammates)
In a small Britannian base Eureka, Sayak, and Ava were hiding behind some crates located at the entrance. Eureka was currently using Ivara Prime with a Baza Prime ready while Ava currently had Valkyr Prime in use. Next to her was Sayak using Loki Prime all the Warframes ideal for stealth missions. Eureka then summoned her Artemis bow to quickly fire off a sleep arrow at one of the guards.
This caused his ally to react to this as he went on over to him. "Hey you, ok?!" He asked shocked to see his ally suddenly pass out. But soon he ended up joining him as Eureka fired off another Sleep Arrow knocking him out cold as well. With the guards out of commission Eureka fired off a Zipline with the Dashwire Arrow that started from her feet and connected to the upper wall. Once this was made Eureka and Sayak began to traverse it while Ava used Ripcord to fling herself to the wall's ledge. Once they were through, they stayed hidden from sight looking around the area and noted a few things.
"Stay close I'll fire off Cloak Arrows to create a path for us." Eureka ordered as she looked to her teammates. "Stick to those cloak fields and keep quiet this will be a lot easier if we can avoid alerting them." Eureka said and thus they were ready to move.
"Right." Ava and Sayak responded and thus got moving.
Firing off several Cloak Arrows Eureka made a path for her teammates to traverse and thus they got moving. They went about their mission with the movement and skills of professional soldiers keeping radio silence and moving with urgency. Of course, there were several guards patrolling the area as well as what seemed to be preparations for something big.
"That looks concerning." Sayak said as he noted that the soldiers were focused on something big coming up.
"Come on let's keep moving." Ava said as they focused on the mission at hand.
(Later inside)
With Eureka using Prowl and Sayak using Invisibility the trio entered the facility with Ava being the only one without such a benefit due to Valkyr. Thankfully, Ava knew how to make do with what she had as she would provide a distraction should the need arise for such. Their target was in sight the main computer console. Though they did have one problem at the moment and that was the presence of security cameras in the room.
Acting fast Ava used Cernos Prime while Eureka used Baza Prime to shoot down each Camera thus deactivating them in a rather destructive way. They had to be quick about their business now because the guards monitoring the cameras were sure to notice the loss of vision. Moving in Eureka jacked into the computer with her Parazon and began downloading every bit of sensitive information she could grab.
"Hmm looks like they started to realize we're taking their weapon and gear specs." Eureka said while going through the information. "A lot of the Lancelot related stuff aren't here anymore." Ava Eureka said as she perused through the data with her Cephalons help. "Althea, can you track down where they might have hidden that information based on our interrogation of Cornelia?" Eureka asked her Cephalon.
"Of course, Operator but it may take some time remember most of the technology of this world is quiet primitive compared to our own." Althea said as she then noted something of concern. "Operator there's also a file labeled under, 'Tenno,' shall I access it?" Althea said as the Tenno all heard this.
"Confirm." Eureka said and in turn a recording began to play for them allowing them to hear what was inside, and what they heard was shocking.
"So, is everything prepared?" A smooth voice spoke as it had a regal tone to it.
"Yes, Your Highness. Preparations are complete; all soldiers have been briefed about their mission." Another voice said as the Tenno heard what was going on.
"Good. Are they aware that I will be the one who will be in charge of this invasion?" They asked and thus the Tenno began to realize why the base was as it was.
"Yes, they were surprised, but nonetheless, they will gladly give up their lives to destroy the Tenno." The second voice spoke and in turn the Tenno put two and two together.
"How are you feeling, Commander Lector?" The one with smooth voice asked the now named Lector.
"Nervous, your highness." Lector admitted as the Tenno heard this. "This is the first time that Britannia goes on a full-scale attack against an army like the Tenno." He said as the Tenno realized that their home at sea was about to receive company a whole lot of company.
"I know how you feel, commander. But we will wipe them out together." The smooth voice spoke as the Tenno had to move fast. "With them gone, Britannia will be back to normal, and all the citizens will be safe from these terrorists. Troop morale will be boosted as I will be there to guarantee their victory." He said as Sayak scoffed over such a concept.
"But my lord, princess Cornelia protested against your on-site involvement in this mission." Lector argued as he was clearly worried for the regal voice's owner.
"Don't worry about her, I took care of it." He began as the Tenno saw this man had to have been of the royal family. "I told her that this mission is beyond her reach. Her place is in Area 11, where she will halt the advance of the Black Knights, and make it a better place for our sister, Euphemia li Britannia." He said sounding like he used something of an emotional weakness with legal grounds against Cornelia.
"Understood, Your Highness." Lector said and then suddenly footsteps were heard from the recording.
"Your Highness, they are ready. When will the invasion begin?" Another voice spoke one they did not recognize.
Steps from the unknown smooth voice were heard. "5 hours, in 5 hours we will march and give Tenno and their Lotus a show they'll never forget." The smooth voice said and thus the name was revealed right after.
"Yes, lord Schneizel." The man said just before the recording was stopped. All of them were in shock and horror. Prince Schneizel, who was considered to be the most powerful tactician and strategist of Britannia, has issued a plan that they had all expected to happen. A direct attack on the Tenno's base of operations.
"By the Void they finally took the bait." Ava said as she knew the Lotus set the bait up on purpose to draw their enemies in.
"Operator I have sent word to the Lotus of the impending attack judging by the time stamp if we leave now, we should arrive in time for the beginning of the battle." Althea said and thus they knew it was time to go.
"We need to get Zed." Eureka said as she also noted they would need their Knightmares for this especially the newly upgraded Noir.
"Me and Sayak will head to base, you pick up Ven and the Knightmares with Cy and meet us there." Ava said as she knew Sayak's Knightmare was ready for deployment.
"Right." Eureka nodded in agreement before jacking out of the computer once all the data was acquired. They knew the guard were on the way and thus they began to head out to do their new tasks. Hopefully if they hurry, they can make it in time to provide aid in whatever they could.
(Back with Lelouch)
In somewhere of Narita, Lelouch and Shirley were able to escape from the grasps of Mao, Lelouch was thinking quickly what to do since the incident happened so suddenly; Mao's appearance, the revelation of him murdering Shirley's father, appearance of Umbra followed by gunfire. He looked down to see Shirley on her knees, crying and sobbing from the incident.
"Damn it, how could this happen?" Lelouch cursed as he realized this was one of the prices he had to pay just as he had told the Kyoto Group some time ago.
"Lulu." Shirley suddenly spoke as she looked to Lelouch. "Please, tell me this is not happening, tell me this is just a nightmare…Please!" Shirley cried out as she was unable to process all those information's revealed by Mao.
Lelouch gritted his teeth in frustration; he closed his eyes as he tried to produce something to say. He already decided that he would carry on this burden, but what of Shirley? Will she be able to move on with this incident? She is no soldier and has no psychological training to withstand it, and she would most likely develop post-traumatic stress disorder after this. She doesn't deserve to live with this pain, only himself and with this mindset a decision was made.
"Shirley." Lelouch spoke as, slowly some tears fell down from his eyes. She stared back at him with her eyes filled with tears. Lelouch slowly cried out as he decided to do something, something that will hurt him a lot, but that is the price he must pay. "Erase my existence from your memories" Lelouch commanded with his Geass active as he gave the order to Shirley.
(Meanwhile with Ven)
Ven was hunting down Mao through the destroyed building of Narita looking to make sure his target would die. As Ven continued his search he noted a small patrol nearby so acting fast Ven bullet jump up the building and hid to avoid the patrol. Suddenly, he heard a small conversation as they passed by down below.
"Man, how long will it be over?" The first patroller asked as he looked to his team.
"Soon enough, it's almost dawn." The second said as Ven rolled his eyes at the group. Ven was about ready to keep moving until they spoke something of interest.
"Hey, did you guys hear the rumor recently?" The third patroller asked as Ven listened in. Rumors could be useful if they were good ones or worth looking into.
"What rumor?" The first patroller asked seemingly unaware of it.
"About his highness, Schneizel, being the supervisor of the Invasion of the Tenno's base?" The Third clarified which caused Ven to go wide eye in shock when he heard this. He knew that they were going to invade his base due to their reputation, but this was sooner than anticipated.
"I heard of it too. If it's true, then that means we can rest easily knowing that his highness defeated those pirates and their fear mongering tactics." The Second Patroller said in a cocky tone of voice.
"I'm pretty sure those mercenaries will be done for." The first one said as if they had nothing to worry about. "They'll have no idea what hit them." He added confident the Tenno will be a thing of the past.
"I know, right? I mean, prince Schneizel sent half of the Britannian army to attack it!" The Third Patroller said as Ven heard this as well. If that was true than that means they will be able to deal a crippling blow to the Britannians and cause their main target to come out for a fight.
The conversation started to sound lower as they walked away which gave Ven time to make a call. "Ordis did you get all of that?" Ven asked and thus Ordis responded.
"Yes, Operator and I have already sent words to the Lotus of the impending attack." Ordis reported and thus it was clear Ven had to finish up here now.
Ven then jumped down and was ready to depart via Archwing to an extraction point. But before he could leave though a new voice caught his attention. "Found you, Umbra!" Mao was heard as Ven turned around with Nataruk ready against his foe. Mao was there of course as he had a rifle in hand as Ven also saw the body of the patrollers behind Mao, probably dead. "This time, I'm going to make sure you won't interfere with my plans!" Mao said as he aimed his rifle at the Tenno.
"Heh try it." Ven said as he glared at Mao surprising him.
'Not like that gun can do anything my Warframes shields should suffice.' Ven thought and in turn Mao was wide eyed to this.
"Shields?!" Mao asked and in turn Ven got what he needed.
"So that's your Geass Mindreading." Ven said as he looked to Mao who glared at Ven.
"Not like I was hiding it." Mao said removing his shades to reveal his Geass to Ven. But unlike with Ven and Lelouch Mao's Geass was in both eyes.
"On the contrary you should have worked harder to hide it." Ven said as he looked to Mao. "CC may not be forth coming on this but I suspect she already on the way home to protect Nemo." Ven said aloud causing Mao to grow confused.
"Nemo?" Mao asked as Ven smirked a bit.
"Yes, her clone... though I suspect she's more her child in this case." Ven said as Mao was wide eyed to this.
"No, you lie!" Mao yelled and thus fired his rifle only for Umbra's shields to stop it.
"No not lying Nemo is CC's baby girl." Ven said as Mao heard this. "Best part she came entirely from CC so none of you is inside her." Ven said making a guess on who Mao was to CC.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Mao yelled as he glared at Ven and fired once more only to run out of ammo.
"What's wrong angry that CC now has someone more precious than you can ever be to focus on?" Ven asked taunting Mao and best part he was telling the truth about Nemo's existence. For Mao it was agony as CC no doubt knew about Nemo already and the fact Mao can't ready CC's thoughts did not help either.
"No, she's mine CC is MINE!" Mao yelled and thus Ven had all he needed but then again so did Mao. "How can you ever hope to understand!" Mao yelled as he began firing wildly with Ven deflecting the bullets. "I won't let Nemo take my CC from me I'll find her I'll kill her! She's mine! Mine! MINE!" Mao yelled and thus Ven got him. "I'll even have CC do it once Nemo is gone it will just be me and CC!" Mao said and thus Ven knew Mao stepped on a trigger.
Umbra felt it Mao dug up a memory that Ven worked with Umbra to beyond. Ven on the other hand saw red as the words he spoke caused a memory to resurface. For but a moment Ven saw Ballas in Mao's place. With it the memories of Ballas showed up and Mao saw them which confused him. "Ballas?" Mao asked and thus Ven saw two memories one of a man dying as he murdered his son by order of this Ballas person and another of this same being taking someone close away.
"Oh, so you also have someone you want to pro GAARGH!" Mao began but was cut off by Ven and Umbra using Radial Howl to blind Mao. Following it up Mao cried out in pain as he felt a sword stab him through the gut. Looking down Mao saw that Umbra had stabbed Mao with his weapon glaring at Mao with hate while grabbing him with his free hand. Then from Umbra's chest area Ven came out as he had Void Energy charging in his hand.
"You should not have said that." Ven said and thus Mao was silenced when a Void beam pierced his head killing Mao on the spot. Ven returned inside Umbra and then began to calm his breathing no doubt Ballas had left his mark on Ven more than anyone else save the Lotus. Gasping for breath Ven controlled himself before focusing on the current situation.
"Ven." Eureka was heard and thus Ven looked and saw Eureka here with Gara Prime no doubt she switched Frames on the way here.
Focusing on the new mission Ven took command which Eureka no doubt knew Ven best for. "Eureka, we need to move the base is about to be." Ven began but was cut off by Eureka.
"I know, Ava and Sayak are already enroute you and I on the other hand are heading out to pick up our Knightmares and meet up with Cy at the docks." Eureka said as Ven looked to her. "We need every ace we can muster just in case." Eureka said as Ven knew they best hurry. They had no worries or fears that the Tenno would lose this fight its more of how this would be viewed by the world. They already forced their enemy to show their hand back in Narita which meant there might be other surprises they would not suspect. More so this was not like with the Grineer, the Corpus, Narmer, or even the Sentient these were trained soldiers. They Tenno also had allies who fought by their side who did not have the same protections the Tenno had. But one thing was certain Britannia had chosen to arrogantly knock on the Door to the Void and now the Void would answer the door.
(TBC)
ESKK: New Chapter is done and published. I hope you all enjoy it and will leave a review for me. So again, I ask for you lot to leave a review and as always ja-ne.