Code Tenno Uprising of the Void
ESKK: A new chapter let's get started folks.
Disclaimer: Part of this chapter was originally made by the author of Metal Gear Solid Code Zero, Ralf Xing. Please support his fics even though the mentioned writer has not been seen for some time.
(Start Warehouse District Area 11 Tenno)
The Tenno were on another mission as Ven lead this mission. They were opting to use their basic gear for this job as it was an important one. In fact, they had just gotten through the insertion part and thus here they were. As Ven lead the team this was mainly a stealth mission the teams wanted to make sure the drugs burned. Thus, Sayak and Eureka had gone with using Ember Prime and Chroma Prime Warframes for their fire-based abilities while Ven and Ava had gone with Excalibur Umbra and Valkyr Prime. The Tenno ran through a small bridge that was connected to the roof of a warehouse. Once they have reached the roof, they saw a giant window on the floor. They crouched and peeked on it, inside they saw their objectives: some kind of drug factory preparing the drug Refrain, their mission is to eliminate the 2 dealers, the workers and burn the Refrain to ashes.
Ven made it clear that radio silence was required as Eureka's Ember Prime may draw attention, but it was the best Frame to burn the drug in question. There was also one other aspect to this mission that the Lotus informed them off and that while it may slow the distribution of the drug by eliminating the dealers and their product so long as someone knows the ingredients and how to combine them the drug will always find a way to survive. Thus, the Lotus and Eureka both wanted samples of the drug in order to track down the ingredients and destroy it at the source.
The Tenno had acquired new equipment after acquiring and modifying the Britannian's own equipment and now they had new rifles all equipped with suppressors. It worked just as good as their own equipment since it could also have mods added to it. Ven then signaled for his squad to get ready as they were all primed and ready to move.
"Ordis, blind them." Ven said and thus the show began.
(In the Warehouse)
Inside the warehouse, the dealers and the workers were surprised when the lights suddenly turned off. The Dealers all began to panic as the chaos hit all of them left unaware of what was happening. "What happened who turned out the light." One of the men cried out only to be fooled by the sound of bodies falling to the ground.
"What was that turn on the lights now!" A goon cried out and soon enough the Lights came back on. But what the dealers saw was something that shocked them to no end.
Standing high above them were the Tenno who after the lights turned out had expertly came in without alerting the enemy. Once they were in it was a simple matter for Sayak and Eureka to gun them down with the Latron Primes while Ven and Ava used the Twin Garakata's and the Secura Dual Cestra respectively.
"You... you're the Tenno." One of them said only to be gunned down by the Tenno.
"And your dead." Sayak said as the group began to look around the room.
"Clear!" Ven called out and in turn holstered his side arms as did Ava.
"That was too easy." Ava said with a smirk on her face.
"We still have a job to do Eureka get a sample of the Drug for study and burn the rest." Ven said as he drew Ignis Wraith for what came next.
"Right!" Eureka said and in turn they all got ready to burn the Refrain.
The Lotus had given the Tenno this mission when she discovered the Refrain Drug before. Apparently certain parties within Britannia were manufacturing Refrains which is a drug that allows the user to relive the past. The Tenno knew how bad this drug could be and if a Tenno were to use it... no telling how it might affect them assuming it can even affect them at all.
"Alright I have a sample." Eureka said as she had the sample contained tightly to prevent any unintentional exposures.
"Good job, team time to burn the place down." Ven ordered and in turn Ven and Ava took aim with the Ignis Wraiths while Eureka and Sayak used their Warframe's fire abilities to start burning. It would not be long before the entire warehouse was on fire and with it all of the Refrain that was being made and stored here. A lot of junkies were going to start going through withdrawal after this but it's for their own good.
(Scene Break Stadtfeld Manor)
"In other news, the war between the Holy Britannian Empire and the European Union had a sudden change. The territories lost by the European were retaken by the former."
"What do you think it happened?"
"There were numerous reports that the Europeans had deployed soldiers wearing armor of unknown make wielding advanced weapon as well as bladed weapons."
"So, they hired soldiers from that mercenary organization, the Tenno?"
"Yes, it seems that their services are contacted from all kinds of places, especially in the European Union."
"Wow, they surely gained a lot of attention."
"Yeah, it has been 2 weeks since they made their debut along with Zero and the Order of the Black Knights. However, actual evidence has yet to be found."
"You mean their escape route?"
"They both concealed their escapes; the Tenno used some kind of blinding flash to disappear while The Black Knights freed the hostages and escaped on the main coastal road."
"Are they allies?"
These were the topics that were being discussed on the news. Most of it was about the Tenno and the Black Knights. While talking about these topics, Kallen was sleeping naked with only a pair of pink panties on for decency. Kallen was sleeping peacefully when suddenly she heard a loud noise that woke her up. In response she got up, put on a pink dressing gown, and opened the door of her room to investigate the source. She looked around of the hallway and saw her mother, who is working as the maid of the Stadtfeld family.
"Ah Kallen…M-mistress" The woman began but corrected herself as she noticed Kallen there. "I'm sorry for waking you up." She apologized to her daughter.
"Again?" Kallen asked as she found this a bit annoying.
"I'm sorry, this time it's because the ladder broke." Her mother said despite of the; lot of life they were trapped in.
"Hurry up and clean this. It's almost time for me to go to school" Kallen ordered her mother in an almost cold tone.
"Mistress, you've been going to school more often lately. Did you make any friends?" Her mother asked with a small smile hoping that was the case.
"That's none of your business." Kallen retorted almost angrily at her mother as she returned to her room.
But once Kalen was safely behind the door, she has her head down as she was angry and sad all in one. "Just go away." Kallen said as her tone was mixed with her rage but her grief.
(Scene Break Viceroy Palace)
In the train station of the Britannian Army, Cornelia, accompanied with Euphemia, was on her way to the train to solve some critical situations. She received reports that numerous places in E.U were retaken by the former with the help of the Tenno Factions strength. They are slowly losing the E.U campaign, which will result on massive amounts of expenses wasted, weakness against mercenaries, and humiliation of the nation. She could still remember that reunion she had weeks ago with Britannian officers and his brother; Schneizel El Britannia.
(Flashback 2 weeks ago)
Inside the Viceroy Palace, a conference was being held with 10 high ranking members of the Britannian army, along with Cornelia, with her personal knights, Darlton and Guilford, Euphemia, and one member of the Imperial family who is present via monitor displayed in a screen within the room, Schneizel El Britannia and his subordinate Kanon, who are currently aboard the ship, the Avalon.
All the attendees were seated on chairs around giant round table, discussing about urgent matters like the sudden uprising of some Areas. They still have the control of the situation, but there was no telling how much longer the status quo will stand. There were some small Areas that were going out of control with many groups attacking Britannian outposts and spreading words about, Freedom, civil rights, and liberty.
"This is unbelievable! How is it that our conquered lands are starting to uprise against us?!" An officer snapped clearly angry over what had been happening on the front lines.
"I agree with that, we stationed many Britannian armies to control the Areas in case they plan any revolt, we even stored all the weapons in our high secured facilities, it was technically impossible for any resident to just walk in and grab whatever they want." The Second Officer remarked unaware that all these incidents had one thing in common.
"But then out of nowhere, the facilities were suddenly attacked by a group of people who took out several Knightmares with their guns, stole the weapons and distributed it to all the residents! It was impossible!" The First Officer snapped as for him this should be impossible and also a key giveaway of who was responsible for what happened.
"I've got worse! My Knightmare Frame platoon in Area 4 was taken down by 4 men! 4 lowly men!" A third called out making it clear he was not happy about this not at all.
"Calm down gentlemen!" Cornelia snapped and in turn got the group to shut up for a moment.
"Pardon our sudden outburst your highness, it's just that we've never seen anything like this before." Another Officer spoke in a tone showing that he was at his wits end and having difficulty keeping his composure.
"No worries gentlemen, its normal to feel bad about what happened." Schneizel spoke with a calmed tone showing that all was well for the time being.
"Thank you, my prince." The Officer spoke grateful for the forgiveness provided by Schneizel.
"While all of you were complaining about these uprisings, I already figured out who is behind these." Cornelia said as she was one of the few calm-headed people left. Though she was aggravated as well and had already connected the dots long ago.
"Your Highness do you know who these people are?" the first Officer asked and in turn Cornelia nodded in response.
"It is clear who the culprits of these sudden uprisings are." Cornelia roughly said before then she handed a profile in front of the round table. When the profile landed on the table, many pictures inside of it came out. The pictures showed many Knightmares destroyed with people around cheering at the Knighframe's destruction, some of the pictures showed that on top of the Knight's stood a group of four with their weapons pointing upwards like a victory pose which seemed to rally the people around them.
"Wait the armor their wearing." An Officer gasped over what he saw.
"Wait I recognize these people!" the fifth Officer interjected after seeing the images.
"Yes, they are the mercenary band the Tenno." Cornelia concluded as she sat on her seat with a scowl on her face. "And I fear this was not their first mission against us." Cornelia added and in turn all the pieces fell into place.
"IT WAS THEM THE WHOLE TIME!" An officer yelled as reports had come in of strange events occurring that had caused Britannia no ends of troubles and now, they had a source to blame it all on.
"But how did they managed to destroy our Knightmares?! Those machines are supposed to be the most powerful weapon in the world!" One officer demanded as he could not fathom that anyone could destroy a Knightmare with just a sword and some guns.
"It's clearly that they are not just regular terrorists, they fought the Knightmares with ease, it was as if they had some sort of training." The 8th Officer deduced as there was no other explanation to it.
"Training against Knightmares? But that's absurd!" The tenth officer snapped dumbstruck over such a possibility.
"Enough! This is not the time to complain about what happened. First, we must control the situation!" Cornelia yelled silencing all the officers and regaining control of this meeting. Once she regained control Cornelia continued to speak to the round table. "While all these incidents were happening. We sent a plane to take pictures of the Pacific Ocean, the Lotus said their base was located there." Cornelia said and in turn the 6th Officer scoffed to this.
"How stupid that she just gave us her location for us to terminate them." The sixth officer with a smirk on his face.
Suddenly the doors opened revealing an officer with an USB and a folder. "Your Highness! Here are the results!" The newly arrived Officer announced as he handed both items to the assistants. One of them took the USB and inserted it on the projector. What the projector showed, shocked most of the people in the conference as they did not expect to see what they imagined.
The images showed many hexagonal plants annexed with bridges, they saw many living quarters, many facilities and 3 giant hangars. All the struts, specifically the hangar, were equipped with a great number of missile launchers and machine guns stationed in there. The most surprising thing about this was that the base was the same size of Area 7, and that it was actually a giant heavily armed fortress! The group was shocked at this, so this is the home of the Tenno and their leader the Lotus.
"For the love of Britannia! It's giant!" Guilford gasped in shock over what he saw from the surveillance footage had shown to the gathered council meeting.
"I agree" Darton said as he too was in shock over this shocking development.
Schneizel stared at the image with a small hint of surprise as well. He too had heard that Knightmare Frames were destroyed by 4 Tenno at most. He imagined that hundreds of these Tenno could technically conquer the whole world in a year maybe less if rumors of their unique abilities were to be believed. Even if the size of their fortress is small, they are extremely powerful, they might even equal the Knight of Rounds at best and at worse surpass them. He thought that he could just hire them and request them to conquer E.U or the Chinese Federation. But unfortunately, the prince had a reputation to take care of.
"Your Highness! What should we do?! If 4 of these Tenno could obliterate several platoons of Knightmare and keep fighting, thousands of them could destroy or overpower our army!" The sixth Officer said in horror as others started to whisper amongst themselves fear evident in their voices.
"Calm down gentlemen, let's not show fear." Schneizel said while trying to calm down the officers.
"What is your plan your highness?" The 9th Officer asked as he tried to figure out what they could do.
"For now, leave them be. It will give us enough time to gather information about them like the way they fight, their equipment, strategy, and weakness. Once we have analyzed their pattern, we will strike back." Schneizel said with precision as it was all they can do at this point.
"With all due respect, my lord. How are we going to defend our outposts if we just let them do whatever they want?" The second Officer asked as he rather not let the Tenno gain any ground on them.
"In case they attack, retreat with all the resources you can get. Don't forget, our army is the largest in the world and our soldiers are expendable." Schneizel answered as he looked to the group.
"Sounds good to me" The 10th officer said with a smirk on his face.
"Good plan your highness!" The 4th Officer complimented happy to go with that plan since it was the truth.
(End flashback)
Cornelia thought about that reunion and wondered if everything was going to turn out alright. But aside from that matter, she has another problem to solve.
"The E.U has started an offensive at the front and started to push back our forces no doubt thanks to the Tenno given them weapons to use, we cannot drag our feet around here. I want to solidified domestic affairs around here, it's high time area 11 was made a satellite nation, for that to happen
we need to stamp out terrorism of course, and these Tenno that been causing the Empire great trouble, but another major problem is the rampart abuse of Refrain among the 11's. Productivity been plummeting," Cornelia said to her little sister as she is giving Euphemia all the update reports needed for her when she leaves as she went on saying, "It's coming in on the chines federation qi-Shu route we have to put an end to it."
"Yes, but do be careful," Euphemia said to her older sister as Cornelia said to her, "You as well, I don't want you leaving the settlement."
"Cornelia, what about the Tenno, the Black knights and Zero?" Euphemia said as she wonder about the two groups with Cornelia said to her, "I'll let the black knight and Zero roam free for a bit as I owe them that for saving your life, as for the Tenno it seem there nothing I can do against them at the moment but preparation are being made to fight against them, however upon my return," Cornelia said as she put a hand on her sister face as she said, "Once I clean up this area I'm entrusting it to you. Try to stay out of harm's way for now on, alright Euphie?"
Euphemia gave a light frown to this as she remember that knight when she was saved by the Tenno and black knights, and remember the words Zero had said in the Black knight debut, she could help but wonder why there was some sort of familiarity to him as she thought, "Suzaku, what would you make of all this of what Zero is doing, the Tenno, and me?"
(Cornelia)
Princess Cornelia had left Euphemia a few moments ago preparing to take off to the E.U, but before that she had a meeting she had to keep as she came into an room where a man with metal parts all over his body, no doubt a cyborg of some sort as when he look to see Cornelia as he said, "Good evening your highness, I had come as you requested
"Good even to you as well Commander Madd, I want to speak to you about problem that been occurring," Cornelia said as she taken a seat across from Madd as he said, "I can only assume that this problem you're speaking about are these Tenno, right?"
"Correct, I want them to be brought down by any means necessary as I believe your Irregular can do it as those new 7th Generation nightmares, the GX-series that been created by your squad that could help match up against them, even against those with that unmarked Knightmare and Lancelot Noir," Cornelia said as she remember the humiliation those two did against her entire Knightmare forces, as the man laugh a bit as he said, "It is somewhat true that we created our own 7th gen knights, but we cannot take all the credit after all it was the Camelot Engineering Corps own research notes that help gotten us started, but don't worry the Irregular at a moment notice when these Tenno appear again."
"That good to hear, but the question isn't about how or when they will appear, but where they will appear. There is no doubt that they have been appearing all over the world and vanishing soon after finishing the battle," Cornelia said as Madd said, "It's no coincidence that the Tenno had appear during great battles, as no doubt when war comes a knocking, they will answer it, it's only a matter of time when they show up, and the only way to know for sure if these Tenno aren't as they seem to be is to either defeat any group of them, or at least push them into a corner to help show that they can be beaten."
"That is what I'm counting on you and your team on, I want the Irregular to bring down the Tenno and bring them in for punishment," Cornelia said as the Tenno may have not killed her brother but they have dishonor Britannia, beaten, and stolen from them many times over. She believed that it was high time they get what's coming to them as Madd then said, "I will not let you down, your highness."
Giving a bow to her as Cornelia nodded and soon walk out as she said to him, "I'll leave it to you then." After she left Madd was left alone as he said while he said, "Of course, as the only way to beat those with great power is others with great power as well."
The Geass symbol came to his mind as well as Project code R that Prince Clovis had used to grant the Irregulars power of Geass upon them.
(Ashford Academy)
A week has past sense the indent at Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center Hotel, with Ven and Eureka was at the school playing their parts as siblings to keep blending in with society while they were having lunch with Nunnally, and a friend of hers that she wanted to introduce to them, Alice.
Ven and Eureka try their best to get along with Alice, being a friendly tomboy as she was to them, it was difficult for them as they didn't have much social skills with people that wasn't a Tenno or an ally to them, but they somehow pulled it off, no doubt Alice think they feeling awkward of meeting new people or something like that as Alice said, "Well it nice if getting to know you two better, even though we had a weird start."
"Yeah, sorry about that, we hardly went to school before and we didn't have a lot of friends before," Eureka said as she try to explain a bit to their fake back story as Alice nodded to that as her eyes soon drifted over to Nunally and Ven who were sitting pretty close to each other as she smile a bit and said, "So anyways, what is up with you two anyways, being so close together like that, are you two in a relationship with each other?"
If Nunally could open her eyes she would have been wide eyed as Ven kept his cold exterior that was quickly turning red now. Ven dug his face into the magazine he was reading trying to hide it, but Nunally quickly voiced her objection.
"W-what why would you say something like that, Alice?!" Nunally almost yelled as she turned her head to where Alice's voice came from. "I mean." Nunally began but then Nemo cut in wanting a part in the teasing.
"Oh, come now Nunally even if you can't see I can and looking at Ven he is quite fetching if I do say so myself." Nemo teased causing Nunally's blush to become even more pronounce.
"Well, I think you broke her." Eureka said as she then glanced over to the only boy in the room.
"Hey Ven, what you, reading?" Alice asked as she glanced to where Ven was.
"A magazine." Ven stated plainly and thus Alice glared playfully at him.
"Smartass." Alice retorted as she could see Ven was doing as he said but she wanted to know the exact topic of what he was reading. "The Black Knights and the Tenno?" Alice asked as she saw what Ven was reading. "Why are you reading about them?" Alice asked honestly curious as to why Ven would read about the terrorist group and the Mercenary Band.
"Simply put I like to read people's opinions on them." Ven said as he read the information on the two groups.
"Yeah, but the Tenno are causing trouble to Britannia. In other nation, some people see them as saviors, but Britannians sees them as terrorists, they may be worse than the Order of the Black Knights and they must be stopped." Alice said as she seemed to not like how the Tenno operated.
"I know what you mean, their services are hired from everywhere and it's not in Britannia's favor." Ven said as he kept a neutral tone when he said this.
"What are your thoughts about them?" Alice asked as she saw Ven reading other people's opinions yet had not voiced his own.
"Well, the ideology of the founder; the Lotus of protecting those unable to protect themselves really spoke to me." Ven said as he was calm about it. "It felt like she spoke from experience and more so than that her comments on balance and being a Warrior Caste... well call me cliche or foolish but I can respect warriors." Ven said with a small smile as he lowered the magazine a bit.
"But still, Britannia can change; there is no need for them to go about their business in the way they are." Alice said but Ven had other opinions on this. "They could accomplish what they claim to represent from within the system." Alice said but Ven had other ideas on this.
"And what of the nations and areas Britannian invades?" Ven asked causing Alice to grow silent. It was no secret to Ven that Alice was not a Britannian, but she hid this fact well enough that no one bothers to ask. "While Britannia claims their conquest is for a noble cause forcing their good intentions on others makes it no different from an evil act and with the system, they use it's no wonder the nations fight back." Ven said returning to his Magazine and continued reading.
"But you could chance the system from within." Alice argued as her voice rose a bit.
"Or be absorbed and corrupted by it." Ven countered as it was clear that the Tenno and tomboy were of different opinions on the matter.
"Wow you are pessimistic." Alice said as she found Ven to be one of those dull thinkers.
"More realistic if you ask me." Ven said as he knew, how this system works. It makes you THINK you can change things but in reality, it's a system based on Darwinism. More so it also had a slight caste system that kept all the Numbers, at the bottom of the barrel. Ven was realistic enough to know that for a system like this to change you would have to tear it down to the roots and start with a clean slate.
Eureka looked between them as Nunally was concerned for a moment but before anything else was said the door opened. "Mistress Nunally I brought snacks for you and your friends." Sayoko said and thus Ven sighed as they were saved by the bell as it were.
"Thank you, Ms. Sayoko." Nunally thanked and thus Ven knew the topic was over.
"Well let's just agree to disagree." Ven said and in turn took a small snack for himself as the others did the same.
"Yeah." Alice said agreeing with Ven for the time being.
(Scene Break Tenno Platform Base)
Back at the Tenno's Sea Base they had been receiving one job after the other. Ever since the Lotus had announced their existence to the world, people from all kinds of places requested their services. One must say that this is a golden opportunity, the Tenno had nary received so many requests since the days leading up to the New War; they certainly got a lot of attention.
Surprisingly, the most requested place is the superpower European Union; they have been constantly asking for the Tenno's help in their war against Britannia. Amazingly, they were well received in that nation; they were viewed as saviors, guardians, divine warriors and even heroes. They received big rewards from villagers, religious, politicians, etcetera. And they also got recruits from that nation, most of them deserters of their armies.
In the Chinese Federation they got moderates requests, most of them were wet jobs like assassinating people, there were also jobs involved in protecting people. In that nation, the Chinese people seemed to be nice to them, they even compared the Tenno to the historical armies of the Chinese Federation like the Yue Family Army who managed to defeat giant armies using small portion of soldiers, they were also compared to mythological creatures when it's about their strength, like the Chinese dragons that symbolize good fortune and sign of intense power. A shock it would be if the Chinese Federation were to ever learn how close they were to the truth of what they were. The Tenno were not called Warrior Gods back in the Origin System for nothing after all.
But the same can't be said with Britannia, though they had received some requests in some Areas, they were not well received by the government of that nation. They had viewed them as criminals, outlaws, terrorists, or killers. Sometimes they had tried to capture them by setting traps using the clients, but somehow, they manage to escape from their grasps, it was as if they were ghosts. The Tenno had made note to make sure the job was legit before taking it otherwise the Britannians might actually get lucky for once and if they got their hands on a Warframe, then it would be game over for everyone.
At the moment Ava was investigating the Refrain as she looked at it through a microscope. She was wearing a gas mask and other protective gear in the event of a breach. If she was exposed no telling what she will be forced to see due to the drug assuming it could even affect them. "Ava how goes the study?" Lotus spoke as her face appeared on one of the screens.
"Steady and good I've identified some of the properties and ingredients and sending the data in as I do." Ava said while studying the drug. They would have asked some of the new recruits for aid in this but opted not to for the sole reason that they might get tempted by it.
"Good the sooner we can remove the drug from play the better." The Lotus said as Ava agreed seeing as all the Tenno didn't want to relive their past anytime soon. "We can only hold it off by removing the supply but so long as a means exist to create it more will come." Lotus said as Ava smirked to this.
"No need to tell me twice." Ava said as she then got back to work.
(Scene Break that afternoon Area 11)
Ven, Eureka, and Umbra were walking on the streets of Tokyo settlement; Ven and Eureka were in their school uniforms while Umbra was wearing his trench coat and fedora disguise. It was a surprise no one asked about him since he looked suspicious, but Ven suspected that there was more to it than meets the eye. Ever since their reveal Umbra had to be careful when he went exploring on his own since the world was looking for him and the other Warframes now.
Right now, they were on their way to a secret temporary base they established 3 days ago, where the rest of their squad was operating when not at the Platform base. Ava had to travel back to further study the Refrain and create a counteragent for it to help those afflicted by the narcotic. It was a small gray building with 3 floors located in an area close to Ashford Academy. This was the only building they've managed to find since there aren't any buildings to hide; the idea of hiding in ghettos was out of question after the Shinjuku and Saitama battles.
They soon arrived at an intersection where Ven saw a park nearby. "Eureka." Ven began as he got Eureka's attention. "Go on ahead I want some time alone please." Ven said and thus Eureka nodded.
"Alright then... see you at base." Eureka said and thus took her leave into an alleyway. Once she was in, she summoned her Warframe, and bullet jumped away taking the express way back to base.
(Later at the Park)
Ven and Umbra sat on a bench where they saw children playing around causing Ven and Umbra to reminisce. For Umbra he imagined Issah when he was a boy playing his games innocent to the world with his siblings. It reminded Umbra how much he hated Ballus and how much his rage was converted to use against Britannia. For Ven it was a reminder of the days lost to the Void when he was an innocent child at one point as well.
Soon they saw several kids crossing the road playfully wearing capes and some of them wore masks similar to the Tenno and even a copy of Umbra's scarf. Seeing this Ven smiled as he was reminded of the Ostron children doing something similar. He even remembered how he and his squad played with them pretending to be Grineer to give the children something to fight.
Just as the children ran again through the park but was suddenly stopped by a woman, most likely their mother. "Stop this nonsense of Order of the Black Knights and remove those mask and scarf." The mother said to her children scolding them with concern evident in her voice.
"But mom!" One of the children complained but their mother cut them off.
"We are Elevens we shouldn't say anything bad about Britannia!" The mother said clearly not wanting to see any of her children anger the Britannians and suffer for it. Ven could feel Umbra's rage against Britannian and sadness for the mother who was trying to protect her children. Ven could agree that Britannia will fall one way or another and the Tenno will give the people the tools to make it happen.
Just then Umbra raised his head as Ven saw someone arrive sitting on the other side of Umbra sandwiching the Warframe between Ven and the new arrival. "Surprise to see you out and about, CC." Ven greeted with a calm neutral tone as on the other side of Umbra was CC herself.
"I have my reasons." CC said as she sat next to Umbra no doubt in an attempt to make Ven believe he holds the power in this conversation.
"Don't we all." Ven countered calmly as the trio looked natural as they sat there. "So how does Zero feel about us Tenno stealing his spotlight?" Ven asked as he made sure to act natural.
"Surprisingly enough after a bit he was not really bothered... though he did not enjoy being upstaged." CC said as Ven understood as much.
"That's good while the Japanese side with Zero the rest of the world against Britannian seem to rally behind the Tenno." Ven said as he knew of the few visits the others had in the EU and the Chinese Federation that the other Tenno were being well received. "Now that we got business out of the way... why are you really here?" Ven asked as he gave CC a skeptical glare showing that he might have gained a power from her that did not mean he trusted her. Furthermore, surveillance on CC showed there was reason to not trust her especially when she randomly started talking to someone who was not there. Factoring in her Immortality and her ability to give someone Geass Ven and his fellows suspected that she was in fact talking to someone either through a method similar to the Man in the Wall or a sort of psychic link.
CC primary focus was Lelouch right now and if Ven warned Zero that his ally was in fact a spy of some sort then it might tip off their enemies of the Tenno's desire to hunt them down. Thus, leaving Zero in the dark was the only viable option to ensure that whomever their enemy was would come out for a fight.
"In the past you mentioned you made a deal before." CC said as she remembered the battle of Shinjuku.
"I did why ask now?" Ven asked and thus CC was trying to play it smart, but Ven suspects she was trying to deduce what the Tenno can do. No doubt their actual enemy is starting to become aware of the Tenno and the dangers they could bring to whatever it was they were planning. CC was basically playing the role of a communicator and Ven was here on this side speaking to whoever was listening in on the other side. This person might be coaching CC in some way to get Ven to come clean with what he knows while Ven was also trying to get his opponent or CC to reveal some of what she truly knows.
"I'm asking because I am certain it's not a Code Bearer there are so few in the world as is." CC said as she knew this as fact since there are only two bearers of the Code in the world that CC knows of. Those two bearers were herself and the other whom, hides in the Homeland. If there were others the Order might have found them already and if not, then they were good at hiding themselves from the world.
"Ok let's play Q&A I ask you answer you ask I answer." Ven said as he made it a trade information in exchange for information. "I'll start... you once had a Geass yourself did you not?" Ven asked as CC looked to the side.
"Yes, I did." CC admitted and thus Ven gestured for her to ask. "You haven't used your Geass much have you?" CC asked as Ven nodded in confirmation.
"Beyond testing what it can and cannot do I hardly have any need to use it in battle." Ven said as he omitted the part that it can only work properly when facing one opponent at a time. If Ven faces multiple the Geass would be prone to mistakes that Ven could not afford. "Judging by the sigil I would assume Geass is the only power that can kill you?" Ven asked and thus CC nodded to this.
"Yes, but only when the Geass has gained full power to become a Code." CC said and thus she had her question to ask. Ven suspected as much no doubt the one who gave CC her Code was also a bearer who wanted to die and thus manipulated CC to be the instrument of that desire. "Who was the one who gave you your power that you refer to as the Void?" CC asked and thus Ven smirked to CC seeing what she was gunning for now.
"Who's the person eavesdropping on our conversation?" Ven asked causing CC to go wide eyed to this. "Yes, I know your speaking to someone just not who or where they are." Ven said making it clear he was aware CC was speaking to someone.
"I don't know what you're talking about." CC said while mentally steeling herself in the event Ven had some mind reading power. Geass can't affect her, but Ven's power is not a Geass thus she doesn't truly know if he can read minds.
"Of course not, then again you shouldn't be talking to someone out in the open thinking you're alone." Ven said and thus pulled out a video he had on him of CC watching a girl carve the wall and where CC was openly talking to someone. "I believe this is Check as Lelouch would say." Ven said as he had the cards now leaving CC with nothing.
"So, what no you plan to capture and interrogate me?" CC asked and thus Ven smirked to this.
"If only it were that simple." Ven said as he leaned back a bit. "If we did that there's no telling how long it will be before you crack and even if that were not the case you might possess abilities, we don't know about to orchestrate your escape." Ven said as he leaned back on his seat. "Though I suspect that whoever this nameless eavesdropper is I suspect he or she had you meet me here to try and figure us out viewing the Tenno as either possible pawns or possible threats." Ven said taking a guess on that part. Of course, when CC grew silent from Ven's assumption she proved Ven correct.
"Well, whatever." Ven said calmly as Umbra and he both stood up. "If the eavesdropper is still listening in, I give them this... if they want the truth then they better come find it themselves if they can." Ven said and in turn began to take his leave of the area leaving CC alone.
Once the pair were gone CC smiled a bit as she sat there. "Seems you underestimated him." CC said and thus smirked next. "Well, someone sounds annoyed." CC added with a smirk knowing Ven got under their skin.
(Scene Break that evening)
The Tenno were performing another raid on the Refrain distribution locations. This particular location was the largest in Japan and thus was top priority to eliminate at all costs. Ava had already gotten enough Data on the Refrain and thus the Lotus distributed the data to the other Tenno to work on locating the farming locations of the ingredients to destroy it once and for all.
Right now, they were in Tokyo Bay preparing to take down the Refrain Factory. Right now, the only ones there were Ava, Sayak, and Eureka as Ven was working on getting them inside the location. "Ok you know I'm all for getting allies and making friends especially against a common target." Ava spoke as she sounded annoyed even through her Valkyr Prime Warframe. "Hell, I don't even care if they were Britannians but... why did we bring a cripple to this mission?" Ava said as between the Tenno was Nunally in a wheelchair that had legs instead of wheels. "No offense." Ava added as Nunally looked to the Tenno in question.
"None taken." Nunally said as she was not really bothered by the jab there since Ava apparently built her the new wheelchair or walking chair as the case maybe.
"She overheard me when Ven and I were talking about it and wanted to help." Eureka said as she felt bad about bringing Nunally in on this.
"And Ven okayed it?" Sayak asked finding it hard to believe.
"Surprised me too." Eureka responded and thus Sayak laughed a bit.
"Ven you dirty-dirty kubrow." Sayak said as he could already see why Ven invited Nunally.
Just then the signal was seen and in turn the group saw what this meant. "Look Ven's signal!" Eureka called out and thus the Tenno plus Nunally got moving. "Nunally." Eureka said and thus Nunally understood the tone Eureka had used. In turn Nemo smirked from her spot next to Nunally and with it the Geass sigil on her forehead flashed to life.
(Later inside the Refrain factory)
The Tenno entered the factory being quiet as they did so. Ven had cleared a way for them to get in and thankfully their Warframes were equipped with thermal visions. Getting in was easy since they used the part of the factory that was hardly used. Moving through the facility the Tenno were stealthy despite the flames coming from Eureka's Ember Prime. Nemo would act as demolition after the group ensured the area was clear of any civilians. the Tenno had their guns out as once more Ven and Ava were using Ignis Prime for the mission and thus relied on their side arms.
Just then the group heard laughter opting Ven to raise his fist to stop the group. The all heard it and thus it was clear that the laughter was not the Man in the Wall, but it was still slightly ominous. "Over here." Ven whispered and thus guided his team to the source of the laughter. When they reached their destination, they saw the figures moving in a rather strange way. Taking a chance Ven shined a light on them and in turn what they saw was somewhat disturbing.
In front of them they saw Japanese people doing strange stuffs like cheering, yelling, howling and saying stuffs that might make no sense. It was as if they were inside a mental hospital.
"What the Hell is this?" Sayak asked shocked over what he was seeing.
"What is wrong with these people?" Eureka asked as Sayak stood in front of one of them snapping his fingers causing zero response from them.
"Refrain this is what too much of this stuff can do to you." Ava said as she was the one doing the research to destroy the stuff.
"Void." Sayak said as he thought he'd seen everything the world could dish out, and apparently, he was wrong.
Suddenly, gunshots were heard coming from the main gate of the warehouse. They quickly moved to cover and aimed at the gate in case there were enemies. Abruptly, the main gate was trespass by a giant red Knightmare Frame Glasgow. They readied their weapons to attack it, but Ven recognized it and in turn went to stop his team. "Guys stand down it's a friendly... I hope." Ven said adding the last part quietly to himself. They saw that the red Glasgow didn't do anything when it saw the unstable Japanese's, whoever was piloting that red Glasgow must be shocked too.
Suddenly one of the unstable Japanese's, a woman, tripped with something and fell. But surprisingly the red Glasgow caught and held her on its hand. "It's a friendly." Ven confirmed as the Tenno calmed down a bit. But the calm was short lived as suddenly, bullets appeared from its right side destroying its right arm. They all turned to the direction of the bullets and saw who did it. It was a Knight Police pointing its gun at the red Glasgow. The red Glasgow activated its land spinners with the woman on its hand while being chased by the Knightmare Police.
"What the hell is wrong with that Knightmare Police? Can't it see it has a woman on its hand?!" Ava asked as she was surprised by this.
"Corrupted Police." Ven growled as he knew what this meant for them. "Nemo get in here now!" Ven ordered and thus it was time for Nemo to take the stage.
(Meanwhile with Kallen)
Kallen was not having a good day not in the slightest. Her secret as a half Eleven half Japanese was found out by Milly's grandfather, she had to deal with Lelouch and his ideologies, Milly's words were getting to her, and most of all her mother of all people was here in this place. Taking a turn Kallen was intent to keep her mother safe at all costs all the while defending that she didn't need nor want the weak-willed woman in her life.
Just then as she took a turn Kallen was wide eyed and avoided a set of Slash Harken whizzing past her. But it was clear they missed in purpose and was aiming for the Knight Police chasing her. Once Kallen got out of the way she saw the Knight Police had peeled back to avoid the attack and thus looked to the source. Stepping out of the shadows was the Mark Nemo with its Katana read as its blond knives returned to their previous positions on its head.
"That Knightmare." Kallen said and in turn the Mark Nemo moved over to where she was and put her hand out to her Glasgow. Taking the chance though the Knight Police charged out and opened fire once more forcing the two to part to avoid the foe. The two moved out of the way as Nemo kept herself between the Cops and the Glasgow in an attempt to protect the civilian the in the Knightmares hand.
(Nemo)
"Dammit!" Nemo cursed as she could feel Nunally's consciousness affecting her again. Using her Future Sight Nemo tried to find a way to win this in their favor that didn't lead to her actively killing someone. "Let's do this!" Nemo called out enacting her plan.
(Battle)
Nemo began slashing through the walls of shelves causing them to come tumbling down forcing the Knight Police to ease up. Once that was done the Knight Police used its combat knife to slice its way through the debris to continue the chase. It then began to open fire again this time getting a few good shots in on the Glasgow as Nemo was wide eyed at this happening.
Meanwhile with Kallen she continued to roll away in an attempt to put distance between herself and her pursuer, but the bastard would not let up. Thus, as she rolled Kallen moved her controls to try and drop her mother, but the result was her mother rolling into her Knightmares open palm revealing herself to Kallen.
"Dammit I don't need you... I DON'T WANT YOU!" Kallen roared as her Glasgow raised its arm to the air just before a stray shot hit the joints connecting her Knightmares leg to the rest of the body. Kallen ended up crashing the Glasgow and in turn dropping her mother who thankfully landed without injury to herself.
The Knightmare Police moved in on Kallen and began to open fire on her only for the Mark Nemo to show up and with its Katana disarm it of its weapon. Its attention moved to the Mark Nemo the Knightmare Police summoned its knife again and thus the two began a sword fight between each other. Nemo was fully intended to disarm her opponent, but it was clear the pilot was skilled. Thankfully the Geass granting her Future Sight was able to keep up with her foe. Katana met dagger but thanks to the Mark Nemo's unique make up it was stronger and faster than its foe.
(Meanwhile over with Kallen)
Kallen was at her wits end unable to do anything as her mother was not moving to run and Kallen was unable to move her Knightmare. "Go on run." Kallen said as she saw her mother getting up to look to her. "GET MOVING YOU IDIOT!" Kallen yelled but her birth mother would not do so.
"I'm here for you." Her mother said causing Kallen to go wide eyed. "I'm here for you Kallen I'm here as I've always have been." She said and in turn all the pieces fell into place.
"So that's why... that's why you stayed in his house?" Kallen asked shocked over what her mother said and her reasons. Kallen's mother was the other woman while her stepmother was her father's wife who was unable to bare children. Kallen's mother was his mistress and had gone out of the way to have Kallen formally adopted as his heir. It all came together the reason Kallen remained as a maid it was to be close to her daughter her last living child. "You stayed there for me?" Kallen asked as she felt her heart starting to break. "YOU FOOL!" Kallen yelled with rage and sadness both at herself and her mother.
The ground rumbled and Kallen looked through her visuals to see the Mark Nemo fighting the corrupt officers Knightmare. "Or maybe... I'm the fool." Kallen said and thus an idea came to life. "But... I can still fight." Kallen said and in turn got ready to move.
(Battle)
"Hey you!" Kallen called out through her Knightmare's vocals. The Mark Nemo looked while it held the Knightmare Police back. "Let me have a piece of it!" Kallen said and thus with her future sight Nemo smirked. She then pushed her foe back and in turn grabbed him by the neck before stabbing him through the chest area narrowly avoiding the cockpit. She then pushed further until she managed to get the enemy Knightmare pinned onto Kallen's Glasgow.
Jumping back Kallen activated her Knightmares slash harkens and in turn dragged her Knightmare and her foe to the shelves where an empty spot was seen. The result was the cockpit being smashed and in turn killing the pilot inside as Kallen's Knightmare was left unharmed from the ordeal.
"Kallen!" A member of the Black Knights called out as they ran over to help Kallen. Sayak and Ava also went in to help while Ven and Eureka went over to Kallen's mother. Ven kneeled down to look at Kallen's mother lost in her memories as Ven was reminded of the mothers he lost. His birth mother, and his first adoptive which was why during the new war he could not risk losing the Lotus either. If he lost her... then Ven feared that he would never be the same again.
Kallen then ran over to her mother once Sayak got her out of the broken Knightmare and in turn began to hold her close. Ven sighed to this and in turn stepped away from her. "Team, we have a mission to complete." Ven said as the mission as clear destroy all of the Refrain and the factory it was made in.
As Ven began to walk away he stopped for a moment. Ven no doubt sensed that Zero's eyes were on him. "So, the famous vigilante Zero, we meet again." Ven said with a calm tone showing he knew Zero well enough.
"Wait they know each other?" Tamaki asked as he looked to Ven and Zero in shock.
"Likewise, Umbra." Zero said as he and Ven glared at each other but under his mask Zero was smirking. "I must say, it's a surprise meeting you here, I have never thought I would meet one of the Tenno here." Zero said as he looked to Ven.
"Same the odds of having the same mission astronomical." Ven said as he walked to the side while Nemo observed the conversation. "So, what does the Grand leader of the Black Knights want with the Tenno?" Ven asked being careful with Zero avoiding making possible eye contact with him.
Lelouch thought about what to do, he thought on two maybe even three viable options here; the first one is to have the Tenno join with the Black Knights. Should the Tenno and the Black Knights unite, they could destroy Britannia and create a free world for him and secretly his sister Nunnally. In addition, their ideology shared a similarity, they both seek a world where people can be valued for what they are. The second option is that if they don't join him, he can at least make a contract with them, after all they are mercenaries, and therefore they are going to fight for whoever hires them. There was also the third option which is not having them in his side if the leader denies it.
"I want to propose something that can beneficiate both of our groups." Zero said as he looked to Ven. It was a secret only they shared that Ven knew who Zero truly was and seeing as none of the other Tenno were aware it would assume either they knew how to keep their mouths shut or Umbra never told them.
"And what would that be?" Ven asked with his eyebrows raised over the offer Zero was giving him.
Zero then offered his hand to Ven in a fancy way no doubt used for theatrics which served Zero well. "Join us. If we combine our forces." Zero began before he clenched his hand and continued. "We could archive what this world has never done before: Freedom, a world where people can be free without fear of being oppressed, persecuted or discriminated." He said as Ven looked to Zero.
This proposal caught the members of the Black Knights unguarded; some of them were excited if the mercenaries join them, while others were practically afraid of them. Ven had to admit the offer was enticing but there were a few things between a yes and the offer. For starters this wasn't his or the Tenno's world they only plan to stay long enough to ensure the Man in the Wall's problem is dealt with before going home. Their actions up until this point was to draw their target out into the open and once the target was neutralized, they can go home. All Ven knew was that CC and the Geass were involved hence why he made the contract with CC and kept Nunally within close proximity, she and Nemo were bait. Second thing was that such a decision was well above his power to make, yes Ven was one if not THE best the Tenno had to offer.
But Ven was never arrogant enough to speak for the many unless he was sure that was what they wanted. Ven could not confirm if this was their intention and thus could not out of good conscience make that call. "Thanks for the offer Zero... but it's not my call to make." Ven said as he looked to Zero while the Black Knights were shocked by this. "I'll bring the offer up to the Lotus and the other Tenno and see what they feel about it." Ven said as Zero saw what this meant.
'So, the Lotus really is the leader interesting.' Zero thought as he saw where this could go. "At most this meant that they were somewhat allies so long as their objectives don't conflict with each other. "Then perhaps I might be able to hire your groups services until a decision can be made?" Zero asked and thus Ven chuckled a bit.
"You'll have to contact the Lotus about that, she handles our mission distributions." Ven said and in turn Zero figured that would be the case. "Here." Ven said as he turned around and threw a card to Zero who caught it. "A method to contact us." Ven said and in turn looked around. "Now I suggest getting this placed cleared of any civilians we're destroying the last of the Refrain in Area 11." Ven said and in turn got ready to burn it all.
"Very well." Zero said before turning his attention to his subordinates. "Alright, everyone, get the Japanese out of here!" Zero ordered as they then went to rescue the unstable Japanese people who had too much of the Refrain.
"Nemo try and do what you can to help speed things along." Ven ordered as Nemo nodded through her Knightmare.
"Right." Nemo said as Zero looked to Nemo for a moment before returning to what he was doing. Sayak flung two people over his shoulders while Ava carried two of them under her arms. Nearby Nemo took a small armful of them in her arms careful not to crush or hurt them. Ven walked over to Kallen as he looked at the girl holding her mother's hand ready to cry for her.
"Need a lift?" Ven offered as he got Kallen's attention on him.
"Yes please" Kallen responded accepting the Tenno's help.
"Zero! I'm taking my mother to the hospital Umbra will help me!" Kallen said over to Zero who turned around to see Umbra lifting her mother's left arm. When he raised her, for a moment they stared at each other before Zero nodded at him which the Tenno nodded back.
'Keep your allies close.' Zero thought to himself, seeing how having a good relationship and trust with your allies is the most important thing to keep your comrades close. Unbeknownst to everyone, they were all witnessed by C.C on top of a giant shelve of the warehouse wondering what these Tenno were capable of.
(Scene Break Sea Platform Base)
After the Tenno finished the factory job, they left the place as a burning mess all the Refrain gone bar a few samples for Ava to study. Now that their job with the Refrain was over with, they decommissioned their Area 11 Base making sure nothing was left behind that could be traced. Thankfully the Lotus had several safe houses set up for the Tenno to use so should they ever need it they will have access to them.
Ven after dropping Nunally off stood upon the base overlooking the base with a cold and calmed look. He liked these moments of silence as Umbra was with him as well. They lost so much already and seeing others lose things they care for... it was unfair. Ava was almost finished with the counter agent for Refrain, but the problem was the distribution of it. Cornelia was trying to remove the drug so she might be their best avenue to explore in removing Refrain from the streets. As Ven stood there he looked to the sky and glared at the moon. It was not Lua and thus was a constant reminder that the Tenno were far away from home... well at least the starry sky was the same.
(Scene Break unknown location)
A young boy was seen looking at video images and photos of the Tenno in action. As he watched them fight, he could not help but smirk as he could see the power they were packing. He was sure Charles would most certainly want to know about this assuming he didn't already know. Could a new form of Geass power have been developed or was it something else... he could not help but be intrigued by the notion. As he walked his forehead was revealed to show the same Geass cress CC had on her forehead. Taking his leave, the boy had plans to make big plans on how to deal with these beings who call themselves Tenno.
(TBC)
ESKK: Wow two Chapters in two days I'm on a role people. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will join us next time for the next chapter. So be sure to leave a review before leaving and as I always say ja-ne.