"Clovis la Britannia… Government Bureau… Theater…."
Lelouch said the words as Arthur, Kallen, and Milly stood gathered around him, and was rewarded as the Metaverse Navigator hummed to life.
"Destination confirmed: Theater of Vanity. Beginning navigation."
With Jeremiah on their side, deducing the necessary keywords that would grant them access to Clovis' Palace had fallen into place relatively quickly. Lelouch had guessed that the location of Clovis' Palace would be the government bureau, and he had of course known of his half brother's love for the arts, but hearing that Clovis thought of himself as an actor was enough to eliminate all but a few keywords regarding the form of the Palace, of which 'Theater' was the most logical choice.
Of course, civilians couldn't just waltz up to the Government Bureau, not without passing several checkpoints, and Lelouch had generally avoided wandering too close to the place. It was unlikely that anyone, save Clovis, would recognize him, but it had always seemed a needless risk to take. Unfortunately, that meant the Black Knights had to begin their infiltration from beyond the security perimeter.
The world finished twisting around them, revealing Clovis' Palace in the distance. It was a stately yet somehow imposing edifice with a neoclassical facade and a rotunda dome rising behind it. Within lay Clovis' Treasure, the source of his distorted desires. The form it would take and its defenses were unknown, but when would that ever stop a determined phantom thief?
"Give me your best shot, Clovis," Zero smirked. "It will be a pity if you aren't more of a challenge after all of these years." He turned. "Is everyone ready to begin the infiltration?"
Tama, Queen, and Diamond nodded back at him, all clad in their Metaverse attire.
"Then let's go."
Slipping over a low outer wall, it quickly became apparent to the Black Knights that there was a large mass of Cognitions, all trying to press forward in a line, buzzing with excitement. Most of what they were saying could not be discerned, but Lelouch caught fragments of their conversations…
"The Director's latest masterpiece…"
"… they were moved to tears…".
"…. so talented…. even acts in his own plays…."
"… makes my heart throb…"
"…. about the Director's new starlet?"
"… forget about the world and enjoy the play…"
There was a gust of wind, and a large piece of paper came swirling their way through the air. With a deft motion, Kallen caught it before it could fly out of reach.
"Nice reflexes, Queen!" Milly beamed.
"That was nothing," Kallen said as she unfurled the paper. "It's a playbill of some kind," she said after a moment. "Take a look." She handed it to Milly.
THE PALACE THEATER PROUDLY PRESENTS
AN ENGAGEMENT OF BRITANNIA'S PRE-EMINENT ARTISTIC GENIUS
DIRECTOR CLOVIS LA BRITANNIA
ACTING IN A DOUBLE FEATURE
THE ELEVENTH PRINCE
Dedicated in loving memory of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia
AND
THE MARRIAGE OF CLOVIS
CO-STARRING IN HER DEBUT ROLE
THE ENCHANTING
LEILA BREISGAU
FOR THREE WEEKS ONLY - RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW
"Well, I see he shares your flair for the dramatic, Zero," Milly said. "Oh… look… this play's about you and your sister."
"Let me see that, Diamond." Lelouch took the playbill from her. "Full of himself as ever," Lelouch frowned as he quickly scanned it with his eyes
"Ooh, did I touch a nerve?" Milly teased.
"Never mind that," Lelouch replied irritably. "Look here." He pointed to the name at the bottom of the playbill. "Didn't her parents die under suspicious circumstances not that long ago? Your grandfather even held that assembly because there were all of those rumors going around about their deaths."
"That's right!" Kallen chimed in.
"Now she's a Countess… and they say she's the Viceroy's new girlfriend," Milly murmured thoughtfully.
"Something doesn't add up here," Arthur said.
"I agree," Lelouch said. "First her parents die, and then she's dating the Viceroy? I'm by no means experienced in such things, but even I know that the timing is far too convenient. Relationships don't naturally progress so quickly. And then there was what Coach Nu's Shadow said… She thought Clovis was using mental shutdowns to target his rivals."
"There's only one way to find out," Milly said.
"But first we need to find a way inside," Kallen pointed out.
"Leave that to me!" Arthur perked up. "Cats are hunters, so we have a great sense of smell. I sniff out an entrance for us in no time!"
Following his nose, Arthur darted ahead.
"Here we go!" Arthur said, leading them to the side of the building.
"An air vent?" Kallen asked, grimacing. "Isn't that cliche? And are we even going to fit? I know you can get through there easily Tama, but…"
"Of course it will work!" Arthur replied indignantly. "The public's cognition is that, despite all evidence to the contrary, air vents are big enough for humans to crawl through. It'll be a tight squeeze, but you'll be fine!"
"This is so cool!" Milly giggled. "I've always wanted to do this… just like a spy in the movies!"
"I think we're overlooking the obvious problem here," Lelouch said.
"What's that?" Milly asked.
"Didn't any of you pause to wonder why the grille was missing?" He pointed downward, where it lay to the side in the grass.
"Oh…"
"Someone else has already been here and removed it, and I doubt Clovis is accommodating enough to do it for us."
"Another phantom thief?" Milly asked.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Kallen said, glancing at Lelouch.
"We have to be ready for anything," he told them.
There was an awkward silence, but Milly finally broke it. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
"You go through the vent first," Kallen told Lelouch.
"I was planning to do so anyway. Didn't you agree that I was the leader here? If I don't lead, then who will follow?"
"You don't get it, do you, Zero?" Milly asked mischievously. "Queen doesn't want you to have a front-row view of that gorgeous butt of hers, so tight under that rubber suit!"
"W-what are you saying, D-D-Diamond, you p-pervert?!" Kallen sputtered, blushing so furiously that it could even be seen past the lotus petal mask that covered most of her face. Her ineffectual denial only made it clear that was exactly why she wanted him to go first.
Lelouch in turn felt his own cheeks warm slightly, though he forced himself to maintain his composure. Such a display would be unbecoming of Zero.
"Come on, Zero," Milly continued to tease. "Don't pretend you wouldn't enjoy the view. You can go after me, in the vent if you like," she said, bending over and batting her eyes.
Against his will, Lelouch's cheeks reddened further. Milly's thief outfit already left rather little to the imagination in that department…
"T-that's enough, you two!" Kallen managed.
"Aw, spoilsport," Milly frowned.
Lelouch did not wish to cause Kallen any more embarrassment, so he entered the vent without further delay. The vent was cramped, but true to Arthur's prediction, it was still perfectly passable.
"We're in," Arthur murmured.
"Wow… talk about opulent…" Milly murmured. The Palace was sumptuously decorated, with tiled floors and plush red carpets, intricately patterned brocade curtains, crystal chandeliers, and gold leaf prodigally applied to the walls, so that they appeared to glitter. The shimmer of gold was interrupted every so often by a poster advertising the Director's plays, or displaying paintings that he had made while dabbling in other artistic pursuits.
"It just makes me sick," Kallen grumbled. "This is the Viceroy's cognition, while millions of Japanese live in poverty and squalor… not that I'm surprised."
They began sneaking through the Palace as quietly as they could. Unlike the knights of Viletta's Palace, the Shadows here appeared as security guards, ushers, and glamorous actresses wearing low-cut dresses, though their revealed skin seemed to be made of the same dark, ichorous substance that more powerful Shadows absorbed to fuel their transformations. Regardless of what form they took, all of the Shadows in Clovis' Palace wore masks, allowing Lelouch to perform the same trick he had learned back in Villetta's Palace when they had to fight.
"I'll reveal your true form!" he declared with a dramatic flourish as he ripped the mask off one of the actress Shadows' faces.
The Shadow burst, splitting in three and re-forming into a beautiful blue-skinned woman dressed in white with the poise of a dancer, and a pair of tiny red-skinned girls, also dressed in white, but in a Chinese style, with blonde twin tails and gossamer butterfly-like wings. Disoriented by their sudden transformation, the Shadows were vulnerable to attack.
"Persona!" Kallen called out, wasting no time. Suzuka Gozen materialized and cut through one of the red-skinned Shadows, causing the darkness that made up its body to disperse and vanish.
The other Shadows recovered from their surprise, and began to rise, but Lelouch didn't plan to give them the opportunity to do so.
"Jack Frost!" he called, pulling off his own mask.
"Mabufu, hee-ho!" The Persona chuckled merrily.
The temperature of the surrounding air suddenly dropped as ice crystals formed around both the fluttering butterfly-like girl and the blue-skinned dancer. The girl dropped to the floor, once again stunned and now shivering, but while the dancer winced at the ice closed in, the blue-skinned Shadow did not seem to be badly hurt.
"So it's also resistant to ice… just my luck."
The dancer clasped her hands and held them out in front of her, chanting the words of a spell. A magical barrier, white in color, appeared around its fallen ally.
"Diamond, stop it before it can put up any more barriers!" Lelouch ordered. After all, if that Shadow was resistant to ice, then maybe it was weak to fire…
"Got it, Zero! Come, Medea!"
The hooded witch appeared and held out a hand. A fireball appeared and struck the dancer Shadow, knocking it down.
"Your orders, Zero?" Kallen asked as the Black Knights closed in around the fallen Shadow.
"Keep them at gunpoint. I want to try talking to this one." If he could claim her protective powers as his own, he could keep his fellow Black Knights safe.
The dancer looked up at him warily as he approached. "Why don't you just leave me be?"
"I just couldn't," he told her.
"So what's going to happen to me now?"
"What do you want to happen?" he asked casually.
"You mean…" the dancer's cheeks flushed. "It's strange… I wonder if us speaking together like this means that we are somehow connected…"
"It's what we call destiny," he said with a self-assured grin.
The dancer breathed in suddenly. "I…." Suddenly, the aura around her changed from the dark miasma of a Shadow to the brilliant velvet blue of a Persona. "I… just remembered! I'm not a performer in Director Clovis' theater… I live in the sea of humanity's souls. Thank you for freeing me. My name is Apsaras. I'll be part of you from this day forward. Please take care of me."
With that, Apsaras turned into an orb of light, and was drawn into Lelouch's mask.
"You're so smooth, Zero!" Milly fawned. "But I wonder what poor Shirley would think if she knew that her beloved Lulu was flirting with Shadows in the Metaverse."
"I'm not a womanizer," Lelouch frowned. "Why does everyone seem to think that? Still, I can play the part if it helps us achieve our goals."
They continued to work their way through Clovis's Palace. It seemed apparent that the central auditorium would be a major objective of their infiltration, as whatever plays Clovis' psyche was putting on would be performed there, but they couldn't go in through the main entrance. The front lobby was filled with the same horde of Cognitions that they had seen from the outside, all waiting to see the shows, and the place was crawling with Shadows keeping the eager patrons in line. If they tried to access the auditorium that way, Clovis would be immediately alerted to their presence in his Palace, and though they might defeat a few Shadows, they would certainly be swamped by numbers.
Occasionally, they thought they caught glimpses of movement… a blur of purplish-red, or a sudden shadow cast from a gallery above, a faint tinkling sound in its wake. It darted from hiding spot to hiding spot so quickly that they might have been left wondering if they had really seen anything at all, or if they had just imagined it. But they knew better than that.
"Someone is definitely here," Arthur said, sniffing the air again. "Whoever it is, they've been watching us for some time after we entered the Palace, but they haven't chosen to show themselves yet."
"They haven't raised the alarm, so I think it's safe to assume that they're no friend of Clovis," Milly said hopefully.
"Don't assume that just because they're Clovis' foe that they're a friend of ours," Lelouch sternly corrected her. "Don't let your guard falter for a moment, Diamond."
A sense of unease settled upon the Black Knights. They continued their infiltration as planned, but they were ever wary of the unknown phantom thief stalking them through the Palace.
Perhaps they allowed themselves to be too fixated on what was above them, for before long, a security guard unexpectedly rounded a corner behind them.
"Look out!" a female voice said from above.
The Black Knights turned, in time to see a purplish-red streak, with a cascade of light gold following it, descend upon the Shadow.
"Show me who you really are!" she said, landing on the Shadow, and ripping off its mask. The Shadow screeched in surprise, before transforming into a demon with the body of a man, but the hooves, head, and tail of a horse. The Shadow's assailant wasted no time in grabbing and twisting its arm around, before pivoting and throwing it onto the ground, a feat made all the more impressive given the Shadow's superior mass.
"That's Aikido!" Kallen gasped. Clearly, in spite of her lithe frame, the newcomer was a skilled martial artist.
With the Shadow stunned on the ground before her, the Black Knights now had a better look at the thief who had been following them, and had presumably been the one to first break in through the air vent. She was about their age and wearing a purplish-red dress, cut below the shoulders and trimmed with gold at the top, with a pink sash around her waist, to which dangling coins were tied. They softly clinked together as she moved, easily in spite of the red high heels on her feet, which were decorated in front with green stones hanging from their upper edge.
A thin blue ribbon sat at her bust line, subtly drawing attention to assets that were... considerable, while her wrists were adorned with golden bracelets, and a matching choker with teardrop-shaped amethysts dangling from it wrapped around her neck. Crescent-shaped earrings in the same style hung from each earlobe, and she was crowned by a circlet, with another amethyst suspended in the center, which connected on each side to an ornate golden hair clasps, which kept her light blonde hair styled into an elegant pair of egg-shaped buns. The silk gloves on her hands were similarly elegant, and a light pink, matching her sash. Overall, the outfit seemed very much what one might imagine that a Gypsy dancer might wear.
The Black Knights couldn't get a good look at the newcomer's face, as like Kallen's, most of it was covered by a mask. It was styled in the shape of a butterfly, its wings spread wide and extending beyond the edges of her face. There were a pair of holes in the wings for her eyes to peer through, amethyst like her jewelry, and a narrow band of skin from the ridge of her nose to her chin was exposed between the wings, but otherwise her features were completely hidden.
"Persona!" the newcomer called. Even as she pulled off her mask, the blue flames that surrounded her prevented the Black Knights from discerning her features clearly. Yet the Persona that formed was wraithlike, a shimmering semitransparent distortion in the air before her. It seemed to have the shape of a woman, roughly the same size as its summoner, but other than that it could not be clearly identified.
"Psi!"
Magenta, cyan, and yellow swirled in a mesmerizing psychedelic pattern around her foe. It did not seem to cause any real damage, but the fallen shadow recoiled as if it had been struck. A psychokinetic attack?
"It's not going to be down for long!" Kallen called. "Aikido is a defensive martial art - it incapacitates the opponent but avoids causing undue harm to the attacker. And flashy as that spell just was, it wasn't nearly enough to kill that Shadow!"
"Right! Master Cat!"
Arthur's Persona appeared and cast Garu, but the sudden gale only seemed to bother the Shadow slightly more than the newcomer's had.
"Wind is ineffective!"
"Berith!" Lelouch called. The demonic knight appeared and charged, striking the Shadow twice with its lance. It howled in pain and then sprung to its feet, casting its own Garu spell at Arthur.
"What an idiot…" Arthur smirked as Master Cat easily weathered the gale.
"Medea!" Flames erupted and struck the Shadow.
"It's weakening!"
"Finish it off, Suzuka Gozen!"
Kallen's Persona seized the Shadow in its clawed hand, and blasted its head with a lethal burst of radiation. After just a few seconds, the Shadow was no more.
"I must thank you for your assistance," the newcomer said, bowing slightly. "Your powers are every bit as impressive up close as from a distance."
"Well, you did keep that Shadow from sneaking up on us, so I guess that makes us even," Milly laughed good-naturedly.
"Who are you?" Lelouch said, folding his arms as his violet eyes bored into her own, searching for any hint of deception.
"I would ask you the same, but as I cannot answer your question, I will refrain in turn."
So she understood the importance of concealing one's identity… "Very well," he replied. "Let me ask a different question. What do you hope to achieve here?"
"The Viceroy is hiding something. I don't know exactly what, but he's willing to kill in order to protect it. He paints himself as a benevolent ruler, but all he cares about now is his own glory. Be it a weapon or something worse, we can't trust Clovis with it. I'm here to find out what it is and steal or destroy it. No one around him will be safe for as long as he has it."
"And you thought to accomplish this on your own?" Lelouch pressed. "I don't mean to offend you, but your Persona isn't even fully manifested. How did you survive for so long?"
"I can sense Shadows approaching before they can see me, so I'm able to stay out of sight."
Had he heard that correctly?
"You mean… your Persona gives you precognitive or extrasensory abilities?"
She nodded. "They're limited, and I don't know exactly which, but yes." Her eyes became distant for a moment. "I've had this power since I was a young girl, but I never needed to use it... until a few days ago."
That struck Lelouch as highly unusual, but as an accomplished liar himself, he could usually tell when other people were lying. She seemed sincere... but it was also as if she was suffering from some profound sadness, and was holding herself together by a great force of will, so that she wouldn't break down before completing her mission.
"It appears then that our objectives are aligned," he told her after a minute. Her stated goals were more selfless than his own, but he could work with that, and on some level, she intrigued him. "We, the Black Knights, also seek to discover Clovis's secret, his Treasure and the source of his distorted desires at the core of this Palace. If you would lend us your talent, we could navigate through this Palace much more quickly, and in turn we will give you protection. What do you say?" He held out a hand to her.
She thought for a moment, and then took his hand with her own. "I humbly accept."
"Excellent. Now then, while I respect your desire to conceal your true identity, we'll need something to call you by. Do you have a preference?"
"A codename? I heard you use those while I was watching you," she said. "You're Zero, she's Queen, she's Diamond, and the cat is Tama."
"Excuse me? 'The cat?'" Arthur asked irritably.
"I'm sorry, I meant no offense," she said. "I love cats, actually. But as for myself… I have no preference. Whatever name works best for you is fine."
"Gypsy?" Milly suggested excitedly. "Or maybe Amethyst?"
Lelouch had a different idea. "How about Bishop?" While Kallen offered the unparalleled power of a Queen, earning her the spot of the King's right-hand woman, the codename Bishop carried a more mystical connotation, befitting the newcomer's gifts, and could advise the King from his left side.
The newcomer seemed to immediately grasp the symbolism. "Bishop? You play chess?"
He nodded. "I do."
"And you offer me one of the noble pieces so quickly." She shook her head. "I have no love for the nobility, but I appreciate the spirit with which the name was given." She smiled slightly. "Very well, I will be Bishop. The contrast between my attire and my codename will also serve as a fitting misdirection for our opponents. I'll do my best to guide you."
I am thou… thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity
With the birth of the Priestess Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
With Bishop's supernatural insights, they indeed made rapid progress through the Palace, avoiding or ambushing Shadows with preternatural ease. As she had demonstrated earlier, she could put up a fight in a pinch, but her only partially formed Persona was not nearly as powerful or durable as those of the other Black Knights, and so she hung back when possible, focusing on providing support instead of being a combatant herself.
Eventually, they reached a large door, and Bishop raised a hand.
"I sense a powerful presence," she said. "This is the only way forward though, so you'll have to be prepared to fight."
"Thanks for the heads up, Bishop. Is everyone in good shape?"
"I'm fine, Zero," Kallen replied.
"I've got plenty left in me," Arthur nodded.
Milly finished sipping a coffee, made from the beans Rivalz had provided them with. "I'm refreshed and ready to go!"
"Then here goes nothing." Lelouch pushed open the door, and led the Black Knights into the next chamber.
Waiting within for them was none other than the Third Prince, Clovis la Britannia… or more accurately, his Shadow.
Shadow Clovis looked much as his real self did, dressed in his full finery as a Viceroy, but his costume seemed much more flamboyant and richly detailed than when he appeared for state broadcasts in the real world. To his usual ensemble, he had also added a flat, Renaissance-styled cap, with a large feather tucked in the side. His eyes were no longer blue, but like all Shadows, they were a supernatural gold.
But Shadow Clovis was not alone. He had a squad of security guards behind him… and a stunningly beautiful young woman at his side. Even Lelouch was capable of recognizing that, though his mind was disciplined enough to not let it compromise his judgment. He took a moment to assess her, yes, but any number of useful insights could gleaned from someone's personal appearance, and she was as of yet an unknown quantity.
The woman was wearing a revealing light blue evening dress over a svelte hourglass figure that could have belonged to a petite model, but she was still of about average height. The dress partly covered her breasts with slender pieces of fabric that formed a V-shape and preserved her modesty, but from the waist up she was otherwise almost completely bare. There was translucent fabric that wrapped around her lower back and up to her neck in the front, held up by thin diamond-studded straps, but that barely seemed to count. Thankfully, the rest of the woman's dress offered more coverage, falling to the floor and trailing behind her, though a slit was cut up its length to reveal her shapely legs.
Lelouch felt increasingly self-conscious, remembering Milly's ridiculous teasing about his alleged propensity to ogle... But even he couldn't help but notice that his gaze had lingered for slightly longer than intended, and that his assessment was inexplicably less than purely objective. At the same time, he couldn't afford to let her out of his sight, lest she prove hostile. And so, reasserting his self-discipline, he diverted his gaze upward.
One of the first things that he should have noticed was the coronet perched on her head. While not nearly as large or opulent as the crowns that Britannian royalty had once worn, only nobles were allowed to wear coronets, although actually doing so was usually restricted to coronations these days. More commonly, a noble's coronet appeared, albeit only in pictorial form, in heraldry. There, the specific design of the coronet served as a ready identifier of the noble's rank at a glance.
The fact that the woman strictly shouldn't be wearing her coronet aside, Lelouch saw four strawberry leaves on the side facing him, wrought in gold above the engraved band, with five stalks in between them. Identical silvered 'pearls' rested upon the top of each stalk, though that was a misnomer, as Lelouch knew that they weren't really pearls. He also knew that there would be four more golden strawberry leaves, facing away from him, along with another three 'pearls', mounted in the same manner as the others. As for the cap of the coronet, it was fashioned from red velvet, and the base was lined with ermine. Taken together, it meant that the woman was a Countess, and this fact was important enough for an outward manifestation of her rank to materialize from Clovis's subconscious.
Yet Lelouch found his gaze straying downward again. The woman had a voluminous cascade of lustrous, light blonde hair, falling to her hips in the back and styled into a pair of egg-shaped buns on the sides of her head. The coronet had been proof of her noble rank, but even if she hadn't been wearing it, her refined features would have marked her as an aristocrat. Yet at the same time, they were quite different from his image of the typical Britannian noblewoman. Instead of seeing a visage marred by lines of cruelty etched deep into it, he actually found her face every bit as charming as the rest of her... at least until he moved to her eyes.
It wasn't that they were ugly; far from it, they were a sparkling amethyst, a trait ever-prized by the nobility, and large like a doe's. Yet somehow their beauty seemed superficial, almost... soulless, like there was nothing underneath the woman's alluring facade.
Lelouch knew exactly what she was now. Though her face was not concealed behind a mask, she had to be a Cognitive doppelgänger of Bishop. Really, the hairstyle alone was distinctive enough. From what he could tell, their builds were practically identical to each other as well, with the Cognition being perhaps a tad more curvaceous than her real counterpart, though that could be chalked up to the Cognition's revealing outfit simply drawing more attention to its figure. And even the eyes were the same at a glance, though Bishop's actually carried something of substance within them, whereas the Cognition's were simply a shallow imitation of their depth.
For Bishop to appear as a Cognition here, she had to be someone important to the Palace Ruler. And which other Countess would Clovis picture to be at his side but his supposed girlfriend?
In other words, Bishop was Leila Breisgau.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice patrols disappearing?" Shadow Clovis asked. He held a hand to his face. "Why is it only now, after years of tireless effort, that I have riffraff trying to ruin my crowning masterpiece? Look at you." He gestured at the Black Knights. "No sense of coordination between your costumes at all… on your own, I would applaud the effort, but as it is you're a set of walking fashion disasters."
"How petty do you get?" Kallen quietly seethed as she glared at the hated Viceroy.
"As much as I would enjoy singing some lively ballads with you, or a game of chess, I cannot take any chances at this late juncture, so I'm afraid that you'll have to die. What do you think of that, Leila?"
"You're as wise as ever, Director Clovis," Cognitive Leila simpered, adoration in her eyes. Her voice was exactly the same as the real one's, except it was utterly slavish, and contained none of the original's melancholy. "Why worry about them, when you have me? I'd always be happy to sing or match wits with you… ever since you swept me away on the dance floor with your overflowing charm and grace."
"What did I tell you before, Leila?" Shadow Clovis said, gently putting a finger over Cognitive Leila's lips, making her positively giddy as her smile spread wider, barely able to contain her girlish laughter. "Just call me Clovis. You're still too formal at times. Though I'm delighted to see how much you've defrosted since we met. You were so stuffy at first - imagine reading a book at a party! You were missing out on so much! But look at you now!"
"I'm sorry, Clovis. I'm still not used to this yet," Cognitive Leila replied as Shadow Clovis withdrew his finger. "I was lost in grief over my parents' deaths, and then you came like my Prince Charming on a horse. Since then, it's been like a dream come true for me!"
The real Leila at Lelouch's side, alias Bishop, didn't say a word, but she clenched her fists.
"It was as much love at first sight on my part as well," Shadow Clovis told Cognitive Leila. "I've always been an admirer of the female form, it's true. But unlike mere perverts who would degrade women," he said, his voice rising with a self-righteous fury, "abusing them, selling them into prostitution, or portraying them in base pornography, I have always had higher aspirations."
Shadow Clovis clutched his chest with one hand, while extending the other up into the air. "Indeed, I have artistic aspirations! There is something about a beautiful woman that stirs the very soul and can inspire us to be better than we are. One might say the same of other true art, but none quite as poignantly or as timelessly. When you came along… you were like a new Muse to me, enchanting me before I knew it as if by a spell. With you at my side, Leila, I can continue to create lasting works of beauty, transforming this world and becoming the greatest artist it has ever seen! That is my true passion."
"You're so poetic!" Cognitive Leila cried, hugging Shadow Clovis. "And that's so sweet of you! I'll gladly stay by your side, and help you see the world you wish to create come to fruition!"
"I'm gladdened to hear that, Leila," Shadow Clovis said to the Cognition, embracing it himself. He lowered his voice slightly. "This is our secret, of course, but in a little less than three weeks from now, I'm going to publicly ask you to marry me. You'll be the most beautiful bride I could ever dream of, and I know you'll be just picture-perfect as a Royal Princess. Every man will desire you, but I'll be the envy of them all, as you will forever be mine."
"I'd marry you in a heartbeat, my love," Cognitive Leila replied, reaching up to caress Shadow Clovis' cheek. "You're the most handsome, charming, and talented prince I could ask for - even the ones in fairy tales don't compare to you!" She raised herself onto tiptoes, and kissed Shadow Clovis. "But why can't we just get married now, Clovis?"
"Patience, my Muse. Such a momentous occasion deserves the proper staging, so that it might be a spectacle for all to behold."
"You're brilliant as always, Clovis!" Cognitive Leila turned her head toward the assembled Black Knights. "But why are they still here? Can't you take care of them already, my love? I want to be alone with you."
Her lips curled in disgust, Bishop stepped forward, ignoring the Cognition of herself to address Shadow Clovis directly. "I don't care how high-minded you claim your ideals are. You killed my parents, and in less than three weeks from now you're going to be wiping out the Shinjuku Ghetto to build another monument to your vanity, Viceroy."
Kallen froze at those words. As for Shadow Clovis, he regarded Bishop curiously.
"You're not my Leila," he said. "You may sound like her, and you may even look like her under that garish costume, but she wouldn't say such hateful things to me."
"I said those things so that I could get close to you and find out how to enter this Palace, so I could find out what you killed my parents to protect and stop you from harming anyone else."
"No," Shadow Clovis said, his anger flaring. "You are not her! You're some witch who has taken Leila's shape!" He laughed, an off-kilter laugh as the facade of the kindly prince cracked. "But so what? You already know, don't you, my dear?"
"Mother and father were traitors," Cognitive Leila said, still smiling. "They'd been selling secrets to Europia for years. Then they started prying into your Cognitive Psience research."
"Yes! They could have ruined everything for us! That's why they had to die! I'm so glad you understand, Leila."
"I owe it all to your benevolence, Clovis," Cognitive Leila continued, beaming. "By making it look like they died in a car crash, you dispelled the cloud of suspicion that would have hung over my head, and let me inherit their titles. Instead of being the disgraced daughter of traitors, I'll rise to new heights with you as your Muse and Royal Princess! You'd be amazed how quickly that helps one get over their grief."
"Don't you see?" Bishop pressed. "That thing beside you is just a puppet that will agree with anything you say, because it's a part of you! Benevolence? Don't make me laugh. From the very beginning, all you've been concerned with is your own advancement!"
"That's not true!" Shadow Clovis raged. "Everything I've done is to create a fitting memorial for Lelouch and Nunnally! Yet some lack the vision to see the beauty of what I'm trying to create!"
"I never knew them, but I'm sure they'd be horrified by what you've become!"
"Silence! Guards! Kill the one who dares impersonate Leila first!"
The guards advanced, drawing their weapons.
The other Black Knights moved to protect her, but Leila stepped in front of them. "You've done enough. I've seen your strength, and I have faith that you can complete my mission in my stead. I'll buy you whatever time I can to escape this Palace."
"You can't just sacrifice yourself like that!" Lelouch objected.
"You're wasting time! This is something I have to do. As the weakest of us, it's the only way I can help anyone in this situation, and I owe it to my parents. I can't back down from facing him."
"That's not true!" Lelouch countered. "You'll just get yourself killed!"
"Indeed, the thought is absurd." Shadow Clovis smirked, raising a hand to halt the guards. "What can you possibly do to change the outcome of this little tragedy?"
"I-" Leila began.
"You are defenseless," Shadow Clovis sneered. "You may have some skills, to be sure, but you are far out of your depth. It will only take a moment for my men to cut you down, and then your pitiful friends will die. There's pathos in an act of self-sacrifice... But the thought that anything you do can make the slightest bit of a difference turns this play into a farce! Tell me... even if you could overthrow me, what would that accomplish?"
"What?" Leila asked.
"I would simply be replaced by a new Viceroy. Oh, they might lack my charm, but the Empire has no shortage of ruthlessness and ambition. One way or another, Shinjuku, and every ghetto surrounding the Tokyo Settlement will eventually be razed and redeveloped according to the designs of Britannia. There is no place for such ugliness in the world to come."
"You're talking about destroying people's lives like it's nothing!" Leila protested.
"They're just Elevens," Shadow Clovis replied simply.
"You don't even care about the lives of your Britannian citizens! I saw you at that party! You treated the news of those people being killed in that bombing like it was no more than a nuisance!"
"Tell me... does the dramatis personae in a play even give names to the extras? Of course not. They are simply nameless masses that exist only to set the stage for the glory of the real actors. Not everyone can achieve greatness. That's one of the pretty lies that Europia spreads, a lie that infected even my Leila's parents. Only those talent and strength deserve to rule, but democracy pretends that differences in skill and birth don't exist. Who is more suited to rule? One groomed over the course of his entire life for the task, with the best possible education and lineage behind him, or the demagogue, who appeals to the vulgarity of the masses, telling them that it is fine for them to wallow in their own mediocrity and ignorance, dragging everyone else down with them?"
"You speak of demagogues, but you lie to the public every day, and you spend more time on your art than you do actually governing! How is one such as you fit to rule, when you reign so far above the people that you no longer care about the suffering that they endure?"
Shadow Clovis laughed. "You speak as if you understand what the people want. Let's imagine for a moment that you really are my Leila, as you claim to be. You come from a pure Britannian bloodline, that for all of the self-righteous talk of your parents never once married outside of the nobility. You have never wanted for anything in your life in terms of material comforts, and had plenty of leisure time in which you could absorb such seditious ideas. Yet you presume to lecture me on behalf of the masses. Your words are no more than base hypocrisy."
"I-" Leila faltered.
"The truth is, I understand the people far more than you ever will. That's why they dance to my tune, enraptured by my performance. The people need to be led, and they will happily accept lies if it means that they can go about their lives without worrying about anything outside of them. Why do you think most of the politicians in Europia are aristocrats, and the same incumbents are elected time and again, a hereditary nobility like Britannia in all but name, in spite of the apparent contradiction between this and their self-professed egaltiarian principles? The people simply don't care enough to do anything but what they're told, whether by their rulers or the media... it is the freedom not to think for themselves. That is the so-called 'freedom' that my Leila's parents threw their lives away for." He laughed. "And that Europia can even claim to stand for freedom when it holds all of Africa as its colonial possessions is an utter farce. When it comes down to it, Europia is little different than Britannia."
"No... that can't be... I..." Leila struggled to find a rebuttal.
"So farewell, my would-be tragic heroine... your martyrdom will be swift, but sadly no one will remember you when this chapter of history is written. Be honored that I have personally ordered your execution. It is a far greater privilege than a witch like you deserves."
"Is that it?" Lelouch asked as the guards resumed their approach. "You're really going to let him win like that?
"I-"
"There may be a new Viceroy, even if Clovis falls. Some people may be taken in by his lies. Europia may be just as corrupt as he says. But none of that will ever change unless you rise up against it! Whether you're a noble or not makes no difference! You're not alone in this! Stand up and fight with us, for we are the Black Knights!"
"Not a bad performance," Shadow Clovis said, appraising Lelouch. "You have some charisma as a performer, to be sure. But the conclusion of this story has already been written."
"Not yet..." Leila murmured.
"What was that, witch?"
"You're wrong," she said, gathering her resolve. "I will make a difference. I may be weak, but I'll give everything I have if that's what it takes to stop you!"
Suddenly, the air around Leila pulsed like a thunderclap, and she fell to her knees, clutching her head.
"The sentiment is noble, but it's too soon to go martyring yourself," a soothing female voice whispered. "You stand falsely accused of being a witch, as was I. Will you tolerate this injustice?"
"No," Leila whispered, her amethyst eyes momentarily turning gold.
"Then rise up and fully awaken to your true power, dormant within you for too long. Make this prayer: I am thou, and thou art I. Become the maiden of revolution that you were destined to be! Strike back for freedom and your new friends!"
"What are you standing around gaping at her for?" Shadow Clovis panicked. "Kill her already!"
"Arrghhh!" Leila ripped off her mask. At once, a rush of wind swirled around her, throwing back the security guards. In another moment, blue flames danced around her, and her Persona reappeared, shackled to her. But now the Black Knights could clearly see that Leila's Persona was a female knight with long, blonde hair, holding a battle standard emblazoned with the fleur-di-lis.
"Hear me, Jeanne d'Arc!" Leila shouted, her Persona imitating her movements as she thrust her arm forward, as if to signal a charge.
"Leila, we must withdraw," Shadow Clovis said, leading the Cognition by the hand. "Captain, cover our retreat! Leave none of these thieves alive!"
"With pleasure, Director Clovis."
Clovis' captain transformed, turning into a pale, muscular man emerging from a rock glowing with emblems of the Zodiac. He had long golden-blonde hair, a warrior's helm, and held a vicious-looking sacrificial knife.
"I am the Dark Sun. Your blood will serve for the Director to cover a canvas with. Thus in death, you will become beautiful!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kallen and Milly said in unison. Medea took to the air, and launched a volley of fireballs down on the Captain. But not only did they have no effect, the Captain seemed to be absorbing their energy.
"Crap, fire just makes him stronger!"
Suzuka Gozen reached the Captain a moment later, grabbing his helmet and unleashing nuclear fury. But the Captain shrugged off the attack like it was nothing and proceeded to slash across Suzuka Gozen's chest.
"Ugh!" Kallen cried, doubling over as a thin line cut itself across her chest, mirroring the wound Suzuka Gozen had taken. Blood oozed from it, and if not treated quickly it could prove fatal.
"Tama, Queen needs your help!" Lelouch shouted urgently.
"Right! Master Cat!"
Healing energy converged on Kallen, stanching the wound.
"Thanks, Tama," she breathed heavily. She still wasn't in the best shape, but at least she was out of immediate danger. I'll be more careful. That guy packs a punch!"
"Die in the sun's fury! Mafrei!"
With a sweep of his knife, the Captain launched multiple blue bolts of radiation at the Black Knights. They struck their marks. Kallen's Persona was resistant to nuclear attacks, but damaged as she already was, she dropped to her knees with the rest of her teammates, gasping for breath.
"Everyone's health is way too low!" Arthur moaned.
"This isn't some video game, Tama!" Milly shouted back.
"You bastard…" Lelouch snarled at the Captain. "It can't end like this!"
"Help us, Jeanne d'Arc!" Leila prayed, ripping off her mask with a last effort. "Media!"
The female knight appeared and raised her battle standard high.
Healing energy gently rained upon the Black Knights, radiation burns fading as if they had never been there.
"Whoa!" Arthur exclaimed. "Her spells can heal all of us at once?!"
"No fair! That's in another league than what Medea can do!" Milly complained.
"Well, Jeanne d'Arc was made a Saint," Lelouch murmured. "Nicely, done Bishop!" he called a moment later. "Okay everyone! Spread out and probe for a weak spot! Be ready to heal at a moment's notice!"
"You got it, Zero!"
With that, he summoned one of his own Personas. "Genbu!" At each step leading to Genbu's birth, since the demise of Bicorn and then Silky, he had, with Shi and Tsu's guidance, made sure that a certain spell was passed along through the fusion process, and if there was ever a time to use it, it was now.
"Tarunda!"
Most fights were over too quickly for Tarunda to make much of a difference, but now it could determine if the Black Knights lived or died. Red energy closed around the Captain, sapping its strength. Its knife seemed a bit duller and slower, and its Frei spells lost some of their potency. That meant less time had to be spent healing, and more time could be spent wearing the Captain down. The Black Knights could only hold out for so long before their mental energies, necessary for summoning their Personas, were depleted. The quicker they could end the fight, the better, so Lelouch followed up with a casting of Rakunda, softening the Captain up. It still stood stalwartly against most of what they were throwing at it, but at least Arthur's wind spells seemed to have some efficacy, allowing them to chip away at the enemy's vitality. In an unusual change to their usual battle strategy, Kallen was hanging back now, buffing his power with Tarukaja. Discovering that the Captain was resistant to physical attacks in addition to being immune to nuclear spells had rendered most of her own offense ineffective, so Lelouch had redirected her efforts to support.
Until this point in the fight, Leila had also been playing a support role. After rejuvenating the Black Knights with Media, she had begun casting Rakukaja on each of her allies in turn, bolstering their defenses so that, in combination with Lelouch's Tarukaja, the threat that the Captain posed to them decreased greatly. However, satisfied that her allies were in good condition and well-protected, she now turned her attention to offense.
"Jeanne d'Arc! Psi!"
There was the psychedelic swirl of colors again, but this time Leila had a fully formed Persona, and the results were telling. The Captain grabbed his helmet and tumbled to the ground, screeching in agony. "Get out of my head, witch!"
"Now is our time to strike!" Lelouch called. "Commence an all-out attack!"
In the ensuing ball of violence, no one could be quite sure who landed the finishing blow, but a jet of blood burst from the Captain before he exploded into motes of darkness.
With that, Leila fell to her knees once more, exhausted.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"You did well, Bishop," Lelouch told her.
"To think you were Leila this whole time though," Milly said. "I should have recognized you from the news."
"Some rebel group we are", Kallen said, shaking her head. "Two nobles, two ex-nobles, one of whom is an ex-prince, and a cat. And only I'm at all Japanese. What's next, a Britannian princess to round things out?"
"Clovis certainly seems intent on making me a princess," Leila frowned. "But you said one of you is an ex-prince. That would have to be Zero…"
Kallen cursed at her slip of the tongue.
"Since we now know your name, it's only fair that you know mine," Lelouch said after a moment. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia, formerly the Eleventh Prince of Britannia. But these days, I go by Lelouch Lamperouge."
"Clovis is always speaking about you. Did you see what was playing in this Theater? It even shows here, in his cognition. But he said that you died."
"As the saying goes, rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. And I intend to keep it that way."
"But never mind that," Kallen cut in. "You said Clovis plans to destroy Shinjuku?"
Leila nodded. "The demolition, which he'll call an urban renewal, is planned to start in eighteen days from now."
"My friends are in Shinjuku! Not to mention thousands of innocent Japanese who don't have anything to do with the Resistance. They're just trying to survive." She clenched a fist. "We can't let him get away with this!"
"The Viceroy has also asked me to be there when they break ground for his new construction project in Shinjuku," Leila continued. "Based on what we all heard earlier, he's going to ask me to marry him there, or just afterward."
"And if what his Shadow said is any indication, Clovis is definitely behind the killing of the late Lord and Lady von Breisgau," Milly frowned. "Are the rumors true… did they really die of… no… even I shouldn't ask that."
"It's okay," Leila said, grimacing at the memory. "Yes, the rumors are true. My parents really did die of mental shutdowns. But don't ask me to recount any other details about it." She shook her head. "It's just too horrible…"
"Don't worry," Lelouch said. "We'll avenge them… and all of the other people my half brother has killed."
"Killing Clovis won't heal any of the wounds he's left behind," Leila said. "I just don't want him to hurt anyone else."
"That may be so," Lelouch said. "Once I would have just killed him myself for his crimes. But if you think about it, when we steal his heart, we'll inflict what must be a fate worse than death upon Clovis. He'll have to live with the weight of all of his crimes and humble himself before the nation." Lelouch laughed.
"Steal his heart?" Leila asked.
"That's right…" Lelouch said. "You wouldn't know… It's a long story, and we shouldn't linger here too long, lest the Shadows return. We're all pretty tired after that last fight. Can you get away from the Viceroy and meet us at the Omotesandō Mall tomorrow after school?"
"I can do that," she nodded.
"Very well. I'll hold you to that, Bishop."
Days until Shinjuku is Demolished: 17
A/N: I had lots of inspiration for this chapter, so I was able to roll it out right after the last one.
To the reader familiar with the Persona 5 side of the crossover, Clovis' Palace is in many ways similar to Madarame's in its aesthetic and its Deadly Sin. However, I have started to more obviously mix up some of the Shadows. Orobas, the horse demon, originally appeared in the 3rd Palace in P5, but I figured it fit here with the theme of divination and secret knowledge, loosely paralleling Clovis' own illicit research. Mithras originally appears in the 5th Palace of P5, but I wanted a mid-boss that would allow Leila to shine, and Mithras is weak to Psy, while nullifying or absorbing the main attacks of both Kallen and Milly, so I figured he would be a suitable challenge for the Black Knights.
Leila's element is Psy as a loose reference to her canonical Geass power in Akito the Exiled. She also received this power at a young age, but let it reside dormant within her for years, so I mirrored that plot point for her Persona ability too. Narratively, she inherits parts of Ann Takamaki's role in this story, in having to deal with the unwanted attention of an older and more powerful man, but ability-wise she gets the more tactical aspects of Makoto Nijiima (reflecting Leila's own nature as a tactician in canon), as well as her healing and defensive skills while Kallen gets Makoto's Nuclear skills.
Some may be wondering how Jeanne d'Arc matches the thief theme for the initial Personas of the other characters. My response is thus: Jeanne d'Arc was a heroine who inspired an entire nation, leading it to free itself from British rule, and captured imaginations for centuries after her death... truly a thief of hearts. And of course, Leila gets called "The Maid of Orleans" in Akito the Exiled, in clear reference to the historical Jeanne.
As for Jeanne d'Arc's elemental weakness... I think that should be obvious to anyone who knows anything about her historical counterpart's demise...
Leila's thief outfit is the same as the one she wears in Akito the Exiled, with the addition of the butterfly mask. I could elaborate upon how I think the symbolism of the outfit suits her idea of rebellion, but I'll let you guys speculate on that instead. Following one review, I will note however that thief outfits are based on cognition, not necessarily what is practical!
The healing spell Leila uses near the end of the chapter follows the naming convention in Persona games of "Me/Ma" (targets all) + "Dia" (healing), which makes it come out the same as the English word "media". Sorry if this caused any confusion to people who are more familiar with the Code Geass side of things than Persona.
As one last note, I originally intended "Bishop" to be a codename for a different thief. But after thinking about the symbolism of the chess piece and Leila's skills and arcana, I decided it fit better for her.
Edit: Significantly extended Leila's awakening, as I wasn't happy with the buildup originally leading to it.
Minor Edit: I realized that my initial description of Leila omitted any sort of gloves with her thief outfit, which is something that all phantom thieves have in Persona 5. Thus, I have gone back and added a line about that. I also clarified that Leila's dress is more of a purplish-red, rather than just plain red, as that is more consistent with the official art of her in it from Akito the Exiled.
Minor Edit 2: Elaborated slightly further on Cognitive Leila's description, deciding that it would make sense for her to have a coronet, symbolizing her rank (since both Leila's status and appearance are important in Clovis's Cognition). It also serves a parallel to the tiara that Cognitive Ann wore in P5.