The Black Knights and Irregulars silently withdrew soon after Euphemia, Schneizel, and Earl Asplund disappeared into the cave. They were able to get a crude idea of what the ruins within the cave looked like from listening in over the microphones. There was apparently something that looked like a large, sealed stone gate, with an occult symbol carved into it, with a matching symbol on a small pyramidal structure in front of it, which the earl said was likely a control mechanism. But it became clear that there would be little in the way of useful new information; it would take Earl Asplund several hours at minimum before preliminary results could be compiled from his Druid System. They couldn't afford to wait that long. Suzaku's team was sure to finish the "competition" well before them, but if even Nina and Rolo finished before the rest of them, the detective would start to wonder what they had been doing. They had already been fortunate enough that none of the soldiers had noticed them, and it seemed unwise to press their luck further.
They retraced their steps, moving far enough from the Emperor's Palace so that they wouldn't be attacked by Shadows when they re-entered the Metaverse, and bypassed the security perimeter once again. They had to move quickly to make up for lost time and put in a good showing for the competition, working up a sweat in the process, save for Nunnally and Alice, who headed directly back to camp through the Metaverse. But in the end, they managed to scale the mountain and find the required items fast enough to avoid rousing suspicions.
The rest of the day passed, for the most part, uneventfully. They avoided any repeat of Mystery Food X, and everyone agreed that, hiccups aside, it had been an enjoyable island vacation.
Before retiring for the evening, Lelouch slipped away from the camp to meet with Euphemia by the waterfall again, so that he could fill her in on what they had discovered. She was already there when he arrived, which was not entirely unexpected in of itself.
What he didn't expect was to find his half-sister dressed in only her swimsuit, sitting in the pool beneath the waterfall. At first it appeared to be a light pink, almost white two-piece with a frilly edge that was held in place by thin, crisscrossing purple straps, though after a moment he realized it was merely the outer layer, worn over a white bandeau and a matching bikini bottom. Although he couldn't recall if it had been one of the swimsuits sketched in Clovis's Palace, Lelouch was certain that the late Viceroy had been its designer; it had all the hallmarks of Clovis' style.
"Why... are you dressed like that?" he asked.
"It seemed a shame not to enjoy such a beautiful spot while I was here," Euphemia replied, as the faint light of the crescent moon shimmered off the water. "The pool's quite refreshing. I don't mind if you come in."
"I'll pass."
Euphemia frowned. "You never used to have a problem when you, Nunnally, and I would bathe together."
"That's different. We were kids back then."
Euphemia sighed. "I suppose it would seem a bit strange now..." She looked up again. "I wish I could have spent more time with her outside of the onsen, but did Nunnally have fun?"
"Yes, she did, all the more because she could see everyone's faces and enjoy the scenery with them."
Euphemia smiled faintly. "I'm glad to hear that. Though I suppose I'm a bit jealous... you and Nunnally, living the lives of commoners... you have so much freedom and so many friends compared to what I have as a Princess." She shook her head. "Even now, I'm only free to be myself, and really fight for what I believe in while I'm with you in the Metaverse. In the real world, I have to be furtive if I want to meet with you, and I have to wear a mask in front of everyone. Lying to Cornelia is the hardest part."
"Does she suspect you?"
"Cornelia has a bit of a blind spot where I'm involved. She knows I can be a bit rebellious at times, but I think she's in denial as to the extent of that."
"Be careful, Euphy."
"I know," she replied. "Well... I suppose we should get down to business."
Lelouch nodded. "That Distortion was our father's Palace."
"Really?" Euphemia asked, genuine surprise on her face. "I thought it might be a Palace, but I never expected that Father's Palace would be here of all places."
"I have no idea what the last keyword is," Lelouch admitted. "Even if we could enter, the Shadows guarding the Palace are very powerful. Still, did you hear anything while you were with Earl Asplund that might give us a clue?" He paused. "And I meant to ask you this earlier, but how did you get that microphone and transmitter anyway?"
"Jeremiah got it for me, through his contacts in Intelligence," Euphemia explained. She shook her head sadly. "Even after hours of analyzing it with the Druid System, Earl Asplund still hasn't been able to figure out how the mechanism in the ruins was supposed to work. It appears to be inert. He kept saying 'Something's missing...', but he seems no closer to figuring out what it is. There were ancient characters written in the ruins, but they weren't in any language he could recognize either." Her eyes lit up. "There was one thing I noticed though."
"What's that?"
"It may be nothing... but the symbol on the ruins reminded me of Nunnally's mask. They have the same basic shape, almost like a bird in flight." She traced a shape with her fingers. "If it wasn't rocky around the pool, I'd draw it for you. Well, there's always later."
That still didn't tell him what the keyword might be.
"I'm sorry. That didn't help at all, did it?"
"You did well, Euphy," Lelouch told her. "But do keep an eye on Schneizel for us. You know you can't trust him, right? He's probably more dangerous to us than even Cornelia."
Euphemia nodded sadly. "When he said I would do the right thing when the time comes... It felt like he could see right through me."
"Schneizel's always been like that. The worst thing you can do is let him get to you. Then you won't have a chance at all against him."
"Oh, there's one other thing!" Euphemia said. "Earl Asplund told me about the work that girl, Nina, has been doing. I'm going to invite her to meet with me once we return to the Settlement."
"You have no idea how much that will mean to her, Euphy."
"It was the least I could do..." She glanced up at the sky, and then to him. "I'm glad we were able to talk like this, Lelouch." She rose from the pool and stepped out, so that she was next to him.
"Take care, Euphy," he said, before giving her a quick hug. Bathing together was no longer an option, but they were still family, and he could show her affection as such.
"Lelouch...!" she whispered, a blush tinging her cheeks, before a warm smile spread on her face.
Why was she reacting like that? She was his half-sister, not... He pushed that thought from his mind. "And thank you," he told her.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you, Lelouch," she replied, further confusing him even as he felt the power of the Empress grow within him. She waved as she turned to go. "I'll see you and Nunnally later!"
xXx
The next day, they began the trip back to Ashford Academy. After taking the ferry back to Shimoda, they spent some time in the city, as Milly had promised earlier. The group saw Ryosenji Temple together, which was just as boring and filled with Britannian propaganda as he had expected. Fortunately, they later stopped in Kawazu as they started heading back up the Izu Peninsula, and took a short hike to see the Seven Waterfalls, which was a scenic and altogether pleasant excursion. But soon, the Student Council's summer trip had to come to an end.
xXx
"Breaking news: the Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley, announced his resignation this morning and asked that the Emperor pass judgment upon him after confessing to numerous crimes, including murder, torture, and rape. This comes after a calling card was delivered from the group calling itself the Glinda Knights, striking yet again at the heart of the Empire. His Majesty has made no statement as of this time, but Prime Minister and Second Prince Schneizel, who is currently meeting with representatives of the Chinese Federation in Area 11, has promised that these so-called 'Knights' will be captured and brought to justice. We turn it over now to our panel of experts."
"Thank you," one of the talking heads on the TV said. "It's becoming clear that the Glinda Knights are a far greater threat than the Black Knights ever were."
"But the Black Knights murdered Prince Clovis!" another objected.
"The Knights of the Round are under the direct command of His Imperial Majesty. An attack against any one of them is a naked challenge against the Emperor's authority!"
"Besides, I haven't heard much from the Black Knights recently," a third said.
"We have reports that there have been several changes of hearts in criminals around the Tokyo Settlement in the past several days."
"Who cares about some miscreants in Area 11? The Viceroy, Second Princess Cornelia, is more than capable of handling such rabble!"
The broadcast went on, but Lelouch stopped listening to it, switching his attention to the activity on KnightWatch. The forums were ablaze debating the merits of the Glinda Knights vs. the Black Knights, with some users stridently calling for the Black Knights to make another high-profile change of heart, one that would top changing the heart of the so-called "Vampire of Britannia". A number of suggestions were thrown out. Viceroy Cornelia. The Knight of One. First Princess Guinevere de Britannia, disparagingly called (though never to her face), Britannia's Marie Antoinette for her extravagant spending. A few who were in a particularly treasonous mood even demanded that they change Charles zi Britannia's heart.
Lelouch had no issue with raising the stakes. After all, he did need to raise the profile of the Black Knights if they were ever to breach the barriers in Mementos and find its Treasure. What he refused to do was let anonymous individuals on the internet dictate to him the target and timing of his next heist.
Scrolling across the page, he saw that Diethard had posted a new poll, which had already attracted quite a number of comments.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 25.8%
"They murdered Prince Clovis."
"Have you seen the sick stuff Clovis was up to?"
"This is the police's job."
"They're still thieves."
"Tell them, Schneizel!"
"They're allies of justice."
"This is so immature."
"Why hasn't this site been taken down yet?"
"My father was in debt to the Black King. Go Black Knights!"
"It's called the law."
"Justice is on the side of the Glinda Knights if you ask me. They haven't killed anyone."
"What about Medjed?"
Lelouch knew he couldn't read too much into the poll results. It was hardly a scientific poll, and selection bias was a serious concern. On one hand, supporters of the Black Knights would be more motivated to participate. On the other hand, many Japanese people lacked basic Internet access, heavily slanting the sample toward a Britannian audience. At best, he could be cautiously optimistic about those numbers, if they represented Britannians who were disaffected with their government, but in the end, their approval or disapproval of the Black Knights was immaterial.
He would change the public's heart, one way or another.
xXx
"What troubles you, Zero?" Kirihara asked, seated on his platform within Kirihara Industries' Mt. Fuji facility.
"It's come to my attention that Genbu Kurugui was interested in a set of ruins on Kamine Island, ruins that Prince Clovis and now Prince Schneizel are investigating, ruins that the Britannian Emperor seems to be invading other countries to study. Do you know anything about this?"
"I regret to say that I do not," Kirihara replied. "But perhaps I can shed some insight on Genbu's motives."
Lelouch nodded.
"You are of course, intimately familiar with the Invasion of Japan, the decisive conflict of the Second Pacific War," Kirihara said. "But what do you know of the First Pacific War?"
"It was a major war, concluded sixty-five years before the Invasion of Japan," Lelouch recited, "in which Japan suffered a major defeat. The Japanese people lost faith in their Imperial family, and subsequently embraced democratic reforms."
"Correct," Kirihara nodded. "Genbu looked back on this defeat with shame. He wanted Japan to reclaim its status as a mighty nation. He had both vision and ambition, and I knew he would be a strong leader, so I threw my support behind him. With my influence, other powerful interests soon aligned themselves with Genbu, all but ensuring his election as Japan's next Prime Minister."
"The increasing importance of Sakuradite in modern technology was an economic windfall for Japan," Kirihara continued, "and by carefully controlling the distribution of Sakuradite and maintaining Japan's own neutrality, Genbu was able to play the superpowers of Britannia, Europia, and the Chinese Federation against each other, while bringing unprecedented prosperity to Japan. But Genbu was not satisfied, and yearned to still greater heights. There was a time that he believed that an alliance with Britannia would be to his benefit."
Lelouch scowled, recalling how Genbu had tried to make arrangements to marry Nunnally. He knew that all too well.
"Even as relations worsened, Genbu sought to improve his bargaining position. If whatever is in those ruins is important enough to earn the attention of your father, and Genbu realized this, then he would have undoubtedly sought to control it for himself."
"Britannia wouldn't bargain when it could just take the ruins and the sakuradite by force," Lelouch snarled.
"In hindsight, that is plain," Kirihara said. "But you must remember, at the time, the world thought that an attack on Japan and its sakuradite reserves would trigger an all-out war between the superpowers. It was only due to the speed in which Britannia completed its conquest, made possible by its Knightmare Frames, that a larger conflict was avoided. Europia and the Chinese Federation saw no point in contesting Britannia's hold over Japan, provided that they could continue to receive a portion its sakuradite, which Britannia agreed to."
"What then?" Lelouch asked, sensing that there was more to the story.
"As you know, Genbu Kururugi was murdered by what came to be known as a mental shutdown. Militarily, our position was untenable. If it became widely known at the time that their Prime Minister had been killed by an unknown assailant, many Japanese would have fought to the last, resulting in needless death and destruction. We decided that a show of acquiescence was the only viable strategy before us. We would nominally accept Britannia's rule for a time and collaborate with their government, while preserving much of Japan's strength, far more than any other conquered Area, waiting for the right opportunity to strike back And so we put out the story that Genbu Kururugi committed suicide in protest of the rapidly escalating hostilities."
Kirihara shook his head. "Nothing could be further from the truth. Genbu always preferred do-or-die resistance, even if it took every last man, woman, and child in Japan. That is all."
"Thank you, Lord Kirihara."
Kirihara nodded solemnly. "Is there anything else that I can do for you, Zero?"
"Actually, there is. I need to borrow some Knightmare Frames."
"I did not think you used such overt methods, Zero," Kirihara said, regarding him curiously.
"I don't," Lelouch replied. "But for my purposes, it is essential that Britannia believes that the Black Knights are in possession of several Knightmare Frames. You'll get them all back when I'm done."
Kirihara burst out into laughter. "Very well, Zero. I look forward to seeing how you make use of them."
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 25.3%
xXx
The video went viral almost as soon as it was uploaded to KnightWatch, spreading first to other subversive websites and then popular forums, far faster than Britannian authorities could take down its seemingly endless copies. Before long, it could no longer be suppressed or ignored, and was being shown on every major television news outlet throughout Area 11, while those investigating the activities of the Black Knights would spend many hours dissecting it frame by frame.
The video appeared to be shot in the abandoned subway tunnels that stretched under the Tokyo Settlement and outlying ghettos, though the particular segment of tunnel in the video appeared to have been carefully chosen to frustrate attempts to easily determine its exact location. At the same time, it was clear that it was not simply an amateur video, but a professional production, complete with lighting chosen for maximum effect.
"People! Fear us, or rally behind us as you see fit, for we are the Black Knights!" a male voice boomed, modulated in post-production to make the speaker's voice unrecognizable. A moment later, he was illuminated from behind, revealing only the silhouette of a man in a trench coat. "I am Zero, the leader of the Black Knights! Britannia is corrupt, a regime clinging to an obsolete system of nobility and prejudice in which the weak are mercilessly crushed by the strong! So former Viceroy Clovis and the criminal known as the Black King were punished. Yet it matters not whether the oppressor is Britannian, or of any other nationality. All who prey on the innocent shall know our justice! So it was with Medjed, who was no more than a psychotic serial killer. The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed! That is why we are hunting down Prince Clovis' true killer, as well as the murderer of the former Japanese Prime Minister, Genbu Kururugi, whose death was made to look like a suicide! Our justice knows no borders!"
More lights flashed on, revealing the silhouettes of five more figures flanking Zero. The details of their eclectic dress could not be clearly discerned, but they all appeared to be female. Another set of lights revealed that they were standing atop Burais, stocky Knightmare Frames used by better-supplied and organized cells in the resistance, most notably the Japan Liberation Front. Burais had been reverse-engineered and slightly upgraded from Glasgows, and had thicker, bracer-like armor on the arms, which could be used to protect against close-range attacks, in addition to fixed anti-personel machine guns at the bottoms of their chests. Whereas the lighting purposefully hid the identities of the Black Knights, it gave viewers a very good look at the Knightmares. One of the Burais had even been painted red, and the head of the Burai that Zero stood upon had been made to vaguely resemble a samurai helmet, complete with gold-colored horns, while its body had darker grays than the other Burais, and brighter browns.
"Wherever oppressor abuse their power by attacking those who are powerless, we will appear again, no matter how mighty, how formidable our foe may be," Zero continued. He threw out an arm. "Those of you with power, fear us! You shall be made to confess your crimes with your own mouths!" He thew out his other arm, spreading both wide. "Those of you without it, rally behind us! We, the Black Knights, shall be the ones who stand in judgment of this world!"
The video ended there.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 30.6%
xXx
"Nicely done, Zero!" Milly grinned as they gathered at the entrance to Mementos. "Everyone's talking about our video!"
"I couldn't have done it without Diethard and Kirihara."
"Come on, Zero, you totally stole the show!"
"You really were incredible there," Shirley agreed. "But was it really necessary for us to wear replicas of our Metaverse costumes?"
"Diethard had already figured out that I was with the Black Knights, but there was no sense in letting him see the rest of your faces," Lelouch replied. Privately, he knew that the media man was observant enough to guess the identities of 'Bishop' and 'Noire' at the very least, but of his confidants, only Diethard had the expertise needed to ensure the success of their video. "We weren't going to show Diethard the Metaverse either," Lelouch continued, "and have to protect him from Shadows while filming for us. Besides, they add a certain flair, and anything that gets people talking about the video is good for us at the moment."
"Besides, who would imagine us being dressed like this?" Euphemia asked, smiling, but her expression quickly changed to a worried frown. "Cornelia is furious though. Now that she thinks we're armed with Knightmares in the real world, she's likely to crack down even harder than before."
"That was a given," Lelouch replied. "We'll manage, no matter what your sister throws at us."
"At least everyone's talking about us now," Milly said, leaning in. "The dashing yet mysterious phantom thief Zero, leader of the Black Knights, pledges to steal our hearts, assisted by a bevy of shadowy beauties, his lovers by day and femme fatales by night!"
"What?!" the other girls said in unison.
"Did someone actually write that?" Kallen asked, sounding distinctly cross behind her lotus mask.
"Yup! That stuff's mild compared to some of the steamier stuff that's out there now. But don't worry. They've got almost all of the details wrong, so it's not like they're actually writing about you."
"Not helping!"
"People didn't notice me at all," Arthur sighed.
"Well, you were standing near the hem of my dress," Leila replied evenly. "Perverts aside, I'm curious to see the results of Zero's plan."
"Right," Kallen said. "That's something we can agree on."
They headed down the escalators to the platform, and were greeted not by one, but six Cognitive Knightmare Frames, which took the form of Burais. One of them was painted red, and another had horns marking it as a commander unit, just like the Knightmares in the video.
"Exactly as planned," Lelouch smirked. "The old Glasgow was generated by rumors that the resistance was using stolen Knightmares and transporting them through abandoned subway tunnels, which neatly meshed with Mementos. But you only heard that rumor in whispers. Now everyone in the Tokyo Settlement is talking about us again, and they can't help but think to themselves that we have at least six Burais in our possession, so what else appears here but six new Burais?"
"I had every confidence that your plan would work," Leila smiled.
"The red one is yours, Queen," Lelouch said, "and the horned one is mine. I assume the rest of you don't have any preferences about which Knightmares you take?"
"Umm... how many of you have actually piloted a Knightmare?" Shirley asked.
Kallen, Lelouch, and Euphemia raised their hands.
"Oh, okay!" Milly said, raising her own hand after a moment. "I may have taken out the Ganymede for a spin once... I got in so much trouble for that. But in any case, I know all about the theory. My grandfather's company used to build them, after all."
"I make no claims of having my mother's skill," Lelouch said, "But she was the Knight of Six before she married the Emperor, and Diamond's family has her old Knightmare, so I'm already familiar with the basic control layout, and I've used the Ganymede a few times for school events too."
"You've really piloted a Knightmare?" Kallen asked Euphemia. "I don't mean any offense Noire, but that's the last thing people would expect you to be trained in, given how they see you as-"
"A puppet princess," Euphemia finished. "You're not wrong," she sighed. "But it's impossible to be around Cornelia for as long as I have, and not pick up something about Knightmares. She even made sure I received instruction in their basic operation. She'd never allow me to pilot one into an actual battle though, so my training was strictly meant so that I could use one if needed as a last resort, and only then to defend myself until either help could arrive, or I could find a way to escape. Actually, most royalty receives Knightmare training for emergencies these days, but that didn't start until after you were exiled."
He nodded. "In any event, these mass-production models are designed so basically anyone can learn to pilot them, though that comes at the cost of performance." He turned to Kallen. "Queen, would you give the others a crash course on how to operate a Knightmare? After you do that, we can pair everyone up. We'll start with those who haven't touched a Knightmare before riding with those who have some experience. But going forward, we'll aim for having everyone piloting their own Knightmares."
xXx
A short time later, four of the six Burais were zipping along through the twisting tunnels of Mementos, Lelouch in his command Burai, Kallen in her red Knightmare, Shirley with Milly, and Leila and Arthur with Euphemia. There was of course a bit of a learning curve with a new machine, and he wouldn't be doing complex acrobatics like Kallen could with the old Glasgow, but he got a feel for the Burai quickly enough. The new Cognitive Knightmares would serve their purpose. Mementos was simply so vast that they couldn't reasonably expect to make much further progress on foot, and if they could mow down a few Shadows with the Burais, that was all the better. The first objective that had to be met before they could explore Mementos' depths in earnest had been cleared.
Most of the Shadows on the upper levels were effortless for the Black Knights to dispatch now, and could even be eliminated by a quick barrage of machine gun fire, without them ever leaving their Knightmares, but Leila soon cautioned them against doing so. She said the noise of the Knightmares' weaponry was attracting more Shadows, The Reaper among them. Through her quick thinking and extrasensory perception of the paths through the tunnels, she was able to plot a route that not only left The Reaper behind them, but ensured that they wouldn't even cross paths. From then on, they would rely on the tried and tested strategy of ramming Shadows with their Knightmares to stun them, and then finishing them off on foot. It took longer, but the use of smaller arms was much quieter, and the risk of fighting in close quarters was far less than that of another run-in with The Reaper.
Still, they continued to make good time, and soon they had reached the next barrier. It opened for them as they approached, signaling that they had penetrated deep enough into the public's consciousness to be granted access to the next area of the Palace.
"Akzeriyyuth," Leila murmured, as they disembarked from their Knightmares on the platform, a safe area, to rest.
Kallen looked at her quizzically.
"That's the name of this area," Leila explained. "It's inscribed here. Each of the previous areas have had their own names as well. The Paths of Qimranut, Aiyatsubus, Chemdah, and Kaitul have been the previous areas. I think it's in Hebrew, or a corruption thereof. 'Akzeriyyuth' could come from 'Achzariyut', meaning cruelty, so 'Path of Akzeriyyuth' means 'Path of Cruelty.' The others roughly mean the Paths of Materialism, Instability, Greed, and Vice, respectively."
"They taught you all of that in Sunday school?" Milly asked.
Leila shook her head. "It reminds me of the attributes of the Sefirot in Kabbalah, but inverted...the Qliphoth."
"And here I thought you were going to say the Seven Deadly Sins," Milly frowned.
Lelouch thought that he would take Leila's word for it. The finer points of Jewish mysticism, or religious doctrine in general, had never been something he had much interest in, though perhaps it would be worth speaking more about it with her if it related to Mementos.
"Either way, it certainly is getting creepier there further we go down," Euphemia said.
Euphy was right. As they descended to begin navigating the Path of Akzeriyyuth proper, their surroundings took on an eerie purple. A pink mist was kicked up by their Knightmare's landspinners, something that had always been there, but it was now far more noticeable. In spite of its color and insubstantial nature, Lelouch couldn't help but be reminded of blood. And the walls... they were growing more... organic... Pulsing red veins stretched along their lengths, and now there were bone-like protrusions sticking out of the ground and flanking the tracks in some areas, seeming like the ribs of some unknowable creature, all while trains passed by on parallel tracks from time to time, ferrying more shadowy passengers into the depths, producing rushes of wind that sounded like breathing. It was like something out of a bad dream, and Lelouch couldn't help but be silently impressed that their newest member hadn't let the disturbing scenery unnerve her.
"More Shadows ahead," Leila said telepathically.
"Leave this to me, Zero," Kallen radioed, revving up her Knightmare and ramming the Shadow in front of them, which burst into individual combat forms. The other Black Knights quickly joined her on foot. There were now five smaller Shadows before them, the ghoulish demons with feelers instead of eyes and too many teeth that they had seen in Shirley's Palace, still stunned by the impact of Kallen's red Burai. Shirley continued to impress him by wasting no time in confronting them.
"Maid Marian!" she called out, pulling off her mask as her long copper-red hair flowed behind her in the wind produced by the appearance of her Persona. "Makouha!" Blessed light struck four of the Shadows, which seemed to wither in its brilliance, and narrowly missed the fifth.
"Your turn, Zero!" she called out, high-fiving him as she performed a Baton Pass, a skill that she had picked up almost immediately, undoubtedly because of the bond that they already shared. But it was more than that. Shirley's Persona wasn't as powerful as Guren Jigoku was, and nor did it display the same incredible rate of growth, so it was unlikely to ever overtake Kallen's Persona in terms of raw power, but it had started out far stronger upon awakening. Indeed, Maid Marian surpassed any of the Black Knights' Personas in terms of initial power, and she was almost at their level of combat ability already, in spite of having very little experience. Could it be that Shirley's deep acceptance of her own flaws had produced an exceptionally strong Persona? Then again, Tsu had said that Shirley had "a remarkably high base level of ability as a Persona-user", so it was likely that the potential had been hidden within her all along.
"Right!" he called back, before the opportunity to strike could slip away. "Isis!" A burst of flame knocked the last Shadow to its knees. "Commence an all-out attack!"
Shirley showed no hesitation in joining the others in the brawl as they pummeled the helpless Shadows. The words of her Shadow echoed in his mind. "I'll kill anyone who would harm my Lulu!" That gentle Shirley could accept that such murderous impulses were a part of her made her frightening in battle. She had enough self-control to avoid being possessed by her own Shadow, as previous Palace Rulers had been, and he was certain that she would only commit violence against another human being under duress... But these Shadows were clearly inhuman, and Shirley seemed an angel of death as she struck them down.
As they continued along the Path of Akzeriyyuth, Lelouch couldn't help but notice that Kallen was fighting with renewed vigor, ripping into formations of enemy Shadows with ever-increasing levels of brutality. At the same time, she showed new levels of coordination with him, creating opportunities that he could exploit before promptly performing Baton Passes to him, and exploiting the opportunities that he created in turn. She seemed as eager to prove herself as Shirley did.
And then he understood. Consciously or not, Kallen and Shirley were competing with each other. Kallen didn't want to be outdone by a newcomer and her rival, while Shirley wanted to show him that she could be as valuable a member of the Black Knights as Kallen.
Both girls had greater physical prowess than the other Black Knights, and mixed magic into their fighting styles. Kallen was a bruiser would would charge into the midst of the enemy, annihilating them with Guren Jigoku's nuclear fury. Shirley skirted the edges of enemy formations, as her Persona lacked the endurance as Guren Jigoku, but her movements were like that of a dancer, finishing off enemies with surgical strikes of her sword after Maid Marian had weakened them from range, bombarding the Shadows with arrows or holy light. He realized now that Shirley's sword was an estoc, superficially similar to a rapier, also a thrusting weapon, but designed to penetrate armor, making it far more deadly. When an enemy got too close, Shirley would perform a backward flip, in an impressive display of gymnastic ability, though he supposed that it wasn't unusual for Ashford's star swimmer to have some background in gymnastics, and like all of them, her Persona made feats of strength and agility exceeding anything she could do in the real world possible. Not to be outdone, Kallen pushed back Shadows with an acrobatic kick. Kallen couldn't match Shirley in terms of support, as Shirley quickly demonstrated the ability to cure various unusual conditions, in addition to dispelling enhancements upon the enemy and impairments upon her allies. But Kallen and Guren Jigoku were able to withstand an enormous amount of punishment, indirectly protecting her allies as she kept the Shadows busy, and occasionally cast a spell that increased everyone's offensive abilities.
But as he continued to watch them, Lelouch noticed that something else was happening. It was subtle, but Kallen started incorporating elements of Shirley's fighting style into her own, becoming more efficient as she did so, and as Shirley grew more confident in her ability to fight, she became more aggressive and daring, pushing further into the fray, as if in imitation of Kallen. It was as if Kallen and Shirley were slowly synchronizing with each other, no longer so much competing against each other, but following each other's lead, becoming two halves of a dance that ended only in death for any Shadows unlucky enough to be standing between them. Any Shadows that dared to threaten Lelouch met an especially swift and violent demise at their hands. Even Milly could only look on in amazement.
"You know, you're actually pretty good," Kallen told Shirley as they reached the platform at the bottom of Akzeriyyuth. "For a newbie, anyway."
"You think so?" Shirley asked, aglow from exertion. "I felt like I could barely keep up with you."
"Anyone would be hard-pressed to keep up with Queen," Lelouch told her. "That you were even able to do so at all, especially on your first real trip into Mementos, is something you should be proud of, Dame."
Shirley smiled. "Thank you, Zero. I'm glad I didn't embarrass myself in front of you."
Kallen looked like she was going to say something, but she thought better of it, and remained silent.
"Well, we've reached the next barrier," Arthur said. "Let's check it out."
The barrier was just like all of the others before it, but it refused to budge as they approached.
"Aw..." Milly pouted. "You'd think with how much of a buzz we created we'd be able to keep going."
"It's just that, a buzz," Leila said. "It's not enough to get us any deeper in their consciousness for now, unless we back up our leader's' claims with another high-profile change of heart."
"I think we're all getting pretty tired," Euphemia said. "Even if we could go further, it would probably be best for all of us to rest first."
Lelouch nodded.
"Let us know when you find a suitable candidate for our next target," Leila told him. "And remember," she said, ostensibly speaking more for Shirley's benefit now, though her tone contained an implied warning, "the choice has to be unanimous."
"I will," he replied.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 33.2%
xXx
"The Prime Minister, Second Prince Schneizel, has wrapped up preliminary negotiations with the representative of the Chinese Federation here in Area 11, Consul-General Gao Hai," the news reported. "It showed a picture of an effeminate looking, pale-skinned man with markings painted on his face, contrasted with that of Prince Schneizel, whom most Britannians considered to be quite handsome. Lelouch suspected that the picture of the Chinese Consul-General might have been subtly edited to make him look even worse in comparison. Britannian racism could be truly petty at times. Then again, there probably was no shortage of already-unflattering pictures of Gao Hai they could just use instead.
"Gao Hai is one of eight High Eunuchs who advise the Empress of the Chinese Federation and are empowered to act on her behalf during her minority," the broadcast continued. "If approved by the other High Eunuchs in the Chinese Federation's capital of Luoyang, Prince Schneizel's deal would mark an unprecedented alliance between the two superpowers that could redefine global politics, joining the Imperial Family of Britannia to that of China..."
Suddenly, the broadcast had Lelouch's full attention. If a Britannian prince were to marry the Empress of China, then nearly half of the world's population would effectively fall under Britannia's dominion overnight. There was no way that he could let such an alliance come to pass.
But what if one of the parties involved had a change of heart?
He could rule out Schneizel. As far as he knew, Schneizel did not have such a strong connection to Area 11 that they could reasonably expect to find his Palace there. Finding the Emperor's Palace on Kamine Island had already been a fluke as it was. He would have to sabotage the proceedings on the side of the Chinese Federation. But the High Eunuchs in Luoyang were also untouchable, as he had no way of traveling there without arousing suspicion. That left only one possible option, Gao Hai. It could be reasonably assumed that Gao Hai's Palace, if he had one, would be located at the Chinese Federation Consulate, which was conveniently enough near the site where Babel Tower had been under construction.
Actually, Lelouch didn't have to assume at all.
"Gao Hai, Chinese Federation Consulate."
The Metnav returned the familiar prompt for the last keyword, along with the warning that Gao Hai's Palace was not currently within Navigation range, and that he would need to be closer to enter it.
Gao Hai had a Palace. Excellent. Turning on his laptop, Lelouch began to research Gao Hai, searching for the keyword describing the Distortion and preparing his case for targeting the High Eunuch to the other Black Knights.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 34.4%
A/N:
This chapter went pretty smoothly, with relatively minor edits. Normally, Gao Hai and the arranged marriage plot would have appeared after Code Geass' time skip. However, the parallel between it and Persona 5's fifth Palace was too much for me to ignore, and the High Eunuchs, Gao Hai included, really are perfect as Palace Rulers, so I moved things up accordingly. That said, Gao Hai's Palace is NOT going to be a spaceport. It also occurs to me we're considerably ahead of schedule as far as the fifth Palace is concerned. In P5, the fifth Palace started in mid-September and went into October, but we're now around the start of August in this story. However, any diplomatic agreement of this scale will take time to finalize, as well as organizing and throwing a wedding celebration grand enough for such a momentous occasion, so I think we can have a rather generous deadline, which the Black Knights may very well need, for reasons which will become clear soon.
Edit: It was pointed out to me that Lelouch has used the Ganymede on occasion for school events, so made some minor edits to the appropriate part of the chapter.
As a further edit, finding some stats on the populations of the superpowers, Britannia's population in the first season is given as 540 million, Europia's as 940 million, and the Chinese Federation's population as about 1.57 billion one year later, which means that it accounts for about half of the global population, rather than a third. Remember, Code Geass's 2017 a.t.b. corresponds to an alternate 1963, so even with their more advanced technology thanks to sakuradite, the population has not yet gotten quite as large as our world today.