"Gao Hai, Consul General of the Chinese Federation to Area 11, and one of eight High Eunuchs, who are the de facto rulers of the Chinese Federation." Lelouch passed around a pair of pictures, one of Gao Hai, the other of the High Eunuchs together, to his fellow Black Knights, gathered at the entrance to Mementos. "Originally advisors and heads of China's imperial bureaucracy, the current Empress' parents died when she was too young to rule, and so they assumed full power over the Chinese Federation in her name."
"It wouldn't be the first time eunuchs have risen to power in China," Milly said. "You just need to look at the Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
Lelouch took out a map and pointed to a dot on it. "They live in opulence in the Vermilion Forbidden City, at heart of their capital of Luoyang, near where the Luo River meets the Yellow River. In the meantime, the common people of China live in perpetual and often abject poverty." He swept his hand across the map. "Their rule extends north to Mongolia, south to Burma and Cambodia, and west to India, which is currently under military occupation and a hotbed of movements seeking independence from the Chinese Federation."
"As things stand," Lelouch continued, "the three superpowers have maintained a relative state of equilibirum. Of them, Britannia has held the upper hand for the last seven years, ever since it took over Japan and gained control of most of the world's sakuradite reserves with it, which it could cut off to either of its rivals at any time, though it has thus far refrained from doing so, as that would only be seen as the prelude to a full-scale war between them. Britannia controls a third of the world, but actually has the smallest population of the three superpowers, and benefits mainly from its strong martial traditions and technological superiority, as well as two of the most talented leaders in recent times, Second Prince Schneizel and Third Princess Cornelia." Kallen grumbled at this this, but he responded, "It's true. Cornelia is known as the Goddess of Victory or the Witch of Britannia for a reason, and Schneizel is no less dangerous. If anything, he's more dangerous, for his skill both as a diplomat and as a strategist."
Leila nodded. "Clovis spoke highly of Schneizel's skill at chess, and I met him in person once, while attending the state funeral in Pendragon. His intelligence was clear even then, and..." she faltered. "It felt like he could see right through me."
Resuming his presentation, Lelouch said, "Europia is the largest of the superpowers in terms of territory, controlling all of Europe, Africa, and Russia, and is home to 940 million to Britannia's 540 million, but is currently paralyzed by indecisive leadership and partisan gridlock. As for the Chinese Federation, it is smallest of the superpowers, but by far the most densely populated, with 1.57 billion living under its rule. If the treaty that Gao Hai and Prince Schneizel have negotiated together comes into effect, joining the Chinese Federation and Britannia by the marriage of their Empress Tianzi to Crown Prince Odysseus eu Britannia, the combined state would control over two thirds of the planet's population. No other power would be able to stand up against their joint military and economic power for long, assuring their eventual domination of the entire world."
"Talk about raising the stakes," Milly said. "That's a lot to take in."
"Um, there's one thing I don't get about this, Zero," Shirley said, frowning.
"What is it, Dame?"
"I thought the Chinese Federation was supposed to be communist. When Prince Clovis died, and we had to watch his state funeral, didn't the Emperor criticize them for their 'equal distribution of wealth'? And that's what all of our textbooks say too. But they have an Empress, courtiers, and from what you just told us, it sounds like their distribution of wealth is even more unequal than Britannia's. I mean, I know that a lot of people are hungry in the ghettos, and we treat Numbers horribly in general, and nothing excuses that. Yet the average Britannian, even commoners, enjoys a high standard of living. But they're starving their own people!"
"First mistake," Kallen interjected, "never trust Britannian textbooks. Don't tell me you actually believed all that crap in them. They get the most basic things about history wrong, and it's on purpose. You have no idea how reading those books makes me feel like I'm losing brain cells by the second, do you? Yet I have to force it all down anyway because no one minds sickly Kallen Stadtfeld's absences when she's consistently near the top of her class."
"My father is hardly an impartial source of information either," Lelouch added. He frowned. "But I have to admit, what he said isn't entirely false either."
"What do you mean?" Shirley asked, looking confused.
"The Chinese Federation's distribution of wealth is for the most part equal, in the sense that almost everyone who isn't the High Eunuchs or in a small circle of their supporters is equally poor. Everyone who does the same job is paid the same, on paper at least, though it's usually barely enough for them to get by. That of course doesn't account for rampant corruption or the black markets that have sprung up everywhere, allowing a few to have a much higher income than their positions would officially suggest. Everyone nominally works for the benefit of the Federation as a whole, but their whole system has become the world's most extreme plutocracy." He shook his head. "No, 'kleptocracy' is a better term. Still, the people of the Chinese Federation aren't 'lazy dullards', no matter what my father says. If they fail to meet their quotas, which are ever rising, the reprisals ordered by the High Eunuchs can be severe. They're doing their best simply to survive."
"I see," Shirley said softly. "That still doesn't explain why they have an Empress though."
"Officially, the Empress is the living symbol of the Chinese Federation," Leila explained, "and consequently the office was retained for its prestige, religious significance, and to represent the heritage of the Chinese people. The position itself became largely ceremonial, even before High Eunuchs assumed complete control of the state. The name Tianzi is in fact a title, meaning the 'Son of Heaven', though it can be considered more loosely as the 'Child of Heaven'. Does that help?"
"Yes, it does," Shirley nodded.
"Well, I have to agree that they're at least as bad as the Black King," Euphemia said. She frowned. "No, they're far worse. At least the Black King didn't rule an entire country."
"They sound like they're all rats to me," Arthur snarled. "I have no objections if you want to change one of their hearts."
"But will changing Gao Hai's heart solve anything?" Euphemia asked worriedly. "Even if we change his heart, there are seven other High Eunuchs, whose hearts will be just as distorted as before. They might strip him of his position, but they'll just disavow anything he confesses to that implicates them."
"It's a long shot," Lelouch admitted. "But I don't see any other way of stopping this alliance from happening. I'm not so naive to hope that simply by discrediting Gao Hai, we can make the agreement fall apart."
"Then what is your plan, brother?"
"The disavowal of the High Eunuchs will mean nothing if the people of the Chinese Federation rise up against them. They've already mistreated their own people so badly that the entire nation is a powder keg waiting for the right spark to go off."
Euphemia gasped. "But... we've never caused an entire country to rise up before... A lot of innocent people are going to die if we do this, Zero. The High Eunuchs will probably think nothing of crushing an uprising, and will slaughter any protesters in droves! Do you realize that?"
"I do. But I can see no other option. As I've always said, you can't change the world without getting your hands dirty. Besides, we can be certain that even more innocents will die and suffer in all but slavery if Britannia allowed to reign supreme. And if a heist like this doesn't let us pass the next barrier in Mementos, then nothing will."
"How very cynical," Leila frowned. She shook her head sadly. "But I can't say that you're wrong. Of course, we have to put it to a vote... and it must be unanimous."
"Indeed," Lelouch replied. "All in favor?"
He saw Kallen and Arthur raise their hands (or in Arthur's case, his paw) immediately, followed by Leila, and then Shirley. Milly grimaced, evidently realizing just how deadly serious pursuing Gao Hai would be, and looked quite surprised that Shirley had voted in favor of the motion, but put up her hand slowly as well.
"He's exactly the sort of person we said we would bring justice to... I don't want people to be hurt... but the longer he goes without a change of heart... the cost of not acting will grow... If we turn away from this... what are we good for? We've come too far to turn back now." Milly's voice was strained with nervous laughter.
That left Euphemia.
"None of us will think less of you if you vote no," Lelouch told her. "That's your right as a fellow Black Knight. Any diplomatic agreement of this importance will take time to ratify, to say nothing of planning a suitable ceremony to mark the occasion. Though I can't think of one right now, we can still look for another way. We have time. This doesn't have to be our final decision either."
"I want to find another way..." Euphemia whispered. "Horrible as the High Eunuchs are... I don't want to have so many peoples' deaths on my conscience... I can't agree to change his heart if that's going to be the likely outcome. But..." she took a deep breath. "We can still investigate Gao Hai's Palace. Whether we change his heart or not, doing so would give us insight into how he thinks, and might help us find another way to deal with this situation. And if we want to do so, it's probably best to start looking sooner rather than later." She looked at him, almost pleadingly. "Is that okay, Zero?"
"Of course, Noire," Lelouch reassured her.
"Then I vote yes," Euphemia said, "on entering Gao Hai's Palace. That at least we can all agree on." She paused, and looked anxious again. "But if you thought Cornelia was mad after our video... Her wrath will be terrible if we cause this alliance to fail, Zero. She won't care at all what happens to Gao Hai himself one way or the other, but Schneizel or our father will demand that she put a stop to our interference with the Empire's business once and for all, with dire consequences if she doesn't succeed. And so she won't rest until all of us are killed or captured."
That put a dreadful sense of finality on things.
"Yes..." Lelouch nodded solemnly. "That is exactly what Cornelia would do under such circumstances." And though he did not say it out loud, that went doubly if the "dire consequences" included anything bad happening to Euphy.
Turning back to the rest of the Black Knights. "Knowing that, does everyone still want to proceed?"
There was a heavy silence, but they all nodded.
"It's unanimous then," Lelouch said.
"We'll need to determine the keywords to enter his Palace," Leila said.
"There's no need," Lelouch replied, holding out the Metaverse Navigator. "His keywords were surprisingly easy to deduce."
"Gao Hai. Chinese Federation Consulate. Forbidden City," Leila read. "You didn't happen to sneak in there without us again, did you?"
Lelouch shook his head. "After how you all gave me an earful last time? Of course not. But just as the Vermilion Forbidden City is the home of the Empress and the seat of the Chinese Federation's power, Gao Hai sees his consulate as the seat of his own power, which he reigns supreme over, away from the scheming of his fellow High Eunuchs. The consulate itself is a walled compound, much like the actual Vermilion Forbidden City, so its easy to see how his Cognition could distort it into something of a much grander scale."
"We have a way in," Kallen said. "What are we waiting for?"
xXx
"The whole place looks like a fortress," Milly murmured, as the Black Knights observed the consulate from the nearest observation platform that they could find, conducting preliminary reconnaissance of the Palace's real-world equivalent before re-entering the Metaverse. It was ringed on all sides by a red wall, the only entrances commanded by large gatehouses with gray roofs in the Chinese style. Beyond the gatehouses, there was a large plaza on each side, flanked by ancillary structures along their axes. There was only one approach to the main compound, which was on an embankment surrounded by a wide moat, on each side of the plaza. A pair of causeways stretched across the moat, perpendicular to the approaches to the main compound, each connecting to smaller buildings with white walls, red roofs, and a square open-air courtyard, which were also surrounded by their own smaller moats. As for the main compound itself, its red walls dwarfed the outer walls, and it was protected by a guard tower at each corner.
"If the real consulate is so well-defended, I can only imagine how tight the security around the Palace will be," Arthur frowned.
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Kallen asked.
"Of course not."
"What about you?" she asked, turning to Shirley.
"My choice was made from the moment I joined the Black Knights," she replied.
Lelouch took out his phone and activated the Metaverse Navigator.
"Destination confirmed," the app announced. "Forbidden City of Greed. Beginning navigation."
The world twisted around them, pulling them into the High Eunuch's distorted Cognition. Where they stood on the observation platform was far enough outside the Palace proper that their clothes did not change into their thief suits immediately. But that hardly registered as they took in the sight of the Forbidden City of Greed.
"No way..." Shirley gasped. She had been in her own Palace and Mementos before, but she hadn't been in any state to properly appreciate the scale of the former, while the fact that Mementos was underground prevented anyone from getting a feel for how big it really was. But Gao Hai's Palace utterly dwarfed her Palace. Even the Black King's Resort of Gluttony could have easily fit within it several times over, for the Chinese Federation Consulate had stretched wide in all directions, no longer merely a compound but a walled city in its own right. There were still plazas, but now there were entire districts, geometrically arranged, criss-crossed by alleys and avenues, and the moat had become a network of canals radiating from the central compound, which was now at least as large as the real-world consulate had been in its entirety. Yet instead of the red color scheme that had dominated the consulate, the central parts of the Palace and the outer walls were glittering gold.
"To create such a large Palace..." Euphemia whispered. "Just how twisted is his heart?"
"And I thought it looked imposing before," Milly frowned. "How are we going to get in?" She looked up after a moment. "Can we use that trick from when we were escaping the collapse of the Black King's Palace?"
"Do you mean flying?" Kallen asked. "Our Personas can't stay continuously materialized for long. We'd have to land before we even got to the central Palace compound, or risk falling to our deaths."
"Even if we could fly all the way in, it wouldn't work," Lelouch said. "We'd be spotted over the city almost immediately, and the Palace would then be put on high alert, frustrating any attempt at infiltration."
"We're too far away for me to be able to analyze the Palace's outer defenses in detail, let alone find a weak spot in them for us to exploit," Leila spoke up. "We need to get closer."
"Just not so close that the guards identify us as being suspicious," Arthur added.
"Of course."
xXx
Lelouch was surprised by how close they were able to get to the Palace, all without their thief suits appearing. Evidently, Gao Hai saw them as beneath his notice, little more than harmless tourists who might occasionally pose to take photos outside of his consulate... for now. Recalling what he had read about protocol at the actual Vermilion Forbidden City, only those who received an invitation from certain high-ranking officials, the High Eunuchs themselves included, were allowed to enter. He suspected that as soon as they actually attempted to enter Forbidden City of Greed without such an invitation, Gao Hai's Cognition would mark them as intruders and hence threats, causing their clothes to change.
Still, that left them with a problem. Even after spending a considerable amount of time searching, they had yet to find a viable means of entering the Forbidden City of Greed proper. Milly had suggested that they might be able to find a large sewer grate, just as they had been able to infiltrate Clovis' Palace through its oversized ventilation system, but it was to no avail. They quickly discovered that the Palace instead used a multitude of gargoyles near the bottoms of its walls, carved in the shape of dragons, to drain its wastewater, and the holes from which the dirty water flowed were far too small for any of them, even Arthur, to crawl through.
"There has to be a way in," Arthur sighed.
"We have to come up with one soon," Kallen said, eying the battlements of the outer wall warily. Cognitions in the shape of terracotta soldiers could be seen on patrol, and there were floating, sinuous shapes behind them. "They'll be bound to notice if we keep pacing back and forth in front of the city for too much longer."
"If Gao Hai has Cognitions of the soldiers, then wouldn't he have Cognitions of the serving staff as well?" Lelouch asked.
"Zero... you're not suggesting... doing that again?" Kallen, suddenly seeming much warier of him than the soldiers.
Shirley only looked confused at why Kallen had become so defensive.
"You weren't with us on any previous heist, so you wouldn't know," Milly explained with a mischievous smile. "The first time we tried sneaking into the Palace before yours, Zero had all of us girls dress up in bunny suits."
"Huh?"
"It was the uniform of the female waiting staff. Don't blame me for it; those outfits were all products of the Black King's Cognition. For the record, I dressed myself accordingly as a valet."
"As if that's at all fair!" Kallen said, putting her hands on her hips. "At least your costume wasn't demeaning, Zero!"
"That's right!" Euphemia added quickly, her cheeks flushing.
"Aw, don't be like that, Queen!" Milly pouted. "You looked great! Dame here really missed out! I bet she would have looked really cute and sexy in one too!"
"Madam Pr- um... I mean... Diamond!" Shirley spluttered.
"In any case, all the servants within the real Vermilion Forbidden City are either female or lesser eunuchs," Leila said. "Arthur might be able to slip by unseen, but our leader is neither. They wouldn't let him through with us if we were to attempt such a ruse. Moreover, servants in the Forbidden City are very carefully selected. We can't just walk in, sign a few papers, and be accepted as part of the serving staff."
"The soldiers are male, aren't they?" Milly asked.
"They are shaped as such," Leila replied. "Whether the term is applicable to animated terracotta statues is another matter entirely. I fail to see how disguising ourselves as soldiers will help at all. Firstly-"
"Bishop, you misunderstand me," Milly sighed. "Most males, and especially soldiers, are the hot-blooded type. They see a pretty girl, and some of those higher brain functions shut down, while more primitive parts take over. They'll be eager to please her. If they see six pretty girls... then we're home free."
"That's an overgeneralization," Lelouch objected. "And that's assuming that they don't try to take advantage of you instead."
"Yes, they might try," Milly conceded. "But with my plan, they won't suspect that we're more than capable of fighting back until it's too late for them. And what I said still holds true; they'll let us through the gate in the first place because they'll let their desires overpower their reason, on account of our feminine charms."
"You also said six girls," Lelouch continued. "But there are only five of you." Then, with sudden horror, he realized what Milly had meant. "No. You can't be serious!"
"Time to take one for the team, Zero!" Milly cackled wickedly.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 35.2%
xXx
"I feel completely ridiculous," Lelouch grumbled as they gathered outside the Palace again three days later.
"Quit complaining, Zero," Kallen said. "It's about time you feel as ridiculous as the rest of us do in these outfits." She grimaced. "I can't believe we're doing this again. I'm not sure what's worse, this or those bunny girl costumes..."
"Hold still, Zero!" Shirley ordered. "It's not easy to attach these hair extensions properly if you're moving! Do you want to get into the Palace or not?"
Lelouch sighed. "You win, Dame." He glared at Milly. "Don't be getting any ideas of holding an event like this again at Ashford, Diamond."
"Who, me? I would never dream of it," Milly grinned. She was lying, of course. Milly loved events like this. The cross-dressing festival was a perennial favorite of hers.
"I'm sure Dame will make you look purr-fect," Arthur smirked.
"Was the pun really necessary, Tama? You're still on thin ice after you ratted us out at the onsen."
Arthur frowned. "And you aren't above such puns in turn. I already said I'm sorry for that."
"All done, Zero!" Shirley said, draping a long white veil over his hair so no one would be able to get close enough to notice the extensions from behind. She then stepped back to inspect her handiwork. "Wow, Zero... you're really pretty as a girl... well, dressed like one, anyway."
"Maybe you have more in common than your roommate than we all thought..." Milly teased.
"What? Diamond, I'm not like Sophie, I don't swing that way!" Shirley said, blushing furiously.
"But what if our darling Lulu was born a beautiful 'Luluko' instead?"
"That's-"
While Shirley was busy getting flustered, Lelouch silently appraised the girl's costumes. Reluctantly accepting Milly's suggestion, they had dressed themselves as dancers. Simply being or looking female wasn't enough to get them in the door; they needed an excuse as to why they would seek to enter the Forbidden City of Greed, and one that would show off enough of their charms to override the guards' better judgment. Diethard had found them tailors for high-quality costumes, who could be trusted not to talk, though the names or their clients nor the true purpose of the outfits was disclosed to them, simply sets of measurements and generous payments to see the costumes rushed to completion. In all likelihood, the tailors would simply assume that the costumes were for a party or nobles having some sort of tryst, which was good enough for them.
Something like this would never work if someone like Viceroy Cornelia was the Palace Ruler, as she was known for demanding competence and keeping her men highly disciplined, but the High Eunuchs had not only created but thrived in a court filled with decadence and corruption. That Cognition extending to lax standards among Gao Hai's guards was the only reason why Milly's plan had a chance of succeeding at all, and Gao Hai certainly couldn't think very highly of his own men if they appeared as terracotta warriors instead of human soldiers.
Leila simply wore a reproduction of her thief suit, sans her mask, recycling the costume from the video that they had filmed with Diethard, as it already gave her the appearance of an elegant gypsy dancer. Lelouch had largely borrowed from Leila's look when it came to choosing a design for his disguise, vetoing Milly's suggestion that he wear something more revealing. It was enough of an indignity for him as it was to have to crossdress, and a revealing costume would not only heighten his embarrassment, but increase the chances of the guards noticing that he was in fact a man. The neckline of his dress did not plunge nearly as low as Leila's did, as his chest was of course flat, in stark contrast to Leila's buxom bustline. His dress also covered his shoulders, and upper arms, with only a small cut for a V-neck as a concession to Milly's demand, and was mostly violet and dark blue, in further contrast to Leila's red and pink. His design also added translucent fabric over his lower arms, and a small choker to hide his Adam's apple.
He noticed that his gaze was lingering on Leila longer than it should. Telling himself that it was because he was overanalyzing his costume next to hers, he glanced over to Milly instead. She had of course chosen a far more revealing costume for herself, a light blue bellydancer getup, though with the added pieces of sheer cloth that sheathed her arms and fell down between her legs and over her bottom, swirling around as she walked, it actually showed slightly less skin than her bikini on the summer trip.
Euphemia's costume was more elaborate, pink like her hair, with pale orange sleeves and close-fitting pants under a long, flowing skirt. It bared part of her midriff and her lower arms, but it covered the rest of her body. Her outfit was trimmed with golden tassels, and she accessorized with it a bracelet on each arm, a gossamer, shoulder-length veil, a simple pair of pendant earrings, and a tiara adorned by a single blue jewel.
Kallen wore a tight-fitting, midriff-bearing and backless white top, fasted with red ties and trimmed in gold, with a red sash tied just below her breasts, which flared out behind her to each side, falling down to her calves. She had a dangerously short black miniskirt with cutouts on the side, and from what he could see, she couldn't be wearing any more than a thong underneath. Drapes of white cloth, decorated with a red stripe and dangling violet cords, fell from Kallen's arms, and more cloth, changing from pink to white and adorned with red flower patterns, was fastened just below her knees. Kallen completed her look with open-toed red high heels, a small circlet, and had gathered some of her hair into a pair of short twintails, which were held in place by golden cords tied into ribbons. Kallen smirked a bit as she noticed him looking at her. As much as she complained about the outfit, she had clearly chosen it to capture his attention as much as that of the guards.
Shirley's look was far more conservative at a glance, a white kimono top with light pink trim, with a long yellow sash, a long purple skirt, hemmed with white, and a big red ribbon in back with floral with pink and gold floral designs that fell to her ankles, while her feet were clad in leather boots. But when viewed from the side, one could see that there were cutouts from her shoulders to the top of her thigh, held in place only by the sash and a few thin, crisscrossing pieces of white fabric, which also left little doubt that she was wearing a string bikini bottom under the skirt, yet she wore it without shame. Her sleeves, which hung as Kallen's did, were detached from the kimono, and like Euphemia, she had gathered her hair into a ponytail, which was held in place by a large hairpin, styled like a butterfly, with white flowers behind her ears on either side.
The stylistic similarities between Kallen and Shirley's outfits, distinctly Japanese with risqué twists to further their mission, left him with little doubt that the two of had planned them together, a development that left him rather puzzled. A part of Shirley had hated Kallen before they confronted her Shadow, and even then, the two had been rivals where he was concerned. Could they have really achieved such an understanding with each other after fighting together in Mementos? Was it Kallen's idea of a peace offering between them? Or had Shirley continued to take Tsu's reading to heart and approached Kallen first?
Lelouch realized that he was staring at the girls again. His mind wasn't polluted by the same lurid thoughts that Incubus would have once brought to the fore, tempting him to satisfy the carnal desires that he denied right then and there, but rather, it was a more wholesome, appreciative feeling. He felt strangely warm, his heart starting to race faster as a part of him realized how beautiful they all looked. But there was a wistfulness to it as well, filling him with longing. It had to be another of his Personas at work, and he had a feeling he knew which one was the culprit: Mermaid.
Mermaid seemed to shrink back a bit in fear as he turned his attention to her. She knew what had happened to Incubus. After all, she was part of him.
"I'm sorry," Mermaid said to him. "But I think you're feeling the same way right now that she does when she looks at you," she said, making a mental nod toward Shirley.
It was clear that Mermaid supported the idea of Shirley and himself as a couple, which meant that part of him yearned for that as well. But it was something he couldn't allow himself to consider, not yet, though for no fault of Shirley's own. He wouldn't break his promise to Kallen, or become his father. Still, he couldn't hate Mermaid, just as he could never hate Shirley.
"Just be sure not to distract me when we're in the Palace," Lelouch thought to Mermaid. His Persona understood, and receded into the back of his mind without protest, seeming relieved.
"Well, I think our leader has finished checking us out," Milly said with a small smile. "I'd ask him for his opinion, but we all know how that went over on the summer trip."
Lelouch ignored her. "Is everyone ready?"
The others nodded.
"Very well. Bishop," he said, turning to Leila.
"Yes, Zero?" she asked, ever professional in her manner in spite of Milly's antics.
"You are in command and will speak for the group when we're stopped and questioned. I won't be able to give any orders to you until we're past the gatehouse, since I'd just give us away if they heard my voice."
"Affirmative."
xXx
"Halt!" a gravelly, grating voice shouted from the top of one of the battlements, from one of the terracotta soldiers. Spotlights shone from nowhere at them, just like when they were detected in previous Palaces, but Lelouch sensed that the overall security level hadn't been raised just yet, and nor were Shadows converging on their location en masse, so they still had a chance.
"What is your business in the Huangdi's Forbidden City?" the terracotta soldier demanded.
At the head of their group, Leila performed a curtsy, a movement that seemed simple, but Lelouch knew it took practice to maintain proper balance and posture, which Leila did flawlessly. "We are but humble dancers, who have traveled far with dreams of performing at the Empress' wedding ceremony and for the Huangdi," Leila said, smoothly adapting the lines she had rehearsed to account for the Palace Ruler's title, and using the accent that Milly had said was so alluring as if it were as natural as breathing to her. "It pains us that we lack any formal invitation into the Forbidden City, but we were hoping that we could at least perform here for the commanders of your garrison, and, should we win their approval, secure their invitation into the city proper."
Lelouch was glad that he had chosen Leila as their speaker. If it had been Milly, she might have overdone it, but Leila hit the right notes of humility, sincerity, and grace to fool the guards. It was all a carefully crafted deception, but as the daughter of a pair of spies, Leila had become by necessity a skilled actress, and once immersed in a role she rarely broke character. Kallen could act as well, but her more fiery nature meant that she was prone to letting parts of her true self out at times, and this operation demanded the utmost delicacy. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit irked as well, seeing Leila act so servile in front of the guards. She really was far more attractive when she wasn't trying to hide or intelligence or opinions, yet they looked at her like-
Lelouch tried to cut off that line of thought. He already had enough problems to worry about. Was it Isis making him feel that way, resonating with another aligned with the Priestess Arcana? Or was it-
"Do you think-" the terracotta soldier began, bringing his attention back to the infiltration, only to be cut off by another, more authoritative voice.
"What have we here?" Another terracotta soldier appeared, dressed as an officer, and cast an appraising gaze down at them. Recognizing his much higher rank as a representative of the Palace Ruler, Leila promptly performed a kowtow, the traditional Chinese gesture of reverence and submission, kneeling and touching her forehead to the ground. The other Black Knights quickly followed her lead.
"It's rare for us to have visitors, much less foreigners of such beauty and manners," the officer said. "It would be a shame simply to turn you away after you have come so far. It's time we had some real entertainment here." He gave a signal, and the doors of the gatehouse slowly creaked open.
"Will it be an issue if our cat accompanies us?" Leila asked as they filed in, picking up Arthur and holding him in her arms. "We all love Tama dearly, and we couldn't bear to leave him behind."
"As long as it doesn't cause trouble. It can always be put to work catching mice while you're entertaining," one of the guards replied.
Arthur didn't say anything, but Lelouch thought he could see Arthur mouthing "Suckers" when the guards' backs were turned.
xXx
The disguised Black Knights were led to a large room within the gatehouse, its walls gilded like the rest of the Palace exterior, accented by red panels that ran perpendicular to each other. Three long tables, covered in red tablecloths, were arranged in a "U" shape, with large white curtains falling behind the central table, a high golden chair behind each place. The other officers of the garrison had already gathered there, an extravagant variety of traditional Chinese dishes laid out before them. In some respects, Lelouch was reminded of the Black King's Palace, but the officers here were not just mindlessly consuming the meal, as would suggest gluttony, even if most of them appeared somewhat on the heavy side. There was a more calculated malice at work here, ambition that yearned for ever greater wealth and power, hoarding it while others went without.
The officers did little to hide their lecherous stares as the Black Knights stood before them, though to their credit, none allowed themselves to flinch before the terracotta men. Leila led them in kowtowing again before the assembled officers, facing the garrison commander, who had the centermost seat, and when he bade her to speak she said, "We are honored to have been granted the chance to perform before you and your men. Your lord, the Huangdi, must truly be a munificent and mighty ruler if he is able to provide for such a magnificent feast to his most distinguished servants in the midst of famine. We can only aspire to being worthy of his notice, insignificant as we commoners are next to his incredible wisdom and your unbelievable bravery as noble warriors." Leila was so bright-eyed as she pretended to grovel before them, and careful not to let her words become tinged with her sarcasm, that Lelouch doubted that the officers realized that she was insulting them.
He resisted the urge to smirk. That was more like Leila, a display of her wit and rebellious spirit, however subtle.
"You speak well," the garrison commander said. "But let's see how well you can dance."
"Your wish is our command."
The Black Knights broke out into the routine that they had practiced together. It helped that most of them had at least some experience in dancing from their noble backgrounds, or otherwise enough athletic ability to make up for any such shortcomings. Even with the aid of his Personas, Lelouch knew that he wouldn't be surpassing his teammates, and stuck to simpler routines, but he tried as best as he could, if only to avoid blowing their cover.
Still, he couldn't help but be impressed by how well it all came together. Kallen and Shirley's choreography played off each other beautifully, and he felt the same drive that they had shown fighting together in Mementos behind their every step. Milly knew all about being a tease, and she put that expertise to work as she gyrated back and forth. Technically, she wasn't the most skilled of the dancers, but she had plenty of eyes on her regardless. Euphemia maintained an air of elegance and majesty throughout her dance. As for Leila, she seemed nervous for a moment, but then she closed her eyes and threw herself into her dance, the coins on her sash and bracelets clinking in rhythm with her movements. She spun around, one foot on the ground as she looked down and arched her back slighty, raising one arm and holding the other down to form an "S" shape, while her long, pale blond hair swirled behind her. For a moment, it was as if he was seeing Leila in a new light, his heart traitorously skipping a beat.
Closing his own eyes, he forced such distractions from his mind, and continued on with his dance.
xXx
There was applause from around the table as they finished, and the officers demanded an encore. Nodding to her fellow Black Knights, Leila led them in another dance. That a second performance might be requested of them had not escaped their planning, and they were met with further applause.
"Splendid," the garrison commander said. He held up a piece of paper. "This is a letter that will grant you permission to enter the city... But there's something I must ask of you first."
"We are most grateful," Leila said, smiling. "What do you require of us?"
"Why not quit your careers as traveling dancers and stay with us? We can... appreciate such beautiful girls as yourself in ways that the Huangdi can't. You would make fine concubines."
"I'm afraid we must decline," Leila said softly, though her stance shifted slightly, signaling to the others that they should prepare for a fight.
"What makes you think that you have a choice?" the garrison commander asked, and they could hear terracotta soldiers moving behind them. "I must confess, I am also rather intrigued by your companion with the beautiful black hair... I'll be taking the opportunity to get to know her better, along with the rest of you."
Lelouch decided that the time for subterfuge was past. The letter had been written. If the garrison commander wouldn't give it to them, they would simply take it by force.
"You'll do no such thing," he declared.
"What?" the garrison commander gasped. "You're a man?!" He chuckled. "But it is a small matter... Now I'm even more interested in knowing who you really are."
"I'll tell you..." Lelouch replied. "We are the Black Knights!" Their costumes melted away, and were instantly replaced with their thief suits.
"Thieves! Seize them!" the garrison commander shouted. The terracotta soldiers charged, but were blasted back by strong gusts of wind from Master Cat, shattering against the walls. Ice conjured by Eilonwy forced open tiny cracks in the terracotta, dealing great damage to the soldiers, but they seemed impervious to Medea's flames. Maid Marian's arrows behaved more like bullets, blasting holes in them, though the soldiers kept coming, heedless of the damage they had taken unless their joints were taken out. Guren Jigoku vaporized a few more without difficulty. As the surviving soldiers closed in, Leila threw one that had tried to grapple her to the ground with aikido, causing it to break upon impact, while Lelouch summoned Mermaid, who knocked the stragglers down with small whirlwinds, leaving them susceptible to an all-out attack.
"How dare you defeat my men so easily!" the garrison commander snarled, revealing his true form, an angry-looking man with reddish skin, a mustache, and a topknot. He was dressed in golden armor with a white sash around his waist. He held a sword in one hand, and raised what looked like a miniature pagoda in the other.
"Bishamonten?" Kallen murmured. "Why is..."
"He originated from the Hindu god Kubera," Leila explained, "God of Wealth, and Lord of Criminals in earlier descriptions. He later became one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but..."
"Save it for later, Bishop!" Arthur warned. "Incoming!"
Crackling blue orbs of concentrated radiation spiraled down toward the Black Knights from above. Everyone but Kallen dove for cover, though when the orbs hit the ground the radiation exploded outward, preventing them from emerging completely unscathed. Kallen however was immune to the radiation's effects, thanks to Guren Jigoku, who was already moving to attack Bishamonten. Likely reasoning that Bishamonten would also be immune to his own spells, Kallen had Guren Jigoku attack physically, cutting into Bishamonten's armor with its rapidly vibrating blade. Bishamonten swung his own blade, and Guren Jigoku darted back before it could be struck, but then the Shadow conjured the same type of barrier that Alciel's minions had cast, which would reflect the force of the next non-magical attack back at his opponent.
"Damn!" Kallen snarled, remembering the painful experience.
Lelouch promptly summoned Shiki-Ouji and fired a single shot from his gun, a more powerful model he had acquired from Kirihara, at Bishamoten. The barrier sent his bullet flying back at him and shattered, but Shiki-Ouji intercepted it, stopping the bullet harmlessly.
"Queen, strengthen us and then resume the attack! Bishop, pinpoint its weakness! Everyone else, heal, regroup, and then start probing its defenses!"
"Right away, Zero!" Kallen called back. Guren Jigoku cast Matarukaja and then dived back into the fray. Shirley shouted "Kouga!" and struck Bishamonten with spears of light, but they only seemed to annoy the Heavenly King. She switched tactics to alternating between ranged attacks with Maid Marian and exploiting openings to move in and attack Bishamonten with thrusts of her estoc, which soon managed to punch through his plate armor and inflict significant damage upon him.
Bishamonten cast the barrier again, forcing both girls to momentarily relent in their assault, and followed up by raising the hand with the miniature pagoda high. Healing energy converged on him, and all of the injuries that they had just inflicted disappeared, while his plate armor repaired itself.
"That's not fair!" Shirley cried in frustration.
"Don't worry... I'll give him something to think about!" Milly called out. "Medea! Agilao!"
A burst of flame rained down on Bishamonten, but he merely absorbed it.
"Well, maybe not," Milly said sheepishly.
"Bishamonten is weak to ice," Leila said, announcing the results of her analysis. "In addition to absorbing fire and resisting bless spells, he is also resistant to curses."
"You mean I could have just nuked him this whole time?" Kallen asked.
"Noire!" Lelouch called.
"Eilonwy!" Euphemia called. Ice crystals formed around Bishamonten, staggering him with the sudden cold.
"Launch an all-out attack!" Lelouch ordered.
Bishamonten was heavily damaged by the all-out attack, but not finished off. It cast its nuclear spell, Mafreila, again, and Lelouch promptly switched his Persona to protect himself.
"Ariadne Picaro!"
Ariadne Picaro was a Persona that Tsu had offered to let him summon as part of the "special treatment" she was giving him, following the understanding they had reached on Kamine Island. Of course, Tsu being Tsu, she would never give him anything for free, and if anything, the cost was exorbitant as always, but she mischievously told him that he should be happy to pay her, if hoped to find victory.
He couldn't deny the utility of the new Persona; Ariadne Picaro was significantly stronger than any of the other Fortune Personas that he could currently create by fusion. But at the same time, Shi cautioned him that this came with a danger. A Persona that was too strong could potentially take over their summoner's mind, or go berserk, and revert to a Shadow, if not carefully held in check. As such, he had held off on summoning some of the even more powerful Personas Tsu had made available to him, such as Thanatos, the Greek god of Death, lest he push himself too far before he was ready for it.
Materializing before him, Ariadne Picaro took on the form of a mechanical maiden in red and black, a caged mask crowned by spikes encircling its head. Long gray hair flowing behind it, and it held a red string, constantly contorting into labyrinthine shapes. Acting swiftly, Ariadne Picaro blocked Bishamoten's spell for him, and emerged unharmed.
Lelouch saw that Bishamonten was going to try to heal himself again while the other Black Knights were recovering. He couldn't allow that.
"Queen! Noire!"
At once, they knew what they had to do. Kallen rushed Bishamonten with Guren Jigoku, melting off the arm holding up the pagoda with a concentrated nuclear blast, interrupting his attempts to cast the spell. While Bishamonten was distracted, Euphemia cast Bufula again, freezing the Heavenly King in place. This time, there was no escape for him, and Bishamonten shattered under the force of the subsequent all-out attack, before dissolving into black wisps.
With Bishamonten's defeat, there was silence in the hall, which looked quite a bit worse for wear. Carpets were singed, and tables were overturned from the impacts of terracotta soldiers against them.
Leila closed her eyes, concentrating.
"The Palace Ruler doesn't seem to to know exactly where we are, or what we're doing here," she reported after a moment. "His attention is focused on other things. But he seems to have sensed that something's wrong, and more Shadows are heading this way. We should withdraw for now. On the plus side, I think we've just wiped out the entire garrison here at the gatehouse."
"Won't they just come back?" Kallen asked.
"There will probably be at least some patrols of Shadows when we return," Leila admitted. "But as long as Gao Hai remains preoccupied with his deal with Schneizel and other preparations it's unlikely he will care enough to create more Cognitions of terracotta soliders here. He has enough Shadows under his command and a Palace that's large enough that he can still feel secure even if the outer line of defense is breached."
Shirley retrieved the letter, and handed it to Lelouch for safekeeping.
"We're still in our thief attire," Lelouch said. "His Cognition considers us intruders now."
"I think the letter will still work though," Leila replied. "It gives whoever bears it permission to use this gate to enter the city, and the gates, like everything else in the Metaverse, should work on that Cognition. Since the Palace Ruler doesn't know that it was written for us, he's not going to countermand it anytime soon."
"I hope you're right, Bishop." He glanced away, suddenly feeling awkward around her. "Otherwise, we're back to square one on our infiltration."
xXx
"The leaders of the Chinese Federation have ratified the treaty of alliance with Britannia that was proposed by Prince Schneizel," the news announced. "The provisions of the treaty are scheduled to go fully into effect upon the marriage of the Chinese Empress Tianzi to Crown Prince Odysseus eu Britannia in Luoyang, which is scheduled to occur about four weeks from now. Advisors from Britannia will be working closely with the Chinese Federation in the meantime to ensure the security of this momentous occasion and prepare for the union of our two nations."
Four weeks... so that was their next deadline. No doubt Schneizel would have wanted to have the ceremony even sooner, anticipating the likelihood that the Black Knights might interfere, but the High Eunuchs would settle for nothing less than a lavish ceremony, and four weeks was already an astonishingly short time for such a far-reaching treaty to take effect in.
Still, four weeks was plenty of time for the Black Knights to act in. By the end of the month, they would have stolen Gao Hai's heart, and made him confess his crimes with his own mouth.
Lelouch grinned.
Are the Black Knights Just?
Yes: 36.3%
Days Until the Empress is Married: 28
A/N:
Chapter 50! Another milestone for this story! It's incredible to think we've already come this far in just under a year.
As for the geography, Akito the Exiled introduced a "Euro Britannia" that controls significant parts of Russia, centered on St. Petersburg as a Britannian tributary state, but Russia is not shown as being part of Britannia in R1 of the original anime, and is shown in the same colors as Europia there. Therefore, I will simply consider Russia to be part of Europia in this story, and Euro Britannia a development that has not yet occurred in the timeline in which this story takes place.
As for Ariadne Picaro, little does Lelouch realize he's summoned one of the DLC Personas from the original game. Overpowered as the DLC Personas can be at times, I thought they fit nicely within the idea of Shi and Tsu's special treatment, and I'm not going to be having him just summon them all at once, so it will be nice boost to him, but hardly curbstomping his foes. And they will be getting tougher...
Edit: Meant to add this to the author's note earlier, but the population is so low because Code Geass takes place in the equivalent of our real-world 1963. In real history, there were 3.19 billion people on Earth in that year, which is comparable to the population of Code Geass' world.