Author's Note: A belated Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay to you all!
My apologies for the two month intermission, but I was busy with Christmas.
Read and Review!
Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.
"Kallen"-Speech
'Lelouch'-Thought/mental communication
"{Die}"-Geass Command
"Halt!"-Loudspeaker
"Roger."-Radio/Walkie-Talkie
Chapter 16: A Tale of Two Sisters
Hanger, Yamato Alliance Backup Headquarters, Secret Location
Kallen Kōzuki paced the floor of the makeshift Knightmare Hanger in worry. Every single member of the Yamato Alliance who had survived the battle -a startlingly large number of them- had arrived. Ohgi and the rest of her Cell had arrived. The only ones who hadn't arrived yet were Zero and Aegis.
"Kallen-chan, you'll wear the floor out with all that pacing." Mamoru told her firmly from his position leaning against the wall.
"Mamoru-sensei, I can't help it." the Halfblooded girl responded worriedly, coming to a halt and facing him, "Anything could have happened to them out there!"
"You worry yourself needlessly, Red Queen." the synthetic voce of Augur said as she strode out of the half-light of the hanger and crossed her arms, "If anything had happened to Lord Zero, Aegis would have reported it. Then she would have massacred the ones who attacked Lord Zero. As we haven't heard any reports, we can safely assume nothing has happened to either of them."
"Easy for you too say." Kallen muttered as she resumed her pacing.
The radio at Kallen's hip crackled. "This is K-1, calling Q-1, over."
Those watching Kallen could have sworn that the radio teleported to her hand rather than being grabbed.
"This is Q-1. Good to hear from you, K-1." Kallen said, relief plain on her face, but mostly hidden in her voice.
"My thanks for your concern, Q-1." Zero replied, "Aegis and I are en-route with a prisoner in tow, ETA three minutes. Kindly request that the Yamato Alliance have a squad of guards ready to receive their wayward member."
"Roger that, K-1." Kallen answered with a dark shadow of a grin on her face. Mamoru made a mental note to make sure Kallen was well away from Tetsuya -with the clues Zero had given, that was the only person the prisoner could be- when he was brought in.
The elderly martial artist-turned-freedom fighter summoned a runner and sent him to bring a squad of troops to the hanger, ready to receive a prisoner.
After a tense three minutes, the concealed doors swung open revealing a pair of Sutherland Knightmare Frames, one painted in the standard Britannian colours, while the other was painted raven-black with gold trimming.
Carried in the metal hand of the black Knightmare was a windswept and semiconscious Tetsuya Ichigyōmon. The traitor looked like he had just been on a non-stop rollercoaster ride for the last few minutes. He had also soiled his trousers.
"Just set him down there." Mamoru directed. The black Knightmare complied, dropping the man onto the floor with a thud and a 'squelch' when he fell on his ass.
"Somebody get him fresh trousers." the old man ordered, his noise wrinkled in disgust. Evidently, Tetsuya had pissed himself as well.
"Shouldn't we just kill the bastard?" one soldier asked as he kept the traitor in the sights of his machinegun.
"Due process." Mamoru reminded them, "We are not the Britannians, who execute their soldiers summarily; we give all people accused of any crimes a chance to defend themselves and explain any extenuating circumstances that might affect their verdict, in front of a jury of their peers."
Kallen was glaring at the man in a mixture of anger and disgust. It was hard to believe that such a pathetic excuse of a man had dared to attack her leader in such a cowardly way. She really wanted to kill him right now, but decided to hold back until Zero had had his say, since he was the person who Tetsuya had attacked.
The purple Sutherland trundled to a space against the wall and Zero emerged from the cockpit. Using the ladder a mechanic set up against his seat, the masked man descended to the floor.
"Kallen." he greeted the redhead warmly, "How does it feel to have brought the Goddess of Victory to her knees and given her the first taste of defeat in her life?"
"Fantastic!" Kallen replied. Her eyes devoured the sight of Zero, assessing whether he was wounded or not. Seeing no wounds made her very much relieved, so she returned to her mind to the present situation.
"What happened with that bastard?" she asked, jerking her thumb at Tetsuya, who was being dragged off by a pair of soldiers of the Yamato Alliance.
"He is a poor Knightmare pilot." Zero replied with a dismissive, eloquent shrug, "Honestly, he was more a danger to any passing birds than to me; he is such a bad shot. Moreover, I was in a fully functional Knightmare, not a battle-damaged one like he was, so really I had the advantage of both training and equipment. When he squandered his only advantage -surprise- Tetsuya was almost certain to lose."
"I should have known better than to worry he might hurt you." Kallen said with a shake of her head, a small smile across her pretty face.
"I appreciate the thought, Kallen." Zero told her honestly, "Now, lead the way to the Alliance Council. I have a proposal to put to them."
"Very well." Mamoru said. He was waiting a few steps away, respecting the need for Kallen to confirm that her leader was alright, but stepped forwards now, "Should I have Kaname Ohgi summoned as well?"
"Yes, that is an excellent idea." Zero nodded, "Augur and Aegis shall attend as well. They are my trusted advisors and I have no secrets from them."
Kallen frowned a bit at this, but smoothed her face before anybody could notice…except from Augur.
'Well, well, well. The little girl is developing feelings for 'Zero'.' C.C. thought behind her mask, 'Looks like I owe Sayoko first go at Lelouch when we return to the Academy. Darn it.'
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Half an Hour Later
Viceroy's Private Office, Area 11 Administration Building
The atmosphere within the large room was fraught with tension as the two sisters stared at each other unblinkingly, violet eye to violet eye.
They were the only two people within the office. Dalton and Guilford had been tasked with finishing the cleanup at Saitama, which would take most of the rest of the day to do. The bodies of the two members of Cornelia's Royal Guard, who had sacrificed themselves to save her, Sir Edward Stuart and Sir Donald Blair, had been recovered and were currently lying in the morgue of the Administration Building, being prepared for transport back to the Britannian Homeland.
Jeremiah and Villetta were not quite under arrest. They had not broken any standing orders by escorting Princess Euphemia to the battlefield. They had taken every possible precaution in safeguarding her person and had in fact been praised for their professionalism by Euphemia herself.
Regrettably, Viceroy Cornelia was still more than slightly irked with the two of them. They had taken her younger sister -her only blood-sister, no less! - near a battlefield. They had exposed her to actual danger.
She completely ignored the fact that they both had tried to persuade Euphie to remain at the Administration Building and had only given in when Euphie had threatened to commandeer a Knightmare and leave the Administration Building that way.
Cornelia was seated behind her desk, hands clasped tightly in front of her. She was attempting to level a stern and unrelenting gaze at her sister, who stood not four feet away from her, hands clasped loosely behind her back and her gaze fixed on her elder sister in grim determination.
Unfortunately, Cornelia was looking haggard and worn. The reality of just how transparent she had been to Zero, the losses her Mobile Battalion had suffered, the deaths of two of her Royal Guardsmen, the helpless feeling she received as a result of her first loss on the battlefield AND Euphie's rebellion against her authority as her guardian…all of these issues were weighing heavily upon the Second Princess of Britannia.
On Euphemia's side, the sixteen-year-old Princess was very nervous and torn beneath her poker face. She truly loved her sister and understood that quite a bit of her overprotective attitude stemmed from the terror Cornelia felt at the possibility of their father using Euphemia in a similar manner to how he used Lelouch and Nunnally seven years ago.
If she were to be absolutely honest with herself, Euphemia had to admit that there was more than a little reason for her sister's fear. Charles zi Britannia was an absolutely ruthless ruler, who used his children as bargaining chips or -depending on the circumstances- disposable pawns as readily as someone firing bullets from a gun.
Had Cornelia not taken her under her aegis seven years ago, there was every chance that the Emperor would have used her in a similar fashion in what was now Area 12, the former Philippines. He hadn't needed to of course, but the Emperor did have a tendency to reuse the same strategy multiple times until it no longer worked.
That, however, was far in the past. While being under Cornelia's aegis was more protected than without it, if their father had really wanted to use Euphemia, he would have done it without care for Cornelia. Euphie was also getting sick and tired of being treated like she was five years old all the time whenever her sisters Knights and Royal Guard were around, which was almost every single hour of every single DAY!
The cherry on the cake was Cornelia's blatant and unrepentant violation of Imperial Law and tradition. Whenever a military action takes place within an Area, both the Viceroy and SUB-Viceroy are to be kept fully informed, blood relation or guardianship status be damned.
Not only did Cornelia deliberately not inform her, she actively conspired to keep her in the dark and committed a second violation in order to do that, albeit a relatively minor one by comparison. She ignored the entirety of her paperwork and dumped it on top of Euphemia.
While irritating in small doses, having a months worth of paperwork dumped atop her all at once, in addition to her own, was highly stressful. Euphie could understand exactly why Cornelia had done it, at least in part, it was still against the law and Euphie was going to use it to push her advantage as far as she could take it and then some.
After staring at Euphie for a full five minutes, Cornelia sighed tiredly and rubbed her eyes, breaking eye contact with her sister.
"Euphie, you really have chosen the most…inopportune time to rebel." the Viceroy said wearily, "When news of my defeat gets back to the Capital, father will likely be…intemperate…to say the least. It wouldn't surprise me if he sent one of the Knights of Rounds to keep an eye on me."
"That is entirely your own fault, sister." Euphie said firmly, "Your own hubris blinded you; you have recently started to believe in your own legend and it has cost you your undefeated title and my respect."
"Euphie…" Cornelia was taken aback momentarily, and then she recovered, "I fail to see what I could have done otherwise. Zero snuck into Clovis' Command G-1 and murdered him. It was a reasonable assumption that he would attempt to do the same to me if the opportunity presented itself. Zero also showed that he had a flair for the dramatic, as demonstrated by his 'rescue' of that Kururugi boy. I also knew he wouldn't be able to resist playing the white knight and ride to the aid of the Elevens in Saitama."
"That explains why you engineered a situation that Lady Marianne would have severely disapproved of." Euphemia said calmly, "Although, you should note that Clovis wasn't 'murdered'; he was killed on the battlefield. Killing an enemy commander is one of your own favourite tactics after all."
Cornelia was again taken aback by Euphie's cold tone towards her. Had she really hurt her sister to the point that Euphie was willing to speak to her in such a manner? A twinge in her heart was swiftly buried beneath the iron discipline that she had armoured her feelings in for years.
"Now then," Euphie continued, "Would you care to explain why you saw fit to deliberately conspire to keep a military operation within this Area from my office?"
Cornelia drew herself up regally. "Euphie, I am both your superior AND your legal guardian. I have every right to keep something such as that from you." she said severely.
"No, you do not." Euphie said firmly, "By Imperial Law, Imperial Tradition and LOCAL Law, you are required to keep the Sub-Viceroy -in other words, me! - appraised of any and all military actions within Area 11. Forgetting to do this is considered gross negligence. Wilfully conspiring to exclude me from the operations or true objectives of any military action, let alone one of such a despicable nature, is a very serious crime, even for an Imperial Princess."
Cornelia had known that, but she had become so used to wrapping her sister in cotton wool that she had done it automatically, reasoning that there was no reason for Euphie to even suspect what she was doing, leaving a vague excuse of eliminating another Resistance group, which had the novelty of being an intended partial side effect of attacking Saitama.
"Zero deliberately sent you that message in order to cause strife between us." Cornelia said, deciding to try a different tack, "We should put this behind us and move on together."
Euphie was far from the experienced politician that Odysseus was, nor was she as insightful as Schneizel was, but she could still see through the guise her sister was showing her. If she accepted it, Cornelia would go right back to wrapping her up like a china doll.
"Sophistry." Euphie said flatly, making Cornelia's eyes widen in shock yet again, "True, that may have been his purpose, but regardless of that, every single thing he told me in the letter was upfront and honest…which is far from what is true for you, Viceroy.
For seven years, you have protected me. I am grateful for that and I love you dearly. Nevertheless, I am sixteen now, not five. If we are ever to reconcile our differences, you need to keep that in mind. I am my own person, with my own wants and needs, not a doll, not a faceless objective to be protected. Understood?"
"I have never seen you like that!" Cornelia protested vehemently.
"Really?" Euphie asked in honest disbelief, "You interfere in my finances, have your Knights stalk me whenever I leave your direct line of sight, order me about like one of your soldiers whenever it suits you, intercept my mail and ignore any protests I make. That sounds more like an OCD stalker-slash-guard commander than a sister."
Her elder sister stared back at her in shocked disbelief herself at Euphie's mini-rant. She had never heard Euphie so angry, not with her. The closest had been mild petulance for being told to do something she hadn't wanted to do, or been forbidden from doing something that Cornelia had deemed too dangerous.
"Y-You need the mail monitoring in case of explosives or something!" she protested weakly.
"The standard mail monitoring, yes." Euphie conceded, "Not your personal perusal of all my mail after it has been deemed safe. That is beyond the pale and will cease. You are in quite enough trouble here without adding to them with Illegal Interception of Private Mail."
Cornelia ground her teeth in frustration. Euphie was far more aware than the Second Princess had thought of what she had been orchestrating in order to protect her. This was not what she had envisioned this meeting to turn out like.
"I see you are a great deal more…knowledgeable…about your security measures than I had imagined." Cornelia said stiffly, "I do apologise for that, but I tend to get rather zealous when it comes to protecting those I care for."
"I know that sister." Euphie replied softly, "That is why I am willing to let quite a bit of this go…with a few caveats."
"Go on." Cornelia was fuming internally. She was literally being blackmailed by her own sister, under threat of being accused of crimes that not even a Princess could easily shake off. She might even be removed from her post as Viceroy if even half of the charges Euphemia had mentioned were levied against her.
Still, a part of her had to admire the ruthlessness that her little sister was displaying. Granted, she was on familiar ground because it was her older sister that she was against, a person who Euphie knew almost as well as she knew herself, but it still spoke well of her possible ability to survive outside of Cornelia's aegis of protection.
"Firstly, the things I am willing to overlook do not include your attempt to engineer a massacre." Euphie said firmly, contempt for such things clear in her voice, "That is non-negotiable, and we will be having Words about that after we hash things out."
"Agreed." Cornelia said dully.
"Second, you will cease any and all non-standard security measures that you currently have in place for me specifically." Euphie continued, "The time for this particular step is long since past."
"Very well." the Viceroy replied, her mind racing as she analyzed the words for a possible loophole that she could exploit.
"Before you reach the conclusion that merely extending the precautions to include every resident of the Administration Building, that would be most…unwise." Euphemia said dryly, having anticipated the direction of her sister's thoughts, "Any normal person in a normal situation would have rebelled as soon as they discovered any of the security measures you put in place around me."
Waiting until her sister reluctantly nodded in acquiescence, Euphemia continued in a firm voice.
"Third, you will not keep me out of any further military operations or briefings, unless it is a mission deemed Viceroy's-Eyes-Only by the Emperor." Euphie was slightly tense as she said this. Cornelia had always been territorial about 'her' specialty and might refuse.
"Euphie, you hate combat." Cornelia pointed out predictably enough, "You have never expressed any interest in the subject, even although you are skilled at piloting a Knightmare."
"Not every person has the temperament to be a soldier, sister." Euphie rolled her eyes. Dalton had taught her how to pilot a Knightmare about two years ago, in an effort to close the widening gap between the two previously close sisters.
Euphie understood the man's reasoning, but she honestly hated fighting. It was abhorrent to her. She did understand why people fought, but she wasn't a natural warrior. If she had to fight to protect someone precious to her, she could, probably, do it. She'd hate herself for doing it though.
"You do remember what the Empire's policy is though, Euphie?" Cornelia asked with raised eyebrows.
"'Those who risk their lives on the battlefield have the right to rule.'" Euphemia quoted. This phrase was drilled into every Prince and Princess in Pendragon as the guiding philosophy of the empire. A similar way to say it would be 'might is right'.
"I understand that, sister." Euphemia said softly, "But I am not asking to rule; merely to be kept informed and not shut out. Granted, I find the subject distasteful, but I will do my duty regardless of that…if you let me."
After a moment of silence, Cornelia nodded. "Very well. Anything else?"
"Yes. One final thing." Euphemia smiled coldly, in a way that made warning bells ring in Cornelia's mind, "You dumped a tremendous amount of paperwork on my shoulders. I was barely able to get through any of it, despite working. For. Four. Hours. STRAIGHT!"
The last words were shouted at her sister, who flinched back at the anger in Euphemia's voice.
"Now that you are back, you will not leave this building until all of your paperwork is done." the young pinkette said after she calmed down slightly, "And, just to drive the point home, I have marked all of my paperwork to be forwarded to your office first thing tomorrow. Something I can do if I feel the document in question requires your personal overview, so it isn't quite what you did to me, but the end effect will be the same."
"You, sister dear, are an evil, conniving woman." Cornelia gave her precious little sister a look that was equal parts horror and dislike, "I do hope you are aware of that?"
"I learned from the best, sister dear." Euphie grinned impishly back at Cornelia, who snorted and chuckled at that effortless riposte.
"Point taken." Cornelia sighed, "I also have to write two of The Letters today for the families of both Sir Stuart and Sir Blair. I am not looking forward to it."
Euphie winced. No decent commander looked forward to writing formal letters of condolence to the families of the fallen, so it said quite a bit about Cornelia that she didn't look forward to it. She really did care about her troops after all, she just didn't show it.
"We were fairly lucky; most of the Mounted troops weren't injured, just a handful of Knightmare pilots were killed in their cockpits. The VTOL and regular Battle Tank casualties are significantly higher though." Euphie remarked.
"Yes. Zero seems to dislike VTOLs for some reason." Cornelia said with a frown, "Whether it is because we use them as Eyes in the Sky or for some other reason, he took every opportunity to eliminate them, except when they were lures for a trap."
"He's obviously studied standard Britannian military doctrine." Euphemia agreed, "Not only that, the masked woman, Augur, used Lady Marianne's catchphrase in her speech. I think Zero and his companions somehow knows you and Britannian doctrine as well as I do."
"Yes…that implies that Zero isn't an Eleven." Cornelia mused, "No Number can get their hands on that kind of knowledge, not even Honorary Britannians. Let alone any kind of solid, accurate knowledge about me. No, he has to be at least a half-blood, perhaps even a full Britannian."
"Perhaps." Euphie said doubtfully, "Anyway sister, we still have to have that discussion about your actions in Saitama…"
Cornelia groaned and felt like smacking her head off the solid oak desk she sat behind. This was not a good day…
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Largest Hanger, Yamato Alliance Backup Headquarters, Secret Location
Behind the faceless mask of Zero, Lelouch was highly amused. He had proposed a merger of the Yamato Alliance and his own cell, consolidated under his command and, rather surprisingly, the Alliance Council had seemed to be in favour.
Mamoru had been the only dissenter, although not because he was against the idea of the merger. He had pointed out that a part of the Charter of the Yamato Alliance specified that a vote had to be taken by the entirety of the Yamato Alliance when it was going to merge with another group and cede its own identity and the motion had to achieve a supermajority of two-thirds in order to pass, followed by being passed by general acclimation of the Alliance Council.
Lelouch easily saw through this as an obvious countermeasure against being taken over by another group, set up by whoever had written the Charter in the first place.
As it turns out, he was absolutely correct. Hayate Takamaru, the founder of the Yamato Alliance, had been a fanatical supporter of the Parliamentary-style of government used in the Euro Universe and had also been highly paranoid about other groups attempting to take over his cell, so he had forged an ironclad charter that mainly focussed on securing the autonomy of his group.
As it turns out, he should have been watching his second in command, Takuya Mirāsaki, a bit more closely as the man betrayed him to the Britannians, thus starting the systematic leadership bloodbaths that had turned the Yamato Alliance from a Resistance Group to something that its founder would be horrified to see.
Lelouch had readily agreed to a vote, provided that one representative from both sides speaks to the troops beforehand so they can make a fully informed choice. Mamoru refused to speak against the merger, so a quick survey found a crony of Tetsuya's and appointed him the leader of the opposition.
The man was cut from almost the exact same cloth as the traitor, so there was little doubt he'd take to his role with a gusto. Zero, of course, would speak for the merger, along with Mamoru.
"Zero, are you sure about this?" Ohgi asked quietly. He and Kallen were stand in the corner of the hanger while the members of the Yamato Alliance assembled, "I mean, these guys aren't exactly soldiers."
"Even the best soldier will act like a bandit if left to rot for too long, Ohgi." Zero replied equally quietly, "They performed far better than I expected today. No one -aside form Tetsuya-san- broke ranks and went off half-cocked. A bit of return to discipline and I am sure they will turn around, at least most of them."
"They won't." Kallen remarked as she indicated ten or so scruffy-looking men huddled together and glaring at everyone in general, "That lot are Tetsuya's stooges form what I've been told. A bunch of deadbeats and 'Frainers."
'Frainer was the slang term for someone on the narcotic Refrain
"All low ranking and thus easily excised." Zero said calmly, "If the source of a rot is removed and then the symptoms are then treated, the organisation will recover, especially since I will be putting members of our group in key positions in the reorganised group with orders to improve the troops ASAP."
"You still have to win the vote." Ohgi pointed out.
"The first rule of politics; always act like you are going to win." Zero said and Ohgi could feel the smile behind the mask, "It does help that the Council are all on board. All we need to do is get at least three quarters of them to vote 'yea'. How many members are in the Alliance right now?"
"Not including the wounded in the Infirmary and the ones on necessary guard duty, about a hundred and sixty two." Ohgi replied, "So that means that we need about a hundred and twenty-two votes in order to get the vote in our favour."
"My thanks." Zero nodded at Ohgi, "By the way, I am pleased at the way you handled yourself in the last battle, Ohgi."
"All I did was use caution." the ex-schoolteacher replied with mild embarrassment.
"You would be surprised how hard that is to find in officers." Zero said dryly, "Most either have issues like Tamaki-san does -hot-headed overconfidence- or else they're too timid to act on their own initiative without consulting higher command. I think with a bit of experience, you will be a good commander."
"Y-You think so?" Ohgi seemed taken aback by the prospect.
Kallen playfully punched him on the shoulder. "C'mon Ohgi, have some confidence in yourself, eh?" she told him as he rubbed where she had hit him, "Everybody in our group respects you and it will not be long before the new guys will too."
"Zero." Mamoru walked over and spoke to the masked man, "Everybody is ready."
"Very well." Zero nodded and, beckoning Kallen and Ohgi to follow him, strode after Mamoru to the makeshift raised podium set up in the centre of the hanger. Before the podium, almost the entirety of the Yamato Alliance stand chatting amongst each other. Wondering, no doubt, what the meeting was all about.
Mamoru stepped up to the podium and tapped the mike set up there, which attracted everyone's attention.
"Alright you guys, pipe down!" he barked, silencing the last of the mutterers, "Now, the reason you've been called here is this; Zero has made a proposal to the Yamato Alliance, which would merge our two groups together-"
Mutters started up again, only to be silenced by the old martial artist glaring at them.
"AHEM! Now, as I was saying, that was what Zero proposed. By the Alliance Charter, all members are to vote on such a motion. A three-quarters supermajority vote is required to pass the motion, followed by a unanimous vote by the Alliance Council." Mamoru said in a loud and clear voice, "Before we vote, one person from each camp shall speak. For those of you who can't figure it out, that means one person who is against the merger, one person who is in favour of the merger and the one who proposed the merger -Zero- shall speak."
After a pause to make certain that had sunken in, Mamoru finished up with, "Speaking first, the spokesperson against the merger, Akira Matsuyama."
A rough looking man with a surely look on his face, matted brown hair and filthy clothes stomped his way from the group Kallen had pointed out as Tetsuya's cronies.
Zero, standing a meter or so back and to the right of the podium, almost gagged at the overpowering small that accompanied the man, of rotting leather, stale alcohol, tobacco, half-eaten and forgotten food, as well as the smell of unwashed and sweaty male body odour.
"I think I'm going to be sick…" Kallen muttered, her face turning slightly green.
Zero put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, making the redhead's face blush red, making for an interesting contrast between the green and the red.
"A 'right ye'uns!" Akira said gruffly in a hoarse voce from years of smoking and heavy drinking, "This Zero character wants us to dance ta his tune again. Well I say: bugger that! Yeah, he saved our bacon, but it's his fault we and the people in Saitama were in danger of being wiped out in the first place!"
A raucous chorus of agreement came from his group of supporters, but none of the rest looked impressed, which seemed to piss Akira off.
"You guys know I'm right!" he said angrily, "I say we tell Zero 'thanks. but no thanks'! We've survived independent of any other groups for five years! I've been a part of the Alliance since the beginning and I refuse to allow some masked idiot to usurp us!"
Ohgi had to restrain Kallen from kicking the man into the next Ghetto at these words. Akira snorted and, with a sneer at Zero's group, stalked back to his cronies.
"Lemme at him, Ohgi!" Kallen snarled, still trying to break free of her friend's grip.
"Calmly does it, Q-1." Zero cautioned her as Mamoru headed back to the platform, "He's trying to make us act rashly."
As the halfblooded girl settled down, albeit reluctantly, Mamoru began his speech. Lelouch could tell that the old man was highly respected by the majority of the men and women in the hanger, which was surprising considering he had been a member of the Imperial Dragons Faction until not two days ago.
There seemed to be a back-story here, but Lelouch had no idea what it could be, which was irritating. He made a mental note to ask the man how this happened after this meeting ended.
Kallen watched as Mamoru spoke and mentally cheered him on. Her old sensei was a confident speaker, although he usually preferred not to be the centre of attention. She was proud to have been his student and only wished that her brother could be here to see him.
Unseen by the rest of the gathered people, a confederate of Tetsuya's slipped out of the hanger and made for the cell that the traitor was locked into for the duration.
Mamoru finished his speech, which had been very positive towards the possible merger and stepped away after gesturing at Zero.
Zero, in his mask and cloak, drew the attention of the entirety of the gathered people in the hanger as he walked with a deliberate, unhurried pace. When he reached the podium, he threw his arms wide.
"Members of the Yamato Alliance!" Zero said, "Today, we have accomplished a great deed! The Witch of Britannia, Cornelia, has tasted defeat on the battlefield for the first time in her life! The third defeat suffered by Britannia at the hands of the Japanese and this is only the beginning!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd at that. Zero paused for a moment before gesturing for silence.
"Yes, I plan to continue to fight back against the tyranny of Britannia! I will not stop until Japan is free and Britannia lies before me, crippled and broken!" the masked man declared, "The Resistance Cell founded by Naoto Kōzuki stands with me! Together, we have accomplished more than the entirety of the Japanese Liberation Front! Should you join us, we could accomplish even more! Imagine it!"
The faces before him looked thoughtful at that, but before he could continue, the crack of a gun roared in the hanger and Zero stumbled, blood seeping from the gunshot wound in his arm.
Heads swivelled in shock to see the person who had shot Zero. Tetsuya Ichigyōmon stood in the middle of a small entrance to the hanger, arm upraised with his Nambu '94 pistol pointed at Zero, the barrel still smoking. An insane smile was plastered across the traitor's face as he cackled madly.
"Hehehehehe…gottim…I got the bastard!" he laughed.
"Tetsuya, you little shit!" Kallen yelled angrily as she knelt at Zero's side.
"Shut it, you halfblooded whore!" Tetsuya shrieked as he brought his gun around to point at Kallen, "Ya should have been throttled at birth! Looks like I'll have to correct that!"
He began to squeeze the trigger, but didn't manage it before Zero shouted something.
"Aegis! Now!"
A black shadow fell from the ceiling and dropped towards Tetsuya. Seeing the shadow, he pointed the gun up and fired twice, striking the centre of the shadow. He leapt back as the black cape landed with a smack on the floor.
"So much for that…eh?" Tetsuya paused in mid-taunt when he saw that the cloak was actually wrapped around a metal box. He grunted when something bumped into his back. Looking down he saw six inches of Japanese sword steel emerging from his chest, right about where his right lung was.
"Wha…?" he gurgled as blood welled up his throat. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he gave a wet gasp as he caught sight of a bone-white mask that was straight out of one of the old Nō theatre performances, one he had secretly feared as a child.
A Han'nya mask. Symbolising a jealous female demon, the leering mouth with black and crimson teeth, glowing azure eyes and two short, bull-like horns pressed a button deep within the traitor labelled 'Primal Terror'.
With a pathetic whimper, he once more lost control of his bowls.
"To think a mere worm such as yourself dared to harm my Goshujin-sama." the synthesised voice of the woman muttered to the dying man, "I will have to punish myself for being so lapse as to allow this to happen. Begone, maggot."
With a small snarl, she twisted the blade around and sliced through the remaining part of his lung and his ribcage. Blood gushed from the large wound as Tetsuya collapse to the ground, twitching spasmodically for a moment before falling still, dead.
"Goshujin-sama!" Aegis wasted no time running to her master's side. He had removed his cloak while Kallen skilfully bound his wound. Luckily, Tetsuya had been a lousy shot with regular firearms as well as a piss poor Knightmare pilot, so had only caused a glancing flesh wound to Zero's upper arm.
"I'm fine, Aegis." Zero told her, although his voice was tight with pain, "Kallen, you have my thanks."
The redhead nodded absently as she examined her handiwork for a moment. It was a very good thing she carried a small First Aid kit around with her.
Around them, Mamoru gave orders swiftly for Tetsuya's followers to be disarmed and thrown in a cell. Two men were ordered to bury the traitor's body in an unmarked grave.
"You have my most sincere apologies, Goshujin-sama." Aegis knelt beside him, "I should have acted as soon as I saw him enter the hanger."
"Not your fault, Aegis." Zero shook his head, "Seeing him must have taken you off guard considering he was supposed to be under lock and key in a cell."
"One of Tetsuya's underlings is missing." a Yamato Alliance soldier reported to Mamoru, "Also, two guards are dead, shot in the back."
"Damn him." Mamoru said with a tired sigh of frustration, "Let the other Resistance groups know the man's name and description, with a request for terminate on sight orders. Make sure the JLF are the first to know, and know the whole story. Last thing we want is for them to decide to come and clean house around here."
"Yessir!" the soldier trooped off to carry out his orders.
"Zero, on behalf of the Yamato Alliance, I apologise to you for being assaulted not once, but twice by one of our members." The Council bowed to the masked man as one.
"Like I told Aegis, it is not your fault, Mamoru-san." Zero replied as he stood up, wincing at the pain in his arm, "I'd say the one responsible was dealt with quite swiftly by Aegis here. Please, raise your heads."
Mamoru and the rest of the council looked up in relief. Kallen's old sensei looked over at Aegis, seeing her full outfit for the first time. She wore the Han'nya masked helmet and what looked like what the Japanese film industry had dubbed 'Shinobi Shōzoku', black clothes worn by those who practice the ancient art of Ninjutsu.
There were several additions to the basic outfit. A double-bandolier, with several throwing daggers and shuriken in special pockets, was thrown over her right shoulder and ending at her left hip. The sheath of her sword was visible over the top of her shoulder, which Mamoru recognised as a kodachi. A pair of belts were wrapped tightly around her waist and she wore elbow-length gloves with metal plates attached to the area directly above the back of the hands.
"You have a Shinobi as a subordinate?" Mamoru asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Indeed." Zero nodded, "I believe the trick she used against Tetsuya-teme was Ninpō: Utsusemi no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Empty Cicada Technique), a trick manoeuvre to perform in midair."
"A body replacement technique?!" Mamoru looked at the woman bearing the still bloody sword and made a note not to piss her off.
"Aegis, you might want to clean your blade." Zero told her softly, "We don't want it to get dull."
"Indeed." Aegis nodded and, pulling a cloth from her bandolier, she began to clean the blade of her weapon.
"Isn't that your sword, Zero?" Kallen asked curiously.
"No, the sword that Aegis bears is an imitation, forged to resemble my own sword." Zero replied, "I gave my own sword to Augur for the time being."
"Oh. Where is she anyway?" Kallen said in confusion,. She hadn't seen the silver and white clad woman since the end of the private meeting with the Alliance Council.
"She's in charge of the perimeter, along with most of the rest of the cell, in order to gather most of the Alliance here." Zero replied, "Unless he passed through Tamaki-san's area, that means the idiot who let Tetsuya out of his cage should be captured."
"If that idiot fell asleep, I'll kick his ass." Kallen said flatly. Ohgi, hearing this, winced. Tamaki did have a bad tendency to nap in a secure location. The ex-schoolteacher only hoped the reckless man hadn't done that this time, or he'd have an enraged Kallen chasing him around to kick him across the base several times.
"Augur, this is Zero. Has anybody been caught sneaking out of any of the entrances of the base?" the masked man used the inbuilt radio to call his other subordinate.
"No one has reported anyone, although all I'm getting from the buffoon's radio is snoring." Augur replied lackadaisically.
"Kallen, go and wake Tamaki-san up please." Zero said resignedly, "It seems the bird has flown the coop."
As the enraged woman stomped off to make Tamaki wish he hadn't been born male, Ohgi looked at Zero and said, "A bit much, don't you think?"
"No." Zero replied, "Tamaki-san has to be broken of his bad habits if he is to survive in the future. He was lucky this time that the man who released Tetsuya fled without slitting his throat, but he might not be so lucky in the future."
"Yeah…I see your point." Ohgi nodded, then winced as an agonised, girlish shriek echoed throughout the base. Evidently, Kallen had found Tamaki and 'helped' him wake up.
"Oh boy." he sighed.
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Elsewhere…
The Japanese man who had freed Tetsuya had made like a tree and left as soon as the arrogant man had disappeared down the corridor heading towards the hanger.
The idiot.
If Tetsuya had listened to him, he could have hidden out in the base and orchestrated a campaign of misinformation and fermented malcontent against Zero, but nooooo~, the fool had to confront his 'adversary' face to face and reclaim his honour, or something like that.
Frankly, Tetsuya had been unhinged and out of his mind. If the fleeing man had had to guess, it would be because of a severe Refrain withdrawal, not to mention whatever other concoction or cocktail of drugs the man had taken beforehand.
And now, he had to flee. He couldn't even join a different group because, sure as sure, Mamoru would have informed all the other Resistance Groups about him, damn him.
The man paused at a street corner to look around and catch his bearings. He was definitely still in the Ghetto, although he had no idea which one. He had used the first unguarded entrance he could find in order to get out quickly, so he hadn't taken note of exactly which entrance it was.
"Freeze!" a command made him stiffen. He looked over his shoulder to see two Britannian soldiers level rifles at him. Great.
"Hands in the air." the one in charge ordered him. The runaway Japanese man slowly complied, keeping a wary eye on them. The soldiers in front of him bore an emblem over his heart, which was odd. Most Brit footsoldiers didn't have any distinguishing marks on their uniforms other than rank.
The emblem was odd as well. It was a cursive letter 'R' coloured red. No motto, no other insignia. It was making him nervous.
"Does he meet the requirements?" the one in charge asked his companion.
"Male…age about twenty to thirty…Eleven…in a reasonably good state of health…" the other soldier listed, "Yessir."
"On your knees, Eleven scum." the first man barked, "We're taking you in."
"Where?" the man asked as he complied.
"Narita." the man replied, a cruel note in his voice as he used restraining ties to secure the man, "If you survive, you'll curse the day you were born. No calling out now. There's no one here who cares…"
The former freedom fighter whimpered as he was dragged into the darkness of the nearby van.
This was a really bad day for him.
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Next Chapter: Bond of Three
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