Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 20 here…
Yeah, sorry about the delay. My computer was in the shop…the local wires are being replaced…and I had writer's block…
All in all, writing this chapter has sucked ass royally.
As always, Read, Review and check out my other stories.
Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.
"Kallen"-Speech
'Lelouch'-Thought/mental communication
"{Die}"-Geass Command
"Halt!"-Loudspeaker
"Roger."-Radio/Walkie-Talkie
Chapter 20: The Order of Black Knights
2 Hours Later
A Multi-Level Parking Garage, Britannian Tokyo Settlement
"Whoa." Tamaki said as he gazed at the truck in front of the gathered members of the former Kōzuki Cell.
On this, Kallen had to agree with his sentiments. The vehicle that had just pulled up in front of them was an ultra-luxury motor home that the Nobles used as mobile offices and places to have affairs with mistresses. It was crimson red (Kallen's favourite colour) with gold trim and looked as if it was brand new.
The door opened to reveal Augur, who was without her cape.
"Excellent, you have arrived." the masked woman said, "Zero-sama has been looking forward to your arrival. Do come in."
Kallen stepped forwards and followed Augur into the mobile home. The inside was not what she had expected. It was almost artistically designed, but very Spartan at the same time. There were no useless fripperies or ostentatious decorations whatsoever.
Sitting at the back on a couch was Zero, looking the very picture of relaxation. Next to him stood Aegis, as professional and sharp as always,
The Halfblood girl wasn't exactly a feminist, but she did like it when a fellow woman got ahead in the world, even someone like Cornelia, so seeing two women like Aegis and Augur standing at the top of an organisation was only slightly less satisfying than knowing that Kallen herself was almost as highly ranked as they were.
"Kallen. Ohgi. Tamaki-san." the masked man greeted them as they filed in, "All of you. Welcome to our new mobile command centre."
"This is unreal!" Tamaki said in awe, "It musta cost a fortune!"
"The current price for this vehicle is listed as being twenty-hundred pounds sterling." Aegis informed him, "That is for the bare basics that you see here."
"How'd you get your hands on it?" Ohgi asked in awe. This was a stroke of genius. Only a wealthy Noble would have such a large transport.
"You recall how the truck I acquired last time was poorly guarded and the few guards were poorly paid?" Zero asked, "Well, this time, the poor guards were even more severely underpaid. I made sure they didn't see anything other than the cash they had in their hands. On a completely unrelated note, a week ago, a particularly cruel and vicious factory owner was rather upset that his new mobile home was stolen and was raising quite a stink about it."
Tamaki cackled at that. "I really like the way you operate Zero!"
"I take it the paintjob is new then?" Kallen asked.
"Yes. The previous owner had it painted mauve and lime green." Zero replied.
"Colour-blind much?" Kallen said with a shudder at that horrible combination of colours.
"He has…questionable tastes, both with colours and bed partners." Zero replied, "Proof of his…debauchery and criminal acts has been secretly passed to Princess Euphemia's staff and, as of yesterday, he has fled to the Chinese Federation a bare two hours ahead of members of Cornelia's Royal Guard storming his opulent mansion."
Ohgi whistled. The noble in question must have really pissed off the Witch of Britannia with his list of crimes if she sent her own Knights after him.
"Minami-san, here are the owner's manuals for the base." Zero pointed at some books off to the side, "At a later point, make sure Tamaki-san goes over them. This is a very impressive vehicle, but regular maintenance is necessary to make sure it remains a viable base."
"On it." Minami nodded.
"You can count on me, Zero!" Tamaki said, his chest puffed up at the job his leader had given him.
"I knew I could." Zero nodded solemnly, "But before that, we have a rather…uncomfortable situation that requires dealing with."
Picking up a remote control, he pressed a button, causing a widescreen TV to pop out of another couch's back and turn on, displaying the Lake Kawaguchi
"…believed to be former members of the Japanese Imperial Army, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Josui Kusakabe, a militant and fanatic Eleven." the newscaster stated grimly, "He has demanded the release of members of the Japanese Liberation Front who are currently held in Britannian custody for the release of the hostages."
"The student council's trip!" Kallen realised in horror, "They were supposed to go there today!"
And, as if summoned by her words, footage from cameras showed the three members of the Student Council being held hostage by JLF troops, along with numerous other Britannian civilians.
"Holy crap, the JLF is pulling a big job!" Minami said in surprise.
Zero muted the TV and said, "Yes, I have been expecting a reaction such as this ever since I refused to join the JLF. Kusakabe is, as the newscaster said, a fanatic about Japanese independence. What is odd though is that Cornelia hasn't destroyed the convention centre by now."
"What do you mean?" Ohgi asked in horror, "There are civilians in there! Her own people!"
"In every single country that Cornelia has suppressed and turned into an Area, resistance soldiers have tried this gambit at least once." Zero replied, "Every single time, she has ruthlessly charged in and slaughtered the resistance heedless of civilian casualties. One time she even ordered an air strike on a location without even bothering to show up."
"She's a monster!" Kallen snarled. She hated Britannians, but Cornelia was rapidly rising to the top of her most hated list.
"She is indeed…but she's also very effective." her masked leader said, "Terrorist cells need only see this happen once to know that traditional terrorism hostage taking will be ineffective at best and counter-productive at worst, so they avoid that particular tactic. They then do guerrilla hit-and-run tactics or random bombings until they are caught and executed. All this is well documented in her military file, in which case…why hasn't she repeated her tactic?"
There was a pause as the group absorbed his words before Inoue put forward a suggestion. "Because something's stopping her?"
"I believe that is correct." Zero nodded, "The question is…what? Aegis, examine all footage of the building to determine any reason the former Goddess of Victory hasn't started her dance of destruction. Also, try to identify all JLF assets in the vicinity. Inoue-san, kindly assist her."
Aegis led Inoue up to the second floor, where there was a pair of very advanced computers whirring away. One was downloading the live stream of the broadcast, while the other was running facial recognition software on every civilian and JLF soldier.
"Inoue-san, kindly keep an eye on the computer that is tracking the broadcast." Aegis directed her, "If it deviates from the tracking program, correct it. I'll monitor the facial recognition software."
Minutes ticked by as the two women watched the monitors, occasionally tapping at the keyboard and mouse before eventually, Aegis let out a loud stream of curses.
"What's wrong?" Inoue asked in surprise.
"That fool Kusakabe has doomed us all. If he isn't stopped." the Han'nya-masked woman replied, a slight amount of fear in her voice as her gloved fingers danced over the keyboard before ejecting a flash-drive, "Zero-sama must be told of this at once."
The women ran down the stairs. Zero, who was in a conversation with Ohgi and Kallen, looked up sharply as Aegis came towards him in a hurried fashion.
"Aegis?" he asked softly.
"Goshujin-sama…we have a serious problem." Aegis said as she plugged the flash drive into the side of the TV and pulled a keyboard from behind it. In a moment, she had a still image of a young woman in a heavy coat, large glasses and a heavy wide-brimmed hat. From beneath the hat, you could catch sight of strands of pink hair.
"Euphemia. The Sub-Viceroy is trapped in the hotel." Zero breathed, "This is not good."
"Why? I'd say Kusakabe's struck gold here!" Tamaki pointed out.
"Do any of you recall what I said about Cornelia before the Saitama operation?" Zero asked in a calm voice.
"Err…no." Tamaki replied sheepishly.
"I think it was that she loves all of her siblings the most out of the entire Imperial Family." Kallen said, rolling her eyes at Tamaki's spotty memory.
"Exactly. She was so angry at the death of her foppish, dilettante, waste-of-space of a half brother that she nevertheless loved dearly that she deliberately set up a massacre in order to lure the killer out." Zero said, "Do tell what her reaction will be if she loses the one person she loves and treasures with all of her heart, her own blood-sister?"
Ohgi's face turned the colour of chalk as he followed the thought to its logical conclusion. "Dear kami...she'll slaughter everyone in sight!"
Zero nodded grimly. "The ghettos will run red with blood and the Japanese people will cease to exist as Cornelia lets loose all of her rage and grief. She will not even care if the ghettos have any resistance fighters in them. She will commit mass genocide as punishment on all Japanese people for Euphemia's death."
The rest of the former Kōzuki cell paled at this announcement, unwilling to even imagine the result of what their leader was telling them.
"Fortunately, as I said earlier, I have been expecting something like this to happen ever since I refused to join the JLF." Zero continued after a moment, "There was a seventy percent chance that Kusakabe, or someone like him, would choose to act today in precisely the manner in which he has. As such…I have a plan."
The relief on the faces around her was probably echoed on Kallen's face, she knew. However, she didn't care. Zero had a plan, and that was all that mattered. He hadn't failed them yet and she doubted he would start now.
"Minami-san, kindly change into the driver's uniform over there and take us to Lake Kawaguchi." Zero directed, "The exact location is noted on the dashboard."
"Right." Minami nodded and headed towards the driver's cab.
"Tamaki-san, Ohgi, in the cupboard over there, there are two boxes. Kindly bring them out." the masked man continued.
"On it." Ohgi replied. He and Tamaki did as they were asked and brought out a pair of cardboard boxes. Placing them on the table, they looked for further instructions.
"Open them up." Zero said, "The one Tamaki-san has contains your new uniforms. Ohgi has the accompanying headgear."
The outfits, when they were removed were simple but striking. Black tops, with silver lines accenting them. Grey trousers and black mid-calf boots for males, while the women had the choice of grey trousers, black and silver skirts or shorts.
"Hey, this is made of that bullet-proof stuff!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"Kevlar?" Kallen asked curiously.
"To be precise, it is made of the improved version worn by Britannian officers." Aegis replied, "Thinner, more flexible and more resilient to small arms fire than standard Kevlar. It is also double-layered for more protection."
"I ask the best of soldiers under my command, and give the best protection I can in return." Zero said.
The 'headgear' Zero referred to was a set of berets that were the same black and silver colours as the uniforms, with a red band around the rim. Also in the box were sets of visors made out of a tinted glass that none of them knew what to do with.
"Try one on, Ohgi." Zero directed.
Shrugging, the man did as he was asked. The visor slid on like a pair of glasses, albeit slightly heavier. He was surprised to see the room clearly, with no tint from the other side of the visor.
"A variant on the concept behind one-way glass." Zero told him when he asked about it, "It conceals your features…and aids in battle. Feel for a button on the left-hand side and push it."
Doing so, Ohgi jerked slightly. "Holy…everything's gone green!"
"Night vision." Zero nodded, "Deactivate it and press the button on the right-hand side."
Doing so, Ohgi barely twitched this time as the world turned red to him. "Red…Infra-red?"
"Exactly." Aegis said, "We do not know when, where or what the future holds of us after this, so being prepared never goes amiss."
"What's with the red rim?" Tamaki asked as he picked up a beret.
"You are all the founding members of The Black Knights. That red band is a symbol of that." Zero said before turning his helmeted head towards Kallen.
"I took the idea from the headbands most of you wear." he said apologetically, "I gather they are a way of honouring Kōzuki Naoto's sacrifice. My apologies if I have overstepped myself."
"No…it's a good thing." Kallen said softly, "This way, we can blend the old and the new seamlessly. Right Ohgi?"
"Yeah…I think Naoto would approve." Ohgi smiled sadly, "It's such a shame he isn't here to see this."
"Those we love never truly leave us, Ohgi." Augur said softly, "So long as you hold his memory, he shall live on in spirit."
The man nodded at that.
"Hey, we're one set short." Sugiyama pointed out.
"Kallen requires a more thorough disguise on this occasion due to her friends from the Ashford Student Council." Zero said with a gesture at Aegis, "Kallen, follow Aegis and she will take you to get changed into your outfit. I think I estimated all of the measurements correctly, but it is better to see how it fits now so Aegis can take it in or out as is required."
With a flush, Kallen followed the Han'nya-masked woman up the stairs, hoping that neither eventuality was true, yet simultaneously hoping he hadn't gotten all of her private measurements right without even asking her.
If he had…she wasn't sure how to feel on that regard.
While Kallen was getting changed, the motor home's engine roared to life and the vehicle started to move. Evidently, Minami had gotten changed.
Zero fiddled with the keyboard and mouse, bringing up a floor plan of the Lake Kawaguchi Conference Centre and Hotel on the screen.
"Now, for the briefing." Zero announced, "There are four bridges leading in and out of the conference centre proper, which sits in the middle of Lake Kawaguchi. The JLF have raised these bridges. There are also ladders on the support pillars beneath the hotel that can be climbed, but Kusakabe is a solid if unimaginative commander and has likely electrified them and stationed guards to pick off anyone attempting to swim in under the radar."
He then switched the view to the current live broadcast of the siege at Lake Kawaguchi. "In addition, they have at least four Burai Knightmare Frames stationed at each of the four bridges, just in case the Britannians try a full frontal assault via boats or by air. This leaves a single way in for the Britannians, the underground tunnel beneath the hotel. I suspect that Kusakabe has a trick up his sleeve to guard against that, because I doubt any number of Burai can compete with a squad of Sutherlands."
"Why would they attack the tunnel? It doesn't lead up to the hotel itself." Sugiyama protested, "The only thing there is the support pillars, from what I can see of the schematics."
"You are indeed correct, Sugiyama-san." Zero said, bringing that particular schematic to the fore, "Although, I would correct you in that there is a one person walkway leading up to the hotel, but one man with a pistol could hold an army at bay near the top. No, the reason the Britannian Army will be attacking that particular area is to destroy the support pillars, which will cause the hotel to sink, at least partially, and flush out the JLF, who will be hopefully too busy swimming and saving themselves to mind the hostages."
"That could kill the hostages!" Inoue protested.
"I rather doubt Cornelia would conduct an operation that would harm her sister." Ohgi said with a frown, "Likely, she plans to storm the place in the confusion."
"Sadly, that would only work if Kusakabe plans on surviving." Augur said acerbically.
"What?" Ohgi looked at her in disbelief, "C'mon, no one would go into this kinda situation without an evac plan, especially not a member of the JLF!"
"I disagree." Zero said calmly, "How would he get away? The entire lake is surrounded by Cornelia's troops, so land isn't an option. He can't go underground, because the Sutherlands would chase him down and destroy him. He can't go via air because he has no air transport, and even if he did, the Britannian VTOLs would chase him down. The best route would be the river, but again, being chased down would be too easy. No, Kusakabe and his men chose Lake Kawaguchi as their graveyard."
"The fool…he's condemned his men to death." Augur said contemptfully.
"But…why? Why go to such an extreme?" Tamaki asked.
"Rest assured, Tamaki-san that is a question I shall be asking him when I meet him." Zero said firmly, "Ah, looks like Q-1 is back."
"…whoa." Tamaki and Ohgi said hoarsely, before Ohgi smacked himself out of it with a muttered 'Your best friend's little sister, dude!'
Kallen was dressed to kill, quite literally. She was wearing crimson red all over; leather laced thigh-high boots (no heels), elbow-length gloves, shorts with black borders, a black skin-tight bodysuit beneath an armless halter-neck shirt with a collar around her neck, a half-cape hung to about her mid-back and a black belt around her waist.
Completing the ensemble was the helmet she wore. Enclosing her entire head, it meshed seamlessly with the collar. Crimson red like the rest of her outfit, the sole break in the red was the black symbol on the faceplate, looking like a wide 'V' with a sword impaling it from below and another pair of mirrored L's attached to the sides of the 'V'.
All in all, the utterly expressionless mask combined with the outfit made Kallen look very intimidating.
"Nice to see you Kallen." Zero greeted her, "Your outfit fits, I take it?"
"Y-Yeah…you got everything fitting like a glove." Kallen replied, a voice changer making her sound similar to Aegis and Augur, "How did…?"
"Aegis is an amateur seamstress and was able to estimate your sizes rather well." Zero answered, "My own personal outfitter tailored that outfit so that even if she was off by a centimetre or so, it would still be a snug fit. It suits you quite well."
"Thanks…"
Ohgi mused to himself that if he were a betting man, he would bet that Kallen was blushing right about then.
"Right then…here's the plan…" Zero said as he returned
The newly christened Black Knights leaned forward as Zero began outlining a plan that sounded absurd from the outset, but was in fact bold and audacious enough to achieve victory if everything came together right.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Same Time
Meeting Room, Main Base of the Houses of Kyoto
"That arrogant, insufferable fool!" Kirihara cursed as he glared at the screen mounted on the wall.
"He is certainly try hard." one of the other men muttered, "Perhaps…too bold."
"The idiot is going to get the Witch of Britannia on the warpath hunting down the JLF after this debacle!" the leader of the Houses of Kyoto spat, "The JLF is not ready to face her yet!"
"Todoh and the Four Holy Swords have those custom Sutherlands gifted to them by Zero-sama." Kaguya stated neutrally, "And thanks to not needing to rush, our developers are improving the Burai Kai's and making them feasible for mass production. They ought to be at least equal to the standard-issue Sutherland, perhaps slightly better."
"No matter how skilled they are, the Holy Swords are only four, five if Todoh takes to the field." one of the others snapped at her, "And Cornelia is-!"
"No match for Zero-sama, as he proved in Saitama." Kaguya shot back, interrupting the man, much to his outrage, "She was dancing to his tune throughout the entire battle and he turned her trap and her pride against her. Zero-sama might not have killed Cornelia, but he broke her pride and robbed her of her undefeated title. I have constantly said, from the first time I saw Zero-sama, that he is who we should throw our support behind, not the old relics of the JLF. You do recall what Captain Urabe's report said, do you not?"
The glare she received answered that question. Urabe's report of Zero's words had caused quite the uproar amongst the leaders of the Houses of Kyoto, except for Kirihara and Kaguya. The former was pragmatic enough to merely desire his country back before thinking about the power structure of said country, while the latter agreed wholeheartedly with Zero's philosophy.
"Bah!" the man who had remained silent until now spat at her in scorn, "Your oh-so precious Zero '-sama' is just as helpless as we are in this situation! He can do nothing to alter the outcome of this unmitigated disaster!"
Kaguya raised a hand to stop Kirihara from tearing into the fool for being so rude to her. She wore a small smile that belied the predator's glint in her eyes.
"Would you be willing to place a wager on that, Hiroyosi-san?" she asked calmly.
"What?!" Hiroyosi Yoshino snarled back at her. Dressed in a pale green kimono and his hair (what little of it that remained) tied into a chonmage as a symbol of his descent from an old Samurai family. He was pushing eighty years and had the mindset of an ossified bone.
Kaguya didn't like him. At all.
"I propose a wager, Hiroyosi-san." the Sumeragi Heiress stated in the same calm voice, "I wager that Zero-sama will act to lower the casualties among the hostages in this incident as low as they can get and succeed. Your side of the wager, likely, will be that he either won't show up or that he will fail to prevent further casualties. If you accept the wager, choose which one you will be betting on."
"Y-You…!" the old man growled, "Fine! What are the stakes?!"
"Choose first, then you hear the stakes." Kaguya replied.
"Fine! I choose the latter selection!" Hiroyosi harrumphed grouchily, "This masked fool seems to thrive on dramatics, so of course he will show up! I doubt he will be able to affect the outcome by any significant degree! Now what are the stakes?"
"Should you win, I shall relent and consent to marrying your grandson." Kaguya replied with a distasteful expression on her face that soon shifted into a smirk, "Should I win on the other hand, you shall step down from the reins as the head of the Yoshida Clan and retire, allowing your chosen successor to replace you."
The other members muttered among themselves as Kaguya faced off against the elder member of the Houses of Kyoto. She had actively resisted any attempts by the other members of the Houses to marry her off ever since she was old enough to be eligible for marriage, which was at her fifteenth birthday almost eight months ago.
Hiroyosi looked torn between glee and concern, as Kaguya knew he would be. On one hand, gaining Kaguya as a Daughter-in-Law would allow him to dictate the way the Sumeragi Clan voted in the Houses of Kyoto, something that hadn't been possible since the inception of the group.
The Six Houses of Kyoto had been founded in the chaos after the Meiji Restoration had restored the Japanese Emperor to being the titular leader of the country. They were a mixture of old Samurai Clans (Yoshida and Kirihara), the wealthiest of the rising mercantile class (Kubōin and Munakata) and the Imperial Loyalists who had controlled the Emperor's forces during the Bakumatsu (End of the Shogunate Period) (Sumeragi and Osakabe).
Together, the Houses had guided Japan's leaders since the year 1804 in the Imperial Calendar. Through blood, loss, pain, suffering and triumph, Japan had remained aloof from the warring world around it…right up until it was discovered that the rare and powerful mineral Sakuradite was positively abundant in Japan.
Hell, half of the damn mountains had Sakuradite at their very cores!
Britannia's heavy-handed demand to vastly increase Sakuradite production was stonewalled, for the very simple reason that the Japanese did not want to rape their land and over-harvest it into sterility, not to mention spoiling the picturesque views of the sacred Mt. Fuji, where all of the most easily accessible Sakuradite was located.
Joining with the Chinese Federation in a blockade of Britannia had been the last step before hostilities broke out. Against the largest supplier of Sakuradite and the Third-Largest superpower on the planet as a united front, however, even Britannia would have quite some trouble.
Therefore, in true and tested diplomatic fashion, the Ambassador of Britannia started bribing the hell out of the High Eunuchs that basically ruled the Chinese Federation, ultimately getting them to withdraw their fleets.
While that had been ongoing, Britannia had sent two children, Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally, children of the deceased Empress Marianne, to act as hostages for their country's safe conduct.
This was evidently a ruse because, not six months later, Japan was crushed in a mass invasion by Britannia, spearheaded by the then-new Autonomous Armoured Knights, the Fourth Generation Knightmare, the Glasgow.
This led them to their current positions.
"Well, Hiroyosi-san?" Kaguya pressured him, "Are you in or out?"
"Bah! The foolishness of the young never fails to surprise me." the man snorted, "I agree to your terms! I hope you have a wedding kimono ready."
"And I hope you have appointed a successor and found somewhere to be put out to pasture in." Kaguya said faux-sweetly, "Fellow Clan heads, is our wager heard and witnessed?"
Kirihara nodded slowly. "Heard and witnessed." he said slowly, the other three echoing him.
'I've done my part. Now it is up to you, Zero-sama.' Kaguya thought as she turned her attention back to the television screen, 'I know you won't let me down.'
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Two Hours Later
Cornelia's Command G-1, Lake Kawaguchi shoreline
Cornelia li Britannia glared at the building in the middle of the lake as she listened to the report on the failed attempt to destroy the support pillars. That thrice-be-damned coilgun was deadly in close quarters, despite the fact it was cobbled together from four of those thrice-damned Glasgow knock-offs!
"I want a plan of action from someone." the Viceroy ground out angrily, "This situation is intolerable!"
"Princess, all of our options have been exhausted." Dalton muttered to her, "The VTOLs that attempted a rooftop landing were blown up, the teams which attempted to infiltrate from the lake were killed and now we've lost a squad of three Sutherlands attempting to collapse the support pillars."
"I am well aware of the plans that have failed, Dalton!" the Witch of Britannia hissed, "What I would like to hear are plans that haven't been tried yet!"
"Princess! The roof!" Guilford exclaimed as he brought an image onto the main monitor.
A man in a business suit was being dragged to the edge of the roof by two expressionless soldiers of the JLF. It was patently obvious what they were going to do.
"Eleven dogs!" Cornelia snarled in a fury as the man was unceremoniously flung from the top of the hotel, plunging to his death on the concrete below. The Princess and her two Knights watched the man's death unflinchingly, having seen scenes like this countless times before in other Areas. The only difference was the climate.
"Viceroy, we have received another transmission from the hoteljackers." the soldier at communications reported, "The leader, Kusakabe, informs us that he will execute one hostage every half hour until his demands are met."
"Acknowledged." Cornelia said with a frown.
"Princess." Guilford said quietly as he leaned down to speak in her ear, "If this keeps up, Princess Euphemia…"
"I know." the elder li Britannia sibling ground out, "But at the moment, I have been stymied at every turn. Unless you two have any suggestions…?"
"There is…the Lancelot." Dalton said hesitantly, "I have had a look over what little information Earl Asplund has given us, and it appears that his machine is perfect for the role of vanguard in Operation Spearhead."
"I do not want to use a Number in such a pivotal role, even one who has proven himself as loyal as he has." Cornelia snapped at her Knight-mentor, "The machine, yes, but a proper Britannian Knight will pilot it!"
"Warrant Officer Kururugi has a sync ratio of almost 100% with the Lancelot." Dalton replied coolly, "The highest a Britannian Knight has been able to reach is 47%. The only Knights in Area 11 who might be able to go higher are myself, Guilford, yourself and Margrave Gottwald. It is a moot point, as Earl Asplund would refuse to allow anyone but Kururugi to pilot his machine."
"At some point, I really must speak to my brother Schneizel about the orders and privileges he gives his men." Cornelia said as she massaged her temples. The fact that she was unable to do anything but 'request the intervention of Camelot', rather than order them as she would any other unit in Area 11, even as a member of the Imperial Family, was more than slightly galling for her.
"Viceroy!" Captain Mackenzie called as he ran into the room.
"Calm yourself." Cornelia commanded.
"M-My apologies Your Highness, but…it's Zero!" Mackenzie panted out, "He's stolen a Hi-TV news truck and is approaching the outer pickets as we speak!"
"WHAT!?" Cornelia roared, "Dalton, Guilford, with me! Captain, take command here until I return!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" the Captain saluted as she strode past him, followed by her two Knights.
"Princess, this isn't like Zero." Dalton said with a frown, "His previous modus operandi has been to keep away from the frontlines and direct things from the rear, aside from when he intervened to save Kururugi."
"I could care less!" the Witch of Britannia hissed, "All I need is him within my sights and I can avenge Clovis and my Royal Guard!"
Guilford exchanged a look with his fellow Knight as they followed their Princess to the G-1's Knightmare hanger. Trying to dissuade Cornelia from a course of action once she had decided on it was a case of futility, especially when she felt she was avenging her Guard.
It wasn't often that members of her Royal Guard were ever so much as injured, let alone slain, but it had happened a couple of times before. Each and every time, Cornelia had raised the person or group responsible to the top of her shit list and hunted them down relentlessly and mercilessly…well, more mercilessly than normal, which was a very scary concept for anyone to consider.
Mounting up in her Gloucester and heading out to the outer perimeter, Cornelia snarled as she saw Zero standing atop the news van like a king on his throne.
Screeching her Knightmare to a halt, the Princess ejected her seat from the cockpit, stood up and drew her gun-sabre as she did so. It was a duelling pistol built into a blade, with a modified pistol grip that allowed her to use it as either a sword or a gun at will. It had served her well ever since she had custom made it, and was now aimed directly at the centre of Zero's blank-faced helmet.
"Zero!" Cornelia spat out, "Whatever good fortune has brought you before me I will worry about later. For the moment, I will satisfy myself by avenging Clovis and my Royal Guardsmen that you killed!"
"Cornelia." Zero inclined his head at her before spreading his arms wide, "Clovis and your Guardsmen, who are dead, or Euphemia, who is alive. Whom do you chose?"
Her mind, ordinarily as sharp as a steel trap, ground to a halt as if it had rusted in a matter of seconds. Cornelia's eyes widened, her grip on her weapon tightened and the hand that held it, usually rock steady, started to shake in her confusion and rage.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Zero!" the Viceroy replied in a rage-filled voice.
'He knows that Princess Euphemia is a hostage!' Dalton thought as he emerged from his own Gloucester's cockpit, his face as impassive as ever, while his mind raced, absorbing this new titbit of information, 'The question is, how did he know that was what is keeping Princess Cornelia from annihilating the Lake Kawaguchi Hotel and Conference Centre? More pressingly, what did he hope to accomplish by this grandstanding?'
"Allow me to pass and I shall save her." Zero said, making the Princess and her Knights drop their metaphorical jaws in renewed shock, surprise and disbelief.
"Are you a part of the JLF, Zero?!" Cornelia spat once she recovered, "Are you going to help them?!"
"Hardly. They offered, I refused." the masked man replied, "I give you my word that not only shall I save your sister, I shall ensure the safety of the hostages as well."
"The word of a terrorist!" Guilford scoffed.
"I promised my men I would stop Clovis' actions in Shinjuku, and did it not come to pass?" Zero replied, "I promised them I would save Suzaku Kururugi, and did he not walk free? I gave my word to the Yamato Alliance to stop your mistress' rather crude trap and I did, if you will recall, Sir Knight. My word is not given lightly. I never promise what I cannot deliver."
Inside of Cornelia, two primal urges that were key parts of her very being were at war with each other. One was her desire to slay and punish those who have wronged her, her family or her subordinates. Zero had done all three by almost killing her on the battlefield, turning her beloved little sister against her and killing two members of her Royal Guard.
The other half was, bluntly put, her mother bear instincts. Euphie was in danger, so she had to do anything and everything she could to help her. The thought of her little sister dead in the same country that had claimed Clovis' life and hid Lelouch and Nunnally for seven years made her want to cry.
"Princess, we should let him go in." Dalton sub-vocalised to her via the radio, "If nothing else, he will distract the JLF long enough for us to get the Lancelot into position, as well as delaying the execution of the next hostage."
That tipped the internal war's balance in favour of the 'Protect-Euphie-at-all-costs' side. Nothing, not her own desire for vengeance nor her disdain for using a Number Knightmare pilot, would prevent her form saving her sister.
"If so much as a hair on her head is harmed…!" Cornelia threatened the masked man darkly.
"Then you may shoot me." Zero replied seriously, "It will not come to that however. I have a plan."
Having been on the receiving end of one of Zero's plans, Cornelia felt a certain amount of satisfaction that this time the JLF would be the ones on the receiving end this time, instead of the Britannian Army.
"Let him pass." the Viceroy ordered, much to the surrounding soldiers' shock.
"And Dalton…pass on orders to Earl Asplund to ready the Lancelot for Operation Spearhead." she added softly via her radio as she moved her Gloucester to the side, clearing the war to the sole remaining bridge to the convention centre that remained down.
"And…the pilot?" Dalton asked as Zero's stolen van drove on past his Knightmare.
"He is to use the pilot he feels best suited for the machine to function properly." the Princess replied sourly, "If that happens to be Kururugi…so be it."
With Kallen
Inside the Van
"Holy shit." Tamaki whispered hoarsely, "I thought the boss was dead meat there for a second!"
"Zero-sama's cape is bullet-proof, as is his helmet." Augur said, "Against small arms fire, he has little to worry about."
"Yeah, but those Knightmare Battle Rifles can punch through the armour of an ordinary tank like it isn't even there!" the redheaded man pointed out, "No amount of bullet-proofing is going to help there. Not to mention what they'd do to this damn truck! Why'd we steal this thing again instead of using the mobile home?"
"Idiot!" Kallen hissed in her synthetically altered voice, "You think we should use our mobile base of operations in front of people who could track the damn thing? Real smart!"
"Oh…shit. Never thought of that." Tamaki admitted sheepishly.
"Do you all remember the plan?" Aegis asked them.
"We do." Ohgi confirmed. He finished loading his pistol and holstered it after a final check that made Kallen's heart swell with pride as his small-arms instructor. Each move was assured, practiced and professional, none of the wariness remaining from before she started teaching him.
"Kallen-san." Augur brought out a pistol from beneath her cloak and handed it to her, "Zero-sama wished you to have this pistol. It is the weapon that slew Clovis."
The weight of the weapon in her hand grew immensely at those words. It was a simple pistol, standard issue in the Britannian Army and only physically distinguishable from the countless others by the serial number etched onto the slide (BIA-078542016), but the weapon in her hand had fired the bullet that had killed an Imperial Prince of Britannia.
"Does Zero have a replacement?" Kallen asked.
"He drew one from the stock we keep at our new base." Aegis assured her.
"Ne base?" Ohgi asked, "I take it you don't mean the mobile home?"
"Correct." Augur said, "It is the base to which we will be moving as soon as Zero-sama has deemed it ready. He is overseeing the refurbishment and expansion personally."
"Heads in the game." Aegis said seriously as the van jerked to a halt, "Remember your orders and take them down as quietly as you can so the rest are unaware of it."
Thumbing the safety on her new pistol off, Kallen thought about what she was about to do. She and her friends were going to turn their weapons on their own countrymen with the intent to kill.
She knew that the JLF were in the wrong here. She knew that the former Japanese Imperial Army soldiers had sealed their fate the moment they raised their weapons against the weak as far as Zero was concerned. Still, it went against anything and everything she believed in to kill her fellow Japanese, like the Britannian blood within her was controlling her.
'Enough!' she ordered herself sternly, 'Head out of the clouds and into combat mode!'
She had a job to do, after all.
With Lelouch
As soon as the van slid to a sedate halt, Lelouch gracefully leapt off of the roof, landed with barely a sound and approached the nearby gawping squad of JLF soldiers. He noted that none of them had so much as raised their weapons to cover him and mentally tutted at their lack of discipline.
"I am here to speak to Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe." he announced, "Kindly let him know that Zero wishes to speak with him."
"R-Right." one of the soldiers stammered and pulled a very clunky walkie-talkie from his pocket. A pre-invasion, Japanese-manufactured version, Lelouch noted wryly. National pride hindering the effectiveness of their troops. Even the Yamato Alliance had used modern walkie-talkies before he had taken them over.
After talking with someone for a moment, the soldier said, "The colonel will allow you an audience. Follow me."
As Lelouch followed the man, he noted that the rest of the squad fell in behind them until they were inside the building, where they peeled off to lounge against the walls, leaning their guns haphazardly against the wall as they chatted.
'Leaving their post…improper conduct on duty…dear me. It would seem that the JLF version of the Yamato Alliance is present.' the masked boy thought disdainfully.
Obviously, some of these idiots were convinced either that Kusakabe had an escape plan or they had a death wish. How the man could sacrifice his men for an obviously lost cause was something of a concern for Lelouch. He fully understood that in battle, it was inevitable that at some point you would have to sacrifice a unit to win the battle. Where commanders in the E.U. and Chinese Federation went wrong however was in choosing to sacrifice men and resources when a little thinking outside the box could solve the problem with a tenth of the costs.
'The main objective in warfare is to inflict the maximum amount of casualties on the enemy whilst simultaneously reducing your own casualties as much as possible' was one of his most often quoted (to himself) phrases. Not only was it effective in preserving your fighting strength, it made your subordinates more loyal, knowing that you wouldn't send them to their deaths at the drop of a hat or for no reason.
With all that in mind, it was little wonder that Kusakabe's obvious suicide ploy was causing disgust and contempt for the man to well up in Lelouch. The soldiers may be idiots, but even they deserved to have a commander that didn't treat them as disposable pawns on a chessboard…unless it was absolutely necessary.
At length, the guard led him to a room, which was a luxury conference room intended for the Sakuradite Conference that had been scheduled for today. Lelouch quietly snorted to himself. Evidently Kusakabe intended to die in the lap of luxury.
As he was ushered into the room, Lelouch took notice of the men arrayed around the table, all officers in the Japan Liberation Front. Sitting at the head of the table was an arrogant looking man with a black goatee and a sheathed katana in one hand.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe, I presume?" he said aloud.
"Indeed. You are Zero." Kusakabe sneered, "Why is the person who turned down a high-ranking position in the JLF here?"
"I see…that is indeed the reason you are doing all this." Lelouch waved a lazy hand to indicate the convention centre in general and the siege in particular as he sat on the seat at the foot of the table, "All of this…due to spite and sour grapes on your part."
"You…!" one of Kusakabe's officers snarled.
"Silence!" the Colonel snapped at the man. Once the man fell silent, Kusakabe returned his attention to Lelouch, his eyes showing his anger.
"An upstart fool such as yourself cannot comprehend the lengths to which we must go to resist the Britannians." he said pompously, "By doing this, the whole world will know that the JLF are still ready and willing to do what must be done to resist them!"
"And that is why you will fail." the Exiled Prince stated coldly.
"Say what?!" Kusakabe demanded.
"By 'resisting' them in this fashion, you are merely playing into the role of 'terrorist' that Britannian Propaganda expounds to the sheep in the Britannian civilian populace." Lelouch told him coldly, "This in turn gives Cornelia all the excuse she needs to further oppress the Japanese people even further. Your way of thinking and methods are stale and obsolete."
Kusakabe's face had gone purple with rage and outrage, and his subordinates were not far behind him. Lelouch leaned back into the chair and eyed all of the officers carefully. If Kusakabe was as impulsive and quick tempered as his actions suggest, he would attack with that sword soon.
'All of the officers are glaring at me and even if Kusakabe leaps towards me, he won't block my line of sight to them.' Lelouch thought with a smirk, 'All of the conditions have been cleared for my victory. Al we need is Kusakabe to act like the bull-headed fool that he is and things will go according to plan.'
"I'll repeat myself for the last time Zero…why are you here?" Kusakabe spat angrily.
"To put an end to your stupidity." Lelouch replied calmly, "By any means necessary."
Kusakabe roared with laughter. "Hahahahahaha! Do tell what a single unarmed man can do against over fifty armed soldiers?!"
"I hate to correct you, but I am actually armed." Lelouch said with a hint of derision in his voice, "Your men are really quite lax about little things like searching a stranger who is about to meet their commanding officer."
Kusakabe frowned and silently cursed his men for their laxity, before dismissing it. One man still couldn't do anything to harm his operation.
"I've heard enough from you…now die, Zero!" he yelled as he drew his katana and jumped up to move to where the masked man sat in order to kill him.
"I think not." Lelouch said as he activated the slide system on his mask, revealing his active Geass to the men in the room, "{Die!}"
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Five Minutes Previously
With the Hostages
Milly Ashford cradled the terrified form of her girlfriend as the two girls crouched among the other hostages. The room they were in was dark, but Milly could just make out a few shelves here and there, so guessed they were in a storeroom of some sort.
"Milly…!" Nina whimpered. Shirley, crouched next to her, put a supportive hand on the verdette's shoulder to try and calm her down.
"Shhh, Nina. Things will be alright." Milly whispered very quietly into her lover's ear, "Please, keep quiet. We don't want to aggravate them!"
"Silence, you Britannian trash!" a guard shouted at them. He was bored and wanted to stir up some excitement. Moreover, the chance to make some rich Brit brats quail in terror was not to be passed up.
Nina whimpered again as her xenophobia kicked into overdrive. Milly tightened her hold on her as she glared back at the man contemptfully.
"She's xenophobic, you jerk! Leave her alone!" she said angrily, her fear and caution gone in a surge of protectiveness for her lover.
"Xeno-what now?" the man asked in confusion.
"It mean she's afraid of foreigners." one of his fellow soldiers told him helpfully.
"The fuck? What kinda retard brings their kid with a condition like that to a foreign country?" the man sneered.
"Don't you insult my parents, Eleven!" Nina shouted angrily, her face twisted into a caricature of fear and anger, making Milly pale and the guards to raise their weapons at her threateningly.
"You snotty Brit bitch…know your place!" the first man snarled as he started towards Nina, "Looks like we have the next person to be made an 'example' of right here!"
"No! Wait!" Milly pushed Nina behind her as she shouted frantically, "I'm Millicent Ashford, the Heiress of the Ashford Foundation! I demand to speak to Colonel Kusakabe!"
"Ashford….whew!" the soldier whistled, "One of the big Brit names in Japan. Jackpot!"
"That's the Colonel's decision to make, Asagiri." the second man admonished his companion, "Ryūtake, Hayashida, escort the brat to the Colonel. It'll be his decision whether we 'example' her in…fifteen minutes."
"Sir." the men acknowledged, "Come on, Brit."
"Milly, no!" Nina wept as Shirley held her back.
"I'll be fine, Nina." Milly said with a wan smile, "Look after her for me, Shirley."
At the back of the room, Euphemia was struggling against the two restraining hands of her maid, which kept her down and covered her mouth, preventing her from stopping her old rival from sacrificing herself to save her friend.
"My Lady, please! Don't make Lady Ashford's sacrifice be in vain!" the maid hissed into her mistress' ear frantically.
Euphie subsided at that, but swore to try and save Milly as the blond girl stood up and followed the JLF soldiers out of the room, her pace dignified and calm, despite the obvious fear in her eyes.
Milly's mind raced as she contemplated the mess she had gotten herself into this time. She had figured out, when the businessman who had been dragged out earlier hadn't returned, that he was dead, likely shot on the roof or something.
As the Ashford Heiress, Milly had been briefed on what to do in a hostage situation, and she had broken basically every rule in the 'How to Survive Hostage Situations' book. She had aggravated the hostage-takers, drawn attention to herself and even volunteered to be taken away, alone, by her hostage takers.
'Lelouch is going to kill me for this.' she thought with a mental wince. Yes, one Lelouch vi Britannia would give full vent to his acerbic tongue and expansive vocabulary once he discovered what she had done, something she was not looking forward to.
"What's with the odd faces?" one of the soldiers asked her roughly.
"Oh…a friend of mine is going to be angry about what I'm doing." Milly replied absently, "He's going to be angry at me."
"Boyfriend?"
"No!" Milly replied, with a touch of red on her face, "He's the Vice-President of the Student Council at Ashford Academy and an old friend of mine. He can be very…acerbic…when he scolds me."
"So you want him to be your boyfriend and he's got someone else." the man translated, much to her embarrassment.
"Teenagers." the other opined with a shake of his head, "Never honest with themselves."
Fortunately for Milly's sake, they reached the room where Kusakabe was in. The guards stiffened when the sharp crack of gunfire erupted from the room for a moment, then silence fell.
When the door opened and the masked and cloaked form of Zero emerged, the two JLF soldiers and Milly gaped for a moment. Then Milly back-pedalled away and Zero drew his pistol and shot the JLF guards with such speed that the gun seemed to teleport into his hand.
"L…Zero." Milly gasped as she felt her legs start to tremble as she saw the two men lying bleeding on the floor. She collapsed onto the floor herself and started to have a panic attack as the events of the last day started to break through her emotional control.
"Up you get, Miss Ashford." the voice of Zero said politely as he held out a hand for her to use as leverage. She looked up at the masked face of her best friend and, with an impressive display of willpower, she locked down her emotions to a manageable level.
"Thank you." Milly muttered as she took his offered hand and stood up once again.
The muffled sound of gunfire made her jerk in surprise, but Zero raise his free hand and said, "Have no fear. My own forces are currently engaged in subduing the JLF soldiers inside the building. Might I ask how many guards are currently with the hostages?"
"Err…counting these two, six." Milly replied.
"My thanks." Zero said before reaching up with his free hand and depressing a button on the side of his helmet, "This is K-1 to P-1. The number of soldiers guarding the hostages are confirmed to be four in number. The safety of the hostages is paramount, so shoot first, shoot carefully and ask questions never."
He listened for a moment before releasing the button and leading Milly back the way she had come, towards the place where the hostages were being held.
"Are you unharmed?" the masked man asked politely.
"I'm fine." Milly replied, still somewhat dazed from how surreal the situation was, "Um…you aren't angry with me?"
"I expected Euphie to give herself up, not you." Zero replied bitingly, "We will have words about that later on…elsewhere. For the moment, suffice is to say that you will be in the doghouse with Lelouch Lamperouge when he sees you. Now shush, we're almost there."
Milly fell silent as she and Zero entered the room where the hostages were being held. The JLF guards were now in shackles and covered by two men in a black and grey uniform.
"Zero, we have successfully liberated the hostages." a man said with a nod towards the masked man.
"Excellent work, P-1." Zero replied, "What is the status of the operation?"
"All JLF soldiers inside the hotel are either dead or captured, most of them are captured though." P-1 reported. It was surreal to Milly that this man, who had to be twice Lelouch's age, was treating her old friend and secret crush with respect bordering on awe.
"Very good." the masked man nodded, "Commence Phase Three after I finish my part here."
Zero strode into the full view of the hostages, escorting Milly along as if they were at a ball. Nina's look of abject relief was dimmed somewhat by the fear in her eyes for Zero, the Regicide who held her lover's hand.
"Britannians, I am here to save you." Zero stated bluntly, "I must ask one thing first though…could Euphemia li Britannia please stand up?"
Milly had only half-acknowledged his words earlier, but when a girl in the back of the crowd stood up and removed her bulky hat and large glasses to reveal bright pink hair and violet eyes, she gaped in shock.
"Euphie?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"It has been a while, Milly." Euphemia replied with a wary smile, "I am relieve to see you well. If my maid hadn't stopped me earlier-" she glared down at a woman cowering at her feet, "-I would have done what you did."
"How very like you, Your Highness." Zero said in amusement, drawing the Princess' attention back to him, "You should be grateful to Her Highness, Britannians. It is her presence alone that has stopped Viceroy Cornelia from bombarding this Hotel into rubble along with the JLF and all of you with it."
"Zero." the pinkette said with a bite in her voice, "Why are you here?"
"To do as I promised your sister; save you and all of the other hostages." Zero replied, "Nothing more and nothing less. Everyone, please follow the instructions of my troops as they lead you out, especially Red Queen here."
He gestured at someone who had just entered the room, a woman dressed in crimson red and a masked helmet.
"Red Queen…?" Euphie focussed on the woman, "The pilot of the red Sutherland?"
"I am." the disguised voice of Red Queen stated bluntly, "Lets move it, pinkie. Zero-sama hasn't got all night."
As the former (and rather confused) hostages filed out of the room, Zero gestured for Milly to follow her friends. Euphemia stayed back and looked Zero straight in the mask.
"Who are you?" she demanded, "How do you know what you know?"
"'Who' is merely the form following the form of 'what' and what I am is a man in a mask." Zero replied, "It is a bit silly to ask a masked man who he is, wouldn't you say? As for how I know what I know…well, that is something you will come to know later, much later. For the moment, allow me to escort you to the next stage."
He held out a hand, and for some reason, Euphemia was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu as she took it. It was as if…as if she had met Zero before somewhere.
"Why did you kill my brother?" she asked as they walked, with Red Queen a step or two behind them.
"He was guilty of attempted mass murder." Zero replied, "Besides, it is a trick out of the Britannian book of tactics to kill the enemy commander. Ask your sister."
Euphie frowned. Zero was unfortunately correct; it was a common thing for a Britannian commander to do before a big battle. Hire an assassin or suborn enemy officers to kill the charismatic general that could pose a problem in a campaign. Not that competence was common in any military these days. The E.U. had politicians who aped themselves as officers and using human wave tactics, the Chinese Federation had toadies of the High Eunuchs as officers and they had as little regard for their troops as their E.U. counterparts.
Even Britannia had relatively few generals and officers that knew what they were doing. Cornelia was one, General Calares was barely in the contention. The best commander was her elder brother Prince Schneizel, the Prime Minister of Britannia, and he was usually to busy running Britannia to bother with wars.
The technological superiority that the Holy Empire of Britannia enjoyed meant that other nations stood little chance against them, as had been demonstrated seven years ago during the Second Pacific War, so such tactics were uncommon nowadays, but it was still an accepted tactic.
"Still, killing him in cold blood…" she said with distaste.
"He would have only been disinherited by the Empire." Zero replied bluntly, "This way, he was given an appropriate and fitting punishment. Do take a message to your sister for me. Tell her that she had better not try anything similar to Shinjuku again, or I will not pull my punches like I did there."
"You almost killed her!" the Sub-Viceroy hissed, her hold on him tightening in her anger.
"I was busy dealing with a traitor at the time." Zero replied, "It was a subordinate of mine that carried out my plan. I never intended to threaten her life, perish the thought. Scare her? Certainly."
"Why did you sent me that letter?" Euphie asked, "What game are you playing with your words."
"No game. Just the truth." Zero replied quietly, "While the truncheon may be used in lieu of words, words shall always retain their power and, to those who will listen, contain the enunciation of truth."
"And what truth is it you wish to say?" Euphie asked.
"That there's something terribly wrong with the world." Zero said, "Wouldn't you agree? The strong take advantage of the weak simply because they can and receive no punishment for it. The weak have done nothing wrong except to be weak. Is being weak a sin? Is it a crime? I say no, it is not either. So I will stand against those in power who would abuse their positions for their own ends, regardless of nation of origin."
"That is why you intervened here?" Euphie asked breathlessly. She couldn't believe that he was serious, yet…she couldn't help but believe him. His words had a hypnotic quality to them, one that had her enthralled unlike anything she had experienced.
"It is." Zero stated, "I do have a less altruistic reason for such a…dramatic intervention, but it will harm no one…except perhaps a few Royal egos."
As Euphemia pondered that last remark, Zero called someone over his radio.
"Aegis, have the packages been delivered?"
He listened for a moment before nodding to himself and saying, "Very good. Is the White Knight about to charge?"
"He is." a distorted female voice said from in front of them. Euphemia looked up to see the masked form of Augur standing next to a large doorway.
"Augur." Euphie hissed. This was the woman who had taunted her sister at her lowest ebb, mocking her and her knights' sacrifice.
The white-masked woman ignored her and continued, "The JLF men operating the coilgun in the lifeline tunnel don't stand a chance against the Lancelot when you combine the shielding it is equipped with and the VARIS Rifle that Earl Asplund has constructed. We have five minutes, tops, before the support pillars are destroyed."
"As anticipated, then." Zero said with a nod.
Euphie had turned white. They knew about the VARIS Rifle. Camelot's databases were completely isolated from every single other one in Area 11, as well as being heavily encrypted. Even Lloyd Asplund wasn't stupid enough to leave his work unprotected.
'How does she know about Camelot's developments?' was her numb thought.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
At That Moment
With Suzaku
Suzaku ran a final series of checks on the Lancelot's systems before staring at the monitor that showed him the tunnel ahead of him, complete with the scattered wreckage of the three Sutherlands that had tried to break through the JLF blockade in the tunnel.
"Where on earth did they scrape together a coilgun of all things?" he wondered aloud.
"A simple thing like that is something the most plebeian of scientists could build, Warrant Officer Kururugi." Lloyd informed him over the radio, "Especially considering how crude and clunky it seems to be. Really, botching together four Glasgows as a base? The Energy Fillers surely can't supply the energy for even a single shot, so it must have an external generator of some sort…"
"Lloyd! Stop filling the channel with your speculations!" Cecily scolded her boss, "Suzaku, how are things checking out on your side?"
"Core Luminous, fired up and ready to go." Suzaku replied, "Blaze Luminous Shields, all green. VARIS Rifle is in standby-mode and passes all preliminary checks. Z-01 Lancelot is ready for battle."
"Excellent." Lloyd put in, "Kindly don't try and take the full brunt of the coilgun on the Blaze Luminous, as it isn't rated for that sort of pounding. At best, it will be able to block 50% of the blast."
"Don't use the VARIS Rifle until you have to destroy the blocks." Cecily added, "We still haven't fully tested it at combat-output yet."
"Roger that." the Honorary Britannian replied with steel in his voice. He would stop the JLF, no matter what he had to do or what happened to him. He still couldn't believe that Kusakabe had descended to murdering the innocent.
Suzaku had met most of the people that the intelligence reports tentatively placed as being high-ranking members of the JLF as a child living with his father, Genbu Kururugi. Out of all of them, Kusakabe had made Suzaku the most ill-at-ease with his outright fanaticism and extreme nationalism, as well as his shifty eyes, always searching whatever room he happened to be in, never still.
Nevertheless, he still found it hard to believe that a former soldier could stoop so low. Suzaku's conviction that peace gained through violence was inherently worthless writhed and raged against what Kusakabe was doing, just as much as it had when he had heard from Lloyd about Zero's interference in the operation against the Yamato Alliance.
'He kills dozens of men, wounds scores more and he thinks he's accomplished something!' Suzaku thought derisively, 'What a bad joke!'
He still felt anger at the contemptfully way the masked man had scorned his beliefs and objectives, telling him that he would be waiting for Suzaku to fall into despair and come to him of his own will.
Never in a thousand years!
"Suzaku, the Viceroy orders you to begin the operation." Cecile announced, interrupting his brooding session.
"Roger that, Ms. Cecile." he replied, "Z-01 Lancelot…launching!"
In a burst of speed, the white and gold Knightmare deployed its Landspinners and practically flew down the tunnel towards the target.
The plan was a simple one. Smash through the coilgun, sink the hotel by destroying the foundation and support blocks, then save the hostages. Unfortunately, like all things in the military, the simple things are always the hardest.
Inside the narrow confines of the tunnel, the Lancelot only had an evasion rate of 47.8%, at least according to Lloyd, which basically boiled down to the fact that over half of the shots fired from the coilgun and the auxiliary weapons on the sides of the weapon would have to be blocked by the Blaze Luminous, which, while it had been improved greatly at his suggestion, was nowhere near powerful enough to block a direct shot from a weapon that powerful.
Suzaku glared down the screen as he came within range of the Coilgun.
Time to work.
With the Raikō Crew
Master Sergeant Shirou Rakugaki had been a member of the JLF since it was founded, and had served in the Imperial Japanese Army for five years previous to that. He had fought bravely during the invasion and had been under the command of Colonel Todoh at Itsukushima.
When he had been approached by Kusakabe for this mission, it had been a tossup as to what to do. On one hand, the man was a nut with the morality of a butcher towards a leg of beef when it came to Britannians. On the other, Shirou really wanted to strike back at the Brits.
In the end, he came along and had been designated the commander of the Raikō and tasked with keeping any interlopers away from the basement of the hotel and the support/foundation blocks that kept the hotel above the water.
Up until now, that had been rather easy, as only three Sutherlands had tried and been blown to smithereens by a 60% power shot, which had made him smile beatifically for a solid ten minutes afterwards. It was very…cathartic for him.
"Sir! Response detected!" one of his subordinates reported, snapping him out of his contemplation. Being a good subordinate, he had already started the firing sequence for the main cannon.
"Whew…he's moving fast." Shirou whistled as he viewed the Lancelot approaching on his monitor, "Won't do him much good though. He'll be shredded like the last lot. Raikō Cannon…FIRE!"
With a burst of yellow light, the shell was fired at the incoming Knightmare. Shirou watched in anticipation, waiting for it to be reduced to so much scrap metal, when something astonishing happened.
The white Knightmare danced around the multiple projectiles released from the main shell of the Raikō's cannon round. Literally! It weaved in and out with amazing speed and agility that was almost frighteningly similar to the way a human would move
"Im…impossible!" Shirou gasped, "Reload! And FIRE!"
The second shot did strike the white Knightmare a few times, but what few rounds that were on target were blocked by a hexagonal green shield of energy that seemed to mock the efforts of the coilgun to break through it.
The next three volleys were almost exactly the same. The Lancelot dodged or deflected each and every single one of them with such contemptuous ease that the Master Sergeant wanted to scream in frustration as it drew relentlessly closer.
"Sir…that thing is coming right at us!" one of Shirou's other subordinates practically yelled in his ear.
"First off, OW! Second, yell in my ear again and I'll throw you into the Sanzen River myself. Third, deploy the Auxiliary Cannons and finally Re-fucking-Load the main cannon!" Shirou shouted at the man, "Maximum output! I don't care if the barrel melts! We must defend this location at all costs!"
As his subordinates followed his orders, Shirou knew that it was already too late. The white Knightmare, which hadn't fired a shot in return up to this point, had deployed a blue rifle-like weapon that made chills run down his spine to watch it.
"FIRE!" he bellowed.
Almost simultaneously, the Raikō and the Lancelot fired at each other, the blinding yellow light of the coilgun blazed out even as the blue energy bullet from the VARIS Rifle shot out to counter it.
There wasn't even a slight amount of resistance as the projectile was devoured by the energy round before it plunged into the Raikō like the fist of an angry god.
Master Sergeant Shirou Rakugaki had a single moment to regret that he would never see his country liberated from Britannian rule before he was consumed by the fire and pressure from the explosion.
Back with Suzaku…
As the strange hodgepodge Knightmare exploded and breached the top of the tunnel, Suzaku sent the Lancelot flying through the opening in both the concrete and the water.
"There it is!" he hissed. Targeting the single large pillar that held the convention centre in place with the VARIS Rifle, he blew it into shards in four shots.
Calmly, he then eliminated the support pillars that would delay the sinking of the hotel with a single shot each. With a groan of concrete and the sound of shattering glass, the hotel started to sink into the lake.
"Wait a moment, is that…?!" Suzaku gasped and magnified the pickup form the Factsphere Sensors until he could see a familiar black-cloaked figure standing in the windows where the hotel schematics said the Royal Suite was.
Zero.
Almost as if he knew he had been spotted, Zero inclined his head at the Lancelot, turned around and walked away…two seconds before a large series of explosions consumed the hotel.
"No! My friends!" Suzaku yelled in denial, even as the Lancelot landed gracefully on the bridge.
Despair began to consume him as he smashed his fist into the side of the cockpit in anger and self-loathing.
"I couldn't save them!" he choked out.
With Cornelia
"EUPHIE!" Cornelia almost shrieked in denial as the building where her sister was in was consumed by explosions and crumbled into the lake water.
She felt dizzy, the world growing dark as she was faced with the manifestation of her most private and hated hell; being unable to prevent the death of her beloved little sister.
Memories of their childhood flashed before her eyes and the Witch of Britannia could feel her control over her emotions start to break down. With a burst of her willpower, she regained control and allowed her anger to fully flourish.
"For this…atrocity…the JLF shall bleed a river of blood." she hissed, "So I do swear on my Royal title!"
"Your Highness!" Dalton said, "there's a broadcast from Zero! On Hi-TV!"
"WHAT!?" she shouted.
Dropping into her Gloucester, she dialled up the frequency of Hi-TV ad was met by the masked countenance of Zero, making a sliver of hope glimmer in her mind. Did the masked man keep his word? Is Euphie safe with him?
"My dear Britannians…there is no need for alarm." Zero said confidently, "As you can see, the hostages…all of them, bar the one executed by the JLF before my intervention here, are alive and well. I return them to you unharmed."
As the man spoke, the view switched to a camera panning over orange life rafts filled with anxious former hostages.
'And just how long would it take for you to turn them into your hostages if we attacked?!' Cornelia thought bitterly. She hated this. Now, not only did she owe the bastard, he had her over a barrel.
The anger lessened significantly when she spotted her badly disguised sister and her maid in a lifeboat looking none worse for the wear for her ordeal.
Thank god.
The view switched back to Zero, albeit more panned out. Spotlights flickered on, revealing an assembly of men and women around her. Most wore black and grey uniforms with their faces concealed by tinted red visors. They seemed to be aboard a yacht of some kind.
Aside from Zero, three other masked figures stood in the line-up. One she recognised as that bitch Augur who had taunted her in Saitama. The other two wore black and red respectively, and stood on either side of Zero in a way that was very reminiscent of how Dalton and Guilford flanked her. Bodyguards.
"People of the world…fear us, or rally behind us! We are…the Order of the Black Knights!" Zero announced.
Camelot Trailer…
"Well, well, well…a group of terrorists calling themselves knights?" Lloyd remarked to Cecile, "What a funny fellow he is, wouldn't you say?"
"We, the Order of the Black Knights, stand with those who have no weapons to wield!" Zero continued, "Eleven…Britannian…such distinctions are irrelevant to us! Former Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe disobeyed the orders of his superiors in the Japan Liberation Front and held innocent Britannian civilians hostage, and even murdered a non-combatant in cold blood."
JLF Base…
"Kusakabe, you were a fool." Todoh whispered. He and the Four Holy Swords sat in the Seiza position as they watched the broadcast from Lake Kawaguchi.
"When I met with Kusakabe and his command staff, they recognised their wrongdoing and dishonourable conduct and committed seppuku in order to atone for their crimes and regain their honour." Zero stated sombrely, prompting a gasp from Chiba, "I will make the point again that Kusakabe acted unilaterally, without the consent of his superiors in the JLF. His former comrades should not be held accountable for the actions of fifty men who chose to go against their orders."
"Thanks for trying Zero, but I think Cornelia will ignore you." Urabe sighed.
Hi-TV Trailer…
"You heard me, let it run!" Diethard Reid said bluntly into his headset, where one of his subordinates was begging to be allowed to cut the footage, "What's that? Liable?! I am, you simpering cretin!"
"Some of you may ask why I did this, why I intervened here." Zero continued, "I came to halt the murder of innocent Britannians, just as I went to Shinjuku and Saitama to stop the murder of innocent Japanese civilians!"
A light began to shine in Diethard's eyes as his desire to discover the truth was rekindled after so many years of producing pointless propaganda for the posers in the Nobility. No, more than that…he desired to make Zero immortal! To record his actions and make his name resound throughout the future!
"I will not repudiate battle on a fair and even field, but I will not tolerate the one-sided slaughter of the weak by the strong!" Zero declared, "The only ones who should kill…are those who are prepared to BE killed!"
All across The Britannian Tokyo Settlement, Zero's words echoed across the streets from large TV screens and countless smaller ones, as well as radios.
"Where those with power attack those without, we shall be there, ready to stop them! No matter the strength or number of the foe! From a common Captain, to the Emperor of Britannia himself!" the masked man declared, making all Britannians who witnessed this proclamation almost have a heart attack as he cast a gauntlet at the ruler of the Holy Britannian Emperor.
"Those with power, fear us!" Zero said, "And those without power, rally behind us! For we, the Order of Black Knights, shall stand in judgement of this world!"
Abruptly, the signal cut out and a tide of smoke and mist erupted around the yacht. When it cleared, the form of the ship was gone without a trace.
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Next Chapter: A Reason to Fight
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