Author's Note: So then. Chapter twenty-seven.
It has been…three years since I re-uploaded this story to FanFiction. If you include the time it was up before someone reported it and it got taken down, it's been four years since I first tentatively posted the prologue of this story. As I write this AN, Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion has had a whopping 1,230, 876 views over the past three years, with an average of 900viewsper day. That ignores the 300,000+ views that it had before being taken down.
For me, that is simply phenomenal. So, I would like to thank everyone who has read my story, and I hope that my writing continues to meet your obviously high expectations in the chapters to come. This will be the last scheduled update of 2017, as I always take December and the first part of January off to rest, run around like a moron buying X-Mas presents and casually writing future chapters of all of my fics. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when it comes. See you on the 17th of January, 2018!
Look at my profile for my writing schedule! BEFORE you ask me in a review or PM!
As always, Read, Review and check out my other stories.
Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.
Beta'd By BigCC.
"Kallen" - Speech
'Lelouch' - Thought/mental communication
"{Die}" - Geass Command
"Halt!" - Loudspeaker
"Roger." - Radio/Walkie-Talkie
Chapter 27: Bedivere the Implacable
Later
Captain's Cabin, JLF Tanker, Port Yokosuka
C.C., dressed in her costume-slash-uniform as Augur, felt her patience, carefully and painstakingly honed over several centuries, start to slowly fray at the plain stupidity that the three idiots in front of her were showing.
When she had arrived, she had sought out the three troublemakers. Senba, the old warhorse, was supposed to be setting up a temporary command post; while Asahina and Chiba, the arrogant jealous one and the outraged indignant one, were supposed to be organising the details of Lelouch's little surprise.
What was actually happening was that Senba was continually asking for clarification and advice on points and problems that a man of his military experience should well know how to resolve, while Asahina flat-out refused to do anything. Chiba, at least was doing the job, but in such a slow and reluctant fashion that a fresh recruit could tell that she was dragging her feet.
As Lelouch had said, Urabe was doing his job properly. He was in charge of the perimeter, in keeping the rest of the JLF and Black Knights appraised of any signs of Britannian Military personnel or fliers. He was, unsurprisingly, rather embarrassed by the antics of his peers.
'Lelouch must have chosen Urabe for that post, as it's the main one out of all the posts here that needs someone actually competent and willing to do his job.' The Immortal scowled. That meant he had at least suspected that these three would pull something like this and had wanted to make sure that the most vital slot was manned by someone he trusted.
Standing in front of her were the three somewhat rebellious members of the Four Holy Swords. Asahina adjusted his glasses with a disrespectful tint to his gaze, Chiba looking stonily at her and Senba pulling that 'emotionless military' face that an officer put on when they knew they were due a bollocking.
'At least one of them is aware of how deep in the shit they are…' C.C. thought wryly.
"So then." She said aloud, the voice-disguiser not taking any of the irritation out of her voice, "Do you three have anything to say for yourselves?"
"You have no right to discipline us!" Asahina sneered at her, "We're members of the JLF, not the…Black Knights."
"Idiot." Was C.C.'s immediate reply.
"What was that?!" the bespectacled man snarled.
"I called you what you are; an idiot." The Immortal shot back, "General Todoh may have assigned you Holy Swords here, but he also assigned operational command to Lord Zero or, failing his presence, any of the ranking officers of the Black Knights. Meaning that yes, I can, in matter of fact, discipline you three. And what charges I could lay against you; insubordination, dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming of an officer…they tend to pile up, don't they?"
"You have no proof of any of that!" Chiba argued, "And I doubt our own soldiers would be willing to testify against us."
C.C. shook her head slowly before laughing slowly and cruelly. "You…ahahahaha! You three still don't get it, do you? The JLF, as an independent entity, is over bar the kicking. Once this operation is over, the JLF will cease to exist completely and be folded into the Black Knights, where the majority will be spread out among the rest of the former Kōzuki Group and Yamato Alliance troops. Lord Zero may have acceded to most of General Todoh's conditions for the absorption as a courtesy for your years of long service in the name of Japan, but do not think for an instant that being members of the famed Shiseiken will grant you any lenience with Lord Zero."
Todoh had agreed to have the JLF absorbed by the Black Knights, but with several conditions. First, the JLF personnel were not to be marginalised within the Black Knights. Second, his Four Holy Swords were to remain his direct subordinates. Third, he wished to have a say in the running of the organisation.
There were other, relatively minor points that he had brought up, but those three had been the deal-breakers. Zero had only refused a couple of the minor ones that were either impractical or unrealistic. Points that, he had confided to her later, he was almost certain that Todoh had slipped in to test him.
Todoh was now, unofficially, the joint Second in Command of the Black Knights, along with Ohgi and Mamoru. Zero was organising a restructure of the organisation and had mentally assigned Ohgi as the head of the Personnel, Equipment and Base Maintenance and Defence staff, with Tamaki as his Second in Command, while Mamoru was going to be joint-Head of the Intelligence division along with Sayoko/Aegis. Todoh was going to be the Head of Combat Operations, although Kallen would be looking over his shoulder for the first few weeks.
"Why you…!" Asahina seethed.
"General Todoh is going to be so disappointed that three of his Four Holy Swords are trying to sabotage the last operation of the illustrious Japan Liberation Front." C.C. sighed dramatically, noticing idly that Chiba had blanched. "I suppose it can't be helped. I'll just have to ask him to send soldiers who are willing to follow orders instead of indulging in petty jealousies and sulking at the inevitable."
Senba looked uncomfortable. "I was merely asking for clarification, as it is obvious the Black Knights have a different way of doing things than the JLF."
"We want anyone who finds this place after the battle to think that this was a purely JLF operation." She reminded the man, "Follow your own protocols on how to set up a temporary command centre so Cornelia's eyes are deceived."
"I don't like all this sneaking about pulling the wool over people's eyes." Chiba grumbled. She was a relatively straightforward woman and didn't like people making things more complicated than was necessary.
"It's a simple deception to throw the Britannians off guard." C.C. rolled her eyes at the stubborn woman. Being around a bunch of reactionary old duffers had evidently dulled her ability to think outside the box. The Immortal had seen that kind of thing happen before. It was conservatism at its worst, refusing to adapt to a changing environment, a kind that rubbed off on those that stayed around it for too long.
Hopefully being around the far more dynamic Black Knights would pull that stick out of her ass before she became as uptight as Todoh.
Asahina glared at her. "I will never admit that General Todoh is subservient to some…some… some costumed circus entertainer like Zero!"
CRACK!
All of a sudden, the bespectacled soldier found himself lying on his back on the floor, his cheek stinging horribly and his glasses askew. Above him, Augur lowered the hand she had just used to bitchslap him. Senba and Chiba gaped at her slightly.
"Now you listen to me, you arrogant little worm," the machine modulated voice of the white-costumed woman snarled at him, "You can act like a spoiled brat who's had his toys taken away and you can disrespect me, that's fine. But if you dare to speak that way about Lord Zero again, I will end you personally."
The way her hand rested on the sword at her side spoke too clearly about her meaning, making the man scramble to his feet and reach for his own weapon, which, he rather foolishly realized, he didn't have on him.
"You have no right to strike him like that!" Chiba yelled at Augur.
"And if someone had been speaking of General Todoh in the same manner he was speaking of Lord Zero?" Augur queried her coolly, "How would you have reacted?"
"I-!" Chiba flushed red with anger at the thought before sighing. "I would have acted much as you did, if not more…violently."
The masked woman nodded and then shifted her masked cyclopean gaze to Asahina, who flinched at the enmity that was emanating from her.
"As for you!" Augur said coldly, the heat long one from her voice, leaving only ice worthy of a glacier, "Understand that being one of Todoh's favourites is a privilege, not a right. With enough evidence of your lack of suitability, he will remove you from the Holy Swords. Personally, I am tempted to have you assigned to the Okinawa Cell, where the likelihood of you doing anything approaching harm is minimised. Or, far more preferably, I would like you to be ejected from the Black Knights completely. Having an unstable, possibly treacherous, element within us would be as foolish as trusting a scorpion not to follow its nature and sting the fox it needs to keep it afloat in a river."
The bespectacled member of the Four Holy Swords paled as he finally realised that he had pushed things too far, with both his disdain and hatred for Zero AND with this woman.
"IF I let this go, as I feel I must as we need all the soldiers we can get our hands on when facing Cornelia, her Knights of Honour AND two Knights of the Round, then you will obey the conditions I am about to list." Augur hissed at him, "You will follow the old adage of 'If you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all' to the letter when it comes to Lord Zero. No snide remarks, no subtle put-downs, no outright sneers. Nothing. I don't care if you're alone or with your fellow Swords or screwing a woman. You will do your job to the best of your ability and you will do it without unreasonable complaint. Any violation of these conditions, and I WILL know about it if you do, and I will make certain that leaving the Black Knights will be the BEST choice for you to make. Am I understood, Colonel Asahina?"
"U-understood." He whispered. When the armoured woman's visage failed to move, he gulped before adding, "Ma'am."
"Good." The masked woman nodded, "Now, I am going to go and have a word with Colonel Urabe. By the time I get back, I fully expect to see you three undertaking your tasks with determination and alacrity. So nice we were able to have this little talk."
With that last, somewhat insincere, phrase, she swept from the room, leaving three very shaken Holy Swords contemplating exactly what kind of organisation had someone so intimidating as what amounted to a mere aide de camp.
The Next Day
Diethard Reid's Office, Hi-TV Studio Building
[Beep!]
Diethard frowned as his computer made that utterly irritating noise that indicated that a new message had arrived via the secure interweb that stretched across Area 11. All of the Areas had one, as did the Homeland, but they were not connected to one another, as one hopeful scientist in the Homeland had wanted to do.
The Office of Internal Security had shot down the idea point blank, claiming that such a system would provide a far too available target to internal and external threats and that the cost of securing it to a necessary level would not be worth the benefits it could provide.
It was, the blond executive mused, not an entirely baseless concern, but likely simply a smokescreen to hide a far more practical concern. If all of the Areas could communicate with greater ease, then so could the rebel groups that operated within them. No system was hack-proof, and Honorary Britannians did most of the drudge work to maintain the systems so infiltrators were also a danger. The thought of every terrorist and outright revolutionary group in the Areas joining together was a risk that even Britannia couldn't ignore.
On their own, most of the groups were little more than annoyances, particularly in long-conquered areas. But if they all managed to coordinate and attack at once…?
'Not to mention,' Reid thought wryly, 'the possibility of the commoners actually waking up from their daily doses of spoon-fed propaganda pap and possibly seeing the way that they treated the Numbers as being wrong. The idiots in the nobility certainly couldn't have commoners with consciences, no sir.'
Dismissing his thoughts, the man opened the new message and scanned the first few lines. Looking around suspiciously, he pressed his intercom and said, "Marjorie, I don't want to be disturbed right now. Only allow a call or person through if they're from Princess Cornelia or a Knight of Round."
"Yes, Mr Reid." His secretary answered promptly.
Satisfied that he would remain uninterrupted unless it was dire, the blond man pulled out a highly illegal jammer that filled the type of bugs used by the Office of Secret Intelligence with unintelligible static and activated it. Now secure from any audio-visual spying, Reid activated a secret program (cleverly disguised as an anti-virus program) on his desktop that eliminated any worms that OSI had snuck into his machine.
Fully secure in the knowledge that he was as secure from being spied on as he could be, Reid returned his attention to the computer screen.
'Dear Mr Reid,
Our apologies for the lateness in replying to your application, but our circumstances have been somewhat turbulent and busy of late, as well you should be aware.
In regards to your application, you have been granted an interview. As your resume is singularly impressive, our chairman has decided to meet you face to face and conduct it himself. Kindly reply to this mail if you are able to meet today after working hours.'
There was no signature, but then, there was no need for one. He had only 'applied for a position' in one organisation in the last year. The Black Knights.
'The chairman…?! Zero wants to interview me himself?!' Reid thought excitedly, his heart beating quickly as he contemplated this chance. The chance to make real newsworthy items again, to actually be there when history was written, to actually have a chance to pen the changing of an era with his own hand! By fortuitous happenstance, he had been present at Suzaku Kururugi's show-trial parade and at Lake Kawaguchi, but he had missed Shinjuku, where Zero had first emerged, Saitama, where his sources say Zero laid low the Goddess of Victory herself, and Narita, where he had seen the last hurrah of the JLF and had forced Cornelia to accept a draw.
He could not, would not, miss any more chances to see history being made with his own eyes.
Needless to say, he quickly replied that he was fully free after work today and could meet at their convenience. He was due three weeks of paid vacation anyway, so this was turning out nicely.
Applying for it made his boss irked at him, and the fat, bald man, who lived up to the corrupt bureaucrat stereotype like no one else Reid had ever met, had threatened to dock his pay if he didn't get back to the job after a week.
'Overweight, obnoxious, arrogant, vainglorious fool.' Reid thought coldly as he strode from his boss' office and returned to his own. Dealing with the man made Reid want to take a shower after only five minutes in his presence.
Unsurprisingly, there was another message on his computer when he returned; listing a place and time he had to be at for being picked up for the meeting. Hurriedly replying that he would be there, Diethard Reid sat back in his chair and breathed out a long sigh. Today would determine if his dream would come true or not. He had to do everything he could to ensure that it would.
He doubted that he could last more than another year and a half at this soul-destroying job without going mad and shooting his bosses to death before putting the gun to his temple and pulling the trigger. He could only hope that Zero would accept him.
Later
Undisclosed Location
Diethard felt the blindfold being removed and was glad for it. He had little liking for being led around without knowing where he was going, but it was a reasonable security measure, so he had acceded to it when asked to allow it to happen.
"Mr Reid, we meet in person at last." Zero's voice said from nearby. When the blindfold came off, Diethard discovered that he was in an office that was both spartan and modern. The walls were sheathed in metal, but the room wasn't cold.
Sat behind a desk in front of him, wearing his characteristic mask and cape was Zero himself, his hands steepled in front of him.
"Please, take a seat." The Masked Rebel directed, indicating the comfortable wooden seat that sat in front of the desk. Diethard walked over and sat in it slowly; hardly able to believe he was sitting a bare two feet away from the Regicide.
"I shall be with you in a moment." The masked man apologised, indicating the paperwork in front of him, "Even in a rebellion, there exists nothing but paperwork for those high enough in command."
Snorting in agreement, as he had enough of his own to feel sympathetic for the man, Diethard examined the office with his eyes. There were very few signs that someone used this as an office, with no pictures or knickknacks that people usually used to decorate places such as this to make it feel more homey and relaxing for them. Instead, there were a few shelves with items on them. A pistol, a shock collar, a roll of paper, a sheathed Japanese sword and a triangular prism of black metal.
"Those, Mr Reid, are reminders of my major engagements." Zero spoke up as he placed the last page to one side. He had evidently noticed Diethard's interest. "The pistol used to kill Prince Clovis, Suzaku Kururugi's shock collar, the Written Charter of the Yamato Alliance, Colonel Kusakabe's katana and a fragment that fell off of my Knightmare after Narita."
The newsman felt a lump form in his throat. Each of those items were going to be of historically significant value in the future and he was actually in the same room as both them and the one who gave them significance.
"I do not keep them to boast of my deeds, however." Zero continued, "They are to remind me of the actions I have done, the lives I have taken in each battle and the failings in what I have done. But enough of me. Let us talk about you, Mr Reid."
The blond man sat up straighter as he felt the masked man's undivided attention fall on him.
"When I first received word that a pureblood Britannian had sent information of Cornelia's movements, I confess to being sceptical as to the veracity of the information." The Regicide said softly, "But, when I confirmed that your information was not only true to the best of your knowledge but accurate, my suspicion turned into curiosity. Why would a Britannian, with a line untainted by foreign blood for at least five generations and no apparent reason to do so, wish to join me and my Black Knights?"
The sheer charisma of the man washed over Diethard, even more so than it had from when he had filmed Zero at his rescue of Suzaku Kururugi. This, he knew, was both because it was a one-on-one situation and because Zero didn't have to worry about pesky things such as Knightmares trying to fill him full of holes.
"I am a very thorough man, Mr Reid. I used my contacts to scour the vast majority of your records, from your time as a child in Area Four, to your time learning the job of a Journalist, to your rapid promotion inside Hi-TV." Zero said clearly. He inclined his head, "I also read every newspaper article you have ever wrote, watched every news broadcast you were a newsreader in and skimmed through most of the programs you have directed and produced. Do you know what I discovered, Mr Reid?"
Diethard shook his head mutely.
Zero leaned forward slightly and said a single word. "Frustration."
Silence reigned for a moment before Zero continued, his words soft, but clearly spoken. "In everything you have been involved with in regards to journalism, you have been frustrated. Frustrated at being unable to do your job and tell the truth, frustrated at having your articles changed in the name of 'patriotism' and 'expediency', frustrated at the level of corruption and politicking in the higher levels of your business…simply frustrated non-stop."
The newsman sat there, stunned, as the masked man condensed over a decade of his life into a summary paragraph that was a jolt to the system. All of it, completely true.
"And yet, despite the contempt and frustration you felt towards your job, you have always completed your assignments flawlessly and with a level of skill that is more akin to a man twice your age and experience." The Masked Rebel stated, "All of your former bosses, the ones who actually valued your competence anyway, gave glowing reviews as to your work ethic and skill at both digging up information and manipulating it to suit your needs."
The masked man leaned back and steepled his fingers in front of him again. "Now then…with all of that in mind, I want you to tell me what it is you want by joining my Knights. Not what you think I want to hear, but what you want."
"I want to make you immortal!" Diethard said hoarsely, his voice still clasped by the awe of what he was standing before. "I want to be there as you make history! I want to be a true journalist, not a…a…a…"
"Not one more faceless fool who mindlessly produces propaganda pap and pitiful perjury for the pathetic sheep of a public who is too deluded by the vision of superiority presented by Britannia?" Zero finished, sounding sympathetic. Diethard could have cried at how he seemed to understand.
"Yes, that's it exactly!" he gasped, "How…?"
"Beneath this mask is a man who has to wear a mask of a very different sort when in public, Mr Reid." Zero answered, reaching up and caressing the shell of his helmet with one hand, "A man sick of the lies that Britannia forces on both its conquered people and its own lower classes, a man frustrated at having to lie about everything that he is in order to survive. A man, Mr Reid, who can understand your situation very, very well indeed."
A moment of silent understanding passed between the two men at that moment, of mutual sufferers of the same problem.
"With that said I believe, Mr. Reid, that we can work together." Zero said after a moment, "As it so happens, I am reorganising the Black Knights for when the remaining loyal JLF troops join us, and the post of Head of Information Management is open. Unlike your current post, where you use words to deceive the public, I want you to use the greatest weapon a journalist has, the truth, and prove that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. I want you to show the public what Britannia has lied to them about over the years. Every rotten secret, every instance of corruption, every backroom deal, every time the old boy's network swept something or someone under the carpet…I want you to make Britannia fear the truth more than it could ever fear mere man. And additionally, I promise you this, Mr. Reid; when I and my Black Knights topple Britannia and cleave Charles zi Britannia's head from his shoulders, you will be there, every step of the way, to record history as it was, not how people imagined it to be or wish for it to have been. The truth, and nothing else, is what I ask and demand from you, Mr. Reid."
The masked man paused in a moment and Diethard froze in his seat as he felt the entirety of Zero's attention fall on him. "My only question is…can you deliver?"
'He…he's…he's beyond what I thought of him!' Diethard realised in awe, as he stared at Zero, his breathing harsh, 'I thought I had a grasp on his goals, on what he was, but…I was naïve and thinking too small! He won't be a mere legend or hero; he's going to be a GOD! And I will be recording his path to apotheosis! It's a dream come true!'
"I can, Zero." He said with a slow, confident smile, "I believe that I can."
That Night
Lelouch's Bedroom
"Are you certain that you can trust that Reid fellow, Lelouch?" C.C. asked with a frown, "I've seen his type before. They only stay loyal so long as your goals and theirs align."
"Yes, and his goal is to make Zero into a god." Lelouch informed her. He was sitting at his computer typing and clicking away as he spoke, dressed in his trousers and a shirt. The Immortal was lying naked on the bed, idly kicking her legs. "As long as he sees that as being the pinnacle of his journalistic career, which it likely will be, he will happily and willingly crawl over broken glass to get a chance to record the events that unfold when Zero makes a move. And as long as that is the case, his actions can be predicted be a very wide margin."
"Exactly how smart are you, lover?" the verdette frowned, "It's been bugging me for a while now. Your strategic and tactical skills are terrifying, you're a programmer on a level that I can barely comprehend and you seem to be making headway on those secret projects that I know about but haven't seen."
Lelouch stopped typing for a moment. "I really have no idea. The IQ tests that I have taken vary widely, with deviations ranging between fifty and ninety points. At the very least, I am, with no false modesty here, a genius. The highest denomination was above 200, while the lowest was somewhere above 160."
C.C.'s eyes widened fractionally at that. Most genii were around the 170 range, those she had met anyway. The few that were above 200 were usually monstrously smart and talented. The two people she had met with that level of intellect was the two rivals Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, when she had lived with the former for a while in La Repubblica di Firenze in 1473. She had, and still was, been almost in awe at the sheer number of talents Leonardo had been able to master; anatomy, sculpting, cartography, painting, botany, mechanics, architecture, mathematics and a host of other disciplines. Michelangelo's artistic skills were just as awe inspiring, matching and even surpassing Leonardo's in some instances.
'Well, well, well…Charles, it looks as if your own progeny is outstripping you.' She mused with a smile, before she frowned slightly. If Lelouch was this smart, then that smug little brat Schneizel, who constantly beat him at chess, must be about that smart as well, if not slightly smarter. That might prove troublesome in the future.
"That will have to do, for the moment." Lelouch muttered before closing down the computer and looking at C.C., "Something that's been bothering me, Celesta."
"Oh?" she drawled, not minding him using her false name.
"You mentioned this V.V. character when you gave Sayoko her Geass." He said seriously, "What are the chances that he'll come to Japan himself?"
C.C.'s hackles rose at the thought of that jealous little hobgoblin. "Highly unlikely. He has the physical appearance of a ten-year-old child."
"He's what?!" Lelouch didn't quick drop his jaw at that.
Restraining, with effort, her laugh at the usually unperturbed Lelouch looking gobsmacked, the immortal answered, "Yes, he is. He is trapped forever in the body of a prepubescent child, despite being the same age as your father."
"How did they meet, exactly?" Lelouch mused.
"They knew each other from birth, Lelouch." C.C. said hesitantly before blurting the truth out. "His real name is Vincent zi Britannia, your uncle…and Charles' older twin brother."
Lelouch froze at this before carefully standing up and moving to sit on the bed with her. His hand started to stroke her head on autopilot.
"Explain. Now." He ordered tightly.
"As best as I remember it, Vincent met a Code Bearer like me a short week after their mother was murdered." C.C. muttered softly, loving her lover's gentle touch, even although he was as rigid as a post other than that arm, "He made a contract and gained a Geass, although I am uncertain exactly what it was. About two years later, he stole the Code from the previous Bearer and killed him. He then killed himself and resurrected as an Immortal Code Bearer. Then he made a contract with Charles. I have only a vague idea about what that contract entailed, as we Immortals rarely speak of such things on the rare occasions that we meet."
"I see. Father must have used his Geass to rewrite memories and make people think that Vincent was dead." Lelouch said softly, "And when did you meet my parents?"
"Not until Charles was in his mid-twenties." The verdette replied with a contented sigh, "He and V.V. were tiresome at first, but they -Charles more than Vincent I will admit- grew on me. Later, when Marianne caught your father's eye…hah! He was smitten at the sight of her stepping out of that prototype of the Ganymede after trouncing five other test pilots without breaking a sweat!"
"Sounds like mother." The Exiled Prince smiled.
"Mm-hmm." C.C. was almost purring at the touch of her lover, and it wasn't even sexual! It was intimate, comforting and a gesture of familiarity she had never allowed anyone to do in the seven-odd centuries of her life until now. "I really don't like V.V. very much. He makes contracts with people left and right, regardless of what the Geass does to people. One woman he granted a Geass to, gained the ability of plant empathy and it quickly overwhelmed her and descended into Geass Intoxication. She went insane when someone cut the grass on the Imperial Palace because she couldn't deactivate it. I think he regards himself as a scientist or something."
Lelouch frowned. "The Baroness of Gold Peak?"
That had been a minor scandal, when the woman had simply started gibbering inanely out of nowhere. The last he had heard, she was locked in an asylum.
"That's her." The Immortal nodded.
"So we have a pair of twins planning something for the last fifty-odd years, with one of them permanently stuck in the body of a child." Lelouch mused aloud, "The immortal midget-" that earned a giggle from C.C., "-who apparently cares even less about people's lives than Father, experiments on people by granting them Geass, regardless of the consequences. He granted Father the ability to alter memories and the current Knight of One the ability to see the lines of the future. Is that an accurate summation?"
"Pretty much." the verdette agreed before she shook him off and straddled his lap, "Now, I think that's enough talking for one night. You have manly duties to take care of, lover."
With a half-smile, Lelouch placed his hands on the naked woman's hips and said, "Well then, I'd hate to be like those idiots in the Swords and incur your wrath for dereliction of duty…"
C.C.'s giggle in response to that quickly turned into moans.
Three Days Later
Hanger, Black Knights Temporary Headquarters
"Be careful with my children!" a languid voice ordered, "I will not have them manhandled before they have their first battle!"
Tamaki, working on cataloguing the supplies, glanced across the hanger at the source of the voice, a woman wearing burnt-brown trousers, a burnt-orange tank top held together by only the middle two buttons, revealing a considerable amount of cleavage and a black bra, and a white lab coat. She had dusky skin, denoting her origin in the Militarised Zone of India, and had a purple bindi painted on her forehead. As she issued orders to her subordinates, her long blond hair danced in step with her, and in one elegant hand, she carried a corn cob pipe that she was using to point for emphasis.
"I see Doctor Chawla has arrived." Zero said in amusement as he walked up next to Tamaki, making the man yelp in fright.
"Gah! Man, don't do that, Zero!" he whined, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"My apologies, Tamaki-san." The masked man replied, a hint of humour in his voice, "How are the supplies looking?"
"Now that Mamoru-san has caught that sneaky bastard that was stealin' them, everything's A-OK here, Zero." The redheaded man smirked. It had indeed been a former member of the Yamato Alliance's Council, as well as a coterie of his cronies, who had been filching supplies and selling them at exorbitant prices on the black market. Said man and his cronies were now enjoying a vacation on an isolated island in the Sea of Japan that the Britannian air and sea patrols didn't go near, with plenty of food to last them three months, if they rationed it, and a source of fresh water.
All the clothes they had were the ones on their backs though.
"That is good to hear. I sincerely hope that after this object lesson, the rest of the more…disreputable…members of the former Yamato Alliance will have understood that such things will not be tolerated in the future." Zero said coolly.
"Makin' them into modern day Robinson Crusoes will have made the point, I think, Zero." Tamaki replied dryly.
"Wait, how do you know about Robinson Crusoe?" Kallen asked as she came up to them, a look of disbelief on her face.
The redheaded man developed an irritated look on his face. "Oi! I can read, ya know! Ohgi gave me a Japanese translation of the book when I was bored one night a couplea years ago and I liked it! Sheesh…"
He pouted at the implication that he was a moron.
"It was merely a surprise." Zero assured him, "You don't come across as someone who enjoys classical literature all that much."
"Not like I have much opportunity; damn Brits don't translate books anymore, and a lotta the books we did have 've been burned or ruined." Tamaki grumbled.
"I'll see what I can do on that front." The masked man promised, "In the meantime, I have a scientist to greet. Kallen, you should meet her too. She did make your Guren."
"OK." The redhead nodded slowly. She followed him as the masked man walked across to the Indian woman, who stopped haranguing her subordinates to greet him.
"So, you're the mysterious Zero I've heard so much about." Her turquoise eyes gave him a quick scan as she spoke, "I trust you've been using my child well?"
"The Guren is not my machine, Doctor Chawla; it is Kallen's." the masked man gestured at the redhead, who stood up straight at the words, "And she is very much using the Guren to its fullest capacity. She almost defeated the Lancelot, Earl Asplund's toy, in their first battle. Had General Katase's use of the Gyōkō System not interfered, she very well may have won hands down."
Kallen flushed red at the praise.
"Hoooh? You almost beat the Earl of Pudding's overpowered toy?" the Indian scientist raised an eyebrow, "Well, if it takes an avalanche induced by several explosions to stop you, I trust that when it next takes the field against you, it will be suitably damaged by my child."
"Count on it." The half-blood answered her blues eyes hardening with a steely glint. Because she had failed to defeat the Lancelot, Zero had been put in danger. She would not fail again!
"Have you managed to have a look at the souvenir that Kallen managed to take away from that fight?" Zero asked.
"Ah, the Maser Vibration Sword, you mean?" Rakshata nodded, "Yes, a very interesting piece of technology. As usual though, the Pudding Earl has made it too complex and is diffusing the power slightly instead of amplifying it. Mah, it's still early days yet, so I'm not surprised he hasn't noticed yet. Once I have a proper grasp on the technology, I will be able to replicate it at will, provided I have the necessary funds and materials to do so."
"I can safely say that you will have all the funds and materials to create lots of your children, Doctor Chawla." Zero promised, "I'm looking forward to working with you. Hopefully you can help with some projects I am working on. Sadly, most of my skill is in strategy and tactics, with a side helping of the computer sciences. I'm little more than an ordinary scientist when it comes to mechanics and engineering, so input from you would be invaluable."
The Indian woman looked intrigued. "Well, well, aren't you interesting? I would be happy to see what children I could help you create. But, for now, I have seven of my children to deliver into their handlers care."
She gestured at the seven covered figures that had been unloaded by her men.
"Ah, so you did bring them." Zero said with a nod, "Your pilots will be here momentarily. In the meantime…Tamaki!"
The redhead looked up from his SOE. "Whaddya need, boss?"
"As of right now the original Burai Knightmares are to be decommissioned as combat Knightmare Frames." Zero announced to the whole hanger, "I want you to have fifty of them converted into training simulators for the Burai-Kai and Jinrai. Leave ten as possible test beds for other technology. Break the rest down for spare parts."
"On it. Hayato, Shin, Ageha! Get the ball rolling on the conversions!" Tamaki started roaring at his crew, "Kyoshiro, Ai, Ebi! You choose the best'a the bunch to keep intact! Kō, Tsutomu, Kazu! You three round up the guys and have a strip-down party with the rest!"
"I'm Iba, not Ebi!"
"Yer name'll be mud if ya don't get on with it!"
Rakshata raised a questioning eyebrow at the goings on. Kallen took it upon herself to answer.
"The Burai are basically just refurbished Glasgows with chest-mounted machine-guns and modified arms to enable them to parry close combat attacks. There's no improvement in performance over the basic Glasgow whatsoever. The Burai-Kai and Jinrai are both superior to it in every way." She explained.
"I think she was curious about Tamaki-san, Kallen." Zero informed her, "Tamaki is foul-mouthed and a bit rough around the edges, but he's also got a natural gift for mechanics. He has kept our Knightmares operating at a decent level with low supplies, so now that we have the full backing of the Six Houses, I imagine his performance will increase apace."
"Hm. Ah, I take it these must be the pilots you were talking about earlier." Rakshata nodded at the approaching people. It was Todoh, his Holy Swords and Mamoru.
"Doctor Rakshata Chawla, allow me to introduce you to General Kyoshiro Todoh and his Four Holy Swords, Colonels Senba, Chiba, Asahina and Urabe." The masked man introduced them once they approached, "Last, and certainly not least, is Mamoru Takagahara, the Sleeping Dragon of Kanto."
"Charmed." Rakshata nodded at them, "I brought some of my darling children here to loan to you. Seven children, seven handlers. Where is the seventh, Zero?"
"I'll be taking one of them, at least until my Jinrai Pre-Production Type is fixed." The masked man answered, "Apparently, they're having to rebuild it from scratch due to micro fractures in the structural frame caused by poor quality control and the impact of the avalanche."
"Shoddy." The scientist sniffed, "Very well. Who first?"
"General Todoh and his Swords need better Knightmares than the stolen Victoria-Pattern Sutherlands I gave him." Zero noted.
"Using the Witch of Britannia's own weapons against her…how fitting." Rakshata laughed, "Still, you are right. Almost as good as a Gloucester is not the same as better than a Gloucester, which is what my Gekka are!"
With that, the first five covers dropped down, revealing five Knightmares that greatly resembled the Guren in form, although there were several differences. Firstly, as opposed to the humanlike head of the Guren, the Gekka had a cyclopean mono-optic. Second, the armour was a light grey. Third, the small cannon of the Guren was replaced by a rifle.
"These four are the Type-03F Gekka, a Limited Production Variant of my child, the Guren." The scientist said with a fond smile at her creations, "They all have chaff smoke launchers, a single Hien Sōga-type Slash Harken in the chest, a Custom Handgun mounted on the left arm and a single Kaiten Yaibatō as standard armament. The right arm can have either another Custom Handgun or a Rocket Launcher added to increase the available firepower."
She then pointed to the Gekka that possessed two long hair-like appendages emerging from the head at the end of the line. "That is the Type-03F-K Gekka Custom, designed to be slightly more powerful than a standard Gekka. It has everything the Gekka has, plus the Seidōtō, a customised version of the Kaiten Yaibatō. It possesses an extra Slash Harken at the pommel of the sword and jets on the sword that can boost the speed and power of the cuts it makes. It was commissioned for one Colonel Todoh, who has since gone up in the world, I see."
At a gesture from Rakshata, each of the Holy Swords and Todoh was furnished with a manual regarding their machines by her subordinates.
"Kindly read through these manuals very closely before you attempt to touch one of my children." The woman warned/threatened them, "Piloting one of my children is not similar to piloting one of these Britannian knockoffs you have been using until now. Ask Kallen here for tips if you run into problems; she's a natural with my children, so it seems."
"I see." Todoh scanned the first page of the manual with the resignation of a man who has read more paperwork than he has had any desire to, "We'll get this done as quickly as possible. Do you have simulators for them?"
"Of course." Rakshata scoffed, "The only reason I didn't provide one with the Guren was I hadn't built them yet. They'll be set up within the next six hours."
"Excellent. With me." Todoh nodded courteously at the rest before leading his Holy Swords away to commence the dull task of reading the manuals.
"Who next, Zero?" the scientist enquired archly.
"Mamoru-san has earned his own Knightmare rather than that Burai he's been using until now." Zero replied.
With a clap, the next covering fell to the ground, revealing…
"Is that my Guren?!" Kallen yelped.
"In a manner of speaking, dear child." Rakshata said calmingly, secretly pleased to see someone so fond of her children, "This is the Guren Isshiki (Crimson Lotus Type-1), the forerunner and prototype unit I built as a proof of concept for the Guren Nishiki, while another unit held the prototype for the Radiant Wave Surger. Functionally, it is exactly the same as your Guren, albeit without the Wave Surger, which leaves it somewhat more dependent on the skill of the pilot to win its battles."
"A challenge to win with, eh?" Mamoru eyed the Isshiki with a small smile, "Can it use those Yaibatō things as well?"
"Yes, but it's equipped with a Fork Knife as standard issue." Rakshata replied with a raised eyebrow.
"Keep that as a backup and modify it so I can carry at least two of the Yaibatō." Mamoru requested, "I'll see how well my Nitōryu (Two Sword Style) works with a Knightmare."
"Aren't you another interesting one?" the scientist eyed him for a moment, "Very well. The modifications will be completed within the next day. As with Todoh and the Holy Swords, read your manual."
"Yes ma'am." Mamoru saluted her sloppily and then took the proffered book from Rakshata's subordinate and ambled off nonchalantly.
"And that, dear Zero, leaves you with this." Rakshata clapped again, making the last covering fall to the ground. Revealed was a black version of the Guren, with golden highlights.
"This was the Guren Reishiki (Crimson Lotus Type-0), which was the alpha prototype and progenitor of the Isshiki, Nishiki and the Sanshiki/Gekka." Rakshata smiled as she saw Kallen's eyes widen, "After I completed the Nishiki, and before I started work on the Gekka, I went back and corrected all of the problems in the design that it had highlighted and that I had corrected in the later designs. What kind of mother would I be to not make my children as perfect as I could make them?"
"Indeed." Zero nodded, "So what name does your child bear now?"
Rakshata smirked. "I calculated you would take the last one, thus the new paintwork. This child is now the Kokuten (Black Heaven)."
Two Days Later
Knightmare Hanger, Area 11 Administration Building
"That is one impressive war machine, Nonette." Cornelia said appraisingly as Nonette's crew crawled over the Bedivere, doing last minute checks to ensure it was in the best of condition for the Knight of Nine.
The Bedivere was tall enough that it would only barely fit inside a Command G-1's hanger when it was standing upright. Barely half a foot would separate the ceiling from the tips of its fox-like ear appendages.
"Yeah, she's a real monster." The blond woman answered with a smirk, "So what kinda enemies are these JLF guys? Any sort of challenge?"
"The rank and file members are not." Dalton shook his head. As always, he was standing at his lady's right hand. "Those Glasgow knock-offs, the Burai, are pathetic and any Sutherland can defeat them. The more elite members have what are called 'Burai-Kai' to pilot."
"What in the world does 'Kai' mean?" Nonette blinked.
"A native speaker tells us that it means 'custom' in this context." The man answered, "Apparently, these Burai-Kai were originally intended for Todoh and his Four Holy Swords, but now have been pressed into limited production. Their performance is greater than a Sutherland, but less than a Gloucester. They also correct all of the Glasgow's flaws and are suitable line-machines against Knightmares, unlike the ordinary Burai."
"Hmm. Do you really need Dorothea and I here for this Nellie?" the blond Knight of Rounds asked with a frown, "It sounds like you can take care of business quite easily without us."
"That's what I thought at the Battle of Narita." Cornelia answered darkly, "Look what happened there."
Realisation crossed Nonette's face. "You think Zero will attack again while you're busy with the JLF. I see. What of the Black Knights' machines?"
"They stole over sixty Sutherlands from Clovis and I during the Battles of Shinjuku and Saitama." Cornelia admitted, "Forty-plus of those were Victoria Pattern Sutherlands."
Nonette winced. "So they have at least equal machines with the line troops."
"More concerning are the machines piloted by the more elite members." Dalton continued, "Just as with the JLF, the Black Knights have access to Burai-Kai, but whereas the JLF makes squads of them and uses them like that, the Black Knights seem to assign them to their better pilots, who then lead squads of BK-Type Sutherlands."
Nonette rolled her eyes at the uninspired name for the captured Sutherlands.
"There are three machines that stand out among the Black Knights, however." Cornelia added, "Augur, one of Zero's two adjutants, has a Sutherland painted silver that is apparently equipped for long range sniping primarily. Zero himself pilots a machine that appears to be a derived from the Burai-Kai, but far less bulky and more manoeuvrable. Using it, Zero was able to hold off the Lancelot after the second avalanche disarmed him until the third machine we are concerned about showed up."
"This third machine is piloted by someone who Zero and Augur have identified as 'Red Queen' and has apparently been a part of the Black Knights since Shinjuku." Cornelia said grimly, "Whoever she is, she is apparently fond of crimson red for her Knightmares, as her Glasgow, Sutherland and this new machine have all been that colour. She called the machine the 'Guren' which translates as 'crimson lotus' apparently. Its main weapon is a silver arm that has what Earl Asplund refers to as a 'Radiant Wave Surger' equipped to it that can destroy a Sutherland in a single hit."
"From further consultation with Earl Asplund and the Camelot team here, it has been determined that this 'Red Queen' spoke the truth about her Knightmare being a 7th Generation Knightmare." Dalton stated, "Its speed, agility and firepower are at least the equal of the Lancelot and that odd arm has the ability to block both the VARIS Rifle and MVS blades without harm."
"Whew…that's quite the enemy." Nonette whistled, "Any ideas about who these people are?"
"All we know about Red Queen is that she believes that Clovis murdered her brother." Cornelia admitted sourly, "That and she hates Britannians for that."
"Kinda like looking into a mirror for you, eh Nellie?" Nonette looked at her sadly.
"I beg your pardon?" the Witch of Britannia demanded frostily.
"How would you react if someone murdered Euphie?" Nonette asked pointedly.
The thought made Cornelia's gorge rise. Her vision actually turned red for a moment as rage took her over. She calmed down slowly and glared at Nonette, who looked back unrepentantly at her.
"See? And that's only if her brother was younger than she was." The blond woman sighed, "How do you imagine Euphie would react if you were murdered? Not killed on the battlefield, but actually murdered? It wouldn't be pretty, let me tell you that much. If that's the case, then this 'Red Queen's' reaction is equally valid. Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow. There is no form of measurement or metrics for the heart, Nellie, and all of those feelings are…irreplaceable. Just remember that you and her? You may not be so different, royal title to one side."
The pinkette gaped at her old tutor for a moment before pulling herself together.
"That had better not stop you from taking her down." Cornelia growled, "She killed two members of my Royal Guard at Saitama!"
"I'll take her down alright." Nonette assured her, "But even then, she was defending her people from being murdered. You really need to try to see beyond the surface, Nellie; otherwise you might lose sight of the truth."
"I'll keep that in mind." Cornelia answered dryly, "Are you ready?"
Nonette grinned and smacked her left palm with her right fist. "Oh yeah. I'm finally going to take this bad boy out and rampage. Not sure about the greenhorn though."
She jerked her head at the sulking figure of Dorothea Ernst, who was glowering at the men who were nervously giving the Exeter a final check over. The Exeter was an offence-customised Gloucester, with several weapons that guaranteed that the enemy would be turned into Swiss Cheese by the time she was through with them. A Knightmare Gatling Gun attached via a belt feed to a backpack where the ammunition was kept was her primary armament, with a pair of bullpup assault rifles and a set of curved Knightmare daggers as backups.
"She needs to add some longer close combat weapons to her arsenal." Cornelia frowned, "That configuration is all very well for the Euro Universe or the Chinese Federation, who don't yet have any close combat capable Knightmares, but here, where several of the jury-rigged local designs have been specialized for melee combat, it's very risky."
"I tried to tell her that, but she bit my head off." Nonette shrugged. It wasn't any skin off her nose if the arrogant woman got blown up by her own stupidity. She was here as Dorothea's mentor in the Rounds, not her nursemaid, after all.
Cornelia shrugged as well. She wasn't responsible for the Knights of Round at all, even as the Head of the Imperial Army. If Dorothea did go off and get herself killed, unless Cornelia could be proven to have put her in harm's way, there was nothing that could be done to her. Her father's Darwinism policies worked in her favour for a change.
"OK then. Guilford, are we ready to deploy yet?" she called to her Knight, who was organising the transports.
"At this very moment, we are all clear, Princess." The bespectacled man replied.
"Good." Cornelia grinned savagely, "Let's get down to business and wipe out these churls once and for all."
Fifteen Minutes Later
With Nonette
"Not a chance!" the Knight of Nine snarled and blocked a fusillade of bullets with the Blaze Luminous Prototype, called a Shining Luminous, mounted on her left arm before launching the five Slash Harkens that made up the right hand at the Burai responsible. One Rocket Anchor wrapped around each limb, plus the last around the head, and pulled the refurbished Glasgow apart, the pilot ejecting safely.
"Che, this is boring." The woman sulked. She was the only Britannian Knightmare engaged in battle on the shoreline, the rest standing by. The JLF had commandeered a freighter full of highly dangerous liquid Sakuradite and had attempted to make it out of the port, only to be blocked by the navel units Cornelia had ordered to close the jaws of the trap.
On the shore, a handful of soldiers in Burai had attempted to stop the forces of the Britannians, but Nonette was crushing them. It wasn't even a challenge.
'Guess you were wrong about Zero and the Black Knights turning up, Nellie.' She thought as she turned her Knightmare to watch the freighter being surrounded by the mainstay of Britannia's mechanised marine fleet, the Portman Amphibious Knightmare Frame, and a boarding forced by them. It was only a matter of time before the JLF were either dead or captured. The Burai could be ignored for the moment.
Later on, she would kick herself for so obviously and blatantly tempting fate.
With a raw roar, fuelled by an Aframax-class tanker fully loaded with volatile liquid Sakuradite, the Portmans, the surrounding ocean and the air were engulfed by a massive purple explosion that ripped metal, glass and flesh apart and bombarded the shore with the pieces. Sutherlands and Burai alike were sent flying by the displaced air pressure and even the Bedivere was forced to shield itself.
"What the-! They blew up all that Sakuradite?!" she yelled in shock, "These JLF bastards are suicidal!"
"For Japan!" a Burai charged at her from behind, a Chaos Mine in hand, once the explosion's forced withered and died. There was no sign of the tanker or any of the Portmans remaining, just scraps of metal floating on the ocean before being pulled under.
Nonette turned the Bedivere around just as the Chaos Mine was thrown and deployed. It was an anti-Knightmare device designed to shred any standard Sutherland or weaker armour into shreds with a thirty-second bombardment of metal spikes, and the Knight of Nine absently wondered where the JLF had gotten this one from. Another crooked quartermaster?
The spikes splashed against the armour of the Bedivere, as the large Knightmare was too unwieldy to dodge lightly like the Lancelot could and too ponderous to use its heavy-duty Landspinners to escape with or bring its arms around in time to use its Shining Luminous. All she could do was endure the bombardment. Not that it was much of a problem.
Not a single scratch was being made by the Chaos Mine and, as it petered out and fell to the ground spent, Nonette smirked.
"Nice try, Eleven, but the Achilles-class armour that my Bedivere is equipped with is impervious to anything but a direct hit by a coilgun or a railgun." She informed him over the loudspeakers, "Want to try again with that rifle?"
"Damn yoooouuuu!" the pilot howled and followed her advice, firing at her furiously with his main weapon, the bullets having no better effect than the Chaos Mine.
The Bedivere started forwards, walking forwards through the hail of bullets. The Knight of Nine had actually lied to the man; while the armour of the Bedivere was strong and about three times as thick as a Sutherland's armour, even it would have been mauled by the force of a Chaos Mine. The secret was actually in a small derivative of the Shining Luminous and Blaze Luminous known as the Halo Luminous.
The Halo Luminous covered the Bedivere in a shield that was wafer thin and perfectly transparent. While this might not seem to be much, it could be layered many times, unlike the Shining and Blaze Luminous, so the idiot who had designed the Bedivere had installed ten generators for the Halo Luminous.
Of course, it was not without weaknesses. The Halo Luminous could only be used while the Bedivere was either stationary or at walking speed, as the energy to use the heavy-duty Landspinners was a massive power hog in addition to all of the other demands on the Energy Filler and Core Luminous. Nor could she use the Shining Luminous at the same time as the Halo Luminous.
Additionally, weapons using high vibration, such as the MVS, could pierce through the Halo Luminous with ease for whatever reason. There was a reason, but it was so much technobabble that Nonette had barely understood the summery, let alone the main section dealing with it.
"M-Monster!" the Burai, its pilot clearly terrified, attempted to flee. Nonette wasn't having any of that and grabbed it with her Knightmare's Slash Harken. The pilot ejected immediately. Clearly, he valued his life over pride. Unlike the idiots on the ship.
"What a waste." Nonette sighed and dumped the carcass of the knockoff Glasgow on the ground before a yell came up on the comm.
"Enemy raid! It's the Black Knights!"
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Next Chapter: Black Heavens over the Witch of Britannia
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Knightmare Hanger
- Name: EX-00X Bedivere.
General Characteristics
- Crew: 1.
- Height: 7.03 Metres.
- Weight: 7.61 Metric Tonnes.
- Power Source: Energy Filler, Advanced Prototype Core Luminous Yggdrasil Drive.
Design Features
- Cockpit Ejection System
- Heavy-Duty Landspinner Propulsion System
- Factsphere Sensor System (Chest-Mounted)
- High-Resistant Achilles-class Heavy Armour
Armament
- X10 Finger Slash Harken (five per hand)
- X10 Halo Luminous Field System Generators
- X2 Arm-Mounted Shining Luminous System
Optional Armament
- Numerous Prototype Weaponry.