Hi there. I'm new here.
This story was originally published by Dude932. An author that unfortunately could no longer continue writing. I tried to read the previously adopted version of this by Ger0nim0, however I didn't think that it lived up to the expectations of the readers. I hope I can do something here to rectify that as I believe that Dude932's stories should continue on.
So I reached out to Dude932 and asked if I could have a crack at it, to which he agreed. Dude932 informed me that the re-written [Chapter 1] of Ger0nim0's version of the story, while different from Dude932's, was written by Dude932 himself, something Ger0nim0 didn't properly relay I believe.
I don't expect to do Dude932 justice in continuing his story, all I want is to give it a go.
The halls of the Palace were quiet as Esdeath's heels tapped along the marble floors. She had just come from a de-briefing with Minister Honest, the Emperor was conveniently away with Budo at the moment giving Honest an even greater rule with the absence of the Emperor, or more so the absence of Budo. He had already set his sights on greater endeavours in the Emperor's absence, seeing as he didn't need to fool the puppet Emperor. Esdeath had informed the Minister that one of her Jaegers had perished in their pursuit of Night Raid, luckily they were able to discern the assassins base location and there were numerous soldiers ransacking the structure to find any evidence that could lead them to victory in this war. In the days to come the General expected results from the base which would give them a step up on the Revolution.
It had taken almost a fortnight after Dr. Stylish went missing but eventually the evidence was more than clear and they had tracked down the monstrosity that Stylish had turned into, the clear signs of Murasame's curse had been at work during the autopsy of the rotting creature that the doctor had become. Seryu was still grieving over the fact that Stylish was gone but her sadness turned into rage, directed towards Night Raid after they found out the circumstances of Stylish's death. Esdeath would need to keep an eye on her, to make sure she didn't do something foolish like Stylish had. If her subordinates couldn't follow her orders, they were useless.
Her new team was down one member due to Stylish careless actions, she thought she had judged better in her choosing of the Jaegers members. Just what had he sought to gain from going alone and just how had he managed to find Night Raid's base so easily? Now with this it only soured her mood more, with Tatsumi having vanished just before Stylish's death and not a trace of him since, the constant flow of unsanctioned experiments the Doctor created flooding the Capital's surrounding areas causing chaos to erupt among the people and losing a member of her team all in a short period of time her mood was quite irritable, things weren't looking any better as of yet.
As she walked she stopped as she felt an unnatural chill, something was wrong. Her Demon Extract made her immune to cold, yet she had felt one just now. Eyes narrowed as she looked around the marble hall, there was nothing in sight. But that didn't stop the gut feeling she had that something was amiss. Alarm bells rang out signalling an attack and her eyes widened, it came from the direction she had just come from. The Throne Room.
Soon the Palace was in an uproar of chaos as Esdeath turned and headed back the way she had come towards the Throne Room, but the battle had already begun. Imperial Forces stood against unknown creatures, beastly physiques and grotesque appearances as they fought with melee weapons against the soldiers of the Empire. She stood behind the masses completely stunned at the large structure that hadn't been here moments before when she had been giving her report to Honest.
Its size was immense, cracking support pillars and even reaching the tall ceiling. It looked perfectly sculpted and let out a presence that was just unnatural. As the battle waged on her eyes traveled over the sudden opposition, who were they, where had they come from, just what was this… Gate, and where did it lead? So many questions and no answers.
"General!" Esdeath heard the plea and turned her face to the man on the floor, just looking at him pitiful and weak made her narrow her eyes. He seemed to have been taken off guard, there were three arrows in his shoulder and there was a noticeable amount of blood from a stomach wound leaving a trail through the carnage he had crawled through. It was Minister Honest himself. "Do something!" He cursed and she smirked, raising her fingers to her lips she let out an ear splitting whistle that sang out over the entire throne room gaining the attention of every Imperial soldier.
"Retreat, fall back from the Palace." She ordered, not a single soldier disobeyed, those with vantage points took up rifles and laid down suppressing fire as the others started their retreat. As the unknown force of attackers tried to pursue, they were halted by a massive wall of ice surrounding them, she had made it weak and she didn't have a single doubt that they would soon break through. Esdeath could already see that they were beginning to break through.
"I give you a few minutes, Minister, before they break through." Esdeath smiled cruelly down at him as his eyes widened in horror. "I wonder if you'll survive or not." She mused, turning and following the retreating soldiers. Honest grit his teeth as he swore that he'd pay her back for this! As she left the throne room she knew the ice had broken and she heard Honest's screams down the hall as he cursed her.
Exiting the Palace the entire military force within the Palace was waiting for her to give them orders, with the Emperor gone, Honest likely dead and Budo with the Emperor she had full reign to do what she wanted. What she wanted was War, while Night Raid was still a priority, this seemed to be more amusing right now. It might even draw Night Raid out. At the very least it would ease her growing frustration over the recent events that had soured her mood. Yet still, Tatsumi was at the forefront of her mind.
"The Palace is lost." Esdeath told the soldiers that were waiting for orders. "Fall back to the lower district, the enemy is advancing quickly."
"Ma'am, what about the upper district, surely we can set up a parementer around the Palace to halt their advance." Esdeath's cold gaze crossed to the man and he went pale, sweat began to form on his face under her gaze. "N-Never mind Ma'am." Esdeath watched as all the soldiers set about their orders, some ordering for the evacuation of the upper district, it would be impossible for the entire upper district to be evacuated in time, she didn't see the point. The upper class of this world were completely useless to her.
The nobles of the upper district weren't strong, they just had wealth and circumstance of birth. She had to wonder just what this opposing force would do to them, perhaps she might learn something new. There was always something to learn from a new enemy and this one certainly was new.
Looking back to the Palace, the shouts from obvious looting soldiers, the screams of slaves and servants enduring the monstrous horrors of war that always lingered on a battlefield. Taking a deep breath in, she smiled. Soon the Upper City will face the same situation which will rally the Empire to respond and retaliate against this unknown force. Once the force on this side of the Gate had been utterly destroyed The Empire will push through the Gate and discover just who was foolish enough to pull the lion's tail.
"War is just too much fun." She smirked as she walked away from the Palace, wondering just how long she could make this war go on for. This revolution was growing boring ever since she had come back from the North. She was also curious about just where would that Gate lead her and the Empire? Just how much blood would it let her spill. Grinning a sadistic smirk she felt a shiver of anticipation as the sounds of war washed over the palace. She could hardly wait. Deep down, she felt like it would lead her to Tatsumi, his righteous heart wouldn't stand by and he'd try and help, it's where she would find him.
"The Capital has been attacked." Najenda spoke as she read over a message that she had received that morning. Night Raid was still atop the Marg Plateau, it had only been a short few weeks since they had retreated from their old base after the defeat of Stylish who had tracked Tatsumi back to their base. None blamed Tatsumi for the discovery, afterall Lubbock and Akame hadn't picked up on the man trailing them either. "The Palace and the Upper City have fallen."
"Who attacked?" Mine asked the other members of Night Raid standing around Najenda as she informed them of what was happening.
"An unknown force suddenly appeared via some kind of unknown technology in the center of the throne room." Najenda said as she continued to read the letter before sighing and rolling it up. "We're requested to head back to Revolution HQ, apparently the Emperor has called for peace talks."
"WHAT!?" A resounding shout came from the members of Night Raid, the only one that didn't comment was the large humanoid teigu Susanoo who remained quiet, simply taking in the information to process.
"You're saying that the Emperor wants the Revolution to lay down its arms against the Empire, yet raise them for the Empire against this unknown force?" Chelsea asked. "That's completely insane."
"Like it or not, these are our orders." Najenda spoke. "Our current orders are to return to Revolution HQ, I'm to meet with the Leaders and join the peace talks with the Emperor, Grand General Budo and General Esdeath."
"That's suicide! It could all be a trap!" Mine shouted. "This is nuts, there is no way we can just take this and go along with it, we might as well dig our own graves."
"Enough." Najenda ordered, the group falling quiet. "Have you forgotten what we've been fighting for all this time?" Mine lowered her head slightly. "Our goal is for the eradication of the corrupt system in the Empire, not the destruction of the Empire." She told them. "We're returning to HQ."
"Yes Boss." Was the unanimous reply.
Tensions were high, two opposing sides across from one another. This forced confrontation of peace was something that members of neither side could accept but it was needed. With the new development that had struck the Empire, such a situation needed to be confronted and with how things were unfolding, it was necessary that these two sides would undoubtedly need to come together.
With the Gate of unknown origins and the large force that had come through the gate, ravaging the spoils that were held in the Palace, then proceeded to the Upper City and terrorising civilians while reports stated that an unknown number of the Empire's citizens had been dragged back through the Gate. So far the Empire had held them off from entering the lower city, Esdeath's army along with the Empire's Police force had stopped the army from advancing any further however no order for advance had been given, for the sole reason that the Revolution might take advantage of the situation.
With the invasion taking place within the Imperial Palace, most of the Empire's monarchy had either been killed or captured and dragged back through the gate and with the unknown forces spreading to the Upper City numerous nobles were unaccounted for.
The Emperor, having not been present at the time, was safe and at this current meeting however the whereabouts of the Minister was unknown. Nobody had been discovered and the rumour that he was taken captive beyond the gate had started to form. Something that left a bad taste in Najenda's mouth.
Great General Budo and General Esdeath sat either side of the child Emperor who did his best to hide his nervous stature as he sat between the two Generals, a boy among Titans. But he held his own, sitting up straight and locking eyes with Najenda. The meeting wasn't taking place in the Capital, per the Revolution's request. They wouldn't have held the meeting in enemy territory and the meeting was in a small village south of the Capital.
Opposite the three were the most notable people of the Revolution, while the true leaders of the Revolution weren't present which Esdeath had commented on upon their arrival, instead Najenda the former General now leader of the most active force against the Empire sat at the opposite end of the table, Akame stood stoic behind her not taking her eyes off the two generals flanking the Emperor then finally the leader of the Path of Peace simply known as; The Lord.
"It has been a long time, Najenda." Esdeath's cruel smirk made the former General scowl as she glared across the table with her uncovered eye, just being in this close proximity made her old wounds ache. Instead of giving the blue haired woman a reply she turned to Budo who had remained quiet, with his eyes closed and arms crossed as he waited.
"Budo." Najenda began in greeting, the large man opening his eyes. "Emperor Makoto."
"It's a shame we're to meet on such unfriendly terms, General Najenda." Makoto spoke, even if he was nervous he spoke clearly towards her. "I've heard from both General Budo and General Esdeath that you were a considerable asset and were in high regard in my Father's forces." Najenda frowned slightly, unlike the current Emperor the former Emperor was a man of worth, she had her suspicions about what happened to the parents of the current Emperor but now wasn't the time to bring it up and she had no proof of what happened to Makoto's parents. Honest was too good at covering his tracks.
"We've come to discuss the terms of peace." Najenda spoke getting back on track. She still wasn't sure that this wasn't a trap, while the spies that had returned from the Capital had confirmed the unknown force and existence of the Gate there was still a lot riding on hearsay. This was a huge risk.
The full force of Night Raid would be ready at a moment's notice should she not come out of this alive. They had strict instructions to retreat with the Revolutionary army and spread the news that the entire Monarchy was dead to the surrounding nations. It would cause the neighbouring nations to come together to defeat the tyranny of the corrupt Empire, Najenda was positive that Budo and Esdeath hadn't shared the information that they had no government in place with a weak leader. Esdeath and Budo were still a massive threat and it was highly likely that there was something going on here that wouldn't undoubtedly end up with lives lost.
"As you are aware, the Empire has taken a hard hit since the Gate arrived and the unknown force invaded the Imperial Palace." Budo began, staring across to Najenda. The silver haired former General didn't let it show, but this was the first time the information she had given had been a hundred percent confirmed. All she had going into this meeting were words of spies that were planted in the Imperial Palace. Now she knew it to be true, she fully intended to come into this meeting to die, but now she didn't know what to expect.
Reaching deep into the black coat she wore, the Royal Guards around them tensed and placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons, Akame reacting in kind as she placed a hand on the hilt of Murasame. Instead of a weapon Najenda pulled out a pack of cigars and placed them on the table before producing a single black one and placed it in her mouth before lighting it, taking a long draw before breathing out a large cloud of smoke. Leaning back in her chair she looked to Budo, now that she knew this wasn't some ruse, it didn't ease her worries about the current situation but it certainly changed things.
Honest was likely unaccounted for due to the fact that he wasn't here controlling his little puppet and the fact that this meeting was happening at all. Budo was probably the one taking charge of everything knowing if Esdeath was in charge there would have been a lot more carnage by now. Instead the blue haired General was simply going along with things so far. Which was concerning in its own right.
"Prime Minister Honest is unaccounted for." Najenda couldn't hide her reaction this time, her uncovered eye flying wide open, her mouth hanging low, her cigar resting on her lower lip from the moisture of her mouth. "Emperor Makoto wasn't present at the time of the Invasion and was spared from what transpired in the Palace." Budo continued. "The amount of citizens of the Empire taken beyond the gate is unknown, whoever these invaders are they're taking slaves. Each day more forces come from the Palace making an even larger force in the centre of the Capital." Budo explained, Najenda was still trying to overcome the fact the biggest piece of scum on this planet might be dead.
No, until his body lay at her feet she wouldn't believe it. She'd need a body to confirm it.
A hundred thoughts were running through her head all at once but that all came to a stop when Budo spoke once more.
"This Revolution of yours, it has to end." Najenda's cold stare would have made any lesser man flee in terror; however Budo remained unaffected while Esdeath smirked. Emperor Makoto shifted nervously, still letting Budo handle everything.
"You act as if something's changed, Grand General." Najenda all but spat back, noticing Makoto's shock, never had he seen someone speak such to the Grand General before, just how much hatred did the Revolution have against the Empire? "If anything, the Revolution should be allying itself with this unknown force; after all, they've helped us." Budo's brow furrowed as his gaze grew tense and the panic in Makoto's eyes was easily seen. The boy Emperor expected this to go exactly to plan, not knowing the truth after being fed lies due to the Minister.
"Then you condone the acts of slavery that they wrought on the innocent people of the Empire." Budo growled out. "The Upper City couldn't be evacuated in time, these unknown warriors flooded into the upper districts of the city, killing and raping what they could, dragging woman and children back through the Gate, pillaging our great Empire!" Budo's hand crashed down onto the table causing a crack to run straight through the wood running from the impact all the way to where Najenda sat. "Is that what you've been fighting so hard for!?" Najenda could see that Budo, despite his appearance, was furious at what had happened, how he had failed in his duty to protect the Empire.
Najenda had respected Budo when they had been allies; even now she respected the man. Budo wasn't at fault for any of the Minister's horrors, no his duty was keeping the Emperor alive. Najenda knew the man, knew how frustrated he was upon the Minister's corruption of the young Emperor. There was little Budo could have done to rectify the situation and simply continued his duty to protect the lineage.
"Please." The Lord spoke for the first time as he rose to his feet. "We've gathered here to attain peace towards one another." Najenda clicked her teeth as she sat back in her chair, folding her arms as she took another long drag of her cigar. She was too ill informed of what had happened; had she known she would have never provoked Budo like that. But there was also one thing that worried her, the silent monster sitting quietly. What did Esdeath think about all this; now that the Minister had disappeared it wasn't likely that Budo was going to let her do what she pleased, meaning her place in this was unknown. A wild card.
"What are you proposing, Budo?" Najenda was honestly curious to know what the Great General had planned.
"We need to come together in the Empire's time of need." Budo concluded. "The Emperor is more than willing to sit down with the leaders of the Revolution to broker peace and end a conflict that has plagued the nation for far too long, this needs to end." Najenda caught the sight of mild irritation cross Esdeath's face as she crossed her arms trying to act indifferent but it was clear that she was not happy, but even Esdeath couldn't take on Budo and hope to escape unscathed, any injury she sustained from Budo would undoubtedly lead to her loss in the end against the Revolution.
"There will be terms of agreement that both sides will need to agree to, but this is an opportunity that we can't ignore. Honest has been outed and the root of the corruption has been torn out, I intend to rectify the mistakes that have been made in the Emperor's naivety." Budo added, Najenda glanced at the Emperor who had his head down, it seems with Honest's absence Budo had informed the Emperor of the corrupt nature of the man and was leading him along another path. Better late than never she supposed, but his naivety didn't excuse what had happened. "This is the time for the Empire to rise as the Nation that it has been in the past, to converge against this single enemy."
"With Honest missing, and Budo in charge it's unlikely any corrupt noble would try to take authority over the situation." Najenda pondered to herself, knowing full well that Budo was feared just as he was respected. "They would need Budo to lead their armies, turning against Budo would simply cause chaos, the Imperial Soldiers would follow Budo and Esdeath seems to be playing along for now." Letting out another breath of thick smoke into the air, Najenda leaned back in her chair.
The Revolution had decided to let her solve this matter, Najenda having the best interest for the Revolutionary army. If she decided to agree to Budo's terms and it all worked out, it was all well and good but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that didn't trust the woman sitting next to Budo. What did she gain out of all this, Esdeath only ever did something if it benefitted herself, so what was it?
"I must agree with Great General Budo." The Lord commented beside Najenda, by no means was the Path of Peace a solid ally to the Revolution but they had been planning an insurrection which the Revolutionary army had planned to take full advantage of when it came down to it. Najenda could at least confirm that the man spoke his words with honesty. "The Empire must rise as one, for too long has there been bloodshed over our lands. We must come together to deal with this new foe, together with unity and the full strength of the Empire." Undoubtedly from his words, the Path of Peace planned on taking Budo's offer to join together, leaving Najenda's own decision.
"When all is said and done, when this unknown force is dealt with." Najenda began. "Then what?"
"We will have peace." Budo told her. "Will you ally with us again Najenda or will you condemn the Empire you once served and now wish to save?" Najenda frowned as she felt a growing unease in the pit of her stomach; everyone's lives would be affected by her decision here and now.
"Very well Budo." Najenda nodded. "I have the authority to make such a decision; I will contact the leaders of the Revolution." Najenda told the General as she rose from her chair. "You can work out the details with them."
"Very well." Budo nodded as Najenda left with Akame.
Two short weeks had passed since Najenda had returned from the peace talks, with news of the ongoing negotiations between the Empire and the Revolutionary Army. The negotiations had finally concluded and it was agreed that the Revolutionary army would return to the Imperial Capital and join together with the Imperial Army under the command of Great General Budo who would lead the attack on the upper city to reclaim the palace and secure the Gate. Once the Gate itself was secured, it would then be decided what would happen, should they continue to pursue the attackers through the Gate or find a way to close it. Talks to decide on what should be done would be held after the palace was reclaimed. It was a large-scale operation and tensions were high among all present.
Two figures in guard uniforms walked through the militarized zone leading to the former Upper Districts of the Empire. The closer one got to the Upper Districts the more military orientated it got, soldiers were occupying former home. What marveled around the entire upper districts and the palace was the towering wall of ice, completely circling the entire upper districts keeping everything that had come through the Gate nowhere to go. Created by Esdeath herself to keep whatever was on that side away from this side.
More and more soldiers were present as the two guards walked through the street. A destination clearly in mind. Outfitted in the black and white uniform of the Imperial Soldier with upper body armour. One distinctively male, while the other female.
"How's it feel to go undercover, Tatsumi?" Chelsea's teasing voice came from beneath her metal viser.
"I get it, I'm new at this!" Tatsumi groaned, ever since he had been caught sneaking into the bath to what Lubbock would call a moment blessed in time… Chelsea had been on his ass about so much. Teasing him, making fun of him, lecturing him about all manner of things. Being a royal pain in the ass at the best of times, but at least she was more accommodating then when she had first joined up with Night Raid when they had been attacked by Stylish.
"You're doing fine." Chelsea told him. "You finally got to wear the Imperial uniform." She added, causing Tatsumi to frown beneath his own viser. It was hard to think back on how idiotic and naive he had been when he first arrived at the Capital. To think he thought wearing this uniform would bring back such memories.
"Come on, let's go. We don't have a lot of time." Chelsea nodded and the two increased their pace heading towards the restricted area. The afternoon sun was beginning to lower on the horizon, sending the city into an orange glow, shining off the ice wall. The two soon ducked into an alley, coming across a gap in the guard patrol where they could disappear without issue.
Scaffolding had been built into the ice wall to allow for soldiers to patrol the wall to make sure that there were no attempts to scale it, so far none had. When Esdeath had created the wall of ice, it had cut through the middle of residential buildings and wrapped around the entire Upper District of the city.
Chelsea lifted her visor and glanced up from where they were situated in an alleyway, the ice itself was cold enough to change the temperature in the air causing their breath to be seen. There was no scaffolding above them, the closest still being some distance away. Tatsumi reached out with a hand and pressed it against the ice, the sheer amount of power that created it was immeasurable. Esdeath's power was on a completely different level.
"Here should be good." Chelsea breathed out, glancing last thing they wanted was to get caught, approaching the ice wall was for military personnel only. While technically, they were, they just didn't have permission, at least not official permission.
Najenda had refused to give up the names of the members of Night Raid that weren't already known to the Empire, it was one of her conditions in the negotiations. This allowed the remaining assassins to be able to perform missions, such as the one they were on, under Najenda's orders without the scrutiny of people around them knowing who they were. Even if the Empire didn't know about it.
It made sense, Night Raid was known throughout the Empire as being an illegal group of Assassins, nobody would fully trust them if they were revealed. There were even those in the Revolution who wouldn't trust them. To anyone but the upper members of the Revolutionary Army, they were nothing but criminals. It was how the Empire had portrayed them for so long, it wouldn't be such an easy fact to change.
Tatsumi drew his sword, calling forth the armor within equipping Incursio's armor. Tatsumi glanced at Chelsea who gave a raised eyebrow with a knowing smirk causing him to hang his head. Quickly, he scooped her up in his arms.
"My hero." Biting back his retort, Tatsumi quickly leapt to the top of a building before making sure the coast was clear around them before jumping to the tallest building near the top of the ice wall before bounding atop of it reaching the peak of the wall. Landing atop the ice, the surface cracking slightly under the pressure, Tatsumi placed Chelsea down and the two looked out and the utter destruction caused by the invaders. Pillars of smoke rose high in the air, some fires still burning there wasn't much left. There was even destruction from the creation of Esdeath's wall leaving a massive gap between the wall and the start of the buildings.
"Budo will be leading the attack in a few days to reclaim the Upper District." Chelsea stated as she knelt down at the ledge peering over the side. "Najenda wants us to find out just what is on the other side of that Gate before anyone else does." Tatsumi frowned beneath Incursio's helmet, Najenda didn't believe that everything was just fine amongst the negotiations, feeling that something was off. She honestly believed in Budo and how he had the Emperor's ear now that Honest was gone, it was Esdeath she was most worried about. After the report came out that Esdeath herself was present when the Gate appeared in the Palace, it sent warning bells through everyone. Why hadn't the great General Esdeath done anything to stop the invasion?
Esdeath's Icewall was keeping whoever it was at bay until they had gathered the resources for a full scale invasion into the Palace where they could secure the Gate. Chaos was likely to ensue but there were garrisons set up incase the invaders tried to escape from the Upper District into the lower parts of the city. Tatsumi turned his focus to the Upper District, noting that there wasn't a massive military presence on this side of the wall, more of just small bands of warriors setting up camps, there seemed to be no leader present on this side of the Gate however from what they could see, the Palace walls seemed to house a larger presence.
A sudden cheer came from one of the camps, the two turning their attention to find a group of soldiers celebrating, covered in jewels from somewhere found in the city.
"Seems like they're making themselves at home." Chelsea mused as she pulled of her helmet revealing her red hair before placing it down on the side of the wall. Reaching into the military uniform that Leone had 'obtained' for them she pulled forth a lollipop.
"All reports say that the Gate appeared in the Palace itself, the throne room." Tatsumi told her to get a nod. "With any luck they haven't found the secure route into the Palace." Chelsea hummed softly as she rolled the lollipop around in her mouth, deciding which route that they should take through the city.
"Tatsumi." Chelsea began as she rose up getting the armoured assassin to glance down at her. "No matter what we see down there, we're not here to rescue anyone." She told him, eyes stern as she turned to him. "We have a job to do, we don't have time for detours."
"I know." He sighed softly. "I'm ready for this."
"Then let's go." She nodded as he once again picked her up before he leapt from the wall, down into the Upper District. They landed with the wall of ice to their back before Tatsumi used his increased strength and speed to flit his way across the upper district towards the Palace, Chelsea giving him directions in which to take to avoid coming across any of the invaders. As they came up to the palace walls, it was clear that they were unaware of the palace's secret entrance on the grounds. T
atsumi made his way to where Lubbock had told him where it was, a mausoleum on the palace grounds. It was suppose to be there way into the palace during the final confrontation of the Empire, luckily it was untouched. Opening the doors inside seemed like a empty room. Chelsea stepped forward, her eyes scanning the pavements before finding one out of place towards the back of the room.
"Tatsumi, there."
"Right." Tatsumi moved to the pavement, frowning as he couldn't find a way to lift it, was it activated by some mechanism? Instead of wasting time, he drove his fist through the pavement, cracking it with ease and revealing a stairwell below.
"Subtle."
"Shut up." Tatsumi sighed, why couldn't Lub or someone else come with him? "Let's go." Chelsea nodded and the two descended down the steps, both on guard as they made their way through the tunnel. The tunnel was long but easy to traverse, it was built in secret and from what they knew, no other apart from those that were apart of the Revolution that helped build it in secret under former Prime Minister Chouri's order. Even Boudo, Esdeath and Honest wouldn't know of it's existence. They walked through the tunnel until it was clear that they were under the palace itself, they could hear the countless footsteps above them.
"Be somewhat subtle this time." Chelsea told him. "It is a covert operation for a reason." Tatsumi ignored her as he climbed the ladder before pressing his hand to the tile that ladder led to, pushing it up enough to see what was happening. It seemed like it was just a patrol going through. Giving a nod to Chelsea he removed the tile and climbed up before offering a hand down to Chelsea, she reached up and he easily hefted her up and out, before he replaced the tile. Hurrying the two made their way towards where they knew the Throne Room to be, having Najenda a former General of the Empire had it's perks when she was giving out the layout of the palace.
Reaching the large intricate doors, Chelsea moved forward, carefully pushing one of the doors open and peered inside. Her eyes widened as she saw that Gate itself, for the first time they had absolute proof that this wasn't some kind of ploy done by the Empire, this was totally real. The problem now was getting through the Gate, there were hundreds of soldiers inside the throne room guarding it. Closing the door quietly she turned to Tatsumi, he wouldn't have a problem getting through with his invisibility, her on the other hand, might have a problem. Raising a hand to her chin she tried to formulate a plan, that was before she was hefted off her feet, the world spinning around her as a gloved hand covered her mouth as she was pulled in tight to Tatsumi, he had moved them behind a pillar.
"...!" A shout came from down the hall causing them both to go still, they didn't understand the language at all, it was nothing like they'd ever heard before. Coming down the corridor was a contingent of heavily armed soldiers, at least fifty of them. They didn't look like the regular run of the mill soldiers that they had seen in the Upper City, however as they did take in their appearance... their weapon and armors were dated, considerably. Chelsea reached up removing Tatsumi's hand from her mouth as she gestured for him to crouch.
"Right." Chelsea began. "It looks like they're heading back through the Gate, I'll disguise myself as one of them and I'll meet you on the other side, got it?"
"Alright, be careful." Tatsumi told her. "Najenda told us not to take unnecessary risk, she doesn't want anyone to know we're here."
"I should be saying that to you." She smirked as she brought out Gaea Foundation. She turned and examined the soldiers, it wouldn't be hard to replicate the armor. Raising her hand up with the tools inside her Teigu she began to work, and as the smoke cleared kneeling before Tatsumi was an exact replica of the soldiers marching past them. "Go, I'll meet you on the other side." Chelsea told him, getting a nod from Tatsumi before he disappeared from her sight as he activated his invisibility.
Chelsea waited until it was up to the end of the contingent of soldiers before joining them.
Tatsumi easily slipped past the soldiers as they entered into the throne room, he just like Chelsea was shocked at the sheer size of the massive structure now inhabiting the throne room, it looked ancient, and as he stood marveling up at it, he felt a kind of power flowing from it that... weirdly enough it kinda resembled Incursio, or any Teigu that he had come across. Was thing thing a Teigu?
"Questions later." Tatsumi mental chided as he glanced over the soldiers, he wouldn't have even recognised Chelsea if she hadn't transformed right before him, she walked in step with the other soldiers so easily. Taking one glance up the gate into the entrance that only seemed to lead into darkness. "Right." Bracing himself, in one bound he leapt into the Gate, the contingent of soldiers following after him.
"This needs to end Najenda." Budo spoke as he sighed heavily, himself and Najenda were the only ones present as Najenda sat on the windowsill looking out across the city to where the palace was situated, cigar in one hand glass of alcohol in the other as she listened. "I understand your concerns for the members of Night Raid, but we need all hands, I can't have a group acting solely under your orders alone. Night Raid has proved to be resourceful, no doubt under your control. But we need all in the fight that is undoubtedly coming."
"You didn't take Esdeath's Jaegers away." Najenda shrugged. "Why do I feel like you're punishing only me?" She asked.
"What are you, a child?" Budo growled in his irritation.
"Glad to see you know a young woman when you see one." Najenda smirked as she downed the rest of her glass of alcohol before her smirk slowly faded. "Nobody would accept my members, not the Empire, not even the Revolutionary Army, the citizens would never see them for who they truly are, only the rumours and horrors that were spread about them. You know as well as I do how much they've already helped this Empire... you are as much to blame for any of this as Honest, you could have stopped it all."
"I did my duty." Budo stated.
"You let that pig of a man do what he wanted with the most powerful Empire on the planet all the while letting him poison the mind of a child." Najenda scoffed. "Can you really say that you did your duty in protecting the Royal Family?" She scowled glaring daggers at him causing his own scowl to increase, he knew she was talking about the parents of Emperor Mikoto, she sighed and waved it off. "You didn't bring me here for nothing, so out with it."
"I want to combine the Jaegers and Night Raid to form a team that is based on the other side of the Gate." Najenda's cigar hit the floor as she stared slack jawed at the Great General in disbelief.
"They'll kill each other before making it across the Gate." Najenda shook her head. "It won't work."
"This team would be led by both you and Esdeath, a combined effort." Budo continued. "If you cannot control your subordinates actions, their Teigu will be taken from them and given to those that can properly follow orders, same for any of the Jaegers." He told them. "The way it's going, Emperor Mikoto is going to be pushed into sending an army through the Gate, we can't let that happen."
"If we do that, the Empire will be defenceless to attack from other nations." Najenda summarised, what Budo was proposing certainly had it's merit, but there was far too much bad blood between Night Raid and the Jaegers, they'd be at each others throats before they could achieve anything on the other side of the Gate. She had no doubt there would be blood spilt among them.
"A small, efficient team capable of scouting, negotiating treaties with whoever is on the other side, and if needed, capable of fighting in the name of the Empire. We wouldn't be risking countless forces when each member of the team is worth so much more. If things deteriorate on this side, it wouldn't take much to bring them home, however a small force will be stationed here or directly on the other side of the Gate should they require assistance." Najenda rose a hand to her mouth as she relaxed back against the window sill, glancing out back to the palace.
"If this is to work... it won't be easy." Najenda spoke. "Esdeath and I alone will be enough to deal with." She sighed knowing attempting to work along side Esdeath would be hard enough for her. It was clear Budo didn't want Esdeath in control of a full force on the other side of the Gate, neither did she if she was being honest. "If we can make a true team, one where our operations here aren't effected I can see the merit in such a plan, but it's risky." Budo let out a heavy sigh.
"Honest..." Najenda scowled at the name, the glass in her metallic hand cracking from the pressure of her grip at just the name. "He sent envoys across the ocean, to Wakoku." Najenda's eyes widened. "I fear he intended to start a war with them to try and gain more power I don't know how long we have. Once we have reclaimed the Palace we should investigate his office and search for anything in regards to such a thing."
"Agreed." Najenda nodded. "You'll need both Night Raid and the Jaegers if it comes to that." Budo stared directly into Najenda's uncovered eye causing her to scowl. "Damn it, fine! Sort it out, I'll figure it out with my team and if, if! We can manage it, we'll give it a test run." She growled.
"We'll need to send a scouting party through the Gate, find out just what we're dealing with on the other side." An innocent whistle came from the window causing Budo to sigh heavily. "How long ago?"
"They should be across now, we'll know what we're dealing with by morning."