Chapter Three: Escalation
The Student Council Clubhouse was basically a mansion.
As Kallen was led into a ballroom with a crystal chandelier, she felt like things had gotten out of hand. It was the next morning, and it seemed to have come in an instant. "So, what is going on here?"
"Oh, you're being inducted into the Student Council," said Milly. "If we're going to do this properly, we need everyone able to attend the same meetings."
"Hang on, I never agreed to join anything," said Kallen.
"Well yeah, but you haven't been part of any clubs so far," noted Lelouch. "And you actually do need to do it at some point."
At that moment, a beautiful, redheaded girl. She was a bit less curvy than Kallen and ran forward toward Lelouch. "Lulu, there you are!"
"Shirley, I guess you caught us in the act," said Lelouch, voice having that same deceptive casualness. "What tipped you off?"
"Oh come on, buddy," said Rivalz, hanging over him, "did you really think you'd be able to pull the wool over our eyes? I mean, you told Madam Prez you were doing a prank and then all of a sudden those pictures appear?
"I gotta tell you, buddy; you could have picked an easier target."
"Actually, it was Kallen's idea," said Lelouch.
Milly blinked. "Seriously?"
Kallen realized all the focus was now on her. "Well, we wanted to research our project instead of just copying the history textbooks. So we went to take pictures of the ghetto and caught sight of, uh... that." She looked at the wall, remembering the bodies and blood.
"Right, yeah, well, accident or no, this sounds like a like of fun to me," said Milly.
"Now hang on Milly, um..." said a bespectacled girl with curly dark hair as she came forward.
"Yes, Nina, what is it?" asked Nina.
"If we start posting pictures that hurt Britannia won't it um... help the elevens?" asked Nina.
Great, a racist.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Kallen.
"Hold on, Kallen," said Lelouch. "This is kind of a touchy subject.
"Nina, you've got to remember that not all elevens are terrorists. Those people who got massacred there weren't doing anything wrong. And what the police did there probably radicalized a lot more people."
"Rivalz is right, exposing this stuff will actually help Britannia," said Shirley.
"How do you mean?" asked Nina, looking up at Rivalz. She was really small, wasn't she?
"Well, corruption and lawbreaking hurts society, right?" said Shirley. "So by exposing the corruption and lawbreaking, we're helping Britannia run better."
"Classic social Darwinism right there," said Rivalz. "The weak are destroyed, and the strong thrive."
"Quit it Rivalz," said Milly.
"On that note, I propose a toast. A toast to our new member, Kallen Staftfeld," said Rivalz at last. And with that, he drew a bottle of champagne from hiding. And he began to get it open.
"What? Rivalz, that's champagne! We're underage!" said Shirley.
At once, Shirley rushed to try and grab the bottle from Rivalz as he tried to get it free. Turning, Rivalz hurled the bottle at Lelouch. "Lelouch, catch!"
Lelouch caught it in hand and began working on opening it in turn. Shirley looked up in horror. "Not you too, Lulu!"
Then several things happened. Shirley tackled Lelouch, and both fell to the floor. At the same time, the cork was dislodged by the shaking and sent flying toward Kallen, who knocked it aside. Then a spray of champagne completely soaked her.
Great, just great.
"Um... sorry?" said Lelouch.
And that was how Kallen Stadtfeld ended up soaking herself in hot water to try and get the champagne off. It was slightly comical, actually, though it wouldn't have been if they'd laughed. It was the fact that they hadn't laughed that actually got through.
The water felt good over her body, and it was soothing as it ran down her breasts and ball. As she lathered shampoo into her body, there was a knock at the door.
"Sorry about all that, Kallen," said Lelouch. "Sometimes things get a bit nuts in this council. I got you some clothes."
"It's no problem," said Kallen. "Nothing wrong with cutting loose now and then." She paused. "it's a good thing you live on campus."
"Yeah, it does come in handy," said Lelouch.
"Could you leave those clothes just there?" said Kallen, realizing Lelouch could see her outline.
"Of course," said Lelouch, setting them down then leaving.
About thirty minutes later, Kallen was dressed once again and sitting meeting hall. It had a view of the campus outside, and they had to deal with a number of budget concerns first. Balancing the budget for clubs, as it turned out, was hard, and Lelouch was an absolute master. He and Nina crunched the numbers, Milly provided the creative energy. Meanwhile, Rivalz kept everything grounded. There was a real devil-may-care attitude to it all, and Kallen found herself smiling.
"Alright, this first meeting of the Student Council Resistance is now in order," said Milly.
"Resistance? Isn't that a bit of an escalation?" asked Shirley.
"I never said what we were resisting, Shirley," said Milly.
"Wouldn't it be better to call us reporters?" asked Nina.
"Or we could just give up," noted Rivalz.
"Good idea, let's do that," said Lelouch.
"GUTS!" shouted Milly, leaning in.
"Um, are you trying that guts spell again?" asked Rivalz.
"It's a bit tired, isn't it?" mused Lelouch.
"It always gets me pumped, Madam President!" said Shirley.
"Supple and willing, that's what I like," said Milly.
"I train hard in the gymnastics club," said Shirley, motioning with one arm.
"That's not what I meant," said Milly with a smile.
Shirley became uncomfortable visibly. "Um..."
"You're a ten," said Milly, putting a finger to Shirley's lips. "At least, from what I've seen in the girl's bathroom anyway."
"Don't look at me like that-" began Shirley.
"Ahem!" said Lelouch flatly, suddenly showing a real presence.
Everyone looked to him, and Kallen reflected that it was amazing how he'd taken on a stance of authority. Lelouch stood up and walked over to a whiteboard that had been prepared in advance.
"Hmm?" said Rivalz. "What's got you so riled up, Lelouch?" Probably because Lelouch actually knew how serious all this was.
"Madam President," said Lelouch. "I have actually prepared a plan to make proper use of our resources if you don't mind?"
"Oh, alright, Lelouch, have it your way," said Shirley.
Lelouch then quickly began to draw on the whiteboard. "Alright people, listen up. We are fighting a tyranny here. One that has infested our system of government and is destroying both our societies." He wrote out the word tyranny and underlined it.
"Tyranny, by its very nature, acts contrary to the interests of the governed. Because of this, their grip on power is inherently unstable. They must, therefore, make use of certain critical resources. These resources ensure they cannot be ousted.
"Now, the question is, what resources does our enemy field:
"First, the apathy of Britannia's citizens. Britannians are kept complacent with bread, circuses, and propaganda. Racism ideology serves to convince them not to act in their own self-interest for fear of the other. Because of this, they are unlikely to act against Britannia." He wrote the word apathy under the tyranny label.
"Second is terror, both of Britannia and of the other. Britannian nobles have access to thugs and hitmen to terrorize those who get in their way. The government itself has access to immense military resources. And they are willing to deploy against numbers with little to no restriction. Worst of all, there are terrorist cells. These provide a convenient justification for brutality." He wrote out terror.
"Third, and finally, is Sakuradite. Japan has most of the world's supply of Sakuradite. As such, it gives Britannia an immense economic advantage. If they were to lose control or even have the supply disrupted, the entire empire could suffer." Last of all, he wrote out Sakuradite.
"Hang on a second, how is the last one an advantage?" asked Kallen. Wasn't that a weakness.
"It's not an advantage to Britannia," said Lelouch. "It's an advantage to the tyranny which is gripping Area 11.
"So long as Sakuradite is necessary to continue making war on the rest of the world, Britannia will not give up. Prince Clovis can count on being sent immense and neverending tides of troops to prop up his rule. And even if Clovis were to be discredited and withdrawn, someone more competent would be sent.
"Thus, Area 11's governor can count on limitless resources. Because of this, any kind of military solution to these problems is a pipe dream. To have any hope of liberating themselves, they would need military training. Not to mention organization and brilliant leadership to stand a chance.
"In essence, violence is both useless and counter-productive for fighting this tyranny.
"Which is why this resistance group is important. By making use of non-violent resistance, we can force Britannia to reform with the truth. Or, at the very least, force the tyrants to become a bit more low key about what they are doing."
"You keep talking about tyranny, Lulu," said Milly, seeming a bit concerned. "But who exactly are you talking about?"
"No one specific, Madam President," said Lelouch, showing off his mask again. "We don't actually know enough about the systems and abuses as of this moment to pin them on any particular faction or person. Clovis could be part of it, or he could be a potential ally. The same could be said for many nobles, even people in this school.
"If we declare any one person or faction, the enemy that limits our options. It also runs the risk of radicalization. As such, we should leave it at a general notion of exposing evil deeds. If new information comes to light, we can always adjust our plans."
"Um, Lelouch, isn't all this kind of, um... going against the government," said Nina, saying what she'd said before. She wasn't wrong, of course.
"Of course not," said Lelouch. "If Britannia is operating according to the rule of law, we'll find nothing. On the other hand, we expose abuses of power and corruption, Britannia will crackdown to save face. Then we'll have a more efficient society, and the elevens will be better off too.
"Corruption and brutality help no one, Nina."
Kallen hadn't actually thought about it from that perspective before. To her, Britannia was the enemy, the other. But if Britannia stopped committing atrocities tomorrow, would she still be fighting them? Of course, there are other issues, but would she?
This annoyed Kallen. She didn't like doubting herself. "Alright, glorious resistance leader, what are your plans?"
"The first stage of our plan is simple," said Lelouch. "Destroy the myth of paradise. The Britannian occupation is not perfect, and there are serious problems. We are going to go by night to post exhibits in public places to show what we discover. In doing this, we will be able to break people out of the indoctrinated dream world they live in.
"The average person doesn't approve of these abuses. They aren't aware of them. They've been lulled asleep by twenty-four-seven news reports of our glorious empire.
"Once we have liberated people from their misconceptions, they will begin thinking. And from thought comes action."
"What about the fear you mentioned?" asked Rivalz, looking a bit more serious. "If people start acting out, their bosses will just threaten to fire them? I mean, most businesses fire people for having an opinion on politics."
"What you are talking about, Rivalz, is removing systems of compulsion," said Lelouch. "There is nothing at present that we can do about that, and so we'll focus on destroying the propaganda. Having the truth out there may provide us with the resources we need for the next step.
"Once all tasks at hand have been cleared, we'll discuss the next stage of our campaign."
The student council looked at each other, then to Lelouch. He looked like a different person. His eyes were narrowed, and he looked like he'd been born for this. Shirley shifted. "Um, Lulu, aren't you taking this resistance leader thing a bit seriously?"
"No," said Lelouch. "And I am not a resistance leader, because we are not a resistance group, Shirley. What we are...
"What we're trying to be...
"Are Knights for Justice!"
There was silence for a moment.
And then everyone started laughing.
And so was founded the Order of Ashford, though more or less as a joke.
Lelouch looked in a pretty bad mood the next day as they went on Rivalz's cycle. He seemed like the kind of guy who hated not being taken seriously. Kallen had the feeling Lelouch had actually kind of meant what he'd said there. The others, though, had taken it as a joke.
Rivalz, though, was more serious as he drove them. It was a good thing his sidecar could be adapted to hold two people. "So, Lelouch, are you sure you can trust this guy?"
"More or less," said Lelouch, checking his camera like a gun. "He didn't jump us before, and it's in his interest for conditions in the ruins to improve. Do you have your camera ready, Rivalz?"
"Yeah, yeah, I do," said Rivalz. "Are you sure you don't want me with you instead of Kallen?" He looked at Kallen. "No offense?"
"None taken," said Kallen, putting on her ill girl act.
"We're both known there now, so we'd prefer to go ourselves," said Lelouch. "Besides, you'll be taking the area shots of the ruins and Britannian settlements."
"Yeah, I know, I remember your orders, Grandmaster," said Rivalz. "Stop by here and there and get scenic shots that show off the devastation. You know that there isn't much to see from that angle, right?"
"When it gets old, we'll go further afield," said Lelouch, looking more annoyed.
"Whatever you say," said Rivalz. "I envy Nina. She gets to stay back at the academy and read books like she always does. Researching economic statistics and stuff. Her routine hasn't changed at all."
"Really?" asked Lelouch, putting on his old mask. "You sure you wouldn't rather be hanging out with Milly socializing? Or Shirley as she raises awareness."
"About that, Lelouch," said Rivalz. "I thought you wanted to keep this secret."
"For now, yes," said Lelouch. "We're not telling anyone about the Order just yet.
"But the Order of Ashford would be remiss in its duties if they didn't do something. So having Shirley hand out pamphlets on conditions will help. Officially we'll just be trying to raise awareness, and she'd have used the pictures found on the walls." He looked out up ahead. "This is our stop."
"Right," said Rivalz, sliding to a halt by the sidewalk. "Be careful you too. And hey, no candlelit dinners."
"It's not like that," said Lelouch as they got out. It was a bit awkward getting out of the extra seat, but Kallen managed it.
"Whatever you say, see ya!" said Rivalz. Then he drove off.
They met Oghi at the base of the stairs. They found him reading a book written in English. He stood up quickly as they approached. "There you are, I wasn't sure you'd get here."
"We got held up a bit, Oghi," said Lelouch. "Kallen?"
"If you don't mind, Oghi, we're interested in schools," said Kallen.
"Schools?" asked Oghi.
"Yes, I'm interested in knowing what kind of education the Japanese have. And also how much Britannia has to do with it," said Lelouch.
"It's funny you should mention that," said Oghi. "I was a teacher before the war began. I wish I could go back to that line of employment, to be honest. Honestly, Britannia has nothing to do with it.
"They wrecked our nation, they herded us all into ghettos, and then they left us to rot. They only come down here to shoot at us."
"I see," said Lelouch. "I'm... sorry to hear that. So there are no schools?"
Kallen realized she actually didn't know any of this information. She lived entirely on the Britannian side of things, and Naoto didn't tell her much.
"There are some," admitted Oghi. "The Kyoto Foundation sometimes spends money to build them, produce textbooks. The Britannians turn a blind eye to them in exchange for their cooperation." Kyoto, a group of Japanese businesses. They'd joined with Britannia to undermine it from the inside. Though Kallen had heard a lot of people thought they were only interested in profit. Britannia discriminated against race, so Kyoto had a monetary reason to oppose them.
"Could we see one of them?" asked Lelouch. "Showing what is going on here could go a long way to helping make people understand?"
Oghi shifted. "I can.
"In fact, I'll show you. Just don't make any sudden moves. People get jumpy about protecting kids, and you are both still Britannians." He flinched when he realized what was meant to Kallen.
Kallen nodded, though, this wasn't the time. "Right, yes, I understand Oghi."
As it turned out, the school was a building that had been rebuild with brick and mortar. Most of the bricks were from other places, and some kids had drawn on the walls with spraypaint. There were several rooms and also guys at the front with AK 47s.
"You have people with guns at the school? Why?" asked Kallen.
"Kids are ideal targets for refrain dealers, and police sometimes like to go after kids," said Oghi. "The only thing that protects anyone from anyone else in these parts is the threat of force. And if you're sending your children for education, you want someone to protect them.
"It's not pleasant, but it's better than letting Britannia turn us into what they claim we are."
This was... awful.
Kallen imagined having to walk into Ashford under the gaze of men with guns every day and got chills. She didn't know what to say and the words she could find stuck in her throat.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Lelouch. "Let's get to work."
School, of course, was not in session when they looked around. Lelouch and Kallen took photos of the schoolhouse, the projects, and within. There were pictures of Japanese mythological figures and stories. And also books on the ancient cultures.
They also got plenty of shots of the desiccated ruins. Somehow the makeshift jungle gym they'd set up only made things more depressing. Lelouch seemed to go out of his way to make childish things like swings and toys. That could be contrasted against the obliterated hellscape.
Later, they got some more pictures of refrain victims. This time, the victim was a kid, and Kallen had to bite back tears. Several of those who they had taken pictures of before were now dead. There hadn't any proper medical supplies. It was truly miserable, and Kallen wondered if this kind of thing happened to Britannians.
Then, once again, it ended.
"Oghi, I'd like to thank you for your help," said Lelouch. "We would not have gotten this far without you. However, I think we should meet somewhere else next time. I don't want to get into the habit of meeting with you at the exact same spot every time."
"I see your point," said Oghi. "Right, Kallen, I'll get you a different location next time."
"Thanks," said Kallen.
Lelouch did not immediately go to the clubhouse when they got back to Ashford. Instead, he went straight home and had a long conversation with Sayoko. He would not tell Kallen a thing about what he'd talked about, other than it being a fallback plan of sorts.
As they walked through the halls, Kallen realized something. She didn't know all that much about being Japanese. Fighting with the resistance to her had been a sort of fantasy land, a place she went to be herself. But she was an outsider there as well, not understanding the conditions of the place.
She'd been aware of things going on there, of course. Often one of her jobs was bringing medicine to tend to the injured. But she was blissfully ignorant of living there all the time.
"So how did it go?" asked Milly as they met.
"Great," said Lelouch. "We got enough intel and pictures for an entire exhibit."
"Good to hear it," said Milly. "We managed to print out everything you gave us from last time. And Shirley has been going around the streets handing out pamphlets. Where did you have in mind to place it? In the halls? Or maybe a public place."
"I was thinking the Viceroy's Palace, actually," said Lelouch.
Milly went still. "...Playing dangerously, aren't you, Lelouch?"
Lelouch smiled. "Well, I've always liked gambling."
And that was how Kallen, Rivalz, and Lelouch took a trip to the Viceroy's Palace under the night sky. All of them were wearing backpacks and dark colors.
The Viceroy's Palace lived up to the name. Acting as the HQ for operations, both military and civilian across Area 11, it towered in the sky. Surrounded by huge walls, the gates were now besieged. The crowds that had gathered to protest the treatment of the Japanese had grown. Some were even camping out. Several dozen Knightmare frames were standing in front of the gates with armed guns.
"So uh, what's the subject for this exhibit?" asked Rivalz as they moved past the front gates.
"It's the one Lelouch and I put together yesterday," said Kallen, wear. "It shows the aftermath of the massacre, that's why we're putting it up near the Governor's Palace."
"Are you sure they won't take it all down?" asked Rivalz.
"Maybe they will, but we have to take that risk," said Lelouch. "Besides, most of the guards are focused on the front gate where the protestors are camping out. This place is abandoned."
They found a stretch of wall where no one was watching and got to work. Taping the laminated pictures to the wall, they put a lot of work in it. There would not be easily torn down, and whoever did it would have a hard time tearing them up. Milly had spent a month's allowance on the laminations. Kallen was kind of impressed.
They'd put up their exhibit. There was a general history of each place they'd taken shots of and proper context. The first exhibit had shown what had been done. This one showed what had been lost. Finally, Lelouch made one more change. Taking out a can of black paint and a brush, he painted on the walls.
'Britannia,
'This is the end result of your actions.
'-Zero'
The writing was elegant and drawn with a flourish.
"So why not use spraypaint?" asked Rivalz.
"Shush," said Kallen.
The next morning, the second exhibit by Zero was found on the Viceroy's Palace. Pictures were taken of it, and the news was spread like wildfire. The protests continued to increase in size. Any hope of things blowing over quickly disappeared.
Ashford Academy soon began to buzz, and under Shirley, all kinds of people began to do actual research. Pretty soon, new protests were beginning. What had once been a hundred outside the Viceroy's Palace became five hundred. And yet it continued to grow.
And Kallen couldn't have been happier.
