Turn 12: The Phantom of Einsatz
Area 9: Auckland, New Zealand - Waitakere Ranges Rainforest
A man is kneeling with his hands behind his head. A woman close by ispacing behind him, tapping a gun at her side. A man with a flamethrower and another man, who looks like the leader wearing a white prop mask, are arguing.
Phantom: They are coming! Go, torch it! Burn it all!
Pierre: But what about the Serum?!
Phantom: (to Pierre) Leave nothing! (to Marico) Now, I will show you how I deal with informants. (to Ingrid) Finish him.
Ingrid: With pleasure...
Meanwhile, just a little ways away Akito and Leila are shown investigating another area in the jungle...
Akito: These are the coordinates Marico sent...
Two gunshots are heard in the distance.
Leila: Over there!
The two run through the jungle as a helicopter is seen flying off in the distance; they arrive to find Marico lying on the ground blood pooling from underneath his head.
Akito: It's Marico, executed. Leila, you find anything.
Leila: The place is torched. I don't know what they were growing but it wasn't narcotics.
Akito: The Phantom knew we were coming.
Leila: So what's our next move?
Akito: We watch for the next viral outbreak. We won't have to wait long..
London
The buildings starts to shake and a chimmey falls off and shatters on the street. A poilceman hears this, then another poilceman blows his whistle screaming.
Poilceman Moorgate Passage. Moorgate Passage.
Poilceman 2: I see it over there!
The dogs run away in terror from the gated Passage.
Bleeding rat-wags! What's gotten into them?
Poilceman 3: What's gotten into them?
A A7V WW1 german tank rams down the gate.
Poilceman 2: What in God's name is that?
The tank started to move towards the poilcemen.
Poilceman 1: Halt!
Poilceman 1: Halt!
Poilceman 2: Blimey!
Poilceman 1: Stop!
Poilceman 4: Come on!
Poilceman 1: Halt! In the name of the law!
The tank crushes the poilceman to death. The other poilcemen tries to stop it.
Poilceman 2: Halt!
Poilceman 3: How the hell do we stop this thing?
Poilceman 2: I said, halt!
The tank destroys the whole front of the entrance of the bank of England. It bashes through wall after wall, until it stops at the vault.
Poilceman 1: Here. Careful, mates. Careful.
The other policemen surround it. One looks at it. And he sees a man through the tank' door view.
Poilceman 1: There's men inside!
The cannon fires upon the vault's door. A Chinese Federation Officer steps out of the tank.
NCF Officer: Round them up!
Some Chinese Federation soldiers steps out of the tank, then Eunuch Rén jī later steps out.
Rén jī: Leave one alive to tell the tale. Kill the rest.
Poilceman 1: No, no... Please.
The soldiers began to open fire.
NCF soldier: Such treasures.
Rén jī walks towards a drawer.
Rén jī: Treasures. Yes.
Rén jī pulls out a drawer to reveal an old blueprints.
Rén jī: Some worth more than others.
Militarized Zone of India
Some Black Knight soldiers round up some Indian scientists in a factory.
Andrea: Bring the scientist with us. Kill any who resist.
G.G.: Do we have him?
Andrea: Satyendra Bhabha at your service, sir.
Satyendra: What do you want?
G.G.: The world, Satyendra. I want the world.
G.G. is thrown a rocket launcher by one of his men
Satyendra: Are you crazy? This place is full of hydrogen gas!
G.G.: Really? That's so frightening.
Fires the rocket at a hydrogen tank, causing a chain reaction to destroy the factory.
Tokyo
As a limosine pulls up at the Diet Building and Ohgi exits: his face grimly set as he makes his way toward the front door. Reporters and photographers spots him and rush to his side.
Reporter: Prime Misiter! Is it true the Black Knights are reponsible for the attack in India?
But Ohgi enters the front door.
Horai Island
Zhou: As you can see from these specs sir, Phantom was working on something. I'm not sure what it was, definitely not drug-related.
Li Xingke: Damn. He beat us on this one, Zhou.
Li Xingke sits.
Li Xingke: Anyhow, we'll discuss this further when Akito and Katsuhiro get here. How is he?
Zhou hesitates for a moment, then speaks.
Zhou: As well as can be expected, sir. You know how close he and Marico were.
Li Xingke: I see. Do you believe this will impair his judgment or limit his abilities?
Zhou: No, and even if it did, he'd still accomplish the mission.
Li Xingke nods.
Li Xingke: Good. Angry?
Zhou: Mad enough to take out an army of terrorists.
Li Xingke: Hmm...well, you've got to calm him down, then, don't you.
Zhou: Absolutely. But that's Leila's business.
Zhou's face expresses friendship and...some amount of lust. Li Xingke catches it.
Li Xingke: (smirking) I can see you will have no difficulty with this assignment.
Jeremiah's Orange Field
Cornelia: Akito's report was clear enough.
Leila: I want two additional teams assigned to this. Find the Phantom.
Cornelia: I understand.
Leila: Zero is in Europe's Russia. Right now it's a nightmare over there.
Grandberry
In the hanger, Chiba cradles the baby in her arms. Tohdoh runs up, and with patriarchal authority, puts his fists on his hips.
Tohdoh: Absolutely, under no condition, is anyone going to fall in love with that baby.
Chiba falls in love as he speaks. Then she walks right past Tohdoh.
Tohdoh: Nagisa! We can't keep that baby. Hey! I will not be ignored.
Ignored, Tohdoh huffs after her. In the room, he nervously paces as Chiba pours water in a tub.
Tohdoh: This is bad. If we're caught with that little brat by those germans, it'll be the end of us.
Chiba: I'm gonna give this baby a bath.
The baby squeals with joy as Chiba lifts her into the bath.
Grandberry - Bridge
Suzaku walks into the bridge where Oldrin was brushing her hair.
Suzaku: I didn't imagined you to have a Lancelot too.
Oldrin: It's my own style of fighting. Trouble seems to follow you, doesn't it, Zero?
Suzaku: It's about... the...
Oldrin: The Empress of Britannia.
Suzaku: What do you mean?
Oldrin: You miss her?
Suzaku: A little...
Oldrin: Really? Then within a few hours of your arrival, I have a another crisis in my hands.
Suzaku: What?
Oldrin; Late yesterday last night Chinese soldiers broke into the bank of England, then a few hours later the Black Knights attacked a knightmare frame factory, kidnapping many scientists. The Black Knights have been accused in these attacks, but they deny any involvement in this incident.
Suzaku: I didn't order this attack!
Oldrin: No one did. Nations are striking at nations by Einsatz. These attacks are all the work of one man...
Oldrin shows Zero the phantom's photo.
Oldrin: ...who calls himself the Phantom.
Suzaku: Very operatic. What's in it for him?
Oldrin: Profit. Those machines are Xylvanian creations, the work of scientists he holds imprisoned. His attacks have Germany easily gaining the upper hand in this war.
Suzaku: Then it's a race for arms.
Oldrin: And millions will perish. There's one last chance. The leaders of the UFN are to meet secretly in Venice.
Suzaku: How do you know that?
Oldrin: A man named Jacques told me that about the conference.
Suzaku: And you believe that this Phantom will attack that conference?
Oldrin: If he can find it. Right now, you're needed in Horai Island. The Black Knights are in a fray.
Suzaku: Then we're going back.
The Grandberry begans to fly away from St. Petersburg, flying above the Kazakhstan border, above Beijing, and then back to the Black Knights HQ.
Horai Island
Toshihiko Katsuhiro, a tall man with glasses, gives Akito an operations update.
Katsuhiro: -Number of foreign nationals getting into our country the last few weeks, despite the heightened security.
Akito: Sounds like something big is happening. It has to be the Phantom.
Akito sees Li Xingke and Zhou.
Li Xingke: Second Lieutenant Akito Hyuga.
Akito: Li Xingke.
Li Xingke: Akito, Leila's told me what we have.
Akito: Yea, thighs and wings, but no chicken.
Katsuhiro: That's right.
Akito: (to Zhou) Hmm...there was nothing in those files you retrieved?
Li Xingke: We're still decoding the information. What are you thinking Akito?
Akito: Thinking that you should've kept him on a tighter leash.
Li Xingke looks over at him, curious.
Katsuhiro: What the hell are you talking about? He was given the same license as you are. Him going rogue couldn't be seen.
Akito has heard this before, but it doesn't matter.
Akito: Yea, right up to the moment where he wiped out the rest of his team and disappeared with fifty million in drug money two years ago.
Zhou concurs.
Zhou: Enough to hire his team and start his own campaign of terrorism.
Li Xingke: Our first decent lead since London and we get a donut. (to Katsuhiro) Go find him, Toshihiko. Now!
Katsuhiro exits. Leila enters. Li Xingke looks at Akito, pacing.
Li Xingke: Akito has Marico's death affected you? We know what losing someone can do to you. Do you still feel up to the challenge?
While Li Xingke speaks, Akito remembers the rifle range, double dates, bars...until...
Zhou: (shouting) Akito!
He looks up; face remorseful, but determined.
Akito: Yes. I'm up for it. This time the Phantom...is mine.
Li Xingke's phone rings. He answers. he eyes widen, shocked at something. He gets off and immediately tells Akito and Leila.
Li Xingke: That was the Black Knights. An unknown virus has obliterated an entire village in Tibet. The officials there say it's unlike anything they've ever seen.
You two are going in to check it out-this may be one of Frankenstein's tests.
Leila: Let's move, we probably don't have much time.
Leila exits the room. Akito begins to leave, Li Xingke stops him.
Li Xingke: Lieutenant Hyuga, hold your temper.
Akito: Of course.
Li Xingke: Welcome to the Black Knights.
Akito exits the room, slams the door.
Khumbu, Nepal
Cut to show Akito and Leila at the Sherpa Village, with a airship dropping them off while the two wear full protective suits of the Black Knights.
Akito: Our UFN contact was correct. Everyone within a hundred miles is dead.
Leila: Not everyone, this man is still alive.
Akito: How is that possible?
Leila: It's not...
Horai Island
The Granberry lands at the island airfield. Li Xingke greets them.
Li Xingke: General Commander Li Xingke.
Oldrin: Oldrin Zevon, Head Knight of Glinda Knights.
Li Xingke: Welcome to Horai island. You've flown all the way from Europe and Asia to bring us the news.
Oldrin: Yes. it's being worse than that. German forces has pushed through up north to Russia, the Romanovs have been executed.
Zero then steps out the ship with little Anastasia in his arms.
Suzaku: Except one. Their daughter which was a newborn.
Li Xingke gazes down at the baby mysteriously.
Suzaku: Would you be kind enough to look after this child?
South China Sea
A Britannian Destroyer cruises through the South china sea.
Captain: Keep a sharp look out helmsman.
Radarman: Captain! We just picked up something on radar here!
The Captain looks at the radar, a small bleep appears on screen.
Captain: It's coming at us at a great speed.
The destroyer suddenly explodes.
A/N: In the next Turn, The training of the W-0 Unit into the Black Knights!