Author's Note: We'd be deviating from the story's genre in this chapter... because it's action time. In this entry, we get to see both Infinity and Lelouch in their military debut. This is a quite long chapter, nearing thirteen thousand words, minus the lengthy author notes at the end (which are essential as I'm explaining myself). Initially, I didn't want to put the mecha combat bits this early, but I thought it would be good filler to go along with the more important plot points in this chapter, so if you're leery of action... well, at least there's still something. And there wouldn't be a lot of emphasis on combat in the later chapters. This is just one of those rare moments.
I must be having a bad case of jitters nowadays because I'm always so reluctant to post a new chapter. Ugh. Hopefully, that will be fixed soon enough.
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass at all, no matter how much I wish I do. Even if I did I'd probably screw it up somehow...
Chapter 15
First Blood
A strong gust of wind swept the fringe of Suzaku's chestnut brown hair aside and he absent-mindedly brushed it back. He stepped out of the transport aircraft, which just landed in Pendragon. He had just been reassigned to Cornelia's army. The Japanese teenager wasn't sure why the higher ups decided to do so. Perhaps either General Bartley or Prince Clovis himself did not see much point in keeping him in Area 11. In truth, Suzaku was more than glad to leave Clovis's unit. The widespread racism disallowed him from rising to higher ranks, and thus it prevented him from his goal of changing Britannia from within. Furthermore, the amount of rampant corruption disgusted him on a personal level. He wondered if the other royals were aware of Clovis's negligence, and would they even care if they knew.
Accompanying Suzaku was his long-time colleagues in the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, the renowned and eccentric professor Lloyd Asplund and his assistant, Cecile Croomy. It was a long flight from Area 11 to Pendragon, and all three of them were feeling a little exhausted. "No one to receive us?" Lloyd asked, noting the lack of personnel around the airstrip.
"That's strange," Cecile remarked. "I thought Prince Clovis notified Princess Cornelia of our impending arrival. I would have expected at least someone to greet us at the very least."
"Maybe they're late. Let's wait a little while," Suzaku suggested. They stood near the airstrip while examining the base. Upon taking a closer look, Suzaku realized that it was too quiet for a military base and there was hardly anyone in sight. It was as though it was abandoned.
As the minutes ticked by, Suzaku found his patience running thin. "Shall we take a walk around to see whether we can find anyone?" he spoke. "If someone was supposed to pick us up, he isn't coming anymore. He's nearly an hour late."
"Beats standing around," Lloyd said jovially. The older male started to walk, and Suzaku and Cecile quickly followed.
It did not take them long to stumble across a bored looking soldier, sitting on a pile of crates. The rank of a corporal was emblazoned on his sleeves. "Hey there!" Lloyd called out, waving madly at the soldier, who stood up and stretched, yawning as he did so.
"Greetings," the soldier replied politely. "How may I aid you?"
"We've just been reassigned here from Area 11. We're looking for someone to give us our new positions," Suzaku stepped forth. "Could you guide us?"
"Normally that would be Princess Cornelia," the soldier eyed Suzaku warily, having noticed that the latter was not of Britannian lineage. "She usually could be found on the highest floor of that tower behind me." The corporal jerked his thumb backwards at a tall ivory building behind him.
"The princess takes care of such things?"
"Aye, she prefers to personally assess her soldiers… No matter where they come from."
"I see. Many thanks then," Suzaku nodded. He noticed the almost disparaging stare the soldier gave him earlier but chose not to say anything. No sense causing any unnecessary trouble. He was about to walk away when the soldier extended a hand to stop him.
"I said usually, Eleven," the soldier grunted. Suzaku's facial muscles twitched. "However, Princess Cornelia just departed on a mission not too long ago. No one knows where she is and what she's doing. You won't find her there."
"How about her second in command?" Suzaku asked, fighting his increasing dislike of the corporal.
"Lord Guilford? He left for the European frontier yesterday."
"Who's next in the chain of command?"
"General Darlton. He's not here either. He has been appointed in charge of the Aries Villa's security."
"So who's in charge now?" Suzaku asked, refraining himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"Well, Princess Cornelia left Princess Euphemia behind… So I guess she's in charge now," the corporal looked at Suzaku, meeting his eyes evenly. "You can find her in that same tower I pointed out earlier."
"Right… Thank you," Suzaku muttered, more than glad to leave the corporal behind. He waited until the trio walked out of earshot before craning his neck over to regard his companions. "Do either of you have any idea of what's princess Euphemia like?"
"No one really knows," Cecile shrugged. Lloyd shook his head slightly as a reply. "She's rarely seen because she just finished schooling, I believe. She has only come out into public light recently."
"Let's just go on then," Suzaku forged deeper into the military base, his pace doubling, causing his companions to hasten in order to catch up with him. He crossed his fingers in his pockets, hoping that Euphemia would at least be better than Clovis. He had enough with unscrupulous royals.
"All units, move out!" Infinity declared. Three groups of twenty-five Knightmares each, all of them dark-blue painted Vincent Wards rose to the skies. Each Knightmare was equipped with an assault rifle, grenade launcher, hip-mounted slash harkens, additional chaos mines and a float system. "Remember the plan, comrades." Infinity turned the communication channels off as he observed his forces. He was accompanying them, but will monitor the battle instead of participating in it directly. The prince opted to use a Vincent Ward like the rest of his troops, although he could choose a commander model. No point advertising himself as the leader, especially if a Vincent Ward would be sufficient for his role of commander.
Schneizel watched with mild distaste as the first group of Knightmares slowly approached Valac Palace. Regardless of his personal opinion of Odysseus, he did not like the idea of killing him just because his troops needed a target to vent themselves on. Nonetheless, he was determined to make his older brother a necessary sacrifice to protect his position as leader of the Sword of Akasha. His mind wandered back to the far past, recalling the moments he spent together with Odysseus as a child, and could not find a single shred of hesitation in himself at the thought of slaying him. It was a necessary action, and for the greater good of the world once his goals were achieved. It took a few minutes before his destination became visible along the horizon. The palace was a magnificent silver building which gleamed brilliantly in the rays of the sun. It was unfortunate that it would be marred by his actions.
"Nearing Knightmare units, please be advised. You are drawing close to Valac Palace, the royal residence of crown prince Odysseus," a stern voice announced on the communication channels. "Turn back if you have no business here."
"This is General Whiters speaking. We are well aware of that fact," Calares lied, careful to keep his voice neutral. He was appointed as the commander of the first squadron, and Infinity ordered him to come up with both a fake identity and a reason for their approach, and his leader would somehow hack the Britannian database to create a false person to match it. "However, we have reason to believe that Valac Palace is no longer safe for his Excellency. There was a terrorist bomb threat made, and we are sent by his majesty himself to secure the palace."
There was a brief pause. "Such a threat was unheard of. I'm afraid we require more details," the voice finally said, apprehension and uncertainty laced in his tone.
"There's a risk of having our communication channels hijacked by the terrorists. We will share the details with you later when we land. We shall continue approaching. Rest assured that our weapons will remain powered down." Calares motioned to the rest of his squadron to stow their weapons away.
"Very well. We shall receive you in our Knightmare frames soon."
"Thank you for your cooperation," Calares smiled deviously. The ex-duke did not expect them to trust him so easily, and his fingers tightened around the triggers of his weapons in anticipation. He was only a minute away from reaching the palace now…
"How do you find this place, Emily?" Odysseus asked kindly. The crown prince and the commoner, who was his dance partner for the Britannian Ball a few days ago, were having tea at one of the palace's balcony, the former having invited her to visit when she had the time. Despite his relaxed demeanour, privately he was feeling slightly uncomfortable due to the Sword of Akasha's return. He pushed such thoughts aside. "Leave worrying for later. Right now's the time to relax."
"It's beautiful, Your Highness," Emily commented shyly. The petite redhead surveyed the breathtaking view of the lush forests and the mountains in the distance. The gentle sound of a stream rushing and birds chirping lively added to the serenity of their surroundings. "Thank you for inviting me here."
"It's a small matter, and call me Odysseus," the crown prince laughed lightly. "It's a magnificent place, but it is too big for me. It gets a little lonely sometimes."
"Are you hinting me to visit more often, Your H- Odysseus?" a slow smile started spreading on Emily's face, having seen through Odysseus's words easily.
"Well, I have lots of spare time. My father doesn't really assign me any tasks..." Odysseus shrugged, attempting to be nonchalant. The Crown Prince then gestured at the palace around him. "Or you can even stay here with your family. There's plenty of empty rooms around. Your family won't have to return to that small house anymore."
"I appreciate the offer, Odysseus," Emily said slowly, placing her barely touched cup of tea down on its plate. While she liked the idea of living luxuriously, she preferred to do it on her own merit, not because a prince liked her. "But I'm afraid I can't take it up. We'll be a burden on you."
Odysseus opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, a guard, barely into adulthood, entered the balcony hastily. "Your Highness!" the guard saluted.
"What is it? I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed," Odysseus grumbled, chafed at the interrupt.
"Pardon my interruption, Your Highness. However, a group of Knightmare Frames just landed here at the palace. They claim that the emperor sent them after there was a terrorist threat targeting this place was made!"
"A terrorist threat?!" Emily squeaked, sitting up in her wooden chair.
"Did they say which terrorist group?" Odysseus demanded, his heart heavy in his chest. "If it's the Sword of Akasha, then Emily's in trouble as well…"
"No, Your Highness. We are currently communicating with them to verify whether their claims are true or not."
"You mean you let them land without even confirming whether they're our allies or not?!" Odysseus exclaimed loudly, slapping a hand to his forehead. A sinking sensation formed in his chest.
"S-sorry, Your Highness! It was the captain's decision! Their weapons are powered down and they are already waiting for us to communicate with them," the boyish guard stammered. The crown prince ignored him and strode inside the palace to one of the windows. True to the guard's words, there were approximately two dozen Vincent Wards clustered around the palace's entrance. A small group of his forces, ten Gloucesters, two generations out of date compared to the Vincent Wards, faced them with their lances at the ready. Odysseus noticed that the Vincent Wards indeed had their weapons powered down and were not making any threatening moves, and he allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
At that precise moment, there was a thunderous sound of gunfire which promptly tore the ten Gloucesters apart. The communication channels were choked with shocked cries and screams as the Knightmares exploded. Odysseus stared in confusion, for none of the Vincent Wards made any moves. The crown prince snatched the radio transmitter of the guard earlier, who was now frozen in shock. "Security, what's going on?!" Odysseus urged frantically.
"T-there's another group of Knightmares behind us, Your Highness! Vincent Wards as well," a panicked operator replied. "They've only shown up on the radar a few minutes ago, but they suddenly made a deviation towards us! They're the ones who opened fire on our forces!"
"All soldiers, to your battle stations!" an alarm blared insistently throughout the palace. "I repeat, all soldiers, to your battle stations!"
Odysseus swallowed heavily as the group of Vincent Wards before him started to move, grabbed their weapons and aimed them at the palace. "Send a call for reinforcements to every nearby military base and his Majesty!" Odysseus instructed. He watched as the remaining guards charged out in their Gloucesters. "Even so, we're outnumbered here and most likely reinforcements won't make it in time. I must escape with Emily right now."
The crown prince hastened towards the balcony. "What's happening?" Emily cried out, clearly frightened by the sudden bloodshed. She had never experienced any sort of violence before, and right now she found herself in the thick of it.
"We have to leave right now. We need to get out of here," Odysseus informed Emily before grabbing her wrist. Not knowing what else to do, she mutely nodded and allowed him to pull her along. "We'll be heading to one of the escape routes."
"Squadrons one and two, the enemy Knightmare Frames are arriving," the garbled voice of Infinity came on the communication channels. Calares smiled grimly. He had not battled anyone in months.
"I have access to their positions. Follow my orders and victory will be assured."
"What, does he expect us to be his lapdogs?" Ricardo grumbled in his cockpit. His fingers gripped the trigger of the Knightmare's assault rifle.
"Patience, Ricardo. At least he's no longer keeping us cooped up in the base," Calares admonished. "This time, we get to uphold the beliefs of the Sword of Akasha!"
Ricardo did not reply, as Infinity's voice came back on again. "One P-One to One P-Twenty Four, and One B-One, advance slowly towards the entrance. The majority of their troops, eighteen Gloucesters, are waiting to ambush you. Throw your chaos mines inside at these designated spots before entering." The twenty-five Knightmare's screens flashed with the highlighted areas where they should throw their chaos mines.
"Two P-One to Two P-Six, circle around the palace as air support. Pick off any stragglers and keep an eye out for Britannian reinforcements," Infinity continued smoothly. "Two P-Seven to Two P-Seventeen, there are a total twelve Gloucesters scattered around the palace to guard the rear and the side entrances. I'll mark them on the map for you. Flush them out."
"Affirmative."
"With this, our head-on attack will push back their main force to the courtyard," Infinity mused aloud. "Two P-eighteen to Two-P-twenty four and Two B-One, secure the courtyard. Once they retreat to that area, they'll be sandwiched between our two forces." He paused to switch communication channels, addressing the third and last squadron. "Squadron three, have you done what I asked?"
"Yes, sir. I've evenly distributed the squadron across the escape routes. All five escape routes are now blocked. Five Vincent Wards will be circling around the area as well, in case there's another route we are not aware of."
"Well done," Infinity did not bother to inform his subordinate that another escape route would be out of the question, for he knew the inside of Valac Palace like the back of his hand. "Now we shall just wait for crown prince Odysseus to be captured. Squadron one, move out right now. Remember my orders."
"Yes, my lord," Calares obeyed, slowly guiding his Knightmare forward, the rest of his unit advancing cautiously with him. "Be prepared to throw the chaos mines on the count of three. Three… two… one!" All twenty-five Vincent Wards snapped a chaos mine, which was attached to their hips, and activated them in a smooth motion. They hurled the spherical grenades inside the palace and charged sideways to take cover from the impending rain of shrapnel.
The eighteen Gloucesters, lined up against the walls of the palace's interior and waiting to ambush their assailants were caught off guard. The chaos mines exploded, showering the room with an immense amount of shrapnel which rapidly shredded the metallic forms of the fifth generation mass-produced Knightmare frames in seconds. A series of deafening explosions announced the destruction of the Gloucesters, and Calares smirked. Prince Odysseus apparently did not place a lot of emphasis on security, for Gloucesters were out of date for at least a year, and they lacked modern defensive equipment.
"Retreat! Retreat and regroup the courtyard!" The captain of Valac Palace's security roared. A pitiful number of Gloucesters survived the onslaught of the chaos mines, and they beat a quick retreat. "Get the Gloucesters stationed at the rear and side gates to regroup as well. We must hold off the enemy's main force at all costs!"
"But sir, they're gone as well! All twelve of them have been eliminated seconds ago."
"What?! A multi-pronged attack? How could they destroy all twelve of them so quickly? They must've known the position of our forces!" The captain snarled as he manoeuvred his Knightmare to the courtyard.
"What should we do, captain?"
"Change our IFF codes! There's something strange going on-" the captain was cut off as he reached the courtyard, his Gloucester shattering into pieces around him. It was so sudden that he did not have time to even consider ejecting. The other Gloucesters behind him followed suit, most of them destroyed even they got to retaliate. The eight Vincent Wards, stationed at the courtyard at Infinity's behest, lowered their smoking assault rifles.
"All enemy Knightmares are eliminated," Infinity smirked triumphantly. Privately, he was slightly disappointed with the lack of challenge the fight presented. He was used to greater odds while waging war on the EU, and Odysseus's security, much like the prince himself, was truly incapable. "Now, we just wait for Odysseus to stumble into our trap like an old fool. Squadron three, any sign of him yet?"
"Speak of the devil, sir… we've just nabbed him and the girl," the leader of the third squadron reported gleefully. "What should we do with them?"
"Bring them to me at the courtyard," Infinity replied curtly. He activated the float system of his Vincent Ward and flew the Knightmare from the secluded spot in the forest, where he was while observing the battle, to the courtyard of Valac Palace. Infinity could not help but grimace at the thought of what was to come next. "It's going to be barbaric…" He exited from his Knightmare, many of his forces doing the same, and stalked towards the centre of the courtyard.
The second prince of Britannia spotted Odysseus and the girl who accompanied him to the ball. Their hands were on their heads as they were forced to walk towards him by the numerous armed men behind them, who forced the pair to kneel before Infinity. Odysseus stared at the masked figure in front of him uncomprehendingly. "Who are you?"
"You can call me Infinity," Infinity tossed his cloak aside airily, employing the theatrics he often used while disguised. "I'm the leader of the Sword of Akasha, and as you can see… we're here for you, Crown Prince Odysseus eu Britannia." Odysseus started when he heard the name of the infamous terrorist organization.
"Why?" Odysseus croaked, gesturing at his surroundings feebly. He stared at the masked visage of the man towering before him. "What have we done to deserve this?"
"Do you need to ask? You've shown interest in commoner filth!" Guinevere spat spitefully at her half-brother. Odysseus blinked and craned his neck to see who spoke, and paled when he did so. "We should not be diluting our bloodline by interacting with such scum!"
"Sister, what is all this?" Odysseus questioned disbelievingly. "You would turn on your siblings just for such a minor thing? And all we've not even a couple or anything! We're just sitting down, having a cup of tea when you folks barged in-"
"Purity of the royal bloodline is no minor thing, Odysseus," Guinevere retorted icily. "And we're not idiots. You always had a soft spot for these lowly vermin. We'll be better off without you anyway. Your ineptness is truly a disgrace."
"You can't be serious, sister," Odysseus began but was silenced as Infinity retrieved a pistol from his pocket and trained it squarely at his head.
"The least we could do for you is to grant you a swift death, Odysseus" Infinity informed his older half-brother. "I can't promise the same for your woman, though."
"Wai-" Odysseus started to protest, but Infinity ignored him and squeezed the trigger, burying a bullet in his brother's skull. The Crown Prince of Britannia, first in line for the imperial throne, dropped dead on the floor, gore trickling slowly from the hole in his head. Emily shrieked in terror and shrank back, her blue eyes wide with horror.
"As for you, Miss Emily Taylor… we have other things in mind for you," Infinity said quietly. Many of the Sword of Akasha members advanced, leering at her, knives and other weapons gripped tightly in their hands. "Make it as quick as possible. Britannian reinforcements will be arriving in half an hour, but we have to leave in twenty minutes to avoid being tracked."
"You can inflict a lot of pain within that time," a voice cackled diabolically, causing Emily to turn pale. She frantically looked around, trying to come up with an idea so she could escape, but failed to do so.
"Wait… please…" Emily whimpered, trying to inch away from the nearing terrorists. Their knives glinted wickedly in the illumination of the fires around the palace. Infinity simply turned around and left the scene, unwilling to witness what his troops would do to her. No one else protested or lifted a finger to intervene, and the only people who heard her screams of agony were those who enjoyed it.
Grand Duke Ricardo observed his comrades tormenting the sole survivor of their raid, who squirmed with all her might and shrieked in excruciating pain. Her struggles were all in vain - as she was utterly outnumbered. Ricardo spied Guinevere de Britannia sniffing in disdain at Emily's pathetic attempts to defend herself while the other terrorists assaulted her with their weapons. Carine ne Britannia, the young and bloodthirsty fifth princess of the empire, all but giggled in delight as she stepped forward, plunging a serrated dagger between her victim's ribs, eliciting a miserable cry of pain from the latter. Ricardo hoped that she would remember to bring the body of the unfortunate but deserving commoner along with them, for the risk of leaving genetic evidence of her torturers on the corpse would be too great. It would spell calamity for the Sword of Akasha if a weak-willed member was captured and spilled everything, particularly their locations and identities, to the Britannian authorities.
The brawny, dark-haired noble blocked out Emily's screams and instead of partaking in the torture, he stared at the corpse of Odysseus somewhat incredulously. Ricardo could not believe that they had successfully killed a member of the royalty in their very home so easily. While Empress Marianne was assassinated in the Aries Villa, the mission was only a success because their leader back then, Victor, was able to convince Marianne to withdraw most of her royal guard. Odysseus had his full unit of bodyguards, and they still managed to defeat him nearly effortlessly.
Thinking of Empress Marianne made Ricardo's thoughts direct towards Lelouch vi Britannia. If they were able to best the crown prince with such ease, surely they could take down Lelouch. The aristocrat straightened his back and cast a glance for Infinity, but could not find him. A cunning smile started growing on his face as an idea formed in his mind. "Comrades!" Ricardo announced in a deep, booming voice. Most of the Sword of Akasha members looked up curiously at him. "We've just trounced Valac Palace! Aries Villa is only a short twenty-minute flight from here. I say we head there and eliminate Lelouch vi Britannia!" A mix of frantic whispering and cheering met his words.
"That goes against Infinity's plans, Ricardo," someone in the crowd interjected.
"To hell with Infinity!" Ricardo bellowed. "Our beliefs come first! I'll be heading towards Aries Villa, regardless of how many people are following me. So, who's with me?" The assembled men shifted uneasily, trading looks with each other. After a couple of moments, two dozen people stepped up, nodding at Ricardo.
"That's more like it…" Ricardo breathed, grinning malevolently. "Now, board your Knightmare Frames. It's time we taught the eleventh prince a lesson."
Rolo wandered around the corridors of the villa aimlessly as he searched for something which required cleaning. The high number of servants meant that housekeeping duties would be quickly dealt with. While that was a good thing, he found himself bored out of his mind. The other servants decided to take a break in the parlour, chit-chatting among themselves while helping themselves to coffee and cookies. Rolo decided to exclude himself as he did not know any of them. Hence, he was uncomfortable with them. His reserved behaviour certainly did not help him much either.
Rolo was about to take a turn around a corner when he nearly bumped into Shirley. The lithe girl, who was humming cheerfully to herself, jumped when she saw him. She was dressed casually today – brown shorts and a lime green top. "Oh, Rolo, there you are!" she beamed at him pleasantly. "I was looking for you."
"Hello, Shirley," Rolo greeted her shyly. He noticed that she seemed to be hiding something behind her back with her hands, but he opted not to ask about it. He thought that it might be rude to do so, or put her in a difficult spot, and he did not want to risk his newfound friendship with her, even if he still did not really understand the concept of friends. "How can I assist you?"
"Sheesh, you don't have to be so formal with me, you know," Shirley pouted slightly.
"Sorry," Rolo mumbled, slightly bemused by her words. Technically she was supposed to be his superior, and he should treat her with the utmost respect.
"Oh, don't be," Shirley said brightly. She then adopted a more caring tone. "How's your amnesia? Have you remembered anything yet?"
"Tiny figments... but it doesn't make sense. Overall, nothing has changed. It's still the same," Rolo heaved a sigh. He witnessed Shirley's brows knitting themselves in concern, and he hastened to reassure her. "I'll still be able to work normally, though, if that's what you're worried about."
"Huh?" Shirley tilted her head at Rolo. "I'm just concerned about you. The faster your memories come back, the better it'll be for you." Rolo blinked rapidly in surprise. "Let me know if you need any assistance, alright? I'll be happy to lend a hand."
"Ah… sure. Thanks for the offer," Rolo replied slowly. Privately he was absolutely perplexed. "Why would she want to help me anyway? It's not like she's going to get anything out of it…" Regardless of what he viewed as her bizarre behaviour, he had an unfamiliar warmth brewing inside of his body, which only baffled him even more.
"Don't mention it," Shirley smiled amiably at him, waving his expression of gratitude aside. "Anyway, do you happen to have some free time right now? I've planned something for you."
"For me?" Rolo was taken aback again. He was beginning to lose count of how many times he was disconcerted today. "Uh, I have nothing much to do now, but I thought I'm supposed to go check on the other rooms-"
"Oh, leave that mundane stuff to the others," the slender swimmer said cheerfully, grabbing Rolo by his wrist. The younger teenager almost jumped at the touch of Shirley's hand. "Come on!" Without another word, she started moving.
"Where are we going?" Rolo managed to ask as he kept up with Shirley's brisk pace. Rolo initially thought of protesting but decided to quietly go along with her. A small part of him was curious about what she mentioned earlier. No one had planned something for him before.
"To the kitchen," Shirley answered instantly. She turned her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder. "It's an important day for you."
"It is? I don't remember…"
Shirley merely beamed at Rolo again, although this time it was mixed with some melancholy. A minute later, they reached a wooden sliding door which separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. She knocked on the door and called out. "Lulu? Are you ready?"
"Ready when you are," Lelouch's voice, partially muffled through the door, responded. Shirley eagerly slid the door open and ushered the still confused Rolo into the kitchen. A wooden rectangular table was centred in the rather spacious room, and upon it was a sumptuous chocolate butter cake, complete with whipped cream raspberries and seventeen lit candles. "Happy seventeenth birthday, Rolo!" they chorused in unison.
"Umm…?" Rolo stared at them uncomprehendingly. He did not remember when exactly his birthday was at all.
"Today's your birthday," Shirley read Rolo's dumbfounded expression on his face. "The twenty-eighth of June. You might not remember it, but you wrote that on your application form when you first came here." She crossed the room, picking up a tiny box from the edge of the table. It was about the size of her palm, wrapped in white decorative paper and a red ribbon, and she held it out for Rolo to take. "Here's your present!"
Rolo made no move to retrieve his gift, and instead he eyed it with a mix of puzzlement and mild wariness. Shirley cocked her head curiously at him, as he still made no move to take his gift. "Is something the matter, Rolo?"
"Everything's fine. Why?"
"Well… why not take it?"
"Oh," Rolo reached for the box hesitantly, then slowly took it from Shirley's hands. She patiently waited for him to unwrap it, but Rolo simply continued looking at her with a befuddled expression.
"Erm, aren't you going to open it?" Shirley questioned. She wondered whether Rolo had received a gift before. He seemed so clueless about it.
"Right," Rolo coughed awkwardly as he started unwrapping his present. Shirley watched him raptly as a featureless brown box came into view, and he cautiously opened that as well. Lelouch nonchalantly peered at the contents of the box as well. Rolo's fingers trembled a little as he took the contents out, revealing a white and gold heart-shaped locket. It was attached to a gold chain and a gold symbol, which resembled a four leaf clover, was carved in the middle.
"Do you like it?" Shirley asked keenly. She had it delivered to the villa from a shop since none of them were allowed to leave the house yet. Rolo did not respond as he was too busy examining the locket, and she took it as some form of hidden dislike from him. "Well, I know it looks a little girly, but I thought it was really pretty and that it'd go well with your phone," she added on hurriedly.
"How much?" Rolo asked abruptly.
"What?" Shirley blinked, caught off-guard by Rolo's question. Lelouch raised an eyebrow in the background.
"Um, well… what should I do for this? Money? Extra work?"
"Huh?" Shirley was agape with shock. "Rolo, it's a gift. Hasn't anyone given you a gift before?"
"No," Rolo admitted. His hand held the locket gingerly, as though he was afraid of breaking it. "I don't even know what a gift is."
"A gift is something given to someone without expecting anything back in return," Shirley replied quietly. She gave Rolo another sympathetic look.
"Why would anyone give one?" Rolo frowned. Giving someone a perfectly good item while receiving nothing in return did not make any sense to him.
"Well, it's sort of customary to give it to friends during important events, such as birthdays," Shirley explained thoughtfully. "However, the most important objective of a gift is to make the receiver happy."
"I see…" Rolo's voice trailed off. "Does that mean you want me to be happy then?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Shirley laughed. It was such a silly question to her. "You're my friend, aren't you?"
Rolo pondered that question for a moment. "Thank you, Shirley," He said quietly. He turned the locket over, running his fingers through the item slowly. The amnesiac then retrieved his green mobile phone from his pocket, pausing for a moment before attaching the ivory locket to the electronic device. His pinkish eyes surveyed the combination briefly, and for one of the rare times in his life, he permitted himself to smile.
"Sorry for interrupting, but… the candle wax's melting," Lelouch called out, with a note of urgency in his voice. "Make a wish and blow out the candles, mister Halibu- I mean, Rolo." The prince corrected himself. While he did not feel comfortable enough around Rolo to address him by his first name, he felt that it would be odd to be formal during a celebration.
"Is that how it usually goes?" Rolo inquired.
"Yes, and customarily you're supposed to only think about the wish in your head, not say it aloud," Lelouch shrugged casually. "And you can't tell anyone about your wish either, as it's believed that it would not come true if you do so. It's also normal for us to sing a birthday song-"
"It's okay, I don't need a song," Rolo held up his hands awkwardly. This was all too much for him to take in, and he felt like he'd die of discomfort if they started singing for him.
"Sure," Lelouch exchanged a bemused look with Shirley, and the pair stood back, observing Rolo intently.
Rolo took a deep breath as he approached the table. He leaned over the cake and paused for a moment. "I wish I'll get my memories as soon as possible." The youth blew out the candle lights promptly, and Shirley and Lelouch applauded, the former doing it more enthusiastically than the latter. They plucked the candles from the cake and handed Rolo a cake knife. He looked at his companions quizzically, the knife grasped in his right hand. It felt strangely familiar in his grip, but he shook that thought aside. "You're supposed to cut it," Lelouch answered his unspoken question, having assumed that Rolo never attended a party before.
"Oh," Rolo muttered. Instinctively he flipped the blade over and raised it, poised to bring it down towards the cake in a stabbing motion. He realized what he was doing and he blinked, lowering it slowly. The servant wondered what possessed him to act that way.
"Here, let me," Shirley volunteered, stepping forward. Rolo obediently moved aside and passed the knife to her. Lelouch frowned uneasily as he witnessed the brief moment of how Rolo handled the blade. He made a mental note to observe Rolo in the future, and then he pondered whether he was being too paranoid. The chance of him being an enemy was incredibly low as according to the other servants, he applied for the job weeks before he and Shirley were even together.
Lelouch snapped out of his reverie as he found a spoonful of cake gently pressing against his lips. Shirley smiled at him coyly as she held the piece of food near his mouth. "What's on your mind?" she questioned.
"Nothing," Lelouch quickly said. He maintained a straight face as Shirley fed him the bit of cake, giggling slightly as she did so, and the prince joined in after a while. Her laughter could be rather infectious. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rolo watching them raptly. The latter had a wistful expression on his face while he distractedly placed a slice of cake on his plate.
"It's pretty good, isn't it?" Shirley asked.
"Of course. I made it," Lelouch rolled his eyes loftily.
Rolo's eyes widened in surprise. "You made it, Your Highness?" He interjected through a mouthful of chocolate cake.
"At Shirley's behest, " Lelouch shrugged indifferently. "It wasn't too difficult anyway."
"Because I wanted it to be perfect," Shirley piped up. "I would have done it if I knew how to."
"Even if you did, I doubt it would be edible," Lelouch joked mirthfully and ducked as Shirley swatted at him in annoyance. Despite that, she grinned sheepishly and her cheeks flared with heat, acknowledging the fact that she was horrible in all things culinary.
"You guys…" Rolo could not resist the urge to smile at them. A surge of gratitude and joy filled him, and suddenly, he found his eyes watering slightly.
"Rolo?" Shirley asked, stunned by his unexpected tears. "Are you that moved by what we did?" she teased.
"I don't know. Maybe," Rolo gave a shaky laugh as he wiped at his eyes. Where did his tears come from? However, they were interrupted when the sliding door opened, slamming against the wall so hard that the kitchen almost shuddered from sheer force. Lelouch leapt to his feet and instinctively moved in front of Shirley defensively. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest before the pair recognized the group of men who entered.
"I'm afraid you have to forgive our intrusion, Your Highness," Jeremiah coughed, noting the obvious birthday celebration they just barged into. Darlton entered the room as well, nodding at Lelouch. The general's hands were carrying a large rifle, and the five men behind them sported similar weapons. Lelouch recognized them as the Glaston Knights, the adopted sons of Darlton. "We have urgent news. Valac Palace has fallen, and Crown Prince Odysseus is dead." Shirley gasped in horror.
"Fallen to whom?" Lelouch demanded, all traces of his good mood vanished.
"Unknown. It's likely that the enemy possessed several high-grade Knightmares. Odysseus's entire guard unit was slaughtered," Jeremiah supplied. He traded a look with Darlton. "Additionally, there's a group of thirty Vincent Wards heading towards us right now. They'll be here in twelve minutes. Their IFF codes identify them as friendly units, but we cannot take any risks."
"Understood. Let's go to the command centre," Lelouch started walking. Shirley and the other military officers quickly followed after him. "I'll be taking command. Darlton, you and your men are to standby in their Knightmares." He glanced over his shoulder at the befuddled servant who was still standing in the kitchen. "Rolo, head back to your room for now until further instructions are given to the staff."
"Alright," Rolo nodded. Lelouch wordlessly turned away and resumed his striding. As the group made their way to the command centre, the prince eyed the surroundings of his home through the windows. Like other residences of royalty, the view was spectacular. He could only hope that it would remain that way after today's events.
Ricardo was looking forward to the upcoming battle. His brown eyes were wide with hungry anticipation as they stared at the villa before him. He was only a few moments away from annihilating the accursed Eleventh Prince of Britannia. Bad enough that he was born of a commoner, now he had the nerve to bring one into the Imperial palace!
A brief cackle interrupted Ricardo's thoughts. "This is Lelouch vi Britannia, addressing the group of Vincent Wards nearing the Aries Villa. You are not authorized to approach any closer. Turn back at once or we will fire upon you. This will be your only warning. I repeat, turn back at once."
Ricardo's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He did not expect Lelouch himself to talk to them or the strong distrust against them. "This is Duke Alan Spacer speaking. I'm afraid that we cannot turn back. Valac Palace has fallen to a group of insurgents. We were ordered by his majesty to defend the other royal residences. I beseech you to reconsider."
There was no spoken answer from Lelouch. Instead, automatic gun turrets emerged from the earth surrounding the villa, its barrels pointing skyward at the Vincent Wards. Several small specks rose to the sky from the villa. Ricardo's Knightmare identified them as Gareths, mass produced seventh generation Knightmares. The large noble gritted his teeth. Damn Lelouch and his perceptions.
However, he was undeterred from his goal. "All units, prepare for combat!" he screamed. The thirty Vincent Wards collectively drew their assault rifles. "Our target is Aries Villa. Raze it to the ground!"
Shirley gazed at the oncoming cluster of Knightmares, their flight systems keeping up several hundred feet in the air. She silently observed their weaponry and a heavy sensation of trepidation welled up within her. Each of them had the capability to kill her a hundred times over, and now thirty of them were encroaching on her location. She didn't even know whether they were friend or foe, but she fervently hoped that they were the former.
Lelouch, together with Shirley, Jeremiah, was in the command centre. A team of harried looking operators tending to their stations. Currently, they were all staring at the subject of their agitation. Shirley worriedly glanced at Lelouch. The prince, contrary to most of them, was wearing a look of bored indifference. It was reminiscent of the laid-back times in Ashford Academy, particularly whenever Lelouch was playing a game of chess against a hapless opponent. His relaxed composure and implied confidence helped Shirley to feel more relieved. "Surely Lulu will handle this easily as always," she consoled herself. "And I'll help in any way I can."
"This is Lelouch vi Britannia, addressing the group of Vincent Wards nearing the Aries Villa. You are not authorized to approach any closer. Turn back at once or we will fire upon you." Lelouch picked up a microphone and barked into it, glaring at the flying Knightmares inching closer to his home.
"Lulu, what if they're really here to help?" Shirley piped up curiously. Now that she thought of it, she wondered whether a terrorist organization could own so many high-grade military equipment.
"Doubtful," Lelouch replied tersely. "If whoever sent them was our ally, they would have informed us beforehand. The Sword of Akasha's return is already known throughout all the top military officers, and any sensible military commander would notify us since distrust would be rampant at this point."
"Oh. Right," Shirley flushed slightly. She mentally berated herself for her naivety. "Wasn't the warehouse incident a few days ago enough?" A slim hand darted towards her pocket, grasping the rather comforting handle of a small pistol.
The speakers blared as Ricardo made his response. "This is Duke Alan Spacer speaking. I'm afraid that we cannot turn back. Valac Palace has fallen to a group of insurgents. We were ordered by his majesty to defend the other royal residences. I beseech you to reconsider."
"Run a search for Duke Alan Spacer in the database," Lelouch instructed the operators, who scurried to obey him. Their fingers flew hurriedly on the keyboards. "And open a channel to the Emperor, would you please, Jeremiah?" he added.
"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah strode to one of the computers, typing furiously as he attempted to open a communications channel with Charles.
"Your Highness!" one of the operators reported. "There is no such noble called Duke Alan Spacer. There was only a Viscount with such a name, and he was executed by second Princess Cornelia a year ago for having connections to the Sword of Akasha!"
Lelouch was about to reply when the main screen in the centre of the room frizzled before it displayed Charles. "Your Majesty," the operators and Jeremiah gave a quick bow to the screen.
"Lelouch. What is it?" Charles asked wearily, ignoring the prince's kowtowing subordinates. The Emperor was already informed of Odysseus's demise, and he was occupied with deciding on a course of action as a response to the attack.
"Tell me, Charles," Lelouch urged. "Did you deploy any military forces to the Aries Villa after Valac Palace fell?"
"Not yet, but we will be doing so soon," Charles answered, frowning slightly. "Why?"
"So you haven't, then. That just confirms it," Lelouch muttered under his breath. He looked straight into the Emperor's eyes. "We're under attack, by the way." Charles blinked in shock, but before the Emperor could get another word out, the eleventh prince cut off the connection abruptly. "I have no time to spare. General Darlton, are your troops ready?"
"Quite."
"Launch all the Gareths. Activate the third and fourth lines of automatic gun turrets," Lelouch ordered. "Initiate the howitzers and prepare them for bombardment."
"Why only the third and fourth lines, Your Highness?" Jeremiah asked. He was quite bewildered, for there was a total of four lines of anti-armour automatic gun turrets surrounding the villa.
"We're going to lure them in a little closer, then smash them from behind with the first two lines later," Lelouch smirked. "They're hilariously bad, honestly. A frontal attack with such a poor excuse. At least they're making it easier for me." The lanky teenager turned towards Shirley. "Shirley, I need you to get to the bunk-" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw her clutching a pistol.
"I'm staying with you, Lulu," Shirley insisted. "No matter what happens."
"Who gave you that pistol?" Lelouch inquired, staring at the weapon in her hand with some perturbation.
"General Darlton did. We went to the shooting range a few days ago and he passed it to me," Shirley paused momentarily. "You can't shield me from harm all the time, Lulu," she stated simply. Peridot green eyes met amethyst ones. "It's my fight too. They're after us."
"And nothing I say will convince you to head to the bunker?" Lelouch asked weakly.
"Unless you're coming with me as well. If not, no," Shirley gave him a sad smile. "My place is by your side."
"Very well then," Lelouch turned back to face the screens. He felt a sharp pang of remorse. Never once he imagined her holding a firearm out of necessity. He brought this on her. Lelouch shook such thoughts out of his mind. Self-approach can wait. He had to defeat the intruders who dared attack his home. The prince took a deep breath, before declaring, "All forces, prepare for combat!"
Suzaku was absolutely breathless when he first laid his dark green eyes on Princess Euphemia. He was not sure how she would look like, but he most certainly did not expect a young beauty with a gentle face and a fountain of luxurious pink hair cascading to her waist. Her bluish eyes shone with kindness as they rested on Suzaku's group. They were currently in the ivory building the corporal pointed out to them, seeking to meet the person in-charge of Cornelia's army.
"Greetings," Euphemia smiled warmly at them. "You must be the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps."
"Yes, I'm glad you heard of us," Lloyd waved at her jovially, bringing an amused expression on Euphemia's face. She found the lack of obeisance refreshing.
Suzaku stepped forward hastily and almost stumbled in the process. He kneeled respectfully before Euphemia. "It's an honour to meet you, Your Highness," he bowed his head deferentially.
"Please rise, Kururugi Suzaku," Euphemia said instantly, gesturing at him to do so. Despite being a princess, she was uncomfortable with such veneration since her youth.
Suzaku obeyed at once. "You have heard of me?" He could not resist the urge to ask.
"The son of the last prime minister of Japan, right?" the princess tilted her head, studying Suzaku. For some reason, he was faintly familiar to her, and she thought she saw a picture of him before. The honorary Britannian nodded cautiously. "There's no need for such formalities. Just call me Euphie."
"Umm… right, Your High- I mean, Euphie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Suzaku," Euphemia's lips curved into a serene smile. A jolt shot through the honorary Britannian. Lloyd noticed it and tried not to snigger. "Can I be of any assistance to you people?"
Suzaku exchanged looks with Lloyd and Cecile. "We were transferred here by Prince Clovis, but we have no idea how are we going to fit in. Mostly he keeps us out of combat operations, and we're uncertain whether we're expected to maintain that role now."
"To be frank, I'm not sure as to how I should determine your roles," Euphemia admitted, giving an apologetic look at the three of them. "I'm not too knowledgeable about… things about the military."
"Aha, so you're new to these sort of things then, Your Highness?" Lloyd asked inquisitively, leaning forward and pushing his glasses up his nose. Cecile resisted the urge to poke her boss hard in the ribs, as there was a royal present.
Euphemia was about to reply when a soldier rushed into the room, almost stumbling in his haste. "Your Highness!" the soldier saluted sharply. "I have dire news to report!" Those words immediately caught the attention of everyone in the room.
"What is it?" Euphemia asked urgently, her pleasant demeanour vanishing at once.
"Valac Palace has fallen, and Prince Odysseus is dead," the soldier swallowed heavily. "And his Majesty says that he has received a message from Prince Lelouch. It appears that the Aries Villa is under attack right now."
"Lelouch?!" Both Euphemia and Suzaku exclaimed loudly. The latter stood up instantly. "Your Highness, please allow me to launch immediately!" The honorary Britannian urged.
"You know Lelouch?" A surprised look appeared on Euphemia's face.
"My family hosted him when he was sent to Area 11 years ago. We attended the same school together and are friends, but that is not important, Your Hi- Euphie," Suzaku replied hurriedly. "If he is indeed under attack right now, I must help him!" Euphemia's eyes widened in recognition. During her visit to Lelouch's place a few days ago, she came across a picture of him together with the student council of Ashford Academy. Suzaku was in the picture as well.
"Princess Euphemia, these are difficult times. Terrorists have infiltrated the nobility and royalty. We can't trust an honorary Britannian like him," the soldier looked askance at Suzaku, suspicion written all over his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm no terrorist," Suzaku answered. He was not surprised by the man's disapproval, but the statement concerning the Britannian nobility bewildered him. "Terrorists in the Britannian nobility and royalty?"
"We can trust him," Euphemia spoke, earning stares from both the soldier and Suzaku. "The Sword of Akasha will not work together with honorary Britannians anyway. And I acknowledge that you are on good terms with Lelouch. Go to his aid, Suzaku, and hurry!"
"Thank you, Your High- Euphie!" Suzaku rapidly turned towards Lloyd. "Lloyd, is the Lancelot Conquista ready for deployment?"
"Ready when you are," Lloyd wheezed. "Try to come back alive, Suzaku," he added as Suzaku sprinted off, leaving the scientist and his assistant behind.
"Knightmare forces, spread out and rise above the enemies," Lelouch instructed. "Use the turrets to target the Vincent Wards as well. Open fire on them after our Gareths engaged the enemies." While his Knightmares were slightly outnumbered, he was certain that he would win easily, especially after the enemy's sloppy excuse.
Outside of the villa, the twenty-six Gareths which comprised of Lelouch's security force rose higher into the sky, well above the Vincent Wards. The Gareths had machine cannons mounted on its shoulders and missile launchers on its chest and legs. Originally they sported hadron cannons in their arms, but Lelouch revised the designs for those in his service. He decreed that a hadron cannon was to be replaced by a wrist-mounted Blaze Luminous energy shielding system to give them a defensive edge, and a single hadron cannon was enough to wreck havoc among their foes. General Darlton could feel the palpable tension rising as the enemies inched closer until the prince finally gave the signal. "Fire!"
The sky was filled with violent, shimmering beams of dark red as the Gareths unleashed a torrent of hadron cannon blasts. The Vincent Wards immediately responded by firing back at their opponents while performing evasive maneuvers. Assault rifle rounds impacted uselessly against the Blaze Luminous of the Gareths, and for a moment, it looked like it was a stalemate. That is, until the automatic turrets on the ground locked on the Vincent Wards, who were occupied with their fight with the Gareths. Fifty calibre armor-piercing shells repeatedly struck them, ripping several of the Knightmares messily into useless shards of metal. Some of them switched their attention to the turrets, but they paid the price when the Gareths seized the opportunity and blew them into pieces with precise blasts of their Hadron cannons.
"Fall back into the trees below, we need cover! We're sitting ducks up here!" Ricardo bellowed furiously, flying his Knightmare downwards to the forests surrounding the villa. More than one-fifth of his troops were already destroyed, and they have yet to even scratch the villa. The noble was beginning to have misgivings about the wisdom of his plan, but he angrily pushed it aside. He would not go back to Infinity, humiliated and defeated!
"Howitzer team, sending you the coordinates of possible enemy landings. Prepare to fire in twelve seconds," Lelouch directed, his fingers flying madly on the keyboard as he calculated the coordinates. "Gareths, pursue the enemy. Use as much firepower as possible to get their attention. Initiate auto-turrets lines one and two, target the enemy Knightmare frames!"
"Roger that," Darlton replied, and his unit of Gareths charged forward, unleashing a salvo of missiles, machine cannon fire, and Hadron blasts. Several of the Vincent Wards turned around to meet the enemy's charge and hastily returned fire. Several well-aimed shots struck a couple of Gareths, their pilots too caught up in their euphoria of winning, one of them promptly detonating while the other spiralled towards the ground, its float system heavily damaged. A dozen more turrets surfaced from the ground, unbeknownst to the Ricardo and his men, and opened fire at their unsuspecting Knightmares' backs, downing at least four Vincent Wards.
"What the hell?" Ricardo roared vehemently, having registered the appearance of more unmanned turrets. "Spilt yourself into two groups! One shall be our rear-guard to hold them off while we descend into the forest! The other group, take care of those damned turrets!" The remaining troops under Ricardo hastened to obey, lobbing their chaos mines at the turrets or simply firing a grenade at them. Darlton seized advantage of the momentary divide of the Sword of Akasha's forces, spreading out the Gareths to attack them from numerous angles. Slash Harkens and missiles struck from multiple directions, and there was simply no way the Vincent Wards could block them all. The scarred general could literally smell the fear and desperation among the Sword of Akasha forces, and smirked triumphantly. It may be Lelouch's first time in taking command of a military operation, but he has proven himself to be a more than capable one.
Just when the Vincent Wards landed on the forest floor and Ricardo made to count his remaining soldiers, an artillery shell landed several feet away from him. It detonated with stupendous force, sending several Knightmares staggering from the blow. It preceded a fully-fledged torrent of explosive artillery shells, which screamed from above and continuously impacted in several spots close to them. The grand duke swore violently as the earth shook tremendously beneath him, his Knightmare's warning alarms shrieking in his ears. The communication channels were choked with cries and screams of his comrades, who were less fortunate than him. By the time the dust settled, the noble grimly counted the number of men he had left, and only came up with twelve. Fully sixty percent of his forces were wiped out even before they got to touch the villa. He had to make a last-ditch decision. "Viscount Henry Magnus!"
"Yes, sir?" the man in question inquired, staring blankly at the war zone around him.
"Let's face it," Ricardo growled. "Both you and I know that the chance of us surviving this is nil. However, we're not going to let them trample us. We are the Sword of Akasha!" the Grand Duke spied the villa on the horizon with disgust and loathing. "You're the most combat trained operative we have. Abandon your Knightmare now and sneak into the villa. Most of their security forces should be occupied by this. Do as much damage as you can, and hopefully kill that damned prince as well."
"Roger that," a lean blonde male ejected from his light purple Knightmare Frame, landing gracefully on the forest floor before making a beeline for the villa.
Ricardo could only spare his comrade a glance before his radar alerted him to another incoming Knightmare, its speed almost startling. "Lancelot Conquista," he read off his screen, glaring at the object of his ire. The white and gold Knightmare seemed to be adamant on reaching them. Retreating was utterly out of the question now the Lancelot is approaching their rear. "All forces, it is clear the battle is lost! However, we are not cowards who will surrender! We are the Sword of Akasha! Fight to your last breath!" Ricardo cried out, his eyes rolling madly from sheer zeal. He led the charge against the Gareths, who also landed in the forest. The thunderous noises of explosions and gunfire resumed once more.
Shirley stared at the Lancelot Conquista, which was shown advancing rapidly into the combat zone on the large screen in the middle of the command centre. While she had severely limited knowledge of military equipment, she was sure that it was a unique model. The only issue was whether it was friend or foe. "Um, something's incoming," she pointed out meekly, pointing at the white and gold Knightmare Frame. "What's that."
"We're not entirely sure, but our systems identify it as the Lancelot Conquista, an eighth generation Knightmare Frame prototype designed by the ASEEC," Lelouch frowned. "We didn't send out any request for reinforcements. It's highly likely it's an enemy. Darlton!"
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"There's another Knightmare approaching the battle. We cannot confirm whether it's a friendly yet. Be prepared to engage if it makes any hostile moves."
"Roger-"
"Your Highness!" Another operator yelled at the top of his lungs to catch Lelouch's attention. The prince immediately turned towards him, an eyebrow raised quizzically. "There's an incoming transmission from the Lancelot!"
"Patch him through," Lelouch saw no reason to do otherwise. The Vincent Wards were teetering on the brink of defeat at this point in time. The only possible problem was the Lancelot, and he would do anything possible to learn more about it and its pilot.
"This is Staff Sergeant Kururugi Suzaku! I would like to speak to Eleventh Prince Lelouch vi Britannia," Suzaku's visage appeared on one of the screens.
"Suzaku?" Shirley and Lelouch asked incredulously in unison. While they knew that he was in the military, they did not expect him to be in Pendragon for they were under the impression that their ex-classmate and friend was in Area 11. Suzaku's face broke into a smile of relief once he recognized his friends and saw that neither of them was injured in the least.
"Yes, it's me. It's a long story, but I'm here to help," the honorary Britannian observed the ongoing battle calmly. "Mind telling me which ones are the enemies?"
"The Vincent Wards. The light-purple Knightmares," Lelouch supplied, quickly getting over his surprise. "Try to keep one of them alive. I could use a prison for questioning." The prince switched the communication channel. "Darlton! The Lancelot Conquista is not a hostile. He is a confirmed ally. Work with him to capture a prisoner."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Seriously, these guys are terrible," Lelouch chuckled darkly as he witnessed the Sword of Akasha machines getting pummelled relentlessly. Suzaku was performing astoundingly well. He wove in and out of the Vincent Wards, using his Slash Harkens and Maser Vibration Swords with stunning agility and skill. The Sword of Akasha machines tried to distance themselves away from him, but the Lancelot's higher specs and speed disallowed them from doing so easily. The Vincent Wards, already small in number, fell before the might of the superior machine. The honorary Britannian hacked and slashed at his foes, lopping off the limbs of the Knightmares or crushing their heads and camera sensors. They might as well be crops before a scythe. Shirley smiled weakly at Lelouch's amusement, then she turned to resume watching the battle rage on with a sorrowful expression on her face. Lives were being lost before her eyes, and the cause of it was nothing but misguided beliefs of the purity of noble blood.
Rolo sprinted as fast as he could, trying to keep an eye out for any indication of a bunker or another person. When the fighting broke out, the alarms sounded and the non-combatants were told to move to the bunker. Unfortunately for Rolo, he had no idea where it was. He might have known previously, but he could no longer remember it due to his amnesia. The brown haired youth attempted to look for someone to direct him there, but the villa was deserted.
Rolo peered out of the window cautiously. Perhaps he should just stay where he is. The fighting, while harsh, was still quite a distance away from the villa itself. Furthermore, their opponents were getting demolished. With that thought in mind, Rolo relaxed, tension leaving his body. Moving into the bunker was merely a safety precaution. There was no way he was going to get attacked here-
Out of a sudden, Rolo's instincts screamed at him to roll forward, and he did, narrowly evading a knife that would have buried itself between his shoulder blades.
Viscount Henry Magnus cursed under his breath as he watched his target roll away. The noble was refraining from using his gun as it could alert the security forces to his position, and he did not possess a silencer. Fortunately for him, his target seemed to be just a servant, and Henry charged forward, brandishing his blade.
Rolo froze as he watched the knife inch its way to its position in slow motion when his instincts kicked in again, He darted swiftly to the left, evading the blow which may have disembowelled him, and retaliated with a hard punch to the other man's ribs. The soldier was sent sprawling, colliding with the stone wall with a crunch, and Rolo took advantage of the former's disorientation by following his attack with a knee to the groin. The noble's eyes bulged with agony and fought the urge to scream. Rolo hesitated for a brief moment, noting the other man's obvious suffering. His body insisted on quickly eliminating his foe, but his mind was disturbed by the amount of pain he was dishing out.
Henry saw the pause as an opening, and he did not stop to capitalize on such an opportunity, lunging forward with his dagger aimed at the younger man's eye. Rolo barely sidestepped the sudden move, and the noble was sent crashing into the marble tiled floor in an undignified fashion. The former found himself rushing forward and attempted to kick his foe in the head to daze him. He underestimated his adversary slightly, for Henry rolled sideways and was back on his feet. The Sword of Akasha soldier snarled and made a beeline for Rolo again, slashing wildly with his blade. Rolo dodged each blow effortlessly, and waited for Henry to slash again when he once more moved to the left side and brought his clenched right fist up in an uppercut, the blow hard enough to lift the noble off his feet and slamming headfirst on the floor, dazed.
Rolo saw his advantage and took it, striking Henry's right wrist repeatedly until he loosened his grip on the knife. He kicked the blade away and the bigger male shoved angrily at Rolo, sending him stumbling. The noble spun around to locate his dagger and leapt forward, his hand closing triumphantly on its hilt. He just turned back to face Rolo when the latter pounced, elbowing the noble's left cheek viciously. Henry made to knee Rolo in the groin as payback, but the assassin anticipated the move, savagely kicking his kneecap, dislocating the joint. The Viscount howled in excruciating agony, and Rolo silenced him with a brutal chop to his throat, crushing the windpipe utterly. Henry dropped to the floor again, gurgling in his last moments of life before he finally lay still.
Rolo stared in disbelief at his own hands and the corpse he had just made of the soldier. Throughout the entire fight, it felt like his body moved of his own accord and somehow he managed to kill his opponent. "How on earth did I manage to do all that?! I'm just a servant…" The pink-eyed male stumbled backwards, eyeing the cadaver in shock. Without a second thought, he turned on his heel and fled the scene, leaving the body behind.
"All this, just because they despise commoners?" Shirley asked quietly, examining the ruins of the destroyed Knightmares and the burning forest. Lelouch squeezed her hand and said nothing, the amethyst-eyed prince on the lookout for anything which may seem suspicious. His forces just confirmed the utter extermination of the enemy troops, and the couple was now walking through the once grand woodland. "Not exactly a romantic walk," she thought wryly, her mind wandering a few days back when she expressed her wish to explore the woods surrounding the villa. Lelouch was hesitant as always to let her go outside, and she let the matter slide, albeit slightly sullenly.
The harsh skidding sound of a Knightmare advancing halted their tracks as the Lancelot made itself visible. Suzaku hastily disembarked from his machine and briskly walked towards his friends, having made out the form of Lelouch from a distance moments ago. "I was worried sick when I heard you guys were under attack, but seems like you guys were handling it fine," Suzaku grinned sheepishly at Lelouch and Shirley. "This reminds me of the time when you guys were the NHK Tokyo hall."
"Mind informing me beforehand if you're planning to help?" Lelouch could not resist in engaging his childhood friend in friendly banter. "I nearly made my forces open fire on you." Suzaku mimed being hurt, clutching his heart in an exaggerated fashion. The three of them shared a chuckle, which quickly died down.
"It feels... Wrong to laugh," Suzaku observed their smoking and burning surroundings. "Especially after a terrorist attack."
"They were a bunch of idiots anyway. Their commander was foolish. His grasp on tactics was non-existent," Lelouch snorted haughtily. Shirley laughed, shaking her head slightly at Lelouch's arrogance. It was almost a defining trait for him, and she was glad to see that he was still himself after the strain of past events. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you're in Clovis's army?"
"I was transferred to Cornelia's army recently… but I can't find her or any of her top officers at her base," Suzaku replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I met Princess Euphemia instead, who dispatched me here after hearing that you were under attack."
"That's because Cornelia's in Area Eleven now," Lelouch thought but did not say. "Euphie did that? I'm… touched." He remarked.
"She was quite worried too, you know. You should let her know that you're fine now," Suzaku insisted.
"What's this, Suzaku? You just met her and you're speaking for her now?" Lelouch grinned, not resisting the urge to poke fun at his childhood friend.
Suzaku fought to keep his face from turning red. "I, uh, just thought it would be good since she's your sister and all." He recalled how anxious Euphemia was when news of Aries Villa being under attack reached them.
The smile slipped off Lelouch's face. "Among my siblings, I can only afford to trust her and Cornelia now," Lelouch said seriously. "The Sword of Akasha is back, and if you recall, they have members in both royalty and nobility."
"Seriously?" the honorary Britannian's dark green eyes widened. Suzaku had heard about the terrorist organization from Lelouch when he discussed the idea of returning to Britannia many months ago. He peered over Lelouch's shoulder at Shirley, who gave him a half-hearted wave. "I'm glad to see you two are fine so far."
"We have many security measures in place," Lelouch said softly. "However, there was a previous attempt on our lives," the prince exchanged looks with Shirley, the latter nodding weakly as Suzaku stared at them. "Speaking of them, have you found any survivors?"
"We spare a couple of them, but they were already dead in their cockpits with a gun in their hands, and a bullet through their heads," Suzaku reported. "They must have committed suicide when their Knightmares were disabled." Shirley's eyes widened. She was appalled. She could not comprehend that there were people who were more than willing to let their misplaced hatreds control them to the point that they would throw their lives away for it. In an odd way, these terrorists deserve some pity. However, despite her soft-hearted nature, it was difficult for her to sympathize with them, as they were continuously not only hunting after her, but her love as well.
"Damn them," Lelouch muttered. Unlike Shirley, he showed no sign of surprise at their decision to shoot themselves rather than to turn themselves in. "We might have won, but we're not any closer to solving what's going on. I can't believe these people successfully defeated Odysseus. Even he should be able to hold out until reinforcements arrived."
Suzaku studied his two friends for an extended amount of time. Lelouch appeared frustrated while there was something about Shirley seemed rather withdrawn and introspective - nothing like the friendly girl full of cheer in Ashford Academy. Being targeted by fanatics must have been more than difficult on them. "You two must have gone through so muc-" Suzaku was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Shirley recognized the ringtone as her own and she reached into the pockets of her shorts, bringing out the electronic device. "Hello?"
"Shirley!" Shirley nearly dropped her phone as the recognizable voice of her mother, Mary Fenette, all but screamed. "Why didn't you tell us that Lelouch was a prince?!"
"Hi, mom," Shirley winced, holding the electronic device a couple of inches from her ear. "I didn't actually know about it before - wait, how did you know?"
"The news, Shirley," Mary sighed with exasperation. "We would have known earlier if we weren't occupied by our trip to Pendragon!" There was a brief pause. "Why didn't you tell us, Shirley?"
"I told you, mom, I didn't know either until he brought me to the imperial palace."
"He what?! How could he just do that?!"
"Calm down, mom!" Shirley exclaimed insistently. Her raised voice earned her multiple curious looks from not only Suzaku and Lelouch but the guards accompanying them as well. "I'm not upset. And it's alright, we're fine now. Nothing to worry about." It was not quite truthful of her, but she wanted her mother to cool down. As though fate was working against her, a burning tree fell down with a resounding thud on the floor and she gulped.
"What was that nois-?" Mary asked suspiciously.
"It was nothing!" Shirley said quickly, not wanting her parents to know what had happened over the past hour. At least not right now, as it will do nothing but make them anxious. "Anyway, mom… so you've just landed in Pendragon?" The lithe girl cleared her throat awkwardly, attempting to change the topic.
"Yes... Just like I've mentioned earlier. And the first thing we learnt when we stepped into the airport was that the eleventh prince of Britannia has returned. And his name was Lelouch. And he looked exactly like the man you're dating."
"I'm sorry, mom, but there was really no opportunity for me to tell you about it sooner," Shirley groaned, one hand reaching up to scratch her head. She understood why her mother was so upset, but she wished that Mary would stop harping on it."
There was a slight pause before there was an audible shifting sound. "Hello, Shirley. This is your father here. Maybe in time, we can accept the fact that you're actually dating royalty, but we're worried sick about the repercussions of doing so."
"Dad, I know of the consequences. Believe me, I r-really do," Shirley spoke softly, her voice trembling. For a split-second, the bottled up stress and emotions caused by the past few weeks rushed to the surface, nearly causing her to tear up. However, she managed to control it at the last moment. "Lulu has been doing an admirable job of keeping us safe so far. I have complete faith in him."
"I'm afraid that we can't just simply have confidence in someone to keep you safe, prince or not, Shirley," Joseph replied apologetically. "We've discussed this before, and I believe right now is a good time for us to finally meet Lelouch."
"You want to meet with Lulu?" Shirley muttered. Lelouch and Suzaku were watching her with bemused looks on her face.
"Yes. Perhaps over a meal or something. We would want to meet the man who's dating our daughter, regardless of his status," Joseph answered promptly. "And to give you two our blessings, if possible."
"Oh. So you'd like to meet Lulu over dinner, right?" Shirley asked loudly, glancing at Lelouch hopefully. The prince gave her a puzzled look. "As to when will be a good time…?" Lelouch finally caught the hint, and observed the still blazing greenery around them before holding up three fingers and mouthing the word 'days' to her. "In three days' time! Will that be okay, dad? Dinner in three days' time with me and Lulu."
"Of course, my dear. Where would we meet?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll message you the details later. Is that okay, dad?"
"Sure. See you, Shirley."
"Bye, Dad," Shirley whispered. She cast a melancholic look at the flaming devastation and metal wreckage around her. Would there by any chance of them approving her relationship with Lelouch if they saw this? "I'll be looking forward to seeing you again."
Author's Note: Finally... Done with this chapter. The battle is more or less created to do two things: Show how insane/cruel the SoA can get, and to set up the next chapter by add more weight. Oh well, at least I'm more or less past the mid-point now. I can start rolling the bigger balls of drama soon.*starts waving hands like a deranged lunatic*
In case anyone's wondering about the weird numbers-letter things that Schneizel assigns to his subordinates (Two-P-Twenty One/2P21)... Well, there are three squadrons. The first number represents which squadron they belong in, and the second one is their designated number. The letter 'P' stands for Pawn, which is the lowest in chess. 'B' stands for Bishop, and it represents the squadron leader. Plus I didn't feel like using R (Rook) and K (Knight).
Anyway, I have to confess that I was trying to do some experimental stuff here with the Knightmare combat. I'm fairly comfortable with writing action and fighting in general, but mecha combat, especially when nearly everyone is piloting grunt units, is another different thing. Since I may be incorporating more mecha fights in my future stories, I wanted to see whether it looks good. Apologies if it looked really out of place. There would only be one more mecha fight scene in this story at most.
If there's anyone put off by the length of this chapter, sorry about that. I initially wanted to split this into two parts but I decided not to - because I couldn't find a satisfactory ending for the first half. And don't fret, the word length of the next few chapters won't exceed 10k words.
Putting the Knightmare fighting aside, there are a few 'softer' moments scattered throughout this chapter, and there's one which I'm extremely curious what you guys think. Rolo's birthday gift and its sender. And speaking of Rolo…
Perhaps I'm overthinking, but I realize that I may get some flak for trying to get Rolo to form a bond with Shirley. So I'm going to explain my thoughts about that matter. Yes, I admit it's more or less the epitome of irony as he murdered her in canon. However, I think that, considering the circumstances in this story, it's not only normal for him to do so, it's also in character. We see him become utterly obsessed with Lelouch in canon because the latter treated him nicely while brainwashed. As to why I didn't make him do the same to Lelouch in this fic? Because Shirley has a kinder nature and is already sympathetic towards him, and hence it's easier for Rolo to get attached to her than our favourite eleventh prince. Plus Lelouch isn't brainwashed to think Rolo's his little brother either. Oh, Lelouch would treat Rolo well enough as an acquaintance and maybe even a friend, but that's about it. Hence… Shirley's a much better choice imo.
Oh, and props to Shadow At Midnight for giving me the idea of the birthday cake. Thanks for that! It, combined with the locket, creates a far stronger moment than just the locket, which was what I only had in mind.
One last thing, but perhaps the most important one: Shirley's birthday is coming up soon in this story, and I wish to do another really nice event with Shirley/Lelouch interacting with each other before I write the draft of the chapter when things get pretty serious. I'd like to come up with a plan... but unfortunately, I'm rather low on ideas at the moment, partly because I'm saving some for later. Thus, I would like to ask whether any of you guys got any suggestions? Or anything you guys would like to see? Bear these in mind, though, a dance has already taken place (twice, in fact). I could do it again if you guys don't mind, but I prefer to have something else. Secondly, it's rather limited because it has to take place indoors, or in the surrounding areas of the house at most. I picture the villa being mostly surrounded by wood, with a small beach and lake area. So, yea... I'd love to hear any proposals from you guys.