Code Geass: Black-Blooded Orphans
Stage 6: Refrain
In one of the many warehouses of the harbor in the Tokyo Settlement, there were people who were managing boxes that contained tubes of a mysterious liquid. The liquid in question was Refrain, the drug that can make people think they are in the past. This drug however has a dangerous side effect that can lead to death. It was popular in Japan since many of the Japanese who were alive did not want to live life under Britannian rule. The people operating this routine were a bunch of Britannian mobsters, smugglers and drug dealers.
"I'll transfer the money to your wife's account." One man said.
"Cornelia is just a soldier. There's no way she can do anything about us." Another man said.
The lights went out and gunfire went off.
"T-Turn on the lights you dolts!" The man said.
The gunfire ended and the lights went on. The Black Knights were on a balcony.
"But you're—"
Ashford Academy
"The Black Knights!" Someone yelled.
Apparently it was Kallen who was just tired. The whole class was laughing hysterically. Class was over anyways and Kallen yawned.
'It really is hard living a double life… It's really taking me out.' Kallen thought.
The Black Knights had grown powerful and popular. Every news channel had covered every last one of their acts. From punishing corrupt politicians to stopping drug smuggling operations, the Black Knights were famous and gained members with every passing day. Soon, they would grow into an organization that would rival an army, an army of Knights for justice raising their swords against an empire that controlled ⅓ of the world. Many wished to know just who Zero was. Only the inner circle being composed of the Kozuki Resistance Cell Tekkadan, the Yamato Alliance, the Ashford Student Council, well except Suzaku and Rai, and Nunnally along with Sayoko knew his real identity.
Nina was working on a chemical formula. She had gathered some research about Refrain and its substances that were used to produce the drug. She had begun to work on the formula upon hearing what the effects of Refrain were to create a countermeasure. Should the countermeasure be finished, The effects of Refrain will be curable.
JLF HQ
Todoh and the Four Holy Swords were having a conversation about the Black Knights.
"The masses seem to trust Zero and the Black Knights." Urabe said.
"They killed Kusakabe, they're not a resistance group because of what they did." Chiba said.
"Then why would Kyoto send them the Guren MK.2?" Asahina asked.
"If this keeps going… Well…" Senba said.
"Hmmm, yes…." Todoh said.
Stadtfeld Manor
"Mistress Kallen!" A Japanese maid called.
Kallen came down and asked what was going on. There was a visitor from her school. She opened the door and saw Nunnally by the front door. She let her in the house. Kallen's stepmother came down.
"A friend of yours?" the woman asked.
"Yes." Kallen replied.
"Well if you ask me, she's kind of short." The woman said.
"Oh no. Things are about to go down." Marianne said.
"Just forget about it. What's the worst she could do?" Nemo said.
"So what is your name?" The woman asked.
"Nunnally Lamperouge." Nunnally said.
'Lamperouge? Where have I— no. It's nothing unusual.' The woman thought.
"Oh come in then." The woman said.
Nunnally went inside and had a conversation with Kallen in one of the other rooms of the manor.
'This place reminds me of the villa me and Lelouch lived in.' Nunnally thought.
"So that woman, was she your mother?" Nunnally asked.
"N-no." Kallen said as she shook her head.
"No?" Nunnally muttered.
"My mother….. she serves as a maid." Kallen said.
'A maid?' Nunnally thought.
"Ever since that woman came here, mother stayed here despite being left behind by that man after he went back to the homeland." Kallen said with a frustrated expression.
'That seems out of order.' Nunnally thought, "don't you think she had a reason for being there in the first place?"
Kallen was silent. Nunnally tried to think why the maid, who was Kallen's mother, stayed after her father left her mother.
"Actually, she may have stayed just to be with you." Nunnally said.
'For me?' Kallen thought.
"Well, I will let you think about it." Nunnally said as she was about to leave the room.
"Wait." Kallen said.
Nunnally looked at Kallen.
"What did you mean by that?" Kallen asked.
"Well, only you hold the answer." Nunnally said, "Ja Ne. (Later.)" Nunnally said.
She left through the door, leaving Kallen to figure out the answer herself.
Viceroy's Palace
Cornelia was at the hangar awaiting the arrival of Nonette. The plane lands and Nonette exits the plane.
"Nelly! It's good to see you at last!" Nonette said as she waved her hand.
"Nonette, you're here." Cornelia said with a smile.
The two hugged each other. The plane with the Grazes landed and began unloading the Grazes one after the other.
"So how's it been all these years?" Nonette asked.
"Nothing's changed yet." Cornelia said.
"Still looking for the right man are we?" Nonette asked.
Cornelia's face turned red.
"Oh dear lord. Nelly I think you still have much to learn about men." Nonette said with disappointment.
"Let's just get moving." Cornelia said as her face got even redder.
"Right. Sure." Nonette said.
Tokyo Settlement
Kallen was on the phone with Ohgi concerning Refrain, Naoto was there as well. They were at a park.
"A countermeasure for Refrain?" Kallen asked.
"That's right, Nina is almost finished with the formula, once she's done, she'll get the materials and start producing the product and will distribute it across the entire Area Colony. Soon, it should extend to the entire world at that point." Ohgi said, "all we need to do is make sure that the trading of such a thing is prohibited and brought to a crawl."
"So until then we hit the places with the drugs?" Kallen asked.
"That's it." Ohgi said.
"Alright then. Sayonara (goodbye)" Kallen said.
"Sayonara. (Goodbye.)" Ohgi said before hanging up.
Kallen puts the phone away and finds Lelouch and Nunnally just laying their backs on a tree.
"Well, how is everything going?" Lelouch asked.
"Well our ranks are growing faster I guess. Why do you ask?" Naoto said.
"I've been getting emails from a guy named 'Naze'. Know anything about him?" Lelouch asked.
"Naze? As in Naze Turbine Shujinko?" Naoto asked.
"You know him then?" Nunnally said.
"He's the leader of the Turbines, as his middle name suggests. If you ask me, and try to believe me on this, the group is made up of chicks." Naoto said.
'Women?!' Lelouch thought as Nunnally's face turned red.
"Wait, did you say the whole group?" Nunnally asked as her face turned even more reddish.
"Well he was fancy with the ladies." Naoto said, "I just happen to be a friend of his."
"Don't you think he's biting off more than what he chewed off?" Kallen asked.
"Well aside from the girls, his group is more of a sub-group that is part of a huge private corporation called 'Teiwaz'." Naoto said.
"Teiwaz…." Nunnally said.
"They act just like the 6 Houses of Kyoto, only that they seem to be more diverse." Naoto said, "The Turbines are their supporters and is a sub-group among other sub-groups, they don't smuggle Refrain thankfully."
"Well that's good enough." Nunnally said.
"He's inviting the Black Knights to Teiwaz. Should I accept?" Lelouch asked.
"Well, he's being nice by asking you, so I—"
"Eleven trash," a male voice said, "say something why don't ya?"
The four turned to see five Britannian boys kicking a poor Honorary Britannian. The Honorary citizen was a hot dog seller. He accidentally put mustard on one of the boy's hot dogs instead of ketchup, resulting into this situation.
"Yeah, apologize already." Another one said.
"Yeah you piece of garbage!" Another one said.
Some of the people knew where this was going as soon were leaving the park.
"Should I?" Naoto asked.
"No, I'll handle this." Lelouch said.
"Hmm?" Naoto said.
Lelouch walked over to the five boys. The five boys turn to Lelouch.
"Wait, you're not actually going to sympathize some Eleven are you?" The first one said.
"Don't you all have something to do?" Lelouch said.
"What?" The first one said.
"Oh, we have tons of time. Just enough to—"
"Don't you think this seems boring?" Lelouch said as he casted his Geass, pretending to be persuasive.
The five boys fell victim to the power and obeyed its command.
"You know, this is getting boring." The first boy said.
"Let's hit the arcade." The second one said.
"Got some money on me." The third one said.
"I got money for the gas." The fourth one said.
"Hey wait up!" The fifth one said.
The five left the area immediately.
'I don't know how he did it, but he did it nonetheless.' Naoto thought.
'How did he do it?' Kallen thought.
Lelouch just casually walked to the poor defenseless man. The man looked up a bit. He recognized the symbol on Lelouch's school uniform. He quickly got back up and went behind his hot dog stand. He asked Lelouch if he wanted a hot dog, but Lelouch quickly turned and left after saying that he was fine.
'He surprises me every minute I see him in action.' Naoto thought.
A man was hiding behind a tree behind the hot dog stand. He wore a yellow suit with a tie and a yellow hat. The man was Naze Turbine Shujinko, the leader of the Turbines. He was sent by Teiwaz to invite Zero to the corporation to see if he is worth backing up.
'Seems like I just found him. My lucky day.' Naze thought.
Train Station in the Tokyo Settlement
Cornelia and her forces were going to depart to the Kyushu Block to stop any and all trading of Refrain going on there with the Chinese Federation. Nonette walked to Cornelia as she saw her forces get ready for the operation.
"Nonette, shouldn't you be—"
"Yes, but I think I have a few concerns with this 'Refrain' business." Nonette said.
"And those concerns are?" Cornelia asked.
"Where is it all coming from? Just where could the source be and how do we close it off is what has me bugged." Nonette said, "I'm even starting to think that it may have been created in Area 11."
"In here? Right under our noses?" Cornelia asked.
"That's right, though I don't have the evidence to support it, at least take my concerns with some level of sincerity." Nonette said.
"I'll try to." Cornelia said.
"Just telling you what I think personally." Nonette said as she turned and left.
Viceroy's Palace
Clovis was speaking to Lloyd about the issue surrounding Refrain.
"You want us to what?" Lloyd asked.
"I want you to go and look for any signs of Refrain smuggling or production, gather any evidence you may find and report back to me." Clovis said.
"But we're an engineering corps, not the police." Lloyd said.
"We need to expose the corruption the Black Knights are exploiting to gain the support of the people. Once the information is public, the media will swing in our favor." Clovis said, "It's about time the people start facing the truth that was hidden from them at the very start of all of this."
"Well whatever you say your majesty, but does this involve that little scandal about Code R?" Lloyd said.
"Well I guess you can say that." Clovis said.
"Ok then, I'll get to it." Lloyd said.
"Thank you." Clovis said.
"But on one condition, just what is Code R?" Lloyd asked.
Clovis thought carefully and came to a decision.
"Well….." Clovis said.
Warehouse in the Tokyo Settlement
The Black Knights had finished up on the new Ganymede Frame. Its head differed from the original Ganymede's head, for it had a more human shaped head that looked as if it wasn't wearing a samurai helmet. It still had the Sutherland's arms, but it uses the guns that flip out just like with the original and was painted orange. It was named Ganymede Rei. The Black Knights had C6's and 2 modified Glasgows. They also brought the two Ganymede Frames as well. The Guison was there too, only it used two machine guns. They were waiting for a signal from Zero to move in.
"Shouldn't the police be doing these things?" Tamaki asked in his C6.
"Well it's not like they know better than we do when it comes to this kind of situation." Nagata said in his C6.
"Besides, if they were suppose to deal with all of this, they should have knocked the door down." Naoto said in his Burai.
"Wait, can't we use that cannon we found in the lake?" Yoshida asked.
"The cannon may have been rebuilt, but the rest of the thing was scrapped, the Glasgows that were placed on the sides were blown to pieces." Kallen said.
"Plus, we don't want to risk blowing the place up." Minami said.
The Black Knights saw the signal, it was Zero.
'He snuck right in.' Naoto thought with a smile.
Inside the Warehouse, a bunch of Japanese were loading crates of Refrain. They moved the crates one at a time to be careful with the vials. Suddenly, a storm of bullets tore into the place. The front door gets kicked down. The Black Knights in their Knight Walkers gathered at the front.
"The Black Knights have arrived!" Tamaki shouted.
"So even fellow Japanese would go around selling the stuff?" Gin said.
"Lousy traitors!" Sugiyama said as he fired his gun.
The warehouse was in a shooting spree. Bullets were flying, Knight Walkers were storming the place. The Glasgows, along with the two other Ganymedes and the Guison entered the building.
"Knightmares! Run!" One of the men said.
The Refrain smugglers ran away as fast as they could, but were gunned down.
'These things are like an entire division of troops.' Naoto thought.
Kallen's Glasgow smashed through a gate that was rapidly closing and entered into the deeper part of the warehouse. She activates the Factsphere and switched to Night Vision Mode. Kallen saw many people who were under the effects of refrain.
"The poor bastards….." Tamaki said.
"If only they left the past behind and looked to the future….." Minami said with sadness.
"That's what we're here for." Nagata said.
"Don't run…." A woman said.
'That voice….' Naoto thought.
It was Naoto and Kallen's mother, Sena Kozuki. She had taken refrain several times already. She had been a maid in the Stadfelt Manor for 7 years after Japan's occupation.
"Now Naoto, you look after your sister, alright?" Sena said while under the effects of Refrain.
"Mother….." Kallen said.
Nunnally looked at Sena with a sense of sadness.
'Kallen… Naoto….' Nunnally thought.
'That's their mother….' Lelouch thought.
"Kallen, the reason mom stayed was—"
Naoto was interrupted as the Black Knights were being fired upon by 5 Knightpolice units.
"Knightpolice?! The hell?!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"Seems like someone bribed the police." Minami said.
"Corruptive filth." Zero said.
The Knightpolice got back and continued to fire. The Ganymede rushes at the first one. The Ganymede dodges the bullets and fired a few bullets at the Knightpolice. The bullets shred the Knightpolice's right arm. The Ganymede finishes the Knightpolice with a sword straight into the cockpit. The Rei brings its two smaller lance and slams them down on the Knightpolice, crushing the cockpit. Kallen quickly picks up the poor woman and tries to fight back. The Guison fired its machines guns, gunning the Knightpolice down. Kallen looked at the woman.
"Just why?" Kallen asked herself, "I don't want her… I don't need her!"
The Glasgow raised the hand that held Sena. Naoto was surprised and worried about what his sister was doing.
"Kallen! What the hell are you doing?!" Naoto asked.
"We don't need her! She'll just—"
The Glasgow got shot in the back and fell.
"Kallen! Are you alright?" Naoto asked as he shielded the Glasgow from the remaining two Knightpolice.
"Yeah, where's mom?" Kallen asked.
Sena got up and looked at the red Glasgow. Kallen finally saw the woman.
"R-Run." Kallen said, "Run away damnit!"
Sena smiled at the Glasgow as she got up.
"I'm right here Kallen. I'll always be with you, no matter the hardships." Sena said.
Kallen's eyes widened. She realized why her mother had stayed at the manor all this time was for her sake.
'She stayed for my sake? So that if anything were to happen to Naoto, she'd be there with me?' Kallen thought.
"I really was a fool, wasn't I?" Kallen asked herself.
Nunnally rushed in and slashed the Knightpolice. Shirley got behind the second one and stabbed it with the two lances. A C6-C or Cargo type rolled inside the building with Nina on top of it with Rivalz in the pilot seat. There was boxes filled with vials for the counter for Refrain. Nina got out the vial and the injector.
"So it's finished already?" Zero asked.
"Yeah. I'll have to administer the shot to anyone who may have taken a few doses of Refrain." Nina said.
"And the formula?" Minami asked.
"Got it right here." Nina said as she got out a piece of paper with the formula written on it.
Nina went and injected the Refrain countermeasure and waited to see its effects. Sena sooner or later felt better and found herself in the warehouse and looked all over the place.
"Wait, where am I?" Sena asked as she looked around.
'It worked!' Nina thought as she smiled.
'Seemed like it worked.' Lelouch thought.
Soon, everyone who was given the medication soon were relieved of the effects of Refrain and were sent back home by the Black Knights. The Black Knights leave the place in a complete mess. After they had left, the Lancelot and Lancelot Club emerge from the shadows and enter the building looking for evidence.
"Let's see here… A few crates with suspicious vials….. Blood….. Bullets… Something tearing down that gate… Broken Knightpolice…. A few wrecks here and there… Yeah. This was definitely a shootout." Rai said.
"Not only that, but there's tons of refrain right here." Suzaku said.
"Better call it in." Rai said as he fired a signal flare.
Next day…..
Viceroy's Palace
Cornelia had woken up to find out that Warrant Officer Kururugi and Warrant Officer Hodges managed to find some proof of a Refrain smuggling operation. She had also found out that it was made by Britannians as well, making her believe that even Britannians would commit crimes that even Elevens would do, even if it was to raise the banners of revolution. She had been in her room thinking about it.
'Damn….. To be used by the very people I swore to protect… Damnit!' She thought as she clenched her teeth.
New York ,Britannian Homeland
Somewhere in one of the tall buildings of New York, James Stadfelt, the proud husband of Sena Kozuki, was on the phone concerning what had happened yesterday after news of the Refrain smuggling operation inside Area 11 was revealed.
"Yes…. Yes I understand… Tomorrow then? Alright….. Ok then… I'll see you very soon. Goodbye." James said as he puts the phone down.
An employee of his came into his office.
"Sir, the meeting is about to start." The employee said.
"Right then." James said as he took one last glance at the wedding photo of him and Sena at their wedding.
'Soon Sena….. I'll see you once again after all these years.' James thought as he went to the meeting.
Code R Research Project Site 14, Narita
"That's right, as of this day forward the Emperor has full authority over Code R." Wesker said, "Congratulations for staying in the project for so long."
'The emperor is overlooking Code R? What about Clovis or General Bartley?' Joseph thought.
"And as his majesty ordered, none of you is to leave the project. Because if you do," Wesker said as he pulled out a gun, "you will pay a hefty price for it."
"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that after almost losing my own daughter only to be rescued by Zero and his Black Knights, you're just going to threaten me and the others like this?!" Joseph questioned.
"If the entire project gets on the media along with its connections with the Royal Family, you are all partially to blame for this. Therefore, I can't exactly let any of you tell anyone about the project by making sure you don't try something really stupid." Wesker said, "I may also have to get rid of any of your family members if they try to uncover the truth."
These men who have been working with the Project had wives and children, they could not afford to lose either of them.
"This is insane, you can't just simply do this." Joseph said.
"Keep questioning me and you'll see that I can do it." Wesker said with a chilling voice.
The researchers had no choice but to obey. To disobey was to have their deaths assured along with their family.
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