Audacity chapter 18.
*Whenever I want to set a mood for the chapter I typically pop in a specific genre of music, this time around I popped in Avenged Sevenfold… so you can imagine where that's going. I've also noticed my insomnia is finally getting to me, it might have something to do with the fact that I haven't slept since I wrote chapter 15. Regardless as I previously stated I seem to do my best work when I'm tired. Moving on*
Response to review by: EVA-Saiyajin. I guarantee you will catch wind of the new Viceroy receiving Cypher 01's letter. I can't guarantee you that it will be in first person, but regardless you will have a reaction of sorts.
Response to review by: Atrile. I would've updated a third time however the website got mad at me or something like that and wouldn't let me post. That aside, you will be delighted to know that sanity is but a perspective, and my character's point of view is going to be changed drastically within the next few chapters. If you get what I mean.
Response to review by: LEGENDRY. My characters anger issues are heavily dependent upon his sanity, meaning that if he is unstable he is significantly more likely to flip his lid than if he were stable at the time.
When it comes to Shirley I agree, the relationship is destined to become strained or broken altogether. She served as a restraint to the madness that built within him due to his situation. As to his amnesia he will eventually reveal it to those close to him… Or so I have planned.
My character's use of his Geass was directly influenced by its own limitations, since he could only use it one time per person he decided to make it useful. Along the lines of him using the Emperor's speeches against him I'm not so sure of. Primarily because of the fact that he does not keep up with politics to good, however I can imagine that coming back to bite him on the ass.
As to my choice of naming chapters, I'm glad somebody finally noticed it. It is as you have surmised I plan to use this character again someday under the same circumstances probably. And I'm in agreement with you as to the matter of his building of 'The Black Knights'.
Before we get to the battle with the JLF we must first make it through the Lake Kawaguchi incident as well as the Saitama ghetto trap.
Another point I barely caught before I submitted this chapter was your comment about the truck from last chapter. I agree to a certain extent… But you must remember even nowadays military vehicles have GPS tracking capabilities, one can only imagine what Britannia might have. That aside, you must remember my character did something similar to get to the consulate the first time. Then again… He didn't steal anything did he?
I really do love responding to your reviews, mostly because they're so analytical.
After I returned to my dorm safe and sound, I acquired something to eat. Shortly afterward, I confined myself within my room. I make sure to deposit my mask in the desk drawer as usual and collapsed onto the bed.
I swear to God, if I have another creepy dreamwhile I'm sleeping,I'm going to be pissed I thought slowly as I sprawled across the mattress and rolled into the blankets. I had no other intelligent thoughts before I passed out.
*The next morning.*
I awoke, facing the wall. I almost didn't have the willpower to get up, to take a shower, and to change my clothes… Almost.
Right as I entered the kitchen, I made myself a sandwich and tore into it vigorously, devouring it within minutes.
Still in a daze, I ambled towards the Student Council room. Pushing open the door, I found Nina there, first as usual.
"Oh, good morning Lelouch." She greeted as she turned around briefly from her computer. I merely grunted deeply in response. Immediately afterward, I seated myself in a chair, faced the door once more, and let my head fall against the table. My thoughts, slowed by my tired state, were about Ohgi, Kallen, and the rest of her- scratch that- my resistance faction.
I'll find out where their loyalties lie as soon as we get into an actual conflict. I'm sure Kallen won't falter, but I don't know about that Tamaki guy… Seems like a pain in the ass to me.
I turned my head over and looked at my left hand, inspecting the bandage. There were blood stains bleeding through both sides, but I determined it didn't need to be changed yet. I couldn't wait until somebody asked about it; I already had the perfect cover story.
Abruptly, my thoughts directed themselves towards Nina. And I wondered what I can do to fuck with her. I observed my environment briefly in search of something that could be used. I stood up weakly and shuffled over to her. She turned to look at me as I came close; I took advantage of that. Leaning in very close, less than 3 inches from her face, I locked eyes with her, causing her to freeze in panic. I raised an eyebrow as if to scrutinize her.
"You should get contacts," I declared in a cryptic manner after several seconds of awkward silence. She blushed lightly and leaned back.
"W-what?" she stammered out quietly.
"You heard me, you should get contacts." I glanced over at the computer monitor for the time: It was 10:57. About time for me to go pick up the cigarettes I had 'ordered'. I then walked away from Nina saying nothing more, not even sparing a passing glance nor a goodbye.
As I walked towards the vending machine, I thought about the trouble I could get into if I was caught smoking… Not that it couldn't be fixed with Geass. I just figured it might be a pain.
What was that guy's name again? It started with an N… Ahh, can't remember, don't care.
I reached the spot the four boys had been smoking at yesterday and, just as planned, the boy was there, waiting for me. The exchange (if you could even call it that) occurred with hardly a word spoken. In fact, he left quickly afterward.
Not a bad guy this… Whatever the hell his name is, he even got me a lighter. I determined.
I decided I couldn't simply walk around campus with a carton of cigarettes, so I removed my jacket and wrapped it around the carton. I felt a little out of place as I walked back, but I'm sure it was due to the missing jacket. I hid the cigarettes in the same place as my mask. Just as I was exiting my room for the second time, my phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID, I noticed it was Shirley. I immediately picked up.
"Hello?" I asked calmly.
"Lelouch!" it sounded like I was in trouble. "Where were you yesterday? You completely skipped homeroom and chemistry!"
"Wait… How did you know I skipped homeroom?" I was met by an exasperated sigh.
"You and I have homeroom together Lelouch. Rivalz and Nina too." My eyes widened at this. It made sense that I didn't know she was in my homeroom because the school didn't keep an active roster for homeroom attendance.
"Hold on, I'll be right there!" I hung up quickly and began running towards the designated classroom.
Juke left, juke right, scramble around the table, skirt the main body of students, hug the wall and skid to a stop: all abundant maneuvers exercised as I sprinted towards my homeroom class, which by my reckoning should've already started. I drew the curious glances of many students, but I didn't care. I had finally made it to my objective.
"Sorry I'm late," I announced under my panting after I threw open the door, "accident with the….." I looked up and saw something quite out of the ordinary… Better yet someone.
"Suzaku?" indeed it was him, there was no mistaking it. Suzaku Kururugi was standing next the teacher, apparently introducing himself to the class. I couldn't help but break a half-smile.
Okay I am very confused right now. I walked up to Suzaku and slapped him on the shoulder playfully.
"Hey man, when did you start going here?" I said while eyeing his uniform. Suzaku's eyes widened in either fear or worry. I couldn't quite tell.
"I-I just started doing here t-today." This was strange, he was nothing like the confident young man I had seen earlier. I turned to look for an open seat and noticed the entire class was glaring at him….
Unacceptable.
Click.
"And just what the hell you think you guys are glaring at! Show some God damn respect, he's new here!" Many of the students averted their gaze to anything but Suzaku, though some still defied me.
Somewhere towards the back the classroom I heard a retort: "But he's an 11."
That comment really pissed me off.
"What of it?" I challenged openly. "You got something to say, you say to me. I won't stand for someone showing any discrimination towards him simply because he was born in a different nation." It was hard to keep the feral growl from reaching my voice as my anger seethed. Either nobody wanted to make a scene, or they were all intimidated because nobody said anything. Seeing this, I took a seat at an open desk and motioned for Suzaku to do the same. Soon after he sat down, the entire class began studying with an eerie silence. I noticed Suzaku ripped a piece of paper and began scribbling on it.
He then slid the torn piece of paper over to me. It read: 'What the hell are you doing?'
I rolled my eyes. I had to steal his pencil to write my own reply. 'Whatever I feel like.'
Suzaku's eyes narrowed as he read the note. I looked around the classroom as he wrote a response. It wasn't hard to spot Shirley, and I also spotted Nina , Rivalz and Kallen. I stared at Shirley for moment until she looked up and exchanged glances with me.
She looked very upset about something, 'I would have to confront her about it later,' I determined. But for now I just smiled and waved kindly. She offered a weak smile in return, but then her look of sadness redoubled.
Strange… I thought absently. Looking down, I noticed Suzaku had passed the note back to me.
'I don't want you defending me because you feel obligated as a friend.' Snatching the pencil away from him in a seemingly angry fashion, I justified my actions.
'I did it because I felt it was right, now just shut up and be content with it.' Suzaku read the note and smiled softly, which to be honest with you, I found a little bit creepy.
'You've changed.' was what he wrote next. This time he slid the pencil to me, which was good, meaning that I didn't have to take it from him again.
'More than you'll ever know.' That was last thing written on the piece of paper. The rest of the class was 'enjoyed' in near silence, save for the sound of flipping pages and scraping pencils.
Finally, after almost an entire hour of pure boredom, the bell rang, signifying the end of hell. The instant it rang, most all of the students and the teacher stood up and proceeded out the door, presumably headed to their next class.
I was about to begin a conversation with Suzaku, however I noticed someone standing at the desk to my left as if they were waiting for my attention. I turned to find Shirley; she had the same troubled expression as earlier, perhaps even more troubled.
"Umm… Lelouch can I talk to you for a minute?" she said meekly. Alarm bells went off immediately in my head and I became worried as to what she might want to talk about. I turned to Suzaku briefly.
"I'd like to catch up, but I need to handle something first…" I trailed off not, quite knowing how to word the rest of my sentence.
"Yeah sure, we'll catch up some other time. It was great seeing you Lelouch." I nodded as he stood to leave.
"What was it you wanted to talk about Shirley?" I asked turning back to my girlfriend, giving her my undivided attention.
"You see, my dad got fired from his job recently." My eyes narrowed as I formed an outline. "As it turns out, he worked on knightmares for the military." She paused holding back the sob. "He never even told me, he told me he worked on cars."
I began filling the page of my outline. My thought. My fear. I stood up and put my hand on Shirley's shoulder protectively.
"Everything will be fine, I'm sure your dad can find another job…" I said hopefully, though my efforts to console her only led to more bad news.
"That's not the worse part though…. He had another job lined up back in the homeland." Tears began to fall from her face which caught the attention of the three remaining students, now interested in the unfolding scene.
I would have none of that.
"{Leave.}" I told each of them. They mindlessly complied and left the room. Turning back to Shirley, I asked. "When you say back in the homeland, do you mean he's going to move your entire family there?"
"H-he wants us to move back by the end of this week." I clenched my teeth and let a frown stain my face. I decided this was the time to comfort Shirley, not get angry… For once.
I enveloped Shirley into a strong hug letting her cry on my shoulder. I held her for several minutes, but I did not let the contact stimulate my thoughts; I already had them racing towards several solutions.
Who fired her father? Did it have anything to do with my stealing equipment from the consulate? She said her father worked for the military, so I suppose that is more than possible. Fuck! That means this is my fault.
I clenched my hands, causing a line of pain to go up the left one. I endured it regardless. I would've held her longer, but my phone began vibrating. I backed up slightly murmuring words of apologies to Shirley as I checked the caller ID.
I didn't recognize the number, which meant it was more than likely one of the resistance members.
"Hello?" I questioned.
"Cypher, sir. This is Ohgi, we have a bit of a problem." It didn't seem like I was going to catch a break anytime soon.
"What's wrong?" I asked, expecting the worst.
"It's the new Viceroy Sir, you've really done it now… Wherever you gathered these supplies from, you really pissed her off."
"Well yes, I expected that." I responded, starting to think this was a trivial matter.
"But that's not the problem. The real problem is that she's surrounded the Saitama ghetto and has even gone and announced the start time of her attack!"
"Who is the new Viceroy?" I asked while ensuring my voice was kept down so not even Shirley could overhear.
"You haven't heard the news…. It doesn't matter. Her name is Cornelia Li Britannia." I had a name; all I needed now was a line of sight.
Cornelia… Almost rings a bell, that it does. I turned and looked at Shirley, I had no idea how I could explain to her that I needed to leave… Or even if I wanted to.
No, I have to. I quickly began thinking of a believable excuse.
"Okay I'll be at the warehouse to help set things up." I hung up the phone and quickly turned back to Shirley.
"Shirley…" I began slowly. "I want to talk to you more about this later, but right now my boss just called and says there's an accident… And that I need to go help out." The look of disappointment on her face caused my heart to wrench, but I couldn't let that stop me.
"That's fine… I didn't know you had a job." She said with a defeated tone. I clenched my left hand harder, using the pain to block out my regret.
"Yeah, I work at a bookstore. I'll call you when I'm done." She seemed to brighten up a little, which in turn allowed me to breathe a little easier despite the fact I had just lied to her.
"Sure." I leaned in and kissed her quickly. It was hurried and inaccurate, but it got my point across.
From that point on, I hauled ass: flat-out sprinting back to my dorm so I could discard this jacket, acquire the green one, and obtain my mask. The moment I entered my room, I noticed CC lying on my bed indecently. Ignoring this, I gathered my required items, panting slightly all the while. As I was about to leave she spoke aloud.
"Off to go get caught in Cornelia's trap?" I turned and looked at her as I was standing in the open doorway.
"You expect me to just watch?" she sat up, getting off the bed.
"You shouldn't answer a question with another question." She said as she walked to the center of the room. I was about to say something, but she immediately pulled out my High Point .45.
"I can't let you go Lelouch. If you die, my wish won't be fulfilled."
"Who is stupider? The person trying to kill themselves? Or the person trying to kill the person that's trying to kill themselves?" My asinine question was rewarded with a rare look of confusion coming from the immortal.
"Regardless… I'm doing this, go ahead and shoot me if you want, I know you won't kill me. But know this, even if you do I'll still hobble to the battlefield." I spread my stance and faced her directly, an air of determination forming.
"So if you shoot me you'll be indirectly killing me, simply because you narrowed my margin of survival." CC lowered her gun- scratch that- my gun slightly.
"Well, at least you're a determined fool."
Confident that I wouldn't be shot in the back, I continued hauling ass towards the warehouse where my allies awaited.
*Warehouse nine.*
"Ohgi! I want to know all possible entrances to Saitama." I demanded the moment I entered the worn down warehouse.
"Aside from the roads, there is a subway system that runs throughout almost the entirety of Saitama, however many of the tunnels are collapsed and unusable."
"But there should be a way in through there, correct?" he nodded a weak affirmative. I studied the map for a brief moment to determine something.
"Their main area of operations, meaning their headquarters, will most likely be located here." I pointed to the main road entering Saitama. "And assuming that this subway map is accurate." I motioned towards the map next to the first, it depicted a series of red lines designating underground tunnels. "We should it be able to pop up just about anywhere in the city even if a few tunnels are collapsed."
Many of the others nodded. The original seven were present and accounted for, though there were several whom I was not acquainted with.
"How many people do we have at our disposal?" Tamaki was the one to respond.
"32 the last time you guys made me count." I rolled my eyes at his clearly disrespectful manner.
"Including me?" I asked.
"You can't seriously hope to fight on the ground like an ordinary footsoldier! You're too valuable to lose out there like that!" Kallen shouted.
"Well I can't pilot a nightmare, and I can't ask you guys to do something I'm not willing to do myself. Not while keeping a clear conscience at least. So that means I'll be fighting on the ground, but if it makes you feel any better I have a different objective." Kallen exhaled slightly in relief.
"I plan to kill Cornelia myself; however I need a little help." I decided I didn't want to pull any knightmare pilots away from the battle so I had to choose people who are unskilled in combat.
"I'll go with you." Kallen volunteered immediately.
"No, you the best knightmare pilot we have. You'll be needed elsewhere. Instead, I'll take only two with me… I don't care who it is as long as you can't pilot a knightmare." I studied the map once more.
"As to our deployment, I want you all to get as close to the center of the city as possible and link up with the resistance already present. You are to try and cooperate with them, but overall you are to follow Ohgi's orders until I am able to make it to a knightmare myself, or the battle ends."
I looked up into the faces of all those present. Most of them seemed confident if not excited, only a few looked worried.
"All right load up! Everyone takes at least a pistol and protective gear!" There were dozens of confirmations from the group as everyone scattered to collect the required armaments.
I myself donned the protective gear in full. I had put away my mask as I donned the full-faced protective helmet that almost all the others chose to discard. I really did like the helmets, for they provided a radio/intercom system. It was preset on something, but I made sure to have everyone tune into frequency 77.6.
I kept the Glock under my arm as usual, the model 36 stayed in its designated area as well. The bandolier system on the inside of the chest plate was interesting: it was like a giant magazine, but in exchange for bullets it pushed forward ordinary magazines for the Britannian model 209. I made sure to fit the maximum number allotted, which turned out to be exactly ten. I didn't like the fact that I had the funny sounding USp.45 in my hip holster, but I ignored it.
There was a combat knife on the right thigh pad of the armor which pushed me over the top. I honestly felt like I was over-armed, but I had a sinking feeling I might need all of it.
I lifted the model 209 and inserted its first magazine.
223 Remington, 31 rounds…
I pulled back the action to the rifle causing a large *chick chick* to emanate from the firearm. As I did this I thought:
Bitch gonna pay…
To be continued…