Slayer Anderson
Justice III
A Code Geass/Misc. Crossover Fanfiction
10/09/10
A/N: Clarification on a few points, first. I won't be covering certain things happening in 'other' continuums, specifically the Neon Genesis Storyline. Why? Well, first off, this is a Code Geass Fanfiction. Second, while I won't be covering most of the events, I will be covering events as they relate to the main plotline so you won't be completely blindsided when an Eva or something shows up. Until then, I'll be focusing on the Geass plot.
Also, don't assume that I'm going to infect anyone with T-Virus just yet. If someone gets infected, at this point, it will be a virtual death sentence. Additionally, in the Res. Evil movie, it takes the 'heroes' an unbelievable amount of time to realize that 'head shot=death.' Lelouch sees this in...oh, about five seconds. Plus, he's going to repress the horror of the situation, assume control, and get everyone he can out alive...not decide that the best thing to do is to become an emotion wreck waiting for a zombie-filled death scene.
Chapter 3 – The Madness of Nunnally Lamperouge
…and Friends
In the end, it wasn't Lelouch's speech that brokered their trust, it wasn't his charisma, and it wasn't the anger and sadness so apparent in his eyes. In the end, it was something the Kallen had confiscated from him and left sitting in plain sight. The triangular device had an adhesive on the back, small electrode-like prongs sticking out. At first, they had thought it some kind of communicator or signaling device (which would fit in with the idea that he was a Britannian agent or plant), but neither could find any frequency control, speaker, or antenna. Finally, with no small amount of frustration Tamaki had offhandedly asked what it was. The answer gave the two a shiver that had entirely nothing to do with the dead come back to life and everything to do with Lelouch's grim smile and cold eyes.
"It's a sakuradite-boosted explosive attached to a pulse-monitor. If Zero should ever find himself in an untenable situation, where capture is imminent, that pack has enough destructive power to reduce me to a fine red mist. No body, no evidence, nothing to connect the 'terrorist' Zero to the average high school student Lelouch Lamperouge. There are certain…notifications that would be forwarded to the proper people and Milly would see to it that Nunnally was properly taken care of." Lelouch's tone was that of someone discussing the weather, not of planned suicide, leaving Tamaki to wonder at the nonchalance of so plainly discussing one's death. Kallen, of course, was another matter entirely…
Twaaack!
The sound of flesh against flesh rang out in the otherwise quiet room as Tamaki winced and Kallen attempted to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. "You b_stard! Do you know what loosing a brother is like? Do you know how much it hurts to have a piece of your family just disappear one day and the first indication you have that anything's wrong is their picture on the news, saying they've been executed for terrorism and treason? How happy would she be if you vanished off the face of the Earth one day and she never knew what had happened?" The sting of Kallen's slap left Lelouch speechless, her hoarse admonishment rubbing salt into a would that he hadn't known was even there to begin with. Regardless, one did not become a terrorist leader without being able to rally within seconds.
"Nunnally's happiness is important, but her safety is more so. I have taken care of her for nearly eight years, kept her from danger, and provided for her. I will not let anything get in the way of protecting her, even my own death." Lelouch's glare softened then. He could understand Kallen's pain, even if he couldn't let that pain cripple his own actions; softly he added, "I'm very sure Naoto felt the same way."
Tamaki winced, please say he didn't just…
Kallen flinched away from Lelouch, hurt and shock plain on her face. "You-you…"
"The true reason why I became Zero is none other than Nunnally herself." Lelouch interrupted, seemingly dropping the topic at hand. "The pain and anger they have caused me, I could forgive, but the injury they gave my sister when they took away my mother…Nunnally cannot live in a world dominated by Britannia's Darwinist policies-the abominable nation of Charles Zi Britannia will change or be destroyed by my hand. Naoto, your brother, likely knew the hardship you would face because of your ancestry. He didn't want you to have to live in a world that would never accept you."
Kallen's head spun as a distant realization was drawn to the forefront, fighting with a horrible anger. To have some-some…Britannian student assume he knew her brother like that…but, then, he wasn't just any Britannian student, was he? Lelouch, the slacker, Lelouch, the devoted older brother, Lelouch…Zero…the person who had lead them to so many victories, done so much good for the people of Japan…
Tamaki was, strangely enough, the voice of reason in this situation. As the only one not caught up in the anxiety-filled discussion going on in the room, it was left to him to notice the fact that the moans which had been, until now, distant reminders of their nightmarish situation, were getting louder. "Uhh…guys? I think-" The Osaka-jin scowled as neither his leader nor his fellow Black Knight acknowledged him. "Zero? Lelouch? Kallen? Hey, there's-" Tamaki almost growled as the two teens continued their stare-down. If it weren't for the tense muscles, grimaces of anger, and the stubbornness in each of their gazes, he'd almost call such a fixation romantic…almost.
"Oi! We gotta' get outta' here!" Tamaki yelled, now truly alarmed as an arm struck the door especially and physically pushing Kallen towards the remaining door as he cut the ropes binding Lelouch. "Those things are gettin' in!"
Kallen's head snapped up, determination setting in as she turned to look at Lelouch. "Fine, but don't think this is over! I want details once we get out of here!"
Lelouch rolled his eyes, but accepted his firearm back, taking a moment to grab his suicide bomb as he hurried out behind his subordinates. The hallway they stepped into was mercifully empty, but still darkened with emergency lighting. All three hurried down the corridor, the hidden prince working feverishly to readjust his mental map of his surroundings. Finally, the small group came upon an auxiliary stairway marked with a dimly glowing 'EXIT' marker. Slowly and silently Kallen pushed the door open, Lelouch moving in behind her with a raised pistol and flashlight pointing into the stairwell. The redhead moved to step past the doorway when a purple-black sleeve flecked with blood cut her off. Already irritated, the volatile teen snapped her gaze up to meet her 'commander.'
"Normally I'd say 'ladies first,' but, in this circumstance, I'll ask you to move aside." Lelouch, Zero, stated, steel behind his words.
"Are you crazy?" Kallen hissed. "I'm going first…you'd be useless if one of those…things got you."
"Regardless," he replied, "You are my responsibility. As leader of the Black Knights I will ensure the safety of my subordinates."
Kallen blinked, taken aback by the seriousness of the statement. "You-"
"After all," Lelouch interrupted blithely, "How could I expect anyone to follow me if I didn't risk my own life for our goals."
Brows knitted, Kallen watched as the other teen stepped past her and made a sweep of the immediate area. What…just happened? Had she been speaking to the schoolchild or her commander? It seemed as though neither persona she was familiar with was dominant now. Kallen shook her head, motioned for Tamaki to move up from guarding their backs, and then stepped into the stairway herself.
"Our goals," Kallen muttered, "Who does he think he's kidding…Britannian brat."
"I don't know," Tamaki whispered, cautiously moving up behind Lelouch as their leader started moving downwards. "I mean…he's Zero, Kallen. That counts for something, doesn't it? He's had our back…shouldn't we at least give him a chance?"
Unknown to them, Lelouch silently blessed the acoustics of stairwells as he listened in on the whispered debate. It seemed his pointlessly brave gesture was paying off. From the sound of it, Kallen really wants to believe that I'm here to help them, but she won't let herself. Still, the other Knights are going to be a problem if and when we meet up with them…provided they're still alive, of course. I'll have needed to win over Kallen and Tamaki by that point or things could go South very quickly. Ohgi will trust Kallen's judgment and the rest of the group will listen to Ohgi. It would be a miracle if they would keep my identity to themselves…but that would be asking too much. Kallen, alone, or with Ohgi, I'd trust to keep their mouths shut; Tamaki will say something incriminating sooner or later and the fallout from that wouldn't be pretty. Besides, the only way the deception would work would be if I had another Zero mask…which I don't.
Lelouch scowled, the unfortunate conclusion forming in his mind.
I'll have to tell them the truth, not all of it, obviously, but I'll have to reveal much more than I'm comfortable with.
The only other option would be completely restarting the Black Knights after eliminating the current membership. With his Geass, it would be a small matter to remove them, handpicking new members from either the JLF or another resistance group. Still…a part of him would miss his subordinates if it came to that and it would be extremely time-consuming to remake the Black Knights. Seven months of hard work would be erased…silently, the prince labeled that option under 'last resort.' Steadfastly, he refused to admit that he would actually miss any of them in any capacity other than soldiers and comrades.
Lelouch Lamperouge could have friends.
Zero could only have subordinates.
For a long time, seemingly hours, but more likely mere minutes, silence reigned supreme in the stairwell, broken only by the sound of soft and hurried footfalls and the hum of electrical discharge made by the emergency lighting. The adrenaline-filled moments of alarm were rapidly fading as they burrowed further into the facility, revealing nothing more than another set of steps after steps after steps…
"F_ck!" Tamaki spat, finally unable to take the silence any longer. "How big is this thing?"
"We're down ten stories," Lelouch said softly, motioning the Osaka-jin to quiet himself. "Still, the facility does seem enormous. Even for Umbrella, this would have required a humungous effort to build in such secrecy. The floor we were chased onto was circular in design, and, if every level of the compound is this size…this building must house thousands…if not tens of thousands."
"And the…Ashfords built all this?" Kallen asked quietly.
"Likely, it was Charles' project. As I said earlier, he, unlike Rueben's branch of the family, he was not immediately impoverished after the death of the Ashford Foundation's benefactor. The medical research he initiated is a large reason why Britannia leads the world in medicine, viral research, and prosthetics. Charles had a debilitating muscular disease, you see, and he was trying to cure it for his daughter's sake. There was a fairly large chance that, with the severity of the disease, Angela would not live to see her tenth birthday."
"But he cured it, right?" Kallen asked. Britannian or not, a child was a child.
Lelouch was silent a moment, before turning down the next flight of stairs. His voice almost a whisper, he added. "Angela was strong. She ended up making it to twelve. She died barely a year ago."
Both former resistance fighters froze, trading guilty glances.
"I'm…sorry," Kallen said awkwardly.
"She was my god-daughter," Lelouch revealed, oblivious to the others' shock. "My mother's family were Britannian commoners and maintained a long tradition of appointing god-fathers and mothers. Before her death, our families were very closely allied, so, while it might seem strange to appoint someone barely five years the child's senior to the station, it was actually a metaphor for the shared power between our two lines. She was something like another little sister to me."
Kallen and Lelouch shifted uncomfortably. Finally, Tamaki asked, "Ah…Lelo-Zero? You and Kallen said you had a sister, but…"
Zero snorted, a glimmer of amusement flickered behind his serious gaze. "Ah, it seems strange, I know…the terrorist leader having a kid sister?"
"Well, yeah," Tamaki grunted, hefting his semi-automatic rifle around, "I mean…that mask kind of made you look like a bat. I always thought you lived in a cave or something."
Lelouch and Kallen stopped, trading a somewhat amazed look before shaking their heads in disappointment. Kallen almost cracked a joke, but snapped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes in a glare towards the prince. "Why are you at Ashford, anyway? I would have thought you would have taken Nunnally back to Britannia. There would have to be some relatives for you to stay with and I'm certain they'd be able to get better medical care than the average student could afford."
"And turn us into political tools?" Lelouch asked sarcastically. "We'd be virtual orphans within the Britannian political system and, while there were some relative we might have been able to depend on, we would have been dead weight and easy targets…and that's putting aside whether I could trust them or not. Without going into too much detail, my mother was killed in what should have been one of the most guarded places in the Empire." Lelouch gave Kallen a somewhat conspiring glance. "Disregarding the ability of a given terrorist, what is the probability of a group infiltrating a highly defended location, catching the target unaware, and extracting themselves without a single guard noticing, attacking, or even being injured in the process? Then, tell me which is more likely…the scenario just discussed…or a few pureblood Britannian nobles deciding that their ranks would be made all the better should the 'commoner' among them suddenly expire...and hiring a group of assassins or employing a special branch of the military to do so for them?"
Kallen paled. Like many of Zero's arguments, the implications were too simple not to understand. Chancing a glance at Tamaki, she immediately saw that even he understood.
"If I had gone back to Britannia, I would likely have been married off at the first feasible opportunity and Nunnally would have a life of isolation to look forward to…that is, if we managed to survive the political arena. I think you understand my position, Kallen? Especially from your conversations with Milly?"
Kallen scowled, outrage welling up in her chest. Britannian or not, Milly didn't deserve...that. "I can't believe they want to marry her off like that!"
"Indeed," Lelouch nodded, "When Milly herself proves unable to do so, I've had to have words with a few of her suitors.
The redhead snorted, then stopped abruptly, giving an unreadable expression. "Lelouch…my step-mother recently had a meeting with the Duke of New Guinea about betrothing me to his son. The talks were going well and I was about to run away…until the Duke suddenly changed his mind."
"You don't say?" Lelouch asked, his voice carefully neutral. "I wonder what put him off? Your public attitude is so submissive that I'm sure he would have thought you a good match for his notorious playboy of a son. After all, the boy could have been as promiscuous as he wanted and you, in theory, wouldn't have raised a hand to stop him."
Kallen stared, hard, at the prince, Tamaki twitching between the two, trying to read the subtext he was sure was there, but couldn't quite get at. There was a silent moment where Lelouch raised an eyebrow as if daring Kallen to comment. Finally, the redhead pushed through to the front of the small group, resolutely not looking anywhere near Lelouch. For just a single heartbeat, though, the prince could have sworn he saw Kallen pause, a whispered, "Thanks," just barely audible as she moved past. Tamaki stared at the scene a moment longer, then shook his head and stepped faster to catch up with his comrades.
She couldn't stop the tears.
It had been eight years since she'd seen world, seen the sky, seen the stars, the moon, all of the things people take for granted each day and night. Still, the thing that most startled her was the depth of color around her. With a startlingly luminous full moon hanging in the sky above, each blade of grass seemed to stand out in stark vividness from it's surroundings, each pastel-colored brick wall showing a richness of beauty that took her breath away. Standing on the veranda overlooking the gardens of Ashford Academy, Nunnally Vi Britannia was brought to tears by the splendor and magnificence of a world she had been so long denied and had so long longed for. For a very long time, it could have been days for all she knew or cared, the young teen stood in the slightly chill air of the spring night, trying to overcome the paradoxical happiness and sadness which was gripping her heart so tightly as to leave her light-headed.
She could finally open her eyes.
And she couldn't tell her brother.
It was one of the 'rules' about her wish. The Egyptian man who'd come to her in that strange non-dream and granted her greatest desire eventually set a few important guidelines to make sure she stayed out of trouble. The first of which was that no one could know Nunnally and her 'disguise' were one and the same. That means I can't let anyone know that I can see or walk…or, at least, that 'Nunnally' could see and walk, she thought derisively, looking at her bedroom vanity mirror, the furniture proving it's usefulness for the first time in years.
The nearly platinum blonde sitting in the mirror was very pretty, she supposed. Granted, the black body-suit and ballistic-guard plates gave her a strange, violent air…though Nunnally was finding herself warming to the appearance. Of course, given the other conditions of the wish, she would need to be comfortable with who she was and what she could do. Nunnally snorted and gave herself a mocking grin, almost a sneer, in the mirror, shocking herself at the rudeness of the gesture. Feeling impulsive, the princess flipped herself the bird, almost high on the small act of rebellion.
"Maybe this won't be too bad," Nunnally sighed, the emotional giddiness passing as reality reasserted herself. After all, she could…
Run.
As melancholic as her first sight after eight years of blindness had been, her first steps had been…
Euphoric.
Footfall after footfall, step after step, the exhilarating feeling of actually being upright, actually moving under her own power for the first time in years…there was a surging feeling deep inside her, something brighter than joy and a thousand times more luminous. The smile on her face couldn't possibly be broader as she slammed her foot down, throwing herself bodily into the air and into a spin as she cleared the space between two Tokyo rooftops. Nearly a decade's worth of muscle decay and atrophy was conspicuously absent, leaving her body more fit than even the average athlete, impossibly, inhumanly, fit almost.
She landed on her left palm, balancing for an instant before sending her body into a reverse half-flip to land on the top of a five-story apartment building somewhere between the business district and the Saitama Ghetto. Nunnally grinned beneath the foreign face as her chest heaved slightly, not-quite breathless from exertion, but definitely leaving a fine sheen of sweat cooling on her face in the night air.
Out of the major sections of the Britannian Settlement, the stars were even brighter, leaving the moon almost shining like the sun. Absently, she dropped to the ground, laying sprawled on the still-warm tar roof, soaking up the remaining heat left from the daylight. Nunnally stretched her arms out before her, fingers spread, the gleaming curtain of starry light filtering in between each of the digits. Hands snapped into fists, seemingly clutching at the fabric of space as Nunnally stared, wide-eyed, at her arms.
She had never been this strong, this powerful.
It felt as though she could crush the world had it been in her grasp.
"F_ck Britannia."
It was so quiet that it could have been mistaken for a light breeze. With the breath-taking realization that, yes, this was happening, there was also the realization that she could do something with her life instead of just sitting in that damn wheelchair day after day. "Well, I'll still be sitting in the wheelchair during the day, but the nights are mine. But what to do first?"
It wasn't like there were any advertisements for Britannian injustices on the roadside. The ghettos themselves had been alarming in their decay and rubble-ridden state…especially since this was the first time she was actually seeing them, but the kind of magic she'd been given couldn't fix those kind of problems. She could fight soldiers, violent criminals, and the corruption within Britannia, but…
"How? I can't just walk up to a resistance movement and ask to join," Nunnally berated herself. Now that the elation had worn off, this whole thing seemed like a bad joke. She didn't really know 'how' to embark on this insane enterprise…and joining Zero right now might make her precarious position worse. While she agreed with almost everything the revolutionary said, he had killed Clovis and, no matter how distant they had become, Clovis was her brother. The fact that he had turned around only weeks later and saved some of her dearest friends, and her sister, only served to confused the periodically blind princess more.
No, for the moment, she would not seek out Zero.
Still, that does leave me at a bit of an impasse…
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Nunnally blinked, then sat up suddenly. Looking around, the night was nearly still once again beyond the vibrant thrum of electrical wiring, the occasional hiss of steam, and the swift beat of feet on concrete. Nunnally frowned and rolled over to the side of the roof, her sharp red eyes fixing on the moving shadows five stories below. "Help! Someone!" The princess' frown deepened to a scowl, her eyes darting around to seek out a police station, a patrol car, or even a military armored car…anyone that could help…and then the five people chasing the woman caught up to her. Disbelief nearly struck Nunnally dumb as Britannian uniforms swam out of the gloom.
Britannian police uniforms.
Later, she'd blame her actions on the thrill of her first run in nearly a decade, the elation of seeing anything in a long, long time, or even the mind-altering influence of her transformation. Whatever the cause, there was only a heartbeat of hesitation before she threw herself over the edge of the roof, instinctively knowing she could take the impact as she dropped five stories to the ground.
The petite fifteen-year old landed on top of a dumpster, thankfully closed, as her feet sank nearly an inch into the steel cover. The noise of her impact was jarring, all six people in the alleyway freezing as the sound of bending steel filled the enclosed space. A single flickering light over a barred back door of a decrepit business was the only real illumination for anyone without eyes altered by the will of an Outer God, leaving the dim electrical glare shinning against a sleek black bodysuit distorted by plates of ballistic-proof metal and a full mane of near-platinum blonde hair. On a mature woman, the outfit would have come across as lustful or intimidating…on a girl so small as to be nearly prepubescent, the effect was almost outrageous.
Flipping her hair casually, Nunnally snorted at the stupefied look on the policemen's faces. "The best and the brightest of Britannia, those charged with protecting the lives and livelihoods of common citizens…surely this woman must have done something unspeakably horrible to be set upon by so many great men."
The words came spewing out with the easy accusation one seizes upon when coming upon something truly abominable. Given that the woman was now being held down by two policemen, two laughing mockingly, with another undoing his belt…the frozen tableau would have been funny if it weren't such an atrocity. Nunnally knew there was a sneer on her face, anger in her eyes, and violence flitting through her thoughts, but…at this moment, it was hard to bring herself to care. One of the men opened his mouth to speak, but was struck flat-footed as Nunnally's small fist slammed into his gut.
Something that wasn't quite sight, or at least, sight as she knew it alerted her to the drawing of the gun. Instincts that she'd never felt before made her duck, wedge her shoulder into the place her fist had been a moment before, and lever the man over her body. Three shots, fired rapidly in succession, all found their home in the policeman's body…a bloody gurgling cry indicating immense pain and a mortal wound. Nunnally's hand shot out, seemingly of it's own accord, grabbing the downed policeman's gun as she rolled out of the way of another five shots which followed her path. Without looking, but still knowing where they would be…
Not where they were at the moment, but where they would be, when the bullets struck home, Nunnally realized distantly, her mind preoccupied with the matter at hand.
She didn't aim for the light body-armor, instead sinking two bullets into their necks with all the accuracy of an expert marksman, catching the two men mid-dive. It was the work of another second to flip out of the way of the final armed man, placing a bullet neatly between his eyes. Finally, slowly, the blonde turned to the cowering piece of filth with his pants around his ankles, lying prone on his back as he tried to squirm away. There was a confused terror marring his face, wide-eyes and horrified half-words that didn't make any sense but still managed to convey the pleading that cowards have in the face of death.
Nunnally could remember when she faced down the barrel of a gun, her dead mother shielding her. There had been none of that terror in her heart, none of that pathetic supplication. In that instant, she hadn't been afraid for her own life…merely struck senseless by the oppressive thought that her mother was dead. Was this what Lelouch talked about when he said 'those who are fit to lead?' Did he see this spineless cowardice in all of Britannia, this despicable, unforgivable foulness? When he spoke of weakness and corruption in their former homeland, the dark and frightening tone his voice took…that hateful grudge…
Now, as she lifted the gun to point at the man's head, she tried to ignore the sense of self-satisfaction, the cold joy, and the horrible grin that lit her face. He brother would be horrified, she knew, if he ever found out about this. He'd wanted her to remain pure, to remain as she once was…a long time ago, not to be stained like the black hate in his own heart.
"Tell Lucifer, when you see him," Nunnally started, "That more are on the way."
Lelouch didn't realize she'd lost that purity the day their mother died.
She fired.
Lelouch would be grateful if he ever saw the sun again.
Their original estimation of the facility's size had been as far off the mark as it was possible to be. The immensity of the building had only struck them when they'd had to climb down an access ladder next to a support column. Judging by the radial design of the facility, he estimated there were many such hidden emergency exits. The climb down, though, had led them through at least two hundred feet of dim lit vertical tunnel, the only point of interest being a small view port in the middle, showing a massive empty space above, below, and all around the small cylinder they were currently climbing down. The space outside, unlike the small, circular chemical lights dotting the ladder-tube, was alight with blue-white light. When Lelouch, between Kallen (who was underneath him), and Tamaki (directly above), looked through it, his breath caught.
"A Geotherm Net!"
After simultaneously 'what's from his subordinates, Lelouch shook his head, still faintly amazed. "It's a theoretical project that Nina and I like to discuss sometimes. They've probably carved a canal or underground river underneath part of the city, giving them access to large amounts of seawater. A Geotherm Net can be used, in conjunction with naturally occurring fault lines and geologically active areas, to desalinated that water through hydrolysis and create an energy surplus as a byproduct. Odds were that it would be the next great leap forward in energy production; the biggest thing since solar power! Still…I can't believe they have a working model here in Tokyo."
Kallen snorted, rolling her eyes, "Nerd."
"Intelligent," Lelouch countered absently, not taking his eyes off the elaborate device. "I'd wager that this means the facility is nearly-completely self-efficient. They probably have access to Tokyo bay and, with this, as much energy, fresh water, and clean oxygen as they'd ever need. I wonder if they have greenhouses stashed away somewhere?" The question was directed more at himself than either of his comrades, indicating the level to which he'd lost himself in thought. Tamaki gave an irritated grunt and nudged the teen underneath him with the toe of his shoe. Lelouch's head snapped up, Tamaki flinching back from the suddenly fierce violet orbs…
Glowing violet orbs?
Tamaki shook himself, throwing off the shiver running up his spine. The impossible hallucination (because it had to be a hallucination, right?) was gone the moment he looked back to the vigilante organization leader. The Osaka-jin shivered once more, doing his best to ignore the suddenly uneasy feeling. Taken by a sudden black humor, Tamaki snorted, 'uneasy feeling'…was it any wonder?
After all, he had to worry about an undead welcoming committee.
"Do you really think Ohgi and the others would have made it this far?" Kallen asked, the 'without you' going unsaid, but completely justified. Like it or not, Lelouch, Zero, had led them through dozens of raids on nearly a hundred refrain facilities. Relating the truth of the lazy student and the charismatic revolutionary was something she wasn't completely comfortable yet. The redhead avoided his gaze as they all dropped out of the access tube into a deserted room. The relatively small room looked something like a supply closet and, silently, it was decided that they would take a moment to rest after their long climb.
"Ohgi and I have talked about possible separations between groups of the Black Knights. He knows that he needs to push forward to our last objective," Lelouch dismissed. He had full confidence, in Ohgi, at least, to follow orders. "I did give orders, if you recall, about lines of retreat."
Kallen flushed embarrassedly, "Ah…is this what you meant by do-or-die?"
"I'm more worried about zombies than dying right now," Tamaki snorted.
"I know it's usual for terrorist cells to operate as if every mission is of life-or-death importance, but each and every mission should have a line of retreat." Lelouch lectured, massaging his aching arms.
Kallen scowled, "I know that…and I wish you wouldn't call us terrorists. That always sounds so…Britannian. It isn't like we were bad people before we met you."
Lelouch made a thoughtful noise. "One of the things I've tried to explain is the relativity of terms like 'terrorist' and 'freedom fighter;' neither is mutually exclusive from the other. One person's white knight is another person's black knight. To the Britannian government, we are mere terrorists, even now. To the people, Japanese, Eleven, or Britannian…we have to show ourselves as more than that. We have to show that, even as 'Black' Knights, we are capable of defending the people, of being Knights for Justice. Only after we earn the people's hearts and minds will we succeed in defeating Britannia."
There it was. Almost unwillingly, Kallen felt herself drawn to the electrifying sensation that was listening to Zero. Not Lelouch. Any Black Knight could tell you that the words being spoken right now belonged to the masked revolutionary, not the schoolchild. In fact, sitting there in that shadowed room, it wasn't hard to see that hawk-like, featureless mask overlaid onto his face. Still, there was something even more, something larger, that pressed against her and made it hard to breathe…perhaps the smoldering emotion in his eyes? Regardless, Kallen could feel her heart beat loudly in her ears…
"Yeah!" Tamaki cheered, mesmerized and enthused by the speech, "That's my best buddy, Zero! I knew you weren't just some Britannian punk! See, Kallen, I told you we could trust him!"
Kallen snorted, doing her best to put up an unimpressed façade and ignore the thrill of emotion that maybe, just maybe Lelouch was different. "Rivalz is going to be heartbroken," Kallen grinned suddenly, teasingly. "I thought you and he were gambling buddies?"
Lelouch rolled his eyes. "Rivalz Chandermode and Kallen Stadfield are friends with Lelouch Lamperouge. Shinichiro Tamaki and Kozuki Kallen are Zero's subordinates. There's no conflict of interests."
Tamaki nodded, not really understanding the complexity of the dual identities and lives his comrades lead, but willing to agree to the point. "Yup, Kallen-chan, we've got Zero's back…not some Brit jerk!"
"Tamaki, shut up," Lelouch ordered.
Kallen snickered, her mood somewhere between irritation at Tamaki's use of the familiar diminutive suffix and amusement at the casual way Lelouch defended his absent friend without actually defending his friend. Still…he had a damn good point about their double-lives. Would it be hypocrisy to begrudge him what she enjoyed each and every day? Should she stop going to Ashford, despite the fact that she did, sometimes (not that she'd admit it) enjoy her 'friends' company? Was lying to them for the good of her Japanese heritage just self-deception or did it really mean something? Would it be worth seeing the betrayal in their eyes for the success of their mission?
Why can't I answer that?
The moral dilemma faded as Lelouch stood, Kallen instinctively stiffening in anticipation at the sound of Zero's cape swirling on the ground. The readiness was, at this point, almost a reflex. "We're going?" She asked.
Lelouch nodded, "We still have no idea where we are, really, and I'd like to get back to Ashford by sometime tomorrow…otherwise we'll both face some fairly difficult questions."
Kallen nodded. Even thought Lelouch had deceived her he also hadn't given her cause enough to justify handing him over to the Britannian military or police. If the Black Knights were to continue after getting out of this hellhole, the anonymity of their members and leader was absolutely necessary. "Alright, let's go."
For whatever reason, none of the three thought to train their weapons on the door as Lelouch opened it and stepped through. Almost immediately, the hidden prince was struck by something large, heavy, and blindingly fast. The only real thing that stood out was the color red as the two figures tumbled amid alarmed shouts of Tamaki and Kallen. It was only the light armor sewn into Zero's suit that saved Lelouch's life. The cape caught and entangled both as hideous rending claws struck out, going for a fatal blow. Drawing on half-remembered brawls and spars with Suzaku and Todoh, Lelouch landed a feeble and awkward punch at the person…thing's throat. Despite the fact that the blow seemed to have no effect, the instinct had put his forearm in just the right position to hold off a close-range lunge.
Rancid breath and flecks of what had to be congealing blood hit him like an almost physical attack. The thing on top of him, his mind distantly noted, was either a close cousin, or direct kin to whatever had grabbed Tamaki from the traincar…
Was it only an hour ago?
Had he the presence of mind, Lelouch would have dwelt on that thought a little longer. As it was the pressure the creature was exerting on his forearm was enough for him to believe a fracture was eminent. His left hand, entangled in the heavy fabric of his cape along with the creature's clawed right arm was of no use. Desperately, Lelouch tried to push off the red thing on top of him.
This close, the creature was a truly horrific sight, not that it was any better at a distance. As before (and prior to the other creature's head being liquefied by the number of bullets the Black Knights put into it), the thing's braincase was fully exposed, as was the entirety of it's musculature. It's 'face,' if it could be called such, was eyeless, nose-less, and the only truly prominent feature was the gaping toothy maw that was even now snapping inches from his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Lelouch observed the thing's other 'hand': another gruesome claw with bloodied and discolored 'nails' each individually the size of his own hand.
Truly desperate and afraid now, as he had never been before in his life, Lelouch struck out at the creature with his knees and feet, searching for some genital-like anatomy he could strike hard enough to remove his arm and go for his gun. The probing jabs proved ineffective after the first few seconds, only serving to garner the creature's further irritation. Opening it's mouth wide, a red, serpentine-like tongue snaked out and wrapped about Lelouch's neck, the thin cloth of Zero's ascot providing no protection against the sandpaper-like texture of the prehensile organ.
Feeling the tongue tighten on his windpipe, Lelouch gasped audibly, his feet striking out with even more urgency. Desperately, he planted the balls of his feet against the creature's lower torso, pushing with all his might even as the tongue on his neck threatened to suffocate him. Finally, as his field of vision began to dim, an absolute last-resort idea burst into his mind, one which he would later blame temporary insanity and oxygen depravation for acting on…
Instead of pulling back, Lelouch slammed his head foreword, striking the creature's exposed brain with his own forehead. The shock of it's prey striking back stunned the beast for a moment, just barely enough for Lelouch to draw his left hand from his cloak and pull his pistol free with a long-practiced fluidity. The thing's tongue still wrapped about his neck and his vision still going black, the prince wasted no time in pressing the gun to the underside of it's jaw, firing off the entire clip in quick succession. The noise of the boltgun was distant in his ears, a symptom of his near-unconsciousness. Even as he felt the creature's form tense and quiver, though, warm and thick blood was gushing out onto his chest.
Finally, with the last bullet cleanly piercing the top of it's head, the tongue relaxed and life-giving air flooded back into his lungs. For a long moment, he could do nothing but hack noisily and breathe deeply, replacing lost lungfulls of oxygen despite the now-collapsed inhuman predator laying on his chest.
"-louch? Lelouch?"
The next few moments were a haze, but impressions of being pulled from underneath the thing and propped up against a wall were the most prominent parts. Finally, after a seeming lifetime of teetering on the brink of consciousness and oblivion, Kallen and Tamaki's concerned gazes came into focus before him.
"I'm alright, Q-1."
Tension eased on both their faces, before Tamaki's form snapped up and leveled his semi-automatic rifle down a hall, firing off three quick bursts. "We need to go, Zero."
Whether it was the urgency of the situation or a natural deference to his leader, Lelouch smirked and threw himself to his feet awkwardly, pressing a new clip into his gun as he did so. Two more of the creatures lay dead thirty feet down the hall, a more than reasonable excuse as to why Tamaki and Kallen hadn't been immediately able to come to his aid. More pressing, though, were the additional two living creatures, substantially bigger than the others, that were now bearing down on them.
"Retreat," Zero, Lelouch, affirmed, taking off down the hallways in the opposite direction, his two Knights behind him. Despite the fact that he had attended a full day of school and already had more than a full night of duties as Zero, Lelouch pushed his fatigued body into motion as only someone who fears for their life can. Tamaki and Kallen, similar expression of controlled terror on their faces, pulled ahead slightly as all three sped down the corridors. A multitude of muttered curses sounded as they turned a corner, coming upon yet another group of zombies.
The black prince's eyes alit on a hinged door as he thanked all gods above and below for the universal language of restroom depictions. Pulling the door open, he ushered his comrades in, even as a clawed hand clanged loudly on the now-dented metal. Gasping for breath, Lelouch's last act was to throw the deadbolt on the door before sliding to the cool, blood-soaked tile floor. At one point, in the not-so-distant past, he would have been disgusted to find himself practically rolling in syrupy bodily fluids…but after being doused with the remains of the-
Clang!
Lelouch leapt and rolled, diving away from the door and right into Kallen, his eye twitching with irritation as he saw two inches of bone-claw penetrating the metal door with ease. Even as he watched, the creature tore his claw from the door and struck again, the impact echoing in the enclosed space, though not loud enough to cover the sound of twin moans and Tamaki's alarmed cry behind them.
Tangled up as they were, Lelouch and Kallen only worsened the situation as firearms were torn from holsters and raised to defend their comrade. The Osaka-jin's foot was raised, kicking at a gnawing mouth which was trying to catch one his legs to take a bite out of. Another zombie was on top of him, occupying both of his hands as the tanned man leveraged it's neck to keep the hungry maw at bay. Still, his precarious position dictated that it was only a matter of time before one got the better of him. Lelouch and Kallen's minds, trained over months of firefights and awkward shots, honed in on the zombies heads immediately, plugging two shells into each of their craniums and spraying syrupy blood all over Tamaki's clothes. The Osaka-jin froze for a moment before throwing the corpses off him in a disgusted manner.
"*&^*^%^&*!"" Tamaki yelled, irritated beyond rational thought. "I'm so frikken' tired of this clowns_it! I'm tired of people and, and, whatever those things are!-trying to bite my head off! I hate this damn building, I hate these stupid monsters, and I hate Britannia for building it all in our freakin' backyard!"
!
Clang!
With the moans of inhuman creatures and the sounds of yet more inhuman creatures trying to break their door down as his only answer, Tamaki did the only thing a normal, sensible (mostly) human being would do…when confronted with an impossible situation that pushed the boundaries of belief and sanity.
He opened fire.
Rat-tat-tat-rat-tat-tat-rat-tat-tat-rat-tat-tat-rat-tat-tat-rat-tat-tat-rat!
"SHUT THE H_LL UP YOU UNDEAD FREAKS!"
!
CLANG-CLANG!
Tamaki dropped to his knees, almost in tears, "I hate my life sooo much right now!" Looking at Zero, he implored, "Can we get bigger guns if we have to deal with this s_it? Please? I mean, it's not like I want a Knightmare or anything…just an RPG or two! I'll even forget about telling Ohgi that you're making out with Kallen!"
Both teens blinked, traded wide-eyed looks, and only after that, perhaps, did they realize exactly what position. In their haste to fend off the undead, Kallen had practically rolled onto Lelouch. Her left hand was pressed against the side of his chest with her legs splayed out over his hips for support and stability in a makeshift 'firing position.' Lelouch was on his side, on of his legs propped up and bent at the knee…right between Kallen's legs. He'd fired his gun using a two-handed grip, leaving his lying almost completely flat on the ground.
From an outsider's perspective, he could tell what it would look like.
"This isn't what it looks like-"
"You can't be serious, there's no way-"
"Tamaki, if you dare breath a word of it-"
"They'll need an OSI squad to find your body after I'm done with you!"
The stammered expressions of denial were varied in their intensity, but generally suggested rather extreme and, in one particularly vivid case, Kallen described a certainly impossible bodily contortion she would inflict if he so much as uttered anything about her and Lelouch. Still, the biting comments didn't stop the atomic-rouge coloration from blossoming on both their cheeks, nor did it quite explain the fact that they couldn't meet each other's eyes.
Clang! Clang!
The two embarrassed teens and the psychologically-cracked Osaka-jin started badly as they looked to the door…which now had a three-foot wide hole in it. The curse Lelouch uttered would have had the rest of the student council looking on in shock (and slight awe), "We need to leave, now."
Tamaki rolled his eyes, "I'm all up for ideas, 'fearless leader.'"
Kallen spun, trying to take in the entire restroom at a glance. Stalls, urinals, sinks, soap dispensers…annoying air-dry machines instead of paper towels, air duct, pipes, tiles…wait. Kallen blinked, then looked back up to the metal grate…
A little over a foot wide, and a little under a foot tall…just barely.
"I've got an idea," Kallen said aloud.
In hindsight, maybe hitting the all-night pizzeria hadn't been such a good idea.
Granted, hindsight was 20/20 and all that…but she'd been really hungry and, for the first time in a long time, she hadn't had to ask for anyone else to bring her food. The whole 'looting the corpses' was a little gross, but they'd had much-needed funds and it wasn't like she could ask her brother for a debit card anytime soon…after all, what would a paralyzed blind girl need to go out and buy all by her lonesome? No, asking Lelouch for money wasn't really an option, too suspicious, so she'd decided that the recently deceased policemen's wallets fell neatly under the 'spoils of war' category. Still, her mind did dwell on her premature grave-robbery all that much, it was more the act of murder itself that had her deep in thought.
The sound of the boltgun had rung loud in her ears, the noise satisfying on a deep, visceral level.
She lifted another slice of the pizza to her mouth, salivating at the mere aphrodisiac-like thought of the it's taste. "Misss CC was so right," she muttered.
Five dead bodies lay on the ground, motionless, around her, the only sound in the alley was a mixture of her labored breathing and the soft sobs of the woman she'd saved.
She chewed the bite slowly, appreciating the different flavors and textures of the toppings. Lelouch so rarely let her have 'junk food,' of which, pizza was most definitely a despised part of.
She'd knelt down, the woman flinching from her touch, but that apprehension faded as she cooed soft, meaningless reassurances to her. She'd had Lelouch do it to her often enough, especially when they'd arrived in Japan and her emotions fluctuated between crushing sadness and black terror. "It'll be okay, shhh."
Mmmmmm…everything on it, she thought as she smiled around the mouthful. Mushrooms, greasy cheese, pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, and anchovies!
"Than-Thank you," the woman, barely older than Milly or Shirley, she saw as she got her first good look at the woman's face. "I-I don't know what I would have done if-if…" She trailed off into more broken sobs.
Almost idly, she sipped from the soft drink she'd ordered. Lelouch didn't let her have many caffeinated or carbonated beverages either…and, though she knew it was his concern for her health, it was very nice to indulge in guilty pleasures like this without his knowing.
"You might want to find someplace to hide out for a few days," she advised the crying girl. "I don't think anyone saw us, but better safe than sorry; maybe call a friend?" The teary-eyed girl, now summoning up the courage to stand, nodded and she turned to go.
The only thing better than the still-warm pizza itself, was the stuffed-crust, filled to the brim with gooey cheese and coated in sprinkled garlic. Miraculously, she managed to refrain from moaning aloud.
"Wait!" The woman nearly shouted, latching onto her arm (a task somewhat more difficult than it sounded as the woman was at least half-again as tall as her). "My name's Ayame Futaba! Wh-who are you? You saved my life, at least tell me your name!"
The blonde sitting in the pizzeria rolled her eyes, maybe it had been temporary insanity? Hero worship? Back in Ares Villa, mother had always overseen their lessons…among them foreign languages; granted, many of them had faded from disuse, but she and Lelouch still had occasional conversations in rusty French, German, Russian, Greek, Italian, Japanese, and…Latin.
The answer had come without thought, without even contemplating what the moniker meant…what it would mean with Zero's name on everyone's lips. She'd said, "Nemo."
Nunally…Nemo, scowled as she swallowed the last bite of the slice of pizza. It wasn't like anyone would miss the obvious allusion to the masked vigilante, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but…
Temporary insanity, it was as good an excuse as any.
"Excuse me?"
Nemo promptly looked up…and blanched. Standing there, across the table, was a Britannian police in full uniform, wearing a polite but wary smile. She twitched slightly and reached out for another slice of pizza, wondering that the man was waiting for. Then, somewhat belatedly, she realized that she was wearing a skin-tight ballistics suit, in the middle of the night, eating pizza… Nemo frowned as she realized she really needed to get some clothes…her crippled alter-ego had some, but she was wary about wearing anything that would make her look too much like Nunnally Lamperouge.
"Excuse me?" The policeman tried again, noticeably tenser.
Nemo blinked, then looked back to the cop, "Ah yeah? What?"
The cop stared, somewhat taken aback by the combative questions, "Look, little girl…I'm gonna' have to take you to the station. The old man," he pointed at the extremely nervous-looking man behind the cash register, "Called about a weird kid out around the ghetto…since I don't see anyone else, I'm guessing you're it."
"So?" Nemo asked, the question coming out 'mo?' as it squeezed out around the mouthful of pizza. Swallowing, she took a deep swig of soda before giving him a skeptical look. "Last I checked, it wasn't illegal to get the munchies late at night."
She hoped she'd used 'munchies' correctly. Her interaction with other teens was limited in the extreme, but the petulance she was showing now seemed to come naturally. Back when they had been two separate people…in that not-dream, the girl had been more…extreme. Now, even though she thought about doing some rather offensive things, the urges were muted. Still, she could, without any effort at all, channel that dark rebellious spirit which sought out injustice and punished it…as she did now.
The Britannian officer frowned. "Okay, I think I've been nice enough. Whoever the frick you are, kid, you're coming with me and we're tracking down your parents. Honestly, what kind of people would let a girl your age wander around like that?"
As the cop reached out, Nemo left hand moved at an almost negligible speed (for her, at least), grabbed his wrist, and twisted. A painful creaking emerged as the cop let out a startled yelp and dropped to his knees, suddenly breathless with pain. Nemo snorted and ignored the startled gasp coming from behind the counter in favor of the man now at her mercy. Absently, she reached out and took another slice of pizza. "Okay, I think I've been nice enough," Nemo parodied mockingly, "You seem like a nice enough guy…looking out for a young girl and all…nothing like those bastards in the alleyway earlier-"
The man's eyes widened comically and Nemo smirked.
"-Ah, I see my reputation precedes me. At any rate, though, I'm going to need you to leave. I've got the rest of this pizza to finish and I've put up with you long enough."
Nemo released her grip, snorting as the cop reached and tried to pull his gun free from it's holster. Her arm struck like a snake this time, perfectly intercepting his draw…knowing perfectly where his hand would be. She twisted, probably broke his trigger finger, and spun the gun in her grasp. Now, with the barrel eyeing him directly in the forehead, he tried to keep panic from rising.
He hadn't even seen her move!
"Run along," Nemo ordered, gesturing towards the door and taking another bite of pizza. She took great pleasure in the finally-perfected dismissive tone, the haughty air of superiority that said, 'I could take everything from you effortless…do not tempt me.' Watching as the cop scampered out of the pizzeria, Nunnally felt flush with pleasure and a tiny flash of sadistic accomplishment. Still…the cop car didn't pull away from the building and, sooner than she had thought possible, a cacophony of sirens was growing louder and louder.
"I guess the night isn't over yet," Nemo sighed as she walked out of the store. She'd have just summoned the Knightmare in the building, but…
They had really great pizza.
Nemo grinned as something huge emerged from her shadow, the black and yellow Knightmare looming impossibly large against the pizzeria's façade. She was relatively sure that the cop fainted at the sight of the massive thing behind her…and she tried not to smile.
She didn't try very hard.
"An idea," Lelouch sniped (he'd been good at using sarcasm to defend himself even before CC. Now, he'd turned it into an art), "And idea, she calls it. Kallen…what part of crawling around in the ventilation ducts seems like a good idea to you? Please, enlighten me."
Kallen refrained from growling, barely, "I didn't see you coming up with anything oh fearless leader."
"We still have two magazines for the semiautomatic and three for each of our pistols. I'm sure we could have taken those…things," Lelouch pointed out petulantly.
"And then what?" Kallen asked, "Sure, we might have enough ammo for those things, but after that? What, you plan on head-butting one of them if they pounce on you again?"
Lelouch opened his mouth to give a sharp retort. Normally, he wouldn't be so argumentative. He knew Kallen's plan of retreat was the only viable option they had at this point, but given all that had happened, he felt he deserved to be a little foul-tempered at this point. Still, maybe it was for the best that Tamaki interrupted them.
"Hey, guys…maybe we should start naming these things. I mean, we can't keep calling them things and creatures, can we? Wouldn't it be easier to just say that there a-a-a Big-Tongue-Thing-With-It's-Brain-on-the-Outside?" Tamaki asked, growing less enthusiastic as his name ran on far too long to be feasible.
Lelouch sighed and squirmed along behind Kallen, resolutely not looking beyond the red-head's feet. She was already angry enough at him. Dragging his mind out of the gutter and ignoring the rather sticky feeling of drying blood and clinging dust on his clothing, he focused on the conversation at hand. "No, Tamaki, I really don't think we'll call them that, but I do understand what you're saying. Suggestions?"
There was a moment of silence before Kallen spoke up, "How about Lickers?"
"Lickers?" Tamaki reiterated, though it came out as 'rickers' with his accent. "I don't get it."
"The tongue," Lelouch filled in, rolling the name around in his head. "As good as any I suppose. And I guess we'll just call the…people, zombies?"
Another, longer, silence as all three rebels crawled deeper into the ducts.
"Zombies," Tamaki spat angrily, "What the f_ck were those Britannian bastards thinking! Ah-no offense, Zero."
Lelouch snorted mirthlessly. "None taken, I assure you. Truthfully, I don't really consider myself Britannian anymore. I'd renounce my citizenship if it wouldn't draw so much attention and put myself and Nunnally in danger."
"I never thought I'd actually agree with the 'Ice King of Ashford' about anything," Kallen commented. "Hey, Lelouch…why were you in Shinjuku that day?"
The hidden prince hummed lowly in thought. He'd rather be discussing this in a position where he could see Kallen's face rather than her-mind back on the topic! "Do you remember that motorcycle that cut you and…whoever that was, off on the highway, right before you crashed?"
"Oh, yeah, if I ever get my hands on that asshole-" Kallen growled.
"Don't be too hard on Rivalz, if you would? He didn't see you coming up from behind until it was too late," Lelouch said, imagining her gaping face in his mind.
"Rivalz!" Kallen cried, nearly trying spin to confront Lelouch in the confined space but thinking better of that course of action at the last moment. "Oooooh, I'm gonna' deck him one when we get back!"
"I am sorry about that," Lelouch stated honestly. "We were on our way back from a gambling match against a duke and had other things on our minds. Still, it doesn't excuse our inattention."
"Gambling with a duke?" Tamaki crowed. "Man, Zero, you got balls!"
"You know Tamaki…as long as no one's listening, you could call me Lelouch," he said hesitantly; after all, the cat is out of the bag, no use in not taking advantage of it to cultivate a closer relationship with my subordinates. If I can't be the imposing figurehead I can always attempt the approachable, friendly leader. Lelouch frowned, maybe I should work on that a little.
"Ah," Tamaki paused, "Thanks, Zero, but I just…ya'know that stuff you said about being two different people? You'll always be more 'Zero' to me."
Lelouch was silent for a long moment. "Thanks, Tamaki."
"No prob," The Osaka-jin said awkwardly. "But still, you went gambling with a Duke, man…that's one way to stick it to the nobles!"
Lelouch snorted. "How else do you think a school kid got the money to start a rebellion? Where do you think I got our mobile base?"
It took all of his willpower not to start laughing at Kallen and Tamaki's startled gasps. "Holy S_it!" Tamaki breathed. "Kallen, we gotta' keep Zero as our leader now! He's cool!"
"Lelouch…" Kallen started, concentrating on suddenly serious matter, "Do you…know what happened to Nagata? You got into the truck when we were stopped, didn't you…that was how you knew where to find that empty canister of gas…and the communicator you used was mine…wasn't it?"
Tamaki was uncharacteristically silent at the question.
Lelouch chose not to hear the accusation in her voice, instead focusing on the question itself. "Nagata…I suppose it must have been him in the cab. I owe him my life, Kallen. The Britannian military had found the truck and were about to kill me when Nagata set off some explosion…I can only think you had rigged a suicide bomb somewhere on the truck."
"Th-thanks," Kallen whispered. "We never knew what happened…and we didn't have a body to bury. It means a lot…it will mean a lot to Ohgi and the others, too."
Lelouch opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a static his. For a moment, all three froze, adrenaline flooding their system as they looked around in the confined space, trying to find a zombie or a liker or anything else that could possibly be attacking them. Finally, the static dissolved into an understandable voice, "Zero-Zero! Can you hear me? It's Ohgi! We're pinned down!"
Lelouch blinked owlishly, the rummaged through his stained and uncomfortable costume, muttering obscenities about his cape, his shirt, and, strangely enough, the Britannian Emperor. Finally, the device in hand, he depressed the button, "Ohgi, it's Zero! Where are you?"
The relief in his voice, contrary to the panic moments earlier, was palpable. "Oh, thank God! Zero, we're in a tight bind here! Where are you?"
"In the ventilation system," Zero deadpanned.
There was a moment of silence.
"Come again?"
"Kallen, Tamaki, and I are in the ventilation system," Zero repeated clearly. "We are crawling through the duct system currently. My guess is that the only reason we're able to communicate is that our radio signals are bouncing off the metal walls. Do you see a duct grill anywhere around you?"
"Ah…here, yes! You guys are really-?"
"Yes," Lelouch responded curtly, making no move to hide his irritation. Hearing gunshots over the radio, his urgency increased. "Ohgi? What's happening?"
"We're barricaded in what looks like a meeting room and there are a lot of those things out there. We're in a lot of trouble here, Zero. I…I don't know how long we can hold out." Ohgi's voice was shaky and Lelouch could mentally see his second-in-command, pale and worried as he looked around the small room.
"Is everyone okay?" Zero asked, watching as Kallen's body tensed. Undoubtedly, Tamaki was much the same behind him.
"Yeah…we've had a few very close calls, but we've been aiming for the heads like you told us-thanks for that, by the way-so none of ours are dead yet," Ohgi relayed.
Kallen, Tamaki, and, much to his surprise, Lelouch himself, relaxed immensely at the news. After a moment of consideration, Lelouch decided on the next course of action. Really, it was the only thing he could do. "Ohgi, have anyone with a semiautomatic strap it to their back. Gear and Ammo boxes get tied to their feet. Everyone needs to get into the duct system. I have no idea where we are in relation to each other, but this looks to be your only option. Godspeed, Ohgi."
"Yes sir, Zero." Ohgi responded, clearly moved by the personal tone his leader took.
"And Ohgi…we've had some problems," Lelouch stated, readying himself and his lieutenant for what would be the inevitable revelation of his identity.
"Sir?" Ohgi asked, almost fearing the response.
Lelouch took a deep breath. I don't want to do this. It puts me and Nunnally in unimaginable danger if one of them should be caught and interrogated. Ohgi, Tamaki, and Kallen I can trust with my identity…maybe Inoue and Yoshida, but Minami and Sugiyama…I can't predict them. Still, the knowledge that some of the group knows my identity and some don't will create a schism of trust…the core of the Black Knights will crumble around me. Kallen will, at the very least, insist on telling Ohgi, and, as trustworthy and honest as the man is…he's too honest. Everyone would immediately know something's changed in the group dynamic. No…if I want to hold them together, I have to tell them. Geass will be my last-ditch weapon if my own life is in danger. Still, I'd have to get out of the facility myself if that option is used. This situation must be handled delicately.
"I've…my mask has been destroyed, Lieutenant," Lelouch concluded.
The noise over the radio could best be described as the movement of a startled animal when a small twig is broken in their vicinity. It took Lelouch a moment to realize that Ohgi had been so alarmed he'd actually dropped the radio. He smothered and amused smile.
After an eternity of shuffling sounds, Ohgi's voice finally came back over the radio, "I-Zero…wha-what does this mean?"
"I need to you get the others ready for our meet-up. I'd really prefer if Minami or Sugiyama didn't shoot me just because they see some Britannian dressed like Zero." Lelouch snorted mirthlessly.
There was a positively strangled noise on the other side, along with a raised voice and the sound of more gunshots. "Ohgi, get moving. Get out of there now…we'll stay in contact as long as possible."
"Ye-Yes sir."
As the radio clicked off, there was silence in the ventilation ducts. Then, Kallen's voice rang out, echoing slightly. "Lelouch?"
"Yes, Q-1?"
"As much as I hate the fact that you lied to me…you're a good guy." Kallen said, reluctantly. "You didn't have to tell Ohgi or the others."
"I'm a good gambler," Lelouch rebuffed, crawling after Kallen as they began moving again. "I know when to hedge my bets, I know when to push my luck, and I know when to fold."
Kallen snorted, nearly giving away to full laughter as she pulled herself forward. Tamaki, likewise, started snickering uncontrollably. For the first time since his identity was revealed, the mood was jovial, almost happy, as the three rebels laughed helplessly, it was probably for that very reason that Kallen didn't see the point-black drop right in front of her. Kallen's startled cry triggered a chain reaction as Lelouch reflexively grabbed at the redhead's feet, Tamaki doing the same as Lelouch was dragged forward into the deeper darkness, their flashlights tumbling aside into the abyss.
A Britannian B-207 was, technically, a bomber. Seven years ago, though, when knightmare frame technology was in it's infancy, the 'bomber' had become famous as the only plane which could carry more than three of the large mecha at a time. Stripped down to bare essentials and fuel, the plane could hold five fully loaded KMFs. Eventually, with the creation of FLOAT systems and the evolution of the personal knightmare air-ferry, the B-207's role was minimized to long-distance knightmare transportation. Still, it has long remained the work horse of the Britannian Air Force…
That didn't mean it was comfortable.
"Aaaaaaaahhh!" Alice moaned, stretching her arms over her head and restoring circulation to her legs for the first time in hours. "Why were we stuck in that thing again?"
Lucretia frowned. "You know S.O.P, Alice, we're transported with the GX-01's whenever possible."
"I'm with Alice," Dalque chirped, stretching her own muscles. "I say we fly first class next time!"
Sancia snorted, "Sure, sure…keep on dreaming kids. We all know the day Madd pulls for commercial flights is the day we actually start getting paid."
Looking around the runway, Alice sighed as she watched the four prototype GX-01 Knightmare Frames being unloaded. As Lucretia dutifully reminded them, standard operating procedures governed their lives in an extremely invasive and annoying way. Still, it was good to be back in Area 11. Soon she'd be back at Ashford and, for a little while at least, she could pretend that she was someone normal, someone who didn't need to worry about the care and maintenance of a multi-ton war machine.
"Aww…is widdle Alice thinking about her widdle friend?" Sancia asked, sneaking up behind her and pinching each of Alice's cheeks in between her thumbs and forefingers.
"Uh-ah," Alice grunted, tearing free of her overly affectionate teammate. "Sancia! Can't you at least pretend you know what personal space means?"
The pale girl tapped a finger on her chin, as if thinking over a particularly ponderous matter, before giving Alice a wide grin, "Nope!"
Alice groaned tiredly, extremely irritated at the resurgence of an old argument between the two. "Sancia…we just got finished with a sweeper patrol in a barely stable hot-zone, got off a ten-hour military-class flight in the cargo area of a KMF carrier, we still have to supervise our frames being stored, and I have class in the…in less than six hours. All I want to do right now is find whatever cot they've managed to fold out for us and pass out."
Sancia's teasing gaze softened as Alice ranted, finally resulting in the older girl pulling her into a tight hug. "Sorry 'kiddo…as hard as it is, even I get carried away sometimes."
Alice snorted faintly, leaning into the warm embrace.
Lucretia smiled at the scene, a part of her relaxing at the closeness between her squad. Truth be told, they were all the most protective of Alice. Even though she and Dalque were nearly the same age, Alice had a…not quite a 'fragility,' but…maybe overly-sharp. Alice's combat potential was leaps and bounds above the others, herself included, to the point that she was always, always, awarded the scouting position. Between her Geass and the GX-01 Alpha she commanded…there weren't words for what Alice could do in that KMF.
Alice, for all that she had been born as a 'Seven,' in a warzone, and had lost every member of her family…the girl was focused on preserving her status as a Knightmare operator. She was so focused that she almost forgot that she was a human sometime, viewing herself as a weapon to be exploited to it's utmost. Madd, damn him to the deepest pits of Hell, had seen that sharpness, that blade-like quality, and honed her to an unbelievable edge. But…
The sharper the blade, the easier it was it was to fracture.
"Ahh-tention!"
Reflexes kicked in and all four of the girls were snapping to attention before they were physically conscious. The gruesome man in the black lab coat striding onto the tarmac, lenses shining bright against his false-eyes. Veins sprawled bulbously across his bald head, his face twisted into a permanent grimace. The was Dr. Madd, the brilliant scientist, the inhuman monster, the 'Mad Colonel.' "Ready to move out in two," Madd ordered, already moving past them.
"Sir?" Lucretia asked.
Madd spun, "We have reports of a rogue Knightmare, unknown design, over the military airwave channels; it has no landspinners, looks oddly human, and bears remarkable similarities to the GX-01's. You're rolling out, now, Lieutenant."
Lucretia refrained from sighing. There was nothing to be done; if Madd was affectionate to anything, it would be the machines under his command. Besides, the fact that a KMF so resembling their own experimental frames had appeared just as they landed, in the exact place they landed…it was too much to be a coincidence.
Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, watching with barely contained interest as Nemo and her KMF ran amok in downtown Tokyo. Soon, the Irregulars would arrive and then the fireworks would really begin! The divining pool flickered, showing the Britannian Elites suiting up, the Messenger of the Outer Ones grinning full force at this development.
"Ah…humans…so interesting! Just a little push in the right direction and things become so…chaotic! Hmm…maybe I should record this? Tzeentch would love Nunnally's brother…hmm, now there's an idea."
Nyarlathotep stopped, his form shifting as he contemplated the errant thought that had entered his mind. Finally, the Messenger of the Outer Ones shook his head definitively. "Nah…Tzeentch is a dick anyway."
Whew, another chapter down and even more characters introduced. As you might be able to tell, I'm kind of winging it on the Irregulars and Nemo. Their characters aren't fleshed out much in the Manga, so I have to fill in a bunch of gaps. For Nemo, I'm channeling Carine...I can see the two acting similar. Nemo, to me, really likes to start fights. She's always in the mood for a throw-down and doesn't really mind excessive bloodshed according to her principles. She won't kill innocents or women/children, but she will F_ck YOU UP if she thinks you're not cruel or unjust. I was also channeling Lelouch, to a degree. Nunnally and her brother both have extremely strong moral codes, but the way she refrains from violence inhibits her character through a large part of the series. Now, she gets to kick ass and take names. If any behavior is different than the original material, I'll go with the fall-back excuse of 'this is an AU.'
Oh, and before I forget...am I the only one who noticed that the the family who created the T-Virus in the Res. Evil universe is named Ashford? They're also former British (Britannian) nobility. They also had a recent fall from grace in proper society. So...yeah, that's how this story got started. I freaked a little when I noticed it...it's just...just...wierd, ya' know?
Next chapter...fun things. Fun things.
As always, Read and Review, if you please.
-Slayer Out.