Code Geass - Lelouch of the Rebellion/Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch: Lost Soldiers
by: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All character of Code Geass are under the copyright of Goro Taniguchi, Sunrise, CLAMP and Bandai Entertainment. All other characters are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
Lelouch and the Black Knights have teamed up with the Lost Soldiers to enact a major anti-Refrain operation in the Tokyo Settlement. But will they be able to pull it off in time with the sudden and surprising intervention of the Britannian Police Force's Knightpolice squad? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 7: Escapades
Storage Room, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"What the heck are you?" One of the Knightpolices had confronted Zero, only for him to see the masked man stretch out his right hand with the words "DOM HOSTIA" seen in front of it.
"Errgghhh!!" The Knightpolice pilot found that his console began to break down when he was about to fire his machine pistol. Within seconds, it exploded and forced the pilot to eject from his knightmare. The seat was thrown to a stack of crates nearby, though the cockpit seat was able to cushion the impact. However, the impact rendered him unconscious.
"Take this!"
Marc's Knightpolice engaged a Knightpolice in front of him, targeting his landspinners with his own machine pistol. After they were taken out, Marc took aim for the downed knightmare's Factsphere/head unit before he brandished his anti-Knightmare combat knife once more and stabbed at the disabled Knightpolice's cockpit.
"AAAAGGGGHHHH!!" Kallen swore that she heard the Knightpolice pilot scream from his downed cockpit moments after Tamaki and Inoue assisted her in stepping out of her disabled Burai. Meanwhile, Ougi and the other Black Knight recruits began to sedate some of the Japanese that had used Refrain prior to their raid in order to render them unconscious.
"You guys alright?" Ken asked Ougi, seeing him sedate a Japanese nearby. Kallen recognized the man Ougi sedated as the hotdog seller who was beaten up by Britannian teenagers back in the Tokyo Settlement in the afternoon.
"Zero said we need to sedate these guys." Ougi said, placing the sedated man down near a metal shelf. "There's no thing how much Refrain this guy ingested for instance."
"Me and some of the others are going to check on the garage." Rai told Ougi, signaling to his comrades to head to the direction of the garage. "Cover our back, will ya Ougi?"
"All right." Ougi nodded. "The rest of us can stay here and hold the ground." He then stared at Zero, who was about to engage his second Knightpolice. "Zero can hold his own ground. And maybe your boss too."
Garage, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Come on, hurry up!"
Four of the Refrain smugglers were inside a M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck, trying to start the truck's engine the moment they heard gunfire from inside the warehouse after they were able to unload empty crates to load Refrain in them.
"I can't man!" One of the smugglers yelled to his colleague, who happened to be African-Britannian while the rest were Caucasians. "I don't know why, but the engine's failed on me twice. I just had this thing fixed in the morning."
"Then it's a good thing that we made it time!"
The four men were shocked to see Rai and the others standing outside their truck, blocking their way.
"'Cause you see here," Rai was the first to raise the barrel of his Colt M-13 assault rifle. "we can't just let you all walk away from this little thing you call a drug smuggling operation." The other Lost Soldiers with Rai also raised their M-13s at the M35's cab. "For that, do us a favor and die."
"Why you!" One of the smugglers grabbed a S&W M-50 pistol on the driver's seat when the four-man Lost Soldiers fireteam fired their M-13s and began to gun down the smugglers in the cab before they began to shoot the truck's tires so as to prevent it from being made operational.
"Hey Lead!" Henri went to communicate with Marc while Rai and the others began to check the truck to ensure that the Refrain smugglers were dead for good. "We've managed to catch us some Refrain smugglers before they were able to escape, over."
"What's your status?" Marc's voice came on Henri's radio. "Over?"
"They're all dead. So what's next boss man? Do we head out back in the warehouse or do we stay back here? Over."
Storage Room, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Give up, punk!"
One of the two working Knightpolices rushed towards Zero, having his combat knife ready.
"Hmph!" Zero jumped at a high distance towards the rushing Knightpolice. "Quite the persistent one are you? The Britannian Police Force must be paying you a lot of money!"
From Zero's armor and cape, several black whip-like appendages emerged from him. Around six to seven of the appendages went for the Knightpolice, striking it hard and fast at the landspinners, Factsphere/head and arms.
"He's fast!" The Knightpolice pilot was surprised to see his unit disabled so fast. "But I gotta..."
Two of the appendages went directly for the disabled knightmare's cockpit.
"AARRRRRGGGHHHHH!" Loud screams came from the pilot moments before his knightmare exploded.
"Two can play that game!" Marc felt his adrenaline go up when he began to engage the last Knightpolice in combat, the two police frames fired at each other with their machine pistols. Their shots missed one another, adding to the Lost Soldier's frustration.
Dojo, Unknown Hideout, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Todo-chusa."
Todo had a meeting with Nagisa, Shogo, Ryoga and Kotetsu in the dojo after hearing the BRBC breaking news from JLF intelligence. All of them were seated in seiza positions, with Todo's katana by his side as always.
"What is it, Shogo?" Todo asked his subordinates, moments after he announced a meeting only with his disciples aka the Four Holy Swords.
"What do you make of the BRBC broadcast just now?" Shogo asked Todo, fixing his glasses. "Especially regarding the talk of the Lost Soldiers being involved in the anti-Refrain operation in the Yokohama Harbor."
"That does interest me." Todo sighed. "Although I'm not surprised that they've done this before."
"You think this may be an attempt of Zero to unite all Japanese anti-occupation forces into his group?" Nagisa suggested. "So far, the RVA didn't make any comments about the move."
"Probably trying to stay out of it first since it caught them by surprise." Ryoga told the group. "The Black Knights did make some anti-criminal activities aimed at stemming pro-independence sentiment among our fellow countrymen living in the ghettos and in the Settlement."
"Even for an anti-occupation guerrilla force, this isn't usually a good idea for them to start their debut," Nagisa added her opinion also aside from the old soldier. "unless the drug smugglers are connected with the Britannian army or something."
"After hearing your opinions, I made the decision that we're staying out of this." Todo told the Four Holy Swords. "Even the General wouldn't consider us joining them at this time. They're nothing that we know of Zero yet."
The Four Holy Swords shared their leader's opinion and agreed with it.
"Let's wait until we can find out all that we can on the Black Knights."
Storage Room, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Zero rushed to the last Knightpolice Marc engaged with and leaped towards the one being used by the last standing Knightpolice pilot.
"Got you." The pilot aimed the machine pistol at Zero and fired it.
"ERGHH!" Zero took a few bullets at his facemask, even though his armored body and head are able to withstand conventional bullets.
"Zero!" Marc yelled, tossing away his machine pistol after his ammunition was exhausted. The other Knightpolice sensed Marc's approach and threw his machine pistol, the ammunition already used up.
Kallen saw Zero land on the ground with his feet, despite being shot in the face. "Zero! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Kallen was a bit shocked to see someone familiar behind some of the cracks in the mask.
Is that...Lelouch? I swore I was able to see some parts of his face... Either I'm quite tired in the operation or I'm actually seeing Lelouch right in front of me.
The facemask began to regenerate, repairing the damage while the two Knightpolices began to clash with their combat knives.
"Is something wrong?" Zero's voice boomed again to Kallen, who snapped out of staring at the two Knightpolices.
"No." Kallen shook her head.
I should approach back in Ashford tomorrow and find out for myself. Yeah, that's what I should do if I need to have it resolved.
Cécile Croomy's Apartment, somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
I better call her up and let her know about this.
Cécile went for her phone placed at the night table next to her bed, deciding to call someone about the breaking news on the BRBC.
"Hello, Lubie residence." Cécile was delighted to hear the voice once the woman picked up the other line.
"Mariel? It's me, Cécile." The purple-haired woman replied, still watching the BRBC broadcast.
"Ms. Cécile? Is there something wrong?" Mariel asked Cécile, curious as to why she would call her so early at 2 in the morning.
"Are you watching the BRBC broadcast about the Black Knights right now?"
"Yes, I did. Is it about the Lost Soldiers?"
Cécile was surprised to hear Mariel's reply.
"I'm not surprised. But why do you ask?"
"I need to look into some information about them, especially about what happened to them after the Second Pacific War."
"But why me?" Mariel was taken aback by Cécile's request. "If I know right, they're from some secret elite unit that's considered classified. From what the military and the government released to the public, they were killed in the aftermath after the invasion of Japan 7 years ago."
"I remember you telling me that you use to be an expert in gathering information back when we first met." Cécile reminded Mariel.
"I'm not sure on this, Ms. Cécile." Mariel was a bit hesitant. "We could be tried and executed for treason or for mishandling military secrets if the military finds out I'm doing this."
Cécile was silent after hearing Mariel's story. She's right. I need to find out if Marc's all right, not to mention try and figure out what happened to him after the Second Pacific War. On the other hand, I could be arrested by MI5 alongside Mariel for the reasons she just mentioned to me right now.
"I made my decision, Mariel."
"I just hope you won't regret the possible outcome, Ms. Cécile."
Cécile smiled. "No I won't. I'll see you tomorrow, Mariel."
"Same to you as well."
"One more thing."
"What's that?"
"Just call me Cécile."
Storage Room, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"EIYAH!"
Marc had clashed with the other Knightpolice, trying to strike it with his combat knife when his opponent used his to block the attack.
He's tough. Marc retreated from the Knightpolice and held the weapon in a reverse grip. Must be ex-Britannian special forces to be this good or something.
What startled the ex-COSMOS soldier came fast and sudden. The Knightpolice threw his combat knife, aimed at Marc's cockpit, while he drew out his secondary machine pistol.
"How smart of you!" Thanks to his reflexes, Marc was able to grab the hurled projectile by its handle. He then rushed at the machine pistol-armed Knightpolice. "But you ain't smart enough to withstand this! HAH!"
Moving in for the kill, Marc manipulated his Knightpolice to dash forward before he moved to his right. The first knife was driven to the second Knightpolice's cockpit; the second one later stabbed the frame's Factsphere.
"NOOOOOO!!!" Seeing that he was able to kill his opponent, Marc retreated back to the Black Knights and his fellow Lost Soldiers, their mission finally complete.
Outskirts of Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"All squads! Prepare to move in!"
After hearing the explosions in the harbor, a CO19 officer hastily ordered the assembled CO19 teams to move in to the warehouse area. Reporters and bystanders tried to move in and get a closer look of the harbor, only for them to be pushed off backwards by armed Britannian Metropolitan police officers, wearing their standard light yellow Goretex bomber jackets.
"Hey!" A reporter from the Britannia Times asked, with his camera ready. "What's going on there?"
"Are the Black Knights under attack or something?" Another reporter from the Britannia Standard tried to shout to the police officers. "Tell us something!"
"Back off!" A Met police officer warned the reporter. "Didn't you just hear the explosions back from the harbor?"
"We're trying to get a story here!" Some of the bystanders behind the cordon were trying to get a closer look at the scene, despite being warned not to do so.
"What are you trying to do?" Another officer warned the civilians. "The area's too dangerous! Don't try to get any closer!"
Storage Room, Warehouse 12, Yokohama Harbor, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"You alright?"
Kallen asked Marc, who descended from the zip line of his Knightpolice. He was donning the uniform of a Knightpolice pilot for the sake of hiding his identity in case the operation would have been compromised, one way or another.
"Yeah." The Lost Soldiers team led by Rai went to see Marc, after assisting Ougi and the others in sedating the Japanese that had previously ingested Refrain. "Don't worry about me, Kallen."
"We need to retreat." Marc advised to his team. "Sooner or later, CO19 will raid the place. I've managed to get into the police frequencies. A CO19 squad was able to open the locked gates of the harbor to get inside."
"I agree." Zero said, sharing his opinion. "All Knights! Withdraw at once! Retreat!
"Alright." Ougi replied, instructing Tamaki and Inoue to lead the recruits to exit the building and head back to their mobile trailer truck hideout. "Everyone get out of here!"
"We'll exfiltrate a way out ourselves." Marc told Zero. "So don't worry about us."
"Understood." Zero nodded. "I look forward to your proposal regarding your operation."
"Got it." Marc gestured to his subordinates to quickly exit the warehouse and leave the unconscious Japanese behind, using the Move Out hand signal to let the Lost Soldiers know they should leave.
"Is something wrong, Kallen?" Zero saw that Kallen was staring at him while they exited the warehouse towards the truck Zero was able to acquire from a nobleman.
"N-no." Kallen shook her head.
It's still bothering me that Lelouch's face was hidden under the tulip mask. I should confront him with that tomorrow.
"Ougi!" Zero called on Ougi before he entered the truck. "Get our people at the Western exit to sabotage the gate once we leave the harbor, understood?"
"Got it, Zero." Ougi replied, telling Tamaki to get the truck moving away from the warehouse.
A few minutes after the truck and the Lost Soldiers had retreated, the CO19 squads had found the dead bodies of the smugglers, including the incapacitated Japanese inside.
"Sir!" One of the CO19 operators reported to his superior. "The Elevens are unconscious, most likely from excess Refrain ingestion."
"I'll call for an ambulance." The CO19 officer patched to his radio, requesting dispatch to get an ambulance to the harbor. "Secure the warehouse!"
CO19 operators began to search the warehouse, taking crates full of Refrain and automatic weapons into custody while a select few began to check on the Elevens and see if they're still alive and breathing.
Corridor, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Lelouch, as usual, was walking alone on one of the many empty corridors of Ashford Academy after school was dismissed for the day.
Ougi mentioned that we'll be able to contact the Lost Soldiers later on. I wonder if they have a proposal or something for me and the rest of the Knights?
The ex-Britannian Prince was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice Kallen was following him very closely.
Or that she had the Vektor CP1 pistol's barrel pressed very carefully on his back without him being alerted.
"W-what is this?" Lelouch tried to be surprised. W-who is this?
"Don't try to play games with me, Lelouch." Kallen hissed softly, deactivating the pistol's safety. "I saw you yesterday in that Zero disguise."
"I don't know what you're talking about, my dear Kallen." Lelouch insisted. "And put that toy away, you'll attract the attention of the campus police."
"I know what I'm doing." Kallen had her right index finger over her pistol's trigger guard. "And you better give an explanation as to why you with in the anti-Refrain..."
"Lelouch!"
The two Ashford Academy students saw Cornelia waving to them.
"It looks like I won't be able to ask your questions, my dear." Lelouch grinned, running off to his half-sister. "I'll see you later."
Kallen gritted, hiding her pistol in her bag.
Dammit! At least it was close. If the guards find out about this, I'll be detained by the police for illegal possession of a handgun. And I don't think that man will be able to save me this time...
Courtyard, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"What is it?" Lelouch spoke to Cornelia, the two of them seated in a wooden bench underneath a sakura tree. "Is there something wrong?"
"I just wish to confirm something." The History teacher was a bit nervous, despite being older than Lelouch. He noticed that she was playing with her fingers.
"Hmm?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the purple-haired woman. This should be really interesting.
"Is it really true what that girl C.C. had said?" Cornelia grilled Lelouch, staring at him intently. "And you better answer me truthfully this time."
"Um..." Lelouch was taken aback by Cornelia. "Wait here, I..."
"And don't try to sneak your way out of this one." Cornelia glared at him.
Is she jealous? Lelouch chuckled.
"Are you making fun of me?"
"N-no." Lelouch shook her head. "It's the truth. That girl, C.C., isn't my girlfriend at all. It's like I told you a few weeks ago after the hoteljacking incident."
Cornelia's cheeks were red after hearing Lelouch's answer. "T-that's good."
It looks like she bought it for now. Now that clears the problem. Otherwise, I'd have to resort to at least 20 more alternative explanations as to C.C.'s presence in the Clubhouse with Nunnally.
"Well, that's all I have for now." Cornelia stood up before she eyed Lelouch. "But if you try anything funny..."
"Now don't worry about a thing." Lelouch assured Cornelia. "I won't do anything to hurt your feelings." He bowed, acting like a nobleman of his former days at a prince of the Britannian throne.
"You should." Cornelia raised her left index finger. "You promised me, remember?" She gently traced it on Lelouch's right temple, smiling at him.
Lelouch sighed. "Oh that."
"Hey!" One of the male teachers from Ashford Academy. "I was looking for you." He was in his early 30s, wearing a brown suit and pants with a red necktie. He had short hair, thanks to having a recent crewcut.
"What's wrong, Michael?"
"There's another staff meeting going on." The black-haired History teacher told Cornelia. "Something about the curriculum revision for the next semester. The history department chairperson requested for the urgent meeting."
"All right." Cornelia stood up from the bench. "I'll see you later for dinner, Lelouch."
"Don't you worry about her, Mr. Lamperouge." The man assured Lelouch. "She'll be fine."
"I know that, Mr. Taylor." Lelouch replied.
"Well, I better go." Cornelia and Michael went back inside the building, leaving Lelouch among some of the students who are either hanging out around the school with others leaving to be either picked up by their relatives or simply hang out in the Settlement's shopping district.
Lelouch went to relax at the bench, forgetting the encounter with Kallen back inside the school.
"Hi, Lelouch."
Until a familiar sing-song voice made Lelouch frightened. Complete with the feeling of a pistol's barrel pressed against his lower back.
Starbucks Café, Omotesandō Mall, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Marc was alone in the mall's Starbucks coffee shop; he had given the people in the Lost Soldiers some time off. The only ones he found to have a hard time accepting the order to get R&R were Jean and Ken; they had relatives living in Area 11 and they had advised their leader that they had to be careful when walking around the Tokyo Settlement as they don't want their presence to be known yet. The Eurasian of Filipino-Britannian descent wore a black bomber jacket that had the emblem of SHOCKER at its back, a clothing merchandise of the Kamen Rider franchise known back in the days of Japan before its Britannian occupation.
Looks like they didn't credit the Knights or us. Instead, they praise CO19 for doing all the dirty work.
He frowned his eyebrows, reading a copy of the Britannia Times after scratching his jeans. Marc was not surprised; most of the recruits for the COSMOS battalion had been kidnapped by MI6 worldwide. Even young children, whether orphans or those with living relatives, were not spared from the eyes and hands of MI6 agents to create the ultimate fighting machine. The memories of being kidnapped went on and on through his mind...
The black-haired teenager decided not to think of some unpleasant things. Here he was, taking some time off from fighting and locating the Geass Cult's main headquarters.
"Better drink up." It was quite perfect for him; no one who knew of his face in reality was able to bug him. Well... except for his comrades in the Lost Soldiers. Then again, they were all busy enjoying the time off given by Marc that they didn't bother with him for the meantime.
He took a slow sip of his Hot Chocolate. It felt good, especially when Marc can enjoy it without fighting in the frontlines.
Until he caught a glimpse of Cécile speaking with Mariel nearby, nearly making Marc choke on his Hot Chocolate.
Courtyard, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Kallen was now seated next to Lelouch on the bench, the same place where Cornelia took her seat.
However, her pistol was hidden under the bag placed on her lap as a means of insuring Lelouch that she was serious in using the said firearm.
"Now Lelouch." Kallen told Lelouch, having a serious tone. "You'll tell me why you were there back in the warehouse in the Black Knight's anti-Refrain operation."
Lelouch sighed. Either the girl's quite smart that I can't deceive anymore soon or something went wrong.
He began to think slowly on how it happened, until it hit him.
I remember being attacked by a Knightpolice before I subdued it. I also remembered being hit in the face, although it was minor.
"You really want to know why, Kallen?" Lelouch placed a grin on his face, despite knowing that Kallen could shoot him in the chest. The ex-prince decided that telling the truth would make things less hostile between the two students.
"Of course I do." Kallen glared at him. "That why, I'll be able to know if you're working with Britannian security forces or with some of the more purist Britannian terrorist groups out there like the BDL."
Lelouch thought of Kallen's demands for a minute. Kallen really is persistent. I wonder where she got it from?
"All right, I've decided. I'll tell you why I was there."
I won't tell everything. It's not safe yet.
Starbucks Café, Omotesandō Mall, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Dammit! What's she doing here?
Marc was alarmed to see the Special Dispatch Guidance System technician in the mall of all places. He was worried that she could see him.
Among the many people who could see me, why her? Marc hid his face by bringing the Britannia Times newspaper up to his face, pretending to look busy.
"At least this'll hide my face and all." murmured the ex-child soldier. It's not like she can recognize me right away, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
He wondered if the woman would actually be able to see him. Not that he considered her to be an enemy, but Marc felt that it was not the right time to reveal himself.
He waited and waited for a few minutes before he peeked out, using the Britannia Times as cover. He saw Cécile and Mariel walk towards another part of the mall.
"That was close." Marc sighed, folding and putting the newspaper away. "If she went here, I'd be doomed."
For the rest of the day, Marc went to finish the rest of his Hot Chocolate while watching the people go by their business in the area.
Courtyard, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Please tell me that you're joking and I'm in some kind of candid show."
Kallen asked Lelouch again, this time more seriously. "Because if I find out that you're screwing with me..."
"What?" Lelouch was calm, despite being under the threat of a weapon aimed at him. "That I was with an influential family in Britannia, tossed away like yesterday's garbage and abandoned during the Second Pacific War?" He sighed when repeated his question to Kallen. "You're hearing it correctly Kallen, I'm not kidding around."
"But why are you fighting with the guerrillas?" Kallen asked, frowning her eyebrows. "Is it because of Nunnally?"
"Not exactly." Lelouch chuckled. "But that's one of them."
"Then..."
"The reason why I was there my dear," He moved closer to Kallen, ignoring the fact that Kallen has a pistol with her. "is a way for me to thank the Japanese for the refuge that she and I had. A family friend was with us too on our journey."
To thank Japan? Instead of getting answers, Kallen felt a bit confused. Nevertheless, her left index finger was still on the trigger guard just in case.
"The Japanese had been so kind to me." Lelouch sighed, thinking of the good days that Japan existed. "Especially to Nunnally and my friend, despite of our social status back in Britannia. That was the only time I thought about many things."
"Like what?" Kallen raised an eyebrow, feeling curious about Lelouch's explanation.
"There was a woman who treated us very well," Lelouch smiled a bit. "despite some of the kids back then who mocked me for the change in my status. Well at that point, I didn't care about it anymore. All that mattered to me was to make sure they're okay."
Lelouch stood up from the bench.
"Besides, I did enjoy not being of nobility after being exiled. It was too much of a hassle in my opinion."
The two saw Nunnally and Sayoko approaching them, the former already done with her classes.
"If you would excuse me." Lelouch waved goodbye to Kallen. "I need to be going now."
Ward, somewhere in RBA Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Jeremiah was in a bed in one of many wards of RBA Tokyo's lone hospital, recovering from wounds sustained during the attempted infiltration underneath the Westin Lake Kawaguchi Hotel. So far, he was recovering well. But his doctors wanted him to stay for a few more days for observation from his injuries sustained in the attack.
So the Lost Soldiers have finally appeared huh?
The Purist commander clenched his fists on his sides. I never thought that I'd see them again. Not after that time.
Jeremiah sighed, deciding to recline back on his bed for the meantime.
"Why did they reappear again in Area 11, of all this time?"
He felt lucky to get an empty ward for himself, despite having numerous empty beds in the room. At least there won't be anybody out to disturb his much needed rest.
2009 ATB
Cafeteria, RBA Camp Red Cloud, somewhere in California, United States, Britannian Empire
So you're the new soldiers that I've been hearing about eh?
Jeremiah was in the cafeteria, confronting the child soldiers of COSMOs, which had already seen action in various parts of the world including the Philippines, Cambodia, parts of Europe and the Middle East. He was accompanied by four male Purists men, all of them Caucasians.
"I can't believe that the top brass would tolerate non-Britannians in our army these days." One of the Purists remarked, earning them the attention of the other patrons. The COSMOS troopers, for their part, did not mind them as they ate their lunch in silence together.
"Hey you people! Say something, will ya?"
Still minding their own business, the COSMOS troopers ignored the Purist's ranting directed at them.
"You probably had some dang problems listening to us or somethin' here." The blonde man, in his 20s walked up to one of the child soldiers, grabbing him by his uniform collar. "Come on, say something. Damn retards!"
One of the COSMOS soldiers, a Caucasian, had grabbed the Purist's right arm and stabbed him hard with a plastic knife in the chest.
"Holy..." His actions greatly shocked the patrons, including Jeremiah himself. The stabbed Purist collapsed on his knees before he went down on the floor.
"Stabbed with a plastic knife?" Jeremiah was trying to comprehend the situation; the COSMOS soldiers immediately stood up from their seats and went on the offensive.
"What the fuck?" Another Purist tried to attack the COSMOS soldier. Another child soldier, having familiar Eurasian features with black hair, intercepted him by dashing behind the Purist. He then kicked his right shin, making him kneel on the floor.
"Agh!" The second Purist, a Caucasian with auburn hair, was killed when the Eurasian soldier got a plastic knife from the table nearby and began to slit his throat.
"Hold it!" Jeremiah himself charged in to save his comrade, but was greeted with a swift uppercut followed by a sharp roundhouse kick to his face.
"Ungh!" The ex-Aries guard was sent to the ground after being beaten back. "Why you little..."
"Cease and desist!"
The booming voice of Madd was heard on the cafeteria. At his words, the Eurasian dropped the auburn-haired man's corpse, already been killed after his throat has been slit.
"Number 33!" Madd eyed the young Eurasian soldier, his cybernetic eyes checking out the corpses of the dead Purists.
"Sir!" The soldier known by the codename number 33 saluted. The other three COSMOS soldiers saluted Madd as well.
"At ease." Madd told the COSMOS soldiers, following his instructions.
"I don't know what to expect of this situation." Madd observed Marc, who was standing next to Rai. "Starting with you two, Numbers 33 and 34." Michael, on the other hand, was standing near the corpse of the blonde Purist.
"So Number 37." Madd spoke to Michael. "I expect that man to be your kill, am I wrong?"
"Yes, sir." Michael replied, standing at full attention. "He's my kill, sir."
The auburn-haired child soldier's comments brought a frightening chill to the soldiers in the cafeteria.
Madd grinned at the blonde Britannian COSMOS soldier.
"Major!" Jeremiah yelled at Madd. "Don't you realize what these brats have done to them?" He then pointed to Marc and Rai. "Two of my best men were killed. And they're irreplaceable..."
"The only thing that I realize, Margrave Jeremiah," Madd glared at the Purist commander, making him frightened due to the Britannian officer's lack of natural eyes. "is that your boastful purist ways that could somehow be at par with the KKK got you and your men in trouble."
The bald man's comments infuriated the Margrave.
"I hope that this incident teaches you a lesson in life."
Madd then addressed the COSMOS soldiers. "You're all dismissed."
"Are we going to be punished, commander?" Rai asked, seeing MPs enter the cafeteria after leading the soldiers out of the premises.
Madd shook his head. "No, you won't be punished for what happened."
"Understood, sir."
The bald officer grinned at the young soldiers. "However, I'll allow this to slide. After all, you do need to practice the skills you learned from the SAS."
"Yes, sir!"
Madd sighed. "All right, dismissed."
Marc and the other COSMOS soldiers saluted Madd; they filed out of the cafeteria and donned their Britannian SAS berets while the Purists didn't do anything even though they wanted to avenge the deaths of their fellow Purists.
"Come back here..." Jeremiah shouted, going by himself to charge at Marc when he flinged the plastic knife he used to kill the auburn-haired Purist.
The utensil whizzed past Jeremiah's right temple at fast speed, somehow cutting some locks from his hair.
"Whoa..." A regular Britannian soldier saw the plastic knife had lodged itself on the wall, despite the fact that it was made of plastic.
"What is that guy made of?" Jeremiah murmured, helpless to do anything as he watched Marc leave the cafeteria before he stared at the corpses of the dead Purists in their own pools of blood.
Ward, somewhere in RBA Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Lord Jeremiah, are you all right?"
Jeremiah had been roused from his sleep, sweat coming down from his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking them in order to focus his eyesight better.
"V-villetta?" Jeremiah noticed the brown-skinned Purist soldier seated in a chair next to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I recovered much earlier than you, Lord Jeremiah." explained Villetta. "However, the highers up have sent me back here to see you."
Jeremiah was confused. "For what exactly do they want?"
"They said that the Governor-General is making preparations for an upcoming COIN operation in a week or so."
"COIN?" COIN. Counter-insurgency. All soldiers and officers have heard of this abbreviation in every point of their career. This was no exception to either Viletta or Jeremiah.
Villetta nodded. "Yes. I haven't been told of the details yet, but the Viceroy unofficially announced to the military that the Britannian Army Special Operations Command and the Britannian Marine Corps Special Operations Command will be one of the forces to spearhead the upcoming COIN operation."
"And what is the Purist's role in all of this?"
"Viceroy Clovis wants you to lead the unit, despite our failure back at the Westin Lake Kawaguchi Hotel operation a few weeks ago before the debut of the Black Knights and the Lost Soldiers."
The recuperating Margrave cringed upon heard the name "Lost Soldiers".
Villetta looked at Jeremiah with great concern. "Are you worried?" The white-haired woman noticed that he was shaken the name of the ex-COSMOS soldiers, his fists clenched again on his sides.
"Those brats." Jeremiah whispered.
"Who again?" Villetta thought she had heard something from Jeremiah's whispering.
"Nothing." Jeremiah sighed and shook his head. "The doctors have told me that I need a few more days to make sure my wounds are fully healed from shrapnel injuries back at the hotel takeover."
"I see." Viletta nodded. She stood up from her chair. "Take care of yourself, Lord Jeremiah."
"Thank you." Jeremiah thanked the woman. "Please tell the others to make sure that they're on operational standby."
"I will." Villetta was about to leave the ward when Jeremiah had forgotten to tell her something.
"Wait, Villetta!"
"Yes?"
"At least until I return from the hospital."
Viletta blinked her eyes, hearing what the Margrave had told her. She gave a genuine smile to Jeremiah.
"Understood."
Saluting her superior, the Britannian woman left the ward to give Jeremiah some time to recover a bit more.
"Finally." Jeremiah murmured, closing his eyes and reclining back on his bed. "I'll be able to get back in action. Just you wait."
Dining Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Just what did you and Kallen talk about back out there in the afternoon?"
Lelouch, Nunnally and Cornelia were at the table in the clubhouse's dining room upstairs. It was the first question that the teacher had asked to her half-brother after dinner started. Their food for tonight was steak and mashed potatoes, which the three ex-royal children had enjoyed as one of their favorite foods courtesy of Sayoko's cooking.
"W-why?" Lelouch asked, placing up a face that he felt offended by Cornelia asking around. I better make sure she doesn't know of my conversation was Kallen.
"Nothing really." Cornelia shrugged her shoulders after she drank her glass of water. "Except for the fact that it seemed Kallen was asking the questions more than you. That was kind of... interesting." She knew that when Lelouch was with a girl, he was the one asking the questions and not the other way around.
"Oh that?"
"Yes." Cornelia raised an eyebrow. "That."
"Big brother." Nunnally interrupted their conversation. "Are you fighting with Cornelia again?"
What the? Lelouch was a bit shocked by his sister's question. Better do something.
"No, of course not." The black-haired teenager chuckled. "Cornelia was asking something. That's all."
"I see." Nunnally seemed a bit down.
"Nunnally." Cornelia asked the girl. "Did something happen back in school?"
"Just the usual stuff. Some of the other girls were bullying me again."
"Who is it this time? The Sforzas again?"
Nunnally slowly nodded.
"I better do something about this." Cornelia sighed. She began to scoop down a spoonful of mashed potatoes when she eyed Lelouch standing up from his chair.
"Where are you going?" Cornelia took her eyes off from Nunnally to Lelouch.
"I'm going to the toilet." Lelouch was quick to answer. "I think I drank too much water and I need to relieve myself."
"Really?" Cornelia was unaware that her cheeks have gone red. "Or is it because of that C.C. girl?"
"Come on, now." Lelouch chuckled at her. "I'm going to the toilet. It won't take a few minutes."
"Umm..." Nunnally asked Cornelia after Lelouch had left.
"It's nothing!" Cornelia was quick to answer Nunnally. "I'm not jealous or anything, Nunnally! I assure you!"
Um... Nunnally sighed, deciding not to point out something to her. I just wanted to tell her that some of the mashed potatoes are on her chin.
Lelouch's Bedroom, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"It seems you're here."
C.C. was on Lelouch's bed, snaking on an entire box of Super Supreme pizza from Pizza Hut when Lelouch had entered. While Lelouch didn't mind it, what irritated him was the green-haired girl's liberal use of his Citibank VISA credit card without his permission.
"I don't need to remind you that you're using my credit card again without my permission."
"Come now, my dear Lelouch." C.C. grinned. "You do know that I have no other place to go, other than be recaptured by some covert black ops Britannian special forces unit."
He had to admit; C.C. had a point. If she were recaptured by her unknown captors, they could torture her to reveal what she had been doing out of captivity for the past few weeks.
Worse case scenario. Lelouch had though of her current condition. C.C. may be forced to tell them that she had sought sanctuary here in Ashford Academy, making the Ashford family and the board of directors as criminal in the eyes of the public. Even worse, someone may come here and finish us off.
"Still," Lelouch tried to exert his authority on C.C. "that doesn't give you the right to use my things for your own pleasure. I already told you about this, C.C."
"This is my way of thanking you, Lelouch." C.C. took another slice of Super Supreme from the box and ate it after moving the Cheese-kun doll next to her. It only made Lelouch infuriated at her.
Lelouch felt the urge to walk up to C.C., grab her and toss her out of the school's premises and back to the streets. However, he felt the need to use her further for his ambitions against Britannia. I just wonder if C.C. had been a pizza eating freak in her past life, in one way or another.
"Next time you want to eat that." Lelouch spat out the sentence as he approached the door to leave the room. "At least tell me that you want to use my credit card."
C.C. grinned at Lelouch again. Gotcha.
"Otherwise, I'll contact Pizza Hut's main office and tell them to be extra careful about you."
C.C. dropped the pizza slice from her hands back on the box, surprised as Lelouch left his room.
Dining Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"What's with that grin of yours, Lelouch Lamperouge?"
Cornelia asked Lelouch the moment he entered back in the dining room.
"Nothing." Lelouch whistled as he sat back down on his chair.
"Does it have something to do with that C.C. girl?"
"And what if it is?" Lelouch shot another question back at his older half-sister.
His comments made Cornelia mad, glaring at Lelouch as he ate his steak in peace.
"Is something wrong again?" Nunnally asked her half-sister one more time.
Cornelia was busy glaring at Lelouch that she didn't immediately reply to Nunnally's query.
Briefing Room, Unknown Base, somewhere near Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Had a good day?"
Yi had asked Marc, who entered their base's briefing room after changing back to his Britannian soldier uniform and Britannian SAS beret. As usuals, their faces are covered with balaclavas as part of their precaution.
"I guess." He sighed, sitting down in one of the briefing room's many chairs available. Aside from running into her, I guess everything else was fine.
"And just in time too." Ken grinned at her.
"You seemed to have a good time back out there in the settlement." Michael eyed his Lost Soldiers comrade with a curious eye. "Did some girl hit on you or something?"
Ken continued to grin, which annoyed Michael.
"Aw, man." The auburn-haired teen sighed with defeat. "I tried my luck, but no one was interested in me."
"Maybe if you tried being a bit more nicer instead of acting like some Elvis impersonator or something. " Michelle laughed at Michael.
"Ah, whatever." Michael ignored the Irish girl's comments.
"Keep the chatter down, guys." Rai entered the room and handed Marc a manila envelope.
"So um..." Domingo asked Marc a question. "why are we exactly called up here? No offense, but I mean we were still on our day off from fighting and all..."
"I'm glad you asked." Marc got the remote on the conference table and turned on the widescreen television behind him.
"The news at the hour." The channel in the TV was always tuned to the BRBC, which was useful for them in conducting plans on raids and other missions against the Britannian Army and occassionally against pro-Britannian terrorist groups. "The court-martial of Staff Sergeant Edward Johnson is scheduled to commence tomorrow morning."
If I'm right. Marc remembered that the month for today was September. The 25th's on a Saturday...
The BRBC broadcast continued on with the first headline.
"The 26-year-old native of San Francisco, California had been taken into custody by the Army's Criminal Investigation Division after being arrested in a raid conducted by the Military Police's Special Security Unit."
The BRBC footage showed armed men wearing tactical gear such as ballistic helmets, goggles, tactical vests and balaclavas raiding an apartment complex via rappeling and dynamic entries on various rooms somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement.
"Sergeant Edward, prior to his desertion, was from the Army's 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team."
"A deserter?" Jean asked. "But why him?"
"Listen up, mate." Marc tapped his left ear.
"He had been reported AWOL after refusing to return back to his base in Schofield Barracks, Wahiawā, Hawaii after his leave of absense had ended two weeks ago. In his arrest, Sergeant Johnson had said that he refused to continue serving with the Britannian Army due to their atrocities committed by the military in the occupation of Area 11 and its other colonies."
"Wow." whistled Henri. "Somehow who sympathizes with Japan's problem nowadays."
"In addition, the accused has called on his fellow soldiers back in Schofield Barracks to open their eyes to what Britannia has done to the people of the various Areas. He had publicly called on the prime minister and the defense secretary to publicly admit their errors in occupying the Areas around the world, including Area 11. There has been no comment so far from the Britannian government."
"Ah, that's why we were called here eh?" Jean nodded, eyeing Marc. "Now I see."
"Anti-Area occupation groups have demonstrated back in Britannia and abroad after the news of the arrest had been announced, calling for the end of their occupations and withdrawal of Britannian forces. In one protest in San Francisco, an effigy of the Defense Secretary and a Britannian soldier were burned in a protest before they were extinguished by Metropolitan Police."
Marc pressed the mute button on the remote. "Riot squads from all over the world were able to beat back the protestors in the other countries, but they were seen most prominently back in Britannia when protestors tried to get near the Pendragon Palace and in 10 Saint Darwin Street."
"So it looks like his arrest is giving anti-Area protestors more bullets to use." Michael snapped his fingers, watching riot police give chase to protestors after tear geas was fired several times to disperse them away from the palace and the Prime Minister's Office."
"Who happens to be Schneizel el Britannia." Rai laid the rest of the punchline for the other Lost Soldiers to understand.
"What now?" Yi asked Marc.
"Simple I guess." Marc shrugged his shoulders. "This guy was spouting off anti-occupation rhetoric. In addition, his sympathizers and family are being targeted by the usual bunch."
"The BDL again." Rai sighed. "Yep, those people."
"So..." Marc leaned closer after he cracked the knuckles on both of his hands. "We're going to go all out and free this dude."
"You sure?" Michael expressed some concern over his proposal. "I mean, don't get me wrong. We're the good guys and all that. Not to mention that we want to do some good out there..."
"But security may be high." Domingo shared Michael's concerns, as well as his own. "We may not be able to successfully infiltrate Met Police ranks like we use to in some of our raids like the last few times we got Knightpolices from them when they were transferring the frames to the main HQ in the settlement."
"He's right." Yi added. "After all, the deserter is going to have a court-martial at RBA Tokyo. So security's going to be very tight."
"Hey come on." Marc tried to cheer up his comrades. "We're not going to do this alone." He snapped his fingers. "There's a reason why I asked Zero of the Black Knights for his assistance."
"A smart one, are ya?" Rai patted Marc's back. "But don't you think that he'll catch up to ya, especially since we're going to use them for this mission?"
"Hey." Marc rolled his eyes at Rai. "If they decided to use us for their little anti-Refrain operation, then it's about time we returned the back to them. Don't you think?"
Rai shook his head. "I'm not sure if that eye-to-eye thing is kind appropriate for this big mission of ours."
"When it comes down to it," Marc emphasized himself to his XO. "all that matters is that we need to fast, precise and swift." He faced his fellow ex-child soldier comrades. "The only we need to do is to extract the target and get him out of the target area as soon as possible, got it?"
Marc opened the manila envelope and took out some papers. "Ah. It looks like our proposal has worked with Zero and Kyoto."
Collective whispers came from the Lost Soldiers when Marc had mentioned the proposal.
"According to Kyoto's intelligence, the prisoner's suppose to be transferred out from RBA Tokyo to the Yokohama Military Prison."
"Yokohama?" whispered Ken. The place harbored both Britannian soldiers for major offenses including desertion and with Japanese rebels. Amnesty International had decried the place, calling it one of the world's biggest political prisons outside Britannia.
"Yep." Marc. "That place."
"So our job's to hit the police convoy escorting Sergeant Johnson between RBA Tokyo and Yokohama Prison?" asked Jean, who had been curious about the plan.
"They'll be most vulnerable in the highway." Marc explained the plan. "The police transport van taking the deserter's going to be accompanied under the protection of the Special Escort Group. On the air, Met Police scout choppers are going to be responsible for conducting reconnaissance ahead of the convoy and aerial cover."
"So we need to take them out first right?" Ken suggested.
Marc nodded. "Not only that. The Knightpolice are planning to be deployed for sure."
"That's when the Gekka Prototype comes in, right?" Rai smirked.
"Got that right." Rai and Marc did a fist bump. "You'll be leading some of the guys to fend off the Knightpolice."
"You're going to lead the assault?" Yi asked.
"Yeah." Marc replied. "And if the proposal I read is right, the Black Knights are going to lend a hand to the op with both personnel and knightmares to boost our forces."
"Let's just hope that they keep to their word." Ken told Marc. "Otherwise if they back out at the last minute or whatever, we're definitely going to be screwed."
Chapter 7 END
PS - I'd like to thank All That Is Left Unsaid for giving me a well-rounded review of the story. Sorry but by the time I got it, I was almost done with it. Well, except for the fact that university's keeping me busy so far. I'll try to implement your suggestion on the next chapters as much as I can. Also, apologies if this is long. I just want to rant out a few things. I promise not to do this very long in the future.
Sounds I listened to while doing this chapter:
Beginning - Isao Abe (Opening of chapter. I also use this for starting of fights and all that jazz)
Fear 4 Terror - Skankfunk (On fighting scenes)
Tenchi Tou Take - Kenji Kawai (Same as above)
Daybreak - Takayuki Iwai (Ending of chapter. Yeah, for the stuff where the good guys win the day)
Ace's Pilot History - From Gundam Musou (Yep! The music when you get the stats of the player in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam. Awesome music that I was "able" to get the entire OST. I used this when I want to get the feeling for fighting scenes as well)
Fantasy - Danny Fernandez (For fighting scenes. I don't know why, but I liked the tempo)
As for Marc's geass, I haven't figured it out yet. I could give him super speed, but that may not work for a knightmare when he pilots it. On the other hand, I could tweak it so that it could work. If anyone has ideas on a kickass geass, let me know too and I'll credit ya.
In case for the non-personal appearance of Mariel Lubie, she's from the Suzaku of the Counterattack manga. Said that her age's a year older than Suzaku (e.g. He's 17 in 1st season, so she's 18). I'm trying to tweak some aspects of her, well including her being an information gathering expert for the story. I'm combining this with her position as a technician in the Special Dispatch unit. Hope this clears some things up in case someone wants to ask.
I'm kinda changing how the Met Police looks like in the CG world. I'll switch their uniforms and all to be based on the real-life British police, except their shirts are light blue and they have peaked caps.
For the meantime, I'm kinda getting a story bug itching. Story subcategory's for Evangelion with a crossover I have in mind based on a particular Japanese tokusatsu genre (Not Ultraman lah, I haven't watched much of it and I'm not sure if Sentai can work). If you're interested or if you may have another crossover in mind, buzz me with a PM as I need a reply or two. I may or may not accept it, depending on whether I'm familiar with the crossover story to be used with Eva or not. Another is Toshokan Senso. In particular, I'm willing to do it jointly with another author. Details once I'm PMed. Thanks.
For now, I threw in a Lelouch/Cornelia moment there. XP
One more thing. Valentine's day has now come and gone. I hope to the readers who have significant others had the time to enjoy the day out. To those who don't, thank those females in your life (moms, sisters, relatives, friends, mentors) for the things that they've done for you. Well, I'm still single but that doesn't matter for me since my university studies (and graduation) comes first after I moved to Vancouver for my university studies from Manila.