Code Geass - Lelouch of the Rebellion/Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch: Lost Soldiers
by: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters of Code Geass are under the copyright of Goro Taniguchi, Sunrise, CLAMP and Bandai Entertainment. All other characters are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
Victory has been achieved by both the Black Knights and the JLF against the Britannian Expeditionary Force led by Clovis and Ambrosia in an attempt to crush all anti-occupation resistance in Area 11. Underneath it all, two individuals named Mao have ulterior motives of their own. What are they and what do they want to do with the Lamperouge siblings? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 14: On Their Own
Kitchen, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Who are these people?
Sayoko was greatly alarmed to see two unknown people poking their pistols at her.
"No need to be alarmed, ma'am." The male Mao was polite in addressing Sayoko's "fears" regarding him and the female Mao.
"We need to ask you some questions." The female Mao glared; stating her demands to the maid. "So you better cooperate with us."
Must do something about this.
Sayoko was about to surreptitiously grab something from a pocket in her maid uniform when the male Mao decided to do the next best thing.
He went to execute a pistol whipping attack on the defenseless maid.
"Hah!" Sayoko blocked it with her left arm, as expected of her due to her kunoichi training from the Shinozaki School of Martial Arts as its 37th successor. But before Sayoko could begin to counter the male Mao's attempt to pistol whip her, something else had happened.
"AAAGGHGGHGGHGGHGH!"
Sayoko had been attacked by the female Mao, who had decided to take her down with the X26 Taser pistol.
"Hmph." The female Mao huffed, firing the compact weapon after holstering her Glock 26 to launch two probes that were attached onto her right arm.
"AAGHHGHHGHH!!!" Sayoko struggled to get to the female Mao in order to disarm her of the Taser pistol despite having several electrical pulses surge to the probes onto her body.
"You seem persistent." The female Mao muttered, admiring Sayoko's persistence. "But you're forcing me to do this..."
"Wow." The male Mao whistled, seeing the female Mao rapidly click on the X26's trigger to send in more pulses to Sayoko.
"Quiet." The female Mao glared at him, keeping an eye on Sayoko while rapidly clicking the trigger until the maid was on the ground.
"Now that we're done." The male Mao eyed Sayoko's unconscious body. "One of us will need to secure our target..."
"You do it." The female Mao quickly said. When the male Mao eyed her, she glared back.
"Why do I have to do it?" sighed the male Mao, beginning to search the kitchen for some rope.
"Because the man is responsible for doing the heavy work." The female Mao left the kitchen and went for the stairs.
Nunnally's Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Sayoko?"
Nunnally swore that she heard Sayoko scream loud from downstairs, going for the door leading to the hallway outside. She moved her wheelchair, getting close to the door when Nunnally heard it open all of a sudden.
"Sayoko?" Nunnally asked, wanting to know if the maid had opened the door to her room. "Is that you?"
"Pleased to meet you." The female Mao greeted Nunnally, grinning at her. "I'm Mao," Nunnally felt scared when the female Mao began to approach her. "and I wish to convey my best regards to you and C.C."
"What are you..." Nunnally uttered after the female Mao grabbed her and had a chloroform-soaked cloth applied on her nose.
"I...nee..." The blind Ashford Academy student was not able to do anything to defend herself as she had succumbed to the chloroform's effects.
Starbucks Café, Omotesandō Mall, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Nice to get some R&R for a change..."
Marc had muttered, reading a copy of the Britannia Times while relaxing with a cup of Hot Chocolate. He grinned when he read the main headline regarding the defeat of Clovis' forces against the JLF; the article had credited the JLF's victory with the appearance of the Black Knights and the Lost Soldiers.
"Quite interesting." Marc turned the page of the Britannia Times, reading up on another article that showed more anti-war and anti-colonial protests throughout the Britannian mainland after the news regarding the Narita battle was broadcasted yesterday. He was intrigued to see one picture showing BMP riot squad officers clubbing anti-war protesters in the head during a demonstration in downtown San Francisco.
"Looks like we have some people on our side." Marc further read in the papers on the death of Lenard Lubie, a renowned knightmare developer who had been hailed as a genius in creating the Lancelot as the first knightmare to be dubbed as the "7th generation". According to the article, BMP homicide investigations have linked his death in the Tokyo Settlement to the Britannian Defense League based on witness statements with death threats sent to him by the BDL due to his "non-conformity" with Britannian purity; the scientist in the past had called for equal and better rights for the colonized people living in the various Areas.
"Great." Marc sighed and closed the newspaper, placing it beside the paper cup of Hot Chocolate. "Now it seems those KKK wannabees are on the move."
His mobile phone began to vibrate on the left windbreaker pocket, making Marc pick it up.
"What is it?" Marc answered the call. "I'm about to finish off the rest of my Hot Chocolate..."
"Boss man." Ken was on the other line. "Something's up..."
Outside Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Lelouch had arrived outside the Clubhouse, having returned from spending half of the morning in the downtown Tokyo Settlement area. Unknown to the other people, including Nunnally and Cornelia, he had been in another part of the Omotesandō Mall to strategically place dead drops in the mall for his Black Knights subordinates to use. He had his brown windbreaker, gray pants and black oxford shoes.
With 10 more dead drops placed in the mall ranging from underneath the benches to the flush toilet tanks, Ougi and the others should be able to figure out what to do next in terms of instructions. In fact, I told them to celebrate a bit with some of the new recruits that he and Inoue were able to indoctrinate into the organization.
"Lelouch!"
Lelouch was alarmed when he saw Cornelia running towards him. She had her blue blouse on with jeans and sneakers; the purple-haired woman had changed from her heels after completing several meetings with the parents of some of her students during the parent-teacher conferences held in the morning.
"Lelouch! Come quick!" Cornelia shouted to Lelouch, being in a state of panic.
"W-what's going on?" Lelouch said, beginning to run after Cornelia.
"I-I don't know, but something happened to Sayoko!"
Lelouch ran off after Cornelia, heading towards the kitchen.
I guess I have to thank C.C. for giving me the geass. Without that armored Zero suit, I wouldn't be able to endure running quite well...
Kitchen, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Sayoko!"
Lelouch saw Cornelia helping Sayoko sit up with some cut rope found near her.
"M-master Lelouch." Sayoko greeted Lelouch, feeling dizzy. "I'm sorry about Miss Nunnally..."
"Don't worry." Lelouch shook his head. "Just tell us what happened."
"Two people entered the kitchen." Sayoko took a hold of her left temple, massaging it after Cornelia helped her stand up. "They knocked me out after holding me at gunpoint with a taser."
"I found this note." Cornelia handed a folded paper to Lelouch. "Said we can't get the police or the military involved in this matter or they'll potentially expose our identities to the rest of the world."
"I don't plan to get them involved." Lelouch huffed, crumpling the note on his left hand. "Not for this matter."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Talk to me."
Marc was now outside the mall after throwing away the empty Starbucks cup and the newspaper into the nearest recycling bin he can find, his Apple iPhone pressed on his left ear.
"I got some strange movement going on with the Ashford Academy while I was sweeping the Settlement for signs of any security forces movement due to Narita yesterday aside from the assassination of Professor Lubie." Ken explained to Marc on the phone, the former walking down the sidewalk.
"And?"
"Some of the surveillance cameras located near the academy picked up two people prowling around before the system temporarily died down and rebooted itself."
"It was hacked?"
"Yeah."
The Eurasian frowned. Why does this sound familiar?
"I'm sending you an image of the two people that I got from the hacked cameras."
"And did you clean up?"
"Yeah."
"Call me again when you got some things ready."
"Understood."
Receiving a MMS, Marc checked the photo to confirm the details for himself.
What the hell?
He saw the face of a familiar young girl with a metallic-like eyepatch on her left eye. Next to her was a young man, presumably a teenager, with a strange visor worn over his eyes. The two had windbreakers on.
"Mao." whispered Marc. She's from the Irregulars, from what I remember about the unit.
Outside Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Lelouch! Where are you going?"
Cornelia ran out of the clubhouse to see Lelouch already running towards the main entrance of Ashford Academy.
"Getting some help!" Lelouch shouted the answer, still running towards the gate.
"But Lelouch...!" Cornelia shouted again.
"I'll be fine!" Lelouch assured her. "I'll get some outside help to get Nunnally back!"
But how? Cornelia watched Lelouch run off, already outside the academy. How's he going to get help in getting Nunnally back safely?
Somewhere in Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Two figures stepped out of a 2007 Jeep WK Grand Cherokee, which sported a black color, after it parked outside a supermarket.
"Why did you do that?" Kallen nearly shouted at the familiar green-haired girl. The Eurasian girl wore a blue blouse with a brown windbreaker worn over it, jeans and sneakers.
"What? You mean kicking Tamaki out of the car?" The girl asked Kallen. She didn't wear her Britannian straitjacket, which she had been used to wearing ever since being freed from her capsule prison by Lelouch at the Shinjuku ghetto. Instead, she wore a blue hooded windbreaker over her white blouse. She also had jeans and sneakers on.
"Yes." Kallen said through her gritted teeth. "I know Tamaki may be an ass sometimes, but that does not give you the right to kick him out of the car, C.C."
"Fine, fine." C.C. replied. "I understand."
"Tamaki." Kallen opened the right rear passenger door, checking if Tamaki was okay. "You alright in there?"
"Uhnn...yeah." groaned Tamaki. "I felt like I was thrown against a brick wall or something."
"Can you stand?"
"I can. Just give me a few minutes, will ya? It's not like the party can start back at the base without the stuff needed."
"Hold on." Kallen felt her cellphone was vibrating at the right pants pocket of her jeans. "Hello?"
"It's me." Kallen noticed the voice on her phone. Zero? What's going on?
"Is there something going on?"
"I need you to be available immediately, Q-1."
"All right." Kallen whispered, not wanting to get either C.C. or Tamaki's attention. "Do you have any instructions for me, Zero?"
"Continue with your tasks with C.C. and Tamaki first, then I'll inform you on what you have to do."
"Understood."
"By the way, how is C.C.?"
Kallen turned her head around, seeing Tamaki getting into an argument with C.C.
"Trust me, Zero. You don't want to know."
Somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Is that him?"
Cécile blinked when she swore she saw Marc from the opposite side of the street. She was given the day off by the military to give the SDGSD staff some stress leave following the assassination of professor Lubie yesterday, which devastated Mariel to no end. Lloyd too was devastated to an extent as Lenard was his mentor during Lloyd's early days after being recruited to the SDGSD. Not to mention that the R&R of the SDGSD staff was needed to reorganize the Area 11 military forces following their humiliating defeat in Narita.
I don't know if it's me getting tired or what. It's a coincidence my day off's today marked as stress leave when Mariel found out about her father being killed in the settlement after he visited her yesterday.
The purple-haired woman swore she saw the person who resembled Marc walk down the street. It's either someone who I haven't seen in years or it's because I stayed up all night at professor Lubie's wake with Lloyd and Mariel. She felt her cheeks burn up when she tried to get a good look at Marc, seeing his back instead of his face.
Cécile sighed, putting her hands into her brown trenchcoat. "I really need to get some more day offs like today."
Somewhere on Expressway 1, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Riding on a 2009 BMW R 1200 RT motorcycle that sported a titanium silver metallic color, Marc traveled on the expressway's high-occupancy vehicle lane on the left en route to the outskirts of the settlement at high speed while being careful to observe the speed limit of 80 km/hr.
"You got the things ready?" Marc spoke to Ken once again via the BMW System 5 helmet's wireless communications system that was connected on his iPhone. He flipped up the night black helmet's visor up once before he flipped it down.
"Already done." came Ken's reply. "I've tried to see if Mao's steps can be traced. But so far, there happens to be a bit of luck."
"What do you mean?" Ken's report perked up Marc's interest.
"Base intercepted some CO19 communication on some disturbance in some of the ghetto areas regarding some people going on in some kinda frenzy."
Marc raised an eyebrow. "Frenzy?"
"Hey." Ken insisted. "That's what I got. Don't blame me for that."
"Which ghetto though?"
"Still no clue yet. I'll get back to you in a minute."
"Make it fast."
Dining Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Where did Master Lelouch go, Miss Cornelia?"
Sayoko had asked Cornelia after she went back in the clubhouse, taking a seat next to the maid.
"I don't know." Cornelia sighed. "Last thing he said was that he's going to get help, but not from the police and the military as the note stated."
"I do wish Master Lelouch knows what he's doing."
"For his sake," Cornelia had shared Sayoko's worries on Lelouch. "I feel the same way as well."
Alley, somewhere in Narita, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Kallen was alone in an alley, now in her Black Knights uniform with a visor cap worn on her head in order to conceal her identity from the public. Most of the vagrants living/hanging out in the alley left as soon as she arrived, knowing that Kallen's presence may get either the police or the army eventually involved. Something the vagrants don't want to get mixed up in even though they happen to be Black Knight supporters.
I don't blame them. Kallen thought. Even though they back us up, it's not like they're guerrilla fighters like us in the field or anything.
"I see that you made it." Kallen turned around to see Zero had arrived.
"I got here as soon as I could." Kallen told Zero. "C.C. and Tamaki are back at the base before I got here."
"I trust that you got here without causing any problems."
Kallen nodded. "Yes, there's no problem. The vagrants ran away as soon as I got here."
"Then it seems they won't report to the police." Zero concluded. "At least for now."
"So what's this about?" Kallen asked, staring at the helmeted Black Knights leader.
Zero stayed silent after hearing Kallen's question.
"Is this something personal?"
Zero still didn't answer.
"Is this..." Kallen drilled the question again. "something personal, Lelouch?"
"Do not address me as that." Zero reminded Kallen of her position. "When we're like this, Kallen. Remember that."
"Whatever." Kallen huffed. "I believe the reason you called me out here is because of something else..."
Again, Zero did not answer Kallen's question.
I don't like this. Kallen glared at Zero before he turned his back to her.
"Let's go. We have some business to do."
Somewhere on Expressway 1, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Got it."
Marc received a new call from Ken, still on his System 5 helmet. Finally some news for a change.
"Some of the police reports regarding people going on a frenzy of sorts are located in the Saitama ghetto."
"Saitama?"
"Yeah. I've got some of your stuff ready, boss."
"Anyone coming besides you since I'm sure you want to get into some action?"
"Not sure yet. I'll go check since most of the guys are going to celebrate with the BKers soon."
"All right. I'll head there at once."
Having received the said information, Marc sped up the R 1200 RT and went to proceed towards the direction of the bombed ghetto cities.
Knightmare Hangar, Order of the Black Knights Base, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Oh yeah! PARRRRTTTTTYTYTYTY!!!"
That shouting in the Black Knight's knightmare hangar belonged to a now drunk Tamaki, wearing the pants and boots of the Black Knights and the red headband on his head. However, he chose to have his chest exposed while he began to playfully chase the Black Knight's female guerrilla fighters throughout the hangar.
"Is this alright?" Nagata asked Ougi, leaning on the leg of an unused Burai with the other ex-NRA guerilla fighters. "I mean, Tamaki chasing around some of the female members of the Black Knights. Don't you think..."
"Nah..." Minami chuckled, fixing his glasses. "I mean, the ladies are surely having a good time out there."
"Hmph." Inoue huffed, making her oppposition to Minami's comments known to the other ex-NRA guerillas.
"You better watch it, Minami." Ougi grinned, advising his fellow guerilla. "It seems that this female here isn't taking your comment very well."
"Come on you guys," Sugiyama tried to break the tension between them. "let's just enjoy the party here." He pointed out to them the various male and female Black Knight guerrillas and support personnel in the middle of the hangar, dancing to the sound of pre-occupation J-Pop and J-Rock music.
"I got the dead drop from the Omotesandō Mall with the said instructions." Yoshida arrived with a box in his hands.
"And?" Nagata raised an eyebrow.
"I got us some more beverages when I went to the nearby supermarket." Yoshida placed the box down, grabbing a small boxcutter knife from his brown windbreaker's left pocket.
"Were you followed?"
Yoshida shook his head, scratching the right leg covered by his gray pants. "No. I made double sure I wasn't tailed by Special Branch or anybody."
"All right." Ougi took a soda can from Yoshida after he made sure the masking tape sealing the box was sliced open. "Thanks, Yoshida."
"Hey." Yoshida grinned. "It's not a problem. In fact, we oughta thank Zero for allowing us to celebrate."
"Say..." Inoue asked the others. "Did you guys know where Kallen went to?"
Nearby, C.C. watched the party go on from a distance. She was seated in a corner with her back against the wall while wearing her Britannian straitjacket.
"Wonder why she's just hanging out there?" Ougi watched C.C., her head resting on her knees that were near her chest.
"Beats me." Sugiyama replied, opening the soda can. "I heard she's someone Zero rescued from Britannian captivity."
Abandoned Kōban, somewhere in Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Marc arrived at the bombed Saitama Ghetto, taken aback at the sight of the bombed buildings of the pre-occupation prefecture before he parked his bike inside the abandoned Kōban.
"Took your time." Marc was greeted by Ken, dressed up in his Britannian infantry gear used in his COSMOS days including the assault vest and leg holster worn on his right leg. He did not put on his balaclava, ballistic helmet and respirator on to conceal his face. exhibiting his Britannian-Japanese features similar to Kallen's and Marc's.
"You're only here?" Marc sighed, watching Ken play with the Japanese flag patch that was on the vest via velcro.
"Heh." Ken grinned. "You're sounding too cocky, boss man." He was armed with a Heckler and Koch MSG-90 sniper rifle outfitted with a Hendsoldt 6x42 scope and a 20-round 7.62 NATO magazine loaded onto the weapon.
"I should be." Getting off the R 1200 RT and storing the System 5 helmet at the bike's left side case, Marc saw that another weapon was slinged on Ken's back. "I don't know if the two of us would be enough to get through all of this."
"You probably miss me then."
Marc was surprised to see Rai, also dressed up in the same gear as Ken wore. The only thing that wasn't covered was also his Eurasian looks, especially with his white hair.
"I should be, Rai." Marc grinned, moving the motorbike into one of the ruined offices inside the Kōban and opening the right side case to take out what seemed to be like an ordinary vehicle cover cloth. "I didn't know that you'd be here." The Chinese Filipino-Britannian Eurasian saw that Rai was already armed with a Fabrique Nationale P90 Laser Visible submachine gun.
"Nah." Rai shrugged his shoulders. "Better than having nothing to do back at base."
"Hey now." Marc raised an eyebrow, taking his gear from Ken. "I gave the order for you guys to have fun with the Black Knights, Rakshata included too, in case you've already forgotten."
"Whatever." Rai shuffled his feet on the ground, waiting for Marc to wear his Britannian infantry gear.
"I've seen some of the people in a frenzy..." Marc frowned. "It all points to the use of Refrain."
"Question is who did all that?" Ken wondered, scratching his chin.
Roof, unknown building, somewhere in Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"W-where am I?"
Nunnally felt that she was in a different place when she woke up after being knocked out by chloroform.
"So you're finally, young lady?!"
"Who-who's there?!" Nunnally was alarmed to hear a male voice nearby, though she wasn't able to figure out where he is since she's blind. Where is he?
"I'm just right in front of you." Nunnally was alarmed again, hearing someone as if he was answering her thoughts. What the? How did he know what was I thinking of?
"It seems you're confused on how I know how to answer your questions, hmm?"
She heard clapping coming from the front, making Nunnally confused.
"I beg your pardon, I forgot to introduce myself to you." The visor-wearing man bowed before Nunnally before he stated his name to her, "My name is Mao. I'm from China."
"I don't care who you are or where you're from!" Nunnally shouted at the male Mao, forcing him to take a few steps back. "I just want to know why I was kidnapped from Ashford Academy and brought here." He has an accent all right, but his English is somehow good.
"I believe I can be the one to tell you all that, miss."
Another voice spoke up. This time, it was female.
Another voice. This time, she doesn't have much of an accent unlike Mao. It's also a female, but I don't know who she is.
"Who-who are you?" Nunnally challenged the female voice to answer her question.
"My, aren't you excited?" Nunnally felt the female voice was insulting her. "Fine then, I'll introduce myself. My name also happens to be Mao, in case you're wondering."
"Two Maos?"
"This Mao here is a mere country bumpkin." The female Mao explained regarding the origin of the male Mao.
"Hey, those are fighting words!" The male Mao rebuked the female Mao, feeling personally insulted.
"Unlike him," The female Mao pointed to herself. "I'm a full-fledged deserter of the Irregulars division of the Special Honorary Foreign Legion Corp."
The Irregulars? Where have I heard of them before?
"Oh, so you're interested about them?" The male Mao responsded on Nunnally's thoughts.
"W-what are you..."
"I guess you want to know how I answer your questions even though you don't say them out loud?"
Nunnally felt confused, scared and angry at once due to her current predicament.
"You see, I have this special power called the geass. It allows me to hear people's thoughts for a range of at least 500 meters." He walked closer and closer to Nunnally's wheelchair, making the disabled girl a bit terrified when she heard the male Mao's footsteps getting louder and louder.
"But it seems..." The male Mao whispered to Nunnally's left ear. "that you already know about the geass too, right?"
Abandoned Kōban, somewhere in Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Have we already tracked down Mao's location in the ghetto, guys?"
Marc asked Ken and Rai, already suited up in his gear. He was in the midst of putting up his assault vest.
"I did some early recon." Rai answered. "It seems Mao's with another person in the roof of one of the buildings in the area."
"Great."
"Also, it seems that a blind and disabled girl in a wheelchair happens to be with Mao too."
This new information stunned Marc. What the heck?
"I've already identified her." Rai informed Marc further. "That girl happens to be Nunnally Lamperouge."
"Lamperouge." Marc frowned. "Isn't one of her relatives with the Imperial family?"
"Yeah." Ken replied, nodding to Marc. "According to Special Branch investigation years ago, they say that Marianne vi Britannia's death in the Britannian mainland was the result of handiwork by pro-republican terrorists."
"Doesn't sound right." Marc said. "If I remember quite clearly, all of the pro-republican guerrillas and terrorist groups including the RVA denied having set foot in Pendragon at the time when they issued their communiqués."
"I agree."
"Anyway," Marc went for his balaclava. "do we know the precise location of the building where Mao is?"
"They're in Saitama, specifically at the ruins of the NHK Saitama FM radio station." Ken answered.
"You mean the capital?" Rai asked.
Ken nodded. "Yeah."
"Well then." Marc got to wear his balaclava. "What are we waiting for? Let's go and get her."
The three Lost Soldiers donned their ballistic helmets, goggles and respirators at once in unison.
"Here." Ken kneeled down next to a gun case propped up against the wall and brought it down to the floor. "I brought you one of your favorite weapons, big guy. Though you may want to use it."
"Alright." Marc grinned, taking a Heckler and Koch G36C assault carbine. "Makes me feel like that it's Christmas all over again." He personally inspected the carbine, seeing a Surefire M910A Vertical Foregrip installed on the weapon's picatinny railing beneath the barrel with an Aimpoint CompML3 red dot scope on top of the receiver's picatinny railing. It was also equipped with a SEF Trigger group that included Safe, Single Fire and Full Auto firing modes.
"Let's get this show on the road." Marc marched out of the Kōban's rear, followed by Ken and Rai after making sure that their rear is secure.
"Don't forget this." Rai handed Marc a portable screen. "It's a heartbeat monitor. I'll explain the details on the stuff on the way..."
They had planned on returning to the abandoned Kōban to later pick up the gear they stashed in the building to make their escape later.
Roof, Saitama Shimbun, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Zero and Kallen were observing the ruins of post-war Saitama, standing on the roof of what used to be the Saitama Shimbun's headquarters. It had been attacked and destroyed during the Second Pacific War by commandos of the Britannian SAS, part of Britannian military's strategy in depriving the Japanese from obtaining information on the war as part of their attempt of conducting psychological warfare.
"I thought that was suspicious." Kallen had worn the Polish KS-12 combat vest over her body. She was fortunate that the vest had been adjusted carefully to fit her teenage frame.
"Indeed." Zero had shared the same sentiment as Kallen. "Those people who were in a trance trying to remember the good old days of Japan and its position in the world before the Britannian military invaded it during the Second Pacific War." From the roof of the abandoned Saitama Shimbun, Zero saw several ghetto inhabitants walking around, talking as if they were in another place in another time. "This just makes me sick..."
"They must be hooked on Refrain." Kallen too shared the same sentiment as Zero, aka Lelouch. "I can't believe that they'll stoop so low as to become drug addicts..."
"I personally don't blame them." Zero turned to face the Japanese-Britannian teeanger. "They wish to ease the pain that they feel, being under Britannian occupation and hearing some of their fellow countrymen being used by the same occupying power as one of the means of quelling anti-occupation dissent here."
"Yeah, I know." Mother...
She must be thinking of her mother being in anti-Refrain treatment and rehabilitation. Zero stared at Kallen, looking down at the ground with her eyes showing anger despite being hidden in her visor cap. "Intelligence did report the same thing in the other Areas as well, so this is getting to be a big problem since this is being supplied from Britannia."
Zero sighed afterwards. "We can worry about busting up more of those Refrain smugglers. But right now, there's something quite important that we need to tackle."
Kallen gripped the sling of her IZHMASH AK-105 assault carbine on her right shoulder, chambered for the Russian 5.45 x 39 mm caliber. A EKP-1S-03M tactical reflex sight, its appearance resembling EOTech-made reflex sights, was placed on top of the carbine's receiver.
Let's go see and have a look around. Kallen took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the bombed ex-prefecture capital, searching for anything that happens to be out of the ordinary. Hm?
"What is it?" Zero noticed that Kallen was a bit disturbed when she scanned the area with her binoculars.
"Up ahead." Kallen pointed out the area where she had spotted something familiar to her eyes. Zero also observed the area where Kallen had pointed out to him.
"No... It can't be."
Research Center, Eden Vital Base, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
V.V. had entered the Research Center alongside one of the Eden Vital scientists, already identified with the majority of its members with its hooded cloaks.
"Has he been awakened?"
"Yes." replied the cloaked man. "However, he's been asking quite a lot of question to us. Which is why I requested for your immediate presence, Master V.V."
"Just let me handle this." V.V. approached a cot placed in one corner of the research center, where a now revived Jeremiah was seen. He was sitting up on his bed, having a sort of mask that covered his left eye with an opaque eyepiece over it. For now, he wore a white shirt with gray pajamas on.
"I believe that you're the one who I should talk to regarding my status, yes?" Jeremiah interrogated V.V. sternly.
"Quite right." V.V. replied. "You should thank your lucky stars that I was the one who took the time off to save your life."
"Then what's this talk that I've been hearing that I'm officially dead?!" Jeremiah snarled at the young immortal, forcing some of the cloaked man to raise their Heckler and Koch MP5K machine pistols from their cloaks at him.
"You'll be working under me from now on." V.V. answered. "I had my agents in the Britannian military declare you as dead on record. We can't have anyone sniffing around here since we don't officially exist to begin with."
"Fine." Jeremiah huffed. I'll take that for now. "But my arm feels kind of different." The Purist flexed his left arm to emphasis his point to V.V.
"When we got you here," V.V. began to explain. "we couldn't get to save some of your body parts. So we had to improvise."
"Improvise?" Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." V.V. pointed to Jeremiah's left arm. "For instance, your left arm is a cyborg one."
"And my body?" The dark green-haired man patted his chest and stomach.
"Some parts of your body do have some improvements placed on it." V.V. grinned at him. "But I can't tell you that for now since it's a trade secret."
"Hold on." Jeremiah spoke again to V.V. "I want to know what happened to a subordinate of mine. Villeta Nu. I fought with her in Narita against the JLF and the Black Knights with those Lost Soldiers..."
"I see." V.V. sighed. "I unfortunately have to tell you that Ms. Nu was killed during a SAS attempt to rescue from behind enemy lines. She has been buried back in Britannian with full military honors."
"Viletta..." The now ex-head of the Purists stared down at his clenched fists, remembering the lone woman in the organization. "Why..."
"Master?" The cloaked man whispered to V.V. "What are you trying to do?"
"Patience." V.V. calmly replied. "Let's wait and see."
"Tell me..." Jeremiah stared at V.V., his eyes were now full of anger. "Tell me what I must do."
"You wish to avenge your subordinate's death, yes?" V.V. asked Jeremiah.
"I do."
Perfect. V.V. couldn't help but grin at Jeremiah's determination.
Vice Governor-General's Office, Governor-General's Palace, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Are you all right, Suzaku?"
Euphie was in her office, doing office work more than ever since Clovis was recalled back to Britannia by Schneizel to attend a series of meetings regarding his handling of the rising anti-occupation insurgency in Area 11. Suzaku, as Euphie's only knight, was standing to her right in order to keep an eye on the princess.
"I'm fine, Euphie." Suzaku addressed her, doing so as Euphie insisted that he should call her by her nickname when the two of them are alone and away from other people.
"I don't think so." Euphie eyed the Honorary Britannian. "You seem to be quite nervous about something."
I can't seem to hide things from Euphie. Suzaku sighed. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what it is. I'm not sure if it's some kind of premonition of something."
"Premonition?" Euphie stopped whatever she was doing and looked at Suzaku. "What do you mean?"
"I feel that something's about to happen." replied Suzaku. "And it's not something quite good."
Roof, Saitama Shimbun, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Nunnally?
Zero and Kallen saw Nunnally was in her wheelchair, but tied up to ensure she wouldn't escape from either of the two Maos, on the roof of the abandoned NHK Saitama FM radio station building.
"Is that Nunnally?" Kallen was confused to see the girl, someone who Kallen meets with everyday in the Ashford Academy.
Bastard. Zero clenched his fists. How dare they involve her...
"What do we do now?" Kallen asked. "Do we go now and save her?"
"We do. But we can't simply charge in recklessly with the risk of having our position known to the enemy."
"You have a plan?"
Zero stared down to the bombed streets of Saitama to see some familiar figures running down towards the direction of the building.
"It seems that we may have some fortunate company around."
"The Lost Soldiers?" Kallen stared down at the streets too.
Somewhere in the streets of Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Marc, Ken and Rai ran down the bombed and dilapidated streets of post-war Saitama, capital of the former Saitama Prefecture turned Ghetto. They had an easy time traveling through the streets as no vagrants were seen around the area.
"Seems to be awfully quiet around Saitama." Ken commented, cradling the MSG-90 in his arms.
"I'm not surprised." Marc answered, placing the portable heartbeat monitor on the G36C's left picatinny railing. Thank god for picatinny attachment. "All right, I guess this should turn it on." Pushing a button on top of the monitor, the screen was then promptly turned on.
"Here's how the sensor works." Rai was running next to Marc, explaining how the portable heartbeat sensor monitor is suppose to function. "White blip down on the bottom is you. Any red dots you see are Britannian soldiers, regardless of their status. Blue indicates friendlies and purple ones are persons of special interest."
"Didn't know that happens to be that simple, Rai." Marc said when he understood how the heartbeat sensor works.
"Should be." Rai replied. "If you check the monitor right now, we should get some blips on."
"Remind me to thank Rakshata for this." Marc studied the monitor, revealing three active dots flickering on the screen. "And the readings seems to get stronger every time we're heading towards the ruins of the NHK Saitama FM building."
Suddenly, the sound of something metal falling to the ground was heard from a nearby alley. At instinct, the three teenage soldiers dropped down and knelt on the concrete road. All of their weapons were aimed at a 360 arc, ensuring that they were not taken by surprise by anyone or anything hostile.
"Careful now." Marc whispered. "Could be anything." He aimed his G36C at his surroundings to be sure that no enemies were present, despite having the heartbeat sensor on.
"Good going, boss." Rai whispered to Marc. "Can't totally rely on that thing the whole time."
"Agree." Ken shared the same sentiment with his other comrades. "We can't tell what's going to happen in the next few seconds."
The trio remained in their positions, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. They kept their vigilance, waiting if the enemy would eventually show up.
"Meow!" A black cat then walked pass by them, watching the soldiers for a second before it continued on.
"Just a cat." Ken muttered.
"Wonder if that cat would mean seven years of bad luck for us in Saitama?" Rai struck up a question to Ken and Marc, slowly standing up.
"We don't have time for omens." Marc reminded Rai and Ken of their priority. "Our main job's to get Mao and figure out what the heck she's doing after spending several years of hiding from deserting the Irregulars."
"Good point." Rai answered, following Marc's lead before being followed by Ken. The three got into a vertical line formation, moving carefully in the hopes of arriving at their destination without being detected.
Roof, NHK Saitama FM radio station, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Hmm...?"
The female Mao took a glance behind her shoulder, glaring at the ruined skyscrapers.
"Something up?" The male Mao asked.
"Yeah." The female Mao replied, nodding. "I'll move our little guest inside the building to be safe."
"What about me?"
"You?" The female Mao eyed her male counterpart. "You'll be the one responsible for finding out whoever's trying to get to her, just in case."
"But why do I have to do the hard work?!" complained the male Mao.
"Because you're a guy." smirked the female Mao. "And don't worry, I've prepared some things for you to use for our potential guests..."
Somewhere in the streets of Saitama, en route to NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"We could probably get this done with a knightmare or something."
Kallen had suggested to Zero, the two lone Black Knight members darting covertly through the deserted bombed streets of Saitama in order to get to the NHK Saitama FM radio building without being discovered by the enemy.
"It's not worth it." Zero told Kallen, the latter leading the way with her AK-105 carbine's shoulder stock firmly pressed on her right shoulder. "A knightmare would definetely earn the attention of the Britannian military to this ghetto. Who knows what they'll do while they deploy their forces to take us down..."
"Not to mention using your powers huh?"
Zero eyed Kallen.
"Like the time I saw you summon a knightmare out of thin air." Kallen said, backing up her question with an example. "Back in Narita yesterday."
"You're good." Zero chuckled. "That's something I like about you."
Why that Lelouch! Kallen huffed, maintaining her composure despite having her cheeks turn red.
Unknown sounds were heard by the two, making them hide behind the rear of an abandoned Toyota Corolla.
Hmmm... Zero took a peek out, having the helmet's slot over his left eye open to take a better look. It's them.
"Anything?" Kallen asked Zero if he saw anything, placing her AK-105 close to her chest while holding its fore and trigger grips.
"Some of our old friends happen to be in the neighborhood."
"Really?"
"Take a look for yourself if you don't believe it."
The Eurasian guerrilla peeked from behind the abandoned automobile to see the three armed Lost Soldiers run all the way to same destination from another street as she and Zero were in an intersection.
"The Lost Soldiers..." Kallen murmured. "Are they here for the same reason?"
"Who knows?" replied the masked, caped leader of the Black Knights. "We probably could use their help against whoever kidnapped her."
"Nunnally huh?"
After the Lost Soldiers had ran past them, Zero and Kallen resumed their journey to safely locate Nunnally and take down the culprits for kidnapping her.
"Let's move out." Zero turned to the street where the Lost Soldiers were last seen, following them behind their backs with Kallen next to him.
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Wait! What am I doing here?"
Nunnally noticed a change of surroundings when she and the female Mao had moved from the roof all the way down to the underground parking lot.
"Since I have a feeling that we're about to have some unofficial guests," The female Mao had explained to her captive. "I'm afraid that I have to speed things up a little."
"What are you talking about?!"
The two soon heard automatic gunfire from outside the building.
"Perfect." Mao grinned when she heard the gunfire. "It looks like my partner's out there taking care of those pesky intruders."
Outskirts of NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"THIS IS PERFECT!"
The male Mao was now outfitted with a Britannian-made assault vest and armed with a Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifle outfitted with a Heckler and Koch AG36 underbarrel single-shot grenade launcher. He was firing the German-made rifle towards the now approaching Lost Soldiers.
I need to thank Mao for this; it seems that her desertion from those so-called Irregulars enabled her to acquire certain weapons that her unit has special access to.
Mao moved from his right to the left, conducting a sweep as he fired the G36 in the same direction in order to keep the Lost Soldiers pinned down for the female Mao to accomplish what she needs to do.
Somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Alice, of the Irregulars, had been granted a day off following the disastrous Narita operation. The blonde girl decided to take the stress leave granted to Sancia and the others and head into the downtown area to enjoy herself.
"I didn't know Sancia and the others decided to stay back in RBA Tokyo as part of their stress leave from what happened yesterday at Narita." Alice mumbled to heself, placing her hands at the pockets of her blue hooded windbreaker. She also wore jeans and running shoes.
"Hm?" Alice noticed her cellphone was ringing, prompting her to answer it. "Hello?"
"We have an urgent problem in progress, Alice."
"Sancia?" Alice spoke. "What's wrong?"
"We've received intelligence reports from MI6 that Mao has appeared."
"What?" Alice was stunned to hear the news.
Sancia explained the details to her. "BMP Special Branch forwarded the details after two of their officers have spotted her in the settlement a few days ago."
"So what happens next?" Alice ran down the sidewalk, the pedestrians moving out of her way as she ran faster and faster.
"Colonel Madd wants her to be taken care of." Sancia gave the instructions to Alice. "After all, her geass is something that is quite dangerous if it's exposed..."
"I know. Her Refrain geass."
"Are you up to the job, Alice?"
Alice frowned. "I don't have objections to kill the traitor myself."
Near outskirts of NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Marc and Rai had gone prone on the concrete, minutes after seeing the male Mao dash out of the former NHK Saitama FM radio building and began to fire widly at them.
"Dammit! This is never going to end!" Rai shouted; the two Lost Soldier immediately took cover behind an abandoned black 2008 Nissan E25 GX Caravan. "Looks like he got the jump on us sooner than expected!"
"That guy wearing a visor reminds me of the damn Terminator!" Marc shouted to Ken when he peeked out to fire off a burst from his G36C. "And we're just a block away from our destination!"
"Tell me about it!" Rai did the same when he peeked out of cover to fire off a burst of his own from his FN P90LV. He didn't bother to use the infrared lasers since he wanted to get Mao's head down enough for Ken, who had separated from them when the gunfire had started, to get to a suitable location and finish him off.
"So you think your little decoy op's going to work against me?!" Mao shouted at the two, who had temporarily ceased firing his G36 to fire a smoke grenade from his AG36. "Not a chance!" Mao turned his head to see an alley nearby after reloading his AG36, launching a HE grenade before he fired the G36.
"Dammit." Marc coughed. "Smoke grenade. How did that jackass know that Ken's trying to lay a shot at him while we distract that guy?"
"You tell me." Rai answered, who had also coughed from the gray smoke. "We better get our thermals on." Dammit. If I could get use my geass.
"I know." Marc eyed the heartbeat sensor. "Sensor's still registering him." The Lost Soldiers leader noted Mao to be still nearby, his position highlighted as purple. But what do we do? It blew me away that he damn knew that we attempted to do a sneak attack on him.
Marc ducked back into cover behind the van, noticing that gunfire from Mao was aimed directly at him.
"I wish someone would help us out here right now." Rai conducted blind fire with his P90LV, not knowing if the 5.7 bullets would hit Mao or not. What he didn't know was that Mao had taken cover at an adjacent area next to their position in the interior of an abandoned coffee shop.
"Did my bullets hit him?" Rai asked Marc; he only stopped firing his weapon when he depressed its trigger to find out that there wasn't anymore bullets firing out of the submachine gun.
"It seems that we've arrived on time!"
What the? Marc stared down the street and took aim with the G36C.
"It's only us!" Kallen yelled out. Marc now realized who it was.
"The Black Knights..." Marc murmured. "Either it's my lucky day or there's something else going on here."
"I'm fine with that either way." Rai took out a M18 smoke grenade from his assault vest. Marc gave him cover fire, allowing the white-haired teen to toss the grenade to the coffee shop where Mao was last held up.
"Eat this...!" Mao widly fired his G36 after he reloaded it, taking some few seconds to shift between taking cover in the shop and exposing his head and upper body to take a good shot at Marc and Rai. He was distracted by the gunfire from the two ex-COSMOS soldiers that he only felt the grenade was in the shop when the weapon touched his left foot.
"Huh..." Mao noticed the smoke grenade on the floor, followed by the dissipation of yellow smoke throughout the entire shop. "What the? I can't see!"
"Boss man! I've taken up a position near your area." Marc's radio received a transmission from Ken. He looked up from behind to see Ken taking aim at the shop with his MSG-90 from the second floor window of an unknown two-story commercial building.
"Understood. Keep him pinned down until Zero and his subordinate can arrive near our position." Marc relayed Ken his instructions on their radio. Rai had reloaded his P90LV and proceeded to conduct suppressive fire, allowing Zero and Kallen to approach them safely.
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
The female Mao turned her head around away from the restrained Nunnally, hearing more gunfire from outside. "Looks like we've got some unexpected and uninvited guests nearby."
"What are you going to do with me?" Nunnally asked the female Mao when she heard her footsteps getting louder and louder.
"Nothing really." The female Mao approached Nunnally with a confident look on her face. "Just that I need something from you, especially with your debut back in Shinjuku and Narita..."
"How do you know..."
"I deserted from the Irregulars since they can't cure this problem I have." Mao held up the bandaged right arm and removed the bandages. "My arm's being ruined thanks to the cells of that accursed witch!"
"Witch!" Nunnally replied. "You mean..."
"Yes..." Mao grinned. "C.C.'s cells are the culprit responsible for this." The eyepatched girl was now nearing Nunnally. "But I believe I found a possible way to resolve this mess."
"Nunnally!" Nemo appeared next to Nunnally's wheelchair. "I'll try and get you out of here. She's one of our enemies."
"Enemy?" Nunnally was confused.
"Yes. I'll try to lead you outside to get to Zero and the Lost Soldiers..."
"Oh ho..." Mao smirked when she noticed Nemo after she materialized next to Nunnally, removing the ropes that were around her body. This time, she drew out a Glock 19 pistol from the shoulder holster and fired it at the wheelchair's right wheel.
"Where do you think you're going?" The ex-Irregulars operative lowered her sidearm after Nunnally fell down from her wheelchair. "We have a lot of things to talk about, you know."
Mao walked slowly towards the downed Nunnally, her Glock 19 still aimed at her.
Chapter 14 END
PS - Alrighty! Got lots of people adding the story to the favorite story/alert lists. Thank you. Salamat po. Arigato. Merci. It means a lot to me, seeing that a lot of you peeps like the story. Same goes to those who reviewed the story, especially the newcomers who I haven't seen reviewing this story yet.
I hope you guys like the semi-cameo appearance of Nagata, I kept him alive unlike his death in LOTR. I just wish I can give him a bigger role in the story. As for Zero rebuking the use of Refrain (both as a drug as a geass power from the female Mao), he is OOC here in a sense that I wanted to portray Zero/Lelouch as sympathetic to the Japanese (now Elevens by the Britannians) and to anyone else who sympathizes with the Eleven's plight.
About Cécile's hair, I think it's purple. I was advised earlier that it resembled a bluish-type color, but I'll stick with purple for this story since that's how I see it.
As of now, I have (unofficially) partial seizure problems. I still need to go through MRI treatment and blood tests to see, for the former, if genetics is the culprit for it. But I have a feeling that it can be something else. Thing is, I've been told that it's treatable with medicine. I also need to stay off driving for 6 months, which is a problem since I mainly go to university for full-time studies and to the mall to attend to errands, not to mention church. Seems that the seizure can still be treated from within the 6 month gap. I need to cut down on staying up late and doing this; same thing as my folks are advising me to start cutting down on spending time on the PC. This could slow down updates for the story. But overall, the problem probably can kill me off if I'm not careful in the near future. I'll need to wait for further details in case I have to go MRI. Who knows, this could be a different thing all together. I'm just a bit confused on this one since I don't remember having them in the first place.
I just hope the seizure problem can go away soon or at least make it minimal to my life as much as I can. I don't need this to make my life any harder.
For the meantime, I look forward to reviews/comments/thoughts/corrections for this chapter. I am currently looking for a good way to end this since I will have Lelouch encounter Charles, but will do something different about Marianne from the TV series. That's the plan for the meantime for a finale I guess. Don't have anything else in mind regarding on how I can end this story. Flames on this story setup aren't welcome (or with any other flame directed to me). Let me know how I did and if I did something wrong, let me know too so's I can check it out and fix it. I wasn't sure if I did okay with the male Mao pulling him off with some small arms there like an AR. Same thing with the initial Lost Soldiers vs G36-armed Mao gunfight too, so I need to improve on that in the next chapter. I fear I may mess something up. I'm also toying with the idea of giving some of the geass users perhaps another geass skill they can use.
If you enjoy reading this and the entire story, I invite you readers to please check out (and review, if you can/wish) my other stories.
You'll see some references here in the chapter, 2 from the Drama CDs and 1 from another game. See if you can figure out which one.