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:
The Lost Soldiers and Zero are now working together to take down the Maos, having Nunnally hostage in the heart of the Saitama ghetto. Will they be able to defeat the two geass users and safely rescue Nunnally before something happens to her? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 15: Maneuvers
Near outskirts of NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Pin him down!"
Marc yelled to Rai, the two Lost Soldiers firing their small arms from behind the derelict black 2008 Nissan E25 GX Caravan in an effort to pin down the male Mao as he was held up in the abandoned coffee shop nearby.
"Got him pinned down, boss." Ken hailed Marc on the radio, firing shots from his Heckler and Koch MSG-90 on the coffee shop.
"Can you get to him?" Marc asked Zero, kneeling next to him.
"I can." Zero nodded before he faced Kallen. "Give them some assistance while I go in, Kallen."
"What are you going to do?" Kallen asked while Marc reloaded his Heckler and Koch G36C assault carbine.
"He's still inside." Marc told Kallen and Zero. "At least that's what the heartbeat monitor's telling me."
"I'm moving in!" Zero made a mad dash towards the direction of the coffee shop. "Cover me!"
Abandoned Coffee Shop, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Just when I need to reload..."
Mao mused when he hastily grabbed a 30-round magazine for his Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifle. He had heard Marc's thoughts while ducking behind cover.
You guys know what to do. We can't let him get out and fire back at us. I need someone to help me...
"Quite interesting." Mao smirked, already finished reloading his German-made weapon when he spotted someone inside the coffee shop's dining area.
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"It seems Mao's entertaining our friends outside."
The female Mao turned her hear around to hear automatic gunfire going on from outside the old radio building, making her grin.
"D-don't come near me!" Nunnally yelled at the female Mao, having her back near the fallen wheelchair.
"Oh no..." The female Mao came closer to Nunnally, holding her Glock 19 firmly on her left hand. "I won't kill you just yet. I need to do one thing to you first."
"What?" Nunnally mouthed, confused.
"Have a taste..." The female Mao took off the metallic eyepatch over her left eye. "on my geass!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nunnally shouted, shielding her face with her arms.
"That won't save you..." Mao told Nunnally. "Even if you're blind, my Refrain geass will still get to you as long as you're breathing and moving."
Abandoned Coffee Shop, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
The male Mao was stunned to see a familiar caped man when he turned his head around.
"Who the heck are you?!" Mao quickly aimed his G36 at Zero, who had somehow shown up at his rear.
"Who am I?" Zero began to mock Mao, pointing to himself with his gloved right hand on his chest.
"Don't make fun of me!"
Dammit! I was so busy concentrating on one of the Lost Soldiers that I lost focus to notice him!
"I'm your..." Zero began to dash towards the male Mao despite being shot at with his G36. "worst nightmare!"
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Mao kept his fire up despite Zero dashing left and right, avoiding incoming gunfire meant for him.
In an instant, Zero was in front of Mao. He stepped a bit forward, ducking down to avoid being struck in the head by the G36's folding buttstock when the Chinese teenager tried to take a swing at Zero.
"Dammit!" Mao hissed, failing to hit his target when he felt something unfamiliar on his chest. What the? I felt something hard and wet on my chest...
Unknown Realm
"Where am I?"
Nemo, in her human form, was seen crouching down in an area surrounded by darkness.
"Is this Japan?"
"What?" Nemo was stunned to hear a familiar voice. "Is this Nunnally's voice? If so, this must be the results of that Mao woman's geass on her..."
"But how do I get out of here?"
Nemo scratched her head, helplessly listening to Nunnally's memories from the past.
2009 ATB
Steps, en route to Kururugi Shrine, somewhere in Japan
"Big brother, where are we?"
A 6-year old Nunnally was being carried on the back of her 9-year old brother Lelouch as he was walking on several steps located on a hill in the countryside. Accompanying the two was a 19-year old Cornelia, who had taken on the Stanford name. The three ex-royal children of Britannian Emperor Charles zi Britannia now wore civilian clothing after they had arrived in Japan as part of an effort to hide their royal identities from the public since they were publicly disgraced in the media.
"We're going to the shrine." grunted Lelouch, having a bit of trouble carrying the disabled Nunnally behind his back despite Cornelia telling him that she could carry Nunnally herself. "You'll see."
"What's a shrine?" Nunnally asked, being curious of the place.
"Well..." Cornelia began to explain to Nunnally. "It's usually a sacred place where someone is either venerated or worshiped."
"You mean..." Nunnally turned her head to look at Cornelia, despite being blind. "like a church back at home?"
Cornelia gave Nunnally a smile. "Not quite, Nunnally. Those two places are different." She then frowned, trying to remember if she was telling her the correct answer. "At least that what I've read in the history books..."
"Don't worry, Nunnally." Lelouch reassured his sister. "We're almost there. Besides, the place that we're going to is a pretty place."
Nunnally placed a smile on her face. "I'm not worried. Because you and big sister Cornelia are there to help me out..." She then faced Cornelia. "right?"
Cornelia smiled back at her. "Right."
"Besides, I can't wait to see it."
Abandoned Coffee Shop, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"I don't believe it..."
The male Mao murmured, seeing Zero's left hand penetrate his chest.
"Hmph." Zero stared at the teen, unsympathetic to his imminent death before he withdrew his blood-drenched arm from Mao's chest.
"C..." Mao murmured, going down on his knees. "C..."
"You alright?"
Marc and Rai rushed into the coffee shop after gunfire from Mao's G36 had abruptly ended. They were followed by Kallen, still holding her IZHMASH AK-105 assault carbine.
"No worries..." Zero assured the trio. Thought I'll need to talk to C.C. when I get back to Ashford with Nunnally safely. There happens to be some things that I need to clarify with her.
"Your arm." Kallen noticed that Zero's left arm was now colored blood red.
"It's from him." Zero motioned the three to the male Mao's corpse on the ground, face flat on it.
"Whoa." Rai whistled. "Sure sucks to be him."
"We just heard from screaming coming from the abandoned NHK Saitama FM radio building." Marc informed Zero. "We need to hurry."
"What about..." Zero wanted to ask about Ken, who had been stationed on higher ground earlier to provide them with sniper coverage.
"He'll be fine." Rai said, being the first to run from the coffee shop to their next destination. "But we need to get to the NHK Saitama FM building if we're going to save whoever needs to be saved."
"Lead the way." Kallen told him, following Rai and Marc as she ran behind them with Zero running up next to her.
2009 ATB
Outskirts of Kururugi Shrine, somewhere in Japan
"Who the hell are you three and what are you doing in the Kururugi Shrine?"
Lelouch, Nunnally and Cornelia were confronted by a young Japanese boy, who apparently had the same height and build as Lelouch. In addition, he wore a white gi and a dark blue hakama. He was standing in front of the three with a dilapidated sort of storehouse behind him.
"We're the ones who should be asking about your name!" Lelouch shouted back, feeling insulted by the boy's anger when he asked them.
"I'm Suzaku Kururugi and my father's the Prime Minister of Japan!" Suzaku yelled when he introduced himself, pointing his left thumb on his chest to emphasis his introduction. "I want to know what you three are doing in Japanese soil."
"Just so as you know," Cornelia began to converse with the boy. "we're here as guests on behalf of the Kururugi Administration here in Japan."
"Righttttt....." Suzaku eyed Cornelia before he kept an eye of Lelouch, who had already inside the storehouse after finding a wheelchair. Lelouch frowned at it, which was seemingly placed there at the "right time".
"Will you stop that?!" Lelouch shouted at Suzaku. "Why do you act so high and mighty? The three of us were already deprived of our royal status and privileges back at Britannia, so we're already ordinary people when we came to this damn country of yours!"
"What did you say?" Suzaku felt insulted, facing him. "How dare you say that about Japan!"
"We haven't done anything and yet, you treat us like dirt! Like we're scum of the earth!"
"I'm pretty sure there's another reason why you three are all here, your highness..." Suzaku said the greeting with venom in his voice to Lelouch.
"Cheeky little brat!" Cornelia was about to go to Suzaku when Lelouch ran towards him, already about to kick him with the left foot.
"Hah!" Suzaku blocked the attack, grabbing the Oxford shoe on his left foot before he shoved him by pushing his left palm on his stomach.
"See!" Lelouch grunted after Suzaku pushed him. "You're all talk..." Suzaku glared at him before he didn't notice Cornelia right behind him.
"Cut it out!!" Cornelia forcefully turned Suzaku around to face her. She then, afterwards, delivered a painful and sharp slap on the boy's left cheek with her right hand.
"What?" Suzaku murmured, feeling the pain on his left cheek.
"Please stop this, Suzaku."
Suzaku turned around again, seeing Nunnally gently grab his left hand. She had moved the wheelchair with her hands in order to approach him.
"My god..." Suzaku carefully studied Nunnally's face. "Are you..."
"You just don't get it, do you?" Lelouch stood up, being helped by Cornelia while he glared at him. "We're already suffering hardship even before we got here! And didn't you even bother to pay attention to my sister!"
"Dammit..." Suzaku gritted his teeth. He turned around and ran away. "GODDAMMIIT!"
Away from three former offsprings of Emperor Charles zi Britannia.
Unknown Realm
"This must be the handiwork of that Mao woman."
Nemo grunted, struggling to stand up. She felt sweat trickle down from her forehead to her cheeks.
"The Refrain..." Nemo didn't believe what had taken place. "Mao must have used Refrain to peek through Nunnally's memories. It's only a matter of time before she'll be placed in real danger."
Emergency Exit Stairs, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Alice had entered the NHK Saitama FM building's emergency exit staircase via the emergency exit door at the building's rear door next to the delivery area. Being fortunate that no hostiles were around to stop her, the Irregulars operative drew out a Walther P5 pistol from her shoulder holster.
"Nothing." Alice whispered, steadying her Weaver grip on her compact pistol. But I guess that's not strange. Mao's main expertise during her time with the Irregulars is interrogation and torture. Everything else is secondary.
She paused for a moment, hearing faint voices coming from the lower floors of the building.
"The voice..." Alice pondered on it before she shook her head. "Must be stress getting to me."
Despite the lack of enemies around, Alice proceeded cautiously on traveling down the stairs.
Because the next thing she needs is someone to sneak up on her, grab Alice from behind and throw her down on the ground.
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
The female Mao had kneeled next to Nunnally, her back against her wheelchair. She was also breathing heavily with sweat trickling down her forehead, thanks to the effects of Mao's Refrain geass.
"Three people are the ones you hold dear eh?" Mao was curious after she saw two of Nunnally's memories when she was in Japan years ago as a child. "Lelouch vi Britannia, Cornelia vi Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi."
The Irregulars deserter smirked. "It's really interesting." She leaned in to Nunnally. "I wish to learn more of your memories, my dear Nunnally."
Lobby, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Zero, Kallen, Marc and Rai ran inside the NHK Saitama FM building's main lobby, scanning it for any signs of people around.
"No signs of life around here." Kallen spoke, aiming her AK-105 all around the empty lobby.
"I do have some heartbeat signatures." Marc told everyone when he saw three blips on his heartbeat sensor monitor, still attached on his G36C's left picatinny barrel railing.
"Where are they?" Zero asked, seeing the two heartbeat signatures on the monitor.
"They seem to be coming not from the upper floors, that's for sure." Rai surmised, who had also studied the monitor himself.
"We need to check the lower floors." Marc walked towards a staircase near the lobby entrance, leading downstairs. "Hey! The signal's strong around here!"
"Alright." Kallen said, seeing the monitor for herself. "You can lead the way."
Heh. Marc grinned under his balaclava. "Of course, Ms. Kouzuki." He gestured to Rai to move down the stairs and lead the way.
Rai gave a thumbs up to respond to his hand signal, cradling the Fabrique Nationale P90LV submachine gun in his hands.
"Be sure to let Ken known that he needs to get a better vantage spot outside to keep an eye on things." Rai communicated with Marc via radio on the Lost Soldiers' encrypted frequency.
"Got it." Rai and Marc led Zero and Kallen downstairs towards the basement parking lots.
Penthouse, Hyatt Tokyo Settlement Hotel, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"I'm impressed that you're able to get the Hyatt's penthouse ready for me in such a hurry."
Jeremiah, now wearing his opaque eyepiece over his left ear, had peered from one of the penthouse's balconies to see the rest of the Tokyo Settlement's downtown area. He was also wearing flashy noble Britannian clothing with his white jacket worn over his purple shirt with his white pants and black Oxford shoes.
"Of course." V.V. replied on a secure comm line on Jeremiah's eyepiece as it has a built-in radio connected to Eden Vital headquarters. "It's best to be prepared at all times."
"Indeed."
"I've taken the liberty of asking my contacts in MI:5 and MI:6 regarding your targets. They're located in Ashford Academy."
"Ashford Academy." Jeremiah smirked upon hearing the location. "That sounds interesting."
"I'll give you the details tomorrow. Use this opportunity to prepare yourself for the upcoming mission at hand."
"I'll be sure to take care of that."
2009 ATB
Kitchen, Storehouse, somewhere in Japan
"What happened?"
Cornelia came back into the storehouse, carrying several plastic bags of groceries with her. Prior to her departure, she had instructed Lelouch to prepare the food for cooking dinner until she gets back.
"You're here." Nunnally greeted Cornelia when she arrived, moving her wheelchair with her hands to push the wheels herself.
"Are you alright, Nunnally?" Cornelia asked her half-sister.
"I'm alright." Nunnally nodded. "As you can see, Suzaku is helping me with her." She pointed to the direction of the voices, which came from Suzaku and a young Japanese girl similar to Nunnally's age. The two were apparently arguing with one another outside of the storehouse.
"I know her." Cornelia eyed the girl wearing a kimono with a white jacket worn over it. "Isn't she Kaguya Sumeragi?"
Nunnally nodded again. "Yes, it is."
"I see." Cornelia frowned when she placed the groceries near the kitchen sink. Lelouch assisted Cornelia in checking them when Nunnally asked her sister, "Is something the matter?"
"Nothing." The purple-haired woman shook her head. "I remember hearing a story yesterday that her cousin had disappeared from his home after we arrived in Japan."
"Oh."
"Don't worry." Cornelia smiled and gave Nunnally an affectionate hug. "I'm sure that he's alright."
"I hope so." Nunnally smiled back.
"Lulu." Cornelia called to her half-brother. "Can you help me with the rest of the groceries?" She wore an apron before turning the kitchen sink's tap on.
"Okay." Lelouch replied before he frowned at Cornelia. "And don't call me Lulu. I don't like that nickname."
"Why not?" Cornelia pouted. "I think it's cute."
"Well it's not!" Lelouch shouted, walking to the refrigerator. "At least I feel it's not."
"I think it's cute." Nunnally clapped her hands.
"Nunnally." Lelouch sighed, turning her head with a frowning face. "Don't tell that you support her too."
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"That's it, Nunnally. Keep going."
Mao approached her geassed victim, a wicked smile on her face.
"Hahh..." Nunnally gave a deep breath. "Haahhh..."
"I see that you're still looking at your memories from the past." Mao placed her left gloved hand on her right cheek. "And I find that to be quite nice."
The Chinese girl giggled, taking a closer look at Nunnally's face.
"I just hope you're having a good time there."
In another part of the basement parking lot, Marc and Ken took the lead in assisting Zero and Kallen in locating their objectives. They had arrived via the staircase in the basement parking area lobby next to the elevator.
"Elevators are down huh?" Rai murmured. "Quite a shame."
"The two heartbeats are getting stronger!" Marc informed the rest, seeing that his proximity to the two blips in the heartbeat sensor were now quite close.
"Allow me to help." Zero cracked his knuckles to punch the double glass doors with his left hand.
"Er..." Marc felt the need not to irritate Zero in any way. "Thanks."
Emergency Exit Stairs, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Alice peeked out of the door in the emergency exit stairwell, leading to the 1st basement parking level, seeing the four infiltrate the 1st basement parking lot.
"Zero and a Black Knight guerrilla..." Alice murmured. "But with the Lost Soldiers? What the heck's going on here?"
She waited until they had left the lobby entrance, enabling her to sneak past them.
"Okay." Pushing the emergency exit door gently, Alice crouched down and began to infiltrate the area herself while ensuring that she wasn't spotted.
"Here goes nothing." Alice whispered, following carefully behind the Lost Soldiers from a distance in order to avoid being caught.
Mao. Just what are you up to after all these years?
2009 ATB
Suzaku's Room, Kururugi Residence, somewhere in Japan
"Where is he? Where's Suzaku?"
Nunnally was wheeled into Suzaku's room by Cornelia. Lelouch was seated next to Suzaku, lying down in his bed with his pajamas on.
"Nunnally..." Suzaku addressed Nunnally, panting a bit due to the flu that he caught after he saved Nunnally from the underground WWII bunker that had been flooded recently in an accident.
"Suzaku." Nunnally greeted Suzaku. "Are you all right?"
Suzaku nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about me."
"Looks like someone's grateful." Lelouch glared at Suzaku. "You're only lucky that Cornelia and I found you by chance when we tried to find Nunnally."
"Big brother!" Nunnally yelled at Lelouch.
Lelouch sighed. "Fine." He waved his hand. "I'm sorry for yelling at ya a few seconds ago Suzaku..."
"It's alright." Suzaku shook his head.
"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Suzaku." Cornelia told the young boy, taking a seat on his bed next to him. "We were quite surprised when we found you and Nunnally..."
"I need to apologize." Suzaku said all of a sudden.
"Suzaku?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow, feeling confused.
"At first..." Suzaku told the Britannians. "I though you guys were snobbish and all, being the children of Emperor Charles zi Britannia." He began to slowly break down in tears. "But after I got to know you three, I saw you all in a different light. I..."
"Shhh..." Cornelia wrapped her arms around the sobbing Suzaku. "It's all right, Suzaku. We're all here for you." She smiled while giving him a hug.
Nunnally reached out and touched Suzaku on his right clenched hand.
Basement Parking Level 1, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"That's what I like about you, Nunnally." The female Mao leaned in closer to the fatigued Nunnally, a smile still on her face. "Trying to relive your happy memories in the past. You need to remember the pleasant moments once in a while..."
Mao quickly grabbed Nunnally's Ashford Academy uniform and ripped her blouse. "Good. Now then, let's get the stuff that the green-haired witch gave you."
"What the?" Mao was scared out of her wits when Nemo's original doll form emerged from Nunnally's chest before it assumed the form of Lelouch.
"Who are you and what are you trying to do?"
"UWAHAHAHAH!!" Mao fell down on her feet, confused of what had taken place. "You're.."
"Besides..." The Lelouch form suddenly changed and assumed the form of C.C. in her middle 20s. "You could have just asked me if you wanted some help from me."
"Get away." Mao grabbed her Glock 19 from her shoulder holster. "Get the hell away from me."
Mao panicked when the adult C.C. form tried to reach out to her left arm, firing a shot from her pistol at her chest. What? The eyepatched girl felt dumbfounded, seeing that the form didn't feel any kind of pain.
"Whaargghgh!" Mao felt some pain when the adult C.C. form touched her left arm, feeling something was about to either burst from it or explode.
"Hold it!"
Mao turned her hear around, seeing Marc and Rai aim their weapons at her.
"Dammit..." muttered Mao. "The Lost Soldiers..." She decided to flee, leaving a geassed Nunnally behind as Mao didn't want to be caught.
Nunnally. Kallen ran up next to Nunnally, kneeling near her to check her situation. "She seems okay. A bit tired."
"We'll go after her..." Marc told Kallen; he and Rai rush off to hunt down Mao as she had just fled away from them towards another area unknown.
Unknown Realm
"So these are the memories that you kept precious to you, Nunnally?"
Nemo felt tired, still in her human form. She gritted her teeth, even though not in pain from feeling Mao's Refrain geass course through Nunnally.
"That woman's geass is wearing off." Nemo thought, massaging her left shoulder. "She must have left a great distance away from her, otherwise I'd still be in pain."
Nemo sighed. I hope you become stronger, Nunnally. I can use your help to assist me in overcoming my flaw as a bi-product of the green-haired witch.
"But it seems," Nemo whispered. "that you're trying to hide something from the rest of the world aside from yourself. What is it, Nunnally?"
Basement Parking Level 2, NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Mao had already ran down one level to the NHK Saitama FM building's 2nd level basement parking, trying to get away from the pursuing Lost Soldiers.
"Stay back!" Mao yelled, turning her head back while running to fire off some shots from her Glock 19 at her pursuers.
Looks like I can keep them busy... The Chinese girl kept running, moving around the various debris set around the area while heading to the ramp that would take her to the lower basement parking levels.
"End of the line."
Mao heard a familiar voice, followed by a gunshot. "What the?" She stopped running after noticing the gunshot went for the concrete floor near her.
"Who the?" Mao saw who had fired the pistol. "Alice?"
"Hmph." Alice took aim with her P5 at Mao. "I never suspected that you'd resurface in Area 11 after all this time." She carried with him was looked like to see a small suitcase.
"My suppressants!" Mao shouted, pointing her Glock 19 at Alice. "Give it back!"
"Is this important to you?!" Alice pointed her pistol at the suitcase.
"You don't understand, Alice." Mao gritted her teeth. "I've used my Refrain geass to save the people in the ghettos. They were in need of help and so..." Mao pointed to herself. "I decided to give them the help they need."
"Don't move!"
Turning her head, Mao saw that her rear was cut off due to Marc and Rai's presence. They aimed their weapons at her, specifically for the head.
"I thought so." Marc said, recognizing Mao when he had the goggles' magnification zoomed up to her face. "It's you, Mao."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Rai demanded, aiming the P90LV's laser sight at her forehead. "Everyone in COSMOS back then knew that you were killed in an Irregulars-backed mission in Area 9 a few years ago."
"So this is all what you're dong huh? You think you're some savior or something?" Marc carefully aimed the Aimpoint CompML3 red dot sight mounted on the G36C's upper receiver at Mao's forehead too.
"Of course I am!" insisted Mao, aiming her Glock 19 at the two ex-child soldiers instead of Alice. "I've helped numerous people thanks to this!" She pointed to her eyepatch. "Don't you people realize that?"
"Unfortunately no." Alice answered, making Mao angry. "All that you've done is to make them addicted thanks to your geass."
"I don't know what kind of garbage you're spouting from your mouth, Mao." Marc uttered to Mao. "But I know this. You were there trying to hurt somebody and I don't like it."
"ALICE!" Mao shouted, removing her eyepatch. "Give the suppressants to me!!!"
"Move in!" Marc yelled to Rai. The two Lost Soldiers immediately moved in close to Mao while Alice threw the suitcase away from Mao to the feet of the Lost Soldiers before she dashed behind her, having her Speed geass activated.
"You can't win." Alice had her P5 aimed at Mao's head. "Especially if the Refrain can't do anything against the speed."
"Got this one!" Seeing the discarded suitcase had been hurled a few feet away from Rai, the Eurasian emptied the rest of the P90LV's magazine at the suitcase. Marc kept his G36C aimed at Mao in case she tries to do something drastic.
"NOOOO!" Mao felt her body slowly corroding, beginning from her left arm when she saw Rai riddle the suppressant-filled suitcase with 5.7 bullets. She shoved Alice from the back, making her fall down on the ground.
"Just quit..." Marc saw Mao activating her geass when she stared at him. Quickly switching the G36C's firing mode from auto to single, Marc took precise aim at Mao's left eye and fired a single 5.56 NATO round.
"GWAAHHHHH! MY EYE!!!!" Mao felt pain when her left eye was shot out while her body kept dissolving. Rai, on the other hand, reloaded his weapon with another 50-round magazine and replaced the empty one from its upper receiver. Alice was quick to stand up and recover from the fall.
Without saying anything else, the Lost Soldiers fired their weapon at Mao. Alice merely watched as Mao collapsed on the ground with her back first.
"I see..." Mao sighed before she began to laugh. "So this is my fate."
Alice stood up and aimed her P5 at her as Mao's entire body began to dissolve for the last time. The blonde Irregulars operator fired a single shot at Mao's chest when she was reaching out for her discarded Glock 19.
"Remember you all." Mao gave a stern warning to the Lost Soldiers and to Alice, coughing up blood after getting shot. "This is what can happen to those who had been with the Irregulars. AHAHAHAHHAHAHA..." She coughed a bit and laughed loud at them.
Mao then laughed no more when her body dissolved to nothing, leaving her clothes behind.
"So she crumpled to dust?" Marc crouched down next to Mao's discarded jacket. "How pitiful."
"Thank goodness." Rai sighed. "I was getting irritated with her. Never got along with Mao, even before all this crap."
Alice suddenly aimed her P5, this time at Marc. Marc was quick to aim his G36C at Alice in turn.
"Is this the time to do this?" Rai tried to mediate between the two. "Look, we have a common enemy to defeat and we took care of her. I believe we don't need to have another shootout after what happened a while ago."
Alice and Marc were still aiming their respective weapons at each other, seemingly not bothered by Rai's words.
"Fine." Marc sighed, lowering his G36C. "You have a point there."
"I feel the same way." Alice lowered her P5. "But perhaps the next time we meet in the battlefield once more, we're enemies."
"Perfectly understandable."
"So that's Alice..."
Zero observed the confrontation from a distance, hidden behind a pile of huge debris. Kallen was with him, carrying the unconscious Nunnally in her arms.
"Her geass is quite impressive, I must say."
"What do we do now?" Kallen asked Zero.
"What do we do?" Zero said, repeating the question Kallen had asked him. "We withdraw. There's nothing for us to do here." He pointed out to her Alice separately withdrawing with Marc and Rai doing the same thing likewise.
Knightmare Hangar, Eden Vital Base, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
"I didn't expect to see you back here so soon, my dear nephew."
V.V. had spoke to Rolo, who had entered the base's knightmare hangar. The immortal had personally went to the hangar a while ago to inspect the repairs for the knightmares of Rolo and the others after their previous skirmish in Narita.
"I needed to inspect the repairs done on the Vincents." Rolo replied, watching maintenance technicians conduct a spot check on Rolo's Vincent Prototype.
"I trust that everything is okay with Anya and Staff Sergeant Yoong."
Rolo nodded. "Yes, uncle. The Sergeant's training our forces. Anya's with him to be of assistance in case something comes up."
"Good." V.V. shifted his focus back on watching the technicians continue with their spot checks on the Rolo's Vincent before some of them began to do the same with the other Vincent belonging to Yoong.
"I heard that you arranged something with one of our agents in the military." Rolo inquired with V.V. "Is that true?"
The immortal faced Rolo and smirked. "I won't try to hide from your question, Rolo." He sighed. "In fact, I did arranged it with someone after making some contact with the Irregulars courtesy of Colonel Madd."
Outskirts of NHK Saitama FM radio building, Saitama, Saitama Ghetto, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Hey mate, you there?" Rai made initial contact with Ken, stationed at the roof of the abandoned coffee shop after changing sniper positions previously where Zero had killed the male Mao before he left his body in there. Marc assisted in escorting Zero and Kallen out of the NHK Saitama building.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ken replied back. "Hey, what the?"
"What's wrong?"
"GWAHAHAH!" A gunshot sound rang out before Ken shouted. It then followed by Ken falling from the roof onto the sidewalk.
"Hang in there!" Rai shouted, rushing in to aid the fallen sniper.
"Get down!" Kallen shouted, forcing the rest to duck down. She had to set Nunnally's body down next to her, gripping her AK-105 in case she needs to fire it.
Marc used his goggles to zoom in on the masked men wearing Britannian infantry gear and arming themselves with various Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifles.
"Shit!" Marc noticed who the balaclava-clad gunmen were. "The SAS."
"How did they track us here?" Kallen asked, now seeing two Sutherlands reinforcing two 4-man SAS squads in the ghetto streets.
"He's alright!" Rai managed to carry Ken in a fireman's lift, carrying also his MSG-90. "His goggles got cracked up, grazed by a sniper. Respirator's broken too." The white-haired teen placed an unconscious Ken on the ground. "I'll have to take them off."
"I'll cover you!" Marc conducted suppressive fire
Kallen watched Rai take off the damaged goggles and respirator from Ken's head after he took off his ballistic helmet. Zero helped Rai out in taking out the broken equipment. Next came off his balaclava.
What? Kallen was shocked to see who was under the balaclava when Rai took it off. It's Ken... What's he doing with the Lost Soldiers...
"Kallen!" Zero shouted to the Eurasian girl, getting her focus back on their current situation. "Snap out of it! They're advancing close to us!"
"We need to retreat!" Rai advised the group. "We can't stay here any longer..."
"Understood." Kallen said. Dammit! Gotta focus now.
"Rai!" Marc called for Rai's attention. "Get the smoke grenades out!"
"Right!" The two Lost Soldiers hurled out their entire stock of M18 smoke grenades from their assault vests. Kallen counted six M18s were tossed towards the incoming SAS attack force, assisting them by firing her AK-105 at them in order to force the commandos to seek cover.
"Wha-?" Ken got up after Marc gave him a flash of his water.
"You up? Good..." Marc grinned, handing him his MSG-90. "We're about to withdraw, but the SAS needs to be convinced of who they happen to be messing with."
Ken grinned, placing the MSG-90's buttstock on his left shoulder.
"Roger. I'll give them a good body count."
Kallen reloaded her AK-105, using huge rock debris for cover. In the midst of reloading, she noticed something on her twin brother's face.
His eyes turned from brown to blue when he squinted, especially while peering over the MSG-90's Hendsoldt scope.
"What the?" Kallen felt confused by what she had just seen in her brother's eyes.
"Do it!" Marc fired his G36C on the yellow smoke cloud.
"Got it!" In Ken's own vision, he was able to make out the SAS men on the ground by seeing them in a red shade on their entire figure to indicate them as enemies. Seconds later, Ken conducted head shots with the combination of his ability and his COSMOS training as one of the unit's snipers before his eventual defection.
"Leave this to me!" Zero moved in when he saw the Sutherlands moving in already to attack them with their machine pistols. He outstrecthed his arms and opened his hands to initiate the DOM HOSTIA attack on the Britannian knightmares.
Marc took cover behind a dilapidated 2002 Toyota Crown taxicab, reloading his G36C when he saw the Sutherlands malfunction before they blew up. The knightmare ejection seats had been subsequently activated, forcing the Devicers to be ejected from their knightmares as it had been programmed into them for safety reasons.
"Ungh!" Zero was struck by machine pistol fire from one of the Sutherlands before it exploded, hitting him in the chest.
"Zero!" Kallen shouted when she saw Zero go down.
"I'm alright." Zero reassured Kallen. "I'm alright." She saw that his chest had not been affected by the bullets in any way possible.
"Body count's rising!" Ken yelled, his eyes still blue while continuing to pick off the rest of the SAS commandos still confused by the smoke cloud.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Marc shouted, giving the signal to retreat once Ken had gestured to him that he was done killing off the squad. He reloaded his MSG-90 after doing so.
Kallen got Nunnally back in her arms, running with the Lost Soldiers after she had slinged her AK-105 on her left shoulder. Zero was the last to withdraw, teleporting out of the ghetto by disappearing after surrounding himself with some kind of black dark matter.
I need to ask Lelouch on how he sometimes does that disappearing trick. Kallen pondered on what to do the next day while running with Marc, Rai and Ken. The Lost Soldiers had their weapons slinged on their shoulders before they began to run.
"Remember guys! Head back to the base after we get back to the drop-off point." Marc turned his head around to see Kallen running with Nunnally in her arms. "And we need to drop her off too." He pointed to her with his left thumb.
"Right." Rai and Ken said in unison.
"Kallen." Zero contacted Kallen on her earpiece. "Meet me once you're able to safely secure Nunnally from the Saitama ghetto." Kallen saw Nunnally, still not awake and in her arms.
"Alright." Kallen replied. "What are you going to do with her?"
Inside 2009 Chevrolet Impala SS Arrow Cab Taxi, en route to Tokyo Settlement, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Hmm?" Alice was in a taxicab en route back to the Tokyo Settlement when she received a call from his cellphone.
"Hello." Alice picked up the call when she saw that it was a call from Sancia.
"Have you taken care of the problem?"
Alice stared outside from her seat before she replied, "It's taken care of Sancia. Mao's dead in the ghetto."
"Good. The Colonel will take care of the rest in case the public or the media decides to get curious about the events in the Saitama ghetto."
"Understood. Do I need to put up my report when I get back to the settlement?"
A few seconds of silence lingered when the answer came to Alice.
"Of course. Just be sure to hand it in when you can."
"Alright." Alice ended the call and sighed, still gripping her cellphone on her left hand.
Nunnally. I don't think you'll be safe in Ashford eventually. She closed her eyes and sighed again. But don't worry. I'll be there to protect you...
Outside Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Zero had materialized outside the clubhouse, having Nunnally in his arms after he told Kallen that he'll take care of the rest. It was almost sunset now; all of the students have left Ashford Academy grounds including faculty and staff personnel with the exception of some students and faculty that had stayed in the campus' respective dormitories.
None of the guards are around yet. Probably keeping an eye on all of Ashford Academy's gates to ensure the non-dorm students are out. Zero approached the clubhouse's front porch and laid Nunnally on one of the rocking chairs.
Seeing that his business was done, Zero's helmet, cape and suit began to dissolve. In his place stood Lelouch, who as always wore the same clothes when he left the clubhouse to rescue Nunnally.
"Now I just hope Sayoko and Cornelia are home." Lelouch gently opened the door to the clubhouse before he picked up Nunnally, carefully ensuring that he had a good hold on her before he went inside.
Vehicle Hangar, Lost Soldiers Base, Okuchichibu Mountains, somewhere near Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"Welcome back." Rakshata greeted Marc, who had been the last to arrive at the Lost Soldiers' secret base after Rai and Ken had evacuated earlier ahead of him.
"Thanks." Marc had already stored his motorbike when he had arrived back at the base.
"That was quick of you." Rakshata twirled her pipe in her left hand. "Were you followed?"
"Nah." Marc shook his head. "I got here through the ghettos. Even though the SAS were in the area, Ken took care of them after we laid some smoke cover."
"I see." Rakshata grinned. "I believe that happens to be Synesthesia, if I'm correct there."
Marc nodded. "Indeed." He chuckled at Rakshata. "I need to thank the bastards who kidnapped and brainwashed us to be COSMOS soldiers. The stuff they did to us turned out to be a blessing in disguise after all."
"Boss!" Rai got a hold of Marc on his tactical headset. "We've got trouble!"
"What kind?" Marc responded, feeling alarmed by Rai's urgent call.
"The infiltration type."
"What do you mean?"
"Get inside. We've detained the smartass who tried to get inside."
Knightmare Hangar, Lost Soldiers Base, Okuchichibu Mountains, somewhere near Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Rakshata and Marc made it back to the knightmare hangar after being told by Rai of his location. He and several of the other Lost Soldiers have detained a man with brown hair tied in a ponytail wearing a red shirt, blue jacket and pants with black Venetian loafer shoes on, aiming their Heckler and Koch G36s at him from all sides. The rifles had Navy Trigger groupings, consisting of Safe, Semi and Full Automatic options.
"I never expect that I would meet the leader of the Lost Soldiers." grinned the ponytailed man, his hands placed behind his head after being detained when the base's support personnel caught him trying to sneak inside the hangar.
"Diethard Reid." Marc recognized who the detained man was in an instant. "You're one of the BRBC's best producers before you were demoted, from what I heard from the internet." Good thing the guys, including Edward, wore their goggles and respirators to conceal their faces before I gave them clear, explicit instructions to do so.
"Hmph." Diethard smirked. "Just the ways of how my superiors handle those who don't follow some special instructions given to them."
"On your knees!" Edward and Henri moved in on the detained man, the former with his right hand on Diethard's right shoulder in order to push him down. "On your knees!"
This is strange. Marc began to think about the situation while Diethard was being forced to go down on his knees, his hands still on the back of his head. One of the world's known TV producers is here on our base after having some kind of trouble with BRBC executives. On the other hand, I wonder if this is his way of getting back at them. Hmm... This is bothering me bad that I need to do something.
Marc immediately drew out a Glock 31 pistol from his assault vest after he walked in front of the kneeling Diethard. He then swiftly followed it by pressing the pistol's barrel on his forehead.
"You have exactly 10 seconds to explain yourself, Diethard Reid." Marc gave his warning to the Britannian, his left index finger over the Glock 31's trigger guard. "What are you doing here and what do you exactly wish to accomplish by being in the base of the Lost Soldiers?"
Diethard grinned in response. "I have information that may interest you."
"Information?" Marc's interest began to perk up.
"I decided to volunteer myself since I want to record history to bring down the old order under the Lost Soldiers."
"The old order?"
"Damn..." Yi sighed, keeping her G36 trained on Diethard. "Another Lost Soldier fanboy."
"But quite an interesting one." Ken seemed to concur. "So boss man, what do we do now?"
Marc started to think about what Diethard had told him. Quite interesting. A Britannian actually wanting to join us aside from the many anonymous Britannians fighting in terrorist and guerrilla groups with either the left or the right.
"Looks like you have a point." Marc said, keeping his aim on Diethard. "What kind of information do you have in mind?"
Diethard kept his grin up in front of the Lost Soldiers.
"Something that concerns the Lost Soldiers as a whole."
On the walls of Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"It's quite the first time that I've seen Ashford Academy from this angle."
Jeremiah was perched on the high walls of Ashford Academy, built way high above average human height to keep unwanted intruders out of school property. But for the Eden Vital cyborg agent, he had no problem when the ex-Purist member leaped on it thanks to his reconstruction done by V.V. on Jeremiah's body.
"I'll need to thank V.V. for the cyborg reconstruction that he did to my body." Jeremiah grinned, scanning the academy at nightfall when he had night vision on the opaque eyepiece activated to scan the school grounds. "Good, the guards aren't around to see me from up here on the walls."
Focusing his attention on the clubhouse, Jeremiah observed the building on night vision for a minute before he switched over to thermal vision.
"I count at least four..." Jeremiah murmured before he frowned. "No five." The cyborg mused on his thoughts. "No wait a minute, now it's four again. Hmm.. Must've left the place or something. I'll need to come back again later to do another assessment on the place since it's getting late. He recommended that I start my work tomorrow."
Satisfied with his intial recon, Jeremiah leaped off the wall towards the roof of a nearby building as he began to make his way towards the direction of the Hyatt Hotel.
Lelouch's Room, Clubhouse, Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
C.C. was seated on Lelouch's bed, staring outside. "So it appears that he already left the premises."
A black sphere materialized in the middle of Lelouch's room. After it appeared, it dematerialized to leave only Lelouch behind in his pajamas.
"I had a feeling that someone was around." Lelouch looked outside. "Someone unwanted."
"Hmm..."
"Back to business, C.C." Lelouch eyed the green-haired girl. "I heard Mao uttering your name. So who is he and how is he related to you?"
"I was in China a few years ago, wandering around the countryside." C.C. began to narrate her experience prior to her arrival in Area 11. "I saw this young boy, who was crying all day long."
"And this boy happens to be Mao?" Lelouch deduced, based on C.C.'s initial explanation.
C.C. nodded. "You're correct. We became inseparable, even after I gave him the geass. He felt lonely and I pitied him, so I decided to stay wit him."
"And what happened after that?"
"Each day, Mao became obsessively close to me after he found out how to use his geass." C.C. sighed and hugged her Cheese-kun doll. "I was worried to the point that I decided to leave him."
Lelouch didn't know if he had to sympathize with C.C. or not. Figures. Deciding to ditch him after giving him a geass that changed his personality.
"Did you kill him?" C.C. asked, still hugging her doll."
"That I did." Lelouch replied. "I killed him when I was with the Lost Soldiers."
"I see." C.C. murmured. She then said, "I believe that's for the best."
"You feel nothing for Mao?" Lelouch glared at C.C. "After what had happened to him?"
"Remember, Lelouch." C.C. reminded the ex-prince. "The geass manifests differently in each person, so it's not like I can predict what kind of geass they wil have once they have been granted the power."
"At least I had a different geass." Lelouch flexed his right arm. "I have the Armor geass, which happens to be very useful to me."
"So what do you intend to do now?" C.C. changed the topic of their conversation. "Now that you have some sort of alliance made with the Lost Soldiers, though informally created?"
"Who knows." Lelouch walked to the door. "It'll depend on what will happen tomorrow."
Somewhere in Eden Vital Base, somewhere in Area 11, Britannian Empire
"I assume that you have some bad news for me."
V.V. spoke to Yoong, the two of them alone in one of the many corridors of Eden Vital's base somewhere in the Britannian colony.
"Yeah." Yoong sighed. "Colonel Madd told me to relay the information to you; the SAS squad sent to take care of the Lost Soldiers."
"I see." V.V. replied. "But that doesn't matter anyway."
The Malaysian Chinese soldier was confused. "Excuse me?"
"You don't need to worry, my dear Sergeant." V.V. reassured him. "I have some backup plans in place in case a thing like this has happened..."
Conference Room, Lost Soldiers Base, Okuchichibu Mountains, somewhere near Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Rai and Marc were alone in the conference room, having their ballistic helmets, balaclavas, goggles and respirators discarded as the two of them were the only ones inside.
"So what about the prisoner?" Marc asked Rai, moments after he had given him instructions to detain Diethard for the meantime in order to validate his claims. "Anything yet?"
"Nah." Rai shook his head. "We're still checking all the underground anti-Britannian web sites and forum boards for any claims of some sort of challenge against us."
"All right." Marc nodded. "For the time being, we have a few things to take care of. One, we've already received a transmission from Li Xingke in China and another from RVA representatives in the mainland. They need our assistance, but details are still sketchy. Two, we need to make sure that the Eden Vital does have a base in Area 11. From what you told need after you interrogated a ninja from Eden Vital with your geass, it's located somewhere near Shikinejima."
"How do we take care of them?" Rai asked. "I mean, the first issue at least seeing as we can take care of the second one in no time."
"The way I see it," Marc felt pain coursing through his temples. "we need to at least get some of our people working with them ASAP while we try to confirm the location of Eden Vital's base here."
"Sounds workable." Rai said with some concern. "But we need to consult the others later on to get their opinion."
Mariel Lubie's Apartment, somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
"What do I do?"
Mariel sat in her bed inside her room, reading the folder left to her by Lenard after she claimed it from Metropolitan Police custody prior to having his body rest in Area 11. It had been his personal request as he grew to love the place, referring to it as Japan instead of the name given to the ex-nation by Britannia.
"Father said the folder has some information for me to read." Mariel leafed through the folder, confused. "But I don't get this."
In the folder was the trident insignia of Eden Vital.
"What is this?" murmured the woman, seeing the insignia for the first time.
Corridor, Lost Soldiers Base, Okuchichibu Mountains, somewhere near Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Britannian Empire
Rai and Marc were now in the corridors of their base, wearing their gear to conceal their identities once more from their non-Lost Soldiers comrades. With the exception of their rifles and/or submachine guns, they merely had their assault vests on.
"I heard some word from our Russian sympathizers." Rai informed Marc. "They've been able to successfully procure some special gear for us."
"Really?" Marc felt suddenly excited. "What kind of gear?"
"They said helicopter, all straight from the Mil Helicopters factories." Rai told him. "And furthermore, Kyoto has agreed to facilitate their transportation to us. Said that they're something special that we can use."
"All good to hear, but I'm not sure if this base can hold all of them. When we're able to confirm where Eden Vital's main base, we may need to move so to be close to their location."
"Bad news!"
Henri came running to see the two.
"What is it?" Rai asked Henri, sensing some trouble from him.
"We've managed to check on all the forum boards and websites." Henri said between pants. "We found one forum post that may be of significance."
"From who?" It was Marc's turn to ask the Swiss Frenchman.
"According to the information we received," Henri was about to hesitate when he felt Marc's glare on him. "the message is directed to us from Darlton."
Chapter 15 END
PS - Well, the two Drama CD references from the previous chapter consist of the following episodes. One of them's based from the C.C., Kallen and Tamaki encounter when C.C. kicks Tamaki out (which I loved. XP). The other's actually based on Ougi sheltering an amnesiac Viletta. But since she's dead, she won't play a part in this story. Well, except for Jeremiah's motivation. Aside from that, figure out where they are in the previous chapter. XP
Well for Nunnally being "affected" by Mao's Refrain geass, I remember that the NoN manga showed some happy and some non-happy scenes regarding her life. Well, most of them were flashbacks. But I believed that her geass had a role in it. Of course, I could be wrong. But whatever, I don't care as long as it can serve the purpose of telling the story. Also, I'll be labeling Michael Yoong in the rest of the story's upcoming chapters from here as "Yoong" in order to distinguish from the other Michael of the Lost Soldiers. I should've done it earlier.
Recently, I've been watching some stuff like Claymore, Kaze no Stigma and Canaan as well as catching up to Requiem for the Phantom and FMA: Brotherhood. For some reason, I feel like getting a character cameo from Canaan since it rocks and it's made by the people in Type-Moon. :D
In terms of story progression, I could say that it's perhaps approaching the end I guess. Just maybe need to do a few more "scenes" before the big, incoming finale.
The heartbeat monitor sensor's based from the Modern Warfare 2 game coming out this year. Quite simple.
For this chapter, all reviews/comments/queries/constructive flames (or thoughts) are generally appreciated as always. Let me know how the story is, wheter you like or if something should be fixed or looked at. Thanks to those who placed this story in their Favorite Story/Alert tabs. I appreciate more reviews though. He he he...
As for the other characters (Suzaku, Euphie, Lloyd), they'll show up in the next chapter or two so don't get your stuff in a twist yeah? They'll show up next. And yeah, for the last part. You can guess; it's a homage from the same game where I got the inspiration of the ninjas and child soldiers from. (If you can't guess, then prepare to be blown away by an RPG! XD)
Look forward to the upcoming cyborg Jeremiah vs Zero and his seemingly invulnerable armored suit, helmet and cape fight. Perhaps I need to implement the Suzaku killed Genbu scene? Let me think about that.