Alright. We've had a lot of large chapters recently. Let's try to tone it down a bit.
By that I mean me. I often get lazy while writing, so I make up for it with quick update speeds, even with chapters consisting of two episodes.
That's not on.
So, this time, it's gonna be one episode, with lots of new content. Fair?
Now, Patch, Arisoto was cool.
Deviate Fish, that was meant to be a playful jab, not meant to be an actual shot at you. Sorry if offense was taken.
And Lelouch will get plenty in due time. He's just a little preoccupied with plots and terrorism at the moment.
Karasu, all will be revealed.
Pogg, maybe I'll get around to it someday.
-}+{-
The Chinese Union.
A large collection of nations that boasts the largest population of all the world's superpowers.
However, the majority of this population is made up of the elderly.
The symbol of this nation, the child Empress Tianzi, is an unwilling puppet.
The group of high level officials that use and control her power behind the scenes are oppressive and despotic, whereby poverty and stagnation sap away the vitality from the citizens.
The Black Knight who fled Japan on their new land, are headed towards this Chinese Union. The current holders of power, the Eunuch Generals, have granted Penglai Island, an artificial island used to generate tidal power in the Yellow Sea, in the bay of the Jiangsu Region, to the Japanese.
While the Black Knights did not need this land, the political implications of this offer would only be fully realised afterwards.
Lelouch looked over his new city with pride. It hadn't been easy building it, but it was worth it.
The land was built around and using the groudon that Silver had captured, which also gave the effect of artificial sunlight. It was also built around the kyogre that was once used as the Abyss, which meant that not only could this island city move and have clean rain water, it could also go underwater.
That was where Red's mewtwo came in.
Suzaku's Lancelot is only a beta design for mewtwo, an attempt at mass production similar to what deoxys was now. But, while being exceptionally powerful, it wasn't the strongest pokémon in the world.
That title belonged firmly to Red's Vengeance.
The words in Professor Fuji's diary in the ruins of the Pokémon Mansion described it the best;
"We dreamed of creating the world's strongest pokémon… and we succeeded."
Vengeance was close to a physical god of destruction. Were it not for the sheer level of Red's confidence- borderline megalomania- at the time, the world would have been torn asunder by its strength.
However, because a ten year old boy truly believed himself to be unstoppable, he conquered a being capable of cracking the planet in two with one paw.
Now, this former demon turned its powers to construction. For one time only, it opened its mind to the people Lelouch had assembled, giving them a taste of what it was like to be the incarnation of power.
With the help of Brock, it built stone and steel walls. With the guidance of Wattson and Volkner, it laid down power lines and utilities. Winoa and Falkner showed it how to optimize the sunlight and wind loading on the buildings, while Koga, Misty and Flannery worked with it to perfect the city's layout, fluid dynamics and defense systems.
In three days, it was complete, and Vengeance retreated to the core to meditate. As the focus of its power, it used the Blue and Red orbs connected to the main generators of the city, bringing Zero City to life.
Groudon created the land.
Kyogre cultivated the land.
Vengeance built the city.
"Your mewtwo even creates enough energy to power both the electricity and the force fields." Lelouch marvelled to Ash.
"We can take this bad boy underwater and we'll still have perfect weather inside the bubble." The younger brother bragged.
Lelouch sighed. "C.C.'s in the room, and you just said that?" he asked.
"I know you want to see it too." The witch told Lelouch.
Lelouch smirked, then he opened up a Com channel. "Prepare for Dive."
It was truly breathtaking.
The entire city sank under the water, without a single drop of water entering the city walls.
The forcefield was so… subtle, it didn't even distort the light, like glass did.
"Ah, man…" Tamaki whistled, reaching out through it and grabbing a squirtle, pulling it inside the bubble. "Dude, this is awesome! Here Ohgi!" he added, handing it to his boss.
"Huh?" Ohgi asked, taking the wild turtle from Tamaki.
"I know how much Naoto's blastoise meant to ya." Tamaki smiled, handing him a net ball.
Ohgi's jaw dropped at this rare display of thoughtfulness, then accepted it gratefully, capturing the squirtle.
"If the shield can withhold this much outside pressure, and still allow objects from inside the sphere to pass through freely…" Toudou realised. "We can attack from within this city while the shields block all enemy attacks."
"How can you think of battle strategies at a time like this?" Chiba asked him with a smile.
Diethard looked around the underwater city, spinning around slowly with his arms spread wide. "Haha…" he managed, before laughing forcefully with sheer joy. "Only Zero could achieve something like this!" he shouted with delight. "He truly is a man capable of becoming a god!"
C.C. looked at the submarine city with a genuine smile on her face as she stroked Jiro.
"Come on." Lelouch told Ash, popping in his contact. "This city isn't going to organise itself."
"Hey, do you really plan on taking over the capital city of the Chinese Union?" Kallen asked Lelouch as she fiddled with the wires in the over-head cabinet.
"In a method that doesn't involve invading." Lelouch explained, taking care of the electronics in the floor panel. "If Luo Yong falls into our hands, then the conditions for defeating Britannia will almost be met."
Kallen looked down at him, then up with a smile. 'I guess he's alright now…' she thought to herself.
"Hey, do you have some wire cutters up there?" Lelouch asked, making Kallen trip and fall.
Onto him.
They lay there for a few moments, noses touching, brains trying to think of what to do next, with various other organs giving very clear instructions.
"Tell me, Lelouch." Kallen asked, pushing herself up to see him better. "Why did you come back?"
"Kallen, when this is all over, would you come back to Ashford Academy with me?" he asked her, dodging the question entirely.
"Tabasco Sauce."
Kallen and Lelouch leaned their heads back to see C.C. watching them while eating a pizza. "Since when we you there!" Lelouch demanded.
"Who cares?" C.C. asked. "Where's my Tabasco Sauce? All we've got is hot sauce in here."
Lelouch looked over to the left where there was a box of ketchup, a box of brown sauce, a box of barbecue sauce, a box of mayonnaise, a crate of Tabasco Sauce…
'Ah.' Lelouch realised, noticing the subtle innuendo. 'Right.'
_\_ "LORD ZERO!" _\_ Kaguya's voice shouted over the speaker. _\_ "Please come to the throne room right away!" _\_
"It's not a throne room dammit!" Lelouch sighed, sliding himself out from under Kallen and removing the contact lens covering his Geass. "C.C., is my Zero case over there?"
She wordlessly picked up an unmarked black ceramic briefcase for him. Lelouch grabbed it, then dropped it on the floor. It opened up into a mass of strengthened zirconium, and Lelouch stepped into it.
The ceramic armour then leapt up around his front and back, strapping around his torso and legs as the arm plating leapt around his arms, solidifying into the blood red gauntlets of Zero.
The back collar popped up around the back of Lelouch's head as the sleeveless cloak unfurled, and Lelouch placed the mask of Zero over his face, the back unfolding over his hair.
Lelouch's transformation into Lord Zero took exactly nine and a half seconds.
"You know, the ones you handed out to everybody only did it with cloth and wires." Kallen complained. "And we had to open the box ourselves."
"Yours was one-use only." Zero told her. "It would take me a good hour to put this armour on manually."
"A political marriage?" Zero asked Kaguya after she explained the situation to him.
"Yes." She confirmed. "The invitation to the marriage ceremony went to the Sumeragi Concern. The bride is Empress Tianzi, the symbol of the Chinese Union. She wanted to invite me as a friend."
"And the Groom is Britannia's first prince." Toudou growled.
"Some guy called Odysseus." Blue added. "Ick."
"So this means we won't have time to carry out the original plan." Silver growled.
"Think the Eunuch Generals planned this?" Ohgi asked.
"No, this is a move by Britannia." Zero replied.
"Then… we're…"
"In a worst case scenario." Zero told Ohgi. 'Damn, I wanted to control Tianzi before this happened. To think that mediocre prince would be used this early…'
"What's everyone so worried about?" Tamaki asked. "We were exiled! Britannia doesn't concern us anymore. We're freakin' underwater for crying out loud!"
"It's not like they're letting us off." Misty said. "Besides, as a political marriage, there's a good chance that China will turn around and attack us."
"Who let you in newbie?" Rivalz asked.
"My bad." Red sighed. "But we've only got a week's supplies to feed the million people in here, and the farm's won't be able to feed us all for another month, and there's no way we can catch enough fish to support us until then."
"Wait, so what'll we do for food?" Kallen asked.
"We were going to trade with the Chinese Union, but if this marriage goes through, that isn't exactly gonna happen." Ohgi sighed.
"So we're just gonna starve?" Rivalz snapped.
"NoooOOOOOOOOoooOOOO!" Tamaki shouted. "Guys! This is a huge problem! We can't just stand around not doing anything!"
"Which is why we're talking about this now…" Ohgi sighed.
"Hey, this is a suspiciously well-played move." Silver whispered into Zero's ear.
"I know." Zero nodded. "A chance to break the icy relations between Britannia and China and keep us under control in one fell swoop. Only one man could play such a devil-like move."
'Schneizel…' Lelouch glared from behind the mask.
That evening, at the party, Empress Tianzi sat terrified next to her husband-to-be.
"Did the Empress consent to this?" Suzaku asked Cecile.
"We can only assume so." She replied. "Besides, this is one path to peace."
"I suppose…" Euphie sighed, clutching her knight's arm.
"Aaah, there you are!" Lloyd declared, walking past them over towards Milly, who was made-up in a blue dress.
"Um… am I still your fiancée? Count Lloyd?" she asked him nervously.
"Hm?" he pondered, scratching his head in confusion. "I don't remember annulling it…"
"Wow, this is rare." A built, brown-haired man in a green suit smirked as he strode over to the two. "Lloyd taking an interest in a fellow human being."
"Ah, Brandon!" Lloyd declared. "This is my fiancée, Milly Ashford!" he introduced her.
"I am the Pyramid King Brandon, Knight of Four." The man stated, slapping Milly in the shoulder. "Thank you for putting up with this looney! I thought he'd have to build himself a wife one day!"
"Erm…" Milly asked, rather surprised at the prospect. She had to admit, however, that she could imagine Lloyd doing exactly that.
"Announcing the second prince of Britannia, Prime Minister Schneizel!"
The crowd turned and buzzed excitedly at the sight of the second prince, raising a hand in greeting as he was followed by a few guards and a bespeckled dark haired woman.
Curiously, his only aide that evening was Wallace, who seemed a little worse for wear despite the atmosphere at the party.
"Hey, that can't be…" Milly gasped, recognising the woman walking in with the prince. "Nina!"
"Excuse me." Brandon whispered to Lloyd and Milly as Schneizel gave a quiet command to Nina. "I need to go grovel now."
He knelt between Tube Queen Lucy, Knight of Seven, and White Reaper Suzaku, Knight of Five. "Your highness." Brandon told the prince. "His majesty has instructed us to be under your command here, Prince Schneizel."
"Three Rounds members." Schneizel nodded with a smile. "That is indeed dependable. However…"
"Yes, your highness?" Brandon asked, knowing the answer already.
"This is a celebration." Schneizel sighed. "I wish you would be more relaxed."
"Suzaku?" Nina asked the Knight of Five as they stood to their feet. "How is everyone at school doing?"
"Look over there." Suzaku gestured, nodding towards Milly.
"Hi~!" the blonde young woman waved.
"Ah, Milly!" Nina smiled.
"Representative of the Sumeragi Concern!" the party guard declared a few minutes later. "Kaguya Sumeragi has arrived!"
Everyone turned to see the old Japanese, princess, then promptly forgot about her at the sight of her '+1'
Zero.
Kallen and Rivalz had also come along to act as his guards. Rivalz, while refusing to lose his beard, admittedly looked more respectable in a jacket with both sleeves attached and his hair combed.
"Who invited this terrorist?" one man hissed quite loudly.
"Oh my." Schneizel smirked, holding a wine glass to his face.
'Schneizel.' Lelouch thought. 'So you were behind this after all.'
"You're almost done with your credits, aren't you?" Nina asked Milly on the balcony.
"Yeah, and after that…" Milly sighed, turning to her friend. "But, I'm glad. You seem to be working hard too, Nina. That's somewhat relieving."
"A relief?" Nina asked, looking at the stars.
Milly nodded. "You know, if you ever need to talk, you know that I'm there for you, right?"
"Stop it." Nina told her friend. "I like you, Milly, but I don't like women who are just about appearances." Her eyes lowered, "Princess Euphemia didn't run away. She saved me with her life. Only Princess Euphemia saved me…"
"But, I—"
"I DON'T NEED A WORD OF YOUR SYMPATHY!" Nina shouted. "Milly, you're always just playing around, using Ashford Academy as a shield when you're in trouble! Your relationship with Lloyd is the same, isn't it?" she turned to the blonde in anger. "You're always looking down on me, drunk on hypocrisy with your damned guardian-like face! I'm no longer the person I once was! ACKNOWLEDGE ME ALREADY!"
Guards surrounded the Black Knights with spears and milotic. "Kaguya!" Tianzi shouted, standing up, only to be forced down by a Eunuch General's forceful grip.
"The tribute arrived on its own accord~." He told her with a grin.
"Is Kaguya going to Britannia too?" Tianzi asked.
"Just forget about her already~." She was ordered by another Eunuch. "She's a girl destined for the death penalty."
"That's wrong!" Tianzi shouted. "This isn't Britannia!"
"The Black Knights killed Gao Hai~." The second Eunuch reminded her. "Zero slew him with his own hands~."
"Let us deal with these affairs~." The first told her, leaning closer to her face. "Isn't that how we've done things all this time~?"
"Stop this quarrel already." Schneizel ordered, stepping forward. "Tonight is a celebration, is it not? I believe this is why Zero has come in dress clothes, not his new battle armour?"
"But—~!" a Eunuch protested while Zero nodded.
"Miss Sumeragi." Schneizel continued, interrupting the Eunuch. "At the ceremony tomorrow, I would like to ask you please refrain from bringing Zero along with you."
"That… can't be helped, I guess." Kaguya conceded.
"If Britannia's Prime Minister says so~…" the front most Eunuch sighed, waving an arm sharply. "Back off~!"
'Schneizel.' Lelouch thought smugly as the Prime Minister approached him. 'So you come before me yourself—' Suzaku ran between the two, glaring at Zero's mask. 'Of course, he would take such a precaution.'
"Kururugi, do you remember me?" Kaguya asked the knight, twirling in front of Zero. "Your cousin?"
"Of course." Suzaku replied flatly.
"We are now the only ones left of the Six Houses of Kyoto." Kaguya told him.
"Kirihara and the others were supporters of terrorism." Suzaku explained. "The death penalty couldn't be avoided."
"Have you forgotten the fact that Lord Zero once saved you in the past?" Kaguya asked him. "Do you plan on bringing the death penalty on the one who saved you?"
"The two things are different." Suzaku growled after his initial shock at the question. "Sparing me while killing so many others only serves to highlight his crimes."
"Such a pity~!" Kaguya sang, clapping her hands together. "If only words can kill a person."
"Prince Schneizel." Zero requested. "I have heard about your skills. Would you give me the honour of a friendly battle between us?"
"Oh?" the prince asked, his interest taken hold. "Would you like to place a wager on this battle?
"Very well." Zero replied calmly as Lelouch smirked. "Upon my victory, I would like you to give me Lord Kururugi. He would make a fine gift for Lady Kaguya." He added in response to everyone's gasps of confusion.
"My, that would be the best present!" Kaguya shouted gleefully.
'Once Suzaku is gone, I can use my Geass on everyone in this room.' Lelouch smirked to himself. 'I don't even need to cast eternal obedience, just for them to acknowledge me as the Emperor of China.'
"You sound very confident that things will go in your favour." Schneizel replied with a smirk. "So you won't object to an equally steep prize upon my victory, either?"
"Then, if you shall win, I shall give you this mask I am wearing." Zero told him, predicting the prince's request. 'Either way, I win.'
Schneizel chuckled. "This might turn out to be an interesting bonus. Wallace, Lucy?" he asked, calling the two people over. "Start a bookie's on Zero's true identity. I place ten thousand pounds on him being one of Grandmaster Red's illegitimate son's."
"Sir, that would make him… ten years old at the most!" Wallace protested.
"Three to one." Lucy decided, already jotting down a spreadsheet. "Red is a man whore."
Brandon laughed. "I'm not arguing with your odds!" he declared. "What do I get for Vampire?"
"Seventeen to one." Lucy decided. "Vampires aren't real."
A crowd had gathered in one of the ceremonial arenas, eager to see this face off between the masked revolutionary and the Prime Minister of Brittania.
"This battle shall go by the Battle Tower Rules." Brandon, the acting judge, announced. "Each trainer may use up to three pokémon that must be chosen beforehand. Set battle, pokémon may be switched freely, no items the pokémon don't bring in with them. I would prefer for us to battle using my Pyramid rules, but we simply do not have a convenient one nearby."
'Gengar, charizard and lucario.' Lelouch decided, placing the three balls on the table as Schneizel placed a luxury ball, timer ball, and friend ball on the table.
"Both of you, choose your pokémon." Brandon commanded. Zero grabbed gengar's dusk ball and Schneizel chose the luxury ball. "And… THROW!"
"GENGAR!" Zero declared, tossing his ball into the arena as Schneizel casually sent out a lapras. "Focus Blast."
"Ice beam." Schneizel ordered, almost casually as his ferry pokémon was launched across the room, making a crater in the wall. "Oh…"
"Finish it." Lelouch smirked. "Thunderbolt, then Nightshade."
The water and ice pokémon fell without resistance to the much faster sweeper. "My, this isn't good." Schneizel commented, recalling his lapras and selecting the timer ball. "Aegis." He said, sending out a blue shuckle.
"Nightshade." Lelouch ordered, and the room was filled with darkness as red clouds distorted the space around shuckle, causing serious damage while ignoring its defences entirely.
"Power Swap, then Rest." Schneizel ordered with a smirk.
The blue gas around gengar faded, and it looked around itself in confusion as its power left it entirely, replaced with a weakness of the sleeping shuckle. "Impossible!" Zero shouted. "Shuckle can't learn Power Swap!"
"Wobbuffet can't learn Punishment either." Schneizel told Zero with a disarming smile.
Lelouch scowled, enraged at not foreseeing that strategy, while being impossible for himself, as a possibility for his opponent. "NIGHTMARE!" Zero commanded, just as shuckle woke up. 'Of course, its ability lets it store all the berries it wants inside that shell and consume them unconsciously.' Lelouch realised, recognising that he was quickly approaching 'screwed.'
"Trick Room." Schneizel ordered, and his Aegis performed another affront against the limits of movesets. "Now, Curse." Aegis shuddered, it's body glowing as i's body hardened to boost its attack and defensive abilities, while at the same time restricting its movements.
"Use Curse as well!" Zero ordered, and his gengar created a large, silver nail made from smoke and drove it into his own stomach, placing a curse upon Aegis.
The curse faded almost instantly. 'Lum Berries…' Lelouch realised. "Nightshade!" he commanded.
"Gyro ball." Schneizel commanded, and the gengar was smacked down by an orb of silver energy that materialised before its face at high speed before the ghost had charged a Nightshade. "Now, Giga Drain."
The grass attack finished the ghost, and Zero recalled the pokémon, looking over his other two choices. "Charizard! Flamethrower!"
The shuckle shrugged the attack off, spreading spikes around the arena as the dragon unleashed a blast of fire from its mouth. "Seismic toss!" Zero shouted while the arena burned, squirtle squad rushing around the room as the dragon swooped down and picked the shuckle, carrying it into the air and throwing it into the wall as a squirtle's hydro-pump hit it.
"That's rather dirty." Schneizel chuckled. "But good strategy."
Aegis the shuckle landed on the ground, spinning, then began eating berries from within its shell.
'I can't use Roost because of the toxic spikes…' Lelouch thought angrily, then deciding to go all out "Substitute, then BELLY DRUM!"
The charizard split into two, then roared, smacking its own stomach wildly as the clone hovered there limply.
Then the Blaze kicked in.
The flame on charizard's tail grew to half the size of the dragon itself, and the flamethrower coming from its mouth burnt through the metal flooring under the stone tiles of the arena.
Except for the area underneath the shuckle.
"Ancient Power." Schneizel sneered, and rocks surrounded Aegis, launching them with a wave of power at the Fire and Flying type with all the Special Attack force of a very powerful gengar.
The substitute took the attack as charizard rushed forward in a Flare Blitz, filling the arena with flames.
The charizard was thrown out of the column of flame it had created, the fire dissipating to reveal the shuckle charging another gyro ball.
"OVERHEAT!" Zero shouted, and the charizard unleashed the last of its flames in a final attack as the energy ball hit.
Aegis was still standing.
Zero didn't even recall his injured dragon; he threw the ultra ball holding his lucario into the arena. "BONE RUSH!" he shouted, recalling his fainted charizard as the aura pokémon rammed its fists into the shuckle over and over and over again, pummelling it repeatedly until its shell cracked and gave way.
"My, not bad." Schneizel complimented, recalling his shuckle. "The Toxic Spikes I laid down turned out to be useless after all."
"Let us finish this duel, Schneizel." Zero taunted, the once finely furnished arena reduced to a smouldering chamber.
"Yes, let's." Schneizel smiled, picking up the last ball, the friend ball. "This particular pokémon I only got today." He explained. "It's the first of its kind that is suitable for training."
'It can't be…' Lelouch cottoned on faster than he liked. "You can't be SERIOUS!"
"Don't underestimate a prince of Britannia." Schneizel smirked, tossing the ball into the air and releasing the monster within. "Deoxys!"
"WHAT!" Suzaku shouted, watching the abomination on the screen. "We need to stop this battle NOW!"
"NO!" Nina shouted, running towards the screen happily. "Let Deoxys fight…" she laughed. "Let Zero know FEAR!"
"THAT THING WILL KILL US ALL!" Rivalz shouted over the muttering crowd. "They're heartless killing machines that only want to kill or torture you in any and EVERY WAY IT CAN THINK OFF!"
"That's hardly fair, guv." A young boys voice protested, a mass of tentacles slithering onto Nina's shoulder. "The deoxys love their mother so much guv. They'd never hurt her, guv."
"No…" Kallen gasped, covering her mouth in realisation at what was on her old school friend's shoulder.
"You sick twisted bitch…" Rivalz gasped, striding towards Nina. "You KNOW how that thing talks and YOU STILL CARRY IT AROUND WITH YOU!" he shouted, pointing a murderous finger through the gap between the three guards holding him back.
"She's their mother guv." The little boy's voice told the disgusted Rivalz as he was forced away. "It's not like she'll ever leave them guv. She'll be with them forever, guv."
Lucario ducked, swerved, using Detect at regular intervals to spot where the attacks would land as Deoxys stabbed with its four tentacles.
This was a new shape: humanoid, with thick, human-like legs, but four tendrils for arms, two from each shoulder. Its head had three shark-like fins, one on the top and one on each side. Clearly, this new form was designed to be the ultimate form of attack.
But anything overly focused on attack would be vulnerable to counterattack. As the Deoxys reared forward for another attack, Zero barked an order. "Counter, and follow up with Dark Pulse!"
Lucario managed to sidestep the attack getting in close to the monster and pounded it with a double palm strike, sending it reeling back into the fires that were still burning around the arena. Without delay, lucario roared and punched again, letting out a wave of darkness from its palms into the fire.
The pulse hit nothing. Deoxys had teleported to the side. Its tentacles shot forward, lashing out as it bore down on lucario.
Zero bit back a curse, ordering his lucario to evade. He had underestimated this new one. Unlike the previous deoxys', it was nimble, faster, more intelligent…
CRUNCH
"SQUUUUAAAAAARRRTT!"
And strong enough to stab through both sides of a squirtle's shell without noticing.
"HEY!" Zero shouted. "TIME OUT!"
"Stop." Schneizel ordered his Deoxys as Zero ran to the injured pokémon, pulling out a Full Restore.
"We need medical assistance in here!" Zero shouted, spraying the wound of the squirtle squad member to try and stop the bleeding. A couple of guards rushed up and recalled the injured pokémon, carrying the ball somewhere safe.
Zero then turned to Schneizel. "What the hell do you think you're playing at!" he shouted, pushing the prince in the chest, sending him stumbling back. "DON'T INTERFERE!" Zero snarled at the approaching guard. "This man brought a dangerous pokémon into a friendly battle and as a result a non-combatant might DIE!"
"Non combatant~?" the Eunuch who just entered the room chuckled. "What insolence~. It's merely a pokémon~!"
"No, he is right." Schneizel replied, recalling his deoxys. "My pokémon was out of control and it was entirely my fault. I shall take full responsibility for this matter." He turned to Zero. "Let us call this match a draw." He said. "But let me warn you: This was only one of the three stable deoxys that I have brought with me." He explained. "If you do show your mask at the wedding tomorrow, then we will finish this battle."
"Very well." Zero nodded, swooshing his cape as he left.
"ZERO FORFEITED THE MATCH!" Brandon declared. "SCHNEIZEL IS THE WINNER!"
"Eh?" Lelouch asked, turning around.
"You ended the match early!" Brandon laughed. "Doesn't matter the reason, that means that you lost by default!"
"It's alright." Schneizel told Zero with a defusing smile. "You threw the battle out of the compassion of your heart. To give me the spoils of victory now would only—"
He looked down at the folded mask that just landed in his hands.
"A good trainer looks underneath what is underneath." Zero replied from under his leather cowl and cloth face mask. "Underneath a mask one may find another mask."
"Ah, man!" one noble groaned.
"What a cop out!"
"How disappointing…" Odysseus groaned.
"YES!" Lloyd shouted, jumping into the air with joy. "ZERO'S A NINJA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!"
Lucy consulted her black note book, and remembered that Lloyd had, in fact, bet seventy grand on Zero having a second mask underneath the helmet, and had been offered thirty-to-one odds. "Damn." She whispered, opening her bankbook.
She'd barely make a ten grand profit after paying the count.
One advantage to losing his mask, however, was that Zero was free to comment on the buffet. He quickly discovered a liking for Chinese food.
After the party, however, it was time for the Sumeragi Concern representatives to return to Zero City.
"So, you're going to the wedding anyways?" Red asked Lelouch that night.
Lelouch smirked. "I'll be going as an escort in standard Black Knights uniform, but I intend to become Zero during the ceremony." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "That's where you come in."
Schneizel strode to the laboratory section of the Rayquaza, friend ball in hand. Wallace, spotting the ball, blanched. "Your Highness, I'll… just be checking up on Nina. She had a stressful night."
Schneizel smiled and nodded, letting Wallace bid his hasty retreat, before tossing the ball before him, sending out the Deoxys within.
"You got a bit carried away, didn't you?" he said pleasantly.
The Deoxys lowered itself into a bow. "Forgive me, Deoxys forgot itself, your Highness."
Schneizel laughed. "Well, I can hardly blame you for getting caught up in the moment. I was the same."
"Deoxys will controls its urges better, your highness. It does not wish to fail you or mother again, your highness." the Deoxys promised.
"Now, now, don't be like that," Schniezel said amicably. "You've been very helpful as it is, Kanon."
"Yes, your highness."
"Dearly beloved." The archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation at the wedding the next morning. "We are gathered here this day, to witness…"
"You really think this'll all go to plan?" Silver asked Lelouch as they stood behind Kaguya on the balcony, both of them looking down at the priest's ceremony below with disgust.
"I trust Red." Lelouch said. "He loves theatrics more than I do."
"Hey, Xingke!" Red waved as the soldier ran towards the church, his loyal soldiers following behind him.
"You…" Xingke growled, drawing his sword. "You intend to stop me?"
"I intend to make sure you do this right." Red explained. "Most men dream of being able to crash the wedding, to steal the woman he loves from the altar, carrying her in his arms into the sunset. Few men even get to do it in their lifetime. Now, I don't care that she's underage, or that you respect her too much to see her like that or whatever. The fact is that you can either burst in there, save her, OR, you can do it right, and everyone will be too busy marveling at how brilliant you were to even consider stopping you."
"You're insane." Xingke told him.
"I know." Red smirked. "But I've been in a fair few crashed weddings, and it's always much, much more impressive if done right."
Xingke was intrigued. "What are you proposing?"
Lelouch hit the button on the remote on his hand.
"…Speak now or forever hold your peace."
BAM
"I question…" a powerful voice growled as he marched into the chapel. "To the voice of the skies… to the cries of the earth… to the hearts of the people… Where! In This Marriage! Is The Will Of CHINA!" Xingke roared.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND~!"
"SILENCE ZING HAO!" Xingke barked, drawing his blade and letting loose his zangoose and seviper as guards rushed at him on milotic with spears. "I, representing the will of the people, OBJECT!"
His allies rushed in behind him to tackle the guards before they had a chance attack. Somebody screamed, and pandemonium broke out.
"Let us leave, Lady Kaguya." Silver told her with a smile as the guests began to flee from the church. "This what you had in mind?" he asked Zero, watching the one soldier take on twelve circling guards, moving through them in unison with his seviper and zangoose like a gust of holy wind.
Lelouch stepped into the shadows of the alcove, removing his contact lenses. "Perfectly." He said, drawing his case and awaiting the opportune moment.
"DISLOYAL FOOL~!" one Eunuch shouted. "TRYING TO MAKE THE EMPRESS YOUR BELONGING!"
Xingke stopped dead. 'Am I, too, simply using the Empress…?'
That was Zero's cue to get ready.
"XINGKE!"
Everyone still in the chapel except Lelouch turned to the child empress, holding her little finger in the air while crying Xingke's name.
He grinned. "Then… there's no more Hesitation In My HEART!" he shouted, filled with new determination to take her from this.
"XINGKE!" she repeated holding her arms out as he ran…
And the armoured warrior Zero landed behind her, driving the stone beneath his feet down into two small craters, before rising up and putting his hand on her shoulders. "I thank you, Xingke." Zero told him. "Thanks to your help, I was able to move with the utmost ease."
"E-even that man is…~" a Eunuch babbled in fear, moving away.
"Zero." Xingke stated, taking a calm step towards his empress. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I am crashing your wedding crashing, as it were." Zero announced.
"I thought the Black Knights owed me a favour for what I did for them back in Area Eleven!" Xingke snarled.
"We do." Zero replied. "That's why we are destroying this marriage. However, I will be taking the bride."
"Xingke!" Tianzi shouted.
"Your highness!" Xingke shouted, before calming himself. "You… demon…" he growled.
"Oh, really?" Zero asked, before laughing. "I've been called a traitor, a murderer, a terrorist, a fiend, a liar and a thief, yet never before have I been called a demon."
He laughed harder, as if possessed by darkrai itself. "THEN PERHAPS SOME FLAMES ARE IN ORDER!" he shouted, and he and the princess were consumed by black flames.
-}+{-
Yeah. I'm glad I crashed the wedding. It's better than regretting. I could've been a loser kid, and ran away and hid, or I could get away with this awful Busted joke because of making epic.
Who liked my Iron Man shout out? Good, now tell me if that film was any good so I can decide whether to watch it or not.
So, next chapter, we'll have the first epic pokémon war of this story. This is something I really, really need to get some skills in for the epic wars in For Every Soul. Is that a spoiler? I really don't think so.
Now, some of you may have noticed that I've replaced many of the over-powered mechs in the series with legendary pokémon. Everybody, guess what pokémon I will be using for Shen Hu. I bet none of you will get it right.
Also, I freaking love making Deoxys as scary as I can. It's just so much fun!
Varanus: No, seriously, you guys won't be able to guess what the Shen Hu parallel is. Or will you?