Hi everybody. Before I move on with this next chapter I feel a need to address an issue:
My illustrious beta-reader Wynster brought something to my attention, and I feel that many of you will agree with her: she said that the way Lelouch and C.C. are getting along in my story is wrong, that I've written their relationship more like how it was at the begginning of the show. Couple of reviewers said the same thing.
This is very true! But it's not a mistake.
There is a very good reason for why Lelouch and C.C.'s relationship has been set back, and unfortunately I can't give it away just yet. It'll be clear before long.
Hope you enjoy.
JDCT
They moved effortlessly through customs checks and into mainland Britannia. The forged documents were nearly on par with what had been in use by Black Knights agents abroad, back in the old days. Their knightmares and equipment were all locked away in cargo containers intended for the purpose, and at the port in New Tintagel these were transferred from the airship's holds to a transport truck Lelouch had bought in advance. Then Thieving set out in the truck, and the others followed in a rented car.
So far the funds were holding up. The money was coming from reserve accounts he had set up while running the Black Knights, set aside for just such an emergency as this. Still, money was not the only limiting factor here. It was a small group, and he had grown accustomed to the ordering of entire armies--indeed, an Empire. The sudden shift required a return to the mentality he'd employed in the earliest days of the Black Knights, when they were nothing but terrorists harassing the colonial forces. But there was a crucial difference: in old Area 11 there had been slums and ruins on hand to hide equipment in, and the population was largely on their side, and the Britannian forces were out of their element.
Here he would conduct terrorism from within the Britannian nation. There were few places to hide. They were surrounded by foes. Lelouch had not even given thought to the idea of escaping once Nunnally was secure. All his planning had so far been reserved for how they were going to storm the palace without pulling the entire Britannian Army down on them.
But now as they pressed through the New Tintagel traffic, he gazed out the passenger window of their car, at the glinting skyscrapers which lifted to the sky, as thick as grass. He'd once been master of all of this realm. But it was still a familiar feeling--the idea that he was the enemy of everyone he saw, that all the might of this country was now against him.
They took the expressway out of the city, northward, heading to Pendragon. They moved through bright fields and past lakes, and later the highway twisted over night-time hills covered by forest. They stopped for the night in a midsized town, perhaps a little more than half-the distance to Pendragon. Lelouch stood into the cool air and stretched his legs as Zealous did the same on the driver's side.
They checked into the hotel, two rooms. When they headed for the elevator, Kallen caught up to them, her face flushed with anger. She had just come from the public bathroom in the lobby, Lelouch thought. Once the elevator door had closed she explained:
"They have a servant in the bathroom. She tried to put soap on my hands for me," she said tensely. "I think she's Japanese."
"That's normal," Zealous rumbled, leaning against the panelled back of the elevator.
"Sure, it used to be," said Kallen, crossing her arms as she looked over her shoulder at him. "I thought the Numbers were all supposed to be citizens now."
Zealous shrugged. "Freedom isn't the same as equality. Even emancipated they don't have the same education or qualification for the jobs Britannians have. It'll take time."
They set out again early in the morning. They would reach Pendragon before nightfall. Lelouch was glad that the drive was a quiet one, for he intended to think. Zealous seemed to be as lost in thought his he was. Kallen was asleep half the time and staring out the window the other half. As for C.C., the girl could have been a statue. She sat motionless with her stuffed toy cradled in her lap. Was it possible that she knew about his and Kallen's evening together? She seemed capable of knowing almost anything.
Kallen made him feel wanted and needed, but there was more to it than that. With her he could almost forget the pain that had brought him there, and the horrors that the future would bring. But she had storybook ideals, of love and life. She would want him on her own terms and there would probably be trouble in any emotional relationship between them. It was true that he cared about her, though. Wasn't it? He was not even sure anymore.
So in the silence of the drive, Lelouch turned his mind to the conditions of the operation at hand. He already had a few ideas about the operation itself. Each of the knightmares were equipped with a modified communications system that Rakshata had worked up in the later days of the Black Knights. And he also had at his disposal the counterpart to that system--an ECM which would jam all electronic transmissions in a wide area. The ECM functioned selectively, however: it would allow the Black Knights encryptions to function, so that during the operation only his people would be able to communicate with each other. All other transmissions would be contained, and thus (in theory) no one would receive word of the attack. The operation would be contained, and once they had Nunnally there would be a delay before any Britannian forces realized what had happened.
The exact details could wait until they were ready to survey the target itself. But what concerned Lelouch most of all was now escape:
How would they quickly get Nunnally to a safe location? Preferably somewhere in the east. His geass-controlled inside source had informed him that even after Nunally had been disconnected from her IV-drip she would require several hours to fully regain consciousness. After that, presumably, she would be able to confirm that she had been betrayed. The best course of action would be to place her in the hands of the UFN. They had the resources to broadcast her messages to the world.
But how were they going to get her back across the ocean? Obviously public transport was out. While in Britannia he would have to secure some kind of private aircraft. The Guren would be fastest, obviously, but no knightmare, even with spare energy fillers, had the charge to cross the ocean. Even with a private aircraft, though, there would be customs. Unauthorized flights would be detected. Throughout the entire drive Lelouch could think of no suitable answer to this final condition of their success.
They reached the Pendragon Metropolitan Area in the early evening and ate dinner at a restaurant on the outskirts. While the city proper had been annihilated by Schniezel's FLEIJA device, the PMA remained largely intact. Everyone had expected business in the Pendragon area to plummet after the city's destruction, but this was largely untrue. The tourism industry had begun to flourish here, as people from all over Britannia flocked to see the site of the FLEIJA crater.
C.C. had already begun paying rent on a midrange apartment only a few kilometres from the crater. It was here that they moved into, that evening. Lelouch, Kallen, and Zealous moved all of their things into the apartment and began setting up what would be his base of operations in the master bedroom. Onto the large desk in the corner went all of his electronic equipment.
Meanwhile, Thieving and C.C. drove deep into the mountains north of the Aries Villa. They hid the transport truck with the knightmares deep in an abandoned railway tunnel, blocked the exits, and returned in the car.
The very next morning, they began surveillance and information gathering for the operation. Everyone participated in this, and at the end of each day Lelouch would sit at his desk, and arrange the details to his liking. He would sit long into the night, slumped before the desk, gazing over troop movements, garrison information, topographical maps, photographs. He rarely slept in these days before the operation. And always C.C. would watch him listlessly from the bed, her eyes a glimmer of gold.
One night he suddenly yawned and leaned back into a stretch. He looked at the time on his computer, then slumped in defeat. He was so tired he could barely marshal his thoughts, and thus was unfit to be planning. He looked over to the bed. C.C. was atop the covers, as casually sprawled as ever, but her eyes had drifted closed and she was asleep. Her white lips were slightly open as she breathed.
Lelouch stood wearily. He lay on the bed, gently so as not to wake her. And for a long time he watched her breathe in her sleep. A comforting and familiar thing. Why did she look more alive now than in waking? Now, as he looked on her, why did he feel only kind of pain, a lurking anxiousness?. As he watched her Lelouch felt the dark pressing in, and was afraid.
He passed into sleep. He dreamed of vanishing stars, again.
Hours later, C.C. shifted and awoke. She saw Lelouch's sleeping face, the stranger's mask. And though he did not see or feel her, she shifted closer to him, then laid a hand on his chest and closed her eyes again.
The door to the Shads' room was open. C.C. saw no reason not to simply walk in and see if they were there. Lelouch had expressed his desire to have a group meeting within thirty minutes, to outline some of what had been planned so far. So C.C. went in to find Zealous and Thieving.
Her eyes fell solemnly to the floor. This was where Zealous Shadow lay, midway between the door and his bed, with a comforter twisted so tightly around him that he appeared to be inside a sort of cocoon. Only his face and a tuft of his dark hair showed from within the blanket.
She stood over him, resisting the impulse to kick him awake. "Zealous," she stared down. Then a little louder, "Zealous."
After a moment's pause, she put her foot on Zealous and shook him a little bit. He awakened, opening his eyes, and squinting up at her. He yawned massively and said something that sounded a little bit like 'Good morning'.
"It's after noon," said C.C. "We're having a meeting. Why are you on the floor?"
Zealous was having difficulty getting out of the comforter. It seemed to be trapping him in. One hand managed to reach out through his face-opening, and then he was pulling it down around his waist. "Oh, you know," he yawned again and said blearily. "I was in a hurry. Didn't have time to get all the way to the bed." He rose to his bare feet and scratched his head. "Besides, the floor is good for my back. And it's dangerous to sleep next to Thieving."
C.C. crossed her arms and looked at Zealous. At that moment he was phenomenally dishevelled. His hair rose above his head, as it did normally, but now it was swept entirely to one side, as though he'd been standing in one direction of wind for hours. His pyjama shirt was buttoned incorrectly, and his pants appeared to be on backwards.
He turned to look at the bed: "But now that you mention it, that bed does look lonely. Let's put it to use."
Surely he was not suggesting--
But even as she readied a cruel reply, Zealous turned and leaped onto the bed. He began bouncing up and down on it like a child, giddily. "Help me out here," he beckoned as he jumped.
And of course she turned away from his foolishness, and perused the damage that had been done to the room since the Shads had moved into it. Clothes on the floor, papers strewn about, empty plates still encrusted with cheese from the pizzas C.C. usually ordered for dinner.
C.C. looked back at Zealous just as Thieving's lean form was emerging from the bathroom with no shirt. His eyes widened as he perceived Zealous' activities. Then his face lit in a smile. "So that's what we're doing!" He dove headlong onto the bed beside Zealous and then leapt to a standing position. The two of them bounced all around each other in circles.
C.C. resisted the impulse to scoff at their antics. She turned back to the room, seeing a few books strewn on the end table next to the sofa. Purely out of boredom, she picked one up and dropped into the sofa to skim over it as she waited for them to finish. She'd expected some lowbrow action thriller, but it was a book of ancient Chinese spiritual thought.
"My book!" Zealous crowed in mid-jump as he pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't lose my place."
She looked back down, ignoring him. In fact it was impossible to tell exactly where Zealous' place was. There were innumerable spots at which the corners of pages had been folded over to mark a passage. She opened the book at random and read a few words, elegant Chinese characters. She had not read this kind of script in perhaps fifty years, but she could still understand it fluently enough. It was poetic and cryptic, a text on Taoist philosophy. It was a far cry from the political and religious dogma of Britannia. Tao appeared almost to exalt those who were without ambition, the opposite of Imperialist Britannia. Lelouch might be interested in this kind of thing, in fact (a translated edition), though he rarely had time for casual reading these days.
After they'd rescued Nunnally, then. After they'd rescued Nunnally, surely everything would return to normal. Lelouch and she could return to their exile from the world. Kallen was a passing thing, and she could not fault him for it. The girl was attractive enough, and willing, though she might be hurt if he allowed the situation to spin out of control. He only needed time.
But ever since the Requiem, Lelouch had been a changed person. It was as though all warmth had been taken from him. And C.C. felt a mounting dread as she recognized, perhaps, what was in him. The same thing she had felt in the early days of her own Code, gradually worsening. It was as though every day he became less human. He knew what was to come. The passing of centuries like wind, and the fading of all that he loved in the world.
And in the end she was only the witch who had brought it all upon him. C.C. huddled deeper into the book, though she was no longer reading. She'd thought that Lelouch was the one whose spirit would defeat the long loneliness of geass. But now...
"Boss!" said Thieving exuberantly, and C.C. looked up. Lelouch had appeared at the door, leaning casually. C.C. folded the book closed and stood, crossing the room to Lelouch's side. She did not like his disguise, the odd face and dead eyes, but it was a necessity. She stood with Lelouch for a moment though he did not acknowledge her.
"Yo Boss," said Thieving. "Jump up here. Adds years to your lifespan. All work and no play, y'know. Kallen said you've been up all night." He bounced a little in emphasis.
Lelouch's arms were folded, but there was a slight smile on his face as he watched the Shads. Surely he would not join them. The very image of him jumping on a bed was ridiculous. But he leaned in ever so slightly as he made to move forwards. C.C. watched him in amazement. And then, very suddenly, she realized that she wanted to see him do it. She wanted to see him bouncing and grinning like a little boy.
But he only shook his head wryly, with that slight smile, and turned aside. "We're waiting in the other room," he told them, and left.
C.C. watched him go with a strange feeling in her. There was something in that small grin he wore. She'd felt something in his presence as he watched them, something carefree that he had rarely shown her before. Something unworried and exciting. She realized it probably had to do with Kallen. In her maybe he had found the comfort he needed, the promise of life and love. Kallen could give him back what C.C. had wanted to. Maybe-- Maybe Lelouch did not need her anymore.
And why did that feeling settle in her gut like ice?
Kallen waited glumly at the kitchen table. Some sort of commotion was happening in one of the bedrooms. Lelouch had just gone to hurry up the Shads and C.C., but at the moment Kallen was eating toast. And was deep in thought. She had been glad that the others were taking so long, actually. It had been nice, just her and Lelouch waiting together in the kitchen.
And yet still, he had barely said anything to her. She'd known that with everyone else--especially C.C.--around it might be unlikely they'd be able to duplicate their moment together anytime soon. But during the long drive she'd made a decision; she was going to talk to him. That was something that was important. That was what made two people close, to actually know each other well. And while they'd spent a lot of time together in the past, she still felt that they needed to know each other a bit better. She'd never got a chance to tell him about her dead brother Naoto, or just...just talk about all the crazy things that had happened to them both.
At first, it had been enough to know that he really did care about her after all. The answer to the question she'd asked him so many times: what am I to you? But after that night, Kallen had been surprised to discover that she still didn't really know what she was to him. He'd said she always meant 'a lot' to him. Well. What the hell did that mean? The Guren meant 'a lot' to her. Depending on the morning, coffee meant 'a lot' to her.
Boys. She crossed her arms gruffly, chewing toast.
At that moment Lelouch came back around the corner with a wry smile, arms crossed. She blinked up at him as he neared the table, swallowing her bite quickly so as to talk to him. This was it, she thought as he pulled out the opposite chair and slumped into it, already leaning over the map they'd put there. He seemed to be in a reasonably good mood. She was going to start a personal conversation with him.
Kallen said, "So did you used to live here? In Pendragon?"
His false eyes came up to hers. He glanced over his shoulder as though to make sure the Shads couldn't be overhearing any of this. "Yes. At Aries, in fact. The Villa was my mother Marianne's place of residence while we were being raised. My familiarity with the region should be a great help to the operation."
"Oh," this wasn't quite the direction she had intended. "Was it nice there, growing up?"
Now he sat back from the map, a faint smile growing again. He looked into the past. "It was. Many of the princes and princesses visited there together at one time or another. We didn't understand, then, that we would be enemies later..."
"Well," Kallen felt a sudden feeling of awe. She'd forgotten, in a way, that he was nobility of the highest order. It was easy to forget. For so long he'd just been Lelouch Lamperouge. "I mean, no one could have predicted you'd end up fighting them."
But Lelouch made a sour face and looked aside. "I didn't mean my rebellion. All of the royal family were rivals for the throne. That's the way my father wanted it--" he checked over his shoulder again. "That's how the Britannian politics work. The children who grew up together--it was always intended that they would battle for the throne. That way," Lelouch scowled, "the one who succeeded would be the strongest of them."
Kallen smiled despite the bitterness of what Lelouch was saying. This was exactly what she had wanted. Already she felt she knew him better. Kallen said, "You know, my brother--"
But at that moment C.C. appeared around the corner. Kallen took one look at her and stopped short. It was odd, how she felt almost guilty. But she didn't know the history. It was possible that there had never been anything between Lelouch and the strange girl. Everyone had always just assumed...
Kallen continued nervously as though they'd been talking about the operation, as C.C. took the seat next to Lelouch. "--last night when I went out I saw at least forty soldiers inside the villa, using the Guren's IR scopes. And I located Nunnally's room."
Lelouch wore a supremely amused look at her sudden shift. Of course, Kallen thought, there was no reason for them to hide that they were having a personal chat, was there? She'd overreacted. But Lelouch played along gallantly: "And you were not detected?"
"'Course not." she smirked. "I didn't go airborne at all. Just hid out in the treeline on the ridge a couple kilometers out. I have some pictures of the defences."
By the time she'd finished her report, the Shads had emerged from their lair and taken seats on either side of Kallen. For some reason Thieving wasn't wearing a shirt; it seemed to be a normal thing for him. And Zealous was still in pyjamas, though his buttons were done up in the wrong order. Looking around, Kallen thought that their group looked a bit too disreputable to carry out such a dangerous operation.
In any case, Lelouch began his briefing now:
"Out plan for the initial storming of Aries is now ready," he said. "I thank you all for helping to gather intelligence. I have considered our resources at hand and the enemy force, and have come up with the appropriate response."
Lelouch stood and paced before the table. "Four days from now, the operation will begin. That day is a Sunday. At nine PM, Thieving Shadow and C.C. will put on uniforms of the Britannian Royal Guard. We have identity cards which will mark them as high-ranking members. Their pretext for being there is that of an unannounced security inspection. This will allow them entrance to the Aries Villa grounds. They will be driving an armoured car which Zealous and Thieving secured two days ago.
"Their ID cards will only get them inside the outer wall of the Villa. They will not be able to actually enter Aries. The guards at the door perform a retinal and fingerprint scan on most visitors, and we don't have the resources to beat this.
"Meanwhile, Zealous and Kallen will retrieve their knightmares from our hiding place in the north. This must be timed perfectly. As C.C. and Thieving are passing through the initial ID check, our knightmares will arrive via float-devices. The Britannians will see them coming. The Villa's warning system will activate once they are spotted, and the guards inside will know that they are under attack. As per standard procedure, the soldiers inside the villa will cluster around the three entrances to the building, in order to repel anyone trying to get inside.
Lelouch gestured at Zealous. "You'll be able to use the Shiva's railgun in conjunction with its infrared scopes. The IR will show you where soldiers are located, and the raildriver will punch directly through the walls and roof to neutralize them. Am I correct in saying this?"
Zealous leaned sombrely into the conversation. "True. The railgun can do that. But won't there also be servants inside the villa?"
"Not to mention all that pretty architecture," Thieving put in.
Kallen looked back to Lelouch. With this operation he would be attacking his childhood home. How did he feel about that? But Lelouch only nodded:
"The servants will not be in formation at the entrances, of course. They will probably be hiding elsewhere. You won't harm them. Anyway," he went on. "While Zealous is neutralizing the soldiers inside the building, which should only take a few seconds, Kallen will hold off the squadron of Vincents. Then both Guren and Shiva will engage the enemy knightmares. With both of them together it should be relatively easy to destroy all twelve of the Vincents. "
Kallen glanced briefly at Zealous, and he gave her a placid nod. It would be their first time fighting together. She hoped he was as good as he appeared.
"My instruments in the apartment will be patched in to your knightmares' systems, so I'll be able to direct the battle from here. I will also be in contact with the four of you at all times. I will be in operational command, giving orders, during each phase of the operation. While Zealous and Kallen engage the knightmares outside, C.C. and Thieving will move into the villa through the main entrance. They should meet little or no resistance after Zealous' attack. There will be two to five Royal Guard still at the entrance to Empress Nunnally's room. Since you'll be wearing their uniforms," Lelouch nodded at C.C. and Thieving. "The element of surprise should make dispatching them easy."
Thieving waved a placating hand. "Not to worry."
Lelouch's gaze lingered a moment longer before he moved on. "Once the knightmares are destroyed, Zealous and Kallen will be able to confirm if any soldiers are left inside the villa. If the villa is clear, we will effectively control Aries. Our incom jamming system will ensure that we have at least an hour before anyone realizes what has happened. We will be able to secure Nunnally at our leisure at that point.
"Two things are crucial," Lelouch said as he turned to Thieving. "Do not bring the Empress out of her room until I confirm that all hostiles have been eliminated; do not bring her outside the villa until the knightmare combat is over. Absolutely no harm must come to her, do you understand? She must be taken alive and unharmed or there will be no pay."
Thieving only nodded slowly and calmly.
Kallen shifted and looked around her. Zealous was slouched back, watching Lelouch with an inscrutable look on his face. In fact, Zealous looked more solemn than her ever had before. Kallen looked back at Lelouch, thinking: it must be difficult for him to trust near strangers with his sister's life.
Lelouch crossed his arms and looked down at them. He had to hope that the promise of money was enough to make Thieving Shad protect Nunnally adequately. And besides C.C. would be there as well. Lelouch gathered his thoughts before this next part of the briefing, frowning. Zealous was slouched back casually. What had been a bland look on his face was becoming a slow smile. Maybe he liked the plan, or maybe he just liked being reminded that they were being paid so well for this.
In any case Lelouch went on: "As for how to escape once we have Nunnally, well... I am still pondering that. We need to bring her to the UFN, but it will be extremely difficult to leave Britannia."
He pulled out his chair and sat again, next to C.C. "We have four days to come up with a solution to this." He put his elbows on the table and clasped his hands. Kallen was smiling faintly at him across the way.
Thieving cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "In my experience it's always best to make your enemies do your work for you. Since we're surrounded by them maybe that kind of mentality will work for us. Turn them into an asset instead of a problem."
Lelouch nodded grimly, barely listening. Thieving had, oddly enough, guessed pretty much what was in Lelouch's mind. If he still had Geass. If he still had that cursed power he could simply make the Britannians do what he wanted. But now it was gone, and he was faced with how difficult operations like this were going to be without it. To simply make his enemies do what he wanted--
Lelouch's eyes widened. Suddenly he realized. He did not need the Geass. Thieving was right. He could still make the Britannians work for him. A wide smile blossomed on his face and he looked up at the others. "I have an idea."
He swept papers aside and jabbed a finger at the map. "Here. The military base still left outside Pendragon. If it weren't for our incom jamming we would have to worry about them backing up the forces at Aries. Here's what we do. After the villa is ours I will meet you in a third Royal Guard uniform. We simply bring Nunnally to the army base--and tell them what happened!"
Kallen took a bite of toast and stared at him. Zealous blinked. Even C.C. seemed unimpressed. But Thieving apparently saw where this was going. There was a twinkle in his blue eyes.
Lelouch said, "We tell them that Aries was attacked and most of the security detail were killed. We say that the enemies were fought off but that they are only regrouping for another attack. We present Nunnally to them. Under law they are required to provide an air transport for the Empress and her guards, to take her to a safe place. Probably the flight plan will be to New Tintagel. They will send an escort of knightmares or gunships along. Meanwhile--" Lelouch jabbed the map again. "Kallen and Zealous retreat to this mountainous area to avoid detection. They circle around. Once we are airborne, they intercept us and destroy the escorts. The jamming field will stop all transmissions. We take control of the transport and fly to a location of our choosing."
Into the silence Thieving Shad said. "I like it." Zealous was nodding his agreement. And Kallen was beaming at Lelouch, so brightly. It was the look she had worn every time she looked at Zero, every time he had accomplished the impossible. He could do this. Even without Geass, he could do it.
And now to form the idea into a plan.
The armoured car slid through the chill night air and into Aries. It drove up the cobbled lane, past ranks of cultivated trees. Before the wide stone steps of the villa it halted and the engine turned off. The doors opened and two people stepped out in the uniforms of Britannian Royal Guard, the grey combat suits and helmets, their faces obscured by the usual ocular enhancements. They wore rank insignia on one shoulder and a purple unit patch on the other. As they emerged another descended the steps towards them and saluted.
"Sirs," he said as the tallest of the two lazily returned the salute. "Welcome to Aries Villa. I don't see why this is warranted, but I think you'll find everything to be in order."
Thieving Shad said, "We'll find what there is to find, Lieutenant. The Empress' safety makes it warranted. Don't worry about it. I'm sure you and your men are doing a fine job."
The Lieutenant bowed graciously. "If you'll follow me, sirs, I'll give you a tour." He paused halfway up the steps. "Oh. I'm afraid you'll have to submit to a retinal and thumbprint scan before we allow you in. Sorry, sirs. Procedure, you know," he seemed very embarrassed.
In Thieving's helmet there came the voice of L.L. "ETA on the others, forty-five seconds. Stand clear of the doors."
Thieving gave the soldier a moment to sweat. Then he grinned. "Well Lieutenant, you've just passed the first test." he turned to C.C., whose hair was invisible under the helmet, face smoothly calm. "Make note of that. Very good." He took great delight in saying, "What if we had happened to be enemies of Britannia in disguise? Your vigilance will be noted, Lieutenant."
At this the Lieutenant snapped proudly to attention and gave him another bow. "Follow me, then--"
The air-raid sirens came alive. The wail rose and fell over the night-blanketed compound. Thieving glanced around as though confused. Meanwhile the Lieutenant did not seem to be concerned at all. He seemed more annoyed at the interruption than anything else. Well, that made sense. The chances of anyone actually attacking this deep into Britannia were almost nil. The Lieutenant was on his incom, a hand at his ear, probably getting the details at that very moment.
Suddenly his body language changed. He hunched down reflexively and looked up at the sky. "Knightmares!" he hollered down at them. "Hostile knightmares on approach! This--this has to be a drill." He shouted at Thieving. "Is this a drill, sir?"
Thieving answered as he ducked. "Nothing I know about." He backed against the armoured car as though using it for cover. Any second now Zealous would open fire.
"Well," the Lieutenant hesitated, cowering against the stairs as the siren wailed. "Well, get inside quickly, sirs! We'll forgo the ID check due to emergency circumstances." And he beckoned with one arm as he ran up the stairs to the front entrance.
Thieving shot C.C. an ironic look, which was returned glumly. He had not expected them to be let in that easily. And he had no desire to be killed by his oldest friend, either. Though it would be somewhat fitting. At that very moment, the Lieutenant turned, beckoned to them again, and died.
An electric shriek filled the air, and a blue flash. Thieving squinted and reeled backwards. A rain of pebbles struck all around him, thrown up from the impact of the railgun. Where the Lieutenant had stood there was a smoking crater in the steps, its edges glowing orange. The air erupted again as Zealous fired from somewhere above them. The weapon flared blue and shrieked over and over, and pounded into Aries. The doors crumpled and fell in, pillars suddenly shattered, and the exquisitely shaped stonework vanished into rubble as the railgun chewed into the building.
There was silence for a moment and then the roar of combat filled the air. Behind them the whine of float-devices as the Vincents rose into the fray. Red light and blue light pulsed over the night-time scene, illuminating the ruined gothic entrance to Aries.
Thieving stood and unsnapped the holster of his sidearm. With C.C. beside him, he stepped through the smoking wreckage, over the shredded corpses, and into Aries Villa.
The Guren ripped into the formation of enemy knightmares. A corner of her mind was reserved for watching Zealous' progress. The sky blinked blue as his Shiva punched brilliant fire into the Villa. The rest of her was taken by combat.
The Vincent seemed to have been given a refit since the last time she'd fought them. In her first pass she only managed to destroy one. She flowed through him like a pink blade, and the energy-wings sliced into him, and he fell apart at the torso. She rounded on the others even as they rushed for Zealous.
The Guren appeared before them, blocking their advance. Thus she herded them, allowing Zealous to finish. The sensor eyes of the Vincents regarded her warily as she hung before them in the air, a vision of fire. The energy radiated from the wings, a pulsing sphere. Then they attacked, trying to flank her. These pilots were good.
She fired her radiation surge into the thick of them; one was vaporized instantly and another managed to deflect the beam aside with his forearm-shield. The others scattered and two came down upon her from above. The Guren whirled aside faster than they could comprehend. Her MVS flourished in a reverse-grip; she skidded it along the arm of one Vincent, until it met the float device and severed it. The frame dropped smoking from the sky. Her energy wing lanced out to knock the other attacker back even as he tried to fire his slash-harkens.
Then she flared pink and dropped in a dive towards the ones who had moved beneath her. But Lelouch's voice came in her ear: "Q1, behind you."
After so long being commanded by him she did not even hesitate; she sent Guren dancing away, avoiding the plunge of an MVS towards her back. She retaliated with the slash-harkens, forcing him to back off. Instincts told her the ones below would be rushing her now. She slid aside and let loose with a wide-burst of the radiation-surge, fit to disable their systems. The boiling red energy caught three and she grinned in triumph--but then the knightmares reeled back and shrugged off the waves of damage. What had succeeding in disabling two rounds-members, at one time, now seemed to be out of date. Kallen grimaced and dodged as they came at her again.
"I'm with you," she heard Zealous' voice say tersely. She saw his blip rising towards her. He had finished with his attack on the villa and was joining the combat. It had disturbed Kallen that one of their roles was to slaughter a number of soldiers who had no chance to defend themselves. In his voice she could hear the same uneasiness.
There was no time to think about it, though. The Vincents roared back into combat and she and Zealous met them head-on. Her slash-harkens whipped out and sliced the arm from one; she closed in and grappled him, the fingers of the radiation-surge clamping over the knightmare's cockpit. Then she hit the trigger; in her grasp the Vincent went limp suddenly like a living thing with its neck broken. The armour bubbled and cracked, and she disengaged downwards as its core detonated brightly.
Above, Zealous was putting his new MVS to the test. He'd said something about a 'projected-edge', earlier, and it seemed to work exactly as advertised. His sky-blue frame slipped out of range of an enemy slash-harken, then flowed into a sword attack. The weapon flashed gracefully in a downwards arc. As it did so the edge glowed, and a neon blue wave shot outwards, passing through the Vincent. After a half-second's pause, the knightmare split cleanly in half and fell from the sky.
Kallen grinned, "Not bad," as she streaked back up into the battle.
"I'm impressed myself," Zealous spun and the Shiva swept its sword in brutal cuts, trailing afterimages of blue in the sky. Another Vincent dodged the waves frantically and managed to keep most of its arm. Kallen came up behind it and finished the job. The Shiva and Guren hovered facing one another, shimmering blue and red respectively.
A quick sensor check told her that six Vincents remained.
"N1," Lelouch addressed Zealous, "directly below you."
Shiva flashed aside instantly and the enemy Vincent drove up into the space he'd just been--and into the Guren's radiation beam, where it contorted hideously, began to melt, and exploded. Zealous said, "Thanks," and swivelled to face the others.
The rest of the battle did not last long. Lelouch called commands to them, and Zealous said to her, in a lull: "What is this? What kind of commander gives orders this specific?"
"Just listen to him," Kallen said and twisted away from the double-bladed MVS of one Vincent.
So the night flickered with red and blue energy, and before long Zealous had apparently learned not to hesitate when Lelouch told him a command. When there was only one Vincent left, it turned and streaked off in the opposite direction--towards the base in the east. Kallen supposed he had to know his situation was hopeless, and that the jamming could not be broken. If he made it to the base there would be big trouble.
She readied her radiation-surge, but Zealous beat her to it.
The Shiva smoothly sheathed its MVS and drew the railgun from a thigh holster, levelling the black rifle-like weapon in two hands. It flashed twice and the shrieking blasts reached Kallen through the external mics. The ammunition itself just appeared for a split second, withered shafts of silvery-blue extending out across the night. The fleeing Vincent faltered, tumbled out of the air, and detonated with a fiery glow over the forest.
The Shiva turned to her, eyes winking red in the darkness. Zealous said, "Well, that's five for me, then. Guess you got me beat by a bit."
She became good-naturedly annoyed at him. "I got at least eight. And that last one could have been--"
"Q1, N1," Lelouch interrupted brusquely. "I show two contacts approaching from the south. Unknown configuration. Please ID."
Kallen glanced sheepishly at her sensors. She hadn't noticed. She turned away from the Shiva and stared into the southern night sky. Two of the stars appeared to be moving. "I see 'em," she said. Well, maybe they were gunships or knightmares on patrol and had witnessed the lightshow of combat. Now that they'd passed into the jamming field there was little problem. Just a little more combat and maybe two more kills.
"Magnifying," she said, and did so. A portion of her screen highlighted the new contacts and zoomed far in, so that she could see them. A knightmare riding on float-devices, and what looked like a jet-aircraft, heading in their direction. It was nothing they couldn't--
Then she recognized them.
"No," she whispered. Then she keyed her incom and was about to tell Lelouch that they had a huge problem. "Le--" she said, and then froze. She'd almost given away his name.
"What the hell," said Zealous in confusion. "I've never seen a frame like that before. Did you see that?"
Kallen glanced up and saw what Zealous was talking about. As the contacts had neared them, the jet-shaped one swivelled in the air and suddenly blossomed arms and legs, and a head. It was a knightmare. Its body was white and blue, and its head sported sweeping red horns. The Tristan.
Kallen said, "That's the Knight of One," she heaved a reluctant sigh. "Gino Weinberg."
And as she watched, the Tristan's shoulders sprouted curving bonelike supports, and suddenly with a pulsing ring, two energy wings appeared, glowing gold.
The dull clatter of combat sounded from outside. They stepped softly through the darkened and abandoned halls of Aries. Occasionally through the tall windows would come a flashing from the battle outside, bathing the luxury of the hallways in garish light. Thieving and C.C. moved through as quietly as possible. They were nearing the Empress' room, and they had not met any hostiles yet.
The ruined entranceway had been strewn with the mangled body-parts of Britannian soldiers. Thieving was used to such things, and he was surprised to discover that the girl C.C. was equally as unmoved by the grisly sight. Perhaps she'd seen more action than he had surmised. In any case the mission was apparently going smoothly, though they had not gotten any direct incom traffic from either L.L. or the others since Zealous had opened fire on the doors. It was probably a good thing. It probably meant that nothing had gone wrong. Extraneous communication during combat usually meant that the plan had failed in some way.
"This is the final turn," C.C. whispered to him. "Nunnally's chambers are down that hallway to the left. How shall we proceed?"
Thieving was pleased that she left it up to him. A measure of control made him much happier about the whole thing. Planning and executing operations to perfection was one of his absolute favourite things to do. And this L.L. fellow had usurped in large part the planning role. Well, that couldn't be helped. Though younger than Thieving by perhaps two years, L.L. knew how to run an op. That much was clear. And he knew all about Britannia.
Thieving answered C.C. "We play it calm. We talk, but not for long. When the shooting starts, pick up anything I drop, and stay close to me."
She nodded mutely and settled a hand over the assault-rifle which was slung around her neck. She cradled it professionally enough that Thieving decided to assume she was a good shot. He was pleased by her silence. Again, too much communication meant things weren't going according to plan.
They rounded the corner. Four guards tensed as they appeared and stared at them, hands going for weapons. But Thieving approached confidently with his hand nowhere near his sidearm, and then the guards saw their Royal-Guard insignia.
"Sir," one called at Thieving's approach. "What's going on out there? We have complete incom silence."
"Bastards are jamming us," Thieving said in mid stride. When he had reached the optimum distance, he drew and fired from the hip. The gun cracked four times and in that hallway the shots flashed white. The Britannian soldiers fell like dominoes. The echoes rattled down the darkened passages of Aries.
Thieving exhaled. He waited, watching the fallen for any sign of movement. One of them groaned and shifted over, and Thieving aimed carefully at him. But then the man breathed his last and settled into motionlessness. Good. He had not dropped anything. He kept his gun ready and covered the doors to Nunnally's room.
"You're fast," C.C. mused, but Thieving did not bother to be flattered.
"Before we go in," said Thieving, "Contact our knightmares. Get one of 'em to confirm that there is nobody besides the Empress in this room. I'd rather not do any shooting in there."
C.C. nodded and turned aside, a hand going to her incom. Thieving waited for her with his gun aimed at the door lest anyone barge out of it. After a moment's pause C.C. said calmly: "I can't contact anyone. There seems to be a malfunction."
Thieving stared grimly. He leaned against the wall and extracted a cigar from his pocket, then lit it. The end flared orange in the dark. "That's not good," he said as he went to suck on the cigar.
But C.C.'s eyes glared yellow at him. She said, "Smoke alarms. Put it out."
Thieving scoffed dramatically. But after a moment's pause he squatted to grind the end out on the varnished wooden floor. He shook his head sorrowfully and pocketed the mangled stub.
"It's probable they will fix the communications issue," C.C. said, not heeding his distress. "Perhaps we should secure the Empress."
Thieving nodded and rose. He carefully went to the door and pressed his ear against it. He whispered to C.C. "If I'd known we'd be without the knightmares' scopes, I would've brought a snake-cam."
She shrugged, then cocked her rifle.
Oh well. The chances were that no one was on the other side. Their surveillance had never shown anyone inside Nunnally's room besides her. "I'll go left, you go right," Thieving said, and C.C. nodded soberly. They stacked up on either side of the doors. Then Thieving extended five fingers into the air and counted down to zero.
He kicked the door open and burst in.
For a moment the four knightmares only faced each other silently, across the night. It was Gino and one other Knight of the Rounds, one she didn't recognize. This was a disaster. If they were here, then all the secrecy had been for nothing.
Lelouch's voice came almost in a hiss, in her headset. Kallen jumped. "They're not supposed to be here," he said. "The Rounds are on training exercises on the west coast."
But it was evident that they weren't.
Kallen swallowed and stared across at the new adversaries. Gino was not so tough, despite the apparent remodel of his knightmare. It wasn't fear of losing that made her uneasy--it was that she sort of liked him. Gino was a good guy. She did not want to fight him. Heck, in the last battle, he'd saved her when she'd fallen from the Damocles.
"L.L.," Zealous interrupted her thoughts. His voice was blunt. "Orders? Looks like we've been made."
Lelouch was silent for a long moment. Kallen could almost hear him thinking. Then he said, "You'll have to eliminate them. It's possible our information about the Rounds was merely incorrect. But we'll have to acknowledge the possibility that this was a trap."
Kallen tried to put encouragement in her voice. "Don't worry, Boss. I can take Gino easily."
"Don't get cocky," he rebuked her, and she fell silent. "That Tristan has been vastly improved. He's the Knight of One for a reason. These energy readings--"
But then Lelouch was cut off and a heavy electric silence filled her headset.
"L.L.?" Kallen said. She flipped her incom off and on again, fiddled with the settings. "Boss? Zealous?"
No answer from either of them. Across the gulf, the red sensor eyes of the Shiva stared at her quizzically. All communication had been cut off.
Meanwhile the Rounds' were drifting, putting some space between themselves. The unidentified one moved to engage Zealous while the Tristan edged closer to Kallen. It only figured that he would want to fight her directly. Well then. She would show him his place, if he forced her to.
The gold energy-wings pulsed with power as Tristan floated towards her.
And then he blurred with speed and shot forwards, trailing a wake of gold. The frame transformed as it came and now the wings swept forward. A spinning lance pointed in to gut her. He was going for it.
She only just danced aside. Behind her the sky flared blue and she knew that Zealous had begun his fight with the other Rounds member. She knew he was probably not up to the task, but she did not have time to worry about him. Gino swept around for another pass.
At the last second he reverted to knightmare form and his slash-harkens swarmed towards her, scything in from all directions. She dove, rising from beneath, and they met with a burst of power from each. The Tristan's twin swords drove down to stop her radiation surge. And for a moment the two mechs held fast against each other, neither giving way.
Then both fell back from each other. Kallen's eyes widened in alarm. The Tristan had indeed been given a hefty upgrade. The machine's specs were maybe even on par with the Lancelot Albion. The energy wings were the final word in knightmare design at the moment, and now the Tristan had them as well... Either way, she had defeated Suzaku in the end, and she could defeat Gino now.
Suddenly Gino spoke: "Kallen, is that really you?"
His voice emerged through the external speakers on his frame. He knew that their communications were down, then. Either he or his comrade were probably jamming them the same way Kallen and Zealous had been jamming the Aries defenders.
She flanked to one side of him, seeking an opening. She remained grimly silent. If she admitted who she was, then maybe her comrades back home would be in trouble. On the other hand... maybe if she explained to Gino what was happening, he would help. For now, though, if she could disable him quickly then there would be no need for either course of action.
Her slash-harkens leapt up to the Tristan's legs, but he swept aside so that they only nicked him. He flourished his swords and made ready to charge her. His voice came again, tensely. "I couldn't believe it when they told me the mission. It is you, isn't it?" Then he dove in, his energy wings emitting splinters of yellow fire at her. She ducked and weaved through the hail of his attack, suddenly sending an angry beam of radiation upwards at him.
He twirled aside and lanced in again with his swords leading. The pure speed of his attack amazed her. As the twin MVS' slashed at her and she only barely blocked with her wings, she realized that she might actually be in trouble here. This Tristan was, as Lelouch had warned, far beyond what Gino had used to pilot.
Suddenly his sword slipped through her defences, sheared a little into the Guren's hull. It was nothing serious, but it rattled her into a slight retreat. She had to think this over. What advancements had been made and what was her way around them? She was the better pilot, that much she was certain of. Surely that was what was most important thing.
With a flash of blue the Shiva darted in front of her to engage Gino. Zealous' sword shone and ripped through the air, flashing against the Tristan. But its energy only splashed like water from the energy-wings as Gino brought them defensively inwards. Meanwhile the other Rounds member followed Zealous.
Kallen understood--Zealous had come this way to lure his opponent into her fields of fire. He was trying to communicate: the only way out of this was to work together. She swept up behind the second Rounds as it went after Zealous. Kallen's blade plunged hard into the knightmare's shoulder as it tried to evade the sudden threat.
Wounded, it spun away and Gino protectively unfolded his wings before it. The other Rounds spoke for the first time: "Oh, you must be a brave little girl, to attack Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine, from behind." A woman's voice.
So this was the Knight of Nine. Kallen had never met her. She looked to Zealous to see if he was alright. It looked like he'd taken a couple of scratches but wasn't going to be exploding anytime soon. This time when she moved to the right Zealous circled to his left, clearly intending to pinch the Rounds members between them. They attacked more or less simultaneously, he with the railgun and she with slash-harkens.
But both attacks went astray. The Rounds acted in tandem, each splitting in the opposite direction. In fact, Kallen's slash-harkens nearly ended up hitting Zealous. So much for that. Zealous soared wildly above, the lightning-bolt shafts of his railgun raining down as the Knight of Nine danced back and forth.
Where had Gino gone?
But suddenly he roared up from behind. She'd let her attention wander. She swivelled with blinding speed and met him head on. She managed to deflect his swords to one side, with her wing, but it left her open. His slash-harkens jabbed in at close range, shearing off most of her port energy-wing.
Oh, that's bad.
Both the wings stuttered and went dead. She shoved the Tristan away, but without him holding her she only fell, fell, fell. Such a nostalgic feeling. Power surged back into the wings, but on the damaged left side it overloaded and shot bursts of pink. She corkscrewed frantically down out of the sky. Only at the last second did she sweep aside and save herself from smashing into Aries' front stairs. She alighted on the lawn next to a smoking wreck of a Vincent. She wasn't sure if the wings would function at all the next time she tried to fly.
But Gino smashed down at her from the air. He rained destruction and she broke away on the landspinners, carving furrows across the Villa's immaculate grass. The Tristan landed across the way and leered at her. He and she met in the middle of the grounds, throwing all their weight against each other. They whirled around and around in close combat, ripping tracks into the cobbled drive-ways and stomping over the fountain. This close to the Villa, Kallen was reluctant to use her radiation-surge. Their slash-harkens and MVS systems clashed against each other over and over as they weaved through deadly patterns.
And then, all at once, everything went wrong. Gino feinted one way and then his sword swept across to shear her other wing off. Kallen reeled back. To hell with this. She extended the Guren's right hand and moved to blow him away with the surge. But at the last second Gino's wing flashed towards her and the red energy of her radiation-surge deflected harmlessly into the sky.
Then he spun, and the swords screeched under. She felt a lurch from underneath and then there was a jarring thud as the Guren collapsed. He'd cut her legs off. Gritting her teeth she triggered the slash-harkens in one final bid for victory. They shot up from the fallen torso. Gino caught them and cast them contemptuously back at her. Then his sword angled in and Kallen froze in terror. The tip of the blade grated nauseatingly on the front of her cockpit. He could kill her at any moment.
Gino said sadly, "You were always a better pilot than me. But this is over."
No way. This couldn't be happening. They had failed. And now--
Zealous dropped from above. The Shiva clashed hard against Gino but was thrown back a step. He'd lost his left arm sometime during his fight against the Knight of Nine. This situation was hopeless. The Shiva's sword glowed with blue fire, in the remaining hand.
Nonette Enneagram appeared behind Zealous and floated in the air there, watching the stand-off between he and Gino. "I'd say you're beaten, little man. Better give it up before we kill you."
But at that moment Zealous turned to look back at Aries Villa. Suddenly the Shiva flashed towards the front steps. A fire leapt up through every window of the palace, roaring out through the openings. The blast came like static on Kallen's external microphones. Explosions buckled through every wing of the palace in a split-second, shattering the walls outwards. Then with a final titanic blast, a cloud of flame consumed the shattered bones of the Villa, howling outwards, blackening the grass. The fire rushed over the mechs standing on the lawn, and the Guren. Kallen flinched at the brightness as the temperature in the Guren rose painfully.
When she opened her eyes, Kallen saw the subdued glowering of red flames. Zealous had vanished and she was helpless, on her back between the two Rounds members. A tower of smoke blotted out the stars. Before them the final remains of Aries Villa sagged and collapsed into rubble.