Here we go with Chapter 4! I get the feeling I'm speeding through the series' events a little bit (as the beginning of last chapter was just after episode 4, and here we are at episode 7), but from here on only very few key plot points will remain in place (such as the Battle of Narita, which I have mentioned quite a few times before now). All that aside, this chapter. will be episodes 7 and 8 (and will, with the exception of the vast changes to the way they'll play out, be otherwise canon).
And to answer the (unasked) questions some may have regarding why I made V.V.'s existence and the factor of the emperor having Geass known so early, it'll be revealed later. While for the time being I'll be following the series' tendency to put the origin of Geass and the like on the back burner in favor of Lelouch's purposes, instances with people such as Mao will be much longer so as to put more focus on Geass itself. It's my hope that in the end the battle will be more Lelouch vs. Charles rather than Black Knights vs. Britannia, but this is something that will both be MUCH further down the road and subject to change, depending on how R2 goes (I am not willing to change potential facts revealed later on regarding Geass, if there are any that will be revealed).
One final thing before we get started, though. Another of my lovely reviewers asked me to kill off Suzaku and, while I'd like to as much as you want me to, I won't. Simple reason being, I need him to stick around. Extended answer being, I've always liked to believe that there was hope for the salvation of his friendship with Lelouch, and that will be important later. And so, no, he will not be meeting an unfortunate end anytime soon. That doesn't mean I won't kill him off, but if I do it'll be because it was necessary and not because of "Suzaku is in Lelouch's way, therefore he should die,"-based reviews. Still love the feedback. But I felt the need to address that.
--
"Sensei, are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" Lelouch asked innocently, looking up at the Geass-bound teacher in front of him. Using Geass to secure him a secret room in Ashford Academy for his personal use - full with a large screen for outgoing and incoming communications, much like those used by the military - was a stroke of brilliance on his part, but it also left him very bored. Waiting for Henry to contact him had grown tiresome, to say the least.
"Yes, of course. Just don't let anyone catch you," Lelouch chuckled and waved the teacher away, who - under the bind of Geass - was all too happy to oblige. This move had effectively turned his prison into a base of operations, and that would be a saving grace until he had better means of getting things done. But when secrecy was necessary, what better way to be secretive than to make a base out of a place few people knew existed?
As soon as the teacher had left - his history teacher to be precise, as irony would have it - Lelouch pulled out a small folder. It read 'Top Secret' in bold red lettering, and it had in smaller letters 'From the desk of Duke Henry'. Lelouch smiled to himself, opening the folder and taking out the papers therein. Most were just statistical papers regarding what funds could be snuck off for Lelouch's use without raising Britannia's suspicion, while others were tactical papers that Henry had compiled in secret. Lelouch had to admit, the guy was a valuable ally.
"The Japanese Liberation Front... they won't assist me easily. They'll take more convincing than a simple prison break," Lelouch mused quietly, reading through papers. Many detailed the vast strategic advantage Lelouch would have if the JLF sided with him, as they had bases in areas such as Osaka Bay and Narita. Needless to say, such advantageous locations would be good sites to fight nice one-sided battles against tougher opponents like Cornelia.
He continued to flip through papers, stopping when he came to one with an enlarged picture of a young girl. She was really not that much younger than himself, and looked distinctly familiar to him. "An influential member of the Kyoto Houses, and a near-obsessive supporter of Zero, Kaguya Sumeragi... ah!" Lelouch tapped a finger to his head as he recalled her, smiling to himself. "Perhaps she'd support him even more if she knew his motives?"
He continued to flip through the report, finding nothing of tremendous interest. Mostly just status reports on requests he'd made - such as the alterations he'd requested be made to one of the Gloucesters he'd captured, which were coming along much faster than he'd anticipated. The only other thing of real interest was the JBU, or Japanese-Britannian Union, that Henry had been slowly creating for the past while. Though few in number, every one of it's members supported both sides, and would gladly serve Zero's aims. That was what Henry had said, anyway, and Lelouch felt compelled to believe the same.
"Hello!" Henry declared cheerfully, startling Lelouch out of his musings. Lelouch glanced at the unexpected grin on Henry's face on the large screen, and smiled briefly in return. "Ever the gloomy one, aren't we Zero... or should I call you Lelouch?" he tapped a finger to his cheek in mock thought, and even Lelouch chuckled at that.
"Zero," Lelouch deadpanned, smiling. Henry nodded in return, and Lelouch went back to reading the report. "Why include the information about Kaguya Sumeragi?" he asked. He had a few assumptions, sure, but none that he'd wager any bets on being correct. Though that was more than a little bit due to the fact that he had very little extensive knowledge of the Kyoto Houses, and thus didn't have much insight into how helpful they were. "Unless they have something really good..."
"Guren Type-02."
"What?"
"The Guren Type-02, the first Japanese Knightmare Frame not to be made in mass production. Also quite possibly the strongest Knightmare Frame currently developed. Quite an impressive toy, I must admit. Fukushahado radiation emitter, Landspinner propulsion systems comparable to the Lancelot's... what more could you want?" Henry explained gleefully, laughing heartily to himself.
"And this helps me, how? The Kyoto Houses won't lend aid to Zero without having very good reason to," Lelouch retorted bemusedly, narrowing his eyes at his Duke companion.
"Kaguya and you are childhood friends of sorts, and she knows why you'd rebel."
"And you do?"
"Would you expect less from someone equal - oh, sorry, second to - Zero?" Henry remarked cooly, and Lelouch had to concede to that. Little as he liked it, they were equally - or almost equally - matched.
"So you're saying I should get this Guren Type-02... oh, I see. If I use it and deliver the stunning victory we're expecting, I'd be put at the forefront for the Kyoto House's support."
"Exactly, Lord Zero."
o--o
To say the situation for the Britannian nobility in Area 11 was hectic would be a vast understatement. With their Governor Clovis La Britannia having been under arrest until just a week before, support of the prince was at it's lowest. And with the arrogant declaration of his masked savior that he'd be raiding the Saitama Ghetto, things had been that much more out of control. Worse yet was the fact that Clovis seemed to be shaken beyond all recognition, and everything except the final say in matters had been thus forced onto Cornelia and Euphemia. The latter wasn't very helpful, but she tried and those around her liked to think that counted.
"Do we have any leads regarding the identity of this masked psycho?" Cornelia asked from her seat next to her brother. All the most important of Area 11's officials sat at the table, each carrying their own opinion regarding what needed to be done. Such was the world of politicians, sadly. Cornelia had never liked politics much, of course, and had always believed that commanders shouldn't have their hands in politics. Whoever had suggested she be made Clovis' aid in Area 11 clearly wasn't a like-minded individual.
"None," Clovis declared defiantly, shaking his head grimly. But any lie he dared make was made hard to believe the moment one looked into his eyes: swolen from god only knows what, and midnight black bags forming beneath them. "We are doing our best but, at this time, there's not much that can be done. I suggest we answer Zero's declaration by moving our forces to the Saitama Ghetto."
"But wouldn't that be doing exactly what he wants?" Euphemia asked timidly.
"Yes, it would," Clovis admitted. "But if we do nothing, what will be solved? The only thing we can do is suppress Zero before he becomes a threat and take him captive," Clovis explained. 'Perhaps then you will listen to reason, Lelouch. This rebellion isn't right!'
"I agree," Cornelia added. "So, that just leaves who to send. What do you think, Clovis?"
"This was my blunder to begin with, sister, and I'll finish it. I'll lead our forces to Saitama and face Zero."
"But the troops still don't have your trust since the Shinjuku incident!" Cornelia protested. "And if Zero is as smart as we think, he will know that. And that will lead to disaster. You know that, Clovis."
"Besides," another one started. "It would be a poor way to honor the memory of His Highness Lelouch and his sister Nunnally is we failed so badly," he regarded Clovis seriously for a moment, then raised an eyebrow when he noticed the Governor's tilted head and watering eyes, if only slightly. "...Your Highness?"
"It's nothing," Clovis said, perking up. "It's because we must honor our late family that I want to do this. What good is honoring them if I'm hiding while someone else fights in my stead? I have to do this, and I will hear no protests."
'Only I can convince Zero. Only I can save Lelouch from himself. And I will do it.'
o--o
"...Zero?!"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"We have nothing for you! Why are you here?!"
Complaints continued as such for well over a minute, and Lelouch simply tapped his foot to a randomly decided beat as he waited for them to calm themselves. It took them some time, but after a shrill scream sounded through the room of the Kyoto House's residency, Lelouch would have to commend the person who would be able to carry an argument. And such a person wasn't among any of these men, he decided, as the room fell into an intolerable silence.
"Lord Zero!" Kaguya cried happily, rushing forward and leaping at the masked terrorist, wrapping her slim arms around his stomach. Lelouch raised an eyebrow beneath his mask, but made no objections. She was, after all, a childhood friend of his and Suzaku's cousin. Besides, having her in good spirits would be beneficial for the goal of his unannounced and - if their complaints were any indicator - unwanted visit.
"Lady Kaguya," he returned the gesture, getting a raised eyebrow from several people in the room - Kaguya herself included - as to how he knew her name. He ignored the questioning brows and continued, not as a question but as a statement, much to the chagrin of those around, "I would speak with Lady Kaguya and Taizo Kirihara in private."
"His lack of mannerisms insult us!"
"Why should we allow this?!"
Again, the room broke into an uproar, but Lelouch wasn't particularly worried. Not when he had the obvious adoration of the overly contented Kaguya still hanging from him. As memory recalled, she used to hang from him in much the same way when they were kids. He was always like a big brother to her - even if his priorities always fell on Nunnally, and she never got to admitting that he truly wasn't her brother. Not while she was still in his company she didn't, anyway. But, looking at her now, she had clearly changed. Perhaps not in her behaviour, but certainly in her appearance.
"Let's hear him out," Kirihara interjected, hidden behind a curtain - a curtain acting like a veil, that is, but a curtain all the same. Lelouch grinned in victory and carefully pried Kaguya from him, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder right before she would protest. Grumbles came from everyone else in the room, but they made no move to disobey the head of the Kyoto House. One by one they filed out until only Lelouch, Kaguya, and the veiled Kirihara remained. "You interest me, Zero. But why should we aid one terrorist?"
"I am not one. I am all of the terrorists."
"Is that so?"
"The terrorism in Area 11 is going nowhere. I will bring them all together and fight an all out war against Britannia. And I will remove Charles Di Britannia and his ideals from this world."
"And you believe you can do this?"
"I do."
"And we should believe you, why?" Kirihara asked, lifting the veil and gazing out at the masked man before him. Kaguya stepped away from Lelouch and turned toward him as well, waiting.
Lelouch didn't answer immediately. He took several steps forward, slowly reaching toward the mask on his face. Slowly, agonizingly so, he lifted it over his chin and his lips and his nose, and finally off completely off. He held it at his side, smiling slyly at the shocked expression on Kaguya's face and the wry grin on Kirihara's. "Because I have every reason to devote my life to it."
"Lelouch!" Kaguya cried in shock.
Kirihara was far more composed about the matter, simply laughing lightly. "The Black Prince is taking center stage, is he? I expected no less," Kirihara swung the veil, removing it from his view and leaning back. "However, the six families would be in an uproar if I simply gave you our full aid. What do you require, with what little help I can offer?" he asked, grinning.
"The Guren Type-02. I'll show the Kyoto House what I can do with it, and if they are satisfied, you lend me your full support. Is that reasonable?"
"It is, indeed," Kirihara let out a full blown hearty laugh at that point, unable to contain his glee. "The Black Prince will change the world! What a sick irony."
o--o
It had been three days since, and rumors were starting to get abound that Zero was 'all talk,' as many students had put it, seeing as there had been an evident lack of any terrorist activity in Saitama yet. The only person not phased was Karen herself, who knew when it was to take place. Which was in an hour, coincidentally. Neither she nor anyone else had heard from Zero since the broadcast, although many assumed Diethard was still in contact with him and had tried to get to him that way. All to no avail.
Zero himself was actually still at the academy, down in his base, grinning to himself as he read the latest report Henry had compiled. "So all the cosmetic work is done, too?" Lelouch questioned, glancing up at the feed he had with Henry.
"That's right, Zero. As you can see, your personal Gloucester is ready as well. I'd wager a guess that the improvements are enough to put you on fighting ground with Cornelia, even. We don't know if she'll be out there, but the possibility is there," Henry explained, visibly excited by his work. "And what of the Guren Type-02. Have you decided what to do with it yet?" he asked curiously.
"I'm giving it to one of the terrorists I helped in Shinjuku. Karen Kozuki, alias Kallen Stadtfeld."
"A half-blood?" Henry asked, impressing Lelouch once again with his quick wit.
"That's right. Ironically, she's a classmate here at the academy. But she's among the best as far as pilots at my disposal go," Lelouch explained off-handedly, placing all the papers back into their folder and, holding it over a trash can, burning it with a lighter. Extra insurance never hurt anyone, did it?
Certainly not.
"I assume you have some big plans for that beauty's toys?" Henry asked excitedly. "I mean, what better way to convince the Kyoto House than to make use of the Frame's best toys?"
"Make sure you're watching Diethard's broadcast tonight. You'll see what I have planned," Lelouch grinned widely, and he and Henry joined together in a clearly maniacal laugh. One that could only be shared between the two of them, as like-minded individuals. One that could only be shared by people of such genius that they shared, that they could probe eachother's thoughts to their depths and know what the other had planned. No ill will was shared between the two, which was favorable, because they'd know about it if the other had ill intent.
The feed was cut after that and Lelouch, suitcase carrying his Zero outfit in hand, and departed his makeshift base. Perhaps even such a term as makeshift base was pushing it, as a base in a school academy could hardly be considered a base of any sort. But it served the purposes he needed it to serve, and it allowed him to keep in contact with those that he didn't need others knowing he was in contact with - a list that consisted solely of Henry at that point in time, but that didn't matter too much.
It hadn't taken long to secretively travel from the base to his room where, as he expected, C.C. was sprawled out on his bed eating a pizza. It had been an unspoken truce between them, to some extent. She was more cooperative when he needed her to be, and she had free reign over his credit card. He didn't like her side of the agreement, really, but it was a small sacrifice. And he wasn't exactly lacking in funds, so the half a dozen pizzas here and there didn't hurt.
"Hurry up," Lelouch ordered impatiently from the doorway. C.C. regarded him with little more than a blank stare before silently returning to her pizza. As he waited, Lelouch wondered what would happen if he wasn't on time. It would be pretty embarrassing for Zero to keep his minions-to-be waiting, and he couldn't exactly say "Sorry, my partner in crime had to finish her pizza first," either. Though he had to admit, such a scenario would be quite amusing. But amusement isn't what he should have been caring about when organizing a large scale assault on one of Tokyo's wards, is it?
That brought another thought to mind. How the two related, nobody could dare say. But that didn't exactly matter to Lelouch. "Did you at least set up what I asked you to?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the slim figure laying across his bed, feet in the air and kicking as she ate at her pizza. C.C. gave a brief nod and looked at Lelouch, and it took him a moment to catch on to the fact that the look she was giving him was one filled with concern. Certainly out of the ordinary. "...What?"
"It's nothing."
That was the last straw. It wasn't part of their silent agreement, he knew, but there was just a line she shouldn't cross with her refusal to answer. He stomped over to her angrily, snatching the pizza box from in front of her and holding it over his head. C.C. turned to look at him in something resembling pure shock, a slice of pizza still in her hand and held to her mouth, bits of cheese falling from it and over her lips. It looked strangely adorable for a moment - that is, for a moment until Lelouch kicked himself mentally for letting her distract him in such a way to begin with.
"Lelouch...!" her reply was lost in the transition between desperate cry and menacing growl, and it amused the offending teenager to no end. She leaped to her feet and dashed at him, the skirt of his sister's school uniform fluttering upward for just a moment. Rather than registering that, his momentary distraction fell on why she was wearing it to begin with. He did recall her saying at one point that it was comfortable, but that was hardly a reasonable excuse.
C.C., meanwhile, opted to jump up and down like a kid trying to reach her confiscated toy in a vain attempt to reach the pizza box that was just out of finger tips' reach. Lelouch watched the scene with growing amusement. That is, until C.C. clued into alternative methods and tackled him to the ground. She snatched the box from his hands, grinning for a split second in victory. In her enthrallment she failed to notice she was straddling the teenager beneath her and, while Lelouch had, he was certainly lacking in the physical strength to force her off of him. And that was when he heard the door opening, much to his horror.
"Master Lelouch, Lady Nunnally seems to have misplaced one of her school uniforms. You wouldn't happen to know... where..." Sayoko stopped dead in her tracks, cheeks turning crimson as she caught sight of the slightly suggestive scenario in front of her. After all, C.C. straddling Lelouch and grinning down at him - pizza box in her hands irrelevant - didn't leave much to the imagination. It was just unfortunate for those two that the imagination that stumbled across the scene is part of one of the most misinterpreting minds they could possibly have known. If not the most, Lelouch mused.
o--o
That's... not good.
o--o
Lelouch smiled broadly to himself as he walked briskly up the steps that led up the back of the podium Diethard had prepared for him. It had taken no small amount of work the past nearly two weeks, but he'd set the stage for uniting every Japanese terrorist in Tokyo under a single banner. In fact, every single one of them were currently waiting in whatever dirt-infested outfits they'd prepared for the occasion. Lelouch grimaced at the sight; why must his crack team of faithful followers be these people? The Japanese had the strongest will, and are the best people to use for his revolution, he knew. And they had suffered more than just about any of the other numbers. But such good reasoning really didn't seem as reasonable as he watched them all.
Diethard occupied a space slightly out of sight, holding a video camera with it's view fixated on the center of the podium where Zero would stand in just a moment. He could hardly hide his glee at that moment. Change was finally occuring, and it's instigator had chosen him to document it all! Would his name be seen alongside Zero's in the history books that future generations read? Probably not. Heck, Zero's name would probably be the only one of every terrorist gathered. But that didn't matter to Diethard. No, just witnessing these events could satisfy one such as him for life.
With a burst of flame the curtain between Lelouch and the waiting Japanese disappeared, and there Zero stood. He briskly walked toward the front of the podium, glancing to the side to make sure Diethard was recording the events and then to the other side to make sure C.C. was out of sight, and then spread his arms wide as if to welcome the Japanese below into a comforting hug. "Greetings, Japanese! I am before you for one reason and one reason only. But first!" he paused his clearly anti-climactic speech, and pointed at one of the Japanese below. "You! Why do you fight?" he demanded in that authoritive tone that none dared disobey.
"...Me?" the offending terrorist pointed to himself dumbly, and Lelouch simply nodded. "I fight... for our freedom! To be Japanese!" he declared proudly, beating a balled fist against his broad chest.
"Good," Lelouch nodded, pleased - at least to some degree - with the response. "And would you fight on any battlefield, against any foe, for your ideals? Would you protect the weak, even if they were Britannian, from the strong?" he asked sternly, his eyes not leaving the now once again dumbfounded terrorist.
"...No!" the terrorist blurted out, shocked. "We fight for the Japanese, and only the Japanese. Be they weak or strong, it's the Japanese we protect!" he cried out, once again beating a balled fist against his chest. Lelouch grimaced at that, dejected slightly. Though he wouldn't show it, of course, because they didn't need to know he was judging them. That's something that he'd keep to his inner circle.
"I see," Lelouch replied, turning to address the whole crowd again. The terrorist breathed a heavy sigh of relief and slouched his shoulders, as if having a whole ton of weight lifted from his shoulders at that moment. Which wasn't entirely a lie, sadly. "And the rest of you! Who agrees with this man?" Lelouch asked loudly. From the corner of his eye, he could see Diethard grinning widely. 'Diethard knows this is a judgment, does he? That's not very surprising,' Lelouch thought, feeling the mirth his voice would have used at that moment even in his head.
He redirected his attention to the crowd of terrorists, where about a quarter of the people had their hands up. That very much surprised Lelouch, who had expected far more to be selfish and think only of there own people. Smiling, Lelouch pointed to one of the people without their hand up, "You. Why is your hand not up?" he demanded calmly.
"Because if we fight only for the Japanese, the world will not change!" he barked in reply, far more certain of himself than the last unlucky terrorist to be called upon. Lelouch nodded in reply, and slowly separated the terrorists according to who rose their hand and who didn't. He noticed that every member he'd seen of the resistance he'd used in Shinjuku were among the latter, which delighted him. Not that it wasn't unexpected, being as good a judge of people as he was, but the reassurance helped.
"You all!" Lelouch beckoned, pointing at the group that hadn't raised their hand. Off to the side, Diethard did his best to make sure he got a good shot while keeping the identity of the terrorists hidden. "Will be the Black Knights of Japan! If you would trust me to do so, I will help you restore Japan! Not through terrorism - such actions will not change the world - but through a revolution! The Order of the Black Knights will not be a terrorist group, but Japan's personal army! We will fight against the strong and protect the weak, regardless of who, and restore Japan!"
Everyone in the group, despite the slight skepticism, cheered relentlessly as he finished. Lelouch knew that he'd have to deliver a true miracle to make them believe in a masked leader, but he was certain he could. 'No, only I can,' he reminded himself. As soon as they'd calmed and directed their attention to him again, he continued, "You will all be provided with coordinates shortly. I will see you there in one hour. Decide if you're willing to follow me in that time."
He then turned toward the other group, who seemed thoroughly confused. "You lot fight only for Japan, and thus are capable of no more than pointless terrorism. The Order of the Black Knights cannot include such people," he declared coldly. To say they were shocked was a terrible understatement, and Lelouch found no small amusement in their growing rage. They'd make good people to use as an example of the Order's ideals, for certain.
o--o
"H-hey! Where'd this guy get all these Knightmare Frames?! There must be fifty of them, at least!" Tamaki cried exasperatedly, running along the length of the mobile base Lelouch had prepared. It hadn't taken much work to secure one, but it had taken a great deal of work to find one that could house so many Knightmare Frames. Lelouch smirked as he saw the awe and amazement plastered on the faces of his Black Knights as they saw what he'd prepared.
Lining either wall of the hanger of the mobile base were the Sutherlands and Gloucesters he'd secured, each sporting an obsidian black paint job and the new emblem of the Black Knights - an arrowhead with a reverse-L shaped point on either side, connected by another piece - on the shoulder of the frame. The only exceptions to this were the two Knightmare Frames at the far back, the Guren Nishiki and Lelouch's personal Gloucester. It's only difference from the other Gloucesters was the loss of the jousting lance in favor of a MVS sword identical to the ones on the Lancelot, the crimson red color scheme with a black cape, and a change in the head's design to sport the emblem of the Black Knights. 'Henry outdid himself with these changes... I hope he has a good cover story for the expenses he put into this.'
"Zero!" Karen called from not far off, at the base of the Guren Type-02's large frame. Lelouch waved a dismissive wave to whomever had opted to crowd around him rather than inspecting his armaments, and make his way over to the gaping mouth'd Karen. "What is... this thing?" she asked disbelievingly as soon as she noticed Lelouch's head tilted in question. She still had strong suspicions regarding his identity, but such things couldn't be done in front of everyone else.
"The Guren Nishiki, Japan's first Knightmare Frame not to be made in mass-production. And your new Frame," he answered, watching her face grow into even further shock. He chuckled to himself as he noticed her look asking something along the lines of, "Are you insane?" and quickly shook his head in reply. "Unless you'd rather use your Glasgow, of course," he added, chuckling softly once more to himself. Neither of these chuckles were noticed by Karen, and that was for the best. None needed know that Zero had some emotions. He needed to be the perfect revolutionary of the world. And emotions were nothing more than a hindrance in battle; everyone knew that.
Karen had taken well over a minute to simply gape in sheer shock at her new Frame. Dare she deny it? She had to admit, outdated and crappy as it was, her Glasgow had a great deal of sentimental value. But things of sentimental value were better off treasured than used until they were no longer functional, right? With that thought in mind, she turned to look at Lelouch again, a smug look on her face. That was he original plan, anyway, until she realized that Zero had long since gone and was now back in the center of the hanger, the rest of his Black Knights around him. Twitching momentarily in annoyance, she quickly composed herself and strode over to join them, praying the entire way that she wasn't missing anything important.
"Ogi," Lelouch started, looking over toward the resistance leader. "With our ace pilot Karen Kozuki working for you, I believe you should have a command," he spoke with a slight air of disappointment, and Karen raised an eyebrow. His thoughts and words weren't on the same page, she thought for just a moment, before shrugging it off. Zero simply knew of Ogi's sub-par commanding abilities, she reasoned, and that was where the disappointment stemmed. She very much hoped so, anyway.
"No," Ogi replied almost immediately. "You brought us all together. That was something only you can do. Only you can lead us, Zero," murmurs of spiteful agreement ran amok throughout the crowd, but none dare voice the reason of that spite. They needed Zero, mask or without, and they couldn't aford to risk that by asking that he reveal himself. While some were more rueful about it than others, they all generally agreed that it mattered not who he was so long as he could deliver the miracle they needed.
"Very well," Lelouch replied gleefully. "In that case, Ogi Kaname shall serve as second-in-command and commander of Squad A. Shinichiro Tamaki shall be commander of Squad B, and Yoshitaka Minami shall serve as commander of Squad C. Karen Kozuki shall act directly under my command. That is all."
"Wait, that's it?!" several amongst the crowd called out. "What about the rest of us?!"
"I have only seen the resistance members in combat," Lelouch replied swiftly. "These are temporary positions so that we have a chain of command in our Order. This is simply to keep us from falling into chaos. If you want more, than show what you are made of. Prove your worth by striking down the Britannians that even now wait eagerly for us to act. Strike down those who have bound you to your Eleven names, and reclaim your name as a Japanese!"
Cheers of vehement approval replaced angry complaints, and as soon as it had settled all were eager to hear what Zero had for them. As luck would have it there were less than ten Knightmare Frames not in use once ever person had been assigned one, which was a far better turnout than he had hoped for. Waving a hand as a signal, Lelouch called for C.C. to follow him from within the shadows that he knew she'd been hiding in. "All the conditions have been cleared. Now we just wait to see what Clovis does, and we can blast them."
"That's quite the trap you've set for the Britannians. Think they'll notice?" C.C. shot back, eyebrow raised in question as they drew closer to the Gloucester Lelouch was to pilot, C.C. sticking to the shadows so as to remain out of view. "And why are you having me come with you?" she added, bemused.
"Henry modified the cockpit to seat two," Lelouch replied, pointing toward the second cable on the Gloucester. "You don't have any real purpose in there, but it's safer if you're with me," he explained, to which C.C. just nodded understandingly. She would have much preferred reading something and eating pizza back in their room, as they both knew, but the more she cooperated, the more she got further down the road. Again, as they both knew.
o--o
"Brother Clovis, are you sure you're going to be okay out there? Zero... I mean..." Euphemia started timidly. Clovis chuckled to himself and ruffled the younger sibling's hair affectionately. Euphemia was startled by such an action, and gazed at him worriedly. "What if something... happens? First Lelouch and Nunnally... not you too, brother Clovis. Please."
Clovis felt an inexplicable amount of guilt as she spoke. He wanted more than anything than to console her with words of her siblings' survival, but at the same time that would be breaking his oath to those very same siblings. Lelouch had stressed on more than one occasion how much Nunnally's safety meant to him, and what lengths he'd go to in order to ensure that safety. "...All will be well, Euphemia. I won't die out there," he stuck a hand out, pinkie outstretched. "Promise?" Euphemia looked at her older brother one last time before nodding quickly and enthusiastically, interlocking her pinkie with his own. "I'll survive... for you, and for them."
o--o
Lelouch groaned rather audibly and ran a hand idly down the length of the hair falling over his forehead before immediately replacing it with an annoyed sigh and leaning his head back against his seat. "Clovis isn't going to make this easy for us. He's likely designed some sort of belief of my disillusionment, and is bent on 'righting' my disillusionment. He always did have a knack for misreading key details, and I suppose that's where his fault lies..." but that revelation didn't make it easier for the young terrorist leader. With black Sutherlands and Gloucesters still departing in swaths from the mobile base, which Henry was secretly commandeering to keep it out of sight once the conflict began, Lelouch knew things were only beginning.
C.C., on the other hand, hadn't been so bored in a long time. Her seat provided little room for mobility, and lacked any buttons for her to fiddle with in her boredom. She felt like a baby stuck in a playpen, to say the least. Trying to cast those thoughts aside she decided to address he current questions and, leaning forward, she said, "Are you sure you can overpower Britannia here? You're going to be horribly overwhelmed."
Lelouch ignored her completely, much to her annoyance, and flipped on his transmitter. "Squad A, begin evacuating citizens. Squads B and C prepare to engage Britannian forces when they arrive, and hold them at bay. Karen, remain on standby. You'll have an important mission shortly," he ordered swiftly, watching his radar for any abnormalities. He knew he couldn't trust Suzaku to simply be amongst the Britannian forces that strangely had yet to deploy, given the incredible machine he piloted. The Lancelot certainly was an abnormality, requiring a separate strategy than the rest of Britannia's forces to remove.
"Understood!" the voices of Karen, Ogi, Tamaki and Minami chimed in together, and various signals on Lelouch's radar began moving according to his orders. The position of power felt good, Lelouch had to admit, and he wasn't all that willing to let go of it.
Squads B and C had made considerable distance before the first of Britannia's forces were deployed, which was a blessing in Lelouch's mind. "Use the buildings in the area as cover as necessary, and hold your position. I want reports before any one moves from the area," Lelouch ordered sternly, and was rewarded with enthusiastic replies once again. It was amazing really, how eager they were to be led around by a good commander.
"First group of Britannians identified! Ten Sutherlands!" Tamaki called, apparently forgetting to turn off the transmitter afterwards as Lelouch also picked up repeated curses as he fought. "Zero, there's a ton of them! Are you sure we can handle this?!" he added despairingly, much to Lelouch's chagrin. He was rather hoping his knights would fight on without questioning what exactly the point was.
"You're not trying to rout them. Just keep them at bay until I give the signal, and then fall back to me," Lelouch explained. Tamaki and Minami gave their ok's, Tamaki's being far more excitedly than Minami's, and soon an all out brawl had begun in the center of the ghetto. Lelouch chuckled to himself as he watched the ensuing chaos on his radar, signals being lost on both his side and Britannia's, with the vast majority on the latter end of the scale. All according to plan so far, Lelouch thought gleefullly, before turning his attention to Ogi's squad who were in the midst of getting citizens out of the battlefield. It was to their great fortune that residency for Elevens was only in the worst parts of the ghetto, which were near where the mobile base was.
As time went on, things only grew more and more hectic. Fights had spread from the originally central area to all along a line of the center, with Britannia slowly beginning to buckle in a sturdy defense. That couped with the advantage of numbers was boding ill for the unlucky Squads B and C, and Lelouch finally had to step in. "Tamaki, continue to hold strong! Minami, feign defeat and flee toward the underground. Pincer them!" Lelouch barked loudly, urging himself into movement. "I'll be there shortly to take over," he added quickly, moving as quickly as his enhanced Gloucester would. Which was delightfully fast, compared to the Sutherland he'd used in Shinjuku.
"Understood!" Minami and Tamaki answered, both moving to fulfill their duties. As Squad C pulled back Squad B centered itself once more, and began the drawn out task of bottlenecking the Britannian forces. Tamaki found himself under a near endless storm of gunfire, spinning his Gloucester every which way as he looked for any openings to strike. He found some, much to his delight, but far fewer than what could be considered satisfactory. Or more than satisfactory from a different perspective, as his squad had four Sutherlands out of service and ten damaged. Needless to say, what was originally a hard pressed situation had gone downhill since.
Lelouch evened the score somewhat as he came from a different road, crashing his MVS sword into the side of an unlucky Sutherland, it's pilot crying out and forcefully ejecting almost immediately. Tamaki voiced his thanks quickly before joining Lelouch, thrusting his lance through another Sutherland and then replacing it with his rifle, shooting down a more distant one. "How much longer?" Lelouch asked calmly, watching for any immediate risk of losing his life as he took cover alongside Tamaki behind a half destroyed building, firing when possible.
"We're almost done! Give us a few more minutes!" Ogi replied, urging citizens down the escape route he'd prepared. It didn't lead to the best of places, but it would certainly remove them from any life-threatening conflicts. Ogi was almost afraid they'd be starting this chaos without securing the lives of the citizens, and was all too delighted to obey when Zero had given him the order to ensure their safety.
Lelouch didn't reply, too heavily focused on the conflict at hand. With the bottleneck as it was they were staring down impossible numbers, and it was only with the timely pincer movement of Minami that they could prevent certain disaster. "Open fire! Force them back!" Lelouch ordered, bursting from his cover with MVS sword at the ready, cleaving through another Sutherland as he went. Being blessed with overwhelmingly superior power was a good thing, he realized quickly, with him being able to hold his own despite his certainly underwhelming piloting skills. Having Tamaki by him was a help too of course, watching the hot-headed red-head shoot holes through another Sutherland in their charge. Even with the apparent number disadvantage and constant reinforcements, Britannian forces quickly found themselves on the run from the strength the Black Knights found in Zero's tactics.
"Don't push too far," Lelouch warned quickly, taking cover again from a curiously well aimed shot that was only inches from striking his rifle from his hand. Much to his worry Cornellia's personal Gloucester bursted out from within the Britannian lines, and Tamaki only narrowly avoided a lance thrust to the cockpit. "Pull back and bottleneck again! I'll keep Cornellia at bay," Lelouch ordered, charging out and clashing his MVS sword somewhere along the extensive shaft of Cornellia's lance. Lelouch had the advantage of his weapon being one-handed, pulling his rifle and pointing it at the head of the Gloucester.
"...You're Zero, right?" Cornellia's clearly annoyed voice asked through an open transmission. Lelouch raised an eyebrow for a moment before noticing they were the only ones there, with his knights having fallen back and the Britannian forces having left in pursuit.
"That's right," he admitted coolly, lowering his rifle. "Cornellia Li Britannia, Governor-General of Area 11 in all but actual title. His Majesty certainly doesn't have any trust for Governor Clovis, does he?"
"How..." Lelouch could have kept playing this game in his glee, but thought better of it. He recalled what Clovis had told him, that Schneizel and Cornellia likely knew about his mother's assassination. Priorities in the battle at hand aside, his own justice still reigned high in his mind. But at the same time, he couldn't very well do so without revealing himself to her. And so, he had no choice but to admit defeat - temporary defeat, of course - and ignore the throbbing need to address that issue.
"Zero, we're done! Your orders?" Ogi's well-timed interruption came in, and Lelouch couldn't have been more pleased with the timing. Laughing to himself, he turned his attention back to Cornellia who was still quite immobilized by their deadlock. She could have pulled back but being the woman she was, she wouldn't have taken the slight to her honor. Knowing this, Lelouch found neutralizing the threat before him relatively simple.
"That doesn't matter. Until next time, Princess Cornellia," and with that he quickly shot at her Landspinners, effectively immobilizing her as he turned to begin the long journey back to the mobile base. "All forces, gather at the mobile base! Karen, proceed to sector E-1 and follow the instructions I'm sending now," he ordered, pushing at a few buttons as he watched carefully to plot out a route to avoid the advancing Britannians.
"They're coming too close!" Ogi complained, but Lelouch had already addressed that. He pulled a detonator from his side, pressing down on the button and laughing gleefully as a fissure was created to divide the Black Knights from the Britannians. Some Britannian troops were caught in the creating divide and subsequently routed, but for the most part it did no more than to create a single route for the Britannians to take to eliminate the Black Knights. And with the advantage still being their's, they certainly would, Lelouch thought.
"Karen, how close are you?" Lelouch asked impatiently as he saw his allies come into view, some pulling damaged Knightmare Frames and placing them off to the side. He ignored that and proceeded to return to the mobile base, pulling his mask over his head again before shutting down the Frame. He opened the cockpit and he and C.C. made for the hanger floor, C.C. disappearing into the shadows once more and Lelouch making for the control room where Henry was waiting.
"Zero," Henry acknowledged with a nod as Lelouch strode in. Lelouch nodded in kind as he made for the front and flipped some switches, turning on the communications. "Didn't you say the King should move so they will follow?" Henry asked, brows furrowed in amusement. Lelouch glared back at him through the mask, but thought better of responding to the cocky remark.
"Karen," Lelouch spoke in the direction of the front of the mobile base.
"Yes?"
"Find the open pipeline, and fire the Fukushahado into it," he ordered, flipping a switch to turn the communications off immediately afterward. He turned to Henry again, removing his mask to reveal a wide grin. "And that's checkmate."
o--o
Clovis sat in a large seat before the very same large table he'd been at when Lelouch had handed him his last defeat, and he couldn't deny the waves of remembrance assaulting him ruthlessly. Those around the table found themselves constantly deep in thought in order to keep up with Zero, but nothing they did seemed to put the masked terrorist on the defensive. And with the most recent development - a fissure that effectively removed many of their possible routes, leaving only two or three. Was this a stroke of luck? Or was it planned on Zero's part? They constantly had to ask themselves this, and none could deny the growing fear of fighting such a foe.
"Your Highness, your orders?" one of the men asked impatiently. Clovis flinched at the considerable amount of disdain lacing his words, but dared not speak of it.
"Zero is after something in this conflict, and he won't pull back without getting it. Have all forces occupy the open paths and await their next charge. We'll use their own trick against them," Clovis ordered. It was after the order had been given that he noticed the lone signal moving farther away from the rest. "Colonel, what's that unit there doing?" he asked suspiciously, pointing to Karen's signal.
"That's..." before he could make any move to investigate, however, it stopped moving entirely. "What's going..." and then, signals began being lost all along the three open paths. All witnessing the repeat of the Shinjuku incident were in wide-eye'd shock as they watched, and in the aftermath less than ten lucky signals hadn't been lost. "What was that?!" the Colonel cried, hastening to bring up information on the rogue signal that seemed to be the cause of the massacre. After a moment a picture of the Guren Nishiki came into view, right arm pressed on a pipe with a read light emitting from it's hand. "A radiation wave?! Did they plant explosives...?"
"Reports coming in from the survivors saying they found explosives along the pipeline's route! They're requesting reinforcements!" someone else cried from the opposite side of the mobile base.
Clovis, not willing to be silent any longer, slammed his fist down on the table. "Deploy all remaining units! Have the remnants fall back to sector C-4 and rendezvous with the reinforcements! We won't be made fools of by these terrorists!"
o--o
"Everyone follow Karen's lead! Wipe them out! We won't be defeated by these Britannians! For Japan!" Lelouch cried enthusiastically, watching his own table as all his units began rushing to the attack. Signals began being lost almost immediately, confirming Lelouch's hopeful suspicion that even the scattered remnants of his strategy would be damaged to the point of being almost inoperable. Apparently Clovis hadn't picked up on that, as all remaining units moved to a place that served little purpose other than to rendezvous.
Karen reached the Britannian line first, firing her Slash Harken through one Sutherland and opening fire on two others. The Britannian line parted in sheer terror as she passed through, using an effective mix of her Slash Harken, rapid fire gun and Fukushahado to demolish Sutherlands effortlessly. Allied Sutherlands provided support here and there, but any stray onlooker couldn't deny that it was Karen that almost single-handedly decimated the Britannian forces.
Lelouch watched the signals being lost with increasing glee, and there were more than a few chuckles shared between Henry and himself as they watched. The Guren Nishiki had surpassed every one of their expectations, clearly. "This will remove Clovis for sure," Lelouch said gleefully at some point during the chaos, grinning like an idiot.
Henry looked over at him confusedly, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Why do you want Clovis removed from his position? It's almost as if you care about his life."
"Vi Britannia," Lelouch answered in a more than slightly roundabout way.
"What?"
"My name," Lelouch clarified. "It's Lelouch Vi Britannia. Clovis La Britannia is my half-brother," Lelouch explained. As he looked over, he noticed it was Henry's turn to grin like an idiot. "Hmm?"
"What twisted irony is this? A prince of the Britannian empire rebelling against it, fighting his own father! That explains why you're so adamant about their ideals being wrong," Henry said coolly, clapping his hands gleefully.
"My mother was assassinated when I was ten. My father did nothing because he considered her weak. That contributes in no small part to my opinion," Lelouch went on, eyes returning to the table as Britannian forces began to pull back. He turned around and flipped the switch to turn on the communications again, leaning over, "All forces, pull back to the mobile base. Gather any wounded and carry them. We're done here."
o--o
Clovis stood alone in the now darkened mobile base, slamming a hand down angrilly on the table. Twice now had his little brother made a fool of him, and now Lelouch was going to be made the most wanted man in Area 11. Worse, Clovis was sure he'd be facing concequences for this. Would he lose his position? His life, perhaps? Then it hit him, like a brick to the side of the head, minus the throbbing pain. "Lelouch... is this what you wanted me to see? The cruelty of our... father...?" he asked himself quietly, pondering.
"Lelouch?" Clovis promptly gasped and whipped around to come face to face with Euphemia, smiling comfortingly at her defeated brother. "You said Lelouch... right? Is he alive? And Nunnally?"
"They're alive," Clovis deadpanned, silently praying all she'd picked up was the name and not what else he'd said.
The gods saw fit to grant this one miracle, as Euphemia clapped her hands and nearly squealed in her delight. "Lelouch and Nunnally are alive?! Why didn't you tell us?!" despite the demanding tone, Euphemia couldn't hold back the delight in her words. And despite how grim the situation was for him, Clovis chuckled. Chuckled in a way he only did when he and Lelouch spoke, he realized.
"He asked me not to," Clovis replied, his amusement replaced with hesitation. "He and Nunnally are living lives as normal students in Area 11, and Lelouch knew he'd be pressured to return to court if they knew he lived. It was better for their future that he feign his death and hide with the Ashfords," he went on to explain, thoughts of that same brother being a masked terrorist far from his mind at that moment.
"Then are they going to Ashford Academy? Like Suzaku?" Euphemia asked eagerly, eyes wide with wonder.
"Yes."
--
And we'll stop there for now. I was considering to stop just before the battle began, as it was a better ending than this one is, but I have plans for the next chapter that would have to be put off if I delayed the battle any further. The next few chapters will be centered around political stuff and deception, much of which with Lelouch involved of course. I'm not sure how my current plot will carry out, but we'll see how things go from here. And lastly, you can expect more from Lelouch's caring side in chapters to come. Until then!
