Okay, I had something of a revelation between last chapter and this one, thanks to all ye faithful reviewers. Looking back over my work, my last few chapters (which I had been trying to finish faster for you all) have been rather rushed overall, and looking back I am quite displeased with that. But because it isn't critical at the moment I won't be rewriting anything. I'll go back and make revised versions of those few chapters further down the road, but doing so right now isn't first and foremost on my list of priorities.
The point is, that this chapter - while not necessarily much more substantial than the two before it - will be approached far more carefully written. Mainly because I'm something of a perfectionist, and looking back over those mistakes simply bugged me. So I apologize in advance for reverting to my week-or-more long waiting periods, but those lengthy waiting periods did produce better writing, I notice now.
Anyway, rants aside, we'll try to see how everything flows here. I'm going to be fitting Lelouch and Rai's battle against Mao as well as Narita together into this chapter, which will more than likely make for a longer than intended chapter. But lumping them together is somewhat necessary for the main point to this chapter (and no, Narita isn't the main point), and that will come to light either this chapter or next, depending how perceptive you are. Don't expect something super surprising, because it's nothing of the sort, but it will be setting a focal point for things to come.
This chapter, however, has little going for it in the way of excitement. Unless you're looking forward to a battle of sorts involving Geass powers - however short and anti-climactic it may be - or are interested in war like me - the latter of which being due to the fact that Narita will be completely different so that I can use a more original approach, seeing as using a Fukushahado-based tactic no longer can be considered as such. But we'll have to see how everything goes, and hope it doesn't end up too far from the reality of how things were!
--
We were trying to move with too little fuel.
Figuratively speaking, that's exactly how things were. In the midst of my burning urge to bring down Mao, it completely failed to register in my mind that we had no plan and that we were most certainly at a disadvantage. Which was shocking for both of us to say the least, with me being the person who was known to think things through completely before taking a single step. But if this Rai person ever asked, C.C. was nothing more than an important piece to me and my need to ensure success was nothing more than an issue of pride. That's how things should have been, at least.
When this revelation had come into focus, we abandoned our strategically suicidal plan and retired to my home back at Ashford. Rai took over C.C.'s bed in my room, and he slept rather soundly. Far too soundly given the situation, I had to add. He was a wild card, and with him having a Geass, I couldn't be sure whether or not I could get anything from him with my own. I could test, but I was rather set on using Mao for such testing. Then I could figure out where my ally - if I could call him as such - stood.
And as if my sleeping cycle wasn't bad enough already, the night went without rest for me. I lay there the entire night, thinking over the various ways to approach things. Rai had told me where Mao and C.C. were - the Code-R laboratory at the Rosenberg Institute in the Narita settlement, ironically - and I was already thinking over what I could do to force a checkmate on the man. It was a tough job to do, with me not knowing a thing about my foe while he seemed to know quite a lot about me, but I managed to do so by the time Rai had awoken.
I showered and dressed as per usual routine, ignoring the small difference that was Rai's presence and C.C.'s absence, grabbing my school bag as I made to bid farewell to Nunnally and Sayoko. I spent more of my time with them that morning than I usually would have, but I felt the need to was particularly strong. And as I left, kindly requesting that Sayoko take care of Nunnally during my absence, one thing coursed it's way through my mind.
I wasn't going to school.
o--o
"He's never going to find us, C.C.," Mao said jovially. From what C.C. could tell, to say he was insane would be something of an understatement. She wasn't quite sure if there was a correct way to state it, but it was rather clear he was beyond insane. And with him standing in front of her, clad in something resembling a white trench coat with a pale blue overcoat not extending past his forearms, topped off with a blood red viser keeping his Geass-imbued eyes hidden with his silver hair falling over them slightly, and purple headphones that he had already admitted was playing her voice...
His insanity had clearly gone leaps and bounds beyond what it had reached when she left him.
"I'm not planning on him finding us," C.C. shot back casually. Save for the slightly irritating pain shooting through her wrists due to the restraints - in the form of well knotted rope - keeping them together and the equally irritating pain in her ankles from them being tied to the chair in much the same way, she was actually in quite pleasant living conditions. The painful memories that she could in fact still remember that had previously caused her relentless ache had now dulled to a minor annoyance in the back of her mind, as well.
For someone that she wouldn't put beyond dissecting a human being piece by piece and taking overwhelming glee in such an action, Mao seemed to be somewhat lenient in her case.
"Oh? Don't you two have a contract?" Mao asked in that sickeningly pleased voice, lowering himself so that his eyes - though C.C. couldn't see them - were at level with C.C.'s. "Or do you plan to leave him, like you did me?"
"He's got priorities higher than me, Mao. And he'll be putting them first," C.C. countered, her gaze not leaving the visor. "He's not an idiot. You should be sane enough to realize that," she added, careful not to do more damage than necessary.
"Well, whatever," Mao laughed, standing upright. "It's just us now again, C.C.. We can be happy together," he moved over toward the other chair the laboratory offered - the rest likely having been removed when the laboratory was abandoned - and seated himself, staring at C.C. almost possessively.
C.C. found herself almost praying that Lelouch had the sense not to come at that moment. "No," C.C. deadpanned, closing her eyes. "We can't."
"Y-you don't know what you're saying! Of course we can! You wouldn't have come with me if you didn't believe so!" Mao cried desperately, begging for some form of positive response.
All he got in return, however, was more of C.C.'s already overflowing pity. "I came to end thing," she started, already formulating - or at least trying to formulate a plan to escape the bounds she'd been placed in. "...I'm sorry, Mao," she sighed sadly, opening her eyes and locking them with Mao's. They spoke volumes of sensible ranting that C.C. wouldn't do herself, effectively bringing even Mao's insanity-induced hope to a swift derailment.
"Fine then..." he started, disappearing out of C.C.'s limited view. Sounds of things moving about were heard as Mao prepared various torturing tools, laying them out along a wheeled table. "We'll have to be together... through other means."
o--o
"Where's Zero?" Ogi asked worriedly, bringing his Gloucester to a halt at the first bit of flat ground he'd come to in a long while since beginning the long climb up Narita mountain. Strangely they hadn't been inspected by any of the Japanese Liberation Front's patrol stations, and many had speculated that to be the work of Zero. A larger number had a few questions as to how he did such a thing, but the more perceptive noted that it was lower on the list of surprising actions their masked leader had pulled off.
And that same masked leader was now absent, having left Ogi with instructions and coordinates to guide the small army up to a hidden flat ground - on which they now rested - atop Narita mountain. With the situation they were to be in, several had speculated upon the possibility of Zero not wanting to be in such a do-or-die position. But if that were the case, would he have put himself on the front-lines at Saitama or in front of the Viceroy's Palace.
The answer that everyone could agree on was, in fact, no.
"Who knows?" Tamaki replied, bringing his Gekka - which had only recently been assigned to him - to a halt next to Ogi. "But do you really think we can win? From here, we'll be surrounded! We can't honestly be expected to make a stand from here!" he complained, ignoring the influx of annoyed remarks telling him to "Calm down" or to "Shut it" and opting instead to continue to rant incoherently, spewing curses every four or five words.
"We just have to trust Zero," Karen put in, joining the two in the Guren Nishiki. Her landspinners made an annoying screech as she came to a halt which was quickly drowned out by the identical screeches of other Knightmare Frames - which had previously been in front of her, with her acting as rear guard for the moving group - coming to a halt as well all around her. In her peripherals alone she could count nearly twenty, each and every one sporting that black paint job and the Black Knights symbol that had now made itself known country-wide thanks to the efforts of Diethard. "He hasn't let us down before, has he?"
And once again, the answer was a simple no.
o--o
Cornelia was already in her Gloucester, and her unusually high amounts of patience were understandably thin. The possibility of revenge against Zero which, now that she thought about it, was considerably high, burned deep within her heart. If he made himself known, he could be sure he would be seeing no end to her assault. Not until he was brought to justice for what he had done. That decisive remark, in turn, brought around a rather important question, however. And an equally bewildering one.
Just what had Zero done? Sure, he was no more innocent than any other terrorist, but was that it? Was that all he had done, was group together and lead terrorists? And yet when people spoke of him, it was as if they were speaking of the devil himself. Which, on a different note, could be potentially true if the skills seen in Shinjuku and Saitama were in fact his own. But really, all he did was become an icon and hope for the Elevens.
Which, as even Britannians - excluding the Purist Faction - could agree, was not entirely a bad thing.
"Your Highness, you'll be cleared for launch shortly," came Darlton's voice over her comm system, calm as ever. "Are you ready?"
"I was born ready." was her reply, quick and to the point. She scanned her peripherals, occupied entirely save for her twelve by Sutherlands. Behind her were her personal Glaston Knights, at the head of which was her personal knight Gilbert Guilford, equally as ready as Cornelia for a fierce battle, though he'd dare not show such lack of restraint. "What kind of forces are we looking at, Darlton?"
"Half our own. Burais all. Seems the underground terrorist groups have finally fielded these things," Darlton replied, a slight mocking tone to his otherwise monotone voice. He flipped to another page in the report he held, scanning it quickly for anything worth noting. Finding nothing, he tossed it aside and returned his hands to their rightful places at the controls on either side. "Nothing more than Elevens trying to match the firepower that wiped them out seven years ago. They're no match for us," he added cockily, his indifferent air replaced by a desire no weaker than Cornelia's to be out on the battlefield.
"Don't underestimate them. We've seen the Black Knights use them at the Viceroy's Palace, and they're stronger than they look," Cornelia chided, now unbearably itching for the fight to come. "Forget protocols, knights. With me!" she cried, and her Gloucester was launched from the mobile base before any could get in a word otherwise. Bewildered as they were the Glaston Knights followed, eager to render good service as they had more than once in the past.
o--o
"Signals detected!" Kai Kutagari, information's executive of the Japanese Liberation Front cried from his respective station station. Eager and expectant ears straightened as those two words reached them, and all were suddenly very alert. "Britannia has attacked! But with so few?" there was a sizable amount of frantic movement as people hastened to their respective stations to take up their own jobs, or rushing to the hangers in the case of the pilots who hadn't already launched.
"Calm down, Kaiza! They're just front-line dogs disobeying orders to get the first shot off. Take them out," Akiraka Yamagiwa, head of military operations, chided coldly. Spirits were low with the delayed arrival of their savior, Kyoshiro Todo, but all were eager to prove they hadn't fallen behind in just because of the appearance the Black Knights presented in Area 11. They would prove themselves capable of fending of Cornelia, just as Zero had. Be it a contradiction of their own words or not, they believed they had to.
"Scouts found at various locations! They've been inspecting the area for this location!" Kai reported quickly, losing spirit once more.
"Have they found us?" all eyes that weren't already preoccupied turned to the doorway, where Todo stood, the Shisei-ken just two paces behind him.
"No, sir. But I suspect they will soon. We should focus on the group that has just launched," Kai replied swiftly, studying the radar in front of him as best he could. It wasn't exactly the best technology had to offer, but trying to manage without it would have been nothing short of suicide in such a case. "What do you think?"
"Keep all forces on the defensive, and send the group that was to aim for that group to seek out their scouts. Attacking the Glaston Knights from the front would be suicidal," Todo answered, taking a seat in the nearest unoccupied seat.
"Th-the Glaston Knights?! I thought they were still in Britannia!" Akiraka cried, sheer terror working it's way into everyone present save for Todo and the Shisei-ken. Nagisa wore a look no different than her usual cold indifference, while the rest simply watched the unfolding events, considerably eager to join the fighting.
"I did too. Seems Cornelia is worried that Zero will make himself known here too," was Todo's quick-witted reply, "I'll take command of those on the field. Keep me posted," and with that, the five were gone again, leaving those in the command center wondering exactly what Todo did to keep himself and his Shisei-ken so confident in the face of total destruction.
"Todo, do you think we can win?" Shogo asked nervously, rubbing at his temple as he was lifted up to the cockpit of his Gekka. "I mean, this is Cornelia..."
"The Black Knights are here, most likely. We will win today," Todo replied quickly, hardly waiting for the cockpit to his Gekka to finish opening before leaping in, running checks on everything with ace-like reflexes. "Those Glaston Knights are no match for the Shisei-ken, though. We'll take them on."
"W-wait a second! We're putting our lives on the gambit of whether or not the Black Knights will come?!" Nagisa cried, slamming a fist rather angrily down on her thigh before returning it to it's rightful place at the controls. "Zero can't be trusted to save us! He's too much of a wild card!"
"If past events are any indication, Zero is looking to expand the size and influence of the Black Knights, and will certainly want us on his side. All we need care about is our own fight," Todo explained. All fell silent then, the only sound being that of their landspinners against the rocky ground beneath them accompanied by the occasional sound of an explosion as Knightmare Frames were destroyed in the distance. By now, radars were showing well over forty Britannian Knightmare Frame signals, with more being launched quickly. They were being quickly outnumbered, Todo noted, and such a fact was already being made evident in the amount of ground they were losing.
"But will the Black Knights cooperate with us, or work on their own?" Urabe asked quickly.
"They'll have to cooperate," Senba commented, bringing a Sutherland to an abrupt halt by means of removing it's landspinners with shots from his hand gun before cleaving the immobilized Sutherland in half with his Katen Yaibatou. "Not even the Black Knights can expect to repel a force like this without working with us."
"Then we'll just have to hold our own weight until then, won't we?" Urabe commented. It was a known fact that he was one of the more level-headed amongst the JLF, but it was equally known that he was no less eager than any other to hit Britannia - and with the Gekka he had at his fingertips, he could hit them hard. This fact was exemplified further by each fit of gleeful chuckling brought on by the sight of his Katen Yaibatou cleaving it's way through an opposing Sutherland.
Todo, meanwhile, was far more collected. He attacked methodically and with some measure of tact, each move leaving him with fewer chances to be put on the defensive. His foes were left bewildered as to how they could oppose him, leaving them equally helpless as they became the next targets of either his hand gun or his Katen Yaibatou, one by one. The destruction caused by the Shisei-ken alone quickly began to pile up, visible on the radars by the clearly noticeable line through the Britannian formation where they'd been.
o--o
"Todo's group has breached the Britannian line, as predicted!" Ogi said in awe, watching signals appearing and disappearing on his radar without relent, particularly where Todo and the Shisei-ken were breaking through. The only exception to the mass of destruction was in the aforementioned case of the five signals representing those of the Shisei-ken, who had broken through the better part of the Britannian forces proceeding up the west side of the mountain, and had already managed to rendezvous with the cornered JLF forces on the east side. Sheer overwhelming power and talent seemed to be effective to some extent, at least in this case, Ogi noted.
"Should we make our move too?" Karen asked curiously. Her hands were gripped tightly onto their respective controls, causing sweat to form both on the palms of her hands and on her forehead. Such was the anticipation and anxiety that was not an uncommon thing among the Black Knights at that moment. Being stuck watching from the sidelines didn't seem nearly as appealing now as it had when Zero had made that persuasive speech about how it would give them a fighting chance - beyond the strength to make cowardly attacks that they currently had - and that doing so was nothing short of a necessity.
Speaking of masked - and possibly not entirely sane - terrorists, Karen had to wonder: just where was their leader? They'd overruled the possibility of him having turned tail and hidden himself away so as to avoid the risk to his own life, but that didn't make wonder over the actual scenario any less bewildering. But it was also a fact that Zero was a secretive as they came, and the odds of knowing the true reason he wasn't there at that moment was slim to none.
"Zero?!" speak of the devil, several were thinking in unison. Ogi's exasperated voice cut into several trains of thought like a knife through butter, who all stopped dead to focus on what was happening. "Where are you?!" he demanded, allowing his comm system to project his own voice to everyone else present.
"I'm making some final preparations," Lelouch replied quietly, standing by the closed door to yet another unchecked laboratory room. Rai was on the other side of the door, pistol in hand as he waited for Lelouch to give the okay for beginning a search of that room. Like the six before it, Rai expected to find nothing - in fact, the odds of C.C. still being alive when they arrived was painfully slim in his eyes. "Have Todo and the Shisei-ken attacked, as per my prediction?"
"They have," Ogi answered, looking down at the radar again. The vivid green lines outlining it's background had long since become bothersome to stare at, however, and his eyes pained to do so for extended periods of time. "They are currently forded up on the east side, having breached over from the west side. They managed to do so through sheer force, too! Shouldn't we just do the same, Zero?"
"That's strategy, not force, Ogi," Lelouch scolded coolly, formulating a quick - and at least somewhat accurate - rendition of the current situation on a radar in his mind all the while. It was a stretch from reality as far as realistically thinking went, but he didn't mind in the least. "Cornelia will be proceeding up the west side, and will be aiming for the lone plateau along that route. When she reaches it, proceed with Phase One. Afterwards, Squads B and C are to proceed southeast, rendezvousing with the Shisei-ken and pushing the attack from there. You will take Squad A and Karen, proceeding toward the plateau."
It was considerably harder leading this way, Lelouch noted sourly. Trust in Zero was rather low as a whole - with trust only stemming from the unanimous agreement that the Japanese needed him - and trying to lead while not in the actual line of fire only added to that issue.
"W-wait! We're attacking Cornelia head on?!" Ogi cried hastily, taken aback in his swirl of emotions lost somewhere between fright, worry, and fear for Zero's sanity.
"Yes you are. You will win, though. However, you must believe in me. Did I not promise to deliver victory?" Lelouch asked, his voice taking on a previously unfamiliar tone of hurt that made it sound almost pleading. Ogi couldn't help but wonder if such a show of emotions was an act or not.
"...Back in Shinjuku, yes..." Ogi sighed, running his free hand down his face. "Alright, Zero. When will you arrive?"
"If the Lancelot launches, contact me immediately. We're not losing to that thing again," Lelouch ordered. "I'll be there soon," and with that, he hung up as abruptly as ever. Ogi was left wondering exactly why he always did that - hanging up as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted across - but deduced that it was just part of who the emotionless leader was. Which was more than a little ironic, really.
"So what now?" Karen asked. Ogi sucked in a breath, making sure he was ready, before speaking.
"Begin the attack."
o--o
"You're not the hope of the Japanese for nothing, Zero," Rai commented dryly as soon as Lelouch had hung up. Lelouch looked at him quizically, and Rai simply smirked - if it could be called a smirk, as it was hardly more than a slight crook to his otherwise blank expression - in response. "These guys are hanging on your every word. They'd die for you on a moment's notice."
Lelouch didn't find the same humor that Rai did in such a remark, unfortunately, though his expression of such a matter was far more restrained than it was in his mind. "They deserve a future, Rai. Britannia stole that from them. I wouldn't manipulate them," Lelouch retorted coldly, leaning against the wall. "Go," he ordered, changing the subject as he nodded his head toward the still closed doorway.
"Yes, yes..." Rai punched in a code on the keypad adjacent to the door, only waiting for it to open halfway before slipping his slim frame through the opening. His eyes immediately studied the full extent of his peripherals, finding nothing but a tipped over table - which could just as easily have been a product of someone leaving far more hastily than they needed to - and a few bottles of Refrain laying on the floor. "A Refrain testing lab. All clear," he reported quietly, turning to leave again.
The next room wasn't much different. The whole of the first and second floors were nothing more than laboratories dedicated to research regarding different things such as Refrain. It should have been expected, Lelouch thought dejectedly in hindsight, lifting his feet one after another in a rather painful stair-climbing expedition toward the third floor. To Rai it was perfectly natural, where as in Lelouch's case it was the equivalent of an entire PE class' worth of exercise to the average person.
Needless to say, the stairs were bothersome after all the moving around he'd been doing all day.
o--o
"Where did these guys learn to fight?!" Bart Darlton, one of many adopted sons of Andreas Darlton and one of the Glaston Knights, cried as he retracted his slash harken from a now burning Burai. It's cockpit ejected and flew away to safety, but the feeling of victory was short lived as Bart immediately had to turn and block a rather swift attack from another Burai. The other four Glaston Knights were pressed in much the same way, and their leader was only performing slightly better, with her ace level piloting skills.
"Keep your chin up, Bart!" Claudio said cockily, thrusting his lance through the side of the Burai attacking Bart, taking the cockpit in the same thrust. "These guys should be child's play for the Glaston Knights!" he exclaimed triumphantly, making an about face and repeating the process on another Burai.
"Your sons aren't rusty are they, Andreas?" Cornelia asked, bringing her Gloucester to a halt and pushing her lance through a Burai's chest. She turned to her side and moved forward a few paces, cutting off two more who were en route to press Bart further. She could do little else, she noted bemusedly, being pressed by the defending JLF forces. They were surprisingly few in number, but that must have been the work of Todo, she thought sourly, recalling scout reports saying the west side was difficult to attack from - being all steep incline with only one plateau to speak of - and that the east would make for better fighting ground.
She hadn't listened, of course, deciding that her tactic of reaching their base through minimal fighting was better than going the safer way and having to breach through the bulk of their forces. But in hindsight, she seemed to have made the wrong decision, noticing just how tough these Burai were with the steep uphill disadvantage pressing on her. But such a thought was dismissed immediately, given that it was much too late to reform her plan without spreading confusion and demoralizing the knights under her command. "Glaston Knights, charge! Royal Knights, with me! We're aiming for that plateau!" she beckoned determinedly as the two Burai before her were wiped out with help from her Royal Knights, granting herself passage once more. She crossed one or two others on her way further up, thrusting her lance through one as she went and leaving the other to be waylaid by the fifteen or so Royal Knights behind her.
Any thin resistance they met was immediately cut down to minuscule sizes by the Glaston Knights, leaving the remainder to be picked off by the forces trailing behind. Using such overwhelming tactics, it wasn't long before they reached the flat plateau that granted them haven until they should mount a second assault. Cornelia immediately picked up the transmitter resting by her side, clicking it on and declaring triumphantly, "Area B-5 has been occupied. Loosen the defenses on the mobile base and prepare to launch all reserves. We're wiping these terrorists out."
"Understood," Clovis replied, cutting the link between the two. Cornelia sighed and ran a hand through her long locks of hair, allowing them to fall in haphazardly over her face as her hand returned to it's place. Though she'd never admit it to anyone but herself - and even that was a stretch to do at times - she did tire quite quickly doing this. The fearless leader did in fact have a weakness in trying to balance superb leadership and ace level piloting, but it was a weakness none but the most perceptive knew of.
She broke herself away from her thoughts suddenly - or rather, was broken away from them forcefully by a shrill scream of horror - and immediately studied her peripherals to find the source of said scream and the reason for it. But her knight was having none of that, choosing to give her the answer she desperately sought after, "Above! It's... it's a rock slide?!"
Before Cornelia could try and salvage the situation, the boulders struck. They rolled full force into the unsuspecting Glaston Knights and Royal Knights, obliterating everything in their path and proceeding to the foot of the mountain where their disintegrating momentum left them crumbling as they struck hard but far from effectively at the Frames and mobile base below, leaving much of the forces below damaged in one way or another. By nothing more than her own piloting expertise Cornelia managed to avoid, but unfortunately her troops weren't nearly as lucky.
Nearly two minutes and nearly twenty boulders later, Cornelia found her troops absolutely crushed. Of her Royal Knights, only four had survived. Of her Glaston Knights - who's grand debut in Area 11 was clearly cut short - only Bart survived, plus both Guilford and Darlton. Of a force of twenty-three counting herself, only eight had lived to see the end of the assault. "What... was that...?!" Darlton gasped, still struggling to regain his breath after having pulled at every string of his piloting talents to save his life.
"It was..." Guilford paused as the sound of landspinners resonated. Looking upwards, Guilford caught sight of them. "The... the Black Knights!" he gasped out, readying himself as best he could given the current situation. "Your orders, Your Highness?!" he cried, clashing with the first of the opposing Black Knights - a Gloucester, coincidentally.
"Ugh..." Cornelia gritted her teeth, wracking her brain as best she could. She grabbed her transmitter, tuning it to address all of her soldiers before speaking, "The Black Knights have made themselves known! All forces, charge! Do not allow them to reinforce the JLF!"
o--o
Sliding his back up against the length of the wall he rested against, promptly ignoring the impatient foot tapping Rai was giving off from the doorway leading out of the stairwell, Lelouch finally slowed his breathing to short gasps. It wasn't his fault, he tried to reason. He hadn't anticipated such physical exertion! Rather, he hadn't anticipated the elevators being out of service. Had Mao somehow known they were coming?
"Are you done now? We could have found them by now had you not needed to recuperate... for three minutes," Rai made sure to enunciate on the last bit, narrowing his eyes at his companion. Lelouch chose the better path of ignoring him, making his way over to the door in nothing more than slow drags of the feet along the ground. It would be a while before he brought himself to do much more, Rai figured.
"Let's go," Lelouch deadpanned, pushing past Rai and through the door, making his way down the hallway extending to his left. Rai immediately followed, falling into step with Lelouch while checking the clip on his pistol. For the seventh time, Lelouch noted. "Your bullets aren't going anywhere."
"I'd think you'd be smarter than to underestimate C.C.'s last contractor, Lelouch," Rai spoke with a tinge of mirth, realizing quickly - based on the look on his face - that Lelouch had been unaware of that little detail.
"I see..." comprehension replaced shock as Lelouch nodded affirmatively, putting the missing pieces into the puzzle that all of the recent events surrounding Mao and C.C. were. "So that's why... and that's how he has Geass, too. But to go so far..."
"He's not sane, Lelouch. Not anymore. He needs help. You should know that, at least," Rai's words carried full blown amusement now, relishing in the moment of Lelouch's intelligence being called into question. The factor of it being over something neither could call relevant in the scope of Lelouch's brilliance didn't matter at the moment. Lelouch's mind avoided all such thoughts, however, instead asking himself just why he should know of such a thing. And then all the little broken off corners of puzzle pieces decided to turn up in the forgotten nooks and crannies of Lelouch's mind, as he realized all the subtle hints coming together.
First was the letter C.C. had left him the night before last. "Let me do this alone. I owe it to him to," she had told him. He had ignored that entirely, lost in his sheer rage at that point in time, but recalling it now made some sense. Then there was the fact that he'd come for her in the first place, coupled with the fact that they had a past together. The thought that occurred to Lelouch immediately was simple: the battle to beat the curse of Geass' loneliness had gone poorly for Mao.
"He needs our help then," Lelouch decided, the iniquitous tone of his words belying his somewhat honest desire to help. Rai simply nodded his agreement as they continued down the hall, having yet to find a room that hadn't been left open and, by extension, completely empty. Mao had planned that, too, Lelouch figured. That made his interest in what his foe was capable of with his Geass increase further still.
That thought fell short as he reached the first door that was closed. Nodding to eachother, Rai punched in the code to open the door, gun at the ready. The sight they were greeted with on the other side, however, was as relieving as it was bewildering and disturbing. Mao was on the ground looking up at C.C. - who was standing over him with a gun in her hand - with a pleading look in his eyes. A chainsaw lay nearby, still rumbling slightly to signify still being running. C.C. had a thick layer of sweat on her forehead, and - despite her attempts to mask it - was visibly panting. And after noting the various tools - from a scalpel to an oddly shaped hook-like tool that bewildered Lelouch further still - laying about, Lelouch had some comprehension regarding the fierce fight that had taken place between the two.
In short, C.C. had failed to take care of it alone.
"So you're Mao," Lelouch raised an eyebrow as he took in the man's appearance. Simply put, he'd expected something... well, different.
"Lelouch..." C.C. started, glancing at him only from the corner of her eye. "Why are you here?"
"To get you back," he deadpanned, eyes not leaving Mao. He started stepping forward, hand reaching toward the gun holstered at his side, hidden by his untucked shirt. "From someone who has no claim to you anymore."
"...And you do?"
"More so than Mao. He may have had a contract with you, but that's in the past, C.C.," Lelouch drew his pistol and aimed it at Mao, who had yet to so much as acknowledge his presence. Which had the added effect of fueling Lelouch's suspicion further.
"Don't be so suspicious of me, Lelouch," Mao remarked, his eyes leaving C.C. long enough to glance over at Lelouch and Rai briefly. "Just leave me and C.C. be. She's happy here... right, C.C.?"
"I see..." comprehension replaced blank confusion, and Lelouch nodded understandingly, not giving C.C. the time to respond.
"If you do, then leave," Mao ordered, returning his eyes to C.C.'s
"Your Geass allows you to read minds," Lelouch corrected, smiling slyly. "That explains all the signs that you knew we were coming. But I thought you'd be more surprised that Rai betrayed you."
"All I want is C.C.!" Mao gasped out, beginning to shake violently. "I don't care what I lose if I get her. Really, who needs someone who only knows who they are because of me?!"
"...What?" utter confusion returned once more, and Lelouch blinked back at Rai who - for the moment - had his head hung in shame.
"It's nothing!" Rai snapped. He grabbed his own gun and aimed it at Mao, gritting his teeth in unfounded rage. "I just want revenge against V.V., Lelouch. Drop it."
Lelouch had no intention of doing so, of course. But keeping his allies as allies for the time being was necessary. Unless he didn't mind having his chances of living through the present challenge dramatically decreasing, that is.
"Right," and that was why he agreed, not unlike a mindless drone as his attention returned to Mao. "C.C., I'm sorry," he stated in an emotionless tone, preparing to fire.
"Lelouch, I told you I'd handle this!" C.C. retorted bitterly, tightening her grip on her gun. If Lelouch wasn't so sure of her uncanny resistance to pain, he was sure that would have hurt considerably.
"And look where that got you," he muttered, eyes not leaving Mao, who was cut out of the conversation, hard as he may try to delve back in.
"What's that supposed to mean?" C.C. shot back casually, amusement acting as a replacement for her previous anger.
"I was worried!" he blurted before he could stop himself. To remedy the situation he turned toward Mao entirely, making sure C.C. wasn't in his view at all. He sure as hell wouldn't allow her to see the flustered expression on his face. "We don't fight alone... understand?"
"Shut up!" Mao snapped suddenly, glaring daggers at Lelouch. "Worried?! Worry about yourself! C.C. is mine!"
"Silence," Lelouch ordered, Geass flaring in his eye. It took a moment - one of great anticipation on Lelouch's part, despite the situation - but the Geass took it's effect, leaving Mao unable to speak. "So I can use Geass on other Geass users, it seems," he remarked to himself, smiling slightly despite himself.
Ignoring Rai asking impatiently - far too impatiently, Lelouch noted duely - if they were done, Lelouch walked forward agonizingly slowly, "Mao, you were given a power you couldn't control. And when you lost control, you lost everything. So I will save you. And I will promise to you here, that I will not fall victim to it as you have. I will see everything through, and I will not lose to Geass."
And with that, he fired.
--
And we'll end off there. Nearly seven thousand words is longer than I expected, but there's nothing wrong with that, right?
And yes, I know I promised insight into Rai's position but rather only hinted at it, but it should be easy enough to figure out. If not, well, fret not, for he does have some use left, and his own position will play the focal point.
Next chapter will have two twists - one expected and possibly anticipated while the other unexpected, or so I hope. It will conclude Narita, and will be setting the stage for what is coming next. Feel free to guess on it, but I very much doubt anyone will see it coming.
Again, I very much hope so.
Bye for now!
