Turn 02: The Witch and the Lady.
"Geass seems to be extremely variable, as has been said before, Geass manifests as a reaction to somebody's deepest wish, however among the many users I have seen or made have discovered a certain kind of pattern. First, is what I decided to call "Direct Geass", in this case the use needs direct eye-contact for it to work, it can surely be done to multiple people at once, but it requires that all of them be gazing directly into the user's eyes. Second is the "Field Geass", upon activation it affects every person within range, regardless of eye contact, though it might seem more practical this Geass never has any complex properties, usually causing some kind of ailment on the victims, throughout my life, I have never seen a Geass that manipulates minds as a Field Geass. Thirdly and lastly, is what I call "Reading Geass", this kind of Geass, upon activation changes fundamentally the user's perception of the world. Two good examples would be mind reading and foreseeing." A peer into Geass, book found at the Brotherhood, author unknown.
As the world order shifted and convulsed, one person seemed oblivious to it all. C.C. gazed at the plains around her, it took some time but she finally found a place where she could be alone which was not some kind of jungle or desert. Staring at the plains really soothed her mind. She wondered if Lelouch's plan had succeeded, but she dared not go back to civilization, dared not look for people to ask about news, for if it had been in vain… Her distraction broken by the sound of hooves, after she realized that the horses were heading for her, she could not react fast enough to avoid being run over.
"Why, fancy meeting you here!" C.C. winced in pain as her ribs put themselves together again. "Lady Magdalene, what are you doing? Should I tend to her right away?" The woman atop the horse that had just run her over grinned. Two young women flanked her. "Oh, there is no need for that, Sara dear. You see, she is the same as me, I just greeted an old friend." As C.C. started recovering she started to feel something that she hadn't for a long time, fear, hatred, nervousness. She recognized the face of the woman who had just run her over. "You! This is impossible! You were supposed to be…" The woman shushed her and faked a soft smile, as if consoling a disappointed child. "Buried under the Brotherhood when you and your prince charming destroyed it? Unfortunately for you, I and the other two had left the slumber chambers long before that." She then acted surprised as if saying something she shouldn't have. "Oh wait, they asked me to keep it a secret, oh well, I'm sure E.E. would make a joke about having to kill you or something because of that, and that Z.Z. moron would laugh along with him…"
C.C. just sat for some time dumbfounded, unable to truly register the gravity of what she had just discovered. M.M. the most sadistic woman she had ever met, E.E. the deranged man who sought for answers to every question and Z.Z. the master schemer were all walking around in the world, and not sleeping peacefully below the Brotherhood? Suddenly she felt like she had to urgently contact somebody. Anybody.
M.M. got out of the horse and squatted in front of C.C., she seemed annoyed. "Hey, don't you dare blank out on me." She suddenly shifted to a thoughtful expression as if reminiscing something. "This really takes one back eh? It's just like when you were my guest before you were sent to yet another witch trial." C.C. was back to reality and stared back at her defiantly. "Oh well, you have certainly changed, you aren't still angry that I hid from you about my immortality and the Brotherhood are you?" She bent closer to C.C.'s ear and whispered something which made her livid. "Now that's more like it, you used to look just like this when I inserted yet another needle… How cute."
C.C. stood up and staggered back. "Do you have some business with me or are you here only to torment me?" M.M. pouted. "Aw, how cold, and just when I give you such an important information, you are too cruel, little C.C., I wonder what would the late O.O. say about it. Oh yeah right, in the end he was betrayed by a prince from the very same country he practically forged and got his code stolen. You finished the job, didn't you? Britannia is shadow of its former self." C.C. felt like she was going to be sick, she broke down in sobs. "You sick woman, leave me alone, don't speak of him, go away…" M.M. looked amused. "Aw, you look so cute when you are being teased; it is always satisfying to know that I know the weak points of at least one of the other code bearers. Well, you have always been low on the totem pole among us. Sheesh, Z.Z. is younger than you and I have a harder time dealing with him." C.C. looked positively distraught as she looked up. "That bastard's Code Father wasn't a psychotic nun whose only interest was to pass the code along and die." M.M. shrugged apologetically along with a mocking smile. "I guess you're right." Had finally regained her composure and asked coldly. "Who are these two?"
"Oh these? Ah, they are my maidservants; I'm a lady after all. Also I ask them for a few favors now and then." C.C. knew the answer, but asked about it anyway. "Geass?" M.M. suddenly puffed up like someone whose treasured pet had just been praised. "Ah! Sharp aren't we? You have no idea how many children I had to go through till I found two girls with the Geass I needed." C.C. didn't want to imagine what had happened to the ones which hadn't satisfied her. "You see." She grabbed the chin of the girl who had spoken before. "This is little Sara." The girl greeted timidly. "Nice to meet you." And then did the same with the other one. "This is little Anna, she is even shier." The girl just nodded. "So, what are their powers after all?"
"Ah, yes, good thing you asked, I'm sure you will be impressed. Little Ana here can make anyone forget anything." C.C. feigned curiosity at that. "So, like Charles' Geass?" M.M. considered for a moment as she climbed the horse and motioned the two girls to do the same. "No, not really, she doesn't alter people's memories, just makes them forget. Almost like she is trying to erase her existence from the world eh?" C.C. felt like she was leaving something out on purpose so she pressed on. "And the other girl?" A smile spread on M.M.'s face. "Now that's a se-cret! But I can give you a hint! Maybe you could have asked poor Mao if you had a Geass canceller!" And with that she rode away, followed by the two girls. C.C. was paralyzed and furiously worked her thoughts. "Wait, how does she know about Mao? Ask him? How? Wait, she is implying. That is impossible, but she did say she took a long time searching for someone with a suitable Geass. But such a rare one! Damn it, I knew I should have taken the Brotherhood's catalogue of past Geass users, even if it's incomplete. But then again, it would all make sense." She really needed to contact Suzaku, or someone in the Black Knights.
=/=
The Princess Fernanda strode angrily through The Palace of Dawn, formerly housing for the president. She came across General Morikawa, who was speaking with the palace's security chief. "Hey, have you seen him?" The general looked annoyed at having been interrupted, but did his best not to be rude. "The Duke? Wouldn't he be watching the news somewhere, seems to be what he does most of the time, that is while he isn't playing Chess with someone." The princess didn't reply back and just continued walking. The General commented annoyed. "That bastard. Shows up a little over a year ago and during the first reshuffle of nobility titles he gets to be Duke of Caxias, such a historically important title…" The Security Chief tried to be humorous. "Well, it is the truth that you have never been able to beat him in chess, eh?" If looks could kill, the Security Chief would have been incinerated on the spot.
Disappointed at not finding him anywhere inside the palace, she decided to go to the Knightmare bay. She was unable to hold back her surprise as she found him standing there staring at the finished Jaci model. "Ah! You bastard, I wanted to you the finished Jaci!" The masked face turned to her. The strained voice called her. "Oh, Princess. Good even-" He was unable to finish as she pushed him to the ground. "You are so unfair!" She stayed there hugging him to the ground, until a mocking voice called. "Oh my Princess Fernanda, didn't you say you wouldn't try doing anything with the Duke until you convinced him to marry you?" She blushed furiously and quickly stood up. "Shut up you machine freak!" Lattes acted as if deeply hurt and replied as if sulking. "Oh, Princess, these words deeply hurt me! Is that the way to treat the empire's and perhaps the world's best Knightmare developer, I even finished your toy just the other day!"
"Oh, so this is the two-seater Jaci, it does bear striking resemblance to the Britannian prototype Gawain. You mind if I take a look at the manual?" Lattes smiled devilishly. "Of course not, Duke, after all, the Princess requested this project for the two of you, one of the reasons I used the Gawain as a base." The Duke let out a gasp of surprise. The Princess jumped at him again and hugged his arm, she spoke excitedly. "Exactly! Aren't you happy? This we can always be together, even in the battlefield!" The Duke coughed a few times and spoke apologetically. "Princess, I'm sorry but I have made quite clear that I'm not after any kind of romantic involvement. I do have my own objectives also, and I'd like a Knightmare which made use of my abilities." A sly smile appeared in the Princess' and Lattes' face. "I think you will find this Knightmare Frame pretty damn suitable for you, if you think this is a differently colored Gawain, you are dead wrong."
Instead of black and gold, the Jaci was mainly painted dark blue and silver. Projectors were scattered all around it, one to the side of each shoulder mounted Hadron, on its back, legs, arms and each of its Harken Slasher fingers. "To be honest, as I looked at the little footage there was of the last war, I was quite impressed with what that Rakshata did with my Druid System, that defensive shield of hers was quite slick, and using Gejhun technology to control the Hadron Cannon was a genius' stroke. However, I will show you what the two are supposed to do together. Look at the weapons section of the manual." After he read it, the Duke whistled impressed. "Impressive indeed, but can the Princess really fill the other seat?" The princess was offended and replied irritated. "Of course, I only ever lost in the simulator to Felipe, you dummy! You are so cruel… By the way, how is the Nhanderu going? Can I take a look at it?" Lattes put on a serious face. "Sorry lady, classified, only the high advisor, the emperor and the team working on it may know anything."
=/=
The preliminaries of the Knightmare Tournament would be fought with the simulators. The contestants would be divided in four groups. The groups would fight in order in a free-for-all, each enemy Knightmare destroyed would be one point, being the last one standing would grant a bonus three points. The two contestants with the highest scores would classify for the quarter-finals. The choice was either a Vincent or an Akatsuki simulator; choices had to be made beforehand.
Tohdoh had taken a look at the group lists, released shortly after Nunnally's speech. After a glance he understood why the preliminaries would be a huge free-for-all in the battle simulators instead of single matches in knightmares. Each list boasted about fifty people, and among those in the first group three names called Tohdoh's attention. His own, the former Knight of the Rounds' Anya Alstreim and the mysterious girl Alice Cornelia had told him about. "And only two of us will get to the quarter-finals, should be interesting."
=/=
Tamaki could hardly believe he had overslept, he had just looked for a shade after the ceremony ended and decided to take a quick nap. He wanted to get a good view of the screens. As he turned a corner in the corridor running, he didn't see the girl, who almost ran into him. He thought it was his imagination, but the moment she saw him he saw an eerie glow in her right eye, with almost unnatural movements she swerved to the side, not hitting him or the wall, but she collapsed kneeling moments after in extreme pain. Tamaki felt guilty and went to her.
"Hey, are you okay?" She was muttering under gritted teeth. "Damn… Hate when I activate it on instinct." The face that turned to look at Tamaki was filled with annoyance and anger, her right eye suddenly started glowing again, and in two swift movements she twisted Tamaki's arm and knocked him down, after that she just walked away with a scowl. Tamaki just stood there stunned for some time, until Chiba appeared. "Tamaki, you moron, what are you doing?" Tamaki considered for a moment. "Getting my ass kicked by unknown girls." Was not something he wanted to say. "I, just tripped, that's all!" Chiba looked at him in disbelief. "Whatever, get a move on, I really want to see Tohdoh's match." Tamaki smiled and teased her. "Oh, I'm sure your beloved will do just fine." She ignored him.
=/=
After entering, Tohdoh had to admit that the simulators were well-made, although he hadn't fought the last war in an Akatsuki he knew how its interior looked, and this was exactly the same, the controls had the same feeling.
After it started, he became even more impressed, the terrain looked surprisingly real and the knightmares' reactions were exactly the same as in reality. After checking it, he saw he was using standard issue equipment, well, he expected it. After the grace period of thirty seconds, many points appeared in his radar's fringe, he quickly realized that the counter said forty seven enemies. "So somebody has already destroyed two even without radars… Quite impressive."
After a few minutes Tohdoh spotted two Knightmares fighting, their movements were extremely clumsy, he sighed. "Fools should stay home." He quickly destroyed one's visors with his Slash Harken and cut the other in half with his blade. Time passed and the dots in the radar dwindled as Tohdoh cut through other Knightmares piloted inexperienced people. The few who were a bit better were quickly disposed with feints of the Slash Harken and a few well placed shots of the wrist mounted gun.
When he realized, there were only two dots left on the radar, and apparently they were both at the same place. "Well, I'd better hurry, it might not be honorable, but perhaps I may be able to get them both." However, by the time he arrived, the two dots had become one, and the dot eventually turned into a Knightmare on his screen. It was a Vincent, standing atop a hill, the left arm was missing and the right Slash Harken was cracked. "I wonder who it is, Anya? Or that girl Alice?"
The Vincent just stood there, as if waiting for him to attack. He obliged by firing a few shots of his hand mounted gun. The Vincent dodged every single bullet with minimal movement. He experimented establishing a communications channel. "Just give up; you cannot defeat me with your Knightmare this beat up." The voice which replied back was not Anya's. "The fighting is not over until one of us falls, Miracle Tohdoh. Perhaps you would like to fire some more before you come at me? Though I must say it will be useless." Tohdoh considered for a moment, his energy filler was almost over, he could try waiting her out, but that would be meaningless, and if she had more energy left, then he would be throwing away an easy win, why did he feel so hesitant about going hand-to-hand with her? It was a simulator after all, no, that was the problem, the fact that despite her Knightmare being in much worse condition he was afraid he would lose. So he decided to give it a go, the only times he had been this nervous before was when he fought Suzaku's Lancelot. "Fine, I accept your challenge!"
The Akatsuki charged up the hill, the Vincent fired its Harken, in response, the Akatsuki accelerated and aimed with its blade to destroy the Harken, but it feel short as the Vincent retreated out of sight. Tohdoh took a moment considering his next move, he decided to go around the hill from his position, as he did so he quickly saw the Vincent who had prepared an ambush for anyone who came from the hill's top. Despite having been surprised, the Vincent managed a miraculous dodge of the Akatsuki's swing, jumping over it. The Akatsuki fired its Harken, which was deflected by the right arm, which then discarded the blade and grabbed the cable. The Vincent then fired its remaining Harken at the Akatsuki's visor. The Akatsuki reacted beforehand swinging its blade, severing its own Harken's cable and destroying the offending Harken fired at almost point-blank range.
Tohdoh took a deep breath as the simulator shut down, and it opened. He stood there for a few moments, waiting for something. A blond girl in a devicer's suit walked up to him. She wore a neutral face. "Next time, you won't win, miracle Tohdoh." Before he could reply she bowed and walked away. He wanted to say that he didn't win, but something inside him told him she didn't care about the scores. It marked the top three scorers of the group. Anya Alstreim: 11 points. Tohdoh Kyoshiro: 13 points. Alice: 25 points. He made a mental note to himself that if he hadn't defeated Alice he would have been the one eliminated.
Turn 02 end.