Rescue Angels
Wanda: Well, that was fun!
Shirley: You have a sick idea of what's fun!
Wanda: Ah, c'mon, you enjoyed it a bit!
Shirley: (glares at me)
Wanda: There's the passion I'm looking for!
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass!
Chapter 5: Rebellion of Hostages
"Well? Come in."
Zero watched patiently as the former directionless terrorists slowly made their way into his command center, noises of awe escaping them as they examined the living space. It had taken him a little time and experimentation to come to this conclusion, but it was already panning out.
He had been fairly busy in the weeks since rescuing Suzaku from the streets and unjust execution. While Princess Euphemia's charity concert had calmed many hearts, the video uploaded by the this mysterious Lady in White had thrown many terrorist groups into a frenzy. Several of them had been committing guerrilla attacks on Britannian outposts, and for several of the events, he was there.
Partially to test out how long his Geass could last, and what exactly it could make people do. That, and with Cornelia back in Area 11, it was best to stretch his muscles before confronting her. She wasn't a foppish party lover like Clovis. He would need to be at his best, and most prepared, for when they did face off. He was certain the only reason she hadn't tried to arrange a trap for him was, again, the fallout of that video.
Over the four or five battles he had participated in, he had come to discover a glaring problem.
The forces he took control of were often glaringly inadequate. They had no discipline, no sense of strategy, and no loyalty outside of that impressed by the Geass. Sometimes they even ignored him to make their own decisions in the heat of battle, causing lines to collapse and forcing him to cut his losses and run.
Useful for small skirmishes and overconfident garrison leaders? Sure. An army that could face down Cornelia, Schnizel, and the Emperor? Absolutely not.
So with that in mind, Zero had contacted Kallen, Ougi and their troop. Out of all the lot he had directed in battle, he liked them the most, and they had the most genuine drive. They would make good Knights. His Black Knights.
Zero resisted the urge to chuckle. Light in darkness. Evil bringing down greater evil. It suited him perfectly.
"It even has a TV!" With a click, the tv was turned on.
"What's the latest on the situation!?"
"It's hard to tell from here, but it seems that there's gunfire in the Lake Kawaguchi hotel!"
"What?!" Kallen snapped, rushing over to the TV. Her heart was pounding. Kawaguchi...that's where Milly, Shirley and Nina were going for the weekend! Zero didn't react as openly, but his head tilted towards the sound to listen in.
The reporter paused for a moment, before going on with a slight tremble in her voice, "Several members of the Sakuradite council, including Chairman James, were at the hotel when all of a sudden it was attacked. This is footage taken from the scene by the perpetrators; a warning to those of you at home, it's frightening."
The camera cut into the lobby, where a number of people, including Shirley and Milly, were milling about peacefully, trying to get their room reservations or just enjoying each other's company. Then, several men burst into the room, firing off guns. A painful flash of white light burst across the screen, screams broke the air. The camera refocused, revealing two bloodied bodies on the floor as patrons scattered in every direction.
"Revenge on Britannia!" Two of the gun toters yelled.
**~At Lake Kawaguchi~**
Shirley was panicked; she had missed getting shot just by an inch thanks to an instinct just before the JLF broke in. She had lost track of Euphemia; they had been on opposite sides of the room and run for the nearest door. She was holding Nina by the arm, pulling her frightened friend along with her as she bolted for the stairwell. The green haired girl had completely frozen in panic and kept stumbling.
Milly kept to her side and grabbed Nina's other arm, helping bear the weight. Shirley gave her a quick grateful smile as they rushed down the stairs. As fear flooded her mind, she could only form one coherent thought.
This is all my fault!
Several other people were running just behind her. Shirley heard another explosion of gunfire, and grimaced fearfully.
"They're following us!" A lady sobbed behind them.
Shirley hit the basement floor running, and her eyes fell on an open janitor's closet. "Get in there!" She ordered. Milly took Nina from her and hurried in; Shirley waved in the ten-twelve others who had followed them, pushing them into the room. Then she climbed inside and shut the door behind them. She slid her sweater off and wound it tightly around the handle to keep it from opening.
The other hostages were babbling fearfully, "Shhh. Shh! Be quiet, they'll hear us!" Milly barked, and Shirley had never been so grateful for her toughness and commanding voice. Several quieted down, pressing against each other as Shirley stretched up and shut off the light for the room.
After a few minutes, thudding on the stairs caused Nina to whimper. Milly gently pressed a hand over her mouth, whispering comforting nonsense to her.
"...Went this way?"
"Running like mice. Just like those people in Shinjiku."
"It's different when the shoe's on the other foot, isn't it?"
Shirley felt her hands tremble as two of the JLF soldiers laughed darkly as they walked by. The footsteps seemed to sound as loud as explosions as they passed by the door, and came to a stop. A woman near Shirley's ear let out a tiny sob. Shirley reached back with one hand and touched her arm; the woman looked at her, tear filled eyes pleading for a miracle.
"C'mon, I'm sure some of them came this way." One man grumbled.
"Check the doors."
The door rattled. Nina gasped; Milly held her closer. "please, please, please..." "I don't want to die..." "I have to go home..." "Forgive me, dear..."
Shirley wasn't thinking. She simply reacted. When the door was blasted open by gunfire, she leapt to her feet, and for the second time that evening, hot white light burst through the hallway.
The two men shouted, first in alarm, then in pain. They both collapsed to the ground, dropping their guns to the ground. Shirley's eyes glowed gold, a modified omega symbol cut clear in her green eyes. When the two men looked up, they saw a white clad figure with golden wings spread out from her back. The angelic figure was glaring down at them, shrouded in judgment.
"I won't let you hurt these people."
One of the two passed out instantly upon taking in her image; the other was bowing and praying frantically. The flash intensified, and then stopped.
~Line Break~
Milly and Nina gaped in awe. "S...Shirley?" Milly asked tentatively, looking into the light for her friend. When it faded properly, Shirley was standing up straight, staring down at the two men collapsed on the floor with no sign of movement.
"Shirley?" Milly repeated.
Her orange haired friend glanced over her shoulder. There was a quality of strength in her green eyes, all at once, that Milly hadn't seen before.
"I pushed the door open at them!" Shirley said breathlessly. "It made one drop his flash grenade. They're both unconscious!"
A chorus of relieved noises echoed through the group, who quickly clustered around the young woman as she stepped forward and picked up one of the assault rifles the man had dropped. Shirley then straightened up and looked around. When no other soldiers followed the noise, she swept her gaze over the group and said, "Sorry, everyone. It looks like our vacation's over."
"What should we do now?" One woman asked nervously as her husband picked up the other gun and trained it on the stairwell.
Shirley looked down at the two unconscious men. "We don't have much of a choice. We have to get out of here."
That's when the building wide announcement system cackled to life. "Can you hear me, Britannian pigs? We, the Japan Liberation Front, have Princess Euphemia as our hostages! If you wish to see her alive, you'd best listen well to our demands and make them in good faith!"
Shirley grimaced, guessing what that had meant. Her friend had given herself up to give them a chance to escape. Then I'll take it. Be careful, Euphy! "Sounds like they're distracted. Let's go!"
**~With Euphemia~**
Euphemia stared out across the lake, towards where her sister's forces were parked at the edge of the only remaining bridge. Her vision was swimming violently, and it was mainly thanks to Kusakabe's two thugs holding her shoulders that she was able to stand upright.
The self proclaimed samurai had gone into a fit of rage and struck her over the head with the handle of his sword when she was brought to him. She was pretty sure she had a concussion, which wasn't helping her attempts to monitor the situation she was in. She could feel blood dripping down her face from the open scar above her right eye; it was blurring her vision and she couldn't brush it away on account of her hands being tied behind her back.
I hope Shirley managed to get away with the hostages!, she thought.
She and her fellow angel had now manifested their wings simultaneously at least once – when they were attacked in the lobby. It was thanks to the blinding light that more people hadn't been shot. That was the source of the 'flash grenades' that the news was talking about. It had knocked out a number of the waiting soldiers, but not enough to prevent the disaster from getting further out of hand.
"Sir! They've made it out the door. I'm sorry."
"Forget it. We have the only hostage we need. Let them run. They'll feel retribution soon enough."
Euphemia risked tilting her head enough to see the base of the building. A horrible feeling of vertigo swept over her, and it was all she could do not to vomit, but she caught a glimpse of Shirley's orange hair in the dark. She let out a small sigh of relief. Good.
The two thugs wrenched her back away, ignoring her sickly cry as they brought her back to their current command center, forcing her onto a chair. Vaguely she could hear her captors conversing, though she wasn't sure who was saying what.
"You think she'll grant our demands?"
"Hah! This isn't some run out of the mill child those pigs can brush off loosing. This is one of their princesses. They'll give up something, if not everything, to get her back."
"Why should we give her back?"
Euphemia swallowed slightly.
"They've taken everything important from our country. I think we should return the favor."
"Wouldn't that be a waste? She's a pretty girl..."
Just as the pink haired princess was starting to panic, the radio broke up the speech. "Sir...there's a convoy at the entrance of the bridge. They think...they're saying it's Zero!"
Euphemia weakened with relief, though she tried not to show it. Lelouch!
**~With the Black Knights~**
Zero was aware of the awed looks he was getting from the hostages that had managed to escape, including Shirley, Milly and Nina, as he passed by them. He smiled slightly below his helmet. Slightly battered and frightened looking, but there was no sign of blood or severe injury on any of them. They're not hurt. Good. He felt Shirley's eyes follow him into the building.
"You know what to do," He instructed as he walked towards the elevator. Kallen nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly since she would rather accompany him to confront Kusakabe – she had argued with him about it on the way here. However, he needed her to help set the bombs.
After all, with Cornelia watching the exit, there was likely only one way for the Knights to leave this place without trouble. He took the elevator to the middle of the building and walked across the hall to the room where Kusakabe was keeping Euphemia.
Euphemia...
Zero grimaced slightly. His half sister's decision to give herself up to shield the other hostages had surprised him, to an extent. He remembered her gentle nature from his childhood, but this level of selflessness ran contrary to the doctrine the royal family she was a part of. He had wondered what he was going to do about her – his plan for the future hadn't included any of the royal family.
The door was partway open when he reached it, and the talking in the room was broken up when one guard kicked Euphemia to the ground, leaving her sprawled in front of him with the blood seeping from her head wound splattering across his shoes.
The pink haired princess tilted her head slightly towards him, her eyes blurry...and she gave him a very tiny smile.
"...I knew you'd come..."
Zero's academic planning was instantly replaced with a spike of white hot, brotherly rage.
"So I finally get to meet the infamous Zero." Kusakabe said arrogantly. "First things first...if you want to work with us, remove that mask."
"Hmph." Zero's voice was deathly calm. "What do you hope to accomplish with this, colonel?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The JLF proclaimed. "The world will see that we can kill a Britannia Royal! They aren't so invincible as they proclaim they are!"
"Proof? All you'll prove is that you can murder an unarmed, defenseless girl who surrendered herself to you to prevent you from murdering her subjects. All you'll succeed in is making her a martyr, and enraging the masses that adore her."
"It will prove they are vulnerable!"
"It will only prove that you're a fool." Zero said icily. "And a relic of a bygone age."
Kusakabe was unsurprisingly enraged by this. "I see there's no point in talking anymore!" he drew his katana, only for a fraction of Zero's mask to open.
"Die."
The geass took hold instantly. Kusakabe and his guards turned their weapons on themselves. The hallway behind him was filled with gunfire as his Knights finished off the remains of the JLF's soldiers. Ignoring the noise, Zero knelt down next to Euphemia and unbound her wrists. The princess let out a small noise of surprise as he gently turned her onto her back and examined her injury.
"...Zero...?"
"Yes." He said calmly, meeting her glassy blue eyes. "You're suffering from a concussion, Princess. Do you think you can stand up?"
"N-No." Euphemia coughed and shivered violently. "Vertigo..."
"I see." Calmly Zero slid his arms around her shoulders and under her legs, picking her up and resting her head against his shoulder. Euphemia, aprops to nothing, nestled trustingly against his chest - it must be the concussion, he reasoned.
The ground shook violently with the force of multiple explosions. Euphemia blinked, not looking very surprised, and murmured, "Lancelot."
"The White Knightmare?" Zero cursed. He should have expected that thing to be here; if it was their strongest new mech, of course they'd bring it on a rescue mission. "May I ask a favor, Euphemia?"
"W-Wha?"
"Activate my communicator for me."
His half sister tentatively did as he asked. To Zero's surprise, she made no attempt to remove his helmet. "All of you, fall in. We've achieved all we've set up for."
**~With Shirley~**
When she heard the lights flick on, Shirley immediately turned around and looked up at the damaged building. Once again, Zero was standing on the rail, with his Knights standing on either side of him. But this time, he was holding Euphemia li Britannia bridal style in his arms.
"My dear Britannians. Have no fear. Your princess is alive and safe, despite the best attempts of Colonel Kusakabe. He and his men are now dead; executed for the killings they have committed. Kusakabe murdered several innocent civilians, and would have brutally cut apart the princess who selflessly gave herself up to protect them, had I and my companions not intervened. All for a childish attempt to grab at power. He has been punished for it, just as Prince Clovis was punished for the slaughter of countless unarmed Japanese."
"Both have died by my hand! Both deserved no less!"
Zero tilted his head up towards the cameras focusing in on him.
"My Order of the Black Knights are defenders of those who cannot protect themselves! People with power, fear us! People without it, rally behind us!"
Shirley let out a shivery breath and slowly sat down. Lelouch's powerful, charismatic voice never failed to make her heart race, and turn her legs to water. She wished she could be standing next to him at that moment, sharing in his message.
"We, the Black Knights, shall be the ones standing in righteous judgment of this world!"
Elsewhere, ignorant of the joy Zero was inspiring, Cornelia was livid.
"Of all the brazen audacity...! You call yourself a Knight, when now Euphemia has become your hostage!"
End Chapter
Yes, Euphemia will be spending a short amount of time reunited with her big brother. What will happen? Lelouch has things he'd like to know, and will Euphy's concussed state cause her to blurt out more than she should?
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