Disclaimer: I own nothing of Code Geass, nor of Guilty Gear, nor to a lesser extent, BlazBlue and Rewrite. I do own this story, and all the inspirations along with it. And of course, the brain where the ideas came from.
"There will be sanctions to this. A 'big stink' as a vulgar Europer would say." Sister Chiba observed, flanking her superior along with the rest of the Elites as he marched through the halls of their own Branch office. It had been unsealed last from the rubble ars during that Zero's assault on the offices, being the only office whose Legion-Master had been out. Tohdoh had sliced Susanooh through to see haggard, but meditative Knights who kneeled ready with arms and ars to leap into action, even if there was none to be found.
"There are other matters to attend to before that. On the whole, Kururugi's insubordination is but a minor affair in the scale of things," said Legion-Master Tohdoh, brows furrowed in thought. Zero, the near-destruction of the Britannian Viceroy's Palace, the disappearance (though that was quite classified as of yet) of the Viceroy himself, and the attending to the aftermath of the thousand-ton torrent that had pooled up in a section of the Britannian district – all those would have to be attended to by the Guardians in one way or another.
It was their responsibility, after all, as protectors of the Preserve. They had the finest Gear-detecting apparati, the strongest warriors and mages hand-picked for their devotion to their ideals, the best ars the international congregation of mages could supply and the promised peace between the three nations in exchange for free reign and protection within the Sacred Preserve.
"Britannia-" he continued, saluting a passing group of medics, "will no doubt focus on their own issues regarding the Prince before turning to Kururugi's case."
"Even so," Brother Asahina remarked, "Kururugi Suzaku is yet to be an official Knight. And so technically, he is not part of the Order at all. We don't have explicit responsibility, and thus are not held accountable for his stupidity."
"And then Britannia will ensnare another Eleven into their midst?" hissed Chiba, while keeping her demanor calm. "You know they're going to make some underhanded deal should they start an inquiry. Master's told us that the Britannians have been interested in him since we gave the boy the invitation, and now they have the cards on their side."
"Stand down, you two," commanded Tohdoh. "Asahina, probationary Knight or not, Kururugi has been judged and accepted into the circle of brothers and sisters. We do have responsibility for his actions. I have responsibility." He should have done something for the boy during that time.
"My apologies, sir." Asahina bowed contritely.
"On the other hand, it is not entirely implausible for Britannia to indeed seek sanctions. They are the ones who have been hit hard. And as such, we do have our own responsibilites to them that they might exploit. It should be expected that we in the Order consider giving Kururugi in exchange. I'm sure some of the other Legion-Masters will give the consideration seriously."
"What will you do sir, if it comes to that?" They'd come to a door which hissed open. Tohdoh let out a small breath, removing his helm as he stood before his spartan office.
"Before anything, I should seek my answers of the boy. I do not think Genbu on the Other Side will be pleased to know I have let his son suffer a misguided life." And with those puzzling words, the Legion-Master entered, his Elites bowing and turning heel to attend to their other responsibilities.
)()()()()()()()(
Lloyd had suffered some form of epilepsy upon finally receiving the "battered" Lancelot into their hangar, after the Order had performed a blitz retrieval operation. Cecile was sure it was half-faked and half emotions taking an overreactive form, but there was no denying the fact the brilliant man had to be sedated and kept in the infirmary for a while.
For her part, she was concerned for the well-being of the impulsive, but generally well-meaning Devicer, who had been ejected out of the Frame after concerns of permanent bonding and array exhaustion. The boy was unconscious and had been carried towards the same infirmary that the Earl was. In the meantime, as deputy head, she had directed the techs into conducting diagnostic tests and analysis of the condition of Lloyd's masterwork.
Cecile had also busied herself with secret communications with their patron, Prince Schneizel, who had been duly impressed by the video feed they had extracted from the Lancelot of the close-up view of Zero. The quality was grainy, but there was no mistaking that form, which stood black and ominous before the Lancelot's Factspheres.
He had also congratulated them (Lloyd had by then been dragged off into the infirmary) on a job well done, and had cautioned them to keep abreast of the affair with Kururugi, urging Cecile to keep the Special Division in a neutral position as much as possible. She understood the intent well enough, as she knew Lloyd, if he wasn't stopped, would be screaming bloody murder for the abuse done on his baby. The man would certainly not be averse to pressing the local Britannians, whose hierarchy was currently in flux, into the handing of ultimatums and demands to the Guardians.
Yet as for the Lancelot itself, there was little true structural or internal damage that it had suffered. There was the hint of consumed fire magic in its forearms, as well as traces of unspent lightning magic within its inner matrices and in the Landspinners. The only real issue that would cost some time and resources to replace was the lone deformed harken and the dent on the Lancelot's pristine back, which might necessitate a full refitting and painting. Otherwise, the Z-01 Lancelot was relatively unharmed, and would be ready for use within a week.
Of course, there was the matter of getting a Devicer skilled enough to match or exceed Kururugi's base 94% synchronization rate. That, or Kururugi himself. Cecile frowned to herself as she peered at the statistics on the screen in front of her. She knew that in her position she could only wait and leave it up to Lloyd and Britannian command.
)()()()()()()()(
"This is Three, acknowledging syncing of time-tables. The Knight's prerogative is the Emperor's."
"Received, Three. Six acknowledges." A faint beep.
"Ten acknowledges. Blood is the Throne's mortar."
"Ten, your action is declined," said Three sharply. Cutting off Ten's inevitable outburst, Three instead tured to the further acknowledgements of the other numbers: from Twelve all the way to Two. After Two had acknowledged, Three wasted no time in giving the command.
"The Eye is weary."
"What can these Hands do?" came the united answers. There was a burst akin to shredding silk on the connection, and another voice joined in, "One acknowledges. At the mercy of the Coordinator of Rounds."
"Three accepts," came Three's surprised reply. Three shifted to an informal tone almost immediately. "I thought you'd never come, lord."
"Peace, Coordinator. Zeal misplaced is death. I have my own report," came the measured reply of One.
"Er, yes," said Three, thrown off his loop. "The Eye is weary."
"What can these Hands do?"
"Seek the truth behind the shades. Six, you first."
The flat, almost perfunctory voice of Six said, "The Margrave has failed. The Prince is lost. Have taken provisionary command."
"That rook really did a number on you, huh?" said Ten in a tone of condescension. "Ten states for the record that he would have done differently."
"We shall have order, Ten." replied Three, a little too quickly and angrily. "Did steel not break the ziggurat?"
A derisive snort from Ten. "Steel does not break ziggurats," agreed Six, "But twelve stones will undo the foundations."
"So it is indeed formidable," said Nine. "And here I thought it was just a rarety; but a rarety of rareties?"
"The dragon knows no rest," quoted One.
"I don't think this is just any threat, One," said Twelve. "Respectfully," it added quickly.
"No offense taken," replied One. He addressed Three, "I claim urgency, Three. The Throne speaks in truths and riddles."
"Three acknowledges the claim of urgency," came the querulous reply. "As such, One shall be heard here and now."
"The Throne speaks in truths," said One as a preamble. "His Majesty wills it that we cease intervention into Area Eleven as much as possible. We are to continue with our assigned duties and if not return to the Homeland."
"The Mind and the Throne are not easily united," chanted Nine.
"I have no answer to that," replied One. "But His Majesty was quite clear on his intentions. You will all receive standing orders soon enough, mostly involving our plans in the Mediterranean. They've been pushed up to this year. That is all I have to say."
"The heart and mind of a Knight for its master," said Three almost belatedly.
"All hail Britannia!" chanted the rest of the Twelve.
"Wait," interjected Six. The communication had but nearly been severed. "What of the Margrave? 'The indomitable Throne protects the land'."
"Three acknowledges," said Three with a resigned sigh. "Knights, a piece has fallen off the board. Who will put it back into the circle?"
"Not I-" and there was a chorus of the same from most of the others.
"I shall be the binder of fate," said Ten after a barely suppressed giggle.
"I shall be the binder of fate," nominated Six tersely.
"The rank takes precedence," observed One.
"Well..." said Three, sounding like he was at a loss. "Well, all right then. These Hands have witnessed the Will, and one Hand shall pluck the wayward piece. Six shall be the binder of fate and keeper of the lost. So have I decided, and so shall it be done."
"Six acknowledges," said Six. After the rest of the Twelve had cut off their communication, One last of all, only Six and Three remained. Six spoke in a soft, grateful undertone. "I am thankful, Three."
"Whatever," Three replied half in jest. "But... are you really sure about this, Six? I thought you didn't like being the Executioner."
"The Margrave is brave and has his loyalties in the right place," said Six evenly. "It was sheer coincidence that his first true test came in the form of the unassailable ziggurat."
"So...you like him?"
"I serve only the Emperor...and one other," Six replied frostily. "I just would prefer it that the Margrave's fate were not left to an animal like Ten. That is all."
)()()()()()()()(
It did not take long for news to spread outside of the Eleventh Sacred Preserve; despite Lelouch's claims, only a handful of individuals, mostly in the intelligence divisions of their respective countries and of the Guardians, heard Zero's broadcast. When news to the public finally broke, the initial shock was apparent, but quite surprisingly, its rippling effect was different in cause.
That Zero became a household name days after his announcement – this was true. Yet to the average man, woman or child living their lives within Preserve or country, he was either a trick pulled by terrorists (possibly Gaia), or a sick publicity stunt used by the Area Eleven-ites. Meeting places were rife with almost universal agreement that the so-called free-willed Gear was no more than a Gaia puppet, or one of the tricks the mage-sinister used to gain attention. The older men and women nodded their heads sagely, being the giver of this news, while the younger generations looked on in silent amusement, there was, after all, little that could concern them of a distant Preserve like Area Eleven.
The other broadcast shows were quick to point fingers: at Gaia, at the Emperor, or at those "damn quacks in their towers", referring to the rampant renegade activities of mage-sinisters that the loyal Towers of the EU were fighting to suppress. Spoofs had one person or another put on a simulacrum of Zero, issuing slapstick after slapstick under the imitation of his deep, echoing voice.
There were economic concerns of course, as the world price of sakuradite had increased, though no one in the trading industry could fathom why. There were mothers concerned for their children who had to be near Gears, fathers for their families who were near places with Gears.
Others, however took it not so lightly. And they were the ones responsible for their people.
Already there were murmurs of a resolution to be passed in the intercontinental congress in Europe, calling for stricter and more severe sanctions and limits imposed on Gear owners and their possessions. The current system in place, some whispered, were too lax and favored the owners too much. There would have to be a system where they must be near Order bases or would have Order troops around their homes, to minimize the threat.
The Federation mines had additional troops to watch over the Gears who worked there day and night, involving full battalions and machines of Flow to mitigate possible Gear outburst there, where they were most concentrated.
In the general confusion, no one noticed Imperial forces retaking a generally uninhabited Gibraltar, causing some alarm to the unitiated and weary resignation on the others who were already expecting another Britannian push here. And it wasn't like Britannia hadn't any problems of their own. Though left unannounced, most in the military already knew of the failure of the "Valorous Brigade" in defending their Viceroy. The latter's disappearance became a sore point for the Imperial Family, actively investigated by the Princess Cornelia, who had been dispatched to be the next interim Viceroy as well as head the official investigation team in the Preserve.
Specialist mages were being dispatched to Area Eleven on the double to take snapshots and magical signatures to help identify Zero and other Gears better next time, and to analyze the ars aftereffects and designs which were of much interest to the scientific world.
Already, there were papers being submitted, claims and counter-claims on talkshows of this mage or another discovering the surefire way to seal Gears and turn them into mindless puppets indefinitely. Not one seemed to be able to produce these to practical effect, although the idea of overcoming Gear senses with the precise attack of the stink of grease-based products (like pizza) were met with raucous applause.
"Hey, my pardons, but it worked on this guy," said the mage, pointing to his Gear.
Many in the Court waited for His Majesty to make a statement, though he had none to give.
Gaia remained silent as well.
In the midst of the clean-up operations, Guardian mages were ordered on the few single-person aerial platforms available to the Eleventh Branch and fly up to help analysis on the traces of the seal arrays left in the troubled space above the Viceroy's Palace.
On her way home, Kallen looked up to watch them go by, flashes of cerulean and gold streaks in the evening sky. Beyond lay the faint traces of a red ring branded as if from a hot-iron into empty space.
The precarious bubble of security upon which the entire world had placed itself in had yet to burst, although the wise knew it was only a matter of time. Zero had imprinted his shadow onto the world.
AN: The 13th chapter has had its information updated; a certain unknown person has deigned to give a little information.
Thanks for reading!
Merlin Out.