Code Geass: The Demon and the Dragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. If I did, then what you see below would be the show, instead of a fanfiction on the Internet.
Stage 27: Duels and Dialogue
- The Black Knights -
Black Knights' Mobile HQ, Lower Level, Torture Chamber
One Day After Narita
Both of the Knights waited patiently for their subject to awaken. A fit Caucasian man with red hair, he was laid out on a table, strapped down by his limbs. He was missing an arm, but what could you expect? A rather large boulder had smashed in the side of his Knightmare's cockpit, and the infantry commander had reported some difficulty in retrieving him during the fighting.
"Ugh..." He groaned. Walking forward, Mischa grabbed the Britannian by his hair and wrenched his head back down, slapping a towel over his face as Draco poured a steady stream of water from a bucket onto his face. This continued for a few moments until they stopped, pulling the towel off and letting Commander Alex Black, former Britannian Knightmare Brigade Commander, cough and splutter water out.
There would be no sound heard outside, where the rest of the Knight's celebrated their partial victory. They didn't need to witness what went on in here. It would only kill the mood.
"Are you awake now, Commander?" Draco asked, standing over Alex. "If not, we'll just have to do it again." Coughing up a last gobbet of water, Alex managed to spit the liquid in Draco's face. Not that it really affected the Black Knights' Executive Officer, considering the helmet he wore.
Nevertheless, a swift finger-jab jolted Alex, Draco's armored fingertips stabbing the Commander in his kidney.
"I hope we don't have to do that again." Draco said, his dual-voice simultaneously hissing and rumbling. "Because we have questions for you, and I'd prefer they get answered today..."
- The Dragon -
Ashford Academy, 'Store Wars'
2 Hours after last chapter
Learme woke with a start when his phone started ringing. Moving off of the wall at the back of the store, he stretched his arms out. One virtue of the power-armor base of his Vader costume was the fact that it was mostly inert so long as he wasn't moving.
Once vice was the difficulty in taking the helmet off to answer his phone. Part one was accomplished by disengaging the pressure equalizers and undoing the catches. Part two was trickier, as the armor's gauntlets weren't quite 'delicate' enough to handle small and fragile objects. Time and many blocks of plastic were sacrificed so Learme could master the trick.
"Yello?"
"Learme? Where are you?" It was Milly.
"I'm in the store. Why?"
"There's two soldiers looking for you and Lelouch - Learme, one of them is Jeremiah Gottwald!" Perfect. Learme thought wickedly.
"Ah. Where are they now?"
"Um...they're in the main building. Why? You're not going to...do anything to them, are you?"
"No, no Milly. I'm just going to greet them. Jeremiah is an...old friend of the 'family". Learme finished, placing extra emphasis on the word 'family'. He hung up, rather rude, but apt considering the circumstances. Then he phoned Lelouch.
"Yes?"
"Lelouch, Jeremiah and one of his subordinates are here. They're asking after us."
"Hmm. Well, they've taken the bait. Spring your trap."
"Yes, My Lord." Learme smirked, hanging up and replacing his phone before placing his helmet back on his head. A good thing he'd made this costume out of an old power armor. It'd deflect standard Britannian handgun rounds rather easily.
- The Tempest -
Alex let out a low whistle. Britannian school festivals were sophisticated. He'd thought his Boba Fett outfit was awesome, but a few of the other ones here looked so realistic he half expected the lot of them to start jetting around, firing missiles and blaster bolts!
"Hmmph." Came the grunt from behind. Sasaki Kojiro, fellow Zero Squadron member and swordsman, who had deigned to accompany Alex on this little trip. Mainly because, despite how he denied it, he was curious to see what Britannians were like off of the battlefield.
Alex, for his part was more interested in the Star Wars Festival.
He'd been hooked by the Prequel Trilogy during a job in Brazil for the EU, tailing a target into a movie theater. Unfortunately, the film had been interrupted when one of the target's guard detail had identified Alex and started shooting. So, most of the movie was drowned out by gunfire, screams of the dying, and the occasional explosion, but the mercenary had been able to see it and the rest later after the job.
Nevertheless, the Fett family had really caught Alex's imagination. So, when he'd heard about a Star Wars Festival from Kozuki...He'd gotten together this costume lickety-split and high-tailed it over here.
"Hey, do you see Kallen anywhere?" Alex asked Sasaki.
"Not yet." The pseudo-Samurai replied. He reached out, snagged a teen dressed as a Jawa, and pulled the kid in front of the two. "Excuse me," he asked as politely as he could, "Do you know where we could find Kallen Kozuki?" The teenage Britannian took one look at the pair of them - Alex, dressed head to toe in a replica of the Fetts' Mandalorian armor, and Sasaki, dressed in Samurai robes and with a large katana belted on his hip, and pointed towards the gym.
- The Orange -
"Agh, that Milly girl lied to us!" Villetta growled lowly, her body tense with frustration as the two glanced around the room. It looked much like a ball-room one would find in a fairy tale, at least to casual inspection. Jeremiah, standing next to her, just sighed at his subordinate.
She was rather obsessed with this. Understandable, considering that she lost a Knightmare to these boys she was looking for. Losing one due to damage in battle was one thing, but having one stolen from you, and with no memory of how? For someone shooting for Baroness, that was a heavy blow.
Nonetheless, the only reason he tolerated it now was because it was looking like the boys she was talking about could be his long-lost lords. But then...there was the problem of what would happen when they found them.
"Lord Jeremiah." The deep voice, like a machine carving out words from the air with a bass speaker, came from behind them, by the doors. They turned and gaped at the costumed man there.
Jeremiah couldn't be mistaken for a hard-core Star Wars fan. The series was merely entertainment for when he wasn't occupied with his duties or other interests. But even he could appreciate the near-carbon copy of Darth Vader before him. Menacing, and giving off an aura of power. The Knight could feel the temperature in the room drop. Next to him, he heard Villetta shudder, and even take a step back.
"I don't believe I said you could bring someone else here." The Vader-costumed man continued, before his tone switched to the familiar sibilant hiss of a voice that Jeremiah realized was partially represented. "Rectify this, I can."
"What is he- !" For no apparent reason, Villetta screamed and dropped to the ground, grabbing her leg and writhing in pain.
"What the he-"
"Don't worry. There is no poison or mysterious torture device. I have merely created, for her, the illusion of pain. It shall stop when she is unconscious."
Which occurred soon, Villetta screaming once more before passing out from the pain.
Jeremiah gaped at the sight, and only barely managed to avoid getting whacked in the head by a modern-style bastard sword tossed at him, sheathed, by the man. Who he only know noticed had a similar blade strapped to his belt. How the hell did I miss that?
"What's this about?" Jeremiah asked suspiciously...and more than a little nervously.
"It's a simple duel." Vader replied. "Something to pass the time while we discuss a certain deal you're going to make with me."
"With you?" Jeremiah snorted.
"Yes. With me. After all, you want to meet your precious Nunnally, Lelouch and Learme again, don't you?" His voice shifted again, combining the earlier bass tone with the current hiss into a very familiar sound.
"Draco!" Jeremiah hissed.
"But of course." The Black Knight's ace said. "You didn't think I'd actually direct you to former a former princess and two former princes of Britannia, for nothing, when they could serve me and Zero perfectly well as hostages? Please. From I expected a bit more intelligence from someone with the respect of Learme."
Jeremiah growled, drawing the sword and tossing the sheath into a corner, moving into a low stance and gripping the sword in both hands.. Draco did likewise, only chuckling, and taking up an easy, light stance with the sword held in one hand.
- The Tempest -
Almost half an hour after they arrived, the two Black Knights arrived at a rather strange sight.
Hordes of festival-goers were mobbed in front of what looked like a redecorated Britannian Army prefabricated building, held back by two Stormtroopers who were handing out Rebel Alliance soldier costumes and model blasters.
Out of a door in the side of the structure, a person outfitted in one of the costumes tumbled out, holding their rifle in one hand and splattered head-to-toe in red paint. A Stormtrooper standing by hosed the person with enough force to splay him or her against the side of the building, washing most of the paint off in streams of red, the rifle being the most covered in the liquid.
Shaking off the excess water, the figure flashed a thumbs-up at the Trooper, and went back to the line. Or, at least, he or she was going to, when he/she caught sight of Kojiro, and stiffened.
The two Knights looked on quizzically and then in surprise when the Rebel stomped up to them, removing his/her helmet, revealing Kallen.
"What are you two doing here?" She asked in a low growl, careful to keep her rifle in between her face and the rest of the crowd.
"E-enjoying the festival?" Alex sort of chuckled, partly in an attempt to belay the terror rising in his chest. Kallen's face, while beautiful, was terrifying when her hair framed it, and the blood-like streams of paint dripping down it from the rifle made her look more than a bit like some sort of bloody beast surrounded by flame.
"You could blow my cover!" Kouzuki fumed, teeth clenching together in a snarl.
"Actually," Sasaki intruded, "you could have stayed back there and been perfectly safe. Coming over here and talking to us just increases the risk of you being discovered."
There was a moment of silence, before Kallen growled at them again, plopping the helmet back on.
- The Dragon -
Learme ducked under Jeremiah's two-handed slash, coming up with a stab towards the Knight's center mass, only for Orange to side-step it and bring his blade down for a quick finish.
Not one to be taken out by such an obvious strike, Learme brought his sword back in, and then swiped it out, parrying the heavy blow aside to dig into the carpet before he stepped to the side and brought his sword around in a circular sweep, nicking Jeremiah's neck as he leaned back. Little more than a shaving cut, that tiny cut was still the most damage either had wrought yet in the duel.
Then Jeremiah kicked Learme in the chest, crunching the decorative control panel and actually driving the armored teenager back a few steps. Both assumed defensive stances, Jeremiah raising his sword high in both hands, while Learme crouched low, holding his blade horizontally before him.
"You're pretty good."
"As are you - For a terrorist."
"To each his own."
Jeremiah charged forward, blade still raised high, as Learme similarly dashed forth, his sword angling high to intercept.
The blades clashed, and Learme punched Jeremiah in the gut with his free hand. At the same time, Jeremiah had taken his left hand off of his sword and slugged Learme in the head.
Not quite the smartest move. Jeremiah keeled back with a pained gasp, cradling his hand, while Learme was pretty much unaffected, discounting a small ringing in his ear. Standing over Jeremiah, the former Prince stared at him with a slight air of bemusement, before theatrically looking at his wrist and saying,
"My word, it's this time already and we haven't discussed a bit of our deal."
"What-" Jeremiah groaned, then continued. "What deal do you think I'd accept? While imprisoning those to whom I pledged-"
To whom I pledged? He really has been hanging around high society too much. Learme thought with quite a bit of venom. "The deal-" He said, interrupting Jeremiahs speech-to-be, "Is essentially the pledge you swore to the Vi Britannias." This, of course, was followed by dumbfounded silence. "Please. You didn't seriously expect Zero and I to start a war without some backers? Even discredited ones? All of this is the Vi Britannia's bid for the throne - for international support - all to find the answer to the question, an answer that has eluded both them and you for so long." Learme continued, taking a brief hint of glee in Jeremiah's expression, and kneeling down to cup the Knight's chin.
"Who killed Lady Marianne Vi Brittania?"
- The Author -
Ergh. I think I'm gald to be done with this filler arc. Alex, Kojiro-Kun, sorry I couldn't get your OC's sub-plots finished. That said, they could be extended if you like.
Still, I do like some parts of this, mainly the beginning and ending parts. The first shows yet another of the million and one uses of Learme's Geass, and the other showcases a bit of intrigue and some fight. Learme has clearly been picking up tips from Lelouch, and vice-versa.
Up next, the meeting with the rebellion's backers, and a bit more awesomeness.
Review Replies:
Kojiro Kun: Zippos are amusing enough that I think they'll probably show up in an Omake. And if you don't mind, I'll throw in that recruiting poster idea.
As for the bow, I don't think that would be very economical. The energy thing is quite impossible, unless I throw in magic (not happening) However, some of the materials in the story could make for an effective compound bow analogue and if you stick Sakuradite-based explosives on the arrowheads...
Hmmm...
I'll get back to you on that.
demonwarrior1029: Empire covering three continents, at the least. Yeah, they need it.
Yep.
Of course.
Omegadramon2: Yes, I got it. It sounds good, and while go in next chapter.
Alex Yamato: No problem, and sorry about the delay on the other designs. I have...issues with school work that is eating up time.
Do you want both a Chainsaw and Oscillating Radiation Katana, or something else?
And then you have to consider the G-1
Well, not so much 'swear fealty' as 'be tortured unconcsious and forced into a rather one-sided deal'
Yeah, that makes two of us.
00virtuezero: Yes, Velshard certainly does have the scary imagination. I suppose I do too, although that's a subjective topic...
No problem, but if you think Junior year is trouble...wait till Senior.
I haven't seen it, but I accidentally spoiled much of the plot for myself. Actually, all of the plot. Still, makes planning for my next 00 Fanfic easier.
Depression...it comes...
Eh, I try to pay little attention to the crazy theories.
Nice to hear from you.
lordmarik: I'm Exia on Starcraft II. Yes, like the Gundam. Apparently, no one else is using that name. My portrait si the Diablo Marine. And before anyone challenges me or something, know that I suck at multiplayer.
Knightmare Gundam of Ni