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 28: Converging Paths

- The Crush -

Ashford Academy, Student Council Room
Monday
3:24 PM

They were gone.

Again.

Shirley pouted, sinking in her chair slightly, while across from her Milly sorted through some papers almost absent-mindedly. Both Lamperouge twins had apparently taken the entire day off for some reason or another, and had taken Kallen with them!

At least, that was the conclusion the red-headed teenager reached. She fingered an envelope in her hands morosely. I wanted to ask Lulu if he wanted to come too...

"Why so down Shirley?" Milly, perky as ever, practically bounced over the table to stand over the seated form of the Lady Fenette. Who was suitably startled and almost fell out of the chair.

"Ah, Madam-President! Don't startle me like that!" Shirley gasped.

"Sooooo?" Milly drawled, leaning in closer to Shirley's face.

"Those two are out gambling again!" Shirley pouted, simultaneously looking dejected as she set the envelope on some papers in front of her. "If they don't come to school more-"

"If who doesn't come to school more?" Shirley pivoted around, seeing the Lamperouge twins standing in the doorway.

"Lulu! Learme! Where have you two been!"

"Nunnally was sick today." Learme answered.

"It seems she caught a fever during yesterdays festival." Lelouch added. "And Sayoko took the day off, so..."

"Oh! Is Nunna alright?" Shirley switched gears from angered to concerned quickly enough for anyone else to get whiplash.

"She's fine, but she's going to be bed-ridden for a few days." Learme replied, a bit stiff. All too understandable.

"So? Anything you wanted us to do, Miss President?" Lelouch turned to the blond Ashford.

"Oh, just get that stack of papers in front of Shirley and fill them out while you're gone, 'kay?"

"Ugh. Paperwork." The buffer of the two groaned.

"Pen: 7,921; Learme: 0." Lelouch recited wickedly, to the good-natured scowl of his twin as they divided the stack among themselves and exited the room. After they were gone, Milly went right back to Shirley.

"You should just tell him how you feel, you know."

"I couldn't do that!" was the blushing response. "What if...if he..."

"'What if he doesn't feel the same way?' ' What if we can't be friends anymore' " Milly mock-gasped, and then cackled not unlike a witch.

"You don't have to laugh so hard." Shirley grumbled, reaching for her envelope. Hey...Where are my tickets?

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

The girl darted out of her chair and out the door so fast Milly and poor forgotten Nina had to blink to rid themselves of the after-image.

"LULU! LEARME!"

Luckily, she caught them just out in the hall. Both of them turned and frowned as she ran up to them.

"Do either of you have an envelope mixed in with the papers?"

"I dunno, lemme check."

They sifted through their respective stacks, finding her tickets in Lelouch's pile. "Here you are Shirley."

"Thanks..." Standing there, the girl looked down for a moment, much to either twin's confusions, before blurting out: "Lulu-would-you-like-to-go-to-the-opera-with-me?"

Blink.

- The Black Knights -

Black Knights Mobile HQ, Meeting Room
Monday
3:24 PM

"...and that's the state of our Sakanade forces so far." Tanaka, the Sakanade team leader finished. He stood with the current leadership of the Black Knights, in one of their organizational meetings. It had been fairly standard (i.e., boring) meeting thus far, and Tetsuro Tanaka, a veteran of at least five 'engagements' prior to the Black Knight's formation, and a veteran of the Battle of Narita as well, itched to get out and back into his Sakanade.

It would be a lot more exciting than sitting around here, discussing logistics, no matter how important it was. Heck, maybe he'd be able to paint more matches on his shield.

"Hmph." Draco grunted, from his stance next to Zero's couch. "We're going to need a lot more than a single squad to counteract the Brits." He turned to Zero. "We should put a platoon of Sakanade in every company. That will increase their heavy weapons and close-combat capabilities, and enhance each one's overall urban warfare ability."

"Later Draco." The Knights' commander replied. Then Ohgi came through the door, looking excited, passing Mischa by and holding out an envelope to Zero.

"What's this?" The worker of miracles queried.

"A love letter." Ohgi joked.

"From you?" That brought a chorus of chuckles, guffaws and an odd hissing cackle.

"Seriously though," Ohgi interjected As Zero accepted and began opening the letter. "It's a letter from the Kyoto Group. They want to meet with you and Draco personally."

"Is that all?" The Dragon-masked character snorted.

"This is important!" Ohgi embellished, passionately. "Kyoto is the backer of all the major revolutionary organizations. If we meet with them and they like us, we could get financial support!"

"We'll have to send them a thank-you note for the offer, but our finances are in order." Zero stated. "Draco and Mischa have done excellent work to secure a steady supply of capital," Both of them, Draco beside him and Mischa near the door, nodded. "We should be fine, just so long as we stick to the budget I planned out."

"Well...actually..."Ohgi stammered, his stomach plummeting when both helmeted figures turned their attention on him. "We're really short on cash."

There were a few, dangerous, silent seconds before Draco spoke up.

"Why?" With that prompt, Ohgi's gaze slid around the room to rest on Tamaki, sitting on the end of the other couch.

"...What?" Tamaki cried out when the rest of the room, ranging from the tall and foreboding Draco to the deceptively slight Kallen, glared at him. "It's not my fault! We're a growing organization! With all the new recruits, there's training costs, equipment..."

"And expensive dinner parties and restaurants with young and pretty women?" Kallen interrupted, with a slight sly tone to her voice. Zero was motionless, a statue. Draco turned to glance at him, and then nodded at Mischa. The Russian, imposing in his stark business suit and ballistic glasses, retrieved a pair of flexi-cuffs from inside his suit, walking to Tamaki with a slow and deceptively sedate gait.

"Hey, wait a-!" Tamaki was stunned and bound around the wrists before he could do anything more than protest and begin to rise, and was being dragged out of the room within the minute.

"Uh, Zero, what's Mischa doing?" Ohgi asked, a little scared for Tamaki. The guy was irresponsible and easily excited (not to mention more than a little incompetent) but that didn't mean Ohgi wanted him to be tortured or something.

"Don't worry, it's just a little mental screwing about." Draco chuckled darkly. "Mischa's good at it. Tamaki won't get hurt, but he'll damn well never waste Black Knights resources like that again."

This statement did not reassure Ohgi at all.

"It seems we will have to approach Kyoto after all, Draco." Zero sighed. He rose, cape closing about his form, and strode for the door. "Let us make the arrangements. Ohgi, from now on you're in charge of our finances."

- The Demon and The Dragon -

Ashford Academy, Main Building, Lamperouge Quarters
7:52 PM

Learme was gentle tucking Nunnally in as Lelouch finished the story, closing the book just as gently. Nunnally, the sweet girl, was already asleep. The fever had frightened both of the twins, for despite their respective intellect, when Nunnally was concerned...well, it was good it wasn't too bad.

Quietly, the two exited the room and closed the door, careful to not make any noise that could wake their sister.

And turned to face C.C.

"So what is this favor you need of me?" The witch mumphed, mouth full of bribery pizza.

"It's very simple." Lelouch answered. heading to his room. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow, after we take care of Nunnally."

"Very well." She said, swallowing the mouthful of pizza. "By the way, you're forgetting about this." She held up a ticket, which Lelouch snatched out of her grasp.

"I didn't forget it." He muttered. "I was going to call her and cancel."

"But?"

"She canceled herself yesterday afternoon. Something came up, and she's going to be gone tomorrow."

"Ah. I see."

Tuesday, Underground Facility
5:54 AM

"Yes, I'm sorry, but Nunnally's condition means that neither of us can make it today. Yes, I'll take her to a doctor later...No, Learme will take care of it when we get back." Lelouch was finalizing their alibis. Nunnally was already asleep, and Sayoko was back on the job.

Behind Lelouch, Learme climbed into his armor, closed the breastplate and placed the helmet on his head. Going through a series of motions, he ensured the suit was fully functional, before putting on the coat.

Off in the corner of the room, C.C watched them.

- The Black Knights -

Ikebukuro Ghetto
6:32 AM

Zero waited alone in what once had been the bustling district of Ikebukuro. Once an enormous commercial district, Ikebukuro was just another ghetto.

A limo, rather blatantly out of place, rolled up out of the early morning mist and came to a halt in front of the caped mastermind. The driver, an aged man, rolled the window down, poking his head out rather nonchalantly.

"I was instructed to bring you and the rest of your leadership."

"Yes, of course. They're just lagging a bit. But before they get here..."

- The Knight and The Orange -

Narita

Jeremiah kept a cautious eye on Kururugi as the latter walked through the aftermath of the battle. The collateral damage from the mudslide wasn't as bad as it could have been, having reached only the outskirts of the city, but there were many troops still unaccounted for, and quite a few civilian corpses had been dug up as well. Jeremiah himself was used to it all, having served a stint in Area Seventeen before his current tenure in Area Eleven began. A crazed people the Seventeens had been, with many actually strapping high explosives to themselves before charging Britannian Army facilities. A few good purges had cured them of that trait though.

Suzaku, however, didn't have a veteran's experience in these matters, and it showed in the increasingly harsh look on his face as he passed by another row of bodies.

The Honorary Britannian trotted under a big tarp, taking a small drink from a bottle Jeremiah handed him before pouring the rest of the ice water over his head.

That witch...was she really here? And those visions... Shaking his head violently, Suzaku sprayed droplets of water all over the place, earning him a glare from the blue-haired 'Orange'.

"Had enough of exhuming the dead, you two?" Lloyd sauntered over to them, drawling.

"I'd like to continue helping with the rescue operations, if you don't mind." Suzaku said. Jeremiah snorted.

"Don't get your hopes up Kururugi. Any survivors either died of infection or blood loss soon after the battle, or were carted away to serve as the Black Knights' punching bags." Suzaku frowned disapprovingly.

"Well, that doesn't matter. Help as long as you like. Princess Cornelia ordered it after all." Was Lloyd's off-hand reply.

"Lloyd-san...Jeremiah-san...what are the Black Knights trying to accomplish with all of this? It's just wanton death and destruction!"

"They say they're champions of justice."

"They call this justice!"

"Now remember Kurugi," Jeremiah replied, "There are many different interpretations of concepts like 'justice'. To us, this battle was a tragic loss. The Black Knights, and probably most of the Eleven population, probably view this as righteous retribution. Tenchu, I believe their word is?"

Heaven's Punishment? There's nothing heavenly about this.

"And besides," Jeremiah continued, "As soldiers, their views and reasons do not matter. They fight us, and so we fight them." Or go turncoat out of hope for an old loyalty, Jeremiah thought bitterly.

- Black Knights -

Undisclosed Location

The Knights sat in the back of the limousine as the vehicle drove onwards, its axles audibly creaking under the weight of the armor it carried on the forms of Zero and Draco.

"Hoy, how long until we get there?" Tamaki whined. As the now-junior logistical aide, he was along for the ride. Still a bit shaken from Mischa's attentions the day before, he was a bit quieter than usual. In volume.

"Calm down." Draco ordered.

"Yes, please. You're embarrassing us." Kallen growled.

They couldn't see out of the windows, said ports covered by thick curtains. But a thump and a shift in the car's movement did hold a clue though. They were moving upwards. Another thump before they stopped, and then the doors opened.

"My apologies for the delay." The chauffeur said. "We have arrived. My employer is awaiting you."

They all climbed out, Ohgi, Kallen, Tamaki, Mischa, Zero and Draco stepping into an enormous metal cavern, walls and even the ceiling covered in obscure mechanisms. Except for one wall, made entirely out of glass, showing a view of a mountainside encased in a series of metal plateaus.

"Holy shit!" Tamaki gasped, regaining a bit of his previous vigor. "We're in the Fuji Mines! This ain't possible!"

"There's no mistaking it!" Kallen snapped. "Look at the mountainside's shape!"

"Then there's Sakuradite down there, right?"

"Yes." Draco intoned. "The bloody treasure that started all of this."

"Draco, this is dangerous." The Professional noted. "Standard procedure inside Sakuradite mining complexes are to eliminate intruders on sight, preferably in a fatal fashion."

"Calm, Mischa. We are here under the auspices of the Kyoto Group."

"I can't believe they even have influence here..." Ohgi muttered.

"An ugly sight, is it not?" The window turned opaque, and the group turned to see a group of guards all around a kago - a small litter-like chair with a drape in front concealing the occupants face, although the rest of his body, dressed in a kimono with a short staff gripped in the right hand, was visible. "It's truly repulsive. Mount Fuji, a sacred mountain once admired for its clear waters and quiet beauty, is now bent to the Britannian's will, a hideous violation and disgusting reflection of what Japan has become. It pains me."

The group stepped forward, but maintained an equitable distance. "I apologize for concealing my face from you Zero, but you and your subordinate there are masked as well. Forgive me, but I must ascertain your true identities. You will show me your unmasked faces!" The last was punctuated with a stabbing point of the staff towards them, and four Burai, two on either side, came out of the concealing shadows that hid much of the chamber. The Knightmares aimed their rifles in the group's direction, centering on the two leaders.

"Wait, please!" Kallen cried, stepping in front of the two. "Zero and Draco have led us to victory! They've given us strength and - "

"Silence, if you would, Kallen Kouzuki. Who among you is Ohgi?" Upon hearing his name, Ohgi straightened out of his reflexive defense stance and replied.

"A-ah yes, that would be me."

"Remove Zero's mask." Ohgi glanced nervously to the side, at Zero's helmet. The blank facade offered no clue as to the person within. Shuddering slightly, the revolutionary stepped forth, up to the master of the Knights.

"Ohgi!" Kallen shouted in betrayal.

"I'm sorry Zero." Ohgi muttered. "I want to believe in you...please, just let me trust you." He reached forth. Zero, to their surprise, inclined his head, and released the helmet's catches with a hiss of pressurized gas. Ohgi gripped the helmet in both hands and pulled...

"HUH!"
"WHAT!"
"Yob tvoyu maht!"

They obviously did not expect the soft visage and green hair that greeted them.

"A woman!" Tamaki shouted. Kallen was stunned, her head turned partially towards Draco. Was he too...

"Zero, you are a woman?" The figure asked.

"I am not Zero." replied the strange girl.

"I see that you are not Japanese either. Hmm...Now, remove Draco's helmet." Kallen did this one herself, Draco just as obligingly as 'Zero' turning towards her with bowed head, hissing gases as catches released. Holding her breath, Kallen clutched on the skull's ridges and pulled the helmet off quickly, like ripping a bandage off.

Inside the armor...was nothing.

Dead silence was all there was, until the helmet's eyes flashed.

"Primary connection severed." A voice intoned from inside the item, false and computerized. "Deactivating Draconian Armor." With a thud, the suit fell over, and would have crushed Kallen under it if not for her combat reflexes.

"What is this!" Tamaki shouted, again. "This...this woman! And Draco is...an empty suit of armor!"

"Hmmph. Just as much of an idiot as they said, Tamaki" The woman huffed, before turning to the kago and the figure within. "As I said, I am not Zero. You, however, must be Kirihara Taizo." Despite the enormity of the secret, her voice was insultingly casual.

"Sir!" Was one of the guards' panicked shout, "We can't allow anyone who knows of your identity to live!" The guards drew their weapons, military-grade handguns and rifles, as the Burai closed in further.

"Wait a minute, I don't have anything to do with this!" Tamaki shouted, ignored by all present as Mischa drew his sidearm, and Kallen crouched with Draco's helmet clutched in her hand.

Then the two Burai closest to the kago fired their Harkens, the lines crossing over one another as the bladed anchors slashed into the other two Burai, slicing their arms off and downing them in an instant before the two Knightmares dashed towards the kago, dropping into a halting crouch before the guards with assault rifles aimed precisely at the litter.

"Such weak defenses...I almost entertained the idea of coming in more openly, screw about with you." Came the baritone hiss of Draco's voice from the left Burai.

"Your methods and mindsets are outdated. Against us, you had no hope of victory!" Zero's charismatic voice roared from the other's speakers, as the cockpits popped open, revealing the swirling coat and armor of the former and the enshrouding cape of the latter, dropping down from their Frames with little regard for the fall, short as it was.

"What!" Was the almost universal shock from the Black Knights. The guards were just as surprised.

"When did you-" One of the guards raised his weapon at Zero before one of his comrades grabbed the man.

"Don't! He has a remote trigger!"

"What, this thing?" Zero said mockingly. "Hm. nothing to worry about. But for the sake of propriety..."

"...I suggest you don't try anything." Draco cackled, drawing his magnum but keeping it down at his side as both figures walked towards the kago.

"Kirihara Taizo, as a founder of the influential mining corporation Kirihara Industries, you were one of those who controlled the Kururugi's administration seven years ago." Zero extolled, Draco picking up the slack of the line.

"After the war was lost, you collaborated with the Britannian's colonial government, and earned yourself the name 'Kirihara the Traitor'."

"However, behind that facade, you organized the resistance groups into the Six Houses of Kyoto, the Kyoto Group, leading and supporting them."

"What a petty triple-crosser." Draco chuckled as he drew even with Zero, behind the line of guards and before the kago.

"How dare you-"

"Silence!" Taizo ordered his guard, to the chuckles of the Black Knights' leaders.

"The facts are just as you surmised before you ever invited us here Kiriharia." Zero said.

"Neither of us are Japanese." Draco continued, to the shocked-again gasps of the Black Knights behind them. Excluding Mischa.

"So that's why they didn't show their faces." Kallen muttered, clamping her fingers harder onto the fake helmet.

"Why do you fight then?"

"To destroy Britannia." Zero answered.

"To wipe it clean from existence!" Swore Draco.

"And you two believe you can do that?"

"Of course we can." Was the dismissive reply.

"We have an all-consuming reason to do so." Zero explained. Both reached their gaunleted hands to their helmets, the same pressurized hiss of gas marking the release as they divested themselves of the weight.

Unfortunately for the others in the room, the collar of Zero's cape and Draco's hood both concealed even the back of their heads from view.

"You!" Kiriharas shocked gasp wasn't very informative.

Whatever the leaders said, it was too low for the Knights to hear from even the relatively short distance they stood from the scene. Whatever the head honchos said was unheard, until Kirihara cackled loudly.

"OGHI!"

"H-hai!"

"There is no doubt that these men are true enemies of Britannia. Obey Zero's commands, and follow Draco into the hells of war, and the Six Houses of Kyoto will support you."

"...Thank you."

The two armored men chuckled to each other, turning from Kirihara as they replaced their helmets.

"Hmm. I suppose the both of you will carve your own paths of carnage into the soil of the world."

"Indeed."

"But of course."

"There is nothing else for us."

- The Crush -

"Is this how you spell Fenette?"

"Y-yes."

Villetta sighed. This was not her desired course of action. Despite accompanying Jeremiah to the Academy, she couldn't remember anything after they stepped into the Student Council building but excruciating pain, starting in her leg and traveling to the rest of her body before she fainted. Jeremiah had woken her shortly afterward, his face flushed and newly marred by a few small cuts.

She was holding a drawing in her hands, an artist's interpretation of the teenagers she had seen in Shinjuku. She couldn't do anything until A.S.E.E.C and Jeremiah were pulled off of SAR duty, but when they were...

"Hey! That looks like Lelouch and Learme!" Villetta blinked, turning to the girl she'd been directing to a medic's tent.

- The Author -

Most of this stage was practically copied directly from the twelfth episode. For shame.

To clear up confusion: the "Draconian " is just like Learme's Vader costume. It's basically a prototype powered armor with a spare Draconian helmet. It works because most of the Knights never see the Draconian's scaled surface, because of the coat.

Review Replies:

Alex Yamato: You can do a lot of things when you control a person's senses.
OK, I'll work on that later.
'Kay.
I was actually referring to the G-1 Alteration Plans. One of my creations, with a hint of Velshard.

Robby Cartwright: Mao should be starting up soon. Omegadramon's Shifter will feature.

Allora Gale: Happy, huh?

Deathzealot: Yep.

Kojiro Kun: Alex will never be the same. For one thing, he won't need to breath anymore.
He actually can fool your sense of touch into thinking you're being strangled to death. So, points there.
Ok.
Been thinking about it, and I still don't think a straight-up bow would work. A crossbow though, with twined titanium monothread as a drawstring and a laser targeting sight...he can use the factsphere for targeting...yeah, this can work.
Heh.

sakurahanaalice: yep.
I'm stuck in Pre-Calc. Horrors it gives me.

Knightmare Gundam of Ni