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 31: Prelude to Revelations
-The Fanatic -
Diethard Ried fairly cackled in glee, sliding down the ladder of the cargo crane he and a few other of the Black Knight's observers were using. Retrieving a small hand camera, he dropped off of the ladder a few feet off of the ground, landing heavily but breaking into a fast run after a split second of recovery.
'Yes, yes, YES! Just how I knew you would act ZERO!" He laughed, ignoring the cries of the Knights behind him. Holding the camera up, he filmed the burning wreck of the tanker, turning only slightly to see the Akuma leading a platoon of Burai.
This was the scoop he'd been waiting for, all his life….
- The Berserker -
Kiryu Sakumo was waiting on standby with his artillery-custom Reikoku at the docks watching the massacre of JLF soldiers by the Brittanians. The Former Yamato Alliance leader had a nonchalant expression on his face, but his hands were gripping on the Reikoku's controls very tightly. While the 17 year old Half-Blood didn't have a problem with soldiers getting killed, he however didn't like the fact the Brits weren't giving the JLF any chance to surrender.
"What a bunch hypocrites. They call others savages while they go do crap like this." The Zero Squad member said in contempt.
Suddenly an explosion caught Kiryu's attention.
The Reikoku turned to see that JLF's base ship consumed by a huge napalm-like explosion. Kiryu widened his eyes slightly then turned to see that the Bors had just fired its rockets
"Well, damn it. Looks like they were going die anyway, even with our intervention." He cursed softly. Then he powered up his Knightmare ready to enter combat. In all honesty he wasn't really all that mad about it as the others. This was war after all and at least the JLF died a quick and clean death rather than a long and brutal one.
"Zero Squadron, Team one is in position." Mischa's steady voice reported, even as the bickering of the rest of his team continued.
"Zero Squadron, Team two is missing Alex and Sasaki, but also in position." The Red Viking growled.
"Ryūō in position." Draco's augmented voice hissed.
"Guren currently engaging the Lancelot." Kallen reported.
"Sakanade advancing towards target." Tanaka grunted, the sound of screaming and the occasional explosion coming in over the radio.
"Burai assault platoon holding position."
"Very well. All variables are accounted for." Zero stated, regal in his tone. "Commence the second phase."
As soon as Zero said second phase the artillery Reikoku had prepared its weapons. Then Kiryu heard Zero speak to him.
"Kiryu, I want you to fire your cannons at directly at the incoming Britannian forces and if you see any of Cornelia's royal guard eliminate them." the masked man stated to the Former Yamato Alliance leader.
Kiryu nodded" Understood Zero".
As soon as Zero cut communication, the black-haired half-blood smirked darkly as he aimed at the Sutherlands who were at the other side of the dock.
His emerald eyes gleamed menacingly as he locked on and fired.
- The Demon -
Lelouch smirked as the group of Sutherlands exploded rather fantastically. The Akuma and the Burai platoon rolled through the maze, approaching Cornelia's compound head-on. With the Sakanade drawing most of the attention, and either Reikoku team eliminating any remaining guards or escorts, the collective Black Knight forces should converge on Cornelia's base at the same time; capture it and Cornelia, and exfiltrate without much trouble.
That is, of course, if events went according to plan.
A previously unseen unit of Sutherlands popped out from behind a few warehouses, unloading a fusillade of bullets on the approaching Black Knights.
Luckily, in a rather uncharacteristic moment of haughty pride, Lelouch had been leading the platoon of Burai. The Akuma's shield successfully repelled the majority of the rounds, suffering only nicks and a few dents in its upper surfaces.
Regrettably, the Sutherlands had wisely ducked back behind their cover the moment their assault rifles clacked empty, fast enough that only one, probably a rookie, was ripped apart by the return fire. A big whoop in Lelouch's ear told him who scored the winning shot.
"Shut up Tamaki. Ougi, take half the platoon and circle around. The rest of us will stay here while you flank them, and maybe Draco will be able to aid us." Lelouch ordered smoothly.
As the Burai swerved through a warehouse, he opened a comms link to the Ryūō, just in time to catch Learme's remark.
"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me."
"What? What is it?" Lelouch demanded, current situation forgotten. Learme wordlessly linked the Ryūō's Factsphere view over to the Akuma's main screen, the image popping up in a small window.
"…..Fuck."
- The Crush –
By now, almost an hour after tailing the Lamperouge Twins to roughly this harbor, Shirley was getting worried, and had halfway forgotten about their supposed Black Knights affiliations, the merest thought of that group bringing to mind the supposed habit of terrorists using harbors as their secret bases and -
Ohmygod what if Lulu and Learme have been captured, and are being tortured-
Her thoughts were generally of that tearfully worried sort.
This, of course, meant she was horrendously distracted until she came around a corner and beheld the rather disturbing scene of a pair of the Black Knight's Ogre Frames fighting against what had to be a few dozen Sutherlands.
Scattered shards of armor and pieces of Knightmares laid scattered about the surrounding area, a few still engulfed and being melted by the greenish-blue flames that characterized the Ogre's flame-throwing weaponry. Shirley stood there for a moment, scared into stiffness, when one of the Ogres turned to look at her.
Screaming in that was that Milly compared to B-film horror actresses, Shirley turned on her heel and ran.
- The Demon and The Dragon -
"Well, that was fairly typical." Learme noted.
"Damn it! Why is she here?" Lelouch hissed, facial features contorting in interesting ways to form a variant of the standard perplexed expression.
"Probably followed us." Learme shrugged.
"Followed – That would mean she's been here for more than an hour! What is with the harbor authorities?" Lelouch complained.
"Probably not here, on account of Cornelia and her operation." Learme answered.
"Gah!"
"Onto other matters, how are we going to get her out of her without drawing suspicion?"
"Hmm…I can't do anything. We're assaulting Cornelia's field HQ as I speak." Lelouch swore, even as Ohgi's team attacked. The Sutherlands before him were either destroyed by the flanking assault or forced into the open where the crossfire between the two Burai teams scattered their parts over the ground. Learme sighed.
"So, it's up to me?"
"Yes."
"Dammit….."
- The Knight –
Suzaku gritted his teeth as the Red Frame cleanly avoided the slice of the Lancelot's blade again, ducking under the sweeping blow and darting forward to try and get that dangerous silver claw around the Seventh-Gen's torso and cook the Knightmare until it blew up.
The Honorary Britannian wasn't about to let the Red's pilot have that satisfaction, jumping the Lancelot up and landing behind the Red Frame with blades ready to scissor the irritant in half.
Of course, Red was at least as fast and agile as the Lancelot, which meant that the pilot was able to get well clear of the blades and counter-attack with a low knife-slash at the White Knightmare's knee. Pure chance allowed Suzaku to get the Lancelot out of that with only a deep but mostly cosmetic scratch on the leg.
"This is pointless." Suzaku muttered. "Where's Jeremiah?"
- The Queen -
"This guy is irritating me!" Kallen hissed. They'd pretty much been Flynning about for the last few minutes, neither really able to get anything like a decisive blow in, despite the relative equality in their speed and maneuverability.
"Kiryu! Could you hit this guy with a few shells?"
"Er…not without hitting you too…." Kallen cursed to herself. It really was quite irritating.
- The Dragon -
Learme hopped the Ryūō down from its perch, cement cracking slightly under its feet before the screeching Landspinners pulled it away. The combative twin rolled through the morass of shipping containers quickly, keeping the position of both the Black Knights and the Britannian forces in mind while trying to get to Shirley's last known position.
Inevitably though, he ran into a group of Sutherlands at a T-section of 'alleys', evidently surprising them as much as they frustrated him.
"Man, how many troops did Cornelia bring?" Learme groaned. A single shot from the Raikou Kai blasted one Sutherland in the torso, as the others charged, firing from their rifles. With the rapidly closing range, Learme simply ignored the bullets, dropped the Railgun off to the side and drew the Tsukiken, blades igniting as he took aim at the front pair. A pair of shots to either's knees sent them stumbling into range of the sabers, leaving them quickly vivisected as the Ryūō charged forth at their fellows.
A shot cracked solidly into the Ryūō's shoulder, Learme retaliating with a dual burst from the Gatling guns, carving the offender up. Even as this happened, the Ryūō's head swiveled, opened, and belched purple flame onto a closer Sutherland, melting it down to the Drive and detonating.
A contemptuous swipe decapitated the next Sutherland in the line-up before it was finished with a torso-splitting slice. The last one, a straggler far behind its fellows, paused abruptly before Learme jumped the Ryūō into it, shoulder leading and smashing its cockpit into - and through - a container.
Behind which was Shirley.
- The Crush -
The container had ripped itself apart with a horrible screech, spilling its contents (teddy bears) and letting the Sutherland - its crushed and horrendously dismembered cockpit emerging first - the Knightmare Frame crashing to the concrete ground a mere two meters in front of Shirley. That was bad enough, but what forced its way through the gap was worse.
A reptilian-looking Frame tore the entry through the container wider, glowing red eyes and golden fangs standing out against the darkness surrounding it. It seemed to glare right at her, freezing the high-school girl in her steps again.
"What the-"A voice, harsh, brutal, and hissing at the same time, uttered. "What's a civilian doing here?"
Now, Shirley was thinking something along the lines of:
Ohmygod Ohmygod I'mgonnadie!
"Well, I guess I should get you out of here."
"Please don't burn me to- Wait what?" Shirley glanced up, now through parted fingers.
- The Demon -
Lelouch's expression contorted itself into a snarl. He absolutely hated involving innocents in his fights. Learme had commented on this trait of his since they started their black market, and the witch had joined in recently, but there it was.
But there was nothing he could do but let Learme handle it.
"Fire anti-armor rockets." He ordered, Zero's voice barking across the platoon's radio. Three Burai shouldered heavy rocket launchers, firing a volley of High-Explosive Squash-Head rockets at the now-closed door to the warehouse facility. The door fragmented, shattered, much of it reduced to particulate spall that filled the air before eventually settling down as a layer of metallic dust covering everything.
Behind lurked a team of Hafgans.
"What the hell!" Tamaki squawked, his Burai's entire left side shredded to pieces before Ohgi and another Black Knight pulled him into cover. The rest of the platoon did as well, but three failed, and as such were torn apart by a horizontal hail of horrendously effective bullets.
"It seems Cornelia has replaced the former Mabinogion teams." Lelouch deduced coolly, the Akuma's shield taking several serious hits before he managed to run the Knightmare behind a container. "How troublesome."
"Troublesome my ass!" Tamaki snarled.
- The Witch of Britannia -
Cornelia sat in her Gloucester, Gilford and others of her personal guard on either side as the Hafgans unloaded ordnance upon the Black Knights. Using the Co-Armament System allowed a near continuous firing, one arm's weapon firing while the other rested, until reloading was required, upon which the rested arm rose to unleash its fury as the other waited for a subordinate Sutherland to fit a new magazine.
"Hmmm…much better than those uncoordinated fools this area held previously." Cornelia judged.
"My thanks for your kind words Your Highness." The lilting voice of Major Beckett spoke.
"My apologies for removing you from Area 18."
"None needed Milady; it's a pleasure to serve with you again." Major Sara Beckett, a Duchess of said noble family and experienced Knightmare Frame pilot, had served under Cornelia in numerous battles before the Empire had seen fit to bequeath her Mabinogion status of the former Middle Eastern Federation, now Area 18 (Reformation), just conquered last month.
"Now," Cornelia said, speaking to all her subordinates. "Charge!" The wall of Hafgans parted, firing fields moving to allow the Gloucester teams through unmolested. "Leave Zero for me!" Cornelia snarled, her horned Gloucester brandishing its lance as it led the wedge formation of her personal unit. A wave of purple advanced through the open space before the warehouse, before splitting into the small alleys the containers formed like the wave breaking upon the cliffs.
Only to run into a trap.
Chaos Mines, essentially shaped Chaos Grenades equipped with motion sensors, detonated, as effective on Knightmares as Claymore mines were on infantry. Gloucesters and Sutherlands fell with cockpit blocks and limbs punctured hundred, thousands of times over by the razor-sharp, heated flechettes.
Cornelia escaped only with the timely superposition of one of her Guard for her, the brave knight taking an entire cloud of flechettes from his left side. The Gloucester dropped the ground, shredded cape falling from its shoulders and various liquids dripping from the tears in the cockpit.
- The Demon -
Cornelia's rageful scream was unheard by Lelouch, yet it still echoed in his mind. It wasn't too hard to imagine how his half-sister would react. God knows they'd spent enough time playing around in their younger days for him to guess her current mind.
"This situation is….untenable." He muttered. "Kiryu, ordnance report."
"Exhausted. Reinforcements from outside-"
"Damn. Tanaka?"
"I'm running low on fuel for the Thestalos, and Hetare's out of Aden rounds, running low on the Kemva's shells too."
"Hmm….Mischa, Wettengren, status?"
"The deed is done." The Russian stated coldly.
"Going to recover Alex and Sasaki." Was Peter's reply.
"That settles it." Lelouch murmured, before speaking up. "Right now, the Black Knights will retreat. But make no mistake, while our primary objective remains unaccomplished, we have done more than enough damage to Cornelia's forces. Disengage and fall back according to Plan Yama-13."
- The Dragon -
Learme had long shut off the external speakers. Shirley's screaming was just too….too…..well, at the present, it engendered a feeling somewhere between annoyance and sheer madness.
His schoolmate was clutched in the Ryūō's left hand, the other one gripping a Tsukiken in its fist. He was making good time, and from the reports, he'd be able to meet up with the rest of the Black Knights after dropping Shirley off outside the harbor area.
But, as they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy. This one died spectacularly, the Lancelot recklessly smashing into the Ryūō's right side and sending Shirley flying out of the draconian Frame's hand.
- The Author -
Whoo, that was fun! Soon the JLF Murder/Harbor Battle arc will draw to a close, and then we can move on from heated KMF combat to heated mind screwing!
Hmm…that doesn't sound so pleasing, does it?
Review Replies:
Alex Yamato: I guess there are going to be words between the two of them in the future, eh?
Much more believable than canon in my opinion. Heck, I'm surprised the Black Knights didn't figure it out and crucify Lelouch, given the way Diethard skipped merrily along the dock. Goes to show how a culture glorifying honorable suicide can blind you I guess…..
What? It's just Shirley.
Sadly, I do need a good butt monkey. I was originally planning to save Kewell for that on the Britannian side, but then I came up with the Mabinogion, and well….yeah.
That sounds more like something you should write, but I guess I'll try and work one out.
I hate to say it, but I gotta vetoe the remotes. Not happening in Code Geass, sorry. Otherwise, sure!
Sadly…I completely forgot about them. Did I already send you the Bardiche? And the Beast Gundam should be along shortly, or sooner, if I can recover my train of thought...
Kojiro Kun: I research hard. And I gotta say, it is enjoyable to imagine how the 'grunts' will react. My favorite 'Mecha Mook' to watch reacting to the protagonists are the Leos from Gundam Wing…..ah, good times, good times.
….Well, I guess it's sort of like the 'annoying little, aloof big brother' relationship….
Yep. Not enough this time, but pretty good. Almost got him.
Very. See above.
Sorry for the long wait.
Just about. Like, keep the normal javelin head, but add like….shaped Chaos Grenades or standard HE packages just behind it.
Robby Cartwright: Does that mean I'm original? YES!
Invader Designia: Sadly, I'm now bored. Waiting until my mom's guild has raided the new stuff to the point where she can take a break to make characters with the rest of the family…..
Not for a few more chapters for…well, all of those.
00virtuezero: Not a bad idea. It frees up Kallen to do some other 'interesting' stuff. Hmm….I may want to add to the KOTR cast in that case….
Oooh, a nice concept….it may need some tweaking for some of the stuff ZAFT will have developed by then, but it's amazingly appropriate considering how I'm designing Stella's Gundam around the Wing Gundam…..whoops, spoiler….
Vvverry nice….(By the way, the linked GN Drives are called a Series-type) It's like an amped up version of the golden mobile armor/suit Corner showed up in (Forgot the name….)
I've been thinking about that…I may want to open it up with a big CB-EFSF mini-war going on….depends on how my S2 goes….
Mmmmmm….I don't think so….send it again?
Cyspark01: I think I made plans around here somewhere…..Though I may have discarded them….I believe they revolved turning the Guren into a 'very fast heavy assault' frame….
Seemed logical. Why have a tool and not use it? And it adds another layer of deception that serves as the Lamperouge's security.
Sorry for the wait.
Thorfaxdragonkin: Thank you for the compliments.
Knightmare Gundam of Ni