Code Geass: Enduring Retribution

Key:

[ ] - Sound Effects

" " - Regular Speech

' ' - Unheard Thoughts

" " - Emphasis / Radio Communication

" " - Amplified Speech / External Speakers / Public Address System (PA System)

Disclaimer - Code Geass is owned by Sunrise Inc.

Chapter VIII - Witches, Princes & Wars

Charles zi Britannia was, for all intensive purposes, in a suspicious mood.

For the past few months, the aging monarch had been receiving a rather peculiar series of reports from his division of finance ministers, their attention having focused mainly upon the seemingly unnatural, as well as irregular, patterns within the Empire's financial markets. Apparently, the Britannian stock market had been experiencing an enormous surge in the overall value of its national shares and bonds across the board, the prices and sales' returns of virtually every public Britannia company having reached, from a historical viewpoint, record high levels. Now, whilst, to the common eye, this sort of development may have been taken from a positive standpoint, both Charles and his ministers knew otherwise.

While commercial and fiscal growth typically served as the signs of an expanding economy, the currently accelerated rate of expansion was beginning to appear more and more alarming, dangerously so. Despite the advantages to an increase in market values, the hike in prices resulting in increased incomes for both companies and share - holders, the fact that many of said companies' shares' had attained highly inflated prices, amounts far higher than than they would otherwise be set at, acted as a definite warning of an all but impending financial meltdown. What made the entire situation worse, however, was the nature of the force driving these events.

In a meticulous, as well as grueling, process of investigation, one that, to Charles' annoyance, had allegedly taken the entirety of two months time, the Imperial Treasury had been able to track the massive array of purchases and trades having recently taken place within the market to a single titular company: The LAC.

Through a string of shell companies, dummy corporations and clandestine dealings, the LAC had engaged in a virtually unchecked spending spree, having acquired the equivalent of countless tens - of - millions in public shares and bonds, its targets ranging anywhere from women's fashion lines to ammunition suppliers. It didn't matter what was being sold, the LAC bought it. It didn't matter at what price the individual shares were set, the LAC bought it. And it didn't matter whether the company was proving to be successful or not, the LAC still bought it. To generalize, the LAC, contrary to all known forms of business, commercial and monetary logic, was simply getting its hands on anything it could, even if said stakes should prove to harbor no potential use.

The reasoning behind this strategy left both the Emperor and his advisor's in a confused state of mind. Why would the LAC do this, what purpose could it serve, what were its goals and, most intriguingly, where did its funding come from? While the LAC had shown a remarkable rate of extension since its public debut, one that still remained mired in controversy over the conglomerate's publicly anonymous CEO, the armaments manufacturer, by all professional accounts, simply could not, and should not, have had the necessary amounts of cash for the totality of its transactions. The company, through what could only be described as regularly ruinous actions, could only have been bleeding enormous amounts of money, endlessly purchasing ever more expensive shares, their prices continuously driven up by its own actions. The only fathomable way such a cycle could continue to endeavor was, to the general consensus of the Treasury, through the usage of vastly extensive loans, and yet no records of such credits could be found, neither towards the LAC or its subsidiaries. This unsolved mystery served only to deepen the already profound sense incomprehension among the monitors, a feeling which also pervaded the Emperor himself, causing him no small amount of ire.

'What is it that boy is trying to accomplish?' Charles thought, his mind focused upon the latest of many recently delivered fiscal reports, the endless lists of Treasury verified numbers and figures blankly staring him back in the face. He'd been personally scrutinizing the investigatory documents in question for the past several hours, his eyes searching for any specific patterns within the myriad of available data that may make their presence was inevitable then that, to Charles' satisfaction, several sequences began to emerge.

Although the LAC had apparently been carrying out purchases on a completely random unrelated nature, there were a variety of key industries upon which the corporation seemed to have had focused upon, including weapons assembly, armaments design, ammunition production, food distribution and, finally, construction.

"Construction?" The Emperor muttered, his left eyebrow arched as he re - read to himself the last of the LAC's, noted and rather aptly called, major activities.

"What are you mopping about now Charles?" Suddenly came the high - pitched voice of the Emperor's beloved, Marianne's raven locks flowing at her back, amusement in her tone. The 5th Empress Consort was currently donning a light blue nightgown, its color similar to that of her personal Knightmare, the Ganymede, as she flowed into Charle's personal study. The man had, in a rare turn of events, retired to his quarters at the Aries Villa instead of his usual imperial chambers, having grown tired of the stifling environment of the palace, not to mention how, despite outward appearances, it would enable him to enjoy a minimal amount of personal time with his favorite wife.

A similarly deep voice responded, "Empress Marianne, I'm surprised to see you still awake at this hour, what brings you to his Majesty's study?"

Marianne smiled as she responded towards the towering form of Bismarck, his figure standing at the Emperor's rightmost side, eyes hinting at comprehension, "Ah, so it seems that Charles brought you along as well. I was surprised when he'd failed to bring any baggages along with his escort, but then again he was never one for trips, weren't you dear?"

The man in question simply eyed the talking woman, his head lifting itself from its bent position so as to gaze into his consort's own, replying "You know me well Marianne, though I thought it prudent to bring Bismarck along, this information concerns us all."

Marianne's smiling facade fell slightly at her husband's somewhat serious tone, unsure of the problems potentially at hand. She then asked, "What is it that's troubling you Charles? And if this concerns our plans, why is V.V. not here?" The mentioning of the Emperor's older brother brought a frown upon Marianne's face, his being having remained a sore subject to the Empress, her anger and distrust towards the 'man' having far to go before even beginning to believe it would have a chance to leave her. The 'incident' of several months ago, despite its status - quo styled ending, remained fresh within her mind. She, to put things bluntly, refused to excuse the monster for his attempted crimes, finding solace only in the case that her son had, in fact, lived, beyond all expectations, all the while saving her in the process. But she was digressing. It remained that, despite her loathing towards the immortal, he still had to play a key role towards the initiation of Ragnarök, and so she therefore wondered about his absence.

It was Charles' powerful voice that brought Marianne out from her internal musings, his statement answering her previous inquiry of the boy blonde's absence, "It's because of Lelouch dear. Our son has been plotting something that is not in conjunction with our plans."

The raven haired woman's interest peeked at this latest statement, the mentioning of her eldest child intriguing her to no end. Since his supposed death and exile to Japan, the mother had not heard a word from her little boy, making any news of him a subject of great interest to her ears. Unfortunately, however, and to her dismay, her husband's attitude towards the topic seemed too dark to be the bearer of any good news.

Unperturbed by his wife's silence, the Emperor then continued, "Marianne, what is it you know of the LAC?"

Marianne simply starred at him in a prolonged silence for a moment, unsure of how to formulate a proper response to the unimposing question, before answering, "I'm afraid I can't help you too much on that sort of front Charles, Lelouch was never very open with his 'dealings' really. The only reason I even know of it was when I'd confronted him over his bank statements, when I forced him to explain were he'd been getting his money from, as I'm sure you remember."

The Emperor merely nodded in acquiescence before continuing in his explanation, stating how "Lelouch has proven to be far more active of late than he's been in the past. It would appear that our boy has been using the LAC to rapidly acquire major portions of the empire's more sensitive industries, specifically those pertaining to our military. He is preparing for something…"

Curious as to his majesty's commentary, the Knight of One questioned, "What is it you believe to be the 11th Prince's goal your Majesty?"

Charles merely sat upon his armchair, hand stroking his beard as he pondered in silent thought. Moments later, the man answered, eyes narrowed and vigilance in his tone, "I believe Lelouch has gotten wind of our plans. These moments of his are too well timed for them to be mere coincidence. He knows."

Marianne's eyes widened at her husband's words, alarm bells ringing throughout her mind. She queried, hints of anxiety lacing her voice, "Charles…Are you suggesting what it is I believe?"

The Emperor fixed his gaze into the Empress' own, unflinching as he answered, "Yes, it is so. I believe we will have to move up our timetable effective immediately, lest we let this son of mine cripple our efforts. He is clearly acting out of spite, therefore it is in our best interest to teach the boy a lesson."

Her love's harsh and unforgiving response did nothing to appease the violet eyed raven, as she weaved herself into the conversation once again, "And what of Lelouch, are you simply going to leave him there to fend for himself again? Charles, you know that he's more than just a tool, don't you?"

However Charles' resolve failed to waiver at his wife's, somewhat pleading, tone, his decision having since been made. He answered her yet again, voice flat and unworried, "The boy shall be fine dear, he is unable to die, you know that as well as I. As for leaving him there, I believe it would serve him well to learn just how fragile his position is. Once he has come to understand the implications of his actions, then you are free to retrieve him. But be warned, his existence to the outside world cannot be revealed, lest we compromise our position, is that understood?"

Marianne relaxed, but only slightly, at her husband's consent for her son's retrieval. She understood his reasoning, it was as solid as it was wise, though she still harbored reservations towards simply leaving Lelouch to survive in the middle of a war zone. Her son may have been as persistent as he was cunning but, immortal or not, the horrors of war was not something she wished to force upon him at such a young age. In a few years, more than likely, but one could only pray the young boy could be found before any lasting damage could come to his psyche. Such a prospect was not something she wished to face, despite Ragnarök. The plan shed lies and brought back the dead, it did not, however, heal minds. Still, wary of these possibilities, the Empress uttered a simple response, "Yes dear, but I better be given the chance to retrieve Lelouch at the earliest, that is non - negotiable, do I make myself clear Charles?"

His beloved's rather sharp tone of voice caught the aging ruler somewhat off guard, his eyelids snapping themselves open and shut in a series of rapid blinks as he verified if the woman's words had not been imagined. Having realized, however, that Marianne was simply glaring down upon him, a difficult task considering the rather blatant difference in height, despite his sitting down, the Emperor simply chuckled, amused as much as he was surprised, replying, "Of course not dear, of course not."

It was then that the stalwart Bismarck, so far unmoved, made his presence announced for the second time in the evening, "These matter set aside your Majesty, when is it you propose we launch the invasion?"

The remnants of a grin still etched across his face, the Emperor answered his loyal knight's question with one of his own, asking, "Bismarck, how many Knightmare Frames have the Ashford Foundation been able to produce at this point in time?"

Taking not but a second to come up with an answer, the goatee sporting knight replied, "The most recent reports state that the empire is now in possession of 230 Glasgows, your Majesty, a number that approximates to around 60 percent of the targeted completion."

Charles considered this information for several minutes, thinking over the possible implications of rushing Britannia's plans for war with Japan, before finally stating, "Such numbers will have to do. The O.S.I. informs me that Japan's forces dispose of nothing within their arsenal that could act as an effective counter to our Knightmares, therefore we shall retain a dominant technological edge over their troops. We may experiences slightly elevated losses for a time, however the time to strike should be a soon as possible before my wayward son decides himself upon opposing our plans and escalates these pointless conflicts. In any case, the Ashford Consortium shall continue to supply us throughout the conflict, so rest assured we will remain strong despite these loses."

Both Marianne and Bismarck subconsciously nodded at their liege's assessment, his reasoning being one of sound logic. However, the Knight of One's original question remained unanswered, so he questioned yet again, "This aside your Majesty, a date is still required of you. When is it you wish for the invasion to commence."

The Emperor grinned, a somewhat sadistic expression upon his face. He reached across his desk for the gold - inlaid intercom, pressing a single and titular red button, before speaking in a commanding tone, "Commence the operation."

An all but automatic response responded back towards the sovereign, "Yes, your Majesty!"

September 10th, 2010 A.T.B.

Blood. Fire. Pain. These words are best served to describe the sights and feelings Lelouch was currently experiencing as he awoke, his clothes charred and tattered from the deafening explosions that had shattered the pleasant nighttime tranquility of the Kururugi Shrine, his home of several months since exile.

"No…It's…too early." Came Lelouch's wheezed response, his lungs screaming for oxygen as he rose himself up from the crater in which he'd awoken, black smoke filling the air. In an agonizing and injured manner, the young Prince clawed his way back upon solid ground, the remnants of what had once been his room laying in discarded and burning heaps around him.

Lelouch had, much to his horror, gravely miscalculated. The situation in it of itself was, in a tragic way, a sick twist of irony. He'd been conspiring to extended the period of time between his arrival and the Britannian first strike, maybe even prevent it from occurring at all, by initiating a complete collapse of the Britannian Empire's economy, which was the real reason behind the LAC's otherwise illogical purchases. He'd planned, once a large enough amount of assets had fallen within his hands, to engage in a massive process of commercialized dumping, an action that would have instantly wiped out billions in revenue as share prices plummeted, bankrupting dozens of companies and annihilating millions of individuals' savings in the process, all the while utilizing the chaos to secure the actually valuable portions of the market, those associated with weaponry and armaments. It had been a well thought out plan, one he'd felt proud of. However, and much to his misfortune, it would seem that his efforts had, instead of postponing the attack, actually blown up within his own face, the invasion commencing a month ahead of its supposedly scheduled time, catching him completely off guard. The sheer rarity of such events brought him no small amount of ire. He, a boy abandoned once by his country, a son whom had once lost a mother, a revolutionary who'd united the world as one against the empire, an emperor who'd submitted said world under the proverbial boot, had been caught off guard. It was maddening. He'd always had countless sorts of emergency measures or contingency plans, and yet he'd failed to foresee such a possibility. He'd clearly underestimated his father's patience towards Britannia's acquisition of the "Land of the Rising Sun".

"This isn't good." Came Lelouch's muttered response, his eyes examining his battered form, taking notice of the 'clothes' and swathes of blood clinging to his skin. He'd most likely died, again, from the unexpected missile impact, a detail which failed to go unnoticed from the bombs in the past lifetime.

Making his way through the ruins of the Shrine, Lelouch noticed the presence, or lack - thereof, of any sort of military personnel or of the Kururugi family. Should they have survived, a fact which he believed to be true, considering the undamaged state of Japan's, soon to be ex, ruling family's living quarters. He also perceived them as having left not too long ago, considering the, still fresh, tracks of military grade combat boots and scattered civilian clothing. They'd most likely believed him to have died and then jumped ship, quickly shipped off to a safe - house of some kind in the countryside, a secure facility where the Japanese Prime Minister and his family would be safe for the time being. It didn't bother him too much, however, as it left him in the prime position to search the surrounding wreckage for any materials left behind which he could use for his upcoming journey.

While the earlier invasion had caught him off guard, Lelouch still had, much to his relief, a vast pool of resources left at his disposal throughout Japan. During the months as an 'honored guest' of the Nippon government, the violet eyed prince had aggressively pushed for the establishment of not only a localized LAC headquarters, but also two dozen manufacturing and development centers, within the northern portions of the Kinki region, rendering them close enough to Kyoto for rapid travel, yet far away enough so as to avoid the major areas of conflict, thereby minimizing the risks of collateral damage. However, it was not this area towards witch Lelouch was traveling. Instead, he would make his way to a small, concrete building not more than walk south of the shrine, a construct commonly known, at least in Japan, as a Lamperouge Public Defense Shelter, or LPDF.

The LPDFs were, by far, Lelouch greatest gift to the Japanese people, at least in this timeline. Despite initial troubles with the Japanese government, Lelouch had, though a series of carefully negotiated contracts, been able to purchase various parcels of land across the Japanese mainland, only then to launch the immediate building of the envisioned public shelters and marketing them to the general populace, announcing them as open to membership for no charge. In the days of his exile and manipulation of Britannian markets, large swathes of LAC funding had been poured into these defensive structures, veritable miniature fortresses in their own right. It was because of their erection that the LAC had so heavily invested into construction, agricultural and medicinal based trades alongside the typical sought after military ordnance, their roles and maintenance required a large influx of resources and capital.

The LPDFs were, to simplify, heavily armored bunker complexes, each individual unit covering the floor space of approximately 6000 square meters, a size comparable to that of most large office buildings. The structures themselves consisted of two distinct portions, the upper and lower levels.

On the upper, otherwise known as ground, level, the LPDFs possessed the appearance of a simple, albeit drab and modern, version of classical Vauban fortifications. At their outmost reach from the central lift stood a several meter thick concrete wall, its shape similar to that of a star. Upon these walls then stood several cylindrically shaped towers, not much higher than the walls themselves, with embrasures built into the sides. These towers housed a combination of large, computer automated anti - armor guns and anti - personal turrets whom, through the fortifications' relatively small sized and interlocking arcs of fire, made the structures highly resilient to enemy fire, as well as making them easily tenable by occupying forces. The entire design had been, at Lelouch's request, designed to maximize defensive capabilities in a limited amount of space, the entire focus being on the harbored civilian's safety.

The lower levels of the LPDFs, however, harbored the remainder of the complexes' necessary facilities. These included a small, underground warehouse, where both food and spare parts was kept, an ammunition dump, where the ground level guns resupplied through a built in conveyor system, a sakuradite fueled power station and a water purification plant. It also incorporated a medical bay, two gender specific public washrooms, a communal living area and 75 separate living quarters, each capable of accommodating up to 5 people, enabling the bunker's to house up to a maximum of 375 people, not withstanding on site LAC personnel, also known as Lamperouge Police Forces, or LPFs, whom inhabited the underground barracks. These troops had been created to act as both the LAC's and LPDF's internal surveillance and security forces, maintaining order within their respective posts, and were exclusively hired from a mix of Britannian and Japanese individuals so as to prevent any possibilities at racial violence should people of both groups seek common shelter. Their presence within the LPDFs were required so as to prevent chaos from erupting amongst fleeing refugees, as well as to insure the maintenance and protection of the fortresses' themselves.

Overall, it could be said that these constructs would act as temporary sanctuaries towards those victims of war, their carrying capacity being that of 6 months time, ensuring that, at the bare minimum, some lives could be saved. Unfortunately, however, the early outbreak of conflict had prevented many from reaching their final stages of construction, meaning not but a handful, around 16 of the planned 50, to be precise, had reached completion. In any case, it was the best Lelouch had been able to manage, and he remained grateful for them. His only task, for now, was to reach that closest near him, specifically tailored to include a single, extra room, his own.

'Now I just have to reach it.' Lelouch thought as he set out on foot, having to plow through, for the second time in his life, a war zone, a set of oversized clothes on his back and small knapsack upon his shoulder.

'At least Nunnally is safe.'

'Humans and their wars, how naive.' Thought an unfeeling C.C., her amber colored eyes starring blankly at her Glasgows internal screen, hands thumbing the machine's controls as she matched paced with Marianne's own purple colored Knightmare, a squad of APCs and tanks in between them.

It had been little over a week since the declaration of war between the Holy Britannian Empire and Japan and already the proud Nippon forces stood upon the verge of total annihilation. The newly developed Knightmare Frames, combined with the completely unexpected surprise attack by the overwhelming might of the Britannian military, had crippled the Japanese Defense Forces into nothing more than a relic of its former glory, its armies scattered, its navies sunk and its air force destroyed. The conquest of Japan, for all intensive purposes, was over. What remained of the enemy was, to be blunt, considered as nothing more than cleanup duty. It was this peculiar which, in fact, led C.C. to question her presence within the war torn nation.

"Why were you so adamant I come with you Marianne? You know very well how to handle yourself, so what purpose does my being her served exactly? There isn't even any pizza here, I would have much preferred to stay back at Aries." The witch spoke to her current contractor, the Empress, her tone neutral yet laced with annoyance.

Her radio burst alive as the woman in question responded, "Now now C.C., getting you out of the Villa will do wonders for your health, all you ever did was stay cooped up in your room with the chef bringing you all the pizza you wanted anyway. Why, you should probably be thanking met instead of complaining, don't you think? As a friend I'm sure you understand. And besides, we're here because I needed to pick up a certain someone anyways, not to mention that Charles wanted to have a word with him."

The immortal witch simply rolled her eyes at Marianne's remorseless teasing, having long ago learned to ignore the willful woman's jabs. She'd experience plenty of individuals with characters similar to that of the 11th Consort, so it would come as no surprise when C.C. simply ignored said taunts and simply continued, "And who is it exactly we are supposed to retrieve? Both you and Charles were rather mum on the subject and I don't exactly appreciate it."

An audible chuckle made itself known across the radio waves before Marianne yet again responded, "But what sort of contractor would I be if I don't have some fun at your expense now and then? And why the impatience, you have all the time in the world after all. In any case, it's a surprise, and I'm sure you'll have plenty of more to talk about once you figure it out."

C.C. simply let out an inaudible groan, frustrated at the raven haired woman's lack of cooperation. Centuries of experience or not, Marianne had an unnatural talent at getting under people's skin, herself included, much to her dismay. Not content with the Empresses' dodging, however, the green haired witch pressed on, her tone being more forceful in the hopes that her counterpart would finally give her a straight answer, "Marianne, are you really so childish as to be unable to grace me with a simple answer, or will you act in the ways an adult should?"

The lack of an immediate response brought a slight grin to the immortal's gentle features, a sense of satisfaction at her ability to finally silence, if only temporarily, the chatter - box Knight of Six. After several moments of tense silence, C.C.'s radio finally activated yet again, Marianne answering, "Oh fine, there's no winning with you and you probably would have figured it out anyways. The reason I brought you here is so that you can help me find Le…"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, one of the escorting imperial tanks became engulfed in an enormous explosion, its fuel tank rapturing and ammunition igniting in a Murphy's law style sequence, the starting point compliments of a Japanese RPG. It was almost immediately after that the surrounding roadside woods erupted in a mixture of both cannon and gunfire, remnant JDF forces violently peppering the oncoming Britannian convoy in an attempt to inflict a maximum amount of damage before eventually retreating back into cover.

"Ambush!" Came the panicked cry of the Britannian column's senior officer, the shacking in his voice distinctly audible despite the radio's incessant crackling, the realization that his forces had been ensnared and were being systematically wiped out by vengeful Nippon natives only furthering his sense of despair.

Meanwhile, Marianne, as cool as ever despite being under fire, quickly rallied her troops, barking out orders across the waves, "All soldiers fan out, do not let them focus fire upon a single point! Armor units are to engage the enemy infantry while ground forces are to eliminate the Japanese guns, do not let them destroy the APCs! C.C., your with me, we're going to destroy draw their fire and circle around them to cut off their retreat! Understood!?"

The typical reply of, "Yes, your Highness!", rang loud and clear across the battlefield, the Britannian forces recuperating from their temporary shock and executing their leader's orders in the most lethal and efficient of fashions. The opposing sides soon found themselves in a form of stalemate, Britannian weaponry and training making up for their earlier losses at the Japanese surprise attack, with each opponent suffering a steady flow of casualties. It was now down to a matter of who would break off first, the conclusion coming down to the fact on which side had the most men who remained in the fight.

for a time, following several intense minutes of combat, that the Britannian troops would prevail, their superior firepower gradually eroding and pushing back the initial ambushers, the Japanese line wavering. The larger anti - armor guns had all been destroyed, enabling the APCs to move around more freely, mowing down enemy infantry in a so far unprecedented manner. The skirmish seemed to be winding to its end, the empire's opponents slowly falling back, until a series of detonations raked the rightmost flank of Marianne's forces, effectively crippling the pincer maneuver she'd been trying to accomplish.

"Of all the times reinforcements had to arrive!" Marianne growled out, her eyes focused upon the Glasgows sensors whom had picked up an oncoming squadron of tanks, their heavy - duty guns bearing down upon both herself and C.C., intent on eliminating the Knightmares that had played a key role in their country's downfall. As he Empress moved to evade the oncoming fire, she realized her accomplice's dangerously exposed position, noticing only moments to late at the fate that awaited the witch.

"C.C. watch out!" She screeched over the radio.

The last thing C.C. saw was the unmistakable shape of a tank shell, the world turning a bright white as the ensuing explosion incinerated her machine's cockpit, along with herself, and then fading to black.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, though I do hope this chapter fulfills your current needs. Feel free to comment or review, mention likes and dislikes, or anything else you might have believed. No matter the case, hope you enjoy, and until next time!