Code Light Chapter 12: Tower Defense
Lelouch-as-Zero sat in the center of the couch inside of his new headquarters. He'd readied the transport as well as uniforms, he would soon announce the Black Knight's grand debut on the world stage. It was time they were seen as an organized movement instead of a shambolic group of terrorists. The time approached and he watched Ohgi, Kallen, Tamaki and the others arrive. Their shocked faces were amusing, they still hadn't realized how much power he held. He pressed a button to open the doors and the members of the resistance walked in.
"Woah! Get a look at this place will ya? Zero's the man!" Tamaki was the most expressive of the group, his restraint equaled that of an impulsive child.
"Where did you get this?" Ohgi asked in awe
"A nobleman saw fit to give it to me. No strings attached." Ohgi and Kallen looked at him, but Tamaki had moved on to the TV.
"Look at this! We'll be like kings even before be free Japan!" He turned on the tv, where a news channel was playing.
"...you can clearly see Chairman James, as well as several students." Lelouch stared at the screen and saw Milly, Nina, Shirley and Light. A hoteljacking, it would be perfect to announce the resistance group to the world, if he could pull it off. No he would be able to pull it off. He was still deciding what to do when he received a call from Rivalz. He ignored the call, he had things to do. In any case Light was there and he could use whatever power he had mysteriously gained. That was another thing he needed to accomplish soon, as soon as Light returned he would need to investigate the power he had gained. Lelouch pondered how he would uncover the abilities without provoking Light until there was a knock on the door. A knock on the door? The whole trailer became frantic. Looking on the monitors, he saw a woman with beads entwined into her brown hair. Behind her were the strange knighmare frames.
"Calm yourselves!" Lelouch commanded. He strode to the door wondering why they had come to him.
"Oh Light, looks like things are getting pretty screwed up, eh?" Ryuk chuckled looking around the crowd. Light continued to evaluate the situation. The hotel-jackers were from the Japanese Liberation Front, so Light had kept down to keep from a confrontation. Though he'd not been able to hear any of their demands, he assumed they would try to negotiate for something with the hostages. As for the direct room, there were two guards on either side of the room armed with assault rifles. A physical confrontation would be futile and usage of the Death Note was prohibited by the many eyes he was surrounded by, as well as the fact he did not know the names of the men. If there had only been one guard he could have used his geass, but with four others would see it as too much of a coincidence.
"So whatcha gonna do Light?" The shinigami asked. He didn't seem as excited as several moments ago. "Come on this is a great moment! Have the guards all shoot each other, or jump off the building." Apparently the foolish creature didn't understand patience and when he crossed Light's vision, he was given a cold stare. Ryuk was getting fidgety and it was not a good sign. He'd never been like this before, how long had it been since he'd last had an apple? It was just this morning. Light recalled. So it wasn't the symptoms of withdrawal, he would need to get out of this situation before he searched for further answers. He couldn't use his Wabisuke on all four guards, but he could use it on a Brittanian as a distraction. It would only manifest strongly in those entitled to punishment, so no undeserving would be harmed.
Though one cannot judge by appearance, informed guesses could be made. Since all Brittanians lived with their dominance over the Japanese there was not a sinless one among them, but Light saw a man still wearing a face of contempt despite his predicament. Slowly and nearly imperceptibly he made his way over to the man, placing his hand on his back.
"Repent"
Minase was the one who knocked on the door. She was the piece he was most willing to give up, Matsuda was a better pilot and Aizawa was more useful... in nearly every regard. Actually every regard, except for being affable which he had no need of. Zero opened the door, unarmed. He supposed it was a reasonable move to make, he could have destroyed the trailer easily, although that in itself was another mistake Zero had made. Minase presented herself as planned.
"I am Mutsuki Minase, it is a pleasure to meet you Zero. I have come to offer you my services and of my fellows into the Black Knights." L wished he could have examined Zero's face, but the slight tensing of the body would have to do. It was a gamble, but for one obsessed with justice and chess, who always played as black, it wasn't to far fetched as to what they would call themselves. As for the results, Lelouch if he was Zero, would consider them a considerable asset. Minase also had worded the phrase so that it would not seem as if L himself was the leader. He needed to be less obvious then that, which is why he had one the handy face-altering masks.
"Why should I trust those who merely appear on my doorstep?" He spread his arms apart in a flamboyant gesture. He was using this as a show to impress his minions, he had already made his decision. L had expected him to respond thusly.
"We have saved your life at Saitama, as well saving you grief in times you consequently did not notice. As well as if we truly wished to harm you, you would have been dead already." Minase spoke the words with little hesitation. However, little hesitation is vastly different from no hesitation and Zero was a perceptive man.
"One who speaks the truth does not speak so unnaturally as you do." He declared. A small slit in his helmet opened to a purple eye as he spoke "You shall tell me the truth from now on." The visor closed and Minase looked dazed. L became worried. He muttered to Matsuda
"Train your weapon on Minase. Something suspicious is going on." Matsuda started to stammer incomprehensibly.
"Tell me, are you the leader of the knightmares behind you?" The man in black commanded. Minase's answer worried L.
"No."
"Then tell me, who is your leader?"
One solitary bullet flew, bursting through Minase's chest and landing at Zero's feet. Small flecks of blood spattered the front of his sleek black shoes as she crumpled down. L was sure Matsuda was yelling at him through the muted com link, while Aizawa let his hatred grow. Zero was taken aback, presumably staring at the corpse through his mask. Still he held up his hand as the followers who were not gaping in horror readied their weapons.
"Why would you kill one of your own people?" There was a passionate fury in his voice. How ironic, considering how he also would have sacrificed a unit to save his own skin if L hadn't intervened. "You say you wish to join us, but are you really..." L would not let him continue to talk like this.
"Does this mean you would be fine with your own identity being revealed, so long as it saved a soldiers life?" L asked in his deadpan voice. "You would not. Zero, I too wish for my identity to be known by as few people as possible." Zero considered this and then the corpse.
"It is clear that you do not wish to kill me, however after this incident you could never be fully accepted into the Black Knights."
"You will still accept us." There was a silence stained with contempt for a moment.
"Yes we shall." There were shocked looks among most of the resistance members, save the two that stood nearest to Zero. One was Kallen Stadtfeld, or Kozuki who was half-Japanese. She was Zero's ace pilot. The other was the old leader of the resistance group, Kaname Ohgi. L would have to watch these two carefully. Zero turned to go inside and spoke again. "Come inside, there is business we need to mobilize for immediately."
Lelouch couldn't believe what was happening. On one hand the mysterious owners of the knightmare frames delivered themselves to him and subsequently proven themselves to be ruthless. Killing one of their own like that? There was no need to sacrifice a valuable piece when you were not in immediate danger. Lelouch thought about it, he was willing to kill to keep his identity a secret. That must mean that he was well known, if his identity would be easily recognizable. Lelouch dismissed the initial notion that it was Light however, the speaker seemed rather bored with the situation even after having the Mitsuki girl killed. Light, although detached, spoke in a matter-of-fact voice as well as the fact he was currently in the Kawaguchi Hotel. There were too many things for him to do and too few people he could trust with the situation. He waited on the couch with the floor plans for the building spread out waiting for the newest 'recruits' to join in.
His jaw dropped in his mask once again as they entered wearing the standard uniform for the Black Knights he had yet to give out. How had they managed it, not only gathering the clothes from the Black Knights, but also the name he'd never spoken aloud before! If they truly wished to submit to him, it would be a joyous day indeed but things never went that well. They were plotting something.
"If I may not have your real name, would you at least inform me of what I may call you?" The one in back spoke up, he stood shoulders slightly down. He seemed to be one who was constantly hunched over and now only stood for a small formality.
"You may call me Ryuzaki." He still spoke in the same uninterested manner. He hopped onto the couch in a strange crouching position. Lelouch noticed he wore no shoes, why was that familiar?
"Do you have a plan or do you plan to stare at my feet all day?" Lelouch was beginning to lose his patience. There wasn't even a hint of sarcasm in his voice, it was as if he seriously believed that Lelouch would continue staring at his feet if he didn't prod him along.
"Here's the plan, first we capture a news-van..."
The man made soft choking sounds at first, giving Light time to shuffle back towards the students from Ashford Academy. One of the guards shouted
"Shut up you Brittanian pig!" The man began to wail
"I'm sorry, I didn't want it to end up like this!" Everything after that was more or less incoherent and the man stood up. The guards were unsure of what they were to do and stayed their weapons for several moments more, but as the man made his way towards the exit they fired. The ensuing chaos had everyone screaming and ducking their heads as the guards tried to silence the crowd. After scooting to the edge of the pack, he whispered
"Repent." The man seemed rather horrified. Terrorists were terrorists, even when for a righteous cause, Light supposed. The guard fumbled with the trigger, giving Light time to dive back into the huddled crowd before he shot himself. For some strange reason his death actually caused the room to still instead of more frantic behavior as Light had hoped for. A young bespectacled woman with pink hair stood up amongst the chaos.
"I am Euphimia li Brittania and you must stop this at once!" She removed her glasses and let down her hair and the people in the room gasped. Oh no way. There was no way people didn't recognize her before, she was wearing a pair of glasses! Light stood stunned at the shock of the people as Euphimia continued on her little tirade. "I demand you stop this bloodshed and take me to your leader!" The three remaining guards looked at each other and then to her and then back at each other. They reached a wordless consensus that a princess was worth more than the whole roomful of hostages and two of the guards escorted her out.
"Oohoohoo." Ryuk looked pleased. "That was a nice show. But there's still one left." Light debated wether to wait or to act. He picked a small handgun off of the corpse and shot the remaining guard in each arm, who fainted quickly thereafter.
"Wait here." He ordered the hostages. Milly and Shirley were gaping at him, but he could reconcile that later. Survival was a priority.
"You are..."
"Zero, there's a problem out here." Lelouch nearly hit himself. He was in the middle of a dramatic speech to Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe. Why did he leave the blasted thing on?
"There are two dead guards and a dead hostage in the room. They're all quaking in their fancy boots." Oh yes, that's why. In case of complications such as this.
"It seems as if there are several intruders, not belonging to either of us." he stated temporarily turning his attention back to the JLF before uttering more commands "Rescue the hostages as planned first. Then sweep the area, I want those responsible captured, alive if possible, but don't risk your own life." There needed to a change of pace, four gunshots rang out in the hallway and there was a familiar scream. He still had about half of the gunmen looking his way
"Die!" he commanded.
L was an incredibly poor shot with guns, his preference being close quarter combat. Still it seemed Light had no intention of shooting him as he rounded the corner. Light Yagami, son of Soichiro Yagami. Intelligent and attended the same school as Lelouch, despite being Japanese.
Moments prior, two of the JLF guards rounded the corner with Euphimia li Brittania. She must have been disguised as a tourist and recent events forced here to reveal herself. It was likely that it was due to the gunshots earlier, she was an incredibly idealistic youth and detested unnecessary violence. Light had stealthily rounded the corner and loosed four bullets, two at each guard. He was a good marksman, but he was no top gun. Although one bullet did hit each target, the guard on L's left only took a hit to the lung. He was out, but definitely still alive, even though Light had shot to kill. One stray bullet embedded itself in a wall while the last managed to hit Euphimia's hand, who cried out in pain.
This said a lot about Light, despite being a hostage he still took action. He had guts, as well as the skill to go with it. However skill in combat was not his primary focus. That meant Light either dabbled in many things or was extremely quick on his feet. Then there was the fact he shot to kill. There was no mercy in his eyes, they were the eyes that felt as if they had every right to take another's life if it was suitable. L chuckled on the inside, not too long ago he chastised Lelouch for not being ready to kill.
Still he needed to be ready to take action should Light prove to be hostile. His mask was that of a Japanese man, facial structure similar to his own, but thinner. He made an attempt to read Light's motives.
"Kusakabe is in that room. I shall tend to the princess."
"I appreciate it. Good day." Light reloaded as he headed for the door. As he stepped by L they noticed a glint in the other's eyes. There was an equivalence about it. L who never found one intelligent to match his own wits, found that this ruthless character might be a worthy contender. L smiled a true smile for one of the few times in his life and went to care for Euphimia.
Lelouch stood still towards one end of the room, with all but four dead, including the lieutenant-colonel. Light unleashed a bullet for each, doubling back to his second and third targets which he had hit in non-vital areas. Blood and brains spattered the walls.
"You!" Lelouch cried. Light grinned. He aimed the gun at Lelouch and pulled the trigger, laughing. He then tossed the gun onto the nearby chair. Ryuk also laughing maniacally, flipping in circles midair.
"You flinched Lamperouge. I thought the great Zero could at least count to six." He knew he should remain in better control of himself, but sometimes he saw what Ryuk found so amusing with the world.
"I figured you would have found out." Light could tell he spoke with gritted teeth.
"Of course I found out. It is not too difficult a puzzle to piece together." Light fell back into his normal, emotionless yet condescending voice.
"And your Geass?" Brave enough to ask? Well, Light had made it clear he wouldn't kill him it was still an audacious question for one in his position.
"I found out your geass, the power of absolute obedience, without any hints at all. Then again you did use your geass on me." Light paused and let Lelouch recall the mess that had been made of his attackers.
"I'll decline." he began to walk towards the exit "That scream belonged to Euphimia. Is she still alive?" There was a softness in his voice. He needed to remind himself never to get as attached to people as Lelouch did.
"You care for your half-sister so much? Do such courtesies extend to Cornelia?" Light smiled as Lelouch stalked off. Standing with only Ryuk in the dark blood-spattered room he reflected.
"Ryuk, I really need to do more training. I am not nearly as good a shot as I imagined."
Author's Note
BAHH! I AM IMPATIENT! Read these three chapters! Just remember that means I'm not technically behind until I forget to post a chapter on the 26th.