Chapter Twenty: The Guns of Hokkaido

Arc Five: Rebirth

Opening: "Sometimes the brave man" - ROOT FIVE

Suzaku barely heard Lelouch's last whisper, hoarse and shallow for a lack of air, before an all consuming whistling noise filled the air, followed by impossibly loud bangs above his head, crackling in rhythmic tunes like Gods firecrackers. The explosions of light and fierce noise filled his skull with stunning static, as his eardrums nearly burst. He hit the floor, collapsing under the shaking stadium as Lelouch's dead weight fell on top of him. He peeked over his shoulder, seeing Lelouch's pained yet closed face, and catching glimpses of the roof of the arena falling.

Spitting into the dark floor as a second barrage of artillery hit, this time directly in the centre stadium straight in front of Suzaku, who watched as the explosive batteries tore detonated in high pitched screams and blinding light, tearing chunks through nearby Knightmares seeking cover. Putting a hand over his face, Suzaku propped himself up on his right knee, motivated by a single thought as he balanced Lelouch, now fully limp, on his back.

'Can't stay here.'

Pushing off with his left leg, he stood up, back arched as he bore the dying Britannian Prince forward through the shrapnel, flinging by his overwhelmed ears in pops and shallow bangs as he trudged forward through the chaos. The end of the second artillery barrage gave little respite beyond a clear view ahead for a brief moment, a display of body parts at odd resting places, far away from their owners and hosts, whose inner organs seemed to have become one with the battered soil, sprayed finely as if carefully filtered by a master gardener hoping to cultivate fine soil, except one that made the bizarre decision to use intestines and blood as fertilisers. There was not a single living soul on that newly harvested field.

With that grim image painted in Suzaku's brain forever, the shelling resumed. This all reminded him too much of the day at the sea, too much. He moved on, hauling himself by strained thighs past the explosions he had grown numb to that ate at the superstructure. At this point, all he needed was cover.

Following the eternal wait for the third barrage to conclude, by which time his ears had been shattered and all he could hear was white noise, he raised his arm, still in its cast amazingly, before seeking a path through the bleachers and out the side entrance, waddling under Lelouch's mass, which seemed to grow a kilogram for every step forward. He didn't check himself for wounds as he entered the open hallway out of the East side of the stadium, determined to not lose what little momentum he had.

The light ahead was blinding, the sun just low enough over the ocean ahead to block his vision of what was in all likelihood more destruction. Then, suddenly, a black line interrupted the yellow beam, before growing, as Suzaku realised it was a man, running towards them, shouting indecipherable words, before Suzaku's legs finally gave way under his own weight. He fell aside, Lelouch's body bearing the brunt of the impact as the man grabbed him by the shoulders and turned Suzaku by the torso to face him. As the glare fell away, he saw it was the Knight, Guilford, in the height of emotion.

"Lelouch…"

Lelouch grunted, apparently having returned to consciousness. Whether this was good or bad was beyond Suzaku's limited imagination, given his shallow, hurried breathing and look of indescribable pain. Nonetheless, a true Knight, he asked "What happened to Euphemia?", very obviously torn up about losing his charge on the first event they were out.

"Safe- as any 'us…" Lelouch struggled, pointing doggedly back towards the room they met in. Suzaku understood what he meant to be that she was safe in the secure room designed to withstand the pressure. Lelouch and himself only left to seek medical help.

Guilford, with some hesitation, finally nodded, likely believing that Lelouch would have an emotional responsibility to ensure Euphemia was safe. While this was naïve on Guilford's part, if there was ever an example where Lelouch would care for people outside himself, it was Nunnally and Euphemia.

"We need to stop the artillery." Suzaku yelled as the fourth barrage began. Guilford nodded, taking Lelouch's angry weight as they hobbled towards what appeared to Suzaku to be a budget command centre, however he didn't comment as they hauled Lelouch aboard by a inner stairwell that opened up in its hull, swallowing them up to safety. They were hurried to the Central Command room, as Lelouch was taken from out of their arms and put in the cradling embrace of a comfortable chair and a pair of medics.

"Where's Zero?" Suzaku wheezed, freshly relieved, from Lelouch's weight and now worrying about more important things. Guilford answered quickly with "He ran out with the Black Knights covering, he's working with an advance group of what appears to be the Chinese Armed Forces."

"She." Lelouch hacked out in a fit of bloody coughs, however while his note was observed, it was not responded to as Guilford explained further "It appears they made an advanced landing in Hokkaido, abetted by the Black Knights who then went south and caught us with long range artillery."

Turning to his most senior subordinate, which given the strained chain of command it took Guilford a moment to work out who it was, he ordered "Launch long range soft missiles at the artillery bases to cover our launch. You have command."

Suzaku paused, before realising what was happening and stopping the bespectacled Knight by the arm and demanding "What are you doing?"

It was Guilford's turn to pause, as he visibly realised Suzaku, as what was technically a foreign dignitary, was not within his jurisdiction to command. Realising he'd have to explain himself, he sighed and spoke firmly "I will get Euphemia out, as is my duty. Don't worry, I'll be back in a moment."

"Uncon… but fie…" Lelouch struggled, to which Guilford nodded in thanks before finally departing. As he ventured back out, the Britannian officers exchanged uncertain looks, their logic obvious. While they were uncertain about Suzaku, they trusted Euphemia, who trusted both Guilford and Lelouch, both Brits, who trusted Suzaku to some degree or another. Still, they performed their orders with diligence, spraying rockets up in bright arcs, blazing trails thrice their fuselage lengths as they hit the ground and exploded like water balloons of fire, wreaking havoc on the exposed big guns.

With the artillery stopping to recover itself, Suzaku watched from above as Guilford ran from cover to cover and into the arena to recover Euphemia. Satisfied, he looked back to Lelouch, who looked more than a little angry on top of his near mortal wounds while being crawled over by the two doctors, tried to sit up in his chair as he hissed "Statu- chhack"

Suzaku wasn't sure how to interpret the last series of chokes and noises, however on behalf of his struggling colleague he asked "What's the status of combat?"

"There are several armoured Battalions currently engaged by a combination of Chinese and Black Knights forces."

"Spe... cif-clly.."

Somewhat put off by being instructed by a man with more hole than chest, the man in the front responded slowly "It… it appears the brunt of the fighting is in Ibaraki, with a late thrust by a second Black Knight Division in Chiba, a flank."

Now watching Lelouch carefully, Suzaku noted his focused eyes taking pains notes of the map in between winces. Lelouch was either on to something, or up to something. Perhaps both. Nonetheless, he spoke again, voice harsh like Brian Blessed after a fourth pint. "Diversion… reserve unit to Na-"

Lelouch broke into a fit of coughs before finishing "Nagano.", pointing towards the Western Province that was not seeing combat. "There.". Suzaku's eyes narrowed, as a staffer expressed concern "Our Sakuradite reserves are low, we can hardly mobilise as is. We can't send our Knightmares around on a hunch. Your strikes have sent our stocks to next to nothing, are you-"

"I know. I did it." Lelouch snarled, voice suddenly nasally, as his makeshift surgeons temporarily patched him. "But I also know Zero, and she is no chess player. Her flank… it is her plan."

Suzaku understood his friend was having serious trouble speaking, but even so, he was dubious. His words made little sense, beyond their most basic interpretation. Apparently, from what Lelouch knew of Zero, which was in itself cast into doubt by how severely the plan had backfired, it seemed to him obvious Zero would begin a pincer movement from the North West.

"I'm sorry, we can't."

Lelouch, both furious and in agony, swore several expletives shades beyond even his usual tinted language. He moved about in his chair so much that the first doctor on hand attempted to restrain him, however he calmed and said to Suzaku "Where's Ohgi?" in a mix of splutters and pauses.

Suzaku paused. Ohgi was in charge of their defence forces, and had been training Knightmare Pilots for the guts of two weeks. The GN 102's they had designed with Reuben then later committed major fraud with were designed to be simple and easy to learn, with oodles of torque and foolproof controls, and if there ever was an instance to use them, this was it.

Furthermore, with regards to Ohgi, he distinctly recalled Lelouch mention that, without his presence, it had been determined that they answered to the Prime Minister, or him. For a brief moment, Suzaku despised Lelouch for giving him that trigger. He understood why he had gone behind his back; Lelouch had likely thought that Suzaku would oppose the move on the simple basis that Suzaku hated armies. Suzaku did indeed hate armies, but countries did need them. He'd rather not be involved, and they needed to be performed ethically, but in handing off this disaster to Suzaku, the Prime Minister could hardly help but hate the man bleeding into the chair. Not for lying, but for abandoning him with the keys to the car as it flew off the cliff.

Scowling, he pulled out his phone and scowled at it, as if his the solution to his angst might be found in it, all the while well aware Lelouch was staring at his back, likely disappointed.

At least they shared that; disappointment. Sighing, he lifted his phone and selected the second number on speed dial slowly, as if signing his own death warrant.

"Ohgi?"

"Suzaku! Praise, I couldn't get through. The Black Knights are on us, we're in the storage centres. We'll get going on your call!"

After a moment's final hesitation, Suzaku hopped off the cliff and replied "Clear them out of the streets, and then be ready to act on further orders. We have intel towards attacks from the North West."

After an affirmation from Ohgi, Suzaku hung up and put him onto the general Britannian comm, before sitting in a side chair. If he was going to lead Japan, he knew he had to get over himself, and he had every intention of doing so, however this realisation that his convictions and ambitions towards peaceful revolution had been shattered by the realpolitik of forces outside his control made him furious, and, with Lelouch bleeding out onto the seat next to him, he had his moral punching bag.

He would get Zero, and he would see her hanged.

With the reserves of Sakuradite and an eager militia, motivated by the immediate and real military threat as opposed to a long drawn out occupation, the new army burst out of the gate at just past one, having rallied to Ohgi's summons by the stroke of one. They caught the Black Knights completely by surprise, who assumed they had the Britannians on the ropes and that the Provisional Government were all politicians with no trousers, and so they proceeded through the ghettos with little caution.

They paid for this grievous error, for as soon as the Republican Army roused itself, they were caught completely by surprise. Springing up simultaneously at strategic points throughout the ghetto, they set upon the Knightmare formations of the Black Knights from all sides in small groups of light, agile Frames numbering between 2 and 4, wreaking havoc in their communication lines and infantry support with surprise strikes over a wide area within a matter of moments.

Which, Ohgi supposed, was to be expected when one put a former terrorist leader in charge of a small military force. It struck him as noteworthy that the Black Knights positioned themselves very conventionally, cautiously advancing up a front with little depth. This was good for keeping track of front lines, which was why it was employed on strategic levels, however it was predictable. His hypothesis largely revolved around the idea that perhaps Zero was otherwise engaged, and the Chinese would thus be directing the combat. Perhaps they were saving their master strike for the flank Suzaku was warning about.

Ohgi chuckled darkly. The legitimate military were fighting like terrorists, and the terrorists were fighting like a legitimate army. He could envision in his mind's eye the depth and ferocity of Suzaku's scowl at that fact.

This was one issue that Ohgi found himself more in agreement with Lelouch; Suzaku was far too caught up in appearances and vague ideas to fully appreciate policy, however Lelouch's near sociopathy was not exactly ideal. In many ways, Ohgi was a balancing act, a pragmatic, yet empathetic moderate, perfect for a delicate position such as commander of the military.

That unfortunate challenge aside, Ohgi's strategy of defence in depth with surprise strikes and superior initiative paying dividends as they confused and eventually encircled the opposition, forcing them to capitulate with little decisive combat due to their swift disruption of logistical lines. Ohgi left a small detachment to sort out the captured terrorists, appearing mightily disgruntled as they stepped down from their Knightmares to surrender, before taking the bulk of his force and marching towards Nagano on Suzaku's continued orders.

"Lelouch is insisting they're planning a flank. Engage them from the front and wait for reinforcements."

Ohgi affirmed his confirmation, before throttling up to a cruise and thinking. Lelouch being the brains behind strategy, particularly given the framing Suzaku presented, was not unusual in and of itself, but the way in which Suzaku expressed it, an unknowing vessel that was communicating Lelouch's ideas without understanding why concerned him. While the three of them had gone out of their way to ensure a separation of powers, Lelouch's domineering personality remained a constant presence.

Still, he had been the first to concede the need for such a government, and had been policy oriented from the beginning. Lelouch was not his father, and Ohgi felt bad for thinking of the pair in similar lights.

Lelouch was not a bad person.

"Ohgi, you're close, you're… a few hundred meters, entrench."

The Minister nodded, ordering his troops to hunker down and take fortified positions. He was in one of the rear Knightmares, and filed up behind a pair taking cover in a ruined brick building.

"They won't be expecting any resistance until they reach the city, but surprise requires you to strike as soon as you can."

"ETA?"

Ohgi overheard Suzaku confer with a concerningly distressed Lelouch, before worrying about Lelouch and the extent of his gunshot wound. Nonetheless, Suzaku hurriedly responded "Any second now, arms ready."

Ohgi relayed this order, and his team of Frames aimed their autocannons up the small hill, using it to hide in anticipation of the whirring engines that began to ramp up in volume. The cannons were light, and didn't have the punch or the rate of fire of the Luminous based cannons, but with angling they would do plenty of work against the mediocre armour. Sometimes, excesses of technology simply didn't bring the worthwhile advantages.

The first of the Black Knights' Knightmare crested the hill, and the entire entrenched force opened fire. Aiming for the normally obscured lower glacis, which were sparsely armoured to save weight and now front and centre due to being slightly below it, the 30mm cannon tore through the underplates of the opposing Frames with ease. After the first dozen fell to the surprise attack from the trough, the flow stopped, and Ohgi reported the engagement.

The sounds of triumph and smugness erupted on the far end of the radio, before an exasperated Suzaku explained "We were right. Push your advantage now they're disorganised, you'll be relieved soon."

Ohgi acted on these orders immediately, mounting the crest and pushing forwards, using speed and maneuverability to deny the enemy the ability to counterattack effectively as they pushed north through the stone hills and fields of grass. After several hours of light fighting at range against disorganized foes, they were met at Fukushima several miles into the push by heavier, Britannian armour that could tank more damage to take over the brunt of the attack. With the modified Sutherlands at the head, the last few fortifications by the Hokkaido straits had fallen by sundown, and the white flag was raised from the naval forces that had organized the opposition forces, now trapped. It was a credit to the initiative and communication between two different forces fighting a third party, as well as an ability to maintain superior intelligence and awareness in chaotic circumstances.

Ohgi sat in his Knightmare, cockpit propped open as the prisoners were marched out of the fortifications. Though the initial chaos had limited their knowledge of what was happening, by this time most of what had gone on had become clear. The Black Knights had coordinated with the Chinese Federation to use the meeting as a distraction to achieve a military victory. While it was a good plan on their part, it was foiled by Lelouch's foresight and the Provisional Government's preparations. Now, the Black Knights were seen to have been negotiating in bad faith, they would not be allowed back into negotiations. Now, the Britannians were negotiating exclusively with the Provisional Government, who could now set the agenda.

With the exception of Lelouch getting shot and nearly dying, it could hardly have gone better for the new Government. Now, the Britannians would be obligated to resume talks, however it would just be them and the Japanese politicians, a more even playing field, and one that would not have to accommodate terrorists.

Suzaku, having sorted out a proper surgeon for Lelouch, stood on the ground beside Ohgi, surveying the line with narrow, angry eyes. Looking down from his leather seat, Ohgi saw a ferocity and bitterness in Suzaku's eyes. From the privacy of his Knightmare cockpit, his face hidden from the Prime Minister by seven inches of reinforced glass, Ohgi shook his head at his colleagues display of emotion. The Defence Minister was himself conflicted, having seen in Lelouch's relationship with Rivalz, among others, what could happen when one tunnel visioned, however he felt that Suzaku had taken this too far, getting caught up in flights of romanticised emotion.

Certainly, it was better than the tunnel vision his father had experienced.

Suddenly, just as Ohgi focused on his Prime Minister more out of curiosity, he saw the teens eyes light up in surprise, before he leapt forward wholesale. Ohgi only stood to shout "Stop!" by the time Suzaku had reached the grim marching line, such was his colleagues speed, as the teen grabbed a woman out of the crowd, red hair and Britannian skin tone. Suzaku pulled her out, and holding her by the neck, angrily shouted out at the captured Black Knight, who Ohgi suddenly recognised.

"YOU!"

And thus, we arrive at the end of the penultimate Arc of R1, and in this chapter the stage is set for our characters to reap the fruits of their labours. However, as they are divided by differing goals, ideology and emotion, can they coordinate and work together against Britannia's greatest weapon; the diplomat? Of course, this new arena seems tailor made for our scheming head of the Exchequer, however his wound will mean he's stuck at home while his protégés go to bat for their freedom.

In terms of this Chapter, while I attempted to insert some action and combat, I have long come to terms with the fact it is not my realm of literary expertise. On a practical level, I tried to set out Lelouch and Kallen's plan as best I could from the point of view of other characters. With this, we can gain a full appreciation for the scenario in which the Provisional Government's delegation will find themselves when meeting alone with the Britannians; as being far more equal in status than terrorists could ever be. And so, we now conclude Arc 5, and move on to the sixth Arc, Definitions Of Freedom, beginning with Chapter 21, Just Like You Do, after a brief flashback to elaborate on what just happened. Until then, be safe, have a backup plan, and please rate and review!

~Eth0