"Will all our sins be justified?" Within Temptation – Hands of Sorrow
"It's this way." Zero said as he guided the Eleven resistance members to Lelouch's base.
"Is Zero there waiting for us?" Ohgi asked as they were walking.
"Yeah he's there." Zero said. "I think he's planning on joining up with you guys. Then again, I have no idea what that man is thinking. Just follow me; we'll all find out when we get there."
Zero led the entire resistance movement under the cover of darkness from the underground tunnels. Zero knew for a fact that Lelouch was now serious on making the small numbers of Elevens into an army that could resist their oppressors.
I still wonder how Lelouch is planning on doing that. Physically they're all in great condition and are more than combat suited. It's our weaponry. Even with the stuff we stole from that supply depot, it's not enough to launch a sufficient battle. We need Knightmares.
Zero's thought was cut short when he heard a series of metal objects hit the floor. Kionue had dropped the crate full of guns she was carrying.
"Hey watch it!" Zero shouted.
"I'm so sorry." She said.
Zero simply sighed. He went over to where she had dropped the guns and began to pick each one of them up. He put them back in the box and picked it up himself.
"I'll carry this." He said.
"I'm so sorry…" She continued. "We've just been carrying this stuff for hours now."
"Don't feel apologetic." He said. "Carry something you can handle and get back to work."
"Damn right!" Tamaki shouted. "Where did you get all of this shit from Red Knight!? Guns. Medical equipment. Even a couple Sutherlands!"
He didn't answer…but Zero knew. This was all the backup equipment they had from that supply depot Zero ransacked when Lelouch first made his appearance as Zero. They had decided to move the equipment closer to the command center that Lelouch had set up now to manage it.
Eventually they came to a large cave. Inside of it, they saw an extremely large vehicle. It looked like that of an RV, but it looked military class and it was huge. It also was big. Very big. And it was…well decorated. It was most likely a decommissioned command center that a noble bought and redesigned as a private transport.
"Geez." Zero said, looking at the whole thing. "Guess that's why we're hiding this underground."
The Resistance leaders walked inside as Zero led them in. The command center was big. There was a rather large couch the occupied much of the other side of the room. There was another couch in the living room area that was about twenty feet south from the original couch. A large TV was seen on an entertainment center. There was also a golden set of stairs leading to the next floor and an actual stairwell, made with marble and thick granite all designed neatly. The second floor had a hallway that led to several different rooms. Interior wise, the carpet was a thick purple with two gold stripes on the sides of a red middle. The walls made with purple paint. What the walls were actually made of was unidentifiable.
Ciel and Leviathan were there as well. Leviathan was in her human form; wearing a black jacket and a small black tank top under it. She was also wearing some small shorts and some boots. Ciel was wearing the same outfit she always had on, typing on a highly advanced laptop. Her laptop was very slim, about the size of a Dell laptop. Instead though of a monitor, the laptop created holographic screens. It had other windows open around her. It definitely showed that Ciel was not from around here.
"Come in." Lelouch said. "From now on this will be our headquarters."
"Whoa." Ohgi said. "So, you think joining up with us is a good idea?"
"Yes." Lelouch said. "We are comrades after all."
"Whoa." Tamaki said as he began to explore the transport.
"Do you mind if I ask how you got this?" Ohgi asked.
"I borrowed it from a noble who indulges my requests." Lelouch answered.
"You asked for it!?" Ohgi asked in surprise.
"Bribe sounds better." Zero said.
"Don't worry." Lelouch continued. "No strings attached. Everyone, before you continue your exploration, I suppose official introductions with members you're not familiar with is taken out of the way."
Zero, Leviathan, and Ciel stood up over where Lelouch was. Lelouch stretched his hand out over Zero first.
"This man over here has no name; you will all call him the "Red Knight"." Lelouch said. "He is a former Britannian who detests his country after the war in 2010. He also harbors deep hatred to them for crimes against humanity that have never made the news yet. He is joining us as a way to extract revenge against them."
"I remember this guy!" Tamaki shouted. "This is the wise ass who thought he could beat me!"
"Tamaki." Lelouch said. "I would encourage you not to attack him. This man has gone through fierce physical augmentations through science that is unknown to me. He is quite dangerous. I believe Ohgi witnessed some of his abilities first hand."
"Yeah." He said. "I would watch your mouth Tamaki. This guy doesn't need a Sutherland to destroy Knightmares."
"HUH!?" Tamaki shouted.
Lelouch then put his hand over Leviathan.
"This woman is Leviathan." Lelouch said. "She is highly skilled at aquatic warfare and will helping us when it comes to setting up plans that involve moving along the ocean."
"Hello." She said with enthusiasm. Not a lot of the males made a proper response back, as her human body were something to be desired. Her outfit choice probably had something to do with it.
Lelouch then stretched his hand over Ciel.
"And finally…" Lelouch said. "This is Ciel. She is a former Britannian scientist, with knowledge of weapons and robotics. She will be managing Research and Development once we develop our cause to a greater extent than we have now."
"So you hang out with Britannians?" Kallen asked.
"Not every Britannian enjoys what their country does, Kallen." Lelouch said. "There are people who detest their country. But none of them have the means to do anything about it. They have come because they have the means and choose to use them. Now that we have introductions out of the way, please feel free to get to know each other and explore your new base."
Zero, Leviathan, and Ciel returned to their original spots. Ciel returned to use a laptop from her time. It looked so advanced. The screen was holographic and could even produce additional screens if Ciel had more windows up than needed. Ciel was currently surfing the internet, looking up information on things about the area and using the data Leviathan had provided her about other capsules to search for more of them. The laptop itself looked about the size of a standard Toshiba 1300, but instead of a screen for the top, was just a plastic case for it.
"Check this place out." Kento said as went searching around. "It's got a second story and everything."
"On the other hand…" Kionue said. "No one would expect us in a place like this."
"It's even got a TV." Yoshidia said as he turned it on.
Some of the Black Knights went to watch a bit while the news was playing. Ciel continued to type on her laptop. She had her eye on Leviathan, who was quiet the entire time. She seemed to have a lot on her mind.
"This brings back any memories?" Ciel asked Zero as she walked over to him.
"We still need a fully developed army." He said. "We're not even close to that…have to cross that threshold first. But…to answer your question, yeah."
"So this is what it's like to be on the Resistance?" Leviathan asked. "I must say…it's really boring and uninteresting…but maybe that's cause of what we're up against."
"You signed up for this." Zero said. "You're not going to fly the coop right after you signed on?"
Leviathan shook her head. She made up her mind. She had already broke the first law of robotics. What else did she have to lose?
"Good." Zero said. "I don't need a traitor in our midsts right now."
"Still having trouble with discerning my alignment huh?" She asked. "Well it won't matter to me in the end…I'll prove to you I'm loyal."
She walked away, leaving Ciel and Zero by themselves.
"I guess I have been doubting her." Zero said. "I say we let her thin…wait Yoshidia go back to that channel."
Zero took the remote from Yoshidia and returned it to the new station that was playing.
"What are we seeing down there, Neige?" A TV reporter asked at the TV station.
Zero and Ciel shot up when they saw Neige there. Both Ciel and Zero knew her. She was a TV reporter back from Neo Arcadia that had rebelled from Doctor Weil and left the area. She helped Zero a lot when he was fighting against Weil. Now it looks like she was a Britannian reporter. Though how she ended up like that was completely unknown to Zero and Ciel. She still looked the same, but was in a business suit as she reported what was going on.
"Right now I am standing in front of Lake Kawaguchi convention center hotel." Neige said as the camera rolled. "The hotel jackers have identified themselves as the Japan Liberation Front, and have taken hostage several members of the Sakuradite Allocation meeting, well noted among there is Christian James, and several tourists who were at the scene when the incident happened. This is a video submitted by the perpetrators. You can see Christian James there along with several students."
The footage that was displayed was a large storehouse room for food at the hotel. There were many Britannians there along with many armed Japanese guards who were pointing guns at the students. Zero and Kallen's eyes widened when they saw the people that they knew captured.
The Student Council!
Oh no! What the hell are those Japanese thinking!?
Tohdoh was also watching the news about the incident as well. He knew Kusakuba was going to be doing this soon. Earlier before he did, Tohdoh gave had Axl deployed over by him in order to supposedly give him support. In reality, Axl was to execute him when he had the chance.
"The leader of the perpetrators identified himself as Lt. Kusakuba from the Japanese Liberation front." Neige continued on screen.
A surge of anger rose up in Tohdoh's veins.
That idiot! Axl, get rid of him when you get the chance.
"Sakuradite," Neige continued to report. "As it essential in the manufacturing of the high temperature super conductive substance, directly affects the national security of the world. It is an important. Area 11 is the largest production zone of Sakuradite; supplying 70% of the world's demands. The national sakuradite conference is held here every year in order to determine how much each country is allocated. It is this fact that separates Britannia from the rest of the world. The terrorists were obviously aware of the conference and choose this as a target."
"They made their move." Kento said.
"They're the biggest anti-Britannian faction after all." Ohgi said. "So of course they don't want to play Second fiddle."
"Compared to us?" Yoshidia asked.
"Tactically, they made a wise choice of strategy; but how do they plan on escaping this?" Ciel asked.
Lelouch continued to listen in as everyone talked. He heard his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Lelouch picked it up and saw that it was Leval. He allowed it to go to voice mail, for now was not the time to talk. Although he knew exactly what he was going to tell him.
I know Leval…but…
"Lelouch." Zero whispered. "That was the student council…"
"I know." Lelouch said. "Believe me; I'm just as a scared as you are."
Neige put down her microphone as the camera boy went to take a break. She went over to Diethard; who was clapping his hands as she walked over.
"Well…" She began. "How'd I do?"
"Spectacular." He said. "I guess that young lady I rescued from that lake was a wise decision."
Neige nodded. She didn't remember what happened exactly, but she had remembered hearing that Zero was alive and waking up and the whole world went blank after that. She then woke up drowning in a lake. Next thing she knew, Diethard jumped in and pulled her out. As she stayed with him, she began to volunteer to help the news crew. Diethard recognized her with a natural talent as a reporter. Even though she had no degree to present, her knowledge was more board than any of the graduates and interns Diethard had under his command. He decided today to give her a shot at a news cast. And she landed it perfectly.
"Thanks." She said.
"No." He said. "Thank you. The plan you wrote up for the editing has saved me and my crew quite a bit of effort. No degree. Yet here you are at the age of eighteen and you're almost as good as me…almost."
"What?" She said. "Did I just get hired or something?"
"I didn't say that." Diethard said. "But I am highly considering it."
"Really!?" She shouted. "You really are!?"
"Your talents are highly advanced for someone your age; even better than that other graduated college students that got hired here." Diethard said. "Not a lot of people are going into news lately so I need my hands on a fresh young lad (or in your case, lass) who has the knowledge of ten college students. Stand by and remain waiting. The situation is destined to increase in tensity at any moment, so be ready to report the situation."
"You got it boss." She said.
"All the bridges that link to the hotel have been destroyed, except for the main one." General Dolton began to explain in the Command Center. The Command Center was rolled in along with the military within minutes after the hijacking. Mega Man X and Harpuria were also standing by. "Attempts to approach the building from air and sea have failed."
The command center was posted by the only remaining bridge to Britannia. The hotel itself was in the middle of an entire lake. Images of a Helicopter being shot out of the air and several Britannian troops being shot from the sea were shown.
"There are only two options for us to take if we are to rescue the hostages." Dolton said.
A 3D model of the hotel was generated. It showed the inside of the hotel, the bridge, and under it. Camera screen moved away from the top of the hotel and then to the sides, revealing an underground tunnel.
"The lifeline tunnel is directly under the convention center." Dolton continued. "If used that in our operation, we can destroy the foundation block and sink the hotel. This tunnel is used to deliver stock and a Sutherland might be able to fit through it. That's where X and Harpuia will come in."
"When the hotel is sunk, you want us to rescue the hostages." X said.
"Yes." Dolton said. "Harpuia will approach from the air while you infiltrate from the ground. Do not worry about eliminating the terrorists; just get the hostages out of there. Don't worry; the enemy is most likely prepared, but there shouldn't be any real problem."
"Not for us at least." Harpuia muttered.
X watched on the battle screen as three Sutherlands were being loaded into the underground shaft.
Good luck there pilots.
"X!" Dolton bellowed. "Harpuia! Go and prepare for infiltration."
"Yes my lord!" The Two Reploids shouted, running out of the room.
X continued to monitor everything from a holo screen on his X-Buster. So far no problems were detected. The Three Sutherlands landed on the tracks safely with no problems and then began to charge forward in the tunnel.
"Based on the level of weaponry the enemy has used so far, we can easily evade them." A pilot said.
"Yeah well be careful anyway." X said over com-link.
"We will." The pilot responded. "Thanks X. Good luck topside."
"You too." X said.
X and Harpuria ran out of the base and stood by the bridge. The Knightmares began to move silently toward the Hotel. Meanwhile, the JLF were already preparing defenses of their own. They had already caught the three Knightmares, and X and Harpuria were in sight.
"So those are the so called Reploids?" A JLF member said from the roofs as used binoculars to observe the area.
"That's them." Axl said.
Shit. I didn't think all those rumors about X being part of the military were true when I infiltrated in. This is not going to be the easiest shot I ever did. Nor do I really want to take it either. But X is going to kill me (literally) if he finds out what I did, so I got no choice.
"Axl!" A JLF member said.
"I'm on it; I'm on it." Axl said, materializing a very large sniper rifle in his hand. In fact when it was done generating, Axl had to grab it with two hands because of the size. "The Blue one will be the hardest one to hit, but I'm sure I can nail the green one no problem."
Axl readied himself on the window, setting up his sniper rifle on a tripod and positioning himself where he could move around anywhere with ease. He inserted the scope on the top of his rifle and locked it into place. He inserted what appeared to be a battery pack on the bottom of the rifle and a laser pointer on the end of the rifle.
"As expected, they're coming in from below." A JLF member said to his comrade the radio.
"All right." The other said. "Mercury (II) fulminate unit 2 activated. All four linked structures on both sides are in position. Superconducting maglev style shrapnel cannon, energy confirmed!"
Axl held out his hand and the crystal on his head glowed. An energy coding of 0 and 1s appeared in his hand. What came out after the materialization was done was a small collection of large gold steel rounds. Axl opened his gun up like a .45 rifle and loaded the first round in place. He cocked the bullet in place.
"Safety's off people." Axl warned as he clicked the safety off and peered his eye in his scope.
These are no ordinary Axl bullets. These are Anti-Reploid rounds. Rounds made to be strong enough to directly tear open machinery and large enough to blow off parts of the body. The battery pack will increase the velocity of the bullet by at least 150%. Hopefully with the speed of the bullet from its original firing speed, combined with this battery pack, X will be unable to avoid it and I can disable him. Sorry X.
"Superconducting maglev style shrapnel cannon." Axl heard on his radio frequency. "FIRE!"
The Knightmares were unprepared for what awaited them. The single round flew towards them as one round. After the round got close by the Knightmares, it opened up and released several large 200mm steel ball bearings. The Knightmares tried to evade, but with them going everywhere, they could not. All three Knightmares were destroyed instantly.
"They did it!" One member shouted.
"They sure did." Another said.
"The Mercury (II) fulminate unit sure is useful." Another one said.
"You guys are welcome for the mods." Axl said as he peered in his scope.
"All three of them were wiped out!?" Dolton yelled.
"It seems that the enemy is using a modified Glasgow with a mounted Anti-Knightmare rifle on it; based as a Linear cannon." A lower ranking commander said.
"So breaking through on the bottom is impossible!?" Dolton screamed.
"Not without massive losses." Gilford said.
"We still have the Reploids on scene." The officer replied. "Why don't we deploy them?"
Dolton growled a bit. He was hoping that the first operation would work. It would less dangerous than for X and Harpuia.
"New orders you two!" Dolton shouted. "Move directly into the building and rescue all the hostages!"
"Looks like our Knightmare squad below failed." Harpuia said.
"I guess." X said. X shouted in the air and was covered in energy as he activated the Light Armor. "All right! Let's do this!"
Harpuia activated his beam sabers and used his thrusters to begin flying towards the building. X himself began to zoom toward it himself.
"Both Reploid units are moving in." A JLF member said. "The Blue one will reach us within 1.7 minutes. The Green one at a mere 2.6 minutes."
"Our weapons stand no chance against those two." A JLF officer said.
"Men." Axl said. "Fire your weapons."
All of them looked at Axl, who was still looking through his scope.
"If you fire your weapons," Axl began. "You'll be able to occupy their thoughts. My rifle is too big. If they see it, they'll be able to dodge it with ease. Occupy the green one's thoughts while I get a good lock."
"What about the Blue one?" A member asked.
Axl made a small chuckle to himself.
"Trust me." He said. "If that blue one is anything how I remember him, all I need is to disable the green one."
The JLF listened to Axl and began to fire their weapons at Harpuria. Harpuria easily moved in and out of the ammo and took almost no damage from bullets that came into contact. All the while, X was still speeding towards the building. Harpuria continued to dodge the rounds.
"Hehe…" Axl laughed. "I may be a prototype Reploid, but I can tell that my targeting system is far more advanced than yours. I'll have your dodging pattern analyzed within a few seconds."
Harpuia continued to fly around the area, dodging the ammo as he went. He banked sharply to the right, and then banked to the left; right in direct range with Axl's scope.
"Sorry about this." Axl said.
Axl pulled the trigger and fired a single Anti-Reploid round at Harpuia. The round moved so fast that Harpuia had no time to counter. The round smashed straight into his right shoulder, severing off his right arm and damaging part of his body and face. Unable to recover from the attack, Harpuia began to slowly descend to the ground.
X looked when he heard Harpuia's scream for agony on radio. He looked up to see the open wound on his arm and see Harpuia descend to the sea below.
"Dammit!" X shouted, dashing towards him.
X used his brakes on the bridge and jetted over to Harpuria. He grabbed his comrade in midair and the switched the Falcon Armor. He then activated the energy flight system and quickly began to fly away from the fight. Axl ejected the first round he fired and loaded a second round. He quickly used his targeting system to project X's path. He fired another round, missing him though. The force of the round hitting the water was so powerful that the splash that resulted from the round hitting the water ejected fifty feet in the air. He loaded another and fired again, hitting the top of X's shoulder, but damaging only the armor. X then managed to make it to the other side of the River where the R&D staff was. The staff quickly loaded Harpuia to a stretcher and carried him away from the battle. Axl fired one more round by X's feet. X jumped away from it and landed back where he started.
"BOO YAH MOTHER FUCKER!" Axl shouted, positioning his left hand with the rock on symbol and began to headband.
All of the JLF began to cheer as Axl raised both arms in the air and bowed.
Now I wait for these idiots to leave Kusakuba unguarded. Then I finish the job.
"Harpuia!" X shouted. "Harpuia! Are you alright!?"
"UUUGGgghhhh…." He grunted. "X…I…can't….feel my arm…"
"Your arm was severed." X said as he examined the round in his shoulder. "This is an Anti-Reploid round."
"What the bloody hell are a bunch of Elevens using that kind of ammo for!?" Harpuria shouted.
"I don't know." X said as he tried to keep up with the R&D team. "Better question...how did they get these…these don't even exist yet."
"Come in X!" Dolton shouted. "Status report."
"Sir…the enemy has a sniper team with a high enough caliber rounds to destroy both me and Harpuia." X said. "Continued attacks on the building may result in further losses."
"WHAT!?" Dolton shouted. "They can't enter either!?"
"I'm afraid the situation is worse than expected." X said.
"We won't be able to fight Zero's bodyguard." Dolton said.
"Should we at least allow negotiations so that the hostages…" Gilford began.
"DON'T SHOW WEAKNESS TO TERRORISTS!" Cornelia shouted.
"But Princess Euphemia…" Gilford whispered.
"WHAT!?" X shouted over to Gilford's ear piece com-link. "You mean the princess is there!?
"I'm afraid so…" Cornelia relayed back. "She was supposed to be there listening on the conference so her name is not on the list. If her identity is discovered, the terrorists will most likely use her as a bargaining chip for the hostage negotiations."
"Then we better find a way out of this soon." X said.
"So what do we have about him?" A scientist asked.
A Britannian envoy of scientists was busy working on a secret project. The project was to create a massive super-weapon by the name of Siegfried. So far, only an elite few knew about such a weapon's existence. The location of the base they were at was an underground city in the middle of a desert.
"He's perfect." Another scientist said. "The weapon schematics and upgrades to Siegfried's weaponry have made the weapon more than combat ready. Once it's finished, nothing will be able to stop Britannia."
"Well I'll be damned." The head scientist said. "He's really this good?"
"The weapons he added and upgrades he attached have increased combat reliability by 20%." The scientist replied.
"Well I'll be." The head again said. "I'm going to have to go and congratulate the bastard."
The head got up from his chair and then went over to another room. It was a large sever complex, holding all the servers and databases that the scientists had, looking just like a server complex that was used in the old days. In the center of the room, a single Reploid was hard at work. With the lab coat he had on, unless you looked at him from the front, you would not be able to tell if he was a Reploid or not.
"Gate!" The Head scientist shouted.
Gate turned around to from his computer to see his boss.
"Oh; greetings boss." He said as he got up from his chair. "To what do I owe the honor of you coming here personally?"
"Gate you son of a bitch; I knew you were good news the moment we lifted you out of the capsule." He said. "I just looked at these weapon designs on my way here that you added to the Siegfried. You're exactly the kind of person we need at this place."
The head scientist reached out his hand to Gate. Gate proceeded to shake the hand of his boss.
"So I came here to thank you personally." He said.
"Well boss," Gate said. "I don't exactly know what to say other than your welcome. Oh…I also have some new designs and edits for the propulsion system on the Siegfried."
Gate pulled a disc out of his lab coat and handed it to the head.
"It's beta right now…" He said. "But I should have the Alpha designed within the next week or so."
"Master V.V. is already impressed with your current upgrades." He said. "Anymore performances like the one you have now and you're sure in for a promotion."
"I guess I have a goal to set then." Gate said as the scientist left.
Gate went to sit down. He looked up at the ceiling where the lights were. Memories of his time back on his world began to flood in.
"Weird." He said. "One second I am floating in darkness and fire…and then the next I am here. Life. A very strange thing to my eyes. How easily can one thing and another change in an instant. One second I am at the top of the world, only to have it washed away. Such as I deserved. Will all of our sins be justified?"
Gate shook his head.
"What are you saying to yourself old boy!?" He said. "You shouldn't be thinking about this. You need to concentrate on your work. But then again it's hard to avoid forgetting such past sins. I guess this is the fate of those who become sane after weeks of insanity and mass murder."
Gate began to again type on his computer and draw more weapon designs.
"Sure hope this job doesn't have the same effect." Gate said. "At least here they don't mind me creating the perfect model."
The head scientist watched Gate in the database room for another few minutes. He flicked his finger in the direction of another scientist who was also listening in.
"Call the lobbyist we have in Area 11 and make sure they gets their R&D department to start development of those machines ASAP."
"Are we special envoys not allowed to participate in the operation?" Suzaku asked as he stared off towards the building.
"I put in a request." Lloyd said. "But because our branch is different, they treat us as irregulars."
Lloyd grabbed a stone from the ground and whizzed it on a lake. The stone popped off the water several times before it eventually crashed into the water.
"They can't leave the operation in the hands of an Eleven." Suzaku said.
"Viceroy-Governor Cornelia takes distinguished pride between Britannians and Numbers." Lloyd said.
"It's not enough for her to accept us then?" Suzaku asked.
"If you think about that," Cecile said. "What good is the Honorary Britannian system then?"
"Maybe it simply entails the illusion of some pride." X said as he walked out of the mobile R&D lab. "Maybe they have it simply to give the Japanese the illusion that they are of value. But it when it comes down to it, it's nothing but smoke and mirrors."
Suzaku looked at X as X walked back to the Command Center.
The rebellion right now was busy unloading the equipment that they and Zero had brought in today. Ciel was busy connecting cords into Zero's body to make for any last minute checks and repairs. Leviathan was still having a lot on her mind. It's obvious the fact her friend tried to kill her was still on her mind.
"Hey where should I put this box?" Yoshidia asked Ohgi while the team was busy unloading the equipment that they were able to unload.
"Over there by the driver's seat." Ohgi said.
"Hey where's that box that I placed here!?" Kento shouted.
"I moved it." Leviathan said. "It was in everyone's way."
Ciel typed away on her computer and then popped out a computer chip that she had connected into her computer. Zero was busy connected into the computer through a USB jack.
"There." She said.
"What'd you do?" He asked.
"I fixed your ability to use your Black armor." She said. "You know…from the Maverick wars."
"Is it available for use?" He asked.
"Yes." She said. "You'll be able to use it. But you have to be careful. Your Black form won't last forever, so make sure you know precisely when you're going to use it."
"How long can I use it right now?" He asked.
"It's not fully repaired yet; I'm still studying the rest about you before I do any more repairs." She said. "I don't want to damage you. And it's not like we have the best equipment available right now anyway. I venture guess about ten minutes. Would not say any longer than that. After you use it, I'd say it'll take a day for the power to charge up. That is until I repair the form entirely. I swear your data is all messed up, and I can't tell from what."
"That's fine by me." He said, taking the USB cord out of his back and taking the computer chip from Ciel's hand. "Triple my power for ten minutes. I can deal with that."
Zero and Ciel looked up and saw Kallen talking with Lelouch who were upstairs. Zero and Ciel got up and went over to where Kallen was and she talked with Lelouch.
"Hey Zero." She said. "What do you think will happen to the hostages?"
"Well…" Lelouch said as he muted the TV. "There is no real reason for the captors to let the hostages live."
"I see…" She said.
"Hey Zero." Ohgi said as he went over to Lelouch. "Do you mind if we distribute these to everyone?"
Inside the box, there appeared to be solid black shirts. There were also black skirts in there for the female members.
"I think they're pretty cool, but since we're a resistance, I thought…"
"NO!" Lelouch shouted as he got up. "We are not a resistance."
Ohgi looked confused when he heard Lelouch say that.
"Then what are we?" He asked.
"What we aim to be." Lelouch said. "To become allies of justice."
Lelouch stretched out his hand and crunched it together. Ohgi bowed his head in approval and handed an outfit to Kallen. He began to leave the room, but then remembered Ciel was there.
"I'm sorry Ciel." He said. "We couldn't find an outfit that would fit you…"
"Are you saying I'm fat!?" She shouted.
"No no no no!" Ohgi said. "It's just that you're a little short!"
"Oh is that it now!?" She shouted.
Zero made a small chuckle.
"What are you laughing about!?" She shouted.
"Nothing." Zero said quickly.
The hostage carried on through most of the day and continued on until night fell. X made no more attempts to breach the building on the account of Axl being there (Unknown to him), the fact that Harpuia's injury was severe, and because of the hostages. When Axl was certain that X was done attempting to breach the building he retired from his sniper post and went back to where the hostages were. The room where everyone was stored was a food storage room, holding many crates full of food and drink.
"Hey guys!" He said. "Everything good here?"
"Yes." A soldier said. "Very good Axl. You outdid yourself a second time."
Axl went over to a crate and sat down. He put his Sniper rifle on the ground and allowed it to dematerialize from where it was back into his brain.
"I hope you guys have been at least treating them well." Axl said. "I mean sure their people did enslave you…but these are civilians. They might not even agree with how their government does anything."
No one responded to Axl.
"Hey I'm talking to you guys!" He said a bit louder.
A crackle from the communicator of one of the guards. The guard grabbed it and listened in from an order from Kusakuba. He looked at another guard who nodded his head to signal his approval. They then grabbed a single civilian from the group. A young man in his twenties was grabbed and pulled forcibly by his captors.
"Hey; what are you doing!?" Axl said as he got up.
"Britannia's waited too long for our demands." A JLF member said. "So we need to send a message."
"Send a message?" Axl asked. "But how and…NO YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
"Yes we can." He said.
"He's just a kid!" Axl shouted. "They don't deserve this! Hell seventy-eight percent of these people have done no harm to you!"
"Silence weapon!" The JLF member said. "You are a mere tool of the JLF. Know your place!"
"Why you little…" Axl said.
The JLF member grabbed the butt of his gun and beat it into Axl's stomach. Axl flew on the floor and looked up as the two guards who were holding the mere child began to carry him off. Axl simply looked up as the kid was carried to his doom. He wanted to kill them, but if he did it here, all of the hostages would be in danger. And then JLF would try and kill him, forcing Axl to kill of them. This would put the honest bunch of JLF members in danger. Axl in the end had no choice but to watch.
"I can't believe this…" he said as the guards vanished into another hallway. "To resort to such cruelty…two wrongs don't make a right."
You bastard Kusakuba. It's no wonder Tohdoh marked you for death. I'll make sure to kill you personally.
"The special sniping platoon is in position." An officer said over the radio. "They are currently awaiting orders. The commanders of each squadron are still conducting recon. We should have more visual Intel shortly."
Suzaku shut off the radio. He was busy preparing his Knightmare in case the R&D division was called into duty. He was busy configuring the set up for the Lancelot while he waited for orders.
"Those people who were captured were of the student council were they not?" Cecile asked. "The negotiations are still going on…"
"I am a member of an organization." Suzaku replied. "I must place myself for the organization before my own personal emotions."
Suzaku used the camera feed built into his Knightmare to observe the area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was calm since the combat earlier this day. Everything was calm and tranquil.
Too tranquil.
Suzaku when he adjusted his camera feed to the top of the building noticed unusual activity.
"Cecile!" He said. "Look over there."
The camera feed zoomed in. What he saw were several JLF guards; and a tied up Britannian within their ranks. The guards slowly by slowly moved the young child over by the edge.
"They mean to push him off!" Cecile shouted.
"Stop." Suzaku said quietly.
It didn't change anything. The JLF guards inched him over and pushed the young man off the edge. The man was now plummeting to his doom.
"SSSTTTTTOOOOPPPPP!" Suzaku screamed as the man vanished behind some trees.
Back at the Command Center, all of the troops had just witnessed what had happened to the man. After a few seconds, General Kusakuba reappeared on screen.
"If our demands are heard silent any longer," He said. "We will make someone fly every thirty minutes. For the sake of the hostages, I suggest you decide quickly."
X, Dolton, Gilford, and Cornelia walked down the hallway of the mobile command center. A simple military base like hallway. Grayish walls with a trail of lights on the top. All of them were now scared stiff. The princess was still in danger and now the JLF were executing hostages.
"Killing someone just to show they're serious." Dolton said. "How barbaric."
"Based on recent history of Britannia/Japanese relationship, I really can't say I'm surprised their doing this." X said. "They probably believe it to be some form of revenge."
"Should we at least proceed with negotiations to let them set the women and children free?" Gilford asked.
"NO!" Cornelia shouted. Although her tone was serious, anyone who was around her long enough would know she herself was becoming desperate. "Negotiating with them would simply acknowledge their demands."
"We can't just sit here too much longer." X said. "We're running out of options."
"Should we storm in by force?" Dolton said.
"Bad idea." X said. "If we have to do that, it'll have to be done in secret and without their knowledge. And we tried that unfortunately earlier today. We all know how that ended. We've already lost twenty three men, there's no reason to risk anymore."
"Indeed." Gilford said. "We should only do such an act when we are sure Princess Euphie is safe."
"My lord." X said turning to Dolton. "Not that I am questioning your decisions, but we do have the Z-10 Lancelot on standby. Should we allow them to deploy?"
"That decision is for the Viceroy-Governor to decide." Dolton said.
Cornelia just groaned loudly. She was running out of options.
Euphie…
"Viceroy-Governor!" An officer shouted as he ran through. "It's Zero!"
"Zero?" X asked.
"Zero has contacted us." He replied.