Phase VIII: Effect
A week after Lake Kawaguchi
(Narita mountain range)
"I want batteries placed on those hills, and foxholes 10 meters apart, make sure they're camouflaged" Todoh said to one of his lieutenants and the man quickly saluted and went to fulfill his orders.
He watched as the man left, and then returned to his thoughts, after witnessing what happened at Kawaguchi, nobody dared to laugh at Zero now, a council was held amongst the officers of the JLF and propositions for what do to next where said.
Todoh is his opinion though that the most logical path was to abandon Narita and escape overseas, and if not that then at least abandon Narita and move to a new base.
The other officers although weary of Lelouch wanted to fight Brittannia, they told Katase that if they don't take a stand now, then when?
Since Todoh himself was a veteran of the Second Pacific War he too had a desire that after years of preparation they take the fight to the enemy.
The Brittannian army stationed in Japan was about 90.000 men, and about 900 knightmares
The resistance despite having about 150.000 men and in effect 3000 knightmare accumulated over the years, scattered into various hidden locations to avoid detection was not ready for a revolution.
For a revolution, the resources where there, the men were present, but what they lacked was a leader, the JLF who was the closest thing to a real army had about 7.000, and the factions of the resistance although numbered about 150.000, but they were not one army under one man, rather a collective of army's who had a common enemy, but were more caught up in arguments and disagreement over ideology and things like where the revolution should start, that was its weakness!.
The Brittannian army or rather two armed corps of 50.00men was both in men and material inferior currently, but the one factor which made the difference was that it was a true army, and Brittannias had ten other armies the size of it waiting in the mainland should the need arise.
The only way a revolution would work would be with a quick victory, before the Brittanian's could deploy the other armies, but like it was stated before, there was no leader capable of uniting the various pockets of resistance, and although they would obey General Katase, Katase knew that he was incapable of such a feat as he confined in Todoh, that he hopped that one day a new Oda Nobunaga would arise to turn they're small army into a grand one and lead them to victory.
"I wish we had someone like Lelouch on our side, if Zero would lead us, we would surely prevail!" Katase told Todoh last night.
Todoh agreed on that, that what they lacked was a leader, but still?
"The day a Brittanian Prince, leads a revolution with an army off numbers against his own country and father, will be the day that Lady Kaguya will marry Zero! Hah!" Todoh thought to himself.
The sheer absurdity of both thoughts made the poker face samurai gave a smile and a chuckle which was as rare as tree blossoming in autumn.
(Tokyo Concession Park)
Kallen walked about partially to clear her head and partially to analyze what had transpired in the past week.
"A week ago Zero swore and oath before the world and before god that he would punish the wicked and protect the innocent.
"After Kawaguchi, Prince Lelouch or Zero as he calls himself started a whole new campaign, within a week drug cartels, corporations who were only interested in making money and dozens of businessmen and politicians who were corrupt have been destroyed, dismantled and arrested.
These moves have greatly improved the living conditions of the people of Japan, there are also rumors that he court marshaled and dishonorably discharged army officers who mistreated Honorary Brittannian troops, thus greatly improving they're living conditions and now with the Phoenix Fund in full throttle Zero's, he is becoming even more popular, and even has support among the Japanese Population, those who support him have named him "Zero Houshisha no Ouji", meaning the prince who is a servant of the people, the common brittannian people also support him, since his reforms have also been applied within the mainland greatly improving they're wage's ."
Kallen mental thoughts were paused, by a few small boys who were pretending to be Black Knights, and despite the fact that they pretending on being her enemy, she couldn't help but smile and the fact than in these dark times the children could enjoy themselves.
"But despite all that, the fact still remains Zero still is a prince of the Empire, some think he is only doing this with an ulterior motive for good publicity or something like that, others think he truly is the savior that Japan desperately needs, but the majority don't care as long as war doesn't come.
Lelouch hides his face from the world, making him even more deadly, part off me wants to hope that he truly is doing this out off the kindness of his heart, another part of me remembers that he is still a prince, and my enemy and that one day I and my comrades will face him.
God be with us when that day comes" she finished her train of thoughts, and saw that a Japanese vender was being assaulted by a group of college students.
Say something! You are sorry aren't you?"
"Bowing your heads is what elevens do best right?"
"Hey leave him alone!" she yelled running over there to help despite her better judgment.
"What's it to you girly?" one of the perpetrators asked turning to get a good look at her. Once he got an eye full a predatory smirk crossed his face and he grabbed her wrist. "Hey you're kinda cute."
"Let go of me!" Kallen demanded just about ready to pull out her switchblade and cut the bastard up.
"Excuse me." a clam but commanding voice interrupted. Kallen saw that it was Lelouch.
The thug released Kallen from his grip. "You got a problem or something?" he then took a few steps toward Lelouch, but stopped the moment Lelouch pulled out a handgun from his coat.
"Yes, as a mother a fact I do, my problem is that it makes me ashamed to call myself a Brittannian, when people like you are part of my country" he said and he glued the gun barrel to the young man's chin.
"Who?...Who do you think you are?" the man asked with a clear tremble in his voice and body.
" OH! Forgive me, my name is Duke Lelouch Lamperouge, Lulu for my friends " he replied with a grim on his face and then continued "You know I hate people like you, who are true blue followers of our Darwinism , who like to think people are in a pyramid and attack those who they perceive bellow them" he paused for a moment " Well guess what, by that philosophy, I'm one step above the food chain than you, and I have to say you look rather tasty!"Lelouch said with a smile on his face which gleamed on psychotic and the finished with "now get out of here, before I decide to have a snack!".
A moment later the young men immediately took flight as if they'd just seen the devil himself.
Lelouch bought two ice creams and gave one to Kallen , a moment latter both of them where on a bench and they were enjoin they're respective ice creams
"You shouldn't have interfered" Lelouch told Kallen suddenly.
"Why? That poor man was being assaulted!" Kallen responded a bit annoyed, especially since she did not need Lelouch to be a knight in shining armor.
"That vender will not be able to sell a thing tomorrow because of your interference." Lelouch replied.
"This is because of the way the Empire is" Kallen snapped at Lelouch with an angry tone.
"This is how the world is" Lelouch replied which caught Kallen off guard.
"What do you mean?" she asked curious and confused.
"Let me ask you a question, just because slavery exists here in the empire under the form of the numbers system, you think it doesn't exist outside our borders?" Lelouch asked Kallen, and at this she didn't' know how to respond.
"The E.U for example boasts that they are the free and democratic world where only skill counts, and they attract people with that notion, but the elections are won by the candidate who has the most sponsors for his campaign, and those sponsors expect the investment they made in the candidate to be repaid, also the working class are paid so little that they live no better than the numbers here in the empire, and as for the Chinese they treat their own people like filth, you can imagine how they treat minorities or foreigners." He said, and at this Kallen was taken aback she never gave much thought to the world outside Japan.
The E.U using the pretext that they are the free world, have invaded and conquered other countries and the same goes for the Chinese Federation, and they did it for reasons no less noble than Brittannia had" Lelouch continued
"I have travelled the world, and I like you thought that Brittannia was the source of all the worlds troubles, but the world itself is a decrepit and corrupt society, where a handful prosper on the blood and sweat of the masses, I tell you that wherever you may go in the world, in any country you may set foot there will always be masters and slaves, even if they don't call them that" Lelouch finished and took a lick of his ice cream.
"Are you saying that Brittannia is good because it does not pretend to be hide it's true nature" Kallen asked with an angry tone in her voice.
"No, Brittannia is as evil pure and simple, but I am only saying that the other two super powers are no different, they will call you comrade in China and Citizen in Europe, but will still put a shovel in your hand" Lelouch calmly replied.
This made all the anger in Kallen disappear and she was smart enough to know that there was truth in his words.
"But it's not all bad, from an economic and military point of view Japan has become stable since becoming an Area, people can become citizens by going to the public service office, and register as honorary brittanians, it's just a matter of pride, and I understand why most would not relinquished that." He continued and took another lick of his ice cream.
He then chuckled for a moment, which confused Kallen, for a moment .
"What is so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just that during the First Pacific War Japan was "The Empire of the Rising Sun" a country, which was as evil if not eviler than Brittannia is now, back then however the number system did not exist, it was only years after that the old king died and the new king was crowned that the number system appeared" Lelouch responded to Kallen question, he paused for a moment, looked at his ice cream and then continued but with a sad expression on his face.
"Back then…..Back then we weren't like this, …..back then before the number system appeared The Empire was called "The Second Camelot" and then madness and hatred took the throne in the form of the 95th emperor and the second Camelot became this…..Some people like it the way things are now…..others don't care as long as it does not affect their lives,… but a handful want The Empire to become "The second Camelot " once more" he finished and let out a breath of exasperation and disappointment escape from his lungs, and closed his eyes in disappointment.
"And is Zero among those who think like that?"Kallen asked curiously.
Lelouch opened his eyes and looked at Kallen with a smile on his face
"Are you asking me off what Lelouch Lamperouge thinks of Lelouch vi Brittannia?" he said, the irony of it was all too present for him.
"Something like that?" she replied and took a lick of her ice cream.
"Well….From my opinion of him Prince Lelouch is arrogant, overconfident, thinks the world revolves around him, and has a smug attitude of himself" he paused for a moment and noticed Kallen facial expression was that of ("Just like I thought") and then continued but with a softer and more saddened tone "But he really cares for the common people, regardless if they're citizens or numbers, and he really does want to improve their lives, and make sure they have their rights back, ….but a lot of people who profit from the current system are against it, ….he tries to help whenever he can but it's always one step forwards and two step back,….. People don't like change, … and despite how hard he tries people just don't believe he's doing it because he cares, the royal family doesn't exactly have a great reputation as humanitarians" He said that last part with a small chuckle and Kallen understood what it meant for to be judged on the basis of one's family, she herself lived that every day at home "but even so….. I always try my best!".
"You mean Prince Lelouch" Kallen interjected.
"Ah!...Yes, yes of course, Zero tries his best and I help him since I'm with the phoenix fund" Lelouch quickly replied with a worried tone since he almost revealed himself to her unintentionally.
"But if the world is like this, how can it change?"Kallen asked.
"Well, the E.U going in the right direction, it just needs a few tweaks and it should be fine, The Chinese Federation needs serious change, but I believe it can be fixed, and as for the Empire, the Emperor is the only one with the power to change our policy, but the advantage is since his word is law, those who profit from the current system can do nothing if he changes it" Lelouch replied.
"So all we need is a good king?" Kallen asked
"Something, like that" he replied, he then looked at his watch and said
"Well I have to say there is merit in your words, and I'd like to believe that not all of brittannia is evil" She replied.
"Thank you, "Lelouch responded, he then looked at his watch and said:
"Well I have to go and I'm sorry if I bored you with my blabbering" he then took Kallen hand and kissed and took off.
His opinion on how the world is, combined with the fact that he was handsome, and he just kissed her hand ,made Kallen blush, and as she looked at him leave her blushed continued.
Just the realization of what was happening suddenly struck her.
"NO!...no,no,no,no..no!" she said out loud and squeezed her ice cream .
"I can't be falling for that Brittannian noble…..could I? "Kallen asked herself out loud , unsure of what the answer to that question was.
Just then her phone rang
(Ashford Academy grounds)
Shirley let out a breath of exasperation, which was not unnoticed by Millie.
"What's the matter Shirley? Constipation? For two days "Millie asked her friend.
"No!, that's not it! Shirley replied embarrassed.
"Ah!...I wish my husband Lelouch wasn't such a womanizer!" Millie said with a playful tone.
"That!. That's not it!...Lulu and I aren't a couple " Shirley retorted with cheeks red from embarrassment.
"But you'd like him and you to be a couple wouldn't you?" Millie asked her friend.
Shirley nodded in agreement.
"STRIKE THEN!' Mille suddenly shouted jumping from her chair, and she took a paint brush from the table and pointed it at Shirley
"Even though he currently has no interest in girls, the desire will be one day awaken and erupt! Therefore I Millie Ashford, give you the duty of stopping that tidal wave from praying on the innocent maidens of this world, do you accept this great responsibility, Lady Shirley Fenete?" Millie said while she performed a mock knighting ceremony with her paintbrush.
Shirley was by now so embarrassed, that all she could do was nod.
"Now!, let's the fun begin, he he he!"Millie laughed with a grim and she pulled out her phone and started dialing Lelouch's number.
"Hey Lulu, can you please come over to the student council room?" Millie said into the phone and after receiving a reply, she then phoned Kallen and then said.
"Time to turn our little stray cat, into a house cat!" Millie said with a chuckle and she looked in Arthur's direction, after that she went to the closed and brought out some costumes.
(Governor's palace, military meeting room)
Kewell, Jeremiah and Viletta where looking over the enlistment papers of the men who we're to form their new division.
"Can you believe this?
We finally have permission to raise a field command and look at this: five division of green troops, and one of them is an Brittannian one, the rest are former numbers, elevens sixes and thirds!" Kewell shouted out it frustration.
"Now calm down Lord Kewell, even Wellington started from the bottom and worked his way towards the top." Viletta told him, which partially calmed him down.
"Even so, I am not certain that having only 25 % of your forces Brittannian is a good idea "Kewell shot back .
"You think they might revolt?" Jeremiah asked his friend.
"Maybe or maybe not, but what concerns me is that they may not be able to fight, Honorary Brittanian units don't exactly have a good military record" Kewell replied.
"I said the same thing to the Prince last night, and he said that the reason for that is that the units were either usually used for supply transport, or they're instructors didn't teach them seriously how to fight, he also said that whipping them from zero to hero was a challenge he looking forward to" Jeremiah replied to his friend.
"Also the knightmare units are controlled by the 501st which is completely made out off Britannia's so there is no reason to worry yourself" Viletta replied.
At this Kewell had nothing to say, it was true that the fact that Kururugi saved his life had made him start to reconsider his opinion on numbers, but this was how he was raised, and it was a daunting task to question if you're upbringing was wrong.
(Ashford Academy hall)
"As you know, the members of the local aristocracy have in protest towards the Phoenix fund refused to hire eleven workers, even though they have a slightly better profit margin if they do" Lelouch listened to Diethard over the phone.
"To counter this I propose we start our own company, I have laid the basic plans for it on your desk last night, and I have a working title and logo "Black Corporation", also in regards of the Phoenix fund I finished reorganizing it, and laid the new personal list on your e-mail address."
"In regard to the new army corps your forming the 42nd, I finished putting up a list of the necessary material and food supply's necessary for them" Diethard said over the phone.
"Excellent job Diethard, I see you're a man of many talents, just the kind I need, we'll keep in touch" Lelouch responded and hung up the phone.
"So that means I passed my test "Diethard said to himself on the on the other end of the phone.
Lelouch meanwhile was continuing his walk towards the student council room.
He then entered the room and was shocked at what happened next.
15 minutes latter
Kallen was just outside the student council room when she heard some strange noises coming from inside.
"Hey, stop this Suzaku!"Lelouch's voice was heard.
"Suzaku as the school president, I order you to continue" Millie voice was heard.
"I'm sorry Lelouch, .but orders are order" Suzaku voice was heard saying.
Kallen the opened the door and saw that everyone was dressed in cat costumes and Lelouch was tied to a chair and they we're trying to put make up on him.
"Hello ,meow" Millie greeted Kallen
"What's going on here?"she asked.
"It's Arthur's welcome party, he is now the official student council mascot" Rivals answered.
"Will you join us Kallen?" Shirley asked.
"Kallen doesn't need a costume
She's already as catty as they come" Lelouch said with his usual devilish smile.
Kallen was a little annoyed by this remark and responded with:
"Why don't you go on TV? You'd be a big star?"
"Speaking of which how's it like being a tv star?" Rivals asked Shirley.
"Don't joke like that!
We were followed everywhere this past week, we couldn't get privacy even in the bath, and we couldn't even leave the campus!" Shirley responded.
"Speaking of which why can't we leave the campus as well?" Rivals asked.
"That's what friends are for!
We do not ask to be born on the same day, but we seek to die together" Mille responded.
"Is that a proposal?" Rivals asked.
"It means that when you go to hell, drag others down with you" Mille responded.
"That's cruel! Am I right Suzaku?" Rivals asked him, and saw that tears were forming in his eyes.
"I…I am so glad everyone is alright" Suzaku said and started crying.
"What's with that reaction?" Rivals said and started to tackle him.
And so the student council shared a collective laugh, to Kallen it was moments like this that made her forget Japan's situation, and made her think that not all Brittannians were bad, it was just the bad ones who were in power.
(Somewhere in the Kanto region mountains)
Cornelia attacked in her Gloucester from above giving the terrorists manning the tanks stationed on the mountain slope little time to react.
"Relics of a forgotten age.." She said to herself as they fired at her as she came at them but she easily dodged the onslaught and fired her slash hearkens at them making the tanks below explode on impact. When she came upon a landing which lead to a tunnel she contacted Darlton. "Darlton in here correct?"
"Yes, my lady. Shall we accompany you?"
"Not for this level of resistance, I'd rather take them all out myself!" she hissed as she went down the tunnel leading into a man-made concrete lined cavern filled with munitions and tracks leading to out to tunnels in every direction.
"Surrender at once you feeble minded elevens!" she ordered.
The remaining guerrillas took up their arms and let out a cry of "down with Britannia!" firing upon the enemy Knightmare in one last desperate act of defiance. This of course did not faze Cornelia in the least bit.
"No point in taking them out one buy one." She said to herself as she aimed her assault rifle. "Rot like the vermin you are!" she cried as she fired upon them killing every last one.
(Oughi's apartment Shinjuku ghetto)
It was now late in the evening and Oughi and the other members of his resistance cell where all gathered there.
"The Blood of the Samurai was spilled a few hours ago, they were the largest anti Brittanian faction within Kanto, and yet they were completely wiped out" Oughi said his voice filled with fear and sadness.
"First Zero defeats Kusakabe, and now Cornelia does this" Sugiyama said.
"I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to miss prince Clovis!" Tamaki said and the room was silent, for the truth was that they were facing capable leaders who were managing to destroy the resistance.
"We shouldn't be discouraged by this!
The fight is not over,!" Kallen suddenly said and at this they're morale picked up somehow.
Just then Kallen phone rang, and since she dropped it while trying to respond and unwillingly activated the speaker.
"Kallen this is Shirley, I think we should talk, I'd like to know if you and Lelouch are officially dating" the phone was then hung up.
"Who's Lelouch ?" Minami asked curious.
"Duke Lelouch is just my classmate!" Kallen responded with a slight blush.
"Duke Lelouch?...As in the Duke Lelouch? The manager of the Phoenix Fund?" Yoshida asked.
Kallen gave a nod.
The name of Duke Lelouch was well known by now by most of the Japanese population, but nobody had seen his face, for Lelouch had used every single gambling debt he had to make sure no one would get a picture of him, he tried also to make sure no one found out his name, but the paparazzi just couldn't be stopped so easily.
"Is he handsome?" Tamaki asked curious.
To the rest of the room the fact that Kallen was seemingly involved with a brittannian seemed to be ignored over the fact that they we're curious of the appearance of one off the few brittannians , with the exception of Zero who was actually favored by the Japanese and even other numbers.
"Well here his picture" she said and showed them a picture on her cell phone.
The entire room gathered to see the picture,
"PHEWW, he's quite the looker! No wonder that girl from before was calling you about him!" Inoue said which made Kallen blush even more.
"He's not my boyfriend! Where just friends that's all!" Kallen said with a now flustered face.
"Riiight!" Tamaki said towards Kallen with a sly smile on his face.
"Hey guys, check this out!" Oughi told them as he watched a live broadcast.
(Lelouch's Mobile command center, plains of Kanto)
"So it seems you finally have your own army, I congratulate you on that little brother" Schneizell said on the computer screen.
"I thank you big brother, but I am afraid his is just a corps, a full fledge army is much bigger than this, but in time I hope I will be able to expand it" Lelouch replied.
"Might I ask why you requested honorary brittannians to be under your command?" Schneizell asked.
"You know perfectly how I feel about the numbers policy; in order to change it, I need to change the peoples opinion on the numbers, the easiest way to do that is trough military victory's , by honorary brittannian soldiers, but you knew that already, don't you brother?" Lelouch replied with a smile on his face.
"Yes, but assuming one thing, and finding out you were correct are two different things, also you shouldn't have told me your plans so easily, it's not a very good way of doing diplomacy you know" Schneizell said with a laugh.
"I see my mentor on politics is still testing me" Lelouch replied with a small laughter.
"A good teacher, always makes sure his student is in best shape, anyway, I can hardly wait for your speech to the army, father and our other siblings have gathered in the throne room, with the rest of the nobility to view it, break a leg!" Schneizell responded and ended his transmission.
Just then a knock was heard at the door.
"Lelouch the troops have been aligned, and are ready for your inaugural speech" Suzaku said.
Lelouch put on his head his helmet, and exited the room in his costume.
"Thank you Suzaku, now please go to your designated position for the speech" Lelouch replied and Suzaku quickly saluted and left for his position.
(Outside the command center)
"Attention!" a voice was heard calling and the entire 50.000 men corps stood to attention.
Jeremiah, Viletta, Kewell and Suzaku( with a helmet on his head) were all standing before huge columns and rows of soldiers, each one of them where about 150 feet apart from the next person, and all where about half a meter if front of the rows and columns
They watched as Lelouch dressed in his Zero armor, cape and helmet step to the front of a platform which was positioned in front of the corps, above the platform a pair of speakers, and a TV screen the size of those used at rock concerts was present, between the first row of men and the platforms edge there where tv cameras which filmed the whole ordeal.
Lelouch finished strolling down the platform, reached its end, saluted the men and said:
"At ease ".
"This is a new army corps the 42nd the first in my army "The Black Knights" and I am your commander Major General Lelouch vi Brittannia, my code name on the battle field is Zero, you will address me by rank off General, Sir or Commander and by name of Lelouch or Zero.
You will not address me as my lord or you highness, this is not the imperial court, this is an army, and I expect you all to follow this request, is that understood?"
"Yes ,sir!" they all replied
He then began his speech while pacing across the platform.
"All of you have seen the news reports, and have heard stories, so I decided to come here and show you if I really am such a big royal son of a bitch as everyone says I am!" he said and the entire corps laughed wholeheartedly.
"Now! An army is a team, it works like a well oiled machine; we sleeps together eat together and fight together".
"Every soldier does his part in battle, let's says one soldier decides that he doesn't want to fight and runs away when nobody's looking, and this is what happens, first the squat is defeated, then the company in is attached to, then the battalion, the regiment, the division, and finally the whole army is defeated because some coward refused to do his duty and abandon his brothers in arms, everyone has a job to do which is essential to an army, even those who dig the latrines so we don't fall prey to poor hygiene."
"A common soldier is as valuable to the army as it's commanding general, and it's general is as worthless as a common soldier"
"All that hogwash about aces and generals who win battles on their own was made up by the same idiots who also tried to drown a fish!" a stream of approval cheers rose from the crowd and after it died down Lelouch continued.
"Now I am guessing that most off you know what hell week is, it is a whole week to those who volunteer for the Navy SEALS core in which they are pushed to the limit, I will apply the training methods of hell week in a rigorous there month training exercise upon you, the reason for this is that I was not present when you where trained, so I do not know how well prepared you are for combat, I do this because leading poorly trained troops in combat, is like taking pigs to a slaughter and I have come here to lead you to victory, not death and defeat.
"For what I will put you through, you will hate me for the rest of your life, and when your grandchildren ask you about the Iron Prince, you will tell them without hesitation that "I hated the son of a bitch" a small round of laughter followed.
"However because of my training, you will be able to hit your targets when other soldiers would have missed them, you will fight longer while other would have collapsed from exhaustion, and you will survive battles while other soldiers would have died in them,… you will hate me until you are old and wrinkled, but the good news is that under my command you will have a better chance of reaching old age." He paused for a moment to let this sink in and started pacing a few steps in Suzaku's direction and started to continue.
"However the fact remains that during a wars no amount of training will prevent the eventual death of soldiers, and some of those present here will die," he stopped in front of Suzaku and behind him where Japanese soldiers, he took the glove of his left hand and showed the scar from when he stabbed himself in Shinjuku towards the soldiers" I would like all of you to know that I vow to bring as many of you back alive as possible, however some of you will die! …And to those of you who I will not be able to keep my vow" Lelouch said as he got on one knee and bowed his head towards "This humble soul begs for forgiveness for not been able to keep his vow" he said and a wave of shock and silence filled the crowd, for a prince of Brittannia to actually say he is sorry and apologize on his knees was something unheard off.
The moment of silence continued for about 15 seconds, when it was interrupted by Suzaku.
"It…It's not your fault general, that's how war is, soldiers die, it does nothing good to blame yourself for the war" he said and a round of approval came from the other assembled soldiers which quickly downed out the silence.
Lelouch rose from his kneeling position, waited for the sounds of approval to die out and continued.
"Now this army has rules, a code which is as sacred to u s as the Ten Commandments are to a christain which I expect everyone to follow"
"The first rule is that of merit, this army will be a meritocracy, during training and combat I will evaluate you r performance, if I see a soldier who shows leadership qualities I will promote him to the rank of a general if he has the necessary skills, but if I see a general who is incompetent then I will demote that general to the rank of a private if I have too!" he then took two steps forwards and roared out:
"Mather's of religious and political beliefs, background, personal history, and methods of operation are irrelevant, skill is essential, and so the first rule in this army's code will be "Our rank is our merit".
He pause and a round of applause appeared from the gathered men, since most of the enlisted men would probably only make it as far as sergeant, but the prospect of rising through the ranks delighted them.
"The second rule of the code is "Camaraderie is sacred", there will be no quarrels, no arguments, no insults between comrades, for you all will depend on the man besides you to watch your back and you cannot expect that if the two of you to not get along, you are brothers in arms, so you must love protect and cherish your brother, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!
"Sir, yes sir" the army responded.
"Good! The third and final rule is the following "Fight the soldier, give arms to the vanquished, protect and respect the civilian". He paused for a moment to let this sink in.
"This is the most important of all the rules, for a soldiers duty is to fight other soldiers, but when an enemy soldier surrenders a black knight shows them mercy, gives him food is he is hungry, water is he is thirsty, and medicine if he is wounded, a person who does not to these things, is not a black knight, he is not a soldiers, he is a rabbet dog which needs to be put down.
"The second part of the rule "Protect and respect the civilian" is also very important, the civilian population is not to be involved in the fighting, a person who willingly steals from a civilian ,kills a man, rapes a woman is not a black knight, not soldier, not a human being, HE IS GARBAGE.
AND I WILL SHOOT THE RABBET DOGS AND HUMAN GABAGE WHO PRETEND TO BE SOLDIERS, WHO PRETEND TO BE BLACK KNIGHTS MYSELF" he then gestured towards the gun on his belt "I WILL THEN SEND A LETTER TO THAT PERSON'S MOTHER WHICH WILL READ: MADAM YOUR SON WAS TRASH, SO WE USSED HIM FOR TARGET PRATICE AND THEN THROUGH HIM IN A DUMPSTER, ONLY THOSE WHO ARE PREAPERED TO BE KILLED , HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL! "And you all know I am a man of my word!" He said with an evil and demonic tone in his voice.
He then paused for a moment to let them sink in and he noticed the expression of fear forming on their faces, which pleased him greatly, for a soldier, will restrain himself from the above mentioned evils from fear of punishment.
"To those of you who feel they cannot meet the standards of being a black knight, you have until tomorrow to think it over, if you decide that you cannot fulfill the requirements you calmly sign a transfer form, YOU THEN TAKE A TRIP DOWN WASHOUT LANE" he said and pointed to the left symbolically, even though they were in open field.
"I WOULD RATHER HAVE TEN HONOURABLE AND CHIVALROUS BLACK KNIGHTS BESIDES ME THEN TEN MILLION SOLDEIERSW WHO DO NOT MEET THE REQUIRMENTS" he roared out , paced a few steps to his left and then said:
"To those of you who decide to stay I will unveil to you our standard" after that a massive flag unveiled behind him, it was a black background flack with the symbol of Geass with a sword stuck in it.
"This is our symbol, the iron hawk, a hawk is a noble bird and unlike other birds who must use great effort to maintain flight, a hawk is able to do this without constantly flapping it's wings, to the hawk flying is as natural as breathing, the same thing applies to a black knight, to him fighting and respecting the before mentioned code of honor will be as natural as breathing or sleeping"
"We will not ask how many enemies there are but where they are, and we will hi them so hard and so fast that they're ancestors will fell the blows"
"And to those of you who decide to remain under my command this is what I tell you will happen, like a single grain of rice is able to tip the scale, we will do the same in a battle" he continued with his voice rising which each sentence
"The one decisive factor between victory and defeat we will be that factor, the ones who decide the course of the battle , the one factor who decides the course of a war, the country forgers, the country smashers, the king makers and breakers, WE THE BLACK KNIGHTS WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF THE WORLD"
"WHAT SAY YOU BLACK KNIGHTS ! SOUNDS GOOD?"
To this question a deafening roar of cheers, whistles and applauses flooded the area like a tidal wave, their commander was beyond what they would ever imagined.
All members of those present Brittannians, Japanese ,South Americans ,Mexicans and Canadians all now shared the same admiration for their leader.
(Pendragon city throne room)
Upon hearing his speech and watching his gestures the nobility was shocked, and all heads turned towards the Emperor who was sitting on his throne, they were expecting him to erupt in anger, to order Lelouch's arrest and execution for his boldness, but nothing prepared them for what the Emperor did….he chuckled.
"It seems that things have gotten rather interesting , I look forward to viewing his exploits" Charles said and that sentiment was shared by Schneizell and Cornelia who were also in the room, but for the rest of the room, the nobles and other princes and princesses the sentiment they shared was fear…fear that Lelouch was steadily gaining favor with the emperor, for there was not a single noblemen who did not hate the Empress Marianne and had not viewed Lelouch and Nunnally as bastard children of a commoner whore, Lelouch knew that, and they knew he knew that, and now there was a danger he would make them pay for that.
The effects of Lelouch, his words and his actions were being felt through the whole world now, from that moment on the end of the old world had started, what would happen in the future was now anybody's guess.