Turn XXI: Apocalypse now Part III
(Excerpt from the 2090 Kenneth Burns the Third documentary: The Century of War)
"By the time we reached the docks the enemy knew that it was their last stand, and we knew we had to break that stand, so every unit, from a riflemen, to tanks, to airpower, to knightmares rushed in.
Riflemen got into hand to hand, Tanks rammed each other like a pair or Rhinos', Airplanes collided with each other, and knightmares pushed and shoved each other like giant Sumo wrestlers.
That mêlée lasted only 4 minutes, but within those four minutes casualties mounted up, all technology was forgotten, all maneuver, and any king of strategy was now alien, like war had a tendency to bring out the savage nature in man, this battle now had us degenerate us into caveman, it was one big fight with clubs, chains and bottles, savagery at its most decadent level.
Captain Naoto Kan 761st regiment, 501st division, 42nd corps Black Knights.
Excerpt from the Diary of Naoto Kan
(Lelouch's command position)
"Hehehe hahahah HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA H!'Lelouch unable to restrain his jubilation laughed out loud.
He lifted his arms up in glee, and then looked out his command vehicles window, there he saw his reflection and he immediately jumped back from what he saw.
A look of horror, disillusion and devastation was now on his face, he picked up his Zero mask and holding it with both hands he looked at it.
"Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith"
Lelouch suddenly said as he placed the mask back on the table.
"Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain"
He once more with a voice which was exhausted and devoid of strength said as he walked backwards to where his chair was.
"Sir?" one of the staff officers said.
"What did I just say earlier?" Lelouch asked.
"Eh?" the officer replied.
"I said what did I just say earlier….please tell me.." Lelouch said his hands where now supporting his chin, in an involuntary move which humans had built in them to help them receive grave news.
"W-well you said that the Slayers are finally beaten…and…." Rivals said but was hesitant to continue.
"And then you said you would kill each one of them…and…..and use Todoh's head as a drinking cup…" Shirley hesitantly told him.
"I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank"
Lelouch once more said out loud as he buried his head in desperation in his palms, his suspicion as now confirmed.
"Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadors
Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name,
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game,"
Lelouch said his head still buried in his arms, he then lifted his head and there where traces of tears that had streamed down his eyes.
Lelouch then pressed a button which connected him with Diethard Reed.
"Mister Reed is their anyway this battle can still be lost?" Lelouch asked him.
"No sir, the Slayers have sustained 60% casualties, we have 30 %casualties, unless the sky come crashing down on us I don't see how that's possible" Diethard replied.
"Very well then, tell Cornelia she has command I am retiring from exhaustion, also tell the Slayers the following: they have fought bravely and I respect that, if they surrender I will treat them magnanimously" Lelouch said and he ended the transmission.
He then got up from his chair, walked to the door, and stopped right before it and said:
"Oh and by the way Shirley, from the time of my unmasking to the SAZ I found out about Kallen, I seduced her and slept with her almost daily in order to keep track of her whereabouts ".
"I suspected as much…" Shirley said to him, she saw how Kallen looked at Lelouch while they were still at Ashford, there was no surprise in her voice, just confirmation.
"Why are you telling me this now?" she asked genuinely curious.
"…..After what you just saw now….you actually think something as trifling as that actually matters?" Lelouch said and he left the command deck, after picking up his mask.
As he walked towards his room he continuously looked at his own reflection in his Zero visor.
"Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer"
Lelouch said as he remembered what he saw only a moment ago in the command room, from his speech, gesture mannerism, and laughter the image which formed on the window was not his own, for one moment Lelouch saw something which terrified him, something which even in his darkest nightmares he never envisioned he would become….he saw that he had become his father…..
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint"
(Cornelia's position)
"Lelouch has retired from exhaustion and given me command?" Cornelia said to Diethard.
"Yes, ma'am, also he recommended that we give the Slayers an opportunity to surrender" Diethard replied.
"At this point the battle is decided, I approve of it." Cornelia said and she activated a speaker.
"To the enemy units, this is Cornelia, in recognition for your bravery we ofer you the change to surrender, will you accept it?" Cornelia asked them.
"We will not!" Todoh's reply came through.
"This battle may be lost, this war may be lost, but we will never stop to fight against you, we will honorably fight for freedom until we die!" Todoh said and the Slayers army shouted in agreement.
"Honorably? You dare use the word honor when you yourselves do not know it's meaning? You who pledged to disarm when you sign the SAZ, yet at the same time gave weapons to the Chinese, you who did nothing while Kyushu was under Sawasaki turned Kyushu into a hellhole! You who then pledged loyalty to the Chinese Federation and the launched a coup against it dare to dream that you know anything about honor!" Suzaku suddenly shouted over his speakers.
"And what do you consider honor is then Suzaku-kun? To serve away a group of invaders just because they offer to be lenient masters? Just because some girls gives you sweat eyes? Is that honor? Is that life? Honor means staying to your principles no matter what happens, our principles are a free Japan and we will fight for it!" Kallen replied, her knightmares had been partially fixed and she exited to help support the front lines
"Fight, fight and more fighting! That's the only thing you know how to achieve your goals! It's that way of thinking that does the most damaged to the world! People like you are a cancer, a plague, and we are the cure, all units follow me and destroy the Slayers!"
"Al HAIL ZERO!" The Black Knight cried out.
"DIE ZERO!" The Slayers said and they now restarted the fight now with even more intensity, and now began what history called the Four Minutes of hell.
(F.L.E.J.A convoy)
"Fire the F.L.E.J.A! "Calares ordered.
But sir our Allies the Black Knights are there!" a bridge officer said
*BANG*
Calares pulled out his gun and shot the officer.
"I said fire the F.L.E.J.A, we will destroy the Slayers with that weapon and also purge our ranks of those fitly numbers and their bastard of a Commander" Calares said as he now at gunpoint repeated his command.
(Center of the Battlefield)
"Hey hold the lines!" Tamaki said, just then he saw a knightmare approaching, he recognized it as one of the Lancelot models of Lelouch's commanders.
"Hey you in that Big shot Lancelot! I Shinichiro Tamaki challenge you to a duel!" Tamaki said.
"Very well, I Lieutenant General Omar Bradley accept your challenge" Omar replied and they clashed blade's.
A barrage of attacks and parries came from both Tamaki's Akatsuki and Omar's Lancelot, Tamaki launched his slash harken, but Omar sliced them Tamaki then tried a downward Slash from above, but Omar Dodged it and cut of Tamaki's arm.
"Now stand aside worthy adversary!" Omar proclaimed, Tamaki had now lost his Harken, his machine gun arm, and his sword, Omar was the victor.
"IT's just a scratch " Tamaki replied unfazed.
"A scratch! Your arms off!" Omar replied astounded.
"No it isn't!" Tamaki replied.
"Then what's that then!" Omar said while he pointed at the cut off knightmare arm.
"I've had worse" Tamaki replied after he looked at it for a moment.
"You lie!" Omar replied.
"Come on you pansy!" Tamaki said as he picked up the sword with his left arm and started slashing at Omar, Omar easily deflected his blows and cut off Tamaki's remaining arm.
"Victory is mine!" Omar proclaimed.
Tamaki suddenly tried to kick Omar.
"What!" Omar said as he was astounded by what was going on.
"Come on then!" Tamaki said to him.
"You are a brave man Mister Tamaki, but this fight is mine" Omar replied.
"Oh had enough ey!" Tamaki replied.
"Look you stupid bastard you got no arms left on your knightmare!" Omar said to him.
"Yes I have!" Tamaki replied.
"Look!" Omar replied.
"Just a scratch for me!" Tamaki said and he continued to try to kick Omar.
"That's it!" Omar said as he sliced of one of Tamaki's legs.
"I'll have you for that!" Tamaki replied.
"You'll what!" Omar replied.
"Come here!" Tamaki said as he hopped to it.
"What are you going to do bleed on me?" Omar replied.
"I'm invincible!" Tamaki said as he tried to hop charge him.
But Bradley used his arm to keep him at bay like in a Tom and Jerry Cartoon.
"You're a Looney!" Omar said and he hit the Akatsukis head, making Tamaki eject right into the sky.
(Diethard's position)
"Is that report serious?" Diethard asked one of his aides.
"Yes sir! The mêlée and the artillery duel have now reached such and intensity that we are actually recording a two degrees earthquake on the Richter Scale !" the aide replied.
At this Diethard picked up a camera and went outside to record the scene, to say it was ghastly was an understatement.
The fires and flashes from the fighting turned night into day, the ground rumbled from the intensity of the fighting, Soldier everywhere dead where present, scream and moans of agony of the wounded were mixed with the sound of battle and death, in all it was sight from hell.
"He has done it! He has finally done it, Prince Lelouch has brought the Fires of Hell to this world! The Niddhog has started Ragnarok!".
Diethard mentally said to himself as he with great delight took in and recorded the gruesome spectacle which had now engulfed the city.
(Excerpt from the 2090 Kenneth Burns the Third documentary: The Century of War)
"The battle had now reached new levels of savagery, in that chaos I saw my former commander Lieutenant Hagan suddenly wandering the Field of war and screaming something, and somehow through all that smoke and noise I could hear it clearly.
"Why are we doing this…
How can we kill each other, when we don't even know each other.
Why, why ,why, why, why…..
Those words would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Captain Naoto Kan 761st regiment, 501st division, 42nd corps Black Knights.
Excerpt from the Diary of Naoto Kan
(Lelouch's room)
Lelouch had now returned to his quarters and he sat down on his couch, to try to relax he pulled out an old Record and played on of his favorite songs.
"Fire the F.L.E.J.A!" Calare's ordered and it was complied.
On the ground the Tamaki had just then bean beaten by Omar, his cockpit went and collided with the incoming F.L.E.J.A warhead deflecting it's course, this in fact made the bomb detonate itself farther away from the two armies then was intended, unknowingly saving them saving them , but the bomb still exploded and did great damage.
The bomb activated and a great light now engulfed the Field, Lelouch saw this light from his room's window.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
So did everyone else on the battlefield, the fight then stopped as like moths they were attracted t o this flame.
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
"Todoh-san" Asahina said as the light engulfed him
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
Darlton who was with Guilford and the Gladstone knights also where mentally shocked by what they where seeing, Cornelia was with them.
Their training and loyalty kicking in they immediately pushed the Princess out of harm's way.
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
At the Hospital Euphie also saw the light.
She hugged Nunnally tightly, trying to assure her that everything was fine, and now she wondered that maybe even Nunnally now saw this dreadful light.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
"What the hell is going on! Who ordered F.L.E.J.A to be launched!" Lelouch yelled as the light now started to implode and the shockwave made the command center roll
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right
The light faded the shockwave subsided, and on Calares face a smirk of achievement was present.
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
A sudden artillery burst hit the convoy.
"Get me contact with Prince Odysseus!" Calares ordered.
"Your highness please stop that barrage!" Calares said to him.
"How can you ask me that! You fired on our allies." Odysseus angrily spat at him him.
"W-Wait! We only fired on Prince Lelouch, he was manipulating you for his own purposes! We did this for you My Prince!" Calares said lying thru his teeth.
"Did this for me! I was not manipulated by him, I asked him to take me in, he gave me purpose, you are nothing but traitors and murderers and you will all die!" Odysseus said and he was literary foaming at the mouth.
"W-Wait your highness we surrender and in accordance to you code you must threat us with chivalry! "Calares said now panicking.
At this Odysseus anger subsided and he looked at Kuribayashi and said.
"Ito, our communications became blurry a moment ago so I did not hear what General Calare said, tell me did he offer his surrender?"
"No I did not hear it" Ito replied.
"Did anybody else in this room hear it?" Odysseus asked.
"No"
"Nep"
"Beast me"
Was the other officers reply.
"Then since they did not surrender we must then continue to fight them." Odysseus replied and he raised his hand to give the signal for the barrage to restart.
"W-Wait your highness! You are the heir to the throne, the future king, I am a noble, how would this look to the world?" Calares said pleading for his life.
"No, I am not the king,….i am not a Prince…I am an artillery commander….I am a soldier, and you are my enemy…" Odysseus then raised his head and looked him in the eye and added:" ….A soldiers kills his enemies…Fire!" He ordered.
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
The unexpected usage of F.L.E.J.A turned the result of the battle unexpectedly.
The Slayers suffered 85,3% casualties, 60 percent wounded and 25% dead
The Black Knights and allied forces suffered 82,7 casualties, 54 % wounded and 28% dead
The Empire calls it: The Empire's Austerlitz, Zero's perfect battle.
Because Lelouch in terms of maneuver had beaten Todoh.
The U.F.N calls it: Lelouch's Waterloo, Todoh's second miracle
Lelouch's army was greatly wounded and for a while unable to fight
Because despite being beaten, outmaneuvered and suffering .J.A Todoh somehow managed to ensure the survival of his army at a heavy cost, under those circumstances his accomplishment could be called nothing short of miraculous.
Lelouch withdrew his army to a defensive ring around Ashford.
Todoh did the same and maintained his army around the docks..
The Titanomachy was over….it truly was a battle which made the world tremble…..it truly was a fight to the death.
(Todoh's position)
Todoh was in his Knightmares he glanced at the field, by change or fates cruel play he saw the body of Lt Hagan, and as if he was there he heard the words he screamed as the battle took away his sanity, before it took away his life.
Why are we doing this…
How can we kill each other, when we don't even know each other.
Why, why ,why, why, why…..
Todoh looked around the field, The city of Tokyo which had been rebuilt only a few short weeks ago now lied in ruin, and orgy of corpse was everywhere, he could see the legs of knightmare frame which were hit still standing, crashed aircraft, blown up tanks everywhere.
"Next to a battle lost….the saddest thing is a battle won "Todoh lamented as he returned to his command center.
Authors note
Read and Review,
also exams are coming up for me, so don't expect and update at least until may next year.