Turn XXV: Ragnarok Part I
(Ashford Academy meeting hall)
"There is a reason for that!" Shirley said suddenly into the microphone.
"What do you mean?" Kusakabe replied.
"Well…that dinner was a marriage meeting between Lelouch and Kallen!" Shirley said to the world shocking it.
"M…..marriage!" Tamaki belted out loud and a swarm of eyes beamed on Kallen.
"What the hell Shirley!" Lelouch thought *BUDUMP**BUDUMP* *BUDUMP* to himself as his heart was now racing. "Hey hears stop beating so fast!" he thought to himself
"And how would you know that miss?" a question came.
"Well y-you see I'm….."Shirley said.
*BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP*
"Stop beating so loud heart!" Lelouch said in his mind.
"I-I 'am…"Shirley added.
*BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**BUDUMP**.
"I'AM ALSO HIS MAJESTIES FIANCEE!"
I…,.
"My heart stopped!" Lelouch said as he clenched his fist to his chest and looked in horror at Shirley and what she said.
"…You…"
"…Are…"
"…Also…"
"…his fiancée…?"
Shirley stunned the world at this moment and capitalized on their reaction.
She then went: "You see back then both Kallen and myself became engaged to Lelouch since we both loved him….." she then continued on a bogus story about how the three of them became thorn between their respective duties and their past romance and inner turmoil.
Lelouch now looked at Shirley in disbelief, for he now he discovered the truth about her:
"Shirley is a delirious pervert!" he said to himself.
Shirley continued on her stories which were starting to sound like scenes from a Fabio novel
"…And on Saturday's we used to go to this beautiful beach and *Snatch*" Lelouch quickly grabbed the microphone from her hands.
"I think that's very much enough for now!" Lelouch said his face greatly flustered.
"Delirious pervert my ass! This girl is the Queen of Perverts!" he thought to himself.
With that the meeting was adjourned.
(Slayers military base)
A series of eye's all beamed on Kallen and an eerie silence followed until Tamaki broke it
"Care to explain what was that all about?" he said angrily.
"Well we went on a few dates…..we became a couple and then he was unmasked…..and then and then….." Kallen said as tears streamed down her eyes.
"Everyone stop this you're making Kallen cry" Kaguya said defending her friend.
"Well sorry if I am making the future queen cry!" Tamaki spat out.
"This is a serious complicated situation!"Ohgi said to himself.
"It's not that complicated! It's a matter of love!" Kaguya determinately said to him.
"I agree, you cannot choose who you will fall in love" Chiba and Laksharta also supported her.
"OK, ok! but putting that aside what do we do now?" Ohgi askeed
While the group was debating things, they saw that Tamaki was leaving.
"Where are you going?" Xingke asked.
"To the Black Knights camp to enlist" Tamaki replied.
"Join the Black Knights?" Todoh asked him.
"Well seems to me we either join Lelouch or Join Kusakabe and Schneizell, and why should I join Kusakabe? To fight for a Prince who blew up two cities and for a asshole who fired us and stole away the U.F.N, and against who? The man who destroyed the old Empire, no sir not me!"
"You guys can o whatever you want, but I've made up my mind" Tamaki said and he left the room.
"What he said does make a valid point" Empress Tianzi said to the group.
"But will he receive us after everything that has happened between us?" Hong asked.
(A few hours later, U.F.N council room)
A party was going on which was hosted by Kusakabe, everyone was laughing, eating, singing, except Marshall Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus,.
"Today we have eliminated the corrupt elements from our U.F.N and with our recent Alliance with Schneizell we have ensured that we will be on the winning team of the war, gentleman we are soldiers! Let us rejoice!" Kusakabe said to them and "Hurrah" Was their answer.
Kusakabe then noticed that Friedrich was not enjoying himself, but rather drowning his sorrow in alcohol.
"Is something the matter Marshall Friedrich?" Kusakabe asked him.
"Your 'Excellency' from the atmosphere here it looks like we are going to fight the Empire, but we in fact submitted to them by becoming Schneizell's lapdogs" Friedrich replied and did not bother hiding his disdain.
"Marshall you're attitude!" Kusakabe and many of his cronies shouted at him.
"Let me ask you something "Chairman", what do you intend to do about Lelouch and Schneizell?" Friedrich asked.
"Do? I intend to manipulate both Schneizell and Lelouch, make them fight against each other and then defeat them and we will reign supreme!" Kusakabe boasted.
At this Friedrich stared and him for am moment before he lowered his gaze and started laughing maniacally.
"HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"You defeat the geniuses of Schneizell and the likes of Lelouch?"
HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Fucking morons!" Friedrich now angrily and very drunkenly shouted as he flipped the table over.
"I know Lelouch! He will fight the way he wants to fight and he will blow us to kingdom come!" Friedrich shouted.
This was too much for Kusakabe and he activated his geass, infusing the already angry group of his cronies with even more bloodlust and they attacked Friedrich.
They gang upped on him, hit him, bit him, one man took a knife from the table and stabbed him in the back.
"Aaaaaggggggggggg!" Frederick said.
The other followed suit and with knives from the table continued to stab him in the chest, arms, lungs, stomach, liver, back, legs, until Friedrich collapsed on the ground, and after a moment gave his final breath.
The band in the room which up until now was playing lively music started a slow and sad music out of respect for the poor man.
"Gentleman I approve of your gesture and despite the fact that he was a traitor I wish for his absolution in the afterlife" Kusakabe said with mock grief.
At the edge of the room next to the walls, where other Military commanders who where colleagues of Friedrich.
"What a great tragedy! And this isn't even recent, even in the former E.U the government got rid of people they did not like, with even less savory means" Adrian Potiasky Leader of the Polish army said.
"A shame on our heads for obeying such scum!" Cabrillo Giuseppe, the commander of The Mediterranean forces told his colleagues.
"God will punish both us and them….poor Frederick, a very sour reward for the forty years which he lived with the sword in his hand" Adrian said as he and Cabrillo left, certain that whatever happened the future of the U.F.N looked bleak.
(Black Knights Base, Honolulu harbor a few days latter)
Lelouch and his lieutenants where having dinner.
"I can see that all of you are curious, but none of you has the guts to ask so I will give you the story behind me and Kallen" Lelouch said and they all snapped to attention.
"What you heard from Shirley is a fabricated story, here is the truth, I suspected Kallen to be a member of the JLF and I invited her to a restaurant in order to very discreetly find you the truth, she drank some wine, we dance a few times and unfortunately she while dancing had a tight grip on me, I couldn't break away and she had her way with me" Lelouch replied.
"Wait she had her way with you?" Cornelia asked confused.
"You know she had her way with me!" Lelouch said a bit flushed.
"She had her way….OOH! She raped you!" Cornelia shouted out loud which caused them to jump from their seats, except Suzaku, who knew of his friends 'traumatic experience'.
And from that any feeling of mistrust and betrayal where replaced by those of sympathy and sorry or Lelouch's ordeal.
Just then James entered the room.
"My Lord we have located Schneizell's position" James said to those present.
"He is here, currently 10 miles short of The Cape of Good hope and is heading in the direction of Western Europe." He added.
"This is Bad! Half of our forces are in Japan, the other Half is with us, and neither of them are close enough to where Schneizell's route said it would be in the folder" Jeremiah said.
"Schneizell isn't the one to let that valuable of information just slip by, I suspected it, but now it seems I was right when I though he intentionally let Nonette steal the folder…Humbug! He has humbugged me! This man honors war!" Lelouch said fool with admiration for his brother and teacher.
"What are our current strength?" Lelouch asked
"We have 30.000 men with 1.500 frames here in Honolulu, our main force The Black Knights are still in Japan, there they are 50.00 strong with 4.000 frames" Jeremiah replied.
"We estimate that Schneizell had 90.000 strong with 5.000 Brittannian Frames and 9.000 U.F.N frames from Kusakabe" Viletta added.
Lelouch looked at the map for a minute and he then told them his plan.
"The army in Japan will move through Russia and intercept him here in Belgium, Cornelia you will take the army of Honolulu and come to our aide as fast as you can" Lelouch replied.
"From the difference in strength it would take me at least 10 hours to catch up, can you last that long against Schneizell?" Cornelia asked concerned.
"I may not be up to his caliber, but I think I can last that long." Lelouch said and prayed to God he was right.
"Also Euphie, Nunnally I want the two of you to return to the mainland and to Japan" Lelouch told them.
"Why! We can't just stay where it's safe while you go and fight the war!" Euphie said with Nunnally's support.
"This battle will no doubt be with heavy casualties, I do not know who will live, or if we will even win, as such you must remain there so if I fall the Empire has a leader to succeeded me, this is not only a request this is an order!" Lelouch said in a calm tone
"I agree with Lelouch on this issue!" Suzaku said and Cornelia felt the same way.
"Also if we lose you will be shown mercy since you did not participate in the battle" Lelouch said to himself.
"Brother, I will do as you tell me, but…..please don't hurt Schneizell or our other brothers and sisters, I know they rebelled, but still…."Nunnally said with genuine concern for them.
"Very well Nunnally I can't promise much, but that I can" Lelouch said to her.
(Coast of Japan)
BAUMP! BAUMP! BAUMP! BAUMP! BAUMP!
The Sarmizegetusa alarm went off inside the ship.
"What's the matter?" Odysseus said to the radar officer.
"We have and army approaching us, from the Signature I say it is the Original Slayers army and the Dragon cavalry" the officer replied.
"What should we do your sir?" Odysseus said to Lelouch.
"Tell Chef Ramsey to set extra plates for dinner." Lelouch replied.
"Any minute now they are going to hail us with the intention of negotiating they're joining force with us "Lelouch calmly replied and a minuet latter the hail came
(Schneizell's position)
"Sir we have currently stopped here in Belgium to refuel and do last minute maintenance on our Damocles before going into orbit" Kannon said to his lord.
"Very well, what of the nobles and the armies they brought with them?" Schneizell asked.
"They are begging us to let them join the battle which is coming forth, also Kusakabe has politely asked that he is to command the army during the coming battle and the Nobles army be placed under his command" Kannon replied.
"Weary well, I approve both requests" Schneizell replied.
"Sir?" Kannon said confused.
"The armies are of both hostile nature to us, so it is best if they kill each other, and overwhelming victory for the U.F.N is not good for our faction, the same can be said for Lelouch. Also the nobles are as Lelouch so colorfully placed it 'parasites' let him dispose of them for us" Schneizell answered him.
(Sarmizegetusa dining room)
"How many troops do you have available?" Lelouch asked Xingke and Todoh.
"Approximately 22.000 soldiers and 1.800 European and Chinese Frames, and 2.500 Gekka's" Xingke replied.
"The addition of your forces to our own is a welcomed fact, so I would like to outline our deployment of forces" Lelouch said and he activated the monitor in the room.
"The center will be commanded by Xingke and the Chinese and European frames, the left wing by Todoh and the Slayers and the right Flank by my army the Black Knights under the Command of Jeremiah, Viletta, George and Omar will be stationed with the 501st and the 761st to the rear to act as a reserves, are there any complaints?" Lelouch told them.
"Our basic strategy is to hold out until Cornelia arrives with Reinforcements and we can overwhelm Schneizell am I right?" Todoh asked.
"yes, I would like to pull out another one of my trademark miracles, but I am afraid the geographic and tectonic structure of the route Schneizell has followed prevents me from doing so, he is too smart for that" Lelouch replied.
"Am I correct in the assumption that you desire to command this army during the coming battle?" Kaguya asked curious.
"In an army with equal ranking commanders whoever has the greatest number of soldiers is the commander; even without Cornelia that person is me, are you suggesting I am unqualified to do so?" Lelouch asked.
"No, just curious" Kaguya replied.
"I have a question to ask." Tamaki said and the Slayers held their breath hoping it would not embarrass them.
"Where exactly are we going to face Schneizell?" Tamaki asked.
"Here in Belgium, a dozen miles short of Brussels, I saw the terrain myself when I took London, and kept it in my pocket, it's called Mont-Saint-Jean" George said as he showed them the location.
Satisfied with the meeting they adjourned.
Kallen was in the hangar when her father came up to her.
"Looks like I will be a grandfather soon" he said jokingly to her.
"F-Father!" Kallen replied with a blush.
"Just joking, but joking aside did you really get engaged to his majesty?" James asked her.
"Y-yes" she replied with a blush she had met with Shirley a short while ago and they along with Lelouch decided that for now they should keep this façade.
"Do you love him?" James asked.
At that questions Kallen's heart stopped, and she thought of her relationship with Lelouch, of how he refused to compromise to the system, how he fought o change it, how he lead armies from hopeless situations to victory, his voice, his kiss, his body, his heart and she came to the one true conclusion of her own.
"I do" She replied.
"Then the only thing left to do is for me to give my blessing, after the war we can hold a triple wedding with Princess Euphemia and you mother and I" James said with a smile, he then leaned in front of his daughter and whispered in her ear
"Just remember to not be to bossy with your husband or with your wives" James playfully teased his daughter and after a moment of embarrassment they both shared a laugh.
(Mont-Saint-Jean, two day latter, the night before the battle)
Damocles.
"You chosen your ground well little brother, the woods to your back gives you good cover if you want to retreat and regroup, I have taught you the art of war well….perhaps a little too well" Schneizell thought to himself as he viewed Lelouch's army from his window.
Sarmizegetusa
"Schneizell is not in command, that fool Kusakabe is, for now we have the advantage despite being two to one, but if Kusakabe gives Schneizell command what then? I never defeated him in chess and that's where we both had equal number of forces, can I defeat him now when he outnumbers us?" Lelouch thought to himself as he looked out the window, he turned around to his "'harem'" which consisted if Kallen, Shirley and C.C.
A surprise look came over their faces because Lelouch's skin had become pail white from concern over tomorrow.
"What are you looking at?" Lelouch said in a voice which was devoid of strength or vitality.
"Please leave me alone tonight" Lelouch told them and they hesitantly left his room since they were concerned for his health.
"May God have mercy on me if I fail tomorrow, for no one else will" Lelouch said as he laid on his bed and closed his eyes to let a troubled sleep fill his being.
(Mont-Saint-Jean, morning)
The Allied army, the official name whish Lelouch, Todoh and Xingke gave it where positioned behind a steep hamlet.
Xingke walked up to where someone was sleeping with a newspaper covering his face and said:
"Your majesty the army is assembled and so is the enemy"
"A Xingke! Thank you for waking me up" Lelouch replied.
"Seeing as how I am this armies second in command, what are your plans should you unfortunately be disabled during the fight" he politely asked.
"To whip the enemy of course Lelouch replied with a smile and he went to mount his knightmare frame.
(Damocles' army)
9:40 am.
"Delay our attack? Why?"Kusakabe said to General Giuseppe.
"The ground has is muddy from the heavy rain last night, I must advice to delay our attack until the mud is dried" the general said.
"We will do no such thing! Every second we delay brings Cornelia closer! All units attack now!" Kusakabe ordered.
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
The First offensive began.
(Allied army)
"1st battalion engage at point five, second battalion will support" Todoh ordered his men.
"Eight regiment to begin flanking maneuver on point 9, and the third armed squadron to engage at point eight" Xingke ordered his troops.
"Looks like the enemy is going all out" Ohgi said concerned.
"No…it's just that moron Kusakabe showing us just how much of a dedicated follower of brains without brawls he is, this attack will be repulsed soon, and then Schneizell will take command and then and only then will the ball begin" Lelouch replied unfazed by what was happening.
The Damocles army attacked the Allies, their units were not well organized and as Lelouch predicted after an hour of fighting the enemy withdrew.
(Allied army)
"Ha ha we won!" Tamaki said enthusiastically.
"You don't look to happy for some reason." Tamaki said as he looked at Lelouch.
"Oh I am just concerned for the next battle" Lelouch said lying through his teeth.
"The men we faced where as green as cabbage, their leader where as smart as a cabbage, anybody who thinks this is a victory is a cabbage head" Lelouch then took a glance at a still happy Tamaki and knew he was right.
(Kusakabe's position)
11:00 am
"We have been repulsed! And we have sustained 18.000 casualties?" Kusakabe said now angry that even with his geass and a two to one advantage he still did not win against Lelouch.
"Prince Schneizell what you suggest we do?" Kusakabe asked now deciding that since he had a very capable man as his allies he should use him.
"I have many suggestions, but it would be much easier to give me temporary command of the army." Schneizell said politely.
Kusakabe agreed and Schneizell left for the Damocles to take command of the army from there.
(Allied position)
Shinkiro cockpit
Lelouch had ordered that every commanding general and strong knightmare pilot be given a s cup of sake to toast, since the real battle was now close to beginning.
11:34 am.
"Ladies, Gentleman, to today's fox" Lelouch said to them trough the communications channel and they all toasted.
Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang*
"Well that opens the ball" he said to himself.
A round of artillery sounded off, and from the troops movements he could tell that Schneizell had taken command of the army
Excerpt from Microsoft Encarta
The battle which took place at Mont-Saint-Jean would be the first and only time the Lelouch and Schneizell would face each other, the battle would be every military historians dream, the one clash between the two greatest commanders of an age which decided the fate of the world.
There had been many clashed before: Liu Bay and Cao Cao, Aetius and Atilla, Caezar and Eowyn, and now Schneizell and Lelouch.
In a strange twist of fate the site of the battle was of another battle which was fought there centuries ago, for Mont-Saint-Jean was placed next to a small vilage which is quite well know, even to those who are not passionate about history.
The very same village where the fate of the world was decided once more centuries ago
Waterloo
Authors note:
Read an Review, let me know if I should finish this.