I don't own Code Geass
...
Outskirts of Narita, Area Eleven, 2017
"God Almighty," Viletta whispered as she watched the mudslide sweep down toward the small town at the mountain's base. Within seconds the streets, buildings, homes, and cars had been buried beneath the mud and detached rock. So far as she could tell, nothing over two stories was still standing.
That could have been us, she thought, staring at the still moving landfall. With a jolt of fear it occurred to her: the slide was moving towards them.
"Everybody move!" she shouted, whipping around to the refugees and Britannian soldiers gathered in shock behind her. "Get to higher ground! It's coming this way!"
Viletta immediately realized her mistake when pandemonium broke out and the refugees began scrambling in all directions. Her head whipped back and forth as she tried in vain to organize the civilians into a group when she saw it: a large hill jutting out of the trees. "That way!" she cried, trying to direct people to the hill, but they either couldn't hear her or weren't paying attention. With a scowl she jerked her pistol from her holster and fired into the air.
The crowed recoiled from her but she had their attention. "Up that hill!" she barked, "Now!" By now she could hear the rumbling of the snapping trees and crashing rocks coming their way getting louder and louder as it sped toward them. The refugees began running toward their presumed safety en masse, pushing and shoving people out of their way, sending them to the ground in their haste for salvation. Viletta grabbed who she could, hauling them to their feet and pushing them toward the hill. She paused to look back at the slide and started when she saw five of the refugees sprinting off into the woods.
"Not that way!" she cried, firing several bullets in their direction to dissuade them, but they kept running in a blind panic, not even seeing how close the mud was. And then, as Viletta watched, it swallowed them whole.
"We have to go, ma'am!" A soldier shouted into her ear, grabbing her by the shoulder and tugging. "We have to go!"
Viletta let herself be led by him for a second before she began sprinting as fast as she could, briefly overtaking the soldier as they ran pell mell to safety. They reached the base of the tall hill, huffing and staggering their way up the steep climb. The screaming of the mudslide roared in her ears now, so close to them, and she wondered if the hill would be tall enough to keep them above its flow.
They came upon several refugees that had collapsed in exhaustion, and Viletta yelled, "Up, up! Get as high as you can!" They didn't seem to hear her and stayed where they had fallen, curled up and afraid. She wasted no more time on them, staggering clumsily the rest of the way up to the hill's peak.
It was then that the slide hit, wrapping around and climbing up the base of the hill. Panicked screams reached Viletta's ears and she snapped her eyes back to where the collapsed refugees had been. They were gone, replaced by a tide of mud and rock that was rising slowly up the side of the hill.
"Gather close!" Viletta ordered, beckoning the civilians to her position at the hill's highest point. "Now! Get as far away as you can!" They gathered around her but some were packed too close and fell, rolling screaming into the brown-black flow.
"There's no room!" she heard a man yell. She turned around just in time to see him shove an elderly woman to her death. Without hesitation Viletta snapped her pistol up and fired three rounds directly into his back. The murderer cried and fell forward, vanishing before her eyes.
Acute of the fact that she had their attention, Viletta warned, "Anyone else shove anyone and you can expect the same fate!" The crowd seemed to calm down, for the moment fixated on her. "Close to me," she ordered, sliding her gun back into her holster and wrapping her arms around two of the civilians. Catching on quickly, the survivors huddled around her, wrapping their arms around each other's bodies, one's strength becoming another's. Viletta heard tear choked prayers and mumbled pleas for mercy. Swallowing a lump in her throat she said a prayer of her own, asking a simple question.
What the Hell happened?
….
Britannian FOB, Base of Narita Mountain, Area Eleven
"Camelot Unit, evacuate the area!" the Princess cried into the communications rig.
"Get us the Hell out of here!" Jeremiah shouted, snatching Princess Euphemia around the waist and grabbing onto the tactical map. The G-1 lurched to the side, throwing those officers still standing to the floor.
The construction of steel and machinery lumbered clumsily and slowly away from the approaching flood of destruction that had only just drowned General Alex and his men in a sea of dirt and rock. The mobile command center rocked back and forth violently at the seismic shifts that shook the mountain, and for one perilous moment, it seemed that the Britannian command base would tip to its side and be consumed by Narita's wrath. The G-1 stabilized once it moved over stable ground, and the command crew watched breathlessly as the mud flow passed them by. When it became clear that they had managed to get out of the mud slide's range, the bridge crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.
That was a little too close, Jeremiah thought, allowing a slightly relieved smile to lighten his face. Your plan worked flawlessly, My Lord. "Damage report!" he shouted aloud.
"The G-1 itself is stable, My Lord," a communications officer replied after a moment. "Fires broke out in the mess halls but have been contained. Minor injuries associated with light bruising are being reported, but all squad leaders are assuring combat ready status."
"Then order them to their pre-assigned defensive positions immediately," Jeremiah ordered, allowing Princess Euphemia to slide out of his grasp. "What's the status of our forward positions?"
The officer his question was the direction of listened to his communication feed before saying, "Frontline forces have suffered heavy casualties: General Alex's and Sir Guilford's command grouped too closely together and were buried by the mudslide."
"Are they alright?" Princess Euphemia asked anxiously.
"Sir Guilford is still active," the officer replied, "but General Alex was buried along with his men."
"Knightmare Frames can withstand great pressure," Jeremiah said carefully, "how long before they run out of air?"
The officer shrugged. "If the cockpit's integrity was uncompromised, maybe an hour."
"You mean they could suffocate down there?" the stricken Princess asked.
"If we don't dig them out soon, it's a strong possibility Your Highness."
Jeremiah rested his hand on the Princess' shoulder. "Then that's all the more reason to end this fight as quickly as possible." The teenager nodded, then suddenly hurried over to the communications rig.
"Camelot Unit, is everyone okay?" she asked nervously. When she received no reply, she asked again, this time of note of desperation in her voice: "Camelot Unit please respond!"
After a tense moment, the radio crackled, "We're alright Your Highness. Everyone is okay."
"That's a relief," Princess Euphemia said, placing her hand over her heart. "I was so worried for you," she said. When she realized how she had phrased it she added hurriedly, "All of you I mean! I'm glad you're all okay!"
Jeremiah hid his knowing smile behind his hand at the flustered Princess' red cheeks before saying, "Warrant Officer Kururugi, status report!"
"Most of our equipment is a loss," the young Eleven replied. "The energy rifle and ammunition was buried beneath the mudslide, along with our truck and sakuradite fuel unit."
"Then how did you get out?" Jeremiah asked, puzzled.
"We had the Lancelot powered up in case the Viceroy issued orders for us," Kururugi explained. "Lord Asplund's idea. We were doing some system checks when the slide hit. I had to carry Lord Asplund and Major Croomy to safety."
"Good work, stay on standby, we'll get you some weapons as soon as-"
"Lord Jeremiah, Knightmare signals have erupted across the mountaintop!" the communications officer shouted, "Computer estimates calculate at least thirty units!"
"Whose units?" Jeremiah cried obliviously, grinning smugly on the inside. He rushed over to the officer and leaned over his shoulder. "We've committed all of our forces to the fight and have laid waste to the JLF! Who could this possibly be?"
"I have a visual, My Lord!" another officer shouted, "Bringing it up on the main screen!"
Jeremiah's eyes flicked to the large screen, and he had to bring his hand over his mouth to hide his grin. A line of Burai units stood together midway down the mountain, the crane insignia of the Black Knights adorning their chassis. A black Frame with a golden crown raised its rifle and led the two wings of Burais down the mountain, screaming a phrase that terrified the Britannian bridge crew and made Jeremiah's heart race with joy.
"KURO BANZAI!"
…
Britannian Frontline, Narita Mountain, Area Eleven
Sir Guilford had just barely managed to reform his troops into some kind of organized group when the column of black Burais slammed into in his flank and blasted through. He gored one of the enemy Knightmares on his lance and was forced to let it go to avoid a burst of machine gun fire.
"Hold your ground men!" he encouraged, whipping out his own machine pistol and firing a burst into the black metal, "Keep your wits about you! Regroup around my position!"
Even saying that he knew there was little he could do: the men, what was left of them anyway, were confused, demoralized, and scared above all else. It was a miracle they hadn't broken and run yet.
We're being wiped out, he thought as he watched three Sutherlands explode in flames in quick succession.
"Sir Guilford, what's the status of your unit?" he heard Princess Cornelia ask over his comm rig.
Scowling at the destruction of yet another Britannian unit, Guilford said, "More than half of my command is buried underground, Your Highness, and the remainder of us are being wiped out by the enemy's counterattack."
"Pull your forces back to my position," the Viceroy ordered, and Guilford thought he heard gunfire on her end. "The JLF have reinforced their lines and are pushing us back."
"I can see the symbol of the Black Knights on the chest of some of the units I'm fighting," Guilford informed her, already signaling the retreat to his men.
"As do I," his Princess replied through what he imagined was grit teeth, "It would seem the JLF and Black Knights have allied together."
"That is my analysis as well, My Lady," Guilford agreed, lifting his Gloucester's arm to provide covering fire for his retreating men.
"Get here as soon as you can, My Knight," Princess Cornelia said. Guilford heard the line click and knew she had disconnected.
Coming My Lady, he thought, grimacing when a Sutherland toppled to his left. Coming.
….
Royal Guard Unit, Narita Mountain, Area Eleven
"Come out of hiding, Zero!" Princess Cornelia snarled, thrusting her lance through the factsphere of a Black Knight unit. She tried to fire a line of rounds into the ejecting cockpit but was distracted by a charging JLF Burai. She pivoted around it and swiped the lance into the Burai's midsection, cutting through the weak armor plating and exposing the wires connecting the various limbs to the sakuradite power source. Grinning manically, Cornelia unleashed a concentrated barrage of fire on the exposed innards, laughing when the Knightmare blew itself apart.
"Is this the best you can send against me, Zero!" Cornelia yelled, smashing her Gloucester's fist into a Burai torso before hurling it clear of her.
Their line had held steady when the initial charge hit, even though it had been pushed twenty yards down the mountain side. Now Zero's units cowered in the woods across from her, their lines separated by a slim expanse of ground and shrubbery that seemed to be a mile wide. Individual units braved the no man's land every now and then, most of them JLF, though a couple of Black Knights tried their hand at bringing her down. The flaming wrecks of their units were a testament to their success.
So far as the Viceroy was aware, only her unit had escaped the carnage of the mountain's collapse that the rest of her army had suffered. It was likely the reason her line hadn't collapsed yet. But even as she considered that a Gloucester next to her took several hits to its chassis and collapsed backwards, the pilot wisely shutting down his Frame before the sakuradite core could be hit and explode.
Cornelia knew what the battle had become at this point: a war of attrition, Zero's fresh and supplied terrorists versus her own exhausted but battle-hardened veterans. A part of her was giddy at the challenge ahead of her, already thinking up ways to turn the situation to her advantage. The other part, however, was focused on one thing only.
"Zero, you coward!" she screamed, "Come out and die like a man!" She swept a line of machine gun rounds up and down the line of covered Black Knight and JLF Knightmares. When the gun had expended all of its bullets, she swapped out magazines with practiced ease and fired another burst into the center of the line. Flashes of gunfire were the only reply.
This is getting me nowhere, she thought, biting her purple colored lip. Then an idea entered her mind that made her grin. Fancy yourself a Knight, Zero? She yelled, "All forces cease fire!" A pair of voices replied in shock and she ordered angrily, "Cease fire, damn you! All units cease fire!" One by one, all up and down the line, guns quit firing, ready to shoot but staying silent. Cornelia had been sure to make that order over an open channel. There was no way Zero hadn't heard it. Let's see what you do.
Her assumption of the man was proven correct when the gunfire on his side died out as well. Here goes nothing, she thought.
She moved her Gloucester onto the open field, ready any moment for the enemy line to open fire and force her back into the trees. None came though, and over the protest of her subordinates, she continued until she was in the center of the field.
"Enough blood has been spilled this day, Zero!" Cornelia declared, sliding her machine pistol into its holster. "Come and meet me on this open field, and we will decide this battle by single combat." She received no reply.
After an almost interminable silence that felt like it lasted hours, but in reality was only minutes, a red Knightmare Frame emerged from the darkness of the woods. It was the strangest looking Knightmare Cornelia had ever seen, possessed of gold plating on its chassis, hunched over instead of standing tall like a proper Knightmare, its factsphere shaped into a pair of blue "eyes" set into a crescent shaped face. There were no weapons on it that Cornelia could see, aside from the necessary slash harkins, though its right hand was shaped into a weird silver claw.
Is that really the best the Elevens can do? Cornelia thought derisively. Out loud she said, "You accept my terms then?" The Knightmare responded only with a Japanese bow. Cornelia readied her lance. "Very well, then."
"Princess, stop!" Cornelia averted her eyes from her main screen to her visual display on her right, narrowing them when she saw Guilford's Gloucester leading a small group of Sutherands to her side. Zero's Knightmare prepared itself, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.
Cornelia scowled. "Stand back, Sir Guilford!" she ordered, holding her lance out to restrain her Knight. "This is my fight."
"Princess, please, don't put yourself in unnecessary danger!" Guilford begged, holding his human hands out pleadingly. "If this must happen, let me take your place."
"I appreciate the concern, My Knight," Cornelia ground out, "but stay out of this. My honor is on the line here. I will not shirk my duty-"
"Andreas wouldn't want this!" Guilford cried. Cornelia froze solid. "If he were here, he'd tell you to stop, to think this thr-"
"Don't you dare use him against me!" Cornelia shrieked, glaring hatefully at Guilford' image. Vaguely she realized they were still on an open channel. "Shut the Hell up and stand aside, soldier, or I'll blow your head clean off!" She followed up the empty threat by jerking her machine pistol out of its holster and pointing it at the head of Guilford's Gloucester.
There was a long, pregnant pause between the two, Knight and Lady at the precipice. Finally, his face a mask of steel, Guilford bowed his head and said, "As you wish, My Lady." He signaled to his followers, and together they rolled off to the side, still close but now out of the way of the fight.
Cornelia ignored the coldness in her Knight's tone and turned back to Zero, replacing the machine pistol on her hip. "My apologies, Zero," she said, her smile returning as she readied her lance. "Let's begin."
…..
The Lancelot in Transit to Britannian Frontline, Narita, Area Eleven
"Link up with Viceroy Cornelia's forces as quickly as you can," Lord Gottwald said. "The machine pistol we gave you may not be what the Lancelot was intended for, but it's all we've got for now."
"It'll be enough, My Lord," Suzaku said as he increased pressure on the Lancelot's acceleration pedal.
"Please, Warrant Officer, help my sister," Princess Euphemia said, replacing Lord Gottwald's voice. "And be… be careful."
Suzaku's heart leapt at the concern in her voice. With a determined glare at his onboard tactical map he said, "Don't worry My Lady. I'll get there in time. I promise."
That said, Suzaku floored it, mindful of his limited sakuradite supply but uncaring. His life didn't matter right now. All that mattered was getting to the Viceroy.
….
Britannian Frontline, Narita, Area Eleven
Guilford gaped. He had not seen a Knightmare move half that fast since Empress Marianne mastered the Ganymede all those years ago. From the start of the duel the red Frame had dominated the encounter, moving in close and attempting to grab Lady Cornelia's factsphere. Her Highness had dodged, barely, and swung in with her lance, aiming at her opponent's golden chassis, but missed entirely. The Knightmare had then whipped around, kicking in the side of Princess Cornelia's Gloucester and sending her flying. The Viceroy had managed to perform a mid-flight flip but had to immediately move onto the defensive as Zero once more tried a grab for her factsphere.
Guilford wasn't sure why Zero wasn't using long range weaponry but he bet that it had something to do with that silver claw. What exactly does that thing do? he wondered. Nothing good, he decided. He needed to be prepared just in case. Not that he had any doubt about his Lady of course.
But just in case.
…
Cornelia couldn't tell how much of the fight was being influenced by Zero's skills as a pilot or the red machine's capabilities, but it didn't really matter one way or the other: regardless of Zero's skills, she was losing.
Losing. Lose. What a novel experience this was for Britannia's Goddess of Victory, veteran of over a hundred campaigns. It seemed that it didn't matter just how many battles Cornelia had fought, how many simulations she had run through, how many years she'd spent learning strategy from the brightest minds in the Empire.
Because now she was losing. And not to the great geniuses of Western Europe, nor to the Federation of North Africa. She was losing…. to a terrorist. A measly, pathetic, stupid dressing terrorist. This backwater was just full of gifts.
It had given her the gift of watching her sister cry on hearing the news of its invasion. It had given the gift of grief when it killed her Lelouch and Nunnaly. It had given her the gift of the loss of Clovis and her dear Andreas.
And now it would give the gift of her own defeat. How marvelous.
She kicked up with the Gloucester's leg. Zero ducked underneath it, then latched his silver hand onto it. The leg seemed to bubble up and on instinct Cornelia detached the Gloucester leg, which exploded in the air before her. She balanced herself on her Gloucester's hand, thrusting the lance upward at Zero. She was forced to detach that arm as well when Zero dodged and latched onto it. It, too, exploded into pieces.
Cornelia tried to grab her pistol but the red Frame kicked the arm away, and raised up that silver claw.
Darlton, Cornelia thought, I'm sorry. She closed her eyes, accepting the inevitable.
"NO!"
….
Guilford blasted forward, acceleration pedal floored, firing his machine pistol as he charged. Zero raised the silver claw, generating some kind of red energy field that caught and deflected the projectiles with contemptuous ease. Guilford, shocked, bumbled into the Knightmare he was expecting to retreat, recovering and thrusting the machine pistol into the golden chassis. Before he could fire, Zero backhanded the arm with his pistol into the air, and grasped the factsphere of his Gloucester.
"Damn!" he shouted, pressing the ejection switch and pulling the lever.
He was horrified when nothing happened.
A red light lit up his main view screen. His cockpit turned a bright red.
"Guilford, what are you doing, eject!" his Princess cried.
He wanted to tell her a thousand things in that moment, things that should have been said a long time ago, on that first day he met her at the Academy, all those years ago.
But he was ever faithful to his duty.
"PRINCESS, SAVE YOURSELF!"
And then he burned alive.
…
The shadow smiled to himself in grim satisfaction within the confines of his lair.
One thought blossomed, cold, calculating.
All operational objectives have been met.
…
Cornelia could make out someone screaming unintelligibly, wordlessly, a long series of horrible wails.
It took her a moment to realize it was her.
She grabbed her machine pistol, intending to fire, but she was suddenly wrenched upward and away. She could hear someone yelling at her from far away, off in the distance, but she paid no attention.
She yelled, "LET ME GO!"
No one listened.
She yelled, "CHARGE!"
No one listened.
She shrieked, "GUILFORD!"
No one listened.
…..
"Retreat! Retreat! All forces retreat!" Lord Jeremiah cried. Suzaku followed his order, dragging the Viceroy along behind him, mindful of the Britannian Sutherlands closing ranks around him to block Zero's bullets, collapsing or exploding into chunks of twisted metal and burned clothing.
The cry of "KURO BANZAI!", the cry that made his hair stand on end, followed them all the way down the mountain.
…..
"Chase them off this mountain!" Kallen heard Zero shout. She was about to comply when he ordered, "Q-1, to my side." She ducked away from the combat and sped enthusiastically to his side.
"Yes, sir!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Well done, Q-1," Zero said. Kallen felt her heart flutter at the sound of his approval. "Now follow me." He raised his machine pistol. "Charge!"
With a cry of "KURO BANZAI!" they complied, bursting out of their tree cover and opening fire on the retreating Britannians. Kallen smashed the Guren's foot into a Sutherland that had made the mistake of stopping and crushed its factsphere as it tried to recover.
"Take this you bastards!" she heard Tamaki shout gleefully as he opened fire on the White Knightmare carrying the Viceroy away. A Gloucester shifted in front of it and took the barrage instead, exploding in a ball of fire. Tamaki laughed. So did Kallen.
She felt giddy, happier than she'd been in years, even happier than when the Black Knights were formed and Zero led them to their first victory.
No, not a victory! she thought, A miracle!
Yes, it was a miracle. A miracle even bigger than Itsukushima.
A miracle named Zero.
…..
Britannia Rendezvous Point, Ten Miles from Narita Mountain, Area Eleven
They'd stopped chasing them at the base of the mountain, but Lord Gottwald had wanted to make sure they were far enough away before they began counting their losses and treating the wounded. The last time Suzaku had heard from Princess Euphemia, she had been sobbing hysterically. From what he understood, she had fainted not long afterward.
Princess Cornelia had not emerged from her Gloucester yet, and had been nothing but silent since they made it to safety. To Suzaku, the task of reuniting the li Britannia sisters was his alone.
As he made his way to her Gloucester he spotted Private Viletta Nu, covered in cuts and bruises, directing the civilian survivors of Narita to aid tents alongside the wounded.
I'm glad she's alright, Suzaku thought before turning his mind once more to the task at hand.
As he approached the Viceroy's Knightmare Lord Asplund sidled alongside him. "I wouldn't recommend trying to get her out of there, Kururugi," the Earl said. Suzaku was surprised at how serious the normally eccentric nobleman was.
He shook his head. "Princess Euphemia was in hysterics just a little while ago," he said, squaring his shoulders stubbornly. "She needs her older sister."
"And do you really think she's going to tolerate, let alone listen, to an Eleven?" Lord Asplund asked sharply.
"No one else here has the guts to pull her out of that Gloucester," Suzaku said. "It's not healthy for either of them. They need each other now."
Lord Asplund grabbed his arm. "Suzaku," he pleaded, but Suzaku shook off his hand.
"I'll be fine," Suzaku said with confidence he did not feel. "I'll be careful. Promise."
Before Lord Asplund could protest, he ran off.
….
Narita Mountaintop, Area Eleven
They stood together on the mountaintop, black and green uniforms intermingled. Around them were instruments of war of green and black and red coloring, standing solidly at attention. There were more than a hundred of them together all told, captivated by his fiery oratory.
"We have achieved a great victory today, my brothers and sister," he said, pausing to let their cheers die down. "But it was not a victory without sacrifice. We have lost friends, and loved ones, men and women we respected and admired. Their sacrifice will live on in our hearts. Their vengeance will be our vengeance, their blood our blood, and their fire will consume an entire Empire!"
They cheered loud and long, forgetting the grief of fallen friends that his reminder had evoked. He raised his arm, and they silenced.
"We struck a great blow today against the hated enemy. Not only have we destroyed the army they set against us, we have also killed one of their greatest. Sir Gilbert G. P. Guilford is dead!" They cheered again. "And now, let me introduce the woman who gave us that victory. Kallen Kozuki, step forward!"
Kallen blushed as red as her hair. She stepped out from behind Zero, where the rest of the Black Knight leadership was gathered, all sporting grins, and gave a nervous wave.
Her heart jumped when he laughed, not the mechanical, hollow laugh he reserved for his enemies, but a kind one, filled with pride. "Don't be shy, Kallen," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, and adding above the roar of laughter, "Step forward!"
She shivered at the contact. When she returned home that night, she would discover that her undergarments were wet.
She let him push her forward, smiling bashfully. "This young lady," Zero said, unmistakable pride swelling in his voice, "was our ace in the hole, our secret weapon to be used against the Britannians. And with her Guren Nishiki," he gestured to the Knightmare in question, "she will be the Lotus that brings beauty to our battlefields with her wild dance. She will command my personal guard, my Zero Squadron!" A roar matched the pounding of Kallen's heart as she saluted ecstatically, tears gleaming in her eyes.
"We must leave Narita, for now," Zero said, raising his hands to quiet them. "It has served its purpose. We will scatter our cells to the four winds of Japan and gather our sleeping siblings. But fear not!" He spread his arms wide, hip cocked to the side. "Britannia has made a great mistake! They have awakened a sleeping giant! The Gods of Japan stand before us now, and with their aid, we shall not falter!"
"YEAH!" they shouted.
"Soon we shall free this land from its opressors. Soon we shall lead an army in righteous war. Soon, we shall burn a decadent Empire to the ground!"
They screamed their approval. And then the chant started, one by one, carrying from one person to the next, a single loud chant.
"ZERO!"
Their arms pumped the air.
"ZERO!"
Their arms pumped the air!
"ZERO!"
THEIR ARMS PUMPED THE AIR!
"ZERO!"
….
The Dark Well of a Twisted Mind
She could no longer see the gentle smile that made her heart sing. She could no longer hear that strong voice that made her toes curl. No longer feel that soft skin that made her body warm.
All she could see was the terrified grimace forever more.
"Princess Cornelia!"
All she could hear was his anguished scream, forever more.
Light now. "Your sister needs you!"
The loud bang of a gunshot, the pained and terrified scream of a wounded young man.
All she could feel was her heart breaking.
Forever more.