AN: I do not own Code Geass
Sorry, but this AN turned out kind of long.
DarkDremora: Orignally, I thought it did make sense for the Karma DS to be mad at Lelouch, but then I put some consideration into it, and realized, that they don't even know Lelouch. I mean, he didn't do anything for the Karma timeline, it was Suzaku who killed Charles and Jeremiah, thus, stopping Ragnarok. Of course, V.V is still a threat along with the sword which is the main reason they agreed to a reset. But really, the Karma DS only feels indifference towards Lelouch. The only reason they're defending him is because they saw the impact he had on the OT DS. Though, they didn't choose him as their champion, because of his lack of impact in their timeline (that's not the only reason, just one of them). Also, Lelouch probably wouldn't figure out what Ragnarok is, as he was most likely blinded by rage when facing his father, so any kind of reasoning was thrown out the window, as he was only concerned with getting revenge. Sure, V.V is still alive since Charles died (he didn't have immortality, thus V.V must still be around), but the same can't be said for Marianne, who was probably killed once Anya died to Suzaku in battle. Of course, this is presented as an if then statment, as 'if Lelouch found out about Ragnarok, then he'd activate it in a hearbeat'. That is true, but we'll never know if that would've happened, because the merge happened directly after Karma Suzaku's 'death'.
Also, I always thought the 'this is a request' was just a metaphor, otherwise, a Geass symbol wouldn't've appeared on that planet, and Lelouch's Geass wouldn't've evolved at that moment. Especially if he wasn't using it. Onto the command itself, much like how C.C's perception of her Geass went from being a gift to a curse, the same happened for the OT DS, as it saw the kind of destruction it was causing (Hence C's world's 'collapse' in resurrection.). We know that the DS can have their own thoughts, as their opinon of humanity actively changed after dealing with Leila. So, they're not the perfect representation of the Collective Unconcious, they are only the best.
Chapter 42: Battle of Narita Begins
Ashford Academy Swimming Pool
As C.C, now with her natural green hair flowing freely, floated on her back in the swimming pool, Lelouch studied his laptop intently, looking over hundreds upon thousands of resumes that were flooding in from potential Black Knight candidates. "So… why the name Black Knight's?" the witch asked as she floated past the Prince's lawn chair.
"That's simple. 'While bitterly hate Britannians, I refuse to condone terrorism.' That's the prevailing view of most Japanese citizens. So, what better than to have a Knight who fights for justice in their name? One that condemns terrorism, and doesn't injure innocents?"
"And so the Knight's for Justice act?"
"Correct. In turn, this makes it easier for us to operate as a whole. It's a huge help that the people don't report our activities to the Britannian's."
Kallen walked into the room wearing an Ashford Academy swimsuit, saying, "So what? I didn't have a part in helping you name us?"
"I was getting to that." Lelouch responded with a smile as his eyes landed on a Britannian of interest. "Hey… what was the name of the reporter from before? The guy who harassed Jeremiah?"
"Him? It was Deithard Reid." Kallen responded effortlessly while taking a dip next to C.C, who began furiously kicking her feet, splashing water onto the red head. "Hey-Stop that!"
The green-haired girl kept a blank face as she calmly floated away from her friend, "Interesting…" she heard Lelouch mutter, "Looks like I've finally got to meet the man. And to say he's as interesting as Jeremiah made him seem, is an understatement."
"Speaking of interesting… Lelouch, aren't you going to join us?" C.C asked in a teasing tone.
"Why on earth would I do that?" the Prince responded while moving his laptop to the side, "After all, I don't even have any proper swimming clothes."
Kallen quickly lunged out of the water, and grabbed her boyfriend by the collar, before dragging him in. "Don't let something so trivial stop you from enjoying the water!"
Due to the shock from the ice-cold water, Lelouch felt his entire body freeze as he held onto his girlfriend for dear life, as she was his only way of staying afloat, "I-I'll get you back for this…" he muttered through chattering teeth.
"Speaking of swimming clothes…" C.C swam behind Kallen and touched her sides, causing the red head to yelp, "This outfit does so much for your curves, you know that?"
"Stop touching her!" Lelouch commanded while splashing the witch with water, "You've been spending too much time with Milly for your own good."
C.C chuckled in response, "Oh, c'mon, Lulu~" the use of her boyfriend's nickname irked Kallen greatly. Nonetheless, the immortal continued, "What's wrong with a little sharing?"
"I refuse to share." the Prince responded while tightening his hold around Kallen, making her blush slightly as her chest squished against his body, "Kallen's mine and mine alone. I won't be sharing her with anyone, understand?"
"Really? Then what do you think about sharing Lelouch, Kally?"
The red head's response was almost identical to her boyfriend's, as she held onto him tight, "I ain't sharing either."
"Really? That's a shame, considering how much of a ladykiller your boyfriend is, I doubt he'd be satisfied by one woman. I suspect he'll follow in his father's footsteps in that aspect-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Lelouch sent a massive wave of water into her face, "I won't be following in my father's footsteps!" he proclaimed. Luckily, there was no one staying after school, otherwise, they might've been in trouble.
"Is that so…" C.C kept a Cheshire grin plastered on her face while backing away from the couple, "Well… that's still not gonna stop me from teasing you two!" out of nowhere, she splashed the couple with several waves of water. This caused them to retaliate with their own waves.
Undisclosed Black Knight Warehouse
"Oh wow! These Knightmare's are so cool!" a new member of the Black Knight's obsessed over the all-white Mech's before them, "What are these again? Glasgow's?"
"Nope. Burai's. They're a Japanese modification that brings these babies back in style!" another member added.
"Though… we're the Black Knight's, why're we using white Knightmare's?"
"That's a question I want answered myself." Naoto walked past the new members just as Tamaki began chatting them up, "Lelouch… I know you said we'll be going into bigger operations as time goes on… but are we really facing off against Britannia so soon? And at such a large scale?"
"Man! It was so hard actually finding a way to join the Black Knight's, with how secretive they are. But it's so worth it." another new member commented while patting his uniform, "I really feel like I'm making a difference."
"Same here." that's when their attention was brought to Naoto, who stopped before them, "Oh. Hello, sir!"
"Sir?" the Kozuki ignored how they referred to him, and asked, "Have you seen Zero?"
"Oh… he's with… uh… what was her name again?"
"Kallen Kozuki?"
"Right. Her…"
"If he's with her, then that means they're looking at the Guren. But… didn't I already check that area?" Naoto shook his head and chalked it up to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. After that, he approached the red Knightmare which had several spotlights focused on it, "What the hell is that?" he asked while pointing at a large claw arm that was still in its crate.
"Apparently, it's called the Radiant Wave Surger." Zero responded as he looked over the clipboard attached to the crate. "It uses extreme heat to cause destructive chain reactions. Of course, the volatility is determined on the material it's used on."
"That sounds… highly irresponsible and dangerous."
"Yeah. That's why we're waiting for the new Guren for this."
"New Guren?" Naoto asked as Kallen hopped down from her Knightmare.
"This one doesn't have the specs to take the Surger, so we'll have to wait for the to arrive, which should be able to take this." she explained while closing the crate.
"So… why'd they only send the arm and not the frame to attach it to?"
"Because, they were hoping since the Mk.I and are practically identical, that we'd be able to attach the Surger on our Guren. However, that's not the case."
"But that's not the worst news." Lelouch chimed in as Ohgi pulled the crate away with a pallet jack, "We've got word that Britannia is moving in on the Narita mountains."
"Isn't that where the JLF resides?" Naoto asked as the trio walked down their Knightmare line-up, stopping at the twin Sougetsu's, which were being worked on by Maya.
"Correct. Since the JLF and Carine's forces will be clashing, I was thinking we could use this time to jump in, and capture the red-haired Princess among the chaos. Of course, we'll be taking every single member we have to maximize our mission's success rate." Lelouch explained as Mario narrowly dodged a falling hammer, which invoked a swearing match between the siblings.
Naoto sighed. Things were ramping up faster than he anticipated. Now, he was afraid of getting left in the dust. Or maybe… he already was. Because, not only did he not have a proper Knightmare to fight Britannia with, but all tactics were being decided by Lelouch. So, where did his puzzle piece fit?
"Maya, Mario. How's the Sougetsu?" Lelouch called, immediately stopping the shouting match.
"So far, so good! It's just the wiring I'm getting the hang of right now!" the black-haired girl responded.
"You don't 'get the hang of' wiring!" her brother argued, "You either figure it out, or don't!"
"Hey, could you pass me that hammer?" Maya asked, completely ignoring Mario's response.
"Why? So you can just drop it on my head again!?"
"It wasn't on purpose! My hand just slipped"
Mario sighed and grabbed the hammer, before handing it over to his sister, "Fine. Maybe I overreacted, that's all."
As Lelouch watched the exchange, he asked, "What's gotten into you?"
Once again, the black-haired boy sighed, "It's just… this is going to be our first big operation, isn't it? And there are so many things that can go wrong. Including my sister's tech being faulty."
"Hey! My tech's not faulty!" Maya shouted as she banged the hammer against a metal panel, "Watch! I'm gonna be the key to defeating that white Knightmare!"
"You mind telling us your plan then?" Lelouch asked.
In response, the black-haired girl stuck her tongue out playfully, saying, "It's a secret~"
"Nunally… are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened during the hotel jacking?" Nina timidly asked the Princess, "I mean… I still don't understand why they chose to separate you from us."
"Don't worry about it, Nina," Milly came rushing to Nunally's aid, "Nuna said she doesn't feel like talking about it. So, let's leave it at that."
The innocent Princess nodded in response, "Yeah… it makes me shiver just thinking about it…"
"Luckily, that Zero came to save you, right?" the blonde mentioned, seemingly hinting at something.
However, Nunally didn't get the hint. Though, her thoughts primarily focused on the masked man in question. Particularly, his demeanor when dealing with her, "I feel like I've met him before. His words were so… caring, almost similar to Lelouch. But that can't be. Lelouch wouldn't kill someone like that. I know he wouldn't."
Despite her clashing thoughts, the one that prevailed seemed to be the belief that her brother wasn't Zero. No. It was more like she couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. Though, the idea of her brother and the masked man being one settled into the back of her mind. Where it would grow and fester with time. But for now, it was nothing short of a passing notion.
"Please! Everyone, move in a nice, orderly line to the evacuation area!" Lila announced through a megaphone, "A battle between the JLF and Britannia is about to begin!"
Dozens of Sutherland's guarded the Princess as she stood atop Jeremiah Gottwald's machine, who was charged with protecting her at all costs. Of course, one guard didn't share the same sentiment, "I can't believe I have to do this…" Kewell muttered as he checked an alleyway of the small town, "This is the furthest thing from the front line…"
"Private Sorosei!" Villetta's voice called out, "Have you found any stragglers?"
"No, ma'am," the former colonel responded spitefully, "I think we've got everyone."
"If that's the case, then let's return to the Viceroy for further orders." the dark-skinned Britannian maneuvered her frame out of the town smoothly, almost as if she hadn't been out of action for 3 months. "While it's nice to be out on the field… I still wish I could stay in Ashford, even if it's for only a week longer. Sure, I did find those brats annoying at first, but… even I have to admit, they grew on me. It's… a shame I won't be seeing them again."
"Is that everyone?" Lila asked as Jeremiah opened the hatch to his Sutherland.
"Our reports suggest that to be the case," the Margrave reported. "Shall we begin the assault on Narita?"
The innocent Princess looked at the snow-topped mountains earnestly, and said in a shaky tone, "Y-yes. Tell my sister to do whatever's necessary to eliminate the JLF."
Three bombers flew over their position, masking the sound of Jeremiah reporting the information to Dasko. Once that was complete, he turned to the Viceroy and said, "Let's return to the G1, my lady."
"Gah! This is so boring!" Tamaki proclaimed as he taxied his Knightmare up the snowy mountain, "Hey, when Zero said we were going hiking, I didn't think we'd be bringing such heavy equipment."
"You're right," Ohgi added, "Naoto, is this really just a simple training exercise?"
As much as he wanted to tell them the truth, he had to keep his mouth shut. As he remembered what Lelouch told him earlier, "Don't tell them we're going to fight Carine."
"Why the hell not? They deserve to know we're trapping ourselves in a Britannian encirclement!"
"Even so, the chances of them dropping out before the battle would be too high if we told them," Lelouch responded while grabbing a map, "I know this is a lot to ask of you. But if it'll help, you can just tell them you didn't know my plan either. Don't worry, I'll deal with the consequences later."
Naoto sighed, "Listen guys, Zero said we're doing a training exercise, so let's have a little faith in him, okay?"
"It's not that I don't have faith in him," Ohgi replied, "It's just… I find it strange how he's not even traveling with us."
"Well, he's been communicating with us through light signals, hasn't he? That's probably just another part of the training."
Tamaki groaned, "Man… I'm more of a fan of the theory that we're going to build a hot spring. After all, why else would we be bringing excavators?"
"Ooh! A hot spring would be nice!" Inoue chimed in.
The resistance leader sighed once again, "I can only think of the consequences this'll have on our trust in you, Lelouch. I hope it'll be worth it, as I might not be able to give you a pass on this one."
Meanwhile, the Prince was sitting in a cabin, where two soldiers inside were playing Shogi, while six others were patrolling outside, "The JLF knows what's coming. So they've doubled up on their watch to make sure they don't get caught off guard." he turned the page of his book as three bombers slowly approached the mountain in the distance. However, a peculiar sight caught his gaze, forcing him to instantly close his book, "What are you doing here?" he asked C.C as she danced in the snow.
"Nothing to report here." a Geassed JLF soldier reported over the radio as the two started their conversation.
"Didn't I say I'd protect you?" the green-haired girl responded as she watched the Guren lead the Black Knight convoy.
"Even so, you're overdoing it."
As the convoy crested the mountain in the background, C.C asked, "Why are you Lelouch?"
This made the Prince groan, "I don't have time to debate philosophy with you."
"And yet you changed your surname to Lamperouge, but you kept Lelouch, the name that was given to you at birth. Why is that?"
"It's just a name. It doesn't mean anything to me." Lelouch lied, "After all, it's the actions that make the person, not their name."
"Is that what you believe?" C.C asked with a condescending tone, "I think you're just sentimental. You can't let go of the past."
"Oh? And what about you? Doesn't C.C swing to the other extreme? It's not a human name."
A cold wind blew over the Prince as the witch shot him an icy glare, "We've had this conversation before, I know it. Though… I can't seem to remember it fully. I wonder why Kallen's able to retain her memories of the future." As quickly as this question popped into her head, it faded away, "Lelouch, do you know why snow is white? Snow is white because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be."
Carine hummed a melody as she tapped her foot in the G1, patiently awaiting her sister's arrival, "My lady, our forces are in position and are awaiting your orders. They say that there is minimal movement from the JLF." Dasko reported.
"What's our bomber's status?"
"They're circling around to prepare for your new orders. Though, they say if a storm is present during the battle, they will withdraw."
The red-haired Princess scoffed, "Cowards… and I assume the same can be said about our fighters?"
"Correct."
Carine rolled her eyes, "What about Zero? What are the chances of his presence in this battle?"
"For showing up outside the encirclement, they're pretty high. But that's why we have the ASEEC crew on standby to deal with him. As for appearing within the encirclement, we have the foreign legion ready and willing to take care of him." Dasko explained.
"Good. Get into your Gloucester, my Knight. I want you to personally oversee the battlefield from the front lines."
"Oui. It shall be done." with a bow, the Knight exited the command room, and headed to the Knightmare Hanger.
Carine leaned into the G1 throne and muttered, "The JLF's reaction is lackluster. Hopefully, the actual battle will be far more exciting. Maybe we'll even get to face off against the legendary General Tohdoh. I'm sure he'd provide a decent challenge for Dasko."
The aforementioned General was currently in one of the JLF's underground hangers looking over his new Burai Kai, which was personally delivered to him this morning from Ashford Industries, "These new revolving blades are looking nice," Senba, a member of the four holy swords commented while looking over his own Burai.
"Don't you think it's strange, though? A Britannian was the one who gave us this." Nagisa chimed in while inspecting her machine, "I wouldn't be surprised if these things are rigged to explode at the push of a button."
"That's where you're mistaken, Nagisa," Tohdoh retorted, "The Ashford's have more than enough reason to hate Britannia. After the death of Marianne the Flash, they were stripped of all their political power. So, I don't doubt Ms. Ashford's conviction to the resistance."
"Yeah! Lighten up!" Urabe added, "With these new frames, we'll be able to finally face Britannia on equal footing."
"And if our sources are correct, we should be facing them soon." General Katase announced while entering the hanger, "Oddly enough, all of our lookouts report nothing strange ever since they spotted Britannia roll in through the town.
"Seriously? What are they waiting for?" Asahina asked, "Are you sure they're just sitting there?"
"Our lookouts have no reason to lie." Katase responded, "Though, I must ask you to gear up now. They could attack at any second, after all."
"Yes sir." the four holy swords and Tohdoh bowed as their superior exited the hanger, returning to the command room.
"I really don't have a good feeling about this…" Nagisa muttered while entering her Kai.
"Well, we are about to ride into battle, so there's really nothing to feel good about, right?" Senba commented as his hatch closed.
"The best we can do… is minimize the casualties we'll sustain today." Tohdoh explained, "And if push comes to shove, we'll have to forcefully break through the encirclement to escape. Either way-"
"We're so screwed." Urabe finished his commander's sentence as the platform below them began moving each frame up, "Welp, as long as we have the Tohdoh of Miracles on our side, there's nothing we can't accomplish!"
"That's right! We'll create another miracle, just like in Itsukushima!" Senba addled
The legendary general sighed in response, knowing that his victory at the aforementioned battle in the second Pacific war was nothing but a fluke. One that was won by sheer luck. Nonetheless, that didn't matter now. As of this moment, what mattered was defeating the enemy before them.
Once the moving platform came to a stop, they stepped off, only to be greeted by numerous Britannian fighters that used napalm on several key positions. This created a ring of fire that forced them to instantly retreat to the next line. "What the hell is this!?" Nagisa exclaimed as she watched a Burai on-fire collapse.
"Those bastards! They're using napalm! Everyone, get back! Get back!"
"But that's not all!" Carine shouted from her G1 as three bombers pass by overhead, initiating a destructive run of terror that flushed out the enemy positions with ease. "God, so many trees. You know they say the Eleven spirit still resides in this forest?" she asked one of her subordinates as the screams of many JLF members reached the G1, "I guess that should've been our biggest hint of the JLF shacking up here."
"My lady," Dasko's voice boomed over the monitor, "The bombers say they'll RTB before coming back for another bombing run. In the meantime, we'll crush the enemy spirits further with fast-attacks."
"Excellent. Let's crush these filthy Eleven's once and for all."
Meanwhile, the Black Knight's watched the battle from atop the snowy mountains with horror, "What… what the hell is this!?" Tamaki exclaimed while angrily walking up to Zero, "What did you get us into!?"
The unpleasant smell of burning corpses reached their noses, causing the to pinch them to relieve the stench temporarily, "We'll be doing a live training exercise." the masked man calmly explained.
"A training exercise!? Against Carine's units? Are you inane!? Don't you remember what happened the last time we faced her!"
"This time is different. Or are these Knightmare's we have just for show?"
Tamaki shook with rage, feeling the intense urge to punch their new 'leader' and rip off his mask. However, he was stopped by Kallen who shouted, "Wait! Zero was the one who got us into this mess, so I'm sure he can get us-"
She was then interrupted by Sugiyama, "Why're you defending him!? We're in a death trap now!"
Naomi collapsed to her knees and muttered, "We're all gonna die…"
Finally, Naoto stepped in, and brought law and order to an otherwise chaotic group, "Listen! Everyone! I know you're mad at Zero for catching us in a Britannian encirclement, however, he's the only one who can get us out of this alive! So, please just hear him out! We can punish him for this later." he turned to the masked man, "Isn't that right?"
Zero sighed, "Yes. I'll take responsibility for the inevitable deaths of our comrades. But I can assure you, if you follow me, our casualties will be-"
"Fuck off!" Tamaki shouted while cocking his fist back, "I don't want to go on a suicide mission under your command! Not like this!"
As he launched his fist forward, the Prince caught it with his other hand, and said, "You either die with absolute certainty without my command, or, have the possibility of living with it. So, if you want to live! Follow me!"
Silence befell the newly formed Black Knight's, but they soon began begrudgingly loading up, muttering things like, "I don't wanna die," or, "We'll make Britannia pay."
"That went better than expected," Lelouch got into his custom Burai and readied his favorite button, "How's the enemy position looking on the map, Naoto?"
The Kozuki looked at his interface and said, "There's a mass grouping at sector five. I think that's where they've found the JLF base entrance."
"Excellent. Then, once I set off that Sector's explosives, we'll charge down the hill, and break through the encirclement."
"But that's where the G1 is! They'll be heavily guarded." a soldier protested.
"Correct. But this is our best bet to simultaneously crush the Britannian spirit if they see such a troop loss in a matter of seconds." Zero quickly dealt with the soldier, before going on to say, "Kallen, get ready. You'll lead the vanguard."
Dasko laughed maniacally as he put pressure on Tohdoh's Burai, clashing MVS and revolving blades, "So, you're the Tohdoh of miracles? Honestly, you don't seem very special to me."
"So… you're Carine's personal Knight?" his opponent asked through struggled breaths, "That means if I simply destroy you, then the rest of your forces will fall!"
They separated, and used passing trees as cover before clashing again. "Go ahead and try!" Just before Dasko could bring his sword back for a strike, an explosion from above shook the ground, "What the-did the bombers come back already?" That's when everyone's eyes strained upon seeing a rolling white cloud of snow approaching their position.
"It's… it's an avalanche!" Urabe shouted, "Everyone! Get to cover!"
"Damn it. An avalanche at a time like this!" Nagisa cursed while using her harkens to stabilize herself.
"It seems the fighting has invoked an interesting reaction…" Carine muttered as Lila took her seat on the G1.
"Aren't you worried about Sir Dasko?" the innocent Princess asked, "What if he gets crushed?"
"No way. My Dasko would never die such a pitiful death."
Suddenly, one of their troops in the command room reported, "We've got massive Knightmare movement coming down the mountain! It looks like the-" his breath strained, "It's the Black Knight's!"
A menacing grin captured Carine's face, as Lila exclaimed, "They appeared inside the encirclement!?"
"Relax, my dear sister. We've already planned for this." the red-haired Princess said reassuringly, "Send in the foreign legion to intercept. Tell them to bring me Zero's head. On a platter."
"Keep pushing forward!" Lelouch ordered as he strafed left of a Sutherland, and firing his machine gun into it, causing the machine to explode upon passing. "If you make it out of this alive! You can call yourselves true warriors!"
"True warriors!? Is this guy insane?" Sugiyama muttered, "This is… horrifying." he drove past a crying soldier who was holding onto the body of her fallen comrade in heartbreak.
"If you can't handle the heat. Then get out of the kitchen as they say," Naoto regrettably said while looking at the crying girl, "Naomi, can you come pick this one up, please?"
"On it."
"Status report!" Dasko ordered while crawling out of the snow after the avalanche settled.
"We're only getting responses from 20% of our men!"
"20%!? We can't handle this kind of pressure." the Knight muttered as his soldier reported another thing, "What!? Zero's here?"
However, he didn't stay questioning for long, as Tohdoh's frame soon clashed blades with his, "Keep your mind focused on the battle!"
"At this rate… we'll be crushed," Dasko muttered while pushing away the man of miracles, and several units of his personal guard joined his side. The same happened for Tohdoh, as the four holy swords joined his side. "Though… the same can be said for Tohdoh and his goons…"
"If we break through here, then victory is all but assured!" they declared simultaneously.
AN: Next chapter should be longer as it focus' on the Battle of Narita. It also shouldn't be posted late like this one.