A/N: And we are back again with another chapter of this ridiculously long story that was supposed to end on this chapter, but isn't because I underestimated the lingering set-up for the next story. I thank you all for your patience with me on this work. I know it went off the deep end in some ways, but I am nothing if not determined to finish what I began many, MANY years ago. Plus, this chapter was a blast to write and I hope you guys will enjoy it too. Thank you all for reading! Best wishes and God bless you all.
Disclaimer: Code Geass, Sailor Moon, and all the other properties I've roped into this belong to their respective owners. This Fanfiction was written for entertainment purposes only.
Warnings: Blood/gore and this chapter is roughly 7,000 words.
Chapter 125
The Sound of the End: Warriors of Thunder
January 5th, 2018
Government Bureau Hangar, Area 11
12:30am
Lloyd Asplund is many things. Cecile Croomy, his long-time assistant, acquaintance, and lab partner, knows his habits and eccentricities better than anyone alive or dead.
The instant the Lancelot's signal goes offline, she immediately closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to brace herself for an explosive tantrum from the most intelligent man-child she has ever known.
Unfortunately, the technicians and engineers quietly running late night tests and finishing up other duties do not receive the same opportunity to prepare themselves.
"VEXATION!"
The thunderous shout on its own is enough to have most everyone in the room jump out of their skin, but the scientist doesn't isn't through. With another roar, he kicks his rolling chair across the room in a surprising display of strength that even Cecile balked at.
"Lloyd?"
"I will rip that woman apart limb by limb one day," he growls out to himself, ignoring everything around him as he begins to pace back and forth.
His assistant makes a mental note of this comment then quickly starts clacking away at the keys of the control panel beneath her fingertips.
"All hands on deck, people!" he bellows after having spent a full thirty seconds wailing at the ceiling. "The Lancelot is missing…"
"Don't forget about Suzaku," Cecile murmurs carefully as a reminder.
Lloyd sends a particularly nasty glare her way."
"Trust me, Ms. Croomy," he moans while adjusting his glasses, " I am going to pummel the brat myself if the Lancelot isn't in pristine condition!"
Cecile wisely keeps her mouth shut about how well his last confrontation with the knight went and narrows her focus on tracing any lingering signals from the Lancelot's backup systems or Suzaku's headset. When she fails to secure a signal from either, her heart sinks with concern.
"I have a terrible feeling about all this."
As Lloyd harasses his other underlings running about the base, Cecile quickly calculates the general coordinates of Suzaku's last known location then sends the data to the control system of one of the Lancelot's prototype units since she's certain Lloyd will send her out to the field to collect his prized project once he calms down. Once through with that task, she runs analytics on the combat data she was able to collect before they lost contact. Through this, she and Lloyd could produce countermeasures for the strange, lanky frame should it ever appear again.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of his last battle, Suzaku trudges through the forest with only one goal in mind.
"If she's there…I have to kill her."
The thought of fulfilling this mission makes him sick. Eliminating Rei is the last thing he wants to do, but the power she wields, both as Sailor Mars and the creator of Geass, has become too much of a threat, not only to Britannia but to Minako Aino's future well being.
There's no other choice anymore. She has to die.
A part of him wishes he'd had the same attitude with Lelouch two months ago. He had hated the man enough to murder him, but at the time the former prince had been useful as a bartering tool. The Emperor promoted him on the basis of Zero's capture and subsequent re-entry into society as a student.
Regardless of the outright treasonous behavior, Lelouch was still the Emperor's son.
More importantly, if Charles Zi Britannia felt his children could be useful for his own ends, he saw no point in killing them, especially when their hearts and minds could be so easily rewritten with his Geass.
Suzaku hates this way of thinking, but he doesn't necessarily judge it anymore. His own actions toward Mina have been similar. He acknowledges his hypocrisy and his monstrous conclusions with a growing awareness of who he is deep down.
No matter how hard he tries to be better than the beast within, the knight finds himself repeating an endless cycle of violence.
Perhaps a sick part of him enjoys the bloodshed.
Like his father…
Like Lelouch…
But in this moment, he's quick to dismiss those thoughts as he swiftly approaches the stone stairway leading to his childhood home.
Kururugi Shrine
12:38am
Everything is happening too fast.
And not just the events of this night either.
"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"
From the second Mina returned to Japan until this very moment, everything in my life has gone by in a blur so chaotic that I'm unable to make sense of it, especially not now in the middle of yet another hectic battle.
"SUPREME THUNDER CRASH!"
Those words erupt from my throat while strings of electricity burst from my fingertips. Our enemies, a mixture of police and Britannian foot-soldiers, have been approaching in waves for the last ten minutes.
Three men go down when my attack connects. I know the voltage isn't enough to kill, but the image of their shuddering bodies disturbs me regardless.
I don't get a chance to ruminate on it though. Another squadron emerges from the opposite end of the shrine's courtyard. The crimson torii gate stands roughly fifty feet in front of me, beckoning us to escape or fall into the hands of our adversaries.
A sharp thump reaches my ears, and after sending another shock-wave to defend our position, I glance over my shoulder and spot Sailor Mercury doubled over, gasping for air while simultaneously keeping her arms raised over her head. Ice magic bursts from her palms to reinforce the ice wall standing between us and two Sutherland knightmare frames that are trying to force their way through with fierce artillery fire.
Earlier, when Mercury first threw up the defensive wall to buy Sailor Moon and the others time, we were both hit with bullets.
Out of the two of us, I was the lucky one. I was only grazed along the back of my leg, and while the cut stings horribly, it isn't impending my movement.
Mercury got shot in two places. One bullet went through her shoulder and the other grazed the side of her head in such a way that now, thanks to the bleeding, she's temporarily blind in one eye. The scent of her blood mixed with the overpowering stench of gunpowder would be vomit inducing if I didn't need every ounce of focus to defend ourselves against enemies that have us surrounded and outnumbered ten to one.
Everything has happened too fast and now…nothing makes sense to me anymore.
I died two weeks ago.
Within seconds I was struck down, and by Rini of all people.
She'd been brainwashed by E.E.'s serpent monsters at the time, but that fact didn't change anything for her. When I awoke on the couch at the Kaiba Estate the next morning, she leapt into my arms and apologized profusely, begging for my forgiveness…
In my mind there was nothing to forgive her for due to the whole brainwashing thing, but I gave it to her anyway to soothe her guilt for having…killed me.
Even though some part of me knows that's what happened, my revival was unusually fast according to Serena. She said that in using Geass to revive Rei during the Black Rebellion, she had accidentally cast the rest of the senshi under the same spell. That on it's own was a lot to take in, especially because I didn't feel any different from the night before. If anything, my physical condition greatly improved from the ordeal. Whatever soreness was left in my arm had all but faded, which meant I could fight at full strength again.
At the time, looking on the bright side of what's essentially an existential nightmare felt like the better way to deal with all this.
Rei took week come back to life the first time…and this second time she didn't wake up for two.
Ami was gone for three days.
But me? It was like my death hadn't happened at all.
My rapid revival isn't a point of pride though. How could it when I was also the first to fall? The horrible outcome of our quest to save Mina from herself hasn't even fully registered for me because, out of everyone, I experienced virtually nothing of that night. I got hit in the head and was out cold for the rest of the night.
Labeling that as my "death" is an embarrassment I can't seem to shake. I'm Sailor Jupiter. I'm supposed to be the strongest of the inner senshi, but instead...
…
I was weak.
...
I was helpless.
...
Over and over I've been bested in battles I shouldn't have had any trouble winning.
Am I not a warrior? Am I just some pathetic side character in this never-ending narrative of hopelessness?
I kept pressing on without saying much. No matter how badly those questions burned through my consciousness, I fell in line and did my part to protect Lelouch and our own freedom.
But what about Mina? Is she even alive?
No one knows and it doesn't seem to matter to anyone for reasons I simply can't understand. I mean, for heaven's sake, we're currently allied with the cannibalistic idiot that tortured our friend and made her go insane in the first place!
How does that…how does any of this make sense?
Three weeks ago, I was dancing with the man of my dreams. It didn't matter that we were on different sides of a conflict that would inevitably tear us apart. It was enough for us to just hold each other and feel our love grow with every kiss and touch we shared.
It was simple. Innocent. A peaceful existence I wanted to get lost in.
Even so, my connection with Gino wasn't so powerful that it could make me forget who I am or where my loyalties truly lie.
I am Sailor Jupiter, the warrior of thunder. My duty is to protect this world from the forces of evil and pursue justice no matter what.
As a result of fulfilling this solemn purpose, my relationship with Gino ended almost as quickly as it began.
Over and over…
"Everything is happening too fast."
"This…is bad…" Ami pants out, barely able to talk through her gasping breaths. "We need to…c-change our strategy."
"I'm all ears," I tell her, dispatching three more soldiers before pivoting slightly to keep her and our enemies in my line of sight. Another two men spring forward with machine guns raised, and just like with the rest, I retaliate before their fingers can reach for the triggers.
Shocks of electricity tear through their bodies. They shudder. They plummet.
I have to keep reminding myself that the voltage I've sent out isn't enough to kill.
"Would it be so bad if you killed them? They're the enemy after all."
Inhaling deeply, I lower my raised hand.
I won't lose myself.
With a grunt of extreme effort, Ami slowly staggers back to her feet.
"I-I got a plan."
"Listening."
"I'm going to bring down the wall," she says quickly, her arms still shaking from having held and reinforced the ice wall for so long. "Can you short-circuit the knightmares before they shoot at us?"
"I might not need to," I answer, narrowing my gaze on the next set of soldiers charging our way.
They're all holding grenades.
"I want to stay who I am. I'm not… I'm not…"
Ami follows my line of sight, catches a glimpse of the grenades and nods with a grim expression on her face.
"On my signal…"
One of the three men removes the trigger from the grenades.
"It better be a signal you can shout," I reply, sprinting forward while flinging a whip of electricity at the soldiers.
Two of the three bodies shudder and plummet to the ground, but the man with the active grenade manages to hurl the explosive my way before he falls unconscious.
I catch it in my hands…
"NOW!"
…and immediately throw the grenade at the knightmares through the small opening Ami creates. She forces the defensive wall up the instant the explosive passes through, but not before another round of fire pierces through her thigh.
"AMI!"
She stumbles as I approach, but keeps her hands raised toward the wall. Magic continues surging out of her palms.
"I need to reinforce this," she shouts, resignation clear in her tone. "RUN!"
"Save yourself. She won't die."
My hand latches on to Ami's wrist. She starts to protest, but I don't give her the option to stay put. With a fierce tug, I drag her along with me, determined to stick to my convictions as a Sailor Soldier and as a friend.
"I won't make the mistake of abandoning my friends again…"
We only manage to take three steps before the grenade explodes, incinerating the ice wall and the knightmares behind it with a deafening whirlwind that sweeps us off our feet and across the courtyard.
Everything is happening way too fast.
"SLAP!"
"THUMP!"
A gust of smoke rushes past, and suddenly the icy chill of winter feels sweltering.
"Crap…" I mutter, forcing myself to get on my knees even though I'm ninety percent sure one of them got twisted when we fell. Ami is practically unconscious nearby, her body stretched out on its side while her chest heaves in a grueling effort to keep breathing.
Her wounds bleed out over the cobblestones beneath us.
She's pushed herself way too hard in this fight.
"I have to get her out of here now…"
"Don't let them get away! If you're still breathing, get moving men! Find them! FIND THEM!"
Gritting my teeth at the sound of muffled moaning, I quickly gather Ami into my arms and pray the thick smoke will provide us with enough cover to escape.
"J-Jupiter…r-run…"
"Do as she says. You want to survive, don't you?"
My knee screams in grueling protest when I attempt to carry my weight and Ami's, but there's nothing that can be done about it. Adrenaline will get us through. It has to.
"L-Lita…"
I don't bother answering. Right now, I need to focus on moving.
"You're too weak as you are now. You can't protect her. You can't protect anyone."
I won't give up. I know who I am and what I stand for. No matter how weak I've become…no matter how useless I am in this moment, I will keep getting back up. I will keep moving forward no matter how much each step hurts because that's the only way any of us will survive these changes we've been through.
"Fair enough."
It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the smoke, but once they do, I immediately see the outline of the crimson gate. We're not far from it. Even so…
"The stairs are going to hurt…a lot."
Straining to keep myself from whimpering at the agony searing through both my legs, I continue walking until I'm standing directly beneath the sign. The fog is thinner here, allowing me to see straight to the bottom.
And there…
I see him…
Suzaku Kururugi.
Breathing hard, he stares up at me with agony in his emerald gaze.
"You were...right, Sailor Jupiter…"
The knight of seven trails off for a moment, his expression changing into something heavier when he reaches into a pocket of his pilot suit and withdraws a gun.
A shimmer of blue catches my eye, drawing my attention down to Ami's face as her Sailor Scout form dissipates. She's completely unconscious now.
"What was I right about?" I ask, peering back at Suzaku while taking tentative movements down the first few steps.
"You were right when you said we would be enemies the next time we met."
I stop moving, remembering how on a night not at all unlike tonight, Suzaku and I stood on a stairway just like this in Azabu Park.
He had walked ahead of me, stating he would take care of the clean-up there while I took Mina and Joey to the hospital.
Though holding a gun, Suzaku doesn't aim the weapon toward me. His heart is clearly torn between what he believes his duty is and the sentiment he feels toward us all…especially Rei.
Except that…
"You were right too," I answer back, thinking about our conversation from Thanksgiving. "When you said betrayals in friendship were inevitable…I didn't…I couldn't..."
Footsteps make me halt in my speech, and before I can gather my bearings on the potential threat approaching, another explosion screams through the night, tearing my focus from Suzaku and back to the crimson post above us.
Beyond the structure of the gate, I see the Kururugi Shrine in flames.
"There! That makes us even, Suzaku!"
A little earlier
12:35am
"Lelouch! Your girlfriend is an idiot!"
I don't bother to respond to Serena's words for two reasons.
The first is that she isn't wrong. Rei is an idiot.
The second reason I don't bother to dignify the meatball head's words with a response is because her assessment of Rei's intelligence, right as it is, does not help in our current predicament.
"Lelouch, what are we going to do?" Rolo asks helplessly, leaning forward so he can poke his head between myself and A.A. "That's a whole fleet of advanced Sutherland frames. My Geass can't hold them all in place! The range I would have to extend it is too far…"
With a firm push against Rolo's face, A.A. silences the false sibling with an uncharacteristic scowl clouding his normally jubilant features.
"Your pitiful time stopping powers won't be necessary," he says, grumbling as he leans back in his seat. "Neither will any elaborate schemes."
"Oh, is that so?" Serena questions, her head popping through the gap between us now. "Try telling us that when we're not PARKED ON A HILL LIKE SITTING DUCKS WITH A HUNDRED KNIGHTMARES…"
"There's only thirty of them at most," I interject, rubbing the sides of my head to alleviate the ever-present migraine that's getting worse by the second.
"OH YEAH! BECAUSE THAT'S SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!"
A.A. rolls his eyes. "You attract a lot of loud women, Lamperouge."
"I AM NOT LOUD!"
"But you do find him attractive?"
"Well, I'm not blind either, hence why I'm pointing out how we're literally going to die the second we get noticed! WHY DID YOU PARK ON A FREAKING HILL!? THEY ARE GOING TO SEE US!"
A.A. shrugs. "This is the planned rendezvous point. Clearly, the fox wants to put on a show for you all…"
"WHAT DO FOXES HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?"
After a beat of silence, Rolo, A.A. and I all exhale a heavy sigh simultaneously.
"What!?"
"The fact that we, as a collective, know more about Japanese culture than you do is sad," I murmur, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Kitsune translates to fox in English…"
Serena huffs once. "I was never that good at English…"
"And yet somehow you speak it perfectly," A.A. drones, studying the night sky through the windshield. "The wonders of Fanfiction powers will never cease to amaze me. It can turn an illiterate buffoon into a language scholar…"
"I AM NOT ILLITERATE...WHATEVER THAT MEANS!"
"But you are a buffoon…"
This is getting horribly tiresome, but at this point I would rather listen to the cannibal and the supposed "future queen of the universe" argue like children than place too much focus on the escalating complexity of this cosmic bond Rei and I share.
At this very moment, her wrath and despair wraps itself around my heart.
These are emotions spurned on by her grief…but not all aspects of her feelings are actually hers, just as my emotions are not altogether mine at present. It's an unnatural phenomenon caused by the Geass Chain, a concept that is far too elusive for my liking, especially with it affecting my health and memory so drastically.
Furthermore, A.A.'s mysterious contact, a woman calling herself Kitsune Yokai, is a figure of unease, not only because of her connection to the cannibal that was once intricately woven into E.E.'s web of chaos, but because this alias was used by a contact that assisted the Six Houses of Kyoto in supplying the Black Knights with Knightmare Frames, including the Guren MK-II.
Even back then, from what I'm able to remember without the Emperor's Geass wreaking havoc, there was no information I could gleam about this secret collaborator, even with my own Geass as a factor in my digging for potential leads. Unknowns when operating a collective set on dismantling an empire aren't ideal, but Kitsune Yokai remained one to me and to the leaders of the Kyoto Group regardless. Extending additional resources toward expanding my knowledge of this entity, especially when the results were always inconclusive, would have hindered our operations in the long-run. And so, while the lack of valuable details irritated me, there were too many other cogs in my machine of rebellion to maintain to make it a high priority issue when they consistently provided useful intelligence for me to work with.
My patience on the matter has been rewarded with the reappearance of the alias. Now, without even having met the person in question yet, I have a better understanding of why they were so helpful.
If this Kitsune Yokai is the same person the Black Knights established contact with, then there's a high probability that she could have sold information about us and the Kyoto Group to the Britannian government and E.E. before, during, and after the Black Rebellion.
Playing to both sides of the game is a lucrative practice when done correctly and an easy ticket to execution if done poorly, but as an immortal, she doesn't have to worry about the latter. Typically that type of assurance would cultivate overconfidence, which would lead to obvious miscalculations within that person's operational style, but I'm not sure if that's the case here.
Moreover, my knowledge of Geass Alternates is limited to what little information the cannibal has deemed worthy of sharing. According to him, Alternates are physical manifestations of Geass powers that gained sentience within their original hosts. Once sentient, the power took on a parasitical nature until the connection between host and parasite could be severed.
How this separation occurs is a missing link in what he's shared. I'm certain he knows exactly how the sentient forms of Geass gained their own bodies but hasn't deigned to expound upon it for whatever reason. No matter. If it's important, I'm certain it will come up in time.
What he has shared has proved insightful, nevertheless.
By nature, Alternates are as unstable as they are powerful.
E.E. was a prime example of both those traits in action. She may be out of the way now, but that does not erase the threat other Alternates pose.
Minako Aino's rampage is another example, though none of us have any knowledge of her current location or condition. She's an anomaly as far as Alternates are concerned.
That leaves the woman scheduled to meet us at this rendezvous point, the Alternate of Sailor Jupiter.
If she's anything like E.E. or Mina…we might have far worse problems to deal with down the road than the Britannian government hunting us down.
Securing her as an ally now does not mean she will remain that way moving forward.
So then, the key to victory here is...
"You seem to be thinking hard about something," A.A. murmurs suddenly, his teeth gleaming when he smiles at me. "But I wouldn't recommend daydreaming right now."
"Why not?" I ask, glowering at him.
The cannibal smirks as he opens his door. "Because no amount analysis can prepare you for this."
"Is that so?"
"You'll see," he murmurs, climbing out of the car and shutting the door behind him. For a few seconds I watch him through the windshield, analyzing his casual stride.
"Should we really be allying ourselves with this guy?" Rolo wonders aloud, drawing my attention away from the cannibal. "He isn't exactly trustworthy."
"Neither were you an hour ago," Serena points out.
He groans. "That's not funny. And don't pat my head like that! I'm not a child."
"Oh come on! Families tease each other, Rolo," the future queen states, giggling easily. "Lighten up a little."
"Isn't that hypocritical of you," I quip, twisting in my chair to lock eyes with the meatball head. "Were you not screaming at the top of your lungs less than five minutes ago?"
Serena's sunny expression switches to a deep scowl. "Watch it, Lamperouge…"
"BOOM! CRASH!"
The sudden ruckus prompts Serena and Rolo to dash out of the car. I start to open my door as well, but it opens before I can reach for the handle.
"BOOM! CRASH!"
"Kitsune is going to be mad if you guys miss her performance," A.A. exclaims, shouting over the noise. "Come along now. This is a great view!"
Serena extends her hand for me to take. After taking her hand, I manage to stand up next to her, but my knees buckle when a familiar wave of nausea greets me.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," I murmur, nodding once. "Just…thirsty."
Rolo arrives with a bottle of water in hand. "Here."
After taking the bottle from his extended hand, I take a few careful sips as the three of us walk to the edge of the hill where A.A. stands.
In the valley below, a single woman with white-hair pinned in a high-ponytail and a white fox mask shrouding her eyes and nose stands before the advanced Sutherland frames that haven't moved an inch…
Except, upon further inspection, I notice that each frame has electric sparks emanating from the joints connecting the limbs of the machines to the torso.
And then, one by one, the pilots exit their frames, armed to the teeth.
"Why are they getting out of the knightmares?" Rolo questions.
Scanning the machines briefly gives me the answer.
A.A. chuckles, tipping his head in my direction.
"This reaction is similar to what happens when a Gefjun Disturber is used," I explain when A.A. doesn't speak, narrowing my gaze on the woman as she pivots on her heel to wave at us.
The soldiers immediately look in our direction.
"Oh no!" Serena exclaims, summoning her scepter. "She totally sold us out! We have to…"
The cannibal extends an arm out in front of the meatball head, preventing her movement.
"She merely did that to distract them," I mutter, answering her unspoken question as Kitsune, with a tiny flick of her wrist, sends three bolts of crimson electricity through the crowd of soldiers. Ten of them drop immediately, leaving the remaining twenty in a state of shock that only lasts a nano-second at most, but it's more than enough time for the woman to silently charge through the center of the line-up with nothing but two kunai as weapons.
Some of the men pivot on their heels as she passes, aiming to gun her down…only for blood to spurt out of slits she cut along their throats less than a second earlier.
Guttural moans of death sing through the air before the gunfire can even begin
And even then…their response time is far too slow.
With precision and grace, the silent warrior deftly dodges bullets to make quick work of each soldier with a wicked sneer of glee.
"Only five of you left already? Looks like I..."
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"BOOM!"
With the deafening roar of a shotgun, Kitsune is struck through the center of her chest at close-range. A savage spray of crimson erupts from her back in our direction, coating our feet in tiny droplets as she stumbles back, touching the gaping hole leaking liquid life all over her clothes and down to the earth beneath her feet.
Serena grits her teeth and starts to run forward, wanting to ensure our safety by taking on the remnants of an army that's swiftly turning their attention toward us, but the instant she moves I grip her wrist as tightly as I can.
She halts even though she could easily break free of my shaky hold.
"Lelouch…"
"We're going to be fine," I tell her, taking my eyes off the battlefield momentarily to examine the terror in her eyes. "Trust me. She has it covered."
"But…"
Kitsune's boisterous laugh interrupts her words.
The men readying their weapons to fire on us stop and turn back to fix their attention on the woman that should have dropped dead but didn't. As she cackles, electrical waves pass through the hole in her chest. Then, in the blink of an eye, blood, bone, and skin fold over the gaping hole.
"Congratulations!" Giggling heartily, she licks her lips when she twirls to face the man that shot her. "You've earned a special prize, handsome!"
She disappears for an instant.
The man takes a step back, his eyes wide as he tries to find any trace of the woman.
A single, vicious swipe of a kunai decapitates him. He doesn't even get a chance to scream.
Blood gushes from the body while it collapses into the dirt. All the while, Kitsune holds the disembodied head by the hair and whirls it round and round like a yo-yo.
"Hahahahahahaha! Enjoy your all expenses paid trip to the Underworld, sir!"
She drops the head to the ground abruptly and with one stomp of her foot, smashes through the skull.
"Would anyone else like to join him?"
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
"She's a monster!"
"Retreat! RETREAT!"
Kitsune doesn't give the last four men any chance of escape.
Laughing the entire time, the frightening Alternate cuts each man down with brutal efficiency, showcasing to us that she's been toying with them all the entire time.
As A.A. stated before…this display is a performance and nothing could have prepared me for it.
From the beginning it was obvious how easy it would have been for her to wipe out the entire squadron with nothing but a thought.
She could have taken them out with the initial lightning strikes she used to short-circuit the Sutherlands' power.
If she didn't want to kill them while they were all still within the cockpits of their respective frames, she could have taken them all down with one flick of her wrist the instant they emerged.
Instead she chose to cut them down one by one.
She even let herself get shot just to show us how fast she can heal herself.
Kitsune Yokai is unlike anything I've ever seen.
She has simultaneously outclassed E.E. as a threat while flaunting her unparalleled value as a potential ally.
And from smirk tugging at the corners of her lips, I can surmise that this performance of hers only scratched the surface of what she's capable of.
"What a shame." she coos weakly. "That wasn't even a good warm-up!"
"A warm-up," Rolo whimpers, his body shaking when he turns to face me. "She calls that a warm-up?"
A.A.'s smirk widens.
Releasing her wrist, I take a moment to examine Serena's expression. She was frightened before, but her demeanor shifted during the last few minutes of Kitsune's onslaught against the soldiers. Though calm, her countenance reflects a bitterness I'm not sure I like on her face.
"What are you thinking, Serena?" I ask her, genuinely curious.
"That people's lives aren't playthings," she responds, narrowing her gaze on the masked woman. "What happened just now...was barbaric."
As if sensing the future queen's displeasure, Kitsune twists to face us with a bright smile.
She waves again without a care for the blood staining her hand.
"Greetings!"
A.A. stuffs his hands into his pockets and casually walks down the hill, establishing a general air of familiarity when he calls her performance sloppy. Kitsune laughs easily then kicks him once in the shin. He hobbles for a bit, complaining about her being a truly vexing woman, and she responds with a cheerful chastisement toward his rude behavior.
It's a surreal scene that does little to alleviate the tension building in the air.
Thankfully, something else pulls at my focus.
Rei is too far away for me to communicate with her telepathically anymore, but I know from how her grief mutates into an almost suicidal rage that she's found her target.
This course of action she's taking is a nonsensical, reckless tantrum at best, but even if I could reach her, trying to talk that girl out of a decision is like wresting with a mule. If things go badly, she'll have to learn the hard way again.
This outcome isn't ideal. Frankly, I would feel much more at ease about everything if she were standing here beside me.
Alas, she's determined to settle the score with a traitorous knight, which isn't altogether bad. Suzaku is an oppressive obstacle I need out of the way. Rei will be doing me a huge favor by eliminating him...
…
But it's not that simple of a matter, now is it?
Suzaku is still my friend…regardless of his betrayal.
Perhaps reconciliation is still possible between us, but that's only if he manages to survive the full weight of Rei's own madness.
"So…this is the exiled prince turned terrorist?"
Glancing up, I notice the masked woman smirking at me.
"It's nice to finally make your acquaintance, Zero."
Climbing up the hill, she extends a blood-stained hand toward me.
Serena glares at the woman then at me when I take her crimson coated hand in mine.
It's of no consequence to me. I've shaken hands with the devil before. This moment is no different.
"Likewise."
With this action, I have sealed my part of an unspoken contract. We are indebted to Kitsune Yokai, for better or worse.
"I'll send one of my men to collect your girlfriend and the remaining Sailor Scouts," she whispers, releasing my hand. I stare down at it for a moment, examining the blood there.
Are you prepared to walk the path of blood?
Remembering the old man's question makes me smile.
Yes. If that is my destiny.
"You don't have any objections to living under my watchful eye for a while, do you?" Kitsune asks suddenly.
Serena raises a brow at this. "What are you…"
"No," I answer, interrupting the meatball head before she can say anything else. "If anything, I'm grateful for your generosity."
The woman nods then turns her attention to A.A.
"See, why can't you be polite like this young man?"
"You annoy me. That's why."
With an indignant huff, Kitsune shakes her head. "E.E. raised him horribly. Anyway, my entourage should arrive momentarily to escort us all back to my compound. The location is top secret though, so I must request that you all wear blindfolds during the trip."
"And what happens if we happen to take them off along the way?" Serena asks indignantly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
I glare at her. "Serena. Be cooperative…"
"I'm just asking a simple question."
Kitsune widening smile sends a shiver down my spine.
"What happens is that I collect your eyeballs as mini trophies." She takes a step closer to Serena. "And considering my history with the Sailor Scouts, especially you Miss Moon, I would love to do that just to see you writhing in pain. Alas, Zero here is an esteemed affiliate of my organization." She pauses to face me. "And our future business arrangements would go south if I harmed any of the scouts, yes?"
"That is correct," I answer.
She fixes her attention on Serena again. "You heard the man. Don't tempt me. Kay?"
A.A. appears then, flinging his arm over Kitsune's shoulder. "Now then, ladies. No need to have a cat fight…especially when we can't sell tickets to it."
"At any rate," I cut in. "We agree to your terms and thank you again for accommodating us."
"My pleasure," she whispers, shrugging out of the cannibal's hold. "And A.A., you'll have to be blindfolded as well…"
"WHAT! WHY!?"
"We moved since the last time you visited…"
"You did NOT! You can't move a compound THAT BIG! You're just being petty for no reason…"
She kicks him in the shin again.
"GAH! STOP DOING THAT! YOU VEXING WENCH!"
"I'll hit you as many times as I want," the woman spits out, pinching his ear before shouting, "RESPECT YOUR ELDERS" into it.
While the two immortals argue, Rolo gives me a pointed look.
"You've worked with her before?"
"Worked with isn't what I would use to describe it," I answer, sighing. "She was an anonymous collaborator that worked as a go-between for the Black Knights and the Six Houses of Kyoto. The only information I ever gleamed back then was the alias she's using. This is my first time meeting her."
"I don't like this," Serena moans irritably. "She's bad news."
For a few seconds I'm silent, ruminating on another surge of emotion from Rei that's off-putting.
"Lelouch?"
"We knew this alliance with A.A. would be a risky venture," I say soothingly, placing both my hands on Serena's shoulders as a way to provide her with some reassurance. "And unfortunately, without his and Kitsune's help tonight, we wouldn't have escaped from the army at all. At least this way, we have a chance to regroup."
"But we're still missing half our team," Rolo whispers, his gaze downcast, "Ami…"
"Will be alright," I assure him, forcing myself to look him in the eye, which is difficult to do. There are many mixed emotions concerning his involvement. Rolo was only ever part of my life to be a placeholder for...
N…N…Nunna…
"Lelouch!"
Searing waves of electric pain shoot through my skull, sending me down to my knees.
Kitsune rushes over to us.
"What's happening to him?"
I press my hand against my left eye. "Gah...that...Geass..."
Serena places her palm over my forehead, and her touch, brief as it is, soothes me significantly.
"His fever is back," she tells Rolo while twisting open the bottle of water she took back from me earlier. "Drink this."
Throwing my head back, I quickly drain what's left in the container and try to focus on breathing.
My condition is improving, but I still find this helplessness frustrating.
To alleviate my own anger, I close my eyes and open myself up to Rei's feelings…
…
…
She's afraid…
…
…
She's afraid of…
…
…
Suzaku?
…
But why?
…
What's happening over there?
A/N: And that's the end of this chapter. This one was a fun one. Writing Lelouch's section in particular was a blast. It was good to write him as...mostly himself again without the amnesia getting in the way. His analytical nature makes it easy to present exposition in an interesting way. And after the next chapter, this story is going to be wrapping up fairly quickly. I had to revise my initial plan to end this story on chapter 130 instead of 125 like I thought it would be, but totally worth it. The next chapter will serve as the climax of this work...hopefully. Anyway, thank you all for reading this chapter and for your continued patience with this story. I really appreciate it. We're down to the home stretch folks. Best wishes and God bless you all!