A/N: Responses to Reviews
Ranvor: Kallen's character is one of the few to show exponential growth and change throughout CG. 5 years is a lot of time to practice and learn, and since Kallen in Canon is shown to be, and confirmed to be highly intelligent in her own right, I think it's plausible for her to be somewhere on say- Cornelia's level, or Leila's as a commander.
Not supergenious tier, but far, FAR more competent than most commanders in other militaries. This will allow her to effectively take up more of a leadership position as a supporting XO for Lelouch that he can talk to about his plans and use her as a soundboard since she's the only one who may have an inkling of what he's trying to do after spending so much time with him and learning all his subtle tics and tells. Don't worry, she's good, but not on Lelouch's level. Plus, gotta remember she was against a super predictable member of nobility. She wasn't up against Schneizel or anything.
Guest: Not sure what I'm doing with Ohgi and Viletta yet.
Ghostly: For the Naoto/Cornelia pairing, Now that would be telling :3 as for the Gen 5.5 Glasgow. That's the Burai Kai. Its what the 4 Holy Swords and the Colonel had at Narita. They will be making an appearance yes, along with other Glasgow Sub-variants.
Arakater: That's what ya getting, so hang tight and enjoy
Guest: don't worry, I got the pairings figured out, no spoilers.
Danny: I felt a spin kick would have given the reveal away too soon. Wanted to save the fact that it was Suzaku for the final line of the chapter... though the dialog might have done that anyway
Blanch: Unfortunately, Suzaku is very near and dear to Lelouch and the black prince still won't want to let him go, even if Kallen doesn't like him. Lelouch always had too much leniency for the people he cares about and Suzaku is still someone he'll try to reason with until he does something unforgivable. I'd be breaking his character by having him just drop Suza without a very good reason. He is also Lelouch's foil and as such killing him off early would disrupt the balance of power dynamics.
Ryder: Quite, Kallen is shaping up to be a good XO for Lelouch
Raventus: Oh don't worry, Lelouch is getting payback this chapter for that little setup.
Midnightson: Glad ya happy with the decision, I am too. It was hard there trying to rationalize everything but after thinking enough I just said "fuck it"
Lelouch was lazing around on the couch in the upstairs area of the warehouse that the Kozuki Resistance was using as an FOB. He was tired, and holding an ice pack up to his bruised throat with Kallen sitting down next to him, her hand was running through his hair as she had his head resting on her lap. She was looking down at him with a soft smile and he was returning it with a slight blush.
Naoto walked into the room, knocking on the wall to announce his presence as he stepped in before grabbing an office chair and taking a seat across from them.
"So, let's debrief." Kallen's brother said. "What went wrong?"
It took Lelouch a moment to answer as he lost his smile and got serious, like a switch was flipped.
"I got complacent." Lelouch answered after a few moments. "We got complacent, none of us ever considered that the colonial government would be backing up the refrain trade. They never acted against it and allowed the police department to assist them because it's useful to them, useful to Clovis." Lelouch surmised.
"How so?" Naoto asked.
"It's simple when you think about it. Refrain is a readily accessible poison that dilutes the mind and makes people unable to act against you. When widespread among the Japanese population it makes resisting occupation far less likely as they're too busy scrambling their brains with hallucinogens. And it likely turns out a tidy profit for Clovis by agreeing to look the other way." He mused.
Lelouch continued. "It's not unlike what the Russian Tzardom did to their own people to keep the peasantry in line centuries ago. They stole all the rights to make vodka, sold it for cheap and let the people drown their sorrows in alcohol rather than protest or revolt against the state. You can't engage in civil disobedience if you're piss drunk and abusing your family, this is a similar tactic that can achieve the same results."
Kallen and Naoto both winced, it was a cold, bitter and logical deduction but almost certainly the right one
"Alright, we know what went wrong, how do we prepare for it so we don't get caught off guard next time?" Kallen questioned him now.
"Well first, we really need more Knightmares, but the Glasgow's were producing for temporary use are only around 50% completion..." Lelouch trailed off before going on.
"We also need to go after less obvious targets. We formed a pattern of attack, went after an easily identifiable target that the Britannians knew we would go after. Deducting where we would be going is what allowed them to set up the ambush. From now on we have to be more sporadic with our movements. We can't let our actions tell Clovis and his stooges what the lot of us are up to. He may be a blithering fool and an utter fop but even broken clocks are right twice a day."
Kallen giggled and Naoto snorted.
"Ok, so we know what went wrong, and we know what we need to correct it, so how do we do it?"
'That's the hard part.' Lelouch thought to himself. He took a few moments to mull over the possibilities, taking all the known variables into account before finally landing on a solution.
"Money is what's holding us back. We don't have enough Liquidity to purchase the parts and materials to finish fabrication of our Knightmares. In order to get licensing and contracts, Clovis has to loose a bunch of Knightmares."
"Are we going to steal some?" Naoto asked.
"Tempting, but no. As much as stealing a bunch of knightmares would be fun we don't have a way to acquire all their security codes even if we pilfer the activation keys. Knightmares aren't like a car, you can't just hotwire it and take it for a joyride, it takes time and finesse to jailbreak their security systems and we can't do that in the middle of an enemy base. Getting Kallen's Glasgow jailbroken took hours, remember?"
Naoto hummed, crossing his arms, and leaning back, he tilted his head up to look at the ceiling.
"If we can't have them, then neither should Clovis." Kallen suggested, causing Naoto and Lelouch to look up at her, and the black prince nodded.
"Exactly what I was thinking, if we can't steal their Knightmares, we'll destroy them."
"So what are we talking about? Sneaking into their depots and planting demolition charges?" Naoto asked.
Lelouch chuckled. "No, no, something far more spectacular, and grandiose."
"Oh yeah sure, of course your plan would involve flexing and flashing everyone with your huge mental dick. Showoff." Naoto said with a grin.
Kallen and Lelouch both flushed red and the prince suddenly felt uncomfortable using Kallen's lap as a pillow, sitting up straight on the couch and scooting away from her, making Kallen deflate a little.
Naoto winced. "Sorry-"
"It's ok." Lelouch said simply, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned away and looked off to the side, facing neither of them
It wasn't ok.
Naoto sighed. He knew Lelouch was sensitive about very few things, but the remark about his egotism and pride only served to remind Lelouch of his heritage, and it made him uneasy. The sexual connotations probably weren't helping either- Lelouch was confident in many things but his value as a romantic partner was something he seemed to be struggling with.
True, Kallen and Lelouch hadn't done anything intimate- yet, but the thought of it was making everyone uneasy with how personal it suddenly felt and now things just kinda seemed awkward in the room
Kallen mercifully decided to change the subject and not address Lelouch. "Hey Naoto can I talk to you downstairs?" There was anger beneath the surface of her calm demeanor. She likely didn't want to start yelling at her brother in front of him.
Naoto gulped, big brother he may be, but Kallen had a temper and when you ticked her off, everybody knew about it.
He silently got up and walked out the door. Kallen looked back at Lelouch and went to place a hand on his shoulder, and the exile flinched at her touch, his body going rigid, but he didn't say anything.
"Lelouch, look at me."
No reaction other than tensing up.
"Lelouch, please."
He relented, slowly and quietly shifting his body to turn his head in her direction, but he was staring at the couch cushions, not looking up at her.
She scooted in closer, grabbing his chin and tilting his head up to make him look at her.
She smiled.
It's ok.
He smiled back.
Ok.
No words where spoken or needed in that instant. She leaned in and planted a chastise kiss on his lips before giving him a tight hug.
He hugged her back and relaxed a bit.
"I'll be right back, alright? I'm gonna go chew my brother out and then we can head home yeah?"
He nodded. "Don't go too hard on him, he didn't mean to be..." He trailed off, unable to find the word he was looking for.
"I know." She responded. "That's why I didn't slap him." She then pulled out of the hug and quickly made her way downstairs to see Naoto waiting for her.
She took a deep breath.
"The fuck Naoto?"
"Ok look it was an accident! I was trying to keep the mood light, a laugh! We all came close to dying out there so I'm a bit on edge alright?"
"You know how sensitive he is about these things! He cares about our opinion of him just like he cares about Nunnally's! That joke hurt him!"
"I know, I know." He said placatingly. "I... agh... the wrong words slipped out of my mouth ok? I meant it to be taken differently..."
Kallen pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.
Lelouch was exemplary in almost every aspect, he was amazing, but it was like he suffered from imposter syndrome sometimes, like he didn't believe in himself. He lacked real confidence, the masks he put up aside, Lelouch was a deeply hurt and scared kid who put up a front to protect him and his sister, from the world and from his own inner demons.
The person beneath it all just wanted a family that loved him, wanted him and believed in him. She knew that. She wanted to protect him, to do for him what his blood relatives could not, he deserved that much for how much he suffered and how much he worked to make everyone's lives better.
But he tried to be distant still sometimes, like he was afraid of her, or more likely afraid of doing something that would upset her. Just like how he was always careful with what he said to and around Nunnally.
But he was also... well not clingy, but he seemed to want to spend time near someone as much as possible. Perhaps not directly interacting with them, but their mere presence appeared to give him comfort. Just the knowledge that someone he trusted was around. When he wasn't with Nunnally or Sayoko, he was with her, and if he wasn't with her he was spending time with Milly, or the student council, or Naoto and the Kozuki group.
Because he was afraid of being left alone with the demons in his head.
She had to maintain a delicate balance sometimes, of being there without being too close- lest he begin to short circuit from his own ingrained emotional and psychological instability, his paranoia that festered quietly in the shadow of his masks over the years.
Because in the end, Lelouch was a scared, traumatized little boy. And he didn't want anyone to know that.
"Private Suzaku Kururugi, you are hereby given 6 month's leave to allow your injury to heal before returning to service."
The words fell on Suzaku's ears, they felt hollow, he saluted with his left hand, it felt empty. The NCO that delivered the message to his hospital bed left without a word.
The knife had gone clean through his right hand which was now sporting a cast.
It itched.
It burned.
He hated it.
He let his head fall back on the pillow he had been given and tried to relax.
He couldn't.
There was no radio to listen to, no TV to watch.
He was alone with his thoughts, the thing he feared most.
He closed his eyes and forced the images of his father away.
There was no way for him to distract himself. He used to be able to do workouts if he was left alone and needed something to do. However he was bedridden now, the cocktail of cheap painkillers flooding his system made him feel drowsy, but he was too anxious to sleep.
So he had to think instead.
He wasn't good at thinking. He wasn't a thinker, he was a doer. He took things as they where, made a decision with the information available, and didn't look back. It's how he worked and lived his life, because when he took the time to think about things it only made him feel worse.
If only he where here... he would know how to get through this. He'd know what to do.
But he wasn't here. He was dead. His best friend was gone and so was the little sister he doted upon.
Those summer days where the best Suzaku ever had. A prince and princess from a faraway land came to visit, and opened his hateful heart to the world.
He would never get to be that happy again, those summer days where over, their carefree childhood was destroyed.
He murdered his father to save them, only for both of them to get killed anyways.
'I wish you where here, Lelouch.' Suzaku thought quietly in his own mind as he closed his eyes and forced himself not to cry.
He wanted his friend back.
He'd know what to do.
Lelouch and Kallen where on their way home now, back to Ashford, they walked at an even pace, having decided to take a detour. The underground was technically safer but it was past midnight so there was nobody around when they entered the settlement through one of the secret passageways still linked to the Ashford's old tunnel system.
They didn't say much, they where both tired, and simply allowed their feet to carry them to their destination.
Lelouch was disappointed in himself. He knew he should have seen it coming, the ambush. They made an easy pattern for his half-brother to narrow down a good place to lay a trap. Of course there would have been a response. He was an idiot!
While Lelouch was busy lambasting himself in his own head, Kallen took note of his sullen expression. She reached a hand out to hold his. Giving him a comforting squeeze that broke his melancholy. The sullen expression turning soft, happy and appreciative as he squeezed back. She could see his eyes gleaming their beautiful royal violet colors in the glow of the streetlights.
She stooped walking alongside him, standing on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek that made him blush.
They stood there for a moment, staring at each other before Kallen hugged him, and he hugged back.
The near-full moon came out to greet them as the clouds broke, it shined down upon them bathing the area in an almost ethereal white light.
Their hearts collectively skipped a beat. They looked like angels to one another. Lelouch's already pale complexion was enhanced by the bright white light of the moon, and his eyes almost seemed to glow as the rays of reflected sunlight bounced off of his iris'. Kallen looked similar to Lelouch in that respect. Her vibrant red hair took on a beautiful shine and her deep blue eyes glimmered in a breathtaking fashion.
Lelouch choked up, trying to find the right words that he wanted so desperately to say.
"I'm sorry-!" He blurted out, making her look concerned.
"For what?"
He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to maintain his composure. "I... I got cocky and overconfident... I didn't expect the military when it logically should have and-"
"Lelouch." Kallen heard enough and cut him off. "There is nothing to apologize for." She said firmly, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek.
"That's just the fog of war, Lulu." She chided softly. "You're not omniscient, you're not perfect, you're not God. You're you. You're Lelouch, and I love you for all of what you are. I love your imperfections and weaknesses as much as I love your boundless strengths. Your heart, your mind, your will. I love your cooking, I love your eyes, your hair, your whole personality. I love the way you get flustered whenever I compliment you and try to act suave around me because you're trying to impress me. I love how sweet you are to Nunnally and I, how much time you take to make sure that I'm happy. And I'm happy when you're happy because when you're hurt, I'm hurt." She poured some of her heart out for him, and he was left speechless.
It was the most romantic moment they had, and his heart could barely take it, he couldn't look away from her. His lips slightly parted as he tried desperately to think of something to say-
"Kallen I... I don't know what to say- I..."
"It's ok." Kallen reassured him. "I know I said a lot, but I promise you I meant all of- mmph!?"
Words wouldn't do, so he used his mouth for something else. His lips pushed deeply into hers and she stumbled back into the wall of a building. She moaned into it, and her arms went up to cling to his shoulders while his hands held her at the waist.
It had always been soft and chastise pecks on the cheek or lips, just a peck. This was MUCH deeper, and far more intimate. The ferocity of it took her breath away.
Eventually, they had to break for air, so they did, and it left them gasping to regain their breath.
"Lulu." Kallen said softly in-between her gasps. "Promise me something."
Anything.
Lelouch looked at her expectantly.
"Learn to forgive yourself, ok?" She pleaded with him after catching her breath. "Making mistakes is part of being human. I don't expect you to never be wrong, or do something on accident that wasn't intended. So long as you learn from them and come back alive I will NEVER expect an apology from you. Understand?"
Lelouch nodded, his shoulders slumping as some tension left him.
"I just don't want to let you down..." He admitted quietly.
"You won't." She said firmly. "Just as long as you keep coming back to me."
"What if you get hurt?"
"I know what I signed up for." She shrugged. "Besides, in the future I know we'll both be a lot more careful."
Lelouch smiled again and closed his eyes. Kallen smiled back and leaned into him.
"Between you and me... that kiss we just had was really good... we should do that again sometime~" She whispered in a suggestive tone making him flush red and grin.
"As you wish my lady." He replied in a regal tone, stepping back and taking one of her hands to kiss her knuckles, making her flush and giggle.
"Meow?"
Huh?
Lelouch and Kallen both looked down and to their left and right respectively to see a furry little feline had approached them during their intimate moment. A stray with no collar to identify any sort of prior ownership.
"Aww!" Kallen couldn't help it, she had the heart of a warrior yes but she was still a girl and loved cute, fluffy things, she reached down to pet the critter, and it accepted without complaint, nuzzling it's face into her hand and purring a little.
The cat then trotted over to Lelouch's legs and began to affectionately rub against them.
"Hey look, they like you." Kallen pointed out with a smile.
Lelouch was torn.
As a kid, Lelouch wanted a cat, not unlike this one in fact with black fur. But his mother always insisted that any sort of pet would be too much for the staff and for Lelouch on top of all his other tasks, duties and responsibilities.
It reminded him, deep down of his childhood, and how painfully early it ended.
"I... don't like animals with attitudes who don't obey people."
"And by people you really mean you, isn't that right?" Kallen said with a pointedly raised eyebrow, gently picking up the cat and holding it up to Lelouch.
"Meow?" It said to him
Tch, the cat wasn't cute, not at all. The way it's tail wagged while it stared at him and gently pawed at him wasn't even the slightest bit adorable.
Nope, not even a little. Lelouch didn't reach up to give it a scritch behind the ears because he wanted to, the damn thing just probably wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't.
The way it purred when he did this also wasn't cute. And Lelouch definitely wasn't smiling.
No sir, not at all.
Kallen laughed at his reaction.
"Shush you." He snipped lightly as his hands kept petting the soft fur of the feline, earning much purrs.
Kallen smirked, dropping the cat into his waiting arms. It curled up into a loaf and laid snugly against him
...
Oh goddammit...
Lelouch sighed internally and thought to himself: 'Guess I have a cat now.'
Lelouch supposed it wasn't the worst thing to happen.
With little fanfare, Lelouch and Kallen along with their new +1 made it the rest of the way back to Ashford.
Kallen swore that she only left Lelouch with that cat for 5 minutes as she quickly got changed.
When she walked back out into the living area she saw that there was a big fluffy pillow on the floor along with a dish that had been filled with water near the couch on a placemat.
He walked out of the kitchen with a small tray of sushi grade tuna and laid it out in front of their new furry friend.
Kallen snorted, and then laughed.
He flushed red. "What?"
"You see a cat, pretend not to like it- like a tsundere, then just bring it home and you're already coddling him." She giggled.
'I'M NOT A TSUNDERE!' The tsundere thought with embarrassment as he sat down next to the cat to make sure it was eating well.
"To think, the great and mighty Lelouch Vi Britannia, smitten by a kitten."
"It's a stray, it probably hasn't had anything to eat or drink in a while and needs nourishment."
"So you go pilfering the fridge of expensive tuna instead of feeding it lunch meat?"
"Cats like fish."
"You like cats."
"No I don't."
Yes he did.
"What should we name him?" Kallen asked.
Lelouch stared at his new fur-baby.
"Pearl?"
"Sounds like a girl cat's name. What about... Sammy?"
"Sounds like a dog's name."
Lelouch idly noted that naming the cat "dog" would be funny but dismissed the notion.
"King?" Kallen suggested.
Hmm... close, maybe...
"How bout Arthur?"
The cat seemed to like that name, lifting it head from the plate of salmon to meow, seemingly in approval.
"Huh... I was about to suggest Tama but ya know Arthur ain't bad, and he seems to like it."
Lelouch raised an eyebrow.
"What do ya say little guy? How does Arthur sound?"
"Meow." The cat said in agreement.
Arthur it was.
Milly couldn't believe her eyes the next day. Neither could Rivalz, or Shirley, or Nina for that matter. After school they met up in the clubhouse like usual to see Lelouch playing with an adorable little bundle of fur. He was smiling and using one of those carrot-and-stick style cat toys while the little thing went wild trying to catch the fuzzy ball at the end of the string.
Rivalz seemed to have an idea, and ran out of the room while Shirly smiled and walked over to them alongside Nina. Milly just had an approving look on her face as she crossed her arms.
Looks like Ashford had a new mascot!
"You got an adorable little kitty there Lelouch! What's his name?" Shirley asked.
"Arthur." Lelouch answered. "I'm gonna pick some things up from the pet store for him today. I found this toy in the old storage closet last night."
Kallen walked out into the Student Clubhouse with Nuna in her wheelchair as usual.
Shirley blinked.
"Wait, Kallen? What are you doing here so early?"
Lelouch and Kallen shared a look.
'That's right, the student council doesn't know...'
Milly knew of course, but the other 3 did not.
"We where assigned a project together, for mister Stephano's class. The work ran over late and I crashed here."
As good of an excuse as any from Kallen, and Shirley seemed to accept without a second thought.
Kallen and Lelouch both idly wondered if they should spill the beans that they where now dating and Kallen was living with him, but that would bring up the complicated situation of Kallen's half-blood heritage, which would be a huge red flag to at least one of the student council members...
Kallen looked at Nina with a forlorn expression. The poor girl was horribly xenophobic, but Kallen was pretty confident that it was personal, not just propaganda given how terrified she looked whenever anything Japanese was mentioned.
Kallen didn't know much about Nina's family... Rivalz dad was a mechanic, and his mom was a secretary at a law firm. Shirley's dad was the head of a Pharmaceutical company and her mother was a nurse practitioner.
Nina never, ever brought up her family except brief mentions of her grandfather, Albert.
"Something wrong Kallen?" Nina asked nervously, noticing that the redhead was staring.
"O-oh no, sorry Nina, I wasn't staring at you, I was just lost in thought."
"Oh." Nina looked relieved. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize Nina, I'm sure Kallen is just all tuckered out after a LONG, HARD study session with Lelouch~"
Lelouch glared at Milly.
Don't you dare.
Shirley looked confused, still far too innocent it seemed. "Well yes I suppose that after spending a long night on a subject Kallen would probably be drowsy."
"Mhm, tell me Kallen, how HARD was it?"
Kallen glared at Milly now.
"Rock solid." She quipped, and this time it was Milly's turn to look shocked while Kallen smirked.
Lelouch just blushed.
They hadn't done anything but the mere thought of it was enough to give him pause.
Damn his raging teenage hormones, and damn Milly for her innuendos! He supposed he should be glad Milly wasn't pointing out the bruising on his neck
Lelouch was about to speak again when Rivalz came back with a small RC car and some tape. He snatched the toy from Lulu, rigged it to the car with the tape, and then began to drive it around.
Arthur went wild chasing the car all over the place making everyone, Lelouch included, laugh at the antics. Watching the hyperactive fluffball run riot all over the clubhouse trying to catch the toy, and the car it was attached to.
Nunnally giggled, not seeing, but hearing the cat bolt across the room back and forth, chasing the whine of the RC car.
But as Lelouch watched the car drive around, an idea began to form in his head...
Nobody noticed the innocent smile turn into an absolutely wicked grin.
How did they fuck that up?
HOW. Did they fuck. That. UP!?
Clovis was ready to shoot someone.
"You lost an entire lance of brand new Sutherlands to a GLASGOW!?" The prince snapped.
Jeramiah, with a bandage on his forehead and a bruise on his cheek, looked at the floor in shame alongside Kewell who had a cast on his leg, and Viletta who had stitches on her left hand.
"My lord-"
"SHUT UP!" Clovis snapped. "I did not give you permission to speak!"
Jeramiah said nothing as Clovis paced back and forth in his office. "I trusted you to get the job done Margrave. You where a royal guard! You're supposed to be elite! You and your 3 squad mates where meant to be some of the best in Area-11. Kewell was beaten before the enemy Knightmare even touched the ground, Viletta MISSED a point-blank shot with her grenade cannon, YOU got your ass plowed through a fucking wall and your last squadmate fucking DIED!" Clovis seethed.
"You have permission to speak now, please, tell me how you failed so miserably." The prince ground out.
"Your highness, the Enemy pilot was an Ace, I'm sure of it."
"An ace?" Clovis asked, sounding skeptical.
"Yes my lord, I have only ever seen a Glasgow move like that one single time before... when the Flash was it's test pilot."
Clovis blinked in shock. If it where anyone else he'd call bullshit on the spot... but Jeramiah was not one to speak of Marianne in vain. He was serious.
"Are you trying to tell me the Elevens have a rounds level pilot, Jeramiah?"
"If not, they are certainly near-peer. My squad was taken out in the span of just over 10 seconds, we barely had time to react."
"You are certain of this?"
"Without a shadow of a doubt."
Clovis stared at Jeramiah, looking into his eyes. He saw no dishonesty in the Margrave, and turned around, walking behind his desk and taking a seat.
"Send me the combat footage and data logs from the engagement, I want to see what happened with my own eyes. You are dismissed for now."
"Yes milord, we will have the logs sent to your personal computer within the hour."
Jeramiah then left with his 2 surviving subordinates, and as promised, less than an hour later the reports he requested where sent to his computer to watch.
Jeramiah was right.
Clovis watched with fear and trepidation as the blood-colored Glasgow systematically destroyed Jeramiah's Squadron. Kewell's unit had its head blown off within a second of the truck's doors coming off, then Kalbast was killed by the 3 second mark, Sergeant Nu in 6, and by the 10 second mark, Jeramiah's Sutherland was eating a face full of concrete and rebar.
The prince leaned back in his seat, watching the video play on repeat. The Knightmare moved with peak efficiency, the pilot was so good that the Knightmare couldn't really keep up with them, they weren't an ordinary pilot, no, whoever this was, they where in a whole different league.
Should he call for the Emperor's support? It... it would be embarrassing, but a rounds level pilot was perhaps the only way to-
No! No if he called father he would be signing his own death warrant!
Clovis grit his teeth.
He would need to catch them himself, but how? Set up a trap maybe? That could work... he could put out a false trail, a refrain shipment? Yes, yes that would do nicely. En route from a warehouse to the Tokyo settlement, to distribute to honoraries living in the city. It would be good bait, then he would just have to wait until the opportune moment to...
Clovis blinked, his eyes noticing something in the footage. They narrowed and he paused it, before going through the video frame by frame until-
"Well hello there." He muttered, zooming in on the figure of a girl, she had green hair, yellow eyes, and looked rather... ravishing. And she seemed to be watching the battle unfold.
"It seems you're connected to this too somehow, I'll be sure to take my time having fun with you."
Cornelia lifted her tea glass and took a dignified sip, before placing it back on its tray and leaning back in her seat.
She stared at the chessboard in front of her, grabbing the black queen and using it to take out one of the white Knights on the board before leaning back and looking up at her opponent.
Her sister looked so tired.
"Marrybell." She called out to her sibling, making her flinch and look up from the board and at Cornelia.
The elder Li Britannia sibling frowned. "Are you ok?" She asked softly.
Marrybell did not respond, causing Cornelia to sigh.
"You know you can talk to me, right?"
"I know." Cornelia could barely hear her sister answer, it was spoken in the barest whisper.
"Marry... come on, don't push me away like this, you know I won't bite."
"Forgive me for being skeptical sister, your growing reputation as the goddess of victory proceeds you."
Cornelia looked hurt by the statement and Marrybell quickly tried to take it back. "I-i'm sorry Cornelia I just-"
"No, it's ok, there's no need." Cornelia assured her. "You've been jumpy too lately then?"
Marrybell saw understanding, empathy in Cornelia's eyes. She gulped and nodded.
"Our campaigns are not going as well as yours I must admit, there have been setbacks, losses... I... I fear reprisal..."
"From the courts?"
"From the Emperor."
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Do you blame him too?" Cornelia asked. "For what happened to..." She trailed off.
"To Lelouch and Nunnally, yes."
Marrybell did not know them as well, but she knew some of her happiest days where when she got to spend time at the Ares villa with the Vi and Li Britannia siblings.
The death of her own mother, felt hauntingly familiar next to what Lelouch and Nunnally went through... and then... the banishment.
Marry's hands gripped the arm rests more tightly, an imperceptible change in body language to all but the keen eyed.
"I'm afraid." She admitted. "That if I don't preform the way he wants, it... he'll do the same to me."
"I know how that feels."
The ticking of the clock felt louder than before
Oldrin, whom was standing next to Marrybell, reached a hand out to lay upon the shoulder of the princess.
They where behind closed doors, it was ok to do this, for now.
Cornelia smiled at the gesture, and it made Marry loosen up a bit.
"Marry." Cornelia called to her sister who perked up.
"What we say here, it stays between us, correct?"
"Of course sister."
Cornelia waited a moment as she considered her next words, leaning back into her chair.
"Hypothetically speaking, if the Emperor where to die, what would you do?"
"... That depends, how does he die? Hypothetically of course."
"Patricide." She answered. "Hypothetically."
Marrybell looked Cornelia in the eyes. "Then, hypothetically, I'd be upset with my sibling for not sharing the kill."
They both stared at one another.
"And if this whole hypothetical circumstance where to happen, who would reign as ruling monarch?" Marry asked.
"Euphie." The answer was instant.
"Hmm." Marrybell picked up her own tea cup, closing her eyes to take a sip. She used the time to ponder the 'Hypothetical' scenario.
She then set her cup down. "That is... agreeable." Marry finally decided, before moving her other white knight to threaten the black king.
She smiled
"-Hypothetically, of course."
2 weeks
2 grueling weeks of non stop work to set it all up, but finally, Clovis had his trap ready to spring.
It was simple, easy, it should have been a cakewalk.
Clovis made sure the comms where open so that the elevens could pick up on the information about the convoy
He made sure security looked realistic but not daunting
He had it meander around on an easily identified pattern within the Ghetto as it took its time heading towards the Tokyo settlement.
Finally, he got the call he was waiting for as he heard Bartley's voice proud over the phone.
"Your highness, we've got them."
He had no idea what he was walking into.
Moments prior, Saitama Ghetto.
The Convoy consisted of 3 Trucks, and 2 Humvees. 1 Humvee at the rear, the other taking point up front.
Suddenly and without warning, the right front tire popped on the lead Humvee, forcing it to come to a stop.
Then out of the rubble of a crumbling building burst out a blue Glasgow wearing a tattered tarp as a cloak, it fired the grenade cannon from the back of its rifle into the rear hatch of the rear-most truck, penetrating the thin metal before it detonated inside, it hit 1 of the 2 Glasgows inside, causing a chain reaction that destroyed both knightmares, killing the pilots, and turning the truck into an inferno.
The blue Glasgow then let loose several bursts from the rifle into the hummvess, ripping the Britannian Troopers inside to pieces before it used its landspinners to zip away around the corner.
The remaining 2 trucks had their roofs open up, and 4 Imperial Glasgows with Knight rifles deployed, giving chase.
Inside the blue Glasgow, Naoto huffed into his walkie.
"This better work B-1, I got 4 bogies on me."
"Relax K-1." B-1 Chided. "We have them right where we want them."
"We better, I don't like playing ring around the ghetto with a bunch of licensed serial killers."
"Have a little faith Nii-chan." Lelouch's voice was smug. "Just follow the plan we went over and everything will be fine."
Naoto rolled his eyes and floored it, leading the Britannian Knights on a wild goose chase while they screamed their stereotypical racist profanity at him, until he reached his designated step-2 marker point.
His Glasgow whipped around, and he fired his grenade cannon again, aiming at the underbelly of a crumbling apartment complex, taking out the supports and causing it to fall on top of another 2 Glasgows, crushing them.
He could hear them scream "You stupid fucking monkey!" While he laughed at them and continued to play tag with the remaining 2.
This was the hard part. He was certain he had gotten the full attention of the Britannian military by now...
Just as planned.
Within 20 minutes of starting the engagement, a G-1 mobile base came rumbling into the Ghetto alongside an entire mobile battalion of Glasgows who streamed into the city.
Bartley looked amused, standing at the command table and observing the tactical readouts.
"What's the situation?" Clovis asked from his throne, sounding bored.
"4 Glasgows from the convoy have been destroyed, all pilots KIA, alongside 10 soldiers and 2 wrecked humvees."
Clovis let out a hum.
"I had expected as much, given the red Glasgow..." He trailed off.
"Actually your highness, this one is blue."
Clovis blinked.
"A... blue Glasgow? But the video and reports clearly showed a red one!"
"I apologize your highness, I don't-"
"Contact!" One of the Knights yelled over the radio, before a lost signal appeared on screen.
"It's the red-!" The friendly IFF next to the one that just went dark also flashed up as lost.
'There's two of them!?'
Inside her red Glasgow, Kallen ducked around the corner, reloading her KAR with a fresh magazine before briefly activating her factsphere sensor and quickly surveying her immediate surroundings to check for more hostiles.
"Q-1, status report."
"I'm good B-1. K-1 how's your energy filler?"
"46% and dropping."
"Don't worry you two, if Clovis acts in the manner I predict, this battle will be over soon, we just need to- ah, and there it is."
Kallen's factsphere sensor began to light up with radar pings.
"The enemy has begun to deploy their main force, you know what to do."
"Hai!" Brother and sister responded accordingly. And they both moved to execute step 3.
"My lord! We caught sight of the red Glasgow entering the subway tunnels." Bartley informed his prince, who waved it off.
"Our Knights will crush them underfoot, have 3 Squads follow, let this serve as a reminder to Britannia's strength."
In the Ghetto, the Britannian Glasgows began to pour into the old subway and fan out- or at least they tried to.
There wasn't a whole lot of room to maneuver
"RPG!" Was all that most of them heard as a missile came streaking out of the darkness, slamming into one of the aging frames. It's cockpit auto-ejected into another Glasgow, causing both units to explode and shower the others in fire, smoke and shrapnel.
On the other side of the group, the thump of a KAR grenade cannon could be heard echoing through the tunnel before another Glasgow had its cockpit struck, exploding violently and killing the pilot before the frame fell limp.
They needed reinforcements!
And so the pattern would continue. More knightmares went in, more ground was gained as they desperately tried to advance in the tight, claustrophobic tunnel system. The ground was uneven, and their vision was being obscured by the Thermal background of the flaming wreckage of friendly frames that fell before them.
"We're picking up additional IFF signals! They're- friendly? No the enemy is using stolen gear!"
From the walls, canisters or magnetic smoke and chaff began to pop, adding even further to the fog of war as the Glasgow's older factsphere models couldn't make heads or tails of what it was picking up.
In the darkness of the cave, a handful of tiny remote cars could be seen driving around with IFF radio beacons attached to them, sending off ghost signals from non-existent knightmare frames.
Smoke and mirrors, the resistance members that didn't have Knightmares where having a laugh driving around kids toys knowing that it was scaring the piss out of the Britannians.
"We just got these IFF's installed and you're telling me the Terrorists managed to steal our knightmares!? This is unacceptable!"
He was being sent on a wild goose chase, he had lost over a dozen frames, Clovis had enough!
"I want them all down there! Send all remaining units, crush them!"
Kallen and Naoto where tag-teaming the brits, using the remote cars as decoys, the Britannians where shooting wildly into nothing expecting there to be Knightmares on the other side of the smoke. Whenever they felt they had a chance, they would pop around the corner, shoot into the crowd through the smoke and score another kill before pulling back to reload their weapons.
"Q-1, K-1, this is it." Lelouch's voice came through. "Clovis is acting as predicted, he always was the type to throw all his toys out the pram when he didn't get his way, you got about 40 more Knightmares coming down. It's time to end this."
"Roger!"
It took a few minutes, but eventually the Imperial Glasgows stopped firing, and burst through the smoke in the tunnels. They didn't see any knightmares, not a single one, only the halls ridded with bullet holes from their own return fire and some shell casings.
"Theres... nothing here!?" One of the pilots yelled in frustration.
Indeed, there was nothing, no sign of the enemy down either section of the tunnel.
"They must have broken off a little while ago. Damnit!"
"Wait... do you guys hear that?"
"If this is another one of your stupid jokes-"
"No he's right, I hear it too!"
What was that noise? It was a medium pitch monotone beeping sound that repeated in 1 second intervals.
"... get out."
The Glasgows began to scramble as some pilots realized what was gonna happen, but they could barely move, they where packed together like sardines.
"Captain-?"
In the upper corners of the subway tunnels, rigged and wired demolition charges lined their way all along the edge across the ceiling.
"Get out of the tunnels! They're gonna-!"
Explode.
Lelouch watched inside his black Glasgow from the upper story of a caved-in apartment, his frame spied on the event as it took place. He started to smile.
'Step-1, spring the enemy trap.'
The demolition charges began to beep rapidly as the Glasgows all moved to try and force their way to the exit. He picked up the black knight on the chessboard in his cockpit and positioned it to put the white king in check.
'Step 2, wait for disproportionate response.'
The demolition charges in the tunnel landed on a final long monotone beep, and Lelouch's smile turned into a grin.
'Step 3, lure the enemy into a trap of your own making.'
A deafening series of detonation rippled through the subway, causing hundreds of tons of concrete to fall on the Britannian Knightmares. Lelouch began to laugh.
'Step 4, profit.'
Clovis sat numbly in his throne as he stared at the data he was being presented.
All units lost.
No survivors.
An entire mobile battalion wiped out.
"Bartley..." He said as he tried desperately not to panic. He looked like he was about to scream, cry and pull his hair out "Set up an appointment with the Ashfords..."
He started to panic anyway.
Hours later, Lelouch laid down on the couch in the student council room, positively pleased with himself while Arthur slept on the arm rest next to him
It was exhilarating, Naoto had given Lelouch authority as the tactician while he had the final say in how things went. He had a feeling the Kozuki group was most impressed.
An entire Knightmare Battalion, gone, erased from existence, crushed by Japan's very own crumbling infrastructure that Clovis had neglected.
The irony was delicious.
It left him wondering though, if he was capable of this much, what else could he do?
He was dragged out of his thoughts however, when Kallen walked over to him, and sat down on the couch right next to him. She grabbed Lelouch and Kissed him, and they fell back on the couch together.
Eh, he could think about it later...
With Kallen next to him, Nunnally sleeping soundly, and his new fluffy friend dozing off nearby, he felt like he didn't want or need anything else in that moment.
Unfortunately... Life was not good for everyone.
At the viceroyal palace, Clovis was about to treat himself. He had a very stressful day after all. He needed to relieve some stress.
"You're sure it's her?" He asked.
"Yes my lord." Bartley responded as Clovis walked into his bedchamber.
Ah yes, looking at what was on his bed, he could confirm it was her.
Found at the scene of the crime once more by a rescue team, brought in by a squad of soldiers. The same green hair, the same golden eyes. She laid almost naked and in chains, her body paralyzed by a cocktail of drugs that shut off her nervous system.
He already decided he was gonna enjoy this one thoroughly, he was feeling rough, then an enhanced interrogation and execution to finish things off.
Yes, Clovis had a bad day, but this would make him feel a little better.
"Do not disturb me for a while."
"Of course my lord."
A/N: What if, Hypothetically of course, I asked for a review?
Also yes, I absolutely made Lelouch a closet cat lover, deal with it.
Finally: Yes, unfortunately bad things are happening to C.C., but fear not, Clovis isn't getting what he wants out of her. I was tempted to write the scene but it was making me feel uncomfortable because of how close it was getting to non-consensual intercourse. I wouldn't do that to her, but it almost happened that night. The TLDR for those of you who are worried is that she regained enough motor control to grab him for a second and send shock images, ending the sexual aspect... But of course, Clovis knows about her now.