AN: Follow-up on a couple of reviews -
1. Yes Cornelia is softer here as was built up progressively to this point in the story. That doesn't mean she cant be ruthless, she is just more hesitant about causing civilian casualties and needless collateral. She also isn't an unrepentant racist.
2. Ok I admit my C.C. might be a little bit OOC but I've decided to reinterpret bits and pieces of her character to fit the mold of the story and the narrative I am aiming for.
3. The parallels between the Knightmares in the previous chapter and the Black Templars from 40k are completely coincidental, I wasn't even thinking about those implications but It can be a funny little reference to them because of the similarities.
Now as to the reason of why I brought in these fanatic Knights. Simply put, Cornelia is no longer the main antagonist at this point in time as I'm sure most of you can tell due to the changes that have been made. Not only that, but I needed to bring in a force that would be far more dangerous to counteract all of the benefits that Lelouch currently has. This keeps the balance of power in check so that there is still a reasonable challenge for our beloved black prince to overcome.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this update!
In a large, well furnished conference room, 6 individuals sat around a round table. To some, they were known as the NAC, or "Number Alignment Council". But to others they were known as the 6 houses of Kyoto, the primary backer of the JLF and the largest suppliers of munitions and equipment to the resistance movements of Japan.
Together they watched on a series of television screens and computer monitors a sort of "highlight reel" of recent activity. The battle of Saitama, the battle of Shinjuku, and most recently now, the battle of Shibuya.
Footage displayed the harassment and destruction of Clovis's forces, the death of the prince as he was executed by the hidden visage of Zero before he got his costume, and finally the carnage wrought against Cornelia's personal army, the decimation of her Second Battalion and the humiliation of Cornelia's very own Glaston Knights at the hands of the masked Rebel.
They were quiet for a long time, their eyes locked on the screens as they flashed between the duels of Zero's Red and Blue Aces against Britannia's Prototypes, and the duel between Cornelia, Guilford, and the Red Knightmare. All a combination of factsphere data and the hidden networks of cameras placed around the ghettos.
Finally, the silence was broken.
"Is this not enough?" The voice of a young girl asked. "Do we need yet more proof of Zero's capabilities?"
"Lady Kaguya-" Hidenobu Kubouin began. "While these feats are impressive my stance remains firm that we cannot trust this Zero. There is no way of knowing where his loyalties truly lie if he remains shrouded in secrecy."
"I must agree with Kubouin-Dono." Tousai Munakata spoke up. "There is no way of knowing his true goals unless we meet him personally, without the mask."
Taizō Kirihara's eyes flicked between his old friends, before returning them to Kaguya. "Whilst I understand your reluctance, I must concur with our young protege. His full intentions may not be known to us, but I have listened to his words. They are impassioned, he believes in what he says and I will stake my honor on this fact."
Tatsunori Osakabe clasped his hands together thoughtfully and leaned forward. "I am curious then Kirihara-Dono, what would you suggest we do? He has no need for the Burai we are producing, nor does he seem to need financial support or small arms. He has reached out only recently for a closer relationship, but with the letter he is vague in what he expects from us."
"We send him the one thing he doesn't yet have. A Knightmare that can outmatch Britannia's forces." Kirihara suggested, and the other older lords shared glances at eachother while Kaguya smiled at the prospect.
"And what would we get out of this?" Hiroyosi Yoshino asked frankly.
"It's a test." Kaguya supplied. "By showing him that we are capable of delivering what he doesn't have, he will feel more inclined to meet us."
Of course, Kaguya knew it was not a matter of trust, but of control. Master Zero was an artist of warfare, a genius that none of these old fools could hope to match. They wanted him as a puppet. She hated all of these blatant, petty lies. They were meant to be serving the Japanese people but aside from herself and Kirihara, the remaining 4 members seemed more concerned with keeping their power rather than to do what was right.
Zero was new, fresh, a pragmatic idealist that was proving time and time again to be leagues above any other resistance leader. His movement was easily 10 times smaller than the JLF but he had gotten more results in less than a year than the old army had delivered in nearly a decade.
For these doddering old fools it was a slap in the face that someone was outplaying Britannia and wasn't on their payroll or in their pocket.
That was the real issue at hand, the real problem. Zero would not- COULD NOT, be controlled. He was independent, a free agent without any obligations to listen to Kyoto. That lack of control infuriated the other lords, and yet they could not act out against Zero; publicly or otherwise.
He was just too good, free agent or not, he was winning, he was getting long-desired results, and that was enough to make her colleagues clam up at the prospect of doing something harmful to Zero or his group.
But they didn't like the idea of giving him support either because of the aforementioned lack of control.
And so the argument went around in fucking circles and it was getting on Kaguya's nerves.
"You're seriously suggesting we send Rakshata's prototype?"
"It's not as stupid as it sounds, he has at least 2 Ace level pilots that can bring her machine's full potential out into the open. And even if that prototype is lost, the data gathered during combat would be invaluable to the development of futher machines. It's a win-win scenario." Kaguya quickly affirmed her stance.
There seemed to be a mutual agreement on that point as the members of Kyoto quieted down, raising no further objections.
Kirihara cleared his throat. "All in favor of sending the Type-01 to Zero, raise your hands." He invited the others to vote. He raised his own hand, and Kaguya's immediately shot up.
One by one the others reluctantly followed suit.
"It is unanimous." Kirihara declared. "Motion carried."
Lelouch hummed quietly as he read the financial reports on his laptop while sitting on the edge of the bed next to Kallen. The stock market was performing as expected, so he was making a killing. He set up a few very simple bot programs that could make him money every day without having to lift a finger. They bought low, and sold high. He smirked when he saw that RPI had climbed to a new record high after the latest dip. Any second now his shares would be sold at a premium and he'd make a small fortune off of it.
He was broken out of his musings by Kallen, who woke up with a yawn and lazily rolled over on their shared bed.
"Good morning sleepy head." Lelouch said dryly, immediately earning a pillow being thrown at him by the redhead, and her efforts were rewarded with a chuckle from him.
"So-" Kallen begin as she languidly stretched out. "Whats the agenda for today?" She asked whilst grabbing Arthur and snuggling with him, much to the cat's delight.
"Well, I suppose first on the docket would be breakfast. After that we should probably go over our finances with Milly and-"
There was a knock at the door, making Lelouch pause as Sayoko then opened it with a look of concern on her face.
"Sayoko, what is it?" He asked, noticing the look on her face, as did Kallen who sat up straight and began to wake up properly.
"Nothing good I'm afraid, turn on the news."
Lelouch narrowed his eyes before reaching for the remote and turning on the flat-screen he had mounted on the wall.
"-ing to you live from Hi-TV to give you a special bulletin! Off to you Jannet!" The newscaster began, as the TV cut to the military base near the viceroyal palace. White sutherlands with black crosses could be seen as they were offloaded from transport planes. A man with white hair, streaked with a few strands of black stood next to the reporter on sight in a jacquard coat with a pleasant smile on his face.
Lelouch's eyes widened and he paled, something that Kallen noted as she quickly got up and stood next to him, her concern growing as the reporter began to speak.
"Thank you Linda! I'm standing here in the government district of the Tokyo colony with Father Olivian Cantwell who has come all the way from his charity foundation in Euro-Britannia. Tell us Father, what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Oh well it's simple really! One of the Emperor's finest informed us that there was great trouble here in Area-11. He asked us to help mediate the conflict between the Emperor's good people and the Elevens. I hope to bridge the gap between our two peoples by delivering them to the grace of God almighty, so that they might be saved!" He said warmly.
"My-my! How noble! Tell us, how do you plan to make that happen?"
"Why how else but to visit the Ghettos. The Elevens who live there must be terribly cold and lonely, we hope that by extending an olive branch of peace, they may come to see the errors of their ways."
"Well with all of the terrorist activities that have taken place, you'll certainly need all the help you can get, I think I speak for all Britannians living here when I wish you the best of luck!"
He chuckled slightly. "Oh how kind of you, but no need to fret my dear, we are servants of the Emperor and of the Lord, we will need no such luck. Our success is pre-determined."
"Oh wow, such confidence! We'll, I'll just ask one more question as our time is running out for this segment and I'm sure you're a busy man. Tell me, what are you plans for the mysterious terrorist leader, Zero?"
The falsely innocent smile of the parishioner split into a toothy, almost feral grin. His eyes turned to look at the camera, causing both Lelouch and Kallen to bristle.
"No need to fret, you can count on the Black Templars to take care of him."
That was enough of that as Kallen swiftly turned off the TV before looking at Lelouch, and he seemed to he genuinely worried if his posture and demeanor was any indicator.
"Call Naoto, see if he can't get an early discharge from the hospital. He's been in there long enough and we need all hands on deck. I'll phone Ohgi."
Kallen nodded quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder as she picked up her cellphone from the nightstand and dialed her brother's number.
Naoto was bored as fuck, he supposed that it could be worse. He wasn't shot directly with the knightmare rifle or else he would have lost his arm completely. It was a glancing blow that left the main gash. Getting sliced up by the residual shrapnel and shards of glass wasn't fun though.
The TV helped, but lazing around for days on end wasn't exactly his definition of fun or productivity. He was watching Britannia's Funniest Home Videos when the doctors brought a new patient into the ward, her purple hair was slightly messy having been tied back in a ponytail. Her equally purple eyes were a bit tired and she seemed rather upset. A stern looking man with glasses walked in with her alongside the doctor. And several nurses.
"Is this really necessary? I feel fine." The injured woman huffed, bringing a hand up to the bandages covering parts of her face and upper body, she was wearing a hospital gown as well.
"Doctor's orders." One of the nurses said lightly. "And you know that-"
"Doctor's outrank everyone." Cornelia finished dryly, though slightly amused. "Fine, just don't keep me here for long, my duties are too important."
"You were knocked unconscious, my lady, you know they need to monitor you for signs of a concussion or possible brain damage."
She grunted in acknowledgement, sitting down in the bed next to Naoto's and then laying down, trying to get comfortable. "Gilly, I'll be fine here, go look after Euphie for me, please. And make sure that asshat doesn't fuck anything else up." She finished with venom.
"My lady, I am... reluctant to leave your side."
Cornelia rolled her eyes before throwing a pointed look at her knight. "The only thing I'm at risk of dying from in here is sheer boredom." She quipped dryly, earning a small smirk from the man, and she smiled back.
"Very well my lady, I will go look after her and keep an eye on Luciano." He agreed, giving a bow to Cornelia before vacating the room while the nurses set Cornelia up with some extra pillows.
Naoto watched the man leave, curious as to who these people were. The woman was almost definitely nobility, that much was clear by the way that man referred to her. Since this section of the hospital was for members of said nobility just hammered that home.
She didn't look to pleased to be here. Then again since when did anybody "like" being hospitalized.
Naoto would be lying if he said he wasn't staring a bit. The woman was beautiful, even with her bandages. She was fit, possibly athletic, and while the gown wasn't exactly form-fitting it also didn't fully hide her physique. So she was appealing to him in many ways.
Man sees pretty girl, man decides to talk to pretty girl.
"Hello there." He opened up. He didn't expect her to respond, but if she did, great.
Cornelia turned to look at the man across from her. Red hair, blue eyes, a more tan complexion. He was giving her a friendly smile.
That confused her, until she realized that he probably didn't know who she was. Public knowledge of her viceroyship aside, she hasn't made any televised appearances, so her face might not be widely known.
She contemplated for a moment on if she should give a response. She didn't much like members of the nobility, but this one seemed... nice. Much more pleasant than any other noble she had been obliged to communicate with in the past.
She supposed responding to him couldn't hurt. He seemed tolerable and life as a warrior-princess was unbearably lonely outside of official business and spending what little free time she had with her sister.
"Hi." She replied after a moment.
"My name is Nathan." Naoto greeted. "What's yours?"
Cornelia opted to keep her royal heritage a secret, and instead use her nickname. "Well outside of my business hours most people call me Nelly."
Naoto smiled. "Nice to meet you Nelly." His smile turned into a playful smirk. "You look like shit."
Cornelia stared at him for a few moments before breaking out in a fit of mirthful laughter. "You should see the other guy." She finally shot back.
"You mean other guys." He pointed out. "Must have taken a whole squad of em." He retorted.
"100 of them with giant machetes and machineguns." She quipped.
"Ya know, I hear girls dig guys with cool scars, I'm sure it'll be the other way around."
She snorted. "Unfortunately if these leave visible scarring there'll be hell to pay, my family will never let it go."
"Eh, fuck em." He said with a shrug. "Battle scars are a sign of strength. You fought something dangerous and survived, nothing more to it." He spoke plainly, earning a small smile from Cornelia.
"What are you in for?" Cornelia asked, and Naoto pulled off the blanket showing his heavily bandaged arm. "The police were chasing someone and they caught me in the crossfire. Shot out my windshield."
She frowned. "Are the Knightpolice really so careless?"
He snorted. "Next you'll ask me if the sky is blue." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and annoyance. "They're all corrupt, they've been backing the refrain trade under Prince Clovis's command for years."
Cornelia looked at him in shock and confusion. There was no dishonesty in his voice. He didn't know who she was so there was no reason to lie, nor embellish so... is what he said true?
"You're saying Clovis was peddling drugs?" She asked for clarification, and this time it was he who looked at her like she was crazy.
"You really don't know? It's an open secret. The Britannian Mafia paid off the KPD for years and Clovis let it happen because the refrain was keeping the J- the Eleven's docile."
Cornelia caught the slip. A number sympathizer in the nobility? She never thought she'd see the day.
But this information about Clovis... she wanted to deny it, but at the same time those financial reports under Clovis definitely seemed to be fudged, the numbers just didn't match.
Was this sort of bribery the only offense, or did the mysterious Code-R and Project Orange also play a role?
Too many questions and not enough answers. She would need to look into these matters in detail later.
And if it was an open secret like Nathan had said, then the topic would be an easy subject to broach from the other nobles with just a bit of pressure. She would be able to either confirm or refute the claims being made here in due time.
"Anyways." Naoto picked up from there. "What about you, what are you in here for?"
"I was attacked." Cornelia answered honestly. "I got into a fight rather unprepared and bit off more than I could chew."
"Damn, did ya beat em?"
She shook her head. "My..." She hesitated, stopping herself from saying subordinates. "-Friends fought them off."
He smiled. "Well that's good least, it's always nice to know you have good friends who will watch your back."
She smiled back. "Yes, I suppose it does."
They talked like this for hours and long into the night, engaging in casual conversation, sharing bits and pieces of their lives without going into too much detail to protect their respective identities and cracking jokes along the way, sharing in some laughter while exchanging an amusing yarn from their childhoods.
They talked more in the morning, until Naoto got a call, interrupting their conversation. He picked up the phone and she his sister's caller ID. The big brother quickly answered it.
"Hello?" Cornelia watched as he frowned. "That bad huh?" He sighed. "Alright, give me like an hour or so and I'll probably be there by then, I'll call you if anything happens. Til then... love you too sis."
He hung up and shook his head. "Sorry Nelly, something's come up. My sister needs help with something important." He apologized.
Cornelia waved it off. "I'd do anything for my little sister, don't worry I understand completely." She answered smoothly.
Naoto smiled a little before getting out of his hospital bed, grabbing a change of clothes that he had with him and heading into the bathroom to change. When he came out he gave her a friendly smile, and she returned it, raising a hand to wave goodbye.
He stopped as he was about to pass her and leave the room, turning to face her.
"Hey um... it was really nice meeting you, and I enjoyed talking to you a lot, so I was wondering..."
"Yeeeeees?" Cornelia drawled out with amusement.
Naoto flushed with embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck, a tick. "Could I have your number?"
Cornelia stared at him and raised her eyebrow.
"Right- sorry, I'll just-" He began, only for her voice to cut him off.
"Oh no you don't, you're not getting away from me that easily." She cut him off, reaching her hand out. "Your phone."
He blinked, before pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to her. She took it and then quickly began tapping away, taking a few moments with the device before handing it back to him. When he checked it, he saw that he had a new phone number saved in his contact list.
"Oh- um..." He laughed. "Thank you."
She nodded quietly, maintaining an amused smirk as she watched the young man leave the ward.
Naoto smiled brightly. 'Score'
Naoto walked into the conference room in the Ashford Underground slightly over an hour later, and his arrival seemed to lift the spirits of everyone there. Ohgi gave him a handshake and a pat on the back, Tamaki, Yoshida, Minami and Nagata all offered him fitst-bumps, and both Kallen as well as Inoue gave him hugs as well as getting a pat on the back from Sugiyama. Maya gave him a friendly wave as well, and Lelouch gave him a friendly nod with a small smile from across the room.
The exiled prince was wearing his Zero suit along with the red headband he was given years ago being used as a choker a little ways above the neckerchief. However the Helmet and cape were not on him at that moment.
"Well, I got the all-hands-on-deck call. What's the situation cap'n?"
Lelouch cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention as he lifted up a manilla folder full of pictures and documents and lightly tossed it into the middle of the table.
"I made enough pamphlets for everyone, please pass them around." He requested, and they did so, with everyone grabbing their own stapled sheaf of papers and beginning to look through it. He then turned on the projector that was installed above the table and pointed at the screen behind him.
"So, to begin, how many of you know the difference between a Britannian Army Knight, Britannian House Knight, and a Britannian Holy Order Knight?" He asked as he held his hands behind his back and cast his gaze across the room. He was met only with confused and expectant glances, though he noted that C.C. had silently slipped into the conference room when nobody else was looking. Her green hair was impossible to miss.
"Alright then." He sighed, knowing that an explanation was in order as he used the projector, going to the first slide displaying the image of a standard Imperial blue Sutherland.
"The basics then, Britannian Army Knights are often lower level members of nobility. The basic title of knighthood is the most readily available and easiest to obtain. These Knights operate in the standard chain of command and make up the bulk of Britannia's forces. They pilot mass-production model Knightmare Frames and often serve in a combined-arms offensive alongside the airforce and navy to create the holy trinity of Britannia's military. They are not particularly skilled compared to any other pilot and are as close as you can get to standard." He finished. "Are we all on the same page?" He asked, his eyes sweeping the room and finding that everyone was nodding and remaining quiet.
Taking that as his sign to move on he clicked the remote to move to the next slide. Showing off a Sutherland in a much different White-Red color pattern.
"Britannian House Knights are much more complicated. Rather than being part of the overall Military; House Knights serve as elite private armies for high ranking noble lords. These Knights often come from long-standing lineages of Knighthood, and have sworn Allegiance to the bloodline of a high ranking noble. These pilots are often- though not always- far more loyal, zealous, and rigorously trained compared to your standard Britannian Army Knightmare Pilot."
The Black Prince would then keep going. "Their Knightmares are painted in the colors of their liege's coat of arms, and they are often given custom weapons and equipment specially ordered that normal Army forces don't have access to, along with upgrades and customization to the frame's components tailored to the individual pilots." He explained, and Tamaki raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"So... are the Purists a Knight House? Their Knightmares were different, the red markings."
"Good question, the answer is both yes and no." He supplied, much to everyone's apparent confusion. "To give context, the Purists were not made up of Knights that come from old blood. Their forces were primarily made up of commoners, and as such they didn't have the same level of funding as proper Knight houses. However they did get help from Clovis. He privately funded them and turned them into his own sort of pseudo royal guard knightmare division." He extrapolated.
Lelouch continued. "However as you all know the Purists lacked real discipline or experience as well as not taking the fight seriously until it was too late, and they had a poor commander. Those factors combined made it easy to wipe them out in Shinjuku. So they are a poor example of a proper Knight House, an outlier and an exception."
Everyone drank that in and seemed to start to understand.
"So... then what's the difference between a Knight House and... an Order Knight?"
Lelouch nodded, clicking the remote once more, this time displaying a white knightmare with gold secondary colors and a green cross.
"That's where it actually gets interesting, complicated, and dangerous." He sighed. "So, a bit of a history lesson for you all, hundreds of years ago, there were a series of Crusades that took place throughout the middle ages and renaissance era. Christianity vs Islam, a war of faith. The details of these Crusades don't matter so much as the individuals participating. Long before Britannia would come to power, several orders of Knights would come to directly pledge their fealty not to nobility but to the church. They became soldiers of the Vatican, and fought for God instead of country."
"So... what the church has a private army?" Kallen asked.
"More or less." Lelouch answered. "Fast-forward to the modern era. It's not just the Britannian Empire, it's the 'Holy' Britannian Empire. There are religious undertones everywhere you look. The Emperor controls the church, gives them power and control, allowing them to do as they please so long as they in turn validate the Emperor in the eyes of the faithful masses. In old England and even today, the rule of the reigning monarch was more than just a person in a position of power. Their status is 'ordained by god'. They are born with the right to rule as dictated by the church."
"Damn, that's fucked up." Nagata muttered, earning several nods.
"Quite. The church has its own private army in the form of the Holy Orders. These Knight houses are religious fanatics who not only fully encapsulate social Darwinism but also completely believe in the Emperor's divine status. He is almost like a prophet to them. God's chosen, sent by the heavens to rule and guide mankind. There are numerous Knight Orders, each more zealous and ruthless than the last."
"So who controls them? The Church or the Emperor?" Yoshida asked, crossing his arms.
"Both. The church gives them regular commands but the moment the Emperor so much as lifts a finger they are at his beck and call 24/7. This also extends to the Knights of the round. Due to them being chosen by the Emperor as his personal agents they are essentially his messengers and as such any task they need help with is something they can call on one of the Holy Order's to aid them with."
"So we got a bunch of religious psychopathic zealots piloting battle mechs, what could go wrong?" Naoto asked sarcastically.
"That leads us to our current problem..." Lelouch sighed. "Once more, a bit of context is required. Many centuries ago, the Holy Order of the Knights Templar was betrayed by the reigning King of France, Philip IV. He had most of them tried and executed, some of them were even burned alive. When this happened, the few surviving members who escaped persecution fled to Britain." The exile explained.
Lelouch went further. "Britain, being France's long-time rival was more than ready to take them in, and the remaining Templars swore an oath of vengeance for King Philip's betrayal. They became patrons of the English Church and have been serving as executioners of the royal family ever since, having long ago rebranded themselves as the Holy Order of the Black Templars."
Minami let out a low whistle. And Tamaki asked the big question. "So what's that got to do with us?"
Lelouch's face turned grim.
"They're here."
Everyone became unsettled at the finality of his words, and leaned in, or sat/stood up straighter. Kallen narrowed her eyes.
"It was on the news this morning just over an hour ago. That's why I called this meeting. The Black Templars have arrived in Japan- be it on the Emperor's authority or a rounds I do not know. But they have made it abundantly clear that they are here to spill rivers of blood and hunt me down."
"How do we fight them?" Kallen asked.
Lelouch shrugged. "In terms of capabilities they are essentially just elite knightmare units. Fighting them is technically no different from how we have been fighting so far. All it really comes down to is that our usual tactics are less likely to work. These pilots are more skilled, experienced, and as far as I can tell, don't know fear. They're agents of chaos and destruction and there's hardly a dirty trick they aren't willing to pull to get their desired results."
The tension in the room increased as everyone started muttering in conversation amongst each other while reading through the provided information pamphlets.
"This is all I can do right now. I will take time to consider our next course of action. For now all we can do is wait, rest, build our strength, keep our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground. With that you are all dismissed."
Everyone began talking to one another a bit more openly as conversations started to take place. But it was all white noise to Lelouch as he contemplated the recent developments and his next course of action. Though he didn't get far as Naoto stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder. This brought Lelouch out of his musings as his head turned up and his eyes re-focused.
"Hey man, you doing alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lelouch shook his head. "I'm just worried for Japan."
Naoto frowned. "They're really that bad huh?"
"To put it into perspective, whatever limit of evil you think they are above, erase that line because there's not a single thing they wont do. There's no such thing as going too far to people like these."
Kallen walked up to him and gave him a side hug, joining her Brother in a quick embrace before pulling back slightly.
"So, the ball is in their court then?"
"For now." Lelouch agreed reluctantly. "Our forces are too few to make the first move or do anything meaningful. Until further notice we're playing the waiting game."
"Guess we just gotta see who blinks first." Naoto mused as they all walked out of the conference room and stepped towards the railing. They stood on the catwalk overlooking the hangar where Resistance burais were undergoing their routine maintenance and some vehicles were getting extra armor plating welded on.
"By the way." Lelouch began lightly. "How's the arm?"
"Doing better. Not back to full use, really tender and all but it's not nearly as bad as it was."
"That's good." Lelouch replied and was about to make another comment.
Just then however- a truck came through the loading bay doors, followed by a pair of excited Kozuki resistance members running out with excitement.
Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Wonder what that's all about."
"They look like Ohgi's runners." Kallen commented thoughtfully.
Lelouch hummed, walking over to his locker and putting on the Zero Mask before heading down into the loading dock with Kallen and Naoto.
When they arrived, the runners looked super excited, they both noticed Zero and gave deep bows. "Hello master Zero!"
Lelouch nodded. "Hello my friends." Zero replied. "Whats all this?"
"Kyoto gave this to us and told us to deliver it to you, they said it was a gift!"
'Ah, so the 6 houses got my message.' He thought, wondering what could be in the trailer.
"Well what are you waiting for?" He asked in a playful manner. "Let's unwrap this present."
"Cornelia lost?" The Emperor of Britannia asked in disbelief while a possessed Anya sat on his desk. He was flipping through the report he got from the intelligence committee and raised a hand to rub his brow.
"That's my boy!" Marianne giggled, clapping as she watched the recording of 'Zero' at Kururugi's trial. "Only our son could be such a delightful showman and brilliant strategist!" She swooned.
Charles rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes he is a prodigy, I admit as much. I am intrigued with is actions. But you know the problems that will arise if things get out of hand.
Anya shrugged. "Oh stop it. You know everything will be fine. Even if we lose the thought elevator in Japan there are still plenty more to work with."
"Yes but controlling each thought elevator improves our chances of success that much more. Are we really going to risk failure to our son's machinations?"
Marianne sighed. "No, I suppose you're right. If he gets out of hand we can just kill him or something."
Charles blinked. "I... was not thinking of going that far. I would much rather abduct him and use my Geass."
"So long as it gets him out of the way."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "You are awfully calm about the idea of killing your baby boy."
"When we complete the plan it won't matter anymore! We can be happy together forever!" She chirped, causing Charles to let out an exasperated sigh.
"Yes I suppose you are right, but I'd rather not execute him if it's not strictly necessary."
"Oh you, look at my handsome Charlie being a big ole softie!" Anya giggled, turning around to pinch his cheek and earning a roll of the eyes in return.
"Well, all things considered I'd say we can let things in Area-11 unfold as they are. If things get truly out of hand or if V.V. looks like he's going to make a move, I'll handle it."
"Well alright then. So what are you going to do with Cornelia?
"That depends entirely on her excuse for losing to Lelouch. Prodigy or not he has limited experience, she's a seasoned veteran, she should have performed much better than the results I see before me. It's almost inexcusable."
Anya giggled. "A verbal lashing or so should set her straight."
Charles nodded with a noncommittal hum before asking a question. "How are things with C.C.?"
Anya frowned. "She seems distracted, and quite possibly cross with us. Apparently Clovis was a far less than pleasant host."
"Yes well considering she was probably deprived of Pizza for an entire year I imagine she's pleased to be getting her fill on our son's credit card." He grinned with amusement.
Anya snickered. "Once again Pizza Hut will have its pocket lined with the coffers of the royal treasurey."
"I'm sure they aren't complaining."
This caused the both of them to start laughing as the sun set on the royal palace.
Days had passed, and Kallen was still elated.
The Kyoto group had delivered something wonderful to them, and it was all hers! Even now she was staring up at it with glee.
'The Type-01 Guren Isshiki. It was nothing like the old Glasgow and Burai she had to work with before. Blocky and geometric plating was traded out for a much sleeker, smoother, and aerodynamic design. The face plate was black, the eyes were orange, but the main body was a bright crimson.
And it was all hers. The ace of the resistance was piloting the very first Japanese knightmare!
... well ok yeah it was designed by an Indian but who cared!? This was like her birthday and Christmas combined!
She was pulled out of her excited internal ramblings as Lelouch walked up next to her, wearing his zero outfit and mask. He peered up at the knightmare.
"Performance unlike anything Britannia has yet to produce- those white knightmares non-withstanding. With speed and agility in spades, A grenade cannon, new model slash-harken, fork-knife, plus the ability to carry standard weapons in its hands." He listed off. "It's a thing of beauty."
Kallen nodded, she looked like she was vibrating with excitement and it was adorable to him.
He chuckled. "You know, most girlfriends want flowers, chocolates and jewelry. Mine just wants knightmares."
She gave him a pointed look. "I like those things too you know." She said, lightly poking his shoulder. "You just never bother taking me anywhere."
Lelouch spluttered. "Well- I didn't know you wanted to!"
Kallen rolled her eyes. "You don't have to know. Be adventurous, spontaneous, I like being surprised."
He sighed. "There's no pleasing you." The prince grumbled with good humor.
"Yes there is, you're just bad at it." She deflected.
"Whatever." Lelouch replied half-heartedly.
"You know I'm right, brat."
"I'm not a brat!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm bloody not!"
Kallen exploded into a fit of giggles and Lelouch shook his head while a smile traitorously worked it's away onto his face.
There was a pregnant silence between them for a moment until Lelouch spoke up, some awkwardness in his voice. "Well- if you want, I could take you out this Friday?" He asked quietly.
Kallen smiled, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "Aww, even after all this time you're still shy!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you aaaaaaaare!"
"Am not!"
This playful back and forth would continue until Ohgi ran up to them, cutting the banter short.
"Sorry to interrupt but we have a problem!"
"What is it Ohgi?" Lelouch asked quickly, turning to face the former teacher.
"It's those Templar guys you warned us about. They just announced they were heading to Saitama!"
"The Yamato Alliance." Kallen whispered while Lelouch's eyes hardened.
"Everyone wait here. I'll take care of this."
Kallen turned sharply and gawked at him in disbelief. "You're not going out there alone!"
"I won't be alone, I'll have the Yamato alliance."
"They're a bunch of fucking thugs!" Kallen snapped.
"That's why they won't be missed! My objective is to save the civilians and cause as much damage to the enemy as possible. The Yamato Alliance is expendable!"
"Oh and are we expendable too!?"
"That's why I don't want you coming with!" Lelouch snapped with finality. "I don't want to risk losing you or anyone else here in a battle like this, the fewer people that come the fewer distractions there are and I can focus on my objectives!"
"You literally JUST warned us about how dangerous these guys are and you're trying to fight them without any backup except a bunch of 2-bit gangsters masquerading as resistance members!"
"I'll be careful." Lelouch replied stubbornly, and Kallen threw her hands up, walking away in anger, and Ohgi looked at the mask of Zero with calm but noticeable disapproval.
"I am trying to keep her safe, I'm surprised you don't agree with my decision."
"We know what we signed up for. Asking any of us, especially her to stay behind while you throw yourself into imminent danger isn't doing us any good. It's disrespectful, and dangerous for you."
"I can handle it Ohgi, you'll see."
Ohgi could only shake his head with a sigh, and walked away, leaving Lelouch to his own thoughts as he began to lay out his plans. For this mission he would need to change his costume... all the while a certain golden-eyed Immortal watched from the catwalk with hidden disapproval.
'Foolish boy, looks like I'll have to play babysitter.'
A/N: And that's a wrap for this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed!
PS: Everything I wrote about the holy orders is entirely headcannon (at least as far as I am aware) so that's some AU stuff that I hope you find fun.