Throne of Glass

Chapter 16: The Day a Demon Emerged Part 1

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Viceroy's Palace; 2017 ATB

Clovis stood in what had recently became his favorite spot, just a ways from his desk, overlooking the settlement below. Faraway enough that he didn't impulsively reach for the phone when his secretary called to bring another piece of information. At this point, it didn't matter what she informed him of, it was all the same. 'The Black Knights have attacked another Britannian facility outside the city.' Or rather, more recently, another response team. Since it had been sometime since the last Britannian facility outside the three settlements fell to the unstoppable force. He had been fighting a losing battle all this time; Yet the nobles demanded he throw more lives away to curb the threat. Now he received daily notifications of how many soldiers were killed trying to fight something they couldn't even see until it was too late. There was no base, no territory to attack: no all of Area Eleven belonged to Zero. And anyone who dared venture uninvited was met with lethal force. Yet not one report indicated even a slight encounter with enemy forces before losing contact. Infantry, tanks, even knightmares, it didn't matter; they were all dealt with swiftly and without a sound. In short, Clovis had absolutely no idea how powerful Zero's forces were. Only that he could erase an entire squadron of Mariannes without missing a beat.

On his own, Clovis stood little chance against the masked crusader. Of course, Schneizel's hand still remained extended, but Clovis would sooner die than take it. As he saw it, he had three options available to him: become indebted to his scheming brother, face his father's wrath, or meet his end at Zero's hand. Quite frankly, he favored the last considerably. He began to wonder if Zero was actually capable of far more than simply harassing a single area. After all, the man was bold enough to attack the OSI after luring the director himself there. Even broadcasting it on top of it all. More than that, he believed Zero to be capable of doing what Clovis could not. He previously envied him for actions, specifically his ability to do so. But after witnessing him speak directly and thinking over that for so long, he came to realize something. That Zero, perhaps not the Black Knights as a whole, but in the least, their leader; was not aiming for the liberation of Japan. That may be his current goal, and what he was working toward now, but he would not stop when he saw Area Eleven free of the Empire. It was something he said, shortly before declaring war on Britannia. Sure, he operated under the banner of justice, and played true to the knight motif. But it was nothing more than a method of obtaining support, Clovis understood that much. But Zero used such methods because he did not desire simply Japan. No, he wanted Britannia itself. "Hear me, Charles zi Britannia". Zero too believed the emperor was the one at fault. That it was his philosophy that would bring the empire, and with it, most all the world, down on itself. Zero would be the one to change the world for the better, to right the wrongs spread by a poisonous mouth. If it could be done, it would be by his hand, certainly not Clovis'. But even if it really meant nothing anymore, he was a prince of Britannia. He wouldn't be going down without a fight. However slim his success may be, he did in fact have a fourth option. And should he fail, he would still get his second best outcome anyway.

"Shinjuku."

It was more than likely that the cell operating there had no affiliation at all with the Black Knights. Which was why they even had any Intel on the area at all. Since it took some time for any sort of intervention from the Black Knights for the few excursions made in the area. It seemed Zero liked to prove to the populace of the ghettos just how much better his protection was. Hardly anyone lived there. Strangely enough, the largest populated areas were the Ashford Restoration Zones. While clearly a much better option than a building that may just fall down on top of you, it was odd that Zero allowed such a place to exist. The company remained rather tight lipped on whatever agreement was likely made. Perhaps, despite being a Britannian project, it would hurt his image to remove it. He supposed he was still unaware if Ashford even had any involvement at this point anymore. Regardless, he had a place to target. One where he would have a chance to establish a foothold before facing the Black Knights. But it wasn't enough to just go up against his army, Clovis had to face and defeat Zero himself. To that end, he would need the proper bait. A reason for Zero to go himself. Clovis had to lead the charge.

There was little need to think of the repercussions. No matter how you looked at, it was a last ditch effort. And as he established before, a much more preferable end. His time was running out, as were his options. So he made his way back to his desk. He had a few calls to make.

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Ashford Academy; 2017 ATB

"Allen!"

With the name announced, the peaceful air of the student council room was instantly gone. Before Milly's sudden entrance; Allen, along with Kallen, Shirley, Rivalz and Nina were enjoying a quiet afternoon. Specifically one in which the president was not made aware of. Unfortunately hiding in the most likely place did not last them until the day's end.

"God, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Milly continued, storming into the room, waving a stack of papers around. "I need to get the budget balanced by tomorrow!"

"Then you better get to it." the younger blonde responded without looking up from his book. He had little time to relax, and he wasn't about to give it up to something so mundane.

She continued to wave her papers in his face, while the others attempted to remain unnoticed. "You can get this done in like two hours! You're so much faster than I am!"

"That's because you never do it." Allen retorted, refusing to look up at her.

"Guts!" She yelled at him, earning a sigh.

"Please don't try that again."

Milly then resorted to rolling up her budget and repeatedly hitting him on the head.

"Hey, is Allen in he-oh." yet another person came into the room seeking the vice-president, stopping after witnessing the scene going on.

"Kaguya! What's up?" Allen jumped from the chair, snatching Milly's bludgeon from her.

"Oh so you're willing to ask what she wants!" She whined, attempting to retrieve her weapon, which he kept out of her reach.

"Just something I thought you might be interested in." the young Japanese replied. "Suzaku was trying to get a hold of you but you had your phone turned off."

Lelouch quickly realized that whatever both Suzaku and Kaguya wanted him to see, would be very interesting indeed. "Well, it's been fun. I wish you luck Milly." He said, placing the unrolled budget on the table. "As well as the rest of you." He looked to the others present, who Milly seemed to just notice.

"Oh, you come too Kallen. If it's what I think it is."

A very relieved redhead sprang from her spot at the table, grateful she was spared. The others looked to him hopefully, to which he smiled. "Someone has to get it done."

"Alright! Get to it guys!" Milly began handing out portions of the stack to everyone, her own noticeably smaller. She made an excellent task master. For other people.

"Excellent timing there Kaguya. Now what's this I should see?" Lelouch said with a smile, once they were out of the council room.

"Jeremiah's at the tower right now. He's got something to share with us." She told him.

His grin quickly turned from Allen's to Lelouch's. A very distinct difference to anyone who knew him. "Very interesting indeed."

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Ashford Tower; 2017 ATB

Jeremiah came almost as soon as Clovis was finished talking. This was the moment he had been waiting for nearly a year now. He could finally prove himself once again. Though he longed to do so on the field of battle, he would settle for whatever he could. Even if that meant being no more than a spy.

He waited with the other more important members of his Lord's group for him to arrive, thinking of what soon to take place. Very soon indeed, things would be moving very quickly. He might just get that chance in battle in the near future. He felt a small touch of guilt knowing he was betraying prince Clovis, but it was completely smothered by his true loyalty. Clovis was nothing more than a means of possibly finding prince Lelouch. And if the viceroy would stand against him, knowingly or not, that made him an enemy.

"So I hear you have something interesting to share with me, Jeremiah."

The prince in exile entered the briefing room flanked by Kallen and Kaguya. Jeremiah gave him a short bow. Not many treated him like a prince, but Jeremiah forever would. "Yes, my Lord."

Lelouch glanced around the room, seeing Suzaku, and even Todoh were present as well. Seemed a bad day to leave his phone off; everyone save him got here first. "Well then, what's the big news?"

Jeremiah cleared his throat, everyone's attention on him. "Viceroy Clovis will be attacking the Shinjuku Ghetto in three days time. He plans to strike the rogue cell there knowing the Black Knights will be slower to react. He'll be gathering nearly all available knightmares in the settlement, as a make or break operation. More importantly, the prince himself will lead the strike, in a bid to draw Zero out and defeat him."

"Excellent." Lelouch grinned. "Ladies and gentleman, the day we've waited for is close at hand. Clovis had all but offered himself to us. It's time to show Britannia that not even a prince is safe from us. The emperor isn't the only one with power anymore."

Excitement and anticipation quickly filled the room, and Lelouch continued. "I'll need scouts to map out the current layout of the area. And issue an evacuation of anyone who actually lives there. And someone go remove those 'resistance fighters' before they get someone hurt."

"I'll take care of them." Came a response from beside him, almost right after he finished speaking.

He raised an eyebrow at Kallen, wondering why she would volunteer for such a task.

"That's my brother, Lelouch." She told him. "I think it's time I spoke to him again."

"I...see. would you like any help?" he asked.

"No. I can take care of them." She insisted.

"Right. Well, get to it everyone. Let's show them who really owns Japan."

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Shinjuku Ghetto; 2017 ATB

The place really hadn't changed since she last saw it, not that it was a good thing. Well, maybe one or two more buildings came down in the last two years. It was hard to tell when the rubble looked the same in every direction. Sure, there were a lot of places that still looked about the same as they did when the war ended, but Ashford as well as the Black Knights worked to make it at least safer to live. But thanks to her brother's presence here Lelouch ignored the area completely. Naoto was one of the few who stubbornly refused to join or dissolve, sitting in this rotting city like he was doing something meaningful. Thus the Black Knights left not only him but all of Shinjuku alone. After a while people just left, it was clear what the better option was. To everyone but him, at least.

She sighed as she approached their apartment-headquarters...thing. with all the lights on and everything it was beyond obvious where they were. Clovis would have no trouble clearing them out without some sort of intervention. Still, she supposed she had to give her brother some credit for making the place livable. But it was a far cry from Ashford Tower. Or Narita. Or the Academy.

Eventually she came to the door, hearing faint voices inside. And with a heavy breath, she knocked on it.

She could make out Naoto's grumbling as he made for the door. A distinct sound she knew rather well. "Dammit Tamaki, I told you to-"

After opening the door, he stopped short of his rant. "Kallen." her brother breathed, clearly shocked to see her. At her name, the others inside turned toward the door from whatever they were doing.

"Hello Naoto." She coolly replied.

"You're okay!" he cried out. "God you've been missing for so long! The school said you still attended but they wouldn't let me see you. I was so worried something happened to you!"

He all but pulled Kallen into the room, the first time he was so eager to let her in. "You're not in trouble are you? Where have you been?"

"I joined the Black Knights Naoto." She told him flatly.

"You what?" He frowned. "Why would you do that? Those people are dangerous!"

She scoffed at him. "I'm not just some pawn Naoto. I was recruited by Zero himself. He saw In me what you refused. Pretty soon I'll be piloting a seventh generation prototype. You didn't even let me near that Glasgow you guys stole!" She knew she probably shouldn't give away that information, but she felt like rubbing that one in his face specifically. "I wanted to be part of something that could make a difference. Clearly you guys don't agree with me."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!" Naoto growled.

"I didn't come here to argue." Kallen cut him off. "I came here to warn you."

He shook his head "Warn me? What are you talking about?"

"Clovis is coming to Shinjuku." Kallen revealed. "And you guys are as good as dead if you hang around here. So I suggest you get out before you get someone hurt."

"Damn it Kallen! You're just saying we should walk out without doing anything?" Naoto demanded angrily.

"maybe if you accepted joining the Black Knights you could have been useful, but you didn't. I don't know what you thought you could do on your own here, but I can tell you it wasn't worth your time. I don't know why I wanted to join you so bad, Naoto. Britannia won't fall to terrorism."

"Then what about you Kallen?" Her brother asked. "Is your Zero going to fell Britannia?"

Kallen looked him dead in the eye. "Yes." She said in a deadly serious tone.

Naoto remained silent awhile, unsure how to respond to her.

"I've warned you, and be glad I volunteered to come here. Not many others would've have come just to do so. You're a liability if you stay here."

Without letting him reply she immediately turned and walked out the door. Naoto called out to her as she left, but she ignored him, disappearing into the night.

"What are we going to do Naoto?" Ohgi asked from beside him.

"I'm not sure." He replied honestly. "But we're sure as hell not going anywhere."

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Preparations were moving smoothly according to Lelouch. He obtained detailed maps of the ghettos within the first day, and came up with what he considered the perfect plan. Supposedly Clovis was gathering almost every available knightmare in Area Eleven to fight him. It would have been overkill if it was just Kallen's brother; a rather tragic end for the resistance group. But against Lelouch, it wouldn't be close to enough. The Lancelot was ready for deployment, with Rakshata's Guren close to completion, but he decided against such measures. He didn't need them to take down Clovis, and he would have rather enjoyed seeing Cornelia deal with them for the first time instead. So he opted to carefully lay out a trap for his brother, and moved in hardly a squadron of Ganymedes for backup. More likely than not, they wouldn't even be needed. Clovis wanted to face Zero, but he would soon find be bit off far more than could chew.

"Everything's going well so far." Suzaku commented from beside him, watching the groups making their preparations. "Think this will work?"

"Of course it will Suzaku. You don't doubt me do you?" The blonde asked in response.

"Not at all. Just making sure you're confident is all." Suzaku answered, with a small grin.

"I've learned a few things since our Camelot raid. Contingencies and contingencies for those. One way or another, Clovis is going down."

"And do you remember what I said, some five years ago? Can you really kill your own brother?" Suzaku asked seriously, looking at Lelouch with an unwavering gaze.

"He's not my family anymore Suzaku. I'm now Allen Ashford, quite literally." Lelouch replied with obvious venom. "Seven years and they've all but forgotten me. Just one less rat running in the maze my father created. Hell, I know most of them were glad to hear I was killed. Even though I was only eleventh in line, the emperor clearly favored my mother. Right up until she died that is. They are all dead to me, just as I am dead to them."

"And what if you're wrong?"

Lelouch frowned at his friend. "Wrong about what?"

"What if Clovis is different than you think? Can you really kill him if he's not so tainted as you believe?" Suzaku questioned.

Lelouch turned away, thinking of how to answer. Eventually he narrowed his eyes, coming to a conclusion. "That's for him to decide."

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Outskirts of the Tokyo Settlement; 2017 ATB

The G1 command center progressed slowly through the main streets leading out of the city. Closely following the hulking machine was more than a dozen assorted Sutherlands and Mariannes. Clovis kept his most powerful units closer to him for now. Until he had a genuine target, he would much prefer to remain on the defensive. Though there were supposed to be terrorists in the area, he doubted a Glasgow couldn't accomplish the task.

Over time, the grandeur of the settlement began to fade, giving way to what remained of the rest of Area Eleven. Shinjuku was one of the ghettos bordering Tokyo; so once the G1 began rolling through nearly decade old rubble, It was safe to say the area was hostile. If Zero was able to figure out Clovis himself was here before hand, he wondered how long it would be before the Black Knights would strike against him. Quite frankly, with every passing second the anticipation he was feeling grew even thicker. The same clearly applied to everyone else in the room. Beside him, Bartley was beginning to sweat profusely. Not that that was a surprise.

"Any signs of terrorist activity from our scouts?" he asked the comms officers.

"None your highness. We've begun to spread out in the formation you ordered, but we've yet to make contact with the enemy." He was told.

"And any civilians?"

"No elevens have been spotted either your highness."

Clovis frowned at the information. None at all? He supposed it was good that no one would be caught in the crossfire, but surely something had to have been found by now. Nearly fifteen minutes passed as the G1 neared the heart of the city. "Set up Delta formation three around the G1. We'll see if Zero decides to take us head on."

Around him the officers moved to arrange the order. He began to wonder if there was even anything here to begin with. Worst case scenario and he may have to move his enterrouge further into the ghettos. Directly into the Black Knights' territory.

"My Lord! Laslow squad has made contact with the enemy!" someone called out. "A group of foot soldiers began firing on them from the ruins! How should we respond?"

Those were likely the terrorists operating here already. Engaging them could cause the kind of scene that could draw the Black Knights out into the open. But he didn't know where that attack would come from. And he didn't want to be caught picking fights with a rabbit when the bear came knocking.

"Have Quincy squad support Laslow with the firefight. Have the rest of our scouts adopt a formation around the area. We need to know when the real enemy shows up."

"Understood, your highness."

He watched the monitor closely, looking for any gaps or any signs of trouble. The two squads engaging the terrorists seemed to be faring well enough, but it was hardly a victory in this battle.

"Harris squad has been lost my lord! No contact was made!" Came the cry of an officer, but Clovis saw it long before he called it out.

An entire unit gone before it could even react? It had to be an ambush, and it wasn't by the terrorists. The distance was too far for that.

"Kimbley squad is lost! No contact either your highness!"

Another one?! It was almost a mile from where the first went down. Were the surrounded?!

"Pull all units to the G1! Defensive formations now!" Clovis cried out.

He watched as his units began returning toward the command center, his perimeter slowly closing. But before they were within sight of the bridge, units began falling one by one.

"Is there anyone who sees anything? What's going on?!" Clovis demanded

"The knightmares are just dropping! There isn't anything attacking them at all!"

What was that supposed to mean? Where were they coming from?! He didn't known a damn thing and his forces were crumbling around him!

"Move to cover their retreat! Something has to be cha-" before the viceroy could finish, the entire bridge went dark.

"What just happened?" He asked the question he was sure everyone else was.

To answer the question, muffled gunshots rang out outside the room. They were aboard the G1. "Don't fight them." He told his subordinates. In the least, maybe he could spare their lives.

Zero however, didn't seem to be in the mood to negotiate. Bullets tore through the occupants of the room before he could even call out to them to stop. His voice drowned out in the deafening roar of gunfire, until he was the only one left standing. Purposely, he didn't doubt it.

Then a lone figure approached him from the darkness, donning a mask that reflected his own horrified face. Even if you knew he was coming, it didn't do much to stem the fear at seeing but his helmet.

"So we meet at last, Viceroy."

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Well, my phone (which I write on, for the sake of convenience) went and committed suicide, and it happened to have all my story outlines and everything on it. So that kinda sucks. I actually was working on Break the Code, but that's now gone too. I swear it's impossible to update that. So I apologize to anyone who reads that as well. But for now here's the first Canon chapter. Next time, the fated reunion you've all been waiting for.