Throne of Glass
Part Two: To Wage a War
Chapter 38: A Truth Built…
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Never before had Cornelia felt so utterly helpless than she did in that moment. The rising wave of hope her soldiers were riding instantly morphed to inescapable despair. The mighty, unstoppable sons of Britannia, were totally cowed by the impossible odds they now faced. Whether it was their years of experience, or whatever presence she still exuded, it was a miracle they had not turned and fled.
This was her brother's power, the strength he acquired to fight against the Britannian Empire.
And it was terrifying to face.
"Guilford. Between you and I…" She muttered, gaze fixed upward. "I have no right to be called a Goddess by anyone."
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What safety the Artemis offered clear out in the Tokyo Bay felt completely worthless at the sight of that gargantuan ship. Despite knowing Lelouch considered her an ally, Euphy couldn't quell that primal fear upon seeing something like that. Woe to admit, Euphemia knew little of warfare. She couldn't say just how powerful an army was at a glance, or determine who had an advantage with a mere comparison.
But even she knew the difference that vessel commanded.
It was called Mirai, she could read that from here. And the fear enveloping the entire bridge around her was suffocating.
"How is that possible?"
"We can't beat that…"
Mutters of terror spread around her, hardened warriors that had followed her sister for years paled at the sight. Who could blame them? She imagined this was how many felt when Britannia first employed the knightmare frame all those years ago.
"How ironic." She whispered.
But the future that Mirai represented, was her future as well. And despite the creeping dread all around her, greater than that, Euphemia felt pride.
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"Prime Minister Schneizel." The voice spoke with pungent arrogance, the visage of the young lord a vexatious smirk.
"Allen Ashford." Schneizel greeted curtly, his face tight.
"You don't look too pleased." The young man continued with that insufferable expression. "Is my Mirai not to your liking?"
"Not at all. I find it quite incredible." He replied with his brow creased. "I'll admit, you've caught me off guard."
Allen grinned victoriously. "You have no idea how much that means to me." In his hand the young traitor held what looked to be a black chess piece. The queen belonging to a set Schneizel was familiar with, it was the same kind he himself possessed for many years.
"I've finally managed to best you."
The prime minister frowned. Twice now he had spoken like that. As if he'd once before…
"By now you must surely realize you have no chance of victory." Allen continued before Schneizel could think more of it. "Pushing any further will only result in more needless bloodshed yes? Perhaps we should discuss your surrender, Prime Minister."
In an exceedingly rare moment, Schneizel found he was unable to properly control his expression.
"I believe I know what you're thinking right now." The young blonde said with a sinister grin. "You're wishing you had actually killed me back then."
A hint of surprise crossed the older man's face as Allen continued. "But you were still uncertain about what you wanted to do with me. You were not sure of my motives or ambitions, what my goals were." He held that smirk of superiority as he twirled that queen piece in his hand. "You didn't know if you could control me. You are cursing that indecisiveness right now. But that is so very like you. You have to make certain you know the outcome of every move, with checkmate plotted right from the opening move. That's what makes you so dangerous, and why I've always been wary of you. Except this time I used that to my advantage, because I know you only play games you know you can win."
Schneizel sat in silence, narrowed eyes boring into the icy blue of the man before him. "You seem to know a lot about me, far more than most do. And yet, I still don't understand anything about you. It has perplexed me endlessly, I honestly can't say one has caused me as much grief as you have."
"Well of course not. After all, you've been given pieces to a puzzle that form a completely different solution." Again he held up the black chess piece before him. "A picture that is nothing more than a lie."
Chaos and destruction reigned around them, but Schneizel's attention was entirely devoted to the young man before him.
"The mask of 'Zero' is not the only one I wear. 'Allen' is just another convenient persona I have used to further my ambitions. Though I have discarded Zero, this mask will continue to remain useful. And all the world believes this is who I am, thinking I've removed my false identity. That's the beauty of lies, don't you think?"
"The beauty of lies." He repeated, leaning back in contemplation. That damned queen piece had never left his vision. It was screaming something at him, begging to tell him. What did it mean? This man, the one behind the mask of Allen Ashford, was playing a game with him.
And it wasn't the first time they had played together. "The one who masters the use of the mask shall prevail. I've adhered to that for a long time now." He finally replied after moments of silence. "In fact, I believe I've said as much to you once before, many years ago."
The man called Allen's smile changed, now more satisfied, with still a hint of arrogance.
Schneizel suddenly let out a heartfelt laugh. "How incredible this is, I never would have imagined it. To think the other king on this board was you."
The prime minister now held a genuine grin, perhaps for the first time in countless years. "I always believed you were special, it seems I was right. After all, you were thrown to the wolves with naught a penny to your name…yet here you are."
There was a glint in the man's eye, as he felt something he never had before. "This is so very thrilling." He leaned back, content now with all that had transpired. "I'll concede to you victory over our sister. The game you have constructed was truly brilliant. I cannot wait until we play again, brother."
"I'm sure we will soon. I'm looking forward to it." The face of Allen replied. But he knew whose words were spoken
Schneizel was once again left alone with the sounds of destruction ringing out in the distance. None but Kanon there to witness the prime minister's true face display such pure glee. "This is so exhilarating." He looked to the side, where he had a chess set of his own laid out, pieces meticulously placed in a game he played himself. But no longer was he alone. "Finally, I have my opponent."
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It was hard to describe the feeling Clovis held at his fingertips as the commander of the Mirai. He held power greater than any
Single person in this moment.
The irony of it to him was that the Mirai was actually designed to be an air support carrier. The float system was still in its tentative early stage. Without the raw output of nuclear power present on board the Mirai and command knightmares, it was woefully ineffective. They believed however, that it would be resolved in due time. And so, their great flagship was built around the concept of housing well over one hundred knightmare frames, able to be deployed from the skies in rapid succession. At present, less than a dozen Templars equipped with the same prototype system as the Lancelot were on board as a precautionary defense. They were unable to travel very far from the Mirai, but it didn't matter all that much.
Because despite all that, what was actually important here was that an impossibly massive ship was flying over a battlefield, dropping devastating fire below. Their timing was perfectly determined as well. As the Avalon, a physical representation of the Britannian Empire, carrying the hopes of the soldiers below it, was forced to cower in fear at the sight of a vessel far more impressive than it was.
The damage they had done to their morale was far worse than any casualties their weapons could inflict. Not that it wasn't a substantial threat to Britannia's forces either.
For even now, the Mirai slowly crept onward toward the Tokyo Bay, where the Empire's fleet was moored. The ships were relentlessly firing shells at the advancing carrier, but it was a fruitless endeavor. Clovis was more than confident their defenses could withstand such punishment far longer than they could keep it up. Pretty soon, they would reach the warships, and at that point they would utterly annihilate them, leaving Britannia's main force stranded.
This however, was not actually what Lelouch wanted to have transpire. So his brother assured Clovis that it would be avoided, even as he pressed undeterred toward them. He supposed then it was up to their other sibling to see it through.
Her time was running out.
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It didn't take long for Euphemia to realize the course the Mirai was taking. It was a logical decision to make, from a purely pragmatic point of view. That however presented a very distressing problem for her. Lelouch wouldn't have allowed the fleet to be destroyed knowing she was on board, so she came to the conclusion he had intended for her to ensure her own safety. He had confidence she could do that.
So, with the window of escape closing in on them, she strode forward with all the confidence and authority she could muster. "Admiral, we must order the fleet to withdraw from Tokyo Bay."
The man she addressed turned to her with a look of incredulity. "Your highness, we cannot retreat from the battle! Our forces-your sister- will be stranded in enemy territory!"
"If we do not flee now that airship will sink all of us right where we are." She held firm, knowing that she spoke an inescapable truth. "What good will we be to them then? My brother has come to the same conclusion with the Avalon. The simple fact is we cannot hope to match it, all we can do now is get away from it, and hope to find a way to bring it down."
The man's face was a reluctant frown, but he knew he had little choice.
"I worry for my sister as well, but we can do nothing for her here." She insisted.
He sighed. "Very well. Contact all vessels, we are withdrawing from Tokyo Bay."
She nodded to the man. "Thank you, Admiral."
After a short moment, they were moving. Away from the city, and the threat looming over it. The Mirai was still closing the distance, but she believed they were safe. They wouldn't pursue if it meant leaving the battlefield, and she had a feeling he never intended to in the first place.
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Not far from where the smoking remains of her float unit was left behind, Nonette looked into the sky with unbridled rage.
The hulking object she saw was an affront to his majesty and all of Britannia. The fleet's powerful artillery were shrugged off entirely by the ship's defenses, and even they were forced to flee from its unstoppable advance. Nothing any of them could attempt would mean anything against something like that.
Though their ground forces were making painfully slow progress, they pressed inch by inch toward the government bureau all the same. Even under merciless air support and through vicious foes. But she could feel their spirit's on the verge of breaking. Something had to be done about that dreadnought. As a knight of the round, it was Nonette's duty to make a miracle here.
"Prince Schneizel, I understand you still possess the prototype float unit aboard the Avalon correct?" She asked, contacting the prime minister.
"That is true, Lady Enneagram." The prince responded. "But it was a phase behind the one you were previously using. I'm afraid it won't do you much good."
"Have a VTOL send it to me along with an energy filler. I have no choice but to do what I can with it. If we allow them to remain unchallenged we will lose this battle. That is absolutely unacceptable."
Schneizel sighed in resignation. "Very well. Keep in mind that I cannot provide support of any kind with the Avalon. We simply are not capable of contesting its firepower."
"I'm well aware." She curtly replied, glancing at the much smaller airship on the horizon, stopped far from the settlement. "But for his majesty, I will prevail."
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"Get out of my way!" With a defiant roar, Emilia brought her sword down upon the knightmare before her, rending it apart with little resistance. It was the same fate she had delivered to all else who had put themselves before her.
She saw the Fukushū resting atop the imperial palace in the heart of the settlement, and she imagined Kallen went in that direction as well. The audacity of her to just turn and abandon their duel without a conclusion. Though she too was aware of the Mirai and the effect it had on the battle around her, she couldn't care less.
Prince Lelouch was her target; and the girl who stood in her way came first.
Emilia was quite certain that capturing him would cause untold damage to their command structure. For what she herself was capable of, nothing would have a more meaningful impact. Besides, her pride would not allow Kallen to escape her unscathed. The knight's honor had been tarnished, and she would plunge head first in to hell to reclaim it. Emilia was a knight of the round, and she earned that title with her own hands. She would not allow some traitorous half-breed to belittle what she achieved.
"Lady Strauss, this is General Darlton." She heard as she finished off another enemy. "A substantial number of my forces have been lost in that collapse earlier. I must ask of you to assist our line in sector D as soon as you can."
Emilia glanced at the map to her side, noting where the man wished her to go. It was behind her, far from her desired destination. "I'm afraid I cannot aid you General. I have a mission of my own of vital importance, that area is too far out of my way."
"I…see. Well good luck to you then." The older man responded, clearly troubled by his predicament.
"If I succeed, it may very well turn our situation around, General." She told him. "Just hold out until then."
Yes, if she could just reach Lelouch, he was the keystone holding all this together. Pull him out, and it all would come crashing down.
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The sun now hung low in the sky, as Lelouch observed each piece's movements. Everything was still well within his expectations, and any hidden cards his opponents had have since been dealt with. Certainly, they were not to be underestimated, and he did not doubt Schneizel would become a much bigger threat in the future. But he had spent years preparing for this moment, and his half-brother knew not that he had been manipulating this board for so long a time. It did mean however, he had a lot of work ahead of him, when the time came to face the man on more equal terms.
Schneizel had washed his hands of this conflict, pinning the loss solely on Cornelia. In a way, he was justified in this, but it was as Lelouch said to him earlier: he only played games he knew he could win. Bowing out was all but saying he knew he could not. Schneizel himself acknowledged his victory. Over many years, through countless struggles, using endless lies. Lelouch had forged a single truth.
A truth he would deliver to all the world.
The long since exiled prince looked down at the queen piece in his hand. "The beauty of lies." He spoke to himself.
Was that a lie could one day become the truth.
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"Please be cautious when using this float unit, Lady Enneagram." The technician said as said device was installed to Nonette's knightmare. "It's far less fuel efficient than your previous one, you have at best fifteen minutes on a full energy filler."
"Thank you for your concern, but that's all I'll need." She sharply replied.
"Good luck to you then."
As soon as she confirmed the unit was operational, she activated the wings, propelling herself back into the sky. Wasting none of the precious time she had, the knight headed directly toward the Mirai above her.
It didn't take long for them to take notice of her, and respond in kind. But a knightmare was a difficult target to hit, especially one with reflexes such as hers. Weaving through anti-air fire, Nonette hurtled past the great ship, coming to hover above its bow. She assumed the vessel would have less armaments on its top side, and it appeared she was correct. But a cursory glance told her the bridge must have been on the bottom somewhere. If she could target that area, she could severely cripple it. Perhaps even take it down entirely.
"You're rather persistent aren't you?"
The knight turned behind her to see a familiar white and gold knightmare was going to be standing in her way. She supposed that was inevitable. Besides, Nonette owed this number a rematch.
"That wasn't very chivalrous of you, going after my float unit." She commented, preparing herself for an attack. "Are you suggesting you won't be able to actually defeat me otherwise?"
"I simply hadn't the time to prolong our battle, I'm sure you're in the same boat. Our operational time is rather limited, unlike the command frames I'm only using a traditional sakuradite power system." Suzaku explained.
So those other knightmares weren't using sakuradite? Was this thing below them the same way? What else could power such a giant? "Well I'm fresh and ready for round two. How about you?"
"Then let's begin."
Nonette boosted forward, sword high for a mighty strike. The Lancelot parried the blow, before shrugging off the string of rapid fire blows that followed in quick succession. The power and speed of their frames were closely matched. And the little tricks he employed last time wouldn't help him here. All that mattered, what would decide this duel, was their skill and experience as knights.
"This battle is already decided." Suzaku began as he fended off her offense. "Your fleet has cowered away, and even the Avalon knows it cannot hope to match the Mirai. And nothing you do will change that outcome."
Nonette flashed a dangerous grin as they locked swords. "If that's so, then why are you trying to stop me?"
"That's a good point. But that doesn't mean anything if you can't even get past me." Suzaku challenged.
"Your just an Eleven lapdog of a traitor noble! I'll have you beaten with no effort at all!" The knight of nine roared as she pushed the Lancelot back.
"Let's see you try."
Nonette boosted upward before coming down upon her target, and their back and forth began once again above the backdrop of the immense dreadnought below.
"You think any of this is worth a damn?" She spat. "Pretending this means you're somehow surpassing Britannia? Everything Ashford achieved has been leeched from the empire, it's nothing but stolen strength."
Suzaku laughed in response, still managing to maintain his impenetrable defense. "That just means your own greed and pride were used against you. I don't see any problem with that."
"Well what are you without it then?! Just a worn down rabble of slaves who can't let go of the past, drunk off their master's power! It isn't even a Japenese man saving you, you can't do it yourselves!" Nonette accused him along with relentless blows.
"Yeah, you're right about that. The Japanese fell from the heights their pride lifted them to. And it was a pretty damn long fall." The young Japanese man agreed. "So I guess it was someone from the outside we needed to show us what the hell it was we did wrong. So Nonette, are you going to allow someone else to show you? Or are you gonna fall too? Cause it's going to be a long fucking fall."
"Someone like you?" The knight asked. "Has nothing to offer me!"
Suzaku narrowed his eyes. "Alright then."
Two harken boosters were launched, arcing from both angles.
"This again?! You think you can use a trick like this twice?!" The Knight of Nine shouted in rage. "I am a knight of the emperor of Britannia. The man who rules this world!"
Not allowing herself to be caught in that trap a second time, Nonette rushed toward the Lancelot in front of her before the flanking weapons could land true.
But what else could she have done? Suzaku knew that.
"And I am a knight of the man who will change that world."
The next thing Nonette processed, was that a blade was embedded in her knightmare's chest. The tip of it pierced through her own.
The harken boosters provided a thrust away from the Lancelot, so when it's pilot retracted them whilst still active, it allowed for a small window of incredible speed. Thus the two collided before Nonette realized.
"That's…impossible." She coughed. "You…"
Nonette's frame slid off Suzaku's sword, falling down and colliding with the Mirai before tumbling down to the earth below. The explosion of her knightmare was drowned out by the thunderous cannons of the great ship.
Suzaku breathed out. She was truly a trying opponent. But he learned a thing or two from a certain friend.
"I think that about does it then." He said, satisfied with the result. "All that's left is on your end."
But as he turned to leave, a sound alerted him. Someone was contacting him. He frowned not recognizing who it was. He answered however, and was greeted by the voice of what seemed to be a child.
"How do you do, Suzaku Kururugi?"
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Sorry, this one game came out, you've probably never heard of it.
But oh boy, I got goosebumps writing that last scene. It won't be long before 39.
It's been a long time coming.