Area 11, Shinjuku Ghetto
The truck had stopped and the side of the trailer had opened up. The only good thing about this, Lelouch thought, was that all he had to do was walk out of there without being seen.
"So it's true?" the girl asked, "one of Britannia's royals has been assassinated?" Check that, all he had to do was walk out of there without being seen AFTER he found out what was going on.
"More than that," an obnoxious voice answered, "whoever the Sons of the Serpent are, they mean business."
"Yeah, except that they might not be able to stop," said another voice, this one more solemn.
"What do you mean, what happened?" asked the girl again.
"Four of Britannia's royals; Guinevere, Gabrielle, Odysseus, and Schneizel have been reported dead." What?
"No way." No way, it must be a complicated ruse.
"Also, there's a good chance that the Emperor himself is dead." What?!
"The Emperor, but why?"
"The group responsible, who call themselves: The Sons of the Serpent, also staged an aerial attack on the Britannian Royal Palace." Okay, this is sounding a bit much for a ruse.
"Oh wow! But what about here? What about Japan?"
"Clovis has just declared a state of emergency. All transportation to and from Area 11 has been halted and martial law has been put into effect. So far the military has remained out of the Ghettos, probably because Clovis doesn't want to antagonize the Japanese population into taking advantage of the chaos."
"Hmpf! Like we even care about that."
"Five down!"
"What?"
"It has just been confirmed that Carine le Britannia has been killed in South America!"
"Damn, maybe they won't stop."
"What about Peace Mark? You think they're behind it?"
"No way; those guys never get their hands dirty."
"Well... it looks like the Serpent guys haven't come to Japan... yet."
"Whatever the case is, we can't just ign-"
Lelouch's cell phone rang.
Ashford Academy
The sound of ringing changed to a low-sounding tone that was anything but encouraging.
"Huh?" Shirley Fenette asked herself in frustration, "That jerk! He hung up on me ! I can't believe it!" She was about to put her phone away, still fuming, when something odd occurred.
It gave off a couple of high-sounding beeps and the screen showed a text message.
urgent business
meet at Student Council room
Shirley held her phone up and stared at the message. This couldn't be from Lelouch, he would've just called right back. The message disappeared and was replaced by another.
Lelouch's well-being
is at risk - CED
Lelouch, she thought, her heart beginning to pick up speed. She had absolutely no idea who this CED is, but if it was for Lelouch then it was worth, at least, a quick look.
Shinjuku Ghetto
Lelouch strained against the ropes holding him to a wooden chair, but it was obviously no use. These guys were real terrorists, not just a group of ragtag deviants.
"You?" the girl inquired in a tone along the lines of shock and anger if not annoyance.
"You known this guy?" asked a guy with long black hair, Lelouch recognized his voice as the one who was most likely driving the truck when Lelouch and the girl were in the trailer.
"His name is Lelouch Lamperouge, he's the vice president of the Ashford Academy Student Body."
"Kallen!" Lelouch said in recognition, now he knew why she was so familiar. "Your name Kallen Stadtfeld, now all those frequent and unexplained absences make sense now."
"Don't you dare call me by that name while you're here!" Kallen demanded, getting up in his face. "My real name is Kallen Kozuki, I'm Japanese!"
"What? No way, the Stadtfelds are a prestigious Britannian family. Unless you were…oh." Another realization soon dawned on him. "You're a half-blood?"
"Tch," Kallen regained her composure somewhat and nodded, "yeah, I am aren't I."
"That aside," spoke the man wearing a rust-colored leather jacket, "what are we supposed to do with him? The most effective way to fix this would be to kill him. But we can't exactly do that with martial law being enforced on the city, an investigation would be inevitable. We could keep him here, but there would also be an investigation."
"We could send him back to the school," suggested a woman with long dark hair. "Kallen could keep an eye on him."
"Well whatever we do, we need to do it today!" said a guy with short brown hair who appeared to have the obnoxious tone Lelouch overheard when he was still in the trailer.
"Take it easy Tamaki," the one with the jacket spoke up again. "it isn't like our lives are in immediate danger. We just need to keep our heads and-"
A loud clang followed by a hiss made everyone look toward the orb-like container that was still in the trailer.
"The gas!" someone shouted.
"Take cover!" Kallen yelled as a bright yellow light began to show through cracks on the container.
"Not in immediate danger my ass!" Tamaki cried out in hysterics as he took a running dive into large crate. The terrorists scrambled for any sort of cover, two or three of them placing handkerchiefs around their mouths and covering their nostrils. Lelouch struggled for one last bid for freedom only to fall forward onto the concrete floor, still attached to the chair.
This is it, he thought, I'm going to die here. He thought about Nunnally, his friends at Ashford, and about his one nagging ambition, all up in smoke because of the eradication of the Britannian royal family and this stupid container of gas.
The orb opened up, light shown everywhere, almost blinding him. He strained his eyes one last time and saw…a girl.
A girl with long green hair, body encased in what could be best described as a modified straight-suit. The girl leaned back, eyes making contact with his, and fell out of the container and onto her back as she landed on the floor of the trailer. The light dissipated and everything was silent. Nobody moved, or spoke.
"What the hell just happened?" Tamaki asked.
Ashford Academy
Shirley entered the Student Council room to see that Milly Ashford, Nina Einstein, and Nunnally Lamperouge were there as well.
"Oh Shirley," Milly greeted, "do you have any idea of what's going on?" Shirley shook her head.
"All that I got was a text message from someone calling themselves' CED."
"CED, as in C-E-D?" asked Nina.
"Yeah."
"Well that's strange."
"Why is that Nina?" Nunnally asked, tilting her head so her ear was aimed toward the source of conversation.
"I didn't get a text message to come here, but I did receive an E-mail."
"Well then, who was it?" inquired an impatient Milly.
"It was sent by someone named-"
An explosion cut off Nina's sentence and caused the building to shake. The girls all cried out in shock. Shirley flattened herself against the wall, Nina ducked under the table, and Milly took hold of one of the chairs for support.
"Was that…a bomb?" Nunnally asked, hands covering her ears.
"We will all know in a minute," said Milly, helping Nina to her feet. There were already sounds of panic and shouting from the grounds and the hallways. "What a troubling day this is turning out to be. Alright, lets find out what happened and try to calm everyone-" The windows shattered and the sound of gunfire rang throughout the area and the girls dropped to the floor. Screams were now being heard and it was obvious that the entire school was in chaos now.
"What's going on?" Nina screamed, covering her head with her arms, "why are we getting shot at?"
"Forget that," Shirley yelled up from the floor, "we need to get out of here. Lelouch and Rivalz should be on their way back by now. If we hurry then we should be able to run into them."
"I like that plan," said Milly, gingerly standing and taking a cautious glimpse out of the broken windows. "My car is on the far side of the front parking lot, we can get there through the service tunnels."
"Alright then, lets get out of here!" Milly quickly nodded and went to Nunnally's side.
"Nunnally, are you okay?" It was obvious that she wasn't. Nunnally was visibly shaking, her hands firmly clasped over her heart.
"I-it-its-so-much-like-like-" Nunnally stammered in a fast-paced and high pitched voice. Milly understood, she took both of Nunnally's fragile hands in hers.
"Don't worry, we will all make it," Milly soothed, "but listen. We can't take the chair with us, it will only slow us down. We will have to take turns carrying you. Is that okay with you?" Nunnally inclined her head once and held her arms out. Milly then leaned forward and took Nunnally in her arms as Nunnally locked her hands in a tight embrace around Milly's neck.
"Okay, lets get out of here."
Airship en route to Pendragon from the Middle East
Alexander Daemon finished changing and went back to the command bridge. He sat down in the command chair and pulled out a deck of cards, browsing through them at leisure. The card he gave Cornelia should do the trick, he had to admit she was an excellent fighter.
"Lord Daemon."
"What is it?" One of the officers came up to him and whispered something in his ear. This made Daemon blink twice. "Are you sure?"
"Affirmative Lord Daemon."
"I see, very well then; it looks like today will end on a…eighth note."
Middle East
In a thoroughly air-conditioned conference room beneath the Persian desert, a group of roguish adolescents gathered around hastily set up tables bearing several computers and a large blackboard bearing the names of all known Britannian royals. A smaller whiteboard standing next to the blackboard displayed a list of guidelines.
manner of death = even odds
next in line (after each confirmation) = $100 if right
time of death = 3-to-1
order of death for 3 = 5-to-1
order of death for all = 10-to-1
still alive = 50-to-1
Some girls were also present, but mainly to observe and gossip on how fast their "brothers" set everything up.
"Confirmed!" announced Mark "the Rat" Ratner-Hamilton, "Carine le Britannia has met her end." An "X" was placed next to the dead royal's name, along with the time.
"How'd she die? How'd she die?" someone asked as many others submitted new "next in line" bets.
"One second, this site doesn't have any pictures to go with the article."
"Here here!"
"Brady's got it folks, enlarge the pic."
Someone whistled.
"Woah, that's gotta leave a mark, if any." A bunch of the guys cheered as the cause of death (explosive) was written down on the board. Money was then exchanged based on what the participants submitted earlier on strips of paper.
"Hey! Ey! Ey! Guys! Guys! This just in!"
"Did they confirm the Emperor?"
"No; but the Serpents just attacked a compound in Canada."
"Canada? There's barely anything there."
"Well, there is, just nothing belonging to the royals."
"Says here... a grand estate owned by... Sir Bismarck Waldstein."
"Waldstein? As in the Knight of... one of those numbers, Waldstein?"
"That's what it looks like."
"Maybe one of royals dropped in for a visit."
"Hey, people!" Everyone in the room turned around as a tall young man with coal black hair swept back over his scalp and an air of some relative authority stepped into the room. "Scavengers, we got work to do, let's go." At least half of the young men started to complain.
"Have a heart Dillinger, I got $500 on the line." Dillinger glanced briefly at the blackboard before speaking again.
"Princess Cornelia's army was just obliterated to our east. Come on, we still need to make money!" The words "Cornelia" and "money" did the trick on the juvenile gamblers as most of the scavengers scrambled to leave while a handful of opportunists submitted bets for either "Cornelia - explosive" and "Cornelia - shot."
"Hey Joey! You're on scavenger detail as well, come on!"
"One second," said Joey Nash, scrambling to finish his slip, "let me just get this bet in."
"Come on! Hurry up!" Joey finished up his bet slip, rushed it to the rat, and slapped down some random bills from his wallet before heading to the door.
"Hold on," said Mark, "you're seriously making this bet?" Joey was out the door with the other scavengers. One of the others looked over the bookkeeper's shoulder.
"What'd he put down?"
"$265 for a little princess to stay alive."
"Really? Which one?" The Rat double-checked his notes before answering.
"The one with worse odds than Clovis."
Ashford Academy
Shirley led the others down the hallway to a service elevator. Milly was behind her carrying Nunnally and Nina rushed forward to open the elevator doors. Random bouts of gunfire and explosions continued to echo through the grounds.
"Okay, doors opened," reported Nina. They all went inside and Shirley inputted the access code for the service level. The elevator doors closed and they began to descend.
Unknown Location, presumable underground
Two of the Serpents dragged an unconscious figure down a long, damp, and dimly lit passageway. The figure was just then regaining consciousness and looked sideways at his captors. He could tell right away that he couldn't talk his way out of this. He just had to grin and bear it.
At the end of the hall was a metal door. They stopped in front of it. One of the Serpents keyed in his radio.
"Escort has arrived at vault door, requesting permission to open."
"Permission granted, door will be opened for ten seconds. You may proceed with your duties."
With a terrible scraping and screeching, the metal door lifted to reveal an open, circular, concrete room with a television screen on one of the walls. The Serpents rushed in, dragging the figure to the center of the room, forcibly dropped him, and then dashed back to the other side of the metal door. The door slid shut with a loud clang that reverberated around the room. The figure got gingerly to his feet. His long blond hair was smeared with grim, his clothes with dirt and a small amount of blood, and he was pretty sure that his face supported a black eye and some bruises.
"Well…nice to know you were captured." The figure turned his attention toward the television screen. On screen was a figure dressed in white with an angular face, well kept blonde hair, and shocking blue eyes. If I was a girl I would most likely fall for him, the figure thought.
"Who are you?" the figure demanded, "and what am I doing here?" The man on screen chuckled to himself.
"Now, now, VV; you need to work on grasping the situation better." Uh-oh, he knows my name, that can't be good. "But considering the circumstances I suppose a little information can't hurt. My name is Alexander Daemon, and I am the current leader of the Universo Mundo Novo Exercitus, known as the UMNE for short."
"Are you the one responsible for the recent terrorist attacks?"
"Kind of."
"Why? What is it you want?"
"Actually, in regards to Britannia…nothing."
"What?"
"The Sons of the Serpent are not from…this world. Where they were from, Britannia never existed. Instead there was a country unlike any other before it, the United States of America. However, nothing is great forever. The nation began to fall behind in the realm of global progress. The Sons of the Serpent organized to try and change that. You mentioned terrorism; truth be told, that's exactly what the Serpents became. Thankfully for that world; a specific groups of…marvel individuals intervened in their activities and eliminated their leaders. This is where I came in. I made a deal with them. If they could eliminate the Royal Britannian Family, then I would give them control of the full North American continent. Suffice to say they succeeded."
"But I'm still here," VV pointed out.
"That's because I know what kind of a freak you are…and of the Geass Order."
"What?"
"That's right, they are being eliminated as we speak. Not by the Serpents mind you, I have my own people take care of those meddlers." This can't be good at all, VV thought, panic beginning to set in. If this guy, Alexander Daemon, knew about Geass, then chances are he has a Geass or has an organization of people working with Geass. On screen, Alexander checked his watch. "By the way, what is Pluton?" On second thought, maybe there was a chance.
"What is what?"
"Pluton."
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because we found some correspondence between you and an individual named," he paused briefly, "Oy-ah-gah-ros... Oh-a-gross... how the hell do you say that name? Zevon; and the word Pluton was used several times." Okay, so maybe this terrorist wasn't completely clueless; and he's holding information back too. He had to be careful.
Start with the most basic and common knowledge.
"Oiagros Zevon is the head of the Zevon family."
"What business could you have with a family of minor nobles?"
Next, give them something known by only a few.
"Not so minor, the Zevons have served the Royal Family for years. They help us out whenever we need an extra set of hands."
"Is Pluton one of these hands?"
Something they don't know, something that is true.
"More or less; Pluton is under the direct control of the Zevon family."
"So what errands did you have Mr. Zevon doing recently?"
And now give them something false, layered by something true but worthless.
"I asked Oiagros to send a team to investigate a Thought Elevator. There's supposed to be one in the middle east, in the region known as Semnan." Assuming they don't know that much about Thought Elevators. Alexander cocked his head.
"Didn't you already send one of your own there though?" Uh-oh. "Miss..." Alexander looked at something off-camera, "Laila la Britannia, daughter of Emperor Charles and consort Gabrielle, little sister of Viceroy Clovis. Didn't you arrange for a first-class ticket on a passenger flight to Tehran City." He looked back at the camera. "I actually got a call from one of the Serpent teams. They actually sounded scared, the team leader kept apologizing again and again. Apparently, the Princess' flight didn't make its destination." Placing the tips of his fingers together, he fixed a smug piercing glare at VV through the screen. "So perhaps you can clear something up for me BEFORE I waste valuable time and resources to find out for myself." Well, considering what I gave her, or rather, what I tried to give her, she should still be alive... like that woman.
"I can't tell you something I don't know."
On screen, Alexander checked his watch. "So be it, enjoy what's left of your life." Hah!
"If you know about the Order, then you must surely know that I can't just die."
"I know, that is why you are here of all places VV." The moment Daemon said "VV," there was a sound that reminded VV of someone playing a double-eighth note on a piano.
"Where is here?" VV asked.
"You'll find out soon enough VV." Again, two notes in quick succession, an eighth note. "By the way, did you know that Lady Marianne was still alive?"
"What?" He actually did know, having figured it out after a year or so, but how the hell did this guy know?
"Don't worry, she's dead now. It turns out, VV," another double-note, "that the late imperial consort received a unique Geass from CC." Another double-eighth note was played, this one of a higher pitch than the previous ones.
"Would you just stop that!" VV snapped.
"Why, its your note I'm playing?"
"That eighth note happens to be an E-sharp!"
"Whatever, by the way, how's the temperature in there?"
Pipes that hung from the ceiling then burst. Smoke and steam were expelled in various quantities. Cracks appeared in the cement covered ground. VV looked left and right, looking for a possible escape route even though it was clear that there was no chance of escape. Alexander Daemon gave a playful shrug on screen. "Never mind, I think I have a pretty good idea from here."
"Wha- whats going on?"
"This is SUSA VV," double-eighth notes, "state of New Georgia as designated by the Sons of the Serpent Revolutionary Forces of the Supreme United States of America, blah-blah-blah." He stretched his arms wide in a grandiose gesture. "Welcome to the world's one and only nuclear detainment facility."
"Nuclear what?" VV then felt pain on his hand. He looked at his palm to see, and feel, an oil-colored spot steadily growing larger and larger on his hand.
"It is my pleasure, as warden, to welcome you to cell 01 of the Savannah River Nuclear Prison. Enjoy your residency."
The television screen cracked under the heat and the picture of Alexander Daemon vanished, leaving only the sound of static-filled laughter and the screams of intense pain from VV.
Having the ability to live forever is truly the worst gift one could have.
Ashford Academy
Milly poked her head out of the door to the service shed, which was connected in turn to the service tunnels by a staircase.
"Its all clear, I can see my car from here." She held the door open so Nina and Shirley, now bearing Nunnally, could pass through.
"It's the white one near the parking lot entrance right?" asked Nina, rushing forward a little, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.
"Yes, it's that one." They all piled into the car with Nina and Nunnally in the back seats. Milly got the keys out of the glove compartment and placed them in the ignition.
"Hey! Over here!"
"They've seen us!" Shirley shouted, looking over her shoulder at the three men with green uniforms running through the parking lot.
"Hold on then," Milly announced, shifting the gears in reverse, pulling out of the reserved parking spot, and speeding off as the men behind them started firing at them. Bullets ricocheted off the pavement and dented the car. Nunnally cried out and Nina put her arms around her, forcing her down to the seat of the car. Shirley ducked down as well but Milly felt white hot pain crease her right shoulder. Oh God! she thought, please get us out of this!
A young man in a trench coat looked through a pair of binoculars at Ashford Academy.
"Damn Occulta," he said to himself, "you have to be so ruthless." A few seconds later, he tossed the cheap binoculars aside and mounted his motorcycle. "Okay Alexander Daemon, you no longer stick to the shadows, so why the hell should I?"