A/N: Thanks to Greatkingrat88 for his beta work and being co-author of the story, and to everyone who reviewed and gave feedback on the story. As normal responses to anonymous reviews will be at the very bottom of the chapter.
So let us get to the action.
Chapter 3
Battle for Shinjuku Ghetto
The battle was going poorly for the resistance fighters in Shinjuku, but Kallen kept fighting despite the increasingly desperate situation. Nearly an hour had passed since the battle- if you could call it that- had begun. She had managed to destroy a fair number of tanks and VTOL gunships thus far, but it would not be nearly enough. They were surrounded on all sides, and badly outnumbered. Kallen had always heard last stands were supposed to be glorious, but watching her comrades in arms die hopelessly felt anything but.
Just then, two Sutherlands pulled up within range, coming into view.
"It's our Glasgow friend," the pilot of the lead Sutherland commented.
Earlier, Kallen had faced a Sutherland on the highway leading into Shinjuku Ghetto, after launching to eliminate the pursuing gunships. A Sutherland had been dropped off to attack Kallen in response. It had nearly overwhelmed her, which wasn't helped by her Glasgow's right arm shorting out on her. Thinking quickly, she had jettisoned the arm at the right moment to confuse her enemy long enough to escape. Now that enemy had found her again, and this time he wasn't alone.
Knowing she didn't stand a chance against them Kallen fled the scene, her pursuers hot on her heels. She used the buildings for cover, a hail of bullets shredding through concrete and steel just meters away. She wouldn't be able to shake them this time. To top it off, the power indicator for her Glasgow was warning her that the energy filler for the machine was almost depleted. Thirty minutes left- and she'd be lucky to last another five. Was this it? Would she die like this, running for her life?
Until…
"The west entrance. Use the tracks to move to the west entrance," a voice said, speaking through the communicator she had left behind. Kallen was surprised, but that surprise turned into anger. Who was the stranger speaking on their coded transmission line?
"Who's this! How do you know this code?!" She barked.
"That doesn't matter," said the voice. "If you want to win, you'll have to trust me."
"To win?" Win? In a situation like this?
She weighed her options. Even now, she was moments away from dying. Even if she lost her pursuers, she would run out of power and be left as a sitting duck. Her choices were to trust a complete stranger, or inevitability die in battle.
How much worse could it get?
Deciding to trust the voice, she made her way onto an overhead bridge with train tracks.
"Okay, what am I supposed to do now?" Kallen asked as she sped down the tracks. Behind her, the Sutherland and its partner were catching up to her.
"You pathetic Eleven! If you simply run away, this hunt hasn't much to offer in the way of sport," the leading Sutherland cried, his voice echoing over the speaker system of his machine.
Suddenly Kallen noticed a train ahead of her heading towards her.
"Since you trusted me, you're going to win. Jump onto the train!"
"Gotcha!"
Kallen timed it carefully and jumped, which forcing the Sutherland to brace against the train as the red Glasgow skipped over the train cars.
"You think you can get through that way, hmm?" Jeremiah said, his eyes narrowing as an idea came to mind. "If that's your plan, then…."
He barked into the comms system, to his partner,
"You! Go after the Glasgow."
"Yes, My Lord!" replied the other Sutherland, speeding after Kallen.
As the pilot leaped into the air to follow Kallen, a pair of Slash Harkens struck the arm and upper leg of the Sutherland midair. The sudden damage and fall caused the machine to eject the cockpit, while the rest of the machine fell over the bridge. Scanning the area, Jeremiah discovered another Sutherland that had been hiding in a damaged building, overlooking the train tracks.
"What the...? Friendly fire?" Jeremiah said, reeling in shock. "What's your name and your unit?! We're after the one-armed Glasgow."
Jeremiah got no response. Instead, the Sutherland levelled its gun and opened fire upon him. His machine shook as a salvo of high-caliber bullets riddled its side.
"Oh my god, a terrorist?!" cried Jeremiah. He tried to turn to open fire on his attacker, but the legs of his machine had been damaged, leaving it unable to maneuver properly.
"You son of a-" Jeremiah began, cut off by the red of the Glasgow, slamming into his machine. Realizing the battle was hopeless, Jeremiah ejected, his machine launching his cockpit block a safe distance away.
"You saved me. But how did you get hold of a Sutherland?" Kallen asked. But when she looked to where the other Sutherland had been, it was gone.
"What? Where did he go?" she said, bewildered.
"Kallen! What the hell was that radio message earlier?"
Kallen turned her machine to see a group approaching her. Their leader was Kaname Ohgi, a young man in his mid-twenties with brown hair and matching eyes. He didn't carry himself like a natural leader, but Ohgi was a man who was easy to get along with. Following behind were the other members of the Shinjuku Ghetto resistance group, or rather what was left of them.
"What?" Kallen replied, speaking through the Glasgow's external speaker. "He contacted you, too?"
"Sure did," Ohgi said. "And Yoshida's group ought to be here soon."
Suddenly the voice spoke directly to Ohgi through the communicator he was holding.
"Are you in charge?"
"Uh, yeah," Ohgi answered.
"I present to you the cargo in that train over there. They're tools for your victory," Lelouch said. Kallen moved up, using her machine's remaining arm to open one of the train cars. Her jaw dropped when she saw what was inside. Each train car contained two Sutherlands, which counting the other cars meant there was twelve units.
"If you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."
Kallen watched in stunned silence as her friends and fellow resistance members checked out the Sutherlands. Obtaining a single functional Sutherland would be a huge deal for most resistance groups; demand was high and they were hard to come by. Twelve was a miracle. With capable pilots behind them, they would have a fighting chance against the Britannians now. But Kallen couldn't help but wonder how they obtained them.
"Woman in the Glasgow!" said the voice.
"Y-yes!" Kallen said, shaken from her thoughts.
"Stay where you are. Your unit's gonna run decoy. You got that?"
"Understood."
"Energy filler status?"
"About fifteen minutes worth."
"Then recharge it! In ten minutes, I'll contact you with your next instructions," the voice said, before ending the transmission.
Lelouch sighed as he lowered the communicator. This drew a response from Benio, who was sitting in the cockpit with him. Sutherlands were not built to accommodate two people, but they could in a pitch. But this left Benio with limited seating options, putting her on the side of the chair near Lelouch. The young man had contemplated leaving her somewhere else, but between Lelouch's lingering concerns about her knowing his true identity, and the fact that she could easily get hurt or killed in the war zone out there made it hard for him to let her go.
"Are you alright?" asked the girl.
"I am fine," Lelouch said, putting one hand on his forehead. "This has been more exhausting than I had thought it would be."
"I imagine, with what you had to go through to get those Sutherlands."
Obtaining the knightmares had been risky. After he had found a secure place, he had used his Knightmare's database access to look for anything useful, anything at all, and he had struck gold. The reserve Knightmares the army had brought just in case, pilotless and with the keys in the ignition. It had involved crossing an active battlefield to get within geass range, but once he had reached it, it had been easy enough to order the guards to drive the train into position, walk away, and kill themselves. The soldier's uniform he currently wore was very useful in getting close enough to use his power on the guards.
It felt risky to use this power he knew so little about so freely, but thankfully there had been no problems so far.
I should try to study this more in-depth when I have the chance.
"As tiring as this has all been, I must be determined to succeed. If I falter now, then neither one of us will survive this."
"So what do you plan on doing?"
"Well…" Lelouch said, a smile appearing on his face as he started to explain.
Around the same time, another group of Sutherlands was preparing for deployment into the ghetto. They were not part of the initial force that had accompanied the men being led by Prince Clovis, instead assigned as reinforcements. Now they had been reassigned to assist in dealing with the terrorists, to the surprise of the squad.
"Live combat?" said Liliana Vergamon, a young pilot. "I thought we weren't ready for that?"
The pilot of the Sutherland was seventeen, with long blonde hair, green eyes, with the features of a cautious, inexperienced soldier.
"I understand your concern, cadet Vergamon, but these orders come from General Bartley himself. Besides, the terrorists possess only small arms and some anti-tank weapons. They will pose little threat to you."
Her superior and instructor was a battle-hardened middle-aged woman with a stern expression, with black hair and brown eyes. She was within her own Sutherland, with commander markings upon it.
"Now listen up, the rest of you," Sergeant Hilda Merwin said, speaking to her students on a shared channel. "I know none of you were expecting live combat so soon, but we have our orders from the top."
"So we're just taking out terrorists who have stolen poison gas?"
"Correct, but so far, the poison gas hasn't been recovered. So don't exit your cockpits unless absolutely necessary," Hilda said. "Even through command assures us the terrorists are putting up a feeble effort to fight back, don't get careless. I've seen cocky pilots meet their end because they were too sure of having a superior machine. So don't get careless, or a well-aimed RPG could be the end of you."
One of the cadets felt the glare of her instructor upon her.
"Am I understood, Cadet Zevon?"
"Yes madam," Oldrin Zevon said.
Why would you think I am the careless one?
Oldrin sighed, gripping the control sticks of her Sutherland. Like Liliana, she had blonde hair, and her green eyes were those of a determined student wishing to excel.
"I am sure she meant it constructively."
It was Toto, a year younger than Oldrin. She stood out for having a darker skin tone, red eyes and white shoulder-length hair.
"I am not so sure, but I don't think she has a reason to worry," Oldrin replied on a private communication line.
Toto Thomason sighed, worried for her friend and master.
"As long as you don't get carried away, my lady."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Toto said with an innocent smile.
"Are you sure this will work?"
Ohgi was sitting in the cockpit of a Sutherland, the exterior microphone picking up the complaining of the more troublesome member of their group. Shinichiro Tamaki was the most brash and arrogant among them, his reddish-brown hair making him stand out even more.
"They've all had their IFFs removed. What if this is a trap?"
"The other side has total advantage in this war. They don't need to set any traps," Ohgi said, before issuing orders to the rest of his fellow freedom fighters. "All right, people, let's move. Get to your assigned points."
"P1, can you move? It operates basically the same as what you're used to." The voice said, speaking through the radio.
"Can't you tell us who you are, at least your name?" Ohgi inquired.
"I can't do that. What if these signals are being intercepted? But, for now, call me…" There was a pause. "Call me Zero."
"Zero?" Ohgi said, confused by the name.
"Anyway, if Q1 is on schedule, enemy Sutherlands, probably two of them, will reach you in twenty-three seconds. Shoot them through the wall," the voice said before Ohgi could question him further.
"He's out of his mind," Tamaki complained.
"Everyone, double-check your weapons!" Ohgi commanded.
Twenty-three seconds later, Ohgi and the others opened fire. As their bullets tore through the wall, Ohgi saw two enemy Sutherlands behind it, caught by surprise as they were gunned down. Inside the cockpit of his Sutherland, Lelouch was grinning upon seeing the lost signals upon his screen.
"It worked!" Benio said.
"Of course," Lelouch said, holding up a black king piece he'd taken it from an abandoned chessboard. "An ID signal can be a double-edged sword. Thanks to their IFF signals, I can monitor Britannian movements and counter accordingly. It helps that the man commanding them is as predictable as they come."
"So, you just have to issue orders?"
"Yes, and if they follow my orders, then victory will be within my grasp," Lelouch said, opening the comms channel to issue more orders. "P1, P4, P7, move a hundred meters to the right and fire your slash harkens toward three o'clock."
"You heard him. Do what Zero says," Ohgi said.
"What the heck?!"
Oldrin watched her Sutherland's tactical screen. Her fellow Britannians were being systematically picked off. Minutes ago, they had been told it would be an easy victory, but now she was witnessing the start of a disaster.
"How are the terrorists turning this fight around? Weren't they barely armed?"
"Quit the chatter, cadet," Hilda barked.
Oldrin, Toto, Liliana, and the rest of their class had advanced deeper into Shinjuku to engage the enemy. They had noticed other units being systematically picked off by enemy ambushes, one by one. Judging by the panicked communications, they had been not only caught completely off guard, but the enemy was using Sutherlands.
How did these terrorists get Knightmare Frames? I know the report said they weren't supposed to have any; Oldrin thought, wondering if their continued charge into the ghetto was a good idea.
"Enemy Glasgow, six o'clock!" a cadet called out, aiming her gun at the reddish machine.
"Let's take her out," another cadet shouted, advancing toward the Glasgow, which darted around a corner, zig-zagging to evade the fire coming its way.
"You idiots, what did I say!? I am ordering you not to pursue that enemy unit!" Hilda shouted as most of her students began chasing down Kallen's machine.
"Come on, instructor, we got this!"
"You four stay here to watch our flanks," Hilda commanded Oldrin and her friends, chasing after her insubordinate students. "I don't care who your parents are, if…."
Little did Hilda and her students know, the bridge they were running across had been wired to explode. Once Kallen had raced across the bridge, reaching the other side safely, and Hilda and her insubordinate students were in the middle of the bridge crossing over a collapsed section of the highway, the explosives detonated.
Oldrin, Toto, Liliana, and Marika could only watch in stunned horror. The bridge collapsed, with their fellow academy students and their instructor falling. They saw ejection blocks flying, but Oldrin couldn't count them all due to the falling debris crushing their machines, burying them in the collapsed subway tunnel below.
"Did anyone make it?" Marika asked fearfully, knowing that could've been them.
"I can't tell. Maybe only half made it," Toto said.
"How could this happen?"
She tried to wrap her mind around what had happened. Oldrin didn't even know what they could have done differently, but now with their instructor gone, she and the others would have to survive somehow.
"What do we do, Oldrin?" Marika asked.
"Let's withdraw and collect ourselves, then evaluate our situation," Oldrin said calmly.
"Right," Liliana said. Together, they turned their Knightmares around, retreating from where they had come.
"THIS HAS TO STOP!" Clovis shouted, rising from his throne. A guaranteed victory was turning into an embarrassing defeat before his eyes, his Knightmares dying one by one. Widely dispersed across the ghetto to optimize their mission of purging the ghetto, they had been picked apart within just an hour or so of combat. The enemy was always exactly where they needed to be, always catching them off guard. It was a disaster. Not only was such a defeat deeply shameful for a prince like himself, but he risked being exposed, risked the wrong people finding out why he was really here.
"Forgive us, your highness," Bartley said timidly.
"Good day!" Lloyd said, his face suddenly appearing on the monitor before them.
"WHAT?!" Bartley shouted, losing his composure. "We're in the middle of an operation here!"
"I noticed your little situation. I'd say it's time to deploy the AESSC's special weapon," Lloyd said hopefully.
"I don't have time for you, Lloyd," Clovis retorted, approaching the tactical console. "We need a change of strategy. Have our remaining forces gather together at this point, then prepare for an encirclement around this area."
Clovis pointed to an area on the map.
"Most of these terrorists attacked our forces more frequently here, and it's where we had them pinned down. They must be here!"
"Understood, my lord," Bartley said, issuing his orders.
This can't fail. They just got lucky. All I need is to pull together and crush them, Clovis thought.
However, should it fail, then he would be out of soldiers, except for those making up the encirclement.
Meanwhile, Lelouch studied the tactical screen, knowing the Britannians would be changing tactics. The fact he saw them gathering together in one place near the G-1 was proof of that.
Whoever is in charge knows they are running out of men, Lelouch thought, smiling to himself.
"Q-1, do you have an area map?" Lelouch asked through the comms.
"Yes, but it doesn't have any landmarks," Kallen replied.
"It's fine. The enemy is gathering their forces for an encirclement maneuver. I intend to bait them into a trap, so give me a moment. I'll give you further instructions in a moment," Lelouch said.
After putting the radio down, he noticed Benio looking at him strangely, as if there was something on her lips that she couldn't quite bring herself to say.
"If you have something on your mind, go ahead," Lelouch said reassuringly.
"How are you beating the Britannians so easily? Was giving the resistance their own Knightmare Frames that big of a difference?"
"No," Lelouch said, shaking his head. "It is true, giving them Sutherlands did make it possible for them to fight back more effectively. Even then, it wouldn't have been enough to ensure a victory. However, other factors are working my favor."
"What do you mean?"
"First, the enemy came into Shinjuku Ghetto, totally unprepared for any real resistance. The rebel fighters had only one Glasgow, after all. No matter how many members this resistance group had, they would've been overwhelmed and wiped out without my help. Their overconfidence could be forgiven under those circumstances. But, should your enemy obtain the means to fight back against you on equal footing, then your overconfidence becomes a huge liability. They charged into Shinjuku Ghetto with no plan beyond wiping everyone out, so they were disorganized and scattered, allowing us to wipe them out systematically. And frankly, their commanders are not very competent. They likely had a hard time trying to respond to our attacks."
"But they've gathered together to surround us?"
"Yes, and that will be a big mistake," Lelouch said, studying the map he had received from Kallen. It didn't take long for a plan to come to mind, which Lelouch didn't waste time sharing to prepare.
The lesson here is never underestimating your enemy, no matter what advantages you have, Lelouch thought.
Minutes later, the remaining available units began their encirclement to a corner and destroy the terrorists with overwhelming numbers. Oldrin, Marika, Toto, and Liliana were racing down one of the empty streets in their Sutherlands. As the encirclement was beginning, Oldrin and her group had been ordered to continue assisting where they could, without taking part directly. Apparently, command didn't want inexperienced rookies taking part in the operation to snare the terrorists in a noose. Oldrin led her group back into Shinjuku to help the military further, but she noticed something on her tactical map as she led them towards the old Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
A single allied unit hadn't moved from the same position for almost a half-hour.
Either that guy's machine was damaged, or he's the one leading the terrorists…?
Oldrin began to suspect the latter, considering transmission codes had been changed six times. It was proof the enemy was monitoring their movements then correctly predicting their actions allowing the terrorists to ambush them. Quickly, she relayed this to her teammates.
"Are you sure about this Oldrin?" Marika asked.
"I am certain of it."
"Why hasn't command noticed, then?" Liliana said.
"They might've been distracted by the rapid losses they've been suffering," Toto said.
I actually think the commanding officers in charge are idiots. My brother told me the men the Viceroy surrounds himself with are grossly incompetent officers. Especially General Bartley. He was just a civil servant before he was given the title of general, Marika thought, deciding to keep that to herself.
"Either way, that machine hasn't moved since the terrorists began their counterattack, so it's someone in trouble or the terrorist leader calling the shots," Oldrin said, leading her friends towards the target.
Unfortunately, Oldrin overlooked one critical detail. Just as they could see Lelouch's machine, he could see them. As they were distracted with their machines, their sensors picked up a tremor, with a large dust cloud rising to the sky.
"What the heck was that!?" Marika said.
At that moment, Lelouch laughed with glee as his plan unfolded. Clovis's troops were lured to an area with a large underground space, with weak tunnels on the verge of collapse, which the locals had marked as too dangerous to pass through. It wouldn't take much to cause a widespread collapse if anyone got careless, especially if they had a Knightmare Frame. Lelouch had immediately seized the opportunity to spring his latest trap; after Kallen and the others lured them in, they escaped through the subway tunnels.
On the way out, Kallen and Ohgi had triggered a collapse. In a domino effect, entire blocks collapsed, taking out all of the military units lured in, seconds after realizing they'd been had.
"It worked!" Lelouch exclaimed triumphantly.
"You seem very happy about it," Benio said.
"Sorry, I got carried away with the moment."
Lelouch noticed a group of Knightmares moving toward his location.
"Is that bad?" Benio asked.
"I did consider the possibility someone would notice, especially now with almost all enemy forces eliminated," Lelouch said. "It was risky, but worth it."
Although I am surprised it took this long for someone to notice, Lelouch thought, before picking up the radio.
"What are you going to do?"
Within moments, he had an idea.
"Okay, I think he should be above us," Oldrin said as she and her friends finished climbing up to the higher floors of the crumbling Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
"What's the plan?" Marika asked.
"Alright, you two will move up, while Toto and I will attack from below," Oldrin said.
"Uh, one question," Liliana said, with a concerned look.
"What is it?" Oldrin said, ready to attack.
"We can see the enemy leader thanks to his IFF, but just as he can see our forces through their IFFs, wouldn't he see us coming?"
An uneasy silence fell upon the group as the worrying realization set in.
"Uh, maybe he hasn't noticed us. If the commander in charge hasn't noticed him, then-" Toto began, but was interrupted by the ground under their feet giving way.
"What the hell," Marika shouted, starting to panic.
Unbeknownst to them, Kallen had been below them, having used her Glasgow's fist to destroy the support pillars holding up the floor Oldrin and her friends were on. Having been monitoring their movements very closely after zooming in his tactical screen and adjusting its view, Lelouch had told Kallen exactly when to attack, using himself as bait.
"Hold on tight," Lelouch said. Benio made sure she had a good grip.
Thanks to the combined weight of four Sutherland Units, the floor they stood on collapsed once enough support pillars and walls were destroyed. This of course meant Lelouch's floor would also collapse, but he had planned for that.
I just have to hope this part goes as planned, Lelouch thought.
His Sutherland speeding away from the collapsing floor, Lelouch turned his machine around to toss a Chaos Mine over the collapsing floor. With pieces of the ceiling above his head falling with the floor now and the debris from the floor itself, Lelouch feared this idea wouldn't work. Luckily for him, the Chaos Mine detonated as he wanted, raining rapid-fire shrapnel down upon Oldrin on her friends.
"MY LADY!" Toto shouted, using her Knightmare Frame to shield Oldrin. Her Knightmare Frame suffered crippling damage, triggering the auto-eject. Her cockpit block was just at the right angle to launch out of the building. Its parachutes deployed, ensuring Toto would land safely.
"TOTO!" Oldrin cried out.
Suddenly Kallen's Glasgow attacked, punching the head of Marika's Sutherland, triggering its auto-ejection system. Her surprise attack, combined with Marika's panic, made it easy for Kallen to land her blow.
Liliana tried to recover to attack Kallen in retaliation, but the Glasgow got the drop on her after using Marika's Sutherland as a shield before the cockpit-less machine could collapse onto the ground. Kallen side-stepped Liliana's machine gun fire, sliding up close and slamming her fist into the Knightmare's head, forcing another ejection. Only Oldrin remained, furiously charging at Kallen's Glasgow.
"Damn you," she roared, "you're going to pay for that!"
She dodged Kallen's attack, and using one of her Sutherland's slash harkens, she rendered the Glasgow's remaining arm useless. With nothing left to fight back with, Kallen was left staring at the barrel of Oldrin's machine gun.
"I've got you, Q-1," Lelouch said, as he opened fire on Oldrin's Sutherland from above, at the top of the collapsed floor.
Shit, how could I've forgotten about the enemy leader? Oldrin thought, realizing her folly.
Oldrin didn't have a chance to retaliate, as Lelouch's attacks shredded the head of her machine. The salvo tore into the front of her machine, forcing her to eject.
"You saved me again," Kallen said, watching Oldrin's cockpit block rocketed away from the building.
"I should thank you for coming when I called," Lelouch said.
"What's next?"
"The enemy will have to use the soldiers making up the encirclement to deal with us now," Lelouch said, bringing up the tactical map in his Sutherland. "They haven't called in reinforcements, because they want to keep what was stolen under wraps."
"Meaning holes are bound to happen in the encirclement."
"Yes. You and the others along with any surviving civilians can use the opening to escape," Lelouch said. Just then, he noticed something odd.
They've sent out some units breaking the encirclement as I've hoped. The units protecting the mobile command center have been greatly reduced to reinforce the breaches as expected, but…
What the enemy was sending into the ghetto was a large number of armed troop transports and tanks. The lack of Sutherlands being deployed was odd; only a small number were going out, not even enough to contend with them.
They have to know a force like that would be slaughtered against the Sutherlands we have, so why?
"This is B group, reporting enemy presence," a resistance member called.
"What is it?" Lelouch said feeling uneasy.
"Everyone ejected, but they took out four units in no time at all."
"Enemy numbers?"
"Just one. I think it's a new model. I've never seen anything like it- aah!"
Lelouch only heard static. Whatever had taken out the four had claimed him as a victim too.
Suddenly memories of his defeat at Sandra's hands came to mind, making him realize this enemy could be dangerous.
Lelouch, recognizing the potential threat, quickly devised a counterplan with a contingency.
At that moment, a white Knightmare Frame retracted its slash harken after using it to behead an enemy machine. Inside the cockpit, dressed in a white pilot suit, was Suzaku.
"Yes, I can do this. With the Lancelot I can stop all this at once."
Suzaku gripped the control sticks, seeking out more enemy units. He was still reeling from the fact that he wasn't just piloting a Knightmare Frame, but Britannia's first combat worthy prototype as the first seventh generation Knightmare frame. The pain he felt from his injuries were proof this was no dream, and the events that made him the pilot of the Lancelot replayed in his mind.
Some time ago...
"Are we having a bad day?"
Suzaku woke up to discover he was lying on a bed in a mobile field hospital. How had he ended up here?
Right, that explosion, then nothing….
"I guess you missed your chance to go to heaven, Private Kururugi," said a strange man in a lab coat. He had light blue hair, and eyes to match.
"Are we still in the Shinjuku Ghetto?" Suzaku asked, noticing he was shirtless with bandages wrapped around his waist and chest.
"Yes we are, but you're probably in the safest place right now," Lloyd Asplund answered, waving his hand dismissively.
"You were very fortunate to have survived that explosion."
The woman with Lloyd was in her early twenties, with short dark blue hair and light blue eyes. Her orange and black uniform was different from any uniform Suzaku had seen before, but the woman's kindly expression put Suzaku more at ease.
"Your protective suit and helmet took the worst of the blast. The Royal guardsmen weren't as fortunate."
"Lloyd, you shouldn't be so causal," Cecil Croomy scolded.
"You're right. We have a more important matters to discuss," Lloyd said, turning to Suzaku. "Private Kururugi, how much experience do you have in piloting a Knightmare frame?"
"You're joking. An Eleven can't pilot a Knightmare Frame. All I've done is act as a test pilot in simulators," Suzaku said, shocked by the question.
Lloyd smiled, dangling a gold activation key for a Knightmare Frame.
"Well lucky you then, because nobody else wants it. So how about it?"
That was how Suzaku became the pilot of the Z-01 Lancelot. After having effortlessly crushed four enemy Sutherlands, Suzaku couldn't help but be awed by the Lancelot's combat potential.
People rejected being the pilot for this because it doesn't have an ejection mechanism?
Suzaku found the idea Britannian pilots turned down piloting the Lancelot because of that one detail strange. Given the machine's amazing speed and agility, as long as you were a skilled pilot, it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately for his enemies, Suzaku was a naturally gifted Knightmare Frame pilot. Despite his only experience being the piloting of a Sutherland in a simulation, he was proving to be nigh unstoppable in the Lancelot.
If I can defeat all of the enemy Sutherlands, maybe I can end this. I could save Lelouch and that girl. Suzaku thought. Suddenly the Lancelot's sensors detected a heat signature. It was coming from the upper floors of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. A lone Sutherland was lurking up there.
Could that be the enemy commander?
Suzaku made his way up the building, using the Lancelot's slash harkens.
When the Lancelot reached the floor, the Sutherland turned and fled, hurrying down the other side of the building. Suzaku chased after the enemy machine in hot pursuit. Despite the Sutherland having a reasonable head start, the Lancelot was gaining on it. As the Lancelot started to close the distance on the Sutherland, the enemy headed into a partially collapsed mall complex.
"Now," Kallen called from the cockpit of the Sutherland that the Lancelot had been chasing.
Ohgi, Tamaki and the other members of the resistance group Kallen was apart of made their presence known. Suzaku realized he had been drawn into an ambush. Before he could react, they opened fire attacking the Lancelot from multiple directions while Kallen, using Lelouch's Sutherland, sped away to safety, turning around. The Lancelot was on the defensive, dodging a hailstorm of bullets, but it had something up its sleeve. From its forearms a green transparent shield materialized, deflecting all of the incoming fire. Of course, the Blaze Luminous shields didn't provide full protection, forcing Suzaku to push the Lancelot to its limits evading their attacks while using the Blaze Luminous to deflect whatever he couldn't evade. Fighting within a collapsed mall did provide the Lancelot with some light cover, but one mistake could mean the end for Suzaku.
If I die here, Lelouch and that girl may not survive.
"How the hell are we supposed to hit him?!" Tamaki shouted.
"Keep up the pressure! Don't let him escape, throw some Chaos Mines in," Inoue called.
Tamaki and some of the others followed suit, hurling chaos mines in an effort to destroy the Lancelot. Between the shield and the Lancelot's swift movement, none of them were doing any real damage. This only caused Tamaki and the others to become even more frustrated, just as Suzaku began fighting back.
Seizing an opportunity, Suzaku fired a slash harken before Tamaki's machine could hurl its chaos mine, causing it to misfire. The trigger of his Sutherland's auto-eject caused the chaos mine to be thrown in the wrong direction, catching two of his comrades in the shower of shrapnel. It was a lucky break for Suzaku, giving him the opening needed to begin fighting back. Rushing the nearest enemy, Suzaku beheaded an enemy Sutherland using the slash harken mounted on its forearm as a close quarters weapon.
He even used the enemy Sutherlands as make-shift shields when attacking them, since many among Ohgi's group were not willing to risk attacking their own comrade. Following Tamaki's unintentional blunder, it all quickly fell apart, with most of the group being taken out by the Lancelot, forcing an ejection, until only Ohgi and Kallen were left.
"How the hell did this plan fail? We had him completely outnumbered and surrounded?!" Kallen said gripping the control sticks of her Sutherland.
"We can take him," Ohgi said, boldly charging, but the Lancelot swiftly sidestepped the charge and beheaded his machine. As Ohgi ejected, Kallen was already advancing upon the Lancelot with its stun tonfa deployed, knowing that close quarters combat would decide the fight.
Kallen dodged the Lancelot's first swing, avoiding losing her machine's head. She followed up with a counter attack by attempting to bash the Lancelot's head in, but it pulled back to evade before attempting to attack again. Kallen used one of the Sutherland's tonfa to deflect its attack, aiming to counter, but suddenly slash harkens from the Lancelot's waist shot up, taking off the Sutherland's left arm and its head, much to Kallen's shock.
"It had four? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"
Like her friends before her, Kallen was ejected from the Sutherland.
"That should be all of them I think," Suzaku said, having soundly defeated all of the resistance fighters on his own, despite having been lured into a well-prepared ambush.
Meanwhile, Lelouch, was inside Kallen's Glasgow. He was using it to transport himself and Benio closer to the G-1. He was mindful to stay out of sight, and planned to park the machine in a safe place so he could disembark and walk the rest of the way.
Having recognized the threat of the Lancelot and fearing they couldn't win against an advanced prototype like it, Lelouch had offered Kallen his Sutherland and laid out a plan for an ambush by having Ohgi and the others gather in one place, hoping to overwhelm it. They had failed, but they had managed to distract it long enough that it wouldn't be a threat to him right now. He wore the soldier helmet and mask to conceal his identity while changing Knightmare Frames.
"Will Kallen and others be ok?"
"I don't know," Lelouch said shaking his head. "If that new Knightmare Frame is as formidable as I heard, then it's a toss-up. Maybe they won, maybe they lost, I have no idea."
"But it allowed you to get away, didn't it?"
Lelouch nodded.
"Either way, it works out in my favor."
"What do you plan to do?" Benio asked, as Lelouch parked the Glasgow in a ruined building just large enough for his purposes.
"Their only chance for anyone to survive will depend on how fast I can get to the man in charge. I need you to stay here and keep out of sight. I'll come back for you once I am done, I promise."
"Okay," said Benio, sounding uncertain.
Some time later, Kallen was running through the battle torn streets of Shinjuku, looking for Ohgi and the others. She had begun to fear the worst until she saw Ohgi wave her down and lead her into a warehouse that had remained untouched since the battle began. Inside, besides those who were part of Ohgi's resistance cell, it was full of civilians who had taken shelter here.
"It's your fault. This is what happened when you oppose the Britannians," a man called out to them, as Kallen, Tamaki and Ohgi passed by.
"What!?" Snarled Tamaki, "Why, you gutless coward!"
"How many people were killed because of this?!" A female civilian cried out.
"Shut up! Do you know how many of us were killed or captured? Do ya? Quit crying," Tamaki shouted.
"Kallen, what happened to Zero?" Ohgi asked.
"We switched Knightmares after he laid out his plan to deal with that new Knightmare Frame."
"What was he planning?"
"He didn't have time to tell me the details, but he said for us to hold out regards of what happens. He said he would end the battle."
"How?" Ohgi asked? Curious, he added, "Say, did you see what he looked like?"
"No,. He wore a Britannian soldier's uniform. The mask and helmet hid his face, but he had a young Japanese girl with him. Zero must've saved her, because she vouched that he could be trusted."
"Did you trust him?"
"We were winning against Britannia until that new Knightmare Frame got involved, so yes, I decided to trust him."
"So, what now then?"
Before Kallen could answer, the doors to the warehouse were blown open. A Britannian tank drove in, flanked by soldiers leveling their rifles at them.
"There, you see! Instead of following somebody we don't even know, we should've used the poison gas," Tamaki shouted to Ohgi.
"But we…"
"Damn Nagata to hell!" Tamaki said not giving Ohgi a chance to finish.
The blood drained from Kallen's face. This was the end, wasn't it? She had made it this far, fought back, got some hope from that Zero person, and now she'd be gunned down along with everyone else by Britannian soldiers. But then, as the lead soldier from atop his tank was about to give the order to fire, a miracle happened.
"Attention, all forces. Cease fire at once," Clovis announced abruptly, his voice carrying over all the open comms channels.
"Huh?!" Said the leading officer, along with Kallen, Ohgi and others across Shinjuku Ghetto, as they heard the announcement.
"I, Clovis, third prince of Britannia and royal viceroy of Area Eleven, hereby command you, all forces deployed in Shinjuku: you are ordered to cease fire at once. You are also to cease destruction of any buildings or property. All casualties, Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice. In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are hereby ordered, cease fire at once. I shall allow no further fighting!"
"There, are you satisfied?"
Aboard Clovis's G-1; the Third Prince sat upon his throne. Lelouch had just shut off power to the bridge, leaving them in the dull gloom of emergency power. The two were alone, thanks to Lelouch having successfully infiltrated the G-1. All it had taken was a few key uses of his geass. Clovis' guard had been small, with only a small infantry detachment around his command unit. Luckily for Kallen and the others, he had made it just in time to save their lives.
"Very well done," Lelouch replied, keeping his gun trained on Clovis.
"And what shall we do now? Sing a few lively ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?"
"Now that sounds very nostalgic, especially since you and I never finished that last chess game over seven years ago. I guess it would be here in Shinjuku Ghetto we would finish that game."
"What?"
In the shadows of the dark command center Lelouch removed his helmet, tossing it aside before he slowly approached Clovis.
"I am disappointed you don't remember, seeing how we had always played chess at the Aries Villa. Of course, I would always win."
"You, who are you?" Clovis said, with growing anger.
"It has been a long time, hasn't it big brother?" Lelouch said, stepping into the faint light near the throne. Finally, Clovis could see the face of the man who held him at gunpoint. The anger gave way to shock as he recognized the face of the man who had beaten him, time and time again.
"The eldest son of the late consort Marianne and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service," Lelouch said, mockingly bowing before his older half-brother.
"Lelouch… impossible, I thought you were dead?"
"Clearly you were wrong. And now I've returned, to change everything."
Rising to his feet, Lelouch approached Clovis with his gun aimed at the cornered prince. His earlier anger gone, Clovis now seemed a mix of fearful and relieved.
"This is an unexpected reunion. I-I am overjoyed to see you, brother. I was told you had died along with Nunnally when Japan became Area 11. Come, we should depart for the homeland immediately," Clovis said hopefully.
"So, you could use me as a tool for diplomacy, or to further your own ambitions for the throne? It seems you've forgotten why we were used as tools in the first place," Lelouch said coldly.
A look of realization appeared on Clovis's face.
"That's right. It was because my mother was killed," Lelouch said with growing anger. "My mother was a Knight of the Rounds, but a commoner by birth. I knew full well that the other imperial consorts despised my mother for both her commoner heritage and how confrontational she could be."
Lelouch fondly remembered his mother in that moment. At one time, he had thought she was the emperor's favorite. He even recalled a time when Marianne would ride into a ballroom, picking a fight with three of the emperor's consorts at once whenever one of them picked on Nunnally. But the memory of her dead body holding a terrified and wounded Nunnally came into mind, and a great anger rose within him.
"Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I'm no fool. You people killed my mother! Then you tried to have us killed during the invasion to better justify seizing Japan, didn't you?!"
"I swear to you brother, it WASN'T ME!" Clovis cried out, terrified.
"Then tell me what you know. I will have the truth one way or another," Lelouch said. His eye glowed red, and the strange new power flowed through him. "Tell me everything I want to know!"
In seconds, Clovis was snared by Lelouch's Geass, putting him into a cooperative trance-like state.
"Tell me, who killed my mother?" Lelouch demanded.
"My brother Second Prince Schneizel and Second Princess Cornelia, they could tell you."
"Were they the masterminds behind it? I know Cornelia used to be the head of security at our villa," Lelouch said, but Clovis said nothing.
I see. So he truly knows nothing, then.
"Why did you try to purge this ghetto of everyone? Tell me, what was so valuable about the girl in the capsule?"
"The girl has been a subject of interest to my father, the Emperor. He has a keen interest in ancient ruins related to the girl and the mark upon her forehead. She has been the key to my research into the matter," Clovis answered.
So the Emperor is involved in this too.
"I was purging Shinjuku Ghetto to eliminate any witnesses who might've discovered the truth. If the public discovered her existence I would be disinherited or worse by the Emperor."
"So you killed all of these people, women and children, including my best friend Suzaku, ALL JUST TO PROTECT YOUR REPUTATION AND ROYAL STATUS?" Lelouch snarled, his anger boiling over.
"Yes," Clovis replied stoically.
After taking a moment to calm down, Lelouch glared at Clovis.
"I am done. I have no further questions."
Within moments Clovis regained his wits, unaware of what had happened.
"I swear it wasn't me. I had nothing to do with it!"
"I believe you," Lelouch said calmly. "However…"
Lelouch brought the gun to Clovis's face, with a hardened expression of cold resolve.
"Please, you can't! We may have different mothers, but you and I are still blood," Clovis pleaded fearfully.
"Maybe, but seeing how far you are willing to go to protect your status… sparing you would be a dangerous mistake for me, and besides….all of these people you murdered. They deserve retribution just as I'll seek retribution for my mother's death and my sister's crippling."
"NO!"
Those were Clovis's last words before Lelouch pulled the trigger, ending his life. The gun flared, and the prince slumped over in his seat, quite dead.
Afterwards, Lelouch calmly collected the shell casing before retrieving his helmet and mask. Quickly and quietly, he departed the command center, leaving Clovis's corpse behind in the empty command center.
Minutes later, as the sun was beginning to set, Lelouch managed to make his way back to Kallen's Glasgow where Benio was waiting for him.
"Did it work?" she asked.
"Yes. As you've heard, the battle is over. Let's get out of here," Lelouch said, motioning for Benio to follow him.
Elsewhere, Kallen was walking away with Ohgi. They were leaving the Shinjuku Ghetto in the company of the surviving civilians, glancing at the command center in the distance, wondering what Zero had done to force a ceasefire like that.
"Where did he put your Glasgow?" Ohgi whispered to Kallen.
"He said he would hide it in a building near the G-1 that would be out of sight. Not that it matters. It's a wreck with one arm missing and one not working right."
"I see. Well, maybe you better go back to Ashford Academy for now. Lay low for a while until things cool down," Ohgi advised.
"But-"
"No buts. I am sure Naoto would like to see you back in school. Besides, we're going to be busy relocating to a safer place, so its for the best."
"Fine," Kallen said reluctantly.
Somewhere in the sewers running below the ghetto, Lelouch led Benio through the dark tunnels, using the night vision of his helmet to guide them.
"Do you have anywhere you can go?" He asked. Picking her up and saving her had seemed like the right thing in the moment, but it occurred to him that he had no plan. It wasn't like he was capable of taking care of a girl all by herself, right?
"No," Benio said sadly. "My mother and father were the only family I had."
"I see," Lelouch said, wondering what to do. "I suppose you can stay with me for now. But we'll need to stick to the sewers and waterways. If anyone sees us, it could raise too many questions."
"Will that be alright for you?"
"I'll figure something out. I'm sorry, but I'll need to keep you out of sight."
"I understand. I… trust you."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
Easier said than done through…
A/N: Whew Shinjuku is done, while technically having the same outcome as in canon there was some changes and some new players such as Oldrin and her friends while they are attending the local military academy in Area 11, with Oldrin wanting to be far away from her uncle.
And we also see Lelouch's losses to Sandra and her Fireball did teach him lessons to never underestimate a lone unit especially if you have an advantage in numbers, showing that Lelouch took it to heart when he heard of the Lancelot tearing apart the resistance and their new Sutherlands.
Like in canon Lelouch kills Clovis, but not before getting some more information out of him.
Thanks guys for reading the chapter and in the next one Lelouch has to figure out what to do with his new charge and what will come next.
Anonymous reviews:
First off and this addresses a similar anonymous review in my other stories, stop with the bashing of Shirley needing to be friend zoned the girl has already a hard enough lot in canon as is.
Samurai Seven: That is the idea, but don't expect a harem in this story like in my War of the Seven Kings story, maybe a threesome at most, but I haven't decided on that yet. Milly will always be trouble and a source of chaos for Lelouch, nothing will change that for good or ill since she always goes by the beat of her own drum.
Samurai Seven: One can only hope, he will still be a pain for Lelouch through with the Lancelot as we've seen in this chapter, that will not change.
Samurai Sven: Well it just fell unnecessary since that character does have her fans, but V.V. I can promise will get his at some point. As for Suzaku and Shirley being a thing, I didn't plan on anything between them and to avoid spoilers I will only say I have no plans for pairing those two at the moment, as for Euphy and Suzaku you guys just have to wait and see.
Alan Wake: Well things can't always go perfectly for Lelouch, a mishap or two is bond to happen and his mind was occupied with other concerns at the moment so its understandable oversight. Noted, but please quit with the Shirley bashing the girl has it bad enough already, so ease off on the poor girl.
Jay: Indeed, well Rivalz wasn't just available to do, so Sokkia took over and she does have more funny potential for humor scenes as you'll see in the next chapter.