(A/N: …)
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Lelouch walked down a hallway very familiar to him. It was Aries Villa. Today was a special day because it was Nunnally's birthday. He had a present in his hands. He was on his way to the kitchen. He rounded the corner to see Claude and Hilda with Lysithea putting the finishing touches on the cake.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. Finally up?" Hilda asked, mixing the icing.
"Ah! Hilda! Over the counter!" Lysithea complained.
Before Lelouch could answer, Edelgard strolled up behind him. "Okay, so I've procured the giant teddy bear and the fifteen ponies, but I seem to be lacking in "enough sugar to bury an elephant.""
Lelouch turned. He was about to answer Edelgard when he saw Constance's body just hanging from the ceiling. He gasped, only for it to glitch out of existence.
"Lelouch, are you okay?" Mercedes called from behind him. She sat him down in a chair. "Such a sweet boy. Here, having some pastries."
For a moment, Hapi's decapitated head adorned the plate, but it quickly switched back to a plate full of danishes.
"Lelouch."
"Lelouch?"
"Lelouch!"
"Lelouch!"
"Zero."
"Zero?"
"Zero!"
The voices started to mix as the heads started to float around him, tormenting him, Hapi, Constance and Balthus's bodies burning and calling his name.
No! Stop it…Stop…STOP!
"Zero! Zero!"
Lelouch got his hearing back before he got back his sense of touch or his sense of sight. He could then feel he was being shaken. Someone was calling for him. "Zero! Hey, Zero! Wake up! Come on! Wake up, dammit! Don't be dead! I'll kill you if you're dead!"
Ah. That vernacular instantly made it clear who was talking to him. His eyes slowly opened to the sight of a very worried looking Kronya. However, as Lelouch sat up, he quickly realized something was wrong. His helmet…where was his helmet? He was staring at a worried looking Kronya with his own eyes, not through the visor of his helmet.
Kronya breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness." She blushed. "Er, I mean…Th-Thales would be really upset if you'd been killed, s-so…"
Lelouch decided to put aside the fact that Kronya had seen his face. He checked his phone. The home screen read "1st Day of the Wyvern Moon 2:13am."
"Z-Zero?"
Lelouch put his hand up, indicating he was requesting silence. He had to process the situation first.
Aelfric betrayed Abyss, and the only way he could have gotten into that vault is if Yuri helped him, but why would Yuri turn on us? What's causing all of this? He punched his forehead. Dammit! I don't understand what I'm up against!
"I…here's your helmet. It was stuck under another overturned piece of rubbled, but…I managed to fetch it out. Are you okay? I…I won't tell anyone I saw your face. I promise!"
Damn right she won't. Zero quickly accepted his helmet back from Kronya and put it on. He immediately activated his Geass. "Kronya, you will never reveal to anyone that you saw my face or what it looks like unless I specifically ask you to."
"Yes, Master Zero," Kronya droned.
Good. If she was calling him Zero, she didn't know who he actually was…he hoped.
He stood up, dusting himself off, only to immediately almost drop to a knee. Okay, that might be broken. Ow. He was very surprised when Kronya helped him up.
"Kronya?"
"You probably have no idea what's happening, so I'll clue you in on everything. C.C. set up a shelter behind a pizza shop we can use to talk and catch you up to speed," Kronya told him. "Things are bad, real bad," she said frantically.
"You sound worried," Zero told her.
"Of course I'm worried. This is a huge mess! You guys are my fri—I mean…Thales would be super angry if he lost his investment in the Ashen Wolves or the Black Knights."
I have never known a woman try so hard to deny her emotions, Zero thought.
It didn't take long for Kronya to help Lelouch into the room. Upon seeing how he was hobbling on his knee, C.C. used magic to mend the injury.
"I've been unconscious for nearly four hours. What's the situation?" He asked both women.
"As soon as Yukiya sat down and said you'd be delayed, Yuri slammed the door shut and Shamir stepped out of the shadows and started flooding the room with smoke and tear gas. I managed to get out of there with my warp crystal, and C.C. wasn't in the room at the time," Kronya told him.
Shamir betrayed us too? Zero wondered.
"They took Balthus, Hapi and Constance somewhere else, but I don't know where," Kronya said.
"What about Yukiya, Ryo, Akito and Ayano?" Zero asked.
"I don't know…I spent all my time searching for you. I figured if anyone was going to stop what was happening, we needed you, our leader."
"Kronya and I ran into each other while she was looking around. When she told me how dire the situation was, I confirmed you were still alive, but I couldn't pinpoint your exact location because you were unconscious," C.C. explained.
"It took me a while to think about the vault. I was really relieved when I found you in one piece."
That's all in part thanks to the Zero Matrix. Lelouch checked the crystal's energy level. It was out of power. Aelfric's surprise attack and the collapsing rubble really did a number on him, it seemed.
"We're lucky you're alive," C.C. told him. "I doubt we would be fixing this if you weren't."
"Then let's be thankful for what we have," Zero said as C.C. finished mending his knee. He activated comms on a secure channel. "Yukiya, it's Zero. Do you copy?"
He heard cheering and what sounded like the slapping of high fives.
"See? I told you he wasn't dead," Yukiya responded.
"Where are you guys?" Kronya asked, speaking through her own comm ear piece.
"Still in the classroom," Akito responded. "We decided to wait for you. We all had faith you'd contact us eventually so we didn't want to fall into any additional traps."
"Good, wait for me there. We'll regroup and re-evaluate the situation from there," Zero told his unit.
"Hey, as long as you're leading us, everything will work out," Ryo said with confidence.
"I'm so, so pissed at Yuri!" Ayano shouted. "We're gonna kick his ass, right Zero?"
"We will, but I want to confront Yuri first. He wouldn't stab us in the back without a good reason. Something about this feels played out and I want to see the prize he's intending to buy with the chips he's planning to cash in," Zero remarked. "I'll be there shortly. Be prepared to counterattack."
At this, suddenly, the open channel for the Black Knights came online and Zero could hear the voices of his other teammates. They were a bit staticky, but he could hear them plain as day.
"Yuri! You scoundrel! You are unfit to speak to us, liar that you are!" That was Constance.
"Yeah, yeah, liar, blah-blah. Nothing I haven't heard before."
"Look, pal, enough beating around the bush. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here? What the hell are you plotting?" Balthus's voice was unmistakable.
"Questions. Questions. You're wearing me out, Balthus. Fine, then. I'll lay it out for you. Aelfric intends to reenact the Rite of Rising. He's preparing everything as we speak." Yuri explained.
"What is this silly rite, anyway? He trying to do some crazy magic to raise the dead or something?" Hapi questioned.
"Actually, yes," Yuri answered. He then went on to explain. "By offering up the blood of the Four Apostles in the chalice, you can bring someone back to life. Saint Seiros performed the ritual 995 years ago, but not enough blood was given up. So the ritual was a bust. No clue what happened after that. That's what Aelfric concluded after scouring the records, anyway. And now, through extreme persistence, he's found and gathered the four of us, with our Crests. He placed us under his direct supervision within the Ashen Wolf House, and he did all of it to ensure a successful ritual-the Rite of Rising."
"You mean to say that he intends to drain our blood? To kill us?! Such an act would be unforgivable! An atrocity! I cannot die in this wretched hovel!" Constance shrieked.
"Yeah, that sounds painful...and permanent. Count me out. Hang on-the number four includes you too, right? So you're gonna die too?"
"Yep. That's the idea," Yuri responded.
Yuri, it's a good thing I know your liar voice when I hear it. What the hell are you up to?
Suddenly, he couldn't hear the four wolves bickering amongst themselves anymore. What he did hear, however, was a familiar voice asking, "Did you get all that?"
"Shamir!" Ayano hissed.
"Eaaaaasy," Shamir commented. "Get your butts over here and knock some sense into Yuri."
"Shamir…I knew I chose right when I hired you," Zero told her.
"Look, don't start getting sentimental. Just get over here and save your students. I'm broadcasting my location to you now. Share it with Yukiya. Standard procedure."
"We'll be there as soon as possible," Zero replied as he saw the blinking dot on his local area map. "Do what you have to do, even if you have to keep up the façade."
"Don't worry, I'm a professional. Keeping calm is who I am," Shamir responded and hung up.
"Sounds like we know where to go then," Kronya stated.
Zero nodded. "Yes, but I think we should stack the deck in our favor just in case. We don't know what kind of help Aelfric has, nor if the Savage Mockingbird has sided with him over Yuri." He took out his phone to a message he'd typed up while he was listening to the original four wolves bicker. "Never go into battle unprepared." He then hit the send button.
While waiting for the cavalry to arrive, Shamir looked on at the situation as it was unfolding. She was in an underground cathedral of some kind that she'd followed Yuri and Aelfric too, pretending to be acting in Aelfric's best interests on Yuri's dime. She watched Aelfric backhand Yuri to the ground.
"Thank you, sir. May I have another?" Yuri asked. "Come on, you think one little slap is a punishment? Besides, it's not like you can do anything to me that hasn't already been done."
Aelfric looked at Yuri as the young man stood up. "True. You took wing from the mud into which you were born and rose to such great heights. To break your spirit would take far too much effort. Though, if I must, I will kill your mother."
"Oh... So that's it. You were trying to protect your mom," Balthus realized.
"Precisely what is it you are hoping to accomplish, Aelfric?" Constance demanded.
"To resurrect someone I lost long ago, no matter the cost," Aelfric answered. "Surely there are those for whom you'd do similar."
"Perhaps," Constance answered honestly. "Even so, never would we annihilate those we care for!"
Aelfric did not seem to share this sentiment. "There's nothing I wouldn't do, nobody I wouldn't trade to see the light in her eyes once more..."
Suddenly, the altar alit with torches and overhead lights, revealing a woman with long green hair in a white dress laid across an angled, open casket. She was paler than a ghost. And she did not appear to be moving. She looked…almost peaceful.
"Whoa…that lady looks real dead, pal."
"She is…for now."
"Who is she?" Shamir asked, strolling forward, curious.
"That, my dear Shamir, is Sitri Eisner, the late love of Jeralt Eisner, and the one woman in this whole world I love more than any other," Aelfric responded.
"You know," Shamir responded, trying to sound snarky, "Most would consider having a vested interest in another man's lover socially unacceptable."
"She should have been mine, not his! I deserved her far more than that worthless buffoon!" Aelfric shouted, looking enraged. "I gave her everything! Books! Stories! Candlelit dinners! But no, he gives her one flower and her whole face lights up! I'd never been more disgusted in my life! I could have given her flowers! I could have given her the world! And she chose—"
"She chose what she wanted!" A voice echoed through the altar. "She chose the man that loved her, not the man that loved the idea of her!"
Aelfric gasped. "That's impossible…"
"Woohoo! About time!" Hapi cheered.
Into the room strolled in Zero with the remaining Ashen Wolves, plus C.C. and Kronya, formed up behind him. All of them were ready for an underground brawl.
"Impossible?" Zero questioned of Aelfric, "Haven't you heard my moniker? I am ZERO!" Zero shouted, throwing his arms into the air as his cape flapped down behind him. "I am the man who makes miracles! The word impossible is not in my vocabulary! I am the ultimate escape artist!" Zero declared, holding out his right arm as though gripping an invisible chalice. "I am the voice for all those lying in the dust and the sewers!" He pivoted his body so that he was now performing the same action, but with his left arm instead.
Unimpeded, he strolled forward up the staircase to the platform Aelfric and the other four wolves were standing on. Aelfric commanded nearby mages under his command to wordlessly attack Zero, but they were stabbed by Kronya and Ayano before they could try it, their death screams echoing around the world's most mysterious revolutionary.
"I fight for peace!" Zero declared, throwing out his right arm, his cape billowing with the flick of his arm. "I fight for justice!" He did the same thing with his left arm.
He now stood on level ground with Aelfric. "And I despise those who harm my Ashen Wolves, my Black Knights!"
"This is exactly what I was afraid of. You didn't used to be so sentimental with my flock, but you've changed over these moons," Aelfric said calmly and disdainfully.
"Says the hypocrite trying to revive his crush that never loved him," Zero responded. "This is why I have not attached myself to romance. It is the heart of man that turns him to commit unspeakable acts!" Zero declared, turning his body, raising his left arm to the air, fingers facing him. "You achieve the ability to resurrect the dead and now see humanity as beneath you." He turned the other direction, pulling his arm towards himself, fist clenched. "Life is a part of death!" Zero declared, throwing his right arm out to his side." He turned his body, throwing out his left arm. "Death is a part of life!" He held his left arm low by his waist, clutching his fingers towards him, but not quite making a fist. "To deny life back into death is simply the actions of a madman. Is sanity the price we must pay..." he said, taking a deep breath as thrust his arm forward towards Aelfric, "For power?!"
Shamir clapped slowly in the background, her face of complete and total stoic expression said it all.
"Besides all of that, do you really think the Savage Mockingbird will let you get away with all of this?" Zero asked. "He has a vested interest in the continued activities of the Ashen Wolves."
"The Savage Mockingbird?" Aelfric questioned. "Heh heh…heh heh heh heh heh heh." He threw his head back and laughed as if Zero had just told a very funny joke. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I fail to see the amusement in your imminent demise," Zero commented.
"So you haven't told them. I see. How prudent of you."
Zero followed Aelfric's calm gaze…straight to Yuri's face.
"Wait…WHAT?!" Constance exclaimed.
"Yuri bird's the Savage Mockingbird?" Hapi questioned.
Yuri groaned deeply and in sheer aggravation. "Really? I was hoping to take that to my grave."
"Not even going to make an excuse?" Zero asked, befuddled.
"Unlike you, I like to keep my dignity without making ridiculous fibs," Yuri quipped.
"Wait, I'm lost," Balthus said. "Who's the Savage Mockingbird again?"
"Ugh! Never mind!" Hapi exclaimed. "Zero, kick this guy's butt for us!"
"No," Zero responded.
"I'm sorry…what?" Hapi asked, dumbfounded.
"He means, we're going to send Aelfric to meet the Goddess together. On your feet, wolves!" Yuri exclaimed.
It was at that exact moment that Balthus rose to his feet, snapping his bonds that Yuri had bound him with. "Man, that took forever. Jeez, Yuri, go easy on the gas next time, yeah?"
"Sorry, had to make sure it lasted juuust long enough. You know how crafty Zero can be."
"Yuri, the next time you decide to pretend to double cross me, make sure it doesn't occur with me nearly being buried alive," Zero told him.
"Eh, you were going to be fine," Yuri responded. "Who do you think got the specifications of the Zero Matrix to Anna anyway?"
Lelouch shifted uncomfortably at the realization that he'd been dancing in the palm of Yuri's hand this entire time. "You and I are going to have a talk about how you treat your teachers," Zero remarked.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a frowny face on my report card, why don't you?" Yuri remarked dismissively.
Hapi and Constance got to their feet, their magic now ready for use. "I hope you're ready for the beating of a lifetime, Elfie," Hapi snapped. "Nobody uses me for creepy rituals! Not after last time!"
"Fools. You're already standing in it!" Aelfric shouted and suddenly the chalice behind him sprang to life as Yuri, Constance, Balthus and Hapi all could feel their life force draining away. But they weren't the only ones. Zero gasped, taking a knee.
"What's…going on?"
"Did you think I was simply going to cut you all and pour your blood into the chalice?" Aelfric asked.
Suddenly, all of the lights to the altar came on, and Zero realized he was standing in the middle of a giant magical apparatus. Blood ebbed out of the bodies of those caught in the Chalice of Beginnings' radius of influence and flowed upward to Sitri's body.
"You scoundrel!" Zero shouted.
"I thought you'd be a little more cautious than this," Aelfric stated. "Surely you didn't think I would be so foolish as to let you get close enough to me without a plan."
Constance looked at Zero in abject shock. "Did you?"
Zero smirked. "Not on your life, Aelfric."
Gunshots suddenly echoed through the chamber. Not just from the Ashen Wolves, but by many, many members of the Knights of Seiros.
"Have no fear, the cavalry is here!" The boisterous voice of Alois thundered as he and many knights charged into the room.
"Aelfric, you're under arrest!" The deep voice of Jeralt uttered as he walked into the light from the shadows of the entrance. "Your crimes are property destruction, unlawful kidnapping, larceny, and attempted murder. Surrender now, or face us all!"
"Jeralt…" Aelfric snarled. "JERAAAAAAAAAALT!"
Jeralt gazed up where the prone body of the late Sitri lay upon the altar. He scowled at Aelfric. "Aelfric, you have until I get up to that platform and beat your face in to explain to me what you're doing with my wife's body."
Wife? That's Byleth's…but that would mean…Jeralt lied about how Byleth was born? Jeralt…you've always held a grudge against the Church? Does this have something to do with it?
"I'm going to resurrect her, and you're not going to stop me! I will bring her back to life, something you never even thought of for the past twenty years and then she will love me. ME!" Aelfric shouted.
"You've lost every ounce of sanity I think you've ever had!" Jeralt berated. "Sitri wouldn't want this. Give me her body so Lady Rhea and I can give her a proper burial."
"If you want her, you'll have to come take her from my cold, dead corpse!"
"That can easily be arranged!" Kronya and Jeralt exclaimed at the same time. The two of them, and Ayano, prepared to jump Aelfric.
"Seize them!" Aelfric commanded as the private army he'd been buying up for ages now pounced upon the battlefield, holding back Jeralt and the Knights, keeping them from Zero's location.
"Okay, so we're stuck here and we're relying on the others to save us? That about sum it up?" Yuri questioned.
"They'll do it," Zero questioned. "We're the Black Knights. We stand together, no matter what."
"Hey, Zero, not to doomsay, but…if we don't make it out of here…I'm glad my last moments are by your side," Hapi stated, frowning.
"Don't doomsay then," Zero said, forcing himself to his feet. "We'll get out of here. After all," Lelouch said as he smiled, "We're the Ashen Wolves."
"Damn straight we are!" Balthus exclaimed. "Yo, pops, what's taking so long?" he called to Jeralt.
"Aw, quit your bellyaching and be patient. I'm not gonna let you all bite it, not like this," Jeralt stated, punching an enemy out cold.
"Hey, old man, gimme a path! With my speed, that binding mechanism is toast!" Kronya shouted.
"A path, huh?" Jeralt asked. "All right, I'll get it done in one strike!" At this, Jeralt activated his HLKMF, something Lelouch rarely saw the man do.
Decked out in a silver frame with two huge cannons mounted on some of the broadest shoulders of any HLKMF Lelouch knew to date. The frame was thickly plated and had an attachment on the back that resembled an oversized arrow quiver that was not only Jeralt's rocket thruster, but also a holding area for multiples of his primary weapon of choice: jousting lances that doubled as rifles. Jeralt took out two and fired the gun option on both, also aiming the two cannons from the wide shoulders and just started blasting. The enemies between him and Aelfric never stood a chance.
Kronya activated the Gleaming Blade and charged the apparatus holding Zero and the others hostage.
"Just a nuisance!" she shouted as she moved so quickly she seemed to be in multiple places at once.
Critical Strike!
Athame helped her absolutely destroy the magic apparatus Aelfric was using to drain Zero and the others, as the flow of magic stopped. Sitri remained dead.
"No! NO!" Aelfric grabbed the chalice and ran up to Sitri's cold, lifeless body, scanning over it, hoping and praying for the alternative.
Zero and Jeralt walked up to him side by side, Jeralt dismissing the Blade Breaker so he could talk to Aelfric man to man.
"Enough of this, Aelfric," the old knight said to him. "Sitri wouldn't want this."
"Eleven days ago would have been the anniversary of her death," Zero said somberly. "Don't desecrate the dead."
"How do you know when she died?" Jeralt inquired suspiciously.
"I saw the name on a gravestone. Didn't realize how she was related to you until today," Zero responded, doing his best to hide his emotions. "Honest truth."
"Uh huh," Jeralt's tone suggested he wasn't sure if he bought that or not, but he knew so little about Zero he decided to let it pass.
"What I want to know is how a woman who died 21 years ago is somehow in pristine condition," Zero stated plainly.
Aelfric's anger subsided as he turned to face Jeralt and Zero. "Incredible, isn't it? It's as though she remains untouched, even after all these years. Perhaps her body differs from others. Beautiful, ageless, and perfectly preserved by some secret only she knows. Whatever the case may be, it is strange, is it not?" Aelfric asked with a smile. "It's been 10 long years since I found her. I came across her body, frozen in time, deep underground. I have worked tirelessly to solve the riddle of her death and bring her back to life."
"That's enough, Aelfric. You and I go way back. Stop this now and I don't bring you back to Rhea looking like Clovis prior to him being shot," Jeralt told him sternly.
"No! It won't end like this!" Aelfric shouted. "If the blood of the four and a bearer of Macuil is not sufficient, I WILL USE MY OWN BLOOD INSTEAD!"
"Aelfric, NO!" Jeralt shouted.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Aelfric drew a knife and proceeded to try and stab himself. Zero dislodged the mechanism over his Geass, but both Aelfric and Jeralt were in his sights fighting over the knife as the Chalice of Beginnings clattered to the floor. Lelouch's mind swirled, trying to think of a command he could demand of both of them that would put an end to this without harming Jeralt.
Yet, as precious seconds ticked by, Jeralt stole the knife and punched Aelfric in the face, knocking him to the floor. Aelfric then drew out a second knife, throwing it and grazing Jeralt's cheek. Zero watched as blood from Jeralt's burn wound dripped onto the floor. Aelfric's nose was also bleeding. And then…Aelfric grabbed the chalice.
There was no time to hesitate. The freedom of choice had vanished. "Jeralt, activate the Blade Breaker!" Zero commanded with his Geass. He then retreated as power swirled around Aelfric. Red energy consumed him and Sitri's body, twisting and corrupting itself into something completely inhuman. But not Jeralt, Jeralt was protected by his HLKMF and he had just enough time to get out of the way. He then grabbed Zero and activated his thrusters, pulling back from the expansion of energy. Enemy or no, Zero would face justice alive, not caught in some disgusting ritual. He flew the man back right to where Zero's subordinates were.
"Sitri…Si…tri…SITRIIIIIIIII!" Aelfric's voice echoed all around, slowly becoming distorted and demonic.
"What the heck is happening?!" Balthus shouted. "This whole place is shaking!"
"Everyone to the surface!" Jeralt shouted.
1st Day of the Wyvern Moon
3:25am
Zero, his Black Knights, the Knights of Seiros, and Jeralt, all made it out onto the surface of the monastery, having escaped the collapse of the underground altar.
"Do you think it all collapsed on him?" Hapi asked, out of breath.
"Why must you tempt fate like that?" Yuri asked.
And indeed, the ground started to rumble and then a swirling mass of red and black energy smashed up through the street in front of Garreg Mach Monastery. The group ran out to take a look.
High in the air, beneath the glow of the moon, the most disturbing of sights did appear. A beast unlike anything Lelouch had seen in history books glided in the air under its own power. Its brown flesh was twisted and distorted, pulsing like the very red veins coating its body like a web of blood. Two black wings extended outward and blood red claws ejected outward from its limbs. But the most disturbing feature of all was the head. The almost human-like skull bore two demonic horns that jutted straight up, but the skull face had no less than 5 eye sockets, arranged like a standard pentagon, one nose socket and no lower jaw. Instead, below the jaw was a mane of blood, hardened like crystal. How the beast then roared with no mouth to speak of was beyond Zero.
"Sitri…Sitri…"
"Well that's disturbing!" Ryo shouted.
"Aelfric's consciousness is a part of that thing. Like it or not, we'll have to put him down," Shamir stated.
A roar from the disturbing looking beast and a beat of its wings then rained magically generated lances of blood, smashing nearby buildings and demolishing the Monastery's front gate archway. Its midair howl was distorted and loud, likely waking up the entire neighborhood.
Jeralt and Zero looked at each other, each almost guessing what the other was thinking.
"I'll rescue the civilians! Your team will take that thing out!"
"You rescue the civilians! My team will take that thing out!"
As Jeralt and the knights rode out into Rome to evacuate the citizenry, Zero started barking out orders. "All units! Engage Hard Light Knightmare Frames! B1! R2! Engage immediately! All others stand by!"
"What about you? You're going up there with us, right?" Balthus asked.
"Negative," Zero responded. "My Zero Matrix is out of power due to the vault explosion. For once…the king cannot ride into battle."
"Don't worry, Zero. You don't have to this time," Kronya said, stepping forward, gripping Athame in reverse grip. She turned on the Gleaming Blade. "The Black Knights are on the job!"
"Yeah, you said it, Kronny!" Hapi shouted. "Come on, everyone!"
The Magnificent Peacock, The Demonic Hellcat, The Jungle Artemis, The Shadow of Hope, The Wyvern Revenant, The Cosmic Gyro, and The Howling Timberwolf all formed up behind The Gleaming Blade.
"All riiight, time to take this baby for a live combat spin!" Balthus exclaimed, rolling his neck. He activated his HLKMF crystal and the new evolution for Rolling Thunder appeared. It was bronzer, sleeker, bearing more resemblance to a dragon than its previous form. Even Balthus's helmet resembled a dragon. "Heavy Thunder King online!" Balthus exclaimed, Vajra-Mushti equipped as his primary weapon.
"Aren't you going out there?" Lelouch asked Yuri.
"Yeah, may as well." He then lobbed the Violent Swan's HLKMF crystal to Zero before arching his back to stretch it.
"Yuri, what are you doing?" Zero asked.
"Well, the secret's out," Yuri said casually, with his usual wry smirk. "No point in holding back anymore. Feed that to your Zero Matrix. You're going to need it."
Yuri then activated a jet black HLKMF crystal of his own. This one was not whitish pink like the Violent Swan. It was dark purple with "feathers" made up of energy crystals. The hands and feet resembled bird talons, and two structures jutted out above and below the head, making it appear as if the head was being swallowed by a bird beak. Its purple eyes glowed.
"Savage Mockingbird, online," Yuri said with a smirk.
"You never cease to surprise me," Zero said, walking up next to Yuri. He did as Yuri instructed and fed the Violent Swan to the Zero Matrix. Combining one crystal into another was easy. It was just like adding a certification to it. This caused the Zero Matrix's crystal to spike outward in multiple locations, but it did not lose its coloration.
Zero activated his new HLKMF, though its form had barely changed. More gold trimmings adorned the armor and cape. Lelouch looked at the specs. The Zero Matrix was already a force to be reckoned with, but the stats had nearly doubled, including energy efficiency. New codename: Absolute Zero.
"How long have you been planning this?" Zero asked. This sudden boost in power made it seem like Yuri always one day planned to give him this upgrade.
"Oh, you know, the day I got the student roster for the Violet Tigers this year," Yuri remarked casually. "We can talk about it more later. Right now, I do believe the Captain of the Knights just gave us a job."
"Agreed," Zero replied and floated into the air under his own power. No more need for whips. "Black Knights! Those of you who can fly, follow me! Those of you on the ground, stay here and await further instruction! Let's go!"
All but the Wyvern Revenant, the Demonic Hellcat, and the Howling Timberwolf took to the air.
"Oh, yeah, sure, no, okay, fine! Leave us behind! That's cool!" Hapi exclaimed, feigning offense.
Roaring, and watching its foes approach, the demonic beast Aelfric had turned into roared and fired blood colored laser beams from hits eye sockets, which split into additional laser beams.
"Don't worry about dodging!" Zero declared, weaving out of the way with his teammates. "Let Jeralt do his job! We have ours! B1! Get above it! P3! K2! Draw its attention!"
"It shall be done!" Constance declared, getting higher into the air.
"You got it!" Balthus roared.
"Leave it to me!" Kronya shouted.
Balthus flew into the beast's face. "Pal, you are one ugly son of a mother! I don't even think your mother could love that face! So I guess it don't matter if I mess you up even more!"
Fists glowing red from the power of his crests, Balthus began literally throwing hands at the beast's skull, knocking it off balance with each blow. The beast retaliated by swiping at Balthus with his claws, but Balthus managed to evade by flying right and back. Kronya then leapt into the fray, cutting apart the monster's hand, causing it to explode in a shower of blood that then rained down like lances onto the landscape below.
However, not all of the blood fell to the ground below. Instead, the Umbral Beast seemed to reverse time and heal its own injury, roaring as it took a swipe at Kronya.
"It can regenerate?!" Ayano shouted.
"It's almost like the wound reversed itself," Shamir commented. She took aim. "Let's see if there's a limit." She began pumping the right side of the Umbral beast full of holes with her rifle, only for the blood drawn to shoot back out at her like machine gun fire from multiple guns. Shamir's Jungle Artemis weaved to and fro to try and dodge all the shots, only for Zero to watch the bloody cannonball-like projectiles to stop in mid-air and zip back towards her.
"R2! Look out!"
The Jungle Artemis hadn't the opportunity to get out of the way. Shamir looked like she was going to get blasted full of holes, possibly killed. However, before the shots reached her, a white HLKMF flew up and began cutting apart the attacks that nearly reached her. And it was holding a very familiar blade.
"Thunderbrand?" Zero questioned. "But that would mean…"
"Shamir, I know that's you in there," Catherine said, sounding disdainful, "But I'm not going to ask for an explanation. I just want you safe."
"Catherine, why are you here?" Zero questioned.
"Because I'm a Holy Knight of Seiros, that's why!" Catherine shouted. "Lady Rhea has scrambled the knights and is bolstering Rome's defenses. Jeralt's helping get people away from the area. My job is to help take this thing down!" She glared at Zero. "I may not have a high opinion of you, but as long as you're trying to destroy this thing and protect Rome, I'll side with you for now."
"Your might will be a boon to the battlefield," Zero told her. "B1! Make it rain!"
"Gladly!" Constance declared. "Releasing feather mines!"
The demonic beast was bombarded with feathery mines from high in the night sky, showered with an absolute deluge of explosions. It screamed, it howled and it thrashed about, sending blood lances and cannonballs everywhere.
"Incoming!" Balthus shouted.
Fortunately, the Black Knights, and Catherine, were able to get out of the way. Worse, the demonic beast sucked its blood back to its body and howled, healing its wounds.
"Stubborn bastard, I'll give it that."
"Sitri…SITRIIIIIII!" Aelfric's voice howled from within.
"It's sentient?!"
That's right, Zero thought, Catherine doesn't know. "That doesn't matter right now! Get out of the way!"
The demonic beast let off a blood red energy shockwave. This one caught all of Zero's forces, and Catherine, in the blast, disorienting them and knocking them heels over head backwards through the air.
"Ugh, let's hope it can't spam that," Ayano grumbled, feeling slightly air sick.
If it can regenerate, there are only two real options, hit it to the point of overtaxing its regeneration, or wipe it out in one blast. Since I don't have the firepower for the latter, the first option is my only solution. "Hit it with everything you've got!" Zero shouted. "Don't let up!"
Zero began pumping the beast full of Death Gammas. Shamir unloaded her shots. Kronya zipped around the beast, attacking it from all angles. Constance rained more mines down onto the beast from above. Ayano fired numerous energy shurikens. Yuri launched feathery missile darts from his wings, all of which exploded on contact like Constance's mines. Yukiya stabbed at the beast repeatedly with his tendrils. And C.C. launched an Agnea's Arrow at it.
As for Catherine, she and Balthus got right in front of the monster. "Foudroyant Strike!" Catherine shouted, Thunderbrand sparking red as she carved up the beast's skull, splattering it in a multitude of directions.
"Eviscerate!" Balthus shouted. He plowed through the fractured skull and through to the monster's tail, causing a massive explosion and shower of blood. The monster's remains fell from the sky and splattered down heavily onto the landscape below.
Not wanting to be left out of the action, Hapi attempted overkill by blasting the remains. Ryo joined in on the fun. Akito waited patiently on the sidelines. He didn't want to go anywhere near the bloody goop and all of his weaponry was focused for melee combat.
After a solid two minutes of doing nothing, but wail on the creature, its head seemed to reshape and roar. It floated upward and Akito took that moment to leap forward and slice it into multiple pieces with twin energy swords, causing it to rain down onto the ground in a shower of blood.
"Nice reflexes, Aki. That thing's toast now! …Right?" Hapi questioned.
"You had to ask?" Ryo complained.
The beast's blood swirled around like a living tornado and barreled towards Akito. The young pilot dropped to all fours and crawled away, leaping over a house as the blood tornado expanded ever outward.
This is bad, Zero thought. Is it going to regenerate from nothing? He then recalled the battle with the beast Miklan had turned into. Wait… Miklan's beast form had regenerated multiple times. This may have been a similar principle. "All units, dive down. Don't let it get airborne."
"Yeah, cool! What are we shooting at?" Ayano shouted.
"We have to let it regenerate and let it wear itself out!" Zero shouted.
"Are you nuts?!" Ayano shouted.
"Just do what he says!" Yuri shouted. "We've come this far listening to Zero. No sense in changing strategies now."
The group surrounded the beast, each unit hovering ten feet above the ground at most. When the demonic beast finally pulled itself together, it howled with rage. Its entire body then turned blood red, glowing.
"Watch out!" Catherine warned.
Far, far too late.
A much more powerful shockwave ripped through the air, tearing through all of the HLKMFs and the buildings, leveling the landscape and leaving Zero and the others completely and totally prone, some of whom were even injured as the attack had sheared through their armor so hard it damaged what lay beneath. The beast flapped its wings, but seemed to now lack the strength to fly. It didn't matter though. Death awaited them all. Zero gazed up, expecting the end. He had no moves. Without their HLKMFs, they were sitting ducks. Even White Lightning had been disabled.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" Catherine shouted. The beast turned to see Catherine gripping Thunderbrand tightly in her hands. True to her knightly nature, she would sooner die before anyone else got hurt.
Now out of her Jungle Artemis, and not wearing her uniform, having not expected to need it, Shamir was exposed, and standing not that far from behind Catherine. "Catherine, what are you doing?!" Shamir shouted, shocked and concerned.
"My job!" Catherine shouted. "It's a knight's duty to protect the citizenry."
Shamir…didn't even flinch now. "So, you're going to sacrifice yourself for our sake," she said stoically and the smirked. "You never change."
"Promise me one thing," Catherine requested of her. "Tell Lady Rhea…I fought valiantly to the end."
"You needn't do such a thing, Catherine. Fear not, for I am here."
The voice came through Shamir and Catherine's ear pieces. Zero had also heard it, but that was because he was in close proximity and had to duck when green fire went zooming over his head and roasted the beast before him. Stepping aside, he watched as a new combatant entered the fray. A sleek white and gold HLKMF floated towards the demonic beast and then dropped to solid ground. It walked with armor like dragon scales hugging the body. A dragon's head adorned with golden horns formed the frame's helmet.
Zero quickly took out a scanner to get info on this frame. Codename: The Archbishop. And its stats…were completely off the charts. They dwarfed even the Absolute Zero.
Rhea, garbed in her skin-hugging, white, scale-like armor, with a blue and gold priestly mantle draped over her shoulders, stepped towards the demonic beast. It fired its skull lasers at her in a concentrated blast.
Rhea forged not a sword, but a clerical scepter in her right hand and drew the blast straight to it. Her arms were pushed back, but she ultimately absorbed all of the energy, nullifying the laser.
So, this is the true power of Archbishop Rhea, Zero thought.
The scepter shot out another blast of green fire, the flames growing in intensity as Rhea neared, forcing the beast back.
"Be purged in the flames of the Goddess. Let your salvation be your death," Rhea stated calmly. Her frame's eyes glowed green as the flames already burning the demonic beast exploded in a giant green fireball. The beast thrashed and writhed on the ground as it was now being roasted alive by Rhea's flames.
Generating a pair of sleek, metallic dragon wings that had little thrusters at the peaks of the curves, Rhea shot herself into the air, but not too high, just enough to float over the monster. It managed to maintain its form long enough to fire its skull laser, blood lances and everything else it could at Rhea all at once.
"Forgive me, Sitri. I had hoped your body would rest peacefully for all eternity. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. Rest now," Rhea requested calmly. She projected a golden, spherical barrier around herself that absorbed and dissipated every attack that came her way. Then, she turned her body slightly towards the ground, arming herself with a weapon. But this was no hero's relic. This was a sacred relic. The difference was in the design. Hero's relics were often colored yellow and bore a crest stone. Sacred relics glowed blue, were known to be made of mythril—instead of whatever material the hero's relics were not known to be made from—and all of them belonged to the Church of Seiros. This specific blade was serrated all along both edges, except towards the very tip of the blade where it pointed out straight. This was known to all as the Sword of Seiros.
The demonic beast roared.
"As for you, Aelfric," Rhea commented as she turned the blade in her hands. "I shall now cleanse you of your sins. May you find peace on the other side." She then zoomed towards her foe.
"Sit…ri…SIT…RI…"
"Finesse…Blade."
Critical Strike!
Zero watched as Rhea dove head first into the bloody skull-headed beast and caused an explosion of green flame and divine blue energy, along with the usual red spark of a critical strike. He heard the demonic beast howl and watched its skull and a claw rise up through the explosive green fire. However, seconds upon seeing it, the skull and its claw seemed to rot away and disintegrate into dust.
The battle was over and, true to her status as a divine and holy woman, Rhea had saved them all. It wounded Lelouch that he'd failed to save the day, but, at least for now, he'd gained insight into seeing what Rhea could do in a fight.
I have a lot of work to do before my forces are at her level. Archbishop Rhea, savor your might while you can. Because one day, you will lie in the dust.
Rhea dismissed The Archbishop and put her sword away in its sheathe at the same time. She and Zero then met gazes face to face.
"I believe this is the first time we have met, though I imagine we've heard quite a lot about each other," Rhea commented.
It was true, even as Lelouch, this was the first time the two had ever seen each other face to face. Sure, Lelouch had been present when she sentenced men to death for treason, but they had never met gazes quite like this.
"I imagine you intend to have the knights arrest me," Zero stated. "After all, had I not taken the chalice from where you kept it, none of this would have happened." Despite the mask upon his face, Rhea could hear the venom in Zero's voice as he declared, "Go ahead, blame me like the witch you are!"
Zero was surprised when Rhea looked…confused. "I…suppose I could force the blame upon you," she said, bowing her head in solace, "But what good could that accomplish?"
Zero stomped his foot. "Are you toying with me?!" Zero shouted. "Surely you've heard what I said to Count Gloucester and to Prince Dimitri! Only a fool would not give slightest bit of credence to their testimony, whether or not I said it at all!"
"I have heard it," Rhea said, picking her head up, meeting Zero's gaze. "And know that when you move to attack the church, I will be there to stop you. But this night had nothing to do with that. And, aside from your aid to Lonato and your attack on the Holy Mausoleum, your actions since then have been nothing but altruistic, if a bit confusing. You took the chalice, yes, but you were doing so to lure out Aelfric's plot, were you not?"
How did she…?
Rhea smiled. "I am far more informed of situations than you might give me credit for, Zero. And, despite your anger towards me, I would like to think that your actions leading up until now have softened your bitter heart. The Goddess would reflect poorly upon me if I punished someone pulling themselves towards salvation."
Lelouch could hardly believe his ears. Rhea was…Rhea was pardoning him?!
"I do not wish to see us as enemies, Zero. I hope that one day you may choose to cease your anger and recognize that we do not have to be enemies," Rhea told him pleasantly.
A little too late for that, I'm afraid, Zero thought. Archbishop Rhea, you are truly a fool. If Rhea was going to pardon him and see the good in him, he was going to milk that for all it was worth. "If I am to be pardoned, I would also like to make a request."
"And that is…?"
"I want the Ashen Wolves to be officially recognized as a house at Garreg Mach, not a house of those shunned by society, but one as formal and official as the other five," Zero declared.
Rhea was shocked by this request, only to smile. "Very well. As power invested in me as Archbishop, I hereby declare that the Ashen Wolf house will officially become the sixth house of Garreg Mach's Officer's Academy."
Zero's subordinates were very surprised by this. They didn't have to hide anymore. They could stand in the light. They were no longer forced into the dark.
As a show of good faith, and to further manipulate Rhea, Zero approached, hand outstretched. He could use his Geass on Rhea right now, coerce her to do things for his sake, but he hadn't the time, not with Catherine watching. For now, he would have to settle for making it appear as if he had come around to at the very least tolerating Rhea's rule.
Rhea smiled, grasping his hand. Zero could feel magic energy in Rhea's grip. Despite her gentle nature, he could sense the power that lay within her. He could tell by the firmness of her grip, that their ceasefire was tenuous at best. The minute he turned on the church, she'd rain holy hellfire upon him and his wolves.
"Don't expect me to hang on your every word," Zero told her.
"I hope one day you might," Rhea responded with a strained smile and an even stronger grip.
And like that, Zero saw the beast within. The woman unwilling to give up control. She didn't want him as an enemy because he simply made a better ally under her thumb. Well, he wasn't going to give her that satisfaction, not in the long run.
"We shall see. But for now, I am humbled by your tolerance, your grace."
The two then firmly shook hands. Their deal was sealed beneath the moonlight.
News broke of Zero's peace with Rhea, however temporary. The insanity of the night rolling into the morning was front page news. With Aelfric gone and Rhea the ultimate savior, it was hardly ruled as a scandal. If anything, Zero's popularity dipped slightly due to the archbishop showing him up. But, he would work to correct that. Even now, many had faith that he would rise to the occasion. Still, the freedom to wander the monastery as he chose without the risk of the knights swarming him was a perk Zero greatly appreciated.
"He's certainly weaseled his way into a position we could only dream of," Hubert remarked as he and Edelgard gazed down at Zero in the courtyard from a second-floor window. "He has the archbishop's trust, possibly her guard down."
"He won't strike though, not yet. He isn't prepared to meet Rome's full might and he knows it," Edelgard stated.
"All the more reason our alliance should come soon," Hubert remarked. "He has the charisma. We have the army."
"Indeed," Edelgard agreed. "Come, we have plans to change and rearrange."
"At once, Lady Edelgard."
Whilst wandering around as himself, Lelouch took a moment to relax with a spot of fishing. He'd learned from Byleth and Jeralt in years gone past. He was terrible at pulling in larger fish, but smaller bait helped him avoid hooking in things he had no hope of reeling in.
"Mind some company?"
Lelouch looked right to see Yuri standing over him.
"Just don't scare the fish," Lelouch remarked.
"Of course, of course," Yuri said and sat down.
Lelouch continued to fish. He released a particularly hefty fish that took his worm as he reeled the hook back to rebait it. "Was I a pawn in your scheme against Aelfric the entire time?"
"Eh, more or less," Yuri admitted. "Pretty much everyone was." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Balthus sure gave me a well-deserved punch to the face for it."
"So, the Savage Mockingbird…how did you come up with that?" Lelouch asked.
"It started when I was serving Count Rowe. I ended up in a bad spot and just sort of…bluffed my way out of trouble. 'if you harm me, the Savage Mockingbird will see you pay.' Yuri quoted himself and then quoted the thug he'd been held up by. 'The Savage Mockingbird? Never heard of 'em.' 'Oh, well, you should, he's the most diabolical and notorious underground criminal mastermind in all the world.'"
"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot," Lelouch responded, putting a small fly on his hook.
"It just spiraled into its own thing from that point onward. As long as I pretended there was some big, scary mob boss that hid in the shadows that no one could see or hear, the legend ballooned out all on its own. Of course, I had the know-how and the manpower to cover my tracks," Yuri explained, sounding proud of himself.
"So how did Aelfric figure it out?" Lelouch asked, casting his line.
"He simply figured it out. He put the pieces together. It had taken him years, but he finally cornered me about it and had unassailable proof. At that point, he had leverage on me, my mother, the one person in this world I would be lost without," Yuri told Lelouch.
"So you devised a strategy to avoid dying at his hands," Lelouch realized.
Yuri nodded. "When you came to Garreg Mach, I knew exactly who I was dealing with. Jeralt and Sitri only had one child. I'd only heard Aelfric ramble about his beloved Sitri fifty billion times," Yuri remarked, palming his forehead. "Aelfric knew everything about Sitri's family tree, and Jeralt's. He probably knew you weren't a real Eisner, but he probably didn't have the extra information needed to gather all the pieces. My information network did, however. Your appearance was already striking and I didn't think the first name matching was mere coincidence. The age lined up. Nunnally lined up. Sure, Jeralt made good cover, but I was probably the one person in the entire world ready to see through the deception."
"So you enlisted Anna's help," Zero said.
"Anna and I go way back. Her merchant network sprawls the entire world," Yuri pointed out. "She used to have a shop around my village when I was just a brat. Left just before that plague swept through Faerghus too. Lucky her. But yeah, I had her design the Zero Matrix the day you came to Garreg Mach, priced it so that only you could buy it and lured you down to Abyss by peppering the right people with the right information. All in a mafia don's day's work," Yuri chuckled.
Lelouch smirked. "What once started as a mere bluff is now a reality. Well played."
"Eh, it's a gift," Yuri chuckled, tossing his head back.
Things were quiet for a bit as Lelouch reeled in a small minnow and dropped it in his bucket. He put more bait on the line and cast it back into the pond.
"How did you know I would be a good leader?" Lelouch questioned.
Yuri was quiet for a bit before answering Lelouch's question with another question, "Did you know Prince Schneizel is usually bored playing chess?"
"That doesn't surprise me," Lelouch responded plainly. He didn't question the sudden question. He knew Yuri well enough to know this had a point to it.
"The man's record is pristine. He's never lost a chess match to anyone. But, I have it on good authority that the only time he ever felt threatened during a chess match…was when he played you," Yuri explained.
Lelouch was surprised by this. All those games, all those losses, all of those frustrating days…and Schneizel considered Lelouch a threat?
"I didn't go in person of course. I had reporters ask him about you. Quote, I only ever had a good game of chess when I played against my late half-brother, Lelouch. The first time I played him, I just knew he'd be a challenge. Against anyone else, I can play chess half-paying attention, or while watching a soap opera. Against Lelouch, I must maintain my focus at all times. Even one mistake would prove fatal against him."
Lelouch's ego felt massaged in a way as he put his line back in the water. He smiled. All this time, he had no idea that Schneizel considered him such a worthy adversary. Lelouch never knew.
"Judging by that self-satisfied smirk on your face, I take it you never knew that," Yuri chuckled.
Lelouch wiped it off by staring seriously at the water. "Being good at chess doesn't make you a good leader."
"True, but it was a start," Yuri explained to him. "But all I had to do was begin to formulate the type of person you were and it all started to click. You're a good big brother, you're a smart person, you're diligent and meticulous, you're vengeful, you're competitive…and you absolutely hate to lose. All I needed to do was provide you the means and you would become the ends."
"You had to put your trust in the hands of a complete stranger," Lelouch pointed out.
"I've done worse for less," Yuri told him. "And hey, it all worked out in the end, so I'd say mission accomplished."
Things were silent for a good long while, long enough for the sun to shift its position on the horizon.
"You were always going to walk this path. I just made sure you were gonna walk it with me because I want to be part of it." Yuri stood up. "You've got the drive to stand in the spotlight and tear down the establishment and fix it as you see fit. I have the resources to manage the criminal underground and make sure it doesn't get in your way. Oh, but I do have one criticism."
"What's that?" Lelouch asked, glancing back at him.
"Rhea's not the monster you've painted in your head," Yuri told him.
Lelouch eyed him oddly.
"Sure, the establishment's a bit broken and things could stand to be different, but…I don't think the faith itself is the actual problem, and Rhea does have her good points. It's thanks to her I was even able to stay in Abyss all this time, and she's a kind person at heart."
"Hmph, kind enough to send grown men to their deaths for the slightest bit of showing aggression against her," Lelouch scoffed.
"Yeah, okay, she's a bit of a control freak, but she's letting you slide, don't forget," Yuri told him.
Lelouch's expression suggested he did not agree with Yuri's words.
"Look, I'm not saying she's not the enemy. I am saying you shouldn't remove diplomacy from the table before you deal with her. At the very least, the Goddess didn't do anything to deserve your wrath."
Lelouch stood up and put his line on the ground. "My enemy has never been the belief itself, only how the belief is orchestrated. Rhea is too controlling. This religion has turned to, in some ways, a cult. If she controls the whole world, that's too much power for one woman to have." Lelouch turned his head towards Yuri with a stern stare. "She has to be stopped."
Yuri nodded. "Well, I said my piece. You're still in charge. I got what I wanted. My mother is safe, and my friends get to live to hear another one of your exciting lectures."
"Yuri…do you want time to stop flowing?" Lelouch asked. "Do you wish that the now we have could last forever? That things could remain at peace at Garreg Mach and the world's strife could vanish around us?"
Yuri shook his head. "No. Because no matter how peaceful the here and now is, the future is out there, waiting to be seized, and no matter the ups or downs, life is worth living from beginning to end. Today could be peaceful, tomorrow could be chaos, but I want to see the day after tomorrow, no matter how bad."
"Good. Then my path doesn't need to waiver."
Yuri frowned. "Wait, were you seriously considering walking away after everything that's happened?"
"It's hard to maintain strength at all times. Even a man like me can show weakness," Lelouch answered honestly. "I've thought about it, but always living in the now would mean you're afraid of what tomorrow brings." His gaze became more intense. "I will not be afraid."
"Death before dishonor," Yuri said with a chuckle.
Lelouch closed his eyes. "Indeed. Anyway, I should get these fish to the supply freezer. We'll talk tonight for class."
"Looking forward to it," Yuri said with a chuckle.
"So that's it then? You're just leaving?"
"Mhm. Zero's my calling. I want to join the Ashen Wolves."
Ohgi and Kallen were having a bit of a chat just outside the Green Pheasant lecture hall.
"What about the Flame Emperor? What about Japan?" Ohgi asked.
"I want to see what Zero will bring the world. The world's bigger than just Japan, Ohgi and I want to be there and see the new world develop with my own eyes," Kallen told him.
"Well, if that's your decision, I can hardly stop you," Ohgi said and put a hand on Kallen's shoulder. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
Kallen nodded. "I will."
The sun was almost getting ready to set when Lelouch happened by Sitri's grave with an arm full of flowers. Byleth, Shez and Nunnally followed closely behind him. Jeralt was already there, standing over what he now knew to be an empty grave site.
"We brought flowers," Lelouch said.
Jeralt didn't say anything so Shez took them from Lelouch and just laid them out.
"What was Auntie Sitri like, Uncle Jeralt?" Nunnally asked.
Jeralt didn't answer. Nunnally shied away, feeling ignored. Lelouch pat her hand.
Byleth stepped forward. "I'm the problem, right? You don't want to talk about it, because I'm here?"
Jeralt sighed, groaning. Hey, that was progress.
"You told me you met mother after you left the monastery, but that wasn't true, was it?" Byleth asked.
Jeralt finally surrendered to Byleth's questioning. "No. It wasn't."
"I found this gravestone moons ago, but it never felt like the right time to ask," Lelouch said, approaching it, standing next to Jeralt. "What exactly happened?"
Jeralt took a deep breath and started from the top. "Twenty-one years ago, I was still a Knight-Captain in the Church of Seiros, but I've gotta go back further than that to explain my relationship with Sitri. She was always the frail sort of girl, could barely walk out of the Monastery for too long without feeling faint. I would always bring her flowers from all over Rome, treat her out to all sorts of meals. I'd done the Captain's job for many decades," Jeralt said with a smile, "And she was the first woman I was wild and crazy for."
"Why's that?" Nunnally asked.
"She was just so…gentle, and sweet. In a world as chaotic and heartless as this one, Sitri remained an untouched diamond of innocence. Animals used to flock to her and she would always sing as loud as she could during services. Our wedding occurred right at the cathedral at this very monastery."
"Awwww, that's so sweet," Nunnally said with a smile.
"Sitri didn't have family. She was an orphan, said she'd lived at the monastery for as far as she could remember. Lady Rhea always treated her like the daughter she never had. I've known Rhea for a long time. The woman's never been married, but she's always had a motherly disposition to her. She treated Sitri as if she came out of her."
Nunnally already vaguely understood the birds and the bees. This was hardly a bother to Lelouch.
"She was overjoyed when Sitri showed her the engagement ring from what I heard. I wasn't there when she broke the news to Lady Rhea. I was off on a mission." He exhaled deeply as he stared at the sky. "Whenever I treated that woman out to food, or brought her gifts, her face would light up. Flowers were her favorite, of course." He paused before adding. "All other times…she acted kind of like you, kid," he said, turning towards Byleth. "She'd stare into space, and hardly emote. It made it really easy to tell what was on her mind when she did emote though. For an idiot like me, really helped when it came to figuring her out." Jeralt then laughed heartily. He turned to Byleth, stepped towards her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "But…the happiest I ever saw your mother…was when she was pregnant with you. When the signs of you coming into our lives first started to show, I don't think she ever stopped smiling. She was so happy. I often found her knitting clothes, or making accessories. She couldn't wait to meet you."
Jeralt's face grew grave and depressed. "But…she never got to shower you with any motherly affection."
"So then the day she died…"
"Was the day you were born, yeah," Jeralt said, answering Byleth's question before she finished getting it out.
"What exactly happened?" Lelouch asked.
"I don't really know. I wasn't allowed in the delivery room. But…Sitri was in great pain almost as soon as labor started. I was already afraid of what might happen. I didn't expect my worst fears to come to pass," Jeralt replied, sounding heartbroken. He looked to Byleth. "Lady Rhea wouldn't even let me see you immediately after you were born. Apparently she had to keep an eye on you for some reason or another, only let doctor she hired see you. And I was left heartbroken, gazing at your dead mother, not even told what her final words were. All of the attention…was on you."
Things were quiet for quite the time after that. Lelouch, Nunnally, Byleth and Shez all waited patiently for Jeralt to pick up the story.
"Nine days after you were born, you were finally returned to me. The doctors were confused out of their minds. You were breathing, but you didn't have any heartbeat," Jeralt stated.
"It still doesn't beat," Byleth told him.
"Yeah, I know," Jeralt replied.
"Wait, what?!" Shez uttered in shock.
Byleth turned around. "My heart doesn't beat. That's not a hyperbole or anything," she said, putting a hand over her chest. "You can feel for yourself."
Shez, curious, did precisely that, putting her gloved hand up to Byleth's chest. Sure enough, she didn't feel a pulse. "But you like…move around…and walk and stuff."
"I know," Byleth said with a nod.
"Do you think Byleth's condition has a lot to do with her general demeanor?" Lelouch asked Jeralt.
"I've always theorized it, but…heartbeat or no, she's alive, and she's still my daughter," Jeralt said and smiled at Byleth. "That will never change."
"So the Ashen Demon's heart doesn't actually beat, how strange," Arval thought.
You don't even have any theories? Shez asked him.
Arval shook his head. "Not at all."
"…"
Byleth could feel Sothis's presence, but she seemed less perplexed and more as if she had something on her mind that she couldn't quite form into words yet.
"Is that why you can't trust Rhea?" Lelouch asked.
Jeralt nodded. "There were a few other incidents that built up to it, incidents like what led to the execution of the members of the Western Church, but…yeah, that kind of broke whatever faith I had in her. I didn't get told why my wife had died, nor why my own child doesn't have a heartbeat. So, I faked Byleth's death and I left the monastery. I intended for it to be for good, but…fate's funny like that, I guess."
"Thank you for telling us," Byleth uttered in gratitude.
"No, thank you, kid," Jeralt said to Byleth. "When you're around…I can feel your mother's presence for just a bit longer. You're a lot like her. I know, if she was still here, she'd be happy and she would tell you every day how proud she is of you."
"She's with the Goddess now," Lelouch stated, getting sentimental. "I heard about what happened. I wish her body could have been recovered. She deserved a real burial." He looked at the empty gravesite. "Not like this."
"I don't know what Rhea was thinking preserving her body in Abyss, but that's apparently where Aelfric found it according to Catherine and Seteth's investigation. Rhea's not the same woman she used to be when we met. She's changed for the worse. You kids be wary of her, okay? She might act all nice, but she has a temper you don't want to be on the receiving end of, and a shifty side to her that gives me too much cause for concern."
"What about Seteth?" Lelouch asked.
"Ha! Seteth never changes," Jeralt replied with a guffaw and a chuckle. "Always walking around like he has a stick up his ass, never able to relax. But…" Jeralt went from jovial to serious in seconds, "He still excuses Rhea's worse behaviors on occasion, even if he calls them out. At the end of the day, Rhea holds all the power, and I worry, sometimes, that if Seteth ever pushed too hard, nobody would ever hear from him again."
"Jeez, you kind of make Rhea sound like a dictator," Shez replied, frowning.
"Rhea is a dictator," Lelouch said. "She just pretends she isn't. That's what's so ominous about her when she acts all divine and gentle."
Jeralt chuckled. "I've taught you well, it seems. You always see the subtle nuances in people and what they're trying to hide."
You don't know the half of it, Lelouch thought.
"Lady Rhea always seems so nice though, especially during service," Nunnally protested.
"People have different sides to them," Byleth rationalized.
Jeralt nodded in agreement. "Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you kids didn't make mention of anything negative I said about Lady Rhea, okay? I don't want to have the awkward talk in her office about all of this." He clutched his temple with his hand. "I worry I might not come out of it breathing in the worst case."
Byleth shook her head frantically. "Don't even joke about that."
"Heh," Jeralt chuckled with a smirk. He placed his hand on Byleth's head. "Don't worry," he told her. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
"Say what you will about the Blade Breaker and the Ashen Demon, they're quite the father and daughter duo. They definitely love each other," Arval stated in observance.
Shez didn't respond with words, instead, she took an old wooden flute out of her pocket. It was her trusty Merc Whistle, but it was basically a flute. She held it up to her lips and started playing a somber tune.
Arval just smiled, saying nothing. Before long, the entire Eisner family was smiling, watching Shez play.
Lelouch watched a tear fall from Shez's right eye as she played. This wasn't just about Sitri, but also her own stepmother, possibly even Captain Berling, possibly even Lelouch's own mother. It was a send-off so that all could move on. Lelouch noticed other people coming by with flowers for Jeralt's late wife: Alois, Bernadetta, Ignatz, Hilda, Marrybell, Oldrin, and others. More and more familiar faces appeared not just to pay their respects, but to hear Shez play her flute.
Lelouch closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his face, listening to the gentlest melody he'd heard in years.
Mother…I hope that you're at peace, Lelouch told her. His fists shook. I will avenge you! I promise!
Lelouch opened his eyes when hands touched either of his hands. Byleth had his left. Nunnally had his right. Gripping their hands, they all watched Shez play. The purple-haired mercenary kept up the tune for nearly twelve minutes before finally lowering it from her lips. Her eyes had been closed for the entire performance, so she was very surprised and startled by the size of the round of the applause she received. She saw so many faces, many of whom she recognized as her fellow students. The smiling faces and clapping hands sent only one sensation through Shez's mind, as she closed her eyes, soaking in the applause with a smile of her own.
This is where I belong. These are the people I want to protect. Whether knight or mercenary…I have a goal…that's about more than money.
For Zero, classes were still held in the evening to keep his cover safe. However, shortly before they started, he met with Kronya down in Abyss.
"I never thanked you for saving my life," Zero told her.
"Don't mention it," Kronya replied sourly. "Seriously. Don't."
"I noticed you didn't go above the surface today," Zero responded.
"Oh I did, but I was in disguise," Kronya told him. "Sorry, but I can't say more."
Zero responded with a simple. "I see."
Kronya looked guilty. "I lied…earlier, I mean."
"Hmm?"
"I…when I saved you…it was for my sake, not Thales's. I…I don't feel this way about the other knights, but…but when I thought about you not being around anymore…I…I was overcome with a great sadness I'd never felt before," Kronya admitted, frowning.
"Is it because if I disappeared you would be at Thales's mercy?" Zero asked.
Kronya felt shocked and speechless. "W-well…"
"You are oppressed, Kronya, even if you don't admit it. I am your personal salvation. You don't belong under Thales's rule. You belong here with me, with the Black knights." He offered his hand. "Say the word, and I will free you from the chains that bind you."
Kronya rapidly shook her head. She then slapped his hand away. "No. I can't! I can't let you do that because…because if you turned on Thales…you would die. And…and…and you're still just an inferior beast!"
Lelouch smirked. Same old Kronya.
"I need to get ready for class. Later." She stormed off.
Kronya, one day you will have to choose. You can't walk down this road and never expect it to fork. But I hope when that day comes…that you'll make the right decision.
When Lelouch, as Zero, readied himself for class that evening, he was surprised how many people showed up for lecture, not just his usual students, but other citizens of Abyss too, even those that weren't even attending Garreg Mach. Some students from Garreg Mach had come just to hear his lecture, despite wearing pins of other houses. It was at that moment that it truly sunk in that Zero had gained the attention of the masses around him. People wanted to hear him speak. People wanted to learn from him. And he was all too ready to engage in self-indulgence.
Shez in particular sat right in the front row. Whether it was because she knew who was behind that helmet, or because she believed in Zero's cause, it didn't matter. He'd carry on regardless of her reason, but pleased to have her support. Just her being here spurred him onward as he prepared to give his first lecture as the official teacher to the Ashen Wolves.
"I thank you all for coming to my lesson," Zero said, wrapped up in his cape. "As you know, a lot of changes have occurred within Garreg Mach, so allow me to formally introduce myself to you all. I am Zero, the Caretaker of Abyss, Professor of the Ashen Wolf House, Leader of the Black Knights, and also…"
I am the man who makes miracles!
(A/N: Edge of Dawn isn't appropriate here, but neither is the first ending of Code Geass. Pick an ending and play it for a bit I guess to close this out? (shrugging noises) But yes, a true shake to the status quo: Zero now not being persecuted by the law but actually in a ceasefire with Rhea? How long can this last? Well, long enough that I can safely reveal that yes the Ashen Wolves will be a force upon the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. There's a lot of ground to cover between there and now though. No fewer than six paralogues, a whole lot of support conversations and a canon Code Geass event is on the way. Until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)