Throne of Glass
Part Three: To Seek Tomorrow
Chapter 48: A Forgotten Wish
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
An alarm sounded throughout halls illuminated in the glow of red emergency lights. He took measured steps through the chaos around him, as guards and other staff frantically scurried about, trying to make sense of their situation. They had yet to realize nothing was wrong with the prison itself, but rather everything else outside. He vaguely knew where he was trying to go, from what information on the layout he was able to gather. Ultimately, he chose to single out a lone guard, allowing the man to spot him.
"Hands up, don't move!" The man drew his gun as he approached, pointing it right at him. "How did you get out of your cell?!"
Instead of answering his demands, Lelouch made one of his own. "Take me to the communications office."
The man hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Sure, follow me."
They continued in silence, passing others who paid him no attention. After a few turns and flights of stairs they arrived at a door. "Here we are."
Before he could regain his bearing, Lelouch shot him with the gun he took from V.V. "Thank you."
He stepped past him, opening the door. The officers inside were far too distracted to even notice him enter. He did not give them a chance to. "All their comms systems are down." He muttered, looking over the consoles in the room. "Unsurprising. All their surface equipment is completely destroyed. But…"
He found what he was looking for, an emergency satellite communicator. On the surface, he would be able to get a message through. Sparing a few moments to acquire a uniform for himself, he headed upward.
He climbed dozens of stairs, steadily making his way out. Eventually, the stairs abruptly ended. As did everything else. He stood at the end, looking up at the night sky, and the gigantic pit before him where a great city once stood.
For the first time in three years, he breathed in fresh air free of his prison.
He turned on his device, pleased to see he did have a signal. "Well then, you better not have died on me, old man."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Pendragon…is gone?" Cornelia choked out.
"I'm afraid so. The Great Britannia was just outside the city, they've confirmed it." Schneizel said, his voice displaying no emotions like his sister.
"Then…the emperor?" She managed to ask.
"He was preparing to board the Great Britannia, so he was not caught in the attack. The same cannot be said for the rest of our siblings."
His words hung in the air for a few dreadful moments. "What should we do?" Cornelia asked.
"His Majesty has told us nothing yet. As far as I know, he will continue whatever he intended to do before. As for us, we cannot allow this news to reach our soldiers. Our morale would shatter in an instant. If we fell here, right after the capital was destroyed…All of Britannia would collapse." Schneizel spoke calmly, showing no signs of distress. "We continue on. If this battle is won…then we can sort this mess out."
"I…understand." She simply said.
Schneizel ended their transmission, idly tapping his chair's armrest. Truthfully, he couldn't care less about Pendragon's sudden demise. If anything, it was to his benefit that he no longer had to deal with the mass of nobles and worthless royals sequestered there. For him, and for his plans, it made no difference. Even here, on this battlefield, the outcome mattered very little to him.
But even still…
He had no doubt in his mind that Lelouch survived that attack. Whether he knew of it, had a hand in it, or orchestrated it himself. Lelouch was a man who defined unbreakable will. A mere child who lost everything he knew, clawing his way to challenge the very world that wronged him. He did not know the meaning of surrender.
A man like that would never allow himself to rot away, imprisoned beneath the earth. And every chance Schneizel offered him his freedom was declined, no matter what conditions or boons he tried to add. His brother's continued obstinance baffled him. And now, Pendragon was little more than a crater in the ground. Whatever Lelouch was now plotting, it was likely the only thing Schneizel needed to concern himself with. Perhaps he should have dealt with him while he was in Temple Tower.
But that would have been a terribly dull outcome. Though he would have loved to have his brother join him, or at least used him to his gain. He always knew that was just wishful thinking. Even as Allen Ashford, he was a man Schneizel could never have controlled.
Time and again, Schneizel found he could not follow through with the easy road. Perhaps…Lelouch simply fascinated him. He was the only one…who could truly understand him.
That, and they had yet to play a game of chess together.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Fifty more knightmares are closing in on our right flank. They're going to overwhelm General Gottwald!"
Clovis clicked his tongue in frustration. Even now, Schneizel had that many reserves to spare. Their forces had collided in earnest now, directly over the skies of New Tokyo. His forces were vastly outnumbered now, despite the damage the Mirai and their other defenses inflicted during their approach.
"Deploy the second paragon squadron to support him." Clovis ordered. The paragon's numbers were sparingly few, and their usage would be crucial to achieving victory thanks to their exceptional capabilities. But he only had so many to field, they could hardly cover a fraction of the battlefield.
"Sir Kururgi had engaged an enemy ace confirmed to be the Guren."
So, Kallen really was fighting for Britannia now. Clovis hardly knew her, but that never made much sense to him. But it was hardly something he could afford to worry about now.
"What about our saturation fields?" He asked.
"Enemy forces are approaching their positions. Estimated effect is within expectations."
He was never as clever as Lelouch, he had no grand strategy or endless supply of cards up his sleeve. Nevertheless, he must try all the same. With everything he had.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"You're not going to ask me what I'm doing?"
It was hard to say what kind of fight this was supposed to be. Suzaku could tell she wasn't exactly eager to kill him, and he felt similarly. Despite that, there was some animosity laced with her attacks. It was rather confusing.
"Does that matter right now?" He replied, deftly evading another swipe.
"I guess not. And I won't ask you why you betrayed him back then either. I suppose we both already know the answers, don't we?" Kallen said, lashing viciously with the Guren's deadly claws.
He had an idea, yes. "So where does that leave us?"
"I'm still pretty pissed, honestly." She admitted, unrelenting in her attacks. He hardly had a chance to turn their engagement around. "I won't kill you, I don't think. Assuming you try to survive, that is."
"I have no intention of dying here, at least not to you." Suzaku declared.
"Then I hope you don't mind if I use you to let off some steam."
"By all means." He offered.
Kallen chuckled. "Let's dance."
He took to the offence, attempting to use the greater range he possessed to his advantage. But the Guren was just too agile. Kallen closed the gap with ease, pushing him back once again.
"You're going to have to do better than that. Are you even trying?" She insulted him, all the while those gleaming silver claws edged further toward him.
"You're fast. It's difficult to keep up." He told her.
"You took down Nonette, twice even before she finally bought it. Don't tell me that was a fluke? Or are you actually holding back?" She taunted.
Suzaku's eyebrow twitched. Just what was she playing at, trying to provoke him?
"You were Lelouch's sword. A weapon he could trust to slay any enemy. Yet all you were good for was stabbing him in the back. You were his knight, and you betrayed him!"
"I know!" He lashed out, forcing her away. "I know exactly how stupid I am. It's been stuck in my head on repeat every single goddamned day. I let my emotions get in the way of a stupidly obvious reality, and I destroyed everything I cared about. I don't need you to remind me. I fucking know!"
Kallen smacked away his sword, bringing in her claw to close around the Lancelot's head. "Then if you know so well…When I'm done kicking your ass, you're going to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness." She could kill him right here, and there was nothing he could do about it. But she didn't. "You're not allowed to die until you do, got it?"
Blinking, he grit his teeth.
"If he could forgive me…I'd give anything."
"Well, you might be surprised."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Cornelia's mind was entirely numb. She continued to fight on autopilot, relying on years of instinct to see her through.
Distantly, she registered that her mother was now dead. As were Guinevere and Odysseus…many countless others as well. None compared to Euphemia.
Was she in Pendragon? Was she now…She didn't know. The thought terrified her, unable to be banished from her mind. Schneizel was so nonchalant about it, as if he cared not at all for the millions they had just lost.
And Lelouch…was he now lost too? Once again, would she now be robbed of her chance to settle things between them? She was painfully reminded of the warning she had been given not so long ago. Was this the choice that had been made for her?
Damn her own foolishness, her hesitation, her cowardice.
Damn it all.
In front of her, dozens of her allies were torn to shreds as countless anti air rounds hurtled from below. The deadly shots were so great in number it was genuinely impossible to evade them. "Pull back!" She quickly cried out, stopping any more units from getting caught in potential traps. A quick survey revealed several locations where such concentrated fire had devastated their forces. "Spread out, climb to a higher elevation." She ordered. It wasn't an ordinary anti air emplacement, it was more like an aerial minefield. Looking down below, she could make out the ludicrous amount of AA guns clustered together that were responsible. In such close proximity, they would be an easy target if they were used in any other manner. It was a trick that was only effective due to the nature of airborne knightmare combat. They made a risky gamble, yet the result was obvious. If there were any more of these traps waiting, they were well hidden. The best she could do was minimize the damage.
At least it pulled her back to reality. This was hardly the place to be consumed by her own thoughts. That could wait, however much it hurt.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Saturation fields have successfully destroyed more than seventy enemy knightmares."
Some good news, at least. Though it seemed they reacted rather quickly to prevent any more losses. That was why they waited until as many could be triggered at once. They could adjust the angle slightly, but the area of effect had to remain the same, or else the spread would be too thin, reducing the damage it could deal.
"The Britannian forces are now spread out as we anticipated. Form groups according to the plan and overwhelm them before they regroup." Clovis commanded. He had hoped to take advantage of manipulating the enemy's movements. They were far outnumbered, so forcing them to dissipate, they could engage smaller groups of enemies with superior numbers across each flank.
That was his hope anyway. Another card played in his ever shrinking hand. And he still had no way of knowing just how much Schneizel had left to throw at him. None of the Knights of the Round had been deployed, he didn't even know if they were on standby. The Lancelot was the single unit capable of contending with their numerous ace devicers. As long as he remained engaged with the Guren, and other prototypes would be free to sow chaos across his battleline uncontested.
Of course, the Rounds served the emperor and him alone. Without his order, not a single one of them would participate. So then where were they all, if not here?
Far from his father to actually lead a war himself, and require that his knights join him in battle. It wasn't as if he refused to send them, he had done as much numerous times prior.
Clovis frowned. It made very little sense, and it worried him a little. Though he supposed he should count his blessings.
It's not like he wanted one of them here right now.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Load those energy fillers up! Come on people, keep it moving!" Milly continued to bark orders as engineers and technicians ran back and forth scrambling to launch even their most reserved of frames. If they had a man who could pilot it, they were fielding it. Garrison pilots, trainees, hell, foot soldiers with borderline passable test scores, it didn't matter. They needed everyone. They were even working like mad to recover any downed
devicers and get them back into a machine as quickly as possible. And scrounging up whatever old frames still ran to help wherever they could. This was the kind of organized chaos Milly thrived in, yet even she could not deny the anxiety that clawed at her. Yet no matter what they threw out there, Britannia would always have more.
They were keenly aware of that fact. So they had worked tirelessly to stay ahead of their enemy's might. As airships became the next great weapon, they built them first. They built them better. And endless sleepless nights were spent developing the Paragon project. It was their hope that a breakthrough such as the Mirai could once again be their desperately needed miracle. And they had found one, in a horribly ironic way. A weapon so advanced that it belonged in quite class all its own. Power so unmatched…that it was quite literally impossible to wield.
Indeed, they had built a knightmare beyond the capabilities of any man…save one. She had known quite well that it was to be the outcome, even as they continued to pour so much time into its creation. The Fukushū Shōkan, their unreachable salvation.
"Milly!" She looked up, surprised to see her grandfather had come to the hangar. The years had caught up with him, but he looked even more haggard than usual. "Quickly, you have to launch it!"
Milly frowned. "Grandfather, I don't know what you're talking about."
"The Fukushū. You must send it…to Pendragon!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Before him was the body of a once beloved brother. He lay cold and alone, his face an frozen expression of terror completely unlike him.
"So, brother, it appears this was to be your fate. How pitiful." Charles spoke, finding he honestly did not care nearly as much as he probably should. No, in the last decade his elder brother had long since been forsaken. "To think you would be slain by the very child you so thoroughly despised. For all your efforts to crush him, all the plots and schemes against him…This was the end result."
The emperor laughed. "He is my son, Marianne's son. You should have known better. And now look at what you've done. You lost your code, the only thing that made you useful. How terribly ironic, don't you think, C.C.?"
The woman stood behind him, her face as emotionless as ever. Though Charles could see traces of disgust as she looked upon the body of V.V. before them.
"You gave him Geass in the hope that he could prevail where countless other contractors had failed. Despite the odds he achieved exactly what you wished for. He wielded that power and used it to slay an immortal being. But not the one you wanted."
"That is…" She began, but spoke not another word. What passed for frustration crossed her features, before she sighed. "I really did think he was special. You're idiot brother just had to ruin everything. Again."
A small smirk graced the emperor's lips. "I apologize for him. Had I the means to do so, I would have been rid of him long ago."
The immortal woman snorted. "Is that right? You cared for him didn't you? Could you really have done it yourself?"
"It matters not in the end. To see our dream through, any sacrifices are necessary, and none shall be in vain."
"Yes…Your world without lies."
Charles extended his hand, offering it to her. "Now, I possess the power I need. If you would permit me, I shall grant you your wish."
She looked at him, and at his hand. In truth, it had been nothing more than pettiness that kept her from seeking him out. She always knew that he was more than capable of giving her what she wanted.
Perhaps she…hoped for her true wish…
No, there was no such wish.
Not in this world.
With an empty heart, she took his hand.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Poor C.C. Without her warlock, there truly is no hope for her.
This one's kinda short. I just didn't know what to fill it out with, even taking as long as it did.