Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 27 of 27

Thread: CODE GEASS: Dirge of Daedalus (edited version)

  1. #21
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty: Siblings


    "How many were the hours that we played one against the other? So many matches, so many contests; I still remember how you gnashed your teeth and glared at me that time I beat you seven games in a row. Back then, I had experience over you that came with age. Then some years later we met in an actual struggle, with real Knights, Bishops, Pawns and Queens on the chessboard of Area 11. There I overcame you again, but only because you underestimated me. When we held a second match in that conflict, I moved my King (Damocles) in to solidify my victory, and you used your King (Geass) to win a draw between us. That draw forced you to spare my life so Suzaku, your great Knight of Zero, could take your place as defender of justice in the world. How foolish of you, my brother. You would have been wiser to uplift Kururugi to the status of emperor, bewitch me with your power to be your Bishop, and take the Kingship of Zero for yourself. Then you could have protected our sisters from the pain of being a ruler of a nation hated by the world. Had you done that, the world might have a chance against me should I lift this curse you've put upon me. But little did you or your Suzaku know that I knew there was a Geass temple somewhere in the Antarctic. I bided my time waiting for a chance to seek it out. Fate smiled upon me the day when Nunnally gave me my chance to go there. I knew as soon as I saw the coastline of that frozen continent that fate had chosen me to find a way to free myself from your grasp and undo what you had done, my brother— Lelouch.” —Excerpt from the personal diary of Prince Schneizel el Britannia, dated July 25th, 2024 a.t.b.

    "You're moving too far; tighten up your sword strokes," Enoch told Lelouch from where he sat martial arts-style on the matted floor of the now private dojo room of the Ikaruga.
    In the center of the chamber, Suzaku and Lelouch stood facing each other in full kendo armor with bokuto swords.
    "Wow, Lelouch, I had no idea you knew kendo," Suzaku remarked as they crossed swords again.
    "He doesn't," Enoch said in his firm sensei monotone. "He is drawing upon Euryale's sword fighting abilities through his subconscious from her Code."
    "And you're trying to awaken those skills in Lelouch?" C.C. asked as she and Euphie nibbled on a cheese pizza on the floor next to and just behind Enoch. C.C. had finished nearly three-fourths of the pizza while Euphie had barely eaten one slice.
    "Yes," Enoch stated flatly as Lelouch parried Suzaku with impressive speed. "And after only one week of this he's getting much better at it."
    "Can't he just try to access it through his Geass?" Euphie asked Enoch.
    "Not according to the findings of the Geass Order," Enoch told her as he intently watched the series of strikes, blocks, and exchanges between Suzaku and Lelouch. "The Code that he has still retains the experiences of every person who had it before him. According to the findings of the Geass Order, a person with a Code should be able to access those memories and experiences and use them provided their body is capable of doing so."
    Lelouch stepped to one side and dodged a sword thrust by Suzaku. He spun on his heel and flipped the wooden bokuto sword out of Kururugi's hands. Lelouch raised the weapon in a final blow.
    "Lelouch!" Enoch shouted.
    Lelouch stopped himself and saluted Suzaku with the bokuto as Kururugi reached down and picked up his own sword.
    "You two have been at this for two hours now. Are you tired, Suzaku?" Enoch asked.
    "A little," Kururugi admitted.
    "Very well." Enoch looked at C.C. "Your turn."
    C.C. stood up from the floor and accepted the bokuto from Suzaku. "Shouldn't you give Lelouch a break?" she asked Enoch with a concerned look.
    "No," Enoch said. "He needs to learn to control the influence of Euryale's personality on his own during times of weakness and stress. Her bloodlust just came out in him a moment ago, and I want Lelouch to learn to control that in a calm environment like this in case it manifests itself during a moment when it really matters. He must be master of her Code, not the other way around."
    "I understand." C.C. smiled at Enoch then turned to Lelouch. "Sorry Lulu, I hope you don't get mad at me about this."
    "I would never," Lelouch said in a soft tone. "I too understand why Enoch is doing this, and I'm ready for it because I want to master this power!"
    "Good," Enoch grinned. "Then let the match begin."
    C.C. lunged at Lelouch. "Here I come!"

    * * *

    "How much longer until we reach Japan?" Akira asked Kallen as he walked up to where she was leaning on the railing of the ventral-aft observation promenade of the Ikaruga.
    "We'll be there within a few hours," Kallen replied with a weak grin as she stared out at the rising sun on the horizon over the ocean. "Why do you ask? Aren't you happy to be home?"
    "I'm not so sure," Akira smiled at her. "I don't think Lady-Chairman Kaguya Sumeragi should have sent General Xingke out after Evita with his fleet at half strength."
    "Why? A resupply fleet is on its way to rendezvous with his armada." Kallen looked at him with a raised brow. "Their energy fillers will be replenished soon, and Xingke can track that sourly little wench to whatever island brothel Schneizel is hiding her in."
    Akira was hesitant before speaking his mind. "Be that as it may, Captain Kozuki, I still don't like running back here. Why aren't we getting replenished with Xingke's fleet? It seems like every time we take a step forward in this war we're forced to take two steps back because Zero has some new plan up his sleeve. It's aggravating...”
    "But necessary, Akira," Kallen said. "Professor Lloyd and Rakshata haven't finished with the new energy fillers yet, but Cecile Croomy has discovered that Schneizel's Gefjun wave can't penetrate water with any measurable effect on KnightMare Frames beyond a few meters below the surface due to interference from all the minerals in the sea. Thus, we're going back to Japan to acquire a submarine and hopefully new energy fillers that are Gefjun resistant as well."
    "Even so, we can't just leave Commander Wein..." Akira stopped.
    "Don't stop yourself on my account, Lieutenant Nobunaga. I'm glad you care so much about Gino," Kallen said, "considering you only knew him for a few weeks."
    Akira cursed himself inwardly. "Thank you, Captain, but I still shouldn't have brought it up considering your relationship with Commander Weinberg."
    Kallen was shocked. "Relationship!?"
    Her reaction befuddled Akira. "Well...yeah...aren't you guys a thing?"
    "NO!" Kallen put her arms on her hips. "Where did you get that idea?"
    "Well, Lt. Commander Shinichiro told us that we should be careful not to mention Commander Weinberg around you since he was your lover, and that since he was now in the hands of Duchess Evita Ernst, we were to talk about Commander Weinberg as little as possible."
    Kallen became furious, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Was it because Gino was in the clutches of Evita? Or because Tamaki was spreading rumors about her that weren't true? Or was it something else...a hurt in her heart that hadn't been there before.
    Akira took a step back upon seeing the anger in Kallen's face. "Uh...I'm sorry I brought it up Captain..."
    Kallen's fury subsided as the pain in her chest erupted into emotion. She threw herself at Akira and wrapped her arms around him. She wanted to hold someone at that moment, anyone.
    "Captain?" Akira blushed as Kallen cried into his shoulder and sobbed violently. Akira forced back his embarrassment and hugged her back. Nobunaga whispered into her ear, "Don't you worry, Captain Kozuki; I give you my word of honor; we will get Gino back."

    * * *

    "I am so pleased to meet you, Empress Nunnally vi Britannia," Athena said with a thin smile as Nunnally was escorted off the gangway of the Argos, her Knight of Orange, Jeremiah Gottwald, at her side with Jason and Heracles flanking them both.
    The great aerial warship Argos sat next to its sister vessel, the Ithaca, within an immense, domed hangar bay within the city of Tartarus, Northern District.
    "I wish I could be as cordial as you, Ms. Athena," Nunnally walked up to her slowly, "but I'm afraid that under the current circumstances, I can only say that I'm impressed with your skill as a tactician. I assume it is you who's been working this scenario of global conquest from the beginning and not my brother Schneizel."
    Athena, at six feet and three inches, towered over Nunnally as she looked down upon her. "Indeed, from nearly the very start of this operation, I have been in charge of it. Sthenno, the goddess who gave your brother his power, had no idea that I was awake and had struck a deal with your dear brother Schneizel from the time he first left this frozen waste for Kerguelen Island."
    Jason and Heracles exchanged confused looks.
    Nunnally looked towards them momentarily then turned back to Athena. "Why did you choose a path of war rather then peace? We of Britannia would have helped you leave Earth and supplied you with the necessary sakuradite if you had explained your plight to us."
    Athena frowned and raised her chin at Nunnally. "I am not interested in your charity, Empress." Athena lowered her gaze to meet Nunnally's eyes. "I have seen with my own eyes the type of kindness your Britannia has handed down to the people of this world. The thousands that have died and lived under the oppression your empire provided." Athena's expression softened. "Your brother Schneizel was gracious enough to allow me to enter his mind and see for myself what kind of world Britannia has wrought."
    Nunnally looked at her in horror.
    Athena gently put her hand on Nunnally's shoulder. "Do not worry, Empress. I also know that you are a benevolent leader; even your brother Schneizel was forced to admit that to me. You see, my power, my Geass if you prefer, forces all whom I use it upon to tell me the truth. While that may not seem very powerful to some, when combined with my skill in tactics, strategy, and warfare, it is the most powerful Geass I could hope for."
    "Are you going to use your Geass upon me?" Nunnally asked defiantly.
    "No," Athena said softly. "Even your enemies marvel at your integrity, Empress Nunnally; I've no need to charm you to know you're telling me the truth. You are an Oracle after all. It is not you, nor the kingdom that you had created that concerns me. It is the future and whoever shall come after you now that your nation is in upheaval. The world as it is now consists of two major powers: a weak, corrupt, and dysfunctional United Federation of Nations, and an empire filled with royals who, even now, usurp the rightful sovereign of their nation in order to quell their own ambitions and solidify a new imperial reign. Neither one will do."
    "But Britannia would not be in upheaval had you not intervened," Nunnally said.
    Athena waved her hand and scoffed, "Schneizel awoke Sthenno first, and she would have used him to usurp you and then put herself in your place. It has always been Sthenno's desire to rule this world, however, that cannot be allowed lest we violate the treaty we Olympians agreed to with the other former powers of γή (pronounced Gé; Greek word for Earth)."
    "Other powers?" Nunnally was intrigued.
    Athena was surprised. "Surely you know the legends of Atlantis, Mu, and the other great kingdoms of the gods?"
    "Uh...I know some of the old legends about them, but not much of the details." Nunnally studied Athena. "How can you be sure the other powers are still out there?"
    Athena gave her a mischievous smile. "Come with me, Empress," Athena motioned to the stairwell at the far end of the aerial ship hangar that led to a series of tubular structures that could only be elevator shafts, "and I'll show you."

    * * *

    "How goes the battle in Australia?" Xingke asked Tohdoh's image on the main monitor of the bridge of the Yamato.
    "We've recaptured the capitol," Tohdoh said with a sigh, "but it's still going to take a few weeks to finish routing the remaining insurgents. What news of your progress in locating Schneizel?"
    "We're currently replenishing our entire stores of energy fillers for our KnightMare Frames, but we should be under way in a few hours." Xingke brought up a window on the monitor for Kyoshiro to see. "However, I've sent a scout team to keep track of the duchess' fleet. They're currently two hundred miles from our position hovering just off the Coast of Gambier Island."
    "Gambier Island is a nature preserve now, but it did have an abandoned military installation of the old Britannian Empire there," Tohdoh said as he put his hand on his chin in thought. "That could make for a useful base of operations...but why would Schneizel allow Duchess Ernst to lead us right to his front door? It doesn't make any sense."
    "I agree," Xingke frowned. "Schneizel is not that clumsy. Chances are this is some kind of trap."
    "Agreed," Tohdoh told Xingke with a raised brow, "but we still have to check it out. It is possible that Schneizel views himself as invulnerable due to his new toy and doesn't care if we know where he is."
    "Then approaching the island presents its own problem," Xingke said with a scowl. "We can't just rush in to our doom."
    "No, I wouldn't even suggest it." said Tohdoh as he formulated a plan. "Where is Zero at this time?"
    "The Avalon and the Ikaruga have returned to Japan for resupply and to rearm," Xingke said with clear disapproval.
    "Hmmm...that's odd," Tohdoh growled. "What excuse did he use for doing that?"
    Xingke cleared his throat intentionally to warn off the nosey sideways looks his bridge bunnies were giving his way. "According to Lady Kaguya, Zero demanded that they return to Japan in order to replace their losses and pick up a few new KMFs that Rakshata had for them."
    "He's going at this on his own," Tohdoh sneered. "We're being left out of the loop on this by Zero's design, General Xingke."
    "Are you certain, Kyoshiro? We know that Kururugi is no longer Zero, thus this new Zero is a complete mystery," Xingke said with apprehension, mindful of the presence of his bridge crew. "Given the current circumstances and the actions of this Zero, we must assume that this new Zero is either that green-haired witch C2 using an incredible voice modulation device or someone else who possesses the strategic knowledge and similar voice pattern to that of the late Lelouch vi Britannia."
    "What do you mean?" Kyoshiro inquired with interest.
    "During the battle over Hawaii, we monitored some of the transmissions between the Avalon and the Ikaruga. One such communiqué was between Empress Nunnally and Zero. The conversation was very personal and loaded with undertones that would seem to imply this new Zero knows the empress personally. Also, Zero lost control of his voice during the verbal sparing, and our sound analysis technicians have confirmed that the sound wave generated by this new Zero matches that of Lelouch vi Britannia based on some of the old video footage we have of Zero's speeches during the Black Rebellion."
    "I see," Tohdoh fumed.
    Xingke was not surprised at Kyoshiro's angst. "Since Lelouch is dead, I can only assume that the Britannians must have cloned him, and this clone is now old enough to take his place as Zero, or they've found someone, perhaps a relative of his, that matches his voice almost perfectly and has intimate knowledge of the Britannian family."
    Tohdoh looked at Li with a dark expression. "Or Lelouch isn't dead."
    Xingke furrowed his brow. "No offense, General Tohdoh, but we were both there when Kururugi slew Lelouch. There is no doubt that he was killed."
    "Where Geass is concerned there is always doubt," Tohdoh grumbled.
    "I suppose you could be right, General," said Li with a huff, not wanting to argue the point. "However, that doesn't change the fact that, at least for the time being, this Zero is assisting us against Schneizel and his Greek allies."
    "That's true enough," Tohdoh said. "Although, that means we must also acknowledge that Zero is working in concert with Kaguya."
    "How do you know that?" Xingke asked.
    "Lady Kaguya is the one who sent you to follow Duchess Ernst while she and Zero returned to Japan, is she not?" Kyoshiro pointed out.
    "She was the one that gave the order to me in person," Xingke stated firmly.
    "I doubt she would have given such an order of her own accord. It's unlike her to be so strategic," Tohdoh snickered. "If Sumeragi were calling the shots on her own, then I imagine you'd be chasing after the Argos not the Duchess since Nunnally is of greater concern to Kaguya than finding Schneizel's lair."
    Xingke nodded. "I have to agree with you there. Nunnally is a dear friend of both Kaguya and Lihua. I imagine that only Zero could convince them to return to Japan while the Greeks stole off with Nunnally."
    "Which further leads me to believe that this Zero may in fact be Lelouch," Kyoshiro stated.
    "I don't follow you," said Li with a befuddled look.
    “Assuming that this new Zero knows Schneizel on a personal level,” Kyoshiro raised his left eyebrow, “we can surmise that Zero knows that Empress Nunnally would be safe with Schneizel for the time being, and thus he could return to Japan to acquire whatever equipment he would need to counter Schneizel’s current strategy.”
    Xingke sighed. “So, you’re saying that this new Zero is aware of Schneizel’s plan of action because he is behaving in a manner that suggests he knows how Schneizel thinks.”
    “Exactly,” Tohdoh said with a smirk.
    “That would suggest this new Zero has intimate knowledge of Schneizel’s thought patterns.” Xingke met Tohdoh’s gaze. “If this is the case, what would you have me do now, General?”
    “For now, just hold your position there.” Tohdoh brought up a digital window on the viewscreen. “Keep your fleet just to the north of the main Gambier Island, over one of the smaller atolls. The Indian military industrial complex has informed me that the Gefjun disturber Schneizel is using cannot penetrate ocean water beyond a few meters. Therefore, I want you to prepare a strike team of underwater KMFs as your defense perimeter in case Schneizel does use his Gefjun weapon and the duchess takes advantage of this.”
    Xingke gave Kyoshiro a short bow. “It will be done, General Tohdoh.”

    * * *

    “Don’t keep holding back on my account, Lulu,” C.C. said as she parried another swing of Lelouch’s bokuto.
    “You know I don’t want to hurt you,” Lelouch taunted her. “How would I get by without my favorite witch?”
    “Oh? Is that how it is?” C.C. snickered as she thrust her wooden sword at him. “You’d be lost without me, huh?”
    “They’ve been at this for six hours, Enoch,” Suzaku said with concern. “Lelouch hasn’t had a break or eaten in almost nine hours. You need to let him rest.”
    Enoch gave Suzaku a cold look. “No. He has learned and mastered in six days what it takes most martial arts students to learn in six times that amount in years. He can’t afford to let up now.”
    Lelouch turned his bokuto in towards C.C.’s thrust and flipped the sword from her hands. He brought the sword up to her throat. “Please forgive me, but I believe I’ve won this match.”
    C.C. pushed the wooden sword away and winked at him. “Yeah? Does that mean you’ve conquered me?”
    Lelouch took off his helmet and smiled at her. “Yes, and all your treasures are now mine, fair lady.”
    C.C. leaned in and kissed him on the lips. “I accept your terms of unconditional surrender, my Lord.”
    “Ah-HEM!” Enoch glared at them. “There’ll be time enough to reward him later this evening when you two are alone. For now, he has one more opponent to face before we’ve finished for today.”
    “One more?” Lelouch asked in surprise. “Who?” He looked at his sister and grinned. “Surely you don’t mean Euphie? Sure she’s learned how to pilot a KMF quite well, we were all trained to pilot them as children, but she's no martial arts expert.”
    Suzaku made a cutting gesture with his hand over his throat as he silently mouthed “Lelouch, don't” to his friend.
    Euphemia stood up and tied her hair back with an elastic hair-tie. “Lelouch, I’m going to have to make you eat those words.”
    C.C. passed the bokuto to Euphie as the pink-haired woman walked onto the kendo mat.
    “Ready?” Euphie asked with a wink.
    “Don’t you need a suit of armor?” Lelouch scoffed. “I wouldn’t want to hurt one of my favorite sisters.”
    Euphemia put the bokuto over her head with the tip pointed towards Lelouch in a combat stance. “I guess I forgot to tell you that I’m a seventh don in gevurah krav maga.”
    “What’s gevurah krav maga?” Lelouch asked with a disturbed expression.
    Enoch looked at Lelouch and grinned widely. “It’s a highly refined version of Israeli Special Forces hand-to-hand combat techniques and is based heavily on ninjitsu with emphasis on ending the fight as quickly as possible with the greatest amount of force.”
    Euphie gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, little brother; I'll go easy on you."
    "You're not still mad at me, are you?" Lelouch asked in a nervous tone.
    Euphie giggled, "We'll talk about it later. Right now...your butt is mine."

    * * *

    Nina Einstein walked along the white marble floor in one of the ornately decorated hallways of Schneizel’s palace as the light of the setting sun washed the whole path in brilliant copper and gold as it shone through the huge picture windows that ran along length of the hall.
    Professor Einstein was clothed in her lab coat, white breeches, and a pink blouse, all of which ruffled slightly as a sea breeze came through one of the open windows. She adjusted her hair as the wind blew it out of place, and Nina turned to look out at the ocean beyond.
    “This place is so beautiful,” she said aloud to herself. “To think that it’s little more than a prison for me.”
    “You shouldn’t say such things,” Kannon said as he rounded a corner at the far end of the hall. He was dressed in a typical Britannian noble’s garments: tight riding breeches; black, knee-high leather boots; and a finely crafted surcoat which had a pair of tails in the back and was high-cut in front. Kannon’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail held in place by a circular, braided, metal band.
    “Forgive me if I don’t appreciate being kidnapped to come here,” Nina scowled at him. “I realize that you had no choice in the matter, Kannon, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m here being forced to help a man who’s clearly lost his grip on reality.”
    Kannon hung his head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t resist him, Nina.” Kannon Maldini walked up to her and took her hands gently in his. “I never meant to hurt you, Nina.”
    “I know, Kannon,” Nina said with a slight smile. “We are all victims of Geass. Even Princess Euphemia was unable to fight against that power, and she lost her life because of it.”
    “It’s a terrible thing…Geass,” Kannon said to her as his eyes moistened.
    Nina caressed his face. “I know it is…are you still under Schneizel’s power?”
    “I don’t know…I don’t really remember when he told me to do what I did…and I can’t remember even doing it,” Kannon said, embarrassed.
    “Geass must cause a certain amount of brain damage upon the recipient,” Nina said more to herself than to Kannon.
    “Pardon?” Kannon asked, confused.
    Nina looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. “I’ve been working on something for a long time, Kannon. Since the end of the Demon Emperor’s reign, I’ve come to realize that it wasn’t Lelouch vi Britannia that destroyed the whole of the Britannian Empire, it was Geass. It was Geass that caused Suzaku Kururugi to fire the FLEIJA that killed millions in Tokyo. It was Geass that caused Britannia to invade Japan. It was Geass that caused the death of Shirley Finette, and it was Geass that has allowed Schneizel to wage this war against the world. Now, once again, it’s causing mayhem and destruction. It is because of the evil and chaos that Geass brings that I’ve been working on finding out the source of this fiendish power. How it is that it’s come into our world, and how it is we can defend ourselves against it.”
    Kannon was stunned by her admission. “Do you really think you can put an end to the power of Geass?”
    “I don’t know yet,” Nina admitted. “I don’t have enough information about it, but I do know that it manifests itself as both a mental and physical power and that it has properties which allows the body to regenerate itself with what I’ve learned is called a Code.”
    “A Code?” Kannon was intrigued.
    Nina adjusted her glasses. “Yes, a re-codification of a person’s DNA pattern and thus genetic structure through the power that Geass comes from. Oddly enough, this re-codification is temporary, and a person can revert back to a normal human if this energy is passed onto another individual.”
    Her tone startled Kannon. “You sound as though you’re going to war.”
    Nina’s expression became cold and hard. “I am Kannon…I’m going to war with the power of Geass.”

    * * *

    “You fight well for a newbie,” Euphemia giggled as she walked out of the ladies locker room in her Red Dragon jumpsuit, wiping her wet hair with a large towel. She made her way up to where Lelouch was kneeling on the kendo mat; his body shook from exhaustion as it finally rested.
    “Thank you, Euphie, but you still beat me.” Lelouch looked around the room.
    "Not really. You were pretty worn out by the time I got to test your mettle, and you held your own up until the end." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Which reminds me...you should get out of that stinky armor and catch a nice hot shower, Lelouch."
    Lelouch put his hand on the back of his head. "Yeah...you're right." He stood up from the floor and removed his set of bogu (kendo armor) as his stomach grumbled.
    “Hungry, huh?” Euphemia said with a smile. “I see Enoch and the others haven’t gotten back yet with the food.”
    Lelouch tittered, “Yah, C2 is probably trying to convince him to buy every kind of pizza on the menu."
    She laughed, "She sure does like pizza."
    "Yes, she does," he smiled back at her as his stomach protested again. He looked down at it. "I guess my body wants food, but I don't really have an appetite right now.”
    Lelouch gave her a sad look.
    She cocked her head as she asked him, “What is it?”
    “I’m really sorry, Euphemia,” he said with a sad smile. “I never meant to hurt you.”
    Euphemia walked up to him and hugged him. "I know." Tears welled up in her eyes.
    Lelouch's voice trembled, "I couldn't..." He paused to control his voice. "I couldn't stop my Geass. When I gave that order...I didn't mean it."
    Euphemia squeezed him tight. "I know...you did what all foolish boys do. You boasted about how great you are, and like all boys, it backfired on you." She laughed through her tears. "I don't remember what happened, but I know what I did, and I don't blame you for it anymore. If I hadn't been so selfish and stupid...so eager to be with Suzaku...I wouldn't have created the Special Administrative Zone and fallen into Schneizel's trap to thwart Zero."
    He returned her embrace. "But it doesn't change what I did...I can't forgive myself."
    Euphemia touched noses with him and looked into his teary eyes. "Well, I forgive my little brother..." She gave him a devilish smirk while she tried to hold back the tears that ran down her face. "For everything but shooting me...you jerk."
    Tears flowed down Lelouch's own cheeks. "You got me back."
    She kissed him on the forehead. "Yah, I did...so now we're even, huh?"
    "I promise I'll never hurt you again," Lelouch said as they hugged again.
    "Thank you, Lelouch," she cried. "I don't know why we can't just be a family...you, Nunnally, Cornelia, me...and even Schneizel. I don't understand him, Lelouch. Why is he such a monster? Why? He tried to kill us all...why?"
    "Because it's all he knows, Euphie..." Lelouch spoke softly in her ear yet his voice sounded distant. "The ghost of Charles zi Britannia lives on in him...a twisted, sick fiend who wants nothing less than total domination of the world and annihilation of all those who oppose him. I should have killed him when I had the chance."
    Euphie held his shoulders and looked directly at him. "NO, Lelouch! Don't you dare blame yourself for what Schneizel has done! You gave him a second chance and HE chose this path, not YOU!"
    The fierceness of her voice, its pain and anguish caused him to sob, "I....I tried, Euphie...I tried to make the world a better place for Nunnally...for everyone."
    "I know." She caressed his face and wiped away his tears. "Which is why I forgive you, little brother, and why we're all trying to help you. Enoch sees the good in you. If he didn't, he wouldn't be helping you. He wants you to do what's right. To defend the weak, protect the innocent, and hold individual freedom in the highest regard. It's why he and I want to help you stop Schneizel and save our sisters and our world."
    Lelouch forced a smile. "I love you, Euphemia."
    Euphie kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too, Lelouch."
    C.C. burst into the room and stopped dead in her tracks. "LELOUCH!"
    Lelouch and Euphemia were startled and broke their embrace.
    Euphie blushed red.
    "What is it, C2?" Lelouch asked as he recomposed himself.
    "You need to get into your Zero suit immediately and meet Ohgi on the bridge!" C.C. exclaimed.
    "Why? What's going on?" he asked, unnerved by her urgency.
    C.C. gave him a grave look. "It's Cornelia."
    All things in moderation...

  2. #22
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty One: Sisters


    “I remember when we used to run through the farm fields of Cyprus frolicking like wood nymphs over vineyards of olives and grapes while our mother called for us in the distance. I recall how we entered the military together. How we fought to preserve the independence of our city and ultimately our rise to power. I blush at the thought of all the men we conquered together and the nights the three of us spent sharing a bed to drive away the loneliness. The Great War was agony for me when we were forced to fight on opposite sides of the world away from each other. Then the war ended, and we were reunited for our long sleep and the journey we all hoped would lead us to a new promised land. But things did not go as planned. We overslept and might not have awoken were it not for fate smiling on us. Now one of you is gone, and a piece of me has died with you. The other is now a slave of the man-god called Zero and my heart wails in hurt and anger. My sisters, I hold these memories close to my heart for they are dear to me. Without the two of you, the world isn’t worth living in, and so it is with this vendetta in my heart that I throw off my bonds of loyalty and seek with pleasure revenge upon this world.” —Excerpt from the diary of Sthenno, goddess of Tartarus, dated November 1st, 2024 a.t.b.

    Porsche walked briskly towards the cavernous hangar bay at the southern end of the city of Tartarus. The Greek woman stopped and brushed back her long, black hair as she scanned the top of the gantry which held the Apollyon.
    As Athena’s designated gunner of the massive Titan Automatos, Porsche made her way past numerous security checkpoints, which only a few weeks prior had been dormant. Now the city, which had been asleep for thousands of years, was bustling with activity as its newly awakened denizens prepared for war with the world at large.
    The Greek Devicer came to the top edge of the 800-meter-wide (2640-foot), circular hangar silo which held the giant metal beast in its bowels. Porsche stopped at a tubular, four-man elevator container which protruded from the metal floor and entered the lift. The cylinder had a bronze metallic floor and ceiling and crystal clear walls that were uninterrupted save for the bronze doorframe and sliding door on the entry side.
    The crystal tube started down the hangar shaft as soon as Porsche closed the door behind her. Her emerald green eyes took in the awesome view of the metallic abyss as the elevator took her deep into the stomach of the city of Tartarus.
    The little elevator tube zipped down the side of the pit past scaffolding, power conduits, relay stations, and control booths until the twin spires of the top of Apollyon came into view.
    The pair of 200-meter-tall transmission towers extended up over the maintenance docks which covered the view of the lower bulk of the Titan. This level was where Porsche needed to board the mammoth Angel of the Abyss. The full height of the beast was 1120 meters (3696 feet) and its girth was 760 meters (2508 feet) from the tip of one of its four petal-like appendages to the tip of the opposite one. The four dome-shaped Aegis shield generators of the monster were clearly visible where they popped up over the maintenance scaffolding.
    A small hover-truck was waiting for her as she stepped out of the elevator tube and onto the maintenance platform. Inside the truck was a female driver wearing the helmet and armor of a Hoplite; it was not unusual, but something about this chauffer made Porsche uneasy.
    “We need to hurry,” Porsche told the driver as she got into the vehicle. “I need to prepare for takeoff immediately. Athena demands that the Apollyon be delivered to Prince Schneizel as soon as possible.”
    The female Hoplite nodded and drove the vehicle as swiftly as the little machine could travel towards the huge, mirror-topped, bronze blister that rose above the surface of the forward-facing petal structure. In moments, the machine came to a halt next to a boarding ramp that led up to an open access hatch on the side of the blister.
    Porsche looked around the area. “Where is everybody?”
    The female driver stood up and took off her helmet.
    “Sthenno? What are you doing here?” Porsche asked in shock.
    The twin sigils of Geass appeared in her eyes as she smiled savagely, “Putting my plan into motion…I Sthenno, goddess of Tartarus, command you…”

    * * *

    “She demanded we permit her to land, Zero,” Ohgi told him as the Ikaruga faced off with the Avenger and Cornelia’s fleet of aerial warships just off the coast of Kaminejima.
    “You did the right thing, Captain Nu,” Zero said as C.C., the Red Dragon, and Suzaku walked up from behind him onto the bridge of the Ikaruga. Zero turned towards the Red Dragon whose mirrored mask reflected his own. She nodded at him slightly before Zero turned back to Ohgi. “Inform Princess Cornelia that we will meet her in the main hangar to discuss the refitting of her forces with the new energy fillers.”
    “But, Zero, we can’t just hand over that technology to the Britannians!” Ohgi exclaimed.
    Zero put his hand on Captain Nu’s shoulder. “Trust me, Ohgi; if we are to truly unify the world against the Greeks, then we must be the first to extend an olive branch towards that goal.”
    “I couldn’t agree more,” Lady Kaguya said as she and Lihua entered the command deck.
    “Uh…Lady-Chairman Sumeragi…what an unexpected surprise,” Zero stammered.
    Kaguya winked at him. “You’re fortunate that I’m here, Zero. I wouldn’t want you to have to face down big bad Cornelia alone without Nunnally here to protect you.”
    “Wait...you know?” Ohgi blurted out while he looked at her then Zero.
    Kaguya glared at him. “Yes, Ohgi, I do have ears, you know, thus I am able to deduce the current status of Zero.”
    Zero cleared his throat. “I see…well then, Lady Kaguya, I trust that you’ll lend me your expertise in this matter.”
    She put her arm through his. “Of course, Master Zero.” Kaguya eyed him authoritatively. “So long as you behave yourself this time. If you do, I might reconsider our previous engagement."
    "Previous engagement?" Suzaku asked with a befuddled look.
    Kaguya, who now stood shoulder to shoulder with Zero, lifted up her chin. "Yes, my cousin, Master Zero and I were once quite close...I was too young then, but now..." She snuggled up to him. "I've certainly matured enough." Kaguya stuck her chest out to show how in six years her supple body had grown into womanhood.
    Zero coughed. "I can see that."
    C.C. grabbed Zero's other arm. "Haven't we had this little discussion before, Lady Kaguya?"
    "Oh, C2?" Kaguya feigned surprise. "Are you still here? I thought you'd be off by now sniffing for a slice of pizza."
    "What!?" C.C. sneered at Kaguya. “Why, you little…”
    “Ladies, please!” Zero barked. “Cornelia is not a patient woman.”
    The Red Dragon put her hands on her hips and cocked her head as she addressed Zero, “What is it with you anyway?”
    Zero only shrugged.
    C.C. and Kaguya glared at the Red Dragon who put up her hands defensively. “Well…women fawn all over him…I was just curious as to why.”
    “Maybe because he’s like one of the gals,” Enoch snickered as he walked onto the mezzanine of the bridge. He was dressed in a Black Knight uniform with the silver maple leaf of a lieutenant colonel on his lapel.
    Zero looked down at his rank insignia. “Think highly of yourself, do you?”
    “Always,” the amber eyed man chuckled.
    Kaguya looked at him with distrust. “And who might you be?”
    Enoch took her free hand in his and kissed it as he bowed to her. “Lt. Colonel Enoch Apsu, milady, Black Knight Special Operations Group.”
    Suzaku covered the smirk that crossed his mouth with his hand while C.C. rolled her eyes.
    Sumeragi blushed. “Oh…it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel.”
    Lihua walked towards Enoch and smiled at him. “I’m Empress Jiang Lihua.” She held out her hand. “I’m pleased to meet you also, Lt. Colonel.”
    “The pleasure is all mine, ladies.” Enoch kissed Lihua’s hand; the girl turned beet red.
    Kaguya and Lihua giggled.
    C.C. pulled Zero along. “Come on, we’d better get moving before the pleasantries get out of hand.”

    * * *

    Zero’s troop quickly made their way down to where Princess Cornelia li Britannia stood awaiting them.
    Cornelia was standing at the foot of the transport shuttle which had brought her to the Ikaruga with only Guilford as her escort.
    “I trust that you were delayed for some good reason, Zero?” Cornelia said as she came forward towards him while he and his group stopped a few yards away from where she stood.
    “Yes, I had another matter to attend to,” Zero told her as he walked forward to meet her.
    Cornelia eyed Suzaku. “I see that you managed to escape punishment for your crimes. I find it hard to believe I can trust this Zero if he chooses to spare the life of a traitor.” She looked back towards Zero. “Show me I can trust you before I even entertain the idea of an alliance.”
    Zero put his hand forward in an open palm gesture. “I understand your concerns, Princess Cornelia li Britannia, and I am prepared to give you energy fillers which are resistant to Schneizel’s Gefjun disturber.”
    Cornelia put her hands on her hips. “Energy fillers?” she sneered at him. “I’m not interested in trinkets and baubles from you, Zero.” She looked down her nose at him. “I want the truth from you.”
    “About?” Zero asked as he opened his arms wide in bodily suggestion of surrender.
    “Who you are,” Cornelia smirked. “I’m sick and tired of the childish superhero act…If I am to entertain the idea of an alliance between the UFN and Britannia, I need to know the man that I’m putting my trust in…Take off that mask.”
    Enoch walked up next to Zero and stood by his side. “Forgive my impertinence, Princess, but are you sure you want that information? It could have dire consequences. It isn’t enough for you that the world puts its faith in Zero?”
    Zero said nothing.
    Cornelia eyed Enoch with contempt. “Who are you?”
    “Let’s just say I’m Zero’s moral compass of sorts.” Enoch winked at her with a smile.
    Cornelia did not find the gesture amusing. She whipped her gunsword from its holster and pointed it at Zero. “I’ll not be trifled with by some moronic subordinate of Zero! TAKE THAT MASK OFF NOW!”
    Kaguya and Jiang Lihua both gasped while C.C. grabbed her own sidearm and unlocked her holster. Suzaku held onto the Red Dragon’s hand as she gripped him back tightly with the tension of the moment.
    Enoch rushed in front of Zero and smiled at Cornelia. “Put the gun away, gorgeous; there’s no need for hostilities. We want to help you not fight you.”
    Guilford sprinted up next to his princess and drew his weapon but left it at his side.
    “You wish to help me?” inquired Cornelia with scorn. “Then help me know that I can trust you.”
    “Zero is willing to give you what you need to defeat…” Enoch started but was cut short by Zero.
    “It’s okay, Enoch; she deserves to know the truth,” Zero said as he removed his helmet.
    “YOU!” Cornelia snapped as her face contorted in anger. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed about this moment.” She fired directly at Lelouch’s head.
    Lelouch pulled back as a hand moved with inhuman speed in front of his face.
    Cornelia was stunned as Enoch opened his hand and held up the bullet between his index finger and his thumb. “Didn’t I warn you about the consequences of seeing his face?”
    Cornelia was too shocked to respond; the others were agape at the swiftness of the cybernetic man.
    Enoch looked at Lelouch with a smirk. “I’m impressed you were going to let her have her revenge.” Apsu winked at him. “Pity we don’t have time for that right now. Besides, I think you’ve been through enough emotional boot camp.”
    Lelouch sniggered, “I hope you’re right, Enoch, because my sister is not so easily dissuaded.”
    He turned back towards Cornelia who gazed at him in bewilderment.
    “Princess Cornelia, I understand your angst against your brother, but please listen to me when I tell you that he is being honest and sincere with you and wants nothing more than to make amends for his sins of the past.” Enoch walked towards her slowly.
    Cornelia’s brow furrowed. “Sins of the past! You want me to forgive this monster after what he did!” She lunged forward with her gunsword and slashed at Lelouch.
    Enoch moved to intercept her, but Guilford fired on him forcing him to parry the rounds with his forearms to keep them from hitting Lelouch.
    “Suzaku, do something!” Kaguya yelled at him as she and the others watched in horror.
    Suzaku made a move towards Cornelia, but the Red Dragon was one step ahead of him. She outpaced him easily and ran up to intercept Cornelia, but there was no time.
    The Red Dragon grabbed Lelouch and tumbled with him to the floor to prevent Cornelia from slicing him in half.
    “I’ll not be denied my vengeance!” Cornelia bellowed. “I don’t care that you killed our father…destroyed our nation…and set the numbers free. You were right to do so, but I can NEVER forgive you for Euphie! NEVER!”
    Enoch deflected numerous rounds from Guilford's pistol before grabbing the weapon out his hand and ejecting the magazine. "No offense, sir, but that's about enough of that nonsense."
    Cornelia swung her sword down at the Red Dragon and Lelouch. "Your interference has cost you your life!"
    Princess Cornelia's sword swing was halted as Suzaku grappled with her from behind. "Stop...Princess Cornelia, you don't understand!"
    "Let me go, you little eleven bastard!" Cornelia stomped on Suzaku's shin and broke his hold. She shoved him to the ground and pointed her weapon at Kururugi. "NOW YOU DIE!"
    "CORNELIA, DON'T!"
    Cornelia froze at the sound of the female voice that had issued the command. She turned mechanically to look at the person who had barked the order only to see Euphemia's angelic face staring at her with a pleading look as she removed her helmet.
    Euphie smiled at her. "Hi," she said softly.
    Cornelia's gunsword dropped to the floor as her strength left her. Suzaku got to her just in time to catch her as she slumped towards the ground, her gaze never leaving Euphie. Her mouth moved but no words came out.
    "How?" asked Guilford in disbelief as he came out of his own shock.
    Enoch grinned, "Me."
    Guilford nodded slowly. "I understand now." He bowed his head. "Thank you, Enoch Apsu, for guarding this secret," his voice cracked slightly, "and protecting Princess Euphemia all this time."
    Cornelia's lips trembled as tears welled in her eyes. She stood up as Suzaku let her go. In an instant, Cornelia embraced Euphemia. "Oh, God, Euphie...I thought you were dead!"
    Euphemia hugged her back. "No...Enoch saved me."
    Cornelia looked at her. "Who?"
    "The moron," Lelouch said bluntly.
    "Touché, it's about time you started to lighten up," Enoch giggled from where he stood next to Guilford.
    Cornelia looked at Enoch and cooed, "My thanks to you."
    Euphie gave Enoch a surprised look as Cornelia let go of her gently and walked towards Lelouch.
    Princess Cornelia looked down her nose at Lelouch. "No thanks to you."
    "Cornelia, please...Leave what happened in the past," Euphie pleaded with her. "I've forgiven him...you must understand it was an accident."
    "What say you, Zero?" Cornelia spat the name.
    Lelouch looked down at the floor. "I have no excuse for my actions. I made a stupid mistake and it nearly cost Euphie her life."
    Cornelia’s arm flew in one swift, fluid motion as she backhanded him across the face, nearly knocking him over. "Imbecile! How could you be so reckless?"
    "Cornelia! He's paid enough for his crimes!" Suzaku told her. "It was because he thought he killed Euphie that he had me slay him. He couldn't live with himself...you saw me do it!"
    "Then how is it that he still lives now?" Cornelia demanded.
    "I can explain that," C.C. said. "Your brother is now like me. A Geass user resurrected him and he killed her thus taking her Code."
    "Meaning?" Cornelia was mortified.
    "Meaning I am now cursed with immortality," Lelouch told her. "What more do you want of me, sister? I'm now damned to live forever, and thus I will serve this world in the capacity of Zero for eternity. Is that not enough penance for me to pay?"
    Cornelia's expression softened. "You poor stupid fool. If only I had known you and Nunnally were alive when I was viceroy...I would have..."
    "Don't," Lelouch pleaded. "We all made mistakes, Cornelia...mine was taking on the world alone and thinking I could change it for the better without actually working to do so. Now I'm going to correct that mistake, and I need your help to do it."
    Cornelia took hold of Lelouch's hands. "I’ll forgive you, Lelouch, on one condition."
    He looked up at her. "What is it you ask of me?"
    "That you never lie to us again or raise a weapon against your sisters."
    He looked her in the eyes. "I promise, on my honor and my life."
    She smiled at him, "That'll do, Lelouch." Cornelia hugged him. "It's good to finally have my little brother back." Tears streamed down her face.
    "And you also, Cornelia." Lelouch returned her embrace.
    "Holy shit!" Jiang Lihua blurted out.
    "Lihua!" Kaguya laughed.
    The Tianzi put her hand over her mouth. "Did I just say that out loud?"

    * * *

    “Milady Athena.” One of the technicians within the command tower of Tartarus turned around to face her, panic in the man’s eyes.
    “What is it, Cicero?” she asked as if bored.
    “The Apollyon has just taken off without permission,” the man exclaimed.
    “What?” Jason stated with concern. “Who would dare?”
    “It’s Sthenno,” Nunnally said mechanically.
    “Are you sure, Empress?” Jason inquired.
    Nunnally turned to him and nodded. “Absolutely.”
    “Impressive,” Athena tittered. “You are, of course, correct.”
    “You know?” Jason asked his goddess in surprise.
    Athena grinned arrogantly, “Of course, I know. It was obvious to me that Sthenno would take this course of action.”
    “Then why didn’t you stop her?” Jason demanded.
    “You’re going to use her as a scapegoat, aren’t you? And allow her to destroy whatever she wants then pin the blame on her for this conflict,” Nunnally said in a horrified tone.
    “Precisely,” Athena smiled at her. “And I shall spare your brother Schneizel and your people, Nunnally. In return, I expect that you’ll purge your country of the progressive radicals which threaten to institute an oligarchy in the name of social justice and in its stead form a truly democratic republic.”
    Nunnally understood the lengths at which Athena would go to force a Greco-Roman form of government onto the whole of the Earth before the Greeks were ready to depart for the stars. She could feel Athena’s determination and resolve to either save the world or destroy it.
    “But that’s insane!” Jason barked. “With all due respect, milady, we cannot trust Sthenno not to use the core gun of Apollyon.”
    “On the contrary, my Champion,” Athena sniggered, “I fully expect Sthenno to attempt to use the core gun to fold the iron core of the Earth into deep space.”
    Nunnally was no cosmologist, but she knew that the Earth would break up into an asteroid belt if its core was jettisoned into space and all graviton force was lost. “That’s monstrous!”
    “Oh, don’t you worry, Empress; I’ve no intention of letting her get away with it.” Athena smiled, “Your dear brother Schneizel will see to that.” Athena pushed a button on a control station next to where she stood. “Won’t you, Prince Schneizel?”
    His image came up onto the main monitor of the command center. He smiled down at them, “Of course, my goddess Athena…everything is going according to our plan.”

    * * *

    Tohdoh and Captain Nagisa Chiba walked along the outskirts of what remained of an Australian military complex a little over two miles away from Sydney. Kyoshiro shook his head in disgust at the sight of the lines of mangled KnightMare Frames that were once all part of the UFN armed forces.
    “Geass did all of this,” he said under his breath.
    Chiba looked up at him sympathetically. “We had no way of knowing it would come to this, General.”
    “We should have been ready,” said Tohdoh. “We were aware of the power of Geass. We knew we couldn’t trust Britannia, but those fools in the UFN allowed themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security, and we fell right in line with them.”
    Chiba put her arm through his. “General, you’re just going to have to accept that you’re human.”
    Kyoshiro smiled at her, “Unfortunately.” He leaned down to kiss her when the air-raid sirens screamed in the distance.
    “An attack?” asked Chiba in a surprised tone.
    “It must be,” Tohdoh exclaimed. “But who?”
    The contrails of flights of Type-21s passed over their heads towards the coastline of the Australian city. In the next moment, brilliant balls of light lit up the sky.
    Chiba was on her cell phone-sized communicator in moments. “What’s going on?” she demanded.
    “Have them send a shuttle for us; our jeep is too slow, and we need to get back ASAP!” Tohdoh told her as he watched a force of aerial warships lift off from the Sydney air base some five miles away from them.
    “Kyoshiro! The Musashi has identified the enemy as a single unit,” Chiba said with frantic eyes.
    “Single unit?” Tohdoh blurted out.
    Chiba nodded at him as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. “It’s some kind of mobile fortress.”
    “Tell them to wait for us to return before they begin an offensive—“ Kyoshiro cut himself short as he saw threads of blue light rising from Sydney like rainfall in reverse. His eyes grew wide in horror as he realized what was happening. “Chiba, tell them to get out of there!”
    But it was too late. The filaments curved towards a point in the middle of the city that was level with the middle of the tallest skyscrapers within the metropolis. A ball of blue energy formed there, and then, in a flash, the light expanded over the whole of the city and engulfed it. The next instant, Sydney was gone leaving only a huge pit where it once was. The pit was rapidly filled by the ocean whose current, in turn, sucked in the Musashi and its fleet of UFN warships, destroying the entire fleet.
    Chiba and Tohdoh could only look on in horror as the spectacle played itself out before them.
    “How many of them are left?’ said Tohdoh, desperate to know if any of the airships had survived.
    Chiba was too stunned to speak.
    “Captain!” Kyoshiro yelled at her.
    Nagisa snapped out of her initial shock and pressed her communicator frantically. “I’ve got someone,” she said more calmly now. “It’s the Amagi.”
    “How far are they?” Tohdoh asked.
    “Eight miles and closing,” she answered him as a shadow passed over them.
    Kyoshiro said nothing; he only looked on in awe of the massive thing.
    Chiba’s jaw dropped. “Good God, what is that thing?”

    * * *

    “I can’t believe they’re actually getting along so well,” C.C. smiled at Euphie and Suzaku while Lelouch and Cornelia discussed their strategy to deal with Schneizel in the pair of comfy chairs in the center of Lelouch's personal quarters while the others sat at the coffee table on the far left of the room.
    “Before he was exiled, Lelouch was Cornelia’s favorite brother,” Euphie stated sadly. “It is a shame that he was taken from her. All three of us used to vacation together at the beaches on the coast of the Florida region of the Empire. Cornelia and Lelouch would always go swimming together and it usually ended up in a splashing contest. She loved his attention and he hers. It hurt her deeply when Charles sent him and Nunnally here as political bargaining pieces.”
    “No wonder she was so angry with him when she learned he was Zero,” Suzaku stated matter-of-factly.
    “Um…he shooting me had a little bit to do with that too, ya know.” She pinched Suzaku’s side.
    “Ouch! Euphie!” He feigned being hurt.
    “Don’t whine,” she teased him. “I thought you were the big bad Knight of Zero?”
    “I am.” He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “But I’m defenseless against you, Red Dragon.”
    “Okay, get a room or something,” Enoch said as he set down a bowl of fruit and a pitcher of iced tea on the oak coffee table they were seated at.
    C.C. looked at him longingly, scrutinizing his cargo. “Aw.”
    “No…no pizza,” he said with a snicker. “Shouldn’t you at least try to eat healthy once in awhile?”
    "I like pizza!" C.C. scowled at him.
    Cornelia and Lelouch looked over at them. Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "You should just let her have what she wants, don't you think?"
    "Well, if you think she deserves it, Lelouch, then maybe I can oblige her." Enoch cast C.C. a leer as he put the bowl of fruit down in front of Euphie and Suzaku and then walked out of the room. He returned a moment later with a cart that held a lidded tray atop it and numerous smaller dishes which had stacks of small sandwiches and various cheese snacks.
    C.C. gave him a wide-eyed look. "And what is under the lid of that tray?"
    "Wallach!" Enoch picked up the cover to reveal a deep-dish, twenty-inch-diameter pizza. "I made this myself," he said with a wink. "It's a triple-layer cheese pizza pie with eight different cheeses, steak and chicken filling, and an extra-thick crust."
    "For me!?" C.C.'s eyes were glistening.
    "Yes, gorgeous, all for you," Enoch smiled at her.
    "Enoch, you're the best!" C.C. clasped her hands together and looked over the pizza pie as if it were a masterpiece of art.
    Enoch handed her a plate and cut a piece of the oozing triple-layer Italian dish for her. He barely placed it on her plate before she snatched a fork and knife from the food cart and dug in.
    "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! This is divine!" C.C. said in ecstasy.
    "You cook too, huh?" Cornelia smiled at Enoch.
    "Uh...yeah," he said with unease at the look in her eyes.
    Guilford sighed and adjusted his collar uneasily.
    Euphie whispered to Suzaku, "Oh, crap, I think she likes him."
    "Seriously?" Kururugi blurted out as he poured each of them a glass of iced tea.
    Euphemia grimaced as Cornelia twirled a lock of her hair and watched Enoch intently while he placed the dishes on the coffee table. Euphie turned to Suzaku. "Seriously."
    "Lelouch, you should try this pizza; it's awesome!" C.C. swooned.
    Lelouch rolled his eyes and slumped back in his chair. "Can we please get back to planning on our next phase of dealing with Schneizel?"
    Ohgi's voice came over the intercom. "Zero, you're needed on the bridge at once."
    Lelouch got up and rushed over to the nearest control panel. "What is it, Ohgi?"
    "We have a serious problem," said Captain Nu in a frantic tone.

    * * *

    "Bring us down towards the general location of the Kraken," Sthenno demanded as Porsche flew the Apollyon high over edge of the coastline of Kaminejima.
    "As you wish, milady," Porsche replied obediently. She piloted the massive machine steadily downwards. Its bulk was concealed by the moonless sky above it as it sank into the sea in complete darkness up to its four petals, leaving only the very top of the machine exposed above the water.
    “Remain here with the Apollyon; I shall return shortly,” Sthenno stated as she moved from the inline, two-seat cockpit towards a door in its rear.
    “I shall await your return, milady,” Porsche stated with a nod.
    Sthenno entered the small craft hangar at the front of the Apollyon and got into the hovercraft that she and Porsche had come to the giant mecha in. Once inside the small conveyance, she activated it and opened the outer door. Water lapped at the edge of the small craft hangar as Sthenno drove her hovercraft out towards the shoreline that was over a mile away.
    Within a minute, she was at the shore next to the shadowy mass of the Kraken where it was anchored and surfaced next to Kaminejima.
    Sthenno wasted no time in scaling the side of the Kraken and making her way to the upper hatch. She opened the egress and entered the ship, climbing down the ladder to the interior airlock of the vessel.
    Medusa met her at the bottom on the other side of the airlock hatch with a guard detail. “So happy you could join us, my sister, but you should not have come,” Medusa told her sadly as she watched Sthenno from behind.
    Sthenno turned around revealing that her Dispeller visor was down over her eyes. “I’ve come here prepared,” said Sthenno as she used the device. Instantly, the inverted blue sigil of the Geass Dispeller filled the room.
    Medusa held her head as Lelouch’s Geass was lifted from her. “Uh…thank you, Sthenno.”
    Sthenno lifted her tiara. “You’re welcome, Medusa.” She embraced her sister and kissed her on the forehead. “I came here to rescue you, and to let you share in our vengeance against Schneizel and his wretched kin.”
    “But…what of Lelouch?” she asked, confused.
    “Who?” Sthenno inquired with irritation.
    Medusa was fidgety. “Lelouch…I…never mind.”
    Sthenno regarded her with distrust, “You mean Schneizel’s brother Lelouch, don’t you?”
    Medusa blushed. “Yes.”
    Sthenno looked down at her and brushed the stray locks of hair out from in front of Medusa’s face. “Do you desire this Lelouch so much that even without his spell upon you he still evokes feelings within you?”
    Medusa met Sthenno’s glare. “Yes,” she answered rhapsodically.
    “Where is he now?” Sthenno asked with venom.
    “I don’t know; he left with Enoch and a green-haired goddess,” Medusa answered in a sheepish tone.
    “ENOCH!” Sthenno spat. “You fancy a man who is in league with that Hebrew dog knowing that devil killed our sister?”
    “I can’t help it,” Medusa whined. “Lelouch is so beautiful. He’s like a man in a woman’s form, only not.”
    “He must be something to make you swoon so.” Sthenno cracked a smile. “If I can acquire him, I will, but for now, we must depart. Athena will no doubt send forces to come and apprehend me now that I’ve stolen the Apollyon.”
    Medusa’s eyes grew wide in fear upon hearing the name of the commander of Tartarus. “Athena is awake?”
    “Yes, and we must make our revenge swift if we are to be successful,” Sthenno told her with a grin. “I need you to pilot the Apollyon.”
    Medusa nodded. “But what of the Kraken?”
    Sthenno gave her a confident look. “Porsche will take it back to Tartarus and explain to Athena why I took the mobile fortress. Even Athena should understand that my stealing the Apollyon was no insult meant to her. Of all people, Athena should know that this is a matter of honor.”

    * * *

    “We just detected it a few minutes ago.” Ohgi was clearly disturbed.
    “What kind of enemy unit is it?” Cornelia asked as she, Zero, C.C., Guilford, and Enoch entered the bridge.
    Villetta was nervous around Cornelia and didn’t hide it. “It’s some kind of mobile fortress…and it’s big, really big.”
    “If they had wanted to attack, they could have already,” Zero said.
    “We’ve received some preliminary reports coming out of Australia of Sydney being totally wiped out by an unknown enemy unit.”
    “It’s the Apollyon,” Enoch said in a dull tone.
    “So soon?” Zero asked in surprise. “But I thought they still required more Sakuradite to power it.”
    “Apparently not,” Cornelia said matter-of-factly.
    “But why haven’t they attacked Tokyo?” Ohgi asked.
    “Good question,” Zero said.
    “Guess Medusa lied to you, huh?” C.C. snickered with a narrow-eyed look at Zero.
    “Medusa?” Enoch gasped. “Of course! That’s it!” Enoch kissed C.C. on the cheek. “You’re a genius.”
    “Really, what for?” C.C. blushed.
    “You think Sthenno is piloting that thing?” Zero inquired.
    “Where is the Apollyon now?” Enoch asked Villetta.
    “It’s submerged just off the coast of Kaminejima,” she answered him.
    “Then we need to move quickly if we’re going to have any chance of dealing with that monster easily,” Zero stated in a hurried tone.
    “Agreed,” Enoch nodded.
    All things in moderation...

  3. #23
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty Two: Apollyon
    The Angel of the Abyss

    “It was built to destroy the world; an ultimate machine of total destruction whose sole purpose was a weapon of last resort. It was constructed by the ancient Mu Empire to annihilate Atlantis but was stolen during the Great Geass War and hidden in the city of Tartarus. In essence, it was little more than a star cruiser stripped down and converted into a fold-cannon with offensive and defensive secondary armaments. It was a weapon that the Olympians had taken to prevent it from ever being used, yet as fate would have it, one of their own would be the individual who would unleash its deadly power.” —Excerpt of a news report given by Milly Ashford during the 1st Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Earth in Buenos Ares, dated January 12th, 2025 a.t.b.

    “This thing is huge!” Milly Ashford told the camera as she hung onto the side of an aerial shuttle that flew around the massive four-petal machine, which lay a few miles from the edge of the shoreline of Kaminejima.
    The wind whipped at her long, curly, blonde hair as Seiji tried to steady his compact TV camera/recorder.
    Milly pointed out into the distance as the camera panned to follow where she aimed her index finger. "As you can see in the distance, the UFN warship Ikaruga and a flotilla of Britannia warships have congregated on the far side of Kaminejima. We don't, as of yet, know whether or not they plan on attacking this new warmachine, but we do know that an aerial shuttle landed on the island some time ago, though we do not know who was on the courier or why they're on the island."
    "Something is wrong," Seiji told her.
    "What?" Milly asked in irritation.
    "I think our signal is being jammed," he said.
    "You can still record, right?" Milly rolled her eyes.
    "Yes, ma'am...I got it all on DVD." He gave her a thumbs-up.
    The pilot of the aerial shuttle called to them from the front of the craft, "Mrs. Ashford, we're being ordered to evacuate this area immediately by authority of Lady-Chairman Kaguya Sumeragi and Princess Cornelia li Britannia, acting Regent of the Britannian Empire."
    "Oh, Really?" Milly asked with a devilish grin. "Pilot, set course for the Ikaruga and tell them we need to make an emergency landing!"
    The pilot turned and grimaced. "Mrs. Ashford, you know I can't do that unless I have a real emergency."
    Milly scowled at him, "If you don't land this shuttle on the Ikaruga RIGHT NOW, you're going to have a real emergency!" She took the fire extinguisher from off the wall on the inside of the plane and unhooked its nozzle.
    "Whatever you say, ma'am," the pilot grumbled while he clicked on his headset comm. "Attention, Ikaruga, this is Civilian Flight 80021; we have a medical emergency and request immediate landing."
    "What is the nature of your emergency, Flight 80021?" Villetta asked over the radio.
    "One of our passengers has gone insane," the pilot snickered.

    * * *

    "Where did Lelouch and that friend of his run off to?" Cornelia asked Euphie as they waited for C.C. to don the Zero uniform within Lelouch's personal quarters.
    "Miss him already, sis?" Euphie giggled.
    Cornelia blushed. "What? No."
    "Enoch dragged Lelouch off to go and get something from Kaminejima," Suzaku answered Cornelia's question with a smirk. "I'm not sure what though; there's nothing down there except the Thought Elevator."
    "Well, I hope they return soon," C.C. lamented. "I don't know how long we have until that thing out there makes a move. I can play Zero for only so long while those two are off fooling around."
    "He sure is a strange one," Cornelia said to Euphie.
    "Who? Enoch?" Euphie stuck the tip of her tongue out. "Yah, he's really....different, but interesting. Would you like to get to know him better?"
    Cornelia blushed red and gave Euphemia a gentle shove. "Will you stop?! I'm just curious, that's all. Besides, I'm cautious about this stranger who seems so willing to hang out with Lelouch."
    "Sure you are," Euphie teased. "That's okay, sis; it's probably for the better since I think he's taken."
    Cornelia pouted, "You're kidding."
    Euphie laughed, "Yeah, I am...but you should have seen the look on your face."
    "Oh, really!" Cornelia grabbed Euphie at the ribs and tickled her. "Now you're gonna get it."
    "NO...STOP!" Euphie giggled uncontrollably. "Suzaku! Help!"
    Suzaku was speechless.
    Euphie doubled over onto the carpeted floor. "Cornelia, stop, I can't breathe...I'm laughing too hard!"
    Cornelia chuckled lightheartedly as she continued, "Well, you shouldn't pick on me, Euphie. It's not everyday I find a man that catches my eye, and you of all people should know it."
    Guilford entered the room to find Cornelia on top of Euphie tickling her mercilessly. "Uh...did I miss something?"
    Cornelia brushed the loose hairs out from in front of her face. "What is it, Guilford?"
    Guilford's demeanor became deadly serious. "Captain Ohgi has requested all of you on the bridge. The Greek machine is lifting out of the water."

    * * *

    "I'm not particularly interested in their puny fleet," Sthenno scoffed at Medusa from within the cockpit of the Apollyon as it rose from the depths of the ocean into the sky. "Although, I do suppose there'll be time enough to deal with Schneizel even if we do dispatch this nuisance."
    Medusa sat in front of Sthenno. “Perhaps we should just pick off the bulk of their fleet to instill terror within their leaders and illustrate the futility of their situation. Besides, don't we need to give Porsche time to escape?”
    “A novel idea, my sister, and yes, Porsche could use a distraction to get the Kraken out of here.” Sthenno tittered, "Not to mention, I'd like to see if this Zero of theirs is as powerful as we have been led to believe." Sthenno laughed wickedly. "Surely the brother of Schneizel ought to be able to defeat the might of Apollyon."
    "You shouldn't underestimate him, Sthenno," Medusa cautioned. "Lelouch is brilliant...perhaps more so than Schneizel."
    Sthenno sighed. "Don't worry, my sister; I won't destroy his flagship. I'll simply bring him to his knees...then you can do with him as you please."
    Medusa was elated. "Oh, thank you, Sthenno! I promise you that you won't be disappointed in him. He truly is beautiful."
    Sthenno couldn't help but smile. "I only hope I don't regret this."

    * * *

    "Damn, that thing is big!" Suzaku exclaimed as he, the Red Dragon, and the others walked onto the bridge to join Ohgi.
    "You two should get to your mecha," Villetta said with urgency in her voice. "The Yamato no Orochi has already been scrambled and will be launching any minute. We need every KnightMare we've got left right now."
    "I take it the Avalon hasn't returned with the new energy fillers?" Cornelia asked Ohgi.
    "No, Princess Cornelia," he said in a disappointed tone. "Rakshata said the Fuji supply group is still loading the enhanced energy fillers onto the Avalon."
    "What good are KMFs against something that big?" Guilford asked.
    "We don't know," Villetta replied. "But we've got to put up some kind of defensive perimeter if we're going to have nay kind of chance against this thing."
    "Or we might be sending our soldiers to their doom," Cornelia lamented as she looked over towards the Red Dragon. "You two, be careful out there; we don't know what we're up against."
    The Red Dragon nodded as Suzaku replied, "Don't worry, Princess Cornelia; we'll be careful."
    The pair of Hakodeshim pilots left the bridge for their machines.

    * * *

    "I don't like this, Kallen," Tamaki grumbled as he piloted his Type-21B alongside her Guren-Phoenix. The Yamato no Orochi flew in a diamond formation towards the massive structure before them.
    "We've been up against similar things," she said less than enthusiastically.
    "You have?" Gregor was surprised.
    "We once took on the Damocles," Anya added as she flew to the right of the Guren in her Type-24O Okouchi.
    "Really?" Tetsuo was shocked by the admission of his new girlfriend. "That must have been something."
    "It was," Anya snickered. "At least this new enemy machine doesn't have swarms of KnightMares protecting it or a FLEIJA launcher. We should be able to get up close to it and attack from below."
    "Captain Kozuki, what do you make of that large, ring-shaped superstructure in the center of this thing?" Akira asked as he studied the oddly shaped monster.
    "I dunno," Kallen responded as she looked over the huge mecha. "The horned center on the top looks like some kind of cannon that shoots upwards; the four petal-like appendages are probably the business ends of this mega-fortress."
    "I'll bet the sphere on each end of the side and rear petals are weapons or defense shields," Mika said. "The mirrored blister on the top front of the forward petal is probably the control center."
    "That would be my guess too, Mika," said Kallen as they got closer to the mammoth machine.
    "The two large, lozenge-shaped structures with holes on their ends at the bottom front of the forward petal have got to be cannons of some kind," Gregor said as the Apollyon dominated his viewscreen.
    "What about those beehive look'n things," Tamaki remarked as they started around the left side of the giant machine at a distance of less than a kilometer.
    "Graviton generators?" Gregor ventured.
    "Not likely, since there is one wing-shaped structure protruding from each quadrant of the lower portion of the craft," Kallen said as she searched over the whole machine for a possible weak point.
    "I'm detecting a power surge pouring into those beehives!" Lena said as she watched the sensor monitors of her Type-24G.
    A myriad of Hades Cannon blasts spewed out of the over one hundred spherical emplacements situated in strips of five to six barbettes that ran along the surface of each of the two beehive-like structures in batteries.
    The shower of beams passed by the Yamato no Orochi and slammed into the fleet of aerial warships behind them.
    "They're bombarding the fleet!" Tamaki yelled.
    "I can see that!" Kallen gave the Apollyon a desperate once over then made her decision. "All units, proceed to attack the mirrored dome. We'll destroy their command deck first."

    * * *

    "Sthenno has begun her attack, my Lord," a male sensor operator told Schneizel within the control room of his palace.
    "Excellent," he said calmly as he scanned over the three large monitors of his Pitcairn Island fortress command center. Each of the three screens showed a satellite-eye's view of a different objective: one was of Sthenno's assault on the fleet near Kaminejima, the second was Evita and Xingke's fleets near the Gambier Islands, and the third monitored the city of Tartarus as it bustled with life.
    "Have their worldwide communications been jammed?" Schneizel inquired of the man.
    "Yes, my Lord," he nodded.
    "Then all is ready," Schneizel smiled.
    "Shall we begin transmission now, sire?" the man asked.
    "Yes, please do," Schneizel said smoothly as he stood up from his throne and walked towards the center of the room.
    He adjusted his dark glasses as he waited for his communications officer to give the signal. A moment later, the man nodded towards Schneizel.
    Schneizel looked into a camera at the far end of the room in front of him and began. "People of Earth, the scourge of war and destruction that continues to plague our world will never cease until we come to understand why it is we continue this senseless fighting. Is it because of hunger, want of goods and services, or the simple desire to be free? In some cases, yes, but not now. This war which the world faces is a war of aggression brought about by the willful acts of the Black Knights and their leader who seeks revenge against Britannia. Even now, a new and terrible weapon has been borne from the depths of the Black Knight's secret military bases."
    An image of the Apollyon attacking the Britannian aerial fleet briefly replaced Schneizel's image over the transmission.
    "Even as Princess Cornelia's flotilla had gone to Japan to sue for peace, the Black Knights instead have chosen war." Schneizel put his hand to his chest. "I, your humble servant, am now looking down the barrel of the Black Knight's gun."
    The image of Xingke's fleet just off the coast of Gambier Island came on the screen.
    "Nothing will satiate Tohdoh and his Black Knights except the total destruction of the House of Britannia and all who oppose him. The Australian forces saw through his deception and chose to join me in my quest for world peace. They threw off the bonds of the Black Knight reign of oppression and tyranny, but General Tohdoh would have none of that.”
    The image of the flooded crater of Sydney filled the TV screens of the citizens of the world.
    “This man and his band of goose-stepping death-dealers have murdered millions in the name of his brand of justice. Empress Nunnally has gone missing while under the care of Tohdoh’s Trojan horse, Suzaku Kururugi, who, under the guise of Zero, led the world into a false sense of peace and security while his master, Tohdoh with his Black Knights, plotted to take control of the whole world. My sister Cornelia saw through this sham and denied the rule of the blind United Federation of Nations who willingly and foolishly fell into the trap that had been laid by Tohdoh and his Black Knights. Even as I speak to you, my fellow people, my dear sister Cornelia's fleet is being scourged by the Black Knight’s new weapon, and I am powerless to help her. I myself am now preparing to defend this last hope for the world against this league of hatred and its army of misguided warriors.”
    Schneizel’s pleading face faded on the screen as the view of Xingke’s large Black Knight fleet off the coast of Gambier Island returned for a moment.
    “They seek to destroy the machine which will end war forever.” An image of the military base on Gambier Island appeared on the monitors of millions all over the Earth. “This Gefjun disturber has the power to stop aggression, to destroy all weapons of war, and help this world create a lasting peace. It is for this reason General Tohdoh and the Black Knights seek to destroy me and all of Britannia.”
    Schneizel outstretched his hand towards his worldwide audience. “I beseech you, peoples of the world, rise up against this evil and stand with Britannia to overthrow the Black Knights and their vile leader. Rise up for peace! Rise up for freedom! Rise up for a world without war!”
    The transmission ended.

    * * *

    “What the heck is this place?” Lelouch asked Enoch as they walked through a dank and darkened hall with a massive, vaulted ceiling above their heads that ran an unknown length into the distance along the curvature of the bowels of Enoch’s Quantum Castle.
    “Oh, this is the armory.” Enoch gave him a boyish smile as he touched a keypad on the wall to the right side of them. In an instant, a large, metallic set of double doors slid open slowly revealing a pitch-black chamber beyond. Enoch walked into the inky darkness.
    “Now where the heck is that light switch?” Apsu said from the void.
    An uncomfortable silence passed by for a few minutes before Lelouch became irritated. “Hey, old man, are you still in there?”
    “Huh?” Enoch’s voice echoed from some distance within the chamber.
    “I said are you alright in there?” Lelouch yelled.
    “Found it!” said Enoch as the interior of the room was illuminated by countless overhead lights. The chamber was vast beyond reason and had four levels, two of which were above the wide walkway that Enoch stood upon and two below him.
    The floor of each level was made of some kind of clear plastic or metal. Lelouch was not sure which is was, but it was not the floor or vastness of the chamber that left Lelouch’s jaw agape; it was the myriad assembly of battle robots of clearly different make, model, type, and kind arranged in a sort of Dewey decimal system of machines arranged in lines on each level.
    “What the hell is all this?” Lelouch finally asked as he walked up to meet Enoch who stood looking through digital files on the control station in front of him.
    “What? Oh…this is my collection of mecha,” said Enoch matter-of-factly.
    “Collection?” Lelouch looked over the machines. “More like an army. How many do you have here?”
    “Only a few hundred thousand,” Enoch lamented. “Wish I had more, but I can only afford so many.”
    “Only?” Lelouch looked out at the vast rows of machines, most of which towered over any KnightMare Frame. “Only.”
    “Yeah, I know, I really wish I could afford to buy a few Mortar-Heads, but I don’t have the funds for that,” Enoch snickered. “I’ve got to buy starships and such, so I can’t afford to waste gold on high-end machines unless I’m authorized to.”
    “Starships?” asked Lelouch in disbelief.
    “Yeah, they’re in the next room.” Enoch smiled devilishly. “But we don’t have time for that right now. We need to get what we came here for and then get back.”
    “What did we come here for?” Lelouch inquired impatiently.
    “To get a few machines we’ll need to deal with the Apollyon.” Enoch grinned as a pair of symbols Lelouch couldn’t read came up on the screen in front of Apsu. “Found them! Let’s go.”
    Enoch led Lelouch up a stair that went to the third level. The two of them proceeded down a long line of machines. A bloodred machine caught Lelouch’s eye; the symbol on its enormous combat shield reminded him of that of the Black Knight's crest. “What about this one?” he asked.
    Enoch laughed. “You would pick out the MSN-04 Sazabi...that was Char Aznable's machine."
    "Who?" Lelouch asked with a befuddled look.
    "Never mind …I have a different machine in mind for you. It was my personal unit,” said Enoch as he walked over to stand in front of a large, black and gold Hakodeshim.
    "This one?" Lelouch asked in awe of the large unit. It was bigger than the Hakodeshim used by Suzaku and Euphie.
    "Yep...this one," Enoch smiled. "I believe you are ready, Lelouch. This machine is extremely powerful. I've used it to defeat many a foe and now I entrust it to you." Enoch put his hand on Lelouch's shoulder. "Remember, Lelouch, absolute power requires absolute responsibility. This machine is not to be disrespected or abused. It contains tremendous destructive power."
    Lelouch looked over at Enoch and realized how much faith this man was putting in him. "I understand, Enoch...and I thank you."
    Enoch raised an eyebrow. "Don't go thanking me just yet there, Big-Z. This machine is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is capable of defeating most enemies, and on the other hand, it will test your level of self-control. In short, just because you can destroy a thing with this machine doesn't mean you should."
    Lelouch put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I know that, old man."
    "If you didn't, I wouldn't be handing you this machine," said Enoch with a wink.
    "What's its name?" Lelouch asked as he looked up at the Hakodeshim.
    Enoch grinned mischievously. "Samael."

    * * *

    "What an emotional speech," Athena mused to Ares as they watched the end of Schneizel's grandiose presentation on the main monitor of the command center of Tartarus.
    "Do you think we can trust this prince to follow through on his part of the bargain?" Ares inquired with a stoic expression.
    "Honestly, I don't care," she replied with a grin. "We'll get what we want from Schneizel as soon as Sthenno plays out her part in this game of ours, or we'll take it from him by force."
    "Are you sure that sacrificing Apollyon is such a good idea?" Ares asked in a cold tone. "That machine has considerable military value. We may yet need it..."
    "For what?" Athena cut him short. "To destroy this world? I may be harsh, Ares, but I'm not merciless."
    Ares bowed. "I meant no offense, my lady."
    Athena eyed him cautiously. "None taken, Ares. However, you must understand my position in this. That cursed machine should never have been built in the first place. It is an abomination."
    "What of Sthenno and Medusa?" Ares inquired with a stone-faced expression.
    "They've made their own choice in this," Athena scowled. "Sthenno knew better than to proceed with her plan without waking us. She wanted this planet for herself and would have disposed of us as soon as she no longer needed Hephaestus."
    "And this Prince Schneizel? Don't you think he'll be put out by the loss of his prize?" Ares asked.
    "Not really. We've discussed this, and it was he who came up with the idea of using the Apollyon as a propaganda piece." Athena tittered, "He has your skill for tactics and strategy, Ares...changing his own desires and plans to meet the ever changing conditions of the overall campaign."
    "You mean he agreed with you that Sthenno would steal Apollyon," said Ares in a bored tone.
    "That's part of it," she snickered. "The other part came from his scientist, Professor Nina Einstein. She informed Prince Schneizel that there was a distinct possibility that her mentor, Professor Lloyd Asplund, might be able to form a defense against the Gefjun device that Schneizel has due to their acquisition of the Gorgon."
    "How could Schneizel know if they have such a defense?" Ares was intrigued.
    "He didn't," Athena said with a smirk, "until his sister Cornelia arrived in Japan and traveled to Zero's flagship. The only bargaining chip Zero could possibly have that would prevent Cornelia's forces from blowing that ship out of the sky would be an energy-core that can resist Schneizel's new weapon, or at least that's what he assumes."
    "That's a logical assumption on his part," Ares agreed.
    "I agree...but just in case Schneizel is wrong, I had Hephaestus modify the Apollyon." Athena said with a grin.
    Ares raised an eyebrow. "Did you now, my lady."

    * * *

    "Its shields are too strong!" Kallen yelled as she fired numerous energy discs at the beehives only to have them harmlessly dissipated on the gold shimmer of an Aegis shield.
    "No luck here either!" Tamaki yelled as he unloaded a salvo of Gefjun missiles at the mirrored dome. The missiles impacted the golden glow but did nothing.
    "Kallen, clear out of the way!" Ohgi commanded as the Ikaruga and its escort of Britannian ships opened fire with everything their ships had.
    Kallen and the UFN defenders moved aside quickly as the various weapon shells, blasts, and bolts from the full gamut of aerial ship armaments screamed towards the Apollyon. The bombardment caused the golden shield to shimmer much brighter than did the KnightMare weapons but little else.
    "No good!" Akira exclaimed over the radio. "We need more firepower!"
    The Apollyon unleashed a pair of massive Chaos beams from the two lozenge-shaped cannons under the chin of the forward petal directly underneath the mirrored blister. The dual beams cut a swath through the Britannian fleet and destroyed the Avenger and several other warships.
    "Mind if we give it a try," Suzaku said over the comm. as he and the Red Dragon flew up at the Apollyon from below.
    "We're not having any luck, Suzaku." Kallen felt weird addressing him as a comrade Devicer but pushed the feelings out of her mind. "So be our guests."
    The Uriel flew up and aimed the globe on its right forearm out towards the Apollyon. An instant later, a brilliant ball of blue flashed just in front of the sphere. A bright blue explosion detonated on the surface of the Apollyon, damaging the large dome on the left petal of the mammoth machine.
    The Red Dragon followed suit and fired a double blast from both of the globes on the forearms of her mecha. The already damaged dome on the Apollyon took two more hits but remained in tact.
    The massive machine flew higher upwards towards the sky, bringing its pair of beehives into a firing arc capable of hitting the Archangels.
    "Move!" the Red Dragon yelled as the Apollyon unleashed a hail of Hades Cannon blasts at the pair of Hakodeshim.
    The nimble machines dodged the shower of deadly energy with ease as Suzaku fired a second ball of blue energy at the already badly damaged dome. His energy bolt detonated on the dome, causing it to erupt in a burst of golden energy that caused the left petal to shudder under the force of the explosion.
    "That's one down, two to go!" Suzaku yelled triumphantly.

    * * *

    "Damn it!" Sthenno cried out as she and Medusa held on to their seats while the shock wave of the explosion passed through the Apollyon.
    "Our port side Aegis shield is gone!" Medusa said frantically.
    "Curse Enoch to Hades!" Sthenno gnashed her teeth as the pair of Hakodeshim started on the starboard Aegis shield generator. "Move us to core-gun range above the island."
    "What?" Medusa asked in fear of what she knew Sthenno was planning.
    "DO IT!" Sthenno snapped at her.
    "But the core-gun will drain all our energy while it powers up...our shields..." Medusa started to protest.
    Sthenno cut her off, "I know what will happen, but our shields won't last much longer anyway!"
    "But the planet will be destroyed!" Medusa turned to look at her sister.
    Sthenno glared at her. "I'm aware of that, Medusa, but I will not go down until I have my revenge, and no one will stop me! Now move us into position!" The twin sigils of Geass formed in her eyes, but she did not cast her power on Medusa.
    Medusa turned away from her in horror. "I understand, Sthenno."

    * * *

    "What the hell was that all about?" Ohgi commented as Schneizel's speech came to a close over their airwaves.
    "Move the Ikaruga away from the enemy machine," said C.C. from under the mask of Zero as the hail of enemy weapon fire stopped.
    "What? You want us to retreat?" Cornelia snarled.
    The mask of Zero looked at her as C.C.'s modulated voice spoke, "It is obvious this thing is preparing to use some kind of new weapon system, and Schneizel knows it. There is no doubt in my mind that he timed that speech with this attack. My guess is that the ring in the center of that monster is some kind of weapon, and they're moving above us in order to get out of the way of whatever that thing can do."
    Cornelia turned her head in embarrassment. "You're probably right. Villetta, please contact the remainder of my fleet and tell them to withdraw with us."
    Villetta nodded as a blue-white sphere began forming within the center of the ring-shaped superstructure of the Apollyon.

    * * *

    "You want us to retreat?" Kallen was stunned. "But its shields are down; we can take it out!" exclaimed Captain Kozuki as she fired a salvo of energy discs into the portside beehive structure. Her volley did minor damage to the Titan class Automatos but destroyed two of the many Hades Cannons nonetheless.
    "There's no time for that," Ohgi told her as a blue glow emanated from the open space at the center of the massive machine. "Zero says that thing is preparing to fire some kind of super weapon, and I'm inclined to agree with him."
    "Then we need to take it out before it can fire." Kallen flipped her radio over to its general frequency as the blue-white globe of Apollyon filled the space of the ring and intensified. "Attention, all units, we've been ordered to return to Ikaruga at once. That includes you too, Suzaku, but I think we can take that thing."
    Tamaki cheered, "Hell yah! We can defeat it before it fires that weapon!"
    "None of you have to follow me on this because we're disobeying a direct order," Kallen said calmly. "I want only volunteers for this."
    "I'm in!" said Tamaki with a hurrah.
    "Me too," Akira told her.
    "We're all with you, Captain; we can't let you face this thing alone when we've got a chance to beat it," the Red Dragon said with confidence.
    The others concurred.
    "Very well then, let's do this!" Kallen led the flight of mecha up towards the rapidly climbing enemy machine.

    * * *

    "They're moving their capital ships away from us while their mecha have given pursuit. They must know we're preparing to fire," Medusa told Sthenno as she settled the Apollyon into position some fifty miles above the surface of the ocean.
    "It doesn't matter," Sthenno hissed. "Nothing can save them now." She watched as her control station monitor showed the power buildup of her machine reach one hundred percent. Sthenno pulled the trigger of the core-gun.
    Instantly, the blue-white globe in the central ring disappeared with a flash.
    Medusa looked down at the planet waiting for it to start breaking up.
    Several long seconds passed.
    "What happened?" Sthenno asked, knowing that more than enough time had elapsed. "It should have started breaking up instantly..." A blue glow high above them silenced her.
    Medusa worked her navigational controls frantically looking for the defolded iron core of the Earth. "I've found the point of the defold, but there's nothing there."
    "That BITCH!!!" Sthenno's face contorted in a rage of fury as she pounded down on the control panel. She furiously tapped the controls of her monitor until she found what she was looking for. "That bastard Hephaestus has disabled the mass-detector of the core-gun. It can't lock onto to anything to transport."
    Medusa held back a smile of relief. "Then we'll just have to destroy the UFN fleet without it."
    Sthenno thought to lash out and strike Medusa but knew it was not her sister's fault and let her anger wash over her. "You are right, my sister. We'll destroy this planet city by city...we still have the fold-cannon."
    "I've restored all power to our remaining shields and weapons. Shall I move us into attack position?" Medusa asked cautiously.
    "Immediately," said Sthenno in a tone laced with bloodlust.

    * * *

    "They're coming back down," Anya said as she and the other Devicers made their way towards the Apollyon.
    "Guess whatever they did was a dud," Gregor snickered.
    "That may be, but it doesn't make that thing any less dangerous," Akira said as he slowed his KnightMare Frame down in anticipation of the attack he knew was soon to come. "Kallen," Akira's voice came over her radio, "it looks like they misfired their weapon. Now may be our last chance to take that thing out."
    "I understand, Akira," Kozuki replied as their units came up through the clouds and in sight of the Apollyon. "All KnightMare Frame units, listen up. We may have only one chance at this monster, and we need to make the best of it. Suzaku, you and the Red Dragon will focus on knocking out their shield generators to prevent them from restoring them. Akira, you, Mika, and Lena will focus on the left beehive unit. Anya, you, Gregor, and Tetsuo will take on the right side beehive unit. I'm going in for the mirrored command center."
    "Roger!" said her teammates in unison.

    * * *

    The Yamato no Orochi and its Hakodeshim companions flew up towards the Apollyon with weapons blazing.
    Their salvos were met by the shimmer of the Aegis shields while the blue globes of the Hakodeshim impacted on the starboard generator dome.
    Sthenno opened up her radio to the UFN frequency as she unleashed a full salvo of Hades Cannon blasts against them. "Fools, do you really think you stand a chance against the Apollyon?" Sthenno activated another weapon as she targeted the Hakodeshim. "This machine was built to fight Archangels as well as Automatos."
    A sphere of blue-green formed between the horns at the top center of the giant mecha. In an instant, the sphere released a flash of green similar to that of the Hakodeshim blue-sphere weapon.
    The flash reappeared on the left side of the Red Dragon's Archangel. Euphie rolled her mecha out of the way of a direct hit, but the green globe managed to graze her machine's shield, knocking it out while a second flash emanated from the sphere in the center of the horns.
    "Noooo!" Suzaku screamed as he used the Gabriel to protect the Uriel. The green flash impacted the shield of his mecha and caused Gabriel to crash into the Uriel. Both mecha fell away from the Apollyon before they recovered.
    "You are like flies which only need be swatted into oblivion!" Sthenno pushed a digital button on her display causing the Hades Cannons to shift into a low-power, rapid-fire mode which shot forth thousands of beams in succession at the Yamato no Orochi.
    "I can't dodge them!" Tamaki yelled as he used the Omnidirectional Enhanced Absolute Protection Energy Shield of his Type-21B to try to deflect the beams; his shield protected him but he could not attack.
    "The beams are too strong!" Anya yelled over the comm. while her Okouchi tried in vain to deflect the beams with its combination Blaze Luminous/Anti-Hadron shoulder shield, but two of the beams got through, destroying the right shoulder shield and arm of her machine before she retreated.
    Sthenno cackled over the radio as the fold-cannon reached full power, "Now you shall see the power of Apollyon!"
    "Not if I have anything to say about it," Lelouch said over the radio in his Zero voice as a pair of golden energy beams streaked from the clouds below the Apollyon and cut off two of the massive machine's wing units.
    "What the..." Sthenno gasped over the radio.
    A single Hakodeshim burst up through the clouds, its gold highlights glinting in the raw sunlight.
    "My God! That's the Samael!" Medusa exclaimed in fear.
    "Who the hell are you?" Sthenno hissed.
    Lelouch gave her a cold laugh as he aimed the forearm cannon of his Hakodeshim at the Apollyon. "I am ZERO!"
    Last edited by Kodai Okuda; 09-30-2010 at 06:03 AM.
    All things in moderation...

  4. #24
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty Three: Abaddon
    The Angel of the Destruction


    “Love and hate are intimately related emotions which we seldom are able to separate within our minds. These passions are what drive many of us to do both great and horrible things, to conquer and to destroy. Such is the power of these emotions that men and women are sometimes driven by them to the point of insanity when our love is rejected and our hatred swells to insurmountable levels within us. Such was the case in the final battles of the war with Tartarus as we would all soon learn.” —Excerpt from Enoch Apsu’s World of Geass report, dated 5.03121 GS (Galactic Standard).

    “I am ZERO!” Lelouch yelled over the radio as he fired a deadly, golden beam from the large, yellow orb of energy that swirled at the end of the flashlight-shaped structure that was housed in a circular frame on the left forearm of his Hakodeshim. The ray of doom sped towards the twin-horned structure on the top of Apollyon at the speed of light.
    “That’s him!” Medusa yelled at Sthenno as the beam from Samael sliced the twin horns off Apollyon in one smooth swath.
    “Do you think I care at this moment, Medusa?” Sthenno yelled in frustration while the green-globe-generating beam weapon detonated in a massive burst of energy, which caused secondary explosions all over the Apollyon.
    Suzaku and the Red Dragon flew up at the massive mobile fortress with their Hakodeshim, each with their twin beam-sabers drawn.
    The Gabriel slashed at the port beehive of the mammoth mecha with Suzaku’s signature spin attack, turning the twin blades into a buzz saw of beam energy. He cut through the point which held the beehive in place under the left petal of the monstrous Automatos, which caused the Hades Cannon battery to fall away and blow up into thousands of fragments.
    The Red Dragon was not to be outdone as she cut through the outer shell of the starboard beehive and fired a burst of blue-globes into the structure. In the next instant, the beehive erupted in a detonation of Hades Cannon energy, causing the Aegis shield generator above it to explode upwards.
    “Show off,” Lelouch teased Euphie.
    “No kidding,” Suzaku laughed.
    “Pffft, I’m not gonna get outdone by you two,” she giggled.
    “Ahem! Hey, kids, giant enemy Titan Automatos…remember?” Enoch scolded them as he flew up through the cloud layer in an emerald-green mecha similar to the Hakodeshim that Euphie and Suzaku piloted.
    “I know that voice!” Sthenno hissed over the radio.
    “Well, well,” Enoch snickered, “if it isn’t my old girlfriend Sthenno. You know, doll, you really should surrender; even Apollyon is no match for four Archangels.”
    “You bastard,” Sthenno cursed. “You think you’ve won? Hah!” She activated the fold-cannon of the massive machine.
    “Sthenno, what are you doing?” Medusa asked frantically.
    “Ending this,” she replied as she set the weapon to overload and looked down at her sister and sighed. “I don’t intend on dying with this thing; you know what to do.”
    Medusa’s eyes showed that she registered Sthenno’s silent command. Medusa began typing away on her control console as quickly as her fingers would allow.
    “I’m detecting a large energy buildup from that thing!” exclaimed Suzaku.
    “Get back!” Lelouch commanded. “It’s going to overload.”
    “Big-Z is right; there’s too much energy there for a simple fold-cannon attack. Apollyon is building up to critical mass,” declared Enoch as he switched his comm. to the UFN general frequency. “Kallen, get your people as far from this thing as you can; it’s going to explode!”
    “You don’t have to tell us twice,” Kozuki replied as she and the Black Knights flew at maximum speed from the now glowing, blue structure of Apollyon.
    The four Hakodeshim zoomed away from the massive mobile fortress as it emanated a brilliant cobalt color before detonating into a ball of destructive energy that sent an intense shock wave towards the fleeing UFN forces and their allies.
    The KnightMare Frames and Hakodeshim tumbled through the air with the wave for several minutes before they regained control of their machines.
    “I’m glad that’s over,” Lelouch sighed in relief.
    “Over? Don’t be so sure about that, Big-Z…” said Enoch in a cautious tone.

    * * *

    Gino barely clung onto consciousness as he hung from the ceiling of his cell. He couldn’t tell how many days or weeks he had been there, beaten repeatedly by Evita’s insane hands. He vaguely remembered her sick and twisted voice whispering in his ears as she caressed and kissed him then tortured him for her own pleasure.
    She stood before him now scantily clad in her leather and lace looking over him as a spoiled child looks over a doll they abuse for fun.
    “My lovely Gino, I do hope you come to your senses soon.” She kissed him gently on the cheek. “You know it pains me to have to punish you like this, but you keep lying to me when I ask you whom you love.”
    Evita took a warm, wet towel from a washbasin in the cell and washed away the dried blood from his disheveled face. His form was gaunt and pathetic from days of lack of food.
    “You’re too stubborn for your own good, my love.” Evita kissed him on the lips. “I want you to realize you’re a pure blood. You could never love a half-breed.”
    “I…” Gino’s eyes fluttered deliriously as he tried to focus on Evita and form words for the anger that still swelled within his battered frame.
    “You what?” Evita bent down to listen to his voice.
    “I…” Gino tried to speak.
    “You love me?” she squealed like a school girl.
    Gino lifted his head towards her. “….hate you.”
    Evita’s face contorted into a hellish mask of anger. “You idiot!” She belted him across the face with the back of her hand.
    Gino’s shoulders shook as a sound came from his bruised and swollen mouth.
    “Oh, don’t cry now…I’ll not feel sorry for your stupidity,” said Evita with an angry pout. “You could end this pain and suffering by simply loving me!”
    Commander Weinberg found the strength to look up at her again; his expression was not one of pain. His mangled face smiled at her contemptuously; he was laughing.
    “Ahhhhhhh!” Evita raged at him and pulled a dagger from a nearby table. She had a mind to stab Gino through in the chest and cut his heart out, but one of her subordinates rushed into the room.
    “Duchess!” The man bowed.
    “WHAT!” she roared at him.
    “We’re under attack!” the man said meekly.
    Evita threw the blade on the table and stormed out of the cell.
    Gino’s head fell. “Hurry, Kallen,” he whispered to himself. “I can’t hold on much longer.”

    * * *

    General Xingke’s fleet of Black Knight aerial warships moved towards Gambier Island and the fleet of Duchess Evita Ernst.
    “Schneizel’s little speech has caused a firestorm of rioting and protests the world over. People are confused and angry, Major. Thus, the UFN council has ordered us to take steps to put an end to Schneizel’s insurrection immediately. Your first objective is to locate and destroy that Gefjun weapon as soon as possible, Major Ashford,” Xingke told Rivalz over the Type-21O’s cockpit monitor.
    “Understood, General,” Rivalz replied apprehensively as he switched off the comm. “Okay, people, you heard the man; let’s do this.”
    Major Ashford’s squadron of twenty Type-21Os led the fleet of variable fighters in a dive down towards Duchess Evita Ernst’s fleet of aerial warships. The mass of UFN variable KnightMare Frames fired on the airships with a hail of bazooka rounds.
    The missiles impacted three of the Avalon class frigates at the top of the Britannian fleet formation, causing the warships to list and explode.
    In the next instant, swarms of KnightMare Frames ushered out of their respective airships and zoomed up at the UFN squadrons.

    * * *

    “They’ve begun their assault on Gambier!” Zero (C.C.) told Enoch as he and the other Devicers made their way out of the locker rooms of the main hangar.
    Zero stood in front of Enoch, Suzaku, the Red Dragon, and a person in a Black Knight’s uniform wearing a tinted Devicer helmet and holding a large duffle bag against his chest.
    The troop began walking away from the base of their now stowed mecha in the main hangar of the Ikaruga towards the elevators at the far end.
    “Great,” Enoch said flatly.
    “It’s too soon,” said Suzaku in irritation. “Who gave the order?”
    “General Tohdoh, from his new command on the Amagi,” said Kaguya Sumeragi as she walked up from behind Zero with Lihua in tow. “He’s heading to Gambier as we speak with the remains of his air-fleet. He has ordered our forces here to rendezvous with him. It would seem that the Apollyon mobile fortress destroyed Sydney, Australia and nearly all of Kyoshiro’s forces with it.”
    “He’s a little aggravated to say the least and has convinced the UFN council to reinstate him as supreme commander of the Black Knights,” Jiang Lihua added.
    “Speaking of irritation...shouldn’t you be more careful?” Kaguya eyed the person wearing the tinted helmet as she pointed towards Kallen and the Yamato no Orochi who were walking up to join them.
    “You know you’re going to have to face Kallen at some point,” Zero tittered at the person in the tinted helmet. “She might understand.”
    “Yeah, right.” Suzaku gulped.
    “Shall I break the ice with Kallen for you?” Kaguya gave the Devicer a wicked smile.
    Fortunately Gregor and Mika were complaining to Kallen about the need for better KnightMare Frames. Their loud rant was enough to drown out Lelouch’s voice.
    “Better make yourself scarce, Big-Z!” Enoch said as he gave Suzaku a pleading look.
    “I’ll see what I can do to slow her down,” Suzaku said as he and the Red Dragon moved to intercept Kallen and her team.
    Enoch briskly walked over to the elevator and pushed the button; the light came on but the door didn’t open. “Damn it!”
    “Aw, is the elevator busy?” Kaguya snickered.
    “Hi, Kallen,” Suzaku said from behind them as the group got closer.
    “Hello, Suzaku,” Kallen said. “Who’s that?” she asked with an accusatory look at the person wearing the tinted helmet.
    “Oh, this is the Red Dragon,” Suzaku said innocently.
    “Not her, Suzaku,” said Kallen with an irritated tone. “That guy over there in the helmet.”
    Kaguya put her arm through the Devicer’s arm and waved at Kallen. “Hi, Kallen!”
    “Hi, Lady Kaguya,” Kallen called back. “Who’s that guy with you?”
    “Oh, this is an old flame of mine.” Kaguya giggled incessantly.
    “You’re not helping,” whispered Enoch as he put his hand over the elevator console; the panel glowed for a moment.
    “Sure I am; he needs to man up and face her…” Kaguya was interrupted.
    “Move, cutey.” Enoch gently pushed Kaguya aside.
    “Excuse me?” Sumeragi was shocked at how he addressed her.
    “What? You’re cute,” Enoch told her with a wink as the elevator doors opened.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” Kallen demanded as she pushed her way past Suzaku towards Enoch and his companion.
    “Going for a drink with my friend,” said Enoch as he blew her a kiss over his shoulder.
    “Hey, Enoch, wait!” Kallen yelled at them as she started to sprint towards him.
    “Sorry, gorgeous, we gotta go! I’ll catch up to you later,” he said as the elevator doors began to close.
    Kallen slammed her foot in the elevator door causing it to open back up, allowing her to slip past and enter before they closed again.
    “What the hell was that all about?” Akira asked as he walked up to the where the others stood at the now closed elevator doors.
    Suzaku sighed. "Kallen's obsession..." He looked over at the Red Dragon who only shrugged.
    "We better get to the bridge," said Lihua tugging on Kaguya.
    Kaguya snickered, "Yah, if I know Captain Kozuki, there may be someone in need of medical assistance in a very short time."

    * * *

    “Who the hell is that?!” Kallen fumed as she glared at Enoch and pointed at the person in the helmet.
    “It’s none of your business, Kallen,” Enoch told her softly. "I told you that before; it's better if you don't know who Zero really is."
    “Don’t give me that crap! I know it’s Lelouch!” Kallen stormed over, grabbed the duffle bag from the Devicer, and threw it at Enoch.
    "I'm sick of your damned lies! Protecting him, lying for him, just so that he can be with that green-haired wench all you men think is so darling!"
    "No, Kallen, that's not it at all," Enoch retorted. "The problem is that if you were to find out who this person really is, then you'd have to keep it totally secret because the world can never know about his true identity."
    "Why? Because they'd know Lelouch is a monumental fraud and a liar who needs to hide behind other people because he's too much of a coward to come out and face the world?!" Kallen screamed at Enoch.
    Kallen snapped her head around and gave the Devicer an accusing look. “Just look at him...what the?” Kallen's anger broke as she got a look at the person’s chest, which was now exposed with the duffle bag gone.
    “He’s got boobs,” Kallen said mechanically.
    “Just great, Captain Kozuki.” Enoch put his hands on his hips. “You’ve gone and done it now,”
    “But…I…thought.” Kallen’s eyes grew wide as the Devicer removed her helmet.
    “Yes, I know...You thought it was Lelouch. Now you’ve exposed a Britannian military secret and a scandal that could ruin any chance of world peace.”
    “What do you mean, Enoch?” Kallen’s jaw dropped as the mass of pink hair fell from under the helmet and the Devicer's face was revealed. “Oh, my God! You’re…you’re Euphemia! But how could you be alive?" She turned to Enoch. "And how could you protect her? She was responsible for the massacre in Japan.”
    "No, Kallen..." Enoch scolded her, "Lelouch was."
    "What?" Kallen recoiled from him in disbelief.
    "Let me explain," said Euphemia sadly.

    * * *

    Cornelia, Ohgi, Zero, Kallen, Akira, Enoch, and C.C. sat at a large lozenge-shaped conference table within the bowels of the Ikaruga. Across from them were Rakshata, Lloyd, and Cecile who had just arrived from the Avalon.
    “We’ve been ordered by the UFN council to assist in the assault on Gambier Island; that’s why we joined up with you as quickly as we could,” said Rakshata with a wave of her pipe.
    Lloyd sat next to her with his left hand on his chin. “Mm…yes, and it looks like it’s going to be quite a show.”
    “We’ve brought a few new KnightMare designs with us,” Cecile told them with a grin.
    “Oh? What types are they?” Zero inquired.
    Cecile spoke in an excited tone, “A new model Type-21 called the Type-21Z Zebulun. It’s a space-capable KMF armed to the teeth with all kinds of new weapons and systems. It has anti-Gefjun shielding, a pair of Kaon Particle Beam Sabers, dual Kaon Particle Deflector Shield generators, and the new Meson Beam Cannon (MBC) we’ve developed for its gunpod unit that doubles as a Hadron Saber. It also uses more conventional weapons such as a pair of MVS harkens on electromagnetic tethers and a pair of Hadron Cannons, one in each forearm. Unfortunately, we only have enough of them for the Yamato no Orochi.”
    Zero nodded. "That's fine since they'll be going in to rescue Commander Weinberg and will need the heaviest KMFs."
    Kallen gave him a surprised look.
    Rakshata lifted her pipe. “The second KMF is the rebuild of the Gorgon. We took the thing apart completely and redesigned it from the frame up. We used many of the design aspects of the Guren-Phoenix combined with the energy projectors of the Gorgon’s Gaze weapon on the Greek mecha.”
    “Yes,” Lloyd waved his hand at Rakshata dismissively, “but without my retooling of the energy filler system of the machine, the power consumption would have been too high for the machine to even be used. Thus, we applied an improved version of the Lamekian Drive Superconductor power system.”
    Rakshata glared at him as she raised her voice. “We also removed the cumbersome wing units of the machine and replaced them with a pair of Chawla Mark-III graviton-impellers.”
    “Which wouldn’t work without my Asplund gyroscopic alignment system…” Lloyd snickered.
    “There wouldn’t even be a TYPE-25X without my skill as an engineer!” Rakshata shot back.
    “Then I suppose you could’ve figured out the enhanced pilot-to-machine interface all on your own, eh?” scoffed Lloyd.
    “We get the idea,” Cornelia said harshly, silencing both of them.
    “What’s it called?” Kallen asked Cecile.
    Kali, Goddess of Destruction,” Cecile laughed. “And it took Rakshata pulling rank on Lloyd to get him to agree to that name.”
    “It did not!” Lloyd protested.
    “Yes, it did, you dolt,” Rakshata shot back.
    “Enough!” Zero said as he stood up. “Have the new machines prepared for battle immediately. We’ll be at Gambier in less than three hours.”
    Kallen eyed Zero then looked over at Enoch. I can’t believe Zero is Euphemia and that Lelouch was responsible for the Massacre in the Special Administrative Zone...oh, Lulu, accident or not, how could have done that to your own sister? she thought to herself as everyone stood up to leave the room.

    * * *

    "Looks like Sthenno failed in her mission," Kannon said to Schneizel on the bridge of the Thor.
    "Not really." Schneizel gave his aide a thin smile. "She's bought us the time we need to make the necessary preparations."
    "Does that mean we're leaving soon?" Kannon inquired.
    "We?" Schneizel laughed. "No, my dear Kannon, you're staying here to watch over our dear Nina while I head off for Gambier to ensure Evita Ernst is successful in luring the Black Knights and Zero into our trap."
    "I see." Kannon was apprehensive. "Then you don't trust Nina, is that it?"
    "I don't trust anyone at this point, Kannon," Schneizel smiled at him. "There's too much at stake for me to."
    "It seems that Xingke is convinced our base is on Gambier Island, but do you think Zero will be as easily fooled?" Kannon inquired.
    "Depends on whom this new Zero is," Schneizel answered with a smirk. "If he is shrewd, tactful, and focused to the extreme, then he'll see through this veil, though I highly doubt it. Fortunately for us, we don't have to contend with my brother...he'd see this for what it is."
    "And Tohdoh?" Kannon inquired.
    "Tohdoh will see through some of it, the parts I want him to anyway," Schneizel smiled. "But when it's over, he and his Black Knights won't know what hit them."

    * * *

    "It's good to see you again, General Tohdoh." Ohgi bowed slightly as Tohdoh's image stared back at him on the bridge monitor of the Ikaruga.
    "I'm happy that you're the one in command there, Ohgi." Kyoshiro grinned slightly. "I need someone I can count on for this operation. My fleet has reached the battlezone and will soon be engaged in combat. We don't know how long we'll have before Schneizel uses his Gefjun weapon, so it is imperative your forces get here as quickly as them can."
    "We're only a few minutes away from the battlezone ourselves, General," Ohgi told him with a concerned look. "We've only got about a dozen warships. So long as Schneizel doesn't use his Gefjun disturber, we should be able to easily overwhelm Evita and her fleet."
    "Which is why I fully expect him to use that weapon and knock out both our forces and those of the Duchess," said Tohdoh with a furrowed brow. "In all likelihood, Schneizel has a reserve of KnightMare Frames somewhere nearby, which he'll be able to use in the event we defeat the duchess."
    "Then why launch this attack at all?" Ohgi asked.
    "To flush out where Schneizel's real base of operations is," Kyoshiro stated flatly. "And that, my friend, is where you come in. I need your Gefjun-resistant KMFs to assault Schneizel's base the moment he reveals it."
    "Only some of the Gefjun-resistant KMFs are under my command," Ohgi admitted. "The rest are under Cornelia li Britannia's jurisdiction."
    "WHAT!" Kyoshiro yelled. "You're allowing Schneizel's sister, who cannot be trusted in the least, to join in this operation?"
    "We don't have a choice, General," Ohgi grumbled. "She is the acting regent of Britannia, and Lady Kaguya has authorized her to take part in this operation."
    "Sumeragi," said Tohdoh through gritted teeth.

    * * *

    "There's too many of them, Major Ashford," a Type-21O pilot said over the radio before being blown to bits by a Z-02G mass production KMF Victoria.
    "Damn it!” Rivalz radioed the UFN flagship, “Yamato, this is Major Ashford; we can't hold them back much longer." Rivalz spiraled out of the way of a burst of cannon shells and returned fire with a volley of his own at the offending KMF. "We're running low on ammo and power. Any chance of our relief arriving soon?"
    "Is that you, Rivalz?" Kallen asked as she tore through the three KMF Victoria mecha that were attacking Major Ashford with her Guren-Phoenix.
    “Hey, Kallen!” Rivalz exclaimed in relief. “It’s sure nice to see you guys.”
    "We’ll take over from here, Major," Suzaku said over the comm.
    "Is that you, Suzaku?" asked Rivalz in a surprised tone.
    "Yes, Rivalz, I’m one of Nunnally’s Knights now," Suzaku answered jovially back at his friend as the four Hakodeshim from the Avalon dove through the inferior machines of the duchess' fleet, blasting several of them into metallic confetti as they did so.
    "We need to hook up after this is over," Rivalz said as the remnant of his squadron left the battlespace.
    "It's a deal," Suzaku said as he blasted two more Victorias.
    "Our objective is dead ahead," Zero's voice came over the radio as the swarm of KMF Victoria Frames came up in front of them. "All units, we need to break through these defenders and get aboard their flagship as quickly as possible."
    “Roger that, Zero,” Kallen said as her thoughts went to Commander Weinberg. Hang on, Gino, we’re almost there.

    * * *

    “I don’t care if you think it’s too dangerous to launch. I’m going out there to deal with them myself!” Evita grabbed her deck officer by the collar. “Is my KMF Queen Victorious ready yet?’
    The man nodded. “Yes, your Highness, it is.”
    “Good,” Evita tittered as she let the man go and climbed onto the gantry lift up to the cockpit of the new machine. The KMF Queen Victorious looked similar to the old KMF Victoria except that it had a large, mecha-sized bastard sword instead of a rapier and held a large, spade-shaped combination Hadron Cannon/combat shield in its left arm.
    “Open the outer hatch!” Evita demanded over the loudspeaker of her KnightMare Frame.
    Her men obliged her, and the hangar bay door opened up to reveal the battle which ensued all around her flagship. Evita boosted out of the hangar with her graviton-impellers.

    * * *

    “What the hell is that thing?” Tamaki asked as the Queen Victorious flew up through the embattled mass of KMF Victoria Frames towards his Type-21Z.
    “It’s your doom, Black Knight!” Evita boasted as her machine unloaded a hail of Hadron Cannon bolts at Tamaki.
    Tamaki used his Kaon shields to deflect the barrage. “Heh, that’s nothing more than a snazzy Victoria; it doesn’t scare me.” Tamaki fired his Meson Beam Cannon at the Queen Victorious only to see the machine zip past the beam at impossible speed and unsheathe its bastard sword revealing its Hadron-coated blade. In the next instant, Tamaki transformed into KnightMare mode to dodge a swing by Evita’s machine.
    “Damn! That thing is fast!” said Tamaki as Evita used her MVS disc harken to put him in the defensive.
    “Fool!” Evita scoffed as her machine swung its Hadron blade again. This time, it connected with the left arm of Tamaki’s machine, cutting it off. The duchess smashed the front of the Type-21Z just above the cockpit with the shield of her mecha, stunning Tamaki.
    “Yahhhh!” Tamaki screamed over the radio as Evita’s Queen Victorious thrust at the cockpit with its Hadron blade.
    The blade was caught in mid-thrust by the oversized hand of Guren-Phoenix. “Tamaki, you okay?” Kallen asked as Evita withdrew her bastard sword from Guren’s deadly grip.
    “I’m alive,” said Tamaki with a sigh.
    “Oh, how touching,” Evita snickered with malevolence over the radio. “Nips in love.”
    “Why, that little…” Tamaki grumbled.
    “Forget it,” Kallen cut him off. “You get to the flagship with the others. This little bitch and I have unfinished business.”
    “Indeed we do,” said Evita in a vicious tone. “This time we’ll finish it,” the duchess said as her Queen Victorious lunged at the Guren-Phoenix.
    The Guren spun out of the way of her attack and fired a salvo of energy discs at the chest of the Queen Victorious.
    “Pathetic,” Evita said as the discs bounced off the Blaze Luminous shield of the Queen Victorious. The duchess fired her MVS harken disc at the wings of Guren only to have it deflected by the pair of MVS harkens of the Guren.
    “I could say the same for you, Duchess,” Kallen sneered as she dodged another volley of Hadron beams from the shield-gun of the Queen Victorious.
    “Hah, too bad in your case it’s true,” Evita mocked her again as her Hadron blade came up towards Guren’s torso.
    “Gah!” Kallen blurted out as she barely caught the blade with the oversized claw of Guren. “I’ve had enough of this thing,” Kallen yelled as she activated the Supernova of Guren. The massive heat wave melted the Hadron bastard sword, but the Queen Victorious used its shield to protect itself.
    “Ha! Idiot!” Evita snickered as she smashed the Guren-Phoenix with her shield and pushed a button on her control stick. Instantly, the two lower thirds of the spade-shaped shield split open like a pincer claw and grabbed onto Guren.
    “That won’t do you any good,” Kallen retorted as she used the Supernova wave of Guren on the claw; the heat wave dissipated harmlessly off the armored pincer.
    “Hahahaha!” Evita cackled. “My Jaws of Death shield is impervious to heat, you moron.” The duchess licked her lips like a hunter preparing to eat its prey as she squeezed the trigger of the shield’s Hadron Cannon. “Now you die!”
    “I don’t think so!” Kallen shouted back at her as she fired her Baryon Cannon. The cover of the chest-mounted weapon flipped open instantly and fired its intense beam of white light directly through the center of the Queen Victorious.
    “No, I cannot be defeated by a half-breeeeeeed!” Evita screamed as she was consumed by the blinding white beam. The mortally wounded Queen Victorious fell away from Guren and exploded in midair.
    “I’m coming, Gino,” Kallen whispered softly as she landed the Guren-Phoenix onto the flagship of Evita’s fleet.

    * * *

    “We have arrived just outside of the battlespace, my Lord,” a male officer said to Schneizel as he brought up the scene of the battle waging over Gambier Island.
    “Any word from the duchess?” Schneizel asked the man as he came to stand at the large windows of the bridge of the Thor.
    “Her second-in-command says the duchess has fallen,” the man said in a sad tone.
    “Excellent,” Schneizel smiled. “Then the Black Knights will move in to lay siege to the island. Have the Knights of the Silver Cross prepare to attack as soon as we use the Gefjun transmitter.”
    “As you wish, my Lord.” The officer bowed.

    * * *

    “Akira, you and the others secure the hangar. I’m going in to rescue Commander Weinberg,” Enoch said as he disembarked from his Type-21Z.
    “Where are the others?” Kallen asked as she noticed that the four Hakodeshim were not in the hangar of Evita’s ship.
    “They’ve gone with C2 to say hello to an old friend,” Enoch told her with a wink, “and maybe put a stop to this conflict once and for all.”
    “You can’t take on this whole ship by yourself, Enoch. Let us go with you,” Kallen pleaded with him.
    “Yeah, Gino is our comrade,” said Tamaki with a frown.
    “Alright, but I warn you…we may be too late,” said Enoch reluctantly.
    “We know, Enoch,” Anya told him. “But we have to try and save him.”
    Kallen turned to Akira, Gregor, and Tetsuo. “You three, stay here and protect our KnightMares. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
    The three men nodded silently.
    “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s stop talking and get moving.” Enoch rushed over to the elevator shafts and opened the door by putting his palm over the control panel.
    “How the heck do you do that?” Anya inquired.
    He gave her a boyish grin. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

    * * *

    “Tell your forces to begin the assault on the island now, Xingke,” Tohdoh said to Li over the main monitor of the Yamato. “My fleet has already launched our KMFs into position.”
    “As you wish, General, but I should warn you that four unidentified KMFs have broken away from Ohgi’s forces and are heading towards a new arrival,” Xingke said apprehensively.
    “New arrival?” Kyoshiro grouched.
    “Yes, it would appear that Schneizel has arrived, and Zero has gone off to meet him.”
    “Damn him,” Tohdoh sneered.

    * * *

    Enoch and his three companions rushed out of the elevator into the ship’s brig only to find it devoid of anyone.
    “Looks like this place is empty,” Tamaki said, waving his submachine gun down the two-way corridor that ran the length of the brig.
    Enoch moved over to the control station where a guard would normally be. “Keep your wits about you, people; this could very well be a trap.” Windows flashed open at lightning speed on the computer screen in front of Enoch as he scanned through them looking for Gino’s holding cell.
    “Found him!” Enoch said. “Cell block six, unit number 73. I’ll unlock it from here.” Apsu walked down the corridor to their right towards a cell near the end of the long line of holding rooms.
    Kallen fidgeted in front of the door as it opened up. "C'mon, Enoch, open the damn door."
    "It's open," said Enoch as he turned up the lights in the dim chamber.
    There, hanging by chains from the ceiling, was the battered and beaten body of Commander Gino Weinberg.
    Tears filled Kallen's shocked face. "Oh, my God! How could they?" She rushed over and gently lifted his head. "Gino?"
    He didn't respond.
    Kallen's lip trembled. "Gino...please don't die." She checked his pulse at his neck, nothing.
    Tamaki and Anya stood silent as Enoch entered the room; he could guess the situation without even checking Gino's vitals. He grabbed hold of her shoulders gently. "Let's go, Captain. I'll take him with us...you best get back to the Guren."
    "NO!" she wailed at him as she wrenched his hands away. "It's not fair! First Naoto, then Lelouch, now Gino!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Every time I get close to someone they die! What's wrong with me? I can't ever save the people I love. Just this once I wish it was different!"
    Kallen rushed out of the room into the hall.
    "You two, take care of Captain Kozuki and get her back to the KnightMares. I'll get Commander Weinberg and join up with you as soon as I can."
    Tamaki and Anya nodded and went to comfort Kallen.
    Enoch turned and looked at Gino's lifeless body. He thought of Kallen's pain and anguish then sighed as he said softly to himself, "Metatron is going to have my ass for doing this." He closed his eyes in concentration and put his hand on Gino's forehead.

    * * *

    "Tohdoh's forces are now within the area of effect line, Prince Schneizel," his male tactical officer informed him.
    "Very well, fire the Gefjun beam," Schneizel ordered the man, with a smug expression.
    The officer nodded and tapped away on his control station. "Gefjun burst away, sire."
    A conceited smile crossed Schneizel's face as he watched the green radiance move down over Gambier Island and everything within twenty miles of it.
    "Order the Knights of the Silver Cross to attack," the Prince said as he watched the fighting over Gambier subside knowing that most of the KnightMare Frames there had shut down completely.
    "The order has been given, my Lord, but..." the tactical officer hesitated.
    "But what?" Schneizel asked with a snobbish lift of his chin.
    "We're picking up four KMFs of an unknown type approaching fast," the man said in a panic.
    "What's wrong with you man...we have five hundred units out there," Schneizel scoffed. "Surely five machines are no match for five hundred."
    "I know, sire, but...we're being hailed," the man said with fear inching into his voice.
    "By whom?" Schneizel inquired with a furled brow.
    "Zero," the man said in a panic.
    "Hahahaha...excellent," Schneizel laughed arrogantly. "Put this fool through."
    Zero's masked image came up on the main monitor of the Thor. "Greetings, Schneizel."
    "Greetings, Zero," Schneizel stated with contempt. "Have you come to surrender to me?"
    "I was thinking you had come out here to do that yourself," Zero shot back.
    Schneizel tittered, "Oh, you are an audacious one. Why exactly would I surrender to you when I have the numerical and military advantage?"
    "You're a fool to underestimate me, Schneizel." Zero put his hand forward in a grandiose gesture. "This strategy of yours is similar to the one you used in China when you conned the Chinese eunuchs into luring me into sending the bulk of my KnightMares onto the dry irrigation lands thus causing them to sink into the mud, rendering them useless. This time, however, I was ready for this strategy."
    From below the swarms of Vincent Wards, Gareths, and Sutherlands, the surface of the ocean waters broke as a large, red and gold machine flew up towards them.
    The female-shaped KnightMare Frame was Indian in the styling of its armor, its face a blank, silvery mask with two pale-blue eyes surrounded by a red and golden crown-shaped helmet. The machine had a large, khanda sword in its left hand and a round shield in its right. On its back were two half-moon-shaped structures that protruded like sickles from the extended backpack that was the crew compartment. Each sickle had a large, crystalline sphere within it that radiated an emerald green energy.
    The mecha stopped within the center of the mass of KnightMares and folded its arms across its chest. In the next instant, a brilliant globe of green energy expanded from the machine outwards towards Schneizel's force of KMFs at incredible speed, disintegrating everything the green light touched.
    In less than a minute, the whole armada of KnightMares was gone, leaving only the red and gold machine at the center of where the green sphere had originated.
    Schneizel looked on in horror at the fading green light as Zero spoke one word, "Checkmate," while the four Hakodeshim flew up in front of the Thor.
    The prince turned his attention to Zero. "Indeed...I've no choice but to concede defeat. I know that there's only one person who could've seen through this strategy...How is it you are still alive?"
    "How isn't important right now," Zero said to him softly. "What is important is that we end this needless conflict, Schneizel."
    "You've come to kill this time? Is that it?" Schneizel asked in a humble tone.
    "The thought had crossed my mind," Zero snickered. "But no, this time I'll stay here to watch over and guide you. You've started the demise of the UFN and Britannia, and I don't think anything can stop it now."
    "So I'm to be your pawn in yet another plan for a new world?" Schneizel asked with a weak smile.
    "No, Nunnally and I have already discussed this. I am to be her willing pawn in her vision of a new world, and you and Cornelia will be left to choose if you wish to join us in that endeavor or if you wish to be put out to pasture somewhere remote but comfortable."
    "I suppose that will be for the best," Schneizel lamented. "It's good to hear your voice, but...would it be too much to ask to see your face?"
    "We're on a coded channel; only you and I can see or hear this, so if you clear your bridge, I'll oblige you," Zero stated in a warm tone.
    "You heard him; clear the bridge," Schneizel ordered. His officers dutifully obeyed his wishes and left the command deck.
    With the bridge crew gone Zero removed his mask.
    "It's pleasant to see you again, Lelouch," Schneizel smiled. "I don't think I would have surrendered to anyone else, to be honest."
    "I wish we were meeting under different circumstances," Lelouch said with a frown. "I've no right to judge you, Schneizel; that's for Nunnally to decide, but I do have to take you into custody. I'm sorry."
    "Don't be, my little brother...I hated you for leaving me here under the control of that dolt Suzaku, and for defeating me with your Geass rather than in a fair fight." Schneizel lifted his glasses revealing his twin Geass. "Looks like I'm no better than you were."
    "Geass is a curse that few can resist," Lelouch said with an empty smile. "Therefore, I forgive you, Schneizel, so long as you promise to never lift a finger against your kin again. Because if you do, I swear by God's name, that'll I'll kill you myself."
    "I swear to you, Lelouch, on my life, that I'll never hurt you or my family again..." Schneizel's transmission was cut off by an emergency message which cut through.
    "Zero, look out!" Mika's voice rang through the radio from where she and Lena piloted the Kali some distance away. A beam of intensely bright white energy tore through the hull of the Thor from the clouds high above.
    "VENGENCE IS MINE!" Sthenno cried over the radio frequency as the Thor erupted into a fireball and plunged into the sea.
    "SCHNEIZEL!" Lelouch screamed in fury as the bronze and gold form of the Abaddon flew off high overhead.
    All things in moderation...

  5. #25
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty Four: Tartarus
    Battle at the Bottom of the World

    “The Great City of Tartarus was built by the hands of the Olympian’s greatest engineer, Daedalus. It was the last and most horrible of city-ships constructed by the Geass-god whose power was to understand machinery and technology simply by contemplating a problem then using Geass to solve it. An odd power no doubt, but one that proved most useful to the warlike states of the Olympians. Even though Enoch had warned us of the potential dangers of this city, we still went forward against it. We had to. Nunnally’s life depended on it, as did the fate of the world.” —Excerpt from an interview with C.C. by Milly Ashford during the 1st Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Earth in Buenos Ares, dated January 13th, 2025 a.t.b.

    “Lelouch, don’t!” C.C. yelled over the comm. of the Ariel while she tried to catch up to him as the Samael tore off after the Abaddon.
    “Suzaku, we need to stop him,” Euphie said as the wreckage of the Thor sunk into the sea below them. Debris surrounded the mangled airship including hundreds of people, both survivors and the dead.
    “I’m on it,” Suzaku replied as he flew Gabriel at top speed to catch up to Samael. “Better radio the Avalon and tell them to send a rescue team. We’ve got survivors out here.”
    “I already did,” Euphie informed him as her Uriel came up alongside the Gabriel and the Ariel.
    “There he is!” C.C. exclaimed as the three of them broke through the clouds. In the distance, they could see the black form of the Samael firing wildly at the distant glint of bronze that must have been the Abaddon.
    Suzaku pushed the throttle of the Gabriel up four notches on the side panel and realized he was gaining on Samael. Either Lelouch is not at full throttle or Samael isn’t build for speed.
    The Gabriel came up behind Samael quickly. Suzaku knew what he had to do even though it might mean a fight with Lelouch. The Gabriel grabbed the Samael from behind in a bear hug.
    “Lelouch, you’ve got to let them go for now! We can’t abandon the mission,” Suzaku tried to reason with him.
    “Get out of my way, you fool!” Lelouch commanded over the radio. “We can’t let them get away. We need to find Schneizel’s base before they do!”
    Suzaku was shocked by his own miscalculation. Lelouch wasn’t acting out of rage or emotion; he was chasing the Abaddon out of determination to find the Gefjun weapon before the Greeks got their hands on it.
    The Samael broke free of Gabriel’s grip, but it was too late. The Abaddon was gone.

    * * *

    “Master Kannon, the Thor has fallen,” a scared lieutenant told him as they stood looking out over the sea from within the command center of Schneizel’s fortress on Pitcairn Island.
    “I see,” Kannon said sadly. “Then we better prepare to defend the island from—” A thunderous explosion silenced him as the vibration cascaded throughout the base.
    “We’re under attack!” a female officer cried out.
    “How many enemy units are there?” Kannon demanded.
    The woman looked at her control station monitor. “Only one, but it appears to be a Greek unit.”
    “Greek unit?” Kannon was perplexed.
    “Master Maldini, we’re receiving a transmission,” another male officer told him.
    “Let’s see it on the main monitor,” Kannon told the man.
    Kannon was agape as the familiar face of the woman he despised came onto the screen.
    “Well, well, if it isn’t little Kannon,” Sthenno snickered wickedly.
    “What do you want, Sthenno?” Kannon asked.
    She gave him a serpentine smile. “I want the FORGE.”

    * * *

    “It would appear that Schneizel has failed in his mission, Empress,” said Athena softly to Nunnally. “The Black Knights have defeated him.”
    The two of them stood in the large study of the central tower of Tartarus. The bright blue Antarctic sky shone through the large picture windows which ran from the floor to the ceiling, providing the only light into the grand chamber.
    “I see,” Nunnally told her with a sad smile.
    “I’m truly sorry, Empress, but I’ve no choice now.” Athena removed her helmet and placed it on a nearby table. Her long, curly, blonde hair flowed out over her shoulders. “I must decimate the Black Knights and garrison this planet to ensure the destruction of the tyrannies which currently plague this world.”
    Nunnally raised her chin towards Athena. “Then I have no choice but to make a request of you.”
    “Oh?” Athena was intrigued by the young woman’s courageous demeanor. “And what would you have me do?”
    “Help me implement a plan that could save this world,” said Nunnally with a sly smile.
    Athena raised an eyebrow. “Please, enlighten me.”

    * * *

    “My sensors indicate the Abaddon flew in this direction,” C.C. said over the comm. of the Ariel as she led her three companions towards the northwest.
    “We wouldn’t need to use the long-range sensors if you all had allowed me to follow the Abaddon in the first place,” Lelouch scolded them.
    “I already told you I’m sorry, Lelouch,” Suzaku said apologetically.
    “That’s not the point,” Lelouch shot back.
    “It wouldn’t have happened if you had told us what was going on, little brother. You have only yourself to blame,” Euphie scolded him.
    “Hey, I see smoke up ahead just to the north of us,” C.C. said as the four Hakodeshim skimmed the bottom of the clouds.
    “Looks like an island,” Suzaku said.
    “That’s Pitcairn Island,” Euphie told them as they got closer.
    “You sure?” Lelouch asked her in a skeptical tone.
    “I’m better at geography than you ever were, little brother,” Euphie retorted snidely.
    “I suppose you are,” Lelouch tittered as they flew down towards the smoldering ruins of what must have been a base.
    “Looks like we missed whatever happened here,” C.C. said as she panned her sensors around the midst of the ruined complex.
    The four Hakodeshim glided over the burnt-out shell of the large base. The shattered remains of KnightMare Frames littered the area.
    "Hey, there are people trapped under this rubble," Euphie exclaimed as she landed the Uriel and used the mecha to lift large chunks of concrete off a stairwell that probably led to a basement.
    "Looks like two survivors," C.C. said as she brought her Ariel down to assist Euphemia.
    "I'll check it out," Suzaku told them as he landed Gabriel and disembarked from his Hakodeshim.
    The Samael landed behind him, and Lelouch got out of the machine. He barely remembered to don his Zero helmet as he did so.
    "That looks like Nina!" Lelouch exclaimed as they got the girl out from under a set of large, concrete slabs which probably saved her life.
    "She...she took the FORGE..." Nina gasped for air. "Kannon tried to stop her...but he couldn't."
    "Where is Kannon now?" Lelouch asked as Suzaku took a flask of water from his belt and gave her a sip.
    Nina coughed and pointed farther down the stair. "We were all rushing for the underground bunkers when the Greek mecha attacked the base. Even after we gave her everything she wanted, she still attacked us."
    Suzaku looked down under the leaning slabs of broken concrete. "I'll go down and take a look."
    "Be careful, Suzaku," Lelouch said to him in his Zero voice.
    Nina looked up at the Zero mask. "You're...you're Zero." Her eyes were glassy.
    Lelouch looked down at her and called over his radio, "C2, we need to get Nina to a medical facility ASAP. I think she may have internal injuries."
    C.C. replied quickly, "I've already contacted the Avalon and informed them of the situation. Cornelia says she's sending an emergency unit out here right now. They should be here any minute."
    "I found him!" Suzaku declared as he carefully slid Kannon Maldini out from under the debris.
    "How is he?" Lelouch asked.
    "I'm alive," Kannon stated with a thin smile as the emergency shuttle from the Avalon settled down nearby. A team of paramedics came rushing out.

    * * *

    "So, you managed to obtain the FORGE?" Athena smiled at Sthenno's image on the main screen of the command center of Tartarus.
    "Indeed we have, Athena," Sthenno stated with a narrow-eyed look.
    "Now that you've gotten your revenge, you think you can come crawling back here, is that it?" Athena scowled.
    "Not without tribute I can't and I know that," Sthenno stated coldly.
    “Assuming I’ll accept the FORGE as payment for your crimes,” Athena sniggered. “You make it sound as though I’ve no choice in the matter.”
    “Athena, I’ve no interest in fighting with you. If you don’t want the FORGE, I’ll give it to the UFN and their allies in exchange for a full pardon,” Sthenno grinned.
    Athena glared at her with distrust, but she didn’t want to risk the UFN acquiring the FORGE. “Very well, Sthenno. I absolve you and your sister of your past misdeeds so long as you return here at once with the FORGE.”
    Sthenno nodded. “Your wish is my command, Goddess Athena. I shall proceed to Tartarus immediately; Abaddon out.” The transmission ended.
    Athena looked at the person standing at the front of the Tartarus command deck directly under the monitor, a position that put the person out of Sthenno’s line of sight. “What do you think, Empress?”
    “Sthenno is telling the truth; she doesn’t intend any deception.” Nunnally frowned. “However, I noted a change in your emotion when she mentioned the FORGE. Is there something you’re not telling me, Athena? I thought we had a deal?”
    “We do,” Athena smiled warmly, “but, Empress, you must understand that for me to complete my end of our accord, I must make my part in this look as real as possible. Which reminds me…” Athena turned to Ares. “Inform Hephaestus that the time has come to launch the Sword of Damocles, and please escort the empress and her companion to a comfortable holding cell for the time being.”
    “Athena, what is the meaning of this?” Nunnally looked at her in horror.
    “I told you,” Athena grinned, “I’m keeping up my end of the bargain.”

    * * *

    "This is your humble correspondent Milly Ashford reporting," Milly said from the bridge of the Ikaruga where Captain Ohgi Nu and Villetta were working diligently behind her.
    "At 09:00 hours Greenwich mean time, the UFN high command received this transmission from the enemy forces:”

    "People of the Earth, I am Athena, supreme commander of
    Tartarus. I order your governments to stand down and surrender their
    forces to me unconditionally or else suffer the consequences."


    The image of Athena was replaced with a blue-white beam blasting through clouds towards a UFN airbase in Russian Siberia and destroying it completely before the goddess’ visage returned.

    "If you do not meet our demands within seventy-two hours,
    we shall destroy all of your military forces and conquer this world through
    force of arms."


    "There you have it," Milly said as her image came back on the screens of millions of people worldwide. "The destruction of the Tunguska Variable KMF airbase in Northern Russia is confirmed by the UFN. It would seem that if the demands of this Supreme Commander Athena are not met, then we will become the slaves of the denizens of Tartarus. This is not a threat which the UFN can handle alone, and Lady Kaguya Sumeragi has pleaded for aid form Britannia."
    An image of Kaguya meeting with Cornelia replaced Milly's stoic face. "Cornelia li Britannia, acting regent of that nation, has agreed to a joint offensive against Tartarus in order to rescue Empress Nunnally vi Britannia from this new threat. The empress was kidnapped by the Olympian forces after they killed Schneizel el Britannia earlier this week."
    The screen returned to Milly's image. "In order to ensure that this operation is conducted in good faith by both groups, Zero has been asked to lead the mission to Antarctica."

    * * *

    “Are you alright, Captain?” Tamaki asked as he watched Kallen staring out at the ocean from the ledge of the KnightMare hangar deck on the Ikaruga. They had returned nearly two hours ago, and Kallen hadn’t moved from this spot. She went there like a zombie after they had landed.
    “I can’t go on like this, Tamaki,” Kallen said mechanically. “I thought that once Lelouch died and the war with Britannia ended that my pain and loss would end with it. Then my mother died from health complications caused by her Refrain addiction, and I was powerless to stop it. I ran from that loss into the Black Knights to escape the pain, and that’s when I got to know Gino again. We got close as friends this time…not like the last time…this time, things were different. We were fighting together and for the peace that we both believed in. I became used to his presence, his smile, and his crazy way of always chasing after me. I got comfortable with him and even began to enjoy his flirtatious manner with me. But there was always the shadow of my past haunting me, and I didn’t let him into my life the way I should have…and now he’s gone...and I’m all alone.”
    “That’s nonsense, Kallen, and you know it!” Tamaki grabbed her by the shoulders. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself!”
    She brushed him off. “What would you know about it? You just drink your problems away…”
    Tamaki slapped her across the face. “How dare you! I’ve lost too…we all have.” Shinichiro stared into her eyes. “Don’t think you’re the only one out here fighting who’s lost someone they loved, or a good friend, or even their whole family. We’ve all been through this, and we’re still here and still trying to make a difference. We don’t give up because those we’ve left behind would want us to keep going forward, to keep pushing for what we believe in.”
    Kallen turned away from him. “I used to be like you…I used to believe in that rubbish, but I’ve lost too many people I love to be able to think like that anymore.”
    “You mean you lost Lelouch!” Tamaki snapped at her. “And you can’t deal with the fact he’s gone. Well, I have news for you, Kallen, you have to deal with it because there is nothing you can do about it now, and there’s no time for this childish nonsense. We’re heading for Antarctica to take down the Olympians, and it’s your duty to lead this unit and to fight. That’s what Commander Weinberg would have done, but I need to know right now if you’ll honor his memory and stand and fight or if you’re going to quit and run away from the reality of the world simply because it hurts.”
    His words cut deep into her psyche. Kallen contemplated what he said for a moment as he looked down at her. “I…you’re right, Tamaki.” She smiled at him, “Thanks.”
    Tamaki patted her on the head and smiled, “Don’t mention it…there’s more to me than just my good looks, ya know.”
    “Oh, yeah, right.” She shoved him. “Get your butt to the briefing room. We need to get ready for the assault on Tartarus.”
    “Now that’s the Captain Kozuki I know,” he teased as they walked towards the elevators.

    * * *

    “Are you sure about this, Lelouch?” Cornelia asked him over a coded frequency on the main monitor within his private room of the Ikaruga.
    “We’ve no choice. We have to assault Tartarus now.” Lelouch sighed. “Enoch has informed me that if the Greeks are able to make use of the FORGE, then they’ll have an unlimited supply of power with which they'll totally enslave our world. The Apollyon may be gone, but Tartarus still has a full arsenal of weaponry, the most powerful of which is a series of orbital, beam weapon satellites known as the Sword of Damocles.”
    “Damocles again, eh?” Cornelia said in disgust. “The remaining Britannian forces will rendezvous with us just off the tip of Alexander Island on the South American side of Antarctica.”
    “Excellent," he smiled. "The remainder of the UFN forces will meet up with us there as well.” Lelouch brought up a small window on the left bottom corner of the viewscreen, which showed a map of the ice-covered continent. “Lady Kaguya has convinced Tohdoh that this is the only course of action that will ensure our success against the Olympians at this point. Therefore, the UFN ocean fleet will also accompany us in this operation and deploy marine forces here.” A series of red dots surrounded the South American side of the Antarctic coastline. "With the destruction of the Thor, we've regained our satellite network and can now locate the positions of the Greek warships and monitor their activities to a certain extent. We know the Kraken is here." A large, red triangle appeared on the screen. "It will be the first objective of the UFN forces while our aerial fleet moves in after the Kraken is dealt with."
    Cornelia studied the battleplan. "You want to mount a frontal attack against a city-fortress like Tartarus?"
    Lelouch frowned. "We've no choice. Athena isn’t going to waste any time using her satellite beam weapons to attack our forces from orbit, and our time will be short. Therefore, I plan to launch an assault on those beam weapons with our space-capable KnightMare Frames of the Yamato no Orochi. With the Sword of Damocles disabled or destroyed, we’ll be able to lay siege to Tartarus and put an end to this conflict.”
    “And if the city’s defenses are too strong?” Cornelia inquired.
    Lelouch held up a small black pouch. “Enoch has already discussed that possibility with me and provided me with a package to ensure the Greeks are no longer a threat. I’ll be leading the Hakodeshim into the city to reach the central tower where Nunnally is being held prisoner. Once I’ve got her and Jeremiah, I plan on using this package to send the Greeks a parting gift before I leave.”
    “I see.” She smiled at the mention of Enoch Apsu. “And I’m to keep the Greek forces busy until you’ve completed this mission, I take it?”
    “Precisely,” Lelouch grinned. “Your forces will draw out the KnightMare Frames and aerial warships of the enemy, which will allow my team to enter the city with little resistance.”
    “Sounds like a simple but effective plan, little brother,” she snickered. “I just hope it works considering none of us have ever faced an Olympian city-ship before.”
    He put his hand on the back on his head and sighed. “So do I.”

    * * *

    The brilliant white coastline of Antarctica dominated the horizon as the combined UFN/Britannian ocean surface fleet launched its underwater KMFs. A hail of aerial-launched depth charges streaked from the warships towards a point some distance away from them.
    Hades Cannon blasts burst up from the sea towards the bombardment; destroying a large portion of the depth charges but not all of them.
    A series of underwater explosions surrounded the area where the Hades beams had come from. In the next moment, a sonic wave of energy flew towards the combined fleet causing many of the ships to list and some to capsize. The ships at the head of the formation had their bows cracked open under the tremendous force of the sonic wave, which caused them to take on water.
    Underwater, squadrons of marine KMFs sped towards the dark outline of the Kraken as the Greek submarine unloaded its own mecha, a full legion of Mermaid aquatic Automatos.

    * * *

    "Our ocean forces have taken heavy damage!" Chiba told Tohdoh on the bridge of the Amagi as his air-fleet came in sight of the surface fleet battle.
    "Launch our Outbackers!" Kyoshiro barked. "And have them dive-bomb the Greek submarine."
    Wings of Type-21Os poured out from off the hangar launch ramps of the forty odd airships within General Tohdoh's flotilla of ships. The mass of variable KnightMare Frames showered the sea with their Slugger hypervelocity bazookas. Underwater explosions followed the hail of deadly projectiles, forcing the Kraken to surface.
    The deep-blue hull of the beast resembled a large UFN submarine, though the bridge section was akin to a large shark-fin with a series of windows running from top to bottom indicating various decks of the massive submersible.
    Hades and Chaos Cannon gunports popped up from along the sides of the ship and began firing an energy beam bombardment at the dive-bombing Type-21Os, quickly destroying numerous KMFs.
    "FIRE HADRONS!" Kyoshiro commanded.
    Every Hadron Cannon in his aerial fleet opened up and fired on the Kraken. The force of the onslaught beat its way through the shimmering Aegis shield of the submarine, which was clearly overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of the attack.
    The hull of the Kraken was blasted open on numerous sections, causing several secondary explosions all along the superstructure of the submarine, but the beast withstood the bombardment.
    "We have new contacts!" Chiba exclaimed as the bronze silhouette of a large Greek airship come into view over the Antarctic coast.

    * * *

    "What's your status, Porsche?" Medea inquired on the bridge of her airship as the Ithaca approached the battle.
    The Kraken's captain came on the main screen. "We're badly damaged. Half our Automatos have been wiped out, and the Poseidon Cannon is destroyed."
    "You'd better withdraw now, Porsche." Medea smiled at her, "There's no need for you to get killed over this. We'll cover your escape."
    "Thank you, Medea. We'll recall all our remaining units at once." Porsche's image vanished off the screen.
    Medea turned to her second-in-command. "Have my Circe and two legions of Spartans made ready for battle at once!"
    "Yes, my lady!" the man bowed.

    * * *

    "Tohdoh's forces have engaged the enemy," a female bridge bunny told General Li Xingke as his fleet of aerial warships crossed over the lip of the Antarctic shoreline.
    "Are there any enemy contacts?" Xingke asked in his dry monotone.
    "Not yet, sir; it would seem the enemy is baiting us," the young woman replied.
    Xingke turned to his navigator. "Have we reached Zero's predetermined position for our fleet yet?"
    "We are arriving at the coordinates now, General," the man replied.
    "Excellent." Xingke stood up from his command chair. "Scramble all KnightMare Frames. Send the Type-24s to the forward lines, and have our Type-21s maintain aerial cover as we await Zero's orders."
    "Yes, General," his bridge staff replied in unison.
    Thousands of Type-24 KMFs disembarked from Xingke's fleet of fifty-five airships and dropped down towards the surface as the Type-21s flew up above the fleet. The Type-24s hovered over the ground via their null-gravity cones and zipped out in front of the fleet to form a series of four lines of nearly a thousand KnightMare Frames abreast each.
    The Type-21s flew up high into the cloudless skies over the ice-covered continent. Their metallic bodies reflected the sunlight making them look like thousands of stars in the mid-morning sky.

    * * *

    "You ready for this?" Enoch asked Kallen as he met her on the flight deck of the Ikaruga.
    She gave him a thin smile. "Yeah, I'm ready." Kallen looked him over. "How about you? You think we can pull this off?"
    "What, we're only going up against ten satellites, each the size of the Ikaruga." He winked at her. "What's so hard about that?"
    "You act like it's no big deal," Kallen chortled as the other members of the Yamato no Orochi joined them in the hangar.
    "If anyone can do it, Kallen, it's us," Enoch said with a smile.
    "He's right, you know, Captain," said Akira as he made his way towards the Susano-O. "We can do this."
    "Especially since we've got these new Type-21Zs," Gregor sniggered. "They kick butt!"
    "Ahem!" Mika jabbed him in the ribs gently. "And the Kali?"
    "No kidding," Lena laughed. "This op wouldn't even be possible without our Type-25X."
    "They have a point," Anya added as she got into her Type-21Z. "We're going to rely on the Kali's weaponry to knock down the Aegis shields of those satellites."
    "Yep," Tetsuo said as his cockpit canopy came down and he switched on his radio. "This is gonna be one heck of a ride."
    Tamaki was unusually silent as the eight KnightMare Frames taxied to the launch ramp. He was worried about Kallen but was hesitant to talk about it openly.
    Villetta's voice came over the main radio frequency. "Yamato no Orochi, you are cleared for takeoff!"
    In the next instant, the eight mecha blasted off the top deck of the Ikaruga.

    * * *

    "It would seem the Black Knights don't wish to engage us, my Lord," a young, male Greek officer said on the bridge of the Olympian aerial warship Thebes.
    Ares stood in the middle of the warship which was of the same class as that of the Argos and Ithaca. "No...They know what they're doing, Deucalion. They're waiting for us to come to them."
    "Shall we, sire?" Deucalion inquired.
    "No." Ares looked out over the icy plain. "We are to remain here until after the Sword of Damocles dispatches them. Then we'll mop up what's left of their forces."
    "As you wish, my Lord," the man replied with a nod. "Sire, may I mobilize our Automatos in case the enemy manages to evade the satellite attack?"
    Ares grinned at the man's prudence. "Yes, Deucalion, you may mobilize our machines."

    * * *

    "We're breaking through the stratosphere into the ionosphere and should be coming up on the first pair of Swords any minute now," Anya reported to the team as their squadron of eight KnightMare Frames zoomed towards a pair of long, sword-shaped, metallic structures whose "tips" were pointed towards Earth.
    The "blade" of one of Swords began to split into two halves forming a pair of triangular booms. Electrical bolts of energy arced back and forth over the surface of the booms as a large, blue-white ball began forming between them at the "hilt guard" of the Sword.
    "It's getting ready to fire!" Enoch announced over the radio. "Its shields should be down; we can take it out if we move quickly!"
    "Roger that," Kallen said as she flew Guren-Phoenix towards the device. "But where should we hit it at this point?" she asked as the massive weapon filled her viewscreens.
    "Aim for the portside cooling lines with your gunpods, and concentrate your fire on the main junction conduit. The Greeks use a liquid oxygen mixture as a coolant, which is extremely explosive," Enoch told them as he unleashed a hail of Meson Beam bolts at the large, circular pumping station which kept the metallic structure from melting due to the intense heat of the Chaos beam it was generating.
    "How convenient for us," Kallen sniggered as she riddled the circular pump with energy discs in unison with her teammates until the large structure exploded. The detonation caused a chain reaction which ran the length of the blade all along the cooling system's veins that ran all over the portside "blade."
    The blue-white sphere of energy wobbled and expanded uncontrollably over the middle of the booms. Instantly, the centers of the twin booms disintegrated causing the whole of the Sword to erupt in a titanic explosion.
    "Whew!!" Gregor cheered. "Yeah!"
    "That's one down," said Akira as they came up on the second Sword. "Nine to go."

    * * *

    "Goddess Athena, we've lost one of our Swords of Damocles,” a female officer said to the supreme commander of the Greeks as she sat in her command throne atop a raised, circular dais in the main control tower of Tartarus.
    "I wonder where they got the idea to attack the satellites directly," Athena muttered under her breath as a crooked smile crossed her face. "Enoch, you sly bastard."
    "My Lady?" the female officer inquired, a bit confused by Athena's comments.
    Athena looked at her and stood up. "Move the remaining Swords into geosynchronous orbit over our position and begin targeting the UFN and Britannian fleets. Also, launch three legions of the Hoplite-Orion Automatos and have them act as guard units for the remaining Swords. Also, have Sthenno launch in her Abaddon with a legion of Cyclops and a legion of Minotaurs; have them comb the sierras to our backside for enemy mecha."
    "Yes, milady," the female officer bowed.
    Athena pushed a button on the left arm of her throne. "Hephaestus."
    "Yes, my Goddess Athena," the old man replied.
    "Activate the Daedalus generators and prepare the Tartarus for battle."
    "As you wish, milady," the man's tired voice answered obediently.

    * * *

    "Our KMFs are getting wiped out!" Chiba shouted frantically as their forces engaged Medea's legions of Automatos.
    Kyoshiro examined the battle on the main viewscreen above him. "Protect the surface fleet by moving our fleet closer to the enemy, and launch our Type-24s. We need to ensure that the mecha transports can deploy their machines."
    "Yes, sir," Nagisa replied with a nod.
    The hangar bays of Tohdoh's fleet were emptied as the Type-24s flew out into the fray to assist the thinning numbers of Type-21s that were embroiled in the conflict with Medea's forces.
    "General Tohdoh's forces are taking a beating, Ohgi," Villetta told him on the bridge of the Ikaruga. "Shouldn't we help them?"
    "No," Ohgi said flatly. "Zero said for us to maintain this position until the Sword of Damocles has been destroyed."
    "But General Tohdoh's forces could be wiped out by that time!" Villetta pleaded with him.
    "I realize that," he closed his eyes in frustration, "but we've no choice. Zero has a plan, and if it's to succeed, then we need to follow it."
    "Captain, enemy airship spotted," one of the bridge bunnies called out.
    "Where?" Villetta asked before Captain Nu.
    "Dead ahead at about forty kilometers," the woman replied. "I think it's the Argos,” the woman added quickly.
    "Scramble all our KnightMare Frames and have them launch," Ohgi told the woman, "but order them to only form a defensive perimeter. We are not to engage the enemy until Zero gives the order."
    "Aye, sir," the bridge bunny responded.

    * * *

    "Focus your Veil of Destruction on the center of the Sword!" Enoch yelled over the comm. at Mika and Lena as the Kali came up on the second satellite.
    "Will do!" Mika replied as Lena flew their heavy mecha up alongside the massive beam cannon. The brilliant green radiance of the Veil of Destruction emanated from the globes of the dual sickles on the back of the Kali and enveloped the Sword. The green energy clashed with the shimmering gold radiance of the Aegis shield and erupted into a shower of copper-colored sparks that flew out in every direction.
    "The shield is down! All units, attack!" Enoch bellowed.
    Kallen and the other Black Knights hammered the point at which the "blade" met the "hilt-guard" of the Sword, the area of the machine that held its power unit. The hail of energy discs and Meson beams tore through the bronze metal, and in seconds, the whole of the satellite erupted in a massive explosion.
    "New contacts!" Anya declared as a mass of Hoplite-Orions (mecha that are nearly identical to the standard Spartan except that the wings are replaced by spheres, which allow for transatmospheric spaceflight) rushed through the stratosphere towards them.
    "Damn it!" Akira cursed. "There's too many of them."
    "Enoch, the Swords!" Tamaki exclaimed over the radio as all of the Swords of Damocles began to open.
    "There's no time to stop them all!" Lena yelled.
    "Kallen," Enoch said as he transformed his Type-21Z into KnightMare mode, "I need you to keep those Hoplite-Orions busy while I take the Kali with me to the next Sword."
    "What good will that do? There's not time left, Enoch; we can't possibly stop eight of these satellites at once," Kallen barked at him as she melted a pair of Hoplite-Orions into molten slag with a wave blast from Guren's Supernova that passed right through the Aegis shields of the mecha.
    "Just do it!" Enoch snapped at her as he cut through three Orions with the Kaon Particle Beam Sabers of his Type-21Z as it flew towards the third Sword. “Besides,” he snickered mischievously, "I've got an idea."
    "What kind of idea?" Kallen asked with skepticism clearly in her voice.
    "A stupid one of course," Enoch laughed.
    "I had a feeling you'd say something like that," Kallen griped as she flew to intercept another duo of Hoplite-Orions. "Okay, you heard him; let's buy Enoch some time to execute his plan...since we don't have any other choice at the moment."

    * * *

    "My lady, all Swords have been activated and are targeting the four enemy fleets as per your instructions," a female officer stated methodically in the command center of Tartarus.
    "Thank you, Io," Athena smiled at the woman. "How soon will the Swords be ready to fire?"
    "Five minutes, my lady," Io responded.
    "Excellent," Athena stated with a grin. "Then this futile attempt by the UFN and Britannia will save us the trouble of having to track down and destroy their fleets since they were kind enough to bring them here for us."

    * * *

    "Their shields are down," Enoch told Mika and Lena. "I need you gals to hold off the Orions until I finish what I need to do."
    "What are you going to do?" Lena asked him as he cut another pair of Hoplites in half with his beam sabers and landed his Type-21Z on top of the "hilt-guard" of the Sword. "You'll know soon enough."
    Enoch jumped out of his KMF dressed in his Devicer EVA space suit and used the momentum to shoot himself towards an access hatch on the hull of the machine.
    He removed the glove from off his right hand. Damn, it's cold, he thought to himself as the freezing cold of space touched his cybernetic skin. Enoch put his naked hand over the LED-lit control panel and accessed the security system just as blue-bolts of electrical energy began arcing over the surface of the blade.
    "Enoch, whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it NOW!" Kallen yelled over the comm. in his helmet
    "Don't worry your head off, love," Enoch said to her as he entered the control room of the Sword and made his way to the master computer station. "I've got all the time I need to pull this off."
    "No you don't, you fool; the blue-globes have already formed," Kallen shouted at him. "It's too late. You need to get your ass out of there!"
    He put his hand over the computer console and accessed the unified fire control commands of all the Swords. Only one minute seventeen seconds left. Guess there's only enough time to do one thing, he thought to himself with a wicked grin as he accessed the satellites’ self-destruct command console.
    "Hey, Kallen, don't be too hard on Big-Z," Enoch said softly over the radio. "He needs his friends."
    "Guess I'll learn was a meteor feels like," Enoch snickered to himself as the satellite he was in detonated.
    "What? What the hell is that supposed to mean...Enoch? Don't you dare die on me, you son of a bitch!" Kallen screamed over the radio as the eight Swords of Damocles exploded.
    All things in moderation...

  6. #26
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty Five: Dirge of Daedalus


    “It was a battle for the history books. A struggle between man’s past and his future, but like so many of the wars in mankind’s long journey, this one would only lead the world into yet another uneasy peace.” —Excerpt from the diary of Lelouch vi Britannia (Zero), dated March 2025 a.t.b.

    “ENOCH!” Kallen screamed over the radio as she ripped through four Orions while the remains of the Swords fell to Earth. They looked like a shower of stars falling as the pieces burned up in the atmosphere.
    “Captain Kozuki, we have to return to Antarctica at once!” Akira demanded over the comm. “Our comrades need us.”
    The Guren-Phoenix chased down and riddled another pair of Hoplite-Orions with energy discs from its gunpod. “Not before I kill these bastards!” Kallen shot back in a malevolent tone as the Guren grabbed onto another of the Orions. The mecha tried in vain to slash at her with its sword, but the Supernova of the Type-25 melted the Greek machine instantly. Enoch said HE when he told me Zero needs HIS friends. That means Zero cannot possibly be Euphemia...but why? Why wouldn't Enoch tell me?
    Akira wasn't sure if there was time for her to chase down each of the enemy mecha. He contacted the Kali. “Lena, I need you and Mika to stay up here and guard Captain Kozuki while we return to the battle on Earth.”
    “But, Akira, we can’t protect her alone,” Lena said as the Kali cut a pair of Orions in half with its sword.
    “I’m not leaving Kallen behind,” Tamaki added over the general frequency as he dodged a Chaos beam and sliced an Orion in half with the Hadron blade of his Type-21Z.
    “We’re almost through with these guys, Akira,” said Mika snidely. “Why don’t you have some patience? Captain Nu and the others can take care of themselves.”
    “She’s got a point, Akira,” Gregor chided his friend as he cut down an Orion with his twin Kaon Particle Beam Sabers in a single fluid swipe at the midsection of the machine.
    “Fine,” Akira conceded as he watched Kallen dodge a hail of Hades Cannon blasts from three doomed Orions before they were incinerated by the Supernova of Guren. “I guess we should let her get it out of her system anyway.”
    “There’s no doubt that you’re a great KnightMare pilot, Akira, but you still have a lot to learn about being a warrior,” Anya said softly. "Warriors never abandon their friends."
    Nobunaga let out a frustrated laugh. “Yah, I guess I do.” He had Susano-O draw its Hadron blade as he charged towards the last group of Orions.

    * * *

    “My lady, the Sword of Damocles has been destroyed,” Athena’s female officer reported woefully.
    Athena raised her left eyebrow. “Impressive…most impressive. I guess we’ve no choice then.” Athena looked at the digital representation of the battlefield on the main monitor of the command center. “Order our forces to attack their forward aerial fleets, but have Sthenno remain in reserve. The fourth enemy fleet seems to be smaller than the other three and no doubt is Zero’s.”

    * * *

    “Are you sure this is such a good idea, Zero?” C.C. inquired sarcastically as she flew the Ariel with the other three Hakodeshim through the mountain range that surrounded the rear of Tartarus.
    “Yes,” he stated flatly, “it is the best course of action I can think of.”
    “Which means we’re in trouble,” Suzaku teased him over the radio.
    “Only if Enoch fails in his part of the plan,” Lelouch stated with a snicker. “If the Sword of Damocles has been destroyed, we shouldn’t have a problem reaching the main tower and rescuing Nunnally. According to the information I acquired from Medusa, there are only three aerial warships in Tartarus. While those craft are certainly formidable, they aren’t powerful enough to contend with the fleet we’ve assembled here.”
    “Don’t be too sure, Zero,” C.C. warned. “This city is also a fortress; there’s no telling what kinds of weapons it may possess.”
    “C2 is right, you know,” Euphie interjected. “The Greeks have surprised us on numerous occasions. There’s no reason not to assume they’ll pull another ace out of their sleeve.”
    “Your concern is noted, but I highly doubt we’ll have to deal with anymore—“ A beam of brilliant blue-white energy cut him off as it nearly incinerated the Samael.
    “SURPRISE!” Sthenno’s voice cackled over the communicator. “You vile little wretches thought you could assault the city from behind without resistance? Ha! What fools!”
    From over the peak of one of the low mountains, the Abaddon and its host of Cyclops and Minotaur Automatos skimmed over the snow-covered surface towards them at speed.
    “It’s an ambush!” Suzaku exclaimed as the Cyclops machines fired Chaos beams from the chest-mounted spherical weapon. Suzaku dodged a myriad of beam cannon blasts as the Minotaurs unleashed their salvos of Hades Cannon fire from the horn-like heavy weapons on the head of the mecha.
    Euphie deflected numerous blasts with the Uriel’s defensive shields while C.C. rolled out of the way of another barrage.
    “I’ll take of all of them,” Lelouch said as he brought the arm-mounted weapons of the Samael to bear on the legions of Greek machines.
    “Oh, no you don’t,” Sthenno said as she brought the Abaddon down towards the Samael. At over fifty meters tall (165 feet), the Abaddon was much larger than any of the mecha on the field around it. The large machine had a head unit that was sunken down in between its large, armored, round shoulders. There was no faceplate in the head, only a sensor eye cover which ran from one side to the other like a visor. A stubby, oval antigravity generator was on each side of the head protruding from a rectangular “backpack” which had three thruster nozzles in a triangular pattern on its center. Each arm of the Abaddon was comprised of a heavily armored, cylindrical forearm which ended in a large, three-fingered claw with a circular cannon muzzle in the palm. The legs were short and stubby in a wedge-shaped design with armored knees and a pair of thruster nozzles on the outside of each calf. The whole configuration of the Abaddon was that of an ogre.
    The Abaddon generated a force field which deflected the yellow-gold beams that the Samael shot out of its forearm cannons. “You’ll have to do better than that, Zero!”
    The giant mecha unleashed a salvo of missiles from “pop-up” launchers on its chest which unloaded a dozen missiles each.
    Lelouch used the omnidirectional barrier of Samael to absorb the warhead detonations as he flew back out of reach of the massive claws of Abaddon. “Damn you, Sthenno!” Lelouch barked at her.

    * * *

    “Sthenno’s force has engaged Zero, my lady,” Athena’s female lieutenant reported mechanically.
    “Very good.” Athena was pleased with herself. Her strategy was going as she had anticipated it would. “Io, have our forces lure the UFN fleet towards the city, and tell Hephaestus to power up the Cerebus gun. I want to end this quickly.”
    “Yes, milady,” the woman nodded as she turned back to her control panel.

    * * *

    “Ohgi, they’ve lost half their KnightMare Frames!” Villetta exclaimed as streams of Hadron and autocannon fire streaked towards the distant bronze speck near the horizon. “It would seem their forces are withdrawing back towards the city. Should we pursue them?”
    Captain Nu looked at his wife as he contemplated the consequences should this move by the enemy be an elaborate trap. “Yes…follow them, but have our fleet do so slowly. I don’t trust these Greeks. They’ve tricked us before with these kinds of tactics.”
    Villetta nodded, “Agreed, I’ll order our KMFs to advance in a slow and steady advance.”

    * * *

    “Lady Medea, the enemy ocean fleet has begun to deploy large numbers of mecha along the coastline,” a young woman’s voice informed Medea as she flew her Circe towards her next intended target.
    Medea blasted an Avalon class frigate with the belly-mounted Chaos Gun of her Circe before responding, “Don’t worry about them, Lia.” Medea cut through a Type-21B as she continued, “Have our fleet withdraw towards the city as per Athena’s instructions. I’m sure she has something special in mind for these infidels.”
    “As you wish, milady,” Lia replied.

    * * *

    “The enemy fleet has begun to retreat, General Tohdoh,” Chiba informed him as he watched a digital representation of the conflict on the overhead screen of the Amagi.
    “They’re moving back towards the safety of their city,” Kyoshiro said as he quickly formulated a countermove. “Close in on them and order our KMFs to cut off their escape path. If they get too far ahead of our forces, they’ll no doubt get cover fire from Tartarus itself. We need to prevent that.”
    “Yes, General,” Nagisa replied then began relaying Tohdoh’s instructions to the fleet.

    * * *

    “We’ve broken through their perimeter defense forces, General Xingke,” Rivalz told him over the video screen.
    Xingke gave him a dry grin. “It appears you’ve routed their mobile units and put them into a state of disarray. Even now, their airship has begun to withdraw back towards the city.”
    “That seems a little too easy, General,” Rivalz cautioned.
    Xingke nodded. “I agree. They probably have heavier weapons within the city of Tartarus…therefore, I need you and your squadron to harass their aerial battleship into slowing down long enough for us to catch up to it and bring it within range of our main weapons.”
    “Understood, General.” Rivalz gave him a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep them from running away.”

    * * *

    “Watch out!” Suzaku said to Euphie as he cut through a pair of Cyclops units that tried to strafe the Uriel from behind.
    The sides and tops of the sierras all around them were littered with the burning wreckage of Cyclops and Minotaur Automatos, but they were still outnumbered three to one.
    “At least we’ve thinned them out a bit,” C.C. sniggered as she blew through four of the Greek mecha with a dual blast of energy from the blue spheres on the forearms of Ariel.
    “How’s Zero doing?” Euphie asked as she dodged a salvo of Hades Cannon bolts then cut the Minotaur that fired them in two with Uriel’s beam sabers.
    “He’s not doing so hot,” Suzaku said in a worried tone as Gabriel did a spin kick that impaled another Cyclops in the chest. The enemy unit fell to earth and exploded on impact.

    * * *

    At the top of the low mountain that the Greeks had launched their ambush, the Samael and Abaddon dueled.
    “There’s no point in continuing to oppose us, Zero,” Sthenno stated confidently as the Abaddon fired a blast of energy from one of its palm-guns. The beam cut past the Samael and shattered the rocky tip of an adjacent peak.
    “She’s right, Zero,” Medusa added. “I promise we will not harm you if you surrender. You showed me mercy, and in return I’ll do the same for you.”
    “Forgive me if I’m cynical of your sense of mercy, Medusa,” Lelouch scoffed. “I’ve no interest in being your pet,” he said as Samael unsheathed its pair of green-colored beam sabers from their shoulder sheathes.
    “Don’t be an idiot, Zero,” Sthenno laughed. “That machine is no match for Abaddon. This Automatos was designed to destroy Archangels.” A green radiance shimmered around the Abaddon as Lelouch attempted to cut off one of its cylindrical arms. The green energy blades bounced off the force field harmlessly.
    The Abaddon fired a blast from one of its palm-guns at the Samael.
    “I’ll admit your machine is powerful, but it’s slow,” Lelouch smiled as he tested the shield again with his beam sabers.
    “Fool, you’re wasting your time.” Sthenno fired a salvo of missiles again.
    This time, Lelouch fired at the same time with one of his forearm beams. The beam was undaunted by the shield and impacted the Abaddon in its left torso just below one of the missile launchers.
    Medusa and Sthenno lurched forward as something exploded within the chest of their machine.
    “Damage report!” Sthenno demanded as she watched her salvo of missiles impact the energy shield of Samael.
    “He hit our shield generator when we fired,” Medusa stated frantically. “We no longer have our omnidirectional force field.
    “It would seem the tables have turned,” Lelouch tittered over the comm.
    “Don’t be so cocky, boy!” Sthenno yelled as she fired both palm-guns up at the mountain peak behind the Samael. A shower of ice and rock fell down around Lelouch’s machine.
    Lelouch flew the Samael with all the skill he could muster in order to dodge the avalanche of debris. He spun his machine around just as the Abaddon reached out with its great claw and grabbed his mecha like a doll.
    “Now I have you!” Sthenno cackled manically as the giant, clawed hand began to squeeze the Hakodeshim.

    * * *

    “They’ve got Zero!” Euphie shouted over the radio in a panic as she tried to break away from the twenty Minotaur machines that were engaging her.
    “I’ll try to get to him!” said C.C. as she sliced through four Cyclops units with the gold-colored beam sabers of her mecha. She nearly reached Lelouch when her machine was blocked by four Minotaur. “Get out of my way!” she yelled as she blasted one of them with a burst of blue energy from the globe on the Ariel’s left forearm.
    “Zero, get out of there!” Suzaku yelled as he tried to break through the dwindling mass of Greek battle robots with the full gamut of Gabriel’s weaponry, but the horde of Automatos was too thick.

    * * *

    “Sthenno, we should take him back as a prisoner,” Medusa told her sister as she watched the Samael struggle to break free.
    “I’m sorry, Medusa,” Sthenno said coldly, “but this man is far too dangerous for me to allow him to live.”
    “But you promised,” Medusa whined.
    “I said if I could save him I would,” Sthenno corrected her, “however, it is clear to me that to spare him would be as foolish as sparing Schneizel was. I will not make that mistake again. Do you hear me, Zero?”
    “I hear you,” Lelouch scowled as the Abaddon began to crush the Samael.
    “I’m going to kill you like I did that pig Schneizel,” Sthenno declared with malice as she set the palm-gun to maximum power and prepared to fire.
    “NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!” Kallen yelled over the radio as the Guren-Phoenix crashed down on top of the Abaddon. “This ends here and now!" Kozuki flipped the Supernova to full power and pulled the trigger.
    "What the...?" Sthenno exclaimed in confusion.
    The sisters didn't know what hit them as the wave of super-heated energy passed over the body of the Abaddon in one fluid sweep causing the machine to melt down onto itself and explode at the same time that Guren flew off of it.
    The Samael was shoved deeper into the snow by the force of the explosion.

    * * *

    "Sthenno's force has been wiped out, my lady Athena." Io relayed the report with icy indifference.
    “It was to be expected,” Athena said with a wave of her hand. “Zero will soon be right where I want him, and then we’ll hold all the pieces of this little game.”
    “My lady,” Io interrupted her thoughts, “our airships have withdrawn into position. However, only two of the three enemy fleets have taken the bait. The central fleet is proceeding very slowly.”
    “And the fourth fleet?” Athena inquired.
    “The small aerial fleet to our rear has not moved from its position,” Io said.
    “No matter.” Athena lifted her chin. “Once we’ve dealt with the bulk of their forces the rest will fall easily.”

    * * *

    “The Ikaruga and her fleet aren’t following the enemy force,” Tetsuo informed his companions as they dove down upon the Argos.
    “That’s probably for the better,” Anya said as she fired a barrage of Meson beams into a pair of Hoplite Spartans, destroying them.
    “Hey, Akira, isn’t this Jason’s ship?” Tamaki asked snidely.
    “Don’t worry, Tamaki, this time I intend to defeat him and take him prisoner,” Akira answered him in a cold tone.
    “And if you can’t?” Mika asked from the Kali.
    “He’s a warrior, Mika…” Akira sighed, “and warriors are prepared to die.”

    * * *

    “Jason, a force of Automatos has appeared above us,” Orpheus informed him from within the cockpit of his Hoplite Spartan at the head of their legion of Spartans.
    Jason sat within the cockpit of his own machine, the Atlas—a machine identical to the Talos and the Helios, as he looked around the battlespace. “I see them.”
    “The lead machine looks like Akira’s,” said Heracles.
    “It is,” Jason replied in a steely tone.
    “Shall we engage them?” Heracles asked.
    “We’ve no choice but to,” Jason told him as he flew the Atlas towards the five members of the Yamato no Orochi.
    The Susano-O slashed through two Spartans as it came up towards the Atlas. It stopped just short of Jason’s machine and saluted.
    Jason didn’t need to speak to Akira to know that this duel would not be like their previous encounters. This contest would not be teacher to student, this would be warrior to warrior.

    * * *

    The Gabriel, Uriel and Ariel finished digging out the Samael from the mass of ice and rock that it had been buried under.
    “Are you alright, Zero?” Euphie was worried about Lelouch from the moment his machine had engaged the Abaddon.
    “I’m fine, thank you,” Lelouch replied in his Zero voice. He was mindful of the fact that Kallen was there, as was evident by the fact that Guren-Phoenix stood guard while the Hakodeshim dug out Samael.
    “Thank you for your help, Captain Kozuki,” Suzaku told her.
    “Don’t mention it, Suzaku,” said Kallen coldly. “But understand this: I didn’t save Zero for any of you. I did it because it’s my duty, and it’s what Enoch wanted.”
    “Where is Enoch?” Euphie asked.
    Kallen winced at the question. “He didn’t make it.”
    “NO!” Euphemia cried out.
    “We can mourn him later,” C.C. said in an urgent tone. “We still need to rescue the empress and her Knight of Orange. Time is of the essence right now and thus we need to get moving.”
    “Agreed,” Zero stated flatly. “Captain Kozuki, the UFN fleet needs every KnightMare they can get right now. I greatly appreciate your help here, but you need to leave. The Olympians are clearly drawing our forces into a trap.” Lelouch brought up a digital window of the battle and transmitted it to Guren. “If you attack their lead ship from the rear, you should be able to disrupt their battle plan and ruin their strategy.”
    Pushing me away again, are you? Kallen thought to herself. “Looks like a good plan,” she lied. Kallen didn’t care whether it was a good plan or not. She was determined to know if this Zero was Lelouch, and she knew of only one sure way to find out. “But I’ve got to know something before I go.”
    The Guren-Phoenix lunged forward and grabbed the Samael with its Supernova claw. “Tell me…tell me now who you are or I’ll destroy this machine!”
    “Kallen, what the hell are you doing!” C.C. had the Ariel bodycheck the Guren off the Samael.
    “Get out of my way, pizza girl!” Kallen yelled at her as the Guren kicked the Ariel into the snow.
    “Have you lost your mind?” Suzaku’s Gabriel flew up behind Guren and grabbed the machine in a bear hug.
    The Guren flew backwards into the side of the mountain, smashing the Gabriel off itself. Kallen turned her machine around to fire on the Gabriel when a pair of green blades came up in front of her mecha.
    “Stop this insanity, Captain Kozuki, or I’ll kill you.” Lelouch knew such harsh words would throw suspicion off of him.
    “You’d…kill me?” Kallen’s lips trembled in a mix of hurt and anger. “How could you?”
    “To save the people of this world...yes, I would. I can't sacrifice the lives of all those fighting here for the freedom of the world simply because I’m not who you want me to be,” he said in a cold tone. “Lelouch vi Britannia is dead. I’m sorry.”
    “I guess so,” Kallen answered softly as a tear of frustration trickled down her cheek. "Forgive me, Zero. I guess the loss of Enoch got to me. I'll return to the Ikaruga fleet as ordered." She didn't wait for him to respond. Kallen simply tore off to help Ohgi.

    * * *

    "My lady Athena, the two main fleets are now within firing range," Io reported to her with a smile.
    "Excellent, raise the city!" Athena commanded.
    As soon as her order was given, the great Daedalus generators within the bowels of Tartarus began to hum rhythmically. In a matter of seconds, the ice that surrounded Tartarus cracked and shattered, freeing the mighty sky-citadel from its frozen moorings. The whole of the circular metropolis lifted from its ancient resting place off the ice plains of Antarctica, exposing its bowl-shaped underbelly.
    Huge sheets of ice fell from the bottom of the massive ship as it came up into the sky. A belt comprised of block-shaped battlements ringed the circumference of the city-ship.
    Large, circular ports slid open in the center of each of the block-shaped battlements revealing a large, round Chaos Gun Sphere.
    "Open fire!" Athena barked at her subordinates within the command tower of Tartarus.
    Instantly, the massive Chaos Guns came to life firing beams of deadly energy the width of an aerial battleship towards both Tohdoh's and Xingke's fleets.

    * * *

    The Hadron Masmune of Susano-O clashed with the adamantine blade of the Atlas as the city of Tartarus broke free of the ice and ascended into the Antarctic sky.
    Explosion discs filled the sky in the vicinity of the two UFN air-fleets.
    "Damn you, Jason!" Akira yelled over the comm. as he dodged a thrust by the Atlas. Susano-O spun round and sliced at the left wing of the Greek machine and chopped off the wing tip. "How can you continue to fight us like this?"
    "This is war, Akira!" Jason told him in a dry monotone. "It's not personal," he said as his machine parried another sword attack.
    Both machines flew at each other, then parted, then clashed again. "When the lives of my friends are on the line, it's always personal." Susano-O pushed against the adamantine sword as the Hadron energy began to melt through the Greek blade.
    "Everyone dies, Akira," Jason said to him as his machine disengaged. "It's simply a matter of when." The Atlas slashed at the left wing of the Susano-O.
    Akira dodged and swiped at the left arm of Atlas, slicing off some of the armor. "I don't ascribe to that philosophy...not with people I care for!"
    "Perhaps I misjudged you," said Jason sadly as the Atlas slipped to one side and thrust with its sword.
    The Susano-O did a snap kick, knocking the adamantine sword from the hands of Atlas. "You did if you thought that I'd allow you to hurt my friends, Jason!" Akira yelled as he stabbed at the center of the Atlas.
    "No you don't, boy!" Heracles yelled as he fired his adamantine disc at Akira.
    "Maybe you should concentrate on your own battle, Greek!" Mika yelled as Lena piloted them into range of the Helios. Mika fired a hail of Meson beams from the arm-mounted gunpods of the Kali.
    The Meson bolts struck the adamantine disc and knocked it off its course causing it to miss the Susano-O but allowing Jason to dodge the Masmune.
    "Heracles, don't interfere—" Jason was cut off by a large explosion at the aft of the Argos.
    "Captain! The Argos is under attack!" Orpheus' voice reverberated through the cockpit of the Atlas.
    Showers of energy blasts rained towards an unknown object as it streaked up above the Argos and landed on the top forward section of the ship. A ring of liquid heat-energy passed over the hull of the Greek ship causing the top to rupture and explode.
    "What is that?" Lena asked in a stunned tone.
    "Guren," Anya said in awe of the machine as it blasted through more of the top deck of the huge aerial battleship with its Fukusha Hadou Kikou disc-rifle gunpod.
    "Whew hoo," Tamaki cheered with a snicker, "something's got Kallen really pissed."
    The Guren-Phoenix flew along the port side of the Argos at speed and unleashed a wave from its Supernova. The intense heat of the weapon stripped the armor of the Greek machine off completely in the wake of Guren.
    "NOW, OHGI!" Kallen yelled over the radio to the Ikaruga.
    Ohgi's response came in as a shower of heavy Hadron Cannon fire that tore through the hull of the Argos into the interior of the vessel.
    "Jason, we must retreat!" Heracles boomed over the comm. as the Argos listed to its port then exploded in a thunderous detonation. The shock wave threw the whole of the combatants into disarray with a blizzard of ice and debris.

    * * *

    "We've lost the Argos!" Io yelled in shock within the command center of Tartarus.
    Athena scowled, "Is the Cerberus Gun ready yet?"
    "Not yet, my lady." Io composed herself. "The triple-cannon is at 75% and charging."
    "And Jason?" Athena asked with concern.
    "He and his remaining forces have retreated to the Thebes,” Io reported.
    "A brilliant move, Zero," Athena said to herself. "Routing our middle to allow your central fleet to remain where it is out of harm’s reach." She humphed. "Io, tell Ares and Medea to fall back to the Tartarus. We'll finish their three forward fleets with the combined strength of both our airships and the weapons of the city."
    "As you wish, milady," Io replied then turned to obediently relay the orders.

    * * *

    "Keep pushing them back!" Tohdoh boomed on the command deck of the Amagi as the Greek Automatos formations crumbled under the weight of his KMF forces. "We're nearly to the city itself."
    Through the viewports of the Amagi, the floating city of Tartarus came into view.
    "Our fleet can't take much more of this," Chiba said in awe of the massive fortress as the huge ship bombarded their fleet with Chaos beams.
    "Keep our formation dispersed to force them to split up their cannon fire!" Kyoshiro yelled as five Avalon class frigates were blown out of the sky next to the Amagi.
    "Their city is now in range of both our heavy Hadrons and those of General Xingke's fleet," Nagisa said as another of the Avalon frigates exploded.
    "Order our forces and his to fire at will!" Kyoshiro commanded.
    Both UFN fleets unleashed the full fury of their capital ship weapons at the city.
    The onslaught was stopped short by a shimmering radiance of golden energy that surrounded the whole of the city-ship.
    "Oh, my God!" Chiba stated in horror. "It's shielded!"

    * * *

    "My Lord Ares, our fleet is now in position over Tartarus," Deucalion informed his commander.
    "Very good," Ares replied with a nod. "Bring the Thebes to full stop and position us out of the way of the Cerberus cannon."
    "We won't last long in this position, sire," Deucalion informed him. "Most of our Automatos have been destroyed by their machines, and our Aegis shields are already at 110% output trying to repel their fleets’ weaponry."
    "We won't have to, Deucalion," Ares smiled. "The flies have entered the spider's web."

    * * *

    The Samael and its three Hakodeshim companions flew up out of the mountain range as the massive Aegis shield shimmered around the whole of Tartarus.
    "The city has a shield," Suzaku exclaimed in frustration. "How the hell are we going to get through that?"
    "No kidding," Euphie added. "Even these machines don't have enough power to knock down a shield of that magnitude."
    "So what now, Zero? You're the strategic genius," C.C. chided Lelouch. "Where's the miracle this time?"
    "I thought you'd never ask," Lelouch chortled as he opened a new radio channel. "Cornelia, is everything ready?"
    "The Gefjun cannon is fully charged and ready to fire," Cornelia said from within the cockpit of her KMF Queen Victorious as it held a massive, cylindrical, bazooka-like cannon over its shoulder. A host of KMF Victoria general issue Frames stood on the deck of the Avalon around Cornelia's mauve-colored unit where a large power cable ran from the back of the bazooka into an open plate on the top deck of the airship.
    "Fire," Lelouch said in a confident tone.
    Cornelia fired the weapon. A ball of green-white energy blasted out of the maw of the cannon towards the energy shield of the Tartarus.
    The green ball slammed into the shimmering golden field and dissipated a large portion of it.
    "NOW!" Lelouch yelled at his companions as he flew the Samael towards the hole as fast as was safe to do so.
    In seconds, the four Hakodeshim were through the shield and over the city of Tartarus.

    * * *

    "My lady, four Hakodeshim have penetrated our Aegis shield and entered the city!" Io exclaimed.
    "WHAT!" Athena blurted out in surprise. "How?" she demanded.
    Io's face showed fear as she replied, "It would seem their rear fleet fired some kind of weapon that disrupted our shield."
    "Damn him!" Athena cursed. "Of course! How could I have been so stupid! The main force was a decoy. His real objective is Nunnally. Have a platoon sent down to the prison level where the empress is being held and tell them to shoot intruders on sight."
    "It will be done, my lady," Io nodded.

    * * *

    "They're on to us!" C.C. informed Lelouch as twenty Hoplite Spartans flew down the streets below towards them.
    "Well, of course they are," Lelouch sniggered. "We did knock down a portion of their defense shield. We need to pull this off with split-second timing. Suzaku, you and the Red Dragon will form a defensive line on the south side of the central tower of the city while C.C. and I enter the building and rescue Nunnally and Jeremiah."
    "How will you even find them?" Suzaku asked as the Greek mecha began to close in on them while they descended towards the base of the large bronze-tipped tower.
    "Jeremiah's cybernetics are sakuradite-powered and act as a homing beacon that will allow us to detect him, since I highly doubt there are mini-KnightMares in this tower. Besides, I'm only picking up one such signal and it's in a sublevel near the main elevators."
    "Well, somebody had a lot of time to think this through," Euphie giggled. "Smarty pants."
    Suzaku breathed deeply. "Okay, Zero, let's do this."
    The four machines landed at the base of the command tower. The Uriel and the Gabriel took up tactical positions on each side of the building as C.C. and Lelouch (dressed as Devicers with only a balaclava on) jumped out of their Hakodeshim and ran into the building.
    "There they go," Euphie said with concern. "I hope they'll be okay."
    "Don't worry," Suzaku reassured her as the first Spartans came into view down the street. "They'll do fine."

    * * *

    C.C. and Lelouch dove past a troop of guards that came running down the hall as soon as the pair passed through the vestibule into the lobby of the large tower.
    C.C pulled out her pistol prompting Lelouch to do the same.
    "Your Geass will be more powerful than these pistols, Lelouch," C.C. informed him as the elevator descended to the fifth sublevel of the building.
    "I understand," he said. "That's why I left the Zero helmet behind. If I need my Geass, I can use it instantly."
    The door opened up revealing a host of twenty Greek troopers in armor.
    "Now would be a good time!" C.C. squealed as she fired a few rounds from her pistol.
    Lelouch cast his Geass, "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you to obey my orders without question!"
    The twenty troopers came to attention and declared in unison, "YES, MY LORD!"
    Lelouch and C.C. led the platoon of Greek soldiers to the suite which held Nunnally and Jeremiah. "Open it," Lelouch ordered the Greek officer.
    The man obeyed and the door opened.
    "Nunnally," Lelouch said as he pulled down the front of his balaclava.
    "Lelouch!" Nunnally stood up from the sofa she sat upon.
    "Master Zero, we are honored to be saved by you personally," Jeremiah gleamed.
    "You sure took long enough." Nunnally glared at him. "By the sound of things, Ohgi and the others are in real trouble."
    "They are," C.C. stated with urgency. "We need to go now."
    "Jeremiah, I need you to go with Nunnally to the surface and get my sister out of here. Take the green KnightMare at the entrance to this place and leave."
    "And where are you going?" Nunnally asked with a frown.
    "I need to deliver this package for Enoch." Lelouch gave her a sad smile.
    "Where?" Nunnally inquired.
    "The main engine room of Tartarus some fifty levels below us," he said with a sinister smirk. "Don't worry, I've got C2 to protect me."
    "Oh, yeah right." C.C. rolled her eyes. "Some gentleman you are."
    "We don't have time for this," Jeremiah reminded them.
    Lelouch turned to the Greek commander. "Protect the Empress Nunnally and her Knight Jeremiah with your lives."
    "Yes, sire! It will be done!" the Geassed officer stated obediently.
    Lelouch bent down and kissed Nunnally on the forehead. "I'll see you back on the Ikaruga."
    Nunnally only nodded. She wanted to believe him but something worried her.
    "Let's go, Empress." Jeremiah picked her up in his arms and followed the troopers to the elevators.
    "Ready?" Lelouch asked C.C.
    "As I'll ever be," she smiled at him. C.C. was glad she could be a part of this with him. She knew the danger they were in, but being with Lelouch chased her fears away.

    * * *

    "Captain Nu." Cornelia's image came up on the main screen of the Ikaruga. "Move your forces into full retreat."
    "What? Why?" Ohgi asked in a confused tone.
    "Tell Tohdoh and Xingke that Zero has infiltrated the Tartarus and that his plan requires you to withdraw at once. If you don't, I cannot guarantee your safety."
    "Oh, it's one of those kinds of plans, is it?" Ohgi knew Zero was reckless, and this scheme reeked of that bravado.
    "It is," Cornelia snickered.
    "But, Princess Cornelia, General Tohdoh will not listen—" Ohgi began to protest.
    "We will do as Zero commands, Princess," Kaguya said from the mezzanine of the bridge. "I'll relay the message to the fleet personally, and we will begin a full retreat."
    Cornelia nodded to Kaguya and then ended the transmission.

    * * *

    "Their fleet is retreating!" Io said in confusion. "I don't understand."
    "How soon until the Cerberus Gun is ready to fire?" Athena demanded.
    "Three minutes, my lady," Io informed her.
    Athena watched the fleeing UFN fleet with scorn. "Move the Tartarus into a pursuit course, and bring their fleet into firing range."
    "As you wish, my lady," Io bowed.
    "They will not evade me," Athena declared with conviction.

    * * *

    "What exactly are we doing down here?" C.C. asked Lelouch as they left the elevators into the massive, vaulted roof engine room of the Tartarus. The chamber was filled with large, cylindrical, metallic generators that hummed loudly. Each of the generators was surrounded by catwalks and scaffolding which ran throughout the level. Control stations were at the base of each generator.
    "We're looking for the master control panel," Lelouch told her as they ran along the steel grate floors into the interior of the room.
    "There!" Lelouch pointed towards a large, round, table-like control station in a circular, central space between the huge generators.
    They ran up to the master control station and Lelouch removed the black, cell-phone-sized pouch that Enoch had given him.
    "I hope you know how to use whatever is in that thing," C.C. said as she panned her pistol around hoping they didn't get ambushed in the wide-open chamber.
    Lelouch pulled out a gray and bronze cassette tape-sized device and plugged it into a suitable slot on the control panel. "That's it," Lelouch told her.
    "Really?" C.C. said in surprise. "I was thinking there would be more to it than that."
    "Nope, let's go," Lelouch told her as they made their way back towards the elevators.
    "What's that thing supposed to do?" C.C. asked as they entered the elevator.
    "You'll see," he said to her with a wink.

    * * *

    "Cerberus cannon at full power, my lady," Io said with a snide smile.
    "Very good." Athena looked out at the UFN fleet with disdain. "FIRE!"
    The three massive, forward-firing maw-guns at the base of the city, just below the battlement ring, glowed with an eerie, red light then stopped.
    "What's happened?" Athena barked at Io.
    Io typed away frantically on her control station. "I don't know! The Cerberus Gun failed to fire."
    "I can see that," Athena yelled in frustration.
    "Our Aegis shields are lowering!" a male member of the bridge crew declared in alarm.

    * * *

    "Keep firing, Euphie!" Suzaku said as he blasted through four Spartans with a hail of blue-globe-generated flares. The four Hoplites were destroyed by the attack.
    "There's too many of them," Euphie said. "We can't keep this up much longer."
    Jeremiah and Nunnally came rushing out the doorway of the tower with their troop of twenty Greek guards in tow. The empress and her Knight climbed into the Ariel.
    "Where the hell is he?" Suzaku demanded as he radioed the Ariel.
    "Master Zero told us to leave immediately," Jeremiah informed Suzaku.
    "We're not leaving without them!" Euphie declared. "With the Ariel's firepower, we should be able to hold here a bit longer."
    "I suppose you're right," Suzaku agreed. "If you can handle that Hakodeshim, Jeremiah, then we can wait for them to get out of there."
    "I'm insulted that you think I'm incapable of handling this machine, Master Kururugi," Jeremiah stated factiously as he unloaded a dual blast of energy bolts at a mass of approaching Spartans, incinerating them.
    "My apologies, Knight of Orange, I should have known better," Suzaku chuckled.

    * * *

    "Status report!" Athena stated in a fury into the comm. on her throne.
    "My lady, our fold engines have just come online!" Hephaestus' voice rang out in a panic from the engine room.
    "It's some kind of computer virus!" Io interjected. "It's rewritten our command codes and is redirecting the power from the main guns to the fold engines!"
    "Bastard!" Athena pounded the armrest of her throne. "He outwitted me again."
    "My lady, there's a message on my screen," Io said, befuddled.
    "What?" Athena asked, perplexed by her words. "Well, read it."
    "It reads: My dear Athena, if there is one thing you need to learn about the future, it's that payback is a bitch." Io gave her a wide-eyed look. "It's signed....Enoch."
    Athena closed her eyes. "We are defeated...for the moment. Order Ares and Medea to return at once, and plot an emergency fold course into the hyperspace navigational system."
    "But, my lady..." Io started to protest.
    "Do not argue!" she yelled at her subordinate as a blue glow surrounded Tartarus. "Do It NOW!"
    "Yes, milady!" Io recalled them immediately as other techs input the navigational data.

    * * *

    "You really like to cut things close, don't you, Lelouch!" C.C. snickered as they rushed out of the elevator towards the exit of the tower. They could see the blue glow of the fold-sphere outside as it surrounded the city.
    "What?" he laughed sarcastically as they crossed through the vestibule into the streets of Tartarus. "Don't you want to jaunt through the galaxy...travel to new worlds, meet new civilizations...boldly go where no witch has gone before?"
    C.C. nearly tripped as they made it to the base of Samael. "Oh, God, you have become Enoch!"
    "Is that a bad thing?" Lelouch asked as they climbed into the cockpit of the Hakodeshim. The sky around them was electrified with energy as the fold engines of Tartarus distorted the space-time continuum.
    "It sure took you two long enough!" Suzaku called out over the radio.
    "Why are you still here?" Lelouch demanded.
    "Save the argument for later!" C.C. said as she stomped on Lelouch's foot causing Samael to boost up off the ground at full speed.
    "Ouch!" Lelouch yelled as the four Hakodeshim passed through the blue-white globe of energy that now engulfed the city of Tartarus and its two airships.
    In the next instant, the blue globe erupted in a brilliant flash of blinding, white light. The light dissipated quickly with only a few embers of energy remaining for a moment then vanishing. The city of Tartarus was gone.
    All things in moderation...

  7. #27
    Super Moderator rank = Hod (acknowledged Novice) Kodai Okuda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    957
    Blog Entries
    17
    Turn Twenty Six: Table for Two


    “In acknowledgement of your accomplishments and part in the rout of the Olympian menace, you are cordially invited to a party befitting a person of your stature and grace. It would please your host greatly if you chose to attend this gala which suits this festive time of year in remembrance of the Spirit of Giving and the birth of the Hope of the World.
    Your lodging will be within the luxurious Victorian castle-mansion of Red Manor, which resides on Cape Ann in northern Massachusetts. This Colonial estate overlooks the Atlantic Ocean with a fabulous view and has seventy-two oversized guest rooms of exquisite design and furnishings of which you are invited to stay in one.
    The kitchen is manned by a master chef who will provide you with the finest foods of the season. A feast of cranberry-stuffed chicken and all appropriate trimmings will be provided for the Christmas Eve dinner followed by a dessert bar of cakes, ice creams, and pies. Morning eats shall consist of an assortment of home-cooked, traditional European dishes including eggs, steak, fruit-filled crepes, pancakes, and waffles. A lunch of lamb shank, basmati rice, hummus, couscous, and pita shall be served at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time. The Christmas goose will be provided for your culinary delight at 2:00 pm EST and shall be followed by a pizza party at 6:00 p.m. sharp.
    Red Manor is equipped with a fully stocked bar and wine cellar. Drinks shall be provided from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight. Non-alcoholic beverages are also available and can be had at any time during your stay from the refrigerator within your guest suite.
    Gifts will be handed out on Christmas day during the pizza party and are provided by your humble host at no charge.
    You may bring along with you one guest of your choice or your immediate family, if such is the case.
    Travel expenses and all necessary arrangements have been made for you, and your tickets are provided in this package, including your room key and a key to the front door. My home is your home during this event, so please feel free to let yourself in as soon as you can attend.
    I expect ALL of you to attend this Table for Two no later than the evening of the 24th of December. If you don’t, I shall be very put out.
    Cordially Yours,
    Your Humble Host”
    —Copy of the invitation sent to Rakshata Chawla, Lloyd Asplund, Cecile Croomy, the Nu family (Villetta, Ohgi, and their two children), Jeremiah, Sayoko, the Britannian Royals (Nunnally and Cornelia), Suzaku Kururugi, Kallen Kozuki, the Yamato no Orochi (Akira, Gregor, Tamaki, Anya, Mika, Lena, and Tetsuo), Lihua, Kaguya, the Ashfords (Rivalz and Milly), and C.C. from an anonymous host, dated December 7th, 2024 a.t.b.

    “People of the world!” Zero raised his hands in front of the television cameras and reporters who had gathered at the foot of New-Brunswick Castle at the edge of the crater-lake in the center of the city of Neo-Pendragon. Behind them was a sea of citizens from all over the world who came to see Zero speak.
    Nunnally, Suzaku, and Jeremiah stood to Zero’s right while Cornelia, the Red Dragon, and Guilford stood to his left. In front of him sat General Tohdoh, General Xingke, Empress Lihua, and Lady Kaguya.
    “The enemy which shattered the peace that we have worked for so diligently for so long has been vanquished.” Zero outstretched his hand towards the cameras. “But it would not have been possible for simply the United Federation of Nations to perform this act alone, nor could Britannia have done it. In order to defeat this enemy, they had to come together and use their combined strength to oust them.”
    He turned to his right to see Nunnally nod at him and smile. Zero turned back towards the crowd of reporters below him and clenched his fist in a dramatic manner. “We must understand that this new enemy has only been driven from our planet for the moment, and that this external threat may at any time return to plague us yet again.”
    He thrust his open hand towards the cameras and the crowd. “The UFN is no longer adequate to deal with this new menace, and Britannia is too restrictive a nation to allow for the innovations needed to contend with it. Our world as a whole is lost in the myriad of philosophies and dogmas of the past. Socialism has failed, fascism has failed, imperialism has failed, corporatism has failed, feudalism has failed, and the whole of the Old World Order is a failure!”
    Zero punched his right hand above his shoulder towards the sky as he shouted, “We need a new form of government! One that protects the people and allows the best and the brightest among them to succeed unhindered by government cronyism or bureaucratic corruption. What we must create if we are to resist this new extraterrestrial threat is a classless system of society and an economic system which prevents the kind of greed that led to the unearthing of the city of Tartarus in the first place. We will do this with the abolition of usury and egalitarian policies. Mankind needs a government that exists for people, by people and holds individual liberty in the highest regard. Our enemy is a republic capable of mustering forces beyond our comprehension. Therefore, we here must in turn form a new government, one that trusts its people with arms, allows people to speak out against it, and permits people to be masters of their own destinies!”
    Zero reached out towards the crowd in a grasping gesture. “What we must build is a commonwealth, a republic with which we can defend our world from almost certain enslavement if not total destruction! We shall overcome this new enemy! We shall build our new republic! We shall sweep away the past so that we may capture the future! And we shall do it together!”
    Cheers thundered through the city as Zero bowed to the crowds.
    Nunnally stepped forward as Zero walked to the back of their group. He nodded at her as she stood at the podium. “As of this moment, all hostilities between Britannia and the UFN have officially ceased, and our two militaries have agreed to combine into one new global force intended to be the military of our new republic.” Nunnally smiled at Kaguya who stood from her chair and came up next to Nunnally at the podium.
    “Beginning in March of 2025 a.t.b., the leaders of the UFN, Britannia, and all non-aligned nations shall begin diplomatic talks with regard to the drafting of a document for the new world government to abide by. These talks will be democratic in nature, and every country, regardless of population size or territory, shall have equal vote in this new council. May God have mercy on us and guide us through these talks, for if we fail in this endeavor to create this new government, we shall all be doomed to whatever fate the Olympians will reign down upon us.”

    * * *

    “Wow, that was quite a speech you gave, Zero,” the Red Dragon said as they walked towards the interior of the castle. Neither one of them saw the pair of figures who slipped through a side door of the large entry way towards them.
    “It’s just the beginning,” he said with a sigh. “I wish Enoch were here. I could use his input.”
    “Do you miss him?” the Red Dragon asked sympathetically.
    Zero let out a short laugh. "Yeah...guess I do." He turned to her as they reached the inner set of double doors. "He was the closest thing I had to a real father. It’s kind of weird, huh? What, with him always trying to keep my ego in check and yet pushing me to be something more."
    “Not really,” said the Red Dragon as she took hold of his hand. “You never had a real father figure in your life. Enoch knew that and tried his best to help you because of it. He said you reminded him of what he used to be like.”
    “I wonder what kind of life he had growing up,” Zero lamented.
    “Pardon me, Zero,” a female voice asked from behind them.
    The Red Dragon went into a combat stance at the sound of the woman’s voice. “Who’s there?”
    “Whoa, it’s just me, Milly Ashford.” Milly raised her hands defensively. Her cameraman waved at them from behind her.
    The Red Dragon relaxed. “You two shouldn’t sneak up on us like that.”
    “Sorry,” Milly smiled.
    “What can I do for you, Mrs. Ashford?” Zero asked as he walked up to her.
    A pleasant aroma filled Milly’s nostrils as he got close to her. Her eyes grew wide with recognition. “Oh, my!” she blurted out, covering her mouth. “Um…I…wanted to know if you’d be willing to do a one-on-one interview with me.” Milly stammered.
    “An exclusive,” the Red Dragon teased him. “She’s cute too.”
    Milly blushed.
    Zero turned to the Red Dragon. “She’s married.”
    “Good thing…or a certain someone we know would be jealous,” the Red Dragon tittered.
    Zero turned back to Milly. “I can’t grant you an interview today; however, I will be able to do so after the first of the year. Is that alright?”
    Milly stared at him. “Um…yes, that would be okay.”
    He put his hand on her shoulder. “Very good, please have your office contact the Britannian embassy in Japan to make the proper arrangements.”
    Milly smiled at him as her olfactory sense identified the aroma that emanated from his sleeve. “You shouldn’t keep secrets from your friends, you know.”
    Zero withdrew his hand slowly. This time it was he who stuttered, “I…suppose…you are right, Milly. I shouldn’t, not anymore.”
    Milly winked at him. “It’s a date then.” She turned to Seiji. “Let’s go, I don’t want to distract him. I’m sure he has a big day still ahead.”
    Zero and the Red Dragon watched in silence as the pair walked away.
    “What was that all about? I thought you said you’d get the interview no matter what?” Seiji asked Milly with a smirk.
    “I’ll get my interview, don’t you worry,” said Milly confidently. “He won’t stand me up.”
    “You act like you two know each other personally,” Seiji said.
    “We do,” Milly said to more herself than to him. “We go way back.”
    Seiji was surprised. “How the heck did you recognize him? It’s not like we’ve ever seen Zero’s face.”
    “I didn’t need to see his face to know it was him behind the mask,” said Milly with an arrogant look at her camera man. “His cologne gave him away.”
    “His cologne?” Seiji scoffed.
    “Yep,” she snickered. “Believe me, Seiji, when you’re in love with someone, you remember everything about them. Especially the subtle nuances, and the man under that mask wore cologne that no other man I’ve ever known would have: Ode de la Imperial.”
    “Never heard of it,” the cameraman said.
    Milly gave Zero one passing look before she and Seiji left the castle. “You aren’t likely to have, as it was available only to the Britannian royal family.”

    * * *

    “Dude, this is totally boring!” Tamaki whined as the Ikaruga floated above the city of Neo-Pendragon. He and the other members of the Yamato no Orochi were staring out at the city from the promenade deck at the aft of the ship.
    “Miss the Greeks already, do you?” Kallen snickered as she sipped her tea in the warm Arizona air of early December.
    “Nah!” He leaned back on the railing and slugged his coffee. “I just can’t stand doing nothing.”
    “Really?” Mika asked. “I’m enjoying the break from all the fighting.”
    “No kidding,” Gregor said. “Not to mention we’ll be going into space in a few months. I’d like some time to relax.”
    “Me too,” Lena agreed as she held onto Akira’s arm. She looked up at him. “Gives us time to appreciate the finer things in life.”
    Akira bent down and kissed her. “I couldn’t agree more.”
    “Okay, you two, get a room or something!” Tamaki griped.
    “Oh, stow it, you old geezer!” Kallen taunted him. “They’re in love, let them enjoy it.”
    “Geez, you recovered fast,” Tamaki retorted carefully. “Just last month you wanted to drown your sorrows in a sea of booze.”
    “I got it outta my system,” Kallen barked at him. “You gotta problem with that?”
    “Yeah, you were fun as a drinking buddy, now you’re all sober and gooey,” Tamaki snickered.
    “Well, excuse me, punk!” Kallen put her hands on her hips. “In case you didn’t notice, I happen to be a woman.”
    “I’ve noticed,” he said with a sly smile.
    Kallen eyed him. “Tamaki, you’re asking for a beating,” she laughed. “I swear if you keep this up, I’ll cure your boredom by kicking your ass into space!”
    “Speaking of space,” Anya interrupted, “anybody know how soon the new space cruiser will be completed?”
    “June or July,” Tetsuo told her as he brought her a fresh cup of tea from within the ship.
    “Pardon me, Captain Kozuki,” a female yeoman said as she walked out onto the promenade.
    “What is it, Yeoman?” Kallen inquired with genuine curiosity.
    The woman was carrying a stack of envelopes under her arm. She removed them and handed them to Kallen. “This mail arrived today, and it was simply addressed to the Yamato no Orochi.”
    Kallen took the stack of envelopes out of her hand. "Looks like there's one of these for each of us."
    "Have they been checked for explosives?" Tamaki asked with a skeptical eye on the white letter that Kallen handed him.
    "Yes," the yeoman answered him, "they're clean. Now if you will excuse me, I have other duties to attend to."
    "I'm sorry," Kallen smiled at her, "you're free to go, Yeoman."
    The woman left.
    Kallen used her pocket knife to cut open the top of the envelope. "What the heck is this?" she exclaimed with a shocked look as she read over the invitation.
    "Wow!" Mika blurted out. "Sounds like we're invited to a royal party!"
    "Do you think that Zero could have sent these?" Akira asked, a bit in shock over the contents of the invite.
    "Well, I'm going to find out!" Tamaki said with a smile. "How about you, Kallen?"
    She looked down at the letter intently and sneered, "I'm supposed to go to the Nu's for Christmas, but if Zero is throwing this thing...then I have to go!"

    * * *

    "A Christmas party?" Lloyd scoffed as he walked along the catwalk next to the partially completed hull of the first man-made space cruiser. "Really, Cecile, we don't have time for this kind of thing...besides, isn’t that religion dead? We've barely got the keel of this new ship laid down; we can't just drop everything and gallivant off to a party."
    "We’ve been formally invited to this party.” She held up their invitations. “And it's only for a few days, Lloyd," she told him softly. "It'll be fun."
    "Maybe you could go for me?" he said with a grin.
    Cecile scowled at him, "LLOYD!"
    Professor Asplund winced. "Oh, I guess I can take a few days off...what was the occasion again?"
    Cecile rolled her eyes. “For a genius, you’re sure absentminded when you want to be. The occasion is called Christmas, and it is a celebration that commemorates the birth of the great prophet and healer Jesus of Nazareth who was also known as the Christ.”
    “Oh.” He gave her a weak smile. “Well, that sounds harmless enough. When do you want to leave?”
    Cecile gave him a devilish smile. “As soon as Rakshata is ready to go.”
    “Uh…WHAT?” Lloyd recoiled in horror.

    * * *

    “A gala?” Cornelia held the invitation in her hand as she stood in front of one of the giant, lead glass windows of New-Brunswick Castle’s library.
    “I got one too.” Nunnally held up her invitation ticket from where she sat next to Euphie and Suzaku in the small reading area that consisted of a coffee table, lamps, and four comfy chairs.
    “Well, I didn’t get one!” Euphie protested.
    “But they sent one to me, and I can invite one person,” Suzaku laughed. “Obviously I’d invite you.”
    “Which implies that whoever sent this knows about whom you are, Princess Euphemia,” Guilford said as he walked into the study area with a tray of hot tea.
    Cornelia smiled at him as he placed the tray on the coffee table and poured her a cup of tea. “It bothers me that this person wishes to remain anonymous.” She turned to Euphie. “The Greeks could be the ones behind this.”
    Nunnally smirked, “Or it could just be C.C. and Lelouch trying to give us all an end of the year surprise party.” She took a cup of tea from Guilford. “Let’s try to keep an open mind about this. Athena isn’t the kind of person to return so soon after being defeated. She’ll want to secure a base of operations and such before she makes another move…besides, luring us all away to a Christmas party to kill us seems petty, and I highly doubt Athena would lower herself to such tactics. She’s a proud warrior, not an assassin.”
    “You may have a point, Empress,” Suzaku smiled. “It does say there’s going to be a pizza party; that’s got C2 written all over it.”

    * * *

    “A PIZZA PARTY!” C.C. held up the invitation in front of Lelouch as he sat at his computer within the hotel room they were staying in. Outside the window of their room, the lights of Mexico City began to illuminate the cityscape as dusk settled over the metropolis.
    “I’m not going,” he said flatly.
    “Why not?” C.C. asked him. “It’s probably Nunnally’s idea, or maybe that old girlfriend of yours.”
    “You mean Milly,” he said with an irritated look at her as he tried to finish his tenth draft of a world constitution. He, as Zero, would be expected to deliver it to the world during the convention that was only a few months away.
    “Yes, Milly.” C.C. leaned over him. “Are you listening to me?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. C.C. gave him a puppy-eyed look. “Lulu, I want to go, and I want you to come with me.”
    He sighed, “If I agree to go, will you let me finish this?”
    “Only if you promise to go and seal your commitment to me.” She kissed passionately on the lips. “Promise?”
    Lelouch scowled for a moment then smiled at her. “Yah, I promise.”
    “Good.” She unbuttoned her blouse from the top down. “I’ll be in the bedroom, so don’t keep me waiting for too long.” She kissed him again and walked away, leaving her blouse and skirt on the floor behind her as she did so.
    Lelouch tried to turn back to the draft, but the seductive look C.C. had given him invaded his thoughts. He sat at the computer for a few minutes unable to think straight. “Oh…snap! There’s no way I can finish this damn thing tonight.” Lelouch got up from the desk and walked into the bedroom.

    * * *

    “This place is huge, Kaguya,” Lihua said as she, Zhou, and Kaguya Sumeragi got out of the limousine that had brought them from the airport to the enormous manor.
    The morning sun reflected off the freshly plowed snow that was nearly two foot deep. The air was crisp as the sunlight warmed the east side of the large building. The mansion sat atop a rocky outcropping along the New England coastline. The ocean lapped at the craggy rocks some fifty feet below the estate.
    Kaguya snickered, “Well, the invitation said that there were seventy-two rooms in Red Manor, Lihua. It was obviously a big place from its description.”
    “Do you think anyone else was invited?” Zhou asked as she got the four large suitcases out of the trunk of the limo.
    “The letter was addressed to those of us who took part in the rout of the Olympians,” Kaguya said. “I think that would include most of the people we know.”
    “I wish Xingke could have come,” Lihua pouted.
    “He has to deal with the rebellion in Shanghai;, he couldn’t come,” Zhou said to her sympathetically. “That’s why he sent me in his stead, so as not to offend our mysterious host.”
    “What about General Tohdoh?” the Tianzi asked.
    “He flat out refused.” Kaguya rolled her eyes. “The man has no sense of fun. Poor Chiba bugged him about it for over a week, but he wouldn’t budge. He’s overseeing the formation of our space forces, so he’s got no time for trivial matters.” Kaguya knocked on the large, wooden double doors. “I promised Chiba I’d apologize to our host for both of them when we meet him or her.”
    “Aren’t we supposed to use our keys to let ourselves in?” Zhou asked.
    “If no one answers, then I will, but I’m not going to just barge into someone else’s—“ Kaguya was cut off by the door opening.
    A tall, inhumanly gorgeous woman with ice-blue eyes and thigh-length silvery-white hair answered the door. “I’m pleased that all of you were able to come.”
    Zhou put down the bags and tensed up. “Who are you?” the warrior woman asked.
    “You may call me Delphi.” The woman gave them a thin smile as she opened up the second door for them. “I’m here to receive you and welcome you all. Your host will be arriving later this evening, so please come in and make yourselves at home.” She moved to allow them to enter.

    * * *

    “Looks like a lot of other people have already arrived here,” Rivalz said as he and Milly got out of the limousine that carried them from the airport to Red Manor.
    Milly’s hair looked gold in the afternoon light of the sun.
    “I wonder who all is here,” she said with a giddy grin. “I hope Zero is one of the guests.”
    “Why?” he asked as he got their bags out of the trunk and carried them over his shoulder. Rivalz raised an eyebrow and smiled, “You got a crush on him or something?”
    “I used to," she giggled.
    "Used to?" Rivalz was confused at first then his draw dropped open. "You don't mean..." He let the thought trail off.
    "Trust me, honey, if he's here and you two get to meet, you’ll feel the same way that I do.” She gave Rivalz a wink as they made their way up to the door.

    * * *

    "Mr. and Mrs. Ashford have arrived," Delphi announced as she opened the ornate double doors that led to the gathering of guests in the enormous living room of the manor.
    Milly and Rivalz walked in to find a whole host of people they were acquainted with.
    "Milly! Rivalz! It's great to see both of you!" Nunnally said as she came over and hugged her friends.
    "It's great to see you also, Nana," said Rivalz with an elated smile. "Oops, I mean, Empress," he bowed.
    "Don't be sorry." Nunnally kissed him on the cheek. "We're friends, Rivalz...always."
    He blushed. "Thanks, Nunnally."
    "So who's throwing this bash?" Milly inquired.
    "We don't know," Villetta Nu said as she and Ohgi came up to greet them.
    "Hey, you two." Milly hugged them both. "Where are your two little darlings?" she asked, excited.
    Ohgi sighed. "We decided not to take them with us on such a long trip. Plus, Nagisa wanted to punish Tohdoh for not coming to this get-together, so she volunteered them as babysitters."
    Suzaku let out a laugh. "Oh, my! Can you image Kyoshiro changing diapers?"
    Laughter filled the room.
    "So, who's all here?" Milly asked, eager to get the inside scoop on the guest list.
    Nunnally drew a deep breath before running down the list. "Cornelia and Guilford; Kaguya, Lihua, and Zhou Xianglin; Cecile Croomy, Lloyd Asplund, and Rakshata Chawla; Akira Nobunaga, Tamaki Shinichiro, Anya Alstreim, Gregor Fontaine, Tetsuo Yuma, Mika Ontario, and Lena Shomeron; Jeremiah Gottwald and Sayoko Shinozaki; me, Suzaku, and Euph...uh...my sister." Nunnally’s face became flushed.
    Milly caught the slip immediately. "Your sister? You already mentioned Cornelia."
    "My mistake," Nunnally tried to laugh it off, "the list is so long."
    "You started to say Euph, Nunnally," Milly said with a smile. "Did you mean Euphemia?"
    "EUPHEMIA! That's preposterous!" Lloyd yelled.
    "Did you guys need me for something?" Euphie popped her head in from an adjacent room.
    The living room went silent as those who were unaware of Euphie being alive stood in shock of her presence.
    Realizing her error, Euphemia gave the group a halfhearted wave. "Hi," she said in a mousey tone.
    Lloyd dropped his glass of wine. "I feel a little woozy." Professor Asplund put his hand to his head and started to fall over.
    Cecile caught him. "Oh, some man you are. Lloyd, snap out of it."
    Rakshata tittered, "Oh, Lloyd, you're such a drama queen. I'm sure there is a logical explanation." She looked directly at Euphemia. "Isn't there?"
    "There had better be!" Tamaki grumbled. "Considering the fact that she's Princess Massa—OUCH!" Tamaki yelled as Ohgi stomped on his foot. "What the hell did ya do that for, Ohgi?"
    Ohgi glared at him. "To keep your mouth from ruining the evening."
    "I think we'd all like an explanation, Princess Euphemia," Zhou Xianglin said as she stood up from one of the comfy chairs in the room.
    "It's okay, Zhou; Kaguya and I already knew," the Tianzi reassured her.
    "You did? And both of you were okay with it?" Villetta asked in shock.
    "Of course we were." Kaguya waved her hand reassuringly. "It was all a misunderstanding."
    "Why do I get the feeling Geass has something to do with this?" Ohgi grumbled.
    "Well, of course it does...didn't everything relate to Geass back then? It's a really long story," Kaguya said as she poured herself a glass of sake.
    "Then you can tell your party all about it, Lady Kaguya Sumeragi, over dinner," Delphi said as she entered the living room. "Your meal is ready."
    "And our host?" Cornelia asked gruffly.
    "Your host has run into a delay and will not be here until tomorrow morning," Delphi answered her with a thin smile. "Also, Captain Kozuki and the other guests have not arrived yet either and are not likely to get here until tomorrow due to a sudden snow storm which is delaying all flights into New England. Thus, there is no need to wait for them any longer. Now if you all will follow me."
    Delphi led the party through the long, ornately decorated halls of the handsome mansion to the large, marble-lined dining room where a feast of cranberry-stuffed chicken awaited them.

    * * *

    "We should have taken a plane to get here, it's friggin’ freezing!" Lelouch complained as he carried C.C.'s bags up the long drive towards the manor. "Not to mention I can barely see anything in this snow."
    "Stop your whining, you big baby," she snickered. "I thought you were the Knight of Justice, the great Zero! You're not going to tell me that a little walk in the snow is going to defeat you now, are you?"
    "Well, if you hadn't packed a whole wardrobe for me to carry, we would probably be there by now!" Lelouch shot back.
    "But I only took what I needed," C.C. chortled. "Besides, it's only two luggage cases. You make it sound like it's so difficult."
    "Yeah, well, it is," Lelouch retorted. "I've only got my one small bag with a change of clothing and my essentials."
    C.C. rolled her eyes. "Fine, you whiner, I'll come help you." She removed his small bag from around his neck and slung it over her shoulder. "There, is that better now?"
    "Much," he said sarcastically.
    "Look, there's the mansion!" C.C. exclaimed. In the distance, a small porch light illuminated the front of the large manor.
    Lelouch looked wearily up the long, winding drive. "It has to be at least eleven pm by now; it'll be midnight or later by the time we get up there."
    "Not if we hurry!" C.C. said excitedly.
    Lelouch let out a long sigh. "Let's get going."

    * * *

    "So Euphemia was Geassed by Lelouch because your brother couldn't control his power?" Villetta was mortified. "That's horrible."
    "It was an accident," Euphie defended Lelouch's intentions, "even if it was a stupid one."
    "It cost a lot of people their lives," Tamaki scowled at the dinner table while he passed the sweet potatoes to Akira.
    "How do you think I feel about it?" Euphie said softly. "I have to live with it, and it will stay with me forever."
    "Honestly, can we please change the subject?" Kaguya inquired in an unusually harsh tone for the normally jovial lady-chairman. "I'd like to forget all the mistakes we all made during that war. We're not at war anymore, and this party was supposed to be to commemorate the Spirit of Giving. I can think of no better gift to give than that of forgiveness. If I can forgive Euphemia for what happened, then all of you can, and I don't need or want to hear any more about it from anyone. What's done is done."
    "Well, I wonder if our host is Zero?" Gregor inquired to everyone at the table in an effort to change the subject and shift the tension to where he felt it should be. "He's not here, right?"
    "I don't believe he's here yet," Nunnally said through a wine-induced smile as she sipped from her goblet.
    "Nunnally, is that your last glass of wine?" Cornelia asked her sister politely.
    "It probably should be," Nunnally said with rosy cheeks.
    The speculation of who their generous host was lasted until they said their good nights and retired for the evening to their bed chambers.

    * * *

    "We finally made it." Lelouch collapsed on the side of the door huffing out billows of hot breath in the frigid air.
    "Looks like all the lights are off," C.C. said sadly. "Guess everyone must be in bed."
    "Just get the door open so we don't freeze to death out here," he complained.
    "What? Don't worry, if you die out here, you'll thaw tomorrow and be alive for the party by evening."
    "Not funny, C2...no...no...not funny," his teeth chattered.
    One of the double doors opened up and a silver-haired woman greeted them. "Welcome, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow, but I heard a thud on the front door as I was doing my rounds before bed. Good thing I came to the door. You two look like you're about to catch your death of cold out here. Please, come in immediately. I'll make a fire for you and warm you up some dinner."
    "Thank you, kind woman," Lelouch said as he entered the warm home.
    "You may call me Delphi," the blue-eyed beauty told him as she took their bags. "The main level study is through that door." She pointed to a large oak door at the far end of the grand hall. "I'll bring you your food and some warm tea after I get your bags to your room." With that she easily carried their bags up the grand staircase that led to the upper levels of Red Manor.
    C.C. and Lelouch made their way into the large study. It was furnished with Victorian-style furniture throughout its depth which clearly ran the whole length of the north side of the mansion. Bookshelves lined the walls and were arranged in rows in the center of the chamber like a library. A fireplace was at the center of the room with a hearth that was as wide as a KMF; above it was a large, stone mantle. A small inferno blazed behind its brass mesh screen warming the room comfortably.
    “Wow, this is some place,” C.C. said with a smile as the two of them sat down on the large couch in front of the blaze.
    “Sure is,” Lelouch said as he looked up at the mid-sized gun above the mantle and read the placard. “Action Arms Thomson Model 1927, huh?”
    “What is it?” C.C. asked him.
    “I’ve never heard of that gun company before…” He was interrupted by Delphi entering the room with their food and hot tea on a serving cart she rolled in front of her.
    “Here is your dinner, Madame and Monsieur, and a map of the manor,” she smiled at them. “I’m retiring for the evening, so if you need anything, just follow the map to your room. Good night.”
    “Good night, Delphi,” Lelouch said as the warmth of the fire drove away the chill from his body. He scowled at C.C., “Did the cold drive away your manners?”
    “Oh, GOOD NIGHT, DELPHI!” C.C. yelled at the top of her lungs after the woman had left the room.
    “Shut up!” a voice boomed from above them.
    C.C. snickered, “That sounds like Tamaki.”
    Lelouch nearly choked on the piece of chicken breast and cranberry stuffing he was nibbling on. “Yes, it does. I guess that means others were invited as well.”
    “It must be nearly one in the morning by now…” C.C. barely touched her food. “Merry Christmas, Lelouch,” she cooed as she snuggled up next to him.
    “Uh…Merry Christmas?” he asked more than stated.
    C.C. giggled, “It’s what you say today. It’s Christmas, when the baby Jesus was born to bring light to the world by his teachings and thus cleanse the world of its sins and bring about peace.”
    “I think he failed,” Lelouch snickered.
    “No, dear, we’re the ones who failed.” C.C. kissed him on the cheek.
    “So, tell me about him,” Lelouch said putting down his fork as he lay back on the couch.
    C.C. lay down next to him and rested her head on his chest. “There are multiple accounts of his life by his twelve apostles, but I like Mathew the best, so I’ll tell the story from his perspective…starting with chapter two…”
    “Why chapter two?” Lelouch interrupted her.
    “Because chapter one is the genealogy of Jesus, and you don’t want to hear that, do you?” C.C. tittered.
    “No, I guess not,” he humored her.
    “Now when Jesus was born in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews?’”
    Lelouch’s eyes grew heavy as C.C. recanted the tale. In a few moments, he was asleep.

    * * *

    “Is anybody here?” Kallen knocked on the door to Red Manor in the light of dawn. Her duffle bag was slung over her shoulder as she waited for someone to answer in the cold of the New England morning.
    “Guess not, they’re all probably still asleep,” Kallen mused as she took the key to the front door from her pocket and unlocked it.
    Kallen looked around the vestibule and peeked through the finely cut glass of the large, oaken doors in front of her before opening one of them and walking into the large main hall of the house. A grand staircase was before her and numerous doors lined the wall of the vaulted room.
    “Nice house,” Kallen said to herself. She saw a light under a door on the left of the room. “Maybe somebody is in here.” She walked into the room.
    “Must be the library,” she said aloud as she walked over to where a pair of couches flanked a fireplace. The last remaining logs within the hearth still burned, giving off their light and warmth to the interior of the room.
    Kallen walked over to the heat and warmed her hands. She turned to sit down on one of the couches and noticed someone sleeping under a blanket on the couch opposite the one she sat down upon. Better not disturb him, she thought to herself as the person began to stir.
    The blanket rolled back to expose C.C., still dressed in her clothes from the night before. “Oh, hi, Kallen,” C.C. said sleepily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
    Kallen stood and stared in utter disbelief as C.C. got up off the couch like a drone. “I need to pee,” she mumbled, but Kallen didn’t notice. Her furious gaze was fixated on the person lying underneath C.C.
    C.C. stopped dead in her tracks as she realized she wasn’t dreaming. “KALLEN?!”
    Lelouch’s eyes shot open. “What?” he said as he sat up to see her standing by the fireplace glaring at him with eyes filled with rage.
    “You son of a bitch,” said Kallen with menace. “You lied to me…” Kallen glanced around the room for a weapon. The Thompson caught her attention immediately, and she grabbed the submachine gun from its resting place along with the drum magazine below it.
    “Kallen, what the hell are you doing?” C.C. asked frantically.
    “Lelouch is supposed to be dead…right, Lelouch?” Kallen loaded and cocked the gun.
    “Kallen, let’s talk about this,” Lelouch pleaded with her.
    “You’ve done enough talking!” Kallen unloaded a burst from the gun as Lelouch jumped over the couch, which she riddled with bullets.
    The sound of gunfire reverberated through the house.
    “What the hell was that?” Zhou shot up out of bed, her bare breasts bouncing as she did so.
    “Sounds like gunfire,” Tamaki said from where he lay naked beside her.
    “I know what it sounds like, you idiot!” Zhou rolled him out of bed. “We need to find out what’s going on.”
    “It’s probably nothing…” Tamaki protested when he heard a female voice yell “LELOUCH!” Tamaki’s eyes shot wide open. “That’s Kallen!”
    “Let’s get down there,” Zhou said as she put her shirt on. “Get dressed, Tamaki.”
    “What was that?” Euphemia sat up in bed.
    Suzaku was already dressed and fighting to get his boots on. “Sounds like Kallen found out Lelouch is alive! But if we don’t get down there, he won’t be for long.”
    Kallen fired a burst at Lelouch as he and C.C. fled through the main hall towards the doors on the right side of the chamber. The rounds shattered the glass of the vestibule doors and tore up the furniture.
    “Come back here, LELOUCH! I want you to know what it feels like to have your heart torn out, to know what it’s like to have the one person you truly love betray you.”
    “This is insane, Kallen!” Lelouch retorted as he and C.C. barely made it through one of the exits before Kallen filled the oak door with bullets.
    Kallen ran across to where C.C. and Lelouch had fled from her. “You think I’m insane? How about lying to the whole world just to save your sister? Or starting a revolution and lying to a whole country just because your mommy and daddy didn’t love you?”
    Kallen chased Lelouch and C.C. out onto a grand balcony which overlooked the rocky shoreline of Cape Ann.
    Lelouch stopped at the railing near the edge with a sheer drop and the ocean below him. He looked over the rail and then turned to face Kozuki. “Kallen, let C2 go…your anger is at me, not her.”
    Tears filled Kallen’s eyes. “Is that what this is all about? You chose that green-haired goblin over me?” She pointed the Thompson at him. “Why? Why didn’t you just tell me that day I shared my feelings for you that you loved her? Why did you torture me?
    Lelouch put up his hands defensively. “Because I didn’t love C2 back then…I didn’t love anyone, Kallen…not you, not C2, no one.”
    Delphi ran into the main hall armed with a military assault rifle just as the front door to Red Manor opened up, and a person dressed in a jet-black trench coat, large-rimmed black hat, and mirrored sunglasses walked in. His black, leather cowboy boots crunched on the broken glass of the shattered crystal windows. Delphi stopped in her tracks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize she’d react like this.”
    He put up his hand in a gesture she knew meant that he’d deal with it.
    “I told you to live your own life,” Lelouch said with a scowl. “I really did die, Kallen. I fully intended to sacrifice myself for the sake of the world. I wasn’t hiding with C2. I didn’t love her or you, or anyone. That’s why I ended my life, to bring happiness to this world.”
    Kallen’s face contorted in anger. “Then how is it you’re here now?”
    “It was Euryale, one of the Olympians, who brought me back to life. I didn’t betray you, honest. The feelings I have now for C2 didn’t manifest themselves until after I gained Euryale’s Code.”
    “Oh, really? Then if that’s the case, I suppose you can explain what the hell is going on here?” Kallen shot back.
    “That sounds like a good idea,” a male voice bellowed from behind Kallen. “You can start by explaining why my house is all shot to hell.”
    Kallen saw the shock on Lelouch’s face and turned to see the man.
    Her heart leapt into her throat as she met Enoch’s glare. “How?”
    You’re the one holding my tommy gun, you tell me,” he said with a sarcastic grin.
    “But you…the satellite exploded...in orbit…there’s no way,” said Kallen in a meek tone.
    “Hah!” Enoch raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t actually think I’d die from a little boom-boom and a fall, did you? I’ve been there, done that plenty of times in the past.”
    “How did you get back to Earth?” Akira asked as he and the other guests made their way out onto the grand balcony. Lelouch’s announced confession had made it into all their ears.
    “I took the express elevator down,” Enoch snickered.
    “That still doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me about Lelouch,” Kallen barked. She was shaking with a mix of emotions.
    “Lied to you?” Enoch put his hands on his hips. “Kallen, I never lied to you about Lelouch. I told you that I wasn’t Zero when we first met and that I though it would be too painful for you to learn who Zero really was, and by the look of my house, I’d say I was right.”
    Kallen’s face was flushed with embarrassment and hurt as he walked up to her. “How can I live like this? It’s not fair!” Kozuki’s lips trembled as the tears ran down her cheeks and she dropped the gun. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever loved. I’ve lost…too much, Enoch.”
    “Hey, what’s with all the gunfire and yelling out here?” a blond-haired man asked as he walked through the door Enoch had come through.
    “Oh, my God!” Lena blurted out. “It’s Commander Weinberg!”
    “But he died,” Anya said in disbelief.
    Enoch chortled as he made a dismissive gesture with his hand, “Death is a primitive concept.”
    Kallen’s eyes were wide with shock while her face lost all its color. Her mouth moved but nothing came out.
    Enoch leaned down to Kallen’s ear. “Merry Christmas, Kallen.”
    She wrapped her arms around Enoch and kissed him on the lips. “Thank you.”
    Enoch smiled at her warmly, “Hey, what’s Christmas without a few miracles, right?”
    Kallen released him and ran to Commander Weinberg. “GINO!” she yelled as she threw her arms around him and squeezed him to reassure herself that he was real.
    “Hey, Kallen, be careful; he only just got out of the Bacta Tank a few days ago!” Enoch yelled at her with a chuckle. “He’s not ready for any hanky-panky yet.”
    Gino hugged her tightly. “I missed you, Kallen.”
    She looked deep into his blue eyes. “And I you…”
    They kissed gently.
    “Awww,” Mika sighed, “that’s so sweet.”
    Enoch turned to Lelouch and C.C. “Well, gotta admit, Big-Z, you sure know how to make a party lively. At least you guys woke everybody up for breakfast, which is good because I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

    * * *

    The events of the day passed quickly after breakfast. The itinerary of the day had been carefully planned by their gracious host and consisted of a horse-drawn carriage ride through the 125-acre estate to a nearby ice-covered pond called Gray Gull Hole. Enoch’s guests were provided with skates for the recently buffed ice rink, and the full Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra awaited them under a heated amphitheater by the side of the frozen pond. The mid-morning fun zipped by until the symphony retired at 10:00 a.m., and lunch was served to all under the warmth of the amphitheater.
    After lunch, Enoch and company proceeded to Plum Cove via horse-drawn carriage until they came to a tall ship, a square-rigger in design, whose longboat awaited them at the shore. The ship sailed around the scenic coastline of the cape during the warmest part of Christmas day and out a few miles to watch the whales. The Christmas goose was served on board ship at 2:00 p.m. and was followed by Enoch telling stories of his high seas adventures, one of which included C.C. and him sharing a rather precarious voyage.
    The ship dropped off the partygoers at 4:00 p.m. at Folly Cove beach via longboat as the sun began to set. From the beach the group rode via horse-drawn carriage once more back up to Red Manor for the pizza party.
    “Oooooooh!” C.C. bounced up and down in her seat as they waited in the living room for the pizza to arrive.
    “Will you calm down,” Lelouch snickered as he removed his white wig and sunglasses. His disguise of the day was very effective in fooling all those they had met during their trek.
    Tamaki looked over at him. “I still can’t believe it’s you, man.” He had been in shock by the revelation, and Ohgi had to reprimand him covertly on numerous occasions to protect Lelouch and Euphemia’s identities.
    “How did you manage it?” Zhou asked Lelouch. “It seems all so surreal to me.”
    Lelouch grinned, “It wasn’t what I had planned, believe me.”
    “Still, I think it’s for the better,” Ohgi said to Lelouch with a raised brow. “You can help us rebuild this time.”
    Lelouch nodded, “I agree. Last time I took the easy way out.”
    “Can we leave the past behind us please?” Euphie said as she removed her wig. “This day has been wonderful, so please don’t spoil it by bringing up that awful point in our shared past.” She had worn a brown-haired wig and similar getup to that of her brother, not that anyone could have gotten past Suzaku or Cornelia to discover her identity in the first place.
    “Well, at least they’ve seen fit to do so,” Kaguya tittered as Kallen and Gino came into the room arm-in-arm.
    “No kidding, they’ve been glued to each other all day,” Anya added with a wink at Tetsuo. He got her hint and removed her coat for her before the two of them grabbed a pair of comfy chairs next to a coffee table.
    Kallen and Gino removed their coats then sat down together on one of the love seats in the room. They’d been snuggling and whispering to each other on and off since breakfast.
    Cornelia and Guilford were holding hands as they sat down on another of the love seats in the room. “Who would ever have thought we would all be sitting here together like this even a few months ago.”
    “How true,” Nunnally agreed in a distant voice. She hadn’t said much, but her smile was with her all day, and it still didn’t waver.
    “I wish we could take pictures of this moment,” Milly lamented. Rivalz agreed as he hung her coat.
    “So, old buddy,” Rivalz addressed Lelouch, “you up for a game of chess while we wait?” He gestured towards the chess table under one of the windows.
    Lelouch got up and walked over to Rivalz. “I’m happy to see you again, my friend.”
    They shook hands briefly then embraced.
    “I missed you too, man,” said Rivalz through teary eyes.
    “Okay, that’s enough of that!” Enoch said as he came into the room pulling a floor truck filled with wrapped gifts. “I don’t need to see you two getting all mushy right before I hand out the gifts.”
    “Where’s the pizza?” C.C. asked innocently.
    “It’s on its way,” Enoch snickered. Behind him, Delphi entered the room with a food cart that had a dozen boxes of pizza (of various kinds and varieties) with plates and chilled bottled beer.
    C.C. zoomed over to the stack of pizza boxes. “Tee-hee!” She clapped her hands and started looking through the boxes.
    “C2, those aren’t all for you,” Enoch chuckled. “Please save some for everybody else.”
    C.C. gave him a hurt look. “But they’re all different and they all look soooooooo good.”
    Enoch came up to her and made her a plate of pizza with a slice from each box. “Happy?”
    C.C. nodded, “Mmmm-Hmmmmm.” She smiled as she chewed down her first piece.
    “Beer?” Enoch asked her, but she shook her head no.
    “I’ll have one!” Tamaki yelled.
    “Alright then,” Enoch tittered, “who wants what?” He proceeded to dish out the pizza and beer to everyone as the conversations ranged from what the future held for them to the erection of the new government to the latest fashions.
    With the conclusion of the pizza feast, Enoch handed out the gifts to each member of the group.
    They opened their wrapped packages, which contained books of a type and kind unseen anywhere. All were different and certainly appropriate to the recipient.
    Lelouch thumbed through the heavy, leather-bound book he held in his hand. “The Idea of Freedom by Mortimer J. Adler?” he queried Enoch.
    “A great book,” Enoch said, “and one that should assist you in the coming months, I’m sure.”
    “Mine’s Human Action by Ludwig Von Mises,” Kaguya smiled at the work.
    Enoch nodded, “Another excellent work. It contains information on the best form of economy for the current situation the world is in.”
    “This book is extremely interesting,” Lloyd said aloud to no one in particular as he got lost in thought while flipping through the pages of Quantum Mechanics by Albert Messiah.
    Rakshata was equally intrigued with the tome she skimmed over. “The Nature of Space and Time by Steven Hawking and Roger Penrose, truly interesting material, Enoch. How ever did you come by these?”
    “I have my methods.” He winked at her then looked at the whole group. “I chose books that I thought would best suit each of you and books you could not acquire anywhere else. It has always been my contention that knowledge is the greatest material gift a person can give to another. I hope that the knowledge I give to all of you will help you in your endeavors to make this world a better place and prepare you for the trials that lay ahead.”
    “Rest assured that it shall, Enoch,” Cornelia smiled at him as she held the two-volume copy of The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812 by Alfred Thayer Mahan.
    Enoch poured himself a tall glass of rum and drank it down as he watched his friends and comrades enjoy themselves.
    “This is our gift to you, isn’t it?” Nunnally asked him as she carried her three volumes set of Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone and sat beside him.
    “How do you mean?” he asked Nunnally as Lelouch defeated Rivalz in their second game of chess as evidenced by Rivalz cursing with a laugh.
    “I think that to you, Enoch, there is something far more valuable than knowledge…isn’t there? That’s why you agreed to fulfill my wish and bring everyone I care about together, but you must have planned this far in advance of that, didn’t you?’ Nunnally put him on the spot.
    “I admit I did plan this a long time ago after a gifted Geass user told me how it would unfold.” Enoch smiled at her and then at all of them. “So, yes, there is one thing that is more precious to me than just knowledge or my mission.”
    Nunnally cocked her head and smiled at him. “I thought so.”
    “Well, what is it?” Cecile asked on the edge of her comfy chair.
    Enoch smiled, “Friends.”
    There was a long silence in the room as his simple answer sunk in.
    “Merry Christmas, my friends,” Enoch held up his glass in a toast.
    His party did the same.
    “Wow,” Lena said, “I suppose we all feel the same way?”
    The group nodded in agreement, though Tamaki needed a jab from Zhou.
    Lihua giggled at the sight of Zhou prodding Tamaki and smiled at Enoch. “So how far back did you plan for this moment?”
    Enoch gave her a wide grin. “Oh…about when I trapped Tartarus under the ice.”
    “WHAT!” the group shouted in unison.
    “But that’s a tale for another time,” the amber-eyed man said with a chuckle as he drank down the last draught of his rum.



    __________________________________________________ _______________________



    Thus ends Dirge of Daedalus.

    Thanks for reading.
    All things in moderation...

Similar Threads

  1. Code Geass discussion Thread
    By Kodai Okuda in forum Fan Fiction
    Replies: 135
    Last Post: 10-05-2011, 11:25 AM
  2. CODE GEASS: Alpha and Omega (edited version)
    By Kodai Okuda in forum Fan Fiction
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 05-30-2011, 03:00 AM
  3. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 12-31-2010, 05:48 AM
  4. CODE GEASS: Chronicles of Tartarus (edited version)
    By Kodai Okuda in forum Fan Fiction
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 10-19-2010, 01:58 AM
  5. Code Geass: Lost Colors
    By Prime Administrator in forum Video Gaming
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-11-2010, 05:39 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •