[Incomplete] The last remnants of Black Emperor - Turn 10

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Turn 10 –

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“He was a pious soul who always looked to God in his life.” The air around the graveyard was somber. The skies were gray and looked like they were about to start pouring down on them at any minutes. Shirley’s mother was barely holding together as the priest said his eulogy. Shirley herself still had a slightly deadened look to her as she stared at the closed casket, a single tear streaming down the side of her face. The priest continued softly, “To his wife he was a devoted husband… to his child a loving father. Let him sleep now… forever at peace in our Lord’s arms.”

The last word was spoken, and one of the men started shoveling dirt into the hole. One scoop fell in, and then another, before Shirley’s mother broke down, “No, no! Stop!” She fell to her knees in front of the hole, “Please…” She sobbed out, “Don’t bury him again! He was hurt enough! Oh God, don’t leave me!” She cried out in utter anguish.

“Mom…” Shirley choked out as she hugged her sobbing mother from behind, “Mom, please…”

A small ways away, Lelouch, Milly, Kallen and Nina were standing stiffly and uncomfortably. None of them felt like they had any right to be there for this man’s funeral. They had robbed one of their good friends of her father in one of their operations, and they felt it was far too galling for them to be there as he was put to rest. Milly and Kallen had lumps in their throats and were struggling to keep it together. They just couldn’t believe that of all the people they could have accidentally killed, it had been Shirley’s father. Lelouch’s hair was over his eyes and his palms were almost starting to bleed from his nails digging into the soft flesh.

Slowly the grave filled up, until there was just a rough patch on the ground where he lay. The rest of the people slowly wandered away, until only Shirley remained kneeling in front of the tombstone. Slowly, she rose and walked over to the Student Council, “Thank you for coming.” She said softly.

She knew what most of them wanted to say, ‘We don’t deserve to be here. We don’t deserve to even look at you.’ And she knew that she certainly could have done that. She certainly could have damned them all to hell for what they did. But she didn’t. It had been days since she had received the news. Days where she had done nothing but think. Think and soul-search. Once the despair had washed away and the numbness disappeared, she understood that her friends had done all they could. They’d had that entire town evacuated by the truckload. At gunpoint if they refused to move of their own will. She didn’t know why her dad hadn’t followed those orders or rather, how he had been missed… but whatever the reason had been… it had been that decision that had gotten him killed. After looking at everything the past few days… he had to have willingly ignored the evacuation.

And a tiny portion of her that was being honest with herself knew… they were all she had now.

“I’m so sorry Shirley.” Kallen croaked out, her face red from trying to hold back her tears. She sounded like she had a frog in her throat. Milly had the same look on her face.

Shirley swallowed heavily, “It wasn’t your fault. What are you apologizing for?” It hurt to say those words, but she knew they were true. “Dad… he should have been evacuated. He had to ignore the sirens and the soldiers…”

Kallen’s face went even sadder, but she couldn’t get another word in. Mount Suzaku erupted, “Cowards, Zero and his people. All of them are cowards! He doesn't even get his hands dirty.
He stirs people into a frenzy, tips the world into chaos, and then sits back and congratulates himself. It's not going to change a thing. Anything gained through his kind of-”

“This isn’t the time or place for that, Suzaku!” Milly turned around and glared at the brunette. She looked stressed and harried and outright not-Milly because of what happened, and knowing what role she played in it. With Suzaku’s words, the guilt finally made her snap.

Shirley looked down, “She’s right Suzaku… this was just an accident. And dad… he ignored the warnings. We know the town was being evacuated…”

“Shirley, you can’t really be defend-” Suzaku started incredulously but Lelouch cut him off.

“Enough, Suzaku.” He said firmly, finally lifting his eyes off the ground. They were suspiciously shiny, but they were blazing with his normal determination, “Rivalz, you mind taking Suzaku and going on ahead? We’ll meet back at the clubhouse.”

Rivalz swallowed uncomfortably. He didn’t know why, but the air felt oddly… charged. “Y-yeah, you got it buddy.” He put Suzaku in a headlock and they walked away, the brunette still steaming-mad.

Now, they were the only ones left amongst the dead. Lelouch walked forward and stood before Shirley, who was avoiding his eyes. He fell to his knees in front of her and took her hands, drawing a gasp from the orange-haired girl. She stammered, “Lu…Lulu you’re… you’re a… you shouldn’t kneel-”

“Shirley…” he said softly, and she stopped talking. They just stared at each other for a moment, “I know that nothing we can say or do can make this okay. Nothing can bring him back, no matter how much we wish we could.” Shirley’s lip trembled, “But if there’s anything we can do for you… anything at all…”

Shirley’s lip trembled, “Just…” She swallowed the lump in her throat, as she started to cry anew, “Just don’t let it be in vain… Don’t let him have died for nothing.”

Lelouch bowed his head, eyes prickling, “Of course.” His voice came out hoarser than he wished. He looked back up, “If you want us out of your life, then you just…”

“NO!” He stopped at her wide-eyed scream.

“Shirley…”

“I… I don’t want that at all!” She said hoarsely, falling into his arms and burying her face into his neck and beginning to sob, “They told us everything! A-about how Pri-princess Euphemia ordered the e-e-e-evac! I know th-that was because of you!” Her hands clenched at his shirt harder, “It was all an accident.” Slowly, the three other conspirators came and started wrapping their arms around the two. Milly was outright sobbing as was Kallen, who was biting her lip hard enough to draw a little blood. Shirley lifted her head as she felt the bodies join them, before leaning her head onto Milly’s shoulder, “You’re… you’re all I have now! Please don’t leave me alone!” She trembled, “Please…”

“Oh Shirley…” Nina whispered, the whole situation making her feel utterly distraught.

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The six sat somberly in the darkened clubhouse. Suzaku had long-since left to go back to the base, and Rivalz had work so he was gone too. Shirley had sat with them and listened as they explained every single little detail of the Narita operation. She hadn’t been surprised to learn that Nina had been able to calculate the devastation, nor that Lelouch had his sister evacuate the town. What she had been surprised about was that her father’s body had been discovered in an underground lab. Almost a bunker really. “Shirley… what did your father do?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Shirley had a light frown on her face, “He never really talked about his work at home. I know he worked in Biotech. He had a PhD in neuroscience too.”

Lelouch rubbed his chin, “Two of the other eleven were much the same story.” He took out his laptop and started going through the data Euphie had sent him again. They had been interrupted when Shirley had appeared the other day, and he hadn’t actually had a chance to go over all of it. “Ewan Booth… doctorate in biochemistry. Jessica Carr… doctorate in biology.” The next face to pop up was Joseph’s, which Lelouch hesitated on for a moment, before skipping, “Morgan Jones… Also neuroscience. Backing in biology and chemistry.” He kept going through the files, before he froze. Kallen couldn’t help the gasp that bubbled out of her throat. C.C.’s face closed up and became stone-like as she finally placed her father’s face. He hadn’t taken part in what Code-R had done to her, but he hadn’t exactly stopped it either.

“What?” Shirley sat up, “What is it?” Lelouch sat silently while Milly could only stare at the screen in horror. “Lulu? What is it? You’re scaring me!”

Lelouch looked down, “Nothing Shirley.”

She put her fists on her hips, “Don’t you ‘nothing’ me! I know you found something! Tell me!”

“Don’t do this to yourself Shirley.” Lelouch looked at her, “Please… just trust me on this.”

Shirley stared at him in shock, before her stance firmed up, “Tell me Lulu… if you don’t… I think it might be worse, because now my mind is just racing.”

Milly and Kallen both reached for Shirley and took her hands, squeezing in support. The reaction really made Shirley’s stomach sink. Lelouch took a deep breath, “So be it.” He stared at the orange-haired young lady in the eyes, “We’ve seen this equipment before…”

“You… you have?” Shirley’s mind wasn’t making the connections.

C.C. finally spoke, her voice flat, “Those devices were used in Code-R.” When Shirley still looked at her blankly, she clarified, “The experiments done to me on Clovis’ orders.”

“No!” Shirley gasped, it finally clicking, “You… you’re lying!”

C.C. closed her eyes, “You can relax, girl. Your father wasn’t a part of what happened to me.” Shirley slumped in relief, “Or at least not directly. That was why I never recognized him until now.”

Kallen snarled and backfisted a lamp right off the table. It clattered to the floor and the bulb shattered with a loud pop, “This is all just so fucked up!”

Shirley laughed hoarsely. Just how many times would she have her world upended before this was over?

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Nina was sitting alone with Rakshata in their meeting room, feeling more nervous then she rightly should have. The first time she had met the woman her heart had started thudding inside her chest and she was pretty sure she had blushed up a storm. The mature woman’s exotic features and risqué manner of dress had done things to the young scientist that weren’t for discussion in polite company. She was very grateful that Rakshata hadn’t taken it against her – and she was sure the older woman had noticed, even if she made no mention of it – and they had struck up a friendship under the guise of science. But all of the times they had been together in the same room, they had been surrounded by the others. And so, Nina was fairly sure her cheeks were red again, though hopefully only lightly.

As for Rakshata herself… the woman was both amused and a little flattered by the girl’s interest, “Your last name.” She said in that lazy manner of hers, “Any relation to Albert?”

“Ah!” Nina squeaked out, “Yes, he’s my thrice great Grandfather.”

“He must be a great inspiration to you as well.” Rakshata smiled encouragingly at the girl, “His work on relativity advanced scientific knowledge by decades, if not more.”

Nina smiled and relaxed slightly. She could always count on Rakshata to be interested in the same things she enjoyed, “Yes he was.” She licked her dry lips, “I started a lot of my own research on subjects he never got anywhere with.”

“Anything in particular?” Rakshata took a drag from her pipe, noticing how the girl had lit up at the mention of her interest.

Nina smiled in elation. She never had anyone to talk to about her work before. “I’ve actually gotten very far on my research into atoms.” She said cheerfully, “I found some of great-grandfather’s work on splitting the atom. He never took the research anywhere himself, but he provided a good beginning to work from.”

“Splitting the atom?” Rakshata’s eyes gained a very interested gleam, “It’s theoretically possible.” She allowed.

“It’s more than that!” Nina balled up her fists in front of her chest in excitement, “I’ve actually succeeded in splitting one in some of my simulations! I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work in real life! It has the potential to generate tremendous amounts of energy!”

Rakshata chuckled lightly, “Oh, to be young.” She mumbled, noticing Nina deflate slightly. She pointed her pipe at the girl, “Keep up that exuberance Nina. We need that in this world. Just know that not everything always works out like that. Why, I remember one of my starting experiments. Oooh boy, what a disaster that one was.” She shook her head, “Always keep your hopes up, but don’t expect things to always work out.” She smirked and decided to make the girl blush some more, “I remember a funny story back from some of my earliest classes. A drug was being developed to combat Angina was found to not be very effective.” Her smirk widened a little at Nina’s interest, “But it had a rather important little side effect that got the drug through clinical trials. We now call that drug Viagra.”

“Rakshata!” Nina flushed completely red, and the Indian woman started to laugh. Finally, Nina began giggling too. “So… you’re saying to not put all my eggs in one basket then?”

“Exactly.” Rakshata stretched, not seeing Nina’s eyes glue to her form, “While it’s certainly more than possible that your research will go exactly how you wish it to, it’s also possible that something will go wrong that will cause it to flop.”

“I know.” Nina pouted, “In the simulations, some of the energy released seems to be dangerous.”

Before she could go on, the door opened, “Oh, are we interrupting something?” Lelouch walked in, followed by Milly, Kallen, Euphie, C.C. and a black-haired young woman that neither of them knew wearing a long pink dress.

“Not at all.” Rakshata stated, “Nina was just sharing some of her hopes for her research.”

“Oh?” Kallen smiled at Nina and took a seat next to her, “I’ve never seen you talk about the things you work on Nina. Why don’t you share with the rest of us?”

“A-are you sure?” Nina fidgeted, “I… not a lot of people in class have even been able to follow the basic material. Wouldn’t it be boring?”

“Not at all!” Kallen gave her a little hug from the side, “Remember I kept a perfect GPA even when I skipped half the year. And Lulu over here only pretends to dumb in class.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Is that an invitation, red?” Milly smirked cheekily.

“Maybe it is.” Kallen shot back, “But later. Nina?”

“O…okay!” Nina agreed as she unhooked a string from her neck. After she had lost the data before Zero’s debut, she had decided to secure it to herself at all times. The necklace opened up and a small chip popped out into her hand, which she inserted into her terminal on their large table.

“Oh, before you do that, I think we have some introductions to go through.” Lelouch interrupted. “Everyone, this is Kaguya Sumeragi. She’s one of the Six Heads of Kyoto… and the most important one.” He winked at the girl, who smiled happily. “It is because of her that we acquired the Guren. She alone decided to send it to us when the rest of Kyoto did nothing but doubt.”

Kaguya wrinkled her nose, “Those old men wouldn’t know talent if it walked up to them. Naked. All that time and money wasted on the JLF. They even lost the base we funded.”

Kallen chuckled, “And they funded those Burai.”

“Kallen we’re not going to ever use them.” Milly grinned at the girl in amusement, “You don’t have to rant about them every time they come up.”

Kallen harrumphed, but Lelouch cut them off before they could start to bicker playfully, “Anyway! Kaguya-hime, this is Milly Ashford, Kallen Kōzuki, Nina Einstein, Rakshata Chawla, C.C. – who irritatingly refuses to tell us her real name – and Euphie.”

It was Euphie that caught Kaguya’s interest, “You’re even younger than I am.” Euphie commented cheerfully.

“Barely.” Kaguya shot back, equally as cheerful, “You stuck listening to old men who think they know better too, Princess?” Of course Kaguya recognized the woman. She was very well versed in the royal family.

“Tell me about it.” Euphie groused irritably.

“Kindred spirits found?” Kallen turned to C.C. and muttered.

“This should be amusing.” Was the grinning verdette’s only reaction.

Lelouch felt a shiver go down his spine, “Oh boy… maybe I shouldn’t have let these two meet.” He paused and turned to Milly, who had a catlike grin on her face, “Three.” He amended, feeling his wallet cry out in terror. Or maybe that was his dignity. “Now, now, let’s let Nina have her turn, shall we?”

“Thank you.” Nina mumbled after having greeted Kaguya. She certainly wasn’t about to complain about being surrounded by beautiful women and Lelouch. The fact that Kaguya was fully Japanese was twigging her phobia a bit, but the girl was honestly so innocent and proper-looking that it was taking the edge off. The lights dimmed in the room and the big projector lit up, displaying her research, “When I was younger, I discovered some of my thrice-great grandfather’s old unfinished work. I’ll assume everyone knows what this is?” An image of a series of small dots racing around a bigger dot popped up.

“An atom.” Milly said lazily. “Or one of the outdated models of one anyway.”

Nina smiled softly, “That’s right. This-” the model changed, “is more correct. I can just skip the lesson then. Basically, for a long time, people thought of an atom as the smallest unit something could be made out of. As time went by, we discovered that the atom itself is made out of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The Neutrons and protons group in the nucleus and are held together by the Strong Nuclear Force. The electrons surround it.”

“Bit of a simplification, but it’ll do.” Rakshata piped up in a amusement.

Nina smiled slightly, as the slides changed again, “This is Uranium 235. It is one of the larger atoms. Because there are so many protons and neutrons grouped together, the bonds between them contain an immense amount of energy. If we break the bonds, that energy will be released. Using this technology, we could provide a lot more power to the world than even our best solar panels.” She smiled as she finished. They watched for a few minutes as she ran the simulations she had been working on for so long. She even provided some estimates for how much energy a single reactor could produce. “Once I got my Geass from C.C., I was able to speed up my research tremendously.” She smirked lightly, “Turns out that when I use it, my body rests. I tried it during our long weekend a while back, and it was like I had gotten the best sleep ever. So I was able to work as long as I wanted.”

“Wow Nina!” Milly was wide eyed, “This was what you’ve been working on for so long?”

“This is amazing!” Kallen exclaimed, “If this works out the way you think, it’ll be revolutionary!”

“Yes… it will.” Lelouch chuckled, but they all froze and looked at him. It was not a happy chuckle and when they saw his face, they realized he looked very worried. He swallowed, “Nina, what you’ve done and theorized is amazing. If it works out, it’ll be your reactor that will power the world in the future.” She smiled hesitantly, glad that they were all seeing its potential, “But… it’s also very dangerous… and I’m not talking about the radiation.”

“Wh-what do you mean Lelouch?” Nina stammered for a moment, “This would all be done very carefully.”

“In a controlled manner?” He asked her, eyebrow raised. She nodded hesitantly. His lips pressed together grimly, “Yes… and that’s the problem.” He said gravely, “While you and we would only use this technology with the best intentions… what would happen if someone didn’t want this to be used in a controlled manner.”

“Oh my.” Nina’s eyes went wide as she finally got what he was getting at.

“’Oh my’ is right. What would happen if someone got their hands on this technology and started creating devices meant to release all of that energy all at once?”

Rakshata was a slightly lighter shade than normal, “It would be a disaster.” She said, thinking out loud, “Even if the detonation didn’t kill you, the land around it would be poisoned by the radiation for a long time to come.”

Nina looked distraught, “I… I don’t want that! I never wanted any of that!” She shook, “All my research…”

Lelouch stood and made his way to her, wrapping her up in a hug and comforting the young woman, “Shhh… It’s alright Nina. I’m not condemning you or your research.” He said softly.

“You…you’re not?” She looked up at him in shock.

“Of course not.” He shook his head, “No, I think you should continue.”

Her eyes widened, “But!”

“The only thing I’m saying…” He said patiently, “Is that we must be very careful about this. The most careful we could be. That means we can never allow it to be seen by those that could try to steal it. Or those that could try to develop it on their own. I don’t think there’s any way that we could develop this research for peaceful means without someone somewhere trying to use it for the wrong reasons. That means we need to keep it to ourselvesfor right now.”

She swallowed heavily, “I…okay Lelouch.”

He smiled reassuringly, “In any case… consider your research funded officially. I wasn’t just trying to prop you up when I said it would be revolutionary. Anything you need access to… if it’s in our power we’ll grant it.”

“How will we use it?” Nina hesitated before asking the question.

“A hard question to answer.” Rakshata answered softly, “If it works and we can get it small and safe enough, then you’ve definitely solved our Knightmare energy issues.” She smiled lackadaisically, “And it would certainly make a big impact in providing energy to areas that don’t have access to clean energy. Not all of earth gets sun year-round after all.” She chuckled to herself.

“W-will we ever use it… like that?” She asked, rather afraid of the answer.

“Not if radiation remains a problem.” Lelouch said immediately, knowing what she was getting at, “There’s no sense using it to win a battle only to be forced to abandon the area for centuries. I refuse to fight with a scorched earth policy.”

“That’s right.” Milly said seriously, “We’re revolutionaries, not terrorists.”

Nina sighed in relief, “Thank you guys.” She said softly, as she returned to her seat.

“Now…” Lelouch started, once everyone was calm and alert again, “Kaguya-hime here has news for us, I believe.”

Kaguya stood with a light smile, “Ever since the Battle at Narita two weeks ago, the Japan Liberation Front has been watching as Britannia’s net has started closing in. General Katase has made the decision to flee to the Chinese Federation with the Liquid Sakuradite that they had amassed. Apparently that didn’t have it stored at Narita since they were worried about their main base being destroyed if something went wrong. Either way, they hope to return one day when they’re on a better footing.”

Lelouch snorted, “You mean when they have the eunuch’s hands so far up their asses they’re speaking Chinese.”

“Not…quite how I would have put it…” She giggled behind her sleeve, “But essentially correct. No doubt any Japan they manage to create would just be a puppet government under their Chinese masters.”

“Interesting, but I’m not sure how that’s important to us.” Kallen said lightly.

“It’s important because those old fogies in Kyoto can’t let the idea of Tōdō go. They’ve requested the aid of the Black Knights in helping the JLF make their escape.” Kaguya frowned. If it were up to her, she would have cut them all loose ages ago.

“I’m afraid I have worse news.” Euphie raised her hand sheepishly, “Sister knows about their escape plan, down to where they’ll be leaving from. She’s attacking within the week, before they’re ready.”

Lelouch bit back a groan, covering his eyes with his hand. “When it rains it pours huh?” He ran his hand down his face, “This is difficult. Helping them escape is the last thing I want to do.”

Nina blinked in shock, “But why? Aren’t you trying to free the country? Wouldn’t they be useful?”

“The problem…” It was Milly who answered, “Is that they’re fleeing to China. There’s really nowhere else that they could run to, unless they flee to the EU, but if they did that they wouldn’t be coming back. The EU doesn’t have the resources to waste on what they would see as a lost cause right now. They would just end up being folded into that W-0 Unit we’ve heard rumors about.”

“Exactly.” Lelouch murmured, folding his hands in front of him, “But the Chinese Federation is a different story. They would gleefully fund and equip the tired Japanese. With the amount of Sakuradite they would be escaping with, they would even be able to fund the creation of more Knightmares than they had originally intended to supply. We know for a fact that some of Genbu Kururugi’s cabinet escaped to China years ago. They would come back and give Britannia the fight of their lives, but even if they win, they’d just be swapping one master for another. They would be indebted to the Eunuchs and the New Japan would just be another Chinese territory. All in all, letting them escape would just give Cornelia and I a bigger headache down the line. They would certainly return as our enemies.”

“Kyoto won’t see it that way.” Kaguya sighed, “At least two of them think Tōdō is going to pull out another miracle any day now. The two moderates don’t lean in any direction in particular usually, but they would certainly start considering pulling funding if you don’t agree to help them.”

“Let’s be realistic then.” Kallen sighed, “Even with our own sources of funding, Kyoto is being a great help. Knowing that, we need to accept their request publicly if nothing else. To reject it would put a pretty big strain on Kaguya and Kirihara. What are our options?”

“Put every idea you have on the table. No matter what it is.” Lelouch said flatly. “The pragmatic answer would be to agree and then blow up the Sakuradite. A trap for Britannia’s forces.”

“LELOUCH!” Euphie and Nina yelped, horrified.

“That puts a bad taste in my mouth.” Kallen grimaced.

“I know.” He said softly, “But I am our commander, and no matter what we do here, it is going to bite us in the ass eventually. I have to consider every option. If they succeed in escaping, they will return with much greater strength, and they won’t be friendly.”

“Remember that the Chinese will have no qualms about stepping all over us.” Milly wrinkled her nose, “I was present at the Palace long ago when a Eunuch was admitted as a guest. They’re some of the greediest, most horrifying people I’ve ever met. Katase may be leaving thinking he’ll return to regain his honor, but the only return he’ll make will be wearing a collar. Frankly it might be kinder.”

“The real problem is the Sakuradite, is it not?” Rakshata took a drag from her pipe, “We have four days until Cornelia’s operation, correct?” She looked askance at the pinkette momentarily, her pipe wafting lightly.

“That’s right.” Euphemia confirmed.

“That gives us enough time for this idea to work.” She smirked lightly, “Have a submarine under it in much the same way that you did for your escape from Lake Kawaguchi. Allow them to escape with the Sakuradite that they can carry, which will be much less than they promised the Eunuchs. That’ll put them on the Eunuch’s bad sides and will delay any return they can make.”

Kallen smirked lightly, “Not bad. That would also indebt them to us, and we can ask for something in return while also blowing up the tanker with the Sakuradite that is left. We have our own supply after all.”

Lelouch started to chuckle, “Why, we could even ask for Tōdō. All we need to do is wait for long enough that they can’t refuse our help.”

“Lelouch has a scary side…” Euphie mumbled to herself, biting her lip.

Milly clapped, “So before we go, does anyone else have any information to share?”

“I do.” Euphie piped up again, “Sister has decided to more-than triple Camelot’s funding and has requested that they get started on new Knightmares to match yours. She practically gave them a blank check to get a dedicated high-tech Knightmare facility and proving ground up and running here in Japan.”

Milly began to giggle, “Oh my! Looks like we lit a bigger fire under that shapely ass than we thought we would.”

“Be serious Milly!” Kallen admonished, “That’s not something to joke about.”

“No, it’s actually perfect.” Lelouch smirked, “That means that once we get her on our side, we’ll have another facility here in Japan.”

“If we get her on our side.” Rakshata corrected absently, “You’re brilliant Lelouch, but don’t you think you’re counting your chickens before they’ve hatched here? You may be family, but she has other family who you have no intention of recruiting. You’re going to be pulling her in two different directions.”

“A fair worry.” Lelouch admitted, settling down with a frown, “However it is not one I foresee being a huge problem. She reacted better than I had honestly expected back in Narita. I suspect that at least part of her public persona has been an act. As for the rest of our family-” Euphie flinched slightly, “I bet she knows less than half of their names. And she isn’t a huge fan of a whole lot of them.”

Euphie frowned lightly, “Tell me about it. She’s hated Carine ever since she caused that incident in Egypt. Sister had to kick her out and had to stay an extra three months there before the area calmed down. The amount of times I had to listen to Nellie rant…”

“What incident? And which one is Carine?” Kallen was morbidly amused. She had no idea who this Carine was, but she sounded like a hassle.

“Carine is…” Euphie’s smile became strained, “She’s… the mean one.” She said lamely.

“What Euphie means…” Lelouch looked amused, “Is that she’s a bloodthirsty little bitch with all the ambition in the world and not a lick of the intelligence to back it up.” He snorted as Euphie pouted in his direction, “To put it into perspective… Nunnally didn’t like her.” Kallen’s jaw lowered slightly, “And the incident Euphie was referring to was that bloodthirsty little cunt shooting a beggar because he got dirt on her dress. He couldn’t have been older than fifteen.”

Jaws dropped all around as Euphie shamefully stared at the table, “The riots lasted for over a month. Of all of our siblings, she’s one of the only ones I’m actively ashamed to be related to.”

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“Things have been so hectic…” Lelouch ran his thumb on Euphie’s cheek, “We’ve barely had any time to catch up.” The two had left the meeting and – rather than Euphie returning to the Palace as she usually had to – they had gone out. With her Geass there was no risk of them being discovered, and with Cornelia and all of her knights away, she had somewhat-free reign to leave when she wanted.

She reached up and grabbed his hand, “You scared me with that suggestion…” She mumbled.

“I know…” He sighed, “But this is war Euphie. The answers are never clear… always muddled. It’s a bitter lesson to learn, but sometimes the horrifying answer is the only right one. Even now, I still think it might be a mistake to let them leave.”

“If you didn’t have us… if you were calling all of the shots yourself…”

“That would be my burden to bare.” He said softly, “But that isn’t the case. I do have all of you, and you’re all important to me.” She smiled lightly and kissed his hand. He smiled and they got up as the train slowed to a stop, “Geass up?” They left hand in hand and walked to the strip mall.

“Of course.” She sighed, “I hate being so well known now. If it wasn’t for my Geass I’d have to wear a disguise every time I wanted to do anything fun.” She started to complain. Euphie really hated her unwanted celebrity status.

“Well, at least we learned that you can exclude us from your Geass if you’re touching us while you activate it.” He chuckled at her adorable, angrily-puffed up face. That looked changed when she stopped abruptly in front of a fashion boutique. He snickered as she dragged him inside, “I think I just heard my wallet crying in agony.” He muttered to himself, watching Euphie fly between the shelves. Five minutes later, his arms were loaded up with clothes which he brought into the changing room, “Do I get to watch?” he leered playfully.

“Lelou!” Euphie cried in embarrassment, “Sit!” She pointed at the bench. After waiting for a moment, she came out wearing a light blue blouse with a light skirt, “How does it look?”

“How about a little spin?” Lelouch was enjoying himself. He’d been on more than a few of these trips with Milly. Euphie’s blush was adorable as she did as he requested, “It looks great.” He said honestly, “Of course, you’re as beautiful as ever.” He winked, and she went scarlet, “Try the darker jeans and the light green shirt.”

…

The next place they visited – a few bags heavier – was a restaurant. Lelouch had actually been getting a little afraid that Euphie would have that blush stuck on her permanently. He was so used to Milly – though Kallen had started easing up when she joined them – that that lack of return fire had stopped being amusing. He’d have to make sure Euphie eased up too. They had been chatting amicably when Euphie suddenly blurted out, “I wish I had been able to leave with you…back then.”

His expression softened and he pulled the girl closer with his left arm. “Was it really that bad Euphie?”

“Yeah…” She looked down, “Other than Nellie, Guilford and Darlton… I’ve always just been lonely. The noble girls were always snobby in classes. No boy would ever approach me with the bodyguards looking on.” She sighed, “Everyone just… always walks on eggshells around me. Even when I go out of my way to not tell them who I am at first and build up a friendly rapport… the second they find out it’s back to ‘Your Highness.’” She grouched, remembering the way Suzaku had acted when they met. “And that’s without sister playing mother hen.”

He chuckled, “Yes, I remember well. She chased me around the garden that time you kissed my cheek, if you recall.” Euphie burst into giggles, “Things were harder in some ways… and easier in others. The anonymity afforded to us as Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge was freeing. Neither of us ever really lorded it over others to start out with, so it was easy to adjust to being considered normal siblings.” He started to chuckle, “Damn if my temper didn’t almost get us caught occasionally though.”

“Any stories in particular?” She asked with a soft smile.

“Well, this one girl decided she wanted to be a bitch and pushed Nunnally’s wheelchair.” Euphie gasped in shock and her hand shot to her mouth, “Typical Noble rat, thinking she was above everyone else. She almost knocked the wheelchair over and Nunnally to the ground. I was halfway across the school when I heard and the only reason I didn’t whip out a sword and demand retribution was that Sayoko snatched me and dragged me away until I calmed down.”

“Was Nunna okay?” Euphie shook, horrified that someone could possibly be that cruel to someone as adorable as Nunna.

“Oh yes. She didn’t even get bruised. She was just a little sad and a little frightened. Ruben Ashford straight up called her father and threatened expulsion if the brat put a single toe out of line. They were very, very minor in terms of nobility so it wouldn’t even damage his reputation. The girl never showed her face at Ashford again.” Lelouch chuckled softly.

“She deserved it.” Euphie mumbled, “Lelou…when am I going to get to see Nunna? I miss her too…” She asked, her bright doe eyes shining up at him.

“Soon.” He pecked her on the cheek, making her face light up, “You know you can’t say anything to her right? She doesn’t know anything about what we do.”

Euphie frowned, “Lelou, you’re not treating her the way Nellie treats me are you?”

“The situation is a bit different there and you know it.” Lelouch rebuked softly, “Nunna is a kind soul. Too kind. She never even got mad at that girl. I know she wouldn’t approve of what we’re working on.” He sighed sadly, “She would try to stop us… and we can’t have that. We’ve come too far… done too much.”

“Yeah… I know that… but!” Euphie said, but they stopped as the waitress appeared with their food, “This looks so good!” She said gleefully, expertly switching away from more dangerous topics.

“This place is one of my favorites. You’ll love it.” He smirked as they separated slightly, “Let’s eat!”

-]|[-

In the Camelot trailer, the Lancelot was suspended in the air by Slash Harken cranes. It was still in pieces, with only the armor on its torso and midsection replaced. The right Factsphere sensor was still completely broken while the left one was thankfully operational, and all four limbs were still missing. “How unfortunate, Suzaku!” The brunette startled and looked up at Lloyd as the man stopped close by, “Looks like we’ll be on deck for the next operation.” His saccharine grin turned into a smiling-glare, “Of course, with my precious Lancelot out of commission you’ll be piloting one of those toy Gloucesters.” Suzaku felt a shiver run up his spine, “I do wonder though. Are they acknowledging your skill, or do they need another decoy?”

“I was promoted.” Suzaku deadpanned, “Not that I felt I deserved it.” He mumbled and glared at the piece of leg he had been trying to get fixed for about an hour.

“Oh Lloyd, care for another lesson in proper social etiquette?” Cécile was honestly far scarier than Lloyd was. Her sweet grin could be surprisingly deceptive, “You look like you have some time to kill.”

“I'll think I’ll have to pass on that.” Lloyd grumbled, completely missing the statement for what it was, “Now about that operation…”

-]|[-

“What!” General Katase stood up and slammed his palms onto his desk, his chair skidding back and almost tipping over.

“I’m afraid you heard correctly.” Sugiyama was the one who had been selected for this mission. He was currently inside of the tanker that the remnants of the JLF had appropriated for their escape from Japanese shores, dressed like a dockyard worker. He thought it to be quite a snub that Zero had not come himself. He was entirely unaware that that was the intention. “Zero heard from his spies that Cornelia is well aware of your plans. She plans to attack tonight.”

“Damn it all! That’s not enough time!” Katase grit his teeth, ‘Tōdō isn’t back yet and we still haven’t loaded all of the liquid Sakuradite!’

“Zero is aware. I’m afraid you won’t be getting out of here without help.” Sugiyama stated carefully.

It burned Katase to know he would be in the masked man’s debt, “What does he have for us?”

Sugiyama took a phone with a scrambler already hooked up to it, “You may ask him yourself.”

Katase’s eyebrow twitched, “Good morning, General.” Zero’s smooth tones came through the speaker.

“Zero.” Katase said through lightly-gritted teeth.

“My apologies for leaving this task to my subordinate. We are quite busy with the preparations for tonight.” Zero said, though to Katase his tone sounded mocking.

The grizzled general breathed out through his nose, “What do you have planned?”

“That tanker will not be leaving the bay. Even if you were to leave right now, it would twig Cornelia’s net. They’ve known where you were for several days.” Zero began, confirming what Katase already knew.

“And why are we only hearing about this now, Zero?” Katase’s eyes had narrowed, “If you had told us-”

“You would be dead, and your men with you.” Zero cut him off sharply, “You think they don’t have destroyers out of sight in the event you leave early? Cornelia is not one to leave an operation to chance. Nor is she a woman known for incompetence.” His words rang through the office, with several JLF officers shifting about uncomfortably. “Additionally, she could have attacked days ago. She got the information from a JLF defector after all. The only thing that has stayed her hand this long is that she wanted to get you and Tōdō in one sweep. Her surveillance has been awaiting his arrival, with tonight being her deadline.”

Katase was so red and puffed up he looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel in rage. “So, you’re telling me I have to leave my best soldier behind?”

“That’s right.” Zero replied calmly, “If he were to show up, Cornelia would move ahead of tonight’s schedule. You would have Knightmares airdropping in before a half hour was out.”

Katase’s fists trembled furiously. But not at Zero. No, such an act was pointless. He would save his rage for Britannia. “Then if tonight is to be our last night… then we shall make it such a night that Britannia will never forget it!”

“An admirable, but ultimately unnecessary sentiment.” Zero said drolly, “We have in our possession a submarine. One which I am willing to lend to you. You will be able to make your retreat. In exchange, you must leave behind Tōdō and his Holy Swords. Whether they join me is up to them.”

“Britannia is not made of idiots! They’ll know something is wrong!” Katase spat out, “If they start showing up and we don’t react, they’ll know that we were tipped off. They’ll have their machines search for us!”

“I did not say that the submarine was big enough for all of you to escape.” The sentence hung ominously in the air.

Katase glared at the phone in Sugiyama’s hand, “You expect me to sacrifice my men? Moreover, you expect us to leave behind the Sakuradite?” That statement did not earn him any favors from the soldiers around him.

“Yes.” Zero said, flatly, “That is the only way the JLF will live to fight another day. Some of your men will have to stay behind to sell the battle. This is the only time I will extend this offer, so you must decide now. I will not sacrifice my men on a fool’s errand.”

“Damn you, Zero!” Katase looked like he had aged ten years during the conversation.

“Do we have an accord?” Zero asked blandly.

Katase huffed thought his nose again, “We do.”

“Then my men will be cutting a hole through your hull with the submarine within the hour. Godspeed, General.” The phone clicked off.

“Leave.” Katase growled to Sugiyama.

“You will need this.” Sugiyama gave him a strange set of instruments and the phone, “You must clear out a three-meter-long by two meter wide rectangle on the bottom of the ship. Place this device in the center.” He then bowed lightly and was out the door.

As for Katase? He got up looking every bit the defeated man he was. How else could a general react when he had to search for volunteers for a suicide mission? He made his way slowly to the barracks, where all of his remaining men were waiting. “Men? Zero’s camp brought news.” The men stood at attention, though he could tell some of them wanted to say something, “Cornelia is aware of our plans. She plans to attack at dusk tonight.”

Several of the more undisciplined recruits started murmuring to one another, and one even blurted out, “But Tōdō-sensei will not be back!”

“No, he will not.” Katase said heavily, “Zero has procured the means for our retreat… but at a cost.”

“Masked son of a bitch.” One of them murmured, clenching his fists as he remembered Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe’s fate.

“Indeed.” General Katase closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them the old general’s eyes were hard, “We will be leaving by submarine and it is not big enough for all of us. In order for us to keep the dream of a free Japan alive… some of us will have to remain behind to bait Britannia’s attention.” Dead silence. The only sound was the background noise inside the ship, “I ask now… that any man who has the courage to give their lives in the fight for our country… step forward.”

There were just under a hundred men left in the JLF, not counting Tōdō and his men. Several of them were still green, having avoided the massacre at Narita. Katase could immediately see that at least half of them lacked the resolve. One man was even trembling like a leaf. Katase tried to suppress the urge to sweat, but as the moments went by, the urge became stronger. He had to bite back the sigh of relief as a hard-eyed man stepped forward, “Britannia has taken everything from me.” His voice was gravelly, “Tonight I will see my family again.”

With that first man stepping forward, the dam broke. Another stepped forward, and then another. “Give those damn Brits hell for us, General.”

“We shall…” Katase breathed out, as more men stepped forward. When all of the ones with the resolve to see to their escape were done stepping forward, he had nineteen volunteers. Enough for a skeleton crew, and enough to launch the ship as an extra distraction. “We will be taking what Sakuradite we can with us. The rest of it…” He trailed off, a smirk finally breaking through the grim atmosphere. His men understood.

…

Katase set the device Sugiyama had handed him on the empty patch of hull that his men had just cleared. They had moved far more Sakuradite than they had been told to, since they didn’t want sparks anywhere near the extremely flammable liquid.

Beneath the ship, a submarine was closing in. Attached to the hull were a couple of extensions that were holding both divers in wet suits and scuba gear as well as a device of sorts. The sub stopped underneath the ship and sat patiently while the divers went to work. They had powerful lights shining on the hull from the sub and one of the divers set an identical device exactly below where the paired one was. The sub’s extensions moved the device up and the divers maneuvered it into place. It connected to the hull with a loud thunk and attached magnetically. It was basically a frame that was big enough for the sub’s sail to fit through. Plasma lances lit and sparks started exploding outward from the hull. They rotated slowly around the inside of the frame, cutting through the steel like it was butter. Inside, the men started to worry slightly as water started to seep in. This was a single-hull tanker so they were cutting straight through. Finally, the plate of steel broke from the ship and sank to the floor. Immediately, the second function of the frame became apparent. Blaze Luminous erupted in its brilliant green, sealing off the hole.

The divers grabbed onto their diver propulsion vehicles and left the scene in a hurry, while the submarine very carefully maneuvered so that its sail was lined up with the hole. Finally, it ascended enough for the porthole to break through the Blaze Luminous barrier, and into the ship. The phone in the awed Katase’s hand rang, “Our end has been upheld General. The sub is yours. You all must be gone by three. Otherwise I can’t guarantee that they will not have their Portmans ready to pursue.” Zero’s voice sounded, “I suspect we will not speak again.”

The phone went completely dead. It simply ceased to function entirely. Katase threw it away, “Hurry men! Get as much of this Sakuradite loaded as we can!”

-]|[-

“I just received word, Zero.” Oghi walked up, “The JLF members who were escaping have hit international waters.”

“Excellent work.” Zero congratulated his men, before turning to someone new. Someone who had an armed escort, “And I thank you – Mr. Reid – for the tip on tonight’s operation. I do wonder how someone as low a rank as you came across that information.” Lelouch couldn’t resist the dig at the man’s demotion. It would give him some insight into the man who decided to betray Britannia seemingly on a whim.

Reid didn’t even blink, telling Lelouch that he honestly didn’t care one whit about said demotion, “The thanks is all mine, Zero.” He said calmly, as if he didn’t have guns pointing in his direction, “It is an honor that you’d meet me like this.” He smiled lightly, “Frankly it was more of a surprise that the operation hadn’t already leaked. The network was already poised to broadcast a special report on it.”

“Zero.” Oghi interrupted the two, “While it is good that we managed to get them away… We’re just confused as to why it was necessary in the first place! Why didn’t we fight together with the JLF? Why didn’t we fold them into our ranks?”

“General Katase has no intention of being a subordinate.” Zero replied calmly, “Just as I have no intention of granting a figurehead such as him a high rank within our organization. He is a decent commander but has little ability to lead. He does not inspire confidence in his men. That was always Tōdō’s work.”

Kallen snickered lightly from her seat just below and to the right of Zero, “And that’s a statement made assuming they had anything left to fight with. The JLF have been entirely neutered Oghi. After Narita they weren’t even at battalion strength anymore.” Some of the Black Knights goggled at her, “The men they escaped with was all they had. The JLF aren’t even relevant anymore.”

“Not…” Zero said dryly, “That they have even been relevant recently.”