Code GATE: Apostles of Zero

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass or GATE: Thus The JSDF Fought Here

AN Oi...Things are rough, folks. My grandma just got home from being the hospital for a month from pneumonia, flu, and a heartattack all at once. Plus there was something of a family fight in the midst of all that. I wrote this chapter in a spree during my good moments the past two or three day. So, sorry for long delays, but no promise when anything else will be updated while Real-Life is in so much flux.

Zero had stood over many fields of corpses. From armies that fought to the last breath to civilians cut down like grain, he had seen his share of death en masse. He'd even led a few one-sided slaughters with which he wasn't completely happy.

That said, he had never had such a mixed aftertaste from battle like he did from this one, as he stood within a T-1 Base; the Black Knight redesign of the mobile G-1 Bases captured from and left behind by Britannia. It was essentially the same vehicle with a black and silver color scheme and swapped out symbols. Well, those and some upgrades. This specific one was designed as an emergency/secret base for the higher ups of the Black Knights. One that hadn't ever been used in Japan until now.

But that was neither here nor there, as the masked lord looked out of the bridge window at the roads of Ginza. The already desolate ghetto was now more in ruins, with streets literally running red with blood. Agents of Kiku worked alongside soldiers of the Tokyo Capital Battalion and the Zero Division to clear and collect the bodies of Roman-like soldiers and things that looked far less human. Along with them were special scientists drawn from the R&D department. It was such a grueling task they barely had any other manpower to maintain security around the district. He regretted putting them through such an ordeal on some level, but extraordinary times called for certain measures.

With that in mind, he turned around and approached the command table, where the necessary members for this emergency meeting were gathered. Behind him stood two members of the Zero Divisions, code-named DK1 and DK2, along with Agents Hawthorne and Butterfly of Kiku. To his immediate right and left stood Kallen Kozuki and CC as the leaders of both divisions and past them were four others.

"Will this be everyone?" Taizo asked, acting as a representative of the Japanese Council; originally formed with Zero's initial intent of Japan and the Black Knights being separate entities. Now it was steadily being reformed into a representative boy for the people of Japan.

"Yes. This meeting and incident, incidentally, is completely off the record and does not exist until otherwise decided," Lelouch stated simply. He was about to continue before pausing.

There was a reason this T-1 Base had one-way windows.

Everyone stood a bit straighter as the Great Enemy of Britannia brought his hands off his mask and slowly removed it to reveal the young Britannian man of twenty. The list of people who knew the truth of Zero had steadily grown over the years. Some by accident, others were willingly shown. Still, it was rare yet for Zero to unmask himself. It spoke greatly of their loyalty that not one soul had betrayed him or his trust. "Report," he ordered with a disarming smile.

"Sir," Deithard Reid, Secretary of Media and Intelligence answered with his hands clasped behind his back. "All news and information about the situation has been suppressed and contained. As you ordered, the Prime Minister and General Secretary know that something has happened in Ginza but they are not to be told details for plausible deniability."

"Those I called upon and the Capital Battalion are keeping a firm parameter beyond the...battlefield," Todoh added in as confirmation. "Between the reports from Intelligence and the soldiers, I believe we've prevented any of these enemies from escaping the area."

"Seems like Bangkok was successful yet again," CC noted with a teasing glance at Kallen, who contained most of her annoyance.

"Bangkok?" Taizo inquired, the only one present without much military experience.

"Its a code name, Councilman, for the plan Lord Zero and Captain Kozuki used to contain the situation," came the address from Toru Yoshida: Founding Member of the Black Knights, Lieutenant Colonel and Leader of the Tokyo Capital Battalion. His tone was cool and professional, but there was a quirk on the end of his lips as he nodded down to the digital map of Ginza.

"Ahh..." Taizo sounded in understanding as he stroked his wrinkly chin. "I will have to inquire one day what happened in Bangkok to require toppling buildings over to use as blockades."

"Moving on," Lelouch redirected as he pulled up an image of the Gate on the display. "CC?" Lelouch turned to the green haired immortal for any input.

"For once, this is truly beyond the scope of my experience and knowledge," CC answered honestly, scowling as she leaned over the table, looking at the structure with a pensive look. "It does seem to have some connection to the Elevators, but nothing I've known them to be capable of."

"If not for the unusual creatures, I'd wonder if they were not some piece of an ancient army lost to a time anomaly," Deithard commented idly.

"Yes, we should probably address the fact we just fought literal dragon riders," Kallen stated flatly.

"Which I can confirm have never existed in my lifetime," CC added in, notably curious.

"And that just leaves one incredibly impossible explanation," Lelouch deduced, feeling the rationality in the room groaning in protest of what he was about to say. "They came from another world. Apparently, one that is a bit more...fantastical, for lack of a better word."

"And primitive in technology, if nothing else," Todoh mused. "I can honestly say that almost any of the world's poorest militaries, before or after the Britannian Campaigns, should have been able to handle an attack like this with little trouble in the long run."

"Which translates to the fact that they obviously knew nothing about the world they would emerge in," Toru summarized. "But if word gets out that there is a passage to an entirely different world..."

"It would be a bloodbath," Lelouch summarized grimly. "Britannia and maybe even the Chinese wouldn't be able to resist trying to invade to either obtain or destroy the Gate."

"I'd recommend not doing that for now," CC butted in firmly. "I don't know what the effect would be, but I don't believe we need the hassle of all the ways you're already imagining that going wrong."

"Chain reaction triggering Fuji or the Ring of Fire, attracting the attention of an alien empire, unleashing demonic armies and possibly causing Ragnarok," Lelouch listed off without missing a beat. "Still, an invasion is perhaps the best case scenario. It would prove difficult to justify refusing every nation if they simply and formally requested some form of access to an entirely new world."

"A PR nightmare in many ways, but not an impossible one to handle and spin if this is discovered," Deithard assured, frowning in thought.

Taizo sighed deeply at those words. "As I get older, I find more and more situations in which all my wisdom and experience appears all for naught," he lamented idly. "Still, as ineffective as it proved to be, we were still attacked. What is our next course of action?"

"That is what this meeting is ultimately for," Lelouch answered with an even stare. "Theoretically, we could simply seal it off, allow CC the time needed to research and understand this."

"Sitting on our hands, not exactly our usual style," Kallen noted, aware as anyone there was more to this.

Lelouch gave the cool, calm smirk that that said things were gong just as he desired. Everyone privately ignored a shiver from Kallen and a pleased look from CC.

It was best to stay out of the love affairs of Zero. Or Britannian Royals in general. One habit the former prince seemed to have inherited from his father.

"The alternative is a counterattack: setting up a secure base on the other side of the Gate while we attempt to learn more about this world both from scouting and from our prisoners, once the language barrier is conquered," Lelouch continued. "I don't need to explain the potentially endless gains there are to make from such a move. Untapped resources of another planet, new forms of elements unknown to us and all the things we could possibly learn about this Gate and what went into making it possible. Not to mention the ultimate fail-safe: another world to fall back to if needed," Lelouch listed off before scowling. "Even more pragmatically, we have no idea how many of these there are. And if the Britannians were to discover a way to access or create their own..."

"They would have a path straight into Tokyo," Todoh summarized with a harshly narrowed gaze.

"A rare situation where taking the opportunistic route is the same as being pragmatically preparing," CC noted idly.

"If we do this, we won't be able to bring in much more than those that already participated," Lelouch pointed out in warning. "Just be aware that we must never stoop to becoming like the oppressors we have thrown off. Destroying a few armies in one-sided massacres may turn stomachs, but it will help make the situation clear to our new enemies."

Everyone nodded seriously at that, expect Yoshida. "Lord Zero, with respect, nationalism is a minor issue to worry about within the army, from my experience," he stated firmly.

Lelouch rose an eyebrow at that, understanding the obvious point, but curious of the underlining one. The Black Knights had gradually come to include people from Britannia, Japan, and almost every country in Far East and Southeast Asia. "And what is the major issue in your experience, Lieutenant Colonel?" he inquired with a regal stare that some argued made his Geass almost obsolete.

The leader of the Capital Battalion steeled himself under that stare. "Fanaticism, Sir. Towards you. While I would never renounce a soldier for being loyal to you, some take their scrutiny of others in more...extreme measures," he explained cautiously.

"Oh, just say it already: Zero has a cult slowly forming," CC simplified with an eye roll.

"Yes, that would be the blunt answer, Ma'am," Yoshida confirmed with a grunt. "I am growing both concerned and relieved at the idea that your masking will sway very little favor from you in regards to them."

Lelouch hummed in understanding as he caught a meaningful look from Taizo. Fanatical followers, Zero Worshipers, were a new issue he was unsure how to deal with. Or even if he had to. While he wasn't egotistical enough to want a cult, he did take up the mask of Zero as a way to bring hope. It was just working a bit too well. And Deithard secretly wanting to make Zero into a symbol for God didn't help much. "We will deal with my...misguided supporters if and when needed," he assured firmly. Toru didn't look perfectly happy with that, but he was relieved to have it off his chest none the less.

"We will have to handle the official story carefully," Deithard mused, his mind in full cover-story mode. "We will have a large amount of forces suddenly moving into a ghetto. If it were one of the more repaired ones, it'd be harder to explain. As is-"

"A recent inspection uncovered storage of environmental waste stored and/or disposed of illegally by the Britannian army and private businesses thereof," Lelouch supplied effortlessly. "Not an irregular practice, but an unusually high amount of them made it necessary to completely evacuate the district. Knowing the smuggling issues of the area, a new military base was constructed here in its place to stem crime and spies sneaking into Japan."

The impromptu council absorbed the cover story and quickly accepted it as believable and hard to disprove. "Why do we keep you again?" CC inquired with a smirk to Deithard, who dutifully failed to rise to the challenge.

After all, defeating the Witch in a battle of words might just possibly draw the wrath of Lord Zero. Not something any person wanted these days.

"And transferring discontinued and retired equipment won't raise too many eyebrows," Todoh reasoned, recalling there were still plenty of repainted Britannian Knightmares and gear that they had stopped using once they had mass-produced models of Akatsukis and Gekkas.

"I should take it that there are no objections to this course then?" Zero asked.

Silence filled the room as they contemplated the situation. Was there any practical reason not to move forward with this?

"Not an objections, per say, but something to address," Taizo spoke up with a hard look in his old eyes. "Regardless of all else, I want to know just why Japan was invaded again. Fleeing disaster or oppression? Conquering? Their intentions if they had won? Things we must ultimately know to justify this counterattack, if it comes to need such a thing."

"Trust me, Councilman, I had every intent of obtaining that information myself," Lelouch promised with a touch of venom in his voice filter.

Taizo nodded. "I will assure my comrades that the situation is a delicate matter. After the fiasco with the Federation spies just after the rebellion, they will leave well enough alone," he promised.

Lelouch nodded. "Very well. This meeting is adjured. Continue with your duties, and those with work outside this operation, try to keep up the image of nothing being abnormal for now."

"I believe we're well versed in that regard," Deithard said in jest, knowing there were several secrets kept from the public, both outlandish and dark.

Nonetheless, Taizo nodded while the rest saluted before making to depart, leaving the Lord of the Black Knights with his two oldest female allies, and their subordinates. Zero turned around to lean on he electronic table, facing the five females and one male left in the room. "Report?" he requested, his tone far less casual than typical of him.

"Lord," DK1 answered with a nod. "Causalities and injuries among the Zero Division are extremely minor: three infantry overrun before reinforcements could arrive. Five have significant but survivable injuries, one of whom was nearly crushed by the carcass of a dragon. One to two dozen others have minor injuries."

"Master," DK2 took over grimly. "The enemy force is projected to have been between one-hundred thousand to one-hundred-fifty thousand. Of them, we believe less than twenty-thousand escaped by retreating through he gate while we captured several thousand. We're still unsure how many survivors we'll recover, or how many will die of their injuries, but the remaining forces were all decimated."

"Very good, Major Kiryuin, Major Matoi," Lelouch gave to the sisters with dissimilar surnames. Ryuko smirked with pride while Satsuki remained steely and stoic. "Butterfly, Hawthorne?"

"We're still working on understanding their language, Sir," Butterfly answered, feeling just a bit intimidated with being one of the shortest in the room. "However, the scientists are making...something of a break through in regards to the creatures."

"Hmm?" Lelouch prompted with a head tilt.

"There is the obvious issue of how something like a dragon flies, or how giants can function properly," Butterfly continued, pulling his collar for air. "Their scans show that these creatures radiate an unknown energy at a low rate. While they hesitate to call it as such, it seems like-"

"Magic?" CC guessed with a grin, humor dancing in her tone and golden eyes.

"Well, yes, Ma'am," Butterfly answered awkwardly.

"Interesting," Lelouch answered even as Kallen sighed with a hand to her head.

"Physical magic is real, and that is your response?" Kallen questioned.

"It seems limited in use or otherwise unknown to them. Otherwise, I image we'd be dealing with enchanted weapons and armor," Zero answered, completely serious.

It was truly amazing for them, how easily he accepted and rationalized big discoveries like that.

"Lord Zero," Hawthorn spoke up, scowling. "We're still taking stock of all the...residents in the district. However, due to the nature of this place, most information on who was here is by word of mouth and best guesses of those with less than trustworthy memories. Many are dead and the criminal elements are all in cells, while the homeless and poor are being kept at a mobile hospital. Luckily, the overall population here wasn't high, distasteful as it may be to say," she gave with a salute.

"Thank you, and your divisions. You four are dismissed," Zero offered with nods to the four in front of him. With another salute, the soldiers and agents respectfully left their leaders to more private discussions.

"Isn't it nice to have people you can take that mask off around?" CC asked with a smirk as she leaned towards him, shoulder to shoulder. Despite herself, Kallen smiled in agreement as allowed her posture to relax and stand closer to the currently-unmasked masked leader

Lelouch rolled his eyes as he looked down upon the mask. Revealing his identity to others had been like pulling teeth: something he tried to avoid and had second thoughts about. Todoh had deduced it on his own at some point and Toru discovered it when his helmet had been damaged during the battles on Korea. Deithard had been told eventually out of necessity on the off chance his identity was revealed. Others knew, of course. And he could not deny the words of his witch.

Having an inner-circle that knew most of his secrets had been a boon that he had never predicted needing, giving him people he could trust when things went pear-shaped. And things had gone extraordinarily off the rails many times in the past years. As begrudging as he had often been of revealing his identity, he did enjoy and appreciate the loyalty and trust shown to him.

"That said, we do need to deal with this," he pointed out, almost sounding tired...almost.

"Are you going to Geass the survivors into forgetting this ever happened?" Kallen asked, obviously not liking the idea too much.

"I've outgrown such impulsive, short-sighted solutions," Lelouch assured, dismissive with a faux-smug demeanor. "I'll just order them to accept taking payment in exchange for not exposing anything that happened here."

"Clever, Lord Zero. If the Geass is ever cancelled out, they'll pass off any sudden reservations as a change of heart." CC praised with a purr, mouth next to his ear. "You've improved."

"Stop that," Kallen ordered with an eye twitch.

"Why? He's not protesting," CC countered playfully.

"Nor does your routine affect him anymore," Kallen retorted with a deadpan.

"As I said, he's improved," CC said meaningfully.

"Why you little..." Kallen muttered

Lelouch chuckled, drawing their attention. "I shudder to imagine what would happen if I left you two alone together," he said in jest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kallen asked with a furrowed brow.

"Whatever you want it to," Lelouch answered easily.

CC blinked at that, leaning forward to look Kallen up and down, giving a very Milly-like smirk of approval. "Well, it's not like I haven't thought about it," she admitted carelessly.

"CC, I swore my life to him. As an immortal, I have far less issue about putting a bullet in you to vent frustration," Kallen warned evenly.

"I'm sure that can be better relieved by putting something else in you, Captain Kozuki," CC teased.

There was a five second pause before Kallen started to reach for her gun, only for Lelouch to put a hand on her. "No," he stated in exasperation.

"Very well, Zero," Kallen relented, taking a deep breath

"Woof-woof, eh?" CC added on.

"That's enough, CC," Lelouch warned, glancing at the witch with half lidded eyes.

The green haired woman stood a little straighter, but never dropped her impish smile. "Meow-Meow, Lord Zero."

"Moving on," Lelouch stated firmly. "What are your takes on this mess?"

"It's the right move. Something like this getting out would definitely tempt the world back into a war with us," Kallen answered honestly. "And you're not wrong: if these gates appear anywhere else, there's a good chance it'd be on Britannian or Chinese territory. We need to secure a foothold on the other side. And if we try to figure anything out about this world, we'll end up running into whatever nation sent this army, regardless of our intent."

"You've trained her well," CC said to finish off her teasing before turning serious as well. "But we do need to be prepared. I've already drawn several conclusion from observing this army."

"Such as?" Lelouch prompted curiously.

"These creatures? At least some of them must be sapient. And given how easily mankind here discriminates over what one looks like or where one is born, I can only imagine how well non-humans are treated. Especially if the lack of real armor on most creatures is any indication," CC pointed out with a scowl.

"Yes, I was already suspecting that myself," Lelouch confirmed with a nod before smirking. "But there will be one amusing thing in all this, I believe."

"What's that?" Kallen questioned curiously.

"Unless I'm completely wrong, there were no women in that army," Lelouch pointed out wryly.

"Oh?" Kallen asked with a head tilt.

"Oh," CC responded, nodding in agreement.

Then they both went wide eyed. "Ohhhhhh!" they said in understanding, both amused.

"They're not used to the idea of women fighting and fighting well," CC realized with a chortle, turning to the smug Kallen. "It will be so fun to unleash you on this little...crusade of ours."

"If you start spreading the phrase "Zerum Vult" then I will shoot you," Lelouch warned without missing a beat.

"...WHY do you randomly know the Latin word for Zero?" Kallen asked, confused but amused as Lelouch just face-palmed, eliciting a laugh from CC.

And beneath his hand, the Man of Miracles smiled. He wouldn't trade this for the world.

Timeskip

The best way to hide something was in plain sight.

The Konton Prison took this to an extreme. It was on no official records and very few unofficial ones. It was located beneath Takeshi Maximum Security. While the official prison was a place for the worst of the worst, Konton was home to the most dangerous inmates, in one form of another. People that, as far as the world was concerned, were dead and gone. People that Zero wanted to stay officially dead, yet couldn't bring himself to kill them for one reason or another.

It was small, housing less than forty prisoners and guarded by half that.

And as experienced as the guards were as veterans of the Black Knights, it never failed to disturb them when Zero arrived to visit, always unannounced, that every cell grew eerily silent.

Well, except for the warden. Or rather, the Interior Custodian. "Hey, Zero, Buddy! Long time no see," Tamaki greeted grinning cheekily at the ruler of liberated nations.

"Tamaki," Lelouch greeted with a nod. It was interesting that, despite his overall lack of competence, Tamaki had somehow kept this little project not only a secret but kept charge of the facility without any true incidents.

"So, who you here to see this time? Little AA has been missing you," Tamaki informed jovially.

"Unfortunately, this isn't a personal visit," Zero informed sternly, causing Tamaki to sober up quickly, frowning in confusion. "I need to see Prisoner NE."

Tamaki's jaw dropped open, holding up a hand to protest before lowering it in resignation. "Just don't remove your helmet."

Lelouch nodded in agreement. While Tamaki did NOT know his identity, it was a valid precaution. The founding member needlessly led his leader pass many metal doors with small windows in them. Each one a cell customized to house a prisoner long term, if not indefinitely. He paused at the door marked AA, looking to the peak hole. He saw a hand poking up to wave cheerfully at him, which elicited a pitying smile beneath his mask.

"Zero," Tamaki called, standing by a door labeled NE. "You sure about this?" he asked warily.

If nothing else, Lelouch appreciated someone willing to treat Zero, not just Lelouch like an ordinary person.

"Yes, Tamaki. I'll have CC bring you up to speed soon," Zero assured patiently.

Tamaki shrugged. "Just worried about ya, Buddy. Have fun with Tables," he said sympathetically as he opened the metal door for Zero to enter the cell.

Just like all others, it was a fifteen-by-forty foot room. The first ten feet of the room was cut off by a clear wall of highly reinforced and very thick glass, with a slot built in for to pass food and supplies either way.

Each room contained a bed, a television, and a set amount of requested amenities. The reason for this luxury was that most of Konton's prisoners weren't here because they deserved to be but because they needed to be. As a man that understood the notion of being a prisoner, he'd at least supply some gilding to the cages.

That said, this room was trashed, with most of the furniture destroyed and little electronics fashioned into misshapen items that could be devices or artwork. All over the walls were scribbles, drawings, and equations. To most it would be gibberish. Lelouch almost wished he didn't understand what much of it meant, but it was a clear reminder of why this one was here.

He took a seat in front of a section of glass. On the other side of where he sat was the only piece of furniture intact: a single table. And on it sat the prisoner NE. She sat silently, hunched over with her messy hair hiding her face. It was unkempt and looked almost black from lack of care. The yellow uniform she refused to remove had little holes in it and the skirt should have been replace for decency reasons long ago.

They sat there in absolute silence until the prisoner raised her head ever so slightly, her right eye peering out at his mask with a red rim around the deep indigo orb.

Lelouch remained unflinching under that stare, leaning forward to address her in a friendly but firm tone...

"Hello, Nina."

End of Chapter

And there you go. Yes, we skipped the battle, if you could even call it that, and instead skip to Lelouch preparing the next step...and the big reveal that he actually has formed an inner circle that know the truth about him. Which has been good for him, both as a leader and just emotionally.

Those trying to piece this AU together, have fun. Little brread crumbs will be shown along the way. Like those dwelling in Konton.

Next chapter, we WILL be getting through the Gate, so much fun to be had there.