Code Geass: Chronicles of Tartarus

Side Story Thirteen:

The Galaxy is Calling

"Many are the strange things I've seen during my tenure as a Guardian, but never anything as insane as this. Finding my old nemesis hiding away in a mobile-planet created by an alien race was nothing new for me; but learning that it was built by my people, who have been extinct for nearly 500,000 years, was something totally unexpected. How it came to the world of Geass was not as shocking to me as the fact that it was the cause of the world of Geass in the first place. I shan't easily forget the events of Suzaku's wedding day when we got our first glimpse of what my old 'friend' Nemo had in store for us. It was on that day when the denizens of the galaxy came calling."—Excerpt from the journal of Enoch Apsu.

Milley Ashford's image stared out from the view screens of millions of people across the globe as she read off the nightly news. In stores, bars, homes, and shopping centers her visage relayed the information of the news from the International Broadcasting Network.

"There are still no leads in the attempted murder of Mr. Kamine Ougi Nu and his family. Mr. Nu remains in a coma nearly two weeks after he was shot in the head by his assailant. The attack occurred sometime after 20:00 hours Japan time. According to police sources, if not for Mrs. Villetta Nu's military training she and her family might have been slain."

A picture of Villetta Nu came up behind Milley, "The former Black Knight Ace Devicer drove off her attacker by reflexively throwing a kitchen knife at the man. According to Mrs. Nu, the knife hit her attacker in the shoulder causing him to drop his pistol, but not before the man got off a burst of rounds. Mrs. Villetta Nu suffered minor gunshot wounds to her left-shoulder, thigh, and leg, but has managed to make a full recovery. The children in the home were unharmed. However, the attacker managed to escape."

A stock photo of Tamaki replaced Villetta's image. "A worldwide manhunt is still ongoing for Black Knight Ace pilot Lt. Shinchiro Tamaki. He is wanted in connection with the attempted murder of the Nu family and is considered armed and extremely dangerous. All citizens are advised to avoid this man if you come in contact with him and inform the proper authorities immediately."

"That's him alright," Alice said within the shadows of an alleyway across from a rundown apartment building. The silver light of the moon illuminated the old cobblestone street that ran in front of her position.

"Proceed with caution Alice," Colonel Madd's voice reverberated over the headset of her comm. "President Nunnally wants Tamaki alive."

"That's easier said then done," Sancia told him. "He's armed himself with a submachine gun and is holed up on the third floor."

"So?" Dalque asked with a snicker. "He's one man, and not even a Geass user. I think we can take him."

"Still, that building is old and thus has numerous external fire-escapes. It's also right on the edge of Tokyo harbor." Lucretia added, "He could affect an easy exit if we're too quick to pounce."

"Agreed," Alice said from her position, knowing that the other Irregulars were hiding in the darkness around the four story building. "Dalque, I want you and Lucretia to take the rear of the building near the docks. Sancia, you and I are going in via the front door. We'll rout him out and herd him towards the others."

"If we're gonna do this, we best move quickly," Lucretia said. "The third floor is mostly empty right now since it's still quite early for a Friday night."

"You're saying we need to fetch him before the tenants come home from work is that it?" Alice inquired.

"Basically…yes," Lucretia replied.

"Okay then," Alice removed her pistol from its holster, "let's go."

"You failed to get it?" Kallen scolded Enoch as she fiddled with her pearl tiara that doubled as a hair-net. The frills of her large bridesmaid's dress were making it difficult for her to tie up her hair.

"Well…the nearest cake shop is closed on this side of the moon." He responded defensively.

"Maybe you should of thought about that before you volunteered to buy the cake?" C2 snickered from the far side of the church cathedral vestibule they stood within. Her elegant white dress blended perfectly with the Britannian architecture of the building.

"You'll just have to fly to the dark side of the moon and buy another cake," Shirley told him as she helped Kallen with her tiara.

"Buy another cake?" Enoch scoffed as he pulled his gold pocket-watch from the breast pocket of his jet-black tuxedo. "It'll never be ready in time!"

"You've still got four hours. If you get going right now it will be," Kallen smiled sarcastically. "Just transfer the order to another shop, pay for it, then zip on over and pick it up. That can't be too hard for an immortal, uber-cyborg like you right?"

Enoch gave her a narrow-eyed look, "even my abilities have limits."

"She's coming!" Cornelia declared as she barged into the room.

"Who's coming?" Enoch asked in a stunned tone.

"Euphie is!" Cornelia smiled at him, "and you need to leave. It's Britannian custom that no men be allowed to see the bride until the wedding ceremony." Cornelia made a shooing motion with her hand, "Now get!"

Enoch briskly made his way towards the door.

"Oh and Enoch dear," C.C. called after him, "don't forget to pick up my order on your way back."

"Don't worry gorgeous." he tittered, "pizza-hut is open 24 hours here on Luna."

With that, Enoch left the room.

"We're in position," Lucretia informed Alice over her headset radio.

"Roger that," Alice replied as she turned to face Sancia.

The girl was leaning against the apartment hallway wall opposite Alice with her pistol at the ready.

Alice nodded at her, and in the next moment both women rushed the door to the room where Tamaki was staying.

Machinegun fire blasted at both women from the far side of the room. The bullets would have riddled both women if not for Alice using her The Speed to pull both of them out of the way.

"Surrender Shinchiro Tamaki!" Alice yelled at him as she returned fire from behind an overturned table.

Bullets ripped through the top of the wooden table in response.

"Cover me!" Alice told Sancia.

"Will do," Sancia rolled on her stomach over behind the kitchen counter nearby and began firing at Tamaki from the safety of the heavy wooden structure.

The sigil of Geass formed on Alice's forehead as she used The Speed to rush Tamaki while he fired on Sancia's position.

Shinchiro noticed Alice heading towards him out of the corner of his eye and tried to bring his weapon to bear on the blur that approached at inhuman speed, but it was too late.

Alice performed a spinning kick as she deactivated her Geass and used the momentum of her speed to knock the weapon in Tamaki's hands across the room.

"Don't move Tamaki!" Alice aimed her handgun at him, but Shinchiro ignored her and leapt for an open window nearby.

His action took Alice by surprise as he tossed himself out the egress.

Sancia and Alice rushed to the open window only to see Tamaki running down the stairs of a fire escape as quickly as his legs would take him.

Tamaki was nearly to the second landing when Lucretia met him with her pistol pointed directly at him. "Stop right there Lieutenant. You're under arrest."

Shinchiro smiled at her venomously then jumped off the fire escape landing down in the alley below.

Lucretia fired a few rounds at him as he went over the side, but missed.

"Dalque!" Lucretia yelled down towards where Tamaki had landed.

Tamaki landed on his rump only to be dragged off the ground by Dalque. She activated her Geass The Power and punched Tamaki in the gut: knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over as she dropped him on the ground.

"Let's cuff him!" Lucretia said as she got off the fire escape ladder and joined up with Dalque.

"Nervous?" Rai asked Suzaku as he helped adjust Kururugi's bowtie.

"Yeah…but it would seem Lelouch is more nervous than I am." Suzaku snickered as he watched Lelouch pacing back and forth within the antechamber of the church they were using as a dressing room.

Lelouch stared at the floor biting his thumbnail as strode the length of the chamber.

"Master Lelouch, are you alright?" Jeremiah Gottwald inquired from where he stood in a regal pose next to a small stool.

Lelouch either ignored him or didn't hear him as he continued to pace the room mechanically.

"What's with him?" Suzaku asked Rai.

Rai smiled, "he's been like this since we learned about the fate of Defiance and your wedding got bumped up a week. The destruction of the ship by a FLEIJA has got him into a tizzy."

Lelouch stopped at the mention of the name Defiance and turned towards Jeremiah. "Knight of Orange, has the President and her entourage arrived yet?"

"I believe they'll be here within a few hours," Jeremiah responded with a concerned look. "However Master Lelouch, you should be rest assured that the defenses here on Luna are more than adequate to deal with a single pirate vessel. Even one armed with FLEIJA warheads."

"They're not going to use FLEIJAs," Lelouch said confidently as he stared at a fresco on the wall. His mind was working overtime as he processed every conceivable scenario of who had destroyed the Defiance, and what their next move would be. A crucial clue that cued him in on the identity of the perpetrators came with the attack on Ougi and Villetta. Lelouch knew that Tamaki would never try to kill Ougi. They had been comrades and friends for far too long. No, something had forced Tamaki to do it and he had an idea of what that something was.

"How do you know that?" Rai asked.

"If you suspect something Lelouch you'd better not keep it to yourself," Suzaku scowled at him. He knew Lelouch all too well. Even though his best friend had changed a great deal over the past few years, he was still the old Lelouch…still Zero in many ways.

Lelouch smiled at him, "I don't want to ruin this day with my wild paranoia."

Suzaku gave him a narrow eyed look, "humor me."

Lelouch sighed, "You may find this difficult to believe…"

"Go on," Suzaku prodded him.

"I don't think Nina Einstein is dead," Lelouch stated.

Rai gasped, "What makes you say that?"

"This enemy specifically targeted Nagisa Chiba and the Yamato no Orochi." Lelouch folded his arms, "then Shinchiro Tamaki, a member of the Yamato no Orochi attacked his best friend and former comrade Ougi Nu. Forget how Tamaki survived the FLIEJA attack on the Defiance for now, as the more pressing question is why did he attack Ougi?"

"Geass?" Suzaku asked.

"Probably," Lelouch frowned.

"Are you implying that this is a strategy being implemented by Professor Einstein?" Jeremiah inquired with an intrigued look.

"Precisely," Lelouch said. "The actions taken thus far indicate a plan of attack by someone who is picking their targets intentionally. Someone who is acting according to a set plan in order to isolate those of us who were the key players involved in both the defeat of Tartarus and Nina Einstein. The thing which is troubling me though is that this strategy greatly resembles a chess match, which is not Nina's forte as far as I know. Be that as it may this adversary is certainly executing a plan that resembles a basic strategy akin to chess. In chess, the objective is to isolate the king while eliminating as many of the pawns as possible to prevent reinforcements from entering the fray. By taking out the peripheral pieces that are aware of what really happened during the Tartarus conflict and at Nibiru, this person or persons gains a considerable advantage if the actual objective is greater."

"But why now?" Suzaku asked with a confused expression, "it's been years since the incident on Nibiru. Why would Nina, if that's who's doing this, wait so long to move against us?"

"That's the part I can't figure out," Lelouch admitted with a grimace.

Rai put his hands on his hips, "well whatever the reason is, I'm sure we'll find out eventually, but for now we need to consider the possibility of an attack on this wedding. Considering that all the people responsible for what happened to Nina are going to be here."

"Indeed," Jeremiah agreed. "We need a plan of action should the situation require it."

Lelouch looked over at Suzaku.

Kururugi smiled at him, "let's hear it, cause I know you've already got one."

Lelouch snickered, "okay then, here's what I've come up with."

Alice slapped Tamaki across the face within the dim light of a small room, "Tell me why you attacked former Captain Ougi Nu!"

Tamaki just stared at her with an ashen expression from the chair that he sat in. The man was in a full body straight-jacket suit, but didn't seem to notice one iota.

"We've been at this for nearly an hour and he's not responding," Lucretia told her.

The interior of the room was suddenly bathed in bright light from the hall outside as the door to the chamber opened. "She's right," the shadow of a tall figure said as he entered the interrogation room of the Kaminejima class warship Arcadia.

"But Count Amontillado, if we don't find out what he knows other people might be in danger." Alice told him with concern.

"I realize that," the Count said softly from under his mask, "Which is why I sent for help."

A teenage girl walked out from behind him. To the Irregulars within the room she looked like the female twin of Lelouch vi Britannia.

"Madame Lysandra," Lucretia bowed in respect towards the girl.

Alice looked at the youth with pity, and then turned towards Count Amontillado, "is putting her through this really necessary? We don't know what's been done to Tamaki's mind. It could be Geass related."

"Which is precisely why I must connect with his subconscious," Lysandra told Alice in a soft tone. The girl smiled at her slightly, "I know what dangers may lay in his head Miss Alice, but don't worry, I've come prepared for this."

Alice only nodded in reply as Lysandra made her way across the room towards Tamaki.

Shinchiro stared ahead with a blank look on his face as the young woman put her hand on his forehead gently.

Lysandra closed her eyes as she looked into his thoughts. The girl pulled her hand away as she recoiled in horror from him, "they're going after Nunnally! We have to warn them!"

"WHAT?" Alice cried out in alarm.

Count Amontillado wasted no time in contacting the bridge of the Arcadia, "Colonel Madd set course for Luna at once!"

"Luna sir?" Madd inquired in a confused tone.

"Yes you dolt!" Amontillado barked with urgency in his voice. "President Nunnally and her entourage are the assassin's targets; now get this damn ship there at maximum speed!"

"Yes Count…at once!" Madd stammered over the communications link.

"Yeah, I need it within the next three hours," Enoch spoke into the communication headset of his Type-21Z as he flew over the cratered surface of Earth's moon. Far below him the once gray and dusty surface of Earth's natural satellite was dotted with various city-domes of the newly colonized moon.

"Yes, a full eight-tier wedding cake…" he paused for a moment as he noticed seven blips on his long range LADAR scope. "What the…?"

The seven blips were closing in on his fighter fast as he switched over to the general military frequency, "Apollo base control are there supposed to be any fighters in my current location?"

A female voice from the base control tower responded immediately, "no Major Apsu, there are no units in your area."

"No units in my area?" Enoch queried her, "but I've got seven inbounds closing fast—" he dove his fighter down towards the surface of the moon instinctively as Kaon blasts zipped past his machine.

"Major are you alright?" the female control tower officer inquired frantically.

"I'm under attack!" He said as the radio frequency cut out. Damn it! They're jamming me. Enoch rolled his KMF out of the way of a hail of Hadron blasts from a pair of Type-21Z fighters that had broken off from the main group.

He just barely activated his machine's OEAPT (Omni-directional Enhanced Absolute Protection Territory) defense system before Kaon blasts slammed into the multifaceted ruby-red energy shield.

Enoch transformed his fighter into Knightmare mode as he used the rocky outcroppings along the edge of the Haemus Mountains on the North "shore" of the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) as cover while he dodged the onslaught of Kaon energy bolts. "Son of a…" Apsu cursed as Hadron blasts followed behind his machine in a rain of red-black death that blew moon rocks into dust behind his Knightmare.

"They're herding me," Enoch blurt out as the seven pursuing Type-21Z KMFs split up above him into three groups of two and a single fighter that boosted ahead of Enoch's machine until it was out of sight.

"So you punks are going to try to ambush me in the Mare Serenitatis, eh?" Enoch tried to weave his way through the mountainous rocks and foothills towards the dome-city in the Plinius crater.

He was met by a pair of Type-21Z KMFs in Knightmare mode as his machine broke out into the Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity) to avoid a shower of Hadron blasts from the single enemy KMF that flew above him in fighter mode.

Another pair of Type-21Z KMFs met Enoch as his Knightmare skimmed over the surface of the crater bed. Both of the Cosmo-Knightmares fired on him simultaneously, which caused Apsu to instinctively boost his machine up into the air to avoid the blasts.

The pair of KMFs that were pursuing him from behind dodged out of the way of the friendly fire and split into two directions.

Enoch saw his opening and took it. He let loose a burst, from each of his rapid-fire shoulder-mounted Hadron cannons, into the dusty surface of the Mare as dodged another hail of Kaon bolts. The bursts of Hadron energy caused a large cloud of dust to cover the immediate area in a thick gray fog that Enoch flew directly into towards where the pair of pursuing KMFs had split up.

Apsu maneuvered his machine towards where one of his pursuers had dodged to the left. He activated the Kaon-blade of its gunpod as he saw the shadow of the enemy KMF through the dust. He flew his machine at reckless speed towards his prey knowing that he would only get one shot before the other enemy KMFs found him.

The enemy Type-21Z didn't respond fast enough to stop Enoch from hitting his mark.

The enemy Type-21Z attempted to parry the Kaon-blade with the Blaze-Luminous Maser shield of its right arm just as Enoch's mecha swung its weapon in an upper-cut motion.

Enoch's Kaon-blade chopped off the right arm of the enemy mecha at the elbow, which severed the limb completely off sending the machine's gunpod to the ground.

The enemy machine fired the Medium-Hadron cannon of its right forearm towards the cockpit of Enoch's mecha.

Apsu boosted his machine backwards, using the four chest mounted vernier thrusters of his mecha, to avoid the blasts, but the Hadron bolts still grazed his cockpit blowing off its armored shield and exposing the plastic-steel glass underneath.

"Just peachy," he said sarcastically as he dodged a second volley from the damaged machine. Enoch let loose the pair of MVS-slash Harkens of his Cosmo-Knightmare. The duo of deadly spinning blades tore through the chest armor of his opponent's machine: destroying its MVS-Harkens, rapid-fire Hadron cannons, and shoulder mounted thrusters/engines.

Enoch's Knightmare swung its Kaon-blade in for the coupe de grace.

A hail of Hadron blasts forced Apsu to parry the onslaught of deadly energy with his Kaon-blade instead of using the weapon to hit its mark.

He pushed the accelerator of his machine forward to dodge a second volley of energy bolts causing his Type-21Z to burst out of the dust cloud where he was met by three of the seven enemy KMFs.

Enoch put up his OEAPT as the three enemy mecha unloaded a stream of Kaon blasts from their gunpods at his Type-21Z.

"Damn it!" Apsu cursed aloud, "If this keeps up my energy-fillers will be drained in no time."

"It's been nearly two hours." Shirley complained within the bridesmaid's chamber. "Where the heck is Enoch?"

"Good question," Kallen fumed at his tardiness.

"He maybe a goon at times," C.C. interjected, "but he's never tardy without good reason." The green haired woman got up from the chair she sat upon. "I'd better go find Lelouch and the boys and let them know something's not right."

"Oh no you don't," Kallen scowled at her, "you stay here and wait for Enoch in case he gets back. "I'll go and tell Lelouch," Kallen didn't wait for C.C. to protest. She stormed out of the bride's room into the vestibule of the grand cathedral and began heading for the groom's chamber across the vast entryway.

"Where the hell could he be?" Kallen cursed aloud.

"Where's who?" A voice asked from the darkness of an alcove on the far side of the dimly lit chamber.

"Who's there?" Kallen demanded. The man's voice was familiar, but something about it seemed alien, hollow.

"You'll have to come closer if you want to find out," the male voice teased from the inky blackness as he stepped forward. His tall stature was just barely visible in the dim light that came in through the stained glass windows above the huge oaken double doors that lead outside.

Kallen realized the potential danger in going over to the man as she was without a weapon at the moment and wearing a bridesmaid's dress that was anything but maneuverable should she need to fight hand-to-hand.

"Why don't you come out halfway?" Kouzuki asked him with a sly smile.

"I will if you promise to meet me there," the man said with a snicker.

"Fine!" Kallen shouted in frustration. She hated games, but something inside her told her that she had to find out who this person was.

Kouzuki strut out into the center of the chamber, "now you're turn mister."

"Of course," the man replied in a smooth tone as he walked out into the light.

Kallen gasped in shock, "Gino!"

"Are you sure this will work?" Suzaku asked Lloyd Asplundh as they moved a large vase together into the main hall of the church cathedral.

"How dare you question my new Geass-Amplification-interface (GAI)," Lloyd complained in a hurt tone. "You ought to know me by now Suzaku. I'd never have gone along with Lelouch's plan if I thought my invention wouldn't do its job."

"I wasn't questioning your new machine Lloyd," Suzaku smiled as Cecile scowled at Professor Asplundh.

Her finely crafted, flowing white dress enhanced her beautiful figure as she approached them, "I think what Suzaku is saying Lloyd is that he's wondering if this new toy of yours will work the way Lelouch suspects it will."

"TOY?" Lloyd asked in horror. "My dear Cecile, I'll have you know that this is a state-of-the-art third generation GAI that is vastly superior to the ones used by the Irregulars in their Vincent Advanced KMFs." Lloyd grunted slightly as he and Suzaku set the Vase down into position.

Cecile tittered, "I'm sorry Lloyd. I should have realized how important this machine is to you."

Lloyd adjusted his glasses as he stood up, "Indeed you should."

Suzaku rolled his eyes behind Lloyd causing Cecile to giggle.

"I fail to see what's so amusing," Lloyd said glumly.

"Sorry Lloyd," Suzaku laughed. "Let's test your device to make sure we didn't damage it."

Lloyd folded his arms. "Let's," he said in a less than amused tone.

"It's good to see you again brother," Nunnally took hold of Lelouch's hand.

"You also Nunnally," he said as he hugged her tightly under the archway of the side entrance of the cathedral.

Kannon stood near them with a smile on his face as he watched the siblings embrace.

"Hey, are you two just going to stand there all day or what?" Kaguya Sumeragi bellowed from the bottom of the side-stair where she and Jiang Lihua stood among their security entourage.

"Yeah, it's not like its safe out here or something." Jiang Reika Lihua said with her hands on her hips. "We are dignitaries of the Commonwealth of Earth you know Lelouch vi Britannia. It would be wiser if we went inside."

Lelouch let go of Nunnally and smiled down at the Tianzi, "I suppose you are right., we should be getting—."

A van flew down the side street and crashed into the car that Nunnally, Kaguya, and the Tianzi had arrived in.

"INSIDE!" Lelouch commanded Kaguya and Jiang Lihua as he pushed Nunnally into the Cathedral behind him.

"But those people in the van could be hurt," Kaguya protested upon seeing the mangled from end and exposed sakuradite battery. Lelouch ran towards her down the stairs.

Lelouch drew a pistol from within his tuxedo as the back of the van opened up and five figures jumped out.

Jiang Lihua recognized the man leading the troupe of armored Knights, "Xingke!"

"Kaguya that's not Xingke," Lelouch yelled as he and Kannon formed a human wall with the six members of the security detail charged with protecting the dignitaries. "You need to get Reika inside immediately!"

"It's no use Lelouch vi Britannia, just hand over Nunnally and we'll leave you in peace," Xingke said in a mechanical tone.

"I don't know who you are," Lelouch took aim at him, "but you're NOT taking my sister!" Lelouch fired directly at his forehead.

A Knight of Nibiru stepped into the shot with blinding speed. Lelouch's bullet sank into the faceplate of the armor, but the soldier seemed unfazed by it.

"Fire!" Kannon ordered the security detail.

A hail of bullets streamed from their submachine guns into the four Knights of Nibiru, leaving only Xingke standing.

Xingke laughed, "Resistance is futile." A green glow emanated from the bodies of the fallen Knights causing them to get up off of the ground.

The four armored warriors drew their swords.

Xingke drew his own sword from its scabbard, "attack."

The Knights of Nibiru pounced on the six security guards with their deadly broadswords. One guard was cleaved in two at the wait, as another's head was chopped clean off.

"Shoot their knees!" Lelouch yelled at Kannon as Kaguya and Jiang ran up towards the heavy oak doors of the church.

Kannon, Lelouch, and the four remaining guards fired on the approaching Knights of Nibiru as Xingke watched the battle where he stood near the crashed van.

The knees of the four attacking fiends were blown out by a volley of submachine gun and pistol fire. The Knights crumbled to the ground only to rise again after a brief glow.

Lelouch caught a glimpse of green radiance from Xingke's sword as the healing light engulfed the Nibiru Knights.

"Ah ha!" A thought coursed through Lelouch's mind, "so that's how it is."

Another of the security guards was cut to pieces as the four Knights advanced.

"Kannon, get your men inside as well." Lelouch demanded, "There's nothing more you can do here. I've got a plan that might stop them, or at the very least slow them down."

"Understood," Kannon replied as he fired his submachine gun at an encroaching Knight.

"Retreat to the church," Kannon ordered his last two remaining guards.

Lelouch aimed for a metal bracket which held the sakuradite battery of the van in place just as Kannon and his men got within the frame of the door.

"Lelouch c'mon!" Kannon yelled for him.

Lelouch fired two shots at the bracket as the Knights of Nibiru scaled the stair towards him at lightening speed. The first bullet knocked the bracket off the remaining screw which held it while the second sent the long metal bar into both contact-terminals of the powerful electric battery.

The battery exploded in a fireball that sent Xingke tumbling across the side street, his sword clanged along the sidewalk away from him. The shockwave knocked Lelouch onto his derriere as the four Knights of Nibiru were strewn all over the stairs.

"Thought so," Lelouch said as he picked himself up. "The sword acts like an amplifier. That means the true puppet-master must be nearby."

Xingke began to stir and pick himself up off of the ground. Lelouch realized his pistol had been blown down into the hedge next to the stair from the shockwave of the explosion.

"I'd better get out of here," he said aloud to himself as Xingke reclaimed his sword. Instantly the Knights of Nibiru stirred and began moving again.

Lelouch ran for the side door where Kannon and the others were waiting.

"Bar the door!" Lelouch told Kannon as soon as he passed through and closed the heavy oak door behind him.

"That won't hold them for long," Kaguya remarked as the portal began to shudder under the onslaught of the supernatural force on its other side.

"To the main hall," Lelouch said with urgency knowing that their only hope lie in his plan. "We've got to warn the others."

"Gino, how could you possibly be here?" Kallen inquired of him in awe. She knew that Gino should be dead.

Gino walked closer to her, "does it really matter? I'm here now."

His complexion seemed gaunt in the Lunar light of the stain glass windows. "Where are the others? Did they survive?" Kallen asked hoping that perhaps her friends had managed to survive the fate that befell the Defiance.

"They're close," he smiled wickedly. Gino held out his hand, "you could be with us Kallen. You could join us. All you have to do is come closer."

"This isn't right," Kallen could feel something was wrong. "You shouldn't be here Gino," She said as she backed away from him.

His smile grew more malevolent, "Oh but I should be. Just as the fox enters the hen house when the farmer leaves open the door, so should I be here to partake of the bounty before me, and I choose you Kallen." He drew a pistol from behind his back.

"No," Kallen moved backwards toward the bridesmaid's chamber. "What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

"Don't worry," he said softly as he aimed the pistol at her, "you'll understand soon enough."

"Hey, what the heck is going on out here?" C.C. asked as she walked out of the bridesmaid's chamber into the vestibule.

"C2 get down!" Kallen yelled in a panic.

Gino changed his aim towards C.C. and fired.

The bullet barely missed the green-haired woman's heart: the round tore through her left shoulder.

C.C. fell back in pain while Kallen grabbed onto her and the sigil of Geass formed in her eye, "JAUNT!" The two women vanished in front of Gino and reappeared on the other side of the door to the bridesmaid's chamber.

"What's all this about?" Shirley asked as C.C. held her bleeding shoulder for a moment while it regenerated. At the same time Kallen barred the door with furniture from within the room.

"There's no time to explain!" C.C. told her. "We've got to get Cornelia and Euphemia out of here."

"Well…they've already gone to the Grace Chapel," Shirley informed them. "What happened to you C2?"

The door began to thump from blows hitting it on the opposite side.

"Never mind that right now," C.C. said as her arm finished healing. "We need to find Lelouch and the others."

"But…what's going on?" Shirley whined.

"We're under attack," Kallen said firmly.

"By who?" Shirley asked in disbelief.

"I can't explain it right now," Kallen said with an urgent look at Shirley. "We need to get to the Sanctuary. That's where Suzaku and Lelouch went right?"

"Yeah," Shirley replied in a hurried voice.

"Then let's go." Kallen said as she and C.C. moved Shirley out through the doorway that led into the Nave Isle of the Cathedral.

Alarm klaxons screamed out over the city of New-London which sat within the flat surface of the Palus Putredinis (Marsh of Decay) crater.

The sound echoed throughout the marble halls of the Cathedral.

"Are we under attack?" Cecile asked aloud to her companions as they stood within the Sanctuary of the Cathedral making last minute preparations for the wedding.

"It would seem so!" Lelouch bellowed as he and his companions came running through the side door of the Virtue Chapel on the right side of the Sanctuary.

Kannon bolted the door after all of them had come through.

"So you were right?" Rai asked Lelouch.

"Unfortunately," Lelouch replied with a nod.

"But who would dare?" Jeremiah Gottwald remarked in a disgusted tone.

"Knights of Nibiru," Kannon told him. He had no sooner bolted the door then the wood began shaking from blows given on its other side. "Xingke was with them."

"As was Gino," Kallen said as she, C.C. and Shirley ran into the Sanctuary. Shadows flew over the overhead stain glass dome at lightening speed.

"Are those Type-21s?" Kaguya asked to no one in particular.

"Oh dear, it would seem that the defense forces have been scrambled," Lloyd said while adjusting his glasses and looking up at the dome for a moment.

Lelouch looked at the high altar which rested in the Ambulatory of the Cathedral. "We need to make a break for the Crypts below. There's an exit from there that leads out to the city's graveyard. We can escape that way."

"Actually," a soft female voice said from behind the altar, "for you there is no escape." Anya walked up from behind the altar from the crypts below: Akira, Tetsuo, Mena, Lena, and Gregor walked up behind her. The door of the Virtue Chapel burst open and Xingke walked through with his four Knights.

"C'mon you slackers!" Enoch yelled as he parried another volley of Hadron bolts that caused the whole area to fill with dust kicked up from the soft surface of the moon. He flew his Type-21Z like a madman through the haze of thick dust towards one of his pursuers he could just barely see. The enemy machine attempted to dodge his furious assault, but it was in vain. Enoch used the twin beam-sabers of his mecha to chop off the left forearm and shoulder of his opponent's machine.

A second machine fired a burst of Kaon bolts at the backside of his Zebulun.

Apsu got his OEAPT up just in time, but a warning screen popped up on his main display.

Enoch grumbled to himself, "I can't use the OEAPT again. I'm nearly out of power, and I haven't even managed to take one of them down yet."

He caught the glint of a green Kaon-blade out of his peripheral vision, "oh no you don't!" Enoch used the Blaze-Luminous shield on his machine's left forearm to parry the slash of the third enemy mecha, but the attack distracted him long enough for the first Type-21Z to use its beam-sabers.

Apsu tried to parry the twin-beam sword attack with the other Blaze-Luminous shield of his mecha, to no avail. The first beam struck the Blaze-Luminous shield, but the second passed below the defense screen into the left breast of his Knightmare frame.

Red warnings popped up all over his HUD (Heads-Up-Display). "Looks like this it for this machine." He remarked with a snicker of frustration, "sure is gonna be a long walk back to the city."

The second enemy Type-21Z lifted its Kaon-Blade over its head for a final blow as Enoch braced for the impact.

"What the—" Enoch gasped as a silver-gray blade pierced through the center of the Type-21Z from its backside. The blade withdrew and the enemy mecha slumped down to the Lunar surface where it exploded.

The force of the explosion cleared away the dust cloud, thinning it out to reveal a platoon of bronze colored mecha.

The troupe of Grecian Theta-Kolossos and Zeta-Orion Automatos quickly dispatched the Type-21Zs in a blaze of Hades cannon blasts from their gunpods.

The lead machine was a mecha that Enoch recognized as soon as he laid eyes on it.

"Well if it isn't the devil himself," Jason tittered over the radio to Enoch.

"I don't know what to say," Apsu answered in a befuddled tone.

"How about thank you," Heracles laughed over the comm.

"Thanks." Enoch said in an unsure tone. "I suppose now you'll get revenge upon me for what I did to you two back on Earth?"

"No Enoch," Jason said in a cool tone, "we've more pressing matters to attend too here."

"What's more important than revenge to an Olympian?" Apsu asked confused.

"War," Jason replied.

"You've no hope for escape," Gino said as he walked down the Nave Isle with a dozen Knights of Nibiru in tow towards the Sanctuary. "You may as well surrender."

Lelouch smiled devilishly as Gino and his storm troopers came within the Sanctuary, "I don't think so. NOW JEREMIAH!"

Jeremiah Gottwald squeezed the switch of a small device on his belt and instantly the vases surrounding the Sanctuary shattered revealing eight pyramidal devices which hummed.

"Now we'll end this foolishness," Jeremiah said as the inverted sigil of Geass appeared in his cybernetic eye.

A blue radiance filled the whole of the Cathedral with a brilliance intensified by the Geass-Amplification-interface devices.

Xingke, Gino, Anya, and their compatriots slumped down onto the marble floor as if struck down dead from the blue light. The Knights of Nibiru fizzled into dust within moments.

"That's enough Jeremiah," Lelouch told him as he observed Xingke's sword evaporate into a black powder on the floor. "They're finished."

"Bravo," a deep female voice said from the far end of the Nave Isle. She clapped slowly as she waltzed down the isle towards the Sanctuary. "I must admit your ingenuity never ceases to amaze me Lelouch."

The woman's raven black hair and deep ruby-red eyes only enhanced her unnatural beauty as she made her way into the Sanctuary. She eyed the Geass-Amplification-Interface devices. "Be that as it may, I can't have you spoiling my plans like this."

Hel waved her hand in a circular pattern causing the GAI devices to short-circuit and fry.

"My inventions!" Lloyd cried out in horror.

"Hahahahaha," Hel cackled in an amused tone. "You never change do you Professor Asplundh?"

"Nina?" Cecile asked recognizing her mannerism.

"Nina Einstein is no more," she said with venom towards Cecile. "I am Hel, both in name and in deed."

"What is it that you want?" Suzaku demanded.

"I want Nunnally," Hel stated flatly. "In exchange, I'll let you have your friends back. It's a fair bargain, the lives of seven of your friends for the life of only one."

"You WITCH! I'LL NEVER LET YOU HAVE NUNNALLY!" Lelouch yelled as he came between Hel and his sister.

"Oh? I didn't realize that it was only your decision." Hel snickered. "Are all of you still letting him lead you along by the nose, or will you finally start making decisions for yourselves?"

"What's all this yelling about out here?" Cornelia came out partially through the door to the Grace Chapel.

Cornelia froze upon seeing Hel, then drew her ornamental sword-pistol from its baldric at her hip and fired instinctively.

Hel put up her hand in a blinding flash and caught the bullet. "Typical coming from you Cornelia, and now allow me to return the curtsey." Hel put her palm out towards Cornelia but hesitated as a voice broke her concentration.

"What the heck is going on out there!" Euphemia demanded as she pushed past her sister.

A sickening feeling overcame Hel upon seeing Euphemia, "How…Eu…" She felt dizzy, "but…I thought…you're dead."

Euphemia stopped cold upon seeing the unnatural woman, "do I know you?"

Hel started to walk towards Euphemia, "I…did all of this…all of it because I thought you were dead."

Suzaku saw his opening, "get away from her you crazy bitch!" Kururugi jumped up in his signature Kuru-kick towards Hel's head.

"Suzaku NO!" Lelouch yelled at him, but it was too late.

Hel spun on her heel and threw her palm out. A bolt of lightening caught Suzaku in the side. The blast sent him crashing into the pews nearby.

"SUZAKU!" Euphie cried out.

"You dared to lie to me…" Hel fumed towards Euphemia. "All of you knew! DIDN'T YOU!" Fury burned behind her eyes. "I'll kill YOU ALL!"

Black mist began swirling about her form.

"I'm sick of your crap Nina, or whatever you are!" The sigil of Geass burned bright red on Shirley's forehead as tears flowed down her cheeks. "Why don't you just drop DEAD!" She said in a burst of frustration to the shock of all around her.

Her Geass hit Hel like a bullet-train. The force of the death power sent Hel backwards onto the marble with audible force.

Jeremiah started towards Hel and unsheathed his forearm blades, "I'll finish this."

"No Knight of Orange," Lelouch warned him. "She's not dead."

"How perceptive of you Lelouch," Hel huffed as she got up off of the floor. "Fortunately Shirley's little power only works once on me."

Hel put out her hand, "now where was I? Oh, yes, time to die."

An arrow struck Hel from behind in the left shoulder.

"Ahhhh!" The black-haired demoness screamed.

"Now what?" Cornelia asked as Euphie brushed past her to Kururugi's side.

"Suzaku," she whimpered over his still form. The smell of burnt flesh rose up from the blackened wound on his side.

Hel spun around as she removed the arrow, "Adamantine." A second arrow struck her in the left thigh. "Ugh, show yourself coward!" Hel demanded as she moved backwards.

Cornelia took aim at the back of Hel's head with her pistol, but Lelouch grabbed the weapon's barrel. "It's no good Cornelia; your weapon will only antagonize her. It won't kill her."

A third arrow from down the Nave Isle hit Hel in the chest.

"Yarh!" Hel tore out the missile and dropped it to the floor.

"Pandora was right about you. It would seem you are a hardy one," a strong male voice said from somewhere down the isle. "Nevertheless, I still must take you into custody, since it is known to us that you are the one who released the beast of Nibiru."

"Who are you?" Hel demanded.

"I am Leto," a young man said as he stepped out from behind a tympanum he had used for cover in the Nave Isle. "I am the brother of Apollo and Artemis, son of Zeus, and leader of the 8th Special Forces Unit of Orion." he stated flatly. "And this is my Phalanx."

The thunderous sound of marching metal boots resounded through the isles of the Cathedral as Hoplites in powered armor flooded the building on all sides.

"I see," Hel sneered at Leto as he approached the Sanctuary with his force. "Then it would seem I've outstayed my welcome." Hel moved towards Nunnally, "but I shan't leave without my prize."

Hel reached out to grab Nunnally, but a blade stuck her in the gut allowing Nunnally to escape to the safety of the Grecian soldiers in power armor.

"You'll do no such thing," Gino said as he rose up from the floor.

"Fool, you dare rob me of my prize!" Hel grabbed the blade and sent a massive bolt of electrical energy into Gino. The voltage caused Gino's hair to catch fire as his eyes melted in their sockets. His smoldering body collapsed onto the marble floor.

"Take her!" Leto ordered his soldiers.

"I think not," Hel spat at Leto. She leapt up backwards with inhuman speed and crashed through the central stain glass window of the Ambulatory.

"You men follow her!" Leto commanded.

"Belay that order," Athena commanded from behind him. The Grecian warrior woman entered the scene with the grace befitting a goddess. "There are wounded here to tend to, and more pressing matters to discuss."

"Athena?" Nunnally asked.

"Yes?" The armor clad woman inquired back.

"Have you come to conquer?" Nunnally feared the worst.

Athena smiled at her, "no Oracle of Britannia."

"Then why are you here?" Nunnally pressed the woman as physicians pulled Euphemia off of Suzaku to tend to his wounds.

Athena watched the Grecian Medics reassure Euphie that Suzaku would be all right before she answered Nunnally, "I've come here at the behest of my commander, Aphrodite. My orders are to sue for peace with you and your people, so that we may forge an alliance."

"Alliance?" Lelouch could no longer contain himself. The reassurances of the Grecian medics that Suzaku would be okay helped put aside his fears for his best friend.

"Yes, Lelouch vi Britannia," Athena smirked, "you see, we can no longer hold back the Babylonians, and we lack the forces to keep them from overrunning your star system any longer."

"I see," Lelouch lamented her words. "So you've come in peace for the purpose of waging war."

Athena smiled at him mischievously, "precisely."

—To Be Continued—

My thanks to all of you who chose to read Chronicles of Tartarus.
I do plan on writing the final story (Alpha and Omega) sometime this winter or next year.
I'm very busy nowadays so it will be slow going. :(

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to read this story, it wasn't easy to write, and I really appreciate your readership.