Green Sun, Black Shadows (CG/Exalted)

[Enjou]

Ok, wrote up an omake. It explains some things about the Exalted ability system for the uninitiated and has some comedy at the end.

Growing Pains​

Lelouch stared at his ceiling as he tried to get to sleep. To say the day of his Exaltation had been stressful was an understatement. Even if he felt bone tired his mind was still unable to stop thinking about everything and trying to adjust his plans. It would be a while before he could actually be asleep, so he figured he might as well be productive.

"Seyrun."

"Yeah, Boss?"

"The Exaltation allows for me to grow indefinitely, right? How exactly does that work?"

"Ah, right, let me get my notes... there they are. So, yeah, so try feeling deep in your gut and see if you can find some untapped potential."

"Untapped potential? What does that even..." as Lelouch questioned what he was being asked to find he managed to find it all the same. "Oh, there it is. I guess. Interesting. Feels like there's quite of bit of it."

"Really? Your Exaltation should have used everything you already had to round you out a bit. Then again it's been an eventful day, so I guess you may have gotten more from all that."

"Round me out? What do you mean by that?"

"Hmmm... ah, I know. Have you noticed if you're a little stronger or a little faster? Or maybe you've gotten a bit better at something?"

Lelouch thought about it for a moment, noting that the walk to Clovis's mobile command center hadn't really made him as tired as he'd normally get on such a long walk. He'd never been good at physical activities, often having to go to remedial gym classes in spite of him never really improving much. "Yes, I think so."

"Right, so Exalts aren't quite like normal mortals. They grow in leaps, going from one level to the next with no apparent inbetween. Are you following?"

"Yes, I think so. So my physical stamina was rounded up?"

"Yeah, exactly. I'd say you're probably around the level of a normal human right now in that category, Boss."

"That's quite convenient. Well then, how do I use this untapped potential I've got in me?"

"Right, well, you'll need to focus it in the direction you want to improve. Sometimes you can get the benefits pretty quickly, sometimes you have to train or perform special actions. You should be able to intuit which is which and how long it should take, but generally speaking improving your base capabilities will take some time and any abilities you don't have an intrinsic talent for will require training."

"Alright, I get it. So if I wanted to say, improve my skill with piloting Knightmares, I could do that?"

"Yes, you could do that. But that's rather specific knowledge. You could instead invest a bit more potential into your ability to drive anything that can be driven, and it would work similarly."

"Anything that can be driven? How the hell does that work?"

"Well, Boss, it's kind of complicated. I guess the best way to explain it is that every Exalt has a form of super intuition. Even if you had no training or experience with something, you'd probably do better than any mortal who was in the same boat by sheer virtue of being able to intuit the basics of the task at hand."

"That's..."

"Yeah, bullshit, I know. Anyways, all skills, knowledge, and the like can be put into twenty five different categories."

Lelouch's eyes widened. Every skill in all of existence fit into such a small number of categories? "What are those categories, then?"

"Right... they are Archery, Martial Arts, Melee, Thrown, War, Integrity, Performance, Presence, Resistance, Survival, Craft, Investigation, Lore, Medicine, Occult, Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Larceny, Stealth, Bureacracy, Linguistics, Ride, Sail, and Socialize. Modern firearms fall under Archery and most small vehicles fall under Ride."

"Ok, so because I have this form of super intuition..."

"The things you were already good at before your Exaltation you're now better at in general. For example, you clearly studied how to wage war before you Exalted given how well you commanded those terrorists earlier today. Now that you're an Exalt, you could easily grasp how to command a military tactics are utterly unfamiliar to you, or play a strategy game that mimics war in some fashion that you've only just learned the rules of like you had been playing for years. Pretty neat, huh Boss?"

Lelouch was dumbfounded. This was just so... broken. Not that he was complaining, of course. Settling his thoughts, he decided on a plan of action.

"Well, Seyrun, as you said earlier I don't really have much in the way of combat skills, which could easily get us killed one day. I think we should rectify that."

"I approve very much of that idea, Boss. Not dying is always a good plan."

Lelouch grabbed some of his untapped potential, and began to shape it.

--- The Next Day, After School ---

"Lelouch-sama! I found you!"

Lelouch ran even as his legs burned from exertion. Lelouch dodged behind a tree, barely avoiding the shot. Lelouch returned fire.

"Ouch!" yelped the president of the Survival Game Club. "Hit! You're good at this for a newbie, Lelouch-sama. Are you sure you wouldn't like to join? We'll just have soooo much fun together!"

Lelouch had to refrain from visibly cringing. Ever since his Exaltation had apparently enhanced his looks the female population of Ashford Academy had become even more enamored of him than before. There was talk of an official Lelouch Fan Club forming... and Milly was considering giving it a budget.

"No, I'm fine. As I said, I'm just going to be doing surprise inspections on club activities at Milly's request. Once the week is over, I'll be going back to my regular duties." The girl pouted. "Well, I might come play occasionally." If only because this was a damnably good way to train up multiple abilities at once. At least he hadn't had to train his Knightmare piloting skills - once he had woken up, he just knew that with his current skills he could have been a more active participant in the battle at Shinjuku.

Before the girl could respond, other members of the club showed up. "Found you, pretty boy! Prepare to die!"

"Crap!" Before Lelouch could run or dodge the male members all shot him. Repeatedly. "Hit! Ouch! Hit! Hit dammit!"

 

[Enjou]

Ok, another omake. This one featuring a different character in our Coven who may be interested in our recent actions.

Goddess of the Liberation​

Kubouin Hidenobu watched the footage on the screen with rapt awe. It was truly terrifying what the new Britannian Knightmare was capable of. The fact that the pilot of the Sutherland that took the footage had managed to hold her own for so long was a testament to her skill. As the video continued, the mysterious 'Zero' showed up in his own Knightmare and coordinated an attack that result in damage to the new model, followed up by a suicide attack in which Zero ejected and allowed the pilot to escape. The video feed ended there.

"My, how bold!" exclaimed the young woman sitting on the opposite side of the table from him.

"Indeed, Kaguya-sama." Hidenobu readily agreed. Kaguya-sama's word was divine, after all. "Quite a brave act, taking such a risk to let Shinjuku group escape. Truly a miracle, given how the situation could have ended in tragedy."

"Yes. I honestly can't imagine what Kirihara was thinking when he gave the information about the poison gas to them." There was venom in her voice, Hidenobu noted. She was still angry with Taizo. Even now, after Hidenobu had realized the truth, Taizo just couldn't see it. He still treated Kaguya-sama, head of the Sumeragi family, as if she was a mere child. Hidenobu knew better. "Without Zero's intervention, all of Shinjuku would have been massacred."

Hidenobu tried to refrain from sighing. He could not do something so unsightly in her presence. "Yes, it would have been terrible. Taizo does what he thinks best, and he must have thought it worth the risk, but still..." He shrugged. Taking a brief moment to think while stroking his beard, he decided to see if he could lighten his lady's mood. "Well, at least it turned out well. Even if they didn't attain their original goal, Britannia suffered terrible losses and the Shinjuku group managed to keep five of the Sutherlands that Zero captured. I still have to wonder how he did that."

Kaguya-sama's frown turned into a bright smile, lighting up the room. "Yes! Such an amazing victory. I don't think the JLF has managed something that spectacular in years." His lady turned introspective for a moment. "Hmmm... I wonder. Yes, it seems likely, but... if he's one of ours... should we... I think... really? So then..."

"Kaguya-sama?" He hadn't quite heard what she had said. His lady would sometimes do that. She would seem to space out and quietly talk to herself. He knew the truth of it though. His lady was communing with the divine. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before, but now he just knew.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Hidenobu-dono."

"Think nothing of it, Kaguya-sama. Nothing you could do could possibly offend me."

"Ara, you flatter me!" She giggled. "Now, who else has the information on what happened in Shinjuku?"

"Ah, yes. Taizo knows the very basics of it, but he has very little in the way of details as of yet. My agents are the ones who are in communication with the Shinjuku cell, after all. I had to tell him something, but I didn't want to let him know everything without your blessing."

Kaguya-sama nodded to him. "Ensure it stays that way. The footage we just watched is something we can use at just the right moment - the pilot who managed to stand against the new Britannian model is an ideal candidate for the Guren. We can use that to delay the decision to give it to the JLF until we've brought enough of the others to my side for the Kyoto House to change leaders."

"Of course, Kaguya-sama." The others would see it soon. They would know that Kaguya was the instrument of the kami, that her word was divine and should be followed. It was through her blessing that the liberation would come, not through the machinations of mere men such as himself or Taizo. The others would realize it. He was eager to tell them his beliefs, but his lady had counseled patience. They would come to understand in time.

"Keep me appraised of the activities of the Shinjuku group. If Zero contacts them again, I want to know as soon as possible." She stated quite firmly. "Oh! Before I forget..." she gestured to a nearby servant, who came bearing a wrapped box for him to take. "You'll be going to visit Tousai-dono in a few days, yes? A gift for him and his wife. Candied locusts."

"Oh! Munakata will be very pleased with this gift, Kaguya-sama. I don't know where you get these delicacies, but he's always had a taste for the exotic. They'll absolutely love them."

His goddess's radiant smile grew. It took all his will to resist the urge to bow down before her divine grace. "Yes, I'm sure they will."

 

[Enjou]

Omake time! Little scenes from various people while Lelouch is out and about.

Slices of Life​

==Ohgi==​

It had only been two days since Zero had left, and Ohgi Kaname had already read through three of the books that he had been instructed to read. Kaname did not consider himself a violent man, not liking war. He had been a teacher, a man dedicated to ensuring that the younger generation had a bright future ahead of them. It was ironically that which had lead him to taking up arms against Britannia. What hope could his pupils have of even a decent future when they were relegated to being second class citizens?

The contents of the books had been eye opening. Kaname knew he wasn't as good of a leader as Naoto was. He'd only taken over as the group's leader after Naoto's death because there wasn't really anyone else who seemed like they could. Ever since then the group had been in decline, getting less funding from their backer and losing members as their petty victories were outnumbers by numerous defeats. If Zero hadn't saved them in Shinjuku they'd all be dead now, along with every last citizen in Shinjuku.

Kaname could only chide himself at his failure, but not as a leader. No, he was disappointed in himself for failing to do what all teachers should do - continue learning. Why had it not occurred to him to learn how to lead even if only at an academic level? Hell, if he had thought to get Naoto books like these would his friend still be alive? Naoto was a good leader, but looking back he had been mostly leading through good instincts. With the right training, could he have been as good as Zero? Maybe. All Kaname knew was that what he was learning would possibly one day keep his people alive, so he was eager to understand it.

His stomach grumbled, and he realized he had left his meal untouched for the last couple hours. Cold curry didn't sound very appetizing, but he wasn't about to waste it. He picked up his plate and spoon, and then began to eat.

"Hmmm?" he chewed and swallowed, and then looked at the rather plain looking meal. "This is pretty good."

==Shirley==​

Lelouch's fan club was out of control. Did they have no shame?

*click, save, click, save*

It was scandalous! How could they take so many pictures of her darling Lulu without his permission like this?

*click, save, click, save*

She'd report it to Milly, but the President would only encourage this kind of behavior.

*click, save, click, save*

Was that a picture of Lelouch bending over!? Why was it so focused on his butt? His amazing...

*click, flash*

Shirley looked up and saw Rivalz standing behind her monitor, smiling mischievously while holding a camera. "Oya, Shirley, what ever might you be up to to have such a look on your face?" He turned the camera around to show a picture of her staring at the monitor, a lecherous, open mouthed smile on her face, and... was she drooling just a bit? "Has the fair maiden perhaps found the now infamous site of Lelouch's fan club?"

Shirley was absolutely certain she had gone beet red at that point. "N... n... no, of course not! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, so you all that clicking wasn't you saving pictures to look at later?"

Something inside her snapped.

==Nina==​

A loud noise distracted her from the equations she was looking at. Turning around she saw Shirley attempting to strangle Rivalz. She sighed in relief that it was just something normal happening, and turned back to her computer to continue her work.

==Kallen==​

Looking at Kallen now, most people would only see a young woman playing on a game at an arcade. Kozuki Kallen though was training, or at least as best she could without being able to actually go out in a real Knightmare. She wished she had a real simulator available, but the current generation of arcade games were a decent substitute.

At this moment, she was looking at her time. She was the previous record holder of this particular scenario on this machine, something she had been quite proud of. But now she'd blown her previous time out of the water by just under four minutes. While she hadn't thrown herself into reading the books on war and tactics as much as Ohgi had, she had been quite interested in a few chapters involving Knightmare combat. The book "The Conquest of Area 11: How Knightmares Changed the Course of Warfare" had been really illuminating.

She was a good pilot. She knew that. Few could match her if they were in an identical machine. Reading hadn't really helped her as a pilot. What it had helped was to give her an understanding of fighting alongside other Knightmare pilots and how others did the same. Her Glasgow had been destroyed in Shinjuku. Hunted down by that arrogant dog in the Sutherland like she was a little rabbit. He had help though. It wasn't just his superior machine that won the day for him, but the fact that he had others backing him up.

The scenario she'd just played had a number of AI pilots on her side she could give some primitive commands to. She'd never really bothered with them before. They had always seemed slow, more a hindrance than a help. She could always win on her own. But now she realized that just charging ahead by herself had slowed down how quickly she could win, and that the only reason she had been winning was because her AI allies had still be targets the enemy had to contend with. This time she had worked with them, positioning them to help her own attacks, and the results...

Kallen smiled. Next time she would be the hunter.

==Tamaki==​

Tamaki was pissed. How could Zero put a talented man like him in charge of something like food? Tamaki should be in charge of finances or something else important. Oh, Zero had made it sound like the cooking was important and all at the time, but Tamaki was sure it was bullshit. As he was stirring his pot of curry to keep it from burning, he was about to complain loudly before he was interrupted.

"Tamaki-kun, can I have seconds?" He looked up and saw Naomi holding an empty plate.

"Oh, sure. Just a sec, Inoue-san" He took the plate and began putting more rice and curry on it.

"I didn't know you could cook, Tamaki. It's really good. Everyone is saying so." She smiled.

"Err... thanks. I don't usually cook because it's a bit of a hassle, so I usually eat out." It was true. He considered himself a man of taste. He only would cook when he was low on cash. Did people really like his cooking? "Here you go." He handed her the plate.

"You should cook more often, Tamaki-kun. Women love a man that can cook." She winked at him, leaving him blushing and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment and pride. Maybe Zero knew what he was doing after all, recognizing Tamaki's true talents? Of course. That had to be how it was. Zero was too smart to waste someone like Tamaki on something unimportant, right?

 

[Enjou]

Ok, crack omake time. Obviously not intended to be canon.

Yozi Relationship Advice​

Ebon Dragon: "Lelouch, you should marry that redhead you know."
Lelouch: "You mean Kallen... right?" Please don't let him mean Tamaki.
Ebon Dragon: "Yeah, her, though Tamaki would be ok too. I'm perfectly ok with being gay when I need to be to oppose something."
Lelouch: "Ok... so why do I need to marry Kallen?"
Ebon Dragon: "First off, I think marriage is awesome. I don't know why. Maybe it's because couples bicker all the time and their love turn to ash. And as for why Kallen, it's quite simple - redheads are hot."
Lelouch: "I... see..." *begins backing away slowly*

Isidoros bursts onto the scene, stealing all attention for himself.

Isidoros: "NONSENSE!"
Ebon Dragon: "Well hey there, Mr. Hedonist. Now explain yourself! Redheads are hot, don't deny it!"
Isidoros: "A real man has a HAREM!"
Ebon Dragon: "You raise a good point. Harems tend to go against societal norms. Approved!"
Lelouch: Fuck the gods.
Seyrun: Yeah, fuck them!

And suddenly ORAMUS!!!!

Oramus: "Best dragon is in the house, bitches!"
Ebon Dragon: "Crap..."
Oramus: "I agree wholeheartedly with this harem idea, but I have a caveat!"
Isidoros: "This should be interesting! Tell us now!"
Oramus: "Lelouch vi Britannia, I have decided on your next Urge for when you complete your current one."
Lelouch: No. No. Please don't let this be true.
Oramus: "You shall create a harem that is greater and more unique than the Emperor of Britannia's harem."
Lelouch: Fuck the gods!
Seyrun: Yeah, fuck them!
Lelouch: Actually, I need to stop thinking that or it might become something I have to do literally at this rate...
Isidoros: "SPLENDID! I like it!"
Oramus: "Oh yes, your harem will be a veritable kaleidoscope of women! You've got the redhead, the blond, the orangette, the greenette, the brunette, and I'm sure there are plenty of other unique colors you can find."

More Yozis and some other people show up!

Metagaos: "Yes! Take all the womenz! Make all of them yours!"
Isidoros: "How delightfully hedonistic! Approved!"
Milly: *squeals with delight* "All my yes!"
Cytherea: "There will be so many babies! Make lots!"
Cecelyne: "Be sure to make your harem worship the ground you walk on."
Oramus: "My Charms are halping with that!"
Adjoran: "Make all of them yandere for you! Now I'm leaving. It's too noisy." *leaves*
Oramus: "My Charms are halping with that, too!"
Kimbery: *Simply enjoys Lelouch's suffering*
Szoreny: "Be patient about growing your harem. Get to know them as individuals, to build a solid relationship."
Lelouch: That's actually sound advice. Sort of...
Metagaos: "Fuck that! Get all the womenz! NOWZ!"
Isidoros: "Hell yeah! Give in to your base desires and rut like a mindless animal!"
Lelouch: And now it's ruined.
Hegra: "Psychedelic nightmare drugs can keep the relationship interesting."
Isidoros: "That sounds fucking awesome! Approved!"
SWLiHN: "There must be a hierarchy within the harem, lest it be chaos."
Kaguya: *raises hand* "I'll be the legal wife!"
Ebon Dragon: "No! He has to marry the redhead! For the hawtness!"

Lelouch is quite visibly on the verge of having a panic attack.

Seyrun: Calm down! Calm down! It's going crazy in here!
Lelouch: "FUCK THE GODS!" *starts screaming incoherently*
Yozis: "Yeah, fuck them!"

While Lelouch is having a mental breakdown...

SWLiHN: "Oh... Oramus. I didn't know you where here. I... uhm... made a bento for lunch and made too much. Here, you can have some." *telekinetically gives Oramus the most perfectly ordered bento box ever* "It's not like I made it just for you or anything." *spheres turn a tone suggesting she's blushing*
Oramus: "Thanks! Hmmm... needs something..." *breathes breath of Pure Chaos on it, causing the bento to mutate and become disordered* "There we go! Now it's unique!"
SWLiHN: "You... you... BAKA ORAMUS!" *runs away, clearly upset*
Oramus: "What's her problem?"
Lelouch: *calms down* "I have no idea."
Everyone Else: *facepalms*
Ebon Dragon: "Anyways, back to the harem plan. Lelouch must marry the redhead!"
Kaguya: "No! I'm the legal wife."
Lelouch: *runs the hell away*

Once away, Lelouch runs into Malfeas.

Malfeas: "The others tried to convince you to get a harem, didn't they?"
Lelouch: "Yes. They're crazy."
Malfeas: "Anyone who wants to enter into a committed relationship is insane. I'd rather cut off my hand than tie myself down like that, which is why I invented Neomah."
Lelouch: *considers this for a moment, weighing it against the alternative* "You are most wise, Your Majesty."

 

[random_npc]

PREMISE
part 1 of 3​

Rakshata frowned as she stared into the glowing screen of her computer comparing two numbers. One was the projected final cost of her Gekka Knightmare design, the other was the absolute maximum that the former could be before becoming too expensive for India to deploy in meaningful numbers. The first was still smaller, but by a noticeably smaller amount than it had been last month. This was especially troubling since she'd made several breakthroughs that had significantly reduced the projects projected cost. At this rate, even if she finalized her design tomorrow, by the time India was ready to produce it they wouldn't be able to afford to field more than a handful.

A year ago she would have simply shrugged and gone back to work, assuming the politics around her budget would clear up once her design proved itself successful. A year ago she would have been a fool. Remade as she was, Rakshata was able to realize that for once the maximum price had been set more by what could be afforded than any petty politicking, a clear sign of India's desperation. If it was going down that meant that something was reducing India's ability to maintain its army. Her frown deepened into a scowl as she realized what it was: Britannia. As more and more of the world fell under their rule their ability to strangle the economies of future targets grew. If something wasn't done to slow Britannia's expansion soon India would barely be able to feed itself, let alone field the kind of army necessary to oppose Britannia.

If a weed strangles you as you move to to prune it, would it not be possible to slow its growth while the pruning shears are sharpened?

You need to work on your metaphors Varas, that was awful.

If you say so Mistress. But the point stands, does it not? If Britannia continues to expand at its current rate India will not be able to build the wonders you would arm it with. So I ask you, what is it that has allowed Britannia to so quickly conquer all before them?

As Rakshata considered her Coadjutor's words her frown slowly evaporated, replaced by a predatory smile. The answer was simple, Britannia's cancerous growth was made possible by the massive superiority of their Knightmare Frames and, more importantly, the complete lack of an effective answer to them. Britannia had other advantages of course, such as their immensely effective ECM suites, massive industrial might and of course their Dragonblooded, but its military doctrine used those advantages almost entirely to leverage Knightmare Frames. Render their core advantage useless, or even merely less useful, and Britannia would find its future expansions costing them far more blood, treasure, and most importantly, time.

Ah, good. I see you have an answer to my question.

The current paradigm of warfare holds that the only truly effective counter to a Knightmare Frame is another Knightmare Frame. I think it's time to change that.

Indeed! Now all you must do is craft a weapon capable of such quickly enough to make a difference, and simple enough for the mortals Britannia is currently obliterating to build, while completely avoiding the notice of whatever exalted spies Britannia has infesting your country with.

If the task at hand was going to be easy Mother would not have chosen me.

 

[random_npc]

Outline
part 2 of 3​

Far above the ground, amid the branches of a great tree, inside a forest a woman sat and plotted the downfall of the mighty. Resting her back against the tree Rakshata stared at the blank document displayed on her laptop.

If I may be so bold to ask, why did you see fit to began work on your latest project in the middle of a forest? Rather than your rather well provisioned lab?

It helps me think, when you're only at the idea stage a small boost to creativity is worth more than a large amount of equipment later. Do you not approve of forests?

I've had bad experiences with trees Mistress.

Idly noting to get the rest of that story out of Varas someday, Rakshata turned her mind back to the destruction of Knightmare Frames. The logical starting point would be what make them so difficult to destroy, so the Defiler started to type.

Knightmare Frame survivability
Strengths

• humanoid shape and dexterity allow them to make better use of cover than conventional vehicles.
• capable of impossibly fast (magitech?) acceleration and deceleration, momentum seems to vanish granting them an extremely small turning radius even when using land rollers at high speed, and the ability to go from a stand still to high speeds fast enough to begin dodging within seconds of finding themselves in combat. At least as evasive as a helicopter under almost all battlefield conditions.
• low thermal emissions and top of the line ECM makes acquiring any sort of munitions lock almost impossible, even optical locks using Knightmare Frame profiles are unreliable as the mobility of the limbs means they don't have a consistent enough silhouette for modern optical packages.

Weaknesses

• relatively weak armor for a vehicle of its size. Armor strength roughly on par with a very light tank, or a heavy APC.
• survivability degrades rapidly after even moderate damage, a Knightmare Frame damaged to the point of reduced mobility is far less capable of dodging additional attacks.
• humanoid form factor means they have a taller profile, when not deliberately taking cover they are more exposed than conventional vehicles. This is at least partially mitigated by their improved ability to actively take cover.

Overall survivability: excellent. While far less likely than a conventional tank to survive a direct hit from anti armor munitions, dumbfire AT weapons are too unwieldy to effectively engage such an evasive target, and guided weapons are unable to acquire a lock. No weapon currently in widespread use is more than moderately effective against Knightmare Frames.

Well I think that sums up the problem quite nicely, do you have an idea of how to solve it?

The ideal answer would be to overcome their ECM. Designing a missile capable of tracking a target that evasive would be tricky, but doable.

Even in cities? Where they can cower behind the homes of their victims?

Yes, the armor is thin, so you can spend much more of the missiles space on things other than the warhead.

But would Britannia's current prey be able to build such a thing? From my limited understanding of human artifice such a weapon would take greater skill than the desert dwellers are known to posses would it not?

It would indeed. They are also having some success drawing Britannia's forces out into the desert, so that leaves creating a dumbfire weapon that can hit something as evasive as a Kightmare Frame.

While making sure it is simple enough for those desert dwellers to craft.

Of course.

Mother would not have chosen you for this task if it was going to be easy.

Smartass.

Anti frame weapon design features.

Vital

• Fast tracking speed, or some other method to allow it to hit an evasive target
• Low time to target.
• Sufficient penetrating power to reliably defeat a Knightmare's armor.
• Cheap and simple enough that the Middle Eastern Federation can produce them.

Useful

• Sufficient power to mission kill a frame with a single hit.
• Low collateral damage on a miss.
• Ability to engage one or more of a Knightmare Frame support elements, such as traditional tanks, helicopters or infantry.
• Ability to engage Frames out of their preferred ranges.
• Suitable for hit and run or ambush tactics.

And so the shape of our solution becomes known. Do you have any ideas on how to build such a weapon?

A few. I'll have to do some more work before I can be sure, but I think I have an old prototype that should be a good starting point.

Excellent, can we go back to your lab now? Away from all these trees?

Smiling as she packed away her laptop, Rakshata quietly dropped from the canopy to the forest floor below and began the long walk back to her lab.

You really must tell me that story some other time Varas.

If you insist, though something rather more interesting has just occurred to me.

Oh?

The requirements for an anti-Frame weapon are rather similar to a weapon made to fight Exalts. You will probably be able to use your final design as a starting point for some truly effective Artifacts weapons to use against the exalted pawns of heaven.

An interesting distraction indeed. You may be onto something, if my initial idea works it would most likely benefit greatly from even the least of Hell's magical materials.

Excellent, If I may be so bold as to ask, what exactly do you plan on using as a starting point for this project?

Probably a refinement of the gauss weapon I was experimenting with last May.

… Mistress please tell me you don't mean the one that punched through 2 walls?

I recall the test rig was able to shoot through far more than that.

I was referring to the shrapnel from the barrel when you tried to fire it a second time.

Obviously I'll just have to design something that only needs one shot then.

Well at least I'll die in a nice clean lab, rather than a creator-forsaken forest.

Oh don't be so gloomy,

At least agree to reinforce the testing ra-

I'm doing this off the books so I'll probably be test firing it out here.

Mistress, that's not funny.

I admit that it's hardly ideal, but I should be able to gather the data I need so long as I stay close.

Mistress!

---

And thats part 2 done. i'm planning on including the actual crunch of some of what she comes up with in part 3, and i'm toying with the idea of writing up some of the artifact weapons she based on her initial designs in a theoretical epilogue.

 

[random_npc]

funny you should mention that.

final draft
pt 3 of 3​

Rakshata idly chewed her pipe as she impatiently awaited word from the battlefield. Working with the EU had let her do far more than she would have with the few members of the indian military we'd seen the wisdom of her plan, But it meant she wouldn't get reports until Akito could convince his superiors to allow them to be shown to a "potentially hostile power". As far as Rakshata was concerned it was pointless posturing, They knew damn well that india had no interest in picking a fight with the EU, and would do its damndest to avoid letting those dickless idiots in the forbidden city drag them into one. Not to mention the inherent pointlessness of trying to deny intel on a weapon to its very creators.


Do you think it will be enough?

For them to win? no. but it will certainly let them make Britannia bleed. Enough to significantly reduce the amount of damage to india's economy, now if the'd actually listed to my advice about that abomination they called a knightmare frame they might have had a chance.

Was it truly such a poor design? Keep in mind that what would be an embarrassment to on such as you could be a crowning work to a mere mortal.

It's a glorified tank destroyer! Oh sure it's well designed tank destroyer, and I rather hope we can scoop up some of the design team after their country is conquered, but it's not going to do any better against Sutherland than every other vehicle designed to fight tanks.

Then it is unfortunate that neither Akito or his superior was not able to arrange a direct meeting, to allow you to convince them of their error.

the cost of using a cats paw unfortunately. I just hope they take my advice on how to use their new weapons to heart, if they misuse my babies they're going to have a lot more to worry about than britannia!

I do not think we have much to worry about on that score, Akito mentioned that the lower level commanders were far more reasonable than-

Ding! -you have mail!
Finally!

Spoiler: Scorpion Rail Cannon

Scorpion Rail Cannon
Speed 6, Accuracy +1, Damage 9L , Rate 1, Range 200, Ammo 1/5, Minimums Str •••, cost •••/•• Tags: P S 2

the scorpion rail cannon at first glance looks much like a normal rocket launcher. It consists of a large rectangular base, that the somewhat smaller and more rounded barrel snaps into. the scorpion uses magnetism to propel metal spikes towards its target at tremendous speeds, allowing a soldier to provide extremely accurate and devastating firepower. This however comes at a cost, the rails are inevitably warped by the stress of the slugs passage, and the weapon is designed to swap out barrels between every shot. These weapons were first seen in the war between Britannia and the middle eastern federation, and while the MEF claims to have developed the weapon on their own, many suspect they received assistance from an outside power. In addition to needing to replace the barrel after every shot (a miscellaneous action) standard models have enough power to fire five times before the battery must be recharged, a process requiring access to a generator and 20 minutes per charge.

It seems that they are making excellent use of your rail cannons, and appear to have started making their own.

That was rather the point of the scorpions, honestly the design is almost embarrassingly brute force. A half dozen cheap rails hooked up to a high density battery, you can get away with a lot if you're willing to use an ablative barrel.

It works, and makes the weapon simple enough for even minor powers to produce.

True enough, still I can't help but feel if i'd had more time i'd have come up with something more elegant .

There can be elegance in simplicity, that such a potent weapon can be made by even the least among mortal artificers is a testament to your skill.

Spoiler: Ace breaker gauss Rifle.

Ace breaker gauss rifle.
place holder stat line
Speed 6, Accuracy +3, Damage 10L , Rate 1, Range 1000, Ammo 1/100, Minimums Str •••/•••••, cost ••••/•• Tags: P S 2

physically this rifle looks like a bulky, almost comically oversized sniper rifle. the official name of this oversized weapon has been lost in the mystery surrounding its initial manufacture, it received its rather ominous title for the role it was employed in during the war between Britannia and the MEF. The initial manufacturer of this weapon is unknown, but suspected to be a member of the EU, who supplied a number of them to the MEF. While it is suspected that less than 50 were deployed, they proved devastatingly effective. downing many of Britannia's feared elite knightmare frames. While for some reason relatively few pilots were lost, the threat of this weapon forced Britannia to be far more cautions when deploying elite units. the use of gauss technology all but eliminates the barrel wear from normal use, leaving this weapon surprisingly reliable so long as the electromagnets are calibrated regularly. The riffle is large enough that without some form of power assist it must be fired prone and braced. Bracing the riffle is a miscellaneous action, and makes it difficult to swivel the riffle more than 90 degrees from its initial orientation(as a rule of thumb, if a target moves from in front of the user they are probably out of arc), to fire on targets outside of this cone the rifle must be re braced using another miscellaneous action. A character with a strength of ••••• or higher can wield the rifle without bracing it. The rifle uses specially machined tungsten slugs, build around magnetic coils designed to work with the accelerator coils, they are a resource •• purchase. the high capacity battery that powers this weapon has enough charge for 100 shots, and can fully recharge itself in one hour if hooked up to a military grade recharger station. civilian generators allow it to recharge at a rate of one charger per 30 minutes.

… Well

A knight of the round, they shot down a knight of the round!

Yes. Yes they did. It looks like he only survived due to a rather costly retrieval attempt by unit he was leading.

And you said I got carried away.

Sigh, I hereby take back all of the bad things I said about your gauss weaponry.

I think this merits champaign, and most certainly a mark II.

Oh look, Akito included a note offering you anything short of his first born for one.

Only if he swears on his soul that he won't use it as a bludgeon, like the last weapon I made for him.

I think that's somewhat unlikely.

Then he can wait for me to make an artifact version designed with the assumption that it will eventually be used to beat a Kightmare to death.

Spoiler: Tempest Frame Destroyer

Tempest Frame Destroyer (RESOURCES ••••+)
A heavily modified light tank, this vehicle was created entirely to counter nightmare frames. Eschewing the traditional heavy cannon armament, it instead uses a specially built array of 4 light gauss cannons as its primary armament. With a turret Designed for rapid traversal it is more than capable of engaging and destroying all but the most evasive Knightmare frames. Though its difficulty in dealing with heavy armor leaves it vulnerable to more traditional armored vehicles, and its light armor often means whether it is the hunter or the hunted will come down to who gets the first shot.
Repair: 3
Speed: 30/60 mph
Maneuverability: -1D (Drive 2);
Endurance: The tempests oversized engine consumes a prodigious amount of fuel, requiring refueling every day of active combat or travel. Its engine also requires at least on hour of maintenance a day to prevent a degradation of functionality. For every week that it does not receive such maintenance its Maneuverability decreases by one, at -4 Maneuverability it is no longer mobile. The gauss array is somewhat more resistant, losing one point of accuracy for every 2 weeks without proper maintenance, at -2 accuracy (against its intended targets) the weapon ceases to function. It is not uncommon for commanders cut off from resupply to use their tempests as improvised static defenses.
Crew: 3, a driver, a gunner, and a commander.
Cargo: tempests have room for approximately half a ton of cargo, this is enough space for either an extra day's' worth of fuel, a full reload for the tempest, or enough spare parts for a week. However it is not unknown for commanders to find another use for the tempests half ton cargo capacity.
Armor: 14L/20B
Health Levels: Ux6/Mx3/Cx2/Ix2/D
Weapons: The tempest is unusual in that by default it carries no secondary weapon, though some commanders have taken to attaching a single shot anti-tank missile to the hull (treat as rocket launcher) to give them some recourse should they encounter enemy armor. The primary weapon is the quad cannon tempest array the tank is named for.

Spoiler: Tempest Quad Gauss Cannon Array

Tempest Quad Gauss Cannon Array
Speed 4, Accuracy +2/-2, Damage 8L , Rate 4, Range 800, Ammo 1000, cost ••••• Tags: P St
A joke often made by tempest gunners is that they have a round with their foes name on it, and they're going to keep firing until they find it. It's common ancestry with early anti air batteries is evident when engaging low flying helicopters as the weapons extremely high maximum traversal is just as useful against attack helicopters as it is against evading knightmare frames. When engaging frames or other large vehicles this weapon as an accuracy of +2, when firing at anything of a smaller size (jeeps, other light vehicles, or infantry) it does so at -2 as it was not meant to fire on such small targets. Still its ability to pierce most cover and high rate of fire make it well suited to suppress infantry. while the weapon possess sufficient power and armor penetration to threaten tanks should it strike a weak point, most gunners would prefer to stick to targets that do not require a lucky hit to damage.

A significantly better than one to one kill ratio against knightmare frames, I think this is the first time a tracked vehicle has ever achieved such a thing.

As impressive as that is I suspect it will eventually drop to a bit below one for one once britanya updates there tactics. We'll probably be seeing them deploy a lot more tanks alongside there knightmare frames.

Ah….

They're still idiots for not listening to me, they had no way of knowing the'd have use for a tank destroyer when they built the blasted thing.

Of course mistress.

Besides, a custom built frame for anti tank duty and a kit bashed light tank for anti frame duty speaks of them having their priorities exactly wrong.

As you say.

Hrmph. still, it looks like this is going to have a somewhat different effect that we intended.

Oh?

Britannia seems to have taken the losses there taking as an affront. there intensifying the amount of resources there devoting to their campaign against the MEF.

So our actions were for naught?

I don't know. it's hard to say how long the MEF will last against Britannias new operational tempo, but even if Britannia manages to conquer them on schedule it will bleed them of far more resources.

There is something else to consider,

Oh?

A painless and easy victory would do nothing but let Britannia blood new troops, and season there knightmare frame pilots, but a bloody struggle where they won't have the luxury of making sure to crush everyone who took up arms against them may produce units well used to fighting Britannian forces.

You think we could recruit some of the survivors? I don't think there will be enough of them to be much use as mercenaries.

On the field of battle no, but what about on the training grounds?

not a bad idea varas. i'll see if I can convince some of my superiors to make a point of providing asylum to any MEF fighters who make it across the border.

---

and done. I have next to no actual experience with exalted, so I have no idea how balanced those weapons actually are, so I'm rather open to suggestions to change them. especially the ace breaker, I was going for high end specialized frame killer, and I think I may have overshot. do note that once we actually see sutherland stats I may tweak these a bit, after all it would be silly if the anti frame weapons couldn't actually damage knightmare frames. also I took a bit of a guess at the nature of Rakshata and Varas relationships. since Varas doesn't have much technical expertise he tends to simply act somewhat contrary, serving to get Rakshata to consider an alternative approach. He will of course offer straightforward advice when dealing with something within his area of expertise.

oh, and as for the war, I still see Britannia winning handily, but after a long bloody slog instead of simply steamrolling the MEF. they also had a rather embarrassing major loss in the opening stage after their normal frame heavy blitz resulted into a bunch of frames outrunning most of their support elements, and then running into the jaws of very effective anti frame force.

 

[random_npc]

Implications​

The first man portable anti frame weapon-
-click-
Truly revolutionary, for the fir-
-click-
A gift from Allah himself, at last we can-
-click-
An unprecedented advance in counter frame ta-
-click-
See the buggers dodge this!
-click-
All I know is that if my tank had guns like that i'd be lot less worried about running into some Britannian dandy in a knightmare frame.
-click-



Rakshata was nonplussed. She had expected a reaction to the weapons she had designed for the MEF, but not nearly to this extent. More and more a common theme was becoming apparent in the media's reaction, there had not been any counter to knightmare frames before her designs. She had been aware there were no active frame weapons before she had started the project, but only now was she coming to realize just how significant and pervasive that lack of anti frame anything had been. Not only where there no anti frame weapons, but there was a complete lack of anti frame tactics beyond the most basic. The EU had known for years that the control of japan's sakurite deposits gave Britannia an insurmountable advantage in Knightmare frames, and yet had utterly failed to try and leverage any of there other military assets.

Her curiosity piqued by the media storm, Rakshata had spent days pouring over hours of combat footage taken from EU border skirmishes, the EUs tactics for engaging Knightmare frames with tanks seemed to mostly involve simply firing at the frame while it closed, hoping to get in a lucky shot, usually followed by exploding when they failed to get said lucky shot. The gunship tactics made even less sense, she'd actually called Akio to confirm that the EU did indeed instruct there gunship pilots to actually close to there dumbfire rockets preferred range, and hold steady for maximum accuracy. Apparently this had been moderately effective, until the next generation of slash harkens had been specifically designed to make such an approach suicidal.

It made no sense, Knightmare frames where not a new weapon. They had existed for years, and their capabilities were well known. It broke the pattern of military development. Every new weapon was soon met with a counter. Heavy cavalry had met with spear walls, aircraft had met SAM and flak batteries, tanks had met helicopters and bazookas, but somehow no one had been able to come up with a counter to knightmare frames. This was especially baffling because Rakshata had come up with a rough prototype of an effective anti frame weapon within a week.

Something troubling you mistress?

Varas, in your honest opinion do you think designing the scorpion was beyond mortal limits?

I feel that I am in a uniquely poor position to answer that question.

Let me rephrase it then, would designing the scorpion or something like it be beyond what little skill at engineering you've picked up by looking over my shoulder?

She could practically feel varas shifting uncomfortably down in depths of her soul. While she and Varas had a solid working relationship, the demon could still be skittish when put on the spot.

Think of it as a thought experiment.

Very well then mistress. While I do not think I could create something quite as refined as the scorpion, I believe I could achieve similar results.

How?

I would start with 2 electric anti-material rifles. I'd strip the rails out of them and mount them onto a custom built barel. Then i'd overcharge them, probably with a repurposed car battery.

That would certainly work, In fact that sounds exactly like something that should occur to anyone with basic knowledge of rail weapons and knightmare frames.

Thank you mistress. If I may ask, what brought on this impromptu engineering assessment?

I wanted to make sure the idea behind the scorpion really was simple enough to be obvious to someone who had not surpassed human limits.

Like that time you asked your support team to refine-

Yes. exactly like that, ahrm. moving on. The point is that if the idea behind the scorpion is so simple, why didn't anything like it already exist? Almost the entire world has had more than half a decade to come up with an answer to Knightmare frames, and we've shown a basic one is fairly simple.

But no one else came up with it… and the world is acting as though what you came up with was some impossible miracle.

It's not just weapon either. It's like for some reason no one is capable of coming up with a way to fight Knightmare frames other than to use their own frames. What could cause something like that?

hmmm, to affect the entirety of creation to such an extent would be difficult even for the likes of the unquestionables, the most likely cause is a political one.

What kind of political maneuvering could convince the EU not to develop a counter to the primary weapon of their largest threat?

Divine, the political games of the corrupt usurper gods can greatly influence mortals.

Things were so much simpler when I was an atheist.

Wisdom can bring burdens as easily as it bring power.

So, Yu-Shan appears to be working to keep Knightmare frames as the pinnacle of warfare, the obvious question is why.

The most obvious answer is for personal benefit. Britannia benefits greatly from the unnatural supremacy of knightmare frames, and through them a great many gods.

But wouldn't just as many gods be in opposition to them? I doubt the native gods of japan came out ahead when they were conquered.

True, there would have to be something more… ah! of course! the Dragon blooded. Britannias noble classes are crawling with them. That would let them bargain with gods to a far greater extent any other mortal power.

We live in secular times Varas, I don't think Britannia would be able to tell people to worship a specific god without drawing attention.

There are more ways than open worship to strengthen a god. They could agree to make certain things part of daily life, I'd imaging great many gods of tradition and subjugation have grown fat off of Britannia.

That… that would actually explain some things. Britannia has a history of being unnecessarily harsh with its now territories, and seemingly arbitrary about which customs to allow its conquered people to retain. If they're using targeted obliteration of native culture to punish gods who don't' fall in line….

That would be a rather effective stick, though to avoid push back from such heavy handed tactics they would need a sweeter carrot than simply shaping customs, ah! of course, slaves.

Slaves?

yes. prayer slaves are quite valuable. The amount of faith a god can extract from a group of mortals totally in there power is limited only by how quickly a god is willing to go through them. Given that disappearances among the subjugated numbers are common enough that they can't be totally hidden from outsiders they must ha-… Mistress? Mistress are you alright?

Rakshata was far from alright. her caste mark flared, and essene swirled around her seeking a target to lash out at. Coldly she thought that It made a twisted kind of sense, neither the corrupt things that infested Yu-Shan or Britannians considered those below them anything but a resource to be exploited. Her pipe shattered between iron hard fingers forming into a fist.

Rakshata!

She could taste bile rise in the back of her throat. Memories she'd long forced down into the bottom of her soul briefly came bubbling up to surface. she started running the numbers. Assume the practice began shortly after the fall of japan, assume Britannia could hide between three and six disappearances for every one that became known... Rakshata mechanically stood up as the couch she had been sitting on disintegrated, and its materials were drawn into a rapidly growing halo of debris orbiting the burning green sphere surrounding her.

please, you're scaring me…

and like that it was over. Rakshata stood amidst the ruin of her room, taking deep breaths she slowly uncurled shaking fingers.

I'm sorry! I should not have-

NO, no varas, you didn't do anything wrong.

… It's just a theory, there could be other causes.

Yes, yes of course we can't know for certain. I apologize for scaring you Varas, I won't let myself lose control like that in the future.

Of course mistress….

there was a pregnant pause, as Varas desire to know what had caused such a violent reaction warred with his fear of provoking another. eventually Rakshata broke the silence.

I'll tell you about it some other time, for now Why don't you tell me some of your other theories while I clean up my mess.

as Varas began to speak of other possible causes, a sidral plot, a war god unusually skilled at politics, or perhaps simply an abundance of blackmail material the broken objects littering the room began to one by one piece themselves back together. By the time Varas was done rakasha was lying down on the newly remade couch, and slowly chewing on the end of her reforged pipe. trying very hard not to notice how small Varas sounded right now, Rakshata began making plans to investigate exactly why knightmare frames had become so dominant. If it truly was because Britannia was buying divine favor with the blood of its people, Well there were still a few lines she'd refused to cross, but for those willing to sell the very souls of their peopel , she could make an exception.

---

I swear this was like 2 paragraphs in my head. basically I took some of the implications for how Knightmare frames and the end all be all of mortal warfare, and ran with them in the most disturbing possible direction. as for why Rakshata flipped out like that, well I made some assumptions about her backstory that (I think) are technically canon compliant, and I intend to go into a bit of detail to why slavery set her off so much in a follow up.

 

[ReaperofInterest]

Reaction, Planning​

In a Britannian home, around midnight, an unusual conversation is taking place. Why is this particular conversation unusual? Well for starters, this conversation is taking place entirely in a new Infernal Exalt's head.

"All right, so let me just make sure I've gotten this right: The Big Bang was actually a living being who is now called Cytherea, she along with the other Yozis made the world, their servants who are the gods overthrew and imprisoned them with the aid of the Exalted, the Solar Exalts were all killed and locked away, two near-extinction events happened at roughly the same time which caused the planet to become a sphere, which was then, for lack of more knowledge or a better way of putting it, dropped into the vacuum of space. In addition, faeries are a thing, they're living stories, and they eat souls, or wills, or whatever, the Underworld is a thing, which about sums up the whole of my knowledge regarding that, and because I accepted your offer, I now work for the forces of Hell, and have a shapeshifting demon hooker who is also a mad biologist living in my head. Did I miss anything Namaht?"

"Well, you didn't mention how the Underworld came to be or the effects that has had, but considering I have yet to completely explain those myself, it's only natural. Also, I prefer to be called a courtesan, rather than a hooker. Courtesan sounds classier. But apart from that, you got the gist of it. Why are you summing up what I just finished explaining to you though Nathan?"

"Because I just wanted to make sure I got everything right. Goodness, though, it's almost like something out of a fantasy novel that was made while the author was on drugs or something. So, what now? I mean, I know what the Great Sphere of Speech wants me to do, but...well, I'm not sure about how to, you know, actually do it. I am not precisely great when it comes to social events, and I'm not sure how I could reveal what precisely Britannia will do and actually make it plausible. Hell, I didn't know that Britannia commits atrocities, and I'm a citizen! That's some pretty good propaganda right there. So I suppose what I'm asking is, do you have any ideas on what to do now?"

"Perhaps we could head to the island nation once known as Japan, AKA nowadays as Area 11? It has been chosen to be the staging ground for the Reclamation, and an entire Coven is either already there, or heading there. I was not able to keep up-to-date on most information once I left Malfeas. In addition, the Coven has the Marshall of the Althing Infernal, which governs the Green Sun Princes, as a member. He is said to be quite knowledgeable, so he might be able to help you. Plus, you're supposed to be heading there anyway."

"And...why is that? Is there an official order or something stating all Princes have to head to Japan ASAP?"

"Yes, actually. All Green Sun Princes are to report to Japan as soon as possible for further training. In addition, your efforts as an Exalted, and of the Defiler Caste, are likely to make the efforts to claim Japan as a subordinate kingdom to Malfeas go much smoother."

"I-I'm sorry, but I could have sworn you just said that we're claiming Japan from Britannia."

"Yes I did. The Marshall has decided that since Japan has a good number of advantages to claiming it, he proposed that it should be the staging ground of the Reclamation. Lord Ligier agreed, and now efforts have begun to wrench Japan from Britannia's control to seize it for our own. As I said, your efforts will likely make that process go smoother. Hence, the orders to head there. I do hope that won't be a problem."

"I'm...not sure where to begin. For starters, how precisely am I supposed to get to Japan? I think I might be able to get a plane ticket, but I've never actually taken a plane before, I don't know how to arrange that sort of thing."

"Fear not, for if needed, you can simply travel through Malfeas and Cycelyne, the Endless Desert, to reach Japan. Admittedly, it will take 10 days to get there, 20 for a round trip at the absolute least, but you'll get there."

"Well, all right. I suppose that's one thing taken care of. Next, will I be expected to fight? I'd honestly prefer to just work in a lab designing useful things or something at that nature."

"You will not be required to fight, but I strongly suggest that you learn at least some self-defense methods. Becoming a Peer of Malfeas has earned you a number of enemies, including Heaven, and they will not refrain from targeting you simply because you would prefer not to fight. If anything, working in a lab developing things for the use of your fellow Peers would only cause then to spend even more effort on killing you, as your works would only make it harder to stop your allies. of course, this is in addition to the fact that there will always be someone out there who wishes you harm, no matter who you are. Ultimately, while in an ideal world you would be free to work all you wish, reality is, sadly, not so kind."

"Ugh. Well, you do have a point. Looks like I'll be taking up some self-defense lessons. Still, though, I'd prefer to spend a while thinking this through before we head to Japan. Do I have a specific deadline that I have to fulfill to reach Japan?"

"No deadline in particular, but if you go two or three weeks without reporting in, then it is very likely that someone will be sent to fetch you. I presume that you intend to start planning for your trip?"

"You are correct. But first, you mentioned the Underworld earlier. It would probably be a good idea to explain that in full, before I have to deal with it."

"Very well. The Underworld could, at its core, be considered the dreams of the dead Yozi, who are also known as the Neverborn..."

With that, the unspoken conversation continued, until after dawn. And all the while, the Infernal plotted and planned for the future, and what it might hold.

---

With that, my second omake is complete! I thought I'd get into what someone completely new to the whole 'Exalted' thing would think of the story of Creation, and how someone might react to being ordered to head to Japan. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[meianmaru]

I'd rather not start a war with her. Besides, so long as we give her pizza she'll never truly turn on us.

Click to shrink...

C.C.: The spice pizza must flow.

Click to shrink...

Hmm...

***

At some point in the near-future...

Lelouch: There has be a way to make C.C. talk about her past and motivations, or at least make her slip unintentionally some of that information. Unknowns like her hanging around might mean I get blindsided by something at the worst possible moment.
Seyrun: But how, Boss? That woman holds her secrets thight inside. You might succeed if you turn all your attention into worming her secrets out, but aren't you a little too busy to do that?
Grace: How about bribing her, Father? She seems to have quite the obsession with pizza, for some reason.
Lelouch: No, she is not that easy. If I don't bind her with an oath again, all I will get in return will be half-truths and outright lies, through which I will have to slowly sift. And with the number of pizza she daily inhales if she can, it means that to truly bribe her I would have to order such an enormous amount of them that it would be an oddity even for the pizza services. And if her habit is well known, it could be used to trace her, even if the chance of them actually noticing such detail is small.
Muse: The answer to that is easy, Papa! Just make them by yourself. It would be much harder to trace back just the basic ingredients. And as a side benefit, no ordinary pizza can compete with those made by the hand of the Chosen of Oramus, especially if you use my power!
Lelouch: ...You raise a good point. It would also be a good opportunity to test it on myself the first time in a safe environment. Lets see...

*Montage of Lelouch gathering ingredients from various shops and making bulk orders for some*
*Scene change to kitchen at Lelouch's residence*

C.C.: ...What are you doing, boy? Those ingredients, are they for-
Lelouch: Ah, C.C.! Good, I was just about to start cooking our dinner. Can you go tell Nunnaly and Sayoko that it might take a bit longer than usual, because I'm preparing to make quite a lot of them. Pizzas, that is.
C.C.: *Eyeing Lelouch suspiciously, even as small amount of drool droops out of her mouth* What is your game? I won't swear an another oath to tell you all of my secrets. Not even for something utterly delicious as pizza.
Lelouch: Relax, these ones are on house. I just decided to save a bit money, as you otherwise will empty my public account at some point if you keep ordering take-out junkfood every day.
Muse: Wait, what? Weren't you going to use those delicious-yet-to-be-born prayers to the Great Oramus as a bargaining chip slash hostage to ferret out her secrets?
Grace: Be calm, my dear sister. I'm sure that is just the first part in his plan. Now hush, he needs to concentrate on what that green-haired witch is saying.
C.C.: Fool. Even "just" take-out pizza is sweeter than the ambrosia of Gods. I would know, as I once managed to steal a sip of it. Though it comes as a very close second. But I forgive you, seeing the favor you are about to grant me.
Lelouch: Hmph. Are you just going to stand there, needling me with backhanded compliments? Because the longer you keep distracting me, the more time you have made me waste that could have been spent on cooking.
C.C.: ...Very well, you win this round, boy. *C.C. exits the kitchen*
Lelouch: Now, back to work. And Grace, you were correct about this being just a part of my plan, but I would like to keep it a surprise for the audience till the last moment. Muse, if you may?
Muse: One golden moment of true inspiration, coming right up!
Lelouch: Oh, that feels quite fuuuunnnyyyyy...

*From the living room, Sayoko and Nunnaly look worriedly towards the kitchen, while C.C. just raises an eyebrow, as positively insane laughter echoes from there, followed by loud noises of various cooking implements being used with great vigor*

Sayako: *Worriedly shouting to the kitchen* Master Lelouch, are you alright?
Lelouch: QUITE FINE SAYOKO! I JUST HAD A REVELATION ABOUT THE TRUE NATURE OF PIZZA! IT TRULY IS THE MOST SUBLIME OF ALL SUBSTANCES, AND WE SHALL DINE WITH ITS DIVINE ESSENCE TONIGHT, ASCENDING WITH THAT ACT TO A GREATER STATE OF EXISTENCE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
C.C.: *Quirks her eyebrow* Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Actually more than he usually is. Now, how did you say I have to fold this to make a crane?
*Nunnaly and Sayoko sweatdrop in perfect synchrony*

*Back in the kitchen*
Lelouch: Yes, yes, I understand now. If I use this instead of that and make it slightly less thick, not only it will bring the flavor out better, but cook faster...
*Later*
Lelouch: Too slow, too slow! I you small gods want that oven you reside in still be here instead of the bottom of the ocean in the next morning, I suggest you work with something resembling an effort. And no skipping on the quality.
*The sizzling in the oven intensifies*
Lelouch: Much better.
*Even more later on*
C.C.: *Shouting from the dinner table* Are they ready yet?! Because I'm starvi-
Lelouch: DON'T BREAK MY CONCENTRATION NOW, WOMAN! I HAVE ALMOST REACHED THE PINNACLE OF TRUE UNDERSTANDING!
C.C.: ...Excuse me?
C.C.: IT WILL BE A REALLY GOOD PIZZA!
*Much later on*

Lelouch: *Staggers out of the kitchen to the dinner table, before collapsing on his chair* Ahem. The dinner is ready. Sorry about the outburst, I just got a little... Caught up in the cooking.
Nunnally: *Laughs a little bit nervously* Its nothing, big brother, just... are you sure you are alright?
Lelouch: Nothing serious, just a little bit exhausted. Now Sayoko, could you please get them? I would help otherwise, but I literally can't lift my hands yet even if I try.
Sayoko: Of course, Master Lelouch.
*Various pizzas are laid to the table, each with unique toppings; The amount of drool that is escaping from C.C.'s mouth increases steadily as the scents reach her nose*
Lelouch: Now, its still quite hot, so don't start just-
C.C.: Iwth's hopth! Bhuth sho ghood! Hopht! Bhuth sho ghood!
Lelouch: ...Or you could just start scarfing them down your mouth, and burn your tongue and not be able to taste it properly. Oh wait, with her regeneration, her tongue probably heals faster than the pizza can burn it.
Nunnally: Now now, C.C.. *Blows on her small slice* The food isn't going anywhere, so you should just properly enjoy it. *Bites down* Oh my. Its, its... *Takes a bigger bite*
Lelouch: Nunnally?
Nunnaly: With every *chomp* bhithe, the thasthe ghets *chomp* bhetter ,*chomp* yeth shubthly dhiffherhenth *gulp*. Big brother, you try it too! You made it after all!
Sayoko: *Eating with tears falling down her face* I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy!
Lelouch: *Sweatdrop* ...I think this might have been a bit of an overkill.

*After some time, and several ---*

C.C.: *Rubbing her ballooned-out belly* Ahhh... I haven't felt such true bliss like this for ages. Why don't you just forget this silly rebellion of yours and just start a pizzeria? Everyone in the world will declare you their Emperor before a week has gone by.
Lelouch: Hmph. I don't want to be declared the Emperor of Pizza, thank you very much. Besides, you would just freeload the place and eat anything we would make.
C.C.: Tsch! Found out.
Lelouch: Speaking of freeloading, I would like to now hear everything that you know that might be useful or otherwise important to me.
C.C.: Haah? Boy, didn't you specifically state that I wouldn't owe you anything for this?
Lelouch: Of course not, of course not! I was just asking nicely, you don't have to answer!
C.C.: ...But? There is no way you don't have some kind of angle to this.
Lelouch: Oh nothing. Just... Those pizzas were mighty tasty, weren't they? Even if I say so myself.
C.C: What are you-?
Lelouch: Some might say that they were so good that anything else like that will be just... less than it used to be.
C.C.: ...No. No. You wouldn't- You couldn't!
Lelouch: While before the succulent cheese melted in your mouth, now everything is just pale shadows and tasteless ashes before the memory of today. It would be a real shame if you didn't get to eat anything like ever again. Or something even better, as my skill hasn't reached anywhere near its pinnacle.
C.C.: YOU-! YOU MONSTER! DEVIL!
Lelouch: Hahaha! Considering my nature is that really a surprise that I- Wait, what are you-?

Sayoko and Nunnally, in their pizza-induced comas, didn't wake up that night to the desperate cries of Lelouch, didn't see beaten up giant spiders skittering out of their residence with fear-fueled haste, or hear the roaring cries with different variations of "I WILL KEEP HITTING YOU UNTIL THE PIZZA COMES OUT!" or so.

***

And thus came to end the tale of Lelouch, the Iron Rainbow Chef. And now that is over, I have to ask: why do omakes always start ballooning out from that one short scene that you have in mind? Does this happen to everybody?