2023-09-21: A Pawn's Promotion
- Log: A Pawn's Promotion
- Cast: Cascade Vermilion, Lelouch Lamperouge
- Where: Black Knights Safehouse, Nagoya, Area 11
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-09-21
- Summary: Cascade Vermilion decides what to do with her life.
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Since Gamia NX-2 - Cascade - surrendered to the Black Knights, she's caused no trouble and made no waves.
She's been brought to a safehouse and... kept an eye on. By either chance or somebody's sense of humour, it's the very same safehouse she organized last month's meeting at; a line of three-story townhouses on the Area 11 side that have had their attics secretly combined into a single large room plus a bedroom and washroom. It's a convenient hideout where a Black Knight on the run can stay for a few days - or, in this case, they can stash someone out of sight in a place that doesn't give NX-2 any new intelligence, because she already knows about this place.
Realistically, NX-2 knows she can leave and, if she *really* wanted to go, it would be hard to stop her. She is pretty sure they know that too. But she's behaving, anyway.
Rin visited her, and Cascade asked a favour - specifically, for her clothes. Which means that Cascade is actually dressed in the Ashford Academy uniform... but she still has the marionette-like joints, visible at knee and elbow and hands. It's a little uncanny. Sometimes she covers up with the cloak.
She has been doing very little. She did her homework, for no particular reason; she highly doubts she'll ever be able to hand it in, but nonetheless it is done and neatly stacked. She read a book or two if she could convince anyone to get her one. But mostly she's just been idle, which she doesn't like to do. There has been a lot of pacing.
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
When Zero arrives, it's - characteristically - without a meaningful escort. She has been under observation, and could leave if she wanted to, certainly, but the people watching her do not know her, and would not have the same sympathy that the people who fought her, and, indeed, Zero himself has towards her. They are strangers. This is an advantage of a cell based organization; they know nothing about her, they are simply instructed to keep an eye on the building and call if anything happens. He could, of course, have men with guns here, to intimidate her, to guard himself, but both might be useless. It's a mix of trust and pointlessness - what soldiers does he have access to that can stop her if she changes her mind at this point?
No, no. That's not quite it. It's more that 'if he looks like he trusts her, it comes across better.' Besides, she's something a little more than a real prisoner, since she surrendered in the way she did - that's why he knocks before he enters, too.
"Hello, Cascade." A gentler voice then his dramatics at the meeting. "My apologies for the tardiness in coming to meet you - I was occupied with other affairs for a bit." He does not trust her. But, he is curious. And he would, perhaps, like to. "Let's talk." It's slightly fake, as many things like this are. Does he have some backup plan in case she turns on this? Of course. But, Zero is simply at his weakest when directly confronted with violence. And, yet, he is a few feet away from the source of violence again, pulling out a chair, having a seat, setting up a chess set (that he won't actually make her play, he just needs something to do.)
"I'm surprised that you're lounging around in a school uniform. Wouldn't a different outfit be more comfortable?"
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Known or not, Gamia NX-2 is concerning for people to guard. Human-scale AI is a thing of fear and hate, and she is very clearly artificial when she doesn't have her disguise on. Still, that doesn't mean they know who she is... only that she expects she's being watched a lot more closely than a human would be.
Cascade *is* surprised that Zero came without guards, without even an escort. Yes, there's some people around, but he's by himself, and while she assumes he's armed (she doesn't bother checking beyond a quick glance; he could be hiding something) that's about the bare minimum.
"All right," she says, and pulls her own chair around, sitting across from Zero. He may not make her play, but she seems to assume that she's going to anyway. Still, she lets him set it up, not her.
"Likely. But I do not have all my clothes here, and I don't have any way to clean them. So I have been working through them slowly." Cascade shrugs. "Also, I am used to it. It doesn't bother me."
She looks Zero right in the eyes... well, right in the mask. "I expected you to come and ask me questions, so go ahead."
Artemisia ka Britannia teleports in.
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
He shrugs. It isn't really his problem - there's no real reason to bring her entire wardrobe down here. ... It's good she got some clothes. It would've been very awkward to do this interview with her in that costume.
He'll play black, and he seems content to play a very slow defensive game against her, mostly because he's playing for fun, rather than money, and is good at making games last. Probably the Nimzo-Indian, or the Caro-Kann, or something like that. A formal, well established, defensive line. He doesn't really know her skill level, but he isn't taking beating her very seriously, anyway. If it turns out she's good, he might have a more fun game on his hands. That's possible, she is 'a machine' or whatever, but is she interested in chess? Isn't that the thing - beating someone who isn't playing well isn't fun.
"I see. I did have questions for you. My first question is this: Would you continue working with my Black Knights, if you were given the opportunity?"
Loyalty is not his first requirement. Besides, she did betray her handler, there, in favor of independence.
"If so, I'd like to know more about your actual capacity, first and foremost. We can get into detail about what happened the other day after that - I'd to know where we stand, essentially, and more about what you can do. Well, what you're willing to do, I suppose."
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Cascade knows how to play chess, but it's something she's done only rarely. Her play at first is... well, mechanical; it's as if she's read a fair number of books but hasn't had enough personal experience to apply things her own way. She has enough knowledge that she could be good, but doesn't have much intuitive analysis, personal preferences or individual style, yet. As long as Zero sticks to a well-known historical tactic, she knows what to do with it.
She takes a few moments to answer his question, taking her time. "I don't know. It might be for the best if I didn't. You might be willing to forgive me, but I don't think everyone will. Emilia and C.C. were hurt by NX-3... And to have a notorious 'Gamia' assassin on your side would probably not help. I have learned what the world thinks of them. Us."
There's a bit of bitterness in her voice. "It might be best if I just left. But I don't have anything against the Black Knights. It was the second group I could say I 'belonged' to, after Ashford Academy. Even if I only know as much of your goals as you told us. 'Liberate Area 11', but what then?"
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
The game will be backdrop to the conversation. It's fine enough.
"Are you worried about damaging the reputation of a terrorist organization, Cascade?" That's amusing to him, and it carries in his tone. "I don't think people will just us by your standard. Perhaps they will. Perhaps not. But I am not concerned with their ire about something along those lines in the first place. In the public, those that trust, trust blindly. Those that hate, hate blindly. It's for people like us to do better than that, and so, I'll give us the chance to." Even if she's that kind of notorious assassin, it doesn't matter, because she is also something else. The people cannot see that - and he can.
"As for Emilia and C.C. ... well, C.C. will deal with it. She'll whine, but she always whines. Don't worry about her. Her armor dealt with a great deal of NX-3's attack, and she was alright." 'Her armor'? Well, why not? Not like NX-3 is alive to talk about how it felt to stab her. "Emilia, however - that, yes, is your responsibility to deal with. If you want to run away from that, then you can withdraw from the organization, or else be moved to some other cell, but I'd prefer if you don't. You hurt her far more than NX-3 did. I do not know how you recover any goodwill with her, after your treason, but you should try." It's too painful to lose that. And, yet...
"As for my goals - I will liberate Japan, then deal with the OCU puppet state using the moniker, to create a unified, independent Japanese state. I think that'll occupy us for the next few years. Plans after that depend." He laughs, a little. "Even I can only plan so far into the future, you know." He can plan a few steps further than that, though.
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
"It was what people inside would think, not outside," Cascade says, but she doesn't press the point. Though, the opportunity to remain 'Cascade Vermilion' - it's more attractive than she wants to admit. To keep going, as if things hadn't changed... If she wasn't so good an actress, the yearning would show on her face. As is, she looks carefully neutral instead. "...I don't know what I want to do," is what she actually says, surprisingly quietly; her face might be neutral, but her voice has emotion in it. "It's never been a question before."
She does look at Zero askance at 'armour', because though NX-3 isn't alive to say anything Cascade did get a decent look at the attack, and knows exactly how dangerous NX-3 is. Her lips purse, and she starts to say something, but chooses not to.
"I intend to talk to Emilia either way," Cascade says. "I won't run away from that. She deserves that much, at least. After that, I don't know." She might have been here for a few days already, and she's thought about it, but that doesn't mean she's come to any conclusions.
Cascade picks up a chess piece, a bishop, and places it back down in a new position. "Dr. Hell is currently planning something," Cascade says. "I would be worried about that too, if I were you. It will likely affect more than just Japan."
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
First, a long look at the board. What is the position? More about the people inside his organization than outside? Well, it isn't as though his organization isn't full of blind fools, too. He won't push on it any further than that. That point is neither here nor there. Besides, there's no reason to say outright that he's using someone like that.
"Ah, well. It's a question now. I would like you to continue helping me, of course, but I wouldn't make you, or twist your arm for it. Such a banal manipulation is beneath me." It would be better if she choose to fight for him, than being twisted into it. That's how these things work. "Take your time. I won't press you for a decision today."
A knight up in response. "Let's talk about that. What is he planning? Is he the one who came for me?"
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Cascade's approach to chess is purely by-the-book. Zero's position is better than hers, but she's putting up a valiant defense unless he tries something creative.
"..." Cascade wants to give Zero an answer. The old 'Cascade' would have been stoic; the old 'NX-2' would have - well, she wouldn't have been in a position where she took an offer from Zero. Now that both the masks are gone, she isn't sure what she feels.
But Zero has given her an opening - verbally, at least, less so in the game - and so Cascade takes it. "Dr. Hell works with some other like-minded individuals. They wanted the identity of 'Zero' and 'Mafty', and that is what I was assigned to do, when he had no other work for me. I was put into the Black Knights for that reason."
"Obviously, I never found that." Cascade's emotions, no longer quite as checked by the masks as they used to be, bubble out; frustration. "I liked my time at Ashford. But because I couldn't - or didn't - find your identity, they wanted you two dead, so that someone easier to control or less effective would end up as leader. C.C. was chosen because of her connection to you. And Kallen was a target as your best pilot. Dr. Hell chose now because added chaos in Japan right now is to his advantage. And, because I've been of no use, he had NX-3 take command."
She moves a rook to a more defensive position, not giving Zero an easy opportunity in. "I don't know what his plan is. He told NX-1, because NX-1 is reliable. I do know that the kikaiju attack in Fujinomiya has to do with it." Cascade sounds like she's being honest, but Zero already knows she's a fantastic actress - she has to be.
"NX-1 is going to come for me, you know. Baron Ashura or Dr. Hell will send her, or she'll come herself. I'm not safe, and neither are you, while I'm here. That's the other reason I thought I should go."
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
A much longer pause. He can take that rook in five moves, he thinks, he just needs to pressure the bishop there first. Sure, that's a good use of his time. Work on that, for awhile. That's to say - he'll come back to the rook.
He'll come back to that topic, too. "Right. That's a reasonable thing to go for, instead, failing to identify me, why not just kill me. It isn't like he could control me, though, so I wonder what identifying me would even serve?" It's a real question. What was the point? "All of those targets are valuable. That said, I don't think replacing us has any value."
Under his mask, he smiles. "There is no one like me. Dr. Hell can't put anyone in my place. He'd just collapse the Knights, which he is probably fine with as an outcome. Ah, well." It's a fine solution, if you don't care about any of the outcomes involved for Japan, and Dr. Hell does not. But, really - what does Dr. Hell have on the Demon King?
"You really don't know anything else about who he's working with? Neither of them let anything slip? That's fine by me - we'll just pull it out of NX-1 when she comes for you." He says it so simply, and then sighs.
"My Knights wouldn't accept an answer where you went off on your own. Kallen especially. It just isn't in her nature. And, then, if she's running off to get herself in trouble - then it's too risky for me to not support her, isn't it? To say nothing about the others who will want to help you, that aren't as strong as she is. You're almost right." Here's a good move --
"But, it's more like; 'if you're in danger, so are we.' Even if you aren't a Black Knight."
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Cascade doesn't see Zero moving in position for the rook by pressuring the bishop, or doesn't see a way out of it. The orthodox response doesn't take it into account, and she does something very close to the orthodox response.
"If the Knights collapsed, he would be just fine with that," Cascade confirms. "I don't think he cares very much about you personally aside from if you chose to oppose him - which you probably would, especially when he operates in Japan."
Cascade says nothing for a long moment. "The organization is called 'Amalgam'," she says, eventually. "Though I had no contact with them directly. I only was told what I needed to know by Baron Ashura, or NX-1, or Dr. Hell. I know NX-1 does. Perhaps that's why they chose to act now, when he's preparing to put his plan into action."
'My knights wouldn't accept an answer where you went off on your own... if you're in danger, so are we.'
Cascade, without her false skin on, does not flush. But there's a shift to her expression, a twitch near one of her eyes. "That's possibly true," she admits. "So let me be honest."
Cascade shifts to face Zero directly. "I like the Black Knights. I don't know very much about the politics of Japan because I have always gone where I've been told, but... you took me in, and treated me like a person. You, and Ashford Academy - some of which were the same people." She is, after all, Rin's roommate.
"So I owe you enough, I think. I still don't know what I want to do. I don't know how to live. Except I have been thinking, while I am here. I ... don't like what Dr. Hell is doing. I know he wants to 'change the world', but I have seen how he acts, how people were treated. I don't think any 'change' he can make would be a change I want."
"Are you going to fight him as well? Or only Britannia?"
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
"Amalgam..." Pieces click together. Right, that makes sense. How many tendrils does a monster like that have? Where is the head? When you're deep enough under water, you can't tell - all you can see is what's coming at you. You can't tell how many enemies there are, or what they're doing in the dark, if they're fighting or not, you can only tell what they're doing to you. But, it makes sense. Knowing where this tendril leads - knowing that the tendril there is connected to one body, distinct from another, and that they're helping one another, for now, paints a picture. He can't see in the dark, but he can make an educated guess.
Or, maybe, it's that Dr. Hell is one tendril of theirs? Who knows. He'll file that away, and interrogate that lead later. He's certain that there are more 'shards of metal' in his organization than the one in front of him. After all - there are many spies in his midst.
But, the crux of the matter. 'A clear vision of the future is what I want.' Perhaps she doesn't yet have that, but the first step is to see something, and feel the bile rise in her throat - or, something like that. Good. "... When I was young, I happened to find a book. There was a story in it, of a God," he says, tone shifting down, as he recalls, a bit.
"And he cursed a people. 'All the world will be your enemy, Prince With A Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you.'" How many enemies does the Eleventh Prince have? The soldiers of Area 11. Soon, the soldiers of nearby nations, surely. Britannia itself. The Federation. Soon, surely, he will fight the Benerit Group. This 'Amalgam', a face to an enemy he knew he had, but could not name. Can he get out of fighting Mithril? Who else does he have enemies in? All the angels of Heaven? All the demons of Hell? More? He'd gladly wage that war for the world he wishes to see.
"I am not like that Prince, because I will not run from my enemies. I will fight them, and I will beat them. Yes, I will fight Dr. Hell. But not because he will hurt Japan. I was always going to fight him. And I was always going to beat him." His tone is completely certain, as it always is, when he gets down to it. He does not betray any doubt in himself - and of course not. He brings about miracles.
By the time she sees the danger on her rook, it's too late - it's a fork on the rook and queen, built via pressure on the bishop. She has to give something up somewhere, and once you start losing momentum like that, it's over. "I won't tell you how you should hope for the future to be. But there is room to look for it with us."
<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.
Amalgam has many heads, and Cascade was - very deliberately - kept in the dark about most of them. Like the Black Knights, it's cellular, so perhaps it's not really a surprise that she doesn't know the details - her contact was NX-1.
She doesn't speak for a time, focusing on the game while Zero takes the conversational lead. But eventually she is going to respond: "I've never heard a story like that," says Cascade, always so interested in learning new things. "But I know about all the world being your enemy."
Cascade moves to pick up her rook - and hesitates. She does not recognize the board position Zero has put her in, and has no immediate response. She tries, for a time, but the dominant positioning becomes more and more clear, and after a flurry of moves, she tips her own king over, unable to see a way out of it.
"I can't accept," Cascade says.
"The Black Knights... have been good to me, it's true. Probably better than I deserve." Though she doesn't know Zero well, she does know many of them, and until recently they might have called her a friend. Now... she doesn't know.
"But I do not want to put you at risk. And more than that... I don't want to be told what to do." Cascade rests her hands on the table. "I couldn't do what NX-3 and -1 ordered me to do. I fought NX-3 because she tried to force me. I need to find out what I want to do, and what I can do. My own path."
She looks up. "I am sorry. But I can promise that I will not betray you... again. I will still talk to Emilia and Kallen, if they want. And if my... friends," which is an odd thing for her to say; it gives her an unfamiliar feeling, "need my help, I will try to come."
<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.
Zero is a polite enough player to make his line to victory clear enough when he has a winning line - it is a game, after all. It's meant to be fun. No need to drag it out.
"Good game." He offers her a short handshake at her resignation, then stands, disappointed. "I see." He watches her carefully. He has many questions, he thinks, that might pick at that barely forming identity. 'How much do you think you can do on your own?' 'Don't you think you're putting us in more danger?' 'Don't you think you owe us more?' But - when he thinks of saying those things, he gets that taste of bile in his mouth. He could say those things. But he doesn't. That would be what his father does. That would be what every other bastard in the world does.
But, he is supposed to be different. So, he won't make any of the obvious plays. Instead, he inclines his head. "I understand," he says, instead, though he does not like it. "Well, I can relate to not wanting to be told what to do, at least. It's too much to get a taste of freedom and then step back into someone's shadow, even mine." Maybe, if that's the case, she wouldn't get back out. ... Ah, maybe if he wields her, he'd twist his hand around a sword that grips him too well. The kind of thing that makes you gross to wield. She's too fresh, too raw, to use in that way. How can you call a decision to enter a service like this 'fair', right now? ... He might as well open his mask and Geass her, right?
Ah, how he hates it.
"No hard feelings. You're welcome to help. It isn't as though my organization is some formal military. If you're worried about betraying me, then that is fine - but know that I'll still trust you, as a friend. There's still that trust to betray." He laughs, a little, and adds, "Well, it'll be a bit of a pain, but 'being a friend of the Black Knights' will probably give you plenty of opportunity to help, if you want." To his chagrin, perhaps.
"I hope you enjoy your freedom, Cascade. Likewise, if you need something, reach out to us. It's very unlikely that you'll make an enemy that I wouldn't also have. I'd be impressed, given my penchant for making enemies. I'm going to go, and let them know that you're free to leave. Just wait a bit for me to get clear." It's standard paranoia.
Maybe this is for the best? He doesn't understand her that well, but it isn't as though she is his enemy. And, if she stayed in his service, she would only be able to be 'a Black Knight'. If she leaves that, she can go be whatever else. Maybe that's better. Maybe it isn't. He isn't sure, yet. ... But, he can hope that the crack in that mask will lead to something better. It wouldn't be fair if it didn't work, after all of this. The work isn't done, for either of them, not by a long shot, but -
That's the kind of thing he wants to fight for.