"...Pilot…for you?" She looked confused.
"I thought you didn't make Knightmares…Anaheim makes robotics, exoskeletons, prosthetics…" Kallen was confused.
"Indeed. You see… Anaheim has two faces. Like you and me."
Kallen's eyes widened. She was a bit…concerned. What does he mean? She is feeling that she is at a huge crossroads.
"What do you mean?"
"Please, don't pretend. My guess is that one of your parent is Japanese and you are fighting for Japan's freedom." He leisurely 'discerned' her identity.
Her eyes trembled; this guy's perception was insane! At least to Kallen, she has no idea that he knows her very well.
"...Yes. You are right. My mother is Japanese." She sighed.
"...Let me be very clear; I fight for Japan's freedom." The girl proudly proclaimed for what she is fighting.
"Then you should stop." Marcus ruthlessly slammed her reason for fighting
"..."
"Because Kyoto Houses belong to me. Haven't you wondered why they stopped supporting you all?" He questioned her about whether she noticed that particular detail.
Cold shock washed over her.
"...Y-You what did you do!?" Kallen thought that he did something to them!
"They follow my goal." He shrugged, ignoring her outburst.
"Simply put, Japan can't regain its independence."
"Why!?" She swiftly got agitated.
For Leila, it was a bit amusing. This Kallen was like fire, and Marcus was like water.
One was easily agitated, while the other was opposite, calm like a pond.
"Well, think for a second." He started his explanation.
"What will happen next if you magically defeat all of Britannian's troops and expel them from Japan?"
"...They will come back?" The Crimson-haired reasoned. This was something she knew already.
"That is the least of your worries. Have you seen what happens when a bleeding animal is left in the wilderness?"
"Others will attack… I get it." Kallen got grumpy.
"Japan has the biggest deposits of Sakuradite in the world. Simple as that. Britannians and the Chinese Federation will turn this land into a battlefield, and your people will suffer as they are in the middle of it."
"...Then what should we do? Let them walk over us? Take our identity away? Our culture?" She angrily gnashed her teeth, trembling with fury.
"Like I said. Follow me." He reminded her.
"...And what will that do?" She stopped for a second. He didn't explain what he was doing.
"Well, to Kyoto House I promised that they will be able to call themselves Japanese, practise their traditions and enjoy their culture."
"But?" Kallen narrowed her eyes. There has to be something else!
"Like the rest of the world, they will have to follow me."
"..."
"..."
"And if they don't?" She asked, getting a bit confrontational.
"Then they will live in fear for the rest of their lives." The one who answered was the blonde girl.
"...Why is that?"
"Haven't you yet figured it out?" The blonde sighed. She feels that she needs to explain what is what to a dumb girl.
"Why would Kyoto Houses join him? What kind of power does he have so that a group as rebellious as Kyoto House is following him?" She asked the Crimson-haired girl.
"..." Kallen still doesn't grasp.
"Unbelievable." Leila shook her head, making Kallen blush. She doesn't get it! Okay!?
"In that case, follow me." Marcus stood up as he motioned to the girl to follow him.
"Are you sure?" Leila asked, worried about this girl.
"She won't betray us, right? Kallen? After all, you want to see the day you can call yourself Japanese."
The girl narrowed her eyes. This was a threat. If she betrays him, he will make her disappear, she is certain of that.
"...Yeah."
"Relax, while my goal is World Domination, it's only the first step." He chuckled while saying that.
"Do you realise how insane that sounds!?" Kallen exclaimed in shock! Doesn't he hear himself!?
'Unbelievable! This guy is nuts!'
The pair walked to a bookshelf, and Marcus pulled out his phone and pressed a couple of buttons.
Then, out of nowhere, the bookshelf opened and revealed a lift.
"Come, let me bring you to a supervillain's lair."
"..." All of a sudden, Kallen felt like she had stepped into the pits of devil himself!
A gulp escaped from her lips; still, she was a courageous one. So after a small hesitation, she stepped in, and the lift doors closed.
This lift took them down. When the doors opened, Kallen saw a corridor.
The trio walked to the end, and the Crimson-haired girl's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she saw at the other end.
"T-Those machines!!!" She gawked at them. There were four of them behind a glass wall.
"You are the one who made them!?" Kallen finally realised! How could she have made a connection!? These things are monsters!
Making exoskeletons or prosthetics is believable, but these…
She never put them together!
"Indeed. Meet KK-00 Lugh, KK-01 Tiranis, KK-11 Andraste, and KK-21 Flidais." Marcus introduced her to his machines.
"..."
"...Beautiful, aren't they? I began developing them close to six years ago." He smiled proudly while explaining to her.
Her gaze went to him. Her eyes were trembling; she had flashbacks of their destructive power.
Until this day, she considered these machines to be some sort of Deities, or aliens… but not something a fellow classmate of hers had made them!
"H-How!?"
"He is a genius." The blonde on Marcus' other side replied.
"...That's crazy! Not even a genius can make something like that!" Kallen reasoned.
"And you know what a genius can and can't do?" Leila asked with a raised eyebrow.
"..." Her answer made Kallen stop in her tracks.
"Now that you know. I want you to join me." Marcus got the Crimson-haired girl's attention.
"..."
Her eyes went back to the machines.
"...You said you want World Domination… what WILL you do?"
"Like I said…" He walked over to his computer and turned on the holograms.
A hologram of Galaxy appeared in the middle of the Workshop.
"..."
The crimson-haired girl looked at the visual effects before her.
"My goals are to put humans on every planet throughout the Galaxy. To achieve our destiny! In front of this, conflicts on Earth are nothing compared to this!
"...Y-You are crazy, is this even possible?" Kallen is going crazy from hearing this!
"It is. For the technology I have developed." He switched the holograms and showed her his preparation for this expansion.
"My Mobile Suits are powered by a Fusion Reactor. In simple terms, these reactors are miniature suns that generate a practically infinite amount of energy.
This workshop has one."
He showed images of a Fusion Reactor, then he switched to other tech, like Ion technology that allows them to fly huge swaths of space in a small amount of time. Then, there are alloys for machines, followed by artificial intelligence, and Legion Bots for rapid construction and manufacture.
This guy had all of it, and by this point, the girl started to laugh… not from happiness but from sheer disbelief at what she was seeing before her.
"Wow… you broke her." A lazy voice said from the side. It was C.C. who just left the relaxation room.
"But I am impressed, you have developed all of this."
C.C. started to consider that V.V. gave him a Geass related to technology because of what she saw before her.
"Of course. Didn't I tell you already? Stepping stones." He scoffed, making her frown for a bit. It was not empty bragging. This guy has substance.
"Is that so. Then maybe you are interested in making a contract with me?" She smiled, her smile was a bit evil.
"A contract? Well, well… a witch wants to strike a questionable deal."
"...Not questionable, I give you power and you fulfil one of my wishes." She shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.
"...Is that so? Your stereotypes usually come with baggage. Considering I have no idea about your roots or the true nature of your power." He explained, making the green-haired girl stare at him.
'He is good. Doesn't easily fall for easy power.' C.C. pondered how to approach this later.
By this point, Kallen looked at the newcomer. She recovered a bit.
"This girl, Kallen, is the poison gas you have stolen from that research facility."
"...What?"
"Don't call me that." C.C. frowned when she heard how he called her!
"Well, you're calling yourself by first letters. That's simply put like chemical reactions." He shrugged at her, joking at her name.
The witch narrowed her eyes at him.
"...Wait…what is going on? Why was there a girl in that capsule?" Kallen was very confused.
"The reason why Clovis was killed was that he was doing human experiments in that facility.
I got C.C. out of that capsule and asked if she wanted revenge.
She agreed, and now we don't have Viceroy." He gave Kallen a crash course on what happened yesterday.
"...Why?"
"She has abilities; you can call her a legit witch." Marcus sagely nodded.
"You are asking for a beat down! Don't just say things like that!" C.C. exclaimed in an annoyed tone.
"Oh, please. I rescued you, and now you are mine." He shrugged.
"...You…" The bluntness the witch was receiving caused her to reel back.
"You still don't understand?" Marcus shook his head at her belief that she could run away.
"In a matter of a year or so, even now, I could leave Earth and build a base in space. In a matter of days, my mobile suit and legion bots would overrun the planet's surface.
So tell me, C.C., my witch, where could you run?"
"..."
Those yellow gold eyes stared at him.
"...You are even more annoying than your father. Girls don't like it when choices are taken from them." She borderline pouted at him.
Marcus scoffed at her reply, but enjoyed that look she was giving him.
"On the contrary, your heart is beating fast, and I don't need to check it." The Inventor Prince replied, before looking at Kallen, who was pale when she heard his intentions.
"So how is it going to be, Kallen? Do you want to be part of something that will change Earth and the entire Galaxy?
If you are good enough, your people could get a whole planet for themselves. Not just a small chain of islands that they can call their home."
The Crimson-haired girl snapped out and looked at him.
"You would do that?" She asked, gawking at him."
"Of course. Why not. All I want is for you guys to follow me. Help me and I help you." He smiled at her, and his honest words touched her. Maybe it was the sheer possibilities, the technologies he has, or that confidence.
Maybe all of them, but her heart skipped a beat.
"...I-I guess I would accept this… not that there is other choice." Kallen got flustered as one of her hands fiddled with her crimson hair.
"H-However, what about my fellow freedom fighters?" The girl immediately recalled her group!
"Depends. You do need to explain to them in detail what they are getting. It won't be as simple as resisting Britannia. There could even be a chance that you will be fighting your own people."
Kallen's face sank as she slowly nodded at him.
"Remember, these choices are not easy, but in the end, we will have the entire cosmos before us."
The Crimson-haired girl shook her head. What she is hearing is absurd. It was silly because of how fresh it was in her mind.
"That is maybe, but the choices you make in between that's what matters, Lelouch," C.C. said from the side.
"...Lelouch?" Kallen looked at him.
He shrugged back.
"My real name, Kallen." The Inventor Prince explained before looking at the Witch.
"That is why I utilise overwhelming power. I lesson I learned from history, something you should have learned long ago." He countered back at her, making the green-haired girl frown.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, getting a bit annoyed.
"Nothing, by this point, you lived long enough you could have been Empress C.C. of countless Empires throughout history, but you never were."
"As if I wanted something like that!" She replied, annoyed even more.
"Precisely why you should have done it. To find what you've been looking for." He rolled her eyes, making her shut up.
~~~
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