16 「'Narita' Round」

Bubbles and fish. They were surrounded by the blues, all of the blues. Dark to light, warm to cold. There were coral reefs, underwater vegetation, sponges. The vastly unexplored ocean was there for the taking. Amazing resources and natural worldly wonders. There was only one thing that was contrast to it all.

A black sleek wedge shaped car with propeller wheels traveled beneath the china seas. It was Graham's car, which one could only assume had been left behind at the abandoned construction site in the beginning of Zero's ascension.

C.C. was in the passenger seat looking out at the whale sharks which were gliding alongside them as they were closing in on Tianjin beach. She had her eyes wide and searching for any and everything around her.

This was something new, something which was rare for her. She had never gone into the depths of the sea in a car. She had never seen such clarity before. Her eyes turned to Graham who was focused on the drive.

A small smile seemed to take over her otherwise stoic expression. She had surprised him. She had never expected to take a ride underwater to reach China. Let alone, not fly instead.

This had been a two day journey, as opposed to the few hours it would have taken to fly or traveling with the use of guidance systems. He on the other hand didn't use a GPS, at least not in the beginning.

He swore that men never get lost, they were just natural explorers. Of course he was taking after his father from his past life with this, he didn't remember where he learned his at all.

Cera had giggled at the stubborn remark, but found herself enjoying their little expedition in the deep waters. "So what is your plan?" She asked curiously as she took in his expression, he was lost in thought. Something she barely ever got to witness when she was with other people. His guard was down around her.

She shifted over to him, resting her elbow on his shoulder as if he were some counter to lean on.

Casually glancing over at her, he smirked, "My... Aren't you getting close." He took on a teasing tone, like how she had teased him in the beginning, he was going right back to her.

Scoffing at the response, she shrugged. "We're accomp–" She was cut off by the serious expression he made as he could tell what she was going to say. She frowned slightly assuming he didn't like the word she was saying.

"I will not be an accomplice in your assisted Suicide," Cera's face contorted as she heard him speak of her wish. At least the wish she thought she wanted. "If everything works out as planned, you won't be alone again, ever again."

It all came back to her original Geass. All she had ever wanted was to be loved, yet with her Geass people were always proposing to her. They were always wanting to court her, to have her hand in marriage. Yet all of it felt fake.

When the only person she trusted betrayed her, her life took a downward spiral. She loathed her immortality, all of those she loved and held bonds with eventually faded away as time went on.

She was left alone and everyone she knew eventually became extinct. Being in the Order of Geass she was always surrounded by people, yet they were like ants to her. Their lifespans could never measure up to hers, even as they studied the power of Geass.

Her gold eyes closed partially at the thought of having someone with her for eternity. At least until this curse of immortality ended. Eventually even with a life partner, life with them would grow old, even if it wasn't material.

Deep down she still however wanted to be loved. If she was loved, if she wasn't alone, then she could definitely withstand being immortal, at least for a bit longer. A shallow smile remained printed over her lips as she rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to lean on him.

The warmth was something new to him. Even with Kallen he hadn't shared a kiss, nor a bed. While in a sense he shared a bed with Cera, it wasn't anything big nor romantic.

Within a few hours the car came driving up onto the beach, their destination, like one of James Bond's cars. The license plate which had originally been japanese, flipped over and was traded for a Chinese registered plate.

Multiple people who were attending recreative activities on the beach stared in awe as the car pulled onto the shore.

As Graham generally ignored the populace which surrounded them, Cera would teasingly lay across her seat and rest the back of her head on his lap. Looking up at him as he drove over the wet and dry sands of the beach.

Reaching civilization, starting with the Tianjin bathing house at the beach's edge, they began their two hour straight on traverse drive to Beijing.

Within the first hour, Cera had fallen asleep on his lap. His hand resting on her forehead while he drove with one hand on the wheel. He wasn't tired, truth be told, he was wired. The closer they got, the more excited felt as he was getting closer and closer to his goal.

The Japanese Government in Exile had to be removed before they could launch an attack on Japan. The last thing he needed was another government attempting to gain control, even though they were destined to fail thanks to Zero and the Black Knights working in tandem with the Britannian Forces.

After the last hour of the drive was over, they had entered the city of Beijing and started their operation. Hiding the vehicle in a secure location, they took up the appearance of masked shadow warriors, 'Ninjas' equipped with cloaking devices co-designed by Nina much like some other tools he had used.

While armor didn't really mean much for either of them, since Cera was functionally immortal, virtually unkillable, and Graham had the ability to control the biological data, they were almost unstoppable.

The only unpredictable factor was the Geass Order. Graham didn't know how much V.V. knew and he couldn't control V.V. much how he couldn't control Cera.

Their ultimate target for the time being however was Atsushi Sawazaki. He was located within the Forbidden City, where a secondary plot had been planned. Since he knew how the future events folded out, and how close the deadlines were, he was going to change the fates of many.

Even though he had the power to control people and automated machines, Graham didn't want to overuse his power. He knew that the more he used it, the more likely he was going to lose control of it. That was the last thing he needed.

He found it would be rather relatable to the incident that took place prior to the movie Logan where Professor X essentially goes nuclear and kills the majority of the Xmen in the process. So much for Future's Past and all of the other movies.

At least he didn't have to deal with that heresy in this reality.

...

Armed with pseudo-MP5 submachine guns, a weapon of german design used during the 1960's, Graham and Cera made their way toward the temporary Japanese Compound like Bonnie and Clyde. While their weapons were made through the use of a 3D printer, they were nonetheless extremely real and dangerous weapons.

Graham watched the tiled grounds for movement while Cera scouted ahead. Their stealth equipment made them virtually invisible to the naked eye, camouflaged their temperature ot that of their environment.

They were like ghosts, unseen, like in one of those next generation covert operations Tom Clancy games from his home reality. This however was not the time to reminisce about old times, times he barely remembered.

It was odd how he hardly had much memory of his previous life, but the important knowledge and random trivia remained engrained. He couldn't understand how that worked.

The compound was follow the designs of ancient Chinese architecture, just like the majority of the forbidden city of Beijing, it was surrounded by a luscious garden. It was like a resort, surrounded by old yet strong stone walls. There were guards situated throughout the vicinity, though they were easily bypassed.

Approaching the outer wall with quick strides, Graham knelt down and readied to catapult a rushing Cera over the wall. As she passed over the wall, he scaled quickly after her. Once he was over the wall, he freely dropped down beside her.

With their weapons in hand, they applied their silencers.

They were going on very little intelligence. They didn't want to be heard and if this was an ambush, they needed to be prepared. Approaching the compound, a rather small building found in the direct center of the garden, the two of them crossed a wooden bridge.

The first thing they noticed was a red dot, several red dots, scoping the area. There were snipers constantly watching the area. It was clear that they were expecting the Britannians or another faction to make a move. That or it was just a deterrent.

The two narrowly avoided the beams without using their extraordinary powers to do so. He didn't know of the people who were using them, so he couldn't use his powers effectively anyways. He couldn't even see where the lasers were surely coming from.

Though the exterior followed ancient chinese customs in architecture, the interior was decorated like the typical Japanese homestead. The two entered the compound through the front entry door which was opened just enough for them to squeeze in without disturbing the pocket door.

Once in the foyer, they moved further in. The further they entered, the more it looked like someone's living space. This was for sure where the cabinet member was being kept.

Suddenly voices were heard. They ducked down behind an antique sewing machine which doubled as a high top coffee table.

It was Atsushi Sawazaki and the Chinese General Cao, the smell of rice wine was in the air accompanying that of Miso broth. The former member of Suzaku's father's administration was living in luxury while his people suffered from the oppression of the Britannian government.

Unacceptable, thought it was expected of the upper class politicians. Governments in exile often lived luxuriously, protected by another nation and kept as a trump card.

They were openly discussing what Zero had suspected later on, should they have been allowed to issue an attack against occupied Japan. If they gained control of Japan, it would just be a satellite state for the Chinese Federation. Nothing more than a tool for the High Eunuchs, as their Empress was nothing more than a political puppet.

They were his second target. He needed most if not all of them removed as they planned on selling their own country for noble titles within Britannia. He wasn't going to let that happen, if anything he'd merely use it to lure Britannian threats into open waters like Ducks during hunting season.

In mid conversation, General Cao put down his bowl of wine and paused for a moment as the awkward stillness of the interior made him feel uneasy. Perhaps it was intuition when it came to prying eyes.

Yet that was not enough to save the General. Both Graham and Cera rose up from behind the Antique sewing machine and rushed into the room.

The General and former Cabinet member stood up and looked towards the sound of footsteps, yet saw nothing except for feint outlines. "In the name of–"

Cao didn't get to finish his sentence as both of the intruders trigger fingers slipped. Silenced weapons fire rung out, the flashes muzzled. They were dead before they even hit the ground, riddled in holes.

Once their clips were emptied, they lowered their weapons.

"Changing clips," Graham whispered in a hush tone, both of them reloading in unison. "Objective one complete. Moving onto secondary objective." He'd announce aloud as the two of them cautiously made their way out of the compound, still avoiding contact with the Royal Guards.