Ch 248: Exchanging hostages.

"You did great, Izumi, Kasumi. Kasumi, give a lot of hugs to your sister for me, okay? I'll return as soon as I can."

"Yes, sure." replied Kasumi, and Izumi smiled, still feeling a little down. Hopefully, she would get over this on her own, but if she couldn't, Akeno and Kasumi would make sure to keep her distracted, and make her feel loved.

"Yes. See you soon, Akeno-Onee-sama. I miss you." said Izumi.

"I miss you too. Bye." smiled Akeno, ending the call.

She turned back to Kaguya and Roze

"Roze, that battle ended well. We lost two Alexanders and three drones, but our pilots are safe. More bothersome is that the enemy is now aware that there is more than one Haken and that they have sturdy armor, but it can't be helped."

"I see... Next, they will either send several Knights of the Rounds, or they will launch a massive assault." nodded Roze.

"I'm hoping for the later. It would give me more time to be done with this trip and return, and with a lot of luck, we'll have the third Haken ready by then. We're adding to the Mark 3 a few remote observation drones for urban warfare and a laser point-defense system against missiles."

"It sounds good. How do you intend to find the Imperial Princess?" asked Kaguya, mindful of her bodyguards' presence. "The Britannians have always kept her location a secret. or do you already know about it as well?"

"I will visit some of Britannia's higher ups and ask around. I may not have that thing I mentioned during the meeting, but I am very good at knowing when someone is lying, and I will just slap them until they talk."

"Oh." chuckled Kaguya.

"I'll be wearing a mask while I do it. They won't be able to trace it back to me or you, do not worry." smiled Akeno.

"They will link it to you or your organization regardless if you do supernatural things in front of them, though." pointed out Kaguya.

"That is true. Which is why Roze and I will try our best to stick to normal methods."

"I hope you won't take unnecessary risks during the princess's rescue." sighed Kaguya as she looked at Roze with a conflicted expression. "It would be a shame if something were to happen to her."

"We will take proper precautions, Kaguya." smiled Akeno.

…

The plane landed, and Sakura and Roze said goodbye to Kaguya. They were dressed in casual street clothes, and found a back alley. Only Akeno left it. She intended for Sakuya to remain safely cooped up inside the Sanctuary until Sakura was freed.

Akeno then found an internet cafe and browsed a few tabloid news sites to learn about upcoming events involving important Britannian people in Japan. Her eyes shone when she saw the ideal target. With her, she might not even need to slap people around. Not much, anyway.

And if she played her cards right, she might even deal with two other items on her list of errands, killing three birds in one stone.

…

Viceroy Cornelia vi Britannia, currently assigned to Area Eleven, sighed as she leaned back in her chair, and brushed away from her face a few strands of her long, wavy fuchsia hair. Her sworn enemy, paperwork, had accumulated due to the time she had taken chasing after Zero, with a very frustrating lack of results.

She drank some of the coffee that one of her assistants kept replacing every fifteen minutes, so it would always be fresh and hot, and was about to take the next sheet from the pile when her phone rang.

It displayed the name of Andreas Darlton, her most loyal subordinate and confidante. She had sent him to escort her little sister Euphemia to the Tokyo Museum, where she was to designate a painting as the winner of a competition.

"Darlton? what is it?" asked Cornelia.

"Sorry, this isn't General Darlton." replied a pleasant-sounding feminine voice with a flippant tone. "He is a little… tied up, you might say."

Cornelia's heart sank as her body became rigid.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me… Kyuubi, let's go with that. I have Darlton and your sister. Do you wish to speak with her?"

"Of course I do!"

"Alright, that was a stupid question, I apologize for it." laughed Kyuubi.

"Onee-sama?" asked another voice she recognized, and Cornelia felt like she could breathe again.

"Euphie? Are you injured? Did they hurt you?"

"No, Onee-sama. I am bound and blindfolded, but I have not been hurt. Sir Darlton has been knocked unconscious and bound as well, but she is telling me that he isn't seriously hurt."

"What can you tell me about your captors?" urged Cornelia, hoping for any scarp of information that might help her find them.

"There is only one mmmphh!"

"And that is enough." continued Kyuubi, taking the conversation over. "I have not killed any of your soldiers, and I took only Darlton and Princess Euphemia hostages. You will find the others in a closet in the museum."

"What do you want? A ransom?"

"A princess for a princess, and a soldier for a soldier." replied Kyuubi. "I believe in fair deals. I want you to deliver to me Japan's Imperial Princess Sakuya Sumeragi, as well as Tohdoh Kyoshiro of the Japanese Liberation Front, who you were planning to execute tomorrow. I will give you eight hours to gather them, then I will call back to give you the location for the exchange."

"If you hurt even the slightest hair…" warned Cornelia, but Kyuubi had already hung up.

Cornelia almost crushed the phone in her fury.

…

An hour later, in the museum's security room, Cornelia was glaring fiercely at the screen displaying a single woman taking down six guards as well as Darlton in barely two seconds, not giving them any time to use their guns. The woman's head was hidden by a white helmet somewhat shaped like a Kitsune, one of those multi-tailed foxes from Japan's mythology, and she wore a white and red close-fitting leather outfit that reminded her of a traditional Japanese shrine maiden's attire, but with little loose fabric that would impair movement. She had been a whirlwind of fists and kicks, and when she was done incapacitating Euphemia's escort, had thrown a knife at the camera, disabling it.

That was the last footage they had featuring Euphemia. More footage from other locations showed the masked woman entering from the rooftop with a rope and moving from one room to another prior to the attack, but the security team had failed to trigger the alarm.

Seconds after the camera was destroyed by Kyuubi's knife, A power surge in the network had disabled all cameras, and the Museum's fire alarm had been activated, causing chaos. They had yet to identify when and how Kyuubi had left the Museum with her hostages. It was baffling.

It was the fourth time she saw the footage of her sister's abduction, and she had not gained any more insight from it.

Another masked terrorist popping up, as if Zero wasn't enough. She was starting to have it up to there with the Elevens.

She turned to the kneeling managers who were producing apology after apology. She wanted to order the fifty guards accompanying her to execute them all. Like she had just done with the guard who was supposed to be watching the cameras' feedback prior to the attack. But that wouldn't change anything.

At least, Kyuubi's demands weren't overly outrageous. Tohdoh was a competent strategist and Knightmare pilot, but he didn't come anywhere close to being the nuisance Zero was. If she released him, she was confident that she would capture him once again at some point.

The former princess of Japan wasn't an issue either. By now, Japan's industrialists were cowed enough not to rise in open revolt. Some of them were secretly providing the Black Knights with Knightmares and other materials, and she would find them and execute them eventually, and having Sakuya Sumeragi in custody or not would not really change anything.

Even if Kyuubi had demanded ten times more, she would still have been willing to trade for Euphemia and Darlton.

Of course, that didn't mean that the instant they were safe, Cornelia would hesitate a second before unleashing her Glaston Knights on Kyuubi and those who supported her. No one could threaten her sister and get away with it.

She had already given the orders. Sakuya Sumeragi and Tohdoh Kyoshiro were both on the move, in armored transports escorted by a dozen Knightmares each. They would both be within her reach before Kyuubi called.

And if she hurt them, Cornelia, too, could be 'fair'.

…

"Please open wide, Euphemia. This is chocolate cake. I baked it myself, so you aren't allowed to say it tastes bad." smiled Akeno.

After a short hesitation, Euphemia, blindfolded and her hands bound behind her back by soft leather cuffs, opened her mouth, and Akeno fed her.

"It is delicious." admitted Euphemia between two mouthfuls.

"Thank you."

"Kyuubi, is it?" asked Darlton on the side. He, too, was blindfolded, and his upper body secured by heavy chains.

"Just a fake name." shrugged Akeno. "If you could identify me, I would have to take steps to silence you. We do not want for this to happen, so please do not try to remove the blindfolds."

"There is still time for you to surrender." nodded Darlton. As far as I am aware, you haven't killed anyone or hurt Euphemia-sama. I could vouch for you, avoid you an execution and maybe even a lengthy imprisonment."

"I do not think so. Britannian nobles are very prideful, and they must be chomping at the bit for a chance to cut me to ribbons right now."

"That is true, but as a princess, I could shield you from the worst of it. Maybe even grant you a pardon." tentatively said Euphemia.

"Thank you, but no thanks, Princess. I believe that you would indeed try if I really were to surrender. Although I am not certain you actually have enough influence to pull it off. Darlton, do you want some of that cake as well?"

"No thanks. I am not hungry."

"Suit yourself. Ten more minutes before I call Cornelia again, and if all goes well, you will both be free in about two hours. Then Cornelia will without a doubt send her Knights against me. How predictable. She must think I am stupid or something."

"All the more reason that you should consider a surrender." shrugged Darlton, making his chains jingle. "The Glaston Knights are no joke. I know, because I am their captain. I do not know what your escape route is, but wherever you plan to make the exchange, all exits will be barred."

"I guess we will have to see about that. I believe she will discover that I am more capable than she thinks. I'll go away to make that call and a few preparations. Remember not to touch those blindfolds, please. If you see me, I will have to keep you, and resort to more violent methods to release Lieutenant-Colonel Kyoshiro and Princess Sakuya. That would mean Brittanian soldiers dying, and some of them might be your own men, General."

"I will cooperate." nodded Darlton. "But you better keep your word, or Cornelia-sama will turn Area Eleven upside down to find and kill you. And a lot of your compatriots will die as well."

"Then she won't have much time to do it, because I will leave Japan in a few days, and I do not mind you telling her that. See you later."

Akeno left the Sanctuary. She had bound Euphemia and Darlton outside of the house, tied to a stake in the ground. Sakuya was watching them from inside the house, and wouldn't interact with them unless something went very wrong.

Prior to infiltrating the museum, she had found the perfect location to make the exchange. It was now 22:25,

She put on the kitsune helmet, took Darlton's phone, and called Cornelia again.

She accepted the call on the third ring.

"Viceroy Cornelia."

"Yes. The abandoned Subaru theme park east of the Tokyo settlement. Please bring your hostages near the entrance. The exchange will occur at midnight. You are not to enter the park or fly over it before I call back with more detailed instructions. If you do, I will disappear with them. Oh, and I know what the Princess and Tohdoh look like, and I will search their bodies for surprises like bugs or bombs."

"I wouldn't jeopardize your hostages' lives with tricks. But mark my words, I will find you." promised Cornelia.

Akeno chuckled.

"You do not need to search for me. Rest assured, Viceroy Cornelia, a day will come when we will face each other on a battlefield. And when we do, I will make sure you know this is me."

Akeno ended the call before Cornelia could answer.

All she had to do now was fly up well over a kilometer above the abandoned theme park, all but invisible in the night's sky, and wait.

…

As expected, barely thirty minutes after her call, Britannian troops, over fifty Knightmares and a thousand infantry, and even a mobile command post the size of a small building, arrived and secured the perimeter of the theme park and started searching the surrounding buildings.

But no one entered the park itself.

Akeno spotted her next objective, a heavy truck parked close to the command center. If her intuition was correct, the Lancelot was there, along with its pilot, Suzaku Kururugi.

Akeno nodded to herself and hid inside a building they had already cleared, then used Item Creation to make a Britannian soldier's uniform. She quickly changed, then walked down the stairs and headed for the truck, her face, hair and gender hidden by the uniform and visored helmet.

She reached the truck and knocked on the trailer's side-door, and seconds later, an attractive woman with neck-length indigo hair and blue eyes wearing the brown uniform of a Britannian military officer opened the door.

She was Cécile Croomy, a kind woman who often took a big-sister-like role for Suzaku Kururugi, the secondary male protagonist of the original fiction. She also was a genius engineer, and one that Akeno firmly intended to turn into Da Vinci's assistant.

"A message from the Viceroy to Lord Asplund. I am to deliver it in person." replied Akeno with a serious tone, referring to Lloyd Asplund, the other genius engineer who co-created the Lancelot (and who, unfortunately, was a male).

Cécile nodded and let Akeno climb in. As soon as the door closed, Akeno sprang into action. She first jumped to Lloyd as she wanted to get him away from his console, carefully knocking him unconscious with a punch. She turned and punched Cécile's stomach, then chopped her neck.

The pilot, Suzaku Kururugi, didn't waste time screaming for help. He made a great jump toward Akeno, his body rotating several times as he expected to deliver to Akeno's head a mighty spinning kick, enhanced by his building inertia and rotation speed.

If she had time for it, Akeno would have watched in equal parts amazement and ridicule. Amazement that he could perform such a move, and ridicule at how easy to counter and full of openings this move actually was.

According to Noah, Suzaku made this move so often that it had given birth to memes on internet, and had earned him the nickname 'Spinzaku'.

To counter this, all Akeno had to do was calmly take a step back, and the leg that should have struck the side of her head now passed harmlessly in front of her face, opening his back for a counter.

Which Akeno shamelessly executed, chopping at his neck.

He was already losing consciousness when Akeno grabbed his body to stop him from making a bad landing.

She was now on a strict time limit, so she moved quickly. She handcuffed Cécile, stuffed her mouth with a red ball gag, and hooded her with a black cloth, then teleported with her into the Sanctuary, directly into her house.

"Akeno?" asked Sakuya in surprise.

"This woman is a genius engineer, Sakuya. I will convince her later to join our side. If she wakes up before I return, try to calm her down, and remove the hood and gag if necessary, but do not uncuff her. Do not use your Geass on her either."

"Understood."

"Be right back." said Akeno as she returned inside the trailer. She quickly checked on Lloyd and Suzaku, making sure that they were still unconscious, and that she hadn't caused them any lasting injury.

She then looked at the White Nightmare occupying a large part of the trailer. At 4.5 meters while standing, it wasn't a huge machine. And yet, it had some really good technology inside, like energy shield emitters on its arms, swords that might cut through even the Haken's vibrating blades, and a rifle shooting powerful energy blasts. It was easily at the level of a Knight of the Rounds' Knightmare, and Akeno didn't intend to leave it in Britannia's hands.

So she transferred it into her inventory.

Before leaving, she felt some pity for them and scribbled a note.

"Cécile will work for us from now on. Do not worry, she will be well treated. – Kyuubi."

Akeno left the trailer and walked away, still wearing the uniform of a Britannian Soldier. Once she found a relatively quiet spot, she used Shunpo repeatedly to fly upward. By the time some nearby soldiers turned their heads in her direction to check on the noise made by displaced air, she was already too far up for them to spot her.

Akeno used the cover of the night to reach the top cabin of the Ferris wheel unnoticed and entered it before placing the Sanctuary on one of the couches.

…

Around 23h30, Cornelia was pacing around the map displaying the tactical map of the surroundings, searching for any flaw in her encirclement and hearing about her scouts reporting as they kept searching the abandoned neighborhood, and her phone rang again.

"This is Kyuubi. I have completed my preparations ahead of time. Are you willing to proceed with the exchange now?"

"Yes." nodded Cornelia as she gestured to her officers, and the command room became a beehive of activity.

"Please ask Princess Sakuya and Lieutenant-Colonel Kyoshiro to enter the park and go inside the house of horrors, alone. When they are inside, I will tell you where your sister and Darlton are.

"No." replied Cornelia. "We will first complete the exchange of Princess Sakuya and Princess Euphemia before I release Tohdoh Kyoshiro. I do not trust you to hold your part of the deal."

"…I cannot separate them at this point. How about this, then? When the princess is inside the house of horrors, I will tell you where to find them both. I will count on you then to hold your part of the deal, as you said. Surely the word of the Second Princess of the Holy Empire is worth her weight in gold, right?"

"You have my word." smoothly lied Cornelia. As far as she was concerned, promises were to be kept only with honest or important people, not with scoundrels lurking in the shadows.

"Very well. Send the princess, please."

Cornelia gestured to one of her officers who spoke into his headset, and seconds later, 'Princess Sakuya Sumeragi', dressed in one of Britannia's white and black prisoner outfits and her hands shackled in front of her, was escorted out of a truck and to the park's entrance.

The soldiers spoke to her and pointed to the entrance of the house of horrors, and with a short hesitation, she started walking.

…

Akeno, now dressed in a red and white Kyuubi outfit, was waiting inside the house of horrors near the entrance. When a young woman who looked like a carbon copy of Sakuya came closer, alone, Akeno partially showed herself and waved for her to walk faster.

Sakura Haruyanagi-no-Miya entered with barely any hesitation.

"Who are you?"

"I will tell you soon, princess. I will quickly search you for bombs or electronics, please do not take offense."

"I understand." nodded Sakura as the woman wearing the Kitsune white mask patted her quickly.

"Everything seems in order." nodded Akeno, taking her sanctuary and placing Sakura inside. She then called Cornelia again.

"Princess Euphemia and General Darlton are on the top cabin of the Ferris wheel. I will allow one of your soldiers to enter the park, activate the Ferris wheel to bring them to ground level, and give you confirmation. However, that soldier is to leave without trying to free them. If he doesn't, well, they have explosive collars around their necks."

"What did you say?" shouted Cornelia.

"You heard me correctly. When Lieutenant-Colonel Kyoshiro is safely inside the House of Horrors, I will disarm those collars, and you can all enter the park."

"…I will send a soldier."

"Good."

Akeno ended the call again and watched carefully as a Glaston Knight, judging from his uniform, entered the park, glaring fiercely in her direction as he passed by the House, and walked to the foot of the Ferris wheel. After some fiddling with the electrical panel, he managed to turn the power on and make the wheel complete a half-turn. He saw through the cabin's windows Princess Euphemia and General Darlton, both bound, blindfolded and gagged, and with wide and thick steel collars around their necks. Two red LEDs were blinking on them.

"General, Hime-sama, please wait patiently just a little more, we will save you without fail!" shouted the Knight, talking on his phone as he jogged back to the entrance.

Soon after, it was a tall Japanese man with broad shoulders, his short black hairs slicked back, and also dressed as a prisoner, who approached the House. Once again, he entered, and Akeno patted him, not finding anything out of order. Akeno stuffed him into her sanctuary.

Akeno took a deep breath, lowered her center of gravity as she aimed at the top section of a roller coaster track, and used Shunpo to reach it. Without waiting, she used Shunpo again, and was out of the encirclement in less than a second.

Darlton's phone rang, and Akeno accepted the call.

"We did as you asked, now disarm the collars!"

"Yes, and thank you for your cooperation." laughed Akeno. "But there is no need to disarm the collars, since they are fake. Apologies for the little lie. See you later, Viceroy."

"You!"

Akeno ended the call and stuffed the phone into her inventory. She might have some use of it again one day, and there was no chance it could be traced if she kept it there.

From several hundred meters above ground, she watched as soldiers and Knightmares entered the park. Some ran to the Ferris wheel while others took position around the House of Horrors.

Akeno saw them remove Darlton's and Euphemia's gags and blindfolds and untie them, then remove the collars and examine them. Too bad she couldn't stay to watch their reactions.

She flew away, wondering about what to do with Tohdoh.

…

"Euphie! Are you okay?" shouted Cornelia as she hugged her little sister tightly.

"I'm fine, really. She treated us well. I wasn't scared after the first few minutes."

Darlton came closer and knelt in front of them.

"My deepest apologies, Cornelia-sama, I have failed in my duty. I will take full…"

"Stop it, Darlton." cut in Cornelia. "I have seen the footage. No one would have been able to stop her. I am just glad to have you both back unharmed."

Darlton lifted his head, his eyes soon brimming with tears of both regret and gratitude.

"Viceroy!" shouted a soldier as he ran closer and made a quick salute. "We raided the house of horrors, and it is empty! There is a large hole in the back that leads to a sewer tunnel. We are sending soldiers inside to pursue."

"Find them!" ordered Cornelia, and the soldier ran off.

When she looked back at Euphemia's face, she relaxed. Even is Kyuubi and the other two escaped her… it wasn't the worst outcome.

One knight approached, a perplexed expression on his face. "Viceroy, we examined the collars, and instead of explosives, we found…" He stopped as if he couldn't bring himself to say it, and showed small bundles wrapped in clear plastic.

"Fruit paste, with ten different flavors." shrugged Euphemia, looking at her sister with a bemused expression. "Kyuubi said it was a token of apology for the stress she caused you."

"…Have it analyzed for poison." sighed Cornelia, wondering if she should take them as a slight, or as a prank. She wasn't sure if she would try them one day, but she would at least make sure they were safe to eat.

…

Minutes later, when someone thought to wonder why the special technical team wasn't reacting to the hostages' release and reported their findings back to her, Cornelia's concluded that the Lancelot and its technology were Kyuubi's true objective all along.

She had been scammed!