Iraq. One week later.
"Hurry up, Lulu! Don't trip! We're almost there!" Nobunaga happily said as she led her loved one further, leading him by the hand into the hangar.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. I want to be done with it as fast as possible too. I must look ridiculous." Right now Lelouch wasn't in the best position to move on his own. Who knew that when you were blindfolded you couldn't walk by yourself. This was the last thing Zero needed for their subordinates to see of him right now.
After all, the image of Zero being blindfolded while still wearing his full-head helmet surely looked quite absurd. How Nobu even got fabric big enough to cover his entire mask was beyond him.
"People are sure to assume we're having some sort of role-playing…" he uttered with a sigh.
"Let the soldiers think whatever they want! Doesn't matter to me!" Figures. Nobu didn't have much shame in this manner. To begin with, she didn't care much for the opinion of their subordinates. All that mattered to her was him and their conquest. "You're going to love this! I swear on the name of my clan!"
'Such a strange promise for someone hiding a surprise…' Lelouch sighed. "Your clan is no more, Nobu. Woah! Careful on the arm! I can't balance myself with how fast you're running! What are you? A child?"
"Come now, Lule! Having only lived less than a year of my new incarnation in this life, you know better than to ask for the technicalities."
"Ugh, whatever." He gave up trying to get out of this and just allowed his sweetheart to lead him into darkness.
"Ok! We're here! You can open your eyes, Lulu!"
Nobu chirped as she let go of his hand. The boy didn't need to be told twice, his hands quickly moved towards his head and immediately pulled down the annoying fabric that blocked his visor's vision. The moment his eyes fell on the object before him, however, any and all annoyance within him disappeared.
Nobu likely sensed his slack jawed expression through silence alone. "… This is—"
"Yup! The one from your memories!" Nobunaga circled around her Lulu with a happy smile before admiring her handiwork beside him. "It took me some time to gather parts and make a replica of that thing, but I managed it. Nothing is impossible for this Demon King. You should feel proud that I treasure you so much, darling~~~!"
The Demon Emperor had nothing to say. How could he when, stood right before Zero, was a metal titan that couldn't have been anything but a knight made out of shining armour. Its sleek grey and dark brown colours weren't too far off from the command module he always rode on into battle, and the giant arms and legs easily able to crush any puny human or vehicle that got in its way was as daunting sight as ever.
Knightmare. The mass-produced Burai model was painted with the commander variant colours to be exact.
Back in his world, this thing was nothing more than cheap copies of the backbone of the Britannian war machine, the Sutherlands. But here, in the world of magic where technology was still a few decades behind, the presence of armoured bipedal humanoid machines was unnatural. Was it perhaps because of world rules? Lelouch didn't know or care too much right now. What mattered was the fact that Nobunaga managed to build the exact replica somehow.
"But… how?"
"I have a good memory. Plus it was difficult to forget those awesome things! I did this because it was created by the Japanese of your world. Counterfeits as they were originally, it is still a feat I commend as their countrymen! Their ingenuity in the face of oppression, it burns my soul!"
Lelouch, in awe, muttered as he touched a hand upon its hard metal. "But how did you recreate Yggdrasil Drive or find an alternative to the sakuradite power cells?"
"Hmm? The what now?" He turned to meet Nobu's eyes. White and round while her mouth was still proudly guffawing her achievement, in place of the dangerous and unstable beauty that would dare bring such war machines to life, there now stood some kind of unfinished comedic doodle who had no idea what he was talking about. "First time hearing about those things, darling. What's that?"
"Wha—" Slack jawed for an altogether different reason, Lelouch facepalmed, wishing his hand could punch through his mask. 'Haaah… why did I expect anything less…'
"Oy! Oy! I was only able to recreate the outside appearance. I've no idea what those things look like from within. Besides, in your memories, you never went into detail about how exactly they operate. Plus, I doubt I would know how to make them work. I'm not some kind of genius creator or engineer as my people of your future are. Just your lovely arsonist."
'How can she be humble at times like this…' Lelouch sighed, scorning himself for expecting too much. He then stared at the faux Knightmare before him. "So… This is just a dummy?"
"Hahaha!" Nobu laughed with the same laugh she had before battles. "Oh, no Lulu. I didn't waste the time and effort of our soldiers to make some kind of giant statue for you to look at. No, I made it so you could use it in battles."
Lelouch stared at her, beneath his mask Nobu could guess that he had a questioning look. Without the tech to power it, it was just that, a statue. Yet she would say as much in an attempt to coerce him into combat… "How?"
"Duh, have you forgotten you're a Heroic Spirit now?" she stated it like it was the most natural thing in the world. "The part of your life, your legend, when you would command entire armies while piloting these titans is well ingrained into the Throne! Just because this one doesn't have its robotic heart or blood fuel to operate, it doesn't mean you cannot order them to move in some way."
'Order them…?' Could he do that through words alone? The doubt likely showed on his face as she continued.
"You are Zero, the man of miracles. You are also Lelouch vi Britannia, the Demon Emperor that manipulated the masses to form an obedient and unrelenting army to do your bidding!" Nobunaga walked to his side, caressing the metal of the statue's leg. "These dolls are nought but metal marionettes awaiting their puppeteer's command. Order them as you always have your men! Order them as you would order me into battle!"
Her confidence in him was stifling. Little did he know about the mechanics that was the Throne of Heroes, and little still was he aware of this world's magic system. Try as he might to practice and study, there could hardly be much progress when he himself wasn't aware of what constituted as a legend or not.
Defeating his father was one thing. Ordering a god to do his bidding was incomparable, vastly so. And yet, was it so hard to believe he could do as she imagined?
Zero said nothing as he turned to stare at the Burai before him. Perhaps there was merit to Nobu's words. The magic and the power of one's legend was something beyond the understanding of any mortal. And, having been recently resurrected, Lelouch was just the same. Iskandar could call upon his armies through the vastness of time and space, summoning the souls of warriors from a civilization long gone, yet they were still the loyal army and men he believed in and they believed in him. Not just that, but wasn't an anecdote of Sir Lancelot's myth the mere fact that he could use any and all things as a weapon he'd seemingly trained with for life? He was able to transform anything from modern weaponry to stolen treasures from Gilgamesh into his own merely by grasping it, utilizing them fully as though they'd been his Noble Phantasm this whole time.
Then, wouldn't it be the same for him as well? He who'd stood both in the rear as a commander and the fore as a leader of the armed forces of the united world?
Something soft pressed against his back. Nobunaga pushed her voluminous mounds against him in an attempt to hug Lelouch from behind. All the while, she uttered sweet words into his ear. "You were a general. You were a supreme commander. You were an emperor. In all aspects, you lead the masses in both action and rhetoric. Not a fighter, not a real one, back in your life, yet your conquest was nonetheless grand. You commanded them like they were your pawns. This doll is just the same, so move them, my beloved Demon."
If a knight could put any object into his weapon and master it in an instant, if a king of conquests could call upon his armies from beyond the grave… then why can't he, the Demon Emperor, corrupt mere metal and bend it to his will?
Lelouch focused on the ain't empty Knightmare before him, remembering how he commanded their pilots in the past. With conviction, with purpose, with power… power he knew he'd built up from grasping his soldiers' hearts. Here and now, there was another kind of power, one that resonated within his eye, as it merged together with this world's system, this world's mysticism and legends.
As though responding to his wishes, he felt his Geass surge with energies far different yet familiar all the same. Clicking the mask visor over his left eye open, the former Emperor commanded the shell of a knight.
"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, obey me!"
***
Nobunaga watched with a silent glee, anticipating the unthinkable. However, to her confusion and a little disappointment, Lelouch merely sighed as he relented his grasp on the doll she tried so hard to make. Then, after a minute of silence passed, he just up and turned around, walking away from her gift.
"Lulu?!" Confused, Nobu quickly closed the distance between them. "Where are you going, Lulu? Did it not work?"
She couldn't believe it wouldn't. She'd seen the vision of him commanding his armies so vividly these days that she believed it a sign. That he used little to nothing of his powers as a Heroic Spirit clued her into his inexperience as one like her. Due to that, she'd sought to replicate his legend into manifesting it in some recognizable way in the present day.
But… were her efforts truly in vain? Had she wasted both of their time with her folly of wanting to see his eager expression on the battlefield once more?
"I'm taking a little walk for a bit, dear." So lost in thought was she, that his sudden peck on her lips had her fuming and confused.
"Eh? Where?"
"Outside. I want to test my new toy." Lelouch stood by the hanger's cargo entrance, grasping on the chains that would've taken a man larger than he to tug and open the sliding shutter gates. But he didn't need to raise his hands for such as he firmly stated, "Step forward, P1."
Nobu was almost immediately shaken by the sudden thud behind her. A giant's footfall signalled by a second thud had her glancing to the side and she was taken aback by the mass of metal marching forward with ease.
The Knightmare was up and walking towards him, towards her lord and beloved. That which was nothing but a hunk of metal mounted on an empty frame was marching with the same discipline as those of a seasoned veteran and the obedience of a loyal puppet.
"Hm. The weight distribution is likely far too taxing on its wheels. We'd have to design new Landspinner modules that would be less over encumbered. Then again, considering you lack the need for a cockpit or ejection system, the most it'll need is better armaments and frame-to-joint weight balance efficiency. Slash Harkens could soon follow, but all in due time, I suppose." Lelouch chuckled, rarely excitedly at that, to himself as she watched it grasp the chains and tug on it, easily opening the gates. "Come. We will have a test run, P1."
Nobunaga watched as her beloved was picked up and sat on the shoulders of the steed she worked hard on. Visually resembling was all she'd had in mind, but once again, her heart was thrown aback by the power her beloved bestowed upon her meagre recreation.
'To give life to a mere doll… to give a weapon a purpose beyond destruction…' Nobunaga chuckled as she merrily followed after, intent on watching his performance test from afar. "Really, Lulu. You've gotta give a girl a break, lest I fall in love with you all over again~~~!"
On that day the rules of modern warfare would summarily change. However, with the cadence of the master strategist, the rest of the world wouldn't learn about it until the two Demons would want it to.
***
Author's note:
And here is the next chapter! Hope everyone enjoyed the antics of Lulu and Nobu as they ruin this world with their nefarious plans :3
But on a more serious note, this is most likely the last time it will have the presence of world politics to this degree, considering everything. Following it, chapters will mention how the Fate world is changing because of two horny warmongers.
Also, yes Shirou will have a presence in the future chapters. Not to the point of overtaking Lulu and Nobu as main characters, but there will be some moments of his own. We need to build up a Queen of his King to face off pair of Demons after all :3
Also, the next victim of arson was introduced, mainly to introduce far more interesting faker imo.
Special thanks to ReavesTheReader as usual!