Refrain. That was all Kallen cared about anymore. That was why she tilted her head invitingly while one of Schneizel's technicians approached her with an injector gun. After receiving the shot through her bare neck, she closed her eyes. Her lips curled into a small smile as she gave off a sigh of relief and briefly drifted into a pleasant dream.
Schneizel was standing with his back toward the blast doors in front of Kallen. The location occasionally rocked under the force of an exploding shell, as the Second Battle of Tokyo was well underway. Once Kallen got over her short euphoria, the scheming prince carefully observed her. He then began addressing her in formal manner.
"This dosage of Refrain has been designed to give you a combat high. If nothing else, it will keep the urge at bay without interfering with your reflexes. You've developed quite an addiction since we began interrogating you."
Another assistant approached Schneizel from the side with a stack of papers in his arms. Schneizel whisked through the packet quickly, mumbled something to his subordinate, and nodded. The assistant left the same way he came as Schneizel turned back to Kallen. A smile appeared on his face.
"You're very lucky. Some of the other nobles were about to use this battle to test their new FLEIJA weapon, but I pressured the council at the last minute to let us try a more reliable alternative."
Kallen grunted quietly as she stretched her arms and tried to break in the silky material of her long flight suit gloves. It had been months since she had last been allowed to wear proper combat attire, and this new outfit seemed to feel a tad more snug than usual. Whether this was due to her memory, the fact Britannian prisoners of war weren't exactly given the best exercise routine, or certain parts of her young body simply growing fuller during her time off was hard to tell.
The royal army attire was comprised of a skirted leotard that looked closer to being some sort of evening gown than a pilot jumpsuit. The elevated heels on her boots certainly screamed style over practicality. The only thing that saved it from feeling completely foreign was how her superior had been thoughtful enough to have most of the outfit furnished in the same shade of red as her old rebel gear. The way it was shaped around her front vaguely reminded her of something dodgy she had once worn as a disguise while she was still on the enemy side, but she would rather forget that point in her life. She would just have to get used to the latest in elite Britannian fashion. On the bright side, the open parts around her neck and shoulders would make getting fresh doses of Refrain that much simpler.
Her brow furrowed with slight curiosity when she focused back on Schneizel.
"What alternative?"
The prince narrowed his eyes and allowed his smile to transform into a somewhat devious smirk.
"You."
A weak gust of wind brushed past Schneizel and Kallen as the blast doors suddenly depressurized and slid open. Behind Schneizel was now a large, brightly-lit hangar with a single Knightmare Frame on deck. He motioned for Kallen to accompany him, and she recognized the humanoid machine's design the moment she followed him onto the catwalk. Just below her feet, with a ramp providing access to its open cockpit hatch, was her personal unit. It looked a bit different than she remembered, with new armor bits here and there and a different wing-shaped backpack, but there was no mistaking it. Schneizel spoke with pride as he confirmed her suspicions.
"This is your Guren. You can see we've made significant modifications to it since we captured you. We kept the basic schematics the same so the controls would remain suitable for you. We wouldn't have been able to do this if you hadn't been so willing to give us information."
Kallen leapt over the catwalk's railing and gracefully landed in the Guren's awaiting cockpit. Schneizel simply smiled and did nothing to interfere with her actions. When she finished straddling her seat and positioning herself belly-down over the motorcycle-like controls, she reached forward to interact with her Knightmare's dashboard. Her eyes skimmed through a few diagnostic screens after the main console whirred to life, and she grinned when she saw the amount of power she had in her hands. She raised her voice so it would travel to through the air above her and reach Schneizel.
"Hyperspeed flight. Improved Radiation Surge. You really pumped this sucker up."
Schneizel maintained his more reserved character as he semi-shouted in return.
"I'm glad you're impressed with our work. We have reason to believe Lelouch Lamperouge will be on this battlefield, and we'd like you use test the revised Guren against him. You'll be rewarded according to how well you do on your mission."
Kallen looked over her shoulder to acknowledge her commander as her voice went cold.
"Don't worry. I'll get that bastard for you."
Schneizel nodded as the Guren's entrance hatch swiftly sealed over Kallen's head. He then spoke toward the crew that had gathered on the ground below.
"Begin the launch procedure."
The Knightmare Frame began emitting an increasingly high-pitched purring noise as the storage restraints were removed from its feet. It then opened its backpack into translucent, hologram-like purple wings as the hangar's final barriers peeled apart.
While liftoff occurred, a solitary technician stepped onto the catwalk beside Schneizel. It was the same worker who had given Kallen her injection moments earlier. He shook his head in disbelief as he muttered to his superior.
"Sir, do you... have any idea what that stuff will do to her?"
Schneizel lightly nodded and explained his decision. His eyes remained fixed on the Guren as it left the base.
"Of course, but it's nothing worth worrying about. It's unfortunate that we're potentially chopping her lifespan in half and turning her into a vegetable, but these sacrifices have domesticated her and allowed her usefulness to surface for the time being. Keeping her as a guest on a strict regimen of Refrain is better than letting her face execution for treason, and it helps her learn she's dependent on us. Besides, she even started to enjoy it once she stopped making a fuss during the injections, and she knows the risk she's running from the records we showed her of her mother. Why should we stop if she doesn't mind?"
The technician realized his master's word was final, and nothing good could come out of raising the fact Kallen's ability to make rational decisions for herself had most likely been drowned in a sea of artificial bliss long ago. He could only lower his head and sigh in defeat before returning to work.
A purple speck appeared on the Shinkiro's camera screen, and the pilot could easily tell it was closing in at blinding speed. Lelouch nearly froze in shock when the object came to a dead stop only a few dozen meters from his view, revealing itself to be an all too familiar form. He silently questioned himself as he realized it was the Guren, albeit with numerous upgrades since he last saw it. Within a few seconds, a hail from the arriving Knightmare Frame appeared on his monitor. Kallen's expression was a mix between a playful grin and a vicious sneer when he first saw her face.
"Nice to see you again, Lelouch."
Lelouch answered as he struggled to gather himself.
"Kallen? I'm glad you're safe, but... what are you doing here?"
Without warning, Kallen's mood underwent a polar shift. Her face contorted into pure rage as she sent the Guren dashing forward. It tried to hook the Shinkiro with its claw-shaped arm, bringing Lelouch back to reality and causing him to raise his Knightmare's hand in defense. As the two units began an improvised arm wrestling match, Kallen screamed through her communication link.
"I'm going to put a stop to your stupid game!"
The Shinkiro's right arm was severed at the shoulder in a brilliant explosion, having buckled under the Guren's improved strength. After nearly being rocked from his seat, Lelouch commanded the machine to retreat several meters backwards as he frantically tried to respond.
"What's going on? What did they do to you? You know I'm trying to free Japan!"
Kallen snorted as she lined up to throw a kick toward the Shinkiro's torso.
"Oh, yeah, like how you used some magic trick to make Euphie start a rebellion just because you didn't like her definition of 'freeing Japan.'"
She became increasingly angered when the kick was blocked and the Guren's left leg snapped off under its own excessive force. Her tone now changed from heated rage to borderline psychosis.
"Schneizel told me everything. Japan WOULD be free if you hadn't screwed with her head!"
Lelouch desperately pushed himself back as he tried to defend himself from another barrage of melee attacks.
"That was an accident! I wanted to help her!"
This argument seemed to put Kallen further over the edge. She bared her fangs as an uncontrollable fire grew in her eyes.
"An ACCIDENT? You brainwashed Euphie into murdering thousands of people by ACCIDENT? How does that even happen? Didn't anyone warn you to be careful with that kind power?"
To this, Lelouch had no viable response. He had learned his Geass could become uncontrollable through Mao. He had been explicitly warned as such by C.C. And yet, he had been a fool to dismiss everything, openly brag about his ability, and even issue what were supposed to be meaningless, humorous commands that disastrous day. He had practically asked for it to happen.
But his damnation would have to wait. He would gladly let the flames of Hell consume him if he were only able to accomplish one thing in this invasion. On survival instinct, he activated the Slash Harkens on the Shinkiro's knees and aimed forward. He announced his intentions out of panic while he began his offense.
"Damn it! At least let me get to Nunnally! We can talk about this as soon as she's safe! Don't you care that Britannia is holding her hostage?"
As the Guren made a sharp evasive maneuver, Kallen only growled at Lelouch's pleas. She showed no sympathy for his plight.
"It's not my problem you were a big enough asshole to let her get caught up in this. She's probably better off on our side, anyway!"
One of Lelouch's harpoons haphazardly found its mark on the left side of the Guren's face, while the other impaled the enemy craft's standard arm. When he yanked the cabled weapons away, the Guren's arm and half of its head armor were dismantled in a flurry of sparks. Like a wounded animal, the Guren reacted with another violent kick. This time, however, it used its unique propulsion system to send the attack at blinding speed and saw through the entire lower half of the Shinkiro. Both of the Shinkiro's legs were severed instantly, leaving Lelouch to pilot a torso with one arm.
With a new opening, the Guren reached forward with its remaining clawed arm so its open palm made contact with the Shinkiro's chest. The barrel built in the front of its hand charged its final attack as Lelouch's eyes went wide.
"Kallen, don't do this!"
He made one final attempt to grab the Guren by its forearm, but it was a futile effort. Kallen's aim was locked in place and too solid for the Shinkiro to pull away. In his last moment, he heard her screaming at him in murderous contempt.
"I've heard enough of your crap!"
A wave of nuclear radiation fired from the Guren's open claw, quickly disintegrating both the Shinkiro's remains and its pilot in a horrifying display of power. When it was over, only the Guren was left hovering in Tokyo's airspace.
Within her cockpit, Kallen let out an exhausted sigh. As she became aware of her own weariness, her mind started to come crashing down from its elevated state. Victory felt good, and she started to celebrate with a weak giggle. And then an energetic laugh. And then hysterical cackling. Just as she started to lose control and let her emotions spiral into total madness, she willed herself to hold on and shook her head back to reality.
After she put the fear of losing control to rest, she told herself it was almost over. She just needed to hang in there a little longer. Once she caught her breath, she reached toward her radio to adjust its frequency. She spoke with the most polite tone her grogginess could manage.
"Am I done, boss?"
Schneizel's voice soon crackled back toward her. He spoke with his usual stoic character, which now sounded pleased.
"Yes, Miss Stadtfeld. You've served your purpose quite nicely. The rest of our forces should be able to smash the Black Knights on their own, so you can return and treat yourself to all the Refrain you like while we repair your Knightmare Frame. I don't think we'll have another errand for you for a while."
Kallen allowed herself to tiredly slouch over her controls. The battle had been as psychologically grueling for her as had been physically. For a minute, it felt like she gone back to the time when the war worried her, where all she could remember was suffering and death, and she had to fight to survive. But now she could go to a better place, back to Refrain. A cheerful smile crossed her lips as she softly replied. She was grateful.
"Thank you, Prince Schneizel."
With half-closed eyes, she steered the Guren toward the Britannian base and began a peaceful trip home.