Last, but certainly not least we have Kallen and Gino with tons of hints with Lelouch whom she truly does love from the bottom of her heart. Still, in order to continue living, she must not let the past control her future.
The Ones Left Behind: Gino and Kallen
"Hey, brother! Are you sure that you're gonna be okay going on this next mission without me?"
She voiced her concerns about Naoto going on with this attack party that was trying to unload more firepower to the oppressive Britannian army in Japan. He knew how determined she was to kill as many Britannians that she could want to get a form of payback for what her mother had to endure at the hands of Britannian nobles like her father. Everything she did for her children so that she would get picked on for simply being a "Number" drove Kallen into joining the resistance. To one day be free of the label of being an Eleven, so that everyone could be considered Japanese once more.
She refused to ever have anything in common with the usurpers who stole this land from its rightful owners. To that end, she began to learn the basics of using firearms along with piloting Knightmare Frames to battle with the military forces occupied in this land. Her mother, however, didn't wish to engage in conflict merely wanting her family to remain in a peaceful state despite Kallen seeing it was merely slavery. It wouldn't be an easy rebellion, and blood would be spilled on both sides of the conflict that would create many tragedies like the one that befell Kallen.
"N-No...this can't be true! Don't tell me that he's gone from me! My precious son is...dead?!" Kuri Kozuki nearly fall over while she heard the news no parent ever wishes to hear about their child. Kallen along with her mother was distraught over the death of Naoto while fighting with a resistance group. Her only brother, and the only good thing to come from her mother's relationship with this Britannian noble she refused to call Father.
"Those bastards in Britannia killed my Nii-san! I swear that I'll kill them all one day!"
"Don't you dare talk like that! I won't let you die with your brother on that battlefield!" Kuri knew how much losing Naoto hurt them both, yet she didn't want her daughter to foolishly throw her life away for revenge. She wanted to keep her only child safe, which meant accepting the reality of Britannian rule over Japan or was it was now known as instead Area 11. They would never really be free as long as people like their father and husband remained in charge of this country, so Kallen made it a promise to fight for their freedom.
'One day I'll become one of the finest pilots in the world! To finally begin each one of those rotten bastards in that army to bring them all to justice."
Her mother wouldn't be around her daughter to see the rebel soldier that she would soon become since her despair would drive her into losing the nobility she had with her husband and would introduce Kallen's mother to the world of drugs. A new kind of experimental chemical known as Refrain was taking over the streets that would let a person's imagination run wild giving them freedom in a gilded cage of addiction. This seductive drug would affect Britannians and Elevens further driving home Kallen's drive to end this tyranny for good.
"They've taken everything away from me, but I'm not alone in this struggle anymore."
Looking at the determined expression on the former schoolteacher-turn-rebel fighter Oghi, she knew that her heart was Japanese and that using this new "poison" weapon against the invading army was the only chance Japan had left to live again no matter how many would be sacrificed. Kallen had no idea her actions along with the rest of the convoy under disguise would alter the course of this country with the "weapon" stored onboard their truck while fighting off the Purist Faction lead by Jeremiah.
"How are you doing, Kallen?! You've certainly grown over these past few years" Ordinarily she would have stabbed anyone who started groping her breasts like this, so when she looked at the cheerful Milly Ashford who was feeling up her friend who was known as "Kallen Stadtfeld" in this academy she gave a meek look of surprise.
"M-Milly! W-Why do you keep doing that?!" While she knew that the Student Body President was merely teasing her, but lately she's been feeling on the edge despite being in a safe school environment. This place in her mind was both a haven of relaxation and a grim reminder of the state Japan was in with a distinct lack of Elevens being in these halls.
'It would certainly be more of a proper educational place if Japanese could be allowed to study here.' Regardless of her true feelings about the state of the world, she would at least admit that the students here were actually not bad to hang around during classes. They weren't bloodthirsty monsters or greedy nobles looking to dominate the rightful owners of this country. Her eyes look at the other classmates that would come to this academy, but then her eyes locked onto a particular student.
"Lelouch..." A raven-haired young man who recently joined up with this academy who managed to stand out, even if he was another Britannian regardless of how he felt about his father for sending him into the "real world" for merely speaking his mind about the death of his mother. From that point on he only desired revenge against his former homeland, and with the aid of this "witch", he encountered thanks to Kallen and her allies providing the meeting for them by accident.
"Oh, Kallen are you alright? You seem to look out of it..." Rivalz looked over at how intensely Kallen was glaring at Lelouch, which shook her out of that state of being in a momentary trance.
"Umm yeah, I'm alright. Just having a sense of deja vu..."
Kallen could have sworn that she's seen this student before from somewhere else despite not really seeing his face, but this wouldn't be the last time they would interact with one another considering how many allies Lelouch would need to truly begin his own rebellion under the mask of someone who couldn't reveal himself for the sake of earning the trust of Elevens who wouldn't ever follow a former Britannian Prince into battle.
Kallen, however, needed a symbol to follow no matter if the identity behind such a faceless leader would remain unknown to her no matter how much she wanted to learn about this man who would soon organize a group of knights that would rally behind one common reason.
A certain ideal that would be attractive to most former Japanese who wanted to fight back the right way; unlike the JLF who seemed to want to kill any Britannians they could find for their own enjoyment and not save their county.
'Naoto, this will be my way of honoring your legacy. To fight in the hopes of restoring our home to its former glory, to remove the wrongful invades of Japan, but most importantly to stand up for the sake of justice. I don't know much about this Zero, but if he is willing to help save a fellow Japanese citizen like Suzaku he can't be a scheming nobleman like my father. Zero, the symbol of justice might be what this country needs to stand up on its feet again. A true king to follow, and so I will become Zero's queen!'
That would become her personal codename, she took pride in being dubbed Q1 as she followed the orders from this masked man alongside Oghi who also joined up with Zero when their group was rather small and had to remain in the shadows to avoid being wiped out completely. Following the death of the former Viceroy Prince Clovis, the next noble Britannian in charge would present change for both the better and worse for Area 11.
Cornelia saw it as her chance of snuffing out the last remaining forces of rebellion in this land while Zero realized this his answers could be found once Cornelia was captured and brought out from being the "Goddess of Victory" in Britannia's military.
Kallen knew that she had to make a name for herself, and when Zero countered on her skills with a Knightmare along with other methods of warfare, she aimed to please her unknown superior. Many believe that Kallen was quite easily the best and stronger pilot in their ranks, a boastful claim that only added to Kallen's sense of pride of being a Japanese fighter denying her Britannian blood completely.
"Thank you, Zero. For giving me the tools needed to fight back for what is right and just in the world." From there Kallen truly felt like a two-faced individual who hid behind a weak persona to conceal her true and stronger self. Keeping such a secret away from the students in Ashford wasn't easy to do, but she wasn't the only student harboring a deep secret.
"Kallen, if you don't mind do you think we can talk for a moment?" Lelouch's calm voice shook the scarlet-haired girl from her thoughts about the next mission with Zero and the group that would soon become known as the Black Knights. Walking into a hallway to meet Lelouch before her next class, she found the man sitting near the garden area of this academy observing the birds flying around the building.
"A flock of birds following one another in a group for the sake of finding new places to call home and start a new family. In a way, they resemble humans who travel to a different land hoping to find a place to build a new nest." Lelouch wondered if his personal ace in his private army would understand what he meant by that remark on the flight pattern of these creatures in comparison to his own history before donning the Zero mask.
"Tell me something, Lady Stadtfeld. What do you think about Elevens, oh I'm sorry the former Japanese who with the exception of that new student Suzaku haven't been allowed into this academy?" Kallen wasn't exactly thrilled about Suzaku coming here due to putting himself in the service of Princess Euphemia, even if she knew that Suzaku got his fair share of harassment from racist students about being Japanese.
"Well, I've never heard much about Suzaku so I guess that we will all come to learn more about him over time." Was her fake, weak response to Lelouch's question when she actually finds the idea of Japanese giving up their nationalities just to get some rights back disgusting.
'Euphemia is a two-faced bitch from her bastard father and mother like the rest of Britannia. That puppet princess should just die along with her monstrous sister and the rest of their royal family.' Her inner thoughts would have likely included Lelouch if she knew the truth about his identity, but something inside herself felt like this kind of opinion might not be the norm for everyone in Britannia.
"Do you wish that the Japanese could share the rights most Britannians have due to the state of this country?"
"I would like it if people weren't being discriminated certainly; still what you're saying might be impossible to happen as long as we're merely students, not soldiers." Lelouch wondered how much she was being truthful to him knowing she likely was trying to keep the cover of a meek school student in right now over her true self.
"That might be the case, but it doesn't exactly mean the future is out of our grasp, right?" Kallen agreed to try to speak out within seeming too out of character from the Kallen everyone knew her as in this school. Lelouch was speaking to his closest ally in the Black Knights not only as her superior but also as a fellow human being out to get their sense of revenge in the form of righteous justice.
"Perhaps the only way to find change is by leaving behind your old ways and thoughts..." Lelouch and Kallen shared the same thought as they observed the other students heading off to their next class before they followed them, a flock they would have to stay with while inside these walls for some kind of peace before heading back into battle to continue their struggle against Britannia.
Kallen began to see how much their rebel group was growing in the past few weeks. Either with the defeat of more corrupt Britannians, and or the shutdown of drug operations like Refrain shops Area 11 becoming much cleaner and safety to live in if you were one of the Elevens that is...
"Yo, how ya doing Kallen?!" While she was in the middle of getting suited up for another fight with Britannian soldiers, the latest recruit who went by Tamaki wanted to see first hand the self-proclaimed Ace of the Black Knights for himself.
"Trying to get ready to do something worth my skills, Tamaki. How about you tell me your reason for bothering me while I was about to change, and the answer is not a perverted one!" Being goggled at by several men wasn't a surprise for the half-blooded woman, her mixed heritage got her plenty of discrimination from her fellow rebels despite not wanting anything to do with Britannia.
"Well, I'd be lyin to myself if I didn't find you attractive," Kallen's eyes glared at him knowing many tried imagined her body without any kind of clothing over her pale skin, supple breasts, firm rear end, and her virginal walls. "That being said why do you hang out in that crappy school? All those rich pricks are the people who should be trying to help us rather than learn a bunch of useless crap."
"First off learning stuff like living in the world is anything but useless. Guessing that you could use some classes if you really feel that way." Hearing a snort from the antsy Black Knight, she continued to defend herself and her choice in schools while placing a finger in front of Tamaki to further explain her feelings.
"Secondly, the students there most of the time don't cause too much trouble and they have nothing to do with our struggle with the empire. It might be a foolish dream, but if we continue helping Zero perhaps one day I can go into that place without needing to hold back about my true identity. Isn't that worth fighting for, Tamaki? A very slim to change to bring about equality and freedom to this country again sounds like the kind of thing innocent Britannians and Japanese can support!"
"Pfft! Like this snobby brats care about us. As long as Zero gives me a cool as hell position in this new group I think you need to ditch those brats in case they sell you out like the worthless Eleven they think you are..." Tamaki couldn't find much faith in any Britannia showing any kind of humanity these days in comparison to the passionate, crimson-clad pilot.
"No, you're very much wrong about them. Unlike the Royal Family, the students in Ashford are worth saving!"
Of course, she didn't mean all of them as over a long sequence of battles the school had gotten more lively with the number of new students coming here.
Suzaku was still allowed here from Euphemia's personal request despite her reputation being ruined, but Kallen didn't know what to think about Gino Weinberg and Anya Alstreim who were also new arrivals.
Many students didn't know what to think about them; both of them had been Knights of the Round for quite some time, unlike Suzaku who only got his promotion for delivering Zero to the 98th Emperor of Britannia. While the pink-haired girl seemed rather apathetic about this school, the Knight of Three quickly became interested in the half-Japanese, half-Britannian classmate.
"So, you're that Stadtfeld heiress I've about from the older students. The rumors don't do your beauty justice..." Kallen blushed as if she was impressed by this knight's flirting when she just wanted to punch his stupid smug grin off his face. She certainly wasn't impressed by this Britannian knight despite his reputation for being one of the Rounds. The most elite of knights in the imperial military, and she got stuck with the hopeless romantic blonde who couldn't seem to get the hint to leave her alone.
"You heard about these Black Knights by the way? They seem to be quite the problem for us Round Knights. I hear their best pilot is quite the looker similar to someone in this class, to be exact I'm talking about you, Kallen."
"I h-have no idea what you mean by that! There is no way I could ever become some kind of terrorist!" She used those particular words knowing that her classmates had mixed opinions on the Black Knights. Nina would have tried killing the daughter of a Kozuki who helped aid Zero in killing her beloved princess, but Milly and Rivalz likely wouldn't be as hostile towards her true identity rather confused about why she would come here if she was truly a Black Knight in disguise.
"Why did you join the Britannian military, Sir Gino?" Kallen whispered trying to change the subject before the teacher could hear them. It was worth knowing more about a future opponent, she thought to herself while he merely smiled at her question before responding in jest.
"To find a beautiful lady like yourself who might need saving one day. After all, there will always be a need for a knight in shining armor to fight for justice and honor in this world." Kallen wanted to scoff when she heard such a cliche line, yet, the words coming from him seemed to make his comment genuine rather than typical Britannian pride.
'Perhaps you might need someone like me to save your ass from trouble instead, Gino.'
Kallen's worst fears came to pass during the involvement with the Chinese Federation and the arranged marriage that would have added to Britannia's power if the Black Knights didn't step in, but doing so revealed Kallen's true nature to one of her friends in Ashford who tried stabbing Zero for killing Euphemia.
"Why are you defending this heartless bastard who killed my Euphie?!" Nina shrieked out, her hand was behind held up by Kallen who looked at how hateful Nina was staring at her fellow classmate.
"You're one of THEM! A bloody, murdering Eleven!" Those words crushed Kallen's soul knowing that Nina had a troubled history with Japanese especially after the fall of the SAZ, but she knew that Zero and his sense of justice was in the right here. This is a war now, so Kallen would have to stop anyone who stands in his way including her friends at the school.
"So, guessing this is what you do after school." Gino's sly remark didn't go unnoticed, but Kallen had to remain as a personal bodyguard for the man who would free this world from Britannia's tyranny. Kallen merely remained quiet only willing to act or speak when needed by her commander Zero who guided her this far in her quest for Japan's liberation. She knew the risks when accepting this kind of position in his army, so when she ended up in the enemy's hands she knew that Zero was the only one who could get her out of this prison.
Suzaku was the one who was overseeing her stay in Britannian care, and they even put her into some frilly ass dress that she found to be like vomiting in her mouth.
'Zero...I really need you right now...' Kallen bit her teeth when Suzaku in his Knight of the Round uniform began to interrogate her about information on her allies and Zero, even calling her out for her faith in the black knight shrouded in mystery.
"He isn't the kind of person you believe he is, Kozuki. This masked mercenary is leading you down a path of lies and deception..."
"You're lying, Suzaku! You're a traitor to your country, your family, and everything that the Japanese stand for!" Her voice was filled with hatred for this man for turning his back on his homeland like this for the sake of knighthood.
"Spoken like one of his genuine followers. You wouldn't be so blindly faithful if you saw the face of your leader..." Kallen denied any of Suzaku's words, but her mind could not ignore the smallest amount of doubt creeping into her mind. Kallen wondered if Suzaku knew something that she didn't about Zero...
'It doesn't matter. Zero is the one I will believe no matter what people say about him.' Sitting in this chair, she knew that right now was her lowest point being in such a horrible outfit completely at the mercy of her captors.
"So, this is where they've been keeping ya! Looks like they're not even giving you a decent meal..." Gino spoke about Kallen's unhappy expression matching her feelings about this situation.
"What the hell do you want, Britannian?!" Her voiced filled with venom and rage at Gino's smug looking smile who merely provided Kallen a few sandwiches like they were back in Ashford not in the middle of a war between two countries.
"Figured you want to speak to a non-perverted asshole like Luciano," He said with a friendly shrug while Kallen accepted the peace-offering in the form of turkey sandwiches. "Have you considered the offer I told you about earlier? I know you want to be Japanese; the blood inside you is still half-Britannian no matter how much you deny it. I just figured..."
"Yeah I've given it some thought, so before my answer is revealed tell me why you're wearing that tacky green cape?" She wanted to understand Gino's motivation for battling for Britannian honor and pride.
"Honestly there isn't a lot to my story. I merely wanted to join up with the military for the sake of defending this country and defend the weak."
Kallen realized that he merely was like her in that he only wanted to do what was expected of a knight. Despite their conflicting opinions, she wasn't really all that different from him. Much like with Lelouch Kallen saw something good in Britannians, even if he was more smug about her acceptance of him.
"You know Diethard is one of the only Britannians in our group, even if he's not exactly the most trustworthy man on our side. Why don't you join the Black Knights and fight with us?"
"I see...that would be your counter-offer to my question. Tell me why should I throw away my knighthood to fight with a group of rebels who threaten my country?" Gino wondered why Kallen wanted him to join her side instead while he continued to learn more about his former classmate, such a suggestion might have sounded like the ramblings of a desperate fugitive, however, Gino knew Kallen better than that.
"To fight for what is truly right. Britannia's corrupt to the core, each of the royal family have shown themselves to be ruthless tyrants and egotistical nobles. I'm not saying that I want to kill the whole country with the Black Knights, but change has to come to this country to save it before it destroys itself. You can just get your stupid cloak back when all of this is over..."
"Wrong. It won't end, even if your forces take down the current regime of Britannia. The issues are deeper than just a culture of people, the real evil is the very root of mankind. Your Zero can make all the speeches he wants, but even he can't cure a man of his inner demons..."
Kallen gulped in some air realizing Gino made a very good point that creating world peace was rather difficult to accomplish with the nations still at each other's throats.
"Don't you want to feel proud to be a Britannian again? Nina would be more willing to accept the Japanese if she could see you embrace her as being a fellow Britannian while still being Japanese in our heart..."
Kallen once more couldn't bring herself to say that what Gino told her was wrong about such a notion.
"Maybe that would be okay..." She said before seeing Anya and Suzaku walk into the room, her neutral voice was replaced with the angry boasting of a proud "Eleven" woman remaining as defiant as ever.
"Go to hell, you fake knights of justice! Zero and the Black Knights are the ones who deserve to be considered knights and not one of you bastards!" The deal was left on the table, but Kallen would have to consider it when Zero managed to form a rescue for his beloved Q1. In the process Kallen took down one of those special elite knights of Britannia, the Knight of Ten himself fell in battle with her Guren. She believed this was the beginning of the end of Britannia in its current shame unaware this campaign would also mark the downfall of the Black Knights.
"Zero...is Lelouch?!" The words that had escaped her mouth seemed impossible to believe, even with the evidence presented by Prince Schneizel along with Cornelia and Viletta about the true identity of her leader. Their own fellow sibling and former Prince Lelouch vi Britannia had been the one leading the charge against his former homeland. While she was more confused about this revelation of her classmate all along being this masked figure she obeyed without question, each of the other Black Knights was furious.
"He used us all for his campaign against Britannia?! That fucking cocky bastard!" Chiba was ready to kill Lelouch for hiding his true persona under that mask, and Toudoh refused to follow the man who killed his own half-sister who was under the influence of his Geass.
"To think we were merely his pawns all this time." Tamaki was the one who had the most trouble coming to this realization since he always considered Zero as someone who seemed true to his word despite being treated like the village idiot compared to the other members.
"Are you sure we can trust this information from a BRITANNIAN prince of all people?"
"Don't even doubt Chigus-ahem! I mean Viletta's account of Lelouch's actions." Oghi came to her defense rather quickly, and he was more than willing to sell out Lelouch to free Japan forever unaware of realizing how Kallen felt about this.
'How can they just betray him like this? They haven't even heard about his side of this story, yet they've all condemned him to this fate...' Kallen refused to accept this manipulation by another shitty Britannian noble like Schneizel without a fight. Of course, this situation had grown out of her control as Lelouch was abandoned by his allies forcing him to return to his former homeland while wishing for Kallen to continue on living without him.
The next time she would see him would be the enemy of the allied forces of Black Knights and Britannians including Gino who seemingly had left his country to fight against the newest Emperor...Lelouch himself.
"Are you sure about this? Chances are you won't be a Knight of the Round after this battle, Gino." Kallen knew Gino was grinning at how friendly she was acting with him, now that they were on the same side her prejudice nature was slowly being cooled down as she was beginning to not only tolerate but accept Britannians.
"Well, if we both make it out alive would you consider being a knight for one day?"
"Sure, but there is no way in hell that I'm gonna put on that gaudy green cape!"
"Red is certainly your color, Kallen. I will make sure to get the finest one for your size, which happens to be?"
"Perverted Britannian!"
Their playful moment with each other came to a quick end once the scope of the "Final Battle" came into focus. Kaguya and the UFN, Schneizel and his Damocles, and Lelouch with his faithful knights Suzaku and Jeremiah stood in Kallen's way of confronting her former friend in Ashford. All of the things running through her mind after that kiss before the UFN conference filled with her feelings of failure over stopping all of this.
She knew the fate of the world and looking back at the number 11 on the wall behind her Japan rested on her shoulders with the Knight of Zero standing in her way.
"It was always going to come down to the both of us, huh? Suzaku Kururugi!" Zero becomes One, One becomes Ten, and Ten becomes One-Hundred.
Her enhanced Guren stood in front of his Lancelot knightmare frame as these fearsome warriors knew what they were about to fight for in this last confrontation.
'I will bring Lelouch to justice, the right way and more importantly by my own hands...' She vowed that Lelouch wouldn't be executed if she could stop this madness by defeating Suzaku here and now. To stop Damocles and bring about peace to Japan once more, she had to put aside her fears, doubts, and concerns about what could happen if Lelouch gains full control of this F.L.E.I.J.A. superweapon.
The battle was difficult for not just physical stains on her body and Guren, but the mental implications for Suzaku's motivations for defeating Kallen. While deep down the half Japanese-Britannian respected him for his loyalty he was standing in the way of peace, so she knew that one of them would fall before the sun would set on the world.
She knew her body would be sore, full of bruises, and was still affected by the fact Lelouch now was her enemy whom she would have to fight. Kallen had many people to get back to not including her mother, Nunnally, her friends at Ashford, but now Gino was added to that list.
"This is the end, Suzaku!" She charged up her Guren to finish this battle with her rival giving everything that she had left in her system possibly even he life as she closed her eyes once she saw that Suzaku had been defeated by her hand with the destruction of his Lancelot.
Her world became a black void as she imagined herself without any of her pilot clothing over her body while she floated over to someone who wasn't looking at her.
"Hey! What are you doing here? What is this place?!" Her body was floating towards him as she recognized the raven-colored hair, the build, and those eyes that were gleaming with the symbol of Geass.
"Lelouch?!" His hand went over her face when she was close enough as his smile looked genuine compared to his more scheming personality. Her sparkling body was something that he was observing before he opened his lips to speak to his precious ace in his Black Knights.
"You have to live Kallen..."
The words that continued ringing in her mind as she decided to embrace this moment, even if it was a dream those lips covering her mouth felt quite real to her right now. She pushed her sizable breasts onto his chest getting more turned on from this moment while he began to finger her lower section making her moan out in delight. She wanted this moment to really happen as she knew that this was the Zero she followed in this campaign against Britannia, and he might forgive her for turning on him until she felt his fingers grasp her red hair painfully as he began to laugh in her ear.
"My precious Q1! Did you really think you wouldn't be punished for your betrayal! No, you're gonna be out there with the rest of your friends when I exterminate all of their lives for turning on me! All men aren't created equal!"
Her eyes widened in fear as she looked into the flying bird that was now in Lelouch's eyes causing her to let out a scream of terror before she woke up in her cell to the sound of a guard ordering her to join the rest of the prisoners of Emperor Lelouch. She felt her world crumbling down with all of her old and new friends including Gino would be displayed to the massed before they were killed by a firing squad for the enjoyment of Lelouch.
"W-Why would Bro-other do this to us? I just wanted...peace..." The meek cry was from his sister who was in a red dress to be put on Lelouch's personal float during this parade making Kallen sick to her stomach.
'How could I fall in love with a demon?'
Her final moments were full of regret for ever believing his justice if it would ultimately fail in this world, her hatred against Britannia, but most of all her meeting with Lelouch if this is how her life would end like this. A crime that would be considered a charity to the rest of the world in that "bastard spawn" of Charles and Marianne as Tamaki put things. Seeing all of the captured Black Knights and allied rebels being held in these restraints, her eyes were on the verge of tears however she would face her demise with dignity.
"What's that?!" Kaguya's voice interrupted her despair, a figure long thought to have been Lelouch appeared in front of everyone as Kallen's mind shattered completely.
"Impossible! Lelouch is right here, so who is that..." In a span of a few seconds; the reign of Lelouch came to a sudden at because of someone dressed up in his old outfit who stabbed him to death.
"NOOOO!" Despite everything that he's done lately, a cry of grief escaped her lips as she began to weep along with Kaguya and Nunnally who realized this would be the last day of Lelouch's life. The man who was previous Zero was now dead as he was replaced as the One by a new numbered Zero.
"Kallen! Kallen! Q1! Are you okay?" For a couple of moments, she thought Lelouch was speaking to her like he didn't get his heart punctured and was slumped over as a bloody corpse in his sister's arms. Looking up she saw Cornelia shaking her shoulders to wake her up from this trance as she was freeing all of Lelouch's prisoners with her rebel forces.
"Princess Cornelia?! Why did you come here?" Toudoh's comment was ignored when Gino ran over to get to Kallen who was still crying about what just happened.
"Your Highness, I'll take it from here! Go and kick imperial ass with the others..." She nodded as the Knight of Three held onto the grieving ace pilot's body letting her weep on his shoulders. This day would make the start of the end of the old ways, and the beginning of a new era for the entire world.
"Come on, mom! Why are you here today?" Kallen groaned as her mother took a picture of her daughter in the uniform of a Knight of the Round.
"Silly girl! Why wouldn't I show up for your official knighting? I'm sure that cute boyfriend of yours will be here~"
"He isn't my boyfriend MOMMM! Also I'm still Japanese and part of the Black Knights, you know? Being a Knight of the Round is just a part-time thing..."
Feeling her mother kiss her forehead, she blushed to herself as she into the main hall of the newly built Pendragon with her schoolmates from Ashford, the Black Knights including Oghi along with Kaguya from the UFN, and the imperial family with Empress Nunnally via Britannia sitting on the throne with Cornelia, the newest incarnation of Zero, and Gino beside her.
Kallen straightened up her posture as she walked forward in her Britannia uniform with the red cape of a Knight of the Round floating behind her back. To bring peace to herself, a promise was made with Gino who went back to Ashford with Kallen as they bickered about who was the better pilot and in return, Kallen would keep her word.
"Do you accept the oath and position you're about to accept as the new Knight of Two, Lady Kallen Kozuki?"
"It is Kozuki-Stadtfeld, Your Majesty." She wanted to bring balance to her bloodline, such as being able to accept being Japanese along with her Britannian heritage that made her mother proud. Looking at Gino who remained a close friend, and more according to the rumors about them getting freaking with one another in private, she held out her Japanese katana before kneeling down in a Britannian fashion accepting herself as being a girl of two different nations who managed to come together for the sake of peace.
'I guess we're the one you wanted to save. The ones who are left behind. Those who you wanted to live...'
Fin.
We are done with this small set of stories before R3 has even revealed any new information. Just wanted to say I hope you liked this, and the inspiration for Kallen being a KOTR came from fan artwork I found that will be the set picture of this story. Sadly I don't know or have the link to this image if you want to check it out in full size. I think the red cape and uniform would look marvelous on her IMO, and Gino seems like a nice guy for her even if he's not Lelouch.
As for my next story to come out. Two words X-Men and Madoka Magica.