AN: And chapter two!

For the whole timeline change stuff that apparently happened because of retcons since people couldn't fucking communicate during the production for Akito the Exiled.

God, Sunrise sucks at internal stuff that isn't related to Gundam and even then.

But, yeah, no, fuck the calendar retcon if that's actually a thing, I hate it because they had something mildly interesting going with the whole futuristic actually 60's setting (which makes sense given the total lack of proper IFVs, which seem to be replaced by KMFs in CG, and mass use of ATGMs as the latter of those were pioneered as a result of Russian and Western investigations into German missile tech. And current IFVs as they exist IRL were essentially a product of the sudden shock of Russia's BMP program despite earlier autocannon equipped vehicles existing, largely due to its greater armor and firepower in comparison, and the resulting rush to catch up to it in the Seventies and Eighties. Plus all the stuff involving Rockets being seemingly EU exclusive because Nazi Rocketry.) but then they apparently decided to pick the lazy option because people fucked up the spin-off's timeline instead of adjusting Akito's calendar dates to match.

Also how in the fuck did Euro Britannia set up within a year with minimal opposition when it is implied it took several to consolidate full control of Area 11 and they're still dealing with the JLF because Clovis was an idiot.

Plus Russia was EU territory as is clearly visible in the prologue in Episode 1, it doesn't make any sense in universe or out of it for Britannia to just suddenly have seemingly uncontested total control of goddamn Russia within a single year.

Which implies a separate timeline for Akito from the TV series. Something that I don't think has been fully addressed.

Goddamn fuck Bandai-Sunrise with a rake sometimes, between the idiotic decisions for P-Bandais and screwing Code Geass's canon into three camps, Akito-verse, TV-verse, and the Compilation movies (The last of which was intentional at least and may possibly include the supposed Akito-verse), they honestly need more competent people working for them.

I mean, why even use the ATB calendar anymore if it's no different from the Gregorian one? Isn't that the whole point of using a different calendar than the Gregorian/Anno Domini one, because the way years and such are counted is different?

Anyways it's not like it matters here since canon adherence was left hanging onto the window for this fic the moment Mega Man got involved.

Plus Russia is Soviet land in this fic so eh.

Rant over, let's begin.

Oh and I'm gonna start using underlining to ID Geass commands.

So I'll be adjusting Stage/Chapter 1 accordingly.


August 15, 2017 ATB. Shinjuku Redevelopment Area Block 5, Shinjuku Ghetto, Area 11. 1045 Hours Local time.

Lelouch knelt next to the corpse of the girl who'd given him his new power, surrounded by the corpses of the dead and the sounds of the raging slaughter outside as C2 stood at his side, the green haired Reploid scanning around for hostiles.

"I don't understand… What it is you wanted me to do… Why did you save me and give me this power…?" He asked futilely as the howls of artillery shells and bombs raining down roared in the distance.

"She is dead… You will gain no answers about her motivations from a corpse…" The Reploid noted, earning a brief glare from Lelouch before she raised her mega buster cannon upon detecting a large energy signature moving towards them and jumping behind cover.

Lelouch, distracted by his thoughts as he stared down at the corpse of the white-haired girl, was snapped out of them by an explosion, the building shaking as a hole was punched into the top of the entranceway and a Purist faction Sutherland rolled into the building, factsphere opening as it scanned the area.


Viletta Nu frowned as she looked at the dead Human Guardsmen before shivering at the sight of the devastated Reploid Guardsmen when her cameras swept over to them, the factsphere finally locking onto Lelouch and tracking up to him.

"How could all these Royal Guards be dead…?" She whispered incredulously as she looked at the schoolboy on her main screen. "And how is that boy still alive...?"


Lelouch stared indifferently at the Knightmare Frame standing before him as its factsphere closed and the external speakers powered on. ["What happened here boy?!"] The pilot, a woman he realized, demanded. ["And why is a Britannian student in a place like this?!"] When he didn't respond, she began to get frustrated. ["Are you deaf?! Answer me or I'll-"] She cut herself off and fired a salvo of shots, outlining Lelouch with holes made in the corrugated metal wall behind him.

His ears ringing, Lelouch turned his head slightly, managing to keep an even face despite the mindsplitting pain his eardrums were in. ["ANSWER ME!"] She demanded again, beginning to lose her temper even further.

Calling upon his Geass, Lelouch spoke. "I order you to come out, at once!"

The result was one of the two he expected. ["Who the hell do you think you are to order me."] She responded, incredulous as to why one schoolboy thought he could order an officer of the Purist faction around.

"I see, it only works with direct eye contact, any form of interference from cameras or other such barriers will nullify it." He thought while his Geass faded away, meanwhile C2 readied her buster in the shadows, waiting for a command to strike.

He decided to play a different game, stepping forwards and raising his hands, he spoke up again, weaving yet another lie, even if an expendable one this time. "My name is Alan Spacer. My father's a duke." He said calmly.


"Nobility…?" Viletta echoed as she sat in the Sutherland's cockpit.

["My ID card's in my breast pocket, after you confirm who I am… I'll request your protection."] The boy's voice played out on the Frame's speakers.

Powering the frame down and removing the activation key, she unlocked the hatch and rode the boarding line down to the ground, sidearm at the ready.


Lelouch smirked as she hopped off the line, he didn't understand why she was wearing something so unsuited for battle, then again when was the last time Britannia had given its standard ground-based war machinery a color scheme that didn't scream 'please shoot me I'm right here'? The invasion of Japan?

He hated how Britannia had chosen ornate over practicality, only the infantry, tank crews, and aircraft pilots wore anything sensible.

Regardless, she'd gotten out of her machine instead of calling up an infantry squad to handle him, which suited him perfectly. "Predictable… Be it the regular army or special groups like the Purists… Most of them will roll over for nobility no matter what. Disgusting…"

"Keep your hands up in the air. I'll take out your ID." The woman stated as she began to walk over, aiming her sidearm at him.

Calling upon his Geass, Lelouch took his chance. "Now then… Hand your Knightmare and Sidearm over to me." He ordered, Viletta's mind bending to his will in a mere instant.

Turning the pistol in her hands so she was offering it to him grip first she acknowledged his order. "Understood. The activation code number is XG21G2D4." She stated as she tossed him the activation key.

"Got it…" Lelouch said as he caught it and took the pistol from her hand, flicking the safety back on as she handed him her spare magazine as well. "Ignore everything that happens from this point until I've left…" He ordered, testing the limits of the commands he could give, although considering he'd made nearly a dozen men commit suicide as his first one, it seemed rather foolish to consider making her his puppet impossible if he could force a human being to overcome their survival instincts and willingly accept death.

"Understood…" Viletta replied as he let his Geass recede, while it would be great to have a mole on the inside, it was too risky without a secure and reliable way to give commands to them or receive information, all he had was a strange power, a powerful Reploid super soldier, an M1911A2 coilpistol with two spare magazines of ammo, and this Sutherland at his command, while the first two were indispensable assets… He had no organization, no muscle and minds to back him up.

What use was a mole to him without that? Hell, Lelouch wasn't even sure if he could even get anyone else to follow him at this juncture.

He turned to C2. "Stay with me, keep in the shadows until we develop a plan, the last thing we need is the Britannians devoting their heavy artillery to bring you down."

"Roger." She replied as he took the boarding line back up to the cockpit of the Sutherland, closing the cockpit before inserting the activation key and entering the code number. Hearing a thump as C2 landed atop the cockpit pod, he activated the landspinners and backed out of the building, before tearing off into the distance, leaving Viletta Nu to awaken from her trance, alone and confused.

What Viletta couldn't have known is that one of the bodies would be missing when she snapped out of the trance.


Inside a medical vehicle, Lloyd watched Suzaku, counting down mentally until he figured that the Honorary Britannian would wake up if he made a loud enough noise. "So are we having a bad day!?" He asked loudly, causing Suzaku's eyes to shoot open. "Looks you missed a chance to go to heaven Private Kururugi." Lloyd stated with all of his usual tact, which was almost non-existant.

"I… I did…?" Suzaku asked as he sat up, attempting to get his bearings, hearing the sounds of heartbeat monitors and other medical equipment, the last thing he remembered was a gunshot, pain, Lelouch shouting his name, and then nothing. "Where…"

"Hmm? Ah, we're still in the Shinjuku Ghetto." Lloyd replied almost flippantly.

"With Prince Clovis nearby this is probably the safest place anywhere in Area 11 at the moment." Cecile stated calmly, knowing they were surrounded by several defensive lines made of infantry, Reploids, Mechaniloids, Knightmares, armored vehicles, machine gun and anti-tank positions, SAM sites, AA guns, artillery, etcetera. She leaned over and showed Suzaku something in her hands. "This is what saved your life, Mr. Suzaku." She said, catching the Honorary Britannian off-guard, he was still a couple years too young to have an age-related title like that, plus being called that by a Britannian of all people was... Off-putting to say the least.

"You're lucky it was under your protective suit, because that's what deflected the bullet, well, away from your heart or lungs at least." Lloyd noted rather morbidly.

Suzaku stared at the watch, causing Cecile to realize it was important to him. "Is it a keepsake?" She asked as Suzaku took the pocket watch.

"Yeah… Very…" He replied, somewhat depressed as he stared at his father's old watch.

The last reminder he had of a dead man.

A man he'd murdered out of fear, fear that his father would send so many people to die pointlessly to sate his own pride.

Fear that'd he'd kill his best friend and their blind and crippled little sister out of spite...

"You Elevens believe gods live inside of everything, even objects, don't you?" Lloyd asked, Suzaku turning to face him, wondering why the man even cared to read up on Shintoism. "I guess this on-"

Suzaku cut him off. "Is Lelo-…" He stopped himself partway and looked down at the watch, knowing if his friend was hiding like that he shouldn't namedrop him, as him being the son of the last Prime Minister of Japan would probably give away the exiled Prince's survival since the Britannian government would know the two undoubtedly had met during Lelouch's and Nunnally's time as political tools, something Suzaku knew would give his friend an endless amount of grief.

Thus, he changed the subject. "What's the latest on the situation…" He requested instead.

"It looks like the poison gas was released." Lloyd stated as if discussing the weather. "Massive Eleven casualties have been reported." It didn't sound like he really believed the official line.

Suzaku looked down at his watch again, knowing that it was likely a coverup operation as he personally knew the gas never existed at all, still...

"They haven't caught the perpetrators yet." Cecile added worriedly.

"They haven't huh… Not yet…?" He responded, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart. "Then there's still a chance Lelouch could be alive…"

"Private Kururugi… How much experience do you have in piloting a Knightmare Frame…?" Lloyd asked, seeing his opening. He'd run the boy's physical records against the Lancelot's specs while he was out cold on a hunch and had been more than plesantly surprised to see Suzaku was nearly perfect for Lancelot as he was in far better shape than most soldiers his age, or period really.

"Wha… But… There's no way an Eleven would be made a Knight…" He responded in shock, unless these two had special authority from a Royal it was impossible.

Llyod held up the Z-01's activation key and dangled it in front of Suzaku. "Well supposing you could… And supposing we had direct authority from The Second Prince himself to seek out any suitable candidate to pilot it and then choose from the most suitable among even these few… What would you say…?"

Suzaku's stared at the key. "Yes… I'll pilot it…" He finally responded, he'd scored above practically everyone else, Regular Military or Foreign Legion, when he was operating the trainers and simulators for the MR-2 worker Frames in advanced training, the only thing close to a Sutherland or even a Glasgow or Liverpool that the Foreign Legionaries were allowed to seriously contemplate even touching.

A grin broke out on Lloyd's face as he spread his arms with glee. "CONGRATULATIONS! The only Knightmare of its kind as of yet awaits you! Once you take the controls of this big beauty everything will change, you and your world."

"Whether you want it to or not…" Cecile stated softly, as if in warning.


In the Ghetto streets, Japanese and Civilian Reploids ran for their lives as an M60 tank blazed away at them with its coaxial and pintle mounted machine guns, cutting many of them down in a hail of bullets before the turret turned and fired its linear cannon, a HESH shell blowing apart a wall, sending masonry and dust everywhere.

A slash harken promptly burst out from a hole in the ground, hitting the narrow gap between the main cannon barrel and the angled turret cheek armor, disabling the gun's elevation mechanism, the tank immediately fired off a set of smoke grenades and withdrew behind the cover of the screen, landspinners whirring as it vanished behind a building before Kallen's Glasgow emerged.

"Those damn Britannians!" Inside the cockpit, Kallen was on the verge of tears, something had gone horribly wrong with Nagata if the Britannians were liquidating the Ghetto to cover up what they'd stolen.

["Kallen?! Can the Glasgow still move?!"] Ohgi asked, the sounds of gunfire chattering over his radio.

Kallen hit the transmit switch.


Atop a ruined house, Ohgi listened to her response. ["Don't worry Ohgi. It's alright. I'll go decoy them while you get people out of here! The only ones that'll be captured are those of us in the resistance!"]

"I would but we're trapped! Their troops have us completely surrounded! If we try to get the civilians to a safehouse the Britannians will just cut them to pieces on the way or when they follow us there! We don't stand a chance!" Ohgi responded as Minami fired a Soviet made RPG at a target of opportunity, in this case a utility VTOL that promptly backed away, sending a volley MG fire at the direction of the rooftop as both men ducked for cover.


Inside the stolen Purist Sutherland, which belonged to Area 11 chapter member Viletta Nu according to credentials he found inside the cockpit, Lelouch picked up his phone and hit last caller, dialing up Shirley. "Let's see if I'm right about the scale of this coverup…" He mused as he waited for Shirley to pick up.

["Oh, Lulu? Oh, what in the world have you been doing? Why didn't you answer your phone!? Where are you now?!"] She asked nonstop after picking up the phone. ["If you keep cutting class you'll get held back!"] She warned testily.

Lelouch resisted the urge to sigh, Shirley meant well but her overbearing nature did ironically almost get him shot. "Are you near a TV?" He asked.

["A TV?"] Shirley replied, confused.

"Sorry but this is important." He said, hoping the sounds of gunfire and explosions weren't being picked up by the phone. Of if they were that she thought he was watching a movie or something.

["Hang on… Hey can I change the channel?"] She asked, probably some other students she was near, Lelouch mused. ["Huh? To what?"] Someone whose voice he didn't recognize asked.

"To the news, is there anything about Shinjuku?" He asked her, figuring that there would be some excuse to keep people from getting too close.

["The news…? Uh… Let's see… There's nothing on… Traffic Restrictions on the roads leading into or past Shinjuku…?"]

Lelouch frowned, as he expected. "Why is it restricted?" He asked as he put the Sutherland behind cover as four APCs and a pair of tanks passed by, C2 watching his flanks from atop the command pod of the Knightmare.

Better to not be seen at all then risk it and get outed by someone while in a Frame whose registered pilot wasn't even the same sex as him, which by itself would probably cause them to shoot first if they tried to find out who he was, which given these were Clovis's forces, would probably take about seven hours.

["I dunno, they're not saying…"] Shirley replied.

"I get it, once they finish everything off… They'll release news that favors the military…" He thought, before being suddenly distracted by something on the ground, either flung from a building or dropped by someone in the chaos. ["Ohhh you're gambling again aren't you! I've warned you before more than once how dangerous that is"] Shirley accused as he focused on the objects on the ground in front of his frame, magnifying the view to see a chessboard sitting on the ground, the pieces scattered about with the Black King and White Rook laid out on the center of the board. He smiled as a plan began to come together in his head.

"Yep you caught me." He admitted, not entirely a lie as he had been gambling for money earlier… And he was about to be gambling with far more precious things in mere minutes. "By the way, tell my little sister I'm going to be home late tonight would you? Thanks." He promptly hung up on her, continuing to formulate his new plan to defeat Clovis's men, all he needed was some troops.

"They need to keep a lid on this information… So it'll be hard to call in reinforcements… They'll have to make do with the pieces they have on the board…" Lelouch noted as he observed the tactical movements, thanking providence that he'd stolen an officer's frame and the information access on the TACNET that came with it… He idly noted there was a trainload of new KMFs belonging to the Royal Guard that were being moved in from the city.

Typical Clovis, in an actual battle such a tactic would've been foolhardy, moving troops directly into the battlezone on a train was just asking for them to be targeted by everyone with a line of fire.

["What're you planning?"] C2 asked, her voice projecting into the internal speakers of the frame via the physical datalink connection she had with it.

"We're hemmed in here, it'll be tough to break through by ourselves…" He replied as he considered options from the information he had available to him. "Gaining refuge has its own risks too…" He said as he opened the cockpit of the Sutherland and stood up. "Alright then… Option three it is."

Elsewhere in the Ghetto Kallen fired her sole operational slash harken again, crushing a UV-1's fuel tank as the light gunship model pulled out of its strafing run on her, the vaguely tadpole shaped VTOL burst into flames and fell from the sky as the crewmen bailed, their 'chutes opening as they fell away from the doomed aircraft, which was visible to both Lelouch and C2 as they watched the fireball glide a short distance before dropping like a rock into the streets below, a column of smoke slowly rising into the sky as the wreckage burned.

"I want compensation for being dragged into your fight…" He thought as he began to estimate a basic area of where the Red Glasgow could possibly be relative to the point the VTOL was hit, sitting back down and closing the cockpit up, he pulled the radio out of his shirt pocket and looked through the preset channels.

He smirked. "C2, we have a train to catch."

["Roger."]


Behind Kallen, two Purist faction Sutherlands and a pair of Ride Armors rolled up. Kallen's eyes widening as she saw them in the rear-view camera, turning her head on instinct and staring at the rear hatch as if expecting enemy fire to punch through it at that instant.

["Well if it isn't our little Glasgow 'friend'."] Jeremiah jeered as he fired his machine's rifle at the red KMF, barely missing as Kallen sped off around a building, the red Knightmare weaving through the streets as Kallen stared helplessly at its energy filler levels. "Just thirty minutes left…" She choked, she didn't need to imagine what would happen afterwards.

The crackle of her radio issued from the speakers, as if fate had decided she deserved otherwise.

["The West Entrance. Use the tracks to move to the West Entrance of the Ghetto."] A voice, a young man, possibly her age if she was hearing it right, ordered.

"WHO IS THIS!? HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS ENCRYPTION SET?!" She demanded heatedly.

["That doesn't matter, if you wanna survive and win you're just going to have to trust me."] The voice replied, a statement rather than a request.

"To win…?" Before, all she'd been concerned about was surviving this. But now someone was promising victory, a blow to Britannia's prestige that hadn't been inflicted by Japanese since Todoh's Miracle at Itsukushima seven years ago.

Following his orders, she leapt the Glasgow onto the rail line and started following the tracks to the West end of the Ghetto. "Okay… What am I supposed to do now?" She asked as the Sutherlands and Ride Armors followed her.

["You pathetic Eleven. If you simply run away this hunt hasn't much to offer in the way of sport…"] Jeremiah taunted from his Knightmare as he chased after her.

Kallen's eyes widened as she spotted an intra-city use freight train pulling a load of large scale transport rolling stock behind it directly in front of her, the vehicle's brakes screeching as it slowed down. ["Since you trusted me victory will be yours. Jump onto the train!"] The voice ordered.

"Gotcha!" Kallen again activated the electromagnetic repulsor units in the feet of the Glasgow, normally intended to reduce friction to allow the Knightmare to reach high ground speeds over most harder terrains, it also enabled jumping when pulsed at high power and combined with the Frame's powerful leg and landspinner pod servos. The train rammed into Jeremiah's Sutherland at low speed, doing little more than superficial damage as he reversed.

The Glasgow jumped again, smashing part of a transport car's roof as it did so.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes. "You think you can get through that way hmmm…?" He mused as he turned towards his subordinates. ["If that's your plan then… You! Go after the Glasgow!"] He ordered the other Sutherland, which itself leapt into the air. ["Yes my lord!"] The pilot acknowledged right as his frame was decapitated by a pair of slash harkens flung from a nearby building and sent tumbling off the elevated railway, the Ride Armors stopping and then aiming their weapons at the sudden aggressor.

["What the!?"] Jeremiah exclaimed in utter disbelief. ["Shot by friendly fire?! What's your name and unit, we're after the one-arm-"] He demanded before the other frame raised its AR and started shooting at him, blowing off one of his own frame's arms.

["Oh my god… A terrorist!? And that's… That's Viletta's Machine!"] He exclaimed in horrific realization, after glancing at the other Sutherland's Pureblood Faction markings in the viewscreen as his machine went into reverse, the Ride Armors opening fire on Lelouch's Sutherland before C2 dropped down from the building next to it and drove a drill into the head of the Reploid pilot of the rear Ride Armor, the android never noticing his own end as machinery and shell parts were flung in all directions, the other machine turning to shoot her but slumped over as its pilot suddenly found themselves missing their entire head courtesy of a C-Buster shot, sending chills down Jeremiah's spine. ["A Reploid!?"]

Additional fire from Lelouch blew apart the left foot of Jeremiah's Sutherland, causing him to grind to a halt. The frame raising its weapon at the building. ["You son of a-"]

He didn't get a chance to finish as Kallen took that as her opening, the Glasgow racing back up the train and towards Jeremiah's machine. Arm raised to strike.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, Jeremiah hit the eject switch, his cockpit pod unlocking from the frame's torso and rocketing away into the distance before Kallen could deal the final blow, parachuting serenely to the ground close to Britannian lines.

Kallen, after collecting herself, turned her head and that of the frame to address her savior. ["You saved me. But how did you get ahold of a Sutherland... And who's your Reploid friend…?"] She asked, only to find both had vanished. ["What… Where'd they go…?"]

As if on que, Ohgi, Tamaki, Minami, and Inoue rushed over. "Kallen! What the hell was that radio message earlier?!" He queried.

The Glasgow's head turned and looked down at them. ["What? He contacted you too?"]

"Sure did, and Yoshida's group oughta be here soon." Ohgi said as his radio began to crackle.

["Are you in charge?"] The voice questioned Ohgi.

"Uh yeah…" Ohgi affirmed, still confused by everything.

There was a thump as C2 landed back down on the top of the locomotive, her left and right arms in their C-Drill and C-Buster forms respectively, a show of force that left the Resistance members intimidated as her visor glinted in the sunlight. ["I present to you the cargo of the train my associate is standing on over there, inside are the tools for your victory. If you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."]

C2 gestured with her left arm for the group to head down the line of freight cars, Kallen opening the third one to reveal a pair of Sutherlands, along with associated armaments and energy fillers inside.

Kallen's eyes widened in awe as she stared at their new weapons.

"There's more in here!" Inoue reported from the fourth car.

"Here too!" somebody replied from further up the line.

"Amazing! Maybe we should give this guy a chance!" Someone else stated.


"All this… But how…?" Kallen asked herself, glancing at the Reploid standing atop the locomotive.

["Woman in the Glasgow."] The voice said, addressing Kallen directly.

"Y… Yes." She stuttered.

["Stay where you are, you and my associate are going to run decoy, got that? Your codenames will be Q1 and Q2 respectively."] The voice informed her as Kallen looked over at the female Reploid, who seemed indifferent to that if her body language was any indication.

"Understood!" She acknowledged.


"Energy filler status?" Lelouch asked.

["About fifteen minutes worth!"]

"Then replace it with a fresh unit. In ten minutes I'll contact you with your next instructions." He replied.

Inside the safety of a ruined skyscraper, Lelouch turned off the broadcast of the handheld radio and sighed, closing his eyes as his adrenaline began to run low. "This is wearing me out." He opened his eyes again. "Regardless… I'll need determination to succeed. After all, I'm betting my life in this game." He mused as he fiddled with the Black King piece in his hand.


Inside the G-1, Bartley gave his report. "The Terrorists are mixed alongside the Eleven populace and are mounting a minor resistance against us, but they pose little threat to our vastly superior army." He stated confidently as the Reploid standing in the shadows of the bridge chuckled derisively at him.

Clovis gave the Reploid a glance, cutting off any further snide remarks, before speaking up. "We know that, moving on."

"Understood your highness. The capsule will be-" Bartley began in response.

"What the public thinks, continue the sweeps with the Guard, and figure out why squad seven hasn't reported in." Clovis stated plainly, cutting his General off.

"Yes, we'll keep searching for her." Bartley clarified, acknowledging his Prince's orders

"Either way, I want her recaptured…" Clovis muttered as he put a hand to his temple.

A gleam issued from the shadowed corner as the Reploid's red eyes glowed dangerously behind his visor. "I can help with that, you'll have to pay me extra if you want me to keep my superiors in the dark though." He stated.

Clovis glanced at him again but said nothing. Like ASEEC this one could wait and watch his victory unfold.


Ohgi watched the viewscreen for his Sutherland come online, showing Tamaki and some of the others milling about below the frame.

["Hey? Are you certain about this whole thing? They've all had their IFFs removed, what if this is a trap?"] Tamaki suggested as Ohgi sighed and tapped his chin. Tamaki did have a point, but why would the Britannians resort to subterfuge like this if using brute force was working well enough?

"The other side has a total overwhelming advantage in this battle. They don't need to set any traps when they can just bombard us into dust!" He replied, dismantling Tamaki's argument with simple logic as artillery shells shrieked downwards in the distance to punctuate his point. "Alright people let's move, get to your assigned points!" He ordered as the radio crackled again.

["P1 can you move?"] The voice asked. ["It operates basically the same as a Glasgow or MR-1."]

"Can't you tell us who you are?" Ohgi asked, starting to get mildly annoyed. "At least your name!"

["I can't do that."] Their mysterious helper replied. ["What if these signals are being intercepted?"] He posited, leaving Ohgi speechless and mentally smacking himself for not considering that.

"Well given they haven't identified our locations so far it seems we should be thankful the enemy is incompetent…" Ohgi replied.

["Relying on the enemy's incompetence is a fool's way to fight."] The voice replied sagely. ["For now just call me K1."]

"Right... K1 it is then..." Ohgi sighed in acceptance of the situation.

Kallen's Glasgow raced through the streets, C2 sitting atop the frame's cockpit block and kicking her legs idly as she waited for her chance to spring into action. ["Anyway, if Q1 is on schedule with Q2, enemy Sutherlands and Ride Armors, probably two of each of them, will reach you in twenty-three seconds."]

"And what you suggest we do when they arrive? We don't have line of sight!" Ohgi responded.

["Just shoot them through the wall when the timer hits zero, your weapons have enough power behind them so that the shells will still penetrate the relatively thin plating of a Sutherland at that range."] K1 informed them.

["Ngah he's out of his mind!"] Tamaki complained as Ohgi lowered the handset radio.

"Everyone, double check your weapons." He ordered.

["What!? Are you serious?!"] Tamaki shouted from below, stunned that Ohgi was going along with it.


Kallen's Glasgow stopped in the open, C2 leaping off before it left cover and glancing up at a gunship acting in the observer role and waiting for the pursuers.


"Enemy spotted at point F-31!" An officer in the G-1 reported.

"A feint eh? How pedestrian." Clovis scoffed mockingly.

"Tell Oslo's squad to go straight in! Have Eugen and Valorie strike from the rear with a pair of Ride Armors!" Bartley ordered as the Sutherland and Ride Armor units began to close in around the Glasgow.


Ohgi's thumb rested gently on the firing switch of his Sutherland's left control stick. "Three… Two… One… Fire!" He ordered as the Resistance Sutherlands opened fire through the wall, tearing into the pair of hapless Sutherlands in the alleyway, their pilots shredded inside their cockpits as 25mm rounds rippied clean through the relatively thin plating and both machines collapsed to the pavement with a metallic groan, red fluids leaking from their ruined cockpit pods.

C2 jumped into the air above the following ride armors and cut their pilots to shreds with two hails of C-Buster shots as she spun, landing on the street before taking off towards the south.


"Sir Eugen and Sir Valorie both lost! No ejection confirmed, believed KIA, both following ride armors have lost pilot telemetry!" An officer reported.

The Reploid whistled as Clovis gazed on in shock. "An ambush." He whispered, stunned by this turn of events.


Lelouch chuckled to himself as he held the Black Knight piece in his hand. "An IFF signal can be a double-edged sword if your enemy somehow obtains access to your tactical systems. Besides, if the terrorists can follow the orders I issue, my task at hand is sure to be completed."

"P1, P4, P7, move a hundred meters to the right and fire your slash harkens towards three o'clock." He ordered.

"You heard him! Do what the voice says!" Ohgi said, ceding operational command to their shadowy ally.

"Damn… What else does he want us to do?" Tamaki asked as he stood on the opened cockpit seat of his Sutherland.

["P5, ready?"] The voice asked. "Ngh… Quit calling me that." Tamaki groused, this codename crap was getting old fast.

The Sutherlands turned and fired their slash harkens, catching more Britannian units off guard and knocking down yet more enemy Knightmares, some pilots ejecting, others trapped in the twisted heaps that their frames had become.


"The enemy's moving towards point G-28"

Bartley began to sweat. "Send Lazlow squad, I mean Glaube squad!" He ordered, panicking now.

"This means… Terrorists have some of our weaponry…" Clovis realized as the Reploid clapped slowly.

"Look at the special boy he figured it out~" The Reploid taunted with a whisper as a Guardsman moved towards him before backing off as a large shoulder cannon swiveled to face the man. "Back off buddy, even your beloved Prince won't shed a tear over a man with a death wish." He warned, narrowing his glowing red eyes as the man fled to the far corner of the bridge.


Kallen used her Frame's working Slash harken to aid her ascent to the top of an old office complex, her Glasgow dashing forwards and punching an enemy Sutherland in its factsphere sensor while it was trying to scan, toppling the machine as its cockpit ejected.


"Sir Glaube has ejected! His unit's been lost!"

"Change our codes, they're intercepting our transmissions!" Bartley ordered furiously.

"We already have sir! Four times!" An officer replied, as he checked over the code sets.

"Do it again!" Bartley barked at him.

"We're trying! If they have our weapons it means our new encryption codes are likely being transmitted to them as well!"

"Well find the serials of the units that they're using and cut them from the system then!" The General yelled.

"Mechaniloid armor platoons twenty-four and twenty-five in addition to their escorting Ride Armor and infantry units have been totally wiped out by an unidentified S-rank Maverick!" Another officer reported.

"What do you mean Dame Nu still hasn't responded to hails!?"

The Reploid was laughing his ass off now as Clovis stood up in a fury. "THIS FAILURE IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

"Mmhn… Forgive me…" Bartley said apologetically as Lloyd's face popped up on screen.

["Good afternoon~!"] The Earl of Pudding greeted rather loudly for Clovis's taste.

"What is it!? We're in the middle of an operation!" Bartley snarled as the Reploid started laughing his ass off again at the sheer chaos the G-1 had descended into.

["I'd say it's time to deploy the ASEEC's special weapon!"] Lloyd urged the Prince.

"We have no time for this right now!" Clovis shouted as he strode forwards towards the command table.

["Very well then, we'll remain on standby for when you need us!"] Lloyd stated before hanging up on them.


"P5, aim for the center of the left side under the turret, that's where part of the ammo stowage should be." With a clack, a black pawn set down on an arm console in the Sutherland's cockpit.

A Britannian M60 tank's HEAT shells cooked off as a burst of rounds punctured through the side of the vehicle, jets of flame blowing out the turret hatches and the bustle's blowoff panels as the driver scrambled to get clear of the vehicle.

"R2, fire anchor at the first Cobra." Lelouch ordered as he moved the Black Rook onto the right-hand arm console in his Sutherland's cockpit.

A slash harken swung up from the ground and punctured the midsection of an AV-1 Cobra that had been finishing up a rocket run, the canopy blew off as the pilot and gunner ejected, their doomed aircraft falling from the sky with the grace of a hailstone. The wingman of the downed VTOL attacking the offending Knightmare with his own ordnance in response.

"B7, use UN ordnance!" He placed the Black Bishop down as well.

A single 25mm shot tore through the roof of a Britannian field command APC, the human and Reploid infantry guarding it scattering.

"N group, you'll continue your advance." He stated as he held up the Black Knight piece.

N group's pilots let out a battle cry as they continued their charge towards a group of fleeing Britannian Sutherlands, pincering them between two groups of Resistance Knightmares, all four being destroyed within seconds, the Knightmares collapsing to the ground as smoke wafted from their motors and energy filler compartments.

"Q2, continue your independent action and draw off as many of the Mechaniloids and ride armors as possible, but keep an eye on your energy levels."

C2 impaled a steel I-beam into a spider tank Mechaniloid's central processor with a well-placed shot on the side of a damaged building, sending the structural beam crashing into the machine, before leaping onto a ride armor and tossing the pilot out, the Reploid flying into the side of an abandoned department store and falling to the ground.

Lelouch frowned as he looked at the line of units that C2 was downing, she was an absolute brute in a close quarters brawl, as despite her slim frame she was insanely strong, but there was also little to no subtlety with her at all, and while she was durable it was only a matter of time until her energy levels drained to the point she'd be easy prey for an enemy to take down.


"We just lost Lazlow's squad!"

"Alright then! Bring up Quincy's squad!" Clovis ordered to Bartley's shock, the General realizing that this is what their enemy wanted them to do.

"Mechaniloid Platoon Twenty-Three has been demolished, the remainder of the escorts are retreating! Armor Company Six-Eight is laying down smoke and withdrawing!"

"My lord, that will break the encirclement!" He warned as status updates continued to pour in.


Lelouch grinned. "The enemy has five options… Their move, for the sake of your men, you'd better not disappoint me dear brother."


"Reinforce the breach with some of the units guarding me, all we know for certain is that the enemy forces are here!" Clovis ordered hastily.


Jeremiah watched, dumbfounded, as Sutherlands, Liverpools, Tanks, APCs, and Ride Armors rolled by on their landspinners as he walked back the Britannian rear lines from the landing site of his cockpit pod. "What idiot ordered them to break formation…" He murmured softly as a pair of infantrymen rushed over to them after one of the APCs stopped nearby and disembarked them.

"Lord Jeremiah!" One of the men shouted at him as they trooped over.

"Private, what in the name of Darwin is going on here!?" He asked incredulously.

"Prince Clovis ordered the encirclement to be broken and for the Knightmares and Ride Armors to rush the enemy formation in the center of the Ghetto!"

"WHAT!"


Lelouch stared at the massed troop movements on his Sutherland's tactical screens. "Well that's an even stupider move than I expected… Then again this is Clovis. Even Nunnally is a better tactician than him…" He picked up the handset again. "You, Q1. Do you have an area map?" He questioned.

["Yes, I have a map of the old town, but it has no current landmarks."] She replied.

Lelouch's grin widened as a plan formed in his head. "Does it have the Subway system on it?"

["Yeah... Why...?"]

His grin now took up a substantial portion of his face "Because I have a plan."


Aboard the G-1, Bartley could only contain his horror as Clovis turned to him. "Alright send in Bertz and the others too!" He ordered excitedly as their Reploid 'guest' slammed his palm against his helmet but said nothing.


"Mission number three now." Lelouch began.


"Concentrate our forces there, surround them!" Clovis urged, almost jumping into the air.


"Is everything prepared?" Lelouch asked as he counted down the seconds mentally, watching the Britannian troops begin to concentrate.

"Poor bastards..." He thought, they may be the enemy, but they deserved better than to have an incompetent commanding them.

Oh well, such was war.

"You should've stuck to painting Clovis." He taunted as he waited for them to gather in great enough numbers.


"The enemy's main force is that center dot!" Clovis grinned, feeling victory was assured as a pit grew in Bartley's stomach, knowing his liege had just made one of the dumbest tactical mistakes he possibly could have made as he remembered that that entire area had been rejected as a staging ground for the G1 due to the number of tunnels that ran under it.


The Britannian Knightmares and Ride Armors roared into the plaza from all avenues, finding only eachother as VTOL units circled cluelessly overhead.


"WHAT! WHERE'S THE ENEMY!" Clovis demanded as the pit in Bartley's stomach deepened even further.

"Oh no." Bartley whispered.


The Resistance Sutherlands and Kallen's Glasgow rolled through the underground subway tunnels, the Red Knightmare stopping and turning to aim its sole working slash harken.


A wry smile graced Lelouch's face. "With this…" He put the Black King down as well. "I call check. You lose Clovis." He stated smugly as he waited for Q1 to perform her end of the plan, sending a single squawk on the radio to let her know it was time.


Kallen fired her slash harken into the ceiling, directly into a support beam, before retracting it, weakening the already damaged and decayed structure enough to cause it to collapse, the loss of support causing a cascading failure in the levels above, the Glasgow sped off at top speed as it began to cave in, taking most of the Britannian Sutherlands, Mechaniloids, Liverpools and Ride Armors assembling on the surface down with it along with several nearby buildings as the tanks and APCs towards the outer edge barely escaped, an immense cloud of dust erupting into the sky as the VTOLs and flying Mechaniloids scattered to avoid becoming victims of FOD ingestion into their engines.


In the G-1 Bartley and Clovis stared in utter horror as dozens of men and Reploids perished before their very eyes.


On the border wall between the Settlement and the Shinjuku ghetto, X, Zero, and the recently arrived Sigma stared in shock as they watched VTOLs and flying Mechaniloids scatter in all directions whilst several more buildings sank into the earth in the distance, enlarging the growing cloud of dust.

"What in the name of…" X gasped, horrified as he began estimating the potential death toll.

Sigma simply chuckled under his breath. "So... A new player... I'll hold back for now to see how this turns out. Keeping up this act is getting annoying but I can deal with it. I might be able to manipulate the plans of whoever it is for my own ends if I play my cards right."


Inside his Sutherland Lelouch began cackling with demented glee, he hadn't fully expected the plan to work at all, let alone this well. "My plan worked! Didn't it! I can do it! I can! I can defeat Britannia!" He shouted excitedly as he watched the plume rise into the sky.


On the G-1 Clovis took a couple steps back. "Who… Who in the hell am I up against?! What if… He's even better than Todoh!? Perhaps on par with Cornelia or Colonel!"

"Lloyd!" Clovis snapped.

"Yes, your highness?" The Earl of Pudding responded promptly as he picked up, as if expecting this from the beginning.

"Can it win?" He asked simply, not caring about the technical specs or anything else. "Will your toy beat them?"

"My lord, please be so kind as to call it Lancelot." Lloyd crooned.

Clovis wheeled about and glared at the Reploid. "And you! You'll get your pay, now get out there and knock down that Maverick that's shredding what's left of our southern flank!"

The Reploid stepped out of the shadows, his Violet, gold and white armor gleaming in the light.

"I'm fairly certain I know exactly who's so hot and bothered to cut your troops apart right now, so I'm 'duty bound' to destroy them regardless of how much you're paying me now, I'll be sure to hand over her wreckage to you for whatever you people want it for." Vile stated as he rolled his shoulders before heading to the bridge elevator. "Later." He said flippantly with an idle toss of his hand as the doors shut.


Outside the G-1, now protected by little more than a few armored fighting vehicles and a handful of Liverpools and Sutherlands, the ASEEC trailer switched to deployment mode as Cecile took the role of Suzaku's operator. ["Z-01 Lancelot now moving to deployment mode. Lancelot activating… Releasing hatch. Z-01 Lancelot standby for deployment, power extension initiated… Did you read the manual?"] She asked Suzaku as he put on the Lancelot's special devicer uniform.

"Pretty much." He replied over his headset as he zipped the uniform up inside the medical vehicle.

["Well done. You scored at the top of the candidates in the simulator."]

"Hey look, about what you told me earlier…"

["Huh… It could be, but the possibility is nearly zero."] She replied.

"But that means there's still a chance, right?" Suzaku noted hopefully.

["Yes, I guess that's true. Even so, you're not to do anything reckless, the current cockpit module is not outfitted with an ejection mechanism as someone decided to put an enlarged data collection system in instead."] Cecile stated, putting extra emphasis on the 'someone' as Lloyd whistled innocently.

"Okay, I understand Miss Cecile."

As he strode up to the Lancelot, the tarp covering it was released and allowed to blow away in the wind, likely by Lloyd for dramatic effect. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a custom ride armor launch from the G-1 and head off into the Ghetto, but thought little of it, too enthralled by the sight of the Z-01.

"Woah… That's it…"

["Yes. The advanced weapon developed by us in Prince Schneizel's Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps… The Z-01 Lancelot, the world's first operational Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame."]

["Well if you're ready Suzaku shall we proceed with startup?"] Lloyd asked somewhat energetically.

["Initial startup now proceeding from phase twenty."] Cecile reported as the Knightmare's energy filler was loaded onboard. ["Equipping energy filler."]

Chatter filled the airwaves as Suzaku sat down in the Lancelot's cockpit, the seat sliding forwards into the cockpit pod and sealing up, the whir of the energy filler loading mechanisms rumbling in the background..

The internal lights came on, Suzaku inserting the activation key shortly thereafter and typing in the Lancelot's startup code.

"So far it's going per the data." Lloyd noted as the Lancelot continued going through its cold startup procedure. The medical trucks vacating the premises as the Lancelot closed in on its launch sequence.

The launch platform footpads slid outwards, the Z-01 doing a split and getting into a launch ready stance. Soon followed by its landspinners deploying and the supplementary power cables detaching.

"Lancelot… Activating ME boost!" Suzaku announced as he revved up the Knightmare.

The Yggdrasil drive of the Lancelot spun up as did the wheels of its landspinners.

["Lancelot! Launch!"]

The Z-01 shot forwards at high speed, Britannian soldiers, Reploids and officers watching it race away, leaving a trail of dust behind it.

Inside the ASEEC trailer, Lloyd laughed, having been knocked flat on his ass by the ME boost's shockwave, Cecile laying on the floor next to him, herself having ducked for cover. "Running full throttle right out of the gate! I like him!"

Cecile glanced at Lloyd as they got up. "Are you sure he'll be alright?"

Lloyd shrugged at her. "I'm not entirely certain, we've never had an assigned Devicer long enough to worry about exposure to that much activated Sakuradite in close proximity." He observed. "Hopefully it doesn't end poorly otherwise we'll have to scrap poor Lancelot."

Cecile opened to her mouth to clarify what she'd actually but decided against it.


Inside the cockpit, Suzaku was amazed by the speed and responsiveness of the Lancelot. "Better than the manual describes it… Ngh…" He clutched at his gut, wondering if he'd been jumping the gun doing this with his injury.

Regardless, he pushed on.

The ever-hapless Tamaki was his first victim, not even comprehending what was approaching him at high speed, by the time he could finish a sentence the Z-01 had already decapitated his Sutherland and had soon sent his cockpit roaring away.


Lelouch chuckled as he watched his forces advance on the G-1. "Another push and the first checkpoint will fall, leaving only the primary defense lines…" He purred as he watched the tactical feeds, the Sutherland was certainly no G-1 of his own but it was workable.

["K1 this is B group, reporting new enemy presence!"]

"Hmm? Reinforcements? Well, real battle is different from chess now isn't it…" Lelouch picked up the handset and switched to B group's channel. "Status."

["Everyone ejected, but they've taken out four units in nothing flat!"]

"Enemy numbers?" Lelouch frowned, this was starting to worry him, he anticipated casualties of course but to lose four units, a full third of his Knightmares, in such a brief period was something he hadn't expected at this phase of the battle.

["Just one! I think it's a new model. Never seen anything likeaagh!-"] The report cut off into static as Lelouch frowned, his brief surprise turning to anger at this upset.

"What's happening out there B group?! Respond!" He demanded, getting only static in response.


The Lancelot watched the Resistance Sutherland's cockpit eject and fly off, activating its Blaze Luminous shield as two more units opened fire, the shells bouncing clean off.


"What!? It's reflecting your rifle fire!?" Lelouch queried, stunned. "Are they desperate enough to be fielding a testbed unit?!"

Any confirmation Lelouch would've gotten was cut off as the reporting unit was destroyed as well.

"Useless so-called Terrorists… I'll have to sic C2 on whoever's cutting them apart at this rate…" He thought, only to have that plan dashed as well.

["K1 this is Q2… I'm engaging another Reploid… He appears to be a fire support model… My weapons are having no effect on him"] The Reploid reported before crying out as an explosion went off.

"Q2 report!"

["I'm fine… But this he's different… He's calling me a maverick… What does that mean?"] She asked, confused.

"Called her a Maverick… He's immune to her fire, a high end maverick hunter then... And if he's keeping up with her in battle… He must be one of the officers from Sigma's 17th Elite Unit! Plus... If it's a fire support model…!" Of all the possible ways this could've gotten worse, he had to end up facing down a veteran A-Rank maverick hunter as well, one who'd earned an infamous reputation for being willing to endanger innocent lives if he felt the price was worth a ready shot at taking down his target…

"Q2, withdraw immediately! Lose him now or he'll cut you apart!" Lelouch ordered in a panic.

["Roger… I'll try."] She replied before cutting off the channel.

Lelouch grunted and turned his mind to other concerns, such as figuring out how supposedly one machine was tearing his forces apart.


C2 fired her leg boosters again, leaping onto another building as she fired her C-Buster at Vile, the burst bouncing off his armor, having already destroyed his ride armor by dropping part of an office complex onto it.

"Come here you!" Vile snarled as his hands retracted into his forearms, a pair of six barreled vulcan guns emerging in their place and spooling up before opening fire with a deafening roar.

C2 jumped and twirled through the air while rounds cratered concrete, dented metal and shattered wood, drywall and windows behind her, always keeping step ahead of the Maverick Hunter's ability to track her.

"Perhaps you should learn how to lead a target." She taunted emotionlessly as several trees exploded into splinters behind her as she landed on the street.

"Somebody has a smart-ass chip fitted." Vile retorted as his shoulder cannon let loose a triple shot salvo, collapsing what was left of an old FamilyMart convenience store as C2 narrowly avoided being hit by the artillery shells by leaping into the air and landing atop what had once been part of an arcade.

"Are you a fire support unit or a defective fireworks display?" She snarked as she fired a salvo of C-Buster shots, once again to no effect, before leaping into the air diving down on him with her C-Drill active and boosters blazing away.

Vile dodged to the side and opened his knee plates, sending a pair of napalm bombs flying at her. C2 swatted them away with her arm before firing a buster shot at the ground and sending up a cloud of dust and smoke as the bombs exploded, enabling her to evade and hide inside an abandoned Arcade.

"Clever girl. But not clever enough!" Vile said, his eyes gleaming red through the smoke, which scattered their light eerily.

Even as an equally tough Reploid, C2 had to admit that her opponent was unnerving and persistent despite being a total jackass.

He was also far more experienced then she was and C2 doubted he was doing anything more than toying with her.

Moreover she was having issues maintaining her energy supply after a sizable amount of it earlier, her internal solar reactor's cooling system wasn't running as effectively as it should because those idiots at Code R had taken it apart to study and failed to put it back together correctly, she'd have to regulate her energy accordingly, hence why she was venting so much of her power into buster shots to regulate the rising temperature.

At least, she thought that was working.

"Found you!" He laughed before sending an energy blast blazing out from his shoulder cannon after switching firing modes, followed up by a pair of missiles from his arm launchers after retracting the vulcans.

C2 rolled away, the beam carved through the arcade after her and cut some of the surviving game machine casings to shreds as she ran out into the street. The female Reploid firing her buster repeatedly to intercept the incoming warheads and then promptly targeting the Maverick Hunter himself, the shots bouncing off Vile's armor as he fired another pair of Napalm bombs from his knees, immolating nearby corpses and plant life, and turning a long-looted storefront into a raging inferno.

She jetted to the side and then charged towards him, both of her arms in C-Drill mode.

Vile leaned back and used her momentum against her, flipping C2 over him and into the base of an old skyscraper with faded decade old Japanese advertisements peeling off it.

Had either been paying attention they would have noticed the spot on her arms where Vile grabbed her for the flip had briefly taken on the Maverick Hunter's color scheme.

"Is that the best you've got you amateur? For the love of... That's the same model of Mega Buster that X has and you're not even bothering to charge it!?" He exclaimed as he loomed over C2, aiming one of his vulcan guns at her as she swapped her right arm to buster mode again while rolling onto her back.

She looked down at her weapon before the barrel tip began to glow as she commanded it to built up energy, a loud vweeming noise accompanying it, Vile reeling back as he realized his error as the charge built up.

"Oh right, never interrupt the enemy when they're making a mistake... God fucking damnittttt!" Vile swore as she unleashed a charged shot directly into his face, the blast flinging him across the street and into the ruins of a restaurant.

Panting as she tried to cool her internal components, she turned and jetted away before Vile could recover, following the ID tag of the cockpit unit from the old Glasgow belonging to Q1.

She also noticed the number of Britannian IFFs closing in on it.

"Better hurry…"


Elsewhere things were going horribly for the Resistance, their mysterious leader had vanished after engaging the unknown Knightmare and hadn't been heard from since. And as Kallen made her way into one of the safehouses from her Glasgow's ejected cockpit pod after that same KMF had shredded her trusted Frame, she heard the rumbling of Tanks and IFVs in the distance, while they had knocked out most of Clovis's mobile troops, the conventional forces still vastly outnumbered them, not to mention the fact their air support still existed in force.

Once inside it got even worse.

Glancing around she saw only pandemonium, several civilians were already blaming them for the death and destruction, not like the Britannians wouldn't have found another excuse to level their homes, over the din it was almost impossible to make out what people were saying.

Tamaki naturally was riled up and looked ready to hit someone with the stock of his SMG.

And then a Britannian MBT rammed one of the doors down and rolled inside, crushing the people who'd been on watch underneath the metal sheet, infantrymen and Reploids fanning out around it as dark red fluid oozed out from under the crushed door. "So, this is where you Eleven vermin scurried off to." The Tank commander sneered as he gazed around the warehouse after popping out of his hatch. The man raised his right arm. "Prepare to fire!" He ordered.

And then the ceiling burst in and the sound of groaning metal issued through the warehouse as dust filled the air, obscuring what was going on.

"What…" Kallen murmured before the tank commander screamed and there was an impossibly loud crash, following by the crackling of gunfire, more screaming, plenty of grunts, the sound of drills whirring, and the horrifying mixed noises of flesh, plastic and metal tearing. When the smoke cleared the blue painted M60 was shoved into a wall, it's engine and weapons rendered inoperable by damage, the crew of the vehicle dragging away their wounded commander as the surviving infantrymen and Reploids did the same with their own number. The gory remains of several Britannian infantrymen and the shattered shells of Reploids were scattered about around a very familiar looking, blood and gore covered Reploid.

C2 turned her head to stare at the assembled Japanese and the civilian Reploids from behind her bloodstained violet tinted visor, blood and oil covered C-drills spooling down to a halt as wreckage and gore laid around her, the Reploid seemingly uncaring about the fact she'd shoved a 60-ton main battle tank into a wall, although it had clearly strained her systems as several sparks issued from her elbow, knee and shoulder joints as voltage leapt from now exposed wires into the air.

Nobody said a word about how in mere seconds she'd just wiped out nearly a dozen men and Reploids, in addition to a tank.

"I had more trouble with the combat grade heavy-class Mechaniloids…" She mumbled as she pulled some intestines off her left-hand C-Drill and tossed it aside before retracting the appendage.

A whistling noise issued from the distance, causing C2 to turn and look out the door before she was sent flying towards the crowd by an explosion, Vile stomping into the warehouse soon after, backed by yet more Britannian troops and Reploid soldiers, in addition to two more tanks and one of the few still operational Sutherlands.

The screaming and pandemonium promptly started up again as the Japanese huddled together.

"Pathetic, you lot do whatever you want to the Elevens, the Maverick is mine." Vile snorted as he aimed his shoulder cannon and arm vulcans at C2 while the Britannians leveled their coilarms at the Japanese.

"Naoto..." Kallen cried softly, aware that she was about to join her brother in the afterlife.

"Ready! Commen-"

["Attention all forces! Cease fire at once!"] Prince Clovis's voice echoed loudly over every radio in the Ghetto, shocking the Resistance members and Britannian forces alike.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Vile complained as he leered at C2, whom slowly got up and shakily aimed her C Buster at him before lowering the weapon, panting as she vented her built up heat in a visible haze rolling off her body.

["I, Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince of Britannia and Royal Viceroy of Area 11 hereby command you! All forces are ordered to cease fire at once, you will also cease destruction of any buildings and property! All casualties, whether Britannian, Reploid, or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice! In the name of Clovis la Britannia you are hereby ordered, cease fire at once, I shall allow no further fighting!"]

Vile kicked the dirt and glowered at them. "How many times do you need tell people to cease fire?! He said it like three times!" The Maverick hunter pointed at C2. "You and me, this isn't over you little… You're lucky that a Britannian Prince said he doesn't want any further fighting or I'd turn your little ass to scrap!" He turned and stalked out of the warehouse as the confused Britannian forces and Japanese idled about, C2 blinking at him as he left before glancing around and hopping onto the disabled tank and leaping out of the hole she'd entered from.

She didn't doubt that he was capable of following up on his threat.


Aboard the command bridge of the G-1, Clovis frowned after making his speech as the lights turned out. "Are you satisfied?" He asked, he still wasn't sure what parlor trick had made everyone else leave the bridge, or to allow someone this far in to his defense line to allow such trickery, but he would have Bartley's head for this later.

"Very, well done." His assailant replied.

Clovis rested his head on his right hand. "And what shall we do now, sing a few lively ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?" He asked mockingly.

"That has a familiar ring." The terrorist wearing the stolen uniform said as he walked up to the prince and began to take off his helmet.

"Hmm?" Clovis raised an eyebrow, mildly off-put by that last statement. And as the young man before him tossed the helmet aside he felt an odd sense of… Familiarity.

"Don't you recall?" The insurgent asked, keeping his weapon trained on Clovis. "The two of us used to play chess together as boys."

This started to give Clovis some measure of concern, there were very few people he had played chess with as a child, most of them were his siblings...

"Of course." He continued. "I would always win."

"What…" Clovis breathed as the man before him flicked the safety of the pistol off. "It can't be… He was reported dead during the invasion, but if it is him…"

"You remember, at the Aries Villa? Whenever I beat you, you'd always throw a tantrum about it, at least until you got older and turned to art because it was your strong suit..."

"You… Who are you?" Clovis breathed.

His assailant stepped into the limited light, violet eyes glinting like those of a predator. "It's been a long time big brother."

Clovis's eyes widened like dinner plates. "Lelouch!? But how!? Why!?"

"The eldest child of the late Empress Marianne and Seventeenth Prince in the Imperial Line of Succession, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service." His younger brother announced, kneeling before him in a mocking manner.

Alarm bells rang in Clovis's head, warning him that this was a dangerous situation and that if his brother was doing all this, then Lelouch surely had ill intentions for him. "Lelouch!? B… But I thou-"

"That I was dead? You were wrong." His brother replied calmly, too calmly. "I have returned, your highness. And I've come back to change everything."

The fight or flight instinct at the back of the Third Prince's head was telling him that he should run for his life, but part of him knew hew would die with a bullet in the back of his brainstem if he tried.


Outside the G-1, the Japanese walked out of the Ghetto as the sun set, to the consternation of the Britannian forces watching them, who were generally at this point increasingly concerned about their Prince rather than a bunch of Elevens now as the realization that Clovis was alone, on the bridge of his own G-1, began to spread. C2 watching the land cruiser from atop a nearby building, unlike the others, she was waiting for Lelouch. After all she had no place to rendezvous with him and didn't even know where he lived either.

"… He's the kind of person who'd make someone wait isn't he…" She muttered, bored out of her mind now that the fighting had ended, as she kicked her legs and watched the people below her scurry about.

All the Britannian aerial units had long since RTB'd due to being low on fuel and wouldn't return anyways so she had little concern of being spotted, as she sincerely doubted anyone would look up at this point unless one of the Japanese or a Reploid started shooting.


"I… I'm overjoyed Lelouch." Clovis stuttered, his actor's façade falling apart with the special circumstance of having a pistol shoved in his face, Lelouch having gotten up and crossed the distance between them while Clovis processed what was going on. "They said you died when Japan was brought into the fold… What a blessing to have you back, we should depart for the homeland immediately." He said nervously, it took all of his will not to devolve into stuttering.

As he said those words, Clovis contemplated what was going on. "If Lelouch was alive all this time… why didn't he come back…"

"So you can use me as a tool of diplomacy? It seems you've forgotten why Nunnally and I were used as tools in the first place." His brother icily responded.

Clovis's eyes widened as the danger of the situation became fully realized.

"That's right… It's because my mother was killed." Lelouch said. "Mother held the title of Knight of Honor and was nominally the Empress due to our father's favor, but she was also a commoner by birth. No doubt the other consorts, being of noble birth, held her in contempt." Lelouch's tone changed to one of barely restrained anger. "Even though you people made it look like the work of terrorists, I'm no fool! You people killed my mother!" He snarled.

"It wasn't me! I swear to you it wasn't!" Clovis denied feverishly. "I never held ill will towards Marianne! You know this Lelouch! Why target me!?"

"Then tell me everything you know; the truth cannot be hidden from me any longer." Lelouch replied as he called upon his Geass for the latest time that day.

"By whose hand was she slain?" He asked, the Power of the King seizing control of Clovis's mind to force him to speak everything he knew.

Clovis visibly relaxed as he entered the Geass trance. "I know little beyond what is publicly acknowledged, my Brother, Second Prince Schneizel and my sister, Second Princess Cornelia, were far closer to the investigation than I was, if they know who is responsible or if they were involved, they can tell you…"

His eyes widened. "Were they at the heart of this…?" Lelouch asked and was disappointed by a lack of a response from Clovis. "I see, that's all you know, isn't it…?"

"Why would Cornelia kill my mother though… She idolized her… That leaves Schneizel, but he lacks the motive, or so I think…" Lelouch grimaced, it would be difficult to get to the Second Prince, regardless, he assumed Cornelia would have conducted her own investigation into the attack, so he still needed to get to her as well.

He released Clovis from his Geass, his elder brother returning to his panicked state. "Please! I had nothing to do with it I swear!" He cried out, unaware of the fact he'd just been Geassed into telling Lelouch everything he knew.

"I believe you." Lelouch lowered his gun, before raising it again, aiming it at the center of Clovis's forehead. "However, I cannot in good faith let you live after what happened today, after your own Guard attempted to murder me twice, killed a close friend of mine and your troops slaughtered hundreds of innocent people on your orders... All over a single Reploid, whom you decided to enslave and torture for your own gain. Nor can I simply allow you to report my survival to the Emperor." He said icily, a devilish smirk on his face, practically spitting that last word out.

"Please! You can't! We may have different mothers, but you and I are still blood!" Clovis implored futilely.

"You can't change the world without dirtying your hands a little… It's just not how reality works. Besides isn't this what that man wants us to do?" Lelouch replied darkly and he slowly pulled the trigger, Clovis screaming in terror.

That single gunshot would be heard around the world.


Later, as Lelouch walked back to the settlement after eluding the Britannian troops who'd entered the G-1, he heard a whoosh of air being displaced as C2 landed behind him.

"It took you long enough…" C2 remarked dryly as she checked her energy levels.

He waved dismissively at her. "Let's head back to Ashford Academy." He stated as he continued walking without missing a step.

"Why should I, the situation is resolved.' She replied as he stopped and smirked at her.

"Oh now, explain to me what plans you have to avoid the Maverick Hunters and the Britannian military while taking care of your logistical needs?"

She said nothing for a minute or two as she mulled her options. "You present a compelling argument... Where is Ashford by the way?"

"I'll find a secure terminal for you to download a map when we get to the settlement… By the way you'll need a cover for when you're staying with us, I'll have you registered as a personal assistant to me, as other options would require additional paperwork or could end up blowing your cover." He stopped for a moment, considering his options before glancing back at C2 as most of her armor glowed and vanished, changing back to civilian mode.

"And what do you suggest for that…?" She inquired as she inspected herself for any damage, noting her auto-repair systems were working on the stress damage her limbs had incurred while shoving the tank, although they were still unable to repair the more serious and lasting damage done to her by Code R's hapless technicians, who'd been over their heads in working on something as complicated as her.

"How do you feel about recordkeeping?" He asked. "Ashford has several Reploids on its staff already, but Milly chased away the student in charge of keeping our financial records organized about two weeks ago by accident, so we need a replacement of some kind. You'll be paid as per legal requirements but won't be considered a student so you'll have more freedom with your spare time. Either way you can use the money for whatever since I doubt you'd want to stay cooped up like an introvert if my suspicions are correct." Lelouch explained.

"That is workable, I'd have had to physically harm you if you'd said housekeeping." The Reploid replied.

He chuckled as the two of them began the long walk back to the settlement while the sun set to the west. "I'm going to warn you, you're probably going to end up wearing a girl's school uniform."

"Why?"

"Because Milly mandates that everyone who holds some position on the student council, even if as an adjutant like yourself, wears either a faculty uniform or a school uniform." He said in exasperation. "Given we've never had a Reploid working with us before she's just going to use whatever one makes you look more attractive."

She frowned. "Your friend sounds... Unusual."

"Oh I know." He informed her with a smirk on his face.


August 16, 2017 ATB. O'Hare field, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11.

In the early hours of the morning, a Britannian C-123 Provider landed on the tarmac at the Airfield near the Viceroy's palace, the chubby, forward swept, high mounted wings of the airlifter looming like some vast bird of prey as it slowed to a crawl before taxiing off the runway and parking on the tarmac, its turbines spooling down once it came to a halt.

The rear cargo ramp of the plane lowered and a towering Reploid in resplendent white, black and red armor with gold trimming stepped out, a smaller female Reploid with a similarly colored flextanium uniform and several higher-end combat model Reploids following him.

"Brother… Are you sure we shouldn't have informed anyone of our arrival?" She asked.

"We're here because the Emperor diverted us personally from Princess Cornelia's Campaign in the Middle East to keep an eye on the situation in Area 11 following Prince Clovis's death. The purists would also have made a huge stink about it given their dislike of Reploids in general, and their absolute hatred for us Repliforce members. It would also have caused all of the insurgents to go to ground the moment they found out about us." Her elder brother replied.

"But… Colonel… I…" Iris stopped herself, deciding her reservations were irrelevant for now.

"Iris… I know you and Euphemia are friends and that you want to stay in contact with her. But we have a job to do here… I want you to investigate that Maverick they registered being encountered by Lieutenant 'Vile' of the 17th. So, I need you to contact Commander Sigma at the local Maverick Hunter office and offer our aid in locating and subduing this threat." He turned to the others.

"The rest of you are to protect Prince Clovis's transport convoy, I have no doubt that idiot Gottwald will try something, he was thoroughly humiliated by a Number yesterday and will likely attempt to use the chaos surrounding the Prince's death for a political advantage of some kind, especially since Bartley is an ideal scapegoat and he is to accompany the Prince's casket en-route for transport to the homeland." Colonel explained, the Repliforce soldiers saluting before marching off, surprising several IBAF ground crews as they entered waiting APCs and headed out.

"And what will you do…?" Iris asked as she turned to walk towards a waiting staff car.

"Simple, I'll give the Purists a choice, play nice and roll over. Or Repliforce will run them over." Colonel stated, a dark smirk on his face as his sister walked away and he turned to wait for the other squads to arrive.


AN: Honestly Iris and Colonel are basically the Reploid counterparts to Euphie and Cornelia, despite the former two predating the latter two by about a decade IRL.

Also, yes, Iris is wearing the same colors as Colonel, along with a crush cap of her own because it looks adorable on her. It helps attribute them as siblings thematically and I figure it works as a Repliforce officer's color scheme.

On an unrelated note based on extrapolation of the scene in Episode 11 where C.C. mind-rapes Suzaku with her code through the Lancelot and scenes of General in his boss battle from Megaman X4. General is the size of a goddamn Knightmare Frame and I don't even.

Also regarding my interpretation of Vile's arm vulcans.

Screw the fingers are guns trope.

Especially when they're supposed to be automatic weapons.