Last time: Lelouch's sacking of his doublecrossing asshole subordinates got interrupted by his assassinating asshole subordinate fake brother. Kallen handed in her own version of a two-weeks' notice and the Black Knights are now officially pissing themselves. Meanwhile Lelouch himself has come up with a new game plan…but more on him later, back to the scared little dicks!

The Sun Sets on the Red Lotus

Tokyo Harbour, Britannian airspace
Black Knights Ikaruga Carrier, Bridge

Confusion wasn't something the Black Knights were unfamiliar with, the core members in particular had been left in such states during the Black Rebellion, but that had usually been a result of the sometimes-insane plans that Zero had concocted for them. This time however the bamboozlement came from outside of their sphere, somehow someone had stolen Zero's personal Knightmare Frame and was making a getaway in it. More than a few of the rank-and-file had hidden their questions of how someone could get past their security to steal it in the first place with anger at the audacity of this asshole, especially when their commander was wounded.

But they were once again confused when the Britannians, their long time enemies, instead of shooting them on sight actively worked to help them bring the bastard down. For people who had been trying to kill each other just a couple of hours ago, it was a very disconcerting moment.

Things got really odd though when Captain Kallen Kozuki took to the field in her familiar red machine. At first all seemed normal, she led the charge as she'd done so many times before in Zero's name and had been right on top of the Shinkiro… but then something happened that no one, Japanese or Britannian, had expected and turned their confusion into terror: Kozuki stopped following the thief, turned around, and attacked them. Not the Britannians helping them, the Black Knights themselves!

Diethard however was the least shocked, it would seem his read on the girl had been right on the money, but that didn't mean he didn't seethe at the sight of yet another betrayal of his expectations. Quickly he tapped his earpiece that connected him to the Ikaruga's comms system. "Attention! All remaining Knightmare personnel are to stand down from operations! I repeat stand down!"

"What the hell, Ried!?" Chiba snapped at him, finally taking her attention off of the Guren as it charged straight towards her commanding officer. "Rescind that order immediately, the General's in trouble!"

"We can't let this get out!" He snapped right back at her, his vehemence drawing all remaining attention towards him. "Covering up Zero's betrayal of us is easy but Kozuki is another matter entirely. Unlike him we can't just kill her whilst she's in that machine, and especially not where our soldiers can see it!"

His insinuations drew the ire of the girl's friends and he was suddenly made acquaintances with Kaname Ohgi's fist as it smashed into his face. The man in question glared at him furiously as he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back up. "You take that back right now! Kallen is no traitor!"

"Yeah man!" The loudmouthed idiot of the group shouted at him next (Diethard was actually more amazed that it was Ohgi and not Tamaki who'd slugged him) "She's been fightin' the Brits for years! No way she'd switch sides!"

"Oh? And what do you call that?!" Diethard shouted back, pointing at the main viewer which showed the Guren and the Zangetsu whizzing around each other in a lethal game of cat-and-mouse. It wasn't outside of anyone's awareness just exactly who the mouse was. "She has always been Zero's most loyal follower which is precisely why I told you not to send her to collect him!"

"She's not loyal to him!" Ohgi snapped, his grip on the Britannian's shirt growing tighter as he fought the desire to wring the bastard's neck. "He's been using her just like he used us! If we can just kill him…!"

"And how do you propose we do that while she's in between us?!"

"If I might interject." The eerily smooth tone cut through the collective ire of the group, bringing their attention to their unexpected guest who was watching the duel on the screen with a calm, almost uncaring, air. "The reasoning behind Captain Kozuki's defection is irrelevant, what matters is that she has and is now a threat to us, correct?"

The blasé way he uttered it was enough to unnerve everyone present, reminding them once again that this was the man who had chased them across China not too long ago. It seemed, though, that being Britannian came with some level of built-in immunity to this kind of behaviour as Diethard once again was the one to rally first, though he was still held by Ohgi. "Yes, Your Highness, it is. Which is what I am trying to explain to-"

"Then we must simply eliminate her."

Even Diethard came up short at such a declaration, though his reasons were quite different for the others. Destroy their Ace? While she was in that abominably powerful new Knightmare? That was madness, hair-brained lunacy…and so very interesting.

"What did you just say?!" Ohgi, however, carried the more expected response. Anger seeming to be the course of choice today, he thrust the former news reporter aside and advanced on Schneizel. "You think you can come in here and tell us what to do?!"

He was all set to take a swing at the prince, his arm coiled back to throw the punch, but the blow never came. Tunnel vision had blinded him to the presence of Schneizel's Aide-de-Camp who, when he had noticed the man's approach, had slid aside on his right so when Ohgi tried to hit his prince he was already in place to grab the offending limb and twist. In very short order, Ohgi's arm was pulled painfully behind his back and held there.

"That will be quite enough of that." Kanon told him curtly, like a parent scolding a disobedient child.

"Oi, let my buddy go ya Brit bastard!" Tamaki snapped, followed closely by Minami and Sugiyama as the three moved up the bridge towards the small Britannian party. They didn't get far though because suddenly they were face to face with another Britannian royal, one whom they'd more or less forgotten after having dealt with Schneizel for so long. She didn't take long to remind them though when her signature gunblade came out and held them all within her sights.

"You really, really, don't want to give me a reason right now." Cornelia coolly warned them, her sharp glare at them all betraying her clear desire to tear them all to pieces. Just being back in Area 11 was an exercise in tolerance, after everything the blasted country had cost her, but being in the presence of those who had caused those losses…well she ought to be commended for holding her temper this long.

The tense situation would have lasted longer had a shot from the Guren's Radiant Wave Unit not gone wide and clipped the Ikaruga's starboard side. Damage was minimal but the following shake quickly reminded everyone of what was going on outside.

Schneizel, who hadn't at all been phased by this small act of pointless bickering, barely paid the reminder any heed and kept his attention on Ohgi. "I wonder, General Secretary, what is it you really want? Do you not want a free Japan?"

"What kind of question is that?!" The man in question demanded, wincing a little as Kanon twisted his arm just a little bit more for his language. "Of course we want to free Japan! That's why we gave you-!"

"And you thought there wouldn't be other sacrifices?" The prince asked him, genuinely unimpressed with the man's lack of forethought. Granted that had been the way he'd ensnared them but he'd been expecting at least some competence from someone so high up in Lelouch's organisation. "Did you believe your actions wouldn't have consequences? That all your followers would agree with this treason?"

"IT'S NOT TREASON!" Ohgi yelled, his anger returning to the original source of his rage as he pointed impotently with his free arm at the open sky. "THAT BASTARD USED US! PLAYED US! HE LIED TO EVERY ONE OF US ABOUT EVERYTHING!"

"Yes, he did." Schneizel nodded, as if they hadn't just discussed this a little while ago. "And yet Captain Kozuki remains loyal."

"SHE'S JUST BEING USED LIKE THE REST OF US WERE!" Ohgi continued to yell, "HE USED HIS GEASS AND MADE HER HIS SLAVE TO BE PLAYED WITH AS-!"

"A slave she is," Schneizel cut in again, nodding. "Therefore, it is your duty as her friends to free her of her chains. However," and here he gave the assembled Black Knights a sad stare "some chains are simply too strong to break free from. In that case, the only freedom you can grant such a slave is mercy."

"'Mercy'" From behind them, Sugiyama snorted in derision, "You mean we need to kill her."

"Unless you know of a way to break Geass' hold on people." The Prince retorted lightly, not once letting the solemn visage drop away. His remark was met with shaken visages as they went over the 'truth' he'd revealed to them; if there was no way to break free then Captain Kozuki simply couldn't be retrieved. She would just keep killing them, her own friends, until there was no one else left – at least, that would be the conclusion his 'evidence' would lead them to believe.

As the members of the Kozuki clan soaked up this irrefutable fact, members of the core group who hadn't known Kallen for so long were not so hesitant to do what their Britannian guest was suggesting.

"I'll do it." Chiba announced, far too eagerly, as she stepped up. "She's a danger to us and the General, if we don't stop her now she'll wipe us out."

What she didn't say was that she would happily wipe away that little zealot. From day one there had been something off about her unswerving loyalty to a man whose face they'd never seen until today. Unquestioning, blindly following his every whim, who was to say C.C. wasn't Zero's only mistress? The thought made her sick and the chance to get rid of her at last was almost too good to be true.

Her decision was met with the expected protestations from the Kozuki group, but Schneizel had expected that. If anything, knowing that little piece of information made things simpler going forward, however…

"Your willingness is appreciated, Miss Chiba, I'm afraid I must decline. Not because it comes from the Black Knights." He hastened to add at her indignant look, which he also filed away for a later occasion. "But this joint operation of ours is looking considerably light on the Empire's side. Please allow me to correct that."

So saying he nodded to Kanon, who finally let Ohgi go and pushed him away from them and passed him a phone. Nodding his thanks to his oldest friend, Schneizel tapped the one number on it.

"Hello? Prince Schneizel?"

"Lady Alstreim." He greeted her cordially, "It would seem Zero has one ally left. Would you be so kind as to remove her, please?"

Britannian Airspace

The lethal dance went on, unaware of the drama occurring on the ship both had vacated earlier. Any distraction now would spell doom for one of them. Todoh had been pushed to his limits before but this was a whole new breed of monster who sort his life today, even worse it was one that he should be intimately familiar with and thus easy to dispatch. Those damn new wings changed things though, not to mention that whatever mad man who'd gotten their hands on the Guren had turned the entire right arm into one giant slash harken which Kozuki took ample advantage of.

Even when we have an alliance of with them, Britannia still manages to inconvenience us. It shouldn't have made him smile, not when he was so furious over the amount of deceit and betrayal he'd been party to in the last half-hour but there it was. Nice that some things stayed the same no matter what enemy it was they faced.

Speaking of which, the Guren came screaming towards him for another attack, its fork knife coming down for a strike. Laughably small compared to his own Break Sword, Todoh still made a point to guard against the new MVS weapon – he'd engaged Kururugi enough times to know how dangerous those were. For a moment Zangetsu and Guren pushed against one another, their individual flight systems pushing both forward. Inevitably though, Todoh was forced to break off and dive.

But Kallen wasn't going to just let him go. Bastard, get back here! She gunned the Energy Wings and streamed down after him, this time readying the Radiant Wave Unit. This damn game had gotten old thirty seconds in, now she just wanted to watch that stupid black machine burst open. You damn hypocrites! You make a deal with Schneizel and call Lelouch the traitor?!

Now if said hypocrite would just stay still long enough for her to get a hold of him that would just be great. However as she reached out the large clawed arm to grab the Zangetsu, Todoh suddenly put on the breaks and she streaked harmlessly passed him before she brought the Guren to a stop. Just in time to block the Seidoutou as Todoh swung it right at her cockpit.

Fuck! That's the fourth time now! Kallen snarled in frustration behind the protective Radiant shield. Her machine's capabilities were miles above his, her piloting skill also, and her speed alone should have been enough to end this long ago so why the hell was that stupid black Knightmare still in one piece?!

The other player in this little dance was less concerned about why he was still alive and just focussed on maintaining that state. As such he pulled the Zangetsu back and away as the Guren tried for another swipe with its massive claw, firing the slash harken on his sword's pommel virtually point blank into the red machine's face. For the first time today one of them scored a definitive hit on the other and it hadn't been the person either of them had been expecting. Surprise however changed to realisation as Todoh swung forwards again, locking against Kallen's knife.

So that's what's going on here. This time the dark smirk on his face was filled with derision and he forced more power into his Air-Glide System. For the first time since this engagement began, confidence reigned in the General's mind. Unable to help himself, he flipped his radio over to an open channel. Kozuki may not want to talk, but that didn't mean she couldn't listen. "You disappoint me, Captain. I didn't think you susceptible to such an amateur mistake."

His taunt was met with silence…at least in the terms of a vocal response. Kallen chose to show her unappreciation of his observation by pushing even harder against his blade which he countered by parrying away and rising above her. Growling in frustration and anger at his taunt she chased after him at full blast, gauntlet ready to fire the moment she got her hands on him. Todoh calmly reversed, watching as she closed the gap…and then once again, moments before she could close the Guren's claws around the Zangetsu's head, he halted his retreat and Kallen soared right over him. Seeing his chance, Todoh swung the Seidoutou right at the red Knightmare's legs.

Damn it! At the last second, Kallen redirected her thrust and rose high above the Zangetsu, its sword still managing to clip her machine on both knees. A quick glance at her systems screen showed the damage hadn't been deep enough to cause operational trouble, but the fact that Todoh had gotten her twice (three times really if she counted both legs) now and she'd done nothing served to piss her off further. The hell's going on here?! I've got the better Knightmare, I should be trouncing him!

Below her, Todoh's confidence swelled. If Kozuki really had fallen for the oldest of fallacies a pilot – any kind of soldier really – was liable to, if he could continue exploiting it just so then he could defeat her. It was a shame really, to lose her like this after all that she'd done for their cause, but if she truly intended to side with Lelouch over the chance of reclaiming Japan once and for all then there was no other option: She had to die. So decided, he gunned the Zangetsu's Air-Glide system and charged straight up at her, raising the Seidoutou high.

And then the scenery changed. The blue skies tinted with orange from the oncoming sunset were suddenly cut through with stripes of black coated in red, all of them headed straight for the rogue machine. Kallen was quick to react and immediately launched up and away, letting the twenty or so miniature proximity missiles streak harmlessly passed her. Now what?!

The sudden barrage had halted Todoh in his tracks, he recognised those weapons and what their appearance meant. Glancing back towards the Ikaruga confirmed his suspicion; lumbering towards them at what would appear a leisurely pace, was the Mordred. As it came closer the large shoulder guards unfolded and manoeuvred in front of the Knightmare's torso, docking with each other, the sight of which causing the General to act on instinct and fly out of the way. A moment later the full fury of the Stark Hadron Cannon was unleashed right at the Guren.

"Crap!" Kallen was unable to keep her silence at the sight of that tidal wave of destruction and she immediately threw her Knightmare into a steep dive that the purple machine followed for a short while. Speed won out over power though, and the huge black stream quickly fizzled out. "Just great, now I've got to deal with her too."

"I have no need for the Empire's aid." Todoh snapped not particularly happy to see the Britannian machine either.

Within the Mordred, Anya Alstreim just regarded the black Knightmare indifferently, merely muttering. "Too slow."

That said she returned her attention to the Guren. She had quite a few recordings of this one, but it looked different now. Something must've happened since the last time she saw it. Not that it mattered. At the end of the day it was just another enemy. As such she flicked her targeting system back on, fixed her sights on the red Knightmare and started up a new recording. Hopefully she'd remember this one.

The purple machine suddenly broke rank and charged straight at Kallen, it's all encompassing Blaze Luminous flicking on and suddenly she was faced with a green five meters tall boulder flying right towards her. Slash harkens wouldn't make a dent on that thing and she'd hit the Lancelot enough times with the Radiant Wave Unit would be useless as well.

Oddly enough, that didn't bother her all that much. You wanna ram me, you Brit Bitch? Come right on then. If she couldn't blast this one away then she'd simply catch it and crush it between the Guren's claws. So decided, she put the approaching behemoth in the centre of her targeting scope and fired the right arm directly at it. The Mordred didn't even so much as duck away from the arm-turned-Slash Harken and the huge claw slammed right into it. Gotcha! Smiling viciously, Kallen immediately clamped down and started applying as much pressure as the claws could possibly take into the green shields.

Despite the danger and the multiple stress warnings flaring up on her screens though, Anya remained unperturbed as she continued to charge headfirst towards the Guren. She knew the stats of her Knightmare, it could take this kind of punishment and more, as would be expected of an artillery type such as hers.

The hell? The smile had been wiped off her face as Kallen observed the Britannian machine close the gap between them, seemingly unaware or uncaring that she was actively trying to crush it. What's up with that pilot? If it doesn't stop, it's going to-!

WHAM!

Purple and crimson were sent flying as the Mordred slammed into the Guren and continued to push it further away from the Ikaruga. The impact left Kallen dazed, giving Anya time to work. Exploiting the fact that the Japanese machine's claw was still trying to pierce her Blaze Luminous, she cleverly repositioned her Knightmare so that it was now above the Guren and pushed it downwards.

Whilst she did this she opened a communications channel with the Ikaruga. "Rogue machine disabled. Awaiting instructions."

"Excellent work, Lady Alstreim." Came Prince Schneizel's immediate reply, "Maintain current altitude. We'll deliver the final blow."

"Schneizel, what the hell're you-!?" Whoever that person was yelling at the Prince, their rebuttal was cut off as Anya cut the channel herself.

Well it was as good a death as any, all things considered. Not that she was suicidal, but she had never put much stock in her own life; what good was living if all your memories are brief snippets that you keep recorded on your phone anyway?

On that sidenote, Anya picked up her phone and quickly flipped through the odd file until she landed on the one she'd been looking for: The boy with the rose and the kind smile. If she had one regret it was that she'd never learn who he was, why he was picking roses from a clearly expensive and well-kept garden, why he was smiling at her…why he was in her phone to begin with.

But maybe that was for the best. It wasn't like she'd remember him any-

"THE CONVERGENCE IS NIGH!"

Suddenly a sharp stinging in her head broke her musing. The pain came so quickly and so acutely that she dropped the phone, lurching forward in her seat.

Not again! Not now! Her begging was for nothing as the stings became stabs, as if her brain was being pushed open from the inside. Go away! Stop it! I don't want to forget! I don't want to forget!

Her internal screams did nothing though and a moment later the pain subsided. Leaning back into her seat as if nothing had happened, Anya observed the situation she'd woken up to. It appeared she was fighting that red Knightmare again, though it had clearly been upgraded since their little tussle in China. A brief scan of her earlier memories filled her in and Anya couldn't help a little giggle. Well would you look at that, he's attracted quite the lethal young woman. How very like you, Charles.

Still, Lelouch on his own with nothing but a Knightmare and C.C. to rely on was bound to get into trouble, especially after that little lightshow of Schneizel's that killed Nunnally. If she had the time she'd look for him herself but alas, Charles was ready to begin so that was where she needed to be. However, that didn't mean she couldn't send someone to look after that silly boy of hers.

In the Guren, Kallen was finally getting a hold of herself. Shaking her head to remove the last strands of dizziness, she looked up to see the Mordred lazing above her as if it hadn't just rammed into her. It was still in her machine's hold though the shielding hadn't wavered even a little bit under her claws, something that served to annoy her if she was being honest with herself. She'd have to see if that couldn't be fixed if she got out of this alive.

If? What happened to 'when'? Her choice of phrasing aside, the situation wasn't what she'd expected going in. A simple fight that should have been open and shut had instead resulted in her being given the run-around before being dealt three hits and that was before this one had shown up. It should have been over ages ago and yet here she was, in the superior machine, being outclassed on all fronts. Frankly she was going to need a miracle to get out of this with the Guren intact at this rate…

Although…her eyes were drawn to the orange emergency handles above her on the top of the cockpit hatch. It was a decision she was loathe to take because it meant losing her beloved Knightmare only hours after she got it back, but if she had to she could use the ejection system. Not exactly how I pictured this ending but I'm not dying just yet.

"My, my, but you are a dangerous one." For a moment Kallen thought she'd imagined that voice, but then they – she, the voice was clearly female – spoke again. "A bit pig-headed though. Did you really think you could win just because you had the better machine?"

That little dig riled her somewhat and now she actively searched for the voice. Her quick search ended when she noticed that her voice-only communications system was receiving someone on an open channel. And going by the clear reception the person had to be close by.

"Who is this?" Kallen asked sharply. "What's it to you what I thought or didn't?"

"Aw, sweetie, I'm hurt. After our dance in China I'd thought you'd remember me." And then right on her screen Kallen saw the most audacious thing: The Mordred raised its right arm and waved in an almost cheery manner. "Hi."

"What the…you?!" She spluttered. "Why are you calling me?! If this is just to gloat, kindly fuck off."

"Such language." The girl replied cheekily. "No wonder Lelouch likes you."

Lelouch… The utterance of that name from someone who wasn't her or C.C. put Kallen on alert. "How do you know that name?"

"Now's not the time for that." The Knight of Six replied quickly. "Tell me, if you let go of me right now what would you do?"

"What?! What kind of question is that?! Why the hell would I even-?" Kallen's tirade was cut off though when her cockpits sensors suddenly pinged and her attention was suddenly directed to something behind her. The sensors had detected a sudden spike of concentrated energy emanating a few hundred meters away from them, too large to be any Knightmare held weapon save for her Radiant Wave Unit or a Hadron cannon. And considering her Guren was the only Knightmare on the field that could generate the kind of energy readings she was seeing that could only mean that…

Oh no. Looking around completely, Kallen's gaze was filled with the Ikaruga. On either side of the bow section of the ship, the two gold sections of the ship's armour had opened up to reveal its strongest weapon: The salvaged Hadron cannons from the Gawain, both of them targeting her. If they let loose from this range, if the Mordred kept her from running, it wouldn't matter how advanced the Guren was; those cannons would atomise her.

"Tell me!" Anya Alstreim shouted at her again. "Do you want to die here and leave Lelouch alone or do you want to live?"

"I…" What the hell was going on with the world? A Knight of the Round, one of Britannia's best soldiers, one the soldiers who'd captured her, was trying to save her? When did that become a thing?

"I want to…" Why was everything so confusing? Why couldn't she just have a simple straight answer? Why couldn't anything make sense like it used to before? Back when Zero was just a mask, when she knew what she believed in, back when Lelouch Lamprouge was just another Britannian prick?

Kallen…you have to…

"Live!" Her mouth moved before her brain could stop her. "I want to live! I want answers! I want to know what the hell is going on!"

Getting it off her chest felt good though…

"Then run." Came the other girl's response, firm and commanding. "Your only chance at learning those things is to find Lelouch. So run, find him, and get your answers."

Run? It was such a strange thing to her to do such a thing…and yet what the Knight of Six was saying made sense. If she kept this up, she very well could get herself killed and then there would be no one who cared enough to get the truth out of Lelouch. It galled her to do it…but the Britannian was right. She had to get out of here.

There was no time to make a concise plan or demand how this girl could possibly know all she did - with any luck maybe she'd get those answers from Lelouch as well. As her new decision crystallised, the build up of the Ikaruga's Hadron Cannons reached critical levels. They would fire any second.

Therefore Kallen disengaged the Guren's claw from the Modred and shoved it away, afterwards she sent all the power she could to the Energy Wings and soared upwards not a moment too soon. A nanosecond later, the vicious black-on-red streams of energy poured into the empty space she and the Knight of Six had inhabited only seconds earlier.

They did it…they really fired on me with those things. A part of her was still trying to believe that Minami, someone she'd known since before the occupation, would actively try to kill her thus her numbed shock at the evidence. Whatever hopes she'd had of reconciling with her friends (no matter how miniscule they might have been) were then and there snuffed out. Nothing for it then. From here on out, they're my enemies.

And with that, before the Zangetsu could re-engage her, Kallen turned her back on the Black Knights and took off in the last direction she'd seen the Shinkiro flying towards.

The Pacific Ocean
Underwater, somewhere between Shikinejima and Kaminejima

"Forgive me Rivalz and good luck."

With that last, rather flimsy, goodbye Lelouch turned off his phone and stored it away inside one of the Shinkiro's hatches along with his mask. A part of him wished he could return to Ashford and shoot off fireworks from the roof with all his friends, but that was just another promise in the long line that he just couldn't keep anymore.

It was better this way. If the Emperor was doing what Lelouch suspected he was, there was only one place in all of Japan that he could be. How ironic, he'd just been talking with Kallen about going there to help C.C. and now it seemed he would have had this confrontation anyway. Still if he could catch him in there then the task at hand would be met, and Rivalz and Milly would just be left to wonder about that mysterious friend of theirs who just up and disappeared one day.

Milly, I'm sorry I can't remove the Geass that bastard put on you…especially considering you would have loved the whole thing. He couldn't help the wry smile at the thought, wondering once more if C.C. had really needed to kiss him to wake him up or if she'd just been messing with him again. Still, he knew Milly would excel at her job. She'd always loved sticking her nose in where she shouldn't even before her family had lost their noble status, she would have made an excellent informant. As it was, if she found fulfilment in what she was doing now then Lelouch could only wish her well and hope that, one day, she would remember everything about their past together. At least then there would be someone who remembered Nunnally.

A judder from the Shinkiro drew him back to reality and he glanced at the systems screen. The flight from the Ikaruga hadn't done his Knightmare any favours, there hadn't been time to repair it after the earlier battle so it had those wounds as well as those inflicted in its escape to deal with. It was pretty clear to Lelouch as he made the now quite perilous submarine journey to Kaminejima that this mission was its last as well as his own.

It just needs to get me there. I'll do the rest.

And wouldn't that be a task? Somehow he was going to have bypass the Emperor's elite guard, not to mention the garrison stationed there, and that wasn't even factoring in the most troublesome obstacle he'd have to overcome: Bismarck Waldstein, the Knight of One, the Emperor's Strongest, and other such monikers. Even if he had Kallen with him, Lelouch would hesitate to commit her to taking that man down. Suzaku was one thing, but this man had been Knight of One even during his mother's time as a Round. She had been the strongest woman in the Empire…but Bismarck was still the Knight of One.

A frontal assault is impossible. Lelouch concluded. Knightmare or not, Waldstein would crush him even if he managed to wipe out all the other soldiers on the island. But then…Who says I need to get rid of them myself?

For so long he'd used his Geass secretly, in ways that extended his reach but hid the source…but now it seemed everyone and their dog knew about Geass. If the Emperor had always known, if he'd had an entire Order dedicated to researching it, then how could Bismarck not know too?

And if that's the case… Lelouch looked back up at the screens that showed nothing but ocean, casting a blue tinted reflection back at him including the purple glare coming from one of his eyes. Why should I bother hiding it anymore?

It was a reckless thought, one he would've accused Suzaku or Kallen of once upon a time… but maybe it was time for a bit of spontaneity.

I have to kill him, even if I die in the process.

And with that commitment, a plan began to form. It was risky, stupid, reckless, and downright suicidal…but it was still a plan.

So…all those bets on Kallen winning...silly rabbits. I seriously considered calling this chapter "Teething Problems." Something that bugs me in mecha anime is that, most times out of ten, once the pilot gets their mid-season upgrade they manage it without a problem…yeah, I have trouble adapting to a keyboard when I buy a new laptop, no way anyone adapts to their new super-death-bot that quickly.

Next chapter: A brief interlude.