Turn Twelve: Battle for Kyoto
"Japan had to become a battleground again before I realized the only true path to peace. It didn't lay in government halls or the Zero-Requiem. It didn't require the people to be conned into hating some dictator or weapon symbolizing war. It required only one very simple concept, a concept that the world had left behind with philosophy, morality, and religion. All that the world's people really needed to obtain a lasting peace was the power to forgive."- Excerpt from the diary of Suzaku Kururugi dated August 22nd 2024 a.t.b.
"Euryale, I'm picking up a pair of Automatos leaving the coastline of Japan and heading for a string of Islands near Ō-Shima Island in Sagami Bay." A beautiful woman with pale-blue eyes, like those of a gray-wolf, said staring at the goddess from within her machine's cockpit.
"Oh? What kind are they Scylla?" Euryale asked the gaunt-white skinned woman from within the cockpit of the Gorgon.
"The information from Hephaestus shows them to be of the Lancelot class of Britannian Automatos." Scylla's cold, elf-like features changed slightly as she attempted a smile, causing locks of her silver hair to fall down over the front of her eyes. "Shall I destroy them?"
Medusa looked up at Euryale from her pilot's seat below and frowned.
"No Scylla," Euryale answered upon seeing her sister's grimace. "Leave these two machines to us for the moment. They may have someone we are looking for within them."
"As you wish Euryale," Scylla raised an eyebrow as she brushed her hair back. "However, I should warn you that Charybdis' sensors have detected a gateway to the river Styx on the farthest isle of that chain. The one the Japanese call Kaminejima Island. This pair of Automatos may be heading there to use the gateway."
"How soon will they arrive at the island?" Euryale asked.
"Three quarters of an hour," Scylla answered.
"We can be there in nearly that time," Medusa told Euryale knowing that her sister would ask.
Euryale regarded Scylla sternly, "You are to proceed to Osaka Bay and prepare for Jason's arrival. He should be in that area within the hour for his assault on the UFN capital in Kyoto. Once he has launched his attack you are to destroy the city, and Jason with it, is that understood Scylla?"
The woman gave her a venomous grin, "Perfectly Euryale."
"Attention Ikaruga, this is Kyoto air defense control," A male voice said over the radio, "hold your position at twenty kilometers from Kyoto and await further orders."
"Twenty Kilometers?" Chiba asked out loud as Villetta, Jeremiah, and CC entered the bridge.
"Something must be wrong," Jeremiah said.
"What makes you say that Jeremiah?" C.C. asked him.
Jeremiah gave her a concerned look, "They're holding us at a position that is just outside of the blast diameter of a FLEIJA."
"You think so?" Villetta blurt out.
"Are we in danger?" Nagisa asked the operator over the radio. "I need to know because we have civilians on this ship and they've waited long enough to disembark. If I don't unload them soon they may cause trouble. Is there a port available that I can release them at?"
"One moment Ikaruga," the air control officer told her. "I'm patching General Tohdoh to you now."
"Tohdoh?" Nagisa was surprised as his image came up on the bridge big screen.
"Captain," He said with a nod.
"Hi…Kyo…I mean greetings General Tohdoh," She was so happy to see his face she nearly forgot proper military protocol.
"It's nice to see you again too Chiba," He was being unusually informal.
"What's going on?" She ventured to ask.
He cleared his throat, "It would seem the Lancelot of the Lake has been stolen."
"Stolen!" Jeremiah blurt out, mortified at the possibility of Schneizel gaining two FLEIJA weapons, "By whom?"
Kyoshiro turned to look at Jeremiah Gottwald and furled his brow, "Yes the FLEIJA armed KnightMare was taken in the early morning hours last night. We know who the perpetrators are but I'd rather not say in Britannian company."
C.C.'s eyes widened as she knew there was probably only one person on Earth who had the means to steal the Lancelot of the Lake. "It's Zero isn't it General?"
"If by Zero you mean Suzaku Kururugi then yes,' Kyoshiro didn't hide his distain for what Suzaku had done and he showed it by exposing his identity.
He knows? C.C. wasn't sure how Tohdoh knew Zero's identity but she didn't need to be told the implications of the situation to realize the total failure of Zero Requiem. "Is he by himself Tohdoh?"
He regarded C.C. with a scowl, "Not that this is any of your concern witch, but no he's not alone."
"Who is with him Kyoshiro?" Chiba asked forgetting proper decorum due to the gravity of the situation.
Tohdoh sighed, "Empress Nunnally of Britannia, a man from the UFN Russian delegation identified as Enoch Apsu and an unidentified woman."
"Enoch," C.C. whispered to herself as she looked down at the floor to hide her involuntary expression of surprise from those around her.
Villetta saw C.C. mutter something to herself before the immortal woman looked up at Tohdoh, "We have to go after them Kyoshiro!"
"You?" He scoffed, "Why would I let you go after four fugitives armed with a pair of FLEIJA weapons? You're not exactly trust worthy witch."
"You'll let me go because I'm expendable," She eyed him carefully. "And Suzaku will listen to me."
"She's right," Jeremiah stepped forward. "I'll volunteer to go as well. My Geass canceller may be useful if we encounter any of Schneizel's allies."
"Why would your Geass canceller be useful against Schneizel's allies?" Tohdoh asked in a befuddled tone.
"I'll fill you in later General," Chiba winked at him with a coy smile.
Kyoshiro suddenly had the feeling he was no longer in control of the situation, "I see. Very well, the two of you can go and try to stop Kururugi, but I must warn you that the UFN will not tolerate anything less then the return of the Lancelot of the Lake. The rest of you must proceed to Kobe and unload the civilians off of Ikaruga then return here immediately. There is an enemy fleet headed for Japan from Australia and we need every aerial battleship we have."
"Understood General," Chiba saluted him. "We'll proceed to Kobe and return here as soon as we can."
He nodded as his image vanished from the screen.
Chiba turned to C.C. and Jeremiah, "I can't say I'm comfortable about you two going either, but we don't seem to have any choice in the matter. You had better take your KnightMares in case you encounter any enemy units. Good luck." She added as C.C. and Jeremiah Gottwald each gave her a nod and then left for the KnightMare hangar.
"Here is my greatest ambition Nina," Schneizel waved his hand before the massive machinery that was spread over a room the size of a football stadium.
"It looks like a Gejhun generator," Professor Einstein said as she examined the mechanisms.
"That's exactly what it is," He smiled.
"But what good is a Gejhun generator of this size Prince Schneizel?" Nina knew the large device would only be effective within the area of the island and perhaps some of the surrounding ocean; a diameter of no more than sixty or seventy miles.
"It is not just a Gejhun generator Nina." He snickered. "It is in fact a Gejhun pulse energy transmitter."
She gasped at the implications of such a device, "A transmitter? But that means you could broadcast a Gejhun beam."
"Exactly," he walked over to a screen nearby and activated it. A digital representation of the Pitcairn Island base was shown as a red dot on a 3D global atlas. "With this device and the Global Transmission Array of the Thor we can transmit a Gejhun pulse of intense magnitude to any place on Earth via the satellite network that surrounds the planet." A green line shot out from the red dot to multiple blue dots representing satellites which in turn shot forth rays of yellow onto the 3D globe in various places.
She gave him a dark look, "You could disable every KnightMare on the planet."
"And end war forever," He told her softly.
"So this is why you need my FORGE? To compensate for the immense power requirements of such a large Gejhun device," Professor Einstein glared at him.
"It's the reason I hadn't used this device before and the reason my father thought of it as a foolish hobby of mine rather then a real threat. And he was right, that's all it really was until you came into my life. Your FORGE has the power to produce all the energy I need to make my dream come true."
Nina shook her head slightly, "It's a pleasant dream Prince Schneizel but you know that even without KnightMare Frames or Sakuradite powered airships the nations of the world would still go back to warring with each other in other ways. Your brother Lelouch proved that when he tried to focus all of the world's hate upon him and for a time they did, but it lasted less time then it took to create such a sentiment. How would your world be different?"
"My dear brother assumed that men's hearts had a propensity for good and that if they were shown the horror of war they would never wage it again. It was a nice sentiment but idealistically foolish. I'm a far more practical man then that. I understand that the have-nots always want what the haves possess, and in turn the haves seek to protect themselves from the have-nots. It is this lack of mediation of resources…a lack of a planned society that causes such wars."
Schneizel's scheme intrigued her, "And you plan on creating such a planned society with this machine, yet you have no way of enforcing such a plan should countries not go along with your vision."
"I have a contingency for that as well," He smirked.
"I fail to see the point of us attacking this Island nation," Heracles complained from within the cockpit of Helios. "We're already spread out pretty thinly and this invasion will thin our forces out even further. What is so dammn important about this place?"
"We need the Golden Apple deposits at Mount Fuji to finish powering Tartarus. Once we have that we won't have to continue this bloody campaign." Jason told him as Talos and four legions of Hoplite-Spartans flew in formation towards the coastline of Japan.
"Why don't we just ask Akira to get it for us?" Heracles joked.
"You think we'll meet him here in this battle?" Jason asked his friend.
"Of course," Heracles bellowed. "Don't you want a rematch with the whelp?"
"I'm not so sure I do," Jason hesitated. "This isn't going to be like last time. This time we'll have to fight for real and he may get hurt."
"I understand your fondness for the young warrior Jason, but this is war and there are certainly worse ways to die than in battle." Heracles reassured him as their mecha crossed over the shoreline towards Kyoto.
"I know my old friend, but I think we should try and minimize the casualties in this assault if we can. We're not here to conquer this land." Jason said.
"Ha!" Heracles burst out jovially. "I thought you just said this wasn't going to be like last time and here you are already ordering restraint."
Jason sighed, "I suppose I did say that didn't I?"
"That's okay Jason," Heracles laughed heartily. "It'll be more of a challenge if we just try and disable them rather them slay them, especially when they'll certainly be trying to kill all of us."
"I'm not sure I share you enthusiasm over such a contest my friend," Jason sniggered. "They're machines nearly destroyed the Gorgon and its flight of Harpies. We may find ourselves in a similar situation."
"Nonsense!" Heracles scoffed, "As if Euryale and her monkey-brained sister could match the likes of us in battle. Those two are better at spreading vile rumors and wooing men to their bed chambers than engaging in a real fight."
Jason tittered, "They're accomplished soldiers Heracles…" He laughed. "They are skilled in combat."
"Jason," Orpheus' voice cut into the channel.
"Yes Orpheus? What is it?" Jason's tone became serious.
"Sixty-five enemy Automatos and twelve airships are inbound and closing fast," Orpheus said.
"What kind of Automatos are they?" Heracles asked.
"Mixed…however there are twenty of the transformable types," Orpheus replied.
"Order our Spartans to engage them but to exercise restraint." Jason heard Orpheus sigh over the radio before he continued. "I don't care how many of their machines you cripple or destroy Orpheus just try not to injure their pilots."
"But Jason…" Orpheus started to say before Heracles cut him off.
"You heard the Captain!" Heracles boomed. "We're here to acquire the Golden Apple from Mount Fuji not slaughter a bunch of mortals."
"Aye sirs," Orpheus said obediently.
"I've got a bad feeling about this Mika," Lena told her over a private channel as the Japan Jaguars flew their KnightMares towards the coordinates given them by Captain Chiba just on the outskirts of Kobe.
"Why, is it because we're the last line of defense?" Mika asked her.
"Maybe," Lena looked out at the Zangetsu and the Guren MK II as they flew side by side. "I just worry about those two." She said.
"You mean Akira and Fong?" Mika inquired as they came to their guard position and stopped.
"Yes," Lena answered her in a meek tone. "I don't trust Li Jiang. I know he understands the situation and he'd never do anything to forfeit a victory, but I remember what he said to me in the mess hall..."
Lena had confided in Mika what had really happened between her and Fong, "You mean about killing Akira?" Mika ventured to raise the question knowing it bothered Lena.
"Yah, that's what I mean," She bemoaned. "I think that if we win this battle Fong will try to hurt Akira."
"No way Lena," Mika stated with confidence. "Fong would be shot out of the sky by me personally if he even tries it."
The discs of explosions lit up the sky over Osaka in the distance in front of them, "Looks like it has started Mika," Lena said.
"Get ready everyone," Villetta's said over the general radio frequency. "The enemy has broken through the first line of defense and has split into three groups. The center group is currently engaged with our second line and may be here soon."
"Don't worry Lena," Mika said. "If you want, we can stick by Akira during the battle."
"No, we'd only get in his way," Lena huffed, "Mika…can I ask you something?"
Mika giggled, "Sure Lena, you can ask me anything."
Lena hesitated for a moment before posing the question that had been bugging her since the KnightMare Competition at Sidney, "Are you in love with Akira?"
Mika thought about it for a moment, "Honestly-"
"Here they come Akira!" Fong exclaimed as the first few Hoplite-Spartans broke through Kyoto's second line of defense.
The Greek machines tore through a pair of Vincent-Wards at the rear of the second line of JDF KnightMares.
"Permission to engage the enemy Major Nu," Akira radioed the Jaguars' commander.
"Permission granted Lieutenant Nobunaga…good hunting," She replied quickly as several more of the Greek KMFs got past the Osaka defenders.
"Thank you Major," Akira dodged a blast from the Hades cannon of a Hoplite Lance and cut off one of the wings of the mecha's Icarus units; sending it spiraling to the ground below.
"You're not taking this city!" Fong yelled at one of the Spartans as Guren dodged a Hades bolt and grabbed the arm of the Greek KMF; in the next instant the Automatos' arm was molten slag. The Hoplite followed up with a Chaos-beam attack but Fong rolled Guren out of the way and used the Katen Yaibatou blade to cut the Spartan in half at the waist.
"Don't get too far ahead of us Fong!" Villetta yelled at him as she used the lance of her Jikisan-Akatsuki to penetrate its Aegis Shield and run a Hoplite threw at the waist; the Automatos exploded after she withdrew her weapon.
Li Jiang flew the Guren as fast as the machine's glide-unit would take it; zipping through the mass of Hoplites looking for a target of opportunity. He found one and dove for it.
"You're mine!" Fong said as he reached out with the Fukusha Hadou Kikou radiation wave claw of Guren. The oversized KMF hand bounced off of a golden radiance in front of the Hoplite.
"We meet again," Heracles said over the general radio channel to Fong as Helios swung its club at Guren.
"YOU!" Fong spat over the comm. as Guren barely moved out of the way of the great adamantine weapon.
"Li Jiang, you can't take him alone," Akira flew towards Fong but the Talos flew up in front of him.
"Have you forgotten what I taught you already Akira?" Jason scolded him over the radio. "I could have cut you in half just now. Don't let yourself get distracted in battle, it's how you managed to defeat me last time remember?"
"Jason," Nobunaga said unsure of the Greek's intensions.
"You ready for a rematch?" Jason asked in a mild tone.
"Always," Akira replied.
"Good," Jason had Talos raise its sword in salute.
Zangetsu did the same.
"We need to get out of here Kaguya!" Jiang Reika said as she pulled Sumeragi towards an aerial shuttle in the hangar of the UFN building.
"No Reika, we have to stay here and provide leadership during this crisis." Kaguya protested. "It is our duty."
"General Tohdoh has already given the evacuation order and most of the UFN council has fled the building Kaguya. Even General Tohdoh is moving his command to the Ikaruga. We need to get there too if we're to have any hope of getting out of this alive." The Tianzi dragged her friend up the ramp into the shuttle with the help of two of the ship's crew.
"NO DAMMN IT! I will not run from this enemy!" Kaguya struggled to break free.
"They have two FLEIJA warheads Kaguya. We have to get to safety." The Tianzi pulled with all her might on Sumeragi.
"Nunnally and Suzaku would never use those weapons against us Reika and you know it," Kaguya shot back as she lost her footing.
The four of them fell into the shuttle. A lady-crewman inside the egress pressed the hatch door button and closed the ramp; in an instant the shuttle was in flight.
Gregor spun out of the way of a Hades blast and fired a burst of autocannon rounds at the offending Hoplite; his rounds bounced off of the Aegis Shield of the mecha as it closed in towards his Gekka.
"You okay Gregor?" Tetsuo asked as he was engaged by another of the Greek machines.
"Don't worry Tetsuo I've got this one," Gregor said to his wingmen as he fired a burst of autocannon rounds at the Hoplite.
"You pretty good," Orpheus called to Gregor over the radio as he had his Hoplite flip the Thunder-Lance over and thrust the adamantine spear towards the Gekka.
Gregor parried the spear with the Katen Yaibatou revolving-blade. "You're not bad yourself. It's a good thing for me that your shield lowers when you attack."
Orpheus laughed, "You noticed that did you?"
"I did," Gregor said as he waited for Orpheus' next attack.
Orpheus had his Hoplite stow its spear and shield onto its back. The Spartan then drew its sword and saluted Gregor, "Your friend Akira is an honorable man, are you?"
Gregor had his Gekka salute Orpheus' Spartan, "I am."
Orpheus laughed, "Jason was right about all of you. It's a pity we have to fight."
"I agree," Gregor said as he waited for Orpheus to make the first move. "What's your name?"
"Orpheus," the Greek said proudly.
"I'm Gregor," He said with confidence. "Since you're a guest in my country allow me to offer you the first move in this duel of swords Orpheus."
"Thank you Gregor," Orpheus said as his Spartan lunged at the Gekka.
Gregor barely dodged the sword thrust, "No problem" He spun the Gekka around and slashed at the Hoplite.
The swords of their machines crossed.
"Wow, I haven't been here since they finished this place." Suzaku said as they walked through the large archway with their Lancelots. The ancient hall was lit by a series of six large brass cauldrons on each side of the tomb that burned an odorless, smokeless, substance that Suzaku figured must have been a natural gas fed system of some kind. The entire chamber had been redecorated from its former state of disrepair, though the ancient pillars and walls were unchanged. All along the center of the chamber were representative marble statues in full military regalia and actual weaponry of every Emperor of Britannia before Lelouch. Forty-nine statues lined each side of the eight-foot wide red-marble runway that led to the dais at the far end of the chamber. There upon the dais lay the crystal, vacuum sealed coffin of Lelouch Vi Britannia.
Nunnally was leaning over Suzaku's shoulder looking at the viewscreens as the two mecha came to a stop at the foot of the runway. A flood of emotions coursed through her as the shape of the crystal coffin came into view. Tears filled her eyes.
"Are you okay with this?" Suzaku asked her.
She turned and smiled at him, "Of course I am...it was my idea remember."
He let out a soft laugh, happy to see her smiling despite how painful it must be for her to see Lelouch again. His own feelings were getting to him, "Yah I guess it was. I'm sorry."
"There's no need to be sorry Suzaku…" She paused to wipe the moisture from her eyes. "Those of us who really knew Lelouch all loved him."
"The island is in sight Euryale," Medusa said as they approached Kaminejima Island.
"I don't see the enemy Automatos on my scope Medusa," Euryale was annoyed as she scanned over the whole of the Island with the Gorgon's instruments.
"They must be at the gate inside whatever temple it is hidden in," Medusa told her.
"The Kingdom of Mu hid their gates well," Euryale lamented. "I'm not picking up anything on our sensors. We'll have to spread out our forces and scour the Island visually for the gate."
"That could take too much time Euryale. Jason has already begun his attack on Kyoto and…" Medusa started to say.
"Wait my sister, I'm picking up two more enemy Automatos closing in on the Island." Euryale activated her comm. "Attention all Harpies, proceed underwater immediately and await further orders."
The whole legion obeyed without question and plunged into the waters outside of Kaminejima Island; just as a pair of KnightMares came into view over the far side of the isle.
"I tell you C2, my scope was reading a large number of KnightMares just to the east of Kaminejima." Jeremiah protested.
"If they were actually there they must have dove into the sea and there's nothing we can do about them right now," C.C. said as they flew towards their destination. "We have to get Suzaku and Nunnally out of here as quickly as we can."
The Shinkirou and the Jikisan-Akatsuki flew in a staggered line formation towards the North-East side of the Island. Within moments they were in sight of the concealed gateway to Lelouch's tomb.
"I don't see either of the Lancelot units on my scope Jeremiah. They've probably gone into the chamber with them."
"That was smart thinking on their part," he said. "That way they're totally concealed."
"It's a good thing we know where the Thought-Elevator is or else we'd never find them." C.C. said as she flew her KnightMare down to the mouth of the Geass-Ruin's entrance.
Jeremiah followed suit and landed his KMF next to hers. "Should we go inside with the possibility of an enemy force so close?" He asked.
"We have too," C.C. said. "Let's go in with our KnightMares just in case there really is a force of enemy KnightMares out here and we need ours fast."
"Do you intend on forcing Suzaku to return the Lancelot of the Lake?" Gottwald wondered if she'd actually follow Tohdoh's orders.
"Yes, but I'm not doing it because of what the UFN wants." She answered with defiance in her voice. "I'm going to force him to return the FLEIJA warheads to Kyoto because we may need them to defeat this enemy we're fighting."
"I see," He said impressed by her strategic line of thinking.
"There!" Medusa remarked with excitement. "They've shown us the location of the temple."
"Excellent," Euryale stated with pleasure as she opened up a channel to her legion of Harpies. "Units three through twelve will join up with us to take the Empress and kill Zero and his allies. All other units will proceed to Kyoto and attack the city from the rear now that Jason has begun his assault."
The Harpy units broke into two groups, with nine of them forming up around the Gorgon and the other thirty-one speeding off towards the city of Kyoto.
"The gate to the Thought-Elevator is just behind the velum-screen at the far end of the chamber." Nunnally said as she and Enoch walked towards the dais while Suzaku and the Red Dragon secured their mecha.
Nunnally started down the long Red-Marble pathway.
"Wait!" C.C.'s voice called out to them over the loudspeaker of Shinkirou. "You must stop!"
"C2?" Suzaku said as the Shinkirou and the Jikisan-Akatsuki entered the chamber.
"Yes Suzaku," She replied as she opened up the hatch of her KnightMare and stood up. "You can't take the Lancelot of the Lake from here. You have to return to Kyoto at once. The city is under attack and those FLEIJA may be our only hope of winning against this enemy."
"C2 we need to get Nunnally back to Britannia to stop this conflict," Suzaku said to her.
"Britannia is not the real enemy here," Jeremiah said as he opened his own hatch and got up from his seat. "Bringing her to Britannia is not going to stop this conflict; in fact it could make things even worse."
"What?" Nunnally said in confusion. She knew they what they spoke was the truth but she was confused as to how it could be possible since Britannia had declared war against the UFN.
"If Britannia is not responsible then who is?" Suzaku asked with a skeptical tone.
"A force of Geass users who claim to be the ancient Olympian Gods of the Antediluvian world and their conspirator who awoke them...Schneizel," C.C. said to them. "We don't know how Schneizel revived them, but we do know they are helping him and their weapons are superior to most of what the UFN and Britannia possess. A fleet of their warships may be laying siege to Kyoto even as we speak."
"The Gods of Olympus?" Enoch frowned. "I'd thought they'd all departed Earth millennia ago."
C.C. looked down at the gray-bearded old man and snickered, "You look ridiculous Enoch."
He smiled up at her, "It suits me for the moment. It's nice to see you again Eli..."
"C2!" She told him with a cautious smirk.
"Oh? It's C2 now is it?" He laughed.
"I hate to interrupt but we may all be in danger here," Jeremiah stated firmly. "We should be leaving here immediately."
"Agreed," The Red Dragon said in her modulated voice from atop the Lancelot Frontier. "If what you say is true then we may be in danger here."
C.C. looked at her in surprise, "Who might you be?"
"She's the Red Dragon," Enoch smiled at C.C. "My Great-granddaughter."
"WHAT?" She said in shock. "Then that means she's..." an explosion rocked the interior of the chamber as small rocks and debris fell from the ceiling.
"Looks like they're here!" Jeremiah exclaimed.
The Gorgon sped over the tops of the trees of the Island with its entourage of Automatos in tow. In moments the spot where the two KnightMares had been came into view.
"They've gone inside," Medusa said.
"The fates have smiled on us," Euryale made a wicked grin as the Gorgon settled down on the surface of the Island over what was certainly the roof of the temple. The great wings of the Kolossos-Automatos folded up onto its back as the machine removed its newly-acquired Golden-Toxin bow from where the weapon rested on its hip armor.
"Let's flush them out," Euryale added as the Gorgon pulled back on the energy-string and formed a large gold-energy arrow. In the next moment the great Kolossos let loose the missile into the roof of the underground structure.
"Be careful Euryale," Medusa warned. "We don't want to bring down the whole cavern upon them."
"I know Medusa..." She started to scold her sister when an energy beam raced towards them. "MOVE!" was all Euryale could get out.
Medusa tried to roll the Gorgon out of the path of the deadly beam of light but its left wing was grazed at the shoulder.
"Our Icarus unit has been hit!" Medusa yelled.
Euryale didn't respond to her sister, she had the black and gold colored enemy Automatos in her sights. "Take this!" She spat at the machine as she let loose with a barrage of Hades cannon fire from the tubular head-guns and corralled the Shinkirou into a bolt she let fly from the Gorgon's bow.
C.C. ejected from the doomed KnightMare as the golden-missile of the Kolossos tore through the mid-section of her machine. Shinkirou fell from the sky and impacted into the head of the Gorgon;exploding in a ball of fire as it did so.
"C2!" Suzaku called out as he unsheathed the pair of enhanced MVS blades from the sides of the Lancelot of the Lake. Two Harpies attempted to intercept his KnightMare but Suzaku's skill was too great. He easily slipped through the first Harpy's sword thrust and cut the head of the machine off with his first maser-vibration-sword. With a sweep of the second blade he ran the enemy KnightMare unit through; killing the pilot and destroying the machine.
Suzaku went at the next Harpy with a fury and did a double bladed twist and spin towards the Greek-Hoplite mecha; his first blade cut the arms of the Harpy off whilst the second cut it in half at the waist.
Kururugi searched around for another Harpy unit when he caught sight of the pink Lancelot Frontier cutting down its third Greek Automatos with short, crisp, sword parries and blocks that ended with the MVS of the pink machine going up through the center of the doomed Harpy's main body.
"Suzaku, leave this battle to us," Jeremiah ordered over the radio. "You have a duty to the UFN and to Britannia. Get that KnightMare of yours to Kyoto and stop this invasion, they're depending on you over there." Gottwald said as his Jikisan cut through its second Harpy. "And don't worry about us we can handle this motley crew."
"But I can't just leave Nunnally," He started to protest.
"We'll protect her Suzaku," The Red Dragon told him as she skillfully knocked the sword from her fourth Harpy and stabbed the metal beast in its mid-section; the Lancelot withdrew its weapon and the Automatos exploded.
Seeing Jeremiah's Jikisan-Akatsuki slice through the last Harpy finalized Kururugi's decision, "Alright, I'll take my leave of you and go and help Kyoto, but promise me Jeremiah that you'll get Nunnally to safety."
"I will," Gottwald said as he joined up with the Lancelot Frontier to take on the damaged Gorgon on the Island below them.
The Lancelot of the Lake sped off towards Kyoto as the Red Dragon asked, "Let's take this one together."
"Agreed," Jeremiah said as their two machines came down in front of the Gorgon.
"The Gorgon's Gaze unit has been disabled," Euryale told Medusa, "And our guard detail is gone."
"My controls are sluggish Euryale," Medusa moved the control sticks as quickly as she could to dodge an MVS attack by the Lancelot Frontier; one of the blades clipped the shoulder armor of the Kolossos.
"I'll deactivate the battle-computer," Euryale said as she touched a button on one of the screens in front of her. "You'll have to fly her completely on your own and we won't be synchronized can you do that?"
Medusa let out a laugh, "Against these two fools...are you kidding?" With full control in her hands Medusa easily swerved out of the way of an attack by Jeremiah's Jikisan.
"Good, then we can still take these two," Euryale said regaining her composure as she used the adamantine claw of the Gorgon to grab one of the Akatsuki's MVS blades and snap it in half.
"It's still too powerful for us!" The Red Dragon blurt out as she watched a hail of energy bolts tear through Jeremiah's Jikisan from the tubular head guns of the machine. She dodged a shower of blasts that came at her machine as it swerved in behind the large mecha.
The bolts blew off the left arm, leg, and head of Gottwald's KnightMare Frame but its float unit still allowed it to move, "Dammn it!" Jeremiah cursed as he fired a barrage of autocannon rounds at the Gorgon from his machine's arm mounted gun and used the assault to give the Red Dragon an opening.
The Lancelot Frontier leapt up over the Gorgon as Jeremiah plunged his Jikisan into the Kolossos and ejected, "NOW! Cut down through the damaged armor of its head!"
The Lancelot Frontier dropped from the sky in a dive with both of its MVS swords and drove the blades into the top of the Gorgon all the way down to the hilts through its neck.
The Red Dragon ejected from her machine as the snake-like head cannons of the Gorgon blazed long enough to blast off the legs, arms, and chest armor of the Lancelot Frontier before going dead.
"We've lost all power!" Medusa exclaimed.
Euryale grabbed her sword from the side of her pilot's seat. "That pink machine pierced our energy cells. The Gorgon is shutting down."
Medusa wasn't sure what Euryale was up to until her sister opened the rear hatch. The young pilot grabbed her own sword belt, "So now what?"
Euryale smiled, "Contact Scylla with the emergency communicator and tell her to begin her attack." Euryale gave her sister an evil grin, "This battle is not over."
End Turn Twelve
Next Chapter: Turn Thirteen: Every Demon has his day.
