Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 11: Battle at Narita and the Forest Chase

"Wow, look at that...it's amazing!"

A Black Knights soldier shouted out loud with glitter in his eyes as he saw the knightmares lined up in the Black Knights hideout.

"These are Glasgows right?" Another member questioned.

"No, they are Burais, a Japanese modification." One of the other members corrected him.

"I have never seen these before!"

"Man, the Black Knights has some serious muscle power now!"

"It wasn't easy to team up with the BK you know."

"So that makes us special huh?"

"We are the elites!"

As I watched a group of Black Knight member converse with each other from afar I noticed that the hideout today was very lively and animated. It was said that Kyoto had sent us goods and material to support us after having acknowledged the Black Knight's activities. Also, at the same time it appears that the number of applicants to join the Black Knights also increased, augmenting our forces with a surprising amount of new members and equipment.

I have come out to the hideout today because the Black Knights is going to be holding a battle exercise up in the Narita mountains. Since today was a holiday there were no classes being held I was able to come here without causing any problems at school. As I was walking around the hideout I suddenly heard someone call out to me.

"Rai, come take a look at this!"

I turned around and saw that it was Kallen who was calling out to me. I walked over to where she was standing and I noticed that in front of us was a machine that I have never seen before. Unlike the other frames here this unfamiliar knightmare was painted in a scarlet color and had been put in the back of the hangar. Its silhouette stood out when compared to the sharp outline of the Burai, and its right hand was so big to the extent it was unbalanced. It could almost be called a deformity.

"What kind of knightmare is this?" I asked her.

"This is the very first Japanese-made knightmare called the Guren Mk-II. It is said that its speed per unit time is 1.6 times better than the Britannian army's main unit, the Sutherland. Because its armor was made to correspond with its output its defensive power is also high. It also has a new weapon called the Radiation Wave."

"I see…Will you be the one piloting it?"

"Yes, Zero entrusted it to me…"

Tightly clenching the Guren's key, Kallen looked up at the frame. The light of strong determination dwelled in her eyes.

"Now then, it seems the hiking preparations have all been completed."

I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Zero slowly coming out from within the darkness. As usual, he is a man who appears abruptly.

"As well as knightmares, we have prepared every kind of firearms and even excavating equipment. This seems like a lot for just a hiking trip." I told him.

"We are going to the Narita mountain range, right?" Kallen asked Zero.

"That is also where the Guren Mk-II will make its debut. I am counting on you, Kallen." Zero said.

"Yes sir!" Kallen happily said.

Once everything was prepared we headed off for the Narita Mountains.

Not much time has passed when Zero took off to take care of things on his end. Even so, it wasn't before too long that Zero sent us a signal from a far away location telling us that everything was in the clear and telling us to start the trek up the Narita Mountains. As we were climbing the others started to question what was going to happen.

"Hey, why doesn't Zero just use the radio on his Burai?" Tamaki asked.

"What do you suppose he meant when he said hiking?" Inoue sarcastically said.

"Um, military training right?" Sugiyama said.

"Only with Zero in another location?" Tamaki called out.

"Maybe we will take a hot spring trip." Minami said jokingly.

"Is that why we brought those excavators? Then hell, I'm all for it." Sugiyama said.

"Kallen, have you heard anything about this?" Tamaki asked Kallen.

"No, I haven't." Kallen replied as she looked away with a saddened look on her face.

"You Ohgi?" Tamaki asked Ohgi next.

"Nope, not a word." Ohgi responded.

"How about you Rai?" Tamaki tried asking me now.

"I haven't heard anything either." I replied back.

"I see. It's because this place is supposedly the main base of the Japanese Liberation Front. I wonder whether we are going to do something, but I can't help but think about what is under that mask. It is hard to trust someone like that, don't you think so?" Tamaki questioned me.

After thinking for a moment I gave him my response.

"It is too late for that now. Now that we are here, we have no choice but to have faith in him…in Zero."

"I already know that. You seem awfully calm about it though…"

It was true that everyone wanted to know who was beneath the mask of Zero. Even I was a little curious about it myself. But then again I figured that Zero was wearing a mask simply because he had some awful scar on his face that he didn't want anyone to see or that he simply didn't want the Britannian Army to see his face for whatever reason.

Although now that I think about it that sort of makes me similar to Zero in that we are both incredibly talented yet wear a 'mask' to make ourselves look like a complete mystery to other people.

Zero seems to be a natural genius along with his ability to gather charisma and information as well as achieve victory against even the mightiest of foes with just rookie forces. As for myself, I am also fairly knowledgeable about several different things and I seem to be able to fend for myself against several types of adversaries, whether with hand to hand combat with my own strength or that of a knightmare frame.

The difference lies in how we 'mask' ourselves. While Zero intentionally wears a literal mask on his face whereas although my face is always seen, it is cloaked behind a 'mask' of amnesia that is, as far as I am aware right now, unintentional.

Suddenly, my eyes widened as I silently gasped to myself when I realized I was in deep thought about comparing myself to Zero. Why in the world was I so focused about that? While I do think it is kind of interesting to compare myself to other people, and while this isn't the first time I have done it I need to stay more focused about the current matter at hand before I get reprimanded by Tamaki and them, even if this is just going to be some joint training exercise for the other members of the Black Knights.

Without being given a clear plan of operations from Zero, the Black Knights arrived at the Narita mountains with all of its forces. When we arrived in the vicinity of the mountaintop we set up the excavation equipment as Zero indicated and then I waited patiently in my Burai. What was going to happen now?

After some time passed I saw Zero arrive in his Burai. He came out and started talking to Ohgi about the situation.

"Are you really going through with this?" Ohgi asked Zero.

"Our opponent is Cornelia. Her forces are said to be the best Britannia has to offer."

"Then why don't we cooperate with the Japan Libertaion Force?"

"What was that? Ohgi, don't you believe in me anymore?"

"What do you mean? I was the one who asked you to be our leader. Don't you remember?"

"Then there is only one answer to give."

"Oh…right." Ohgi replied as he looked away in disappointment.

Suddenly, a huge formation appeared in the sky. Britannian knightmares descended one after another and flooded the base of the mountain from all directions.

"It has begun." Zero said as if he was expecting something like this to happen.

"What the hell? You got to be kidding me! Those troops coming in had this area totally surrounded! There is no way out! We can't possibly win against all these enemies!" Tamaki screamed out.

"Our path of retreat has already been cut off. The only way to survive now is to fight!" Zero valiantly proclaimed.

I see, so it is like that…Like he said before this place is the main base of the JLF, the largest resistance organization in Japan. With the amount of fighting power the Britannian army had gathered here at Narita, it seemed they were going to start a full-blown mop-up operation. It seemed like the Viceroy, Cornelia, was starting to move. Zero must have gotten information about this from somewhere beforehand and decided to intervene in the battle. The fact that I can understand all this means I must have knowledge and possibly even experience military battles like this one. In that case…

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the complaints of the other team members.

"What, we can't fight the Britannians!" Inoue called out.

"Let me get this straight. We are surrounded and you want us to fight them head on?" Tamaki shouted out.

"We will be fighting against Cornelia! Her forces are far stronger than anyone we have ever encountered!" Sugiyama said.

"Correct, it would be a miracle if we somehow win this." Zero calmly said.

"Zero, what are you saying?" Ohgi turned towards Zero.

"Even Messiahs must perform miracles in order to be acknowledged. Therefore, we must produce our own miracle won't we?" Zero proclaimed.

"Now look, pulling this off isn't going to be cheap. The price could be our lives…I knew it was a mistake to make you our leader, it should be me!" Tamaki said as he pulled his gun out and aimed it at Zero.

Zero quickly responded by pulling his own pistol out and pointed it at Tamaki. This caused Tamaki to immediately freeze and stop. A moment later Zero pointed his firearm at the ground.

"Our path of retreat has been cut off. If you think you can win without me then shoot me, someone, anyone!"

Everyone seemed to be surprised be what Zero said…Well, except me. I knew exactly what Zero was trying to do. He is trying to create a circumstance that will stir up the Black Knight soldier's instincts to live; thereby making them tackle the battle ahead with desperation. And the members who survived till the end of this battle wouldn't just grow as soldiers with the experience of battle. If Zero, who had been admired so much up till now, could create such a miracle everyone would want to follow him in the future. A pretty extreme battle tactic if you ask me though.

"Since you've joined the Black Knights you had only two choices, you may live with me…or you may perish with me!" Zero shouted as he challenged the members.

"All right, fine, do whatever you want." Tamaki said.

"We acknowledge you as our leader Zero." Sugiyama proclaimed.

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Now everyone, please look at this."

I was sent battlefield data from Zero's Burai.

"The Britannian army is already finishing their encirclement. We will have little time once they have confirmed the location of the JLF's stronghold. However, we will divide Cornelia's forces. We will isolate her from the rest and then capture her. We will create a miracle here!"

Divide their forces? How on Earth was he going to do that? The Black Knights don't have that much fighting power. Zero seemed to have noticed my confusion and walked over towards my Burai to call me out.

"Rai, let me ask you something. What kind of tactic do you think I will use here?" Zero questioned me.

After looking around my surroundings I finally came up with an answer.

"Dropping something down from a high plateau like this place is the classic strategy. I am guessing that those things stuck in the rock face will be used as tools to cause a landslide down the mountain. With the enemy divided and in chaos you can use a surprise attack to capture or kill the enemy commander. For a minority like us to beat a large enemy like Britannia there isn't any other choice of action but this."

"Hmm…There is a strong possibility that you have been in an army or a resistance group of some kind before now, in your past."

"Huh…What do you mean?"

"The strategy you spoke of was logical and reasonable. You know the basics of tactics and you know how war works. That wasn't the ramblings of an ordinary citizen."

I couldn't argue with Zero's words. After our arrival to our current location things concerning battle seem to have poured out one after another inside my thoughts, like the mind of someone who experienced battle.

"I think that the atmosphere of battle that will fill the Narita mountain range might help stimulate your memory. I hope this atmosphere will satisfy you to your heart's content. However, I don't want to see you die yet. That is an order. Now that the enemy has discovered the JLF's headquarters we aim for the moment when they attack. For now, stay on standby inside your Burai."

"Roger." I gave a simple reply.

"Okay Kallen, decide it with this shot." Zero called out to her.

"Yes sir."

Kallen then placed the Guren's right arm on top of the excavator and pushed the spike into the ground. She then started to activate the radiation wave.

"Output confirmed…Wave surger ready and holding…Activating gauntlet now!"

Immediately following that an enormous avalanche of water and earth gushed out of the mountain's surface. A mudslide started to head down from the mountain crushing all the knightmares of both the JLF and the Britannian Military. The mudslide went all the way down the mountain and even crashed its way into the city below.

(Third Person View)

"Oh my, at this rate they will be swept away towards the bottom." Lloyd said as he watched the number of knightmares being defeated increasing on the IFF screen.

"These heat ratings are abnormal! You believe a hydroboltic eruption was artificially induced?" Cecile questioned.

"Impossible…unless someone used Rakshata's Radiate Wave Surger." Lloyd explained.

"Did something happen?" Suzaku questioned from his cockpit.

"But it has nothing to do with us so just relax and continue waiting." Lloyd said.

"Right…" Suzaku responded.

"By the way…did that silver haired kid ever gave you a response about joining the Britannian Military?" Lloyd asked Suzaku.

Suzaku came back out of his cockpit to give Lloyd a clear answer.

"Oh, do you mean Rai? I did get a chance to talk with him at school one day but he told me that he wasn't interested and that he would rather stay in school."

"Well, isn't that a disappointment. And here I already customized one of those new prototypes to fit his fighting standards. I guess Miss Cecile and I are going to have to change it back to its original settings now. Oh, if only we have more capable devicers around to test these prototypes out." Lloyd said displeased.

"It was his decision after all and I wasn't going to force him. Besides, maybe it would be better for him to stay in school anyways."

"Oh; and why is that?" Lloyd asked.

"Well you see…there is this girl that Rai hangs out with at school. If he were to join the military though I fear that he won't be able to see her that much anymore. I would hate for them to be separated because of something that I did."

"So is this person his girlfriend or something?" Cecile questioned him.

"Well, they never made any official statement or anything but I think it is heading in that direction. I believe he would be safer with her than with me anyways." Suzaku proudly said.

(First Person View: Rai)

"Kallen, Rai, follow me." Zero commanded.

"Yes, sir." Kallen obediently replied.

"Understood…" I said as I started to follow Zero's Burai with my own knightmare.

With Zero at the head we dashed and weaved our machines between the slope's trees. Having already lost any chance of escape we charged into the enemy with a desperate thrust. Was this also part of Zero's calculations? Driving his comrades into a last stand, without being concerned about involving the JLF or the city at the base of the mountain? What cool-headed calculations.

"Knightmares are approaching from the east!" Kallen said.

"As estimated, they seem to have unexpectedly lost some of their forces." Zero mused.

Looking at the battle data as we headed towards the isolated Cornelia it seemed there were still enemies left who had been separated into different troublesome places.

"Rai, while we go subdue Cornelia, you hold this group of units back." Zero ordered.

"I understand."

"I will send you some companions. Kobayashi, Okino, Yamasaki. They will accompany you."

"That is unnecessary…We don't have the room to spare excess military forces. I will intercept them with just my own unit." I calmly told Zero.

Ideally, I would want the same number of units as the enemy. No, I would want several times their own numbers. But that is only in a situation where there are sufficient forces on our side to act as support. The divided reserve forces don't exist among the Black Knights who were, from the start, few in numbers. The Knightmares are an especially important military resource. It is natural for a single unit to be placed in multiple major battlegrounds.

"Oh…Is that so." Zero murmured to himself.

"Zero, under no circumstances should a single unit fight alone!" Kallen protested.

"Kallen, this person said that he will intercept them alone. He understands the main point of this mission. And remember, this is the same person you recommended for his amazing battle strategies and knightmare combat abilities."

"But even so…"

"With this he has a chance of succeeding."

"Don't worry Kallen, I will be fine. I can handle this." I reassured her.

"…Then promise me that you will come back alive okay?"

"Roger that."

"Go Rai, we will see each other again after this battle!" Zero said as he, Kallen and the others went on ahead.

"Yeah, until then…"

After making my frame turn around, I exited from the surrounding trees. There were several other infantry here as back up. But I wouldn't be able to depend on them for this. The enemy consisted of five Sutherlands. However, I have no choice but to do this. Although, if I use my surroundings to my advantage in this circumstance, I may be able to do something even if my frame is inferior.

Let's see, my Burai's weapons consists of two slash harkens, an assault rifle, one stun tonfa on its left arm, and if I really need to, I could even use my knightmare's fists if I have to. Right now I have three choices at my disposal. Should I attack cautiously and diminish them with certainty, should I attack at once and finish them quickly, or should I lure the enemy away to where the backup forces are?

After giving it some thought I decided that I can't give the enemy any time to think. I took aim at the first frame I saw and fired my assault rifle immediately. My bullets dug into my enemy's metal frame but I couldn't destroy it. In order to quickly move toward a tree shielded area I ran down the mountain. Immediately hiding myself among the trees I let the chasing Sutherland go past me. I then took my Burai out of the tree which it had been hiding behind and aimed at the back of the passing Sutherland. The enemy pilot noticed me at the last second but it was already too late. With a direct hit from the assault rifle bullets, the Sutherland went tumbling down the slope. Well, that's one down.

I then moved my Burai and returned to my original position. This time the enemy didn't immediately chase after me after having one of their units destroyed. First they would have to make sure they were ready. Now then, what should my next action be?

The enemy had become wary and taken their distance. But this situation could be undone with just one turn of the assault rifle. While facing and firing bullets at the enemy Sutherlands I quickly backtracked and headed towards the area where the back-up forces were. Taking my invitation the Sutherlands chased after me. And then, after passing the area where the back-up forces were lying in wait the Sutherlands were concentrated by gunfire and two of them were destroyed this time. Okay, that's two more down. Just two remaining.

The surviving Sutherlands tried to withdraw from this area, but…I braced myself and prepared for my next action. I have three choices at my disposal. Should I attack cautiously and diminish them with certainty, should I attack at once and finish them quickly, or should I lure the enemy away back to where the backup forces are?

The same strategy won't work twice and I would be at a disadvantage here if this dragged on. I made my Burai charge forward and attack. The enemy noticed me coming and started to fire off their assault rifles. They managed to aim quite accurately at me. I noticed that small chips of metal of the outer body being torn off my Burai. However, I used the trees and rocks to fill up the space between us. I quietly slipped up to one of the Sutherland's chest and hit him directly with my stun tonfa. I then suddenly realized that it wasn't finished off yet. My step-in had been too shallow.

While holding its ground, the Sutherland fired its Slash Harkens at my frame. The harkens managed to hit my right side and separated my frame's right arm but I don't think the damage was too critical. I can still fight back. After I somehow managed to reorganize myself, I fired back my own Slash Harkens and finally managed to get a direct hit on him as the harkens went into the Sutherland's shoulders. I then used the harkens to drag the enemy unit face down on the ground. The Sutherland was finally defeated. Okay, now there should be only one unit left to take out. In order to destroy him though, I will have to settle this in one blow.

The distance between me and the enemy was small. At this distance my stun tonfa might be effective. I will be at a disadvantage if I go defensive. I have to keep attacking and put the pressure on them. I went right up to the Sutherland without giving it a chance to do anything and slammed my Burai's stun tonfa right into the Sutherland's chest. With the damage having reached its power unit, the Sutherland fell backwards but not before throwing something into the air. The Sutherland then hit the ground as it gave off explosive flames. I then looked up to see what the Sutherland threw and realized it was a Chaos Mine. Crap, there is no way that my Burai will be able to get out of the way in time. I will have to eject and leave the machine behind in order to save myself.

While I didn't like the idea of letting my Burai unit go to waste like this I knew there was no other option and I then I ejected from my knightmare. I then watched as the Chaos Mine activated and needles sprouted out from it. The needles then rained down on my Burai and it eventually exploded from taking too much damage. My cockpit eventually stopped at a safe location in the forest where there was no enemy units around. I then began to wonder what I should do next.

Well, I did my job. I defeated the five Sutherlands that were in our way and we only lost my Burai. I guess I will just sit here in my cockpit and await further orders from Zero. After all, it's up to the rest of the guys to finish this operation. I wonder how everyone else is doing.

I open my mouth and let out a deep sigh and I lay back in my cockpit's seat. Even though it has only been forty minutes since I have last heard anything of the current situation it seems like I have been waiting forever to hear anything new. I wonder if should just leave the remains of my knightmare's cockpit and go help the others. Although, I don't know how useful I will be without my knightmare and I am not really familiar with how to use those firearms. What should I do now?

Just as I began to wonder about what I should do next I suddenly received a message from Zero that was sent to all the Black Knight members.

"To all forces…Head to our escape site…We are withdrawing!" Zero said over the radio.

Hmmm…we are withdrawing now? What a coincidence. Though, without my knightmare frame I will have to walk all the way back to our rendezvous point on foot. Hopefully I won't run into anyone from the Britannian army or the JLF forces.

I then exited the cockpit and abandoned what remained of my Burai unit as I started to head for the Black Knight's exit route.

As I was jogging down the disorganized path before me my legs suddenly started to slow down, causing me to walk for a little bit before stopping completely. I didn't really understand why my body did that. I was just standing there now, with my eyes staring down at the dirt ground below me.

I took a moment to look around my surroundings and I noticed that there was no one else around and it was all quiet, maybe even too quiet. I then realized what this feeling I was having, it was isolation. Usually I was always with at least one other person but being here on this unfamiliar mountain and being separated from all my allies without a clear sense of direction, it made me feel uneasy, like I needed to be more cautious. After all our enemies could be anywhere and I was severely unarmed at the moment.

Speaking of which I was surprised that I haven't run into anyone yet considering the distance that I have covered since moving away from my unit. I figured I would have already met up with some of the other members of the Black Knights by now.

I then got that same eerie feeling again as I gazed around the lone trees and rocks. It was way too quiet here; a dead silence filled the mountain and forests. It was starting to make me feel nauseous. I didn't like this feeling I had inside me so I quickly took off and went into a sprint, hoping to get away from this place as quickly as possible.

As I dashed my way through the wilderness I pulled a map of the area from my pocket and took a quick look at it. It appears that there is still some distance between me and the location of our escape route. Hopefully I will make it in time and get these strange feelings out of me soon. Maybe I should quicken up my pacing.

However, it became difficult to speed along the mountain. There was no real clear path or trail to follow, the terrain was so jagged and crooked, and there were several trees and rocks in my way that made it complex to run through.

Eventually, as I was hurrying along with my map held out in front of me, my right foot suddenly got caught in something and my whole body began to fall forward as I crashed into the ground. The map that was previously clutched in my hands now slowly started to descend towards the dirt until it landed on my head and covered my face. I quickly removed the item from my head before taking my next course of action. As my body laid flat on the ground I turned my head around to see that my right foot was caught in a loose tree root that was sprouted out of the land.

"Tch…How careless of me…" I whispered to myself.

As I slowly picked myself up I thought I suddenly heard something. It sounded like something was ticking. But I didn't have a watch or anything like that on me. Wait a minute; now that my hearing is more attuned to it sounds more like a countdown for something.

"Ugh, oh no…!"

As soon as I realized what the noise was I instinctively got back down on the ground and fortified myself for what was about to happen. A few seconds after the final tick there was a small explosion close to where I was at. I wasn't directly caught in the blast but the force of the detonation caused my body to be flung senselessly sideways.

A few moments after that I found myself laying facedown on the ground again. My eyes were diluted and my mind felt disorganized for a few moments. Once I snapped myself back into reality I began to wonder what just happened, all the while coughing.

"'Cough'…What was that explosion just now…'Cough'…Was it from a bomb or landmine perhaps?"

As I tried to go through all the possibilities in my mind I suddenly heard a voice coming from somewhere in the forest.

"Interesting, so that is how you defended yourself. Still, I wonder how you will dodge the next one!"

I didn't understand. Just hearing the voice itself and knowing that I was suddenly not alone in these woods caused my whole body to freeze over for a moment. My body felt frightened, my legs were wobbling, the voice itself scared me, and couldn't comprehend why. I felt like I was about to experience something that only occurs in nightmares, only this time this wasn't a dream. Still, I somehow gathered the courage to respond and yelled back out to the trees surrounding me, with obviously signs of fear conveyed in my tone of voice.

"W-Who's there…Where are you?!"

However, I didn't get a reply, at least not the kind I was expecting. Instead, I was about to be greeted by something flying right towards my head. It was something with a spherical-like shape to it and was about the size of a baseball being thrown at about eighty miles per hours. Even with fear holding me back I was still able to tilt my head and body enough to avoid contact with the baseball like object and it flew right past me. Instead, the object hit a tree but for some reason instead of falling to the ground the object staid latched onto the tree. A few seconds later I heard that same ticking noise from before coming from that object stuck to the tree. Soon enough there was another explosion that gave off a pink flash of light and the tree came tumbling down. So it was a bomb after all, and judging from the light it gave off it appears to have been made with sakuradite

After seeing that display there was only one thing going on in my mind…I have to get away now! I know that if I stay here I am as good as dead. As soon as I shook the fear out of my legs I used them to carry me as far away as possible from here.

I continued to run through the forest, with explosions going off behind me as I used the trees and rocks of the terrain to shield myself. I almost felt like I was running through the front lines of a battlefield. As I moved along I kept swaying my head left and right, trying to locate the owner of that voice. I knew that person had to be somewhere close by, throwing these explosive obstacles in almost every direction.

They clearly had the advantage over me. They could see me and I couldn't locate them. They could easily launch attacks at a distance while I had no way to fight back. And worst of all they have a reason to attack while I had no clue as to why. Darn it, if only I how the power to strike back somehow. I hated feeling so powerless like this. It just annoys me.

Still, I knew what I had to do though. If I could just regroup with everyone else at the escape route then maybe whoever is throwing explosives at me will leave me alone, I can at least hope so anyways. I still kept going with everything I had.

However, just when I was getting closer to my destination I suddenly felt something spread throughout my body, almost like a rapid virus. And that virus was called exhaustion. I was so focused on everything else around me that I wasn't aware at all that my body was slowly breaking down, especially after everything that has happened today. My lungs were beat, my legs started to hurt and I could feel myself slowly down.

"N-No…not here…" That was all I could manage to say as I started to kneel down and tried to catch my breath.

I was so close too. I still had at least another mile to trudge through before I made it to my destination. But I felt too fatigued and tired to even move. In fact, I haven't felt like this ever since that one time…Yeah, back when I first arrived at Ashford Academy and when I met everyone…Everyone…

I then suddenly remembered something.

"…Then promise me that you will come back alive okay?"

"Go Rai, we will see each other again after this battle!"

I could hear Kallen's and Zero's voices in my head.

"Yeah, that's right…They are expecting me to come back aren't they? And not just them either, there are people back in the settlement waiting for me too isn't there?"

For a moment I could see the image of Kallen's face and Zero's mask in my mind, as well as the faces of those in student council. They are all waiting for me, even though none of them are aware of the situation I am in right now. Still, I can't let any of them down. I must…

With newfound strength building up inside me, I slowly felt myself beginning to rise again. These fears I was having were slowly starting to drift away as I formed a new conviction in my mind.

As everything continued to explode around me I slowly opened my eyes and looked straight ahead with a renewed purpose rekindled in my mind."

"I just have to keep moving forward with everything I have. That is all."

And after having spoken those words out loud, I rushed forward and never stopped.

With a firm goal in mind I continued to hurry on. I could tell I was close to my goal. I could see the exit was just right ahead. There was a wide opening between a pair of trees that led to something that at least resembled a trail. It even seemed to have a holy light shining forth from it. Or maybe that was because the evening sun was coming down in that direction. I didn't know.

At the same time I noticed that as I got closer to my escape route the number of explosive going off slowly started to diminish until there was absolute silence once again. I wonder; is whoever after me aware of where I am heading or are they just simply running out of ammunition. I was hoping for the latter.

For some reason I decided to stop and turn around for a moment. I stared at the background behind me and noticed someone or something. I couldn't see that well because there was a huge distance between us but I thought I saw a shadow like figure standing with their back up against a tree. Is that person the one behind all of this? They were staring right in my direction and without warning that person raised their left arm and held it up right in front of themselves. Suddenly, the next thing I knew the back of their hand started to glow and gave off an intense light. It was so bright my whole line of vision was caught into it.

The next thing I knew it felt like I was standing in nothing but a room of light. Where was I…What was happening? Before I could think too much about it though I suddenly felt something hit me inside my head.

"Ugh, what is this? Why does my head hur…Uwahh!"

My body cringed at the sudden pain I felt and I fell down on one knee. It felt like something was forcing itself to come out of my brain. And then I saw something, like I had just taken a quick peek into the past as I gazed at the scenery from up high.

I saw myself standing out in the middle of a torn down area. The place looked like a mess, with junk scattered about everywhere. It looked very reminiscent to that of the ghettos in Area 11 or maybe even something similar to that place I had a vision of before. However, that wasn't all I noticed. I saw that I wasn't alone. There was someone standing next to me. But I couldn't really describe that person because their whole body looked like a black silhouette to me. Not only that, but it appears that was a third person there as well. Although, I couldn't really describe them either other than that person was tall and had a silhouette cloaking them too. One thing I could tell though was that the tall person seemed to be standing in opposition to me and the person next to me.

Soon though, the image began to fade into the light and for a moment I thought I heard someone call out to me.

"Watch out…You mustn't…!"

"Wait…Don't go…!" I desperately replied back as I stretched my arm into the light.

Soon I felt like I have just woken up from a dream. I found myself standing in the forest, with my right arm still stretched out as if I was trying to reach out to someone. Not only that, but I appeared to have a shocked yet worried look on my face.

"What…What just happened to me…?"

I was still perplexed by what just transpired. What was with that light, what was with that image I saw, and lastly whose voice was that and why does it sound so familiar? There were so many questions surrounding my mind that I didn't know what to think.

Suddenly though I felt a warning alarm go off in my mind.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I almost forgot."

I quickly glanced back down at the tree that mysterious figure was leaning on before. However, there was no one there now. It seems like whoever was there before has just vanished without a trace. Well, whatever the case I didn't want to be here anymore either and decided to leave the forest area as well.

I found myself standing on a small road resembling that of a trail. Yes, this is the escape route that the Black Knights planned to use after our fight in Narita. I decided to follow this path all the way down to the bottom of the mountain, where I finally met back up with the rest of the Black Knights members.

As I approached our rendezvous point I saw all the surviving members cheering and celebrating what was for us, a victory against Britannia. Exhaustion suddenly caught back up to me so I decided to just blend in with some of the other bland looking members and took a ride with them on our way back to the hideout. I also asked them what happened to the climax of the Narita battle. At this point I couldn't even move another muscle.

By employing a surprise attack and utilizing the geography to our advantage, Zero succeeded in cutting through the divided Britannian forces, but we seemed to have come short of harming Cornelia herself. The fruit of this battle was a victory against the Britannian army on a scale unheard of till now. The name of the Black Knights will rise even higher. However, the JFL, the largest resistance organization in Japan, had received a huge blow. Put in perspective, the result was merely a draw due to injuries on both sides. But, a win was a win for the Black Knights. That's what I felt anyways.

Still, I will just be glad when I get to go back home to Ashford. Too much stuff has happened to me today. I felt like I might have learned something about myself today yet at the same time the number of questions increases as well. I just hope that I will be able to get some rest tonight.

Moving on to the next Stage…