Chapter 21: Beginning of the End
"So how is everything coming along?" Zero asked Nina as he walked up to her, Rakshata, and Lloyd in the Knightmare hanger.
"We've completed all of the upgrades to our Knightmare army." Nina said while looking at a clipboard she had, probably making last minute checks on everything. "Honestly, I thought we'd have less time to prepare. But it's been almost a month and Infinite hasn't left Japan."
"I'm sure he has something up his sleeve. We should be ready for combat at all times." Zero said.
"We have patrols at the sea border that will contact us as soon as they see Infinite's army flying over the ocean. So we're sure to be notified well in advance." Rakshata noted. "And of course there's our new secret weapon." She added, speaking about the Guren's new weapon.
"What do you suppose the chances we'll really need to use it in the end are?" Zero asked, still apprehensive about the weapon, as were they all.
"Given all of our previous battles, the chance we will need it for the battle is especially high." Nina stated. "In fact I would recommend not waiting until it is a desperate situation to use it." She told Zero, but he was a bit unsteady about using such a weapon without proper cause.
Realizing his concerns, Lloyd added in the facts. "As stated before Lord Zero, this weapon has already gone through a series of tests to make certain it is safe for use on an actual battlefield. You shouldn't feel apprehensive about it."
Zero did not respond to this, and instead looked up at the Guren and its second arm that now had the dreadful weapon implanted in it. The name was hidden from view at the moment, but just knowing it was there filled Suzaku with a sense of regret.
"Keep up the good work." Zero stated simply after a moment and then walked away.
"How is it going, Bai?" Infinite asked Bai as he completed putting in another auto-pilot system into a KnightCrawler.
As he finished, Bai put on his contact lenses to conceal his Geass and turned to Infinite. "Just finished, that was the last of the upgrades requested to be complete before your departure." He answered, although his breathing was irregular, showing he had been using his Geass to much at once.
"Bai, are you feeling okay?" Infinite asked, noticing Bai's breathing.
"I'm fine; I've just never had to use my Geass this consistently over a long stretch of time." Bai answered, but Infinite did not seem convinced.
"Well that's not good." He said, and then crossed his arms as if contemplating something. "If you are worn out from using Geass, you won't be able to pilot the Tolecnal properly." He said, and Bai became shocked because he understood what that meant.
"No! You can't be saying you want me to stay behind while you invade China!?" He shouted in distress, not wanting to be left behind.
"Bai, I understand how you must feel. But you are too important an asset to risk losing on the battlefield." Infinite told Bai.
But that was a lie. Lelouch never had any intention of taking Bai with him to China in the first place. He had rigged this plan beforehand so that Bai would be too worn out on the day of departure to be able to pilot a KnightCrawler properly; giving him this excuse to not let him come. Lelouch made it this way because of Bai's loyalty to 'Infinite's cause'; and realized that if he were to come along, he would try too hard to succeed, and maybe even resort to some drastic measure to ensure victory.
Lelouch could not allow that to happen. In order to make sure nothing upset his plans, he had to make sure Bai was not present at the battle.
But Bai did not let up. "I can still fight! All I need is an hour or two of rest and I'll-"
"But we don't have two hours to wait; we cannot give our enemy any more time than we already have to prepare for our attack. The army leaves in 5 minutes, you are to stay here, Bai."
"But-"
"That's an order, Bai." Infinite commanded and then walked away as he activated the PA system to inform the troops of their departure. "Attention, all troops departing for China, we leave in 5 minutes. Everyone is to…"
Infinite continued, but Bai drone out the sound as he walked him walk away after denying him his right to fight on the front lines. However, after another moment, Bai's clenched hands suddenly relaxed as if he had completely calmed down and his scowl turned into a sly grin. "That's right, all according to plan." He muttered to himself so no one else would hear him, although the true meaning of those words was probably only known to him.
Less than an hour later, shapes became visible from the coast of Asia. The lookouts posted by the Chinese Federation noticed them and pulled out binoculars in order to get a better look. What they saw was what they had been waiting for all this time: Infinite's army. "Make the call." One of the lookouts told another, who then scrambled for the phone.
When the call came in, the PA system was used in order to warn everyone of the impending danger. "Attention, all Knightmare pilots! Attention, all Knightmare Pilots! Infinite's army has been spotted over the Sea of Japan; estimate time of arrival is placed at T-minus 1 hour 13 minutes! I repeat…" The voice over the PA system continued while everyone was preparing for battle.
In her room, Kallen listened to the announcement and put on a tough front. "Lelouch…" She whispered to herself and then stood up from her bed and made her way to the Knightmare hanger. "I don't care how, but I will get some answers!" She stated with determination and clenched her fists.
"He's finally here." Nunnally said upon hearing the announcement and began her way to the hanger as well.
Suzaku was alone in his room when the announcement came on. He just sat for a moment without doing anything and stared at Zero's mask on the table in front of him. "He's coming." He said, and then grabbed Zero's mask, put it on his head and exited his room.
As he stood while the pilots scrambled past him to get to their machines, Lloyd looked up and then lowered his head. "It's time." He stated to himself.
The forces were all deployed over the Chinese Federation. All the pieces were set. Everything was prepared. All that was left was for the enemy army to arrive. While they waited, the Knightmares piloted by Nunnally, Cornelia, and Zero floated out to the front. These were the three 10th Generation Knightmares.
There was the Guinevere Royale, which Nunnally piloted. And now there was Cornelia's new Knightmare, the Corneli MK II, which was slimmed down from its previous version and given a solid color somewhere between pink and violet and had five feathered energy wings that matched it in color to give it tremendous speed capabilities.
And finally, with the same style of features – the new Lancelot Camelot – was a solid gold with matching energy wings. As he waited, he thought about Nina's warning. "In fact I would recommend not waiting until it is a desperate situation to use it."
Suzaku knew this was true; they could not simply wait for there to be no other option before using that weapon. But at the same time he did not want to carelessly sling such a monstrosity around at the start. Thinking the situation over, he placed a radio call to Kallen.
"Kallen, stay behind for the fight. Your weapon will be what decides the winner of this battle. We cannot fire it too soon or too late; so wait for my signal and then fire it without hesitation." Suzaku told her.
"Understood, Zero." Kallen answered with conviction.
That tone almost surprised Suzaku, thinking she might start thinking about the fact Lelouch was leading the incoming threat and not be as focused. The radio chat ended there, and it was not long afterward that Infinite's army could be seen on its way.
"Alright, listen up!" Zero spoke to his whole army. "All troops except the Guren are to attack on my signal. When I give you the order to scatter, get as far out of the way as possible for the Guren's secret weapon.
"Nunnally and Cornelia, we will fly ahead of the charge and attack the main forces, beginning with the Utsuri. Take down as many as you can, but the moment it begins to become a task, fall back and regroup with the rest of the army."
"Roger," Nunnally and Cornelia both told Zero together, and then the three of them took out their weapons.
For the Guinevere, her two wrist blades extended past the machine's hands and then were covered in energy. For the Corneli, Electronic Slash Harken were shot from the machines wrists and ankles with their blades in the shape of small axes, and being covered in energy as well. And for the Lancelot, the machine gripped two sword hilts at its waist and pulled them off. They were only hilts, but as he pulled them out solid blades of energy extended from each hilt as deadly weapons.
The weapons for 10th generation Knightmares were overly simple, but with the speed they contained, it was that exact simplicity that made them all the more effective in battle. Infinite's army approached, and Zero's army laid in wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Suzaku intended to end this war today with this battle, and although he did not know it, that was also Lelouch's intention. The two sides of 'Zero' and 'Infinite' were about to clash… for the very last time.
Watching them get closer, Suzaku shouted out to his soldiers as Zero. "Everyone, charge!" He shouted, and then the flood of Knightmares raced forward with the 10th Generations skipping ahead of them and heading straight for the enemy.
Infinite's forces saw this happen, and in response Lelouch watched from inside his 10th generation model of the Gawain, which was jet black and much slimmer than any its previous forms along with its energy wings matching the night color.
When he saw Zero's army charge, he shouted to his own troops. "Charge!" And his army increased their speed to clash with their enemy all the sooner.
This would undoubtedly be the final battle between Zero and Infinite. It was the beginning... of the end.