A/N: Hey everyone. TTY7 is finally posting chapter twenty five. Sorry it took so long, but I've been busy. This chapter is all about Kallen. I feel that Rei is getting too much of the limelight so this chapter and the next chapter will focus on the other characters more.

(Edited/Rewritten on 2/6/14)

Disclaimer: None of the characters, places, or quotes are mine.

Chapter 25

Things That Break You

Kallen P.O.V.

After leaving the small diner we had been eating in, Rei and I went our separate ways and my thoughts returned to darker subjects. Mainly those subjects included my mother and my doubts about being part of the Black knights.

"Could I be wrong?" I asked myself silently while checking my phone for the time. It was six o'clock. Rei and I had been eating and talking for almost two hours. Rei had also managed to choke down thirteen milkshakes and three burgers along with two orders of fries. That girl could really eat, but I worry that she'll be sick tomorrow.

Thinking about Rei and her compulsive eating habits made me giggle a little but didn't distract me from the problem at hand. For one, I have absolutely nothing to do until Ohgi calls me and that could be hours from now. I may even have to go home, which is something I've been trying to avoid as of late. Not to mention that Lelouch's words were still ringing in my head.

He could lead a better life as long as he bows his head to Britannia.

What a joke! We wouldn't have to bow to anyone if Britannians hadn't stolen our country from us in the first place. They had no right to take what didn't belong to them, yet they continue to do so, not only in Japan but in other countries as well. Lelouch may think he's such a smart guy, but to me he just another self-righteous idiot. His attitude is the exact reason why I hate Britannians. His pompous and arrogant ideals about what the world is only strengthens my resolve to fight, but on the other hand...

At that exact moment my cell phone rang.

Snapping my phone open, I answered with a curt "Hello."

"Hey Kallen!" Ohgi called out from his end. "We need you at headquarters now."

"Okay, I'll be there soon," I told him, hanging up the phone.

At least now I won't have to go home and face my mother again.

Later that night

"What is Zero thinking!?"

Couldn't Tamaki shut up for once? I really didn't want to hear his mouth right now, especially since I couldn't shake my doubts about this. Could Lelouch be right about this? Could he be right about me?

"After all this talk about bringing down Britannia!" Tamaki exclaimed annoyingly. "He's just got us running around helping the police!"

That part was true, Zero wasn't doing much to stop Britannia and that worried me also. At that precise moment we were just standing behind crates, waiting for Zero to signal us in to take down a facility that held the Refrain.

"Still, ut feels pretty good to have the will of the people behind us,"Ohgi cut in, interrupting my thoughts and Tamaki's mindless rambling.

"Yeah he's right!" exclaimed Ashido, speaking up for the first time. "We're total heroes on the net!"

"Are we in the right?" I asked softly, hoping not to be heard. "I don't know anymore."

Apparently I had been heard by Ohgi, but he had no time to respond because at that moment a garage door opened and Zero stepped out, slowly waving his hand for us to come inside.

"I can't believe he got in the facility," Ohgi breathed, clearly astonished by Zero's abilities...whatever they were.

"How many tricks does this guy have up his sleeve anyway?" Tamaki questioned.

I groaned at his stupidity. "Does it even matter? Let's just get this over with." I hopped off the crate I was sitting on and began marching toward the entrance where Zero stood.

"What's her problem?" Tamaki whispered to Ohgi when he thought I wasn't listening. Before Ohgi could respond, I whipped my head around and sent him the coldest glare I could muster.

"Shut your big mouth and come on!"

They followed reluctantly. When we reached Zero he told me to get in the Burai and lead the attack. I did what I was told, hoping to take out my aggression on as many Britannians as possible.

A few minutes of preparations took place and then we attacked.

"The Black Knights have arrived," I heard Tamaki shout from somewhere below me.

"That guy should really keep his mouth shut," I muttered softly to myself, knowing that if I heard one more word from him, I'd strangle him. I don't know why hearing his voice was upsetting me so much today, but I suppose it doesn't matter. I have a mission to complete and that takes the top spot on my priority list right now.

After chasing the criminals who had been packing up the Refrain, I busted through a closed garage door that led into a storage area. What I saw and heard sickened me and I finally saw what Refrain could do.

"That's right!" A woman shouted, her eyes glazed over with joyful, drug induced excitement. "I'm getting married next month!"

"I've been promoted!" A man exclaimed seconds later. He looked just as excited as the woman did, but neither of them were making sense. It was as if they were both in a trance...like they were stuck in the past.

"So this is…this is Refrain," I breathed, staring down at the people in sadness as well as horror, especially when I noted the man who had been working at the hog dog stand earlier among the crowd of drugged Japanese.

"I'm studying abroad!" he exclaimed to no one in particular. "I can't believe I got in."

"Poor guy." My heart turned cold as I remembered Milly's words from when she visited my house this morning.

"Some things in life we can bear on our own, but when you add them all up they eventually break you."

"That's right," I thought thinking of her words once more, "that's why I'm here."

"Careful, it's dangerous to run like that," called a soft voice that was too familiar.

I directed my attention to the source of the voice. That was when I saw her..my mother!

"No!" I gasped griping the controls of the Burai tighter. She wouldn't succomb to this too, would she?

She tripped suddenly and out of instinct, directed the knightmare to catch her while slowly lifting her up from the ground.

"Really Naoto!" she exclaimed, oblivious to what was happening around her, "Please, I need you to keep an eye on your sister."

The mention of Naoto set my soul on fire. She still couldn't let him go. After all this time she still couldn't let anything go.

"My God, how weak a woman are you mother," I muttered bitterly, knowing she wasn't paying attention to me. "First you give in to Britannia, then to a man, and now this! My brother is gone forever! Let him go!"

I would've said more, but I was suddenly attacked from the right. Turning my head I saw a single white and blue knightmare.

"The knight police!" I shouted, surprised. It only took a moment for my intuition to kick in. I sped off in the Burai, my mother still in the machine's left hand.

I glided from left to right as the knightmare shot at me from behind. I dodged most of the attacks, but he was catching up to me. Speeding into a tight turn, I retaliate against him, but his shots are almost too much for me to handle without the use of my left arm and the slow speed of the Burai.

Eventually I realized that I long as I was protecting my mother, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. I looked over at her as she laid there in the robotic hand.

"You're in the way!" I shouted angrily, determined to abandon her, but something inside me just couldn't let her go. My emotions were getting in the way and I still…

"No get ride of her," my mind screamed, rage fueling my resolve. My mother was a weak woman with absolutely no backbone. She let my father seduce her and that caused her to neglect and abandon Naoto when he needed her most. And then...when he died she simply gaze up and let herself be tortured by my step-mother, a woman that embodies the most typical traits in the Britannians I loathe. But more than I despise Britannians, I despise weak willed people and that's exactly what my mother is!

"She's standing in the way."

I had to live so that I could change the world. For the sake of my dead brother I had to destroy Britannia one way or another!

"I don't need you!" I screamed, feeling my heart race as I lifted the arm of the Burai higher. "I don't want you!"

I wanted to throw her down to the ground, but my rage alone still wasn't enough for me to abandon her. I just couldn't do it no matter how badly I wished I could.

The knightmare following behind her finally destroyed one of the Burai's legs, causing the machine to stumble to the ground with me and my mother in tow. After taking a few seconds to recover, I frantically searched for her. She was laying on the ground beside the left hand of the Burai.

"Kallen…Naoto," she whispered, eyes void of coherency. Looking at her made me sick with grief and anger. I couldn't bear it anymore. She has to get away from here now.

"Go on, run!" I commanded, desperation taking the place of my anger. My mother looked on at me with pale blue eyes that were so identical to mine. All she did was stare at me.

"Get moving you idiot!" I screamed, pleading inside that she would be able to understand the severity of the situation. The Knight Police that came after me isn't too far off. He'll come this way any minute. She has to get out of here...

"I'm here for you," my mother stated suddenly, cutting into my thoughts. "I'm here for you as I've always have been."

Her words send a shockwave of pain through me, the kind of pain that hurt ten times worse than any physical wound could. I thought back on all the memories I had of her, how she had always been around. No matter the circumstances, she always stayed close by, even when she could've left my father's house and walked away from her past and from me. She could've walked away and never looked back...but she didn't.

"So that's why you stayed in his house," I breathed, finally realizing how foolish I'd been. "You stayed there for me?"

I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn't allow them to fall down my face. I refused to cry now. There was no time for tears.

"You fool!"

The Burai shook violently as the knightmare behind me forced mine closer to the ground. In the monitor I could see that he was about to aim a giant knife down toward my cockpit.

"Not yet!" I screamed inwardly, shifting the gears so the remaining hand on the Burai could hold off the other knightmare's attack while simultaneously turning the machine to face it. Still, the Burai's specs weren't handling well against the strength of the newer machine before me. The Burai was still shaking violently. I could barely stand it. More guttural screams fell from my lips as I continued to hold him off, desperately glancing at the side monitor on my left to catch glimpses of my mother. She's still alright for now, but my energy filler is running out fast. There isn't much time.

I took a few seconds to think of an alternative plan as the knife drew closer to my hatch. I could slam both of our knightmares into the wall nearby. When his hatch hits it, he should die instantly. Thing is, I don't know if I have enough power to pull it off.

"One percent of power remaining," an automated voice said suddenly. The blood in my viens froze in fear and devastation. Sighing heavily in defeat, I look over at my mother one more time, hoping that she'll be able to survive losing another child. There's no way around it. I'm going to die. There aren't any other options I can take. This is the end.

"Goodbye mother," I whispered closing my eyes as my knightmare shut down.

A/N: Evil cliff-hangers have struck again. Sorry to leave you hanging, but that's how this chapter ends. What will happen to Kallen? Will she die? Will someone save her? You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out. Thanks for reading everyone. Please review.