A/N: Well... I don't even know anymore. I feel like someone's laughing at my expense somewhere. I was just going to admit defeat in regards to laziness and adapt to a comfortable biweekly schedule... Then, of course, for some arbitrary reason, my laptop I use to type this thing (which has all my planning and whatnot on it) had to just die. Took it to the local Apple Store for repairs, but of course, they couldn't do anything there and they had to send it in for full service, which would cost a steep sum of money and take 3-5 days. Of course, it ends up taking the full five days. Finally, I do get my computer back and it works and I didn't lose any data or anything. Apparently the issue was a dead connector (and a damaged top case, but that probably wasn't as big a deal). But anyway, the point is, just as I was about to get comfortable again and readjust the schedule on this thing, something had to happen to throw me off track. Sorry if this inconsistent update schedule is annoying you guys. I wish I could do better. Anyway, enough about that. In case you forgot, this week we have a climactic battle chapter, so yay (or not yay, if you're not into battle chapters... which unfortunately I get the feeling most of you aren't...). Ah well, hope it's mildly amusing at least.
Disclaimer: Chaowei: "CNP doesn't own Code Geass. All he owns is the original characters in this story, yours truly, the Ace of the Federation, included."
Chiharu Ohgi wore a dead expression on her face as she stood rigidly in a line, her feet planted firmly on the floor of the flying juggernaut known as Olympus, a massive Destroyer airship privately owned by the scourge of the world, Deifilia Amarantha. Her heart burned inside her as she stood there. Before her was a man in a mask who called himself Alain Renard. To the side was the woman herself, Deifilia Amarantha.
In the line with her were many faces. Some wore regret, like the noble looking blonde woman of knightly appearance and the cruelly twisted Yasuko Tohdoh forced to bear a false name. Some wore excitement, like the foul priest, Lazarus Cain and the young blonde girl with dead, crazy eyes. Some wore fear, like the unfamiliar face the woman known as Naida Fiametta was borrowing. Still others showed only sorrow, like the woman directly next to her, Megami Subarashii. One girl was different from the rest; Chiharu showed no emotion because she was holding it all deep in her heart, but this girl, Signa Norrell, had none in the first place. Chiharu wondered if she wasn't then the most dangerous one there.
"So, do you understand your mission?" asked Renard in a low voice.
"Yes, sir!" Chiharu replied fully, as did all the others. They had to. She was watching.
"Then you are dismissed," the man said. "You have an hour to prepare yourselves."
"Understood!" again a call echoed. The line dispersed slowly.
"Chiharu... are you really able to bear this..." Megami muttered quietly as the two began to walk away from the group together. Yasuko, or Marcella rather, was walking along with them, as was Naida.
"We have no choice, Megami," said Chiharu in a broken voice. "We're trapped. You know what she told us. That infernal unit she's given me is rigged to explode if either you or I betray her."
"You won't will you?" asked Megami with a low gulp. Chiharu looked at her.
"She outfitted my unit with explosives instead of Onryou because she knows you, Megami. She knows that you don't value your life near as much as those close to you," said Chiharu. "Choosing to hurt people I love over destroying myself may seem a selfish thing, but I can't throw away with my life. Not when there are promises I haven't given up on."
"Your friend's crazy, you know that, Ashlynn?" Naida commented dryly.
"Believe me, I know that all too well," Megami replied with a soft smirk.
"Miss Chiharu?" a voice started, the manner of address giving Chiharu chills. Chiharu turned slowly to face the girl now called Marcella Belita.
"Yes...M-Marcella," Chiharu started, the name still hating the name and what it represented.
"I hope we work well together," the girl said, smiling infirmly, nodding. Chiharu forced a smirk. She honestly hated Deifilia Amarantha. Not only had the woman commanded her to lead the force against her homeland, but she had given her this girl, this corruption of innocence, this girl who was once a dear friend but now had been twisted into a familiar albeit somehow foreign shape, as a partner for the task.
"Just stay by my side and it should be okay," Chiharu told the girl with a stern nod to the girl, trying to conceal the sadness in her eyes.
"God damn it... This whole thing is just so fucked up..." Megami muttered, clenching her fist.
Chiharu let out a low sigh. "It can only get better. If we stay strong... it can only get better..."
Silence fell after that. It lasted a while. Then, halfway down the corridor, suddenly a high girlish call was made.
"Big sister!" Lucrecia Harrison called, skipping speedily toward Megami, from the other end of the corridor. She threw herself onto the woman.
"Heh... Lucrecia..." Megami said, forcing her own smile as she looked at the girl with sadness in her eyes. "How are you?"
"Excited," Lucrecia started in an eager voice. "While you guys go fight I get to stay here with Mistress all day, protecting her."
Megami gave a forced laugh and patted the tainted, twisted child on her head. "Good luck with that, Lucrecia."
"Thanks," the girl chimed. "Please be careful, Big sister! We still haven't done much together since you got back. There are so many fun game I want to play with you."
"Right..." Megami commented as the girl skipped off. She didn't get very far before tripping over her own feet and falling forward, her skirt flipping up to reveal some very adult, mostly transparent side-tie bikini panties. This was a true testament to how defiled this girl had become. It made Chiharu feel sick. She watched as Megami offered the girl a hand up.
"Thanks, big sister..." Lucrecia said cheerily as she steadied herself. Mostly this girl screamed at those who approached her when she was exposed, but she didn't Megami.
Megami had slowly started to reveal little things about her past here to Chiharu. This girl was part of it. She was a sad case. A girl unwanted and broken, Deifilia had taken advantage of her at a young age and taken her under her wing. The girl had been introverted and shy when Megami first met her, but in her absence Deifilia Amarantha had twisted that innocence into something that hardly resembled itself.
It was the same really. The same as Marcella Belita. The same as Yasuko Tohdoh. Could Signa Norrell's story be any less tragic? What of Philip Xander, out of touch with reality, or Naida Fiametta, constantly living in fear? Even the deranged and vile Lazarus Cain was probably a rational man before some personal tragedy. All of this woman's pawns, no matter how strong, were broken and twisted at their cores.
Chiharu hoped, perhaps naïvely, that this would be enough to see Deifilia fail.
---
Lenna Leander had a nervous twitch about her as she stood facing her superior, Knight of One Gino Weinberg, onboard a Britannian airship. Eighteen years old, a bright child celebrated as an exceptional soldier, she had been selected for a special new elite unit directly under the Knight of One, along with two others. Just to her right was Vesta Arnette, a hard to approach woman in her mid twenties with a cold demeanor and a scowl on her face. To that woman's right was Llewellyn Mara, a young man around Lenna's age. He was unspectacular in appearance maybe, but Lenna always thought he was kind of cute.
"it really is a pleasure to have watched the three of you grow and come to this point," Lord Weinberg spoke, smiling as he did. "I hope you continue to serve me to the best of your ability in this new function."
"Of course, Sir!" Vesta replied in her gruff voice. Lenna and Llewellyn each gave a firm nod as well.
"Good," the man started. "So, the three of you understand your orders then?"
"We are to stay as your personal support, Sir!" Llewellyn said with a nod.
"We are to not get ahead of ourselves or engage unknown units without permission, Sir!" Lenna started, mustering her inner strength.
"We are to act with caution, but not hesitate to sacrifice our lives for the sake of Britannia!" Vesta said with a bit of a growl, nothing but strength in her voice. Lenna quietly hoped she could be like Vesta, that she could be that strong when it really mattered.
"Excellent," said Weinberg in a low voice. "The three of you are important. The Grail Project is instrumental to the future war effort. We hope for nothing but success from you all."
"Yes, sir!" all three started at once.
"Then I think it's about time we get this started," said Weinberg. "Proceed to the hangar! Let's get this battle underway!"
Lenna nodded. "Right... let's do this," she muttered. "Let's fight, and let's win."
"Yeah," said Llewellyn, nodding. She smiled.
---
Hildegarde Waldstein wore a stern expression as she flew Galahad Renascence steadily through the air. The Britannian fleet was steadily approaching Japan and she was at the front of it. The woman's mind was a haze. Yasuko. It had been so long .Her memories of the girl were starting to fade and blur. She hated this. She loved that girl truly and yet time was seeing them grow further apart.
Still, she remained strong. Passion persisted in her heart. She had to cast her emotional turmoil to the side and lift her sword true. She was a knight. Her thoughts drifted to her recent talk with the knight Niles Moore, that man who knew sorrow just as she did. She wasn't like him. She was a knight of Britannia. She was firm in this. Her sword would strike down Britannia's enemies. It was that simple.
"Japanese knightmares on the horizon," Hildegarde spoke into her comm. "Looks like they were expecting us."
"Right!" others started. "Preparing to engage!"
"Proceed with caution!" Hildegarde said in a strong voice. "Do not throw away you lives, men!"
"Understood!" an overwhelming reply came. Knightmares dispersed all across the sky to meet the Japanese force. Hildegarde steadied herself, her eyes falling on a single fast approaching unit.
"Your death is here, Knight of Britannia!" a bold voice yelled. It was familiar. The unit, light and fast, armed with a polearm, was not so familiar, but the voice of the pilot was unmistakeable.
"Hiromi Tohdoh..." Hildegarde spoke. She cursed her luck. Why must she continue to run into this girl? This was the family of her beloved. Of all the opponents she could have, why must she encounter this girl once more.
"You don't seem pleased to see me, Knight!" Hiromi shouted. "You must know that it will be your death this time."
"I will not lose to you, Hiromi Tohdoh," the knight said firmly. "Now ready your weapon. Let this fight begin."
"As you wish!" Hiromi called, raising her knightmare's spear and leaping forward at the other. Hildegarde moved her sword rigidly into place to deflect it.
Thus the battle began.
---
Katsue was tired. Trekking across the Chinese Federation with her sister was more than a little exhausting. They were at least making headway. It hadn't been very long since after Hiodoshi had crashed that they found their way to a major road and then eventually a village. It was there that someone had recognized them, or more noted their resemblance to their mother. They had pointed them toward an encampment being used by force of resistance against the EU rule. Explaining the situation to them, this group agreed to see them transported safely home.
Currently, they were disguised, made to look like common citizens of the Federation and were sitting in the backseat of a car headed toward an encampment near the capital, where the resistance had a small aircraft. With some luck, they could get the twins out of enemy territory safely. Katsue was almost surprised how easy it had been so far. They had mostly stuck to back roads, so there weren't many blockades they had to pass. The ones they had been through had hardly been thorough in their search.
"I hear a fight's going to flare up pretty soon," said Lin Yumin, the man who was driving the car, an honest looking man with a strong voice. "Seems the Euros and the Brits aren't going to be friends much longer, and it's you guys who'll be caught in between."
"I knew this was to come," said Katsue. "When The EU took the Federation, it was obvious they weren't playing Britannia's game anymore."
"So, does that mean Japan's going to get conquered again, Sis?" asked Katsumi in a quiet voice.
"Yes. It's only a matter of time," said Katsue with a sigh.
"Then what?" started a woman called Gao Ying, who occupied the front passenger seat. "Won't be anyone left in the world to root for. It's not like we can honestly hope the two destroy each other."
"Correct," said Katsue. "There can only be one winner in the end. These two powers won't stop until they have it all."
"Does it matter who wins, though? Both make me sick," Gao said bitterly, a scowl on her face.
"I wonder..." Katsue said. She had give lots of thoughts to the world situation lately. It was truly hard to gauge the power of each player. It seemed like her impressions were being manipulated. Nothing was clear to her.
"So, what do we do then, after it's just Britannia and the EU?" asked Katsumi in a low voice.
"Wait," is what Katsue said. "We wait until it's just one enemy. Then it's another long and hard battle from the inside"
"I'd sooner die than sit still and continue to live in occupation," Lin said in a growl. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way." Gao nodded accordingly.
"Hmm," said Katsue. "Things really do look pretty bleak for us."
"Tell me about it," Gao commented. "Our side really needs a miracle."
"Well, that's kind of a miracle," said Katsumi suddenly, excited.
"Huh?" Katsumi started, not following her sister's words.
"Look at that!" the girl shouted, pointing out the window on her side. Katsue scooted over and looked out of it.
"That's--!" she shouted, staring in shock.
"Well, I'll be damned..." Lin spoke seeing the same.
There, parked at a certain facility of the town they were passing through, was a military transport. On one truck's cargo bed, among the transport was something very familiar. It was unmistakeable. This thing, this knightmare frame, though it was partly covered and obscured in a crude fashion, could only be one. It was Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements. It was their mother's knightmare.
"What is Guren doing here?" asked Gao, as surprised as anyone.
"The better question is what we do now?" asked Katsue. "If they're moving Guren, it's sure to be well protected. It's not like getting it would be easy. In fact, I'd say it's impossible."
"Heh. That's not the attitude to have, girl," said Lin with a smirk. "Not when you're fighting to protect what's decent in this world."
"So, what are you suggesting then?" asked Katsumi, concerned.
"Isn't it obvious? We take the fucking thing!" Gao said curtly. "Something like Guren could really make a difference."
"But that's crazy!" Katsue insisted. "Besides, your superior ordered you to take us to safety. You'd be disobeying orders!"
"Way I see it, getting you Guren would make you pretty safe," the man said with a cocked grin.
"I say we go for it, sis! If we're afraid, we'll never be able to fulfill our promise," Katsumi assured, looking her sister in the eye.
"if you're so sure...Katsumi..." the girl spoke, clearly unsure of it all.
"Then it's decided! Gao, if you will," Lin started, turning the car around, and kicking it into gear.
"Of course," the woman said with a laugh, opening the glove compartment. She pulled out two high caliber handguns and handed them back to the girls. "You know how to work those things, right?"
"Y-yeah..." Katsue gulped. She watched as the woman pulled out a gun of her own.
Lin rammed the car through a number of barricades before stepping hard on the breaks to stop the car a distance from the transport. Katsue was shocked. Weren't they going to plan this more? This was crazy.
"Move! Don't stop or you're dead!" Gao informed as she kicked open her door. She shot her gun at an approaching soldier just as he was drawing his.
"Right!" Katsumi started as she thrust open her door and pulled her sister out behind her.
"Hurry up! We'll provide cover!" Lin shouted as he exited the car and pulled his own gun.
Soon the air was filled with the sounds of bullets. There really were a number of soldiers. Not too many to handle, but more than Katsue certainly cared for. Lin and Gao seemed exceptionally skilled at shooting them down while finding cover.
"Sis! Let's use it!" Katsumi decided, facing the girl. Katsue was confused for a moment, but then realized her sister meant Geass. That certainly was the smart solution. It would make this whole thing a lot less crazy for them both. She nodded and looked her sister squarely in the eyes.
Then they were one. Katsue was Katsue no longer. Katsumi and Katsue were both just extensions of her, a singular being. She looked around quickly. Enemies were all around. She shot them. It was easy enough. With two bodies, she had two different vantage points. She could eliminate enemy soldiers before they noticed her.
So, many soldiers died as she grew closer and closer to Guren. She moved the body called Katsue and the body called Katsumi in perfect unison, and the gap grew smaller and smaller until there was no gap at all.
It was then that a soldier inside the Guren turned on the power. It was still bound onto the transport, but there was only a matter of time before it broke its bonds. All of her eyes simultaneously widened. Action was needed before the machine could lift off or all was lost.
With a powerful acrobatic leap, both bodies leapt onto the transport. She worked her way back to the hatch. the body called Katsue moved to the manual exterior control switch. The body known as Katsumi stayed at the hatch door, waiting for the soldier inside to inevitably notice her efforts. When he did show up hoping to get in a surprise shot, she shot him through the head.
Opening the hatch was easy then. She climbed inside and pushed the corpse out before continuing the powering sequence. Guren took off without a hitch. It broke the bonds effortlessly and picked up off the transport. She pushed it forward, into the crowd of soldiers, and they dispersed, fleeing for their lives.
It was only then, as the crowd cleared that she noticed what was at the center of it. It was enough to break the Geass.
"How..." Katsue said, shaking her head. "Why...?" The man, Lin, was lying there motionless on the ground, his body torn and bloodied with multiple gun wounds. He was clearly dead. The woman Gao, was close by, still holding her gun while struggling to hold her eyes open. gun wounds were visible on her body as well.
"I think they wanted it this way," said Katsumi in a heavy voice. "They knew what it means for Guren to be in our hands versus the enemy's. They knew we wouldn't get another chance at this. They felt it was worth their lives."
"That isn't right..." Katsue started, shaking.
It was then that Gao, in a very strained fashion, raised her arm toward them. She raised her thumb and gave a soft smirk before mouthing the words "Good job." Then her arm fell limp. No motion could be detected at all after that.
"This is why we have to set everything right, sis," said Katsumi. "This is why we have to keep our promise with that man."
Katsue closed her eyes. Her sister was right. Her sister was brave, unlike her. She was lucky Geass allowed her to tap into that bravery. "You're right, Katsumi. Now, let's go save her."
"Mom?" started, Katsumi
"Who else?" Katsue laughed.
"Right, sis!" Katsumi giggled as her sister moved into place, throwing Guren's controlsforward, allowing it to take off into the air.
"Heh. Flying Guren sure is different," said Katsue said after awhile. "I'm lucky I've read mom's flight manuals, but even so, it sure feels different than Hiodoshi."
"It's like we have mom's strength with us," sake Katsumi with a nod as she slipped into place behind her sister, giving her a light but assuring embrace. "That's why we can't fail."
"You may have something there," said Katsue in a warm voice.
---
"So, little Princess, you ready for this?" asked the brash but now familiar voice of Ulric Cross over the comm system
Eilith gave a loud sigh. "I totally got this. You don't need to worry about a thing."
"Heh, well, it's about time to fucking prove it," the man said with a excited laugh. "See if all my rigorous training paid off!"
"You're a little too full of yourself, you know that, Cross?" Eilith said in a harsh voice.
"But seriously Princess, watch yourself out there," Cross started, his voice sounding legitimately concerned.
"What the hell? I can't have someone like you worrying about me, Cross," said Eilith, glad that her smile couldn't be seen. "It seems unnatural somehow."
"Yeah..." the man started. "Well, it's just how it is, you know. If you get yourself killed it's my ass that gets chewed out for not training you right."
"Of course," Eilith laughed. "I'll make sure to not get killed then!"
"It's a pretty sweet unit you got there," said Cross. "Whatever the fuck they called..."
"Cúchulainn. Name comes from the same sources as Astrid's Mórrígan," said Eilith, smiling.
"Tch. Whatever the fuck you say, Princess," the other replied in a flippant way.
"Come to think of it, the less you know about the origin of knightmare names, the better," Eilith laughed, shaking her head. "But regardless, this is hardly the time to talk. I see enemies on the horizon here."
"Heh! I've been tearing shit up this whole time!" Cross declared. Eilith broke out into laughter.
"That's too great..." she said. "I'll leave you be then."
With that, she shut off her comm and pressed forward. Flying a knightmare, especially a state of the art custom knightmare like Cúchulainn, was really something. The unit itself really was pretty cool. It had a really sleek look to it. It was small, blue and silver in color with a deep blue energy mist propelling it. It's main weapons were a large javelin in its left hand and a jagged short sword in its right.
Eilith didn't have to wait very long to find her first opponent. A custom unit was at the center of the Japanese force in front of her. She let her weapons cut through the lesser knightmares, which they did easily enough, as she made her way toward it. It engaged her readily, it's long Chinese sword drawn to meet her javelin.
"You're unit is not on record and it glimmers with the shine of one that has yet to see battle," said the pilot, her voice revealing her to be a young female. "Does that perchance mean you're new to this level of combat, Britannian?"
"Not just this level," said EIlith with a pleasant laugh. "What would you do if I told you this is the first time I've even been on a battlefield?"
"What joke is that?!" the enemy started, pushing EIlith's javelin off. "Britannia is not so foolish to leave a new custom unit in the hands of a total rookie."
"They are when she's a princess," said Eilith with a quick laugh. Curious to hear how the other would respond.
"Princess?" the woman started. "You don't mean the lost princess of Britannia? The one just recently found?"
"Even our enemies know the story, I suppose," said Eilith. "Guess I'm pretty famous."
"I've felt before that perhaps you are the one closest to myself..." said the woman under her breath. "Now I see you are just a fool."
"Hmm, we got something in common?" asked Eilith, her curiosity piqued.
"None of it matters," said the woman. "My name is Hu Xuemei, daughter of the Chinese Federation! Eilith vol Britannia, I and my Tianlong shall play the part of your executioner!"
"Heh, we'll see about that," Eilith called back, before darting her knightmare to the side and then forward, her javelin pointed rigidly forward at the enemy.
Tianlong fell back and engaged its two cannons, grafted onto the shoulders. They were surprisingly powerful for a small, sleek unit. Eilith swept under them and into an upward slash with her short sword. Hu met the strike with her own short sword, which she pulled from a side compartment. Her long sword was used to catch the javelin.
The cannons blazed again. Eilith fell back to avoid their heavy blasts. She smirked as she thought about how best to approach the unit. It's cannons were quicker than her projectiles and it had just as many weapons close range. Not a particularly good match for her.
Giving a short laugh, she moved down and back. Her javelin went up. She nodded and waited. Tianlong's cannons blazed. She waited and pulled even further back. When the cannons stopped, she let her javelin fly, a high powered harken booster, holding it to the Cúchulainn.
Hu raised her short sword, hoping to deflect it. Eilith smirked and flipped the switch engaging the weapon, Gae Bolg's, power. It began to glow with a dark blue energy. The sword could not hope to hold given this power. It flew from Tianlong's hand. The javelin continued forward and pierced the left shoulder cannon.
But Hu didn't waste any time .She made a lightning grab upward. Tianlong's hand secured the harken cable and held it rigid. She then made a quick thrust with her long sword. It was quicker than Eilith's untrained reflexes could pick up on and she saw a stab to her own shoulder. Thus both unit's had each other caught.
"This weapon is dangerous," said Hu coldly. "But you lack the experience needed to use it effectively."
"Heh, you aren't bad yourself," said Eilith with another laugh. She was surprised with how much she enjoyed this. Battle was in her blood, perhaps.
"You're through!" Hu shouted as her remaining cannon powered on.
"We'll see about that!" Eilith started as she powered up her secret weapon.
Tianlong's beam would fire first. There was no avoiding it. It would hurt too. EIlith kept this in mind as she waited, jerking just out of the way as it fired. Still it took most of her left arm and side.
But then Cúchulainn's chest glowed with a white light. A large wave of red fired out from it. The heat of the intense blast made it clear that Tianlong could not function properly anymore. It was flailing about under the heat, as it's machinery sparked. The already damaged left arm fell to the ground.
But to Eilith's surprise, Hu did not just eject there. She charged forward. Eilith fell back, trying to avoid the mad charge, but she did not get fully away. Her energy mist system took a swift slash. Her until began to plummet. She cursed.
Her and the woman, Hu Xuemei, seemed to pull their eject switches at exactly the same time. A tie. She sighed. That was sure to be as good as a loss to him.
---
Rowena Winfield wore a downcast expression as she sat inside her new knightmare frame, the Odysseus. Here she was. Fighting had already broken out between Japan and Britannia. The EU had only just made their move. She would be one of the first to engage. it was fairly obvious too, from the comparative size of the enemy forces, that her opponent would be Britannia. She was about to do battle with a former comrade.
She frowned as this was only confirmed to her. She had been strictly ordered to engage the first enemy custom unit she spotted. It so happened that that was Lamorak. Among the knights, Nonette Enneagram had always been someone she could respect. She was a veteran and a strong woman. She could be a little difficult to talk to at times, but she was closer to a friend than most of them had been.
The Odysseus flew swiftly. It was a lot different from Kay. Larger and heavier, it had a jagged appearance to it , with sharp shoulders and a angular helmet shaped head. It was mostly red in color, with some black and brown effects. The primary weapons were two very large broadsword in the right hand and an even larger, bulky cannon in the left
Rowena eyes Lamorak keenly as she flew in. Nonette spotted her and met her. She readied her sword to hold off the woman's axe.
"That unit doesn't look like a Japanese model," said Nonette in a steady tone. "I suppose you are of the EU."
"Perhaps you could say that. I have been hired by a private force that is being employed by the EU at the moment," said Rowena in a stern voice, bracing for the reply.
"That voice..." Nonette spoke in a dry tone. "So you really did betray us, Winfield?"
"Call it what you will," said Rowena in a unenthusiastic voice. "You are my enemy now, regardless."
"Suit yourself, Winfield," said Nonette. "Just know that I do not plan on losing to you."
"I won't lose either," said Winfield. She couldn't. She was committed. She had already sold herself. In her quest to reach the top, she had given up herself. There was no going back now. She could only move forward. She knew how powerful Deifilia Amarantha was. She couldn't convince herself to like it, but she knew she was on the winning side now. Her strength would see her to the top, just as it always had. The sorrow in her heart was just something she needed to ignore.
"Heh. Then let's fight!" Nonette demanded.
Lamorak threw Odysseus' sword back and began some rapid swings of its axe. It was the faster unit, Rowena quickly found. It also wasn't lacking for strength. Slash after slash came and she struggle to deflect and avoid them all. She kept pushing off, trying to find good distance. Eventually, there was enough of a gap to engage her cannon.
The massive blast fired forward. Nonette darted off quickly, to avoid it. She then fired some slash harkens. They wrapped around Rowena's massive blade, holding it tight while Lamorak went in for another slash. Nonette's aim was true. Rowena couldn't move in time and the axe cut deep, damaging much of her armor.
But this was to be Nonette Enneagram's only victory. A somewhat dated custom unit like Lamorak had nothing on the state of the art Odysseus. This fight had been won before it even started.
Rowena pulled her sword free and swung it at the Lamorak. Nonette pulled back predictably to protect herself, and pulled back even further when Rowena fired her cannon again. It was then that Rowena initiated the transformation sequence. In just a few moments, the Odysseus realigned itself into a completely different shape. The cannon arm split and readjusted to the center. The sword arm spilt cleanly in two, down to the blade, so that two out-jutting spikes were formed at the sides. In all, the knightmare widened in parts and condensed in others until it resembled a miniature Knight Giga Fortress.
"What the--?!" Nonette started as the two spikes that were formerly the sword fired off and pierced Lamorak cleanly in either shoulder, holding it suspended in the air tautly. Two other small spikes shot off from the bottom of the Odysseus to piece the Lamorak elsewhere, making escape even more of an impossibility.
"Don't take this personal," said Rowena, trembling. "I'd rather I didn't have to kill you..."
"Do it!" Nonette shouted. "You are a knight are you not? An enemy does not deserve compassion."
"I'll allow you a taste of happiness, as payment, before I take your life," said Rowena quietly. She closed her eyes and fired a small central spike. Soon a link was established between her and Nonette Enneagram. She opened her eyes and let her Geass activate.
Dreams. Or more expectations. This is what she could bring to people. She didn't understand why. What in her made such things hers to give? She wondered what Nonette Enneagram was seeing in her final moments. A long term dream of happiness. A simple victory here that wouldn't come? It could be either. She wasn't sure what sort of woman this was. She wasn't sure what this woman would be hoping to see in the moment of her death.
But it was likely happy. That made it slightly easier to bear. This knight. This woman she knew. This person she respected. If she had to take her life, that she could do it while the woman smiled made it somewhat easier. It was for that reason that she was grateful for her Geass. She thought this as she powered on her central cannon, twice as strong in this form. It made this easier. Or so it did until Nonette Enneagram spoke.
"I'm happy to see, my beautiful daughter, that you have found happiness..." the woman said in a wispy, dream-like voice.
Rowena jumped. Her blood ran cold and tears freed from her eyes. She couldn't see Nonette Enneagram in the monitor anymore, only her own mother.
She jerked the controls up, desperately. The beam still fired. The blast shook through the ensnared Lamorak, ripping through its armor.
But the sudden change of angle made what was meant to be an instantly fatal shot hit off target. Still, Lamorak was done and falling to the ground, it's cockpit malformed and most of its armor gone, the damage sever to the point where survival was a minimal chance. Rowena was left in the sky, shaking and crying, wondering where her strength had gone.
---
Wu Chaowei had a grin on his face as he stood facing a familiar unit in his Baofeng. He was nothing but confident. He had beaten this opponent with Dongfeng. Beating them again with a better unit was sure to be nothing but easy. For once, he had seriously lucked out.
"Heh, so, Knight of Britannia, it is the second time you have been unlucky enough to encounter me, the Ace of the Federation, Wu Chaowei," he said with a laugh. "Are you prepared to see a second loss to me?"
"Is that so, 'Ace'?" the woman in the enemy knightmare said. "Hate to say it, but I don't plan on losing today."
"Then just try and get by me, Knight of Six. Your Kay is no match for my new and improved Baofeng!" Chaowei declared boldly as he stared the opponent down. Rowena Winfield had not been an easy opponent last time, yet he had managed. Had the EU not interfered, he would have been able to celebrate that day. But here he was facing Winfield and her Kay again, the EU nowhere around. He liked his chances.
He fell back at once, the eight arms of Baofeng, beginning their incredible barrage as his dexterous hands found each of the eight triggers in rapid succession, leaving hardly a gap. Kay was bogged down. Rowena Winfield seemed off. She let out some harsh curses as she stumbled about in the cloud of fire. Eventually, she raised her gun arm. It fired.
Now Chaowei was unprepared. Even at its top setting previously, this blast had only been so strong. The blast that fired at him now was a full powered Hadron converger beam. His hawk-like eyes went wide as he caught it and rolled to avoid it, but the thin beam was swift moving. He didn't fully evade and received severe damage to the lower half of the knightmare.
"You have new tricks, I see, Knight of Six!" Chaowei started. "But no matter, I will still defeat you."
The self-proclaimed ace flew in from the side at a close angle and started his incessant fire once more. Again, WInfield seemed oddly bemused as to how to get out and took more damage than she needed to. Eventually she decided to fly in close, with her sword. The angle of the swing was odd for the length and angle of the sword arm. Chaowei didn't know how to avoid at first.
Eventually he decided not to avoid at all. Instead, he fired his eight slash harkens into the unit, one after the other. Winfield didn't avoid any of them. He smirked. He was beginning to catch on. He let Baofeng hold the unit tight in the air and pummeled it with more fierce blasts, depleting its armor.
"I don't know what's going on," said Chaowei with a laugh. "But whoever you are, you suck as a pilot." He laughed again. "Defeating such a failure hardly seem worth celebrating even."
A few seconds later, he let go of the enemy and the cockpit emerged from out of it. He shrugged. At least the unit was well made to keep the pilot safe through his barrage. As the cockpit did leave, the shape of the knightmare suddenly shifted into one he had never seen before, a light model with a short deformed sword and a blue and black color scheme. Baofeng turned around then, confident that all threats in the area had been dealt with.
And that was when an explosion reached Chaowei's ears and Baofeng began to suddenly descend. He realized shortly that his wing pack had been destroyed.
"I really hate doing this to you again, kid," said a familiar, cursed voice. "Don't blame me too much. I'd rather not have to do this."
"Damn you!" Chaowei cursed the very thought of the invisible mercenary as he pulled his ejection switch. Again, total victory had been snatched from right under his fingers.
---
Agravain soared freely through the skies in its fortress mode. Niles' expression was as stalwart and morose as ever. Soon he wouldn't be. Soon he would be embroiled in the battle he so craved. Then his madness would set in, his blood lust. He would lose himself in those memories that haunted him and become that familiar monster. It was inevitable. There was no stopping it.
Cynthia. He dwelled on the girl. The girl who had forsaken him. The girl who had pointed a gun at him twice now. His daughter. The girl he had ironically helped save. The girl he had once wished had taken his life. He wondered of that girl now. Her health. He life. Her happiness. He wondered it all as he reverted his Agravain to its original form. He thought of Cynthia as he stared down the unknown custom unit in front of him.
It was a mid sized unit. Mostly black, with hints of white, red and gold, it had a unique look to it. The plate armor was layered downward in an overlapping fashion, to give the impression of a smooth, long coat. It had heavy shoulder armor and a gold crown. The weapons were a cross shaped, thin sword and a shield with a cross. All in all, the knightmare was striking.
"It is called Agravain?" the dark voice of a man spoke from the cockpit. "You are called, Niles Moore?"
"Aye," Niles spoke in a somber voice. "You are not mistaken, sir."
"I am a servant of Heaven. My name is Lazarus Cain," the man introduced. "This machine has been christened Minos. With it's power and the gifts bestowed upon me by our Lord above, I shall see you punished for your grievous sins before God!"
"A man of God you say?" Niles started, closing his eyes. "I once was a God-fearing man. Truth be told, if you say now that God has called for my head, I do not blame Him." Niles gave a dark laugh. "Still, I will not give you an easy fight, Mr. Cain."
"So be it. God's work is never easy," the man said in a strong voice.
Niles wasted no more words. His missile launchers deployed, barraging the Minos with exhaustive fire. The smaller unit , darted through it with its shield held out It was swift for its size. It moved in quicker than Niles had anticipated. It made a swift thrust. It barely damaged Agravain's heavy armor. Niles brushed it off and fired his slash harkens, hoping to catch the unit and make this a quick fight.
It was then that a sharp harken cord fired at point blank from out of the Minos' chest. It pierced under Agravain's armor. Soon, Niles monitors were taken over. He cursed. It was just the same as the horse unit. This was a Geass user and he had fallen into his ploy by letting him get close.
The black haired man, dressed as a priest who appeared on his monitor merely opened his eyes and all of reality twisted. Agravain's cockpit had been replaced by a dilapidated chapel. It's cross was lying on the floor at an angle before the altar. The ceiling was partly missing. Everything was cold and broken.
And he was staring at them. He was staring at them. Standing right in front of him was Cynthia, blood splattered and shaken holding tight to a gun, appearing as she did six years in the past, on the day his world changed. Next to her was Sophia, his wife, untouched, looking not like she did six years ago, but rather as she did on the day of their wedding, dressed in her flowing white gown.
"Ah, my love, it does my heart well to see you," Sophia spoke in a soft voice, pure as silk.
"Die!" Cynthia shouted, the bang of the gun in her hand somehow distant, the bullet it produced shaking Niles only slightly as it passed through him. he trembled at it all.
"Why, the troubled expression, dear?" Sophia spoke sweetly. "Aren't you pleased to see me?"
"You don't deserve to live! You don't deserve happiness!" Cynthia continued to call out and shoot her gun, the same psychotic look in her eyes as was so often in his.
"Love, you look so pale," Sophia spoke, approaching and grabbing his hand. It felt so real. "Are you well?"
"You don't deserve redemption!" Cynthia continued to scream. "You killed her! You killed them all!"
"I'm so happy we're to be married," Sophia giggled warmly. "I knew ever since we met that you were the only one for me."
"Murderer! Fiend! Monster!" Cynthia gave a new label with each shot of her gun. Each hurt, in a way, probably more than a real bullet would have.
"And then, we'll be able to start a family," said Sophia brightly, coming even closer. "I wonder what sort of children we'll have together."
"You never deserved happiness! Death is your only salvation!" Cynthia shot twice more. Niles, watched, silent as ever, broken and wrecked inside.
"You'll be a wonderful father, I just know it," Sophia said, giving a soft giggle and encroaching even further, so that she was right before him.
"I hate you! Die, monster!" Cynthia shouted with two more bangs of her gun, her voice and eyes filled with a beast-like hatred.
"What's wrong, dear? You haven't said a thing," asked Sophia, expressing concern as she leant forward, embracing him, making the distance between them non-existant. Her warmth felt hauntingly real.
"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Cynthia fired again and again. But this time the shots hit Sophia, who was in his arms. They didn't pass through her either. The first one made her go limp and cold as it splattered blood onto the pure white dress. Each subsequent shot produced more and more blood, until the dress was near entirely red.
Sophia's bloodied corpse fell limply out of his arms. He looked down at her and her skin began to burn off, leaving a skeleton. Then even that caught flame, the fire shooting high up into a pillar before him. He looked up and noticed something else that had changed. Cynthia's image had been multiplied. Hundreds of them were shooting at him so as his back was at the pillar of flame. He fell to his knees, feeling nothing but defeated.
"Why do you show me this?!" he shouted up into the air. As painful, as brutal as this imagery was, it was still an illusion. This was the weapon of his enemy.
"You disgust me, Niles Moore!" the man's voice said down to him, but the illusion did not disperse. "The grievous sins you have committed before God are inconceivable! Unforgivable! It is a special Hell that calls your name!"
"You think your faith makes you worthy to judge me?" Niles started, shaken. The Cynthia images still shot at him as they grew closer. He could feel the flame hot at his back.
"God's has selected me specifically for this purpose, fiend! I shall judge those who sin before His greatness!' Cain howled madly. "That is why, I must deliver you to Hell!"
"That a man of your nature would be the one to ensnare me..." Niles said in a low voice. "You're deranged! You don't understand a thing!"
"Oh, but I understand it all! God led me to you. He saw that I would confront your daughter! He saw that it would then be you I next met!" Cain started in an unhinged way. Niles' eyes widened.
"What did you just say?" he started, suddenly finding the power to stand.
"It is God who has decided I shall punish your sins!" Cain called back rabidly.
"You confronted Cynthia..." Niles said, closing his eyes. "Even if the puppet-master is God indeed, you are but a puppet. You're illusions are brusque and shoddy. They cannot wound me."
"Ah, but Minos can," Cain laughed. "And inside my world, you cannot see what is before you."
"Curse your God, Lazarus Cain," Niles said as he reached down and felt for his short sword, worn at his side. "I am a sinner. If it is Hell that calls me, then so be it," He held the short sword up before him. "But it will not be someone like you who sends me there!"
With that, Niles stabbed the sword deep into his left shoulder. The pain was severe. It was blinding. But it was real. And it had nothing to do with Lazarus Cain. Niles concentrated hard on it for a while. Jarringly, in an instant, his senses were restored.
He could tell instinctively that Agravain was heavily damaged. It's shields were gone and its armor was torn to shreds, but it was still airborne. the instruments still had power. Minos didn't appear to have the fire power to have downed a unit as large and heavily armored as Agravain, even in all that time.
Niles moved quickly. He couldn't se anything. His displays were gone. He could trust that Minos was in front of him though. He fired both hadron cannons at once and then quickly released al the missiles. He was firing blind, but the sounds of contact could be heard soon after. Satisfied, he initiated his escape sequence.
As the cockpit ejected, he was pleased to see that Minos, heavily damaged, was in retreat.
---
Ulric Cross was smiling. As Dagonet Foresight ripped through knightmare after knightmare, he was nothing but content. The lesser knightmares, whether they were Japanese or, as they increasingly were becoming, EU models, weren't good for much more than a simple work out, but it still felt good. It was energizing, enlivening, and generally just fucking awesome. But he'd grow bored soon. Ulric needed a serious fight. One with a real opponent.
Eliminating a few more units with no effort, his thoughts drifted to the Princess. That was a lively kid. Lots of talent too. He had taken her pretty far, but part of him wondered if she was ready for this. He was perhaps out of touch with the limits of an ordinary human body though, so he supposed he couldn't fairly judge. Regardless, he wished the girl some luck and hoped she was enjoying herself just as much as he was.
He was honestly a little distracted when he flew into a pack of knightmares, painted a deep red. There were about weren't the usual Panzer-Kugelblitzs he had been flying through. They were something a little different. Each one had a spear and cannon and its own energy wings. They lacked the detailing of a custom knightmare, but these were certainly a step up from the usual knightmares.
"Argonaut unit, attack!" a strong voice female voice commanded. Ulric scoped out the distance. He spied a custom unit at the back of the pack. It was black in color and had a demonic vibe to it, with a massive claw. Thinking back to his unit files, it was called Chernobog.
He tried to fly toward it. The red knightmares, apparently called Argonauts, surrounded quickly and began to barrage him with thrusts and blasts. He zipped around to avoid everything, but it was a little overwhelming. These units were just a touch slower than most custom units, and there were ten of them. What's more, their teamwork was unnaturally strong. It was like they were somehow connected.
But no matter. Ulric knew how to adapt to a fight. He was pretty sure he could remember beating ten guys, all bigger than him, in a prizefight once. This was really no different. He'd just pick them off one by one. He watched and waited. Then he waited some more. There really was no flaw in their movements. Everything was so fucking precise. it was aggravating.
Eventually, after a time longer than most of his fights lasted period, he found his first opening. There was a safe gap leading up to the back of one of the enemy units. He decided to close it, MVS blade held out, and tear the unit to pieces.
But then there was a heavy impact at his back. It was as if his attack had been expertly predicted to the letter, like it could be somehow sensed in advance, and his opportunity had turned into their's. He straightened himself and turned around. he looked at his opponent.
Now there was a second custom unit. Yellow in color, it was armed with a heavy hammer, which was surely the thing that had left his armor partly busted. It was called the Golem, if he recalled correctly.
"Well, fuck," he said nonchalantly. "You guys just don't want me to win today, I take it."
"You cannot win, Ulric Cross," said a strong-voiced man in the Golem.
"You guys aren't normal, are you?" Ulric asked, staring at the Golem and the distant Chernobog. "I take it you're outfitted with one of those fancy geass powers, each of you."
"Perceptive cur," the woman in the black knightmare spoke. " In using my Geass I can form a link with up to ten men. I can awaken something in them that keeps them connected and enlivened to a point, enhancing coordination and ability."
"And I can sense when anyone within a radius feels their life is threatened," said the Golem's pilot. "With Cesia's power, where these men are even aware of attacks from behind, this means I can accurately predict any attack you make."
"I figured as much," said Ulric in a low voice, shifting his eyes about, trying to think of any way out.
"You're surrounded. Surrender now, or prepare to be crushed!" the woman in Chernobog shouted.
Ulric looked around some more in deep contemplation. What the fuck could he do? Ten instances of a powerful new generic model synched up to a sort of network. One dude in a power based unit that could predict it if he ever made an attack. And then there was the woman herself, probably the weak link as her power did nothing for herself, but she was far in the back.
"So, fool, are you ready to give up?" the Golem's pilot started in a full voice.
Ulric continued to search around. He thought as he did. he thought at first about solutions, but he honestly couldn't find any. He then thought about people. He thought about the Empress. He thought more about the Princess. Then he reached his decision.
"Part of being a fighter is picking your fights. Bite off more than you chew and all you get is a mouth full of blood and dirt," Ulric said in a defeated voice. "There ain't no fucking way I can win this. I realize this."
"So, you're to surrender then?" started the woman.
"Nope! I can't beat you, but I'm still a hell of a lot faster!" Ulric called before suddenly splitting straight downward, before anyone could react. Dagonet Foresight then made a pinpoint turn and broke in a completely different direction, leaving the whole force in the dust, surely confused. He noticed they were chasing; he figured this was for the best. Even if engaging them met death, if he could keep these things busy, it'd be a job well done.
"I hate shit like this," he commented dryly as he spun into a weak knightmare and destroyed it while allowing not too much distance to close between him and his pursuers. "But, ah well. Nothing you can do."
On another day he might have let his dumb pride get the better of him. He might have tried to get in close to that black unit. He might have beaten it. He probably would have gotten skewered and shot to death horribly. But today wasn't that day. Today, he felt like he had something more to live for.
---
Llewellyn Mara was nervous. Flying in formation with Knight of One, Gino Weinberg, was an honor, but it also put him and his two comrades in danger. The three units, the Vincent Grails, they had been given were spectacular. The Vincent had originally been an attempt to mass produce the Lancelot, but compared to that unit, they were vastly inferior. These units, an advancement on the absolution Aether models, exceeded the specs of all Lancelot models up to the final Albion. Piloting it was kind of exhausting, but Llewellyn wouldn't let it show.
"What the hell is that?!" Vesta Arnette, the senior officer of the three man Grail squad started as she flew just in front of Weinberg, coming to a halt. The Knight of One followed suit. Llewellyn and the final member of squad, a cute girl called Lenna Leander, stopped as well.
Llewellyn stared ahead. The monstrosity on the distance was unreal. It was immense. Llewellyn had heard about Knight Giga Fortresses before. He had even seen Bedivere Godhand up close. This thing dwarfed Godhand. It was insane. One might confuse it for an airship, if it's shape wasn't so very like that of a Knight Giga Fortress. That it was one person controlling this mass of metal was mind-boggling.
"What do we do, sir?" asked Lenna. "That thing looks more dangerous than anything we can handle."
"Stay strong, soldier," said Weinberg. "A big unit like that won't be mobile. The four of us, together, should overwhelm it."
"Bigger they are, the harder they fall, I suppose," said Vesta with a harsh laugh, sounding eager for the fight.
"Proceed with caution. We do not know it's capabilities," said Weinberg.
"Yes, sir!" Llewellyn started in time with the others.
"Right! Now fire!" Weinberg started, Tristan Aegis quickly deploying its sword cannon. Weinberg fired it in turn as the other three fired their high powered VARIS rifles. Even with consistent fire, they were making little impact on the monster's shields.
"It's ironic that we'd meet here, Gino Weinberg" a voice boomed out from the monstrosity. Jarringly, it was a young feminine voice. "When it was you we once served under, you who once mentored my brother and I."
"Regina Granville..." Weinberg spoke in recognition. Llewellyn's eyes went wide. The Knight of Eight had betrayed them and was their opponent.
"You traitor! I will put an end to your pathetic life!" Vesta shouted bitterly, firing her rifle again and again.
"Regina, what is this about?!" Weinberg called. "This isn't... none of this is what Devlin would have wanted! Don't you see that you've taken it too far?!"
"Silence!" Granville shouted. "You know nothing, Gino Weinberg. This world calls for destruction. I will answer its call. I will destroy everything that stands in my way..."
"She's completely mad..." Lenna commented in a low voice.
"What do we do, sir?" asked Llewellyn, unsure how to approach.
"Keep up fire! Do not get close! It's not worth the risk," said Weinberg. "If we hit it enough, slowly the shields will weaken."
"Do you honestly think it will be so easy?" Granville said in a low growl. "This machine, Typhon, is well beyond anything the world has ever seen! It's fearsome might will see you to your grave..."
With that, hell descended on the battlefield. Llewellyn could hardly comprehend how many moving parts were operating on the Typhon. There had to be at least five cannons, ten lesser guns, and around eight massive, extending spikes. Soon, all of them were in a mad dash for their lives.
"Sir, this isn't going to be possible!" the ever strong Vesta Arnette said in a shaken voice.
"I realize that, Vesta," Weinberg said, having shifted to Fortress mode for mobility.
"What do we do, sir?" Lenna started, horrible fear gripping her voice.
"Retreat! Get hell away from that monster as soon as possible!" Weinberg shouted, frantic.
"Yes, sir!" they all started. Llewellyn threw his Grail into full speed. He was eager to get away. He was almost to safety.
And then his machine shook. The damage alarms blared at full blast. The Grail had been punctured by one of the spikes. It was then that he lost control of his monitors. A girl appeared in them. She was pale and mad looking, sanity having completely left her.
"Die in misery," she said, opening her left eye wide.
Something most peculiar happened then. The cockpit of the Grail flooded with water. Llewellyn panicked. This was impossible. But there was water all around him and more was pouring in rapidly. he began to breathe quickly. He had always had a horrible fear of drowning. Binding, really. he strained to keep above the water as he screamed and begged God for mercy.
"Llewellyn!" a voice called to him. It was Lenna's voice. He shook his head, wanting to yell for her to stay back.
"No, girl! She'll only get you too!" Weinberg's voice could be heard as the water finally closed over his head. It was happening. Death was imminent.
A tug came at his knightmare. It was harsh and jarring. When it was done, he was free. The water had just vanished as if it wasn't there. The only moisture around him was the heavy sweat he was covered with. His sight was also restored. What he watched shook him down to the core.
The Grail that had his by the arm was suddenly swarmed by five of the giant spikes. They tore into it like butter. The knightmare was ripped effortlessly to shreds. multiple explosions sounded.
"Lenna!" Llewellyn scream, lust for revenge bubbling inside of him.
Then Tristan Aegis appeared in front of him taking a storm of blaster fire aimed at him.
"She died to save you!" Weinberg screamed. "Please respect that sacrifice!"
Llewellyn didn't have to be told again. He turned and ran, Weinberg following after them.
It was clear as day to him, fleeing from the behemoth, that no matter what, Britannia had already lost this battle.
---
Margaret was actually smiling a little as she faced the funny looking horse knightmare down. It was kind of cute. Of course, she also knew that this was the unit that had defeated two Knights of the Round in the last battle. This was the man who had targeted Miya.
"I guess this is for you then, Miya," Margaret said, smiling. "After all, being a mutual friend of her and myself, I'll be seeing you more, I suppose."
"The King of Pie has challenged your claim to the prophecy," said the man as his unit faced Ywain. "With the scion's approval and the power of this blessed vessel Pegasus, I will fulfill the rights of the purification."
"What the hell could that possibly mean..." Margaret said with a crude laugh, not scared or even phased.
"Prepare to be crushed by the hoof of the Dragon Horse!" the lunatic babbled. Margaret shook her head and fell back, drawing her two rifles and letting them blaze.
The Pegasus flew up and brandished its front hoofs, revealing two powerful blasters. Margaret darted to a side and switched out for her swords. She closed in and made a slash. A horn appeared on its head and a missile launchers on the flanks. Some precision rolls and Margaret didn't have too much to worry about. She slashed upward.
It flew swiftly back. it was fast, for sure. Margaret switched one sword out for a gun and let a line of fire blaze as she flew in for a slash. The horse knightmare dodged readily and deployed another horn blast. She moved to the side of it and moved in. It was then that a slash harken shot from out of the horses mouth, coming to pierce Ywain cleanly.
"Hi there," Margaret said, smiling at the crazy-eyed man who appeared on her monitors.
"The time-snake bends to tempt fate's stallion!" he declared before cackling madly and activating his Geass.
Margaret's sense of time slowed to a crawl. She still smiled. This might have been scary. Might have, but not today. Her Geass had already been activated. She was already prepared. A mirror had been grafted to the lower half of her monitor. She slowly tilted her head to look into it. When she could see into her own eyes, she used the enemy's geass on herself.
Thus time restored to normal. She didn't stop there though. No, she looked right at the man, and made his world slow to nothing.
"Heh! you lose!" she declared tauntingly, before forcing a sword into either flank of the Pegasus.
Unfortunately it seemed she destroyed the monitor system in the process, as the enemy was able to get away, his cockpit ejecting, peculiarly enough, from the back side of the horse.
She laughed again. She hoped all of her comrades were having the wonderful ease she was. She giggled and thought about Amelia back home. Sooner the fighting ended, the better.
"You really are nothing but a pest," a voice said from behind her. She flew around to face a strange, knightmare, black and red with a claw like a lion's head. "I wasn't going to step into this fight myself, but silencing you has a certain appeal."
Margaret realized then that she knew the voice.
"How is Richter Novak now an officer of the EU?" Margaret spoke, narrowing her eyes. Only weeks ago, before Glen, before Amelia, facing this man on the battlefield would have shaken her like a child. Here, now, she was able to stand strong.
"I am called 'Alain Renard' here and I only go where my talents are best deserved," Richter said coldly. "Now, prepare. An insect like you is only good to be squashed."
"You don't scare me, Richter Novak," Margaret said coldly. "In fact, I'd be surprised if you have any talent as a pilot whatsoever!"
"Allow me to prove you wrong," Richter said. The cannon inbuilt into his claw arm then fired, producing a massive blast.
---
Katsumi wore a grin on her face as she sat behind her sister, holding tightly to her. She felt a little bad. It was hard not to. They had contacted General Tohdoh shortly after taking back the Guren but only to get the location their mother had left for out of her. As it turns out Japan was currently in a losing battle. Going to their mother's aid instead of that of their nation seemed selfish. Katsue was convinced otherwise though. She had said that their being there wouldn't tip the scale in the favor. On the contrary, now, while most of the EU's big hitters were entangled, might be the only time freeing their mother would be possible.
"There it is," said Katsue, "The Vermillion City."
"Beautiful," said Katsumi in a warm voice.
"Yes. Isn't it?" Katsue said, smiling. "And mother should be inside."
"Stop, right there!" a man's voice suddenly sounded.
"Think you're special for stealing that thing under our noses, do ya?" another man's voice started. "Well fuck that, we're just going to take it back!"
Before them were two custom knightmares. One was mammoth, gray and immense with wonderfully long black hair cables, wielding a gigantic blunt sword. the other was very small, not much larger than a man. It was gold, with golden hair cables and held a spear.
"Looks like we got quite the fight on our hand, doesn't it, sis?" asked Katsumi, tilting her head.
"Heh. But we can't fail," Katsue said. "Mom is depending on us, after all."
"Right, well, let's do this!" Katsumi called. She was ready for battle.
---
The sky was filled with explosion clouds and and gunfire, but otherwise clear. The Cerberus was in perfect operating from. Every enemy it approached was dispatched. Nothing survived. Signa Norrell's orders were to kill every enemy that crossed her.
the unit assigned to her by Deifilia Amarantha was known as Cerberus. A completely new model, it's designs had as much in common with Knight Giga Fortresses as they did Knightmare Frames. it was rounded and stocky, shaped somewhat like the former, but with the addition of four legs for balancing. Size-wise, it was more similar to a knightmare frame. It had heavy armor, painted dark gray, highlighted red. Three maximum power hadron cannons were at the front, under the sight receptor. Two short arms also came out from the sides, either ending in a sharp claw.
Signa downed four Vincent Wards at once. It was effortless. The cannons were that powerful. This display brought a custom unit in close. It was the one called Mórrígan.The pilot was known as Astrid Weinberg. Seventeen years of age. Formerly the Knight of Nine, she now held the rank of the Empress' personal knight.
She was an enemy. Thus she was to be destroyed. her cannons fired, hoping to destroy the target.
Mórrígan rolled out of the blasts path and shot some MVS arrows from its bows. Signa saw them batted out of the air with a well time swipe of her claws. She deployed the missile launchers hidden in the back of Cerberus. The air filled with smoke and fire as missiles flew toward the Mórrígan. Astrid Weinberg extended her knightmare's dark saber and ignited them all prematurely with a massive slash through the air.
"Don't you have anything to say to me, enemy?" asked Astrid Weinberg, holding her sword out.
"I have not been ordered to say anything," said Signa, emotionless.
"Perhaps you'd at least tell me your name?" the girl asked then.
"Why? I have no reason to." Signa said. "I am to take your life. Nothing more has requested of me."
"Whatever it is you say," said Astrid Weinberg.
Mórrígan's sword extended toward Cerberus. Signa flew downward into a spiral. She then angled up and fired her cannons. The girl dashed to the side and launched off slash harkens from her shield. Signa beat them back with her claw and deployed missiles. Again Astrid Weinberg cut through them. Signa then fired her claws, which were attached to harken cables, off for a quick attack. Astrid slashed at them with her sword, damaging them, while firing off MVS arrows downward. They hit. One exploded inside Cerberus' armor.
Damage was incurred. Signa blinked. Her chance of winning was still high. She just needed to activate her hidden weapon now to ensure it. She started up the sequence. The cannons moved forward, dislodging from out the front the claws flew a bit forward and locked together. A massive beam built under the claws. Then they split apart and an incredible wave of energy flew forth.
Astrid Weinberg then revealed the core of her Mórrígan. It glowed with a black energy as the sword, which drained to nothing. Signa realized then they did not have full specs on this unit. The girl was anticipating this attack and was prepared to counter it with her own massive blast. Signa had no predictions for the probable result.
Black energy met red energy in the sky. The explosion was violent. Destructive. Immense. it wiped out everything in its path, knightmares, buildings, whatever there was to destroy over a huge blast radius. When it cleared, Signa assessed her damages. They were horribly severe. her armor was shredded.
As was Astrid Weinberg's. Instinctively, she pulled the trigger for the cannons. They didn't deploy. She tried the missiles. Again, nothing. All weapons systems were dead. She had failed. Mórrígan, sped off in the opposite direction, probably as incapable of attack as Cerberus.
---
"Die!" Hiromi shouted as her spear clashed again and a again with Hildegarde Waldstein's sword. This was her last stand. This was her final moment. If she could just bring this woman down, she could die at least partly appeased.
"I will not fall to you!" Hildegarde cried. Her heart was pounding. This girl fought with intensity behind her blade. There was nothing easy in it. Still, her heart trembled as her thoughts stayed with Yasuko.
Then, as both woman fought, something happened. A blast fired, shaking them violently. Both pushed back and turned to the side. Two units were flying toward them.
"I'll take the Galahad, Marcella," Chiharu Ohgi said as stoically as she could, from behind the seat of her new knightmare Alexander, trying not to look at Jinketsu, trying not to imagine who could be piloting it in her place.
"I'm sorry, Miss Chiharu, but I can't," Marcella Belita spoke, oblivious to most things, but trembling with anticipation nevertheless. "I am under strict orders from Commander Renard to engage Galahad Renascence myself should I cross paths with it."
Chiharu had hardly the time to question this. With that, Marcella flew forward at the Galahad Renascence. drawing her two blades. Hildegarde hefted her swords to meet them.
"Move out of the way, Waldstein! That unit is my enemy!" hiromi shouted, recognizing Medusa from the descriptions. "That's the monster who killed my father!"
Chiharu's blood ran cold. Was that true? Had general Tohdoh fallen at his own child's hand? It was an understatement to say fate was cruel. Fate was a sick joke. Cruel and twisted beyond belief, laughing at the expense of them all.
"if it has been ordered, for Marcella to fight this knight, I cannot let you interfere, Hiromi," said Chiharu in a low, broken voice. "Fate has shown me here to meet you today. I am your opponent."
"I know that voice..." Hiromi started in a low almost whispered voice. It then erupted into a bottomless roar. "You traitor! How can you fly beside this woman now?! Do you not know what she has done!"
"I don't ask you to understand, Hiromi," said Chiharu in a low voice. "I don't ask that you don't hate me. You deserve to. I've made mistakes. I've sold myself." Chiharu closed her eyes, then opened them, activating her Geass. "I am not going to hold back! All I ask is that you do the same!"
"You don't have to ask that Chiharu. You don't have to ask that at all.." Hiromi gave a chuckle.
And with that, a fierce thrust was made. Jinketsu's spear came thrusting forward at its former master.
---
A/N:Long chapter after weeks of inactivity. Feels good to have it done. It was a long battle chapter, and i didn't' even finish all the fights. Left a few cliffhangers. Anyway, yeah, Deifilia pretty much won this fight, regardless of what happens from here, but you all expected that, right? First was that twins get the Guren thing; I believe one of my readers saw that coming last chapter; sorry for being predictable, that bit seemed a little rushed to me, but I think it's oaky. After that,, Eilith made her combat debut (and if anyone thinks I named her knightmare what I did just to throw yet another Fate/Stay Night reference in, they are absolutely right...). She tied with Xuemei in the one fight that had no EU intervention. Will lead to some interesting stuff with her. Rowena fought Nonette. Not particularly interesting ,just trying to build a little more sympathy for the former, I suppose. Chaowei got another win followed by a cruel surprise take down. I can just not give the guy a real win, I suppose. Poor dude. At least he kicked Naida's ass. Niles vs Lazarus was an interesting fight. A good break up for the chapter, as it was psychological rather than physical warfare. Ulric was then thoroughly overwhelmed and had to retreat. Ah, then we have the Grail squad, a small group of late game introduced characters, thrown in on a complete whim and Regina's overpowered aerial monster. Margaret then kicked Philip's ass horribly, proving that, as invulnerable as he looked on the first go, against the wrong opponent, he's nothing but a joke. Astrid fought Signa to a destructive tie in a short fight. And then I set up four more fights. Margaret vs. Richter, Twins vs. former Absolution cyborg dudes, Hildegarde vs Marcella and Chiharu vs. Hiromi. should be fun. And it should not take the whole chapter.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully nothing prevents me from writing another one for two weeks from now. I'll even try and release some extras again if I can get back on it.
Items to be added to the info page with the next update:
Destroyer Olympus
Lenna Leander
Vesta Arnette
Llewellyn Mara
Lin Yumin
Gao Ying
Cúchulainn
Odysseus
Minos
Sophia Moore
Argonaut
Vincent Grail
Typhon
Cerberus
Alexander