15 hours after ASJ catastrophe.

Under Viceroy`s Palace.

How does one describe feeling of being alive after his death? For Alex, it was most certainly… bright. Yeah, that was the word. Once you went on the other side of Styx, it`s an utter and absolute void and darkness, no light, no senses, no nothing. The real feeling of absolute paralysis and complete … nothing at all. That was death for Alex and this was far worse than any depiction of Hell in his mind. So, being back in the land of living was like getting into paradise, but once Alex realized just where he was and what those bastards were doing to him, it made him reconsider a couple of his principals and his allegiances.

He woke up about two weeks ago and ever since then had been keeping a close eye on all those scientists and what they were doing, listening, learning and planning his next moves. Those scientist were from Schneizel`s research labs, specializing on enhancing the performance of soldiers and humans as a whole, basically making super soldiers. And Alex was their first guinea pig to work with, using his body to test out their latest technologies of bio-engineering. Those bastards were doing basically everything they had wanted with him, testing out all that they had on him. As the result, Alex`s body changed, or, better to say, evolved. His bones` and muscles` structure became far stronger and durable, regeneration process was three times stronger than any average human`s, feeling of pain was also altered, making Alex more resistant to it as his mind`s backlash on it was weakened. And once he got out of that tube and guards were about to shoot at him, Grayson had discovered that those bastards had also stimulated his brain`s processing and reaction to things. He discovered it once he was able to "see" bullets leaving the barrel and coming at him. He dodged them all and in the matter of minutes taken care of all six guards all by himself, applying Darlton`s lessons in CQC and his reflexes. After that, he finally concluded that he was now like this world`s Deathstroke, only specializing in Knightmares.

After all guards were taken care and Alex, finally, got a fresh set of his Templar`s uniform, he decided to interrogate Bartley and find out all that he needed at the moment. As for his colleagues, those bastards had done A LOT of things to him and even with his altered senses, it was painful as hell. So, Alex paid them back, when he gunned down all twenty of them without a flinch. Bartley was only alive because of the valuable information he had. Which he just done spilling out to Alex.

"So, this is all you have?" Alex asked the fat general. "You do realize that after all that you and your dead pals did to me I might have some doubt to your words?"

"Please, I beg you; it was all done under orders of His Highness, not mine." Bartley begged Alex. "He was infatuated with you and your work, seeing you as someone who could understand him and losing you he considered as the greatest tragedy, so he ordered us to use Code R`s data and bring you back."

"And in the process, you`ve made me into a freakin` super soldier." Alex remarked with anger. "Now, what is he doing here and just what you`ve done to him?" Grayson angrily pointed at another tube, where a frame of his old friend was stationed, with numerous cybernetic implants installed on his body.

Right now Alex looked at the body of his old XO and personal friend that he believed was dead for a long time. Jeremiah Gottwald, the first commander of Purist Faction and later Alexander`s XO in operations and daily duties. Even though they at first had started out from a little of cold feet, the two grew to trust and respect one another after their first operation and by the time of Narita, Jeremiah and Alex were practically on close friendly terms with each other. Alex was also the one saying the speech on his funerals and giving a Britannian flag to his little sister and apologizing for not being able to save him when he had to. It was this tragedy that compelled Alex to grow up as a soldier and commander, molding him into the future legend among soldiers and civilians. And now, he looked at the changed body of his friend floating in the tube. That was even worse for Alex than what those scums had done to him.

"We-we`ve picking him at Narita, badly wounded and alone, s-so we`ve decided to u-use him as t-test subject." Bartley answered. "We`ve enhanced his electro-magnetic potential and gave him and boosted his neural system, making it comparable with the cybernetics and Siegfried, so…"

"You`ve turned him into a living CPU for that Knight Giga Fortress." Grayson hissed. "And let me guess, you even used the data from the research to work with me, didn`t you?"

"O-only to boost your brain regeneration and avoid all negative effects of further…" Bartley couldn`t finish his sentence as his face quickly met with Alex`s fist, sending him onto the ground, with his nose and mouth full of blood and broken beyond healing.

"I`ve heard enough, General." Alex said to him, pointing a gun at his head. "Consider this your official retirement." And after that, Alex unloaded one bullet right between Bartley`s eyes and afterwards turned his attention at Jeremiah. "I`m very sorry for not being able to save you and others back there, Jeremiah. And I apologize for dragging you into this war." Alex went to the terminal.

Right now, Alex was hearing the numerous reports from all around Japan via communication links and radios that he switched on. And all were saying in summation one thing- war. An all out war to the bitter end with one side being destroyed. And this war started when that accursed Charles zi Britannia ordered to kill Cornelia, Euphie and Gabriel, along with all their supporters and those who wished to participate in ASJ, accusing them in treason and disobeying him. That bastard had just sentenced Alexander`s family to death: his beloved, his surrogate little sister and his own son! This why Alex is going to go out there and show all those swines why he is considered to be Britannia`s Dark Crusader. And just what happens when Grayson finally let loose of all his moral restrains and specifically fights to kill, not to disable.

His enemies were known to him: Durmail, official leader of Royalists, Monica, Knight of Twelve, and Bismarck Waldstein himself, Knight of One and leading force in this one. To take them all down, Alex needs to have not just Arthorius, but one of his Nephilims, at least. But, as was the case right now, he actually had something even better. Something that Alex had hoped never to pilot because it literally draw him to death last time he use it, but now things were different and he was different as well. And now, he could use this Knightmare to its fullest.

SDX-00 Belial, First 8th Generation Advanced Assault Anti-KMF Knightmare Frame.

Camelot`s true trump card and its biggest secret: first Knightmare utilizing Solaris Drive Core on full 100%. Belial was built at the same time as Arthorius, with the intention of utilizing the Solaris Core, the same way as Arthorius was built to use Uther Core. Both machines were only testing models for both drives and their initial purpose was to see how well they could perform with them. First was completed Arthorius, showing that Uther Drive core was superior to Crusader MK-2 drive by approximately 80-90%. And soon after Belial was created, showing something that no one could`ve imagined. Solaris Drive Core exceeded Crusader MK-2 Drive Core… by 250% at the full output, surpassing Uther by a wide margin. This result was astonishing and soon Alex and Lloyd prepped the fully equipped Belial for a test run. And it proven to be the only time when Alexander was terrified of his own machine`s abilities. Belial was simply too powerful and too advanced for any pilot to master it and Alex attested to that statement. The reason for that was in fact that Belial was built fully with experimental parts and material to make him work with Solaris to its fullest. As a result, Belial`s potential was way higher than any 7.5th Gen, affectively making him the first 8th Generation Knightmare Frame ever built.

Belial`s load out was also quite fitting for the most advanced KMF in the world. He utilized Active Maser Vibro armor, an enhanced version of Arthorius`s armor, designed to repel MVSs and almost all kinds of projectiles. It also came equipped with all new defensive force field system- Helios Shroud, working on the same principle as Luminous Shroud, but Helios was equipped on all parts of Belial, effectively allowing him to conceal his entire body against attacks in red energy field, or protect only a certain part of his body. As for weaponry, Belial`s equipment was simple, but deadly effective in right hands. Belial`s right hand was equipped with the mounted with a unique long sword- Ascalon, HMV sword capable of breaking any thick armored KMF into small pieces, built as a great sword, but belial could hold it with one hand, capable of moving into a fighting position at the moment notice from his right shoulder, where he was mounted in inactive mode. His left hand possessed a variable shield, capable of switching positions to better suit the pilot and give him a couple of extra options in a fight, such as hold a side arm or protect a vital part of suit. For his additional weaponry, Belial utilized a 45-mm Variable Assault Carbine, capable of switching from auto to semi and into sniper mode if needed. He also had two additional MVS on his hips as back up. However the main kicker was in two VARIS-class short-barrel cannons on his shoulders, capable of obliterating any KMF stupid enough to get in his way. All this is also now combined with an Arrow Wing Float System, which relied more on thrusters than traditional Float System. Overall, Belial was designed for one thing only: destroy all who opposes it`s pilot.

And Alex really needed this kind of a force in his possession, because he was going to go up against an entire army and he didn`t know how would BKs and Cornelia`s loyalists react to his return. However, he didn`t care about right now. His thought were with Cornelia, because the latest report just said that Avalon is reaching the Viceroy`s Palace and will dock on the roof as per orders from Bismarck. Lloyd and Cecile… they`ve effectively sold Cornelia out to Durmail and Emperor. Alex noted to teach them a couple of things about pain. However, he couldn`t rush in right now. He needed help and Jeremiah was the only option available, as much as it pained Alex. He was the only one capable of piloting that Siegfried with his bio-connection systems installed. And from the quick glace on its specs, Alex understood one thing: even Belial can`t take down this monster alone.

Alex typed a couple of commands into the consol and tube immediately opened up, flushing the fluids and releasing its prisoner from the confinement. Jeremiah coughed out some fluids and rose up looking up at the man who freed him.

"Good morning to you it was." He said in a bit robotic voice.

Alex immediately saw how electrodes were running in his left eye, suggesting that Jeremiah was still not in himself and this statement to his friend was also the point. Well, Alex wasn`t proficient in neural psychology, but he did know one way to fix persons.

Cognitive recalibration. And Alex did just that, as Jeremiah had fallen on the ground and was now again rising.

"How dare you, insolent brute to strike me like some filth and…" Once Jeremiah was again on his feet, he saw clearly was the man who punched him. "Major Grayson?"

"More like Lt.-Colonel Grayson, but last time I`ve checked they moved me into Major-General without my notification." Alex replied with a small smirk, handing Jeremiah a flight suit he found. "You might want to dress up. It`s a bit windy here."

"Thank you, Alex." Jeremiah put on his modified uniform. "Ugh, all these implants… I wish I could say a piece of my mind to those swines and after wards send all in inferno."

"Don`t bother." Grayson nodded to his left, showing Jeremiah the results of his work. "You are not the only one who had been experimented on."

"You as well?" Grayson only nodded. "I`m sorry to hear that, but I can`t help but notice that you aren`t looking any different than last time I saw, save for your new hair style and this interesting uniform."

"Trust me, those bastards did a number on me, only all of the indications are either healed or inside of me." Grayson clarified. "As for new look, you we`ve been out of the loop for almost four months, lot of things have changed."

"I see." Jeremiah remarked, listening to the noises of alarm. "What in God`s name is going on with that alarm? Are we under attack or is it an exercise?"

"In short terms, Emperor has just ordered to execute Cornelia, Euphemia and millions of people just because his ass wanted it." Grayson summarized the whole thing. "Cornelia, along with all here supporters and friends are now framed as traitors and enemies to the Empire. From what that fatso told me, Duke Durmail is now the official Viceroy and has issued an order 66."

"Total extermination of all opposition and those who work or have a slightest connection with them." Jeremiah muttered one of the major extreme orders. "What is the dead count already?"

"Over 2 millions all over Japan." Grayson said in cold voice. "And those aren`t just Japanese. Half of all killed are Britannian civilians, who had nothing to do with this. All killed under the pretext of following the will of His Majesty."

"That vile swine…" Jeremiah`s righteous rage was showing itself now. "It`s just as you`ve told me once, sir. We are nothing but dirt for this hideous heathen."

"Glad to see that you`ve retained your linguistic prowess." Alex smirked. "In any event, Durmail`s forces are amassing on the outskirts of Tokyo to stop the allied forces of Black Knights and Cornelian supporters. If the data is correct, that coalition has less numbers than Durmail, but all of them are fierce veterans, not to mention that it seems like my Templers are leading the charge. However, Durmail also has a couple of aces up in his sleeve, such as Bismarck himself, along Knight of Twelve and the entire Pacific Fleet coming to reinforce them in less than 12 hours."

"If those forces were to land, coalition will be wiped out. This fleet is easily the biggest in the entire world and has over 2500 Knightmares on board of them, as per regulations for invasions." Jeremiah remarked. "Also, since when Zero has started to help us?"

"Don`t know, don`t care much." Alex answered, turning his gaze at Belial. "What I do know is that Lloyd and Cecile have Cornelia and Euphemia on board of floating air carrier Avalon. And those scientific asses have already decided to sell them off to Durmail. And Coalition won`t be here in time to save them."

Jeremiah seemingly caught up with what Alex meant and looked at the Belial as well, noticing it`s wings and all the weapons. He then glanced at the Siegfried and figured out what Alex had in mind.

"You plan to save them, sir?" Jeremiah asked him.

"Yeah, and I need your help in this one, Jeremiah." Alex spoke, turning to his friend. "That Knightmare is easily the strongest one I`ve ever designed and built. It should give me an edge against most of the enemies. But I`ll need that Fortress there to create confusion among those idiots. From that fatso`s words, it`s practically impenetrable with its shields and pikes. And it is operated via bio-connect, so you are the only one who can pilot that thing."

"You want me to kill them?" Jeremiah asked without any sympathy towards those swines.

"No, I want you to obliterate them." Alex ordered him.

"And what of you, sir? What are you going to be doing with that interesting Knightmare of yours?

Alex turned to his friend and spoke in cold voice.

"I`m going to bring down that carrier and rescue my family." Grayson`s eyes burned with fire. "And I`ll kill anyone who stands on my way. Today, those bastards are going to learn one thing about me."

"I almost tingle with the mixture of interest and surprising fear." Jeremiah chuckled. "What would that be, Alex?"

"No one messes with those whom I love, Jeremiah." Alex began moving towards his Knightmare. "And if they do, then there is no saving them from my wrath."

It`s true- Alex was furious. Instead of lashing out on everything or growling, Alex was always far more reserved and composed, having mastered the art of handling his feelings and suppressing his anger from breaking out. However, today was a special case as practically everything that Alex had fought and died for was in danger or crushing down. Emperor, Durmail, Schneizel, Bismarck, even Suzaku… All of those bastards are going to pay for all their crimes and for what they had done to him and his friend.

And if they`ve done something to Cornelia… God have mercy on their souls.

For Alex won`t have any for them. Only death.


Tokyo`s outer perimeter. Coalition`s G-1.

"5th and 7th squads have broken through their defenses. 3rd and 8th squads are establishing operative base. Susanoo and Gekka Avenger are engaging against Royalist`s 1 Elite Special Squad. Confirming 4 Lancelots Sentinel."

"2nd Armored Battalion has penetrated second line of defense and is exterminating remaining Royalists. They report over 40 Knightmares destroyed on the enemy side, along with over 200 dead already."

"Morgraines and Glaston Knights are engaging remaining renegade Templers under Catalonia`s command. They are supported by 6th Armored Battalion, commanded by Sugiyama. Commander Gabriel and his battalion have destroyed enemy`s 5th and 12th battalions, securing our routes to Chiba."

"Report sighting Arthorius Cavalier, Lancelot Templar MK-2 and two unknown Lancelot-types, accompanied by 3 Sentinels approaching us by air. Seven minutes before the visual. Also, we`ve detected Avalon and it`s moving towards the Palace."

Those were just some minor reports coming from all over the grandiose battlefield that was Tokyo Settlement. A battle between allied forces of Black Knights and Cornelian Loyalists against Royalists, a battle to decide the fate of entire Japan and that will change the face of the entire world. The scale of this event was unlike any before this one. This is the first battle of that scale with Knightmares as the main attacking force. More than 3500 Knightmares from both sides were engaging each other, with coalition deploying it`s 1400 Knightmares against Royalists` 2100 Knightmares at the beginning of the battle, but now the balance was on Coalition`s side.

The battle at Mt. Fuji ended with complete defeat of Royalists and almost complete destruction of the forces that were deployed there, but the cost of almost 300 thousand of civilians killed, and that was just the beginning. Reports from all over Japan counted to over 2 million civilians dead by this time and the number was only growing. That battle was just the beginning for a war and all it`s members were ready to fight. Zero and Seraphim have put aside all their differences and allied themselves with Cornelian Loyalists, who found themselves under the command of Gabriel Grayson, former CO of Templers, now one of three chief commanders of allied forces. At first, it seemed like there would be a second battle in the next minutes breaking out, but once all commanders have given their speech about fighting against Britannian tyranny and avenging all deaths of civilians, along with punishing those who decided to commit such vile act, all the forces were united with the same goals and motivation to fight. Zero has also promised that he`ll do whatever it takes to rescue Cornelia and Euphemia from the clutches of those swines, as he proclaimed them to be the ones who were betrayed by their own father and country just because that corrupted and vile man couldn`t stand Japan getting its name back. And so, the combined force now moved towards Tokyo Settlement as fast as it could.

Along the way, Coalition was getting more and more reinforcements from both sympathizers from resistance and from loyalists who were ready to rescue their Goddess of Victory. The number of the forces was rising by the minute and by the time Coalition reached the borders of the enemy`s first defensive lines, the army had three times the numbers than it was even predicted. The path was swift and safe, as Royalists were getting back in the settlement and fortifying their positions, giving many a chance to join up with Coalition. Under united command of Zero, Vergil and Gabriel were not just regular trained forces, but battle-hardened and experienced veterans, used to war and battles, led by capable commanders. As for Royalists, they were mostly regulars from Homeland, who barely had any real combat experience at all and were led by mostly noblemen, who enjoyed luxuries of their estates instead of practicing on the exercises. The only problem was the number of these forces, which was seemingly greater than Coalition`s, but now it this problem have been dealt with.

In just two hours, Gabriel`s vanguard had broken through all three first lines of defense outside the Tokyo and cleared the path for the main force to move forward. Once all the main forces had gathered at the layered structures of Tokyo, looking directly at the Royalists` forces standing above them, Zero put his secret plan into motion- destruction of the outer perimeter and leveling those forces down, taking out a great portion of them and giving Coalition a way into the Settlement. Royalists were wrecked and didn`t even try to regroup at first, giving vanguard troops an easy job. Gabriel led the frontal assault with his Templers and Zero Squad, smashing through the enemy lines of defense. Plan was simple- surround the Palace and take it by simultaneous assault from all sides, crushing the enemies and freeing Cornelia with Euphemia. For the first hour it all went well, much better than even Vergil thought, but soon enemy started to recover and organize their movements, regrouping at Viceroy`s Palace. That indicated that Bismarck Waldstein was taking the command of this battle. And along with him were Kururugi and Monica, his aces. However, Coalition is also filled with those who are capable of matching them in combat. Top elites like Gabriel Grayson, Kallen Kozuki, former Round Nonette Enneagram, Lucina Grayson, Vergil li Britannia and new Susanoo`s pilot, Maya Asuka, had more than enough strength to give each of them a run for their money.

Maya Asuka, out of all the elites, was the youngest of them, being just 16 years old, but she more than made up for it with skills in how she piloted Susanoo that Vergil entrusted to her. She joined up with the Black Knights just about a month ago, but quickly proved herself as top ace pilot when she showed complete mastery of Gekka, Ashikaga and Akuma, along with her experience in combat when she single handedly took down 7 Gloucesters, piloting an Ashikaga. She later joined Vergil`s faction and, after he saw her skills, handed her Susanoo that he received from Kaguya Sumeragi. This KMF was built to be able to match Arthorius in combat and defeat it. Susanoo is primarily a close-quarters Knightmare, armed with two Azrael-type MVS katanas and having only 4 Slash Fangs on his hands and hips as his side weapons, but that was compensated with almost perfect balance of armor, speed and mobility, which were truly impressive and on par with Lucina`s Vindicator and even surpassing it in speed department. As for the design, Vergil could see the resemblance to Guren and Gekka, but Susanoo also borrowed heavily from Morgraine. As for the pilot, nobody could deny that Maya was a real gem when it came to fighting enemies and protecting her comrades in battle. As for her persona, she was a rather collected and mindful person, very well educated and mannered, addressing all her superiors respectfully and serving her duties with dignity. She practically never lost her cool in battle and was something of a polar opposite of Kallen Kozuki, whose hot temper and recklessness could lend her in trouble. Some even noticed that she was more like Seraphim and even resembled him, along with the said Kozuki, but she denied any connection. Still, she was a force to be reckoned with, and now that her Susanoo was equipped with captured X-wing Float System, that was taken from the captured Tokyo Technical Institution, she was a lighting fast fighter.

And right now, Susanoo, Seraphim Raphael, Akashi and Morgraine Vindicator were engaging those incoming enemies in practically the first Knightmare air combat.


In the air.

Maya was always trained by her parents to be ready to stand up for herself in any given situation. And right now she was going to do just that, using her Susanoo against those damned vile murderers and animals. She was in sync with her Knightmare and was ready to face any opponent that might try and stop her. She activated her comm.

"Susanoo to Seraphim, permission to engage Sentinels, shogun?" Maya was half-Japanese and had a preference to use her second native language in speaking.

"Granted."Vergil replied, knowing that she could take care of herself. "Morgraine, take out that new Lancelot-type with a lance. Akashi, Arthorius is yours. I`ll deal with Bismarck. Engage!" With this Raphael transformed back into his KMF form and fired his Rasiels at the enemy formation, breaking it apart.

In the next second, all said Knightmares engaged their primary targets. Susanoo moved ahead of the group and to the left, flying straight to the group of 4 Lancelots, 3 Sentinels and 1 unknown model. Using her superior speed, Maya moved her Susanoo above the four and then went down against them. Sentinels and that model opened fire against Susanoo from their Vulcans, but Japanese KMF dodged all of the shots, taking out of his back his katanas and readying them to engage the enemy. As Susanoo passed down right in front of Sentinel, dark-blue Knightmare lost his right arm and shoulder with a swift swing of the blade. In the next second, Susanoo suddenly reached his wounded target and pinned it down with its Fangs, destroying the damaged machine. Other pilots reacted slowly, trying to draw out their swords, but Maya`s reaction and mind were in sync and on far greater level, as she moved Susanoo around at lightning speed, slicing off the parts from Sentinels and destroying all of them in the blink of an eye. She knew that the pilots weren`t really trained to Floats yet so she used this opportunity to her advantage. However, the golden colored Lancelot escaped before the death and already drawn out it`s sword, ready to fight. Suddenly, Maya heard the voice of Gabriel Grayson, who was in the middle of battling Arthorius.

"Susanoo, that`s Lancelot Dominion, upgraded Sentinel with the same armor as Arthorius." Gabriel warned young pilot. "Justine Catalonia is in the cockpit of that thing. You know the drill."

"Hai." Maya said and moved her Susanoo against the Dominion.

In the next minute, both KMFs were engaging in a battle. Maya could easily say that the pilot was skilled in battling KMFs, but he was a complete nowise in aerial combat and handing these level machines. The only reason why Susanoo didn`t dispatch of that machine so fast was because of the armor, which it took some time to crack, but Maya was closer and closer as her Susanoo moved quickly around this bulky thing .And then Maya heard the voice of the pilot of that KMF.

"You useless Eleven. Don`t you know when to die?!" Dominion tried to slash Susanoo from up, but that resulted in it losing its hands as Susanoo cut both in swift motion, moving closer to the Dominion. "No! You can`t kill me! I`m a Britannian noble and you master, you filthy monkey!"

"I serve only my clan and my daimio, kisama." With this, Susanoo severed the head of the Dominion and proceeded to destroy it with precision blade work.

In the next minute all that was left of that golden KMF was pile of floating ruble. And then Susanoo slashed vertically Dominion, sending it into abyss of fire and ultimate death. Maya`s work here was done and now she had to help her comrades.

Suddenly, her sensors picked up a distant heat source, coming from the Viceroy Palace. Maya looked in that direction and saw two pure red beams coming out of the roof and piercing the skies. She recognized the Hadron Cannons instantly. And then she saw how a dark red flash rose into the skies and then stopped for a couple hundred meters higher. Maya zoomed in and her eyes widened as she saw the frame of that KMF. Dark red KMF with different type of Float System with the installed two Hadron Cannons on it. The KMF had two swords attached to its hips, a shield on its left arm, a carbine on behind and a long great sword in the right hand. As for the design, Maya already knew this design and she even knew the name of this machine.

"Belial." She quietly said. "Shinigami has risen from the grave."


With Vergil vs. Bismarck

Vergil gritted his teeth in anger and controlled rage, moving his Seraphim upwards and trying to slash Templar from above only for the smaller Frame to evade and counter with a spinning attack. Raphael dodged all attacks ducking down and moving his shield to a battle position, blocking another upcoming attack. Templar`s blades met with protected layers of Raphael`s shields, stopping them from harming the Knightmare.

Vergil had to admit that Bismarck truly was a beast in combat and in close combat Vergil was a disadvantage. When it came down to measuring expertise in melee in his timeline, Bismarck and his father were the top fighters in this category, with Bismarck`s ruthless strength against his father`s swiftness and precision with two blades. And that`s not counting Bismarck`s secret weapon, Power of Future Trajectory, allowing him to perceive how will anyone move in the most likely way, basing on the pattern of moves and where will the KMF be in the next second. It rendered tactics and strategies useless against Bismarck, giving him an enormous advantage in battle. Vergil always was a thinker and moved only after he had planned it out and that was probably working against him at the moment. The only way he knew how to defeat Bismarck is to combine both your instincts and mind into one, abandoning the strategy and fighting like Knightmare is the continuation of your own body. Unfortunately, it was very hard to achieve and Vergil also didn`t have this skill worked out. He only knew about one pilot who achieved this level of mastery and beat Bismarck. That was his own father after Bismarck had tried to kill Maria as a way to avenge his fallen Emperor. That pushed his father to use his Azazel in a way that not even Bismarck could take it down. Right now, Vergil wished that he had this skill as well, or that he had his father to help him out, for the first time in history.

Right in the middle of their heated duel, Seraphim received a commlink call from Bismarck.

"Very impressive. You evaded all of my strikes and even countered some. Even though you are not Grayson, you are still quiet an impressive fighter, Vergil li Britannia." Templar launched a second attack, Raphael parries it down and retaliates with swift thrust.

Vergil`s eyes widened for a second, only to return back in normal. So, that`s why this whole massacre was caused. All because Emperor found out about him and his siblings and their real connection to Cornelia.

"So that is why that bastard has issued that damned order." Vergil growled, moving Raphael away from the striking position of Templar. "All because you somehow found out about us. This is why he dispatched you, his most loyal hound, isn`t it?"

"Perceptive, you could say that." Templar blocked a slash from Raphael and moved upwards to get a distance. "You shouldn`t have interfered with His Majesty`s plans. If you had helped him instead of causing this massacre, the world would`ve been freed of all this conflict and despair."

"And devoid of freedom and life!" Vergil shouted, Raphael literally kicking away Templar when it was at the striking point. "That damned man has no right to decide what`s best for humanity. He and that pile of scumbags you call Imperial Family don`t understand a thing about humans and how we live. All you care about are yourselves and your damned desires! That`s why my world was destroyed, because of the selfish and corrupt people like him and Schneizel! Did he tell you that, Waldstein?"

"Oh, I know all about it." Templar moved forward at the Raphael. "His Majesty has seen your world and why you came. And because of that the Ragnarok Connection shall be completed!"

"Through my dead body!" Raphael grabbed Templar and thrown it away from the trajectory and readies his Rasiels to fire at the Bismarck. "Tell your damned Emperor that I`ll have his head for all his crimes. I know you he can hear us." And with that Rasiels fired, but Templar evaded the shots, retreating on the safe distance, but fired particle beams did hit the enemy formation below giving Kallen a way forward.

"You`ve predicted I would dodge this and targeted the forces down there instead of me." Bismarck commented sounding impressed. "With those skills, you would`ve made a great Knight of the Round, young Vergil."

"That "being a Round and change the world" shit isn`t going to work on me, Bismarck." Raphael grabbed his second sword and attached to the first one. "Don`t mistake me for that scumbag Kururugi. I`m a son of Alexander Grayson! And no Grayson shall ever follow your lead!"

As the two were about to charge at each other, they were stopped with two red beams coming from the Viceroy`s Palace. After that two KMFs turned to face the Palace and witness how a dark red flash had left the building. Vergil`s screen zoomed in and he gasped, seeing this Knightmare.

"No way…" He said. "That machine… can it really be Belial?"

But there was but one man who had ever piloted that machine and he was no longer among the living. He personally saw the body of that pilot and he was dead. Not only that, this machine is way too powerful for any pilot to master at this point in time.

"Just who the hell is in Belial? And why do I feel this sudden pressure from there? Like… some kind of a dark spirit or demon was unleashed and I`m looking in the eyes of death itself?" Bismarck thought to himself, until he heard His Majesty`s voice.

"Bismarck, forget about those pests and destroy that damned Knightmare right now!"

"Your Majesty?"

"It`s pilot… There is no mistaking it. It`s Grayson… Alexander Grayson, the Code Breaker, he is alive."

"The man who inserted this fear in His Majesty… is alive?!" Bismarck looked agape. "Finally, a truly worthy opponent! I`ll have your head for His Majesty orders me!" With that Templar went right ahead towards the Belial.


With Gabriel vs. Suzaku

Gabriel had to admit that Suzaku really was a pain the ass and a real ace with Arthorius Cavalier. Akashi blocked another valley of shots and retaliated with its turret`s firing at Suzaku, who blocked it with Cone Luminous. Arthorius spinned around and tried to land Kururugi`s trademark kick, but Gabriel wasn`t your average pilot or even an ace. He was a goddamned Knightmare Master! Once Arthorius went for the kill, Akashi moved back and left, momentarily placing itself at the Suzaku`s least defended sides and with one smashing attack from the shield, Akashi managed to damage right arm of Arthorius and make it lose one of its swords.

After this Arthorius retreated to a safe distance and readied itself. Suddenly, Gabriel received a commlink message from Suzaku.

"Stop this madness, Gabriel! Don`t you see what you are doing?!" Arthorius moved forward to attack Akashi.

"You are the one who doesn`t see a thing." Akashi dodged the thrusting attack and retaliated with a slash. "You`ve said that you wanted to protect the people and now you are siding with those who kill civilians and innocent?! You are a damned hypocrite, Suzaku!"

"I am only trying to change things for the better." Suzaku`s Arthorius landed a kick at Akashi`s shield, but Red Lightning ducked down and then gave a strong uppercut. "Ugh! Why can`t you just making things worse?! It`s because of you and people like you that those tragedies must happen! Because of Cornelia and you, I`m forced to fight for the people and to protect them!"

"Do you even hear yourself, damned moron?!" Akashi`s turret damaged Arthorius` chest plate with a precise shot. "All that you are doing right now is helping those monsters kill innocents and destroy everything that Cornelia had tried to build! She was trying to free your own people, to give them hope and a future, but Britannia is trying to crush it all! And you are helping them to do so!"

"That wasn`t the right way for my people to live!" Arthorius thrust Akashi`s shield and destroyed it, Akashi reveals his second sword drawn and retaliates with fierce attack. "This was no freedom! It was a revolt! If Cornelia had followed Euphie`s plan instead of twisting it into ASJ, than we would be at peace now! But instead of allowing Euphie to make her wish a reality, Cornelia tarnished it with her twistedness! That`s why she must be punished!"

"I always knew that you were obsessed with Euphie, but to use her name as an excuse?!" Gabriel roared, as Akashi moved in unmatched pace and interlocked the swords with Arthorius. "Don`t you dare bring her into this! She personally agreed with Cornelia and helped to organize the ASJ! She was trying to do the same thing as Cornelia!"

"You are wrong!" Arthorius pushed back the Akashi and suddenly moved at the impossibly fast pace. "Euphie needed my help to make her dream a reality! I was destined to give the people a hope they needed! And you`ve taken it away!"

"Even with Extremis System, you`ll never beat me in a direct battle of swords!" Akashi`s swords swirled around and finally destroyed Arthorius`s remaining MVS and red KMF kicked the enhanced Arthorius into the building. "Face it, Suzaku. You don`t care about Euphie or Cornelia or even Britannia. The only thing that you want is to be a fucking messiah for your people, someone who rules over them. You`re the one who is twisted her, Suzaku Kururugi, and that`s why you`ll never accepted as one, nor you`ll win against me."

"I will defeat you, Gabriel!" Suzaku growled, trying to raise his Arthorius, but failing. "No one can bring people what they really needed. And even that damned Grayson couldn`t bring peace here with his philosophical patronizing!"

At this statement Gabriel`s rage engulfed his eyes and he targeted the turret at Suzaku.

"You`ve sealed your damned fate, you bastard." With this Akashi fired a valley of shots at the building, crushing it and burying the Arthorius underneath it, not letting Suzaku to escape in ejection block.

"Sorry, Vergil, but you won`t be getting your revenge." Gabriel commented as he saw how a tall building was reduced to a pile of rubble, graving the Arthorius and Suzaku Kururugi with it. "That was for my father, you hypocritical bastard."


Suddenly, all of the participants in this battle received a commlink message from the unknown source. The messenger was sitting inside of the dark red Knightmare and transmitting his image to all that heard him

"Attention to Royalist Forces! This is Alexander Grayson, former CO of Templar Special Force and member of Princess Cornelia`s Royal Guard. This is my only and last warning: release your captives and hand them to Coalition. Should you not do that I swear that I`ll kill every single one of you and rip your all your leaders and the rest of those noble scumbags to shreds. And if you think that I can`t do that, then observe." With this, Alex closed the link.

In the next second, Belial`s eyes flashed up and he readied his shoulder mounted Hadron Cannons, lowering them at the level of Viceroy`s Palace. Red beams converted and in one single second, Alex unleashed the two beams at the Viceroy`s Courtyard, demolishing it and destroying nearly 50 Knightmares that were stationed them by collapsing the founding of the structure by concentrated Hadron Cannons` blast. In the next second all that was there was destroyed and wasn`t coming back. Belial turned towards the battlefield, eyes piercing the skies, looking at the Avalon, retreating towards the Ashford, where some forces were still holding up.


Avalon.

"Lloyd… could that really have been…"Cecile asked her colleague, shocked and in awe at what she was seeing.

"Yes… It is Alex alright." Lloyd said in morbid voice. "And with fully equipped Belial, he`ll show us no mercy. I don`t even care how he came back, Cecile, but what I do know is that he`ll kill anyone who stands on his way."

"But we are only following orders! And we are his friends!"

"Oh, Cecile… You don`t understand Alex quite like I do. He is nothing like Suzaku and there is one thing that he hates the most and never forgives." Lloyd sighed.

"Treachery, and we`ve done just that to him when we handed over his body to Schneizel."

In the quarters for guests, Cornelia and Euphie listened to the sounds of battle and just recently to this message. And while Euphie was in the state of shock, Cornelia, despite all that was happening and how this entire situation was getting worse, couldn`t help but cry.

"Alex… It is you… You are alive…"

Her beloved.

Her heart and soul.

Her Alexander… was alive.


Grayson: OH HELL YEAH! I`m back bitches and I`ve brought favors for everyone! Prepare your graves and collective asses, because I`m going to kick them so hard that the corpses they`ll find THEY`LL NEVER RECOGNIZE AS CORPSES!

Well, Alex is back and he is LIVID! Also to all of you wondering just how Belial look like, he basically looks like Justice Gundam with Code Geass style and Buster Sword from 00 Gundam Seven Swords. Also, those Hadrons are modified versions of Gawain`s, only specializing in firepower instead of reach. And it packs a punch… Really strong punch.

Grayson: By the way, where the heck did I hear the name Maya Asuka… Wait…

Try and guess who that girl is and just how on earth she knows about Belial and Alexander.

Next time: Dark Crusader vs. Knight of One; Susanoo`s Assault on Avalon; Decision that changes the world…

And… I`m not done yet.

As you all know I`m a freakin` Gundam nut nowadays and I`m in love with it. So I`ve been thinking: why not start another self-insert, only with Gundams?! I know it may sound crazy, but here are the main three ideas I have for a possible Gundam story. Also, would you want to have already established Grayson transported (after his death at Shikine Island) or should it be a newbie, who will grow eventually like Dark Crusader?

1. Black Knight of Universal Century. After one of Zeon`s experiments backfires and transfers a certain person into their Universe, Alexander is forced to participate in One Year War on side of Zabi Family, serving under command of Red Comet himself. Together with Char Aznable, Alex goes through all horrors of Loum and battles on Earth and eventually persues the titular Gundam.

Interesting Events: Alex is on Zeon`s side; Works with Char and is a good friend of his; Participates in Gryps Wars and all Neo Zeon wars as well.

Possible romantic interest: Haman (possibly, because… damn, have you seen her?!)

Fun facts: Alex adopts Bright Slap and uses it effectively for Kamille; Alex helps out Char with killing Zabi Family.

2. Natural Ace of Cosmic Era. When one of school projects at Heliopolis goes to Argentina, Alex ends up in company of 15/16 year olds in the middle of war. When ZAFT attacks and steals four Gundams, Kira gets his titular Strike, and Alex manages to get inside of only Natural-use Gundam- Revenge Gundam. Together with Kira Yamato, he defends the Archangel and battles his way through First Bloody Valentine war, proving to Coordinators that you don`t mess with a Natural Ace.

Interesting Events: Alex develops a bitter rivalry with Yzak; Serves as Kira`s surrogate older brother; Openly argues with Natarle for her attitude towards people; Serves as Shinn`s mentor later on

Possible romantic interests: Lacus Clyne (what… I`m not apologizing), Natarle (military women are always the best), Lunamaria Hawk (good looks, personality and my own sympathy)

Fun facts: Alex openly trolls Natarle for her stiffness and stern character; Best pal is Mu La Flaga

3. Gundam Meister of Anno Domini. When the first try of Twin Drive System 2 years before Celestial Being`s appearance fails, GN particles transport Alexander into the future, in year 2305 AD. With Veda`s approval and proper training, Alex is given keys to 2,5th Generation Gundam Athena and a code name- Saber White. Together with Exia, Dynames, Kyrios and Virtue, Athena participates in armed interventions and Saber shows why Veda has entrusted him a Gundam that was a mother to all 3rd Generation Gundams.

Interesting Events: Alex and Tieria develop a strong bond as comrades and as closest friends; Alex is the only Meister to openly attack Thrones and to interfere with their terrorism from the get go; Establishes good relations with Graham Aker and Billy Catahgiry.

Possible romantic interests: Sumeragi Lee Noriega (she really could use some love and support from a close person); Nena Trinity (sexy and a psycho… why the heck not?!)

Fun facts: Saber and Lockon are die hard haters of Manchester United; Alex admits that Russians in this era are not the same Russians.

Tell me what you think of those and which course I better pursue?

Leave your opinion in PM or in Review section. I`ll listen to all opinions

See ya!