Back in the Courtyard, Ferio was lying on the ground barely conscious as his face was covered up in bruises, blood, and dirt. What's worse is that his right eye is totally black after getting punched multiple times by an angry Marrybell Mel Britannia. For Lafarga, Clef, and Lantis, they all remained helpless as Marrybell's Glinda knights held them all at gunpoint while being tied with their hands behind their backs.
After taking a few deep breaths while under her highness' mercy, Ferio struggled to look back at the Massacre Princess in anger. Before he knew it, Ferio felt his green hair get pulled upward by Marrybell's right hand.
"I'm not going to ask you again! Where is Euphemia?!" Marrybell snarled.
Not wanting to answer anymore, Ferio spat on Marrybell in the face. In fury, Marrybell slammed Ferio's face to the ground again followed by a stomp in the chest. Realizing that she has wasted her time and her energy beating down on the helpless Cephirian Prince, Marrybell drew out her handgun and pointed its barrel at Ferio's face hoping to put him out of his misery.
"You have no prayer Cephirian. Now it's time to die!"
Before Marrybell could pull the trigger on her gun, her cellphone started ringing abruptly, much to her surprise. As Marrybell put her gun away, she took out her phone to answer the call.
"Your highness. The Magic Knights have broken through Lord Bismarck's and Lord Bradley's ranks. They're heading towards your position right now!"
"Wait! WHAT?" Marrybell shrieked before she heard a loud stomp coming in from behind her.
The moment she turned around, Marrybell sees Rayearth, Selece, Windam, RTO, the Monolith, and the Dancing Siren appear on top of the castle's outer walls. Right above them, a massive army of Akatsukis and Gareths painted in Cephirian colors flew up, providing the Magic Knights backup as they overwhelmed Marrybell's forces. Before long, her men, which were still piloting their Glinda Sutherlands, were forced to retreat after getting shot at from all sides resulting in losing half of their comrades in the process.
"We lost contact with the Knights of the Round. All forces fall back onto the Dreadnought!" One of the Britannian officers shouted, who was still piloting his Gareth.
Upon hearing the officer's orders, without Marrybell's permission, the Britannians abandoned all the Cephirian guards they just rounded up.
"DAMN COWARDS!" Marrybell screamed in frustration upon seeing her mission go up in smoke once again.
In her horror, Marrybell sees her Dreadnought engage in reverse thrusters as it started to move away from the Castle that she thought she can take over without any trouble. At the same time, the Britannian Knightmares flew away as they embarked onto the Dreadnought not realizing that they're leaving Marrybell Mel Britannia behind under the mercy of the Cephirians.
"GET BACK HERE YOU FOOLS!" Marrybell shouted angrily as she stood there totally confused not deciding if she were to flee or still fight. Consequently, the Massacre Princess never had enough time to make anymore decisions at the moment.
Suddenly, Ferio managed to get his comeuppance when he sees his legs in-between hers. Just when Marrybell turned towards the downed prince, Ferio swung his legs straight at her shin very fast and very hard, making the Britannian fall over and landed on her shoulders. In confusion, she was immediately met with both of Ferio's feet slamming onto her face, making her nose bleed out before she went out cold.
"Why you?!" One of Marrybell's soldiers growled upon seeing their princess get taken down by a tied up Cephirian.
Before they had the chance to shoot at Ferio, several Cephirian soldiers popped out of the ground right behind them and grabbed the Britannians in several headlocks before pulling them down to their demise, while a few of them were able to untie their commanding officers and the Master mage.
At the same time, the Magic Knights have disembarked from their Rune Gods while Ascot's Monolith, and the RTO, went one ahead to secure the courtyard. For Caldina, she disembarked from her Knightmare to check up on her boyfriend Lafarga. As soon as Clef, Lafarga, and Lantis were released from their bonds, they were immediately embraced by their loved ones out of relief. For Ferio, Fuu hugged her boyfriend and couldn't stop crying in his arms after seeing him totally crippled and temporarily disfigured from his beat downs.
"Oh Ferio, I thought I was going to lose you. I'm so sorry!" Fuu wailed as she was embraced underneath Ferio's arms.
"I'm sorry too, Fuu. I should've went with you when I had the chance." Ferio replied weakly.
"Where's Geo Metro?" Hikaru asked letting go of Lantis, feeling concerned over the crippled Autozamian Commander.
"I'm here!" The loud, croaked voice spoke from behind Hikaru and Lantis.
The moment Geo showed up, he was now accompanied by a large squad of Autozamian Marines.
"I thought I told you to stay in your room!" Lafarga spoke in anger, realizing that Geo disobeyed his order.
"Sorry sir, but when I saw you getting overpowered by those Brit goons, it would've been a matter of time before they find me inside the castle. So, I escaped out the rear windows from the hospital wing to make contact with my men." Geo replied, feeling guilty for leaving his area.
"You're starting to remind me what Eagle did back then." Zazu blunted.
"DON'T TELL ME THAT!" Geo snapped as he grabbed Zazu by the hair out of embarrassment.
The rest of the gang started to laugh out of their heads off, realizing that Geo made a reckless move despite being injured from his last fight.
"Anyway, we still have to secure the entire castle now that the Britannians have retreated. After that, we need to give a proper burial for all of our fallen brothers and sisters that were killed here." Ferio told everyone.
After hearing Ferio's suggestions, the Magic Knights, the Cephirians, and the rest of their allies all went inside the castle to make sure all of the civilians inside are safe and sound.
While securing the palace with the aid of the Fahrenians and the Chizetians, the Cephirians had Marrybell immediately locked up in the Castle's dungeons while being chained up to the walls by the arms and legs. The Massacre Princess wakes up only to see herself wearing a huge gag in her mouth while facing the cell door in front of her, which leads outside.
In her futile struggles, Marrybell started screaming in a muffled voice while squirming underneath her restraints nonstop while the guards stood outside of the cell block, making sure she doesn't get away.
CURSES! Just when I was able to gain the upper hand on those Cephirian terrorist pipsqueaks, those damn Magic Knights won again. If I ever get my hands on those witches, they're going to be so sorry that ever came to this country!" Marrybell thought, while cursing underneath her breath. "I can't believe my forces have all abandoned me without even noticing that I was still there! Those idiots. If I ever get back, I'm going to string them all up on a noose and strangle them with it!"
In the Castle's courtyard, the Magic Knights and their friends were all standing in front of a huge row of memorial crosses while a funeral director made his eulogy speech. After the director finished his eulogy, the Cephrian soldiers standing behind the whole crowd raised their swords up high to honor their fallen comrades, like those that didn't betray Cephiro. The slain men that betrayed Cephiro were all dumped into the ocean in such pity.
One memorial cross had Rolando Topaz's carved name written in the center with Hikaru and Lafarga standing up close to it. With Lafarga's permission, Hikaru placed a bouquet of flowers in front of Topaz's grave paying her respects for the man that fought alongside her in Area 11 and in Cephiro. The moment Hikaru turned around, she sees Topaz's family sobbing silently as tears came down their eyes. In Topaz's family, only one woman and two children remain, which happens to be two young daughters both ages 9 and 6.
For Topaz's wife, Glimmer Topaz, she was approached by Captain Lafarga as he attempted to express his apologizes for her husband's demise.
"On the behalf of your husband, I will reimburse you and the rest of your family to honor Topaz's heroic achievements on the battlefield. For that we will apologize for his loss."
"Fret not, Madam. I will avenge Topaz with everything I've got."
"I hope so." One of Topaz's eldest daughters spoke, who appeared right behind Glimmer. "Maybe when I grow up, I want to carry out my father's footsteps one day because I want to help out too."
"No, Rosa! You have to stay with me!" Ms. Topaz protested as she grabbed her daughter in the arm. "I can't risk letting any of my children get killed on the battlefield, not after how those wretches almost killed us."
"But mom...!"
"NO BUTS!" Ms. Topaz shouted, startling Lafarga and Hikaru all at once."Sorry milady! But seriously, I never wanted Topaz to enter the Cephirian Military in the first place."
"There were alot of people who wanted to be heroes too just like Lady Hikaru and the Magic Knights." Lafarga added in.
"I'm sorry for your husband, but I didn't asked Topaz to serve under me or Lafarga. He made his choice out of inspiration." Hikaru informed.
"Well, I still don't know what will ever become of our land now that its being exposed to another invasion." Glimmer said, feeling worried for the safety of her daughters.
"They both still have a long way to go. If they wish to fight alongside with me, that will be their choice to make, not mine." Hikaru continued.
"Did your family ever felt concerned for your safety?" Glimmer asked the Flame Knight.
"They did. But since my parents go taken away from me, my life was on a huge thread. I already made my choice in becoming a Magic Knight since my brothers already taught me how to fight earlier and how Clef gave my an opportunity that I find hard to refuse. There is no living or staying safe without a killing. I thought for sure that I had what it takes to protect the people I love despite the war and violence being inflicted here and in my homeland. But due to the circumstances, I can't always protect everyone since every situation is different and every battle is worse than the last. I learned that the hard way when I was forced to see Eagle fall before the might of Lady Debonair." Hikaru summarized. "The only thing I can count on is having my friends stick together closer than before."
"What about the rest of your life above being a Magic Knight?" Glimmer asked, pressurizing the Flame Knight over an issue in doubt. "You're still young for goodness sake. Did you even think about pursuing another future instead of fighting your enemies?"
"That's enough, madam!" Clef interrupted, refusing to have Glimmer push Hikaru any further. "Whatever her future she upholds, it will be her choice. However, it's best not to stress her out over such things that are not your concern."
"Sorry, but still that last I would ever want is for our children get hurt and killed when being enlisted in the army." Glimmer huffed, feeling a bit exaggerated.
"Well, I always will have something that's worth fighting for. Even I when I grow old, I'll still have good memories that I'll value for the rest of my life."
"With that settled, we still need to check the morale of the rest of our forces to see if we still can move on despite the tragedy of our previous battle. We still have another huge battle ahead of us and it must be taken away from Cephiro." Captain Lafarga told Clef.
"We have over a million conscripts who wanted to join up with the Cephirian Alliance, not just here but also from Fahren, Chizeta, and Autozam. Some of our civilians wanted to join up in our ranks as well." Clef responded. "Those who survived this onslaught have all swore to avenge and honor their fallen brethren."
"Zazu, do we still have enough Knightmares for them to commandeer?" Geo asked the young mechanic officer.
"Of course, we were able to mass produce 10 thousand Centurion Gareths in the underground garage underneath our castle." Zazu informed as he took out his PDA to show the full capacity of Cephiro's Autonomous Weaponry. "We did manage to hide most of these below the Castle inside a secret underground area.
"How long were they in there for?" Umi asked, out of curiosity.
"Long enough for them to finally shine!" Geo grinned.
"When do you think the rest of the recruits will arrive?" Hikaru asked, mentioning the ETA of their reinforcements.
"Since we still have our teleporters intact inside the castle courtyard, thanks to Lady Aska and Rakshata, they'll be here in three days." Clef responded, answering Hikaru's question.
"Speaking of which, we still have yet to catch up on the situation with the Black Knights." Lantis explained.
"Let's not stand around then." Lafarga prompted everyone. "We have a lot of work to do before we return to Area 11!"
Without saying anymore, the Magic Knights and their Cephirian comrades went back inside the Castle to continue with their operation of retaking the Tokyo Settlement.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Forest of Silence, Bismarck emerged totally covered in minor bruises and twigs all over his Britannian military uniform. Shortly after his Galahad crash landed inside the dense forest, Bismarck slowly got out from his cockpit and tried to use a flare gun to get his comrades attention. Unfortunately, since Bismarck is still in enemy territory, he might risk getting the Cephirian's attention as well. So, he ditched his half-wrecked Knightmare to find higher ground before his phone could get a signal. Nevertheless, he still made a dirt trail by using the soil on the ground to make sure he can find his way back to his Knightmare whenever something happens out there.
On the way to a nearby hill, Bismarck ran into a small lake and scooped up a small patch of water with both of his hands before washing his face a bit to remove the dirt. After that, the Knight of One looked up to see that Marrybell's Dreadnought hasn't left Cephiro yet. However, Bismarck still needs to make contact with the ship's crew, telling him that he is still out there. As soon as he reached to the hill, Bismarck took out his cellphone to make contact with Marrybell or Oldrin. However, he couldn't get Marrybell to respond so he tried contacting Bradley. Eventually, Bradley was able to respond.
"Who is it?" The voice spoke from Bismarck's phone.
"Bradley, its me, Bismarck!"
"Bismarck? Where are you? They've been given the order to fallback to the Dreadnought!"
"I crash landed in a dense forest after my Knightmare got cut down by that Flame Knight!" Bismarck shouted in embarrassment. "I can't believe that Lady Fire Knight messed up my Knightmare big time."
"Well I thought I could finish her off only to get electrocuted by her shield barrier. I thought I was seeing stars!"
"Oh yeah, I remember that. How are you feeling?" Bismarck pouted.
"I'm not feeling well. My hair just sprang up like a bunch of porcupine quills! I just can't stand walking around in the public like this! I swear, that little fiery demonness is going to pay for this!"
"I'm still sitting ducks here. Can you send someone else to find me in the forest as well as securing my wrecked Knightmare?"
"It may not be easy since several enemy patrols are flying above the forests hunting down stragglers but I'll see what I can do."
"Don't take too long. I don't know how long will I be able to hang around before they find me!"
Meanwhile inside the Castle's hospital wing, the twin Princesses of Chizeta both wake up only to find themselves covered up in dress wrappings around their cuts and bruises. When Tarta got up first, she felt a bit of sharp pain coming from her abdomen. In a few seconds, the young Chizetian Princess remembered that she and her elder sister were both under the mercy of a rogue warrior before Tarta lost conscious.
"W-What the? Where am I-UGH!" Tarta shrieked when her chest started to hurt from the inside.
"Easy there, Tarta!" Tatra told her younger sister soothingly. "They just finished treating our injuries a few hours ago."
"What happened? Where's everyone?" Tarta asked, feeling confused on what's going on around her.
"The Magic Knights were able to save us from those traitors that tried to capture us. However, our ship suffered external damages so Autozam volunteered to send in their mechanics and engineers to repair it immediately. Other than that, our allies were able to reclaim their castle before they brought us in to be treated of our injuries."
"I see." Tarta said, as she laid down on her back trying to ease off from her startled behavior.
"Tarta! Tatra! Looks like you're both finally awake." Umi said as she entered the hospital wing.
"Umi, are those Brit roaches gone?!" Tarta asked, feeling a bit tired.
"Not yet. They may have fallen back and moved away from our castle but they didn't leave since we have several of their commanding officers held prisoner in our dungeons!" Umi reported briefly.
"Who?" Tatra asked calmly while laying on top of her medical bed.
"Marrybel Mel Britannia!" Umi sneered. "She was a really bad witch who just wanted death and destruction upon us! Apart from that, we are still going to ready our forces before we head back in the Tokyo Settlement. However, we won't leave until you both are fully recovered. So, there won't be anything to worry about."
"Thank you, Umi." Tarta replied in a relieved tone.
"Lady Umi!" One of the Cephirian guards announced as he appeared behind her at the hospital's entrance. "They're requesting your attendance at the map room!"
"I'm on my way!" Umi acknowledged as the guard made a slight bow before the Knight of Water. "I got to go guys!"
"Good luck, Umi!" Tarta thought as Umi disappeared into the hallway outside of the hospital wing.
On the way to the map room, Umi ran into another new Cephirian soldier in the hallway who properly introduced himself. In his appearance, the soldier is seen wearing blue armor embroidered with purple linings and a black cape mounted on his back.
"You must Lady Umi, the Magic Knight of Water. I'm Captain Xalden Topaz." The soldier announced.
"Xaldin Topaz?" Umi exclaimed, recognizing the name "Topaz" in an instant.
"Yes, I happen to be Rolando's brother. You probably didn't see me at Rolando's funeral but I was there too. I'm going to be helping out in his place from now on."
"Are you sure you want to do this? We can't guarantee your safety since those Britannians are getting very brutal and powerful every month!" Umi said, doubting Xaldin's request.
"I do have a experimental Knightmare that I can use to turn back their tide. I'm not asking you or your friends to trust me, but I do want to avenge my brother and help save Cephiro for our father and mother." Xaldin added.
"Did you already talked to Clef and Captain Lafarga about this?" Umi asked.
"I did. Prince Ferio has already signed me to aid you in the battalion that you and the Magic Knights are currently in."
"We'll still be up against the Knights of the Round and trust me, they're not pushovers!"
"I still have a plan to outsmart and finish them off, ensuring that they won't get away like last time. I did noticed that you and your friends were still holding back despite your triumph over a few of them."
"I wouldn't be too cocky if I were you. One of them used to be our friend back then. But Suzaku has totally changed a lot since after the Black Rebellion. Since he's now in the Knights of the Round, he is likely going to bring in more hell upon us the way he did to his own people!"
"I will be the judge of that. Now let's move it. Time is wasting!" Xaldin told Umi as he went ahead of the Knight of Water towards the map room.
At the map room, Hikaru, Lantis, Clef, Fuu, Ferio, Lafarga, Ascot, Caldina, and Presea are standing in front of the table waiting for Umi and Xaldin to appear before them all. As soon as the two arrived, Xaldin took out a map that he got from his agents that were infiltrating Area 11. The moment the group looked closely at the map, it revealed a whole new scenery of the newly established Tokyo Settlement. Before they could say anything, Xaldin makes his announcement with that he learned so far thanks to his agents.
"The Black Knights have already made several assaults upon the Britannian Naval fleet in the eastern seas. They are being aided by the Chinese Federation which are led by Commander Xingke." Xaldin explained briefly. "Zero is still preparing to make another full-scale assault upon the Britannian Goverment Bureau. This time, he made his decision of capturing Viceroy Nunnally."
"Did he informed us of his plan and how will we participate in it?" Clef asked Xaldin.
"Zero will be rigging the trains with EMP devices. They will be used to disable the Bureau's defenses systems." Xaldin explained briefly.
"Are you sure we won't be having Geo and Zazu hack into the Bureau's defenses again like last time?" Lafarga pointed out.
"It didn't last very long, remember?" Xaldin protested. "We lost our ground in less than an hour after the Bureau's defenses went back online."
"That was only because our prisoner was able to escape and took over the NSX!" Geo interupted as he and Zazu made their appearance at the entrance, much to everyone's shock.
"You already did your part, Geo. Now, we have to use a different alternative!" Clef scolded the Autozamian Commander. "Zero notified us that we will move in first and help and pave way to Zero and his men. As soon as we arrive, we are to buy them some time by keeping any Britannian reinforcements at bay while trying to capture the Viceroy."
"We still can't forget about Marrybell's Dreadnought! They did not leave our country yet!" Lantis spoke, trying to have the Master Mage follow up on the current situation. "Also, we need to keep that crazy Britannian Princess under heavy guard!"
"Not to worry, Lantis. I placed several protective wards and barriers all around her cell." Clef told the Magic Swordsman. "She won't leave for a long time. For her Dreadnought, I send in some spies to keep a close eye on it from their outposts in the floating mountains. I was also informed that most of their forces departed thanks to the ship's built-in gateway, except for Lord Bradley and his remaining Valkyrie team."
"By the way Hikaru, what happened to the Knight of One?" Umi asked the Flame Knight. "They said you and Fuu were last seen fighting him before you both were recalled to the castle."
"His crippled Knightmare crash-landed somewhere in the Forest of Silence." Hikaru said sheepishly. "Oops, he's likely heading back to the Dreadnought by now!"
"Forget about him. We might as well leave that ship be." Clef suggested to the entire group.
"Are you sure we're going to leave them like this?" Lafarga asked Clef. "They might strike again as soon as we leave. I don't want to take anymore chances with them."
"Then I make this my decision before we head to Area 11, we will be sending in a small elite team of warriors to secure the Dreadnought. They'll be lead by Hikaru and Sir Xaldin." Clef announced his plan. "Once we disable that ship, the rest of our fleet will pass through and open up the portal to Area 11 before we leave. Hopefully, we'll make sure we finish them off those two Knights of the Round so that they won't recover from their wounds."
"We do our best to either capture them or kill them, it's going to be your choice Lady Hikaru." Xaldin told the Fire Knight.
"I understand." Hikaru replied nervously. "So Xaldin, what kind of Knightmare do you have that may help us disable that Dreadnought?"
"My Knightmare has an Heavy EMP arbalest mounted on the back of my hump-back cockpit. It was already installed thanks to the aid of Autozam's engineers and Rakshata. I just need someone to escort me so that I can get into firing range. As soon as I get close to the Dreadnought, you and your friends need to clear the way before I fire the EMP warhead." Xaldin said, announcing his plan.
"Very well. Lantis, Fuu, Umi, and I will do it!" Hikaru said with determination.
"Okay. The rest of our main force will be waiting for you at the rear." Clef informed Hikaru and her group.
"Oh, and more than thing." Zazu pointed out. "We just managed to finish the new evolution cores to upgrade your Rune God Knightmares to a 3rd level. They'll be mounted onboard the NSX. You might as well give them out for a test drive before we proceed back into Area 11."
"Understood!" The Magic Knights acknowledged in unison.
Meanwhile in back in the Forest of Silence, a passenger ship arrived at a small clearing, just a few clicks away from where Bismarck and the Galahad are at. Without hesitation, Bismarck immediately made his towards the ship the moment it touched the ground. For his Knightmare, a Britannian Gunship flew over Bismarck's head and fired four tow cables to haul the Galahad onto the Dreadnought. For a few minutes, he sees his Knightmare disappeared into the ship, much to Bismarck's relief before proceeding onto the passenger ship.
Inside the ship, he meets Prince Schnizel and Lady Oldrin sitting at the front rows. The moment Bismarck sat behind them, he asks the Prince to follow-up what happened so far.
"What's the situation, your highness?" Bismarck asked the 2nd Prince.
"Our scouts report that Marrybell and her Knightmare are both captured and detained inside the Castle of Cephiro. We were contemplating on trying to rescue them. However, since the Cephrian Alliance has regrouped into full strength, we still don't have enough ships to move in yet. They'll still overwhelm us." Oldrin reported. "We lost two members of Bradley's Valkyrie squad and our allies have fell apart after Lt. Greenhelm was defeated in battle."
"I did appreciate on how you made a deal with Greenhelm while he was still in custody at Pendragon." Schizel said, mentioning what happened between Bismarck and Greenhelm. "But since he didn't complete his mission with us, he isn't any use anymore."
"I do apologize for corrupting Cephirian lackey to the dirty work for us." Bismarck said, feeling a bit ashamed of himself. "He did say that he joined the Cephirian Military just so that he can get paid more. In fact, ever since the Black Knights caused that prison outbreak at Temple Tower on Pendragon, I let him out of his cell immediately before I left the area, so that they wouldn't suspect a thing from part of our plan."
"At least he already send us information about Cephiro's newly established defenses since Greenhelm got closer to the Magic Knights and their friends." Oldrin informed. "But now that we lost again, we do need to find someone else that can yield to us. Only this time, we have to convince our new client that they should give up one of their allies in order to bring peach to both Cephiro and Britannia."
"I know. Since I already informed Hikaru about Euphy's case, I already send in some of my collaborators to investigate the people who are close to Zero. As soon as they give us enough evidence, then we have Lady Hikaru attend our audience with us and the Black Knight representatives."
"I hope your new plan works. I thought I was a goner when she took my Knightmare down back there." Bismarck thought. "That lady Knight sure is something."
"Other than that, I heard just now that they're planning to disable our ship before they proceed into the Tokyo Settlement." Oldrin informed.
"We might as well flee before they can get close to us." Schniezel told the group.
Without further a due, the passenger ship fired up its engines and took off towards the Dreadnought, escorted by a squad of five gunships.
In just a few hours, right after Schniezel and his group embarked onto the Dreadnought, the ship's engines fired up. As they turned the ship towards the clear, blue sky, a huge, sakuradite warpgate opened up. With one hand raise, Schniezel ordered the helmsman to drive the ship into the warpgate. Once the ship disappeared, the warp gate closed immediately.