Hi everyone! I know, I seem to be taking forever with these stories! I promise you, I'm doing the best I can to be more consistent!
Also, I read one of my reviews saying I'm neglecting CC (I'm writing this here because they weren't a member and thus couldn't reply privately)
Yeah, I do need to give CC more to do. i guess it's been difficult for me since even in canon she was more Lelouch's immediate partner than one of his paw-I mean, pieces. I think next arc I will put her out in the field. We'll see.
Anyway, on with the show!
Sharyua furiously pounded on the door as he saw his father's hand slide down the glass. His normally stoic demeanor was gone, given way to terrible sadness and fury. "Stop it, right now!" Kallen grabbed his hand and put it into a lock as she pressed him against the wall. "I can't imagine what you're going through, watching your father die like this! He is right about one thing though; this is bigger than you vs us! Britannia is now going crazy above, and it's up to us to stop them! All of us!"
Shaurya's breathing slowed, and he seemed to focus. "You're right." Kallen then let him go. As he massaged his wrists, he said "We have a prototype knightmare here. It seems to perform well, but it hasn't had a field test yet."
"There's a first time for everything." CC said. "I predict our knightmares will be here soon. You better get going." The girls left to go back up above, while Shaurya went elsewhere.
Todoh's Seidoutou and Suzaku's MVS clashed. Though Suzaku wielded dual weapons, Todoh's slices were deadly. If Suzaku didn't put his all into defense, it would be the end of him. "Look at what your loyalty to Britannia has wrought, Suzaku!" Todoh shouted as he shot a slash harken, which Suzaku narrowly avoided. "Even now, Britannia invades other nations with impunity!" Todoh's Zangetsu kicked the Lancelot, pushing it into a building.
Not bothering to rise, Suzaku countered with his rifle. The Zangetsu narrowly avoided it. "I need more time!" Suzaku shouted. He rose and went on the offensive, his harken grazing the Zangetsu's arm.
Once more, they locked swords. "More time! Of course! And how did you spend that time?!" Todoh shouted, punching the Lancelot in the head. "Being the emperor's lap dog?! Conquering the world? What change have you brought to Japan as a colony?!" The two clashed their blades wildly. "Has the rest of Britannia treated you like a human being at least?!"
Suzaku's experience at the Weinberg's flashed through his mind. Todoh unleashed his machine turrets, causing Suzaku to retreat.
Meanwhile, the Kitsukami shot at the Tristan. The Tristan spun its lances, deflecting the shots. Gino advanced, putting the Kitsukami on the defensive. Chiba managed to grab the knight's right arm and flipped him over. Gino, however, managed to cut a deep gash into Chiba's mech as he landed. Kiyuping back up, Gino took a battle stance. "You're pretty good." He said. Chiba said nothing, instead focusing intently on her opponent. "This is my first time fighting the Black Knights." He said. "Though I cannot forgive your crimes, I ask you to surrender."
"Never!" Chiba shouted, lunging forward. Her blow seemed too telegraphed, but at the last moment she activated her hidden blade, catching Gino off guard. The Tristan's head narrowly avoided it, but its fin was still chipped off. Gino tried to counterattack with his lance, but Chiba wrapped it around her arm, grabbing hold with her frame's oversized claw. Gino lunged with his second lance, but Chiba blocked with her foot. The Tristan pushed forward, causing the Kitsukami to roll back on one foot.
"Please." Gino said. "For Suzaku's sake. I don't want to kill one of his people, not after he's worked so hard to help integrate them into Britannian society."
"You think we want to be part of your empire?! After everything you've done?!" Chiba shouted. She flipped on her knightmare's standing foot, trying to take out the Tristan's head with a flip kick. Even so, Gino's reflexes were on point, pushing the neck's cords to the limit. Had it been his own neck, he would have strained it considerably. Chiba fired her blasters, nailing the Tristan's shoulder and leaving him down one Slash Harken. Gino retreated, deflecting with his lances. "Our country may not have been perfect, but we never did anything to deserve being invaded!" Chiba shouted. She fired her hidden blade again, grazing the Tristan's left leg. "You took everything from us! And you want us to surrender?!" Chiba spun around him. Gino tried to spin with her, but she was faster than he anticipated. Her leg caught him in the core, sending him tumbling into another building. "I've experienced your mercy." Chiba said. "Tied up in a straight jacket, no dignity. Force fed slop. Beaten semi-weekly just because the guards could. I'm not going back."
Gino sighed. "I'm sorry. I wish it was in our power to change it. But I still have my oath." Suddenly, the machine turrets in the Tristan's wrist fired, taking out one of Chiba's hand cannons. The Tristan rose, prepared to fight again. "Perhaps death is the merciful way for you." Gino said, no trace of mirth in him. "I promise to make you suffer as little as possible."
Chiba's face grimaced, but she still appreciated his honesty. "Thank you for understanding." The Kitsukami moved its arms into guard position. "But I'm not going to lose!"
Anya lead her soldiers down the caverns. They stopped when they felt a tremor, the roof of the tunnel dropping dust. "It seems it's getting hectic out there."
"We better hurry." Another said. "Our diversion is starting to get out of control."
"Yes, that would be best; Kuurugi and Weinberg may grow suspicious if we take much longer." They all ran further down.
Lelouch and Rakshata looked on ahead at the battle from a safe position. "Any plans?" she asked.
"Not until the Gawain arrives." Zero then turned to the right. "Ah. Better late than never!"
A flying pod came flying forward, catching the attention of the Britannian forces. Finally, it began to unfold. Suzaku's eyes widened. "Is that the Gawaiin?" The pod unfolded, revealing its arms and legs. The back wings unfolded, the tips much sharper than the old model. The head remained mostly the same, but it had a large back fin instead of the two side ones that was common for its generation. Its torso was what changed most dramatically. A large green center, consisting of what looked like green crystals adorned it. "No matter. I'll destroy Zero before he gets inside!"
The Lancelot charged, but Todoh placed his katana at the units neck. "Your opponent is me, remember?" Todoh powered the katana with its rockets, intending to sever the Lancelot's head.
The white knightmare backflipped before it could be decapitated. "Get out of my way, Sensei!" The Lancelot tried to slash the Zangetsu with its MVS, Todoh retreated and parried.
Zero ascended by the pulley, helping himself inside the cockpit. As it closed, Lelouch eyed all the specs and windows that came up. He kept the helmet on, despite how ungodly hot it became under it. "I'd say you've done a fantastic job as usual, Rakshata!"
The Gawaiin Atlantis brought its hand to Rakshata, opening it up. "I'm glad I decided not to install a radiant wave surger in its hand." She thought as she cautiously took a step into its palm. "I suspect we have more incoming, Zero!" She shouted as she eyed the sky.
"I see them!" Zero said as the specs zoomed in on the image of three celestial bodies coming at them like meteorites. Another Kitsukami was sandwiched between the Guren and the Oberon. "Good job, Ohgi! I don't even remember why you were chosen as the official commander of the Black Knights, but now I see it!" "Everyone! Look out and brace for impact! Kallen! Fadah! Your knightmares are here!"
"Roger!" The two women said.
The three women finally reached the outside. CC put her arm out, stopping her comrades from going any further. The Lancelot's' wheels dragged as it was pushed back by the Zangetsu. "The only thing keeping us from getting shot is also putting us in danger of being squashed!" CC said. "Trust me, it's a bad way to go."
Fadah brushed her comment off, but Kallen nodded, knowing her secret. "Hold onto the pillars, here they come!" The three grabbed on, the shockwave nearly squishing their insides and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Gino smacked Chiba's claw away with his lances. The two were about to engage again, but the sudden dust cloud obscured their vision, and they crouched as they braced for the impact.
All battles temporarily ceased as the dust cleared. The Guren and Oberon stood intact, their fearsome faces staring straight out. Inside his Kitsukami, Tamaki trembled. "I…I did it!" He breathed. "I got them! You saw that, Zero?! I got thEEGH!" Tamaki hunched over as he emptied the contents of his last meal. He probably had some left over from meals past.
"Tamaki, excellent work!" Zero said into his communicator. "Are you in any shape to fight?"
Tamaki took several deep breaths. "No." He finally answered honestly. "But I'll try!" The Kitsukami's wheels spun, burning rubber and kicking up smoke. It charged in, bumping into several buildings. "Die, Britannian Scum!"
Gino deflected the second Kitsukami's shots and intended to impale it. Tamaki deployed the blade, trying to catch him off guard. Unfortunately, the Knight of Three still managed to block it. "Nice try!" The Tristan punched the Kitsukami, crushing its face.
"Don't turn your back on me!" Chiba leaped into the air, blade protracted.
The Tristan rolled back, but the blade managed to knick the shoulder, destroying his left slash harken. Gino grunted inside his cockpit. "Okay, I think it's time to finish this!" Gino thrust his lance under her leg, and sliced it off.
Shaurya found what he was looking for. It felt tragically poetic that he and his father were here just the other night, and found himself back in this room, this time to avenge his father. In popular culture, prototypes often were depicted as being more powerful than their final products. In real life, nothing could be further from the truth. Prototypes showed promise, but were often flawed. And there was often no way to work the kinks out other than a test run. "I guess that woman was right; there is no time like the present."
Shaurya went up the pulley into cockpit. He went over how it was supposed to work it, and turned the key. The CPU came alive, the light from its internal engines lighting up neon lights from its crevices. "Sher Shah…I hope you have what it takes!" Shaurya pushed both levers forward, the Sakuradite rockets on the back igniting.
"Come on, Fadah!" Kallen and Fadah ran towards their knightmares, taking care to avoid the falling debris and fighting knightmares.
Suzaku, still crossing swords with his former mentor, saw them. Todoh took the distraction to withdraw and go in for a stabbing move. However, Suzaku lifted the Lancelot's leg, and pressed the blade down, a classic Japanese move for sword-fighting. "No!" Suzaku flipped over and pulled out his rifle. He fired at the knightmares, and something intervened. "What?!" A green energy field protected both the Guren and the Oberon. "A Blaze Luminous?!" Suzaku thought. "No, this is something else!"
Indeed, this was not a feature on either of the Black Knights' most powerful knightmares. As evidenced by how it moved back to the Gawain Atlantean. "Rakshata has an excellent mind for customizing knightmares to the user's needs!" Zero announced. "I am not a fighter. Yet I must be with my soldiers to lead. Hence, the Absolute Prism Shield allows for defense of both me and whatever I deem necessary."
Suzaku growled with rage, and pushed the lever and gas to full throttle. "Damn you, Lelouch!" He rushed towards him.
Under his helmet, Zero sneered. "This is so unlike you, Suzaku." He said as he typed on the board. "Rushing right into my sight."
The center of the Gawain's torso opened up slightly, and a red laser shot out. It was more focused than the older model. Suzaku shouldn't have been able to perceive it, but something in him activated, as his eyes glowed red. At the last possible moment, the Lancelot swerved to the side. Some of it's paint job was melted off, but otherwise the Lancelot was fine. The laser instead destroyed several rogue sutherlands behind Suzaku.
"What?!" Lelouch thought. "That shouldn't have been possible! No one can react that fast!"
Inside the Lancelot's cockpit, Suzaku's eyes glowed red. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but smile. "Do you like this, Lelouch?" Suzaku chuckled. "You once commanded me to live, that day on the island when I was willing to die with you. And that command has stuck with me since."
During his monologue, Kallen and Fadah boarded their knightmares. The two rushed him, as well as Todoh from behind. The Lancelot pulled out its two MVS swords, parrying both Zangetsu's katana and Guren's RWS Claw. Without a moment's hesitation, the Lancelot flipped up, avoiding the Oberon's spear below and kicking it in the head. "I've learned a degree of control over this Geass. I no longer feel an overwhelming need to flee from danger; to compensate, the Geass forces my body to perform to its utmost peak, perhaps even further beyond! All to ensure I will survive no matter what!" The Lancelot wheeled backwards and fired its slash harkens, grazing the Guren.
"If performing beyond your limits is your trump card, than I shall do the same!" Todoh's Zangetsu fired its laser; the Lancelot avoided it by a hair. Todoh unleashed his machine turrets, keeping Lancelot on its figurative toes. One bullet managed to pierce the foot, though not enough to damage its circuitry. Finally the Zangetsu was close enough to engage his former pupil with melee arms. He swung his katana like a wild animal, Suzaku blocking each one but nonetheless being pushed back.
"Oh, Sensei." Suzaku chuckled darkly as his Geass continued to glow. "It's not that simple. The human mind has such endless possibilities, but as long as you yourself remain human, you will never tap into its full potential!" As Todoh made a downward slash, the Lancelot caught it between its hands, stopping the blade dead, even with the rocket thrusters on full burn. Lancelot then broke the blade with a sharp twist. Todoh tried to move his Zangetsu to the side, but Suzaku managed to use the broken blade and pierce the side, tearing off a good chunk of the body, exposing Todoh in his cockpit.
"We won't let you!" Guren's knife came down but Suzaku moved Lancelot out of the way just enough for the blade to just miss his face. Lancelot jumped and kicked Guren away. Oberon managed to get behind and knock Lancelot off balance with the blunt end of its spear, but the Lancelot rolled back onto its feet and fires both slash harkens, wrapping the spear. Using the tension, Lancelot sprung itself off the ground and embedded its MVS sword into the Oberon's shoulder. Fadah rolled Oberon back before it lost it's arm.
However, upon getting clear, Oberon's right arm hung limply. "Shit." Fadah said.
Inside her cockpit, Kallen sweated profusely. She hadn't pushed herself so hard before and not land a significant blow on an opponent. Their specs were just about even, yet Suzaku may as well have been toying with her. "I never imagined Geass could make one so terrifying!"
Suzaku rolled to his right and pointed his rifle at Todoh. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came down. Not even with Suzaku's enhanced abilities was he able to completely dodge it, the force of which knocked Lancelot away and on its back. The other knightmares looked up, seeing a new player has entered the field. It's head was similar to the Guren's, and seemed to have a mane of metal, much like a lion's. Like the Gawain, it was mostly colored gold with parts, primarily the limbs, were black. The knees seemed to have caps shaped like eagles. The left arm carried a round shield, and on its right hip a sword rested. However, currently it carried a bow. It didn't seem to have a quiver, as it's back had no room for one. Everyone stared in awe as it hovered in the sky…then it's back shot sparks, and began to descend back to ground level.
"Damn it!" Shaurya hissed as the warning came in the screen. He just came out, and already this model was running into problems. The flight pack blew a fuse! "Let's hope that's Sher Shah's ONLY problem…"
Down below, the soldiers blew a stone wall. They pointed their rifles, flashlights helping illuminate their field of vision. As they advanced, it proved unnecessary; the area was illuminated by an unknown source, a large temple in front of them clear as day. "So this is it." One said.
"Indeed it is." Anya Alstreim stepped forward. Had Suzaku or Gino been present, they would have noticed the change in her demeanor. Instead of her usual stoic mannerisms, she sported a smile. And her eyes glowed red, much like Suzaku's. "Pateyah desperately tried to protect this shrine, but was so focused on stopping everyone on the surface. Failure to anticipate us digging a tunnel while he was occupied is a testament to his failure as a guardian."
"Your majesty." One of the soldiers addressed her. "Several knightmares belonging to the Black Knights' have appeared. And an unknown; it may belong to the Indians."
"Yes, I suppose it's time to help." Anya pressed a button on a pager by her hip. "I can't leave, but I can offer them my weapon."
The Sher Shah threw a glowing chakram at the Lancelot, which ducked under in the nick of time. The chakram then blew a fuse, falling on the ground with a clank. Shaurya sighed. "We really needed Rakshata with us for this." Still, Sher Shah donned its shield and pulled out its MVS sword, shaped like a talwar. "Okay, I admit it, this model needs a lot of work. But you are still outnumbered."
The Lancelot observed its surroundings; in addition to the Sher Shah in front of it, the Guren and Oberon were behind it. Suzaku's eyes burned bright, as he tried to fight the overwhelming need to flee. Even with the command to live, he wasn't sure he could fight them all off. The three charged in on him all at once. Lancelot jumped into the air, wrapping its legs around the Guren's RWS arm, grabbing hold of the Oberon's spear and parried the Sher Shah's talwar with its own sword all at the same time, perfectly locking all of his opponents in place. "Impossible…" Kallen breathed.
Suddenly, a laser came down upon them. All four knightmares scattered away from the blast site, and looked up. Blocking the sun was a bulky, deep red knightmare with a large canon mounted on its center. The Mordred had arrived. "Anya-?" Suzaku asked.
Lelouch could only sweat. Out in the battlefield were Three Knights of the Round…and he couldn't figure out what to do.
And there you have it for now! I'll see you all next time!
