A/N: Here is part two of my climactic battle for the fate of the world. Sorry for the wait, I just started a new job so my time will be taken up even more.
Now some of you have requested that the battle between Lelouch and Ribbons last longer than it did in canon between Setsuna and Ribbons. There is only one problem with that. That fight was done so well, at least in my opinion, that I don't have an idea how I can do better on it. Maybe I may add a few more bits into the fight, but it may not be much.
But let's begin the final half of the final game!
I do not own Code Geass or Gundam 00. Both are works of Sunrise.
As he saw the red trails of GN Particles descend from the sky on the battlefield, Lelouch prepared himself for another round of intense fighting, even possibly more intense than what he just went through. But no matter what stood in his way, he would defeat this enemy, and eliminate war from the world.
"Are you ready for another bout?" Kallen asked as she came up beside him in her massive Guren.
Lelouch chuckled. "Why? You getting sleepy on me Kallen?" He asked as he folded out his GN Sword.
"Well, I could use a vacation when this is over," Kallen said as she lifted the Guren's claw.
"I'll make sure to pick a relaxing place for the Honeymoon then." Lelouch declared, shocking Kallen.
"Honeymoon?! Who's going on a Honeymoon?!" Kallen asked.
"Us. You and me. Was that not clear?" Lelouch asked, confused by her reaction.
Kallen was silent for a long moment, staring at Lelouch in disbelief before her face became hopeful. By saying that the two of them were going on a Honeymoon, did that mean that-
"Yes, Kallen. I'm asking you to marry me." Lelouch answered her unspoken question. Kallen again looked at him in disbelief. How did he know? "Sorry, it appears my Geass powers allow me to read the mind of the people I choose to focus on, or at least understand what they are thinking I believe," Lelouch explained before an awkward silence enveloped between them. "So, will you marry me?"
(A/N: I honestly don't know if that is the capabilities of an Innovator, the Wikia never specified. But I assume since Setsuna was able to communicate with the ELS.)
Kallen looked toward the Gundam in disbelief. Lelouch had just explained that his new power allowed him to read minds, then just decided to ask Kallen to marry him. Despite this though, Kallen couldn't help but laugh, which only served to confuse Lelouch.
"Uhh… Kallen?" Lelouch said, confusion evident in her face. What kind of person laughs after you propose to them. Did that mean their answer was a 'no'? Lelouch was so confused.
"You are clueless when it comes to the opposite sex, aren't you Lelouch," Kallen said between giggles. "Asking a girl to marry you when we're in the middle of a life or death battle, after admitting that you could read her mind." she continued to laugh for a few more seconds before she managed to calm down. "Ask me again when we get through this."
And with that, Kallen blasted off to meet the enemy, with Lelouch watching from behind. Okay, he had to admit that he had terrible timing in asking the question, but isn't a life or death moment like this the perfect moment to pop the question, at least that's what he's seen in TV and novels, especially fanfiction. 'But I guess this is real life.' Lelouch thought.
He then swiped the blade to the side and blasted off to join Kallen to put an end to this once and for all.
"There seems to be no end to them!" Li shouted as he fired the Shen Hu's Bayron Cannon at a swarm of GN-Knightmares. Most of the swarm was destroyed, but the Knightmares just kept on coming. He drew his sword and began to slice down any that got too close to him. But eventually, the swarm got too much and the Knightmares latched themselves onto the Shen Hu, refusing to let it go.
"What are you-?!" He began but stopped when he noticed the GN Drives began to spin so fast that they began to go out of control. Li's eyes widened as he saw a great white light before the Shen Hu exploded along with the Knightmares grabbing it.
"Xinge Li!" Tohdoh shouted in shock at the death of his comrade. He then got on a battlefield-wide broadcast so everyone could hear him. "Everyone listen up! Do whatever you can to avoid close combat with these machines! They appear to be wired to self-destruct when they grab onto a Knightmare! Hit them with long-range attacks or if it comes down to Close Quarters, make sure that it's only one machine and not a whole group or you'll be overrun."
Voices of acknowledgment came as he continued to strike down any machine that came too close. While his Knightmare was primarily a close-combat-focused machine, he did have a few surprises to make sure the enemy kept their distance. And even without the self-destructive features of these machines, the pilots didn't seem to be all that skilled, at least not much more than the average pilot. They more or less seemed to act like drones.
However, what they lacked in skills they more than made up for in numbers and guts. They held no fear of death whatsoever and charged headlong into the fire! What gave them such drive, Tohdoh couldn't help but wonder.
Unfortunately, that curiosity left him unaware of his surroundings. "Colonel! Behind you!" Chiba shouted in fear. Tohdoh snapped back to reality and saw that his distraction left him open for a machine to come up behind.
He moved to slash the approaching enemy, but someone beat him to it. In the blink of an eye, a blade with a green outline at the edge sliced the incoming Knightmare in two before the Zangetsu made it halfway through its turn. Tohdoh looked up in shock to see his savior was none other than the 00 Raiser.
Lelouch looked down and took a moment to observe the Zangetsu wondering what its pilot was going to do next. "You better be careful to watch your backside," Lelouch told him as he swiped his blade to the side. "You never know when one's gonna come up behind you."
The Zangetsu suddenly dashed forward, raising its sword as if to strike at the 00 Raiser. Instinctively, Lelouch brought up the Gundam's GN Sword to block the attack…
… Only for Tohdoh to miss him and slice apart a Knightmare that managed to sneak up behind Lelouch.
"The same to you," Tohdoh said as the Zangetsu and the 00 Raiser came back-to-back, slicing and blasting apart any enemies before they came too close. "I suppose this makes us even?"
"For me just saving you from that Knightmare? Yes, in that sense we're even." Lelouch said as he fired off some GN Micro Missiles toward some incoming Knightmares. "The Black Knights as a whole still owe me two for betraying me to Schneizel and me saving the UFN."
"The first one was done because of your inability to trust us." Tohdoh fired back as he cut down an incoming Knightmare. "While I admit we let ourselves be deceived by Schneizel, if you were honest, or at least less deceitful, we wouldn't have had our doubts about you. As for the second one, how about we cooperate with you to end this threat for good."
"I see," Lelouch said as he took a moment to contemplate the proposal. "Very well. Let's work together to change this world!" He then accesses communication with his forces. "Attention Celestial Beings! From this point forward, we are cooperating with the Black Knights to defeat this foe! Put everything you got into this fight! But most importantly, fight to live! Fight to live for tomorrow!"
"Yes my Lord!" Jeremiah shouted, ready to follow his lord's orders wherever it took him. He then turned to the Mordred and the blue Lancelot Albion. "Would you two be willing to join me in my liege's greatest battle?"
"I don't know about your liege? But," Nonnette smirked as she drew an MVS and a V.A.R.I.S. rifle. "I'd be happy to help exterminate these vermin from the face of the Earth! How 'bout you Anya?"
The Mordred was silent for a long moment, its pilot refusing to answer. "Without Schneizel, how can I get my memories back? What's the point of fighting anymore if I lost the one way to get what I want more than anything?" Anya pleaded out loud.
"Lady Alstreim," Jeremiah spoke up as he flew close to her. "I swear by my title as the Knight of Orange, that I will make sure that you recover what it is you lost. I will work to my bone to have your memories returned to you. You have my word."
Anya seemed to be greatly touched by his words, so much that she had begun to weep. She quickly wiped away the tears and focused, a fire burning in her eyes. "Let's do this!" She declared.
"I'm in too!" A new voice shouted. The trio looked to see the Tristan Divider, or what was left of it, fly up to join their group, though it was struggling greatly to stay airborne. Gino grinned in excitement. "Let's send these punks packing!" He shouted.
The trio looked at him with concern for a short moment before Nonnette spoke up. "Gino, you can't fight like that," She bluntly told him. "You'd be slaughtered in no time."
"What?! Are you doubting my skills Nonnette, you know I'm the Knight of Three for a reason right?" Gino asked rhetorically.
"I'm not doubting your skills, I know better than most how strong you are," Nonnette assured him. 'But the way your Knightmare is now, you can barely stay in the air, let alone fight! I can't risk losing you too!"
Gino opened his mouth to argue some more, but someone spoke before he could. "She's right Gino," Anya spoke up, shocking Gino. "We'd be in danger because of the state you're in as well. We would have to gather around to protect you because we want to, and that'd leave us open because our attention would be split between you and the enemy. I'm sorry but you have to stay out of this fight, Gino."
Gino looked like he wanted to protest some more, but hung his head in defeat. They were right, he'd only be a burden out here on the battlefield with the Knightmare he currently had. And he didn't want to be responsible for any of his comrades' deaths. So for their sake, he'd have to sit out of this fight.
"Maybe there is some other way you can contribute to this fight." Jeremiah suddenly said, causing Gino's head to snap up. "Head to our flagship Ptolemy. There should be some way to continue to contribute aboard our ship. We'll have our units clear a path and make sure you're protected as you make your way over."
Gino seemed surprised for a moment, before nodding with determination. "Understood! I'll make my way there now!" Gino said as he turned and began to fly towards the Ptolemy. He looked in the rearview camera as his fellow Knights, both of the Round and Orange, flew off to meet more foes. As he flew to the Ptolemy, he couldn't keep this one thought out of his mind.
'I somehow feel like this is Lelouch's fault for where I am now.'
"How many of these things are there!" Zi complained as continued to slice apart as many of them as he could. He was quickly running out of blades, already down to his last pair, as he, Wizard, Orpheus, and the Glinda Knights fought off the onslaught of the massive amount of GN-Knightmares.
Marika continued to blast apart as many as she could in the Gareth she was using, even fired a massive salo of missiles that obliterated a good number of them. But she was unprepared for the two machines that came up behind her and latched onto her machine and began to pull her away from her comrades.
"No! Getaway! Getaway!" Marika cried as she tried to break her Knightmare free from the grasp the GN-Knightmares had her in. She looked back toward the group of Knightmares, specifically the Bradford. "Leonhardt! Help me!"
Said pilot gasped as he heard the cries of his fiance. He gasped as he saw Marika be hoisted up by a pair of Knightmares. "Marika! Hang on!" He shouted as he flew in pursuit of the captors. He proceeded to slice apart all that got in his way as he got closer and closer to his beloved.
Marika smiled at the determination of her love, a big reason why she loved him. That smile quickly went away and was replaced with horror. "Leonhardt! Watch out!" The warning came too late as a Knightmare came up behind the Bradford and wrapped its arms around the machine to keep it from moving. It then flew up to join the two holding the Gareth and held the two of them in an unbreakable lock.
"Hold on!" Leonhardt yelled as he tried in vain to break the locks that Knightmares had them in. "I'll get us out of this!"
"Leonhardt…" The voice of his beloved brought him out of his panic and he looked at his Knightmares monitors to see Marika with a sad smile and tears in her eyes. "I love you." She said with more affection than he'd ever heard from her before.
He didn't care as he saw the Knightmares holding them begin to overload, all he cared about was the woman who had managed to make him braver than he ever thought he possibly could be. "I love you too." He said with the same amount of affection she held for him with a sad smile of his own.
And then the three Knightmares holding them exploded, taking the two lovers with them.
"Leonhardt! Marika!" Tink shouted in horror, which quickly turned into rage as he went into a frenzy and began to fire his all-range bomber at everyone he came across. He didn't last long as his rage blinded him to any enemies that would come from behind and he soon met the very same fate as his comrades.
Zi wasn't doing so much better either, he had just lost his last sword and was weaponless. That left him open for a group of Knightmares to gang up on the Gekka Shiden and bury it in the mass of Knightmares. The purple Knightmare managed to push a hand out of the pile and give a thumbs up. "Keep living OZ! No matter what stands in your way." Zi told his friend as the Knightmares then exploded, taking him with them.
"Zi!" Orpheus shouted in disbelief at the death of his friend! He was about to go madly charging into the fray, along with his sister, who was equally furious at the loss of her friends in the Glinda Knights, but the Agravain stopped them.
"Orpheus, Oldrin! We can't go blindly charging mad!" Wizard told his niece and nephew. "If we do, then we'll only be wasting their sacrifices and their wishes for us to live! We must continue to fight, to not only win but also to live!"
That seemed to calm the both of them down. Though they still had the desire to avenge their friends, they couldn't just blindly go and sacrifice themselves. They had to live. So taking a deep breath, the three of them got back-to-back with each other and prepared to fight.
As he flew closer to the battlefield, being able to see the flashes of light coming from explosions, Suzaku couldn't help but feel a bit tense. He knew what he had to do, and he knew why he had to do it. It was strange though. He wanted so long for this to happen, but now that it finally was about to, he couldn't help but feel hesitant.
But he quickly shook that hesitance away. He couldn't falter, not now. So he pushed the Lancelot faster to the battlefield, determined to reach it before it was too late.
As a swarm of GN-Knightmares charged at her, Kallen merely fired off a massive radiation blast, which caused them all to explode instantly. These pilots might not be overly skilled, but they sure weren't afraid to die, she had to give them that.
She was about to fire at some approaching machines when a series slash harkens wrapped around her surger arm and began pulling it to the side to cause her to misfire. Kallen gritted her teeth in annoyance at the change in tactic, but she wasn't going to let that stop her, as she reached over to grab the harkens.
However, another series of slash harkens wrapped around her other arm and began pulling that to the side, keeping it out of reach. Kallen's annoyance only morphed to slight fear when she noticed that multiple GN-Knightmares began to latch themselves onto the Guren Flaming Halo and began to overload their GN Drives.
But Kallen was quicker.
The horde surrounding Kallen exploded, supposedly taking her and the Guren with it. The explosion was so massive that it drew the attention of Lelouch, who had just cut down a machine.
"Ka-KALLEN!" Lelouch cried as he looked to where the Guren exploded, feeling his heart begin to squeeze till he couldn't breathe. Not again. Not again! He lost someone precious to him, all because he didn't dare to push her away like he needed to! Why did he never learn?! As he looked back to the smoke cloud with a tear forming in his eyes, he started to notice something was in there, and then he gasped.
A dark silver claw emerged from the cloud and grabbed the closest GN-Knightmare by the head. It then released a way of radiation that caused the armor to expand before erupting in a brilliant explosion. And out from the smoke emerged the Guren GN Type Special, the main Knightmare having survived the explosion by ejecting from the GN Arm, its red-winged Hisho Kasso Yoku Kai extended outward!
"Alright," Kallen said in a low voice, barely containing the anger within before she exploded in white-hot rage! "NOW I'M PISSED!" She declared as she charged the closest enemy frame and cut it down in an instant, quickly moving on to any nearby units and doing the same.
As Lelouch watched as she slaughtered the enemy forces with no mercy, he couldn't help but blush slightly. Kallen Kouzuki was a fierce young woman who would hold nothing back at all costs when pushed to her breaking point. And right now, she was a good few miles beyond that point. It was one of the many things Lelouch loved and yet feared about her.
Shaking these thoughts out of his head, he quickly refocused on the battle; he couldn't let himself be distracted, despite how much he admired watching Kallen slaughter enemy units.
"Alright, how can I help?" Gino asked the head mechanic by the name of Ian after he exited out of his damaged Tristan Divider.
"Jeremiah said you wanted to help however you could," Ian said as he then smiled. "It seems he was right. Lucky for you, I have just the thing that will allow you to assist us." He said as he gestured for Gino to follow him.
They walked over to a large container off to the side. Ian quickly put in a code that unlocked the containing, revealing the contents to the Knight of Three, who gasped at what he saw.
"This is the 0 Gundam, the first Gundam we ever truly developed for combat use." Ian began to explain. "We've since given it a tune-up, adding a color scheme to its factory design to give it a little more flair, not my idea. Though without a GN Drive it can't do much. But by connecting it to Ptolemy's Large GN Condenser, we could give it enough power to stand and fight, but it'll have to be connected to the Ptolemy to function and it will only be for a limited time. If you're so determined to help us out, this is the best we can do for you. So what do you say?"
Gino's response was obvious. "Let's do this!" He shouted excitedly.
Within a few minutes the 0 Gundam, piloted by Gino in a Gundam pilot suit, was on the bow of the Ptolemy, opening fire with the Beam Gun, taking out as many machines as he could. Gino couldn't help but smirk. "I have to admit, these Gundams aren't half bad. I might just want one of my own when this is all over!"
On the bridge of the Ptolemy, Nina was fast at work. She had noticed something odd about the GN Knightmares that had descended from the sky. The way they moved and operated didn't seem to be like a human being at all, more like a computer, and she knew computers.
As she gathered more data from the battle, she gasped as she saw the result of her observation. She quickly opened a line to Lelouch. "Lelouch!"
"Kinda got my hands full right now Nina!" Lelouch grunted as the sound of explosions from battle happened all around him. "Can't this wait?!"
"No, it can't!" Nina said her voice carrying a tone of urgency to it. "I noticed something odd about those Knightmares that came down from the sky equipped with GN Drives. So I analyzed the machines and came to a startling conclusion!"
"And that is?!" Lelouch yelled into the comm, getting impatient as he continued to fight for his life.
"There's no one piloting those Knightmares!" Nina revealed, to the shock of the bridge crew and the Gundam pilot. "They're completely automated!"
"What?!" Lelouch shouted in shock as he stopped fighting for a moment to consider her conclusion. Now that he thought about it, it made sense. The lack of fear over death, the dogged persistence to destroy their enemy. There were soldiers like that out there, but not as many as the ones on the battlefield, so it made sense that these machines had to be controlled not by people, but machines, who held no emotions at all, such as fear.
To confirm Nina's theory, Lelouch activated his Geass to see if he could establish a dialogue with the pilots of the machines. What he found was surprising. While there was a consciousness, it was only one collective consciousness instead of an individual, a consciousness he knew all too well.
Ribbons Almark.
'He must somehow be exerting his will onto the bodies of these pilots, making them suicidal and determined to take out their foes. Essentially making them like drones.' Lelouch concluded. 'But there's no way he could reach these many people. Despite how strong his Geass is compared to others, he's not a true wielder of the Geass of Absolute Innovation. He must be using something to help him expand his consciousness to reach this many people.'
"Nina! Can you find out where this signal is coming from?" Lelouch ordered as he got back to the battle and proceeded to slice down more enemy Knightmares.
"I already did!" Nina said with a level of pride in herself. "The signal is coming from that satellite weapon in space that destroyed the Damocles. And according to the analysis I did, that weapon could fire again at any moment."
"Then we know our target! We have to take out that satellite weapon immediately!" Lelouch declared. He then smirked when he saw the Raiser System charged at 100 percent. "And now with the Trans-Am Raiser fully charged, I have the capabilities to do it!" He then blasted off higher into the sky.
From his control station of the Knightdrones aboard Mementos Mori, Ribbons smirked as saw the 00 Raiser approaching. "Persistent boy isn't he." Ribbons said aloud to himself. "But I can't allow him to succeed." He then contacted two individuals. "Revive, Hiling. Go and greet our incoming 'guest', if you would."
As he ascended higher in the sky, the Geass in his eyes shined bright. He then gasped as he felt the threatening consciousness directed toward him. He quickly pulled back on the controls of the Gundam just in time as a massive beam of energy shot in front of the Gundam, just barely missing it.
Lelouch looked to the source of the blast and saw a bright green machine with a massive cannon aimed at where he would have been if he didn't stop when he did.
"Dang! Slippery little brat!" Revive Revival, piloting the GNZ-003 Gadessa, shouted in irritation at her target dodging her blast.
"That's okay! Because I got him!" Hiling Care, the pilot of the GNZ Garazzo, said as the machine ignited the beam sabers on its fingers and made it into a more solid blade, bringing the blade down on the Gundam, which blocked the attack with its GN Sword. The Gundam then knocked her back with a kick as it flew back to gain some distance.
"Innovators," Lelouch growled as he flew to engage them. The Garazzo fired rapid-fire beams from its GN Vulcans located in its wrists and the Gadessa followed up with a blast from its GN Mega Launcher. Lelouch barreled around the GN Vulcan beams and dodged the mega beam from the launcher. He then fired off a volley of beams from his GN Rifle. The Garazzo fired more from the GN Vulcans which Lelouch was able to avoid and managed to nick the hull of the GN Machine before having to dodge another blast from the Gadessa. The latter tried to bring up its mega launcher to fire a second time but the 00 Raiser managed to hit the bright green machine with a beam. The 00 Raiser continued to fire on them as it attempted to get higher into the sky.
"Main guns, fire!" Ohgi ordered as the Ikaruga main hadron cannons let loose a streak of red energy that obliterated a whole swarm of GN-Knightdrones. However, the swarm quickly turned their attention toward the Ikaruga and began charging them head-on. Ohgi grimaced. "Fire the turrets and slash harkens! Do whatever we can to keep them back!"
His orders were carried out and the turrets and slash harkens opened fire and managed to destroy multiple Knightdrones, however, most of the swarm got through and managed to latch themselves on the Ikaruga. They then quickly exploded, rocking the whole ship.
"We lost our main engines! We can't maintain altitude! We're going down!"
As Ohgi saw them begin to descend to the earth, he couldn't help but pray for forgiveness. For not trusting Lelouch as he should have. For attacking Ashford on Schneizel's orders. For pushing Kallen away after he promised her brother he would protect her. For everything. But most of all he prayed for these people on the Ikaruga, who did nothing wrong, to be spared.
His prayer seemed to be answered when several pairs of slash harkens latched onto the ship and kept it from crashing down with a hard impact. Ohgi looked up and gasped as he saw who was leading the charge. The new and improved Guren seemed to do most of the heavy lifting, thanks to the extra power from the GN Drive it had equipped. Other Black Knights pitched in, including Tamaki, Chiba, and Tohdoh, but Ohgi was most surprised by the appearance of their ace deserter.
As the Ikaruga was brought as gently, or as gently as could be possible, the Guren released its harkens and gazed at the bridge of the massive floating battleship. An awkward silence stretched for a long moment before Ohgi opened a channel with the pilot. "Thank you… Kallen."
The Guren's pilot was silent for a long moment, contemplating if she should respond. Finally, she said, "You're welcome Ohgi." And with that, the Guren quickly turned around and flew back into the sky. As Ohgi watched her leave, his heart couldn't help but be filled with a small shred of hope that he could try and patch things up with Kallen.
As the Gadessa and Garazzo continued to try and destroy the 00 Raiser, the machine and its pilot proved to be too much for them to handle. They tried to flank the Gundam multiple times but their maneuvers did not have any effect as the Gundam was able to outmaneuver them and hit them with beams from its GN Rifle.
"Is this the kind of power from a Pure Wielder of the Geass of Absolute Innovation?!" Revive asked rhetorically, amazed and slightly in fear of the power Lelouch had as she tried to dodge his attacks.
"Why you cocky little-" Hiling would have finished her insult but she then received a message from ribbons. The message contained orders for her and Revive to carry out. When she finished reading, she couldn't help but smirk.
"Hiling, do you understand the plan?" Revive asked, having finished reading the orders from Ribbons as well.
"Oh yeah!" Hiling confirmed in excitement. "Time to show this punk that he doesn't even stand up to Master Ribbons!"
The two GN power machines entered Trans-Am and fired at the 00 Raiser. A hailstorm of beams followed as Lelouch did his best to navigate through it, but a few beams managed to nick the hull of the 00 Raiser.
The Garazzo came down on the 00 Raiser with all the beam sabers on its right hand ignited. The Gundam unfolded the GN Sword and blocked that attack before backing away and folding up its sword to aim with its rifle. But the Gadessa came in and delivered a kick to the Gundam's side, knocking it down then firing a beam from its mega launch that the 00 Raiser managed to block with its GN Field.
Lelouch knew he was in trouble with these two machines in Trans-Am. He could easily stop them if he activated the 00 Raiser's Trans-Am, but if he did that, then he'd have to wait longer to activate the Trans-Am Raiser for the Raiser Sword. He would have to find some way to beat these two without having to use Trans-Am.
As the two GN machines continued to crowd and corner the 00 Raiser, Lelouch decided to go on the offensive. He folded out his GN Sword and charged the Garazzo. He raised the blade high, only for a whip to wrap around the arm of the 00 Raiser and pull backward. Lelouch looked and saw the culprit was none other than the Gadessa.
"I got him!" Revive cheered! The 00 Raiser moved to remove the restraint with its free hand, but soon that hand was wrapped in a whip and pulled in the opposite direction. He looked to see the Garazzo as the culprit.
"We have him, not let's keep him here!" Hiling declared as both the Garazzo and the Gadessa sent a strong electrical current down the wires to the 00 Raiser. The pain from the electricity was agonizing, paralyzing Lelouch from doing anything to free himself.
However, he was able to notice that he was currently right in the path for the satellite weapon to fire down on him. He growled as he knew the mastermind behind this trap. "Ribbons."
Within Mementos Mori, Ribbons smirked in his victory. While it would be regrettable that he would lose the 00 Raiser, he now had other machines that carried an original Aeolia Schenberg GN Drive. Just copying the designs from those machines would be enough, he no longer needed the 00 Raiser. Lelouch pretty much did him a favor by bringing those machines to the battlefield.
"Farewell Lelouch." Ribbons said with a smirk as he held his finger on the trigger button. "I would say that you've been the most worthy opponent I've faced, but I'd be lying." And with that, he pressed the trigger.
A beam then traveled down Mementos Mori's multiple magnifying glasses, gaining more power as they passed through. The beam then fired down to Earth to destroy the constant thorn that was Lelouch vi Britannia.
"Checkma-" Ribbons was interrupted when his battlefield display started rapidly beeping in warning. He looked and took notice that a familiar signal was making its way toward the 00 Raiser at high speeds. When he finally recognized the signal, Ribbons gasped. "No! It can't be!"
"LELOUCH!"
"MY LORD!"
Kallen and Jeremiah shouted in fear as they tried to fly and help Lelouch, but there were too many Knightdrones between them and Lelouch, they wouldn't make it in time. Kallen looked in fear towards Lelouch. Was she about to lose him all over again? Jeremiah was filled with similar anguish, was he going to fail in his duty once again?!
Their thoughts of hopelessness were dashed away when a green blur flew above them and made its way toward the 00 Raiser. Jeremiah looked on in confusion as Kallen gasped. "I know that color scheme." She muttered in awe.
"BIG BROTHER!" Nunnally cried as she saw the destructive beam descend on Lelouch. No! He promised! He promised he'd come back!
As she continued to cry, she then noticed a green blur fly at high speeds toward Lelouch. She gasped as she recognized the Knightmare.
As he saw the beam approach closer and closer to him Lelouch couldn't help but hang his head in defeat. He had long since become numb to the electricity that was burning his body. He failed. He couldn't stop Ribbons or eliminate war. He was just a naive child thinking he could change the world with a fancy weapon.
"It seems all my sacrifices have been in vain after all." He said aloud.
"DON'T SAY THAT!"
Lelouch gasped as he heard the familiar voice in his head. 'Is that… It couldn't be?!' But it was. As he finally looked up to his Gundam's monitors, he saw the familiar white and gold color scheme of a Knightmare that he'd know anywhere. The Lancelot.
"Suzaku…" Lelouch muttered in disbelief at the appearance of his best friend and worst enemy.
"You don't get to say that! Not after everything you've done!" Suzaku Kururugi shouted as he closed the distance between the Lancelot and the 00 Raiser. He then delivered his signature spinning kick to the Gundam's head. The force and power behind the kick managed to knock the 00 Raiser back and bring its captors right to where they once held it.
Lelouch was about to shout at Suzaku or call him an idiot when he realized something. In the frame of a nanosecond, he realized what just happened. By delivering that single kick, Suzaku managed to knock Lelouch out of the way of the satellite weapon's beam and pull in those two Innovators into the line of fire.
With that single kick, Suzaku Kururugi had saved Lelouch vi Britannia's life.
As the beam was upon the Lancelot and the two Innovator machines the world between the two individuals went white.
When Lelouch opened his eyes again, he found himself in C's world. Lelouch looked around frantically, confused for a moment why he was there before a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hello, Lelouch." Lelouch looked to the source of the voice to see Suzaku. But something that shocked Lelouch was that he held the golden symbol of the Geass of Absolute Innovation in his eyes.
"Suzaku?!" Lelouch yelled in shock. "What are you doing here?! Why do you have a Geass?! Why did you just do that?! Why did you just-"
"SHUT UP LELOUCH!" Suzaku shouted, silencing Lelouch. "I have three things I need to say to you, Lelouch! And you're gonna listen!" Lelouch only nodded as Suzaku took a deep breath.
"First: what you said, about your sacrifices being in vain, you have no right to say that!" Suzaku told Lelouch, anger evident in his voice. "After everything you did, after everyone you killed, manipulated, and Geassed! You think you have a right to claim that your sacrifices are for nothing! I won't accept that! I won't accept that Euphie and Shirley died for nothing! So you better not believe otherwise!"
Lelouch was surprised by Suzaku's words. He always believed that Euphie's and Shirley's death had been meaningless and worthless sacrifices. What dignified this change? Did he want to believe that their death at least caused a change in Lelouch that the young prince would take with him forever?
"The second: I didn't save you for some noble and selfless reasoning. I did it because I'm the only one in the whole world allowed to kill you." Suzaku said though that statement wasn't so surprising to Lelouch. "So you better not die to anyone else, you hear me?! Not to Ribbons, not to Britannia, not the Black Knights, not even the whole world! I'm the only one who's allowed to kill you, understand!?"
Now Lelouch was surprised. Suzaku did know that by doing what he just did, he would be robbing himself of the chance to kill Lelouch, did he happen to notice the paradox in his statement. Lelouch's eyes then widened as he realized. Suzaku was telling him to live. Masking that desire underneath the pretense of not being killed by anyone but him.
"And the final thing I have to say is…" Suzaku trailed off slightly as his eyes lost the hate and anger in them, replaced with a sort of begging desire for Lelouch. "Lelouch… You're going to change." The said boy gasped at Suzaku's statement. "I couldn't, so you'll have to do it for me." He then gazed at Lelouch, begging. "Promise me?"
Lelouch looked at Suzaku with amazement. He asked him to never stop fighting so his sacrifices wouldn't be in vain. He told him to keep living. And he begged Lelouch to change for his sake. As Lelouch looked into Suzaku's eyes, he couldn't help but see something in them that was lost so long ago. It was almost as if Lelouch had finally gotten his first and best friend back after being apart for so long.
So Lelouch could only give one response.
"I promise!" Lelouch declared, the fire in his eyes that was his determination flared even brighter than it did before. "I promise I will change for you. And not just you. For Euphie, Shirley, Rolo, C.C., I'll change for them and so many others that have lost their lives. I promise!"
And for the first time in a long time, Lelouch saw a genuine smile from Suzaku being directed at him. "Thank you," Suzaku said as his form started to fade away.
"Suzaku…?" Lelouch muttered as Suzaku began to disappear from the legs moving upward.
"This is goodbye Lelouch," Suzaku said as he had already lost more than half of his body.
"No! Don't go Suzaku! I just got you back!" Lelouch begged as he began to run toward Suzaku disintegrating from with tears streaming down his face.
Suzaku had a warm smile on his face as the only things that remained of him were his shoulders and head. "Farewell… old friend."
"SUZAKU!" Lelouch cried out as he reached for the boy as he disappeared completely and the world faded to white.
The 00 Raiser reached out its hand to the Lancelot, but the shockwave from the satellite weapon knocked the Gundam back as it destroyed the three machines in its path.
The beam quickly died down, and when it did, the whole battlefield was rendered silent.
No one made a move as they gazed at the place where the Lancelot, piloted by Suzaku Kururugi, had once stood before it was destroyed.
Tohdoh gazed at the spot where his former student once was. Though Suzaku was his enemy, a part of him hoped that he could bring the misguided youth back to the light somehow. And seeing Suzaku sacrifice his life to save the life of his mortal enemy, Tohdoh couldn't help but be proud. He bowed his head and closed his eyes in respect for his former student. 'Rest in peace, Suzaku. May you find that peace in death that you never found in life.'
Kallen was also shocked by Suzaku's sacrifice. While she was never his biggest fan, and she made that point known more than once, she always respected him as an ace Knightmare pilot and a warrior. And he just gave his life to save the man she loved, so the least she could do is pay her respects to him. 'Thank you, Suzaku. Thank you for saving him.'
Onboard the Avalon, which had just arrived at the field of battle, and having witnessed the destruction of the Lancelot, Cecile had tears streaming down her cheeks. If only she paid more attention, if only she stopped him, Suzaku would still be alive. She turned around and embraced Llyod for comfort.
As he held his sobbing assistant in his arms, Lloyd couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes as well. While he always showed that he cared more for his creation than the pilot, he always had in some way cared about Suzaku. After all, it was thanks to the boy that Llyod was able to come this far with the Lancelot and his other creations. So for that boy to sacrifice himself, taking away the opportunity for them to work together to make even more incredible inventions, brought tears to Lloyd's face.
On Ptolemy, Nunnally sobbed uncontrollably at the loss of Suzaku. Why couldn't she do more? Why couldn't she ever do more to help either her brother or Suzaku? And yet, despite the tears, she couldn't help but smile, even just a little bit. While she had heard of the contempt that Lelouch and Suzaku had for each other from the both of them, this selfless action from Suzaku proved that despite all that happened between them, the two were still friends deep down underneath all that hate. That revelation gave her much comfort despite the way it was revealed to her. 'Thank you, Suzaku. Thank you for helping your friend.'
Within the 00 Raiser, Lelouch was still. His hair obscured his eyes, making his expression unreadable. He felt empty, similar to how he felt when he believed Nunnally had perished when the Tokyo Settlement was destroyed. After a few more moments of silence, he started to let out a chuckle.
"So you… finally got what you wanted… didn't you… Suzaku…." Lelouch said with a smile as he clenched the controls of the Gundam hard that his hands began to turn white. A small drop of water landed on the dashboard of the Gundam's display as it sent warning signals of incoming enemies from behind, but Lelouch was oblivious to it as he let the tears stream down his face. "You finally got to… die… for a cause… that was worthy of it…" He continued to both cry and chuckle as the enemy Knightdrones were upon him.
It happened faster than the blink of an eye.
The 00 Raiser folded out its GN Sword and spun around sliced apart all the incoming Knightdrones with one swing of its GN Sword. The glowing eyes of the Gundam reflected that of its pilot. Gone were the tears and sadness from them, masked with intense hatred and rage that would have made even Tohdoh shake in fear had he gazed at them.
The Knightdrones he sliced apart exploded, covering the area in smoke. An instant later, the 00 Raiser emerged from the cloud of smoke, charging at full speed up to space to kill the one responsible.
"RIBBONS ALMARK!"
"That little brat!" Ribbons growled as he stood up in fury, slamming his hand on the console, referring to Suzaku. "If Kururugi had just stayed where he was and did as he was told, then I would have rid myself of the nuisance that was Lelouch vi Britanna!" He then took a deep breath to compose himself. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
He set the Knightdrones on autopilot while he went down to the hangar to retrieve his trump card. 'If you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself.' Ribbons thought as he exited the control room.
He slaughtered them.
Anyone and anything that dared to stand in his way he sliced or blasted to pieces. Right now, he didn't care about changing the world. Right now, he wanted blood, the blood of the man who took his best friend stained on his blade.
He was so encompassed in killing all those who stood in his way that it took a moment to realize that he was now in space. Most people would take a moment to marvel at the view of the Earth below, the round blue beauty that humanity called home. But right now, Lelouch didn't care. All he wanted was Ribbons Almark.
As he glared at the satellite weapon that had destroyed Damocles and killed Suzaku, he could only smirk deviously as he raised his GN Sword high. 'Time to end this!'
"TRANS-AM RAISER!" The Gundam was then enveloped in the crimson glow of Trans-Am, and an infinity symbol shining behind it. The Raiser Sword activated and a ginormous beam saber emerged from the GN Sword.
He then brought the giant blade of energy down onto Mementos Mori. It made contact, resisting slightly against the blade before he then continued to drag the blade through the satellite weapon, all while screaming in anger and sadness with tears flowing down his cheeks as the dam broke and he let all the repressed sadness come out all at once.
The Raiser Sword eventually cut through the satellite weapon, destroying it, and everyone on it, including all of Ribbons subordinates. Some people could have viewed this action as genocide or mass murder, but Lelouch didn't care. He just wanted to kill these Innovators once and for all. That was his thoughts as he was enveloped in the explosion.
BOOM
The explosion could be both seen and heard from below as the combined group of Britannians, Black Knights, and Celestial Beings saw the explosions. The Knightdrones soon followed after as they began to overload then exploded.
Most cheered at the victory they had just won, except for a few. Those few who had lost close friends, comrades, and loved ones in this hard-won victory. Others were too concerned to worry about the status of others to begin celebrating yet.
"Lelouch, come in! Lelouch can you hear me!" Kallen asked in panic through the main comm system aboard the Ptolemy, having come aboard because of the heavily damaged state of the Guren. She, along with Nunnally, was trying to contact the 00 Raiser, which they lost signal of when the explosion went off. Currently, Ptolemy was flying into orbit to try and find a sight of the Gundam.
"Big brother! If you're there, please answer us!" Nunnally begged as tears began to stream down her face. She had just lost Suzaku, she couldn't bear to lose her brother so soon after, if ever.
They were only met with static.
When they arrived in orbit, they saw the remains of the satellite weapon. It was destroyed. Debris floated around the area where the weapon once was, some large almost the size of Ptolemy, others no bigger than a human's average height.
"I found him!" Sayoko shouted, getting everyone's attention, she then magnified the camera and zoomed in on the 00 Raiser. Everyone on Ptolemy let loose a sigh of relief at the sight of the Gundam, yet there was still some worry over the state of the pilot on the inside.
"Hang on, I'll force our way into his comm system," Mileina said as she quickly got to work. It only took her less than a minute before she was in and she opened a channel between them.
They heard a faint sobbing coming from the other end as if someone had just run out of tears crying and was digging around to find some more to let loose. There was also a lot of snuffling as the voice continued to cry and scream in anguish.
"Lelouch…" Kallen dared to speak up.
When Lelouch heard Kallen's voice from the comms, his tear-filled eyes widened before he quickly wiped away any remaining liquid and took a deep breath to calm himself down. It took a minute or two for him to calm down so he could speak without his voice stuttering.
"I-I'm here." Lelouch cursed himself as he still stuttered, regardless of how much he tried to calm himself down.
A choir of relief filled his comms but most of them fell on deaf ears save for one. "Are you okay big brother?" Nunnally asked.
Okay? Okay? Sure he was okay. If okay meant that he just lost his first friend to the worst foe he ever faced, flew up into space, and completely slaughtered all of his enemy's followers, then yeah he was okay. But he wasn't gonna bring that anger or anguish in front of Nunnally, not when she was feeling just as torn, if not more so than he was.
"Yeah. I'm okay." Lelouch said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
He heard a scoff coming from a familiar voice before she spoke. "How you managed to lie to us for all that time with terrible lies like that, I'll never know." Kallen's attempt at humor did allow Lelouch to chuckle, but it was a sad and weak chuckle.
"We're coming to get you now, young master. So just be patient." Sayoko told him before the communication cut and he was left alone again.
'Gosh, so embarrassing!' Lelouch thought to himself. He couldn't believe he let people hear him cry and be vulnerable like that so easily. He was losing his touch. But maybe every once and a while it wasn't so bad to let loose a little tear or two in front of others.
Still, despite the anguish he felt, he also had a tinge of disappointment. While he was glad to be rid of Ribbons Almark, he wished he could have killed the false Innovator with his own hands or blade instead of just killing him along with his followers like that.
'Well, at least it's all over now.' Lelouch thought as he saw the approaching Ptolemy. Suddenly, a powerful beam shot out of nowhere and hit Ptolemy. Despite being protected by the GN Field, the beam was so strong it sent the whole ship shaking violently. The blast even caused the 0 Gundam, which Gino had abandoned, to be sent flying from Ptolemy, hurtling through space.
'And… I spoke too soon.'
"What was that?!" Lasse shouted in shock as he did the best he could to keep them stable, despite the violent shaking.
We've taken a major hit near our engine area!" Mileina reported. "The engines are still functional, but our shielding has taken a major beating from the power behind that attack, it's down to about 15 percent, and the hull damage we've received is considerable."
"Life support is failing in some areas. I'm trying a workaround to secure the rest of the ship. And I'm gonna see if I can find out where that shot came from. That was way too powerful to be a standard beam-based weapon." Nina said as she got to work.
"Wh-Who could do such a thing?!" Nunnally cried.
"It's him." Nunnally looked up in shock to see Kallen after hearing her statement. She was even more shocked when she saw the symbol of a golden bid in mid-flight in both her eyes. "The one who caused all of this."
"There you are!" Lelouch shouted as he spun the 00 Raiser around to face the person who shot the beam at Ptolemy. It was a red white and gold mech, standing on a piece of debris from the satellite weapon. Despite the unknown suit, Lelouch knew from the use of his powers and the two pseudo-GN Drive emitting red particles who was piloting it. "Ribbons Almark!"
Inside the machine known as Reborns Cannon, said Innovator smirked as he gazed at the 00 Raiser. "Come now, at least show some gratitude." Ribbons said in mock offense. "After all it was because of me that you were able to attain those powers you have… Lelouch vi Britannia."
Lelouch growled as he clenched the controls of his Gundam so hard his knuckles turned white but still managed to keep his cool, despite the rage boiling inside him. "You toyed with me and people closest to me. You manipulated others to do your dirty work then threw them away without a second thought. And now what? You expect me to be grateful to you? To bow down and worship you? Who do you think you are, God?"
"No, I don't think, I am God." Ribbons said with an arrogant tone.
"Why do you want to rule humanity that much?" Lelouch asked as the Gundam tensed in anticipation.
"Because if I don't, mankind will never be able to end its fighting and destroy itself." Ribbons explained, seemingly painting himself in the right. "I will be its savior."
"So you don't want to cooperate with others to try and achieve the goal of ending war? You don't want to understand us?!" Lelouch accused Ribbons, anger beginning to take hold again.
"It's just like how humans watch over animals and use them for whatever purposes they desire." Ribbons compared, not even fazed by Lelouch's accusations. His eyes then narrowed with an insane desire. "And besides, if I can defeat you, a purebred wielder who managed to challenge the whole world and emerge victoriously, then my worthiness will be undeniable."
Lelouch was shocked by his words. Ribbons saw them fighting to the death as a test to see who was more worthy to rule the world. "I see it now," Lelouch said as realization dawned on him. "It's your ego that has twisted this world into the state it's now in. Whatever twisted world you're trying to create, I will destroy it!" Lelouch declared as he pointed his GN Rifle at the Reborns Cannon for emphasis.
"A fine determination!" Ribbons declared as he leaped his machine. "But do you truly believe you can beat me? I've had my powers for all of my existence, while you've only had yours for less than a month. Furthermore, I know more about what we are capable of than you could ever possibly imagine, compared to you barely scratching the surface of your power. And I've been working towards my goal for more than seven years, while you've had your whole 'eliminate war' crusade for about half a year. Do you really believe your will to achieve your goals could overshadow mine?"
Lelouch didn't respond right away, which intrigued Ribbons. Did he just defeat his greatest obstacle with only words and comparing his superiority? Before he pondered that thought further he began to hear laughing coming from the 00 Raiser. It was small at first before it picked up volume and intensity before it exploded in full-blown maniacal laughter. Ribbons thought for a moment Lelouch might have gone crazy.
Lelouch laughed for a bit more before he finally calmed down and spoke. "You know, parts of me can't believe how fortunate I am." Ribbons frowned in confusion at his words. What did he mean by 'how fortunate' he 'was'? "I was slightly disappointed that I had killed you along with your followers when I destroyed your weapon. But now seeing you here in front of me, claiming that you're a God and that you're better than me and are gonna prove it," An insane smile formed on Lelouch's face.
"I honestly at this moment couldn't care less about things like the future or changing the world, or being proved worthy to lead humanity or whatever. Right now," The GN Sword folded out. "All I care about," He then pointed the blade at the Reborns Cannon, "Is running this sword straight through you!"
Ribbons couldn't help but chuckle as he then got serious once again. "Then by all means… Let's end this little game of ours once and for all!"
"00 Raiser!" Lelouch began, swiping the green-tinted blade to the side.
"Reborns Cannon!" Ribbons followed, preparing his machine's weapons.
"Lelouch vi Britannia!"
"Ribbons Almark!"
"LAUNCHING!" The 00 Raiser rocketed towards the Reborns Cannon at high speed.
"ENGAGING!" The Reborns Cannon followed as it blasted off to meet the 00 Raiser.
"Kallen! Where are you going?!" Nunnally asked as the redhead moved to leave the bridge.
"Where do you think?! I'm going to help Lelouch!" Kallen declared as she made her way off the bridge.
"You can't!" Mileina shouted. "The other machines are too damaged for combat at the moment, let alone with a machine like that."
"But I have to–" Kallen would have continued arguing, but a voice in her head silenced her.
'Kallen.' The familiar voice echoed in her mind, causing her eyes to widen.
'Lelouch?!' Kallen's mind screamed in shock.
'This is my fight. I'm asking, no, I'm ordering you, stay out of it!' Lelouch's voice came back, firm and unyielding.
'Bu-But I can't just leave you! Not again!' Kallen tried to argue, tears gathering in her eyes.
'I have to do this on my own Kallen. For Suzaku.' Lelouch said before the connection between them was cut and Kallen was left with her own thoughts.
She could just ignore him. She could just go out there herself and fight alongside him. But the others were right, the Guren was in no shape to fight. She would be slaughtered within minutes, maybe even seconds if she went out there. And Lelouch would probably be so shocked that he wouldn't be able to focus on the battle and Ribbons would kill him.
So, for Lelouch not to be compromised in any way, she would have to stay out of the battle, but that didn't mean she and the others couldn't help in other ways.
"Prep our onboard weapons for combat!" She gave out orders to the others. "It's time to show that arrogant brat what Celestial Beings is made of!" The others got to work getting Ptolemy battle-ready while Kallen looked out to the battlefield, a hand laying across her heart.
'Lelouch…'
The 00 Raiser was being bombarded with a hail storm of beams from the Reborns Cannon, but thanks to the speed and maneuverability of the Gundam, the 00 Raiser was able to dodge all of the beams. The Reborns then pulled out its GN Buster Rifle and fired a massive beam at the 00 Raiser that Lelouch was able to dodge as he tried to get close the distance for close-quarters-combat.
"I can handle this much firepower," Lelouch said to himself as he continued to dodge the incoming beam. He looked down to the Trans-Am meter to see how long he had until he could use it again. At the moment, it read '066'. "Still charging."
An alert took Lelouch's attention away from the console and back to the battle. He saw the Reborns fire off Egner whip. The claw crackled with electricity as it rocketed toward the 00 Raiser. The Gundam tumbled and rolled out of the way of the grapple before taking its GN Sword and slicing apart the claw.
He then charged straight for the Reborns, avoiding the beams sent his way. "Right up close." Lelouch began. This machine may excel in long-range attacks, but for close-quarters-combat compared to the 00 Raiser. "This is where the Gundam excels at!" He declared as he prepared to ram the blade through the machine. He was so focused on running his blade through that he failed to notice the Reborns reach behind its back to grab something.
In the next second, the 00 Raiser was hit with a powerful energy weapon, a beam saber, but more powerful than any he felt before. The counterattack knocked Lelouch to the side, causing him to crash into a large area of debris. Lelouch grunted as he struggled to reorient himself. He looked up at where the Reborns was and gasped as he saw what began to happen. "What the-"
Parts of the machine began to fold in on itself, including the shoulder cannons and the head. A thruster emerged from its front(back?). Humanoid-like hands began to emerge and grip the weapons it pulled out, including the large beam saber and buster rifle. What seemed to scare Lelouch the most, was the back of the newly emerged head seemed familiar. "That looks like…."
The machine turned around to face the 00 Raiser with its new head. Lelouch was right, the structure of the head unit was too similar, even the eyes were the same as they glowed for a moment. "A Gundam." Lelouch confirmed. The Reborns, no in its Gundam mode, looked down on the 00 Raiser. The two pseudo-GN Drives rotating and generating more particles to power the machine.
"Why do you look so surprised? I hope you didn't think you were the only one with the Twin Drive System?" Ribbons asked rhetorically, knowing full well Lelouch believed just that. The 00 Raiser launched from the debris and flew to meet the Reborns Gundam. "This is it. This is the machine. The Gundam that will guide humanity!" Ribbons declared as he brought the large beam saber down on the approaching 00 Raiser.
The GN Sword and beam saber clashed! Sparks flew as both Gundams tried to overpower the other. They seemed to be locked in a stalemate before the Reborns Gundam began to gain the upper hand as it pushed the 00 Raiser back. Lelouch gritted his teeth as he tried to fight against the pushback.
But the Reborns eventually won out and managed to push the 00 Raiser back. It then turned around and began to fire cannons from its shoulders at the 00 Raiser. "So slow." Ribbons mocked as the Reborns continued to fire. Lelouch dodged what he could, but a stray beam managed to nick the 00 Raiser's right leg. It burned in the heat of the beam before exploding.
Lelouch gritted his teeth as he began trying to dodge even more beam fire from the Reborns. He eventually flew down close to the debris to try and lose Ribbons, but the Reborns was relentless in its assault. Lelouch pulled his Gundam up higher and managed to come back around and slash at the Reborns as the latter also lashed with its beam saber. The former's attack missed, but not the latter.
Ribbons smirked as he saw that he managed to cut a small portion of the wing from the 00 Raiser. Lelouch gritted his teeth. Despite only having pseudo-GN Drive, Ribbons machine was proving to be a match for the 00 Raiser, perhaps even more so. Still, that doesn't mean Lelouch would just throw in the towel, not by a long shot!
"GN Torrents and cannons, along with the missiles are ready for launch on your command ma'am!" Mileina reported.
"Target the enemy Gundam! Make sure we can distract it long enough for Lelouch to go on the offensive!" Kallen ordered. A few seconds later, the Reborns Gundam was in their sights. "FIRE!"
As Ribbons continued to fire at the 00 Raiser, his Gundam's alert went off. Turning to the source he saw multiple beams heading his way from the Ptolemy. He dodged the beams coming from their cannon and lifted the GN Buster Rifle to fire at them.
But he was stopped when the alerts flashed to life once again, he turned and saw the 00 Raiser charging him. He managed to block the attack. 'Sneaky little vermin!' Ribbons mocked as he kicked the 00 Raiser to the side and glared at the Ptolemy. He then turned back to the 00 Raiser and fired off more shots from the Reborns buster rifle. He also launched his small GN fangs from their holders on the shield.
The 00 Raiser moved to dodge the beams from the Reborns but was soon confronted with two of the fangs as they circled him and tried to strike him.
Another pair of fangs flew to the Ptolemy. The GN turrets tried to destroy them, but the fangs were too maneuverable. They closed in on the turrets, activating the beam dagger function, and jammed themselves into the turret controls, destroying them and the operators.
The Ptolemy shook for a minute as Kallen glared at the one responsible. "You piece of crap!" She spat out as she held onto a bridge chair for stability.
The Reborns continued to fire at the 00 Raiser. The latter was able to maneuver itself around the beams. The GN Fangs managed to nick the hull of the Gundam as they continued to fly around the 00 Raiser. Lelouch unfolded the GN Sword and sliced apart one of the fangs. He then turned to the other one and fired beams from the 0 Raiser's wings to destroy it.
"Hmm. That's fairly impressive." Ribbons admitted. His attention was then pulled away from the other Gundam as he looked to see massive beam cannons fired in his direction. A look of annoyance crossed his face. "Enough of that attack!" Ribbons shouted, firing a massive beam blast from its backside toward the Ptolemy in Cannon mode. The beam managed to nick the side of the ship.
Mileina cried as the ship shook violently.
"A direct hit to the engines! We can't move!" Nina cried.
Kallen grimaced. Without the ability to move, they were dead in the water. So if they wanted any chance to try and survive without mobility, then they had to make it hard for Ribbons to find them.
"Fire the smoke shells!" Kallen ordered.
"But Lelouch is–" Lasses began.
"Do it!" Kallen shot back. Though she didn't like it either, she knew this would be what Lelouch would have wanted to keep the others safe."
The Ptolemy fired off shells that flew near the Reborns before they exploded, covering the surrounding area in smoke. Ribbons didn't seem the least bit intimidated as the area began to cover in smoke. "A useless smokescreen!" Ribbons declared.
"Lelouch can take care of him now!" Kallen said with absolute confidence in the man she loved.
The Reborns fired aimlessly through the smokescreen trying to hit the Ptolemy. It was so focused on trying to find the Ptolemy it failed to take notice of the 00 Raiser coming from behind.
Lelouch roared a battle cry as he flew in to attack the Reborns at close range. It seemed Ribbons was able to pick up on that roar and quickly release even more small GN Fangs, this time from its skirt armor before switching back to Gundam mode.
The 00 Raiser pulled back the blade ready to strike at the Reborns only for a GN fang with its beam dagger activated to ram into its left arm and another in its side. The two fangs exploded, covering Lelouch in a cloud of smoke as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"I've got you now!" Ribbons declared victoriously as he raised the large beam saber high and brought it down. The 00 Raiser emerged from the cloud and with a glow in its eyes, slashed at the Reborns. When the two machines made contact, the 00 Raiser was able to dodge the beam saber and drag its GN Sword through the right arm of the Reborns, cutting off the hand that was holding the GN Buster Rifle.
The 00 Raiser quickly flew away to gain distance for another hit-and-run attack. The Reborns turned around slowly as it saw the Gundam fly away, before having to shield itself when the arm that was cut off exploded.
Ribbons was shocked, and for maybe the first time in a long time, he had an expression of fear on his face. "Th-This power is-" Hwe stuttered, unable to finish his sentence. He then looked off in the direction of the 00 Raiser. "Is this the power of a Pure Wielder?" He asked in wonderment.
In the cockpit of the 00 Raiser, Lelouch's geass was shining bright in his eyes as he came back around for another attack.
As everyone aboard the Ptolemy continued to view the battle between Gundams, Kallen couldn't help but get a sinking feeling. Like eventually Lelouch and Ribbons wouldn't be able to battle in those Gundams anymore. Following her instincts, Kallen opened a channel to engineering.
"Ian! Do you read me?" Kallen asked for confirmation that her signal was getting through.
"What is it?" Ian's voice came back, ready to do whatever was asked of him.
"Get ready to launch the R2 suit!" Kallen ordered.
"Hey, uh, we don't have a drive to spare that's compatible with that suit." Ian began explaining.
"Just do it!" Kallen repeated herself as she closed down the communications and looked back to the battle. She couldn't exactly tell how she knew, but she just did know that Lelouch would need that suit soon. She held a grimace as she focused back on the battle.
The two Gundam clashed their blades against each other, similar to how they were earlier when the Reborns revealed its Gundam mode. And just like in that moment, the Reborns was winning that struggle.
"That power," Ribbons began, his voice having a trace of envy. "You have it because you're lucky enough to have the original GN Drives!" The Reborns then pushed the 00 Raiser back before it switched to cannon mode. "I want them back!" He demanded and fired a massive beam from his Gundam's cannons.
"Never!" Lelocuh declared, as the 00 Raiser vaulted over the massive beam and fired from its wings. The Reborns dodged the attacks and fired back with its cannons, the two went back and forth.
"They're mine!" Ribbons declared possessively as he switched back to Gundam mode. "Otherwise there would be no purpose in creating me. No meaning to my existence."
"You're wrong." A familiar voice spoke within his mind, shocking Ribbons.
"Suzaku Kururugi?!" Ribbons shouted in shock. "How are you doing this?!"
"We are not here to guide humanity," Suzaku said, ignoring his question. "We are here to create a better future, together with mankind."
The Reborns tried to ascend higher and further from the 00 Raiser's beams but a beam managed to nick the Reborns' shield. Ribbons was currently too distracted by Suzaku's voice to fully focus on the battle.
Suddenly, Suzaku appeared in his cockpit, though he was in his pilot suit, his body was see-through, almost like he was appearing as a ghost. "That is the path that those with the power of the Geass of Absolute Innovation are meant for." Suzaku said as his form then disappeared.
Ribbons was in shock, a look of disbelief crossed his face as his Geass shone in his eyes. "Together with inferior humans?!" Ribbons cried in outrage, refusing to believe he was meant to work with the lowly humans instead of ruling over them.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when a kick from the 00 Raiser knocked the Reborns back before it resumed fire on the Reborns, using both its Gn Rifle and the beams coming from its wings. A beam managed to nick the Reborns right leg before it began to dodge and try to avoid any more beams. All the while, Suzaku's voice continued to ring in his head.
"As long as you continue to look down on people, you'll never understand them!" Suzaku declared as another beam managed to hit the back shoulder of the Reborns Gundam. Ribbons was silent for a long moment.
Then, with a crazed smile he declared, "I don't want to understand them!" The Rebrons swiped its blade to the side as it then activated Trans-Am and charged at the 00 Raiser releasing its Large GN Fangs. Lelouch looked in shock before he glanced down at his console to see that the Trans-am meter was fully charged and ready for him to use.
"TRANS-AM!" Lelouch shouted as the 00 Raiser was enveloped in the red glow and engaged the Reborns.
(Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi UVERWorld Start)
The 00 Raiser and the Reborns Gundams flew around each other at high speeds, trying to intercept and destroy the other. The Reborns tried to slice with its large beam saber, the 00 Raiser dodged and fired back at it, managing to destroy a GN fang. Another fang charged at its shoulder but was quickly destroyed. The Gundam turned to face the remaining fang that shot a beam straight at the Gundam's head, knocking it back.
The Reborns pursued and brought up its GN Fang to fire again. The 00 Raiser emerged from the cloud of smoke, GN Sword folded out. "I will stop you!" Lelouch declared, the Geass in his eyes flashing to life.
Suddenly, as the fang was about to make contact with the Gundam, the 00 Raiser quantinized and vanished from sight. Ribbons gasped in shock. "He quantized himself!" His eyes then shot open in alert as he tried to turn and back away from the reappearing 00 Raiser.
Lelouch shouted a battle cry as he brought the GN Sword high, the Geass still flashing in his eyes, then swung it downward through the cannon half of the Gundam.
"You piece-of- '' Ribbons shouted in anger as he swung the large beam saber through the 00 Raiser shoulder, slicing off the limb and the attached GN Drive. Both the machines Trans-Am deactivated before the places where they were cut exploded, filling the area with green and red GN Particles.
The Reborns Gundam emerged from the cloud of smoke first, its pilot laughing in victory as it held in its hands the GN Drive it slashed off from the 00 Raiser. "I finally have one. An original solar reactor!" Ribbons said with glee. "With this, I'll become a being that's on an equal level with the likes of Lelouch. No, I'll become a being that transcends even that."
His victory party was cut short when his machine began to slow due to a small explosion on its back, due to the cut the 00 Raiser gave to the Reborn before they both exploded. "My machine's damaged." Ribbons said in annoyance. This machine wouldn't be able to use the original drive in this damaged state. "At this rate…"
His attention was caught on something in the distance among the debris of the satellite weapon. Zooming in with the Gundam's camera, he saw that it was his original machine: the 0 Gundam.
He smirked. "I have found my destiny." He said as he began to get to work.
Back with the 00 Raiser, it laid still among the debris from the explosion, lifeless without its other GN Drive. Lelouch groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. Then he saw something strange. A flower, the flower Nunnally gifted him before he went off to fight, was floating in front of him. He tried to reach out and grab it so it wouldn't be lost in the vacuum of space.
As he outstretched his hand he saw a flicker of light coming his way. He gasped in surprise and his eyes widened. "That's the…"
The original GN Drive proved to be a perfect match for the 0 Gundam. Why wouldn't it be, after all, the drive the Ribbons stole originally powered that very Gundam. "It works!" Ribbons declared a success.
He then flew back to the explosion site where the 00 Raiser remained. If he could get his hands on the other original GN Drive, then his plan would be a success. "Where are you?! Where have you gotten to Lelouch vi Britannia?!"
A screen then showed up on his display, showing the 00 Raiser's remains. Ribbons smirked. "There you are." He said as if he was a hunter stalking his prey. But upon closer inspection, he noticed something was off. "There's no solar reactor?!" Ribbons said in surprise.
"Could… could he have…?" Ribbons said as frantically turned around to try and find any trace of Lelouch. He then felt a sensation through his Geass as he gazed upwards, confirming his suspicions. "He did it!"
A flash of light shined before it revealed itself to be another Gundam. While this machine bore some resemblance to the 00 Gundam, mainly its color scheme and head unit, it held a strange green orb within its chest. It also had a similar GN Sword to the 00 Raiser, though the green was slightly thinner on the edges.
"Gundam Exia," Lelouch declared, raising his head with a determined glare in his eyes. "Lelouch vi Britannia," the Exia then unfolded its GN Sword and pointed it towards the 0 Gundam. "Slashing into the future!"
Ribbons grunted as he fired at the Exia with the 0 Gundam's beam gun. "You are nothing more than a mere human!" He shouted in defiance. The Exia managed to dodge and weave through all of the shots as it closed in on the 0 Gundam, Lelouch screaming a battle cry.
The Exia slammed into the 0 Gundam, pushing the two down into Earth's orbit. The two machines began to get hot as they began reentry.
"They're entering Earth's atmosphere!" Nina reported as she kept a close eye on the Gundams.
"Can they survive that?" Nunnally asked as she turned toward Ian who had joined them on the bridge moments ago after he launched the Exia.
Ian began to rub the back of his head. "Well… theoretically yeah they could," Ian said his words weren't bringing much comfort to those gathered with him. "We never really tested if the Gundams could survive atmospheric re-entry. The GN Particle should keep most of the heat off them… Probably."
Again, his words did little to comfort everyone as they looked on worried, as the Gundams fell to the Earth.
"Commander Ohgi! We have two objects descending from the sky at high speeds!"
"What is it?!" Ohgi asked. "Bombs? Enemy reinforcements?"
"Unable to identify. Pulling up visuals on the screen now!"
A screen showed up on the Ikaruga, showing a burning object entering the atmosphere, almost like a meteorite. Soon, the fire went away to reveal two machines that looked familiar.
Ohgi's eyes widened as he saw them descending. "Gundams..."
The two machines broke their hold on each other. The Exia folded in its GN Sword and drew a beam saber in its right hand. It began to slash wildly at the 0 Gundam, which managed to easily maneuver around the Exia's sloppy attacks.
Lelouch growled in frustration. Despite being in a more advanced suit than Ribbons, this was his first time piloting the Exia while Ribbons had more experience with the 0 Gundam. And while this Gundam wasn't that much different from the 00, the single GN Driven made it harder for him to maneuver. A weakness that Ribbons took full advantage of as he fired a shot from his beam gun that destroyed the beam saber in its right hand.
But Lelouch wasn't gonna give up, despite being inexperienced with this Gundam, he was going to kill Ribbons, no matter what it took. He then again rammed the 0 Gundam and the two impacted with the ground near the base of Mt. Fuji, creating a shockwave.
The 0 Gundam emerged fleeing from the pursuing Exia as it fired its beam gun to try and hit it. Lelouch had a determined look in his eyes and on his face as he chased after the 0 Gundam, firing beams from his GN Rifle.
A beam managed to hit the Beam Gun and the 0 Gundam was enveloped in smoke. It then emerged from the smoke and began to lay a series of punches across the Exia's face, even getting an uppercut before the Exia caught the fourth punch and flipped the 0 Gundam over its shoulder, slamming the machine to the ground.
(Hakanaku mo Towa Kanashi 2:47-2:58)
The 0 Gundam looked upward to see the Exia draw a beam saber in its left hand. Lelouch screamed in righteous fury as he thrust the beam saber downward, intending to impale the machine. But Ribbons managed to pull back on the controls to narrowly dodge the strike, though the beam saber did manage to nick the armor just outside the cockpit. Ribbons shielded himself as best he could from the sparks before he got his hands back on the controls.
(3:41-3:51)
The 0 Gundam then reached behind and pulled out a beam saber of its own, taking a step forward to slice at the Exia as it began to stand up to avoid the strike. While it managed to keep itself from getting bisected, the beam saber did manage to cut into the cockpit, enough to expose it. The Exia extended claws from its feet to slow it down as it moved back to avoid the beam saber, even digging its own beam saber in the ground to slow it down as it dragged its feet across the ground. When it finally stopped, the Gundam stood straight up, revealing the pilot Lelouch, a determined look on his face as he glared outside the opening made in his cockpit.
(3:52-End)
The 0 Gundam then threw away its shield as it got both hands on its beam saber gripping it tightly, causing the blade to become thicker.
The Exia unfolded its GN Sword and brought it in front of it, bringing its left hand up to keep it steady. The safety restrictions on the Exia's GN Drive deactivated to initiate Over Boost Mode, bringing out the full power of the GN Drive. A wave of circular energy came from the GN Drive as the two Gundams faced off.
The Exia took the first step as it charged the 0 Gundam. The latter Gundam held up its Beam saber, preparing for a stabbing motion. With a final burst of speed from its GN Drive, the Exia rushed the 0 Gundam. The two machines simply seemed to freeze for a moment, before a blinding white light blinded the battlefield.
(Hakanaku mo Towa Kanashi Ends)
When the light cleared away, the Exia's blade was sticking out from behind the 0 Gundam, the latter's beam saber having completely missed its mark. The 0 Gundam's eyes darkened as it slumped in defeat.
"Checkmate." Lelouch whispered before the 0 Gundam exploded. The explosion didn't destroy the Exia, thankfully, but it did heavily damage the machine beyond functionality. The Exia was flung back and landed with a hard thud on the ground.
"That... was for... Suzaku..." Lelouch muttered as everything then went black.
A/N: And there you have it. The final game has now ended with Lelouch the victor!
I hope you all enjoyed the fight. I added a bit more to the Exia's vs. 0 Gundam moment at the request of some reviewers. I know it wasn't much, but I did what I could. I also hope you were satisfied with the fight between the Reborns and the 00 Raiser, I did what I could without having anyone else interfere with the battle.
And now Suzaku has died. I hope you all thought that was a good way to kill off Suzaku. I enjoyed how I wrote it. And I hope you enjoyed reading it. As for the moment where Suzaku was speaking with Ribbons, you know in the anime for Code Geass, Charles mentions that he's spoken with Clovis a couple of times, well I figured those with the Geass of Absolute Innovation could communicate with others who also have the ability. I hope that makes sense.
Well, now I just have one last chapter to write, the epilogue. Hope you all enjoy what's coming, here's a preview.
I Am Gundam:
The Empress of Britannia Nunnally vi Britannia has been kidnapped by the Kingdom of Zilkhstan, the country famous for both its warriors and being the one nation to push Britannia back. They seek to use the captured Empress as a way to start the fires of war to resurrect their dying kingdom. However, one group of individuals will not let that happen.
I can't wait for you guys to see it. Although unfortunately because of my job, I won't be able to start working on it till next week. But I will get it done. I promise you.
But before I go, here's one last preview of what I'm gonna include in the next chapter.
GNT-0000 00 Qan [T]
The GNT-0000 00 Qan [T], or the "Double-Oh Quanta" or the "Quanta" is the first Gundam built specifically for the use of a Purebred Wielder of the Geass of Absolute Innovation, also known as Innovators, specifically that of Lelouch vi Britannia, the first Innovator. Equipped with two matching GN Drives, the Quanta is the successor to the 00 Gundam's Twin Drive System, equipped with two matching GN Drives, meaning now it lacks the need for a stabilization factor like the 0 Raiser. It is also fitted with a bit control system and an improved system known as Quantum System. It is a machine built to bring out the full capabilities of an Innovator.
Design
Classification: Custom Innovator-use Close Quarters Combat Mech
Height: 6.1 meters
Weight: 10.58 metric tons
Power Source: 2 x GN Drives
Crew: Pilot (Located in the chest)
Armaments
GN Sword V (GN Sword): The 00 Qan[T]'s primary weapon. It is fully made from the green material used to make GN Condensers. The beam output of its rifle mode is variable. It possesses two modes: Sword Mode and Rifle Mode. In conjunction with an ordinary rifle mode, it can also combine with the GN Sword Bits to either form a buster rifle or a buster sword depending on the formation. With all six GN Sword Bits attached to the sword in its buster rifle mode, 00 Qan[T] possesses the ability to create a large beam saber similar to the Raiser Sword while in Trans-Am. When not in use, it is then stored on Qan[T]'s left waist.
GN Sword Bit (Sword Bits): Stored on the GN Shield are six GN Sword Bits,[12] of which there are 3 different types: A, B, and C. A Bits are the longest, B Bits are medium in length, and C Bits are the shortest. All the Bits are usable as remote-controlled weaponry, or as hand-held swords as they contain hidden handles. They also possess many attacking roles in Qan[T]'s arsenal such as attacking individually or forming up as a whole set with the GN Sword V to become either a buster rifle or a buster sword. In addition to offense, the bits can also create a GN Field when positioned together in a circle and their defensive capabilities are higher than previously used bit type weaponry. The Bits also aid the Quantum System when the system is activated, and in quantum teleportation by grouping into a circular, portal-like formation, using a thick saturation of GN Particles as a gateway. Overall, the Sword Bits are very versatile and their stats are higher than any other remote weapons.
GN Shield (GN Shield): A shield binder on the left side of 00 Qan[T] that is connected to its backpack via the same mechanism as 00 Gundam's "Drive Arm". Other than possessing 00 Qan[T]'s other GN Drive underneath, it also acts as the storage and quick-recharge unit for the GN Sword Bits when they are not actively used. There is also a beam gun with variable output mounted on top of the shield for missile interception purposes. The shield possesses a panel that reveals the GN Drive unit when opened, large amounts of GN Particles can be released from this point. Because GN Particle emissions are known to have defensive properties, it is theoretically possible for the shield to use these emissions as defensive measures similar to 00 Gundam, although it is never seen as itself is already a very robust solid shield, capable of blocking shots from warship class weapons. The shield can also swing to the rear of 00 Qan[T] and make the two GN Drives physically connect. It is in this configuration that the Quantum System is used to amplify the power of the machine's Quantum field of communications. When the Sword Bits are deployed, they are expanded toward both sides of the GN Shield, and simultaneously fly towards the locked-on target.
Special Features
Bit Control System: Through the use of Quantum Brainwaves, the pilot can communicate with the bits and use them for either offensive or defensive purposes.
GN Field: A powerful shielding system made from GN Particles.
Quantum Brainwave Control System: QBCS is a combination of unified mental control between its user and computer. It's an advanced form of mental network control. Because the system influences various systems, there is a certain degree of vagueness to its complete definition. The system was designed for Innovator-use. A highly advanced quantum computer dispatches command to the Innovators through Quantum Brainwaves (QBWs). As living bio-terminals that communicate through QBWs, it is a highly efficient system that streamlines thought and action with their machines.
Twin Drive System: The Twin Drive System on the 00 Quanta is improved compared to that of the 00 Gundam. Because unlike the 00, the 00 Quanta has two GN Drives with matching particle output, eliminating the need for a support system like the 0 Raiser.
Quantum System: A system designed in response to Lelouch's abilities as a Pure Wielder of the Geass of Absolute Innovation, it deploys a high-density GN Particles field that exceeds the one produced by the Trans-Am Burst System. Like the Trans-Am Burst, everyone in this particle field has their thoughts connected as the Innovator's Quantum Brainwaves can unify their consciousness. When the Quantum System is activated, the GN Drives behind the shield and in the torso section are physically joined for direct dual particle generation - a second phase of the Twin Drive System. The suit with the Quantum System will also begin to glow. If the system's maximum output mode, the Quantum Burst, is activated, there is additional purging of varying armor parts and the "extension" of some GN Condenser parts from all over the Gundam, then the extension of the GN Drive Core to expel particles from the 00 Qan[T]. The 00 Qan[T]'s GN Sword Bits then create a circular formation underneath the suit to channel the GN Particles. All these additional events in the Quantum Burst serve to further expand the spread of GN Particles.
Quantum Teleportation System: A form of transportation instantaneous. Improved upon by the 00 Raiser's quantization effect, the 00 Quanta can now teleport to further distances than previously thought possible, even C's World. It can use its sword bits as a way to form a ring for the 00 Quanta to enter, having its bits follow after it.
Trans-Am System: Functions similarly to the Trans-Am of other GN Power machines, but with a longer duration and power level.