Hey! I got this up before the end of March!

Bakura: whoopie. You probably won't update for another three months after this.

Shut up, Bakura! Anyway, I'm actually pretty far ahead in the rough draft but editing and revising the chapters is what's really stopping me from updating as periodically. But, in the rough draft, I'm only three chapters away from the end of Arc III. Not only that but I am almost positive about the number of chapters that this story will have. It will be 72 chapters long. (Note I say almost since this can still change). I hope to have this story finished before the end of May but we'll see

Bakura: unlikely

You know you're really annoying.

Bakura: I know

(Sigh) anyway, thank you to ewertondragon, harlequin320, OBSERVER01, DYnoJackal19, Shadow-Shinobi666, SpheresOfLonging, B-Kira, Shimmering-Sky, TC9078, Doommajor, Blacksword Zero, and Trife for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.

SpheresOfLonging: Kallen's reaction is not ooc. She was at Ashford Academy and she understood that pounding Tara's face in would be breaking her cover as a meek, weak, and sickly girl. No matter how much she wanted to pound Tara's face in and damn the consequences, she couldn't do it because of her cover, and because she is taking Naoto's orders to her to heart. If her cover was blown then she might not be able to fulfill her brother's orders. She will get her revenge. It will be a long time coming but she will get her revenge.

So here is chapter 21, it's another short filler chapter but, given that it's got some important information in it, it's a necessary filler chapter. I hope that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

. . .

. . .

April 22, 2007

Near the Mel Britannia Estate, Pendragon

Flames licked at the sky and smoke coiled into the air. The sound of the explosion had momentarily deafened him but Branden Andon continued moving forward, his eyes narrowing as they teared up and stung because of the smoke. But he kept pushing forward; his princess, the woman to whom he had sworn his loyalty and become the Knight of Honor of, was in the house where the main fire was raging, though much more than just the estate had been caught in the blaze.

As were her two children; the seven-year-old Marrybell and the four-year-old Julia.

Smoke permeated the air, thick enough to make seeing more than a few feet in front of him almost impossible but he kept moving. Even if the smoke and the flames were preventing him from seeing it, he knew that the estate, or rather what was left of it, was in front of him.

He had no idea what happened. He'd left for only five minutes when Flora asked him to go visit the Zevons with a message from her. Since the Zevons didn't live that far from the estate, he felt it was safe to leave for a while. Besides, with how close they were to the Imperial Palace, he doubted that anyone could attack.

He was wrong.

He gritted his teeth as he moved. He hated being wrong and he hated that his princess might pay the price for his mistake. Branden was always one to shoulder the guilt of circumstances beyond his control; even in the military, when he'd lost a convoy of men during one of his battles in one of the states of the Europia United, he'd blamed himself.

The sound of crying came to him and Branden skidded to a halt before turning, straining to see through the smoke. "Who's there?" he called, coughing.

"B...Bran?" The familiar voice of Marrybell sounded and Branden bolted toward it.

He found the pink-haired seven-year-old girl covered in soot and coughing with tears streaming down her face underneath a tall tree that was several meters away from the flames. Relief flooded him as he moved to Marrybell's side and knelt down in front of her. "Mary, I'm glad to find you're all right. What about your mother?" he asked.

Marrybell shook her head. "She and Julia...they're gone. They...They couldn't get out in time," she whispered.

Branden bit his lip. His princess and her youngest daughter were dead. But her eldest wasn't. He had to get her to safety. He stretched out a hand and gently helped the seven-year-old princess to her feet. "C'mon, we need to get you to safety. I'm sure Oldrin will be relieved to see you're all right," he said, referring to the young girl that Marrybell had become friends with.

Marrybell nodded slowly and the two set off.

"What happened, Mary?" Branden asked.

"I...I don't know for sure. It happened so quickly. One minute, we were being visited by a friend of Mother's and the next, everything was on fire and Mother was telling me to run and get out of there," Marrybell whispered and turned her violet eyes to Branden. "Do you...Do you think it was terrorists?"

"I don't know, Mary, but I will find out," Branden assured the pink-haired little girl as they hurried away from the flames.

. . .

21

To the Northern Island

July 14, 2016

Governor's Office, City Hall, Osaka Settlement

General Branden Andon took a seat in front of the desk within the Governor's Office in Osaka. He had arrived only a few minutes earlier and had been escorted to the office by Margrave Gottwald whom had then sent a young Honorary Britannian with burnt-orange hair to find Prince Lelouch. As he relaxed in his seat, the aging Commander of the 11th Division thought about the report of the battles here at Osaka that he'd gone over during the ride to Osaka.

Prince Lelouch was clever and used what he had at hand to develop a plan to take back both the military base and the city itself. He had utilized the same entrance to the military base that the Crimson Sakuras had used to take the base and had been able to accurately predict the Crimson Sakuras move and use it against them. While this was his first engagement, it certainly gave Andon a good look into the mind of the recently-thought-dead prince.

It was why he felt that it would be rather interesting to see just how Prince Lelouch did against the Liberators.

Andon had received the word while he was busy cleaning up the mess left behind by the terrorists he'd caught at the docks, including the fact that one of the men he'd killed was the son of a nobleman, and the uprisings that manifested after that incident. He'd learned that the cell of the Liberators that Andon knew existed within Area 11 had made their move, successfully taking control of the island of Hokkaido; they'd split their forces, having one third take control of the military base at Hakodate and keeping their main force in the capital of Sapporo.

It was similar to the plan the Crimson Sakuras had utilized when they took control of Osaka and made Andon wonder if they were, somehow, helped by the Liberators. The Liberators have helped other resistance groups before, such as in Areas 3 and 5, so it was possible that they'd helped the Crimson Sakuras.

But why would they utilize a similar plan and on Hokkaido? Hakodate was a port city on the coast of Hokkaido; however, it was approximately three hundred and ten kilometers away from the capital of Hokkaido. The distance was much greater than it was between the military base of Osaka and the city and Andon couldn't figure out the reason for having a third of the cell so far from the main force.

Even if the port city held a military base in it, though Andon figured that could be the reason.

His phone started ringing as he waited and Andon frowned, wondering who was calling him but, since the prince hadn't shown up yet, he figured he could, at least, figure out who it was. He pulled out his phone, checked the caller ID, and frowned. Flipping open the phone, he said, "Mary, is everything all right?"

Marrybell mel Britannia had grown into a strong woman, fighting against terrorism as a way of avenging the deaths of her mother and her little sister. When the Liberators started to grow in strength, and started winning victory after victory, Marrybell, at the tender age of sixteen, had formed the Glinda Knights a couple of months ago. She had then faced off against the Liberators but, unfortunately, she lost and was forced to retreat before losing too many of her men. She was still fighting terrorism, though, and was currently in Europia United, which made Andon wonder why she was calling.

"Everything's fine, Bran," Marrybell said. "I actually called because I wanted to ask you something. We've come into contact with another terrorist organization that seems based in the EU. They call themselves Peace Mark but that's all we've gotten since they've gone to ground since our last engagement with them. Do you know anything about them?"

Andon had come into contact with many terrorist organizations throughout his military career and knew that was why Marrybell was asking him, probably hoping that he'd come into contact with them. Unfortunately, he hadn't.

"I'm afraid I don't. I've never encountered an organization by that name," Andon said.

"Oh. Well, all right. I'm going to start researching them and see if anything comes up," Marrybell said. "Thank you anyway, Bran."

"You're welcome," Andon said and hung up, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his uniform just as the door opened. He turned his head as Prince Lelouch made his way into the office.

"I apologize for being late, General," he said as he came to the desk.

"No need for an apology, Your Highness," Andon assured him softly, getting to his feet and giving the prince a short bow.

The prince took a seat behind his desk, observing him with piercing amethyst eyes. "Now, what is this new mission of mine?" he said.

"Straight to the point, I see," Andon said as he pulled out a flash drive from his pockets and placed it on the desk in front of the prince. "All the information I've managed to get is in there."

Prince Lelouch picked up the flash drive and inserted it into his computer as Andon went on to explain the situation.

"The Island of Hokkaido has been overrun by a cell of the Liberators," he said. "They struck without warning, taking control of the military base at Hakodate and then moving on to secure a hold on Sapporo. I'm estimating it was around the same time that the engagement here ended but I cannot be sure."

"I'm getting a sense of deja vu," the prince mused, turning his attention away from the computer screen to the General. "That is the same tactic the Crimson Sakuras pulled here."

"Indeed," Andon said with a nod. "However, what puzzles me is the distance is over three hundred kilometers so I cannot figure out why they would choose to divide their forces to take both of these places."

"Why indeed." Prince Lelouch's eyes took on a thoughtful look. "Arrogance would be one's first guess as it could be that the Liberators are just that arrogant. Perhaps they believe they can defeat anyone who attempts to take back control of the base and don't believe the base needs too much to defend it."

"It's possible," Andon agreed. "However, I do not think they're that arrogant."

"Why not?" The prince raised an eyebrow. "They are nearly undefeated. Out of all of their engagements, they've only lost once. That can produce arrogance, an overconfident feeling that they cannot lose no matter what."

"True." Andon got the prince's point.

"However, the base's location suggests another theory," Prince Lelouch added, his eyes still thoughtful. "As the base is on the coast of Hokkaido and anyone who wishes to travel further onto the island will have to pass through Hakodate since it is the only functioning port city on the island. According to the information you gave me, the other port cities were destroyed during the invasion. That suggests that it's possible that if they've taken control of the military base there then they will be using it as a lookout for enemy reinforcements seeking to take back the island."

Andon thought about the prince's words and realized that his theory was a sound one. "And, thus, they would be able to get warning to the main body of the cell at Sapporo before the reinforcements so much as land on Hokkaido, allowing them time to create a defense or organize an offense."

Prince Lelouch nodded in agreement. "It seems likely. So my mission?"

Andon had decided to give the mission to retake Hokkaido to Prince Lelouch, rather than dealing with it himself, for two reason. The first being he was interested to learn more about the prince and felt him going against a nearly undefeated enemy would give him all the answers that he needed. The second was simply because Prince Schneizel and the Emperor had ordered him to do so, wanting to test the prince. The Emperor had told Andon point blank when they spoke that if it looked as if the prince was about to lose then Andon was to take command, which Andon knew would deal damage to the prince's pride and reputation. He didn't really care for those orders, since he was, by nature, a kind man who wouldn't do something like that, but orders were orders and Prince Schniezel had ordered him to follow along with the Emperor's orders. Andon's loyalty was actually to Schneizel but no one knew that and he was determined to keep it that way.

"Your mission is to defeat the cell of the Liberators and retake Hokkaido," Andon said. "I will be accompanying you as an observer only, unless the situation calls for me to take command of the mission."

The prince's lips thinned, his amethyst eyes narrowed. "I see," he murmured. "In other words, if it looks as though I am about to fail to defeat the Liberators, you will take command, yes?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The prince hummed in thought, his face impassive. "Very well," he said and stood up. "We will head out right away. It's a long journey to Hokkaido after all."

Andon stood up as well and inclined his head in response.

. . .

Lelouch was a bit apprehensive about his new mission but, considering he was going up against the nearly undefeated Liberators, he figured he had the right to be apprehensive. It was made even worse by the fact that Andon had told him, point blank, if he looked about to fail then Andon would assume command. That would be a huge blow to both Lelouch's pride and the reputation he was attempting to garner.

As it was, Lelouch knew that one victory wasn't enough to garner a reputation, while it did show that he was a capable commander. However, going up against the Liberators was going to be a difficult challenge to overcome and it would either make or break him. Lelouch knew that failure was not an option, not when it came to the Emperor. The Emperor did not tolerate failure.

However, Lelouch couldn't help but wonder why Andon had chosen him, an inexperienced military commander, to go against the Liberators, the biggest, most powerful, nearly undefeated terrorist organization in the world. It was like putting a pawn against a queen without backup. While a pawn could win against a queen, the chances of that happening before the queen took the pawn out was slim.

However, Lelouch knew that it was, nonetheless, possible, at least in chess. In chess, one could win a chess match with just the pawn if one played their moves just right.

The first thing on his agenda was to figure out just how Schneizel had won against the Liberators simply because he was the only one to win against them. After that, he would need to find more information about the Liberators themselves; one must know the enemy if one was to effectively fight against them. Going over the reports of the previous battle would help in that aspect, especially when it came to figuring out why the Liberators were undefeated before their loss to Schneizel.

His mind was already going over possible plans to utilize against the Liberators. One thing he did have in his arsenal that may take them by surprise was the Lancelot; he made a mental note to speak with Lloyd and see if the Lancelot's primary weapons had been perfected yet. However, none of the plans he was brainstorming would work until he had more information and that was going to take some time to acquire.

Well, as I told Andon, it is a long journey to Hokkaido. That will give me some time to gather as much information as I can, Lelouch thought as he walked out of his office with Andon walking behind him.

. . .

Meeting Room, Ashford Academy

Kallen hated having to work with the girl who was responsible for the murder of her brother and it was all she could do to keep her sickly girl facade up, especially when she caught Tara glaring at Nunnally. She couldn't understand how anyone could actually want to kill Nunnally; even if she was a member of the Imperial Family, Nunnally was still an innocent sweetheart. And yet Tara seemed to hate her without even getting to know her; at least Kallen had actually spoken to and gotten to know Nunnally before deciding what she felt about her.

And then there was her older brother Lelouch who had one win against the Crimson Sakuras under his belt, as was broadcast on the news recently. While the Crimson Sakuras were reckless, they weren't stupid and they were a decently sized organization; if Prince Lelouch had been able to defeat them then Kallen knew she was right to keep an eye on him as it meant that he was proving that he was a capable military commander.

"So what do we have to do today, Milly?" Rivalz asked as Milly walked into the room, carrying a series of folders.

"Just finish up some things for the dance in two days," Milly said.

"A dance?" Nunnally echoed.

"Yeah. We thought it might cheer you up since you're still missing Lelouch," Milly explained.

Nunnally smiled. "Oh thank you," she said. "That's very nice of you. Is there going to be a theme like that fairy-tail themed ball?"

"Mm, probably not. The fairy-tail themed ball took a bit too much money to create so it's just going to be a regular party," Milly said with a shrug.

"If we're running low on money, does this mean we're gonna have to worry about the other clubs out to get us?" Rivalz asked worriedly.

"That's the other reason why we're gathered today! We're gonna work on balancing the budget again so that we can ensure that the funds that weren't spent will get equally distributed," Milly said with a grin. "Then we can hold another fundraiser to raise more money."

Kallen shivered at the thought of standing around in that revealing maid outfit again and smiled sadly to herself as she recalled what she thought Naoto's reaction would be if he'd seen. She was sure that Ohgi's reaction would be the same; Ohgi wasn't Naoto but Kallen did see him and the rest of the Kozuki Resistance as family, more so than her father and bitch of a stepmother anyway.

"Oh, a fundraiser sounds like it'd be fun," Tara said.

Just wait until you see Milly in perverted She-Devil mode, Kallen thought, refusing to warn the bitch of what to expect.

"We did a bake sale a while ago, don't remember how long but it was fun," Nunnally said. "Sayoko finally managed to figure out Big Brother's secret ingredient to his brownies so if we do a bake sale again, she can make Big Brother's brownies. They're really good."

Tara's lips thinned at the sound of Nunnally's voice and Kallen resisted the urge to glare at her. Seriously? How can you not like someone like Nunnally, royalty or otherwise? She thought.

"Another bake sale would be fun," Shirley mused. "But won't you need a bodyguard, Nunna? I mean the last one you had is away with Lulu."

Nunnally frowned to herself. "Well, I can ask Brother Clovis again if he can spare someone," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"It probably won't be until next week sometime," Milly said. "Right now, let's balance the budget and then go back to finishing up the loose ends for the party."

The rest of the Student Council nodded and went to work, though Kallen did smirk inwardly when she saw Tara staring at the information in front of her in puzzlement as if attempting to figure out just what it was she was supposed to do. She didn't even bother on offering help to Tara; perhaps she was being petty but the death of her brother was still a wound that was healing and she definitely still harbored resentment towards Tara.

While they were working on the budget, Nunnally was working on her origami cranes, humming softly to herself. Kallen looked up because the song that Nunnally was humming sounded incredibly familiar; she suddenly remembered where she'd heard it before.

Hana.

Hana was a Japanese folk song that Kallen remembered her mother playing for her and Naoto when they were little on the piano. Naoto would sing that song to her when she was little to help her get to sleep. She couldn't help but wonder how Nunnally knew that song.

Shirley had noticed as well because she glanced at her. "Hey, Nunna, what's that song you're humming?" she asked.

"Oh, am I distracting you?" Nunnally asked.

"No. I'm just curious," Shirley said. "I mean, it doesn't sound familiar."

"It's called hana. Um, I think I'm pronouncing that right. It means cherry blossoms, I think. It's an Eleven folk song that Suzaku taught me and Big Brother when we were staying at the Kururugi Shrine. Big Brother would sing it to me every night before I went to bed, very badly at first but he eventually got the hang of it," Nunnally said.

"Do you know the song, Nunnally?" Kallen asked curiously.

"Not as well as Big Brother but I do know part of it," Nunnally said and softly began to sing:

"Haru no urara no sumida gawa
Nobori kudari no funabito ga
Kahi no shizuku mo hana to chiru
Nagame wo nani ni tatoubeki.
Mizuya akebo no tsuyu abite
Wareni mono iu sakuragi wo
Mizuya yuugure te wo nobete
Ware sashi maneku aoyagi wo."*

While many of the pronunciations were off, Kallen couldn't help but smile a little at the familiar beautiful Japanese language. She hadn't heard it ever since Japanese was banned by Britannia following the invasion and everyone was forced to either avoid using that language around Britannians or just learn Britannian. The language itself brought with it many sweet memories of her life with her brother and with her mother and father from before her mother became her maid and her father married the hussy.

"That's all I can remember," Nunnally admitted when she finished. "And I know that I got some of the pronunciations wrong."

"You actually did pretty good, Mistress Nunnally," Sayoko said, startling everyone since no one had heard the maid enter the meeting room.

Nunnally, who had jumped a little, turned and smiled. "Thank you, Sayoko. Big Brother and Suzaku were better, even if Suzaku can't sing to save his life," she said and giggled as if remembering something that had happened six years ago.

"It's such a pretty language," Shirley said softly. "I kinda feel bad that Britannia banned it now that I've actually heard it since it's so pretty."

Britannia took everything from Japan, our heritage, our culture, our very name, so they probably thought that they might as well take our language from us too, Kallen thought bitterly, tightening her grip on her pencil but she managed to calm herself before she snapped it in half.

"Did you need something, Sayoko?" Nunnally asked.

"Yes," Sayoko said and held out the phone. "It's your brother."

"Really? This is the first time he's called me," Nunnally mused. "He must've had a break or something."

"Oh, oh, put it on speaker," Milly said eagerly.

"Does this mean a break from working on the budget?" Rivalz asked hopefully.

"Yup."

"Yes!"

"Nina, come over and join us in saying hi to Lelouch," Milly called.

Nina was, as usual, sequestered away with her computer and she had been so quiet that Kallen hadn't really paid much attention to her. She looked up. "Um, okay," she said, pushing her glasses up and putting the computer on sleep mode before walking over to the table while Sayoko pressed the speaker button and put the phone on the table.

"Hey Big Brother," Nunnally said.

"Hello Nunnally," Lelouch's voice sounded on the other end, genuine warmth in his voice.

"Okay, everyone, all at once! Hi Lelouch!" Milly shouted and Rivalz and Shirley, apparently deciding that they may as well, joined in.

There was a moment of silence, then: "Ow. Congrats, Milly. If I go deaf, I know who to blame. No, Jeremiah, it was just my friends," Lelouch said.

Nunnally beamed. "Tell Jer I say hi," she said.

"Nunnally says hi...Jer," Lelouch said and snickered and Kallen could hear grumbling in the background.

"Hey, Lelouch! Who're you talking too?" A voice in which Kallen could detect a Japanese accent shouted.

"You have no need to shout, Tadashi. I'm not even five feet away from you," Lelouch said dryly. "If you must know, I'm talking to my sister."

"Can I say hi to your cute sister?" Tadashi's voice asked and then exclaimed, "It's a compliment! Quite trying to kill me with your eyes!"

Nunnally laughed. "Big Brother, stop trying to set your friend on fire with your eyes for complimenting me," she chided around her laughter.

"Why would he do that?" Tara asked confused.

"You don't know this 'cause you're new, Tara," Rivalz said to the aqua-haired girl. "But Lelouch is extremely overprotective of Nunnally to the point that he doesn't even let very many people breathe around her."

"You're over-exaggerating, Rivalz," Lelouch said.

"Not by much."

A hopeful look crossed Nunnally's face. "Do you know when you're going to be back?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, no. We're heading toward Hokkaido right now, which is really the only reason why I was able to call today, and I don't know how long we'll be there," Lelouch admitted. "But I'll be sure to call, at least, and check up on you when I can, okay?"

"Okay," Nunnally said. "I mean, I should've expected this since you're in the military and all but...I guess I haven't gotten used to it. At least you have Suzaku with you and I have the Student Council with me."

"By the way, before I forget, we got a new Student Council member," Milly said.

"So you dragged in yet another poor soul to be your newest minion, I see. Are you planning on recruiting every single new student that walks through the doors?" Lelouch asked.

"Probably. Her name's Tara. Tara, Lelouch, Lelouch, Tara," Milly said.

"Nice to meet you, Tara," Lelouch said.

"You too, uh, Your Highness," Tara said, though her voice sounded strained but if Lelouch noticed, he didn't comment.

"Your Highness, General Andon wishes to speak with you," Gottwald's voice said and Kallen stiffened at the mention of the man who had shot and killed her brother.

"Wonder why he would want to speak to me after our meeting this morning. I'll be right there. I have to go, Nunnally. I will call you later, perhaps when we reach Hokkaido," Lelouch said.

"Okay, Big Brother. Tell Suzaku I say hi. Bye Big Brother, I love you," Nunnally said.

"I will. Goodbye, Nunnally. I love you too, Little Sister," Lelouch said and hung up.

Sayoko took the phone back and tucked it away.

"Well, that was a nice little break. Now back to work," Milly said.

Rivalz groaned but everyone went back to work while Nunnally began working on her origami cranes again. Kallen, managing to quench her anger towards General Andon, also went back to her own work.

. . .

July 15, 2016

Medical Transport, En Route to Hokkaido

Lelouch had decided to set out Friday morning but hadn't yet told anyone what they were doing. Suzaku only knew that they were heading towards the northernmost island in Japan, Hokkaido, but nothing beyond that. He knew that Tadashi didn't seem to thrilled about going to Hokkaido though.

"I just have bad memories associated with that place," Tadashi admitted, relaxing in the chair as the medical transport trailed after the G1. Suzaku hadn't been medically cleared to leave yet and Tadashi had decided to stick around with Lila to keep him company. At least, that was what he said; Suzaku had the odd feeling that he was just there because Lila was there.

"I lost my mother in Sapporo," Tadashi went on, sadness in his voice and his eyes taking on a faraway look. "She was killed by terrorists. I guess...that was one of the reasons why I joined the military, that and I wanted to be like the Britannian soldiers who saved mine and my little brother's lives."

"I'm sorry about your loss," Lila said.

Tadashi glanced at her and gave her a small smile. "Ah, don't worry about it. Mom wouldn't have wanted me to grieve and I've pretty much gotten over it," he said.

Unlike me, Suzaku thought but then he figured the only reason he hadn't gotten over his father's death was because he had been the one to cause it so it wasn't just grief he was feeling, it was also guilt.

"Does anyone know what's going on at Hokkaido?" Tadashi asked curiously, leaning back against the medical chair he'd claimed for himself while Lila was busy organizing the cabinets above the sink. While she wasn't part of the medical team, it seemed that the head field medic was more than willing to let her help out.

"Nope. Lelouch will probably tell us when we get there," Lila said, shifting aside a bottle of rubbing alcohol to make more room for the rolls of bandages that rested on the sink's counter.

"Mm, probably," Tadashi said and stood up, stretching and yawning. "It's gonna be a long journey though, several hours at least. I'm gonna head back to my transport. Give ya some more room to work and all that. See ya, Lila, Suzaku." Without another word, Tadashi left the medical transport; since they were traveling at a slow pace, people were able to move between the transports easily. This was done to ensure that any messages from the various convoys following the G1 could be delivered to the personnel, and the prince himself, on the G1 without much delay.

The 11th Regiment was a bit smaller than when they'd set out from Tokyo due to those who were critically injured during the battles at the military base and the settlement of Osaka; those men were on medical leave at the hospital in Osaka while those who were still capable of fighting came with the regiment on its journey to Hokkaido. However, the situation at Hokkaido must not be that dire if they were moving at a casual pace rather than rushing to get there. At least, that was what Suzaku thought or it could be part of Lelouch's plan. It was difficult to tell what the prince was thinking; even though he knew Lelouch better than everyone else in the 11th Regiment, Suzaku was still unable to figure out what he was thinking or why he did what he did most of the time.

Like when he chose Suzaku to be his Knight of Honor.

Even though a day had gone by since Suzaku had agreed to be Lelouch's Knight, he was still attempting to wrap his mind around his friend's decision, and especially the repercussions such a decision would have on the prince. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, deciding to try not to think about it since he'd already agreed to be Lelouch's Knight and he couldn't take it back now.

Not that he wanted to since it was what he wanted; the rank, status, and power one needed in order to change things was what he was being given by agreeing to become Lelouch's Knight of Honor after all.

But it was actually more than that. He wanted to be Lelouch's Knight because he wanted to keep Lelouch safe and protect him. He'd done the same thing during the invasion, always putting himself in harm's way just to keep his friend safe, such was when he put himself between Lelouch and Hozumi Murkami or when he refused to leave Lelouch behind when the latter had ended up with a sprained ankle and had told him to leave with Nunnally. He'd always protected Lelouch during the invasion and Lelouch obviously trusted him enough to allow him to continue protecting him.

"You okay, Suzaku?" Lila asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine," Suzaku assured her. "Just thinking."

"Mm. How do you feel? Any pain?" Lila asked, walking over to sit down on a chair next to Suzaku's medical bed.

"A little every now and then but nothing severe," Suzaku said.

Lila nodded and stood up, stretching out a hand and gently removing the bandages around Suzaku's chest. "You're just going to have to take it easy for a while to ensure that the injury doesn't reopen; my advice is to avoid knightmare piloting for a few days at least," she said as she disposed of the bandages and then replaced them with a new roll.

"Okay," Suzaku said as Lila finished winding the bandages around his chest.

. . .

G1 Base, En Route to Hokkaido

At least it's not raining, Rayne thought, gazing out the window at the landscape that drifted slowly past. It felt like it was taking forever but then Rayne has never been very patient and, while she was enjoying the break from battle after two battles practically back to back, she would honestly rather be in battle than dealing with a certain elder sister of hers.

"C'mon, Rayne. We should really talk," Gretchen insisted.

"I don't wanna talk to you, bitch. Leave me alone," Rayne said, not even bothering on taking her gaze away from the window. Gretchen had approached her earlier, deciding that she wanted to "clear the air" between them—her words, not Rayne's—and didn't seem to be taking no for an answer. It reminded Rayne of one of the reasons why she found Gretchen so irritating when they were growing up; she was incredibly persistent when she wanted to be and it was driving her crazy, especially in light of everything that had happened.

More importantly, Lelouch had already told them that personal family issues had no place in the military. Rayne would've thought that her bitch of a sister would know that and act more professional rather than continue to ignore Rayne's wishes and leave her alone. Obviously, she thought wrong.

"I'm sorry, Rayne. Is that what you want to hear? Yes, I wasn't there for you when I should've been and I'm sorry that I wasn't," Gretchen said and, while she sounded sincere, her words only served to anger Rayne even more.

"You think a simple apology is going to fix this?" Rayne snapped, turning to glare at her elder sister. "Newsflash. It won't! Now leave me alone." Brushing past her elder sister, Rayne stalked away and went off to find her brother. Though she and Kay were part of Lelouch's newly formed Royal Guard, he had told them that they were free to rest during the journey. Lila was using her resting time to help out in the medical transport while Rayne and Kay were resting on the G1, Dimitri was on the bridge, still hard at work, Jeremiah was also on the bridge with the prince, and Tadashi was with Lila.

Rayne wondered if Tadashi might have a slight crush on Lila since he was spending so much time in the medical transport with her but pushed the thought away.

She found her brother with the rest of the 23rd Knightmare Squadron in the lounge; a few of them were talking with each other, some were reading, and others were simply eating. She meandered her way through the crowd and sat down beside her brother. He barely glanced up at her, his pen scratching on the piece of paper he was writing on.

"Who're you writing too?" Rayne asked.

"No one," Kay said without taking his eyes off the paper.

Rayne scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I can see you writing to someone," she said.

"No one you care about," Kay amended his statement, scratching out a few more words before signing the letter and putting his pen down. He then folded the letter up before Rayne could see who it was for and tucked it into an envelope that he kept face down so that she wouldn't see the address written on it.

She huffed. "I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other," she said.

"We don't but you've clearly made your feelings towards Matthias clear," Kay said, licking the fold and closing the envelope.

Rayne scowled. "Why would you write to him after everything he's done?" she demanded.

"I've thought about it and, no matter how much he, Gretchen, and Parker have hurt me, I've decided to give them another chance," Kay said simply. "They are our family after all."

Rayne snorted. She didn't see them as her family. "Whatever," she said and stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing her arms behind her head as she relaxed in the couch she was seated on.

She would probably always resent her parents and her siblings, except Kay, for how they treated her but then could anyone really blame her? And her siblings suddenly wanting to mend their relationship when they did nothing while she and Kay were growing up? She snorted. Yeah, what relationship is there to mend? She thought bitterly.

She had four siblings and yet Kay was the only one that she was really close to, not just because he was her twin but because he knew just as well as she did of just how little their parents cared about them. Not only that but he'd been with her through everything since they ran away from their home and came to Area 11. Out of all of her siblings, Kay was the only one that Rayne actually saw as her brother.

"I wonder how Lila, Tadashi, Suzaku, and Dimitri are doing," she said out loud.

"Who knows?" Kay said.

. . .

Bridge, G1 Base, En Route to Hokkaido

Jeremiah watched his prince out of the corner of his eye. Since he was both the captain of Prince Lelouch's Royal Guard as well as a senior officer who was outranked only by General Andon, he remained on the bridge. He was there mostly because a royal's Royal Guard almost always remained with them, granted there were enough people on the bridge to protect the prince that more people wasn't necessary at the moment, but also to give advice to the inexperienced prince. While Prince Lelouch did have a win under his belt, he still didn't have nearly as much experience as Jeremiah and General Andon did and Andon wasn't providing his own advice unless asked, stating that he was simply there as an observer.

Prince Lelouch was currently resting his chin on the palm of his hand, looking bored as he scanned through the stack of reports that rested on his lap, his eyes narrowed in puzzlement. He'd been looking through those reports since they left Osaka and that puzzlement had been present for a while.

"Something isn't right with these reports," he murmured. "They seem to be missing something."

"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" Jeremiah asked.

"Nowhere in these reports does anyone discuss just how they lost to the Liberators," the prince explained. "It would be an important piece of information that should have helped later battles but every report, except my brother Schneizel's, doesn't include that piece of information. Why would Schneizel include that information and yet the others would not?"

Jeremiah thought about it and realized that the prince did have a good point. When one did a report following a battle, they were required to include any and all information about it. It was standard military procedure. "For someone who's well versed in military procedures, like Princess Cornelia, this should not have happened," he said.

"Exactly," Prince Lelouch said with a nod. "The reports must have been altered before they were submitted to the archive."

Jeremiah's brow furrowed. "How is that possible?"

"Either the reports were altered before they were submitted or they were intercepted, altered, and then submitted by a third party," Prince Lelouch said and turned to where the olive-green haired form of Dimitri Duncan was seated. "Major Duncan?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" Duncan asked, lifting his head from his computer screen.

"Is it possible to retrieve previous versions of these reports from before they were cataloged in the Imperial Military Archive?" the prince asked.

Duncan's brow furrowed in thought. "Possibly, if I can retrieve the IP address of the computers from which they were submitted, there may be an older version of those reports saved on the hard drive of those computers. However, it won't be easy to track them all down," he said.

The prince hummed in thought. "See what you can do, Major," he said.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jeremiah had to admit that the prince had a good idea. If the older versions of those reports had the information that the prince insisted was missing from the ones submitted to the archive than that meant that, somehow, someone was intercepting these reports and altering them. That would mean that there was a breach in security, though how no one had caught it baffled him.

"If these reports were intercepted, how is it that no one's discovered the security breach, especially if it's been going on since the Liberators made their first move?" Jeremiah asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps no one knew what to look for or even bothered on looking for something," Prince Lelouch said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps."

The prince cast a sidelong glance at the green-haired elder gentleman standing at his side. "What do you think about any of this, General Andon?" he asked.

Andon appeared thoughtful. "I have to agree with you, Your Highness. Those reports have been tampered with, since it is procedure to include as much detail as possible about each engagement in those reports," he said. He turned to study the prince who had relaxed back into his bored posture, his chin resting on his palm while his gaze returned to the hard copies on his lap. "If I may, Your Highness, why are you so interested in what is missing from these reports?"

"The Liberators have been undefeated from when they first made their appearance back in 2006 until my brother defeated them in Cambodia and I want to know how and why," Prince Lelouch said before he sifted through his papers and pulled out two reports. "For instance, my brothers Castor and Pollux went against the Liberators twice and yet were still defeated the second time, despite supposedly knowing what the Liberators were capable of from their previous engagement. According to these reports, they had learned from their mistakes the second time around, able to counteract the offensive counterstrike the Liberators had launched against them and yet they still lost. No one knows how, however."

"Point taken," Andon said with a nod, turning his gaze to the large bay windows of the bridge.

Jeremiah had to admit he hadn't thought of it that way. But then he'd never gone against the Liberators. He'd known that the Liberators had a cell in Area 11 but they hadn't made any moves until they succeeded in taking control of Hokkaido. It was a bold move, taking control of one of the largest islands of Area 11 and doing so when no one was expecting it. Taking Hokkaido was a strong move for the Liberators though; Hokkaido was the home of the majority of Area 11's knightmare frame factories, one at Hakodate and the largest one in all of Area 11 on the outskirts of Sapporo.

Jeremiah studied his prince again, wondering just how well the prince would handle going against the nearly undefeated Liberators. It was going to be a great challenge, Jeremiah was sure Prince Lelouch knew that, and yet he seemed unfazed by the challenge that he would be facing.

Is he confident that he can win against the Liberators or is he just not letting the challenge he's faced with get to him?

Jeremiah found that it was downright impossible to figure out just what his prince was thinking.

. . .

Aomori, Area 11

Lelouch scanned the ocean in front of him and the landmass that lay beyond. According to the map, it was a good four and a half hour journey to Hakodate and that was if one took the ferry. However, there was also an underwater tunnel that would take them there as well but Lelouch was sure that both ways were going to be watched just as the train would be. He might have to make his own path to Hokkaido in order to take Hakodate by surprise.

He felt that would be the best way to take the military base back. If his theory was correct then the Liberators had chosen Hakodate in order to get warning to the main force at Sapporo that the Britannians were attempting to take back the island. However, with only a third of the Liberators main force protecting the military base, one would think it would be simple to take it back.

Lelouch was not like that.

The Liberators weren't stupid. They wouldn't have won so many times against Britannia if they were stupid and luck could only take one so far. The Liberators hadn't won their fights against Britannia through luck; they had won through skill and Lelouch believed that the missing portions of the reports had the information he would need to figure out the Liberators' strategy.

According to the reports, the Liberators engaged the Britannians first and foremost using an unprecedented attack that no one would consider as connected with them, though Schneizel had made the connection. Then they would unleash a series of guerrilla attacks against their enemy before retreating, possibly to regroup or lull the Britannians into a false sense of security. However, that was when the information on most of the reports, except Schneizel's, ended; Schneizel's report stated that the Liberators than launched an attack on him and his forces in the middle of the night, while they assumed Schneizel and his men were at their weakest, but Schneizel unleashed a trap that devastated their forces and then launched a full-scale assault on those who escaped the trap.

Lelouch pressed his lips together. In the previous reports of Britannians launching an attack on a cell of the Liberators, things had, pretty much, gone the same way later, though the Liberators had retreated pretty quickly but then organized themselves to where they were able to utilize guerrilla attacks. None of the reports said what happened after the Liberators retreated after the those guerrilla attacks; Lelouch was missing something, something important and the missing portion of those reports was the clue he needed to figure out just what he was missing. He was sure of it.

However, in terms of what had happened on Hokkaido, more importantly, how the Liberators had divided their forces and sent a third to Hakodate, Lelouch was sure that they wouldn't have done that if they didn't think they could fight off an attack. Or, at the very least, stall long enough for word to reach Sapporo. According to the research Lelouch had done on the way to Aomori, he knew that the Liberators weren't the kind of people who threw away lives for no reason.

"We need to get to Hakodate, preferably without the Liberators knowing we're coming," Lelouch said, turning to Jeremiah who stood at his side. The rest of his Royal Guard were gathered around him but the rest of the 11th Regiment were resting on and around the convoy of vehicles nearby. The only other person with Lelouch was General Andon but he was silently watching. "However, it is likely that they're going to be watching the tunnel and the ocean itself for chances that we'd enter through the underwater tunnel or use the ferry."

"Is there another way to Hakodate?" Jeremiah asked.

Lelouch pressed his lips together and shook his head. "Not that I know of," he said.

"Your Highness?" Dimitri said.

Lelouch turned, noting the olive-green haired man was holding a laptop in his hands as he joined the prince. "Yes?" he said.

"I've managed to hack remotely into the security systems within the underwater tunnel," Dimitri said and turned the laptop around so that Lelouch could see the tunnel. His brow furrowed in confusion when he noticed that, in every screen that was shown, the tunnel was empty. He knew that the train that had run between the mainland and Hokkaido had been discontinued following Britannia's invasion, though no one had thought to take down the security cameras, but he was surprised that there weren't any Liberators stationed there.

"Can you determine whether the Liberators are watching the tunnel on their end?" Lelouch asked.

"I may be able to see if the surveillance system is active on their end. Give me a few minutes," Dmitri said and went to work. A few minutes later, he looked up and shook his head. "From the looks of it, I'm the only one who's accessed the surveillance cameras in that tunnel since the train was discontinued."

"Why wouldn't the Liberators keep an eye on it?" Lelouch murmured.

"Do they even know it's there?" Rayne asked curiously, having come to Lelouch's side. Jeremiah started in surprise, since he hadn't noticed Rayne's arrival, but Lelouch didn't move a muscle. "I mean, how long has the tunnel been abandoned?"

"Since the end of the Second Pacific War," Lelouch said, pursing his lips. "It's possible that they don't know about the underwater tunnel. Margrave, how long has the cell of the Liberators been in Area 11?"

Jeremiah frowned. "I am not entirely sure but they weren't here when I was first transferred to Area 11, Your Highness, so it'd have to be at least four, possibly five years," he said.

"The fact that they aren't guarding the tunnel suggests two possibilities; either they don't know that the tunnels exist or there is a trap laid out in the tunnel itself to prevent our approach or stall us long enough for them to get a message to Sapporo," Lelouch said thoughtfully, pressing his lips together as he thought about what to do.

"Figuring out if there's a trap may alert the Liberators to our impending attack, if there is on; however, if there isn't one then we may have found our way to Hakodate without the Liberators noticing," the prince added thoughtfully and turned to Jeremiah. "Jeremiah, find Lieutenant Stonewell. I have a mission for her."

"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah stated and hurried off to find the aforementioned scout.

"Major, have you managed to find the documents that I asked you to find?" Lelouch asked, returning his attention to Dimitri as he closed his laptop and tucked it under his arm.

"I haven't found all of them, Your Highness, but I've managed to obtain the recent ones that start at about three years ago, which totals about fourteen engagements," Dimitri said.

"Damn, they sure were busy the last three years," Tadashi said in surprise.

"They have many cells. Dimitri, send those documents to my computer but make some hard copies as well," Lelouch ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness," Dimitri said and walked off to get the matter done.

Jeremiah returned with Rachel Stonewell walking behind him.

"You wished to see me, Your Highness?" Stonewell asked.

"Yes. I have something I need you to do," Lelouch said, facing the scout. "The old underwater railway tunnel that connects Hokkaido with the main island, I need you to enter it and check it for traps. They will be expecting a large convoy, not a single person if there is, indeed, a trap."

"Understood, Your Highness," Stonewell said, crossing her fist over her heart before she darted off to get to work.

"Until Stonewell returns, we'll remain here," Lelouch added and walked toward the G1 Base, intent on looking though the documents that Dimitri had found for him.

. . .

* I copied this directly from a website so the Japanese words may be wrong but I did my best and I don't own this song. This folk song is an actual song (I listened to it while I was writing that part) and I think you'll be able to find it on YouTube. Just type in 'hana Japanese folk song' and click on the first link that pops up. That's the one I listened to anyway. It's actually pretty nice.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: filler chapter though this may be, it does have important information and it's a nice transition into the Sapporo mini arc within this arc

Bakura: yeah, yeah, when's the action gonna start?

Blaze: soon, soon. Patience

Suzaku: I doubt Bakura even knows what that word means

Ryou: agreed

Bakura: shut up, brat, host

Suzaku: by the way, Blaze, do you have any idea where Lelouch and Allen are?

Blaze: (thinks) I think Allen said something about getting something to eat in the city closet with Lenalee and Lelouch…well...I think he might be the reason why the mob of Suzaku fans came to me asking if I'd seen Eclipse anywhere

Suzaku: why do I have this feeling Lelouch is setting Eclipse on the Emperor right now?

In Pendragon—

Charles: YOU SET THE IMPERIAL PALACE ON FIRE?

Lelouch: (seated on top of Eclipse the Dragon) shame. I thought for sure you were in there. Oh well. Eclipse, be a dear and set that bastard on fire

Eclipse: (nods and proceeds to set Charles on fire)

Back in Blaze's Computer Room—

Blaze: I wouldn't be surprised if he was. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a filler, and I will try to update again before March ends but I make no promises. As usual, reviews are much appreciated.