A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews and I'll be using a few more ideas for some inspirations for this chapter and future ones from the novels.

The poll is still ongoing on my profile page, and there seems to be a pattern with my recent polls having almost precisely ten votes less than the winning choice, but I will not mention which choice wins and just surprise you guys when the time comes.

As much a part of me wanted to make Lelouch a Life-Fiber Hybrid I began to realize while working on this fic and wondering if that would be the best idea from a storytelling perspective. I am worried that such an idea may have been used before, differently yes, but the main character being a life-fiber hybrid I worry would make things too easy and convenient in more ways than one. Like it might help Ryūko accept being what she is too easy for instance, but that is among the things I am contemplating.

Of course, I know the benefits and such for doing it too, so I am weighing my options and looking at what might serve the overall story better.

On another note despite Charles having access to someone who can work with Life-Fibers, Ragyō hasn't been obvious about him. In fact, she might have been surprised if Charles didn't have such projects in the works and of course, Ragyō has been preparing accordingly just in case, which I'll go into detail in the upcoming chapters and reveals who in Britannia does Ragyō have on her payroll.

It should make their "public" interactions all the more interesting.


Chapter 8

The Coming of a Terrible Morning

It was early morning outside of what was a hot spot for conspiracy theorists known as Area 51, but its official name was Homey Airport which was situated in a heavily guarded restricted area near the dried up lake bed of Groom Lake with orders to kill anyone unauthorized to be in the area. For miles surrounding the base, the entire area was littered with cameras, heat and motion sensors, mines, concealed traps including pits filled with spikes, hidden gun, and cannon placements meant to shoot anyone caught within the restricted zone or even shoot down unauthorized aircraft.

For an average person, it would be impossible to stage such a daring break-in, but Nui Harime was anything but ordinary.

There was perhaps one weakness in the security around Area 51, and that was some of its personnel was usually given time to relax in the city of Las Vegas, literally called the capital of sin due to its numerous casinos and other entertainment centers meant more for adults with only a few areas that were children friendly.

Finding and taking the place of one of said personnel members was Nui's way in, but it was thanks to the advanced intelligence and information Rei Hōōmaru via Ragyō Kiryūin's agents collected finding Nui an ideal target to impersonate. The three had been planning to launch an infiltration into Area 51 for weeks considering the sheer amount of life fibers their tracking systems had detected in the facility alone which matched only one other place to carry so much.

The other location was Honnōji Academy which raised suspicions about what Britannia was doing with the Life Fibers there.

The VTOL transport landed on the large spacious airfield near the main building, and it's three most massive hangers as another black transport plane was landing as well touching down on the runway. As the passengers disembarked from the VTOL ready to resume their duties after their brief R&R in Las Vegas, the blonde haired girl kept quiet to avoid drawing attention now that she was in disguise. For her disguise Nui Harime had adopted the appearance and identity of Donald Munger who was a mechanical engineer with a stocky build a suntanned complexion with blue eyes and medium length brown hair. After assuming his identity, Nui had made sure that the real Donald would not be found for a couple weeks at least.

Nui used some of said hair to cover up her left eye since that was the one thing her disguise abilities could not hide.

"Alright, all Engineers fall in," A Britannian Military office with the rank of captain possessing slick black hair wearing an all black officer's uniform shouted as he stood at attention with his hands behind his back. "I hope you slackers enjoyed your time at Las Vegas because now the boss wants you, people, to DOUBLE TIME IT OR ELSE!"

Nui followed the engineers as they entered one of the hangers towards an elevator which descended into the underground section of the base. The lift alone was plentiful and used for transporting large materials and equipment to the sublevels of the base, which was now being occupied by at least twenty people. Although the base appeared to be quite large on the outside, it was becoming more evident that the base was much bigger underground. The elevator ride went on seemingly forever until they reached their destination.

As the doors opened Nui followed the engineers and workers down a well-lit hallway. After a long walk, the engineers were led onto a transportation station which workers and supplies were moved via a high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Nui quietly bored one of the cars meant for passengers while already planning on how she could get away from the humans and conduct her own exploration of the base.

Nui managed to get close to a window as the train began moving, but a thought came to her.

If they need something like this to move people and stuff around then, this place must be a LOT bigger than we thought.

Her words were proven correct as the train sped along the railway before several minutes after leaving the station the train passed through a wide open carven which was seemingly big enough to house a small town in. Looking down the disguised girl saw what appeared to be a shipyard of some kind because she saw what appeared to be a ship under construction that was two hundred and ninety meters long with a straight almost arrow-shaped design making it look like a giant arrowhead. The rest of it was straight except near the stern was larger compartments which contained additional engines and what appeared to be launch platforms for Knightmare Frames. On the sides of the ship in-between the stern and the bow had wings that could unfold to allow for better aerodynamic maneuverability or adjust whatever navigation conditions were required.

That doesn't look like any kind of ship meant to float on water…could that have been built from the UFO they said crashed in Roswell a long time ago?

Nui Harime was hoping if the story about the alien crash in Roswell were true she would find where the aliens were being kept.

That should make for a really nice selfie at least.


A few hours later on the other side of the world, it was quiet and peaceful for Honnō City, which was unusual but people who had lived in the city longest knew what was coming today. It happened once every semester for the last two years, which was usually a good sign for real estate agents since it would open up some homes for sale in its aftermath.

Ryūko Matoi was sleeping quietly enjoying a good night's rest for a change despite sleeping in a room where most of the house's occupants were also sleeping in.

All that came to a sudden end when a loud siren began echoing throughout the slums causing Ryūko to slowly stir, but it was Mako was instantly woke up at the sound causing her to start panicking. In mere seconds Mako was up and half-way changed into her school uniform while somehow attempting to eat breakfast at the same time consisting of a drink and a piece of toast while muttering in her panicked state.

"We're going to be late we're going to be late we're going be late, so hurry up and get changed Ryūko!"

"Geez chill out Mako," Ryūko said using one hand to wipe her eyes as she was now fully awake.

"SOMEONE HELP!" Senketsu shouted causing Ryūko to realize her uniform was not hanging up on the wall where it usually was.

Quickly looking around and taking note of the one person not currently sleeping on the floor with the rest of the Mankanshoku Family the black haired girl made her way to the roof where she found her uniform in the hands of Mako's mother.

"HELP ME I AM BEING MURDERED!" Senketsu called out in the hopes someone will come to his aid, but unfortunately, the only one who could hear him was Ryūko.

Ryūko saw what was happening and was concerned for her Kamui. It might have been the uniform's cries for help and how panicked it sound that made Ryūko more fearful for her uniform, but for Sukuyo Mankanshoku it was another day doing the laundry. Sukuyo did her task with a smile on her face as she continues to roughly scrub Senketsu with a home-made scrubber which was apparently not meant to use to clean clothes while pressing him against a washboard in a wooden bucket full of soapy water.

"Good morning Ryūko did you sleep well," Sukuyo said with a bright, cheerful smile as she was completely obvious to Senketsu's cries for help since no one could hear him but Ryūko.

"Uh yes ma'am, but excuse me is that my uniform?"

"It sure is," Sukuyo replied not once with the smile on her face fading as she put aside her scrubbing brush much to Senketsu's relief before Mako's mother began beating him with a washing paddle, which was a paddle of solid wood while keeping the poor Kamui against the washboard to get out any lingering dirt. "I am just using my paddle to get out any dirt before scrubbing him one for time for good measure. You can't believe how filthy it was."

Ryūko's face cringed and became more visibly uncomfortable and alarmed by Senketsu's cries for Sukuyo to stop torturing him.

"Uh thank you ma'am, but I'll take it from here." Ryūko tried asking as nicely as she could before Sukuyo put aside the paddle to scrub Senketsu one more time before finishing.

"NO, YOU WILL NOT!" Sukuyo snapped as her expression changed suddenly shocking Ryūko. Mako's mother picked up Senketsu and began twisting him up to ring out all of the water. She did this as she continued to lecture Ryūko. "What is your job as a student? To get educated, so what is my job as a mom? To do the laundry!"

In one quick motion, Sukuyo had Senketsu hung up on a clothesline where he proceeded to beat the Kamui with what appeared to be a tennis racket of some kind to ring out any water out of the damp Kamui.

"Are we clear?" Sukuyo asked before switching back to her cheerful expression once more.

"But I can't go to school without my uniform."

Mako who had been watching the scene between her mother and Ryūko heard the siren sound throughout the slums once more prompting her to react accordingly.

"I TOTALLY FORGOT TO KEEP PANICKING," Mako exclaimed before grabbing Ryūko's right wrist. "Come on Ryūko today is the big day!"

"No way it's your big day!" Both Mako's father and younger brother exclaimed suddenly waking up at Mako's last words.

Ignoring them, Mako began pulling Ryūko towards the door before pushing her towards it while somehow handing the girl her silver case carrying her scissor blade within it.

"Just go in your pajamas it will be fine!" Mako said pushing a confused Ryūko towards the door.

"Don't worry we'll drop off your uniform for you?" Barazō said with a friendly smile and wave.

"Wait Ryūko these assassins can't hear me. Only you can!" Senketsu said calling out once more to his wearer right before Sukuyo pulled him off the clothesline and placed him on an ironing board. "Please don't leave me I beg you!"

Ryūko managed to stop herself at the doorway by grabbing hold of the door frame causing Mako to go flying over her head.

"Just hang in there Senketsu!"

"Senketsu," Mako asked with a cheerful smile. "Did you give your uniform a name?"

"Uh well," Ryūko was about to explain before Mako suddenly took Ryūko's hand and proceeded to drag her down the stairs leading to the main road where hundreds of No-Star Students crowded the streets as they were on their way to Honnōji Academy.

The packed crowd was moving like a literal river forcing Ryūko and Mako to transverse it by riding on top of Ryūko's scissor blade case.

"What the hell is going on?" Ryūko asked looking at the students around them as they all had a fierce and determined expression on their face.

"Today is the day the No-Stars of Honnōji Academy risk their lives to get to school," Mako began before pausing for dramatic effect. "Today is a day of reckoning, a day of death…its…NO LATE DAY!"

"Huh," Ryūko said looking confused at the fierce expression Mako had on her face which seemed too dramatic.

Almost on cue a massive mobile platform with spikes around the sides and one black star on the front just prowled through a few homes before coming to a stop before Ryūko, Mako and the other students. Standing with a couple One Star students aboard the mobile platform was Ira Gamagōri with his giant arms folded across his chest.

After laughing feverishly for a few moments, he directed his attention to Ryūko.

"Do I sense some confusion Matoi?"

"BITE ME," Ryūko snapped waving a closed fist at Gamagōri in annoyance before adding, "You Elite Jerk!"

"You will address me by my correct title and name; Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee Ira Gamagōri!" Gamagōri declared before continuing intending to resolve whatever confusion Ryūko was experiencing with today's events. "You Matoi will be taking part in No Late Day, held once every semester, where you will run an obstacle course that begins in the slums all the way to the academy's main gate. It begins at four am where the No-Star students will have to evade the traps set by the disciplinary committee on their way to school. The objective is to make it to the school before the first bell rings at eight thirty am, but if you are late then you'll be expelled on—WHAT THE HELL!" Gamagōri snapped as he finally noticed what Ryūko was wearing.

Instead of her Kamui, the young girl had been literally pushed out the door wearing Mako's old pajamas consisting of orange pajamas with white bunny prints on it. Unfortunately, the pajamas were two sizes too small, so it was a little form fitting around Ryūko leaving her mid-drift exposed along with some of her arms and legs.

"THAT IS NOT A REGULATION UNIFORM!"

A blushing Ryūko attempted to cover herself as she proceeded to explain, "But my Kamui is in the wash it's being delivered."

"A likely excuse, but the evidence is clear that you left for school in a slobbering outfit. You are a disgrace to the academy and Lady Satsuki…it's a MORTAL INSULT!"

"It is so not," Mako declared with a fierce expression as she suddenly appeared next to Gamagōri much to Ryūko and even Gamagōri's shock who couldn't comprehend how Mako was in one spot less than a second ago has now suddenly appeared next to Gamagōri as she proceeded to lecture him much like a parent to a child. "She was asleep until a minute ago, and its normal for people to wear pajamas when they go to sleep isn't it? It is, and you know it?"

Gamagōri was unable to offer up a response, which was mostly due to his attempt to comprehend how Mako got from one place to another so quickly without him realizing it.

"Do you know not know about pajamas is that it? Don't you wear them when you go to sleep?"

"Uh…no I sleep in the nude," Gamagōri admitted reluctantly causing some female no-star students in the crowd to begin blushing while Mako merely waved her right index finger before Gamagōri.

"If you sleep like that then you'll catch a cold! What if people needed punishing or if there was an emergency if you ended up sick in bed because of that?"

"Uh well you see," Gamagōri said as he tried to offer up a reasonable explanation, but Mako cut him off.

"From now on wear pajamas like everyone else!"

"No Star what is your name?" Gamagōri demanded having fully recovered from Mako's surprise appearance and her lecture.

"My name is Mako Mankanshoku, and my pajamas have Mt Fuji, three eggplants and two hawks on them."

"Mankanshoku…I'll remember that," Gamagōri said before turning his attention back to Ryūko while at the same time Mako returned to Ryūko's side as quickly as she appeared next to Gamagōri's side moments ago. "MATOI…I decided to overlook your choice of wardrobe for now," Gamagōri said before a smug smile appeared on his face as he held up a small remote with one hand. "But I wonder how you are going to make it to school without your precious Kamui?"

Pushing the button some buildings parted revealing raised bridges and pathways upon metallic platforms lined with yellow spikes. Long the pathway was deadly traps from pits filled with spikes, traps that could crush you or even traps that could leave you with a fatal encounter with a vicious wild animal.

"BEHOLD the Disciplinary Committee's great impregnable barrier!" Gamagōri declared bombastically.

"Oh wow Ryūko the city has been turned into an amusement park," Mako said who appeared excited at the many traps while seemingly oblivious to how dangerous they were.

"Where is Lelouch Lamperouge?" Gamagōri demanded searching for signs of the student who had drawn Satsuki's interest for his recent involvement with Matoi and the Girl's Tennis Club. He was given orders by Satsuki to monitor Lelouch's movements during No-Late Day before leaving yesterday, but now it seemed the young man was nowhere in sight.

"How the hell should I know?" Ryūko spat back in annoyance.

"Oh, I know where he is," Mako said waving her right arm in the air. "He likely spent the night in our homeroom just like did in every previous No-Late Day!"

"WHAT," Ryūko and Gamagōri both exclaimed in shock as did most of the gathered No-Star Students.

"HOW THE HELL DID HE PULL THAT OFF?" Ryūko demanded while Gamagōri wanted to know the same thing.

"Lelouch said he was exercising a loophole he found in the rules where through obtaining special permission from his teacher he could spend the night in his classroom in preparation for special school events the following day including No-Late Day. It says so in the rules," Mako explained happily while Ryūko and all of the other No-Star Students were in shock, but among them, Suzaku already knew about that.

Lelouch hold told him that due to some his physical troubles he had been using that loophole in the rules to avoid taking part in No Late Day, which Suzaku knew as well as Lelouch that he would have no chance of accomplishing on his own.

Looking at those traps I can't blame you for wanting to skip out on that, Suzaku thought with a nervous smile on his face as he was wondering how he was going to get past some of those traps despite having a backpack filled with some tools Lelouch provided him with to help him out.

"Why the hell did Lelouch tell me about it?" Ryūko demanded.

"Because you had your uniform which he thought with it you would breeze through all of this, but…oh," Mako said waving her right hand dismissively before remembering Ryūko didn't have her uniform. "But you'll be ok without it because you can kick lots of butt!"

Ryūko said nothing, but she looked at Mako with a questionable expression upon her face wondering if she should be complimented by Mako's confidence in her or worried somehow.

Gamagōri was annoyed, but he decided to proceed as he would find Lelouch and have a word with the student. Although he could do nothing about him skipping No-Late Day at this point, Gamagōri was going to investigate how Lelouch Lamperouge's skipping of No-Late Day had gone unnoticed since he first began attending the academy. What few people did not know was that the loophole which Lelouch has been making use of to avoid taking part in No-Late Day and not get punished for it was created as what Satsuki Kiryūin calls an intelligence test.

Knowing the dangers of the courses set up for No-Late Day, it would have made sense for the more intelligent and cunning students to find a way to avoid it or a workaround. Satsuki left in such a loophole on purpose as a test of intelligence. Surprisingly, however, until now, no one has ever been reported to have made use of the loophole which was a sign to Gamagōri that very few people read the Academy rulebook from cover to cover earning a large number of no-star students his contempt.

The fact that only one student realized this loophole did not help his opinion of the No-Stars in general, but still, he would report it to Satsuki.

First I'll pay a visit to the administration office to discipline them on their failure to report this correctly then I'll seek out Lamperouge.

Before any of that Gamagōri needed to finish up and officially begin No-Late Day.

"STUDENTS YOUR COMMUTE BEGINS NOW!" Gamagōri announced bombastically without warning causing a surge of No Star Students to run up the stairs onto the dangerous obstacle course set up for them. Ryūko and Mako began their ascent with Suzaku and Kallen following behind them with some students between them up a flight of stairs.

But without warning the stairs folded becoming a slide instead sending dozens of students falling onto one another sliding back down to the beginning of the stairs at the bottom forming a large pile. The only ones who didn't fall were Suzaku, Kallen, Ryūko, and Mako thanks to her best friend managing to grab her in time while using her scissor blade to anchor herself to the slide before tossing Mako up to the top. Upon reaching the top Mako had activated a red switch on top of a pedestal which was being overseen by members of the Disciplinary Committee.

"Congratulations on making the first checkpoint," Gamagōri called out from a gondola passing overhead reserved for those of two-star rank and higher. "I forgot to mention that use of the No-Star Cable cars is prohibited. Stick to the prescribed route and I may see you at the school…well MAYBE," The towering musclebound blonde mocked as his cable car left earshot range and was well on its way to the academy.

"998 traps to go, that is a lot more than usual," Mako said fearfully looking at the checkpoint marker indicating which number of the trap they had cleared.

"He is just trying to psyche us out," Ryūko said defiantly.

"Lelouch wasn't kidding about this No Late Day," Suzaku said as he and Kallen managed to climb their way to the top using the yellow spikes off to the sides as a means to climb the rest of the way up. "If this is the first trap then I can't imagine the other ones after this one will be easy."

"How the hell does he get to sit this one out," Ryūko grumbled.

"I knew Lelouch when we were young, and there is no way in hell he would survive even the first trap, so I am not holding it against him for finding a way to avoid going through this," Suzaku said with a look of complete understanding on his face. He knew how physically lacking Lelouch was and it seemed that hadn't changed much since their last meeting seven years ago.

"Whatever, but I am not letting him off easy for chickening out," Ryūko protested with her arms folded over her chest.

"Anyway he did give me a kit of shorts for making it through No-Late Day," Suzaku said checking the backpack he was carrying on his back. "I thought he was joking, but it's my mistake for assuming Lelouch would joke about something like this."

"My brother who runs a shop in the slums gave me a kit too, so I think it's safe to assume it's no joking matter," Kallen added joining the conversation. Kallen didn't mention that like Suzaku she too had initially made the mistake of assuming her brother was exaggerating much like Suzaku thought that Lelouch was joking about today's events.

"Alright, so we're all in this today then right?" Ryūko said looking at Mako, Kallen, and Suzaku as their group was ready to brave the dangerous traps ahead of them and make it to school on them to avoid being expelled.

Unknown to the group a woman in a monitor filled command center of shorts was quietly monitoring them.


Across Japan, in an area near the Kiso Mountain Range, a small camp that acted as a forward outpost sat on the outskirts of a forest surrounding a dome-shaped mountain which unknown to a majority of people living in the area was home to the resistance organization known as Blood of the Samurai. They were among the most formidable of the resistance groups in Area 11, although not quite as large as the JLF, possessing considerable military weaponry and having converted an old mine into a well-fortified base.

With the destruction of The High Integrity Party, a resistance group that consisted of members of Japan's Far Left Activist Group which was an organization that had strong ties with the Chinese Federation before the war. It was through those said connections The High Integrity Party obtained weapons from the rival superpower including their own Knightmare Frame model the TQ-19 Gun-Ru.

The machines while larger than some Britannian Knightmare Frame models they were inferior regarding weapons and versatility of Britannia's models, but they were much cheaper and easier to produce. One on one a Gun-Ru would lose to a Britannian Knightmare Frame, but attacking in large numbers was their most significant advantage.

Unfortunately, The High Integrity Party's weakness was the fact that they were hoping a revolution would change the rulers of Area 11 from Britannia to the Chinese Federation, which as a result they failed to get as much public support as organizations like the Japan Liberation Front did. Their lack of public support by the Japanese people would come back to haunt them when people not wishing to have the Chinese Federation as their new rulers reported their activities and a possible location of their base to Britannia. In turn, Satsuki, upon learning about their possession of Knightmare Frames along with their base, quickly ordered the group's destruction.

Despite the group being wiped out, some survivors were lucky at having not been at the base and some new Gun-Ru units that were likely still being transported to the group before their destruction found their way into the hands of the Blood of the Samurai. Sadly though their efforts to increase their numbers without moving from their main base to other locations to avoid drawing attention was their folly as it allowed Britannian Intelligence agents to find their base and inform Viceroy Satsuki Kiryūin who was now moving in to destroy them.

At the small outpost were two Gun-Ru machines with a small camp set up to act as a lookout for the main base. There were four men, one was keeping a lookout while the other two were seated at a wooden table playing a game of shogi with the last one inside the cockpit of one of the Gun-Ru units. A small radio was currently playing classical music for the lookout which was beginning to annoy the other two men playing their game.

"Lee, will you turn that shit off already?"

Lee grumbled about something under his breath before reluctantly turned it off, but moments later the sound of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C- Sharp Minor was heard softly at first, but it gradually grew louder.

"Damn it, Lee, I thought I told you to turn that crap off?"

"But sir it's not me," Lee said before the sound of missiles approaching them could be heard as the music got louder and people realized it wasn't coming from the radio but the sky.

The last thing the men saw was a swarm of giant recorder-styled missiles raining down towards them. Their lookout had failed to notice the large, heart-shaped flying LRAD equipped with massive woofers which were not only part of how something so gigantic was flying through the air but it was part of its offensive and defensive weapons that could fire waves of reverberating bass and bladed musical notes. Inside the center cavity at the front of the machine was Jakuzure wearing a skintight pink bodysuit with skeletal details while on top of her head was a pink version of her usual bandleader hat, and four skeletal arms ending in baton-like protrusions emerging from her shoulders and hips. Lastly on her left shoulder was a small skull with triangular eyeholes and a small plume of fur on its scalp, resembling the head of a punk rocker.

"For my next performance a little fanfare with some artillery fire…you are up tank battalions," Nonon announced speaking through a special headset she wore with her hat as her Symphony Regalia Presto unleashed another devastating attack on the area surrounding the mountain base of the resistance fighters.

Unlike the Goku Uniforms possessed by members of the Elite Four Nonon Jakuzure uniform was unique in that it had multiple transformations and configurations including its standard form being Symphony Regalia Grave, which was a gigantic heart-shaped tank-like machine and then its second and current form Symphony Regalia Presto which was the tank reconfiguring itself into a giant airship.

The resistance fighters barely had time to react to Nonon's vicious attacks from the sky as she made another attack run this time using streams of glowing music sheet-like beams fried from around the airship raining devastation upon the mountain and the surrounding area before retreating back to the clouds in preparation for another attack run. Meanwhile, in Jakuzure's wake, at least twenty VTOL gunships moved in and began raining down missiles and gunfire upon the mountain to pick off anyone who might have survived the Elite Four member's attack while at the same time keeping them on the defensive overall to prevent them from mounting a proper counterattack.

More tanks had gathered petting the mountain with shells of artillery while Sutherland Knightmare Frames began rushing towards the mountain ready to engage and conduct mop-up operations. At this moment variously hidden cannon placements throughout the mountain upon which the base for the Blood of the Samurai was built upon revealed themselves showing that the mountain itself had been converted into a fortress.

From hidden points around the other side of the mountain which has seemingly not been attacked yet a dozen Gun-Ru machines were mobilizing to begin a counterattack.

"Alright we're going to counterattack by flanking the enemy from the," The leader of the assembled Gun-Ru machines began to explain on an open communication channel, but was interrupted with an emergency call from one of their rear outposts.

"This is rear outpost C we've detected an enemy presence," The voice of a worried resistance fighter spoke over the radio interrupting the commander of the resistance fighter's Knightmare Frames.

"Enemy numbers?" The commander quickly demanded.

"Its…just one unit, but it took out our other rear outposts so easily. The Gun-Ru didn't stand a chance against it."

"ONE UNIT?"

"Yeah, I think it's some kind of new model," The resistance fighter was explaining before a cry of pain ended the communication leaving only static.

"Damn it I guess those bastards are launching an attack from our rear, so all units form up!" The lead Gun-Ru Knightmare Frame declared.

Out of the forests at the base of the mountain, the assembled enemy force of Knightmare Frames saw their foe rushing out of the woods heading straight for them. The Z-01 Lancelot was coming straight for them while wielding a pair of swords with crimson blades in each hand. Inside the cockpit, Satsuki Kiryūin stared at the enemies on her monitor with a cold, stoic expression upon her face. The Lancelot was performing far better than she had expected it would as its performance was far above of the Gloucester and other Knightmare Frames Satsuki had used before in the past.

The Gun-Ru units opened fire releasing a spray of machine gun fire as they tried to mow down the approaching Lancelot, but to their shock and horror the white machine held out its forearms protecting a green transparent barrier of some kind that deflected all of the bullets.

"HOW THE FUCK IS IT DEFLECTING OUR SHOTS," One of the Gun-Ru pilots shouted over an open communication line as their growing fear was becoming apparent.

It was a new technology the Lancelot was built with called Blaze Luminous, a type of energy shield capable of deflecting projectile weapons. The shield deflected every bullet as Satsuki approached causing her enemies to begin backing away in fear from her approach while some looked ready to flee. An expression of pure disgust adorned her features.

"How pathetic…your organization has more weapons and capabilities than most resistance groups except a few, but each and every one of you is an undisciplined coward!"

What disgusted Satsuki Kiryūin more than anything about the various resistance groups she had faced was the fact no matter the resources or weapons they had each of them all had the same fatal flaw that earned them nothing but contempt from her. Every resistance fighter from the various groups was reverently anti-Britannian, but they had no idea to the future they were trying to build and resistance against the system as their only avenue and nothing more.

All of these groups are ready to fight, but yet they are all pathetically divided without any ambition or desire to truly change things, Satsuki thought as the feeble resistance fighters of Area 11 deserved whatever fate she dealt them.

Her point was driven further home as the Gun-Ru units began panicking and breaking away from the group fleeing to save their own lives while others tried to fight back. A serve lack of discipline and leadership was a fatal flaw which Satsuki was capitalizing on. Once she had closed the distance, she dropped the Blaze Luminous shields before decapitating the first enemy machine. As its remains exploded into a fireball, Satsuki used the resulting blast to confuse her enemies as their fear pushed them to focus on protecting themselves than fighting back.

In fact, had they been better organized and capable of pulling together instead of backing away in fear they would've had a chance in fighting back against her, but their lack of commitment to their cause and their own cowardice ensured their demise.

In the confusion of the explosion and some of the Gun-Ru units fleeing Satsuki began swiftly picking them off one by one while their lack of unity made this task astonishingly easier for the young woman.

Observing the battle, or rather the one-sided massacre the battle has turned into would be a more proper term for the skirmish, was Inumuta who was commanding their rear troops and overseeing adequate intelligence and information was being relayed to their forces from the safety of the G-1 base that acted as their command center for the battle. Aside from a few staff officers standing around a tactical display on the bridge Cecile and her superior Lloyd was also present, but they were more interested in the data and footage from Lancelot as it cut down one enemy unit after another.

"Her readings are off the charts," Cecile noted with awe in her voice as Lloyd causally remarked.

"That is because the dear Viceroy is taking her job very seriously. Especially since she is a remarkable one since she is clocking in at a current 102 % percent efficiency rating."

"Of course," Inumuta began while using one hand to adjust his glasses before adding, "That is Lady Satsuki for you, but I would advise that if you wish to live a long life I would strongly suggest that you should not refer to her as a piece of equipment in the presence of Lady Satsuki, Jakuzure and especially Gamagōri."

"I'll make sure to remind him," Cecile offered up quickly while Lloyd was more engrossed by watching Lancelot in action than anything else.


Back at Honnōji Academy the only student so far sitting in his homeroom among the No-Star Students was Lelouch Lamperouge who was already awake and ready for the day having spent the previous night inside his own homeroom. It was unconformable, to say the least, he knew it was a small price to pay to avoid taking part in No-Late Day. Lelouch was quietly reading a novel he had brought with him to kill time after waking up, but he knew for the next hour, and thirty minutes some of the students would slowly begin arriving one by one as most of the two-star and one-star students were arriving for class today.

Aikurō was also present as he was lazily relaxing at his desk also enjoying a romance novel he brought to read while waiting for classes to start.

Lelouch didn't speak much while in class because he didn't want to do anything that could direct any kind of suspicion at him while at the same he knew it would be the same for Aikurō. This, of course, meant he couldn't even speak to his Kamui as well, but he held the book at least in a way that Reiketsu could read the novel he was reading as well too.

Ryūko should be here soon with Kallen and Suzaku following behind her with Mako, Lelouch thought before turning to the next page of his novel after feeling a signal from his Kamui.

Suddenly the door was slammed open as Gamagōri stepped into the room before fixing his eyes upon Lelouch.

"Lelouch Lamperouge I wish to have a few words about you regarding your using the system to skip out on No-Late Day," Gamagōri declared as his voice echoed through the room as he approached Lelouch. The latter remained utterly calm, but Lelouch's mind was already trying to devise and conceive a wide range of different options and plans depending on how the situation plays out.

Gamagōri came to a complete stop in front of his desk before he declared to Lelouch's shock.

"Congratulations!"

"Huh," Lelouch muttered as that was one thing he wasn't expecting.

"Lady Satsuki purposely left that legal loophole in the rules to test No-Star Students on their intelligent and cunning as well as determining if any of them properly read the rulebook." Gamagōri explained before adding, "As I am sure you know how dangerous No-Late Day can be Lady Satsuki felt to offer only the craftiest and intelligent of students a well-hidden opportunity for them to escape it and those worthy of advancing would be considered."

"I see, but why now exactly if I may ask," Lelouch inquired as it seemed strange for them doing it now if such was the case, but Lelouch was also suspicious there was something else prompting this meeting.

"Due to a miscommunication with the administration office your accomplishment has gone overlooked for quite some time, but I can assure that before coming here I corrected that."

"I guess judging by your words I am to assume this miscommunication was likely because no one else had even remotely thought about doing what I did is that it," Lelouch said deciding to play along for now.

"That is true, although until Lady Satsuki returns there is not much further I can tell you, but you will be complimented by her as well as me. I merely came to inform you and apologize for the miscommunication, but at the same time you may be prompted to One-Star status depending on Lady Satsuki's decision."

"So I am to expect a summons then?"

"That is correct Lamperouge," Gamagōri replied before turning to take his leave, "Now if you'll excuse me I have another matter that requires my attention."

With that Gamagōri left the room leaving Lelouch with a wide number of questions on his mind. Lelouch was contemplating the possibilities and outcomes of Satsuki intending to promote him to One-Star Status. On the one hand, he wouldn't mind too much since living conditions would be much better, but it would present some problems keeping close to Ryūko and having an easier time moving around the slums since the One-Star Residential District was a little more secure than the slums meaning they had more security.

If I don't accept then, Satsuki will become suspicious of me, but what if she is already suspicious of me already…but how could that be? Lelouch thought as his mind explored every possibility and reason for Gamagōri's arrival and his message as it seemed odd. Perhaps the miscommunication issue was a genuine issue and not something that was made up for Gamagōri to subtly visit him somehow.

"What are you going to do Lelouch?" Reiketsu inquired noticing his wearer's unease with the situation.

"I don't know, but I can't understand how Satsuki could be suspicious of me already. Maybe Gamagōri's reason for his visit is genuine, but becoming a One-Star Student would be nice, but I am concerned about the long-term problems it could represent since I may not be able to move about as freely as before." Lelouch said talking as quietly as he could so only his Kamui could hear him.

"I understand your concern, but I don't think we can refuse the offer without drawing unwanted attention," Reiketsu noted.

"I agree with you, but maybe we should wait and see how this plays out."


Meanwhile, in the slums an old and blue three-wheeled light truck that had seen better days, but the fact it was still able to run was surprising all things considered. Behind the wheel of the vehicle was Barazō Mankanshoku while sitting shotgun was Senketsu and Guts as Matarō was standing up in the back of the truck. Without almost no disregard for the law, Barazō was speeding through the slums trying to follow the obstacle course Ryūko and Mako was running through in the hopes of finding the girls so Barazō could deliver Ryūko's uniform.

"Get the hell out of the way unless you want a car up your ass," Barazō shouted after sticking his head out the window to ensure everyone else ahead of him would hear him.

But along the way, the driver was distracted by an unforeseen incident as a gorgeous woman in a pink bikini with a supermodel figure and long blonde hair was standing seductively in the middle of the road. Barazō was seduced by the light suggestive movements the woman was making, but at the last minute, he realized he was going to run her over, so he quickly turned to evade. This, unfortunately, caused him to crash into a parked car where thanks to not wearing a seatbelt he was ejected from his truck through the windshield along with Senketsu. Matarō was also thrown from the vehicle as well too, but he landed relatively unharmed inside an open dumpster.

Barazō was not as lucky as he was sent flying through a wooden fence.

Senketsu was lying in the middle of the road as the uniform was grumbling, "You should have been watching where you were going you, damn idiot!"

As the dust from the resulting crash settled the model stopped moving before it fell over revealing it was a very convincing life-like mannequin that was being controlled using electric motors installed in the limbs to make it more life-like and to stimulate its suggestive movements.

Walking towards Senketsu after pocking the remote control she had been using to control the dummy was a No-Star Student who was the same age as Mako and Ryūko possessing black hair worn in a bulbous hairdo with spiky bangs and red eyes with glasses worn over them.

"I can't believe how easy that was. I should have just left a pile of dirty magazines in the middle of the road and not even bother setting up a more clever trap in the event this one didn't work," Maiko Ōgure said with a smug smile on her face. "Oh well I got Ryūko's Kamui now, so all I need to do is eliminate her next."

As the Head of the Trap Department of the Disciplinary Committee walked over to Senketsu intending to steal the Kamui for her own plans. But suddenly a smoke bomb was detonated as someone wearing a pitch black trench coat with matching gloves, leg wraps, and ankle-length ninja boots appeared out of nowhere before snatching up Senketsu and making a hasty retreat.

"What the hell," Maiko roared in anger as her eyes followed the retreating figure in black.


Elsewhere Kallen finished pulling Ryūko up as soaked Suzaku was taking a moment to catch his breath, but he was joined by Kallen and Ryūko who were just as exhausted as he was. It was moments ago that the group had to make their way through a swamp-like environment within a small pit of shorts complete with trees, moss and filled murky pools…that hid vicious crocodiles.

Suzaku was the first to be attacked, but his training and reflexes allowed him to not only avoid being eaten but he managed to wrestle it. Soon Kallen and Ryūko were attacked, although they had more difficulty in fending off their reptilian attackers Ryūko and Kallen managed to fend them off if not barely by wrestling and fighting the crocodiles until they retreated allowing the trio with Mako to get clear of the swamp pit they had to travel through.

Mako oddly despite having gone through the swamp as they did she was completely unharmed and ridiculously dry as well too.

Everyone was taking a few moments to catch their breath while Mako began looking around and saw something that caught her eye. Her eyes sparked with a twinkle in her eye as her mouth started watering at what she saw even though anyone else should have realized it was bait for an obvious trap.

"Oooh Swiss cheese," Mako exclaimed happily before proceeding to pick up each big chunk of cheese and beginning to eat it while making her way to a very large piece positioned directly under a large basket held up by a single stick which eating the last slice of cheese would trigger the trap which was similar to a deadfall trap.

"Cheese, cheese, cheese," Mako chanted happily while carelessly eating one piece of cheese after another until she was under the dome-shaped basket.

"NO MAKO!" Ryūko shouted as everyone else, but Mako realized the danger she was in as Ryūko desperately rushed to shove her friend out from under the basket while it would fall on her instead.

"Huh, what's a pie doing," Ryūko began realizing that the interior of the basket for an odd reason had a large cake-like pie suspended upside down inside the basket.

Ryūko was hit in the face by the pie interrupting her, but she recovered as she tossed the basket off her upper body revealing her whole face was covered by the large cake. Without trying to wipe it off, it merely slid off her face right before Mako came up to her.

"Can I lick your face Ryūko?"

"How did she survive the previous No-Late Days?" Suzaku asked with a confused expression while Kallen was of a similar mind as he was.

"That is an excellent question, but I get the feeling we might be better off not knowing."

After Ryūko cleaned herself up the group continued onward, but it seemed the closer they got to the One-Star Residential area the more dangerous the traps were becoming. The traps the group faced aside from the swamp pit was crossing over a giant vat of molten metal over a weak piece of wood that acted as the only way across. A large boulder that would explode when hitting the end of its track that they had narrowly avoided, swinging logs that almost knocked them off the pathway they were walking on and of course spike pits.

Worse yet they were running out of time.

Upon reaching the One-Star Residential District, the group looked out at the land ahead of them as it seemed much cleaner, but more deserted compared to the Slums they had spent a good half of their morning in trying to survive traveling through them. In fact, the lonely road and pathway ahead of them made everyone in the group nervous.

"Considering the traps they had in the slums I can't even begin to imagine what they probably got here," Kallen commented looking around for signs of some kind of trap or at the very least the next checkpoint.

Picking up a rock Ryūko found she decided to toss it far out ahead of her to test for the possibility of any traps. To her shock and surprise the rock she threw set off a landmine.

"Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me, a minefield!" Ryūko exclaimed as she was furious at the next trial that was ahead of them.

"Hey what are those guys doing down there," Suzaku inquired pointing to a small gathering of One-Star Students who all seemed wholly exhausted both mentally and physically.

"Those are No-Star Students who have given up, so they gather in one place like they have where those students take roll call in an imagination homeroom. Those students are unable to accept the fact they are going to be kicked out of Honnōji Academy and their homes tomorrow," Kallen explained as her brother had told her that the closer she got to the One-Star Residential District she would likely spot some imagination homeroom groups.

"Those poor bastards," Ryūko said with a hint of sympathy in her voice.

A chain of explosions in the distance got their attention as all eyes as they saw an armored school bus traveling down the road setting off some mines as they went, but it seemed the bus was specially designed to withstand the mines and move through the minefield without difficulty.

"Look a school bus!" Ryūko called out pointing at the vehicle.

"It's probably a One-Star School Bus," Kallen added as it was something else her brother told her.

"Aww, I always wanted to ride in one!" Mako said with stars in her eyes as she held her hand over her chest.

"Then I say we hijack it," Ryūko suggested with a determined look while Kallen agreed with her, but Suzaku objected.

"Hold on I know you guys want to get to school on time, but Lelouch told me hijacking one of those buses would be a terrible idea."

"And just how the hell do you suppose we get through that minefield without getting killed?" Ryūko demanded as she wasn't going to change her mind. "If we got to go then we got to go now!"

"Wait I have something Lelouch gave me for such a situation so," Suzaku began but stopped to focus on searching through the backpack Lelouch had given him.

Suzaku was so focused on finding the device in question that he didn't notice Kallen, Ryūko and Mako rushing to intercept the bus while luckily managing to avoid the landmines before they commenced their hijacking of the bus. Lucky for them Kallen knew how to drive so she took the wheel while Ryūko and a happy Mako took over the bus leaving Suzaku behind.

As he pulled out a mine detector, he was about to show it to everyone when he realized Ryūko and the others ditched him.

"I can't believe it," Suzaku was rendered almost speechless, but Lelouch's warning about hijacking a school bus for One-Star Students was about to be proven as unknown to everyone a woman holding a baby saw the hijacked bus drive by. The smile never leaving her face brought out a cell phone which she used to contact members of the Disciplinary Committee.

"I got a hijacked school bus with No-Stars driving it, they are clearing mines with it," The woman spoke cheerfully.

"Roger that you have permission to engage with extreme prejudice and we'll be dispatching members of the Knightmare Frame Association Club," The committee member on the other end deadpanned.

"Okay," The woman replied as she hung up the phone, but after putting away her cell phone, she drew out a Desert Eagle.

As the bus drove up a road, the residents living in their condos came out to their balconies armed to the teeth with military-grade weapons including assault rifles, belt-fed machine guns, tactical sniper rifles, and even anti-tank rocket launchers, but luckily very few homes had those. Within seconds the roadway had become a shooting gallery with the bus now being hit by a hailstorm of bullets.

"OH, YOU GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Ryūko exclaimed instinctively ducking down to avoid any bullets that might hit her, although the armor plating and the windows were able to withstand most of the barrage so far.

"I guess this is what Lelouch warned Suzaku about," Kallen said as she put the pedal to the floor to speed up and push the bus as fast as it could go.

"But we got to fight back somehow…does this thing have weapons or something if it has armor," Ryūko said as she began looking around Kallen's general vicinity for something to fight back with.

During her search Ryūko found a button she hit causing a mini-gun mounted upon a hidden turret at the center of the bus to appear which had somehow picked up Mako. Mako was elevated to the roof of the bus through an opening that slid to the sides allowing the min-gun turret to be positioned on the roof with a clueless Mako behind the weapon.

Pulling the triggers, Mako began firing the mini-gun wiping off a couple floors and stopping a good chunk of their attackers in one sweep. Mako's clueless expression turned to one of joy as she quickly got the hang of the weapon she was handling before using it to clear up their path a bit by using the mounted gun to deal with their attackers without killing any of them, which was a remarkable feat upon itself.

"Ryūko you got to come up here and try this it's so much fun!" Mako exclaimed happily.

"Mako get down it's too dangerous up there," The black-haired girl called out over the sound of bullets being fired from the mounted mini-gun, but Mako was in her own world as a blush appeared upon her cheeks as she was enjoying her time with the mini-gun in more ways than one.

"OH SHIT," Kallen shouted as she was forced to make some hard turns with the bus to evade the anti-tank rockets coming right at them.

Through an awe-inspiring display of driving Kallen narrowly evaded the rockets which only shook the bus slightly with their impacts, but it just pushed Kallen to drive the bus straight towards the Two-Star Residential District. To make matters worse Ryūko saw three machines approaching them quickly from behind. Upon closer inspection, as they got closer, Ryūko saw they were Knightmare Frames, specifically RPI-11 Glasgow, painted with the gray and white trim with black stars on the shoulders to imitate the One-Star Uniforms of Honnōji Academy.

The members of the Knightmare Frame Association Club was closing in fast on the damaged armored school bus like a pack of hungry sharks about to engage in an eating frenzy. The Knightmare Frames were armed with assault rifles with grenade launchers attached to them.

"Kallen you need to go FASTER," Ryūko shouted as she was starting to sweat upon seeing the Knightmare Frames closing in fast.

"Hang on onto something!"

Trying as hard as possible to use alleyways and buildings as shields to outmaneuver the pursuing Knightmare Frames as they entered the Two-Star Residential District in the hopes they could lose their enemies, but the Knightmare Frames remained on their tail with them being kept a safe distance away thanks to Mako's use of the mounted mini-gun. Unfortunately, their problems worsened when the bullets for said mini-gun ran out leaving them without a means to keep the enemy machines away.

Soon they were cut off as another group of Knightmare Frames from the same club cut them off trapping them as one fired a grenade from its rifle at the bus.

Kallen was making a mad dash for the enemy machines opening the grenade might hit them by some off chance, but the grenade impacted the base of the bus which launched it high into the air thanks to its thick armored bottom.

"SHIT!" Kallen and Ryūko screamed together at the same time as Mako, Ryūko and Kallen held onto the bus for dear life with one holding onto the steering wheel, the other a seat and Mako held onto the mini-gun as she had nothing else to grab.

Either by pure luck or if by some higher power at work the bus landed right outside the academy's main gates. It landed upright at first, but as soon as the turret was retracted back into the bus, Mako sat down on one of the seats letting out a big sigh. At that moment the entire bus seemingly came apart comically as the doors, the hood and the tires themselves just fell off the frame of the bus. Kallen and Ryūko were both wide-eyed for a few moments, but both teenage girls shook it off and began to focus on the task at hand.

"Ok…somehow we made it to the school with fifteen minutes to spare," Kallen said before quickly checking her watch.

"Right it's a clear shot to the school from here," Ryūko exclaimed proudly with a smile before she and Kallen made a mad dash for the school's main gate, but before they could continue walking the two girls noticed something.

Either the school was getting bigger somehow, or they were sinking and sure enough both Ryūko and Kallen realized they had stepped into a pit of quicksand that had been cleverly disguised as the ground which peeled away as they sunk further into the trap itself.

At that moment Maiko appeared out of nowhere with a big grin on her face.

"I didn't think you three would get all the way to the gate like that, but thankfully I had this trap set up just for you."

"What the hell!" Ryūko snapped as she tried moving, but her body up to her mid-torso was already below the quicksand. The black-haired Japanese girl could grab her scissor blade, which was still inside its silver case strapped to her back.

"If you haven't realized it yet the more you move, the quicker you'll sink," Maiko explained smugly before using a remote control in her right hand to push a red button.

In response, the ground everyone was standing on began to rise revealing it to be a large metal platform complete with a fighting ring of some kind and an area where Kallen and Ryūko were inside a separate tank filled with what was revealed to be an artificial quicksand trap.

"Just who the hell are you?" Kallen demanded angrily as both she and Ryūko were up to their necks where they thankfully stopped sinking at that point.

"I am Maiko Ōgure of the Disciplinary Committee, but more specifically I am the Head of Trap Development." Maiko proudly proclaimed with an extravagant gesture by extending both of arms outward, "I was hoping to acquire your Kamui, but I guess someone else beat me to the punch so I'll just have to eliminate you as planned before I move on to finding it."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH SENKETSU?" Ryūko snapped as her eyes burned with rage, but was mindful to avoid struggling since it would only lead to Kallen getting electrocuted.

"I told you someone else beat me to it, but no matter I'll feel better once I get rid of you. Then after I find your Kamui then I can begin reaping the rewards," Maiko answered before launching manically.

Despite their situation, there was a possible chance for Kallen and Ryūko as Mako was not caught in the trap.

Wait maybe Mako can, Kallen began thinking feeling hopeful Mako could help them somehow, but then she remembered this was Mako they were talking about. We're screwed…


A/N: Well karma is proving to be quite a pain for Ryūko and Kallen they unintentionally left Suzaku behind not wanting to miss the bus, but will he show up in time to help them or do they REALLY have to depend on Mako to save their butts?

Lelouch may have escaped going to No-Late Day, but this once against has put him under Satsuki's radar which could lead to further complications if he is not careful.

As for Satsuki, she and Nonon mowed down those poor resistance fighters while the Viceroy of Area 11 just proved she is just as deadly behind a Knightmare Frame even when she doesn't use one. Of course, this doesn't mean that Suzaku is going to be left out, so don't worry I already have something in mind.

Then we still have Nui's infiltration into Area 51, and she has found something interesting so far, but will it all go as smoothly as she hopes…will she find an alien in a tank inside?