Crouching beside a tree overlooking the road that lead to the entrance of the Nagano Military Prison, Kaname Ohgi looked intently through his binoculars at the foreboding structure. It was at least twenty-five metres high, casting everything around it in shadow, while tall towers made it look like something from the old European storybooks his dad would read from when he was a kid.
Feeling the sweat trickle down the back of his neck, although he wasn't sure if it was from the heat or the fear, Ohgi had to admit to himself that was bricking it. Even though he had the utmost trust in their leader, the man had to admit to himself that this would be a difficult task. But he pushed his fear down as he remembered the mission.
Rescuing Kallen was the most important thing.
And for Ohgi that was more than just because the Black Knights needed her. There was no denying that everyone else in the group who had had the training fell way short of Kallen's skill with a Knightmare, but to Ohgi that wasn't his main reason for being here, scouting the entrance to the prison.
Ever since he had known her brother, Naoto, Ohgi had always been in contact with Kallen in some way or another. His job as a student teacher had kept him around young children for several years before the War, so Naoto, in his own way, would often get Ohgi to help the little red-headed girl with her homework, giving her small hints on work she found too hard. And every time she got a good grade, Ohgi would find her small arms wrapped around his waist as she hugged him, a bright smile on her face.
Naoto's death had crushed that part of her. He never saw her smile much, and when she did, Ohgi would question if the teenage terrorist he saw was the same girl he used to share his ramen with.
"P1. Come in." Zero's deep voice came from his belt, bringing Ohgi back in to the present.
Hearing his personal designation being called, the pompadour-haired terrorist unclipped the radio from his belt before bringing it up to his mouth.
"P1 here."
"P1, what's the status on the front gate?" The masked leader asked.
Bringing his binoculars back up to eye level, Ohgi once more looked at the prison entrance. A double width tarmac road led to the large, ten metre high doors of the prison built in to the wall. The doors in turn were protected by a pair of large bunkers, which Ohgi saw were manned by both anti-personnel and anti-Knightmare weapons. Barbed wire, floodlights and checkpoints made sure that no intruder who tried to come through would go undetected, and he was sure that there were more nasty surprised waiting for anyone foolish enough to try going through the front on foot.
Peering down from his perch, Ohgi could make out the form of around a dozen men walking back and forth.
"Zero, I see twelve guards, along with anti-personnel and anti-Knightmare weapons in bunkers at the front. There's no way we're getting on foot."
The voice that came through sounded almost amused at his words. "Don't worry, P1. We will not be going in on foot. Return to base."
"Roger that." Ohgi replied, switching off the radio and hanging it from his belt. Standing up from his position in a crouch, the man did his best to stretch out the ache he felt in his muscles. As he stood up, he looked at the wall before him. The sun came out from behind some clouds and was caught by one of the towers, bathing everything in shadow once more.
Ohgi shivered before he walked back to the temporary encampment the Black Knights had set up, but for the life of him, he wasn't sure if it was from fear or adrenaline.
Climbing up from her cockpit, Villetta stretched out her back, hearing a small click as air bubbles between the joints popped. It was the first time she'd ever been inside a Knightmare transported in such a way. Being transported sitting upright instead of facing down as she had in the Hawker transports she was accustomed to was a new experience for her, and for all of the other Purists, she was sure. Looking around, the other pilots were doing the same, going through various movements to unlimber sore muscles and joints.
It had definitely been a day of firsts for her though. Their arrival at the prison had certainly been an experience: instead of landing and waiting for the C-150 to come to a stop, Lord Guilford and Captain Forsyth had ordered for the rear-ramp to lower while the plane maintained it's taxiing speed, meaning the two groups sped out at high speed from the belly of the plane, clearing the runway as the large aeroplane climbed in to the sky once more.
"Tactical necessity." Forsyth said when questioned about the choice to enter the prison in such a manner.
After entering the prison, the group quickly split. Lord Guilford stayed in the prison complex, where he took command of the Knightpolice units stationed in the prison. His layout was something akin to a pentagram in design, with the Knight's personal Gloucester standing right in the centre of the prison, surrounded on all sides by four of the prisons tall guard towers that sat in the middle of the prison courtyard.
Captain Forsyth and the Purists left the prison complex, exiting through a side entrance and entering in to a commanding position that overlooked the prison. It was a hill that had been cleared of almost all flora save for the occasional scrub, which Villetta assumed to allow the prison snipers to get better shots on escapees. Now, it was currently host to the ten Knightmares and death would be coming from outside the prison not the inside.
"All right, everyone. Take five to do what you have to do." The captain called out from on top of his Gloucester, standing up in the cockpit of the purple machine. "If you need to use the toilet, find a bush and just do what comes natural."
Hopping off from his perch, the female Purist saw the green uniformed captain activate the winch to lower him down to the floor.
"Because that is certainly what I am going to do." The young man said quickly before rushing out of sight quickly to find a suitable bush out of sight of the people under his command.
Villetta tried to suppress the snigger that came to her throat as she heard Kewell's voice came in to her ear by her earpiece. "This is who we've got leading us? Pathetic."
"Yes, forgive me for having sensitive bowls, my lord." Forsyth's voice came through on the radio, catching Villetta by surprise, the noblewoman rolling her eyes. "Also, you are on open comms. Over."
A small burst of laughter came from Jeremiah's Sutherland, the blue-haired man leaning against the top of his Knightmare at Kewell's grimace of annoyance. Looking over, Villetta saw her friend's mouth pulled back in to a grin. "We're going to be here for a while. May as well get comfortable."
Soon, the members of the Purists began talking among themselves, split in to their own groups. Kewell drew small group around him, four pilots forming a circle around the hazel-haired man as he climbed down from his Sutherland. Deciding to stretch her legs, Villetta activated the winch on her Knightmare, lowering herself to the ground. Touching the ground, the silver-haired woman heard the sound of foliage being trodden through as the captain made his way back to his Knightmare, wiping his hands with a large leaf which he quickly dispensed of.
"That was not comfortable." She heard the man mutter to himself.
"Combat shits never are." The woman said as she took a seat on the foot of her machine. Her words had a different affect to what she expected as she heard him stop before barking with laughter.
"What was that, my lady?" The young man asked, as she saw him walking towards him, turning slightly on her perch, a bemused look on his face as she gave a small chuckle.
"Surprised to hear a lady speak in such a manner?" She queried, an aloof tone to her voice as the green-uniformed man drew close.
Captain Forsyth let his mouth open and close a couple of times before he simply shrugged. "I don't really know what to say."
Villetta fixed him a hard stare for a couple of seconds before she smiled and shook her head. "It's all right, Captain. I'm not a noblewoman anyway, so don't be so surprised."
"Not a noblewoman?" The young man asked, confusion on his face.
"She means that she even though she's a Knightmare pilot, she's not a true noble, Captain." Jeremiah's voice rolled out as he advanced towards them. "Something we hope to fix soon."
"We?" The captain asked.
"Myself and Lord Jeremiah." Villetta answered, seeing the young officers confusion.
"Ah, of course." The young man replied, leaning against the foot of the Sutherland and crossing his arms across his chest. "I did kind doubt that a noblewoman would speak in such a manner as before."
Villetta rolled her eyes at the young captain's words.
"So who did you serve with before you joined the Purists, my lady?"
"The Ninety-Fifth Imperial Rifles, then I got posted to the Seventeenth Royal Panzer Infantry. I met Lord Jeremiah when we were sent to Area 11 during the Invasion."
"And the rest is history." Jeremiah said, giving the woman a sincere smile.
"The rest is history." Villetta copied, nodding her head. Just mentioning the invasion brought back memories to the silver-haired woman. Of her joy in being given command of her own Glasgow, her awe in seeing them in action, and her surprise at being placed under the wing of a former member of the Imperial Royal Guard.
"Captain Forsyth!" Kewell's voice snapped Villetta from her memory as, looking up, she saw Kewell and his group plus the left over pair walking towards them. "What's the plan here? Are we just to sit out here with our backsides in the wind?"
The captain couldn't help but chuckle at the man's impatient, while Jeremiah and Villetta were just annoyed. But the young man chose to indulge him as he pushed himself off the Sutherland's foot, his arms still crossed over his chest.
"Have you ever been hunting, Lord Kewell?" Captain Forsyth asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Of course." Came the testy reply.
"Well good. Then you'll know the best way to catch your prey then, I take it?"
Silence fell over the group as Kewell fixed with the captain with a confused, angry stare.
"Let the prey come to you." Forsyth said, ignoring the look being given to him as he walked a few paces away from the group, not giving Kewell any chance to speak. "Now we have no clue as to where the Black Knights have their base of operations, whether it's mobile or otherwise, so to search for them would be a colossal waste of effort, and it would also mean that we would be diverting manpower away from vital locations, leaving the Black Knights to hit wherever they wanted with impunity. Something that the Viceroy really wants to avoid."
Looking at him, Villetta saw that the captain's gaze was fixed on the caped Gloucester standing in the middle of the prison.
"The plan is simple, Lord Kewell," The green-uniformed captain intoned, his becoming more professional. "When the Black Knights breach the walls of the prison-"
"If they breach it." One of the Purists quickly butted in.
"When they breach the prison," Forsyth snapped, equally as fast, turning his head to fix the man with a cold glare. "We would not be here if we did not know for certain that Zero and his cronies would come. Regardless, when they come, Guilford will spring the trap, engaging the enemy with the force under his command. When he does so, we will enter the prison, circle round to which ever direction they entered from and cut off their retreat. Simple as."
"So we'll be keeping the door shut." Villetta said, a little bit let down at the prospect of not having a go in combat.
"Oh, on the contrary, my lady." Forsyth said, spinning on one of his heels as he spread his arms wide in a theatrical gesture, a smile plain on his face. "We're the most important part of the mission. Why, if it were just Lord Guilford's force, the Black Knights could come it, take the HVI and be off in a flash. Not to speak ill of Guilford's combat abilities of course."
Villetta flashed Jeremiah a worried look, while the turquoise-haired man just looked confused while the captain continued.
"No. Our part of the plan is to cut off Zero's retreat and, if we're lucky, encircle him and destroy his forces, capture the man, unmask him, and we can all go back to living our lives. Sounds quite important to me."
Kewell was silent, thinking over the young captain's words before he simply nodded and walked off, his group following behind him. The duo who had joined them stayed behind though as they came closer to the captain.
"Do you know what the rules of engagement are?" One man, with sandy-blonde hair asked, to which Captain Forsyth shrugged.
"Don't know. Lord Guilford will say when the action starts."
The second man, with dark brown hair, stepped forward. "Are you really sure that Zero will come here?"
Again, the young captain shrugged, but as he spoke, Villetta was sure that he heard a tone of anger in his voice.
"I don't know. But I'll bet you anything that he turns up himself."
The only sound that came as a reply was the wind whipping through the scarce foliage. Looking up, Villetta saw a savage grin come to Jeremiah's at the prospect that Zero would personally be there.
"All right everyone," Captain Forsyth said, addressing everyone. "Get back to your Knightmares. Keep them battle ready but don't waste the energy. We'll need it for the fight."
Sitting in the cockpit of his Gloucester, Gilbert Guilford waited patiently with his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes fixed on the main screen before him. The view was of the main entrance to the prison, a gigantic set of metal double doors, each one taller than a Knightmare and thicker than one as well.
Any logical person would not attack such a position. It was just too obvious. Any defender would make sure his forces were focused around the entrance. Any of the other walls would make a perfect entrance point for any would be attacker. So that's why Guilford had his forces, a combination of Royal Panzer Infantry Sutherlands and drafted Knightpolice, stationed right in the middle of the large prison yard.
Zero was unpredictable. So he had to be ready for anything, and everything.
A small chiming preceded a small box popping up in the corner of his main view-screen, as Captain Forsyth's face came up. Looking at the young man's face, the Knight saw that he was sitting with his cockpit open, letting the blue sky frame his face.
"Any activity on your end, my lord?" The young captain asked, sounding quite anxious.
"None at all, Captain," Guilford said in reply, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's all quiet over here. Although I do doubt that Zero won't show. He's too much of a showman."
"Tell me about it." Captain Forsyth replied, leaning against one of his hands while he rested his arm on his knee. "If he was on our side, he'd have his own cartoon show."
Guilford couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of the masked terrorist being the star of a TV show. "I don't doubt that for a second, my young friend."
"Oh, I'm a friend now?" The young man replied, perking up slightly, a small smile twitching at the corner of his lips.
Guilford opened his mouth, ready to reply, before another chime went off as a second small video screen appeared, revealing the visage of one of the Knightpolice pilots, his face obscured by a helmet similar to a gunship pilot's.
"Lord Guilford, the main doors are opening."
"Hold that thought, Captain. What do you mean, sergeant?" Cornelia's Knight commanded, his tone shifting from something jovial to more orderly.
"The main gates are opening. I'm trying to raise the main guards but they're not responding!" The Knightpolice pilot replied, starting to panic.
Looking through the main view-screen, Guilford saw that the man was right. The large blast doors were opening, receding in to the tall, thick walls surrounding them.
Keying his speakers to broadcast to all forces, Guilford spoke. "All units, we have unidentified movement at the main gates. Move to red-con one. I repeat: all units, assume red-con one posture and be ready for action."
"Yes, my lord!" Came the reply from all pilots in unison. Without having to check, he knew that the captain and the Purists under his command would be climbing in to their cockpits, if they weren't in their machines already, and checking their weapons, each Knightmare priming their rifles to have one round nestled in the chamber before setting the weapon on safe. Guilford did the same, his Gloucester pulling it's large assault rifle from it's housing on it's back before letting it fall to his side. His unit's lance was held ready beside him, it's brutally sharp point directed straight up at the sky.
Activating his Factsphere, Guilford focused his Gloucester's screen on the maw of the prison gate as it opened to it's full extent. Driving directly through the gate, were four of the lorries that he had been shown at the briefing earlier that day, coming straight for the middle of the prison yard at high speed. The bespectacled knight sneered at the vehicles in contempt. They were ugly things: slap-fronted rigs with black-tinted windows, painted in dark grey and black, with twelve wheels to each vehicle, and a large container placed on the back.
"So is this it, Zero?" Guilford asked out loud, not bothering to activate his loud-hailer. "You intend to rescue your comrade with nothing but these trucks?"
As soon as the last syllable had left his mouth however, the Knight watched as the containers on the backs burst open in a cacophony of black smoke and bright flashes, the vehicles continuing their advance in to the prison.
"Lord Guilford! Be careful!" One of the Royal Panzer pilots called out as Guilford readied his Knightmare, sliding his stance from neutrality to action, bringing his lance down parallel with the ground and flicking the internal safety of his assault rifle.
The Knight's instincts had been correct because, as the first vehicle screamed past him, trailing a brutal tail of dark smoke, another shape appeared from the darkness. A shape that Guilford would recognise anywhere.
"Knightmares!" The man called out as his Gloucester swung it's rifle up, firing a burst as it rolled backwards. The Knightmare that had appeared before him was something that could only be described as ugly: coloured the same black and grey as the vehicle that had borne it, Guilford could only assume that it was a knock-off of the venerable Glasgow, the same Knightmares that brought Area 11 to it's knees. On it's wrists, it appeared to have large flaps that flare out backwards and it's head was something brutal: square shaped like it's armour, save for the round housing of it's Factsphere, it had two small protuberances on it's 'cheeks', shaped like fangs that went upwards.
The new Knightmare carried the same type of assault rifle as Guilford's Gloucester, which it quickly brought upwards and began firing a large burst at the purple machine. But the Knight's machine was on the move, and all of the shots went wide.
"All units! Engage! Captain Forsyth, get down here, now!" He called out over the open channel as more enemy Knightmares emerged from the long trail of smoke, each one firing indiscriminately at the Britannian units as they emerged from cover. Out of the corner of his eye, Guilford saw that they had already downed a few of the Knightpolice units, two of the white machines slumping to the ground as their cockpits ejected. Two more weren't so lucky as their pilot blocks were perforated with heavy calibre rounds before the machines exploded
Collecting himself, Guilford quickly took stock of the situation: the Black Knights had engaged all of his forces in a running battle, with none of the black Knightmares staying stationary as the attacked. Although it possessed none of the skill and finesse of the tactics taught to the pilots of the Britannian Knightmare pilots, the speed and shock of the attack had done it's work.
"Captain Forsyth!" Guilford called out in to a secure channel with the young officer. "Are your units in position yet?"
"Almost, my lord." Came the reply. "We've just cleared the base of the prison wall and have the enemy in sight. Pardon me for saying so, but it looks like hell over there."
"It's nothing I can't handle, captain. When you get here, engage at your discretion." Guilford replied, a small grin on his face, rolling his Gloucester to the side as another wave of smoke nearly enveloped his machine. The black pall obscured his vision, forcing him to activate his Factsphere again. The timing could not have been better for him, for not a second after the resolved image came through his screen, Guilford saw a large claw come out of the smoke directly in front of it, it's three brutal digits out stretched, ready to ensnare his Knightmare.
Pushing her control stick forward, C.C. made the Guren lunge at the purple Knightmare in front of her but the enemy pilot had to be a veteran as they easily sidestepped the frontal attack before bringing their rifle up to fire a close-range burst at the red armoured machine. Wrenching her machine to the side, the green-haired immortal retreated in to the smoke, putting as much distance between her and her enemy as the rounds whipped through the black smoke, tearing holes through the darkness.
Seated on the motorbike-like seat, C.C. couldn't help but be impressed by the engineering that went in to the design of the Guren. The machine had obviously been meant to respond to someone with a higher skill with Knightmares than she possessed, but C.C. couldn't complain as the machine handled smoothly. Even the seat she was straddled over, which looked to be something uncomfortable the first time she had seen it, but now she was on it, it felt like she was wearing the Guren rather than piloting it.
Activating her Factsphere, the immortal woman quickly scanned through the smoke as thermal imaging enhanced the world immediately around her. The enemy pilot wisely chosen not to follow her in to the smoke, instead choosing to stand it's ground. Scanning the area, C.C. saw that the other units were not following their leader's choice, as they fought running battles with the Black Knights' Burais.
"Zero! We've got ten more Britannian Knightmares cutting us off from the exit." Ohgi's voice came through the Guren's internal speakers.
"Ignore them!" Came the reply, Zero's, or should that be Lelouch's, voice cutting through any reply. "We're here to rescue Kallen. They won't have a chance of stopping us."
Even with the enhanced view granted by the Factsphere, C.C. strained her eyes to see through the extremities of the smoke. She could see ten more thermal images, each in the shape of a Britannian Knightmare frame, taking up position in a long line at the entrance to the slowly closing door, before wheeling around to speed towards the fray. C.C. couldn't help but smile at their inactivity, knowing they couldn't charge in or fire their weapons in to the smoke for fear of the risk of hitting their comrades.
"C.C." Lelouch's voice came through in to her speaker. "I want you to take Kent's squad and try to find where Kallen is."
"Got it." The immortal replied before contacting Kent and his squad. Although to call it a squad would be a bit of stretch since it was just Kent and one other Burai. "Kent, you and Asato come with me. We're going to try and find Kallen."
"Do we have any idea where she is?" Kent asked, to which C.C. shrugged, even though she knew that Kent couldn't see her.
"No clue. But the best bet would be the most heavily guarded part of the prison." C.C. said dryly as the Guren and the two Burais rushed out of the black smoke. Quickly blinking away the bright sunlight, she scanned the area in front of her. It was a large, five sided tower, well over a hundred feet tall with five thick, rectangular buildings spread out from the base of the tower. The Guren's scanner couldn't pierce through the walls of the building, so there was only thing open to them.
"Kent, Asato. You two go for the wing marked 'A'. I'm going for the wing marked 'E'." C.C. called over the Guren's inbuilt radio.
Inside her cell, Kallen could easily hear the roar of the battle outside as the building seemed to shake. She couldn't see the action. The only window in to her part of the wing was too high up the wall for her to see out of it. But she could easily hear the harsh, rattling bangs of heavy calibre weapons and the crash of Knightmares falling.
Pushing herself up from the floor, Kallen moved forward to the front of her cell as she heard the sounds of rushing footsteps coming down the hall in front of her cell. Trying her best to see around the corner in to the hallway, Kallen saw two guards rush to in front of her cell door. Each man had an expression of panic on their face as they rushed forward.
With a note of fear, Kallen noted that each man carried a submachine gun.
"What the hell's going on?" The first of the pair, a dark skinned man asked, as he looked around him, expecting the answer to appear.
"It's the fucking Black Knights!" The second man, a light skinned man, snarled as he looked down the corridor himself.
The mention of the terrorist group made Kallen's heart soar. The fact that they were even meant that Zero...
"What do we do about the prisoner?" The first guard asked, looking fearfully at Kallen. Even given her currently bound state, the redhead couldn't help but sneer at the man's fear. But the look fell from her face as she saw the second man check the chamber of his submachine gun.
"I can't get in contact with command, but if the Black Knights want her." The second part of the sentence was left unsaid as he raised his weapon to his shoulder, the barrel aimed directly at the prisoner.
Kallen felt herself pitch backwards before she pushed herself back against the wall with her feet as the armed guard advanced towards the door of her cell.
"You do know that door is bulletproof, right?" The first guard questioned, looking at his colleague in confusion.
"Then open the fucking door!" The second man roared, his eyes fixing his colleague with a hard stare while Kallen stared in fear down the barrel of his gun.
Lifting his hand up, the dark-skinned guard pressed the button to make the cell door open, the clear glass-like substance receding in to the wall slowly. Advancing inwards, the armed guard walked in to the cell, moving closer to the fearful girl.
"One less terrorist to care about." The man taunted as Kallen saw his finger press down on the trigger, before she closed her eyes in fear.
The explosion of sound and pressure forced the girl to retreat further in to the corner of her cell, pushing her painfully against the brickwork. Her ears were ringing painfully, a high-pitched whine the only sound she could hear as she tried to blink through the haze of dust. Clearing her vision, Kallen saw that the two guards were dead, the exploding wall the cause of their deaths. The one inside her cell had been struck in the back of the head by flying brickwork, his body laying unblinkingly on the floor next to her. Of the second guard, Kallen couldn't see anything, but judging by the smear of blood on the floor in front of the cell, she could only presume that he had been killed by the combination of the explosive pressure and the brickwork.
Her vision clearing, Kallen looked up at the wall across from her and, if it was any more possible, Kallen pushed herself further in to the corner at what she saw silhouetted by the sunlight: a Knightmare, painted entirely black, it's fist punched clean through the wall of the building.
"I've got her!" Asato Taisho called out over the radio, glee in his voice. Before the mission, Sugiyama-senpai had shown him a photo of the person they were here to rescue, a red-haired girl by the name of Kallen. And looking through the enhanced image on his view-screen, Asato smiled as he realised that the task given to him had been completed.
At twenty-five years old, the black-haired, green-eyed, former electrical engineering student remembered the Britannian invasion vividly. How he'd seen his family home in Kyoto reduced to rubble by bomber aircraft, how his family had been detained as they travelled to Niigata to get on to a freighter bound for the Korean Peninsular by Britannian soldiers and had been forced to live in one the ghettos. His father had pressed him to make the most of it, saying that even the Britannians would recognise Asato's abilities and make him an Honorary Britannian.
The arrival of the Black Knights changed that. Broadcast all over Japan, even in to the ghettos, all Japanese watched as Zero, the masked leader of the Black Knights, announced the formation of his group and his victory over the cowardly JLF. Asato, along with others, had been impassioned by the display of power that Zero gave and the brazen tenacity of the man to execute it in front of Princess Cornelia herself no-less. Against his father's urgings, the young Japanese man set out to join the group.
And now, in the centre of the military prison built in the centre of the Nagano lowlands, Asato's goal had been achieved as he withdrew his Burai's fist from the hole created in the wall as Sugiyama-senpai's Burai rushed towards him.
"Did you find her, Asato?" The blue-haired, bandanna-wearing revolutionary asked before his own Burai drew level with Asato's, it's head turning to look inside the building. A short exclamation of joy came over the mic before Sugiyama spoke again. "Zero! We've got her!"
"Good. I'm sending CC to assist you now." Came the reply.
Asato let a broad grin come to his face: he was doing something. He was helping in the liberation of Japan. While Zero probably wouldn't say it out loud, Asato knew that this was the masked man's goal: to throw the chains of Britannian rule off of Japan and restore it to it's former glory.
The loud beeping of the Burai's early warning system caused Asato's grin to fall from his face as, turning his head, he saw three red dots advancing quickly on his position from the right. And he meant quickly.
"Senpai! Three Britannian Knightmares coming up fast on our nine o'clock." The young man called in to his mic.
Sugiyama-senpai's Burai spun around, raising it's assault rifle as the enemy came in to site: two Sutherlands with red shoulder pauldrons, led by a single deep purple Gloucester armed with a lethal looking lance.
"Oh, crap!" Asato swore as he made his Burai raise it's rifle and began firing, Sugiyama-senpai pouring his own fire at the trio.
The Sutherlands veered off to the side, leaving the Gloucester to charge directly at the pair of black Knightmares, it's body held low as it raced towards them. Asato couldn't help but smile at the pilots foolhardiness.
But the Gloucester kept advancing, racing towards Asato at a speed that neither of the Japanese pilots had seen before, it's lance held ready to spear through one of the Burais.
And the lance was aimed straight at Asato's unit.
"Oh, shit!" The young freedom fighter called out as he forced his Burai to back-pedal, still firing his rifle even as he retreated. But the Gloucester was faster as it's lance pierced through the middle of the Burai where it's stomach, if it was a human, would be. The speed of the Gloucester and the force of the hit meant that Asato's Burai was pushed backwards as the lance dug further in to it's target.
A red warning light lit the inside of the Burai, warning it's pilot of impending catastrophic failure.
"Asato! Eject, now!" Sugiyama called out over his mic, before he was forced to eject too, his Burai riddled with heavy calibre slugs from the two flanking Sutherlands.
"Right!" Asato replied, tugging on the ejection panels inside his cockpit, sending the pilot block screaming in to the air. He had to be about thirty metres off the ground when he felt the parachute deploy, letting him float to the ground.
Withdrawing his lance, Ciaran moved his Gloucester away from the black Knightmare before it exploded, letting out a whoop of joy at the kill. Well, he hadn't killed the machine's pilot, but that was one enemy unit down for the count. Two with the one gunned down by the Purists.
"One down for the Purists!" One of the Sutherland pilots called out over the mic, and the young captain couldn't help but smile at the sentiment.
A display of Lord Guilford's face appeared on Ciaran's main screen, the bespectacled man grimacing slightly as he fought his own personal battle.
"Captain. Where are you?"
"Over by the maximum security wing, my lord." Ciaran replied. "One of the Black Knights' Knightmares punched a hole clean through the wall. I think they found the prisoner."
"Noted. I... hang on, captain." Guilford's image blinked out, the Knight obviously focusing on his fight.
Glancing around, Ciaran saw that he and his two compatriots were on the edge of the black smoke, well away from the fighting and any other units. Looking back in to the building, the young man quickly put his mind in to action and came up with a plan.
"Robertson, Lancell. You two give me cover! I'm stepping out for the moment!" Ciaran called out as he moved closer towards the prison wing. "I want you two to give my Gloucester cover for me while I'm out of combat."
"Copy that, captain." The two pilots.
Wheeling the Gloucester round so it's back face the ragged hole in the wall of the prison wing, Ciaran made sure that his two companions were in place before keying his mic.
"Lord Guilford, I'm exfilling the HVI! I'll be out of the fight for about five minutes."
The bespectacled Knight's voice came through quickly, gunfire filling the background. "Nothing takes five minutes, Captain!"
Letting out a short chuckle, Ciaran made his Knightmare kneel down before pulling back on the mechanism to slide the cockpit out of its housing. Clambering out of the machine, the young man landed on the rear of the machine's knee before bouncing to land on the floor. Unclasping the cover of his holster, he brought his pistol up before racking the slide, revealing the solid brass slug sitting in the chamber. Snapping the slide back in to place, he cocked the hammer back before holstering the pistol as he advanced over the rubble in to the prison.
Entering the empty corridor, he paused a moment to take in the destruction before him. The Knightmare had completely torn through the wall, which had to be at least three feet thick, battering aside concrete, mortar and metal on to the floor. He had thought that it had also smashed through the housing of the cell opposite the wall, but seeing the corpse of the guard in the cell and the large stain on the floor and wall told him that one of the two had opened the cell. Looking in to the cell proper, he could see a figure pushed up tightly against the far corner of the cell.
Running down the small slope of rubble as fast as he dared, Ciaran hopped off the last bit of stone and in to the opened cell. Drawing near to the person, he saw that it was a young teenage girl. She had to only be a few years older than Euphemia, with a shock of red hair and blue eyes, which now stared, unfocused, past him. Her body, wiry but strong, was constrained in an off-white straitjacket, her arms clasped behind her back. Stencilled above her left breast was the name ' '.
"Hey, can you hear me?" The captain asked, shaking the girl before him gently. Her unfocused eyes blinked several times as she moved her head to stare at the man before her.
"Wha..?"
"Are you all right?" Ciaran asked, genuine concern for her well-being coming through. Glancing down, he couldn't see any immediate injuries.
"I-I'm fine." The girl stammered out, nodding her head.
Moving his hands to her shoulders, Ciaran looked the girl in the eyes. "Good. Right, what's your name?"
"Kallen. My name's Kallen."
"Right, good. Now listen to me carefully, Kallen: right now, you're in a fair amount of danger, so I'm moving you somewhere safer. Okay? Can you walk?"
Kallen responded with a nod before Ciaran helped her stand up, using his own arms as support to lift her up from the wall. When she was standing on her feet, Ciaran moved away to peer around the corner of the cell, checking both ends of the hallway before taking a hold of the girl's shoulder and pulling her along with him out of the cell.
Picking their way quick;y through the rubble, the duo made their way through the hall in silence, the sound of the combat outside echoing hollowly through the building as the duo reached entrance to the prison wing. Gripping the bars of the door, Ciaran gave them a quick rattle, testing to see if they would open.
"Is anyone there?" The captain called out, peering between the bars in to the room beyond, a cross-section between several wings.
"Who's there?" A voice called out from around the corner of the wall.
"I'm Captain Forsyth of the Viceroy's Royal Guard. Open up, I'm moving the prisoner to a safer location."
Out from the corner, a guard appeared, dressed in the pale blue uniform, marked with the bright red arm band and beret of the military police stepped out in to Ciaran's view. His knuckles were as white as his face as he clutched his submachine gun tightly. Seeing the officer on the other side of the gate made him relax though as he stepped forwards, pressing the buzzer to open the lock on the door.
"I'm glad to see you, sir. How is going out there?"
"Manageable." Ciaran replied as he pulled Kallen through the open door. Entering in to the intersection of the room, he looked around at the entrances to other wings, four more in total arranged in a pentagonal pattern. "Which wing is the furthest away from the fighting?"
The MP motioned to a wing to the right-front of where Ciaran was standing. "D-wing will be the best bet, sir."
"Right, lead the way." The young man said, nodding his head as he pulled Kallen along.
By now, the young girl had slowly began to get her head around the situation she was in, and began resisting against Ciaran's hands. The first time she pulled back, the man nearly lost his balance.
"What the hell?"
"Let me go! Let me go." The redhead yelled out as Ciaran pulled her back, keeping her from running off. With a small growl, the green-uniformed man yanked her arm forcefully, pulling her body as he planted his foot in her path, causing her to trip. Putting out his arm, Ciaran caught Kallen as she fell, before lifting her up on to his shoulder.
"Hey, put me down!" The girl cried, uncomfortably close to Ciaran's ear, making him wince.
"Not a chance." Ciaran replied, gritting his teeth as he walked forward with the teenage girl on his shoulder. Kallen tried kicking her legs in to him but, shifting the position of his arms, he caught her around her knees, limiting her strikes to minute little kicks.
Opening the door with a loud buzz, the MP led the way for the duo as they walked down the corridor quickly.
"It'd be best if you put her in one of the further cells, sir." The guard said, gesturing to a series of cells further down the wing. "We're further in to the building so I'm sure that-"
The man's words were silenced quickly and abruptly as the well beside him exploded in an incandescent, red light, ending his life. The resulting burst of pressure knocked Ciaran backwards, sending him sprawled on to his back and sending Kallen flying off his shoulder, while bits of rock and concrete whipped around them.
Disorientated, with his vision swimming and ears ringing, the young man tried to push himself on to his feet, but could only manage to roll on to his side, making him wince in pain. Focusing through the haze of smoke and pain, Ciaran looked at the hole in the wall. In it, stood the same strange, red Knightmare frame that vaporized one of the Knightpolice, it's large metal claws withdrawing from the hole as the machine moved back. Behind him, or rather above him, he heard Kallen move on to her feet, which was a small mercy for the way his plan had turned.
The sound of leather crunching on rock drew his attention as he moved to look at the breach in the wall, propping himself up on to his elbow as he shook his head to clear his disorientation. There, backlit by the evening light streaming through the ragged hole in the wall, was Zero.
"Zero!" Kallen called out, staggering to her feet before rushing towards the masked terrorist. Pushing himself up, Ciaran quickly upholstered his pistol, centring the sights on the masked man. Exhaling slowly, he pressed his finger to the trigger...
And Kallen moved in to his line of sight, blocking his shot as she stood in front of Zero. Quickly, Ciaran removed his finger from the trigger, keeping the pistol trained on the duo of terrorists as they exited through the hole. Standing up, he kept his weapon aimed at the hole as he quickly moved towards it, keeping close to the wall as Darlton had told him to do.
Drawing up to the hole, he peered around the corner, and he ground his teeth in annoyance. Zero had climbed in to his Knightmare frame, a Glasgow-like unit, black like the others attacking the Britannian Knightmares, but with a large, red head with two golden horns on the front. Beside the machine, he saw Kallen, her bonds now cut, taking hold of the winch as it pulled the girl in to the machine.
Holstering his pistol harder than he probably should have, Ciaran turned away and began running to A-wing. Pressing the mic in his ear, the young man tried to contact Guilford.
"Lord Guilford! She's gone!"
"Slow down, Captain." The lord said, confusion in his voice. "Say that again."
"She is gone. Zero got her! I tried to move her to another wing and they jumped us. He... I fucked up, Guilford. I fucked up big time!" Anger was welling up inside him, anger at himself and the masked terrorist.
"Calm down, Ciaran." Lord Guilford said, his voice more calm than Ciaran felt. "Return to your Knightmare. We can still catch them before they leave the prison."
"Right, my lord." Ciaran retorted, his face turning in to a cruel snarl as he moved in to A-wing and towards his parked Gloucester. Luckily, the two Sutherlands still stood their ground. They were a little pockmarked with bullet-holes and, if the wrecked black Knightmare was any indication, they' done a good job at keeping his Knightmare safe.
"Friendly on your six." The young man called out over his radio, switching his headset to contact the Purists before climbing on to his Gloucester.
"How did it go, Captain?" The first of the pair asked, as Ciaran slid his cockpit housing back in to place.
"As well as you think." He replied as he fastened the his protective belts in to place before Lord Guilford's voice came through the internal speaker.
"This is Lord Guilford to all Britannian units. Zero has been sighted on the field. I repeat, Zero has been sighted on the field."
Keying his own speaker, Ciaran cut it. "It's the unit with the red head-crest. Looks like something worn by a samurai."
"Thank you, Captain. As he said, Zero's unit is marked by a red head-crest. Stop him by any means necessary. None of you will be reprimanded if you kill him."
Gritting his teeth, Ciaran pushed his Gloucester forward, the unit speeding past the two Sutherlands which quickly matched his speed as they advanced towards the exit of the prison. Clutching his control stick tightly, the young man steeled himself for what had to be done.
Rolling the Guren forward, C.C. couldn't actually help but smile at the fact that Kallen had been safe, watching Lelouch's Burai rush away from the prison with his precious cargo secured.
"This is Zero to all units: Kallen has been rescued. Execute withdrawal plan Delta."
A myriad chorus of acknowledgements came as the reply, the remaining Burais retreating from the smoke to join their leader. Their numbers had taken a beating, going down from seventeen of the black painted machines to thirteen. From what C.C. knew, Kent's and Asato's Burais had been destroyed but they had ejected to safety. But she had heard that one unit had been destroyed wholesale, the pilot not having a chance to eject.
It wasn't nice, but it happened.
Pushing the thought aside, C.C. focused her mind on the memory of the plan that Lelouch had laid out: Withdrawal plan Delta was simply not to head to the now-closed gate, but to head to the part of the wall directly in her line of sight.
Quickly looking behind her, she saw that the smoke had began to dissipate, the black pall flowing away in the breeze, revealing the extent of the Britannian defences: sixteen Sutherlands and six Knightpolice led by two Gloucesters which took point on the formation, rushing towards the Black Knights in an L-shaped formation, hoping to catch them from the rear and the flank.
"Damn it, they're on our tail. What do we do, Zero?" Tamaki's voice came through, grating on C.C.'s ears.
"Shut up, Tamaki. They won't be able to do anything to us." Came the reply from Inoue, even as her Burai turned and fired off a rifle-grenade at the Britannian pursuers. One of the Sutherlands dodged the shot, but another was too late, being caught in the leg by the explosive, tumbling to the ground as it's leg was blown from under it.
"Enemies on the right!" One of the new recruits called out from ahead of the Guren, turning to fire his Burai's rifle. Looking to the side, C.C. saw that the second Britannian force was closer than she had expected them to be. And one of the Sutherlands was rushing forwards, firing it's large shoulder mounted, anti-Knightmare rocket launcher on the move. The shots were going wide, not hitting any of the Black Knights, but it was enough to disrupt the formation.
"C.C., take care of him!" Zero called out over the radio.
"Yeah, yeah." The green-haired woman replied, pushing the Guren forward to intercept the advancing Sutherland.
"Damn Elevens!" The Britannian pilot roared, throwing his rocker launcher away and pulling out his assault rifle before firing. "This is what you get for mocking the Purist Faction!"
The Guren slid in to the path of the Sutherland faster than the enemy pilot expected, the purple armoured machine not even getting a chance to fire off a shot before the large claws of the Guren ensnared the attacking machine's head.
"I don't really care." C.C. quipped before she activated the weapon built in to the large metal claws.
The Radiant Wave Surger it was called. She had absolutely no idea how it worked. Something to do with extreme heat or radiation or a combination of both. She had not used it on an enemy Knightmare before, but now, as she activated the button on her right control stick, she wished she hadn't.
As the gauge in her hand spun up in to the red, C.C. watched in rapt fascination as a cone of red and orange incandescent light sprung forth from the large claw, before the light seemed to spread throughout the body of the Sutherland. The most mortifying moment came when the armour of the Sutherland began to bubble and expand, it's ligaments locking up as it began to vibrate.
"C.C.! Move away. Quick!" Inoue's voice called out over the radio, C.C. following her orders a split second later as, rolling backwards, she watched as the Sutherland exploded, the whole of the machine disappearing in a catastrophic explosion. Before the smoke cleared, C.C. knew that nothing of the enemy remained and there was no chance of the pilot getting out in time.
A roar of anger broadcast through a Knightmare's loudspeakers was the only warning C.C. got before the tip of a bright gold lance appeared from the smoke of the destroyed Sutherland, the second of the pair of Gloucesters lunging through the smoke, attempting to skewer the Guren.
"You bastard!" The enemy pilot roared, as it swung his lance round in a vicious arc across it's chest, forcing C.C. to move backwards while the Gloucester advanced forward, bringing the lance above it's head before swinging it down in a brutal arc, smashing in to the ground as the Guren avoided the blow.
"Where the hell did this guy come from?" Tamaki called out, as he moved to try and flank the Gloucester.
"Tamaki, don't!" C.C. cautioned, but the warning came to late as the purple machine turned on the Burai, smashing the machine's head off with it's lance. Tamaki cursed as he ejected, the pilot block flying clean over the wall.
"You're not getting away!" The Gloucester's pilot yelled out, levelling it's rifle at the Guren and firing a long sustained burst at the red machine, forcing it to the roll away.
"Zero, if you've got a plan to get us out of here, get it other with!" The green-haired immortal called out over the radio.
No reply came from the masked terrorist, but the very earth shook as a large section of the wall directly in front of the Black Knights was punched through the wall, the stonework smashing in the ground around the black Burais.
"That'll do it." C.C. mused to herself as she moved to head to the exit. It looked like the explosion had stalled the enemy's advance, so that gave the Black Knights the window to exit through the hole. The Burais exited by pairs, Zero's and C.C.'s Knightmares covering the exit with their machine guns, C.C. counting off each Burai as they went through the hole.
"... and that makes fifteen. Zero, that's everyone." The immortal said.
"Look out, Zero!" Inoue's voice called out, catching C.C.'s attention before she turned to see what had distressed the girl. Directly in front of her, the Gloucester from before. It didn't rush at them. Instead it spread it's legs wide in front and behind itself, before taking up a position similar to a...
"You are kidding me?" The witch said to herself as the Gloucester threw the lance, the weapon flying straight towards Zero's Burai. Acting quickly, C.C. moved in to the way, holding out her large right arm directly in front of her before activating the Wave Surger. The bright red-orange light filled the air again as the lance seemed to hover in mid-air as it bubbled and expanded before exploding.
"C.C.! We are leaving!" Zero called out, as his Knightmare slipped through the hole, smoke filling the space before the Guren activated her own smoke screen and slipped through the hole.
Rolling through the mud and trees, it didn't take C.C. long to meet up with the rest of the Black Knights. Fifteen Burais remained, but with only one dead, she knew the group would consider it a success.
Rolling her red machine to a gentle roll, C.C. drew level with Lelouch's Burai, it's cockpit opened as Kallen, still wearing her white straitjacket was lowered to the floor and rushed to a waiting off-road truck, the Black Knights who had lost their Knightmares waiting inside the vehicle while it's pilot stood on the seat.
"C.C." Lelouch's voice, softer than the witch expected, caught her surprise. "Thank you. For saving my life."
Insider her cockpit, the green-haired immortal simply smiled as the young terrorist climbed back in to his cockpit as the Black Knights quickly sped away from the prison.
"What the hell?" A voice cried out over the radio, making Ciaran wince. He couldn't see the ID profile for the pilot, but he had to guess that it was one of the Purists.
"Stow it, soldier!" Lord Guilford said, reprimanding the pilot before the Knight began issuing orders for aircraft to be launched to follow the retreating Black Knights. "All Britannian units, fall back to the prison garage. This mission is over."
Running his hand through his hair, Ciaran let out a shuddering hiss that seemed to reverberate around the inside of the cockpit as he let himself fall back against the seat. Frustration boiled up inside him.
He had been so close!
Zero had been directly in his sight, and that throw had been perfect.
If only that strange, red Knightmare and that damn energy weapon hadn't gotten in the way.
"Shit happens, mate." Ciaran said to himself, shaking his head as he ordered his Gloucester to roll back to the main prison complex at a leisurely pace.
Weaving his way past a sizeable hunk of concrete, Ciaran's attention was drawn to a fallen Sutherland, it's right leg destroyed at the knee and it's cockpit block missing. Moving towards it, he noticed from it's colour scheme, standard purple armour with red pauldrons, that it belonged to the Purist faction that was attached to the mission. Looking through his main view-screen, he could see a woman, with dark skin and silver hair, wearing a personalized version of a pilot suit, sitting on top of the armour, her hands resting against her chins.
"Lady Villetta?" The young man called out over his loud-hailer as he rolled the Gloucester to a stop near the fallen machine.
"Captain Forsyth?" She called out, looking up at the purple machine.
"Aye, it's me. Hold on, my lady." He called out as he activated the cockpit, the back of the machine sliding out as he stood up, allowing the woman to see him clearly. Reaching down, he pressed the button to lower the climbing winch, hopping on to the foothold as it was lowered to the floor.
Reaching the floor, he jogged over to the woman as she stepped down from her perch off the fallen Sutherland. "Do you need any help, my lady?"
"What do you think?" Villetta snapped in reply, her face still the scowl it was from before. Her face softened though, letting out a sigh as she put a hand on her hip. "My apologies, captain."
Ciaran waved off her apology. "It's all right, my lady. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I got hit by that rifle grenade. Still pissed off that I didn't dodge sooner." The woman said resignedly, which Ciaran nodded in reply to. Looking past her, he saw the ragged stump with dangling wires and shorn metal where the Sutherland's knee had been.
"Well, it's good to know you're alive." He said with a sincere smile. "Lord Guilford's issued the recall order. We're all heading to the prison garage. Care for a lift?"
The look Lady Villetta gave him almost made him laugh loudly, a look of sheer confusion.
"It's a long way to the prison's garage, and I kind of doubt that Lord Guilford would willingly wait for just one person before he wraps this whole thing up, so I was just being nice. Plus, I don't think the weather will be too kind to you either."
Looking up for the first time since the operation began, Ciaran, and Villetta following the young man's gaze, saw that the once blue sky had become grey and overcast. The clouds loomed low, threatening to burst with rain.
Flicking her eyes down to stare at the young man, Villetta was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Fine, I'll take your offer."
Bowing his head, Ciaran motioned for Villetta to follow him towards his Knightmare just as the first light drops of rain began to fall. The young man ascended the winch first, sending it back down as soon as he reached the top. Just as the silver-haired noblewoman reached the cockpit, the heavens opened, prompting Ciaran to shut the cockpit quickly along with forcing Villetta to squeeze herself as tightly as possible down to avoid getting her head squashed by the closing mechanism.
"Ow! Watch it." Ciaran called out as he found the woman's elbow digging incessantly in to his ribs, the result of the two occupants being forced in to a space that was built to accommodate only one.
"Well don't blame me. You're the one who offered me a lift." The woman retorted as she tried to reposition herself in to a more comfortable position, which resulted in more painful jabs as she fixed herself to sit on his knees. Luckily, their similar height worked for them, as they managed to sit comfortably (relatively speaking) together. Although it did result in Ciaran's only view being of the back of Villetta's head.
"I. Cannot see shit." The young man grumbled out, before quickly adding "No offence."
"Yeah, you may not have thought this through properly." The silver-haired woman said, turning her head to give him a sly glance before turning to face the main screen. "Don't worry. You drive and I'll navigate for you."
Ciaran could only nod in reply as be pushed the Gloucester forward slowly, drifting sideways at Villetta's command. It was slow going, due to the amount of rain that plastered the prison yard and the fact that Ciaran's only view was of the back of his passenger's head.
They had only travelled a maybe about fifty metres before Ciaran began chuckling to himself before laughing, turning his head to avoid getting Villetta's ponytail in his mouth.
"What's so funny?" She snapped, annoyance plain in her voice as the young man continued laughing.
"I am just so fucking glad that Nonette is not here to see this. She'd have a bloody aneurysm!" Ciaran replied, covering his eyes with one of his hands as he continued laughing.
"Nonette?" Villetta asked, turning bodily to look at him. "Nonette Enneagram? The Lady Knight of Nine?"
"The very same." Ciaran said with a nod, coming down from his laughing fit as Villetta turned her attention back to the front, confusion on her face, which Ciaran saw. "What? Surprised that a mongrel Briton like myself can be friends with a woman like the Knight of Nine?"
The woman could only keep silent.
"And there's the answer." Ciaran said, nodding his head.
Villetta's only reply was to call out a new direction. "Bare right, then go on for thirty-metres."
Following her order, Ciaran ordered his Gloucester to roll to the side before he continued talking.
"I can't really hold it against you, mind. It's something that's been ingrained in you since birth, so it's hard to go against that sort of thinking. Personally, I can't abide by it. Putting people down to big yourself just shows a weak ego in my mind."
"A wea-?" Villetta prepared to snap out, twisting at her waist, before the young man interrupted her.
"Eye's on the road!" Ciaran said, forcing his passenger to put her eyes forward before he continued talking. "I mean, you said it yourself. You were a common soldier before you met Jeremiah-"
"Lord Jeremiah." Villetta growled out.
"I'm sorry. Lord Jeremiah. Anyway, just because you think you're better than someone, doesn't mean you are. And beating people down doesn't ensure they'll stay down. Beat a man too much, and soon he'll take a stand against you."
"Do you really believe that?" The silver-haired woman asked.
Leaning over her shoulder to see at the view-screens before them, Ciaran stopped the Gloucester and turned it to the side, focusing the central camera on the body of one of the fallen Knightmares of the Black Knights.
"I think that right there proves my point." Ciaran said solemnly, before making the machine move forward. Peering over Villetta's shoulder, he saw that the door to the garage wasn't too far away, so he set the Knightmare in to analogue walking, the heavy footfalls of the purple machine making the occupants jolt slightly with every step.
"I joined the Purebloods because I wanted to advance my station. Is that such a bad thing?" The noblewoman asked, catching Ciaran by surprise with her question, making him pause in thought before he shrugged.
"It's pragmatism at it's finest. You saw a way to pull yourself up, and you took it. I really can't say anything against it since I'm practically the same."
Villetta game him an confused look before he made the machine stop and turn on the spot, switching off the movement systems, then taking his hands off the control sticks and activating the cockpit.
"We're here. I suggest you join up with your lot as quickly as you can before Guilford starts the debriefing." Ciaran said as the cockpit block began to move back, Villetta quickly standing to stoop in the confined space of the Knightmare as the seat moved back from beneath her.
He hopped out of his seat, pausing to stretch out his back as his passenger pulled herself out of the machine, quickly making her way to the ladder down to the garage floor.
"Lady Villetta!" Ciaran called out, making the noblewoman pause as he walked over to the top of the ladder to look down at her. "If you think I dislike you, you're wrong. There's no sin in being born in the gutter, but just be careful of which hand is offered to pull you out of the gutter."
Villetta didn't say anything in reply as Ciaran made his way to the other side of the gangway and slid down the ladder quickly before setting off at a jog, picking his way around the engineers to exit the space.
The news of the attack on the prison was not revealed to the population of Area 11, Princess Cornelia instead having the news spin a tale about a military training exercise. Although, walking away from the Princess' office, Ciaran was sure that the news wouldn't fool the more inquisitive users of the internet.
Stretching his arms above his head, the young man, changed out of his pilot suit in to his street clothes, did his best to roll out a kink in his shoulder that he had developed near the tail-end of the mission.
"Ciaran! Wait a moment." Cornelia's voice made him stop, turning around and dropping his arms as he saw the purple-haired princess walking quickly towards him.
"Something wrong, Cornelia?" The young man asked, safe that he and the princess were the only ones in the immediate area, allowing him to use the Princess' name.
Drawing close to him, Ciaran saw that Cornelia had a soft look in her eyes, seeming to scrutinise him before she spoke.
"I just wanted to check up on you." The Princess said, her voice gentle and calm. "I know that you are meant to be on a holiday, but I couldn't ask Nonette or Dorothea to take part, and also Darlton doesn't serve under Guilford so-"
"Relax." Ciaran interrupted the Second Princess' speech by putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling. "I'm all right. I'm fine, really."
Cornelia seemed to study him for a few seconds before she smiled herself, turning her body sideways to playfully shoulder-bump him in the chest. "And there I go, getting all worried for nothing."
Taken slightly aback by the Princess having a huff, fake as it may be, Ciaran couldn't help but chuckle at the older woman before pulling her in to a sideways shrug.
"I have to say, I like seeing this caring side of you." Ciaran said with a smile as he pulled Cornelia closer. "Although you don't have to ask me if I'm all right every time you see me, okay?"
The Princess turned her head to fix him with a blank stare. "I've only asked twice."
"Fair point." Ciaran conceded, nodding his head. "But how about this: if I ever feel like crap, for whatever reason, you'll be the first one to find out. Deal?"
Cornelia seemed to think about it before nodding with a smile. "Deal."
Gently patting him on the chest, she drew herself out from his arm to walk in front of him. "Now come on. Euphie's got a big dinner planned for you, and we don't want to keep her waiting."
"Oh, not more food!" Ciaran groaned out loud, a smile on his face even as he said the words. In reply, Cornelia only laughed, the sound echoing down the corridor as the two made their way to the dining room.
AN: And with chapter 14, this is now officially the longest piece of fiction I've ever written. Although the fact it's an anime fan-fiction fills me with a bit of ambivalence. Still, it's all for you guys, so I'm happy.
Again, thanks go to A.D Fields for helping me with this chapter.
Now, if you guys say that Zero's plan is not really on par with the plans of his in the show... I don't know what to say. Zero's plans are so convoluted and I'm a bit too straight-minded for that sort of thing, so this is a bit of a struggle for me. Must have gone through four or five different ideas before I decided on the one in this chapter. And, aye, I could have probably gone in to a bit more detail on the plan, but... eh. I'll let you guys be the judge on whether it worked or not.
And C.C. was hard to write! I mean it. I don't think I've done her real justice here to be honest. But again, you guys be the judge on that.
Next chapter will most like, if not definitely, be the battle of Narita. So... hold on to your butts.
As always: read, review, enjoy.