Code Geass - A Brave New World

by nightbringer24

(Pretty heavily inspired by Ripped Away) What happens when a young man from our world is transported into the world of Code Geass? Watch as our unfortunate hero is thrust into situations he doesn't fully understand, but tries to make the most of it. R1 Arc in progress.

18. Chapter 18

"Zero..." Cornelia hissed out, tightening the grip on her pen.

As if in answer, the masked terrorist on the screen spoke. "Greetings to you, Viceroy Cornelia. I'm truly sorry that our meeting at Narita had been interrupted the way it had, but I assure you that it won't put a damper on my spirits."

Glancing over, Guilford saw Cornelia's eyes squint in anger at the man's insolent tone.

"Now, to the matter at hand. I do believe that you have lost something."

Without another word, Zero moved to the side, revealing what the armed guards were pointing their weapons at: it was a man in his early twenties, with dark brown curly hair, dressed in a dark green pilot suit, seated on a chair with his arms evidently tied behind his back.

Euphemia let out a sharp gasp, her hands coming up to her mouth in shock, while Nonette's and Dorothea's eyes merely opened in shock. Darlton didn't give any outward expression, merely a tensing of his jaw, while Guilford just scowled at the screen. The strongest reaction in room, which was also the quietest, came from Princess Cornelia.

She didn't say anything, her eyes opening wide in shock just as her fingers closed tightly around the pen in her hand, the resulting pressure snapping the pen clean in half as her grip ruptured the ink cartridge inside, letting the blue-black liquid to spill down the fingers of her gloves.

The masked man on the screen moved his body to the side, moving a hand to gesture to the captive man, presenting him like he was some sort of prize pet.

"Yes, Viceroy. I present to you; Captain Ciaran Forsyth, late of the Royal Guard of the Second Princess. Captured at the Narita mountains and held captive by yours truly."

Cornelia could only stare incredulously at the image on the screen. Ciaran appeared to be well, although his head wasn't tilted up for the camera to see. From the angle of sight, she could see that he had a nasty gash on the left side of his forehead which had been bandaged, but without actually seeing the injury in detail, she couldn't tell how serious it was.

"I doubt you will believe me," Zero continued, walking to stand near his captive. "But he has been treated well, I can assure you. Isn't that right, Captain?"

The last sentence was reinforced by Zero putting a hand on Ciaran's right shoulder, causing the young man's head to snap up in shock. Cornelia was certain she would have ended up grinding her teeth in anger if it wasn't for the confused snort he made.

"Hey? Huh, what?" The young man asked in a confused daze, as he looked around the room he was in before he looked straight at the camera as he realized what was going on. "Oh. Yeah, we're doing the ransom video."

The tension in the room suddenly dissipated as they saw that Ciaran was unharmed and very much alive, having only been napping. Cornelia let a ghost of a smile play on her lips before it fell as she saw Ciaran's eyes. The circles under his eyes had deepened slightly, but other than he seemed as lively as usual.

"Hello, Viceroy," Ciaran said, half-heartedly reciting a speech he had obviously been given. "As Zero says, I am fine and have been well-treated. I received the gash on my head when I was captured, it was not sustained during my captivity."

"Regretfully, we do not possess the facilities to treat his head wound." Zero stated, not sounding the little bit remorseful. "So we don't know if he has suffered any brain damage or not-"

"Brain damage?!" Ciaran called out, managing to sit up bolt upright, a look of confusion mixed with fear on his face, catching the two Black Knights guarding him by surprise. The news took nearly everyone in Cornelia's office by surprise too.

"Being whacked in the head can give you brain damage?" Nonette asked, looking around the room quizzically before she was shushed by Dorothea.

"Anyway," Zero continued, ignoring Ciaran's questioning look. "I have decided that keeping your warhound around is simply too much hassle for me and my group."

"Warhound?" Darlton asked, a small smile replacing his stern anger from before as he looked at Cornelia.

"Therefore, your Highness, I propose a trade: I will gladly return Captain Forsyth to you, in exchange for a seven day ceasefire."

"What?!" Cornelia roared out, surging forward from her chair to stand up. The volume of her voice only took Euphemia by surprise, the young princess flinching at the volume of her older sister's voice while everyone else remained fixed on the screen, and the news that the masked man had just delivered.

"I can easily imagine how annoyed you must be my simple request, and I'm not surprise really. To ask of the Princess such a thing is... unthinkable."

Zero walked back to stand in front of Ciaran again, blocking the camera's, and everyone else's view, of the young Briton, prompting a small curse from the young Briton.

"Tosser..."

"You cannot deny, however, the simple fact that Narita severely depleted your current forces. You are not in a good position to consider yourself in strength to maintain control over Area 11. You know this, as do I."

"Jammy bastard..." Nonette muttered as Zero continued his speech.

"But I am nothing if not generous, so along with Captain Forsyth, I swear that the Black Knights will not take any action against you and your regime for an entire week."

The office fell in to silence again as all present took in the news. No-one in the room, Cornelia foremost among them, could question the fact that after the disaster at Narita, the number of Britannian forces in Area 11 had been heavily mauled and the only way to raise the numbers without having to rely on Honorary Britannians would be to put in requests for reinforcements from the Homeland would take least seventy-two hours to get a hold of and transported to Area 11.

"If you agree to my terms," The masked man said, placing his hands behind his back once again. "Then you will send Princess Euphemia and one bodyguard down to the Yokohama docks, tonight at nine, with a hand written document agreeing to the ceasefire. For your own benefit, I will allow you to forego any press release. We wouldn't want you looking bad now, would we?"

Turning around, Zero moved to give the camera a view of Ciaran, a contemptuous scowl plain on the captive man's face.

"Any words to say, Captain?"

For a few seconds, Ciaran simply stared at Zero before he turned his head to look at the camera and, it seemed to her, to look directly at Cornelia.

"Not really, no."

"Very well then." Zero said, stepping to the side to let himself and Ciaran be in the same shot. "I'll see you tonight at the Yokohama Docks then. Don't be late."

And with that, blue filled the TV screen as the DVD finished, leaving the room to fall in to silence, none of the people inside sure of what to say about the situation.

"Cornelia..." Euphemia said, as she turned her gaze from the screen to look at her older sister, everyone else copying her move.

"Well, we can't go through with it." Guilford spoke up, earning a hostile glare from Darlton.

"What the hell, Gil? Are you saying that we should just leave Ciaran with those bastards?" The scarred general said, scowling at the Knight.

"Of course I'm not saying that, General-"

"Are you sure, Guilford?" Nonette interrupted him, adding her own glower. "Because it sure as hell sounds like it to me."

"But what if news of this gets out, Lady Enneagram?" Guilford countered, ignoring the looks of hostility directed at him. "Or what if, and this is a very likely possibility I might add, Zero decides to not go through with this deal? What if he's simply using this meeting as an excuse to capture a member of the Royal Family?"

No-one said anything against the Knight's logic. Cornelia least of all. Although for the moment, she was preoccupied with removing her ink stained glove, dumping the formerly pristine garment in to the bin besides her desk as Guilford continued talking before doing the same to her other glove.

"I like Ciaran. He's an intelligent young man and a good soldier, but for his sake and the sake of Princess Euphemia, I cannot agree with this course of action!"

"How can you say that?" Dorothea replied, shock plain on her face. "We would do everything we could to rescue any other member of the army. Why can't we do the same for Ciaran?"

"Lady Ernst, if we knew where he was, I would gladly join the mission to rescue him. But think about it logically: we have no clue where he is, what forces the Black Knights have and all the other variables that would be in place for a rescue operation. If we get any of those things wrong, then we run a very big risk of Ciaran... loosing his life."

Even though he had tried to broach the issue as softly as he could, Guilford's words still hit everyone hard. What he said was the truth, however. None of their efforts in finding the Black Knights' transports and their hideout were successful and it would take too much time and effort to try and locate him on the ground.

The soft voice of Princess Euphemia caught everyone's attention.

"I'll do it." The young princess said, a stern look on her usually friendly face.

"Wha... what are you talking about, Euphie?" Cornelia asked, looking at her sister in shock, everyone else in the room echoing her look of shock.

"My friend is in trouble," Euphemia said sternly. "How could I live with myself if I abandoned him? Also, didn't you once say that a good leader never abandons those in need if they can help it?"

The pink haired princess crossed her arms in triumph, a small smile on her face as Cornelia realised what her younger sister had said was true. Although she didn't want to make a point that she had referred to military operations rather than just politics in general.

'But,' Cornelia thought to herself, 'This is a military operation, isn't it?'

"Can you trust Zero to go through with this though, Princess Euphemia?" Guilford asked, still playing the role of the ever protective knight.

"At Lake Kawaguchi, Zero had me at gunpoint, but he didn't shoot me." Euphemia replied, a wry smile on her face. "I doubt that he would try anything now. Let alone if I show up with a bodyguard."

Cornelia nodded at her younger sister's words. While it was true that Zero hadn't tried to assassinate Euphie at Lake Kawaguchi, it didn't mean that that the bastard wouldn't try anything this time.

But from what Euphemia had told her sister, Zero had gotten her alone at the hotel. And this time around, Zero was saying that the young princess would be allowed to bring a bodyguard.

"If you were to go," Cornelia asked, looking at her sister sternly. "Who would you take with you?"

All eyes fell on Euphemia as the young Princess mulled the question over. Looking at her, Cornelia saw her sister's eyes fall on virtually everyone in the room with the exception of herself. She didn't try to fight the frown that came to her face when Euphemia gave her suspicion.

"I'm not sure." Euphemia said half-heartedly, a guilty look crossing her face.

The sudden burst of laughter from Nonette that filled the room broke the tension before the Knight of Nine walked over and pulled Euphemia in to a hug.

"Oh, Euphie. You are too sweet." The Knight said with a smile as she rocked her body side to side, Euphemia held tight to her before she released her and turned to look at Cornelia. "I'll go with her."

Cornelia couldn't really fight the idea. Nonette was as capable a fighter as any of the Knights of the Round, she was a dead-eye with a pistol and Cornelia knew that she would willingly defend Euphemia against anyone. But she was too much of a live-wire. Nonette had the ability to go from nought to sixty in a split second, and there was the danger that, if Zero even flinched in a way she didn't like, Nonette would shoot the man dead. Granted, it would solve a problem, but Cornelia didn't doubt that the man had a contingency plan to deal with that sort of situation.

No. She needed someone calmer, someone with a more level head, but someone who would not be above putting herself in harms way when the situation called for it...

The only other Knight of the Round in Area 11.

"Lady Ernst. Would you have any objections to taking on the role as my sister's bodyguard for tonight?" Cornelia asked. "I know it's not my place to order one of my father's Knights but -"

"Princess Cornelia," The Knight of Four interrupted Cornelia, taking her by surprise. "I have no problem taking on the role of bodyguard for Princess Euphemia."

Cornelia looked at Dorothea as she mulled it over in her head: her ranks as Knight of Four not withstanding, she was a top marksman, a capable sword user. She had a level head, a good brain and a veteran of situations like this. A perfect bodyguard for her sister.

"Euphemia, is that all right with you?" Cornelia asked her sister, turning to look at her.

"It is!" Euphemia said, nodding her head vigorously.

"That settles it then. Dorothea will act as Euphemia's bodyguard for the handover." Cornelia stated before turning to look at the downcast Knight of Nine. "Sorry, Nonette."

"Nah, it's fine." Nonette said, waving off the comment. "You're right in choosing Dorothea though. She's always been better at this sort of thing anyway."

Cornelia nodded, glad that Nonette had taken the plan in such good humour.

"Right then. I'm going to begin drafting the ceasefire document. Guilford, I want you and Lady Ernst to go through any and all intel we have on the Yokohama docks and to also fill in Euphemia on our exit strategy if things go wrong."

Her personal Knight and the Knight of Four bowed their heads in respect, Euphemia nodding her own head, before the three moved to walk out of the office.

"Darlton, I need to stay behind for a few moments. And Nonette?"

The champagne-haired Knight looked at her quizzically for a few seconds.

"Just do whatever you want."

"Right." Nonette said, looking around the room and moving her arms in wide sweeps, obviously confused about what to do. "I'm going to take a nap. See ya!"

"You go do that." Darlton said, as he and Cornelia watched the Knight of Nine leave the room. When the door closed, the scarred general turned to look at the seated Princess as she drew a piece of paper with an elaborate letter-head from a drawer and placed it on her desktop. "So why wasn't I considered as Euphemia's bodyguard?"

"If Zero tried anything against Euphie and you were killed," Cornelia said as she picked up a fountain pen and brought it to the paper. "And she were captured, then that would cripple us even worse than we are already are."

"Fair point." Darlton said in reply.

"Besides, I have a special task for you. I want you to provide close security for the handover and to make sure that those bastards in the Black Knights don't try anything funny."

"What did you have in mind?" Darlton asked, intently listening to the Princess now.

"There's a special reconnaissance unit that took part in clearing the Narita Mountains of civilians before the battle. They're called Dagger Group, belonging to the 200th Imperial Princess' Pathfinders. They didn't get caught in the attack, so they're still at full fighting strength."

"Got it. I'll go contact their commanding officer." Darlton said, nodding his head. "Is there anything else, your Highness?"

"No, that will be all." Cornelia said as she focused on the paper before and the words she was writing in elegant script on it. She didn't notice Darlton bowing his head in respect before he walked to the door and exited the room, leaving Cornelia alone. The only noise that filled the room now was the sound of the Princess' pen scratching across the paper and the ticking of an antique clock ticking away.

Looking up from her work, Cornelia turned to look at the clock, it's elaborately wrought hands turning across the finely done clock-face.

Ten minutes past one in the afternoon was the time shown.

Turning back to the desk, she carried on writing in silence.

---

In her room in the requisitioned warehouse that served as the Black Knights' headquarters, sitting on her bed and wearing a pair of workout shorts and a crop-top sports top, Kallen let out a breathe through clenched teeth as she lifted the five pound dumbbell in her left hand up to be lateral with her shoulder for the twentieth time before setting the metal weight on to the floor. Kallen was happy that she had put in that request for a couple bits of weight training equipment, if they were just the two five pound dumbbells.

She'd have liked to have done more with the weight training, but the appearance she maintained at school wouldn't allow it. Her persona as a mild and meek daughter of an aristocrat meant she couldn't do any major bulking up, although Kallen had to admit as she stood up to grab a towel, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror she had installed in to the side wall of the room, she was proud of what her body looked like.

Her admiration of her own body was interrupted as a knock sounded on the door to her room.

"Hold on a minute!" Kallen called out as she quickly reached over, grabbing her uniform; a black double-breasted jacket and a miniskirt. Hastily, she dressed in the clothes, fitting the skirt over her hips when a voice sounded through the door.

"Kallen. It's Inoue. Are you okay?" The older woman asked, sounded a bit perplexed.

"Inoue? Bloody hell! Why didn't you say it was you?" Kallen asked in reply as she slid her arms in to the sleeves of her jacket before she walked over to the door.

Sure enough, opening the door revealed the familiar visage of Naomi Inoue, the indigo haired freedom fighter, standing on the other side.

"Working out again?" Inoue asked, looking past Kallen in to her room.

"Yeah, just keeping in shape." Kallen replied, before suddenly realising that she had her jacket open, revealing her, regretfully now, loose fitting workout top, and that the corridor outside her room had several Black Knights walking past. "Can we take this inside?"

"Of course." Inoue said, walking in to the room, following Kallen as the red-haired teenager retreated in to the room. The older woman took a seat on the single bed as Kallen took off her jacket to remove her workout top and replaced it with a simple white vest. "So Zero's got you and one of my squad guarding that Britannian Captain tonight for the handover."

"Yes, he has." Kallen said simply as she fixed the buttons on her jacket in place.

Behind her, Kallen couldn't see the look of confusion that came to Inoue's face at the answer.

"What's wrong, Kallen?"

"Nothing is wrong."

The sound of bedsprings squeaking was the only warning that Kallen got before she was rapidly turned around to look at Inoue, a worried look on the older woman's face.

"Kallen. What happened when you went to talk with that bastard?"

"What are you talking about?" Kallen asked Inoue, trying to wriggle out of her grip.

"Ever since you took food to that bastard last night, you've been acting odd." Inoue growled. "What did he say to you?"

Against her own will, Kallen felt herself slump in the older woman's grip before turning her head to avoid looking at Inoue.

"He... he said her forgave me."

"What?" Inoue asked, very confused by the remark. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, Kallen decided to tell the whole story about what Captain Forsyth had said to her: about how she should leave the Black Knights and that Zero only viewed her as a weapon, how she wasn't doing anything to 'break the cycle', about how their just as bad as Britannia, and how, in the end, while she might not be able to forgive Britannia for their actions, he would forgive her for the actions.

Throughout Kallen's explanation, Inoue loosened her grip on her arms before letting them drop entirely, all the while a look of confusion on her face. As Kallen's story came to a close, Inoue was at a loss at what to say.

"That's..." The indigo haired woman began before she was interrupted.

"Not what you expected him to say? Same here." Kallen said, trying her best to find some humour in the situation as she let out a small chuckle.

"Well... yeah!" Inoue said, shocked at the idea. "I mean... have you ever known a Britannian to be... nice?"

"In his defence, he's not Britannian."

"What?"

"He's not Britannian. He's British." Kallen said, although she knew it wasn't much of an explanation.

"That doesn't change anything." Inoue said with a scowl. "He's with Princess Cornelia, so he's an enemy. Case closed."

"But-"

"But nothing, Kallen!" The indigo-haired woman roared, making Kallen flinch. "He works for the enemy, that means he's an enemy. Case closed."

Kallen wanted to protest, but Inoue was right: no matter how genial the Captain may be, he was still an enemy. But to have an enemy who spoke the way he did, who saw her as a person, was... it just didn't make sense.

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Kallen asked, hoping to change the subject.

Inoue didn't look interested in anything else, but the look on Kallen's face told her that it would be better to change the topic.

"Yeah. Zero wants to see you in the main assembly area. It's about tonight."

"All right then. I'll get finished getting ready then." Kallen said, turning to look at her mirror, making sure that her jacket was done right. She didn't pay attention as Inoue walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, fully dressed in her uniform, with her cap held in hand, she walked quickly to the large storeroom that served as the assembly area for the Black Knights. Before they had gotten their hands on it, the warehouse had just been another abandoned building in the Shin-Urayasu district. She wasn't sure if it had been a Japanese business before the war or a Britannian industry that fell on hard times, but the large storehouse had now been given over to being the Black Knights' assembly area. The large room was now filled with Burais, trucks, crates of provisions and men and women dressed in the uniform of the Black Knights.

She asked a passing maintenance technician where she could find Zero and she was directed to a spot near the back. As Kallen made her to the spot indicated to her, she found Zero talking to Kent, both men standing near a sleek looking black car. It was almost as if the entire car was made from darkness. The windows were tinted black, keeping outsiders from looking in, and the sleek lines and the shape of the grill and headlights gave the car an almost feral appearance.

Kallen couldn't help the whistle that came from her mouth as she saw the machine. "Fancy car."

Turning, Zero addressed her. "Do you like it? I got it from a Britannian noble. The man was very willing to give it away."

"I'm still unclear about that whole thing." Kent said, looking at Zero in confusion, to which the masked man merely shrugged.

"As I said: the man was very generous about giving it away. What time is it, Sugiyama?"

Kent looked at the watch on his wrist. "Eight twenty, Zero."

"Right then. Let's not keep the Viceroy waiting then." Zero said, turning to look back at the car. "Kent. Go and bring out the prisoner."

Nodding his head, the man went off towards the part of the building where the prisoner was being kept, leaving Kallen alone with Zero.

When Kent was out of sight, Kallen went to stand next to Zero.

"Zero. Are you sure you're fine with just two bodyguards?"

"Positive." Zero said simply. "I think we've got too important a prisoner for the Viceroy to try anything forceful to take him back. Plus, if it's Princess Euphemia too, then that's even more incentive for her to play it safe."

Kallen nodded her head as she returned her attention to the black car in front of them. She didn't know how much time had passed and she didn't know why she did it, so it took her by surprise when she asked the question that had been on her mind.

"Zero, what's going to happen to Japan when we win?"

The masked man turned his head to look at her slightly, the blank face seeming to scrutinise her before he answered her question.

"When we win, Japan will be secured from Britannia."

"But what about China?" Kallen asked.

"That which I cannot beat with strength of arms, I shall beat with diplomacy."

Zero's voice was the same as it always was: inspiring and persuasive. Kallen thoroughly believed what he said. His whole voice was just so relaxing and his tone made it sound logical. But then so did the Captain's voice. While Zero's reasoning was logical, Captain Forsyth's had been emotional and heartfelt.

To Kallen, it seemed that they were two sides of the same coin.

"Ah, so the brave Captain joins us at last." Zero said as, turning to side, Kallen saw the Captain, dressed in his drab green pilot suit, walking towards them. Kent brought up the rear behind him, carrying a submachine gun with the barrel trained on the other man's back.

"Hello to you, Captain Forsyth." Zero said genially, turning fully to look at the man.

"Hello, Zero," The Captain said, nodding his head with a small smirk on his face. "Finally gotten tired of having me around?"

Before Zero had a speak, Forsyth leaned close, an arrogant grin on his face.

"You can defeat a whole Britannian army, but not one single soldier? Doesn't really bode well for you does it?"

The cocky tone from the Captain quickly overrode any feelings of sympathy Kallen might have had for the man as she growled in irritation.

"That's enough, Captain!" She snarled out.

"Calm down, lass." The green-suited man said, standing back up to his full height, a small but no less cocky smile on his face. "Just having a bit of fun before we get back to fighting each other. Just because we're enemies doesn't mean we can't have some fun with each other."

"Agreed, Captain." Zero said, his acquiescence taking Kallen and Kent by surprise. "Just because the man smells like a dog doesn't mean he's wrong."

"There you go!" Forsyth said in reply, smiling before the smile fell quickly. "Is it that bad though?"

"Certainly could be better." Kent mumbled out in Japanese from behind the officer, making Kallen giggle slightly. If Zero was bothered, he didn't show it.

With a loud cough, the masked man cleared his throat, drawing the pair's attention on to him before he gestured to the sleek car beside them. "We really should get going."

The Captain shrugged in acceptance as Zero moved to the front passenger side door, while Kent walked over to the driver's side door. In Japanese, Zero addressed Kallen.

"Kallen, you'll be guarding the prisoner in the back. There's a submachine gun inside the car for you."

"Got it." Kallen responded before she jogged over the driver's side passenger door. Opening the door, she wasn't too surprised to see one another submachine gun, similar to the one Kent had, resting on her seat. Reaching inside, Kallen picked up the weapon before taking her place on the seat, closing the door behind her.

From the other side of the car, the other door opened as the green-suited Captain climbed in to the car himself. Upon entering the car, the man let out a low 'whoof' in surprise.

"Damn. For a terrorist group, you guys really do have good taste." The man said in astonishment as he looked around the interior of the car.

None of the Black Knights said anything in return as the engine of the car spun in to life. The nobleman who originally owned it had obviously had a nostalgic feeling for cars, as the car's chassis shook gently from the engine coming to life, something which very few of the electric cars in Japan did.

Leaving the warehouse behind them, the group travelled in silence. It wasn't too surprising considering that none of the occupants had anything to really talk about. So it blind-sided Kallen to hear Captain Forsyth's voice quietly asking her a question.

"Kallen, are you sure there's nothing I can say to make you change your mind about Britannia?"

"Just shut up." She growled out in irritation, feeling her hands tighten around the gun in her hands.

Seemingly oblivious to her building anger, the man continued speaking. "It's just that you never asked me what happened to your mother."

'Mother!' The word flashed across Kallen's mind as she turned to look at the man beside her.

"What do you know about her? What happened to her?" She hissed out, trying to avoid either Kent or Zero turning to look at them.

"She was addicted to refrain." The Captain said simply, turning to look out of the window. "She was facing seven years in prison for possession and using a class-A narcotic. But I managed to work out a deal."

Kallen's main finger moved dangerously close to the gun's trigger as she spoke. "What kind of deal?"

"She's been moved to a hospital, I don't know which one. She'll be treated as a patient there instead of in a prison, the same with the rest of the people found in that warehouse. She'll serve out her sentence there, along with getting help to kick her addiction."

Kallen's mouth fell open slightly as her eyes widened.

"If she shows good progress in kicking the addiction, the Viceroy agreed that she would have a few years taken off of her sentence."

"So... she could get out early?" The teenage girl asked, fully taken aback by what this man was telling her.

"It's all up to her, but I don't see why she shouldn't." Captain Forsyth replied with a shrug, before turning to shoot Kallen a small smile.

"And you made this deal with the Viceroy?" Kallen asked.

"Well, I had some help from Sub-Viceroy Euphemia, but yes, I did." He replied, giving her another smile.

Kallen's grip loosened on the submachine gun as she let it drop in to her lap as she slumped back in to her chair. The officer just looked at her before turning back to look out of the window.

"Kallen, we're getting close to the rendezvous point." Zero said, his voice filling the space, making the girl jolt back in to sitting right up. "Prepare the prisoner for the meeting."

"Y-yes, sir!" She replied, as she watched Zero reach through the gap between his and Kent's seats. In his hands, he held a single black zip-tie out to her, obviously to put around the Captain's wrists.

Setting her submachine gun down on to her lap, she took the piece of plastic in hand, then turned and tapped the other man on the shoulder, making him turn around.

"Give me your hands." She told him, making him promptly follow the command, sticking out his hands towards her, which Kallen promptly wrapped in the plastic fabric, pulling the tab tightly.

"Ouch." The man said, wincing at the sudden pain.

Kallen didn't say anything as she looked at the man, releasing his hands to pick up her weapon again. Looking out of her window, she saw that they were nearer to the Tokyo Settlement. They were closing to their destination now, and the sooner they could be rid of this man, the better.

But still, she only felt it right to say what she was going to say to him.

"Captain?" Kallen asked, turning to look at him. When he glanced over, she swallowed a bit of spit before she spoke.

"Thank you. For what you did for my mother."

The man's only reply was to look at her and smile.

Not giving him a chance to speak, Kallen spun back around in her seat and looked out of her window as she saw the warehouses that marked the Yokohama docks draw closer.

---

Standing in the middle of the docks, lit only by the headlights of the staff-car she and Dorothea had taken, along with the distant lights from the settlement, made the secluded part of the Yokohama docks designated for the exchange even more foreboding than Euphemia had originally thought as they drove in. Dressed in the same attire she wore at Narita, she felt a pang of cold go through her as a sudden but strong breeze from the north swept down from Mount Fuji. Steeling herself however, Euphemia braced herself against the cold as best she could.

"Do you want me to go back and fetch your coat?" Dorothea offered from beside her, the Knight of Four standing stoically beside her. Looking over, Euphemia saw that the female Knight was dressed in her pristine white jacket with gold trim and deep blue panelling on the inner lining. At her waist, sitting on her belt, where her chosen weapons for the night: a pistol held in a leather holster on her right hip, butt facing forward, while a sword, straight-bladed with a basket hilt, hung in it's scabbard from a series of smaller belts to hang below her left knee. To the untrained eye, it look like an odd combination but to someone like the Knight of Four, it posed no problem at all to her skilled hands.

"No, it's all right, Lady Dorothea." Euphemia replied with a soft smile. "They won't be long now." Raising her left arm, she let the wide puffy sleeve slide down to reveal a beautifully crafted watch. The Princess watched as the second hand slowly ticked round the face over golden Roman numerals inlaid in to an ivory disc.

8:56

Four minutes until Zero arrived with Ciaran.

In her right hand, she held her part of the deal: encased safely in a metal cylinder was a piece of paper. At the top was a letter-head consisting of an elegant rolling design surrounding the coat of arms of the Britannian Royal Family. Below all of that, written in elegant and scrolling black script, was the document written and signed by Cornelia herself that said that Britannian military forces under her command would not take any action against the Black Knights for seven days, starting on midnight that night.

"Of course it all depends on that arrogant bastard Zero." Euphemia remembered her sister grumbling out as she wrote the document.

Letting her eyes wander, Euphemia looked around the surrounding rooftops. When the Princess and Dorothea had prepared to leave the large military truck that brought them here, she had overheard Darlton ordering something called 'Dagger Group' to take position somewhere to 'cover the Princess'. Now, she was looking around trying to find any trace of the group.

"Your Highness, they're here." Dorothea said, bringing Euphemia back in to the world. Looking ahead, she saw a simple black car, with black tinted windows and headlights blazing bright, rolled in to the centre of the docks, stopping a dozen feet or so away from them. The squeal of the breaks being applied filled the air before the doors at the front and back opened.

Stepping out from behind the door, Euphemia immediately locked on to the caped form of Zero as the masked man pulled himself up to his full height before moving to stand in front of the car. From the opposite side of the car, a man wearing a uniform consisting of a black double-breasted jacket with short sleeves and a pair of black trousers exited the driver's side door. On his head, he wore a cap with a low visor that obscured the upper portion of his head. Behind Zero, a young woman stood up from behind the driver's side passenger door. Underneath the same type of visored cap, Euphemia could make out a shock of deep red hair and her uniform was the same as the other's man except, instead of a pair of trousers, she wore a black miniskirt and a long pair of black tights. In her hands, she carried a compact and lethal looking submachine gun.

Euphemia's apprehension at the meeting perked up slightly as she the person she was here to rescue as she saw Ciaran, still dressed in his drab green pilot suit, step out of the car and move to stand between Zero and the red haired woman. Looking directly at him, Euphemia saw that his hands were bound in front of him. But his captive state did nothing to perturb him it seemed, as he shot the princess a soft but sweet smile.

"Good evening, Princess Euphemia li Britannia," The masked terrorist began, sounding cordial. "It's such a shame we have to meet here, but... the Lady Knight of Four?"

"Good evening to you, Zero." Dorothea replied, nodding her head slightly in way of a greeting with a small smile.

The man behind the terrorist growled something out, raising his submachine as he did so. In response, the Knight of Four quickly drew her pistol, aiming it at the man, while Euphemia tried to make sense of what happened.

"What? What's going on?" She asked, looking at either group for an answer.

"My compatriot is right," Zero said in reply. "Why is a Knight of the Round here?"

"Because it's your own fault, dumb-ass." Ciaran growled out, catching everyone's attention. "You said that Euphemia could bring one bodyguard. It's your own fault for not saying that she couldn't bring Lady Dorothea or Lady Nonette as her chosen bodyguard."

Euphemia wasn't too shocked to hear Ciaran speak like that. She'd heard what he said at Narita to the Purists, but the fact that he'd say it to the man who had him captive... she was a little bit worried.

If Zero was phased by Ciaran's outburst, then he didn't show it. He gave a few quick words to the men behind who, very reluctantly, lowered his weapon.

"Very well. I'll allow it then." Zero said reluctantly, obviously not too pleased about the situation but continuing on regardless. "So, your Highness, I presume that you have your sister's declaration with you?"

Raising her right hand, Euphemia showed the cylinder which held the document proclaiming the ceasefire.

"If you would be so kind as to bring it to me, Princess." Zero asked, holding his out his hand, obviously expecting Euphemia to just give it to him.

It was an idea that neither Dorothea or Ciaran obviously did not find convincing.

"Are you serious?" Ciaran asked in a deadpan voice.

"What the-?" The male Black Knight began to reply before he was interrupted by Dorothea.

"The Captain's right. We'd be stupid to just let Her Highness walk straight over to you." The Knight of Four said, fixing Zero with a hostile glare.

"So how are we doing this then?" The red-haired Black Knight asked in irritation.

"Just do it old school." Ciaran interjected, drawing everyone's attention on to him.

"What do you mean?" Euphemia asked, puzzled by the statement.

"Meet in the middle." The captive Briton replied, saying it like it was the simplest thing in the world as he addressed the Princess. "One of the Black Knights' brings me to you and either you or Lady Dorothea brings the paper to us. We meet in the middle and we do a switch. Simple as."

The collective reactions to Ciaran's words were mixed. The Black Knights were sceptical, to say the least, as they gave each other confused looks. Dorothea looked at Euphemia with a look that said "It's not the worst idea" and Zero, well, no-one was able to see the look on Zero's face because of his mask, but the sigh that filtered through the mask told them that the masked terrorist saw it as the only way to continue.

"Very well then," The man said before turning to look at the red-haired woman. He quickly addressed her in Japanese in hushed tones. Euphemia strained her ears to try and hear what was being said, but the distance and a sudden gust of wind destroyed any chance she had of hearing Zero's words.

The Princess' breath caught in her throat as she saw saw the female terrorist sling her submachine gun and draw small but wicked bladed knife from a hidden pouch on her belt, pointing the blade at Ciaran. In front of her, Euphemia saw the young man's eyes open wide in shock while to her side, Dorothea quickly moved her right hand to the holster on her left hip, moving to draw the pistol, her face morphing in to what could only be described as a grimace.

The tension felt by the Britannians quickly dissipated as they saw the woman lift up Ciaran's bound wrists and, with a swift motion that they would have missed if they hadn't been watching, the terrorist cut the bonds on their captives wrists, letting his hands move free.

"So it looks like we're doing it that way then." Euphemia said, a small smile coming to her face as she saw Ciaran rub his wrists.

"Indeed we are." Dorothea mused quietly beside her, as she moved her hand back to the side of her hip. "I'll take the document."

Euphemia looked at the female Knight's face in surprise, Dorothea's eyes locked on the group standing in front of them. "Are you sure?"

"I don't trust Zero to not try anything funny if you're the one who gives him the declaration." Dorothea replied, saying it in a matter-of-fact fashion. "Besides, it looks like my being here has thrown a bit of a spanner in his works. So I doubt he'll try anything if both myself and Ciaran are together."

Euphemia arced an eyebrow at her phrasing but wasn't able to ask the question that was on her mind as Zero called out to them.

"We're ready whenever you are, your Highness."

Looking at Dorothea, who gave me a reassuring smile, Euphemia let out a sigh as she accepted the older woman's decision and handed her, albeit reluctantly, the cylinder which Dorothea took in her own hand.

"All right, Zero!" The Knight of Four called out to the group of terrorists. "I'll be delivering the document to you."

"Very well, then, Lady Knight of Four. You'll meet with my compatriot in the middle." The masked man said, before giving a command to the red-haired woman beside him who replied with a curt reply in Japanese before moving behind Ciaran and promptly pushing him with, what she assumed to be, the barrel of her gun as the pair moved forward.

To the Princess, the time it took for the three people to meet in the middle felt like forever, even though it was logically only several seconds. From the sidelines, she couldn't do anything except wring her hands together in anticipation as she watched Dorothea and her friend's guard draw closer together until they stood less than a few paces apart.

Euphemia watched with rapt attention as Ciaran nodded his head in a slight bow to Dorothea before moving to stand on her left side as, reaching forward, the dark-skinned Knight handed the metal cylinder to the black uniformed woman who readily accepted it. Then, like Euphemia had seen so often at the military parades she attended with Cornelia, the two Britannians disengaged from the terrorist by taking several steps backwards before turning to walk back to stand near the Princess. At the same time, the Black Knight turned around and walked back to Zero and her other compatriot.

As she watched Dorothea and Ciaran draw closer to her, Euphemia couldn't help but let a smile come to her face. They're job was complete: her friend and adopted brother-figure had been rescued and the document signifying a ceasefire had been handed over. A complete success.

"Princess Euphemia?" The Briton asked, drawing the young Princess' attention as the man bowed to her. Looking up, the smile faded somewhat as she saw the state that Ciaran was in: dried blood caked the right side of his head below and above his ear, matting his hair down. His eyes were bloodshot and the dark circles under his eyes had deepened. In all, he looked haggard and tired. The lights from the staff car behind her brought Ciaran's skin in to stark contract too, although she hoped that he wasn't really as pale as the light made him look.

"C... Captain Forsyth." She struggled to keep her demeanour in front of the Black Knights. "It is... good to see you unharmed."

"Thank you, your highness." Ciaran replied, a smile coming to his face, the look of genuine joy plain for Euphemia. "I'm glad to be finally out of there."

"It's good to see you free, Ciaran." Dorothea said, putting a hand on Ciaran's shoulder in a friendly gesture, a smile coming to her face as she looked at the young Briton, a smile which he returned.

"Princess Euphemia!" Zero's voice called out over the yard, echoing off the sides of the buildings around them as the trio turned around to look at him. Standing in front of the sleek black car, Zero cut quite a dramatic figure as he held up the piece of paper that he had taken out of the cylinder for them to see.

"You can tell Viceroy Cornelia that I accept the terms in her declaration. The Black Knights will not take any military action against the Britannian military or the Britannian government from midnight tonight." Zero said before rolling up the parchment and placing it back inside the metal container.

"Fast reader." Ciaran said in mild amazement as he watched the Black Knights move to get back in to their car.

"I bid all of you a good night." Zero called out, bowing slightly before the mask lifted up to look in the direction of the green jacketed Briton. "And to Captain Forsyth, I hope we don't have to meet again any time soon."

"Right back at you, you tosser!" Ciaran called out in reply, a cocky smile on his face that quickly fell in to a glare as he watched the masked terrorist simply respond with a nod of his head before climbing in to his car.

"You didn't have to rile him up, Ciaran." Euphemia said, chastising the young man beside her as she shot him a dirty look.

The Briton looked at her from the corner of his eyes for a few seconds before, sighing, he spoke. "Sorry, Euphemia. The man just... he rubs me the wrong way. I can't stand self-righteous pricks who feel that they alone can decide what people feel."

Putting his hands in to a pair of pockets that Euphemia didn't know he had, Ciaran let out a small yawn.

"Tired?" Dorothea asked, giving Ciaran a sly smile.

"Shattered. You try sleeping on a moth-eaten sofa as a bed." The young man said in reply, eliciting a small giggle from Euphemia.

"Come on. Let's head back." The Princess said, turning to walk back to the waiting car.

Slipping in to the back of the car, Euphemia waited for Ciaran to close the passenger side door before, springing forward, she wrapped her arms Ciaran's neck as she pulled him tightly in to a hug.

"What the...?" The man asked, as they felt the car rock gently as Dorothea closed the door. If she had looked up, Euphemia would have seen the Knight of Four looking at the two of them fondly.

"I missed you." Were the only words that Euphemia said in reply, burying her face in the hollow of Ciaran's neck, feeling the fabric of his pilot suit rub against her face. So focused on her hug as she was, Euphemia didn't notice that Ciaran had moved his arms until she found herself pulled in to a hug herself.

"I missed you too." She heard the young man say softly as he rested his chin against the top of Euphemia's head. She closed her eyes as she nearly melted in to the hug.

The car was silent as the two stayed in their embrace, Dorothea obviously not wanting to disturb the pair. The two stayed connected until Ciaran unconsciously let himself slide backward, which had the effect of making Euphemia's head slide down his chest, with her nose coming close to his armpit.

From which she accidentally took a sniff.

Eyes snapping open, Euphemia suddenly shot back upright, a noise escaping from her throat that could only be described as mixture of a gag and a retch.

"Oh God, Ciaran! You stink!"

A look of hurt on his face, Ciaran began blustering. "W-what did you expect? I've not had a shower for two days."

"That's no excuse!" Euphemia replied while Dorothea started the engine of the staff-car, the electric motor purring in to life, a mirthful smile on the Knight's face. "Before anything else, you are getting a shower. Now open the window."

"That's not going to do much you know." Ciaran replied as he pressed the button to let the tinted window slide down in to the door, letting in a gust of air roll in to the vehicle.

"It will if you stick your body out of it." Dorothea said, her voice betraying her glee at the situation.

"What?!"

"She's right, Ciaran." Euphemia said, nodding her head at the idea. "Until we get to the hospital, you're to stick your body out of the window."

"Oh, come on!" Ciaran cried out, sounding more like a stroppy teenager than a Captain of the Royal Guard.

"Just do it." Dorothea said in reply.

Seeing he was not getting any help in the current situation, Ciaran relented as he moved to lean the top part of his body out of the window.

"I do not deserve this." He grumbled out-loud.

Euphemia giggled at his discomfort, but the lingering smell of his underarm made her decision stick. A feeling began to nag on her mind though as, looking over, she saw that Dorothea's face was a blank mask as she drove the car out of the docks.

Moving forward, after making sure that Ciaran wasn't capable of overhearing her conversation, Euphemia leant forward, leaning her body over the back of the front passenger seat.

"Dorothea?" She asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

Slightly surprised by her voice, the Knight moved her head slightly to the side, so she could keep one eye on the road while also talking to the Princess. "What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"I mean, about me hugging Ciaran." Euphemia replied in as near a whisper as she could considering the loud roar of the wind in the background. "Especially after... especially after what you told me."

The Knight of Four was silent for a few short seconds before she turned her attention back to the road in front of her, a small smile on her.

"It's all right, Princess. I know that you don't think of Ciaran in that way, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Euphemia was silent as she digested what Dorothea had said before she nodded in agreement. She did care for Ciaran, but certainly not in the way that Dorothea did.

The sound of a ringing phone, the type that was installed in virtually every staff-car used by Britannian nobility, filled the space. Seeing that Dorothea was too preoccupied with driving and that Ciaran was currently preoccupied with keeping his odour out of the car, Euphemia reached over and took the ringing phone from the receiver built in to the armrest by the gear-stick.

"Hello?"

"Princess Euphemia?" The rough voice of General Darlton rolled out from the other end of the line. "I just have one question: why is Ciaran sticking out of the window?"

---

Pacing in one of the long white hallways situated in the Tokyo Concession General Hospital, the scarred General Darlton resembled something more akin to an anxious parent than a military officer. Although given the situation of the past few days, it was to be expected.

When the staff car carrying Princess Euphemia, Dorothea and Ciaran had arrived at the hospital, Darlton hadn't had time to see the young man before he had been whisked away somewhere inside. From what he knew, they had taken Ciaran straight for a check-up with the doctors. He could understand the need to give him a once over due to his head injury, but he felt that the MRI scan might have been pushing it a bit.

Stopping his movements, Darlton looked up at the digital clock on the wall.

9:54

They had been here for well over half an hour now, and he was getting a bit angsty.

The distinctive clacking sound of high-heels from behind him didn't register on his mind, so it took him by complete surprise when he felt a hand touch his left shoulder. It took all of his mental strength to resist spinning around and punching the person, although he couldn't help raise his fist as he turned to see Dorothea behind him.

"Calm down, Andreas. It's just me." The dark-skinned Knight said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture, which she lowered as Darlton let his fist relax and fall down to his side.

"Ah, sorry, Dorothea. I'm just a bit strung up at the moment." The general said with a sigh before looking Dorothea over. She had shed her sword and pistol, obviously not wanting to avoid any unnecessary and unfortunate encounters from the hospital staff or patients. "Any word on Ciaran?"

"I was just coming to get you about that, actually. He's been seen to and the doctor's say he's fine. He's also had a shower, so he should be in the room they've set aside for him. Room A-22."

"A-22. Got it." Darlton said as he felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I'll go and have a talk with him."

"Want me to come with you?" Dorothea asked.

"No. This talk has to be between me and him, if you don't mind." Darlton said, a small measure of sternness in his voice as he began to move to the room Dorothea indicated. As he walked past her, he felt one of her hands grasp on to his bicep to stop him.

"Don't be too rough on him, Andreas." Dorothea said, keeping her hand on the larger man's arm. "He's had a tough time as it is..."

"I'm not going to yell at him, Dorothea." Darlton said, a disarming smile on his face. "I just need to see for myself how he's doing."

The Knight of Four looked at him for a moment, seeming to look for any tell that shows that Darlton was telling a lie. After a few short seconds, she removed her hand from his arm, giving him a smile and a nod.

"All right then. If you need me, I'll be helping Princess Euphemia with an errand."

Darlton only nodded in reply as he left Dorothea to go and help the Princess with whatever she was doing. Walking down the near vacant hallway, his heavy footsteps ringing down the silent corridors, Darlton ignored the various things that would be found in a hospital's hallway. Chairs, doors to patient rooms, a wheeled stretcher or two, even the night nurse and cleaners just phased past Darlton as he made his way to his target.

Standing outside the door marked as A-22, the general moved his hand to grip the door-handle. Pausing for a moment, he lifted his hand to give three measured knocks to the door instead.

"Come in!" Ciaran's voice called out from the other side. At the acknowledgement to enter, Darlton opened the door and closed it behind him as he entered the room.

Directly across from him, sitting on the single bed in the room in a very unflattering hospital gown, was the young captain. He looked more refreshed than he did in the ransom video, although the older man had to admit that Ciaran looked dogged tired. The dark circles under his eyes were still there, but he seemed more alert now.

"Ah, General!" The young man said with a start, moving to stand off the bed, which Darlton stopped him doing so by putting his hand up.

"No, it's all right, Ciaran." He said as he waved him back down as he drew closer. "What did the doctors say? About your head, I mean."

The young man waved off the comment. "Ah, it's fine. They say it was mainly some external bleeding and a bruise to the skull apparently. They even made me do some tests to make sure I still had my motor functions, which I passed, so I seem to be right as rain."

Darlton nodded at the news as he stood nearer the bed, crossing his arms over his large chest. On the bed, Ciaran put his hands together and placed them on to his stomach, twiddling his thumbs at the awkward silence between the two of them.

After a few long seconds, Darlton finally spoke. "You disobeyed orders."

Ciaran didn't look up at the General as he replied. "I know."

"I told you to stay at your cockpit and to wait for pick-up." The General continued, feeling himself get in to the groove as his frustration built. "But no! You decided to go chasing the Black Knights by yourself! What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Ciaran didn't say anything in reply as Darlton continued speaking.

"You were doing so well, too! You were listening and following mine and Cornelia's orders so well. Even the way you reacted to the Black Knights trying to flank us was impressive, I will not lie about that, even if you did try to go against that red Knightmare by yourself..."

"I know, sir. I know!" Ciaran growled in frustration, as he moved his hands up to cover his face before sliding them over his forehead to grip his hair. "I fucked up, sir. I know."

"So just tell me: what made you think you could take on that group by yourself?" Darlton asked simply, trying his best to regain his temper.

"I don't know!" Ciaran roared in reply, moving his hands away from his head. His face was red with anger and Darlton was positive that he could see tears starting to form in his eyes. "I honestly don't know why I did it. All I know is that I did, and that's it!"

Darlton opened his mouth, a retort ready on his lips, before Ciaran did something he didn't expect. Putting one of his hands under his chin, the young man turned to look at the far wall, not looking at Darlton as a few tears fell down his face.

"I'm a right fucking idiot." Ciaran said quietly to himself, but not quiet enough for Darlton to ignore.

Letting out a deep sigh, Darlton turned around and sat on to the bed, feeling the mattress dip as he set his weight on it. He didn't look as he heard Ciaran shuffle his feet to make room for the larger man.

"Ciaran. Please don't think I'm angry at you. I'm not, in any way, angry at what you did."

From the corner of his eye, Darlton saw the young man move his head to look at him. For his part, the General only put his hands together as in prayer.

"I'm just disappointed is all. I said it myself: you were doing so well. And then you go and pull a stunt like that."

Turning his head, Darlton looked at the young man, a wan smile on his face.

"Look. I know it's a bit of a stretch to say this, but I have seen this happen before. Young officers, given command for the first time think they have something to prove by doing something stupid and heroic, in that order. It's something that will always happen, Ciaran. So don't feel that I'm singling you out. It's just unfortunate that you're one of the very few people I've been able to have this talk with."

He could almost hear the sound of Ciaran cringing at the last part of his statement, before the young man used the back of his hands to wipe at his eyes.

"You're quite an emotional guy, aren't you?" Darlton asked, cracking a smile at Ciaran as he regained his composure.

Ciaran smiled in reply as he shrugged. "Can't help it. I've always been this way. Didn't do well for me in high school." The thin smile and shrug he gave along with his reply told the General all he needed to know on the matter so he didn't push it.

"I can imagine." Darlton said as he pushed himself off the bed before moving towards the door.

"General." Ciaran said, stopping Darlton in his tracks. "I spoke to Kallen."

The mention of the red-haired teenager caught the General's attention. "Did you? What happened?"

"I tried to get her to leave the Black Knights."

Well. That was certainly not expected. "You tried to get her to leave them?"

Ciaran nodded his head.

"And how did that go?" Darlton asked.

"About as well as you think. She's fully taken with Zero's claims." Ciaran said resignedly, obviously not happy at his failings.

Darlton didn't say anything in response. His meeting with the girl at Nagano didn't give him much information on the girl, so he had to take Ciaran's words at face value.

He was about to open his mouth just as the sound of a person knocking on the door filtered in to the room.

"That's probably Princess Euphemia." Darlton noted.

"Right then. Come on in!" Ciaran said before calling out to the door.

At his request, the door to the room opened and through the widening crack, both occupants saw Euphemia and Dorothea on the other side of the doorway. It to the surprise of both Ciaran and Darlton that the Princess came in to the room first, carrying what could only be described as a duffel bag on one of her shoulders, the dark grey material clashing horribly with her customary pink outfit.

"Well, look who's up!" Euphemia chirped happily as she moved in to the room, with Dorothea trailing behind her as she closed the door, before her eyes opened in shock at the state of Ciaran's face. "What happened?"

Darlton looked over at Ciaran to see what the Princess was referring to. The only think that didn't look right about him was the fact that his eyes were a bit...

"Oh." Darlton said in realization at what the Princess saw as he saw her drop the large bag and rush to stand in front of Ciaran, grabbing his cheeks as she looked at him.

"What did you say to him, General?" Euphemia asked the large man, looking up at him with what could only be described as mild rage. Thankfully, Ciaran decided to answer for him.

"It's nothing, your Highness. Darlton needed to vent and I'm a bit wrung out, so the outcome wasn't really in my favour." Ciaran admitted readily.

From his position above them, Darlton couldn't see the look that passed between the two young people, but he wasn't too surprised to see Euphemia nod in reply before releasing Ciaran's face, a smile back on her face. Turning around, the Princess picked the large bag off of the floor and lifted it in to her arms, cradling it like a baby.

"Well now. Ciaran, I have a change of clothes for you right here." She punctuated the last two words by patting the bag sharply before handing it to Ciaran. "When you've changed, we can all head back to the palace."

The young man nodded as he opened the bag and rifled through the contents.

"Since we've got that planned out," Darlton chimed in, drawing the two noble women's eyes to him. "I think we should let Ciaran get changed in privacy. Let's go."

Euphemia looked like she was going to protest, but it was Dorothea who made her leave as she bent forward to whisper in to her ear. Darlton couldn't hear what was said, but the fact that Euphemia's cheeks reddened told him all he needed to know. Nodded her head vigorously, Euphemia turned before trailing Dorothea out of the room, with Darlton close behind him.

Before he exited through the door, the scarred general stopped and turned.

"Ciaran?"

The young man stopped his movements as he was putting the bag on to the bed he was sat on. "Sir?"

"It's good to have you back."

Ciaran returned the smile that Darlton was giving him as he nodded before the general left the room. Outside in the hallway, he saw Euphemia talking happily with Dorothea. At the sound of the door closing, the two noble women turned to look at him.

"So he's all right?" Euphemia asked, giving Darlton what could only be described as a mild case of stink-eye.

"Yes, he's fine, your Highness." Darlton said in reply, putting his hands up in a placating gesture. "As he said, he's just a little wrung out is all."

Euphemia seemed ready to reply but a hand on her shoulder from Dorothea drew her attention.

"It's all right, Princess. The doctors have said he's fine, and we should be happy about that. When he's dressed, then we can head back to the palace. Sound good?"

Darlton couldn't help but smile at how Dorothea had handled the young Princess as Euphemia quickly calmed down.

"Dorothea?" Darlton asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes?" Dorothea replied.

"You agreed to this task quite quickly."

Dorothea shot Darlton a confused look. "And? When I was an officer cadet, I would volunteer for anything you gave quickly, no matter how daft it was. Remember that job you had me do to try and steal the Artillery Corps' instructors pet rabbit?"

Darlton didn't try to fight the snigger that came at the recollection of that particular assignment. The sight of a younger, and very proud looking, Dorothea walking in to his office and plopping a black, furry rabbit on to his desk, right on top of his papers. He quickly suppressed the memory though as he continued talking.

"But that's not you any more. So why on this one?"

He would have to have been blind to have not seen the look that passed between Dorothea and Euphemia, and he would have been blind to not see the small look of worry that came to Dorothea's face.

The door to Ciaran's room opened and out walked the rescued young man, dressed in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt with a black tribal pattern, and a dark brown jacket. The outfit was complete by him wearing a pair of brown leather boots.

"Oh, well now. Isn't that better?" Euphemia said as Ciaran walked out of the room with the duffel bag in his hand. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Ciaran replied as he lifted the bag on to his shoulder before following the young Princess as she walked down the corridor.

Dorothea made to follow, but she stopped dead in her tracks as she felt Darlton put a hand on her shoulder.

"Andreas?" She asked, looking at the scarred General in confusion.

"Something is up with you, Dorothea." Darlton said in reply as he removed his hand from her shoulder. "I might be the only one who's noticed it, but you've been acting weird around Ciaran, ever since Kitakyushu."

The Knight of Four didn't say anything to Darlton, the only movement she made was to look down at her feet. The General let out a small sigh as he put his hands on to both of her shoulders, causing her to look up.

"Tell me honestly: what's going on with you?"

Uncertainty flashed across Dorothea's face. "I... I'm not sure."

Darlton shot her a small, reassuring smile as he patted his large hands on his shoulders before letting them fall to his sides. He opened his mouth to say something before Euphemia's voice carried down the hallway.

"Hey! Are you two coming or what?" The young Princess called out. From the other end of the hallway, Darlton and Dorothea looked up to the see Euphemia standing next to Ciaran impatiently, her hands on her hips while tapping her foot quickly against the floor.

"Coming, Princess." Dorothea called out as she made to quickly move towards them, Darlton following her a few paces behind.

---

The drive back to the Viceroy's Palace was quick and simple, the large command truck that was used in Kitakyushu guiding the way for the smaller staff car. Although at ten at night, the streets were quiet enough not to warrant any sort of motorcade to clear the roads.

Entering the palace, Ciaran wasn't sure what to expect. Although in retrospect, being virtually tackled by Nonette as soon as he exited the elevator from the palace's garage should have been something he saw coming. So it was, that for the third time in just over a month, Ciaran found himself wrapped in the Knight of Nine's arms as she nearly bore him to the ground.

"It's about bloody time you got back! Where have you been?" Nonette asked as she released her hold on the young Briton, looking at him incredulously. Above them, Ciaran could see Darlton, Dorothea and Euphemia laughing quietly at the display.

"If I knew, I'd gladly tell you, Nonette." Ciaran said with a chuckle as he pushed himself up off the floor, with Nonette helping him up by gripping his forearm and pulling him up. When his face was level with hers, Ciaran was surprised to see a soft smile on Nonette's face before she put her hands on his shoulders.

"It's good to have you back, Ciaran." The champagne-haired woman said, the relief clear in her voice.

Ciaran opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of what to say. Shutting it, he decided that words weren't needed as he wrapped his arms around Nonette's shoulders and pulled her in to a hug of his own, feeling the older woman nuzzle her cheek against his own.

"Are you two trying to give everyone diabetes?" The distinctive voice of Lord Guilford said from behind Nonette, prompting Ciaran to tilt his head sideways to see past the woman's head of hair. Past the champagne colour hair, he saw Cornelia's Knight standing a few paces behind her, his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face.

Managing to disentangle himself from Nonette's arms, Ciaran moved around the Knight of Nine to move to stand in front of Lord Guilford. When there was just over a foot between the two, Guilford reached forward and gripped Ciaran's hand tightly before shaking it heartily.

"Welcome back, Captain."

"Again: it's glad to be back, my lord." Ciaran said, returning the handshake.

The pair shook hands for a few seconds, enough time to let the others out of the elevator and in to the hallway. When he saw that everyone was together, Guilford released his hand.

"The Princess is waiting to see you, Ciaran. She wants to talk to you." The Knight said in a sympathetic voice, to which Ciaran's only reply was to shrug.

"Let's get this over with then." The young man said, a smile on his face before Guilford led the group down to Cornelia's office. The group walked in silence for the way, each one unsure of what to say, given the situation.

When the large doors to the office were in sight, Guilford stopped the group as he turned to face them.

"The Princess wants to see Ciaran alone before she calls everyone else in. She didn't say why, but she was quite clear on it." Guilford said, pre-empting any words of protest from the others before moving towards the large doors.

"Wish you were still held captive by the Black Knights?" Darlton teased, leaning forward slightly to say to the young man, who only shrugged and smiled.

"This is just becoming par for the course for me." Ciaran said, chuckling slightly, although inwardly he was pretty terrified about the possibility of what was going to happen as he watched Guilford knock on one of the doors then proceeded to open it, indicating that Ciaran should enter.

Entering the room, the door closing shut behind him, Ciaran wasn't sure what he expected. So it wasn't too surprising that Cornelia was seated in her chair, reclining to the side, with what appeared to be a pen in her hand, which she tapped loudly on the desk surface.

"Come closer, Ciaran." The Princess said. While she didn't say it as a command, her tone brokered no argument as Ciaran practically jogged towards the desk, stopping short of a few feet from the front of the piece of furniture.

"Cornelia." Ciaran said by way of a greeting, unsure of what was going to happen to him.

Up close, he expected Cornelia's face to not show any emotion except for anger. But as he looked at her, he saw her formally blank expression morph in to a look of relief.

"So the bastard didn't play any tricks then." The Princess said quietly.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, Ciaran." Cornelia replied as she stood up from her chair before walking around the desk to stand in front of the young man. Drawing close, Ciaran watched as the Princess' deep purple eyes wandered over his face, seeming to scrutinise him as she gently turned his head from side to side.

Satisfied with whatever she was looking for, or not looking for, Cornelia moved her hands to rest against Ciaran's shoulders before pulling him closer. When he was close, the Princess leaned forward, letting her forehead bump softly against his. Ciaran's eyes opened in surprise for a second at the movement, but he soon smiled back and leaned in to the display of affection.

"I missed you guys." He said as he closed his eyes, feeling Cornelia wrap her arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry for what I put you all through."

Leaning back to stand up straight, Cornelia looked at Ciaran in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it was my fault that I got captured at Narita. I disobeyed orders and did something stupid." Ciaran said, trying to put on a brave face, but ultimately deciding against it as he let his head droop.

Letting out a sigh, Cornelia moved her hands to rest against his shoulders again as she looked at him.

"Yes, what you did was stupid," Cornelia said, making Ciaran wince. "But you're alive. So I think we can say that fact renders that moot. Okay?"

Ciaran looked at Cornelia in shock, expecting her to give him a proper chewing out. But to hear Cornelia excuse his action felt... weird.

"Besides, I've got something planned for you to pay me back." Cornelia said, a sly smile on her face as she unwrapped her arms from around Ciaran's shoulders and walked back to her chair. "But we'll discuss that tomorrow. Can you bring everyone else in here, please?"

"Of course, your Highness." The young Briton replied, nodding his head before walking towards the large doors. Opening one of them, he found the rest of the group waiting outside, all of them raising their heads at the sound of the door opening. Ciaran didn't say anything to them, only motioning them in with a small wave of his hand.

Following him, the group filled in quickly, filling the space around Cornelia's desk in a small semi-circle, Euphemia moving to stand beside her sister. Looking around him, Ciaran couldn't help but notice how out of place he was out of his uniform.

"Since we're all here," Cornelia said, interlacing his fingers as she rested her hands on the desk. "And since our young friend wasn't available for the debriefing, we'll do that now. Darlton?"

For the next fifteen minutes, the scarred general went over the facts of the latter half of the battle, after Ciaran lost his Gloucester against Kallen's Knightmare. He explained how, after sending the Purists to reinforce Cornelia's guard, they found themselves blind-sided by an attack on two fronts: the first front being the mountain side from the forces of the Japanese Liberation Front, who seemed to have caught their second wind from the Black Knight's surprise attack and the second front being an attack from the rear by the elite of the JLF, The Four Holy Swords.

"The Four Holy Swords?" Ciaran asked, interrupting Darlton. "Sounds like the superheroes from a lame kid's TV show."

The Britannians couldn't help but chuckle along with the young man as Darlton responded. "Yes. They do have a bad name. But that's the only bad thing about them. They ripped through the Princess' battle-group before they knew it. Guilford managed to keep their leader, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, busy for a while, the rest of the Holy Swords ran roughshod over the others. The Purists took the worst of it."

The mirth fell from Ciaran's face. "How many survived?"

"Two from that group." Guilford said, trying to soften the blow. "Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald and Lord Jonathan Bruckveld. Although Lord Bruckveld is currently in a military hospital, so he's combat ineffective."

He didn't mean for it to happen, but Ciaran's voice caught in his throat as he asked the next question. "And... and the group I commanded?"

"... Only one survived. Lady Villetta Nu." Cornelia's Knight said reluctantly, sensing that Ciaran was dreading the answer.

The answer hit Ciaran hard, as he felt the strength flee from his legs. His knees buckled and he felt himself slump downwards.

"Ciaran!" Darlton called out as he quickly dashed forward, taking hold of Ciaran's arm to stop him fully hitting the floor. The man lifted him up as Nonette quickly brought a chair for him to sit on before Darlton set him down on.

"Are you all right?" Euphemia asked, moving to stand near the Briton.

"I... I..." Ciaran started repeating in a mantra, ready to give a voice to what his mind was telling him: 'I killed them.'

"You didn't kill them, Ciaran." Cornelia said, the sound of her voice causing Ciaran's head to snap up to look at her as she pre-empted what he was going to say. "You took a gamble, a pretty large gamble, and while it paid off for a short time, it quickly turned against you. That's a fact of life for a military officer."

Looking at the seated Princess, Ciaran saw that she was staring directly at him.

"It was the Black Knights and the JLF who took their lives, not you. A commander cannot be burdened by any guilt he might feel from the deaths of the men under his command. The best he can do is to foster any remorse from their deaths in to righteous fury he can use against the enemy."

Cornelia's tone showed that she knew what she was talking about, but the words did little to assuage Ciaran's guilt. Forcing himself to sit upright in the chair, the young man leaned forward as he put his head in to his hands before sighing.

"These past few days have not been in my favour, have they?" He asked no-one in particular, although the hand rubbing the back of shoulders was a welcome feeling, even if he didn't know who it belonged to.

"Do you want us to carry on, Ciaran?" Darlton asked.

"I think that Ciaran gets the picture, General." Cornelia replied for him, the sound of her voice drawing nearer telling Ciaran that she had moved from her chair. Looking up from between his hands, Ciaran saw that she was standing in front of her desk. Seeing her eyes locked on him, Ciaran could only nod his head.

"If it's all right with you, Princess," Ciaran said, slowly pushing himself from the chair to stand to his full height. "I'd like to get some sleep."

"It's no worries, Ciaran." The Princess said, nodding her head before moving back to sit behind her desk. "I've still got work to do, so everyone apart from Guilford is dismissed for the night."

Bowing in respect, everyone else exited the room, leaving the Princess and her Knight alone in the office. Ciaran wasn't sure what happened after he left the office, the few short minutes passing by like a blur until he found himself in his personal room. Even though he had only been away from it for a day, being inside it felt more reassuring than any other room in the Palace.

Shedding his clothes, he dressed in a simple, white sleeveless vest and a pair of red tartan pyjama bottoms before moving to prepare himself for sleep. He was in the middle of brushing his teeth when he heard the door to his room open and close shut. Spitting out the paste in his mouth and dropping the brush in to the sink, he quickly moved out in to the main area of his room to find Dorothea standing near his bed. She had changed out of her more impressive Knightly gear to wear a simple white and blue dressing gown. Her hair black hair, usually done up in a bun and ponytail worn on her right side, was loose and flowing, easily reaching past her shoulders.

"Dorothea?" Ciaran asked, before suddenly becoming self conscious of the fact that he still had toothpaste around his mouth, as he busily set to rubbing off the white foam with his hand. "Umm. What are you doing here?"

"I got worried about you." Dorothea replied, looking at him. "You took that last bit of news quite hard and I wanted to make sure you're all right."

Finished cleaning himself up, Ciaran let out a smile at the gesture. "Oh. Thank you. That's... that's very kind of you."

Dorothea nodded her head before she moved closer to the bed. "Also, and I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but I was wondering..."

"Yes?" Ciaran asked, confused at what the female Knight was getting at.

"If you wouldn't object, to me spending the night with you."

His jaw didn't drop, but Ciaran definitely felt his eyes widen.

"It's not that I think you should be alone!" Dorothea quickly added, her cheeks seeming to redden with just a shade of pink. "It also won't be anything unfitting of either of our stations. I am wearing pyjamas."

She loosened the front of her dressing gown and opened it, showing that she was wearing a set of white and blue pyjamas.

"It's just that Andreas and Euphemia told me about how you arrived in Area 11, and I got a bit worried that, with the news you just got, that might make you a bit..."

The lady Knight's words trailed off as she realised that she was rambling, which made Ciaran chuckle slightly.

"Thank you, Dorothea." He finally said, smiling softly at her. "Let me finish in the bathroom then I'll help set up the room for you."

Dorothea nodded as Ciaran turned round and walked in to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. Throughout the whole act, the young man couldn't help but notice that he could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest the whole time. Although he attributed it down to the shock of someone entering his room unannounced.

Spitting the last remnants of the toothpaste and water he swigged from the small glass on the sink top, he quickly applied some spray-on deodorant, just to be sure, before switching off the bathroom light and walking in to the main room.

The lights were off except for the bedside lamp, while Dorothea was sitting next to the lamp in the bed, propped up against the headrest.

"Oh." Was all Ciaran said on the matter.

"Something wrong, Ciaran?" The Knight of Four asked, tilting her head slightly. He wasn't sure why he noticed it, but Ciaran swore that her skin glowed faintly from the lamp's bulb.

Opening his mouth, ready to point out that Dorothea was sitting in his bed, Ciaran thought back to what had past for a bed for him the previous night.

"No, nothing." Ciaran said, shaking his head as he walked towards the bed. "You just took me by surprise is all."

Dorothea nodded her head as Ciaran climbed under the covers, reaching out to the bedside lamp. "Just say when."

Moving fully under the sheets, Ciaran nodded his head. "Okay, go for it."

The click of the lamp switching off preceded the room being plunged in to darkness. Ciaran's eyes weren't fully adjusted to the low light, but he could easily make out Dorothea moving fully underneath the covers.

"Hey, Dorothea?"

The woman 'hmm'-ed in reply.

"Thank you."

The soft pressure of her lips touching his forehead told Ciaran that she was happy with his words and, despite himself, he found that he was happy with it too.

Before he fully drifted into sleeps embrace, Ciaran noted that his heart wasn't beating as fast as it had been a few minutes before.

---

AN: I was SO close to missing the monthly deadline! SO CLOSE!

Yeah, this chapter nearly came out late. I lost my job on January 10th so I've had to go back on Job Seekers which, with the way it's set up, means that the I have do to an allotted amount of hours of job searching each week. And retail chains aren't hiring this time of the year so... yeah.

Not much to say on this chapter really. I was also in a bit of a rush to publish, so there may be a few mistakes in spelling and grammar, but I swear I'll clean that up tomorrow.

Oh, also (before I forget) but someone did ask how you pronounce Ciaran (for those who aren't sure). It's pronounced 'key-run' (that's just it simplified). Just to avoid confusion.

So, as usual, read, enjoy, review and if you have anything to say on the chapter, or story in general, than don't be afraid to send me a PM.