His Britannia

by Imperator's slave

The perfect world. People call it an impossible and foolish dream, but they are wrong. For the Man of Miracles, this is nothing more than another challenge. But first, I will need to conquer this world...

43. Fallen Order

August 28th. Tokyo.

In the area of the city controlled by the Black Knights, confusion ran amok the Order's forces and chaos arose. Ambushes led to small skirmishes, and soon nearly every part of the city was caught in a firefight.

Not even high command knew how to react in mere seconds when their main ship suddenly began firing at the Britannian position. Both their leader Zero and UFN Chairwoman Kaguya were taken hostage so the logical decision was to rescue them, but how can anyone organize a rescue mission when everyone was busy trying to understand if war broke out between both sides? According to some reports, even the Europeans joined in a raid against Britannia in Tokyo as the Alexanders of the famous W-0 were seen attacking unprepared Britannian positions. Without Zero, no one knew who to listen to or what to do, fight the Brits or not. Without a word from their emperor, the Britannians didn't know whether they should fight or try to stop the battle. It was pure chaos for everyone.

The chaos which was used by people who knew how to benefit the most from it.

While the Black Knights were confused and lost, unable to organize a proper… well anything, a sole woman's plan was to take the fight to them. The multi-cloured copy of Lancelot Albion flew inside the territory of UFN within Tokyo, followed by a squadron of Britannians Knightmares and Hounds. Some of the Black Knights didn't even open fire on them, scared that it would trigger an international accident. Surrounding those people was easy without any bloodshot. Of course, not everyone was like that.

A group of Akatsukis opened fire on the Knightmare with energy wings, hoping to at least slow it down. However, they would have no such luck as they were all sliced in half in a mere second while the Knightmare moved at an incredible speed, pretty much teleporting from one place to another. The Britannian hit team consisted mainly of Vincent Wards and Hounds, prioritizing speed over firepower. Besides, firepower would have been fruitless as a Knight of the Round was presently taking care of most of the enemy.

"I want all Hounds to disperse between the buildings and scout out anything that passes for reinforcements!" The commanding voice of the Second Knight of the Round Cinder Fall was met with absolute obedience from the automated Knightmares. "The Black Knights are still confused for the most part. Take as many of them out before they can organize any kind of counter-attack!"

'Not to mention, according to OSI intelligence both General Tohdoh and Commander Li Xingke are in this part of the city. Taking them out will cripple the command structure of the Black Knights.' Her Emperor had a long-term plan on how to deal with them with minimal resistance from the Order, but Cinder couldn't let this chance go to waste. 'Both White Emperor and Zero were taken hostage while some of the Black Knights started engaging our forces. If we play our cards right, we can blame everything on the Order's high command and take control over them.'

Zero, or rather the masked C.C., already spoke about unknown conspirators within the Order; it would be easy to denounce Tohdoh, Xingke, and Ohgi as traitors who tried to take out both the Emperor and Zero. Using Kallen and her small group of loyalists, the fake Zero could easily claim credibility and deal with people who threw him away. However, they needed to act fast. This battle must end quickly while there is confusion inside Tokyo. The last thing everyone needed was an actual full-out war between Britannia and UFN.

"You're taking your sweet time, Q2," the voice of one known as D.S. was unusually serious and was practically daring Cinder to retort. There was a calm fury in her voice, one that the one-eyed knight could relate to. "Everyone in that part of Tokyo is already heading towards you and is likely to shoot on sight."

"Doesn't matter, I will cut down every last one of them. We only need Kallen and Chairwoman Kaguya to gain control of the Order with Zero."

"Then you better act fast before the rest of the UFN decides that we're at war."

Cinder sighed, "As long as our forces hold fast, the Federation won't dare to make the first strike. They're too scared to be blamed for a full-on war."

"The leaders of the Black Knights are still here in Tokyo and might order their overseas forces to attack. We have to expect the worst."

The knight wanted to curse, "What about His Majesty? I can move towards-"

"You will stay here and complete your mission, Q2," it was surreal to hear such venom in the voice of the usually carefree and lewd OSI director. "Peter and the Scarlet Guard will rescue Lelouch. While you will deal with the Black Knights."

Cinder glared at the duo hair-coloured woman on her monitor, "You aren't Lelouch to order me around."

'Lelouch's life is in danger. I promised to slay his enemies,' Cinder's only eye flashed red as she remembered his command. 'I must be there-!'

"No, my Champion's safety is guaranteed, I have sent the rest of the Round to deal with the more serious issue at the moment," The strange woman's stern gaze didn't let up. "Cinder, I understand how you feel, but we must think about everything around us. Lelouch's safety is guaranteed; what we must prioritize now is taking out the Black Knights' high command. It would ease the future for us all, so would you kindly focus on your current mission?"

"I understand…" Cinder didn't want to accept it, but she knew it was the best use for her right now. Not to mention, Kallen was there. Even if the redhead was without a Knightmare, Cinder knew she would make sure Lelouch was safe. 'I won't ever admit it to her, but I know she is capable enough to get him out of that mess.'

Although, leaving the fate of her Emperor at the mercy of someone like Suzaku was beyond infuriating to Cinder.

"I will have to vent my frustrations on the Black Knights in the meantime." She frowned as her monitor found two of the signals she was looking for. "Found them."

In a rare instance, a cold smile formed on D.S.'s face. "Leila managed to make Lelouch consider a more peaceful approach to the Black Knights. However, I want to watch them writhe in agony. I have no desire to show them any mercy. Deal with them as you please. I will move Nemesis towards the Ashford Academy and prepare everything for Lelouch when he will take command. As for now, go and wreak havoc, White Queen."

A feral smile formed on Cinder's face as she forced her Geass command to work. With one red eye, the second knight spoke.

"With pleasure."

Her Amber moved, flying with incredible speed as it closed miles in mere seconds. Her target hadn't even seen the attack coming until the last moment, the reflex and intuition of Kyoshiro Tohdoh allowed him to raise his Seidoutou katana just before Cinder could slice him with her maser vibration swords. The momentum was still too much as Amber pressured Zangetsu, the winged Knightmare pushing the other back as they slid through the ground and crashed into a building. Zangetsu's head looked up as Amber drew back one of its swords and prepared to plunge it down into its frame, Tohdoh's machine grabbed hold of the opposing blade's hand to prevent movement and raised its katana to block the incoming attack.

"You're the Second Knight of the Round, Cinder Fall," Tohdoh said as his machine's grip struggled.

"The one and only!" Cinder smirked before drawing back and firing one of her arm-mounted slash harkens. Zangetsu easily blocked it but was caught off guard when Amber once again tried to close the distance and cut him. Using its katana's ability to get out of close quarters as blue flames appeared out of the blades, an additional boost was given to the black Knightmare as it dashed to the side. "Now just stop moving and die, old man!"

"You're no different from the rest of your countrymen. Your leader is in danger, but instead of saving him, you're more concerned about killing. Both Emperor Lelouch and Zero are in danger! We should stop fighting and rescue them!"

The black-haired pilot laughed mockingly. "Please, as if you of all people care about my Emperor or your own masked leader. A joke from someone who had no issues opening fire at Zero before!"

"So, you already know," inside his Zangetsu, Tohdoh frowned. "It would appear Emperor Lelouch learned from his mistakes. Or he simply used his power on you, turning you into a mindless slave of his will."

"Hahaha~! Only two things right with that little theory! One, my Emperor made sure our loyalty won't crumble as yours did. Two, His Imperial Majesty did use Geass on me, but unlike you cowards, I welcomed his gift," Cinder's eye flashed red again as she quickly sheathed her purple swords and pulled out two Super V.A.R.I.S. rifles and shot hadron rays at Zangetsu. The black Knightmare dodged the first shot while his Radiant Wave absorbed the second one. "Because unlike you, I'm not afraid of real power."

"Your power is nothing but lies!" Zangetsu aimed its katana as it rushed toward her. Their blades met as Cinder deftly pulled out a maser sword while still holding a hadron rifle in her machine's left hand. "His cursed power brought nothing but suffering and destruction!"

Amber's head tilted as its eyes seemed to glare at Zangetsu.

"And how would you even know this?! All you people did was side with the enemy prince instead of your own leader and saviour!" Amber kicked Zangetsu who managed to block the Knightmare's hill but was sent back. Not wasting a moment, Amber raised its V.A.R.I.S rifle at its right hand and fired, but Zangetsu cut the hadron ray in two. "You didn't give Lelouch a chance to defend himself! He was devastated after believing he lost his sister. But instead of supporting him, you stabbed him in the back!"

"..."

Tohdoh was silent for a moment as Zangetsu lowered its weapon. Cinder didn't attack yet, thinking it was a trap.

"I won't deny those facts. As a warrior, I know what we did on that day was dishonourable. I knew Lelouch and Nunnally when they were children. Maybe I should have defended the honour of a man who saved the Japanese people… or maybe I should have shot the manipulator who was hiding his true nature as a Britannian prince and his monstrous power while using my people as pawns. I don't know what the best course of action could have been, even now I still think about what-if scenarios. I do have regrets about that day even now. I'm ready to acknowledge what we did at that moment might have been wrong. However, it doesn't change the current situation," Tohdoh said as Zangetsu pointed its katana towards Amber. "We're on opposite sides of a conflict. Everyone knows that war will break out sooner or later. I have no desire to play Lelouch's games and see my nation become just another pawn for him to use. Even if we made mistakes, the past is the past, we cannot change it. All we can do is move forward and accept the consequences of our choices, Cinder Fall. I will accept mine and will fight for the sake of my homeland and my people even if it means fighting the man who united us!"

"...honour? Bullshit!"

Despite his words of honour, all the Second could think of was the absolute disgust she felt towards Tohdoh, towards all the Black Knights.

'Nothing we can do with the past? Just have to move forward? Toss aside the man who led them, and made them into what they're today? Without investigation, without trial, without any sort of justice, did the Black Knights sentence, Lelouch, to death and now they were simply saying to forget about it?!'

For a single moment, Cinder Fall, no, Cinder Blackwood remembered her childhood. When her own mother was used as a mere scapegoat for slaughter, despite being a noble and doing her best to prosper within the Britannian world, she was tossed aside. And even when it was revealed that her mother wasn't responsible for the crime she was accused of, the people did nothing to amend destroying her family, and her childhood. They just moved away, never thinking about the life they ruined with their mistake.

She lost her mother to people like those, and now Black Knights thought they could just ignore their mistakes? Fuck no.

"You dare speak about the future but will deny my Emperor?! Ungrateful bastard!" Amber shot another hadron ray as Tohdoh avoided it, but she hit again and again. "If it weren't for Lelouch you wouldn't be here, commanding an entire army of Black Knights! I read all your files, Kyoshiro Tohdoh! The only reason you're alive is because Lelouch saved you! He gave you everything in order to turn your pathetic bunch of rebels and Japanese relics into a modern army, capable of challenging Britannia! And this is your gratitude?! 'Past is the past, nothing we can do about it?' What a fucking joke! I will make sure you all pay for your crimes! History will remember you as nothing but small insects who dared to oppose His Majesty Lelouch vi Britannia! And Japan will remain as his subject, forever." Amber prepared to rush forward. "Even if I will have to massacre its entire population to keep them in line!"

"Over my dead body!"

"That's my intent!"

Amber rushed forward, a second away from standing before Zangetsu. The Britannian sword met the Japanese katana. Cinder was pushing the old general back, Ambers' energy wings adding additional power as it practically sent Zangetsu flying back. Caught off guard, Tohdoh tried to regain stability as his Knightmare was airborne in a horizontal position and had no way to defend itself properly. A moment later Amber was on top of the Japanese machine, maser sword aimed for the chest, ready to stab through it. However, once again Zangetsu activated its katana's function and dodged the strike at the last second.

Thanks to its energy wings Amber had a clear advantage at speed. Cinder abused every card she could play. From speed to overwhelming firepower. Tohdoh was forced into defence as all he could do was dodge and block. From an outside perspective, it looked like Zangetsu was fighting several machines at once, one could say after images. However, both fighters were wasting their time.

The longer the Second Knight of the Round took, the more resistance the Britannians would meet from the Black Knights. Logically, without Tohdoh, the Order couldn't organize properly or react fast enough to counter the empire's offensive. Cinder knows she can just outlast the general, waiting until he made a mistake and then strike him down. Between the two, Tohdoh was in a worse position.

Amber danced around Zangetsu, aiming for its torso and cockpit from every side. However, a veteran like Tohdoh was able to stay safe for now, either blocking or dodging the knight's attempts. Deciding to switch strategies, Cinder flew up in the air as she aimed her V.A.R.I.S. rifles at the black Knightmare before firing. The two hadron rays melted everything around him, but Tohdoh's Zangetsu remained operational. However, Cinder was not done yet.

Relying on her speed, she fired again. Another pair of hardon rays flew towards Zangetsu, but because his sensors were momentarily scrambled by the blast's energy, neither they nor Tohdoh noticed as Amber vanished from its previous position. Amplifying the energy wings to their maximum potential and abusing her Geass command, Cinder dived in, obscured by the hardon rays for a precious few seconds. The moment Tohdoh saw her, it was too late as Amber's fist made contact with Zangetsu's chest armour. A little barbaric for her tastes, but Cinder couldn't switch between her guns and pull out her swords in time, resorting to the machine's fist to damage her enemy.

Tohdoh screamed in pain as his Knightmare was pressed against the concrete ground as Amber's fist penetrated its chest, trying to get deeper inside. If Cinder was in a better mood she might have joked about the situation, but she was pissed. No witty comments until everyone in her path are dead or kneeling out of fear! She dug Amber's right hand inside Zangetsu's chest, trying to find the Knightmare's core and crush it, but Tohdoh collected himself and kicked her off. Without skipping a beat once Amber was a few meters away from her enemy, Cinder immediately rushed back, this time armed with both swords. By the time her swords whipped for a killing blow, Zangetsu ducked to the side and quickly got up.

Sparks flew out of the gaping hole in its chest, the internal monitors showing emergency notifications, but the general paid them no mind. Not wasting any more precious time, he aimed his katana and rushed towards Amber's exposed right flank. All Amber had to do was block the upcoming attack as it redirected the katana and opened Zangetsu for the attack. His katana in the Knightmare's left hand was sent to the side while Zangetsu's entire body was left wide open. Amber's left sword went for the chest once again, aiming to create a new hole on that side of the frame, this time with her maser sword.

As the sword made contact with the upper part of the armour, Tohdoh immediately activated the hidden slash harken on the left side of his chest and fired towards Amber's left wrist which was holding the sword. The Britannian Knightmare's metal fingers were damaged and the maser sword fell out of its grasp, but Cinder wouldn't let this window of opportunity go to waste so easily. She pulled Amber's mass to the side, raising its left leg and kicked across Zangetsu's head.

Zangetsu's sole red visor cracked as sparks flew out of it. The kick violently sent the Knightmare to the side and Tohdoh hit his head against the side of the cockpit. The general was disoriented and his vision grew fuzzy, unable to properly see that Amber raised its remaining maser sword with both hands and prepared to cut Zangetsu in two. Tohdoh knew he wouldn't be able to react fast enough when Amber's energy wings flashed as the war machine dived in. He tried to raise his katana but simply wasn't fast enough.

For a moment, Tohdoh closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate. However, someone else had a different idea as another Knightmare crashed into Amber's side and sent it flying.

"Get away from him!" A female voice roared with fury as a new fighter entered the fight.

"What the-?!" Cinder yelled as her Amber hit the ground before quickly standing up and taking a defensive stance. "Who the hell are you?!"

Once Amber was standing, the one-eyed knight took a good look at the new person. The new Knightmare was nothing but an Akatsuki Command Model, a Zikisan if Cinder recalled correctly. The Black Knight was armed to the teeth as Zikisan raised its inferior copy of Zangetsu's katana, revolving blade in one hand and an arm-mounted 2-barrel machine gun in another one.

"I'm one of the Four Holy Swords and Kyoshiro Tohdoh's retainer!" The female pilot shouted back as she fired three Radiation Wave missiles. Amber slashed all three missiles before they could make contact with her as they exploded in the air.

Behind the new arrival, wounded Tohdhoh tried to collect himself. "Chiba, what are you doing here!?"

"Saving you, general!" Chiba answered while continuing to fire at Amber with her Zikisan's machine gun. "We mobilized everything we had to come to save you!"

"We?" Both Tohdoh and Cinder asked at the same time.

Their answer came in the form of multiple missiles that flew towards the Amber. The Second Knight of the Round didn't bother dodging them as each one of them exploded around Amber. The smoke covered everything around her while the Zikisan stood in front of Zangetsu. Tohdoh took a look behind to see a squad of heavily armoured Akatsukis now aiming their weapons toward the enemy. However, among them, the most noticeable machine was the purple Knightmare of Chinese design.

"Xingke…" Tohdoh whispered the name of his friend and brother-in-arms.

Shen Hu touched down next to the command units as Li Xingke spoke on the open channel. "Knight of the Round, cease your fight at once and surrender immediately! Both Black Knights and Britannia have matters more important at the moment. Order your forces to halt or we will have to fight back. You're outnumbered."

"Me? Surrender? Ahahahaha!"

Amber's eyes burned through the smoke as unhinged laughter emanated from the Knight, chills running down the spines of the regular Black Knights around her. Amber's energy wings opened up and cleared the smoke around the machine. She tore her second maser sword from the ground, blade dug into the concrete, and was now holding both of them, ready to fight again. The Black Knights manoeuvred around her, entrapping her in a circle as Xingke spoke again.

"Zero and your Emperor are still trapped with Kururugi Suzaku. If you care about your lord, then you will stop this madness at once," Shen Hu aimed its Baryon Cannon at Amber. "I will say it again, you're outnumbered. Surrender."

Cinder narrowed her eye, thinking about a way to get out of this mess and kill everyone around her. Her backup was unavailable, she ordered them to focus on the rest of this part of the city while she sowed chaos among the Black Knight's ranks. Having some suicide bomber Hounds would have been nice at the moment.

'I know this Knightmare model, Shen Hu. I cannot allow its slash harkens to touch my Amber.'

Cinder could have flown away to strike down from the sky. But both Xingke and Tohdoh were undesirable opponents to fight at once, especially with all those small insects around them. However, while she was planning her next move, Cinder received an incoming signal from a friendly unit. And not just any ally, but one of her own.

Amber raised one of its swords and pointed it at Shen Hu. "Check your math again, Li Xingke. Two on two and dead weight on your side is barely a losing battle."

"What?" Chiba asked, confused while both Xingke and Tohdoh quickly understood what she meant. Both generals shouted to their troops.

"Get ba-"

However, both men were too late as every mass-produced Akatsuki got warning notifications. Before their pilots could even react, every single unit exploded as one single continuous hadron ray sliced among all of them. Tohdoh moved his Zangetsu in front of Chiba's Zikisan to block a surprise attack with its radiant wave shield. Shen Hu activated its wrist-mounted slash harkens as a shield and blocked the ray.

In a mere moment, an entire squad of Knightmares was wiped out. The Black Knights were caught off guard as they soon heard something similar to a horse gallop.

"Well well, look who decided to show." Cinder drawled as her fellow knight joined the battle.

Xingke narrowed his eyes as they saw a dreadful Knightmare from Europe. A machine similar in appearance to a centaur from ancient myth walked on its four legs next to the Second Knight's.

"Arthur Calhoun."

Xingke recognized his Knightmare, Reaper, as it raised its primary weapon, a scythe. The one most likely used to annihilate all of their soldiers just moments ago. Inside the new machine, the pilot took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke.

"Greetings, Black Knights. I will say this only once, surrender and we will show your mercy." Reaper's scythe pointed at Shen Hu. "This is my first and final offer."

"You bastard!" Chiba screamed. "You're a monster! You killed dozens of our soldiers and think about warning us now?!"

"Yes."

Xingke took a deep sigh. "I take it you aren't here to retrieve your fellow knight and go away," silence was his answer as Xingke prepared for a fight. "Then I have to decline your offer on behalf of all the Black Knights."

"A foolish decision," Arthur said with a voice empty of any emotion. Meanwhile, Cinder could barely contain her laughter.

"Hahaha! Look how far you have come, Arthur!" Cinder had to admit, the boy grew a pair since his time in Europe. And now was the time for him to shine. Amber and Reaper both took an attack position. "I will take Shen Hu, Amber will have an easier time dealing with its electrified slash harkens. As much as I want to kill that prehistoric relic Tohdoh, you can take him."

Arthur nodded as his Reaper started to move forward, slowly. "Then I will finish him off."

"As if I will allow it!" Chiba screamed before opening fire at the two Britannian knights. Both Knights of the Round scattered to the sides, going around the Black Knights. Arthur didn't have energy wings, but he could still outrun the Japanese machines with Reaper's quad mode. Raising its scythe and aiming for the purple Knightmare's cockpit, the Fourth targeted the weakest one out of them.

"Chiba, get back!" Tohdoh screamed as he pushed her Zikisan away before Zangetsu blocked the strike with its katana. Reaper had more strength than the already damaged Knightmare of the general and had little issues pressing on. Zangetsu had a hard time trying to fight off Reaper when the new Knightmare was in better condition and had enough power to tear regular Akatsukis apart with its bare hands.

Xingke cursed as he tried to open fire at Amber with the Baryon Cannon. The blast was bright and powerful enough to be equal to Guren's radiant wave. However, Amber had a clear advantage in speed. Even with everything and everyone around blinded by the blasted shot of pure light, one could see the orange energy wings of Cinder's Knightmare and how it flew forward, its purple sword aimed at the Chinese warrior.

Shen Hu pulled back, avoiding the close attack before activating its slash harkens and trying to freeze Amber. Cinder expected such an attack and barrel-rolled to the side, dodging the electrified whip. She was too close to effectively use her swords, so instead, she decided to use Amber's legs. Once it was close enough, she kicked Shen Hu in the chest with a powerful kick and sent it careening backwards, increasing the distance between him and the two remaining Black Knights.

It was easy to see what the Knights of the Round were trying to achieve. With Tohdoh and Xingke separated, the generals won't be able to assist each other with the divide and conquer tactic. Chiba was assisting her sworn superior, but alone she could offer next to nothing when dealing with the Fourth Knight of the Round.

Amber pulled out both Super V.A.R.I.S. rifles and fired at Shen Hu who dodged one ray and blocked the second one before raising its double-edged sword and rushing towards the multi-coloured Lancelot copy. Neither Shen Hu nor Zangetsu had enough firepower to deal with the knights from a distance. Both Britannian machines had powerful shield systems, so a close-quarters fight was the only way to go.

When Shen Hu was close enough to Amber, it went right for the head, but Cinder hoped for it. Before Xingke's sword could touch Amber's face, the purple sword blocked it. Xingke smirked as he shot an electrified slash harken and caught Amber's left hand with it.

"Got you."

"Wrong, I'm the one who got you. Good timing too, I was running a little low on battery."

Shen Hu's slash harkens were known for being able to disrupt any Knightmare's internal systems. Lelouch knew it and specifically ordered some of Britannian elite Knightmares to be ready for it. It also meant that the Knights of the Round were prepared beforehand to fight with the Chinese warrior and any Black Knight machine similar to him. However, not every Britannian war machine could have been armed properly. Arthur's Reaper already had a complex mechanic with its quad mode and additional gimmicks would have broken the Reaper. Meanwhile, Cinder's Amber was more than compatible with Lloyd's new tools.

It was nothing too extreme, merely a new function her energy wings offered. The orange energy wings flashed brighter than usual. Instead of going offline, Amber's monitors showed that the Knightmare was actually getting more energy than before as its sakuradite battery was replenishing.

"What the-" Xingke's eyes went wide when he noticed that his own machine was losing energy instead of Amber.

"Surprised?" Cinder didn't bother hiding her mocking tone as she launched one of her slash harkens at Shen Hu. The wired projectile immediately hit its target as Amber started draining Shen Hu faster. Her energy wings acted outside the conductor, stocking the energy Amber stole from other Knightmares before sending it to the multi-coloured Knightmare. "If your Knightmare can destroy the enemy's battery, why can't mine steal them? After all, I will spend this precious energy better than anyone else."

"By slaughtering the innocent?!" Xingke shouted as he tried to stab Amber with his double-edged blade. However, by now Cinder pulled away her maser sword and deftly caught Shen Hu's wrist.

"I would hardly call you innocent, Li Xingke," She coldly replied as Amber crushed the other's wrist. "Or what? Are you gonna tell me before joining the Black Knights you weren't a dog of the Chinese eunuchs?" Cinder taunted while her Knightmare continued to feed on Shen Hu's reserves.

"I did everything for the sake of my Empress," Xingke replied with a cold tone as he quietly started preparing the Baryon Cannon while he still had energy for the last shot. "I did whatever it took to keep her safe, even following the orders of those disgusting eunuchs. Everything for Empress Tianzi's sake."

"Then you will understand my reasoning. Everything I did was for the sake of His Majesty. In the name of Emperor Lelouch, I will destroy everything that stands in his way." Cinder's eye flashed red. "And at the moment, it is you."

Shen Hu angled itself to fire the chest-mounted cannon. Cinder bit her tongue, Amber didn't finish stealing the energy but she had enough for now. Deciding not to test her fate, Amber flew past while still tied to Shen Hu with the slash harken. Shen Hu slowed down Amber greatly since energy wings weren't meant to carry two Knightmares in such a way. However, Cinder only needed to catch Xingke off guard as the Black Knight was no doubt rolling in his cockpit.

"Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a little… turbulence. It's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Amber's slash harkens quickly retracted, while it was still holding on to Shen Hu with its own wired projectile. She stopped before turning towards the Chinese Knightmare and kicking it directly in the chest. The Baryon Cannon shot missed completely as Shen Hu fell from the sky. Xingke tried to regain control over his machine, but the blast added only more issues. A sudden pull brought Shen Hu violently back up to Amber as it flipped in the air before yanking him down hard. The plummeting war machine of Xingke fell on top of the UFN embassy not too far from their battlefield as it smashed through the roof. Cinder didn't bother looking for Arthur, she trusted him enough to know that if he didn't show up yet then it meant he was still busy fighting off Tohdoh.

'Joining him and stabbing the general in the back is tempting, not to mention poetic, but-' Xingke could fleed or call for reinforcement if Cinder left him alive. They had a window of opportunity and she couldn't waste it. So instead, she called her fellow knight on the closed line. "Arthur, once you're done with those two, regroup with me."

Amber's head looked at its hand to see Shen Hu's slash harken was still in its grasp, the wire having been torn from its machine by such a show of force. Its pilot simply tossed the now useless device away as she descended to continue the battle.

---

"Understood."

Arthur was pleased, no, happy he was still able to hold the serious facade for too long. Originally, he was meant to wait in the back line like Cinder and Peter. The peace talks were meant to go without a scratch and the Knights of the Round were supposed to only act as a backup plan in case Black Knights tried something funny. The young male knight wasn't happy with leaving both his Emperor and his master Bishop at hands of a traitorous Knight of the Round. Especially someone like Kururugi Suzaku, but they had their roles to play. Not to mention...

'Taking down the White Reaper would have been a matter of honour, but taking down W-0 will be of personal significance.'

Of course, he heard that European Alexanders were noticed among the Black Knight ranks that started a fight. Even after all this time training under lord Bishop in the art of knighthood, Arthur couldn't forget the reason he gained the fighting spirit.

'Wyvern Squad.'

He defeated them once and while that fire of vengeance became weaker, it didn't fade away yet. And it was bothering Arthur greatly. However, not great enough to forget that he was still in a battle at the moment.

His scythe hit the ground as Reaper tried to strike down Zangetsu, but the latter was still able to either dodge or redirect the attack. Even damaged, Tohdoh's Knightmare was still a formidable opponent. Only one among Black Knights that Arthur was facing at the moment.

From the side Zikisan moved quickly, trying to sneak on Reaper while the bigger Knightmare was focused on Zangetsu. Chiba moved closer before jumping in the air, her katana aimed for the cockpit that was hidden in the lower body part of Reaper. However, before she could succeed, Arthur turned to the side while Reaper's rear was facing Zikisan. In a similar way to regular horses, Reaper used its back legs and kicked purple Knightmare away. Her Zikisan had less study armour compared to Zangetsu and had a harder time after the hit

The purple Knightmare hit the ground, its pilot unable to operate it anymore as blood covered her vision.

"Agh!" Chiba screamed in pain as she hit her head against the back of the cockpit.

"Chiba-!" Tohdoh shouted with fury before raising his own katana and slashing his enemy.

Arthur was fast enough to pull out Reaper's single MVS sword and block the upcoming attacks. With a giant scythe that was also a gun in one hand and a red sword in another one, Reaper walked forward. Swings from the sword at a closer distance and slashes from the scythe at a longer distance were enough to keep Zangetsu at bay. Their little dance continued for some time.

However, nothing could go on forever and eventually, Tohdoh made a mistake. His opponent was already exhausted after fighting Cinder while the fourth knight was full of force, not to mention Zangetsu was already heavily damaged by Amber. All Reaper needed was a single mistake on his enemy's part and he got it.

Zangetsu's right hand gave an error at the worst time and didn't react when Tohdoh tried to raise it for one second. One single second was everything Arthur needed to finish the fight as he immediately kicked away his katana, sending it to the side of both of them. Reaper's MVS sword shot forward but didn't stab Zangetsu yet, only pressed against the chest of Black Knights Knightmare.

"Surrender."

Inside his machine, Tohdoh scoffed before he coughed with blood licking out of his mouth. "You lied, you said you won't offer surrender a second time."

"I did so, yes. But I'm also a student of my master and Lord Bishop taught me that it is never late to lay down your weapon when you cannot win. Consider it chivalry."

"Heh, so at least one of the new Knights of the Round actually follows some warrior code. Unlike your colleague, you are an actual knight. Even the old rounds were like that…even he." Tohdoh thought back to the knight whom he personally knew. "You know, my own student is there in that academy. Your teacher is there too."

"Kururugi Suzaku, I read about him. White Reaper." Arthur said with clear antagonism in his voice.

At that moment, a distinct humming sound was heard in the air and Tohdoh chanced a look around. It was then that he saw the familiar form of Guren landing atop a building, energy wings furling as it balanced itself upright. Kallen had arrived! Although it appeared as though the knight before them hadn't noticed her yet. It seemed she may have been waiting for an opening.

"Not a fan? What? Jealous of his nickname?" Tohdoh asked, hoping to stall for time.

"Partially. I despise knights who know nothing of loyalty to their lords. Kururugi Suzaku betrayed every master he served. Lord Bishop told me that loyalty was the most important aspect of any knight. Loyalty to your homeland, to your brother and sister in arms, to your family and to your lord. The previous Knight of Seven had none of those."

Inside his Knightmare, Tohdoh had a small smile. The words of the first knight sounded similar to the code of samurai Japanese general himself followed to this day.

"Then why not go after him instead of all of this? Or what? You Britannians can't miss the chance to oppress people?"

"Treachery should be punished no matter what, Black Knight. Kururugi Suzaku will answer for his crimes, sooner or later. You will pay for them right now."

His opponent spoke with sorrow in his tone. "I agree with your logic, but I cannot just let you do it, knight of Britannia. At this point, I care little if I made the right or wrong choice when trying to kill Lelouch vi Britannia. But I cannot give up now. As you said, a knight should be loyal to his homeland. I cannot leave Japan in the hands of Lelouch. Maybe that boy will be the most benevolent leader Japan and Britannia ever had. Perhaps he will lead all our people into a better future as he claims, or turn them all into his slaves. Whatever path Lelouch will take, it changes nothing for me. Japan suffered too much under Britannian control, I cannot allow Lelouch to keep it under the empire's rule… if only he wasn't a Britannian royal."

"So, is this what it is all about?"

"Partially yes," Tohdoh smiled sadly. "His heritage and his Geass, I cannot ignore no matter what. Leaving my homeland at hands of someone like Lelouch is too dangerous. He can be worse than Charles or Schneizel ever could have. All of us saw what he could achieve as Zero, and even now as the emperor. He has too much power to be left to do as he pleases with the world. You can never know if he will turn into the same monster as his father did. Leaving someone as dangerous as Lelouch to run Japan will be a betrayal of all Japanese people who died for the dream of free and independent Japan. I lost my comrades, my people, for that dream and cannot allow Lelouch to make their sacrifices meaningless."

"More people will die for nothing…"

"You see it that way, I see it as fighting for their beliefs and dreams. No one can deny them this, not even your Emperor."

Arthur stayed silent, having no choice but to agree. His master said it himself, people were welcome to fight against his vision of the world. As a revolutionary in the past, Emperor Lelouch couldn't deny them what he did himself, it would have been hypocrisy. People can revolt all they want and fight for their future, but...

"As one of his Knights, personally chosen by my Emperor, I will strike down all those who oppose my lord's wishes."

"Hmm, getting defeated by someone like you won't be the worst fate. I hope your master will be proud of you. But-"

He chanced another look up at the nearby building, Guren was still motionless; as a matter of fact, it hadn't even drawn its weapons. Something wasn't right. He dared not think of the possibility that-

"Tohdoh now!" Chiba yelled as Zangetsu raised its hand while a still-damaged Zikisan threw its own katana Tohdoh's way. While Arthur and Tohdoh conversed, Chiba managed to regain consciousness.

"I cannot allow myself to be defeated even by an honourable knight!" Tohdoh screamed as Zangetsu rushed forward, close to Reaper as its katana slashed down.

Arthur's eyes went wide, but his hand remained steady on the controls as he pressed on. Reaper fired its slash harken forward, hitting Zangetsu's chest and breaking the stance of the Japanese samurai and ruining his attack. The katana barely touched the metal of Reaper, the Britannian knight was simply faster than the Japanese samurai. Tohdoh couldn't react fast enough when Reaper swung its scythe, the chest armour ripping away as the weapon tore through the interior, through the flesh and blood pilot.

In one moment, everything ended. Zangetsu stopped as it lowered its weapon, its pilot could only smile weakly as blood started to drip from his mouth.

Inside her Zikisan, Chiba watched everything unfold on her half-broken monitor, an expression of shock on her face, then horror as she shuddered.

"T-Tohdoh?" With that, came sorrow. And then…

Arthur didn't move, he should have expected a possible new attack but the young knight knew there won't be another one. Not from the samurai before him. Reaper lowered its scythe to the ground, there was no need for it now. Zangetsu didn't move anymore, it couldn't.

"Not the worst death…" Tohdoh himself couldn't move anymore, the loss of his legs apparent by the fact that he couldn't feel them anymore. His sight drifted off to where Guren was still situated, where Kallen just watched… and then it dawned on him. 'So that's how it is…'

"My Emperor will ensure peace and prosperity for you people, I swear on it."

"H-huh, then I have no choice but to accept my fate. If I was your teacher, I would have been proud of having a student like you, Arthur Calhoun."

These were the last words of Kyoshiro Tohdoh as neither he nor his Zangetsu frame could go any further. All the damage it sustained until now was too much for the Knightmare as it fell forward on its knees.

Reaper walked closer to the defeated machine and ripped off what remained of the cockpit to make sure the pilot was no longer alive. There he lay, with a peaceful expression on his face. Arthur took a moment to pay respect to a fallen warrior. The fourth knight felt a little happy that he managed to grant Tohdoh a swift end. However, Arthur's thought was interpreted by gunfire.

"YOU-!"

Chiba screamed tears and blood mixed as she tried her best to raise Zikisan and fight on if only to kill the knight who took away Tohdoh. Zikisan managed to stand up, but its pilot was wounded and had a hard time controlling the machine.

"I loved him!"

"In that case…"

Arthur's tone was empty of emotion as Reaper spit both hands on the scythe. Mere bullets did next to nothing against his armour and shield. He could have offered the remaining Black Knight to surrender or destroy her machine's legs and arms. However, Arthur realized that it won't end the woman's pain. He knew it better than most.

"Let the Reaper reunite you."

The Knightmare of Death galloped towards the Zikisan, its scythe raised high. The Black Knight didn't even bother dodging or thinking about blocking the upcoming attack. Inside her cockpit, Chiba never thought about running away, not while Tohdoh was still there, waiting for her. So she remained, continuing to fire at the Britannian monster Knightmare, despite knowing that her bullets were worthless. She herself knew that it was suicide, but she didn't care. At that last moment of hers, all Chiba could think of was one man.

"Tohdoh-" Chiba whispered as she closed her eyes, ready to meet the end.

Reaper moved and in one swift move, its scythe went through Zikisan like a knife through butter. There weren't any final words, no arguments over loyalty or anything of the like with Tohdoh. Zikisan crashed down next to Zangetsu as both Black Knights were silenced forever. Arthur blankly stared at the two titan's corpses. He did not feel sorry or sad, after all, these two were just enemy commanders, ordered to be executed for the sake of His Majesty's Britannia. Still...

"Perhaps they will find peace in death among their friends and comrades."

Guren departed the scene shortly afterwards, as silent as its pilot had been in observing. Red particles emitted from the dorsal device were the only sign it was ever there, shining brightly before dimming completely.

While the Fourth Knight of the Round and the Japanese general had their last duel, the White Queen was busy with her own opponent.

---

Shen Hu fell down the darkened embassy's building, destroying the walls of the recently finished place. At least no one was there and so no casualties. Xingke quickly tried to rise back up, before his attacker could finish him. Perhaps calling for reinforcement would have been a good idea… no, Xingke knew that they would be nothing but cannon fodder if he did so.

"Found you~," the ice-cold voice of Cinder Fall did nothing to calm Xingke down as Amber fell from the sky, its maser swords aimed at the head. Shen Hu rolled to the side as Amber's sword pierced the ground where he was just a second ago. The Chinese warrior pressed into the controls and moved back, the frame slamming against the left side of Amber. The hit affected Xingke as he vomited blood, but he could tolerate it for now.

Cinder was caught off guard by the risky move. Amber couldn't raise its arms as Shen Hu was too close and was pressing on. Deciding to use his chance, Xingke moved Shen Hu for a killing blow, its double-edged sword aimed for the enemy cockpit while his Knightmare rolled in the air for the attack. Amber moved like a dancer when Knightmare dodged away, rotating as it moved. Now it was behind Shen Hu that struck down an empty air.

Amber aimed for the cockpit and tried to pierce it, but Shen Hu ducked forward before turning back, catching the tip of the maser sword with its slash harkens. Xingke tried to use Shen Hu's ability again as the electrified shot was sent down the whip-like weapons. However, Amber activated energy wings as they opened up and started to work. Her vampire-like ability also allowed Cinder to counter annoying mechanics similar to Xingke's Knightmare. The Chinese warrior already noticed it and something more.

"You're open!" he yelled as Shen Hu jumped and hit the left energy wing. His blade didn't destroy it but left a black mark as it pierced the matter.

"You-!" Cinder clenched her teeth as she pulled Amber back, ducking behind. Once she was a few meters away from Shen Hu, she raised Amber's right leg and went for a kick. Shen Hu blocked the hit, but Cinder didn't lose momentum and followed the kick with the left sword swing, and the right one. Shen Hun blocked them with its sword and slash harken, but left a window of opportunity as its chest area was open for some seconds. Cinder pressed on as her Amber head slammed against Shen Hu's chest plate, cracking the Baryon Cannon launcher panel. Xingke cursed, he barely had enough energy for another shot, but still could have used it as a distraction move, but now it would rather melt his Knightmare.

Amber raised its head before launching its slash harkens forward, aiming for the joint points between Shen Hu's main frame and its arms. One was blocked while another found its target. Shen Hu's right arm fell off as Amber slash harken returned to the launcher. Now her opponent was fighting with only one hand armed with a double-edged sword.

"If I were you I would have fled by now." Cinder had an advantage over handicapped Knightmare. There was no dishonour in retreating when you couldn't win a fight.

"I might have if I was sure you wouldn't shoot me in the back." Xingke knew turning his back on Knightmare with energy wings was a pointless idea, especially when its pilot was a bloodthirsty monster. "You will try to kill me."

"Yup." Cinder smirked as she launched one of her maser swords forward, throwing it against Shen Hu. Having only one hand, Xingke deflected the purple sword as it hit the wall next to them. Meanwhile Amber jumped forward, targeting the left side of Shen Hu that couldn't block upcoming attacks anymore without an arm. Shen Hu couldn't little but try dodging. It barely could as the Britannian machine continued its assault, swinging its left sword left and right.

Cinder could easily outlast Xingke. His Knightmare lost one arm, its most powerful weapon and was running out of energy after Amber stole some of it. However, she needed to finish off the Black Knights' controlled portion of Tokyo for good.

'The backup Knightmares should have been sent by both sides now.' Black Knights should have organized counter-attacks at least in some manner now and must have been deploying reinforcements for their forces in the city. However, Cinder was planning her battle plan for a long time by now. Britannia already encircled the Federation area in the city and should have been systematically taking over it, even without the second knight's direct presence.

Neither of the pilots looked up the news or radio channels, too preoccupied with their fight. So neither knew of the events that took place at Ashford academy. As far as Xingke and Cinder were considered, Suzaku was still there. However, that wasn't the case anymore. While the two fighters were too busy trying to kill each other, none of them noticed a signal of something coming toward them.

At least not until something tore through the walls of the embassy, destroying everything in its way. A massive object obscured by trailing smoke landed in the battle arena between Shen Hu and Amber before dissipating. Xingke didn't have time to react when a silver claw shot forward and dug into its frame, sending his Shen Hu flying back. Though his visuals were scrambled, Xingke's eyes widened as it was hard not to recognize what attacked him.

"Guren?!"

"Kallen?"

Cinder's eye blinked as she stopped her attack to look behind. The red-coloured Knightmare of her fellow and highly disliked knight joined the battle. Guren SEITEN stood next to Amber, standing next to it as its claw didn't leave Shen Hu.

"It is over, Xingke," Kallen spoke as her eyes didn't leave the blue Knightmare, ready to destroy it at any moment.

"So, our fears were proved right. You joined forces with Lelouch vi Britannia." Xingke leaned against his controls, not even bothering to try resisting. His Shen Hu was heavily damaged and there was no way for him to win against two Knightmares equipped with energy wings. "He did use Geass on you after all."

"He did, but not in the way you think." Kallen could imagine it got the reaction out of Xingke.

"You standing here means that hostages in Ashford were rescued…"

Cinder turned Amber towards Guren. "His Majesty?"

"Lelouch is safe and is now being escorted towards that ship of yours. But Zero was killed by Suzaku." Kallen informed her. Both queens knew that C.C. was still immortal and didn't have to worry about her beyond feeling a little sorry for the greenhead's most likely painful demise.

Xingke noted the lack of concern in her voice. "I knew it was just a fake. What are you trying to achieve now, Major Kozuki? Have you come to kill me?"

"I and the Black Knights pilots who were around Ashford are working with Britannia. We will stop the fighting in the city. Afterwards, we will need you to explain what happened from the perspective of the Black Knights. You will say that the conspirators were the ones who started a fight with Britannia," the defeated warrior said nothing while Kallen narrowed her gaze, "We rescued Tianzi, she is safe, Xingke. She is currently under the protection of Black Knights and Britannia joint forces. Kaguya is there too, reassuring her."

"I see," Xingke muttered before opening the cockpit of Shen Hu and coming out of it with raised hands, a shadow cast over his face. "In that case, I surrender. You won."

Neither of the girls actually knew if he gave up because he was absolutely outgunned or because Tianzi was in their hands. At least the knowledge that the chairwoman was there calmed down the Chinese empress's most loyal subject. Xingke was confident that the Japanese princess could protect his little empress, especially since Xingke himself was in no position to do so.

"Well, that was easy. What now?" Cinder asked while calling for Britannian units in the area to collect their new prisoner of war.

"D.S. has relayed that W-0 units are causing issues behind our lines. Jeremiah is the only one who can cancel the Geass on them, but he can't be everywhere at once. I will go after the Black Knights, while you will keep Europeans busy."

"Got it. I'm going after Wyvern Squad?"

"Negative," inside her Guren, Kallen shook her head before reading the message D.S sent her with a confused expression. "Eh, someone named Ashley Ashra. Do you know him?"

"Ashley Ashra, huh?"

A distant memory of another annoying redhead with a loud mouth that didn't know when to shut up popped into the head of White Queen. A nostalgic smile formed on Cinder's face as she remembered her old prey that managed to get away, alive.

"I remember that name."

---

Nemesis.

"Welcome, Your Majesty."

The ship captain bowed before Lelouch as the emperor walked towards the throne that was currently occupied. The moment he was out of Ashford, Lelouch was immediately flown to his battleship to command his forces and try to understand what was going on. He didn't have the time nor the patience to humour regulations right now. Once the Emperor reached the heart of the command room his eyes fell on the apparent messenger of God or the closest thing to it. Surrounded by holographic screens that were updated every few seconds, Diana worked with a calm efficiency befitting someone of her status, organizing all of their attack forces, monitoring the general ground situation, and keeping updated on all OSI activities; at least, to name a few that Lelouch could keep track of.

"You seem to be doing well," Lelouch complimented while the black-through pink-haired woman just waved him away, her pink eyes glancing up from the screens for only a second before returning.

"Please, all I do is make sure all on-the-ground commanders get updated every minute. The Knights of the Round took the actual charge."

Lelouch simply nodded at the humble answer as he studied the huge map of the city that was displayed over their heads. "So, you all decided to move right to the invasion part."

"We couldn't let such an opportunity go to waste. A majority of the Black Knights opened fire on our forces while both you and Zero were taken, hostage. I am confident that neither General Xingke nor Tohdoh ordered this. Once we have control over the situation, both the Empire and Federation can blame everything on the conspirators Zero talked about. Of course, it would have been easier if Zero was still with us..."

"Zero is dead, and this time forever," Lelouch knew the original plan was no longer suitable. Sure, C.C. was recovering but they couldn't show Zero publicly after the entire world saw him getting killed on TV. "He will become a martyr, a symbol of justice and change who died trying to make this world into a better place. Both Britannia and Federation will punish the people who were behind today's attack. That will be our official message."

"We would need a few of the Black Knights to support us on this."

"Kallen and Kaguya will do. Xingke will have to listen since Tianzi is under our protection. Convincing Tohdoh and Ohgi won't be easy, I might have to force them. In Oghi's case threatening Villetta should work, but for Tohdoh..."

The ethereal being keenly listened to him before she received a notification on one of the screens. After checking it, the Dimensional Supervisor hummed. "Better add Tohdoh to the list of conspirators who were killed while trying to interrupt the peace talks.

"What?" Lelouch leaned forward to see the message she just got. His eyes went wide for a second before he regained his calm and sighed. "So, Tohdoh was slain, and by Arthur. At least we secured Xingke… yes, your suggestion works just fine. Adding big names like his should help destroy the credibility of Black Knights leadership and sell everything better to the public."

"Does it not worry you the Japanese people won't be happy that one of their national heroes was slandered as a traitor and killed? By a Britannian knight of all people."

Lelouch waved off. "Tohdoh and the rest of the conspirators we will name were the reason the national hero Zero died. We will tell them that they cooperated with my siblings and planned to have a sabotaged peace talk from the start. If both Britannia and the Federation will spread this version of events, people will accept them. Speaking about the Federation, what is their status?"

Kaguya and Tianzi were under the joint protection of Black Knights and Britannian soldiers. Kallen reassured Lelouch that Zero Squad won't attack the empire and that the rest Black Knights members were trained under Tamaki, hence they will listen to him before the rest of the Order. Lelouch couldn't understand how that loudmouth of all people was capable of getting the loyalty of new recruits to the point they didn't question when Tamaki asked them to work together with Britannia and ignore the battle between the two sides.

'Then again, none of these people know my secrets. And they all just saw how their hero and leader Zero was murdered on the live broadcast by third-party.' From the perspective of confused Black Knights who were caught off guard, they and Britannians were currently in the same boat. Having someone like a famous ace pilot like Kallen flying right next to imperial Knightmares and helping them put down fighting Black Knights should help as well.

"Some UFN members have already contacted us to reassure us that they aren't behind the attack. They promise that the Federation wanted those talks to succeed no matter what. They are organizing an emergency meeting at the moment. My OSI agents have reported that some countries already planned to blame everything on the current Black Knight leadership, but some were hesitant to do so. As of now, neither the Empire's nor the UFN's borders are engaged in battle." D.S. informed him, hand resting on her cheek as she idly read another report.

"So they are already looking for scapegoats." The Federation was at a disadvantage now. With Zero dead and the entire world witnessing how Black Knights first opened fire at Britannia, the UFN might get blamed for starting a conflict by their own people and politicians. "This should help to convince Kaguya to accept my proposal. The UFN is leaving her less room to negotiate out of this."

Unless the leadership wants a full-out war with Britannia after the death of Zero who returned from the dead only a week ago, they will try to hold peace talks again. Thanks to a live broadcast everyone could see those negotiations were quite successful right until the end. Now, if the new talks were agreed upon, UFN would have a weaker position and might make more amends. Worst case scenario for them, they would have no choice but to give up the idea of a free Japan.

"I wish I could find this situation humorous… but considering that all of it was because of Suzaku I can't help but question the intent behind it. Did they expect Britannia and the Federation to start a full-out war? Was it an attempt to create chaos when the entire world saw Suzaku kill Zero? This can't be Schneizel's full plan." Lelouch would have laughed, but there was another worrying matter. "The Black Knights wouldn't attack their own, even if they must realize the fallout of such actions. So that leaves only one option."

"Indeed," The OSI director showed him an image of Ikaruga that was currently firing its main guns. "The last Geass user, a European Peace Mark cell survivor named Rai is currently there. I felt him when one of their transport ships was moving towards Tokyo. I had hoped to send OSI agents and monitor his moves, thinking he would wait before making a move, but he started immediately. From what intelligence found, some of the Order's Knightmares and European Alexanders left their transport ship and flew towards the city."

"And then they immediately started a fight." Black Knights on their own were bad, but if W-0 was there then it meant more issues. "My former Order has the technology and training to fight Britannia effectively. Even if limited to only Geassed members, they can cause enough damage..."

"Not to mention, Leila's friends from W-0."

"I already sent Jeremiah with her to deal with W-0." His Orange knight's Geass Canceler was extremely useful right now, but Jeremiah couldn't be everywhere at once. So Lelouch prioritized the rescue of Leila's European forces. "To be honest, I don't really need to cancel Geass's effect on the Black Knights at this point. They played their role and can be discarded. W-0 were unfortunate enough to get in the middle of this mess and for the sake of Leila I shall free them of this Rai's influence."

"I'm in the same boat. Screw the Order of Black Knights," came the bored answer. It wasn't a secret that D.S had no love for Lelouch's former employees. "Traitors deserve nothing but death."

"Crude but correct. However, I might need at least some of them in the future. Xingke might be needed to better control Chinese territories, although Tianzi alone was good enough as a political tool. Don't tell Kaguya I talked about her friend like this." She simply smiled while Lelouch went on. "Tohdoh is dead and that leaves only Ohgi. Yes, he will be the good scapegoat for everything wrong, hmm…"

"Cruel as always aren't we, Lelouch?" The amusement was apparent in the woman's voice. The apparent avatar of C's world wasn't bloodthirsty, but she did want to see the people who were responsible for possible future Lelouch's death and following world catastrophe get punished for their deeds.

Lelouch smirked. "You were always watching me and should know better than anyone that I'm a very vindictive person. My former Order of Black Knights isn't safe from my vengeance either; after all, I didn't forget their betrayal. Now, where is our last Geass user?"

"At the place where he can cause maximum damage." D.S. pointed at the battleship on another screen. "I already sent a maid and butler to deal with him, while Peter distracts the Ikaruga."

"Lovely. We should consider the entire crew of Ikaruga lost to Rai's Geass. Jeremiah is busy with saving W-0 for Leila, no point in calling him for this. Tell Peter to preserve Ikaruga, that ship will support my Nemesis quite nicely." Lelouch said as he moved towards the exit.

"And where are you going, dear?" Diana looked up from her throne, crossing one leg over the other.

"To talk with the UFN leaders. Now that the entire world believes Zero is dead I must contact them and suggest a new agreement. They have little reason to decline."

---

Ikaruga.

In mere five minutes, the entire situation switched from bad to terrible and finally to horrendous for Black Knights. The leaders of the Order were already on edge because of the peace talks between Lelouch vi Britannia and his puppet Zero, when suddenly, out of nowhere, Suzaku Kururugi appeared on his Lancelot Albion and pointed its weapons at both the Britannia and Federation sides. Having to rescue both the Emperor and fake Zero was bad enough in Ohgi's opinion. Black Knights couldn't afford not to try to save them or the entire world would have questioned their leadership and desire for peace, but then the situation truly turned into full chaos.

Ohgi froze as he received dozens of notifications and calls from their ground forces. Everywhere across Tokyo, Black Knights soldiers reported being under attack as Britannian Knightmares were pushing them. One would see this mess and think it was the Empire that made the first strike, but no. Everyone saw that it was the Black Knights who fired the first shot figuratively and literally speaking.

"What is going on?! Who ordered that shot?!" Oghi screamed as the operators around the room frantically tried to understand what was happening.

The weapon systems officer answered. "Sir! Someone fired one of the main guns directly-!"

She was interrupted by the sound of another explosion as one of Ikaruga's main cannons fired again. Everyone stopped as they looked at the city and saw the smoke coming from the target that was hit.

"Oh, God," Villetta whispered as she covered her mouth.

"No..." Oghi knew it was beyond terrible. He didn't know if it was part of Lelouch's plan, but the boy was currently held hostage by the Knight of Seven. However, if they quickly didn't take control of the situation they might face full-out war with the empire and worst, they will be the ones who started it. "I-I-!"

"Stop these guns!" Minami yelled, seeing that his friend and commander couldn't act at the moment. "Override the controls and call the security to deal with whoever opened fire-"

"Captain Sugiyama reported that he went after whoever fired the guns personally!"

"Sir! We receive the signal of Britannian Knightmares flying towards Ikaruga." One of the pilots shouted while Minami bit his lip.

"Shit, did they open fire yet?"

"Negative, and our fly units outside the ship didn't engage them yet. What are the orders?"

"They might be trying to understand what is going on," Minami thought aloud, "What if those Britannians want to try and de-escalate the situation?"

Ohgi focused before he spoke. "But their countrymen have already attacked us."

"Only because they thought we were the first who pulled the trigger. They might think they're defending themselves. Their Emperor is currently a hostage and maybe their leadership is just as confused as we are," Minami suggested before speaking again, "Maybe some of their forces want to stop both sides from fighting?"

"That's…is something we need right now. Send our units to intercept them and question their intent, do not engage," the operator nodded while Oghi turned to Minami, "We need to get Tohdoh and Xingke here, the Black Knights need to make it clear that we aren't responsible for the fighting. This is one giant misunderstanding."

"The misunderstanding that cost people their lives and will cause even more harm, Oghi," Villetta told him, "The Britannian military won't stop unless Lelouch orders them to and he isn't available right now. In their mind, this might be a trap set by us and Schneizel."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Oghi clenched his fist, feeling lost, "We cannot continue fighting, but we can't just let Britannians attack our soldiers and kill them."

What to do? Oghi knew he was placed in this position because of his reputation and the past, not because of his skills. However, even someone like him should have gotten enough experience by now and be able to see the situation from a strategic point of view. Zero… he was the one who led and dealt with situations like this, even after that day Xingke and Tohdoh couldn't replace him. Oghi wanted to laugh but was afraid it would unsettle everyone on the bridge. This was insanity, Lelouch was probably out there as helpless as Ohgi right now, but the Japanese man found himself missing the masked leader right now, as much as he hated to admit it.

"Get on a call with that monster ship with whoever is in charge while their emperor is unavailable. Tell them the Order of Black Knights are not responsible for what our rogue members did and that we want to cooperate with them to stop the battle in the city." Oghi spoke while one of the female operators tried to contact the Britannian battleship, but froze with wide eyes.

"Sir… General Tohdoh… he-he was killed in action."

Complete silence took over the bridge as both Oghi and Minami were gobsmacked, unable to utter a single word. Tohdoh was dead. The Kyoshiro Tohdoh , a soldier who practically carried the spirits of the Japanese soldiers within the Black Knights following the 'death' of Zero after the reveal of his true identity. The news alone could make entire squads drop their weapons, feeling demoralized. The bridge staff started to murmur among themselves, all devastated by the news.

"General-"

"Tohdoh is dead?"

"How- who-?!" Oghi felt his knees getting weak as Villetta stopped him from collapsing.

"Major Kazuki sent the news on an open channel. According to her message… General Tohdoh and Chiba were part of the group who started a firefight in the city, with the intention of killing Zero and Emperor Lelouch." Both Oghi and Minami looked with wide eyes at each other.

Minami was the first to recover. "Kallen-? But she was with Kaguya? What happened?"

"This."

Villetta pointed at the main screen as it showed the main news. All who were present looked up, only to see the image of the white Knightmare that was their greatest nemesis, raising the masked leader in its hand and crushing him. Seconds felt like an eternity as everyone looked on with horrific expressions as Lancelot crushed Zero with its hands before dropping his corpse on the ground. What followed afterwards was of little focus as everyone was stuck on the fact that Zero had died, again.

"Dear god," Minami looked down. Whoever was under that mask dying like this was terrible, even if it was an enemy agent.

"..."

The death of Tohdoh was already a giant hit to morale, but this?! Zero's third death, right when everything was already going terribly for the Order, it would cause defeat. The pilots who were currently on the ground fighting would either surrender or get themselves killed. Their reserves would be devastated, losing two national heroes in a span of minutes while the rest of the Black Knights were lost and did nothing. And worst of all, now the leadership of UFN will try to replace the rest of the Black Knight's founding members, seeing as the current heads weren't competent enough for the Federation anymore.

'If they replace us, we can forget about a free Japan.' By now the Federation suffered some terrible losses trying to liberate the tiny island. Japan was valuable to the UFN, but even its advantages couldn't outweigh the sacrifices that were made by nations within the collective. 'All of our funding, Knightmares, and weapons are coming directly from their pockets. If we cannot produce any meaningful results, why even bother keeping us around?'

Ohgi said nothing as he turned towards the previous female operator, who could barely keep a calm face and motioned her to continue.

"The Britannians killed Chiba and all the pilots who went with them. General Xingke was captured… Major Kazuki is currently working with the Second Knight of the Round to stop the battle around the city."

"Ohgi-" Minami grabbed his friend's wrist, shaking. "Order our forces to pull back and leave the city or we will lose everything. Whatever happened, Britannia is going to benefit from it if we don't act right now."

"I… you're right-"

Something violently shocked Ikaruga as the bridge felt as if something hit them. One quick report from operators or a simple look outside the main window would reveal a new issue. Ohgi cursed as he saw the infamous Knightmare of Peter Thomson aiming its weapons at them. Unlike the more standard variants, his arsenal was more than enough to take down the entire ship.

"Report!" Oghi shouted.

"Our shields can hold for some time, but we will run out of energy."

Another operator added. "More than half of our guns are not available right now and we can't fire back."

"No firing back! Attacking him will solve nothing!" Minami shouted as Oghi nodded.

"Contact the Knight of the Round, I will try to negotiate."

The female operator from before nodded as she signalled the Britannian machine, but a worried look formed on her face. "He's not answering, sir."

"Shit." Oghi cursed as he stared at the walking, well flying, arsenal. Black Knights intelligence found enough information about the units the current Knights of the Round used. And therefore the Order knew how troublesome it would be to deal with one, especially without their elite fighters on the ship and with an overall lack of organization.

Ohgi closed his eyes before he would give the order to all Black Knights in Tokyo. However, before he could give the order to retreat, the doors to the bridge opened as Kento Sugiyama walked in. Not alone, as he was accompanied by a few armoured guards. All of them looked fine, except for one member who was holding on to the others for support, visibly exhausted and maybe wounded.

"Good news, we dealt with the saboteurs. Some of our people lost their minds and started shooting, they thought it was the best option for Japan." Sugiyama said with a sorrowful tone, his face and uniform covered in blood. "We tried to reason with them, but they didn't listen and opened fire at us. I'm sorry, we had no choice but..."

"Kento-" Minami whispered, seeing that something was wrong with his old friend.

"I… I understand." Oghi had to stop his hand from shaking. They just had infighting among their forces, but at least it was over. This was wrong, all of it. "Black Knights shouldn't fight among themselves, but..."

"Wait, we didn't receive any news of the fighting." Minami pointed out, while one of the Black Knights started to walk forward, closer to the two commanders on the ship.

"Ohgi," Villetta whispered when she noticed something. She pointed at Sugiyama's eyes, his pupils were covered by red circles as the man and his little group walked close to Oghi. "That's-"

"Geass."

Suddenly the issue of having an antagonistic Knight of the Round outside their window was no longer the worst issue anymore. Not to mention, 'Uncle Teddy' hadn't fired a single weapon since its appearance, for whatever reason.

Ohgi realized as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the newcomers. All of them stood still, but they formed a defence circle around the supposedly wounded member. Villetta moved behind him as she slowly started to reach for her handgun.

Ohgi's gaze fell on the person behind Sugiyama. He was wearing the standard uniform of the Order and from his height alone they could tell it was a young man. He could easily see that the boy wasn't doing alright. His entire body was shaking as if he would collapse any second now. He was wearing a visor, but there were small drops of blood under his nose and his eyes appeared lost as if he was high.

"Who are you?" Oghi asked coldly, tightening his grip on the weapon.

Sugiyama tried to stand before them. "Come on, Oghi. This is a bad misunderstanding-"

"Kento stand down!" Minami shouted as he pulled out his own pistol. None of the operators was armed so it was only Ohgi and Minami against the small group who were better armed than the duo. "All of this is suspicious, Kento. Lower your weapons and don't move!"

None of the Black Knights moved while the weird one walked forward, his hand raised as he tried to appear friendly. However, something was wrong with him.

The boy didn't say anything at first. He blinked slowly before his stare focused on Oghi as he moved up towards the main screen where the death of Zero was on replay before the entire world! A smile formed on his face as it grew bigger every second, as the boy tried to cover his mouth and stop himself from laughing. Now the unknown person was looking like he was on the verge of hysteria.

"-Ahahaha, g-god. Seeing Zero die on TV would have been the greatest show ever, serves him right… if only Alice saw it. She would have loved it," the unknown boy spoke with sorrow in his tone, "But that isn't the real deal, right? After all, the real one is right next to this faker."

"How- how do you know this?" Oghi didn't know who it was, how he managed to get on the Ikaruga or what he was doing there. However, he knew the truth behind Zero and Lelouch.

"How? Well, another masked person told me this. He was far from the most pleasant people I knew. And I saw some weirdos, but still, he is kind of my boss right? So, I have to obey his orders, for now," the boy said as he forced himself to move forward, visibly in pain from whatever caused his current state. "Honestly, once this is over I'm taking a paid leave somewhere in the tropics. But today, right here, right now, I deal with some vermin. For Alice. Now-"

He was three meters away from Oghi when an ugly smile formed on his face, and the boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Obey me!"

In a mere second, red circles appeared around Ohgi's pupils as he heard the Geass command. He froze, unable to move or react in any way. Both Villetta and Minami looked at him with horrific expressions. Villetta was more than familiar with what just happened as she tried to call him.

"Oghi!"

Minami looked at the weird boy with fury as he aimed at his head. "What the hell have you do-?!"

However, before he could press the trigger, Kento shot first. A bullet went right through Minami's head and his body fell to the ground. One of the female operators screamed in horror as the Black Knights around the strange boy with Geass pointed their weapons against the rest of the people on the bridge. The one with Geassed just waived away.

"I have a general secretary, that's good enough for me. Everyone else, I recommend you to stay still and do what you're told. Unless you want to follow the example of this one." he pointed at Minami's fresh corpse. "Now, Kaname Oghi, I want you to-"

Before he could order him to do anything, Villetta used the moment and shot at him. The boy couldn't react on time, but that wasn't the case of his Geassed puppets. Kento moved to the side and acted as a human shield. The bullets pierced his body, but Kento continued to stand, even with bloody holes. The Black Knights behind them quickly aimed at Villetta, but their puppet master immediately stopped them.

"Don't shoot, idiots! She is too close to Kaname. I need the general secretary alive!" the boy shouted before turning towards the Geassed Ohgi. "You! Deal with her!"

Oghi silently obeyed as he turned around towards the woman who was behind him and grabbed her wrists. Despite being a trained operative, Villetta was unable to free herself of his grip and could only stare at him with a scared expression.

"Oghi, please. This isn't you, snap out of it!"

Her lover said nothing as he looked at her with an emotionless expression, his face no different from some kind of doll. However, he didn't do anything else beyond stopping Villetta. His new master shouted in fury as he leaned on another Black Knight to support himself.

"What are you waiting for? Just kill her already!"

Despite the direct order, Oghi couldn't follow this command. Villetta felt that his grip on her wrist started to loosen as she felt him shaking.

"I-I-" Oghi whispered as the red circle in his eyes started to flash. Villetta looked at him with hope in her eyes.

"Oghi-!"

BANG!

Time froze as Villetta shakily looked down to see blood coming out of her stomach, she slowly raised her face to see the Geass user with a handgun aimed at her. Her gaze turned towards Oghi. He was still under the influence of Geass but despite that, a shock formed on his face as he realized what happened. Villetta could do nothing but fall forward, her body leaning against Oghi. With whatever strength she had, the former OSI tried to whisper.

"Fight it-"

Villetta was silent as her body pressed against his chest, but Ohgi didn't let her fall. Instead, he held her in his arms, tightly hugging the wounded woman as the red circle in his eyes continued to flash. Perhaps his mind was trying its best to fight off the invading force that was Geass, perhaps it was succeeding-

However, few could oppose the Power of Kings and Kaname Ohgi was not one of them.

After a few seconds of absolute silence, the General Secretary removed his hands from the now dying woman as she fell to the ground. Blood pooled around an unmoving Viletta. Ohgi didn't even look at her, waiting for the next command. The boy who was now in control over the bridge looked around, looking if anyone else would dare to challenge him. The rest of the staff didn't move from their positions, all scared and horrified by what just happened. None of them had weapons and could only sit in silence as the Geassed Black Knight soldiers held them at gunpoint ever since Minami was killed.

"..."

The Geassed Ohgi could only stare at the body of Villetta unconsciously lying on the ground. Every second her chances of survival were getting lower and lower. However, none bothered to help her, all Oghi did was wait for further orders. Perhaps a small part of his brain could realize what was going on, maybe it even wept in sorrow for her, but ultimately it could do absolutely nothing and obey his new master. Turns out the Black Knights were right to be afraid of Geass after all this time, but not the person who used it.

---

"Ok, now that the situation is under control, let's continue," Rai spoke as he walked next to Oghi. "You will send a message to all Black Knights around the Federation. You will tell them that Britannia attacked you in Tokyo and was planning to start an invasion. Order them to attack Britannian forces on the borders, call it a pre-emptive strike."

"Yes… my lord." Oghi nodded as he turned towards the deck operators who were too horrified by everything that just happened.

Rai noticed that none of them were returning to their tasks and he would rather use intimidation than his Geass.

'I used it way too much. More than I ever did. I can't stop, but I might collapse any second now.' Rai's mission and personal reasons to see Britannia and the Black Knights destroying each other had to take a backseat as his basic survival instincts kicked in. 'If I die now, then Alice's sacrifice would be for nothing.'

If only to honour her memory Rai would try to make it out of this mess alive, with the Order of Black Knights getting absolutely annihilated in the process. Perfect scenario. While Rai was glad for the chance to finish them off, Wizard's order was still strange, to say the least. They had to use one of the more extreme plans in a rather hurried manner. Rai thought he would have more time for something like this, maybe days. Certainly not a few hours.

'I can see why the conflict between the Black Knights and Britannia is good for us, but like this? And so suddenly? Well, can't complain now anyway.' After this was all over, Rai would be on his way far away from Wizard, Britannian royals and everyone else.

All he needed to do was make sure the fighting between Black Knights and Britannia spread outside Tokyo and became an international conflict. Using the Order's secretary general should be enough. And while UFN and Britannia will engage in all-out war, Rai will leave his little helpers to deal as much damage to Britannia as possible.

'Sure all I needed to do was order them to attack Britannia and destroy the enemy who took so much from them.' Such a simple Geass command but good enough for both Europeans and Black Knights. 'But since I'm getting out of here soon, why not play all leftover cards, won't have another opportunity. Wizard did want me to use that failed experiment and see how much damage it would cause.'

After all, not every day Rai could get his hands on something like a failed experimental weapon that was once an original concept for F.L.E.I.J.A. That shit-talking prince reassured the albino man that it would explode. Not as huge as the one created by the crater in the city under them, but powerful enough to guarantee war between two nations.

'After all, with Zero dead and all this confusion, both sides will blame each other for that explosion.' Britannia would say that the UFN developed warheads on their own, while the Federation will accuse the Empire of preparing another F.L.E.I.J.A. right inside Tokyo. Rai cared little about their arguments, only interested in their mutual destruction. 'Those Europeans from Wyvern Squad better not fail me.'

"Now, let's fuck this world-Agh!" Rai tried to act cheerful but the pain in his chest almost made him throw up. His body was at its limit. He didn't know how much longer he could go if he didn't stop using his power, but was sure one or two more tries would be his final ones. "N-not right now, come on. I'm this close."

"My lord, what should we do about that Knightmare?" One of the Black Knights he Geassed asked as he pointed at Uncle Teddy behind the window.

'What?'

Rai didn't know there was a Britannian Knightmare, let alone a Knight of the Round. Was this one behind a sudden shake-up of Ikaruga? That almost made him vomit with blood, bastard. Although, Geassing the knight sounded nice, but even attempting to do so would be suicide. Rai doubted he could even convince the knight to get peacefully on Ikaruga.

'Using his own knights to kill the White Emperor sounds really nice… wait, why doesn't it shoot at us?' If the knight flew there to wreck the shit out of the Order, then why did it stop? "Ignore it until Kaname sends the order to all forces around the Federation, then you can open fire on that thing. I will be on my way out of here anyway."

Rai didn't care what happened to the rest of the Ikaruga crew, actually, no, he would prefer for all of them to meet the same fate as the Geass Order had. The Geassed Black Knight nodded before shoving his rifle right against the head of the communications operator, making sure she understood what to do. However, instead of obeying for the sake of her own survival, she acted against Rai.

"We c-can't do that!"

Rai rolled his eyes. "Oh, please! Save me this speech about right and wrong. You either follow my orders and get a small chance to live, or these brainless drones kill you-"

"W-we can't fire because we lost access to guns. All of them."

"What? I left some groups there!" Rai shouted as he walked close to the scared operator. "They were supposed to wait until I took command over the bridge before firing again. Where are they?!"

"I don't know!" The operator raised her hands to defend herself, even though Rai was sure she could easily overpower him right now.

"Whatever. Kaname, start speaking. Once you're done, I'm leaving."

Ohgi obediently nodded as he turned towards the main screen. The operators around the room exchanged a nervous look before Rai's puppets fired a few shots in the air as a reminder to do as they were told. Having no choice, they could only submit to the albino's orders under the barrel of their former comrades' rifles. Rai could almost feel the relief that his mission was almost completed.

'The Black Knights will be no more! Alice, we did it!'

All he had to do was cause absolute chaos and confusion. Of course, White Reaper was of great help, but it was thanks to Rai's Geass that the Order was completely lost and caught off guard to the point they couldn't even properly defend their flagship from Britannia.

The same ship where Rai was at the moment, the one few Britanniasn would like to take out of the battle.

Before Oghi even could utter any word, the Japanese man fell forward as something pierced the weak spots on his legs. One look at the secretary general was enough to notice two knives sticking out of his legs, kunai. The Geassed Black Knights acted quickly and raised their weapons against whoever attacked them. Rai turned around with wide eyes only to see someone entirely new.

There, standing on top of the Ikaruga bridge near the throne that was once occupied by her master was standing a woman clad in attire Rai had only ever seen in manga. A yellow scarf was tied around her neck that followed behind as she quickly moved, but the strangest thing was the simple maid's hat placed atop her head.

"What the- a ninja maid?!"

Rai was lost while his little puppets opened fire at her. However, the maid was too fast for them. Without missing a beat, she jumped forward, throwing two kunais in the process. Both blades found their targets as they pierced the throats of two soldiers. The ninja-maid then landed right between them. Rai thought it was his chance and shouted, his Geass activating.

"Obey me!"

However, instead of listening to him, the female attacker proceeded to go after the remaining armoured Black Knights. One quick kick was enough to send the third flying while the last one tried hand-to-hand combat. She didn't have any problems dodging the strikes before knocking the rifle out of his hand. Before Black Knight could react, she pulled the trigger and fired several shots at him. She immediately aimed at the previous Black Knight whom she sent flying with a kick and landed a few shots, making sure he wouldn't stand up.

Rai looked at her with a shocked expression. He ignored the immense pain in his chest as he yelled again.

"O-bey me!"

No reaction.

"O-b-bey me!"

Nothing as she turned her gaze towards him. This time Rai could see the small devices in her ears that were more than enough to protect her from his Geass. He froze, realizing one terrible thing. She had come prepared.

Rai's hands were shaking, not from fear but because his entire body was at its limit. He forced himself to pull out the handgun and took aim at the woman. However, he was nothing against this assassin as she threw a kunai at his hand and knocked away the firearm before jumping forward and kneeing him in the face, knocking him into the ground. When he tried to get back up, she slammed her foot down against his face as he struggled to move.

"Y-you bitch!"

The operators around the bridge felt at ease, feeling like their nightmare was over. However, a new voice spoke up, getting their attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your hands in the air and don't make any sudden moves."

An older man with grey hair walked toward them. He looked out of place with his regular butler-like attire. Except for the blood on his hands that he was cleaning with a handkerchief. The friendly smile on his face should have put people at ease, but because of everything that happened it only made him more unnerving. More armoured soldiers arrived, clearly Britannian spec-ops behind him, they did little to calm them down.

"Lady Sayoko, I see you have everything under control."

Sayoko silently nodded, not removing her foot from the target.

"Kaname Ohgi is secured." She pointed towards the secretary general who couldn't get up as her kunai practically paralyzed him. "Yoshitaka Minami, Kento Sugiyama and Villetta Nu are dead."

"Good. That's fewer loose ends." The butler said before he pulled out a silenced handgun and wordlessly shot the rest of the operators on the bridge. They didn't even have time to react as their end was quick and painless.

Rai narrowed his eyes. He didn't care about the Black Knights, and neither did these two apparently. "Who the hell are you?"

"You don't have the right to ask questions," Sayoko said as she applied pressure to her leg before looking at her fellow assassin, the muscles visibly flexed through the black leggings as she kept him down. "What should we do with him, Alfred?"

"Well, His Majesty took control of the situation but didn't overrule Lady Dianna's orders. So, we can bring him in warm or cold."

Gears started to move in Rai's head as he realized who they were working for. His Majesty could mean only one person. The same person who was until a few months ago wearing the mask of Zero. The one who ordered the massacre of his and Alice's home, their people. The one who destroyed everything, the person responsible for the death of Alice.

'Lelouch vi Britannia!'

Rai wanted to scream, to fight his way out of this mess, but he couldn't. His body was barely working anymore. And it meant, those two could take him to Lelouch, to execute him. Or worse-

'They will turn me into a lab rat. Use me for experiments, never letting me go. They won't let me die.'

The image of Alice popped into his head as Rai remembered what she was fighting for, what she died for.

She wanted him to be free, to live. However, living as Lelouch's guinea pig would be a fate worse than death in Rai's mind.

He could do nothing as both assassins had auditory protection against him and could easily break his legs and arms. He was nothing against them like this.

There was only one way out.

'Alice, I'm sorry. There was only one way Rai could fulfil his friend's last request, but only one of them. 'I can't run, I cannot allow them to keep me prisoner… all I can do-'

Be free from everything and everyone. Forever.

"Obey me," Rai whispered as tears started to form in his eyes, fully understanding what he was doing.

Alfred shook his head disappointedly. "Young man, perhaps you need to check your eyesight but we have-"

"Obey me! Obey me! O-bey me! O-o-bey me! Obey m-e! Ob-e-y me! Ob-ob-bey-"

Rai didn't stop, shouting at top of his lungs as he used his Geass again and again. Without stopping, he ignored the pain, no, he welcomed it. For it was his last chance to be free. However, in his last moments, all Rai could think the place they called home. And the person who died for it.

'Alice, I'm coming home-'

Sayoko and Alfred were slow to react. However, once they realized what was going on, they were too late to act as Rai's body twitched violently a few times before it stopped. The Ninja maid lifted her foot off him and kneeled to check his pulse, making sure he was dead. She looked at Alfred who gave her a nod before starting to walk out of the bridge.

"All targets are secured or eliminated, just as was ordered; our mission is complete, time to leave."

Ikaruga was lost to the UFN as Britannia took control of it. It pretty much ended the existence of the Order of Black Knights as an enemy of Britannia, his previous army, and his creation.

Now Lelouch vi Britannia had full control.

---

Tokyo.

A squad of Vincent Wards flew as they followed the giant Knightmare of the Captain of the Royal Guard, Sutherland Sieg, across the battle-torn city. The situation had been alleviated greatly. Guren's pilot herself ordered all Black Knights to stand down and with the death of their leader Zero, many Japanese fighters complied in surrendering; however, that wasn't the case for those who originally started the battle, the ones who had come with Geass user Rai.

The Geassed Knightmare pilots of the Black Knights and W-0 didn't have any intentions of stopping. They couldn't.

'Please be safe,' Inside one of the Vincent Wards, the blonde hero of Europe thought with desperation. She piloted her gifted Vincent Ward to the best of her abilities, having received some training back in Pendragon from both instructors as well as C.C. who wanted her to be capable of fighting with Britannian steel.

Leila Malcal saw the footage Diana sent her. She saw her people's machines taking part in the battle, attacking Britannian units and causing chaos in the city. Only one explanation was for this, Geass. Leila knew that both Wyvern Squad and Asura team would never attack the Empire on their own unless forced by the unnatural power that was Geass.

'If Rai isn't dead yet, I will shoot him myself.' Leila wasn't the vengeful or bloodthirsty type, but no one dared to use her people as toys. She would never forgive such a person.

However, thankfully Britania had two tools against such a problem in the form of Jeremiah Gottwald's Geass Canceler and Leila's own power. And while Leila's own ability would work only with direct eye contact, Jeremiah's device could easily cover a huge distance around him. All they needed was to find the Europeans and reverse the effect of Rai's.

"Remember the plan! Don't engage the W-0 units unless they will attack first. Stay in defensive formation and let me deal with those insect- I mean, pilots." Jeremiah cleared his throat, remembering who was with him. "The Black Knight pilots do not fall under this category, feel free to destroy them if they get too close."

"Yes, my lord!" The Britannians inside Vincent Wards yelled in unison. Jeremiah made sure not to bring pilots from either White Legion or Scarlet Guard. Using Geass Canceler next to them would be awkward, to say the least.

"Good." Inside his Sutherland Sieg, Jeremiah switched on the private channel with Leila. "My lady, I know I don't need to mention this, but please stay safe. Your old friends are currently not in control of their actions."

"I know, Jeremiah, I know. But I won't allow some small terrorist organization to use my people as puppets. Even if I'm Lelouch's partner, as their leader I must protect my people no matter what."

The Orange knight nodded, pleased. "Very well, then allow me to do the honours."

It didn't take too long for them to find the first units of W-0, the Asura team as the red Alexanders were fighting their way towards the centre of Tokyo. Compared to regular police units that were trying to stop them, Alexanders had no real competition. The Akatsuki of Geassed pilots dealt with more advanced Britannian models in the air as several Vincent Wards fell on the ground.

"There!" Leila shouted as Jeremiah pressed on as his Sutherland Sieg flew towards the group of Alexanders.

They were shooting at the Britannian forces, but immediately noticed a familiar machine that gave them problems back in Europe.

"That's him!" Franz shouted.

"Orange!"

Simon yelled before turning his rifle against Jeremiah, and the rest of his friends followed the suit. Sutherland Sieg's shield could easily take all their bullets without any issues. Its cyborg pilot simply smirked as he flew at them, not bothered by their attempts to kill him.

"Be thankful that my master cares so much about Lady Malcal, you lot," Jeremiah said as his left eye sparked with blue.

Ashley's team didn't stop firing until a giant blue bubble covered all of them. One second they were fighting for the sake of fighting and next they stopped, confused by what was going on.

"What the hell?" Simon wondered.

Kuzan just sighed in relief. "So this is finally over."

"Wait, Jeremiah Gottwald!" Franz yelled as he raised his rifle against their old nemesis, but was stopped by the arrival of one Vincent Ward. "What-"

"Asura team, stand down! This is an order!" The familiar voice of General Leila Malcal spoke with a commanding tone, "Jeremiah Gottwald and Britannia are here to assist you, do not open fire."

"General? What is going on?" Franz asked.

"There was an attempt to start a war between UFN and Britannia. You and the other Black Knights were used as pawns. Soldiers, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Uh? Well, we were watching the news, waiting for the peace talks to start when some twink walked in, accompanied by Wyvern Squad and said something to us." Franz described the events of this morning.

His friend Simon picked up. "He said to obey him and after that… eh? Are we here? What was that about?"

Leila bit her lip. "So Rai brainwashed all W-0 fighters… wait, Asura team. Where is Ashley?"

"I remember that he went behind enemy lines to cause chaos and confusion among the Brits, stubborn bastard! I told him to wait for us to back him up… why do I remember that?" Franz was confused by the entire ordeal while Leila asked further.

"And where is Wyvern Squad right now?" Leila's tone became more anxious.

Kuzan raised Alexander's hand and pointed towards the area of the TV station. "Akito said they will take over the station, all of them there. I don't know why they wanted it, but I think they were carrying something there. I'm not sure."

"They are on opposite sides," Leila spoke with a worried tone as she turned to face Sutherland Sieg.

Jeremiah sent a signal to Britannian soldiers before he addressed Leila. "I sent orders to our forces around the TV station to stand back and not attack the Wyvern Squad. We will prioritize that loud clown over Japanese pilots for now. Even if Geassed, your unit shouldn't attack civilians."

Leila was reluctant but had to agree. Ashley would cause more damage if left unchecked. Worse, he had higher chances of getting himself killed if left alone without support. If the TV station won't be counter-attacked by the empire's forces, Wyvern Squad won't engage in a fight.

"Lord Jeremiah, you go after Ashley while I will fly towards the TV station."

"My lady-!"

"I know I can't cancel their Geass command while we're inside Knightmares. However, I should be able to slow them down and maybe change their minds without it." After all, C.C. taught Leila that some Geass command could have been refused by its victim if the order was too alien for a person with a strong will.

"I understand. As you command, my lady." Jeremiah obeyed before he flew away, leaving a few Vincent Wards to protect Leila.

"Wow, since when does Orange treat Leila like royalty?" Simon asked as the rest of the red Alexanders watched the scene silently.

Kuzan said with a sly tone. "Since she might become one, duh?"

"So the rumours were true. Welp looks like I lost a bet." Jan sighed.

"So, now we're back to working under Britannia eh?"

"We aren't serving Britannia, but we're following Leila, like before," Franz clarified. "Now, I have no idea what happened but we will rescue Akito and others from brainwashing or whatever that guy did to us."

"Asura team!" As Leila spoke, all Alexanders stopped their banter and stood still, waiting for her orders. Even if she went with emperor Lelouch in Moscow, she was still their commanding officer in the eyes of W-0. "All of you trained with Wyvern Squad. You know their moves and techniques. You will join me and help rescue them from the same effect that made you like this. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" All shouted in unison.

"Good, now let's go," Leila ordered as both Vincent Wards and European Alexanders followed her suit towards the TV station. None of the Britannian units would dare to stop them, knowing who was leading the mixed group.

---

Behind the briefly formed front lines, there was complete disarray for the imperial side as they struggled against one sole unit.

The police force's Sutherlands were stationed there mainly to protect civilians, having no way to compete against modern military units. And so, they were getting slaughtered as Alexander Red Ogre sliced them in half, the pilots managing to eject out of their cockpits at the very least.

"Hahahahaha!" Inside his Red Ogre, Ashley Ashra laughed maniacally as his heat sword sliced and pierced the unfortunate Sutherlands. "Come on! Where is the real challenge?!"

Regular Vincent Wards and even Gareth were mostly busy fighting the main forces of the Black Knights. Only a few small teams could occasionally fly near Red Ogre and try to take it down. However, Alexanders specialized in urban warfare. Even without a float system of any kind, Ashley could easily move between buildings akin to some spider Knightmare as his Red Ogre easily outmanoeuvred brits there.

"Where are the warriors of the Empire, huh?! Where are those so-called Knights of the Round!? Orange?! Come on! Give me a real fight!" Even Geassed, Ashley's usual character didn't change too much as he continued to act cocky. "What? No one? Guess that brat on the throne actually knows nothing about true fighters! Surrounding himself with nothing but trash and one who-"

Red Ogre got a warning notification as something flew towards him. Ashley had a split second to raise his heat swords and block the dive attack. Purple blades met silver steel as Ashley stared at the familiar Knightmare frame, the same one that almost took his life back in Europe.

"You!" He roared while his opponent laughed.

"Me." The cold tone of Cinder Fall was enough to make the redheaded male go on a rampage, Geass or not.

"Fuck you!" Ashley screamed as Red Ogre rolled to the side and raised its swords against Cinder's Amber. However, thanks to her energy wings Cinder only needed to move a little bit to avoid the strike. It didn't stop Ashley as he continued his onslaught.

Red Ogre's heat sword flew towards Amber as the latter simply blocked or redirected their way. Compared to other units the second knight of the round had to fight today, except for two generals, Red Ogre was on a more impressive end. However, Ashley Ashra was no Tohdoh or Xingke. Or Kallen.

"Is this all you can offer? Please-" Cinder smirked. "I've had better fights."

"Agh!" Ashley screamed with fury, not stopping for one second. The memories of their fight in the Netherlands didn't leave his mind. He remembered how he had to distract her, having no chance against the superior Knightmare model. Today the rift between them grew only bigger as White Queen upgraded her unit with energy wings and already went through battles against some legendary Knightmare pilots. Ashley knew it and understood that his chances were small. However, he wouldn't dare to give up or run away again. "I won't escape again!"

"Of course, you won't! I won't allow you!" Cinder spoke with a sadistic tone as her Amber danced around the Red Ogre, her maser swords leaving multiple scars on Alexander. She didn't go for its critical parts, knowing that it might cause an explosive reaction and kill the pilot. "You're lucky Leila wants all of her toy soldiers alive. Otherwise, I would have slaughtered you and the rest of your friends."

This caused Ashley to remember his past, that day and that battle that took the life of his friend. Only causality his team ever suffered. And now this Britannian bitch dared to threaten his friends, his brothers in arms?! Hell no! The Geassed mind of an enraged male pilot did wonders to make him fight like hell. Red Ogre used the damaged buildings and transport around them as it jumped from side to side, landing on top of empty trucks before jumping towards Amber.

When she tried to fire her slash harkens at him, Red Ogre moved in its insect mode and dodged the attack. It was running circles around Amber, perhaps trying to confuse her or caught off guard.

"Hmm," Cinder noticed the increase in his attack pattern and how aggressive they have become. Less thinking and more basic instincts and reactions. One powerful hadron shot would have been enough to destroy the unit, but Leila wanted her people alive, and Lelouch wouldn't want to make his blonde advisor sad. She only needed to wait until Lord Jeremiah arrived to deal with the loud redhead. "How irritating."

However, Cinder had a secret weapon in her sleeves. Amber stabbed her maser swords into the ground. It raised its arms in a challenging manner as its pilot spoke.

"Come on, Ashley Ashra! Show me that the former Knights of the Holy Order of Michael are capable of any sort of competence!"

"FALL!" Ashley screamed as Red Ogre jumped towards her, its heat swords aimed for the Knightmare's chest, hoping to pierce all the way to the cockpit. However, before the sword could make contact with her frame, Amber moved its hand and took Alexander by its wrist. "What in the-?!"

"Caught you!" Cinder had a satisfied smile as she activated Amber's 'vampiric' ability and started to steal Alexander's energy reserves. Red Ogre could do little as its systems were turning off one by one. It didn't have the same weaponry as Shen Hu to fight off Amber this close and all Ashley could do was helplessly watch as his unit went offline.

"You-?!" Red Ogre fell on its knees as almost all systems save for visuals went dead. Amber stood above it, its pilot pleased with herself.

"Game over."

"Indeed," both machines looked at screens to see the approaching Sutherland Sieg, "Lady Fall, please stand back. Allow me to deal with this nuisance."

"Of course." After all, Cinder herself had a Geass command and her last wish was to lose it because of Jeremiah. Amber flew back, leaving Red Ogre at the mercy of Jeremiah.

"Orange!" Ashley cursed as another ghost from the past appeared before him. "What are you waiting for, you stupid fruit! Finish me!"

"You can't imagine how much I would like that. After failing to kill your group of dogs in Europe, I was looking forward to ending your miserable lives. However-" Jeremiah's left robotic eye activated as Geass Canceler started to work. "I would never deny my master's wishes and His Majesty wants to see your commander happy, therefore, be grateful."

The blue bubble grew as it covered Red Ogre. Inside his Alexander, its pilot was trying to turn on his machine while not forgetting to insult the cyborg even if it would be his final words, if anything Ashley preferred it that way.

"Rot in hell, you annoying Orange!" Blue aura hit Ashley as the red circles in his eyes disappeared. He stopped yelling and looked around himself, confused by what happened. "Wait, what-? Where the hell am I?! Wh-what are you two doing here?! Where is my team?!"

"Alive and safe," Jeremiah said with an irritated tone. "So instead of shouting, I would recommend you to close your mouth and listen to what we tell you."

"Orange you-! Huh… whatever, I can't fight anymore," Ashley sighed, realizing the futility of his action since Alexander was nonoperative, "Let me guess, Leila asked you to save us?"

"Indeed. You should feel honoured that someone like the Messiah of Europe cares about the lives of small bugs like yourself." Amber flew around Red Ogre. "Lord Jeremiah, I will take it from here."

"Understood." Jeremiah acknowledged before moving his Knightmare towards the next destination.

Ashley's Team was secured and that meant only Wyvern Squad was left.

---

Meanwhile, far away from the fight between Red Ogre and the Second Knight of the Round, the Tokyo TV station was recently taken over.

As per orders of the emperor's cyborg captain, the Britannian forces didn't try to retake the station anymore. Instead, the empire's machines hid behind the surrounding buildings, waiting for future orders.

Leila took a deep breath as she stepped forward, leaving the security of her Knightmare behind. If anything, her Wyvern Squad would have shot it if they saw Vincent Ward. Never mind if she was the pilot. The Asura Team was close, ready to rush to her rescue if needed.

'I hope it won't come to that,' All Leila needed was to make sure that Akito and the rest won't leave or engage in a fight with Britannia anymore. Giving them a TV station was the lesser evil in her mind. 'Little they can do about it.'

"Ma'am, are you sure about this?" Franz asked as his Alexander hid to the side, close if required.

"It is fine, they won't attack me," Leila smiled weakly as she started to walk forward. She actually missed being called 'ma'am', already getting used to the Britannian 'my lady'. 'Even if Geassed, I know they won't kill me, not Akito.'

However, a quick sniper shot from Alexander's rifle hit the ground not too far away from the blonde woman. Leila closed her eyes but didn't flinch. One quick glance was enough to find Yukiya's Alexander hidden on the roof of the station. Its sniper rifle aimed at her. He could have easily taken her life if he wished it so.

'But he didn't shoot me.' One glance at the sides and Leila could see dozens of destroyed Britannian Sutherlands and a few new models.

"Leila Malcal," The blonde's light purple eyes turned towards the voice as she saw Akito's Alexander Liberte. The purplish unit stood in front of the TV station, looking down at her with the weapon in hand. "Leave now and don't turn back. I won't ask you again."

"Akito, please listen to me-"

Alexander Liberte raised its rifle and aimed at her. Leila had to raise her hand and stop Ashley's Team units from moving as the latter were about to rush.

"Akito, what the fuck are you doing?! This is Leila!" One of them, Simon shouted from his position.

"Irrelevant. She joined Britannia, she is with Lelouch," Inside his unit, her old friend coldly looked at the monitor, staring at the face of his old commander. The red circles appeared in his eyes as Geass's command reminded him of itself. "We must destroy Britannia, massacre its people and kill their emperor. Including any traitor who joined them. That is our order, our duty."

Leila bit her tongue. "So this is the command Rai gave to you, Akito. And yet, you didn't kill me despite the fact I pledged my allegiance to Lelouch vi Britannia. I have sworn to help him change and rebuild Europe and Britannia for the sake of the future. That makes me a traitor, doesn't it? So why not just shoot me down? You, Yukiya and others were ordered to kill traitors, right?"

"..."

The silence around them was a little unnerving for Alexanders behind Leila, but the blonde advisor felt at ease.

"You remember Shin, right Akito?"

"..." Alexander Liberte didn't move, its rifle still aimed at her. But Leila was sure this confused the pilot. "What does he have to do with anything? Shin is dead."

"Yes, just like his influence on you. His power. His Geass." Leila made a few small steps forward, pushing her luck. "The same one that was enough to make you go insane, and affected the rest of the team. The same one that is used on you right now, making you do things you wouldn't normally do. The Akito Hyuga and Wyvern Squad I used to command and consider my family wouldn't start a pointless massacre in the city. And they wouldn't raise their weapons against me or their fellow friends," she motioned towards Ashley's Team, "Even now, you didn't kill me. Akito, you know this is wrong. You can fight it, as you fought against Shin's influence."

"Leila…" She could see that her words had an effect on him as Alexander Liberte hesitated for a few seconds before it lowered its rifle.

"Akito, I knew that both Euro-Britannia and mainland Britannia took a lot from you," Leila walked closer towards his Alexanders until she was right next to them. She placed her plan on it. "But our fight against Britannia is over. Lelouch isn't like his father, we can trust him. I- I trust him. Please, Akito."

"..." Alexander Liberte said nothing as it kneeled next to her. Its cockpit opened and Leila could see the conflicted face of Akito as he stared at her with doubtful eyes, the red circles around his pupils flashed. "You… are you sure about this, Leila?"

"I'm. Do you trust me, Akito?" Leila asked as she silently activated her own anti-Geass. The Blue sigil flew towards the Japanese pilot as it entered his mind and got rid of the command Rai forced on them.

"I do," Akito said as the Rai's Geass control of him had disappeared. He blinked a few times, looking at Leila and then his surroundings. "I- what- just like with Shin back then..."

Leila nodded, a warm smile on her face. "I will tell you everything once this nightmare is over, but now, I'm glad to have you back, Lieutenant Hyuga."

"Glad to be back, general." It was rare to see Akito smile like right now, but Leila would remember these moments as pleasant memories. She was getting her friends, her family, and her W-0 out of this mess.

However, the reunion between the two friends was short-lived as several gunshots were heard. Alexander Liberte immediately moved to cover Leila in a crouch as the machine took the hit. Akito raised his rifle and aimed at… the three members of his team.

"Ryo, Ayanao, Yukiya! Snap out of it!" Akito's cries went unheard as his still Geassed teammates opened fire at him. Alexander Liberte dodged their shots as it picked Leila with one free hand while using another one to shoot in their general direction, hoping they would take cover and stop firing. However, under the control of Geass, the rest of the Wyvern Squad didn't care too much about their own lives.

"They won't listen! We need Lord Jeremiah's help to help them!" Leila shouted as she grabbed Alexander's metal arm with two hands. Akito made sure to cover her with the machine's frame. However, unlike Britannian and Black Knights elite Knightmares, their Alexanders lacked shield protection. Too many shots and his Liberte would be done for. One lucky shot from Yukiya's sniper rifle would do the trick.

"Cover Akito and General Malcal! Aim for their legs and arms!" Franz shouted as the Asura Team opened covering fire from their positions. Some of their shots found their target as Ayanao's Alexander lost its left arm, while Ryo's machine became crippled with the lack of one leg.

"Akito! Get behind the others! They won't stop shooting! Akito?" Leila noticed that he stopped, she could sense that something was wrong. "Akito? What-"

"The bomb," Akito remembered what orders they were given by that boy, Rai. He ordered W-0 fighters to fight off Britannia but had specific orders for Wyvern Squad. "They have a bomb! I remember now, we were ordered to take out as many Britannian forces as possible with that bomb. We would have exploded it with everyone, us included."

Leila's blue eyes went wide as she turned toward her soldiers. Bomb?! Was it part of Rai's plan? What if… what if it was that dreadful weapon?!

"What?! We need to save them-"

"No!" Akito shouted and for the first time, Leila could hear the fear in his tone. "I'm getting you out of here first!"

"What?! Akito, don't you dare!"

Leila shouted, not even thinking about leaving her people behind. However, she could do little to stop Akito as his Alexander Liberte turned around and started to run towards Ashley's Team's positions. His three Geassed friends never stopped firing at their backs.

"Akito!"

"I'm sorry, Leila. But I need to make sure you're alive no matter what-" Akito stopped as his monitor picked up the signal of new Knightmares arriving. "What. no-!"

Leila turned her gaze towards the sky and saw Sutherland Sieg and the company of Knightmares, both Japanese and Britannians with him. Suddenly the words Akito said a few moments ago rang in her mind.

'-take out as many Britannian forces with that bomb-'

Leila froze.

'No! No! No!' She thought with a horrified expression before turning her communicator and yelling at everyone on every possible channel. "RUN! THEY HAVE F.-'

Inside his already damaged Alexander, Yukiya analyzed the situation. Even if he was Geassed, the boy could see that they were outgunned and outnumbered by both upcoming Britannian and Black Knight units. So, this was it. He sent the message to every Wyvern Squad member, including Akito. He looked at the trigger on his panel as a small smile formed on his face.

Even under the power of Geass, Yukiya Naruse smiled genuinely for the last time.

"Farewell...friends."

All it took was a single button press and the entire TV station went up in a flame of bright light. The same one that once destroyed part of Tokyo and took the lives of millions a few months before. All those that were presented stopped fighting as ever-consuming light made them freeze. Leila stared at it as tears filled her eyes, still screaming to turn back, even if she knew it was no longer possible. Akito bit his tongue until it started bleeding if only to ignore the pain in his chest. His friends were there.

The light quickly covered all three Geassed pilots and their Alexanders. Sutherland Sieg stopped flying towards the station and instead dived in towards Ashley's Team. Jeremiah activated his machine's Blaze Luminous Shield to offer as much protection as possible for the red Alexanders.

The bomb that was given to Wyvern Squad wasn't the same one that was used by the Knight of Seven all those months ago. As a prototype, it was a weaker and more unstable version. It could never achieve the same size and magnitude of destruction as its predecessor. However, it was still capable of wiping everyone around the TV station, including Alexander Liberte and the blonde messiah in its arms.

Or it would have if it wasn't for the intervention of a quad-legged Knightmare that galloped as fast as it could.

Reaper ignored the danger of the ever-expanding light that promised certain death. The only thing that was on its pilot's mind was to save the two people before him, the Fourth Knight of the Round pressed on. Reaper's hand reached forward the moment the machine was close enough to Alexander Liberte. Arthur's machine used so much force and turned so fast to run away, it literally ripped off the upper half of purple Alexander. It was dragging the main frame with its cockpit and hands still attached.

Reaper didn't turn back, now focusing only on escaping with the two Europeans it just saved. Its speed allowed it to outrun the light of the prototype weapon. It was far away, at least as far as they could get away from the explosion. Afterwards, it pressed half of Alexander Liberte against its chest and activated its shield to protect them.

The explosion wave hit every Knightmare, building and transport in its way. Many Britannians and Japanese units in the air weren't able to handle the wave or the wind that started to suck everything towards the small crater in the epicentre of the explosion.

The Alexanders from Asura Team managed to stay mostly safe as Sutherland Sieg covered them, taking the hit. Reaper was basically hugging Alexander Liberte as the latter machine made sure the tiny human in its arms was safe and alive.

As for Leila, she stopped reacting to what happened around her. All she could focus on was the sight that was burned into her mind.

She saw their death-

Her people, her friends, her three soldiers of Wyvern Squad were gone, swallowed by the death light of F.L.E.I.J.A.

#

#

#

#

It is already the 24th in my time zone, so it should be fine to post the chapter now, right? :3

Anyway, let's get right to the business, the battle. Yes, I finally killed more characters, you bloodthirsty maniacs, and more will die in the future. Black Knights are learning the consequences of their action, but I didn't want it to be pure edge-filled revenge content, as Tohdoh met a rather honourable death. Also, yes Cinder and D.S. took advantage of the situation and went around killing and capturing Black Knight leaders while they were confused. Despite the Black Knights' betrayal and animosity towards Lelouch, they genuinely didn't plan anything nefarious, but it doesn't matter for White Queen and Gods' Avatar. Rai is dead too, he served his purpose and isn't needed anymore. Sure, Alfred and Sayoko could have captured him, but it was a fitting end for his arc, plus he is more trouble than he is worth. Oh, and Akito's teammates are dead, again :3

Anyway, thanks to our editor Kingpin Lunamaria.

Let's continue this miracle! Next chapter: December 15