I am pleased to interrupt your daily Chapters for another Interlude!

Interlude 2: Gathering the Pieces

"I've got a pin on his location."

As one, the entire inner circle of the Black Knights rose up and stared at C.C's moving frame. Their intense gazes never leaving the lime haired beauty as she scrambled for a piece of paper and a pen. Spilling paperwork and containers in her frantic search.

"Really?!" Ohgi spoke up first. His posture relaxed with relief as the stress from the past couple of weeks seemed to lessen.

"Well? Where the hell is he then!" Tamaki yelled. "Where in the world is my best bud!" The brash redhead slammed his fist onto the long wooden conference table.

"Be silent!" The rest of the group immediately quelled their reactions at Todoh the Miracle Worker's orders. The older man held his sword tightly with clenched fists as he stared down towards C.C.

Amber eyes focused only on a piece of paper and pen before her. Eyes narrowed in deep concentration as she quickly scribbled down a seemingly random order of numbers and letters. "Do me a favor and shut up so I can concentrate. I don't want to forget or mess this up."

The group sealed their lips as one and watched C.C write with bated breath. Kallen taking action and silently walking over to stand beside the immortal witch, and leaned forward to look at what she was writing. After another minute of silence, C.C leaned back and huffed a breath before flinging the paper into the middle of the conference table.

666-A26R1C18-V3-03-7511919-0000

Everyone blinked at the strange assortment and gibberish C.C had just written.

Chiba, the most brash Holy Sword member and most distrusting of Zero and the Black Knights, slammed her hand on the table and glared at C.C. "What the hell is this?"

"Is this some kind of joke you think is funny just because you're immortal?!" Asahina, a second Holy Sword member who disliked Zero, spoke.

Chiba gestured to the paper. "This is nothing but gibberish!"

"If you'd all stop to actually think for a moment you'd probably figure out what it is." Eyes turned to a brown skinned woman lying idly on the couch with a long pipe in one hand. Rakshata raised her pipe, smoking trailing out of the end softly. "They're coordinates."

"It's nice to see that there's still at least someone here capable of helping." C.C bit out in an angered manner.

"How did you even get this?" Kallen spoke finally. The redhead shaking out of her shock and asking a rather valid question.

Seeing C.C grimace though didn't imply that this would be a good answer. "His geass has begun to run rampant."

The Black Knight's inner circle grew unnervingly silent. Thankfully, Tamaki broke through the tension with his refined skills. "Is that bad?"

The group groaned, and C.C had to resist slapping her own forehead at the sheer stupidity of the bullheaded question.

"Yes." C.C instead hissed out through clenched teeth. "That is very, very bad."

"And what does that mean for us?" Todoh asked. His eyes narrowed and his scowl stretching farther down. The previous Miracle Worker was getting too old for this.

"For us? Nothing." C.C planted her hands against the wooden table and leaned over it. Her lime green hair splaying out across the table at the motion. "But for Zero himself it's extremely bad and dangerous to not only himself, but to those around him. Mostly those around him." C.C sighed. "Basically everyone around him is in fatal danger if he speaks the wrong words."

The room was so silent you could hear everyone breathing in their varying states of calm, which was to say none of them were calm except for C.C.

"I… Need to sit down for a moment." Ohgi slowly slouched back into his chair, and placed a hand on his forehead. The second in command to the Black Knights already feeling a major migraine coming about.

"So what do we do to get him back?" Inoue questioned. The other female member of the Black Knights twirling her hair in one finger as she thought. "We can't exactly do anything to get him back with just a piece of paper that has coordinates on them."

"She's right." Sugiyama agreed alongside Inoue. "We'd need to at least create a machine that's capable of Dimensional TRAVEL to do anything with this." The dark green haired Black Knight lifted the paper in between his fingers before placing it back onto the table.

"So then we're back to square one." Ohgi stated and he crossed his arms on the table and sighed.

"Do we really even need Zero anyway?" Asahina said. Judging from how more than half of the group bristled he had said this before as well.

"He's hidden dangerous secrets from us with all of this geass and immortality shit. Hell, he could have used this power on all of us to make us his slaves!" Chiba exclaimed, and dug her nails into her own arms at the thought.

The group tensed at the thought, faces paling. However, C.C quickly swooped in to erase such doubts. "If you were under his control then you wouldn't be questioning him now." She drooled on in a bored manner. Amber eyes flickered to the bespeckled Holy Sword member. "It's not wise to speak about such treasonous things in front of his 'mistress' either."

"That's right." Kallen spoke proudly, and loyally stood against Asahina and Chiba. "The Black Knights are on the brink of collapse as it is. We don't need this doubt and fear spreading through the group. What we need right now is Zero, and the only way we're going to get him back is by taking action."

"With what?" Urabae, the most eager and willing of the Holy Swords spoke up. "I'm sorry to say this, but we hardly even have any recruits left Kallen!"

It was true. A harsh slap in the face to everyone. Those outside the inner circle weren't stupid, and after a few weeks and no sight of Zero rumors began to spread. The most common one being that Zero was obviously missing. Whether it was from the news spewing out that Zero was dead by Suzaku's hands, abandoned Japan and ran away, secretly alive and captured by Britannia, or murdered by his own group were the first few to name. Recruitment had dropped significantly at the news of Zero's 'death', and countless amounts of soldiers had left the Black Knights to where they were only a fragment of themselves. Cornelia cracking down on them at every possible opportunity didn't make matters better.

Then there was Suzaku and his damned Lancelot.

The Eleven pilot was chasing after them like a rabid bloodhound at any hint of the Black Knight's presence. Damned Knight to Euphemia. Everyone in the conference room could easily say they at least dislike the naive green eyed brunette.

"We can do this!" Kallen barked stubbornly. The ace pilot to the Guren slammed both of her hands onto the table and leaned forward so that she could eye every single member of Zero's inner circle. "The Black Knights will fall apart without Zero! The longer we wait the weaker we become, so now is the time we take action!" Sapphire blue eyes looked over towards Rakshata smoking her long pipe. "What pieces would you need to create a machine capable of Dimensional Travel?"

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." Chiba snorted incredulously.

Rakshata tapped her pipe a couple times in deep thought as she hummed. Ashes flaking down towards the floor as she laid on her classic couch. "Hmm… Well, after studying the location of Zero's disappearance I discovered a trace amount of unusual energy that I cannot explain with scientific means. At least, scientific means I do not understand yet." The genius sat up on her couch and tipped her head to the side. "... Yes. I believe I can replicate that energy, but the parts I'd need you to require are very expensive and most certainly difficult to attain."

"Good." Kallen nodded sternly. "Then we're getting somewhere." The redhead grabbed ahold of the piece of paper and pen and gave them to the eccentric scientist. "Write down a list of what you'll need and we'll provide it."

Rakshata raised an amused eyebrow, but began to write the things she would need on the back of the piece of paper. "Of course, boss."

Kallen blinked at being called boss. A small blush rising up in her cheeks as she looked around at everyone's mostly amused expressions. C.C's was definitely one of mischievous amusement while Ohgi and even Tamaki's were ones of pride.

"I believe Zero has begun to affect you in ways you didn't even realize after being in such constant close proximity to him." C.C grinned in an evil manner.

"S-shut up!" Kallen demanded, and promptly stomped over to shove the annoying witch aside and take her place at the head of the table. C.C, not giving a damn at the treatment she was receiving, stayed silent while her amber eyes focused on Kallen. The redhead cleared her throat and regained her composure before continuing to speak after receiving Rakshata's list. "Alright. This is possible." Sapphire eyes narrowed at the list. "Let's get the knightmares prepared. We're going to raid a Britannian facility close to the Tokyo Settlement."

While some argued at the suicidal declaration, most of the inner circle stood and quickly left the conference room. The entire group eager to finally take action and do something fruitful.

. . .

Explosions rocked the entire base, and almost threatened to make the place collapse. Dust and dirt flew around the distilled air as people ran around like a confused and panicked horde of ants.

"What the hell is happening!?" A Britannian dressed in a rather expensive purple military uniform barked at the people frantically typing away at computers and communicating to other Britannian military bases.

"There was a giant explosion destroying nearly the entire Southwestern wall of the facility colonel! It's believed to be terrorists." One of the men working at the computer spoke. However, after a few seconds the man seemed to lose all color in his skin as he yelled shakily. "I-I-It's the Bl-Black Knights!"

Everyone in the office went dead silent at the declaration. Everything stilling for a few seconds before someone screamed and caused a huge chaotic reaction. Soldiers were being barked orders left and right in the confusion and ran around like headless chickens in their panic.

"It's the Black Knights!"

"I saw the Devil's Right Hand heading to the storage facility!"

"Does that mean Zero's here?!"

"Zero!?"

"SILENCE!" Everyone in the office obeyed the command with straightened posture and years of experience from the military. "Zero is dead! Princess Cornelia herself alongside Prince Schneizel have confirmed it on the news. This is just the leftover fragments of that filthy resistance group. Without their damned 'messiah' to save them these Eleven monkeys are nothing!"

"But their ace the Devil's-" Someone began to stutter out, but was promptly silenced by a stern look from the colonel.

"Their ace is nothing but a damned Eleven with barely any knowledge of how to pilot a knightmare!" The colonel stated firmly. His tone saying that anyone who denies what he just said would receive extreme consequences. "Now then. I want all of our men sent over to deal with these Black Knight rabble swiftly and mercilessly. Wipe out every last one of them until they're nothing but a bloody stain on the floor."

"Yes sir!" Everyone within the room saluted the colonel before beginning to bark out orders to the subordinates.

"Someone inform Princess Cornelia of this development as well! She specifically ordered that anything revolving around the Black Knights be sent to her personally and immediately." With those last orders the military man left his men to do their jobs. The colonel himself turned away from the men with an evil sneer and a greedy look in his eye. "And while those buffon's bumble around I'll take all of the credit of handling these dangerous 'Black Knights' before Cornelia even arrives. I'll surely be promoted to major general, maybe even lieutenant general!"

"Incoming RPG!"

"Everyone get down!"

All other thoughts of the Black Knight's glorious demise and the colonel's rise in military rank were squashed as the entire room was engulfed in a loud boom and hellish fire.

. . .

"What do you have to report to me this time, Cornelia."

A woman around 27 years old bowed down before his Majesty, the Emperor of Britannia, ruler of over one third of the world, and also her own father. Cornelia looked befitting of the title 'Goddess of Victory' that she had gained from years of combat and fighting for the Britannian military. The woman was well endowed physically, but also had a fiery no nonsense attitude to go with it. Short, slightly curly purple hair shifted just past her shoulders as the Viceroy and ruler of Area 11 looked back up at her father.

The Emperor himself gave nothing away in his masked features. While his hair may have greyed completely in that judge's wig hairstyle, and hardened wrinkles overcoming his face from age. His dark purple eyes were still as sharp as a polished steel blade alongside his pressed purple military uniform that he always wore. Those eyes were now looking down at Cornelia with scrutiny just like they do with all of his other children and wives.

The only time Cornelia saw her father's features waver was whenever he was around Marianne, but now she was gone.

"I've come to give you another monthly report about this Area's stability, your Majesty." None of his children or wives dared to call Charles zi Britannia father ever since that day ten years ago. When one of their own was cast aside like trash into another foriegn country for the purpose of being nothing more than pawns.

The Emperor said nothing, and instead waved his hand to allow her to arise and continue speaking. Cornelia rose, her cold mask firmly in place before this dangerous man. Her precious younger sister, Euphemia li Britannia, dressed in her beautiful white dress that made her look like a dove and showed off her long pink hair, also rose. Their two knights, Lord Guilford and Suzaku Kururugi were dutifully standing at attention by the door. Backs ramrod straight as they saluted to their majesty.

"Every since the news of Zero's death Area Eleven has become subdued, practically docile. The rest of the resistance round Area Eleven has crumbled into dust, and the Black Knights have become nothing more than a pathetic vigilante police force without Zero." Although, it irked Cornelia to no end to have her title taken away by some dead masked man that was buried under endless piles of sand and turned to dust thanks to Schneizel's prototype hadron cannon. They never even got to find out just who was under that mask before his inevitable death. "I'm just about to bring this area up to satellite standards, and then it should finally be suitable enough for another Viceroy to take my place and allow us to continue battle on the front lines of the E.U."

Emperor Charles zi Britannia stared down at his two children with his cold hearted eyes. "Very well. As long as Area Eleven is finally settled I could care less about what you two do with the E.U. That country is dead, and its wars are nothing more than trivial matters to me." Those harsh purple eyes narrowed in impatience. "However, I want to know if Zero is truly dead, so I expect to see a corpse, Cornelia."

The Imperial Princess knew better than to avert her gaze as she sensed the Emperor's agitation. "Your Majesty. Zero was struck with a blast from the hadron cannon head on, and we've searched the area all the way to bedrock. Whatever body that Zero had before his death is most certainly ash and dust." The Emperor did nothing more than narrow his eyes even more before Cornelia was bowing halfway with an arm over her heart. "My apologizes your Majesty for speaking out of turn."

"What of his soldiers, have you managed to capture any as of yet." Charles continued emotionlessly. Although the weight of his stare was enough to make even the strongest of people falter.

"Nothing more than mere foot soldiers and rabble unfortunately." Cornelia glared down at the expensive carpet beneath her feet. "The more important figures like the Black Knight's ace and their inner circle have practically vanished from the face of the Earth. They've run away with their tails between their legs so quickly." The Viceroy's lavender eyes narrowed. "It's humiliating to think that these cowards have managed to give Britannia such trouble, but they become headless chickens once Zero is gone."

"These Black Knights and Zero have managed to defeat you on multiple occasions, Cornelia." The Emperor ground out. It was obvious that the ruler of Britannia was unhappy that a mere terrorist from an enslaved country managed to steal one of his best general's titles. "But no. I am uninterested with the Black Knight's ace and the other rabble." At this, Cornelia and all of the other silent occupants in the room perked up their heads to look at his Majesty in curiosity and intrigue. "What I want to know is if you've managed to see and capture a teenage girl with long green hair and amber eyes."

Now everyone in the room was giving the Emperor a confused look, even Cornelia. However, one male burnette merely tensed up as a girl with that description flashed through his mind. He hasn't seen her since that horrible day at Narita.

"Apologizes once more your Majesty." Cornelia blinked her lavender eyes once again. "But I've never seen such a girl with those characteristics running around with the Black Knights. She's not even in our file… Why are you so interested in such a girl, if I may be so bold as to ask his Majesty."

Now Charles zi Britannia openly glared down at his daughter. "That is none of your business, Cornelia. Unless you want to suffer the consequences of digging in too deeply." Dark purple eyes flashed over to Euphemia, and Cornelia instantly understood the open threat. "All that matters is that this girl is captured and brought to me, do you understand?"

Cornelia gave a stiff bow, the Viceroy biting her cheek to keep quiet as she spoke formally. "Yes, your Majesty."

With his daughter successfully cowed, the Emperor continued. "I want her brought before me by the end of this month Cornelia. Search the entirety of Area Eleven if you must, but I want this girl to be your top priority. She's stayed by Zero's side since the beginning, and if the Black Knights haven't crumbled yet from Britannia's might then it's obvious that she is now leading them in his absence."

"If you may humble me with a chance to speak your Majesty, but I've seen this girl you speak of before." All eyes zeroed onto Suzaku Kururugi. The Honorary Britannian had his light green eyes covered with his curly brown hair, and was bowed at the waist waiting to be granted permission to speak.

Cornelia snarled down at the Eleven that had turned traitor towards his own country and people. "Why you insolent-!"

"You may speak."

Cornelia whipped her head back to face the Emperor, her jaw dropped in open shock alongside Guilford's. "But your Majesty! He's a lowly Eleven!" Everyone knew that Cornelia openly discriminated against the Numbers. Everyone also knew that she was deeply unhappy with Euphemia's decision to make an Eleven, even if it was a loyal soldier like Kururugi, her knight.

"Be silent Cornelia." Charles ordered simply, and Cornelia's jaw shut with an audible click. At that argument promptly closed, the Emperor of one third of the world turned his attention to Suzaku. The Eleven feeling the brute force of his Majesty's glare. "Is what you say true…"

"Suzaku Kururugi your Majesty." Suzaku introduced himself at the Emperor's hidden question, and bowed even deeper. "The devicer for Camelot's prototype Lancelot and Knight to Princess Euphemia li Britannia."

"That matters little to me, even if the Lancelot is a good success in the advancement of military weaponry." Charles snapped, and gestured for Suzaku to rise. The Honorary Britannian soldier standing ramrod straight now and not daring to avert his green eyed gaze from the ruler of Britannia. Charle's aura demanded respect of the highest order. "Have you truly seen this girl before?"

Suzaku nodded, a small scowl on his face as those light olive green eyes darkened at the memory. "I have your Majesty. It was on the day of the operation on Narita." Everyone scowled at the memory of that horrible failure of an operation. "I had Zero trapped, and was about to capture him until she arrived." Suzaku clenched his fists tightly on either side of himself. "She stood in the way of me and Zero, no Knightmare, just her own body. She wasn't even afraid of the Lancelot or what power it held. That girl just ordered that I couldn't harm Zero, and walked right up to the Lancelot and-" Suzaku stopped himself abruptly, and bit his bottom lip at the horrible memory. The absolute nightmare that he was forced to go through that threw him into therapy for a while.

Despite everything she had been taught, Euphemia walked over to Suzaku and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Suzaku?" Unfocused green eyes snapped out of their stupor to look down into Euphemia's concerned blue violet gaze. "Are you alright? What did she do?"

Cornelia was burning holes into Suzaku's skull at even touching Euphemia, even if he didn't initiate it. Her eyes promising pain and murder if he didn't take his next steps VERY wisely. Guilford was just about the same while the Emperor watched all of this unfold with an uncaring gaze.

Suzaku took a deep breath. "I don't know what really happened. One second I was watching her and Zero, and the next I was being thrown into my own personal hell filled with my past. I couldn't explain everything to you even if I tried with all of my might. It was just…" Suzaku shook his head before he got too stuck into the memory and continued. "That's when the Lancelot went berserk, and had to be powered down until anyone could get close to it."

Euphemia's eyes widened as she remembered how shooken and terrified Suzaku had been after that operation. How his hands gripped the controls of the Lancelot so tightly they trembled and his knuckles would have been white if not for being covered with his pilot suit. His happy green eyes filled with love and care had turned into terror and shook whilst being a size smaller than pennies.

"That was her." The Emperor confirmed for everyone. "As you've experienced, it's dangerous for people to get too close to her." Purple eyes narrowed in thought. "You've proven yourself useful Kururugi, continue and you may just move up in the ranks." He turned his attention to everyone else in the room. "Kururugi will provide a sketch of what this girl looks like, and you all will focus your efforts on bringing her to me dead or alive. Am I clear?"

"Yes your Majesty!" Everyone replied in sync and bowed deeply.

The Emperor did nothing but give a derisive click of his tongue. "Good, because I'm also sending over two Knights of the Round to ensure that this task is completed." Everyone gaped at the news.

"What!?"

"Two Knights of the Round are heading over here, to ensure the capture of a simple girl?!" Guilford reiterated in his dumbfounded shock.

"If she hasn't come out of hiding yet, then it's obvious that Zero hasn't been killed and isn't truly dead like you thought he was." The Emperor stated sternly. "If you cannot do your job as Viceroy and Chief General of the Imperial Army then I will send more capable people there to do it for you." Cornelia bristled at the open insult that was like a punch in the nose, but did nothing to defend herself. After all, any punishment that she would be given would go straight to Euphy, and both people knew that. Under any circumstances, Euphemia would never come to harm, not under her big sister's watch. "The next time I receive a call from you Cornelia, I expect to hear this girl is in custody and being transported over to the Homeland. I expect results."

"Yes, your Majesty." Cornelia tipped her head down in submission as she spoke in a softer tone. With that finished, the Emperor quickly cut off communications and was gone. Cornelia cut off her end to the line and turned to glare at Suzaku Kururugi. "You're lucky that you're Euphemia's Knight and within Camelot, and therefore I have no jurisdiction over you." The Second Princess of the Britannian Holy Empire hissed menacingly, causing Suzaku to stiffen and look down at the ground submissively. "Otherwise your life would be a living hell right now, and then I'd have you shot or out of the military at best."

"Sister!" Euphemia yelled in shock, and quickly came to her Knight's defense. "That is my Knight you're talking to!" The innocent and kind hearted sister to Cornelia gave a pleading look. "He's even proven himself by managing to defeat… Zero." The Sub-Viceroy gave a pause, as if struggling to digest the words, but no one took true notice or concern of it. "He's also stayed loyal and true to Britannia, the very definition of a good soldier compared to even some of our Britannian men and women." Cornelia and Guilford bristled at the verbal slap, but it was also harshly true. "The least you could do is at least try to show some respect, if not for him then at least for me, sister."

Euphemia gathered her sister's hands into her own and held onto them dearly. Cornelia gazed down at them momentarily, before giving a tight squeeze back in reassurance. Even the Goddess of Victory couldn't say no to the puppy eyed look Euphemia was giving her, one of Cornelia's greatest weaknesses. The magenta haired princess gave a deep sigh through her nose. "Alright, I'll try for you and you alone. Okay, Euphy?"

Euphemia beamed at her sister with a bright smile. "That's all that I ask for."

At the situation/possible murder crisis averted, the room began to lose its tension. "Kururugi." Suzaku saluted Cornelia as he was addressed. "I don't know why the Emperor of Britannia wants a measly girl so badly, but I'm not stupid enough to question it. People have been killed, disgraced, and punished for less." One of them being her precious half brother Lelouch. It still burned and hurt to think about that sore topic. "I want that picture of this girl his Majesty wants on my desk by the end of the day, are we clear?"

"Yes your Majesty." Suzaku confirmed with a small scowl to show how serious he was about this. "At your command."

Cornelia gave a jerky nod and turned to Guilford. "Now then, about finding the rest of these Black Knights and those two Knights of the Round coming-"

"Your Highness!"

Everyone looked at the soldier running into the meeting room. His breathing was ragged while his entire body shook with fear as he quickly bowed at the sight of two princesses in the room.

"What is the meaning of this!" Cornelia raged. "I gave specific orders to not be interrupted during this meeting with his Majesty. You're extremely lucky that we've just finished."

"Forgive me for my insolence your Highness, but I have urgent news!" The soldier looked into Cornelia's eyes with his own shaking ones. "One of the Britannian facilities holding storage for ammunition, Knightmares, and mechanical components is being raided and attacked by terrorists!"

"WHAT!" Cornelia bellowed in absolute fury. First she had to deal with a meeting with her father, then she learns that not one, but TWO, Knights of the Round were heading over to Area Eleven, and now this! "By who!?"

"I-it's been confirmed that its the rememance of the B-Black Kn-Knights!" The soldier stuttered at saying the infamous organization's name. Clearly, Zero had struck more fear into the hearts of her soldiers than Cornelia had previously thought.

"The Black Knights!?" Euphemia exclaimed. Her expression filtering between two varying emotions, fear and joy, yet no one took notice. The Sub-Viceroy turned her head towards her bigger sister. "You don't think-"

"But Zero is dead, what point do they have now to try and defy us?" Guilford shook his head at the thought.

"Show us this facility and prepare reinforcements for battle, my Knight and I will be gracing this battle personally!" Cornelia ordered harshly.

"Yes! Your Highness!" The soldier snapped back into his training, and quickly left the room to inform the others of the princess's orders.

"Your Highness please!" Suzaku saluted Cornelia and gave her a pleading yet fiery determined gaze. "Let me join you in this battle. It's highly likely that our target will be there as well, and I'll be able to identify her easily. Please let me accompany you into this battle with the Black Knights!"

"Suzaku-!" Euphemia was about to protest, but she was cut off by her older sister.

"Fine then." Cornelia nodded, and all four occupants quickly left the room and headed towards the Knightmare Docking Bay. "But hurry up towards Camelot or else you will be left behind soldier! I refuse to underestimate or let my guard down around these Black Knights, especially since Zero's state of being and presence is now questionable by his Majesty."

Suzaku needed no other prompt, and with a quick goodbye and reassurance to Euphemia, he was sprinting down the halls towards Camelot and the Lancelot.

. . .

"The base has been secured, all Britannian soldiers have been quickly dealt with and we now have control of almost the entire facility beside a small squadron in the Northern region of the base." Todoh gave the report quickly and efficiently within his own Knightmare Zangetsu. The man responsible for the Miracle of Itsukushima spoke whilst cutting an enemy Knightmare Sutherland down with his own black sword. "However, it won't be long till reinforcements from the Government Bureau itself come to reclaim this facility. Princess Cornelia will most certainly be coming herself alongside her Knights."

"Along with that traitor Kururugi." Chiba spat darkly, already sour over the fact that they were even doing this in the first place.

"So really we better hurry and get what we came here to get before the entirety of the Britannian Army smashes down on top of us." Urabe summed up in a casual tone. His Knightmare rushing through one of the warehouses storing mechanical parts in search for their target. "So what exactly are we looking for here?"

Two screens popped up on the side to show it was Kallen in her Guren in one and C.C in another classic Black Knight Knightmare in the other. C.C spoke up first, her tone serious alongside her amber eyed gaze. "It's called the Dagonet YU-DM. It was once just a machine piece, but it was upgraded to become a power source for Knightmare Frames using solar energy and the air around it. Of course the idea seemed ludicrous at the time compared to sakuradite, and was scrapped to be stored here and gain dust." The witch gave a wide, knowing smirk. "It was named after one of the Knight of the Round in Arthurian Legends as well."

Urabe blinked at the sight before asking the question just about everyone was wondering but not wanting to ask. "Okay, this may seem a bit rude, but how old are you exactly?"

C.C's cat like smirk widened and turned even more mischievous. "Wouldn't you like to know. Besides, it is rude to ask a lady her age."

"Wouldn't exactly call you a lady." Kallen grumbled irritably. The ace to the Black Knights on high alert with her senses dialed up to almost eleven. "More like a witch."

C.C's smirk grew even more.

"Anyway." Kallen continued, and sent everyone a picture. "The machine looks like this, we were lucky enough to have Rakshata steal this photo from the internet without being caught." A picture appeared on everyone's screens, and the machine looked vaguely like a smaller version of a car's engine. The components were made of a weird brown metal on the outside that grew into a deep black in the middle.

"I expect nothing less from a genius." Ohgi put in. "Now everyone get to looking for this machine. We need to find it as fast as possible!"

As soon as those words left his mouth the field rocked harshly and everyone cried out at the sudden interruption.

"Attention Black Knights! Put down your weapons and surrender at once! Your mark of terrorism will not go unpunished by my name as Cornelia li Britannia! After all this time of running and hiding like cowering dogs your group is finished! I sentence you and your group to death! Seize them!"

"Shit!" Tamaki cried out in a panicked frenzy. "What are we going to do! Man I wish Zero was here!"

"Well he's not!" Kallen snapped angrily. "Dammit." She growled under her breath, and pushed her Guren out of the warehouse to face the incoming envoy of Knightmare Frames towards the base. "Here's what we're going to do! Todoh, his Four Holy Swords, B-Group, and myself will hold the reinforcements off for as long as we can. The rest of you are to look for the Dagonet YU-DM! Once anyone finds it tell us, and we'll make a quick retreat. Nothing else matters besides these orders, clear?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good. Then let's do this, because if we fail this raid we may never get another chance again." Kallen spoke softly, which evoked a much bigger reaction to just how serious she was.

"We'll rescue Zero and bring him back from the dead!"

"We need him if we can even hope to have a chance to win this war!"

"This is for Zero!"

"Our Miracle Maker! Our Messiah! We'll return the favor for all that he's done!"

"The Black Knights won't back down until the very end which we are victorious!"

"Those that live with Zero must also perish with him!"

"The Devil's Right Hand will beat these Britannian scum down!"

Kallen clenched her controls tightly, and urged her Guren forward to confront the Britannian Knightmares attempting to surround them. Her machines fatal right hand latching onto its nearest victim and swiftly killing them with a huge dose of radiation.

"We have to do this." Sweat glided down her forehead, but she ignored it as she continued to demolish the puny foot soldiers facing her in their Sutherlands. "Otherwise, I just don't know what to do without him, Zero. We need you. I need you, and I believe in you." Her grip on her controls tightened, and Gruen's ferocity spiked to unrivalled levels. "I may be bringing them hope for now, but I'm nothing like you.

. . .

It was fifteen minutes later, just when the Black Knights were starting to lose hope and crumble, when someone gave a loud shout through communications.

"I FOUND IT!" The voice belonging to none other than Tamaki, which surprised literally everyone. "I've got it in my Knightmare's hands right now, so what do I do now?"

"Get a squadron to surround Tamaki!" Todoh ordered quickly. "Under no circumstances can that machine component be damaged or taken from our hands and begin to retreat!" Now he spoke to all of the remaining Black Knights. "This is Kyoshiro Todoh reporting to all Black Knights! Our objective has been reached! All Black Knights are now ordered to retreat! I repeat all Black Knights, fall back! Initiate chaff smoke and rondevu at Point Beta!"

Smoke started to rise all over the invaded Britannian facility as the Black Knights began to retreat as quickly and effectively as possible. The Guren backed off from its latest prey, and began to escape with Todoh and his Four Holy Swords when the Red Devil had to suddenly dodge a dangerously close blast from none other than a VARIS rifle.

"Hold it right there, Kallen!" The Guren turned to glare down the white knight himself, Lancelot.

"Suzaku!" Kallen growled through her speakers, and the urge to destroy the traitorous Honorary Britannian was almost unbearable. "You traitorous bastard!" The Guren hunched over in preparation to lunge an attack at its most fearsome and dangerous rival.

"Kallen come on!" Urabe spoke up frantically through the Black Knight's communication. "We have to get out of here! There's no time to dance with that traitor."

"You guys go on ahead of me, I'll cover you." Kallen spoke stubbornly. "It's obvious he won't leave us alone anyways, and I'm the only one that can rival him with my Guren." The Devil's Right Hand made extra emphasis to flex its right silver claw. "I'll be fine. Just go."

"You're going to end up a skinned rabbit." Senba remarked with zero humor in his voice. "The Britannian army will surround you soon enough if we leave you alone. You'll most certainly be killed."

"Zero's already out of the picture Kallen, we need you to survive if we can continue to hope and stand a chance!" Ohgi spoke worriedly. Kallen was the little sister he never had, and he swore to Naoto that he would protect her.

At that thought, Kallen wilted slightly, but soon tensed back up as the Lancelot jumped forward with a battle cry from Suzaku. The VARIS rifle being exchanged for two blood red MVS blades. The Guren jumped back from the first blow, and ducked under the second to give a swift kick towards the Lancelot's legs. Predicting that this would happen, Suzaku forced the Lancelot to jump up and activated his Slash Harkens.

Kallen used the Guren's small knife that was almost like a pitch fork to block one Slash Harken and cut its line. However, the other Harken struck a blow, but it only scratched the side of the Guren's hunched body. Rakshata will not be happy about that. Kallen grimaced at the stern talking to she would get from the creator of the Guren and how not to damage her 'precious baby' again.

"I sorry Ohgi, but I have no choice!" Kallen grit her teeth as she forced Suzaku and his Lancelot away from the others. "Suzaku won't just go away if I ask nicely! Get the others out of here and I promise I'll be right behind you!" With those last words, Kallen quickly ended communications with the others despite their protests.

"Bring it on Suzaku you bastard!" Kallen yelled angrily. Finally letting her bottled up rage be unleashed at Zero's untimely 'demise' and her own failure. "I'll make you regret what you did to Zero, and destroy the Lancelot right here and now once and for all!" The Guren lunged forward and tried to grab the Lancelot's arm, but just barely missed even with the extension. On the plus side the Guren's dangerous claws left two big grooves into the arm, although it was still functionable, it was damage.

"Answer me this question Kallen, and I just might spare your life instead of killing you outright!" Suzaku snarled angrily like an enraged beast, it caught Kallen off guard and forced her Guren into a standstill like the Lancelot. The two machines glaring at each other. In all of her time being around Suzaku, Kallen had never once heard Suzaku use that tone of voice, and somewhere deep within it intimidated her slightly to see her once gentle friend become so volatile.

"Oh yeah? What could you ever want to know from me?" Kallen snapped out of it and once again rushed to attack the Lancelot with a Slash Harken of her own. Suzaku dodged it easily, but had a more difficult time getting out of the Guren's range with its right hand. The Guren looked up as the Lancelot jumped over it, activating the Radiation Wave Surger to block a blow from the VARIS rifle. "Besides, you chose to side with Britannia! Why would I ever answer any of your questions you traitor!"

"I want to know what the Black Knights have done with Lelouch!" Suzaku barked darkly as he did his trademark spin kick maneuver. The Guren took the strike, but didn't stagger away. Instead, Kallen used her smaller blade and lodged it deep within the Lancelot's leg before throwing the machine off and away from her. The Guren's left arm having taken some damage, but was still operating.

Kallen's sapphire eyes widened at Suzaku's words. "You've got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed, and her surprise at what Suzaku was saying quickly gave way to pure rage and hatred even she didn't know lied within herself. "You think WE kidnapped Lelouch!? What kind of drugs have you been fucking taking and how high are you?! Because that is absolute BULLSHIT!" Kallen screamed as loudly as she could as she tripled her efforts to take down the Lancelot and it's idotic pilot.

"I know you and the Black Knights have something to do with Lelouch's disappearance!" Suzaku shouted back just as angrily and stubbornly. "He vanished after the incident on Shikine and Kamine Island! I know that you were placed within Ashford Academy just to watch him, and kidnap him when the time was right or when you were caught spying on us!" The Lancelot fired round after round from his VARIS rifle. The Guren skillfully weaving in between the blasts and dodging them. "You kidnapped Lelocuh! You did it for that demon Zero that's ensnared you in his web of lies! You took Lelouch and brought him right to that masked bastard, and now for all I know Nunnally's older brother is DEAD because of YOU!"

"You fucking IDIOT!" Kallen screeched back in her rage. Red tinting the edge of her vision she was just so ANGRY at Suzaku being such a naive moron. "We had nothing to do with Lelouch's disappearance, and it hurts me just as deeply at the thought and sight of Nunnally's pain. I KNOW what it's like to lose an older brother!" The Guren latched onto the Lancelot's right arm, and destroyed it with the Radiant Wave Surger while the Lancelot ejected the appendage swiftly. "I would never project such a heart wrenching pain, such emptiness one feels when they lose an older brother onto someone else! You KNOW this Suzaku, because I thought we were fucking friends despite our sides in the war!"

"If it wasn't you then why did you leave Ashford Academy after Kanime Island!" Suzaku interjected, and used one of his MVS blades to make a deep cut into the Guren's left arm. The appendage no longer opperatable and Kallen had no choice but to eject it. "It's rather convenient you chose then to leave! Face it! I know it was you or another person from the Black Knights that took Lelouch, and I'm going to get him back even if it means having the tear the Black Knights apart bit by bit!"

"Damn idiot!" Kallen yelled, and the two threw their machines at each other with a cry. The Guren lunging towards and clawing at the air the Lancelot was just at with it's animalistic ferocity while the Lancelot gracefully weaved and dodged around the hulking metal that almost acted like a tiger.

"I should've realized it was pointless to try and reason with a stubborn ass like you Suzaku! You and you're fucking obsession with Zero! As soon as something bad goes on in your life or those around you, you instantly point towards him for the blame! 'That smoke he used when he first appeared MIGHT have harmed some people so he's evil!' We saved your life from those Britannian bastards who would have found you guilty, judge, defense, and prosecution all because you're Japanese! 'Shirley's father was caught up in that landslide, it's all Zero's fault!' He didn't KNOW Shirley's father would be in that city at that moment in time dammit Suzaku! Casualties and bloodshed like that will happen in a time of fucking WAR! 'Lelouch's gone missing!? It must be Zero who kidnapped him!' Zero's been missing even BEFORE Lelouch's disappearance! None of us were there at that time, but that doesn't matter to you does it? Because of YOU Zero is trapped and alone without ME!"

Kallen yelled and swiped at the Lancelot. The Red Lotus grabbed ahold of the top of the Lancelot's cockpit and pulled the metal back. Just as victory was within her grasp Suzaku used his last Slash Harken to force Kallen back, but she managed to destroy it and take a good chunk of the roof and side of the cockpit off with her. Suzaku gave Kallen's monsterous Guren a frightened gaze from where he sat, but it was quickly snuffed down into an enraged expression once again. The Lancelot raised its VARIS rifle and began to rapid fire once again, forcing the Guren to retreat even more.

"Shut up!" Suzaku bellowed as he continued firing the VARIS rifle. "People like you would never understand the struggles I have gone through! Lelouch and Nunnally are the only people and I have left from my childhood, and I refuse to allow someone like you and that demon Zero to take them away from me! I've seen what war and violence can do first hand, and I've become up close and personal with it ever since the war in Area Eleven first happened! All you and Zero are doing is just bringing the people here more pain and suffering! Your attempts at resistance are nothing, Britannia won and Japan lost, it's as simple as that! Stop murdering and killing people in your pathetic attempts at 'justice' and 'change', because anything gained through contemptible means like Zero's isn't a victory and it certainly isn't worth it. If it wasn't for Zero existing Lelouch might still be here and alive with Nunnally! All of this blood shed could have been avoided if you simply accepted Britannia's rule and tried to change things from within!" One of the VARIS's shots skimmed over the side of the Guren's cockpit, but it was enough to make a hole in the side so Kallen was visible. Her body laid out as if she were riding a motorcycle instead of piloting a Knightmare Frame so devastatingly destructive like the Guren. "It's pointless to try and explain the truth to people like you and Zero because you refuse to acknowledge it and just won't understand!"

"Oh stop spewing bullshit from up in your ivory tower of white you supremist bastard!" Kallen snapped angrily. "You're so blind in your own ideology that you can't even see the truth when its stabbing you in the gut!" Kallen used the Guren's extendable claw to grab ahold and destroy the VARIS rifle Suzaku once held with his Lancelot. "Because of you Zero was warped away and he can't lead us! Because of you Zero is gone and I can't protect him as my job of the Zero Squad's Captain! I can't protect him if he's in another world alone, and it's all thanks to you and your stubborn ass!"

That got Suzaku's attention, and the brunette forced the Lancelot to dodge and back away from the Guren as he finally spoke more clear headedly. "Wait, another world? What the hell are you talking about?!"

Through her rage, Kallen didn't realizing what she was saying until it was already too late to take back. "Zero didn't get transported to Kamine Island like us and your precious puppet Princess Euphemia! No, instead he got thrown away into a completely different Dimension, another world entirely or else he would have died! I can't protect him when he's in another world! I've failed him once already, and I refuse to do it again." Kallen's sapphire blue gaze ran straight through Suzaku's olive green one. "We're bringing him back, and no matter what you're not going to stop us!" The Guren lunged forward for one more fatal strike. "And I'll start by making sure I destroy you and this nuisance the Lancelot!"

Just as the Guren's metal claw was about to latch onto the Lancelot's head, a gold painted metal spear rushed through and impaled its metallic palm. Kallen cried out as if her own hand had been physically impaled instead of the Guren's, and quickly retreated away to get some space and pull the spear out with her one barely functioning right hand and one of the Guren's legs.

"Are you alright there Kururugi?" Suzaku's olive eyed gaze widened as the voice of Lord Gilbert G.P Guilford spoke over the speakers of his own Knightmare. "I see that I've managed to intervene just in time. Princess Euphemia would have been extremely upset to hear of your untimely demise over such resistance like the Devil's Right Hand."

Suzaku's body slowly slackened as he smiled at Guilford's Knightmare in thanks. "Thank you, Lord Guilford."

"Think nothing of it." The Knight to Princess Cornelia turned and focused his attention on the Guren. Even without the Radiant Wave Surger and a missing arm she was still a force to be reckoned with. "After all we are both Knights, and we have our duties to our Princesses."

Suzaku blinked rapidly in surprise, before snapping out of it and nodding. "Of course sir." With that, the two turned their attention to Kallen. However, it wasn't long before more Britannian reinforcements arrived with a certain purple Gloucester with a white cape in the front coming to a stop beside Guilford's own Knightmare.

"I see you've managed to corral the Devil's Right Hand. Well done Guilford, Kururugi." Cornelia's praise was quick, and she quickly moved forward to face Kallen as well. Other Sutherlands and Glouscters raising their weapons in preparation to fire. "It seems that the tables have turned, Black Knight ace." Cornelia raised her spear. "However, unlike at Narita, you won't be getting out of this away or alive!"

Cornelia charged her Glouster towards Kallen. Just as the spear was about to defeat the Guren, a grey and black blur intervened and took the damage instead. The spear impaling just to the right of the cockpit and allowing the person inside to live. The Black Knight Knightmare Frame exploded as the person inside ejected, taking a good chunk of Cornelia's right side of the Gloustcer with it.

"What the- Who dares!" Cornelia snarled as he backed away from both the Guren and the damaged cockpit that ejected. The Britannian soldiers nearly surrounding Kallen and this mysterious Black Knight raised their weapons, but the sound of gun fire drew their attention as some of their own comrades were destroyed or killed in the sudden fight. Kallen turned her Guren around to see that it was the Four Holy Swords alongside Todoh coming in to rescue their ace.

"Kozuki!" Todoh barked in a tone that suggested he wouldn't take no for an answer. "Get over here quickly before the Britannians surround and kill us!"

Kallen nodded absentmindedly, and turned to help the person who had saved her. When a girl with long green hair tumbled out of her damaged cockpit holding damaged side Kallen couldn't believe.

"W-what!? C.C!?" Kallen gaped in disbelief, yet that relief soon turned into worry at the amount of blood flowing from her wounds brought to her by Cornelia. "Why would you-? You're hurt!"

"You!" Apparently, the Britannians couldn't believe it either as Suzaku yelled. "Princess Cornelia! That's the girl from Narita!"

"I see." Though nobody could really see it, Cornelia was giving a victorious smile. "Well then, our new Number One Most Wanted has just decided to fall right into our open hands. Attention all forces!" Cornelia yelled. "Destroy the Black Knights! Leave no one alive except for the girl with long green hair! I want her to be captured and brought to me living and breathing, understood?"

"Yes! Your Highness!" The soldiers all yelled alongside Guilford and Suzaku.

"All Hail Britannia!"

"C.C!" Watching the immortal witch crumble to the ground because of her wounds caused Kallen to reach out and grab her with her barely working right hand.

The witch looked up at the Guren with a wry smirk and glazed amber eyes. "I couldn't just let you die now could I? You're my only chance at getting Zero back alive." Those glazed amber eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Just don't try something like this again, or else I'll let you die and won't save you. Also, you owe me three large pizzas from Pizza Hut."

Kallen sweat dropped at that, but quickly went into action and began to retreat alongside Todoh and his Four Holy Swords. "Whatever, witch."

Urabe nearly gotten himself blown up if it wasn't for a quick save from Todoh, but otherwise the group quickly escaped with the use of chaff smoke. The sound of gun fire, Knightmares, and Cornelia's enraged yelling fading behind them.

. . .

(The Next Day)

Cornelia slammed her fist onto the wooden desk of the meeting room in frustrated anger. "So they really got away, dammit!" The papers detailing the warehouse item check proved that the Black Knights managed to get away with Knightmares, ammunition, and some strange component called the Dagonet YU-DM. The Second Princess to Britannia wasn't a genius like Lloyd and his Camelot crew, but seeing that component missing made her feel uneasy.

"Even with their leader Zero dead they're still as slippery as snakes and eels." One of the politicians are the table muttered angrily.

"We were so close at finally ending those Black Knights as well." Another commented darkly.

"That doesn't matter anymore." Guilford pointed out. "The Black Knights getting away is now in the past. We'll get another chance at destroying them another time. Let's also not forget that they took some heavy casualties as well, because now that Zero is gone practically all resistance within Area Eleven has vanished, and the people are cooperating with us more than before with Zero's death." Guilford leaned toward, his hands clasped together on his desk as he spoke deathly calm. "What I think both myself and her Highness would like to know is which of the Knights of the Round are coming over to Area Eleven."

"Guilford is right." Cornelia glared at each and every person at the meeting table besides Guilford, Darlton, Euphemia, and even Suzaku. "Why wasn't I informed of this from the Homeland before his Majesty decided to grace me with a warning."

I can't believe this. Everything was chaotic before with just Zero, but with his death, everything became peaceful. Now it turns out Zero is still alive from both Father and the Black Knight's ace herself, and everything is a chaotic shit storm. Just what the hell is Father thinking wanting this girl that's so closely attached to Zero? Cornelia's mind flashed back to the ace of the Black Knights calling out the girl's apparent name. Who even names themselves C.C? That's not even a human name… Then again, from the way things are looking I don't think Zero or this C.C are even human either.

Suddenly, the urge to unmask Zero became even more irresistible. Even though it's still speculated that he's dead.

The table was so silent you could hear everyone's heart beats. One of the politicians rubbed some sweat off of their forehead with a handkerchief.

This only served to make Cornelia even more irritable and vexed. "You know what I call this group I see before me?" Everyone turned to see Cornelia's ire right in her expression. "Impractical, imcompitent, and useless. Now when either Guildfird or myself ask you a question I expect one of you to answer it!" Cornelia slapped her hand down onto the desk once again, causing all of the spineless politicians to flinch back. "Now tell me which two Knights of the Round are coming over to Area Eleven before I have you all shot for your inadequate presence here! It's obvious that I need to make a change in this structure my brother Clovis has put up." How Clovis managed to survive like this before his death by Zero's hands, Cornelia would never know.

However, all Cornelia could do now was hope that it wasn't the Knight of Four Dorothea Ernst, and desperately pray that it wasn't Knight of Nine Nonette Enneagram or the Knight of Ten Sir Luciano Bradley. Just the thought of the Knight of Nine alone caused Cornelia to give a very light shudder that nobody else thankfully noticed.

At last, the sweating, frightened politician lifted up a paper with shaking hands and spoke meekly.

"His Majesty has sent word that the two Knights of the Round coming over to Area Eleven are to be the Knight of Six Anya Alstriem, and Knight of Three Gino Weinberg."

. . .

Kallen laid her head in both of her hands on the meeting desk before her and gave a loud, exhausted sigh. Even with the intense lecture and near death threat from Rakshata at allowing her 'baby' to come to harm, that entire operation was close, way too close for anybody's liking.

Yet they did it. They succeeded in their objective.

The ace of the Black Knight's could feel Zero's pride at them all the way from another Dimension.

"The Dagonet YU-DM has been stored away safely with Rakshata." Minami informed happily. The rest of the Black Knights were rather ecstatic and optimistic with their victory over the Britannians and Suzaku today. A rather brighter note since Zero's disappearance.

"I can't believe I'm really saying this, but nice job Tamaki." Sugiyama cheered with a light slap on the back.

"What do you mean you can't believe it!?" Tamaki balked at his friend's words, causing everyone else at the table to laugh full heartedly at his antics. The redhead looked around frantically at everyone as they laughed. "What the- HEY!" Tamaki stood up from his seat and pointed to himself proudly. "I'm Shinichiro Tamaki, Zero's best bud and one of the Black Knight's best in the inner circle! I always do a good job when it concerns my bud!"

"But really Tamaki." Ohgi smiled at one of his best buds. "Good job." Tamkai did nothing more than give a cheeky grin and soak up the attention before Ohgi diverted it to something more concerning. "But where's C.C right now?"

The meeting room quieted as they waited for an answer from Kallen. The redhead laid her head on her arms and answered in a huff. "She's up in her and Zero's room, eating three large pizzas." The runaway heir of the Stadtfeld family finally bought the witch three large pizzas, if only to get C.C to stop bitching about it to her constantly. "That witch won't be coming down for a while."

The people in the room didn't know how to feel about that, so they just brushed it aside.

"So, that just leaves two more components to gather before Rakshata can create this machine to bring Zero back." Todoh stated as his eyes narrowed at the thought. The General and leader of the Four Holy Swords grabbed ahold of a remote on the table and turned on a projector behind Kallen's seat so everyone could see. It showed a list of the mechanical components required that their resident genius needed to help bring Zero back from the brink of oblivion.

Dagonet YU-DM

Lionel GI-GX

Griflet OH-5DS

MD-Merlin ZEXAL

"So we need to find and gather the Lionel GI-GX and the Griflet OH-5DS before she can make the MD-Merlin ZEXAL." Kallen reiterated.

"I still can't believe we're trying this hard to bring a dead man back." Chiba grumbled under her breath.

Kallen snapped her head up to glare at the only female in the Four Holy Swords. The Captain of the Zero Squad straightened her posture and practically growled at Chiba. "Well we're doing it, so either get out or shut up and accept it. Otherwise I may just have to challenge you to a duel in Knightmare combat."

That certainly shut Chiba up from anymore possible complaining. The female Holy Sword member even paled a little under the thought of dueling Kallen in a Knightmare.

Everyone knew that if you made Kallen angry enough and she had a Knightmare nearby, you were absolutely screwed.

"Yeah." Urabe interrupted the two girls staring contest that could have soon turned into a cat fight. "But does anyone else know where the Lionel and the Griflet even are?"

Silence.

Ohgi sighed. "That'll be our first priority then. Our next target should be the Lionel GI-GX, and until Rakshata can gain any results on its location, the only thing we can do is wait. Prepare, gather supplies, train, recruit, and plan our next move." The second in command's tired expression grew more light hearted. "Until then, let's celebrate this victory. We're finally one step closer to Zero!"

"Yeah!"

With that, the meeting was soon closed and everyone began to chat with each other as they left the room. Kallen leaned back in the chair she currently occupied. Yet this wasn't really her chair, it didn't feel right to sit in the chair that belonged to the masked man Zero himself. A black leather rolling chair that leaned back as she looked up at the ceiling. Her blue eyes cloudy with thought.

He sat here. Gave orders and planned missions here. Kallen could easily remember it like it was yesterday, yet it felt so far away now. She had grown so comfortable with his presence that she didn't realize how much until he was suddenly gone.

"Glad you're still alive, Q-1."

Kallen smiled at the memory, although a blush dusted her cheeks at the thought of Lelouch being there and that entire bathroom incident. It hurt her to know that Lelouch was still missing, and it was blatantly obvious that it was really affecting not only Nunnally, but Suzaku as well.

Did you really have something to do with Lelouch's disappearance? Kallen knew better than to doubt it, but Zero was practically a messiah and could see his own demise coming from a mile away. What the hell am I thinking?! Even Zero wouldn't stoop so low as to kidnap a teenage boy and separate him from his blind and crippled little sister, even if he was Britannian! It wouldn't have been hard to plan something like that ahead of time though. But did one of our Black Knights really kidnap Lelouch?

Kallen furiously shook her head of those thoughts. "It doesn't matter. I'll search for Lelouch on this side of the war and try to reunite him with Nunnally while Suzaku looks through Britannia's side. However, bringing Zero back is my number one priority. Only when he's back will I focus more on Lelouch." And we're already one step towards bringing you back, Zero. Once you're back, I swear to you that I'll never leave your side unprotected ever again. Not even at the cost of my own life.

We'll bring you home soon enough, Zero.

Just wait a little longer for me.

Oh my! What's this? What's this! It is an Interlude! What's this? What's this! It's even longer than the last! Around 10,000 words compared to last times Interlude along with a fight scene, whoo! What a surprise seeing our wonderful Code Geass cast again! It looks like they're making some progress on their own end as well! Great job as always Black Knights, kick Britannia's ass! Dear Lord I would rant about how much I despise Suzaku but that would take up almost an entire chapter, so just let it be known that I don't really like him. Also, the Emperor seems to be getting involved in matters now to, just what a clusterfuck this has become huh?

I thought it would be the perfect time to do something like this since we're now entering a new Arc. ;)

666-A26R1C18-V3-03-7511919-0000

Dagonet YU-DM x

Lionel GI-GX

Griflet OH-5DS

MD-Merlin ZEXAL

I'm sure you can see what I've done. A little puzzle for you guys to ponder on until the next Chapter where I give the answers. A26R1C18-V3 and 7511919 in the coordinates actually mean something while I'm sure you can figure out the rest with the Dagonet, Lionel, and Griflet being together. I did a quick search and found that all three of those names are involved in Arthurian Legends in some way, a Knight of the Round and what not.

Anyway, leave a REVIEW, Favorite, and Follow. The reviews feed the plot bunnies and thoughts even more.

I'll be seeing you all next time on Chapter 29! -MoonlightWright