Interlude 22: Reforging The Crown, Part 2: Roaring Red Storm
Shit, what time is it? Guess I lost track of what I was doing.
…fuck! It's 8pm? I missed the mess call for dinner!
Oh well, not like I'm hungry now. I'll just go have dinner with Okaa-san, or Lulu&CC, or hell, Milly later. Standing up and hearing my back crack tells me I'm long overdue for a break. Simulators are alright, but...goddamn I miss Big Red.
Even closing my eyes now, I can picture him now. Standing proudly, silver claw polished to a reflective surface, crimson body glinting in the sunlight, blue eyes shining just like mine…
Fuck that fucking orange fucker Kewell Soresi! He totalled my partner! I loved that guy! He was as much a part of me as my own brother! It makes me fucking furious to think about it!
But, there's jack and shit I can do about it. Hell, I'm still not reinstated as a commander. I've been working my ass off at the gym and simulators to try and get back to where I was, who I used to be.
Muscles tense as I flex my arm, throwing out a quick jab in the silent hallway. It's a rough month. Getting up early, eating proper diets, endurance running, powerlifting, various kinds of exercises to get flexibility back and some other crap I can't remember right now.
And...it really paid off. I don't think I've ever been at this level of conditioning. Previously, I had to watch myself, staying under the radar, going to school, and operations at night. A whole month of doing nothing but working out and sweating my ass off. Fuck, I have a six pack now. A six pack! I mean, yeah, I was in good shape before, but...what happened to me when I was captured, and how I acted when I was geassed…
I lost most of my conditioning because I thought I was a lazy noble heiress who disdained athletics. Gahhh. Between a month or two of that, eating the kind of garbage that my bitch stepmother thought was proper food..and...and...the injuries and torture from Bradley..
But that's in the past. I'm totally fine now. Really. Nothing to worry about.
Hell, I think I went up a cup size, this sports bra is kinda tight. And these shorts are riding up my ass too. I mean, it probably looks good. I wouldn't know, I still don't get why people think I'm pretty.
But the musculature? The definition and tone? That, I can appreciate and admire.
"Hoo!" I exclaim as I pose in front of a window, raising my arms up to flex my biceps and pectorals. Is this childish? Yeah, I'm not denying that. But..screw it. I'm entitled to have a little fun.
Lulu and CC haven't said anything since that night I went to have dinner with them. Or any of the other nights I stayed over. Even with her haughty bitch act, and his irrepressible wiseass-ness...they care. They really do.
Right now though, I need a quick cooldown run, sweating in the sauna, and then a cool shower to get the grime off. That's the part you look forward to when you finish training or working out, the burn of sore muscles from a good day's work.
Not to mention it helps distract me from...other things. Like how silky CC's hair is, or how Milly's tits have that bounce to them, or Lelouch's devil may care smile...GAHH!
My right fist flies out, thudding against the wall as I shake my head to clear out the mental imagery. It's probably a good thing that I can feel desire again without it being tainted by..other things. But I'm still not ready yet. Even if..if..part of me wants to be touched.
Thus, working out. It's a good way to refocus the energy and something productive. Alright, enough of that shit!
Slapping my cheeks once to snap out of it, I keep walking towards the gym, only to hear voices in the weightlifting area. Huh. Somebody else doing a late night workout? This section is reserved for officers and command staff, so who's there?
"Thanks again for helping me out with this."
"Of course. What are big sisters for? But I have a feeling you didn't ask me to workout with you just to help with your therapy, Lulu."
Lulu and Cornelia? Huh. Didn't know she worked out. Then again, she's an ace pilot too. Makes sense she'd pump some iron.
Letting out a slow breath, I quietly step through the door, peeking around the corner to see what they're doing. Easy does it. Nice and quiet..ok, now I can see them, urk.
Oh god damnit! Why the fuck is she hot?!
She's wearing form fitting yoga pants and a sports bra as she does a reaaaally nice quad stretch while bending over...damnit brain, stop ogling her! She's the Bitch of Britannia, who cares if she's a bombshell?!
And Lelouch? Damn, he's filling out nicely. I can see his arms flexing as he does rows, wearing a muscle shirt and pants similar to Cornelia...cut that shit out, brain!
"I wanted to ask your advice on something, as a commander and a pilot yourself," he says, grunting as he puts the handle for the rows machine down.
Cornelia shrugs and starts doing push ups, giving a raised eyebrow to him, "Very well. What is on your mind?"
"Kallen."
Wait what.
"Your ace? What of her? Has she recovered from her time as a POW?"
!
Lelouch narrows his eyes at her as she moves to a seated position to do the butterfly stretch, "What do you mean?"
How the fuck did she figure it-?!
Rolling her eyes at him, she responds, "Please, dear brother. It is bloody obvious she was held captive. I'm a woman as well as a pilot. I can easily recognize the symptoms of captivity and torture. The way she's skittish around people, her eyes darting around, looking for danger, the tenseness in her body. It's easy to spot if you know what to look for."
Standing up, she cracks her neck and starts setting up a barbell with weights, adjusting the lock on the sides. Shit, shit, shit. Am I that easy to read? Does everyone know?
"When Nunnally came to see me after the siege, she asked if we had her in our possession. We did not. Since someone was able to extract her from the Guren without my knowledge or yours following the chaos of the battle? That indicates someone was waiting for an opportunity. Given your list of enemies, I would place a wager that someone highly placed in the OSI is the culprit. Since I heard nothing of her captivity before I defected, that means someone didn't want the regular chain of command to know they had her. Thus? OSI."
Nodding as she rubs chalk on her hands, "Given what I know about OSI interrogation techniques from Laila, and having met with POWs that we've captured and ones returned to our side, the situation was clear as day to me."
Taking a deep breath, she lifts the weight up in a sudden motion, her feet leaving the ground briefly as the barbell passes her chest, resting on her collarbone, breath moving and out of her lips as she sinks down to her haunches, arms curled backwards to hold the bar.
With a rush of air, she gives a short hop, arms thrusting the barbell overhead, pectorals and shoulders tensed as she holds it over her head, a confident smirk on her lips.
Clean and jerk, olympic technique. And that's...shit, two hundred fifty lbs? That's fifteen better than my personal best, and I'm betting that's not hers!
...God dammit you purple haired bitch, stop hitting my buttons! Especially ones I didn't realize I had!
"Impressive lift. And yes, I'll confirm what you already know. Anything else, well, you'll have to ask Kallen for that," Lelouch grunts out as he continues with his rows, back muscles straining against his shirt as he breathes evenly, eyes lost in thought.
Do I want to get mad at him?
...No. If she could read me that easily, it would be dumb to deny it. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
"Have you told anyone else?"
Cornelia shakes her head, putting the weight down carefully, then wipes the sweat from her brow before answering, "No, and I have no intention of doing so. I doubt anyone else can connect the dots the way I did, even if they realize something is wrong with her. And as a soldier and a woman, it would be dishonorable of me to reveal such a weakness in her or take advantage of such."
I'll be damned. Guess Lelouch was right about her actually having a sense of honor. She's still a bitch, but...fuck, would I act the same if-oh right. I fucking did. Hell, Lelouch even called me on it back at Kawaguchi when I tore him a new one for going berserk over Nunnally.
Sure, I got pissed at him for it, but the annoying thing is..he was right. I would have gone blood drunk and ripped some fuckers in half if they'd had Onii-chan or Okaa-san.
This is one of those cold bitter truths about war. The guys on the other side are human too.
"Thank you for that, big sister. She means a lot to me."
Taking a sip of water from a bottle, Cornelia snorts in amusement at that sentence.
"You mean you're smitten with her. Any daft idiot can see you're head over heels for each other. Not that I blame you. She's a strong and capable young woman. So shall we stop dancing around whatever question you want to ask and bloody get on with it?"
Yeah, come on, Lulu. quit stalling.
"Do you think she's ready? To resume her command?"
I barely stifle a gasp, my hand clamping over my lips to stop any noise. That's what he wants to ask her?!
Lelouch with a hiss of pain, makes his way over to the leg press, his sister helping him into the chair.
"Why me? Surely you or your wife can judge for your-" "We're too close to her. I need someone who's fought her and can give an unbiased opinion. You aren't involved with her. And even if you were, you can give me your opinion as a general and a pilot because you're not her commanding officer."
Cornelia's brow furrows as she sets the weights into place on the machine for him, before letting out a deep sigh.
"Quite right. Then my opinion is this. IF you send her out right now? You'd best make funerary arrangements. Because doing so now is as good as a death sentence."
The fuck did you say?! Fuck you, you smug psycho witch! I'll break your fucking jaw and make you eat those words-!
"Damn. I thought it was just me. But if you're thinking the same…"
何? (What?)
As I stand there frozen in shock, Lelouch puts the weight down, eyes closed tightly as his fists clench.
"I am dead serious, Lulu. She is not ready to resume command or return to the battlefield. Whether it's from something she endured, or a loss of resolve, or a crisis of faith, I don't know. What does matter is that something is blocking her from fighting like she used to. It's apparent to anyone watching her spar or train in the simulators. And you damn well know it, don't you? That's why you came to me, and why you haven't given her back that blasted red machine."
Red machine-the Guren is repaired?! And Lelouch hasn't given it to me?! THAT SON OF A BITCH! To hell with quietly observing, I'm gonna go bust some heads!
Before I can march out there and clock both of them in the jaw, Lelouch stands up in a huff, eyes glowing and a feeling descending on the room as his veins light up, a feeling of gravity.
"Yes, I haven't given her back her position. I know it's foolhardy to love someone who fights on the front lines and in my name, perhaps even naive to safeguard her from risk. But my heart will not let her go to her end so easily. I promised her a better world and all that I have. Though it mark me as a failure as a commander, I cannot call myself a man who loves her if I do not do everything to save her, even if she despises me for my caution," he proclaims, his words penetrating deep into my being, reaching past my anger and clasping my heart in hand.
Damn you. Damn you Lelouch vi Britannia. Damn you for being so stupidly noble…I think to myself as tears run down my eyes, fist clenched in helpless anger.
His sister ruffles his hair, a resigned smile on her face, "Spoken like a man for all seasons, Zero. You'd best tell her that soon though. She'll ask for her rightful place before long, and unless she resolves whatever troubles her? You'll end up breaking her heart regardless."
"Thank you, Big sister. And I'm sorry for bothering you with this."
Cornelia rolls her eyes and draws him into a hug, "Ha. As if family wasn't meant for this sort of thing. Now, let's get you in proper stretching form. We'll consider our options later."
...I need to take a walk. Clear my head. Part of me wants to charge in there, fists flying and make those royal fuckheads explain themselves.
The rest of me though? The rest says walk the fuck away. What if they're right? Am I missing something?
Alright, who do I talk to? I feel so lost right now. If I can't pilot...what good am I? Why the fuck am I even here if I can't do what I was trained to do? What I was born to do? This isn't just what I can do for Lulu and the Black Knights. It's about what else I can do aside from...that.
The buzzing of an electric sign pricks my ears as I look up and blink.
"One For The Road Lounge?" I say, raising an eyebrow at the sign repeated three times, once in Britannian, once in Japanese, and once in what I think is Arabic.
I enter with my head held high, the automatic door giving way to a bar and smoking lounge, chairs and couches around, overhead fans turning slowly, cushions surrounding...what the hell is that?
It looks like a bong, but it's too large. And I've never seen one with rubber tubes extending from it or that had coals on the top of it. And judging by the amount of ash on top of it as I kneel down for a closer look, somebody has been using it a lot.
"Hey, the lounge is closed. I'm gonna have to ask you to-woah, Kallen?!"
I turn around in surprise as Rivalz exclaims his shock at seeing me. Damn, when was the last time I talked to him?
"Umm, hey," I utter lamely, giving a limp wave and realizing I'm wearing far too little at the moment as I fidget in embarrassment.
"Hey yourself. When did you put on all that muscle?" he exclaims, eyes still wide in surprise as he sits down on one of the ottomans.
Fuck, this is awkward. What the hell do I say to that-hey wait a minute!
"What the hell do you mean by that?!" I shout in annoyance.
Rivalz scratches the back of his head and points at me, "Well, you were always the quiet one, never raising your voice...and I'm suddenly remembering that all of that was your cover or Lelouch's dick dad geassing me. Sorry Kallen," he sighs out, hanging his head.
Urk. Man, kick me right between the legs, why don't you? I can't be mad at him for feeling confused over that. Not when I still feel the dissonance of that false life…
"No, I'm the one who should apologize. We never really talked to each other or let down our masks."
Hmm, why not. He's been a nice guy even when my head was scrambled.
Standing to my full height as I look him in the eye, I bend to about a 75 degree angle as I speak, "はじめまして。私は紅月シュタットフェルト・カレン。"
He rubs his chin in thought as he raises an eyebrow, " 'Good to meet you. My name is...something Stadfelt Kallen?' I think I got most of that."
"Kozuki-Stadfelt. It's my mother's name. I'm half Britannian-half Japanese, as I said to Nina back after CC freed me. And...I'm sorry for lying to you."
Rivalz shrugs at my apology, "Eh, don't worry about it. Not like we all don't have secrets. Besides, considering our mutual buddy, I'm used to it."
...That hurt. I know he wasn't trying to be mean, but thinking about Lulu right now just hurts.
"So what brings you to my place? We're closed for the night, but I've got time if you want to hang out."
Huh. Hang out. It feels weird to talk about normal, regular people stuff like that.
"You know what? I think I do. What is this weird thing anyway?" I say after a moment, pointing down at the smoking contraption.
"You never heard of a hookah? It's a popular thing here in the middle east. You smoke either weed or this thing called shisha out of it. Wanna try it?"
Fuck it, how bad could it be?
While Rivalz is firing up the coals, I'm gonna look over this list of shisha, which is apparently dry tobacco with flavoring. Never really smoked before, but..well..first time for everything.
Huh. Cinnamon. That sounds good, "Hey Rivalz? Can I try cinnamon flavor?"
"You got it! You want a drink? The bar is always open for friends."
My head shakes in the negative as I decline the offer, "Maybe in a bit. I've got some stuff on my mind."
The smell of charcoal fills my nostrils as the tobacco heats up. Ok Kallen, you've seen Lelouch smoke dozens of times. How hard can it be?
Ack! Ugh! Gahh! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Fuuuuccccck!
I double over, coughing my lungs out, trying to get the foul smoke out. Fucking hell, why did I think this was a good idea?!
"Shit! Ok, Kallen. Listen to me. Slow breaths, try to hold the air in your lungs and then exhale slowly. It's alright, you'll be fine," he says as he rubs my back, while I cough on my hands and knees.
"Ack, ack. Why the fuck does anybody like this? Oww…," I groan after a bit more coughing.
Rivalz sits down next to me and shrugs his shoulders, "Couldn't tell you, it's an acquired taste. I've been smoking cigarettes for years now so it doesn't bother me. Take a minute to relax, you'll feel better after your lungs calm down."
Maybe I'm just tense. That might be why I fucked that up so badly.
"Hey Rivalz? Can I talk to you for a minute? I got something bothering me," I mutter, my lungs finally calming down as the coughing sputters out.
He nods, reaching into his jacket for a cigarette pack, "Sure, what's on your mind?"
Damnit. How do I say this in a way that doesn't make me look like a fucking loser..?
"So...I kinda went through something a while ago. And I'm still dealing with it. And...I don't know what to do. I want to get back to feeling like me...but I don't know how to do that."
The blue haired part-time bartender blinks as he lights up a cigarette, blowing smoke away from me, "Well..that's kinda vague. Also, why are you asking me this? I mean, I'm flattered. But why aren't you asking Lulu? Or your brother? No offense, but we really don't know each other."
My fists clench as each word hammers into me like a pile bunker. And he's not wrong. Rivalz is Lulu's friend more than mine. However..
"That's exactly why I'm talking to you. Because you're unbiased. And...you're a decent guy. Furthermore, you have no reason to shade the truth from me. Which is more than I can say about some people," I grumble, rolling my eyes.
Huh? What's with that look? He looks like somebody dealing with a particularly obnoxious pet.
"Ok, what did Mr. Megalomania do this time? I swear to god that guy is always getting into trouble."
Alright, gotta admit. Did not see that coming.
"Well, he was talking with Cornelia and...they think I'm not ready to be out on the battlefield yet. That if I go out there, I'm gonna get killed stupidly."
Rivalz hangs his head with a deep sigh at that, "Ok, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here. Keep in mind you asked me for advice here. You...probably should consider that they might be right."
What?!
"The fuck do you mean?! I've been working my ass off to try to get back to what I'm supposed to be doing!" I yell at him, wondering why I wasted my time talking to this guy.
A cloud of smoke blows out from his mouth as he takes a deep pull on his cigarette, an uncharacteristically thoughtful look on his face.
"Kallen, I like you. You're somebody I consider a friend. But since Lelouch probably won't say this to you, I'm gonna. You're being a dumbass and he's fucking right."
Why you-! I reach out, hauling him up to his feet with my hands, a look of outrage on my face as he continues smoking his cigarette nonchalantly.
"Oh sure. Hit me. That'll work out real well. Just ignore the fact that I came all the way out here, that I saved your mom from being caught, and that you fucking asked me to be honest, jerk," he snarks blithly, pausing only to tip ash from his cigarette into the hookah's ash bowl.
"And let's not forget what happened back at Ashford, when I stood up and trusted you not to stab me in the gut, when, honestly, if I'd been in your position, I dunno what I'd have done."
..What the fuck am I doing?
My arms go limp as they fall to my side, a slack jawed expression written on my face as Rivalz continues to rant, pacing back and forth.
"Sure, let's ignore Rivalz. He's nobody special, not nobility, not a genius, not some kinda ace, etc. Nevermind that I coulda been nobility if I wanted to, if my dad wasn't a dickhead who constantly fought with mom. Nevermind that I've known Lelouch longer than anybody here except Milly. Oh no! Rivalz ain't important! He don't matter in the grand scheme!"
He points around the room, focus completely centered on his rant, not a single glance spared to me as he gestures angrily.
"I came all the way out here to this sandy middle of nowhere because the empire I lived my whole life, that I thought was a decent place to live, turns out to be under the thumb of the worst pricks in history and that my best friend's family are a bunch of bloodthirsty lunatics including his absolute bastard of an old man! AND DOES ANYBODY THANK ME, DOES ANYBODY GIVE ME PROPS FOR IT?! HELL NAW! 'CAUSE YOU ALL GOT YOUR HEADS UP YOUR ASSES!"
Breathing hard from his yelling, he pauses to crack open a beer and take a long sip before resuming.
"So fuck you Lelouch! Fuck you CC! Fuck you...Tamaki, I think that was his name. Yeah. Fuck you Tamaki! Fuck you Cornelia! And last but not fucking least?!"
At that, he finally points to me, taking a deep breath before yelling in my face at the top of his lungs.
"FUCK YOU, KALLEN WHATEVER YOUR LAST NAME IS!"
And with that, he goes back to sipping on his beer, clearly done with all of this.
Shit. I feel like a shitheel right now. I can't say he's wrong about anything he's said. We have been taking him for granted. And he's done a lot.
"I'm sorry, Rivalz. I...really have been a cunt to you," I mumble after a minute of silence.
He winces, rubbing the back of his head, "Nah, that was my bad. Yelling at you was a dick move. You asked me for help, and I kinda hit you with a wrecking ball of shit that's bothering me. I don't know what happened to you when you were gone, but given what I saw when you snapped out of it...well..you probably have good reason to be feeling off."
"...I was a POW of Britannia. I had an extremely bad time of it. That's all I want to say right now."
Rivalz's jaw drops as the cigarette falls out of his mouth. Even without saying...that, he can probably fill in the blanks.
"Geeze, anything I can do?" he states as he picks up his cigarette, checking to make sure the carpet under us didn't burn. Funny, everybody asks me that. And I rarely have an answer for them. Just once I'd like to be able to figure out what I want.
"Can I get a beer to start? And...thanks for being a good guy, Rivalz," I say as I give him a one armed hug, which he returns as we lean against each other.
"No problem, Kallen. I know you'll get over whatever is bothering you. I got faith in you. Hell, if someone like you is freaking out, what's a guy like me gonna think? That's probably what set me off honestly. If someone like you, the most badass girl I know, is panicking, the rest of us are probably fucked," he replies with a happy go lucky smile.
"So, as they say back in the homeland? Keep calm, and carry on. 'Cause I know you got this."
I don't know when, or how, or even what, but I am gonna do something nice for this guy. Because he's right. He really didn't have to come all the way out here or deal with any of this bullshit.
The beer cap goes flying into a trash can as I tip my head back, taking a deep pull of the bottle, feeling the alcohol buzz inside me.
"Hey Rivalz? You know that part where you said you weren't important? You're one hundred percent wrong. Not many people would have done what you just did, or had the guts to do any of the other things. So don't lowrate yourself, kay?" I say as I kiss his cheek with a quick smooch.
"And that, was for saving my mom."
What? I can be feminine and shit if I want to. Giving him a peck on the cheek is the least I can do.
"Aww, thanks Kallen. You guys would have done the same for me," he mutters with a blush on his cheeks.
"So, I gotta ask. Are you another disgraced noble/royal like Milly and Lelouch? I'm pretty sure I heard you say something about your dad during that rant."
Clearly this is not a topic he likes given the eyeroll he just gave me, "Not really. My parents had a really nasty divorce, had to give up any claim to my dad's title. That's why I use mom's maiden name, not his. Fucking holier than thou prick."
Wait a sec. Something doesn't add up.
"Hang on. If you were nobility, how come you never figured out something was up with me or Lelouch?"
At that remark, he snickers to himself, "Hahahaha. First off, I stopped being any kind of prick with a title when I was like 5. Lelouch I always figured was hiding something. But hey, if he didn't want to talk to me about it? Not my problem."
Finishing his beer, he stops in thought for a moment, "Though given the amount of secrets that guy keeps and the people who want him dead? He probably thought it was safer for me. Huh. Maybe I shouldn't have slugged him after he said I should get out of Japan after CC's kid tied me up."
The sheer incongruousness of that image with everything I know sends me into a paroxysm of laughter.
"And second, that shit right there? Your image as 'Kallen Stadfelt'," he says with finger quotes as a cheesy grin blooms on his face.
"You acted more stiff than Lelouch did before he went nuts at Shinjuku. And believe me, that guy had a marble pillar up his ass."
It takes me a few minutes to stop laughing at that. Kami-sama, I really needed that.
"So how, hahaha, did you, haha, ever become friends with a guy like that?" I inquire as my laughter dies down and I crack open another beer.
His response is a sheepish grin and a shrug, "Would you believe that I got suckered into a bad chess game and was about to lose my shirt when he walked by and subbed in for me?"
You've got to be kidding me. Seriously?
"You're kidding."
Seeing the incredulous look on my face, he takes that as notice to continue, "The guy I was playing boasted he'd crawl around the table barking like a dog if I somehow turned the game around. So up walks this smirking jerk who says he'd be interested in seeing that. And he starts with moving the black king piece."
Typical Lelouch. Even back then he would have done that kind of thing.
"So right after that, I'm thinking, 'Holy shit! I am soooo screwed. This jackass is worse than I am.' As I'm contemplating running for the hills, he asks me for a pen and paper, which he writes something down on and then hands it to me to hold onto. And right after that?"
The ash falls from his cigarette into the tray as he gives me the smuggest, most smarmiest grin I've ever seen on anybody not named Lelouch.
"He not only beats the guy in 13 minutes, he says to open the paper and read what's on it. It was a move by move prediction of every single turn in the chess game since he subbed in, right down to the checkmate," he crows as he raises his beer up in a salute, while I stop and think for a moment to consider how difficult that feat was.
"Wow, that's crazy. So what happened next?"
Rivalz takes a pull of his beer before continuing, "After he insulted the guy for being unoriginal and only using formal strategies, he mentioned his name, took half the winnings and started to leave. Naturally, I wanted to know why he'd helped me out."
Kinda wondering that myself. From what everyone keeps telling me, Lelouch was a very different person before Shinjuku. Then again, coming face to face with death, killing his own brother, the power of geass, CC's amazing immortal ass...ARGH! Not now, brain!
"He said he just wanted to see that dick noble bark like a dog. I offered him a ride back, but he said no way, he didn't want to hang on some guy's back. Which to be fair? Is kinda awkward as the guy driving. I've been in that position, you have to hang on for dear life and not let go. There's nothing fun or romantic about it," he affirms with a shake on his head and a grimace on his face.
Not that I had ideas about romantic motorcycle rides, but good to know that one is a movie fantasy and not to try it.
"Few days later, I approached him and told him I'd picked up a sidecar for my bike. After some negotiating about prize money splits, we reached an agreement. Sixty-forty. Mostly because he put a little more than half of what he was winning into a private account for Nunnally's expenses and use. Me, I'm just the driver and fixer. He was the one playing the games, only seemed fair. And we've been friends ever since," he finishes with a shrug.
It occurs to me that Lelouch has apparently always had a penchant for petty dickery. Given how I feel about most of the peerage, I can't say he's wrong that they deserve it. Damnit. Milly was right when she said we were alike there.
"Say Kallen, how did he recruit you to this craziness?"
I shrug my shoulders as I sip my beer, "I was fighting Britannia before he stepped onto the stage. I heard his voice the day of the battle of Shinjuku, didn't know who he was till that day I met all of you guys. And even then I didn't connect the dots until-" I cut myself off mid-sentence as the memory of how I realized who the voice was bubbles to the surface of my consciousness.
Like hell I'm telling Rivalz THAT!
"Till what? I don't remember him saying anything before you got sprayed with the champagne..," he trails off, a sly grin showing up on his face, the dots likely connecting in his head to something pervy.
"Buwahahaha! So something did happen between you two there! We all thought Milly was teasing because you came out wearing Lelouch's clothes. Who woulda thought I was right that he was interested in you personally?! Buwahahaha!"
Argh! Even when that smug dick isn't here, he's still embarrassing me! All I can do is just stand there, with my face red, face scrunched up in frustration as Rivalz laughs his ass off at my plight.
"Grrr..it's not like that. He came in, dropped his clothes off for me, and then revealed he was the guy who saved us in Shinjuku. I pulled a knife on him and then...he did that thing he does," I mutter, rubbing my arm as I look away so Rivalz can't see the red on my cheeks.
"What thing? Kallen, it's Lelouch. You're gonna have to narrow it down."
FUCK! Don't make me fucking say it! It's humiliating! Especially because if he walked in on me again, I might not ask him to leave..
"Gahh! Fine. He did that thing where he makes the entire world revolve around him as his words shatter the heavens, his sheer presence and vision sweeping you away in such a way that you can't help but be awed..," I declare, looking away as I realize how incredibly worshipful and fanatical what I just said sounds.
Worst part is, I meant every word of it. At one time, that would have scared me. That someone could so utterly bind me to them. Hell, I should have been scared of his geass when he explained it to me. It should have been everything I feared.
Instead, it only made me more spellbound.
One slow blink later, Rivalz puts down his beer and whistles slowly.
"Daaamn. You got it bad for him, huh?"
Not really any point in denying it, hell, I've said to him directly.
"Yeah. And that's why I'm scared, Rivalz. Because if I fuck up, it might get him killed too."
Rivalz shrugs and takes a pull from his cigarette, "Eh, you'll be fine. I mean, he wouldn't be reluctant to let you back on the battlefield if he didn't care, right? So just relax and do your best. Nobody's asking more than that."
Smiling at the good advice, I offer a thumbs up.
Alright then, time to give this a shot. It's like ripping off a band aid or getting a wax job. Not that I've done that, but girls I knew at Ashford said it was best to just take it off in one go. So?
I'm gonna go get in Lelouch's face and make that cocky dick tell me what's going on.
My hand pushes open the door to his office, he, Cornelia and CC engaged in discussion which immediately goes silent as I walk in, shutting the door behind me.
"Sorry to interrupt. I got something important to say, it won't take long."
Zero leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he nods at me to continue, CC filing her nails while Cornelia lights up a cigar.
"I heard you and Cornelia talking yesterday about me in the gym. And I'm here to tell you what I think about that."
My fists clench as I stare down the blank faceplate on his mask, mustering my nerve for what I need to do.
"I know you're worried about me. But you don't get to decide what risks I'm taking. I want my command back. So either tell me to fuck off and I'm not ready, or give me back THE FUCKING GUREN!" I punctuate my demand with a fist slammed into his desk, yelling in his face as I stare him down.
Dead silence reigns in the room, nobody daring to make a sound in light of my proclamation, only the file going along CC's nails being heard faintly.
"...On one condition."
Conditions?! This sanctimonious-! No, damnit. I said I would hear him out.
"Kay."
Zero takes a puff from a joint, blowing a cloud of smoke out into the air before speaking, "You must publicly defeat Cornelia in a Gloucester duel. If you can accomplish that? You are ready to return to fight by my side."
A duel with Cornelia...can't say I'm against the idea. But...can I beat her?
She's among the best in the world, hell, she's Rounds level herself. And I'm not fighting her with my machine, I'm fighting her in a handicap with the machine she's best at. The Gloucester is only a Fifth gen knightmare, maybe five and a half gen.
...Hang on a sec. Something ain't right.
"What the fuck is this, Lelouch?"
His mask tilts to the side in confusion. Fine, play dumb. I'm not some idiot jock, or one of the rank&file you can cow into submission. I'm your goddamn knight!
"I fucking know you. You&CC may give me plenty of shit and drive me up the wall. But neither of you are the kind of people to force me into public humiliation. And call me crazy, but I got a read on your sister that she wouldn't go for that either, because like you loved to fucking remind us, she's the honorable one."
And it's true. Cornelia is a consummate soldier, she disdains treachery and politics. You get a feel for someone when you fight them in a duel.
There's something else going on here, and I'm not playing his fucking game without knowing why.
"Start fucking talking. Why do you really want me to fight Cornelia?" I state, crossing my arms under my chest as I stare the two of them down, fighting the urge to wave off the smoke clouds from those god damn cigars.
Zero ashes the joint, taking off his mask with a sigh, "I apologize. You were right, there is an ulterior motive. And as someone returning to the ranks of command staff, you deserve to know what's going on. More importantly, I'm not going to lie to you, Kallen."
CC snorts at that remark, rolling her eyes, "I told both of you idiots she'd figure it out. Next time listen to my woman's intuition. Mari would have smacked both of you for pulling this on her, and Kallen is enough like her that she's tempted to do the same. So please stop wasting everyone's time and just explain the hare-brained scheme."
Lelouch rubs the bridge of his nose, gathering his thoughts for a few seconds before speaking. About time I got some straight talk around here. Guess he really has changed.
"No doubt you've noticed the dissension in the ranks that I have been attempting to stamp out."
Hard not to. I mean, it's a lot better now that the iron fist of Zero is back in charge, and Cornelia is flying the..whatever the fuck our symbol is. I should ask Lelouch about that.
"Lelouch and I were speaking about this yesterday and we came to the conclusion that while the situation is much improved, to which Euphemia deserves no small amount of credit, it is still far from a solved issue," Cornelia continues the chain of thought, puffing on her cigar.
"Thus, our plan. You representing the Black Knights, Cornelia representing the Britannian forces loyal to her and me. Both facing each other on the field of honorable combat, putting their skills to the test, spirit clashing against each oth-"
"Alright, alright, I get it. It gives everybody a healthy outlet for the animosity and resentment and shows we're all on the same team. I get a tune up match and show that I'm actually back and ready to fight. You get to stop executing idiots starting shit and re-establish control. And Cornelia...ok, what do you get out of this?" I insist, raising an eyebrow at her.
Swear to fucking Kami-sama that smirk should not be that sexy. Does everyone of his siblings have to be hot as hell?!
"Why, I can safely assert my command on Black Knight forces, further demonstrate my commitment to the cause in the eyes of my new compatriots, and assuming you do actually defeat me, because I will not going easy on you, Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt," she says, standing up to walk in front of my face, cigar planted between her luscious purple lipstick covered lips...ARGH!
"You and I finally get to finish what we started back at Narita. You have been spoiling for a rematch against me ever since that day, being bound and determined to make me pay for what I have done to your people and countless others. And I dare say you're far from the only one. Giving me the sound thrashing I 'deserve' will sate the feelings of resentment against my person held by the Black Knights, and our new allies in NOD."
Some people would be intimidated by being stared down by someone this tall and imposing. Some people, like CC and Milly, would enjoy the sight of our tits pressing against each other and say we should kiss. Which I would tell them to fuck off for. Even if part of me likes the idea of putting this purple haired bitch on her kne-NO! SHUT UP BRAIN!
"CC says you have the potential to equal or perhaps eclipse my lady, Lelouch's mother, Empress Marianne. From what I have seen, there is the possibility. As a fellow pilot, and another woman who cares deeply for Lelouch as I know you do, I have the highest respect for you."
Putting her cigar down in the ashtray, she then frowns and slowly removes her left glove, gripping it firmly in her right hand, "But if you are to be my brother's heroine and champion of his dream? Then I will test your resolve to handle such rigors personally. Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt!"
Ow! Did this fucking bitch just slap me with her glov-!
Oh it's like that, huh?!
"I challenge you to a knightmare duel, winner by surrender or mission kill of the other's machine! Do you accept?"
There's only one way to respond to this bullshit. I snarl at her as I give her a backhand across the face, causing her chin to turn with the strike, a slight bruise on her cheek as she shifts her face back to look me dead center in the eyes.
"Fuck you, Bitch of Britannia. This has been a long time coming. I accept."
I'll play out this fucking production these two have put together. Much as it galls me to admit? They have a point. Getting the troops to put the past behind them is important. But like hell I'm gonna let her talk down to me like I'm somehow lower than her! And why the hell is she smiling?!
"Good. I shall see you on the field of honor," she proclaims, making a salute over her heart before she strides out of the room.
Family of god damn psychopaths and lunatics. My fist slams back into the desk as I vent my anger at being forced into this position.
"Kallen, I'm-"
Before Lelouch can finish whatever apology he's trying to say, I interrupt him with a finger pointed right at his mouth, "No! Don't fucking patronize me by apologizing! I'm sick of being treated like an invalid! You and Cornelia might be right that I'm not ready. Hell, even I am not sure I'm ready."
Life doesn't wait for you to get ready. And the Black Knights, fuck, the world, can't wait for me forever.
"Point is, I can't keep avoiding this. I have to fight, I have to pilot again. And if beating up your smug, tall, condescending sexy sister is how I get back in the saddle, then fine! But I'm doing it because it's MY choice! So don't you dare pity me or treat me like a glass netsuke, either of you!"
Gaaaah. I fucking hate this.
"I should go, I need to check up on how a Gloucester works…," I mutter as I turn to the door, about to leave, when CC grabs my hand, causing me to pause.
"This challenge is yours, and yours alone. However, I would never have let Lelouch or Cornelia propose this idea if I didn't have total confidence you could emerge triumphant regardless."
...Heh. That actually does help a little.
"Thanks CC. I'll talk to you guys afterwards, whatever happens."
Judgement day. About an hour to go before the challenge officially starts. Cornelia, in the interest of fairness, gave me a few lessons over the last few days in learning some of the quirks of the Gloucester knightmare and how it differs from the Sutherland. It's a tough bastard, I can see where they improved the design for CQC knightmare combat compared to the previous models.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good machine. It's just...compared to Big Red, it just doesn't feel the same. Cornelia's machine is slightly better too. Not much, maybe a few percent better in overall performance compared to the one I'm using.
Nothing I can do about that though. Her Gloucester is a one off custom job designed as a command model, built from the ground up for her. There's no way to change the one I'm using short of rebuilding it from the ground up. And frankly, if I need that kind of advantage? I've already lost.
Let's see, weapon wise, I've got harkens, rifle, broadsword, and...a lance. Just….who the fuck uses a lance? The swords make sense, why the fuck is a lance part of the weapons loadout? I never understood why Cornelia used that fucking thing last time we fought.
I get why Zero denied chaos mines and Staffen Waffel, we're not trying to actually kill each other and those weapons tend to be indiscriminate in their damage. Ideally, we're both good enough to pull the blow if we're about to crush the cockpit.
...I just realized. I'm about to fight a duel against one of the strongest women in the world, for propaganda purposes, a glorified tune up fight, and hopefully giving myself the kick in the ass I need to get back to normal.
And for what? For some guy I like? For a girl I like? For a dream, a vision? What am I even doing this bullshit for? Hell, I could postpone this fight. Say I had mechanical issues, or that I caught a flu. I don't have to fight her today…
WHAT THE FUCK AM I SAYING?!
I don't need to run from her, she should be the one scared, not me! I stomped her last time, I'll just do it again. Just..with a shittier machine. That she's had years piloting and mastering.
"しがたじゃない。しにぐらいじかんだ。" (Fuck it. Time to get crazy to die.)
No retreat from Death Ground.
Nodding to myself as I look in the mirror on the wall of my locker room, I zip up the pilot suit, a slight smile cracking at how well it hugs my curves. Rakshata does good work.
Huh? Did somebody leave something in the pocket of this suit? Feel like there's something…
My...my bandana...but how….? Wait there's a note!
"Dear little red,
I know this is gonna be a tough day for you. So I thought I'd give you back something you've been missing. I bugged Zero to work with me and get this made for you.
がんばれ、いもうと。 (Good luck, little sis)
Love,
Naoto/Nathan Kozuki-Stadfelt"
。。。ばかおに-ちゃん。 (Stupid big brother.)
My finger brushes across my eyes, wiping some dust off, a little bit of wetness left on my glove.
The arena we're fighting is a large outdoor training course about a klick away from the base. Sand has been cleared out for the most part with some hard plating laid down temporarily, a few obstacles placed around, rubble as a cover, some structures erected for slash harken maneuvers. And looking up? A bunch of drones for AV footage review.
Up ahead of me, standing by her machine, putting on her pilot gloves, is Cornelia. And about twenty meters away, is the machine I'm using. Can't say I'm surprised both of them have capes.
"Yo."
Cornelia nods at me, finishing putting her pilot suit on, "Excellent, right on time. I wasn't sure you'd be here, in all honesty."
The fuck?! You holier than thou arrogant cu-!
"It speaks well of your character. Time as a POW wears on the psyche," she remarks quietly, a hint of something on her face. Is it compassion? Understanding? Pity?
"Save it for after. I don't need anybody's pity or kid gloves. So cut the bullshit, and let's get this over with," I assert, holding a hand out to her, the look of irritation on my face enough to make even CC impressed.
"Heh. Quite right. Who dares, wins," she barks out a laugh as she shakes my hand firmly. Sure, I could have accepted the gesture in the spirit it was meant. But...it doesn't feel right. She had a point, we both have unfinished business here today.
Standard cockpit configuration, though looking it over, it's obvious Rakshata and her team put our electronics and systems into this guy. That's good, better than dealing with standard Britannian systems.
"Alright pal, just me and you against the world. I know I'm not your regular owner, but I'll try to make sure we both come out of this in one piece. So..don't let me down, ok?"
With a deep breath, I tie the bandana on and sit back in the seat.
"Attention. All personnel clear the field. The duel will be commencing in five minutes. Both combatants will move to a distance of one hundred meters. Upon the starting signal, the duel will commence until mission kill, surrender, or my calling a stop to this to prevent grievous injury. I will not let you two kill each other over this. Are we clear?"
Can't say I blame him for being worried. I should probably say something.
"Don't worry Zero. She and I have an understanding. I'm just going to spank her for being a smarmy cunt, not kill her."
"Indeed? Well for my part, I'll try not to grind her pretty face into the sand too hard. Her cheek is quite amusing once one is used to it."
Grrr. See how much shit you talk after I beat your royal ass.
"Very well, move to position and commence final checks. Good fortune to you both." Zero announces in a tone that sounds even, but I can tell he's a bit nervous about this.
Servos, check. Energy filler, full tank, check. Factsphere, operating normally, check. Weapons loadout, check. Landspinners, check. Yggdrasil drive, online and operating normally, check.
All systems are green. Okay then…
"5."
Just breathe in and out.
"4."
You can do this.
"3."
Like riding a bike.
"2."
Death ground is here, time to draw a line in the sand.
"1."
Here. We. Go.
"ZERO!"
Both our landspinners roar as an electric guitar starts playing a melancholy tune, our lances coming for a charge at each other. Oh, she wants to play chicken?
I'll take that shit head on! Come on, come on, come on! Almost there…
Fuck, she's got a better angle! I turn the Gloucester to move out of her way, the lance missing me by only a few feet as a raspy voice starts singing.
"I am a man who walks alone
And when I'm walking a dark road
At night or strolling through the park"
Is that Iron Maiden? Huh, weird choice.
"A disappointing charge, Dame Stadfelt! I expected better!" Cornelia crows, her Gloucester pulling up her gunblade from it's side as she takes a few potshots at me.
Too far away to do any serious damage, she's just keeping me honest. We're just feeling each other out right now.
"When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it's dark"
Alright, let's see how she reacts to this. A quick slash harken feint, followed by a lance thrust-crap! She countered my harken with her own! I barely shift to the side of the lance thrust, only for her to bash me to the side contemptuously with the length as she moves out of melee range, my retaliatory gunfire missing her completely.
Damnit! Ok, harkens aren't destroyed by that, but she's not going to fall for cheap tricks. Hell, she didn't last time…
"Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's
Always near"
Why is she waiting for me to attack? Is she toying with me?
"What the hell are you up to..?" I mutter as I open the factsphere, scanning for her position. Nothing, nothing, drone-wait, there she is!
There's a wall between us, I'll make like I'm circling around then double back, catching her by surprise. That way I can force her to fight me up close.
Juke, juke, factsphere says she hasn't moved. Turn right...slash harken pivot and turn left! Use the harken crashing into the wall to distract her and-!
FUCK! I'VE BEEN MADE!
Her gunblade fires at me, hitting my shoulder and slowing down my charge enough that she parrys my lance with her own, leaving me open to the flat of her gunblade smacking me in the side, making my machine almost tip over, forcing me to use a slash harken to pull myself out of the way of her followup slash.
"Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's
Always there"
"What rubbish is this? Are you truly taking this seriously, Dame Stadfelt? If you desire to forfeit and request a raincheck, I will agree to such. There is no honor in beating a warrior who has no commitment to the battle!" Cornelia avows in a clearly annoyed tone.
じょうだんか?! (Are you kidding me?!)
"Like fuck I'm giving up yet, you purple haired skank!" I bellow at her, firing a slash harken at the ground to kick up some smoke, firing my rifle at her, the guitar music's pace picking up in time with the intensity of our fight.
We each move parallel to each other, firing shots at each other, looking for the right angle to put each other at a disadvantage. Shit, shit, shit, why can't I hit her? How the fuck is she so much better than last time?!
"Have you run your fingers down
The wall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you're searching for the light?"
"どりゃ!!" (Eat this) I cry out, lunging at her with the lance, using my left harken to do a tight turn at her. With a whirl of her cape, she uses the prongs on her lance to trap mine, her gunblade stabbing into my left arm.
Damnit! I fire a harken point blank, forcing her to move backwards as she uses her lance as a shield.
"Sometimes when you're scared
To take a look
At the corner of the room
You've sensed that something's
Watching you"
HUD says the left arm is operating at less than half efficiency, god damnit! She must have smashed the servo on the arm, it's barely responding!
"Pshaw, where is the woman Darcy and I faced last time? Where is the supreme skill Zero has boasted of? If this is all you can muster, then you were clearly not ready to fight again."
FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! You fucking overbearing whore!
Why?! Why is nothing working?! Why can't I beat her?!
"Because you know she's right, dumbass."
Huh? Who said that?
My momentary distraction costs me as Cornelia stabs her lance into my left arm, leaving it hanging by a thread before she cuffs my frame upside the head with her gunblade again, causing static to flash across my screen, the horns on her machine framing the head as it shakes from side to side in disapproval.
"I warned you I would give no quarter in this bout. If you refuse to actually take this seriously, I'll have no recourse but to send you packing. I shall give you a few minutes to gather your resolve, in recognition of the ordeals you've been through. Do not waste my generosity."
"Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have constant fear that something's
Always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's
Always there"
I feel a trickle of blood from a cut on my forehead rub down my face along with angry tears at the loathsome feeling of being pitied by this insufferable skank.
"Oh get over yourself. You really think she's fucking wrong? You're a god damned coward, Kallen."
Why you! That's fucking it, who the hell is taunting me?! The fucking comms are off, so who-!?
A gasp escapes my throat as I look around, and see myself sitting on the console. But it's not a me I recognize, or maybe I should say, one I don't want to recognize...
She's wounded, her hair matted with blood, blue eyes peeking out from a bruised face, dried blood and other...fluids...injuries all over her naked body as she sits, one leg curled up and held in her arms.
"Who...w-who are you?!" I stammer out as she frowns at me. Is this fucking geass?! Am I going insane?!
"Nah. I'm not geass. I'm just all the self doubt and loathing you've been suppressing. And something else. Something you fucking lost from all the shit we've been through."
Something I lost? Like what? The fuck is she talking about?
"Like what? My pride? My innocence? My virginity?!" I scream at her as she stares impassively, shaking her head from side to side.
"Something even more essential. Your killer instinct, and your belief in yourself. The one thing every pilot needs. And the reason why all your attacks against Cornelia keep failing. You don't got it, SHE DOES!" she proclaims, her right arm poking at my chest, my heart beating rapidly like a jackhammer as her words stab into me.
It's hard to breathe, there's no air, everything is flashing, I need help…
HELP ME PLEASE! LELOUCH! CC! MILLY! ONI-CHAN! OKAA-SAN! ANYONE! HELP ME!
"Nobody's coming. Nobody can help you here. This is your fight, your trial. You wanted this, you got it. Just you and me, bitch. We're at the crossroads of Yomi."
I-I-I...I can't! I can't face that! Go away, go away, damn you!
"No chance. If you ever want to get back to what you USED to be, to what you need to be, you need to face me."
Gulping down saliva, I look her in the eyes, my gaze taking in the injuries, the blood, the pain...the look in her eyes.
She...she's not broken.
Wounded, damaged...raped…, but...she's still there. Still glaring daggers at anyone looking down at her.
"That's right. After everything we went through, even Bradley raping all of our fucking holes, trying to ruin us and destroy any chance of us ever enjoying sex or living again? He. Fucking. Failed."
My hands grip into fists as I think back over everything, all the misery, all the crying in the dark, all the times I begged for someone to save me from the miserable hell I'd fallen into…
Not once did I break.
Even at the end, when I was certain I was going to die, when I'd reached the end of my rope, saying my last goodbyes to everyone I loved, I never gave the bastard the satisfaction of knowing he'd beaten me.
Fuck, I even spit blood on the emperor's jacket! I told off the goddamn Flash herself to her face!
Lelouch and CC love me, they did everything they could to be there for me! Milly loves me, she's been there through thick and thin! My brother and my mother love me, they've been helping me no questions asked, even after all I avoided them! Rivalz loves me, enough to tell me straight to my face that I was wrong! Damnit, I'm sure Kaguya and Suzaku love me too, even if I haven't talked to them about it.
"And after all that, you have the ovaries to think you aren't ready for this? That you can't beat Cornelia, a haughty bitch you have beat once already? Come the fuck on, Red Queen."
Fucking hell...I really have been up my own ass, haven't I? I don't want to be an invalid or a glass netsuke in a case on the sidelines! I want to fight!
"Ok. Why? What are you fighting for?"
What am I..? I haven't been able to answer that. Not since Tokyo. The question has been haunting me all this time.
It's not just Lelouch's vision, his dream of the divine ambition. I mean, sure, I'll gladly fight by his side. But I need reasons for me, things I can believe in for myself.
...Onii-chan. Okaa-san. What happened to them. That's not going to happen again. I won't let it.
What happened to Nunnally, to Milly&Rivalz, to Nina, all those terrifying moments where powers greater than them tormented them and tried to scare them into submission. I refuse to live in a world where bullshit like that gets a fucking pass!
Where a motherfucker like LUCIANO BRADLEY gets to be a knight of the round and act with impunity!
WHERE A BASTARD LIKE CHARLES ZI BRITANNIA CAN CRUSH THE WORLD BENEATH HIS BOOT FOR SOME INSANE IDEA THAT WILL KILL US ALL!
"Fuck that bullshit! I'm done being everybody's bitch! You want to know what I'm fighting for?!"
I jab my finger at her as I snarl, feeling my blood pumping, heart bursting with a burning rage that I haven't felt in months, energy filling my body as adrenaline pumps through me.
"To change this fucked and bullshit world to one where all the fucking evil of Britannia and every other shitty country is stopped dead in it's fucking tracks! Where the people I love can have peaceful lives!"
As I finish my proclamation, I run my fingers through my hair, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, letting my emotions settle in like an engine getting ready to go full blast, before doing something I haven't done in awhile. Namely, spreading my fingers into a fan formation, making my hair fan out into my personal style, the spikes angling up like horns….huh. Or maybe...like a crown.
"Because I'm the Red Queen. The champion of Zero. I'm gonna dethrone the fucking Flash and prove once and for all, THAT I'M NUMBER FUCKING ONE! THE BEST IN THE FUCKING WORLD!" I roar out as I wipe blood across the orbit of my eyes, feeling it stick to the sweat on my brow.
"Thatta a girl! Now get in there, beat the Bitch of Britannia into the ground, and deck that smug prick and his haughty cunt wife!"
Damn right, other me. Who gives a shit if I'm getting a pep talk from myself? It fucking worked! And at this point, I'm probably overdue for going a bit nuts by proxy.
"Fuck yes. But I'm not gonna hit 'em too hard. I'll make them kiss and make up later when I'm less pissed at them for this bullshit," I admit with a slight blush on my face, because why the fuck not? It's high time I got what I've been dreaming about.
"よしゃ! がんばれ、あかじょう!" (Alright! Good luck, Red Queen!) she exclaims as she fades away, a content smile on her lips.
Alright, what have I got left? Lance took a few hits, but it's still usable. Harkens are working. Rifle is...shit. Welp, that's a lost cause. Cornelia crushed it underfoot. Broadsword is still unused. Left arm is totally fucked up...but I might be able to get one last trick with it.
Thinking about it, this fucking song is probably some psyche warfare bullshit that Lelouch came up with. Fuck that noise. Rakshata put our tech in this knightmare which means..
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Rakshata you genius bitch! OK, IT'S GO TIME!
My fingers work the keyboard, making a selection on the jamming system, cracking my neck and rolling my shoulders, feeling looser and more like myself than I have in a long goddamn time.
Let's have some fun then.
"Kallen, are you alright? Do you want to keep going? I'm not going to let you get killed accidentally out ther-"
Before Zero can finish, my music comes on, jamming out his signal, the roar of guitars warming up screeching across the speakers. My knightmare ducks low to the ground, my damaged lance pointed at Cornelia's cockpit.
"かくごわよいか、ブリタニアの魔女!" (Prepare yourself, Witch of Britannia!)
"Zero, I love you. But do me a favor and shut the fuck up. You're about to see something incredible," CC's haughty throaty contralto says over the loudspeakers, a tone of supreme satisfaction in her voice.
"The queen lives for the head of the king
She plans his fall within her dreams!
The sorcerer sees to the power she needs
The soldier of fortune arrives for the deed!"
The scratchy voice of the singer blasts across the battlefield as I go full throttle with the landspinners, using the harkens for small braking maneuvers and sharp turns, Cornelia's gunfire raining down around me, her lance held low, ready to be brought up as shield or weapon, depending on what I do. She thinks I can't hit her from long range, time to smash the Witch down to earth.
"Oh, ready for another thrashing? Have at thee then!" she boasts, drawing a bead on me as I charge at her, readying what she thinks is another lance charge. Something I figured out during this bout, Cornelia likes doing lance charges, and honestly? She's better at it than I am. I can't beat her trying to mimic her style of combat. Not without a lot more time and training in a weapon that honestly, I'm not even that fond of.
So screw orthodox tactics.
"Predictable! Do you really think that-what in blazes?!" she exclaims as I disengage my damaged left arm, using the ejection mechanism to toss it ahead of me, forcing her to block the improvised projective as I spin out of the way of her gunblade's fire, using the spin as momentum for the hammer blow to her left arm, smashing my damaged lance like a club into her side, shattering the arm from the elbow down, breaking my lance in half from the impact.
"What the hell was that?!" "Ha! I told you! Keep watching, Asshole!"
"The black knight, rides for the queen!
The black knight!"
Yes! One arm down, now for the kill stroke!
"A bold move, Kallen Stadfelt! But I'm not vanquished that easily!" Cornelia taunts, continuing to take shots at me as she follows in hot pursuit.
"It's Kozuki-Stadfelt, 'Nelly'! And you're about to learn why they call me the Red Queen!" I riposte, using a nearby wall to anchor my harken to for a hairpin turn.
"He seizes the anger,
He breeds forth the light
Blind ambition is all in his sight
The price is high, forever or more
It's now or never, to equal the score!"
Almost, almost, just a bit more…
"Cornered! Like a hound who has caught the fox! Yield now, Dame Stadfelt!" Cornelia announces as the area we're in narrows down ahead to a dead end with high walls.
"I told you-!" I reply, checking the angle of the walls, counting down the timing mentally until...NOW!
"IT'S KOUZUKI-STADFELT! くそ食らえ、ブリタニアの魔女!" (UP YOURS, WITCH OF BRITANNIA!)
Lowering my stance as my landspinner whirl, I leap into the air, using my slash harkens to boost my jump over the oversized horns on Cornelia's Gloucester, sending one leg out to hit the wall nearby, and then pushing off from the surface with a kick, turning my machine around in mid air in a flip, changing my stance into a diving spin kick aimed right at her torso.
"Too easy!" she yells, aiming her gunblade up at me, which is just what I was waiting for. I knew she'd have to stop momentarily to draw a bead on me!
Long enough for me to aim a slash harken midspin at her oversized gunblade, AND throw the remnants of that shitty fucking lance at the slash harken she tried to launch when my back was turned mid-spin!
"おれの勝ちだよ!" (Victory is mine!)
As her harken gets blocked mid launch, my KMF's foot plows into the torso of her machine, the metal buckling as my landspinner breaks...and her fucking torso shears off and goes flying, skidding along the ground, the head snapping off from how hard it crashed! YES!
"Tears of joy, tears of relief
The battles over, there's no time for grief
He will return for his spoils
The queen is his, she will be loyal!"
...I did it. I BEAT CORNELIA! やった!!! (WOO HOO!)
CC's peals of joyous laughter resound across the arena from the loudspeakers as she continues to taunt Zero between laughing.
"OH HO HO HO HO! I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU SHE WAS THE BEST! AND NOW YOU SEE WHY! OH HO HO HO HO HO! OUR RED QUEEN HAS WON HER CROWN!"
"The black knight, rides for the queen
The black knight!"
FUCK YES! I GOT BIG RED BACK! DON'T WORRY PARTNER, MAMA IS COMING TO PICK YOU UP!
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a decisive victory! The winner is, KALLEN KOUZUKI-STADFELT, THE RED QUEEN!"
...Wait, why is my screen flashing? Woah!
My eyes widen in surprise as my knightmare lets out a burst of steam, the sound of gears and machinery shearing as it collapses in place, the torso pitching forward halfway before stopping, smoke rising from parts of it.
Umm...oops?
"By Rama, what did she do to that Gloucester? Get both those knightmares to my workshop, I need to examine the black boxes immediately!" Rakshata pronounces with manic eagerness in her voice. What the hell did I do?
"Cornelia, Kallen, stay where you are! We're sending a vehicle to collect you and bring you back to the pilot lockers. I want to look over your machines and give a report before anything else!"
Well shit. Guess the mad scientist saw something she liked.
My fingers tap the manual ejection system as my cockpit lurches backwards, the hot sun of the Egyptian desert beating down on my face.
Hmm, Cornelia isn't out yet. Is she ok? My gaze looks over to where the wreck of her Gloucester sits, no sign of her emerging apparent.
Damnit. Lulu will be furious if I killed his sister. Unlocking my cockpit straps, I make my way down to the totalled knightmare, looking for the outside ejection switch. It's a standard issue system designed to release the cockpit manually if the pilot is incapacitated.
Since this would obviously be a problem if somebody was crazy enough to jump on KMF while it was standing still, it normally isn't accessible while a KMF is in operation. But in case of severe damage, the panel can be manually retracted with a crank. It's not feasible as a tool to fuck with pilots in a fight, but when somebody is trapped and can't get out?
It could be the difference between life and death. Hopefully this isn't one of those times...
"Hey! Cornelia! Wake the fuck up!" I yell, kicking the cockpit a few times, then kneeling to crank the emergency lever.
And...there we go. I yank hard on the manual release, the hydraulics straining as the cockpit lurches open, my ears pricking to listen for any sound.
"Ughhh…," a contralto voice groans out from within. Phew. She's not dead.
My hands grip one of the edges as I lower myself into the cockpit, taking a look to see how bad the damage is. Thankfully, the cockpit, while dented and bashed up, is mostly intact.
Last thing I needed was to see another macabre spectacle like what happened with Lulu…
Cornelia is groaning in her seat, the sunlight beaming down on her, a cut on her forehead leaking blood that honestly looks worse than it is. Should be a pocket medkit here somewhere...bingo.
"What the deuce...Kallen…? Where...am I?" she blinks, her eyes unfocused as she starts to regain consciousness.
"Hold still, you cut a nice cut on your big forehead, I'm putting a coagulant on it. You might have a concussion too, so stay with me."
Shit, is she convulsing? Fucking hell, don't die on me-!
"Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha…" she laughs quietly to herself, a resigned but..I guess satisfied smile on her lips.
"It..seems I underestimated you, Dame Kozuki-Stadfelt. CC was right, you truly are my lady's successor."
Heh. Damn right I am.
Ahhhh. That feels great. Nothing like a hot shower after a great fight.
Rakshata told Zero and CC to fuck off for a bit till she gets done going over the black boxes and damage report. In the meantime, Cornelia and I get to take a shower and clean up. The cut on Cornelia's head isn't that bad thankfully. And her pilot suit kept her from any serious injuries.
The one on my forehead was practically a papercut, just bled a bit. Neither of us are going to scar, which is nice. If I get a scar, I want it to be something actually cool, and have a great story behind it.
"Mind if I join you?"
My body does a double take at the voice behind me as I turn around to see….Cornelia. Naked. Holding a towel and toiletries. Shit, the carpet matches the drapes..STOP OGLING HER, YOU MORON!
"Umm, sure?" I mumble as I keep my hands busy shampooing my hair.
"Much appreciated," she says, arching her back under the shower spray, letting that long purple mane drip down her back like water...ARGH!
"You're quite a woman, Dame Kozuki-Stadfelt. I see why my brother and CC are so enamoured with you."
"Ok, before you do anything else? Just call me fucking Kallen. We just beat the shit out of each other for the second time, we're both enamoured with the same guy, we're both ace pilots, so cut the bullshit formalities with me, ok?" I grouse out, giving her a flat look side glance...while trying to keep my eyes on her face and not...other things.
She shrugs at the request, "Very well. I was addressing you as such as a gesture of respect, but since this organization is decidedly informal in it's operation...and as you said, we have certain things in common. Including perhaps, that you might at some point in the future, become family, heh."
…Fuck. She might become my sister-in-law if I actually did marry Lelouch eventually.
"Your family is fucked up, Cornelia," I mutter, shaking my head to get shampoo out of my red locks.
"Oh you'll get very little argument from me in that regard. I've had to come to terms with quite a few things recently. And though you said it during the duel to undoubtedly 'get my goat' as Andreas would have said, I am quite alright with you addressing me as 'Nelly', you've more than earned the right."
Shit, didn't expect that. What is she playing at?
"What brought this on? You were a total bitch to me during the fight and when you challenged me."
Nelly snorts at that, "That, was partially as some people would say, trash talking. And partially Lelouch's idea. He assumed if I pushed enough of your buttons, you'd find your fighting spirit. And I dare say you did."
That son of a bitch. I'm gonna spank his bishounen ass. No wait, he'd probably like that. Maybe I would too..
"Bastard. He's a manipulative little shit sometimes. He needs to be reminded to stop screwing with people. Hell, most of you do. I may not be a hundred percent sane, but I'm sure as fuck less crazy than most of you dickheads," I proclaim, raising my nose in a picture perfect image of noble disdain. You know, except naked.
"Indeed? I see more and more why he likes you. You really do remind me of my lady in quite a few ways."
Oh hell no! Not this shit again!
"Fuck you Nelly. I don't want to hear from anybody how much I'm like his fucking mother. I don't need any Oedipus complex bullshit in this relationship, and I'm not her. I'm my own woman, and I'm gonna surpass the Flash, just fucking watch me!"
She bursts out laughing in response to that declaration, which is a surprisingly pleasant sound, "Hahahahahaha!"
At this point, I'm just going to assume Milly was right and the entire royal family really is insane. Crazy until proven otherwise. Which means...basically just Nunnally and Euphemia. No wait, Nunna is definitely nuts. Damnit!
"I dare say you have a good chance at doing so. I apologize for impugning your skills. It was meant as a compliment. Though the Oedipus complex jest is one that I will most assuredly relay back to Lulu, if only to watch him blanch at the suggestion," she chuckles to herself at the mental image. If it wasn't about me personally? I'd probably find that bullshit funny too. Guess that proves she's a big sister afterall.
My eyes roll as I soap up my body, scrubbing off the damn sand digging into me. Be real glad when I don't have to deal with sand getting in my crotch and other places.
"Why are you so obsessed with Lulu's mom anyway?"
Huh? No response?
My head turns to see her looking down at the ground, a look of bitter loss on her face, hair hanging down over her shoulders as she leans against the wall.
"She..was my mentor and the first woman I ever loved. She taught me everything, and I failed her in her hour of need. And I failed her children when they needed me most. I suppose I'm still punishing myself for my failure even now. Nunnally convinced me to join and save Lelouch by the same arguments, after all."
...Shit. That's fucking heavy. No wonder she defected.
"I never met her when she was alive," which is a white lie, because I met her fucking ghost. "But I don't think she'd want you to keep flagellating yourself for eternity. You're here now, and I'm ninety percent sure Lelouch and Nunnally have forgiven you for all the other shit."
Might end up regretting this later, but it's the right thing to do.
"I was pissed at you for all the shit you did beating down numbers. But now that I know the other side of it, how distraught you were losing your family...and having been there myself? I can't really hate you for it, since you seem to have realized you fucked up. So, just stop being a bitch to everybody who isn't Britannian. Or at least no more than you are to most people, okay? Do that, and we're cool."
Wait, why is she looking at me like she's surprised? Fuck, did I stare too long at her tits?!
"A knight in heart, if not bearing. It seems I am undone once again by the women surrounding Lelouch," she mutters quietly, stretching to reach behind her back with a scrubber brush.
Trying very hard not to blush as I rinse off soap from my arms, I respond, "Cut it out. I don't like standing on ceremony and acting formal unless it's important. So knock it off, you smug cougar."
...FUCK!
Kami-sama, it's me, Kallen. Why do you do this to me? I get that you seem to have it in for some people, BUT WHY ME?!
"Well now. That explains so much of why you seem to be on a knife's edge around me. And here I was wondering if I'd done something personally to offend you aside from being a, 'bitch', as you put it," she remarks, an eyebrow raised at me as she shuts off the shower, water dripping down her body slowly, past the curves of her...goddamnit.
Furiously blushing, I turn off the shower spray and turn to her, "Well excuse me for thinking you're hot even with your shitty attitude! I can't believe I'm starting to get along with you, let alone like you!"
Somebody just fucking shoot me. This day cannot get any more embarrassing.
"I don't mind, and you're hardly the first woman to entertain lustful thoughts about me. God knows I've received a few offers over the years. Some of which I've actually entertained," she says with absolutely no shame while only wearing that fucking sexy smirk.
Apparently she really is a cougar.
"Guilford has found no end of amusement to it, and occasionally has brought some of his own paramours in. I do hope he's alright, I haven't heard from him in over a month," she whispers with a hint of worry as she dries her hair off. Guess even she has somebody.
Pulling my left leg close as I stand on one leg in a hurdler's stretch I remark, "So what's the deal with you two? Are you guys like me and Lelouch? Or just friends?"
She looks almost wistful right now, like she's revisiting a favored memory.
"Gilly and I have been inseparable since we met at Colchester and later West Point when we transferred to the officer corp training program. I could tell you stories about the times we had back then. Why, we even named each other's Knightmares. He suggested the name Darcy for mine. And one night, he drunkenly boasted that he would carry his lady's colors into battle by naming his steed in her honor. Which I was sincerely flattered by," she recalls with a faint blush on her cheeks that looks so out of character as to be unbelievable.
"So he named it Cornelia or Nelly?" "Oh no, not at all. I insisted he name it Torero."
Torero? I think that's spanish? No idea what it means.
"I don't know spanish, what does that mean? And what is Darcy named after?" I ask with some confusion on my face as I pull a pair of panties on.
Cornelia looks over her shoulder from where she's brushing her hair and gives a saucy wink to me, "Bullfighter. Spanish is my first language. I'm Cuban-Britannian from my mother's side. And I've always had an interest in the sport. It's one of the things I do when I'm on vacation in Cuba, the rare times I get such time anyway. And Darcy is..well, the name of a character from my favorite novel. Which I'm sure you've read in school."
Novel I've read in school...Oh. Pride and Prejudice. The things you learn about people...
"So what happened to Torero? I know I tore Darcy in half back there. Umm...sorry about that?" I mutter half-heartedly. What the hell am I supposed to say here?
Snapping her bra into place, she gives a dismissive wave, "He performed exceptionally in the line of duty and kept me alive. That is all one can expect from a worthy steed. And I've already transferred my flag to the Reginleif at this point. Though, I may nickname him Darcy as my callsign. As for Torero? Well, I'm honestly still waiting for Dr. Chawla to explain that," she says with a bemused smile as I suddenly realize just where the nice Gloucester I was using in that fight came from.
"...Aw shit. Is he gonna be pissed that I totaled his machine?" I comment nervously as I slip my pilot suit back on. Last thing I need is to start a fight with her knight.
Her purple tresses shake as she shakes her head while buttoning up her shirt, "Of course not. He'll be frankly, shocked that it was destroyed, and more so when he sees how. But there won't be any sort of argument over it. He and I are practically married after all and I am holding no grudge, he certainly won't over a duel well and honorably fought. I'll simply have to do something nice to make it up to him, and convince Zero to repair it or upgrade it. Or worst case scenario, we do a battlefield acquisition for him."
Battlefield acqui-did she seriously just..? I burst out laughing at the casual way she just suggested stealing someone's knightmare for her knight.
"Buwahahahahahaha!" guffaws blasting out of my mouth, leaning against the locker to support myself as I laugh myself sick.
This is the funniest fucking thing I have heard in months, if not years. Cornelia li Britannia, the Goddess of Victory, the finest general in the empire, talking about stealing knightmares for her knight/husband to use. The irony is amazing.
"And what pray tell, is the source of such amusement?" she asks in that arch aristocratic tone of hers, tying part of her hair into a braid around the back of her head.
"Hahahahahahaha! You! General of the empire! Hahahahahaha! Stealing knightmares! Hahahahahahahaha!"
And now she just realized what she said! This is fantastic!
"Oh. Err, this is a strange turn of events, isn't it?" she mouths to herself, rubbing her forehead in annoyance.
"How the hell do you think I met Lulu? He literally threw me and the rest of the Shinjuku cell a stolen shipment of Knightmares that Clovis had rushed in during the purge he tried to do back then," I boast, spiking my hair back up as I tie my headband on.
"A road less traveled it seems. I think we've given the good doctor long enough to finish her review. Shall we?"
I nod, throwing my black knight jacket over my shoulders as I crack my neck.
"Oh, and Kallen?" "Hm-?!"
My face flushes scarlet like my hair, because she just gave me a peck on the cheek. Which I was totally not prepared for.
"So you'll know that I am not opposed to entertaining your offer, should you wish to extend it," she declares with a toss of her hair and a smirk as she walks out the locker, cape trailing after her. Meanwhile, I'm left standing there dumbfounded, and honestly debating if I should take her up on that some day.
"You're serious?" I ask incredulously as I catch up to her, both of us walking to back to the command center for the debriefing. Which I'm dead certain Lelouch is going to turn into some kind of spectacle.
"Why wouldn't I be? I am an imperial princess. And even if I have forfeited my title by my act of rebellion, I adhere to the standards and behavior of my station. You, Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt, have shown yourself worthy of such by your name, deeds, and your undying loyalty to Zero."
"...Should I take that as your blessing for the relationship then?" I grumble quietly, giving her a raised eyebrow.
"Quite. But do try and hold off on getting in the family way until after we win. The military grade implant I have is one I commend to your attention."
...I cannot believe I'm having this conversation right now. Oh thank Kami-sama, we're at the command center.
"ATTEN-SHUN!"
The entire room stands at parade rest as we enter, Zero standing in the center of the room, leaning slightly on a cane, CC by his left, and Rakshata by his right.
"Excellent, you're just in time. Rakshata, please tell our two combatants the results of your findings."
The doctor pulls up her datapad, tapping a few keys, causing the main screen to switch to showing her display. Hey, that's Torero! I think that's the hydraulics, but I don't know what the data she's showing says.
"It's absurd and fascinating to the extreme in its absurdity! Kallen's maneuver at the end of the duel was bluntly, one that should not be possible to perform in a Gloucester."
What the fuck?
"Umm, excuse you? I fucking did it, so that's bullshit. The wreckage of Cornelia's machine says your facts are wrong, Rakshata," I proclaim, crossing my arms under my chest indignantly.
Uh oh, I don't like that manic look on her face. Maybe I should put somebody between her and me..
"Exactly! It shouldn't be possible! The timing and proprioception required in order to not only evade Cornelia's gunfire, leap over her knightmare, rebound off a wall and use the momentum to flip your knightmare, change your stance into a spin kick, launch a slash harken at her gunblade AND throw your own damaged lance to counter her harken, has such a small margin for error, that not even the 99th percentile of pilots could fulfill it and actually succeed!"
Really? It was that hard? Because it didn't feel that hard when I was doing it.
"But I've done all kinds of crazy shit in the Guren before. And Suzaku does insane acrobatics in the Lancelot. So why is this so impossib-?"
Rakshata taps her pipe on the table, interrupting me, "That's just it. Both of those are Seventh generation Knightmares and designed to do such things. The Gloucester, is not. It is Fifth, or Fifth point five generation Knightmare. What you did was so far outside the normal operational ability of the machine, that you destroyed the hydraulics and servos from the violence of the action you performed. That is why your Knightmare collapsed after you had won!"
"何だと?!?!" (WHAT THE FUCK?!)
Unheeding of my jaw dropping from what she just said, she continues, pacing across the room, taking the occasional puff from her pipe, "I analyzed the stress fractures and shears in the metal three times to confirm my findings. Kallen's maneuver was beyond the ability of the Gloucester to perform. She succeeded in it DESPITE the machine itself straining it's system to the point of redlining and falling apart from what she did. And all of this in a machine she had never piloted before in live combat against an opponent with years of experience in its use! It's a feat of piloting worthy of recognition in history!"
A click of a lighter causes me to bring my attention back to CC as she lights up a smoke, taking a drag before speaking.
"There are, to my knowledge, only four pilots capable of accomplishing this feat. Kallen, Suzaku, Bismarck Waldstein, and the late Marianne vi Britannia."
Before I can say anything, she continues, "And none of the other three, with the possible exception of Marianne, could do that successfully on the first attempt, in a machine they had never piloted before."
Argh! Stop it! I can hear everyone whispering about me! It's embarrassing!
"Well then, there is but one thing left to do. Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt, kneel before me."
Without a second thought, I drop to one knee in front of Zero.
"You have more than proven yourself as ready to return to the fields of war. In recognition of what you have done in my service, and your commitment, I name you my champion and Squadron Commander. You, are now the leader of all knightmare squadrons in the field, answering only to myself, General Tohdoh, Vice Commanders Ohgi and CC, and General Cornelia," he pronounces, his sword tapping my shoulders as I look up stunned at him, then turn to see CC holding out a...Kami-sama.
A red leather flight jacket with a fur collar...and right there on the breast...my name..and under it, a rank emblem that says…
".赤い女王。。。" I whisper breathlessly. (Red Queen.)
"So then, ready to get back to work, Q-1?"
..Wait a sec. This is as good a time as any.
"Zero-sama, I request a boon as your champion," I speak boldly, causing attention to turn back to me, Zero clearly wondering what's going on.
"Go on."
Here goes nothing…
"I demand Right of First Blood against Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten. He has stained my honor and I desire recompense from his blood!"
Room just went dead. Fucking. Silent. But to hell with it. I've been hiding and terrified of this long enough. Only way to deal with a scab is to rip it off. Like peeling a band-aid.
My gaze angle upward, face set with determination, Zero's eye slot pops open as our eyes meet.
"The fortunes of war are an ever-changing thing. I cannot guarantee that you will have the opportunity you desire."
Damnit…
"HOWEVER! I will do everything in my power to see that your wish comes to pass. And if it does?"
Zero's eye lights up with vengeful fire as he finishes his thought, "悪即斬。" (Slay Evil Immediately.)
Thank you, Lulu. I know that this is war, and that I might not get the chance to off the bastard personally. Hell, if it came down to shooting down his plane as he's fleeing or something, I'd say blast him out of the sky. It's not what I'd like, but that rapist piece of shit needs to die one way or the other.
CC holds out the jacket for me to slip on as I shrug it onto my shoulders. Wow, this..this feels great. It fits like a dream, even with the muscle I've put on. Which is more than I say for a lot of my clothes lately. The leather has just the right amount of weight too, physical and metaphorical.
But before I start getting all gooey-eyed, there's one last thing I need to do.
"Zero, CC. I got one last thing to say to you two."
Before either of them can do more than blink in confusion, I grab both of them, clocking their heads together and then while they're stunned, I punch both of them in the jaw and mask respectively, knocking them to the ground, the stunned gaze of the entire room on me.
"IF EITHER OF YOU DIPSHITS EVER PUT ME THROUGH ANOTHER PUBLIC HUMILIATION LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'LL PUT MY PILOT'S BOOT UP BOTH YOUR ASSES, GOT IT?!"
God damn that felt good. ...W-w-what's with that look? Is CC giving me the goddamn bedroom eyes?! Is Zero purring?!
"TSUNDERE-CHAN!" two simultaneous cries ring out as I get tackled to the ground.
"Ack!"
"SHE'S BACK! SHE'S BACK!" "Q-1 IS BACK!"
Gah! Stop that! You're embarrassing me! Cut it out you lunatics! Everyone is fucking laughing at me now!
"Ahahahaha! Kallen-chan is back, yo! She's acting like a lovestruck schoolgi-ow!" Tamaki cries out as a paperweight I grabbed off a desk nails him in the forehead. Serves you right, fucker.
Thankfully, Zero and CC get off me, acting like nothing just happened. Bastards.
"There is, of course, one last minor detail. Catch."
Huh? My hand instinctively snaps up to grab whatever he just threw at...me…
This, this is-!
"I apologize for how much I put you through to get this back. He isn't quite finished yet. Rakshata is still doing some work on the RWS system. But..I'll let her boast," he says, stepping back with a flourish of his cape as I start to vibrate in excitement, looking at the red&white feather of the Guren's activation key.
The blonde scientist takes a pull off her pipe, tapping a few keys on her datapad, causing a familiar set of schematics to appear...wait. That's not quite him..
"After Cornelia returned the wreckage of my son to me, my team and I determined that while regrettable, a complete overhaul from the ground up was necessary. Thus, we went back to the drawing board and went over the combat logs and data from Kallen's battles. Using that data, and our own records of repairs and modifications during the campaign in Japan, we were able to improve on areas that we had not realize we'd neglected in the original design. Gyroscopes, additional inbuilt weapons including portacle Gefjun disturber systems for active combat, more detailed scanner displays, ergonomic changes to the cockpit layout, a MVS capable fork knife, the RWS which unfortunately is still being overhauled, radiant wave shielding, and finally!"
The screen changes to show four wing binders extended from the back of the knightmare frame. Is that what I think it is?!
"Air Glide system. My design and improvement on pudding head's FLOAT technology. My pride and joy is now fully capable of matching his tin soldier in the skies!"
B-Big...Big Red can fly?!
"第八世代 のナイトメルフレーム、ナイトメルフレーム紅蓮大勢至。" Zero proclaims, sweeping his arm across the room in a commanding gesture. (8th generation Knightmare frame, Knightmare Frame Guren Daisenshi.)
….8TH GEN?! MY GUREN IS AN 8TH GENERATION FRAME NOW?!
"あなたの相棒が帰ってきました。おめでとう、私の赤い女王。" (Your partner is back. Congratulations, my Red Queen.)
The screen shifts to a camera feed of the nearly completed frame, only the right arm missing as technicians work on it.
What is this feeling? Am I feeling faint? No, that's not it. I think..I'm falling in love all over again.
Lelouch, you smug big headed sexy bastard. You really know how to push my buttons. Whether it's making me go through this shit to get my partner back. Or being there for me when I was in a bad way.
CC, you're the sister and...girlfriend I wish I had met years ago. You gave me the guts to look past what happened and that I could be happy. You believe that I would get past my fears and show everyone that I was back.
If anyone gives me shit for what I'm about to do, I'm breaking jaws. Because for once, I'm just gonna let it ride.
My lungs fill as I take a deep breath...and then walk up, giving CC a kiss right on the lips, hearing her let out a pleased moan before I plant a second kiss right on Zero's mask, while I whisper in his ear.
"I'm coming to your room tonight, be ready"
Before he can react, I strut out of the room, face flaming red, trying to hold my head up high as everyone catcalls or cheers our boss and his second in command/wife, both of whom I'm sure are watching me leave. And for once? I don't say a goddamn word. I know what I want, and tonight, I'm getting something I've been dreaming about and denying for awhile.
Right after dinner, I rushed over to Okaa-san's room to prepare for...my date. Well, this is less a date than a declaration that I was making a booty-call tonight. If anybody tries to stop me from nailing that seductive son of a bitch to the bed, I'm cracking skulls.
"So Kallen-chan, is this first time with him, or her?"
Unfortunately, that means I have to endure Okaa-san teasing me the whole time.
"Okaa-san!" I whine as she brushes my hair, hands fidgeting as I hold the hem of the green nightgown I raided from CC's closet...which was suspiciously in my size, along with a matching robe. Maybe I'd be mad at them for making assumptions about me at one time. Now?
I'd been lying to myself, or just in denial for awhile. I love both of those two megalomaniacal idiots, and everybody else in our group. Just like he promised, he waited for me to be comfortable with it.
"It's him tonight, Okaa-san. I'll...I'll get a turn with her later," I whisper with a blush on my face at the idea. Though I'm kinda interested in trying out 'Leloucia' at some point too. Gah! When did I turn into such a pervert?!
Here I am, primping and getting ready to go visit a guy's room at night, letting Okaa-san help me get ready, and I'm fantasizing about the guy's female identity and his wife too!
Okaa-san giggles as she runs a comb through my red locks, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I remember sneaking out of my dorm in college to go visit your father."
Argh! Stop it! I don't want to hear about you and dad doing..that!
She stops what she's doing and wraps her arms around me. A gesture I return with a sigh.
"I'm just happy for you. I..I heard about what you said when you got your knightmare back. Are you sure you want to do this?"
….Fuck.
"Well..part of me says no. But..," I let out a snort as I stand up, glancing at myself in the mirror briefly, wondering what the me of a year ago would think about all this.
"I love him, Okaa-san. I've wanted him for Kami-sama knows how long. And it's..I dunno. It's like a itch. An ache inside me. I want this so bad I can taste it. Maybe that makes me nuts or a horny slut, but you know what? Fuck what anyone says! I know what I fucking want, and I want Lelouch!" I exclaim, standing up and raising a fist up to the sky..and then my face is steaming red as I try not to just sputter in embarrassment, realizing I just said all of that in front of Okaa-san.
Kami-sama fucking kill me now...
At least Okaa-san is happy. That's something that makes my heart lighten. Part of me wants to try and get in touch with dad at some point. The other part is fine to cut him and my bitch stepmother Rebekah out of my life for good.
"カレンちゃんは心配しないで。" Okaa-san says with a gentle smile as she finishes brushing my hair down. (Don't worry Kallen-chan.)
"I spoke with him and his wife. I made sure to let them know to treat you properly, and that I would give them a stern talking to if they upset you again."
Wait, really? She chewed out Lelouch and CC? Fuck, I missed that?!
"Okaa-san! Why didn't you tell me? I wanted to see them get chewed out by you!" I utter, disappointment apparent on my face.
She frowns at me, giving me a certified Okaa-san look. One that says I goofed.
"Kallen-chan, you should know better. You shouldn't try to embarrass your boyfriend and girlfriend. I spoke with them privately because I wanted to see how they acted when you weren't there. They know better than to bully you now."
Okaa-san! Why would you say that?! They're going to laugh at me next time I see them! Argh!
Baka Okaa-san. Why did she do that? Now I've got butterflies flying all over my stomach and I'm nervous as shit and I don't know what I'm doing-fuck!
"Gaaah!" I yell out loud, throwing my arms in the air in frustration. What the hell was I thinking?!
"Kallen?"
My eyes blink as I turn around to see CC, Milly and Euphemia wearing dressing gowns and holding bags of things.
"Having second thoughts, tsundere-chan?" CC says with a coy smile on her lips, catty bitch.
"Umm.."
Fuck, why can't I say something to her? Huh-when did I get glomped in a group hug?
"Relax Kallen. Just take it at your pace. CC did a good job showing Lulu the ropes, he won't hurt you. Just remember," Milly declares, booping me on the nose as my eyebrow raises in annoyance.
"You, are in charge. Not him. Tonight is all about you. So if you don't like something? Say so, he'll listen."
What?
"What the hell are you talking about-?" "Kallen, we all heard what you went through. I'm just saying, do what makes you happy. Don't worry about it if something doesn't happen tonight."
"Indeed. We're going to a slumber party with Nunnally for the night, so take as long as you need and have fun," Euphemia chirps, her long hair done up in braids as she smiles at me like some kind of princess out of a fantasy novel. Damnit, are all his sisters this hot?
...What the hell happened to my life? I'm getting sex therapy advice from three girls in the middle of a hallway before I go to try and get laid in the middle of the night. While we're all involved with the same guy...who is also involved with another guy.
"Well...what about you? What if somebody here wants to screw your knight, pinky?"
"Oh I won't mind. Suzaku and I spoke about this. And you need not worry about returning his affections yourself. There's more than enough love to go around here, hehehehe," she titters with a giggle, holding her hand up to her mouth.
...I hadn't thought about that, but good to know. I'm kinda resigned to the fact that Lelouch would basically kill anyone who tried to take Suzaku from him. Though it seems he doesn't care about sharing.
"Ok then..how do you feel about me, Pinky?" I grumble before being surprised with a peck on the cheek as I blush at her. What the hell?
"I am a princess of the imperial line, and I already hold great affection for many, what is one more place in my heart?"
Damnit. Now I feel mushy and bashful. How the hell does she do that?
CC winks at me with a flirty gaze as the trio depart, "To para-quote my old acquaintance Aleister Crowley? 'Do what thou wilt', Tsundere-chan. Have fun~"
Fucking hell, I feel like a stupid schoolgirl bimbo right now. This isn't me. Maybe I'll feel better if I talk to Lelouch about it.
Slapping my cheeks once to wake up, I shake my head clear of cobwebs and keep walking.
And...I'm here. Standing outside the door. The door that leads to Lelouch and CC's room. That I am going in...any second now.
ARGH! FUCK THIS!
I smack the button to open the door and step through as the security door shifts aside. I'm a big girl, I can handle this. It's not that big a deal. He wants me, I want him. And I swear to fucking Kami-sama, if any dumbshit motherfucker interrupts me-!
"Kallen?"
My head turns to the side, eyes taking in Lelouch sitting seiza style on the bed, a cigarette holder with a joint held in his lips, a dark purple robe open at the chest his only attire.
Fuuuuuck. How does he make that look so sexy?
"Umm, hey," I reply lamely, giving a limp wave with my left hand as I fidget in place.
"Are you alright?"
Right off with the loaded questions, huh. Hell with it, he's been honest, I can do it too...right?
"I'm nervous as hell and I have no idea what I'm doing. Annnnnd I can't believe I'm about to use this cliched bullshit, but?"
Sometimes Old Japan's weird fucked up culture is actually appropriate for things. That, and I'm kinda interested in seeing his reaction. For once, I'm gonna be the one to take the piss out of him.
Gulping down my nerves, I pitch my voice up a bit, batting my eyelashes as I interlace my fingers, "I'm still inexperienced, please take care of me?"
The cigarette holder almost falls out of his lips from the surprised expression on his face, before he falls back laughing out loud, holding his sides.
"Hahahahahahahahha!"
The cutesy moe face I'm making holds for juuuust a few seconds before I fall onto the bed beside him, giggling like...huh, a lot like Milly. Eh, screw it. She'd find this hilarious too.
As the laughter dies off, we both look at each other, and simultaneously have to suppress the urge to laugh again.
"What brought this on?"
My shoulders raise as I shrug and look up at the ceiling, "I dunno. I talked to Milly before I went in here. She said tonight was about me. So I thought to myself, 'What's the most ridiculous thing I could do that would throw you off?' and I went for it. And if you tell anyone I did that, I will stuff my fist down your neck."
The threat being punctuated with a glare that sadly has as much effect on him as the time I held a knife to his neck. Which is to say, jack and shit..or maybe not, If that spot raising up on his robe is what I think it is.
"She's right, you know."
Huh?
My focus breaks from studying what is likely a hardon to look at his face. When he's not being a trolling jackass or a megalomaniac loon, he's really easy on the eyes.
"We don't have to do anything tonight, Kallen. What you did today admitting what happened to you, that was incredibly brave. Just spending time together, the two of us holding each other in our arms, that's more than enough to make this a good night."
...How in the name of every god in the Shinto pantheon did I end up with such a fantastic wonderful guy? When he says things like that, his face lit up in warmth and happiness, those succulent lips parted in a smile, those purple eyes glimmering like stars...I feel like I'm falling in love all over again.
Lying here with our fingers intertwined as we hold hands, something inside me changes. A knot around my heart, or a weight I've been carrying.
No guts, no glory.
"Lulu."
"Hmm?"
My other hand reaches out to touch his cheek as I summon every bit of resolve to say this outloud to him. Something I've been wanting to say for a while but couldn't work up the gumption to verbalize.
"Make love to me."
His response isn't words. It's not even the kiss that follows. It's the shared joy in both our eyes.
Credit where credit is due to whoever came up with this nightgown. It is very easy to get out of. Probably a bitch to dry clean judging by how nice it is. But that, is a problem for tomorrow's Kallen.
Warm breath comes from my parted lips as I lie back, letting Lulu take charge, his kisses trailing down my breasts, my abs to finally...mmmm.
Is it wrong that I'm imagining CC eating my pussy while he's doing this? Or Milly? Fuck, I really have been pent up.
A gasp escapes my throat, his lips planting a longing slow kiss on my clit that makes my hips tremble. His hands lift me up by the ass, that snake-like tongue of his flicking in and out, parting my labiaaaaaa! Ahhh!
"もっと!もっと!もっと!" I cry out, holding his head by the hair as I'm eaten out like a shark savoring a school of maguro, one fish at a time. (More, more, more!)
"Mmm, exquisite. A taste of spice, cinnamon perhaps?" he whispers sibilantly, my cheeks red in mortification at hearing the taste of my own cunt described..which is actually really fucking hot to hear, honestly.
My core clenches and throbs in time with my breath, faster and faster, hands gripping the sheets as my ass cheeks are gripped firmly, the sound of Lelouch slurping at my slit filling the room.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Stop teasing me you son of a bitch and let me cuuuuuuummmmm!" I scream out as my body reaches the clouds and rain, back arching as my vision goes white for a moment.
…Where am I? What was I doing? Oh.
I just came. From being eaten out by Lulu.
Wow. Just...wow. I don't have the words to describe that.
My lips part at the feel of Lulu's tongue..why does he taste like cinnamon-...
Fuck, he was right. I do taste like that. And apparently I left enough juice for him to be able to let me taste myself. A thing that..I'm enjoying more than I thought I would.
"..is it weird that I liked my own taste?" I note hesitantly, still coming down from the high of orgasm.
"Not really. I enjoy the taste of mine as well at times. Not everybody likes it, but it's more common than you'd think," he responds, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
Learn something new every day.
"That was...intense," I say, cheeks coming back to normal from being flushed.
Rather than respond verbally, he kisses me softly, both our eyes closing as we savor each other. My legs open to wrap around him, his length rubbing against my stomach.
"Ready?"
My head nods as he adjusts his hips, my arms wrapped around his neck looking into his eyes as he slowly enters me-ouuu.
Soft whimpers and gasps erupt from my lips unbidden as Lulu gently rocks back and forth inside me, one arm wrapped around my back, the other holding my head from behind as he purrs in pleasure.
これは素晴らしいと感じますが、それでも... (This feels wonderful and yet...)
I can't explain it. As much as I'm enjoying it, as much as I wanted this for so long?
Something doesn't quite feel right. There's something missing.
"S-s-stop," I utter reluctantly, frowning as I look away, Lulu's eyes lighting up in worry.
"What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Are you still injured...there?"
Thankfully that isn't the problem. Whatever they did to fix me up after...Bradley.., they did a good job. The only scars I have left from that are mental and emotional.
"No! No, it's not you. It's me," I say reassuringly, biting my lip as I look away in shame. What the hell is it? What's wrong with me?
As further proof that Lelouch is a better guy than he gives himself credit for? He doesn't even hesitate to pull out, holding me in his arms, stroking my hair.
"Don't apologize, Kallen. If it's too soon for you to feel comfortable having sex, then it's alright. I said a while ago I'd give you time. This is your night, Q-1."
Argh! I want it god damnit! Just...not like this. Wait. Q-1. Red Queen. Hmm.
There's something there, something I'm missing. Ok Kallen, think. What's wrong with this picture? What is it about having sex in Lelouch's bed that doesn't feel right?
...Nah. That's crazy. Like, holy shit, even CC, Milly or Kaguya, lil perv that she is, would say that was crazy.
And yet? Now I've got the idea? It won't leave me alone. Fucking hell, am I that much of a pervert? ...Says the girl who just found the idea of tasting her own cum squirt hot.
You know what? Fuck it! I said I didn't care if anybody thought I was crazy, slutty or whatever. It's my fucking night, and I'm gonna do what I want!
"Get dressed," I declare sitting up, a determined expression on my face.
"Pity. I was enjoying just lying here with you-" I cut off his smartass mouth with a kiss loaded with the raw sexual hunger burning inside me.
"Shut the fuck up. You're not getting blue-balled tonight."
"Now what brought this on, I wonder?" he mutters, eyes clearly glued to my ass as I rummage in the clothes closet. Aha! Found it! Shoulda known there would be at least one here.
Nuts. It's one of my older pilot suits, I don't know if it will fit.
"I had an epiphany a few seconds ago. I definitely want to..make love," I mouth, cheeks red at the sheer desire in those two words.
Zipping up the suit is harder than I thought, the back is definitely riding up my ass. And if I tried to fight in this, pretty sure my tits would burst out of it. And wearing underwear? No chance. This thing is skin tight as is.
"I just realized that I don't want to do it here," I proclaim with a wink as I toss a bundle in a dry clean bag on the bed next to him.
"So get the suit on, Zero. And follow me."
"Say Kallen?" "Hmm?"
I turn my head around in response to Zero's question as I lead down the corridor to the part of the base I'm looking for.
"Did your ass get bigger?"
What?!
"The fuck, Zero?" I squawk in surprise at the question, turning around completely with an incredulous expression on my face. Where did that come from?
Taking a quick look around, he lifts the mask off, putting a hood over his head and leaving that black face mask around his jaw on, he answers with a tone dripping with lust, "I don't know if your ass is bigger, or all the working out you've been doing added muscle. But your ass is even more hypnotic than it was before."
The corners of the black mask rise up indicating a very wide smile under it, "And trust me, I am an ass man. I can tell."
You know what? It's late at night, nobody is around and I am fucking horny right now.
Setting my pace into a strut as we keep walking, I coyly declare, "Better than CC's?"
I'm almost jealous at how easy she makes this look. Even trying to copy her strutting, I can feel my ass swaying as I walk...I might do this more often. It's one thing to get pissed off at guys staring at my ass and being dicks. It's another thing doing it for the appreciation of somebody you like.
Fuck, I feel confident walking like this. Is this why CC does it? I should ask her about it. Or Milly.
"Oh she's still better. But yours is a very close second. It's a different texture and feeling. Like comparing mint to cherry," Lulu remarks, rubbing his chin, eyes glued below the waist. Ha. Not even surprised he just didn't give a shit about answering me.
The funniest part is?
"Haha, I can't even debate it. Her ass is just…" I sigh out, cheeks pink as the mental jiggles in my mind's eye.
He's not fucking wrong. That beautiful butt shaking is amazing.
A gasp issues from my lips, caused by Lelouch silently moving up behind me, whispering in my ear as his gloved hand gropes my ass just like he did that night we saved Suzaku.
"A work of art."
I look back up at him, letting out a soft coo as I grind against him, both of his hands now holding onto my butt and squeezing.
"And I seem to recall you decked me the last time I did this," he quips, my teeth pulling his mask down so I can kiss along his jaw.
"Mmm. I remember that. Looking back on it now, if I had to tell my past self what to do there?"
A yelp of surprise bursts from his lips as I spank him with my free hand, smirking up at the nonplussed look on his face, "I'd tell her, spank you for being a bad boy."
The animalistic growl he lets out as he holds my arms over my head, his left arm moving to cup my tits..holy shit that is hot.
"Careful Kallen-chan, I might get tempted to wreck that suit you're wearing right here and now."
Fuuuuuck. I almost want to tell him to go for it. Almost. But goddamnit if it isn't making me wet and tempting me to say yes.
"Ahh. No. Not yet. Trust me, you'll enjoy this," my voice comes out with a plaintive whine at the end, because I reaaaaally want to just let him fuck me here. But my desire for what I have planned is stronger, because I know I'll enjoy that more.
Lulu shrugs as he lets go, putting the mask back on in a single motion, red eyes glowing behind the bulletproof glass.
"As you wish...cock-teasing fire-crotch," he drawls out, chuckling to himself.
Another thing I punched him for calling me that I find I don't really mind at the moment.
"How in the name of Sixty Four Hells does anyone get through a conversation with you without wanting to break your jaw?"
As the door opens at our destination, my heart skips a beat at the sight before my eyes.
"I'd like to think it's my humble and charismatic personality...well well. Rakshata is pretty far along it seems."
My beloved partner, Guren-kun, kneeling on the engineering bay floor, his air glide system wings folded behind him, blue eyes dull and inactive, the gunmetal grey body gleaming under the spotlights, my personal colors not yet added. Sucks that the right arm is still being worked on, but I won't need it this time.
A shuddering breath comes from my parted lips as I touch his leg, leaning my head against the cold steel.
"ごめんなさい、相棒。" I whisper to him, patting the landspinner wheel, emotions whirling in me at what we've both been through. (I'm sorry, partner."
Wiping my eyes with a gloved finger, I gesture Zero to follow me up the construction gantry to where the cockpit is.
Hmm. Yep, I was right. It will work, just enough to be fun.
"Alright Kallen, we're here now. And while I do understand wanting to apologize to your partner, especially given mine is still in the shop? Why are we standing here in the middle of the night when we could be back in bed?"
It's a good thing I locked the hanger door and shut off the cameras, because I'd punch myself unconscious if anyone saw this.
Working my fingers into my hair, I fan them out, putting my preferred hairdo in place. Sorry, Okaa-san. But? That...just isn't me. I know people think it looks good, and I appreciate the work you did on it, but I'm never going to be that kind of girly girl.
Ok, maybe sometimes I'll be that kind of girl. But if I'm going to have sex with the man I love for the first time?
"Remember when you made that crack about installing a sybian mode on my partner?" I purr out, slowly lowering the zipper, the suit material straining against my heaving breasts.
I'm gonna do it my way.
"I regretfully say that Rakshata has not installed one in the Daisenshi. But I can talk to her about it tomorrow if you're interested. Although?"
Lelouch swoons, a hand over his head dramatically, "To think that the gorgeous redhead of my dreams has thrown me over for a cold unfeeling machine? To be cast aside so swiftly for steel and nuclear fire? It's enough to break my cold wretched heart and make one wish to end it all!"
Hammy son of a bitch. Stop making me laugh when I'm trying to be seductive, you trolling dick!
"Shut up for a second and let me finish, dick," I grouse at him halfheartedly as I turn around, letting the top of my suit fall, hooking my thumbs into the lower half as I bend over, feeling the cool air caress my skin, as my bare ass and dripping slit wiggle slowly at Lelouch's clearly transfixed gaze.
"My problem earlier is that I realized that while I'd probably enjoy fucking you in our bed? It's not what I want for my first time. What I want-?" I punctuate the end of my sentence by stepping out of my pilot suit, opening the cockpit up, leaning against the Guren as I spread my legs open, one hand holding my cunt open, the other trailing a finger along my lips as I let out a breathy moan.
"Is to take you and my partner for a ride. What do you say to driving that demon cock inside me as we break Big Red in on his maiden flight?"
The sound of Lelouch's laughter echoes across the engineering bay while he holds his stomach, bending over from laughing too hard.
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"
In hindsight, I should have expected this reaction.
"Hahahahaha! Of all the things you could have asked me? This, I did not expect! Hahahahahaha!" he gasps out, his laugh refusing to abate even under the flat look of annoyance I'm shooting at him.
"Are you going to get undressed and get in the fucking cockpit, or am I going to have Big Red here fuck me instead of you?" I growl at him, my left hand that was near my mouth flipping him off.
It takes him a few seconds to finally stop laughing, but he eventually complies, the suit taking a lot more time compared to my pilot uniform. Which is understandable, that thing is custom tailored with electronics, armor plating, silk, and some other things that I am not nearly enough of a tailor to recognize.
I lick my lips slowly as he bends over, showing that sexy pale ass of his, then bite my lip as he turns around, his aroused cock clearly aching to get back to where it belongs inside me.
"Come on lover, let's fly!" I yell out as I toss my suit into a compartment in the cockpit, then sit down in the pilot seat, enjoying the feel of leather on my bare chest and then the touch of Lulu's lips on my neck as he enters the cockpit.
"Just let me put my clothes down annnnd...there we go. Now, how much room will we have when you close the cockpit?" he whispers breathily, his tongue licking along my taint making me whimper and stain the seat with my juices.
Oh! Something I forgot! I reach into the compartment, taking out my phone, quickly scrolling through my music playlist for one. Specific. Song.
Aha! There we go. Synced to internal audio speakers...and we're good. Alright then! Guren-kun, time to break you in like the stud you are!
The sound of synthesizers and guitars start playing as I close the cockpit, revving up the landspinners, putting my ride into a crouch.
"Alright then Lelouch, get inside me, AND LET IT ROAR!" I yell out as my knightmare accelerates along the runway, the G forces pushing me into the leather, and Lelouch thrusting inside me as I cry out in delight.
The red glow of the air glide system lights up and...I'm flying!
"I'M FLYING! GUREN-KUN AND I ARE FLYING!" I scream out, giggling in delight as Lelouch turns my head to kiss me briefly before letting me focus on flying, the singer's voice on my chosen soundtrack kicking in as we leave the ground.
"I am a space traveler on a distant Planet X,
Seeking directions back to Earth"
Kami-sama, this is amazing! I feel so alive! So energized! My heart is bursting with love and burning fire!
"My heartbeat's everlasting,
I fear not the unknown,"
"You are without a doubt the most insane woman I have ever had sex with, Kallen Kouzuki-Stadfelt!" Lelouch barks out, a huge smile on his face as I briefly glance at his reflection in the display, feeling him bottom out in me, eliciting another gasp as my pussy clamps down onto his cock.
"The thought of you drives me on,"
My thumb presses down on the accelerator, lips spread wide in the biggest fucking grin at both the feeling of Lelouch inside me and my partner tearing through the skies leaving only red streams of light from his wings.
"Just let it roar!
There is Hell inside of me that no one knows,
Just let it roar, oh baby,
Put your fire in my soul!"
YES! YES! YES! YES! THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT I WANTED!
Lelouch lifts up my ass, delivering a backhanded slap while his hips slam back into mine both from his own thrusting, and the acceleration pushing our bodies together.
"I race the cosmic storm winds
To see you once again"
"Ah, ah, ah! Do I have to, ah, pull out? Because I, mmm, don't think I can, mmm!" Lulu grunts out, hands on my ample hips as he spreads me open, tears of joy leaking from my eyes at how...sublime this feels.
"Deep inside I know I fool myself
but I don't care
This endless journey will never take me home
I carry in me hopeless love"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Took a, ouuu, pill! I want you, mmm, inside me, all the way!" I scream out, back arching at the feeling of another orgasm making me light headed.
Holy shit, I think hearing that made him harder. Yes, yes, yes! Fuck my firecrotch cunt like I've been dreaming about!
"Just let it roar!
There is Hell inside of me that no one knows,
Just let it roar, oh baby,
Put your fire in my soul!"
Guren goes into a powerdive, wait, was that-?!
A grunt of exertion comes from Lelouch as I can clearly hear a sonic fucking boom behind us as I pull up from the dive, taking Guren just above the desert sands.
"ぐれん-くん。。。ぐれん-くんはすごい!!!!" I squeal in delight. Holy shit, he's mach speed capable now! (Guren-kun...GUREN-KUN IS AMAZING!)
Kami-sama, that just made me MORE wet! I am going to kiss Rakshata's feet tomorrow! She's a wonder worker!
"Hey Kallen?"
I pull up on the accelerator leaving us just hovering about twenty feet off the ground and turn my head to see what's up, only to Lulu have suck at my lips, his long fingers caressing my breasts, the nipples pinched between the joints, his violet eyes glowing red, veins lit up from his exertion.
"I know it's a bit late, but happy birthday, my crimson lotus," he proclaims with ardor and affection in his voice as he pants, trying to catch his breath.
...Oh. I just missed it...huh? Am I crying? Kami-sama, I think I am. Pent up emotion flows out of me as Lulu holds me, our bodies connected at the hip, shuddering breaths the only sound aside from the hum of electronics and the air glide system.
"I ride a silver angel, I've circled every star
I've touched the edge of the universe"
"Thanks for going along with this crazy idea of mine," I say after a moment, wiping my eyes as I kiss his cheek.
"Kallen, as kinky ideas go? Having sex in your knightmare frame at mach speed while G force is smashing both of us is an experience I will never forget. And one which I bluntly, could not have handled before my..upgrades," he states, his breath steaming hot against my neck, the cockpit feeling humid and warm from our shared body heat.
At least something good came out of all the bullshit we both went through. It's been one fucked up year in a lot of ways. We're both different people from who we were when we first met. He's calmed down and drawn out the venom in his heart. Me? I'd like think I'm a lot more mature and honest with myself about who I am and what I want.
"I'm sorry I failed you back at Tokyo-!" I squeal as Lulu smacks both my asscheeks hard with his hands, one after the other, making me writhe in the seat as he lightly bites my neck. Oh, oh, oh, oh! Stop that, I'm trying to say something important you asshole!
"Do me a favor Kallen, and just drop it. We both fucked up enough to keep apologizing to each other forever. Therefore!" He punctuates his declaration with a balls deep thrust inside me, his sac hitting my clit, making me whimper needfully.
"Therefore, no more apologizing. Tonight is your fantasy, Kallen. I love you, and nothing you say or do will ever change that. So let's enjoy this because I know damn well we've both been yearning for this."
"But the closer I try to get to you
The more far away I'll be
I wanna scream!"
There isn't a hint of what most people would consider dirty talk in what he just said. Even so, I almost want to cum just from hearing him say those beautiful words to me. That's how much my heart is filled with joy right now.
Our lips meet with desperate kisses as I get closer to another climax, and given how he's throbbing inside me, I'm sure he's close too. So one more for the road!
The air glide system revs up as I gun the throttle, Guren-kun accelerating again, my mouth open as I take panting breaths, g forces slamming into both of us as Lelouch thrusts balls deep into me.
"Just let it roar!
There is Hell inside of me that no one knows!
Just let it roar, oh baby!
Put your fire in my soul!"
Even through the oppressive force of a spinning kick twisting into a hairpin turn into the sky? I cannot. Stop. Smiling.
"Kallen, I'm about to-!" "Do it! I've wanted this for so long!"
I pull back on the accelerator, letting the throttle off so Guren-kun can come to a halt, and I can enjoy this without having to worry about crashing if I lose focus.
"ルル!いく!!!" I scream out, stars in my eyes as I feel my pussy milking him for his semen and tightening around his cock. (Lulu! I'm cumming!)
"KALLEN!"
"Let it roar!"
Holy fuck…
This, this moment right here? This is something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life.
"Best birthday present, ever," I mumble, a wide smile stuck on my lips as I just lie there on the seat, feeling the pleasant warmth of Lelouch's cum inside me and his body on top of me.
Oops. Forgot something.
"I kinda forgot to say it earlier, since you were edging me for awhile, but I love you too, you smug dick," I say as I turn my head to kiss him, hitting the eject button to open the cockpit up and get some air in-holy fuck it is cold up here!
I shiver at the cold desert wind as I look at the clear night sky and sandy dunes below us. The stars above our only witnesses to the insanity of what we just did.
"Wow.."
I turn around, making sure to keep Lelouch inside me, small sounds of pleasure coming unbidden from my lips.
Lelouch's glowing gaze is one of the few lights up here, aside from the air glide system and instrumentation. A gaze that is kinda intimidating up close, and also very, very, arousing.
"I think I've got a few more rounds in me. And it is extremely cold up here. So we need to stay warm by sharing body heat, don't you agree, firecrotch-chan~?" he notes as he pulls his hips back, before thrusting inside me again, leaning back so I can rest in his lap.
Rakshata is going to be soooo pissed at me in hindsight for taking her son before he's done.
Eh, fuck it. My birthday, I can do what I want. And she'll probably relax once she reads the instrumentation data. NOT THE FUCKING COCKPIT VIDEO THOUGH!
I want to save that for myself and everybody else to watch at some point.
"Couldn't agree more, now get back to work," I say with a mock serious expression, raising an eyebrow before having a fit of the giggles as I lean against him.
Green bitch is going to laugh so fucking hard when she hears about this. And when she does? I'm going to sit on CC's smug face until she shuts up.
"By the queen's command," he snarks back with a smirk on his lips, holding onto my ass as I lift my hips up to give him room to reposition before dropping back down.
"Mmm. This was worth the wait," I purr, running my fingers through his messy hair, sweat running down both of us from the last few rounds. Looking at him like this?
He's never looked more beautiful.
"To the most vivacious, magnanimous and courageous woman I know," he hefts up one of my breasts with a hand at that declaration, sucking on the nipple which makes me let out a gasp.
"Ah! Stop that, I'm sensitive there! And really? You're going to say that about me in a group that includes Milly and your pink haired sister?" I quip at him, raising an eyebrow at the broad declaration he just made.
And he's giving me that fucking smirk. This ought to be good.
"Indeed I am. Because none of the people in our group would argue with me after what you did today and they all love you. Come now, are you really going to claim you didn't earn it for the day after everything you accomplished?"
...Well damn. Can't argue with that.
"...They all love me?" I whisper quietly, holding him in a hug as I shiver from the cold, the feeling of what he said, and the realization inside that I know he's telling the truth.
Lulu kisses me on the lips, looking deep into my eyes, "Kallen, can you think of any reason why they wouldn't? You're a wonderful person. And I would love you even if you decided you never wanted to fight again in this war."
Oh great. Now I know I'm crying.
"You...you...you son of a bitch. I hate when you do that."
Oh that's right. Look confused like you don't know what you did!
"That thing you do! The thing where you make my heart melt and the world lights up, and it feels like the impossible is going to happen because you say so!" I sniff, burying my head in his shoulder in embarrassment.
His chest rumbles with laughter, his fingers dancing along my spine as I grind my hips against him.
"Hahaha, do you really hate it? Or do you hate that it pushes your buttons so very well, tsundere-chan?" he whispers in my ear, and the most aggravating, frustrating and obnoxious part of it is?!
He's right.
...ちくしょ。 (Fuck.)
"Fine. You have a fucking point. But don't let it go to your head, asshole!" I punctuate the declaration by reaching under me to put his balls in a firm grip.
"Ahh~, I'm not worried. I've got people like you to keep it from swelling up so much it eclipses the sun," he replies with a wink and a blown kiss.
Before I can smack him on the back of the head for being a wiseass, he grabs my right hand, interlacing the fingers and bringing our faces together with a distance of only inches between us.
"There's no one I'd trust to stop me from going down the wrong path than you, Kallen. Because you have a good heart and you're a better person than I've ever been."
Since I can't smack him for that, I touch our foreheads together and look him dead in the eye, "Stop beating yourself up for shit. You told me to knock it off, so I'm exercising queen's privilege. Knock that shit off, and get back to making love, Demon King."
I don't give him a chance to respond as I put my tongue into his mouth, letting my hips do the talking. Keeping the people in this group from going off in weird directions might be a full time commitment, but I'm in it for the long haul anyway.
Guess love really does make you do stupid decisions, huh? But then, this is one decision I'd never take back.
"And don't you dare try to make me sit this fight out! I've got my own reasons to fight for a better world. And my own fucking ambition that I want to fulfill!"
Holy fuck, if we weren't fucking so hard, I think we'd be shivering up here. It's really god damn cold. Definitely going back in the cockpit after this round.
"Okay.., this is new. What did you decide on, Q-1?"
My fist goes up into the sky as I yell out what I want to do in this war.
"I'm gonna wreck Bradley for being a rapist piece of shit, and then! I'm gonna dethrone the fucking Flash herself! Because I'M NUMBER FUCKING ONE AND YOUR BITCH MOTHER DESERVES TO GET HER SHIT KICKED IN FOR WHAT SHE DID TO YOU AND NUNNALLY!"
..Is he ok? He's just kinda...sitting there, barely breathing.
"Lulu? Are you alright?" I ask worriedly after he doesn't respond after a minute.
Lelouch shakes his head and seems to come back to his senses, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...wow. Is that what it feels like when I do that to people?"
Man, if that's not a fucking ego boost, I don't know what is.
"You're goddamn right. No more comparing me against her. I'M GONNA BE THE ONE THE HISTORY BOOKS MAKE THE COMPARISONS TO! SHE DOESN'T FUCKING DESERVE IT!" I proclaim, tits jiggling as I nod my head firmly, a smirk on my lips.
That lasts about five seconds before I get put on my back and Lulu growls, his hands gripping my breasts firmly as he starts thrusting faster.
"I, ah, think, ahh, I got, mmm, a, ouuu, second wind! Because that? Mmm! That hit my fucking buttons!" he states, a wild eyed look in his eyes that makes me gush both with my cheeks flaming red, and my cunt to start dripping over the seat again.
"Ah, oh, ah, mmm! 見せてやるぜ、魔王!" (Then show me what you got, Demon King!)
The night is still young, and I've got lost time to make up for in draining him dry~
