Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long. Family vacation, as well as having to rewrite the ENTIRE chapter, took a toll on me. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter by next weekend, but I might need a bit longer to get back into the groove.

Chapter 6: Blood of the Samurai

August 22nd, The Nest, Tokyo Settlement, 8:18 A.M.

Tamaki

'Dude, this place is crazy!' Tamaki thought for the umpteenth time. He was lying on his bed inside the combat quarters of the Nest. The head engineer, Robbie Mac~something or whatever, said that, due to the expected ratio of military crew compared to non-military, the combat quarters were divided into shared rooms of ten bunk beds each. The non-combatants have rooms of eight single beds each.

Not that Tamaki cared for the specifics of it all. The fact that an entire underground network was formed over the years, and no one figured it out. That's insane, even if it was built by those secretive bastards. 'I don't trust those guys, but you can't deny how much they've put into this.

I think I even heard one of the scientists mention that one of the tunnels reaches all the way to Narita! Seriously!' Tamaki couldn't stand lying down anymore, so he decided he'd look around again before big man Robbie ordered him to work more on the factory. Apparently, with the Sutherlands, they could finish the basics for the factory in just a week or two, faster if they got more Knightmares. As such, he was making any available hands work overtime on it. With almost jubilation on his face, he left the quarters.

Ohgi

Ohgi was currently using a Sutherland to move some support beams to another part of the almost finished factory. Mr. MacNamara was a stern man, but, given how he said he hoped the rebellion wouldn't start for several more years, he could understand him.

"CD-5," Namara yelled out over the radio, "You're energy filler's almost empty, and you've been working nonstop for over two hours. Park your Knightmare and take a break before you're too banjaxed to keep your own eyes open and cause a mess."

'And that's my cue to leave.' Ohgi maneuvered the Sutherland to the front edge of the construction zone, near the entrances. 'Still loved Tamaki's face when he tried to change the callsigns when people are working in this area.'

Tamaki had wanted to shorten it to simply C- whatever your number was, but Namara quickly pointed out why that wasn't a good idea when one of the twins (the red one?) placed a fake satchel charge filled with confetti inside his Knightmare, and he gave Tamaki the callsign C-4.

'Never seen Tamaki so scared and pissed at the same time.'

After dismounting the Knightmare, he made his way towards the cafeteria. However, when he reached to exit, he stopped and looked towards Namara.

'Why is he here? He's neither Japanese or Britannian.' Ohgi decided to get some answers. "Mr. MacNamara."

"Ah," Namara happily replied, "Yes, Ohgi, what can I do for you?"

"I was gonna ask~"

"Why an Irishman like me doing here in the first place."

'What? How!'

"Your friends, Inoue, and then Kallen, asked me something similar. I brushed them off, but I've got a good feeling about you."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Ohgi," Namara replied while working on his datapad, "I see three types of people in this kind of world: Followers; Leaders; and Commanders."

'?' "What's the difference between the last two?"

"Simply put, Leaders command from the front, while Commanders direct from the back. Think of Zero and Celaeno. Besides Kallen, Celaeno is our best Knightmare pilot, but Zero is much better at devising plans. The bridge display was all his idea."

"And what am I." For awhile, Namara simply worked on the datapad.

"Commander. You were able to successfully keep your group together even after your leader, Naoto, was killed. Now, don't be too proud. I asked your friends about Naoto, and he clearly was the better person for the hob, but you making sure the group didn't fall apart even during his death was impressive. You still seem more Follower than Commander, but, given time, you could be a decent Commander."

Ohgi pondered on Namara's words. He never thought about how much it showed to himself that he kept the group from falling apart.

'All I could think about was how easy it would've been for Naoto to diffuse any arguments we had.' He then thought about the others, especially Kallen.

"What about Kallen?"

"Full on Follower," he replied with a deadpan expression, "No doubt about that."

Ohgi felt like someone just slammed his head into a desk.

"WHAT!"

"She may be our best pilot, if the simulations tell us anything. But, based on what I've seen, she's a warrior. Sure, she can lead a squad of Knightmares, no doubt, but she's more used to simply fighting an enemy. She may have passion and a little charisma, but those aren't enough for either of the other two."

'Well, that's a bit insulting.'

"But, we're getting off track. You asked why am I here?"

'Oh, right.'

"I lived in the E.U. for most of my life as a drill sergeant. However, the way they ran things led me to quitting. Eventually, I met a Japanese woman named Hona Yodogawa, who would eventually become my wife. We moved to Japan two years before the war. After the war, I became bitter, but an ally of Zero found me shortly after, and I've been here since. Anymore info you'll either have to get Zero to order me, or get me really drunk."

'He must've lost his wife during that time, hence why he's willing to help.' Before Ohgi could reply, several cheers were echoing from nearby. They turned, and saw that the first Knightmare Frame Station, where a Knightmare would be constructed, was complete.

"Alright, don't put your socks down yet, boys!" Namara roared, though the joy could be heard as well, "The easy part is done, now we need to get the Assembly Line constructed. Take a ten minute break, ALL OF YOU!"

"Sorry for your loss," Ohgi somberly offered.

"Hm?" Namara replied, confused.

"Your wife. Sorry she~" Namara then gave a short bark of a laugh.

"No, no, she's alive and healthy, dear Ohgi, but I'm glad your so concerned. She's the one that convinced me to actually take Ruben's offer. Now, get outta here before I start to think you actually like doing this work."

With a smile on his face, Ohgi left the construction zone, and headed to the cafeteria.

'Wait, who's Ruben?'

Kallen

"Is this really necessary?" Kallen whined as Tolia made...invasive measurements on her body.

'Seriously, WHY does she need to measure the circumference of my breasts!'

"Absolutely," Tolia happily replied, "If we ever design any armor for you, we need to get exact measurement. At least you allowed me to do it so long as we did it in our workshop." After several more minutes, Tolia finally rolled up the measuring rope.

"Done. If the bosses every request armor for you, I'll have it already made."

"Wait, you make devices, even if you have no idea if it will ever be used?" Tolia looked at her like she grew a second head.

"Duh, that's how scientists work." The two then left the workshop, into the main research area. Kallen looked up at the Morgana and the Gorgon, with the latter having the cockpit opened..

'The names refer to the Witch of Camelot and a Greek monster that could turn people to stone. Why would they be called that? Morgana kinda makes sense, since we are going against Britannia, but the Gorgon?'

"HEY!" The voice of Talio called out from inside the Gorgon, holding an arm out, "Could someone hand me a box-ended wrench. Should be next to the box out there. I'd ask sis, but she's too busy groping that girl." Kallen's face matched her hair after that.

'WHAT THE HELL!'

Immediately, Tolia stomped onto a wrench, sending it flying into her hand. She then chucked it full force at Talio's arm, busting the wrist.

"FUCKING!" Talio roared as he poked out, wrist bleeding. He picked up the wrench his sister threw at him. "This is a CROWFOOT, NOT a BOX-ENDED!"

"Ehh," Tolia happily retorted as she climbed the Knightmare, "You can't work with a busted hand. Let me take over."

"No problem." The twins then switched positions, with Kallen staring in disbelief.

'What is wrong with these two? One second they're trying to kill each other, the next they love each other more than anything else. Questions for later.'

"What, exactly," Kallen inquired to Talio, "Is so special about these two that requires them to remain here 24/7?"

"Well," Talio replied, "The Gorgon's KDS drains too much power when in use, and we still have figured out how to get the Morgana's 'Web of Shadows', as Zero called it, to work properly."

"But what do they do?"

"Tell me," Tolia interjected, "How did it feel to go up against a Sutherland in a Glasgow?"

'Like I was being tossed around like a ragdoll.' "Like~"

"Like your Knightmare couldn't keep up with your opponent," Talio interrupted, "Despite your superior skills."

'Okay, didn't think of it like that before, but,' "Yeah."

"Well," Tolia continued, "That's what the WoS and the KDS are built for. To even the playing field when up against either a superior Knightmare, or multiple Knightmares."

"Much more interesting when the fight is decided by the skill of the pilots," Talio finished as his hand and wrist were bandaged up, "Don't you agree."

Before she could respond, however, the PA for the room flaired to life.

"This is Zero. All military personnel, as well as the heads of Research and Engineering, please report to Operations."

'What could that guy want now? He may have done more these past few days than any resistance group, but he's still Britannian.' With a huff, she and the twins left R&D.

Zero

Lelouch was waiting for them in the Briefing Room, a small section of Operations for, well, mission briefs and debriefs. It was an open room with an entrance on three sides, side desks all facing one way, and a wall screen at the fourth wall. He planned to inform them of the current situation.

'Not the greatest opponents we could've gotten, but it'll have to do.' Ohgi's group, as well as Robbie and the twins, soon entered.

"Thank you for coming. You can either take a seat or stand, as this meeting won't take long."

He saw that twins, as well as Tamaki and Kento, took some of the desks, with Tamaki sitting back and putting his feet on the desk.

"I've called you here to discuss the new Viceroy and Sub-Viceroy that have been commissioned to replace Clovis."

"HA," Tamaki barked out, "Given how you roasted that prick, you'll make mincemeat outta this one."

"Clovis was sloppy. He cared more about the benefits of being Viceroy than actually running his own area. The next two, however, will be much more...troublesome." He pressed a button on the side of the wall screen, bringing up the Rui Britannians. He gestured to the one on the left.

"This is Castor Rui Britannia, and this is Pollux Rui Britannia, both 15th Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. Also known as the 'Twin Demons of Britannia'."

Most of them had looks of either confusion or fear, while Robbie simply looked annoyed.

"What did they do to earn that moniker?" Kallen inquired.

"At the age of ten they were already technical geniuses, inventing new kinds of weaponry. When they turned twelve, the Emperor gave them a research division in Cambodia, now called Area 13. However, during that time, they developed a taste for Knightmare combat and, one year later, they had an entire battalion under their command. Some of the most recent Areas were the results of their efforts."

"Damn," Tamaki whistled, "A couple of kids have done that much?"

"You do realize Kallen is just two years older, right?"

"Yeah, but Kallen's a BADASS! Of course she'd be that good. Just saying." Lelouch then tapped the screen, and, in place of Castor and Pollux, were a red and blue Knightmare, respectively.

"These are their Knightmares: The Volanus, and the Aquarius. If a Gloucester is simple an upgraded Sutherland, then these beasts are upgraded Gloucesters. Mind you, they aren't as dangerous as that white Knightmare, which we now know is called Lancelot, but the margin is still noticeable."

"Gloucesters," Tolia exclaimed, "Have lighter armor than Sutherlands, but they can run circles around any of them. The Volanus, not only has the same amount of armor thickness as a Sutherland, but is also slightly faster than Gloucester. On top of that, those spears are not the usual Knightmare Lance models, and clearly have more of a purpose than simply looking nice and killing quickly. We'll need more data to form a conclusion, but, since all reports say it never used ranged weapons, 'staying out of range' would be the preferred strategy."

"Pollux's Knightmare," Talio continued, "Is quite the opposite. The Aquarius actually slower than a Gloucester, but carries double the armor of a Sutherland. Unless he knows victory is a certainty, he's almost always flanked by at one or two other Knightmares, usually Gloucesters. Combine that with the railguns on its shoulders~"

Lelouch noticed the look of absurdity on Tolia's face.

"And that baby can hit the head of your Knightmare off from across the battlefield."

"Do you need glasses, brother," Tolia retorted, "Those are clearly artillery cannons."

'Ooohh no, here they go again.'

"You daft?! The recoil from an artillery gun of that size would dislodge the arms in after repeated usage, that is if you didn't fall on your ass from the kickback!"

"The length of the barrel chamber would have to at least be 66% longer for them to be railguns!"

'Oookay, stopping this now!'

"Enough!" Lelouch exclaimed, silencing the two, "You can discuss the difference between them after the meeting. Besides, if you guys think the Knightmares are bad, then their pilots are far worse. Their most dangerous attribute being their unpredictability."

"How is that dangerous?" Kento inquired, "Clearly they have Pollux deal with long range battles, while Castor handles close quarters."

"That's what makes them dangerous. Because they don't follow that idea." Most of the people there looked at him with confusion. "More often than not, even when a situation doesn't favor one of the siblings, that sibling would be the one that gets sent out. Very few know of how they determine which one is sent out into the field. Not even I know of how they decide it. However, that is the great trap of the Rui Britannians."

"That," Ohgi remarked, tension building in his voice, "Doesn't sound good."

"Naomi Inoue, let's set the stage: The battlefield is an urban environment, let's say the Shinjuku Ghetto. You have eight Knightmares, counting yourself. The enemy has six Knightmares, the Volanus and Aquarius, and a G1 Command Base. For the sake of simplicity, we'll say the Knightmares are Gloucesters. Whichever prince you choose will remain inside the G1, and not participate in the battle until all other Knightmares are destroyed. Who do you choose?" For a moment, Naomi cupped her chin, thinking on the situation.

"Am I allowed to have a specific pilot for one of my Knightmares?"

"Of course."

"Then I choose Castor to remain behind. The simulations show that Kallen's great at close range. With the tight corners of an urban area, the Aquarius won't be able to get an accurate shot in. Get in close, and that Knightmare is scrape."

"YeahHA!" Tamaki roared as he did a fist pump, "Scratch another prince off our list."

"A solid strategy...except, you've now just given command of the remaining six Gloucesters to a man who excels at close range combat, who will coordinate the battle from the G1."

Realization dawned on their faces. Most looked on in horror, while one or two had a look of awe on them.

"That's," Kallen said after snapping out of her daze, "That's the trap. You're basically hoping for two different poisons. Either a pilot who can pierce through any of your defences~"

"Or a commander," Lelouch finished, "Who can outmaneuver your tactics."

"These guys won't be easy," Robbie exclaimed, "Which is why we need Celaeno to succeed in her mission."

"What mission?" Kallen replied.

"Tell me," Lelouch exclaimed to everyone, "What did you notice when I called you all on the PA?" Everyone stared at him.

"You said," Ohgi replied, "All military personal, and the heads of Research and Engineering, come to Operations."

"Correct. Now, what about that felt...wrong." For what felt like forever, there was only silence.

"'All military personal'." a purple hair and eye man, Minami, exclaimed.

'Solid ten seconds before anyone figured that out.' "Correct. As of right now, the total number of soldiers, whether they be pilots or otherwise, is barely ten. We are severely understaffed when it comes to are combat abilities. Because of that, Celaeno is currently on a mission to boost are ranks much more quickly."

"Who's she getting?" Kallen inquired.

"She's heading to Mount Takao to get some samurais."

Near Mount Takao, 8:59 A.M.

Celaeno

Cornelia, using several old mountain roads, was nearing the location of the Blood of the Samurai base, if the intel was to be believed. As she rounded the corner on her bike, she stopped to see Mount Takao in the distance. Luckily, while it was popular among Japanese, after the war, few ever came to this region anymore, let alone see the mountain. She activated the zoom feature in her helmet.

'Dozens of holes around the mountain. Normally not unusual, but the holes are too organized to be natural.' She zoomed in on one of the holes. 'And railroad tracks. Definitely not natural. This has to be the place.'

She made her way to the mountain, stopping just are the edge of the treeline. She noted that the tree line was cut off for some distance.

'Most likely to give enemy forces less cover on approach, but it does make your base stand out slightly more. Also, don't think I don't see that sniper in one of the tunnels.' She simply stood there, waiting for any sign that they would actually acknowledge her...or if they were simply going to stare at her like she was the most unusual thing in the world. 'Which isn't that far from the truth. Don't know if me wearing this is more or less absurd than my siblings when they convinced me to dye my hair all those years ago. Why couldn't I make it red like Euphie's~'

Cornelia noticed movement from one of the tunnels. Shortly after, a prewar pickup truck came out, and proceeded towards her. She contemplated moving forward to reach the truck quicker, but decided against it.

'This is their turf. Best not take any aggressive movement.' The truck stopped short of Celaeno, and, from the cargo bed of the truck, a man with brown hair and green eyes stood up. Judging from the features on his face, she determined he might be around 30, but the gray hair strands on him told her his stress all too well.

"I take it you're Celaeno."

"You would be correct."

"And," the man said as he leaned on the hood of the truck, "What would the most wanted woman in all of Britannia want with us? An alliance, perhaps?" Cornelia couldn't tell if he actually knew why she was here and was simply taunting her, or if he didn't.

"Not alliance. Recruitment." The man looked at her with annoyance.

The man sighed, "You'll have to talk with the boss. Come along." He then sat back down as the truck turned around. Cornelia followed to the side as the two vehicles entered the mountain.

Viceroy Administration Building, Tokyo

Pollux rui Britannia

Pollux, Castor, Darlton, and Guilford were all waiting in the Viceroy office, with him sitting while the other stood. They were intending to question Jeremiah Gottwald on the past actions of Clovis, as well as his own actions recently. Though he showed great loyalty to his late brother, what Zero revealed has raised some concerns, not to mention Jeremiah's compliance to Zero's demand.

'Honestly, I would say the embarrassment he's been facing is punishment enough, but, given the situation we have, something has to be done.'

A knock came from the door.

"Enter." The door open, revealing Jeremiah in his military uniform.

"Your highnesses." Jeremiah exclaimed as he bowed.

"At ease, Margrave." Jeremiah stood up, but Pollux could see the tension in his face.

"Jeremiah Gottwald," Guilford exclaimed, "Your actions have resulted in Zero and Celaeno escaping without punishment. What do yo~"

"Guilford!" Pollux interjected, "We are here to question him and deliver the appropriate punishment." Guilford decided to remain quiet after his statement, but Darlton kept an eye on him.

"Now, Jeremiah, I'm gonna ask you a few questions. How you respond to them will determine the severity of your punishment. Understand."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Good. First off, were you aware this girl that Clovis was interested in?"

"No, my Lord. After the bridge incident, I looked into it, and all I could find before I was metaphorically tossed out of this office was something called 'Code R'."

"Hm," Pollux mused, noticing his brother pulling out a coin and flipping it into the air, "Do you know of anyone else who might've worked on Code R."

"I only discovered that General Bartley is involved with the project."

'Huh, I'll have to make a call to the Homeland sometime soon.' "Very well then. I don't see any reason to punish you for something you weren't informed of, let alone a part of. Now we get to the real issue...What is Orange?"

Silence.

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Castor flipping his coin.

"Jeremiah. What is Orange?" Pollux questioned again, this time with a little venom in his voice.

"...Forgive me, your highness, but I will not discuss the purpose of Orange."

Darlton and Guilford looked furious, Castor looked amused, while Pollux simply placed his hand on the bridge of his nose.

"Your prince," Darlton exclaimed, "Just gave you a direct order, Margrave. And you're intending to disobey that order?"

"Would you have me disobey Prince Clovis's orders?"

"My brother is gone. His orders~"

"Still stand."

Once more, there was silence. Jeremiah stood, unflinching. Afraid, but unflinching.

'Brother, what the hell did you do to earn such loyalty from this man?' "I will ask one question… Is what Zero said about Orange true? Is it worse than Clovis experimenting on another human being?"

"...Yes."

Again, there was silence. Pollux and Castor could understand hiding whatever Orange was from anyone else.

"I might be more confident about telling you if we didn't have a traitor amongst us."

That got everyone's attention.

"Excuse me?" Castor inquired.

"The only ones who knew of Orange were me and Prince Clovis."

'Wait.' "So how did Zero find out? There's no way he could've simply guessed."

"My point exactly. Prince Clovis was a bit lavish when it came to running Area 11, but he was dead serious on Orange, and this Code R. We both also swore never to reveal Orange to anyone. Which means~"

"Someone else told him." Guilford finished what everyone else was thinking.

"Is that," Castor finally spoke up, "Why you wanted Suzaku to take Kewell and the mutineers alive? You think one of them might've been the traitor?"

"Maybe."

"Then why didn't you simply let Suzaku kill them, or, better yet, you still have the final say on their fates. Treason is punishable by death."

"If we kill them," Jeremiah retorted, "Then how do we know if we actually killed the traitor? We'll always be looking over our shoulders, paranoid at the possibility that we didn't kill him."

'God DAMNIT, this is not getting anywhere!' "We're getting off track," He said, bringing the group to order, "Despite your actions, you still have the best interests of the Empire at hand. I won't be taking away your command, nor will I be demoting you. I will also spare the mutineers.

However, the Purebloods will be placed under restricted supervision. Until this traitor is found, or Zero and Celaeno are dealt with, your forces will be placed under the command of General Dalton. Dalton, I trust you'll be strict, but not cruel, in how you'll use them."

"Of course, you highness." Darlton replied.

"Good. You are all dismissed." With Pollux's statement, the two knights and margrave left the room.

"Not," Castor commented, "How I expected this meeting to go."

"What did you expect?"

"Demotion, dishonorably discharge. Some form of reprimand. Then again, I didn't expect the possibility of a traitor."

"You are correct, brother. I did intend to demote him. But, with his mention of a traitor. I don't want to give Zero the satisfaction."

"A fair point. Any suspects?"

"Only ones I can think of are the ones that partook in the mutiny against Jeremiah." Just then, Pollux got a notification on his deck computer.

'Well, it's about time.' He stood up, noticing his brother had an almost feral smile on him.

"Well," Pollux stated, "Shall we~"

"Make some samurais bleed out," Castor finished as he tossed the coin to Pollux, "Never thought they'd find them."

With that, the two left, heading for the military hangers.

Mount Takao, 9:18 A.M.

Cornelia

"You've not offering a lot, Celaeno." The leader of the BotS, Kikuchi Doi, a middle aged man with long brown hair and yellow eyes, commented. The two were in a bunker inside the mountain, discussing having some of the BotS join the Black Knights. Negotiations...were less than preferable.

"You're basically looking to take some of our men, some who have been with us since our creation four years ago, into a group that just formed less than a week ago."

"I understand you're frustrated, but you have to consider~"

"That you've simply dropped the anvil on us all. I do appreciate what you've done, truly, you've galvanized us into more immediate action. But it doesn't change the fact that, by killing Clovis, and your display on the bridge, you've put a target on all of us. Clovis was not a good man, but, for whatever reason, he didn't take us seriously. Given several more years, and we could've had a force that could match any Britannian assault."

'Only if they kept the current Knightmares in stock, which, given Shinjuku, is highly doubtful.'

"But now, you've replaced him with a couple of warmongers who will stamp out even the slightest hint of resistance. So, tell me, why should I give my people over to someone who put us in this precarious position in the first place?"

"Because it worked!" Cornelia shouted as she stood up.

That shut him up real quick, much to her amusement.

"For seven years, the Britannians have stomped out any hope of an independent Japan, hoping that the will of the Japanese would shrivel and die. Look at the Ghettos, and ask them how many would fight! Many of them see you as terrorists, as they have given up and accepted Britannian rule. But, three days ago, that changed. The impossible happened. Not only did the Britannians lose to a force they had outnumbered and outmatched, but a member of the Imperial Family was killed inside his own base. You said it yourself, after what we did, almost every resistance group started kicking up a storm. If the Black Knights do even more, then the fires of the Japanese will be relit, and we can finally start to give the Britannians the fight we deserved."

The two simply stared at each other, letting reality sink in.

'I don't know how Lelouch handles giving a speech like that with cracking. Makes me feel a little ashamed.'

"I will," Kikuchi finally said, "Order my men to ask around for potential recruits."

"That's all I'm asking."

11:01 A.M.

Cornelia was waiting in the main area of the BotS, a transport hub for the entire mountain. The setup was simple, but effective. The defences were all stationed on tracks, so that they can easily be moved from place to place. However~

'This means they don't have enough for all the tunnels, which is a bad sign. Like not having enough lifeboats for a ship. Okay, maybe not the best comparison, but the Rui Britannians will exploit this quickly.'

"Okay," Cornelia turned, and saw Kikuchi approaching her with a notepad, "I've asked around, and around twenty people are willing to join you."

'Twenty out of 250. Not ideal, but Ruben might say something like '1% of something is better than 100% of nothing', or some other cliche.' "Then, if I could borrow a truck, I'll be on my way with them."

"Commander!" Kikuchi's radio blasted.

"Report."

"Trouble. I'm spotting an entire column of Britannian forces, including a G1 bearing royal symbols."

"What!?"

'Shit, they're already moving in.' "Commander, you can't face this size of a force. Your forces have no Knightmares, you don't have enough turrets to cover the exits, and you have no underground escape routes. You have to evacuate NOW!" Cornelia checked her helmet radio, but found he signal was being jammed.

'Wait, why aren't the BotS~wait, not only are they using short range radios, but they're prewar. Slightly ingenious.'

"Tahara, prime the entrance detonators on all tunnels from South-West to North-East! Kawai, move all turrets to the North to West tunnels! Osada, round up all the men not part of the turret crews here! Get all the trucks in here as well! MOVE!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Giving us a chance."

10 minutes later

"Alright," Kikuchi exclaimed as he looked over a group of nearly 200, "As you've heard, the Viceroy's forces are heading here. I will not lie to you, men, but we cannot hold the base against the forces coming our way." Heated talk began amongst the people.

"However, I will not let us die without a fighting chance. So, with that, I present you with three options," He pointed to Celaeno in the far back, located between two sets of trucks. If you wish to either remain in the Blood of the Samurai, then enter the trucks on Celaeno's right. The trucks on her left are for those that are wishing to join her and Zero's group, the Black Knights. However, the third option will result in your death. You can stay behind with the remaining 75 to help make sure the other two group can escape. I know this isn't what you wanted. It isn't what any of us signed up for. However, no matter what you decide, {in your blood, you will always be samurais}!" He finishes his speech in Japanese, earning a roar of approval from the soldiers. Some of them moved towards Kikuchi as a sign that they were staying, while most rapidly began mounting the Praga V3Ss.

Surprisingly, more were getting into the trucks intended for the Black Knights, at a ratio of 2:1.

"Well," Kikuchi stated as he approached her, his voice broken, "Looks like you'll be getting your recruits."

"I didn't want them like this." She said remorsefully.

"I know. But you were right about one thing: You lit the fire of Japan back up. Now, it's up to all of us to keep the fire roaring. Good luck."

"Thank you," Cornelia stated, then did a Japanese bow and spoke Japanese, "{May the honor of the samurai be with always.}"

Kikuchi eyes widen in shock, but was quickly replaced with a smile and bowed, "{And may their strength guide you through these dark days.}"

11:42 A.M.

Castor

"Something's not right." Castor heard Pollux say over the radio, but he didn't care. He was finally back on the battlefield. He had begun the battle before the encirclement had properly finished, but, since the enemy reportedly had no Knightmares, he saw no need to wait.

'Seriously, after losing four times in a row, I was starting to think he rigged it.' "You worry too much, brother." Several terrorists launched rockets at him, but he easily dodged them and the nearby Sutherlands cut them to pieces. He advanced to a tunnel, but his onboard proximity warned him of an armed explosive device. On instinct, he jumped back just as the tunnel entrance exploded, sealing the way.

"Oh, what's the matter? Rather bury yourself than face your death."

As if to answer his question, dozens of tunnels exploded, sealing the tunnels.

"I was KIDDING!"

"Brother! Listen, why would they move all their turrets to the direction we aren't coming from? Are they trying to make this easy?"

"Maybe they thought by having all the turrets on one side, it would force us to approach from their direction."

"But we could've easily scaled over them, negating that."

"This is Orion Squadron," a Britannian soldier roared over the radio roared, "We're getting hammered here! Where's our support!?"

"Artillery units," another officer replied, "Do not have an accurate shot at that side of Mount Takao. E.T.A. five minutes."

Quickly, Castor realized his error.

"Damnit," Pollux exclaimed, figuring the same thing out, "All forces to the Northeastern side! They're trying to make a break for it!" Immediately, Castor the Volanus up the mountainside, intending to hit them from above.

Celaeno

"Hey, lady," one of the BotS called out from within their truck, "You might wanna put your cloak away. Tighten it or something. If the Brits see you, they'll target your group specifically."

They were inside one of the tunnels, waiting for Kikuchi to give the signal. Once given, they would make a mad dash to the treeline. Not the best plan, but the only one they had that didn't involve all of them dying.

"Good call." Cornelia replied as she detached her cap, and began placing it in the gun compartment of her bike (after taking the gun out and placing it on her back).

"Not only that," a soon to be Black Knight continued, "But you should stay between two of the trucks. The longer it takes for them to see you, the better." She nodded as he maneuvered her bike between Trucks 8 and 12

Fifteen trucks, six BotS, nine soon-to-be Black Knights.

150 soldiers, packed into the trucks with supplies.

And over 300 yards of open field to the treeline.

'This is gonna get ugly.'

"ALRIGHT," Kikuchi's voice boomed over the PA, "WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN, BUT THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING! GO, GO GOOO!"

Sixteen engines from four different tunnels all roared to life.

Sixteen vehicles shot out of the tunnels, down the mountain.

Fifthteen reached the bottom.

"Watch the rockets!" Truck 2 was hit by a rocket just as it had exited the tunnel.

"Holy SHIT, what happened to our TURRET SUPPORT!"

"Truck 7, incoming on the right!" Truck 7 lost several right side wheels, causing it to carene, then barrel roll, and the front becoming engulfed in flames.

"By Kami, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! Truck 13 got riddled with Knightmare rounds, and began slowing down.

"Truck 4, rocket, ten o'clock!" Truck 4 swerved out of the way, only to have the rocket past him and hit Truck 5 dead on.

At this point, the two groups diverged, with the BotS heading Northwest, and Cornelia's group heading North.

"Can't keep dodging! HELP!" Truck 1's ammo crates exploded, sending the truck's rear skyward. With Truck 15 close behind, it didn't have time to turn or stop, and crashed head on into it, wrecking both.

Cornelia looked back, and saw the Volanus near the top of the mountain, pulling one of its spear out of a turret. It looked at Cornelia's group and stared. She sees it twist the spear, holding it like a javelin.

'He sees me!' The Volanus sends the spear flying in an arc towards their position.

'The angle of that spear. It won't hit me. But~' "Truck 11, dodge!" She roars to the truck a short distance in front of her.

"Where!? WHERE!?" The truck to her right, 12, sees the spear overhead.

"Genbo, BRAKE! BRAAAAKE!" Truck 11 slams on the brakes, but as it does so, the spear impales the engine, and pins the truck to the ground as it tips forward . Cornelia has to quickly dodge the truck and, as she passes, she notices blue electricity coming from the spear, before the engine explodes. Shortly after, artillery round began impacting the area. At this point, only three trucks were for the BotS, Trucks 3, 4, and 6. Any trucks left were for the Black Knights.

"Truck 6, you've got two Sutherlands DIRECTLY~"

"We see them, but there's NOWHERE ELSE TO GO! Firing any rockets to hopefully tak~" Truck 6 is hit by an artillery round, exploding in a ball of fire. Trucks 3 and 4 fire rockets from the cargo beds, and took out one of the Sutherlands. A couple of the remaining turrets on the mountain focus fire on the remaining Sutherland, taking it out.

Having reached the treeline, Cornelia had maneuvered her bike to the front of the group so she could direct them.

"Call it in, BotS group, status."

"This is Truck 4. Us and Truck 3 are the only ones that made it."

"This is Truck 14, Trucks 8-10, and 14 on our side made it Celaeno."

"Jesus. We lost EIGHTY people in less than a minute?" Even Cornelia was slightly shook from the rate of death that occured around her.

"For now, we stick to the plan. Group B, you'll follow me until we get to the base. Group A, {Good Luck}." Cornelia finished in Japanese.

"{Thanks. You too}."

With that, the range of the radios became too great to stay in contact, and the Blood of the Samurai was no more.

Ashford Academy, 5:42 P.M.

Lelouch

'Damnit, damnit, damnit!' Lelouch almost voice out loud as he paced his room. First off, his bastard of a father gave a speech involving Britannia's supremacy, how equality is wrong, and that evolution is the key factor of why Britannia was the greatest empire in the world. And he said all this during Clovis's funeral. Afterwards, he tried to get some more info out of C.C., who was taking to school much better than expected, but she slyly stonewalled him.

'She's reminds me of Milly, just a lot more innuendos.'

And, NOW, it's been several hours since he had gotten word that the Rui Britannians were attacking Mount Takao, and he hasn't heard anything from Cornelia. Either she's gone dark, or~

'NO' Lelouch thought, shaking his head, 'Stop thinking like that. She'll be fine.' He decided that he needed some fresh air. He exited the manor, and immediately ran into Kallen.

"Oh," Kallen remarked, "Sorry."

"No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

"BK business?"

"Gee, what made you think that."

"Well," Kallen smirked, "As the only person here who could comprehend what you're talking about and not report you on it, why don't you talk about it."

'Is...is she trying to pry me for information?! Okay, Kallen Kozuki, I'll play your game.' The two then found a bench to sit.

Several minutes later

"So," Kallen exclaimed, having heard the situation, "The Rui Britannians are about to wipe out the Blood of the Samurai."

"Yep." Lelouch replied dryly.

"And you're afraid your," she took a quick look around, "Sister might've gotten hurt."

"She, Euphie and Nunnally are the only family I have left. I...I...I can't lose them."

"What happened to your mother?"

Lelouch sat there in silence.

'Some of the truth, but not the whole truth.'

"If it's too sensitive~"

"She died before the war."

"And your father?" Kallen realized she made a mistake, as the normally neutral face that Lelouch was famous for turned into pure rage.

"Didn't give a damn." It took everything not to say that loudly. "After the war, he probably assumes we're dead, and I prefer it's kept that way."

The two just sat there, in silence

'Time to turn this around.' "So, how's your mother?"

"Oh, you mean the woman my father married because she's a b~"

"I meant Arita Kozuki." The look of shock on her face quickly turn to that of disgust.

"She means nothing to me. Not only did she sell her pride by going back to him, practically begging to be a maid for him, but she doesn't even bother trying to defend herself from either my step-mother or the other maids when they harass her. She's pathetic." Kallen noticed that Lelouch was giving her a look that a parent would give to a child needing a lecture. "What?"

"There are two things you should know: First, you're contradicting what you said days ago when you said you were indifferent to most Honorary Britannians."

Kallen made to point out that she wasn't referring to her mother, but Lelouch stopped her.

"Second, do you know what all the best mothers have in common?"

"..."

"They will give up everything to ensure their children have the best possible life."

Kallen stared at him with her mouth opened like a fish.

"Wait, are you saying that my mom~"

"I'm saying there might be a reason she's willing to endure all that punishment."

Before she could reply, his phone rang. Lelouch looked at it, and saw it had a message: [Contact, Cornelia].

"Finally," Lelouch exclaimed as he stood up, heading back to the manor, "Head back to base, Cornelia's returned."

"Oh no, you don't," Kallen got up and quickly followed him, "I'm not taking the long way around when there's a perfectly close entrance right here." For a moment, Lelouch said nothing as the two walked towards the manor.

"So long as you're willing to bear the consequences of your friends knowing who me and Cornelia are." The two enter the manor, heading straight for the library.

The Nest

Zero

"Seriously," Kallen inquired, having changed into the new outfit for the Black Knights (the one from the show), "Why does that elevator need not only a button press from your watch, but also a specific book to be removed?"

"What if Rivalz got a little too curious about Cornelia's book collection, and removed that book. Or, if someone stole me or Cornelia's watch and found that button?" Kallen immediately shut up after that, seeing the logic in his statement. They had entered the Staging Area, waiting for Cornelia and getting an update.

"Status?!" He called out.

"Scanners show six contacts," one of the SA operators said, reviewing the info about the incoming objects, "One of them has Celaeno's signature, while the others appear to be trucks." At this point, the other soldiers of the Black Knights, as well as a team of medical staff, rushed into the area. When Ohgi saw the medical staff, he immediately realized what was happening, and motioned for his friends to stay back. One of the tunnel doors opened, revealing Celaeno's bike...and several heavily damaged trucks. Some of the cargo bed's roofs were ripped apart, other's had flat tires, and one had the entire window screen riddled with bullet holes.

"Celaeno." Lelouch happily exclaimed, moving towards her as she stepped off her bike.

"Brother." Celaeno replied as the two embraced.

"What took you so long?"

"We had to spend two hours hiding in a mineshaft while the heat died down, then quietly make our way back to the Hive tunnel, which was an hour away at my speed, so imagine trying to get there while directing several slow trucks." The two separated, and Lelouch got a look at the men that arrived.

"Get the injured to Medical Bay 1. Have any that are critically injured moved to Medical Bay 4."

With that, the medical crews began to usher the wounded out of the SA. Ohgi directed some of the others to help carry the critically wounded on stretchers. Zero then turned his attention.

"I know that today has been one of the hardest most of you have ever faced since the Second Pacific War. I know that you have lost friends, family, loved ones. And, for that, I won't say some glorious speech to embolden you. You need time to grieve. So grieve, take heart in the friends that are still with you. And, whenever you are ready, we will have work to do." Most of them looked too dejected to actually acknowledge his words.

'One of the major disadvantages to being a masked man is that few can relate to you. What else can I say to~'

"Come on, rookies," Tamaki happily exclaimed, knocking everyone out of their stupor, "Let's head to the Barracks. From there, you can either head to the Mess Hall for some chow, or let me lead you on a tour of the place."

Somehow, Tamaki's chippy attitude towards the situation made most of the former BotS perk up. Not having faces of happiness, but some at least cracking a smile as they moved towards him. Tamaki turned and headed towards the Barracks, but Zero placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tamaki, thanks for the save." Tamaki looked bewildered at him.

"Eh, no big deal." He then left, with the new recruits following shortly behind.

"How bad?" Kallen inquired.

"They pounced on us so fast. Even though we had at least a ten minute warning, they still barely had time to get the evacuation underway. I couldn't even contact you due to the jammers."

"Well," Lelouch commented, "That explains why we couldn't get a word from you. Things are moving fast. Without the BotS, we'll have to resort to another, less savory group."

"Less savory?"

"Basically, Kallen," Celaeno replied, "The BotS was large and well trained, not to the JLF standard, but still trained. This group, the Yamato Alliance, is basically a bunch of hot heads. Getting them to join will be hard. Getting them to listen, even harder."

"Agreed, sister. But they're our only option left now."

Viceroy Administration Building

Castor

"Well," Castor exclaimed as he dropped onto the bed in his room, "That was entertaining."

"Several trucks did escape." Pollux retorted.

"Even still, we broke their backs. Even embarrassed Celaeno in the process."

"Oh, and how do you figure?" Pollux was sure he knew where his brother was going, but he was curious.

"It was clear that the, what were they called, 'Blood of the Samurai' were not the group Zero and Celaeno were working for. So, that means that either they were looking for an alliance, or~"

"They were looking for soldiers. Which means they're low on manpower. And given the reports that there were no indications of the two ever doing covert operations before Clovis's death, then that means they must be new to the game. Which means they need people. We just need to squeeze out all their options, and we can snuff out this light before it starts a fire." Pollux looked at the map of the Tokyo Settlement. Castor noticed what he was looking at.

'Oh, that could work.' "Brother, I think I know of a way to make them lose allies, and possibly capture them at the same time."

"Oh, and how would that happen."

"We'll just have to pay a visit to the Saitama Ghetto." Castor then gave Pollux a smile that would charm the Devil.

Author's Notes: Saitama. The first real fight between the Black Knights and the HBE is fast approaching. Leave a review of the chapter down below, criticism is always welcomed so long as it's constructive.

Question: I've noticed that when I write from the perspective of with Zero or Celaeno, I still use their true names. Does that seem fine, or would you rather have it be 'Zero commented' instead of 'Lelouch commented'?