Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its canon characters.
Kallen regained consciousness to find herself wrapped in something soft and warm. A second later she realized that she was still tangled up in the blanket on Lelouch's bed. Kallen's ears picked up the muffled sound of his voice, and she opened her big blue eyes to see nothing but darkness. As she tried to sit up it became clear that Lelouch was no longer in bed, and had put a large pillow in his place before pulling the blanket over her.
Kallen pushed it all away and sat up to see Lelouch leaning back on a chair in his Zero outfit, minus the mask, talking on a phone, a clearly feminine voice coming from the other end. The first thing she felt was an unfamiliar pang of jealously. Inside her head, the emotional Kallen and the rational Kallen began a fierce duel. The emotional Kallen struck first.
"Look at him! He refused to do anything more than kiss you last night and now he's talking to another woman. He has to be hiding something!"
"Think, Kallen. He's outrageously attractive. Over half of Ashford Academy's female student population wants him, whether they are straight or not. It's very improbable that you are the first woman he's ever spent the night in bed with. Just be glad he's interested in you at all."
"No shit, miss rational. He's got so many other girls he doesn't even have enough energy left for you!"
"That's baseless, Emotions, you don't know how many he's been with, or even what he wants in-"
The mental duel was cut short by a finger poking her between the eyes.
"Are you alright Kallen? You're not breathing." Kallen awoke from her trance like state and finally remembered to breathe.
"Y-Yeah I'm fine, Lelouch. Just thinking, that's all."
"Something's bothering you, isn't it. You just aren't the kind of person to think hard enough to forget to breathe."
"You have someone else, don't you?" She asked him, trying hard not to sound jealous.
"That's what you were thinking about?"Lelouch sounded surprised.
"Yes, Lelouch. You have to have someone else. I was on top of you, getting ready to take my clothes off last night. I could see the desire in your eyes. There's just no way you could have resisted that and then sleep with me unless you have someone else to please you. And I wouldn't believe for a second that you could have done that on willpower alone."
"You're right. I never told you because I thought it was irrelevant, but I won't try to keep secrets from you."
"Well, who is it, Lelouch? Shirley...Milly?" Kallen wondered, her mind imagining the two most likely candidates.
"What about Nina?" Lelouch quickly replied with a grin. Kallen visibly shuddered.
"...There's just no way you would want Nina...I can't even imagine you two together."
"But she's so smart and so very submissive."
"You're creeping me out now, Lelouch." Lelouch started laughing.
"No, its not Nina." He finally told her.
"If you said yes I would have had a heart attack."
"Its CC." A blanket of silence engulfed the room for a good 20 seconds.
"The girl in the straight jacket with green hair? Are you serious, Lelouch?" Kallen's voice conveyed more curiosity than anger.
"I had to repay her for giving me my Geass somehow. And spending five years tied up in an isolation chamber must have been hell for her."
"So she wanted to screw you because you released her in Shinjuku?"
"We have a mutual understanding. As payment for giving me Geass, I have to provide her with lots of pizza, sex, and complete my end of whatever the contract we made is. Our relationship is more of a business deal than real attraction, though I will admit, with fourteen centuries of experience, to say a night in bed with her is like a trip to heaven and back is a severe understatement."
"So you two are just using each other?"
"Pretty much. You shouldn't feel threatened by her, CC only really has one asset, you have three."
"Three?" Lelouch got out of his chair and sat down next to Kallen.
"CC's just an ancient witch with a really good body and an overcharged libido. She's my friend and ally, but CC isn't the kind of person I could love."
"Did you just say you love me?" She blushed.
"Not yet, Kallen. But I certainly could. You have three things no other woman has more than two of. One's here." He rubbed his hand on her right thigh. "Another is up here." Lelouch tapped her on the side of the head. "And what really makes you special is in here." he put his gloved hand over her heart. Kallen put her strong arms around him and pulled him down onto the bed. "Remember what I said last night. We're going to wait until Cornelia's tied up in a cage downstairs."
"Why do you have to torture me like this, Lelouch?"
Lelouch looked into her eyes and smiled. "Carrot on a stick, Kallen. "
Ten minutes later, Zero and Kallen were walking down the hall toward the large open area in the back of the warehouse. All attendant Black Knights had been called to the spot for what they were told was a major announcement.
"So who was it on the phone earlier?" Kallen asked her masked companion, curious as to who the other woman really was.
"Euphemia. Calling to deliver me the key to our victory."
"What is it, Zero?"
"An email containing complete lists of Britannian IFF frequencies, communications codes, and unbelievably, a complete copy of Cornelia's force deployments."
"Did you just say what I think you said? We really have their deployment maps?"
"Indeed we do, thanks to my wonderful sister. With this I will know what Cornelia will do better than she will." He said with confidence.
"Fighting Cornelia out in the open suddenly feels a lot less like scaling Olympus."
"That's brilliant, Kallen!" Zero blurted out.
"What did I say?"
"Olympus. We are going to climb a mountain to fight a goddess today. Operation Olympus it is then."
"That has a rather epic ring to it, Zero."
"Just think about it, If we really do win this war, if we really can defeat the greatest empire in all history, perhaps it will be our names will be on a history test twenty five centuries later."
"I can already imagine some little kid falling asleep in class listening to the story of how we rose from a bunch of resistance fighters in a ghetto to world conquering heroes."
Kallen and Zero approached the stage where over three hundred men and women wearing the uniform of the Order stood, waiting for Zero to appear. Kallen split off from him and took a spot at the front as Zero walked up to the center of the raised stage. Zero stopped in the middle and turned to face the audience before him.
"My Black Knights, each and every one of you who stands here this morning are united by our common values. We stand together against the evils of the Holy Britannian Empire. The Order of Black Knights exists to oppose their evil, to fight against their tyranny, and build a better future for the world.
Today we will translate our words, feelings, and values into action! Later today, Viceroy Cornelia will be launching a massive attack on the main JLF stronghold at Narita. She believes that we can do nothing but hide in the shadows, that we would not dare stand against her in the light. I believe she is dead wrong!"
The crowd of assembled Black Knights were visibly moved and motivated by their leader's speech. They began chanting 'Zero". Zero put his arms out and motioned for them to quiet down enough to let him finish.
"At noon today the Britannian Army will begin to cut off all access to the area surrounding the JLF mountain fortress. As our response to their move, I have developed Operation Olympus." Down in the front row, Kallen smiled. "We will beat the Britannians to Narita and deploy our forces upon the summit of the mountain. When they are fully engaged against the defending JLF forces, we will launch a massive counterattack from the summit of the mountain and destroy them in open battle.
The objectives of Operation Olympus are as follows. Our primary aim is to capture Cornelia. Secondary objectives include the destruction of the Britannian forces, eliminating enemy HVTs, notably her knights, and the rescue of the surviving JLF forces. Pack your bags, we leave in one hour."
At the very moment Zero's speech ended, the Black Knights raced to pack and prepare their equipment for battle. Kallen walked forward toward Zero as the assembly began to scatter off in every direction.
"Why are we trying to get there before the Brits setup their containment, Zero?"
"Cornelia will expect a surprise attack from behind, it is only logical. But tell me Kallen, how many people would actually expect a large surprise attack from inside their containment?"
"I certainly wouldn't."
"Combine that with the fact that a certain reserve unit is going to backstab them at the most opportune moment, and we have a winning plan."
"A reserve unit?" She wondered who would be left in reserve.
"Jeremiah provided me with a perfect opportunity to 'convince' the Purist faction to change colors." Kallen winked her left eye at him.
"Would I really waste my time doing it any other way? Except for Jeremiah and Viletta, the rest of the Purists are completely expendable. All they really need to accomplish is to cut through the enemy's rear units like mobile artillery. If we get lucky they might even be able to take out the G1, but I wouldn't count on it."
"I guess we should go get ready now."
"Indeed. A goddess waits for nobody."
11:30, five hours after the Black Knights moved out, Cornelia and her army approached the target area. At the heart of their force was the G1 mobile command center. The heavy unit moved up the highway leading to Narita, leaving massive treadmarks in the once flat road surface. Four Britannian divisions, along with supporting units proceeded to surround the area and seal off all access. As they approached the target mountain, the force split into seven units and formed a complete contain around the base.
On the bridge of the G1, Cornelia and her knights went over the battle plan one last time.
"Even though we know this well enough to recite it in our sleep, our forces will split into seven units and surround the JLF's main base. As we push up the mountain our advance teams will find entrances to their stronghold. Once the entrances have been cleared our elite strike teams will penetrate the enemy base and destroy them from the inside."
"What if enemy forces appear outside our containment zone?" Euphemia asked the Viceroy.
"You mean Zero? The Black Knights are not even a fifth as strong as the JLF. All they have are a man with a mask and a few stolen Sutherlands. I hope they show up here, that way we can exterminate all of these vermin in a single day." Cornelia was practically radiating confidence.
"Your highness, I have just confirmed that we will indeed have two flights of shortswords as close air support."
"Excellent Darlton, that should make spotting their concealed defenses much easier." Darlton moved much closer to Cornelia and whispered.
"I mean no disrespect, your highness, but why is Euphemia here on a battlefield?"
"She was unusually persistant in her request to come along today. Said she wanted to see a real battle. You do have a point though, Darlton, she seems changed after that hostage incident." Cornelia observed as they glanced over at Euphemia.
"Perhaps it was exposure to real combat, Viceroy. By her own account she did engage in a gunfight with the JLF. Maybe she wants another taste of battle." Darlton theorized.
"I really do hope you are wrong for once, Andreas."
Cornelia walked over to her sister around the other side of the G1's holographic display table.
"Euphemia, since you were so eager to come along on this operation, I'm placing you in charge of the G1 and a reserve armored unit. I need you to protect our field hospitals that will be setup at the edge of the battlefield. Under no circumstances are you to leave them defenseless. Is that clear?'
"Yes, Viceroy. I understand perfectly."
The Black Knights had successfully reached the summit of the mountain undetected. Special advance teams silenced every patrol on the route their convoy of trucks used. Zero then Geassed the captured patrols to ignore their presence and report as if everything was normal to the command center underground.
The Black Knights' assault force began preparing for the battle. 39 knightmares, five prototype tanks, seven automated drilling devices, and over 200 infantrymen moved into their positions and began waiting for the signal to move. The drilling machines began digging into the mountain side.
"Hey Zero! What are the drills for? We digging a tunnel or something?" Tamaki yelled as he approached Zero's knightmare. After Kallen transitioned to the Guren, Zero adopted her reliable old Glasgow and painted it black with a red head and hands.
"Look down, Tamaki, and tell me what you see."
"The ground? Dirt?" Zero visibly looked down toward the ground.
"I see a weapon. A big, powerful, weapon."
"Whatcha mean, Zero? How's the dirt a weapon?"
"The Britannian army does not include digging in their training program. I wonder how long it will take them to dig their way out of a million tons of dirt and rock."
"We're going to hit them with a landslide?" Kallen asked as she walked up to them, amazed at the idea.
"Landslide sounds far too small. We are going to bury them with an avalanche of Japanese earth."
"How? We don't have nearly enough explosives to collapse a mountain."
"Those drills are breaking into deposits of groundwater. Your Guren's radiation claw will provide more than enough heat to boil it, Kallen."
"That dangerous mind of yours is just scary, Zero. The whole world is lucky you're not fighting for Britannia." Zero chuckled under his mask, fully aware of just how lucky the world really was.
"All forces, commence operation!"
At the sound of Viceroy Cornelia's order, all Britannian units broke cover and began advancing on the base of the mountain. Cornelia and her knights launched their Gloucesters from the G1's twin catapults and took their assigned positions throughout the attacking force. As the knightmares pushed up the rough terrain on the flanks, infantry and heavy armor began advancing through the forest on the mountain's southern slope.
A thin blue line of Britannian infantry, backed up by two Panther tanks moved out of the woods and into a clearing on the slope. They moved slowly through the knee high grass, constantly searching for the enemy that was surely waiting for them.
437 meters in front of the lead Britannian infantryman, a single Japanese sniper sat in a well concealed tree perch. She watched them through her scope, using the rifle's laser rangefinder to keep an accurate read of their position. The JLF knew that the base would be found eventually, and had prepared a powerful array of hidden defenses along the slopes. The trigger to one such defensive weapon was sitting next to the sniper's rifle.
The lead soldier in the Britannian advance through the clearing moved cautiously. The sounds of heavy combat could be heard from both the left and right. Reports of enemy Glasgow type knightmares were pouring over the network from other units on the mountain. He glanced behind him to see the rest of his squad, rifles and anti armor weapons sweeping the terrain for any sign of the enemy. They approached the middle of the clearing.
On the other side, the sniper picked up the remote and switched it on. She watched patiently as the Britannians reached the center of the field. Just as they began to move onto the second half, she smiled and mashed in the button.
All along the field there were a series of muffled explosions. Silver metal spheres shot up out of the ground to mid chest height. Before the Britannians could even begin to move, the spheres detonated, spewing out a lethal storm of hot metal fragments. The remote detonated mines shredded the exposed infantry, hot metal cutting through flesh and bone as if it were warm ice cream. The mines were not as lethal as intended however. Although severely wounded, many of the Britannians survived the attack thanks to the protection of their body armor over vital organs.
The squad leader took multiple hits on the exposed areas of his arms and legs. He began to feel cold as blood poured out of his leg wounds. He heard a scream of agony to his right and turned to see one of his heavy weapons specialists, a rather beautiful blonde woman, missing half of her left arm. She looked back at him, her eyes pleading for help, when suddenly, her head snapped to the left, a large jet of blood and brain matter spraying out in front of it. Half a second later his ears registered a distant rifle shot. It was the last thing he would ever hear.
The sniper shifted her crosshairs from her second target to another survivor, and then another. Spent rounds rolled off the floor of the tree perch and to the leaves below. Ten rounds later she reloaded and picked up a laser designator. The laser beam painted the nearest Panther tank and a rocket shot out of the ground on the edge of the field high into the sky before reversing and destroying the tank with its top attack munition. She repeated the action and destroyed the second tank before looking over at her spotter who was busy relaying a report of enemy casualties. He looked back and smiled at her. The smile evaporated as five enemy Sutherlands entered the clearing from the west.
Lieutenant Ericsson and her squad of Sutherlands surveyed the damage. Two burning Panthers and over 30 dead infantry littered the field. She activated her factsphere sensor and selected thermal imaging before scanning the opposite treeline. Her unit detected a heat source in a tree 328 meters away. Rachel and two of her squadmates raised their Sutherlands' KAR 25 rifles, adjusted for elevation, and fired generous bursts at the target heat source. 25 mm HE rounds detonated on and around the target, cutting several trees down in the process. Satisfied that the threat was eliminated, she lead her squad on to their next objective.
On the left flank of the Britannian advance, things were moving along smoothly. JLF infantry and armor tried in vain to slow the attacking forces led by Cornelia herself. Cornelia, Guilford, and two of her other knightmare pilots pushed through the forest on the right flank of their division's main engagement zone in order to flank the enemy. Cornelia's main display beeped and a red threat indicator appeared in front of her.
The ground opened up before the Gloucesters to reveal a large, camouflaged elevator containing three Burai type knightmares.
"Well that's pretty clever of those Elevens. They turned the whole mountain into a fortress."
"Be careful, your highness. We don't know how well those enemy units perform yet." Guilford cautioned her.
"Guilford, do you really believe that these Elevens can come up with advanced knightmares, let alone pilot them well enough to challenge me?"
"Just concerned about your safety, your highness." Guilford replied.
"And while I appreciate that you care, my knight, please get out of my way." Guilford strafed out of Cornelia's path and she redlined her Gloucester, pushing its speed to the limit as she closed on the Burais. They turned and opened fire on her in unison, but were simply not fast enough. Cornelia dodged the bursts of incoming 25mm fire and brought her golden lance up. The four wing blades extended from the main shaft as she made contact with the first Burai. The lance punctured its way through the enemy unit, and the wing blades sliced into the right arm and leg.
She continued right through the destroyed knightmare and lunged at the second, her lance penetrating the main power supply and causing the Burai to explode. Cornelia brought the lance down low as she sped toward the last Burai. An upward thrust punched through the cockpit block and killed the pilot. Before she could withdraw her lance from the disabled unit, multiple tracer rounds flew past her, revealing the presence of additional enemy forces.
Four more Burai units charged out of the forest at her royal purple Gloucester. The Goddess of Victory turned to face them with the Burai still speared on her lance. Holding the disabled unit in front of her as a shield with her right arm, she reached for the KAR 25 rifle magnetically clamped to the side of her cockpit with the left hand. Incoming enemy rounds detonated on the Burai as she fired over the unit's shoulder. Cornelia's streams of accurate fire destroyed three of the enemy units and disabled another.
She withdrew the now bloodstained lance from the third Burai's cockpit and moved over to the crippled unit. The Japanese pilot fired his slash harken, more as a final act of defiance than a real attack. The Second Princess effortlessly blocked the move with her lance before driving it through the seventh Burai's cockpit. Feeling emboldened by her easy victory, she activated an open channel.
"Is there no one else? Is there no one else brave enough to challenge the Goddess of Victory?" a full minute passed with no response, and then finally there was one who would dare to face her.
"The Order of Black Knights are happy to accept your challenge, your highness." A familiar voice burst forth from the radio.
"I don't believe it. You really did show up, Zero. You really have quite the death wish, don't you?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not here because I want to duel you, Cornelia. I'm here because the very Japanese soil you stand on demands justice for Britannia's atrocities. However, being the reasonable man I am, I will give you one chance to surrender."
"Surrender to an Eleven? I'd rather serve my brother Schneizel in a maid costume for a week."
"I'll take that as a no, Viceroy." Cornelia saw Zero turn his head to face another screen in his cockpit. "Use number three, Q1. I want to see the look on her face when you do."
A short distance away from Zero stood the Guren near the auto drillers. The red knightmare walked over to the drill marked with a big yellow 3 and grasped the top of it with its massive silver claw. The claw's fingers were so sharp that even that motion was enough to slice into the drill's exterior.
"Output confirmed, activating radiation claw." Kallen announced over the Black Knights' primary frequency. She flipped a cover off of the switch on her right control stick's thumb button and slammed it down. The small screen above the controls showed a heat surge in excess of 3600C. A blast of hellish crimson light erupted from the palm of the Guren's claw. The energy quickly traveled down the drill shaft and into the deposit of groundwater in the mountainside. The drilling unit melted apart as the radiation burst faded.
Thirteen seconds passed in total silence as everyone waited to see the result. On the fourteenth second the ground began to shake and rumble as the boiling water broke the mountain apart. A massive avalanche of dirt, rock, trees, and anything else caught in its path sped down the south slope. The gigantic surge smashed into the conflicting forces on the mountainside, destroying nearly two entire Britannian divisions along with the few remaining JLF units opposing them. The perfectly timed landslide crushed and buried 49 of Britannia's 116 knightmares, significantly evening the conflict.
Most commanders would begin to worry if they saw almost a third of their force wiped out in an instant, but not Cornelia. She began to boil with rage, angered that so many of her solders were wiped out by such an elaborate trap. She quickly examined her display that showed their real time positioning. The Britannian force was effectively split in two. Of the remaining forces, the left flank, led by Cornelia herself, was the stronger of the two units. She began to rally her forces for a counterattack.
At the base of the mountain on the edge of the battlefield, Euphemia and the G1's command crew watched with surprise as they saw a large portion of their force go down in seconds. Euphemia herself was not surprised to see an artificial landslide, her brother told her of it on the phone hours earlier, but rather at the amazing effectiveness it had. She knew that the landslide was Zero's signal for her to carry out her part of the plan. Euphemia took a very deep breath as she pulled a phone from her pocket. To work with Zero against terrorists could be considered a move of desperation, to work with Zero against her own people was clear treason, something she had spent the morning preparing herself for. She began dialing a number as she exhaled.
A kilometer away from the G1 stood the thirteen remaining members of the Purist faction. Most of them had their cockpits open, being positioned so far from the actual combat there was little risk. Jeremiah and Viletta watched the massive landslide from their safe distance. Even this far away the sight was still awe inspiring.
"What the hell?" Viletta asked to Jeremiah on her right.
"I'm not sure Viletta, although it does seem rather convenient for the JLF."
"You think they intentionally destroyed their base?" She asked her superior.
"It's a possibility, but I doubt it. That landslide almost certainly hit the JLF forces on that side of the mountain, and the JLF aren't known for sacrificing their own men like that." Jeremiah's phone began vibrating in his pocket. "Huh? Who would be calling me in the middle of an operation?" He fished the phone from his uniform and answered. "Hello?"
"It is now the most opportune moment, Jeremiah." A voice he did not expect to hear told him.
"Euphemia?" Jeremiah's voice betrayed his surprise at receiving Zero's signal to backstab the Britannian forces from Euphemia.
"The JLF's electronic warfare measures prevent him from contacting us directly. He informed me this morning that the landslide would be the signal."
There was no doubt that she was indeed with Zero, there was no other way for her to know to say that phrase. "Understood, your highness." Jeremiah replied.
"Take your Sutherlands and attack the G1's point defenses and the mobile artillery unit in front of us. I'll handle the G1 from within." The princess commanded him.
"Understood, we are moving out now." Jeremiah put the phone away and called out to Viletta and their 11 Geassed subordinates. "All forces prepare for battle, we have received confirmation and our objectives."
"Jeremiah, what's happening?" Viletta asked as she started up her Sutherland.
"Apparently Euphemia is working with Lelouch as well. She gave me the correct signal and ordered us to attack the G1 and the nearby artillery unit."
"He's turned Euphemia as well? Is there anything the Black Prince cannot do?"
"I would say he can't fly, but he would grow wings just to prove me wrong." Jeremiah switched to the Purists' channel. "You men are to destroy the G1's guarding unit and point defenses, then assist us with any remaining artillery."
"Yes, my lord." All eleven Purists replied in unison, their eyes emitting a faint red glow.
"What the hell is this?" One of the G1's command crew members asked with shock on his face as thirteen blue and red Sutherlands began attacking the G1. The G1's three guarding Sutherlands and four Panther tanks were no match for Jeremiah's assault. They quickly fell to the attacking force who now redirected their attack against the G1's defense turrets.
"Damn those Purist traitors to hell!" Another of the command crew yelled as the bridge began shaking.
Behind the commanders, Euphemia's eyes began to glow bright crimson as the moment of action arrived. The Geass worked overtime to give her the strength to actually do it. She reached under the back of her dress and produced a small concealed pistol. As the commanders argued over a course of action, the princess behind them took careful aim.
"My brother needs me to be strong now, there's no turning back." She said to herself in a low voice as her finger tightened around the trigger. She squeezed the trigger and a single round exited the barrel, accompanied by a loud bang. Euphemia's bullet hit the middle of the three commanders in the back of the head. As a large portion of his brain sprayed out over the holographic table the other two turned to see their princess holding a smoking gun. They stood speechless, their brains simply not capable comprehending the idea that they were being betrayed by royalty. Euphemia shot the second commander in the chest, two bullets tearing through his internal organs. The third man took a bullet in the neck, shattering his spine.
Euphemia again reached under her dress to the magazines attached to her inner thighs. She finished reloading the pistol just as a fully armed and armored soldier came into the room, alarmed by the gunfire.
She immediately started shooting at him. Three rounds were stopped by his armor, but the fourth ricocheted into his right arm, forcing him to lose grip on the rifle he was carrying. She fired two more shots, one striking the upper portion of his chest armor, the second finding a nice new home inside his neck. Euphemia advanced on him as he crumpled to the floor. The glow in her eyes faded slightly as the act of killing became more familiar to her.
"I can really do this." She said to herself as her confidence grew. She stripped the body of his assault rifle and three additional magazines, a total of 200 rounds, and exited the bridge. She made her way down three hallways toward the knightmare bay. As she ran into the fourth she came across five fully armed soldiers. There was not a chance in hell that she could actually beat them five against one, so Euphemia fell back on something she had sixteen years of practice doing. Acting like an innocent, scared girl. She needed to be convincing. Euphemia fired a ten round burst down the last hallway and started running toward the soldiers.
"Your highness! What the hell is going on?" The sergeant asked as his men readied their rifles.
"We're under attack! JLF soldiers are trying to capture me! Take your men and go after them at once!" She ordered in her most convincing voice.
"Understood, your highness!" The five soldiers moved around the corner and out of sight. Euphemia let out a giggle.
"I can't believe they really fell for that." She continued the remaining two halls down to the upper deck of the knightmare bay. The door slid open and she looked around. Three knightmares were visible in the bay, two Sutherlands and a Gloucester. Euphemia ran across the catwalk toward the purple Gloucester's open cockpit. No longer caring about accuracy in her rush toward her final destination, Euphemia raised her rifle and sprayed the pilot and two technicians while running. Of the 40 rounds she fired, only seven managed to hit her targets. The pilot and one technician were killed, the other tech was severely injured.
Euphemia grabbed the knightmare's blood soaked key from the hands of the dead pilot and jumped into the cockpit just as a squad of infantry emerged onto the catwalk and opened fire at what they perceived to be a JLF soldier stealing their knightmare. The rounds harmlessly pinged off of the cockpit block's armor as Euphemia inserted the key and activated the Gloucester. She exhaled in relief to see that the unit was fully charged and armed. The pilot she shot must have been about to take it back to the fight.
One of the two Sutherlands in the bay came to life and deployed its stun tonfas before charging forward at her. In the confined space of the knightmare bay, there was no room to evade. Euphemia brought up the golden lance with her right arm and lunged forward at the incoming Sutherland. With no room to move the Sutherland easily fell as the Gloucester's lance pierced right through the Yggdrasil drive and right into the pilot behind. The unit exploded, clearing the way for her escape. There was no time to setup the catapult to launch her knightmare, so Euphemia simply drove it down the tunnel and out onto the G1's exterior. She opened a channel to the Purists who were mopping up Britannian resistance outside.
"Jeremiah, I stole a Gloucester and I'm coming to you. Don't shoot me." Euphemia broadcast to them.
"You stole a Gloucester? I was not aware that you knew how to pilot a knightmare, your highness."
"It's been over a year since my last time. My sister taught me the basics back when she was testing the Gloucester's prototype."
"Try to stay behind us, princess. Although your unit has superior armor to a Sutherland, it would be wise to avoid direct combat if possible."
"You know your way around a battlefield much better than I do. I'll follow your lead, Jeremiah. What's the situation out here?"
"We did exactly as you ordered, your highness, although I did lose three Sutherlands in the process. What are your next orders?"
"Destroy the G1. Then we need to get to my brother."
"Understood, your highness." Jeremiah complied.
Cornelia, along with Darlton had by this time regrouped their forces and were launching a counterattack up the mountain. Their 51 knightmares obliterated the remaining JLF defenses in their path as they pushed toward the summit.
Cornelia rushed forward toward two JLF Burai knightmares who were the last remaining point of resistance in their path. Using trees and the slope as cover she closed the distance and jumped up onto the outcropping they were firing from. The JLF units tried to turn and engage, but the dangerous amount of adrenaline coursing through Cornelia's veins made her inhumanly fast. She fired her slash harkens toward the second knightmare before she even hit the ground. The twin anchors dug into the Burai's knees. She retracted the harkens and pulled the far Burai into the closer one, knocking both to the ground. Cornelia's lance came down in a blur and penetrated the cockpit of the first Burai.
The second pilot hit the eject mechanism and his cockpit was propelled up the cliff at a weird angle until it smashed into a large boulder. The JLF pilot opened his hatch and tried to run, but the vengeful Second Princess was upon him before he made it ten meters. Cornelia brought her right arm back and delivered a powerful thrust, spearing the man on the end of her lance through the torso. She planted the base into the ground and watched as he convulsed on her spear, blood pouring down the lance head. As his body struggled to breath with his half missing lungs, she raised her KAR 25 rifle with the Gloucester's left hand and brought the barrel to a rest on the man's head. Cornelia clicked in her left thumb button and the weapon fired a single shot, reducing the suffering JLF pilot's head and neck to a red mist.
As a squad of Sutherlands caught up with her to the right, a soul piercing scream echoed through the forest. In a flash, what appeared to be a beam of light destroyed two Sutherlands and continued on down the mountain, the pilots unable to eject. Cornelia activated her factsphere sensor and enhanced the zoom as far as it would go toward the beam's origin. At the top of the mountain she saw a black machine resembling a tank with a very large main cannon. She watched as a blue glow appeared in the barrel of the weapon before a massive flash blinded her view. Another Sutherland was instantly destroyed by the vehicle's weapon.
"All forces take cover, there's some kind of powerful sniper weapon at the top of the mountain!"
Looking down from the summit, Inoue retargetted her Naginata's railgun as the weapon once again reached full charge. As she pulled the trigger, another massive plasma blast erupted from the barrel as the 30mm projectile raced forward at hypersonic speeds directly into another enemy Sutherland. The ground in front of the railgun was burned to a glassy surface as the extreme heat of the plasma washed over it.
"Inoue, give me an update." Zero's voice asked over the radio.
"We have the Britannians pinned down with our railguns, sir." She reported.
"We are beginning our assault, check your targets before you engage."
"Understood, Zero."
All thirty nine of the Black Knights' knightmares came down off of the summit to engage the Britannians in direct combat. As both sides opened fire on each other, the Guren sprinted ahead of the main force, directly into the Britannian formation. Kallen jumped into the air as she approached the lead Sutherlands. From above, she delivered a powerful slash with her claw on the nearest enemy knightmare, the incredibly sharp weapon easily slicing through the head and into the cockpit. As the next Sutherland turned to fire, she was close, but slightly out of reach. Kallen activated the arm's extension mechanism and the claw shot forward another two meters, slicing the KAR 25 and the Sutherland's right arm off.
She turned and engaged a third target with her left arm's integrated 30mm autocannon as the Black Knights arrived at her position. The combined fire of her autocannon, and the 25mm rifles of two knightmares next to her made short work of their target. Kallen looked over and identified the two supporting units as Zero and CC.
On the other side of the battle, Cornelia unleashed her fury one one enemy after another. Just as with the JLF, she charged forward and attempted to engage the Black Knights with her lance. However, unlike the JLF, the Black Knights were more coordinated in their defense. Cornelia fired her slash harkens into a nearby boulder and pulled herself out of the line of fire as three black Sutherlands came to the assistance of the two Burais she had targeted. The farthest Sutherland exploded and the remaining two turned to engage a new threat.
"Thanks for the assist, Darlton."
"These Black Knights are really on another level compared to the JLF. I actually need to try this time."
Darlton fired his Gloucester's recoilless rifle again with equally destructive results as Cornelia once again moved in on the two Burai units. She strained against the G forces as her unit moved violently to dodge enemy fire at point blank range. Cornelia's lance struck the first black Burai in the waist, forcing the pilot to eject. She shoved the remainder of the frame toward the second Burai. As the black unit attempted to get out of the way she hosed it with 25mm fire, ripping the Burai apart with dozens of hits at close range.
"Viceroy, we need assistance!" a loud call for help blared out of her radio.
"Slow down and tell me what the hell is going on."
"12 Enemy knightmares are attacking us from behind! Most of the G1's defenses have been destroyed, and the unit of Panthers I sent to relieve them are being wiped out!"
"Princess Euphemia is in danger, your highness." Guilford added over the channel.
"You two go protect the G1 and rescue Euphemia. I can hold the Black Knights here, Viceroy." Darlton joined in.
"Very well, Darlton, I suppose we don't have any choice. Guilford, follow me!"
As Cornelia and Guilford began moving down the mountain, the Black Knights intensified their assault. The five Naginata tanks that were previously perched at the top of the mountain moved down toward the battle on the forested slope. They moved in tight formation down towards the Black Knights' left flank. Three Britannian Sutherlands who were unfortunate enough to attempt a flanking attack on the enemy's left side came face to face with the five Naginatas. Even without the time to deploy they still had their twin 105mm cannons. All five of the tanks opened fire on the approaching Sutherlands. Multiple 105mm shells detonated on the two closest Sutherlands, forcing the pilots to eject. The third Sutherland returned fire with its 25mm rifle as the tanks' autoloaders readied the cannons for another volley. The Sutherland scored over a dozen hits on the frontal armor of the lead Naginata, tearing chunks out of it', but still not able to penetrate. The Sutherland pilot met a fiery end as ten 105mm HEAT rounds converged on the unit's frontal armor. The tanks continued on to a good spot and deployed their railguns in support of the knightmares below.
Down on the receiving end stood General Darlton and the force he was now leading alone. Although they had managed to destroy 14 enemy knightmares, the Britannians were finding themselves unable to withstand the Black Knights' assault. They were down to 29 operational knightmares on the slope, and Darlton correctly calculated that they would lose the battle at this rate. The explosion of a nearby Sutherland from a direct railgun hit acted as the bold period on the sentence in his mind. As Darlton ordered his remaining units into a better defensive formation he saw a flash of red moving right for him.
Kallen had correctly identified the leader of the Britannian forces on the mountain. She ripped through a Sutherland in her path and charged straight at him. She considered herself lucky that the target Gloucester was not equipped with a lance, but a two handed recoilless rifle. The enemy knightmare fired the weapon, but Kallen had enough room to jump over the incoming round and bring her claw up as she descended. The five fingers sliced the Gloucester's weapon to pieces before it had a chance to reload. The enemy deployed his stun tonfas and attempted to fight back, but the Guren was already upon him. She caught the Gloucester's right arm with her own and launched the claw forward onto him.
Darlton tried everything he could to get out of the enemy's grip, but was unable to escape the silver claw that was dug into the front of his unit. And then in an instant a single Sutherland slammed into the red knightmare at full speed, knocking his opponent off. The Sutherland's IFF tag identified it as belonging to Lieutenant Ericsson. Despite the initial shock of the impact, the red knightmare easily recovered and sliced through the Lieutenant's Sutherland's arms. She picked up the armless unit with the powerful claw and slammed it into Darlton's Gloucester, knocking both to the ground, one on top of the other. As the silver claw gripped onto the top knightmare, Ericsson opened a channel to Darlton.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop that monster, sir."
"Don't feel sorry, Lieutenant. You tried you best, I could not ask for anything more."
" It has been an honor to serve, my lord."
"And It has been an honor to command such brave warriors. What is your name, Lieutenant?"
They both felt an immense heat as the radiation surger activated.
"Rachel, my lord."
"Well Rachel, if they have bars in heaven I'll be buying you a drink." Darlton saw her smile as tears fell from her eyes before the feed cut out. The radiation surge proved too much for even two stacked knightmares to handle. The crimson light burned through Rachel's Sutherland, through Darlton's Gloucester, and melted the ground below.
Near the bottom of the mountain Cornelia watched the battle unfold on her display as she and Guilford raced to the G1. Her eyes widened as she saw Darlton fall, and then the remainder of her forces begin to fall around him. A single tear fell from her right eye as the realization that her friend was dead hit her. Then in an instant her world slowed to a crawl and her heart nearly gave out as she saw the G1 explode. Eight Sutherlands ceased firing on the now destroyed command center and turned to attack them.
Cornelia found herself unable to speak, unable to think, unable to do anything but transform into worldly incarnation of pure rage. She had just seen her beloved sister die, and her killers were right in front of her. Cornelia pushed her Gloucester to its absolute speed limit as she charged toward the eight knightmares. Guilford was screaming something at her over the radio but she could not hear. The enemy pilots did not have the reaction time required to track her insane speed. Cornelia's golden lance contacted the nearest Sutherland, going all the way through and cutting it in half. She fluidly turned and fired her rifle on full auto at the next target. The Sutherland exploded before she could even reach it and she charged right through the debris and fireball to spear the third before firing her slash harkens into the fourth unit. The anchors dug into the Sutherland's armor and she used her momentum to flail the unit into the side of the burning G1 before driving her lance through the cockpit with an excessive amount of force.
Cornelia had been so blinded by her rage that she did not even notice the Sutherlands firing at her from behind. Explosive rounds tore large chunks out of her royal purple armor just as Guilford arrived to engage the attackers. His own 25mm rounds ripping through one enemy unit as he closed to use his lance on another. Cornelia turned around and raised her left arm to absorb the incoming rounds as she charged at the last two Sutherlands. Their fire managed to destroy her left arm and the rifle along with it, but that was not enough to save them from Cornelia's lance.
Guilford looked at her through the channel that was still open. Cornelia shed a single tear for her friend Darlton, but she shed rivers for her sister. Tears poured out of her eyes as if someone turned on a faucet. Tears escaped Guilford's eyes as well. Being Cornelia's knight he spent a lot of time with Euphemia. To Guilford she was less a princess and more of a sister.
To make her day exponentially worse, A group of Black Knights appeared from the forest at the base of the mountain. Zero, Kallen, and two other black knightmares approached them. Cornelia turned to face them, her once spotless and shiny knightmare now dirty, damaged, and even more intimidating with the burning wrecks of Sutherlands surrounding her. Zero was the first to speak.
"I was wondering what made you leave the main battle, Cornelia. It would appear that those Purists did more damage than I anticipated. Although I am curious as to why you would abandon your army to save a command center."
"You killed my sister, Zero!" Cornelia said as the deadly combination of sorrow, sadness, and rage reached a boiling point inside her. "You killed Euphemia you fucking monster!" She screamed with malice as she charged right at them, clearly not caring about the fact that she was outnumbered and her knightmare was damaged. The Guren stepped in front of Zero's custom Glasgow as he calmly replied.
"Was that really all it took to defeat the great Cornelia? Had I known that your sister's life was the key to my victory I would have shot her myself." Zero glanced down at his tactical display and saw three friendly signatures making a wide loop back toward his position's right flank. Lelouch felt relieved as he continued his taunting. "Perhaps I would have shot her in the legs and thrown her off my boat on Lake Kawaguchi. The look on your face as you watched your sister drown would have been absolutely priceless." He kept going, his words laced with malice.
Cornelia could not find words to throw back at him. She thrust her lance at the Guren, who deflected it with the silver claw before spinning to her side and grabbing onto the Gloucester's remaining arm. From the palm came a blast of concentrated hell that easily melted through the arm and burned the paint off of the entire right side of the knightmare.
Guilford charged forward in a desperate attempt to help her. The Guren shifted its attention from Cornelia's barely functioning wreck of a knightmare to Guilford's fully functional Gloucester. Although furious at Euphemia's death, Guilford's was not blinded by absolute rage. His hot anger was backed up with cold, calculated precision as he rushed forward. He knew with certainty that there was not a chance in hell that he could single handedly defeat the array of enemies in front of him. Instead of being driven by the goal of victory, he was motivated by his fanatical loyalty to Cornelia. He would gladly defend his princess to his dying breath.
Blasts of flame erupted from his Gloucester's assault rifle as he closed the distance to the Guren. The Black Knights stood by and watched as Kallen activated her radiation surger in the line of fire. The extreme heat and radiation detonated the explosive rounds as they approached the red wave emanating from the Guren's claw, effectively acting as a shield. Just as Guilford prepared to thrust his lance at the Guren, a hypersonic projectile came screaming in from behind the cloud of black smoke near the burning G1. The powerful pressure wave ripped the cloud apart as it passed through the space that the Guren occupied less than half a second earlier and continued into an idle Burai that was observing the fight. Through the smoke and fire appeared the white knight, Lancelot. With a Varis rifle in his right hand, and a glowing red MVS sword in his left, he charged toward the battle.
"The Special Corps? Who ordered you to deploy?" Cornelia's voice filled Suzaku's cockpit.
"I was not given any orders, your highness. I watched and waited as we were defeated again and again. I cannot stand aside and watch them kill you too."
"You do realize you are violating direct orders, right Kururugi?" Guilford's voice then asked.
"And I will gladly take responsibility for my actions, assuming we win. That red knightmare is too strong for your Gloucester. Let me handle that one while you deal with Zero and the others, my lord."
"Very well then, Warrant Officer Kururugi, although I could never have imagined the day I would be taking orders from a Number."
Suzaku's Lancelot charged the Guren at high speed, much faster than a Gloucester. She had no choice but to turn and fight the greater threat. As the Guren and Lancelot engaged each other, Guilford and Cornelia turned to face the Glasgow and Sutherland. Zero and CC, the remaining Sutherland pilot, began exchanging fire with the two Gloucesters. With neither of their knightmares being equipped for sustained melee combat, Zero and CC were at a significant disadvantage against the expertly controlled Gloucester.
Zero and CC both began firing at Cornelia instead of Guilford. Cornelia fired back with the only weapon she had left, her two slash harkens. Both of which missed as 25mm rounds slammed into her unit, blasting large pieces of the left leg off and destroying the left land spinner. Zero's gamble paid off as Guilford abandoned his charge to shield the now defenseless Cornelia. He charged forward again, directly through their line of fire, with his lance in front of him in a position to shield his unit from the incoming rounds. As intended, the lance took the majority of the fire as he lunged at Zero's Glasgow.
Zero fired his slash harkens and thrust his assault rifle forward as a shield. As Guilford dodged the anchors he lost the most effective angle of attack. The lance impacted the assault rifle instead of the Glasgow. Zero used the slightest window of opportunity to thrust the assault rifle away from him while the lance was still penetrating it, deflecting the blow and getting inside the lance's minimum range. The Glasgow attempted to deliver a left handed punch, but the Guilford was faster, bringing his right arm off of the lance to block the attack.
At the same time, CC's Sutherland rushed forward with its stun tonfas. Guilford used his Gloucester's superior size and strength to push the Glasgow away as he redirected his lance to the new attacker. CC blocked the first thrust with the tonfas, the lance destroying them in the process. She hit the gas and accelerated toward the Gloucester, intent on using her Sutherland in a kamikaze fashion. Guilford predicted what was happening and rushed forward to meet her charge, lance first. The golden tip penetrated right through the frontal armor of the black Sutherland, though the Yggdrasil drive, and out the back of the cockpit block. CC's unit exploded as she intended, but the Gloucester's armor was able to withstand the damage.
Guilford turned his now scarred knightmare back toward Zero's damaged Glasgow. Despite his best efforts not to, he managed to repeat Cornelia's earlier mistake of becoming tunnel visioned. Zero looked at his display and opened a channel to Guilford, smiling under his mask.
"Checkmate. I win Guilford."
Before he had a chance to laugh, alarms began going off in his cockpit as a torrent of 25mm rounds landed around him from behind. Guilford turned to see two Sutherlands and a Gloucester advancing on him from the rear. As he reached for his assault rifle to return fire, he saw the Gloucester toss its lance to one of the Sutherlands, who caught it before accelerating toward him ahead of the other two. The Gloucester and second Sutherland stopped firing as the lead one closed on him. Guilford brought his lance up and charged to meet the approaching unit.
Jeremiah Gottwald was no stranger to close combat. He raised his own golden lance to parry the incoming thrust from the enemy Gloucester. As Guilford recovered, Jeremiah launched his slash harkens before transitioning into another lance attack. Unlike Guilford, who had been engaged in heavy combat for the better part of five hours, Jeremiah was relatively fresh, and more responsive.
Zero considered opening a channel to thank Jeremiah for his wonderful timing, but decided against it. Distracting him at a time like this was not worth the risk. He turned and looked back toward where Kallen was fighting the Lancelot. They both moved with such incredible speed. Every thrust, every slash, and every shot conducted with such precision and skill, yet they were unable to score any significant hits on each other. Both ace pilots had such perfect defense. He watched in amazement as Kallen fired her wrist mounted 30mm autocannon at the Lancelot. Suzaku activated his Blaze Luminous bracers to block the incoming rounds while instantly returning fire with his Varis rifle. On the low power setting he was using, the weapon could charge and fire a round every second.
Kallen brought up her Guren's silver claw and activated the radiation surger to block the Varis rounds. On the setting it was on, the Varis was not able to penetrate the energy in front of the claw. The shells vaporized under the heat and radiation. As the last round burned up on her makeshift shield she opened a channel to Zero.
"I can't keep this up! The Guren will run out of energy before I can beat him, Zero."
She was not alone. Everyone except Suzaku had been deployed for hours, and the strain was showing in their energy levels. At the pace they were fighting at, the battle would end soon, with the loser being whoever ran out of power first.
"Get away from him Kallen. We can win if we capture Cornelia, everything else is secondary."
The Guren began to speed away from the Lancelot in reverse, using her radiation claw to block the Varis rounds that she was unable to dodge. As the red knightmare approached Cornelia's practically destroyed Gloucester, The Second Princess instantly examined her tactical options.
Her knight, Guilford, was fully engaged in an intense duel with an enemy Sutherland, She was now in the Lancelot's line of fire, and her own knightmare was barely capable of moving, much less fighting.
"Your highness you have to eject! I cannot risk hitting you with the Varis." Suzaku's voice came though her internal speakers.
As much as she hated to admit it, Suzaku was right. The only options available to Cornelia were eject or die. She knew that it would not be a heroic death in battle, but an execution, by a Number no less. Given that choice, Cornelia chose to live. She slammed the eject switch at her side. The cockpit block's rockets launched the core off from the main body, over the Guren, and deployed its parachutes. She landed very close to the Lancelot, who was once again firing the Varis as he attempted to rescue her.
Kallen turned and charged at Guilford, frustrated that her target had ejected to safety. Guilford, who was still engaged in melee combat with the Sutherland in front of him, realized he would be screwed if the red knightmare reached him. He ejected as well, the remainder of his Gloucester falling to the ground before Jeremiah.
Guilford's cockpit block landed near the Lancelot as well. Suzaku raised his left shield and the Varis rifle in anticipation of the Black Knights' attack, but it never came. The enemy units began to fall back toward the mountain. He didn't have long to wonder why, as his sensors detected 21 knightmares and four tanks clearing the treeline at the base of the mountain. Suzaku took the opportunity to retrieve them and escape before the Black Knights were able to regroup.
"Why did we let them get away?" Ougi asked from the open cockpit of his Sutherland. The Black Knights were moving away from the battle zone toward their exit points. To his left, Zero turned to face him from the seat of his own open cockpit.
"Our units were all running out of energy. We would not have had the time to replace the fillers and give chase before the Lancelot escaped. Regardless, we achieved a significant victory here today. A Britannian army has been annihilated, and Cornelia's aura of invincibility has been shattered. We did more than enough damage to them."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Zero. But why was Cornelia screaming over the radio about you killing her sister?"
"Princess Euphemia was on board the G1 that our allies destroyed." Zero revealed, much to Ougi's surprise since he had personally rescued her at Kawaguchi.
"Allies?"
"I managed to convince most of the Purist faction that fighting for Britannia was not in their best interest. They attacked the enemy from behind." He explained.
"You convinced the Purist faction to kill Euphemia? Is there anything you can't do?"
"Is there? I would be surprised if Cornelia wasn't contemplating suicide right now. We handed her the greatest defeat of her life, and made her believe her sister was killed. For someone so accustomed to absolute victory, I wonder if she can handle so much defeat."
"What do you mean that we made her believe Euphemia was killed, Zero? We could see the G1 explode from the top of the mountain."
"A little bit of good acting goes a long way, Ougi." Zero responded.
Before Ougi could think of how to respond, the Gloucester from earlier rolled up next to them. Zero looked to his right as the purple knightmare's cockpit opened. As the seat slid back into the fresh air, the golden evening light reflected off of the mass of pink hair.
"That was a most impressive performance, Euphie." Euphemia turned and gifted them with the sight of her beautiful smile as they literally rode off into the sunset.