The columns of smoke began to stretch out across the storage room; from behind the blast shield, all Kallen could see was an enormous, billowing plume of red smoke and ash. The explosion had practically knocked them all onto their feet for a few precious seconds, thanks to the rush of wind that smacked the blast shield, and all Kallen could really hear was an annoying, atonal ringing in her ears. Slowly but surely, the ringing began to die down, and Kallen could finally pick up words.

"Wait until the smoke clears," Zero ordered, reaching for his own handgun. "Quickly scan the immediate area and see if anybody managed to live or escape."

"What do you want us to do with Schneizel?" Naomi asked, gesturing in Schneizel's direction.

"Keep him here. He's not worth the effort."

"Did he tell you anything valuable?"

Zero sighed. "In a way."

Kallen wasn't sure how to decipher that last one.

Five seconds later, or ten, or a hundred: Zero finally gave the order to move. With steely nerves, everyone rushed out of the room in a more-or-less organized line. Kallen leapt over the catwalk railing and landed on the ground below, crouching to absorb the impact. When she could finally see in front of her, she was impressed to say the least. Metal and debris was everywhere, a hundred jagged pieces of it scattered across the floor, all smoked and charred. The mighty Lancelot was now the mighty pile of burned debris, and Kallen wanted to cheer. And, sure enough, there was a huge hole in the wall, exposing the moonlight.

"I see some dead in the walkway!" somebody announced, going to where some soldiers lay on the floor. "I don't see anybody else in the general area!"

"Lock up that door if you can," Zero responded. "If not, don't bother. Naomi, how are things looking outsi-?"

"I've caught wind of Kururugi!" Naomi suddenly announced, and she began to open fire.

Kallen rushed forward to Naomi's side, and sure enough, she saw Suzaku some distance away, sprinting away. Pissed off by his stubborn tenacity, Kallen tried firing at the ever-ready soldier herself, but he was too far away and moving too fast for either of them to get a bead on him.

Kallen, for the record, wanted to tear her weapon in half. We risk our lives to get him, we make him an offer to help save his own country, and he still betrays us? What the hell, Suzaku?!

"Where the hell is he going?!" Zero asked, sounding concerned.

"I don't know," Naomi admitted. "Do you want me to give chase?"

"Segata! Is the Guren ready?!"

"You're going to want to get a move on. We'll provide a perimeter for you," he responded over the comms.

Yes! Kallen wanted to shout with excitement. Finally, finally, the Guren could be used. Her chest heaving, she looked at Zero, who simply nodded. They turned around and started running for the Guren and the Burais Zero had stashed away.

[*****]

Suzaku unfolded into a dead sprint, letting his adrenaline guide him. He was sore, exhausted, and his mind was roaring; as he sprinted, he half-expected to get hit. But, miraculously, he hadn't gotten hit. He'd been shaken and nearly blinded by the Lancelot's explosion – he was going to miss that thing – but he was otherwise unscathed, ignoring his screaming muscles.

Soon, the warehouse he was looking for came into view, and he was racing toward it, letting his feet guide him rather than his mind.

There's an entire backup storage of Knightmares in here and it's unguarded. Heaven smiles on me. I suppose the Black Knights either forgot or didn't know about this.

Suzaku came upon a keypad. Breathing hard, he fished out his communicator.

"Baroness Nu, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Kururugi," responded Lloyd, which surprised Suzaku to no end.

"Lloyd?" Suzaku gasped, catching his breath. "Even better…"

"Bartley's team just found us, actually! They're searching through the rest of the base for the terrorists, but it looks like they're turning tail and running away. Typical, I suppose. How's the status on the Lancelot?"

Suzaku groaned. Do I really have to be the one to break his heart?

"Kururugi," Lloyd scolded. "What's the status on the Lancelot?"

"It's destroyed, sir…" Suzaku confessed.

"…Ah."

"I'm very sorry, sir, b-but there's a keypad outside the Knightmare storage," he continued, gasping. "I need the keycode."

"It's my favorite food."

That was enough for Suzaku. Quickly tapping in the code, Suzaku rushed inside, the sounds of gunfire becoming even more distant and faint. Suzaku hit a circular switch, and soon all the lights in the room came on, revealing a series of fresh, mass-produced Sutherlands on standby. It was like an oasis to Suzaku, who was, frankly, sick and tired of running.

"I'm sorry about the Lancelot, Lloyd."

"It can be rebuilt."

"…Wait, Lloyd," Suzaku butt in, an idea crystallizing in his head. "The VARIS Rifle was kept in another room, like… separate, from the Lancelot, right?"

"Yes, it took up too much space. It's an outbuilding that reads Weapons at the front. Why do you ask?"

It didn't take Suzaku long to get inside a Sutherland unit. Finding the ignition key on the dashboard, he quickly gunned the engine, and he immediately felt relaxed when he heard the Knightmare's internal systems spin to life. Digital displays flew across the dash, and Suzaku quickly checked over the stats of his Sutherland. Perfect health, decent ammunition, Landspinners active. That was enough. He plunged forward, then turned the controls hard to the right, his arms and neck straining with the effort. He was flying towards the Weapons room at an angle, his Positron unslung, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Two can play at this game, Zero. If I defeat you, then the fighting will stop.

Suzaku scowled. Or at least I hope.

Suzaku found the outbuilding, the words "Weapons" finely plastered on the front. Lifting his rifle and trusting his aim, he blew a few holes in the wall and ushered himself in. That done, Suzaku yanked out the ignition key and vaulted out of his unit, the heels of his feet hitting the pavement. He quickly ran over the columns of weapons containers and lockers, checking the letters and numbers, before finally finding the exact one he needed, a narrow, very long rifle container; Suzaku could climb on top of it and run laps on the damn thing.

He quickly opened it up, the hinges giving way with bright snaps. Inside, cradled in an enormous bed of foam, was the VARIS, capable of melting steel; beside it were small boxes full of energy cell rounds. Suzaku quickly loaded himself back into his Sutherland, his heart pounding at a million miles an hour, and used his Sutherland to pick up the VARIS. He quickly loaded in some energy cells, hoisting the rifle over his shoulder and getting the sighting mechanism into place. He was so focused on his task he didn't even hear Cecile shouting over the communicator.

"—Suzaku?!"

Suzaku quickly picked it up, rushing out of the warehouse. They'd find him in no time, so time was of the essence. "Yes, Miss Croomy?"

"Don't use the VARIS! Not now!"

"With all due respect, ma'am, this has incredible power! This will be more than enough to take them down!"

"It hasn't been 100% tested on military-issued models!"

"Do you think it could work?!"

"…In theory, yes! But, Suzaku, you can't-!"

And then he saw them. There was no doubt about it; they were firing at the laboratory.

"Zero," Suzaku whispered, hoarsely. He lurched forward, grasping the controls, and shot towards the terrorists, fully prepared to die.

[*****]

Kallen barely had any time to react.

"Zero! There's a single unit headin—"

And then, there was a bright, narrow flash of energy that absolutely skewered one or two units beside Kallen. The force of the energy hit Kallen like a wall of heat and light; she quickly rolled backwards, her eyes wide with shock and fear. She noticed Segata, Koichi, Naomi storming in to attack the singular unit, and Kallen could only watch in amazement at how gracefully and fluidly the unit moved, dodging attacks and bullets like they were nothing.

"Zero?" Kallen asked into her communicator.

"There's no doubt. It's Kururugi."

"Do you want me to destroy it?" Kallen responded, not really sure why she was asking.

"If at all possible, try to avoid killing the pilot. Now go! Show them what the Guren can do!"

And that was all she needed. Kallen surged forward, reciting the controls that Rakshata taught her over and over, and flipped on a singular switch to the right. Immediately, she felt an incredible wave of energy transfer over to her Guren's right arm; the statistics on her screens were going crazy, numbers and bars rising and descending at completely sporadic intervals. She encircled Kururugi, and she was thankful that his unit didn't have a Blaze Luminous, that annoying, viridian shield. With an angry twitch of her body, Kallen threw a wild right hook towards him, screaming the whole time, and a huge burst of red energy slammed into the midsection of Suzaku's Sutherland, the force of the energy pushing both Kallen and Suzaku backwards.

"What is that unit?!" Suzaku asked, apparently forgetting to turn off his speaker.

"Go to hell, traitor!" Kallen spat, readying another blast. It actually seemed to strike his unit in the shoulder, based on the recoil she felt, but Suzaku was far too quick. Kallen did a 180, narrowly avoiding another rifle blast.

Damn!

"Kallen, that VARIS rifle is incredibly powerful! Focus your efforts on destroying that thing instead of Kururugi's unit per se!" Zero shouted. "Ohgi, Sugiyama, and Yoshida are coming out here to provide backup! Just hang on!"

It's just a Sutherland. Alright, let's see you try to avoid this.

Kallen, fingers flying over the buttons, ejected a series of smoke bombs from the back, and they quickly began to coat the immediate area in blue smoke. She spun and surged through the smoke, throwing a wild Radiant Wave blast when she saw the silhouette of Suzaku's Sutherland appear; although the unit was still moving swiftly, the blow managed to strike for good, and it caused the Sutherland to hit the pavement, throwing up bright, yellow sparks.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Kallen roared, firing a Slash Harken Suzaku's way. He managed to roll away as the Slash Harken sank into the ground, immediately returning into the Guren like a boomerang. She tried again, her leftmost Slash Harken misfiring and arcing above the VARIS Rifle. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Naomi and Yoshida's units encircle Suzaku, who responded in kind by unleashing a wide, strafing spray of Stun Gun bullets, a few of which hit the window of Kallen's unit.

"We offered you freedom, and you threw it away!" Kallen continued, her diatribe fueled by a mix between anger and disappointment. Frantically drawing her fingers over the controls and internal switches, Kallen unsheathed her unit's hand gun and began firing at the VARIS. Annoyingly, Suzaku twisted the rifle backwards and took the brunt of the impact himself, and then he began charging towards Kallen.

Whoa! Right as Kallen focused another burst of energy into the Radiant Wave Surger, she experienced the sensation, totally new to her, of being torn to pieces. One of the VARIS shots pierced her unit in the side, close-range. The Guren nearly crumbled with the force of the impact. Luckily, Ohgi and Sugiyama were on Suzaku in seconds, their Burais launching a series of unguided rockets towards Suzaku – almost all of them missed.

Kallen slammed her hand on the armrest, rage consuming her.

"Don't get too close, Kozuki!" came in Zero, who rushed to help her back to her (or her Guren's) feet. "That thing will tear you apart! Try and hit the damn thing while he's reloading!"

"With pleasure, sir," Kallen spat, shooting forward, albeit awkwardly. The VARIS had blasted something, and it was fucking with the Guren's mobility somewhat. Her fingers flying again across the control panel, she opted to try another tactic.

"Ohgi, Sugi, Minami!" Kallen called, scanning the arena of action. "Form a triangle around Suzaku! Use your bracers to knock him off-balance!"

"Alright, I'm on it—" Minami would have finished, had he not been fired at.

"What the hell? Backup!" Ohgi announced, raising his Burai's assault rifle.

Shit! A series of seven Knightmares were gunning for them, all of them Sutherlands. A handful of them had jousting lances; Kallen noticed one particular unit at the forefront with a Chaos Mine, and right as she noticed that, that Sutherland tossed the Chaos Mine up and into the air.

"Get back! Chaos!" Kallen shouted, quickly plunging her unit into reverse. The air burst grenade began to spray energy-filled shrapnel over the area, and Kallen noticed it hit a few units. She began to sweat as the enemy Sutherlands opened fire on the Black Knights.

Kallen readied yet another Radiant Wave burst, and directed it for the one that tossed the Mine. She grabbed onto one of the Knightmare's arms, the one that was holding a rifle, and in seconds, the arm was destroyed, turning into debris on the ground. Ecstatic, Kallen wasted no time in forcing a Slash Harken straight through the core of that Sutherland, not wanting to give it an inch. The Sutherland tumbled backwards, resting on its back. Readying a killshot, Kallen had just enough time to raise her Radiant Wave Surger before being struck in the back by a VARIS shot.

"Augh!" Kallen screamed, collapsing. As she tumbled, her eyes quickly glanced up to the screen at the left. Her unit's health was, little by little, dwindling away.

"Baroness Villetta, get out of here!" Suzaku said, gesturing to the discarded Sutherland Kallen was just about to skewer. "I'm returning the favor!"

Just keep talking, Suzaku. I've got all the more reason to shut you up.

"I have to ensure your safety," Villetta responded, almost robotically.

Kallen felt the Wave power up. Interestingly, she noticed sparks coming from Suzaku's unit.

"And I'm in your debt! Consider us even now, ma'am!"

"Stop talking, you idiot!" Kallen screamed as she charged towards Suzaku. Her aim was perfect, and she saw the VARIS Rifle get smacked away in a huge bloom of red energy, clattering uselessly onto the ground. Wasting no time, she blindly charged into his unit, knocking him forward with her wrist-mounted fork knife. "This is just what you deserve!"

"That's enough!" Suzaku spat back, slicing at her with a Tonfa, but Kallen was quicker. Her fork knife slammed into his unit's backside, and soon the Sutherland dropped to its metal knees.

Unfortunately, fate loved to be cruel to Kallen Kozuki. A tracer rocket hit the Guren's right chestplate, and although there was enough armor to shake it off, Kallen was bouncing in her seat due to the recoil.

"Stay away from Kururugi! I, General Bartley, will not let a terrorist like you harm him!" the Sutherland in question shouted imperiously, firing yet another missile. Kallen began strafing left and right, taking care to avoid the rocket, joining up with Ohgi and her comrades, who were bogged down taking care of Villetta's security team.

In the chaos, Suzaku had managed to retrieve his VARIS, and was heading towards the group, readying a shot.

"Look out, Kallen!" Ohgi announced. Kallen and Ohgi both fired at Suzaku at the same time, causing the VARIS to misfire; it zoomed over their heads and into a building in the back.

"Spread out! Don't bunch up like that!" Ohgi announced, and everyone scattered.

"Where the hell is C.C.?!" somebody asked.

Kallen readied a Radiant Wave shot—

-and was surprised to see Zero's unit shoot at Suzaku. His Burai appeared out of nowhere, assault rifle raised.

"Kallen, you and I are going to take care of this traitor ourselves."

That's more like it.

"Zero!" Suzaku roared, turning tail and aiming for Zero. More sparks flashed from Suzaku's unit.

Fear began to engulf Kallen. "Sir, look ou-!"

"Stay back, Kozuki!" Zero shouted, his voice hoarse.

Interestingly, Zero was talking to her through a private channel.

Mighty, powerful, and unstoppable as Zero was, he wasn't a very good fighter. Suzaku quickly overpowered him, resorting to a series of punches and kicks via his Tonfas. Every time Kallen started to move forward, Zero barked at her to stay back.

"Sir, please! I can take care of him! I don't want you to die!"

"Ready a Slash Harken, Kallen, but don't fire until I say so."

Reluctantly, Kallen did just so, checking the camera in the back. Ohgi and everyone else were currently occupied with Bartley and Villetta's remnants. By the time she looked back up in front of her, Zero's unit was on the ground, and Suzaku was about to imperiously raise his VARIS.

No—!

"Hold," Zero whispered.

"This is the end result, Zero," Suzaku announced.

"Zero?!" Kallen cried.

"NOW, KALLEN! AIM FOR THE LEG!"

In his rage, Suzaku had completely forgotten about Kallen. With a mighty tug, she pulled the switch and a Slash Harken came flying at Suzaku's Landspinner. It struck, causing the already-weakened unit's leg to draw sparks; Suzaku's Sutherland fell on one knee. All it took was one more Radiant Wave Surge, and then the Sutherland was down. In a single motion, the Sutherland was falling, and she heard it forcibly deactivate.

Fuck you! Stiffly, Kallen readied a Slash Harken, prepared to kill Suzaku—

"Don't kill him," Zero ordered, so quietly Kallen almost didn't hear him.

"Sir, I can finish him off now—"

"I gave you an order, Kozuki."

Kallen lowered her Wave-powered claw, standing directly above Kururugi.

"Now help me up, please," Zero weakly muttered.

"Oh, right!" She did just so; Zero's Burai was wobbling somewhat. "Are you going to be alright?"

"He's a very fast fighter, but he's also a reckless one. That VARIS was actually his undoing."

Suddenly the random sparks coming out of his unit's joints made sense. "Sir?"

"That rifle is too powerful for a normal Knightmare. It began short-circuiting all of his systems – he can't even eject now, it took up so much energy and health." Zero pointed his Tonfa toward Suzaku. "I gave you a chance to join us, to free your country, and you tossed it away like it meant nothing to you. All you care about is yourself, furthering yourself. Consider this a warning, Kururugi. Maybe next time you'll see."

In the corner of her eye, Kallen saw Ohgi and the rest of the Black Knights heading for them.

"Zero! We got most of them down, but they'll be on us in seconds!" Ohgi said, sounding harried. "What are your orders?"

"We got the vital data we need. In addition, the Lancelot is going to be out of commission for quite some time," Zero announced. "I want you to—"

"He's getting back up!" Sugiyama suddenly announced.

Kallen whipped around and found Suzaku's unit slowly getting back up, VARIS in hand.

"Why won't you stay down?!" Kallen screamed, prepping yet another Radiant Wave.

"Don't fire! Don't do anything!" Zero said, with passion and urgency.

"But, sir-!"

"I said don't! Wait!"

Suzaku's Sutherland rose to a standing position, raising the VARIS.

"Zero, I can't-!"

"Don't. Fire."

An uncertain amount of time passed, the tension tangible. Kallen was expecting a VARIS shot to tear the Guren to shreds at any moment—

-but was surprised to find that nothing was happening. Suzaku was just standing there.

"What the hell?" Ohgi said.

"Uh, is he frozen?" Naomi questioned.

"You could say that," a familiar, icy voice popped up.

C.C.?! Kallen flicked on her KnightScope, zoomed in, and sure enough, C.C. was standing nearby the Sutherland's right Landspinner. All she was doing was touching it, just touching it, but that was enough to hold the Sutherland in place.

What the hell?

"C.C., what are you doing?!" Zero asked.

"Holding that pilot in place," C.C. responded. "You can take him out without any difficulty now."

"Alright, just get out of the way and we'll handle it!" Sugiyama boasted.

"I will. Just tell me when you are ready to fire."

Kallen didn't hear Zero's unit deactivate.

"Now that's more like it!" Tamaki barked. Everyone raised their weapons. "Goodbye, traitor!"

Finally-!

Suddenly, Zero was out of his Burai and running towards C.C., completely out in the open and unguarded.

"STOP! Don't shoot!" Kallen cried. "Zero's out there!"

Confusion all around, everyone was talking over eachother.

"Zero, wait-!"

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"Crap, I can't shoot him like this!"

"Guys, I spotted some Sutherlands heading this way!"

That one got their attention.

"What?! How many?" Kallen asked.

"I guess that was just a feint! They wanted to buy some time," Naomi said.

"I'll handle this!" Zero shouted. "Take care of the Britannians! Under no circumstances are you allowed to destroy Kururugi!"

[*****]

Lelouch, sprinting towards C.C., was pissed.

"What are you doing?!" Lelouch roared, his body aching from the constant activity.

C.C. turned to glare at him, her hand still on Suzaku's Sutherland. "I warned you that this would happen. You don't have a choice. This young man has gotten in your way more often than not, and you need to accept the fact that he has to die."

Lelouch heard the sounds of warfare raging somewhere in the distance, but he didn't care. Right now, it was just him and C.C., locked in a showdown.

"Listen to me, Witch," Lelouch bitterly said. "If you think you can just walk all over me, you're wrong. I'm ordering you to let him go."

"I refuse."

"How are you even holding him in place?!"

"I'm using a method similar to the one I used on you. When I gave you your Geass."

Lelouch recoiled, memories of that fateful afternoon at the Shinjuku Ghetto filling his memory.

"Are you giving him a Geass?!"

"No, but I'm tapping into his mind in a manner similar to how I tapped into yours."

Suddenly, Lelouch heard a bone-chilling scream from the interior of Suzaku's unit.

"You're hurting him!" Lelouch screamed, clenching his fists. "Let him go!"

"What is different about Suzaku Kururugi in comparison to the other people you've killed?"

"He's my friend!" Lelouch defended. "I will use my Geass on you, Witch! Don't fucking tempt me!"

"Geass does not work on me," C.C. warned. "You can try it if you wish, but it will be fruitless."

By this point, Lelouch was shaking, practically trembling with anger.

"Don't ever question the legitimacy of my orders, C.C.!"

"And don't ever question the validity of my advice. Kill. Him."

To Lelouch, Suzaku was still the innocent, lost kid from seven years ago, the kid who lost his country and his own family in the same breath. To Lelouch, Suzaku was still the rough-and-tumble young boy Lelouch had befriended all those years ago, still the cooperative warrior-in-training who'd offered to help Lelouch out in his time of need. To Lelouch, he was still the hero-in-the-making, willing to subvert the orders of his superiors (the Royal Guard, no less) for the sake of an outcast Britannian prince.

And I'll be damned before I let you take the choice away from him.

"Even if these can't kill you, I can make it as painful as possible," Lelouch hissed, fishing out his gun.

For once, C.C. looked mortified, but not for the reason Lelouch thought. "Don't! You'll disrupt the-!"

"Burn in hell, Witch."

Lelouch fired, once, twice, and suddenly there was an enormous explosion of energy. Lelouch got caught up in it, and he felt himself leave his body once again. He felt like he was shedding his mortal coil, being teleported to a plane of existence far beyond his understanding. It all happened in an instant, and it swept Lelouch off his feet, taking his breath away.

What the hell is this?! This is just like at Shinjuku!

Images flashed in front of Lelouch, in shockingly precise detail.

A group of children with strange symbols gathered in front of a waterfall.

The Earth, with a Geass sigil stretching over the entirety of the globe.

A mighty hail of meteors, slamming into the Earth's surface like destructive rain.

Snow.

Fire.

Ghosts.

An archaic temple, high in the sky.

Geass…

A grandfather clock, spinning out of control.

Geass…

And finally, the sight of an old man – specifically, Genbu Kururugi, the Prime Minister of Old Japan – with a knife lodged in his stomach.

Suzaku Kururugi was clutching the handle. His eyes were misty with tears.

This is Suzaku's mind…

"I didn't mean to do it!" Lelouch heard Suzaku howl.

Oh my god.

And just like that, Lelouch returned to the real world, lying on his back. He pulled himself to his feet, his head spinning with dizziness. He felt dazed, disordered as all hell, and absolutely confused. He tripped and fell on the ground; when he picked himself back up, his arms and wrists were quivering.

"C.C…." Lelouch groaned. His ears were ringing; his balance was off. He heard Kallen somewhere in the background, calling his name.

Lelouch went over to where C.C. was. She was passed out, a look of serene calm plastered over her face. No bullet wounds, even though Lelouch had definitely shot her. A bright red Geass sigil had appeared over her forehead. Wasting no time, Lelouch pulled C.C. upright, wrapping an arm around her waist, and slowly but surely he hoisted her into his Burai, awkwardly stuffing her in the back. He could barely read the signs and symbols on his dashboard's display; they all blended together into an incomprehensible digital soup.

"C.C…."

He didn't see Suzaku, with the last of his energy, raise his VARIS Rifle.

He barely heard Kallen screaming his name as she jumped in front of Lelouch, Radiant Wave Surger in hand.

He barely felt the impact of heat and light as Suzaku's VARIS shot and Kallen's Radiant Wave collided in midair, causing an enormous outburst of energy that sent everyone tumbling backwards.

All he could see was Geass. And then he plunged into darkness.