His Britannia

by Imperator's slave

The perfect world. People call it an impossible and foolish dream, but they are wrong. For the Man of Miracles, this is nothing more than another challenge. But first, I will need to conquer this world...

45. Endspiel: Part 1

August 29th. Mt. Fuji. Nemesis.

The sun was rising as the final preparations before the anticipated battle were finished. The flagship of the empire currently served as the command centre for the two armies with both Britannian and Black Knights' Knightmares being hosted inside the monstrous ship.

Outside said ship, an enormous army group stood ready, waiting for their enemy to arrive and the battle to start; but until then, the engineers and scientists of the Britannia/UFN side had to make sure every weapon and every war machine was ready. Especially the one meant to stop F.L.E.I.J.A.

The pilots and the engineers who kept their machines in check ran back and forth. Among all this turmoil few would stop to pay attention to the more prominent people inside the main hangar.

"Ah! The chaos right before the finale! I like this!" Lloyd announced happily as he raised his hands up, Cécile fighting the urge to kick her boss. "By sunset, the battle will be over and whoever emerges from this bloody conflict will rule the world! How exciting!"

"Lloyd, please be quiet. The last thing anyone needs is more stress. And it will be literally impossible for Schneizel to actually rule. There are dozens of obstacles in his wa-"

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't want a guy with the world-ending weapon to get to do as he pleases. But this is the endgame, Cécile! We might as well get excited about it, or you can instead worry your head over everything and act miserable like some people."

"I-" Cécile wanted to say something but stopped. Perhaps there was a logic to Lloyd's words. Better distract yourself with the silliest things in the face of an upcoming battle where your chances to survive aren't guaranteed. "I guess you aren't completely wrong, Llyod."

"I'm never wrong! I'm always correct, no matter the topic. Be it creating the most powerful Knightmares or human psychology. Hence why I always said to everyone that the European Brain Raid System was complete shi-AGH!"

Lloyd let out a painful yell as he fell down on his knees, his hands covering his groin that was just kicked by the heel of a very annoyed woman who stood behind him. Cécile thought about helping her supposed boss, but then thought again and decided to greet newcomers.

"Good morning, Sophie. You too, Takeru." The blue-haired scientist happily waved to W-0 members. "Hope you slept well."

Takeru tiredly shook his head. "Barely. Spending the entire night helping Miss Einstein wasn't the easiest task. We're both medical specialists, not weaponry experts. Hope whatever help we provided was useful."

"I'm sure it was. We all did our best to assist Nina and can't do anything else anymore," Last night's calibration should be the final touch on the anti-F.L.E.I.J.A. tools. "The best minds of former Europe, Britannia and UFN working together. This will work out."

Sophie stopped glaring at the fallen man as she turned toward his right-hand woman. "Thank you for your kind words, Cécile. I wish your idiotic colleague over here knew how to speak without insulting the work of those who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this."

Lloyd groaned before he managed to utter his piece. "Y-your BRS is a waste of perfectly good human brains. Kick me all you want but that's absolute t-truth!"

"Perhaps I will!" Sophie yelled and was about to use her leg again but her husband tried to stop her.

"Hahaha-! The Earl of Pudding is also quite a masochist isn't he? Insulting the scientific achievement right in front of their creators. My, imagine if someone dared to talk ill about your own inventions. How would you react?" The voice of Rakshata was heard as she walked towards the science team. "You would be throwing such a tantrum, I can only imagine."

The white-haired man who still didn't stand up from the ground could only clear his throat. "I will let you know, Rakshata, my and Cécile's creations proved themselves to be superior to others almost all of the time. My, I even have to compensate for some of your shortcomings with both Guren and Shinkiro. As far as I know, both His Majesty and Red Lotus prefer my version of your own machines."

Cecile and Takeru both had to take a step back as they noticed a vein pop up on Rakshata's face. Her smile was anything but sweet as she stepped closer to Lloyd who failed to sense the deadly dangerous aura around her.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about that," Rakshata put away her pipe. "Because the entire night we were too busy with work, I didn't have time to properly express how I feel about you touching my dear children without my consent."

"You make it sound weird-AGH!"

Rakshata's kick went for his stomach, but she was willing to repeat what Sophie did. The poor creator of Lancelot and many other Knightmares could only raise his head in fear as two very angry women glared at him, completely ready to spill the first blood of the day before the battle even started.

"Since we did all we could and the anti-F.L.E.I.J.A. spears are ready, we might as well cut down on research team numbers." Rakshata openly threatened him.

"Did you hear the Russian phrase 'beat your own so that others are afraid of you', Lloyd? Perhaps we will scare our enemy into submission once they see what we did to you." Sophie was done with the man and would rather spend the final moments before the battle beating the shit out of Lloyd.

"A-ah," Their victim looked around the hangar, trying to see if anyone might save him. Soon his eyes fell on a certain Knight of the Round. "Arthur! Please save me from those harpies!"

The young elite knight didn't hear him as he was deep in conversation with a new female pilot of the Glinda Knights, Liliana Vergamon. Although judging by the way the both of them were close to each other and the radiant blush on their faces, the conversation was anything but normal. It didn't help the fact that Liliana took Arthur's hand and led the knight towards her own Knightmare… where she tossed him inside her cockpit and joined him before closing it.

"Damn it, Arthur!" Lloyd exclaimed as his face went blank. "This isn't the time for fornication… at least they don't do it inside the Reaper."

"Ah, young love. How beautiful." Sophie smiled before glancing at her husband who waved back. "Now where are we, Rakshata?"

"Why, we were about to make sure dear Lloyd over here won't ever be able to repeat what those teenagers are doing. Not that he ever could on his own."

"Hey-!" Any attempt from Lloyd to speak back or try to flee was punished by another series of kicks from two very angry women. He tried to call Cécile for help, but his loyal assistant turned away and walked towards the exit with Takeru.

"His Majesty should be giving his speech to stir up the soldiers in thirty minutes. Let's get Nina with Anna and join the others on the bridge."

Takeru nodded. "Sounds good, I will stay here and make sure Sophie and Rakshata will be there on time."

Both of them and pretty much everyone in the room ignored the pleading man as he was being kicked by two scientists.

"HELP ME!"

---

Outside Nemesis.

"Hear me, knights of Britannia! Warriors of the Federation! Heroes of Europe!"

Shinkiro Imperium flew in the air above everyone as its pilot stood on top of it, raising the red royal sword forward.

Lelouch vi Britannia spoke before hundreds of Knightmare in the air and the ground. Despite the fact that almost half of them were Black Knights and W-0, Britannia's former enemies, everyone stood in silence, listening to him. Following the betrayal of the Order's high command, according to the official version, the White Emperor was the only one capable of leading an army of three factions. Well, two factions considering none of the W-0 units were in a battle-ready state, but Lelouch wanted to make sure they felt included even if only for the sake of kindness towards them and Leila.

Their combined force was made up of Vincent Wards, the White Vultures of Lelouch's favourite legion, Garethes, and mass-produced Akatsuki units. The primary unit of the former Black Knights had red paint over its head and shoulders, trying to mimic Guren in some way to show their new allegiance. It was done in haste before the final battle in order to differentiate the Japanese pilots who joined Lelouch and who were the enemy. Incidentally, Kallen herself didn't order them to paint their Knightmares like hers, according to rumours it was actually the order of Chairwoman Kaguya herself.

"Today we stand here as one united front against the evil that is F.L.E.I.J.A. and the people who would use it for the sake of their twisted ambitions and delusions! We cannot allow this to happen no matter what!"

Inside her Amber, Cinder chuckled. Her darling emperor wanted this world and yet some pockets of the old Britannia would call him mad. Well, there were losers and winners, yet there were also the victorious. And she would ensure that for Lelouch; after all, it was for the greater good.

"My siblings wish to drag the world as a whole into the past. In the age of fear and conflict, one we were forced to survive all these years. My naive younger sister Nunnally might speak for the diving empire but don't let her words confuse you. She only speaks so because it will be convenient for Schneizel to control! What they want to cause is more chaos and dependency on them as the only means of stability among other nations!"

Inside her own ship, Marrybell silently watched, making sure to hear every word her brother spoke. Today was the most important battle of her life, nay, their nation's history. The victory was the only outcome for her. She and her Glinda Knights will do everything to bring her siblings to justice, including little Nunnally.

"I know you all have terrible memories of each other. For the Order of Black Knights, your leader Zero created you to fight for the sake of justice and order. To stop the evil that is Britannia. My own countrymen were your enemies and oppressors, no longer is this so. Gone are the monsters that murdered and colonized their way across the world. I killed my father to start a change in the empire and am determined to live up to my words of protecting the weak and creating the perfect world, so please lend me your strength today. For the sake of the perfect future!"

His Witch stood on the edge of Nemesis as she watched her warlock descend even deeper into his madness. One she was ready to share with him, not to mention all the other people who entrusted their lives and future to Lelouch's wish. As long as her partner isn't alone, he will be fine. He promised her much, and C.C. was fully prepared to make sure her Lelouch would follow through with it all.

The Knights of the Round raised their swords, minigun in Peter's case, as they shouted in unison. They were followed by the rest of Britannia forces, the majority of whom were those of the White Legion.

"All Hail, Lelouch!"

The Black Knights weren't so enthusiastic until they all saw how Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. raised its golden claw in the air. Some worried that it might be an attempt to attack White Emperor, but judging by the lack of reaction from the Knights of the Round, the Scarlet Guard or their captain, it was nothing dangerous. Instead of starting a fight with her own lover, the ace of Black Knights did something nobody expected.

"Long live Japan! Long live Lelouch!"

The unexpected combination of battle cries confused her own people, but soon more and more joined the cry. The second one was Tamaki as he shouted louder than even the zealous cyborg captain of the emperor.

"Long live Japan! All Hail Lelouch!"

It would appear that Black Knights and Britannians were trying to overshoot each other. At some point, they even stopped caring what was their battle cry as both sides started to chant the same. Meanwhile, the leader of this army smirked. Lelouch wanted this battle to act as a joint effort between both groups since Black Knights will absorb into his empire sooner or later. Might as well make sure his old army will feel more at ease once it happens.

'For the sake of my perfect world, the future I intend to create no matter what. Go forward my soldiers, my knights of old and new! Create the world in my image!'

Lelouch knew he was far from the sanest people, his childhood was partly to blame. He was insane for attempting world domination, but screw it. If being insane means he will create a better tomorrow for the entire mankind, in exchange for their control over their nations then so be it. He will be the hero and villain if needed, but he must achieve his goal, for their sake.

"Let us burn the old world my siblings and their followers are grasping at so desperately! From the ashes of the corrupted and violent past, we will forge a future of peace and prosperity together, under my guidance! I swear this on my name!"

The final words before the battle were spoken. The preparations were complete. Now was the time for the main event to start.

---

Damocles.

The gigantic flying fortress made its way across the sky as hundreds of Knightmares of different designs followed it. The anti-Lelouch coalition was at best a temporary alliance as the many organizations in it had too many different views on each other, hating one another above all else. Anarchistic Peace Mark rebels/terrorists, remnants of the former EU army, purebloods and traitorous Knights of the Rounds, and now members of the Black Knights who didn't accept the Lelouch's 'temporary' leadership of the Order.

"Quite hypocritical of them to turn their backs on their countrymen, only to side with us," Kanon spoke as he stood next to his prince on the command bridge.

"All those months I was slandered by the empire's propaganda at every opportunity, in their eyes, I'm nothing but Lelouch's enemy as well. They're probably thinking that once our common enemy is gone, everything will return to the norm and we will continue fighting each other. Perhaps even kill me once my little brother is defeated," Schneizel smirked. "I bet a good half of our force's schemes are of the same mind. I won't deny that I have similar plans towards them once this is over."

His loyal aid could only shock his head in disappointment. "So much for trusting allies… that includes you, my prince."

"We aren't allies by choice, Kanon. This alliance has one purpose and we will be ready for the aftermath with Damocles at our disposal," Schneizel raised his hands and looked around, gesturing at the enormity of the superweapon. "This battle station should render any Geass and weapons obsolete with the power of our F.L.E.I.J.A. arsenal."

The nearby standing Diethard smiled excitingly. "Now this is a proper end for the story of Zero! Corrupted and fallen Hero slain by the hands of progress and change!"

Schneizel wouldn't deny he enjoyed traitorous reporters sucking up, especially since Diethard was quite a zealous fellow about his desire to make a documentary out of it. Good, after Lelouch is gone, they will need it to show more evidence to the world about the lies his younger brother used to lead both Black Knights and Britannia.

'Even with Lelouch gone, I will have to deal with the UFN but if the truth of Lelouch's past as Zero comes up, they will be up in flames.' Not to mention Geass. While talking about some kind of magical power that might be bad for his reputation, Schneizel knew with enough conviction and charisma he can make it believable enough to work. 'Often the truth is something the masses repeat over and over again, even starting to believe it. Geass might act as a scapegoat for all of Lelouch's successes and manipulations. Perhaps there will be a witch hunt of sorts inside the Federation. Even better for me.'

"Brother, we have visual confirmation of enemy forces." The voice of his sister Cornelia made Schneizel return his attention back to the giant screen before the three of them.

"Very good. Stay in your positions, sister. No one acts without my orders. Let our forces be the vanguard. Lelouch's army will be the ones to approach us. He always preferred offence over defence." Not that a defensive formation would stay long enough against the might of F.L.E.I.J.A. All Schneizel and the coalition needed to do was cut down Lelouch's forces enough so he won't have anything to put between himself and Damocles's main weapon. Then it will be over.

"Understood." Cornelia ended the call.

'I wish she didn't have to join the battlefield as well,' Schneizel won't deny that Cornelia was among the few siblings he honestly cared about and valued. She was out of action for too long and never used Knightmares with float systems in real combat. Cornelia didn't like Schneizel's plans at all and it was obvious from one glance, his sister was a terrible liar. Still, she didn't become a potential risk and he didn't need to get rid of her yet. The former Prime Minister really hoped it wouldn't come to that. 'Depending on the situation I might have to fire F.L.E.I.J.A. on our friends. Getting rid of Wizard and his little terrorists will be necessary, but she might get caught.'

"Your Highness, we are awaiting your orders." The voice of the Knight of One, Bismarck was always unpleasant in Schneizel's mind.

'Another person who will have to perish in the fire of F.L.E.I.J.A. along with Wizard. I cannot trust you, Bismarck, your loyalty to my father will always mean trouble for me.' A good portion of the Knights of the Round will have to be purged now that he thought about it. "Good, await my further instructions."

The Knight of One nodded before ending the call while Schneizel let out a short sigh. His work as a diplomat was putting up with people he preferred to avoid, and that experience became valuable. Having to control and maintain order among Charles's former attack dogs wasn't difficult, well, save perhaps one.

"Kururugi Suzaku, what is your status?" The White Knight would play the most important part in this battle, Schneizel knew that. "How are you feeling, Suzaku?"

"I'm perfectly fine… Your Highness," Suzaku reluctantly answered. "Lancelot Albion is in perfect condition and I'm ready to go, just give me the order."

'A soldier no matter what.' Schneizel always liked that about him. "I'm pleased to hear that, Suzaku. The energy wings on your Knightmare provide your speed and firepower unmatched by anything else we have. However, Lelouch has two units with energy wings on their own. It is likely he will try to single you out and have them destroy you. At the moment our numbers are similar, but our enemy has access to nearly unlimited reinforcements, while we don't. Our forces will prioritize taking down their battleships, including the Nemesis. Let the other Knights of the Round deal with the Guren and Amber pilots while you shall await for the right moment to strike."

A pause. "Understood."

"Excellent, now get ready. The battle will start soon. And Suzaku, please be careful, Nunnally wouldn't want to see you hurt." Another reason Schneizel liked Suzaku was that the perfect soldier was also easy to push if you knew how.

"..."

He didn't need to hear his answer. Schneizel turned his attention towards the battle screen and studied it, making mental notes of Lelouch's strategy. Damocles and their coalitions have come from the ocean side while Lelouch's forces gathered over the same mountain where his little brother almost died not so long ago. Nemesis, Avalon and Ikaruga were accompanied by dozens of Briitannian old-generation battleships. He even recognized Marrybell's ship. Lelouch put his army in a semicircle with battleships covering each other. Schneizel could see what his little brother wanted to do. Surround his forces and prevent them from giving Damocles an opening to fire F.L.E.I.J.A. The battleship's weapons should be enough to strike down the warhead before it can explode.

"An expected strategy, Lelouch. Take away my ability to fire unless I want to wipe out my own forces." And it was too early for that. "But I remember our chess games and you little brother, were always too aggressive for your own good. You will advance first no matter what."

Schneizel ordered putting him on the open channel so everyone, ally and enemy alike would hear him.

"To all those who fight for their freedom, for their home, for their families, hear me! We have reached the finale and it is the last battle between forces of good against the evil that is my brother Lelouch! Do not fret my friends, no matter what happens, victory will be ours. My brother went mad with power, thinking himself to be above everyone else, but we will put a stop to this madness today, here! All of you have come from different backgrounds and were enemies in the past, but now you're allies and comrades in arms since we share a common goal, return to the normal world, one that was damaged by Lelouch. Forget about the past grievances we had with each other and focus on the monster that is before you! Fight for your dreams, fight the demon and his lies!"

Simple words of encouragement were needed before the battle to rally the troops. Schneizel highly doubted it would work for some individuals like Wizard, but as long as the units under the second prince's command obeyed his orders and didn't break formation, everything would be fine.

'Now Lelouch, show me the resolve of your Britannia and if you have what it takes to beat me, little brother.'

---

'Nemesis'.

On the command bridge, the White Emperor sat in silence as he studied the picture before him. The staff of the commander centre were reporting the status of his own forces and preparations, at least that's how it looked. Their emperor meanwhile was more preoccupied with trying to find one specific Knightmare among Schneizel's forces.

"Where is he..." His purple eyes moved between dozens of different Knightmare models. From Vincent commander models, mere Sutherlands and other Britannian older units, to mass-produced Akatsuki machines. Among all former Knights of the Round, Lelouch couldn't spot the one who could ruin everything for him, again. "Where you are, Suzaku."

"What do you plan to do with him?" C.C. spoke from the side. Among his confidants, his Witch was the only one with Lelouch. Everyone else who knew how to pilot a Knightmare was outside in the air. "You don't plan to show him a sudden act of mercy right?"

Lelouch looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Mercy? After everything he has done to me? Heh, the only mercy I can offer him is a quick death… but I don't want to see his face anymore and I will leave the honour to Kallen."

"Good. Now, what about our attack plan?"

"You know what we will do. Let Schneizel take the bait and then we will act, for now, we will play it as a normal battle exchange. He will think I will rely on my numbers and firepower to counter anything he has. He also expects me to go on offence, putting my KMF units close to his Damocles. Well, let's proceed according to his expectations, for now."

"D.S. will take command of the bridge once you will leave. For all her brain issues, she at least knows how to organise people. I'm sure everything will be ready." Serious D.S. always felt strange, but Lelouch knew what was at stake.

"Very well, then let's-"

One of the operators reported. "Your Majesty! The enemy ship wants to contact us."

Lelouch expected Schneizel to exchange some final pleasantries and ask him to surrender, both knowing it wouldn't happen. Well, some final words with this older brother might be in need, if only for the sake of formalities. Lelouch motioned to accept the call and prepared some words for the former Prime Minister.

However, what Lelouch didn't expect was to see the face of a young girl in some kind of flower garden.

"Big brother Lelouch-"

"What do you want now, parasite?" Lelouch spoke coldly as he looked away, it was preferable to seeing her face again. His Witch looked at him with concern before taking his hand and gently squeezing it. His eyes met hers and with a heavy sigh, he turned back to the main screen. "Nunnally, is there anything left for us to speak about at this point? You aren't commander in chief, and no matter what, you cannot surrender on behalf of your army."

The little princess on the other end of the call didn't move as her eyes were closed, but Lelouch could swear he could feel their stare on him. Something felt wrong about this, but he couldn't say what or show his concern. For all, he knew it might be, no, it was another attempt by Schneizel to emotionally distract him from the battle, not that he would allow it to work.

"Lelouch… this battle will decide whether your dream will be allowed to exist or not. I'm sad that you see me as nothing but a pawn of others, but I want you to know that I'm serious about it, about fighting for my own resolve and best you."

"Hahaha, oh my, what is it? Are you actually thinking you are capable of doing something, Nunnally?" Lelouch remembered the talks she and D.S. were having in C's World and how according to his lover, his young sister was acting strange. "Even if you developed some kind of sense of pride or backbone in the time since our last conversation, it means nothing. Victory will be mine, it has to be. You might survive today's encounter, but you won't achieve anything you wish for. I will crush you and everyone who stands by your side."

Lelouch expected to see a frown, to hear her disapproving voice and accuse him of being a monster. Any form of disgust towards him, the monster who lied and killed people all this time with the power of Geass. Lelouch knows she is supposed to despise him. However, none of it happened. He didn't hear a venomous voice on the verge of tears or a judging tone. Instead, what Lelouch got was a small smile as Nunnally looked at him with a somewhat kind expression.

"I would expect nothing else from you, big brother. May the best man win, Lelouch. Hehe~"

And with that, her call ended, leaving confused Lelouch and C.C. Neither Witch nor Warlock understood what just happened.

"She is different," the green-haired woman was first to speak. "Perhaps she changed more than even D.S. thought during their conversations."

"That's… it doesn't matter. Nunnally will go down like the others no matter what. Perhaps I promised to not seek out her blood to Jeremiah and others, but she is still my- our- enemy and must be treated as such." Lelouch spoke but even he noticed the doubt in his tone. The White Emperor shook his head as his attention returned to the battlefield that was about to start. "Let's ignore her for now and focus on the present task. Hmm, left-flank, move forward. Centre and right, stay back and cover the left one. Cinder, lead the charge."

As the emperor spoke, his commands and orders were immediately sent to all of their forces in the air.

---

Q2

'I thought you would never ask, darling!'

"You heard His Majesty!" The Second Knight of the Round yelled as her Amber flew forward to the position her emperor ordered to. The mix of Vincent Wards and Akatsuki units at her side followed her behind. A few dozen units moved in unison while their enemy made changes according to Lelouch movements. The one-eyed demoness smirked as she licked her lips. "Let's have ourselves a victory!"

Inside the Damocles, Schneizel smirked as he saw the obvious move and acted accordingly. Per his orders, the formation under the command of Monica Krushevsky moved to intercept her. The green and black coloured Knightmare of the Knight of Twelve, Florence moved towards Amber as the Vincent Command Models covered her flanks.

The enemy Florence flew closer towards her Amber as it raised its green claws and went for the torso of the Lancelot variant. Amber blocked the attack with her purple swords. Their units opened fire upon each other as the entire aerial front formed around them. Neither of the female knights needed to look around to see that the battle had already started as battleships from Cinder's side opened fire upon Schneizel's forces. While the anti-Lelouch coalition lacked the same amount and quality of airships, they still had some transport ships that were changed to serve as platforms for some of the European anti-ship guns.

Meanwhile, the Second Knight was stuck in a blade lock against the former Knight of Twelve.

"If you will lower your… mantis claws?" Cinder blinked. Monica's Knightmare looked like heavily upgraded Alexander likes of which she fought among W-0. "Then I will grant you a swift death, I promise you won't feel a thing."

Inside her Florence, a blonde knight glared at the screen. "As if your promises are worth anything, Cinder Fall. I read your file, you are a sadistic monster!"

"Oh wow, you did the bare minimum, what an achievement," Cinder spoke back with a sarcastic tone. "Monica Krushevsky, at age 19, became a Knight of the Round at 17. No lover, but was engaged to Orpheus Zevon despite never meeting him face to face during childhood. Oh, how cute. You're an illegitimate child of a high-ranking noble, whom I killed months ago, you're welcome by the way. Breast size is-"

"Enough!" Monica shouted in anger as her Florence broke away and raised a claw to shred her foe.

"As you can see, I too can read classified case files." The black-haired knight smiled, pleased by her reputation as Amber raised its leg to deliver a kick that was blocked by the same claw. Since the purple sword was no longer held by Florence, Cinder quickly moved for the opportunity and twisted Amber in place, spinning to try and stab her opponent's chest. However, Monica was far from inexperienced and knew her way in a fight.

Florence flew back, creating a space between itself and Amber as it shot its waist-mounted Slash Harkens towards the multi-coloured machine. Cinder blocked both of them with her left maser sword, but in doing so her left flank was now exposed and Monica rushed to the side. Florence raised its left green claw and stopped Amber from moving its hand; meanwhile, Monica's Knightmare activated its hidden blade. Florence's uruna edge knife came out of its wrist as Monica aimed for the side of Amber's cockpit.

Cinder's eye went wide as she activated her energy wings and pulled Amber back. Her Knightmare flew several metres away from Florence. The modified Alexander specialized in close combat, but how else would it fight at a long distance? Now that was a question Cinder would like to see the answer to. Amber aimed one of its Super V.A.R.I.S. rifles towards the mantis Knightmare and pulled the trigger.

The hadron ray flew towards Florence as it dodged the red laser of death. Unlike Amber and the other Knights of the Round, Monica's machine didn't have any form of shield system. It was difficult to combine either the absolute defence system or the Blaze Luminous system with her Florance insect mode. Her Knightmare was made especially for fights in urban warfare to use against ground units. Even the float system was basically an afterthought and with the lack of either Lloyd or Cecile on their side, Monica didn't have any access to an engineer good enough to solve her KMF's issues on time.

However, what she couldn't make up technically, she will have to compensate with her skills. And she won't go down without a fight so easily!

Florence dodged shot after shot as they hit the nearby unlucky Knightmares instead. One of the Akatsuki units with a red painted top tried to charge her with its katana, but Florence pierced its cockpit with a needle-like blade before tossing it forward into the upcoming hadron ray. The following explosion provided a small smoke cloud that Monica immediately used and fired from both of her back-mounted hadron cannons to answer back to Amber's shooting.

Cinder narrowed her eye as Amber took hadron shots and let its shield block them. She switched the mode on the Super V.A.R.I.S. rifle and fired a continuous ray of death as Amber's energy wing sparkled before moving to the sides at high speed. She was sure Florence didn't get any kind of shield system during all this time and her theory was proven correct as Monica had to dodge the ray. When it was impossible due to the speed of Amber, Florence had no choice but to block the ray with its claws. Amber pressed on, hoping that it should be enough to melt the damnable mantis-like weapon, but nothing happened.

While Florence lacked any actual defence measure, its claws were durable enough to endure the heat of the hadron energy. Another new question would be how much they can withstand physical attacks if they are non-stop.

Amber dived in, its heel aiming for Florence's head. The insect-like Knightmare blocked the obvious kick. Monica raised its empty claw to try and stab the leg of Amber. Without wasting her breath, Cinder danced in the air as Amber quickly changed positions and was now lower than Florence and upside down. Fighting in the open air opened the opportunity for unconventional fighting in every sense of the word.

'Let's try this pose.' Cinder genuinely hoped she wouldn't puke, having only one working eye also meant that she could get sick pretty quickly.

Monica was caught off guard and wasn't able to act on time when Amber slashed her maser sword with a wild spin. However, thanks to Florence being built from an Alexander, its system was able to move into a defensive stance in its insect mode. The damage was done as a giant scar from one slash attack was seen across Florence's body and right leg, but it was still operational. Monica ignored the system warning she got on her screen as she yelled at her opponent.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Just trying new things, pretty cool right?" Cinder's smile was feral. Her fight was enjoyable, even if she must cut it short, with Monica as well. "So this is what fighting knights is like? Traitor or not, I didn't have this much fun since I fought Red Lotus herself! Be proud you managed to provide me with such entertainment, former Knight of Twelve!"

Monica bit her lip. "You sound just like Luciano, you crazy monster!"

Her Florence opened fire again at Amber. She repeated what Cinder did earlier and switched to a continuous stream of hadron energy. The red laser was blocked by Amber's shield, but the constant force pushed the Knightmare down, further away from her opponent.

Amber blocked the ray for a few seconds until Cinder activated her energy wings and flew back into the sky, closer to Florence. Meanwhile, Monica managed to find a squad of coalition Sutherlands and Vincents with float systems. Without giving Cinder a chance to relax, the Knight of Twelve ordered them to shoot the Amber down. The onyx-haired knight smirked as she moved Amber with grace and near-light speed between them, there was power to be had after all.

Cinder activated her machine's vampire-like capabilities as Amber captured one unlucky enemy Vincent unit by its head. The poor fool screamed as his KMF failed to do anything, its battery quickly going down as it was drained by Amber. Meanwhile, the machine pulled out its spare V.A.R.I.S. rifle and shot down the enemy units that assisted Monica one by one.

Once her Amber was sufficiently charged- not like Cinder was at the danger energy level- she crushed the head of the derelict Vincent before tossing it towards Monica. Before the knight could even dodge, Amber shot the falling powerless Vincent, smoke from the explosion temporarily made Florence's scanners blind. However, Monica could hear the familiar sounds of something being launched. Without even seeing her enemy or what was going on, on pure instinct she flew her Florence to the side as it made several turns in the air, dodging what she soon recognized to be missiles.

Once the black smoke was gone, she could see Amber in the company of several Gareths that aimed their combined arsenal at her. Monica had a surprised expression for half a second before a glare formed on her beautiful face. She moved her Florance forward, flying towards Amber and its escort of titan Knightmares, none of which stopped firing at her. Florence dodged both hadron blasts and rockets as it danced like a butterfly among the projectiles. Monica cut a few missiles with her claws as they got too close to Florence. Once she was within her slash-harken proximity range, she fired both of them and hit one of the Gareths. Before the giant Knightmare could do anything, Florence transformed into its insect mode and stabbed the chest, hitting the cockpit with its heel.

As the first Gareth exploded, Florence jumped onto the next one, using her slash harkens to pull itself towards it. However, when it landed on the bigger Knightmare and was about to decapitate it like a praying mantis, Cinder made herself known. Amber threw its maser sword at Florence as it stabbed the left shoulder of green Knightmare and pinned it against the torso of Gareth.

The pilot inside the Gareth was a Geassed member of the White Legion and had no sense of self-preservation left if it meant fulfilling his master's wishes. Since at the moment they were under the directive to kill all enemies of the emperor Lelouch and follow Lady Cinder's orders, they had absolutely no issues being used as a sacrificial lamb. If anything, they provided assistance as both Gareth's arms moved to 'hug' Florence to make sure it wouldn't escape.

Monica panicked as her screen showed red danger signals, her left arm was not working properly and she could see imminent death. With a scream, the blonde knight did everything she could to stay alive as Florance kicked and stabbed the suicidal Gareth. Having no choice left, Monica pressed the control panels and forced Florence to disconnect its left hand entirely. The entire left side of her KMF was removed as only the connecting joint was seen, but it allowed Monica to survive. At least for a little longer.

Even with only one hand, Florence still had the capability to move at high-speed thanks to its Alexander insect mode and float system which was still working. Monica used the golden horn on top of Florence's head and pierced Gareth's chest as it was no longer able to operate to hold her in one place. It jumped away from the giant KMF as it exploded, her aim was now surely on Amber. With one arm, Monica knew her chance of survival was reduced significantly, which meant she must win this fight as quickly as possible!

The remained Garethes were about to open fire again, but Cinder ordered them to stay still. She will finish traitorous Knight of Twelve herself now. Instead, she sent her underlings to bring back the missing maser sword she threw at Monica a minute ago which was currently falling down with the remains of dead Gareth. As Florence rushed towards Amber, the Second Knight of the Round pulled away its rifle and instead held its only remaining maser sword in both hands and stood in the defensive stand, challenging the blonde pilot to attack her.

Monica didn't need to be told the obvious as Florence moved forward, its only remaining claw aimed at the head and cockpit of Amber. The green Knightmare rushed close to multi-coloured Lancelot look-a-like as it went for a swift strike. However, it was blocked by Amber as it managed to cut the mantis claw in the middle, the purple blade embedded into the claw. It looked like Monica was stuck, but she still had the final trick. Her Florence had an additional set of legs to assist the movement of Knightmare in the insect mode, they could be used as a weapon in situations like this as a last resort weapon.

Monica pressed one, the sweat forming on her forehead as two smaller blades shot forward Amber's torso, aimed to pierce it. However, they simply didn't move fast enough. Florence's last attempt to survive and kill the Knight of Two failed as Cinder fired two slash harkens forward, piercing Florence's body and going past it, destroying the remaining functions of Knightmare and breaking its core, leaving it no choice but to self-destruct.

The blonde knight could see that her end was inevitable, but she showed no fear in spite of that. Instead, she tried to grab Amber and make sure the monster inside it would go down with her. Sadly, Monica didn't have much luck as the machine glared at hers and grabbed the offending hand, crushing it in its grip.

"Defiant to the end? I don't think so." Cinder's tone was cold as ice, at least until she let out a short laugh. "Well, this was an amazing fight. I offered you the easy way out, and instead, you showed me this. I'm pleased. Hah, didn't even need to use the Geass command His Majesty bestowed upon me. I'm rather impressed. Good fight, Krushevsky."

"I do not care about your enjoyment, monster." Monica wasn't going to give this woman the satisfaction of killing her. Still. "You killed my bastard father, correct?"

"Sure did."

"Well… at least I don't have to try to impress that pig anymore. As for you… one day your emperor will lose, perhaps not to us, but he will."

Cinder actually nodded at this, adopting a more serious tone. "Yes, that's certainly a possibility. Emperor Lelouch always knew there was a chance for another man of miracles to raise to challenge him. But should that happen, I will be there to burn down his enemies and massacre anyone who will oppose my Emperor. Even if we are meant to lose, I will burn this entire world before allowing Lelouch to fall on his knees. But that's-" Cinder's smile turned feral, sadistic. "No longer your concern, Krushevsky. Now enjoy your rest in silence, a former knight of twelve."

As she spoke, Amber simply tossed the damaged Florence away from itself. As the green Knightmare fell, its female pilot said nothing as Monica closed her eyes and met her death in absolute silence. Cinder's eye watched as Florence exploded before moving on with her master's plan.

"Q2, report."

"Knight of Twelve Monica Krushevsky is neutralized, Your Majesty."

---

Q1.

"Centre, cover the left flank."

As emperor Lelouch ordered his armies to move, the battle started. Schneizel's forces reacted and changed their positions accordingly as they too moved forward. Half of the coalition's right army group flew towards Lelouch's forces as the rest stood on guard in the rear, shooting down Britannian and UFN Knightmares from the distance. The battleships on both sides provided support as their guns didn't stop firing at the big accumulation of war machines.

Ikaruga by far had the most powerful arsenal on the battlefield, but was handicapped by the number of friendly units in the air and couldn't fire with so many of them close. Even the mighty Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements had to await for its master to give the command before moving to attack.

Kallen was stationed right in front of Nemesis as she received the news. She saw as Cinder moved towards the enemy with their units, before engaging some sort of insect Knightmare. Apparently, it was one of the enemy Knights of the Round, but Kallen didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead, her focus shifted towards a giant black and white Knightmare that moved towards Cinder and Monica's location.

'She doesn't look too tough, so Cinder shouldn't have too much trouble and if needed I can launch my claw towards the enemy unit. Only because that idiot will slow us down and not because of anything else!' Kallen thought to herself with an irritated expression as her mind tried to convince herself. 'Forget stupid Cinder, where is that bastard Suzaku?!'

The traitorous scum lived too long. She should have finished him off back when she just got Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. and before that bastard fired F.L.E.I.J.A. Perhaps it would have changed everything, but Kallen promised herself to never ask what-if questions again. The past is the past, she learned to accept it and pay for the consequences. Now she will make Suzaku pay for all the bullshit he made her and Lelouch go through.

'Suzaku, we will finish our fight for good today. I won't allow you to get in Lelouch's way anymore!' A bloody promise she will make sure to fulfil, but for now, her attention was required somewhere else.

"Q1, we have visual confirmation that Bismarck Waldstein is moving towards our left flank. Bishop is preoccupied at the moment, and might not be able to stand up to Bismarck's Geass. Your skills and equipment should be able to surpass whatever he has. Move and eliminate Galahad, if unable to do so, wait until reinforcements arrive." Lelouch's commanding voice sounded like music to Kallen.

"Understood." No questions or doubts, simply following his orders was more than enough. 'Bismark isn't Suzaku, but a problem nonetheless… I'm pretty sure Bishop has his own vendetta against the former Knight of One, but If he is too busy I will be the one to kill Charles' former knight.'

Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. moved faster than light as it closed the distance with the giant Knightmare Galahad. Without any greetings or banter, Kallen went for a kick to the head while simultaneously launching her claw at the side before it turned sharply in the air and flew back towards Galahad's left side. However, both C.C. and D.S. told her and the rest that Bismark wasn't the usual fighter because of his Geass.

And surely, the former first knight of Charles's regime wouldn't go down so easily as he blocked the kick with its giant sword Excalibur. The claw attack was dodged as Galahad pulled back and avoided it entirely, its purple sword held tightly as the titan adopted a defensive stance. Kallen bit her lip, there goes her element of surprise.

'Granted, I don't know how well that might work on someone who can see the future, even if only for a few seconds.' According to D.S., the old bastard got Geass from Lelouch's uncle V.V. How well he mastered it was unknown, but he had it for years and most likely was familiar enough with it by now. 'Gottwald and his Geass Canceller are out there somewhere. too busy-'

The sounds of hardon explosion could be heard as two giant hardon rays fired at each other, accompanied by missile rain and distant but determined screams of loyalty. Seems Jeremiah and Peter were having fun there.

'But it doesn't matter! Even if he has Geass, I won't lose!' Kallen raised Guren's claw and fired a radiant wave at a wide range. The giant red circle covered several flying units that acted as Galahad's entourage. As the rest of the small Knightmares exploded, Kallen saw that Galahad blocked the attack with its sword as a shield formed around it.

"Hahaha, what a performance. For some mongrel girl, you sure can put up a fight." Bismark laughed as he raised his Excalibur and challenged Kallen. "I heard that Red Lotus is quick, but this is beyond whatever the rumours spoke of. You might have made a good Knight of the Round, a shame you have to serve under that parasi-."

He didn't finish as Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. dove towards Galahad. Its claw captured the Excalibur as Kallen activated a radiant wave, but the giant sword didn't melt. Instead, it was covered by a shield that took all the damage.

"What the issue, girl? You don't want to hear the truth about Lelouch?"

"I'm Kallen Kozuki, the Knight of Zero, the Shadow of Emperor Lelouch, his first blade and his closest shield. All those who dare to stand against him will perish." Kallen narrowed her eyes as red circles flickered around them. "I won't allow anyone to hurt him or insult his name! Especially not some old shit who allowed his master to get killed!"

As she yelled, Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. brought her MVS knife and aimed for Galahad's face. As she expected, Bismark flew back, dodging the attack. His KMF didn't have any weapons besides the giant blade and ten slash harkens according to the official file. It meant that at long-range Kallen would be superior. Forget about his stupid Geass, she just has to be faster than his brain can detect her.

And so Guren moved, its energy wings activated as the red Knightmare practically teleported into the air. The redhead pilot activated her claw again, firing radiant waves in the form of smaller shots and a continuous ray of destruction. Galahad dodged and blocked every upcoming attack with Excalibur. However, the units around them weren't so lucky. Bismarck had to fly higher if only to make sure the rest of his forces won't be caught in the middle of the fire. Perhaps it was the order of Schneizel, seeing as anything close to Galahad was melted in a red ray of agony that was Rakshata's radiant wave technology.

"You have the skills to be a Knight of the Round, I will acknowledge that, girl. However, Knight of Zero? What kind of foolishness is that?!"

Bismark yelled as he moved Galahad into offence, the titan's five-finger slash harkens were shot forward as he tried to capture Guren. However, Kallen simply blocked the attack with her blade before Galahd moved too close and swung at her with Excalibur. Guren's heel crashed against the sword trying to push it back, but Galahad's heavier mass proved to be too much for her Knightmare and sent Kallen flying back.

"That fool can title whoever he wants as a Knight of the Round, but have the audacity to create a Knight of Zero? The Knight of One highest rank of honour! Even that imbecile Bishop should understand it, so how in the world such a ridiculous title can exist?!" Bismarck ranted as Galahad raised its sword and made strike after strike.

Kallen couldn't help but snort with amusement. "What? Is someone jealous that his old position is no longer the most important? Why so mad? You aren't even a proper knight of the round anymore! You're the ones who failed to defend that old fart Charles, turned traitor and were replaced, now stop whining about it and just die!"

Guren shot its shash harkens at Galahad. She aimed for Excalibur but caught the finger of the left fist that was holding the sword instead. Inside his unit, Bismarck clenched his teeth in frustration, he let his guard down for a second and wasn't quick enough to see this. Ignoring the small sparks among the fingers on his left hand, Galahad was still fully operational.

"You aren't Suzaku for me to get worked up over. You're just an old man who cannot accept the fact that he isn't important anymore, that his dear old lord is dead and Lelouch is now Emperor of Britannia. Aren't you knights supposed to be an honourable bunch with a strict code to follow? Please do everyone a favour and just off yourself with that oversized sword."

"Hmm, big words for some little girl who apparently had issues with choosing a side not so long ago. Aren't you half-Japanese, a so-called freedom fighter? Then why did you side with Lelouch vi Britannia, the leader of the nation that conquered your precious homeland? Why? Because he is Zero? Geass?" Bismarck asked as for the rare moment, neither knight attacked the other.

"I can ask the same questions. Why help bastard Charles in his insane plan? Why continue to fight when your master is already dead? According to the laws of your own fucked up homeland Britannia, the strongest rules. Forget patricide, Emperor Lelouch took the throne according to Charle's own idiotic view of the world. By your Darwinistic rules, Lelouch is the rightful monarch and it means you knights should have kneeled before him. And yet you didn't, in fact, you went as far as declaring war against him. Why? Charles had Geass too. No, you fight for the memory of Charles for the same reason I fight for Lelouch," Kallen's Guren pointed its MVS knife forward, giving Galahad a chance to answer. "You know why."

"Because we're their knights, their most trusted and powerful confidants…" Inside his Knightmare, Bismarck couldn't help but smile as the laugh escaped his mouth. "Well now, for some half-eleven, you sure know how to act like an actual knight. Shame you have to serve a master like Lelouch… or perhaps it is shameful that Marianne's son has to be my enemy. If only the situation was different back then..."

"It is pointless to think about what-ifs. We live in the present and move towards the future. You and I made the choice that led us here today. You fight for the honour of your dead master. I fight for the man whom I love. Even in victory, nothing awaits you. Not that you're going to win anyway." The Geass command Lelouch gave to her never stopped working as Kallen's eyes still had red circles around them. "I gave my promise to protect Lelouch no matter what and from anyone who dares to harm him. You're a dead man walking, Bismarck Waldstein."

"Hah, was one for years," Bismarck smirked as he didn't even deny it. The old knight memorized the image of Guren in his head. "Marianne, you might be no longer among the living, but at least… at least your good-for-nothing son found a knight and someone who is worthy to be a knight of vi Britannia! Come on, eleven! Show me the full power of your resolve! Fight for your lord, for your love!"

For any outsider, it appeared as a strange conversation between two individuals who never met and should despise each other on every level. And they did. Bismarck was the vanguard of Charles's regime, the man who subjugated nations for the sake of his master's delusional Darwinistic view. The one Charles didn't even care for as it were merely a means to achieve his mad goal to kill God, the plan Bismarck followed as well if only to serve his liege. On the other hand, Kallen was a Japanese rebel, a girl who fought for her homeland and its freedom. And now she was continuing to do so in the form of serving Lelouch and his delusional plan of world conquest. She no longer cared if Japan was truly free, believing that under Lelouch everything will be better, ready to act like Bismarck and subjugate Lelouch's enemies.

Both knights were loyal and insane enough to serve the lords who weren't alright in the head. However, neither cared about it and were ready to follow their master into hell itself. In the case of Bismarck death was only a matter of time, once he avenged Charles he had nothing to live for anymore. Kallen on the other hand had everything to strive and live for.

'Lelouch, mom and even you, father. I will fight for my own happiness and do whatever it takes to keep people I care about close to me!' Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. activated its claw as the red Knightmare moved forward, aimed for the kill.

"For the sake of my love, for my goals, I will kill you and everyone who stands in my way!"

Once again, the two most powerful knights of the two regimes clashed against each other. The Strongest Knight of Charles against the Red Queen of Lelouch. Old guard versus the new blood. Galahad's Excalibur blocked the claw of Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. as it rushed towards it.

As the two knights fought each other, the rest of the battle continued under them.

---

Knight of One.

"You heard His Majesty! Provide defence for our brothers and sister-in-arms!"

The voice of one William Bishop rang among the units around him as they provided support fire and got rid of the enemy units who flew too close to their army group. Bishop's own titan, a successor to both Galahad and Gawain, Uther fired its right-hand hadron mounted cannon and shot down some unlucky enemy Sutherland that didn't notice the giant Knightmare aiming at it.

The units under Bishop's command were mostly Gareths, with a few Akatsukis to provide support and act as a quick response force if need be. For the time being, William's orders were to defend the other flank as their army group was gaining superiority and slowly moving forward. Lelouch's side had a superior number of powerful battleships that were slowly, but surely grinding down the enemy numbers.

"Schneizel is no fool and knows if we destroy all of his units, he will have enough free space to unleash F.L.E.I.J.A. upon us." The voice of his lord spoke to all high-ranking members, a slight frown on his face. "We cannot allow his forces to wipe out our army, but at the same time, we cannot destroy all of them at once in fear of F.L.E.I.J.A. retaliation. Our secret weapon must be used at the right moment or Schneizel will understand that something is wrong. My knights, hold back his forces and neutralize the elite units that are the false Knights of the Round!"

"Yes, my lord!"

William overlooked the battlefield as both sides engaged in an all-out conflict. To be completely honest, he was out of his element. Aerial combat was still out of his expertise, and it didn't help that his Uther was far from the fastest unit under command of His Majesty. Still, the last European war provided him with enough experience and he can hold his own against others in the air, especially if emperor Lelouch will order him to do so.

'Still.' Bishop looked up to the sky to see the radiant wave that came from the claw of the Knight of Zero, Lady Kallen. 'Am I good enough to fight that man?'

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his master. "Bishop, report."

"We are moving forward according to schedule. No enemy knights in my vicinity… Your Majesty, can you grant me permission to replace Lady Kozuki and duel Bismarck instead? I know I overstep-"

"Bismarck is too dangerous with his Geass and Jeremiah is currently busy with a different matter, unless he is freed and can assist, you aren't allowed to engage with Bismarck." Lelouch sighed. "I understand the desire to settle personal debts better than most; however, Suzaku and his Lancelot weren't seen yet. As far as I'm concerned, Schneizel wants me to send Amber and Guren for different targets and give him a better chance to attack them when they are busy with different opponents. I need my best pilots to be available and either destroy or distract Suzaku while Q1 and Q2 will finish their battles. Await your turn, my First Knight."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Bishop spoke with a heavy heart, but he must obey. 'Perhaps it is for the best Lady Kozuki will fight and even kill that man… perhaps I'm too old to face him...'

Lelouch smiled. "Once this battle is over our victory will be absolute. My wish will come true and you helped me to achieve it. Revenge might look sweet from a distance, but there is little to enjoy once you achieve it. We are fighting for tomorrow, not for past memory's sake, William."

"Wise words, Your Majesty." Bishop noticed that something fast was approaching him at high speed and it didn't look like another mere trooper. No, it was definitely an elite. "I'm picking up the signal of an enemy unit approaching me. This must be one of the former knights. Let me deal with it."

His master nodded before Lelouch's face disappeared on the screen. Once Bishop was left alone. he ordered his troops to give him more space. The regular Knightmares, even the ones from White Legion were unlucky to stand against the former Knight of the Round. The old knight's worry was proven correct when he saw who was his opponent.

The old knight allowed himself to smile bitterly as he spoke with a warm tone. "It seems I almost forgot that Bismarck isn't the only person from my past on this battlefield. How are you, Lady Enneagram? It was a decade since we last spoke. Wasn't it?"

"Feels like an entire lifetime has passed, Lord Bishop."

The always cheerful voice of the Knight of Nine could be heard as a blue Lancelot copy flew in front of Bishop's group. Her Knightmare unit, Lancelot Club was pretty much the copy of the original Lancelot, of course, it was most likely heavily upgraded to stand against the later KMF generations. The biggest difference from the original Lancelot was the horn and blue colour scheme on the machine. Unlike the current version of either Amber or Albion, Club didn't have energy wings. That made Bishop sigh with relief, don't get him wrong, he did get good with float systems and flying, but not good enough to win against energy wings systems yet.

Lancelot Club levitated in the air as units around Bishop raised their weapons and were about to open fire before Uther gave them the order to freeze. The giant copy of Gawain floated before Club. Both Knightmares looked like re-coloured copies of legendary machines from the battle of Black Rebellion. The irony wasn't lost on the female knight as she pulled two MVS swords.

"What is it? Duel to death, Lord Bishop?"

"No, instead I have a proposition. Even back then, when I was still serving that rat Charles, you were one if not the only one worthy to have the title of Knight of the Round. I would never forget the kindness you showed to me and the children of Lady Marianne. Nonette Enneagram, put away your weapons, concede and pledge your allegiance to His Majesty, Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia. I will make sure you are granted a position among the true Knights of the Round. How does it sound, Nonette?"

"..."

Her silence was strange as the battle behind them continued. Bishop knew he was taking massive liberties by giving such rather impossible promises, but he was honest, While he needed the permission of his majesty, Bishop was sure his lord can be convinced to let Nonette survive and get off with a light sentence. If it meant he can win against one of the false Knights of the Round without fighting then surely His Majesty will agree-

"I refuse."

Bishop's hope was shattered as Lancelot Club adopted a fighting stance. The Vincent Wards and Garethes behind Uther were ready to open fire, but Bishop ordered them to stand down.

"Why? I cannot see you fighting for the goals of someone like Schneizel. Even if you don't want to serve as a knight under Emperor Lelouch, you still can walk away as a free citizen from this conflict. I will put in a good word, make sure you're-!"

"Thank you, Lord Bishop. I'm genuinely touched by your kindness, but I cannot leave my side, at least right now. I don't agree with Schneizel and his methods, but I care about Empress Nunnally and Cornelia… especially the latter. Cornelia wasn't feeling herself ever since this mess started, no, even since little Euphy died. She is hellbent on fighting Lelouch, his Geass. I cannot fully understand her, but I must stay by her side when she needs friends to support her… sorry if my reasons are too strange for you, Lord Bishop. But I can't leave that crybaby alone, especially right now."

"Nonsense, Lady Enneagram. Hehe, I can completely understand how you are feeling." an old knight and former prisoner of Alcatraz looked with a small smile past enemies and allies to see his old cellmate trashing everything and everyone around him while screaming some crap out loud. "Believe me when I say fate left me heartbroken, but at least it blessed me with a friendship I would never betray. I understand."

"Ha! So you can guess what I have to do, correct?" Nonette asked as her Knightmare prepared to attack. "Nothing personal, Lord Bishop."

William gave orders to all units to leave Lancelot Club to him, they would be better off continuing moving forward and destroying the enemies of their lord. His Uther raised its double sword and shield, ready to accept whatever attack Club would send its way.

"Of course! Among all those whom our empire fights today, you're perhaps the most honourable opponent I could have asked for. I will do my best to make sure once you're defeated, you will survive."

Inside her unit, Nonette couldn't help but giggle. "Gentleman to the end, aren't you? Well, I can't say no to the chance of surviving, but I have no intentions of losing!"

As she said it, her Lancelot Club moved forward, her swords aimed at the hand that was holding the double sword. Uther didn't waste time and opened fire with its shield-mounted missiles as dozens of them flew towards Club. Nonette might not have been Suzaku, but she was a more experienced fighter and unlike Bishop had more time in the air. Not to mention, her machine was far more agile than a giant titan like Uther.

She dodged some of the missiles while cutting the rest as she continued to fly forward. Her swords met his shield as Uther pushed a smaller unit with its superior mass and sent Lancelot Club flying back. Nonette didn't waste time as she rolled in the air and moved back, now rushing at Uther's side, going for his blind zone. This time the titan Knightmare unleashed a rain of missiles from its leg as they all flew towards the Club.

Once again, Nonette was forced back, but unlike the previous time, Bishop didn't give her time to recover. He saw that mere rockets wouldn't cut it against a Knight of the Round, even if it was a former one. So instead, as Lancelot Club was forced to eat flying missiles with its green shield system, Uther's double sword swung towards the smaller frame and might have cut it in half if the female pilot didn't react fast enough.

Lancelot Club had to block the giant blade, Uther's sword was bigger than Nonette's KMF, and was being pushed back. The blue sister of the original Lancelot was being pressured on by the successor of Gawain as the latter pressed on its double sword. Nonette swore under her breath before pulling away two MVS swords and rolling to the side as his double sword almost caught her.

Without wasting a chance, Bishop continued his offence as Uther tried to kick Lancelot Club at the side. One good kick would surely cause a lot of damage to a smaller frame if Bishop could actually land one. Lancelot Club went for quick and swift attacks with its swords as it danced around the bigger Knightmare. Nonette remembered how Cornelia described her fight against Zero in his stolen Gawain back in Tokyo. Gawain, Uther, Galahad and Agravain, all were built on the same platform. They had superior strength, firepower and parameters, but all were slower compared to Lancelot type of KMFs.

"Even specialized units like yours and Galahad cannot be a match for smaller and quicker units!" Nonette yelled happily as her Lancelot Club rushed up, flying between the sun and Uther. Bishop was blinded for one second but lifted his shield to block whatever attack the female knight had in mind. Instead of going for an obvious direct strike, Lancelot Club fired its slash harkens towards the shield. They made contact with their target as the blue Knightmare rushed towards it. Using her unit's weight, Nonette managed to force the shield to move a little bit and give her a better opening on Uther.

In a mere second, Lancelot Club threw its left MVS sword at Uther's shoulder and pulled out its V.A.R.I.S. rifle before taking a shot. Contact was made as sparks flew out of Uther's chest armour, but it wasn't enough to destroy the titan. Not that Nonette wanted to kill the older knight, simply taking Uther out of order would be enough. And of course, said older knight had no intentions to play along.

Even if his machine was damaged, Bishop wouldn't allow himself to lose no matter what! His Majesty's honour and wishes were on the line and as the First Knight of the realm, he will never disappoint his master!

Uther let go of its shield for a moment and shot a few of its finger slash harkens towards Lancelot Club and managed to get her second MVS sword out of Knightmare's hand. Uther grabbed the smaller red sword that was akin to a toothpick compared to its double sword. Still, the smaller size meant it was quicker to swing and Bishop intended to do so.

Uther used Lancelot Club's own sword to slash the machine. Thanks to titan's superior strange, what might have been a simple slash by any other KMFs instead turned into cutting off the limb as the blue Knightmare's legs fell down from the sky. Leaving only the upper torso, arms and float system intact. Nonette was caught off guard, but didn't panic and instead decided to use the shield that her machine was still holding with slash harkens. She used to push Uther away from her before retreating back and trying to shoot Bishop with her rifle. However, Uther simply captured its own shield she threw at him before returning the favour and launching its double sword at Lancelot Club.

Nonette dodged the slow projectile and then the following five-finger slash harkens Uther shot at her. She had half a mind to say something classic line like 'you missed," but quickly remembered what followed that line. She managed to turn halfway before Uther's double sword made contact with her Lancelot Club. Bishop managed to trick her and pretty much used his own giant sword as some kind of boomerang!

The double sword connected by five slash harkens managed to leave a deep cut on Lancelot Club's left side, breaking down the system of that arm and causing sparks to fly. Nonette eyed the blaring damage report, her machine was missing its legs and had a malfunction with its left arm that was holding the only MVS sword since Uther simply threw away her second one after cutting her unit in half. Meanwhile, the reason for her issues was still flying high, with noticeable damage as well, but in far better conditions than Nonette.

The light green-haired woman groaned in frustration before switching to the open channel.

"Is your offer still valid, Lord Bishop? My, I really hope it isn't the kind of limited offer I can't take back anymore. Because if it is so, well, I'm screwed." She laughed, not showing any fear in face of potential death.

"Rest assured, lady Enneagram. I will make sure you will be treated as a proper prisoner of war, no harm shall fall on you… and I want to add that His Majesty gave his permission to spare the former princess Cornelia. Sir Gilbert G.P. Guilford was given a chance to talk Cornelia out and if he succeeds-"

"Gilbert? He's still alive!? Nonette spoke with excitement. "Cornelia was devastated, and the poor girl thought her knight died on that night. Well, this might just work out. Hahaha-! If that four-eyes knight in shining armour has really come here to save his princess, then Cornelia might just be fine! Well, since I cannot fight anymore, fuck you Schneizel, I'm taking a leave!"

Bishop could see that the female knight's mind changed and he could see her agreeing to cooperate or at least don't try any funny business as long as Cornelia will be saved. Uther moved closer to detain Lancelot Club and contacted friendly units to bring her to Nemesis while he continued to fight.

"This is the first true knight of the realm, William Bishop. The former Knight of Nine Nonette Enneagram was defeated and is now under the custody of His Majesty! I repeat, the false Knight of Nine is out of battle!"

---

Knight of Three.

While the other Knights of the Round, both old and new, engaged in the more traditional type of fighting, the same cannot be said for the most trigger-happy of them all.

"Why won't you die?!" Peter yelled in frustration as his Uncle teddy fired its most powerful hadron cannon.

"Blaze Luminous shield system," replied the false Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim as her Mordred blocked the powerful hadron ray. "It hardens in response to physical and electromagnetic attacks."

Both Uncle Teddy and Mordred were built on similar platforms and carried the same hadron cannon armoury, with Peter placing as many guns as Lloyod would allow on his machine. And yet, even with all his firepower, Peter couldn't deal with the girl before him. Didn't help that she wasn't alone.

"You're an animal, criminal scum." The voice of Dorothea Ernst indicated she was far from the kindest one as her own KMF opened fire without a sign of stopping.

Palomides was an interesting Knightmare. On its own, it was merely a seventh-generation unit specified for close combat but had additional assist mode in form of two additional giant hands that also had hadron cannons installed into its fingers. So, it could effectively fight at close range and cause a giant amount of destruction in a wide area. In other words, Peter approved of this type of war robot as a former beta tester.

"You should have been left to rot in your cell back in Alcatraz!" Dorothea screamed and Peter nodded.

"Yup, totally. But I have this thing called friendship, maybe you heard about it, but I doubt you ever had it. Thanks to this majestic concept I can pretty much do whatever I want as long as I kill people the kid points at, pretty fucking good deal, right?" Peter spoke before firing another hadron blast. However, both Palomides and Mordred didn't even need to dodge the attack as they simply blocked it with their green shields. "Fucking broken piece of shit! Who even uses this?!"

"You do, my lord." came the quiet voice of 'Jenny' as the male pilot under Peter's command hid behind Uncle Teddy, along with other Vincent Wards and Akatsukies. Somehow dozens of them managed to get behind a rather small and wide Knightmare that was the only means of providing protection around here. Palomides and Mordred were alone on their side of the battlefield, seeing as they acted as artillery support of sorts and simply destroyed whatever was in their view. "We have received news from other battlegroups, my lord! Enemy knight Monica Krushevsky was eliminated by Lady Fall, while lord Bishop defeated and captured Nonette Enneagram."

"Oh, Willy is winning? Great news! Now it is my time to shine!" Uncle Teddy pulled out its Diffusion Structure Phase Transition launcher and aimed at two Knightmares. "It should distract them for a second. After I pull the trigger, you all encircle them. Don't get too close! You're dead if you get caught, but I will try to keep their attention on me. Now go!"

As Peter screamed, Uncle Teddy fired from the launcher. The prism shot forward towards Mordred and Palomides before the ray of light followed it. The weapon was an exact copy of the emperor's Shinkiro primary weapon and imperial soldiers were already familiar with the sight. Peter made sure the prism was far away from him and his boys so none of them would get hit by it. It failed to kill either of the female pilots, but at least opened a window for movement. His boys managed to fly in different directions as they started to provide support fire, distracting Anya and Dorothea.

Uncle Teddy fired from its hadron cannons again, aiming for Palomides as it proved to be the bigger threat between the two of them. The dark blue Knightmare of Dorothea proved to be a giant pain in Peter's ass. It moved too fast for something with four arms and its shots were quite painful. Peter stopped bothering trying to dodge them, letting his shield system take the hits. However, with constant hadron firing and shield usage, his battery won't last too long at this rate.

He got aid in the form of one of the Britannian battleships providing fire as its main guns fired upon Palomides and Mordred. At least now his soldiers weren't targeted anymore, so that is a plus. What wasn't good though, was the fact that Mordred stopped firing at Peter and instead aimed at the battleship.

"Target acquired," Anya spoke with an emotionless voice, no different than if she was a robot. "Proceed to eliminate."

"Oh, come on!" Peter moved Uncle Teddy forward, rushing towards Mordred to take a hit instead, his shield should be able to handle it. However, Palomides didn't allow him to stand before Mordred and its bigger hands literally punched his Uncle Teddy away, out of Anya's blast. "Fuck you!"

"Foul language befitting scum like you, Thomson. I could never understand why Emperor Charles didn't simply execute you like the dog you are." Dorothea glared at the machine before her as Palomides proceeded to squeeze Uncle Teddy from the sides with its second pair of arms. "A fool like you deserves nothing but death!"

"I won't deny it, but it just proves that Charles is an absolute retard and you are trying to avenge that fat pig. Your old boss is dead and your new one will probably kill all of you once you are no longer needed. Victory or death, you won't live long enough either way." Peter's eye beamed with delight. "And I will make sure you won't survive this day, stupid! I finally get to use it!"

"What-?" Dorothea's confused tone was interrupted as Peter pressed a button on the upper half of his cockpit.

Peter was in love with weapons, this was no secret. However, what people didn't know was the fact that he also was quite paranoid to be in a situation where he couldn't use his favourite guns to get out of the problem. At the moment, Palomides was trying to crush him. Both of Uncle Teddy's hands were too busy trying to keep a bigger pair of arms from destroying it. From an outside glance, it looked like Peter was out of options, but he always packed an additional gun for such a situation!

Uncle Teddy's head only had one 'eye', just like its pilot, but unlike Peter, his Knightmare was packing more stuff inside its head. The head of the Knightmare shifted as the eye extended forward, as the glass lens on its end opened and revealed the muzzle. Dorothea blinked, caught off guard by this display while Peter barely could contain his hysterical laugh.

"What in the-"

"Head-mounted rocket launcher, bitch!" Peter happily yelled as he pulled the trigger and fired. The sole rocket flew out of the eye muzzle and hit Palomides upper body, damaging both the head and chest as sparks flew. "I've wanted to use it ever since Europe! Yay!"

"Agh!" Dorothea screamed as her Knightmare was violently shocked, half of Palomides' face was damaged and her shield system was showing error messages. "You!"

"Me!" Peter smiled, pleased with himself as he raised Uncle Teddy's left leg and kicked Palomides away from itself. Once there was some space between them and Palomides arms were no longer pressing on him, Peter pulled out his minigun and opened fire. "Now just stay still while I kill you!"

Palomides had to cover itself with its second pair of arms to defend itself from the green bullets of the Blaze Luminous minigun. Dorothea's shield wasn't working properly anymore and now she needed some time to stabilize it. At least Anya should be able to kill this animal.

"Anya! I require fire support!" Dorothea wasn't a fan of asking for help, but she was even less a fan of dying.

Mordred stopped destroying the Britannian battleship, as it was already on fire and slowly going down. Her attention turned to Uncle Teddy and Palomides as the two machines were flying around each other, the fatter KMF was unleashing a bullet onslaught upon her comrade. With a dead stare, Anya moved her hadron cannon towards Uncle Teddy and pulled the trigger.

"Target acquir-"

"Not so fast!" A new male voice spoke as a huge object flew towards Mordred, crashing into its side and sending the red Knightmare flying as its hardon blast caught unlucky KMFs on both sides. "Enemies of His Majesty will be defeated no matter what! I swear on my name of Jeremiah Gottwald!"

His Sutherland Sieg rammed Mordred, but the shields of the latter took the physical hit. Anya didn't show any emotions as she activated miniature proximity missile launchers. The small hadron blasts, akin to snakes moved towards Sutherland Sieg, but Jeremiah rolled away as his flying fortress pulled back before he switched on his electrical shock system. It worked on the previous version of Lancelot, so the orange knight was hopeful it would work on the same generation of Mordred as well.

However, even as an electrical shock went through Mordred, the Knightmare remained fully operational. Without a second word, Anya fired her hadron cannon in close range and forced Jeremiah to pull back as Sutherland Sieg did a backflip before opening fire with its missiles.

"Feel the full might of my loyalty!" As Jeremiah yelled, all of his missiles hit Mordred, causing some disturbance but not enough to destroy it.

Anya's face didn't show any emotion, and yet the small girl couldn't help but frown. "How annoying."

"Nice work, Jerry! I know my fellow one-eye brother will always have my back!" Peter shouted from his position before dodging the hit from Palomides. "Say, do you wanna switch? This one is really mean and hurts my feelings."

"I will crush your brainless skull!" Dorothea screamed, doing her best to fulfil that promise.

"See? What a wretch. No wonder you are single-!"

"Agh!" Dorothea rushed Uncle Teddy but was sent flying to the side as Sutherland Sieg launched one of its lances at her. This forced Palomides to block the attack as it captured the upcoming lance with its larger hands, but Uncle Teddy didn't stop firing at her with its minigun.

As Sutherland Sieg rushed at Palomides, Jeremiah spoke. "Very well. Let me end the life of this foolish knight who dared to oppose our Emperor. Take care of Mordred."

"You got it, Jerry." Jeremiah didn't even bat an eye at the nickname, still better than being called Orange he supposed.

As Uncle Teddy and Sutherland Sieg switched opponents, the false Knights of the Round were now divided and had serious issues trying to assist each other. Anya, having little choice of how to fight, aimed her hadron cannon at Uncle Teddy, who repeated the motion. Soon both Knightmares unleashed the giant ongoing hadron ray as they clashed against each other.

Meanwhile, Sutherland Sieg and Palomides had their own dance as the larger Knightmare of the cyborg knight moved faster than the already damaged machine of his opponent. Palomides was supposed to have a far more powerful weapon, with its finger cannons being able to demolish entire squadrons with one shot. And yet, that was useless when Dorothea couldn't land a hit on Jeremiah who flew circles around her, thanks to his cybernetic parts.

"Just stay still and die, Orange!"

"Only my allies are allowed to call me so, and I didn't give permission to you, worm," Jeremiah spoke coldly as he activated the electrical shock system again. Just like before, it didn't work, which meant that the enemies managed to build some defensive measures against this attack. However, since Palomides was already damaged by a prior rocket hit from Uncle Teddy, its shield system was malfunctioning and some electrical shock attack managed to hit the cockpit, wounding Dorothea.

"Ahh!" The female knight screamed in pain, but she didn't lose consciousness and could still fight. With an enraged look, she screamed at Jeremiah as Palomides punched one of Sutherland Sieg's spears away. "Worthless knight who got his mistress killed! You are the reason Marianne is dead. You failed her and you will fail that brat!"

"Huh, how pathetic are you if you have to resort to such cheap insults? Lady Marianne is no more, indeed. However, her son is now the true ruler of Britannia, and soon the entire world. Sadly, or may I say, fortunately, a failure of a knight like yourself won't live to see that glorious future." Jeremiah spoke with an ice-cold tone as Sutherland Sieg launched two of its forward lances at her.

Palomides managed to capture both lances with its larger set of hands and it was about to crash them. However, Sutherland Sieg aimed its hyper-velocity cannon right against the head of Palomides. With her shield system barely working and Dorothea already exhausted because of the shock attack, the dark-skinned woman didn't have time to react properly and try to retreat. With a fearful voice, she screamed.

"Wait-!"

"This is the end, Dorothea Ernst."

Jeremiah Gottwald sent a signal through the nerve capable of connecting him to Sutherland Sieg as it made a shot. A single bolt of lightning was all it took to end the life of the former Knight of Four. Sutherland Sieg pulled back as Palomides erupted in flames. As the imploding machine plummeted, Jeremiah's attention turned towards the second false knight in this area of the battlefield.

Anya looked away from her opponent to see the remains of Palomides falling down from the sky. She didn't stop firing at Uncle Teddy but was silent for a moment before contacting Schneizel.

"I'm engaged in a fight with the enemy Knight of Three and captain of the royal guard. Dorothea was eliminated. I repeated that Dorothea was eliminated. Requiring reinforcements."

Anya didn't stay on the line long enough as both Uncle Teddy and Sutherland Sieg attacked her from different directions, even the soldiers under command of Peter became bolder as they moved closer to fully encircle Mordred.

This didn't look good for the Knight of Six.

---

Grandberry.

The Knights of the Round, true and false, weren't the only elite squads who fought today.

The Order of Glinda Knights attacked the enemy coalition from the right flank as their Caerleon-class battleship Grandberry provided heavy fire support. The KMFs units under command of the princess Marrybell mel Britannia were ordered to cover the main army groups and act as reinforcements, should the enemy elite units overpower the emperor's knights of the round. However, as news about duels between former and new Knights of the Round came in, it was starting to become apparent that Britannian and UFN forces were getting the upper hand.

"Your Highness, we received news that Nonette Enneagram was captured," Elicia reported while Marrybell let out a relaxed sigh.

"And with false Knight of Twelve already dead, that means we already dealt with two of them. Good, very good. The more of them we take down before the second phase, the better." It was a shame Marrybell had to give credit to that vixen Cinder for defeating Monica. However, the one-eyed knight deserved it this time. "Did we get any visuals on Lancelot?"

"Negative." Her tactical operator said, Marrybell clenched her fists.

'This isn't good. Suzaku Kururugi is by far the most dangerous obstacle for us, for brother Lelouch.' Marrybell offered to send her Order after the former Knight of Seven, but she had to agree with Lelouch that it was too risky. 'I can't allow myself to lose my friends no matter what. Even if I want to prove I'm worthy to Lelouch, I'm still worried about Oldrin and others' safety.'

The princess and pretty much everyone on the bridge were in a stressful situation. Their side might be in a better position at the moment, but you never knew how the tides of the war might change. When dealing with F.L.E.I.J.A., one warhead is all it will take to destroy whatever plan they had prepared. Marrybell and others knew it and were obviously concerned, but the same worries weren't shared by a lone individual on the bridge.

"I won't mind seeing more dead Britannians, not your own knights, of course, princess." Orpheus Zevon spoke with a small smirk as he ignored the death glares coming from the rest of the personnel of the command bridge. Marrybell massaged the middle of her nose as she tried to ignore the brother of her best friend.

"Orpheus, please, for the sake of Oldrin's reputation don't say anything that can get you killed. Just because both my beloved brother and Lady Malcal have your back doesn't mean you can say whatever is on your mind." Marrybell didn't really want to bring the former leader of the Peace Mark cell on her ship, but it was Cinder who advised in favour.

Since Wizard would definitely show up, the second knight wanted both his niece and nephew to be there and use them against the former noble. Neither of the twins was really a fan of the idea, but both wanted to see their uncle behind bars. Well, Oldrin would definitely prefer that and Orpheus didn't want Wizard to get away with using Rai to cause so much death and get him killed in Tokyo.

"I'm only here because I don't have a choice, not because I want you guys to win. All I want is for Oz to survive and get away from here, everyone else can die for all I care."

"What about Wizard? Do you want Oiaguro Zevon to win too?"

"If he is really in cahoots with Schneizel and ordered Rai to use F.L.E.I.J.A., then he isn't any better than your emperor. He screams bloody murder while using others as a means to an end."

Marrybell snorted in a rather unladylike way, good thing her brother didn't see it. "You speak as if you have any moral high ground over us. Don't forget who tried to start a battle and put the lives of the innocent at risk back in Berlin. Typical terrorist. Still, you're the brother of my best friend and knight of honour, not to mention a valuable test subject to my brother. You can hate us as much as you wish, but you're valuable to Britannia and you won't get away with it."

Orpheus. looked away. "Don't remind me about it. That's a fate worse than death."

"I'm sure there are worse deals, so don't complain. Be glad you are alive and in one piece. Now, instead of being a pain in the ass, how about you provide some tactical assistance on the tactics and fighting methods of Peace Mark units? They are trying to kill Oldrin as well."

Orpheus clicked his tongue before turning towards the main screen, or perhaps looking at the giant window was enough to see the battle outside. The former terrorist leader was handcuffed, something he was fine with since it meant he won't be shot for the smallest thing. The blonde man analyzed the units that were most likely used by Peace Mark. Of course, he won't provide new information OSI and Lelouch didn't know, but his input might increase their chances if only by a little bit.

"It is obvious the majority of them aren't used to Vincent units. They use older tactics, staying closer as a larger group and overwhelming their opponents with firepower, not really fans of getting close."

Marrybell nodded. "They lack the training to use more advanced tactics and have issues with flying."

"They are scared, terrified by everything. Compared to rebelled Black Knights, European and Britannian units, PM pilots lack military discipline and will desert once they realize their side is losing… killing or capturing Wizard should do the trick."

Marry agreed with him, unable to hide cruel satisfaction from this cruel irony. A former PM member spoke of how to fight his old faction. "His Majesty thought the same. We still don't have a visual on Wizard and his Agravain, but we expect him to be in the back line, waiting for Schneizel's further orders."

"Like some kind of dog." Orpheus couldn't understand why his uncle decided to work with the former prime minister. All royals were the same.

Marrybell said nothing as she glanced away from the VIP prisoner and turned her attention towards the battlefield. Her purple eyes focused on the Glinda Knights as their units fought against the coalition.

"Your Highness!" Toto shouted with a fearful expression as she analyzed the data. "We got signal which belongs to one of the enemy Knights of the Round! It is the Knight of Three!"

'So, Gino Weinberg.' Marrybell narrowed her eyes. Well, at least it wasn't White Reaper, but still, one of her knights might have issues fighting his old family friend.

---

"Lord Weinberg, our right flank is being harassed by the Order of Glinda Knights. Since you're familiar with their personnel, I leave them to you."

Prince Schneizel's order was logical, he knew these guys better than most. Still, it felt wrong, even if Gino knew that sooner or later this day would come. He knew that the Glinda Knights won't stay at the sideline. Either because Princess Marrybell wasn't that kind of person, or because the Demon Emperor used his Geass on them. It was hard to tell now. And so, Gino flew towards his old pal and his Order.

However, Gino wasn't the only one who had personal matters with the Glinda Knights.

"I thought His Highness ordered you to stay closer to Damocles and act as a guard," Gino asked his masked companion as his Tristan Divider flew towards the ship.

The giant Knightmare Agravain flew behind Tristan, somewhat keeping up with a faster machine even when Tristan was in its fortress mode. Inside the titan machine, Wizard clenched his fist.

"Your prince is no master of mine, boy. I'm willing to cooperate as long as it is beneficial to me. And having my men get slaughtered for no purpose doesn't seem fair to me. If Schneizel is unwilling to do anything about it, then I won't listen to his orders." Oiagros Zevon or better known as Wizard these days spoke without bothering to hide his venom. "Schneizel puts too much faith in his wonder weapon, willing to sacrifice us instead. If he has issues with me showing basic human decency towards the lives of my soldiers, he can shove it!"

'Rude, but not false.' Gino knew that ever since Schneizel allowed Suzaku to kill Emperor Charles, his personal impression of the man changed. 'I always knew His Highness was capable of doing so, but I hoped that I won't have to choose between him and someone like Lelouch. Working with a backstabber is less terrible than being a puppet of a monster who can brainwash you.'

Schneizel was the means to the end, Gino knew and he was sure some other knights of the round felt the same. With little Nunnally as the future empress, they would be able to make things better. It won't be easy, but it should be better than either Schneizel or Lelouch. As for now, they need a genius who could lead them against Lelouch and his Geass. The blonde knight hated the fact that this was the mindset he chose, after getting angry at both Schneizel and Suzaku back when they wanted to assassinate Charles.

'Hypocritical? Sure, but at least I want to make things better, not use F.L.E.I.J.A. to threaten the world into submission. Or Geass to do it.' Gino hoped, no, he knew that magic was the reason why Leonhardt and Kallen sided with Lelouch. It has to be.

Both Agravain and Tristan Divider flew towards the Glinda Knights, the Britannian Order was too preoccupied with the Peace Mark forces to notice them on time. Wizard didn't waste time and immediately opened fire upon their KMFs with its two arm-mounted hadron cannons. This caught the attention of Glinda Knights' second-in-command, Oldrin Zevon.

Lancelot High Grail rushed towards Agravain as its two MVS swords clashed against Agravain's own ones. Inside her scarlet machine, his niece screamed in fury as she fought Wizard.

"You! Don't you have any honour?! Any shame to dare show up here?! Fighting for Schneizel!"

The masked man hummed, and his black Knightmare pushed Lancelot High Grail back. "I lost my honour when I sold my soul to Charles. As for shame, I don't need it on my crusade against Britannia."

"Agh!" Lancelot High Grail rushed at Agravain, dodging the missiles the large Knightmare fired at her from its torso. Oldrin fired her unit's Schrötter Steel Swords as six swords flew akin to a regular slash harken. Agravain blocked three of them with its MVS swords, but the remaining three managed to pierce the upper layer of his shoulders, but not deep enough to damage them. "I tried to ignore you, thinking that someone else will take care of you, hoping I won't have to fight you again. And yet you decided to show here, in front of me again! Do you want me to kill you?! Like you killed mom?!"

"Oldrin..." Oiagros whispered with a sorrowful tone, before opening fire with its missiles. "Best me if you can, I won't go down without a fight. Nothing will stop my crusade, not even my own family!"

"Don't you dare call me family, you bastard!" Oldrin screamed as her Lancelot High Grail dodged dozens of rockets before rushing at Agravain again. The rest of Glinda Knights tried to assist their commanding officer but were too preoccupied with the Peace Mark units that unlocked their second wind with the appearance of their de facto leader. Wizard's plan paid off, his soldiers managed to organize themselves and continue their attack on the brits.

Well, the presence of the Knight of Three was also a big help.

Tristan Divider raised its maser swords before bringing them down to cut in half another Gareth. While Wizard was busy having a dramatic conversation with his niece, Gino didn't waste time and started to cut down a number of the Britannian KMFs in the vicinity. Few could stay long enough against the third knight and his machine. And even then, those who could have other issues to worry about.

"Please, Gino! Stop this madness!" His childhood friend, Leonhardt Steiner shouted as his Bradford Brave moved to block Tristan's attack. His spear met two swords as both transformer Knightmare stared at each other. "Just give up, please! I don't want to fight you!"

"Then you already lost, Leonhardt." Gino bit his lip before pulling back Tristan to dance around Bradford and cut it from the side. However, his attack was stopped by an accurate sniper shot from Sokkia's Sheffield Eye. "Damn it! I don't want to fight you guys either, but I won't allow Lelouch to win! You don't know who you are fighting for! He is lying to you, using you to die for his goal!"

"And Schneizel doesn't do the same with you?! Wake up, Gino! His Majesty wants to stop this insanity! It was White Reaper who started all of it!" Leonhardt spoke as his Bradford Brave tried to attack Tristan with its spear. When Gino kicked the spear out of its hands, Bradford raised its arms and aimed its built-in rail cannons at Tristan before firing hardon ray.

"You didn't even know the truth! Lelouch is lying to you!"

Sheffield Eye aimed its rifle before opening fire. "Even if he hides something, as long as it means we won't have to fight any more wars or kill people, I'm good with that."

"Good knights follow orders." Tink Lockhart spoke automatically as his Zetland Heart similarly fired a hadron blast to Anya's Mordred, if only less powerful. "We are Knights of Britannia, who gave the oath to serve and defend it from anyone who dares to harm our homeland. You gave the same oath and yet you are trying to kill the rightful monarch. It is treason, Lord Weinberg."

"I won't serve the guy who will brainwash people into dying for him." Gino bit his lip. He didn't want to do it, but Glinda Knights didn't leave him any choice. He hoped they will survive it and maybe forgive him one day when they will learn the truth behind Lelouch's true nature. "I'm doing it for your own good, guys. I'm sorry."

Before either of them could react, Tristan Divider went for a crippling blow as it attacked all three KMFs at the same time. Bradford Brave was the closest and most dangerous among them, so Gino raised both of his swords to cut them down. Leonhardt predictably tried to get away and try to shoot him, but Tristan divided and used its arm-mounted Megiddo harken to toss it off balance. Leonhardt was caught off guard before Tristan Divider threw one of its maser swords and pierced the lower abdomen. Gino was a little nervous, but let out a sigh of relief when Leonhardt used his cockpit ejection system.

"Leonhardt!" He recognized the voice of Marika Soresi as her Gareth rushed to catch Leonhardt

Gino smirked. "Ha, at least one of us got a girl. Nice one, Leo."

The Knight of Three didn't get more time to himself as both Sheffield Eye and Zetland Heart fired at him from different sides, trying to minimize his zone of movement. Not that it worked. Tristan Divider transformed into fortress mode as its jet form flew towards them. Gino opened fire with its machine guns as he targeted Sokkia. He managed to shoot her rifle out of Knightmare's hands before coming closer and transforming back into KMF mode. Before Sokkia could react, Tristand cut off her machine's arms and kicked away, trying to make sure she was close to other forces of Glinda Knights.

The last one was Zetland Heart as it fired its hadron cannon at Gino again. Tristan Divider activated its energy cannon as it sent two Megiddo harkens forward before they combined to form a cannon. The blue ray met the red one as both Knightmares tried to shoot each other down. However, his Tristan was uprated to be on the same level as Suzaku's Lancelot Albion, and stat wise it was supposed to be superior to anything short of Guren. Eventually, an energy ray overwhelmed hadron as the blue blast hit Zetland Heart. Tink's unit started to spark before its pilot ejected himself, only to be caught by one of the Britannian units.

The blonde knight frowned. He didn't want to fight them, they are good people, but it was better than letting them die at the hands of someone else… like Suzaku. There was still a matter of Oldrin and her Lancelot High Grail. However, as Gino turned towards the remaining Glinda Knight, he decided to leave the matter to Wizard. It was his family matter, not to mention, he needed to be elsewhere.

"To all remaining Knights of the Round on the field, the enemy managed to defeat three of our knights. Monica Krushevsky and Dorothea Ernst were killed. Nonette Enneagram was captured." Gino froze as he heard the voice of Kanon.

"Shit!" Monica and Dorothea were gone, this wasn't a piece of good news. Gino switched on the channel as he spoke. "We need to get Nonette-!"

"Negative, sir Weinberg. We can't spare our forces while enemy elite units outnumber us. Focus on your task, the other knights of the second attack group will take care of it." as always the voice Schneizel felt cold and callous. Gino slammed his fist against the panel of his unit, furious at first before he blinked.

'Wait, but the only knight who wasn't on the battlefield is-'

---

White Reaper.

Suzaku had only one goal right now.

To find and kill Lelouch.

This was it, the end of their story. No more running, no more setbacks. No hallucinations, no doubles. Lelouch will die, he had no choice but to do it. Lancelot Albion flew at incredible speed as it cut down any enemy unit that was unfortunate enough to get in its way. In mere seconds, it closed the distance and approached the Britannian battleships in the right flank before activating Lancelot's energy wings.

In less than a minute, one of the mass-produced Caerleon-class Floating battleships exploded. Without wasting a moment, Lancelot Albion moved to another and then next. In three minutes, three Britannian battleships were gone, changing the flow of battle in this sector. However, it won't be enough. If Suzaku wants to win, to kill Lelouch he would need to go for the head. After Nemesis.

'The representation of Lelouch's true self, a monster that brings nothing but death… the same could be said about me.'

Lancelot Albion flew towards the Nemesis as the monstrous ship opened fire at the white Knightmare. Its defenders were mostly Gareth units who could do little as white lighting moved between them, cutting all of them down. Soon, Suzaku was before the same ship that he fought back in Europe, on the day Lelouch finally destroyed whatever was left of his sanity. And most importantly his command to live.

'Once this is over, once Nunnally is empress, without that cursed command I can finally...'

Lancelot Albion dove towards Nemesis, aiming for the command bridge, hoping Lelouch was still there. However, Suzaku knew this won't be how his former friend will die. Lelouch was too much of a coward, he was somewhere safe. Kallen was too busy at the moment, fighting against Bismarck and couldn't fly there to stop Suzaku, so he needed to abuse this short window of time.

However, the maser sword Lancelot Albion used met a wall in the form of the ship's absolute defence system, experiencing great difficulty in trying to pierce it. Ultimately, Suzaku decided to stick to a long-range fight and fire his energy wings and Super V.A.R.I.S. As Lancelot Albion flew up, Suzaku heard a distinct whistling tune on the open channel, receiving a signal from a Knightmare unit shortly after. He narrowed his green eyes as Lancelot stopped for a second. Was it Lelouch? Was he thinking of trying to distract Suzaku with his demagogy again?

"..." Reluctantly, Suzaku accepted the call. He was surprised when instead of the face of the Demon Emperor, he saw the face of some blonde Britannian in the midst of whistling that same eerie tune, in a pilot suit belonging to a Knight of the Round. Suzaku remembered where he saw this face before, during the information briefings. "One of Lelouch's new knights, his tools."

The blonde knight glared at him for a second with his blue eyes, before clearing his throat as speaking.

"Greattings, Kururugi Suzaku. I'm Arthur Calhoun, the Fourth Knight of the Round, loyal servant of His Majesty Lelouch vi Britannia. It is our first meeting and most likely the last one. Therefore, I want to challenge you for the title of Reaper."

This Arthur person portrayed himself in a noble manner, but at the same time, the Japanese pilot felt a quiet fury. Suzaku didn't move, expecting some sort of attack, but none ever came.

"What's the point? If you want to kill me, just attack me without speaking. Or is this some kind of Lelouch's scheme? It won't work."

"His Majesty did give me the order to engage with you should the rest of the knights be busy. However, my Emperor left me a choice on how I want to fight you. I won't lie, I'm still learning how to be a true knight, but for the sake of my growth, I want to fight you in an honourable duel. No tricks, only one on one fight between us. None of the empire's and Black Knights' forces will interfere with our business."

Suzaku glared at the boy before him. "We have no business whatsoever, I can just ignore you and continue my mission."

"If you will turn your back to me, I will have to kill you." There wasn't any sarcasm or witty remark. Arthur said it as a matter of fact, and Suzaku was sure he meant it. Without his command to live, the former Knight of Seven wasn't so sure he could survive a potential attack from behind. Suzaku knew Lelouch's new pawns were insane, but they were also dangerous. "I'd catch up to you, no one's escaped me yet."

'I want to go after Lelouch, but he will be an issue regardless, Might as well fight him without having to worry about others… but Lelouch will try something, I know it.' Still, until then Suzaku could humour his new knight. Did he want his old worthless title of White Reaper? Perhaps he was some kind of bloodthirsty vampire like Bradley. 'Let him die for it.'

"Very well, Arthur Calhoun. Let us fight. Where are you?" Suzaku expected some kind of surprise attack, but nothing happened. Instead. Arthur responded calmly.

"On the top of Nemesis, move closer to the hangar."

Suzaku had a weird feeling in his gut, expecting some kind of trickery. The sounds of explosions and firing around Nemesis did little to calm him down. The monstrous ship stopped trying to kill Lancelot Albion, and the rest of Lelouch's forces there didn't come any closer to him, giving him a safe passage towards the back side of the black and purple ship.

When Lancelot Albion arrived there, he was greeted by a purple Knightmare with four legs, reminding Suzaku of one unpleasant person from former Euro-Britannia. Arthur differently lived up to the title of Reaper as their intelligence informed him. His Knightmare was the closest thing Suzaku saw to a Grim Reaper. It was ironic, there it was, the death personified as Suzaku wanted it. However, there was something else he had to do before letting Reaper claim his life.

"You don't have a float system." Suzaku quickly turned his attention to the fact that Reaper had four legs and lacked any wings. "I agreed to a duel, but it doesn't mean I will go easy on you or show mercy. You won't win like this."

Arthur nodded.

"Lloyd said the same." The name of the weirdo scientist made Suzaku feel nostalgic. "That's why I got an upgrade."

As the true Fourth Knight said it, his Reaper changed. The second pair of legs moved up and packed itself right under the cockpit as the shoulder armour opened up, two rib-like appendages came out on each side as pink energy wings appeared out of thin air. Now with only two legs, Reaper rose up into the air, its scythe always in its hand. Grim Reaper looked closer at the Angel of Death than at the Rider of Death.

"Now, this way we should have no difficulties fighting, I won't slow you down, Kururugi Suzaku." It was weird how Arthur spoke with such respect and mannerism as if he was about to fight by Suzaku's side instead of against him.

"I'm your enemy, I will kill your puppet master, why are you being respectful?" Suzaku found it weird and creepy. None of his enemies, perhaps except Jeremiah, behaved like this. "Don't you hate me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. However, lord Bishop taught me to show proper etiquette in an honourable duel. I'm a Knight of the Round and should behave accordingly if only to suppress my desire to murder you. This is nothing but formalities, otherwise, I would have attacked you like a beast, but neither of us would want that." Reaper raised its scythe. "You are a traitor and deserve death, but you are also a knight just like me. If you have even a shred of honour left, you'd let our skills decide who can survive this day."

Suzaku had to bite his lip as anger overwhelmed him. Knights? Honour? As if Lelouch ever truly cared about these concepts! He simply used them as means of achieving his goals, that is how it always was. He doesn't care about anything, but himself. Arthur and other knights were nothing but other tools to use and sacrifice! And yet, he had the audacity to speak of such things to Suzaku!

'Is it Geass? A ploy to get me mad, Lelouch?! I won't fall for it! I will find and kill you! Anyone pawn you will send after me will die as well, because of you!' Lancelot Albion prepared for a charge, its maser sword pointed forward and ready to attack.

Arthur smiled as he prepared Reaper for the attack. "Let's duel, Kururugi Suzaku."

The White Reaper rushed forward to deliver justice as the Black Reaper prepared to slaughter. Swords met scythe as the two knights engaged in a fight.

---

Damocles.

"Sir Kururugi Suzaku, bring us victory today. End this nightmare."

Schneizel said as the last Knight of the Round who wasn't on the battlefield until now made his presence known. Lancelot Albion rushed forward from the insides of a giant flying fortress. Damocles' shield was lowered for a mere second, but it was enough for the 9th generation Knightmare with energy wings as Suzaku practically teleported forward. The former prime minister smirked as he watched Lancelot start decimating Lelouch's forces the moment it was out.

'Akin to an attack dog, but it is fitting.'

Schneizel couldn't let Suzaku out from the start, knowing that both of the Lelouch units with energy wings would prioritize him. And he didn't want to admit it, but the older prince had no idea how well the Japanese knight would manage to fight against both Amber and Guren. At least, now he had only Amber to worry about. And if his bait in the form of Wizard will work out as he intended, the Second Knight of the Round won't have enough time to react to Suzaku.

'Oiaguro, your insubordination was expected. Now you will pay for it.' He knew about the history of the Blackwood and Zevon families and expected Lelouch's knight to attack Wizard since she had a chance now. 'Lelouch, perhaps there is merit to hiring unstable individuals. Both you and our father have done so, but it is also a double edge sword. Still, the battle became less desirable.'

Schneizel expected losses, but losing three Knights of the Round before his side even managed to take down one was problematic. Still, Schneizel has yet to lose Gino, Bismarck and Suzaku, the three strongest knights he had. With the F.L.E.I.J.A. arsenal at his call, the second prince didn't worry about anything. The same couldn't be said for Kanon who nervously watched the scene on the screen.

Blue dots that signified their forces were getting more and more spread out. For every group of red dots of Lelouch units, blue ones had to engage them. As a result, there were huge openings among them. Normally it might mean issues as enemy storm groups could explode such breaches and get behind their line and closer to Damocles. However, Prince Schneizel didn't worry about it too much. After all, he micro-managed his forces, hoping to create enough free space so that once he would fire F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead, they would be far away from it so most of them would survive.

Kanon hated the fact that he could see his prince trying that any moment now. Diethard Ried on the other hand felt euphoric as he anticipated that moment. As for Schneizel himself, he smiled as he watched their forces get more and more widespread.

'Come on, Lelouch. Make your move, let me counter it with F.L.E.I.J.A. I dare you.' Any front assault will be destroyed, and once Lelouch's elite units are out of a fight, it will end for him. He will have nothing to defend himself with from the might of warheads.

Kanon clenched his fists but said nothing. He has to follow his prince no matter what. However, his face took a pale colour when he noticed a strange reading on one of the screens. He made sure to analyze it before turning to Schneizel.

"Your Highness! There is something in the water below Damocles, and it is emerging!"

The blonde prince blinked, not expecting this but quickly composed his usual calmness. He gazed upon the screen that immediately showed the surface area of water as a black submarine came out of it.

"Now, this is interesting. What are you planning, dear brother?"

---

Below Damocles.

While the battle was taking place in the skies above, the submarine started to surface from the depth of the ocean. The old submarine that was used by the Order of Black Knights, was currently in service of the Britannian empire as several of the Scarlet Guard flew out of the Knightmare hangar that opened following the rise of the underwater vehicle. The Knightmares weren't alone, as per their role they protected their master.

Shinkiro Imperium rose in the air above Nemesis. All ten red Knightmares formed a circle around the black and gold machine while the Emperor watched the battle above him.

"I was expecting Schneizel to contact me, but nothing happened. Was I expecting too much?" Lelouch asked aloud no one in particular. The Emperor then turned the head of his Shinkiro towards the place where Suzaku was fighting Arthur. 'D.S. said they just started. Arthur promised that no one would interfere, I will allow it since Kallen is still busy.'

The White Emperor knew his Q1 would want to finish off her old nemesis. Not to mention, it would be best if Kallen and Guren handled Suzaku and his Lancelot. Even though Cinder and Arthur got their energy wings as well, the redhead had by far more experience fighting Lelouch's old friend. She defeated him once, and she can and will do it again. And this time, Suzaku won't have F.L.E.I.J.A. this time.

'Speaking about F.L.E.I.J.A.' Lelouch's gaze fell upon Damocles as a giant fortress flew above them. 'As I was hoping for, Schneizel is yet to fire a warhead. Most likely waiting to create better conditions for it. Maybe he wants more of my forces to attack him at once so he can wipe them out.'

Both Lelouch and Schneizel knew how dangerous the usage of F.L.E.I.J.A. can be if the timing wasn't right. Schneizel might be too obsessed with his super weapon, but he wasn't an idiot. Accidentally wiping out his forces and making Lelouch's job easier will be a suicide move for the older prince. It didn't matter how many warheads he had or how powerful they were if his precious Damocles were surrounded from all sides by enemies.

'The fortress will become his tomb if I and the majority of my army will outlive his forces. He knows it, hence why he waited for me to reveal as many cards as possible. Still, he let Suzaku out a little bit too early. Kallen is still busy and he didn't know where Arthur was. But it is of little relevance now. I already came out and now it's time to get their attention.'

While Schneizel and the rest of his coalition thought Lelouch was inside Nemesis, the White Emperor sneaked right under them. Of course, his knights, especially Kallen and Jeremiah, were against the idea of Lelouch being alone this close to F.L.E.I.J.A. and the heavily armoured Damocles. However, they couldn't convince him to drop the risky idea. After all, one thing Lelouch will never stop enjoying is becoming the centre of attention when he wants to.

'And now, all that is left is for you to make your move and fire this wrenched warhead, brother!'

Lelouch activated his Knightmare's most powerful weapon as Shinkiro's chest panel opened up. He aimed the diffusion structure phase transition cannon towards the coalition forces before pressing the button. The prism shot forward before a ray of light followed it. The prism worked perfectly as dozens of silver rays bounced off it and destroyed anything it came in contact with. The emperor made sure none of his army groups was in that vicinity, micro-managing them in advance to make sure it wouldn't hit them.

The effect was immediate as the rest of Knightmares turned to look down and find Shinkiro with the emperor's guard. If they thought about trying to attack Lelouch for shooting them in the back, they stopped. Most likely per orders of Schneizel who had a different idea in his mind.

Lelouch received the call from C.C. as his witch monitored the situation from within the submarine. "Damocles is gaining altitude. It-"

"Will launch F.L.E.I.J.A. Schneizel knows it might be a trap, but the opportunity to kill me is too good to let it go to waste." Lelouch couldn't help but smile wickedly. "What is a better way to prove that his F.L.E.I.J.A. is superior to me than killing me with it?"

The White Emperor started laughing like crazy as Damocles prepared to fire its first F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead. While their emperor was having a moment, his Scarlet Guard pulled out a F.L.E.I.J.A. Eliminator. A staff with one end that has three green protruding rods and a pink crystal in the middle, was the best measure Nina managed to come up with, but it should be enough for Lelouch. It might not even work out properly, but he was ready to gamble his life to win.

Shinkiro Imperium ascended closer to the skies, waiting for Damcoles to try and smite it. 'God' was on the Demon's side, hence why Lelouch wasn't afraid. No, it was more than that. Even without D.S. or Collective human consciousness favouring him, Lelouch knew he wouldn't die like this. After all, it will be quite an anticlimactic ending for his story, something neither God nor the World wanted.

"Here I am, here I remain!" Lelouch's eyes were full of determination. "Well, go on dear big brother! Do it, Schneizel! Show me the might of your F.L.E.I.J.A.! Prove me that it is stronger than my Geass!"

The second phase of the battle only started.

#

#

#

#

And we're officially in the endgame! Congratulations everyone, we are actually here! The end of the story is near :3

Can't believe this is actually happening, but here we're. Anyway, about the chapter. Almost 7 years ago I said I wanted to write a big final showdown with many characters and I finally got to write the first part! I was actually hyped writing about former knights of the round and especially their knightmares. I think info about their Knightmare (such as Monica's and Dorothea's) was added after the first Code Geass gacha game was released, or maybe second idk. Anyway, I wanted old knights to have a more dignified way of going out. Some died, some did not yet. Of course, there is matter of Lelouch and Nunnally plans that will be revealed later :3

I hope the first part of the final battle is to everyone's liking and lives up to your expectations, dear readers. Anyway, until next time

Anyway, thanks to our editor Kingpin Lunamaria.