Disclaimer: I don't own anything

"AHHHH"-Normal speaking

'get out of my head!!'-Normal thought

"melon"-Radio chat

Chapter V

Clashing Powers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not many people wandered the streets of the Tokyo settlement after dark at 11:00 pm. Especially not many Britannians. Even though they were in control, many still feared gangs of the former Japanese that prowled the streets, or so many were fed to believe. And thanks to the curfew on numbers, the streets of the settlement outside of the more urban areas were usually disserted.

However, as with all precedents, there are exceptions. And one of them was currently wandering through one of the parks dotted about the area.

The man was in his late twenties, and was garbed in slightly odd clothing. Over a non-descript pair of pants and shirt, he wore a large white trench-coat, along with gray leather gloves. His hair was a pale whitish-silver, and fell around his head in a random and messy fashion, along with a bit sticking up above his forehead. Finally, his eyes were obscured by a thick visor that seemed to reach around his entire head.

He liked being out here at night. Far less noise with everyone inside sleeping. And those he did find were usually quite interesting to look into. Much like the man he was currently following. The man had been a Britannian, involved in the media from what he could hear, and of rather high standing too. Which made it all the more interesting since he could also glean that the man was off to join the Black Knights.

A Britannian? Joining a Japanese terrorist organization? Would wonders never cease?

Apparently, his target was off the meet a contact. He didn't know exactly were he was going, but he was a drifter by nature anyway.

His thoughts were broken as he heard a soft 'mewing' sound. Glancing down, the young man saw a small brown cat looking up at him with what he assumed was a curious expression.

"Why hello there" he said with a small smile as he bent down so he could get a better look, "What are you doing out here hm?" The cat had a small tag on its collar. Maybe he would return it if he had some time, or wasn't too lazy.

He may not have been a cat lover, but he did find the small creatures nice. Extending a hand, he tried to pet the small creature on the head.

That was when it bit his finger.

"Gah!" he yelled in pain as he recoiled. The cat's teeth had been quite sharp and had broken the skin.

Then it jumped on his face.

"AHHHH" he yelled in pain as he ran around in random circles, trying to get the cat off his face as it proceeded to maul him.

Meanwhile, Deithard Reid was securing the blindfold around his eyes as the Black Knights operative led him into the car, then got into the drivers seat himself.

"It'll be about an hour drive if you're wondering"

Deithard nodded, not at all annoyed at the blindfold. He understood that they needed to take precautions, and it was a small price to pay for meeting and working with the infamous Zero.

"Thank you, Sir Knight" he replied jokingly. The fact that an anti-Britannian terrorist group would go around calling themselves 'Knights' had always held a bit of humorous irony to him.

The man in the driver's seat seemed to share those thoughts as he gave a quick laugh.

"Please, call me Naruto"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lelouch's eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized his newest recruit. He was currently perched atop a stack of crates in an abandoned warehouse that served as their forward command center for this operation. To his right stood Naruto, garbed in his full cloak, armor and mask. To his right stood C.C. in civilian clothes. All around them were several Burais (his custom model among them) as well as the Musashi and Gurren Mrk. II directly behind him.

At the base of the crates was the command crew of their organization, Ohgi, Kallen, Tamaki, Inoue and the rest, as well as a few guards. Said guards were currently surrounding, and had their guns trained on, the aforementioned recruit, who to his credit, hadn't even flinched yet.

"Zero… are you sure about this?" Ohgi spoke up, he being the highest ranking member of the Black Knights under Zero, C.C. and Naruto. "I mean, I know we should accept whatever help we can get but-"

"That's enough Ohgi" Lelouch interrupted. He didn't have time to hear any suspicions about their new recruit being Britannian. The Black Knights were not confined to Japanese. Any could join, regardless of nationality, as long as they served the ideals that the Knights upheld. "He's already proven his loyalty. Were it not for the information he gave us, we wouldn't be able to set up this operation. Deithard was it?"

"Yes" the man before him answered. "From what I found, Cornelia and her forces will ambush General Katasei and the remainder of the JLF as they try to escape with their liquid Sakuradite"

"Right. Ohgi, begin our final preparations. We have four hours before the JLF depart; we need to be ready when Cornelia makes her move. And get him a uniform too"

Nodding in acceptance, Ohgi turned to the others and began giving out orders.

"Hey, Zero" Kallen spoke up as Lelouch turned from them "I was wondering-"

"Later Kallen. I have some things to take care of. Whatever it is, it can wait" Lelouch interrupted as he, Naruto and C.C. jumped from the crates.

"Are you sure about this?" Naruto whispered as they left the building. He was about to head out to scout the Britannian positions while C.C. was simply going to wait around. "The JLF could prove to be a valuable ally"

"No. The JLF is already finished as is, and they will provide the perfect bait for Cornelia's troops. Their attention is focused completely on them, giving us the element of surprise" Lelouch replied as they made their way to the van. "Besides, we already have Kyoto on our side, and once Katasei and the rest of the JLF are out of the way, we will be the only major players in the anti-Britannian movement in Japan. Plus, Tohdou and the Shisei-ken will have no choice but to join us. It may be morbid, but this is war, and such sacrifices are necessary for the greater good"

Naruto nodded as they reached the van. "Yeah, I know all that. Just checking to see that your head was in the right place"

Lelouch paused at the door to the van, "Suzaku's idealism might have merit, but such ideals would only have true value in an ideal world"

"Which we don't live in"

"Exactly"

"Well, see you later" Naruto said with a mock salute, "I'm going to make some final adjustments to the Musashi, then I'll go do some recon on the Britannian positions"

"Watch yourself out there" Lelouch cautioned as he nodded.

"You too, I can't imagine its easy swimming down there"

With that, they parted ways, C.C. already gone… Somewhere

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was impossible. There was just no way he could have done such a thing. No way he could be caught up in something like this.

These were the thoughts going through Shirley's head as she wandered the docks, remembering what the women, Villeta she was pretty sure her name was, had told her. She had said that Lelouch, Lulu, the quiet boy she so secretly adored, was part of the Black Knights? Working under Zero? Was he really one of the people that had killed her father?

'No… It couldn't be. It just couldn't. Lelouch wouldn't get involved in something like this'

She had overheard Lelouch talking about doing something in the Tokyo docks, so she had snuck over here to see what it was, hoping she could confront him about what the woman had told her. True, it couldn't be very safe around here at 3:30 in the mourning, but she just couldn't wait. She had to know. Was Lelouch, her Lulu (or so she so desperately hoped) really working with the terrorists who killed her father?

Hiding a ways behind the confused and distraught girl, Villeta Nu gave a look of confirmation.

'I knew it! I knew this girl could lead me here. I just need to wait, and hopefully, she'll find that boy. He's the only link I know of to Zero. And I know he can alter a person's memory'

The normally dispassionate soldier allowed a rare smirk to spread across her lips.

'Lord Jeremiah, I won't let your death be in vain. Your honor, and my own, will be restored soon'

With that she sat back against the crate she was hiding behind. She could afford to bide her time. Shaking her head, she shook off a sudden wave of dreariness, she had felt quite dizzy all of a sudden. But it was gone now.

'I really should have gotten more sleep last night. I can't afford to doze off now'

Villeta's eyes perked up as she heard the distant footsteps moving. Glancing around the corner, she could see the girl moving again. She was walking down one of the alleys between the warehouses further down the line. Moving from her position, Villeta ran down the alley she was in and waited at the other end. Her assumptions were confirmed when the girl emerged from the alley and walked further down the line of buildings.

Then Villeta noticed something very interesting. The girl was on her cell phone. And judging by her walking, she was agitated and possibly frightened.

'Could he have made contact with her? Even so, I need to get closer'

With that, Villeta carefully made her way down the line at a faster pace, careful to keep to the shadows, and make her footsteps as light as possible. Thankfully, the girl seemed to be too engrossed in her conversation to notice her.

Suddenly, Shirley broke into a run, running down towards one of the wharfs.

'Damn, I can't lose track of her!'

The Britannian officer quickly broke out into a run, trying desperately to the girl in sight, and keep herself from being spotted. Again though, the girl's attention seemed to be focused solely on her phone. Villeta could just make out her saying 'Lelouch' as well.

'Bingo!'

As she reached the wharfs, Shirley took a left and Villeta lost sight of her. Breaking into a sprint, the woman made it to the edge of the wharfs in just a few seconds.

Glancing around, her eyes widened as she noticed that the young girl was nowhere in sight.

'Damn, where is she?'

"Right where you left her"

Villeta spun just enough to see a flash of blonde hair. Then the silenced round tore thought her, her vision darkened, and she blacked out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'It's almost time' Lelouch thought to himself, already suited in his Zero attire and sitting in the cockpit of his custom Burai. His machine, as well as the Gurren Mrk. II and 28 other Burais were packed into a high-speed transport hydroplane that would quickly get them across the bay to Cornelia's position.

On the pier next to the ship saw the Musashi, its cockpit open as it awaited its pilot. Lelouch noted that Naruto had apparently made some adjustments to the frames structure since Narita. The most major change seemed to be that the landspinners were gone. The new mobility system Naruto had devised would make his role invaluable in this operation.

Even so, Lelouch's lips twitched slightly as he noticed that Naruto still hadn't arrived. With the rate the Royal Marines were closing on the JLF ship, they wouldn't have much longer until the opportunity to strike arose. He was about to call again, when the blonde suddenly appeared, running down the wharf at a sprint. With nigh-unnatural skill, he quickly climbed up and into his custom Knightmare, closing the cockpit and opening a radio channel.

"What took you?"

"Sorry. I had to take out a straggler. Don't worry, I don't think we've been compromised" Naruto replied over the radio.

His words made Lelouch tense, but there was no time to back out now. The marines had already reached the ship and were climbing aboard, slaughtering the crew with the help of cover fire from the Britannian land positions.

'Almost time' Lelouch thought as he fingered the detonator that he held in his hand and rebuked Ohgi's concerns about helping the JLF. 'Just a little more'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'This isn't battle. This is wholesale slaughter'

These were Suzaku's thoughts as he continued to snipe the JLF soldiers on top of the JLF tanker in the Lancelot alongside the Sutherlands.

"We surrender! We surrender! Please, we surren-AHH!"

Suzaku's eyes widened as he opened a channel to General Dalton.

"Sir, their sending a surrender message over an open channel. Shouldn't we res-"

"Ignore it. Focus on your mission Warrant Officer Kururugi"

"But sir, they're-"

"That's an order soldier! Did I make myself clear?"

Suzaku grimaced.

"Yes… My lord"

He knew that Zero's methods were evil, but sometimes he had to wonder if Britannia was any better. This why he fought, to ascend through the ranks so he could change things. Peacefully.

In the control tower above that served as a command center, Lloyd and Cecile looked on, having just overheard Suzaku's conversation with the General.

"I can see how he's so reluctant. I mean, this hardly classifies as a battle. It's more like a massacre" Cecile spoke, obviously sympathetic to their pilot.

"Yes, but its not like we can do anything about it. But, there is the chance things might get a little more interesting" Lloyd replied, his eyes focused on the combat scanner field that showed the positions of all of their units.

"You mean the Black Knights?" Cecile asked, now curious. They really didn't have to worry about being overheard here. They were the only ones up here anyway. Everyone else was either down there shooting or waiting for deployment.

"I may not be a combat analyst, but from what I've seen so far, I doubt Zero would want to pass up a chance to get Cornelia. And he's already proven to have an incredible information network. Just look at Narita"

"Is that your gut instinct or just hoping they'll show up so you can get a look at their new frame?" Cecile asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"Heh, it's a little bit of both I suppose"

Cecile shook her head, but she had to admit, she was a bit hopeful herself for the same reason. While she might not be as eccentric as Lloyd, she was just as fascinated with Knightmares as her boss was. And this mysterious new frame had intrigued just as much as it had him.

Both were broken from their thoughts as an alert sounded on the scanner.

"Hm… looks like the JLF are trying to make a run for it. Well, if Zero is going to make a move, I'd say it'll be soon"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Zero! The JLF are moving out. Shouldn't we help them?"

"No Ohgi" Lelouch replied. "Not yet. The Britannians aren't very smart you know"

"Huh?"

"They have to be careful around that liquid Sakuradite"

With that he pushed the big red button.

Underneath the JLF tanker, unseen and unknown to all but three people, a large bomb hung suspended under the water. As the electrical signal reached it, the bomb reacted, exploding with incredible force. The shockwave rippled upward, rupturing the bottom of the tanker's hull and striking the extremely volatile liquid Sakuradite.

The results were tremendous to say the least.

The pinkish fluid reacted instantly, igniting and bursting outward with enormous force. The tanker seemed to bulge and glow, they exploded in a great reddish-pink burst of energy.

The royal marines were vaporized instantly as heat tore through them. The shockwaves shot across the bay in all directions, blowing up waves and stirring up gale-force winds. The Britannian forces held on for dear life as the shockwave blasted them. A few of the Sutherlands were even blown away.

"Wha-What the…?" Ohgi stammered. The Black Knight's position was far enough away, and so the initial shockwave had dissipated by the time it reached them.

"We don't have time to dwell on it! Now's our chance!" Lelouch yelled, trying to keep the satisfaction of his plan working out of his voice. "All units, deploy! Raven, move!"

"Yes, my lord!" Naruto replied with a wicked grin on his face as he hit the throttle to full. The Musashi reacted immediately, leaping forward into the air and landing on the water. As it did, a massive blast of water was shot up as the thrusters on its legs and feet activated, blowing the water away. And with that, the black and red frame was off, shooting across the water like a rocket, the hydroplane hot on its heels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cecile's eyes widened as she looked at the combat scanner field from a computer screen, the main table-like screen had been shorted out by the EMP created by the Sakuradite blast.

"Lloyd! Take a look at this!"

The eccentric scientist was immediately at her side, looking over her shoulder at the two new contacts racing across the bay. One was large, probably a high-speed transport, but the other…

"Lloyd… is that what I think it is?"

The white-haired man simply grinned slightly.

"Can you bring up a visual?"

"Yes. I think some of the cameras are still working" Cecile replied as she started typing in a command. "But if this is who we think it is, we have to warn Her Highness and General Dalton!"

"No can do" Lloyd replied with a semi-sheepish expression "The blast knocked out all the radios. We can't do a thing except watch it seems"

His assistant's eyes widened, but then settled back as she realized the truth of his words, even if she worried for Suzaku if what their hunch was right.

Whatever worry she felt was replaced with shock as the magnified image came up showing a medium-sized hydroplane shooting across the bay, and out in front was… a Knightmare?

"Lloyd… do you think…?"

"Yes!" the scientist replied in near-glee as he saw it, "It seems our mysterious new friend is back. And it looks like Zero isn't too far behind" he remarked as he noticed the custom Burai in the hydroplane.

The black and red frame was moving swiftly towards the Britannian position, even faster then the hydroplane. As it neared, the Britannian's still oblivious to the imminent attack, it reached to its right thigh to draw a weapon.

The machine gun was large then any carried by the Sutherlands. It looked to be even slightly bigger the Lancelot's VARIS. It was painted a matching black and red to the machine, and with large blades emerged on both the top and bottom of the barrel, it almost resembled a large sword of some kind.

"Well, keep a camera trained on that thing Cecile. The most we can do right now is collect as much data on that thing as we can"

"Right"

'Well, I guess things are getting even more interesting'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto smirked as he pulled the trigger on the control yoke, the targeting reticile on a pair of Sutherlands struggling to get up.

"Surprise"

The gun let loose with a hail of fire. The Sutherland pilots looked up just in time to see the approaching machine as their own machines were shredded to pieces before their drive cores were ruptured and exploded.

"Jenkins! Johnson!" a nearby pilot cried out as he saw his comrades shredded by… something. Most of their sensors had been messed up by the blast, either by the EMP or the shockwave simply damaging their factspheres. Add in the fact that it was still pitch black at night and the low mist that the extreme heat had picked up meant that they could hardly see a thing out on the water.

"Sir, Jenkins and Johnson were just-" the lone pilot was cut off as he saw a dark mass leap off the water, some kind of glowing orb in its hand. Then, with a blast from its boosters, the Musashi was upon him, the dark red sphere of energy shoved into the torso, vaporizing the pilot, then destroying the Sutherland.

Naruto quickly withdrew the arm as the enemy machine exploded. He had to admit, combining the Hadron technology with the Fukushahado system wasn't easy, but the result was probably one of the most powerful close-range Knightmare weapons yet. And there was definitely something nostalgic about the weapon, hence why he had given the system such a name. And that name was, Rasengan. Nostalgic indeed.

His enemy scanner went off as he looked to his left to find more Sutherlands taking aim at him. He'd probably have to clear draw their fire for a little bit while the others landed, which would be in about 10 seconds anyway. Then, while Lelouch and Kallen nabbed Cornelia, he and the rest of the team was to simply destroy as many enemies as they could, and take care of any variables Lelouch hadn't counted on.

And if there was one thing Naruto enjoyed, it was mindless carnage.

As the Sutherlands opened fire, he responded accordingly. The Musashi's foot boosters activated, allowing him to gracefully shoot backwards, strafing back and forth to dodge their fire. Reaching down, he grabbed one of the Sutherlands' discarded rifles with his free hand.

Returning fire, he shredded a few of the machines as they continued to pursue him, only to be squashed as the hydroplane hit the shore at full speed, shooting up, onto and across the wharf, smashing through anything in its path as it continued on about 100 yards until finally coming to a stop.

"Wow. Subtle" Naruto said over the com-link to Lelouch in a sarcastic tone.

Not waiting for a reply, he sped off again. Ducking and weaving around the buildings, spinning around in circles, and even jumping on top of and over a few, he blasted as many enemy frames as he could as the rest of the Knightmares deployed from the hydroplane.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lelouch shook his head at Naruto's sarcasm before shouting out orders as the doors opened.

"Blue Team, take the east side! Green Team, take the wharfs! Red team, take the warehouse area! Gurren Mrk. II, you're with me!" he yelled as he sped out of hydroplane.

A chorus of 'Yes sir!' sounded over the com frequency as the Knightmares rushed out. Kallen followed right behind him.

Lelouch gave a satisfied smirk as he sped into one of the warehouses to find Cornelia's custom Gloucester, still trying to power up.

'Perfect' Lelouch thought as he sped forward, smashing into the still-inert frame, propelling them both through the back wall.

"Damn it!" was all the princess could say as she tried to move her machine. "Before I even had time to power on?!"

The custom Burai in front of her drew a machine gun and opened fire, fully intent on turning her unit to scrap.

To her relief though, her Gloucester finally powered on, and she quickly maneuvered the machine, barely dodging the barrage.

"Now you DIE!" she screamed in anger, drawing the massive lance from the machine's back and rushing her opponent.

Zero's machine seemed unready for it as he dodged to the right, but not fast enough as the lance tore the Burai's left arm off.

"Hah! You can't beat me in Knightmare combat you amateur!" Cornelia yelled over her machine's loud speaker, taunting her opponent. Zero had made a mistake challenging her, and now he would PAY! With that thought she rushed him again, fully intent on skewering his inferior machine like a knife through meat.

Only for the spear to be stopped by a massive clawed hand grabbing it.

"Maybe not" Zero's voice came over his own speaker, "But she can"

With that, the area was enveloped in a soft red light as the Gurren reduced Cornelia's prized weapon to a hulk a molten slag.

"Damn, its that new machine again!" Cornelia grimaced as she let go of the weapon and tried to fall back. She knew that nothing short of the Lancelot could beat that thing. She had underestimated it at Narita, and had nearly paid the price for it. She just hoped the white Knightmare could get here in time.

Unfortunately for her though, the red machine was faster then she predicted.

Shooting forward, Kallen brought her fork-knife up with her machine's left hand and effortlessly cleaved the Gloucester's right arm off. And with a well placed kick, the purple machine was sent flying back, slamming into a stack of containers further back.

Kallen and Zero moved forward, quickly approaching the downed frame.

"Remember, we have to taker her alive" Lelouch said into his head set.

"Right" Kallen replied as the Gurren shot its slash harken out, fully intent on blowing off the Gloucester's legs.

Until a familiar greenish burst of energy hit the projectile, vaporizing it.

"What?!" Lelouch said aloud, but already knowing who it was that did it.

"Viceroy!" Cornelia looked up to see the Special Corp's prized Knightmare standing on top of the row of containers to her left, the VARIS rifle clutched in it's hands "Are you alright?"

"Kallen, take care of the Lancelot! I can handle things here!"

"Yes sir!" the red-head replied without hesitation as she leapt up to engage her rival Knightmare, the Fukushahado arm already primed and glowing.

Thought the white frame was able to block the attack with one of its swords, it was still knocked back, both machines falling into the next container area, continuing their duel.

Within his damaged machine, Lelouch could only smirk. Cornelia was in no position to do anything, and Kallen could handle the Lancelot. But even so, it didn't hurt to be careful.

"Naruto?" Lelouch said as he opened the private channel to his first Lieutenant, "What's you're status?"

Lelouch could honestly say he wasn't too surprised when he heard insane cackling laughter on the other end of the line.

"WOO! This is the most fun I've had since Thermopylae! Whaddya need boss?" Lelouch was pretty sure he could hear the smashing of metal and gunfire in the background too.

Ignoring the implications of that statement, Lelouch spoke, "I need you to head back here. Kallen's fighting the Lancelot and we've incapacitated Cornelia. My machine's damaged so I need you back here to help me get Cornelia out of here, or at least help Kallen out if she needs it"

"'sigh' Fine. I'll be right there"

Lelouch shook his head at the disappointment in Naruto's voice. He had forgotten how… crazy… Naruto could get sometimes. And had he said Thermopylae? But right now, he had bigger things to worry about.

"You fought well, Viceroy Cornelia" he said with a smug expression over the loudspeaker so she could hear him, "But ultimately, a futile effort"

With that he raised his machine gun, still clutched in his right hand, intending to completely immobilize her Knightmare so he or Naruto could cart her out of here.

But right as he was about to fire, his thermal camera saw something. Someone else was there, peering out from behind the container Cornelia had landed against. And it almost looked like…

'Shirley?'

But unfortunately for him, Cornelia sensed his hesitation, and advantage of it.

With the slightest pause, she moved her machine as fast as it would go to the left. Knocked from his thoughts, Lelouch opened fire, trying to hit the purple machine. But she was too fast.

Before Lelouch knew it, she had spun completely around him, and was now slamming into his frame, her left arm grappling his to keep him from shooting her at point blank range.

As the boy tried to move his Burai free, he noticed something that made his blood run cold. Cornelia's ejection pod firing. He knew how Cornelia fought, and a move like this could mean only one thing.

Purely on instinct, Lelouch hit his eject button.

Just as the pod began to shoot away, the purple machine exploded, incinerating his.

Lelouch just managed to hit the distress beacon as the pod impacted with a stack of containers, smashing the cockpit open. He was vaguely aware of his helmet being torn off as he blacked out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the Lelouch's distress beacon go up.

"Damn it!" he swore as he slashed through an unlucky member of the Glaston Knights that happened to be in his way and hit the Musashi's boosters, propelling it into the air and towards Lelouch's position. He really shouldn't have chased those Sutherlands so far.

He quickly reached Lelouch's position to find the busted and broken remains of his leader's Burai, and ejection pod.

'Damn it kid, please be alive'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lelouch wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but he could faintly hear someone speaking.

"…louch…"

"…ey …Lelouch…"

"Come on, are you okay man?" he flinched slightly as he felt something slapping his face lightly, knocking him out of the stupor.

Registering the voice, Lelouch slowly opened his eyes to find Naruto standing over him, the dark red mask absent from his face.

"Yeah… I'm okay" he didn't feel any intense pain so nothing should be broken, though he did feel a little sore from being bashed around.

Naruto's expression immediately brightened.

"Great. By the way, I think you'll be needing this" he said as he handed Lelouch his Zero helmet. Lelouch's eyes widened at the sight of it. He hadn't even noticed that yet.

"Thanks"

Nodding, Naruto's face turned serious. "Right, we need to get out of here. C.C. just called in, and there are some major reinforcements on their way from the Government Bureau. They'll be here in 10 minutes at most. I've already ordered a retreat. We're the last ones here"

Lelouch grimaced. Again they had failed to capture Cornelia. He was about to follow Naruto when he noticed something that made him pause. His handgun was gone. It seemed that the holster for it had been torn off in the crash. Knowing they didn't have much time, Lelouch gave a quick glance around, hoping to find it. But what he saw, only confused him. Sitting on the ground a few feet away was the holster, but the gun was missing. Then, as he realized the implications of this, a chill went down his spine.

"Zero, come on! We have to move!" Naruto called from the Musashi, the machine already powered on, its clawed hand extended to Lelouch for him to get on. Knowing they didn't have anytime to waste, Lelouch complied, jumping onto the hand. The mechanized limb quickly brought him up to the still-open cockpit and Lelouch climbed in, cramming himself into the small space behind Naruto's seat as the hatch closed. With that, the Musashi was off, heading back to the water.

"There was someone else" Lelouch grimaced from behind his mask.

"Huh?" Naruto asked as they started heading out over the water back to their command center.

"Someone else was there before you showed up. How long was I out?"

"Uh… I don't know, five minutes maybe? What do you mean someone else was there?"

"Exactly what I said. My weapon was gone when I woke up. The holster was torn off in the crash but somehow the strap holding the gun was undone. A crash doesn't do that"

Naruto's own eyes widened. "And if that's true then…"

"Whoever was there also saw my face. Did you see anyone else there?"

"No, I was checking to see if you were okay. Whoever it was, I probably scared them off when they saw me coming. Did you see anyone?"

"I think. Right before Cornelia surprised me, I'm pretty sure I saw someone hiding behind the containers. That might be it"

"Any idea who it was?"

"Maybe… But that's the thing… I thought I saw Shirley hiding there"

Naruto raised an eyebrow as a serious expression spread across his face.

"Well… That's not good"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shirley ran through the Tokyo streets, still not believing what had just happened. Lelouch, the boy she had known and admired for years… was Zero? The terrorist that had killed her father?

Once the battle had started, she hadn't known what to do. She couldn't run away with all the Knightmares fighting around her. So she had hidden behind some containers, only to see a fight between two Knightmares play out just fifty feet away from her. Finally, purple frames pilot ejected, and the other pilot seemed to eject too right as the purple machine exploded. She had seriously believed that she was about to die, but she was simply blown back by the shockwave, the blast blocked by the containers.

After the commotion had died down, she had approached the wreckage of the black Knightmare's ejection block. Somewhat out of concern for the pilot, but mostly out of sheer curiosity. She knew the Knightmare must have been part of the Black Knights or at some other terrorist group considering that the Knightmare it had been fighting was obviously Britannian. But as she approached it, she had gasped when she saw the unmistakable robes cloak and suit of the infamous Zero. This was him… The man who had killed her father. Shirley had been immediately taken over by some kind of vindictive rage. She wanted revenge. Revenge one this man for taking her father away from her. She picked up the gun that was laying on the ground, even though she had had no experience with anything like it. She had approached the prone form, not thinking straight at all. Her hands shaking, she aimed the gun at his head, until she realized something.

His mask… it was gone. And the face behind it… The dark hair, the pale skin… Oh god… It couldn't be…

Before her clouded and confused brain could even begin to piece this together, she heard the approaching roar. Her own fear kicking in, Shirley did the only thing she could think of.

She ran. She turned around and ran as fast as she could, not even bothering the drop the gun.

And so, she was now running down the streets of the Tokyo settlement, as if in some desperate attempt to escape the reality of it all. That Lelouch, the boy she thought she knew, and loved, was the one who murdered her father.

"Well well. Isn't that interesting"

Shirley's eyes widened as she spun around to see the man behind her, bent over slightly and looking at her with an odd, slightly manic grin.

"Wha… What? Wh… What are you talking about?" she stammered. She didn't know this man. Was he some kind of stalker? An eleven?

The man simply seemed amused by her fear. "Oh, you know. How the boy you love is your father's killer, and how he's killed so many other people. Maybe something like that"

"Wha…? N-No… Who are you? How do you know that?!" she screamed, pulling the stolen gun from her pocket, her hands shaking so hard she probably wouldn't have been able to hit him if she tried.

The man seemed unfazed by the loaded gun. "Well… I can't really answer the second question… But as for the first, Shirley…" he drawled, shocking her even more with the knowledge of her name. "I guess you can call me… Mao"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There we go, chapter 5 and Mao's introduction. I know, it more or less went the same way with the JLF making their last stand (sort of) and Shirley finding out Zero's identity. Though I did go into further detail into Lelouch's reasoning behind using the JLF as living bait. From what I've seen in the series, I don't think Lelouch would go that far just to get Cornelia, so I'd say there was more to it then that, which I've shown.

And Mao makes his grand début… by getting mauled by Arthur. How did he get out of Ashford? I have no idea.

Also, Is Villeta dead? Maybe. I haven't decided yet. Though she might help Ohgi gain some actual relevance to the plot like she did in canon.

As for Naruto's upgrades to the Musashi, the thrust/booster system is basically the same one from Armored Core For Answers (being able to float across water and land), and the machine gun is the 03-MOTORCOBRA machine gun (also from ACFA)

And I'd say this chapter dispelled any doubts that this Naruto is the one we're familiar with, not some redone incarnation. He's the real deal. And his involvement is certainly going to make the whole Mao arc go a bit differently (More Lelouch/C.C. action? You bet).

Next Chapter: Geass vs. Geass (with backup)

C.C.: I can't let him face Mao… Even you Lelouch, no, especially you, can't beat Mao.

Lelouch: His Geass… So that's his game…

Naruto: Say cheese ya son of a bitch

Read and Review