A/N: Okay, I rather dislike but notes at the start of a chapter, but I just have to say that I finally did some revisions on Chapters 1 and 2. The big things I added are scenes with Suzaku (long overdue), a more gradual introduction into C.C. and Lelouch's relationship, adding a locations/time tag at the introduction of new scenes, and italicizing knightmare names.
Taxi
Saturday
5:00 PM
Cornelia sat cross legged in the taxi, eyes glued to window of the taxi. Euphemia was next to her, similarly staring out the window. Lelouch and C.C. were opposite of them.
When Lelouch had returned returned from the hospital, Cornelia's initial reaction was for him to rush back. But she had seen that look in his eye before, the look of determination that had manifested right before he had confronted the Emperor, and so she had complied with his wishes. He'd called for a taxi, and then changed into his Zero outfit.
She looked at Lelouch and C.C. every now and then during the ride. It was obvious that the dynamic between them had changed within the last 24 hours, whether Lelouch noticed it or not. C.C. occasionally rambled and stuttering under his gaze. For the most part, the boy seemed not to notice, simply nodding at her tone and beckoning for her to continue.
For the revolutionary leader of the Black Knights, he could get a clue.
But frankly, Cornelia was too involved in getting used to the fact that her siblings were alive to inquire about Lelouch's love life.
So she went back to scanning the outside world, cycling through possible threats and generating countermeasures accordingly. Is was a good strategy, better safe than sorry, but Cornelia was performing this exercise for an entirely different reason.
She didn't want to think of yesterday.
The betrayal by Britannia and slaughter of the Elevens, no, Japanese, and wounded in battle, yes. But these were not new ideas.
Above everything else, how Euphemia had changed.
The excitable, innocent girl that Cornelia loved had been completely absolved in the wake of the SAZ disaster.
Before the SAZ, she'd never felt complete and total betrayal. She'd never felt abandonment. She'd never endured pain. Except for the news of Lelouch and Nunally's demise, she had never been touched by death.
And all of this had changed in a day.
Euphemia had known the word wasn't a gentle, kind place. But it was knowledge gained from word of mouth, rather than experience.
But more than that, the SAZ massacre. The death of countless Japanese. Knowing Euphemia, she blamed herself for what transpired that day. She took herself as a fool for trying to set up the SAZ, for underestimating the extent of Britannia's treachery. And for that she was hurting. Cornelia had asked her about it, tentatively, but Euphemia had dismissed her words with a blank look and wave of her hand.
Cornelia shook her head as she glanced at Euphemia's features, cold and disjointed from reality.
She couldn't help but wonder if she would ever smile again.
Military Dorm
Sunday
3:00 AM
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M RESTRICTED!" Suzaku bellowed. His hands were clenched and pale. Blood thundered to his head. "I WAS EUPHEMIA'S KNIGHT! LIKE HELL I'M NOT GOING TO FIGHT THE BLACK KNIGHTS!"
The two commanding officers stared him down with narrowed eyes. Inside, he filled with explosive anger. Any other day he would've bottled it up and smiled under the opera mask.
But not today.
"I HAVE MY DUTY TO PRINCESS EUPHEMIA! YOU LET ME GO OR-"
"Or what, Suzaku Kururugi. Or WHAT?" The first asked in a steely voice. He shoved Suzaku back into the confines of his room. "Go ahead. Hit me, retaliate. Give me the excuse to take out the trash."
Suzaku raised his fist for combat, very nearly past the line of sense. At the last moment, he dropped his composure, slumping back and suppressing his anger.
The guard smirked. "That's right. Bow your head to your masters, Warrant Officer Kururugi." He kicked Suzaku heavily in the stomach. "Your precious princess isn't here any more to protect you. And don't you forget it."
With a final blow, the pair exited the room, chuckling darkly.
Suzaku's nails clawed at the bed sheet, one name echoing through his head.
Zero.
Taxi
5:30 AM
It was almost morning. Besides stopping momentarily to pick up food, pizza, weirdly enough, they had driven all through the day. Euphemia and C.C. had long since surrendered themselves to sleep, while Cornelia was doing her best to fake it. Lelouch seemed to content to peer at the blurred world.
He cursed as he picked up a phone from the folds of a pocket. It was still turned deactivated from when he had turned it off before the SAZ.
I hope no one has needed me in the past few hours.
The glowing screen flicked on; 38 missed calls. He blinked at the readout, a dark sense of foreboding suddenly gripping him.
What the hell…
The ringtone of a phone shook the sleepy atmosphere that had developed within the car. Lelouch hesitatingly held it to his ear.
"It's me." He said.
"Zero! Thank god I reached you!" Kallen's voice emerged from the phone. But it was different; unconfident, shaken.
Pleading.
Lelouch instantly perked up at the sound of gunfire in the background. The entire occupants of the car stared at the phone with apprehension.
"The… the harbor that we were hiding in….the Japanese owners sold us out!" The sounds of multiple explosions rippled through the taxi.
"Kallen!" Lelouch shouted. Momenta later, Kallen's voice continued to filter through the speakers.
"I… I'm fine. But we can't escape. The Britanians have attack subs waiting just outside the doc. W-we got all our knightmares out but, it's a losing battle. Britannian reinforcements are due to arrive in minutes." Lelouch breathed out, finally recognized the tone that his ace was using; absolute defeat.
"Kallen. Launch the Sakuradite Crawlers." Kallen gasped slightly.
"B- but Rakshata designed those for long range bombardment! We can't be sure-"
"Do it!" Lelouch shouted. "It will buy us enough time to me to arrive." He turned his gaze to look cautiously at Cornelia and Euphemia. "I'm bringing a secret weapon with me. Kallen. You are the Ace pilot of the Black Knights. You have kept pace with the most advance of Britannian technology. You went toe to toe with Cornelia's elite knights and returned triumphant. FIGHT FOR HOPE. HOLD OUT UNTIL WE ARRIVE!"
"Y-yes sir!" Kallen stated, only slightly more resolutely then before. They must be in worse shape than I had originally thought. The way she's acting….
There was a click as the call was disengaged.
He then turned to the princess and vice-roy sitting in front of him. "Can I count on you to fight?"
Cornelia and Euphemia nodded forcefully. He tossed the cell to Cornelia.
"I need you to make a call for me..."
Yamato Docks
5:45 AM
They were outnumbered twenty to one. Outgunned, outmaneuvered; outplayed. But not outmatched.
And that was the cause behind Kallen's despair.
Every pilot that Britannia put forth was average at best. No lightning reflexes, no valuable combat experience, only able to perform the bare minimal with a standard issue gun. The battle had neared its twenty minute mark with no sudden breakout of skilled knightmare pilots, to long for it to be anything but deliberate.
Britannia was sending a message.
Saying that with everything they had done, every gained advantage, each new recruit, all Britannia had to do was pivot once and crush the Black Knights with her heel. Like a bug.
Of course it had made her angry. Not just the fact that they would fight the Black Knights like this, but Britannia's blatant wast of human lives. Her blood boiled as she commanded the Guren with a ferocity never seen before among the Black Knights.
That anger carried her through her first fifty Sutherlands.
But they kept coming! It was an exaggeration to call any dozen of enemies destroyed a significant drop in forces. One fell, and another stepped forward to take its place.
Zero's call had granted her courage, but only a small margin. Slowly, they were being pushed back. Kallen opened a com to the Black Knight's submarine, laying just underneath the waters.
Rakshata's face appeared stared at Kallen with venom. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BABY!" She screeched.
Kallen shuddered at how the Guren must look on the outside. All systems were still functional, but it had definitely taken a beating.
"Rakshata. Deploy long range Sakuradite Crawlers. Aim for large clumps of enemy forces. Zero's orders. Alert the other Black Knights of their firing." Kallen said in a quiet tone as she sliced through another knightmare.
Rakshata stopped her rant to eye Kallen curiously. "The Sakuradite missiles are calibrated or sort range firing. We could very well end up hitting our-"
"SHOVE IT!" Kallen snapped. "LAUNCH THE DAMN MISSILES! ZERO'S ORDERS!"
Rakshata narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I'll launch the missiles. Don't expect any more favors from me." With a click, she signed off.
Kallen stared at the black of the screen. What… what am I doing? Why am I snapping at my own soldiers! Rakshata, everyone, we're all in the same boat.
She shoved her hands against the desktop of the Guren. "So get a hold of yourself Kallen!"
The rattle of bullets against steel jostled her back into action. She swung around to stare at the squad of four Sutherlands.
"Just hold out a little bit more." She whispered. "Believe in Zero."
Lelouch watched the plumes of black smoke drifting over the rooftops, no doubt the work of the Crawlers.
"That should hold them off for a bit." He murmured as he lodged his Zero mask into place. He had only a marginal idea of the events that were taking place down at the harbor, and could only hope that the Sakuradite missiles hadn't eliminated too many of his men.
I need ten minutes…..
Cornelia had taken control of the taxi. They were darting through the number of storage units, edging towards the conflict. C.C. and Euphemia were sitting complacently in the back.
"Lelouch…." Cornelia started, voicing everyone's thoughts. Her eyes didn't flick from the front of the row. It didn't take a tactical prodigy to see they were afraid, or in C.C.'s case, simply at unease.
He nodded back.
"We will be commandeering the G-1 Mobile Fotress positioned at the rear of the attack." He paused as he let the declaration sink in. Only Euphemia acted startled, gasping slighty. Cornelia narrowed her eyes and glanced at him momentarily.
The car screeched to a halt as Cornelia slammed on the breaks. She reached back and flipped open the back door, jerking her thumb in the direction of the exit.
"Euphemia. Out. Now." Her voice was cold and uncompromising. Lelouch sat back, momentarily startled. He was glad his distress was hidden by his mask, as Euphemia was a crucial element to his plan.
But….. I wouldn't even fathom the thought of sending Nunnally to the front lines. This has to be resolved, by them.
Euphemia's eyes flicked from the open door back to Cornelia's face. She felt her heart speed and fingers clam at the implications of her decision. Maybe, maybe two days ago, she would've run. Would've followed Cornelia's orders and exited the field of battle. But that was yesterday, today she was a fighter.
"No." Euphemia said sternly. She gripped the seat of the car and looked Cornelia in the eye. Daring her to say different. "This is my fight as well as yours. I won't run away."
Both siblings stared at each other, filling the empty space between them with a fierce battle of steward wills. Cornelia scanned Euphemia's face, not knowing whether to be proud or saddened at the stance of determination. She could just as well force her out of the car, but Euphemia's resolve suggested that the girl would get herself into some other trouble.
She shut her eyes and brought the car back into a slow acceleration in the direction of the Mobile Command Center. I'm going to regret this….
"Fine. Stay. But we're walking into gunfire and dirt low odds. Death and a possible suicide mission." Cornelia's voice had a slight tremor. "I… I can't guarantee your safety."
Euphemia took it all in stride. "I understand. I'll put my life on the line, for the sake those that died."
Lelouch shut his eyes and breathed out a guilty sigh of relief. Am I wrong to feel like this? For feeling relieved that one of my oldest friends is walking the bladed path?
Cornelia stopped the car for the second time. A garrison of soldiers were approaching the beat taxi, yelling and beckoning wildly.
"Perfect." Lelouch said.
Euphemia marched a few feet behind C.C. Using the combined shock of Zero's presence and the supposedly dead princess, they overwhelmed the stationed guards with ease. After commandeering standard issue uniforms, the group now moved rapidly towards the Mobile Command Center. Euthemia and Cornelia had their visors drawn tight over their eyes, body's completely shielded from the front by C.C. and Lelouch. The last thing they needed was to be recognized.
Euphemia would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid. She was trembling under the pressure of what would happen within the next hour. Her breath came quick and fast, even while walking.
Because, in a moment, they would join the battlefield. Any one of them could die in a blink, gone forever through a hail of gunfire. She had fought when cornered with no other option, but walking languidly into the blitzing crossfire, it was an entirely new experience of fear.
But most of all, she was afraid she'd be a burden. The entire reason she had come was to make a difference. To matter more than the idol puppet many of the court saw her as-
-Or to die trying.
The purple Mobile Fortress loomed before them. Giant steel plates were packed tight against the sides. Two mounted knightmare launchers protruded from the main stalk, parallel to the ground. Across the body was a dense array of machine gun turrets, no doubt loaded with every possible ammunition. The Britannian emblem was situated proudly atop the command deck.
Two Britannian soldiers approached. "Halt! State your unit!"
Euphemia seized up at the conflict. Lelouch slowly brought his eyes level with soldiers, voice thick with authority.
He'd partially explained his ability on the walk. The power, Geass, of Absolute Obedience. He quickly went through some of its limitations, including the need for eye contact and the "one time use" restriction. Cornelia had snorted loudly at the statement, proclaiming that such a thing couldn't exist. But Euphemia shuddered at his words, recalling their conversation at the SAZ.
That's how he would've made me shoot him. But that's a horrible thing, stripping a person of their control and imposing your own will.
"I order you to let us pass." Lelouch said. A red ring of light materialized on their eyes, the only mark left by his power.
Cornelia reeled slightly at their reaction. The sluggish nods the guards gave as they completely complied with Lelouch's wishes, their dazed looks, as if walking through a dream.
"Maybe there's some truth to this 'Geass' after all." She muttered.
They entered the Mobile Command Fortress after Geassing three separate sets of guards. Cornelia relaxed slightly as the glossy silver walls surrounded them. She had spent the majority of her time within Mobile Command Fortresses, almost equal to her time in a knightmare frame. Within these walls, she was in her element, commanding the full glory of the battlefield, only required to demolish her enemies and achieve the objective.
Here, things were simple.
"HEY YOU PUNKS! STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" The company of four quickly cycled around to face the man.
The soldier was a giant compared to other soldiers. His head very nearly touched the ceiling of the 8 foot doorway, not a small feat in the slightest. At his sides he hoisted twin machine guns, giant straps of ammunition running across his chest. Clipped to his belt were multitudes of grenades. Other devices were spread sporadically at every possible interval around his person.
And the man wore a pair of tinted goggles. Either a deliberate precaution against his Geass, or a cautious maneuver to avoid flash bombs, there was no way Lelouch could get into the mind of the soldier.
Hell, not a soldier, this man is a walking armory! Cornelia shifted ever so slightly into a better defensive stance, a move that Lelouch hoped was lost on the guard. He felt Euthemia shake at the interaction. His hand, hidden by his form, grabbed her arm, letter her calm down for a second before releasing it.
Have courage, Euphemia.
Lelouch stepped forward. "Sir! We have been ordered by Prince Schneizel to personally deliver data to the Generals!" He held up a small thumb drive that had been stored within his phone.
The soldier snatched the drive from Lelouch's outstretched hands. Not taking his eyes off the group, he ran his fingers over the edges.
"Sorry. Orders from the Royal Council. Only a specific set of guards are to have interaction with the Generals. I'll give it them myself." The soldier leveled at them, gauging their reactions.
Lelouch cursed inwardly at the extensive precautions that had been implemented. Nothing was given to chance. His left hand, still hidden, displayed the number five for the others to see.
Prepare to fight.
He brought back his thumb, leaving four fingers left. "With all due respect sir, this is a direct order from Prince Schenizel himself." He drew his pinky finger into the fist, three left. "He specifically told us to deliver this data. We have other information that may prove useful." Two. "If we go back like this, we'll-" Lelouch was about to go on when he was abruptly interrupted by the guard.
"Oh, silly me. I didn't know you were acting under Schneizel's direct orders. Here, the center is up the stairs and to the right." The soldier said with an unnatural tone change. He tossed the drive in a wide arc back towards Lelouch, who released an unbidden sigh at the guard's statement.
Well, that was easier than-
WHAM! A roundhouse kick caught Lelouch in the side, smashing him against the steel walls. The guard had closed the distance between them with record speed.
"What-" Lelouch stuttered.
Lelouch's addled mind barely grasped the situation when the guard grabbed his collar, pinning him midair.
"Lelouch!" Cornelia called. Lelouch only heard a short rusle of fabric as Cornelia whipped out her gun, followed quickly by C.C.'s.
But the guard was faster. Two shots cracked through the empty hallway, disarming the pair. The guard chuckled as he flipped another gun into his empty hand, putting Lelouch into a headlock while taking careful aim at the trio.
Grabbing the two by the collar, Cornelia hurtled Euphemia and C.C. into the adjacent doorframe as shots sheared past them. She leaned backwards against the wall, cocking her second handgun.
"Did you REALLY think you'd fool anyone with that act?" The guard guffawed. "Pathetic. I don't know how you managed to get this far, but I can guarantee that-
Damn. I should've seen it. Oldest trick in the book. Cornelia thought, ignoring the guard's bragging. She counted down in her mind.
5….4…..3…..
"You have five seconds to get out here before your friend gets it!" The guard bellowed.
"Shit," Cornelia swore, risking a peek around the corner. The guard had the underside of his gun jammed against Lelouch's bleeding chin.
"Don't… don't do it." Lelouch whispered through a black eye and split lip.
Like hell. I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE AGAIN!
"SHUT IT!" The guard nailed Lelouch with punch to the stomach. Cornelia furiously clenched her weapon. What could she do!?
C.C. sighed melodramatically from behind her, voice emotionless still. "Oh Lelouch. Always getting yourself in trouble. Must I always bail you out?" Cornelia stood back, dumbstruck by her reaction.
C.C. took off her helmet and stepped into the hallway. The guard smiled leerily at her flowing green hair. "Why, you're quite the dame! I might be inclined to spare your life if you-" C.C. twisted in a fluid motion, bringing her pistol to bare and taking aim at the guard.
A bullet snapped forward, imbedding itself in C.C.'s forehead. Euphemia and Cornelia could only stare in shock as C.C. collapsed on the floor.
The guard tutted with annoyance. "Too bad for her. Such a looker too. I sincerely hope that you don't have the same inclinations as Miss-blond-hair-dyed-green."
"Damn you!" Cornelia sprang from her spot and rolled forward, firing a full spread with the pistol. The guard ducked under the shots and leaped forward, delivering a vicious cut to Cornelia's leg.
"I do regret having killed your friend so swiftly." Cornelia held back a scream as the guard nailed her wounded arm with a punch. "I like to see my victims squirm for their life."
"I'll say this once. My hair is naturally green." A shot slammed into the guard's neck, entering and exiting with gory punctuality. A spurt of red mist spilled into the air as the guard collapsed.
C.C. replaced the spent gun rounds with a new cartridge. "Some men just don't have any manners."
Euphemia sprang out of the doorframe. "B-but, we saw you DIE." She eyed the drying blood on the witch's forehead. "How are you still alive!?"
"Oh please, I've taken much worse in my lifetime. Let's take care of our errant prince, shall we?" C.C. shouldered a groaning Lelouch back to his feet.
"Wimp. Even as a toddler, I had twice your threshold for pain-" C.C. started, letting Lelouch gain his bearings.
Cornelia just stared with open shock. A mortal wound… and she survived it! Just like before!
Could she be….invincible? Immortal?
"Damn. I should really work out more." Lelouch muttered. He grimaced and stood straight. Have to stay strong…..Zero can't show weakness!
"Let's go. Leave the body. Our mission will be completed by time they discover it." Lelouch effortlessly slid back into the mask of the invincible revolutionary. He beckoned for them to continue, then stopped.
"Euphemia?" He asked, quizzically. "Are you okay?" The princess was panting heavily, staring at her clenched fist. Her body was leaned against the walls for support. Cornelia Lelouch watched her movements with growing concern.
Euphemia had learned to hate those looks. The looks of loving responsibility towards the third princess. That she was someone to be doted upon, someone to be taken care of, nurtured, kept back from any semblance of the real world, out of place. A hapless fool.
Nothing but a burden.
DAMMIT EUPHEMIA! YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE HELPLESS AGAIN. A scathing voice within Euphemia shouted.
YOU SWORE THAT YOU'D FIGHT FOR FAMILY! And what did you do? You watched in cold shock Your BROTHER was very nearly killed, and all you did was watch. See that? Right behind you? That's called a GUN, it's a WEAPON. Never once did think of using it. FIND THE GUTS!
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Come on, we have a mission to complete." Euphemia brushed off the hand that Cornelia had placed on her shoulder. She ran forward to lead at point, gun in hand.
Never again.
The Command Deck of the G-1 Mobile Fortress
5:50 PM
General Philips stared at the battlefield lines with growing satisfaction. The purple map displayed all troop movements, the terrain, and scanned enemy movements. And of everything presented, one truth was certain in his mind.
The Black Knights would fall today.
As their numbers dwindled, it was only a matter of time before they broke. And when they broke, they would shatter; shredded power forward to abyss.
The Royal Council had layered them with two objectives; the complete annihilation of the Black Knights, and the destruction of the Japanese fighting spirit. They had come up with two different plans that could be implemented.
The first was a strategic wipeout. A precise attack backed by insurmountable soldiers and the greatest military minds. It could be compared similarly to the knife wielding ninja of old, a decisive victory with no alliteration to flair or show, combat at its finest. Yet this method had its shortfalls. The Black Knights may very well fall, but the spirit, the drive for revolution would continue to persist. So from there, the second option was selected.
A surge of overwhelming force. No strategy, no good soldiers, just massive resources allotted against a small, but elite class of enemy. Backed into a corner, Britannia would beat the Black Knights to death with a baseball bat.
The strategy was too messy for Philips. Too wasteful in its consumption of resources and manpower. But, he had to respect Schneizel's ingenuity. It would be a slow death of the revolution. Sure, some would very well speak of the multitudes of Britannian forces the Black Knights had managed to defeat before facing death, but most would be drawn to the Red Demon, ace of the Black Knights, defeated by nothing more than a rank amateur. Zero, supreme commander, shot by a common soldier.
That Britannia had defeated the Black Knights, without even trying.
Genera Philips sighed in exasperation. This method was dishonorable to a fault. The Black Knights deserved nothing but respect for their accomplishments; that at least he could acknowledge. But honor was not the objective, so he put aside personal feelings aside for the sake of duty.
BANG! The general closest to Philips collapsed backwards, a bloody stain appearing on his leg. From his vantage point, he had no vision of the shooter
"What-" The soldiers were the first to react. They scrambled forward from the dark recesses of waiting, firing short torrents of bullets towards the front.
Before Philips could make the first of moves towards his gun, a voice of black thunder rippled through the folds of space.
"All of you… DIE!" The voice bellowed.
Like the exchange of puppet strings, Philips watched as the soldiers mechanically twisted about their own gun. There was a simultaneous firing followed by the hollow thump of collapsing bodies.
He turned slowly, making no sudden movements, and blanched at what he say.
Four figures were crowding the entrance to the command deck, slinging multiple guns in the direction of the generals. A resolute figure stood forward. Impossible. How did they slip past the guards!
"W-who are you?" He whimpered, other hand reaching for his gun. The front figure turned indigo eyes onto Philip's form.
He felt a chill like no other shoot down his spine. Philips had made his name on the plains of Europe. An aloof soldier who had the knack for tactical challenges. By the time he was shipped back, he had distinguished himself innumerably on the field of combat and as a master strategist.
In his time, he had known pain. He knew the sorrow of watching comrades fall.
And he thought he had known fear.
But this… it went beyond fear. It awakened primordial abhorrence, ancient stirrings of guttural terror that transcended the depths of his being.
"Well, Lelouch? Do we need them?" A female voice inquired from behind a black-visored helmet. The front figure completely cycled back his helmet, revealing thick strands of black hair. His face reflected systematic disdain for the world around him. He scowled at the remaining generals.
"No. We don't." An arm beckoned to his three other comrades.
Philips lurched forward. "No… wait! I can still-" another barrage of bullets slashed through the empty air.
C.C. eyed Lelouch with cat like curiosity.
"Was that really necessary? I mean, those soldiers could have been your slaves." She commented absently
Lelouch didn't bother to look up from the monitor. "Contrary to popular belief, I do have a heart of sorts. Mindless slaves are rather not my morning tea. And I'd prefer to not tip off my power, so early in the game." He continued his furious tapping. "I'm activating the internal security systems. We're the only ones left."
Cornelia was eyeing the battlefield map, while Euphemia kept watch near the entrance. Britannian forces were highlighted in blue, with the Black Knights in Red. Madness. She thought, levelly shaking her head at the strategy applied to destroy the Black Knights. Lives wasted fruitlessly.
A blink of light caught her attention. It was quickly followed by another wink, and another.
One by one, the red icons of the Black Knights were dying. Collapsing like a domino chain.
"Lelouch…" Cornelia said. Over a third of the Black Knights's forces had perished in the last thirty seconds.
"Got it." The screen flashed once with a green hue. "The Mobile Fortress is ours now." There was a hollow thump as sheets of iron descended across the doorway, sealing them off. "Cornelia, take navigation. Euphemia, C.C., weapons. "
Euphemia nodded and walked over to the monitor indicated. A touch revealed an advanced targeting grids that linked all the right turrets to a single system. The joysticks functioned as reference points to cue up specific targets and independently directed all artillery fire.
The hesitance in her mind was overridden in a cloud of forward purpose. "Fight. Let me fight!"
Cornelia took the command post near the front. Levers and joysticks protruded from the front monitor and the surrounding control frame. Rows of buttons lined the front face.
Why….. have I never learned to drive one of these.
Hesitantly, she pressed the green key. Her movement was rewarded by the faint gutter of the engine as the entire fortress shook with anticipation.
A voice crackled through the speaker. "G-1! What are you doing! Our orders are to stay out of the front lines! They'll have our-" Cornelia shot the speaker.
Lelouch calmly stretched backwards, moving out of sight behind the command post.
"Lelouch, what are you doing?" Euthemia asked. He responded with a cheeky grin.
"I'm changing back into my Zero suit." He said. "After all, the curtain has been raised, the actors set, its SHOWTIME."
Kallen was surrounded on all sides. 5 Sutherlands had circled about her and were shooting wildly and pinning her to the back of an abandoned warehouse. They ceased fire as they completed the encirclement.
Damn. You got careless. She tried to muster a flame, a single bolt of defiance to the might of Britannia. But she was tired. Spent and discouraged, beaten and beaten again.
Continuous damage had slashed her mobility to less than half. The Radiant-Wave-Surger was operating on 10% effectiveness, and her energy filler was at 8% battery. The right landspinner had been destroyed. Her left arm had been cleaved straight off sometime around her eightieth victim.
Eightieth victim.
She had lost count from there. Every new aggressor simply another blur of purple streaked armor.
The 4 Sutherlands opened fire in a synchronized assault. The Guren leaped forward and swiveled to the left, protecting its one good arm. Kallen cried out, in almost physical agony, as bullets mashed into the already damaged armor plating and burrowed deep in the circuitry.
She was quick to approach the surrounding Knightmares, smashing the first Sutherland with a roundhouse kick to the chest.
The others scattered in a flurry, stilling unleashing a constant stream of bullets. Kallen tailed a second Sutherland and grabbed its cockpit block with her lethal right hand. She depressed the button and released a second's worth of radioactive energy.
It was not enough to disable a knightmare frame, but it was more than sufficient for killing the pilot.
It was a dishonorable way of fighting, and Kallen took no pleasure in it. To her, battle was a level ground of decisive action and skilled accordance. Death was not a goal, simply an end.
These soldiers wielded only the strength of undying loyalty to their country. They may serve the devil, but she could understand the nationalistic motivation, if not the moral one. For being asked to die, needlessly, by the country they had sworn their existence to, the least she could do was best them in a clean battle.
But she couldn't hide beyond mercy, not now.
Everything was riding on this, the ghosts, the future phantasms, the living, if ANYTHING of it all was to matter, to have been worth it, the Black Knights would have to WIN.
Her clawed hand disposed of a third Sutherland. The last two ran divergence, land spinners churning as they spun large circles around the Guren, still shooting. With a lurch, the servos in the Guren's gave out. Kallen dropped to one knee.
"Damn." Immobilized completely, she could only watch as she was gutted. Bullets pierced the upper side of the cockpit block and struck her as the Sutherlands moved in, sensing her vulnerable state.
She clutched at her wounded side and coughed up blood. She looked up at top of the cockpit, imagining the faces of all the Black Knights, the truest family she had ever had. Oghi. Yoshida. Tamaki. Kento. Yoshitaka. All faces that she had known better than any other.
And Zero. The valiant crusader, risking himself and his ideals for the sake of justice. From his actions, she thought she understood him, to a degree. The mask he wore... only his truest face. She imagined Zero stuffing a plastic face disguise over his Zero mask and laughed.
"Sorry, Zero, and all the rest of you. I let you down." The Sutherlands took carefully aim at the cockpit block and unleashed a stream of bullets.
Before the bullets could plunge past the steel surrounding the cockpit block, a symphony of gunshots echoed across the battlefield. The cockpits of the Sutherlands were sheared off by a flood of bullets from the right front.
Unveiling in front of her eyes through the smoke of crushed battlements was a Mobile Fortress bearing the Britannian emblem. The gun turrets on its surface were blazing with battle fervor while ground to ground missiles were bearing down on Britannian knightmares.
"ATTENTION ALL BLACK KNIGHTS!" Kallen's voice caught in her throat at the voice. "I HAVE COMMANDEERED THE MOBILE FORTRESS. ALL UNITS RETREAT TO THE BLACK SUBMARINE AND PREP FOR DEPARTURE. KALLEN, TOHDOH, AND THE FOUR HOLY SWORDS, MEET ME AT THE FOLLOWING COORDINATES!"
She felt her will mount at the unshakable confidence layered in Zero's voice. A black set of coordinates flashed across her screen.
But… the Guren is a complete wreck! Utterly destroyed! She tuned her modulator in to Zero's chat channel.
"Zero, the Guren has been completely demolished in the fight. Do you still want me to make the rendezvous?"
"Yes, Kallen. Eject and walk if you have to. I am sorry, but you'll be piloting a Sutherland for the second half of this battle." There was a brief cackle of radio chaff between words. "Q-1, you are the most valuable member of the Black Knights. You won't let me down." Zero's voice cut off from the speaker.
There was a silent pause in the Guren, the first moment of peace since the battle had begun. Kallen brought her hand to her chest in a mock solute, despite the fact that no one could see, or hear her.
"YES SIR!"
Euthemia watched Lelouch's, or rather, ZERO'S movements from the corner of her eye. He had contacted the pilot of that red knightmare and was now conversing with an Indian scientist on the overhead screen.
"-believe me, they'll withstand that amount of pressure. But I can't guarantee they'll last for long. The only aspect you have working for you is the natural buoyancy of the cockpit block."
Zero nodded. "Understood. Thank you." The screen flicked back to darkness. Zero stood in the darkening atmosphere.
"Cornelia, has the Mobile Fortress been preset to my control?" He asked.
"Yes, Zero."
"Right then. Set the weapons to automatic and accompany me. We'll be joining the battlefield in knightmares." Euthemia stared at Zero with an open mouth. She could see her sister repeating an identical action. C.C. simply stared with mild interest.
"Zero! I can't pilot a knightmare frame-" Euphemia started, at the same time as Cornelia.
"Lelouch, if you think for a SECOND I'm going to let you put Euphemia into one of these-"
"STOP!" Zero shouted. His voice carried a command that instantly penetrated the garble. "Do you think I like the idea of putting Euphemia, and YOU, on the front lines? You two, the only family that I have always loved. Euphemia, Cornelia, the brother in me detests me for this, but the only way to win, is to take to the battlefield."
He turned towards Euphemia. "Besides, I understand you're more than capable. You managed to defeat a Knight of the Round, wounded, and in a crippled knightmare frame." Euphemia blushed slightly at the acknowledgement of her achievement. "And you won't be fighting in the thick of combat. We will serve as a temporary distraction, so the rest of the Black Knights can escape."
Cornelia's eyes didn't stop spitting fire for a second. Euphemia watched the two with avid awareness, not quite sure who would back down.
With a sigh, Cornelia slumped back. "Fine, ZERO." She enunciated his alter ego. "We'll follow your plans."
"Good. Then come." Zero stated. He clicked a key and disengaged the steel barrier. The group silently followed him through the hallway.
This is where I prove my mettle. Euphemia thought.
"The plan has two major objectives. Cripple the Britannian forces and allow the Black Knights to escape. Cornelia, our involvement is riding heavily on your contact. Will he come through?"
She nodded affirmatively.
"Good. This is how we do it-"
A/N: Initially, I was going to make this entire dock battle in a single chapter. However, I vastly misjudged the amount of words it would take, and am only now finishing the battle. Anyway, so that's why I had to cut off the chapter at this point.
Thanks to one l3largus for giving a sound opinion on giving Euphemia a Geass or not. I'm also against it at this point, as doing so would alter her character in a negative way for the reader. And thank you for the muffin. In return, please, have a banana.
To all of you suggesting I put in scenes with Suzaku, I finally was able to add him. I initially planning interactions with Suzaku, but never got around to editing him in. Better late than never, I suppose.
And why did I dilute C.C. and Lelouch's interactions in the second chapter? Well, I initially rushed through their pairing because I wanted to show their interactions together at Ashford Academy. However, in haste, it just became a bit less natural and more forced. So I'm going to have a slowly rising relationship.
And finally, thank you for your reads and reviews!