Chapter 14: A Trap
Zero's force now faced Infinite's strongest followers, those who had betrayed the Britannian Empire and had experience piloting Knightmares. These troops were given KnightCrawlers much stronger than the others, these KnightCrawler's were called Utsuri, and they were quite formidable indeed. Although the Guinevere had defeated one in an instant, they had not seen what these new creations were actually capable of, but now they had gotten a taste of their strength, and it was incredible.
Kallen and Zero were fighting a lone Utsuri together, and they were still having trouble with it, its Hydron Bullets made it difficult to get close to, and it was somehow able to tell where they were even if they were using their cloaking technologies.
"Well, what do you think of the Utsuri?" The pilot asked Zero and Kallen.
"Impressive I must admit, but as I've already said, we won't lose." Zero replied, taking out his Master Vibration Sword.
"Strong words, but are your Knightmares as strong as they are?" The Utsuri pilot asked and swung his M.V. Harken, the blade springing for Zero.
Zero blocked the attack with his own sword, then knocked it back, and as the Utsuri was retracting the blade, Zero flew in and tried to stab it, but the Utsuri was able to dodge it just barely, then swing the retracted sword at him. But then Kallen flew between them and stopped the sword with her perfect barrier, knocking her back.
Then Zero took his chance and flew back to a safe distance, then his energy wings began glowing. "Try this on for size; De-Charge!" Zero said as shots of electric energy shot out from the Lancelot's energy wings in a falling rain onto the Utsuri.
The Utsuri tried desperately to dodge all of the falling projectiles, but was unable to keep up and one of them hit his KnightCrawler right in the chest, and suddenly the Utsuri stopped working, and feel to the ground with a crash.
"Impossible!" The Utsuri's pilot couldn't believe what just happened.
"Kallen, his energy pack!" Zero shouted.
"Right," Kallen said, ripping the energy pack off the Utsuri before it could turn back on.
"I can't believe there were people within the army that actually supported Lelouch." Gino said as he and Anya fought with a pair of Utsuri's.
"Who they used to work for isn't important." Anya told Gino. "They are now just pawns of Infinite, and our enemies."
"Well said, Anya of the Knights of Round, but we are not pawns." One pilot corrected Anya.
"Those second rate pilots you defeating coming here were the pawns, but we who pilot an Utsuri are Infinite's Knights!" The second pilot declared proudly.
"Either way your going down; Anya!" Gino said.
"Right," Anya said, and fired dozens of mini-missiles at the Utsuri's from a distance.
"Oh please," The first Utsuri pilot said as he and his comrade charged and fired their Hydron Bullet Cannons at each missile as they came close, none of them being able to reach them.
"Do not take us lightly just because you are Knights of Round." The second pilot warned them.
"Anya," Gino said over an intercom so their opponents wouldn't hear. "I'll draw their attention in fortress mode, when you get a chance shoot them down with your Stark Hydron Cannon."
"Got it." Anya replied, and Gino changed into fortress mode, and flew past the Utsuri's.
"Wait, it's a trap, I'll take Gino Weinberg, you handle Anya Alstreim." The first pilot said, and flew off for Gino.
"Tch, they saw through my plan. Well then I guess I've got to go with plan B." Gino said, changing back to Knightmare form, then took out his MVS's and slashed toward the approaching Utsuri, sending a pair of shockwaves for, him, but he dodged them easily. The Utsuri then took out its sword and the two of them started a sword fight.
The Utsuri fighting Anya pulled out his MV Harken and shot it at her, but she was able to get out of the way just in time, then fired her Stark Hydron Cannons at him.
"I don't think so." The Utsuri pilot said, and used what looked like their own Perfect Barrier, but even when it was hit with the Hydron cannon, it wasn't struck back.
"You copied out Perfect Barrier?" Anya asked.
"Wrong, we have improved your Perfect Barrier." The pilot said. "It is now the Perfected Barrier.
"You people won't have your way!" Xingke told the Utsuri's pilot as he threw his Electronic Slash Harken toward it, but it flew up then at them, pulling its MV Harken.
"You don't have a choice in the matter!" The Utsuri pilot said as he stabbed at Xingke.
Nonette used one of her Slash Harkens to deflect the blade and other to knock the Utsuri itself to the side, then pointed her Hydron Cannons at him, and began charging. "Yes we do, and I won't forgive anyone who betrays Britannia." She told the Utsuri's pilot, and fired her Hydron Cannons at him.
The Utsuri flew to the side and out of the way as quickly as it could and charged then fired its Hydron Bullets at Nonette, who used her Perfect Barrier to block them, but was hit back into a building, at which point he turned to Xingke and fired more Hydron Bullets at him. Xingke then began spinning his Electrical Slash Harken and added the Hydron Zapper so the Hydron Bullets couldn't get past them.
"You can't keep that up forever." The Utsuri pilot told Xingke.
"He doesn't need to." Nonette said as she flew up behind the Utsuri by surprise, catching the pilot off guard and she rapped her Slash Harken around its arms and pull them back so they were facing the sides. "Now Xingke!" Nonette shouted.
"Right!" Xingke said as he flew closer to the Utsuri and rapped his Electronic Slash Harken around the Utsuri's arms and activated his Hydron Zapper to destroy both arms, making the Utsuri nearly useless.
"Take this you traitors!" Cornelia shouted as she sent her Slash Harkens out at the two Utsuri's, who spun out of the way to avoid them all. "Not yet," She said as she activated their nano-technology to make them bend back toward them again, but then the two Utsuri's pulled out their swords and deflected the Harkens.
"Hey, forgetting someone?" Nunnally called out from behind the two Utsuri's.
"You handle the Empress!" One pilot ordered. "I've got a favor to return the Princess here." He said, and flew at full speed for Nunnally.
Once they neared each other, Nunnally spun and made to kick the Utsuri, but expecting that, the Utsuri put up its Perfected Barrier to block it, also getting Nunnally off guard for a moment, in which time he dropped his barrier and punched Nunnally away, then swung his MV Harken at her, but she was able to block it with her wrist blade, then begin to charge back at the Utsuri.
"Don't come any closer!" The pilot shouted as he pointed on of his Hydron Bullet launchers at Nunnally and fired, which made Nunnally have to fly to the side and dodge.
Then the Utsuri charged at Nunnally and slashed her with his sword, but she held his attack back with her wrist blade. "Why would you do this? Why did you betray your country?" Nunnally asked the Utsuri pilot.
"I am not betraying my country, I am remaining loyal to it." The pilot replied.
"What?" Nunnally asked.
"Even before Lelouch took the throne, Britannia's goal had been to rule the world. Then when Lelouch took the throne, all of you in the royal family seemed to completely alter your way of thinking, wishing for peace in the world rather than to rule it. We who now work for Infinite realized that you in the Royal family were merely being weak!" The pilot told Nunnally with anger as he pushed her back. "We'll reawaken the dream of ruling the world with Infinite! And if you stand in our way, I won't show you any mercy!" He shouted as he pointed his Hydron Bullet launchers at her, and began charging.
"You called us of the royal family weak? But really, it is you who is weak." Nunnally told the Utsuri's pilot.
"How so?"
"When my brother took the throne, he had no intention of sharing his rule with anyone of Britannia, not even the other royal family members. While we of the royal family were in such a state of helplessness, we simply realized what we had been doing to the rest of the world all those years. You call us weak for deciding to change our view for world peace; but really, those that wish to rule the world are the weak one who are two afraid of being suppressed by the world themselves." Nunnally explained, which only enraged the Utsuri's pilot.
"How dare you call me weak! Die, Nunnally Vi Britannia!" He screamed as he shot Hydron Bullet as fast as he could.
But then Nunnally flew overhead of the Utsuri until it got behind it, then flew in at it and kicked it into the ground just like at the Academy, and it stopped operating all together.
"Well it looks like your partner has been finished off." Cornelia told her opponent, yet all the pilot did was laugh. "What's so funny?"
"Just that you think I should care about something like that." The pilot replied.
"Well it should, because that means this Ghetto is as good as ours again." Cornelia told him, but he just laughed more.
"You have misunderstood the entire point of us coming here was to make you retreat on our own." The pilot said, confusing both Cornelia and Nunnally.
"What do you mean your purpose wasn't to beat us?" Kallen asked the defeated Utsuri pilot, as he was telling her and Zero the same thing the other pilot was telling Cornelia and Nunnally.
"It's quite simple, we were sent here with the knowledge you would try to take this Ghetto back after your victory at the Academy to stall you."
"What do you mean you've just been stalling us?" Gino asked his and Anya's opponent.
"You should be able to see it on your radars any minute now." One of the Utsuri pilots fighting with them said.
"Our radars?" Anya questioned.
"Wh-what is this!" Nonette asked herself as she saw a horde of KnightCrawlers heading for them, and to make matters worse, Infinite was leading the charge.
"Attention forces of Zero!" Infinite's voice called out. "With the knowledge you would all come here, I sent my greatest troops here to stall you while we took control of the Shinjuku Ghetto." He told them all, and they were all shocked.
"Zero, what do we do?" Kallen asked in a fret.
"There's nothing we can do..." Zero said, even more shocked then anyone else. "...Everyone, retreat." He ordered, and all of them fled the Saitama Ghetto, heading back for the Knightmare hanger.