Chapter 3: White Knight into the Fray
Suzaku's POV:
This is Warrant Office Suzaku Kururugi, an honorary Britannian of Area 11, serving under the army of the Holy Britannian Empire. I maybe Japanese, but since I killed my own father, Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, I was met with a heated exchange in turning Japan over to the Britannian Empire. After my father's demise, Japan has immediately surrendered to the Britannians. I haven't told anyone that I killed my own father, so I decided to keep this a secret to myself. By joining their army, after they conquered Japan, I wish to atone for this murderous sin by getting killed on the frontlines. But for some reason, I had more to live for than to die for.
When I first met Lelouch, I didn't think he could be trusted since he used to be a Britannian Prince but after awhile he and I became the closet friends since we were 10 years old. However, for Hikaru Shidou it was a different story. She was a bit energetic and just as headstrong as I was. Since we're both Japanese, I had it easy with her. We used to go hiking together, despite Lelouch following from behind. When I learned that Hikaru does Kendo, which was taught by her elder brothers, I did some private sparing with her every week, with her Katana against my own. She may have mastered Kendo at a very young age, but I was taught by my private instructor Tohodoh of the Four Holy Swords and former member of the Japanese Liberation Front on how to use my katana effectively. Every time we duel it gets more intense than the last. It was like that Hikaru was both my friend and rival at the same time. Despite her being an Eleven, stripped of her rights as a Japanese, I noticed that Hikaru doesn't felt worried, even in the slightest. She always stayed strong, brave, and kind-hearted during the times when Hikaru and the rest of the Elevens were forced to submit to the Holy Britannian Empire, especially when getting bullied by the Britannians outside of Ashford Academy. I don't know why, but I did noticed that in the Tokyo Tower, Hikaru was praying for something that I didn't quit understand. When she met Umi and Fuu at the Tokyo Tower, they were thought of each other as friends more than I was, not that I'm jealous of them. As long as Hikaru has other friends than just me, I would do my best to continue my military campaign of changing the world through Britannia's eyes.
During my role as an Honorary Britannian, I met a young woman name Euphy. She had pink long hair with two buns and is wearing a regal pink and white dress with a rose choker. It turns out that she was the 3rd Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Euphemia li Britannia. For some reason, she was just a lot like Hikaru Shidou in similar ways, despite not being a good fighter. Other than that, Euphy sees me as not just an Honorary Britannian, but also as her destined Knight of Honor. After being rescued at the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center, Euphy was attempting to promote me as her Knight, despite Cornelia's protests against it. I guess it will be a matter of time before I will serve Euphy under this kind of circumstances.
Now that I'm working along with Lyold Asplund and Cecil Croomy in the Military Engineer Corps, I've been given an experimental Knightmare Frame of my own. It is known as the "Lancelot." I've been commandeering that Knightmare during my battles with Zero and the Black Knights. However, every time I faced them in battle, one of their Knightmares, Guren, keeps getting in my way. It was a tough battle, despite Zero being an arrogant coward who is one step ahead of us. I hope I can find a way to defeat the Black Knights and bring Zero to justice one day. But apparently, I got my hands full on another assignment and this time it does not involve the Black Knights or anywhere in Area 11.
Suzaku happens to be another student in the Ashford Academy, who is a young soldier and Knightmare pilot undercover. Just like Lelouch, Hikaru, and her friends, Suzaku is also 17 years old. Just like from his childhood, Suzaku had brown hair and green eyes. After finishing another day at school, Suzaku was about meet up with Princess Euphy when he hears his cell phone beep from one of his pockets in his school uniform. The moment Suzaku picked up his phone, he hears his boss Lloyd speaking to him.
"Good afternoon, Kururugi. How's it going at school?" Lloyd spoke in a happy tone.
"Hi Lloyd, everything is going great. What is it?" Suzaku replied before asking.
"I just received word from Prince Clovis that you are to meet him at the rift gate in the Britannian Government Bureau as soon as possible," Lloyd responded with confidence. "He said that you have another assignment outside of Area 11."
"Understood sir!" Suzaku acknowledged before putting his cell phone away.
In an instant, Suzaku got on his motorcycle from the parking lot and drove to the Government Bureau. During his trek, Suzaku couldn't help but think of Lelouch's safety. Ever since he saw Lelouch get caught up during the rebellion at Shinjuku, Suzaku couldn't allow his best friend get shot at by his fellow soldiers. However, despite getting shot at, Suzaku wakes up from the infirmary, realizing that the bullet only hit his father's pocket watch instead. As soon as he snapped out of his past thoughts about Lelouch, Suzaku arrives at the Government Bureau checkpoint. It had a security booth right next to a metal gate that can be opened from inside the booth. The moment he stopped, a Britannian Security Guard at the Security checkpoint met Suzaku up front.
"May I see you ID sir?" The guard asked Suzaku.
Without saying a word, Suzaku took out his wallet and pulled out his Military ID for the security guard to see. As the guard took the ID and looked at it and back at Suzaku for a few times, the guard scanned his ID inside the security booth, revealing Suzaku's identity and his rank in the Britannian Military before handing ID back to him.
"Welcome back, Warrant Officer Kururgi," The guard said as he greeted the Honorary Britannian. "Prince Clovis is awaiting for your arrival at the Bureau."
After acknowledging Suzaku's arrival, the security guard activated a button from inside the security booth, opening the gate as he let the Warrant Officer proceed forward to meet up with Prince Clovis and Baroness Viletta. As he makes his way to the Bureau, Suzaku sees a Gateway that's as huge as a skyscraper.
A rare mineral known as Sakuradite, which was harvested by the Britanian Empire ever since they conquered Japan, was used to power up the gateway to the fullest. The mineral was a radioactive superconductor that was used to improve advanced technology for the Britannians, such as Knightmare Frames and nuclear bombs. There were also risks while using Sakuradite for various purposes. If two pieces of this unstable ore are collided together, a massive explosion will result in its place, possibly killing hundreds or thousands of people all at once.
Shortly after the Britannians took over Japan, Emperor Charles has foreseen another world that is filled with natural-born energy that he believes to help provide stability to the Sakuradite that his subjects harvested. So, for 7 years, Charles' subjects built a massive gateway to bridge a connection to this new world that he was seeing in his visions. After finishing the gateway, they used the sakuradite to activate it. As soon as the gateway started functioning, it revealed a whole new world on the other side. It happens to be none other than Cephiro, the land of will. When Charles sent a fleet of his best exploration teams led by his son Prince Clovis to scout the new world, they were met by a group of wary inhabitants.
At first Prince Clovis wanted to greet them with a warm welcome and that they don't mean any harm. After giving it some thought, one of the village mayors let Clovis in for some diplomatic negotiations. However, Clovis abused his hospitality when he offered Cephiro to submit to the Holy Britannian Empire for their infinite energy resources as well as their land. Upon hearing such harsh demands, the Cephirians did not want to give up their land that easily, saying that they wanted to rebuild their world there own way without being controlled anymore and that they were just recovering after dealing with a four-way invasion. Unfortunately, by the approval of his father, Clovis ordered some of his men to raid the villagers of their crops and supplies. Enraged by such atrocities, the Cephirians have started fighting back but with futile results against Clovis and his men. By the order of Emperor Charles, the Britannians have declared an all-out war against Cephiro, in hopes of taking the land and its energy resources by force.
At the huge gateway, Suzaku introduced himself to Prince Clovis, Princess Euphy, and Baroness Viletta. As he approached the two royals and baroness, Suzaku immediately bowed down to them before they began his mission briefing.
"Warrant Office Kururugi," Prince Clovis said as he announced the Honorary Britannian of his name. "Today, you have been called forth because we have a bit of a situation back in Cephiro."
"Yes, your highness?" Suzaku asked out of curiosity.
"Baroness Nu will be the one to fill you out the details of what you'll be up against, while she and I go undercover to seek answers revolving around them," Prince Clovis said as he continued with his speech.
"During our previous raid upon one of Cephiro's villages, three unidentified Knightmare Frames appeared from the sky and laid waste to my entire squad of Britannian soldiers. Half of them were captured and brought into their custody," Viletta explained towards Suzaku. "The villagers and Cephirian guards were addressing them as the Magic Knights. I may need your help in dealing with them as well as buying us some time to investigate who and what these Knights really are."
"And you'll need your Lancelot when dealing with them," Prince Clovis added. "Since they put up quite a fight against our men, we may need to deliver them an even more bigger challenge. Are you up for it?"
"Yes, your majesty!" Suzaku acknowledge as he saluted the Britannian Prince.
"Remember, you are to escort us to one of the nearby village taverns while hiding inside the forest," Viletta said as she issued out orders to Suzaku. "If the Magic Knights show up, you are to neutralize them at all costs. As soon as they get taken down, we capture whoever is piloting them and bring them into our custody. Are we clear?"
"Understood, baroness!" Suzaku replied.
"Good, we'll begin the preparations at once!" Clovis told the Warrant Officer.
As Viletta and Clovis are getting ready to pack up before proceeding onto their escort corvette, Suzaku could not help but wonder what will these so-called Magic Knights be throwing at him. From apart of what he was thinking, Suzaku is getting a very strong feeling that this enemy they speak of might also be his friend from long ago. At the locker room, inside the Government Bureau, Suzaku discarded his school uniform and dressed up into his white Britannian pilot uniform. But before he could leave the lockroom, he was met by Princess Euphemia li Britannia.
"Suzaku?" Princess Euphy asked her beloved knight.
"Yes, Euphy?" Suzaku asked the young Britannian Princess.
"Please, take care of my brother at the other world," Euphy told the Honorary Britannian. "There's no telling what kind of threats will they start posing at you."
"Understood, Euphy," Suzaku acknowledged before heading out to meet his Knightmare Frame.
At the hanger, Suzaku sees Lancelot all geared up and ready to go. It happens to be a white Knightmare Frame armed with two Maser Vibration Swords, four Slash Harken Blades, and a VARIS particle rifle. Upon seeing his Knightmare Frame, Suzaku approached it and made his way into its cockpit.
"I wonder what kind of surprises do these so-called Magic Knights have up their sleeves?" Suzaku thought to himself as he went inside his Lancelot.
After several minutes of packing up, Viletta and Clovis went inside their escort corvette, followed by Lancelot, before proceeding to the Sukuradite powered-up gateway.
Meanwhile, back at the Castle, the Magic Knights escorted the villagers through the main gate, while several of their guards and Lafarga went on patrol at the garrisons. As for Lantis and Ferio, they took a platoon of guards and archers to help the Magic Knights and their Rune Gods secure most of the villages in the eastern sections of Cephiro. After several hours of carrying out their escorting missions, it became nightfall. The Magic Knights decided to have dinner at the castle mess hall. Soon after dinner, Hikaru was able to meet up with Mokona, the little white rabbit-like creature, and Primera, the little fairy that was hanging around with Lantis a few years back. Upon seeing the two little creatures again, Hikaru noticed that they were both getting along quite well for some reason.
"Hey Hikaru, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Primera spoke to the red-haired knight.
"I didn't think you and Mokona were able to get along so soon like that," Hikaru said acknowledging the situation that the fairy and the rabbit are in.
"Well, when that ball of fluff was protecting me, I couldn't help but compliment his actions, despite the time when he swallowed me and jumped on me more than once," Primera said out of embarrassment. "Not that it matters, I do want to apologize for not understanding you like last time. Lantis told me that he actually had feelings for you, especially when he gave you that gold pendant. I should've known better than to get in his way like that, if you know what I mean."
"It was nothing Primera," Hikaru said as she blushed to herself.
"Puu Puu!" Mokona squeaked as he jumped onto Hikaru's arms.
"Did you miss me, Mokona?" Hikaru asked the little ball of fluff, chuckling to herself while embracing the little rabbit.
"Puu!" Mokona replied in a gloomy tone.
After hugging Mokona in her arms, Hikaru heard a guard approaching her from behind.
"Lady Hikaru!" The commander spoke in a serious tone. "Lord Clef wishes to speak with you in his private chambers."
As soon as she heard what the Royal Guard Commander just said, Hikaru dropped Mokona onto the floor before moving on. While being escorted to Clef's chambers, Hikaru felt relieved that she was able to get her hopes up again now that she is serving Cephiro as their Magic Knights once again. However, since she and her friends are now fighting against the Britannians and their combat machines, Hikaru may get an uneasy feeling that her actions may cost her friendships with some of the Britannian students at school, such as Milly Ashford, Shirely Fettel, and Lelouch vi Britannia. If they find out that Hikaru, as an Eleven, happens to be one of the Magic Knights, they might turn her over to the authorities for multiple counts of terrorism, just like when the Black Knights were opposing against the Holy Britannian Empire for the sake of their former Japanese homeland. For her friends, Umi and Fuu, they might also get involved with this terrorist act as well. In addition, it may also affect how will their parents and siblings think of them now. Will they survive another battle without attracting too much attention from their fellow Elevens and the Britannians revolving around being Magic Knights or will they get caught and publicly executed by the Britannian Government.
"Are you feeling okay, Pillar?" The Commander asked out of concern.
As she heard the commander's question, Hikaru snapped out of her own fearful thoughts about her future now. Upon seeing the commander in person, Hikaru recognized him during her first fight with the Britannians. This time, the commander was holding onto a crutch with his right arm while supporting his injured knee with moving around.
"I'm fine," Hikaru replied exasperatedly. "Though, I'm not sure what will happen if I get caught by the Britannians."
"Is it because they saw you as a lowly citizen in you own world at first sight?" The commander asked, giving Hikaru a little bit more anxiety.
"Not just a lowly citizen, but as a lowly Eleven," Hikaru responded in a grim tone. "If they found out that it was me that attacked their men back at that village, they'll arrest me as soon as I get back to my own world."
"It's alright, my lady!" The commander said while sympathizing the flame knight. "Since we've already known you for over three years, we'll always stand by your side out onto the battlefield. If we were to survive the destruction of our land thanks to you Magic Knights, then we can handle the invaders without any trouble."
"I hope you're right, commander!" Hikaru said to the Guard Commander, not wanting to doubt his duties as a Cephirian Military officer. "By the way, I never got your name just yet."
"I'm Commander Topaz, Lady Hikaru." The commander spoke in a calm voice. "It's been a pleasure to meet you during the war against Britannia, though it was a late introduction."
"Oh think nothing of it, Topaz." Hikaru replied with a smile on her face.
After their brief conversation in the hallways, Hikaru and Topaz reached Clef's private chambers to discuss on what they're going to do next. The moment they entered the chambers, they see Clef looking at the map surrounding the Castle of Cephiro.
"So Clef, what's next?" Hikaru asked, trying to have the Master Mage get to the point.
"Our scouts were able to collect some valuable info about our new enemy thanks to our Autozamian allies," Clef explained to Hikaru as he raised his staff to bring up a small screen to display the robots that they have face earlier.
"The robots that you and your friends fought back there were called Knightmare Frames. They're similar to that of the fighting mecha from Autozam, except that they were powered up by an unstable resource known as Sakuradite, unlike their mental energies. They come with all sorts of Knightmare variants that fly and move with wheels behind their legs. But it won't be the last we'll see from them. They'll try to send in more of their Knightmare Frames to oppose us and they'll come back more stronger and faster than ever."
"So, how do you think we'll be able to defeat them?" Hikaru asked, concerning over the battles that will lie ahead of her and the Magic Knights.
"Since you have helped us capture some of those invaders during your first counterattack, we were able to scavenge their wrecked Knightmares for some valuable parts," Commander Topaz added in. "Now that Autozam is our ally, we managed to turn that stuff over to them so that they can decipher who are we really up against from the Britannians. But it may take a little bit more time before we can rebuild and operate those machines."
"Well what about us, the Magic Knights?" Hikaru asked. "We may need to help improve our Rune Gods with the components that we scavenged from those fallen Knightmares."
"Again, it'll take time for us to see something like that occur into a reality," Topaz acknowledged Hikaru's question. "Since the Autozamians onboard Battleship NSX have finally arrived, they already started working on building new machines for us immediately. For now, just try to keep the Britannian Knightmare Frames at bay until it will be your turn."
"I understand, commander!" Hikaru replied as she started feeling a little disappointed.
In one of the isolated villages in Cephiro, a disguised Viletta and Prince Clovis infiltrated the area, dressed up in ragged clothing and wearing big hats on top of their heads. While under their disguises, they did their best not to attract too much attention with the Cephirians residing in the village. As for Suzaku, he was hiding inside the forest, next to his Lancelot, while keeping a close eye on the two Britannians with his binoculars. In a few minutes of walking around in the village, Viletta and Clovis spotted an Inn a few meters west of their position. Not wanting to stand around, Clovis directed Viletta into the Inn while Suzaku kept his eye out for any other villagers.
As they went inside, Viletta and Clovis sat at a nearby table. Across from where they're sitting at, the two disguised Britannians hear a group of Cephirian villagers talking to each other: a tall blond-haired man with a white moustache, an elderly woman with short amber hair, and a guard captain that happens to be none other than Lafarga. As they sat together eating bread and drinking beer, they started laughing at each before making their conversation.
"Did you hear Lafarga? Those Magic Knights were able to save us just in time!" The Elderly woman spoke in excitement.
"I know right?" Lafarga replied with a small smile on his face. "If it hadn't been for those girls from the other world, we would end up fighting a losing battle."
"Girls from the other world?" Viletta and Clovis said inside their heads.
Upon hearing what the Guard Captain said from his first sentence, Viletta is wondering if those girls could be from Area 11, the very same place where the Holy Britannia Empire is occupying. If so, there maybe a good chance that the Baroness and the rest of her fellow Britannians may be facing another different group of terrorists apart from the Black Knights and the Japanese Liberation Front. As for Prince Clovis, he still is finding the conversation of the three Cephirians more than just interesting.
"I'm also grateful that their Rune Gods were able to smash those rotten machines in a heartbeat," The blond-haired man said as he drank another beer. "It serves those damn invaders right!"
"So, those unidentified Knightmare Frames that I saw back there are actually Rune Gods, huh?" Viletta muttered to herself. "If I didn't know any better, I would've thought we would be dealing with something more unexpected than just the Black Knights' Knightmare Frames."
Before Viletta could hear anymore, she noticed that Prince Clovis disappeared from the table that she is sitting next to. As she turned her face around, Viletta spotted Clovis getting into the conversation with Lafarga and the two villagers. Not wanting to blow their cover, Viletta got out of her seat and marched straight towards Clovis immediately.
"So guys, what do you know about the Magic Knights so far?" Clovis said while under the guise of a ragged commoner.
"Well, only those from another world had the will to become the Legendary Magic Knights," Lafarga told the disguised Britannian, not aware of his presence. "And those who were closer to Princess Emeraude back then know the whole story behind these young female warriors."
"Really?! Like who?" Clovis said, trying to tempt the guard captain to squeeze more info.
Before Lafarga could say anymore, Viletta appeared right behind Clovis and grabbed him in the arm.
"I'm dreadfully sorry about this, sir!" Viletta apologized as she pulled Clovis away from the three Cephirians. "You have to excuse him, he can get a little too obsessed with foreign natives like yourselves."
As Viletta pulled Clovis outside of the Inn, the Britannian Prince turned around to face the baroness. Before Clovis could say anything, Viletta started scolding him for his immediate actions.
"Clovis, you can't just waltz into their conversation like that! We're only eavesdropping on what they know about the Magic Knights for now!" Viletta hissed at the Britannain Prince.
"Well excuse me for being social Viletta but we need some witnesses that might know who the Magic Knights really are?" Clovis protested in silence.
"We still need to be careful around Cephiro, they almost took me down back there!" Viletta continued. "If they catch us spying on them, it's all over for us!"
Unknown to Viletta and Clovis, Caldina came out of a nearby Bar behind the Inn after winning another gambling bet from one of the village nobles. As the Chizetian carried a bag full of gold over her shoulders, she spotted the Viletta and Clovis talking to each other in a suspicious tone of voice. Upon seeing them on sight, Caldina stared at them with a stern look on her face.
"I wonder what those two clowns are up to?" Caldina muttered to herself as she approached them from behind.
As soon as Viletta and Clovis spotted Caldina come up behind them, they stared at each other before either of them could say anything.
"I don't think I seen you two in Cephiro before, are you new here?" Caldina asked the disguised Viletta and Clovis out of curiosity.
"Well, we're just interested in hearing the stories of the Magic Knights. " Clovis replied out of embarrassment, while Viletta smacked herself in the forehead. "Do you know anything about them?
"Well, all I can say is, that the three little Missies are really great friends of mine," Caldina cackled. "In fact, I got Magic Knight of Wind to thank for the most because she showed me that, after my defeat, I was convinced that there's usually something that is worth more valuable than just gold for instance. When Ascot got in my way during the time when I was facing them in battle, he actually had is own reasons into doing so. It turns out that Ascot still cares about me despite his childish behavior way back when."
"So do you know their names?" Clovis blurted out before Viletta started interrupting his conversation with the Chizetian.
"Sorry about that, ma'am!" Viletta apologized sheepishly while pulling Clovis away. "But I think we overstayed our welcome here."
As Viletta and Clovis immediately left the area, it gave Caldina a big question mark floating above her head. After the two disappear from plain sight, Lafarga came out of the Inn and glared at the disguised Viletta.
"Uh Caldina? Don't you think that women is acting suspicious for some reason and that you're getting way in over your head?" Lafarga asked the female dancer. "She looks very familiar."
"What do you mean by…?" Caldina asked before something popped up inside her head. "Oopsies! It seems that I said too much to her about Fuu Houoji."
"I'd rather be careful on what to say if I were you, Caldina." Lafarga warned the Chizetian. "Those two are up to something."
Meanwhile, at the tower entrance of the Castle of Cephiro, Geo Metro and Zazu Torque appeared with an escort of Autozamian troops.
Geo was seen as a tall-muscular man with short black hair. Underneath his chin, Geo has a little "X" on it. On his head, Geo wears a band that has a blue orb with a wire attached to it from his back. He used to be Commander Eagle Vision's second-in-command of the Battleship NSX, who is good-natured and loyal towards him since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, after learning of Eagle's death upon the battlefield three years ago, Geo was promoted as the sub-commander of the NSX and is the pilot of the GTO fighting mecha.
As Zazu Torque appeared from behind Geo, he was seen as a little boy who is just a few feet taller than Hikaru was. He happens to be the youngest crewmember and mechanic onboard the NSX. Before they begun their attack upon Cephiro, Geo, Zazu, and Eagle were once friends with Lantis.
Unfortunately, during their invasion, they were fighting against Hikaru and the Magic Knights due to their beliefs until Eagle got captured. Eventually, after Eagle went back to the NSX, he made a pact with Cephiro vowing that whether or not Eagle became the pillar, Clef promised to aid Autozam in being rebuilt, so that the country will not fall apart. Since Eagle's last wish was to have Geo and Zazu protect Cephiro with the NSX, they made their move against Lady Debonair during the final battle. Shortly after the Magic Knights left, in regards to their victory, the Cephirians and Clef were able to use their magic to help restore Autozam, the way they restore Cephiro. From that day forward, Autozam became one and whole for years to come.
Despite the years of peace, when Autozam has received word from a Cephirian messenger that a new invading army, known as the Holy Britannian Empire, began attacking Cephiro from another dimension. By the order of the new government system of Autozam, Geo has been given the right to lead his forces to help the Cephirians engage this new threat at once. Geo knew that he had to go help Lantis and Hikaru deal with the invaders for the sake of his deceased commander. So, he made preparations for his GTO and the NSX before heading back to Cephiro.
As of now, Geo and Zazu were able to analyze the data that they have received from the Cephirians, revolving around the Knightmare Frames that the Magic Knights have defeated. For the prisoners they have captured, they were being interrogated inside the prison area below the Castle of Cephiro.
On board the NSX, Hikaru, Lantis, Clef, and Geo were all standing behind Zazu while he was examining the Knightmare data from his computer. After looking at the data on his computer and learning what they have discovered while interrogating their POW's at the Castle, Zazu eventually summarized it all.
"From what I learned about these new enemy machines, the Knightmare Frames were first addressed conventional vehicles during the first age. In the second age, they started adding new technology by the order of a private group known as the Ashford Foundation. The term "Knightmare" was addressed by the Britannian Army, while their civilians addressed it as "Frame" due to it's non-offensive equipment. They were used for combat since the third age. This time, a mineral called Sakuradite powered them up. As a result, the Knightmare Frames were able to perform various, devastating moves. At the fourth age, they unleashed their first Knightmares upon the battlefield back in your own world, Hikaru."
"So those Knightmare Frames that attack my world seven years ago were….." Hikaru said to herself.
"They were called RPI-11 Glasgows. That was just the beginning of their machine creations," Zazu explained to the Knight of Fire. "They're usually armed with rocket-propelled anchors called Slash Harkens. While on the move, they use self-propelled roller skates attached to their ankles called "Landspinners" to get around places. However, there's more than one generation of Knightmares being deployed on the battlefield and they use more powerful weaponry to do away their opponents with little or no effort. The higher their generation, the more powerful these Knightmares really are. Every pilot that takes control of these robots is usually inside the "hump back" compartment that lies on each Knightmare's back. Sometimes, when defeated, they eject themselves from their destroyed Knightmare, by shooting out their "hump back" cockpit out of their machine."
"Well, how is that these Knightmares are being powered up by Sakuradite?" Geo and Clef asked in unison.
"Inside each Knightmare, they're powered up by a Yggdrasil Drive. Since their power is limited, they can only be recharged by a Sakuradite Energy Filler while in the middle of a battle and out of harms way," Zazu explained further. "Right now, were dealing with the 5th Generation of Knightmare Frames. And the ones that you and the other Magic Knights have fought earlier were called Sutherlands."
"Sutherlands, eh?" Hikaru asked out of curiosity.
"Most of these Knightmares can come in more than one variant, used with a different kind of combat role, like aerial or sniper for instance. So, it's best to watch out on what they're doing. There's no telling what kind of weapons will they be throwing at us. They're also equipped with L307 Reinforced Tungsten metal armor plating, making them invulnerable against the weapons that the Cephirians have right now."
"That explains why our men couldn't make a dent on those enemy robots," Lantis muttered to himself in a cautious tone.
"We still need to find a way to capture some of these Knightmares for scavenging and rebuilding them. So that the armies of Cephiro can gain control of them while helping the Magic Knights on the battlefield." Clef suggested to Zazu and Geo.
"Well, we do need someone who has experience in piloting these robots first, as well as someone that can provide the technology for us to use. Someone who we can trust as our new ally." Geo informed the Master Mage.
"Hikaru, do you know if you had any friends back in your world that can show us how all of this is really done?" Clef asked the ruby-flame knight.
"Not that I know of yet, Clef," Hikaru said, disappointing the rest of her friends. "I'll let you know if I do and bring them in as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Hikaru."Clef said acknowledging her response.
Before anyone could say anything else, one of the Autozamian officers appeared on deck. Upon seeing him at first sight, Geo was the first to salute to his fellow officer, while he saluted back at the sub-command.
"At ease, officer." Geo spoke in a calm tone.
"Sir, we've just received a report that some suspicious people and a White Knightmare Frame were spotted in another village a few kilometers south of the Castle," The officer said, informing Geo Metro.
"Zazu, prepare my GTO!" Geo ordered the young mechanic while heading to the hanger. "Hikaru, are you ready to rock and roll?"
"I don't see why not!" Hikaru said, in an excited tone of voice.
"Hikaru, please be careful out there. We still don't know how strong they really are yet." Clef told the ruby-flame knight in a worried tone.
"You know I will, Clef." Hikaru acknowledged as she, Lantis, Zazu, and Geo left the bridge.
Outside of the NSX, Hikaru finds herself inside her Rune God once again. Only this time, Geo and his GTO will be accompanying her on the battlefield without the other two Magic Knights. Umi and Selece went with Ascot and his beasts to escort the villagers up North, while Fuu, Windam, and Ferio went to secure the villages in the west, accompanied by a platoon of soldiers riding on huge, four-winged eagles.
As Rayearth and Hikaru waited outside, they see Lantis mounted on his black horse. It had blue flames and is summoned by Lantis' magic whenever he goes places outside of Cephiro's Castle. Despite Lantis' horse having four hooves, it was able to hover in mid-air, a few feet from where Rayearth is hovering.
Before Hikaru could say anything, she spots Geo's GTO shoot up straight into the sky with light-speed from the NSX. It was a green, armored fighting mecha, armed with a huge cannon. On its back, the GTO is equipped with two wing-like thrusters. Impressed to see Geo helping her out, along with Lantis, Hikaru couldn't help but feel relieved that she is getting support from her Magic Swordsman boyfriend and the sub-commander.
"Hikaru, Lantis, can you hear me?!" Geo asked while speaking through his mecha.
"Yes, Geo. Loud and clear!" Hikaru and Lantis responded in unison.
"Good, now follow me guys and stay close," Geo said to Hikaru and Lantis as he moved his GTO towards the south of their position.
As the GTO flew ahead of them, Rayearth and Lantis followed Geo from behind.
Meanwhile, in the forest behind the southern village, Viletta and Clovis were able to record most of the information in their datalogs with Viletta's laptop, with Suzaku watching them.
"Young women from another world, huh?!" Suzaku muttered to himself after hearing what the baroness just said. "Do you think it may be from somewhere in Area 11?"
"Its possible warrant officer, but we still don't know who yet," Prince Clovis replied in a grim tone. "It could be anyone."
"Well, we still better not let our guard down just because they're women," Viletta told the Prince and the Warrant Officer. "If they were more than a match for our Knightmares, then it could spell disaster to our campaign in Cephiro."
"Then, we might as well capture some prisoners to interrogate," Suzaku suggested the baroness.
"Okay, I'm able to send the data straight to the Britannian Government Bureau back in Area 11," Viletta told the Honorary Britannian and the Britannian Prince. "Let's head back to our ship before we attract any unwanted attention."
As soon as Suzaku went back into his Lancelot, Viletta and Clovis climbed on top of it before the Knightmare moved on it's two wheels, deeper into the forest. While trekking through the dense woods, unknown to the three Britannians that they were being watched by Lafarga, Caldina, and their men from the other side of the forest. As he looked closely at one of the Britannians, Lafarga glared at Prince Clovis with intent to kill.
"Well, if it isn't that spoiled, selfish Prince Clovis of Britannia!" Lafarga growled to himself as he drew out his sword. "I didn't think he'll be back to spy on us after making that selfish demand back there."
Lafarga's Flashback: Several Months Earlier before the Magic Knights arrived
"Greetings, Guard Captain of Cephiro. My name is Clovis vi Britannia, the Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire!" The ecstatic Royal announced to Lafarga.
"I am Captain Lafarga of Cephiro's Royal Guard!" Lafarga said in a serious tone before introducing his Cephirian nobles and friends next. "And this is Prince Ferio of Cephiro and Master Mage Clef."
Behind Lafarga, he is accompanied by a large squad of soldiers armed with halberds, along with a handful of archers. Right next to Lafarga, is Prince Ferio and Master Mage Clef of Cephiro, with both of their weapons holstered behind their backs.
"Why don't we come inside first before we discuss our diplomatic negotiations, shall we?" Clovis suggested to the stalwart Guard Captain.
After for a few minutes of silence, Captain Lafarga and his men let Clovis inside the Mayor's house before discussing their terms. As soon as they sat down, Prince Clovis is sitting across from where the mayor and Lafarga at at, with both of their guards standing right behind them.
"My father, Emperor Charles vi Britannia, has foreseen a bright new world filled with raw powerful energy from within. We ask for some assistance in rebuilding our nation with the use of your energy resources." Clovis suggested to the Cephirian nobles.
"Why should we?" Prince Ferio asked as he gave Clovis a serious look on his face. "We were already struggling to help bring peace and prosperity after several years of war and confusion amongst our fellow natives."
"The Holy Britannian Empire is referred to as the defeated remnants of our British Empire. We're also struggling to rebuild our nation by conquering 1/3 of the entire world, making them bow at our knees." Clovis explained further. "We're also interested in securing resource deposits from around the world, starting from Pendragon, our capital."
"Well, don't you think that we already had enough in dealing with more than one country?" Ferio said while protesting against Clovis' decree.
"My father heard great stories that the legendary Magic Knights helped saved Cephiro from time to time. After they left, abolishing the Pillar System that once controlled that world, we thought for sure that anyone in that country can rebuild it in there own way, as well as sharing some of its resources to other countries that needed it, right?" Clovis continued.
"That's only possible if those countries are allies of ours!" Clef responded in a serious tone. "Since the leaders of Autozam, Chizeta, and Fahren have yielded to us, despite their invasions years ago, we did our best to reinforce and rebuild their countries under peaceful terms, as payment for helping us end the war altogether. Your country, however, is still being called into question, since we don't know anything about the Holy Britannian Empire yet."
"Oh come on, Clef. You country has a unique environment that leaves us Britannians very curious on all accounts of life," Clovis said, trying to persuade the Master Mage with his silver tone.
"If that's true, then how did your people behave when they first entered the other countries before ours? Did your people conquer those lands by force or by peaceful diplomacy?" Ferio asked, pressurizing the Britannian Prince mentally.
"We happened to be the world's dominant military superpower, while most of the countries we conquered were turned into numbered areas, and addressing its citizens into numbers. After we conquered Japan, for instance, we named it Area 11 and its citizens addressed as elevens." Clovis explained. "There was some political and economic disputes in the countries that we have entered. Of course, they refused on us, so we made a bit of forceful act that made them submit to us entirely. With that said, we have no intention letting anyone else, other than the Britannians, gain any power or freedom, for it will just make our nation unnecessary."
"Are you trying to say that your country will be planning to strip us of everything that Cephiro is working very hard to achieve?" Ferio asked, feeling enraged of where is Clovis is getting at.
"Sorry Clovis, but we have no intention of giving up Cephiro to you and your people." Clef protested against the Britannian Prince. "Cephiro already has suffered enough when it was tearing itself apart due to the consequences brought by the Pillar System. To think that you'll start naming us into a different kind of society with a specified number and taking our power away when it was just meant to protect everything that we believed in; it's just going to make things worse for us."
"Well what about the three neighboring countries that entered your country? What were they after?" Clovis asked the Master Mage.
"They were competing against each other to see which country will be the one to conquer Cephiro and taking control of the Pillar system, as their newest Pillar," Clef replied in a grim tone. "We didn't fight it out in front of their faces just to make them stop invading Cephiro; it was thanks to the Magic Knights that they were convinced that becoming the Pillar has its major disadvantages. When doing so, they're not allowed to fall in love with anyone but the land itself. So, they eventually gave up their invasions that decided to fight for us to the bitter end."
"That's all in the past, isn't it? Over and done!" Clovis concluded after hearing Clef's speech. "Well, I got something to show you all that will be the error of your ways if you don't submit to the Holy Britannian Empire."
At the snap of his fingers, Clovis summoned one of his guards to bring in a small box to the table. As soon as the small box was brought forth, Clovis opened it up revealing something that almost made Prince Ferio and Clef vomit. It was a couple of severe heads of the slain leaders from the previous countries!
After a few minutes of taking deep breaths and avoiding vomiting all over the floor, Clef and Ferio turned towards Clovis to face him with anger in their eyes.
"You dare bring the heads of conquered leaders to our country, as a grim warning?!" Ferio snarled as he was about to draw out his huge crescent sword from his scabbard.
"If you want to do this the hard way, so be it!" Clovis smirked as he got off from his seat and left the Mayor's house. "Next time we meet, you better be ready because since you won't submit to us, we Britannians have declare war upon Cephiro!"
After Prince Clovis and his guards left the Mayor's office, Lafarga gave them a hostile look followed by an angry glare, thinking that it will not be the last he'll see from them.
Back to the present:
After remembering that horrible flashback, Lafarga could not help but worry for the lives of his fellow Cephirians and Caldina. As of now, the guard captain needed to stop the Britannians from gathering information on the Magic Knights for it may put the young girls from the other world in more danger, not just in Cephiro but also in their own world as well.
"Sergeant! Take a regiment of guards with you and surround them at the open field ahead of them!" Lafarga whispered orders to one of his officers.
"Yes sir!" The sergeant whispered back before drawing out his sword while moving on.
On the other side of the forest, Viletta, Clovis, and the Lancelot are about to make their way back to the ship when all of a sudden, a platoon of Cephirian Guards and Archers appeared at the open field, aiming their spears, bows, and crossbows at them.
"It's the Cephirian Soldiers!" Clovis freaked out.
"I'll take care of them!" Viletta acknowledged as she drew out her handgun.
As soon as Viletta jumped off the Lancelot, a squad of her soldiers popped out of the bushes from inside the forest behind her. In an instant, the Cephirian Soldiers charged straight at Viletta and her men in a full-frontal assault.
"OPEN FIRE!" Viletta shouted as she fired her handgun at the charging guards.
Upon hearing her orders, the Britannian soldiers started firing at the Cephirian Guards with their assault rifles. However, some of the guards took out their shields to defend themselves against enemy fire while their archers shot out their arrows and crossbow bolts at them. Some of the guards used charged up their halberds and shot out lighting bolts at the Britannian invaders. While the battle ensued, the Lancelot used its energy shield to defend itself against the Cephirians while protecting Prince Clovis onboard the Knightmare Frame and moving straight to the extraction point.
"Suzaku! Take us out of here!" Prince Clovis shrieked as he held onto the Lancelot.
"Yes, your majesty!" Suzaku acknowledged as he drove the Lancelot to their destination.
As for Viletta, she shot several Cephirian Guards with her handgun before they started closing into her position. Just when the guards came closer to the Britannian soldiers, they engaged the Cephirians in close combat while drawing out their combat knifes and machetes. After Viletta took out several guards with her handgun, she made various disarming and self-defense attacks at those who were about to attack her with their swords and spears. As the fight became intense, Viletta looks up to see Rayearth heading towards the position that the Lancelot and Prince Clovis are at. Upon seeing the Red Rune God again, along with another unidentified flying robot with a huge cannon, Viletta activated her intercom to contact Suzaku.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, you got trouble coming in from behind!" Viletta said as she tried to warn the Honorary Britannian.
As soon as the Lancelot dropped off Prince Clovis onboard their ship, Rayearth landed right behind the Knightmare Frame, drawing out its Escudo Broadsword with its shield raised up front. For the GTO, it landed next to Rayearth aiming its cannon at Lancelot.
Upon seeing them from the rear camera in his cockpit, Suzaku steered the Lancelot towards the two robots as he drew out one of his Maser Vibration Swords before engaging them into combat.
"So, that must be one of the Rune Gods that attacked the Baroness' squad earlier!" Suzaku muttered to himself. "I don't know how these Magic Knights were able to defend Cephiro against us but I'll show them a thing or two."
In an instant, the Lancelot charged forward with its MVS in its right hand. Upon seeing the White Knightmare makes its first move, Hikaru had little time to react when she raised her shield to block the Lancelot's sword in a heartbeat. Upon impact, Rayearth started skidding backwards as the physical strength of the Lancelot was pushing him back. Before the Lancelot could attack again, Hikaru responded by making a vertical slash with her broadsword only for it to move backwards with its two wheels behind its legs.
"Man, that thing is just as fast as Eagle's FTO," Hikaru thought as she charged forward.
"FLAME ARROW!"
Upon calling forth one of her Fire Spells, Hikaru unleashed a huge fiery missile at the Lancelot. In less than a second, the Lancelot raises its energy shields up high to block Rayearth's flame arrow. Unfortunately, by the time Rayearth's magic struck Lancelot's energy shield, it made an explosion in front of the shield, rending the Knightmare to stagger backwards and cause a vibration inside Suzaku's cockpit.
In retaliation, the Lancelot pulled out a Varis Rifle and aimed it at Rayearth. With just one squeeze from the trigger of the rifle, it unleashed powerful beam at the Rune God. Seeing such firepower closing in on her, Hikaru charged up her Escudo Sword, emitting white flames coming out of her blade. With just one swing, Hikaru's sword unleashed a torrent of white flames at the incoming beam. Upon impact, it exploded in a blinding flash that made Suzaku cover up his eyes in hopes of avoiding it's powerful light.
"Jesus, that Rune God is so not a pushover!" Suzaku thought.
Before his Lancelot could attack Rayearth anymore, Suzaku spots a dark-green armored robot flying up into the air and fired several shots from its huge shoulder cannon. It was GTO. In response to the incoming fire, Suzaku moved the Lancelot to skid and steer around the open area, evading the enemy cannon fire as its shells exploded on the ground, inches away from where the white Knightmare is at.
"HOLD STILL YOU BRITANNIAN VERMIN!" Geo snarled in frustration as he activated the grappling hooks from the GTO's shoulder pads.
In response to the incoming grappling hooks coming from the GTO, the Lancelot fired both of its Slasher Harkens at them, knocking both hooks off course.
Meanwhile, during the fight between Lafarga's men and Viletta's soldiers, the Britannian soldiers became badly outnumbered from two to one as they were getting attacked from both behind and up front by two Cephirian guards. Not wanting to suffer another massacre again, Viletta ordered her troops to fall back to the Britannian ship and regroup with Suzaku and Prince Clovis. Before Viletta could catch up to her fellow soldiers, Lantis appeared from behind as he shoots out a small beam of light inches from where she was standing.
"Where do you think you're going Britannian?" Lantis asked warily as he aimed his blue light saber at the baroness.
"I don't know why would you people be rooting for the Magic Knights. If I ever find out who they really are, I'll be heading straight for a noble seating back in Britannia after I capture them and bring them to the Emperor himself!" Viletta smirked as she aimed her handgun at the Magic Swordsman.
In less than a second, Viletta started several shots of her handgun at Lantis. In one quick motion with his hand, Lantis warded off the enemy fire with his magical barrier shield and charged straight at the baroness with both of his hands onto his sword. Unfortunately, after Lantis made several sweeps with his sword, Viletta kept doing all sorts of back flips, dodging the blade before stepping onto his black-armored shoulder pads. At the same time, Viletta jumped off Lantis' shoulder pads and did a forward flip before landing on the ground with both of her feet. As Viletta turned around, she fired more shots at Lantis, aiming straight for his back. Then again, Lantis casted his barrier shield, with Lafarga appearing next to the baroness.
The moment Lafarga raised his sword up high, he struck at the ground and unleashed a pressurized wave of destruction heading towards Viletta. The moment Viletta saw Lafarga's attack closing in on her, she jumped up high, missing the wave by mere inches from where her feet are. As soon as Viletta landed on her two feet again, she sees both of the swordsmen staring straight at her, with their swords pointing at her face.
"Were not going to let you get in their way because they saved our country more than once. So if you think you're going to get away after eavesdropping on what we know about the Magic Knights, you should be ashamed for encouraging such selfish greed and lust for power," Lafarga hissed as he appeared behind Lantis while drawing out his sword.
"I'll show you selfish greed!" Viletta cackled as she hurled a smoke grenade at both of the swordsmen.
As soon as the grenade hit the ground, a huge cloud of smoke appeared before Lantis and Lafarga. During the confusion, Viletta ran off before catching up to her men.
"I'm pretty sure that it will not be the last we'll see from that Britannian witch," Lantis assumed as he put his sword back underneath his black cape.
At the open field on where the Britannian ship is, Prince Clovis spotted two huge ships hovering above the sky from one of the ship's monitors. Upon seeing this, the Britannian Prince opened up his royal, private channel to warn his subjects of this new presence.
Back at the open field, after the Lancelot repelled the GTO's hooks with its Slasher Harkens, the white Knightmare returned fire with its VARIS Rifle as it fired several powerful beams at the Green Mecha. After dodging the rail shots while in mid-air, the GTO zeroed into the Lancelot and drew out its laser sword coming out from its right gauntlet. In less than a minute, the Lancelot activated its energy shield to block the GTO's laser sword immediately. During the struggle to keep the Lancelot's guard up, Suzaku was feeling overwhelmed when fighting against two huge robots all at once.
"What the hell is that thing?" Suzaku muttered to himself, mentioning the green mecha closing in onto his Knightmare Frame.
Before he could say anymore, Suzaku spots Rayearth from his left side camera, charging straight at him. As soon as Rayearth is about to make a clean chop with its huge broadsword, Suzaku steered his Lancelot backwards 50 feet away from both the Rune God and GTO. As a result, Rayearth's sword only hit the ground instead of Lancelot.
"What a fast Knightmare Frame!" Hikaru thought to herself as she pulled her sword out of the dirt and pointed its blade up to the sky.
Before Suzaku could direct his Knightmare to fight either the Red Rune God or the GTO, he received a call from one of his channels inside his cockpit of the Lancelot.
"Warrant Officer, enemy reinforcements have arrived in Cephiro's airspace!" Prince Clovis spoke through the channel. "Withdraw at once and return to our ship!"
Upon hearing what the Britannian Prince said in regards to his orders, Suzaku sees two huge unidentified ships flying a 100 meters above his Lancelot. They happened to be a huge red Chinese Dragon and a floating island-like Arabic Palace. After seeing a full glimpse of the two huge ships, Suzaku steered his Lancelot away from the two robots before but not before leaving a fair warning.
"We'll settle this fight later, Magic Knight of Cephiro!" Suzaku told the flaming Rune God. "For now, we'll forfeit this match."
After seeing the Lancelot steer away from the open field and went onboard the Britannian Ship, Hikaru and Geo could help but wonder what kind of Knightmare Frame it is, apart from the Sutherlands. Above her, Hikaru sees the Dome of Fahren and the Flying Fortress of Chizeta hovering in Cephiro's airspace. There is no doubt in Hikaru's mind at all; the princesses of Chizeta and Fahren have arrived in Cephiro just in time. Before Hikaru could say anything, Geo makes his speech towards the Knight of Fire through his intercom.
"I'm able to scan the data from this new Knightmare Frame, Hikaru! Let's head back to the Castle before sorting this mess out!"
Just when Rayearth and GTO flew up into the sky again, they see Lafarga and Caldina capture the remaining Britannian stragglers that weren't able to escape with Viletta and Clovis. As for Lantis, he went back on his magic horse before following Hikaru back to the Castle.
Back in Area 11, somewhere deep in the city slums, C.C and Kallen reached their destination inside a warehouse. It was an abandoned warehouse that is being used as a hideout for the Black Knights of Japan. All around the two women, there were storage crates being stacked on top of each other, with some almost reaching up to the building's ceiling. Upon entering the building, the two women meet their masked leader, Zero. In between the two women and Zero, there were two rows of men and women dressed in black uniforms with grey linings. They happened to be the Black Knights fighting against the Holy Britannian Empire for the freedom of Japan. Some of them were wearing black caps, while others were wearing purple visors covering up half of their faces or bands wrapped around their heads. Black Knights have Knightmare Frames stationed next to them. Unlike Britannian's Knightmares, the Black Knight's Knightmares have been converted into blackish colorings. As C.C and Kallen approached Zero, he makes his speech to discuss their report in the alternate world that the Britannians have entered.
"C.C, Kallen, what was your report back at the alternate world?" Zero asked in a intense, robotic voice.
"When the Baroness and her men attacked one of the villages in the alternate world, three new robots appeared from the sky above them," C.C said as she informed Zero of her findings before Kallen stepped in.
"From what the inhabitants of this other world proclaimed, they were addressing them as the Magic Knights of Cephiro!" Kallen added.
Upon hearing this twisted turn of events, most of the Black Knights were muttering to themselves in shock about this new type of Knightly Force existing in alternate world.
"The Magic Knights, you say?" Zero asked in astonishment. "What else did you discover?"
"The alternate world that Viletta and her men attacked is known as Cephiro, the land of will," C.C continued. "When the Magic Knights arrived, they immediately attacked the baroness' men head on without any hesitation."
"We're also able to record some of their fighting moves on tape," Kallen said informing the rest of the Black Knights.
As soon as Kallen inserted the tape from her recording camera into the TV, she turned it on and revealed the whole fight scene between the Magic Knight's robots and the Britannian Knightmare Frames. Upon seeing all of this, most of the Black Knights couldn't help but stare at it with impressive awe and wonder.
In the middle of the crowd, one of the Black Knights was getting so excited in seeing such a display of performances from the Magic Knights in Cephiro. He had a red band wrapped around his head and reddish-brown hair. He happens to be Shinichiro Tamaki, one of the Black Knights resistance members.
"Wow, that was awesome. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought there be another powerful squad of warriors that may rival to that of the Four Holy Swords of the JLF!" Tamaki cackled out loud after seeing the Magic Knights' robots butcher up the Britannia's Sutherlands like there is no tomorrow.
"Well, I'll be damned!" A yellow-haired women said happily as she appeared right behind the group of Black Knights watching the recorded fight on TV while holding onto a thin, brown corn cob pipe with her right hand.
As the women stepped forward while watching the fight scene on TV, she had turquoise eyes and fair brown skin. On her forehead, she had a purple bindi. In addition, the yellow-haired woman was wearing a white lab coat, an orange vest and dark-red pants. Her name was Rakshata Chawla, an Indian scientist and head of the Black Knight's research and development team.
"It seems that the new world has robots of their own deployed out on the frontlines of the battlefield," Rakshata snickered with delight. "I would like to do some research on the machines that these so-called Magic Knights are using."
"You mean we are to go capture them as soon as possible?" Tamaki asked the female Indian scientist.
"Apart from the Knightmares, I never saw robots throw strange but devastating powers at their foes like that," Rakshata added in. "If we were to bring in one of their machines, I would like to go over some tests with them."
"And what of the Magic Knights inside them?" Kallen asked the female Black Knight researcher.
"We might as well try to greet them first before offering them the chance to form an allegiance with them and the country that they're defending against the Britannians!" Zero suggested to the entire group.
"Are you sure about that, Zero?" Kallen asked the Black Knight leader.
"Well, if these Magic Knights have originated from somewhere in Area 11, then they might be able to yield to us as well, confirming that they just happened to be another group of terrorists fighting back against the Holy Britannian Empire. In this rebellion, it'll be portrayed as the Knights' Battlefront!" Zero continued his speech with Kallen. "Kallen, who are to gather a squad of Black Knights, go back to Cephiro, find the Magic Knights and their robots, and bring them in."
