Chapter 4: Black and Red
After heeding Zero's new orders, Kallen goes on board her Guren Type-02 before heading out with a squad of Black Knight Knightmares. Kallen's Guren happens to be a Red Knightmare Frame with an orange cockpit on its back. It's armed with a metal Right Arm-Inbuilt Radiation Unit and a Fork Knife on its left hand. Kallen's Knightmare was designed Rakshawta and is built by the Kyoto House in Japan.
Kallen appears as the Ace and Captain of the Black Knights' Zero squad. Right now, she is wearing a magenta suit when prepping for battle with her Guren. She may be both Britannian and Japanese. However, when the Holy Britannian Empire invaded Japan, she could not risk losing her support from most of her friends that were Japanese. Because she lost her brother to the Britannians and that her mother is all that she had left, Kallen was obsessed with rebelling against the Britannian forces for the sake of liberating Japan. In school, however, Kallen did her best to keep her Black Knight identity under a low profile by changing her hairstyle and wearing school clothes instead. In her mind, she believes that anyone attempting to expose her terrorism to the public must be silenced immediately. She may have a grudge against the Britannians that threatened to take away her friends from her, but when she met the Student Council of the Ashford Academy, Kallen decided to blend in but with a feisty attitude. It was by the approval of her stepmother, Mrs. Stadtfeld, who happens to be a Britannian Noble.
Earlier, Kallen's real mother, Ms. Kozuki, feel in love with a Britannian Noble who happens to be Mrs. Stadtfeld's husband. Unfortunately, after being adopted to the Britannian Nobles, despite Kallen's consent, Mrs. Stadtfeld ordered Ms. Kozuki not to see her again. So, Ms. Kozuki decided to take her role as a maid in the Stadtfeld Household while experiencing episodes of abuse by the Stadtfelds and the other Britannian servants.
After forming the Black Knights, Zero and Kallen were able to recover Ms. Kozuki during one of the raids on the Refrain drug cartels. It turns out that Ms. Kozuki was supposedly arrested for the use of Refrain and was sentenced to 20 years in prison until that day. From Zero's point of view, the refrain drug was defined as an illegal drug that invokes the user's good past experiences, though it also makes them unable to speak for awhile. To make matters worse, the Refrain became quite popular amongst the Elevens and that it was smuggled into Area 11 by the Chinese Federation. When Kallen brought her mother to the hospital for her to recover, she vowed to help change the world while siding with the resistance of Japan.
As soon as Kallen and her squad left the warehouse, they went to the docks during the night and stood by for further orders. Since the docks is now part of the Black Knight territory, they used that area to build a huge gateway similar to the one from the Britannian Government Bureau in Area 11, using the blueprints that they stole from one of the Britannia's Research Centers weeks earlier, except that this gateway was powered by a generator coming from a nearby dock house. Upon arrival, Kaname Ohgi appears from one of the trucks, revealing himself to be the Deputy Commander of the Black Knights.
Ohgi was once a leader of the resistance group fighting against the Britannians, until Zero came in. He had brown hair and grey eyes and is 26 years old. After Zero formed the Black Knights, Ohgi handed over his leadership of the resistance cell towards the masked hero of Japan. After seeing Ohgi walk up to Kallen and the Guren, she started to wonder what will he want her to do right now.
"Kallen, I received word that Zero had a change of plans!" Ohgi announced to the B.K Captain.
"What is it, Ohgi?!" Kallen asked as her right eyebrow lifted up due to her curiosity.
"Before we can proceed into Cephiro's realm, Zero wanted you to go back to the Ashford Academy to do some investigation on finding any clues that might lead us straight to the Magic Knights!" Ohgi suggested to Kallen. "Your team will be waiting at the docks until then."
"I understand!" Kallen acknowledged as she got off her Guren.
Without giving it another thought, Kallen proceeded onto Ohgi's truck before leaving the docks.
"I wonder if there's any connection between the three young women at the Ashford Academy and the Magic Knights that were sighted in Cephiro," Kallen thought to herself as she was sitting in the shotgun seat of the truck. "If there is, then how?"
As the truck went down the street, Kallen and Ohgi could see the sun rising from the horizon, indicating that another new day begins.
Back in Cephiro, Princesses Aska, Tarta, and Tatra arrived at port as they disembarked from their ships hovering next to the Castle. Upon arrival, the three Princesses were all thrilled to see Umi and Fuu appear before their very eyes.
Aska immediately embraced Fuu out of happiness and excitement. When Princess Aska first came to Cephiro, she wanted to become the Pillar in order to filled the land with sweets and pastries. However, after losing to a archery duel with Fuu, Aska was told that she was not allowed to fall in love with anyone but the land itself. Upon hearing this, Aska thought about what Fuu said for awhile. Eventually, after driving away the NSX with her Giant Sang Yun Illusion, Aska was able to accept Fuu's friendship and Cephiro's allegiance for she had deep love over the people of Fahren and does not want to accept the position as Cephiro's Pillar no more. In addition, her advisors Quang Ain and Sang Yun were completely satisfied when Aska finally did the right thing for both countries, despite being all spoiled and demanding.
For Umi, she was greeted by a stern Tarta, much to Umi's annoyance. They may have been into a one many arguements with each other over both duels and personal behavior but it didn't change the fact that thanks to Umi winning over Tarta and Tatra, the Chizetian Princesses have yielded to aid Cephiro as one of their allied countries. As of now, the twin princesses of Chizeta gave in their support for both Umi and all of Cephiro during the final battle with Lady Debonair.
"So Fuu, how's it going back in your own world?" Lady Aska asked while delight.
"Well, I don't know anymore Ms. Aska!" Fuu said in a worried tone.
"Is it because of those Britannian bullies?" Sang Yung asked the Knight of Wind.
"At first, we didn't like how the Britannians were treating our fellow elevens back there, but when we met the student council at Ashford Academy, I thought for sure that we can at least learn from each other without any bloodshed," Umi said. "But they all deceived us when they entered Cephiro and attempted to take this land by force."
"It's a good thing we came by just in time," Princess Tarta said to herself before speaking to Umi. "We did believe that if those so-called Britannians wanted war and violence, then we'll give them a piece of our mind."
"I'll do anything to repay you, Fuu!" Lady Aska said with determination. "With all four countries fighting together as one, we'll be invincible."
"You got that right, Lady Aska!" Geo said as he, Hikaru, and Zazu appeared behind Umi and Fuu.
The moment the two Magic Knights and the three Princesses turned around to face Hikaru and the two Autozamians, Umi and Fuu stepped in before asking Hikaru about what happened from her recent fight.
"Ms. Hikaru, we heard that you and Mr. Geo ran into some strange white Knightmare Frame!" Fuu said out of worry. "He didn't do anything hurtful to you, did he?"
"Of course not, he ran like a frightened bilge rat the moment he saw the ships from Chizeta and Fahren appear above him!" Hikaru laughed.
"Anyway, I did analyzed the data and performance that this white Knightmare was displaying on the battlefield!" Geo told everyone as he took out his scanning visor.
In an instant, Geo's visor revealed a tall rectangular screen, displaying the white Knightmare that he and Hikaru fought in the southern village. Upon seeing this, Tatra and Aska started to get totally excited all of a sudden.
"Oh my, that's looks really shiny!" Tatra chuckled as she smiled in a confident manner. "I wanted one of those!"
"ME TOO! ME TOO!" Lady Aska chirpled loudly as she jumped up and down.
"TATRA!" Tarta screeched as she scolded with her elder sister.
"Lady Aska, please!" Sang Yung said, scolding his young mistress. "This is no time for admiration. We're dealing with a whole new invading army full of hostile robots and ships that came from where the Magic Knights came from!"
"Ah hem! Sang Yung's right. That white robot is a lot more deadlier than those Sutherlands from yesterday!" Geo grunted, trying to get everyone his attention. "The white Knightmare that Hikaru and I ran into goes by the name "Lancelot," a prototype that happens to be an experimental Knightmare Frame from the 7th Generation. Unlike the rest of the other Knightmare Frames, it still lacks an ejector seat. Nevertheless, its armed with a pair of Maser Vibration Swords, which is powerful enough to cut through anything, and a powerful railgun known as the Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire Rifle or VARIS Rifle for short. It just happens to be just as fast as Eagle's FTO."
"Well, if that thing is under the command of the Holy Britannian Empire, then we may have came across a challenger that's not going to go down that easily!" Umi muttered to herself.
"My point exactly, Umi!" Hikaru told her blue-haired friend. "I'm sure we'll be seeing him again and when we do, I hope we'll find his weak spot before he even sees it coming."
"Hikaru, we have another mission for you!" Clef announced as he appeared right next to Hikaru.
As soon as everyone turned to face the Master Mage, Hikaru spoke up trying to understand what she's going to do next.
"Yes, Clef?" The red-haired knight asked.
"We want you to go back to your own world with Umi and Fuu, along with Zazu Torque. So that you'll conduct your investigation on how did these invaders entered Cephiro's atmosphere. You may need to work undercover, unless instructed otherwise." Clef announced to the Magic Knights and the Autozamian Mechanic. "But first, raise your gloves up high!"
Without saying anything else, the three Magic Knights raised the gloves with their orbs above their heads. In an instant, Clef raised his staff up high. In a blinding flash, the staff shot out three beams at the Magic Knight's gloves simultaneously. At first, the girls thought that nothing happen. However, before any of the knights could say anything, Clef continues with his speech with them.
"I'm able to channel in the magic energy in your gloves so that they'll be able to adapt to the world that you're in. The moment you head back to your world, your gloves will not fade away from you. You'll still maintain your powers as the Magic Knights. However, you still need to keep your gloves in a safe hiding place so that you won't draw any unwanted attention," Clef explained to the three Elevens. "There will be some battles that will take place back in your own world. But do not fret. I still sense that you girls will not be fighting the Britannians alone."
"What do you mean we won't be fighting alone?" Umi asked impatiently.
"I saw a vision in my dreams that a mysterious girl and a masked, hooded figure will soon appear before your very eyes, along with an army of fighters and mechs, dressed in black, at their command." Clef announced in a serious tone. "It won't be what you guys think, for they have their own agenda of uniting all of Japan, as well as outside of Japan. You'll all see very soon."
"What about the rest of our friends?" Fuu asked the Master Mage. "They may not stand a chance without us!"
"We'll still contact you from Cephiro, incase they launch any more attacks upon us," Geo told the Knight of Wind. "For now, just watch over Zazu Torque, while he finds a way to hack into the Britannian's research. We'll watch over the garrisons around Cephiro for now."
"Understood!" The Magic Knights replied in unison.
After listening to Clef's speech, the three girls and Zazu held hands together, with Hikaru chanting another spell from her mind. In less than a minute, a white light engulfed the four and before anyone could see what was coming, the three girls and boy all vanished without a trace.
"Clef, do you think Zazu will be okay with them in their own world?" Geo asked, showing concern over the young Autozamian.
"One can only help, Geo!" Clef responded with full confidence. "If they can help save Cephiro, they'll also be able to help save their homeland."
At the crack of dawn, another new day in the Ashford Academy begins. Kallen was sitting at a nearby desk while looking out the window. In her mind, she could not help but wonder if the three school girls have any connection to the strange huge machines that appeared in Cephiro. If so, how and why? Before Kallen knew it, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu entered her classroom as they get ready for studying.
"Hey girls, did you ever hear the latest news from the other world?" Kallen asked trying to get into their conversation.
"No, I haven't!" Hikaru answered towards Kallen. "Why?"
Before Kallen could say anything, Madam President Milly Ashford entered the classroom while holding a newspaper, talking about the latest headlines. Milly happens to be a tall young women that is 18 years old with blond hair and dark blue eyes. She is the granddaughter of Ruben K. Ashford, the superintendent of the Ashford Academy, and is known to be the President of the Academy's Student Council. Upon meeting Kallen, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, Milly let out a joyful smile as she greeted all four girls at once.
Behind the President, there is Shirely Fettel. She had long, bright orange hair and yellow-green eyes. She was known for her kindness, cheerful, and highly intelligent well-being. Shirely happens to be very close to Lelouch. As a result, most of the Student Council was suspecting that Shirley had a crush on the former Britannian Prince, addressing him as Lu-Lu for short. In any other case, when she and Milly met Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, they got a little carried away when they made fun of them for being Elevens. However, after going over their paperwork, Milly discovered that they all came from various Junior High private schools, in which made them ascend towards Middle Class students with higher education, waiting to be transferred. Upon hearing about this, Milly hosted an attendance party for the three middle class elevens when spending their first days in the Academy.
Upon seeing President Milly and Shirley enter the class, the three girls and Kallen greeted them with a calm, happy response.
"Okay everyone, before we can begin class, there is a news report coming from the Britannian Reporter on TV." Milly announced in a confident tone.
As Milly turned on the TV, the screen revealed a female reporter sitting in front of a desk. On her right, another small screen appeared revealing three colorful robots appearing from the skies to do battle against the Britannian Forces. Upon seeing this, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu did their best to keep quiet about this and act natural and nonchalant about it, despite that it was their robots that appeared on the battlefield.
"Greetings citizens, this is the Britannian News Network reporting to you live!" The reporter announced. "It has been discovered yesterday, that three unidentified Knightmares appeared out of nowhere and ambushed a full squad of Britannian Knightmares lead by Baroness Viletta Nu at the new world outside of Area 11!"
After announcing the news description from the female reporter, the TV screen changed, revealing Baroness Viletta, along with Prince Clovis and Suzaku Kururugi.
"Thank you, reporter! I'll take it from here!" Viletta spoke on the microphone before describing the details on the latest news headlines. "We we're about to neutralize another village from the new world, by the order of Prince Clovis, until three strange new machines appeared from the sky. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold them off and consequently, my entire squad was either dead or captured by the natives of this new world. Suzaku, you're on the air!"
After hearing the baroness' speech, Suzaku was seen on TV as Viletta handed him the microphone before making his statements during the news report. As Suzaku makes his speech, another 2 screens appeared behind him, revealing the fights that occurred in front of Viletta's forces and the Lancelot. Unknown to Kallen, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, the Lancelot was being piloted by Suzaku from the start.
"I was sent by Princess Cornelia to escort the baroness and her brother Prince Clovis to gather some info about these unidentified machines that attacked Viletta's regiment!" Suzaku explained through the microphone. "It turns out that we have another new threat to deal with, than just the Black Knights themselves or the hostile natives of the new world. The natives of the new world were addressing them as something called the "Magic Knights from another world! Despite these new warriors not being part of the new world, they were all being hailed as heroes for some unexplained reason. Whoever these new knights are, we will not rest until we'll find a way to hunt them down and bring them to justice by the order of the Holy Britannian Empire!"
As soon as Suzaku finished his speech, the Honorary Britannian handed the microphone back to the Baroness without hesitation.
"And now, we have Jeremiah Gottwald on the air!" Viletta announced as she handed over the microphone to a tall man in a blue military officer's uniform.
Jeremiah appears as an 28-year old man with teal hair color and orange eyes. Much to his annoyance, he was sometimes known as "Orange Boy" because of his eyes. Despite his humiliating names, Jeremiah happens to be an elite Knightmare Frame Pilot in the Holy Britannian Empire and is serving under the military in Britannia's Pureblood faction.
"Greetings, fellow Britannians and Purists!" The Teal-haired military officer introduced in a intense tone of voice. "We now know that as long as these so-called Magic Knights remain at large, we cannot continue our conquest in the new world, which is somehow known as Cephiro the land of will by most of the natives living there. Let me assure you all, that they cannot hope to do to us what those filthy Black Knights threatened to do to us over the past few weeks. We'll capture them, along with Zero and the Black Knights. With that said, "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"
Upon hearing Jeremiah's speech, the rest of the Britannian nobles followed suit along with him. After making the speeches from Viletta, Suzaku, and Jeremiah, the screen finally returns to the reporter sitting in front of her desk.
"We still have yet to find out who these new Knights really are piloting those huge robots in the new world. From what Suzaku said through his speech: Are they from Area 11? Are they from the Holy Britannia Empire attempting to overthrow their own country? Or are they from another country outside of Area 11 and Britannia? Please stay tuned for more information." The female reporter said, giving out questions towards the public in a calm tone. "Thanks for listening to the Britannian News Network. We hope to see you soon!"
After the reporter finished her speech, Milly turned off the TV before starting class.
"Unbelievable! First the Black Knights, and now the Magic Knights?" Shirley frowned to herself. "I wonder how did they came to be in the first place?"
As Kallen stood there feeling unamused, she turns towards the three female elevens with small smiles on their faces. Feeling suspicious, Kallen wrote a note to herself in order to send it to C.C later on during the day.
Meanwhile during the school hours, C.C was seen walking across the balcony while looking up to the sky. She is now wearing a female school uniform and has two ponytails, tied up to the back of her green hair. As she looked down, C.C pulled out a note that Kallen gave her from her pocket. After reading the letter, C.C came up with a question inside her head.
"I'll be damned if the Magic Knights would show up somewhere in Area 11," The green-haired girl muttered to herself as she leaned on the hand rails on top of the balcony. "I wonder why would those three young women are being so confident about themselves? Maybe their hiding something from Zero and the Black Knights."
As soon as C.C went back inside the school, she finds herself in the hallways. On her left, C.C spotted an unfamiliar boy that is wearing a brown mechanic's uniform. He had a green hard helmet and is wearing working gloves. On the boy's left hand, he was carrying a small suitcase while holding onto a communicator with his right hand. It was Zazu Torque in disguise. Unbeknownst to the young mechanic, C.C was watching him from a distance as he entered the school's library.
"I don't think I remember seeing that young man before," C.C said to herself, referring to a disguised Zazu Torque. "Maybe that boy knows something about the Magic Knights that Kallen and Zero doesn't."
Not wanting to stand around, C.C quietly followed Zazu into the library. As soon as the green-haired girl entered the library, she sees Zazu inside a private room with a Computer on top of a desk. The next thing that happened is when Zazu took out his head phones before logging onto the computer. As C.C approached Zazu, she became curious on what is the young boy up to. The moment she got closer, Zazu turned around to see the green-haired girl in his sights.
"Hello there, you might you be? Are you new in school?" C.C. asked, without showing any emotions towards the young boy.
"Oh Yeah, my name is Zazu Torque," The young undercover boy answered. "I'm just taking a tour around the school, that's all."
"Are you sure about that, Zazu?" C.C asked suspiciously.
"Yes I am. Let's just say that I'm doing some computer assignments for my friends," Zazu said nervously.
"Friends, eh?!" C.C thought to herself before moving away from Zazu.
Meanwhile, in one of the dorms, C.C appeared at the doorway only for her to meet Lelouch. For a long time, C.C hadn't told anyone that Lelouch also known as Zero of the Black Knights. In other words, C.C kept it all a secret between her and the former Prince of Britannia. When C.C gave Lelouch his Geass, it was meant to fulfill his contract that C.C offered. What everyone didn't know is that C.C isn't her real name. However, only Lelouch knew about the girl's real name in which was never mentioned for a long time. Despite being biologically 16 years old, C.C have been living for more than a hundred years due to her immortality. Now that she sees Lelouch in her sights all alone, the green haired girl approached him before making her speech in front of him.
"Lelouch, I may have found a possible witness that might know something about the Magic Knights seen in Cephiro!" C.C spoke in calm tone.
"Is that so, C.C?" Lelouch asked out of curiosity. "Now that you mentioned it, I did saw the Lancelot fighting another robot than rather just that Rayearth mech at the new world."
"I suspect that there is a young man hanging out with the three female elevens as if he already knew them for a long time," C.C continued.
"Who might that be?" Lelouch replied towards the immortal witch.
"His name happens to be Zazu Torque, possibly a suspicious outsider that is neither an Eleven nor a Britannian!" C.C said while answering Lelouch's question. "He might know something about the fight between the 2 robots against one."
"Do you think you can keep a close eye on this Zazu, then?" Lelouch asked, making a request towards C.C. "I may need to speak with him myself."
"With pleasure, Lelouch!" C.C said as she left Lelouch's dorm.
After C.C left the room, another girl appeared from the dinning room. She had sandy brown hair and is always sitting on a wheel chair, wearing a white and green dress. Her name happens to be Nunnally Lamperouge, Lelouch's little sister. Ever since on the day that their mother died, Nunnally's eyes remained shut for a long time due to their father's Geass. Despite Nunnally being physically disabled, she's always kind-hearted and understanding to those around her. Just like Lelouch, Nunnally happens to be a former member of the Britannian Royal Family that is exiled, only to serve as political hostages with the Empire took over Area 11.
"So big brother, are you having a second thoughts about those three transferred students?" Nunnally asked Lelouch, referring to the three Elevens. "I know they maybe Middle Class Elevens, but they're not bad people. I do believe that something happened to those young women that made them show great compassion, and independent determination."
"Well Nunnally, it may be more than just that," Lelouch thought. "Despite them being mistreated by the other Britannians outside of Ashford, they not as scared as the rest of the Elevens for some reason."
"Maybe you should go talk to them a little bit more to see if they're hiding something," Nunnally suggested to Lelouch.
Upon hearing Nunnally's advice, Lelouch came up with another idea in his head. If he believed that those three Elevens are somehow connected to the Magic Knights, he might be gaining another good advantage of building a world where her sister can find happiness. After thinking about it for awhile, Lelouch walked out the door, leaving Nunnally behind while she started working on her origami, and closed the door behind him.
In another part of the school, Umi and Shirley were both competing in a swimming competition inside a huge school swimming pool. The pool had several rows of floating buoys on top of the water, used to separate the competitors from crashing into each other. They're both wearing female swimsuits during the event, along with 8 other competitors. As for Fuu and Hikaru, they were both cheering for Umi during the competition with "Woo's" and "Yeah's." As for Nina, Milly, and Rivalz, they were cheering for Shirley to win against Umi. Just when Milly stood on the sidelines, outside of the pool, she blows her whistle, indicating the start of the swimming race competition. Upon hearing the whistle noise, Umi and Shirley dived in head first before doing a breast stroke in the swimming pool.
For a long time, Umi has been practicing on how to swim. Ever since she became the Knight of Water, Umi always had a fascination of swimming for a long time. In her point of view, Umi was able to find swimming as her second sport, apart from her fencing tournaments. After learning on how to be a swimmer for two years, Umi was almost paddling as just as fast as Shirley is. However, Shirley was swimming up neck to neck with Umi, which lead to a unexpected twist in the swimming race. As soon as they reached the finish line, Shirley's head touched the goal, declaring the Britannian student the winner. For Umi, she started pouting in disappointment, though Hikaru and Fuu did their best to cheer her up.
"Don't get to cocky, Shirley!" Umi scolded with the orange-haired swimmer. "Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
"Ha! You can tell that to President Milly!" Shirley grunted out of amusement.
After the competition, Umi went to the girl's locker room to revert back to her school uniform, with Hikaru and Fuu waiting outside. As Umi came out, she felt a little more satisfied in doing more exercise than usual.
"I missed being a fencing captain back in the old days!" Umi complained to herself about her past, favorite activities three years ago.
"Well, it's never too late to try new things, Ms. Umi!" Fuu told the disgruntled blue-haired girl. "I went to an art club to learn on how to draw and paint landscapes and forest sceneries upon entering the Ashford Academy."
"As for me, I went to gym class to do acrobatics!" Hikaru spoke in a excited tone of voice.
"Did you guys miss doing Kendo and Archery?" Umi asked her two friends about their past sports.
"We do!" Hikaru and Fuu said in unison. "But we do have to stop living in the past. Right now, we're just senior instructors that find lecturing a little bit boring."
"Anyway, let's go meet up with Zazu Torque to see if we can find out a little bit more about the Britannian Government!" Umi whispered to the two female elevens.
As they moved on, Kallen was secretly following them as she appeared from the school's main entrance.
Back in Cephiro, Clef summoned all the leaders from the three countries to form a council meeting to discuss their battle plans against the Britannian Forces. They're all gathered around a huge round table that is stationed inside Clef's study. Across the table, there is Geo Metro, Lady Aska, and Tarta and Tatra. As they stood by waiting for Clef's speech, they watched closely at the round table. In the middle of the table, it was displaying a geographical landscape that is stretching 250 miles all-around Cephiro's Castle.
"So Geo, is there anymore movement revolving around the Holy Britannian Empire?" Clef asked the tall Autozamian sub-commander.
"Not yet, Clef!" Geo answered in a anxious tone. "Though, my scouts reported that they have setup various camps near this huge mountain up north."
In the midst of Geo's sentence, he pointed out a couple of big red dots that were seen around a huge mountain, north of the Castle. Upon seeing the data, the leaders of the three countries defined the red dots as the enemy encampments. As Geo surveyed the scene around the mountain, he also pointed out a flag bearing the Holy Britannian Empire, which is surrounded by the red dots.
"The flag surrounding those red dots indicate their mobile command Center, which is stationed up on the mountain side." Geo continued as he used his fingers to bring up another screen above the map. "From what our scouts reported, the Britannians called it the G-1 Base."
As Geo brought up a full-screen of the G-1 Base, it revealed a huge, purple land-cruiser that's also used as a field hospital. In front of the G-1 Base, there is Knightmare Frames and tanks escorting the command center on the mountain.
"These mobile fortresses were usually housed by a Britannian Commander or someone from the Imperial Royal Family of the Holy Britannian Empire!" Geo announced to the group as they all gasped in shock.
"Wait! Do you mean that this snobbish Prince Clovis is..." Lady Aska asked before her question is interrupted by Geo Metro.
"It's possible that Prince Clovis might be inside that G-1 Base during his invasion in Cephiro, Lady Aska!" Geo said, while finishing her sentence.
"Well, I'd say we send that Clovis freak a little guardian spirit djinn greeting!" Tarta smirked as she locked her left fist into her right hand.
"Or maybe bring forth Giant Sang Yun to crush his forces to a pulp!" Lady Aska grinned.
"I understand you want to have at e'm, ladies, but we can't go charging at them yet," Geo told the two princesses. "They'll be protected by various Knightmares and other vehicles that'll rain flawless destruction on our forces."
"Well, what about those Knightmares that we have secured?" Tarta and Aska both asked in unison.
"The Cephirans are still working on how to operate the Knightmares with the weapons they possess," Clef explained to the princesses of Chizeta and Fahren. "About a score of our men were able to succeed, thanks to the Autozamian officers."
"Also, Ferio, Lafarga, and Caldina were already getting the hang of them in a few hours thanks to me," Geo grinned with delight. "Though, we may need to gather some equipment for the Knightmares because some of the Mecha weapons we have onboard the NSX are invalid."
"Geo, do you still have Zazu in touch with you on your communicator?" Clef asked the Autozam sub-commander.
"Let's see here!" Geo muttered to himself as he pulled out his communicator. "Zazu, come in. Are you there?!"
After a few seconds of silence, Zazu started responding in a clear tone of voice.
"Yes Geo, this is Zazu reporting sir!" The voice from the communicator spoke to Geo's ear.
"What have you found so far?" Geo asked while speaking on his communicator.
"The Britannians are using some sort of huge gateway at their Government Bureau, which is being powered up by a huge amount of Sakuradite, stored in the power generators! Also, we have a Princess Cornelia who is in charge of Area 11, as their Viceroy and pilot of a Knightmare Frame called Gloucester. She also happens to be the Chief General of Britannia's finest warriors in her Imperial Army."
"Do you have the data for this Gloucester?" Geo asked Zazu as he continued to speak with his communicator.
"Negative, we have still yet to discover the whereabouts of Princess Cornelia." Zazu responded in a grim tone.
"What about the Magic Knights? Are they still with you?" Geo asked further.
"Hold on a sec, Geo. Someone's coming!" Zazu said as he halted his conversation with the sub-commander.
As the communicator paused, Clef, Geo, Tarta, and Lady Aska heard someone talking to Zazu from the other side. The next thing that happened is when they heard guns clicking as if they're aiming at Zazu.
"Whoa there, guys! W-What the hell do you want?" Zazu asked if he was freaking out with being held at gunpoint.
"Relax, Zazu Torque! We just want to make sure you're not going to try anything stupid for once. We just want to ask if you know anything about the Magic Knights!" Said an metallic, charismatic voice.
Upon hearing the mysterious speech, Geo immediately makes a desperate call on his communicator.
"Who are you?! You better not do anything to Zazu or I'll rip you apart like a sheet of paper!" Geo snarled, only to hear his communicator go static, unable to contact Zazu any further.
In just an instant, everyone's face fell silent and horrified. They don't know who is Zazu talking to outside of his communicator. Whatever it was, they can only pray that no harm will come to the young Autozam mechanic.
"We need to contact the Magic Knights, Clef!" Geo suggested to the Master Mage.
Meanwhile back at Area 11, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are sitting at a table outside of a nearby bakery at sunset, while drinking tea and snacking on pastries. After waiting for one hour for Zazu Torque, the Magic Knights are starting to worry for his safety. Before any of them could say anything, Hikaru was the first to start her conversation with them, after taking another sip of tea from her cup.
"I could've sworn that Zazu would meet us here to make a report on what he found through the Britannian Network," the red-haired knight said in a worried tone.
"Me neither. I mean, one of us should've at least went with him after class!" Umi said in dismay.
"I hope Mr. Zazu is doing okay? Well, he did say that he needs to carry this mission out alone so that his cover won't get blown," Fuu said as she told Umi and Hikaru.
Before Umi or Fuu could say anything else, Hikaru's medallion started glowing again. This can only mean that Clef is trying to call Hikaru. As Hikaru took out her medallion from her school pocket, Clef's image appeared in front of the three Magic Knights at an alarming rate.
"Mr. Clef, what it is?! Is it about Mr. Zazu?" Fuu asked in desperation.
"It is, Fuu!" Clef spoke in a calm tone. "Some unknown group got Zazu out of the blue, leaving behind a metallic voice."
"WHAT?!" The Magic Knights all shouted in unison.
"They also asked Zazu something about the Magic Knights! You all have to find Zazu immediately but try to be careful out there!" Clef informed the three Elevens.
After Clef makes his speech, his image disappeared in a flash, leaving the Magic Knights stunned as they looked at each other.
"Well, its a good thing Geo latched a tracking device on Zazu before we went back to Area 11 with him," Hikaru said to herself as she reached into her other pocket.
"What does that have to do with...?" Umi asked impatiently as she sees Hikaru pull out a handheld GPS with her left hand.
"Geo gave me a GPS to use incase something bad happened to Zazu," Hikaru told Umi as she activated the GPS, revealing a colorful dot blinking red, blue, and green. "Remember the time when Mokona shot out a map with his red jewel during our first adventure in Cephiro?!"
After giving it some thought, Umi and Fuu realized that Geo's GPS acts the same way Mokona's map is.
"Wow, that's really amazing for Mr. Geo!" Fuu said in amazement.
As Hikaru used her finger to move the map in the GPS, revealing a bigger view of the area surrounding her position. Eventually, Hikaru was able to find a viridian dot moving towards a nearby dock warehouse at a pier.
"Geo told me that the viridian dot indicates Zazu's presence!" Hikaru informed her fellow Magic Knights. "Since Zazu's position is at the pier, we need to be cautious. There's no telling what will await us there. The pier could be Black Knight territory!"
"You mean the Black Knights got Zazu?!" Umi asked in as she glared at the GPS.
"I think so!" Hikaru responded to Umi as she drew out her sword. "Come on girls! Let's go get Zazu back!"
After hearing Hikaru's orders, Umi and Fuu also drew out their swords before following Hikaru to the docks. Unknown to them, C.C appears from the other side of the Bakery, watching the Magic Knights as they moved on.
"So, it seems that they're the Magic Knights the whole time!" C.C muttered to herself before disappearing into the shadows while taking out her cellphone. "Zero, they're coming!"
As soon as the Magic Knights reached the pier, it was already midnight. In an instant, they donned their full set of armor before proceeding forward.
"Remember guys, we stay close together no matter what and have all eyes and ears on!" Hikaru said with a strong determination as she was the first to move on ahead.
After making their trek through the pier, Hikaru was able to hold onto her GPS as she followed Zazu's signal. Behind them, some strange movement was stalking the Magic Knights, much to Hikaru's cautious behavior. As Umi and Fuu looked on ahead, they see some strange shadowy figures running past the crates and hiding behind the other dock houses. Upon hearing the footsteps around them, Umi and Fuu could feel chills crawling up their spines.
"Ms. Hikaru, something is out there!" Fuu told the flame knight in a worried tone.
"It's not what I think it is, is it?" Umi asked Hikaru in a wary tone.
"It's the Black Knights, isn't it?!" Hikaru hissed. "Be on your guard everyone! There's no telling where are they hiding! And make no mistake, they're out there!"
As the trio slowly walked towards Zazu's signal, the Magic Knight's reached the dock house were the mechanic is last seen at. The moment, they opened up the door to the dock house, it was completely pitch black. In the middle, they see Zazu tied up to a chair, with his hand tied behind his back. When the Magic Knights entered the dock house, they held onto their swords up to their chests with their left hands and raised their right hands as they're about to charge up their magic from their gloves.
"Zazu!" Hikaru spoke out loud. "Are you alright?!"
"Hikaru! Umi! Fuu! Stay back!" Zazu told them in alarm.
Before they could do anything, the doors behind the Magic Knights suddenly closed on them and the lights turned on immediately. As they're about to get ready for battle, the Magic Knights seen militants dressed in black appear before them, pointing their assault rifles at them. At the same time, the Magic Knights raised her right hands up high and aimed their charged magic at the people in black.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" One of the militants shouted in a exaggerated tone.
The militants popped out of their hiding spots all around inside the dock house, such as crates, unmanned Knightmare Frames, and from the loading machinery before aiming their assault rifles at the Magic Knights. Feeling surrounded, the Magic Knights hurdled their backs to each other while still holding their swords intact before several of the militants approached them from every angle with their guns drawn. Before the militants or the Magic Knights could do anything, a masked figure appeared from above and raised his hands out wide as he made his announcement to the female elevens.
"GREETINGS MAGIC KNIGHTS! WELCOME TO THE ORDER OF THE BLACK KNIGHTS OF JAPAN!" The masked figure shouted in a loud intense voice.
