Chapter 5: Knightly Allegiance

Few hours earlier...

After several hacks done on the computer to gather information about the Holy Britannian Empire, Zazu was able to download the data into his portable USB drive in a public library down at Shinjuku. As soon as he left the library, and before the young mechanic was able to meet up with Hikaru and the Magic Knights, Zazu's communicator started beeping from the pocket of his mechanic jumpsuit. As he pulled out the communicator, Geo's voice spoke out loud.

"Zazu, come in. Are you there?!"

Upon hearing the sub-commander through his communicator, Zazu responded in a clear tone.

"Yes Geo, this is Zazu reporting in sir!"

"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 heard footsteps coming in from behind.

As soon as he turned around, Zazu was meet by a masked figure and a green-haired girl with their guns drawn and pointing at him. "Whoa there, guys! W-What the hell do you want?" Zazu asked while freaking out with his hands behind his head.

"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!" Zero spoke in a metallic voice as he appeared from the group of individuals.

"W-Who are you?" Zazu asked in fear as he dropped the communicator onto the ground.

"I am Zero of the Black Knights. The man of miracles that leads the Japanese Resistance against the Holy Britannian Empire!" The masked figure said as he approached the young mechanic and away from the group. "And you are going to help us find the Magic Knights, before offering their allegiance!"

Before Zazu could see what was coming, Zero's masked opened up a little hole, revealing his exposed left eye. In an instant, Zero's eye lit up with a bird-shaped symbol, revealing the activation of his Geass, also known as the "Power of Kings." Just like that, Zero's Geass reached into Zazu's mind and as a result, Zazu's eyes started glowing with red linings shown all around his pupils. While under Zero's Geass, Zazu started blurting out everything he knows about the Magic Knights.

"The Magic Knights happened to be Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Houoji; the Knights of Fire, Water, and Wind," Zazu explained while under the influence of Zero's Geass. "They came from Area 11, formerly known as Tokyo, Japan. Their main purpose was to fight and defend Cephiro from any impeding threats, as well as fighting for what they believe in. Since they met people in Cephiro that they cared about, the three female Elevens follow their own hearts to protect everyone that supported them."

"I knew those Japanese women are hiding something from us!" Kallen muttered to herself after she heard what Zazu said from a distance, unaware of Zero's Geass.

Before Zazu could say anymore, Geo's voice started speaking out loud, in a hostile voice.

"Who are you?! You better not do anything to Zazu or I'll rip you apart like a sheet of paper!" After the angry voice spoke out loud, Kallen went up to it and turned off Zazu's communicator.

As Kallen put Zazu's communicator into her pocket, Zero continued his interrogation with Zazu on the Magic Knights.

"Where are they now?" Zero asked Zazu, revolving around the Magic Knights' whereabouts.

"They're still waiting for me at one of their favorite bakeries!" Zazu explained.

"That's all I needed to hear." Zero said as he turned off his Geass, ending his interrogation with Zazu Torque.

As Zazu's eyes stopped glowing red, he finds himself tied up completely by Zero and his group. Feeling confused on what happened, Zazu's eyes widened with horror as he sees his briefcase get taken away by Zero himself.

"W-What just happened? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" Zazu shrieked in confusion.

"We want to thank you for your cooperation. Since you're being watched by your Magic Knight friends, you'll be our bait to lure them in. Nothing personal, Zazu. We just want to form an allegiance so that they can help us change the world and drive away the Britannian Empire," Zero said while smirking beneath his mask.

"Don't worry, kid!" Tamaki laughed. "We'll try to express our hospitality in the best way possible if they cooperate with us. I'm getting a really great feeling that I'm going to enjoy hanging around with those lady knights on the battlefield!"

"Why would we help you?" Zazu asked while being pulled by Kallen and Ohgi.

"Because we Black Knights also fight for people that we care about as well, Zazu!" Kallen explained as she answered the boy's question. "Now let's move it!"

After dragging Zazu to their hideout, they left him tied up to a chair in the middle of inside the dock house, unattended. As for the Black Knights, they all went hiding in the shadows while waiting for the Magic Knights to show up. At midnight, they finally got the Magic Knights in their sights.


Back to the present...

Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are still trying to keep their guard up, despite being outnumbered by the Black Knights. In a few seconds, one of the Black Knights are still ordering them to stand down from their aggressive stances.

"I SAID DROP E'M!" One of the Black Knights shouted as he aimed his rifle at Hikaru's face.

"What do you want with us?" Umi asked sternly.

"They're with me!" Kallen spoke out loud as she appeared with the dock house entrance while aiming her luger handgun at the Magic Knights.

Upon seeing Kallen dressed in a black knight uniform, the Magic Knights were all shocked to see the very same girl that was in the Ashford Academy appear before their very eyes; this time as a member of the Black Knights.

"We just want to talk!" Zero announced to the three Elevens. "There won't be any need to violence here since we're both fighting against the same enemy in both worlds."

After hearing Zero's speech, Hikaru remembered what Clef told her before heading back to Area 11 with her friends and Zazu.

"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. 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."

Upon heeding Clef's prediction, Hikaru was the first to drop her sword onto the pavement and disengage her magic coming out of her glove.

"Hikaru, what are you doing?" Umi asked the flame knight while freaking out.

"Remember what Clef told us before we came back to Area 11, Umi?!" Hikaru responded in a fearless tone. "He already sensed that we won't be fighting this battle alone. I think the Black Knights and Zero is what Clef is referring to."

"Are you sure, Ms. Hikaru?" Fuu asked in a worried tone.

"I think don't think we have any other choice. Besides, we're responsible for Zazu's safety in Area 11!" Hikaru continued. "If anything happens to him, Geo will pulverize us again!"

Upon hearing what Hikaru just said, Umi and Fuu have both disengaged from using their magic and dropped their swords to the pavement. After seeing them comply, the Black Knights stand down as they put away their weapons. Before they could say anymore, the Magic Knights and Zazu were being escorted to a nearby office only to face Zero and C.C. As they sit next to the table, the Black Knights left the room while Ohgi brought in the TV into the office. The moment Ohgi turned the TV on, it revealed the very same footage that was recorded by Kallen and C.C during the fight between the Sutherlands and the Rune Gods.

"Do you recognize with any of this?" Zero asked, referring to what was seen on TV.

"We do!" Umi answered quickly. "You sent your people to spy on us, did you?!"

"Actually, I sent Kallen and C.C for surveillance around the new world that the Britannians are in. When we saw those three robots fighting the Britannian Knightmares, most of the Black Knights find it very impressive to think that they would take them all down with one go!" Zero clarified. "When I interrogated Zazu, I never thought that you girls were actually the ones trying to defend the natives of this new world."

"Yeah well, they already knew about us for three years!" Hikaru explained to Zero. "Ever since we helped saved them from destruction, the people of Cephiro already found the courage to believe in our victories against the forces of darkness."

"If that's so, I do want to put your combat strength to the test!" Zero said offering his terms towards the Magic Knights.

"How so?" Fuu asked the masked man out of concern.

"First of all, I do want to see how these so-called robots came into your place." Zero explained to Fuu. "If so, I just want to start off with a duel with only one of you before we can offer your allegiance. In fact, I know the perfect warrior to duel with you one-on-one."

Before any of the Magic Knights could say anything, Zero turned his face towards Kallen Kozuki.

"I know I have a lot of explaining to do, Hikaru," Kallen said in a stern tone. "First of all, I'm fighting for the resistance for the sake of my dead brother and for my mother, as the Ace pilot and Captain of the Zero Squad of the Black Knights. I'm sure you have something that's worth fighting for, right?!"

After hearing what Kallen just said, the three Elevens remembered that when Britannian first took control of Area 11, all of their parents were enslaved in exchange for their lives. It was during the time that Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu first started attending their private schools that Britannia took over them all. Since half of the students studying at their schools were still able to maintain their admissions, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu happened to be part of that group. Because of this, the three Elevens were able to attend school even during Britannia's occupation over Area 11. Right now, the three girls were still able to live through the cruelty of the Britannians, as well as attending to their usual activities.

"You never told me that you were a Magic Knight, Hikaru!" Kallen said, while feeling a little disappointed for not understand their true colors, making them snap out of their past.

"Well, you never told me that you were a Black Knight, Kallen," Hikaru said, feeling a bit dismayed. "We were supposed to keep our Magic Knight identities a secret between Umi, Fuu and I."

"If that's so, then why? Why didn't you tell us?" Kallen asked, trying to get into Hikaru's little head.

"I thought no one would believe us. Second, what do you think a 14-year old girl would do during the time Britannia controlled Area 11 anyway?" Hikaru responded in a grim tone. "Before all of this, we had no power to fight and defend ourselves against the Britannians; none of us do!"

"There's always the first time for everything, Hikaru!" Kallen informed the red-haired knight. "Since you and I came a long way, how about we settle this on one match, with my Guren against your machine, then we'll see how much power you have right now."

"Be my guest, Kallen!" Hikaru replied with determination and bravery.


In an abandoned sports arena at the Shinjuku Getto, Kallen brought out her Guren Mk-II in the middle of the open area. In front of Kallen, Hikaru drew out her sword as she stood 500 feet apart from the Guren. Before anyone could see what was going on, Zero makes his announcement as he appeared from the arena's bleachers.

"This is will be a one-on-one match between Kallen and Hikaru!" Zero announced to the public. "There will be no time limit, for the match will only end with one disarmed and the other the victor."

On the bleachers, Zazu, Umi, and Fuu are sitting at the sidelines behind Hikaru. For the Black Knights, Ohgi, C.C, Tamaki, Rakshata and another guy with a recording camera are all sitting at the bleachers behind Kallen. The guy with the recording camera happens to be Diethard, a Britannian Journalist with sandy brown hair and indigo eyes. Despite him being a manager of a Britannian Controlled Media, the happens to be a Secretary of Intelligence in the Black Knights. As part of the Black Knights, Diethard was seen wearing a black suit with a red trim and dark-blue pants. During his career as a journalist, Diethard can be very zealous and displays a grand, captivating narrations when documenting Zero's actions during the rebellion.

"This is going to be the most brilliant duel between a knight that uses superpowers and a Black Knight inside a Knightmare Frame. I wonder how will this lady knight is going to topple over Kallen's Guren," Diethard spoke in an exciting tone of voice.

"Now then, don't think I'll go easy on you Hikaru!" Kallen smirked as she spoke from her Guren while pointing her Radium Claw at the flame Knight.

"Zazu, if you're watching this, I hope you'll be able to record as much detail as you can from Kallen's Knightmare!" Hikaru said as she raised her sword up high with both of her hands, pointing straight into the sky.

"RAYEARTH, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!"

As Hikaru called forth her Rune God at the top of her lungs, the sky above her opened up a rift. Before anyone could see what was happening, a pillar of red light appeared and shined down upon Hikaru in a harmless effect. At the same time, Rayearth appeared from the sky and crashed straight into the earth, kneeling before the Magic Knight of Fire. Upon impact, the dust spread out for a few inches before it disappeared. In just seconds later, most of the Black Knights were all awestruck from seeing how Hikaru's Rune God appear right next to her.

"Whoa! So those robots back there were actually summoned from the sky just by being called out?!" Tamaki said in a surprising tone. "THAT'S JUST AWESOME!"

"Easy there, Tamaki. This is just the start of it." Rakshata said to the excited Black Knight.

As Hikaru got pulled into Rayearth by its red light, she drew out her broadsword and powered it up with a white, flaming essence. Before Hikaru could use her sword, Kallen made her first move upon the red Rune God. As soon as the Guren closed into Rayearth, it reached its Radium Claw and unleashed its Radiation Waves. As Hikaru raised her sword up high to block Guren's Claw, she felt a radioactive burning sensation coming from her blade. But in an instant, Hikaru shoved her sword towards the Guren, shoving its Radium Claw away from her Rune God. Before the Guren had a chance to react, Hikaru charged forward with her Rune God and attempted to hack its Radium Claw with her Sword only to block it as Kallen unleashed another Radiation Wave. Hikaru grunted as she attempted to resist the radiation flying towards Rayearth. As Hikaru disengaged with her attack on Kallen's Guren, Kallen's Knightmare lashed out with a Fork Knife across Hikaru's face. At the same time, Hikaru blocked Guren's knife with her shield and made another vertical chop with her broadsword. In less than a second, Kallen steered her Guren backwards and missed Rayearth's blade by mere inches from its front Tungsten Armor. As the Guren backed away several feet from Rayearth, Kallen activated the Slash Harkens and shot them straight at where Rayearth is standing. Upon seeing the slash harkens fly towards her, Hikaru swiped the Harkens away from her with her broadsword. Just when the Guren charged forward and attempted to unleash another Radiation Wave at Rayearth, Hikaru jumped up high above the Knightmare and did an executioner's blow while in mid-air only for the Guren to block it with its Fork Knife. However, because of Hikaru's sword was powering up during the fight, Guren's knife started cracking and the next thing that Kallen saw was when the knife shattered into a million pieces. As Rayearth's sword hit the ground after breaking apart Guren's Fork Knife, the Rune God attempted to slam its shield into Guren's face only for the Knightmare to dodge it. At the same time, Kallen had her Guren grab Rayearth's shield with its Radium Claw and unleashed its Radiation Waves on it. As a result, Rayearth's shield started bubbling from the inside and exploded from within. However, Hikaru was able to let go of Rayearth's shield just in time before unleashing a huge torrent of white flames at the Guren. Just when Kallen attempted to block the oncoming white flames with Guren's Radium Claw, the impact slowly started pushing the Guren backwards into the bleachers.

"DAMNIT!" Kallen shrieked as she sees the interface of Guren from her cockpit started blaring out warnings. "I can't hold it back!"

"EVERYONE, SCATTER!" Tamaki screamed as he got on his feet before making a run for it.

Upon seeing the Guren getting closer, the Black Knights and their associates started to run for cover, along with Tamaki. As the Guren crashed into the arena's bleachers, her friends were able to get out of the way just in time before the crashing impact let out a big hole leading to the outside of the arena. Outside of the Arena, the Guren was struggling to get up after getting knocked down by Rayearth's powered attack. Unfortunaly, Hikaru summoned a lighting ball of energy coming out from both of her hands. The next thing Kallen saw was when Rayearth unleashed a tendril of red lighting at her Guren.

"RUBY LIGHTING!" Hikaru shouted at the top of her lungs.

Just as the red lighting headed straight for the Guren, Kallen activated one of her Harkens and attached it to a ledge on a floor above where Rayearth is standing at. As the Harken pulled the Guren upward, Kallen evaded Hikaru's ruby lighting but not before the Guren's right landspinner and leg were blown into pieces by the flame knight's lighting spell. At the same time, Kallen's cockpit started vibrating around her it started flashing red from receiving damage.

"AAAAUUGGHHH!" Kallen screamed as she tried to get her Guren stabilized.

While in mid-air, the Guren attempted to slam its left foot onto Rayearth in the head only for it to get blocked by both of its arms. As soon as the Guren jumped away from Rayearth and landed on its left foot, the Knightmare whacked Rayearth's sword off with its Radium Claw before it unleashed another Radiation Wave. However, Hikaru was able to have enough time to unleash a fiery spell in a split-second.

"FLAME ARROW!"

At the top of her lungs, Hikaru lit her left fist up on fire and launched an accurate fire bolt at the Guren's Radium Claw. Upon impact, Hikaru's flame arrow collided with Guren's Radiation Wave. After several seconds of struggling with Hikaru's magic, the Guren's Radium Claw started losing power and started suffering from an energy overload. All of a sudden, the Guren's Radium Claw blew up, ripping apart its arm in an instant. At the same time, Kallen screamed as her cockpit shook violently again as her Guren fell to its left side. Upon realizing that her Guren is completely disarmed, Kallen came out of her cockpit, indicating her surrender to Lady Hikaru. For Hikaru, she exited Rayearth, leaving behind a beam of red light at the place where she is standing on. As Hikaru and Kallen looked at each other, Hikaru makes her first impression after their duel.

"Damn! She just disarmed the Guren of all of its weaponry!" Diethard muttered as he summarized the duel between the Rune God and the Knightmare Frame.

"Man, that was fun!" Hikaru said to herself in an excited tone.

Behind her, Umi, Fuu, and Zazu were letting out a victory cheer over Hikaru's duel with Kallen.

"Yeah well, be grateful that you were born Japanese, Hikaru!" Kallen huffed out of embarrassment due to her defeat. "If you were a Britannian, I won't stop fighting you after being disarmed until one of us drops dead!"

"Oh really?" Hikaru snickered while still inside Rayearth. "Just be grateful that I did that only to disarm, for now!"

"And I thought facing the Lancelot is bad enough!" Kallen muttered to herself. "Well, I guess you really are worth being a Magic Knight, huh?"

"Hold on a sec, Kallen. You met the Lancelot?" Hikaru asked as her eyes widened with shock.

"He was a bit of a pain in the butt during the battle at Shinjuku Getto. But that was only when I faced him while piloting a Glassgow." Kallen explained towards Hikaru. "Now that I got my Guren right here, I'm sure that my fight with Lancelot will be different. Why?"

"Well, I actually ran into Lancelot back in Cephiro from the other day!" Hikaru said in a sheepish tone.

"WHAT?" Kallen gasped in shock. "But how?"

"It's a long story!" Hikaru added.

"Well, that was a very excruciating display of destruction and terror I had ever saw during that duel, ladies!" Rakshata spoke in a angry tone, aiming directly at Hikaru. "You've got some nerve hurting and trashing my poor little baby like that, young lady!"

"Hold on a minute there ma'am!" Umi said while trying to get in-between Rakshata and Hikaru. "You actually built that Knightmare Frame?!"

"Why of course!" Rakshata replied as she started smoking from her cob pipe. "I'm the head of the Research and Development Team for the Black Knights, I help by rebuilding and upgrading their Knightmare Frames before being deployed out on the battlefield. You can call me Rakshata."

"Please to meet you, Rakshata." Hikaru spoke as she introduced herself before introducing her friends to the Black Knights. "I'm Hikaru Shidou. And these are my friends Umi Ryuuzaki, Fuu Houoji, and Zazu Torque. We're all friends of Cephiro and Area 11."

"That's a really cute name for a Magic Knight," Tamaki chuckled as he approached Hikaru with a smile, before introducing himself and the other Black Knights. "I'm Captain Tamaki of the 2nd squad of special forces. This is Deputy Commander Kaname Ohgi, Diethard Ried the Britannian Journalist, and Zero the leader of our Black Knights."

While Tamaki introduced the Magic Knights to his fellow Black Knights, he announced their names as they appeared next to Rakshata from left to right.

"This is going to be a recorded as one of my most greatest hits in my own private media!" Diethard cackled excitedly. "I can't imagine bearing witness of one of the Magic Knight's proof of their power. So tell me girls, how long were you all doing your part in this outstanding role?!"

"Umi, Fuu, and I were all 14-years old when we first became Magic Knights to serve in Cephiro as their legendary heroes," Hikaru said as she explained to Diethard and the Black Knights.

After explaining their backstories starting from three years ago, Diethard couldn't help but wrote all of it down into his journal.

"Man, it seems that you girls have already been through a lot lately during your past adventures full of tragedy, romance, sword fights, fantasy, and honor!" Diethard said, feeling awed and inspired by Hikaru and the Magic Knights.

"I do wonder how do these huge robots of yours run on and where did you find them from?" Rakshata said, asking Hikaru and her friends. "And what are their capabilities?"

"Well, now that you mentioned it, my commander was able to uncover data about the Magic Knights' Rune Gods," Zazu explained to Rakshata as he took out his data pad from his briefcase.

As Zazu turned on his data pad, it revealed all the details revolving around the Magic Knights' machines. While Zazu explained the details to the Black Knights, they were all shocked upon learning huge differences between them and their Knightmare Frames.

"The Rune Gods aren't really made out of robotic exoskeletons. They're actually living robots that can talk, move, and act out on their own. After scanning them while on board the NSX, I detected full life signatures coming from the Rune Gods themselves."

"No way?!" Tamaki exclaimed in shock. "How's that even possible?"

"They were in a deep slumber underneath the ocean, the floating mountain, and the volcano back in Cephiro, waiting to be revived!" Hikaru told Tamaki, making him even more thrilled than ever before. "We can hear their voices inside our heads. They usually function the way we function during our battles in Cephiro."

"So then, those powers that came from those Rune Gods were..." Rakshata muttered to herself before Hikaru continued with her explanation with the Rune Gods.

"We fight as one with our Rune God on the battlefield and those powers directly from us!" Umi concluded as she finished Hikaru's sentence for her.

"That explains it!" Kallen said under a state of shock before turning her attention towards Zazu. "So Zazu, what's their roles on the battlefield?"

"From what our late commander described, Hikaru's power relies on Strength and Resistance, Umi's power relies on speed and agility, and Fuu's power relies on defense and support!" Zazu explained towards Kallen.

"Oh my! That's quite extraordinary!" Rakashata smiled with interest. "So Zazu Torque, were are you from?!"

"Me?! Well, I came from a country called Autozam. It's a land filled with machines and technology." Zazu announced to the Head Scientist and Developer. "Our military there uses weapons called Fighting Mecha when challenging our enemies outside of our country. Our land is stabilized by a electronic resource called Mental Energy!"

"It sounded like that your country is similar to that of the Britannian Empire!" Zero summarized, commenting on what Zazu said. "So tell me Zazu, how did your country yield their allegiance towards the Magic Knights and Cephrio?!"

"It's a long story, Zero!" Zazu said. "I'll explain later with Geo Metro. Oh! That reminds me..."

Before anyone could see what Zazu is doing, the young mechanic took out his communicator and reactivated it in the middle of the public.

"WHERE IS ZAZU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, YOU BASTARD?!" The voice shouted in an angry, obnoxious tone.

"Relax Geo! It's me, Zazu Torque!" The mechanic said, trying to calm down the voice coming from his communicator.

"Sweet mother of Eagle, Zazu! You almost gave me a heart attack thinking that you were abducted or something!" Geo responded as he started to cease his hyperventilating from his immediate anger with Zazu's would-be kidnappers. "Can you tell me what was going on in Area 11?!"

"Me and the Magic Knights ran into a group of people that wanted to be allies with us and Cephiro!" Zazu explained to Geo on the communicator.

"Let me speak to their leader!" Geo ordered the mechanic.

Upon hearing Geo's orders loud and clear, Zazu handed his communicator to Zero. As soon as Zero took the communicator from Zazu, he held it onto his ear before introducing himself to Geo Metro.

"Greetings, I am Zero the leader of the Black Knights who challenges the forces of the Holy Britannian Empire!" The masked figure spoke in a metallic voice.

"Zero, eh?! I am Geo Metro, the sub-commander and captain of the Autozamian Battleship NSX," Geo spoke from the communicator. "May I ask what was this is all about, after you tried to apprehend Zazu Torque?!"

"My apologizes, Geo! I just wanted to meet the Magic Knights with Zazu's help." Zero said as he expressed his apologizes for his actions earlier.

"I see, well whoever you are, don't scare us like that!" Geo said in a anxious tone. "I'll be in touch with you later; I got my hands full on other stuff back in Cephiro."

As soon as the communicator turned off, Zero handed it back to Zazu before offering the Magic Knights his terms.

"So girls, are you willing to fight and sacrifice everything for the sake of all of Japan?" Zero asked the Magic Knights. "We may need your supernatural powers in order to drive the Holy Britannian Empire away from your home as well. There won't be anything that we can't do together, you and I."

"Us allying ourselves with a group of terrorists?!" Umi said while protesting against Zero's offer. "I don't know about that! It may affect our honor back in Cephiro with negative results."

"Guys, can we talk for a moment?" Hikaru said trying to have Zazu, Umi, and Fuu hurdle together before having their private conversation first before negotiating with the Black Knights. "We maybe strong in ways that mattered thanks to our Rune Gods. But unlike Autozam, we're up against a whole army of enemy robots called Knightmare Frames from Britannia. It'll be a matter of time before they'll overwhelm us with their numbers and with their firepower."

"Well, what if the Black Knights are just using us to conquer Cephiro, as well as moving Britannia out of the way? One thing is for sure, we don't negotiate with terrorists!" Umi said, protesting against what Hikaru said.

"They maybe terrorists Umi, but most of them are Japanese like we are. Since we're also knights fighting for justice and for the people we care about, we're actually no different from them, terrorist or not." Hikaru continued. "If we can protect Cephiro and its inhabitants, then we'll also be able to protect our families and siblings from the Empire as well, here in Area 11."

"I agree with Ms. Hikaru on this one. Ever since the Britannian Empire took over our country, we couldn't do anything about it because we were all just little kids when all of this happened and that we're forced to relocate to other homes, close to the Tokyo Settlement." Fuu said, strengthening her resolve to ally with the Black Knights. "It's during the time we're still attending our private schools in the former land of Tokyo."

"Also, Clef told us that we'll be running into some new allies to fight for our cause in saving both our worlds from destruction and tyranny," Hikaru added. "We might also need their help in reinforcing and enhancing the Knightmares that Cephiro's forces have secured in the Castle's Armory."

"Their use of technological weaponry is very different to that of Autozam. So, if we can have them develop weapons for the Cephirians to use when piloting the Knightmares in battle, we might be able to gain a home field advantage against Princess Cornelia's and Prince Clovis' forces and!" Zazu said to the Magic Knights.

"Mr. Zazu's got a point there!" Fuu exclaimed silently.

"Even if they did help us dealing with the Britannian Invaders, I'm not so sure about Zero's true intentions. He might be hiding something underneath that purple, black mask of his!" Umi said, still doubting the leader of the Black Knights. "I could feel something unpredictable in his mind. Whatever it is, I got a bad feeling about this."

"How about this Umi, we'll help the Black Knights liberate both Japan and Cephiro while I do my best to keep a close eye on Zero just incase he tries anything funny. We'll just play along for now." Hikaru suggested to Umi.

"Well, I hope you'll do the right thing for us, Hikaru. And this time, try not to get reckless again, okay?" Umi said, reluctantly accepting Hikaru's suggestions.

After disengaging with their private conversation, Magic Knights and Zazu turned around to face Zero again. As they approached him with full confidence, Hikaru was the first to make her decision in front of Zero.

"Okay Zero, we accept your allegiance!" Hikaru spoke loud and clear. "First, there is something that we wanted you to do for us in return!"

"And what would that be, Lady Hikaru?" Zero asked out of curiosity.

While Hikaru is discussing the terms with Zero, C.C appeared dressed in a sleeveless Black Knight uniform. After staring at the Magic Knights and Zero, C.C turns around towards the clear blue night sky as she makes her speech towards herself.

"And so it begins the knightly allegiance that will change both worlds with the actions done by the three mighty armies of The Black Knights of Japan, Cephiro's Alliance, and the Holy Britannian Empire," C.C muttered in her own monologue. "Will there being destruction or salvation in this conflicting turn of events? Only fate will be decided by the best warriors from the three factions!"