Author's Notes: Well, it wasn't as fast as I hoped, but it wasn't a year and a half wait...

Chapter 6: Reversal Of Fortune

"This is a disaster." Diethard ran his fingers through his hair, and left them clutching his ponytail, "We'll have to engineer a rescue."

Zero nodded, and looked between the rest of his high ranking subordinates, Tohdoh was sitting stiffly, Kallen was beside him, shifting uncomfortably in her seat barely disguising a scowl. Rakshata was sitting up for once, looking as unhappy as the rest. Ogi's seat was still noticeably vacant.

"If it's possible, we'll do it."

Zero's voice betrayed the likelihood of that, and Diethard looked like he was about to slam his head into a wall. "Damnit... after everything that happened, what are we going to do to those fools who were guarding her?"

"Those fools are my friends." Kallen snaped, and Diethard sniffed disdainfully.

"Just like Kururugi?"

Kallen opened her mouth, but Zero held up his hand to forestall any further arguments, "Ogi and Tamaki are recovering in the infirmary."

"And?" Diethard was having trouble holding in his contempt, "They allowed a man in shackles to not only attack and subdue them, allowing him to kidnap a valuable figurehead, but they also provided him with a means of escape." Kallen gritted her teeth in frustration, her fingers digging into her knees, "They should be executed for their incompetence."

There was a moment of stunned silence, incomprehension lingered in the air. Raksha's pipe nearly slipped from her fingers. Kallen's mouth hung open for a second in shock, then shock turned to anger. Tohdoh's arm swung in front of Kallen's chest before she had a chance to lunge at Diethard, but even then, she struggled against it, "You bastard, you think we can just kill people because they've messed up? If we did that, we'd all have died years ago, there wouldn't be a resistance movement in Japan—"

"Kallen." Zero cut in, but Kallen ignored him.

"Ogi and Tamaki have fought longer and harder—"

"Kallen!" Zero shouted finally ending the argument, and Kallen shot him an angry glance before falling back in her seat, staring daggers at Diethard.

"There will be no executions. I've taken the time to review the security footage, Ogi was attacked from behind, Tamaki fought until Suzaku disabled him. They failed in their duties, but neither of them have the training that Kururugi does, isn't that right, Tohdoh?"

The tactician nodded slowly, "I trained him personally in my dojo. It seems he did not forget his training."

Zero rose, "If anything, this was my mistake for allowing Kururugi to see Euphemia." There was silence for a moment, smoldering resentment between Diehard and Kallen lingering in the air. "What I want to know is how Kururugi was able to figure out the access code to one of our knightmare frames so quickly."

All eyes turned to Rakshata, and she blinked, drawing away from the frustrated glances that surrounded her, "We scrubbed the computers when we got the knightmares, there shouldn't be any backdoors left."

"Are you sure?"

Rakshata scowled, "Positive."

"That leaves us with three options, the Britannians have figured out how to insert a code that allows someone to bypass lockouts, even after a complete system scrub, Suzaku got very, very lucky or..."

Zero trailed off, and Diethard smiled contemptuously, "Or one of them told him the code."

Kallen bristled, but said nothing, scowling and looking away. Zero sighed, "Kallen, I want you to talk to both of them and find out what happened. Rakshata, I know it might not be possible, but try to think of a way that security might be bypassed." They both nodded, "Tohdoh, we need to figure out what prison they'll be sending her to and try to come up with a strategy to break her out once we figure out which one. Diethard, I want you to figure out a way of controlling the damage from this. We need to pre-empt any Britannian response." The four of them nodded their heads, "Good, now get to work."

"Come with us."

So far, that was the only order he'd received. Suzaku was still relieved, but he was smart enough to know that something was being kept from him. There had been neither a congratulations for rescuing her, nor reprimand for not protecting her in the first place. What had surrounded him since his rescue had been silence. No radio contact at all, on any frequency. He was being jammed and he knew it.

The knightmares had him surrounded on all sides. They were protect him, true, but their guns were held firm, ready for use. It wasn't obvious at first, but Suzaku eventually realized that the guns, all of the guns, were aimed inwards. If there was an ambush, he was their first target, not the enemy.

He had felt this way before, too, while training to be an honorary Britannian. He'd had to defend himself more than once during training. In his crippled knightmare, there was no defense. They'd be able to blow up his cockpit before he even had time to eject, assuming it still would.

They entered a city, mercifully quickly, but even then, an oppressive air lingered around him. At first, he simply thought the streets were clear. The police would have cleared the street, but as they drove on, he began to notice that all of the streets were blocked. All of them had a manned police cordon. To have that many cordons, they must have diverted the city's entire police force to this task, ignoring all other duties. He had never seen this much security, even when he'd been charged with killing Prince Clovis.

The knightmare frames in front of him slowed, then turned a corner, and he followed them dutifully. He had no illusions about any alternatives. As he passed by the next street, he realized the streets were no longer guarded by police but by armed knightmares, some of which joined the procession. The knightmares in front of him began to part, moving to his sides, revealing a lone Glouchester heading towards him. The knightmare frames around him slowed to a halt, and Suzaku followed suit, looking around at the eerie show of force.

"Suzaku Kururugi." Guiliford's face flickered onto the screen a moment after his voice ran through the speakers, "You say you have Euphemia with you?" Suzaku felt it, he wasn't sure what it was. Guiliford was maintaining a monotone, trying to remain emotionless. He'd chosen his words carefully. Why hadn't he called her Princess Euphemia?

Suzaku nodded, "She's here with me, she's unconscious..." He trailed off, he'd explain what happened later, if he could figure out a way to explain it. "She needs medical treatment."

Guiliford's gaze narrowed perceptibly, "Was she harmed?"

Suzaku swallowed a knot in his throat, looking down at her prone form. "During the escape attempt, she..." He paused, finding it difficult to explain, to himself or to his fellow knight, "She was knocked unconscious."

Guiliford stared at him impassively for a moment, then nodded, only the slightest tip and rise of his head, "Follow me."

The door to the medical ward opened with a gentle whir. Kallen lingered outside for a moment, uncertainty nibbling at her. Silently, she cursed Diethard again, as she'd done at least a dozen times since Zero had sent her to check with Ogi and Tamaki. The door began to close, and then opened again, still sensing her presence. She sighed heavily, and backed away. There wasn't a black knight in the compound who hadn't heard what had happened.

"Damnit Tamaki..." She sighed, biting down on her lip. Of course, she was supposed to question both of them, but she knew which knightmare Suzaku had been taken. Ogi's was still sitting in the cargo bay. It wouldn't surprise her to know that he kept his key with him. Tamaki liked the prestige of actually having a knightmare frame assigned to him. But it didn't sit right. Tamaki was brash, and if she was honest with herself, more than a little foolish, but he wouldn't betray the Black Knights like that. She was sure he never would have told Suzaku the codes, it just wasn't him. She sighed again, and walked through the doors as they opened.

"Kallen." Ogi's voice, more nasal than usual, rang out before she was even through the doorway. She turned, spotting him resting on a cot, a sullen look on his face and a bandage covering his nose, "Is it true?"

Kallen nodded quietly, stepping inside, "Yes."

Ogi looked at the ceiling, "The doctor is only keeping me here because he thinks I might have a concussion. He hit me in the stomach, and then drove his knee into my nose." Ogi looked away, "I don't remember anything more than that."

Kallen took a step towards him, "Ogi, it's not your fault."

Ogi sagged, then rolled over, "How could it not be my fault? He was a prisoner, I was his guard."

Kallen walked over to him, pulling a chair over next to the bed, "When was the last time you ran a prison?"

"That's no excuse." He winced, lifting a hand to his nose, and then letting it rest at his side, "I should have been on guard."

"I'm not sure that would have helped." Kallen looked towards the door, "I found out why Tohdoh wanted to speak with Suzaku."

Ogi blinked, then drew in a breath, "I almost forgot he was waiting with you. What did he want with Suzaku?"

"Suzaku was his student, Tohdoh ran a dojo and trained him as a child." Kallen smiled, reaching out and resting a hand on Ogi's, "I wish he said something, to you, or Zero. He might have left someone else to help guard him."

Ogi sighed heavily and nodded. "Thanks Kallen."

"You're welcome." She squeezed Ogi's hand gently, "Do you know where Tamaki is? I need to speak to him too."

Ogi nodded, and pointed towards a curtain partitioning off one of the beds at the edge of the room, "Over there. He took the news pretty hard Kallen."

"I thought he would." Kallen murmured, and rose, "Rest up, Zero will want to see you later." Ogi nodded once more, and she walked on.

The room seemed cold as she approached Tamaki's bed, still hidden behind it's partition. She slowed a little, not relishing in the idea of what she was about to accuse him of. She closed her eyes and steeled herself, stopping as she reached the parition. "Tamaki?"

There was no response, and she reached for the blind, pulling it back. She had opened her mouth to call his name again, in case he'd been asleep, but at the sight of him, she took a step back in shock, "Tamaki?" He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, his shirt resting on the chair next to him, stained with blood. His chest was covered in bandages, as was his nose, and his forehead.

"Oh my god, Tamaki, what happened to you?"

He blinked, bleary eyed, tears rolling down the cheeks of his face, "They're going to kill her, aren't they?"

"Tamaki?"

"She's going to be executed, isn't she?"

"Tohdoh and Diethard are trying to figure out which prison she'd be put in. We'll get her back."

Tamaki shook his head, "She's going to die, and it's all my fault."

"Tamaki, calm down. She's not dead, we're going to mount a rescue."

Tamaki gritted his teeth, hissing nasaly, "I'm such an idiot! He wouldn't have gotten away if I wasn't such an idiot!"

Kallen shook her head, "Tamaki, you tried your best. No one could blame you for not beating Suzaku, he's had years of training—"

"Stop it! Stop defending me!" Tamaki's propped himself up on the bed, and stared at her, "This is my fault! He stole the key from me! He took my knightmare frame!" Kallen drew back a step, watching as Tamaki broke into a fit of coughs, slumping back onto his bed.

Kallen lingered there for a moment, watching him until he turned away, "How did he activate your knightmare frame, Tamaki?"

Tamaki sagged on the bed, "He took my key."

"You need more than a key to activate a knightmare frame Tamaki." Kallen balled her hands into fists, "Don't tell me Diethard was right. Don't tell me you gave him the code."

"Told?" Tamaki turned to her and smiled sadly, "I didn't have to tell him." He laughed as tears slid down his cheeks, "I wrote the code on the back of the key."

Suzaku's pilfered knightmare frame was idling now. Guiliford's Glouchester was lingering beside him. He'd been lead into a complex about five minutes ago, from what he gathered from the high walls and towers, it was a prison complex. That thought irked him, but now was not the time to question it. Despite Guiliford keeping their channel open, he hadn't said anything. Suzaku was tempted to lift Euphie up so his guard could see her, but bit it back. They hadn't asked to, and the way they were treating him, he had no desire to give them anything.

"Do I have permission to disembark?"

The question seemed to catch Guiliford off guard for a moment, but he hid it well, looking distractedly at the screen, "Denied."

"Can I request that a medical team be brought up to care for Princess Euphemia?"

"We are waiting for Princess Cornelia to arrive."

"Princess Euphemia needs medical attention."

Guilford stared at him levelly for a moment, "We are waiting for Princess Cornelia to arrive."

Suzaku gritted his teeth in frustration, "Why are you keeping me in the dark?"

"We are waiting for Princess Cornelia to arrive."

Moments passed slowly, and Euphie began to stir beneath him. Suzaku watched her, frustration mounting. What would he do if she woke up? What would he do if she fought him, like she had before? What would happen if she told them what she had told him?

The image of Guiliford flickered and died. Suzaku looked at the screen with a scowl. "This is Kururugi, I've lost visual."

"Suzaku Kururugi, personal knight of Euphemia Vi Britannia." Cornelia's voice was bitter, and her image appeared on the screen. Suzaku's eyes widened at the sight of her, she was slumped, haggard, and was looking at him with dead eyes, "You've returned." Suzaku wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but this wasn't it. The princess stared at him coldly, "You have my sister with you?"

"Ah... yes your highness, I rescued Princess Euphemia and escaped."

"Rescued?" Cornelia's lip quirked, and she nodded, "What did they do to you while you were in captivity, Kururugi?"

Suzaku blinked, "I'm sorry your highness, I don't understand."

"Did they just... let you go?" Cornelia leaned back, sneering at him, "Or did you heroically fight through a horde of terrorists to 'rescue' my sister?"

"What?" Suzaku shook his head, "They kept me away from her... I'm not sure for how long, but when they let me see her, I attacked her guards and broke free."

"And the knightmare frame? Did they leave it idling for you?"

Suzaku felt his stomach tying up in knots, "No... I stole a key from one of the guards. The... the code was written on the back of the key..." He felt cold sweat running down his back, "Your highness, Princess Euphemia needs medical treatment."

Cornelia stared at him coldly, "Do you honestly expect me to believe your story, Kururugi? That you managed to knock out your guards, one of them conveniently had a key to a knightmare frame with the code written on the back, and then used it to escape?"

"But it's the truth." It was a weak excuse, even if it was the truth, and Suzaku was left dumbstruck by the accusation. Euphemia moaned, stirring at his feet, and Suzaku squirmed as she grabbed his knee to steady herself.

"What happened?" Euphemia pushed herself onto her knees, clasping a hand to her head, "Suzaku?"

"Euphie?" Cornelia's voice rang through the comms system, her voice quavering with the word.

Euphemia blinked, "Cornelia?" She looked back at the screen, incomprehension written acros her face, "But how?"

"I brought you back Euphie." Suzaku took a heavy breath, "You're safe now."

"Brought me back?" Euphie blinked as she looked at him, her eyes widened in comprehension, "You brought me back..." A pink ring appeared around her eyes as she looked at him, "to Britannian soil..." She drew back, shaking her head, "You... you won't help me, will you?" Her fingers dug into his knee, her face twisting in anger, "You're one of them."

"One of them?" Suzaku winced, "Euphie, it's me, Suzaku."

"Britannian." Euphemia spat the word as if it was a curse, and threw herself against him, fingers clawing at him, her nails raking against his face as he shouted, grabbing at her hands. Her feet kicking against the knightmare's controls, the machine began to shift around them.

Cornelia shouted something, but it was all a blur as Suzaku struggled to keep Euphemia from clawing his face again. He'd grabbed her wrists, and was struggling to hold them away when she slammed her head into his. He shouted, and his grip on one of her hands slackened just enough for her to pull free. "Brittania must be destroyed!" Euphemia shouted vindictively, her nails biting into Suzaku's cheek.

The knightmare bucked, or was hit, Suzaku wasn't sure, but the sudden motion threw Euphemia off of him, smacking bodily against the controls. "Euphie! Get a hold of yourself! This isn't you!"

"Britannian traitor!" Euphie screamed, and tried to push herself off the controls. There was a rending shriek of metal, and sunlight poured into the pod, the fingers of a glouchester prying the metal back. Suzaku glanced back and regretted it, Euphemia jumping on him again, this time raining fists down on his face. He winced, barring his arms across his face.

"Euphie! Stop it!" He felt one of his fists hit his arm, and winced, breaking his guard to grab her hand, "I don't know what Zero did to you, but you have to get a hold of yourself."

Euphemia growled, grabbing the arm that held her and dug her nails into his wrists, "You've abandoned your country, you're nothing but a traitor."

Suzaku gritted his teeth, grabbing Euphemia's hand and wrenching it away from his wrist, white marks lingering where she didn't break the skin, and blood trickling from the spots she did. The roof of the cockpit was pealed back, revealing the struggle. Euphemia shouted and cursed, but Suzaku held firm. One of the knightmare frames beside him reached down, it's thigh thick fingers wrapping around Euphemia. The smooth metal separated them, and Euphemia was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the air.

Suzaku slumped back in his seat, watching as his ward was lifted into the air, "Euphie, what did he do to you?"

Author's Notes: Oh my, something's not right... I wonder what that something is? Hmm... well, I do hope you've enjoyed this chapter.