This is the climax of Code Geass: A New Ally, the final battle that will decide Japan's fate. Will it remain Area 11? Or, will it be liberated and regain its sovereignty as the nation of Japan? Read and find out!
Chapter 8: Code Geass.
The next day, the expanse of land a few miles outside Tokyo lay in the sunlight, unaware of the battle about to unfold. From the sky, the cloaked Iron Man surveyed the Brittanian forces below. Sukai was shocked at the sheer size of the enemy forces. At least five hundred Knightmares, a mixture of Sutherlands and Gloucesters awaited the Black Knights. Behind them sat the G-1 Base, around which stood four Knightmares that Sukai didn't recognise. Confident that he'd seen all he could, Sukai headed back to the Black Knights.
"So, what're we up against?" Tohdoh asked, as Sukai stepped out of the Iron Man.
"At least five hundred Sutherlands and Gloucesters, but the Sutherlands won't be much of a challenge. It's the Gloucesters we'll want to be cautious of." Sukai replied.
"Good, know we know what to expect. As per the plan, the Iron Man and War Machine will strike the two outer groups of the Brittanian forces, about two hundred units each. The rest of us will engage the remaining hundred. If you see an opportunity to break through towards Schneizel, take it immediately. We can't afford to draw this battle out. If you get separated from me, head for either Sukai or Kallen, whoever's closer. Let's roll out!" Zero said. The group climbed into their respective Knightmares, before Sukai and Kallen took off heading towards their fate.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by two loud crashes, as the Iron Man and War Machine slammed into the ground, announcing their arrival. The two Knightmares immediately opened fire on the startled Brittanians. Sukai and Kallen successfully managed to force the outer groups away from the centre group, which subsequently found itself under attack from the Gurren Mk II (Shirley), the Banzai Dasher (Lelouch/Zero), the five Gekkas (Tohdoh & The Four Holy Swords) and the Lancelot (Suzaku). Lelouch blocked fire from a group of Sutherlands with the Dasher's shields, before slicing them in half with the TLS. Meanwhile, on his left, Shirley charged towards a Gloucester. Skilfully, she dodged its fire, before destroying it with a Radiant Wave Surge. At the same time, Tohdoh's group surrounded another ten Knightmares, cutting them down one by one.
Sukai's mind was racing, as he tore into the forces in front of him. Ignoring the rounds glancing off the Iron Man's crimson and gold armour, he raked the front group with the Chaos Emitters, cutting down about twenty Knightmares. Then, he spun to the left, firing off a burst from each palm-mounted Repulsor, the beams each tearing through two Knightmares, turning them into fireballs. An impact from behind shunted the Iron Man forward abruptly. Sukai turned and launched all of his missiles at five Knightmares which were all carrying Giant Cannons. The Knightmares all disintegrated as a result of the explosions, leaving behind only a few sizable pieces. Sukai then fired the shoulder-mounted missiles again, disabling another ten units. With a yell, he charged forward to engage another group.
The War Machine's guns blazed as Kallen proceeded to mow down her opponents. The Brittanians had quickly realised that trying to get close was suicide if one tried alone, so they attempted to distract Kallen, while a Gloucester tried to attack at close range with its spear. However, the Gatling gun on the War Machine's cockpit quickly rendered that strategy ineffective and useless. Kallen stopped firing, charging right at a group of Gloucesters. The Brittanians waited, and then attacked ferociously once the War Machine came close. Kallen counterattacked, destroying them with a few swings of the War Machine's mighty fists. She then opened fire again, decimating the remaining Gloucesters, before turning her attention to another group.
After a few minutes of intense combat, Sukai paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Around him lay the wreckage of several hundred Knightmares, smoking from their destruction. However, before Sukai could resume the battle, the Brittanians pulled back, out of range of the Iron Man's weapons. Before Sukai could react, two large red beams erupted from the sky, slamming into the Iron Man, which was thrown back a few hundred metres before slamming into a small hill. Sukai fought to stay conscious from the impact, as the computers surveyed the damage. It wasn't pretty. The Iron Man's chest armour was almost all destroyed, exposing the Arc Reactor and main structural plates underneath. Most of the plating on the arms was gone, while the legs were severely damaged. Luckily, the Coilgun was undamaged, as was the cockpit itself. A damage report showed on the screen to Sukai's right.
Mk III Iron Man-Damage critical.
Repulsors offline.
Missiles offline.
Thrusters offline.
Armour integrity compromised.
Coilgun online.
Servos offline.
Sukai grunted in pain, a trickle of blood running down his face as he gripped the controls again. Scanning the area, he spotted a Knightmare-sized radar signature a mile away, 500 feet in the air. He slowly locked the targeting systems onto it.
"Take this, bastard." He grunted, firing the Coilgun. The Iron Man's weakened structure groaned in protest at the enormous stress. Soon afterwards, the radar signature disappeared. Sukai grinned slightly, as the remaining forces closed in on him.
Meanwhile, Kallen had regrouped with Lelouch and C.C. while Shirley, Suzaku and the others finished off the remaining central forces.
"Any word from Sukai?" she asked.
"No. We lost contact a few minutes ago, but I suspect he's busy fighting." Lelouch replied. Suddenly, the radios in their Knightmares both crackled to life.
"Kallen...Zero..." came Sukai's voice, clearly strained.
"Sukai! Are you all right?" Kallen shouted.
"Heh...the Iron Man's wrecked...Brittanians closing in...don't think I'll make it...this time..." he replied.
"Sukai..." Kallen sobbed, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Sukai, you can't die!" Lelouch replied.
"Kallen...I'm sorry...I wish I could...keep going...but there's no way..." Sukai told her, his voice faint, laced with pain.
"Sukai, please! Don't die!" Kallen cried, tears running down her cheeks.
"Kallen...I just...wanted to say...I love you...always..." he replied.
"NOOO!" she screamed.
"NOOO!"
As soon as Sukai heard Kallen's scream, he felt something inside him. Determination, stronger than anything he'd felt before.
"No! I won't let it end here!" he shouted in his mind, his Geass activating. Suddenly, the sigil in his eye disappeared, as a much larger one formed on his forehead. The Iron Man was engulfed in white light, so bright that it forced the Brittanians to look away. Sukai felt his Geass flowing through him and the Iron Man, marvelling at its power.
"No! I won't let it end here!"
Simultaneously, Kallen heard Sukai's thought, as she felt a sharp pain lance through her skull. She clutched her head with both hands, screaming in pain.
"AGHHHH!" she screamed, as a Geass sigil slowly formed on her forehead as well. Tears ran down her face, as the same power flowed through her body, before she collapsed from the pain, the sigil glowing on her forehead.
After a few minutes, the glowing subsided, revealing an amazing sight. The Iron Man stood upright once again, none of the damage from before remained. Also, the Knightmare was radically different.
The Repulsor emitter on the chest was now triangular and much larger. The thighs were now gold and silver, in place of the previous gold and red. The armour on the forearms, chest, and legs was thicker, while the Coilgun on the cockpit had been replaced with a pair of slim particle guns, one on each side. The Landspinners were now integrated into the feet, instead of being attached to the sides. Inside, Sukai sat in a more recline position. The screens now covered the entire inside of the cockpit, giving him a 360-degree view of the outside environment, as seen from the Iron Man's head height. There were no controls, instead, Sukai's helmet, which now only covered the back and top of his head, leaving the lower part of his face exposed, displayed a HUD directly in front of his eyes. Sukai's face was expressionless, the sigil on his forehead glowing red.
"Iron Man, preparing to eliminate targets." He said, his voice monotone. The new Iron Man leant forward, the two guns on the cockpit moving to point forward, towards the advancing Brittanians. The ends of their barrels began glowing white with an electrical buzz.
"Iron Man, firing Charged Particle Cannons." Sukai said. Both guns fired, releasing a large white beam of energy from their barrels. The beams vaporised the Knightmares directly in their line of fire, obliterating roughly a hundred. The guns swung back into their rest position, as the Iron Man charged forward. Sukai fired the palm Repulsors rapidly, destroying about twenty more Knightmares, before he stopped. The Brittanians quickly encircled him, hoping to finish him. Instead, the Iron Man crossed its arms over its chest. The armour over the hands slid forward, revealing a glowing red light. Sukai spun the Iron Man around, swinging the arms out to its sides, as a red laser shot from each forearm, slicing through the Knightmares around him. The Iron Man stopped with one arm in front, one behind, as the Brittanian Knightmares fell to the ground, all sliced in half by the lasers. The armour over the Iron Man's hands slid back into place, just as Sukai spotted four more Knightmares approaching, one was flying while the other three were on the ground. The four Knightmares stopped a couple of hundred metres away, facing the Iron Man. One was about twice as tall as the others, similar in size and shape to the Knightmare Sukai saw on Shikine Island, with light purple and black armour. On its back was what appeared to be a large sword sheath. Another was quite bulky, with a large armoured twin cannon mounted on each shoulder. The armour was dark magenta and yellow, with white on the chest. The third was oddly bulky, with large cones extending from the wrists, pointed leg armor at the hips and feet, and spikes from its shoulders and Landspinners. There was also a large horn on its head. The armor was mainly light purple, with dark purple and yellow highlights. On the right forearm was a large claw, while on either side of the cockpit, were yellow wings with green highlights. The flying one transformed and landed. It was highly streamlined, its armor mainly blue and white, with red and white wings attached to the cockpit. It wielded two pickaxe-like Maser Vibration Swords, and also had large golden horns on its head. The tall one stepped forward and addressed Sukai.
"So, you are the one who has killed so many of our comrades. Well, now your time is at an end. We are the Knights of the Round, Brittania's most skilled pilots. I am the Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein!" the pilot announced.
"I am the Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim!" the pilot of the magenta Knightmare announced.
"I am the Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley!" announced the light purple Knightmare's pilot.
"And I am the Knight of Three, Gino Weinberg!" announced the pilot of the blue and white Knightmare. Sukai remained silent, shifting the Iron Man into a fighting stance. His HUD labeled each of the Knightmares, as the computers had hacked the Brittanian systems to gather information on them while their pilots had spoken. The tall one was the Galahad, the magenta one the Mordred, the light purple one was the Percival, while the white and blue one was the Tristan.
"Now, prepare to die!" Anya shouted, removing the cannons on the Mordred's shoulders before joining them together in front of her, aiming at the Iron Man. The cannons began to glow red, emitting an electrical buzz. After a few seconds, she fired, a massive red beam of energy engulfing the Iron Man. However, when the beam ceased, the Iron Man didn't have a scratch on it.
"What?" Anya exclaimed, before Sukai charged forward. Once he was close, he fired the Slash Harkens that made up the front half of the armor over the hand on each of the Iron Man's forearms. The two Slash Harkens tore through the Mordred's cannon and the main body, causing it to explode.
"Anya! You'll pay for that!" Gino shouted, charging at Sukai. He slashed at him with the Tristan's MVSs, but Sukai brought the Iron Man's arm up, blocking them against its new armor. Before Gino could react, Sukai fired the free arm's Repulsor, the beam punching through the Tristan's torso, which then exploded. The Iron Man straightened up, facing the Percival and Galahad.
"Unbelievable." Bismarck said.
"Mordred's Stark Hadron Cannon did nothing? Well try this!" Luciano yelled, charging forward, the Percival's claw ready to strike. Sukai raised the Iron Man's toward him, fist closed. The armor on the forearm opened up, before nine missiles launched from it. They impacted the Percival, before they detonated, tearing it apart. The Gala had advanced slowly, drawing a large MVS from the sheath on its back.
"I don't know who you are, but you shall fall by my hand!" Bismarck shouted, charging at Sukai, his sword ready to strike. Sukai dodged his first swing, then caught the sword, destroying it with a Repulsor blast. He then fired the shoulder missiles, ripped through the Galahad, ripping its large frame to pieces.
"Targets eliminated." Sukai said. Suddenly, he was forced to retreat slightly as a rain of missiles impacted around him. Looking up, he saw the large aircraft from Shikine Island, preparing to fire again. Sukai took off, rocketing skyward. Once he reached the same altitude, he quickly charged the Unibeam. Then he fired. The now more powerful Unibeam tore right through the aircraft, which exploded into a massive fireball, as Sukai flew towards the G-1 Base.
The Iron Man landed heavily in front of Schneizel's base, now unguarded due the destruction of the Knights of the Round. Sukai aimed one of the palm Repulsors toward the base.
"Schneizel, it's over! Surrender, or I will destroy you!" he demanded.
"Hm, it seems I've lost this battle. Very well, I surrender. I will arrange for the negotiations to take place. You pick the location and time." The prince replied.
"Ashford Academy. Tomorrow." Sukai replied, before taking off, heading for Lelouch's position.
"Is Kallen going to be okay?" Shirley asked. She, Suzaku and Tohdoh's group had rejoined Zero and Kallen, who was still unconscious.
"It looks like she just passed out. She should be okay." Zero replied. All of them turned around as they heard something approaching. They all gasped when the Iron Man landed, surprised by its new appearance. Sukai exited, walking over to Zero, concern on his face.
"What happened to Kallen?" he asked.
"I think I can answer that." C.C. replied. She brushed away the hair over Sukai's forehead, revealing the Geass sigil that lay there, just like her own. "You have a Code now."
"A Code?" Zero asked.
"Yes. Normally, a Geass is present in only one eye when activated. However, when the Geass evolves, it encompasses both eyes. When this happens, whoever granted the Geass can give the user his or her Code, which removes the Geass and makes the user an Immortal. But in this case, Sukai's Geass morphed into a Code on its own. I suspect this was caused by Sukai's will to live, and is also the explanation for his Knightmare's change. Sukai's Geass allows him to control technology, so when it morphed into a Code, it caused the Knightmare to evolve as well. As for Kallen..." C.C. explained, parting Kallen's hair to reveal a Code on her forehead as well.
"But how?" Sukai asked.
"I suspect it was because of the strong bond between the two of you. As a result of your will to live, and Kallen's desire not to lose you, she was given a Code as well." C.C. explained.
"Then that means..." Tohdoh realized.
"Yes. Both Sukai and Kallen are Immortals, just like me." C.C. replied. Sukai knelt down, lifting Kallen up bridal-style.
"We should get going. I'll look after Kallen for now." He said Zero nodded. Sukai climbed into the Iron Man, putting Kallen on his lap, since he controlled the Knightmare by thought now, and took off. The War Machine followed on autopilot.
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