A.N.: F.I.N.A.L.L.Y! UPDATE TIME PALS! YES! I've known I've left you all hanging, so here it is, chapter 5! I was rather slow writing this one, given that a) I wasn't feeling very well. I'm better now though! B) School's started, so I may go whole weeks now without updating. Sorry! It now depends on how heavy I'm flooded with homework. Agh, anyways, this chapter is not my longest chapter. Not counting ANs, this chapter is shorter than the 3rd chapter. It focuses almost entirely on Kallen and Kaguya. The Plan is finally put into action! Please, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN CODE GEASS! Only this story and its plot!

WARNINGS: VERY OOC-ish Kaguya, one scene with blood and death, references to minor violence in another.

"Hoo! Nice story old chap! But are you sure that these are real?"

"Hmm! I assure you that these did happen. Anyways, as I was saying, children...

...let teachings of old pass to you…"

With boredom, the guard assigned to inspect the reports regarding a mysterious piece of cargo reminiscing of a Knightmare Frame in the Emperor's personal jet let out a yawn as one of the technicians gave his report. What was up with these people anyway? Each and every single one of them was sporting the same, emotionless look. It was incredibly creepy, and he was starting to get the jitters. He regretted offering himself for the "mission", ever eager to prove his loyalty to the Empire, now that he was here, surrounded by dozens of strange people. The worst part was, that he was only sent here with a small platoon of soldiers consisting of 5 people.

He would be receiving the report from the workers, while two of his partners inspected the cargo, and lastly, the last two provided extra security alongside the originally placed guards. It was simple, yet if there really was a Knightmare Frame here, how would they haul it back to their lord? "Call the reinforcements, duh!", he chastised himself with a sneer, "The Captain said to send a call back immediately if the reports were to be confirmed. But honestly, a Frame likened to the Mordred? Give me a bre—!"

"Hey Andrew! We found it!". The female voice that interrupted his thoughts belonged to one of two females in the squad. With a face filled with complete disbelief, he ran to where the cargo bays of the majestic Crane lay open, where Amy, the short, blond haired woman who called them, was looking up to something big, their companion, Jeff, beside her. Andrew saw that it was colored a tone of red, which reminded him of wine, but lighter… burgundy, perhaps? It was also quite big and bulky, and lastly, it's overall design was similar to—!

"N-no way… T-the Mordred? Here?! So the reports were true?!" Taking steps back in sheer awe, he could only gaze up to the mighty war machine used by the Knight of Six, as it collected dust in that cave. Andrew, however, somehow managed to quickly snap out of it, and as field captain for the mission, he began to bark orders professionally.

"A-alright! Amy, Jeff, help these guys get the Mordred out of there! You people, bring in whatever equipment you use for big things like this! Audrey, Naomi, stand closer guard over here, but one of you help them if you see they need it." Taking a few steps from the mass of people that began to converge, he took out a long-ranged radio, made for transmissions like this one, and radio'd the Captain.

"HQ! This is Knight Probe 1! I repeat, this is Knight Probe 1 speaking! Please respond!" It took a while before the radio "spoke up", and the voice of his commander was patched through.

"Acknowledged, KP 1. What is the status of your mission?"

"Yes sir! The reports were true! We found the Mordred in the jet's cargo bay! We're currently working on moving it out! Should we expect reinforcements?"

"Affirmative. We're sending the Army's 11th Battalion alongside a squad of technicians and workers to your position. Stay in there while the troops get there soldier!"

"Copy that sir! Knight Probe 1 o—!"

"Andrew, Andrew!" With a huff of annoyance, he turned towards Amy, who was jogging up to him with a rather confused expression on her face.

"What is it Amy? I'm speaking with the Commander!"

"I know that! But one of the pilots just said that they just received orders to fly back to Area 11 and bring another guest to the Emperor!" "What?!"

"HQ, KP 1 here! Did you hear that?"

"Affirmative. Well, this IS the Emperor's jet, and those orders could only be relayed by someone high, HIGH up. Very well, this is what we'll do; we're deploying the troops to fortify the position, and await the plane's arrival. We will then provide a military convoy cover for the newest royal guest. Who knows, with how close we're getting to St. Val's, maybe it's the Emperor's secret lover…?"

"C-Commander!" That was a startled voice, probably from one of the communications people. This was further proven by the commander's boisterous laugh.

"Ok, ok! None of you ever heard that understood? Good, now begin setting up a perimeter while the pilots do their job. Now get to doing yours, soldier!"

"Yes, My Lord!" Saluting to his superior, even if he couldn't see it, the Captain gave a grunt, before ending the transmission. With the conversation done, Andrew put away the radio, and gave a nod to Amy. Nodding back, she made a few gestures to the watching people from a few feet away, and the area cleared for the jet as it closed the bays and began lifting off. In a little over 5 minutes, the jet was already away from the site and flying at breakneck speed towards Japan.

This flight would continue for the following hours. Upon nearing national waters, they engaged the super-advanced cloaking system, which enabled them to slip unnoticed under any type of surveillance. For how else did they make their first trip from Japan? It was necessary for the Emperor's personal transport aircraft.

The only eventuality was the co-pilot receiving another call from the mainland, this time from his Lord himself once he heard of the Black Crane's second launch. They were instructions to pick-up any remaining Britannian nobles that may have been left behind. Acknowledging them, the Emperor returned to his duties, and the pilots continued with their mission. The flight returned to monotony, uninterrupted.

They reached Japan in little over 4 hours, once again proving the Crane's overwhelming superiority over the rest of the world's means of speedy transportation.

"Arrrrrggghh! What do you mean you can't find it?!" Yelled an irate scientist.

Wincing, the unfortunate aide could only give his apologies. "I-I'm sorry sir! No matter how much we look, we cannot find the E.G.F.M.!" He was shaking in his boots. For his credit though, he was the one who looked the most for it, not to mention that he was the one pushed forward by the rest of the assistants to report. A scapegoat. What a pity.

Fortunately, his superior was in a greater state of horror. "Damnit! If Rakshata learns of this, we are so going to get it!" It was true. Rakshata Chawla would have their heads for their losing of her newest project.

This was a newer version of the Indian scientist's Gefjun Disturber. The Expansive Gefjun Field Module, or E.G.F.M. for short, was a special weapon attachment for Knightmare Frames. While still experimental, it was tested, and proven to overcome the current Gefjun countermeasures. What it did was first create a localized Gefjun disturbance wave at a single point. This wave would only activate when a certain energy frequency was emitted in controlled bursts. Once enough of the energy had amassed using the disturbance as a focal point, a final frequency would be activated, causing all of the energy to combine with the disturbance wave, ending in a volatile chain reaction that would cause the whole wave to implode in every direction, encompassing a very wide area with the Gefjun disturbance, now potent enough to render every manner of electronically-oriented equipment useless. The "expansive" part of the weapon consisted that the Gefjun wave was now also intended to salvage auxiliary energy from any targets, and use it to further power and expand the wave. With appropriate usage, this weapon would effectively win any war for the Black Knights. They were even able to create small, compact bombs with the same, if weaker, properties, just without the "expansive" effect.

However, as it still was in testing, it presented several drawbacks. For one, given the complexity of the module, they would need to create a separate module which could link with a Knightmare, then link the Gefjun module. That procedure would require several minutes, and the creation of such a link would prove daunting indeed. It would also be incredibly taxing on the Frame's energy reserves

Then, there was the clause the required the user to remain still for the entirety of the procedure, leaving it to become a sitting duck for the enemy. While allies could provide protection, it also required a very capable Devicer to operate the module, all the while keeping from being shot down in combat. They could remake the module so it could work with the Ikaruga itself, turning it into a doomsday superweapon, however, the increase in energy in comparison with a Knightmare Frame would not be multiplicative, but rather, exponential. The ship did not have enough energy to fire one shot and subsequently keep the accompanying countermeasures for the expansive wave up. It would be a moot point to have made the thing in the first place.

Thirdly, there was the need to retreat their units from the battlefield to keep from any of their own from getting hit by the disturber. However, this would also alert the enemy of a possible secret weapon being deployed; thus, they would also have a chance to clear their own units from the field. The less electronic devices hit, the lesser the reach of the wave. Covert operations would not work either, for no matter how much they tried, they couldn't keep the module from sending out a particular energy signal that could be picked up by even the most rudimentary of surveillance systems. The enemy would know well in advance of the deployment of the weapon, and the pilot would be at the enemy's mercy.

And then, there was the issue of the weapon's disappearance.

"Shit, the module, the bombs, the plans… Heck, even stick drawings and used tissue paper! The whole binder in the archives was taken! Oohh, when the boss learns of this…"

With hesitance, the aide advised, "…Sir, please pardon me if my advise sounds like insubordination, but, what if the boss doesn't learn of this? You know… she's been rather… withdrawn from her work for a while now. Everyone's been, ever since… that." At this, a wave of depression hit everyone in the room. There wasn't a single citizen of the U.F.N. who wouldn't get like this whenever the death of Zero was referenced (or so the non-higher-Black Knight ranked people thought). It was truly a hard blow to the morale of everyone.

The scientist put his hand over his eyes, and looked down. The aide thought he could see a tear. "…Right. Let's… Oh let's just forget this happened. Let's tell the boss when she asks, and then build another one. Just don't mention that horrible topic anymore."

All of the aides looked down, and the head assistant let out a tear as well. "Very well… Zero… May our Mother Amaterasu bless your soul…"

It was with great pain that the Japanese researchers forgot about their stolen project, opting instead to once again, enter mournful silence for their "departed" leader, unaware that his "killers" were the very people now leading them.

With a small huff, the red-headed woman paused to look around the room. If everything went according to plan, then this would, quite likely, be the last time she would ever see it, much less be in it. With that thought, she took in her quarters, boundaries of her privacy, bringing her comfort in her solitude, committing it all to memory. If the whole plan went smoothly, she would have something far better than this soon, but even so, she would never forget this small piece of heaven that had always been here for her.

That moment done, she focused her gaze towards the floor, lost in thought. Many of her belongings would be left behind, if only to keep appearances. She was only taking a couple of small duffel bags; one filled with some clothes, the other, with her most precious possessions. The bags were stored in secret within the Guren's cockpit, well after any maintenance had been done to it. The Guren's Key was hanging around her neck, as always, kept under her clothes, resting between her breasts.

A small amount of sweat formed at her brow, nerves once again striking at her. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, steeling herself for the plan. She once again went over it all. It was a good thing she had stolen those gadgets the researchers were working on. With these compact Gefjun bombs, their plan would go by a lot better than anticipated. And she just knew that Lelouch would definitely appreciate a gift like that Gefjun-something module.

"Ok… Let's go over the plan once more. I will go in 30 minutes to the hangar, and state to the control room that I will start my patrol rounds, alone as always. Kaguya should be on her way to the Memorial Tombstone established in Shinjuku Ghetto, alone (except for a guard unit, that is), under the pretext that she wishes to give a solitary prayer to the departed souls of the people who lived where it all began. By the time she gets there and is left alone, the Gefjun bombs should have completely disabled the Black Knights. By that time, I should have "diverged" a little from the set path, and should be assumed to have been "hit" by the expansive wave as well. I'll quickly sneak into the Settlement, and get Kaguya into the Guren. We will then make our way undetected towards the west of the island, and hopefully, infiltrate one of the outing jets. We will have approximately 3 hours, 4 if they get hit really bad."

It was a bit drastic, the red-head admitted to herself. The original plan originally constituted of a severe "malfunction" in the Ikaruga's system. However, once she overheard the R&D team talking about this, she proposed to the Kaguya that the plan be redone so that it includes the Gefjun disturber in order to buy them very valuable time, and she agreed. As for taking patrol rounds, she had decided to pick that "hobby" up to appear to be concerned about the security with recent developings. The lower ranked soldiers instantly agreed, having absolute confidence in her abilities, as well as understanding that "she must be feeling incredible guilt about not being able to save Zero". As if! The only thing she regretted now, was being unable to go with him. But she'd rectify that.

Looking at the clock mounted on the wall, she saw that there were 20 minutes before the plan was fully in motion.

Kallen departed for the hangar, needing to get in her pilot suit after all, glad that she had taken the time to set up the bombs all throughout the vessel.

"Those traitors will get what's coming to them…" Kallen thought maliciously, no longer calling herself one of the Black Knights.

Sighing, the long, black-haired girl walked towards the Shinjuku Ghetto, an entourage of formidably armed Black Knights escorting her. This squad was assembled by Ohgi himself, with a few recommendations from Nagisa, so she held little doubt that they were informed to kill anyone who wasn't of Japanese descent. "The poor things", she couldn't help but think, "They're willingly working for those backstabbers! The saddest part is, they don't even know the truth. I would hardly be surprised if they were only loyal to them as well..." , Kaguya thought grimly.

Taking a few glances around the path they were going down, she continued her inner monologue. "…In which case, there's no use attempting to get them on our side. They will prove useful to defend me from any thugs that may try to get at me for a ransom, but it is a shame, really; Kallen won't spare them." Surprisingly cold, coming from Kaguya, but ever since Ohgi made the error of telling her of their betrayal, her happy self quickly became more of a mask instead of her true self. Only he would be able to truly return her to that state of happiness. She had already hardened her heart, prepared herself to be accomplice to crime if need be, fully accepting the darkness, just if she could be with him.

Now all that was left, was for the plan to be put into action.

Seeing the silhouette of the entrance to the ghetto appear in the horizon, she made a few calculations in her mind. It would take them about 10 more minutes to reach the entrance, then another 15 to reach the stone. Then, she would "enter a period of solitary prayer for the departed", thus, the men would set up a perimeter around the walled park where the memorial was erected. She checked her wristwatch. The plan would start in 28 minutes. All she had to do was act normal. Everything was right on schedule. Perfect.

"Your show now, Kallen! Throw 'em into chaos!" She though, careful not to let her evil smirk show.

Minase Mitsuki let out a small yawn of boredom. What a slow day! Seated to her side where her friends Futaba Ayame and Ichijiku Hinata, both grumbling to show they shared her sentiments. All they've done for the past couple of days is to monitor this and monitor that and !

Spinning around in her chair, the usually calm girl let out a childish "I'm boooooooooooored!", drawing the attention of some of the people manning their stations in the bridge. Though many told her to shut up, there were just as many who grumbled about how there was really nothing to do. One such person was Ayame, the purple haired girl who was staring dully at the monitor in front of her, idly chewing gum as her eyes threatened to droop. She was that bored. Hinata on the other hand, was tapping her fingers on the armrest of the chair, desperately trying not to take out her laptop and begin surfing the web.

Stopping her spinning, Mitsuki kept on whining. "I'm so bored! There's nothing to do! We all just sit here on our asses all day, monitoring this and that and not really getting anywhere! I'm supposed to be in charge of comms, they say. What communications?! No one is out in the friggin' field right now! You have to muster our defenses, they say. From who?! That fly over there?! Arrrghh!" Pulling at her hair, she buried her head in her arms and screamed, even as her friends rubbed her back and arms, deftly waving away at all the people who stared at the brown-haired operative.

Fortunately for her though, a small beeping sound alerted her. Instantly at attention, she put the headphones to her ears, and pressed a glowing button. With detectable elation and finallybeing able to do something, she did her job. "This is control, operative Minase speaking."

"Control, this is Captain Kallen Kouzuki of Zero Squadron. Requesting clearance to sortie to start patrol rounds."

Nodding, she gave a look to Hinata, who manned the radars, and gave a look to group down below who where in charge of supervising the hangar and the sorties of Knightmare Frames. She received a nod. "Affirmative, Captain Kouzuki. Sortie permitted. You may launch at your ready." "Copy that."

Letting out a sigh of contentment, she twirled one of her brown locks. "Now that's much better!"

She never noticed the strange, compacted contraption attached beneath her workstation.

Holding onto the chain link which would take her to the Guren's cockpit, Kallen checked her watch's timer discreetly. "8 minutes and 39 seconds and counting.", Kallen thought, "Better get out of here fast then. This is gonna be a bit close…"

Reaching the top, she quickly stepped into the cockpit, taking the usual straddling position on the motorcycle-like control seat. Inserting the key, she quickly ran through the activation commands of the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Hakkyokushiki, the chamber closing off to the exterior world. Her eyes darted to a small corner and she spotted her duffel bags. Taking out a small object from one, she placed it securely in a holder within the cockpit.

"7 minutes and 42 seconds…"

On the outside, in the hangar, some Black Knights milling around stopped to stare in awe as the Guren's wings revealed themselves, energy collecting in the thrusters before exploding out and swiftly coalescing into four, feather-like shards on each side. Good thing there was an area cleared out entirely for the Guren, because with wings activated, it was easily the biggest Knightmare Frame the Black Knights possessed, both width and in stature.

"6 minutes and 27 seconds…"

"Hangar bay doors open, Captain. You can sortie whenever you wish." Came the voice from Mitsuki at the other end of the line, from the bridge. Kallen readied herself. But first, she gave a reply, just to make sure. "Roger that. I'm going to be doing multiple rounds today, so excuse me if I leave a little too fast." "Understood. Return safely, Captain." "You're the ones who should be worrying about yourselves. My safety will be the least of your worries…

...in 5 minutes and 40 seconds!"

"Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Hakkyokushiki, launching!" With that bellow, she pushed the lever forward, activating the thrusters and causing the mighty red behemoth to move along the magnetic-rail track designed for Knightmare Frame sorties. Shooting out of the hangar bay of the Ikaruga and into the open sky, the red-head allowed herself a moment to enjoy the feeling of being able to fly once more, before gracefully spinning the Guren in the air, stabilizing it and getting into position, building up some energy for the big push. Good thing she had stored multiple emergency energy fillers just in case; she had a feeling this would be a long trip. Checking the timer once more in impatience, she read:

"4 minutes and 16 seconds.."

"It's almost time. Better get the hell out of here!" With that, she took one last moment to dig around the duffel bag with her precious possessions, pulling out a photo of her and her brother. A couple of photos right behind it depicted her time with the Ashford Student Council and the official founding of the Black Knights. Zero and Lelouch, the one and the same, featured prominently in both of the pictures. Staring at all three of them, she stuffed them inside her suit, right next to her heart.

She murmured to herself. "'Japan's soul will forever live on, so long as Zero lives'. They said Zero died… But he's not dead. He was betrayed… By us. The Black Knights. We're correcting that, Kaguya and I… That ship… That is not Japan. That island… is no longer Japan… Japan, is where Zero is… So I'm going to Zero, to Japan… to LELOUCH!" Screaming resolute, she shot off into the distance, knowing she had only a small timeframe before the timed bombs armed themselves.

She checked the detonation device she'd strapped in the holder. Bars of light when from green to yellow to red along its length, indication of the bombs' synchronization with the Ikaruga's system. They were short of two spaces from reaching the other end, turning red. Once the time passed and the bars filled, she'd either have to detonate the bombs herself, or run like hell, for she'd set the bombs for mass implosion after 10 seconds passed without being manually detonated. Her eyes darted to the timer she'd set on the monitor.

"41 seconds!" ("Damn! I've really gotta stop dwelling on such shit when I'm short of time!")

Increasing her speed, it took her some more seconds to finally get out of the effective range of the E.G.F.M. disturbance wave, thanks to the incredible speed of the Guren because of the wings. Wiping a bit of sweat form her brow, she smirked. "Heh. 25 seconds." Resuming her flight path, she darted a bit into the path she accustomed to travel, being able to see the Settlement from her position. "Just as planned." Turning her gaze towards the silhouette of the Ikaruga on the horizon front, her smirk grew from victorious to smug. To think she'd be able to get back at them thanks to a pair of drunk scientists…

"Ha! Talk about a bout of poetic justice!" Keeping her smirk, she turned and flew away, activating the rear camera feed.

"And she's off! Ah, it feels good to do my job. I thought I was seriously going to die of boredom!"

"Oh come on Mitsuki! Stop being so dramatic and sit down!"

"Ok ok! Geez Hinata! No need to get so jumpy about it!"

"Calm down girls! Stop fighting! Please?"

"…Fine, but only because you said so, Ayame."

The three having made their peace, returned to what they were doing… Which was to be bored. Goddmanit!

Ayame spoke up, "Hey, Tsuki-chan? Hina-chan?"

"What is it, Ayame?"

"How do you figure we'll stop being bored? As in, something that could happen?"

…5…

"I don't know… Maybe… "

…4…

Her friends and work partners leaned in hopefully, wishing to hear her idea…

…3…

Imitating a cheap robot voice, she quoted. "Someone set us up the bomb."

...2…

Faceplanting, everyone was glaring at the chortling Hinata. From somewhere in the background, a guy said in a similar voice, "What." This only served to add to her giggles. Everyone found themselves joining in.

…1…

"Haaa… But we all know that won't happen. This ship is just too well protected!"

"Heh, you're right! Hahahaha!"

She smiled as the bars covered the full length of the device. "Bombs armed." Fingering the button, her smile turned cold. "Here goes. This one's for Zero!"

She pressed the detonation button.

The device sent out a signal, a very special and unique signal from the Guren, all the way to the Ikaruga. All the bombs received the frequency, indicating them to unleash their disturbance waves at once. Warning beeps came from them, surprising any Knights who heard them all throughout the vessel. The light on each bomb shone green, before hazy green spheres exploded with tremendous force from each of the bombs, scattering with purpose as many personnel were sent flying away due to the force of the blast. Many impacted walls and hard objects, injuring some and knocking out several. As the mayhem and chaos instantly afflicted every Black Knight in the Ikaruga who heard the loud bangs, electronic gadgets and devices alike started going haywire, out of control, ceasing function or going up in flames entirely due to the radiation.

Screams of pain and fear, shocked and pleading, could be heard everywhere, Black Knights calling out for help to others. But security was busy trying to open the doorways that had sealed them all in their sector. Aides and technicians were either unconscious, injured, in other parts of the ship or busy attempting to get the systems under control. Minor fires broke out inside, but most were put out before they could spread. Cables and fuses short-circuited, letting out hot sparks our busting out of the metal walls and ceiling. Panels busted or began to smoke. Doors closed and opened without control. Terminals began to ignite. It was pure chaos.

As this all happened, the cause of this, the green spheres, grew and grew in size, as they encompassed everything. Some met and combined, growing bigger and stronger. Watching Black Knights realized that they were the cause, and it was only a matter of time before they got the whole of the Ikaruga! Many started trying to destroy them with items, but they simply went through the spheres. People began to lose their will, and fled for safer areas with less electronic equipment.

From the outside, the Ikaruga visibly shook, unable to properly stay balanced in the sky due to the severe damage it was suffering in the inside. Almost all of its systems began to fail, and fires broke out along some sections of its surface. Emergency personnel quickly got out and personally put out the fires using standard extinguishers, though some managed to slip through the hull and into the ship's inner machinations, causing even more damage and instability.

In the bridge, many were unconscious, having been caught in the initial blast. Of the three main operatives, only Mitsuki remained awake. The ones awake all tried what they could, trying to figure out a cause, trying to help get the systems back up, trying to open the entrance. But nothing they could do worked, until they heard loud banging coming from it, and the door suddenly opened, after the sound of machine gun fire ceased of course. Captain of the ship, Yoshitaka Minami, stepped in, and quickly began to try to stir the ship.

A frantic operative spoke up, "Sir! The Ikaruga's in bad shape sir! She won't be able to hold out for long in the sky! All systems are failing one after another! What should we do?!"

Rubbing his head, the captain quickly decided on a course of action. It was a good thing they were currently floating over the North Pacific Ocean, not too far off the coast, or else he didn't know if they'd make it. "Listen well! Before all systems fail, set the ship to crash into the waves! That should put out the fire! After that, we'll be adrift, but the coast guards should provide support! Quickly! The longer you dawdle, the slimmer our chances of survival!"

The flagship of the Black Knigths moved, unstable and severely impaired. It managed to comply with it's orders, setting the ship to land on the water just off to the coast, before all of the Gefjun Disturbance Fields met, combining and sending out a final wave before vanishing, encompassing the entirety of the Ikaruga, completely annihilating any of the remaining systems. The mighty ship crashed into the waves, a gigantic pillar of water spreading from the sea, their trial finally reaching its end. But they would have to spend quite a while repairing, for the Ikaruga was in very bad shape.

Having flown away from the vessel, the Guren was completely unfazed by the powerful winds stirred up by the Disturbance Fields. In her cockpit, Kallen grinned in triumph. Kallen & Kaguya – 1, Black Knights – 0. She really wished she had some popcorn with her, especially when she saw a gigantic green sphere form around the ship. "Hoo, that was way better than I thought it would be. These researchers actually do come up with some crazy shit every now and then. Sorry, everyone, but you only have the higher chain of command to blame.

Shinjuku Ghetto should be a couple of minutes away at max speed. Kaguya, here I come! Alright Guren! Full speed ahead!"

Setting for maximum velocity, the Knightmare quickly became nothing more than a red blur streaking across the sky towards the Settlement. Her last thoughts on the matter before she entered the area of the settlement where:

"Good thing I hacked the cameras and set them to take photo off Ohgi's face when the disturbances began. Now THAT was priceless." Of course, she choose to ignore how quickly she turned on her former comrades—perhaps, her heart won over her logical thinking?

Kaguya did not even need to open her eyes to know that her guards were panicking. She had felt the tremors that lightly shook the earth, as the flagship crashed into the sea. She could hear the hurried footsteps of the men rushing to her position, could hear the frantic pleas for a response on the crackling line on the end of the Ikaruga's communications array, and could hear the field captain shouting orders to the men to immediately form up around her protectively. "About time, Kallen. And here I was thinking that something had gone wrong.", she thought, nodding to the men as they formed around her, faking a surprised look, "According to our schedule, you should be arriving within the next minute."

"Alright men, we gotta escort the Supreme Chairwoman to the safest location possible! We'll use formation #º3, and—". "Captain, look!" "What are you—Wait, is that… Is that the Guren?!"

And indeed, it was the figure of the Crimson Lotus, the red Knightmare Frame belonging solely to the ace of the Black Knights that was heading right towards their position. Seeing the powerful war machine, the men felt their hearts swell with hope and joy. With the support of Major Kouzuki, no one would be able to lay harm upon their charge. Their mission might as well be called a success.

Or it would have been, as much to the shock and horror of the guards, the Guren swiftly let loose its two Slash Harkens, hitting three of the men; two who had been standing farther apart, and one on the edge of the bigger group. The first two died mercifully, instantly crushed under the massive weight. The lone man, however, had only his left arm and leg torn apart from his body, having reacted at the last moment. He let out a scream of extreme pain, flailing aloud helplessly, begging for his comrades to save him. As they looked on in horror, the man was put out of his misery, as the enormous foot of the culprit crushed the dying man, much like a human would do to an ant.

The captain shook his head in total disbelief, unable to comprehend why. "W-why?! Why is the Guren…?!" He looked in horror, as his remaining men scrambled, returning fire to the red machine. A failed attempt it was, as the bullets simply bounced off its armor. With swift movements that could not be from this world, for the pilot's skills certainly did not seem to belong to the realm of reality, the Guren eliminated one man after the other, stepping on one, thrusting its combat knife into another, firing the Harkens into two more, and flicking the last one with only a finger of its clawed arm. That last one, with a sickening squelching noise, was sent flying as nothing more than a bloodied mass, hitting the ground harshly. The captain looked around, and saw that, indeed, he was the last one.

He was the only thing left standing to defend Lady Kaguya from the rogue Guren.

Barely managing to keep himself from tripping on his own feet, he stepped before the black-haired girl, using his arm to push her back, even as he raised a shaking arm towards the Guren, combat rifle in hand. "L-lady Kaguya, run! Run away, please! I-I'll try to stall it as long as I can, but p-please, get away from here!!" But instead of hearing a startled acknowledgement, he only heard amused giggling. Suddenly, he felt something cold, something hard and incredibly painful, enter his body from his back. Letting out a wail of pain, he managed to look towards his chest to see a knife protruding from it, red beginning to flow forth from around the steel.

He fell to his knees, barely managing to keep his gaze towards the front, even as the person who he was supposed to protect, stepped in front of him and towards the Guren, climbing on its offered right hand.

Sitting on the steel appendage, Kaguya turned her gaze to look down upon the carnage Kallen had created. The corpses, barely distinguishable as previously human, were strewn about. Many were still bleeding, and various traces of blood were all around the park. Focusing on the lone man, who was already on his way to death's embrace, she spoke.

"Well, captain, you're the last one alive. And soon, you'll join your comrades in the afterlife. Do you have any last words?"

Blood trailing down his mouth, the captain of the guard spat out, "W-why?! Why, Lady Kaguya, Major Kouzuki?! Why would you do this?!"

Closing her eyes, Kaguya revealed the secret to the soon-to-be-dead-captain. "Because, dear captain, you and these men where in our way. Had you not been assigned to accompany me on this "trip", you and your men would never have to have died. The higher chain of command assigned you as a means to "keep an eye" on me. Knowing my devotion to Zero, they couldn't risk me going rogue. But I am sure that they did not expect a plan of this magnitude. The Black Knights will be out of action for quite a while, with the Ikaruga extremely damaged as it is. With them unable to keep us here, we'll be able to reunite with Zero."

Gasping, he looked to them. Zero?! "R-reunite?! B-but, Zero is dead!" He only received a scoff for his troubles.

"That is the story you were told. In reality, Prince Schneizel El Britannia discovered Zero's identity, and managed to convince the higher chain of command of the Order to betray Zero in exchange for Japan's "freedom". However, Zero escaped, and went into hiding for a while. Since they could not have Zero reveal their treachery, they decided to say Zero died because of F.L.E.I.J.A.'s detonation. Kouzuki felt guilty, and I found out from Ohgi himself only recently. We hatched up this plan in order to escape from them and go to Zero, our TRUE leader." The conviction, the honesty, the utter passion held in the words of the Sumeragi were simply too real, too strong to be faked. The captain took this in, and looked at his dead comrades grimly.

"I-I see… But, if you had told us, then we could have assisted…" "No." Snapping to attention, the voice came this time from an older, deeper female voice. It was Kallen, the former ace of the Black Knights, having stepped out of the cockpit. The red-head's face was impassive, but he could see a small bit of regret in her eyes.

"We are sorry, but even if we did, there was not guarantee that you would have believed us. If even one of you did not believe us, he would have to be eliminated, and that could automatically spark your distrust in us. Besides, it is far easier to transport just the two of us in the Guren, not to mention that it would make for a more discreet escape. An entire cell of missing guards, together with Lady Kaguya, the Guren and I would undoubtedly catch more of the attention than only us.

Anyways, they'll discover our plot eventually, of that we are sure. But with the usage of that Gefjun ordinance, they will spend a lot of time regrouping and repairing the Ikaruga. Enough time for us to leave Japan and slip into Britannia, where Zero is." Both females climbed into the cockpit, Kaguya wrapping her arms around Kallen's waist in order to support herself. Using the intercom, Kallen spoke. "Well, captain, that is all we shall tell you. I apologize once more, but it is time for you to die. We cannot leave any witnesses, much less ones who have learned of our plan." And so, she aimed the Harkens, ready to fire.

The man, for his part, bowed his head, tears falling from his eyes. "…I understand, Major… Please, go to Zero, free the Order… Save Japan…" Inside the cockpit, both women nodded, and Kallen fired. The captain died instantly, just like the first two did. Mercy was indeed given to him.

Bowing her head, Kaguya allowed herself to whisper two, symbolic words.

"Nippon, Banzai…"

It took five minutes. Kallen gathered the corpses of the guards, and used a flamethrower to burn them quickly, letting the ashes of the fallen warriors blow away in the breeze, joining with nature and becoming a part of Japan itself. Using some rubble which had scattered around with the tremors, she covered the blood which stained the ground, and quickly used her Guren's weaponry to destroy the park, as well as a small area, nearest to the direction of the shoreline, leaving only the memorial stone in perfect shape. This would help disguise what occurred here, if only slightly.

After it was all done, Kallen and Kaguya looked at each other in the eye. Nodding, Kallen focused on their objective; to leave Japan behind, and go to Lelouch. The Guren rose, energy wings forming. She was glad that no one was around to witness the massacre that took place; everyone (Japanese and Britannian alike) tended to stay away from the remains of the Shinjuku ghetto.

Before the departed, Kallen chose to speak with Kaguya.

Pressing a few keys while watching some displays, the spiky-haired woman asked. "You know, I never would have expected you, Sumeragi Kaguya of all people, to literally stab an "ally" in the back." Kaguya did not even move her head form its resting position in Kallen's back. Eyes closed, yet in an amused expression, she answered the query.

"Is it really that difficult to imagine?"

"Of course. Never thought you were cold-hearted enough to kill, much less when your opponent's back was turned."

In response, the expression on Kaguya's face turned cold. "Of course I wasn't. The idea of taking a life, with my own hands, was repulsive to me. Even now, I can feel the disgust I feel for myself eat away at my being."

"Was?"

"If I want to stand beside the demon, then I must learn to be like a demon. If one would ever attempt to use me to get to him, I must be ready to kill or be killed, to make sure Lelouch doesn't suffer because of my weakness. Only when I can accept that fact, will I truly be useful to him."

"Useful? Do you not care if he would only use you, then discard you when he no longer wants you?"

"I do not. Even if I were to be tossed aside, I would find a way to remain with him. My love for him will never diminish, Kallen. I do not know about the rest of the world, but I was always able to read his heart whenever he spoke. I know, knowing him both as a child and as the man he is now, that, if he would discard me, it would only be for my sake."

Kallen stopped. She simply ceased to move. A moment passed before she gave a sideways look to the girl—no, woman— behind her. She was far more mature than anyone her age should be. She was gripping her suit slightly, and a few tears were slipping down her face. It pained her to see someone as youthful as Kaguya become like this. But she could not comfort her now. She had to remain focused, or else she'd break down too; Kaguya was far more true to herself than Kallen was to herself.

Turning to look towards the front screen, she finished with an honest whisper. "Kaguya, you are truly a kind person."

For her part, she opened her eyes slightly, and through her tears, Kaguya smiled. "Thank you, Kallen." She wrapped her arms around the older female again, readying herself for the flight.

Once they were both ready, the Guren shot off, becoming a blur as it headed towards the airport. The next phase of their plan would be to sneak the Frame into a plane.

They would hijack it if they had to.

Nina shuffled where she stood, even as the men going about packed her belongings—which included a few bags, and the bulk of it, many crates of medium size, each containing many parts, gadgets, cables and such. She was taking everything that belonged to her that she both could take, and considered precious. She had to anyway, if Milly's plan was to be followed correctly. Of course, accepting the offer did nothing to lessen the shock.

Hours later, a man knocked on the entrance of her workshop, and with great hesitance, she opened. It was to her elation that the man showed an insignia that Milly had described, which showed his loyalty to the Emperor, and the Emperor only. She proceeded to let them in, fully trusting in Milly. Well placed trust, to be noted. The men quickly packed her belongings in the trunk—the extraordinarily spacious trunk, she'd like to add—, and off they went. And much like Milly, she had reached the secluded airport location in record time. She was now gazing up at the technological wonder that was the Black Crane.

She was snapped out of her thoughts, as one of the men approached her. "Milady, we have finished cargo loading procedures. We should be ready for lift off within the next 10 minutes." She nodded, watching as the man walked off, once again, noting that the Emperor's men were also amazingly quick in performing their duties. Every lift off sequence she'd entertained in boredom usually took into account "normal" staff, thus, they took longer. If the Emperor had more men like these at his beck and call at any time, she'd hopefully feel much safer in the Empire. "Well of course! I'm going into the direct care of the Supreme Coordinator, who is in turn under the care of the Emperor!" Reprimanding herself, she decided to move to a better position to inspect the craft, when a commotion a ways to the side alerted her that something was not right.

"Halt! Who goes there?" This was the voice of one of the guards. Monotone still, though an underlying sense of warning could be heard in it. He and several others formed up, pointing guns, machine guns at the darkness. One even had a bazooka ready.

The response, to say the least, was not what any of them was expecting... "Oh, why, it is only little 'ol me." …For the tone was childish. From the darkness, came a young girl, no older than 16, dressed in white and red. Black-haired and with big, green eyes, Nina identified the girl as an elev—no, Japanese. But what was she doing here?

As if answering her mental question, a gigantic arm struck the ground in front of the guards, followed swiftly by its owner, a massive, red Knightmare. The Knightmare blocked the feeble gunfire from the guards, and raised its other arm, ready to finish them off; Nina spotted a grenade launcher integrated into the arm, and knew them to be done for. But she also knew the mecha to be familiar, and the voice from the speakers only confirmed her suspicions.

"All right, you Brits! As of this moment, this plane belongs to us! If you don't do as we say, we'll kill you!" But Nina could not allow this.

"Kallen! Kallen, is that you?!" Hearing her name being called, the surprised ace pilot spotted a familiar face, and couldn't help but call back.

"N-Nina?! What are you doing here?!"

"Kallen, wait, please! You and that girl want to board this plane, right? I can allow you to accompany me if you cease this takeover attempt!" But a guard interfered.

"But, Milady! The Emperor gave us explicit orders to only allow you, and any other missing nobles to come aboard!" "Nobles?! Wait!"

"Then there is no problem. The Devicer of that Knigthmare is Kallen Stadtfeld, only heir to the prestigious Stadtfeld name. Surely, if she came out and you confirmed her identity, she and her vassal could come aboard?" Pausing, the man turned towards the Knightmare. Kallen, mentally thanking Nina for this, quickly put her hair back into the style it was when she used to attend Ashford Academy—slick, framing her face. Stepping out of the cockpit boldly, looking down at them, she watched as the same guard spoke in hushed whispers to a man who had approached with a portfolio, which she spied, held photos of the many nobles which had moved to Japan ever since it was firs overtaken by Britannia.

The guard received a nod, and he nodded back. He signaled for the rest to back down, as he held the portfolio in hand, raised high into the air, showing the photo of a red-haired girl, who resembled the woman standing in the Knightmare. At once, the guards obeyed, bowing to Kallen, who turned to look towards Nina, and gave her a grateful smile. The black-haired girl from before, whom the green-haired scientist had ignored up until now, also smiled gratefully.

Seeing that her plan worked, Nina allowed a smile of her own to appear on her face.

"So… For whatever reason you called the Crane's pilots to tell them to pick up any nobles? You know as well as I do that all nobles, except one, are accounted for; either here, or dead." That one, was of course, Kallen.

For his part, the man laughed. "Oh I don't know. Perhaps I was just hoping that Kallen would choose to come to me for some reason, and somehow manage to get here. Probably with Kaguya in tow." His companion shared his laugh of amusement, shaking her head, green locks swaying with the motion. "Honestly, as if that would happ—!"

But a guard stepped in at the moment, and delivered urgent news. "My Emperor, we have received reports that your jet has picked up a missing noble. A "Kallen Stadtfeld", sir, together with a black-haired female eleven!"

Silence. The guard looked towards his Emperor to see the funniest sight of his life; his mouth was wide open, figure hunched over and looking at the guard in disbelief, left eye twitching sporadically. Closer examination revealed that a fly flew in and out without the royal's notice. His female companion also showed signs of disbelief, though her face showed it less.

On the background, Kururugi Suzaku cursed, handing some money over to the grinning Jeremiah Gottwald. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Business? Please, you just won the bet of "how long will it take for something totally unexpected to happen, causing Lelouch to be left completely dumbfounded, complete with gaping mouth and nervous tick". No need to rub it in." Said an embittered Suzaku.

Bet? The guard was lost. What happened? Did the news fry his Lord's brain?

A.N.: Chapter End! Yayz! n_n! I've been dying to write this part of the story, but I just couldn't get around to doing it! I hope I didn't screw the plot with my Kaguya's change in character as per this story's plot! And I hope I didn't make the plan come out forced... That would suck! Anyways, please review! Remember, reviews are what makes us authors gain exp. points and level up to correct our flaws!

NOTES:

- I believe I may include a glosary of sorts, for whenever a Japanese term or such a reference sneaks into the story.

- I'm dying to play a Touhou Project game. Danmaku game's have held my attention for a while now, but I've almost never seen one, let alone play one.

- Similarly, my recent obsession with Touhou has led to crazy ideas to pop into existance in my mind whenever I get bored! I want to write a fic for Touhou (Remilia Scarlet rules so DAMN much!), but FF's area of the site is nearly dead! There's barely over 200 stories, with little viewers! That's not right! Touhou is a great Danmaku franchise (with two excellent fighting games)! Would anyone promise to read the fic if I DID write it? Please T_T!