Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, only to remember you had something due the next day? Yeah, I just managed to completely forget about this chapter.

I'm on a roll.

I'm going to chicken out and give you all two excuses for why this is late. 1, I had wayyyyyy too much caffeine today, and 2, I have a stomach bug. Again. Third time in two months.

Anyway. Enjoy this half of a chapter. I'll update it soon.

EDIT:

Updated!

Also, I realized I messed with physics a bit. I'll put it in the bottom of the chapter to not give away spoilers.

"Kallen! Down fifteen degrees, then aim the cannons straight upwards!"

L2 frantically does what he does best. He analyzes the situation, then tells people what to do.

C2 wasn't finding his bossy attitude all that charming at the moment.

"I know that you think you're helping," She begins. "but I'm pretty sure Kallen can operate effectively without you're direct intervention. Your sister? Not so much!"

C2 rolls the Dai Shōri away from a laser of some sort. These new Geass units had heavy duty lasers that could tear through even their most heavily armored unit at the moment.

L2 looks at Nunnally's blip on his radar. "She seems to be handling herself well." He frowns. "I think she might've borrowed Suzaku's Geass. She's anticipating things a little too well."

C2 snorts. "At least she's putting her powers to good use. It seems like everyone else said 'Oh. Powers. Cool.' and decided to forget about it. I think Kallen used her Geass three times, if that."

Lady Kaguya, who was being silent, pipes up. "I don't use mine because I heard it could have very bad long term consequences."

"Right." L2 nods. "I kind of wish I could trade with Kallen, honestly. My ultimate command worked, but being able to find every possible pattern? That would've been so very helpful!"

C2 opens her mouth to respond, but suddenly the Dai Shōri rocks as something hits it.

Suzaku's voice comes over the comms. "L2, you have an enemy unit attached to your Knightmare's leg."

"Yeah, we figured that out. Give me a hand with that?" L2 starts pressing buttons on his keyboard like controls. "I'll keep the rest off of you."

Back in his own cockpit, Suzaku watches as L2 starts destroying everything coming after the pair.

He shakes his head and draws the sword. "Okay, no chopping the leg off."

He carefully swings the sword in an arc, slicing the unit clean in half.

Of course, having it's power core sliced in half causes it to shut down. Now it was going to be a task to pry the thing off.

Unless it explodes.

Suzaku quickly air dashes up to the Dai Shōri and rips the bisected husk off the leg, taking a bit of the armor plating with it. Suzaku watches as it falls downward to the ocean below-

And explodes fifty feet above the surface. Yeah, that fireball was big enough to wipe out the Shōri if it had gone off.

"Thanks Suzaku." L2's voice comes over the comms. "Go aid Nunnally, use your Geass if you have to."

Suzaku taps the transmit button. "I can't get a reading on them. They aren't organic, remember?"

There's silence over the line for a few seconds, interrupted only by the screams of the multiple Hadron cannons on the battlefield.

"Then what the hell is going on over there?" L2 demands.

Nunnally was asking that herself. She had tried to borrow Suzaku's power to try to get a reading on the flying bombs, but instead-

Instead, she had seen a giant wall of stars. It was surreal. She had walked up to the nearest star, and it had transformed into written language. We recognized it as Suzaku's Geass. She had then turned to the other stars, and as she approached them, she found they were all different. Each star was a new Geass power. She had spent what felt like hours looking around before some part of her brain realized that she might want to wake up.

She had then rushed over to a star labeled "Precognition" and attempted to grab it.

That was when she woke up, back in her cockpit, less than a fraction of a second after she had left.

Oh, and funny afterimages seemed to be floating everywhere, but they were leading their actual forms. It's like...

Like knowing where they'll be in the next second or two.

For the first time in a fight, Nunnally smiles.

Soon, she starts tearing through the hordes of robotic Knightmares with what would appear to be reckless abandon to anyone without the ability to see into the future.

Interestingly, L2 was able to do this without the use of a Geass. Being an exceptionally good observer and having a lightning quick mind kind of helps. He watches her flight path on the grid as Suzaku flies towards her.

If not Suzaku's Geass... L2 didn't know what to make of it. Maybe her powers had already escalated to the next stage? That was a disturbing thought.

Soon, the two dots become a blur as they dance together on his screen.

"I'm sure she'll be alright." C2 says confidently. "There's no reason either of them should be in trouble their both competent pilots."

L2 looks at his almost constant companion for the past fourteen years. "Are you trying to reassure me?"

C2 smirks. "Did it work?"

He shakes his head. "Alright." he looks over his battle map. So far, he had zero losses, only minor damage, and the opposing side had casualties in the hundreds range.

Kallen's voice suddenly blasts out of the speaker. "Lelouch, I found something."

He keys the comms switch. "What is it?"

"These robots are moving in a pattern around a single unit. I think I read something similar to this once, where that one unit controls the others. I'm going after it."

"Good luck." L2 watches the blip labeled Q1 suddenly shift direction and start weaving through the heart of the swarm of Geass Knightmares.

He switches his attention to the two Knightmares hanging a bit back.

Anya and Jeremiah are holding their own. Really, Jeremiah could probably hold his own against an army just using his cybernetics and a jet pack.

Heh. That made for an interesting image.

Either way, the battle seemed to be going to take a long time to finish, if only by sheer numbers of units.

Kallen's voice interrupts his thoughts. "No go, Lelouch. They're definitely protecting that one unit.

L2 Keys the comm over to broadcast to all of his units. "Everyone form back up on me. We'll carve a hole through their-"

He never gets the chance to finish that sentence.

Suddenly, a massive light blooms off the in the distance, a little above them. Every unit, friendly and foe, halts their battle and looks at the growing dust cloud.

Kallen's keen eyes track a pressure wave coming towards them. "Everyone brac-"

Suddenly, she's in complete darkness. What? But...

Her Knightmare had shut down! And she was still over three hundred feet in the air!

She doesn't have long before the Knightmare slams into the ocean, along with hundreds of other units, all sinking got the bottom of the vast waters, as metal is wont to do.

o-o-o-o

"This is Millie Ashford, coming to you live from the Ashford Academy. In light of the recent tragedy, refuges are flocking to this large complex for aid."

The cameraman pans over to show the veritable tent city lined up on the lawn of the Academy.

"A trusted source has informed me that this recent attack is potentially as bad if not worse than the loss of life during the battle over Tokyo twelve years ago. I have her with me."

The camera pans back to show Millie and Nina Einstein.

"Hello, Millie." Nina says quietly.

"Hello Nina." Millie turns towards the camera. "This is Nina Einstein. She is a scientist intimately acquainted with the FLEIJA warhead used over Japan Twelve years ago."

Nina nods. "I regret that decision now, but it can't be helped. Honestly, I'm shocked anyone would attempt to make such a thing." She shakes her head. "What went off in the Yokohama district was a crude version of my own type of bomb. Judging by the detonation pattern and the cloud formation, I would have to say this was a nuclear reaction induced without the use of sakuradite."

"I didn't know that was possible." Millie says. "How do you think they did it?"

"I- I can't be sure, since I don't even know who would do such a thing, but I suspect that it operates by detonating uranium of a certain isotope. I couldn't tell you what isotope, even if I was inclined too."

Millie nods. "I understand. Is there anything else we could know about this new type of warhead?"

"It might cause some side effects." Nina frowns. "Working with nuclear materials is very hazardous to your health if exposed for long enough. If I'm correct about this bomb, there is a chance of nuclear contamination."

"Sounds serious. What can we do about it?"

Nina looks at the camera. She has a determined glint in her eyes garnered from twelve years of fallout from her invention. "Get yourself to a medicl facility as soon as you can. Radiation exposure isn't a joke, and can have long term effects."

The camera light turns off.

Nina sighs in relief. "I can't believe a nuclear warhead just went off..."

Millie puts her arm around her old friend's shoulder. "Oh, come on. You had nothing to do with it. There's no way you could have known it would happen."

Nina shakes her head. "You're right, but all the same, I pioneered that field. FLEIJAs actually had a countermeasure that I developed. This type of bomb... I dont know if I can neutralize it's effects midair." She pushes her glasses up her nose. "At least from the preliminary reports the casualties are lower."

Millie blinks. "I thought you said it was worse."

"It will be. I'm very convinced that that the high radiation levels are indicative of what might become a dead zone in the future. It may not be safe to live it the Yokohama area for generations."

The two former classmates are silent, looking at the refugees.

Millie looks up at the sky. "It's happening again."

Nina looks at Millie inquisitively.

"Last time people were this afraid all the time, A war started." Millie elaborates. "Twelve years have gone by..."

"I wonder what the sides are." Nina looks down at the ground. "Last time it was Britannia against the Black Knights."

Millie smiles slightly. "I have a good hunch the Black Assassins are going to be there. I hope they're on the good side, and not the side taht would bomb an innocent city just to get a point across."

Nina looks at Millie. "Wait, I haven't heard anything about anyone claiming this was for political gain!"

Millie shakes her head. "I can't tell you why. I received a transmission last night from a good friend- you remember Rivalz, right?- He was working with the Black Assassins to get some information. when we tried to raise them on a long distance communication line, we couldn't hail them. Rivalz told me what to say if they ever got in contact."

Nina looks shacked. "Rivlaz is working for them?"

Millie nods. "For about two weeks now."

Nina looks at her feet. "I wonder if they'll accept me..."

Millie grimaces. "Still can't get a decent job?"

Nina shakes her head. "I only developed that warhead because... Well, I guess I was angry. I immediately regretted setting it off, and once I realized what I had done, I never went back Into weapons research. Countermeasures? Sure! but not the weapons themselves."

Millie pats her shoulder. "I'm sure the Black Assassins will let you into their group. Its just a matter of reaching them, at this point."

Nina shakes her head again. "I'm surprised they haven't said anything yet."

Millie nods. "Not since the detonation."

Nina and Millie chat for a while about some less heavy stuff for a while until the cameraman tells Millie to get ready to get on camera again.

The light turns on. "Hello again, everyone. I'm Millie Ashford. It's been a week since the detonation..."

Author's Note 2: The EMP from the Nuke (that's what it was, if it wasn't clear) should have reached the Black Assassins at the speed of light. I'm keeping it in that that it went the same speed as the shockwave since it makes for better narration.

The scientist/engineer inside me is dying, but I'll explain it away as the physics of a different universe. Hey, it already has Geass and sakuradite, right?