Yeah, I agree. A lot of OC characters can be confusing. Well, sorry for confusing you guys, it's just that I need a lot OC characters here as this is Civil War in Britannia and most of the old Britannian Army characters from the anime are either dead or not part of Britannia anymore so that's my reason. Sorry for any trouble. The background of this story is the Civil war so I'm trying my best to describe it out. I want everyone to understand the background and situation of this entire conflict before the main plot comes in. I'll try to add in more of the characters appearing in the anime in the next chapter. This chapter is completely about the battle and...Well…You'll know after you finish reading it. Read & review my friends.

"Ready?" Anduin Landers asked his old friend as Anduin himself clipped his breastplate on. Arthur Peregrine put on his helmet and nodded.

"Ready." Arthur walked out of his room followed by Anduin. The several of the other knights were already prepared though now they were dressed in the armour of the standard Britannian infantry with the exception of the crimson shoulder guards.

As the two joined them, a taller figure clad in blue arrived.

"Grand Master Bernard." The helmed knight greeted the figure. "The Knights of Afron are at your service."

"Good." Bernard said it with a nod. "You all know what you're supposed to do. I've convinced the Britannian army that we're here to help. Right now, we're just another loyalist noble's Household troops so they're still suspicious of us. Give it your best. Show them what it truly means to be a knight. Make that every painful second of your training count. Do what you must to defend this land. For by Blood and Honour we serve." He placed slapped his gauntlet fist on his chest.

"Blood and Honour." The rest follow the gesture and went out. Arthur was following Anduin out when Sir Bernard grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked quietly.

Arthur hesitated first then looked over his shoulder. "Yes….It's been a year already…"

Richmond at 1500 hours

Night fell upon the city as the cannon and missile fire from the Imperial Armada rained down on its fortifications. While the outer walls suffered from the heavy bombardment, the city's massive Blaze Luminous Shields held them out. The cannonade lasted for about an hour before waves of Vincent Wards and Gloucesters of the Royal Panzer Infantry attacked firing bazooka and missiles at the ground forces. The landscape suddenly came to live as anti-air fire of the defenders returned, illuminating the otherwise pitch black scene.

Rebel anti-armour guns and Knightmares countered attacked their own Wards, Gloucesters and Sutherlands supported by other units engaged grim duels with the Imperial forces. Missile and auto-cannon turrets on towers and bunkers turned training on the invaders firing. Great balls of orange and red illuminated the sky each representing the deaths of dozens of men.

From the ground, huge masses of dark figures joined the fray. Steams of yellow and red bolts flew in all directions some hitting their targets. Several struck the city's shield, causing the entire city to glow green. New defensive turrets of cannon and missiles appeared from the ground, firing at the coming horde, peppering the first wave completely destroying three Knightmares as the others scattered their landspinners.

Meanwhile in Westfield

Arthur Peregrine waited in his customised Vincent along with the rest of the knights at Westfield while Anduin talked to the local mayor. He could feel his hands shaking in excitement. They were about 20 feet below ground. In front of them was a large tunnel.

"It's just straight down, Sir Knight." The Mayor explained. "It's only wide enough for one of your Knightmares to fit so you should be careful."

"Our thanks. And your loyalty to the crown is greatly appreciated." Anduin nodded to him.

"No need thanks. Her majesty gave us back our own lives. It is the least we can do." The knight nodded. The Empress had actually won the loyalty of the locals in such a short time. That is good.

Anduin quickly entered his azure framed Vincent. "Ready. Let's ride!"

"All Knightmares move out!" Without another word, the knights in individually customised Vincents followed by the Imperial and Afron Wards entered the dark tunnel.

It's too dark even from here and we're run out of space. Arthur thought as a loose pipe almost struck him. "All units. Switch on your IFF signals. Use them to navigate here. R1 watch out!" The Ward took a glancing blow though it wasn't bad.

"Lord Peregrine." called one soldier. "Our forces have launched their attack. The battle has begun."

"Then we best hurry." Arthur muttered. The knight looked back at the information provided by the locals. It would take at least about fifteen minutes to get into that fortress. He hoped that by then the Grand Master and the Imperial army had drawn the majority of the rebel forces on the frontlines.

They could hear the explosions and fire even under here. The battle must be going very fierce.

"Damn! How long is this going to take?" Anduin snarled.

Arthur said nothing, focusing on the IFF screen instead. Getting closer. Getting closer.

"Ready your rifles. It's going to be a mad dash." Arthur himself carried only a rifle at the moment. The Prototype of the Energy Disrupter Rifle he had took the last time was only able to used once, being in its initial stage and even if he was able to use it again, it wouldn't be useful here. He thought that it may be useful considering he had to fight such powerful Knightmares. But now, it was just simple warfare: tactics and conventional weapons.

That they could hear the battle above meant that they were already inside Richmond's shields. But they would still need to reach the end of the pipeline. They might as well jump in front of a charging Gloucester if they do it now.

"My lord, the pipeline is getting wider!" exclaimed a soldier.

"That's because we're no longer in the pipeline." Anduin explained. "It's an old tunnel. There is a cross-road in front. Our stop should be straight ahead."

Just as they reached the cross-way, Arthur noticed that there were two other paths.

"Captain, where does that lead?" He asked one of the local Imperial officers he brought, thinking their knowledge of the land may be useful.

"It's an old sewerage, my lord. They closed it down like the pipelines years ago when they introduced a new one."

"Is it in any use?" Arthur asked.

"Not at all."

"Good. Sterling! Take your unit inside and stop after 500 metres. Wait for further orders."

"What? Arthur, what are you doing?" Anduin asked, surprised.

"Trust me." A loud rumbling told him that there were rebel units above them.

"We're close."

"Now!" Arthur charged forward in full gear firing as he moved. The blast door exploded from the volley and the silver-red Knightmare burst out on the unsuspecting soldiers.

"Now strike before they can recover!" Arthur sprayed a wide arc of sabot rounds while using one of his slash harkens to take down a rebel Vincent. The razor sharp weapon struck the enemy Knightmare square in the chest, killing the pilot as well.

Several enemy Knightmares recovered and were turning on them when Arthur's own unit joined him and firing their rifles at the enemy.

"Harry, cover our backs!" Arthur ordered one of his subofficers as the entire group arrived. "The rest of you with me! We need to shut down or destroy those generators fast!"

As Harry's unit took up defensive positions on one side, the others turned to the other direction. They charged through the roads of the city, meeting stiff resistance almost immediately. Rebel Wards and Sutherlands fired volleys of sabot rounds at the intruders.

Arthur continued firing with one hand while using the other to charge his Needle Blazer. One Vincent launched his Slash Harkens at the knight. Arthur dodged one harken but the second one managed to knock out his rifle. Despite it, he charged straight towards it, using the Vincent's superior speed to dodge the shots. As he closed it, Arthur used his charged needle blazer like an elbow strike and smashed into the chest of the Vincent Ward. The blue energy that was charging made it look so daunting that the rebel pilot could do nothing but stared as his Knightmare's chest and head were blasted into dust.

As he recovered from his attack, about a dozen Sutherlands and Gloucesters appeared in front of them.

"Move!" Arthur shouted to his unit members. "P1, B2 circle around those buggers. P4. P5 provide covering fire!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Two violet Vincent Wards with blood red shoulder-plates charged pass Arthur, with their MVS double-bladed lances drawn.

"Arthur, watch your back!" Anduin shouted through his radio. A gold and blue Vincent appeared a moment later, jumping over behind Arthur, driving a spinning kick at an unseen Gloucester. The kick smashed straight into Knightmare's head, knocking it down hard on the floor. Arthur's rescuer then brought its rifle up and fired a burst at a second Gloucester with trained lance. It deflected its shots with its polearm, the sabot rounds bouncing harmlessly off its golden blade. But Anduin was one of the most skilled sharpshooters in his unit and continued his barrage and this time, the rounds shot pass the lance, landing on the purple Knightmare's chest-plate.

"Anduin! Thanks. Now come on!" He drew one of his MVS blades as well and leapt into the fray.

Duke Morbis 'Morbid' Weildfield had been the Viceroy of Area 16 back during the war. His plan was perfect. Morbid had personally devised the entire strategy by himself. The shields, the cannons, the trenches…everything! It was another masterpiece he made and the first in along time since fighting those terrorists in Area 16. He had never lost a single battle. He had never made a single flaw in his campaign and no soldier under him would dare make one. If they did they knew what would happen. He wasn't called 'Morbid' for any reason.

Which was why the son of a bitch that allowed those Imperial scum into his fortifications would wish he had never lived.

"Third Battalion moved in to intercept those bastards." He ordered his subordinates.

"Agrah!" A rebel Knightmare pilot screamed as a crimson blade sliced through his Knightmare chest plate…and through his own chest.

Arthur drew back his weapon and fired a slash harken at a charging Sutherland with a silver lance. The rebel used his weapon to block it and lowered it down as it advanced in full speed. Arthur dove forward to meet it head on, his MVS sword at the ready. The knight swung his blade first and parried the lance thrust so hard that the viroblade sliced through the lance. Pulling his sword back to chest level, Arthur drove the weapon into the Sutherland's chest. At that the speed, the pilot didn't even had time to eject.

He caught a glance of Anduin as his fellow knight took down a Gloucester and two Sutherlands in single shots.

"Anduin, we need to be quick. The buggers probably sent a regiment on us by now. Harry, draw them of from here and lead them over to the pipeline."

"Sir?" Harry asked, puzzled. On the radio one of their Vincent pilots screamed as a Gloucester's lance pierced through his Knightmare's chest.

"Just do it. I'll explain later."

"Yes, Sir Arthur." The knight hesitated for a moment then saluted and pulled his green and white Vincent around firing. His own unit of 15 Wards followed him.

Sir Henry 'Harry' Dunford was a fine knight and a good leader. He should be able to hold them.

Arthur turned back to the fray, dodging a sword swing from a Gloucester then punching it in the face. He then twisted behind the falling Gloucester and thrust his MVS blade into from behind by the cockpit. He glanced behind seeing a large heavily guarded compound with high walls.

As he did, one section of the wall opened up and about half a dozen Wards suddenly poured out, their guns blazing.

"Anduin!" Arthur shouted. "I need to get to their Keep!"

"What? I thought we were here to destroy the generators?" He asked as he took cover from a volley.

"Yes but I need to get there first. It's the fastest way to shut it down!" He used his sword to point at the massive building.

"But-"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course but…"

"Then hurry!" Without another word, Arthur charged forward drawing his other MVS sword at the same time.

"Arthur, wait! Crazy idiot…" Anduin gritted his teeth and followed. The blue and gold Vincent turned around and continued providing covering firing for his friend.

"All units. Follow me!"

Another of their Wards who had been unlucky enough to run into a volley fell with a hundred bullet holes into the chest and cockpit. A Rebel Ward charged at him with his MVS sword. Anduin growled as his rifle ran out of ammunition. Cursing, the blond knight seized the Ward's hand before he could complete the swing and used his other needle blazer to finish it off.

By the time he advanced, Arthur was already locking his swords into double blade mode and was charging into a large group of rebel Vincent Wards led by two green and gold Vincent Commander Models. He wielded them with such skill and accuracy that Anduin could hardly believe he was the same knight he had known for the entire year. Whenever he slashed, the red and silver Knightmare left pieces of broken Knightmares along with what was left of their unfortunate pilots. It was shocking if not horrifying to see him fighting so.

Arthur used one blade to block a sword swing then used its other end to slice through the torso of his opponent. Just as he finished his bloody harvest, he signalled to Anduin.

"The way is clear! Hurry we need to get in!" Arthur was already making his way out of the cockpit a pistol in one hand. At his side was ruby hinted longsword sheathed in a gold framed violet scabbard.

Before Anduin could bite a question, the other knight had already jumped down and was charging into the rebel command centre.

"Hurry. Dismount!" Anduin jumped down from his Knightmare, hoisting his rifle and followed Arthur with the rest of their men behind him.

"Move!" Arthur shouted, shooting at some of the guards that appeared at the entrance. They met minimal resistance as they storm their way through, their combat boots eating up the distance quickly. However, occasional soldiers in the old Britannian blue uniforms would appear at every corner. They were entering a long of hallway leading to an elevator when a volley of lead rained down on them.

"Watch it!" Arthur and Anduin with a squad rolled to one side while the second and third rolled to the other. Three soldiers were caught in the stream bullets their fall slowed by the continuous impact of the rounds against their helmet and shattered armour.

"Buggers, got us this time!" Anduin muttered. Arthur nodded in agreement. The rebel soldiers had two sets of heavy machine guns trained on their position around a bunch of sandbags. Behind them were about a dozen more men with rifles.

Anduin was wondering how they were going to get pass them when Arthur drew something from his belt and hurled what looks like a silver pearl at the rebel position.

The continuous barrage caught the small object and for an explosive of its size, the impact was tremendous as it rocked all the soldiers down. Smoke blanketed the entire position.

"Now!"

Arthur bellowed a charge and head out first firing his pistol. Anduin followed, careful not to shoot wildly lest he hit his friend who suddenly jumped over the barricade. As the smoke started to fade away, he was rewarded with the privilege to watch Arthur fight.

It was blood poetry, a war dance. The knight charged and shouldered into one soldier, unsheathing his weapon at the same time, slashing the man as the blade was being drawn out. The flashing blade cut through his breastplate and split his chest, causing the blood to spray on Arthur's black-grey armour. One of the soldiers swung his rifle using it like a club. Arthur easily ducked the great stroke, twisting he kneeled pulling his sword arm back and thrust hard. His aim was true and the sword pierced through the man's throat. Pulling the blade out, the knight quickly twisted his weapon in a reverse hold and thrust back into the chest of another behind him without even looking. He would twist again, dodge any blows and retaliate, continuing his attacks with lightning fast reflexes. Most of the rebels however were too stunned to even do anything though.

One soldier however was able to get his rifle ready and fired but the knight suddenly jumped to one side and then to the other then to another in a zig-zag pattern until the distance between them covered. The soldier cried out as the knight knocked his firearm with the sword causing the gun's automatic shots to rain down on the soldier's own fellows. As the gun fell out of his hand, Arthur slashed, the blade slicing through his shoulder the armour offering no resistance at all.

Arthur then twisted and buried his blade into the head of another soldier who tried to knife him, the sword cut through the helmet as if air, blood spraying on both of them.

Anduin then heard the sound of a gun cocked and turned to see a blue coated officer standing with his pistol pointing at Arthur. Knowing that he needed to act fast, Anduin brought his gun up but didn't fire as Arthur suddenly lunged on the man. How did he recover so fast?

The officer however was too stunned to fire as he watched the blood-soaked figure in black armour with a bloodied sword charging at him unable to offer any resistance. His eyes were filled with fear, wishing he hadn't drawn his gun out and surrender. Arthur saved the man from any humiliation and ran the soldier through, sword point piercing through his back.

Anduin watched aghast as Arthur idly pulled his sword out. He shivered as his fellow knight wiped the blood on his sword. Everything he saw was just too much for him to absorb.

"Anduin…" He muttered quietly already turning forward. "Take the left corridor and silence their artillery. I'll take control of their leader."

"But…" Anduin shook his head to clear his head of the carnage he had witnessed. "But he'll have an entire company guarding him. There are bound to be more troops here."

"Don't worry. I'll deal with them." Without another word, Arthur Peregrine sheathed his sword and marched into the elevator trusting his subordinate to follow his orders.

"My lord…. a group of Imperials…they…they broke through into our compound." One of his officers said, his face pale white.

"What? How did they…never mind! Seal all the inner doors. Get the guards!"

"My lord, they damaged our controls. We'll need to seal the doors manually."

"Then do it! If any idiot fails, I'll have his head standing on my door pouch! And where is that battalion?" Morbid shouted. His men obeyed quickly their fear of their leader was stronger than their fear of what was going to happen.

"They're still engaging the enemy Knightmares which got in, my lord." The officer explained, still pale.

"Damn. Pull some of our reserves from the front and bring then here!"

Lieutenant Kenneth Sterling wondered why his commander ordered him to go through this tunnel and stop in their position. There was nothing here. And he could see on his mini-map that they were taking heavy losses and could even hear the sounds of gunfire and explosion above.

Now he and his men were in this stinking sewer about several decades old. What were they supposed to do now? He could here some of his comrades shouting as their Knightmares were being torn apart.

As if an answer to his thoughts, his radio suddenly picked up at an unknown frequency.

"Lieutenant, stop after you reach about thirty metres ahead from your position. Now use your chaos mines and blow up the ceiling." The voiced sounded like Sir Peregrine's.

Sterling blinked. How did he know where they were? He wanted to argue but the disappearance of several of their own Knightmares on the urged him to act.

Sterling threw his mine. Its shrapnel hit the pillars hard, the bullets peppering the concrete walls. After a few seconds, the entire ceiling collapsed down in front of them. To their surprise, the debris landed just right before them and along with them was an entire squadron of rebel Knightmares all broken by the fall. Any survivors were quickly cut down by them.

"Now get outside using your slash harkens and support Dunford's unit."

Before Sterling could say another word, Peregrine was gone.

Outside the Keep

Harry Dunford did his best to hold them. He was a soldier, born and bred as one. He can follow orders precisely as it was told and could improvise whenever necessary. But fighting against a full battalion with a handful of Knightmares pushed the soldier to his limits.

He threw a chaos mine over the corridor, the shrapnel from the mine rained down on the unsuspecting Sutherlands tearing them to pieces. Henry then used his rifle to spray a wide arc scattering the survivors.

They had decimated five platoons already but they just keep coming. Harry was grateful to Lord Peregrine for advising on moving into this position. He was right for it was too narrow for the entire battalion from entering, at least not without hitting each other. And that gave them the advantage.

It was just like the Battle of Crecy centuries ago when the French and Imperial knights made the same mistake he thought. And they like the English longbowmen back then they were cutting the buggers down with their arrows while the noble-born bastards tried to restore order in that tight corridor.

But like at Agincourt, they were badly outnumbered and their ammunition would not last forever. A glitter of silver and gold in the distance told him of the advancing enemy. He just hoped that he and his men could fight as well as those English knights and men-at-arms at Agincourt in close quarters. Two lines of lancers were moving at them several were carrying their rifles. The first one was made up of Gloucesters and the second of Sutherlands. Harry gritted his teeth as he finished his last round, drawing his MVS swords; he switched them into lance mode, preparing for the upcoming fight.

What happened next however made even the veteran soldier gap in surprise.

"What the..." Dunford watched in surprise as the last second line of charging Sutherlands suddenly collapsed into the ground.

"Lord Dunford!" A familiar voice called him as a Ward with crimson plates appeared behind the rebel lines firing into the Gloucesters from behind. Caught between the crossfire, the violet dark Knightmares shattered into pieces. More Wards appeared and they added their fire power to help the outgunned group.

"Lieutenant! How-?"

"I'm not sure either, sir, Lord Peregrine said to blow up the ceiling underground and this is what happened." The soldier explained.

"How did he know when to do that? I thought he's in-"

"Rebel reinforcements!" A soldier shouted.

Just as Henry Dunford and Sterling were turning to meet the newcomers, another frequency entered their machines.

"B2. Fire your Harkens at 30 degrees to your right."

"Sir Arthur? But the rebels are-"

"Just do it!" The knight insisted and Harry obeyed along with the rest of his surviving squad. The wire guided projectiles struck true hitting a nearby building's column. The column started to crack though slowly.

"Now pull back, drive 220 degrees." They obeyed again and to their surprise, the entire building shifted and collapsed…collapsed on top of an entire company of rebel Knightmares that they didn't even noticed!

"Bloody hell…did we just do that?" A soldier muttered.

The debris had not only crushed the rebels but formed a natural barricade for them.

"By the Gods! How did he know?" Sterling said out loud.

Harry didn't know but he knew better than to ask. Seeing the advancing enemy, all they can do is to stand and fight.

A pair of purist soldiers rushed to close the blast doors of the various entrances to their commander's tower when one of them stiffen and fell as a bullet struck his chest. His companion raised his rifle but a second shot struck his head. Both fell, a blood pool formed under their bodies.

An armoured figure raced through the doors, smoke curled from the barrel of the pistol in his hand. Three more soldiers barred his way as he entered further.

"What the hel-" The lead soldier was cut off by as a bullet struck his throat. His companions follow suit, clutching their bloody wounds.

"He's over here!" Another one of the armoured soldiers appear firing his rifle at the intruder. Arthur gritted his teeth as one bullet grazed his shoulder guard. He rolled away to a nearby corner as bullets flew around him, peppering the walls. He tried to get a better visual at his opponent but the soldier kept him completely pinned with his automatic fire.

Thinking quickly Arthur drew his sword and used to the reflection on the blade to see his opponent. Calculating carefully, he fired his pistol against a corner reflecting the soldier. The bullet bounced off the breastplate but succeeded in startling the soldier. The knight took the advantage to get out of his position and charge at the soldier shooting his unprotected throat.

Suddenly a heavy force struck him on the head followed by a gun shot. The impact knocked him off balance, collapsing on the metal floor hard. Pain streaked through his legs and his head felt a regiment of Knightmares pounding on him.

"Surrender Imperial scum!" A blue-coated officer shouted. "You are trapped." From the heavy sound of footsteps, Arthur deduced that he had an entire squad with him.

"Right. King takes Bishop." The rebel soldiers startled and look at him as if he was mad.

"What the-?"The officer was cut off when he saw the small round object near his leg. Before he can mutter another word, it exploded, knocking him and his men down.

Arthur casually got up and threw away the useless pin of the grenade he had used. He reached for damage on his helmet. There was a large crack on it. Seeing it was now useless, he took it off and threw it aside and continued his trek to the office.

"My lord, No.2 Blast doors are still open!"

"Sir, there is no response from Captain Marcus' unit!"

"My lord, the 3rd Company has been wiped out!"

There were only a few times Morbid would lose his calm in battle and this was it. On and on, the reports came in as if the entire army was wiped out in a single second. He was starting to pull his beard, bugger what the book say about looks. This was insane!

"Sir, we lost transmission with our 9th Battery!"

A junior officer suddenly barged into the room.

"Sir, there is something going on the 7th level."

"That close! Then go find out! You! You! Go! Go and kill those bastards!" Morbid shouted at his officers. They quickly saluted and rush out their pistols at the ready.

"What the hell is going on!" He shouted out.

"My lord! It's the-agrah!" One of them screamed and everything went quiet after that.

"Vend! Vend? Pallinol! What the bloody hell is going on?"

"My lord, we're doomed! There is a dem-!" The transmission was cut off again before he can finish his sentence.

Morbid could hear some gun shots, followed by screams of without a doubt of fear and pain. Shivering, the nobleman drew out his pistol. What in the name of the Gods is going on? They sound like as if a demon had appeared. Biting back the growing fear in his chest, Morbid slowly walked out and stared at the bodies of his subordinates lie on the floor dead, blood flowing from their wounds. Their eyes were still open, showing how fast they were killed. He searched for his personal guard but found their bodies not far from his position.

He heard something shift behind him and turned firing at the direction only to find himself shooting at nothing. Then something moved from the entrance again. Morbid turned again shooting a complete burst, fear finally overwhelming the feared Britannian commander.

"So this is the real Morbis 'Morbid' Weildfield: the commander known for his torture devices and the massacre of Baghdad is nothing but a simple bully?" A voice mocked.

"Where are you?" Morbid screamed his mind was going wild now.

But the voice only laughed, a cruel and cold laugh mixed with bitter amusement. "The man, who would hide in his little room of luxury, ordering the deaths of thousands of innocents, dares demand where I am?"

"Bastard! Bastard! Show yourself!" Shooting wildly, until the gun hit a click. Hysteria bubbled up inside him.

"Haven't you heard of this phrase, your lordship? The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed?"

Morbid's eyes widened as he recognised those words. It was during the war when he watched the report from Area 11. That…that Zero character!

"COME OUT! BASTARD!"

"Very well." His voice was calm compared to the near hysterical of the nobleman.

Morbid felt a presence behind him and turned…and found himself staring at the face out of a nightmare. The figure gave him an evil grin.

"You're…you're the dead Emp-"

"Checkmate."

"Agrah!" Even in his state of madness, Morbid found the voice in his throat to scream as a blade pierced through his black heart.

Phew! This is the longest chapter I've done yet. Well I hope this chapter answers some of your questions. If there's anything that stills confuses you, just sent it along your review. Besides, I'm the one writing it, how will I know what is seen from someone else's point of view unless you guys tell me. And I want to thank Trayus, WWII Historian, Shaitan Elnefi, AutumnxLovex, Xangelic-demonicX, aznblackhowling, Enosa, Moonlitxangel, Angelic soldat, survivor18, undead3, bob115, Grimdivide, Tekkai, Wendy, random reviewer, and everyone else for reading this story. I really appreciate it.