Once again, the time came for us to face one of the Ark's ultimate lifeforms. Admittedly, I probably could've wasted the thing with my commander, but Celm had vetoed that idea when I had brought it up to him - this was to be handled with a physical body only. Besides, it was more fun this way - especially since death wasn't really a concern here. Though I had the fortune to not die from anything just yet, knowing that death wouldn't necessarily be permanent anymore meant I was more willing to take risks.

That being said, preparation was always important. And I had a mostly full-proof plan for taking down the Megapithecus, even if that amounted to 'send lots of certain types of creatures at it'. Hey, it was an effective strategy.

Even if it did have a few hickups along the way.

XXXXX

Lelouch and Nunnally watched as the older members of the 'tribe' readied to march off into battle. Supposedly, they would be taking on some giant ape, like the ones from those movies Britannia had started making. Japan had been eager to get into the market for that before the invasion, and Lelouch thought the ones that Milly and her family had shown the vi Britannia siblings were...okay. Fun, but boring after a while. And a little sad, since it was beauty that killed the beast.

Lelouch thought that line was kinda sappy, but that dind't mean his heart wasn't bleeding for the big ape.

Lelouch and Nunnally wouldn't be joining the group at this juncture - this was not a task for children. Lelouch also knew that while he would one day need to gain experience for taking down Britannia, taking out a giant prehistoric monster was... definitely not the type of experience he would need. For now, he and Nunnally would be staying at the campsite, under the supervision of Sayoko and the guards. Maybe they could also use the chance to play with the other kids.

Deciding it was time to set off, Lelouch and Nunnally boarded one of the creatures they had bonded with among the tribe's tames - a giant kangaroo with a name too long for them to remember. Onwards, to fun!

...No, wait, that wasn't the way to fun, that was the way to battle! Go the other way!

Paying no heed, the male procoptodon hopped after the ape-slaying party, its attention set on one of the females of its own kind within the group - one of them was now fertile, and it wanted the chance to get a mate before time ran out. Behind it was Sayoko, riding a terrorbird, determined to protect her charges.

XXXXX

As the dome enclosed our motley group of warriors, I took stock of our assembled forces. Soon we would be toasting victory over this king-kong expy and-why was there an extra procoptodon and terror bird here?

...Was that Lelouch and Nunnally?

...Yep, it was. Great.

Glancing at the Terror Bird rider, I felt some relief to know that at least I wouldn't have to put too much concern for their safety. Miss Sayoko could handle them on her own.

Still, best to stay close to them, just in case.

And maybe give them some extra guards. Like M4.

Still, crossed fingers.

XXXXX

Lelouch and Nunnally watched as a mysterious light enveloped them, before revealing a new location - a snowy mountaintop with strange ape statues all around it.

Also, cold!

The change in temperature soon proved to be the least of their concerns, though, when a massive ape suddenly appeared and let out a ferocious roar. Shrieking in surprise, the two children retreated into the pouch just as Sayoko slew a yeti that had been charging toward the giant kangaroo. Still, that was only one of the beasts, and more were coming. The ninja knew that should we need to keep all of them at bay until the big one was slain.

Most certainly not the kind of challenge she was expecting, but not impossible given her new allies. Still, this was going to be tough.

XXXXX

As she loosed an arrow through the eyes of one of the yeti, Vivian wasted no time knocking another and taking aim at a different yeti - and soon it fell to her arrows, as did another.

Funny thing about the Megapithecus: it was considered to be the second Ultimate Lifeform that survivors fought, and yet it was also considered weaker than the broodmother. Strange.

Oh sure, it threw huge boulders at the group and summoned yeti to fight for it, but it didn't have any special attacks that made it too much of a challenge to take down, except maybe getting knocked out of the arena and into the endless abyss. IT was something of a disappointment, to fight this beast, especially since their next challenge would be a dragon.

Oh well. Maybe the dragon would be more fun.

...Why was M4 suddenly falling back?

XXXXX

M4 just managed to put a bullet through the brain of the yeti in time to spare the two children who had been caught up in this fight. The siblings known as Lelouch and Nunnally had been loosed from their mount when the albino ape had thrown a boulder, with the object landing too close to the kangaroo for comfort. Its surprised jump had dislodged them from its pounch, leaving them dangerously exposed. The little Nunnally clung to her brother for dear life, which had spared her the sight of the yeti's messy demise. The same could not be said of Lelouch, but M4 knew that he was accustomed to death.

His expression made it celar that he still found her kill to be revolting, though.

After doing a quick sweep to be sure that no enemies were still trying to kill them at this moment, M4 hastily took the siblings up to Sayoko before moving to rejoin the battle, only for a small hand on her shoulder to bring the T-Doll to a halt. Turning, she found that it was the boy, with a determined look in his eyes.

"What do you want?"

The boy pointed at the ape, then made some aggressive gestures.

"You want to fight it?"

He nodded.

"But you're a kid - you're too small to contribute that much."

M4 felt that any excuse other than a practical one would be seen as absurd, since they were already in the ape's arena.

The boy merely pointed at some grenades that M4 had around her waist.

"...Fine. And why aren't you speaking?"

The boy blushed for a moment before replying, with a surprsingly raspy voice.

"I screamed to much when the fighting started."

M4 rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle. How childish.

XXXXX

Eventually, the Megapithecus grew weak under a hail of bullets, though it still put up a hell of a fight. Its yeti continued to pour out in huge numbers, though those were cut down by our entire raiding party, including our stowaways (except for Nunnally, who instead decided to try and help out the wounded). Soon enough, the Megapithecus grew weak, until a rocket from Vivian finally snuffed out its life.

That was...kind of a disappointment.

Just what was gonna happen next, I wondered? Besides some feasting.

Also, why did Lelouch halve that funny look on his face?

...Oh. Looks like the slaughter did a number on his stomach. Yeah, he was definitely going to need something to eat when we got back.

XXXXX

AN: Took forever, but a new chapter. Enjoy!

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!