September 8, 2017 a.t.b.
Area 11, Special Administrative Zone, 10:59 am
A knightmare frame coasted through streets surrounded by damaged and ruined buildings.
It had a light purple and silver colour scheme, a crest on the top of its head, and heavier shoulder plates. It was armed with a maser vibration sword holstered at the side of the cockpit as well as a large shield on its left arm and an assault rifle in its right hand, which would be holstered at its waist. It was a Gloucester Final-Type, an enhanced model usually reserved for royalty, Knights of the Round, and Knights of Honour.
This particular unit was originally intended for Cornelia, but the Second Princess was far too attached to her own customized unit, unwilling to give it up even for a superior model. Thus, this unit had remained ownerless in limbo until now.
Inside the cockpit, Euphemia mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do.
"This is my first time actually going out into a battle with a knightmare outside of a simulator…," thought the pinkette. "This is risky, and Cornelia would lose it if she finds out about this, but I have to do this…"
Most members of the royal family were trained in frame piloting under one of Charles' laws in order to improve the image of the Empire's strength. Records of the royals' simulator scores ranged from 19% to 90% with Cornelia's at the highest and Clovis' at the lowest. For some reason Euphemia's score was never disclosed, and no records of it existed even in the most secretive archives.
A hundred metres ahead in an intersection an insectoid chased down a Japanese family. The alien machine's plasma cannons blasted apart cars, lampposts, and walls. It closed in on its terrified victims as it prepared for a final blow…
All of a sudden a hail of gunfire assaulted its left flank, knocking its aim off-course and causing it to stumble. As the damaged insectoid turned to face its attacker, it was met with a shield to its 'face' as Euphemia's frame barrelled straight unto it. As the insectoid was knocked back several metres, the frame switched to its sword and sliced off the gun of the insectoid, and this was followed by another slash to the abdomen which destroyed the alien machine.
Euphemia turned her attention to the still-nearby Japanese family. As she noted that the main evacuation groups were out of sight, she lowered her frame's arm to the ground with an opened palm.
"Climb in!" said the pink-haired woman. "I'll help you get to the evacuation route. It's not safe here."
The family, a child and a single parent, obeyed and climbed up the hand of the frame. As they were raised up and held securely, Euphemia promptly sped away toward the evacuation groups.
In another part of the SAZ, Kallen blasted the head of a mechapede with her radiant wave surger, causing the alien machine's front section to heat up to a glow. The Guren retracted its surger arm as the mechapede's front exploded into flames.
"When I first took up the resistance I thought I only had to fight those Brits," the redhead ace thought. "Now aliens!? What right do they have to invade us! Those Brits oppressing us was more than enough, now we got those things slaughtering every person they see and trying to take over our world!?"
"So this is it, then. They'll face my hand of vengeance!" she thought as she drove her frame southeastward.
"These invaders have more advanced machines than the Britannians. This is going to be tough. Naoto, help me fight…"
Only a few hundred metres to the stadium, the Black Knight's Burais and the Holy Swords' Gekkas had opened fire on the tripod, only to be blocked by its shield. The fight had gone for mere minutes, and already some of their Burais have been wrecked. Some of the pilots managed to eject, while others weren't so lucky.
"What the hell is this thing!?" screamed Tamaki. "Why can't we hurt it!?"
"It's got some kind of shield…," mused Tohdoh. "We have to find its weakness. Fall back!"
The other Black Knights received the order and pulled back away from the tripod. But then the tripod fired a laser sweeping towards Tamaki's direction.
"Oh crap! I'm not dying here! I'm out!" Tamaki screamed. He ejected just in time before the laser obliterated his Burai.
"Tamaki's out!" said Ohgi.
"Damn it!" cried Naomi. "Take cover in the buildings!"
"Right," said Ohgi. "Use the buildings for cover!"
The Black Knight forces rushed to hide behind the ruined buildings for shelter. However, some were not quick enough…
"Sugiyama, look out!" Naomi cried. The green-haired man turned in response only to come face to face with the tripod's laser blast.
The laser landed a direct hit on the frame's upper torso. There was no opportunity to eject. Naomi's expression became one of horror in an instant.
"SUGIYAMA!" she cried out in a pained voice as she witnessed Kento Sugiyama's fiery death.
Naomi stared helplessly at the burning pile of mangled and melted metal as the reality of her longtime friend's death wrapped around her like a suffocating smog. A tear fell from her eye slowly.
11:06 am
Up in the skies, Lelouch gritted his teeth as he and C.C. manoeuvred the Gawain to avoid another volley of plasma blasts from alien fighters.
They were at a clear disadvantage, and they knew it all too well. Despite their best efforts, the frame had suffered considerable damage during the battle.
"We can't afford to be hit too much more," said C.C. "The frame integrity is at 46%".
"I can't get much closer to my Knights or to the stadium like this," said Lelouch in an irritated tone. "C.C., how's the Hadron Cannon?"
"It's about 75% charged," said C.C. "You got any bright ideas, Lelouch?"
"I'm afraid I don't have any as of this moment," said Lelouch.
"Well, well, looks like your all-so-brilliant mind had come short this time…," said C.C.
"Not the time for this, witch. I just don't have any prepared plans for an alien invasion of all things," said Lelouch. "None of us expected anything like this."
"And what do you suppose we do now?" asked C.C. "We can't just get shot down here. After all, I cannot allow you to die before we finish our contract."
Lelouch moved the Gawain's arms towards an approaching fighter and fired the slash harkens. They struck and took out the hostile craft.
"I'll see if I have anyone available for backup," said Lelouch. He pulled out his communicator and began to contact the members of the Black Knights.
Kallen had received Zero's transmission and promptly opened the sound-only communication channel.
"Q1 here. What is it?" asked Kallen.
"I am facing heavy fire, requesting backup," said Zero.
"I'm on it!" Kallen replied. The transmission closed moments after.
"Damn it, even Zero is in trouble. What exactly are we fighting against?" thought an unsettled Kallen.
The Avalon had been delayed as it fought through swarms of alien craft, but it had finally reached its rendezvous point with the G1, close to the main evacuation lines at the outer fringes of the SAZ. The G1's guns provided fire support to ward off alien fighters.
As the Avalon lowered itself closer, a transport plane emerged from its hangars and landed close to the G1.
Cecile came down from the plane and met up with Suzaku.
"Suzaku, I'm glad you're safe," said Cecile, relieved. "We've seen what happened. It was just so…unreal. I was so worried…"
"I'm glad you're safe too Ms. Croomy," said Suzaku.
"Suzaku, where's Princess Euphemia?" asked Cecile, having noticed her absence.
"She went off on her own," said Suzaku. "I tried to convince her otherwise, but she still carried on with it."
"Princess Cornelia's not going to be happy, but there's nothing we can do about it now," said Cecile. "We've finished the preparations on the Lancelot, it should be ready to go."
"Right." Suzaku nodded.
The two went aboard the plane and took off for the Avalon.
Ohgi's and Tohdoh's groups have also received Zero's transmission. Unfortunately, the tripod had them occupied, thus many of them were unable to come to their leader's aid. As he fled to hide behind another building as fast as his Burai could take him, the tripod having pulverised his previous shelter, the deterioration of the situation dawned more and more on Ohgi.
"This is bad…this is really bad…even Zero's in trouble…," Ohgi thought as a feeling of terror ate at him from inside.
"Ohgi!" called Tohdoh. "I'm sending Urabe and Asahina to aid Zero. We keep this monstrosity from advancing to any civilians, and try to find any weakness that comes!"
"Got it!" Urabe and Asahina acknowledged.
The two Holy Swords turned to Zero's direction and set their Gekkas at full speed, aiming to arrive before the Black Knights leader could be shot down. However, as they moved further from their group's clash with the tripod, said alien machine noticed them split off. Nagisa noticed one of the tripod's arms as it pointed away from them, charged up.
"Urabe, Asahina, behind you!" the female Holy Sword cried out.
The tripod fired a laser blast that swept fast towards Asahina's way, leaving behind a trail of scorched and shattered concrete as it moved.
Asahina turned to notice the laser and veered to the left in time to avoid a direct hit to the core and the cockpit. But the beam caught the side of his frame, destroying the right limbs and leaving several critical systems heavily damaged. The disabled Gekka lost balance, veered off course, and crashed through the wall of a building to the left. The recoil jostled Asahina against the control panel.
Asahina grunted in pain. "No…I'm taken out!" he said in frustration. He attempted to eject, but alas, it was jammed. "Damn it, the ejection's broken," he grunted. He tried to push off the ruined building, but the landspinners were damaged in the crash, so he had to use the remaining limbs to try to push the frame off the rubble and walls. Fortunately, Urabe had come and helped his frame up.
As his fellow Holy Sword prepared to drag him away from the battlefield, Asahina looked around for threats, and met his gaze with the tripod's laser weapon fully charged and aimed at him.
His eyes widened as he realised his fate – in this condition, he could not escape fast enough, and if Urabe kept holding unto him, neither can he.
"Urabe, it's over for me. Leave me and get to Zero! Now!" cried Asahina as he accepted his fate. In the spur of the moment, he used his frame's remaining arm to push Urabe's Gekka off as the tripod's weapon fired.
As his unbalanced Gekka fell, the beam hit him directly, causing his frame to explode in a fiery conflagration.
Urabe and the other Holy Swords could only watch as Shogo Asahina met his untimely end at the hands of that three-legged mechanical monster.
"Asahina…no…no…," Urabe could only utter in despair. Nagisa and the rest of the Swords, as well as Tohdoh, hung their heads low.
Not wanting to waste the chance his deceased teammate gave him, Urabe sped away towards Zero's location.
At the front lines of the defensive, Darlton's forces continued to be pushed back as more of his forces were turned into burning slag by the tripod, as well as the many insectoids and mechapedes that accompanied it.
A Sutherland armed with a rocket launcher fired at the alien machine's head.
"Still no effect on target, sir!" the pilot reported as the rocket never even touched the tripod, having been blocked by its shield like so many munitions they threw at it so far.
"Ugh…damn this to hell!" Darlton cursed at their deteriorating situation. "We need reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements!" he announced.
"General, we received a transmission from Princess Cornelia," a subordinate reported.
"Roger," said Darlton in confirmation. He promptly opened the communication channel with Cornelia.
"General Darlton, what's the status?" asked Cornelia from the screen.
"Your Highness, we are losing ground and suffering heavy losses," Darlton reported. "We are fighting an enemy we know next to nothing about. We are outnumbered and outgunned."
"I see," said Cornelia. "I'm coming in with reinforcements. We should be arriving at around five minutes. Cornelia li Britannia, out." She closed the transmission.
Euphemia had finished dropping off the Japanese family she had saved at the main evacuation route close to the fleeing crowds. She opened up her cockpit and stood up, revealing herself to the crowds.
She took a deep breath and began her announcement to reassure the masses.
"People of Japan! I, Euphemia li Britannia, have not abandoned you! Know that we will protect you to the full extent of our capacity. I will do whatever I can to help in recovering and protecting as many survivors as possible. Everyone, please keep calm and continue to evacuate as fast as you can!"
As she finished, Euphemia sat back down and closed her cockpit. Not wasting any time, she then went back to the field to search for more survivors.
Meanwhile, Kallen, who was passing nearby during the announcement, had her attention caught for a moment as she sped towards Zero's position.
"Huh?" the redhead uttered.
It wasn't every day that a Britannian royal went out to the field and placed herself on the line for the Japanese, or for anyone deemed by their society as inferior for that matter.
Furthermore, she was the very same one Kallen had called out as a puppet princess on Kamine. For pretty much all the time Kallen had known about her, she had simply regarded Euphemia as nothing more than a figurehead for Cornelia, a useless figurehead who didn't think for herself.
But recent events seem to threaten that idea…she was seemingly risking herself out in the midst of this invasion for the sake of innocent victims, an action that, like the proposal of the SAZ, would never be approved by Cornelia. Yet Euphemia did not let that notion stop her.
That was definitely not like a mere pretty puppet on strings, not at all…
Kallen wasn't so sure whether this was genuine or if it was a lie to assure the refugees and make herself look good, so she didn't hold her breath yet.
As Euphemia manoeuvred through the battle-torn streets, she came upon a group of people on the run. As she turned to look at where they were running from, she noticed a pair of insectoids on the pursuit about a hundred metres from her.
Mentally preparing herself for another fight once more, she took out her frame's rifle and brought up her shield to block the insectoids' blasts.
As she moved closer she returned fire, still keeping the shield up to block the opposing assault. She then swerved to the side as she reached an intersection. She took cover in a nearby building and fired bursts of gunfire at the insectoids every few moments, taking care not to get hit by their attacks herself.
Realising that this tactic was taking too much time, Euphemia decided to stop firing and instead used her frame's slash harkens to latch up the five-storey building and scaled up its walls. The two insectoids ceased firing and began advancing towards where she was. Upon reaching the roof, she fired the slash harkens at the insectoid to the back, damaging the abdomen. As it turned to fire at her, she opened fire at full force from above, showering the insectoid with armour-piercing gunfire and neutralising it.
As the remaining insectoid fired, she launched the slash harkens at the edge of the roof and used them to control her descent as she slid down the building's walls opposite of the one assaulted by the insectoid. Upon reaching the ground she switched to the MVS and, holding her shield up, charged at the insectoid. She bashed its front with the heavy blast-resistant shield to stun it as she sliced at it several times with the MVS, destroying it.
"I didn't really think I'd really do this well out here…," Euphemia thought as she took in the sight of the insectoids she took down, mildly surprised at how well she was able to do so.
She continued on to search for more people.
11:14 am
The sky over the SAZ was rocked by a fierce battle as Britannian fighters and gunships clashed against alien craft. Cornelia's aerial armada has arrived.
The transport aircraft dropped off their passengers, deploying frames, tanks, and APCs unto the war-torn streets.
From her customised pink Gloucester, Cornelia issued orders to her subordinates.
"My loyal soldiers!" said Cornelia. "We are facing a new enemy we know basically nothing about. From the reports General Darlton sent me, they are not to be underestimated. Do not let down your guard! We will rendezvous with Darlton on the front lines and fight with everything you got! By our pride as Britannian soldiers, we will not stand for this invasion without a fight!"
"Destroy all hostiles, and secure the safety of our Britannian citizens! Onward!" Cornelia cried.
Not a moment to spare, Cornelia and her troops began their charge and battled through alien forces. Cornelia herself was closely accompanied by her Valkyrie Squadron. They fought together with deadly efficiency as they made a line for Darlton's defence.
Kallen was tense as she drove up closer to Zero's location. She tried her best not to imagine the masked man she had come to admire fall to the extraterrestrials. It wasn't quite the smoothest ride – battles with invader units had slowed her down. She began to make out the form of the Gawain in the sky in the distance. She only hoped she could arrive in time to at least provide fire support with her Guren's autocannon.
"Hang on there, Zero…I'm coming," thought Kallen.
A few moments later, as she came across a ruined mall and parking lot, two mechapedes came in her way.
Kallen gritted her teeth. She can't let a few invader machines stop her from saving Zero. "Get out of my way!" she cried out as she readied her radiant surger and fired her autocannon at the mechapedes.
"Those bug things are tough!" she thought as the mechapede's heavy armour took the hits. "I need to kill them with the surger fast!"
The mechapedes, positioned such that their flanks faced the Guren, fired a barrage of plasma blasts from all their guns at the red frame.
Kallen was fortunate that this place was spacious enough for her to evade the blasts, and thankful for her fast reflexes…otherwise she might have lost the Guren at best, and at worst received an untimely one-way ticket to the underworld.
She began to sweat, getting more nervous as she attempted to both evade the barrage while getting closer to the mechapedes. However, their barrage was relentless and Kallen was being pushed back.
"I can't fail here. I can't let them stop me. I can't…I can't let Zero die!" Kallen cried out. Despite the harsh odds, she still tried to charge on…
From a distance, straight up ahead, Euphemia came across a ruined mall with a large parking lot. She saw a couple of giant mechanical millipedes armed with back-mounted guns firing at a target obstructed from her view by nearby buildings. Her first thought was to save whoever was being attacked out there, and in a moment of impulse, she drew the frame's rifle and charged at full speed.
She opened fire at one of the mechapedes, taking it by surprise. The alien machine stopped firing and turned to face its attacker.
Kallen noticed it as it took place. Her first thought was that some of the other Black Knights have come to back her up. She took advantage of the reduced barrage and was able to move forward to the still-shooting mechapede, dodging its blasts with the grace of a top-tier ace. Upon reaching a few metres from it, she lept up over the alien machine, and upon landing extended the Guren's surger arm unto the first segment just behind the head.
Kallen powered up the surger and blasted her foe at full force with intense microwave radiation, heating up the metal until it glowed red. Retracting the arm, she backed away swiftly as the mechapede burst into flames.
Meanwhile, the other mechapede had opened fire on Euphemia, who tried to dodge but lacked the sheer skills of Kallen as well as being in a slower, bulkier frame, and thus was forced to use her shield to block several hits. The mechapede wasn't in an optimal position to use all eight of its guns against her, which allowed Euphemia to close in. Having switched to her MVS, she sent several slashes at the mechapede's head, destroying it and leaving the body segments inert.
With the obstacles now neutralised, Kallen got a good view of the frame that aided her.
It was definitely a Britannian model, not one of the frames her fellow rebels used. However Kallen didn't really seriously think anyone from the empire would come to her aid, and thus she assumed that it was a fellow Black Knight who had simply captured a Britannian frame.
"Thanks for the save," said Kallen. "By the way, can you tell me your name?" she asked, trying to get a confirmation about her assumption.
"You're welcome," the pilot of the other frame replied. "Name's Euphemia li Britannia."
Kallen took on an expression of sheer surprise and disbelief, her eyes wide as dinner plates and her jaw fell. She had never in her life expected a Britannian princess of all people to save her from a situation.
"Wha-wha-what!?" Kallen stuttered incredulously. "You're the puppet princess!?" she blurt out impulsively without thinking.
"Damn it, Kallen! We're in the middle of a damn alien invasion, this is no time to antagonise others!" she thought to herself immediately afterward. She really was not interested in picking unnecessary fights right now.
Euphemia's eyebrows twitched as irritation overtook her upon hearing the words 'puppet princess'.
"Excuse me!? You…you were that redhead on that island, aren't you!?" said the pinkette, the anger evident in her voice.
"Yeah," said Kallen. "So it really is her…there's no denying it," the redhead thought. "I never thought I'd see the day…"
Kallen snapped herself out of her disbelief, realising that she still needed to come to Zero's aid.
"Anyway, I have to be on my way. Zero's calling!" said Kallen. This caught Euphemia's attention as she looked around and saw the Gawain as it was constantly harassed and swarmed by the invaders' fighter squadrons.
"Right," said Euphemia. "I'm coming too. I want to help him as well."
"Wait, seriously?" said Kallen as the two women drove their frames towards Zero's position. "You want to help Zero?"
"That's right," Euphemia answered.
Kallen understood this day less and less. So many new questions that needed to be asked. This alien invasion was barely believable enough for her, and now Euphemia's active role out in the field and her willingness to aid Zero. Her head demanded answers, but now wasn't the time.
They soon reached the area near Zero's clash with the alien fighters.
"He's barely holding on," said Kallen as she aimed her Guren's gun at the fighters. "You won't be taking him! Take this!" she cried as she fired the autocannon at full force.
Euphemia brought out her frame's assault rifle and also opened fire on the alien fighters.
"Lelouch…I already lost you for seven years…I won't lose you again!" the pinkette thought.
Up in the air, Lelouch grew more and more nervous and fearful as he and C.C. desperately try to fight off the alien craft.
The Gawain fired its hadron cannons, with several of the fighters caught by the beams and destroyed. However, many more managed to dodge and resumed their attack.
C.C. was now sweating and tense. "The frame's integrity's at 40%!" she cried out.
"We can't last much longer like this," mused Lelouch. "Nunnally…I'm sorry…"
A hail of gunfire from below came and hit several of the fighters. Lelouch looked at the direction it came from and saw two frames, the Guren and what looked to be a modified Gloucester with a shield.
Lelouch let out a breath of slight relief. Kallen and the pilot of the other frame had come to his aid. Some of the fighters diverted towards the two frames on the ground, but the Gawain still had to face a lot of them.
Suzaku had launched in his Lancelot and joined up with Cornelia's forces in the aerial battle. He shot down alien fighters as well as ground targets with his Lancelot's VARIS rifle, or by slicing them apart with his dual MVS if they got too close. It was easy to see why Lloyd and Cecile choose him as the Lancelot's devicer – his battle prowess was truly phenomenal. If he was Britannian, he could easily have been among the Knights of the Round.
Suzaku received a transmission, which he then opened. Euphemia appeared on the screen.
"Suzaku, I need you to come here to this location," said Euphemia, pinging her position in Suzaku's battle map. "I need you to assist Zero."
Suzaku was astonished. "Wait, Euphemia…you want me to assist Zero? But he's a despicable terrorist—"
"He's not a terrorist!" Euphemia shot back. "Please, there's not much time for this!"
Suzaku tried to reply. "But—"
"JUST DO IT, SUZAKU!" Euphemia screamed out, clearly short on patience and not wanting to prolong it longer than it should. "He came to your aid once, now it's your time to repay it! This is an order, Suzaku! I command you to help Zero!"
This left no room for any further protests. "Yes, my lady," Suzaku replied as he flew off at high speed towards his destination.
"Euphemia trusts Zero, and she was very adamant about helping and defending him. How can she put so much trust in such a vile terrorist? Unless…could it be that she knows who Zero is behind that mask?" Suzaku thought. He tried to shake off the idea, but it kept on invading his head. "Could it really be that Euphemia knows that masked terrorist personally?"
The Gawain continued to hold on but the relentless alien fighters wore it down further and further. Several fighters have now engaged Kallen and Euphemia, keeping them occupied.
Suddenly a few of the fighters attacking the Gawain were shot down, followed by several more. The Lancelot arrived at a very fast speed to then slice another one apart with its swords. Lelouch turned his attention at the white and gold frame.
"Suzaku!?" said Lelouch in surprise. The Lancelot had for a while been a huge thorn in his side, having gotten in the way of his plans several times over and over. He had saved Suzaku from Sawasaki's forces not too long ago, but he never thought Suzaku would actually repay the favour given his views on Zero. But now…
"I didn't think you'd actually help Zero…," said Lelouch.
"I'm only helping you on Euphemia's orders, Zero," Suzaku replied. "I still don't trust you, and I still don't agree with your methods."
"We can talk about methods later, Suzaku," said Lelouch. "I believe there is still this matter of an alien invasion at hand."
"Very well, Zero. But when these invaders are done with, we'll be enemies once again," said Suzaku.
Lelouch sighed. Suzaku has been and still will be dense.
After several moments of fighting off the invaders, C.C. spoke up. "Lelouch, I suggest we fall back. The frame is majorly damaged, and I can't afford to let you die – remember, our contract still stands."
"Very well," said Lelouch. He opened a sound-only communication channel with Kallen.
"Q1, we must fall back," Lelouch ordered.
"Got it!" Kallen nodded.
"C.C., let's descend. Let's stay close to Q1 while she escorts us," said Lelouch. C.C. complied and lowered the frame until it touched the ground.
"Zero!" Euphemia's voice called out at this moment.
"Wait…Euphemia?" Lelouch gasped in surprise as he realised just who was behind that modified Gloucester's controls all this time.
"Yes, Zero. I've realised that I could not continue to do nothing and sit aside while all this happens, so I decided to take action," said Euphemia.
"I see," said Lelouch. "Very well, Euphemia, let's fall back!"
"Right," the pinkette replied. "Here." She gave the G1's location from her IFFs to Lelouch. "Suzaku, let's go," she ordered to her knight.
The four of them promptly began to retreat towards the G1. And just in time as well, for only a few minutes later the area they left was shaken by the heavy footsteps of a tripod.
The situation continued to degenerate as both Black Knight and Britannian forces were pushed back by the alien army, which swept through and ravaged the Special Administrative Zone like locusts on a farm field.
11:40 am
An insectoid's body was impaled by Cornelia's lance as her Gloucester leapt on top of it.
"Ugh…we underestimated those invaders," Cornelia thought as she gritted her teeth in frustration. "All forces, retreat! It pains me to admit it, but this sector is lost! I repeat, all forces, full retreat!" she commanded.
"You heard Princess Cornelia! All forces, retreat!" Darlton relayed the command. The soldiers wasted no time and promptly moved out of their position. They've already incurred considerable losses and there was no more sense in fighting this losing battle.
However, the tripod fired a laser blast at a nearby building. Large pieces of rubble from the building hit Liliana's frame, causing heavy damage and stalling it.
"Ugh!" Liliana groaned out as she was shaken inside the cockpit.
Marika saw it all and rushed to Liliana's aid. She noticed the tripod's weapons power up.
"Liliana, look out!" Marika cried.
Liliana turned in response, being met with the glow of the tripod's arms. She barely had time to process it before the tripod fired, obliterating Liliana and her Gloucester before Marika could reach her.
Time seemed to slow down for Marika as it all took place before her own eyes. Her eyes widened as she gasped. Seconds seemed like days in that one moment as she saw Liliana's frame burst into flames.
"Liliana! No!" Marika let out a despaired cry as she took in the untimely death of her best friend. Tears flowed like rivers from her eyes as she let out sobs one after another.
"No…Liliana…no…no…," Marika sobbed out.
The other surviving Valkyrie Squadron members tried to call out to her, but she could barely process them. It took them grabbing and pulling Marika's frame out of the battle zone to bring her back to her senses. Consumed by overwhelming sadness, Marika joined the others in their retreat.
During their retreat, Kallen and Euphemia, now joined by Rai and Urabe, had gotten caught up with Tohdoh's and Ohgi's groups in their fight against the tripod. Zero had made it to the G1, the Gawain in need of repairs before it could go to battle again. Suzaku had gone back to the Avalon, which was still stationed close to the G1.
They have begun a full retreat and the three-legged death machine was in pursuit. They attempted to fire back to slow it down, but with little effect – the tripod didn't even flinch as its energy shield took all the hits.
They were fortunate that the tripod wasn't as fast as their frames, but that didn't stop it from landing hits with its lasers.
"AHHH!" Minami screamed as his Burai burst into an inferno from a hit, killing him.
"Oh no, Minami!" Ohgi cried out.
Another laser blast hit Euphemia's shield as she held it up. The blast-resistant shield held, but it still blew her frame back several metres. The pinkette cried out as she was shaken inside her cockpit.
The group soon made sufficient distance from the tripod for the alien machine to cease its pursuit. As they reached the G1, several of them, including Kallen, Euphemia, Naomi, and Rai, entered aboard, while the others who stayed outside continued to travel alongside the mobile base.
12:00 noon
The battle was all but won by the invaders. The Black Knights and Britannians had made it a considerable distance from the SAZ, accompanied by thousands of surviving civilians as they continued to move.
Zero, Kallen, Euphemia, C.C., and the Kyoto leaders watched from the bridge of the G1 as they saw the carnage they had fled from. Tripods and alien warships could be seen from the distance as they razed what was left of the SAZ.
Euphemia hung her head down, saddened by their failure...her failure. Only two hours ago, the Zone had been filled with hope for a new, better life. And now, it was nothing but a burning ruin swarmed by aliens, permeated by death and despair as the invaders slaughtered anyone left behind without mercy. A dream turned into a complete nightmare in a mere couple of hours. Hopes ended in utter tragedy.
Despite their best efforts, it made little difference in the end.
She walked over to a nearby seat and sat, her head still hung down. She had no words to say, no words right now as depression took hold over her.
Kallen barely contained a mix of horror, anger, and sadness as she gazed into the very same scene. Those invaders…they were truly inhuman as they come. Not only that, she had just lost two of her friends from Naoto's former resistance group…
C.C. could not believe what she had gone through this day. In her long life she had seen various wars, massacres, plagues and the like, but never has she faced anything like this. Never before in her over 600 years of living has she ever experienced an extraterrestrial invasion. This…this was beyond even her.
"Oh...oh…m-my g-god…," she stuttered and gasped as she watched with a mixture of shock and fear.
Numazu
Shirley, Sophie, and Rivalz have trekked across the ruined cityscape for hours in an attempt to find a method of transport.
Unfortunately, the bullet train they took to get there have been among the casualties of the tripod attack.
"Oh man, this really isn't our lucky day. The train's all busted up and we haven't found another one, or even a car we could use," said Rivalz anxiously.
"We need to find another way to get back to Ashford…but how?" asked Sophie in a worried voice.
"W-what if we don't find a way out of here?" asked Shirley fearfully. "It's over a hundred kilometres to Tokyo, and we could be stuck here! What if those things come back for us!?" Shirley screamed out in panic. The alien attack really got into her.
"Calm down, Shirley," said Sophie. "Everything is going to be okay."
"Okay!?" screamed Shirley in response. "You call THAT okay!?" She pointed to the massive plumes of smoke that rose from the direction of the razed SAZ as well as a group of spaceships above it.
"Well, I don't mean—" Sophie said before being cut off.
"We're done for, Sophie!" screamed Shirley. "We're done…we're dead…we're goners…"
"Shirley, please calm down! I know this day has been terrible, but panicking isn't going to help!" said Sophie. "You got to be strong, alright? You've always been the most optimistic one of us! Where's that Shirley I know?"
"I-I…you're right, Sophie. I need to be strong…," said Shirley.
"We'll make it out of this, Shirley. We will," said Sophie in a reassuring tone.
Rivalz noticed a car passing by. "Hey! Over here! Students! We need help!" he cried out. Shirley and Sophie noticed and drew their attention to the car. The car drove closer to them and stopped nearby. The window lowered to reveal a female soldier with auburn hair and brown eyes.
"Come in!" the woman ordered. The students wasted no time and went inside, with Rivalz in the front passenger's seat, and Shirley together with Sophie in the back seat. The car drove off towards the direction of the Tokyo Settlement.
"Um, miss, can you please tell us your name?" asked Rivalz.
"Charmelle Finlay. Warrant Officer of the Britannian Army," the woman introduced.
"Um, I'm Rivalz Cardemonde," the blue-haired boy introduced himself in turn.
"I'm Shirley Fenette," Shirley introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."
"I'm Sophie Wood," Sophie introduced. "We're students from Ashford Academy."
"Ashford Academy, huh?" said Charmelle. "That's quite the prestigious school you got there."
"Yeah," said Shirley. "Although it can get pretty wild at times."
"I see," said Charmelle. "Anyway, as you've seen, we're in the midst of an invasion. My entire battalion was wiped out in Shizouka. I'm the only one left as far as I know."
"Damn, that's hard," said Rivalz.
"So, how did you escape?" Sophie asked.
"Well, I was lucky, I guess," Charmelle answered. "It was tough trying to escape undetected. I was lucky I found this car and got to hotwire it before those invaders could find me."
"I see," said Sophie. "Thanks for giving us a ride, ma'am."
"Just doing my duty for my fellow Britannians," said Charmelle.
"Anyway, keep an eye out, kids," she added. "Don't want any of those things taking us by surprise."
"Okay!" said Shirley while Sophie and Rivalz nodded.
Charmelle and the Ashford trio continued on their route to Tokyo, keeping close watch on all sides for any possible nasty surprises…
G1 mobile base – en route to Tokyo
Zero opened the communication channels to the Black Knights.
"I am calling all members of the Black Knights to regroup. We are taking station at Ashford Academy," Zero ordered.
"Got it, Zero!" responded Ohgi and Tohdoh on the other end. Zero closed the channel afterwards.
"In only a few hours, the war has completely changed," Lelouch thought. "A new enemy from beyond has come for us, an enemy that seems to be far greater even than Britannia. They pose a threat to Nunnally and to her dream of a gentle world. I cannot stand for this. I have to do everything I can to keep Nunnally alive, and to ensure her dream still carries on…"
Notes: And this is it - the SAZ arc is finally wrapped up now. I can then take a break from battle scenes and focus more on the character reactions and interactions surrounding the aftermath of the invasion.
Charmelle Finlay is not an OC. She appears among the listed candidates for Euphemia's knight of honour.
In case anyone wonders why Euphemia choose to go with Lelouch in the G1 rather than Suzaku in the Avalon, it's really her soured relationship with Cornelia, something already established in earlier chapters and will be explored and delved unto further in later chapters. If she went unto the Avalon she would be forced under Cornelia's watch - something she really doesn't want as of this moment.
3/17/2021: Removed references to Euphemia being an Ashford student after thinking it through.