Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.
Kallen nimbly dodged the path of the Zangetsu's twin machine guns. Tohdoh and Chiba had rushed into a fight with her, and while she was pissed they would label her as a traitor so quickly, she knew they didn't have the entire story yet either. She had hoped she could convince them to stand down eventually, but first she had to find a way to end the fight without killing them. She activated the gauntlet of the Wave Surger, and sent out a scatter shot similar to the one she used to disable the Air Glide Systems of the Sutherland IIs that had chased her a couple days ago. When the radiation came closer to the Akatsuki and the Zangetsu, both of their respective Radiant Wave Shields activated to block the attack. This was her current problem. She could easily destroy both Knightmares in their entirety. After all, the output of their respective Radiant Wave systems was an order of magnitude apart. The issue was, too strong of an attack would destroy the opposing machines completely. Too weak, and they could just block the attack. Finding the sweet spot was the trick.
The Akatsuki closed in, its Revolving Blade Sword swinging in for a lethal shot. Kallen quickly raised her MVS, currently in its non-active state, to intercept the swing. The two blades clashed, and Kallen pushed the blade lock away, forcing the Akatsuki out of melee range, which the Zangetsu quickly filled the gap of. A series of more precise attacks, more aimed to disarm Kallen followed suit. Not a single one hit their mark, the disparity in the performance of the machines obvious. Kallen went for her own disarming swing, but the Akatsuki intercepted the counter blow with its Radiant Wave Shield. Another issue. Her MVS could hack apart the enemy machines if she used it properly, but because it generated deadly amounts of heat, any contact would cause the Knightmare Frames to melt into slag. The KGF she fought against in Zilkhstan could attest to that. Again however, she was forced to handicap herself to avoid a lethal attack.
Once again, Tohdoh and Chiba covered for each other's weak points. One would go on the offensive, forcing her to defend, while the other would defend the attacker from any holes in their defense. Too heavy handed, and Kallen knew she risked a fatal mistake. So the process would repeat itself. Kallen would break away from the melee, which caused Tohdoh to harass her with his machine guns. She would evade, and launch a relatively weak attack with the Guren's Radiant Wave Surger. Each time, it was a little stronger, but still not strong enough to bust through the shields of the opposing frame. Then they would close into melee, where she had to rely on a deactivate MVS to parry their attacks. Any counter attack would be blocked by the one not actively harrying her. Things were easier when she was Piloting the S.E.I.T.E.N., at least the weapons it had weren't so overbearing, that the simplest attack would instantly destroy the enemy. The overwhelming power of the Guren's most recent iteration was more of a hindrance than a help right now. Maybe she was being too soft? Sure Tohdoh was clearly trying to disarm her, but Chiba seemed to be out for blood.
This was becoming tedious. She was keeping a cool head, and her opponents weren't actually posing a threat to her. However, her energy filler hadn't been replaced for the past couple days. A prolonged fight like this was only advantageous to her opponents. She needed a way to break the current stalemate, one that wouldn't risk any lives, both hers and her attackers.
Kaname Ohgi was blown away. He knew Kallen was an ace pilot. He knew she had skill rivalling or surpassing even the Knights of the Round. She was arguably the greatest pilot in the world, with only Suzaku ever having been considered a worthy rival. This was something else though. Kyoshiro Tohdoh was also someone who had fought Suzaku piloting the Lancelot to a stalemate on more than one occasion. Chiba was one of the Four Holy Swords. While not on the level of Tohdoh, she was only a step behind him in piloting skill. Then what was this?
Kallen wasn't even serious. He could tell she wasn't keen on hurting either of her opponents, but she hadn't even activated most of her weapons. Even when she used the Radiant Wave Surger, it was so dialed back, that all it did was force the shields of the other Knightmare Frames to activate. He guessed she was maybe using a tenth of its full output, and it was only in scattered shots, which would further weaken the attack.
Kallen wasn't a prodigy, to call her such a thing was selling her short. This was perhaps a once in a generation talent. If Suzaku didn't exist, she would be in an entire league of her own.
"Why hasn't she defeated them already. I thought she was the strongest pilot in the Black Knights?"
Ohgi looked back, the Captain of the cargo ship he had recruited was observing the battle as well. "She is. It's not that she can't end the fight, she just doesn't want to kill anyone she knows. Remember, I told you she was framed. The whole thing with Zilkhstan is being set up as a terrorist attack. That wasn't how it went down. Even if it was only a single night, that was a proper war that took place."
The Captain shrugged in indifference. "Whatever you say. I'm just here because you paid me well. As long as she wins, I couldn't care less how the people on the other side of the conflict end up."
Ohgi frowned, but refrained from making further comments. The Captain didn't have a real leg in the outcome of the fight, he just wanted to make sure he survived whatever happened next. He supposed he couldn't blame the man, as he really was just hired help. Ohgi shook his head and returned his focus to the battle.
Kyoshiro Tohdoh knew something was strange about the current situation. Schneizel had ordered the arrest of Kallen, and spun some sort of story about Lelouch still being alive. He didn't know how that was possible. He had seen that man die with his own eyes. A year ago, when Emperor Lelouch was killed by Suzaku Kururugi masquerading as Zero, he had figured it was a ploy to end the cycle of bloodshed. By concentrating all the hate on one individual, and then having said individual die, a chance for true peace was born. That's the part that confused him. If Lelouch truly was still alive, what greater purpose did that serve? If made his sacrifice a scam. One that had fooled the entire world.
That's why he was here. He wanted answers, and he knew Kozuki could answer them. He had asked the prisoners in captivity, but they had all remained tight lipped. He tracked down Ohgi, who was suspected of working with the other fugitives, which had ended up being true. When he had found Kozuki too, he had thought they could resolve things peacefully. She didn't surrender though. What bugged him however, was she had tried to say something before the battle had started. Chiba had interrupted her though, and rushed into battle. Now he had to make sure his direct subordinate didn't get herself killed. She was making it very difficult. They were clearly in over their heads, and yet Kozuki seemed to be taking it easy on them. Rather, she wasn't even putting up a proper fight. Sure, she avoided all their attacks, but her return blows were less than half hearted.
Chiba seemed to be getting more and more desperate as the fight dragged on. Kallen was playing a mostly defensive game, and Chiba was becoming more and more aggressive. Tohdoh found himself having to compensate for her tactics, which threw off his own rhythm as well. This was a losing battle.
"Why won't you take me head on!? Fight me coward!"
Chiba exploded in anger, and she decided to rush in blindly. Tohdoh tried to reel her in, but she was way ahead of herself.
"Chiba, fall back, don't move in alone!" Tohdoh commanded her to not be rash, but his words had fallen on deaf ears.
She launched her full salvo of missiles, which the Guren nimbly dodged. Then she started spraying her machine guns and right arm mounted gun. Nothing connected. Getting even more frustrated, she closed in, and fired off her single Slash Harken, which Kallen caught in the Guren's clawed gauntlet.
"Kozuki, no don't!" Tohdoh panicked, but when he tried to close the distance, the Guren pulled away at speed, the Akatsuki being dragged by its own Slash Harken. Eventually the Guren came to an abrupt stop, its MVS raised, and it cleanly bisected the Akatsuki at the torso, forcing Chiba to eject.
"That's one down One to go." The Guren turned to face the Zangetsu. Now facing Kallen alone, Tohdoh dropped his Zangetsu's blade. The will to continue the fight having left him entirely.
"What? Giving up already?"
"Yes. I know when a fight isn't winnable. I surrender. Do as you will to me. Just leave Chiba unharmed."
"Fine, land your Knightmare, and exit the cockpit." Kallen herself moved the Guren down to ground level. She eased it to where Chiba's ejection system had landed. Chiba herself was already out of the cockpit, clearly in a sour mood if her expression was anything to go by.
The Zangetsu followed suit, and landed by the Guren, both Kallen and Tohdoh exiting their respective machines.
Chiba was immediately glaring at Kallen, who returned a puzzled look. She turned to Tohdoh, perplexed. "What's gotten her so heated.? Does she hate losing that badly."
"It's because you kept avoiding me in a direct fight. If I hadn't lost my temper, we would have had you."
Kallen looked back and forth between Tohdoh and Chiba, before taking the wind out of the girl's sails. "Not a chance. The only way you would have won is if my Energy Filler ran out mid battle."
"What!? Take that back, we clearly had the edge in that fight until the end."
"Ha! If that's what you think, the only thing worse than your temper is that inflated ego of yours. I'm more skilled, and my Knightmare is two generations above yours in specs."
Chiba bristled at the insult. She raised her balled fists, and started rushing Kallen.
"Enough! Both of you. You're acting like a couple novices. Chiba, reign in your temper. Kozuki, stop antagonizing her."
Chiba, wide eyed, turned to Tohdoh, a hurt look on her face. "Sir, but she's a traitor. Why shouldn't we engage her? She's outside her Knightmare, we can overwhelm her on land."
"That's the thing. I'm not so sure she is. If you had a better grasp on your own emotions, you would have realized she spent the entire battle pulling her punches. She wasn't avoiding a confrontation, she was trying not to kill us."
Kallen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You realized that huh? I was more preoccupied finding a way to not destroy your Knightmares more than anything else. The Guren isn't exactly equipped to disarm. All its weapons are pretty lethal."
"I'm aware. Thanks for that Kozuki. I appreciate the mercy. The truth was, I was never interested in taking you in. I just wanted some questions answered. I had to at least try though. Schneizel wouldn't have taken too kindly to us failing otherwise. This way I can say we were defeated."
"If you head back in one piece, won't he think that's suspicious?"
"Probably. The Akatsuki is a wreck though, and he can always check the battle records from the Zangetsu. If he does double check, all he'll see is you embarrassing us in Knightmare combat."
"Yea, sorry about that again. You said something about wanting some questions right?
"Yes, that's correct. I wanted to know, is it true? Is Lelouch still alive?"
Kallen's expression dropped a little, before she eventually answered. "Yeah, he is..."
"I knew it! That bastard tricked us all! Sir, we should apprehend Kozuki right now. She just admitted her guilt." Chiba finally spoke up again, having remained quiet after Tohdoh had scolded her.
"It's not what you think! Lelouch didn't ask to come back!"
"I don't care, he faked his death, and went into hiding, all so he could bide his time for whatever he's planning now." Chiba was getting more incensed as Kallen pleaded for her to listen.
"Kozuki. The way you phrased that was odd. You said 'come back'. That would imply Lelouch really did pass away."
Kallen nodded in affirmation. "He did. Regardless of what you might think, Lelouch vi Britannia died that day. He just didn't stay dead."
"Absurd. Why would you tell such obvious lies?"
"Chiba, knock it off. I don't think Kozuki is lying. Just look at her, she's starting to tear up."
Kallen flinched at his statement, and quickly moved to brush away the tears forming in her eyes. "C.C. brought him back from the dead. It was her selfish plan, but it worked. Now they're off traveling the world in some hell hole or another."
"C.C.? That would mean...",Tohdoh tapered off, his statement hanging. He refocus on Kallen. "I see now. So I was right. He planned to make himself a sink for all the hatred in the world. A symbol that could be sacrificed to cleanse the world from conflict."
"Yeah. He called it the Zero Requiem. I didn't find out all if the details until months after his death. I just guessed what was going on when everything was unfolding in front of us."
"As did I. When you said the man who killed Lelouch was the real Zero, I had an inkling. When I learned that same Zero was Kururugi, I was all but sure."
"Yeah, he really did sacraf-" Chiba's fist impacted Kallen's face hard, the force knocking her onto her back.
"Fuck you! You're still defending that lunatic. He killed so many of us. He had us lined up for execution! How could you!? How could you..." Chiba sank to her knees, choked sobs interrupting her tirade. Tears streamed down her cheeks in waves, having quickly devolved into an inconsolable mess.
Kallen gawked at Chiba, her hand caressing her now swelling cheek. Tohdoh sighed, but refused to reprimand her. He could tell when someone's bottled up emotions were finally breaking free.
"I'm sorry. I know you never trusted him, but because of Lelouch, the world undeniably ended up a better place after his death." Kallen stood up, meeting Chiba's shrunken form head on.
Chiba was about to say something, but averted her gaze from Kallen's. Those blue eyes. They were so unyielding in their belief. Chiba knew she had a point.
"Chiba, are you okay?" Tohdoh walked over, and helped her stand to her feet.
"No, not really. But, I feel like a weight I've been holding in for a long time has finally been lifted."
"Good. That means you'll start to feel more at peace as time passes. Kozuki, what about you?"
"A little sore, but I'll manage. That was a hell of a punch Chiba." A cocksure grin split Kallen's face, and she playfully punched Chiba on the arm.
Chiba blushed deeply, now flustered at her outburst from before. "Sorry Kallen. I shouldn't have..."
Kallen airily waved her hand , as if shooing away her concerns. "Don't worry about it. I destroyed your Knightmare, so consider us even.'
Chiba nodded meekly, too emotionally exhausted to say anything further. Tohdoh nodded, glad things seemed to smooth over a bit.
The trio's attention shifted when Ohgi once again made his way from the small raft that deployed from the cargo ship.
"Kaname. It's good to see you again. I'm sorry about the unprovoked attack earlier."
"You guys made up already? That was quick work."
"Kozuki explained the situation to us in part."
"So you know about Schneizel breaking free from his Geass then?"
"He what?! No, we never got that far into the discussion. Things are worse than I thought. No wonder he's acted so rashly."
Chiba's eyes widened. "But he... He was responsible for over 100,000,000 deaths. When he had Pendragon destroyed... oh no..."
"What about the F.L.E.I.J.A.? If he has access to those again, the damage he'll cause will be catastrophic."
"Luckily the Damocles burned up in the Sun. Currently he has no delivery system for them," reminded Ohgi.
"Good, when we get back, we'll have to warn the others about what's going on. It will be difficult to oppose Schneizel openly, but we can work to delay his plans."
Kallen's face went white.
"Kallen what's wrong?" Ohgi moved closer, steadying her as she lost strength in her legs. "Are you sick?'
"What was the last place Schneizel mentioned the Black Knights would be focusing on before all this craziness happened?"
"The E.U., near France I think." As soon as he said it, realization struck Tohdoh. "Damn it! Apollo's Chariot. He plans to steal the new facility to deliver the F.L.E.I.J.A. anywhere in the world. He'll have the global populace as his hostage."
"Oh God no, not again." This time Chiba and Ohgi's faces went ghostly pail. As everyone was beginning to feel the weight of the current situation, Ohgi's phone rang. Everyone flinched, and he stumbled a bit before answering. "Hello? Who is this?" Ohgi's face regained some color as whoever was on the other line delivered some news.
"Is that Sayoko?", asked Kallen. She recalled she was supposed to contact Ohgi again with news of Jeremiah and Anya. Ohgi nodded in response, still focusing on the call. After a few seconds, he pulled the phone from his ear.
"Jeremiah and Anya are both unharmed and with Sayoko. They are traveling to come meet us at another location, and they have the Mordred and Jeremiah's custom Sutherland with them."
Tohdoh and Chiba exchanged looks, and seemed to come to an agreement without words. Ohgi hung up, and put his phone away.
"Kallen, we have to go soon. They will be here in a couple more days. Grab the Guren."
"About that, between me being on the run the last couple days, and the fight we were just in, the Guren is almost out of juice. I have maybe another hour of operational time."
Ohgi scowled at the news. Without the Guren in working order, things would be a struggle in the near future.
Chiba stepped forward. "Kallen, please take my Energy Filler. My Knightmare is destroyed, so I have no further use for it. It's the least I can do for you two."
Kallen gaped silently at Chiba, surprised by the sudden turnaround. "Um, thanks, but how will you get back?"
"She'll ride in the Zangetsu with me. It will be a little cramped, but that was our only option back in the first place." Chiba blushed at his admission, her cheeks going beat red.
"So we have a plan, you two will head back to slow down Schneizel's plan, and Kallen and I will meet up with the others. Eventually we'll see if we can start gathering a larger force."
"Very well then. You'll build up a power base, and we'll eventually be able to take the fight to him. I'm sure I can sway a decent number of Black Knights to our side. At the very least anyone who served before Schneizel became the Commander."
"This is going eventually turn into a civil war." Kallen grimaced as everyone else came to the same conclusion. The four of them exchanged glances, all finally arriving on the same course of action. With their plans set in stone. They all left for their respective missions. The fate of the world now resting on their shoulders.
Tohdoh finished delivering his report to Commander Schneizel, who looked none too pleased with the outcome of the battle he and Chiba had with Kallen. After Tohdoh took his leave, Schneizel pondered his next action.
"So they failed. I expected more from 'Tohdoh of Miracles'. What a disappointment. It seems Kallen's Guren is more of a problem than I anticipated."
"Well, it is a 9th Generation Knightmare. I'm surprised Kallen didn't outright kill them." Maldini himself was trying to dissect the problem as well.
"Yes, that is odd. However, what to do about the Guren? Like you said, it is far more dangerous than any Knightmare we have at our disposal."
"What about the Lancelot siN? It's the Guren's equal."
"That's true, but I'd like to avoid using it. I want to distance ourselves from any recognizable Knightmares that were used in Zilkhstan. The Lancelot is unmistakable." As Schneizel continued to think over the problem, he had an epiphany. "Perhaps not the siN, but there is another Lancelot we could use. One that would serve our purpose just as well."
"Another Lancelot?"
"Yes, the Albion Zero was retired, but is still perfectly functional. It will be able to match the Guren, as it too is a 9th Generation Knightmare."
"Who would pilot it? Kururugi would never fight his friends, and only a handful of pilots could handle something that was that strenuous."
As if on queue, Gino stepped forward from Schneizel's left. "Sir, please allow me to pilot the Albion Zero. I can handle it. After all, I am a former Knight of the Round."
"No Weinberg. You are to stay here and continue guarding me. After all, there is an enemy assassin in the loose."
"My apologies, I humbly beg for forgiveness for my rudeness. I was out of line."
"Pay it no mind. Speaking of former Knights of the Round, I have another pilot in mind. Maldini, please contact the Glinda Knights. I would like to speak to Nonette Enneagram. After all, she has plenty of experience piloting a Lancelot variant."
A/N: Kallen was never actually in any danger of losing her fight. She was just afraid of killing her former comrades. To those asking about her being paired with Lelouch, I'll think about it. If I can weave it into the narrative without it feeling forced, I'll try. Thanks again for reading. Until next time.
