Evolution Geass: Uzumaki of the Retribution

by SoulEmbrace2010

Naruto, Naruko, and Lucienne aim to destroy Britannia, in memory of their departed loved ones. The trio trained and prepared for the future war, but their hands are forced when they got caught up in the Shinjuku incident. In response, they start their campaign early to free Japan, only to find that there's more going on, and the world is at stake. AU, OOC, Naru/Harem, Mass-Xovers

13. STAGE 12: Turn of the Tide

Castle: *Sitting at a table in the middle of nowhere reading a manga with his feet propped up on said table.* "Dude. Making little Anya cry? Death sentence!"

Soul: *Ghost floating out of body*

Castle: Whoa, man. The hell happened to you?

Soul: Life, and dealing with people. Thankfully I left my theater job so I have more time to myself.

Castle: Well, at least you're not starting down one of the hottest summers on record in an apartment that doesn't have very good insulation.

Soul: *now on fire* Indeed. I have a Poll on my profile now by the way. It closes at the end of this month, so don't miss it as it'll affect some of my future updates!

-Review responses

XenoBlade - Thanks to going through the Fate Grand Order story, I had a pretty good idea on what Servants to put on the Britannian side yet. I don't have it locked down yet. But I guarantee that you'll like Euphie's Starting Servant.

Raidentaisho - Since NSG and I finished watching Legend of Vox Machina together, I may happen.

Gundam Meister Uzumaki - The way the Student Council is getting involved in inspired from the Council of Change fanfic.

Falco - Yo, just letting you know that some of your latest contributions clash with the paths we have planned out. Some might be used later tho, depending…

---

"This is BB. I'm currently in an Fate Grand Order event tormenting all the old and new Masters of Chaldea. Please leave a message after the sound of slapping Passionlip's tits!"

"KYAH! MOM!"

---

(The Aftermath)

The world had a fire lit under its ass for the first time in seven years. Japan was the powderkeg, and the modern-day Black Knights, known as the Crimson Suns, were the matches.

All over the world, the Crimson Suns were the talk of every single village, town, and city on Earth. Every man, woman, and child were enthralled by their style, presentation, and brazzen declaration that put them at odds with the Holy Britannian Empire. It even got to the point that people were mimicking their mannerisms and dressing up as them, even the kids. Of course, the Honorary Britannians had to keep their own kids from doing so out in public, lest they get reported and lose their status.

The Britannians on the other hand were on the receiving end of ridicule online. For such a powerful nation, they were helpless in dealing with a hostage situation; they'd had to rely on a group of new vigilantes to do their jobs for them. Worse, it was all televised, so Britannia could not talk their way out of the mocking, no matter how much propaganda the media spewed to change the narrative.

As for the Crimson Suns, they now had to deal with a flood of recruitment applications sent their way. Bagley and BB, much to the latter's chagrin, were tasked with vetting the applications and doing background checks on the possible new Crimson Suns members. Everything needed going through with a fine-tooth comb to prevent some from joining just for the glory and whatnot. However, BB hacked the Uzu mainframe to unvault a prototype A.I. named Cortana to take her place, resulting in a scolding from Nines.

Sadly for the founders of the Crimson Suns, they had their own issues at school to deal with from the aftermath of the hotel jacking. For one, they were hounded by the press who were constantly waiting for them outside the school gates, wanting to get an interview from them to document their hostage experience. Yes, while the masks were on as the Crimson Suns, they were ultimately still students and were seen as being part of the group of hostages.

Along with Euphemia li Britannia…also known as Elizabeth Lamperouge at Ashford Academy…who'd managed to figure out who Joker, Cypher, and Rei were…

---

Stage 12: Turn of the Tide

---

[Viceroy Palace, Cornelia's Office]

Cornelia could not be any more displeased at the moment. A simple hostage ordeal that should've been easy to deal with was upended by Euphemia being one of the hostages, followed by the newest ter- 'vigilante' group, the Crimson Suns, swooping in to save the day, further embarrassing her in the process. No doubt her father was displeased with the situation as a whole…or finding amusement in the whole thing since he never gave a damn about the successes or failures of his offspring.

What further soured her mood was Euphemia completely disregarding her demands to stay in the palace. Instead, her little sister had opted to stay at Ashford Academy, since her title as Sub-Viceroy was more of a figurehead than anything. But more than that, Euphemia coldly, to the point of being eerily chilling, informed Cornelia that she'd be remaining at Ashford until the heat died down.

As much as Cornelia wanted to force Euphemia back, she didn't want to risk provoking even more of her ire. At what, Cornelia didn't know when it wasn't directed at her.

"Needless to say, milady, but Britannia's reputation took another blow on the world stage." Bourne commented, gazing out the window with a mug of coffee in hand. "As a result, the resistance groups outside Area 11 have gotten more brazen. No major losses reported thus far, but it's only a matter of time…"

"It's not all bad. Didn't we just receive word that King Bradley has finished up the last remaining remnants of that Peace Mark group?" Guilford reminded them confidently, "We can scratch out one possible threat in joining that upstart group."

"I'm more concerned with the likes of Uzu taking a liking to them. I wouldn't be surprised if the Crimson Suns modeled themselves after them. Then again, they do have those strange powers…like Kushina-sensei…" Cornelia whispered the last part to herself.

"I've chosen a group of Honorary Britannians still on our side to try and sneak their way into the Crimson Suns. I have little doubt that they're looking to do some recruitment to bolster their ranks." Bourne informed the group.

"Can they be trusted?" Dartlon asked with concern.

"I'm sorry," Bourne turned on him, leveling a stink-eye at him. "If you have a better idea of taking down these so-called vigilantes outside of the inevitable Knightmare skirmishes, I'm all ears."

"Leave the Crimson Suns alone for now," Cornelia suddenly said, surprising everyone. "We'll give them that much of a head-start for rescuing Euphemia. But-" she scowled. "Once they put one toe out of line, all bets are off."

"Indeed. The Crimson Suns made it clear that Britannia is their enemy, and by extension, us." Guilford reiterated grimly, "It's best that we take this time to prepare countermeasures in case they attack out of the blue." He looked around. "Shouldn't Jeremiah and Villetta be here for this talk?"

"I sent them to Ashford to shadow Euphemia. Better to be safe than sorry." Cornelia informed him and gritted her teeth. "How goes the search for the JLF's main headquarters?"

"Going about as well as cracking Clovis's computer, in which we hit a snag. Apparently half the keycode is missing, along with a password we haven't been able to find. As for Code R, nothing on that front yet." Bourne reported.

"I order you to drop everything and focus on finding the JLF. Every day of their existence is an insult to me and Euphemia for what they've done!"

Bourne sweatdropped. "With all due respect, I don't think Princess Euphemia would feel the same-"

"I don't care what it takes and I don't want excuses! Just find them!" Cornelia raged at him.

"Yes, ma'am!"

---

[Ashford Academy]

The premiere school in Area 11 was currently at the center of attention due to some of its students being part of the hostage situation. As a result, news crews and cameras made themselves at home at the school gate, trying to get a word with those students for their news programs. Their presence was disruptive, as they congested the gates to the school grounds and made it difficult for other students to get in and out. However, most of the students they were trying to get to were part of the Student Council, who were all privileged to know the secret passageways in and out of the school grounds.

Besides, there were other matters to attend to within the school. With the advent of the Crimson Suns in full swing, the inner circle of the resistance/vigilantes were on the move to prepare for the battles ahead.

And that starts with a few new additions to the school body.

A few days after the debut of Crimson Suns, it was universally decided that the new arrivals should be part of the student body. As a case of 'hope for the best and prepare for the worst,' it'd help better protect Ashford Academy should shit go down outside their operations. Sure, steps were taken to cover their tracks, but it was alright to be thorough…

…

In Class 3-C…

"Rejoice everyone, for I, Nero Ashford, cousin of Milly Ashford, graces you with her presence!" Nero Claudius, clad in the uniform of Ashford Academy, smirked smugly and curtsied with her skirt slightly lifted. "Feel free to praise me for all my future accomplishments!"

'Why must she act so weird?!' Lucienne mentally whined while everyone looked gobsmacked. 'All paths lead to Rome, but this isn't Rome!'

"Yep, that's Milly's cousin all right." Rivalz chuckled while playing along.

"Where did she come from? Madam President never said anything about a cousin." Shirley said, looking confused. "What do you think, Lucy?"

"Don't ask, don't tell. But, considering her words…" Lucienne grimaced as Nero waved merrily at her. "She shares our dear President's brand of craziness."

"I fear for your class's sanity, Kallen."

"You and I both, Artoria…" Kallen mumbled under her breath. "Not that it bothers me right now…"

"You're also looking at the newest member of the Student Council, ruling the mass alongside my dear cousin!" Nero declared, making Kallen slam her head on the desk.

"What?!" Shirley squeaked, looking at Lucienne and Rivalz.

"I mean, it's Milly's cousin, so of course she'll want in on the fun." Rivalz chuckled with a knowing look at Lucienne. "Don't worry about it, it'll be great!"

Lucienne sweated. "That is not my concern at the moment…" she grumbled, pitching the bridge of her nose.

A certain Princess was sitting behind her, hungry for answers while leaking miasma in Lucienne's direction.

…

In Class 4-A…

"My name is Johnny Walker, representing the great state of Texas from the Homeland." Nines introduced himself with his civilian alias to his new class, standing alongside Ryofu and Kan'u.

"The name's Ren. Kobayashi Ren. Sorry, boys. I'm already taken." Ryofu grinned as she enjoyed the crestfallen looks some of the boys had.

"I'm Masaki Aisha." Kan'u introduced herself in her typical fashion. "Ditto."

The Eisner twins snickered as the boys wailed in despair at the two newest and hottest girls being taken. Despite them being Elevens, their supple bodies had the guys thinking with their other heads. It didn't help that Ryofu had her top partially unbuttoned, showing off her ample bust.

"Looks like you have competition, Prez." Akiza noted, smirking at her.

Milly returned the smirk. "With your assets? Don't project, sweetheart."

Nathan nodded at Nines, who subtly nodded back. With Nines close at hand and Ashford's old Knightmare factory in operation, the Crimson Suns' R&D was set. His two girls wanted to come around for the ride; Ryofu to have fun and Kan'u to be the silent observer.

Nothing to do with some hussy swinging in to steal their man.

"Let's enjoy the moment for now." Natalia suddenly grumbled. "Because we have to deal with a certain Princess soon…"

Nathan grimaced at that. "Thanks for the remainder, sis…"

---

(After school…)

As all the students were exiting the school grounds, trying to get past the media brigade that were trying to get in, the inner circle were sneaking around the main building, attempting to get to the elevator without being spotted by anyone in particular.

"You sure you're OK to move around now? I'm still annoyed that you haven't said anything about you critically heating up. Had we known, we would've cut down our speech." Naruto hissed at Nick, who waved him off.

"Eh, I've been through worse…in my previous lives." he snipped as Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm not in danger of dying or anything like that. It's just that certain techniques require a certain amount of prowess that I lack at the moment, which places a great deal of stress on my Key."

"We're going to worry regardless. We're still humans, and will never be monsters. Our inner circle is like family at this point." Naruto quipped back as he looked around the corner. "It doesn't matter how strong you are, we're going to worry if one of us gets hurt."

"A weakness I'm willing to accept." Lucienne grumbled under her breath.

Down the hall, Naruko waved at him with Milly, Kallen, and Akiza peeking out from behind her shoulders. Naruto then looked around to see Rivalz and Claire joining them. He nodded before leading them to the elevator, joining Naruko and her group there.

"You shook her?" Naruto asked.

"She's persistent, but we gave her the slip." Naruko growled as she looked around. "I managed to use Suzaku as a sacrificial lamb back in the school building, but I don't think that'll last long."

"Great. Let's hurry on down! Nines, Ryofu, and Kan'u are waiting with Orenji and Villy." Naruto said as the elevator arrived.

Everyone piled in quickly, with Naruto pushing the button to close the elevator doors to go down. Everyone sighed in relief, but just as the doors nearly closed, a hand covered with dark smoke shot between the gap, preventing the doors from closing.

"Oh no…" Lucienne whined as the door started creaking open.

In a scene that could be down in the lowest pits of hell, the door was pried open, revealing a dark female figure with misama around her and red eyes gleaming. Everyone except for a select few shivered like maracas as the peeved Princess of the Realm stepped onto the elevator, allowing the doors to finally close behind her.

Whether there were girly screams that followed was anyone's guess…

---

[Underground Bunker]

Nines could be seen typing away at the console. Nearby stood Kan'u who was content with watching her man work. Ryofu, though, opted to use one of the terminals as a video game console. Jeremiah and Villeta could be seen looking over reports of the Phantom Thieves' exploits.

"Everything looking good on your end, BB?"

"Yep. All the upgrades to the mainframe are green. Mission Control is operating at maximum efficiency." The A.I. of the Moon said as she appeared in the monitor wearing a lab coat and glasses.

"Excellent. While we could have made the upgrades remotely, there is nothing quite like getting in here and doing it by hand." Nines commented before turning to the arriving group. "Ah. Evening my fellow conspirators against the empire. Ready for our first official meeting of the leaders of the Crimson Suns-? Oh." He noticed that some of them were looking hagarded and dragging themselves to their chairs. "Problems?"

"Warning, unauthorized guest detected!" Bagley announced cheekily.

"Cool it, Bags. You know we couldn't refuse. And it's not our Servants who are doing patrols right now." Naruto groaned as Euphemia li Britannia followed them inside.

"Princess Euphemia?!" Jeremiah yelped, shooting up.

"Oh dear," Villetta swallowed at the surprised look on Euphemia's face. "We can explain…"

"And another one." Bagley stated dryly.

"Sir Jeremiah. Lady Villetta. Can't say I'm surprised, but I am." Euphemia mused with a knowing look at Lucienne.

Nines just smiled as he stood and approached the princess. "Euphemia li Britannia. Third Princess of the Empire of Britannia and Sub-Viceroy of Area Eleven, better known as Japan. It is truly an honor to finally meet you." Nines formally bowed to the princess and took her hand to kiss it. "You are just as lovely as your sister and the twins have said. The television and pictures simply do not do you justice."

"Um, thank you?" Euphemia replied with a slight blush. "I suppose you're one of the masked members of the Crimson Suns, I take it, mister?"

"You would be correct. I go by many names, but you can call me Nines here and Johnny Walker when above ground."

"You know, that reminds me. Why did you choose 'Johnny Walker' as your alias?" Akiza asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, that. Well, my 'uncle's' name is Johnny. Well, he's only an uncle by name, but he and 'Aunt Meryl' used to take care of me sometimes. Also, Johnny Walker is the name of a popular whiskey back home, so…" Nines explained with a shrug.

"And what a world it is. It feels more like a fantasy than anything." Jeremiah muttered, shaking his head. "Milady surrounds herself with interesting company indeed."

"I'm still trying to process those two World Wars." Villetta muttered, rubbing her temples.

"I say it's just the start." Ryofu said over her shoulder, still focused on her game.

"Trust me when I say, Euphie, that you're in for the long haul when it comes to explanations about everything involving us and our operation." Lucienne said, shifting herself in her chair, making it look as if she was sitting on a throne. "So please don't ask why we're doing this, because you know exactly why this is all happening."

Euphemia grimaced as she gazed at everyone. "I don't think I can ask why at this point. From all the technology I'm seeing, you've been preparing for a long time…longer than Shinjuku…"

"Seven years, in fact." Milly confirmed, nodding.

Villetta nodded in agreement. "One could say Shinjuku was the catalyst, born from the Phantom Thieves until it grew into more. Jeremiah and I joined when we confirmed that Lady Lucienne and Lady Nunnally were alive."

"Yes, we are loyal to Britannia, but we owe the vi Britannia family too much to turn against them and Lady Marianne's memory." Jeremiah added with a clenched fist. "Besides, the Britannia that we know has been one without honor."

"That's putting it real lightly." Nick snarked and smirked at Euphemia. "Good to see you again, Princess."

"Nick Ward." Euphemia nodded in acknowledgement. "I suppose you were questioning Suzaku because you were part of all this?"

"You're half-right. After that footage was released, I only did so to understand what the hell was going on, as well as get some valuable information to bring with the group before joining myself." Nick replied with a shrug.

"And I joined around the same time after a bit of snooping." Claire said and bowed. "I'm Claire Harvey, leader of the Disciplinary Squad."

"All in all, we, the inner circle of the Crimson Suns, are united to take down Britannia, and loosen its grip on the world." Naruto declared, with almost everyone nodding in agreement.

"What a sec, why are we telling her all of this?!" Kallen suddenly shouted while shooting up. "What if she tells Cornelia?!"

"I doubt that'll happen. Not only does it look like she's complicit, but it'll put her dear sisters in harm's way." BB suddenly spoke up while adjusting her glasses, her eyes now glowing red. "But go ahead! Let's light this candle!"

"Down, BB." Nines chided her, making her sulk.

"...Does Nunnally know?" Euphemia asked Lucienne directly.

"No. I'm keeping her out of this. It's why Kushina-san's personal maid has been deployed to watch her. I'm not going to have her hurt on my watch. Plus she doesn't like violence so…there's that." Lucienne smiled. "Don't worry, we're not going to cause a huge ruckus immediately."

"We're not?" a surprised Kallen asked.

"Of course not. We have to build up our reputation," Nick told her, "We need to give people a reason to get behind us. The Shinjuku footage and the Saitama incident can only get us so far."

Euphemia bit her lip. "...I can only hope you won't hurt anyone."

Naruto shook his head. "Of course we won't. Just the bad guys. No innocents. You have our word."

"Which is why we need to prove to the people that we're a better option than the Japan Liberation Front and Britannia." Nines added and bought some screens up. "And I have just the thing to help that along. BB."

Multiple holo-screens popped up, showing pictures of people packing small bottles and syringes into boxes, which were then put into packages and rolled into trucks.

"Refrain!" Akiza growled as she instantly recognized the drug that was circulating in the ghettos. She had seen too many times the damage that drug could do to someone. Kallen likewise had a face like she wanted to break the vile thing.

"That's right. Our first order of business is the dismantling of Refrain distribution hubs here in Japan. That drug's been a thorn in our side, even during our Phantom Thief days. It's something that shouldn't exist, period." Naruto announced, with the Kozuki girls nodding in agreement.

"The Knight Police are dragging their feet on this despite our many many tips, so we'll do their work for them and rid Japan of Refrain." Milly said with an arm pump.

"…I've heard of this. Refrain allows one to revisit the happiest times of their memories." Euphemia said as images of people under Refrain came into view.

"But it also comes with some nasty side effects. Psychosis, amnesia, delirium, migraines, temporary paralysis, schizophrenia, and prolonged exposure and overdoses can lead to brain cell apoptosis, resulting in brain death and leaving the subject invalid." Nines chimed in.

"Very nasty thing." BB added cheekily. "Like a trojan horse for humans. So inspirational!"

"How could Clovis leave this for so long?" Euphemia wondered, baffled. "The public files he left behind showed that he knew of this."

Rivalz snorted, shrugging. "Just like the Japanese people, it was beneath him to deal with it. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised that he left it all alone on purpose."

"Sounds about right." Jeremiah agreed. "We'll do what we can to help locate the distribution centers."

"Yeah. I hope you can see that we're not that bad, Euphie." Lucienne said, standing up and walking up to her. "It's not just the Uzumaki I owe my life to, but Japan for taking care of myself and Nunnally. Clearing Japan of this drug is the least I can do…next to getting rid of Britannia."

Euphemia swallowed. "But what about Cornelia? She of all people should know that you and Nunnally are alive-"

"That's true, but I- we know her. The moment she finds out, she'll lock me and Nunnally away under the guise of protection. And don't say she won't do it! She's been dragging you around everywhere she goes so daddy dearest can't use you as a bargaining chip to force 'Nelia's hand," Lucienne said sharply as the pinkette looked to interject, "There will be a time that I'll reveal myself as Rei to 'Nelia, but until then, I need to show her, as Rei, that I don't need her smothering me."

Akiza winced at that. Lucienne's explanation reminded her too much of Kallen's attempts to get into Naoto's resistance cell. She and Naoto were firmly against it, but Kallen proved herself with a broken down Knightmare that saved everyone's lives, forcing her and Naoto to acknowledge her.

"The question now, Euphie-chan, is what are you going to do?" Naruto asked, their eyes meeting. "You're not blind, and I don't see you ratting us out. Because like us, you can see how Britannia treats those they conquer. I'm sure you don't agree with how your shared father didn't pursue justice for Lelouch's and Marianne-san's deaths, as well as throwing out your sisters. You want peace, and we can give it. All of us and Uzushio."

'This is truly the only way?' Euphemia sighed and looked away."I feel…that I'll need some time to process this. I don't agree with what you're all doing, but I understand why. I know that Cornelia is different, but I don't…want her to die like Clovis."

"And she won't. She doesn't know it, but she'll be helping us out." Naruto assured her.

"We're not asking for you to do anything big. I say just help with evacuating the innocents while we do our work." Milly suggested with a hand on her shoulder. "I doubt 'Nelia will question you about it."

"Awww, and here I was hoping to see the kind of Geass and Servant you'd get."

C.C. arrived in the bunker, wearing a Ashford Academy uniform and a box of pizza in hand.

"You were supposed to be in class today, C.C." Lucienne noted in annoyance.

"You expect me to sit still listening to lectures on revisionist history, especially when I lived actual history?" C.C. scoffed, waving her off. "No thank you. The only good thing about this uniform is that I can openly sneak around on campus when I need to."

"Erm, I'm sorry. Who are you?" Euphie asked the new girl.

"Me? I'm a Witch. C.C., at your service." C.C. introduced herself. "I don't imagine you wanting to sit around while everyone else is fighting for their lives. You got this far, so you might as well join. Pizza?"

"No, thank you."

"More for me."

"Wait, Geass? Servant? What is she talking about?" asked the pinkette.

"You know how we Uzumaki have what the normies call superpowers, right? Well, Geass is a way for normals to have one of those, except it's focused on the eyes." Naruko said, pointing at her own.

"And I'm one of few in the world who can grant it." C.C. said lazily before devouring a slice. "For good reason, since your father has one, along with a secret army of Geass-users."

"WHAT?!" Euphemia yelped in fright.

"You sure you don't want a slice?" Lucienne asked cheekily.

"No, I don't-!" Euphemia suddenly noticed that there was a pizza slice floating next to her face. "Wha-"

Euphemia looked towards Lucienne, who now had a strange red sigil in her left eye. Her sister grinned as she was now prodded with the pizza slice, greasing up her cheek. "Hey!" she protested, batting it away.

"Say hello to my Geass, where I can move objects in the world how I want them to move." Lucienne declared, manipulating the slice to shoot toward Euphemia, stuffing her mouth with the slice. "What do you think?"

"Mmph, mmm, hmm!" Euphemia whined, waving her hands.

"Oh, how naughty, Lucy!" Milly laughed and licked her lips. "Give me a few ideas."

"There is an innuendo here, I just know it." Nines remarked as he watched in exasperation.

"I don't even wanna know." Jeremiah grumbled, looking away.

"Careful Lucy-chan. You don't want a headache like last time." Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. 1 minute max for now." Lucienne nodded, deactivating her Geass. "Weaknesses even out, but it's still annoying."

"I'll take a headache over the one weakness I have. My targets have to be undisturbed, or else I lose my influence over them." Akiza grumbled, draping herself across the table. "Good thing everyone was still, back at the hotel."

"Ku ku ku, all I need are calories, calories and I can easily get to recharge my Geass," Kallen said with an evil grin at Akiza, who flipped her off.

"Huph! Are you okay, Milly?" Euphemia suddenly asked Milly, who was looking pale.

"Oh my, has our perfect Madam President screwed the pooch?" Nick asked in amusement.

"Sod. Off." Milly swallowed, her throat feeling dry. "I…I think we might have a little problem, guys. I…bumped into Nina pretty hard during the hostage rescue."

"..."

"..."

"..."

There was a deafening silence as everyone stared at Milly, who was sweating profusely. All except for Euphemia, who was looking on in confusion.

"...Fucking hell…WHAT?!" Naruko shrieked, reaching over and shaking her silly. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING ME!"

"...Do you need to hear those words exactly?" Milly whimpered with one finger up.

"Now this is entertainment." C.C. laughed, toasting with a pizza slice.

"Oh…shit. If she saw everything," Kallen whipped out her hidden blade. "Then we need to deal with her-!"

"We are absolutely not going to deal with Nina like that! We don't even know if she saw everything!" Naruto snapped at her.

"I don't know, Naruto. It might explain how One: she wasn't focused in class for the past few days. Two: She was constantly avoiding us while looking over her shoulder. And three: She hasn't been coming to the Council meetings." Rivalz explained while holding his fingers up. "Put it all together, and she sure as hell knows."

"What rotten luck. Bags!" Lucienne called out. "Locate Nina, now!"

"Already done." Bagley declared while projecting an image of her pinged signal. "I kindly took the liberty of tracking her movements for the past few days since the hotel jacking. Since then, the only places she's been to are her classrooms, the restrooms, and her dorm room. She's even taken steps to avoid you when she sees any of you. Almost as if you were the plague from that so-called poison gas."

"Nothing in her phone records either. I did see that she was halfway calling the police before stopping. Poor girl," BB giggled. "I bet she's a right mess! Her own friends, part of a terrorist group!"

"Resistance group, BB." Claire corrected her and sighed. "Now I know what it's like on the other side. We can't leave her alone! We have to talk to her before any of us do anything we'll regret."

"She didn't turn us in after all this time, so there's still hope." Naruto said, standing up and heading to the elevator. "We can't all go crowding her room, so a few of us will go, starting with me."

"You think you can convince her?" Villetta asked with concern.

"We'll have to." Lucienne said as she joined the blonde. "That's why I'll go as well. Her foolish xenophobia might make Naruto lose his temper."

"Har har har."

"I might as well join in. Nina's my childhood friend, and I'm responsible for her knowing." Milly said with resolution.

"Our dear President taking responsibility? Now this I gotta see." Nick chuckled as he stood up from his chair. "Lead the way."

"I'll go too." Kallen started to say, but Claire and Akiza held her back. "Hey, let go!"

"Four is enough. A knife isn't needed. Plus, your hostile attitude will do more harm than good, so cool it!" Claire growled, not letting go as Claire kept her grip.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kallen yelled as Kan'u got in front of her to stop her.

"Have fun. Don't forget about tonight when I show my wares to the team!" Nines called over to the foursome leaving. "8PM sharp!"

"How could we forget? You know how I love a good tasting." Naruto replied cheekily as the elevator closed.

'Ku ku ku, this is turning out more fruitful than I expected. If these children were completely flawless, I would've been very displeased.' C.C. mused as she watched Kallen starting to argue with the others.

---

[Girls' Dorms, Nina's Room]

Nina Einstein was a nervous wreck at the moment, experiencing what it's like to be cursed with knowledge she rather be blissfully unaware of.

Her thoughts were constantly replaying that day over and over in her head. It was supposed to be a simple get-together to get away from the madness in the Settlement, only for the madness to come to her. Those…Elevens took over the hotel and held them all hostage, threatening their lives. She was sure she wouldn't see her dear friends again, especially after the JLF seemingly killed one of the hostages who was later revealed to have been saved. It was then that they appeared…the masked terrorists who'd saved her and the hostages.

But it wasn't how she expected it to happen.

Before they struck, Nina suddenly found herself in a garden of roses with the other hostages. Before she could take in the scenery or wonder how she got there, she felt something bump into her. She found herself back in the room where she was held hostage, only to find things were so wrong. Milly yelling something, the terrorists looking scared at her, before she somehow curved her bullets to wound them, before executing them.

Then one of the purple-haired blindfolded woman from Joker's group somehow turned a terrorist into complete stone before landing on him, shattering him to pieces. Not a moment later, a young woman in red with a large sword, cutting down the last of the hostage holders.

Then they talked, with Nina recognizing Nick and Akiza, including Nathan, except he now had whisker-marks on his cheeks…and looked more Elevenish.

Everything felt unreal to Nina, but when she got back to the safety of Ashford Academy, she couldn't recognize her friends or her fellow Councilmen. It was like they were complete strangers that she doesn't know at all. Her own schoolmates were rebelling against Britannia, her homeland.

But why?

That was the question that kept her from reporting them to the proper authorities. That and it would cause school life to be upended, a major shift that'd change everyone's lives for better…or worse.

Questions. So many questions.

For now, she needed to be alone in her thoughts, to figure out who she can trust in the Student Council to help her. Easier said than done, since most of them are-

knock knock knock

"Eep," Nina squeaked in fright, hiding behind her bed.

This scenario is actually how her constant nightmares began. She would answer the door, only for Nathan, Nick, Akiza, and Milly with devilish faces to barge in and strap her down. They would even interrogate and torture her for information, before ending her life for discovering her secret.

'What do I do, what do I do?' she whined to herself. 'Oh, I knew I should've run away!'

"Nina, are you in there? It's me, Milly." Milly's voice came through the door.

But Nina knew she wasn't alone, not that it changes anything.

"...I'm not alone. Nathan, Lucy, and Nick are with me."

Lucy…as in the ice queen Lucienne. Now Nina wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Of all people, the intelligent, cool beauty, Lucienne was a rebel too?!

"Please, can we come in?"

…Might as well get this over with.

Shivering while steeling herself, she shakingly walked to the door, and opened it. There in the doorway was Milly, Lucienne, Nick, and Nathan…if that is his real name… She quickly slid away and returned to hiding near her bed as the others came inside, with Nick closing the door behind him.

"Nina, oh Nina." Milly cooed, quickly coming to her side to hug her.

"Please, don't touch me!" Nina cried, but Milly held on. "All of you…all of you are-!"

"Traitors to Britannia, we know. But, it's not like we were loyal to Britannia to begin with; not like they've been loyal to any of us here, or the subjects they've conquered." Naruto chuckled, activating a Sound Barrier Jutsu and sitting on Nina's bed. "But I have to ask, what kind of a girl is afraid of the people who saved her life?"

"Because…I don't know who any of you are anymore! You all lied to me!" Nina cried.

"Did we really? You never actually asked us anything about what we're doing. You're not an obsessive wannabe girlfriend like Shirley is," Lucienne countered, walking in front of her. "No, we're doing what needs to be done."

"But why-"

"Shinjuku." Lucienne cut across her. "Surely you've seen the footage we released. The sounds of violence, the jeers of the soldiers, the screams of the innocent. I can go on."

"I saw, I saw it too and I've tried to forget it ever since!" Nina cried, clapping her ears. "But everything that went on ever since was…too much! I'd rather go back to the times when I didn't know anything about Shinjuku! But Saitama…and Lake Kawaguchi! Why do these things keep happening?! I can't take this!" she wailed, freeing herself from Milly's grip and ran for it, only for Lucienne to catch her by her wrists. "No, let me go!"

"ENOUGH!" Lucienne yelled, with Nina letting up a small squeak. "Stop being such a child! You're not the only one who wants to go back to the days before bad things happened to us, but reality is cruel and we have to endure the blows! At least you still had a normal life until you found out about us, but Nunnally and I lost everything seven years ago; when my damn Father banished Nunnally from the homeland after our mother and brother were killed!"

"Seven years ago…?" Nina repeated, confused. "That was when the invasion started…"

"And I was the manufactured reason it happened." Lucienne revealed, with Nina's eyes widening in shock. "You know me as Lucienne Lamperogue, but that's my mother's maiden name. My birth name is Lucienne vi Britannia, formerly 18th in line to the Imperial Throne. A princess cast away for daring to beg her father justice for the deaths in our family!"

"The daughter…of Marianne vi Britannia?" Nina gasped, looking at Milly, who nodded. "Nunnally too?" she collapsed back onto the bed. "Everyone thought you were dead. You're the reason Britannia took over Area 11, but you're still alive. How?"

"Because of me and my sister." Naruto said, stepping forward and snapped his fingers in front of her face, allowing her to see his true appearance. "You talk about us lying, well here's some truth. My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. My sister Naruko and I were the ones that saved Lucy and Nunna-chan, and got them to Ashford safely."

"Y-You're an Ele-!"

"Uzumaki-jin. We are Japanese, but not at the same time due to our family's history with the Japanese government and monarchy. Oh, and cool it with the Eleven crap." Naruto scolded her, poking her in her head. "I'm surprised you're even saying that after everything that's going on. Do you really hate the Japanese that much?"

"No I-!" Nina started to say, but paused, shivering until Milly held her close again. "I know I shouldn't, I know I shouldn't hate them or anyone…I know what Britannia's doing is wrong! It's just…I…"

"...Something happened to you…didn't it? And you blame a whole race for it instead of the individual?" Nick guessed, leaning against the wall and folded his arms. "Mind sharing? We're all ears."

Nina scoffed. "Why would you care? You wouldn't believe me. You're going to kill me anyway-" *slap* Nina's head jerked to the side when Milly slapped her.

"Nobody is killing you, Nina! Don't ever say that again! We saved you and Shirley, remember?!" Milly snapped at her. "We're childhood friends! I've known you since we were little! You were such the sweetest person that I never thought you would dabble in such bigotry!" Milly continued and grabbed her shoulders. "I refuse to leave it alone a second longer, so tell us right now what is wrong with you!"

Nina bit her lip and looked away, tears starting to fall from her face. "A couple years ago, I…I was walking back to school and got lost. I was in Shinjuku, and it was nighttime. There was an Eleven child-"

"JAPANESE!" Naruto, Lucienne, and Milly all proclaimed loudly, making her squeak in flight.

"Please, continue." Nick prodded her.

"R-right! I saw a lost Ele- Japanese child that was lost, so I decided to escort them home." Nina said, flinching when Lucienne gave her the stink eye for her slip-up. "After I did so…one of the men followed me out, thinking I was his wife. He was out of his mind, like he was sure…I was. Once I was out of the building…I started running…and he went after me."

'Sounds like the scumbag was doped up on Refrain, but…' Naruto had a thoughtful expression. 'Why does this story sound familiar?'

"He caught me in an alleyway when I couldn't run anymore. I called out for help, but it ended up attracting the worst…those who hated Britannians," Nina swallowed, clutching her chest. "All I could do was cry out for help until they gagged me…and…they tried to…make me do…horrible things…"

Naruto cracked his neck. "...Why didn't you say anything? Give us descriptions and they'll be six-feet under before the day is up. Britannia and Japanese don't matter, there's no excuse."

"...You don't have to. They're already dead." Nina revealed to everyone's surprise. "It was close, but someone finally came. They landed nearby and started beating them up. But I was so scared that I made a run for it and didn't look back…"

"Surely you've seen your savior? Might want to get them to join up with us." Naruto suggested, but Nina shook her head.

"All I know is that their face had blinking lights, but I didn't get a good look." Nina admitted.

"A face with blinking lights? Sounds like someone we know." Nick said, looking at Naruto.

"That wasn't me, but I remember Naruko talking about stopping a rape attempt in Shinjuku a few years ago…" Naruto trailed off and stared at Nina. "She killed them, and wasn't able…to check to see…if the girl was alright…"

"That was Naruko." Milly realized and smiled at Nina. "You were that girl, and Naruko saved you!" Milly cheered and hugged Nina close.

"...Cypher…saved me?"

"What do you know, Nina? Turns out the twins are always there for you, whether you know it or not." Nick chuckled with a playful fistbump to Naruto's shoulders.

"How ironic that Uzumaki-jin Japanese saved you in your hours of need." Lucienne demurred, with Nina looking away in embarrassment. "Almost as if all Japanese aren't bad at all."

"Nina," Naruto put a gentle hand on her shoulder, with Nina looking at him. "What happened to you is traumatizing, but it's unfair to pin that on the rest of the Japanese who had nothing to do with it. Yes, you've seen the dark side of humanity, but you did a good thing in helping a Japanese kid home. You were more helpful than that Knight Police in that endeavor, and that means that there's still hope for you. Please understand that the same xenophobia you developed after that incident, is the same kind that drove the massacre of innocent Japanese in Shinjuku. Do you truly want to be ignorant of their suffering? Do you want Britannians like yourself to be put in the same category as Clovis?"

Nina shook her head. "No!"

"Then join us." Milly implored her. "I promise you that once we free Japan from Britannia, you'll see that the Japanese are not as bad as you think."

"It won't be a cakewalk, but being on our side will help the Japanese warm up to you. Plus, you get to work with your saviors." Nick added, shrugging.

"It also means that you'll be working with Japanese people who seek freedom, so there can be no discrimination, no saying 'Eleven', no numbers, nothing." Lucienne told her.

Nina didn't say anything as she gave it some thought.

"Take your time. There is no rush. Just remember that whatever decision you make, whether it is to join us or not, we will support you." Naruto said as he gently patted her on the shoulder. "Now, I believe we have somewhere to be soon, so we should take our leave."

The four filed out, with Milly being the last to leave. She stopped at the doorway and looked at Nina with a sorrowful expression. "Remember, we'll be with you to protect you. Always."

Nina looked up in time to see Milly leaving, closing the door behind her. Nina just stared at the door for a good while, wondering what to do. They told her everything, gave her choice, and left, all without doing anything to her. It was confusing, as groups like theirs are prone to silence those that happen to tumble onto their secret.

'They really trust me…that much?' she thought as a memory flashed before her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. You tried to hurt Nina. While I'll never condone what she called you, you should've let it go."

"..."

'...Should I? But…'

Nina looked over towards the door and sighed. She shuffled over to her bed and fell upon it, her eyes on the picture of the Student Council as her mind swirled in thought. She was trying so hard to get her thoughts in order to weigh the choices she had and the consequences of those choices.

It was going to be a long night for poor Nina.

---

[Ashford Knightmare Factory]

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?!" Kallen shrieked at Naruto, who was leaning back from her and wincing at the volume, with Claire shaking him at the same time.

"Not really. It's all up to her now." he replied, shrugging.

The inner circle were in the refurbished main office of the Knightmare Factory. Reuben Ashford once occupied the office while on Knightmare building duty before his family's fall from grace. Now his granddaughter and her friends were lounging about the office, waiting for the former resistance leadership and the new Crimson Sun recruits to all arrive.

And at the moment, Kallen was raging at Naruto, who didn't mind at all since he was expecting it from the volatile redhead.

"You're taking an awful risk, guys." Akiza noted, founding amusement in Kallen getting flustered.

"I concur. She nearly did the same thing I did, only for that Shinjuku footage to come through at that time. And Nina's always been afraid of the Japanese." Claire said, her grip tightening on Naruto's clothes. "This gamble may blow up in our faces."

"I don't think we have anything to worry about. Besides, even if she said something, it's not like the Knight police are going to do anything. The track record of adults believing children remains undefeated." Naruto chuckled, now holding Kallen back as she wailed at him, with Claire sighing.

"There's nothing to worry about. I bet that by the end of the day, Nina will be in the fold with us." A confident Milly said.

"Leaving Shirley and Suzaku out of the loop, which is for the best." Rivalz added and laughed. "I'll be forever thankful to that pinball machine you guys installed. Stuff's getting exciting and I'm in on it!"

"It's a cool thing we have extra protection as well." Lucienne said, glancing at everyone's shadows where their Servants were resting. "I wish C.C. was here, since I feel there is more we need to know about them."

"Raincheck on that." Naruko said and nodded downwards. "Looks like everyone's here."

Everyone looked to see the final arrivals with the doors closing behind them. The vehicles were blacked out to prevent the occupants from seeing where they were going in order to keep the location a secret. No sense letting that tidbit of info getting leaked by loose lips to get back to Britannia.

"Alright, everyone. Get your gear on and meet down on the factory floor." Nines came in wearing his Odin outfit minus the helmet. Kan'u and Ryofu flanked him in their own outfits and helmets aside. "BB will be keeping the new recruits occupied with orientation while Ohgi and the original crew get to see what we are bringing to the table. Those who want to see some weapons demo, get down there in ten." Nines finished as he donned his helmet and headed for the exit.

"Roger that." Naruto nodded and hefted up his briefcase that contained his suit. "Now we get to my favorite part: seeing the new weapons of death and neutralization Nines made from his world."

"I'm surprised you didn't want a specialized suit, Rivalz." Lucienne said as she followed the girls out.

"It's all right. A normal suit will help me blend into our ranks. You'll never know if you got dissenters and you'll need to hear about them during our downtime." Rivalz countered with a thumbs up.

Nick shook his head. "You know, you really surprise me sometimes." he mused as he shifted into his Ginkaku armor. "And here I thought you always fool around and take it easy."

"Eh, I still do."

…

Now suited up in their armor and mask, Naruto/Joker led the others to the factory floor, where Nines/Odin was located. Milly and Rivalz were in the main office, going over the live security footage of Joker's group and the new recruits. Odin's area was surrounded with large metal boxes and display cases filled with weapons and gadgets. There were also tables with boxes and items neatly aligned.

"Perfect timing. BB is just finishing up with the rules for the recruits before they disembark the bus. They will be heading to the personnel room to get their uniforms and briefed on what their expected roles will be until they are tested for particular skills and shuffled into squads. Ohgi and the rest are waiting for you guys to greet them before the demo." Nines, or Odin as he was in his gear, said as he typed on a data pad.

"Let's not keep them waiting," Cypher quipped.

They went over to the other side of the factory where Ohgi was waiting with the others. Ohgi was discussing some things with Tamaki and the others until Joker's team walked up. Yoko currently wasn't with them as she had to report into Uzushio and wouldn't be back for a while. Kallen and Akiza on the other hand were in their suits, but didn't have their helmets on.

"Ready to head to the candy shop?" Cypher asked sweetly.

"The candy shop?" Tamaki asked, perplexed.

"C'mon, Tamaki. You know they mean something else." Akiza said with a giggle. "But yeah, you should see the things we saw. Can't wait for Odin to explain what they can do."

"Hard to believe it's all for us." Inoue noted as they followed them. "Just weeks ago, it was difficult to even get a two-seater car."

"Stay with us and you'll be getting much more than rundown cars, I assure you." Rei said, taking them back into Odin's lair. "Everything we have is spared no expense."

"Which means we don't settle for cheap parts." Odin said as the group arrived in his area. The room now had several targets set up on the far end of the room. "Now, as soon as the blast doors are closed, we can begin with this demo."

"Blast doors?!" Ohgi's group exclaimed as two steel doors slid closed behind them, isolating the room from the rest of the factory.

"Don't want to frighten the recruits with loud bangs and booms, now do we?" Odin chuckled as he walked in front of the creates. "Ladies and gentlemen, core members of the Crimson Suns. It is my great pleasure to introduce to you all….your arsenal."

Odin swiftly kicked the crate behind him and it, along with all the others, opened up as panels raised and lowered to display racks and holsters filled with a variety of guns and equipment. Oddly enough, the creates on the end had speakers, which started playing a beat as soon as they were revealed.

"Woah," Ravel whistled.

[Play Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes]

"Oh, how dramatic." Rei drawled, rolling her eyes behind her mask.

"You are the epitome of one who lives in a glass house, Miss Rei." Ginkaku nipped at her primly, firmly ensconced in his more straight-laced samurai persona.

"Let's start with the appetizers." Odin grabbed the first weapon. "We start with the Machine Pistol Model 7, or the MP7. This thing is good for personal defense and tight quarter combat. Has a collapsible stock and handle for easy carry and concealment. Fires a 30mm bullet and carries them in either a 20 or 40 count clip. The dot sight has a 4x zoom feature as well. Can be used in either hand, even both if you can handle the recoil. This is the basic gun for our new recruits until they can prove they can handle more."

Odin loaded a clip and fired a burst at a nearby target. The rapid staccato of gunfire filled the air and the target was quickly shredded.

"Seems a bit excessive for a starting pistol for the new guys." Ohgi said, lifting up the earmuffs given to them.

"Oi, there's various skills at play: the skill level and how fast you can kill your target. Also…it does what a gun is supposed to do. No differences here." Joker said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"As long as it can kill a Britannian, let them eat cake." Kallen murmured, with Akiza facepalming in annoyance.

"I'm right here, you know." Ravel grumbled in annoyance.

"It's also tame compared to the rest of what I got for you. Next!" Odin said as he brought out the next gun. "Meet the FN P90. Our dedicated submachine gun. Also ambidextrous, fires a 28mm armor piercing bullet out of a 50 count box clip. At a max range of 200 meters, this little beauty can make quick work of most unwanted guests or baddies in the field."

Just like the first target, the second vanished in a quick burst.

Ohgi sweatdropped. "I stand corrected."

"...Can I get that to-go?" Kallen asked with stars in her eyes.

"No!" Akiza snapped at her.

"What does HK stand for?" Tamaki said, raising his hand.

"Fabrique Nationale de Herstal." Freya answered.

"Eh, bless you?" a confused Tamaki said.

"Moving on." Frigga cut in.

"Quite. Now for the main course, our primary assault rifle, the M4 Carbine. Fires a 45mm AP round in a standard 30 count magazine or various other sizes, this is the mainstay of our assault forces. It comes with a collapsible stock and top and bottom accessory rails. Can be fitted with different sights as well as different underslung weapons and equipment. Take for instance a shotgun, or even a grenade launcher."

"No Kallen, you can't put both on at the same time. We tried." Joker spoke up just as Kallen opened her mouth.

"You were lucky to have your suit on, dingus." Rei said and laughed. "What was it, a good 10, 15 feet in the air?"

"That carbine might be my favorite so far. I'll have to give it a whirl later." Akiza said thoughtfully. "But a shotgun or launcher attachment? Decisions, decisions…"

"Now we have the AA-12 Automatic Shotgun, or as I like to call it, 'The Street Sweeper.' Fires 12 gauge shotgun shells at a rate of 300 rounds a minute, this beauty can give an enemy squad a very bad day."

A new target was dropped in by Freya, with Odin walking towards it. He took aim and held the trigger, the constant barrage of pellets completely shredding the dummy target.

"Dibs." Tamaki said instantly.

"Really, Tamaki?" Yoshida grumbled.

"Dibs," he said again. "Want that. It's calling to me."

"We'll give you directions to one of our FOB's firing ranges, now can it." Joker ordered.

"Next is the battle rifle, the FN SCAR Mk. 17. Fires a 51mm AP round, 20 count clip. A bit more powerful than the Carbine, it also has rails but lacks the collapsible stock. This gun accepts accessories but can also be equipped with a silencer, making it good for stealth."

Odin took aim at a newly dropped dummy and fired, the bullets zooming straight through its material.

"The ammo's kind of low for a battle rifle." Ohgi said as Odin fired onto a new target.

"But it can punch holes into the battle Britannian bulletproof armor." Cypher said and cooed. "Ah, every time Odin made a new weapon, we would test it out on the field. The SCAR's a beauty and was once a personal favorite of mine."

"Now, on the lighter side, we have these. The 96-A1 Beretta and the MK-23 SOCOM pistols. The Beretta uses .40 Cal rounds and is a very reliable handgun. The SOCOM is more geared towards Spec Ops as it fires .45 ACP rounds and can be fitted with both a laser sight and silencer."

"They're more powerful than the MP7. As our recruits move up the ranks, they'll be able to have access to these weapons and choose whatever suits their fancy. The Beretta for power," Joker fired a single bullet at the target, exploding its head.

"Or the SOCOM for stealth. You can also use tranquilizer darts with the silencer attachment." Cypher added, firing one at the dummy, not that it did anything to the inanimate object.

"That's enough guns for now, Odin." Rei told him. "How about…dessert?"

"Ah, dessert. Alright, let's talk about knives. Our standard issue combat knife is the KA1214 Combat Knife. Good for general purpose or close combat. But, if you're into giving your foe a nasty surprise, and I'm looking at you Kallen, we have the UN-1 Ballistic Knife with the launch-able blade."

Odin pointed the knife at a dummy and pressed the firing stub, launching the blade deep into the target.

"Gimmie gimmie gimmie gimmie gimmie GIMMIE!" Kallen shouted as she tried to get her new favorite toy, hearts in her eyes.

"Dammit!" Joker groaned, facepalming his mask as Frigga and Freya managed to retain the excited redhead. "Odin, we'll get that to-go! To-go!"

"Yeah, I kinda figured." Odin chuckled.

"Great, now I'll have to keep an extra eye on her." Akiza groaned in a fetal position.

"Alright, enough you wildcat." Joker grabbed Kallen by her waist and pulled her back. "Got any…condiments?"

"Grenades! Can't go to war without them! Our arsenal includes Fragment, Flash Bangs, Chaff, Smoke, White Phosphorus, Thermite, and my own little invention, the Anti-Knightmare Frame 'Blinder' designed to completely overwhelm a Frame's Factfinder Sphere and sensors."

"Of course, it's compatible with the Carbine's launcher attachment." Rei said as she held up the Carbine. "You'll all be equipped with these grenades and will give our opposition a bad time."

"Hmm, I'll take a few." Ginkaku decided while examining one.

"I can use those for my suit." Ravel said, nodding.

"Hope you guys have a second stomach, because here comes the next course. For our long range support, we have the L115A1 Long Range Sniper Rifle. Fires a 70mm magnum round at a range of 1,500 meters. This thing can pierce most heavy armor."

"That's almost like Yoko's own sniper rifle, except smaller." Sugiyama noted. "And heavier."

"That's because hers is custom-made with specialized bullets unique to her's." Akiza responded. "It'll be best to equip those who prefer long-ranged combat."

"It's all well and good, but our ground forces will have a difficult time taking down a Knightmare with this arsenal." Ohgi said worryingly. "Or tanks, or planes."

"Of course, we cannot forget things like Knightmares, tanks and planes. Voila, the STINGER Missile Launcher. This beauty features laser and infrared targeting and has been made for both ground to air and ground to ground targets. My original design was strictly anti-air but I modified these."

"You're not gonna fire that thing in here, right?" Inoue asked, taking a step back.

Kallen was currently distracted by her new ballistic knife.

"Maybe…nah, I'm just kidding." Odin teased after seeing the nervous looks on everyone's faces. "As for Knightmares, it can easily take down an average Frame. But a next-gen Knightmare…might be a bit…tricky."

"Leave them to us." Joker said, patting his stealthed katana.

"I knew you were going to say that." Freya laughed.

"What do you expect us to do? Run around like a bunch of nancies?" Joker shot back.

"Now, our communication systems will use a micro-compact radio system that is embedded in the uniforms or small devices. This makes them much easier to carry and contains auto-encoding/decoding and burst transmission capabilities."

"Those were words." Yoshida and Sugiyama said.

"Hard to hack, basically." Odin simplified.

"It means that Britannia is not going to be cracking our airwaves anytime soon. Our communication systems are second to none thanks to Odin. It's one of the reasons Britannia was unable to take down Uzushio, and they had their hands full with the Metal Gears." Joker explained, before growling and dope-slapping Kallen on the back of her hand. "Oi, pay attention, you!"

"I'm listening!" she hissed back before going back to admiring her new knife.

"Between these new suits and weapons, I say you've given us a fighting chance." Ohgi said before adding. "Aside from protection, is there anything else these suits can do?"

"How about preventing Friendly-Fire Accidents from happening all together?"

"Uh?! How the hell does that work?" Tamaki asked, looking baffled.

Odin pointed at his clothing. "Your uniforms contain a special weave that transmits a IFF signal using the salts in your bodies as a medium. It also emits a unique infrared light that the weapons can detect that will lock the firing mechanisms. The weapons also come equipped with remote fail-safes to keep them from firing when we don't want them to. We can even trigger them to self-destruct to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. This makes sure that only those we trust can take and use them."

"So no friendly fire, and we can weed out those that don't have our best interests at heart." Joker clarified to the shock of the Kozuki Group.

"Of course, the fail safes can be overridden. Wouldn't want some troublemaker to use our uniforms as a means to make themselves immune to our own weapons.

Besides that, your helmets and visors are equipped with an Augmented Virtual Reality Sensor System that acts like a Knightmare Frames Factfinder Sphere, only better. It can detect subtle changes in electromagnetic fields, infrared spectrum, sonar resonance and temperature fluctuations at over 200 meters and feed that information to your visor as an image of the potential threat. With this, you can virtually see through walls."

'Poor Rivalz,' Rei thought, holding back a laugh.

Odin turned to Ginkaku. "That reminds me, you are capable of integrating new tech into your armor, correct?"

"Well, my armor is formed from my Holders' outer plating, and tends to be rather formless in between," answered the gold-armored Owl samurai, "But my body could theoretically be upgraded, yes."

Odin pulled out a square metal case the size of a wallet. "The Augmented VR Sensor and Display Module. See if your body won't take it. If it can integrate, I'll have you pass one on to your brother."

He could practically feel the samurai side-eyeing him under his helmet. "Yes…of course." Taking the device, he reached back, willing a slot to open up in the back of his head, sliding the module into it.

Analyzing component. Scanning programming. Incorporating into systems. Integration ready, rejection signs negative.

Ginkaku nodded slowly. "It will do."

"Um, I just realized something…" Kallen said meekly. "Can BB do anything to us in these suits?"

"I'm sure she'll be too busy to do anything to mess with you on the field…unless you draw her ire, which I wholeheartedly don't recommend." Rei replied, voicing her stern look. "Other than that, you're golden like Kinkaku."

Ginkaku snorted, lightly dusting his own golden armor.

"Hang on, how can we get weapons like those?" Tamaki piped up, pointing at Joker's sword.

"Can your arm withstand a sword shooting out?" Joker asked, holding up his sheath to show that it bore a trigger. "Because lemme tell ya, it's not fun. The first time, my arm nearly got detached and I flew into a tree."

"Survive the first few battles and we'll talk about personal weapons." Cypher said and before turning back to Odin. "Other than that, is that all ya got?"

"For the time being, yes. But, I've always got something in the works, so, expect new toys to come out regularly. Speaking of, have Yoko swing by sometime soon. I got something that she might really like to use against Knightmare Frames. It's guaranteed to be…a blast." Odin said as he closed the crates up.

Cypher nodded. "Roger roger."

"Sweet! So when do we start taking it to Britannia?" Tamaki asked, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Can't wait to take these babies for a test drive!"

"Soon, but for now, we'll be taking you all out on our own test run." Joker informed him.

"That's right. You and the new recruits will be getting plenty of practice using your new toys as we go busting up the Refrain racket. That drug has been a blight on the Japanese long enough." Odin said as he began using the cargo systems in the factory to move the crates. "So that means you'll get plenty of chances to practice with your new auto-shotgun on some scum before we go after Britannia, Tamaki."

"Refrain, huh?" Ohgi repeated and nodded. "I'm game. Britannia is doing nothing while the drug is targeted at the Japanese. It's time we get it done ourselves."

"If that's the case, then I got a target for us. I suspect one of the distributors sold us out after I went to one of their crew for information." Tamaki said, with the masked ones looking at him. "What? We were desperate. Anything to give Clovis a black eye back then!"

"Give me the intel and I'll run a search through the dark net on the guy. If it's legit, it'll make a good starting point." Odin said as he handed Tamaki a tablet.

"Well done." Rei said before taking a few grenades. "Once you find them, let us know. We won't kill them just yet when we find them. We'll get them to spill the other locations of the distribution centers."

"Going to 'Batman' them?" Odin asked.

Rei smiled sweetly under her mask. "I was thinking more…'Punisher.' I learned from the best after all."

"I thought you were saving that for you-know-who." Cypher said, tilting her head with question marks in her hud.

"Practice makes perfect."

Inoue leaned over to whisper. "Batman? Punisher? What the hell are they talking about?"

Yoshida shrugged. "Beats me."

"Noted. Now everyone, let's give you all a tour to the more…restricted areas that only you can access." Cypher said, gesturing to them.

She and Rei led everyone away, with Joker and Ginkaku hanging back with Odin.

"We have what we need for the ground forces, but what about the Knightmares? How are those coming along?" Joker asked while putting in some practice with loading and reloading a Carbine.

"Still working out the kinks, but I have a few field-ready prototypes ready to go for our first major campaign. I won't throw them at regular Britannian Military Sutherlands, but the corrupt Knightmare Police will be perfect to test them and gather data for future development. The rest of the group will have to make due with the D-Walkers for now.

It hasn't been easy trying to develop an effective pilot system that can manipulate the finer responses of Carbon-Nanotube Muscle Fibers without using Direct Neural Link. I'm considering loading simple AI into the cockpits to act as a bridge between pilot and machine." Odin replied.

"You'll have some assistance soon. Our collaborator from the Military District of India, Rakshata Chawla, will be making her way to us with her team soon after some unfinished business on her end. Plus, with the blessing of the Six Houses of Kyoto, she's sending us her creations, the Guren and the Byakuen. The latter is formerly of the now defunct Peace Mark group." Joker informed him.

"Peace Mark. That's the group that was supporting resistance and terrorist groups alike. What happened to them?" Ginkaku asked.

"We're still working out the details. All we know is that someone from high up the Britannia chain of command figured out the main location of their main headquarters and blew them and their leader to kingdom come. Its members are now on the run due to their identities being exposed. A few survivors made it to Uzu, while the fates of the other members are unknown." Joker explained before putting the gun down. "Peace Mark was pretty secretive if you ask me."

Ginkaku hummed at that. "...You think someone sold them out?"

"That's the theory." Odin confirmed.

"Just another matter we'll deal with that mess when the time comes, so let's handle what's in front of us." Joker said before a communication ring came his way, seeing Euphemia's image on the screen. "This ought to be good. Hello?"

"Hey, Naruto," Euphemia greeted him. "Lucy was ducking my calls for some reason…"

"She's busy at the moment. What do you need?"

"I received word that the Viceroy Palace is looking to make moves to take people's minds off of what's happening." Euphemia said and looked away shyly. "And they're quite serious to the point that I've decided to help them."

"Oh, and what are you, dear 'Nelia, and your goons looking to do?" Joker asked in genuine curiosity.

"Well…"

---

(The Next Weekend…)

The Pacific Oceanland Resort of Area 11.

Once known as the Clovisland Spring Resort, it was renamed to avoid association with the disgraced ex-Prince of the Realm. It was a seasonal recreational building designed to entertain the masses. An extravagant facility built in the image of Britannian prosperity and superiority.

Yet another flagrant show of arrogance to wave over the heads of their conquests in Area 11.

Most of the inside was a massive waterpark with different areas for giant water slides, wave pools, and regular pools; some separated by barriers and rock formations. There were food stands selling refreshments with chairs, tables, and umbrellas. There were also stands that give out floatation devices, and sell goggles and snorkels. In the indoor sections were arcade games, little sporting arenas, and even laser tag.

Lots of money had been put into the project, but once Prince Clovis's crimes were exposed, it was quickly decommissioned. Thanks to the efforts of Princess Euphemia, however, with the grudging assistance of Princess Cornelia, the project was salvaged and completed; today would be the grand opening. Euphemia wanted to open it to everyone, but Bourne advised her against it, as thanks to the actions of the JLF, tensions between Britannians and Japanese were at an all time high. While it didn't stop a few empathetic Britannians from helping the Japanese, the latter had a reason to not be so trusting.

So for now, it was open to Britannians and Honorary Britannians only.

"You really want me to wear that?"

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I think it'll look lovely on you!"

And at the moment, Euphemia and Cornelia were in a private changing room, with Euphemia successfully managing to strip Cornelia out of her stuffy uniform and presenting her with a bikini.

"Well, but… I think it exposes a bit too much of me." Cornelia said, glazing at the chosen bikini with uncertainty.

"It's fine!" Euphemia assured her brightly. "Besides, this is the safest of all the swimsuits designed by Clovis! So come on, arms up!"

After finding out the truth, Euphemia returned to the Viceroy Palace and pushed for the resort to be completed. She was also back to her usual self, with a pep in her step.

"All right, all right! I can get it on by myself, so stop!" Cornelia cried out as Euphemia got a hold of her again.

"I think this goes like this, but…"

"Hey! Stop messing around!" Cornelia whined, trying to get away.

Outside the changing room, Darlton and Guilford were standing guard at the door. They were not taking any chances after Euphemia had been held hostage, but they were dressed the part. Instead of their uniforms, they were donned in unbuttoned green staff shirts, with Darlton wearing a red speedo and Guilford wearing a pair of black swimming trunks.

"Her-Her Highness, in a bikini… Oh, I can't wait to see this." Darlton mused, listening in on the sisterly quabble. "My sons will be jealous when they find out what they missed."

"You mean the Glaston Knights?" Guiford asked curiously with a slight blush on his cheeks at the sounds, "You deserve respect for raising orphans to be knights, but isn't it a bit imprudent to speak like that?"

Darlton sighed and grumbled. "As always Guil, you have a huge stick up your ass."

"Indeed he does," Bourne agreed, walking up to him with a closed staff shirt and swimming trunks. "Anyway, it's your duty to guard the Viceroys, but all the same, I really hope that's your firearm senselessly hidden in your speedo."

Darlton looked down and hummed. "...They're that obvious. I was afraid of this."

"Yeah. To be honest, it looks really weird." Darlton agreed, also nervously glancing at his crotch.

"There's no way it'll work. We'd better just forget it."

Bourne just slapped his face and facepalmed.

…

Meanwhile…

"Um, Miss Cécile? We came here on guard duty, right?"

"That's right."

"So, should we really be getting this relaxed?"

"It's fine! Nobody's guessed that Princess Cornelia is the surprise guest today. There's no way they'll be needing a Knightmare today. Even Lloyd didn't think so." Cécile said and yawned, stretching from his position.

Suzaku and Cécile were near one of the pools. Suzaku was sitting in a chair under a umbrella, wearing a pair of blue swim trunks and a communicator in his ear.

"It's a shame he didn't come with us."

"I couldn't care less."

"You look great in that swimsuit, by the way."

Cécile's swimsuit was a white one-piece with red trim and strings tied together that held it together around her shapely body.

"Ah! You shouldn't tease a lady like that, Suzaku!" she lightly scolded him, blushing.

"Believe me, I wasn't trying to-" he said, waving his hands.

"Suzaku!"

Suzaku looked over to see the Student Council arriving and spotting him. He then sweatdropped, seeing the large group. 'How many tickets did Princess Euphemia give out to them?'

Milly, Rivalz, Shirley, Kallen, Akiza, and Nick, with Hakari and Meme who tagged along with the latter. There were also the new members, Nero, Johnny, Ren, and Aisha. Claire tagged around with her fellow Disciplinary Squad members, Escanor, Iida, Gamagoori, Chris, Miwa, and Onigawa.

"Hey there, Suzaku! So you came after all!" Shirley greeted him, wearing her two-piece sky-blue swimsuit.

"Well, I knew I'd be on duty, but I never expected it to be here!" Suzaku said as he walked up to them, with Cécile looking on curiously. "Euphemia got you all these many tickets?"

"Not really, but my grandfather does have a bit of pull as the head of the Ashford Family, so getting everyone invites was pretty easy!" Milly replied, wearing her two-piece maroon swimsuit.

"Everyone?" Suzaku repeated, before noticing additional guests that made his heart jump into his throat. "Gah, Nathan, Natalia, Lucienne, Nunnally!"

The Uzumaki twins, along with the Lamperouge sisters were bringing up the near, with Nunnally being escorted by their maids, Sayoko and Roberta.

"Suzaku!" Nunnally greeted him cheerfully.

"Yo." Lucienne said, wearing a simple black bikini swimsuit with a visor cap on her head.

"How's it hanging?" Naruto asked, wearing a pair of orange baggy swim trunks.

"I'm amazed! I didn't expect you all to come!" Suzaku said, getting over his surprise.

"I insisted on coming!" Nunally said brightly and looked as if she wanted to add something, but heard her tongue.

Clovis' name still erected bad feelings and she didn't want to ruin the mood.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Naruko added, wearing an orange one-piece criss cross swimsuit.

"Are you sure about this?" Suzaku suddenly whispered.

"What? It'll be fine. Nunnally may not be able to move her legs, but we can still help her swim." Naruto told him. "Hey, why don't you join us?"

"I'd like to, but I'm working right now." Suzaku said while nervously looking around.

"Working? In a resort? Aren't you in the military?" Lucienne asked, raising an eyebrow at the way Suzaku was acting.

"...Okay, this should be a safe distance." Suzaku murmured as the sound of applause was heard from the main area. "You should all be careful since-"

"Well this is a right pickle." Rivalz said, wearing orange swim trunks. "Look who's here."

In the main area was Cornelia, wearing the special red-brown swimsuit Clovis left behind for her. Euphemia was there as well, wearing a pink and white frilly swimsuit; with Darlton, Guilford, and Bourne standing at attention. Jeremiah and Villetta were also there, with Jeremiah wearing a pair of blue swim trunks, and Villetta wearing a white skimpy two-piece swimsuit.

"I would like to report to you all today that the Oceanland Resort, one of the public work projects left behind by-" Cornelia started to say before catching herself. "Oceanland has been completed for everyone's enjoyment. This establishment shall serve as a tribute to all those here in the settlement who work to help rebuild the national prestige of Britannia!"

"Cornelia…" Kallen whispered hatefully, while wearing black two-piece swimsuit with a red vest. Akiza just gazed at her with narrowed eyes, wearing a two-piece bikini swimsuit.

"It's all right. I already have a Mirage Genjutsu around us. She won't recognize us from this distance." Naruto muttered to Naruko and Lucienne, who both nodded. "Roberta. Sayoko. Make sure Cornelia gets nowhere near Nunnally." he whispered to the two so only they could hear.

"Understood." the two maids said.

Nina just shifted around nervously.

"Um, is everything all right?" Shirley asked, not liking that Naruto's attention was on Cornelia and her enticing figure…in her mind of course.

"Of course everything's alright. Why wouldn't it be?" Naruko countered.

"Now now, we're here to have fun. No work, no signing papers, no disciplining anyone, just wholesome fun for the whole day!" Milly said while rubbing Shirley's head.

"H-Hey!" Shirley squeaked.

As the group disbursed, Akiza stopped and frowned when she saw Kallen standing there, glaring at Cornelia. Euphemia noticed the sisters and waved at them, thankfully being behind Cornelia and her entourage. Akiza just curtly nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not here to fight them, little sister." Akiza said, tightening her grip Kallen tried to shift her off. "We have the time, and they're not going anywhere."

"The Viceroy… Britannian Royalty… they're both right there." Kallen whispered, her hand sneaking into her vest. "We can end them…now."

"No!" Akiza snapped, taking her hidden knife from her. "We owe everyone too much for getting as far as we've gotten. Britannia will get a black eye soon, but not today. Seriously," Akiza sighed as Kallen yanked herself away from her. "What's with you lately? Everything's going our way and you're acting like it's not."

Kallen gritted her teeth, looking at a random family enjoying themselves and scowled. "What's the point of enjoying ourselves when our people are suffering? How can Naruto and Lucienne even think of doing this?" she growled, her fists shaking. "And these Honorary Britannians-"

"Why are you even here then?" Aki asked, scowling at her. "If it's such a problem for you, why accept the invitation?"

"To try and deal with the Viceroys, and see if Joker and the others are actually serious-"

"Just stop." Akiza cut across her and turned her back to her. "I can tell that you're more bothered by the Honorary Britannians here than the actual Britannians. We both know why and its stupid. Do not ruin this for us."

Akiza stalked off to join the twins as Kallen glared at her. The latter sucked her teeth before walking off herself to be alone, with her Servant Artoria, wearing a two-piece swimsuit with a floaty on her waist looking at her Master with concern.

…

As she sat by herself at a table with an umbrella, Nina Einstein had never felt so confused in her life.

Here she was, in a just-opened resort, sharing her time with the most dangerous people in existence that were her 'friends'...only to find that they were anything but. In fact, they were having her believe that they're not the terrorists threatening Area 11.

They acted…nothing like it.

The twins, Naruto and Naruko, were pranking everyone; even she was subjected to a pie to the face.

Milly was still teasing her and pushing her to be more open.

Lucienne was still doting on her little sister Nunnally with such gentleness.

Rivalz nearly gave her a heart-attack when he revealed his involvement and was acting carefree as usual.

She nearly had another heart-attack when learning that Akiza and Kallen were half-Britannian, half-Japanese. While Akiza was warm and welcoming, Kallen was cool and distant.

Claire was fretting over her safety (as well as the fact that Nina might rat them out).

All in all, it was like any other normal day.

"Is this seat taken?"

Nina looked up to see a young girl with flowing green hair, wearing a school-issued one-piece swimsuit.

"Ah, no." Nina said without thinking, with the girl taking her seat across from her. "Um, who are-"

"C.C. A 700-year-old Witch who was the real 'poison gas' that Prince Clovis hid from you." C.C. introduced herself. "Also part of the Crimson Suns."

"..700…what?"

If Nina's head could explode, it would've now from all that information. She was so caught off guard from that information that she froze in place.

C.C smirked, taking a sip from her drink before speaking. "I'm sure you have many questions and are unsure of what to do. So I shall ask you this. What do you think of your friends right now, in this moment?" she asked, jerking her head towards them.

"...I…" Nina looked over to see them all having fun, with Elizabeth Lamperogue now going over to join them. "Maybe everything I saw that day…was just me seeing things? That I wish for my friends to save me…and my friends took their images…"

"Nope, it was all real." C.C. chuckled as an attendant brought over a large Pizza Hut pizza. "Thank you." As soon as the attendant walked off, C.C. continued. "Shinjuku, they saved whomever they could. Days later, they saved Kururugi Suzaku from execution for a crime he didn't commit. Saitama, they saved the residents and pushed out Britannia. Lake Kawaguchi, they saved you, Shirley, and all the hostages. So I ask again, as you watch them, what do you think of them?"

"...They're…they're not monsters." Nina said, watching Lucienne helping Nunnally swim.

"Far from it. They're not perfect, but they're the closest to the heroes of old. Besides, they're not looking to kick out Britannians completely. Britannians and Japanese are capable of co-existing, but not when the Emperor and his…friends…are in power. Trust me, girl." C.C. stood up, taking her pizza with her. "Nationality, gender, age, religion, it doesn't matter. Everyone is capable of good…evil. Ultimately, the choice is within humans if they want to contribute to that evil, or go against it."

As C.C. walked away toward the group heading for the giant water slide, Nina thought about her words…before making a definite decision.

One she hoped she wouldn't regret.

…

"Where's your sister?" Naruto asked as everyone headed up the steps.

"Back in our private area. She doesn't want to have any fun and is constantly on standby in case something happens. She's doing this grand opening out of obligation to ease the people. And we all know whose fault that is." Euphemia said with a sly smirk.

"I swear, we'll make it up to her when this is all over." Naruto assured her before noticing Nina coming towards them.

He waited for her, letting her catch up to them. By the time she arrived, all of their group went down the water slide in pairs, with Naruto opting to be last. Poor Shirley wanted to be paired with Naruto, but was paired with Kallen instead. When she arrived, she slipped up until Naruto caught her.

"You should be more careful," he lightly scolded her before helping her up. "C'mon, it's our turn."

"Um, Naruto-san-" Nina said as Naruto got into the donut floaty. "I thought you all should know- eh?" She was interrupted by Naruto pulling her onto the floaty with him. "Naruto-san?!"

"You know you could've waited until we got to the ground." Naruto chuckled before letting go of the bar holding them and held her around her waist. "Here we go!"

"Wai- WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"WHOO-HOO!"

Down they went, the donut picking up speed as they hit all the turns and curves.

"I'll join, I'll join!" she wailed as they slid down. "I'll join the Crimson Suns!"

"Why tell me now?!" he shouted over the rushing waves.

"Because if I waited longer, I would've backed out. I want to help Japan, and-EEK!"

"Whoa! And?"

"I want to change!"

They two sailed out of the exit and landed in the pool, the wave taking them to the steps underwater. The donuts spun about as Naruto continued to hold onto Nina to make sure she didn't fall into the hole.

"Once you're on this train, there's no stopping." Naruto warned her with a knowing look while sticking out his fist.

"...I guess you only live once." Nina mused, her own fist meeting his for a fist-bump.

Lucienne, seeing that as the others were dealing with another one of Naruko's pranks, smiled. "It's settled then."

Milly nodded with a smile. "Just in the nick of time." she laughed and ducked a newspaper roll from Nick.

Things were looking up…for now at least, as C.C. noticed Kallen's shaking fist, before taking a bite out of her pizza.

---

"Mou, so much filler! Development is necessary, but come on, Author-san! I hope that new Poll of yours will convince you to change your ways!

"...Huh? It's only for other stories, not this one? Geez, that's doing a bit too much. Still, I applaud you for the next chapter. In fact, I can help with that."

"No? You're no fun! Boo boo boo~"

"...I'm going to go pull some people into Seraph and have fun with them-"

"BB…NO."

---

END OF CHAPTER 12

---

The Crimson Suns begin their crusade in earnest by stopping crime and destroying Refrain shipments, building the trust of the people. But it isn't enough for one particular outspoken member of the group, whose soul is still shrouded in darkness and Japanese pride, lashing out at those who've given up the fight. But she'll soon learn that the world isn't so black and white, as the deeper sins from Nines' world are laid bare, revealing that evil isn't exclusive to Britannia…

Nor is it greater…

Soul: There's a method to my madness here, and I can't wait to show it.

Naruto: Are you sure that we should reveal…that travesty?

Naruko: Yeah, it might backfire on us!

Soul: It'll be fine. Nines gave the abridged version, and one the reviews back then pretty much hinted at it.

Kallen: What are you guys talking about?

Everyone: Nothing!

Next time - Stage 13: Light and Darkness (tentative title)

---

[References and Explanations]

Powderkeg. Matches. The Batman. Great movie.

The Halo TV Show deserved better. Cortana was my only favorite character from the show.

"I don't care what it takes and I don't want excuses! Just find them!" Cornelia channeling M. Bison from the Street Fighter II anime movie.

Ryofu and Kan'u are using the Ren and Aisha names from their counterparts in Koihime Musou.

"Let's light this candle!" The Boy had another great season.

"You're joking me!" The IIconics/IInspiation from the wrestling world are great.

"Do you need to hear those words exactly?" Knonk's my favorite character from the Emperor's New Groove, a classic.

To this day, the Code Geass lore never explained Nina's issue with the Japanese.

The White Stripes by Seven Nation Army was chosen by Castle.

The gun scene was inspired by the Gun Shopping Scene from John Wick Chapter 2.

Most of the guns and gadgets comes from Metal Gear Solid 5.

The new resort scene is from the Stage 8.75 Picture drama.

---

Released: Sunday, July 10, 2022

---

"Ahhhh, I just finished packing up. Why must I stay behind to accommodate those bumbling fools in the JLF?"

The speaker was lounging on an elegant couch, a long wooden pipe held in her right hand. It was a blond, buxom Indian woman with long golden hair that fell to the small of her back and intense turquoise eyes that projected extreme intelligence, despite currently looking bored.

"Because it's a request from the Six House of Kyoto, who are helping your research with donations." her aide replied.

"I'm already annoyed, having to send my two children ahead," she grumbled, taking a puff.

"It's all because of the JLF convincing the Kyoto Houses to send them Knightmares for the Four Holy Swords."

"They'll only be good enough for one final stand." the woman said, now sitting in an upright position. "We'll use whatever material is left here before we head out to Japan. I look forward to seeing Kushina's kids in action after all…"