At SAZ….
"LELOUCH!"
There she was, former princess Euphemia who was underneath the wounded body of her brother, Lelouch, who just took twenty bullets for her while he suffered such a terrible injury! Her brother saved her life, and this was all her fault! Everything seemed to be slowed and muffled, she couldn't move, she couldn't help, she couldn't…
"All the more proof that you are a traitor. Who else would save your sorry ass?" The Golden Imperial Group soldier scoffed before a bullet to his head stopped him from killing any more.
"I will." Suzaku snarled then rushed to Lelouch's and Euphemia's side, horrified by the state they both were in.
Lelouch, though thankfully alive since Suzaku checked his pulse knew he wouldn't last long without medical care. He still couldn't believe that Lelouch would do this. No, it was more like he couldn't believe he couldn't stop him. He was the protector, he was supposed to keep them safe, keep him safe and he couldn't do that. What kind of knight was he?
"S-Suzu… L-Zero-." Euphemia uttered, stunned, and traumatized by what had transpired as she was covered in her sibling's blood.
"I know. I know. But she's still alive and needs us. Help me get her on my back. We need to find the Black Knights." Suzaku ordered, as the chaos enveloped around them and Euphie couldn't respond, "EUPHIIE!"
Suzaku's shout was enough to snap her out of it! She nodded and helped her sibling on his back. Suzaku then called out for the warriors who were loyal to the former princess to cover for them as they fired at those who wished to harm them.
"KALLEN, SHIELD US!" The knight howled at the woman who was once an enemy, who turned around with the other Black Knights to see.
"Suzaku, he has Zero!" Kallen gasped!
"Defend them! We need to get them out of battle!" Ohgi ordered, both sides seeing the irony of working together!
Their main objective was to get their leaders to safety then retreat, and save as many lives as possible.
"This is weird, Eleven." One of Euphemia's warriors uttered to Tamaki.
"Yes, it is, Filthy Brit," Tamaki answered but kept shooting at the terrorist's group.
"Protect Zero and Euphemia! Get them to safety!" Tohdoh ordered the group then turned to Chiba and Rakshata, "Go with Zero and keep him alive. He needs medical attention."
"I'm going too," Kallen added.
"Kallen-."
"You're going to need the best Knightmare pilots to get them out of here and I should go in case Kururugi backstabs us," Kallen advised, causing his superiors to sigh.
"Very well but be careful."
Kallen nodded and led the two others to Zero, Suzaku and Euphemia. CC was waiting for them by Zero's Knightmare.
"I see they made their move." She voiced as she noticed the shape of Zero, "It seemed that Zero has put a wrench in their plan once again."
"CC, you need to fly Zero's Knightmare. Mine has the best medical equipment and can outrun any other. He'll go with me." Suzaku ordered as he noticed Lelouch getting worse.
"Hold on! Zero should be in my Knightmare! There is no way I am leaving him alone with you!" Kallen sneered.
"Kallen, Zero needs medical attention, he won't survive long enough to take him to safety. You need to lay cover fire while I patch him up." Suzaku advised but it seemed Kallen wasn't budging.
"Please, we have to help him, he's dying." Euphemia pleaded as CC decided on an idea.
"I have a suggestion." CC voiced.
At the ruins of SAZ…
The Black Knights and Euphemia's loyal soldiers noticed the Knightmares getting in gear and leaving the scene and knew it was their time to go.
"RETREAT! RETREAT!" Ohgi ordered while the survivors and warriors retreated from the catastrophe.
In the Lancelot…
Kallen didn't know how CC managed to get an extra pilot for her knightmare and didn't care as the other Black Knights, Euphemia, and Suzaku were busy keeping Zero alive.
"How can you even fly this thing?" Chiba questioned the knight.
"Takes a lot of practice." Suzaku admits as he was checking over Lelouch's condition, "What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed."
"Hey, what right do you have to lecture him." Kallen sneered, not liking how he was speaking to her leader (Crush) with such familiarity, especially when he was like this.
"Believe me, I have every right."
"You-."
"He's not breathing!" Rakshata gasped as everyone looked to the injured leader.
"No… no please…" Euphemia whispered in horror.
"Out of my way!" Suzaku yelled, shoving Rakshata out of the way.
Before anyone could shout back or do anything, they realized what he was going to do. He was going to take Zero's mask off.
"No, Suzu you can't!" The former princess pleaded, fearing what the future could hold and Lelouch's precious secret.
"If I don't, we can lose her altogether. I rather her be pissed at me and live then dead." Suzaku answered then pressed the button of the ridiculous Zero Helmet before anyone could stop him, pulling it off him before revealing his identity to everyone in the Knightmare.
The Black Knights gasped at the sight.
"Zero is a Britannian?"
"He-she is a child? We are led by a child?"
"Lelouch?"
While Suzaku breathed him, giving CPR, CC gave coordinates for a place for them to settle while the chaos continued.
Lelouch hacked up to Suzaku's relief as Kallen handed him a breathing mask.
"Thank you."
"Once we get to safety, you are explaining everything," Kallen demanded, Suzaku couldn't blame her as he pried off the damaged metal corset to see the damage.
Only four bullets made their way into his chest, Suzaku hoped that it wasn't anywhere fatal.
"I will, once she's out of danger," Suzaku promised them as he was patching up the arm since he couldn't take out the bullets without help.
"We have a location for us."
"Where?"
"Ashford."
At the Lamperouge Suite…
Nunnally was frantic after hearing what happened at SAZ, hoping everyone was alright, especially Lulu.
"Lulu, please come home." She prayed.
But as she uttered those words, the door opened, and commotion could be heard.
"Bring the master to the table, we need to sterilize the area." Nurse Sayako advised while there were others with her.
"Miss. Sayako, what's going on?" Nunnally asked the nurse then felt a presence she hadn't felt since she was a child in exiled.
"Of course… she would never abandon you. If anyone could keep you both alive, it's her." A male voice uttered, some familiarity in his tone, "Princess Nunnally, you may not remember me, but I used to look after you and your sibling. Now, I work with him."
"Mr. Kyoshiro?" Nunnally gasped as she held his hand, callused and rough.
"Please call me Tohdoh. It is nice to see you again. Miss. Nunnally, your brother is badly hurt, we are going to help him-."
"Hurt? What happened? Nii-san! Nii-san!" Nunnally shouted for her sibling.
"Nunnally, don't worry, Lulu is going to be okay. We'll get her patched up and with a little sleep, she'll be good as new." Suzaku promised as he wheeled her away from the surgery of Zero.
"But what happened? Why was he hurt?" Nunnally pleaded, wanting answers, hearing sobbing from her sister.
"Nunna, I am so sorry. Lulu protected me. He pushed me from an explosion and then saved me from being shot. It's my fault. All my fault he's hurt." Euphemia sobbed.
"Euphie..." Suzaku uttered.
"Alright, all of you out. We need to begin removing certain… items and start healing Master Lelouch. We can talk once we relocate him to the bed."
Suzaku and Todoh then led the two princesses away from their sibling, getting treatment for his wounds…