AN: I do not own Code Geass.
DarkDremora: I've fixed the issue with Naoto and Lelouch's conversation, I don't even know how I missed that. And I've also changed dialogue between Lelouch and Kallen in the past two chapters. I'll be paying more attention while editing to make sure mistakes like that won't happen again.
XxPistolgun: I'm glad you like the addition of Milly to the story.
Ryuto: When I write Kallen, I imagine she has her hair spiked up most of the time.
Chapter 29: Rescue
"Any moment. Any moment now. It's a sight to see. The throngs' lining the route. All of them waiting on bated breath. Waiting for the accused murderer of Prince Clovis to pass by. An honorary Britannian and a former Eleven Suzaku Kururugi." a woman in a helicopter overhead announced as scores of Britannian's gathered below.
"Camera 5's a bit slow. Talk to me, Charles, has your team been deployed yet?" Deithard spoke into his mic with a firm voice. "What? The studio? Let them wait. Nothing has to be pushed back." he checked each monitor for a few seconds, "Everything's going according to plan. Here we go."
"I-I can see them!" the woman in the helicopter said, "They have the suspect! Suzaku Kururugi's on the way!"
"Like clockwork. Huh, what a circus this is. And I'm as corrupt as any of them." Mr. Reid muttered
"This is insane! We know Suzaku's innocent!" Cecile shouted with outrage.
"The court has deemed our testimony inadmissible. There is nothing we can do." Lloyd responded.
"Yes but…"
"Is that altruism or humanitarianism?"
"This isn't the time for a game of semantics!"
"Not much else to do? We both know where this case is headed, don't we? We couldn't reach him at the summit. All we can do is cut our losses, really." the mad scientist said nonchalantly, "Still, it's a shame to lose such a capable devicer…"
"Voices of scorn grow louder. Voices bearing testament to a people's love for their Prince. Raining their judgment down on a terrorist."
"There ain't no way in hell they're pulling this off!" Tamaki shouted while pointing at the TV.
"Lord Kewell, integral in this case. Will be presiding over this trail as acting consul."
The blond Britannian in question led the parade at the front in his personal Sutherland, courtesy of Ashford Industries, "Kewell, how's the Knightmare?" Jeremiah asked over the radio.
"I know that we're just using these new Knightmare's for a test drive before applying them into real combat, but couldn't I have at least used my own Sutherland? This one feels too fresh for my liking." he muttered into his headset.
"Nonsense. We bought these Knightmare's for an exceptional price, so I want to see how they function. Report to me if any issues flare up." the Viceroy's voice echoed in Maya's Sutherland as it was positioned underneath the bridge.
The black-haired girl had a mischievous grin on her face while looking at the numerous monitors, "Oh trust me. There's gonna be plenty of issues flaring up."
"He told us. He said he was going to make the impossible possible. He said he would save Suzaku Kururugi…" Ohgi clasped his hands as the support beams for the bridge creaked, "Please… please work…"
Naoto felt an uncomfortable silence grip his heart as his eyes were glued to the TV inside their escape train, "Kallen… please be careful."
"Acting Consul," a Britannian officer hailed Kewell over the radio, "There's a vehicle approaching the main highway from third. We let it through just as you instructed but…"
"Do you believe they could be terrorists?" the blond Britannian asked while slowing his Sutherland.
"Well, Sir, it's Prince Clovis' car."
"What? Everyone, hold here." Kewell ordered, "I don't know who this joker thinks he is, but it's a bad day to be pulling these kinds of pranks."
"Look! They really stopped!" Kento pointed out.
"That's just a coincidence!" Tamaki retorted
"Yeah but, he said Kewell would try to hog the spotlight, make some sort of stand about it…"
"COINCIDENCE!"
"This is not a scheduled stop. Has there been an accident?" the announcer reported, "Wait… sight five says there's a vehicle approaching them!" the camera panned to the approaching car, "T-that's Prince Clovis' personal transport!"
"Coming straight at us, huh?" Kewell smiled, "Everyone, ready your weapons, but don't shoot yet. I want to see their pathetic faces before we obliterate them off the face of the map for pulling such a prank."
"You better get to the back, we're getting close now." Kallen told Lelouch who was sitting in the passenger's seat of the replica of Prince Clovis' car. Though, it was only that way from the outside.
The Prince smiled, "You're right. The show's about to begin." he put on his Zero mask and crawled into the back of the car. "Speaking of which, you don't seem nervous in the slightest."
"Of course not. I've got 100% faith in my boyfriends plan." the red head replied with a smile, "Of course, I already know how this is all gonna go. It's just the part after that I'm worried about…"
"You dare desecrate his Majesty's royal transport!? Come out of there!" Kewell ordered.
That's when the Britannian flag went up in flames, creating a small smoke cloud that, once dissipated, revealed a man in all Black, "I… am Zero!" he announced.
"Zero?" Villeta muttered while watching her TV.
"Who is this person? This man known as Zero, standing before a full Britannian military convoy?" the announcer reported
"What the hell is he doing!?" Tamaki exclaimed
"Zero? As in nothing?" Deithard wondered
"Is he an Eleven?" Suzaku muttered just as his shock collar punished him for such a comment.
"I've seen enough 'Zero', this little show is over! First thing's first, lose the mask." Kewell commanded.
At that moment, Zero tapped his heel, unveiling the back of the car, which held the gas capsule Naoto and his group stole before. Upon seeing the officer's exasperated expression, Lelouch thought, "That's right. No one knows for certain what's inside this capsule, not even you, Kewell. The best you can do, is assume it's poison gas from your reports."
"Wait! You don't understand-" before Suzaku could finish his sentence, his shock collar punished him once again.
"Damn it… he's taken everyone here hostage, and they don't even know it!" Kewell's thoughts were running a million miles a minute, "I need to kill him now."
However, just as he made a move for his Knightmare, Zero said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you want everyone to know about orange?"
"Orange?"
"What's Orange?" the two guards next to the prisoner muttered.
"That's right. It'll all go public if I die."
"This is too good!" Deithard couldn't keep his eyes off the monitors, but he wasn't happy with the camera angles, and ordered, "Hey! Unit 6, bring the volume up, and get that camera right up in his face!"
"But sir, it's too hairy out here!"
"Amateurs!" he responded while grabbing a camera, "How do you expect to get the ultimate story if you don't find it yourself!?" quickly, he ran out of the trailer and made his way onto the highway, pointing the camera directly at Zero.
"Fine… what're your demands?"
"How about an exchange?" Lelouch pointed at the capsule, "This, for Suzaku Kururugi."
"Denied. He's murdered a Prince of Britannia, do you really think we'll just let him go?"
"You're wrong. Private Kururugi wasn't the one who killed Prince Clovis. He's no murderer" Zero slammed his fist into his chest, "The man who killed Clovis, was myself!"
The crowd gasped in disbelief, "Wh-what does this mean!? This masked man called Zero - no, we can't be sure who he is - but in any case, he claims to be the real assassin? So where does this leave the current suspect, Private Kururugi?" the announcer reported
"This is just one big show to him!" Deithard clenched the handles of his camera with anticipation, "Yes… yes! Show me more!"
"Lelouch!" Naoto cried out, "You bastard! How're you going to get out of this one!?"
That's when a slot opened above Zero's left eye, revealing a burning red Geass symbol, "You will do everything in your power to let us go, your prisoner as well."
"What are you-" just as Kewell was about to respond, the red Geass symbol flew into his eye, completely overriding his mind with one command, "You. Release the prisoner." he ordered a guard.
"What!? But if we do that-"
"You will do as you're told!" Kewell shouted while pointing his handgun at the guard.
"What the hell is going on…" Naoto murmured as the guards reluctantly took off Suzaku's shackles, "How's he doing this?"
"Should we really do this?" one guard questioned
"I'm as confused as you are." the other responded while letting the prisoner walk over to Lelouch and Kallen.
"It's hard to tell what's happening from here, but it seems that Kururugi's release has been brokered!" the announcer shouted
"Lord Kewell!" four Knightmare frames dropped in from above, "What the hell are you doing!?" a random soldier shouted
"This is an order! Anyone who gets in their way, will receive proper reprimanding!" the blond consul responded while waving his Knightmare's gun around.
"So who the hell are you-" once again, Suzaku's collar stopped him from speaking.
"It seems they've been restricting your speech. How cruel."
"It's time to go, Zero." Kallen said while tugging on Lelouch's sleeve.
"Correct. Then until next time!" the Prince grabbed his best friend and girlfriend by the collars, and jumped off the bridge with them. In the background, the gas capsule activated, releasing red smoke into the crowd.
Of course, there was more where that came from, "Let's hope this works," Mario pulled the pin on a smoke grenade and threw it onto the highway, before shouting, "It's poison gas! They've released it!"
This caused mass panic to spread throughout the bridge. Scores of people ran off the bridge in fear of being exposed to the toxin. "What the hell!? We can't let them get away now!" a soldier shouted while using his slash to hang off the bridge.
"Not so fast!" Maya shouted while typing something onto her Sutherland's keyboard. Once she finished, the slash harken on the soldier's Knightmare suddenly retracted, plummeting him to the river below. "Ha! It worked! It really did! To think we could have a master command system linked between Knightmare's, genius!" she brushed her hair behind an ear, "Well, of course it's genius. After all, I'm the one who came up with it." then she activated her slash harkens, which spread out into a crash pad that the trio fell into.
"Lorence!" a soldier shouted as he watched his friend's cockpit flood with ocean water, "Damn you Elevens!" he pointed his gun at the red Sutherland, only to have it knocked away by a stun tonfa, "L-Lord Kewell!?"
"Any further action will result in a personal execution, do you understand me? Let them go with all your power!" the blond Britannian shouted as the train took off, with the red Sutherland climbing on a car.
"Marvelous! Marvelous! This is the story I needed!" Deithard rushed into his new trailer and began looking over the footage, "After my last lead connecting to Lelouch went dry, I was starting to lose hope! But now, I've got something even better!"
"Screw this!" a Britannian soldiers shouted as he and another Sutherland landed on the train, "We can't just let them go!"
"Oh my… you sure are persistent," Maya commented as they pointed their assault rifles at her, "Unfortunately, I forbid you from having those."
After entering a quick command on her keyboard, the Britannian Sutherland's dropped their guns, "What the hell!?" one shouted as their gun fell into the ocean, "It says my arms are malfunctioning!"
"Same here!" his ally reported.
Maya took a step forward, putting her hands up in a fighting stance, "C'mon! I want to see how well this thing performs!"
"Should we really do this? Our Sutherland's are failing right now…"
"They killed Lorenzo! There's no way we're backing out now!"
As the first Britannian Sutherland charged forward, the resistance member smiled while catching his first punch, before countering by activating her stun tonfa, and knocking his arm off. Causing him to stumble into his comrade, "Not yet!" he shouted while rushing recklessly back into battle.
"Maya, stop playing around." Zero ordered, "Hurry up and deal with them."
"Fine…" the black-haired girl responded while entering another command in her monitor.
In that instant, the first Sutherland's auto-ejection seat activated, sending him flying into the second's cockpit, crushing both of them like tin-cans. "Ooh, that's brutal…" she muttered as both Sutherland's fell off the train, and into the ocean, "Well, better you than me as they say."
"Damn it! We have to get them!" a Britannian soldier shouted on the bridge. However, when he tried to move his Sutherland forward, he was hailed by Jeremiah.
"Don't pursue. I repeat, don't pursue." he ordered
"Why not!? They killed three of our men!"
"Our top priority is restraining Lord Kewell." the Viceroy ordered as his Sutherland dropped in from above, "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he helped the enemy. Therefore!" he rushed toward the rampaging consul as he fought off two Britannian Sutherland's, "We must subdue him to find out why!" with that, Jeremiah hit Kewell's Sutherland with his shoulder, knocking over the machine.
Once the consul was on the floor, two other Sutherland's stepped on his arms, preventing the Knightmare from moving, then Jeremiah ripped out the cockpit. "No! Let me go! We have to help them escape!" Kewell shouted violently while trying to move his controls.
"Man… I can't believe he really did it…" Kento muttered as they stood outside a destroyed building.
"Yeah… at first… I didn't believe in him, but now that he's actually done it…"
"Enough! How many times can a bluff like that work, huh? Right Naoto, all of that was a bluff, right?" Tamaki asked the resistance leader, who was sitting in a corner, deep in thought.
"Hey, you might want to leave him alone right now," Ohgi whispered, "He's still pretty shaken by his sister's near-death experience…"
"Oh yeah… that had me pretty scared for Kally too," Maya joined in, "But I just knew Zero would be able to pull it off!"
"It's still not cool though… putting Kallen in such a tricky spot…" Kaname added with a melancholic look, "What if one of those soldiers shot earlier? Or if Kallen folded under the pressure?"
"But it didn't…" Naoto spoke up with a disturbed look, "How did he do it? Everything went off too… perfectly… was his plan really that good?"
"Hey man… are you okay?" Tamaki asked while putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You look like you're having an existential crisis."
"Ignoring the big word Tamaki just used; you are looking a bit pale," Kento added, "Do you need some water?"
"No… no, I just need an answer to my questions…" the resistance leader looked to the doorway that Kallen was guarding. On the other side, Zero and Suzaku were having an intense discussion.
"It looks like they treated you rather roughly. Now you know what they're like, Private Kururugi." Lelouch extended his hand, "Britannia is rotten. If you wish to change the world, then join me."
However, Suzaku hardly reacted to the gesture, instead, he asked, "Is it true? Were you really the one who killed Prince Clovis?"
An image of Clovis' body laid out on the G1's command table flashed in the Prince's mind, "Of course. Why wouldn't I kill an enemy commander?"
The response was harsh, too harsh for Suzaku's liking. "And the gas? Those were civilians out there."
"A bluff to help things along. The result: Not a single civilian casualty."
"The result?" the Honorary Britannian's eyes narrowed, "So that's all that matters to you, huh?"
Ignoring his friend's response, Zero continued, "Come join me. The Britannia you serve is a worthless dominion."
"Maybe that's true…" Suzaku turned around, "But this nation… this nation can be changed for the better, and from within."
"Changed?"
"And any ends, gained through contemptible means, aren't worth anything." the former hostage began walking toward the massive hole in the building, hoping their conversation would be over and done with.
Of course, Lelouch wouldn't let it end here, "Wait! Where are you going!?"
"My court-martial begins in an hour."
"Damn. Are you mad!? The only reason they're giving you a trial is to find you guilty! The judge, prosecution, and defense!"
"Rules are rules. And if I don't go, they'll start cracking down on Eleven's and Honorary Britannians."
"But you'll die!" the Prince was getting desperate now, his plan was falling apart at the seems due to his friend's naivety.
"I don't mind."
"Don't be a fool!"
Suzaku smirked, and calmly responded, "An old friend used to tell me that. He'd say I was a fool. It's my weakness, I guess." he half-turned to face Zero, "I'd try to take you in, but she'd just end up killing me." he pointed at Kallen, who was still hiding her face with a white cap, "And if I'm going to die, it'll be in service of the people. Even so, thank you… for saving me."
"You fool!" Lelouch shouted as his friend walked away, leaving him alone with Kallen, as she strode up behind him.
"Lelouch…" the red head called in a quiet voice, "Hey, it's going to be okay," she placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping to snap him out of his trance.
But this was to no avail. "I'm fine. I just… need to think right now." Zero responded coldly while walking back to Naoto and his group.
Of course, Kallen had seen this side of Lelouch before, and stopping him by grabbing his arm, "Wait… do you want to talk about it?"
"No… I'm fine."
"Don't say that!" she grabbed his mask and took it off, before grabbing his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes, "I know you're not fine. That look in your eyes, I know you're hurt, but I'm here for you. So… please… don't close yourself off from the rest of us."
The Prince's eyes stared blankly into hers; it looked like none of her words were getting through to him, but, just as her grip loosened, he finally responded, "I… thank you, Kallen. How about we talk once we get back to Ashford? I just need time to cool off."
"That's okay. Though, I won't be heading back with you now."
Lelouch put on his mask once again, "Really? What's wrong?"
"I've just got something to do."
"Can you at least tell me where you're going?"
Kallen shook her head, "No, I can't. But don't worry, it's nothing dangerous." she lied.
"Oh… I think I know." Zero said, making a chill run up the red head's spin, "You're going out to get a Christmas present for Nunally, aren't you?"
The chill dissipated, "Yeah… I'm going to get a Christmas present." that was a half lie, "It's mainly for you though…"
"Really? You mind telling me what it is?"
"Nope, it's a secret~. You'll have to wait for Christmas to come around to find out."
Lelouch sighed, "Fine… I guess I can wait just a little bit longer."
"You better!" Kallen called out to her boyfriends retreating back, that's when a glint appeared in her eyes, "Now that I think about it… this'll definitely hurt you more than it'll help, especially at this stage…" she clenched her pink pouch containing a pocket knife, "But… this is something that has to be done."
"Hey, shouldn't you be in there, Naoto?" Tamaki asked, "You are our leader, right?"
"Yeah… but both Lelouch and Kallen asked me to stay out of this. I can't help but feel kind of sidelined here. With not knowing how the plan was supposed to go, and now, I'm not even allowed to speak with Suzaku." the resistance leader sighed, putting his worries to the back of his mind, "Well… I'm sure they can handle it. I doubt my presence would make any difference anyway."
"Don't sell yourself short." Ohgi replied, "It's thanks to you that we were able to get this far."
"He's right." Zero's voice cut into their conversation, "It's thanks to you that we rescue Private Kururugi. So thank you, Naoto."
"Wait, where's Suzaku!? We went through all that work, I'd at least expect a thank you!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"But you didn't do anything…" Kento muttered
"So what? I still expect some gratitude for saving his sorry-"
"Enough!" Naoto commanded, "Zero. Can I speak with you… alone?
"Of course. I actually wanted to do the same to you."
"That's good." the resistance leader turned to his friends, "Could you leave us be?"
"What!? But I-"
Before Tamaki could finish his sentence, Ohgi and Kento grabbed him by the collar and began dragging him away, "We should leave them alone."
Despite his protest, the rest of the resistance members managed to drag away a shouting and kicking Tamaki with relative ease, leaving Lelouch and Naoto alone. "How did you do that?" the questioning immediately began.
"That's a pretty hefty topic." the Prince began, "Of course, whatever I say here, you can't laugh or tell anyone else, understood?" with a singular nod from his audience of one, he continued, "I have an ability, it's called 'Geass'."
"Geass?"
"Correct. This ability allows me to plant commands in a person's mind upon direct eye contact, overriding their conscious, forcing them to complete the task."
Obviously, the Kozuki didn't believe him at first. However, there was no other explanation for how Lelouch was able to pull off such a stunt. After all, how did he get Kewell, a die hard Britannian loyalist, to release Suzaku? Then, numerous thoughts crossed his mind, particularly one involving his sister. "Elaborate." he demanded in a stern tone.
"What's there to-"
"Who'd you use it on?"
The Prince was taken aback by how quickly Naoto cut him off, but answered nonetheless, "I used it on Clovis, Kewell, some Ashford student, and…" he put his hand on his mask, "a bunch of other Britannian soldiers."
Naoto facepalmed, "Anyone else?"
"If I did. They probably aren't important enough to mention."
"You idiot!" the resistance leader bonked Zero on the head, "Did you use it on my sister? That's what I'm asking!"
"Why didn't you just say that?" Lelouch responded while rubbing his head, "And by the way, the answer's a firm no. I would never do such a thing."
"I hope so." the two sat on opposing sides of each other on a fallen concrete pillar. After a minute of cooling off, the questioning continued, "So what's orange anyway?"
"Nothing. It was something I made up."
"Really?"
The Prince looked at Naoto, "Do I look like I'm lying?"
"I can't tell with that mask on."
Zero leaned back, "Well, I'm not going to take it off. Especially since we're out in public."
"I suppose…" the Kozuki looked around the destroyed building, "Though… I don't think anyone's spying on us now."
"You never know. Until we can say with 100% certainty, the mask stays on."
Naoto rubbed his face with his hands, and muttered, "Whatever…"
"Do you have any more questions?"
"Who supplied us with the Sutherland?"
"Didn't I tell you already?"
"I think you said it was a friend before, but other than that… nothing."
Lelouch leaned in, making sure he spoke in a whisper with fear that someone may be listening, "Milly Ashford."
Naoto nodded, "I see… I'm not going to ask how they got the resources to pull off such a feat, but… as long as you trust them not to stab us in the back. Then I'm glad they're working with us."
"Is that all?"
"No, just one more" the resistance leader shook his head, "Actually… maybe two more."
"Just get on with it."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you have some place to be?" Naoto asked sarcastically
"Is that one of your questions?" Lelouch quipped.
The Kozuki rolled his eyes, "Why wasn't I allowed to meet Suzaku? From the way you're acting, it seems like things didn't go well."
"He left. He chose the corrupted government who conquered his country, over the resistance who's fighting against them."
"Seriously?" Naoto clenched his fist, "Why would he do such a thing?"
"He said that he could change Britannia from within."
"Do you… believe that? Believe that Britannia can be changed from within?"
"No."
The Kozuki hummed, "As naive of a statement as that it is, I hope he succeeds." this earned a curious look from Zero, though, Naoto couldn't see it, but he could feel it, "I mean, at the end of the day, we're fighting for the same thing, right? And while I do believe his way of doing things is foolish… I still want him to succeed. That way, we all win."
"Interesting…" Lelouch muttered
"Anyway, enough about Suzaku. What about Kallen? Where'd she go?"
"She said she was going to get Christmas presents."
"Oh!" Naoto stood up, "Christmas is in a couple of days!"
"Yeah… it is…" the Prince responded slowly.
"I haven't got mom or Kallen a Present yet!"
"Are you joining us for Christmas?"
"Um… yeah. Mom said she really wants me to be there," the Kozuki responded while patting down his pants, "I've gotta go!"
"What an odd ending to such a busy day…" Lelouch stood up from his seat, and began walking away, "Wait… do I have a present for Nunally?"
Meanwhile, in a park somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement, Suzaku was seated on a bench, enjoying his last moments of freedom before he turned himself in. He watched as the sun set behind a few skyscrapers, allowing darkness to take hold of Japan once again. A chilling breeze blew past his face, causing him to shiver slightly, "I guess it's time to face the music." he muttered while getting up.
As he calmly strode down a stone path, he came across a large fountain that was dimly lit with four streetlamps. In front of it, stood a lady who was wearing a white cap that covered her hair. She tossed a coin into the well. Suzaku approached the woman and asked, "Um, hello? Could you call the police? I'm looking to turn myself in."
"You're a fucking idiot." she responded.
"Maybe I am, but-" before the Honorary Britannian could finish his sentence, the woman sent a high kick into his chin, knocking him away with a backflip. Upon landing, Suzaku put his arms up, guarding against a follow-up punch. "That red hair!" the girl grabbed him by the collar, and flipped him onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. As she tried to power stomp his face into the pavement, Suzaku rolled out of the way, "So," he coughed, "Zero didn't appreciate me walking away, so he sent you to assassinate me?"
Kallen didn't answer his question, instead, she rushed forward, and they exchanged a series of strikes, with the red head leading with a punch to his chest, which was easily deflected. Then, Suzaku tried to counter with a slow, but controlled right hook to her face. However, at the last moment, Kallen ducked, and sent a kick into his abdomen, causing him to stumble to the side. "The strikes themselves aren't an issue," the Honorary Britannian blocked another punch, while deflecting another, "But it's the frequency!"
The red head did a cartwheel kick that broke Suzaku's guard, allowing for her, upon landing, to deliver a palm strike to his face, forcing him to take a few steps back. That's when she followed up with a sweeping kick, knocking him to the ground. Of course, the soldier wasn't down for long, as he recovered by rolling backwards, and assuming a defensive position while on one-knee, at the last second. Thanks to this, he was able to block an axe-kick that was aimed for his head, "Stop! I don't want to fight you!" he pleaded.
"I don't want to fight you either." the woman jumped over a stunned Suzaku, and delivered an overhead kick to his head, "I want to kill you!"
The Honorary Britannian held the top of his head in pain, "If you want me dead… then just let the court do its job…"
"No!" the red head responded while charging forth once again, "This is personal!" she punched Suzaku in the face, an image of him killing Lelouch flashed in her mind, "What you've done to everyone!" she sent another punch, and with it, him firing the FLEIJA in Tokyo, killing millions, popped in her mind, "What you've done to me!" she kicked him in the liver, causing him to fold over; the memory of him trying to drug her with refrain now took the forefront. "You're nothing but a burden!" she shouted while grabbing his head tightly, and sending a knee into his face.
The Soldier crashed into the fountain. Water poured on his face as he sat there motionless, washing the blood off his nose. "A burden?" Suzaku killing his father plagued his mind, "Maybe you're right… maybe I am a burden." he stood up, "But as long as it's in servitude of the people, then I'll die happy!"
"You hypocrite!" Kallen and Suzaku traded blows with a cross-counter.
Her punch toppled him into the fountain, completely drenching him. While his punch sent her flying back. It was clear whose punch was stronger in that exchange. "I can't afford to get hit like that again…" the red head smeared the blood off her nose, "I might have the advantage in terms of agility, but Suzaku takes the cake in strength."
"I don't know what I've done to you." the Soldier announced while walking out of the fountain, "But I've made up my mind now." he pointed at her as she struggled to get up, "I'm going to take you in… as my final… duty as a Britannian Soldier."
"I'd like to see you try."
The two each cracked their knuckles, and readied for battle. Simultaneously, they ran towards the other; Suzaku intended to start with a kick, so when Kallen saw that he was going for that motion, she reached into her jacket, and sent a small foam-bomb at his leg, covering it in the pink substance. This caused the soldier to slide forward a bit, allowing for the red head to clothesline him.
As Suzaku struggled to breathe, Kallen pulled out a pink pouch containing her pocket knife, and sent it flying toward her opponent's face. At the last second, however, he grabbed her arm mid-swing, stopping her completely, "Just die!" she shouted while applying pressure, causing the knife to slowly descend toward his eye.
"No… not like this!" with his free leg, he kicked the red head in the face, knocking her back. That's when he stood up and tried to knee her, but Kallen sent her shoulder into his abdomen, hitting his center of gravity, causing him to flip over her. Now that he was on the ground again, Kallen sent her knife at him again, but this time, Suzaku rolled away, now he stood with his back to the fountain.
So, the red head sent another foam-bomb at his other leg, locking it in place, then she launched another high-kick to his chin, which surprisingly worked, sending him flying into the ice-cold water. This chilling sensation instantly woke Suzaku, as he was blinking in and out of consciousness for the last few seconds.
He sat up, his mind still confused as to what was happening, all he heard was a loud yell. That's when his eyes focused on his opponent, who was currently midair with her knife poised for a killing strike. On instinct, his legs, which were clear of the pink foam thanks to the water, delivered a high kick to the girl's jaw, sending her spinning away.
If it had been a clean hit, Kallen's jaw would've been broken, and she would've been knocked out cold. Thankfully, she managed to soften the blow at the last second, by blocking it with her pink pouch, making it so she only got knocked out upon contact with the ground.
Suzaku sluggishly crawled out of the fountain, "You're… under… arrest," he weakly stated while walking toward the girl, "Who are you?"
A green-haired girl entered the scene from the shadows, "Oh me? You don't have to worry about a thing." she responded while lifting the Kozuki onto her shoulders.
"Wait… you're!" as the soldier tried to walk forward, he fell to his knees.
"Relax. The military is already on their way to retrieve you. Just as you wanted." she replied calmly, "You'll die in service of the people. Until then, have a goodnight, Suzaku Kururugi."
Despite him wanting to pursue, Suzaku's body denied him the request, and instead, slowly shut down, his consciousness faded as sirens could be heard blaring in the background.
Ashford Academy
"Lelouch! I think I heard the doorbell ring!" Nunally called as she and Sayoko were busy crafting cranes at the dinner table, "Can you get that for us?"
"Sure thing." Lelouch responded while coming out of his room.
"Ooh, you sure jumped at that fast. Are you excited to see Kallen?" his sister teased as he walked past the kitchen door.
"And if I was?"
The Princess pretended to think of a response by putting her hand on her chin, "Well… I wouldn't mind a sister-law, though, I'd rather you wait until after you're done with school for that."
The Prince blushed at the suggestion and responded, "W-whatever. I'm going to get the door now."
In the background, he heard his sister's distant laughter as he approached the front door. However, the sight he saw upon opening it, wasn't one he could anticipate in a thousand years. "Good Evening, Lelouch." C.C greeted with an unconscious Kallen in her arms, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion."
An unexplainable anger flashed through the raven-haired boy's body, "Who the hell are you!? And what did you do to Kallen!?"
"How rude…" she mockingly shook her head, "How could you say such a thing to someone who saved your precious friend's life." Lelouch grabbed the red head's body, and yanked her out of C.C's hand, slightly stumbling as he struggled to carry her weight. "You sure you don't need some help?"
The Prince didn't answer, instead, he rushed to his room, and placed Kallen on his bed, "Lelouch? What's wrong?" Nunally called from the kitchen.
"Everything's fine!" he lied as C.C casually strolled into his room.
"You don't sound fine… Sayoko, could you-"
"It's fine." he calmly answered while peeking into the kitchen, "I just need to speak with Kallen real quick."
"Are you two fighting?" the Princess asked with a saddened expression.
"Not at all." Lelouch responded happily, "We're just going to talk about… Christmas! That's it."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Nunally hummed, "Okay… what're you getting me for Christmas?"
"It's a secret~"
"Aww!"
Finally, Lelouch returned to his room, where C.C's straight jacket was already on the ground, and she was in bed next to Kallen, "What the hell's your problem!?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm too tired to answer your questions…" she responded while leaning into the red head, "Goodnight."
"You're not sleeping here."
"Then where would I sleep?" she asked while pulling the covers to hide her face.
The Prince pointed at the door, "We have a guest bedroom across the hall. You can sleep there."
"Why don't you sleep there?"
"Because Kallen's here."
C.C looked at the red head as she slept peacefully, "Then what's the problem?"
"You can't sleep with Kallen, that's the problem!"
"Why not?"
"Because she's," Lelouch's face flushed red, "she's…"
"Ah… I get it," the green-haired girl looked between Kallen and the Prince, "Wow, I didn't know you two were that far already."
"What do you mean already?"
"Goodnight, Lelouch." C.C closed her eyes, fully intending to sleep.
"At least tell me your name!"
"C.C," she surprisingly responded, "Now. Goodnight."
The Prince sat at the edge of the bed, gathering the green-haired girl's clothes calmly, while he was a wreck on the inside, "What is going on? How is she alive? And what's with Kallen? Why's she so beat up?" he looked at C.C, "It couldn't've been her, could it? I mean, why would she come here if that were the case?" he rubbed his temple, "There are too many unknowns here…" his eyes focused on the proximity between the two girls, "I'll get my answers in the morning, until then…" he grabbed a pillow, and forcefully created a gap between the girls, and placed it there, "I don't feel comfortable with you two being so close."
AN: Maya's Sutherland being able to control the system of linked Knightmare frames is based on the Alexander drones in Akito the Exhiled, though, she can't control them like they're drones, just override certain systems with her interface.
Also, a full on Kallen vs Suzaku fight, no holding back, Suzaku wins 10 times out of 10 without a doubt. There's just too much of a physical difference for Kallen to make up with skill. So, that's why she's fighting a Suzaku who's generally holding back in this fight, while also having the assistance from some tools.
Next chapter will probably be the Christmas chapter, with the following one being the New Years Chapter.
