"Vengeance is much more fun to achieve when your target is, at the onset, unaware of your continued existence and equally surviving hatred towards them."
- Zero

Chapter III: Shadows on the Horizon

Eurasian Union Military Headquarters Libya
Tobruk, State of Libya, Eurasian Union
February 18, 2025

With a trained hand and an exhausted mind, Lelouch at long last settled the Mordred into a corner space of the former EU headquarters' hangar. After going through the shutdown procedure that he could have done in his sleep, and was tempted to, he opened the cockpit and stood up, relishing at the feeling of fresh air running against his sweat covered face.

Feeling absolutely no hesitation, he climbed down the shoulder and lowered himself to the ground with the cockpit zip-line. Immediately amidst the Britannian soldiers and personnel that were running back and forth across the hangar, he saw three figures standing on the ground waiting for him, noticeably wearing white pilot suits with the sleeves of each colored in green, blue and pink respectively; completely contrast to the standard blue and dark grey ones normal pilots wore or Lelouch's own custom black and gold suit.

As his eyes focused more from being out of the cockpit, he saw that Gino had his usual warm, friendly smile, while Suzaku possessed a more subtle-yet-quite-proud smirk, and finally Anya still had her seemingly blank stare, but held a twinkle in the back of her eyes that only those who knew her best could detect. Lelouch couldn't help but return the smile himself, just as he lowered himself to ground level and moved to meet the group. "I trust you all enjoyed the show?"

"Hell yes! You were the best out there Lelouch!" Gino shouted jubilantly, slapping a hand on Lelouch's shoulder as soon as he touched the ground. "I think even Bismarck will be proud of your latest performance, although he'll be disappointed that he wasn't able to see it in person."

"Compliments from a Knight of the Round? This is a good day indeed." Lelouch replied jokingly, before looking over at Anya. "You recorded the entire battle?"

"All recorded." Anya simply acknowledged just as she brought up her cellphone, which she always had on her person, to snap a picture of Lelouch. Lelouch in turn flashed a smile for the camera, knowing that it would later appear on a Britannian teen magazine cover somewhere. But Lelouch didn't mind that; he was a required celebrity after all, just like every other Prince and Princess, although due to his youth and good looks he enjoyed a large amount of popularity among the younger crowd.

"You do realize, of course…" Suzaku started to say as he also came around to face Lelouch. "…that if you had been off even by a second in your timing, you would have been buried alongside Colonel Hartmann."

Lelouch laughed a little, knowing that Suzaku did have a point. "Yes, that probably would have been the case," the prince acknowledged. "However, I believe it all turned out well in the end."

The Knight of Seven didn't seem to be convinced. "Whatever you say, Your Highness."

Gino quickly slapped Suzaku across the back. "Ah cool it Suzaku. You're just mad because you didn't get to fight him. Lelouch won in the end, so what does it matter?"

Suzaku opened his mouth to reply, but found little point to a rebuttal. Instead, he returned to his small smirk, which was the most he would allow to show in all his seriousness. "True enough. But you should really look out for when your opponent moves for a physical attack; even a single punch can potentially damage your frame."

"I'll keep that in mind Suzaku," Lelouch said, not at all bothered to being critiqued, especially by someone as experienced in knightmare frame combat as Suzaku Kururugi.

While others among the Britannian imperial family would have been taken aback by anyone correcting them on anything, even those as elite as Knights of the Round, the prince had fought with these three for so long that to him there was no social barrier between them. Whatever their titles and positions were, the four of them were friends and comrades at the end of it all, so much that Lelouch allowed, and in fact preferred, for them to refer to him by just his first name instead of "Prince Lelouch" or "His Highness". Back home, they might have gotten a few people riled over the lack of protocol, but all the way out here in North Africa, they were as informal as possible among imperials and nobility, and nobody wished or dared to correct them.

Even before this assignment, Lelouch had known Suzaku, Gino and Anya from his days at the Academy; his father had required him to go through the Imperial Military Academy at West Point, just like any other Britannian who wished to become a soldier, before he was allowed to take military command. It was there that he trained with those three and other Knights of the Round in practically all forms of combat, and although he had difficulty adjusting through the initial days, he still managed to graduate in just over a year without any special treatment. When it came time for him to receive command, he had only made one request to his father: that the Knights of Three, Six and Seven be assigned to him as advisors, field commanders and specialists. The Emperor saw no reason to turn down his request, and so the three had followed him all the way out here.

Along that line of thinking, Lelouch began to reminisce within himself, just as Gino was going on about the magnificence of one of his own latest kills. At the current time, it had been five years since the Great World War had begun; five years since Lelouch had been given command and sent to Africa to conquer it from the Eurasian Union. Through those five years, he had conquered much of the continent since initially landing in Senegal, fighting through hostile environments and equally hostile enemies, all the while suffering many casualties and logistical setbacks that had forced him to improvise with what little he had at the time. For this accomplishment, along with his strategic competency and considerable skills at the controls of a knightmare frame, his enemies had dubbed him the Black Prince of Britannia.

Now with Libya becoming the latest acquisition, all that seemed to remain was the enemy command center at El Alamein itself. And already Lelouch's mind was making up various plans and strategies as to how he would wipe away the EU's key command center and from there bring all of Africa under Imperial control.

"Hey, Lelouch? Hello-oo!" Gino called out.

That was enough to snap Lelouch back to reality. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about things. You were saying Gino?"

"Man, you're useless," Gino sighed as if annoyed. "I was saying as soon as we are settled in, we should check out this city more thoroughly and enjoy the finer things in life. I mean, how long has it been since any of us has gotten laid?"

"Gino, you shouldn't say things like that!" Suzaku snapped, eyes wide.

"Hey, of all the people here, I think you're the one who could use it the most Suzaku. Who knows, you might lighten up a bit," Gino said with a wink, which seemed to make Suzaku even more perturbed.

As amused as Lelouch was to see Suzaku shaken, the point was still made. "Regardless of that, there might still be some pockets of resistance in this city, all more than willing to kill a Prince or Knight of the Round that foolishly wanders out in the open. So for the time being, you'll have to contend with whatever comfort this base offers."

"Ah man…!" Gino pouted, like a twelve year old who had just been told to stay home and do his homework while his friends went out to play. "And I heard so many things about this town…!"

"Boring." Anya quipped as well. While she wasn't the type to seek out carnal indulgences like her male counterparts, she had been hoping to look around the city herself after the battle was over.

"I didn't say it was permanent, just that you will have to wait a day or so before you can go sightseeing," Lelouch explained. Inside, he also considered checking out this city's night life, having also heard the things Gino had been referring to. If there was one thing imperials did best, it was having a good time. "Just relax for now, alright? There's still plenty of time before we make our move against El Alamein."

Before Gino or Suzaku could say anything else, the latter looking as though he were going to object to such behavior, Augustus ran up to the group and quickly saluted. "Excuse me General," he spoke, addressing Lelouch directly through his heavy breathing. "But we have just received a transmission from His Highness Prince Schneizel. I had it sent to the base commander's office for your viewing, if you wish to follow me."

Lelouch arched an eyebrow at that, and the three Knights looked confused too. Why would Schneizel call at a time like this? "Very well, lead the way Colonel."

After the Colonel saluted toward the gathered Knights of the Round, he turned and began to walk away, Lelouch following with doubt in his heart. Whatever the reason was, the Black Prince didn't think this was going to be a social call from his brother.

With a small pause, Augustus hurriedly opened the door to the office, and almost immediately Lelouch was unimpressed with what he saw inside. He had up to this point been thinking that the Libyan forces commander here in Tobruk, the nerve center of the entire state, would have had better accommodations than what was before him. I guess the EU has been cutting back on resources more than we expected.

Obviously, there wasn't anything special to describe about his office. In fact, it looked more like a regular business office than something that belonged to a military commander, i.e. blank white walls, a picture or two adorning the walls of who presumably had been the original occupant and some other people, a generic looking oak desk and papers littered across the floor. Placed behind the desk were a big leather chair and two smaller guest chairs in front of it. Blue covered the floor, which added some much needed color to the room, and a leather bound couch had been placed on one side, both as additional seating space for guests/clients and possibly a makeshift bed. Further back from the desk on the right side was a certain banner: a blue flag, which contained a large gold star wreathed by twelve smaller stars.

Lelouch felt himself sneer at that banner, the flag of the Eurasian Union. Compared to the white and red flag of Britannia, the Eurasian banner was somewhat more elaborate, but still made one sense the power and majesty of what the flag represented. The prince had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he would see it for himself.

Other than that, the desk had a flat monitor computer placed on it, which was what Lelouch would be using for his call from what he assumed to be Britain, where Schneizel was leading the latest offensive. So after saluting once more, which Lelouch returned, the Augustus dismissed himself, leaving Lelouch alone in the office. Knowing that, he took the opportunity to relax a little bit; the battle was over and it was doubtful he would be going back out into combat anytime soon. At least not for today.

Taking all this in, he walked over to his desk and sat down on the leather chair. Casually, he looked over the various pictures that adorned the desk, once again featuring the Libyan forces commander posing with different officers and politicians. Among them, Lelouch's narrowing eyes noticed, was a picture of another man. A more certain man.

Dressed in the standard grey uniform of the Eurasian Army, with commissar cap and overcoat draped over shoulders, the individual in question held the rank pips of a full General, numerous medals including the famous Eurasian Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, and a pair of goggles adorned over his cap. A broad shouldered man with slightly tanned skin, as well as shoulder length dark red hair and a grin that could only be described as 'devilish', it was apparent that he was a field commander, one who held unquestionable authority and equal confidence in himself. Lelouch knew who that man was, as well as everyone under his command. General Joachim "Desert Lion" Rommel, commander of the 1st Panzer Army and the de facto commander of all Eurasian forces in North Africa.

Lelouch stared at the picture for a short while, before putting on a "game face" and hitting a key on the computer. In the next moment, he was looking at the always pleasant face of his elder brother, Prince Schneizel el Britannia. But despite that, Lelouch did not allow himself to be at ease just yet. "Schneizel."

"Lelouch," Schneizel started. "First my congratulations on your victory in Tobruk. I look forward to reading the reports on your success later."

This time, Lelouch allowed himself to smile a little. Schneizel was always true when he offered praise. "This was a hard one to accomplish, even with the EU having pulled back as much of the defenses as they had. For all their logistical problems, these particular Eurasians are still difficult opponents," He then dropped the smile to show a serious face. "However, I do not think you called me to hear about my latest victory."

"Unfortunately no," Schneizel nodded, his face turning serious as well. "As you know, the Crown Day is coming up soon…"

At that mention, Lelouch felt something in him wither and die. Crown Day was the celebrated holiday that marked the very day when Alwyn I established the Britannian Empire and was made the first Emperor, completely changing the era as it was known back then. Ever since, it had been celebrated every year for the past two thousand years or so, and even to this day true blooded Britannians never held back on the festivities. It was the end all of celebrations for their world.

However, that wasn't the problem Lelouch saw. The problem was that before each Crown Day, all imperials and nobles, from the Emperor to the lowest Baron, were required to return to the Britannian homeland to partake in the festivities, no matter where they were in the world or what they were doing at that time. That tradition had been in place for as long as the holiday had existed, and while Lelouch was normally quite willing follow it, if only for the short respite that he gained from it, now was far from the best time, especially when his forces were so far onto the enemy's doorstep. He berated himself for forgetting about this, as he usually planned events like this in advance without fail.

"With all due respect Schneizel…" Lelouch began, feeling as though a hand were gripping at his throat. "Now is not the best time for myself or my commanders to return to the mainland, no matter what day it is."

If Schneizel seemed dissatisfied by Lelouch's answer, he did not show it. "I can understand that with how far your forces have advanced brother, but they will have to make do without you for the next few days. The Emperor has already sent out a standing order for everyone of imperial and noble class to return to Britannia, and there will be consequences for those that do not."

"Does His Majesty realize what would happen if the EU caught word that key enemy commanders were recalled to the homeland for a grandiose party?" Lelouch inquired.

The response Schneizel gave was a barely noticeable shrug, the kind he gave when he agreed with something but was forced to do the opposite anyway. "I have gone over this with our father extensively, on your behalf as well, but he is not willing to make exceptions. I'm sorry Lelouch, but neither of us have a choice in the matter."

Lelouch closed his eyes, wondering if he could somehow convince the Emperor to at least let him stay in Africa. However, seeing as how Schneizel, who besides being a prince was also the Chancellor of Britannia and therefore the one closest to the throne politically, was unable to change their father's mind, then Lelouch doubted his own words would have an effect. Sighing, he decided all he could do was bite the bullet. "Have arrangements been made for my group's return?"

"Yes, individual arrangements are being made as we speak." Schneizel replied. "You are expected to return in three days' time. No more."

Lelouch sighed. "Well, at least it will be good to be home again," he exclaimed, before another thought occurred to him. "In the meantime, I don't suppose you would be up for a match later?"

To that, Schneizel gave a warm smile. "I'm afraid not this time Lelouch," the elder prince explained. "Perhaps when we are both back home…"

"I suppose," Lelouch replied, trying not to sound too disappointed. He shrugged. "I guess I'll have to see if the enemy commander we just captured is up to the challenge."

The other prince looked on curiously. "Anyone I may have heard of?"

Lelouch nodded. "Eugen Smilas."

"I see," Schneizel exclaimed in thought, as if a question that had long been on his mind had just been answered. "So that's where he was sent after Central Command caught onto him."

"Apparently," Lelouch stated, recalling the event in question. "I'm surprised they didn't try him for conspiracy to commit treason," he continued. "I know I would have in their place."

Schneizel minutely shook his head. "Despite what the French once believed, not every problem can be solved by the guillotine, brother," he said, as if imparting words of wisdom. "A trial would have been a long and bloody affair that would have run the risk of turning to the public eye. On the other hand, transferring him out of Eurasia and into a post where he has no powerbase was not only simpler, but also far more discreet."

Lelouch shrugged. "I'll take your word for it Schneizel," he then began to stretch his sore muscles. "I guess all that remains is to oversee Libya's transition into the realm."

"Funny you mention that," Schneizel added with bemusement. "We took the remainder of Great Britain a few hours ago."

Despite his circumstances, even Lelouch couldn't resist laughing at that. Now the original Britannian homeland of Britain, lost to Bonaparte centuries ago after the disastrous Battle of Trafalgar and the Humiliation of Edinburgh, was Imperial territory once again. "So we have finally returned to our true homeland, after two hundred and eighteen years in exile," he let out with an even broader smile. "I'm sure our beloved Empress Elizabeth is laughing in her grave."

"I suppose you could see it that way," Schneizel said with an equally amused chuckle, clearly not failing to see the irony either. "Three days Lelouch. That's all the time you have before incurring father's ire."

The younger prince nodded. "We will be there," he answered. "Just hope you have no trouble getting there yourself, Schneizel."

"I doubt we will have any more than you will Lelouch. Until then, little brother," Schneizel replied affectionately, before signing off.

As patient as ever, Suzaku waited outside the office that his commander was in now, arms crossed and face impassive. Lelouch had been in there for more than a few minutes, and with Gino and Anya pursuing other activities that Suzaku himself did not feel like joining them in, he decided to wait outside while the only other person in this building that he could call his friend was finishing his call. He had not even bothered to change out of his pilot suit.

While Suzaku had been a noble long enough to know better than to eavesdrop on a conversation between imperials, he couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about now. Even more so, he couldn't help but worry if something Prince Schneizel said somehow triggered the repressed memories in Lelouch's psyche.

While it had been eight entire years since the Black Rebellion and his dragging the then Lelouch Lamperouge, aka Zero, before the Britannian Emperor, there had been no abnormal changes in Lelouch's conditioned behavior since then. As much as he despised Geass, he had to admit that the Emperor's was very efficient in its function, although the Emperor himself had warned Suzaku that he could not totally alter his son's mind; his Geass could only suppress memories, not erase them entirely. Thus, there was the possibility that a certain event may trigger the reemergence of Lelouch's original memories. Something to that effect had come close at least once already, but it had been prevented, although now Lelouch wore a scar over his left eye because of it.

Still, Suzaku couldn't help but be nervous whenever Lelouch was alone, even if it was an exaggerated nervousness. The chances of his remembering himself as Zero are a million to one, if that. But there is still a chance.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Lelouch did actually remember his past, and was only pretending to be Lelouch vi Britannia, Prince and loyal son of Britannia, until an opportunity for his escape could present itself. Suzaku didn't want to think that, but it was still possible; the Black Prince was as crafty as they came, which was the primary reason Lelouch was able to accomplish so many things, even now in Africa. Suzaku hoped that, should his memories return, he himself would be sharp enough to pick up on the subtle changes to Lelouch's behavior. Which was part of the reason why he was standing outside that office to begin with.

Just then, the office door opened and Lelouch emerged, a little surprised to see Suzaku standing out there. "Been waiting long?"

"Gino went out to find whatever alcohol this base has in its inventory, and Anya is looking for a computer so that she can upload her latest battle recordings. So I decided to wait on you," Suzaku shrugged. "May I inquire as to what that call was about?"

Lelouch sighed. "We're being recalled to the Homeland in preparation for Crown Day. And thank you for reminding me."

"Don't blame me," Suzaku said with bemusement. "You of all people should know to check the calendar for important dates."

The prince looked at the knight with equal bemusement. "And you sound too upbeat for having received news like this. Don't tell me you're actually looking forward to going home and hobnobbing with the other nobles; I thought more of you than that Suzaku."

The Knight of Seven just offered a knowing glance. "I don't mind the break, but I'm not looking forward to the party. There was only one person who could make that kind of occasion fun, but she's gone now."

That made Lelouch pause, with a small frown forming over his face. "Yes…" he said solemnly. "She did always know how to turn the most boring activities into something to remember. I will always miss her, especially for that part of her."

Suzaku nodded, subconsciously rubbing against the Knight pendent he continued to wear on his pilot suit, despite the one who had given it to him being long dead. "Well, she wouldn't want either of us to be upset in a time of celebration, would she? I might not have grown up with her like you have, but I knew that much about her."

"You're right of course," Lelouch replied. And so they continued walking. "At the very least I can rely on you to have my back if I get cornered by some old Earl who wants to show me pictures of his grandchildren."

"I'm not worried," Suzaku acknowledged, looking at the Prince and above all else his friend fondly. Even though Lelouch didn't remember a thing, they still somehow managed to be the best of friends, as well as completely open to each other. At least, that's how Suzaku wanted it to be, even if it was a fantasy. "I just hope you do the same for me if that happens."

"You? Hah! If I find a promising girl there, I'm leaving you to the sharks." Lelouch replied sharply.

That made Suzaku wonder for a moment. "You know that's becoming a dangerous habit with you and Gino. Maybe you should consider becoming celibate for this one time."

"Not on your life," Lelouch retorted. "We princes have a reputation to keep."

"Which is why knights like myself always end up saving your kind from a dark but well deserved fate," Suzaku fired back with equal force.

"Why do you think my kind has kept your kind around for so long?" Lelouch retorted.

The echoes of laughter from the Black Prince and the White Knight filled the hallway from that point on.

And so, without overly due ceremony, the flag of the Eurasian Union was lowered and replaced with the Imperial Banner of the Britannian Empire, once and for all establishing the former state of Libya as Britannian land, the latest within the African continent. A mixture of celebration and despair then took over the city, and then the rest of the former state, as those who supported Libya's transition into Britannia, namely the occupying Imperial forces, and those that didn't, namely the distressed citizenry, went about the transition in their respective ways. The latter was only tempered with the knowledge that the lead occupier and temporary Viceroy was none other than Britannia's Black Prince, who was renowned throughout Eurasia for his honor and chivalry, as well as his concern for the inhabitants under his care. That alone was enough to keep any reprisal attacks at bay, at least for the time being, while the former Eurasians could only contemplate their futures.

As the soldiers celebrated and the citizens retained to themselves, a period of tranquil inaction entered throughout the territory; a period in which the Imperials would enjoy but the briefest moments of peace and relaxation before returning to the war the next day. And though Tobruk was neither the most modern nor inviting of cities, it still held its points of excitement and enjoyment, enough to sate the warriors of Britannia before the fighting started anew. Thus, once the passivity of the city, and by extension the whole territory, and its inhabitants was established, the Britannians entered into the scenes, carousing as soldiers did between battlefields. Music blared, food and drink were readily consumed and men and women – both those in uniform and those not - were pursued. Mostly within regulation limits of course; once again working by his equal concern with the Numbers, the Black Prince was ill-tolerant of any abuse and dishonor by his troops, and many within the ranks, officers included, had paid a steep price for gaining his ire. Only the very unwise were tempted, and summarily dealt with.

And so, as the sun set and night began to emerge, the celebrations within Tobruk and elsewhere continued without hindrance or signs of slowing down. Not even the makings of a thunderstorm, rare enough within that area of the world, gave pause to the Britannians, who only welcomed the cloud cover and cool winds as a temporary escape from the blazing sun. By all accounts, it seemed that the spear tip of the Britannian North African offensive had ground to a halt, right within sight of the enemy's western border, to enjoy life and leisure as best as they still could.

Which was all precisely how they wanted it.

There were no more than a hundred of them, moving across the desert landscape south of the city at great speed. It was obvious they were knightmares; no other vehicle type could move so fast and so efficiently across the dunes, nor did any other vehicle type possess the distinctive humanoid form that they all held. However, upon closer inspection, it would have been apparent that these were not the bulky, heavily armored forms of Eurasian Ritters, nor even the more slenderized but blockish forms of Britannian Sutherlands and Gloucesters. Rather, these knightmares followed an entirely different design theory than had been encountered upon the African plains thus far.

And that was before one picked up on the dark coloring that the majority seemed to be coated in.

Whatever their origins and capabilities, it was apparent that they were swift machines, speeding over the Libyan desert faster than any fifth generation knightmare could ever hope to. Landspinners grinding into the desert sands as they propelled themselves forward, the force moved as one; a cavalry of dark knights that, not unlike within Tolkien literature, swept across the land with singular purpose. One that had unified them long before the current Great World War; long before their cause, and their very name, were lost to both fire and time. A true army of ghosts and shadows, made from the leftover remnants of a long forgotten war, now having resurrected and returned to haunt the world of the living once again.

As well as to reclaim the one who, eight years ago, shook the whole of the Earth with but his words and vengeful deeds.

Thus the army continued to move, their course set and their target – or more specifically the city of Tobruk, where their target remained within – growing ever closer in their monitors. And with it, the promise of their revolution reborn.

Imperial Army Headquarters Tobruk
Tobruk, Libya, Britannian Empire

Suzaku's next shot caused the cue to hit the six ball, which rebounded around the table three times before it sank into the middle pocket.

"Shit," Gino cursed, as that shot put Suzaku in the lead. None of them had played pool in quite a while; of the many comforts aboard the Formidable, a billiards table was not among them. Yet while Gino was still trying to regain a feel for the game, Suzaku was going at it like it had not been so long. "How the hell are you doing it? Are you tipping the table when I'm not looking?"

"You have to plan your shots out better Gino," Suzaku replied. "Think about where and how you want to lead the cue. Just hitting it and hoping for the best won't do you any good."

The Knight of Seven then set up for his next shot. After a moment, he hit the cue, which ran into the nine and knocked it into another pocket, while in the process also hit the five and made it bounce around the table twice. All much to his comrade's exasperation.

"Don't lecture me Suzaku," Gino retaliated. "I was the one who taught you the game in the first place!"

"Weak," Anya said to that. At the moment, she was stoically playing with Arthur, who Suzaku had brought with him off the Formidable, by shooting a laser pointer across the walls. The cat naturally dove after it with relentlessness.

"What can I say? It's the apprentice's duty to surpass the master," Suzaku said, having lined up for his next shot. His plan was for the cue to hit the four and essentially tap it into one of the corner pockets, which it was directly across from. However, he didn't hit the cue ball hard enough and the four just barely hovered over the corner.

"Finally. I thought we'd be in Cairo or El Alamein before my turn came up," Gino said, getting up with pool stick in hand to take his shot. In truth, he would have rather been out on the town like the rest of the troops were, but as Lelouch had pointed out before, there were too many security concerns for that. As passive as Tobruk was at this time, there were too many people out there who would have loved the fame of killing an Imperial Knight of the Round, or a Prince. "Now you can watch as the 'master' puts his arrogant 'apprentice' in a well-deserved place."

Suzaku backed away to allow the Knight of Three room so that he could lean over to reach the cue. After a few moments, Gino calculated where he wanted the ball to go and made his shot. The cue quickly hit the twelve ball and placed it into a corner pocket, then ricocheting onto the fourteen ball and putting it just above one of the middle pockets.

"Yeah, that's the way I like it: smooth and well executed," Gino stated triumphantly.

Suzaku ignored the gloat, instead stepping back a little to lean against a nearby wall. With nothing to occupy his hands, aside from holding the pool stick, he absent mindedly pulled out his knight pendent from one of his uniform's pockets and slowly rubbed any visible lint or blemish off with a gloved finger. It was a habit of his that he had gained when he was a boy with his old pocket watch, one that he had yet to rid himself of. Idle hands and all.

Peering up as he was lining to make his next shot, Gino caught sight of the watch and instantly frowned. Suzaku had told him and Anya about it a long time ago, how it was the only memento of Princess Euphemia that had survived Area 11 with him. However, Suzaku never told them why he still kept it on his person when he was no longer a regular Knight, nor another certain question. "You know you never did answer me that time."

Suzaku looked back up. "And what question was that exactly?"

Without meeting his gaze, Gino continued. "Why do you still fight?"

This inquiry made even Anya look toward the two, creating a fairly tense atmosphere between the three Knights of the Round. When Suzaku didn't answer him, Gino clarified further. "You told me a long time ago the reason you became a soldier of the Empire was you wanted to ascend to win back the freedom of your nation," he explained. "But now the country of Japan no longer exists and what remains of its people are scattered across the world."

The Knight of Three's eyes narrowed on the pendent before he turned back to his shot. "Yet you continue to fight for Britannia."

"Are you questioning my loyalty, Sir Gino?" Suzaku shot back.

"Hardly," Gino staunchly let out. Suzaku only referred to him like that when Gino was prodding into something the Knight of Seven didn't want to discuss, but Gino wasn't going to let him off this time. "I would never question your devotion or your character. I just want to know why you're fighting, since your original motivation is gone."

The sound of Gino taking his next shot and sending the cue ball into the fourteen ball, which sank into one of the middle pockets, was the only thing that broke the silence which ensued. Suzaku himself wasn't sure whether he wanted to answer the question or not; while he did have a reason for his continuing to fight on Britannia's behalf, at least one beyond the fact it was the last refuge he had in the world, it was still not a subject he cared to share with others. Despite his ethnicity, Suzaku being the Knight of Seven was usually enough for people to acknowledge the Japanese knight as a loyal soldier of the Empire, but now he was being questioned by one of his equals and his friend. Had it been anyone lower and Suzaku would have not bothered to respond.

"The reason I fight on…" Suzaku finally answered. "…is because the world is chaotic."

Now that he had his comrades' full attention, the Japanese knight continued. "Despite the progress that humans have made, we still have yet to put aside our differences and unite together under one ideal, and this war is the result of that. Therefore, I feel that it is necessary for Britannia to conquer the world and join all countries and ideals together under a single power."

Despite his best effort to hold it in, Gino was visibly a little shaken at that. He didn't know why, but it bothered him to hear that from a non-Britannian, especially someone as noble and humane as Suzaku. "Even if it means subjugating all other countries the same way that your own was?"

"If it were up to me, each Area would have the same rights and entitlements that any regular Britannian state and citizenry would have," Suzaku replied quickly and to the point. "But that is not for me to decide. Only the Emperor may decide how these countries will be treated. My only concern is that after this war is over, the world will come to peace."

After saying that statement, Suzaku remembered his father, Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, slumped on his knees, his head staring down at the knife that a much younger Suzaku had driven through his heart, right before he collapsed dead. Suzaku could still remember how he felt back then, and how far he went just to end further bloodshed, and how it was practically the same thing that kept him going now. "I don't want to see any more innocents suffer from the warfare and violence that's been occurring throughout this era. And if that means I must help Britannia conquer the entire world, then I will be willing to pay whatever price in the end."

A flash of emotion entered Gino's eyes at that, but it passed enough quickly. "I see," the Knight of Three said as he tried to hit the cue ball into the eleven ball. For a reason that was unknown to either Gino or Suzaku, Gino had the cue ball completely miss the eleven ball and roll slowly across the table, not touching a single ball as it did. "Do you really think we'll be able to do that Suzaku? Conquer the whole world and bring out an era of peace not seen since Pax Romania?"

"Once the Eurasian Union falls, the world will have no choice but to work together under the Imperial banner," Suzaku stated with an edge in his voice. "This I am sure of."

After a brief pause, seemingly as Gino contemplated those words, the Knight of Three soon returned to his lighthearted expression. "Alright, I guess that's as good of an explanation as any," he said, inwardly forcing back certain emotions as he did. He then gestured toward the table. "Your shot by the way."

Nodding, Suzaku put away his pendent and returned to the table, ready to resume his match. As he lined up the ball however, one last thought came through his mind.

The world will come to peace and humans will come to understand each other. Just as Euphie would have wanted.

"You're moving your King too close to the line Your Highness," the general spoke as he noted that his opponent had, indeed, moved the black king one step forward toward the frontlines, although there was still a legion of black pawns set up to keep Lelouch out of instant checkmate. At the same time, the Eurasian general moved his white knight once more, ever closer to Lelouch's defense line. "If you are looking to gain some tactical advantage, might I suggest using your knight or bishop?"

"On the contrary General, I believe I can gain a perfect tactical position from my king," Lelouch said, moving a rook to take out that aforementioned knight before it caused any damage. "Besides, it's only proper. If the king does not move, his subjects will not follow?"

Despite the explanation, the Eurasian general seemed far from convinced. "If you believe so Your Highness," he answered, then moving a pawn to cover one of his rooks.

Situated within the general's personal recreation room, the prince and his opponent continued at their game, completely alone save for a pair of guards standing outside. They had been playing for about an hour now, and neither of them were making any real headway despite some pieces being taken. A rather enjoyable and surprisingly challenging game as far as Lelouch was concerned, and he liked to think that his opponent found it the same way. He may have not been Schneizel, but he was a worthy opponent all the same.

Observing intently as Lelouch moved another black pawn forward, Lieutenant General Eugen Smilas took a sip of his wine, studying the board for his next move. Well within his forties, Smilas was still a man within good shape and handsome disposition, possessing a noteworthy grey beard with mustache, as well as hawk-like eyes that seemed to study everything within his surroundings with interest. A true strategist who, in spite his present loss, had been one of the foremost commanders within Eurasia's muster. As well as one of its most infamous.

Lelouch, like perhaps every other flag ranker and imperial family member in Britannia, had heard the stories surrounding this man. How the good general had planned a coup against his government some years ago, purportedly with the aim of becoming "King of Eurasia", only for the EU Central Command to catch onto his scheme and apprehend him and his conspirators in a bloodless purge, which ended with Smilas quietly transferred to Libya with no hope of return to mainland Eurasia. It was a story that was likely passed around the various militaries of the world as, much like the downfall of Zero, an object lesson on the price of ambition and insurrection. Lelouch himself saw it as another adage to never get caught.

After a moment of consideration, Smilas brought his queen into play, where it threatened one of Lelouch's knights. Smirking at the bold move, Lelouch withdrew that particular piece to safety. "I must say I'm both surprised and rather impressed General," Lelouch commented. "For whatever your reputation holds, are you indeed a challenging adversary."

Lelouch's smirk then deepened. "Both in this game, and the one we've been playing for the last three months."

Despite the compliment, Smilas frowned in response. "Which reputation do you mean, Your Highness?" he inquired. "The one that claims me as one of Eurasia's leading commanders on this continent, after the Desert Lion himself? Or the one that claims me to be a traitor whose revolution was silently and summarily dealt with and forgotten?"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed toward the obvious. "I believe you know which I am referring to, General."

Sniffing at the claim, Smilas took another sip of his wine. "I suppose I do," he answered, before moving his queen to take another one of Lelouch's pawns. "Just as I suppose you also think the same of me."

"Should I think of you any differently?" Lelouch pointed out, then moving his king again. "You plotted a coup de tat against your own government, with the aim of installing yourself as a dictator. Hardly the most noble, or loyal, of actions."

Smilas let out a short, harsh laugh at that. "I plotted a coup de tat, yes," he acknowledged. "And I did intend to become the head of the government that followed, yes."

He then looked the prince straight on. "However, both of these were done precisely out of my loyalty to Eurasia," he explained. "And its people, who I long swore an oath to protect."

"Oh?" Lelouch questioned, now deeply interested if nothing else.

Taking that for what it was worth, Smilas went on, looking down at the board in thought and memory as he explained. "Eurasia is not the land that it was once known to be, Your Highness," he explained. "Fear of its enemies… Fear of Britannia attempting what Stalin and the Soviets had once tried to do… Has allowed tyrants to rise to power over the years."

"The Nationalists?" Lelouch asked, now even more interested as the ruling party of Eurasia was alluded to.

Smilas nodded in confirmation. "It's amazing what humans will do for comfort and protection," he exclaimed, disgust entering his voice as he moved another pawn. "For but the simple promise of keeping one's enemies at bay, once sacred ideals such as freedom and liberty are bartered cheaply. And to those who have neither plan nor interest in returning them, even after the crisis has ended."

The Eurasian general leaned back a little. "Friedrich Kessler and his breed came to power after the Devastation," he explained. "When fear that Britannia would enact the same destruction upon Eurasia if allowed was widespread, no matter how logic dictated otherwise."

For his part, Lelouch felt a strange feeling at the Devastation's mention; one that was different from the usual discomfort Britannians felt on that subject. Even so, said nothing.

Smilas only continued. "And in exchange for the mere promise of never allowing Britannia to inflict another upon Eurasian soil, they have systematically transformed Eurasia into their own unique form of tyranny. A tyranny that, at the risk of becoming unpleasant company to you Your Highness, makes the Britannian brand over its Areas look tame," he spoke with certain melancholy. "A tyranny that the Eurasian people readily accept in exchange for their continued security, even going so far as to forget their past freedom."

Lelouch considered that. "And I suppose you and your revolution would have returned that freedom to them?"

Smilas shrugged. "I like to think I would have at least tried Your Highness," he said with complete faith. "And if I was not successful, I believe that certain others in my revolution would have done so in my place."

The prince got the underlying hint there. "I see," he exclaimed, suddenly finding a newfound respect for the general. Not many would have their followers stand by to remove them from power should they have taken the wrong path.

Despite that however, Lelouch's smirk soon returned. "Not that it really matters I suppose," he exclaimed with bemusement. "Once my brother Schneizel reaches Berlin, the tyrants that you despise will be removed from power all the same."

"Yes," Smilas solemnly acknowledged as he placed a hand on his queen. "To be replaced by another set of tyrants," he said, then moving his queen. "Check."

"Heh," Lelouch laughed at that. "That remains to be seen General," he replied, then selecting one of his knights. "Who knows, you may actually find life as Britannian subjects preferable to that so-called 'freedom' and 'liberty'."

"I doubt that, Your Highness," Smilas staunchly disagreed. "And I'm sure I can find more than one Number who would back me up."

Lelouch shrugged in response. "All in due time General," he said, keeping his own disdain for the Numbers system back. "Once Britannia encompasses the entire world, and the entire world is recognized as Britannian, I do not think such institutions will last." Not if I have anything to say about it.

He then moved the knight. "Checkmate."

Blinking slightly in surprise, Smilas looked down at the board and saw his mistake. By distracting his queen and other key pieces with his dancing king, Lelouch had opened a hole within his lines and cornered his own king into a kill box. As such, the general tilted the white king over. "Well done, Your Highness," he conceded honorably. "Though you'll need to do much more than that once you enter the Lion's Den."

"Oh, I know this quite well General," the Black Prince acknowleded as he drank more of his wine. "In fact, I'm rather looking forward to it."

No sooner than when the prince finished his drink did the shrill noise of klaxons go off, causing both generals to look up in alarm. "Augustus to General Lelouch," the table comlink sounded.

Lelouch tapped it. "This is Lelouch," he replied. "What's the situation?"

"Your Highness, we're picking up multiple signals advancing due south of the city," Augustus reported from the opposite end. "Your presence is requested within the CNC."

At that, Lelouch looked up at Smilas, who appeared as confused as he was. "I assure you, Your Highness, that I know nothing about this," Smilas explained.

Lelouch nodded in response. The general wasn't the type to lie, and he doubted the Eurasians, even those under the Desert Lion, would launch such a force into occupied Libya at this point. "I'm on my way up," he explained, before rising and placing his black beret on his head. "If you'll excuse me General…"

"By all means Your Highness," Smilas replied pleasantly enough, before stating. "I'll be here when you return."

Knowing that was a closeted wish for the prince's luck, Lelouch nodded in acceptance and departed out the door. He could already tell that, whatever was happening, it wouldn't be a typical raid.

The headquarters' Command and Control was pulsating with activity as the various operators went about their stations, ready to face what was perceived as an incoming enemy. In only a matter of seconds, all personnel within the city were on alert and returning to their posts, and all manner of weapons and vehicles were primed for combat. All that remained was for this unknown force, which was displayed on the tactical screen at the front of the center as a series of red dots that were directly south of Tobruk and advancing at great speed.

It was at that moment that Lelouch made it onto the center and took his place in the command chair at the rear, with Augustus standing beside him as always. Suzaku, Gino and Anya were also present, having come earlier to find out what the situation was before they would deploy in their own knightmares to address it. All three of them nodded towards the prince as he came on, who nodded back in turn, facially telling them to 'be ready to launch at any moment'.

Lelouch then faced forward. "Explain the situation in full."

"Your Highness…" the resident commander began, herself ready in full for the possible advent of battle. "We have detected a large force of knightmare frames moving toward Tobruk. They do not appear to be EU, as they are moving faster than standard Eurasian frames and we have not been able to identify their IFF even at this range. At their current speed, they will have reached the city limits within twenty minutes."

Lelouch nodded as he took that information in. "Have you detected a carrier as well?" the prince inquired, still retaining his calm despite the situation.

The commander shook her head. "Negative. There doesn't seem to be any land or airships mixed in with that group."

"That doesn't mean they're not out there," Suzaku added.

"Agreed, but right now that group is the most dangerous threat to us," Lelouch concluded himself. "Prepare our knightmares to intercept, and move our landships into firing position."

Then, after brief consideration, he then followed up with. "And ready the Mordred, Lancelot, Elyan and Hector."

Gino raised an eyebrow. "We're going out there as well?" he asked.

Lelouch nodded to the Knight of Three. "We don't know enough about this force yet, but they're surely aware that three Knights of the Round and Britannia's Black Prince are within this city," he explained. "They will likely have devicers of adequate skill mixed in."

The three Knights of the Round nodded solemnly at that. It was the only possible explanation, and all three mulled over the idea of engaging equal opponents at this stage.

Seeing that they understood his message and that the CNC personnel were carrying out his orders, Lelouch rose. "Whether these intruders are Eurasian, Zulfiqar, or even CLA, they will be dealt with in the same manner as all of our enemies," he declared openly. "And we will stand victorious once more!"

He then dramatically waved his hand outward as he commanded. "All forces to battle!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the entire center, including the three Rounds, answered in unison.

With that, Lelouch turned and exited as promptly as he had entered, with Suzaku, Gino and Anya following him closely.

It was well past midnight now, although the cloud cover kept any stars from shining down. The winds had long picked up as well, with lightning continuously stretching across the sky, illuminating the darkness. And of course, where there was lightning there was always thunder following it. Regardless of all that, the city of Tobruk had remained active throughout the storm, its occupants barely paying the lightning any heed as they went about their revelries. But now there was something nearing the city far more dangerous than any thunderbolt, and that was where direct intervention was required.

Putting some power into his landspinners, Lelouch had the Mordred lurch onto the desert sands outside the city boundaries, with the Lancelot, Elyan and Hector all falling into formation around it while the myriad Sutherlands and Gloucesters followed along. While visibility was greatly limited, the Britannian devicers could just barely see a force of knightmare frames on the horizon, approaching under the cover of darkness. It was a moot effort however, as the storm did little to hamper any of the Britannian knightmares' sensors, while the lightning flashes made the enemy formation as clear as day to behold. Lelouch himself tried to have the Mordred's Druid System analyze the enemy machines for make and model, as well as attempt to identify their mysterious IFF, but nothing was coming up.

"They sure have guts to come out and attack us in the middle of this storm," Gino said, feeling as invigorated for battle as he could under the circumstances. "Any specific plan to take these fools down, boss?"

"They're advancing in a pretty tight formation…" Lelouch observed, analyzing the sensor read out on his monitor. He turned toward the Hector. "Anya, set up your stark hadron cannon and target the center of that group. Fire when in range."

"Understood." Anya replied as she moved the Hector out of formation and onto a viable firing point. Although it was faint, one could just hear a strange uneasiness within Knight of Six's voice.

Flipping a switch, the Hector's shoulder pods folded up and in front of the frame, revealing the unit's hadron cannons, while the familiar pair of targeting scopes flipped over Anya's eyes. As she more or less expected, the scopes gave Anya a better view of the targets as they moved over the sands, and she could make out a few details about them every time lightning struck. However, her sensors were still unable to identify the enemy force and Anya herself did not recognize them.

As they drew closer, Suzaku himself brought up his VARIS rifle, ready to take a shot when he entered range. For some reason, he thought he felt something familiar with this enemy force, which he couldn't pinpoint. However, he chose to ignore the feeling; whatever this force was, if they continued toward Tobruk, he and his comrades would kill them all long before they could reach the city.

"Firing," Anya announced, pulling back the trigger.

All at once the Hector's stark hadron cannon let loose, firing a column of black and scarlet energy at the incoming group of knightmares. However, upon the point of contact, the enemy knightmares broke formation and effortlessly evaded the blast in perfect unison, the energy doing little more than illuminating their outer armors. Following this, they all spread out and increased their speed for attack, apparently drawing in for a melee. This was signified when several of them drew a sword of some kind as they charged.

Lelouch let out a 'tsk' behind grit teeth as he saw the advance. "So they're forgoing long-range attacks for a melee," he summarized. "Very well then."

He then drew the Mordred's own VARIS, as well as readied his MVS. "All units, engage up close and stay focused!"

"Roger!" the three Knights of the Round all replied at once, while the Sutherland and Gloucester pilots provided their own acknowledgments. After that, the Britannians broke from their formation as well, with each knightmare opening up with their respective gunnery weapons, ranging from the Mordred and Lancelot's VARIS rifles to the standard machine guns and bazookas. Unfortunately these shots were no more able to strike the enemy down than the Hector's first attack, as the mysterious frames continued to charge and evade with a finesse that was almost too good to be real. However this fight was going to end, it was apparent to every Britannian pilot that it would be decided by the sword.

Moving into the midst of the enemy force as the two armies convened and the melee began, Ashley had his Gloucester barrel through the oncoming knightmares, simultaneously drawing his MVS, having foregone the traditional lance for this fight. With his choice weapons drawn, the ace charged at one of the enemy frames and made a downward crescent slash that ended upon impacting with the enemy's sword. Despite the strength behind the Gloucester's attack, the enemy frame held its sword in place, keeping the Maser Vibration weapon at bay quite easily.

Ashley arched an eyebrow as he saw sparks fly from the contact point between the two blades and a hard vibration shutter across his entire frame. "A chain blade?"

After he making a few more slashes with his swords, Ashley had his steed pull back and launch its slash harkens, which the enemy frame managed to evade from hitting its torso, but ended up losing a piece of its left shoulder instead. That's when Ashley felt a sudden explosion from his side, which caused his frame to twist around and see its attacker, who instead of a sword was leveling a bazooka at him.

"Watch out! They've got artillery units mixed in!" one of the Rounds, possibly the Knight of Three, hollered over the radio in warning.

Ashley grimaced as he dodged one bazooka shell after another. Thanks for the heads up, dumbass! he thought as his knightmare charged and shoulder tackled the enemy frame, causing a fair amount of damage to its armor. An accompanying flash of lighting allowed him to make out what he was fighting against more in detail. And as far as he could tell, Ashley was definitely not fighting any Ritter.

It was a uniquely jet black colored knightmare frame, with a slender, streamlined build that was unlike anything the Britannian had ever seen before. Along with its long, lanky arms and legs, the most noticeable traits on the frame were the wing-like shoulder pauldrons and the squat shaped head. While otherwise being featureless, the head held in place of a factsphere sensor a single orange cyclopean mono-eye sensor, one that somewhat larger than the Eurasian version as well as built right into the head instead of on a track, which in turn gave it an spectre-like quality when observed with the rest of the frame. Ashley stared long and hard into that eye through the Gloucester's own cameras, as if trying to see the pilot that was manipulating the knightmare.

As for weapons, besides the chain swords, these machines were equipped with left arm mounted hand guns, while a few of them also held the aforementioned bazooka. And those were just the hand weapons; Ashley was sure they were also packing slash harkens and perhaps additional weapons.

Whoever they are, they're definitely not Eurasian. Ashley realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Then, just catching something from the corner of his eye, Ashley banked his Gloucester to the side right before the enemy frame launched a chest mounted slash harken at him. In return, the ace settled for slashing at the knightmare's head, nearly decapitating it, which was enough for it to move away. Ashley of course gave chase, but by the time he crossed the gap the enemy frame abandoned its bazooka for its own chain sword, which it used to deflect Ashley's oncoming attack.

And to top it off, these guys aren't mere rooks either. Ashley thought with a strange ecstasy as he exchanged blows with his opponent. Despite the situation, he was not one to forgo his lust for battle.

After a furious series of slashes, stabs and parries, Ashley spun his knightmare around and performed a power slash that knocked the enemy's sword out of its grasp. But just as he was about to bring his swords down into what he assumed was the knightmare's cockpit block, a rocket suddenly shot by the Gloucester's back, barely missing it over the shoulder. It did however, continue on until struck a nearby Sutherland, where something curious happened. Rather than explode outright as Ashley would have expected, the rocket embedded itself into the Sutherland's torso and emitted a strange red glow from its tip, the result of which bubbled the Britannian knightmare's armor and eventually caused it to detonate.

"Damn it to hell!" Ashley bellowed from the glare of the explosion as he twisted the Gloucester's head around and deployed his factsphere to identify his new attacker. Abandoning what would have been his first kill, he quickly charged through the melee toward his newest challenger. "Alright, who the fuck wants to die now!?"

Dodging another, seemingly responding rocket shot, Ashley closed the distance and again clashed his MVS against an enemy chain sword, exchanging several slashes and parries. Compared to the last unit, Ashley saw, this one was more refined in its swordplay, managing to deflect several of the Britannian ace's attacks that would have taken down any Eurasian fighter.

"What the hell are these things!?" Ashley let out as he pulled back his control stick, just as the enemy knightmare would have bifurcated him across his own torso.

Now moving into a running battle through the melee, and it was nothing short of Ashley's sheer skill and reflexes that he was able to parry each of his opponent's sword blows and counterattack, as well as evade his hand gun shots. From then on it was one of the fiercest melee fights he had ever faced, as the enemy frame moved against him at nearly all angles, granting him no respite. From that, it was apparent to Ashley that the enemy knightmare greatly outperformed his custom Gloucester. Indicating it, and by extension the rest of its kind, as a later generation model.

Who the fuck are you!? Ashley thought as he parried his adversary's attacks before striking at him with his own. Between his skills and his or hers, he knew this was going to be a long, drawn out battle. Just who the fuck are we fighting here…!?

"Just who the hell are these guys!?" Gino hollered as he reversed while simultaneously firing a machine gun barrage. His opponents, however, deftly avoided the shots as they drew in close once more, forcing their chainswords against the Elyan's lance. And even when Gino spun his knightmare around to strike the black units with the opposite blade of his primary weapon, the three enemies easily leaped back from the assault and countered with their hand guns, forcing Gino into evasion himself.

The battle had just begun and yet, as Gino could tell, the outcome was already looking horrifically bleak. Despite fashionably outnumbering the invading force nearly two to one, the enemy knightmares were obviously of superior make from the Britannian units and their devicers were obviously skilled opponents. This was only made apparent as Gino was able to steal glances of the surrounding melee, where he saw a Gloucester attempt to impale one of the enemy units on its lance, only for its target to deftly evade the charge and slash into the cockpit block as it passed, killing the pilot in one strike. A pair of Sutherlands then tried to launch grenades at another such enemy, only for it to evade and return fire with its hand gun, forcing both Sutherlands to eject before their frames exploded. More units were only falling every minute from there, their death cries or calls of ejecting their cockpit blocks filling the radio.

Gino, however, had no intention of being one of them, and so threw back his opponents before launching both of his harkens. If there was one thing he noted, it was that these machines lacked any kind of formal defense like Blaze Luminous. As a result, the units he was fighting were forced to bank around the harken from different angles, lest they be struck. This allowed Gino to put more energy into his landspinners and sweep in from one of the frames' left, where he managed to slice off its left arm and the hand gun with it. Seemingly enraged by this, the black knightmare retaliated by firing its own harken, which was apparently mounted on the left side of its chest, only for Gino to deftly swat the anchor aside with his lance. The Knight of Three then countered with a needle blazer strike, but his opponent managed to bank to the right to avoid this while its two wingmen charged in to intervene. They both moved to strike the Elyan from opposite sides, but Gino deflected their blows with his own blades.

"Who are you…?" Gino managed to growl as he glared into his adversaries' orange mono-eyes, as if expecting a verbal response. He didn't know why, but there was something about these knightmares that especially caused him unease; something that he couldn't identify, but was enough to break through his wisecracking exterior and elicit feelings of especial discomfort. As if they really were ghosts or demons.

Regardless however, the Knight of Three forced such feelings away and concentrated on the fight at hand. Spinning his lance around again, he knocked both of his enemy's blades away, thereby allowing him to move against the one on his left and sweep his lance around, beheading the enemy knightmare. He kicked that unit away and deftly avoided another slash by its partner, to which Gino brought his lance around again and slashed it across the chest, leaving a long diagonal scar as the enemy unit reversed to evade. Neither attack was enough to destroy the enemy knightmares, but they were certainly enough to dissuade them, as they and their one armed comrade moved to withdraw.

At first, Gino thought they were doing so out of intimidation, and so moved to pursue. However, before he could reach them, his threat indicators went off, causing him to put the Elyan into a flying leap. A second later, a pair of red streams erupted where his knightmare had once been.

Hadron cannons!? Gino thought as he landed again, then turned his knightmare around toward his new attackers and launched both harkens. This time however, the rocket anchors were deflected by a pair of red energy shields as the two knightmares advanced, moving to bring their own melee weapons into play. And as Gino realized as they came close and slammed their blades into his lance, they weren't the chainswords he had been expecting, any more than they were the same models he had been expecting.

Indeed, these were very much different machines from the earlier ones. While they shared a similar design, they were somewhat broader and more elaborate, while their armor was painted in crimson red and grey instead of jet black. Likewise, instead of holding standard hand manipulators in their right arms, they seemed to be equipped with an elongated right arm that ended in a claw-like design, which ended in a three fingered assembly, while their heads were not the featureless mono-eyes of the standard models, but intricate, stylized design that held two ear like fins on the sides, a beak shaped helmet piece and, very much unlike the others, a human-like faceplate that was colored white with orange tinted eyes. All complimented by their left hand manipulators which, besides being equipped with built in guns of some kind, grasped onto golden colored, fork shaped knives.

Once again, as he momentarily gazed into those orange eyes, Gino felt strong feelings of discomfort weigh in him. As if these were more than just mere ghosts or demons; that, despite the obvious, they were something that he should have recognized…

However, he didn't have time to think beyond that line. As he forced the pair off of him, he swung his lance around as he had with the black units, only for the pair to reverse their landspinners and distance themselves. From that, they raised their clawed arms and both fired streams of crimson energy, to which Gino drove to his left to evade. The Knight of Three then made another needle blazer charge, this time causing both the red units to evade. From that, they then fired their left arm guns, which Gino instinctively banked around. A wise move, as the guns turned out to be grenade launchers, the explosive rounds detonating directly where Gino had been standing.

That was when the first red unit did something else that put Gino on edge. Charging at the Elyan with its claw and knife extended, Gino initially believed that the unit was moving to engage him up close again. Yet, as he readied his lance to deflect and charged in turn to meet his adversary, the Knight of Three could only watch as the red unit leaped into the air, stylistically flipping and twirling as it did. It was this display that caused Gino's eyes to widen and to put all the power he could into his landspinners, such that he ended up losing his balance and tumbled across the ground.

I know that move! Gino thought as the red knightmare landed on the ground again, in the place where it would have landed on him had he stayed his original course. Specifically, where it would have landed on his cockpit pod.

That was when the second unit came into play again by extending its claw, this time firing a machine gun-like burst of crimson energy. At that, Gino rolled the Elyan back onto its feet and began zig-zagging across the ground, spinning his lance into an impromptu shield to deflect the bursts that came close. As he did this, the first unit took the opportunity to move in at his right, claw extended to grasp onto the Elyan, but Gino was quick enough to twist his knightmare around to slash at it, only for his blade to deflected by a shield of crimson energy generated from the claw. The second unit only moved in to press the advantage, once again causing both knightmares to face down their Britannian opponent.

"Who are you!?" Gino shouted, this time in near anguish, as the feelings he had been forcing back at last gave way under the pair's combined gaze. Whoever he was fighting, they were not Eurasian, nor were they Zulfiqar or any other force that Gino recognized. And yet, deep down inside, he knew, more than ever, that he should have recognized them. And much more, feared them.

What… What is this…? Lelouch could only think as he watched the melee unfold over his Druid System. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before; a sheer one-sided battle in which one army completely dominated the other, in spite of every conceivable factor. Yes, Lelouch had heard of such battles occurring in history, where the quality of one force showed over the other, but never had he seen such a blatant display of it as he did here. Where his enemy had complete control over the battlefield, and his soldiers were paying a steep price for it as Sutherlands and Gloucesters fell around him, entirely overwhelmed.

And for the life of him, Lelouch couldn't fathom any of it. Who was it they were fighting? And how could they be so equipped as well as so well trained? Certainly it wasn't the EU; these units followed a completely different tactical mindset, while their knightmares, despite possessing mono-eyes, looked nothing like Eurasian models. That in itself left very few others; Zulfiqar was not nearly as well equipped or as well trained, while the Chinese Liberation Army, besides suffering from those same factors, also lacked the capability to reach this far west. Peace Mark, on the other hand possessed the training and access to fairly advanced units, but never on such scale, and Britannia had wiped out that particular organization long ago. No other groups Lelouch could think of even had the barest level of strength to perform what was occurring now.

"They're cutting us to pieces…" Lelouch continued to gape as an additional number of his forces fell before him, such that he signaled for reinforcements to move in from Tobruk. He knew it wouldn't make much of a difference, but it was the only move he could make short of ordering the Fortitude and his other landships to barrage the entire field. They had to keep them back from the city as much as possible.

Which was when a strange realization occurred to Lelouch. Despite the dwindling Britannian numbers as well as the other side's complete dominance, the enemy knightmares were not advancing toward Tobruk. Rather, they remained in the melee, concentrating on the Britannian forces as much as possible, up to and including the Elyan and Lancelot. The question was why?

Before he could come up with an explanation, Lelouch heard his sensors go off in warning; another enemy unit was now in close proximity to him. As such, he launched his left hand slash harken at the target, but the closest Lelouch got to damaging it was taking out the knightmare's arm mounted hand gun in a fiery explosion. Cursing, he retracted the harken and brought his MVS around, then charging at the enemy frame at full speed, executing a cross slash. Instead of splitting the enemy frame into fourths however, it reversed its landspinners back as Lelouch executed the slash and sped away rather than engage the Mordred with its own sword.

Odd... Lelouch thought while observing the enemy's retreat. He would have pursued, but something inside stopped him from attacking the fleeing enemy. Besides, there were plenty of other targets out there.

Selecting another nearby target, he switched back over to his VARIS and fired two shots. The enemy knightmare naturally dodged them, easily banking away from the bolts. Sneering, the Black Prince once again attempted to draw his opponent close into a swordfight, but when he approached, the enemy knightmare quickly sped away. It didn't even fire back at the pursuing Mordred with its ranged weapons.

Before Lelouch could wonder what was going on any further, he noticed four of those red machines advancing towards him, this time with their fork knives raised. Firing all four of his harkens, the prince could only watch as the crimson colored knightmares scattered themselves away, and then kicked on even more speed to come in for a group attack. Retracting his weapons quickly, Lelouch reengaged his own swords and sped backward, setting himself up to fight defensively instead of offensively.

From there, the four then began to attack the larger knightmare in a collection of synchronized assaults. One would attack then fly off before Lelouch could fight against it, followed by a comrade who would make another charge against the Mordred then move off before it could counter, leaving room for another one to take its place. This only continued on, despite Lelouch's best efforts to inflict damage, his ire growing as a result.

While their attacks were fierce, Lelouch immediately knew that they weren't going all out on him. He knew this because despite their outnumbering him they were only concentrating on attacking him from the front as opposed to trying to encircle him which was standard tactics for any professionally trained force. As well, they were only attacking him with their knifes and not their grenades or their claw weapons, the latter which he saw one use against a Sutherland; either one would have given him much greater difficulty in deflecting or evading. And to top it all off, they weren't even aiming to do damage to the Mordred itself with their charge attacks, instead keeping their aim toward his MVS and Blaze Luminous.

They're pushing me back, distancing me from the others. Lelouch concluded, seeing it as the only explanation. Sure enough, his sensors confirmed he was moving due east, out of the melee and toward particular flatland. However, what he couldn't figure out was why they were doing it. If they were out to kill him, why would they go to this amount of trouble to isolate him first?

Become fed up with situation, he made a few more counter slashes, then just after he finished the last one, Lelouch kicked his right leg forward, using the landspinner to generate a dust cloud. Thus, when the next red knightmare charged through, its visual sensors blinded by the cloud, Lelouch was already at its left, where he slashed out with his right MVS and cut off its left arm, then its right claw when it moved to extend it, from which he finished it off with a hard Suzaku style kick to the side. As that knightmare fell, its pilot obviously dazed from the shock, another unit moved in to support. At that, Lelouch twisted the Mordred around and, akin to a matador, ejected his knightmare's cape and banked away. As a result, the enemy knightmare charged straight into the cape, its head and visual sensors covered, allowing Lelouch to move in and slice into its right side. By some miracle he narrowly missed the cockpit, but the knightmare ended up tumbling haphazardly from the strike anyway, effectively removing it from the fight.

"And now for you two," Lelouch glared at the remaining two knightmares, who were now zig-zagging at him in a standard attack pattern, albeit far more swiftly than any knightmare Lelouch had previously encountered. Easily predicting their movement patterns, Lelouch, while reversing his own knightmare, fired off his hip slash harkens and had them smash into the head of either knightmare, crushing them. From there, he changed his vector and charged at them, performing a spin slash that struck one across the right leg and the other on the left hip, also causing them to fall and roll across the sand. Like the others, their fall easily dazed the pilots within.

I'll keep one of you alive for some answers. Lelouch thought as he turned the Mordred around and rebrandished his MVS, targeting the enemy nearest to his position. As for the rest of you…

Just as he moved to strike, the shrill beeping sound of his sensors filled the cockpit; another enemy had locked onto him. Lelouch had no time to think, only to allow his instincts to take over and get the Mordred to leap away. What happened next nearly made the blood freeze in his veins.

Just as the Mordred ascended up into the air, a new bright red stream of energy shot out to where it would have been. Another one!?

As the stream dissipated and his knightmare touched down again, Lelouch turned back to see just where it had come from. His other four opponents used the opportunity to retreat, but Lelouch was no longer concerned with them. Rather, he was concerned with the newcomer frame that was moving toward him at a speed that made its compatriots look slow and lackluster. Lelouch reacted quickly by redrawing and firing his VARIS, but the newcomer twisted out of the way and then fired back with its own energy weapon, forcing Lelouch to dodge himself.

As the two frames past each other, yet another sudden lightning burst illuminated the sky, and what Lelouch saw was absolutely nothing like what he had been expecting. The knightmare in front of him was similar to the other models, yet felt like an entirely different beast altogether; while it retained the crimson colors of its sibling units, this one held orange highlights instead of grey, granting it a sheer vividness that was like a mixture of blood, fire and the rising sun. This alone made it stand entirely out from its comrades, but there were other details to match. Its body vaguely resembled the other knightmares', yet held an even broader design, almost doing away with the flimsiness that the production units had to them, while its right arm, which was similarly elongated like the other red models, ended in a five fingered claw assembly that more resembled a human hand. As well, it had the same stylized head design as its compatriots, but instead of orange eyes, the eye cameras were noticeably colored in sapphire, which shone with malice in the light.

"This knightmare..." Lelouch wondered out loud, his jaw now slightly slacked open from his sub-conscious awe. Why does it feel familiar to me?

Just as the flash ended, the red knightmare angled its claw at the Mordred and again fired an energy blast. That was enough to snap Lelouch back to reality, as he quickly deflected the burst with his Blaze Luminous and returned the charge, VARIS again withdrawn for his MVS. The red knightmare in turn drew its fork knife and parried the initial attack, then flew backward from the second.

After Lelouch's second slash, his opponent performed a midair leap and smashed the knightmare's left leg against the Mordred's faceplate. This in turn was followed by a roundhouse kick with the right leg that almost threw Lelouch out of his seat. This one is really good.

Upon an attempted third kick, Lelouch had the Mordred reach up with its right hand and grab his opponent's leg, to which he twisted around and threw it across the sand. He launched after it with both blades at the sides, while the opposite frame reoriented itself quickly upon landing and blocked Lelouch's follow up attack with both its fork knife and claw arm. However, it did not hold the blades for long, instead throwing the MVS off before making a combination of attacks by either slashing with the fork knife or trying to grapple the Mordred with its claw.

Lelouch, in spite of the fact he was in the middle of combat, couldn't help but be impressed beyond words with the fight his opponent was putting up. The enemy frame had even taken to evading his own attacks entirely rather than move to deflect them again, and it was evading with a fluidity that Lelouch had only seen in very few other knightmare aces. And aside from one, those particular aces were all Knights of the Round.

Needless to say, as the fighting grew more and more intense, the Black Prince of Britannia became less and less sure that he would be the one to emerge victorious.

With his enemy almost beaten to a pulp, Suzaku performed a "Blaze Luminous" reinforced spin kick to finish off the wounded knightmare. The kick was well placed as it struck the machine's Yggdrasil drive directly, causing it to grow critical and detonate, resulting in the black mono-eyed knightmare exploding like an overripe melon hit with a sledge hammer. Suzaku watched as the explosion's glare brightened then diminished to symbolize the passing of the machine and its pilot. Finally making headway…

As if infuriated by the death of their comrade, two more black units, these two both toting bazookas, moved at the Lancelot and began to rain shells at the white knightmare. Suzaku was quick to activate his right arm "Blaze Luminous" to deflect the initial shots, and then move at flanking speed to dodge the follow up shots, all the while drawing closer to the enemy machines. He would have returned fire himself, but his VARIS had been destroyed earlier, and so he was relegated to using the MVSs as his primary weapons. Thus, when close enough, he slashed at the enemy's bazookas, dividing them into useless metal shards, and then attacked the knightmares themselves. Rather than face the White Knight of Britannia in a sword fight, the two enemy machines moved away, firing off their hand guns as they did to keep Suzaku from pursuing them.

Despite their valiant attempt, Suzaku easily shrugged the hand gun fire and would have launched after them to finish them off. What stopped him was what he saw to his right, and when he noticed it, the Knight of Seven could feel the color drain from his skin. He even magnified the image to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. There, several meters outside the melee, he saw the Mordred fighting a very familiar machine, one that he once believed had been destroyed a long time ago, and its pilot being long since dead. And despite the effort Lelouch was putting forward into the fight, the enemy knightmare was easily keeping him at bay.

"Is that…!?" Suzaku exclaimed out loud, feeling his world clarify and then crystallize. And with that revelation, he realized why this enemy force had seemed all too familiar to him, causing him to glare at the personalized red knightmare. Suzaku cursed himself for naively believing that the ghosts of his past had well and truly passed to the next life.

Looking around for a second, he saw that both the Elyan and the rest of the Britannian forces, including the newly arrived reinforcements, were still fighting against the black knightmares, as well as additional red ones that held a similar design to the one Lelouch was fighting. Alongside, the Hector, which remained out of the melee, was also detained as it was continuing fire support for the larger army, launching its micromissiles at any target that was within reach. None were within range to support the Mordred.

Suzaku might not have been as much of a strategist as his friend, but even he could tell the enemy was specifically isolating Lelouch away from the rest of them. That could only mean two things. That they were out to destroy Lelouch specifically. Or…

Suzaku's eyes widened in horror as he saw what the enemy was really planning to do. Putting full power into his landspinners, he launched the Lancelot forward to intercept the enemy frame before it could do any serious damage to the Mordred. He still had a large distance to cross however, and without his VARIS he could only engage the enemy knightmare at close-range. Despite not being particularly religious, the Knight of Seven prayed to whoever was listening that he would be able to make it in time before the worst was to happen.

He did not get very far in spite of that. Practically coming out of nowhere, another knightmare frame intercepted his path and clashed its own sword against his. Immediately Suzaku could tell that, like the unit Lelouch was fighting, this one was above the rest. While the knightmare held the same black colors as the others, it was notably distinguished by its more ornate head crest, twin bundles of hair like extensions that stretched out from the head and a different type of sword from the chain blades he had seen, which among other things had a long golden blade equipped and a line of rocket thrusters on its reverse side. That, and just by looking into the knightmare's mono-eye sensor, Suzaku felt a true warrior's aura emanating from the metallic shell.

"You're trying to capture Lelouch and reawaken Zero, aren't you!?" Suzaku growled as he tried to overpower the enemy unit's sword, but the knightmare was more than able to hold him back. He moved back in an attempt to flank the unit, but it reversed its sword and launched a hilt mounted slash harken in response. Suzaku was just able to deflect the harken with his Blaze Luminous, but the enemy unit used the opportunity to close the gap between them and execute a series of thruster assisted slashes that kept Suzaku on the edge.

And just like the red and orange knightmare in the distance, Suzaku was quick to recognize the fighting style this machine was utilizing against him. "So you have survived as well, Sensei…" he murmured under his breath.

The enemy knightmare didn't respond verbally, it only continued to attack him. Suzaku himself countered by firing off his right arm slash harken, but the enemy frame deflected the attack with the flat of its blade. Suzaku gritted his teeth as he withdrew the harken and pressed the attack with his swords, trying as hard as he could to get past this apparent adversary.

Lelouch's hair nearly fell into his eyes, sticking to his forehead with sweat. This was all too unreal, and impossible to be true, even as he slashed away at the red knightmare with his swords. No matter what he threw at his enemy, it would evade every attack as if it were in slow motion, and then continue to attack on its own. Lelouch had yet to even damage the frame cosmetically, whereas the Mordred was still functional and largely undamaged itself, but its armor had been beaten and battered numerous times by the enemy machine. Somehow he had to finish this before he was completely overwhelmed, but even with Lelouch's vast intelligence and skill there was only so much he could do against this adversary. And as if to make matters worse, it didn't look like the red knightmare was about to slow down anytime soon.

Still as fierce as ever, the red knightmare remained on the offensive by lobbing a pair of grenades from its left arm cannon at the Mordred. Lelouch deflected both with his Blaze Luminous and countered again by slashing forward, but the red knightmare dodged each attack with a series of banks and turns. It then fired an energy blast from its claw to keep Lelouch on his toes, which Lelouch managed to do with ease but still took a lot of energy. If he had he been trying to concentrate on his emotions at that moment, he could not have differentiated between frustration and invigoration at this apparent standoff. I haven't fought this hard since…

Then the two frames crossed birth between them and grappled together, with the red frame's claw arm latched over the left Blaze Luminous projector and the left hand grasped against the Mordred's right. However, just as Lelouch thought he had the advantage, as the red frame had no room to maneuver when it was so close, he suddenly felt a surge of energy travel through the Mordred. Looking over, Lelouch saw the black armor of his knightmare's left arm suddenly begin to whiten and bubble as the surge traveled through the palm of the claw and into the arm, growing in width as more energy was shot through.

It can use that at close range as well!? Lelouch mind exclaimed in astonishment. And for yet another unknown reason, he felt as though he should have been expected that particular ability.

He immediately detached the left arm and kicked the red frame in the chest, allowing him to move back as his opponent circled around. Now the Mordred's left arm was out of the fight, alongside its mounted slash harken and Blaze Luminous and the MVS it had been grasping.

"I have to end this now," Lelouch told himself, getting ready for another charging attack. This time he would feint with his remaining sword and then divert into a shoulder tackle, which would hopefully knock his opponent off balance and leave it open for a finishing attack. Thus, he put the frame into full speed and shot after his target like a cannonball.

So it surprised him that the red knightmare did not raise its claw and fork knife to defend or move to evade. Instead, when a certain distance was reached between them, it raised its claw arm once again, and a set of prongs extended from its base. Before Lelouch could wonder what they were for, it suddenly launched a spray energy attack of some kind; a dispersion of that crimson red energy over a wide area as opposed to having it focused as a beam.

Upon that attack, Lelouch felt the Mordred halt and nearly tumble in its tracks. No not now! Lelouch thought in shock, trying as hard as he could to get his knightmare to move again. Checking his diagnostic, he summarized that the last attack had frozen the electronic motors that served as the Mordred's power distribution system, much like how a human nervous system operated. As such, while the Mordred still had power, it could not move its limbs or drive systems, much less continue to fight.

With its opponent disabled, Lelouch half-expected the enemy frame to finish him off where he stood. Instead of that though, the red frame lowered its claw and began to draw closer toward the Mordred's position. That's when what was truly happening was at last clarified to Lelouch.

"You… you mean to capture me!?" he called out to his foe, as if he were expecting an answer. The red frame continued to move at him however, and Lelouch's mind raced to come up with a way out of this situation. He knew that he had moved too far away for his allies to come and support him, and no amount of hotwiring would bring the Mordred back online after an attack like that. The only solution, as Lelouch summarized, was to put the Mordred's self-destruct sequence online, just long enough so when the red frame got close the explosion would take it down as well, while he ejected at the very last second. It was a long shot, but that was his only option.

But when he began to move over his controls, Lelouch's hands froze in place before he could execute any commands. He looked back at the closing red frame with wonder, as he tried to figure out why he suddenly didn't wish to avoid being captured.

She's… she's not an enemy… something in the back of his mind told him, although Lelouch could not figure out how he knew that or how he knew the enemy pilot was a woman for that matter. And then like a thunderbolt, he felt a great flow enter his mind, to the point where he struggled to contain it.

Clasping his hands over his forehead while feeling his whole being race at breaking speed, Lelouch let out a silent scream as his mind became flooded with thoughts. Thoughts that centered on images of the mysterious red knightmare fighting against Britannian forces on numerous battlefields, and its beautiful, red haired pilot that seemed to look up toward him with a mixture of determination, devotion and admiration. All coming down to an image Lelouch could not shake out of his head of her standing in the midst of a cave, pointing a gun at…

And in the midst of his anguish, Lelouch felt his left eye burn.

As Lelouch struggled with himself, the enemy frame reached its arms out to grab hold of the Mordred. But before the two frames could touch, it suddenly halted in its movements, turned back to look a direction for a moment, and then reversed of the way as a familiar stream of crimson and black energy shot between the Mordred and its attempted captor.

"I will not let you take Lelouch…" Anya stated as she had the Hector set up for a second shot, an uncharacteristic edge in her voice.

"Anya!" Lelouch exclaimed as the specialized long-range fire support knightmare frame fire another stark hadron cannon at the red frame. The enemy knightmare dodged it easily enough, but then glanced away as a new set of signals began to move in from the horizon.

"Protect His Highness!" the knightmare commander shouted as the third round of reinforcements moved in toward their liege's position. Mere seconds later, four Sutherlands sped over and placed themselves around the Mordred while several more charged forward and open fired at the red knightmare with their assault rifles. In response, the red unit banked and evaded their fire, but the message was made all the same.

Outnumbered and low on energy, Lelouch saw the red frame turn to send a signal to its comrades and then turn away to the direction it originally came, emitting a cloud of sensor disrupting chaff smoke as it retreated. Soon enough, the rest of its kind followed, also deploying chaff smoke as they moved south and away from the battlefield. Whatever functioning Britannian units remained did not attempt to pursue.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" the lead Sutherland asked hurriedly, concern well within his voice.

Lelouch nodded to the man in acknowledgment. "I am unharmed," he confirmed. "That last attack just damaged the Mordred's motor controls."

"Acknowledged," the commander continued. "Should I send units to pursue as well?"

Lelouch shook his head. "Negative. They're likely heading back to their base or mothership. Which will be waiting to meet any incoming attack force," he answered, ignoring the myriad sighs of relief from the surrounding devicers. "Return to base at once."

The Sutherland commander knew better than to question those orders. "As you wish Your Highness," he said, then gesturing toward the four Sutherlands guarding their prince. "I will leave these four behind to tow your unit back to Tobruk, if you would allow it."

Despite himself, Lelouch let out a silent laugh. By all accounts, he should have been humiliated at his knightmare being so disabled that it had to be towed back, but in truth he was just happy to be alive. "You have my gratitude Lieutenant."

With their new orders, the Sutherlands turned and sped back from where they came, leaving the four to attach their slash harkens on the Mordred. As they did this, Lelouch opened his cockpit and stood up, letting the cool air brush against his head. A distant bout of a thunder only punctuated the mood.

As if on cue, the Elyan and the Lancelot moved in toward his position, moving through another lightning flash as they did. "Wow Lelouch, you look really messed up," Gino exclaimed with a whistle. Despite acting nonchalant, Lelouch could tell he was also exhausted. As well as heavily uneased. "Who the hell were you fighting? Crasher Sokkia?"

"Are you alright Lelouch?" Suzaku interrupted, his voice filled to the brim with concern.

"I'm fine, except for my pride," Lelouch sighed before looking over toward a certain direction. "And Anya, while I appreciate and thank you for coming to my aid, could you not use the stark hadron next time? A meter more to the right and you would have vaporized me."

"But it worked," Anya simply answered.

Lelouch didn't reply to that, instead removing his earpiece, if only to be alone for the next few moments. Unconsciously, and in spite of everything that he knew, he felt his face turn into a frown, suddenly feeling as though that he wished to have been captured.

No, liberated. he thought, much to his bewilderment. He struggled to figure out why he felt that way, as well as what he had seen earlier in that thought attack. But, as he more or less expected, his mind could only draw blanks.

Meanwhile, in the Lancelot's cockpit, Suzaku turned and looked back toward the horizon. He knew in his heart that this was far from over.