"War – An act of violence whose purpose is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will."
- George Washington
Chapter VII: Storm Above Camelot
Pendragon, Grand Duchy of Pennsylvania, Area 1 (North America), Britannian Empire
February 25, 2025
Within the confines of the Bedivere's cockpit, Bismarck Waldstein could see the full brunt of the fighting around Pendragon. As spectacular as the display of fireworks that had moments before filled the sky, the battle between Britannia's loyal defenders and its fearless invaders continued on in a great waltz, with flash signifying both a victory of one side and a defeat for the other. For Bismarck, it was something that he had not seen with his own eyes or felt with his own body for a long time; his status as the Emperor's personal bodyguard kept him from directly participating in combat unless under the most dire of circumstances, such as now. Needless say, he was as immersed in anticipation as he was in dread over the fact that an enemy force was able to penetrate so deeply into Britannian territory without detection.
To make matters worse, the enemy knightmares, while far lesser in number, were making mincemeat out of Pendragon's defenders in successive fashion. In fact, from his standpoint, Bismarck estimated that only one of their frames equaled at least six of Britannia's. Not that Bismarck didn't understand why his side was dwindling; unlike his comrades, he knew that these were the Black Knights, and that in spite of eight years without participating in active combat, many of these men and women were veterans from the Black Rebellion and perhaps even further back.
And to add to their advantage, they were obviously fielding eighth generation knightmare frames. Compare that to the abundance of novice pilots and older fifth generation knightmares that made up the defending forces, and it was like throwing a lit match into a lake and expecting it to remain alight even as water overpowered it. But then that wasn't too much of a problem; the Knights of the Round were now on the scene and further reinforcements were due to arrive at any time. For all intents and purposes, the Black Knights were trapped on Britannian soil, surrounded by enemies on all sides.
At least that's what it would look like to the uniformed observer… Bismarck thought as the Bedivere's Druid System continued to analyze the battle and provide readings to its devicer. Just as the Knight of One knew the identity of the invaders, he also knew what their true objective was, and that they more than likely had an escape plan which would take them and their prize far out of reach. In a strange and ironic sort of way, the Knight of One found his opponents to be very courageous in that; rather than hide and make a new life for their civilization, they chose to strike against their former oppressors directly in the hope of regaining their Demon King, all so that they could draw further vengeance. Bismarck would not have expected any less from those who dubbed themselves as knights.
For the moment however, he had to feign ignorance, if only to keep his comrades from getting suspicious about his foreknowledge. "Gino, is this the force that you fought in Libya?"
The Elyan's head turned to acknowledge its comrade. "Yes, right down to the black colors they're all painted in," he answered hesitantly. "I never expected they would come this far in…"
"That only means we have every right to kill them all," Luciano replied with some annoyance to his comrade's tone. "Or does your stomach turn at the prospect of slaughter, hatchling?"
"On the contrary sparkles," Gino shot back with vicious sarcasm, deeply enjoying the sight of Luciano squirm in response. "I'm looking forward to returning some favors."
"I wonder if you will feel that way when you learn the truth, Gino," Bismarck muttered under his breath at a level that would not be picked up by the Bedivere's com receiver. Just like everything else, he knew of Gino's past and sympathies for the Elevens. But even that was irreverent at this time; as Knights of the Round, it was their duty to defend their Empire against all who stood against it, even if the aggressors had reason behind their actions. And so Bismarck spoke up again, with the sound of his voice immediately quelling the potential argument. "We will make them regret their arrogance. Knights of the Round, break off and engage!"
"Yes, my lord!" Gino, Luciano and Anya signaled at once, before all four knightmares broke formation and shot off into different directions on their landspinners.
As Bismarck charged into the fray, six of those knightmares targeted him and attempted to surround him for a six way converging attack. Encircling him like vultures over a carcass, they then simultaneously flew at him with their swords ready to strike. Smirking, the Knight of One once more found himself giving credit toward his enemies: usually the opposition fled in his presence.
But that didn't mean he was going to go easy on them. Reaching out with the Bedivere's right arm, he launched the forearm mounted slash harken into one of the enemy knightmares and then swung it around as an impromptu mace, smashing it into two of the other five machines. This attack also forced the remaining three knightmares to abandon their synchronized attack, thus upon abandoning the remains of his captive, Bismarck launched after one and delivered a left hook into the machine's torso, where he then proceeded to rip out the Yggdrasil drive much like a still beating heart.
The enemy machine fell with the loss of its main power source, and its two other comrades tried to move in to strike the Knight of One while his back was turned. As they drew close however, Bismarck threw away the "organ" and had the Bedivere spin around, unleashing a roundhouse kick that even Suzaku Kururugi could not match, the right landspinner smashing into one enemy machine and then its partner before sending them flying away in a crumpled heap of metal.
That was not the end of them of course. Unless Bismarck's sensors were lying to him, more than a handful of enemy machines were now charging at him. Such was their number that he knew that he would not be able to fight them all hand-to-hand like he just did; he would have to take them all on with his full skill and arsenal.
"I will admit that you have both my respect and my sympathy," Bismarck murmured to the air as the enemy knightmares drew closer. "However…"
Suddenly the Bedivere raised its right arm up as its back mounted scabbard folded out and presented the sword hilt for the waiting hand. Metal fingers grasping the golden hilt, it then drew the sword and swung it about so that the Britannian knightmare could rest its other hand over it. At last, as a torrent of energy swirled and massed around the now glowing purple blade, the Bedivere raised Excalibur, the very symbol of the Knight of One's unparalleled skill and power, over its head.
"I will not allow you to reclaim Zero so easily!" Bismarck declared, before swinging the blade down and unleashing a magenta colored energy wave at the incoming Black Knights.
Aries Palace
Pendragon, Grand Duchy of Pennsylvania, Area 1 (North America), Britannian Empire
Using almost all of her strength, Kallen managed to rip her hand away from Suzaku's grip, then lunged for her opponent's head. However, the White Knight moved even faster than she had anticipated, blocking her attack and then punching her in the gut, causing Kallen to keel over into the perfect position for the uppercut that followed, which knocked the Black Knight back a few steps. Despite being briefly stunned, Suzaku did not back down in his assault, as he punched straight for Kallen's face, then followed up with a kick to the sternum that shook the Red Dragoness to her core.
Despite the pain in her chest, Kallen lifted her leg and moved to kick Suzaku across the head, as well as buy her some time and distance for recovery. However, Suzaku ducked below the sweep and made two punches into Kallen's face before throwing a palm thrust that came close to breaking her nose. Kallen tried to punch him with her right arm, but Suzaku simply blocked the strike with his forearm and punched back, though this time Kallen managed to block as well.
Acting fast, the Black Knight ace knocked the Knight of Seven's fist to the side with her left arm and smashed her right elbow up into his forehead, a move that would have normally been enough to cause a blackout. But Suzaku came right back and made an aggressive combination of kicks into Kallen's sides, stomach, and chest. So fast did Suzaku move, and so strong were these attacks, that Kallen wasn't even able to tell them apart aside from the pain they caused to their individual areas, and she struggled to keep herself from being overwhelmed by it all. Suzaku then finished up by delivering a palm strike into Kallen's throat that sent her flying back to the floor.
Kallen landed in a heap with her hands across her neck, coughing and gasping for air, while Suzaku loomed before her, slowly walking forward like a beast moving in for the kill. She looked up at him and stared into his red ringed eyes. So this is the "curse" from Shikine…
Indeed, the power of Geass, specifically that of Absolute Obedience, was once more something to behold. Now, as Kallen summarized, she was facing a being that was incapable of holding back the immense strength he possessed, one who was entirely driven to fight without hesitance or relent and capable of pushing his body beyond its physical limitations. Pain no longer existed in her opponent's mind, as her own attacks did nothing to halt his offensive or hinder him, aside from perhaps causing the most momentary daze, the command to "Live" surmounting all desires, feelings, and moralities. All of this came together as one, transforming Suzaku Kururugi, who already could be considered unattested in power and will, into the perfect Ubermensch.
And still, though matched against such a being, the Red Dragoness forced herself onto her feet, spitting a bit of blood to her side as she did. As the Black Knights' most powerful ace, she would be a vital asset in the battles to come, once Zero was recovered and their offensive against Britannia was given new form. Thus, she could not, would not, allow herself to fall, not when so much was riding on her.
But at the same time, she knew that for her to escape and complete the mission, she had to defeat Suzaku first, so as her opponent continued to move closer in a calm strut, Kallen quickly retook control of her breathing and prepared to fight again.
But just as she did this, Suzaku shot forward with a burst of speed and grabbed hold of her throat with immense force. He followed this up by throwing her back against the corridor wall much like she had done to him earlier, and then delivering an iron fisted punch into her stomach once again. Such was the strength behind the blow that the tremor Kallen's body created caused the walls to shutter around them, as she let out a choked gasp of air and a small spray of blood from her mouth. She could barely keep her eyes open now, almost falling into unconsciousness as Suzaku's narrowed red rimmed eyes stared into her blackening own.
"I must live on…" Suzaku muttered in the voice of a possessed man, the flash and thunder of an explosion in the background only making him look and sound all the more unreal. His grip tightened, to the point Kallen was sure his fingers were leaving indents into her neck. Her eye twitched to remain open while she felt pain coursing throughout every inch of her body. She tried to counter by bringing her knee up to strike, but Suzaku had closed the distance between them and pressed his body against hers, thus keeping her legs in check while she struggled for breath.
Thoughts becoming hard to process, but knowing she had mere seconds before unconsciousness and perhaps even death settled in, Kallen did the only thing she could manage from her position: she repeated the move he used against her earlier and struck her hand against his own throat. It was not as strong as her normal attacks, but the sudden loss of air caused Suzaku to loosen his grip on her, enough that she broke his hold. She then tried to kick him back, but her Geass possessed opponent reeled back and attempted to punch her in the face once more, only for her to jump out of the way and let the fist go straight into the wall, making a nice sized hole in the wood.
With that, Kallen slammed her heel against the side of Suzaku's head multiple times over, the shock causing him to stumble from the loss of equilibrium, but only slowing him down temporarily. She backed away, arms raised defensively as the Knight of Seven finally withdrew his arm from the wall and turned to face her once more, his expression still without emotion in spite of her last attack.
Now, for the first time since their fight had begun, Kallen was feeling true fear. In her mind, it felt like she was fighting an unstoppable cyborg from the future rather than a man of equal fighting caliber to her, and that no matter what she did it would keep coming after her until she was either disabled or dead. This was only punctuated when Suzaku performed his infamous spin kick, which she was just barely able to duck, only for him to twist around upon landing and deliver another kick and punch combination at her, Kallen barely being able to deflect either of them.
Not yet, I still have the tranquilizer and my own power…! Kallen remembered as she blocked another punch, feeling the bone in her arm threaten to break from the sheer power behind it. The only thing that stopped her from using the latter was, simply, the fact it would mean revealing one of her most advantageous weapons against Suzaku early on, something that could easily spell disaster in the future. But that didn't change the fact she still needed to find an opening within her opponent's impenetrable offense and defense to finish this.
All that while in the background, the window for escape was closing with each passing second…
Tohdoh seethed as Cornelia attempted a downward slash from overhead, which he quickly parried with his seidotou and forced her back. He then kicked the Zangetsu's landspinners up and slammed into the Exeter, once more tackling it across the ground. The two knightmare frames remained linked for a time as they wheeled through the streets, with their respective blades holding the other in place, turning their duel into a battle of force. This didn't last long however, as Cornelia cried out and threw her knightmare's power against Tohdoh, forcing him back, before making several slashes, causing Tohdoh to reverse his unit's course to escape the onslaught.
However, he wasn't so focused on Cornelia that he didn't notice another Sutherland coming at him from behind with a heavy lance. Engaging the seidotou's thrusters in tandem with his landspinners, Tohdoh twisted the Zangetsu around one hundred eighty degrees and slashed the interloper into halves before turning around to face Exeter yet again. This maneuver, however, gave the Witch of Britannia just enough time to launch her left arm harken again, with Tohdoh just barely evading. The resultant opening proved to be an exploitable opportunity, with Cornelia launching at the Zangetsu with her lance set to impale, ready to finish the duel. Tohdoh swore he felt his perception of time slowdown in the second it took for him to hit the overdrive on his landspinners once more and leap upwards and over to avoid the charging Exeter by a hair length, literally with the Zangetsu's hair-like extensions that were on the sides of its head.
In the midst of the fight, he caught sight of the four Knights of the Round and their seventh generation machines on his tacscreen while they fought their way through the chaos. As was expected of them, they were quickly dispatching whatever Black Knight machine came into their sight, almost with a feeling of effortlessness Tohdoh observed. He sneered at all four of them with contempt. Though the Izumo's contingent of knightmare pilots had all been trained to potentially fight against Britannian's twelve elite warriors, only tried and true aces like Kallen Kouzuki and Tohdoh himself had any hope of fighting those titans on an equal level.
And as the four high end machines continued to weave a path of destruction into the heart of the battle, Tohdoh wanted to break off and engage one himself, if only to keep that one from destroying any more of his men, but unfortunately Cornelia's next charging attack kept him from breaking off.
"I'm not letting you run Tohdoh!" Cornelia howled as she drove her swords once more against the seidotou.
"Kisama…!" Tohdoh snarled back as he launched his chest mounted slash harken to throw her off a bit, before pressing the offensive with a horizontal slash. He then shifted his radio to the channels for Asahina and Chiba's Gekkas. "Seikens Two and Five, take some units plus Zero Squadron and engage the Knights of the Round! Break off into teams and isolate them; don't let them cause any more damage!"
"Shouchi, Shogun One!" Asahina and Chiba both replied, in full acknowledgement of his command. At the very least that would by time; while he knew his subordinates would act out his commands to the letter, he could only hope that they would be able to hold off the Britannian elites until Kouzuki arrived.
However, he wasn't so preoccupied with his fight against the princess that he didn't hear his radio crackle once more with the voice of Minase Mutsuki. "Izumo to Shogun One, we're detecting Britannian reinforcements incoming from Sectors Lambda Six and Gamma Twelve."
Once more forcing Cornelia away for a brief moment, Tohdoh switched to his tactical display on the center monitor. As he had been warned, his monitor was filled with red dots, each one symbolizing a Britannian knightmare frame being transported by VTOL, flying toward Pendragon at high speed from the west. It was quite obvious they were the outlying reinforcements. And as a bonus, they were coming in through the air.
"Shogun One to Izumo, enemy forces confirmed. You may begin bombardment when ready," Tohdoh acknowledged as he made another slash at the Exeter's head, forcing Cornelia to jump back.
Black Knights mobile battleship Izumo
Atlantic Ocean
"Open all tubes," Yoshitaka Minami ordered just after the message from Tohdoh was received. "Set missiles for intercept over Sectors Lambda Ten and Gamma Fifteen."
After a minute, the Izumo's weapons operator Corporal Ayame Futuba acknowledged those orders as the bridge's central monitor switched to display the target areas of the missiles. "Tubes open, target data locked in. Ready for launch."
"Fire," Minami replied simply, his gaze narrowing in the process. Standing close to him, Ohgi also watched the monitors with great interest.
Seconds later, a full swarm of missiles shot out from the Izumo's VLS tubes and climbed into the air, eventually arcing toward the west once they reached their pre-designated altitudes. From there, they flew over Pendragon itself, the night sky just barely obscuring their contrails, as the battle continued on the ground. Only a few dared take their attention off the present fighting to take note of the missiles' flight overhead, and by then it was well too late anyway.
Minutes later, the missiles were well passed the city and back into the open air, where their sensors began to pick up their targets coming over the horizon; mostly knightmare transport VTOLs alongside dedicated gunships and attacker aircraft. All were able to detect the missiles' approach, even without early warning from the Pendragon sightings, but only a few were able to act in time, and none to any desirable effect. One after another, the missiles rained down upon the targets, moving in regardless of whatever countermeasures were deployed against them or whatever evasions were executed. All culminating into a line of explosions that dotted across the air, close enough for those within Pendragon itself to pick up on them and the resulting thunder in spite of the distance.
Mere seconds later, the skies west of the Imperial Capital were clear once again.
Pendragon, Grand Duchy of Pennsylvania, Area 1 (North America), Britannian Empire
"What the…!?" Gino shouted as he saw the explosions play out on his side monitor. After he made it to a clearing, he turned his machine around and deployed the shoulder mounted factspheres to scan for data. Looking at his sensor readout, his blood ran cold from the dawning realization. "The reinforcements were wiped out!? That easily!?"
"Where the hell did those missiles come from!?" Gino heard from close by over the radio. Looking back, he saw a group of Sutherlands that had also stopped to look toward the explosions. "Do they have a submarine out there too!?"
"They're monsters…!" another one let out, making Gino grit his teeth at what he was hearing.
"Don't let up!" Gino barked over the radio in what he called his "Knight of Three voice", making the Sutherland pilots all unanimously recoil. "We haven't lost this battle yet! Reinforcements are still coming, just keep the enemy at bay long enough until they arrive!"
Before any of the Sutherlands could respond to that, a sudden rain of machinegun and rocket fire slammed into three of their number and destroyed them. The rest broke in formation as the attacking enemy unit charged at them, an example Gino took to heart as he evaded their fire, all the while he returned it with his own machineguns. Damn they're fast at taking the offensive…!
"Charge!" he almost roared over the radio as he shot back at the enemy knightmares. The call did not go unnoticed, as the aforementioned Sutherlands and several others formed up around the Elyan, adding their own firepower into the mix. Gino couldn't help but inwardly grin at that; he may not have been as much of a leader as Lelouch, but he still knew how to take charge when necessary. After all, he was the Knight of Three.
Deciding he wanted to make his own big show as a response for that last attack, Gino launched his slash harkens into two of the enemy machines, who immediately detonated from their Ygghdrasil drives being pierced and destabilized. Then, in a surprising motion, he twisted the Elyan around and actually had it ram its head into one of the enemy machines, knocking it off balance. Then finishing it off by firing his machine guns point blank into its exposed center, Gino sped away as the enemy unit exploded.
Seemingly incensed by the Knight of Three's flamboyancy, four more enemy knightmares came racing toward his position now. Seeing this, Gino drew the Elyan's lances, quickly joining them together as one of his opponents charged at him with a chain sword. He managed to hold that one off from doing any damage, but its comrades encircled him with their own swords drawn, and soon enough a four-on-one melee erupted between them, with Gino skillfully holding back his assailants with a combination of twirls, parries and slashes with the lance.
After several moments of simultaneously holding four knightmares at bay, Gino finally took action. He spun around in a full one hundred eighty degrees and beheaded two of his opponents as well as slicing into their torsos, before knocking them away with a kick and a pole slap. For the third, he performed a flip that landed one of the lance blades straight down the middle, creating a large gash that immediately caused the enemy knightmare to detonate. And then came the fourth, who attempted to overwhelm Gino with a flurry of attacks at nearly every angle possible. In the middle of that, Gino also kicked that one away, and then launched his slash harkens once more. One dual impalement later, and the enemy machine crumpled into inactivity, its cockpit block ejecting.
Meanwhile, the Sutherland squad quickly chased away the other enemy knightmares, thus buying a small pause between the fighting for Gino. In that pause, a sudden realization entered the Knight of Three's mind. They don't have enough troops to occupy Pendragon, but if they wanted to destroy it they would have done it with a bombardment… Just what are they trying to accomplish here?
Just then, Gino's sensors tracked two more enemy knightmares charging towards him at high speeds from behind. As the first machine reached melee range, it attempted to grasp the Elyan's cockpit with its claw arm. However, the Knight of Three was faster in his defense, using the lance to knock the arm off of its course and then twisting around the enemy unit as it shot by. When its partner came to support, Gino did the same thing, except spinning the lance once to use the opposite blade for the job.
Their attack failed, the enemy knightmares came to an abrupt stop and twisted around to face the Elyan again. Immediately, Gino took notice of their red armor and smirked. He had been hoping to fight these particular knightmares again, even if neither of them were the one that had given Lelouch such a hard time. He could search for that one later, after he was done with these two.
Acting in cohesion, the pair of enemy machines then charged at him in a crossing pattern. The first of them, rather than engage him up close as originally thought, leveled its claw out and fired off a machine gun like burst of energy bolts. Gino evaded to the left and launched his right slash harken, forcing the enemy machine to also dodge. Its partner then launched itself at him with its knife set to strike, but again Gino had managed to bring up his lance in time to deflect it. The Knight of Three then spun the lance to force the knife away and smash the pole into the enemy knightmare's side, sending it spinning away. At that point the first one had rejoined the fight, drawing its own strangely designed knife and unleashing a five slash combo that Gino had to strain himself to deflect. Something about his enemy's fluidic movement struck another chime with Gino's memory, just like in Libya.
Where have I seen this fighting style before!? Gino railed as he deflected his adversary's attacks with the same skill that made worth of being a Knight of the Round. Then his opponent brought down its claw for an overhead attack, trying to grasp the Elyan's head. Gino moved back and dodged to the left, letting the claw latch harmlessly onto the air. He then tried to counterattack by slashing his opponent's arms off with his lance, but the enemy pilot corrected its stroke in time to bring a rising swipe that deflected Gino's strike easily.
At that point the second unit rejoined the fight, moving for a horizontal slash. Much to his disappointment Gino imagined, the Elyan simply leaped up, launching its harkens into both knightmares. The first one managed to evade the attack entirely, but the second one barely managed to escape, its left arm and shoulder torn away with its knife still in hand.
Now that's what I call disarmed! Gino thought with a laugh. However, the fight was still not yet won, as the first opponent had changed its course to shoot after him again. Gino narrowly evaded it upon landing, and then attempted to repeat his earlier trick and tackle the enemy machine, but his opponent was quick enough to jump out of the way. Upon that, his second adversary came charging at his back, from which it launched a scarlet energy beam at his cockpit. The Knight of Three leaped back just as the beam flew past, and a moment later the knightmare itself. Now he was the one behind, something he was about to take advantage of.
Before he could move in however, the second machine produced a sudden burst of speed and turned directly around. It then attempted to again grasp the Elyan with its claw, but the pilot was too incensed with rage and Gino was too skilled not to exploit it. Not even bothering to parry the attack, Gino simply banked the Elyan back and forth, each grabbing attempt passing by mere meters but still not landing.
From there, he brought about the lance, Gino thrust one blade forward to hold back the second machine's claw, then angled the other blade to do the same with the first; both of which managed to hold back the blades by projecting red energy shields from their claw tips. For a few seconds, he held both machines at bay using only the Elyan's sheer strength, before he decided it was time to finish one off, specifically the one with the rookie pilot.
Thus he spun the lance to break his hold on the two of them, and then followed up with a kick that sent the first machine flying back. With that one momentarily out of the way, Gino went to work on the second. He started by slicing off its claw arm, then the chest mounted slash harken it fired to force him back. Then he proceeded to cut off the enemy knightmare's head in one swoop of the lance, before knocking it over with the flat of his blade, forcing it off balance and into a kneel. Then, switching over to his left needle blazer, he made his final run.
Then, without warning, the enemy pilot - apparently a young woman - cried out in one last act of defiance. "REMEMBER JAPAN!"
Though Gino continued with his attack, those two words were enough to freeze his heart like a drop of water in a blizzard and cast a feeling of dawning revelation upon him. What…?
Before the specialized weapon could even penetrate the metal of the cockpit canopy, the first machine dove in and shoved its comrade aside before intercepting the needle blazer with its claw, generating its energy shield. Rather than force any more attacks, it focused its strength on keeping the needle blazer in place, while Gino actually hesitated in triggering it. Before the Knight of Three could react, he heard the other pilot's voice on his radio, his proximity to the enemy machine being enough that he could pick up on its frequency.
"Rei Four, there's nothing else you can do here. Return to the Izumo!" another female voice signaled off to its comrade.
His heart becoming even more frozen over, Gino realized that he actually recognized this voice, just like he had the machine's fighting style. "Is that…?" he muttered in disbelief.
Apparently complying with the command, the second machine turned around and shot off towards the east. Likely to return to the enemy mothership, wherever it was waiting.
When the second knightmare was out of visual range, the other pilot spoke up again. Her tone was one of disappointment and regret. "It's a shame we have to meet again under these circumstances. I really mean that."
At that, Gino reversed, giving the enemy machine some distance. Then he stopped, making the Elyan and the opposing knightmare face each other directly.
"Is that you…?" Gino spoke again, inwardly wondering if he really was seeing a ghost. "…Charmelle?"
A video image appeared on his main monitor, displaying a young clearly Britannian woman with short red hair and equally red eyes, dressed in a crimson colored pilot suit of some kind. She stared back at him with an apologetic expression. "It's been a while, hasn't it Gino?"
Aries Palace
Pendragon, Grand Duchy of Pennsylvania, Area 1 (North America), Britannian Empire
By this point, Kallen could feel her body begin to give out on her from the large amount of damage it had taken in the course of the fight. Even as she dodged Suzaku's latest attack and then countered with her own kick, she felt her vision blur and her strength weaken. Suzaku had apparently noticed as well, as he reached up and grabbed her leg right before the kick landed, then began to apply pressure with his fingers like he had done before to her neck. Kallen gritted her teeth as the five individual digits pressed into her gastrocnemius with the force of steel, threatening to puncture her skin and rip through the muscle directly. Knowing Suzaku was more than capable of doing that, but less than able to hold himself back from doing permanent damage, the Guren pilot put all of her remaining strength into her opposite leg and twisted in Suzaku's grip to smash it against the other side of his face.
Apparently this attack managed to get through, as Suzaku abandoned his grip, whether out of shock or out of pain Kallen did not know. She landed on the floor in a heap as Suzaku stepped back a few feet to regain his lost composure, rubbing his hand against his bruised cheek, but otherwise not letting out any sounds. Kallen wanted to take the offensive again, but her right leg, the one that her opponent had nearly crushed, wouldn't stand no matter how much she commanded it to. She then tried to stand on her left leg, but she couldn't balance herself, thus leaving her helpless while the White Knight of Britannia started to walk back toward her to finish her off.
Think Kallen! See an opening, something to exploit! her mind beseeched her while her mouth was busy drawing and expelling air at a heightened rate. However, as sharp as her eyes were, even they couldn't find an area or form of movement that she could take advantage of. Not that it would have mattered if her legs wouldn't let her stand up again.
And then suddenly, Suzaku stopped in his tracks. He was close enough to launch another attack if he wanted, but not looming over her like Kallen thought he would be.
"You're as strong as ever, Kallen…" his voice muttered, though it sounded strained for some reason, almost as if its owner were expelling a large amount of energy to hold something back. "…but even you cannot defeat Geass with your strength alone."
Just from his voice, Kallen realized what was happening: Suzaku was fighting to keep the Geass command to "Live" from controlling him, if only momentarily. For some reason that made her smirk a little bit. "So you're not a mindless zombie after all."
"For the last eight years, this curse has kept me from dying, no matter how much I wanted it." Suzaku said, the glowing rings around his eyes fading in and out as he did. "In that time, I have learned to hold it back, if only a little. I can do this just for a few moments, but that's enough time for you to surrender."
"Who said I wanted to surrender?" Kallen replied pointedly, quite far from giving up the fight in spite of her position.
That time Suzaku visibly cringed as he continued to battle the unnatural force of Geass. He also spoke more evenly now. "Please, Kallen… If you surrender, I will no longer recognize you as a threat to my life and will regain control over myself. I know you don't want to, but at least you will not lose your life to this horrid power."
In response to that ultimatum, Kallen laughed defiantly, which only served to surprise Suzaku. This was exactly the opening she needed. "It's ironic. The power that you despise with your entirety is the same power that gives you such strength. You're even more of a hypocrite than I took you for."
"Don't joke Kallen!" Suzaku barked, and then cringed once more. "…I don't know how long I can hold myself back…"
"I however, do not see that kind of power as a curse, but as a gift to be appreciated and utilized." Kallen spoke with true seriousness.
Before Suzaku could ask what she was talking about, Kallen looked up to him, and he could only stare as her left eye turned a glowing shade of red, while a familiar winged sigil prominently formed upon her iris. Upon the sight of that, and Kallen rising up to charge at him once more, the command to "Live" regained control of Suzaku's mind and made him raise his arms to attack.
Unfortunately for Suzaku, there was no way for him to prepare for what was to happen next. Almost as if the sun had risen after a long night, Kallen could now "see" everything that was happening around her. In the surrounding city, she "saw" as Gekkas battled Sutherlands and Gloucesters while Tohdoh's Zangetsu fought against what she guessed was Cornelia's knightmare and the four Knights of the Round waged carnage around them as they flew through the melee. As well, she could "see" the panic that had taken hold over the city, as the Britannians hid in whatever shelter they could find on short notice, wondering just how anyone could manage to attack their city. And above all else, she could "see" the way that she would defeat Suzaku, even when his "curse" had been activated.
The same supernatural vision that told her what happening around her also was telling her what was happening within the enemy in front of her. She could "see" Suzaku's heart beating away in his chest at a tempo much higher than normal thanks to the surge of adrenaline, so that the increased blood flow would transfer energy around his body faster. As well, she could "see" the abrasion of the bones in his right arm, along with the expansion and contraction of the surrounding muscles as he prepared to deliver a punch. And finally, she could "see" as his throat muscles and lungs expanded as Suzaku drew in his breath; from there he would exhale just as he executed his attack. Through all of these things, Kallen saw Suzaku's state of mind, where and how he was going to attack, and the elapsed time before he would launch his attack.
Thus, as far as Kallen was concerned, her opponent might as well have been moving in slow motion.
Just as Suzaku launched a punch intended to smash into the area between Kallen's eyes, the Guren pilot banked her head and evaded the punch completely; it was close, but she did so with great ease. She did the same with the follow up punch and then ducked under his next attack, a spin kick. In the process of that evasion, she flicked her right arm out and drew the syringe into her palm like a hidden blade. As Suzaku was in the process of recovering from the kick, she darted around him and jammed the needle into his jugular vein.
Suddenly feeling limp as the tranquilizer began to surge through his blood stream, Suzaku lost his balance and fell to his knees before finally collapsing onto the floor. The "Live" command was still active and trying desperately to make him stand back up, but he had no way to act upon it when his body was failing him. The only thing he could do was take the now empty syringe and throw it away, causing it to shatter into a million pieces when it hit the ground.
When he saw Kallen's bare feet come in front of his blackening view, he mustered the energy to look up to her face. There he saw her staring down at him with a hardened glance, both from her natural blue right eye and her unnatural glowing red left eye. Even as the darkness settled in, the sigil upon her left ocular organ shown as bright as a star, as if to visually display the fullest amount of power.
"…Ge…Geass…" he managed to mutter as his face degenerated into a mixture of anger and disgust. Even his voice had become little more than minute.
"That's right, the Power of the Queen. The Power of Absolute Awareness." Kallen summarized as she continued to look down at him, both literally and hypothetically. "The power I accepted to avenge Japan and bring justice upon this unjust world. Both of which you should have done yourself, a long time ago."
And then, at long last, Suzaku slumped forward against the ground, unconsciousness taking over completely. Kneeling one last time, Kallen reached her hand against his carotid artery, and nodded in satisfaction when she still felt his pulse.
"I could easily kill you now and end everything while your so-called 'curse' is inactive." Kallen whispered down to Suzaku while her Geass faded out, returning her eye to its normal blue color. "I want to, and I know you would want me to, but Lelouch wouldn't want you to die, and it's his word that matters the most."
She then got back up and turned around. But before she took off down the hallway toward the hangar, she spoke one last thing to the unconcious form of Suzaku Kururugi.
"Be grateful for that fact."
With her enemy's hyena like laughter echoing from her radio, Nagisa Chiba banked to the side as the charging Maleagant launched its shield-mounted vice claw, just missing her Gekka by mere meters. However, while she was able to dodge, one of her comrades was not so lucky, and the Maleagant's claw tore through the frame as though it were armored in paper. Chiba gritted her teeth at how the Vampire managed to kill one of her own when she had dodged.
This bastard's far better than I took him for. Chiba thought with dismay. Originally she had thought of Luciano Bradley as little more than a sadist whose talents were little more than brutality toward Britannia's enemies. However, as she had just learned, he was indeed a sadist and a brute, but he also had great skill in a knightmare frame too.
"I dare say this hunt is turning into a bore at best…" Luciano sighed with disapproval, as he turned around and fired off his hip mounted slash harkens. Chiba managed to dodge, but again the Vampire's attack still claimed another at her side. "Surely there is at least one decent prey among you lot!"
"All of you disengage, you'll only get yourselves killed!" Chiba commanded to the other Gekkas as she narrowly avoided another vice claw shot.
"What about you Seiken Four?" one of the pilots replied, voice filled with grave concern.
"Don't worry about me," was all Chiba replied with. Not even bothering to see if her comrades were moving away or not, she quickly set to work on ridding the world of Luciano Bradley.
Deciding she had enough dodging attacks and not enough making her own, Chiba charged head long at the Maleagant, her katen yaibatou raised to strike. While she managed to get in close, Luciano was just as quick to parry and deflect her strikes with his right hand-held maser vibration katar and left forearm shield Blaze Luminous respectively. All before knocking the blade away so that he could lunge at the mono-eyed knightmare, the Maleagant's blood red cape billowing as it moved.
Fortunately, Chiba saw it coming and just managed to parry, repelling the katar in turn. Upon seeing the latter weapon grind across the edge of her chainsword, the Holy Sword made a note to herself to kiss Rakshata the next time she saw her. But before she could even think about fulfilling that agenda, she had to survive the fight, and thus she pulled back a little so that she could fire a barrage from her handgun at the Knight of Ten.
"This one actually has some fight in it!" Luciano howled with intrigue while he evaded the bulk of the gunfire with practiced agility.
"More than you'll ever realize, you damned vampire!" Chiba growled over the radio, seething at how the Vampire of Britannia was making light of her attacks.
"Oh? So my opponent is a woman…" Luciano acknowledged with some surprise. At that, while he was still in the middle of a maneuver, he again launched his vice claw at the Gekka, making Chiba evade once more.
From there, Bradley had the Maleagant launch forward at a speed that even put Chiba's fine-tuned Gekka to shame and brought down his katar against her blade once more. The chainblade held, but the oscillating kinetic energy of the claws were taking a heavy toll, making a high pitched grinding sound like that of a dental instrument in the process. All this was happening as Chiba could only stare into the Britannian machine's vehement blood red eyes.
"You appear to have some potential, so I'll make a deal with you. Surrender and I'll take you as my bride," Luciano spoke over the radio, his voice filled with a bloodlust that made his moniker frightfully literal. "What do you say? Doesn't that sound like an attractive offer?"
Chiba sneered with hate and disgust at her enemy's "offer". "Sorry, I'll only settle for your head!"
Wanting to catch him off guard, Chiba pushed her Gekka forward, shoving the Maleagant away with great force. She then switched her weapons control over to her rockets and fired one directly at the enemy machine.
But then, once more at a speed that should have been impossible even for a seventh generation knightmare frame, the Maleagant actually reached up with its left hand and grabbed the rocket in midair. Its hand enclosed around the midsection, thus keeping its radiation warhead from activating, and though it was still generating propulsion, it did not move any further to its target. Chiba audibly gasped at the sight of this, and realized just what she was facing off against.
Luciano for his part just snickered at the whole display, while crushing the rocket between the Maleagant's fingers and throwing it aside like an empty can. "It appears you lack proper manners, especially in front of your betters. Very well, I will simply force you to submit!"
And then he launched himself again, this time putting all the power the Maleagant could muster into its landspinners. Chiba fired off her handgun once more, but the unusual knightmare side-slipped to the left and evaded while subsequently moving in for the kill. Knowing that the edge would not hold off her opponent's blades forever, Chiba made an upward slash with her chain sword that knocked katar off course, allowing her to escape before they could so much as graze her. She then attempted to bring her left arm up so that she could fire directly into the Maleagant's exposed torso, but Luciano easily dodged this as well. Chiba fired regardless, forcing the Maleagant back some distance off, to which it then banked away so fast it almost look like a grey and red colored blur. The enemy machine then quite literally began to run circles around her, banking in one direction after the other as Chiba helplessly fired at it.
It was quite obvious he was toying with her now. He even occasionally fired off a harken or two just to keep her further on edge. While the Knight of the Round was obviously moving too fast to properly aim his own shots, they were enough to force Chiba to move some small distance to keep them from hitting.
Then without warning, the Knight of Ten stopped his encirclement and lunged at her directly. Once more he brought his katar and vice claw about to slash and tear, but Chiba narrowly deflected his first attack with her chain sword, and then the second, and then the third. For the rest she banked and dodged, avoiding the blade and claw, but being unable to counterattack.
"Is that all you've got, wench!?" she heard the Knight of Ten roar over her knightmare's radio, now entirely in a frenzy. "More, more! I demand MORE!"
"Shut up!" Chiba snapped, her own aggression rising against the Knight of Ten's ecstasy.
Finally seeing an opportunity after the Vampire's latest slash, Chiba drove her Gekka to lunge at the Maleagant with her chain sword. At least that was what she made it appear as. Just as the enemy knightmare raised its arm to deflect with its shield, which she knew it would, she reversed and circled. Right as Luciano realized it was a feint, she was well around him, from which she descended, her blade ready to impale the exposed cockpit block…
And then suddenly, well before Chiba could see what had happened, the Maleagant reversed as well, her sword cleaving into the air. From that, it too circled around and charged again, slashing off her machine's right arm at the elbow, which was still clutching the sword. Chiba's eyes widened in pure horror as she realized her best chance at killing the Knight of Ten was now literally out of reach.
But the Vampire was not done yet. Just as Chiba raised her opposite arm to fire the remains of her handgun's ammunition, the Maleagant lopped that off as well. The Holy Sword then tried to move back so that she could fire her slash harken, but the Knight of Ten sped right up to her before she could make any significant distance. At that point, knowing that death was imminent, Chiba relented and engaged the ejection system.
No sooner than her cockpit pod had rocketed away did the Maleagant slam its maser vibration enhanced vice claw into the center of the Gekka, ripping and tearing it apart straight from the center. However, this proved to be of little obstruction to the Knight of Ten, as the Maleagant easily drove through the wreckage and came upon Chiba's now defenseless cockpit pod as it landed.
"Question, what do people value the most?" Luciano rang out as the cockpit pod's monitors were filled with the Maleagant's impassive T-visor and flaring red eyes. Sensing that his opponent was too taken back by shock and fear to respond, the Knight of Ten was quick to answer his own question. "That's right, life! The very same essence that drives you to fight is also the essence that causes you to quake with fear at the potential of losing!"
Chiba looked around to see if any friendly units were incoming. However, as the main sensor unit of any knightmare was normally mounted in the head, her radar's range was severely limited. As such, there was no way to know if help was coming. General…
"Oh but don't worry," Luciano said as he replaced his katar and took hold of the pod, Chiba feeling the metal shutter against the Maleagant's hand manipulators as it lifted it off the ground. "I promise that you will not die. At least, not for a while…!"
"Funny, because you won't live for much longer!" a new, rough toned female voice interrupted over an open channel.
And just like that, Chiba's help came in the form of four Guren Isshikis. Zero Squadron had arrived.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the Holy Sword pilot could only watch as the Maleagant abandoned its hold on the cockpit pod in order to dodge two radiant wave beam attacks. It fired back at the four newcomers with its three harkens, but in a synchronized beat they danced across the ground and moved against the Maleagant with killer intent. Though much like Chiba's Gekka, the four had little hope in keeping up with the Knight of Ten's high mobility customized knightmare, their number and combined skill surely would make up the difference.
Then one of the Gurens, which the IFF callsigned as Rei Seven, broke off and moved to pick up Chiba's cockpit pod while the other three chased the Maleagant like wolves. Upon taking hold, its pilot opened a channel, with the video window displaying a fairly lanky looking Japanese man clad in one of the units' crimson pilot suits, with slicked black hair and tan skin. "Sorry for the wait Seiken Four. We came as fast as we could."
Chiba was relieved, but she forced her face to remain stern. "I don't remember asking for your aid, Lieutenant…"
"Susumu Gotoda at your service," the Zero Squadron pilot finished for her with some amusement, though at what Chiba didn't know. "And no you didn't. We came under orders from Colonel Asahina."
"What?" Chiba demanded. "Then who's fighting the other Knights of the Round?"
Susumu looked up as if to remember that, all the while a Hayabusa descended from above. Thereby allowing the Guren its flight back to the Izumo with its cargo. "Well, 1st and 3rd Squadrons are fighting it out against the Hector, while Colonel Senba is leading 2nd Squadron and a few others against the Bedivere. As for the Elyan, Rei Three is handling it. Additional Britannian reinforcements haven't arrived yet either."
Feeling some relief in that, Chiba sighed visibly, now resigned to leaving the battle early. At least she lived to fight another day. "Very well, but wouldn't you be better off aiding your squadmates against Bradley?"
"Oh, I think those three will be more than enough to handle that monster." Susumu smiled.
"What makes you believe that?" Chiba wondered, visibly showing she was missing what the other pilot was referring to.
Susumu's voice took on a more disturbing tone at that. "Because to hunt a monster, one must send even bigger monsters. And there's none bigger than we in Zero Squadron…"
Aries Palace Hangar
Pendragon, Grand Duchy of Pennsylvania, Area 1 (North America), Britannian Empire
Knowing that every possible second was not to be wasted, Kallen raced down the hallway until she finally came across a pair of metal doors, immediately knowing that her destination was on the other side. Finally…
Tapping on the control pad at the side, she was happy to learn that the door was unlocked, likely due to Sayoko's efforts. So without any obstacles to obstruct her, Kallen had the doors slide open, thus allowing her to enter into the hangar. Inside, her eyes immediately found the Mordred, the black and gold knightmare standing in the middle of the bay like a great statue. Even though it was inactive, Kallen had to admit that it was a very dynamic machine; not as much as her Guren of course, but still something to marvel at, in spite of the fact it was originally created to serve Britannia. From there it was only a matter of running down a catwalk or two in order to get to the obsidian knightmare's cockpit area.
But then once she arrived at the cockpit, Kallen found something she wasn't expecting: Lelouch's still unconscious form, laying across the metal floor just next to his machine. The Black Knight raised an eyebrow at that. Why didn't Sayoko put him inside…?
Only a few seconds later did she realize the reason. Moving around Lelouch, she came up to the cockpit and pressed the hatch release. When the back canopy opened and the seat extended, Kallen sighed. "Right, there's only real room for one."
Indeed, the even the cockpit had been completely cloned from the Lancelot, leaving only a small but quite ornately decorated space for the devicer to sit and control the frame. Kallen didn't know why she had expected anything different. Other than her thinking Lelouch's status as a prince would have affored him something roomier of course.
Kallen looked at the open cockpit and extended pilot chair, and then at Lelouch, just as another explosion sounded in the background. It was obvious what she had to do. "You better not wake up…" she muttered at the unconscious prince.
Hoisting her captive into her arms like a baby, she then placed herself into the chair. After that, she had it retract while the hatch closed behind her, all the while situating Lelouch on her lap, making him lay against her without getting in the way of her arms or eyes. It was a difficult and very tight fit, but after a bit of movement, Kallen managed to get him into a position where he wouldn't obstruct her, though it required that his back be pressed against her breasts. She managed to ignore it, somehow.
Fortunately, it took even less time for her to start up the Mordred, as Sayoko had taken the time to slip the activation key into its slot, and Kallen was able to figure out the control setup rather quickly. After going through all the pre-sortie checks, she quickly engaged the landspinners and had the titan charge out of the hangar.
"You're skilled as ever, Gilbert!" Alfred shouted as he parried twin slashes from Gilbert's MVS. He then forced him back with a counter slash. "But there's no way you can beat me in that antique!"
Gilbert was too busy trying to stay alive to reply, but the point was still made. Whatever Alfred's machine was, it was far superior in performance to his Gloucester, and that fact had been apparent throughout their fight. While Alfred's knightmare was relatively undamaged, massive bits and pieces were missing from Gilbert's violet colored machine. It was still largely intact, but there were cuts all across the torso, its left shoulder pauldron had been slice off at the end and the center factsphere sensor was non-functional thanks to a diagonal cut that all but decapitated the Britannian machine. And now it looked like the Yggdrasil drive had taken a hit, because the Gloucester was now losing power at an accelerated rate.
I have to end this now, before he kills me. Gilbert thought, as his eyes were switching between his center monitor and his diagnostics readout. The damage was mounting too quickly, and he had yet to score a significant blow.
Trying to buy some distance, the Gloucester launched its slash harkens once more at Alfred's Guren. Alfred mentally sighed at that; it meant his opponent was getting desperate, and it also didn't help that he had piloted a Gloucester before and knew the exact flight velocity of those harkens. Thus he banked to the side to avoid both while also bringing up his Ryogo Otsugata Tozantou to cut each of them down the center, right before he charged once more.
That's when Gilbert did something that even Alfred didn't expect. Having replaced the left MVS while Alfred had evaded the harkens, the Gloucester drew its machine gun back out and opened up with a burst. By instinct Alfred banked around the bullets, which allowed Gilbert to dodge to the left and try to catch him at his side with his MVS. Gilbert slashed and Alfred parried, but before he could attack again, Gilbert leveled his machine gun and forced Alfred to evade. By the time Alfred fired back with his Guren's radiant wave surger, the Gloucester was on the move again.
The Black Knight groaned as he stitched fire at the Gloucester, his target moving too fast for him to get a proper bead on it. The Gloucester in turn continued to pepper him with its machine gun, forcing Alfred to keep on the move as well, which was also a factor toward his inability to line up a shot. And then with the suddenness of a lightning strike, the Gloucester's vector changed, as it now was charging directly at the Guren. It continued to fire its assault rifle as it did this, both bullets and grenades, all keeping Alfred on the defensive. This lasted until it apparently ran out of ammo, because Gilbert ended up throwing the weapon away just as he was up in front of the Guren.
Now with little room to maneuver, Gilbert returned to his attack at making light slashes, forcing Alfred to parry with his fork knife, before backing away and moving around to one of his sides to repeat the process. Alfred knew what Gilbert was trying to do, keeping him on the ropes until at some point he would move in for the kill. However, he had no way of reversing it, not when he was on the constant defensive. All he could do wait and recognize when the killing blow was coming and strike back.
My friend, you have been around Cornelia for far too long. Alfred thought amidst his seemingly infinite parrying and dodging, remembering that a full offense was one of Cornelia's favorite strategies. Normally the Witch of Britannia carried it out with effectiveness, but as skilled as he was, Gilbert was simply not on his mistress' level.
And sure enough, just as Gilbert smacked away the knife, did Alfred see him line up to deliver the final cut, in the form of a two handed downward slash that would split the Guren's torso. Alfred would have smiled at how obvious it was, had he not been preoccupied with keeping that attack from hitting. Whereas Gilbert had made sure that the knife was well out of reach for deflecting the sword, what he had forgotten was the Guren's opposite arm, the one that held his knightmare's main weapon. Thus Alfred could almost see the surprise dawn on Gilbert's face when he brought the left arm up and smashed the claw manipulator into the Gloucester's torso, causing the enemy knightmare to freeze in its attack.
Alfred smiled vehemently as Gilbert also realized what he was about to say. "You lose this round, Gilbert!"
And with that, Alfred engaged his surger and watched as the Gloucester boiled over, but not before Gilbert ejected the cockpit. Alfred then flew back just as the violet colored knightmare exploded in a great multicolored flash, one amidst the many other "fireworks" that had been lit around Pendragon that night. And while Alfred wasn't sure what happened to the cockpit block, he was sure that this wouldn't be the last time he would see of Gilbert Guilford, much less the last time he would fight the Spearhead of the Empire.
But Alfred had no time to celebrate. All of a sudden his sensors were picking up a new arrival from his right: the ornate black and gold form of the knightmare frame Mordred.
"Holy…!" Alfred let out as the Lancelot's twin came speeding up to meet him. But before he could attack it, or find a way to without getting shot or slashed, his radio picked up a new transmission.
"Rei Leader to Rei Two, don't attack! It's me!" the voice of Kallen Kouzuki spoke through Alfred's radio, sound only.
Alfred became visibly relieved as he realized it was his commander at the Mordred's controls instead of the Black Prince. "Damn it Lead, don't scare me like that! I almost did something I would have regretted later."
Kallen let out a small laugh, the Mordred's ruby camera eyes seemingly gleaming as she did. "I can guarantee you wouldn't have won," she replied. "Contact Shogun One and inform him that my side of the mission is done, and then you can escort me back to the Izumo."
"You sure about that Major?" Alfred asked. For some reason he was sensing that something was amiss. "Don't you want to blow some Britannians away before you RTB?"
"Negative, I've dealt with enough Britannians for one night," Kallen replied, sounding almost entirely spent in her tone. "Make the call, Rei Two."
Alfred could only wonder why his commander was behaving so strangely, as he would have figured the Red Dragoness would have wanted a piece of the action before they returned. But regardless, he didn't say anything else about it, instead dropping into formation with the Mordred as both drove east, as well as establishing a transmission with General Tohdoh's Zangetsu.
"…Acknowledged Rei Two. Over." Tohdoh replied and signed off just as quickly. He had to fight himself hard, even in the midst of his duel with Cornelia, to suppress a grin. The Black Knights were once more in possession of their Black King. Now everything is left on Miss C.C.'s end…
But he was still in the middle of a battle, and thus he continued to dance his Zangetsu with Cornelia's Exeter in their twisted waltz. Cornelia fired more VARIS rounds at him, and Tohdoh evaded them in systematic fashion. He then pressed the attack and drew forward, bringing down the seidotou in a fierce slash that at long last cleaved the Exeter's VARIS in two. This forced Cornelia to fall back to her swords once more, and she was not at all pleased about that. "Damn you…!"
"Get in line," Tohdoh replied with an off comment. He hated to admit it, but in spite of his earlier remarks to her, the Witch of Britannia was still a skilled warrior, to the point that he had not been able to do any major damage to her for the entire battle. It was a shame that he wouldn't be able to kill her, but at least he gave her a very hard run.
After he parried another slash, Tohdoh fired his remaining radiant wave rocket after his opponent. The Exeter naturally dodged the projectile, which Tohdoh anticipated, as the attack was meant to buy him a large amount of distance so he could make the following call. "Shogun One to Hebi One, sitrep. Is your mission complete?"
The voice of a hurried Shinichiro Tamaki soon filled the radio. "Ah, yeah Shogun One! Kento-sorry, Tengu One and I just blew Bedlam and the crazies are already running around. Mission is definitely accomplished on our end!"
Now Tohdoh allowed himself to smirk. Besides being part of their public deception toward liberating Zero, Britannian authorities would be occupied for hours or perhaps days tracking down all of the escaped patients from the now non-existent New Bethlem Imperial Hospital, thus plunging the city into even deeper chaos. Perhaps even longer than that, given the parting gift the Black Knights had in store for their former "masters".
"Acknowledged Hebi One. Good work," Tohdoh replied, and then signed off once more with the finality of an executioner. While this whole operation wasn't quite enough to satisfy Tohdoh's desire of vengeance for Japan's destruction, it would hold him for the time being. Besides, once Zero had fully returned there would only be more opportunities later.
Thus, he switched channels to the Black Knights' broad frequency to issue his final orders. "Shogun One to all units, mission complete! I repeat, mission complete! All units disengage and prepare to return. Izumo, you may launch Hayabusas and Gefjun barrage on my mark."
One after another, the various Gekkas carried out their orders and disengaged from their individual battles, turning around and moving toward the east, where the returning Hayabusas would extract them. Needless to say, Cornelia, the Knights of the Round, and all the other Britannians were quick to notice this. The princess herself gritted her teeth in fury as she watched the Black Knights simultaneously make a break for it.
"No, none of you are getting away! Not this time, Tohdoh!" she shouted as she looked around her. Already, several of her allies were in pursuit, but only her Exeter and the Knights of the Round machines would be able to keep up with their prey.
Tohdoh just grinned and replied with coolness, before he turned the Zangetsu around himself. "Sorry, but we win this round, and rest assured there will soon be more where that came from. Sayonara Majohime."
And with that he disembarked with the rest of his forces, just as the familiar avian-like transport VTOLs began to appear from the horizon. Cornelia tried to pursue him, but by then it was too late.
Moments later, a spray of special missiles fell from the sky and around the city, where they began generating Gefjun Waves. Though Gefjun technology had long been a staple of the Black Knights, these missiles were the latest of Rakshata's trademark creation, with many innovations having been implemented since the insurrection in Area 11. As such, the Britannian machines, including the knightmares of Cornelia and the Knights of the Round, were all greatly unprepared and undefended.
The last thing Tohdoh heard before all of the Britannian knightmares froze in their tracks and the lights in the city of Pendragon all went out at the same time, was the sound of Cornelia's enraged howl slowly dying away over his radio. His grin only grew in response as a Hayabusa swooped in and scooped the Zangetsu up, taking it back into the sky.
For the first time in eight years, the Black Knights had ridden into battle against Britannia, and their battle had ended only in victory.
Location Unknown
March 27th, 2025
Sitting upon his throne, V.V. could only sigh as he watched the monitor go from displaying the Black Knights' retreat to suddenly showing nothing but static. Though he no longer saw what was going on over the skies of Pendragon, he knew exactly what had happened when the screen turned to snow: the battle was over, and the Black Knights had recovered their long lost king.
"I told you Charles. I told you years ago that you should have killed Lelouch and wiped out the remaining Japanese when you had the chance," V.V. muttered. His face remained passive and his voice pleasant, but his mind was seething with displeasure. "And now it looks like you have a new mess to clean up."
"I suppose we now have no choice but to take proper measures?" the man standing next to him inquired. "Once Lelouch regains his memories and returns to being Zero, it is only certain that he will retake control of the Black Knights."
"That has already been surmised," V.V. replied to his confident. "But it will still be sometime before he will be able to track this place. For the moment we are safe."
"Safety can be quite fleeting, as I have learned from my military career. Besides, isn't this the reason you brought me into your order and gave me this power? In anticipation for such an event?" the man asked in turn.
V.V. nodded in acknowledgement. "Indeed it is."
"Then you should have no issue if I were to prepare our own forces for the coming battle," the man stated.
"I do not disagree with you. But are you sure you can handle Lelouch? After all, he is the reason why you suffered humiliation in Area 11… 'Orange'," V.V. replied knowingly.
Jeremiah Gottwald made no verbal reply to that name or claim. Instead, his single eye continued to scan the holographic feed without forward emotion. The orange half-mask he wore on his left side, on the other hand, reflected the surrounding light in a sort of twisted ferocity. As though betraying its bearer's intensity.
"I have learned from that humiliation," Jeremiah exclaimed. "And I am more than ready to settle the score, especially with my new power."
The former Purist's eye narrowed. "Your expectations will be more than satisfied, Grandmaster."
Atlantic Ocean
It was funny how in only a matter of minutes things went from hellish to silent. Gone were the sounds of flying shells and explosions, and in their place was the tranquil silence, with only the sounds of Kallen's own breathing and that of her "cargo's" being enough to fight its totality. Though she was still quiet anxious from all of the recent events, she allowed herself to be at ease for perhaps the first time since this all began and let the Mordred's Hayabusa fly her back to the Izumo. They were well over the Atlantic now, and the Gefjuns were still active over Pendragon, thereby all but eliminating enemy pursuit and allowing for a relatively smooth ride back to the ship.
Still sitting in her lap with his head against her shoulder, Lelouch remained asleep and sound, completely at peace and vulnerable to the world around him. Gazing upon his face, Kallen once again had to remark that very few things about him had changed since she last saw him at Kamine Island. His face still looked more like a sculpture's than that of a living, breathing human's, even with the scar across his left eye. As well, he was still remarkably thin, even though it felt like he had gained a few pounds of muscle while she had been carrying him. And above all else, when he wasn't leading the charge into battle or pretending to be a villain, he could still be counted off as 'innocent' to the world, which was why he blended in at Ashford Academy so well.
The more things change, the more they stay the same I guess. Kallen thought to herself, her attention moving back to the main monitor. There was still nothing but open sky ahead, although it looked as though there was also some amount of cloud cover, something of a rainstorm in the making. It was likely for that reason why Ohgi and the others had chosen to hide the Izumo in this particular area, even though it put them dangerously close to their target area, she surmised. Not that it mattered anymore, as the battle had been won and the Black Knights would have no need to remain in Britannia for any longer, and neither would the Britannians be able to pursue them with their capital reeling from the chaos. Overall, while there were some parts of the trip that Kallen had liked, she was quite willing to get the hell out of this evil land and back to her new home, as were the rest of her comrades she imagined.
"…Mother…" a sudden murmur broke Kallen's thoughts. At first alarmed, she looked back at Lelouch while mentally preparing for a potential fight, only to realize that he was still sleeping. She became visibly relieved at that fact; she already went through hell with Suzaku, and she had no desire to take on the new and combat improved Lelouch in this tight space.
"…Nunnally… why…?" he continued to murmur, his face quickly turning to one of sadness, like that of a little boy's even. A tear had even begun to well up from his left eye, and slowly but surely drifted down the crevasse of his scar.
Kallen only felt her heart sink when she saw this, remembering that it was because Lelouch had lost his mother and almost lost his sister that he was forced into exile, and eventually had taken up the mask of Zero. It was a kind of pain that she had known herself, many times; first when she had lost her brother Naoto, and then…
Without thinking any further, she softly reached a finger up to his face and wiped away the tear. From there, reached her arms around him to comfort him, with one hand keeping him against her body while the other stroked his raven black hair, almost lovingly. That seemed to content him, as his face softened deeply, once again taking that expression of purity that he had once held, before he was forced into the dark world he dwelled in and would again.
It pained Kallen to know that once his memory was restored, he would be forced to take up that black mask and become both a hero and a villain to the world. Even moreso when the face beneath the mask had once been that of an innocent boy, one who only wanted a world of peace for his beloved sister. Yes, that perhaps was amongst the vilest of crimes humanity could perform, even more so than the eradication of an entire population or the subjugation of a foreign land that held no hostility. The robbing of a child's innocence.
"Lelouch… I still don't understand whether I follow you as a product of Geass, or by my own will…" Kallen whispered once more in her softest voice to the sleeping form. "But regardless, you have me nonetheless, and I will help you carry whatever burden that is forced upon you."
She stroked his hair once more, before turning back to the controls. "You can rely on me to the end."
