AN:

DarkDremora: The reason they wanted to kill Euphie, was mainly so they could force everyone to stay, since they became aware of Suzaku possibly pulling out earlier if he saw things were a losing effort. They figured that if they made him angry enough, he'd stay long enough to be destroyed in the ensuing Chaos. As will be revealed this chapter (and was revealed last chapter, it was just subtle) there was a big drawback to the broadcast.

Chapter 107: The Moon's Illumination

"Die!" a Britannian devicer shouted while killing his comrade, "All of you must die!"

"Damn it! They've lost their minds!" Alfred Darlton proclaimed while killing two rogue Sutherlands, "We have to push them back!"

"No!" his adoptive father, Andreas Darlton put his foot down, "We must defend the Avalon! If they destroy it, our means of retreat will be cut off! Whatever you do, don't let them take the port!"

That's when the Lancelot Club landed next to him atop the warehouse roof, where their ship was stored, "E-Euphie… she's been-"

"Get her to the med bay!" Andreas cut him off, "We'll focus on the defense!"

Rai quickly led his Knightmare inside, and hoped out without taking the key. He retrieved the Princess and ran inside, where he was met by a shocked Lloyd and Cecile, who he ignored, barging his way into the medical area, "Bring her here!" their head medical officer ordered while patting a sterile metal bed.

The silver-haired Knight delicately placed Euphemia down, whose breath was growing weaker and weaker by the second, "Please… save her…" he said while holding back tears.

"Don't worry, I think you got her here in time." the officer responded, "We'll do what we can, you just get out there and-"

Suddenly, the Princess' hand shot out, tightly gripping the boy's arm, "N-no… Rai… please stay…" tears welled in her eyes as she said in a faint whisper, "I'm so scared… don't go…"

Rai returned the gesture by gripping her hand even tighter, "Don't worry, I won't go anywhere."

"Thank you…"

"That's right, Suzaku. Come here." Castor taunted while watching the Knight's fast approach, "So pathetic." he smirked just as his opponent got close, and flew behind him, surprising Suzaku with his speed.

"That thing's fast! There's no way I can catch it in a straight line. However… he's sticking around for some reason… perhaps I can use this to catch him off-" the Knight's eyes widened, before plastering a smirk on his face, "Oh. So you're here."

The Prince raised an eyebrow and turned around, only to narrowly dodge a hand aimed for his chest, "Crap! It's the red one!" he shouted while flying downward, only to get ambushed by Suzaku, who tried bisecting him with his MVS. Luckily, due to the Aquila's blade-wings, he was able to block the strike. But that's when he noticed the Guren closing in from behind, forcing him to narrowly escape, "Fight each other, you brutes!" he demanded in a panicked tone.

Kallen and Suzaku synchronized a spinning kick, sending Castor crashing into a temple. Though, once their common enemy disappeared, the two faced each other, "Get out of my way." the latter said while throwing out a punch, which the red head parried.

"I'm not in your way." Kallen threw a kick that the Knight dodged.

"Bunch of monkeys." Castor muttered as he shook the dust off his frame, "But this works, I'll just hide here until Lelouch comes out to play."

Overhead, the red head blocked a high kick, then a low kick, before spinning around to face Suzaku as he tried to attack from behind, "Why are you fighting me!?" she questioned while catching his MVS with her fork knife, "Don't you want to stay by Euphie's side?"

"Don't call her that!" the Knight shouted while kicking her away, "You don't have a right to refer to Euphie by that nickname."

"Oh? So you're gatekeeping it?" Kallen charged in, swinging her fork knife toward, forcing Suzaku to block. Though, the momentum carried both of them downward, crashing into the ground below, "You know girls don't like that kind of possessiveness, right?"

The two separated by backflipping away, only to charge into battle once more as soon as they completely recovered. Suzaku thrust his left MVS first, forcing Kallen to dodge right, while countering with her surger arm. Though, the Knight used his free hand to deflect it downward, causing the red head's main weapon to get stuck in the dirt. But that wouldn't stop the Guren, as it used this opportunity to lift itself up, and contort its body into a kicking motion, sending the Lancelot crashing through several buildings.

"Crap. I forgot how much of a stat upgrade the Flight-enabled version is to the Guren." Suzaku let out a breath, while checking his left, where a group of Chinese civilians cowered in fear, "Looks like Civilian casualties are going to skyrocket." he picked up his MVS and ordered, "Scram." which the crowd subsequently followed with screams, "Damn those twins. They didn't even bother initiating the battle in someplace vacant."

Out of nowhere, Kallen bursts through a building, attempting to take the Knight by surprise, forcing him to haphazardly use his float system to narrowly escape her surger. "Stay still!" she shouted while firing a beam out of her arm, which Suzaku easily sidestepped, and flew toward her again, this time landing a kick that sent her stumbling back.

The Lancelot and Guren leapt toward each other once more, clashing blades simultaneously while flying upward.

Lelouch maneuvered his Kagero through the street, bisecting a Gun Ru down the center in the process, while Clara and Rolo followed him in their Sougetsu, which were on-loan from Mario and Maya. "Tamaki! Keep moving!" he ordered while the man's truck swerved around a corner.

"I'm trying my best, but-" Tamaki desperately steered left, dodging a food stand, while nearly hitting a corner, "A box truck isn't exactly fast!"

Rolo spun his Naginata around before activating his Geass, freezing three rogue Sutherlands in place, before wiping them out in one strike, "Don't push too hard!" Clara warned, "It's not worth using on small fry like this!"

"I need to make a path!" Rolo argued, only for a strange Knightmare, resembling the Lancelot, leapt ahead of them.

"Not so fast, Zero!" the devicer, Guilford, ordered, "We won't let you leave here scot-free!"

"Damn. Don't you have anything better to do?" Lelouch retorted, while Rolo stepped forth.

"Let me take care of him." the former assassin said as he readied for battle.

"Let's see what this Vincent can do." Guilford pushed forth, clashing his MVS with the former assassin's Naginata. The two danced through the street, dealing strikes after each pass, while simultaneously searching for ways to one up the other.

Even so, the gap in skill was apparent, as Guilford got closer to striking vital points of the Sougetsu. To alleviate this, Rolo activated his Geass for a second – only a second. This threw off the Knights timing, sending him crashing into a building due to the carried momentum.

"Gotta keep moving!" Tamaki shouted while driving his truck between Rolo's legs. That's when two Gun Ru's drove across the main street, firing their weapons at each, sending themselves spiraling into a building. This distracted Rolo long enough for Guilford to get out, and disarm him of the Naginata. Then, the Knight pulled his sword back, trying to take off his opponent's head in one strike. But, the former assassin activated his Geass for a second, allowing him to duck the thrust as it sailed over his head, and counter with a strike to their chest.

"How is he moving so fast!?" Guilford exclaimed as his weapon disappeared, crashing into a building on his left. This was soon followed by a punch to his face, a knee to his chest, before finally being sent tumbling into a building with Rolo striking his back with clasp hands. Even so, as the Vincent was upside down, its elbows opened up as the needle blazer was activated, forcing Rolo to block at the last second using the Sougetsu's shield.

While the damage was minimized, he was still blown away by the sheer power of the attack, sending him crashing into another building, "If that hit me straight on…" he looked at the shield, which was bubbling at a rapid rate, forcing him to eject it, causing an explosion.

Meanwhile, Clara and Lelouch continued escorting the truck towards the outskirts of the city, driving past a group of dead civilians in the process, making the latter clench his controls in frustration, "No doubt they're gonna force us to take the fall here."

"Got it!" the pink-haired girl shouted, "I've gotten through to the Ikaruga!"

"Zero!" Naoto's voice suddenly echoed through Lelouch's cockpit, "That broadcast just now-"

"I know. We're in a lot of trouble right now, but we have the Empress and are moving toward the north escape point." the Prince responded while leaping over a Sutherland, and destroying it with a relentless barrage of bullets from writs cannons, "Though, we might need you to meet us in the middle."

"What about Kallen?"

"We've already discussed it, but she'll join us later alongside Mario, Maya, and the others."

"Got it. By the way, we don't have to worry too much about that broadcast. It wasn't as damning as you think."

"What?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow while taking a sharp turn, "Explain."

"The broadcast was only sent nationally! Meaning, only the Chinese Federation were the ones who heard it."

"That doesn't make any sense. Then what purpose does it serve-"

Suddenly, the Guren and Lancelot crashed through their path, cutting them off as the latter kicked its opponent to the floor, "Lelouch!" Suzaku shouted while taking out his VARIS, trying to obliterate the Prince in one shot.

However, the red head wasn't out yet, as she finally got a firm grasp on the Lancelot's head, "Die!" she shouted while activating her surger at full strength. Though, despite having a seemingly good grip, her hand was pushed off by the Knight Blaze Luminous Cone, which he activated seconds before she clamped down.

"That sure comes in handy." he mumbled while sending a kick into her chest, causing the Guren to tumble down the street.

"Damn it!" Tamaki put his truck in reverse and backed up as the Lancelot tackled the Kagero through a building, flying it toward the heart of the city.

"Change of plans! Naoto, I bring the Ikaruga toward the outskirts of the vermilion city!" Lelouch ordered while trying to break free, only to get dragged across the pavement, and thrown into a tower, sending shingles in multiple directions.

"Are you sure? What about getting shot down?"

"That won't happen." the Prince gazed upon the city in chaos before being tackled midair, and slammed into a building below, "The city's in maximum chaos. No one can mount a focused assault!"

Suzaku drew his MVS, trying to plunge it into Lelouch's cockpit. While the Kagero was ready to stop him with its slash harken, an unexpected savior came in and tackled the Lancelot, onto the main street. "Damn bird." the Knight muttered while kicking away Castor, who had a deranged smile, "Why don't you just keel over and die, freak?"

"Such cruel words. Are you sure that's what you want to be remembered by?" the Aquila charged the Lancelot once more, missing it with its initial pass, only managing to knock the MVS to the side.

Suzaku flew after the bird-like KMF and entered close range, where he sent out a right jab that was easily blocked. Even so, he followed up with a left hook, opening up his opponent's defense for a kick to the chest, before pulling them back with his harken for a clothesline. Castor spun wildly through the air in disbelief, "H-how did he do that?" he mumbled while crashing into a warehouse, leaving him vulnerable to a follow-up.

Luckily for him, before the Lancelot could pursue, the Guren came out of nowhere, tackling it out of the air and into a tower. "Naoto. You still there?" Lelouch asked as he maneuvered his Kagero through a side street, where he managed to encounter two Gekkas out of sheer coincidence.

"Zero, what happened?" the Kozuki questioned as the Ikaruga flew toward the mountains.

"Sorry about that. Suzaku just got in the way for a bit, but Kallen's dealing with him now." the Prince explained while motioning the Gekkas to follow him, "How far are you from the city?"

"If we keep our travel speed, it's about 20 minutes."

"20 minutes? Good. That's doable."

The Kagero rounded a corner, witnessing as a Gloucester jammed its lance into a Gun Ru, which helplessly shot its bullets into the air. Then, the triumphant Knightmare turned its attention to the Kagero and shouted, "It's the Black Knights!"

Lelouch pushed his frame forward, using the same landspinner system as the Aroundight to ride alongside the right wall, forcing the Gloucester to react by thrusting his lance toward it. However, once it did so, the Prince used the wall to transfer to the other, jumping over the lance while severing his opponent's head. The Gekkas followed close behind, using their revolving blades to bisect the Gloucester across the waist, causing it to explode as a result.

"Y-you can't take that!" a soldier shouted as Xingke boarded the Shen Hu, ready to go into battle, "The High Eunuch haven't given you permission to-"

"Where are the High Eunuch!" the angered Chinese demanded as the sound of fighting echoed outside their warehouse. The walls were already stained bloodred from being raided by a Gun Ru earlier, "No where! They've abandoned us! Abandoned the Empress!" he activated the Knightmare, only to find it needing a password.

The mechanics looked away, still covered in the blood of their friends from the attack earlier, "I… if we're caught… we'll be executed."

"In that case, I'll take full responsibility." Xingke extended his hand, "Please, give me the code."

Hesitantly, they did as told, putting their trust in the Chinese Warrior. Soon after, the Shen Hu flew into the sky, gazing upon the city on fire as the Aquila watched overhead, "You!" Xingke charged toward it, shocking Castor as he took a punch to the face, causing him to spiral out of control.

"Wh-who the hell are you?" the Prince uttered in great pain while recovering, "No matter. Trash like you should know where they belong!"

The Aquila flew in, using its wing blade to lead an attack, only for its attack to get parried by the Shen Hu's wrist mounted slash harkens, which were used to counter like a whip. Castor watched as the wire wrapped around his wing, spinning him around before being sent into a building below, "Wh-why am I being targeted?" the Prince muttered, which Xingke heard.

"You tried killing the Empress. Now you'll pay with your life." he then fired his slash harkens, which Castor deflected by spinning his frame clockwise. Though, just as the Shen Hu was about to follow up, the Guren and Lancelot crashed into it, sending the trio tumbling into the building next door, while the Aquila flew away.

"Looks like lady lucks on my side!" Castor taunted while trying to find Lelouch once more.

Xingke and Suzaku stared down Kallen menacingly as she prepared for battle, "Why are you fighting me?" she questioned, "We're trying to save the Empress here."
"As noble as your intentions may be, the problem is the High Eunuch, not her." the Shen Hu spun its slash harkens, getting ready to launch them at the red head, "And do you really think I'd trust someone like Zero with her safety?"

"You're not seeing the bigger picture here, Xingke!"

"That's enough out of you!" Suzaku shouted while launching a kick toward Kallen, which she easily redirected, sending him into another building, while Xingke tried striking her with whip-like motions. The Guren easily ducked the first harken, moving in close with her fork knife extended, only for it to clash with her opponent's sword, which was drawn at the last second. While this was going on, the Lancelot closed in for a sneak attack from behind, that Kallen noticed at the last second. In response, she dropped her shoulder, opening the rocket pod on her left, and firing upon the incoming Knightmare, which forced the Knight to back away as he used his blaze luminous to block the projectiles, creating a large smoke cloud obscuring his vision.

Even so, he knew where the red head was last, so he cocked his fist back, and sent it into the destruction, only to collide with the Shen Hu's own, "Where'd she go!?" he questioned while turning around, where Kallen tried grabbing him. Suzaku ducked just moments from getting grabbed, causing the hand to sail over him and into Xingke, who quickly leapt into the air, trying to gain an advantage.

The Knight tried hitting his opponent with a sweeping kick, missing as she flew after the Shen Hu. Though, before she could reach him, she noticed Castor flying overhead carrying a bomb in both of his talons, which were kept in place by his slash harkens, "Kaboom!" he shouted while releasing his care package on his unsuspecting victims, which all reacted by activating their shielding, except for the Shen Hu, that spun its slash harkens at full-speed.

Of course, the Prince couldn't see this due to the smoke, so when Xingke came rushing through the smoke, to say he was surprised would be an understatement, "How!?" Castor strafed right, dodging a kick while demanding, "How did you survive that!?"

Suddenly, he was spiked from behind by Suzaku, who clasped his hands to strengthen the blow, then Kallen followed this up by trying to grab the bird-like frame, only for it to recover, and dodge at the last second, "Stand still, moron!" she taunted while preparing to fire her Gefjun net, stopping at the last moment realizing it wouldn't catch him.

"Fucking hackers." Castor muttered while flying into the distance, leaving the trio to battle alone.

Or at least, that's what he hoped would happen.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Suzaku exclaimed while firing his VARIS at the retreating frame, "Do you actually expect to get away without repercussion!?"

"Ugh. Just leave me alone, you monkey's! Go back to fighting each other!" the Aquila suddenly dove onto the main street, where he used the buildings as cover to avoid the incoming shots. Thankfully, they would soon stop, Xingke would destroy the weapon with a harken.

"Ugh. What's your problem?"

"There are innocent civilians down there."

"Seriously? You're worried about that now?" the Knight scowled, "Maybe the battle's distracted you from the blood on your frame, so let me remind you." he pointed at the bloody Shen Hu.

"That's…" Xingke looked at his Knightmare and tightly clenched his controls, "Even so! We can't afford to kill more just for the sake of catching one guy!"

"How can you say that when you're letting a man who will kill thousands, if not millions, more innocent civilians go? He's a monster, and we must stop him-" suddenly, Suzaku found himself dodging an attack from the Shen Hu, which caused his tone to darken, "Be careful. You don't want to start something you can't finish."

"Seriously? Is this what Britannia stands for?" Xingke drew his sword and swung toward the Lancelot, "I can't afford to sacrifice my people like pawns, Suzaku."

"That's not what I was saying." the Knight responded while blocking the weapon with his Blaze Luminous, "But if you're too naive to see the truth, then I'll simply move on without you!"

Kallen let out a sigh of relief while flying toward Lelouch's signal, intending on regrouping to discuss their next move.

Orpheus flew his Byakuen across the Vermilion city, watching as corrupted Britannians and Chinese soldiers alike fought amongst themselves, followed by the screams of those who couldn't find safety in time, "Who could have done this? Even V.V wouldn't make a move this big. He likes working from the shadows."

In the distance, he noticed a Lancelot Club equipped with a float system approaching him with its MVS drawn, so he chose to activate his singular irregular blade from his right arm, clashing with them midair, "The Knight of Ten?" he presumed, "I didn't expect you to face me so soon."

"Sorry to disappoint." Nonette's voice called from the Club, "But you'll have to settle for the Knight of Nine for now." she then hit her opponent with an axe kick, forcing him to hurtle toward the ground, "Though, I can't afford to mess with you. Especially not now."

Orpheus effortlessly recovered and changed his armament to the Electromagnetic accelerator cannon, which he used to force the Knight to approach from the left, where he switched to the drill, and lunged forth, colliding with his opponent's Blaze Luminous. Nonette watched as the shield held firm for a moment, before retreating to deliver a flying kick to the White Knightmare's chest, causing it to stumble back slightly.

Even so, the Mercenary wasn't done yet, as he switched to his single irregular blade and clashed with his opponent's MVS. Once they were locked in, he switched to the scissors and snapped their blade in half, changing to the drill while spinning around them. As soon as the change was complete, he lunged once again, forcing the Club to dodge and hit him with a cross counter, sending him crashing into a building, that ended up covering the Byakuen in rubble, "Not half bad." she commented, "Unfortunately, I'm in a bad mood, so I'll have to kill you as quick as possible."

She tried drawing her second MVS, only to see a faint electric spark appear in the rubble, signaling for her to dodge at the last second. Mere seconds after dodging, a grenade flew out of the rubble, striking the tower behind her, destroying it in a large explosion. Then, the Byakuen burst out of the rubble, using its blade to clash with her MVS, wordlessly proclaiming to not underestimate this opponent.

If it were any other time, Nonette would've obliged the challenge. But after witnessing Cornelia – her best friend – shoot her own sister in the back, the Elegant Woman was no longer in the mood to play games. As the Club pulled away, a large beam fell between the two frames, obscuring the view of the other, which forced Nonette into the sky, only to be met by the Byakuen, which hit her with a kick, followed by shooting its cannon.

The Knight barely blocked the shot with its Blaze Luminous, creating a smoke cloud that Orpheus used to fly behind Nonette, and use his combined blade to strike her cockpit. Though just as he was about to make contact with it, he was hit by a swan kick, throwing his weapon off course just enough for the Woman to send her elbow into his exposed chest.

However, the Byakuen tanked the hit effortlessly, and threw its own elbow into the Club's face, dealing significantly more damage by sending it backwards, "This is going nowhere." Nonette quickly deduced while watching her opponent switch to the cannon. Though before he could fire, the woman strafed left, moving around him while searching for an opening.

Orpheus quickly armed himself with his combined blade, turning around to face the Elegant Woman as she came dangerously close to hitting him. Instead of doing so, she cartwheeled over his body, and sent a kick to his back, before following up with a punch to his shoulder, keeping him turned around, fulling intending on taking advantage of him in such a vulnerable state.

Unfortunately for her, the boy turned off his air glide system, dropping like a rock to dodge her strike, leaving her completely exposed to an attack from below, as the Byakuen soared back up to her level with its combined blade extended, severing her extended arm. "Crap!" she retreated while maintaining the rest of her frame, "After I deal with him, I'll need a new arm…"

At that moment, she noticed a hadron beam on her right, forcing an emergency evasive maneuver to dodge it at the last second, "Oz." Maya's voice boomed from the Gawain as it approached the scuffle, "We're retreating. Those are Zero's orders."

"Retreat?" Orpheus raised an eyebrow, "Very well. If that's the path he's choosing…"

"You can't be serious, right?" Nonette asked, trying to taunt them into staying, "You Black Knights spot the first sign of trouble, and you run. Whatever happened to defending the weak? Or are you just like all those other posers?"

"If we fall here, how are we supposed to defend the weak?" Mario answered from the main seat of the Gawain, "Besides, you can't win this fight. Don't be a fool."

That much was obvious. Even a child could tell that Nonette didn't stand a chance in a two vs one, "You know you won't get away, right?"

"That's enough out of you." Maya cut the woman off, commanding the Black Knight force from her seat, "Let's get out of here."

Quickly, Nonette fled the scene, retreating to the Avalon to rearm as the Gawain and Byakuen flew toward the north.

"We're almost there." Lelouch commented as he and his team moved toward the outskirts of the city, "Naoto, get Tohdoh and the Holy Swords ready, just in case."

"Don't worry, they're already in their frames." the Kozuki responded calmly, "We're only a few minutes out now. So we have to quickly get everyone on board."

Just as he said this, Lelouch came to a screeching halt, as he now stared down a horse-like Knightmare, "Sorry, Naoto. We'll have to talk later."

"Big brother!" the pilot shouted while slamming his massive hammer into the ground, and outstretching his arms, "Come here and give me a hug!"

"Brother?" Zero felt a shiver run down his spine, "Who are you!?"

"Oh… I see. You won't speak with me while those monkeys are around, right?" Pollux smirked from within his frame, "Don't worry, I'll eradicate them for you." with a snap of his fingers, four energy bolts rained from above, destroying the two Gekkas in an instant.

Lelouch looked up, and saw the bird-like frame hovering overhead, "I'm trapped?"

"Trapped? That's such a cruel way of saying Reunion, Brother. Of course, we've never met in person, but that's not the point." the Equus extended its hand, "My name is Pollux Rui Britannia. 15th in line for the Imperial with my Twin Brother, Castor Rui Britannia." he pointed to the right, where the Aquila landed on top of a building, "Though, I suppose we're really 14th since you're supposed to be dead, right?"

"I've never heard that name before…"

"Of course you haven't. After all, much like you, we were cast aside by Britannia – our own blood." Pollux picked up his hammer, "But now we're out for revenge. Revenge against those who dare share the same lineage as us."

"You killed Euphie!?" Lelouch exclaimed with great rage, fully realizing his true enemy in this battle, "How dare you!"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about her, considering how much of a replaceable face she is. If I had to say… poor Euphie's probably bleeding like a stuffed pig, right now." Castor let out a psychotic chuckle, "But who cares about her? She's not even good enough for the throne anyway."

"Why you-"

"The real prize is you, dear Brother." Pollux cut him off, "More specifically, what you can provide."

Before he could continue, Kallen landed in between the siblings, "Zero! Let's hurry! Naoto's almost here!" she charged toward the Rui Britannia's, who surprisingly cleared the way for the couple as they ran toward the escape point.

"Eleven Whore." Pollux said, words laced with venom, "You dare to not only bewitch my Big Brother, but also interrupt our reunion?"

"Fear not. I'll retrieve him just as originally planned." Castor added while taking off.

"Thank you. Then I'll prepare our glorious Arena."

Clara carefully looked around a corner at one of the guard post, which was supposed to be on lockdown. To her surprise, everyone was already dead with the smoking carcass of a Gun Ru, "Looks like those Geassed soldiers have already been through here." she motioned for Tamaki to move his truck forward. Once they got past the gate, they didn't have to wait long for the Ikaruga to appear in the mountain pass, barely noticeable in the night sky, as the darkness provided near perfect camouflage for it against the background. "Clara." Tohdoh greeted the girl in his Zangetsu, "She's here, correct?"

"Yes. I'm sure Zero wouldn't want us to leave without her." as the girl said this, Tamaki opened the back of the truck, allowing for C.C, Kaguya, and a jumpy Tianzi to exit. It looked like the Japanese Princess succeeded in calming the Empress, if ever so slightly, as she still cowered from Tamaki.

"Empress." Tohdoh got on one knee, offering a delicate, metallic hand for the girls to climb on, which they did after a brief discussion.

Clara latched onto a slash harken wire and rode it up to the Knightmare bay, where she parked the Sougetsu next to the Byakuen and Gawain, "Well… at least you didn't wreck it." Maya commented as the pink-haired girl hopped out, "Though… it looks like Rolo's still out there." she nudged her brother's side playfully, "How much do you wanna bet he completely wrecked your Sougetsu?"

Mario rolled his eyes and looked toward the city, "Is it really okay to leave things like this?"

"Nothing we can do about." Maya shrugged as Tianzi held on tightly to Kaguya while being guided through the bay.

That's when the Guren finally arrived, parking itself to the left of the Gawain, closely followed by Lelouch, who rode the slash harken wire up, "Other than Rolo, is everyone here?" Naoto questioned while in his Aroundight. Kallen got out of her frame, and was passed a water bottle by Benio, who also gave her a towel.

"There are still a few Gekkas in the city, and on my way here, two were destroyed." Lelouch responded, "Once the remainder of our force get here, we'll-"

In the background, an enormous explosion went off within the Vermilion City palace, creating a circle of complete destruction where everything – including buildings – were eviscerated. "W-woah…" Tamaki mumbled while watching the mushroom cloud, "How'd they do that?"

"My home…" Tianzi looked down, "It's all gone."

Lelouch clenched his controls, "Those bastards. If I'm the prize, that means they'll have to chase me. At least this way… we'll be able to lead them away into open terrain, where the risk of civilian casualties is-"

"Big Brother~" the entire deck froze in fear upon hearing those haunting words, "We weren't done talking!" suddenly, Castor tackled the Kagero from behind, pinning it to the ground with its talons, and latching onto it. Kallen dropped everything and rushed to her Guren, only for the Aquila to beat its wings once, throwing everyone into the wall, even knocking the wind out of the red head.

"Bastard!" Naoto moved to attack the bird-like Knightmare, only to get obliterated in a few shots by its cannons, causing the Aroundight to crash into a set of Gekkas, catching fire which sounded the alarms.

"H-how did he… get past our air defenses?" Tamaki painfully mumbled before passing out.

"L-Lelouch…" Kallen outstretched her hand as the Aquila flew away, taking the Kagero with it, "No… I failed…" she struggled to get up, and climb onto her Guren, desperately trying to recover her breath.

"Don't be rash, Kallen!" C.C shouted, "Your Guren needs a new energy filler, and you know how that went last time!"

"What am I supposed to do!? He's being kidnapped!"

Luckily, Tohdoh flew after the Knightmare, shouting, "Leave this to me!"

However, he quickly noticed the difference in speed between his Zangetsu, and the Aquila, with the latter steadily pulling ahead without issue, despite behind weighed down by the Kagero. Eventually, his target pulled so far ahead, he lost sight of it, only able to track it due to Lelouch's blip. And as long as he had that, then Tohdoh would be-

"Take this!" a familiar voice shouted from his right, ambushing the Miracle Worker midair, "You who challenge Britannia… will answer to me, Jeremiah Gottwald!"

"Son of a-" Tohdoh retreated slightly while clenching his controls, "Damn it. I'm sorry, Lelouch. But you'll have to hold on a little bit longer. Defeating this guy will only take a moment!" he thrust his sword forth, only for the Siegfried to begin spinning wildly, deflecting his strike. He watched as the blip on his radar grew further and further away, adding onto his growing frustration as he realized thhat the Britannian forces below were regrouping, meaning his best option was to retreat for now. "Don't worry, Lelouch. We'll get you. Just hold on. I have full faith in the skills you accumulated so far."

Castor laughed maniacally while throwing the Kagero at the center of the giant crater, where the Vermilion City palace once stood, "Damn it…" Lelouch groaned as he was forced onto his hands and knees by the weight of the Aquila, "What the hell do you want?"

That's when he heard ominous footsteps approaching, causing him to look up at Pollux, who was clapping while looking down at his older Brother, "Oh~ that's the stuff." he took in a deep breath while basking in the light, "The Moon's Illumination, makes it easier to see how pathetic you are, Big Brother."

AN: That's right, the twins Broadcast was only a nationwide one - meaning only the Chinese Federation heard that. What purpose does that serve you ask? Well, it'll be revealed next chapter.

In total, there were three layers of insurance to force Lelouch to stay in the battle, with the first being the broadcast, second Euphie, and third Castor physically forcing Lelouch to face him and Pollux.

To them, Euphie was just a means to an end, with Lila providing the least amount of chance for Suzaku, and Britannian forces to stay in the Chinese Federation, since they're certain he doesn't have any special connection to Lila.