AN: I do not own Code Geass.
This turned out kind of long, sorry.
DarkDremora: I want to save Lelouch comforting Kallen over her emotional breakdown for when he actually sees it, as I think it'll mean more if he actually heard what she said, and not just some poor retelling, which wouldn't get them anywhere. Also, the C.C bit might've been over done slightly, but in my mind, the way she (C.C) copes it through teasing.
Onto your Karma Suzaku point, which I think you might have a small misconception about, and that's probably because I haven't been able to explain it well, but there is no influence from Karma Suzaku. Original timeline (OT), Karma timeline (KT), and New timeline (NT) all have their own seperate souls that have merged into the collective unconscious. For instance, souls like OT/KT Milly, KT Kallen, OT Suzaku, and KT/OT Lelouch reside in C's world as part of the collective unconsious. They can't influnce the NT souls no matter how hard they try, and that's due to the seperation from C's world and the 'Real world'. There are exceptions, like with KT Suzaku and OT Kallen, they're allowed to inhabit the body of NT Kallen/Suzaku because they were chosen by the Dimensional Supervisors (As a consequence NT Kallen/Suzaku take their KT/OT counterparts place in the collective unconscious). To be clear, the main reason KT Suzaku can't take over NT Suzaku's body, is purely because of his hate for Lelouch is keeping him tied to C's world. There is nothing NT Suzaku can do to stop, slow, or even speed up the process. If KT Suzaku really wanted to, he could just take over NT Suzaku's body without any issue (that's what the, banging at the back of his head, line meant). The same thing happened with Kallen, how she took over NT Kallen's body because of her strong will to start over. There is no 'fight', or 'influence'. Sure NT Suzaku saw KT Suzaku's memories, but that was due to a special circumstance, which leads onto the next point of Code Bearers. Due to their connection with C's world, they can't be chosen as champions by the DS. C.C and V.V can access their memories of the previous timeline with the 'shock images' power if they use it on themselves. Of course, they're not aware of this.
As for the martial arts training, that's exclusively for Knightmare combat. She's just tryinig to improve his Knightmare skills, not make him a competent fighter.
Chapter 48: Battle of Port Yokosuka
Unspecified Black Knight Warehouse.
Kallen watched as a large truck backed into the warehouse, before the delivery man hopped out and opened the back door of its trailer, revealing the Guren and the two repaired Sougetsu. "It's good to be back." the red head thought while touching her Knightmare's leg once it was loaded off the bed.
"Like what you see?" the voice of Rakshata Chawla chimed in from the right, "The Guren , it's a significant improvement to the regular Guren, fully fit with my experimental Radiant Wave Surger. Take good care of it, because unlike the other, there's only one in the world." the Indian woman then snapped her fingers, causing her two assistants to step forward with a red pilot outfit, "Go get suited up, you'll need it for what's to come."
Zero and Naoto sat across from General Katase and Tohdoh, with a map of Port Yokosuka between them. "We have word that Guinevere de Britannia will be arriving in Japan through Port Yokosuka later tonight. I suggest we commence a joint operation that'll swiftly capture the Princess, giving us leverage in the long run."
"Ah, so that's what this is about." Zero studied the map, alongside a manila folder that was provided to him by a JLF member, "And what's the validity of this information?"
"It's highly likely that it's true." Katase responded with a smug smile, "My informant nearly allowed us to capture Euphemia li Britannia, who came in the other day via Yokota Airbase."
"And why didn't you capture her?" Naoto asked with stern eyes, playing bad cop.
"Well… security was greater than anticipated, and our plans were thwarted before we could make any serious moves."
"So, what you're saying is, that due to your incompetence, you couldn't capture the Princess?" Zero accused, causing the general to wince at the comment.
"Hey, I thought I was supposed to play bad cop here…"
"Regardless," the masked man leaned back, "Thank god you weren't successful, otherwise, you would've opened another can of worms that we couldn't possibly close, even if we released her."
"What do you mean?" Katase asked
However, that's when Tohdoh finally interjected, "If I may interject, what Zero's saying, is that while we would've come in possession of a Britannian Princess with capturing Euphemia, her capture would've only brought scrutiny to the JLF, and by association, the Black Knight's." Of course, while they didn't publicly make their partnership known, practically everyone thought that the Black Knight's and JLF were working together after Narita. "After such an event, support for us would only go down, as Euphemia hasn't done anything to suggest such action being necessary."
Katase clenched his fist upon hearing his most trusted right hand oppose him, "Just who is Zero, huh? You would never fight me like this, so why? He must be something special if he can make Tohdoh turn against me."
Of course, the possibility of his plan being terrible never crossed the General's mind. For years, he's gone unchallenged in the planning stage of each operation, this simultaneously gave him all the credit for their successes, and allowed for room to deflect responsibility. As, if his plan failed, he could easily just blame the circumstances. However, now that Zero and Naoto were here, they wouldn't let such things slide.
"Anyway, let's focus on Guinevere's arrival." Zero brought the conversation back, "So, what does your informant say about it?"
"Simple, she'll be covertly arriving at Area 11 by cargo ship through Port Yokosuka. There, she'll only have one Knightmare guarding her person. As for who this pilot is, I have no idea, but it'll probably be Dasko, piloting that Guren he robbed your group of, no doubt." Katase responded with spiteful words.
"That's odd… I haven't heard anything about Guinevere coming here, let alone Dasko being put in charge of her guard. Perhaps this is a trap? If so… this is something that not even Carine's Knight has heard of, so it's more than likely being kept close to the Viceroy's chest." the image of Euphemia passed through Zero's mind, "Could she… no. There's no way. Euphie could never accomplish such an operation on her own like this."
"So… what'll you be contributing to the operation?" Naoto asked while leaning forward.
"We'll be sending in the Four Holy Swords and Tohdoh, as I believe, the more quality pilots we have for this operation, the better."
"A good strategy. This'll minimize the amount of wasted resources, while simultaneously boosting our mission success rate through the roof." Zero silently approved, "Then we'll do the same. I'll have the Guren and our Sougetsu's aid your group in battle."
"Excellent. Then we'll meet at one of the harbors numerous warehouses. How's 9:00 PM sound?"
"Fine by me." Naoto said.
As the two continued to discuss where they were going to exactly meet up, Lelouch was too occupied in his own thoughts to care. "This most certainly is a trap. I have no doubt in my mind. I can't send Kallen in without telling her about the possibility. Maya and Mario too."
"Then it's settled." Katase stood up, "C'mon, Tohdoh, we must prepare your Burai's for combat."
"Yes sir." The miracle worker followed close behind, but not before giving Zero one last look.
"So… do you know him?" Naoto asked once the JLF members left the room, "Because… Taizo gave him a hint as to who you were, and quite frankly, I've been curious about it myself."
Lelouch relaxed slightly, but kept his mask on regardless, "Tohdoh used to train me back when Nunally and I were seeking refuge with the Kururugi family."
"Wait… you knew Suzaku way back then?"
"Did I not tell you before?"
"Not… I don't think so. And even if you did, mind refreshing my memory?"
The Prince let out another sigh, "Well, after Nunally and I were exiled to Japan, we took shelter with the former Prime Minister's family. There, I lived with Suzaku, and we became good friends. However, after the second pacific war, we were separated. That's about when Nunally and I were taken in by the Ashford's."
Despite only hearing a heavily abridged version of Lelouch's story, Naoto still felt moved by it. He knew what it was like being separated from your best friends in the war, however, what he didn't know was how it felt being pitted against them. The Kozuki knew that this friendship could only end in tragedy, especially if Suzaku was still intent on serving Britannia to the end. All he could do was offer condolences to Lelouch once it happens.
"Do you think Tohdoh knows your identity?"
"It's certainly a possibility. Though, I won't know for certain until I ask him. Or… until he confronts me."
"I see…" Naoto stood up, "Welp, we've gotta get Kallen and the Disel siblings ready for this operation." However, just as he was about to open the door, he stopped, "By the way… why aren't you including me in this operation?"
"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well, you didn't include me in the plan. Only the Guren and Sougetsu's, not my Sutherland."
Underneath his mask, the Prince smiled, "Just because I didn't say your name, doesn't mean you won't be included. After all, your Sutherland is integral for detecting enemy reinforcements."
"Ah, I see." Naoto nodded upon realizing what his partner meant, "Very well, then where will I set up?"
"There's a lighthouse that'll be perfect for the new weapon Rakshata wants to test out. That's where I want you."
"A new weapon? It's not going to explode in my hand, right?"
"It shouldn't. Though, it's experimental, so don't push your luck when firing it. If you see it start to overheat, immediately pull out regardless of the situation. Understand?"
The resistance leader's eyes narrowed upon hearing those words, "Even if my sister's in danger?"
"If things do go awry, I'll have multiple contingency plans to make sure she gets out safely." Lelouch instantly responded, "Alongside Mario and Maya, of course."
Naoto smiled upon hearing those words, "Good. I'm counting on you."
"Same to you."
C's World
"So… when are you going to leave?" Lelouch, whose head was placed on a stake, asked as Suzaku stared into his eyes.
"Once you shut up." he spitefully replied while severing one of the demon's regenerating stubs, "Why won't you die?"
"Because you can't kill a soul, idiot."
This made the corrupted Knight strike the Prince's head, "Despite everything you've done, you still have that witty attitude of yours, huh!? Even after realizing that everything you did in your timeline was pointless!?" Lelouch's eyes widened upon hearing those words. Of course, Suzaku noticed this, "Yeah, that's right. I heard all of that time travel talk. Though, I don't really understand it fully. But, the one thing I took away from it, is that it hurts you, and that's all that matters." he then picked up his former friend's head, "And… once I've been fully realized into this new timeline, I'll hunt and kill you. Making sure that there's no future where any of your plans succeed."
Normally, those words wouldn't've made the Prince flinch, as he had given up on life entirely. It was true, after hearing all of his actions were pointless, Lelouch accepted defeat in full. Even if he was given the chance to be realized into the new timeline, he wouldn't take it. To him, it was all pointless. However, in this case, Suzaku's words oddly amused him. The corrupted Knight tossed his head off to the side, before beginning to walk away, that's when the Prince asked, "Then… why don't you?" Suzaku stopped dead in his tracks, "From what I can tell, there's nothing stopping you from taking over that new timeline's Suzaku's body."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because of Kallen's existence. She effortlessly realized herself in the new timeline's version of herself. Meaning, there's no special requirement to take over their body. But… that also means you should've automatically been booted into the new timeline."
"Suzaku clenched his fist in anger, "Didn't you already hear the Dimensional Supervisor's reasoning? It's because-"
"No." Lelouch interrupted, "While I do believe your vengeance is the reason you were sticking around at first, after Narita, the pull to realize yourself in the new timeline has grown stronger, even I can feel it from here." a devious grin grew on the Prince's face. While he had given up on life, he was currently enjoying the mental victory over Suzaku right now, "And now he's met Euphemia, the pulls only gotten stronger, so now, it's just you rejecting being reborn."
The Dimensional Supervisor watched the conversation from above with wide-eyes, "What is he saying?" Yes, not even they were aware of Suzaku's true feelings, not this one at least.
"You're scared, aren't you?" Those bone-chilling words made the corrupted Knight's heart stop for a second. This caused several red chains to burst out of the ground, and latch on his body, "But of what?"
"Shut up." Suzaku commanded with his hair covering his eyes. From the chains, numerous little demonic creatures began crawling up them, almost as if they were representing the blood on his hands.
"Are you scared of facing everyone again? Afraid that you'll lose control and kill them all once again? Or is it…" Lelouch activated his Geass. Upon seeing it in both of his eyes, Suzaku instinctively looked away, "Ha! That's it! You're afraid of Geass, aren't you?" The corrupted Knight then looked his opponent in the eyes, "No… that's not quite right. You're afraid of what Geass can do, or rather… what it made you do." upon blinking, the bird-like symbols disappeared.
Suzaku snapped his chains off, "Don't act like you know me."
"Oh please! I know everything about you!" Lelouch shouted with strained eyes, "You might think you're different from my timeline's Suzaku, but in truth, you two couldn't be any more similar! The White Reaper. Corrupted Knight. They're practically the same title, just under different pretenses."
Finally, Suzaku let out a heavy sigh, trying to control himself, "I don't know what your Suzaku went through, but it means nothing now." he then slowly approached the talking head, "What matters now, is that I drill the same fear into you, as I did to my Lelouch." a spoon then appeared in his hand, "This way… I'll be able to erase my 'fear' of Geass, while making you suffer."
At those words, the life in the Prince's eyes disappeared, as they returned to the hopelessness he felt before, "Do your worst." he muttered emotionlessly.
Zero entered the warehouse where Tohdoh was meditating alone. Behind him, kneeled the four Holy Swords Burais, and his own, "Ah, you're early." the masked man announced while approaching the miracle worker in the dark.
"No. Nagisa and the others went out to scout the area. They want to make sure there are no Britannian surprises lying around." the Japanese man responded without opening his eyes.
"I'm sure that's not the only reason." Lelouch said while taking off his mask, his face still concealed by the warehouse's darkness., "Tell me, do you really know who I am?"
Finally, Tohdoh opened his eyes, "I have my suspicions. The only question is, will you confirm, or deny them?"
The Prince chuckled, "Can you at least tell me who you think I am?"
"Well, Taizo told me you were from 'that time', which is very ambiguous if taken on its own. But… after taking the information that you're not Japanese into account, and the fact that you have a stern hatred for Britannia, only one name comes to mind." he exhaled a breath, before continuing, "You… you're Lelouch Vi Brittania, aren't you?"
Finally, the man in question stepped into the light, holding a satisfied smile, "You didn't believe the news of my death?"
"Of course I did. After all, I didn't have any reason to question it." Tohdoh responded flawlessly, "That was until now."
"Then why did you guess my name?"
"For the same reasons as before. Plus, it wouldn't be the first time the news falsely reported something just to increase Britannian fanaticism."
"So… what will you do now?" the Prince asked while putting on his mask, "Now that your suspicions are proven true, will you tell anyone about my identity?"
"No. You wish to keep your face hidden for obvious reasons, so I'll respect that, even if Katase comes along and demands I tell him." the miracle worker stood up, holding his Katana by his side, "By the way, since you're alive, does that mean…"
"Yes. Nunally is alive. And before you ask, yes, she is well."
"That's good." Tohdoh said, but before he could continue, Nagisa suddenly entered the warehouse, closely followed by the remaining members of the Holy Sword.
"Is that… Zero?" she asked.
"We'll continue this later," the miracle worker said, "For now, we must prepare."
Lelouch nodded, "You're right. My team's already set up in the warehouse across from us. We're just waiting for Guinevere's ship to dock. Everyone's already aware of the plan, correct?"
"Yeah, we already know the plan." Asahina stepped in, "Once we spot her exit the ship, we'll pounce, right?"
"Then, when the enemy pilot shows up, the Sougetsu's and the Guren will take care of it, as our Knightmare's don't have high enough specs to take on an ace." Senba added.
Nagisa tapped her foot aggressively, "Which I think is an insult to our skill. What? Do you think our skill doesn't make up for it?"
"Please, Nagisa." Tohdoh chimed in, "I don't think Zero is undermining our skill, instead, he's carefully splitting up his resources in a manner that makes sense. If he really wanted to, he could've just given us the task of holding off the ace, while his pilots capture the Princess."
"Yeah. We don't have time for ego tripping anyway." Urabe added with a playful smile, "Don't worry, though. Just worry about your objective, and we'll worry about ours."
Zero sighed, "That's not the issue." the image of Suzaku flashed in his mind, "If it's him… then I don't know what I'll do."
Suzaku sat in the Lancelot with his eyes closed, trying his best to calm his bustling mind with meditation. While he had been taught how to meditate by his mentor, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, he never really took it to heart. Though, he needed a clear mind now, especially with the knocking sound at the back of his head growing louder and louder by the second. It seemed as though interacting with Euphemia only enhanced his torment. "Suzaku, it's almost time." Lloyd chimed in through the radio, "Have you looked over the snare system?"
"Yes. Although it's kind of confusing, I think I've got the gist of it." Suzaku replied while checking his landspinners.
"Well, just remember that you give enough room for the net to prime. Otherwise, you'll just waste a mechanism." the mad scientist explained while looking at the model of a landmine which was placed on the Lancelot's hip.
At that moment, Euphemia's sick voice chimed in, "H-hello?"
Suzaku waited for her to stop coughing before saying, "Princess, please. You should be getting some rest."
After their tour of the settlement, the pink-haired Princess came down with a bad cold that left her bedridden. While everyone told her to stay home, she chose to push through the sickness, and tag along for the operation anyway. Albeit, in a private room made exclusively for her on the Camelot van.
"I'm fine." she responded, "Anyway, I was just calling to remind you to send me which target they decide to attack. It'll be important for finding the mole."
That's right. This whole operation's purpose wasn't to bring in Guinevere de Britannia to Area 11 covertly. Ever since Saitama, Lila suspected that there was some kind of spy within their forces. So, to find out what sector they belong to, they crafted a false operation, and spread the information around each office. Of course, each story was practically identical, all except for the location. Story A dictated that Guinevere would arrive at Uraga dock. While story B said she was arriving at the East Pier. Finally, story C had her arriving at the Imperial Army's pier.
To make sure Suzaku could respond to whichever attack comes first, they placed him on a specially made Knightmare launch boat, which would give him just enough propulsion to reach the mainland and respond to any threat. This boat was disguised as a parade ship.
Needless to say, an attack at one of the locations would narrow down the search for their mole significantly.
"It's so quiet…" Suzaku muttered as he watched waves crash against the docked cargo ships that were 'carrying' Guinevere. "Maybe they won't turn up." he hoped.
"If that's the case, then we've wasted resources, and the implications indicate that the mole is one of the very few people who know about this operation." Lloyd explained.
Currently, only Lloyd, Suzaku, Euphemia, and Lila know of the plan to root out the mole. This made it impossible for the information to get out. "Listen, Lloyd, I would just like to know why we couldn't include Cecile in all this. I mean, you don't think she's a spy, right?"
"Of course not, I've known Cecile far too long for that to be the case." the mad scientist explained, "Though, it was by Lila's orders that we keep this in a tight circle, only being allowed to tell those who were absolutely necessary to the operation."
Unfortunately, Ms. Croomy didn't fall into that category.
"Don't worry, Suzaku. I have faith in your ability to see this mission through." Euphemia said encouragingly.
Those words shook the White Knight to his core, as it sparked numerous memories of his false past, "Listen, Princess… after this is over, could we talk?"
After coughing a few times, Euphemia replied, "Of course. I'm always here to listen."
Just then, alarms went off in Suzaku's cockpit, jolting upward, "They're here!" he announced while searching for the enemy's location, "They're at Uraga dock!"
"What the hell is this?" Urabe announced as his factsphere closed, "There's nobody even on this ship."
"There's nobody?" Lelouch repeated, "But that's not possible… Naoto, what's the status on our surroundings?"
The Kozuki looked at his monitors once, twice, three times, "I've got nothing man-wait! I've got one Knightmare inbound on your position, but he's… traveling across the water?"
"The water?" Kallen muttered while looking at the port from her vantage point atop a warehouse, "No way… is that-"
"The Lancelot!" Maya shouted while readying her Naginata, "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of there, four Holy Swords!"
Suzaku drew his VARIS and fired a single shot into the cargo ship, causing it to explode, sending the four Holy Swords crashing into a nearby warehouse, "Damn it!" Tohdoh shouted while retreating, "It was a trap the whole time!"
The Lancelot came to a screeching halt as the fiery mass continued to burn in the background, giving off a menacing aura of dominance, "Please, surrender now, and no one has to get hurt." he commanded calmly.
That's when Kallen jumped down, with Mario and Maya on either side of her, "Tohdoh, get out of here, we'll hold this guy off." the black-haired boy suggested.
"Hold him off? We need to capture him!" his sister shouted.
Despite every instinct shouting at Kallen to kill Suzaku here and now, Lelouch knows that she's aware of Suzaku being the pilot of the Lancelot. Meaning, there won't be an excuse waiting for her when she kills him.
Meanwhile, the Japanese boy felt numerous memories of the Guren's fighting style flash through at once, as if he was predicting how she would move before the battle even began. Regardless, he pushed through the pain, and aimed his VARIS at the group as the JLF retreated, "Please, stand down. I just have a few questions."
"Save it for later, asshole!" Maya shouted while pushing forward.
With a sigh, Suzaku put away his rifle, then deflected the incoming strike with the back of his hand, before grabbing the polearm of the weapon, and sending a knee into his assailant's chest, sending her flying back. That's when Mario charged in as well, this time, he dragged his Naginata on the ground, before hurling chunks of concrete at the Honorary Britannian like they were hockey pucks.
Of course, Suzaku easily dodged the incoming debris, closing the gap in the process, and sending a powerful strike into the Sougetsu's face. The blue Knightmare tumbled away, crashing into a warehouse, where its sister was also resting.
"Incredible… it's almost like I can see everything…" his eyes dilated upon feeling his mind clear, "The banging's gone… and everything seems clearer… brighter."
Mario and Maya emerged from the warehouse mostly unscathed, "Jeez, we're really going to have to step up our game if we want to beat him."
In one blinding motion, Kallen charged forward, blitzing past the White Knightmare, and attacking from behind with her fork knife. However, Suzaku turned around and drew his MVS blade, using it to block the strike effortlessly, but that wasn't the end of it, as the red head threw her right claw arm forward. "I can't get hit by that!" her opponent swiftly retreated, barely escaping the claw arm's grasp.
"Even in this timeline, you know that this is dangerous." Kallen muttered while chasing after Suzaku, "Nevertheless, I have the advantage in skill!"
The White Knight fired his slash harkens at the approaching frame as they grew closer, before he was eventually forced to engage them in combat. With his single blade, he combated the fork knife as the Guren nimbly danced around his Knightmare with great swiftness, "It's so agile…" he muttered while getting the back of his arm slashed.
Once again, Kallen tried to grab onto the Lancelot, only for it to speed away, while grabbing a mine off its hip, "What the hell is that?" she wondered as her opponent threw it like a disk. Instinctively, she ducked the attack, only for the contraption to land on the wall behind her, releasing several wires that were identical to Maya's.
"No way! Did they already reverse engineer my design!?" she exclaimed as the Guren began shutting down.
Meanwhile, Lloyd cracked his fingers and said, "Oh my. This really was too trivial. Now, I want to see if this is the same pilot Dasko 'killed'."
However, just as he was about to open the Knightmare's hatch, he lost the connection, as Maya ripped the wiring off the mine, "Sit tight, Kallen. It'll take you a minute for your Knightmare to fully recover from that." she warned as her Brother clashed with the White Knight. "Mario, let's try that combo attack again!"
With those words, the black-haired boy backed away, before crossing Naginata with his sister, and charging forward at high speeds. In response, Suzaku held his sword up to block, as they were approaching too fast. After swinging their blades down, the two skidded past Suzaku, leaving a cross mark on his chest, "Damn it… that hurt…" he muttered as his cockpit began blaring red, "There has to be a way to stop that."
Of course, the siblings were done with their joint attack, as Mario used his Naginata to clash with Suzaku's MVS, forcing it into the ground, as Maya attempted to clothesline her opponent with the revolving blade. Though, it would prove futile, as at the last second, Suzaku ducked, allowing for the polearm to sail past him. Then, he sent a high-kick into the black-haired boy's chin, sending him flying away. That's when Maya slashed down his back, causing the Lancelot to stumble forward.
Whatever kind of clear mind he had, was swiftly disappearing. Once the girl tried to attack him again, the Knight used his blade to cut the polearm in half, sending the revolving blade crashing into a warehouse. Then, he attached one of the mines from his hip, to the Sougetsu's chest, causing the wires to instantly connect to the frame. This time, Maya fought back against Lloyd by typing profusely on her keyboard, making sure that not a single mistake was made. Though, this meant she was wide open to attacks from the outside, as her Knightmare was immobile like this.
Luckily for her, Kallen came rushing in foot-first, kicking away the Lancelot just as it was about to capture its quarry, "Can you move?" she asked as Suzaku crashed into a warehouse.
"Who do ya take me for?" Maya asked while breaking free from Lloyd's hack, recovering all systems, "Let's take this guy down, once and for all."
Mario joined their side as Suzaku emerged from the dust cloud, "3 against 1? This seems hardly fair."
"All's fair in love and war." the black-haired girl teased.
The White Knight sighed at the comment while drawing his second MVS, "Very well, then let's get this over with."
Maya and Mario rushed in first, with the former dodging strikes and attacking from behind as her brother kept the enemy occupied in a duel. With his Naginata, Mario expertly forced Suzaku to retreat by thrusting his blade forward, attempting to latch onto his opponent's frame with the chain. Lucky for the Knight, he managed to parry each strike, while dodging the sweeping slashes that intended to catch him off guard. "He's gotten more aggressive. Even still, it's nothing I can't handle.". Of course, that would be the case if it were only the two of them, but as we all know, things can't be that easy.
From the right, the mechanical arm of the Guren latched on to his shoulder, preventing him from moving as the revolving Naginata began shredding the Lancelot's armor. "Damn it… too much." he muttered while rolling his shoulders, allowing for the Naginata to pass and freeing himself from Kallen's grasp. Then, he put both MVS together, trying to deliver a combined slash to the Guren. Though they were easily caught midair, and in response, the red Knightmare activated its surger, causing the blades to bubble before exploding into a cloud of black smoke.
Suzaku was the first to burst from the smoke
After gaining suitable distance, the White Knight turned around, only to be met by a slash harken to the face, causing him to trip. Then, like a mangy dog, the Guren broke through the smoke, and pinned the Lancelot to the ground with its arm. "Suzaku!" Euphemia's voice called over the intercom, "Get out of there! Hurry!"
"But… the mission…"
"Forget the mission! Your safety is our number one priority!" Suzaku watched as Maya's Knightmare slowly approached him from behind. They were intending to do the same thing to him as he tried to do to them earlier. Hack into his frame, make it immobile, then take him away to their base. "Please, Suzaku… you have to live!" Those words echoed throughout his mind, triggering another memory, this time, it was even stronger than before.
?
The red rings around Suzaku's eyes flickered as he held Euphemia's dead body in his arms. He still couldn't believe what he had done. Killing Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley was one thing, but killing the woman he unknowingly loved, was something else. It was a pain like he never experienced. It was as if someone was stabbing his heart with a stake, drowning out his will to live with each strike. Though, he was soon brought back to reality, by the cold, metallic words, "Are you done mourning yet?"
Suzaku turned around, only to be met by the black, lifeless mask of Zero, as the man stared at him without remorse, "Why… Nunally wouldn't've wanted this."
"If it wasn't for her, Nunally would still be alive." Lelouch justified.
"Euphie would never give away your identity! You know that!"
"No, I don't." the Prince coldly responded.
"Damn it, Lelouch… I understand your anger about Nunally's death, but killing every Britannian, it's just… wrong…"
Lelouch's eyes narrowed into a glare, "Don't tell me you still hold that naive view, even after becoming my slave." those words made Suzaku shudder, "Kill more Britannian's, now. Eliminate the residence of the Viceroy palace. Burn it to the ground."
"No!" the corrupted Knight tried to resist, "I refuse! Not after Euphie… Not after Euphie…"
Suddenly, the cold hands of Princess Euphemia held his own, "S-Suzaku…" she mumbled
The demon's eyes widened upon seeing his half-sister's resilience. Despite being stabbed through the heart, she was somehow still alive. Was it pure determination? Or something else? "Euphie…" Suzaku muttered.
"Please… Suzaku… no matter what happens… no matter how bad things get, you have to promise me… promise me that you'll live…" the pink-haired Princess pleaded.
Without a second thought, the corrupted Knight answered, "Don't worry." he took out his Knight emblem, "I'll fulfill this last command, to the best of my abilities."
The sight infuriated Lelouch to no end, mostly because Suzaku was making a promise to a corpse. One that was no longer aware of where it was, one whose soul left long ago. Or perhaps, what infuriated him the most… was that he saw something happen between Suzaku and Euphemia, that he knew could never happen to him. Nevertheless, he heartlessly reinforced the order to burn the Viceroy palace to the ground.
"No!" Suzaku shouted while entering the name of Lloyd's favorite food, activating all four of the Knightmare's slash harkens, forcing his assailants off him successfully. "I refuse to die! I have to live…"
Those words shook Kallen with how eerily similar they were to Suzaku's words on Shikine Island. Thus, she backed away, only for the corrupted Knight to chase her down, and slam her into the ground with a swift kick. "Damn it!" Lelouch shouted upon seeing the sight, "Everyone, retreat, this mission's a failure!"
With that order, Mario and Maya looked at each other, "But… it's just one guy."
"No!" Kallen shouted while shakily standing up as the Lancelot watched her motionless, "I don't know what happened…" but she had an idea, "But he's changed… we need to get out of here. That's an order!"
In truth, even if Karma Suzaku did take over, Kallen felt like she could probably take him on alone, but considering that her systems were still fried from the hack, she wasn't at her peak performance, it was far too dangerous to risk some kind of surge happening simply because she was too reckless. Though the second she took a step back, the Lancelot burst forth, hitting her with a spinning kick that sent her crashing into a warehouse.
"Kally!" Maya shouted as the Lancelot paid the Disel siblings no mind. Right now, it had one target in mind: the Guren . However, it wouldn't be that easy, as from the port's lighthouse, Naoto fired a single shot from an experimental rifle provided by Rakshata. It was supposed to be an anti-material rifle, her answer to breaking through the Blaze Luminous system. Of course, it had its flaws.
Suzaku activated his Blaze Luminous and successfully deflected the bullet. This was one of them.
"Damn, do I have to change the settings?" Naoto wondered as he fiddled with the dial. Meanwhile, Suzaku took out his VARIS, and fired one shot at the lighthouse, causing it to crumble atop the Kozuki. Once that was taken care of, he turned back to the Guren, only to see it disappeared, "Where'd it go?" he wondered while looking around. "Damn it. Whatever, I'll find them at Ashford tomorrow. It's not like they can evade school forever." he then put away his VARIS, before hesitantly contacting Euphemia, "I… I apologize. The terrorists escaped."
"That's alright, Suzaku." the innocent Princess responded, "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."
It had been a long time since Suzaku had heard those words from the woman he was charged to protect. So, hearing her say it, even if he wasn't her Knight, still made him feel good on the inside, "I'll be returning to the Camelot van." Before taking a step forward, the corrupted Knight admired the stars above for a good minute, "Thank you. For giving me a second chance. This time, I swear… things won't end the same as last time. This time… I won't allow Lelouch to get as far."
AN: I'm never trying to write one chapter in one night ever again.
