Well, it's not as hot as it was last week, but it's more bearable. As for this chapter, I'm pretty pleased with the final product, especially as this marks the end of this battle, as I planned to handle it all in three chapters, not five. Again, it just means I have more content ready for this story than I thought, which is good news for all of you as it means there's plenty coming in 2025.

Chapter 05: Birth of the White Knight

With the go-ahead, the crew serving under Lloyd quickly sprang into action. The medical trucks in front of them cleared the path as the trailer opened up, allowing the Lancelot to slowly be lowered to the street. "Z-01 Lancelot activating. Releasing hatch. Z-01 Lancelot activating, stand by for activation, pellet extension initiating."

As that went on, Suzaku put on his newly gifted pilot suit. He would have thought it a waste of time, but Lloyd cheerfully informed him it was less about style and more about keeping him alive, as it was much like a jet pilot's suit.

Suzaku could accept that and the man's blatant admission that he was a guinea pig. All he cared about was getting back into the field. He had been listening in on things, and from what they had picked up, the terrorists had suddenly gained some Sunderlands and were tearing through their forces.

More than anything, Suzaku would need to put a stop to that; he couldn't trust these terrorists to not take out whatever frustrations they had on any Britannian. It would only be a matter of time before Lelouch and the girl were found, and he didn't want to think what could happen to them.

"Did you read the manual?" Cecile's voice came through his earpiece.

"Pretty much." He answered.

"Well done, you scored at the top of the class in the simulator." Suzaku wasn't sure about Ms. Cecile at first, but her kindness towards him seemed genuine, and it was a good sign that his goals weren't as crazy as so many people believed them to be.

"Ms. Cecile, about what you told me earlier." That said, he couldn't trust her with everything. So, he had told them he had a friend trapped in the ghetto but didn't correct her when she assumed it was a fellow Eleven.

"Well, it's possible, but the odds are close to zero." As they spoke, he left the medical truck he had been changing it, walking out into the light of day, the ghetto right in front of him, the same one he had nearly been killed on and now would rush back into under the command of the same man who would have undoubtedly authorized his death, the irony not lost on him.

"But they aren't zero, right?" Suzaku focused on the most essential things: ending this pointless bloodletting and saving those two.

"Correct, but even so, you're not to do anything reckless. This is still a prototype. More importantly, it's not fitted with an ejection mechanism yet," Cecile told him as he approached the tarp-covered machine.

"I understand, Ms. Cecile." He confirmed with her as the tarp was removed, giving him his first look at the machine in which he would be sent into battle. And it was nothing like the bulky Glasgow or Sunderland models; it was sleek, much like armor worn by knights of old with gleaming white and gold paint. "That is it?"

"Yes, the advanced weapon we developed in the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps. Lancelot, the world's first 7th generation knightmare frame." Cecile replied, with Suzaku nodding as it certainly lived up to the hype of the next step in knightmare development. And he would be part of that history as its first pilot of a 7th-gen machine and the first number, and Eleven, to be made into a pilot. Plenty of firsts.

Lloyd, standing next to Cecile, supervised everything as it happened. "Well, if you're ready, Suzaku, shall we proceed with the initial start-up?"

"Initial start-up now proceeding from phrase 20. Equipping energy filler." Cecile reported as the battery was slotted into the machine, its core was luminous, accepting it without issue; the same went for its other systems as they switched over from the power lines to said energy filler, getting red flags; Cecile continued with the start-up. "Initiating devicer set-up."

"So far, it's going per the data." Lloyd smiled as Suzaku climbed aboard the unit, the seat shifting into the cockpit, which was sealed behind him. He was in darkness, but only briefly, as the interior lights came on. Their pilot put in his newly acquired activation key and password, both being accepted as he gripped the controls. The clamps that held the unit in place released, and the power lines disconnected.

A press of the control yoke button had its landspinner drop down as Suzaku shifted the unit into a starting position.

"Lancelot, activate ME boast," Suzaku called out.

Lancelot, launch!" With Cecile's go-ahead, Suzaku pushed the machine forward. The unit responded to his desire to swiftly end things as it blasted off, the speed of it throwing back a gust of air that had the control staff within the Lancelot trailer taking cover.

"Running full throttle right out of the gate? I should have known he would!" Lloyd laughed, as he just knew that this boy would be a far more intriguing and lucrative device than Jeremiah ever would.

The rebels had managed to win a profound victory, and while they would celebrate, their faceless leader shut that down and kept them on the lookout as Lelouch got them ready for his next move.

Because of that, they were shifting to get into position when Tamaki was the first to notice something, an unknown that didn't look or move like any knightmare he had seen."The heck is that? It doesn't look like a Sunder-!" He couldn't even finish his thought as the Lancelot quickly closed the distance and severed his Sunderland's head in a single move, Tamaki barely having time to curse before he found himself being forcible ejected.

Lelouch was overlooking his tactical map when he noticed Tamaki's unit's IFF switch to a loss before it vanished. "What? Was he defeated? By what?" Lelouch asked. Concerned, he contacted the nearest unit to the fallen P-5. "B-group, be advised, P-5's gone dark. Possible enemy units are in your area."

"Understood; wait, we see something. It's the enemy!" No sooner had he given the warning than B-group spotted whatever it was that took out P-5. Glancing at his map showed that B-group was close, but not that close, so whatever enemy unit this was had to be on the faster side. Perhaps they had already gotten into position and took out P-5 to make it seem like they were further out than reality.

Whatever it was had B-group's leader freaking out. "What the hell, how can it move like that?" Lelouch frowned as he saw that 4 of their units in B-group were taken in less than 7 seconds.

"B-group, details. What are their numbers?" Lelouch asked, as whoever this force was was skilled far more than the troops Lelouch had already seen slaughtered. At this rate, the B-group would be wiped out.

"Just one, I think it's a new model. I've never seen anything li-Awww!" B-group's leader screamed midway through his response as even C.C. looked up at the screens to see that the entire B-group had been defeated, and it hadn't even been a full 20 seconds.

With the defeated B-group, their leader's cockpit rocketed away from the Lancelot, which stood alone. The rest of the Sunderlands were little more than wrecks as the unit's forearm-mounted slash harken returned. From its chest, two fact spheres came out and scanned the area, giving Suzaku a much clearer view of the battlefield. This meant he knew to turn his machine and hold up its left forearm, activating another of the unit's features.

"You bastard!" Two terrorist Sunderlands fired on him, but their shots never reached him as they crashed into the near transparent green energy shield his unit was creating, the prototype blaze luminous, which left Suzaku and his enemies in are.

The two Sunderland, slack-jawed at what they saw, had the fortitude to report it to their faceless leader. Lelouch's frown grew more prominent as he heard the details.

"An energy shield, possibly a new prototype. But no, that doesn't make sense. Why would Clovis only send it now? If he had access to something like that," Lelouch's brow creased, before he grunted, wanting to smack himself for getting ahead of himself.

"It was a rookie mistake to call this so soon." He switched his radio back on, broadcasting to all his units in the field. "All units, be advised. There is an unknown enemy unit in the field at point D12. The prototype is faster than a Sunderland and has some sort of energy shield. Keep your distance."

Even with his orders, he saw that the unknown was shredding through them. Already it had taken out another 3 units and was busy with the remaining 2, which were pulling back as fast as they could, yelling about how they couldn't tag the damn thing with how it was jumping off buildings and speeding along like a bullet.

Seeing another unit removed, Lelouch had to switch things up before they were destroyed. "P1, P2, P3-I want you to keep an eye on it, I need as much information as you can get. P4, P6, P7, keep the unknown from the other 3."

To his anger, he didn't get confirmation, but instead, one of his forces, P2, seemed to break under the strain of the incoming target. "But how? It's moving too fast! Ishida!" Both P2 and 3 were wiped out.

"Useless so-called terrorists. All it takes is one unit, and they break?" Lelouch expected more from them, but that was just another lesson, wasn't it?

But it wasn't a complete loss as P1, Ohgi's unit if he was recalling it correctly, followed orders and turned tail and ran, leading the unknown ace unit deeper into the ghetto. Good, they could use that. Whatever unit this was, it was vastly superior to their Sunderlands. It could easily wipe the floor with them even when outnumbered, so he would need to change the rules.

"P1, P4 observe the enemy unit but don't engage it; lure it to point D14. R1 and R2 take positions on the rooks to the north and east. B1, you're to hide in the alley to the west and fire on the enemy unit when it appears." Lelouch ordered, keeping a view of the spot, which was an open space with tall buildings on all sides but one. Even if the damn thing was fast, it would take time to ascend the buildings, leaving it open to attack.

"Understood," Ohgi called back as he let the unknown chase after him. It took all he had to avoid it, but Suzaku was relentless. The young pilot grasped at his side, his wound threatening to re-open from the strain of combat in such a demanding frame, but he didn't dare let up.

"Yes, I can do it; with Lancelot, I can end the fighting. Then I can find Lelouch and that girl." Suzaku said to himself as Ohgi and his partner reached the plaza strip. They kept going, turning around to fire on the white unit as they pulled back. Still, it was proving to be too fast, too agile with how it danced around its shots, not even using its shields.

A slash harken fired from its hips took out the head of Ohgi's partner and another, its arm holding its gun, leading to the man cursing as he ejected out. But his loss wasn't in vain as once the Lancelot entered the plaza, Suzaku's sensors screamed at him moments before he was fired on from two sides, the boy using his blaze luminously to block the gunfire.

He moved to handle them, but then the sensors picked up a third in the alley, with Suzaku leaping into the air to avoid the shot. The height and speed of the shot caught everyone by surprise, as not even Lelouch and C.C. were wide-eyed at the feat.

Using its four slash harkens, the Lancelot was able to twist and target both knightmares on the buildings, one slash harken taking out a head and the other piercing right below the cock-pit, triggering its auto ejection right before the unit exploded.

"It's an incredible machine." C.C.'s statement grounded Lelouch, as the unknown defeated everyone in the ambush, including Ohgi, whose cockpit was flying off. With the Lancelot, it moved like nothing anyone had ever seen, a fusion of a free-runner, dancer, and martial artist. It lacked a weapon, but those slash harkens, kicks, and slices with its fingers were dismantling them.

Clovis watched the battle with satisfaction, his calm having returned as things swung back in their favor. "Goodness, now I'll owe a brother a debt, but it couldn't be helped." He said as the Lancelot eliminated the 11th enemy frame in less than 3 minutes.

"These readings are even higher than predicted," Cecile noted, amazed that the outputs from the Lancelot could even climb this high in its first combat run.

Lloyd was more than pleased with that, as it would seem he found the missing piece in his design. "That is because our pilot is taking this very seriously." He suspected the boy had kept some things from them about his missing friend, but he could hardly care when he was seemingly made for the Lancelot.

That statement proved true every second the Lancelot was in the field, as even when it didn't fire its forearm-mounted slash harkens, they could expend outwards like gauntlet blades, only increasing its combat potential as it used its vastly superior speed and agility to evade every trap Lelouch through at it. His latest had been an encirclement from 4 sides. Still, the unit spun in place, creating a dust storm with its shields up, obscuring it before it dashed to the side and disarmed a Sunderland before it went after the rest.

Lelouch, contrasting the Viceroy, was furious but kept a lid on it. 'But what more is there to do?' he asked himself, as his second attempt to trap the unknown machine had failed, much like the rest. Looking at the map and the pieces he still had, he had to bite back a growl and accept reality.

"C-group, you're to lead the unknown to E7. The rest of you are to retreat." Lelouch order was frank, but the game couldn't be won with things as they were. This machine's performance told him that nothing they could help to defeat. He would have tried to drop a building on the damn thing, but they used up all the explosives the rebels had earlier.

"But why? We still have numbers!" He expected that from them and was ready to respond.

"Numbers don't mean victory. We'll be overwhelmed if we try and fight it. All units fall back; the enemy unit is faster than you, so use smaller spaces and narrow streets to retreat; force it to come at you head-on, and it'll hesitate!" Lelouch ordered they could at least refuse defeat by escaping with three of their stolen knightmares intact.

"You think it will?" C.C. asked him, the woman remaining largely silent as it worked. He appreciated this, as while he could hold a conversation and command, it was wiser not to.

"No, it has shields, but this will keep them from completely panicking," Lelouch replied as C.C. snorted.

"That is cruel."

He turned his eye to her. "Is it? They'll be slaughtered if they panic; the enemy unit doesn't seem interested in killing anyone. It's taken out my knightmares, but all their pilots are alive." He had noticed that early on, and probably, it was also apparent to those in the field.

"Maybe they plan to capture them?" C.C. proposed, but Lelouch didn't buy into that. It would be wise in most other cases, but it didn't fit here.

"No, Clovis wanted the entire ghetto razed to keep you and whatever designs he had for you a secret." Lelouch objected, but then that got him thinking about it. "But if that is the case, wouldn't this pilot know that….or perhaps they're not a part of his regular forces, that would explain why it's deploying now and not before…"

Clovis was a prince of the realm and the Viceroy of the area, so few people could have forces in the area outside his direct command. He had never even heard rumors about this unit in his gambling escapades or through his contacts, so it had to be a prototype.

Setting aside the insult of being overrun by a prototype unit, knightmare development wasn't cheap nor easy. Perhaps it was another royal? But they'll need considerable funds as unless royal stipends have gone up, that couldn't possibly cost what the R&D for a unit like that would need. It would also need to be someone that Clovis was close enough to be willing to accept help from or request it, but not someone he would readily turn to considering how late into the game the white knightmare was deployed.

"Boyo, we have incoming!" Lelouch was dragged out of his speculations about the identity of that knightmare's patron by C.C., who drew his attention to the slash-harken anchor fired into the ceiling above their heads seconds later, the white machine as one of it.

Like it had done to many others, it had gone for a quick takedown, but Lelouch was able to pull up both his unit's arms to block it, catching its arms and keeping its slash-harken blade from piercing him—but only barely, as the white unit wasn't just faster but stronger than him.

"C.C., hold on." Lelouch pushed his unit to its limit, but even with its landspinners working at full speed, he was being pushed back by the Lancelot, with Suzaku grimacing at the unexpected block and the continued pain from his side.

"Are you the terrorist leader?" He asked but received no answer as the floor beneath the two struggling units gave way; both went tumbling through the deserted, broken building, with the Sunderland crashing into the ground floor.

"It would be wise to run while we have cover," C.C. advised as their rough landing had thrown up a lot of dust, but Lelouch remained still.

"They'll be expected that; we need a means to disable it before we run, else it'll just catch us." He countered before he spotted the white knightmare, which hadn't fallen with him and instead hooked onto the wall and was now swinging back at him, the unit twisting in a way that shouldn't even be possible to bring up a flying spin kick of all things?

Baffled by such an act, Lelouch was knocked down by the white knightmare whose foot crashed into his chest. Even while he and C.C. were rattled inside their cockpit, Lelouch was out of the fight as he fired his slash harkens straight up, anchoring into the remaining ceiling down; Suzaku saw the counter and quickly evaded it, giving Lelouch time to think. He couldn't use his gun to fight this unit, but he had no melee weapons.

His luck seemed to improve as he spotted something in the rubble he could use, which made him smile.

Suzaku didn't know what his enemy was planning, but he wouldn't let him carry it out. He charged right in once more, latching onto a wall and using it to jump in from an angle in case his opponent was waiting to fire. Once he entered the dust and spotted the Sunderland, he realized he had been played, as it had no intention of shooting him.

Having realized his foe would come in from an unconventional angle, Lelouch was ready as he swung a rusty stop sign with a lump of concrete still attached to its bottom like a hammer. Suzaku, being caught surprised by this, wasn't able to raise his shields as the makeshift weapon smashed into his unit's chest.

Suzaku hissed as the force threw him back into his seat while Lloyd screamed over the radio in horror that his machine had taken damage. The terrorist was quick to capitalize on this, firing on him. The Lancelot's superior armor to a Sunderland meant that he wasn't severely damaged in the moments before he activated his shield, but that didn't mean he didn't take damage. As pieces of his already dented chest armor had been blown off, taking out one of his factspheres.

"It might be faster, but its reliance on close quarters can be used against it," Lelouch muttered as he fired on it, forcing it to use its shield.

Suzaku's grimace turned ugly as he felt his frustration climbing. "Whoever they are, they're crafty, willing to fight dirty," Suzaku admitted. Still, he had his mission to complete and two people to save, so he wouldn't be bested here. "But that won't be enough to beat me." He finished as he took aim and fired his hip-mounted slash harkens, staggering them so the left went off a second before the right. This meant that while his enemy dodged the first, the second hit its mark, throwing its aim off.

"Dammit." Lelouch cursed as that single blow threw his unit off balance, and he could already see the damaged but still standing white unit coming in for the final blow.

"Heads up!" Lelouch turned to the side and saw a familiar one-armed knightmare coming in for a sneak attack on the white knightmare, which the superior machine caught, but that did turn his attention off Lelouch.

Inside the Glasgow, Kallen could already tell the sheer difference in performance between their two units. She was just lucky she managed to get there in time; having recalled his words about where he was made it easier to track them down. "I'm returning the favor, so do your disappearing act already!"

Kallen tried to catch the unit unaware, firing her single working slash harken, but it was easily caught, and it and her unit's remaining hand crashed. As alerts rang out in her cockpit, she had to admit that was all she could do as she turned its damaged body to aim out and ejected. Suzaku frowned at that, as why would someone in such an outdated machine challenge him? Was their leader just that important?

They had to be, as in those precious seconds he had been distracted, the Sunderland had vanished; looking out, he saw it was already speeding down the road away from him.

Lelouch took a moment to thank Kallen's bravery, unexpected as it was. "Reality is different from any program or combat drill, but I need to keep in mind that people aren't mindless pieces and that they'll act and react independently."

"Good thing to remember, boyo, but we have a tail," C.C. spoke up, with Lelouch turning his unit and seeing the Lancelot chasing them down and gaining. "You might be faster, but let's see how well you dodge." Lelouch turned and fired at the buildings on both sides of the road, shattering walls and pillars and causing debris to rain, creating a variable minefield.

"Bastard, he's tearing this up for no reason." Suzaku decried his foe as he had to slow down as he evaded through the debris and dust. His single working factsphere gave him an incomplete picture of things, but he could avoid the worst and use his shields to block the rest.

"What would it take to stop that thing?" Lelouch asked as he spied his chaser still hot on his tail. He might have been slowed, but he wasn't stopping. He continued to fire until his gun ran out of bullets. Suzaku noticed this and was moments away from clearing the debris and taking the terrorist leader out before he could reload, but his unit detected something.

Looking up, he saw a woman falling from the building. The Japanese pilot realized in horror that she had dropped out of the holes that the bastard had created in the buildings. He switched focus and jumped up, taking damage to his frame as he caught the woman and landed, shielding her from the last of the debris with his frame and shields.

"Amid battle, he rescues someone?" Lelouch asked. "Our white knight isn't just one in color." Lelouch grinned, as who would have thought? A Britannian knight living up to the classical ideals of chivalry.

"Maybe, but it seems rather foolish. Or did you predict he'll respond to collateral like that?" C.C. asked him, with Lelouch finding it mildly disturbing how little she seemed to care for the woman's life.

"No, but it was careless not to consider that fact. I only got involved in this battle for 3 reasons, and I nearly violated one of those reasons." Sacrifice was necessary, especially in conflict, but there was a difference between sacrifice for the sake of the mission and needless slaughter.

Seeing the white knightmare save that woman made him frown, bitter that he had been shown up, but also grateful that he had rescued her from the harm Lelouch had carelessly put her in. He had enough demons haunting him as it was. "I'll concede defeat, white knight-but make no mistake. Strategic victory is still within my grasp." Lelouch reached for the ejection levels and pulled them.

With the Lancelot, he gently put the woman down, Suzaku noting the bundle in her arms as he smiled, knowing that she and her child were safe. However, that feeling wasn't shared as saved or not; the woman was terrified of his machine and ran off as soon as she was on stable ground. Suzaku was insulted by that, but he squashed that as soon as it formed. He couldn't blame her for it, not when the people of this ghetto had been put through.

"He saved someone?" Lloyd asked, having just heard about it back at their trailer.

"Yes, so it would seem." One of their staff replied, with the spectacled scientist turning to walk off.

"Quite strange of him." Lloyd mused as Cecile contacted Suzaku in the field. "Suzaku, are you tired? We can call it quits for today. You have handled the worst situation, and we have plenty of data."

"No, I can keep going," Suzaku replied, his wound not hurting as much as before. Besides, if the terrorists had been beaten back, he would have had an easier time searching for Lelouch and that girl.

At the same time, Lloyd, who had stepped out, yelled back to remind her of Lancelot's operational time, which she confirmed as the unit's performance did mean that he burned through energy fillers faster than the standard Sunderlands.

"Was that the victory that you were hoping for, boyo?" C.C. asked as Lelouch helped her out of the cockpit; the two had landed safely from the fighting.

"Not yet, I've managed to secure 2 of my goals for this battle," Lelouch reached for his gun, checking it. "And I've spotted our means to take the third." Lelouch smiled when he spied a group of soldiers not too far, one that broke off to search the area.

Lelouch put his gun away and stumbled out into the open, his breath uneven as he looked panicked and confused. The soldier, having nearly fired on him, lowered his weapon when he saw he was Britannian and pretty young at that, in a school uniform.

"You there? What are you doing here?" The man demanded as Lelouch jumped, skittish as he looked around, terrified of whatever could be following him.

"H-help me, please! Those elevens kidnapped me, they grabbed my friend too, and I…I just-!" He was bumbling, fear making it hard to understand what he was saying as the soldier put his weapon away, his gas mask falling as he removed his helmet.

"Slow down, son!" he said, letting Lelouch see his familiar Britannian features to soothe the traumatized kid. You need to breathe. Listen, you're safe now. I can give you a hand and help you find your friend."

"Oh, thank you," Lelouch smiled, looking down as he collected himself. But before the soldier could radio this in, Lelouch looked up, his eye having already switched. You can start by telling me your name, rank, and ID code and handing over your uniform."

The command took root in his head, and red circles formed around the soldier's pupils as he went slack. "Sure thing, my name is Allen Brooks. I'm a corporal. My ID is 347-DF093." Once that was done, the man robotically started to undress, starting with his armor and then his uniform, folding all of it neatly and placing it at Lelouch's feet before he came to. "Wait, what happened-why am I nak-!"

Lelouch didn't let the man finish, as the last thing the man saw was the barrel of his pistol before Lelouch put one between his eyes. Having dropped his terrified civilian act as quickly as he breathed, Lelouch got to work.

"You know, a Britannian in his underwear is sure to draw attention." C.C. walked out of the deeper part of the alley where she had been watching his little performance.

With little shame, Lelouch stripped down to his boxers in the alley under C.C.'s apathetic gaze. He quickly put his clothes to the side before grabbing the newly gained uniform and started putting it on.

"A corpse of an undressed man would draw attention regardless. Good thing there are plenty of places to dispose of such." With most of the kit on, sans the armor, Lelouch dragged the body deeper into the alley, leaving a blood smear on the ground as he walked over to an old dumpster; opening it up, he tossed the body inside like trash.

However, he wasn't done as again; he whistled, and not even a minute later, C.C. bore witness to over 2 dozen rats just appearing out from wrecked buildings, the rodents coming to a stop around her as Lelouch gently smiled at them.

"Greetings, little friends. Might I ask a favour of you?" He kneeled, reaching out a hand, but didn't pet the rodents, letting them approach him. Once one did, he picked it up and petted it as he walked over to the dumpster, lifting it to present the corpse. "Could you take care of it?"

The rat seemed to think about it before letting out some squeaks, the others following suit as Lelouch smiled in gratitude, his attitude utterly different from the callousness of which he deceived, killed, and then dumped Allen's body.

"Thank you." Placing the rodent down, Lelouch stepped back and allowed the rats to climb up the dumpster and jump in. Fixing his uniform collar, he went for the armor to put that on, his gaze bored again. "There, by the time anyone finds it, they'll just assume he's another filthy Eleven and most likely not even bother with a DNA test."

C.C. didn't quite know what to make of the boy, as he could go from one extreme to the other without ease that one could only typically see in the insane or someone with the type of bipolar disorder. She should have known more, but when they made their contract, his mind had been…chaotic, to put it simply, too much noise to make out anything; that apparent madness made it hard to see what lay at his core.

However, that only interested him the more, as how long had it been since she had a puzzle like this? Too long, she would reckon.

With his uniform in place, Lelouch held the helmet and gas mask, ready to put both on when he turned to C.C. "Would you also like a change of clothes? I can't imagine that a prisoner's outfit is comfortable." His gaze went towards her feet, where, for reasons he couldn't fathom, her prisoner restraining uniform came with heels. Was that meant to make escape harder?

C.C. hardly cared for it, as she could see where his gaze was and walked forward with ease, despite the rough terrain. "It's fine. Besides, I'll let you handle the leg work and follow in your shadow."

Lelouch shrugged as he picked the man's weapon up and left, C.C. close behind, but as she said, she stuck to the shadows, Lelouch only catching sight of her from time to time as he left the area and marched back to the G1. When he got there, the place was a mess, as with so many dead or injured, they were working overtime to account for that. He didn't bother with any of them. However, he bumped into a grey-haired scientist-looking man. He quickly excused himself, the man being rather blasé about it as he continued on his little stroll.

Why he decided to take a stroll now was a question for later. Getting past the rest of the soldiers was nearly comically easy, as the area was guarded, and Lelouch didn't even need to use the name and ID of the soldier he was impersonating. 'Clovis, I knew you were sloppy, but this is sad…I almost feel pity for you, ' he thought to himself before, at least, he was stopped by someone.

He was outside the G1 itself, and four soldiers guarding the entrance aimed their weapons at him. "Halt, your name and ID, soldier. This is Prince Clovis' personal transport, " one of them told him as Lelouch came to a stop and saluted them all.

"Sir, Corporal Allen Brooks. ID 347-DF093." He parroted to them, the four sharing a confused, irritated look before their leader turned back to him. Lelouch smiled beneath the gas mask as all four weren't wearing anything that covered their faces or, more importantly, their eyes.

"Why are you, sir, Corporal? The orders were for everyone to resume the operation." The leader told him that Lelouch had suspected as much of Clovis. After all, even with a fraction of his forces, he would be dead set on burying any evidence of his crimes.

It was too bad for him that it wouldn't matter as Louch acted confused. "Resume the operation, sir? Is that why there are so many people here?"

The leader of the four grunted in annoyance, saying something about idiots getting promoted. "That's right, what, did you not hear the order?"

"No, sir, but that makes my plans easier." Lelouch decided to drop the act as he reached for his helmet, the four keeping their guns on him.

"Plans?" the leader asked, ready to kill or arrest him should he reveal himself to be a number. However, he and the other three were confused when they saw the face of a young Britannian instead.

"That doesn't concern you, but you will let me and my accomplice past. Once we do, you're to forget that you ever saw us. Then you are to act normal for the next 10 minutes before excusing yourselves from whatever you might be doing to find a quiet spot nearby to take your own lives." Lelouch cast his geass on all of them, and just like with his first 2 victims, his order took root in their heads within seconds, their weapons going slack as they stepped aside for him.

"Yeah, we can do that, " the leader pointed out before going silent as they waited for them to pass. Lelouch suspected that if he didn't pass by them, they would never move unless forced, but he didn't have time to test that as C.C. made herself known, having quietly followed him into the enemy's den.

"My, how ruthless." She mused, having heard his orders to the men who would never realize that they had been sentenced to death.

"It's a necessary pragmatism. I only realized earlier that leaving that soldier alive was a liability. Who's to say she won't remember us? These four would be worse, as they'll be the first ones questioned about what comes next; I can order them to forget they ever saw me, but I won't leave things to chance; the fewer clues they are, the better." Lelouch retorted, as he would need to look into that woman later and if need be, deal with her before she become a problem.

But that could come later as he marched past the soldiers and into the G1, the moving command base nearly empty of troops as most were outside guarding or having been sent out again to continue with Clovis' attempted purge. "Now let's go. We have a prince to meet with."

Kallen ran down the street from her abandoned cockpit. Gunfire had started back up again, but it was in the distance. She suspected that it was those damned Britannians finding stranglers that had managed to evade the opening attack, but that was all she could do, suspect as she only her pistol.

'He better have gotten away, or else I just wasted a knightmare.' Kallen thought to himself, as she hadn't seen if their leader had taken the chance to bolt or if that white bastard hadn't caught him, but she would hope for the best. If he could lead them to such highs, he could escape from one unit…right?

"As she ran by a building, Ohgi came around the corner. "Kallen, this way!" He yelled as she turned and followed after him. A couple of streets down, they turned down an alley into one of the sturdier buildings. Inside, she spotted survivors from the purge, being watched over by the rest of the resistance members, Kallen being relieved that while she didn't see everyone, she didn't see anyone injured-even though she was sure that a few had had the bad luck of fighting that white knightmare.

Her good mood was made better by the fact that there were 7 Sunderlands present, though considering they had started with 21 of those bad boys, she had to take a class half-fill approach to that. But it would seem that a good mood was rare amongst them as most of the people were naturally freaking out over what had just happened, what was still happening.

"It's your fault. This is what happens when you oppose the Britannians!" Someone cried in the crowd, and Tamaki, the short-tempered one, was quick to yell back at someone probably grieving.

"What? Why, you gutless coward!"

"How many of us were killed because of this?" Another woman cried out, Kallen frowning as she couldn't defend herself. They had been wrong. They hadn't assumed that Britannia wouldn't go this far to recover their precious poison gas. A mistake that they should never have made, as the ghetto's abysmal conditions and its large population were proof of how depraved and cruel Britannia could be to those they conquered.

On the other hand, Tamaki didn't make that association; he didn't realize they had been wrong. "Shut up. Have any of many of us been killed or captured? Do you?" Kallen wanted to march over and shut him up, but fighting right now wasn't the best move.

"Ohgi, whose was that voice we heard?" Instead, she focused on a more significant issue.

"No clue; it didn't sound like anyone I've ever met before, and I can't get into contact with them either. Any clue on why?" Ohgi sat down by a radio set and tried to tune in to the frequency they had been using the entire day, which was the same one their faceless leader had used, but all he got was static.

As he did that, Kallen responded to his question. "He was being chased by that white machine, but he could have got away by now." She hoped he did.

"Probably by ejecting then, if he was lucky." Ohgi couldn't put much stock into that. Their leader was good, but that white knightmare was just a monster. You'll have to be an ace or something to face it in just a Sunderland.

Kallen's response was drowned by the sound of an engine, followed by an explosion as the main entrance into the building was blown open, the residents screaming more as the resistance fighters. Scrambled to get into position.

"Dammit, they found us!" One of their pilots yelled as he aimed his weapon into the newly made hole.

"Get the people out of here; we'll keep them back!" The other did the same as their knightmares could easily handle whatever threat awaited them, provided it wasn't that white knightmare.

"We can't; they'll gun us down before we can get half the people out of here!" Ohgi yelled back, going for a gun at his side as Kallen did the same with her pistol. Both were more concerned about the people. It would take a stray shot to kill who knew how many, and if there were Britannians outside, who to say they would fire to slaughter all of them?

"Dammit, we should have just used the poison gas!" Tamaki yelled, and for once, Kallen felt like it would have been the better bet if she could go back and let hundreds if not thousands of those Britannians pigs die instead of her people…

Soldiers came through the same, at least a dozen of them, with an armored vehicle being their center. It was a small force that even a single knightmare could handle, 7 would reduce them to paste in seconds, but those seconds could see them getting off enough shots to kill most of the people present.

The commander in the IFV seemed to recognize that, as he didn't fire immediately, the two sides squared off. "So this is where you eleven vermin scurried off to?" he asked, looking around and counting the Elevens present; it was close to a hundred or so, not too many, but definitely something that should be handled.

Despite his statement, he held the order as he weighed it, should he carry out his prince and Viceroy's orders even if that meant the death of his entire unit. Same with the rebels, they would need to kill these soldiers to escape, but could they stomach taking the first shot in a firefight that would cause so many more of their people to be killed?

"Attention all forces, cease fire at once!" Before either side could make a decision, Clovis came over the airwaves and ordered them to stand down, confusing everyone who heard it.

"Cease fire?" Suzaku asked, why would he just…call it off? This entire operation was his idea? Wait, he was after that girl, wasn't he? Did he find her already?

"I, Clovis, 3rd prince of Britannian and royal Viceroy of Area 11 hereby command you, all forces are to cease fire at once! You will also cease all destruction of any buildings or property! Any casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, as to be treated equally and without prejudice." People on both sides, soldiers, fighters, and civilians, all listened in confusion and relief as for the majority, even if the Britannians didn't follow through with all those orders, it meant that the slaughter had finally come to an end.

"In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are hereby ordered to cease fire at once! I shall allow no further fighting!" Even around the G1, troops, and personnel were at a loss over Clovis's change in attitude, but none could question it and, even if reluctantly, carried them out as ambulances were despatched closer to the front line to allow Elevens an easier time reaching them, should they choose.

Once Clovis had finished his transmission on the G-1's bridge, he returned to his throne, the lights shutting off around him. The man tried to keep a cool face, but he was terrified. Things had been going so well, incredibly so, since he had allowed his elder brother's pet project loose. Those dirty terrorists were defeated with typical ease, and he was able to resume the operation now that their fighting strength had been smashed.

The good news kept on coming when a soldier came in and reported that a team of them had found a strange girl in the ghetto, one that matched…her description perfectly and how, due to her clothing, they assumed she was an escaped convict who had been living among the Elevens and shot her, only for her to get back up and drive one of them insane. According to the reasonably confused and skeptical soldier, the recovery team lost half their soldiers but managed to restrain her and brought her back to be detained.

He had immediately ordered Bartley to handle it. He was thinking about how he would reward those lucky souls for their service to his name…and then everything had gone to hell.

Not even 30 seconds after Bartley left, the same soldier returned and, without a word or hesitation, shot and killed his entire command staff before they could even put up a fight.

One second, things were fine; the next half was already dead, and the rest joined soon after. Whoever that soldier was, he was an exceptionally skilled marksman, so much so that Clovis didn't think it was chance that he wasn't harmed in the brief firefight.

Once his floor was decorated with spent bullets, bodies, and ever-growing puddles of blood, the masked soldier turned his gun on him and ordered that he cease the massacre.

"Are you satisfied?" Clovis hoped that his adding without prompt that property would also be spared and the extension of medical support endeared him even just a little with his would-be killer.

"Very." The soldier kept his gun pointed at the prince but kept calm as he rested his head on his palm.

"Please, if you wanted me dead, you would have killed me by now, so I can only assume you want me as hostage. But what then? Shall we sing a lively ballad? Play a little game of chess?" Clovis asked, already thinking of ways he could try and turn this in his favor.

The gunman barked out in laughter, but his aim never wavered. "It's quite bold to just assume I haven't killed you yet because I want a hostage, especially when you and I both know your father wouldn't bat an eye if I were to demand even just 1000 pounds for your life." Clovis glared at him for that comment.

The masked soldier hardly cared about his anger; instead, he pretended to consider his question: "As for the activities? Well, I can't deny you're an excellent performer. We'll have to avoid chess. After all, you could never defeat me."

"What?" Clovis asked him.

"We used to play all the time, and not a single time did you come close to beating you. Such a shame, too, as chess is my favorite game." The soldier removed his helmet but remained in the shadows so that he couldn't see his face.

Hearing that enraged the prince. "Don't you dare talk like we're close, all you are is an assassin."

"Oh, Clovis, you wound me, am I really that forgettable?" The soldier asked, a hand pressed to his heart before he let out another chuckle. "Though you must admit, it was quite odd for someone my elder to always storm out of the Aries villa like he was the child."

"Aries villa, but I…" Hearing that put the pieces together for Clovis made him go white with shock and horror. There was only one person who could match that. "It can't be…you can't be him, he's dead…"

"And yet, I still draw breath, my murderous elder brother." Having had fun, Lelouch walked into the light, allowing Clovis to see his face for the first time in nearly 8 years. But it wasn't the face he knew, not the young boy, but something dangerous as there was a glint in Lelouch's eye, with a wolf's smile on his face as he bowed to him in mockery.

"The eldest son of the late consort Marriane vi Britannia and 17th in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia at your service." Lelouch re-introduced himself to his older brother, who was left unable to understand half of what was happening.

"Lelouch…is that…really you? But I thought-"

Lelouch cut him off, raising his head, Clovis shivering under that gaze, one that seemed to house nothing like madness and wrath. "That I was dead? Well, I assure you it is not due to a lack of effort. But I've returned, Your Highness, to change everything."

And with that, I've finally finished the stuff for episode 2; I didn't think it would take this long, either. Still, I did want to give the Lancelot and Suzaku some love while highlighting more differences as Lelouch was better prepared to handle the unexpected, but that doesn't mean he could pull a victory out of thin air. He says his 'miracles' are born from exceptional tactics and strategy. He's not without skill since he's the only one who damaged the 7th-generation machine. It was funny to write him bumping into Lloyd and never realizing who he was and what he had done.

The next chapter will be out on December 27th.

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