AN: I do not own Code Geass.
XxPistolgun: We're still in 2016.
Ryuto: That's probably the route I'm going to go if I include a scene like that. Of course, things could change as time goes on, but right now, I don't feel comfortable writing such a scene in detail.
Guest(one talking about Thanksgiving): In Canada (which is also a part of Britannia), Thanksgiving is celebrated as part of a harvest, alongside having a big meal with friends and family. Given that Britannia is comprised of the real world US, Canada, and Mexico, I'd say it's only fair to assume that the three cultures were combined. In Japan, they also celebrate with a harvest festival, which is included in the Canadian Thanksgiving. So, technically, Kallen, Naoto, and Ms. Kozuki have celebrated Thanksgiving before, just not an American Thanksgiving. That's why, given the context that Japan is under Britannian rule, the narrator instead of saying 'harvest festival', they just say, Thanksgiving, as a general term. Of course, I see where the confusion lies, and I may change the wording in the future. Thank you.
Chapter 26: The White Knight Awakens
"N group, keep pushing!" Lelouch ordered as five rebel Sutherland's took out several Britannian Sutherland's with a barrage of lead. "Excellent. At this rate, the next checkpoint will fall in no time."
Tamaki and Kento barreled down an empty street, checking each alleyway for ambushes before calling up two more resistance Knightmare's to support their advance, "Would'ya look at that? The Brits are on the run!" Tamaki shouted in victory as several Apaches flew overhead.
"If things continue like this… we could actually win!" another resistance member shouted.
Ohgi drove out of an alleyway, joining the group alongside Toru Yoshida.
"Who do you think that voice is?" Yoshida asked.
"It's probably just the guy Naoto's got helpin' us!" Tamaki responded boisterously
"Seriously? You still can't recognize his voice, even after all this time?" Kento added
"Hey! I'm tryin' my best over here!"
"I wasn't talking to you Tamaki…"
"Oh…"
Everyone chuckled at the exchange, "You have to admit, he's pretty good." Ohgi began, "I mean, he got us these Knightmare's, and helped us beat Britannia. Maybe he wasn't the pushover you said he was, Tamaki."
"Why is everyone bullying me today!?"
They laughed once again. However, it was cut short by the presence of a White Knightmare standing adjacent to them, "W-what the hell is that?" Kento asked shakily
"It doesn't look like a Sutherland…" Tamaki added, "Could it be a new model?"
"Relax! It's just one Knightmare, and there are six of us! Let's just destroy 'em and get on with our day!" Yoshida responded while charging forward.
Big mistake.
The Lancelot burst forward, dodging incoming rifle fire with pinpoint precision, closing the gap between him and the approaching Yoshida in a split second. "Holy shit-" before the rebel could finish his sentence, the White Knightmare took his head off in one punch, causing the auto eject to activate.
"Yoshida!" Tamaki shouted as his friend's cockpit flew overhead, "Damn you!" he, alongside Ohgi, and Kento began unloading their magazines into the Knightmare. However, Suzaku activated the Blaze Luminous, causing the bullets to bounce off the green shielding effortlessly.
"Systems looking good… though, you should keep track of the power usage, it seems like the Blaze luminous is using more than expected." Cecile chimed in through the soldier's earpiece, "Just to be safe, only use it as a last resort."
Suzaku watched as his energy filler status dropped from 90% to 75%, "Yes ma'am." just as the two other resistance Knightmare's approached him, he deactivated the Blaze Luminous, rushing forward in the process, using their Sutherland's as cover, preventing Tamaki, Kento, and Ohgi from firing. In this window of safety, he easily dispatched both machines by delivering a swift strike to one, while taking care of the other by bisecting it with his slash harkens.
"Take this you piece of shit!" Tamaki shouted while dumping another magazine into the Lancelot's Blaze Luminous.
"This really is taxing on the system," Suzaku commented as his energy filler dropped from 75% to 60%.
Just as Ohgi moved to attack him from the other side, the White Knightmare jumped into the air, avoiding the gun fire while making the resistance member's head turn in disbelief, "How can he get so much air!?"
However, Suzaku's problems weren't over yet, because as soon as he landed, a grappling hook flew past his legs, before wrapping itself around them, all the way down to his landspinners as it retracted, causing him to topple over. "I got him!" Kento shouted as he held an S-RES in his Knightmare's hands.
"Is that what they're using to destroy the Sutherland's?" the White Knight questioned as Ohgi and Tamaki stood on either side of him, and began firing into his chest. Luckily, he managed to activate the Blaze Luminous in time to deflect the shots, making his energy filler go from 60% to 40%, "This is seriously just too much."
"It deflects bullets?" Lelouch questioned, "Just surround it from all sides so it can't do that."
"We're doing that right now!" Kento reported, as Ohgi and Tamaki began reloading, "But it's to no effect!"
In this buffer time, Suzaku lifted his bound legs, and used his slash harkens to destroy the titanium ropes, allowing for him to do a sitting whirlwind kick, that knocked the guns out of his aggressors hands. "Damn it!" Tamaki shouted while launching a punch at the Britannian war machine.
That's when the Lancelot simply countered by sending his own punch straight through the Sutherland's chest, forcing the rebel to eject. Ohgi took a step forward, attempting to do the same, but he was quickly dispatched with a swift kick to the head, causing his systems to overload, forcing his auto-eject to activate.
Kento, who was on the ground due to the sudden slack from the rope, watched the scene in horror, "This can't be… they were defeated so easily…"
"Don't worry, we're here too!" shouted a random resistance member as he arrived to Kento's aid, following him, was another Sutherland with an S-RES, "Fire!"
As the grappling hook sailed toward Suzaku, he easily deflected it with a backhand, before grabbing the rope, and pulling it toward him, causing the Sutherland holding the S-RES to stumble forward, letting go of it in the process. Once the mechanism was in front of the Lancelot, the White Knightmare began twirling the S-RES over its head like a lasso, before slamming it into the three Sutherland's like an anchor.
Before impact, Kento shouted, "Screw this!" as he pulled the ejection levers, rocketing him to safety as his fellow rebels did the same.
"It's just one Knightmare! How can they be beaten so easily!?" Lelouch exclaimed while slamming his fist into the armrest of his Knightmare. That's when the building he was hiding in began to shake.
"I can see you!" Suzaku shouted as his factsphere's closed, while the S-RES he was using like a ball-and-chain tore the building's foundation apart.
The Prince's Knightmare came tumbling down in a cloud of dust, miraculously avoiding falling rubble. However, his assailants assault wasn't over, as he pulled back the S-RES, and slammed it at Lelouch's position once again, this time, forcing the boy to narrowly dodge the attack, "This is what's been foiling my plans!?" he used his rifle to destroy the mechanism as it was being pulled back, "Nothing more than a pilot!"
"You must be their leader." Suzaku muttered while launching himself at the enemy Sutherland, leading with a round-house kick, which was barely blocked, at the sacrifice of his rifle.
"Damn it… he's too strong!" Lelouch shouted as the arm of his Sutherland was torn off with the kick.
Just as the Lancelot was about to deliver a final strike to end the fight, Kallen's Glasgow came out of nowhere and fired her left slash harken at his head. But the White Knight easily caught the harken, crushing it in his hand, "Get out of here, Lelouch!" the red head ordered over the radio as she stood face-to-face with the Knightmare.
"Thanks for that." Lelouch replied while slowly driving away, "Just be careful, at the first sign of danger, get out of there."
"Who do you think I am?" Kallen responded cheekily.
"You're the pilot that's been creating ambushes against our Sutherland's?" Suzaku questioned over the intercom, "Please, end this fighting now. If not, then more innocent lives will get caught up in this."
"Sorry, but I've got no intention of doing that." Kallen responded while walking to her left, in response, Suzaku walked to his left, they continued this cycle until they ended up in the other's previous place.
Finally, the duel between Kallen Kozuki and Suzaku Kururugi would begin. Though, if this were just a one-on-one, the red head would lose without a shadow of a doubt; the difference in Knightmare performance was just too great, no matter how much more skill the Kozuki had on her opponent, it would all be for naught if she was in an inferior frame. Luckily for her, she had backup.
From behind, a grappling hook wrapped itself around the Lancelot's right arm, forcing him to stumble back. The perpetrator held the S-RES in place with his last remaining Knightmare arm, shouting, "Get him, Kallen!"
"Oh yeah? What's the matter Private Kururugi?" Lloyd questioned over the radio.
Suzaku tried to pull the machine toward him, but before he could, Kallen delivered a punch to his head, causing him to stumble forward slightly, "They're ganging up on me!" he shouted as the woman in the Glasgow followed up her strike, with a kick to his chest, then a right hook, and finally a spinning kick ended the combo, sending the Lancelot flying backwards.
As he stood up, the red head rushed toward him, pulling her fist back for a punch, so he did the same, knowing if they clashed fist, he'd win. However, he wasn't the only one who knew that, because as soon as he launched his fist forward, he felt his arm being pulled back, allowing for his opponent to deliver a clean blow to his chest, causing him to tumble away. There, he saw the perpetrator: a blue Glasgow, holding an S-RES, trying to encircle the Lancelot with the steel rope, "I can't let him tie me up," Suzaku muttered while standing up.
At that second, Kallen delivered a front kick that sent the White Knight onto his hands and knees, meanwhile, the red head ducked as Naoto came around with the steel rope, binding his opponent's limbs together. The Lancelot now stood up with its arms and legs tied together, unable to fight back at all. "Damn… I have to do it…" the pilot muttered while looking at his dwindling energy filler, "Let's hope it doesn't take away everything…" he flipped the switch for the Blaze Luminous; at first, nothing happened, however, after putting more power into the system, it soon cut through his binds, causing Naoto to fall over from the sudden slack, while Kallen backed away as Suzaku sent a punch her way. "Only 14% remaining…"
"At this rate, I won't win…" the red head muttered as her brother joined her side.
"We should retreat for now… we've already dealt a significant blow to Britannia's military…" he suggested as the Lancelot stared them down.
"But why isn't he attacking?" she wondered, "What is he scared of?"
Suzaku's hands shook as he gripped the controls of the White Knightmare, "C'mon, just walk away…" his systems were blaring 'Critical Damage' on his right arm, while his Blaze Luminous was completely useless now, as another activation would leave him helpless.
"Lloyd! Why didn't you account for the power drain!?" Cecile scolded the scientist while beating him over the head with a rolled up newspaper.
"Well… that's why we did the test, right?"
"Yeah, but now we're about to lose Suzaku!"
"You're right… it would be a shame to lose such a capable devicer, especially in such a fruitless battle."
"Lloyd!" she smacked him over the head again, "Don't treat Suzaku like just some other tool you can use then throw away!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" that was a lie.
Suzaku closed the call, "I need maximum focus if I want to get out of this alive…" the thought of Lelouch and that girl flashed in his mind, "I must win here… for Lelouch and that girl!"
Kallen watched as pieces of her Glasgow's fist fell to the ground, "Damn it… my punches are hurting me more than anything… we have to beat the Lancelot some other way…"
The metal on her knees also peeled off as she entered deep thought, "Kallen, let's get out of here." Naoto suggested.
That's when something hit her, "Wait… look at his arms!" a few sparks flew out of the Lancelot's arm joints. It was a small detail, but considering the experience she had fighting the White Devil in the past, she was able to spot the weakness even from this distance. "I bet if we rip it off, we'll actually have a chance of winning."
While her older brother would've preferred to retreat for now, he knew that there was no way he could convince her to do that, so, while reluctant, he said, "Very well. I've got your back."
"Looks like they're choosing to fight after all…" Suzaku muttered as the Glasgow's stood firm in their positions.
"Get out of there, Private Kururugi!" Cecile shouted, "We can't afford any more losses, retreat!"
At first, the White Knight tried to move his Knightmare back, starting his retreat, however, he was stopped when the entire machine began to shake. "Not good! My Landspinners are damaged!" he shouted while staring at a diagram of the Lancelot, with red arrows pointing at its feet saying 'critical damage'. "It's probably from when I tried to fight back against the blue Glasgow pulling me back… or was it when that grappling hook got caught on them?"
"If that's the case…"
"Then there's no running away!" Kallen shouted as she zoomed toward the Lancelot after seeing his Landspinners malfunction.
Suzaku moved his arm up to block the strike, but at the last second, the red head ducked, and instead, delivered a kick to the White Knightmare's chest, breaking his guard. That's when Naoto followed up by grabbing the Lancelot's malfunctioning right arm as its footing was unsteady, this caused it to lean left, allowing his sister to follow up with a strike to the head.
The White Knight grit his teeth in pain as his head banged against the top of his frame. Just when he was about to begin his counter-attack, the blue Glasgow ripped off his right arm, causing the Lancelot to stumble to the left. However, this space was just what he needed.
As Lloyd shouted, "My baby!" Suzaku retracted his Landspinners, and fired his slash harkens at the blue Glasgow. If things had gone normally, the Knightmare would've been cut in half from the attack, however, that's when Kallen kicked her brother out of the way, causing slight damage to his frame, but at least he was still in the fight.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd, but I'm going to do something pretty reckless right now," Suzaku apologized to the mad scientist.
In a single motion, the Lancelot rushed past Kallen faster than her frame could react, and took out Naoto in a single punch. Luckily for the older Kozuki, his ejection seat activated just in time, leaving Kallen and Suzaku alone. To be fair, Naoto did manage to raise his arm in time to block the strike, but due to the significant difference in performance, the Lancelot tore through the Glasgow's arm effortlessly.
"Get out of there! The rest of Britannia's forces should have pulled out by now! If you just retreat, we'll at least be able to get out of here with a Knightmare frame!" of course, that wasn't all Naoto meant. "You'll also be safe…"
However, those words didn't piece through Kallen's concentration, as she only had one goal in mind, "Suzaku… last time, you and the Lancelot got in my way one too many times… if I want to succeed in the future, I have to take you out right here, right now!" she pushed her controls forward, sending the Glasgow toward the Lancelot at high speeds.
"They're just rushing in like that!?" the White Knight exclaimed as his opponent crouched just as he sent out a punch, then she sent a kick toward his left leg, forcing him onto one leg. Despite this surprise attack, in close quarters the Lancelot would always win, no matter how skilled the Glasgow pilot might be.
But Kallen knew that. So instead of trying to win, she was going for a draw. Or, at least, that would be the case if the Lancelot had an ejection system. Since this is the first iteration, her opponent didn't have an ejection seat, meaning, her goal was to make both of them go critical, that way, she would be able to escape, leaving Suzaku behind in a fiery explosion. With that, she'd receive a technical win.
The Lancelot sent a punch toward the Glasgow, taking off half of its head, creating dozens of alerts to go off in the red head's cockpit. But it wasn't over. She pressed the button to fire her right slash harken, expecting it to pierce through Suzaku's chest, but to her surprise, the mechanism malfunctioned, leaving her open to a knee strike that tore her Knightmare in half.
"It's just too great…" she muttered with tears in her eyes. "I can't beat him…" Kallen knew the only chance she had of winning was gone once Naoto was taken out, however, due to her hard headedness, she just didn't want to accept it. Now, she was forced to eject, leaving her smoking Knightmare behind as it's arms futilely kept itself around the Lancelot's neck.
"Get out of there, Suzaku!" Cecile shouted.
"Please… just die!" Kallen roared
"Not my Lancelot!" Lloyd added as he watched Suzaku try to rip off the Glasgow while sparks began to fly.
"Damn it… looks like I've got no choice!" the White Knight shouted as he placed his remaining hand between himself and the Glasgow.
Kallen's cockpit crashed into a building just as the explosion went off. A large smoke screen enveloped the battlefield, blocking her line of sight while getting out of her cockpit. Once the smoke cleared, all that remained was the Lancelot with a flickering Blaze Luminous shield activated. Its right shoulder was gone entirely, along with half of its left leg. Slowly, the Blaze Luminous dissipated, and the Lancelot shut down.
Inside, Suzaku's head rested against the main console, his head slightly bleeding as a warning message flashed 'No Power'. "Suzaku! Suzaku!" Cecile called as Lloyd rubbed his head, which had a comical bump on it.
"I'm… I'm okay…" the boy muttered while sitting up, "But I'm going to need retrieval… as the Lancelot's energy filler is… toast…"
"But how's the Lancelot itself!?" Lloyd practically shoved his assistant out of the way, "Is it okay!?"
"We're missing an arm… shoulder, and part of the leg. The Blaze Luminous is heavily damaged, and…" Suzaku typed away at the interface, "The landspinners are also shot…"
With each comment, Lloyd heard the sound of a cash register go off in his head, causing him to clench his heart (wallet) in pain. That's when Cecile delivered a smack to the top of his head, before turning to Suzaku, "Don't worry about the Lancelot. We can get it repaired. Just sit tight, okay?" with that, she ended the call.
"Unless Prince Clovis gives us an increased budget… repairing the Lancelot is going to take some time…" Lloyd muttered while standing up.
"Look at the bright side… at least we have a capable devicer to pilot it." his assistant replied while looking at the outstanding 87% performance score.
"I suppose… speaking of which, who do you think was piloting the red one?"
"You mean the Glasgow?"
"Yeah. They were impressive, weren't they? Almost at the level of Marianne the flash if I had to say," Lloyd said while replaying the battle footage, "To think someone could move like that in a Glasgow. Truly impressive."
"Are you already looking for a replacement for Suzaku!?" Cecile shouted in disbelief
"No! Not at all!" the mad scientist responded frantically, "I'm just saying… when the time comes for Suzaku to face off against her in the future, she might actually beat him if she's in a competent Knightmare."
"She?"
"Yes. Didn't you hear her voice over the intercom?"
Regardless, today's duel between the Kozuki siblings and Suzaku Kururugi, ended in a draw. Although, if we were counting the war, then Suzaku won, as he completely subjugated the Japanese resistance with maximum effect, whereas the Kozuki Resistance lost every Knightmare they had, and were now scattered.
"Kallen!" Naoto shouted in joy as he was reunited with his sister entered the warehouse where he, Ohgi, Tamaki, and dozens of Japanese were cowering in fear. "Where have you been!? Why didn't you run away when you had the chance?"
"I thought I could get him," Kallen responded, "But it looks like I was wrong…"
Naoto delivered a chop to her forehead, "Don't do that ever again. You really scared me." his voice wasn't loud, but stern, "Speaking of never doing that again," his voice turned into a whisper, "Where's Lelouch?"
"I don't know… maybe he went to take out Clovis…"
"Are you talking about that coward!?" Tamaki shouted, "I'll tell ya what he did! The first sign of escape appeared, and he took it!"
This irked Kallen significantly, "He didn't run away!"
"Oh yeah? And how do you know that? The guy doesn't tell us his name, makes us do the dirty work, use faulty tech, and dips the second shit gets real!"
Before the red head could respond, her brother surprisingly stepped forward, "Tamaki, I won't have you talking about our ally like that." he began, "He provided us with logistics, brilliant strategies, and new technology. From the way I see it, he did a lot for us, and while he might not be here, you can't just call him a coward."
"B-but what about that first grappling hook, huh? That one failed the second we tried using it!"
"That was my fault. Apparently, I constructed the apparatus incorrectly."
"Even so, the fact that he hasn't told us his name is suspicious. What does he have to hide?" Ohgi joined the conversation.
"I know his name." the older Kozuki responded, "And while I know you're suspicious of him, I have to ask you to wait. Currently, he doesn't feel comfortable sharing his identity with you guys, as he has numerous enemies waiting for him to let his guard down. So, please be patient, he'll reveal his identity to everyone in due time."
"He doesn't trust us, is that what you're saying!?" Tamaki shouted while waving his gun around, "So what? Does us putting our lives in his hands not scream trust!? Screw that guy!"
"Can you blame him? How can anyone trust maniacs like you?" a woman in the crowd shouted.
"Y–yeah! It's all because of you that Britannia's destroying our homes!" a man joined in.
"Shut up! We're the good guys here, not those damn Brits!"
Ohgi sighed at the display, and turned to Naoto to ask one last question. However, he was cut off when a Britannian tank tore through the warehouse wall, followed by dozens of soldiers, "Looks like we found those damn rebels," the tank commander announced, "Everyone, take aim!"
Instinctively, Naoto covered his sister with his body, "Damn it… I failed…"
"Attention all forces, cease fire at once!" Clovis' voice called over the intercoms, taking everyone by surprise, "I Clovis, third prince of Britannia and royal viceroy of Area Eleven, here by command you, all forces are ordered to cease fire at once. You shall also cease destruction of any buildings or property. All casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice. In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are here by ordered, cease fire at once. I shall allow no further fighting."
"There, are you happy?" Clovis asked the figure who was pointing a gun at him in the darkness of the G1.
"Very. Well done."
"Then what shall we do now? Sing a few lovely ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?"
"That has a familiar ring," his aggressor stated while taking a step forward.
"Wait a minute… are you-"
Before the blond Prince could respond, Lelouch took a knee, "It's been a long time, Big Brother. The eldest son of the late consort, Marianne, and seventeenth in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch Vi Britannia, at your service."
"Le-Lelouch!? But how? Aren't you supposed to be-"
Once again, he was interrupted, "Dead? Well, you're wrong, as I've returned. And this time, I'm going to change everything." he stood up, pointing a gun at his half-brother again.
"Ah- I'm overjoyed, Lelouch!" Clovis responded while a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead, "They said you died when Japan was taken into the fold. This is truly a blessing, shall we return to the homeland at once?" he was hoping his brother was just joking when pointing a gun at him.
However, the raven-haired Prince didn't even react to his brother plea, "Why? So you can use me as a tool of diplomacy? It seems you've forgotten why we were used as tools in the first place. That's right. It was because my mother was killed. Mother held the title of knight of honor, but was a commoner by birth. No doubt the other imperial consorts held her in contempt. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I'm no fool. You people killed my mother."
"No! It wasn't me, I swear!"
Lelouch's eye flared with a bird-like symbol, "The truth can be hidden from me for no longer! Now tell me, by whose hand was she slain?"
The Geass symbol flew into Clovis' eye, and within a second, red circles appeared around them, "My Brother, second Prince Schneizel, and sister, second Princess Cornelia, they can tell you." he responded almost robotically.
"They were at the heart of this?" Clovis didn't respond, "Then where's Cornelia and Schneizel now?"
"The whereabouts of second Prince Schneizel aren't known to me, however, second Princess Cornelia is currently fighting to take the Middle East, and rename it Area 18."
"In other words… I won't be meeting her anytime soon… unless I go to the Middle East…" Lelouch kept his eyes trained on Clovis as he sat straight in his chair, "I'd rather have her come to me, though… if things do come to that, I suppose I'll have to schedule a trip." he then said, "I want you to write a letter addressed to Cornelia."
"Are we really just letting these guys go?" a Britannian soldier muttered as hundreds of Japanese people passed them in droves, "What about the poison gas?"
"It's Prince Clovis' orders, we can't disobey them." his colleague responded.
Kallen kept a firm hold on her brother's jacket as they passed the soldiers, "Now that Lelouch has his Geass… will he tell me about it? I hope so, otherwise, it would mean all of my progress would've been for naught." that's when another thought crossed her mind, "Wait… can he use it on me again!? Oh, no… what if he does? What'll happen then?"
"Just keep your head down," Naoto told his sister in a hushed tone after seeing her expression turn to worry in a split second, so he pulled the hoodie to his jacket over her head. "We'll get out of here…"
"But where are we going after this?" Ohgi asked, "We can't go back to Shinjuku, it's been utterly destroyed…"
"Maybe we'll go to Saitama next? I hear there's a resistance group held up in there. Hopefully, they'll allow us to shack up with them…" Tamaki suggested
"Holy shit. So you're not completely useless after all." Kento replied while nudging his friend with an elbow.
"I've got my moments." the overconfident Japanese man said while pounding his chest.
"But what about our stuff?" Ohgi asked
"Don't worry… Naomi says she'll be taking care of it."
Suddenly, an explosion erupted in the background, causing the Japanese citizens to cower in fear, while Britannian soldiers readied their weapons. "Don't tell me…"
"It looks like she took care of it," Kallen muttered as the small mushroom cloud dissipated.
"Let's hope she got the stuff out of there… even if it's only half of it…"
Lelouch put an envelope into his pants pocket just as Clovis was freed from his Geass command, "I swear! I don't know anything!"
"Don't worry, I believe you." the raven-haired Prince responded while putting down his gun. "However…" he pointed it back at his brother.
"Wait! You can't! We may have different mothers, but we're still related by blood!"
"You can't change the world without getting your hands a little dirty."
As his killed put his finger on the trigger, the blond Prince had one last plea up his sleeve, "Wait! Can I please write a letter to Lila!?"
This made Lelouch hesitate, "A letter?" it was surprising, he never thought Clovis could care about anyone other than himself.
"Yes, please! If I'm going to die, at least let me give a final word to my sister!"
Lelouch had no obligation to allow for such an act, but, knowing that he was about to break Lila's heart, made him change his mind. While he didn't know much about Clovis' little sister, he knew that she and Nunally were very similar, from mindsets to their love for their big brothers. So, for this reason, he would allow Clovis this one request. "Make it quick, however, I'll be watching you every move." he said while placing a pen and paper in front of his brother.
"Oh? Do you just keep this on you at all times?" the blond Prince tried to crack a joke, only to feel the cold steel of a gun meet his temple in response.
"Hurry up."
With that, Clovis swiftly wrote up a letter, tears streamed down his face in the process, though, whether they were from what he was writing, or from knowing that he was about to die, was something Lelouch didn't know the answer to. Nonetheless, after five minutes, it was complete.
"T-there…" the blond Prince stuttered while placing the letter off to the side, "I suppose this is it…" he let out a deep breath as Lelouch put the gun's muzzle against the back of his head, "Say… is Nunally still alive as well? If so, how is she?"
"She's fine." the raven-haired coldly responded while putting his finger on the trigger.
"T-that's good… that's wonderful." another tear streaked down his cheek.
The previous night
"What're you going to get your brother for Christmas, Lila?" Gabrielle asked the Princess as she tucked her into bed.
"Hmm… I don't know… maybe I'll paint him something, he likes art, right?" the little girl replied as their maids left the mother and daughter alone.
"Oh, I just know your big brother will love whatever you make him. Just like that apple fritter at Thanksgiving."
"Mom!" Lila shouted in embarrassment.
"Aw, there's no need to be embarrassed. Though, what are you hoping to get from your brother?"
The Princess thought about it for a second, "I don't know… I would just like him to actually show up. Maybe then, he'd tell me all about Japan and its people."
"Hmm? Japan?"
"Yeah. Clovis said he'd start being a better Viceroy for them."
"Do you really think he'll do that?"
"I hope so… then, that'd mean my big brother's not a liar"
"You think he's a liar?"
Lila looked off to the side, "Well… he hasn't lied to me yet… but what about the Japanese people? He lied to them all, saying he'd take good care of them…"
"But why should he promise such a thing? They're just a bunch of savages, after all."
"Not all of them."
"How do you know that?"
"Because Clovis told me. He said he joined two of them during a trip to Clovis land. And, while the two were a bit strange, he actually had a lot of fun that day."
"I thought he was a liar?"
Finally, Lila made up her mind, "No way! My big brother's not a liar, not anymore! Just you wait mom, he'll come by for Christmas, and tell us all about how he's making Japan a better place!"
Gabrielle chuckled, "I'm sure he will. Goodnight, sweetheart."
"I'm sorry, Lila. But your big brother's just a liar after all… a big, stupid liar…"
A gunshot rung throughout the G1.
Clovis La Britannia now laid lifeless across the G1's command table, blood and brain matter spilled out of his head, while Lelouch walked away from the scene. The blood continued to flow across the table, stopping just short of the letter that was addressed 'to Lila'.
AN: I didn't want to have Suzaku just get decimated in a fight with the Kozuki resistance group due to multiple factors.
1. The resistance members aren't trained soldiers and lack coordination
2. They lack the actual tech to deal with a Knightmare of the Lancelot's caliber.
3. Kallen alone can't beat the Lancelot with a Glasgow, no matter which way you slice it.'
That's why, in order to have a realistic chance of even getting a draw, they had to fight a weakened version of the Knightmare. I think it's fair to assume that one of the first problems they came across with the Blaze luminous system is energy consumption, and considering that it's only really being tested in this battle for the first time, it's fair to say it would drain the Lancelot's energy filler greatly. In the last battle with the Guren, Suzaku states his 'shield is out of energy', indicating that there's another source the shields use. However, considering this is the first iteration, I'd say it's fair to assume Lloyd didn't develop a secondary power system for the shield to run on. Also, I don't know if it can actually do this, but considering what the blaze luminous is later used for, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it could cut through the Lancelot's bindings from the grappling hook.
