Oh lord, was that annoying! It was one thing after another as, for over 32 hours, we had no power in my area a couple weeks back when I was first working on this, and it was like one thing after the other. First, they say that a contractor damaged an underground power line, then hours later, they claim someone stole a section of it and say that power would be back in the early morning. I wake up, along with my neighbors, to find that power is NOT back, and they say another part of the line was stolen, which just feels like an excuse. As to how the hell someone stole sections of underground cable…twice?!

Chapter 8: Gathering Swords

In many ways, Britannia was an old-style society that revered and honored the traditions of the old world that many countries had long since abandoned. This was why they retained a social cast that placed royals and nobles above the common man and retrained an absolute monarchy, with positions like the Prime Minister and parliament set up to be below the crown and easily dismissed, replaced, or ignored. It was also why the parliament had not met once for the entire tenure of Charles's reign.

But one thing that had changed ever since the British exiles arrived in the Americas was prison locations. Gone were the days when prisons were often in the middle of town. Most were purposely built on the outskirts, or for larger facilities, they were built as far away from human settlement as possible.

Akito and Ashley saw this for themselves as they walked down the sterile, long, cold halls of Thomas Hammersmith Imperial Prison, otherwise known as 'The Hammer'. A maximum-security prison similar to Temple Tower but further from Pendragon, the Hammer was built over 300km north of the capital in the barren, unforgiving wastes of the desert. It was here that the empire sent its worst offenders, a third of its population designed for execution.

Perhaps it was morbidly disturbing of him, but Ashley found it quite amusing that despite the fact the empire saw them all as scum that deserved to die, it still insisted on class divides for the method of death. If one was a commoner, then they were taken to the gallows. If one happened to be of noble birth, then it would be guillotine, the same as their unlucky predecessors who didn't get out of Europe in time. Lastly, anyone who had served in the military would face the firing squad.

Akito didn't share his amusement with a facility meant to imprison the mind and break the soul before killing the body. But he also wouldn't pretend that he cared all that much. Perhaps Leila would have, as what he and the rest of the former wZERO Unit appreciated about her was her empathy and commitment to protecting life, but for him? He had been around death for so long that it had long stopped meaning much to him.

This difference between the two new knights of Round meant that as they walked through the prison, they neither spoke a word nor spared a glance towards any of the prisoners they saw along the way. Crossing the boundary from the men's side to the women's, the warden, a younger man who hadn't stopped shaking from the moment the two had met them, led them towards the rarely used visitor's room.

"As requested, my lords, the two inmates have been brought here to speak with you, though I can't say I understand why." The warden bowed his head to them, his hand on his heart.

"Don't worry about it. It's just some business we want to chat about." Ashley replied, smirking all the while.

"We won't take much of your time, so you can return to your regular duties, warden." Akito was as deadpan as ever, his eyes freezing the warden in place as Akito wasn't blind; he had noticed from the moment they met the man had been disgusted with him, new Emperor or not, one couldn't change the minds of an entire people overnight, and plenty still had opinions about working with Eleve-Japanese. Of course, like most he had interacted with since becoming a Knight of Round, the warden kept such opinions to themselves, or else they risk being 'removed' by the Emperor.

"Y-yes, of course. Please, if you need anything, the guards will be right outside, and of course, if the prisoners should try anything, they'll live to regret it." The warden was one of the more annoying, an ass-kisser, as Ryo would put it, though Akita didn't disagree with him, and neither did Ashley.

The redhead was all smiles, but Akito could tell how irritated he was with the ingenuine man. "I think we can handle ourselves just fine. We didn't just pick up these fancy capes from the corner store, you know."

"The same could be said for our prisoners, Ashley." Akito reminded him as they dismissed the warden, who quickly bowed again and exited.

"Right, right," Ashley smirked at him as he barged into the room, no ceremony or tact to be found. "Good morning, I know it's a little early, but I gotta ask: Did you two ever think you'll be in this shitty situation? Ever imagine you would have just the worst luck to not even get to die in battle?"

The two he had been addressing were dressed in Britannian standard-issue restraining jackets. They were seated in the uncomfortable metal chair provided for them while their hands were cuffed to the steel bar welded to the steel table before them. Despite the situation, both didn't cover or lower their heads but glared at the loud redhead.

Ashley mockingly took offense as he placed a hand over his wounded heart. "Come on, we came to visit, and you can't even offer a reply. As your time here made you both rude, former knight of four, Dorothea Ernst? By the way, I wouldn't worry about the title. I'm taking good care of us these days. That and your machine, as it's a lot like my old one, so it's been a blast to get behind its controls."

The woman in question didn't respond, not with words anyway. Instead, she snarled at the man, especially at the reminder that her personal unit was being operated by some…some punk! Ashley hardly cared for her, who clearly wanted to attack him, hell if he played his cards right, maybe they could get a spare, as he wanted to see what a woman who operated a unit like his dear old Ahuramazda could do.

"What about you, former knight Monica Krushevsky?" But that could come later, as he turned his gaze towards the calmer of the two, though you'll need to be a fool to mistake that calm for passivity, as she wanted to attack them just as much as her more openly hostile cellmate. The only difference was she was being civil. "Though we haven't found anyone to replace you yet, that could be because our emperor insists we fill them up starting from one rather than assign them randomly like Charlie used to do, and we're still 7 positions shot."

Monica didn't rise to his baiting or his general annoying personality. She might be imprisoned, but she still had her pride as a knight of Britannia and would carry herself like that until they finally got bored and sentenced her to death.

"Was this why you had us dragged from our cell? Just to gloat that you're now knights of Round?" She asked.

Akito spoke up. "We don't waste time with such foolish things; we came here on business."

"What, are you the ones that will deal out our executions?" Dorothea snarled at them, which got Ashley to drop the smirk and gaze back at her, iron in his words.

"You shouldn't be so blasé about your life, not when, as far as you know, you have no way to fight or luck to rely on." Monica's brow creased at that word choice.

"Then what don't we know? Why are you here if not to finally end this farce and kill us?" Monica asked, not being able to completely hide her curiosity.

Ashley's smirk returned as he reached into his Knight of Round robes and pulled out a sealed letter bearing the imperial seal. "That's easy. With the blessings of his majesty, the 99th emperor of Britannia, we've been authorized to give you two an offer."

As he placed it on the table and Monica reached for it, Akito explained its contents. "In exchange for your renouncing any loyalties to former emperor Charles, and the traitor Schneizel el Britannia and all those that follow him, you'll be given the option to serve his majesty's will and be reinstated into the crown's forces, under the two of us respectively." Dorothea and Monica looked at them like they were insane. Set aside the idea that they would ever serve that damned usurper, who in their right mind would even make such an offer.

But Monica ripped the letter open, finding that it was handwritten, and much like Akito said, it was all there. Even when she shook her head and read the thing slower to make sure she didn't miss anything, it was legit. At the bottom, there was the signature of the usurper and another imperial seal, this one being the personal one that Lelouch must have taken for himself.

As she handed it to Dorothea to read so she could process it, Ashley leaned against the wall, arms crossed with that insufferable smirk on his face. "The charges of high treason? Those will be forgiven, and you'll get your pretty asses into a parole program, the mother of sweet deals if I haven't heard one; with luck like that, you might want to try your hand at investment; you'll make a killing."

"The new Prime Minister presented the idea to his majesty; she based it on a proposal she successfully used to get some recruits for the wZERO unit after they tried to kidnap then-general Smilas. It worked out pretty well for all involved." Akito explained that, though he could admit that at the time, he had thought she was being overly idealistic with it. But Leila had a way with people and earned their loyalty and friendship often by being her.

He had already spoken to her about her ascent to the second-highest position in Britannia. He knew she could lead the charge for many reforms, ensuring that the empire they'd lead would be different from the one they had known for nearly their entire lives. The woman had been excited about it, talking about how her parents would be proud of her.

Dorothea slowly finished reading the letter before taking a moment to think or pick her word. "If such a deal is truly genuine…then you and your false Emperor are mad if you think I would even consider such an offer. If I could go back, I'd still challenge his rule, and I would continue to do so till you fill me with holes or my head is parted from my neck." She tossed the letter back at Akito.

"I'm in agreement with her," Monica sat straighter, daring them to argue with her. "If your emperor thought we would be so shameless to throw away our pride and oaths as Knights of the Round to live, then he's just a buffoon pretending to be anything close to the greatness one needs to rule the empire."

Ashley shook his head, but he wasn't angry with them for their response, nor was Akito. In fact, the redhead was still amused. "What? Do you think the remaining royals are any better? Lelouch might be one crazy bastard, but he's a bastard who can get stuff done and has the devil's charm."

Monica glared at him, finding his word choice odd yet again. She could be reading too much into this. Still, a big part of why Emperor Charles ever chose her to join his highest order of knights was her ability to break down information, create plans, and lead troops. It was skills she started to pick up and refined growing up in noble circles, even if she was raised in a lesser house as one could never be sure when you came across a valuable piece of information, and always had to be aware of what you said to whom.

It was why she was chosen to command his personal ship and lead his personal forces. And it was those skills that made her suspect that something was off. Why did Ashley bother using the word 'remaining' there? Charles had over 200 children, more than half of whom were her age, if not older. While many were mediocre at best, she had met a few and knew that with proper guidance and tutelage, they could make fine rulers.

Looking at Dorothea, she saw that her follow Knight of Round had also picked up something from the two current Knights of Round. Dorothea wasn't as intelligent as her, though she hated to think of it like that, but the older woman had been a career soldier and gained a warrior's instinct for information that could be the difference between victory and defeat. Right now, her gut was telling her to slow down and be wary of the two men.

"What do you mean by that?" Monica asked, as there was something more here. She just didn't know what.

Both men looked at each other, one amused, the other not. "I would have thought Schneizel would have told you about it to help convince you that he was best suited to rule," Ashley replied, but neither woman seemed all the more aware of things with that vague clue.

"Geass," Akito stated, which got some sort of reaction from them, but it was far more subdued than he had expected. "You don't know, do you?"

"Of course, we know about it! How else could that usurper have convinced the entire court to bow to him when he deserved nothing less than death!" Dorothea yelled back at them, her temper getting the better of her.

"Prince Schneizel found some information that meant he would soon be able to break Lelouch's hold on the court and royal family. The first step was to his death. But in the interim, Schneizel was to retake his role of Prime Minister to guide things till Princess Nunnally was capable of leading the state." Monica stated that she saw no reason to hide this, not when she assumed they were bringing it up because they all knew.

Ashley let out an impressed whistle. "Man, we should have spoken with you guys sooner. We would have found out about Nunnally being alive, saving his majesty the heartache. Still, when you're busy-you're busy." Monica could assume as such, as even among royals, the connection between full siblings was a powerful force. It was perhaps the only real familiar connection they had, as God knew that Emperor Charles was far from the perfect father and that many of his wives only valued their kids as much as they benefited them and their noble families.

Akito spoke up. "Schneizel lied to you. Maybe not about whatever evidence he found that could break an absolute type geass's hold on people like his majesty's, but on his plan to even try and free the imperial court from its control."

Dorothea scoffed at the frankly, terrible attempt to sow doubt in them. "He wouldn't lie about that. He's served Britannia and its people faithfully for years! It's been with him that we've grown to the size and power that your false Emperor seems dead set on reversing!"

"Well, then someone should tell that to the crater that sits where Pendragon used to be," Ashley replied, his tone dropping that amusement. The same is true for Akito, which both former knights immediately caught onto.

"Used to-? No...he didn't. Did. Did Lelouch slaughter his own people to ensure he had no challengers to his power?" Monica asked, horrified at the possibility. No, it was worse than that. They were. They were talking as if Pendragon itself was gone. Not. Not even Charles had been so brutal in eliminating rivals to the throne.

Akito pulled out a tablet, opened it to footage taken of Pendragon crater, as it was being called, and passed it along to both of them. "That is false. It was Schneizel who launched the attack using a FLEIJA warhead. The city was wiped off the map."

Monica picked up the tablet and looked at it, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. Even as the footage was revealed to be from a news channel that mentioned the possible involvement of the UFN after a disastrous summit she didn't even know existed, she refused to believe that the prime minister would…

But Schneizel had said it himself before they left for Pendragon, didn't he? He claimed that only he had access to the FLEIJA warheads and cleared any chances that the pretender to the throne could get his hands on such power. The odds that Schneizel could be wrong were low, incredibly so…and as much as she hated it, could she genuinely see Lelouch destroying his own capital?

Dorothea was as shocked as she was, as she, too, started to understand it wasn't looking suitable for Prince Schneizel. Her loyalty questioned this, demanding her to believe that Lelouch had done it…but for what end? Even if cruel, if Lelouch wished to slaughter Pendragon's people, why destroy the city along with them? Why would he kill his siblings when they already knew that he had geassed them into bending the knee?

Seeing the harsh reality settle in for the two, Ashley nailed the last nail into the coffin. "And with it, most of the highest noble families and the entire royal family. As it stands, the only royals confirmed to still be alive are his majesty, Prince Schneizel, Princess Cornelia, and Princess Nunnally, all of whom are traitors and are wanting for the destruction of Pendragon and the mass murder of its people, and Princess Marrybell."

Marrybell was a particular case, to be sure, as she hadn't been in Pendragon when Lelouch declared himself Emperor. Unlike her older siblings, she didn't go into hiding or try and rebel. Still, from what he was told, she requested an audience with him not even a week into his rule. When she left, she had acknowledged Lelouch as Emperor. She joined Jeremiah and Suzaku's efforts in hunting down those who didn't, lending the expertise she had gained from years of counter-terrorism work to the two.

Even now, Marrybell had been south when Pendragon was attacked, still moping up remnants of Rosenkranz's embarrassment of a rebellion. Maybe she could be counted on to help in this final battle, but someone needed to remain in the homeland to keep things under control.

Akito picked it up from there. "You might not want to hear it, but the truth is clear: Schneizel has no plans to 'restore' Britannia as you know it. He wants complete control over it and the world, and he'll use the FLEIJA to secure his hold if he can get it. He allowed you and the rest to attack the capital because he knew you would never support that, so he sent you on a suicide mission."

Akito found that statement quite odd for him to say, as the E.U. had done the same with him and the rest. Still, he had never thought Britannia would do the same with such highly valued persons, though maybe he was thinking it all wrong. After all, Schneizel wasn't thinking of the empire anymore but himself.

"But…no." Dorothea, the firebird of the two, had lost that heat, shaking her head as if to wake up from a bad dream. Before she could spiral more, Ashley grasped her hand, anchoring her as she looked at him, seeing that his eyes were sincere and understood her. How could he not when, not too long ago, he was in the same position. He had been a knight of Euro Britannia, a loyal son of the realm who happily fought and would die for her.

Till he was betrayed by his commander and left to die, and he saw what had befallen his country. He had tried to stop it, but ultimately, that bastard Shin was merely a symptom, not the cause, so he left along with his unit, refusing to lay down their lives for such a beast.

Dorothea could see none of them, but she could see that he understood. Even so, it wasn't so easy to just turn your back on all you knew, all you fought for, killed for. "What would you have us do? We swore loyalty to Emperor Charles…and then failed to protect him. Are we to just forgo our duty to avenge him?"

"What do you value more? Your country and its people, or a dead man?" Akito asked her. "From what I hear, a man that had grown disinterested in the empire, disinterested in the world, and focused on his selfish projects."

Dorothea felt a familiar rage swell in her, but it was still subdued, both by the loss of their capital and the truth of Schneizel's actions. The former Emperor—he was a good ruler…wasn't he?

"When…" Monica started, looking like she didn't know if they should be saying it, but she couldn't help herself. "When we had traveled to Area 11, his majesty ordered to avoid the fighting. I had believed that he merely had faith in Prince Schneizel's leadership."

"But he was more interested in some deserted island in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere?" Ashley guessed, having heard the story a while back, the same as Akito about what Charlie was up to.

"When I reported that Tokyo had been hit by a FLEIJA…he called it mundane." Monica wondered then why he could say such a thing. Why the deaths of millions of their people could be so crudely waved off.

"Charles never cared, not for Britannia or the world. He was disinterested in it all, only focused on his projects." Akito started, displaying genuine fury at the idea that the man responsible for so much hate, so much suffering, didn't even believe in the bullshit that he endorsed for years.

Shaking his head to keep his head clear, he continued. "Charles saw the evils of the present and rejected reality to try and flee to some idyllic past that only existed for him. Schneizel is similar, but he wishes to retain the present where nothing changes, nothing grows."

"And Lelouch is meant to be different?" Dorothea asked, but both could tell she was at least interested now.

Ashley shrugged, a smirk back on his face. "Say what you want about the pretty boy, but he does give a damn about people and has been trying to make things better so that tomorrow isn't so shitty." He wondered what his old Lord, Shin, would think of all this before ultimately deciding he would hate it and probably did hate it from whatever pit of hell he called home.

For the two former Knights of Round, it wasn't like they were blind to Charles pulling away from government, as outside ordering wars and significant decisions, he left an increasing amount of power and responsibilities to Schneizel and his ministers. They had merely believed it was age, as the man was in his 60s. Still, conceivably, they had just been lying to themselves, as whenever they did see him, one could say he and their fellow Knight, Anya, were one and the same with how disinterested they were with everything, only at times it felt like he was angry that he was being involved.

Monica wondered if it was less that he was involved in governing the empire or more because he was being pulled from whatever projects he had, projects that only Lord Bismarck seemed to be aware of, and even when he confirmed the man had been slain, he refused to reveal what those projects were.

"Why do you even care? Why offer us this when we're enemies? We could just as easily turn around and kill you," Dorothea asked them, though they all noted that her question lacked the bite and conviction of her prior refusal and was more born from a curiosity and resignation that things were truly dire.

Akito was blunt: "It's partly because we need experienced pilots. As if reports and our Emperor's suspicions are to be believed, Schneizel will ally himself with the Black Knights, adding to whatever forces he has, and two Knights of Round in the form of the Tristan and Mordred."

"As for why we picked you two," Ashley pointed at the two. "Well, it's not the first time former enemies and criminals have been conscripted and turned out to be badasses." He gestured to himself as Leila took a hell of a gamble with his and his former unit, but they hadn't given her reason to regret it, and they weren't about to start now.

The two women shared a look, their faces a mix of emotions and thoughts as they spoke an unspoken conversation before they turned back to the two. "Be honest, is he really different. Does he really care?"

"The emperor is not an angel, has done some horrible things, and probably will commit even more," Akito replied before his face relaxed just a little. "But yes. He does care; he wants to make things better for everyone and end this pointless fighting and suffering, even if that means dragging Britannia and the rest of the world kicking and screaming into that better future. One not under Britannian dominance, but a true peace forged."

"Pax per intellectum et cooperationem." Akito finished, with Ashley nodding along with him. Akito could admit he had been skeptical about the man, even if Leila trusted him enough to work with him. Still, he would be lying if he said he wasn't won over by him. How wonderful would a world be where people like him didn't exist? Where people weren't sent to fight and die for masters that didn't care because it was the only means to help their families?

"So," Ashley started, picking up the latter that had been thrown in their faces earlier and placing it back on the table in front of the two prisoners. "What will it be?"

"I never thought the day would come when wearing Britannian uniform would feel so…off," Dorothea stated, as she stood alongside her former Knight of Round comrade, Monica, as they waited on the Tarmac at a Britannian base, about to board a transport plane bound for Hawaii.

"Believe me, I know the feeling," Monica replied, looking at the uniform they had been provided. It matched the personal units of the two Knights they now served under. She would be under the Ghost of Hannibal, while Dorothea would serve under Ashley. The speed of things still left her with a mental whiplash, for as soon as they agreed to the Emperor's offer, they had been escorted not to a firing squad but out of the prison, given a change of clothes and the first real food they've eaten in 2 weeks before being taken to this base, all in the time of just 3 hours.

Though she had accepted that Charles had long since lost the right to rule when he couldn't be bothered to care, Monica had another reason to serve under him, to fight so hard to gain his favor, but that just made the realization of his apathy hurt all the more.

"You would think that these troops would be more distant from us, yet I have only seen a few looks that wish death on us." Dorothea brought her back into focus, the blonde looking around at the troops around them, and sure enough, they were nothing but professional, even as they ran about preparing things for their emergency deployment, even with news of their capital being wiped off the map having circulated amongst them, there was no panic, no fear, no resentment to be seen.

If any felt such, and undoubtedly many did, they kept it to themselves, even while two former Knights of Round stood among them, not even a month since their own failed assault in the capital.

"These troops are rank and file, Dorothea. But they serve the reigning Emperor and dared to challenge that." Monica was just happy that they didn't have to worry about someone trying to kill them.

"That shouldn't give you any issues," Ashley spoke up as he approached Akito at his side while their respective personal units were behind them, the two women seeing how they matched with either one. "After all, they don't give a shit about our…let's say, checkered pasts." Ashley laughed as if nothing else could be said about the man; it was that he was an open book with little to hide, good or bad.

"As you probably expect, you won't be using your old machines as they've been confiscated and repurposed to be our personal units," Akito stated, gesturing to himself and Ashley. "Instead, you'll be given replacement models. Krushevsky, you been given a Vincent Commander model, but one that Earl Asplund had time to tinker with to add a foldable hadron blaster much like the Conquista, but one with a lower output."

"Ernst, you'll be blessed with a Vincent Commander model, modified to your combat style as its right forearm was swapped with the same type of hardon cannon as a Gareth. Also, you'll be equipped with blaze luminous shields like the rest of our machines, so you don't need to worry about being blown to bits as much."

"The machines have been loaded; we take off in 5 minutes," Ashley finished as he waved them off. The group left them behind as they walked towards the hanger, where the two transports were being wheeled out onto the runway.

"I wonder if we made the right choice now," Monica stated as Dorothea looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

"But you won't regret it just yet, do you?" she asked, though she already suspected Monica had an answer because she had the same response: even though the situation was complicated, to be put childishly simply, she was still fighting for her people, her country, and herself.

That was a sentiment that Monica shared as she smiled, the first one since she had woken up that day. "No…I don't." With that, the two jogged to catch up with their respective units. If they had time, they might as well get to know them, right?

It hadn't even been 24 hours since the summit disaster and their learning of Pendragon's fate, and yet, here they were again. Xingke wondered if Japan was cursed, as this would be the third time in the last year that a major battle was being fought over its lands. He looked over the positions of the UFN forces that had been amassed, satisfied with things, though still feeling anxious as across from them was Britannia.

Across from them was a force led by Lelouch…by Zero. They had already spotted the Shinkiro alongside the Lancelot…and the Guren, the sight of which had been demoralizing for him and their troops. For him, it was the double loss of their arguable best pilot and unquestionable best unit and the apprehension that came from that loss bolstering their enemy's already powerful forces. For the rank and file, Kallen and the Guren had been a symbol nearly as powerful as Zero, for she was his right hand, the one that crushed his enemies and burned all those that stood against the miracles he created.

'No doubt Lelouch put her in clear view for that reason.' Xingke frowned, knowing that it must have been a means to lower morale among their forces, but it was also a dig at the command that Zero would still have his right hand.

'Still…was she truly forced to side against us, or was it something she wished to do of her free will?' He asked himself, as it was her apparent shocking attack on Minami, theft of the Guren, and move to join Lelouch that had been the deciding factor behind why Ohgi and the others pushed for them to take up Schneizel's offer, despite the optics of such a controversial move and how difficult it was to sell that option to the UFN Supreme Council.

But the Chinese general wasn't sure about it. Even if Lelouch had geassed her into a pawn, why didn't she kill Minami when she had the chance? Why didn't she destroy more of their knightmares? Why didn't she slaughter the interceptors sent out against her? Ohgi and those who knew her best believed that Kallen would never betray Japan, but he had listened to the recording of her conversation with Ohgi. She didn't sound like those caught under geass. He dared say she sounded more passionate than he had ever heard her, and with her, her passion was her honesty.

Perhaps she was loyal to Japan and its cause, but evidence dictated that she was faithful to the man who once went by Zero.

He wasn't sure which it was; he wasn't sure about many things, but as Lelouch had said, the time for dialogue and mediation was over; now it was time for iron and blood.

"Pendragon was the capital of the Holy Britannian empire. With its destruction, their internal government has been trapped just keeping order." Xingke started, as they were still getting reports of how viceroys and generals were running around internally, keeping things in check as reforms or not; millions had suffered under Charles and saw this as a chance to break away from the empire.

"They're confronting our Black Knight forces in every part of the world." Tohdoh, as the map of the world was presented for the command of the Ikaruga to see, across it, they could see how their forces had Britannia pinned to their homeland or the many fronts where their two powers met.

"Limiting Emperor Lelouch's forces to the small forces he had to accompany him to Japan and the reinforcements he managed to send for from the homeland via Hawaii. But the balance of power can tip either way at this point. To end this hostilities flare-up before it can become a full-scale war, we need to act now." Xianglin added, as no one wanted to say it, but with the loss of Guren, they had lost their counter to the Lancelot, which, from it having energy wings, meant that it could only be comparable to the Guren.

What they did have over Lelouch was a greater number of fighters and a more extensive surface fleet, as while he had called for more from Hawaii, only knightmares mainly carried by transports had managed to make it in time, the fleet that their scouts had reported was still a day out, at least, any planes that took off from them would also be limited in how long they can stay in the combat area before they would be forced to return, or ran through them to bases in Area 11 for resupply.

Xingke took things from there, recalling the mandate they had been given from the UFN, with a strict warning of what would happen if they didn't abide by it. "Since Schneizel has agreed to join us, our forces are in a better position, though we're not evenly matched with Lelouch. Remember, our intention is not the approval of the Damocles or its use of FLEIJA, but to end this fighting before further lives can be lost."

"Hear me, sons and daughters of Britannia, knights and warriors of the crown! This battle is the ultimate test of our convictions and our ideals. Look out at our enemies! They who thought Britannia weak dared to insult us and sought to treat your ruler like a prisoner of their whims!" Across from them, standing atop the open cockpit of his unit, Lelouch spoke to his forces; those on the ground stood by their knightmares while those in the air silently listened in.

"We didn't take up arms against them for their insolence and disrespect, but only to bring justice into those that would cowardly and ruthlessly attack our capital and slaughter innocent men, woman, and children, rich or poor, old or old, the FLEIJA did not discriminate just like the man who fired it! And yet the Black Knights still side with him!"

His forces all had their reactions to this. His Knight of One, Suzaku, frowned. Still, his eyes were determined to ensure that Tokyo and Pendragon were the only cities that ever suffered the wrath of the FLEIJA. His Knight of Two, Jeremiah, nodded along with him, feeling a sense of pride at his Lord for coming this far, as Marriane had always said her son would be the one to succeed Charles and ascend to even greater heights. His Knight of three, Akito, was closer in reaction to Suzaku. Still, his spirit lay in ensuring his friends wouldn't need to fight battles like this again.

Ashley, the Knight of Four, was more eager for the coming battle as this would surely be the greatest waged in modern history, comparable to Agincourt, Austerlitz, or Cannae. As a man who loved the thrill of combat, his luck couldn't be any better, for he was here. Leila calmly listened to his speech, impressed but not surprised that he could take the situation and so quickly turn it to their favor, instilling patriotic rage and righteous fury in their forces as those around her stood straighter, their eyes hardening by determination.

C.C. had no reaction, as she had seen too many battles and heard too many speeches for anyone to get much from her, but still, she held faith that her contractor would succeed. But it was his latest and arguably greatest Knight, the Knight of Zero, who seemed to listen intently to his words. Still wearing the same pilot suit she had when she stole the Guren, Kallen felt at peace as she was where she wanted to be, where her heart yearned to be.

With the wind in his face and his robes fluttering in the breeze, Lelouch kept the smirk off his face. He knew someone was recording this, so he bothered with the stunt of standing where he could easily trip and brought along such a gaudy, impractical sword to swing about like a conductor's wand.

"They have it clear where they stand in opposition to a true peace and a greater world order! Sons and daughters of Britannia, knights, and warriors of the crown, I order you: Crush the Black Knights! Destroy Schneizel and bring the falsehood that is Damocles crashing down! This day, we shall have victory and nothing else!" As one, from Suzaku to Kallen, his forces made up of people from different places with different personalities and histories, replied as one.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

The next chapter will be out on December 5th.

Special thanks to my Patrons(s):

TheCoolest7248

Emmanuel Baptiste

Apostle_of_Darkness

GodOfConquest91

Keeley Doolan

3rddynasty

Jacob Crispin Rincon

Francesco Alayza

LastCranel27

Oz Vesalius

Killerking

Frostcore

High Simp of Mephala

Malik Johnson

Broden Hammel

truenoble

Killerking

Alexei Barrett

rlp31-

ShelDrake

Yvetal247

Uknown Grimoire

p a t reon . com (slash) Ducksmakegreatminers