AN: I do not own Code Geass.
DarkDremora: Ah, so that's where the image of Lelouch giving Kallen an apple is based off of? I don't know how I'd be able to make her remember such a moment, but I'll look into it.
Samurai Seven: Carine's moment will come, it'll just take some time to get there. Also, I don't even know how Lelouch would get an Alexander at this stage of the series, but by then, his Knightmare will already be set in stone.
Chapter 37: Extermination
"Suzaku, keep in mind that we fixed the Blaze Luminous' power drain problem, so feel free to use it as much as you like," Cecile reported as several Resistance Sutherland's pulled up on the White Knight.
"Yes, I remember." the Honorary Britannian responded as two Sutherland's tried to attack him. So, he easily dealt with them in two swift jabs, "This time, I'll properly subdue these terrorists without issue."
Just as he finished his sentence, the indigo-haired girl called out, "Look out behind you!"
Suzaku instinctively ducked as a revolving Naginata sailed over his head, "Damn, how'd you dodge that?" Maya muttered with frustration.
"What kind of Knightmare is that?" Suzaku wondered as he shifted to the side, dodging another Naginata, "There's two of them?"
"Hmm… what a curious design." Lloyd chimed in, "Though, if you don't have a weapon to fight them, you won't last long. So, I'm giving you permission to use our experimental MVS blades!"
Cecile smacked him on the head, "When were you going to tell Suzaku you implemented those!?"
"I was going to tell him anyway!" the mad scientist responded while rubbing his temple, "Anyway, they should be to the left and right of your cockpit. Be careful, as they're still in testing, so the durability might be a bit janky."
"Janky? Never thought I'd hear you use that word," Suzaku replied while drawing his MVS blades, which glowed red upon being fully unsheathed.
The two Sougetsu stared down the Lancelot as thousands of Japanese ran past them, "Fuck this. We can't beat that thing!" a Saitama resistance member shouted while abandoning his Sutherland.
"Yeah! Why would I risk my life fighting against that, when freedom is right there?" another soon joined, and pretty soon, all but five resistance Sutherland's were left.
"Seriously!? Those bastards are abandoning us?" Tamaki questioned, "You cowards!"
"Don't worry about those fools." Lelouch ordered, "If they intend to leave without us, then they'll only be gunned down by the Britannian army."
"Jeez… that's kind of cruel…" Sugiyama added as Maya and Mario attacked Suzaku.
"It was also cruel of them to include the innocent residence of Saitama in their conflict. For that, is an unforgivable offense."
Ohgi watched as the duel between the three frames went on, "You and Naoto really do share the same views, but…" he spoke up, "What about the civilians? They're running away too. What'll happen to them?"
"Fortunately, if they've been informed of the extraction points, then most of them should be able to get away safely. Since the Saitama terrorists have ignored my forewarning, they'll simply ignore the points I've charted." Zero replied as Maya clashed blades with Suzaku.
"You're one tough cookie!" she shouted while backing away, allowing her brother to enter with a follow-up attack.
Suzaku successfully blocked the strike, and countered with a kick to the Knightmare's side, sending it crashing into a pile of smoldering rubble. However, it wasn't over yet, as their partner followed up by swinging their Naginata down, forcing the Lancelot onto one knee as it barely blocked the revolving blade with both of its MVS's, "If it was just one of them… this wouldn't be a problem…" he muttered as the blade repeatedly scratched his head.
Using his slash harkens, Suzaku shot at the body of his opponent, forcing them to back away while barely deflecting the projectiles with one of their hands. Then Mario appeared out of nowhere, and attacked his shoulder, forcing the white Knight onto the defensive once again, as he twirled his blade to block the strike. "Maya, I think we should try to link up for our next attack." the black-haired boy said while kicking his opponent away.
"Oh! Are we going to try that?"
"Yeah."
The two Sougetsu crossed Naginata's, and rushed forward. In response, Suzaku thrust his MVS's forward, intending to go under the revolving blades, hitting the soft-spots of the Knightmare's. However, at the last second, the Disel siblings moved around his strike, and delivered a clean blow to the Lancelot's back, causing it to stumble forward, "Get out of there Suzaku!" Cecile shouted as the siblings continued their joint attack
"No… I can win this!" he shouted in protest while blocking both follow-up strikes. Of course, it wasn't over yet as Mario and Maya swapped places, and sent horizontal slashes at the White Knight, who easily back stepped them. After that, they pushed forward, with Maya sending an overhead slash, while Mario intended to hit him with a sweeping slash. Suzaku effortlessly side-stepped the sister's strike and stopped the brothers by putting his foot on the Naginata's handle.
"Oh crap…" the black-haired girl muttered with wide eyes as, in a few seconds, the White Knight snapped the revolving blade off, and kicked her brother away. Suzaku to slash at Maya, however, she managed to dodge the strike, and gash him across the left side of his chest.
Warning signals blared in the White Knight's ear as he stared down his opponent, though, they soon turned off after Cecile dealt with them, "That blade won't be able to cut through your armor if you keep getting hit like that."
"I figured as much… the real damage will come if it lingers for too long, almost like hot steam. The damage won't be severe if it only stays on your palm for a second or so, but after that, it starts becoming a problem." Suzaku muttered.
Maya charged in once again, this time, the White Knight parried her strike, and countered by stabbing his blade through her shoulder, leaving it there as she retreated.
"These weapons are way too slow…" she muttered while trying to move her right arm, "Shoot, it's busted…"
Mario took her side as the Knight stared them down, "Hey, are you okay?"
"No, my right arm's dead. He must've struck the connection or something." Maya replied as her brother dislodged the blade, "It's impressive how he was able to fend off that joint attack so well, though… I'd say the timing could've been better on your part. If our attacks had been going at the same time, I'm sure we would've hit him."
"At least you still have the energy to complain…"
Suzaku checked his blade and said, "It's starting to crack… I have to be careful."
"If things get too hairy, just retreat. I don't want to spend more overnight hours repairing the Lancelot…" Cecile replied, "Honestly… Lloyd turns into a real menace when it comes to his work."
From behind, Lelouch sent a punch into the Lancelot's back. However, this strike was easily dodged, and even though the other resistance members followed up this attack with their own, Suzaku effortlessly dodged them. "No… I think I can handle this…" he muttered as the enemy forces stared him down, "The main problem is that one strange Knightmare… its partner's arm looks like it can't move, so my focus should only be on it."
"Just be careful, Suzaku."
"I appreciate you worrying about me, Cecile. But it's clear that they're not trying to kill me. They just want to leave."
"And are you going to allow that?" Lloyd chimed in.
Suzaku shook his head while placing both hands on his remaining MVS, "No sir."
"Holy crap! Is this what Kallen was fighting the whole time!?" Naoto retreated as Alice sped left, right, up, down… she seemed to everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. Eventually, she closed the gap between herself and the resistance leader, taking out his left arm with quick succession, before grabbing his face, and tossing him into a building.
"Naoto!" Kallen shouted while speeding toward the blonde.
"You won't win like that." in an instant, the GX Knightmare disappeared, before reappearing behind the red head, ripping off her legs in the process. "ASEEC wants you taken alive, so be grateful."
From the rubble, Dalque broke free and sent a punch into her 'comrades' shoulder. However, just as it was about to connect, Alice moved out of the way, "I told you not to steal my prey! Now you have to pay!"
"Are we really doing this right now?" the blonde asked, "If you continue attacking me, it'll be the equivalent of insubordination."
"That'll only be the case if you're still alive!"
Naoto's Sutherland slowly crawled toward Kallen's cockpit as the two Irregular members fought in the background, "Kallen, are you okay?" he asked over the radio.
"Yeah, I'm fine… but as you can see… my Sutherland's shot…"
"Same here. We'll have to escape through the sewer system…"
"Dalque, Alice, stop fighting!" Sancia's voice boomed as she and Lucretia arrived at the scene.
"Why? She stole my prey!" the former replied while sending another punch at the blonde.
"I didn't steal anything! You were knocked out of the fight!"
"No I wasn't! I was just taking time to think of a new attack plan."
As the bickering continued, a familiar red Knightmare sneakily went from building to building, until it reached the Kozuki siblings, "Hey, I hope you two aren't dead yet." the pilot said.
"C.C? Is that you?" Kallen asked while stepping out of her cockpit.
The green-haired girl opened the hatch to the Guren, "You look like you need some assistance." instead of being dressed in her normal straight jacket, she had on the Zero costume.
"Why're you wearing that?"
"It's for a plan Lelouch wanted to enact later." the two traded places while Naoto stepped out of his Sutherland.
"Who are you?" the older Kozuki inquired as the immortal hit the ground.
"Just follow me underground. Lelouch will explain everything later."
Kallen rolled her eyes as she heard C.C brush off her responsibilities, "She's someone we can trust, Naoto. While I agree, she's a bit strange, this woman is on our side. So please, follow her out of the Ghetto." the red head locked into her Guren, "I'll take care of these guys first, then I'll head on over to help Lelouch."
Alice turned to the red Knightmare as it stood up, "Oh great. Look at what you've done, Dalque. Now your prey is back in a new frame."
"Good!" the dark-skinned woman responded, "None of you better interfere, otherwise, I'm killin' ya!"
Kallen leapt from one building to another, forcing her opponent to crane their neck in an uncomfortable manner while trying to keep track of her, "I don't have the surger on this one, so I'll have to rely heavily on my skill to take out an enemy frame…" her eyes landed on the new fork knife that was placed on her hip, "Though… that'll help greatly." after equipping the experimental MVS fork knife, she launched herself at Dalque's Knightmare from the right.
"Whoa, you're pretty fast now!" the Geass user tried to send a punch forward, "But this is practically suicide!"
At first, Dalque's fist struggled with the knife midair. However, after a few seconds, Kallen's momentum assisted in slicing through the GX's arm, bisecting it through the center. Upon landing, the red head did a sweeping kick that knocked her opponent into the air, before following up with a final knife strike piercing straight through the cockpit, cutting Dalque in half.
"One down." the red head muttered while facing the remaining three Knightmare's.
"Alice, how many more times can you use your Geass?" Sancia asked while preparing for a confrontation.
"Maybe two or three more times… even now, I'm starting to feel the strain on my body."
"Why were you messing around with them in the first place?" Lucretia added, "You could've ended the battle quickly if you took it seriously."
"I was taking it seriously. It's just that she was able to dodge my attacks quite reliably."
"You're kidding, right?" the commander muttered in disbelief, "Then I think it's about time you use your neutralizer."
Alice visibly shook at the suggestion, but before the drug could be administered, Colonel Madd's voice chimed in, "No, you don't have to do that. The Sub-Viceroy has ordered all soldiers to retreat for now, except Suzaku Kururugi."
"What? Why?" Sancia asked.
"Because, a special bomber squadron is on their way to finish off the Ghetto. Before you go, retrieve Dalque's Knightmare, it'll be a pain to rebuild later."
With that, the Colonel cut the connection, "So… are we really saving Dalque's Knightmare?" Alice asked as Kallen stared them down.
"We have orders to retrieve her Knightmare. Even if it's just half, then we'll be fine." Sancia confirmed.
"Fine. I'll grab it, then we'll leave." In an instant, the blonde moved toward the Guren, who backed away instinctively, preparing for a strike. However, Alice instead reached for the upper half of Dalque's frame and pulled it back to the group. "There, let's get out of here."
Kallen watched as the group of GX frames swiftly retreated, confusing her greatly, "Kallen? Are you still there?"
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. What were you saying?" the red head refocused on Lelouch, who had contacted her mid-battle.
"Could you get over here? We're having some trouble getting past the Knightmare from Shinjuku."
"Alright… I'll be there in a minute or so-" Kallen turned to the right, only to spot three Britannian bombers in the distance, "Lelouch… have you looked up recently?"
"What do you mean? Is there something wrong?" the Prince looked up, "Yeah, a storm is coming. What about it?"
"Not that… look toward the north."
"The north…" Lelouch muttered, then his eyes widened with disbelief, "Kallen! Get over here now! We need to leave!" he turned to the Kozuki resistance and shouted, "Hey! We don't have time to be messing around any further! There are three incoming Britannian bombers!"
"Are they planning on flattening the ghetto just to get to us!?" Oghi exclaimed.
"Damn it, I didn't know Britannia would go this far…" Tamaki muttered, "I mean… I knew they were messed up, but why would they try something like this? Especially since they're only supposed to be taking out the 'terrorists'."
Surprisingly, Tamaki asked a good question. While destroying the Ghetto in its entirety would be the most effective method of getting rid of the 'terrorists', it would cause their public image to take a hit if they used such excessive force. Nevertheless, Lelouch had no time to think about such actions. His main priority was getting the resistance out of there, and fast. "Hey you! In the White Knightmare, don't you know that Britannia's about to flatten the Ghetto?" the Prince informed Suzaku while pointing at the incoming bombers, "If I was you, I'd get out of here before getting caught in the blast."
"H-he's right!" Cecile reported, "Carine just ordered an airstrike on your position! You need to get out of there, Suzaku!"
"There's no need." Dasko's voice chimed in, "Listen here, Private Kururugi, you will hold those terrorists in position for as long as you can. That's an order."
"But that's suicide!"
The indigo-haired girl's voice was soon drowned out by the hulking Knight, "I know you want your country to have a better tomorrow, Kururugi. If you manage to hold those terrorists there until the bombers arrive, that better future is almost guaranteed."
Suzaku clenched the controls of the Lancelot tightly as Maya tossed her Naginata to her brother, who took it in hand earnestly. "Y-yes, sir." he responded.
"Suzaku!"
"Private Kururugi, cut off connections with Cecile Croomy." Dasko boomed, "Fight in solitude for a better tomorrow."
Reluctantly, the White Knight muted the indigo-haired girl. Not fully cutting her off. No, he couldn't do such a thing, even if it was an order. "Very well. Fight in solitude for a better tomorrow."
"That's the spirit!" the hulking Knight boomed with a maniacal grin, "Now, cut down your enemies in droves, and be remembered as a hero!"
The Lancelot boosted forth, clashed blades with Mario's Sougetsu, "You got a death wish or something?" the pilot asked as his Naginata sliced through the MVS blade, "You're going to die if you stay here!"
Suzaku got close to the ground, and grabbed the Sougetsu's leg, before flipping it over his shoulder, sending it face-first into the ground. To recover, Mario turned his fall into a roll that built distance between him and the Knight, who was surprisingly running away. No, he wasn't running. Instead, he was making a mad dash for the remaining MVS blade, which was at Maya's feet.
The black-haired girl attempted to kick the weapon away, but just as her foot was about to reach it, the Lancelot fired both of its slash harkens, which dismembered her leg. As Maya entered a free fall, Suzaku delivered a punch to her chest, sending the Sougetsu crashing into smoldering rubble. From all sides, the White Knight saw the resistance Sutherland's trying to surround him, so in response, he grabbed the MVS blade in his right hand, and did a flip, decapitating all but one of them at once. "Damn it!" Tamaki shouted as his automatic ejection seat activated.
"Sorry about this… but we have to leave now!" Ohgi added as he was sent away.
"Naoto… please be safe…" Naomi muttered as she joined Kaname.
"Fuck, I can't believe we failed." Sugiyama cursed while being rocketed away.
Lelouch stared down the Lancelot as it wiped the metaphorical blood off it's blade with a swipe. "Damn it… just what kind of pilot are you?" the Prince slowly backed away as Mario prepared for battle, "No. Go check on your sister." he ordered the black-haired boy over the radio.
"What, but what about-" Mario looked to his left and said, "Oh… I see. Then let's hope she can take him out."
"Don't worry. I know she can."
Suzaku looked at Cecile out of the corner of his eye, only to be surprised by her pointing, and seemingly screaming, "Behind me?" he muttered while turning around, only to have his left arm cut off by Kallen.
The two separated as the red head positioned herself between the White Knight and Zero, "Lelouch, where did everyone else go?"
"They were forcefully ejected. It's just us and the Disel siblings now." the Prince explained as Suzaku eyed them. "Mario, get Maya and her Sougetsu out of here. I don't think we have the resources to fully rebuild such a complicated machine."
"Don't worry, I was planning on doing that anyway." the brother responded while picking up his sister's Knightmare.
"I can't let them get away!" the White Knight moved to attack the siblings.
However, he stopped upon hearing Lloyd's voice say, "Leave them. You need to get out of there, now."
"How are you-"
"I designed that frame. Of course I'd have some control over it. Listen, I don't want Cecile to beat me further, so get out of there. Forget Zero."
"But what about-"
"Don't worry about Dasko. We don't necessarily have to listen to his orders, as we're technically under Prince Schneizel's control. So, if I deem it necessary, you don't have to do anything he says." Lloyd calmly explained. For the first time, it seemed he was actually using the authority the Prime Minister bestowed upon him.
Suzaku smiled, while he knew Lloyd cared more for the Lancelot, it still felt good to at least seem like he was valued, "I would love to leave, but… I don't think she's going to let me."
The Guren stood across from the Lancelot, readying its fork knife MVS for another attack, "Ah yes. She's a bit of a problem. Though, given the circumstances, I bet she wants to get out of here as much as you do. So, try to walk away."
An explosion went off in the background, causing Suzaku, Kallen, and Lelouch to look up simultaneously, "Oh no! They're already here!" the Prince shouted.
"Damn it. I was too late…" the red head muttered while glancing at Suzaku, who was activating his Blaze Luminous.
"Let's hope this works," the White Knight prayed while hunkering with his remaining arm over his head.
In a split second, Kallen dashed over to the Lancelot, and hoisted him over her head, before returning to Lelouch, with Suzaku acting as an umbrella that would shield them from the incoming bombs. "Oh no!" Cecile shouted, "Don't deactivate your Blaze Luminous-"
"Private Kururugi." Dasko's booming voice entered the call, "Deactivate your Blaze Luminous, and allow the bombardment to take out the terrorists."
"Wait, don't listen to him-"
Once again, the indigo-haired girl's voice was drowned out by the Knight, "This is for the betterment of Area 11. Do as you're told. This is an order-"
Before Dasko could finish his sentence, Lloyd cut him out of the call, "Uh oh. Did you hear that, Suzaku? There was quite a bit of static, but it seems the Knight of Carine ne Britannia wants you to KEEP your Blaze Luminous online. How generous."
Suzaku sighed, but soon had a smile plastered on his face, as he moved his arm up, keeping the Blaze Luminous online, "Thank you, Lloyd, Cecile."
"Thank god. He's not as suicidal as I remember." Kallen breathed a sigh of relief, while Lelouch kept as close to her as possible.
"After that stunt in Shinjuku, we improved the shield strength of the Blaze Luminous, that way, the Lancelot could actually stop heavy explosives reliably, but…" Lloyd subconsciously clenched the back of Cecile's chair with anticipation, "Please… hold out for a little longer, Lancelot."
A bomb hit the center of Suzaku's shielding, causing his Knightmare to rumble under the pressure. "Please… please… please hold out for a little bit longer." he prayed to anyone who was listening.
A bomb landed next to the Prince, which, upon exploding, launched him out into the open. That's when another bomb landed to his right, with the force pushing him back to the Guren. "Lelouch! Are you alright!?" the red head shouted. But there was no response. "Damn it… why can't this just be over already?"
After a minute, the bombs in their area subsided, with the only explosions going off were the ones in the Ghetto itself. Kallen quickly tossed the Lancelot to the side and ripped Lelouch's Sutherland cockpit clean off the frame, and began speeding away. Luckily for her, the smoke left behind by the bombs was thick, allowing for her to move without being spotted.
"It looks like a few terrorists got away." Dasko muttered, "I'll be sure to punish ASEEC for their ignorance later."
"Don't worry about it, my Knight." Carine said reassuringly, "We still got a fiery show at the end of the day. What's a few thousand Elevens getting away anyway?"
"You're right, my Lady. We should celebrate our victory once we return to the Viceroy palace."
The red haired Princess clapped her hands joyfully at the sight of the burning Ghetto, "Oh look! It's starting to snow! How cute! Mr. Reid, make sure you get a good shot of those terrorist's dead bodies while you're out there!"
"It shall be done, Sub-Viceroy." Deithard responded before leaving the G1.
"With that, I say that the extermination of the Saitama Ghetto has been completed!"
"Lelouch… please wake up… Lelouch," Kallen shook the Prince as he slept peacefully on her lap. They were currently taking cover within a cave somewhere in the nearby mountains. The red head had her Guren parked not too far away, "We're lucky that the encirclement was so broken up. Otherwise, the Britannian Sutherland's might've given chase."
Of course, that wouldn't've been the case regardless, as Carine had her fill of violence for the day, so she foolishly wouldn't be pursuing the remaining Saitama residence. That's when the image of Suzaku flashed in the red head's mind, "Damn it… I should've killed him while I had the chance," her eyes focused on her boyfriend as he stirred, "But… I was just so scared… scared of losing you again."
"Kallen?" the Prince asked once his eyes opened, "What happened?"
"Saitama Ghetto's been destroyed. I don't know what happened to the others, but Maya and Mario are on their way back to Milly's Knightmare plant." Lelouch tried to sit up, but felt his side ache, "I wouldn't move too much if I were you. Those bombs gave you quite a thrashing, luckily neither one of them hit you."
"Thank you, Kallen." the raven-haired boy responded while relaxing into her lap, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?"
"For failing you… and Naoto. Carine beat me today… she beat me really bad. There's no excuse for that."
"But it wasn't a fair fight." the red head retorted, "If it was, you would've surely-"
"No. A sore-loser complains about his loss, instead of trying to improve. Naoto's helped me realize that." Kallen's eyes widened upon hearing her brother's name, "I'll make sure my victory in Shinjuku was no fluke. From now on, I'll set the rules, and create the battlefields. What I need now, is an army, one that can rival Britannia as a world-class fighting force."
"Really? Do you have a name for them?" his girlfriend asked while brushing the bangs out of his eyes.
"Not yet… but I'll come up with one by morning."
"Why not… the Black Knights?"
"Black… Knights? I'll keep that name in mind. Thank you."
"No problem." the couple sat in a comfortable silence, before the red head asked, "By the way, why did you have C.C dress up in the Zero costume?"
"Ah, so she's the one who delivered the Guren…" the Prince muttered, "Well, I wanted her to record a video of the Saitama residence as they filed into their new home."
"Another Ghetto?"
"Unfortunately, yes. This video would be used as propaganda to further boost Zero's reputation as someone who fights for justice, while simultaneously showing off the cruelty of Britannia."
"So by doing that, you'd disprove Lila's accusation about you just having a vendetta against the royal family, while gaining support from the Japanese."
"Ideally, I would've liked to come in contact with someone from the media to record the destruction, but I didn't have enough time to Geass one at the last second."
"That's okay. I'm sure that video will be good enough. Now, get some rest, we'll be heading back to Milly soon, and quite frankly, I want to enjoy the quiet before she begins yelling at us about the damage done to our frames." the red head explained with a smile.
"Wh-what is this?" Lila shook as she read the report, "So much death… you told me you'd evacuate the civilians!"
Carine filed her nails without a care in the world, "But I did. The video I've provided will be proof enough of the evacuation."
"I already watched it, but it was just a bunch of Japanese people walking toward another Ghetto! There's no proof they're from Saitama!"
"Relax." the red haired Prince draped her arm around Lila, "I evacuated as many people as I could. It's not my fault most of 'em picked up a gun, and decided to fight back."
"But the Ghetto… you flattened it!"
"Those terrorists were really dug in there. Eventually, they got a hold of our Knightmare's, thus, I had to call in an airstrike."
"B-but…" tears began to well in the innocent Princess' eyes, "Those were their homes… where are they supposed to go now?"
"To another Ghetto? I mean, who cares? They've lived in slop for the past few years, what's the difference if they live in the slop of another region, right?" Carine shrugged while taking a seat on a leather chair.
"I want to rebuild the Ghetto." Lila said sternly while wiping tears from her eyes.
"What? So that they can use it again to terrorize the innocent?"
"No." the Viceroy firmly responded, "I want to rebuild the homes that the innocent Japanese lost. At least this way… this way, they'll have something to look forward to."
The red-haired Princess rolled her eyes, "Fine. Write up the bill, and I'll make sure those business pigs sign it."
"Really!? You're going to help?" the innocent Princess asked with a hopeful smile.
"Of course! If it's from my little sister, how could I refuse such a request? Besides, I want to right my wrongs, just like anyone else would." This was obviously a lie. The only reason Carine was agreeing to help, was so she could appease Lila. If she could, she would get rid of the naive girl in a heartbeat.
"By the way, where's Dasko?"
"Oh him? He's taking care of some… important business." the red-haired Princess responded, "Anyway, do you need help writing up the bill? I'm sure I could provide some useful insight!"
"Like I said before, Dasko-"
"That's Lord Dasko to you, Asplund." the hulking Knight boomed over the video call.
"Right… Lord Dasko. It's as I said, your transmission was cut off, so we couldn't understand what you said." Lloyd replied as Cecile shrunk in her chair.
"Even so, how could you allow those terrorists to get away? Do you value that hulk of metal so much more than the betterment of this Holy nation? Or perhaps… do you value the Eleven Pilot's life that much?"
"With respect, we operate outside your jurisdiction, even the Viceroy cannot sway our actions. The only one we have to answer to is Prince Schneizel, who granted us our personal autonomy. So, if you have a problem with the way I run things, please take it up with the Prime Minister." the mad scientist explained, "If you can even find him."
Dasko clenched his fist in anger, "Oh, don't worry. I'll speak with the Prince personally."
Just as the Knight reached to end the call, Lloyd said, "By the way, I'd advise you don't speak ill of my subordinates in the future. After all, it wouldn't be favorable to make enemies of your allies."
"You're one to talk, Earl Asplund." with that final comment, the hulking Knight left the call in a huff.
"Oh boy. How scary! I sure hope this doesn't have any serious repercussions in the future!" the Earl sighed with relief, "Anyway, let's retrieve the Lancelot, shall we?"
"Thank you… Lloyd." Cecile added, "Without you… Suzaku might've been-"
"Killed? Don't mention it. If a bomb had hit the Lancelot head on, it would've been blown to bits, and quite frankly, I don't want to have to find ANOTHER devicer as capable as Suzaku, while simultaneously rebuilding my prize possession from scratch."
"You say that… and yet… I know you care about him too. Maybe it's not in the same way as the rest of us, but I know you care. Otherwise, you wouldn't've made that final comment, right?"
Lloyd rolled his eyes, "Cecile, you know I'm a sociopath at heart, right? So I don't feel such things like… care for others. However, that doesn't mean I don't see the value Suzaku brings to this team, other than his piloting skills of course. I know that if he died, you, and everyone else at ASEEC, would've been heartbroken. So, consider this just me taking care of my team."
"You could get in serious trouble if the Viceroy decides to crack down on us." the indigo-haired girl informed.
"Not as long as Princess Lila's Viceroy. Speaking of which, she wants to speak with Suzaku personally. Once you retrieve him, send our Knight to me. Okay?"
"Y-yes sir!" Cecile responded with a salute.
"I can't believe you guys actually left me!" Dalque shouted while entering her team's meeting room without pants on.
"You look pretty good, Dalque. For someone who's supposed to be dead." Alice responded casually while tapping the metal table impatiently.
"Oh shut up! The least you could've done was provide me with some pants! Do you know how many stares I got while walking here?"
"You walked?" Lucretia questioned as Colonel Madd entered the room with a frustrated expression.
"Yeah! All the way from Saitama Ghetto, to the ASEEC command tent!"
"That's enough out of you." the Colonel announced while slamming a folder on the table, "Dalque, Alice, your performance today was less than acceptable, thus, you'll be going through some extensive correctional training." The mentioned girls shook at the order, knowing what it really entailed, "Sancia, Lucretia, both of you did terrible as well. Particularly you, Sancia. How did you fail at capturing those two strange Knightmare's?"
"My Geass was acting up… that's all." she replied while looking down in disappointment.
"If that's the case, then you'll also be going through correctional training too. Understood?"
"Y-yes sir."
"Good. Until then, Lucretia will be taking command in place of Sancia." all the girls clenched their teeth in frustration. "Now. I hope you'll use this time to improve yourselves, and become stronger for a better tomorrow."
That last comment held no weight, as the Colonel was required to say it by some new policy that Viceroy Lila implemented. While it was meant to uplift them, the girls only felt like they were being condescended. "Damn it! It's all that pilot's fault! If only she died easily, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Then I'd advise you to improve your Knightmare skills, because that last performance was hideous." Lucretia responded
"You're one to talk! You don't even fight!"
"I don't need to fight to know that you can't."
"Why you-"
Alice held Dalque back as she tried to assault their new commander, "See? This is exactly why this is happening. That attitude of yours is becoming a problem." the blonde said.
"Becoming? It already is." Sancia added.
"What about you? Why weren't you able to chase down those abnormal Knightmare's, huh?"
Their former commander clasped her hands and muttered, "I told you, my Geass failed me."
"Bullshit! Tell us the real reason!" Dalque demanded.
Lucretia and Sancia made eye-contact, before the latter said, "I… had a vision." now the room fell silent, "And it's not like a dream where there's no way this could happen. No… this vision felt real. Like it was going to happen soon."
"Well, what was the vision?" Alice asked as Dalque took a seat on the cold metal table.
"It was… of Suzaku Kururugi going berserk on a mountain."
"Berserk? What for?"
"I don't know. But I saw C.C in my vision. It looked like she had just touched his Knightmare, which, I think, caused him to go berserk." Sancia explained.
"But why? Why would she do something like that? Actually… how could she do something like that?" Alice asked.
"Like I said, I don't know! It was just… so scary. You remember that ticking time bomb feeling about Private Kururugi? Well, it was replaced with… dread. It was suffocating hearing him scream."
The girls looked at each other, "That… sounds like a serious problem…"
"Then we must prevent their meeting at all costs." Lucretia answered, "Of course, our first priority will be defeating that enemy pilot. I have a feeling they'll be a pain in the future if they continue to live."
"Yeah! Let me handle her!" Dalque shouted while pounding her fist together, "And this time, I won't be going easy either!"
"Please, go put on some pants before making any serious declarations like that." Alice commented, making the group chuckle.
AN: Just a brief Guren fight for now. And while Kallen does want to kill Suzaku, Lelouch's safety is her top priority, because if he dies, then it'll all be for naught.
Also, I don't know how much regeneration Alice's group has, but she lived after being thrown off the top of the Kawaguchi hotel, and whether you think getting thrown off a building would result in more damage than being cut in half, I'm gonna go off on a limb and say that Dalque could heal such an injury, it would just take a lot more time.
Neonmech: I was actually planning on having the Guren get captured (without Kallen in it) so that Dasko could use it. But I decided against it since it would cause some complications in the future.