AN:

Alan Wake: I've got an idea on how to use Bradley for the upcoming arcs. In fact, I'm kind of excited for it.

DarkDremora: Yeah, Mario was holding back since he knew he would be going straight into a fight with Zedd right after, so he chose to let Nagisa do as she pleased, burning herself out in the process. And I'm glad you thought of the C's world trio, because I had them in mind while writing that scene too.

Chapter 102: Zero System

Area 11. Peak of Mount Hotaka. August 31st.

Atop his newly developed Lancelot Club, Rai watched as a small convoy of unsuspecting trucks entered the mountain pass, right into his trap. Across the range, Suzaku sat in his Lancelot with a frown, mulling over how he was dragged into this mess.

"Suzaku. Rai. Come in." Cecile called over the radio, "We have detected the terrorist convoy entering the canyon. Can you give us a visual?"

"Yeah, I've got them in my sights." Rai responded while looking at three trucks, which were clearly carrying something heavy considering how low their suspension was, "We'll be initiating our attack shortly."

"Understood."

"And Rai." Lloyd chimed in, "As a Knight of the Round, you'll be responsible for writing up a report detailing all the flaws and perks of your new frame. So, keep that in mind while you're fighting." the mad scientist leaned back in his chair, "Though, I doubt you'll find any flaws, since we wouldn't give you the Zeus system without expecting utter perfection."

"Of course." Rai let out an awkward chuckle while hopping into his frame, "Suzaku, get ready."

"Don't have to tell me twice." the Knight of Seven responded while stretching his arms, "Checking systems. Lancelot Conquista, ready-to-launch."

The Knight of Ten did the same, with a diagram of the Lancelot Club's new-look showing up on his main monitor, before moving to a smaller one on his right, "Lancelot Club: Zeus, ready-to-launch."

"Launching." the Knights said simultaneously while zooming past each other in a streak of blue and white.

Below, a terrorist spotted the two Knightmares rapidly approaching, and shouted, "It's the Knight of the Round!"

However, before the first truck could unload its cargo, Suzaku destroyed it with one shot from his VARIS, causing it to erupt into a fiery explosion. The rest of the vehicles began slowly backing up, only for the one in the back to get sliced in half by Rai with a wrist-mounted Schrötter steel blade.

"Crap! We have to escape!" a driver shouted while punching the throttle, and zooming away.

"You idiot! We can't lead them back to base-"

Before the terrorist could finish his sentence, Suzaku landed in front of the truck, and obliterated it using his blaze luminous cone, "It's not as good as the Karma, but it'll do." he thought while walking through the blazing wreckage.

Finally, one of the two remaining trucks opened up, allowing a total of four Burais to rush out in their defense. Though, their inferior machines stood no chance against Rai, as he effortlessly flew behind them, and pierced their cockpits, letting blood seep through the cracks before retracting.

"Bastard!" the remaining Burais began circling, and unloading a seemingly endless amount of bullets into the Club, to no avail thanks to the Blaze Luminous. In the background, Suzaku combined his VARIS with the cannon mount on his back, creating the hadron blaster - which he used to eviscerate the Burais in a matter of seconds, and causing an explosion along the mountain side.

"Thanks." Rai said, while retracting his wrist blades and using his antipersonnel machine gun to kill the stray terrorists.

Suzaku looked into the distance as a large mushroom cloud erected itself from deep within the canyon, "Looks like Schnee and Ledo have done their part."

The Knight of Ten nodded before reporting, "Cecile, we've eradicated the terrorist threat. We'll RTB shortly."

"Understood. Great work."

Just as Rai prepared to take-off, Suzaku suddenly said, "Wait."

The Silver-haired boy turned to the Knight and asked, "What is it?"

"Are you free after this?"

"Actually, Euphie and I are going to be touring the Hokkaido block today."

"Really? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"It's just going to be us."

Suzaku's eyes narrowed at the implications, leading him to ask, "And this tour… is it a public one?"

Rai looked towards the sky, and prepared to take-off once more, "Not particularly." he slowly rose into the air, and gave one last look to his former mentor, "I'll be heading back. Are you coming?"

"No. I'll stay here for a bit." the Knight of Three answered while staring at his VARIS, "I can't. If I do that… Euphie surely won't be able to forgive me." he turned to face Rai again, only to find the boy gone, "I hate this feeling. Why is it so easy for him to find a way into Euphie's heart? It doesn't make sense." his grip on the Lancelot's controls tightened, "I haven't changed that much, have I? Sure, I want to kill Lelouch, but is that so bad…" his mind wandered back to the airfield, where Rai was able to snatch Zero away in the chaos, "She knows Lelouch is Zero. That's obvious. And by proxy, Rai should too. Is the reason they're getting so close now… because of him?"

"Suzaku." Cecile called over the interface, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just waiting for the clean-up crew to arrive." the boy responded without hesitation, "Is my objective getting in the way of making a connection with Euphie? No. I already knew that. I've dedicated myself to killing Lelouch, then I can live my life normally." his eyes turned to the fiery wreckage, which burned relentlessly, "But… will it be too late by then?"

ASEEC Temporary Field Unit.

"Welcome back, Rai." Lloyd uncharacteristically greeted the boy first, planting a mild seed of suspicion within his mind.

"Is there something wrong, Lloyd?"

"Hm? And why would that be the case?" the mad scientist responded with a smile, "I just wanted to see how the Zeus system was. Did it meet your expectations?"

"O-oh…" Rai scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle, "I actually didn't get to test it out. I'm afraid the enemies numbers were too little to do so."

"Ugh. You're killing me here." Lloyd rolled his eyes while walking away, only to get literally pulled back into the conversation by Cecile.

"And where do you think you're going?" she grabbed him by the collar, "You're not going to congratulate Rai on his mission?"

"Um… yeah. I was just about to do that." he raised a hand and said, "Good work out there, Rai."

"Thanks, Lloyd." the Knight replied with a smile as their newest member approached in the distance, "Ah, Ms. Garfield. I'm sorry for not fully utilizing the Zeus during the mission."

"Please, you don't have to be so respectful." Clarice Garfield responded, "You're a Knight of the Round, after all."

"Even so, that doesn't mean I can just treat you poorly. The Zeus system was your idea." he looked at the Blue Knightmare, which kneeled solemnly as a few mechanics were checking its equipment, "And we should treat our mechanics and scientists with respect."

"I see Cecile's teachings have gotten to you." Lloyd commented before being smacked across the face with a newspaper.

"It's just called basic courtesy. Perhaps you should take notes." the aforementioned woman said while putting a hand on her hip.

"She's right, Senior Pudding." Clarice added with oddly venomous words, "You should learn to respect others." she let out a sigh and turned to Cecile with a smile, "Things really haven't changed, have they?"

"Of course not. No matter how much I reprimand him, he doesn't learn." the Indigo-haired woman responded.

"Well, it's like they say: you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

The woman began giggling together, provoking Rai to ask, "Wait… do you know Lloyd?"

"Hm? Oh, that's right. You don't know." Cecile turned to the boy, and gestured to Clarice, "All three of us went to the same school. Lloyd and I were her seniors, and let's just say…"

"He was the same kind of trouble back then?"

"Yep."

"Absolutely."

"No way." Lloyd chimed in, only for the women to face him with scorn, "What? I've improved. There's no doubt about it."

"Debatable."

In the background, Euphemia waited at the entrance of the Knightmare bay with a smile, waving Rai over gently. In response, he held up a hand and bowed apologetically, wordlessly asking her to wait a minute, which she nodded to.

"I suppose you are somewhat better, since you're not causing too much trouble now." Clarice admitted, "But then again, that's not saying much."

"Lloyd used to be a troublemaker? That's hard to believe-" Rai immediately back tracked on his words, upon remembering a few instances of Lloyd's failed experiments, "Actually, I can totally believe it."

"Hey, it was thanks to those problems, that I succeeded later." the mad scientist responded, "So if you really think about it, everything you went through, was worth it."

"As if!"

The Knight of Ten chuckled nervously as Euphemia giggled in the background, "If you don't like Lloyd… then why'd you choose to work with him?" the boy asked Clarice.

"I…" she looked away, "I can't answer that question. I'm sorry."

"Oh. That's alright." Rai glanced at the Princess, who waited patiently for him, "Well, I'll be on my way then. Once again, thank you for improving the Club."

"It's no problem." the bespectacled woman said as he walked away.

"Ready to go?" Euphemia asked as her former Knight stood by her side.

"Yeah. Sorry for making you wait."

"It's no big deal." the two walked outside, where a car was already waiting for them. It's driver's seat was empty, as the intended driver would be Rai himself. They would use this vehicle to drive all the way to Hokkaido from Tokyo. It was a 36-hour all-around trip, not including rest stops, "I'm so excited. I've never been on a road trip before."

"Me neither." Rai said as he got into the driver's seat, and buckled his seatbelt, "It should be exciting to tour Japan."

In the background, Suzaku's Lancelot landed before the field unit with a thud, alerting the mechanics to his presence, who simply ushered the frame inside. The Knight quickly hopped out of his Knightmare and rushed outside, where he caught a glimpse of the black car's taillights as it drove off, with Euphemia giggling in the passenger's seat, "Oh man. Can you believe it?" a mechanic came up behind Suzaku and put an arm around him, "Rai sure has grown up, hasn't he? I remember when he first joined, that boy was walking on eggshells. Now, he's personally driving Princess Euphemia all the way to Hokkaido all on his own."

"You knew?"

"Of course we knew." another Mechanic added with a smile, "He told everyone he was going to be gone for a few days."

"Well, I wasn't informed of something so… urgent." Suzaku felt an odd sting in his heart – one that felt familiar to the heartbreak he felt when Euphemia died. Only, this pain wasn't nearly as bad.

Though, the mechanics lend much aid, as they said, "You know… they're probably going to be alone for a few days."

"All alone in the middle of Area 11?" he turned to Suzaku, "Oh sorry, Japan." he smirked before turning back to his friend, "Why do you think she chose Rai specifically? You think it's something like…"

"No way. If Princess Cornelia ever heard you suggesting something like that, you'd be hung on the spot!"

"But you can't deny it's there, right? I mean, she did give blood to him during the whole Black Rebellion thing."

"I suppose you have a point… now that I think about it, Rai chose to station himself here, close to Euphemia despite being able to go wherever he pleases. Maybe he's grown a fondness for her?"

"Oh, I'd say it's more than just fondness."

The more the mechanics spoke, the angrier Suzaku got, until the dam finally broke, and he said, "What are you? A bunch of school girls? That's enough gossip for today."

"Oh come on! It's all in good fun!" one mechanic said with a hearty chuckle, "Or perhaps… you'd rather have us talk about you and Viceroy Lila?"

"Ew. Dude, she's 13." his friend added, which only further infuriated the Knight.

"That's enough. Get back to work."

"You know, you've been a bit more prickly lately, Suzaku. Did something happen?"

"I said get back to work." Suzaku ordered sternly before walking off, "Damn it. Now I can't stop thinking about their trip. Perhaps I should head to Hokkaido myself-"

"Suzaku." Cornelia called from afar, with Guilford following close behind, "Rai has informed me that you'll be in charge of the anti-terrorist initiative in his absence."

"Uh…he did?"

"Yes. Now, I wanted to speak with you about a case we've recently received regarding Nagasaki." she motioned the boy to follow her, only for him to get an idea.

"Do you know why Rai's gone?" he asked, hoping to reveal that Euphemia and the Knight were headed to Hokkaido alone. That way, he'd be able to have a reason for taking a trip there - or, at the very least, disrupt their time.

However, the response he got in return, was something he could have never predicted, "Of course. He and Euphemia are going to tour the Hokkaido block. They'll be heading there by car, and will take a ferry onto the Island."

"You know?"

"Yes."

"And you're okay with it?"

"Yes." she answered once again, almost robotically.

Suzaku's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why?"

Suddenly, Cornelia's eyes gained a red ring around them, as she said, "As long as Euphemia's happy, she'll be complacent. That's all that matters."

"Complacent?" the Knight thought with wide eyes, "And those red rings… Geass." he calmed his exterior, before asking, "What do you mean, complacent?"

"It means, she'll be more willing to visit the Chinese Federation with me." the Witch of Britannia confirmed as the red rings grew stronger, shaking Suzaku to his very core.

"Damn it. Who could have done this? Lelouch? No. I remember him telling me about Geassing Cornelia into telling us who Marianne's killer was. Though, we never went through with it because of Nunnally." the boy thought while tightening his muscles, "Regardless, that should be this Lelouch's objective too. So Geassing Cornelia into bringing Euphemia to the Chinese Federation doesn't make any sense. Unless… V.V? Of course. It makes perfect sense that this would be his doing, but why? What does he gain?"

"Suzaku." the Witch of Britannia broke him out of his thoughts, this time with ringless eyes, "Are we going to discuss Nagasaki?"

The Knight calmed himself with a heavy sigh, "Of course. Lead the way, Princess Cornelia." he glanced at Guilford, who clearly seemed distressed by his Princess' words, but held his tongue regardless. He knew something was up. Suzaku just needed to question him.

Four hours later.

"Ah! You smell that air?" Euphemia asked as she stuck her head out the window, and took in a deep breath of the forest, "Gosh. I can't believe how free it feels out here."

Rai smiled while carefully turning the wheel to ride the curve, before slowing temporarily to go around a bend, "It is nice, isn't it?" he checked his blind spot before switching to the right lane, "We're coming up on Sendai, so let's stop there to get a full tank before continuing."

"Are you sure it's okay for you to drive that long?"

"Don't worry. I'm fully prepared to stay awake overnight."

"If you say so…" Euphemia looked out the window, before gasping, "Oh! Can I get something from the gas station? Cornelia never let me eat gas station food, since she said it was gross."

"Well, I don't know exactly what they're like in the homeland, but here the gas stations are pretty nice."

"Really? Then I can't wait." the Princess pulled the lever on her seat to push it back, only for it to completely collapse, causing it to hit the backseat with a thud, "Ow!"

"Pft. Are you okay?"

"D-don't laugh!" Euphemia shouted while hiding her embarrassed face, "I'm fine… just… how do I get this thing up?"

Rai chuckled softly while pulling over to the side of the road, "Just hold still." he leaned over her body and looked at the levers, which made her stay as stiff as a board, in fear of making any sudden moves. "Okay. Pull this lever, and I'll help you up." he gently touched her hand, earning an abrupt jolt in return. "Oh, sorry."

"N-no… it's fine." the Princess responded while returning her hand, "You just surprised me, that's all."

"Oh…" Rai nodded awkwardly while placing her hand on the lever, "Okay, now pull."

The Princess did as told, and her former Knight pushed the chair back into place, "Thank you." she said with a smile, before facing the road as they continued driving, "So… are you excited about Hokkaido?" she asked, trying to break the silence.

"Of course. I think it'll be nice to see the countryside. Don't get me wrong, I think Kirihara's place is beautiful, but a change in scenery is nice."

"That's not what I meant." the Princess shook her head, "Come on. You haven't figured it out yet?"

"Um… figured what out?"

The girl giggled while smiling smugly, "Well, looks like you'll have to find out."

Black Knight Warehouse. Chennai. India. 1:30PM.

"And you should've seen the finale!" Tamaki shouted while wrapping an arm around Mario's neck and pulling him close for his audience of Black Knights to see, "That Zedd the Tiger didn't stand a chance! Within like a… minute flat, Mario had this guy on the ropes – barehanded!"

"Whoa!" the peanut gallery awed, "I didn't know Mario was that good."

"Hey, I did pretty good too." Naoto butted in from the side, pointing at himself with a smile.

"Um… last time I checked, we tied." Tamaki retorted, earning an 'ooh' from their audience.

"We most certainly did not!" the Kozuki shouted while getting up in his friend's face, who let go of Mario, and matched his challenge.

"Oh yeah? Then prove it."

"Why you…"

The two men entered a comical smoke cloud, as punches and kicks began flying. In the chaos, Mario snuck away, straight into his sister's arms, giving him a big hug, "Don't think I didn't see what you did during the match." she teased, "You're such a softie, Mario."

"Ew. Get off me." the boy pushed her away, only to get sandwiched by Benio on the other side.

"You were so cool, Mario!" she climbed onto his back like a koala, causing him to teeter slightly as she asked, "Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Ugh… yeah. Just… please get off."

"What!?" Tamaki broke out of his smoke cloud, "What happened to learning from me?"

"Um… can't I learn from multiple people?" the little girl asked as the Japanese man gave a dejected sigh.

"I suppose that's alright…"

"Don't look so blue!" Urabe came out of nowhere, "At least someone's taking your lessons."

In the distance, Zero watched the interactions with Kallen close by his side – touching shoulders. If someone was looking at them, they probably would've suspected something was up, but thankfully they were too busy celebrating Mario's victory. That's when C.C approached with a smile, holding her oversized cheese-kun plushie, "It's already been a day since that event, so I don't know how Tamaki can keep telling that story over-and-over."

Lelouch shifted as the Immortal stood on the other side, mimicking Kallen, "It's quite tiring. But if this is what I have to put up with until the delivery, then I'll manage."

"Speaking of delivery, are you excited? You'll finally be able to get your revenge on Naoto."

The red head rolled her eyes upon hearing those words, and decided to add, "It's not about revenge. This system will give Lelouch an edge against skilled opponents."

"Hm? And you're not worried?"

"Worried about what?"

"That he'll neglect his training."

Kallen's eyes narrowed upon hearing C.C utter those words, "That won't happen." she pinched her boyfriend's side and asked, "Right?"

"Of course." he answered solemnly while hiding his pained expression under the mask.

Suddenly, the sound of a large truck horn broke up the celebration, followed by a semi rolling in, with the Black Knights making way for it, "Zero." Oz called from the passenger's seat, "It's done."

Lelouch approached the truck as it unloaded the Aroundight and Kagero, where Naoto eagerly rubbed his hands together in excitement, "Already? It's two months too soon."

"Are you complaining?" Savitri asked while hopping out.

"Not necessarily. I would just like to know what breakthrough enabled you to finish it this early."

"You'll see once you step in." the Indian woman said while handing over the key, "Now, if you would – I'm eager to see our system's performance."

Lelouch took off his mask while looking over the new interface, which seemed to be cluttered with pop-ups and green boxes, "This is a bit much." he muttered while beginning to move the Kagero, which instantly began scanning the Aroundight as Naoto was warming up.

The Druid System appeared to be scanning the Knightmare's limbs at a rapid rate, before sending a diagram of it onto another monitor, along with possible weak points. "You ready to go?" the oblivious Kozuki asked as the crowd watched from within the warehouse.

"Sure. Let's start this slowly." Lelouch said while getting into a stance.

Naoto began slowly approaching in a boxing stance, making sure to sway from left to right, before sending out a superfast jab that took Lelouch by surprise – but not because of the hit itself. No. The Prince was surprised by the sheer amount of information that was being processed by the system. In total, he was given three choices on how to respond; block, dodge, or counter.

However, he didn't get to choose, as Naoto's fist made contact with his frame's chest, sending him stumbling back, shocking everyone, "What? Why'd he get hit?" Asahina questioned.

"Yeah. He's normally able to block those." Nagisa added with a hint of skepticism.

"Zero, is everything alright?" Savitri asked through her mic.

"Yeah. It just surprised me, that's all." the Prince said as he got up, "It won't happen again."

Naoto shrugged and began moving once more, before attempting the same strike – this time getting brutally countered with a left cross. The Aroundight stumbled slightly, "That's a new one."

Lelouch let out a deep breath, and entered deep concentration while saying, "Okay. Step it up."

The Kozuki smirked before dashing to the right, "As you wish!"

He suddenly cut left, sending out his right fist for a devastating strike, only to fake it out, and pivot his entire frame, hoping to catch Lelouch on a block – punishing him with a liver check. However, it came as a surprise when the Prince pivoted with him, using his elbow to block the incoming strike, before strategically backing away.

Naoto shook off the action while going chasing his opponent with a right hook, which was parried. Though, he didn't give the Prince room to breathe, as he followed up with a left jab, and knee. But even that didn't work, as the Kagero expertly caught his fist, while using its own knee to stop the Aroundight's. The Kozuki let out a frustrated groan, while releasing his fist, grabbing a hold of the Black Knightmare's arm, trying to pull it close for a strike, only to get slapped away, which disoriented him slightly.

"Crap. This is taking a lot more out of me than I thought." Lelouch thought while blocking an incoming strike, before taking a step back to dodge another, "Not only am I physically getting pushed to my limit, but I'm diverting my attention to reading the information on-screen less than seconds of it popping up." he ducked a high kick, before countering with a three-piece combo of two jabs, followed up by a right hook, "However! I'm perfectly matching and surpassing Naoto!"

"What's going on?" the Kozuki shook his head while going low to the ground, and lunging at his opponent, just to get side-stepped. Then, his wheels squealed against the ground as he launched himself back into the fight, only for Lelouch to backflip over him, "Seriously!? He wasn't doing any of this before!" he smirked while recovering with a flip of his own, "I didn't expect it to be that good."

Lelouch let out a breath of hot air, feeling his entire cockpit heat up like a sauna, "This heat isn't helping me concentrate either. I'll have to ask for some kind of coolant to be installed, so I don't burn out mid-battle." he wiped a bead of sweat off his brow and said, "Okay, go all out, Naoto."

"Seriously?" the Kozuki asked, "Weapons and all?"

"Weapons and all. I wanna push this system to its absolute limit." the Prince responded while drawing his two MVS, "Don't disappoint."

"Getting cocky, aren't we?"

Naoto drew his own MVS and began his assault. First, he led with a heavy strike from the right, forcing Lelouch to block, while thrusting his other blade forth, causing the Kozuki to bend backwards in an effort to dodge. Additionally, he put a hand on the ground and lifted himself up to kick the Kagero in the face, sending it stumbling back slightly.

"I suppose the Zero System isn't completely invincible." Savitri said while tapping her tablet.

"Even so…" Tohdoh's eyes narrowed, "Naoto's completely on the back foot."

"You're kidding, right?" Tamaki added, "Zero's only defending! There's no way he's pressuring Naoto that much!"

"Well, they say a great offense is a good defense." Urabe added.

Nagisa raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't it the other way around?"

"Pft. I dunno, I'm not a psychologist."

The woman shook her head in disbelief and muttered, "Whatever." not bothering to correct her fellow Holy Sword.

Naoto circled Lelouch slowly, scanning the Kagero up and down, only to clench his controls in frustration at the bitter truth, "There's not a single opening. I can't break through." he slowly relaxed and said, "Your turn."

The Prince nodded, instantly understanding what his opponent meant. While sheathing his second blade, Lelouch got into a fighting stance, calibrating his Druid System for offense, "Try to keep up."

For the first time, Lelouch charged in ruthlessly, faking a strike from above, only to pull his blade back at the last second, and hitting Naoto with an upward slash. The Kozuki took a desperate dodge, getting his chest gashed in the process, but gaining the ability to counter by thrusting his sword forth, which unexpectedly clashed with his opponent's. Though, the Prince wasn't done yet, as he forcefully jammed both of their weapons into the ground, leaving them stuck as they returned to fighting hand-to-hand.

The Aroundight sent out a right hook, which was easily blocked by the Kagero, who then countered by sending a punch into it's leg, forcing the White Knightmare to kneel, where it would then be struck by a knee, sending it rolling backwards. Naoto would quickly spring to his feet, only to be met with a jab, followed by a right hook, a strike to the left knee, before being finished off with a heavy kick to his face. Lelouch slammed his foot onto the Kozuki's back, making sure the fight was over for good, "Finally. You lose." he said while panting heavily.

"Damn." Naoto rested his head against the dashboard, "Not bad."

"Woah!?" Tamaki exclaimed while rushing out of the building, "You have to set me up with one of those!"

"Unfortunately, you won't be able to use it properly, since the mental toll would be too great." Savitri informed while pushing her glasses up, "The Zero System takes in data from the current battle, and charts the best possible responses to achieve victory, with information arriving within 6 milliseconds of being received."

"That's insane! Nobody can react that fast!"

"Exactly." Zero finally stepped out of his Knightmare, clearly feeling the toll that duel had on him, "Luckily, I don't have to. It appears ahead of time, so I'm just barely fast enough to register it."

Kallen moved to the front of the crowd, and helped her leader to the warehouse, "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I'm fine." he mumbled under his breath, "I just need to rest."

Savitri looked at the statistics on her tablet and asked, "Should I dial it down?"

"No." the masked man responded as Naoto hopped down, "The speed is good for now. I'll just have to learn how to fully utilize it in a couple more sessions."

"We'll take the Knightmare's back for now. Thank you for your time, Zero." the Indian girl said, while Zi Dien approached Mario from behind.

"But one more thing." Lelouch turned around, "Could you add some kind of air cooling system to the Knightmare?"

"You mean… air condition?"

"Yes. It gets very hot."

"Must be the stress." Savitri wrote down the suggestion on her tablet, "Alright. We'll work on it."

Meanwhile, Maya came out of nowhere and began shouting at Zi Dien, clearly still angry about how their duel went last time. Clara came over and tried pulling the black-haired girl away, while Rolo watched from a distance, as Mario seemed to vent his own bit of frustration, just not as violently.

Lelouch bursts into his office and desperately lays down on his couch while turning on the little fan, making sure it worked on the highest setting before leaning back, "Damn. That took a lot out of me."

"Was it really that difficult?" his girlfriend asked while grabbing a cool water bottle from his mini fridge.

"I mean, the information comes in at such rapid bursts. Obviously I don't have to use it, but it's a waste to have the system otherwise." he explained while being handed his beverage, which he chugged down, "Could you get me another, please?"

Kallen did as told happily, before sitting next to her boyfriend, "Here. Lay your head on my lap." she said while patting her thighs.

With a red face – which was mostly from the heat – Lelouch rested his head on her lap, and let out an exhausted sigh, "Thank you."

"Didn't I say you don't have to thank me?" she responded with a giggle while putting the cold drink on his forehead, "I enjoy doing this for you, as much as you do for me." she playfully poked his cheek while saying, "Besides you're especially cute like this."

Too tired to fight back, Lelouch grumbled while hiding his face in his girlfriend's belly. Though, he abandoned that defense upon realizing he was only getting hotter that way, "By the way, your training does help. If my body wasn't physically prepared to make those split second decisions, I don't think I would've been able to utilize the Druid System properly."

Kallen's face turned pink from the compliment, followed by an endearing smile, "I'm just happy to see the fruits of my labor finally paying off. Oh, and Savitri's been referring to it as the 'Zero System', since it would be confusing in the context of talking about the original Druid System."

"I see…" the Prince closed his eyes, trying to rest, "Regardless, I won't be able to get into too many fights with it - otherwise it'll be the death of me."

"Don't say that." the red head said in an oddly stern tone, startling Lelouch, "I won't let you die."

Her boyfriend smiled and caressed her cheek lovingly, "I know you won't. Is it okay if I sleep here?"

"Obviously. You don't even have to ask." she responded while laying a gentle kiss on his lips, "Goodnight."

"I'm just going to take a nap." he said with a slight chuckle, closing his eyes, "I'll see you later."

Soon after resting his body, the Prince fell asleep, leaving the red head all alone with her thoughts. Or so it seemed. "What about me~" C.C peered over the sofa, "I won't let you die either, Lelouch."

"How'd you-"

The Witch hushed the red head, before moving to the chair across from the couple, "So, how are things?" she kicked her feet for a bit, before changing the question, "Or rather… how are you?"

"I'm fine." Kallen responded, "Just kind of worried about Lelouch."

"Even though this Zero System is supposed to make him a better pilot, it's pretty dangerous considering how it affected him in a mere spar." C.C put her cheese-kun plushie beneath the Prince's head, "I've been thinking about it over the past few months, but V.V's from the future. I don't have any solid proof, but considering how he spoke, it's a high possibility."

"And you only figured it out just now?"

"I didn't want to admit it. Given how much power he has, I'm honestly surprised he hasn't done more. It's got me worried what he has planned."

"Regardless, we can beat him." Kallen said, "Just like you did before."

The Immortal leaned back, and asked, "You know what we'll have to do for that, right? Are you prepared to make that kind of choice?"

The red head looked at her boyfriend, and rubbed a strand of hair from his sleeping face, "With how Lelouch is going, hopefully I won't have to."

AN: So, I'll be calling the Druid System that Lelouch uses the 'Zero System' simply because I've realized that down the line, it's going to get very confusing dialogue wise. So, I'm making the change now.

Onto Rai's Knightmare, I wanted to have something that would have the specs to keep up with the Conquista (logically, since I can't just have Rai on the ground all the time, or worse, have a temporary float unit). The Lancelot Club: Zeus isn't going to be overpowered, but it is going to have a special ability, one that I think would make sense.

And for Clarice, her motivation for joining Lloyd's team here will be revealed later on, so in the meantime I gave her some plot relevance with creating the Zeus.