"Are you sure it's empty?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow. "There could be guards."

Kingsley snorted. "I doubt it. It's a radio station in some insignificant flyspeck of a town. At worst there's a janitor or two."

"There'll be alarms, surely?" Jean pressed. "The police may send someone. Maybe before Sir Kururugi gets here."

Kingsley rolled his eyes. "What of it? It will work to our benefit. More people, more parties acting against each other will lead to more chaos. Now make yourselves useful and get on with it. If we stand out here all day, we will be found by Kururugi before we have a chance to take advantage of the mess we're about to create."

Ashley sighed, but did as he asked. They were still technically following his orders, at least for now. The building Kingsley had led them to was small compared to what he was used to in St. Petersburg, only three stories. But it was the only place they could find quickly that was equipped with the broadcasting equipment Kingsley wanted, for some reason.

He walked up to the door, giving the handles a pull for the sake of it, and once he confirmed it was locked, he braced himself and slammed an elbow through the glass. He took a few moments to knock out the bigger pieces still hanging over the door frame with his glove, before gesturing for Kingsley and Jean to follow him. "No idea where the equipment would be," He said. "But the place is ours. At least till our guests arrive."

"It won't take too long to find it," Kingsley said dismissively. "And perhaps we would find it quicker if you spent less time complaining and questioning my orders, and more time listening to your betters."

Jean snickered quietly behind him, but Ashley let her be, falling in behind Kingsley as he led them through the building.

Let her laugh. What did he care? He wasn't the one rushing to please a psycho. Jean infuriated him, in ways that he couldn't quite explain. Which only served to anger him more. Did she not see sense? Did she not understand the kind of man Kingsley was? The kind of trouble she had gotten the two of them into?

And all because she had to just go and try her very hardest, for her dear Lord Shaing. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, rolling his eyes. It was all well and good if she wanted to impress the guy, he wouldn't begrudge her that. He was their boss, after all. But Jean took it to a whole other level, one that was going to wind up getting them both killed.

He wouldn't be surprised if that didn't bother her. She was probably praying for the chance to die for the number. He, on the other hand, happened to have a vested interest in continuing to breathe.

Why was she so obsessed with licking Shaing's boots? Why did he mean so much to her, that she was willing to go so far? It couldn't just be some simple infatuation, though he was pretty sure she was holding a torch for the man. There had to be something more to it.

Because if Jean thought she was going to get him killed over a stupid crush and nothing else, he was going to kill her, drag her corpse back to St. Petersburg, and kill her again when the urge to bow to Lord Shaing overcomes the laws of reality and brings her back to life.

He just wanted to be rid of this whole mess. He missed his own Knightmare. He missed being able to properly fight, not slink around back alleys hiding away like a bunch of rats. Worst of all, he loathed the awful, consuming feeling that they were heading towards their deaths.

He had always placed his life in fate's hands, it wasn't something he was unfamiliar with. He loved the exhilaration, the uncertainty that battle brought. It made him feel alive. But this…this was different. Slower, more foreboding. As if they weren't fighting against their deaths to escape destiny, but meekly bowing their heads as they accepted the finality of their fate.

And that irked him more than anything else.

"Here," Kingsley announced triumphantly, opening a door. He led them inside, and lo and behold, they stood in front of a camera and a projector, as well as a mess of other cables and devices he couldn't make heads or tails of. "Now, let's get to work."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to work any of this," He said. "And I doubt Jean does either."

"Then you best learn," Kingsley huffed. "I do not tolerate those who disobey my orders. All you need to worry about is the camera, and keeping the broadcast running. I can make sure it transmits where I want it to."

Once again, he resisted the urge to throttle the one eyed bastard. For now. With a sigh, he moved over to the camera, checking what cords led where. It seemed simple enough, but he'd have to check each cord to make sure.

He glanced over at Jean, who was messing with some kind of control board on one of the desks. He shot a look behind him to make sure Kingsley was occupied, and whispered over to her. "You really sure this is a good idea?" He asked.

She scowled. "We've been over this with Kingsley."

"We have," He agreed. "Kingsley's also a psychopath. We should have dragged Kingsley off somewhere we could have hidden him for a while until we got Kururugi and the others off his trail. Instead, we're leading them all here, to us."

"Kingsley says they'll fight each other and-"

"Kingsley says," He echoed mockingly. "And who says he knows what he's talking about?"

"He conquered more of the EU than anyone else has in years," Jean reminded him.

"And Kururugi hunted down Zero and threw him at the Emperor's feet," He countered. "He's a Knight of the Rounds. And he's got a proven history of hunting down people trying to stay hidden. Kingsley's going to be found sooner or later, unless Shaing has somewhere to hide him. Except, if he did, he would have had us bring him there. So all we're doing is prolonging the inevitable so Shaing can satisfy his curiosity. Only, instead of leaving it be, and letting the same thing happen only sooner, we're interfering and putting our own lives at risk. For no damn reason."

"Lord Shaing told me to keep him out of Sir Kururugi's hands," Jean said defiantly. "And I do not intend to fail him."

"No? Then how exactly are you going to pull it off?" He pressed her for an answer. "We can't fight off Kururugi. We can't get Kingsley anywhere safe, with or without our Knightmares. So unless he has something he hasn't told us, we're out of options."

Jean refused to yield. "We will follow Kingsley's orders for now. I'm sure he's thought of something. We'll just have to follow his lead until we find out what it is."

He opened his mouth to argue, but Kingsley cut him off. "I am ready," He announced. "It is time to begin. I've made sure this message broadcasts on every screen, every radio that it can transmit to. Let's greet our would-be captors, shall we?"

Ashley sighed, shaking his head. Here goes nothing, He thought miserably, and turned the camera on.

Gino hummed absentmindedly as he soared through the air in his Tristan, his Knightmare scraping the treetops. Below him, Anya and Suzaku were darting through the forest, blitzing their way towards Westminster.

Towards Kingsley.

He wasn't sure what to make of the Knight of Seven just yet. He seemed alright. He must have been a pretty good guy if a princess took him on as a Knight. And the Emperor obviously trusted him enough if he decided to put Suzaku in charge.

Still, he came off as a little…distant. He'd wasted no time in getting them moving the moment they landed in Euro Britannia. Gino couldn't really fault him for that, they were on a time limit after all. But they had traveled almost in complete silence, been given next to no information, and worse, Anya had been acting…oddly. He was beginning to fear she had slipped into one of her blackouts.

He still couldn't tell what or when she was going to forget with any real accuracy, but he was getting a little better at recognizing the signs. It was subtle, but there were ways to tell. Difficult to pick up on, but there all the same. Anya became livelier, livelier for her at any rate. More eager, prone to rushing on ahead. She spoke even less than normal, yet somehow became more animated, less reserved.

He hated it. That wasn't Anya, it wasn't his friend. Worst of all, he couldn't do anything to try and help her. He couldn't even tell when something was wrong half the time, and the other half he was useless. It wasn't as if he could simply make her remember.

All he could do was be there for her when she snapped out of it. But even then, she always cut herself off, hiding away. It was always an effort to coax her back into a more relaxed mood, to make her comfortable again.

Maybe he was wrong. Anya had been fine earlier, before they left. He couldn't think of any reason getting in there Knightmares and starting their search would spark a change, but then, neither of them had any idea what caused her blackouts in the first place.

No matter how much he tried to figure it out.

Suzaku signaled for them to slow their approach, snapping him out of his thoughts. "We've reached the edge of town, and the last signal from the enemy Knightmares," He announced.

"I see them," Gino said over their comms, looking past the edge of the trees. "They look…abandoned? Four of them, obviously Europian…" He frowned. "But there's two more beside them. They're Britannian Knightmares."

"What?" Suzaku demanded. "That doesn't make any sense…not unless someone disobeyed my explicit orders." He paused. "Damn it. It's Shaing, I'm sure of it. Gino, can you tell who the Knightmares belong to?"

"Nope," He answered apologetically. "Sorry, but they're unmarked. If we took the time to bother looking, I'm sure we'd find something that'll tell us it's from St. Petersburg, but that's kind of a given."

"And given how little that narrows it down, there's no way to tie them to Shaing unless we found the pilots," Suzaku sighed.

Anya shrugged. "So? We're Knights of the Rounds, and the Emperor placed you specifically in charge of the search for Kingsley. Shaing is interfering. We don't need proof to act against him."

"Yes, we do," Suzaku growled, and Gino felt a flicker of annoyance at the tone he used with Anya. "I will not abandon the rule of law when there is an absence of proof. Let Shaing try and satiate his curiosity. Nothing will come of it, we shall make sure of that."

At least Suzaku was…optimistic? If nothing else, you couldn't say the man was distracted. And it was probably a good sign if he wasn't the kind of person who threw around his weight, abusing his authority whenever he liked.

Gino had to admit he was a little worried when he started hearing stories about the White Grim Reaper. The last thing they needed was another Luciano Bradley in their ranks. One Vampire of Britannia was enough for the Knights of the Rounds in his opinion.

"If there are others here looking for Kingsley, this might get complicated," Suzaku mused.

Gino laughed. "How bad can it be? It's only two more, and they aren't even in Knightmares anymore."

"Two more that we know of," Suzaku corrected. "I don't like this. Kingsley's captors are hiding somewhere in the city, and I don't believe they came here for no reason. They have some sort of plan, and that means we must act quickly before they have a chance to see it through. Or worse, someone else acts quicker than us."

Gino hummed thoughtfully. "You know, it's almost funny how many people are after Kingsley. He's just some advisor, isn't he? No one all that special. I mean, I get he's a genius and all that…but a princess turning traitor? Three Knights of the Rounds? This doesn't seem just a little bit…excessive, to either of you?" It was a question that had been plaguing them since Bismarck sent them over to Euro Britannia.

"It isn't our place to question his majesty's will," Suzaku growled. "The Emperor has seen fit to distribute three of his Knights to retrieve Kingsley. That is all that should matter to you."

Gino frowned. Touched a nerve there, I guess. "Not saying it isn't worth it. I'm just a little curious is all."

"Then you should put that curiosity to better use," Suzaku said irritably. "Perhaps by performing the duties that have been given to you."

Kingsley's kidnapping must have really got to him, He realized. That's why Suzaku was so anxious to keep moving. Were they friends, then? They'd been in Euro Britannia together for at least three months. Or maybe Suzaku just didn't want to fail the Emperor. Either way, this whole mess had obviously gotten under his skin.

Suzaku sighed over the comms. "I…apologize for my outburst, Gino. You've been nothing but helpful since your arrival. Forgive me."

He shrugged. "No worries, I get it. Don't worry about it, we'll get Kingsley back soon enough. If they took the time to kidnap him instead of just assassinating him, then they need him alive for some reason. They aren't going to risk killing him."

"No, they won't," Suzaku agreed. "We have a little bit of time, I suppose. We should get word out to the local police force, set up a cordon around the city. We know they're in Westminster, I want to know if they try to leave."

Gino nodded. "Let's go, then." He switched Tristan into its standard travel mode, landing on the ground.

Suzaku led them out of the forest and into the town of Westminster. It was a lot smaller than he was expecting, but then to be fair, he was in a Knightmare and had just come from St. Petersburg, and Pendragon before that. Anything was going to look kind of small after that.

They had barely reached the outskirts of town when a screeching static noise blared out of nowhere.

Gino winced, clapping his hands over his ears. "What the hell is that?" He yelled.

"Stay alert," Suzaku warned through the piercing wall of noise.

Slowly, the static began to fade. For a moment, he was left in confusion as he wondered what had caused the sound.

Then he glanced outside of his Knightmare, and he froze. On every screen in the city, on television sets sitting in the window of a pawn shop, on his own Knightmare's transmitting screen, on the billboard set on the largest building near them, a figure could be seen grinning smugly.

He was young, around his and Suzaku's age. Thin, with a mop of black hair falling over parts of his face. One eye was covered by an ornate eyepatch. "Who-"

"Kingsley," Suzaku growled.

Gino's eyes widened. This was Kingsley? This was one of the greatest military minds Britannia had known in years? The terror of Euro Britannia? He…he had been expecting someone a little older, to be honest. Though to be fair, Anya was younger than both he and Suzaku, and all three of them were Knights of the Rounds.
And Anya wasn't even the youngest of their ranks.

Kingsley moved, bringing his hand in front of him dramatically. "I am disappointed," He taunted. "How amateur, that I was allowed to escape so easily. I am almost forced to wonder if it is a trap of some sort, until I recall who it is that thought to capture me. And to think, I had almost come to respect you. Your Britannian blood has been of no small help to you, Leila Malcal, but I suppose there's only so much it can do in the wake of your Europian rearing. Your incompetence is simply a byproduct of the way you were raised."Kingsley laughed. "You would think that with the aid of a princess, you might somehow be able to watch a single man when you have him outnumbered six to one…alas, I had far too much faith in you. As I said, failure is in your nature. You can hardly help it."

Something glimmered in Kingsley's eye, something wild. "Of course, in the time since we parted ways, it has come to my attention you are not the only parties who are seeking me. Merely the most undesirable. As such…this is not simply a boastful taunt, Leila Malcal. No, this is a challenge, to you, and to any others within Westminster who seek me. I am broadcasting the message you see from the radio station east of the town hall. I shall be waiting for you, and any other who dares. Whatever flag you fly, whatever cause you claim, know that I intend to show a proper Britannian greeting to you. My freedom will not be easily stolen. Come for me, if you dare. If not, I will be out of the city within mere hours, I swear it." His arm cut through the air, and the transmission ended with a hiss.

"Gino, get in touch with the local police," Suzaku said coldly. "Tell them to establish a cordon around the city as we discussed. Once that's done…"

The Lancelot's landspinners locked into place, slamming onto the road, as Suzaku's Knightmare prepared to take off. "...Then we make for Kingsley with all haste."

Marco watched from the cockpit of his Alexander as Kingsley's image disappeared. This is the man who has brought so much disaster to the EU, He mused. A boy. Leila's age at most. And yet, he had nearly destroyed them. Would have, were it not for Leila's actions.

He held no ill will for the girl. Indeed, he admired her. She was a true patriot, someone who valued the common folk, who stood against corruption and fought for the true ideals of the EU. She was a hero.

But she was also an obstacle. Her alleged treachery was enough to put fear into the hearts of the people, the final straw breaking against the frail back of the Forty Man Committee. It allowed a new government to take its place, one led by General Smilas. One that would lead the EU into a prosperous new era.

Only, while she lived, Leila remained a threat to that future. The General's hold on leadership was shaky enough already, and Leila was beloved by all. Word of her false betrayal had not spread easily, and even now was hard for many to accept. If she managed to get word out, if she had a chance to defend herself…then all that they had worked for would be lost.

Leila Malcal needed to die. She was a loyal, patriotic soldier, a kind woman who had done nothing to deserve such a fate. All the same, she needed to die. And so she would. And if she truly believed in the future of the Europian people, she would recognize it was necessary as well.

Leila had to die. Kingsley had to live, to provide a threat to focus the General's forces on. What an irrational world they lived in, where the monster had to survive, and the hero had to fall. But it was the world they lived in, and Marco had done many wretched things in service to the General. In the hopes of a better future.

And he would not let that future be sullied by anyone, well intentioned or otherwise.

"We must hurry," He said to the others. He led a squad of twelve Knightmares, each of their pilots among the best the EU had to offer. "Kingsley mentioned that others were looking for him. We're close to where he claims to be, but we cannot afford to waste any time."

"Why bother?" One of his men questioned. "Kingsley doesn't concern us. Only Malcal."

Marco sighed. They were good soldiers, but sometimes their almost single minded dedication to their missions irritated him. "And where do you think Leila is most likely to be found?" He asked rhetorically. "She worked with a princess, infiltrated a palace, stole him out from under the nose of a Duke and a Knight of the Rounds, and has so far escaped with her life. Do you really think she will give up on Kingsley so easily? No, she will make for his location as soon as possible, and no doubt Kururugi will as well, if he's in the city. We are running out of time, and I will not fail the General."

I will not fail our people.

Urabe felt his breath catch in his throat when Kingsley first appeared throughout the city.

He was young. He knew that, of course, and Kallen had provided a few pictures to use as a reference. But still, it was strange to look at him and understand that he was Zero. Even more so with how he was now. He was dressed like a Britannian noble, clad in an extravagant uniform. An ornate eyepatch covered one of his eyes, adorned with purple gems hanging off of it.

He looked every inch the Britannian prince he was supposed to be, and nothing at all like…well, like Zero.

Then he spoke, and all of Urabe's doubts fell away. It was him, there was no doubt in his mind. The charisma, the way he spoke, the surety of his words…all of it was so familiar to him.

But it was different at the same time. Wrong. Zero's words were delivered with an air of confidence, one that seemed almost impossible to disagree with, though there had always been an undertone of arrogance to it. Kingsley…it was as if the arrogance outshone all the rest. As if the inspiring charisma that had swept up nearly all of Japan in a zeitgeist had been replaced with a cruel malice. When Zero spoke, Urabe did not doubt him because his tone spoke of utter confidence. When Kingsley spoke, Urabe did not doubt him, not because of his confidence, but because when Kingsley spoke it sounded as if the very laws of reality itself would bend to his will, so complete was his arrogance.

Urabe sighed heavily. He isn't lucid, then. That would make his job harder, but not at all impossible. He had been prepared for the possibility from the start.

It was unsettling, listening to Kingsley. Every word that came out of his mouth was laced with venom and superiority. It was everything Urabe had loathed about Britannia for as long as he could remember…and when he heard it coming from Kingsley, he could not help but hear the similarity to Zero.

His will has been robbed, Urabe reminded himself. This is a rescue mission, after all.

Urabe glanced at the map he had been given of Westminster. The radio station wasn't too far, even on foot, but he wasn't the only one searching for Kingsley. What's more, his competition would almost certainly have the benefit of Knightmares.

Oh well. He'd never be able to hold his own against a Knight of the Rounds anyway. Right now, he just had to get to Kingsley. Figuring everything else out could come later. Hopefully, he'd be able to snap Zero out of it somehow, and he could come up with a proper escape plan. They hadn't had enough time to secure an actual means of escape from him given how quickly they needed to act.

I'll think of something, He told himself, pushing his doubts away. Either that, or Zero will. They'd be alright. After all, they'd always manage to pull through before, hadn't they? Even after the Black Rebellion.

His reassurances felt hollow even to himself.

So this is the man who has caused so much trouble, Shesthaal mused. He shook his head. Boy, more like it. Still, boy or not, he was apparently a formidable enough strategist. More importantly, he was the object of his hunt.

Shesthaal produced a camera from his pocket, carefully lining up a shot of the billboard projecting a massive image of Julius Kingsley looming over the town. He pressed a button, and with a satisfying snap, and the flash of the camera, he tossed it to one of his subordinates.

"Get that back to the transport," He instructed. "Let it fall into no one's hands."

The eyes of the soldier he handed it to, a young man named Zeke, widened. "You mean to keep me away from the fight then?"

Shesthaal rolled his eyes. "What fight? I told you, if all goes well, there won't even be a fight. We are here to gather intelligence, interfere if the opportunity arises. Nothing more."

Zeke grunted. "All the same, there'll be a fight, won't there? I know you, Forgnar. You won't be able to resist. You wanna impress the prince, don't you?"

Shesthaal shrugged, conceding the point. "It will likely come to blows," He admitted. "Which makes it all the more important you get that picture away. We'll try and free Kingsley if we can, but with that picture alone we've already earned our pay. Which is why it's so vital you keep it safe."

Zeke sighed, thankfully mollified. "I suppose there's honor enough in that." He grinned. "Keep yourself safe, then, will you? Life would be a lot more boring if you somehow managed to get yourself killed. You always wind up with the fun contracts."

He snorted. "I fail to see what's so fun about tracking down some Britannian brat."

"A Britannian brat who was being protected by a Knight of the Rounds," Zeke reminded him. "A Britannian brat who put the EU on the backfoot. A brat who managed to get a princess to turn traitor because she wanted to kidnap him, even working with the EU. You can't tell me this isn't a once in a lifetime contract?"

"Maybe," Shesthaal answered noncommittally.

Zeke scoffed, shaking his head. "We're living in history, and you don't even care!" He complained lightheartedly.

"I don't care very much about Britannian history," Shesthaal said. "Though I suppose you may have a point. I can't think of any other contract I've ever taken that's so…chaotic." Unusual. He was more used to assassinations, reinforcing various war fronts, not…not gathering intelligence.

Still, whatever paid. "Just get going," He said. "Wait for us for another…four hours? That should be plenty. If we aren't back by then, leave immediately."

Zeke frowned. "But-"

"Immediately," Shesthaal repeated. "Which, as a reminder, means without delay. The security of that picture is paramount. If you have to leave without us, we're either dead or captured. And if not, we'll be fine. Lie low for a few weeks, then make for the border. Don't worry about us."

Zeke nodded, though he obviously wasn't pleased. "I'll see you soon," He said, and turned to leave.

Shesthaal frowned, glancing back at the billboard. The image of Kingsley had since faded, but he could picture the arrogant look easily enough in his mind.

"I have the strangest feeling," He muttered to himself. "That this isn't going to be as simple as we've been treating it." He hoped he was wrong. He hoped he was just being paranoid.

But he was a soldier, and he knew well the feeling in his gut that told him he was walking into danger. A feeling that had settled in his stomach even now.

He ignored it, gesturing for his men to follow.

Ashley shut off the broadcast with a sigh. "That's it then," He said. "Anyone and everyone in the city now knows exactly where we are." He frowned. "Are you sure this was a good idea, Lord Kingsley? Not that I'm doubting you or anything, it's just…"

Kingsley scowled. "Why can't you be more like the girl? At least she doesn't question orders. I've told the two of you a dozen times already. We have no real hope of making it out without someone picking up on our trail. Now everyone who wants me in their hands must come running as quickly as they can. And they must contend with everyone else who wants to capture me, as well."

"Right, that's all fine and well," Ashley said dismissively. "But, uh, someone's going to be left standing, you realize that right? And frankly, even if it's one idiot in a Knightmare, they'd still be enough to take us on if we just sit here."

Kingsley snorted. "And who said we're staying here?"

Ashley blinked. "But…you said-"

"I said we needed somewhere to bring together everyone in the area who is searching for me," Kingsley grinned. "I never said we had to be here when they arrived. They only need to believe we are."

Look at that. Kingsley wasn't suicidally arrogant. Just the normal kind of arrogant. Maybe they weren't completely screwed. Maybe his luck wasn't shot after all…

"Now, with me!" Kingsley said promptly, snapping his fingers dramatically. "We need to find ourselves an exit that doesn't lead out into the streets. There should be a maintenance shaft or something that will lead into the sewers. Hopefully."

Ashley blanched. "The sewers?"

Kingsley rolled his eye. "Do you know of another way to get out of the building without being spotted? We don't have to go very far. Just until we're close to the exit of the city. From there, we'll take your Knightmares. Anyone who might have been following us will either be killed off in the inevitable fighting to come, or too far behind." He frowned. "Unless they catch on. Which they very well may, so we must move quickly."

Ashley's face fell. I take it all back. Fate's decided to make me her bitch.

Cornelia felt hollow, all throughout Kingsley's little speech. She had…she had never actually seen him before. Heard him speak. Only heard about it from Lelouch and Leila. Watching him, listening to how he spoke…

It was as if he was a completely different person. Which, she supposed, he was in a way. That didn't make it any easier to look at. It was so familiar to her, and yet so alien at the same time. Kingsley spoke with her brother's voice, wore her brother's skin, aped her brother's mannerisms, his dramatic flair…but that was not her brother. The malice laced in his words, the arrogant sneering so common among the nobility…no, this was a stranger.

Perhaps he might have been Lelouch, once. Had Marianne not died. Had Lelouch kept his anger in check. Had he stayed. He may have been just like the rest of their family, and just like her as well. She would have welcomed that once, given anything to have her brother by her side, dressed in Britannian regalia.

But the time had long since passed for that to be a reality. And now…all she wanted was her brother back, as himself. Not as what she had once wanted him to be, but as he really was. Not this…this mockery. This abomination that stood against everything Lelouch believed in. It infuriated her, just to look at the superiority in Kingsley's eye.

And it made her sick.

She shook her head. Later, She thought. My brother needs me now. They wouldn't have long. Not with that broadcast being shown throughout the whole city. If Kururugi was already here…

She turned to Leila, who was already getting in touch with the others. "You saw that, right?" Leila asked whoever she was speaking with. She paused, presumably letting them answer, then nodded. "Okay. Make for the radio station as fast as possible. We'll rendezvous there. Stay out of sight, no matter what." Leila put away her phone. "Yukiya and the others saw," She said. "They're on the move."

"Good," Cornelia breathed out in a sigh. "We should hurry as well. No telling how much time we have."

"Not much, I think," Leila grimaced. "If it's a race to Kingsley, then we've lost already. Problem of going on foot…we're harder to find, but we'll cover ground slower."

"It isn't far from the station," Cornelia argued.

"No, but Kururugi could be on the other side of the city and still reach Kingsley before us if he saw that message in a Knightmare," Leila said. "You're a General, Cornelia. I know you know that."

"Then what do you suggest?" She challenged. "That we simply leave Kingsley to his fate?" Her hand twitched, itching to draw her sword. She pushed the urge down.

Leila scowled. "I've made it clear we aren't giving up on Kingsley. I'm sorry for letting him escape. That was my mistake, I'm not going to shy away from it. But we also have to face facts. We can't go up against Kururugi, not in a straight fight while he has a Knightmare. But maybe we won't have to."

Cornelia narrowed her eyes. "And how's that?" She asked skeptically.

"Does Kingsley strike you as the kind of man to give away his position in a town where he's being hunted on a whim?" Leila asked.

"Yes," She answered immediately.

Leila rolled her eyes. "Without any tricks up his sleeve?"

Cornelia thought for a moment. Whether or not he was a mockery, underneath the facade of Kingsley was still her brother. And Lelouch was one of the most cunning men she had ever known. And If his campaign in Euro Britannia was anything to go by, none of his ability had been sacrificed by Kingsley's creation. "No," She was forced to admit. "He has something planned." He always did.

Leila nodded. "Exactly. I think we go to the station, yes. But I don't think we just rush in mindlessly. At least take a moment to survey the situation. If we have the chance, absolutely we should go in and find them. We just need to exercise caution."

"I can be cautious," Cornelia said reasonably.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem."

Cornelia bit her lip in worry. She still didn't like it…but the girl had a point. She sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. I agree. We'll be careful. But perhaps we should get on with it? The longer we wait, the more Kingsley slips away from us."

Leila nodded. "As you say. Let's go then." She broke into a run, Akito following not far behind her.

Cornelia took a deep breath, and followed suit.

Good news, the biweekly break seems to have been the right call. I'm getting back on track, and writing at a similar pace to what I used to, although I wouldn't say everything's fixed now. Thank you everyone for waiting, and again, this IS temporary. Current game plan is to write six or seven chapters ahead of what I currently have, THEN work on planning. Once I've got the rest of the fic plotted, I'll double check it all seems good, and assuming I haven't fallen behind, which I shouldn't, I'll go back to weekly. Then I'll do the same thing, on a slower scale since it's on the backburner, for Eleventh Prince. And once THAT'S done, then I'll consider working a little bit more on that assassin's creed crossover I mentioned. I actually finished the first chapter yesterday, although it's not gonna be posted until I'm ready to continue the fic. I just wanted to see what it would look like, and if I enjoyed writing it, and I'll just say that the answers to both of those questions are very good.

Two things: About Kingsley broadcasting on the major screens in the city, and using a maintenance shaft in the building. I don't know the specifics of how something like that would be done, but I'm fairly certain it wouldn't be possible from one public broadcasting station. Still, I decided to use a bit of artistic liberty for dramatic effect, both for plot reasons (the picture) and just because the image of Kingsley showing up all around the city to shit talk everyone after him is amusing to me.

And about the entrance to the sewers being in a radio station, I'm not sure if that's feasible or not, though it sounds possible to me. Again if it isn't, just chalk it up to a bit of fudging on my part. Besides, Code Geass takes place in an alternate universe. Maybe they put maintenance shafts in their radio stations, lol.

IRL, I have a bit of good news as well. In under a month working at my job, with no prior experience, I have trained four different people, one of which included one of my new bosses. This is while I'm still in my OWN training, mind you. And now, it seems like I'm hopefully going to get promoted. One of my managers said it's basically guaranteed, but as I haven't actually been promoted yet, I'm gonna temper my expectations. Still, it's going good. Oh, and I've had more time to enjoy myself too, which is nice.

Thank you for reading, and if you enjoyed feel free to leave a comment!

Next Chapter: Sunday, January 12th