"At once, Your Highness! Commencing armed intervention!"

Below street level, the Sutherland pivoted on one leg and kicked down a concrete wall as it burst into a large open space full of rough-looking men that immediately opened fire on it, only for the Sutherland to immobilize the lot of them by deploying a set of heavy-grade shipping nets from a customized launcher.

"By authority of Her Highness Euphemia," the female pilot calmly announced through her speakers, "all present are under arrest. Be warned that further resistance may result in an escalation of force."

When a long moment passed without weapons fire, the Sutherland uncovered its factsphere to aggressively scan the area.

"This is Lake Three," the pilot radioed in. "Hostiles have been suppressed so far; no visible hostages to report."

"Copy that, Lake Three. Were we right about the evidence?"

Taking in her readings as the factsphere retracted back into its armor plating, the pilot's hands danced across a collapsible keyboard as she logged and backed up the results. "Affirmative, preliminary estimate is that we may be dealing with a dozen tons or more of the chemical weapon."

"Jesus, that's–! Copy that, standby and supervise the scene until the police come in to take over. And don't take any unnecessary risks, got that?"

In spite of herself, the pilot smiled. "With due respect, Sir…"

Cecile trailed off, letting the word hang in the air for a moment in its unfamiliar context. With an amused huff, she sat back in her seat and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

"...okay, yeah, that's fair. I'm moving on the target."

"So partner," Suzaku asked aloud as he made a beeline for the top floor office along the interior stairway, "any bets on how this goes down?"

We open the door and are immediately met with either derisive laughter or a hail of gunfire.

Passing by a window, the newly-minted agent of the Viceroy glanced outside to see patrol cars sneakily surrounding the casino and setting up a cordon as per the plan. It's almost hard to believe how much easier things get when Her Highness lets us throw her name around.

"Hm… pick one or the other," Suzaku insisted. "I'm not so naive to gamble on a friendly reception from a Refrain trader."

…fine, they laugh in our face first. If I win, I get out of dealing with Milly the next day we're at Ashford.

Sliding a fresh magazine into his sidearm, the soldier let out an amused huff. "I'll take that bet."

At least we don't have to worry about putting on a show for the public, since the casino's cameras on the top floor are on a different circuit and outside our ability to broadcast the feed from.

Meanwhile, the solo operative burst into an executive office with a gun in his hand. "In Her Highness Euphemia's name, you're under arrest!"

Back at the warehouse, Viletta let out a quiet sigh of relief when the street cops finally came in to take the prisoners off her hands.

"Ma'am! Apologies for the delay," a young and earnest-looking officer said with a crisp salute. "We have no excuse!"

Viletta considered asking for an explanation instead, but instead filed it away as a matter for the bureaucracy to deal with later. "At least you admit it; get these three loaded up and sent downtown for processing."

"Ma'am! …only the three? Our understanding was that a number of Refrain users were also on-site?"

"We have other plans for them," Viletta bluntly explained. "Can you at least confirm that Babel Tower has been cordoned off as ordered?"

"Affirmative!"

Things have been in our favor so far, the paroled ex-Purist mused as she watched the officers load up her captive Refrain dealers into patrol cars for transport. I just wish I had a clearer idea of what this bad feeling in my gut's trying to warn me about!

Fortunately, she didn't have to wonder for long.

Unfortunately, her first clue came about from the injured dealer – Harry, she faintly recalled – indulging himself in a sinister chuckle.

"That filthy Eleven thinks he's the only freak of a monster around," he spat with a grin. "Far worthier men than him have tried to checkmate the Black King… and failed!"

For an instant, Viletta's eyes grew wide with fear – less for Kururugi's safety or well-being than for his promises to get her career and life back on track…

The target also has someone who's Closer?! That's impossible!

…before quickly regaining her composure and quietly unholstering her sidearm. "Spare us the nonsense," she scoffed. "Any Britannian capable of matching Kururugi's ability would be a national hero – as history itself proves! Your employer has no such trump card up his sleeve."

"Aye, you fallen Pureblood," Harry agreed, grinning through the lingering pain of his wounded arm. "Any Britannian would be. But a pet guard dog from China? That's a secret worth keeping…"

…oh no.

The first and most distinctive person Suzaku laid eyes on was, shockingly, a young Asian woman with gray hair and an eyepatch on her left side, wearing a crimson turtleneck under a purple breastplate and metal skirt covering heavily-bandaged thighs that disappeared into knee-high boots.

"Oh me, oh my! A gun-toting guy," she mocked with a grin, her mauve right eye the only visible sign of alarm.

A boisterous chuckle echoed through the room, and the soldier hurriedly shook off his surprise to take stock of the other occupants.

Seated behind a polished mahogany desk in all his sleazy glory was the Black King, rolling some chestnuts in his palm with a diabolical sneer. "What a brave new world it is… when dumb Elevens think they have the balls to step up to me."

Flanking him were a half-dozen men in suits, all of them already taking aim at Suzaku with an assortment of high-powered rifles.

I let the unexpected face take the element of surprise from me, he growled to himself. This is going to be trickier than the warehouse…

But not impossible, right?

…no, never impossible. Not with Her Highness's high expectations on me.

Look, I know this is a massive tangent? But I've seen Highschool DxD; if Euphie EVER finds out you call her Her Highness in our head, she's gonna be upset beyond imagining.

"Knightpolice have the entire premises surrounded," Suzaku pointed out with a calm he didn't entirely feel. "Feel free to look out that window if you don't believe me, but there's no ending to this scenario that involves you getting out of this casino with your life and freedom intact."

But she's a Princess, he privately objected, subtly surveying the office for alternate potential routes of egress while the Black King stood and, indeed, went to see the outside situation with his own eyes.

An elevator door, against which the Chinawoman had reclined, with the woman herself gently edging a hand towards the button to activate it; her one-eyed gaze focused on the Britannians.

Aside from the fancy floor-to-ceiling windows, currently veiled by velvet curtains for ambience, the only other way in or out of the office short of an immediate renovation was the door to the emergency stairwell – and Suzaku himself was blocking it quite well.

So it's only natural that I need to stay respectful of her position–

And if you keep up that mindset, you're gonna make her think we care more about her position than we do about her as a person. I'm… almost definitely… probably pretty sure that she's already tried to draw that distinction for us more than once! Be stuffy and formal when the public's watching, but only then!

I… I guess it hadn't really sunk in yet, that I need to change my way of thinking on top of how I personally address her.

Hey, it's just another line of faulty programming for us to debug. With the two of us working on it together–

We'll become a properly-functioning machine before we know it, Suzaku vowed.

"Bloody hell," the Black King swore in dread, "there must be a dozen Glasgows out there aiming at me!"

Turning back to face Suzaku with a snarl and an automatic pistol, he demanded, "What treachery is this, you worthless Eleven?!"

Seven confirmed armed opponents whom I need to capture alive and preferably without so much as a scratch on my coat, Suzaku noted. And one x-factor presumably working on an escape. As much as I'm sure Gottwald would love to get whatever intelligence out of her is possible, I need to prioritize the primary mission object…

If Orange wants info on her, he can just interrogate this slimy fucker.

"Your superior asked a question of you! Answer it, and I'll consider making your death a quick one!"

Suzaku grinned, ignoring the hired goon who had spoken out of turn. "So you look at your actions catching up to you, and you call it treachery?"

A vein popped in the Black King's forehead… and rather than pull the trigger, with bloodshot eyes full of hatred, he roared.

"MAO! MAKE THIS TRASH YOUR SLAVE!"

All eyes turned to the Chinawoman… who stepped back into the open elevator with a sarcastic wave, just as the overhead button lit up to indicate it was going down. "Nah."

In other circumstances, Suzaku might have cackled like a hyena at the sheer gobsmacked disbelief on the Black King's face and that of his subordinates – or at least allowed his psychic partner the steering wheel so he could do it.

But with only moments to spare before the hired guns might regain their bearings and turn the office into a bloodbath? Suzaku instead swiftly crippled every Britannian in the room with precision gunfire to their shoulders, before giving the hired help a second precision spray to their knees.

Now unable to even hold his weapon for overwhelming pain, the Black King tried to rush for the elevator in a desperate panic… only for the newly-named Mao to shove him back onto his ass, before blowing Suzaku a kiss just as the doors closed and the elevator began its descent.

All immediate potential threats being neutralized, Suzaku produced a set of handcuffs…

…which I brandish with an exasperated sigh, accepting that I need to get used to doing my own share of some of this field work.

"Now I don't want to hear you complaining that your position was never shown any respect; after all–"

The Black King looks up at us with a mix of fear and impotent fury before trying to lunge at us – only to eat a clothesline from Hell for his trouble, courtesy of yours truly. "You're the mastermind of this operation," I continue as if uninterrupted while slapping the cuffs on him. "That means you're important enough to show off to the masses with a perp walk."

"You… you can't do this to me! I built this Area, more than Clovis ever did! I'M THE BLACK KING–!"

"Bitch, please; from how that girl acted on her way out, you ain't fit to be called a pawn."

The Black King indignantly stammers as I haul him up to his feet by his good shoulder, but I'm too busy fiddling with my transceiver to get the hidden microphone working so it can be fed into the public broadcast to properly catch anything he says.

"As for the rest of you clowns, officers and medics are en route to pick you up. Don't, hehe… go running anywhere."

Once the little red light comes on, Elle quickly tells me over the radio that our audio feed is being received and broadcasted, and I let Suzaku feed me the next chunk of our official script.

"On authority of Her Royal Highness the Viceroy Euphemia and in accordance with the powers vested in Celestial Being," I decree as I march my prisoner down the stairs, "you are hereby under arrest for crimes including but not limited to the production and distribution of chemical weapons and conspiracy with others to do the same facilitated through bribery of government officials. Effective immediately you are to be hereby stripped of all title and status, and your assets and properties are hereby seized by the state in their totality for use in the pursuit of restorative justice."

"You can't do that to me! I, I'm a noble! I have rights–!"

"At this moment, a ghetto ragamuffin has more rights than you."

"You… you can't make me a pauper! Death would be kinder!"

"A kindness that your actions have disqualified you from."

"There's… there's no reason the state should enjoy the fruits of your labors," he eventually spits out, sweating like a pig in a slaughterhouse. "Help me escape, and I'll give you a tenth… no, a twentieth of all that I own! The Crown certainly can't be paying you more than that, stingy as they are!"

"I'm faintly insulted – if not surprised – that you think I'm too stupid to realize a twentieth is only half of a tenth… but thank you all the same," I quip as I kick open the ground floor door and shove him him before his own stunned patrons, "for trying to bribe a sworn officer of the Viceroy on a live recording and making your prosecution that much easier."

"WHAT?!"

By the time it got to the evening news, the Black King's expression of abject humiliation; of horrified denial slowly morphing into sobs of defeat would be known across all of Area Eleven, and spreading through much of the Empire at large.

"Holy shit…! Can you believe this shit, Inoue? If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that damn lapdog did something good!"

"Then it's a good thing you do know better," Inoue said with a sigh, keeping her focus on a basic engineering manual that had been left out. "Even if Euphemia's actually as good and kind as she looks… as long as the Britannians remain in power over us, anything they give can just as easily be taken away."

Turning off the AM radio they'd been allowed for news updates, Tamaki leaned back in his seat with a scoff. "Yeah, I ain't forgettin' all the shit Clovis put us through anytime soon! And ain't nuthin' that pink priss can do that'll make me forgive the Britannians either… If she really gave half a fuck, she'd take 'em all back to their own damn country and never bother us again… Actually, no! Even that ain't enough, those Britannian bastards are never gonna be in the clear until they've suffered at least as much as us!"

Inoue didn't answer immediately, sparing just enough attention to parse through the idiot's typical bluster in search of anything she might be able to use. Surprisingly, she even found something. "It's good to see someone with their head on straight," she idly remarked. "Some people are going to be weak enough to put down their guns if it means a little better treatment. The Britannians took everything from us; if the little princess wants to play nice then she can pay her country's debt to us in blood."

"Hah, I'm almost always right! It's just that the other guys never listen to me!"

We don't listen because you're a loudmouth idiot who thinks you're more important and more popular than you actually are. Still, we've made it so far as humans because we adopted the use of tools, and if you're offering yourself up as one…

"So how much longer are the JLF gonna keep us here, anyway? Bein' cooped up like this with nothing to do is really startin' to piss me off…!"

For a split-second, Inoue genuinely considered the benefits of shutting her comrade up with a mouthful of tit against the risks both of being caught in a compromising position, and against the uncertainty of not being entirely sure where Tamaki's mouth had been lately.

In the end, she decided that giving him too big a head would cause more trouble in the long run than the short-term silence would warrant. "Look, the fact that the JLF are respecting our autonomy as an independent cell in Tokyo – instead of detaining us for declining to join up when they're so clearly on edge – is enough to be grateful for. And if you haven't forgotten, Ohgi's hoping we can earn enough favor to come back with some kind of prize. Running around with ants in your pants like a schoolboy doesn't do us any favors."

"Tch! Yeah, I… I ain't forgotten. I know it's a big deal and I'm s'posed to be on my best behavior, but… BUT DAMN, I could be stomping Brits right now!"

Tamaki hit the waiting room wall in frustration, only for a booming laugh to answer from the other side. Seconds later, the door opened, and in stepped a man with a decorated uniform. "If only more of our troopers had that kind of energy, we might not be in such dire straits!"

"Holy shit, you're… some big shot!"

Lt. Colonel Josui Kusakabe, Inoue noted, standing with a salute even as she pretended not to notice the man's lecherous gaze roaming her body. "I humbly ask that you pardon his ignorance, Sir. Tamaki has far more guts than sense."

"Damn right I do," Tamaki agreed with enough enthusiasm to prove Inoue's point.

Fortunately, Kusakabe seemed in quite the forgiving mood if his chuckle was anything to go by. "I was young once, too… At ease, the both of you. You're those couriers from Tokyo, right? The ones who managed to exterminate that vermin, Clovis?"

Tamaki thumped his chest with pride. "You got it, old man! I was right there–!"

"Providing a critical distraction while our C.O. infiltrated the enemy camp and shot him at point-blank range," Inoue cut in.

"Hm…" Kusakabe made a show of inspecting Tamaki, even as he continued to undress Inoue with his peripheral vision. "And not only that, you were able to safely deliver enemy technology to us! I must say, a hot-blooded, reliable young man like you is an increasingly rare find in this day and age. Too many are losing their sense of giri! I'll be honest; the JLF thirsts for soldiers of your caliber…"

A spike of fear crept into Inoue's heart as she realized how quickly Tamaki's ego was beginning to swell…

Damn it Tamaki, if you walk out on me then I might be in some serious trouble…!

"Man oh man, I can't wait to tell the haters back home what you just said! Props from a guy like you is sure gonna shut them up in a hurry!"

…only to fade as she realized he was either too dense or too much a creature of habit to notice the possible opportunity being dangled in front of him.

Kusakabe seemed to realize it too, as he stepped back with an only slightly diminished mood. "You're so certain I can't convince the pair of you to join our ranks?"

"We understand you're having manpower issues," Inoue replied with more sympathy than she really felt, "but things aren't any better back in the capital. Our C.O. is counting on us to report back ASAP for another mission."

At least, she hoped Ohgi had come up with something; however much their big-picture interests might have aligned, Inoue increasingly wanted the excuse to get the hell away from Kusakabe.

Tamaki, taking the command to be at ease entirely too literally, threw up his hands. "It can't be helped! When she's right, she's right."

In the few seconds that the scruffy redhead still had his eyes closed from his overdramatic shrug, Kusakabe unexpectedly and quickly tucked a small piece of paper into Inoue's shirt, perhaps finally seeming to recognize that she was the brains of the outfit. "I understand," he said while returning to a more normal position as Tamaki opened his eyes. "Kaname Ohgi must be quite a leader to inspire such loyalty from his troops; in that case, may I instead prevail upon the two of you for a favor? I assure you, it's nothing too major, and nothing that will require you to go out of your way!"

"Of course," Tamaki happily agreed before Inoue could even begin to ask what it was.

"Hah! I knew a faithful son of Japan wouldn't let me down! It's really quite simple; since you're heading back to the capital anyway, I would ask that you convey a pair of passengers back with you, and provide them with any pertinent information about the city and its happenings which we might not yet have had access to. In gratitude, I'm certain that once our engineers are finished dissecting that horrid carcass you brought us, your organization could have the honor of fielding the first of our beautiful Japanese successors to it."

That… that sounds almost too easy – wait, he's talking about using us as guinea pigs for a potential prototype model. Alright, that's more the kind of backhanded generosity I'm comfortable with.

"We can leave at any time, Sir."

"Good, good! Our agents should already be en route to your vehicle; as this isn't an official mission, you'll be free to introduce yourselves at your leisure. Your commander's waiting, so I won't trouble the two of you any further…"

"Give those Britannian bastards hell, big shot!"

With Kusakabe halfway down the hall, Inoue finally felt free to indulge in the full-body cringe she'd been suppressing for the last several minutes. "You have no idea who that man was, do you?!"

"...uh–"

"Forget it, let's just get a move on."

Past the point of caring for the moment what Tamaki did or said, the violet-haired beauty promptly made a brisk pace for their truck.

"Awright, follow me! The garage was this way! …hey, no, where are you–? Wait for me, dammit!"

In almost no time at all, the pair had made it back to their truck… and sure enough, a pair of Japanese brunettes in easily-forgettable traveling clothes were waiting for them, one male and one female. "I'm Ao," the man announced with the tone of someone who's had to rehearse being familiar to not give away how tense they truly were. "This is my sister Chiyo."

"We lucked out and got approval for leave," 'Chiyo' humbly added. "They're a bit short on vehicles, though, so we really appreciate your giving us a ride."

It was the most obvious bullshit in the world.

"Holy shit, the JLF are even more chill than I thought! Good to meet you two!"

So of course Tamaki believed it immediately.

What the hell's going on…? Why are two of the Four Holy Swords going into the field on foot and not in the cockpit?!

"So how's the city been lately?" 'Ao' asked. "We heard things are a real mess out there."

Not quite prepared to answer immediately, Inoue instead opened the truck door and started the ignition to buy a few seconds, hopping into the driver's seat. "We'll be able to talk on the way. Go ahead and buckle in, everyone."

"Yes indeed," a radio news announcer declared, "it seems that Viceroy Euphemia and her Honorary Britannian confidante are firmly intent on guiding our Area into a new age!"

Fasting her seatbelt in the driver's side back seat, 'Chiyo' narrowed her eyes.

"Big brother, aren't Euphemia and Suzaku amazing?!"

I… I've severely miscalculated…! Combined, the two of you are more reckless than I could have imagined! Even if you think you've secured a high-ranking sponsor or two, he won't let this go unpunished for long! All you've succeeded in doing is painting a target on your backs and making it harder for me to save you!

"...big brother?"

Lelouch almost jumped at the concern in his darling sister's voice. "I'm sorry, Nunnally, what were you asking?"

"Lelouch, you seem distracted. What's worrying you?"

"Nunnally, I…"

I'm trying to start a revolution and overthrow Britannia, and these lovable idiots keep doing everything they can to make it harder than it already is! …as if I could ever tell Nunnally that so bluntly.

"I'm… not entirely sure of how I want to express it." Which technically wasn't a lie. "Maybe there's a part of me that's jealous of Suzaku having the freedom to make a positive difference while we still need to protect our anonymity."

…that might even be true, Lelouch realized with a start. However much suffering the world's forced him through day after day, Suzaku enjoys a freedom to be so recklessly and unashamedly himself in public that Nunnally and I can only dream of.

The soft whir of Nunnally's motorized wheelchair pulled Lelouch out of his introspection, her soft and gentle hand searchingly reaching out for his. When the prince in exile accepted her touch, a beaming smile was his reward. "You're the smartest person I know, Lelouch. If you really want to help Suzaku and big sister Euphie, I know you'll come up with something."

The turbulent storm in Lelouch's heart calmed for a moment, a small smile blossoming on his face in imitation of his sister's. "Thank you, Nunnally."

She's right. Instead of lamenting how much trouble those two are making for me, I'm better suited putting that time and energy to use on a solution. I have most of the tools I need, all that remain are a moment of weakness and the opportunity to exploit it…

"And we will continue to bring you further developments on this story as they come," a mustached news anchor promised. "But in other news, the long-awaited public trial for the Eleven terrorists Ichiro Kageyama and Saburo Konoe captured during the Shinjuku incident has finally been confirmed for tonight at 05:00 PM. Pending a successful prosecution, the suspects will be facing execution, most likely by firing squad."

Kageyama? That's the one I… used as a diversion to open my path to Clovis.

"...Nunnally," Lelouch asked after a moment, already stepping over to grab his jacket. "Do you mind if I go out again tonight?"

"With Miss C.C., right? I always thought it would be Shirley or Milly, but it's still nice to know that you're opening up to more people, Lelouch."

For a split-second, Lelouch wondered why the hell Nunnally would invoke his female classmates like that, before remembering that she mistakenly believed his relationship with the witch to be more… intimate than in reality.

Well, I could frankly do worse as far as cover stories go; the only problem is that I haven't seen her in a day or two… "Just remember that any other woman in my life will always play second-fiddle to you," he joked.

No sooner had Lelouch given voice to the words, however, than the memory of Suzaku's exasperated scolding came back to the surface.

"Nunnally doesn't fucking care how kind or gentle the world is unless you're in it with her, you stupid idiot!"

…Suzaku won't admit that even his idealistic objectives are going to risk tearing the Empire apart, and from what I've seen so far he doesn't have the resolve not to choke when that realization finally hits him at a critical moment. But when he has a point, it's my duty to accept and grow with it.

"...but in all seriousness, Nunnally. If I ever take things to a point where you feel I might be neglecting you, I want you to tell me – even get Milly to smack me over it, if need be. Alright?"

Even against his naive hopes and intentions, I'll use Suzaku's criticisms to become a better symbol! A worthier symbol!

For a long moment, the girl in the wheelchair didn't say anything in response. Long enough for a worried Lelouch to glance over and see her shaking hands. "Nunnally…?"

"I think… if I'm completely honest with myself," she admitted, "there's a big part of me that starts to get upset when you spend time with anyone else when I'm not around. But at the same time… I'm well aware that taking care of me is a burden. I'm not being down on myself, it's just a fact of life. And I want you to know, big brother, that I love you more than anything. More than even you might be able to imagine."

"Nunnally…"

"And I'm grateful to you," she waveringly continued, placing one small hand over her heart, "for taking up that burden and never once complaining about it. You're not just my big brother… you're my hero in the noblest sense of the word. And that's why…"

Nunnally swallowed, pushing past the tears welling up and starting to drip down her cheeks. "Even though I want to keep you to myself, I also want you to be able to go out and have an amazing life with all of the things that I'm not able to do anymore. I want everyone else to be able to see even just a part of why I love you so much… and I don't want to be an anchor weighing down your life."

"Nunnally, I'd never in a thousand years accuse you of–!"

"I know you wouldn't," she said with a tearful smile. "That's why I have to say it on your behalf."

The words weren't in the air for a second before Lelouch was on his knees embracing his sister, holding her close. "...I won't forget this. I don't yet know how, but I promise… I'll find a way to give back to you everything you said you want for me."

Vow made, the older brother pulled away to delicately dry Nunnally's face – only for her to let out an exasperated laugh. "I have to learn to wipe my own tears someday, Lelouch! You might start letting me practice while you can make sure I'm doing it right."

"Maybe," Lelouch grudgingly admitted, "but for the moment, you're going to let me dote on you and you'll like it."

I have to… no, I will spare Suzaku and Euphemia from that moment before it comes. …even if it means I have to break them in the process. More than that, I'll remake this rotten world from the ground up!

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence, until Nunnally eventually shooed her brother out of the room.

"The power of the King will isolate you. If you are prepared, then use that power…"

Stepping out into the hallway, Lelouch pulled out a burner phone to start making calls. "And if I become a demon, so be it. I'll endure the exile…! Anything… to protect them all."