#what's the Kallen/C.C. ship name help | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

naruwitch · 4 years

Text

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 27: Geass vs Geass

Lelouch stood up slowly as Zen landed gently in her hanger. Their mission was successful. Nunnally was safe and sound in his arms and far away from the Royal Family own below on Earth.

"Where are we going, Lelouch?" Nunnally asked as he and Sayoko exited the Black Lion.

"Don't worry, Nunnally," Lelouch smiled, "we're going to see our friends."

Nunnally smiled, but it was a sad smile, "I'm sorry, brother, for being such a burden all the time."

Lelouch stopped and clutched Nunnally closer, "Nunnally, you are never a burden. Never have been, never will be. Okay?"

Nunnally didn't say anything, but she did burrow her head deeper into her brother's chest.

Fortunately, the medical bay was practically right underneath the Lions' hangers (which made sense in case someone needed medical attention quickly), so it took about a two-minute walk for the trio to get there. As Lelouch entered the bay, he was greeted by the other Paladins, as well as Allura, Coran, C.C., and Kaguya.

Something else was also there, which made him stop short.

There was already a cryopod raised behind the group, and inside of it was Villeta Nu. Why was she here? Lelouch highly doubted it was because she wanted to join them. But he shook his head, he'd ask about her presence once Nunnally was taken care of.

"Nunnally! You're okay!" Suzaku was the first to speak as he and the other Paladins rushed over.

Nunnally's head perked up when she heard Suzaku's voice and eagerly held her hand out, which he took and held.

"I'm glad you're okay too, Suzaku!"

"We're here too, Nunna!" Milly exclaimed with a grin.

"Hi, Milly," Nunnally greeted. Everyone in the student council took turns, welcoming the young princess, who was smiling and crying tears of happiness.

"Hey, Nunnally! Remember me?" Kaguya finally came up after the student council parted. Nunnally frowned in confusion, not recognizing Kaguya's voice at first, but once the young girl grasped her hand, her face lit up again.

"Kaguya? Is that you?"

"Yep! It's so good to see you again!"

Allura smiled at the scene. Now that she saw Nunnally with her own eyes, she understood why Lelouch spoke so highly of her. This was a girl that had gone through severe traumas from a young age, and yet she still had the strength to smile through it all. She simply prayed that the cryopods would be enough to take a least some of those traumas away.

"Nunnally, there's a couple of other friends I'd like to meet, is that okay?" Lelouch asked.

"Who is it?" Nunnally asked curiously.

Lelouch gestured for the Alteans to approach, and they both did.

"Hello, Nunnally, my name is Allura," she introduced herself. Nunnally cautiously reached out and lightly touched Allura's face. Lelouch had explained previously that this was how humans, without their sight, were able to 'see' people, or at least imagine what they looked like. Plus, since one of the five senses had been eliminated, the other four were heightened to compensate for this. So Nunnally was usually able to hear or feel things that other people normally couldn't. He had added with a wry smile that it was due to this that she was tough to lie to, especially if Nunnally had some sort of physical contact with you. She was simply able to feel the shift in heartbeat or the slight sweat of their palm, as those were common signs that one was lying.

It was a practice that intrigued Allura and Coran. Thanks to the technology and magic on Altea, it was sporadic for an Altean to be born blind, and if their sight was damaged in an accident, the doctors were usually able to repair them in some way.

Nunnally's curious expression soon shifted into a small smile, "Hi, Allura. You're beautiful."

Allura blushed, "Oh, why thank you."

As Allura backed up, Coran approached, "Pleasure to finally meet you, Nunnally. I'm Coran."

Nunnally felt along Coran's face and stop at his mustache, curiously inspecting it. She then giggled, "Wow, your mustache is big."

This caused a round of giggles from the rest of the group, including Allura. Coran didn't seem to be offended, though, as he straightened and proudly twirled his mustache.

"I'm quite fond of my mustache myself. Why the art of grooming a fine mustache has been passed down my family line for several generations now."

Nunnally giggled at Coran's silly comment as Lelouch smiled. He was glad that Nunnally was getting along so well with the Alteans so far.

"Anyway, Nunnally, I know I promised to tell you what's been going on, but I actually have a surprise for you first," Lelouch said.

"Really? What is it?"

"Well, Nunnally, we may have found a way for you to get your eyes and legs back."

Nunnally was stunned as she processed this information. "Like a surgery?"

"Not quite," Rivalz said with a shrug, "but it'll be something like that."

"You don't have to worry, Nunnally," Lelouch reassured her. "You're just going to take a nap for a while, and by the time you wake up, you should be fully recovered."

Coran had already made his way to the cryopod control panel, and a second pod rose up and shifted to a horizontal position so Nunnally could lie down.

"Ready when you are Lelouch," Coran reported with a nod.

Lelouch slowly approached the pod and gently set Nunnally down in it. Before he pulled away, though, Nunnally grasped his hand.

"Wait, what if you're not here when I wake up?" Nunnally asked in a trembling tone.

Lelouch smiled sadly, and he squeezed his sister's hand back, "I'm never leaving you again, Nunnally. I promise."

Nunnally still held Lelouch's hand, and for a moment, the Paladin feared he would need to remove her hand from his. However, a moment later, Nunnally sighed and let her hand slide out of her brother's.

"I'll see you again soon, Nunnally," Lelouch reassured, just as the pod closed. Nunnally's face relaxed as the healing process began to start, the pod shifting back into its upright state.

Lelouch finally let out a sigh of relief and nearly fell over if Rai and Suzaku hadn't rushed forward to catch him.

"Woah there, Lelouch, you okay?" the Green Paladin asked.

"Yeah," Lelouch nodded before regaining his footing, "I'm relieved, actually. That everything worked out."

"Yeah, no kidding! So much has happened over the past couple of days I'm having a hard time keeping up with it all!" Rivalz said, waving his hands around a little.

"Tell me about it!" Shirley agreed, massaging her forehead.

Lelouch smirked a little at his friend's dramatics before he turned to Coran. "So how long do think Nunnally will be in here?"

The advisor hummed as he examined Nunnally's health charts, "It's hard to say at the moment. Her legs are one thing. Despite there being no physical nerve damage, plus the fact they haven't been used for several years, your sister's leg muscles are going to need to be built back up again. So even after the pod fixes the damage, she'll still have to go through some therapy to walk again."

"Wait, are you saying that the pod can't fix her legs?!" Milly asked, sounding shocked.

"Oh, no, no, no! They will most definitely repair the damage done there," Coran assured them, "but it would be advisable to use therapy afterward to help her adjust. Actually, my main concern right now is her eyes."

"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked, noticing the flicker of doubt on Coran's face.

"Well, from what the cryo-pods are picking up, Nunnally's eyes haven't suffered any physical damage. As you mentioned before, Lelouch, your sister's blindness is caused by trauma, meaning that this is a psychological injury rather than bodily."

"So, what you're trying to say is… is that you can guarantee that she'll walk again," Kallen said carefully, "but you're not a hundred percent sure she'll be able to see again?"

"Injuries like this are always a hit or a miss for the pods, even after being used and perfected for generations," Coran explained. "My best guess as to whether her sight will be restored is about sixty-forty."

Lelouch's face shifted to one of disappointment upon hearing those odds. Though they weren't the worse ones he'd heard, they weren't the best either. He would've felt more comfortable if the odds were around the seventies at the very least. But, there was, unfortunately, not much he could do right now.

Lelouch jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Allura standing by him with a determined expression on her face. "Lelouch, Nunnally will be safe here on the Castle. And even if the pods can't fix her vision, I promise, I'll do everything I can to make sure she will someday."

"Yeah! Don't worry, we'll take care of her, Lelouch!" Shirley said, raising a determined fist.

"We stick together! That's the price of friendship!" Milly proclaimed.

The other Paladins and Kaguya all voiced their support as well, and Lelouch felt himself relax. He was glad that he had their help in all of this. At this point, he had no idea what he would've done without any of them.

"Thanks, everyone," he said with a smile. He then finally decided to address the elephant in the room as he looked back towards the cryo-pods. "So, does anyone want to tell me why a Britannian Pureblood is currently occupying the pod over there."

An awkward silence followed before broke it with a sigh, "Shirley and I ran into her on the Avalon. She attacked us and managed to knock Shirley's helmet off. I was ready to kill her when that happened, but after I incapacitated her, Shirley insisted we bring back to the ship instead."

"We-well, I-I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Shirley stuttered, "I-I figured if we kept her alive and brought her to the Castle, Lulu's Geass could make her tell us information about what Britannia's up to? I-I mean, I figured even if she wasn't high-ranking, she might know at least a couple of things, you know…?"

As Shirley babbled through her explanation, Lelouch inwardly flinched. Shirley had the right idea of taking a soldier prisoner. Under different circumstances, this indeed would be very beneficial to the Paladins. There was one small problem, though.

"Shirley, I personally think that what you did was strategically brilliant," Lelouch commented, causing the Orange Paladin to blush. "Since Ms. Nu was present on the escort ship, she likely does know some of the things that my brother has planned… Unfortunately, I can't use Geass on her. Not a second time anyway."

"A second- Wait, you mean you've used on her once already?" Suzaku asked, with similar expressions of surprise replicated on the other Paladins.

"Yeah, all the way back in Shinjuku actually," Lelouch nodded, "She was one of the first people I used it on. I asked her for her Sutherland."

Kallen's mouth formed an 'o' in realization. So that's how he got a hold of it. She should have known.

"Oh," Shirley sighed, bowing her head in guilt, "I guess it was a bad idea after all."

"You don't need to apologize, Shirley," Lelouch reassured her, "you didn't know. Plus, the odds of running into the same soldier again are extremely low anyway. Just call this bad luck. Besides, your original intentions were still sound, so good job."

Shirley nodded meekly, blushing from the praise.

"Okay, but there's still the question of what we do with her then," Rivalz observed, "We can't let her go, especially if she saw Shirley, right? But if Lelouch can't use Geass on her…"

"Coran, Princess, this Castle wouldn't happen to have a dungeon, would it?" Kallen asked.

"Yes, it does," Coran nodded. "It's located in the lower levels of the ship."

"Alright, once she's healed, we'll just chuck Villetta down there," Kallen suggested and then cracked her knuckles, "Then we can just start interrogating her the old-fashioned way. Should be a good stress reliever."

Most of the Paladins took an involuntary step back from Kallen, though C.C. looked more amused than disturbed.

"Um… Kallen, don't you think you sound a little bit vindictive?" Suzaku asked.

"Well, Suzaku, considering this woman took part in the Shinjuku massacre and doesn't seem have much remorse doing so, I think I have a right to be just a little vindictive," Kallen shot back.

"Anyway, now that we've got that figured out, what's our next move, Lulu?" Milly asked, changing the subject.

"Our next move? The best thing to do right now would be to lay low," Lelouch said, "Considering we just 'abducted' a Britannian Princess, the military will be trying to track us like bloodhounds. The wisest thing would be to wait for some of the dust to settle before we do anything significant again."

"I agree," Sayoko nodded, "Not to mention that Lady Nunnally was 'abducted' while under the care of Schneizel el Britannia, a man that's considered one of the greatest military minds on Earth. The Empire will be in an uproar for at least several days."

"That's also true," Lelouch acknowledged, but no one missed the cocky smirk that graced his lips for a split second. No doubt, he was proud of the fact that he actually bested the man he could never beat at chess. "Perhaps what we can start doing is work with Kyoto to finally have some Knightmares brought up to the Castle so we can start modifying and upgrading them. Does that sound feasible, Kaguya?"

"I think that's doable, yes," Kaguya nodded.

"Alright," Lelouch nodded before turning to the rest of the team, "in the meantime, the last few days have been exhausting, so just take a day or two to relax. I think we've all earned that at the very least."

Murmurs of agreement echoed amongst the group as everyone started filing out of the room. Rivalz even gave a big yawn to emphasize.

Lelouch was the last to exit. But before he did so, he turned back to the pod containing his sister.

"I'm never leaving you again. Never…"

o~o

Cornelia li Britannia was livid.

One didn't even need to look at the princess to know that she was practically seething. The tension in the room was so thick that one could almost cut it with a knife.

Just yesterday, she and the rest of the Britannian military had to be fished from the ocean after they were bested again by the Voltron Lions. And what was worse, they had been successful in kidnapping Nunnally.

No one in the room dared to speak up as they didn't want to accidentally send the Viceroy into a rage. Several knights, including Darlton, Guilford, and Nonette, were present, as well as Euphemia. The younger Sub-Viceroy looked distraught. They still knew so little about the Black Knights, much less about Voltron. At the moment, she could only pray that Nunnally was at least safe for now.

Schneizel was also there, stone-faced as he waited patiently for Cornelia to begin speaking.

"Schneizel," Cornelia said calmly, but everyone could tell she was using all her self-control to not begin screaming at the Prime Minister, "explain. Now."

"I can give no excuse for what happened, except for a miscalculation on my own part," Schneizel answered calmly. "It seems I gravely underestimated our enemy, and for that, I take full responsibility for this tragedy."

Cornelia grit her teeth and continued to glare at her brother. However, she knew that lashing out wouldn't fix anything. She had made the same mistake of underestimating Voltron at Narita, after all.

"Your Highness and I mean no offense when I say this, but I think this situation has gotten out of control," Guliford said, "I suggest calling in reinforcements from the homeland immediately."

"I agree, Cornelia," Nonette said her voice grave. She didn't even use her nickname, "Perhaps I can call in my colleagues to join us here as well." Many eyes widened at Nonette's suggestion. The Knights of the Round were only called upon when they were absolutely needed. And Nonette seemed to be suggesting bringing in more than just a couple of them.

"Hold on, before we take any drastic measures, I think we need to take a closer look at this situation," Schneizel interjected.

"What is there to look at?" Darlton asked, "Zero disappears, then reappears two months later with a war machine that could easily wipe out our armies in a matter of moments. Now he's taken a member of royalty captive."

Before Darlton could continue, Schneizel spoke up again, "Which is precisely why we need to look at this situation carefully. For example, why exactly did Zero want to capture Nunnally? Why her specifically?"

Darlton blinked in confusion, and the rest of the room also looked at the prince curiously.

"Not only that, but Zero went through the trouble to capture Nunnally alive. If they wanted to kill her, he had the firepower and the opportunity to do it. And yet that didn't happen. We also haven't received any kind of ransom demands from Zero at all," Schneizel continued.

"Get to the point, Schneizel," Cornelia snapped impatiently.

"All I'm saying is that we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions on what Zero and Voltron's intentions are. There's something else happening in this situation that we don't know about yet," Schneizel explained, "Just think about it. If Zero wanted to, he could easily have taken Voltron straight to the homeland and destroyed Pendragon immediately after the Emperor's speech. We know through these last encounters that he has the means to do just that. However, despite being clear that Britannia's destruction was his goal in the past, that's the one thing that he has not done yet."

"What are you saying?" Euphemia asked. Now that her brother was bringing up all of these points, it was true. When he first appeared, Zero had made it clear where he stood in the conflict between Britannia and Area 11. So, now that he clearly had the resources he needed to destroy the empire, why wasn't he doing it? In fact, from the way he worded his speech after the Battle of Narita, it sounded more like he wanted Britannia to surrender. He sounded… unwilling to fight anymore, but was doing so because he had to.

"I believe that Zero's goals have changed," Schneizel answered, "I don't think he plans to destroy the empire anymore. I think his goals are more along the lines of crippling it instead."

"'Crippling it'?!" Guilford exclaimed, "What on Earth would Zero achieve by simply crippling us?"

The room soon filled with voices as the officers debated back and forth on the possibility of this theory, and what possessed Zero to suddenly take this route in his campaign.

Schneizel remained silent through the rest of this as his mind debated on this theory silently. He was sure that this was now Lelouch's intent. But why the sudden change of heart. Even back in Aries Villa, it was rare to see his brother suddenly change his mind about something that mattered so strongly to him. The only explanation Schneizel el Britannia could think of is that Lelouch discovered something so vital that it forced him to scrap his original plan and build a completely new one that he was implementing now.

'Lelouch, what is it you're planning? What do you know that we don't?'

o~o

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Rivalz asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I know Lelouch basically ordered us to take a break, but I still think we should have at least told someone what we were doing," Shirley added.

"It'll be fine, and why are you worried? This was basically your idea in the first place, Shirley," Milly said as she climbed into the pod in her regular Earth clothes, "Besides, we'll only be gone for about an hour. They won't even notice we left when we get back."

"Back from where?"

Shirley shrieked as she and the rest of the group turned toward the voice. She almost fell out of the shuttle, but Rai managed to catch her bridal style. The Orange Paladin blushed and cleared her throat as she got back to her feet, dusting off her short yellow skirt.

"What are you four doing?" Allura asked them, noticing that they were in their casual clothing. She did see that their Bayards were in the front seat of the shuttle, though.

"We-well um, we-"

"We're going to Shinjuku," Rai answered for Shirley, "Shirley said she wanted to see it."

Allura raised an eyebrow. She remembered this Shinjuku place being mentioned multiple times when the Paladins talked about their home and particularly about the war happening on the planet.

"I-I just wanted to see the ghettos for myself," Shirley explained, rubbing her right arm, "I want to see if their condition is like the Balmera. I lived most of my life in the Britannian settlement. The only time I caught glimpses of the ghetto was if a train passed through it. Now that I know the truth, I want to see how bad it actually is. I don't want to be ignorant about it anymore."

"Yeah. Lelouch and I would see it sometimes on the freeway driving back and forth from school and gambling," Rivalz explained, "and I'll admit, some of the comments I made about it and the Japanese weren't the best now that I think about it."

"We figured since Lelouch won't be making another move for a while, that this would be the perfect time to see it without drawing attention to ourselves," Milly added.

"Please don't try to stop us, Allura. We're going whether you approve or not," Raai said with finality.

"...No, I won't try to stop you," Allura said with a frown. What she said next surprised them, though, "In fact, I'm going with you."

o~o

Tamaki grunted as the Gladiator delivered a massive kick to his face, and he tumbled backward into Sugiyama, who had been flipped onto his back previously.

"End training sequence!" Coran exclaimed when he saw that all the Black Knights were done. He had a feeling that some of them would be sporting some pretty big bruises for the next couple of days.

"Okay, what the hell?! Kallen made this look so easy when she fought it on her own!" Tamaki ranted as he stood back up.

Even Ohgi looked a little discouraged from the fight. Coran had put the training level in the same setting that the Paladins' first fight had been on, which was apparently pretty low. So the fact that they all had their butts handed to them by a robot wasn't exactly a shining moment for them.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up too much, Tamaki," Coran reassured, "Remember, the Paladins have been training with the Gladiator two months longer than any of you have. Not to mention that all of you have only been rebels for a short amount of time, and allies of Voltron even shorter. It's going to take more than a couple of days to get used to it. Quiznack, I think a couple of the Paladins still aren't completely used to it."

"Coran, can I ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me," Ohgi suddenly asked.

"What's on your mind, lad?" the advisor questioned.

"If the Galra were to invade Earth right now, like this very second, what do you think would happen?" Ohgi asked.

Coran sighed, "If the Galra were to come this very moment, I'm afraid your planet wouldn't stand much of a chance, not even Britannia. You'd be wiped out in a matter of varga. A quintant, or a day, at the very most, and that's being optimistic."

"That's not exactly reassuring," Minami said as he took a sip of water next to Inoue.

"Not to worry. That's exactly why Voltron's here," Coran reassured them, "I promise, the Paladins, myself, and the Princess will do everything we can to protect your planet."

Ohgi frowned. He had another question but was debating whether to ask it or not. After another second, he did, "When we were talking to Kallen earlier, she mentioned that Zarkon had 'witch' working for him too?" When he said the word, it sounded like Ohgi didn't quite believe Kallen himself.

"Number Six is correct about that," Coran nodded, "We, unfortunately, don't know very much about her. All we know for certain is her name. Haggar."

o~o

Jeremiah groaned as he opened his eyes. Or well, eye. The Margrave didn't seem to register that one of his eyes was missing, as he attempted to take in his surroundings. All he could make out was that he was in a dark room, barely illuminated by dim violet lighting along the wall. From how he was positioned, and from the feeling of hard cold steel pressed against his back and limbs, Jeremiah felt that he was strapped to a metal table. When he looked directly above him, he could just barely make out what looked like some sort of medical instruments.

"So, you're awake after all," a cold feminine voice said to his right. Straining his head in that direction, his eye widened upon seeing the hooded, hunched figure next to him.

"Who are you?!" he demanded. He tried to sit up, but the restraints on his arms and chest stopped him, "Are you with Zero?! If he's here, I demand he come and face me!"

"You know of Zero… you've met him before," the figure murmured before raising her hand. Jeremiah gasped when he saw that the hand was dark purple. He failed to notice the purple aura surrounding his own body, "Show me."

Jeremiah stiffened before a blood-curdling scream emanated from his throat. He didn't think a person like him could make such a noise. Before his eyes, events of the past several days flashed before his vision. His first encounter with Zero, where the 'Orange' incident first came up. Of Zero's mask opening and revealing his eye, commanding Jeremiah to let them and Suzaku Kururugi go.

His memories went even further back. Next thing he knew, he was in Aries Villa, watching over the vi Britannia siblings as they played with Lady Marianne.

"So you knew him even as a child? How interesting."

More memories of Aries Villa flashed in front of him until it got to a memory that still pierced Jeremiah's heart to this day. Lady Marianne was lying on the stairwell of the villa in a pool of her own blood. Her body was curled around her daughter's, shielding Nunnally from the attack that took the Empress's life. The memory then paused and rewound before playing through once more.

"Peculiar…" the woman muttered, "How is it that the two of you possess the same memory? Even if you remember the same event, it's never viewed the same way through different eyes."

Jeremiah was barely able to hear what the woman said, both from the pain and the delirium he still felt. However, despite this, looking through all of these memories, his broken mind managed to pull information together. Information he never considered before.

"My prince... My Lord... is... Zero...?" He gasped through the pain.

"You wish for revenge on Zero?" the woman then asked, "I may have the means to grant it to you, but first... you will tell me everything!"

Jeremiah's screams continued to emanate through the halls of Haggar's private vessel, stripping every shred of information she could get from the soldier.

o~o

Before Area 11 was established by Britannia, Shinjuku was said to be a trendy place for both citizens and tourists to visit in Japan. It was commonly known for being an extensive shopping and entertainment area and had the busiest railway station in the country. It was even where many of Japan's tallest skyscrapers were located.

Now though, most of the district lay in ruins. Bullet holes and remnants of blood were splattered everywhere. All of the roads and structures were grey and rundown. Most of the windows didn't even have glass in them.

Shirley's sad face fell as she spotted several memorials, likely put up by Japanese survivors, lined up along the sides of several crumbled buildings. Flowers and candles burned, illuminating the signs that listed the names of the deceased. She gasped softly when she spotted a photograph of a family among them. It had a father, mother, and a tiny baby wrapped in the woman's arms. It didn't take a genius to know what fate befell them.

Shirley sniffled and wiped a tear away, her throat closing up from emotion.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Rai stood there looking down sadly as well. There were other photos in the memorial as well, but this one, with a child that didn't even seem a year old, nearly knocked the wind out of them.

"I knew that the ghettos would look bad," Rivalz said softly, "but, actually coming to see now is still..."

"Heartbreaking?" Milly asked, frowning softly.

"...Yeah," the Blue Paladin nodded, looking at the ground.

Allura, hair now a lighter shade of blonde than Milly's, with blue eyes and Caucasian skin (and rounded ears), dressed in a white short-sleeved jacket over a blue shirt, and a light pink knee-high skirt with white heels, stumbled when she felt her foot step on something soft. Looking down, she found a small handmade doll with a dirty, plain pink dress, and black button eyes.

As she picked it up, Allura heard a shuffle behind her. Turning around, she barely saw the silhouette of a child, cowering in an alleyway. But they were hesitantly eying the doll.

"Hello? Is this yours?" she asked gently. The child didn't answer and only shrunk away further.

Allura crouched down, hoping to look less intimidating, and held out the toy, "It's alright, you may take it."

The four Paladins watched cautiously as the child slowly lean out, but still didn't make a move to come closer. They could now see that it was a little girl, probably only six or seven, with messy black hair and wearing a smudged shirt that looked two sizes too big for her. They could barely make out small black shorts she was wearing underneath it. She also wasn't wearing shoes.

Allura, seeing that the girl wasn't willing to approach closer, very gently tossed the doll in her direction. It landed just within arm's length of the alley. The girl, as quick as a snake, lunged for the doll before turning and running back down the lane, the toy clutched to her chest.

Allura frowned, not because she was offended, but because the girl's behavior greatly disturbed her. That child had been terrified. So terrified that once she had her doll, she turned and ran, not even looking back. And she knew it was because she looked like a Britannian. Allura originally wanted to go as a Japanese citizen, planning to use one of the Black Knights as a template, but the four Paladins said that authorities would get suspicious is they saw an 'Eleven' hanging around Britannian citizens, even if they claimed she was an 'Honorary Britannian.' So for safety's sake, she chose her current guise. One could easily mistake her for Milly's sister or cousin.

She heard a crack behind her and turned to see that Rai had punched the wall of a building. Hard enough that the wall cracked slightly.

"I've never felt the need to punch the Emperor more than right now," Rai muttered, and cradled his hand. His knuckles were bleeding slowly. Though she didn't voice it aloud, Allura silently agreed. It disgusted her that a single man had caused so much fear to spread on the country and planet.

"I don't know…" Shirley whispered, drawing the others' attention, "If we use violence like that, we're not any better than him. We're Paladins, we need to be stronger than that. Yeah sure, we still fight, but only when we need to, or when we're protecting something."

The Orange Paladin turned back to the memorials, eyes lingering on the family's photo, "When this is over, I want to be here to help rebuild this place and others like it. I don't want people to have to live like this, ever!"

Rai smiled and nodded. He was proud of Shirley and her determination.

"Being a Paladin has really helped Shirley out of her shell, huh?" Rivalz whispered to Milly.

"Yeah, I totally agree," she answered.

Allura was also smiling. She was happy to see that the Paladins wanted to do good both in and out of their Lions.

The group walked along the ghetto path for a while longer. Some areas looked to be in the process of rebuilding, but considering the priorities of the empire, it was going to take a long time.

"Man! They didn't use RG on the Elevens. I figured they wouldn't," a boisterous voice exclaimed. Allura turned toward the noise and spotted two boys around the Paladins ages. They were

"Hey, look! Those are marks from hummer rounds. Get a clear shot of it!"

Allura gasped in horror when she saw what exactly they were taking photos of. It wasn't of the memorials, but of the bullets and military debris left behind. These boys were showing absolutely no respect for this place, nor did they seem to care that people had died here.

"Stop it! Both of you right now!" Allura shouted, running towards them.

The two boys turned in confusion before gasping in shock when Allura hit the camera out of the boy's hands.

"Hey! What's the big idea, lady?!" the taller boy gasped.

"Do you not realize that innocent people have died here, and you dare to treat this place like a childish playground!" Allura exclaimed angrily.

"Oh come on, lady, don't tell me you're sympathetic to these lowly scum," the first boy sneered, gesturing casually to the graves. "What's a couple of dead Elevens to a girl like you-"

A sharp crack filled the air as both boys stumbled back, the first now clutching a red cheek.

"You call them lowly, and yet you're the ones acting like barbarians!" Allura seethed, hand still raised from her slap, "I've never in my life seen a more disgusting display of depravity!"

"What did you say?!" the taller boy growled.

"I think maybe we should teach this girl a lesson!" a first one shouted, before charging at Allura. What he wasn't expecting, though, was for Allura to grab him by the wrist and shirt, and judo flipped him over her shoulder, causing him to land hard on his back.

This display made the second boy back up a little in fear. Allura glared at both of them venomously.

"I think you'll find your pursuit to be in vain," she spat, "Now get out of my sight and never disturb this place again!"

The two boys seemed to take the hint and ran off and away, not even stopping to gather the camera they had dropped earlier.

Allura sighed and shook her head. This was her first encounter with how the Britannians seemed to treat people like Suzaku, people of another race. Needless to say, she was appalled and began to wonder if perhaps her Paladins were the only good Britannians out here. They at least seemed to have good hearts.

Glancing down, she noticed that one of the plates of food had been knocked over by the boys and knelt down to fix the arrangement.

"My, my, that was quite the display of strength," a voice from behind her praised, the sound of hands clapping accompanying it, "but then again, I guess being an alien princess comes with its benefits now doesn't it?"

Leaping to her feet, Allura spun around to see a man with medium, silver-white hair with five long bangs hanging over his face, wearing black and purple headphones, two golden earrings, and purple sunglasses that cover his eyes. He had on a light blue, short jacket with symmetrical gold and blue designs, a long, linen shirt with maroon sleeves, and brown gloves. On the long shirt, there were eight black strips with golden circles on each side, with three of the pieces being on his neck and the others going down the front of his chest. He was also wearing long, black trousers with brown boots with two straps on both, and buckles similar to those on his wrists around his calf.

"Who-"

"Oh, who I am isn't important, Princess Allura of planet Altea. Daughter of the late King Alfor and Queen Melenor of Altea."

Allura took a step back. How did this man know that? She'd never seen him before, and he certainly wasn't a Black Knight. He didn't look like he was part of the military either. Still, the fact he was able to identify her was troubling. The best course of action would be-

"To take me to your Castleship and have Lelouch, AKA Zero, AKA Lelouch vi Britannia interrogate me with his Geass correct?"

If Allura wasn't shocked before, she certainly was now. It was almost like he-

"Read your mind? You're wondering how I know about you and Lelouch even though I've never met you before, right?" the man laughed. He then smirked and lowered his glasses, "Anything look familiar?"

Allura's eyes widened. If this man had a Geass, did C.C. know about him? Or-

"Oh! You've met C.C.? Where is she?" the man exclaimed excitedly. Before Allura could voice it herself, the man answered for her, "Oh, she's on your Castleship with Lelouch and everyone else, right? Well then, I guess I can bring her to me if I've got you here."

Allura didn't waste another moment and charged at the man, attempting to punch him. The man gracefully dodged and stepped out of the way. Allura spun around and tried to kick him, but the man blocked it and stepped back again. This went on for a couple more minutes with Allura failing to land any hits on him.

"Well, I'm impressed. For a princess, you're quite the fighter," the man complimented with a giggle, "I suppose having two Paladins as parents has its perks, doesn't it? You were bound to pick up a thing or two from them."

Allura growled and attempted to punch the man again. But instead of dodging it this time, he grabbed Allura's arm and twisted it behind her back. Allura didn't have time to try and counter as she was too shocked at how well this human predicted her movements.

"I'll admit, you coming to Earth was quite noble of you. You came to Earth to prepare it for Zarkon, right? Even though you think Britannia and the Galra are the same. And you're right, I'm no fan of Britannia, and I couldn't care less about Lelouch's daddy," the man shrugged, still keeping her in an arm-lock. "Though honestly, I can't really see much of a difference between him, Zarkon, and you."

"What?!" Allura gasped in outrage, "How dare you! I'm nothing like Zarkon or Lelouch's father!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Princess," the man cackled, "I can see your hate Allura. I can see it as bright as day. You hate Zarkon. You hate the Galra. You want to kill them. You want to kill them all, just like what Zarkon did to your people. But if you did that, you're just like him. Right?"

"Wh-what?!" Allura exclaimed, her anger increasing but also bubbles of fear and sadness rising in her chest as well, "No. No, you're wrong!"

"Just like him! Just like him! Just like him!" the man sang and continued to laugh gleefully.

In a rush of furious rage, Allura wrenched herself free from the man's grasp, though he didn't seem to fight too hard to hold her either. Her appearance dropped as she clutched her head, trying to block out his maniacal chanting, "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

The last thing Allura registered was seeing a foot colliding hard with her head, then everything went black.

After he knocked her out, the man sighed, "Wow, you are a whole library of angst, aren't you, Princess? Well, maybe I can trade one princess for another? What do you think?"

With a grin, the man scooped Allura over his shoulder and walked off, a perfect plan already forming in his head.

o~o

"Allura?!" Milly shouted down a random street.

"Oh come on, where did she go?" Rivalz groaned. The group had realized that Allura wasn't with the group about a minute after they left the memorial. They were now wandering down the of the streets, looking at the buildings and houses that had been destroyed.

"Maybe we should check back by the shuttle? We did say if one of us got separated that we should meet back there, right?" Shirley asked.

"I don't know. Something's not right. I can feel it," Rai muttered.

"Yeah, that's the thing with Princesses. They just do whatever the hell they want."

The group jumped and spun around. They blinked in surprise to see a Chinese-looking man with large classes and a long coat standing behind them.

"You never know when they'll get into trouble," the man sang as he held out his hand. In them was a pair of familiar-looking earrings.

"Wait-those are-"

"Where's Allura? What have you done with her?!" Rai exclaimed, cutting Rivalz off.

The man seemed to ignore Rai's question as he pocketed the earrings. He then grasped his chin as if in thought.

"Hmm, let's see…" the man scanned the four before pointing to Shirley, "Shirley Fenette, Rivalz Cardemonde, Milly Ashford, and the nameless Rai, right?"

The group froze, eyes widening.

"How does he know who we are?" Milly whispered.

"Maybe missing person's reports on the news or something?" Rai answered.

The man then started clapped with a broad smile on his face, "I gotta say, it's quite the honor being the presence of the Paladins of Voltron!"

Their eyes shrunk further. Not only had this man identified them but knew that they were Paladins as well.

The man hummed, "Well, almost all of them. Of course, we're missing Kallen Kozuki, Suzaku Kururugui, and Lelouch Lamperouge AKA Lelouch Vi Britannia AKA Zero."

Okay, now they were scared. How did this guy not only know the identities of everyone on the team but also about Lelouch's heritage? Who the heck was this guy, and what did he want?

"Hmm, I wonder how the Britannian royal family would take it if they found out their own subjects are rebelling against them?" He laughed and clapped his hands again, "I mean, if the Emperor is willing to sacrifice his own son and use his own daughter as pawns, I'd say he wouldn't be above killing your families and making you watch as he did so."

Rivalz and Rai tried to sneakily pull out their Bayards but jumped back when the man pulled out a gun and shot several times at their feet.

"Nuh, uh, uh," the man giggled, wagging his finger at them, "Looks like bullets fly faster than your Bayards. Tell you what, you want Allura back? How about you meet me up there," the man pointed at a large abandoned building to the right, "And bring all your Paladin pals too, even C.C, especially C.C. If you need to convince her, tell her Mao's waiting for her! You got two hours, bring your Bayards if you want, but NO Lions! If I see a single mechanical kitty cat, your precious Princess Allura dies."

The man then laughed before turning and leaving, whistling a tune as if he was taking a casual stroll through the park.

The group stood there frozen for about two minutes before they all slowly turned to look at one another, each of them thinking the same thing:

What the hell just happened?

o~o

"Hey, Lelouch, Suzaku, can I talk to you two for a minute?" Kallen asked after she found the boys in one of the lounges. Lelouch had a tablet in his hands, and Suzaku seemed to be in the middle of meditating.

"What's up, Kallen?" Lelouch asked, placing the tablet down. Suzaku looked up and relaxed his posture.

"Okay, I'm gonna get to get right to the point. Suzaku," Kallen turned to look at the Purple Paladin, "How did you know what that white Knightmare was called? You're the only one on the team I've heard call it by a specific name. No one here or in the Black Knights knew what it was called. So how do you know?"

Suzaku sighed in resignation, "Well, the answer to that is easy. How do I put this…? It's… well, it's because I'm the one that used to pilot it. The Lancelot."

Lelouch looked at Suzaku in surprise, "So was that you piloting that Knightmare in Shinjuku that day?"

"Yeah, that was me," Suzaku confirmed with a nod.

"And you never told us this because…?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think I had to," Suzaku confessed, answering the Red Paladin, "the Camelot Unit, the unit I was under, is an irregular unit with an Eleven pilot. I figured since I wasn't there to pilot it, Britannia wouldn't use it again, at least for the sake of their pride."

"Well, obviously, you were wrong," Kallen snapped irritably.

"Look, I am sorry," Suzaku said, "but like I said before, the subject was never really brought up, and I honestly didn't think they would use the Lancelot again."

Lelouch sighed, "I'm not mad, Suzaku. I am disappointed, though. You wouldn't happen to know who's piloting that Knightmare currently would you?"

"No idea. Sorry," Suzaku his head with a frown, "Kallen said that it was a woman, though."

"Can you describe her, Kallen?" Lelouch asked, turning to the Red Paladin.

Kallen was about to answer when the intercom went off.

"Kallen, Lelouch, Suzaku, you're needed on the bridge immediately!"

The trio's eyes widened in alarm. Coran's tone sounded almost panicked.

They didn't waste any time and rushed to the bridge. When they got there, Coran and C.C. were waiting for them, and a video call was coming in on the screen.

"What going on?" Lelouch asked.

Coran quickly answered the call, and the faces of the other four Paladins appeared on the screen. They all looked frightened.

"Hey, is this thing on or what?!" Rivalz exclaimed hurriedly.

"Rivalz, we hear you, what's going on?" Suzaku asked.

"Okay, good!" Rai sighed in relief, "Sorry, but we have a situation!"

"Where are you guys?" Kallen exclaimed, "Are you on Earth somewhere?!"

"Lelouch, please don't be mad at us, but we're in Shinjuku right now," Shirley confessed.

"What?! Why did you guys go alone?! If someone saw you-" Lelouch gasped.

"That's not important right now, Lelouch! We have a problem! A big one!" Milly interrupted.

"Well, spit it out, what's wrong?!" Lelouch demanded.

"Uh, well… someone may have… kidnapped Allura," Shirley squeaked.

"WHAT?!" Coran shouted, "How is this possible?!"

"We got separated at some point in the ghetto," Rai exclaimed calmly, "When we were looking for her, some guy approached us and said that he had her. And he knew who we were too."

"What? How?!" Lelouch demanded.

"We don't know!" Rivalz denied, "All we know about him is his name! Mao or something!"

C.C. gasped, eyes widening.

"He said he'll tell everyone who the Paladins are unless we meet him. He wants to see C.C. too!" Milly finished.

Lelouch grit his teeth. He'd be lying if he said wasn't angry, but they could resolve that later.

"All right, you four stay where you are. We'll be there in a minute!" Lelouch decided.

"Wait hold on! Don't bring any of the Lions!" Shirley gasped, "The guy said if he saw even one of them, he'll kill Allura!"

"Okay, we'll be there in a minute!" Suzaku said as the connection was cut.

"C.C. do you know this Mao person?" Lelouch asked, having noticed C.C.'s reaction earlier.

"Yes, I do," C.C. answered, "I apologize. He's a former contractor of mine."

"A contractor? So does that mean he has a Geass?" Suzaku asked.

"Yes, he does. His Geass allows him to read minds. That's likely how he found out about you."

"Very well, thank you for telling us. Let's go, we'll take a pod down. Coran, ask Sayoko to meet us there. Come on, we need to get their armor," Lelouch commanded.

"Got it!" Suzaku nodded.

"Lelouch, maybe we should ask Ohgi and the others to help!" Kallen suggested.

"No, we'll inform them of what's happening, but they can't come with us. Besides what C.C.'s told us, we don't know anything about this Mao person. Also, he specifically asked for us to come, no one else."

"According to the Castle's scans, their Bayards are on Earth. It looks Number 1, 3, 5, and 7 brought them with them," Coran told them, his eyes shaking with worry.

"Okay, that's one less thing to worry about," Lelouch muttered, "Alright, Kallen, grab Shirley's armor, Suzaku, Rivalz's. C.C., collect Milly's. I'll get Rai's. Move now!"

o~o

Grabbing the only other pod that had an invisibility function, Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, C.C., and Sayoko rushed to the Shinjuku ghetto, Lelouch at the wheel. They were able to pinpoint where the other pod was thanks to the trackers already built into them. They spotted Rai waving up to them, likely having tracked them from the other shuttle.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Rai gasped as they landed, the other three Paladins waiting next to him, "Mao's in that building. We didn't want to go in without back-up, though."

"All of your armor is in the back, get changed now," Lelouch ordered sternly.

The four meekly nodded, even Milly, and quickly scurried to the pod.

It took them about five minutes to change, but once they had, they stood at the ready in front of Lelouch, dressed in his Zero armor.

"Okay, from C.C.'s told us, this person, Mao, is a former contractor of hers. His Geass lets him read minds, that's how he was able to get so much information out of you," he explained quickly, "We'll head inside, but we're going low and quietly, and try to think as little as possible. C.C. you stay out here with Sayoko in the pod. If we need you, we'll alert you."

Everyone nodded before Lelouch opened the door. Inside, the building was in shambles. The walls and floor were cracked, and several rats scampered into the shadows when they approached.

"Ew," Milly murmured in disgust.

The stairs were stable enough for them to walk on as the Paladins slowly walked up the stairs, Bayards out and ready to strike if they needed to.

Upon making it to the top floor, they found Allura. She was tied to a chair, that was nailed to the floor in the middle of the room. She had duct tape over her mouth. Allura's eyes widened when she spotted them, and she started to struggle in her bindings, muffled screams erupting from her throat.

"Allura!" Shirley shouted, she and Rivalz about to run over. They stopped dead in their tracks when a sharp knife gleamed in the dark and pressed itself to Allura's throat. The princess's eyes widened in terror.

"So you're Mao," Lelouch stated. He narrowed his eyes from behind his mask. Even though C.C. had warned them that his Geass let him read minds-

"Well, you can call it mind-reading."

-they really didn't have a solid plan to beat him. Lelouch's biggest weapon was his mind. But now that would be his most significant disadvantage.

"Keep talking, freak!" Kallen shouted, "Because I'm gonna-"

"-Kick my ass so hard I'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life?" Mao chortled, withdrawing his knife and clapping his hands in delight, "My, my, you've got quite the wicked imagination Kallen Stadtfeld. Oh, sorry, silly me! You prefer Kallen Kozuki, right?"

Kallen growled, whipping out her Bayard, "Lucky guess, bitch!"

"Kallen, wait!" Lelouch shouted as the Red Paladin charged forward. Before Lelouch could stop her, though, Mao whipped out a detonator, and with a grin, pressed the button.

The floor underneath the Paladins collapsed, sending the group screaming and tumbling to the lower levels of the building.

Allura screamed in terror as she watched them fall. Her scream of fear turned into one of fury when she felt Mao pat her head.

"Now, now, you stay here like a good girl while I go hunting alright?" he grinned before disappearing into the shadows. Allura screamed again and renewed her struggles to escape from the chair.

o~o

With a groan, Lelouch got to his feet. Looking around, he saw that he was alone. The other Paladins must have landed in other areas of the building.

"I see, so this was your plan, Mao. Divide and conquer, huh?" he sneered. He quickly pressed his helmet to contact the others, "All right, who's not dead? Speak up now!"

"I'm okay," Milly responded first, "I think my armor took most of the-ah!"

"Milly?! Milly, what's wrong?!"

o~o

Milly had managed to duck before any bullets could hit her. She activated her Bayard and readied the kusarigama. She spotted Mao at the entrance to the room she landed in.

"My, my, you're quite the she-devil, aren't you, Milly?" Mao smirked, casually walking towards her. Milly tightened her hold on your weapon. "You're concerned about helping devious little Lulu and his helpless sister. But really, you didn't just help them out of the goodness of your heart now, did you?"

"What?" Milly asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, Milly, Milly, Milly," Mao giggled, "Admit it, there was at least a little bit of selfishness from your actions, wasn't there? Your family lost everything once Lelouch's mommy died, so you thought that by taking him and Nunna in, you might regain favor with the Emperor if he ever found them again. Isn't that right?"

"N-no that's not-"

"Admit it, that is the case, isn't it? Or at least in your parents' eyes, right?"

Milly gasped, her weapon shaking in her grip.

"Oh, so I was right, wasn't I? I was, I was, I was, huh?!"

Finally, Milly shrieked in anger, "Shut up!" she blindly threw her kusarigama in Mao's direction. It hit the wall next to him, causing it to collapse. As the dust cleared, all she heard was the sound of Mao's laughs, having retreated to another room.

Milly grit her teeth. "He's wrong. I was a friend. I was just trying to help! That's all!"

She received no response from the silence that surrounded her.

o~o

Rivalz looked around warily as he crept down the hallway. He kept his rifle out and ready to shoot. Whoever this Mao guy was, it was a bad idea to take him lightly. That's what Lelouch would say.

"Yes, I can see Lelouch saying something like that."

Rivalz whipped around and shot blindly behind him where the voice came from.

"Now, now, Rivalz, you even didn't check to see if I was an enemy or not. Now how would you have felt if you had shot one your own teammates?"

"Well, first of all, I know what their voices sound like!" Rivalz shouted back.

"Hm, I guess that's true. Well, I suppose that makes you at least a little different from other Britannians."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Rivalz asked.

"Oh, don't try to fool me, Rivalz. You and I both know that you used to look up to the military, didn't you? Why, you looked up to the Emperor himself, right?"

"Yeah, so? That was before I knew how much of an ass he is!" Rivalz snapped back.

"But even so, it took someone like Lelouch to finally open your eyes?" Mao chuckled, "You said so yourself, you and Lulu drove past the ghetto all the time between school and your other activities. You had every opportunity to change your view of things before. But it took a friend practically knocking it into your skull to see reason. Now, what exactly does that say about your character? Hm?"

"Shut UP!" Rivalz shouted, rapidly shooting in the direction of the voice. Rivalz didn't stop shooting for almost a full minute. By the time he finished, he was breathing heavily, and Mao's laugh couldn't be heard anywhere.

"Just because I was ignorant for a while doesn't mean I'm stupid!" he shouted at nothing before leaning against the wall, exhausted.

'Find us quick, Lelouch,' he begged, looking down the hall desperately.

o~o

Kallen groaned as she rubbed her ass gingerly. She felt like an idiot for charging towards an unknown enemy like that. Now they were in trouble because of her.

"Hold on, guys," she said quietly, "I'll get us out of this mess."

"Well, hopefully, you can do better how you 'helped' your dear brother, huh?"

Kallen spun around and barely made out a silhouette in the distance, but it didn't take a genius to know who it was. But that comment immediately flared her temper.

"Excuse me?!" he shouted, "Say that again! I dare you!"

"Oh, what's wrong, Kallen? Do you hate me? Like you hate your dear mommy, who's behind bars?"

"Why you-"

"You hate her. You've admitted it plenty of times, haven't you? Oh, why else would you leave her behind to rot in prison?"

"I don't hate her!" Kallen shouted furiously.

"Mm, maybe not anymore. But you used to, didn't you?" Mao tisked, "So why the sudden change of heart, huh? Is it out of pity? It's pity, isn't it?"

"No, I-"

"You hate her! You hate her! You hate her!" Mao sang and clapped to a rhythm of his own.

"Argh! Shut up!" Kallen screamed, taking her Bayard and slicing through a pillar. She then leaped out of the way as the ceiling came caving in. After the debris stopped falling, Kallen got to her feet. Geass on, she scanned the area, only to see that the coward had made a run for it.

"Okay, buddy! Now you're going to get it!" she growled, spotting the crazy, Geass wielder running down the other hallway.

o~o

The first thing that Shirley did once she regained her senses from her fall was to activate her own Geass. She was glad that she seemed to at least have one advantage in this situation. Now she just needed to find the others before Mao the maniac did.

"Now that's not very nice, Ms. Fenette!" the very man gasped dramatically.

Shirley nearly gasped in surprise but bit her tongue just in time so she wouldn't give herself away.

"Quite clever of you to use your own Geass. But, unfortunately, just because I can't see you doesn't mean I don't know where you are," Mao cackled, "So long as you have your thoughts, you're never invisible to me."

Shirley bit her lip and struggled to stay silent. Despite her best efforts, though, her thoughts kept wandering to other things. Her family was one of them.

"Oh dear, dear," Mao chuckled, "I really wonder what your family would think if they saw you right now. I mean, your father and mother are loyal Britannian citizens. But I doubt that would mean much to the Emperor if he found out that you were acting against him. What do you think he'll do to them? Hold them for ransom? Or maybe simply send an assassin to get rid of loose ends?"

"Stop it," Shirley whispered instinctively, beginning to shake. Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Then again, I guess that isn't completely your fault, isn't it? After all, Lelouch isn't exactly the most moral man in the world, huh?"

Shirley blinked. What was he talking about?

"Well, it wasn't until he nearly abandoned you that he finally came clean to all of you, right? He deceived you, and you liked that, didn't you?"

Shirley started shaking. Sure she felt terrible for Lelouch and disappointed that he didn't trust them sooner, but he did now, and that's all that mattered. Plus, like Rai-

"Ah, yes! And of course, there's the matter of the 'other boy' no? You've gotten quite close to the mysterious Rai, haven't you?" Mao guffawed joyfully and clapped, "Oh, it sounds just like a romantic tragedy! Two boys, but only one heart! Who on Earth will you choose to fill it? If you pick one, what will become of the other? Will they hate you? Will their heart break as well?"

"No, that's not-"

"Oh, what a naughty girl you are, Shirley! Admit it, you enjoy the attention you get from both boys, huh? You're no Paladin, you're a witch that fishes for attention aren't you?!" Mao cackled again, clapping joyously.

"N-No I-"

"Hey! Leave her alone!" another voice shouted.

Shirley gasped and looked up. She looked at the door and saw Rai standing behind Mao, Bayard out.

"Oh, looky, looky here! One of your prince charmings is coming to save you, Shirley! Isn't that just precious?!"

"You talk way too much," Rai barked.

"Yeah, I do talk quite a bit, but maybe you should think about doing the same."

"What?" Rai raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm simply referring to how much your own mind is racing. I mean seriously, if everyone could read minds, they'd call you quite the chatterbox."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Rai denied.

"Oh, just say it, Rai, get it off your chest!" Mao encouraged with a grin, "You're worried, aren't you? Oh, no, no, sorry, not just worried. You're terrified. Terrified of the memories that you lost, aren't you? You're scared that if you get them back, you'll be a terrible person who did unspeakable things, huh? Well, then again, it's not like you haven't already!"

Rai's eyes widened. So did Shirley's. What was Mao getting at?

"I mean, you already know that you were a gladiator. The Champion was it? I mean, you must know what that means, right? There's only one way you could've possibly obtained that title. Isn't that right, murderer?"

Rai gasped and stepped back. While he didn't remember exact details of his gladiator fights, he had a feeling that most of them didn't end with both of them leaving that arena. But, it's not like he wanted to kill them. He was trying to-

"Survive? Yeah, I guess that's the answer they all would give, right? But murder is still murder Rai, whether in self-defense or otherwise. How many innocent lives do you think you have on your hands? Hundreds? Thousands?"

"Shut up…" Rai muttered.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Shirley shouted.

"Sure, you were noble enough to replace your sister, but that leg wound you gave her looked pretty serious. Who's to say you didn't cripple her for the rest of her life? I wonder if she's even still alive? After all, what good is an injured slave to an Empire like the Galra."

"SHUT UP!" Rai shouted, head shooting up and charging at Mao. Mao dodged to the right, but to his shock, he felt something cut into his face. He cried out, and clapped a hand over his cheek, feeling blood drip. Looking up in shock, Rai turned to him, and Mao's eyes widened, seeing a familiar red symbol in his eye.

"What? You have one too?!"

Rai roared and tried to charge Mao again, but Shirley ran up behind him and hugged him from behind.

"Rai, stop! Please!" she cried, tears running down her face. The Green Paladin turned back to her, and Mao used this opportunity to hastily retreat.

Seeing the terrified look on Shirley's face, Rai forced himself to calm down. When his Geass finally faded, he collapsed to his knees as tears of his own fell down his face.

Shirley simply held him as he cried.

o~o

Mao panted after he escaped the floor. He had not been expecting the Green Paladin to have a Geass. He even managed to cut him quite well.

"Well, nothing too bad," he told himself, "just a little miscalculation-"

"Don't. Move."

Mao froze when he felt the tip of a blade on his back.

"What?! How didn't I hear you coming?" Mao gasped in shock.

'A little something Todoh Sensei taught me,' Suzaku explained coldly, through his mind, 'He called it 'Silencing the Mind.' Apparently, ninjas used it in the ancient days of Japan. Helped them keep focused on their goal or something like that. I'll be honest, I never really thought I'd have to use it. But I'm glad I did. Sure, you hear my thoughts now, but I doubt you can get much else out of me.'

Mao grit his teeth, as Suzaku was correct. He tried to probe more in-depth, but he wasn't pulling up anything in Suzaku's mind to use against him.

"Now, I think you've caused enough trouble, Mao. We're taking you in."

Mao growled, and faster than Suzaku could react, Mao pulled out a grenade he had hidden in his coat and threw it. This forced Suzaku to take cover as the grenade detonated, destroying most of the hallway he had Mao cornered in.

After the smoke cleared, Suzaku looked around, but Mao was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it!" he cursed, before racing in the other direction, desperate to find stairs to find the others, or get back to Allura.

o~o

Allura gasped as she heard the grenade go off down below. Despite having superior strength, her bindings were extremely tight, and she hadn't made much progress trying to get out.

She gasped again when she heard another noise. Looking up, her eyes widened in relief when she spotted the space mice scampering towards her. Lelouch must have brought them along to free her while they tried to deal with Mao.

The four didn't waste any time and quickly chewed through the rope bindings around her hands and feet. Once she was free, Allura ripped off the duct tape covering her mouth, barely registering the stinging pain across her face.

"Come on, we have to help them," Allura told her friend as they scampered up to her shoulders. Allura would be lying if she said that Mao didn't frighten her. But he was threatening to hurt her family, and she would do anything to save them.

o~o

Lelouch grunted as he maneuvered around another slab of debris. He then heard the sound of another bomb going off. Pressing himself against the side of the wall to avoid any debris, he tried to contact the others again.

"Paladins, can anyone hear me? Please answer!"

Before he could listen for any replies, a bullet fired very close to Lelouch's mask. He instinctively ducked before slowly getting up.

"You realize killing us isn't going to bring C.C. any closer to you right, Mao?" Lelouch asked coldly.

"Oh, like you killing other people hasn't brought you closer to your own goal?" Mao taunted, though he didn't sound quite as cheerful as when he confronted the other Paladins.

Lelouch shook his head, "If you think you can manipulate me through my guilt, you'll be disappointed, Mao. I accepted long ago that death can't be avoided in war, no matter how hard you try."

"Oh yeah, you'd be an idiot to think that otherwise," Mao admitted nonchalantly, "I mean, you did kill your own brother in cold blood."

"Clovis was as much of a murderer as I am. He ordered the massacre of hundreds of innocents in this very ghetto. Just as the Emperor needlessly slays those who stand in the way of his empire. I don't care if people still see me as a prince of Britannia. I'm something better than that now."

"You mean the Black Paladin, right?" Mao smirked, "But is that really what you are?"

Lelouch frowned but made no move to correct or deny the man.

"Sure, maybe your precious princess told you such, and sure, your little kitty cat saved you and your sister over the ocean. But she's betrayed you before. Who's to say she won't do it again?"

"Just because Zarkon still has a connection to Zen doesn't make him her Paladin," Lelouch argued back calmly.

"True, that's very true," Mao nodded, "I can see that getting quite complicated if that wasn't the case. So it should be pretty easy for the next Paladin that comes once they get rid of you, huh?"

Lelouch blinked, genuinely caught off guard, "What?"

"Oh, don't try to deny it, Lulu," Mao chuckled, "You've seen the parallels that you have. You know, between yourself and Zarkon? You're both the leaders of the Paladins, but look what happened to him? How do you know you're not going to end up the same way?"

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen!" Lelouch barked back.

"Oh, I'm sure Zarkon said something similar when he was in your shoes," Mao countered, "Isn't that what Alfor himself said?"

Mao shifted to the side as a bolt of red lightning whizzed past him. This only seemed to amuse Mao.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve there? Oh, poor, poor Lelouch. So scared that you're going to become a psychopath just like Zarkon. But then again, team leaders do have a tendency to do that. Just read a couple dozen manga if you don't believe me."

Lelouch shouted and shot more lightning at him, but he didn't see the grenade that Mao threw until it was too late. The blast sent him flying backward, knocking his helmet off in the process.

He heard Mao sigh dramatically, "You should really be more careful, Lulu," he chastised as he approached closer, drawing his gun, "you never know when something will trip you up."

"Mao, that's enough."

Mao gasped and looked to his left. His eyes widened when he spotted C.C. approaching.

"C.C.! C.C. I knew you'd be here! I just knew it! We're finally together again!" he exclaimed as he ran towards her.

Before he could get into the hall, though, Mao cried out in pain as electricity shot through his body. He collapsed, convulsing in pain.

"Wha-"

"Can't read robot minds, can you?" Lelouch smirked as he slowly got to his feet. He calmly walked to his mask that fell off and put it back on. Rover beeped loudly as if to taunt the Geass wielder.

Mao managed to get to his feet and spotted the little drone hovering by the building. He raised his gun to shoot him only to receive a solid kick to his face. Before he could recover, several more kicks hit him in the face and stomach, before a final one to his abdomen sent him flying out of the building's entrance.

"Perfect timing Sayoko," Lelouch acknowledge as he joined her side.

"Are you alright, My Lord?" Sayoko asked, two kunai held tightly in her grip. She too had learned the 'silent mind' technique in her youth, so sneaking up on Mao was child's play for her.

"Yeah? And the others?"

Lelouch got his answer as the other Paladins emerged from the hallway to stand by the two. They all looked less than pleased as Mao struggled to his feet. C.C. slinked back into one of the rooms out of sight. It was dark now, so it was much easier to hide in the shadows.

Mao looked around in shock, having not sensed the other Paladins coming. They were quick to follow after him and surround him, weapons raised.

"Hard to read minds when you're unfocused, right?" Kallen growled before charging him, knowing there was no floor collapsing underneath her this time.

Mao, now on the defensive, desperately tried to avoid as many of Kallen's blows as possible, as well as any other attacks from the other Paladins.

He coughed when Kallen slugged him in the face before slicing his shoulder badly with her Bayard. He cried out again when he felt a laser hit his thigh, courtesy of Rivalz. He then stumbled and tripped over Shirley and Milly's outstretched legs. He got up and limped away only to have to dodge a close slice from Suzaku's katana, though it did slice through his jacket. He tried to reach for his gun, only for Rai's katar, grappling hook caught his hand. With a sharp tug, Mao lost his balance again, falling on his rear. He failed to see a final figure behind him as he struggled up again.

Just as he turned around, Allura delivered a hard, solid punch to his jaw, sending him flying backward into the circle of Paladins again.

Kallen whistled, "Nice hook!"

"Thank you," Allura replied with a smug grin before turning to scowl at the man again.

"Mao, surrender now, you have nowhere to run," Lelouch ordered with an angry frown. "However, if you can really read minds, you can tell that I'm hoping you don't, so we can drag your beaten ass back to the Castle by force."

Mao just growled as he sat up, "You'll regret this!"

Everywhere then cried out as a smoke bomb exploded in Mao's hand, blinding everyone in the circle. Everyone covered their eyes to protect them from the smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, to everyone's shock, Mao was gone.

"Where'd he go?!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Uh, guys…" Shirley said nervously, pointing just outside their encirclement. Looking over, the group spotted a removed sewer lid next to a manhole.

"Dammit, he escaped to the sewers!" Lelouch exclaimed, running closer.

Silence fell over the group. But the gravity of the situation slowly hit them. There was mind-reading psychopath running around Japan. Not only was he dangerous, but he also knew every single one of the Paladin's identities.

The question on everyone's minds?

What now?

#Fanfiction #AU #Voltron #Code Geass #lelouch lamperouge #suzaku kururugi #kallen kozuki #rai (lost colors)#shirley fenette #milly ashford #rivalz cardemonde #c.c.#princess allura #coran #mao #nunnally lamperouge #sayoko

5 notes · View notes

codetrainwreck · 5 years

Text

Lelouch of the Re;surrection Summary

This summary is extremely outdated/wrong and only here still for historical purposes. alchimique doesn’t speak Japanese at all so it was bound to be wrong in places.

I made a new, accurate summary after actually seeing the movie myself in Japan which you can view here.

This summary compilation post was sourced from:

My friend alchimique who went to Japan and saw the movie (check out the merchandise and cafe pics on her Twitter!)

An anon from /m/ who also saw the movie and posted the movie pamphlet pictures

Japanese Twitter

touchreceptor’s summary, she also saw the movie!

Australians who saw the movie at the Madman anime festival

Screenshots used are from the existing trailers, review screenshots, KMF lineart, the movie pamphlet, and also the week 6 Japanese theater film strip bonus item. Major spoilers, obviously.

I have 3 disclaimers:

This summary is not perfect

No, I haven’t seen it yet either

I am, and always have been, a Schneizel fangirl only. I don’t ship Lelouch with anyone and I don’t have an agenda here. I have to say this at the start because depending on who/what you ship, this summary is going to make you question reality.

There are more pictures of Eyebrows-kun than other characters because he’s pretty and I’m the person compiling this so enjoy like, all of his appearances lmao.

Onwards!

(If you need a primer to Zilkhstan characters/stuff/lore, check out this post)

Opening scene is the first 5mins from the BD/DVD fan disk that was released before: Tamaki makes a 2nd cafe. Ohgi and Villetta are there with their son, Naoto, named after Kallen’s brother / Ohgi’s friend. We get narration that world is at peace. Nunnally is helping with refugees in the desert area near Zilkhstan. They get ambushed. Shalio is able to “predict” (we’ll get to that later) all of Suzaku’s movements thanks to his sister’s Shamna’s prophecies. There’s a trap set in the desert where Suzaku’s KMF lands. Suzaku and Nunnally get captured.

youtube

After Suzaku’s captured, it cuts to a portable TV in back of a truck showing cartoons of a cat and dog on a trampoline and a kid is pointing and giggling at them. The cartoons get interrupted by news about Nunnally and Zero going missing. CC lowers the volume and talks to Jeremiah. It pans to right to reveal a person wearing a tan cloak/poncho and white shirt and pants. And a familiar hat. Hat flutters away. It’s Lelouch. But his eyes are glassy and he’s like an empty husk. (The familiar clothes/hat is the cart driver outfit from the end of the R2 TV anime. However, the cart driver scene doesn’t exist in the recap movie and Re;surrection timeline. Additionally, it’s clear from Lelouch’s mental state that he couldn’t do something like drive a cart w/o CC’s help.)

(If you’d like to know more about how they got Lelouch’s body, check this separate post with an explanation from the movie pamphlet)

Cue “Kono sekai de”.

youtube

CC is seen traveling with Lelouch. She’s walking with a giant pack on her back while he walks slowly in front of her wearing a bandana on his head and a white shirt. Then he’s in the back of a truck (no bandana) just sitting around until turbulence causes him to fall over.

CC is seen driving the truck but then it breaks down. She tries to pay a mechanic to fix it but he refuses. They then take a train. Lelouch is seen ambling down the narrow hallway while CC struggles with the pack and she ends up falling and getting stuck while Lelouch doesn’t notice. There’s a nighttime scene at a open air structure and Lelouch is seen sitting on a stone wall in the dark. A spotlight passes over him and CC drags him down out of sight.

Lelouch is seen lagging behind so she nudges him along. Eventually they tag along with other refugees on a truck along a train track. He’s wearing a poncho and is squatting down as she’s making arrangements. He gets up when she puts her pack back on and then follows her quietly.

Then they’re seen going into town and they’re in their hotel. Both are dressed in local clothing. Lelouch is laying on the carpet watching Milly interview Shestal on the news with big blank eyes. CC realizes this while she’s cooking local cuisine (meat buns, naan-like bread, etc) and then switches the program to the same cartoons on the portable TV as before.

On the TV, Milly was talking about “The Puzzlement in Hashvess”. Milly is still a reporter and Rivalz is now her errand boy. There was news about Nunnally and Zero being MIA.

CC puts the food on a middle eastern dining style mat. We see that Lelouch has a Code on his throat. It looks like a shadow there. Lelouch picks up a bun and squeezes it. It starts oozing meat juices (clear at first, then turns red) and THIS FREAKS HIM OUT. He screams a lot and accidentally punches CC in the nose and makes her bleed. She calms him down as he tries to run away.

He’s still glassy-eyed half-dead doll person at this point. CC looks outside and sees a suspicious truck. She hides sleeping Lelouch in his bed behind a curtain and gets READY TO FIGHT. Turns out it’s Kallen. CC asks why she’s there, and Kallen says they (her/Sayoko/Lloyd) were sent to save Nunnally.

But it turns out that The Bad Guys (a squad of assassins led by Kujapat, all from the Geass Cult) followed them. Kujapat shoots CC because if she was a tourist, she wouldn’t be in this particular location. After, Kujapat Geasses Kallen, making him her ally and her real allies her enemies, so Kallen ends up fighting Sayoko and Lloyd cause she sees them both as Kujapat. Sayoko subdues Kallen. CC tries to shoot Kujapat as he escapes but she misses. After, Kallen is released from Kujapat’s Geass and he tries to Geass CC instead, but of course it doesn’t work and him and the bad guys scram.

CC remembers Lelouch is still there. He’s quietly freaking out behind the curtain in a ball. Kallen notices him and goes “O_O” and everyone else is like “Oh. Is that LELOUCH?” The sight of other people makes Zombie Lelouch freak the fuck out. CC explains that this isn’t the same Lelouch they knew before.

Cut to EVIL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT. Suzaku is tied up in his dungeon thing. Shalio wheels up and is like “Sup, Suzaku.” Gets mad at him and whips him a bit. Shalio has a camera that displays different parts of Suzaku’s body zoomed in / CSI enhanced as well. Shalio is then called to do something and leaves Suzaku all alone. Also, Suzaku’s spinkick is such a meme even in-universe that they identified Suzaku was the new Zero because of it.

Cut back to CC and the gang. They’re in Sayoko’s truck now. Lelouch is looking through a kaleidoscope and drinking something at the same time. Liquid dribbles down his chin and someone (CC?) wipes it away. Kallen asks what the hell is going on with Lelouch. CC explains that she revived him in body only, but now she needs to get back into Cs’ World to grab his soul, and an entrance to Cs’ World is under the Great Prison of Sorrow in the Gimsurat Flats. Kallen starts crying and thinks this is all terrible.

They take their truck and drive it to the prison (that one in the rocky place with the bridge) and Sayoko disguises herself as a man while the others disguise selves as prisoners (the white suits). Lloyd stays in the truck. Sayoko leads them in and then she and Kallen kick the shit out of everyone. CC gives the prison key card to one of the prisoners and the prisoners let themselves out and arm themselves.

Lelouch is confused. CC leads them all to the Gate of Alam - this chamber with a door with the Geass signal on it (it’s got softer curves). Kallen tries to Lelouch it’s okay, but she gets upset when Lelouch just stares blankly at her. She starts crying, and Lelouch tries to comfort her and pet her hair (reacting to her sorrow) and she ends up bawling into his shoulder/chest. She doesn’t like it when he looks at her with his zombie vegetable stare. The Gate of Alam is covered by water. CC activates the flood gates, revealing the door and a V-shaped path with a stepping stone in the middle.

CC activates the door and transports herself and Lelouch to Cs world. Sayoko and Kallen (skin under eyes puffy) chat a bit. Meanwhile Lloyd is doing some hacking into the facilities and creeps on Suzaku who is still alone in the dungeon and is like “oh this won’t do~~”. As it conveniently turns out, the door they need is also right under the prison Suzaku is in.

Scenes with most of the new Zilkhstan characters. At the temple in the capital city, Kujapat tells Shamna about CC and teases Shestal. (Supposedly, he teases him for being a pretty face on TV. Poor Shestal. Not his fault he was born super pretty. orz)

Back to Cs’ World, we see beams of light representing Lelouch and CC and they land in a rocky place with that purple orb from the trailer. They approach. Lelouch is still confused as fuck. CC then sees Marianne and Charles inside the orb with a look of disdain. CC remarks that she can’t believe Charles still hasn’t let go of Lelouch after all of this time. They don’t speak but just appear and then disappear. As she touches it, it turns into orange and black ash.

C.C’s shaken by it but tries touching the orb anyways. I think there’s a particle effect that happens (the chaotic stuff we see in the trailer) and Lelouch FREAKS OUT and screams as he stumbles backwards and disappears. (You see the common theme here so far...)

Cut back to Kallen and Sayoko. As it turns out, the “prisoners” that CC freed to use as a distraction are not actually prisoners. They’re hired hands working for Zilkhstan to bamboozle CC and the gang in exchange for KMFs. Sayoko is subdued by a bald skinny dude with a killer beyblade and sticky gunk. Kallen is subdued by Bitool. The ass from the trailer is hers.

Cut back to Cs’ World. CC reaches for him but misses. CC is seen flying/floating about trying to find him. Various silhouettes appear here (such as Euphy). The last silhouette is Charles. The silhouettes all reach out then fall. Then you see a hand reaching for a bright light. Finally, CC wakes up in front of the door. The prisoners are there and have Lloyd/Sayoko/Kallen in burrito things. Then they shoot CC a bunch.

(For the longer explanation from the pamphlet about this particular scene in Cs’ World, please see this post)

So she’s just bleeding on the ground and then we see another figure standing in front of the door on this little stone step (there’s a channel of water running to the door; stone steps). And it’s..... LELOUCH.

Lelouch is back. And his mark is RED (sometimes it’s red, sometimes it’s like a scar). He tells all of the fake prisoners to kill themselves, and they do. Lloyd and Sayoko (she wasn’t Geassed in the recap movies) cover their eyes. Lelouch pulls CC out of the water and tells her that he’s back, and that they’ll have something to talk about later. He has both Code and Geass and there’s a new animation effect when he uses his Geass. But when other characters use Geass, the animation effects are the same as during R2.

Cut back to Suzaku. Suzaku is bandaged (very much like in episode 2) and it’s night time. He stirs to see Lelouch sitting on the ledge of a large window. Lelouch has Geassed a guard and a doctor (to patch up Suzaku). Moonlit. Lelouch is chilling and looking at a portable computer from Lloyd, casually talking to Suzaku. Suzaku gets up and staggers towards him and asks, “Is it really you?”

And then Suzaku ever so gently touches Lelouch’s face with his index finger to make sure Lelouch is real. The touch had higher budget than CC flying through Cs’ World. It’s close up of Lelouch’s lips and cheek and you can see how soft his skin is and that he isn’t a ghost.

CC and Kallen chat. CC mentions to Kallen that Lelouch intended to die and what she was doing here is out of her own selfishness.

Suzaku’s very emotional about Lelouch’s return, but Lelouch is just like “cool”. Suzaku asks him how he’s alive, what he’s been doing, etc. Lelouch tells him he’ll accept any punishment, so Suzaku punches him and starts screaming. Part of this scene is semi-graphic. The other part is abstract silhouettes (for some reason it goes white and the figures are blue/white/purple colors). CC has to pull Suzaku back before he beats Lelouch back to death. It’s the part from the trailer where he goes, “CC...” then collapses.

Suzaku takes a fucking chill pill and is now wearing a prisoner outfit too. Then they meet with Lloyd, who’s driving a KMF. It turns out that Bitool is still alive as he wasn’t with the other fake prisoners when Lelouch told them to die. Lelouch and CC are in a control room. Lelouch has that portable computer thing again. CC is there. Kallen runs in and hugs Lelouch. Suzaku comes in in his prisoner outfit and hops into one of the KMFs.

Outside of the prison, Shestal and a group of soldiers have traveled through the desert (following the earlier scene w/the Zilkhstan characters) and surrounded the compound. Lelouch is seen Geassing prisoners as “Lelouch vi Britannia”, reaches out via sound-only to taunt Shestal by insulting his family and calling him a dumbass, then issues commands to Sayoko, “K1″ (Suzaku), and the Geassed prisoners.

A fight breaks out. Because Shestal is in fact a complete dumbass (and also Sunrise hates me), he gets pissed and goes down below to where Suzaku’s room was at and breaks open the window with his KMF, the Jarja Bakah. (They don’t even say the name of his KMF in the movie, so I don’t think we’re ever getting an official romanization for this LOL.)

This is the part from the trailer where he says he’s here to get Zero. Except Lelouch and the gang are long gone and have left a Sakuradite bomb trap behind for Shestal which takes out him + the other floors in the prison. (Given the fate of his Akito character who also died after 5mins, I guess Legendary FGO Space Whale Nobunaga Shimazaki is destined to never live long in Geass stuff. Maybe there’s an eyebrow threading salon in the afterlife. Dude is so pretty but then those eyebrows haunt my dreams.)

Sometime after Shestal dies, Volvona asks for permission to go kick Zero’s ass to avenge his son. Shamna, however, tells him not to do this because of her “prophecy”. (We’ll come back to what actually happened here later.) Nunnally is seen in a tank on Shamna’s ceiling.

Meanwhile, at UFN HQ, Schneizel, Kannon and Rakshata are discussing their options for getting Nunnally and Zero back. Schneizel’s Geass isn’t always on. He only gets red rings in his eyes when he’s talking about Zero. Also there are the Indian teenager engineers working under Rakshata. Schneizel refers to them all as geniuses.

There’s a map during this scene that puts Zilkhstan around current day Pakistan and India.

(Also Schneizel is wearing glasses when he’s at his desk here and he looks really fucking handsome. His wardrobe has changed to be more form fitting and modern and he just looks like he’s everyone’s dad[dy] now. Holy fuck. I’ve spent 13 years drooling over this guy after seeing him flick his bangs around in the opening of the very first episode of the first season and this is just WL;K4L234KFJLK234019284IFSJKKLASFJ14L243JKL23K4324JK43KKLWKLDAKJLDAJKSDKJLAKSLD!!1111 I’M NOT A FUNCTIONAL HUMAN BEING ANYMORE.)

Lelouch suits up into his Zero outfit. This time he’ll taking up the Zero mantle as “Lelouch Lamperouge” rather than “Lelouch vi Britannia”. Suzaku looks on with a frowny face. CC, who has apparently had enough of this fucking movie already, is drinking a martini by the window.

Meanwhile, Shirley is shopping. She tries to call CC on her phone, but she doesn’t answer. After, she meets up with Milly and Rivalz. Milly just got back from Zilkhstan.

Lelouch and the gang meet up with Cornelia and many other returning characters such as Guilford (not blind), Tamaki (wearing a white bancho jacket with a heart on the back w/Zero’s name written on it; JP twitter seemed to really like this lol), and Ohgi. Cornelia has a new outfit and a gun-sword.

Because Cornelia is like the only smart person there at the time, she’s the only person who is remotely hesitant about Lelouch’s return and such. Lelouch takes off his helmet and reveals himself to her. Everyone else chimes in and gets her to help. Tamaki also leans on her gun-sword. She’s upset that Lelouch is alive while Euphy remains dead, but she agrees to help them rescue Nunnally.

Some more people show up, including Jeremiah, Anya, Cecile and Nina. They chill at a local town and Cecile makes a gross drink for Lloyd that almost kills him. Outdoors, Tamaki and Ohgi are being dumb. Ohgi tries to kill himself after thanking Lelouch for Japan, but Lelouch-Jesus stops him from doing it and also forgives him.

Suzaku is talking to Cornelia in the town (she brought him a hot drink) when he notices Lelouch do the collar up signal from their youth for “let’s talk on the roof”. (Reportedly, this gesture is out of focus and only noticeable if you’re a fujoshi.) Up on top of a tower, Lelouch is on his tablet thing again, looking over a memory card full of info from Kaguya.

Lelouch encourages Suzaku to say whatever he needs to say cause Lelouch himself doesn’t understand his resurrection or if it was actually successful or if he’ll roll over and die tomorrow. Suzaku says there’s two things that he wants to say to Lelouch. The first is that he believes Lelouch should become Zero again. He starts to say the second thing, but he stops when he notices that Lelouch is watching Ohgi and Villetta’s wedding video which Kaguya included on the memory card.

The wedding was super duper extra and you also see other characters, like Minami from the Black Knights cutting the cake. Schneizel and Kannon got retconned into being wedding guests. Suzaku tells Lelouch that everyone’s been doing well since he died. Then the wedding video focuses on Nunnally who is happy and having fun. One of them mentions Suzaku’s unspoken line. Suzaku finishes it by saying that he’s happy Lelouch is back and how lonely the world is without him.

Suzaku asks Lelouch what he’ll do after everything is resolved It pans down to Kallen and CC on the lower level, who are having a similar conversation. CC looks kind of sad.

(To give you an idea of the pacing, we have now reached roughly the 1/2 way through the film point.)

We are back with Shamna hanging out on her royal couch with her 6 booby guards. Shamna has Nunnally in a sensory deprivation chamber on her ceiling. Shamna is trying to use the Gate of Alam in her temple to enter Cs’ World to do Evil Villain Things. Shamna uses Nunnally to enter Cs’ World and reaches for an orb, but she fails and is teleported back out.

Seemingly, Nunnally’s connection to both Charles and Lelouch makes her connection to Cs’ World strong.

Lelouch is disguised and goes to an outdoor train platform in desert and Geasses two of the workers and also all of the passengers on the train. By middle of night / early morning, all of the returning cast have new mechs and gear. Lelouch tells Suzaku and Kallen to fight in the desert while everyone else goes to the urban area to rescue Nunnally. They sneak their KMFs onto the trains then jump out of them.

CC gets a new outfit that doesn’t have pants. She gets into 2 seater KMF with Lelouch called the Gekkoi. (If you’ve seen Gundam, it’s reportedly similar to a Zeong.)

Communications are jammed for Lelouch and the gang. Lelouch and CC are isolated. Lelouch starts freaking out. CC asks him if he’s given up. Lelouch has no idea how to win against this enemy. That’s when CC calms him by taking a gun out and putting it against his forehead (but this scene is difficult to take seriously because of her pilot outfit and the way the scene is framed). CC asks him, “Does it feel like despair? Cause that’s been my whole existence.” Lelouch chills after CC outdoes his edginess. He starts writing down theories about what’s going on as he’s talking to CC, who has sensed Shamna’s power. It’s written in English and list is seriously like: “They seem to KNOW EVERYTHING!!1111”

Eventually, Lelouch and CC land in Shamna’s room and shoot the guards all to death while Shamna’s laying in her own Avatar pod chamber thing. Shama’s chamber opens up. Lelouch shoots Shamna with the gun on the KMF. But this is a trap - it triggers her Geass. Her eyes glow and the sigil is yellow.

As it turns out, Shamna’s Geass rewinds time 6 hours back whenever she dies. She doesn’t actually see “prophecies”, she just knows what happens then she shoots herself to force the time rewind and looks like a fucking prophet. In the earlier scene after Shestal dies, she has seemingly allowed Volvona to go after Zero, it doesn’t end very well, then she goes back in time to stop him. (Why doesn’t she just go back in time and prevent Shestal from dying in the fucking first place? Holy shit. Sunrise fucking hates me.)

So, this turns into the Edge of Tomorrow / All You Need is Kill. Shamna retains her memories when time rewinds. Her power hasn’t always been like this, but this change occurred after Lelouch made a request to [God / Cs’ World / the Collective Unconscious / Jupiter] to let time keep ticking.

After going back, she’s now in a large bathing area naked with Shalio. She has her hands on his shoulders behind him and tells him he can leave things to her. The camera pans slowly and reveals she has a Code on her lower belly. Like Lelouch, she has both a Code + Geass.

Reset 1: Lelouch is stopped from reaching Shamna because she’s ready this time around. Shamna tries to get into Cs’ World again, but fails. Schneizel arrives in Zilkhstan with Kannon on a helicopter. Volvona comes to speak with Shamna and says that the Britannians want to talk. Shamna shoots herself in front of Volvona and her guards.

Reset 2: Gino, Tohdoh, Chiba and Hong Gu are attempting [democracy]. (The blonde lady next to Tohdoh is a character from the ending stills of the Miraculous Birthday.) Jeremiah and Anya are in the urban area in Zilkhstan. Jeremiah destroys a power plant with a KMF that shoots orange juice laser beams. With the power out, Shamna has to wait for it come back up. Except Shamna does not have time for this shit, so she shoots herself again.

Reset 3: Lelouch and CC try again. This time around, Shamna sees Jupiter but wakes up in her chamber again and sees her guards on the ground, and assumes they’ve died again. But 2 of them are still alive, and they get up and restrain Lelouch. Buuut, it turns out that Lelouch Geassed the other guards, so the 4 of them them get up and surround Shamna. She asks Lelouch if he’s going to tell her to kill herself, but instead he orders her to sleep so she can’t rewind time again. He then sets a bomb to explode her temple after 10 hours.

In the desert above the city, Kallen has been fighting Bitool and Suzaku has been fighting Shalio.

Kallen kills Bitool. Bitool was piloting a Guard Scorpion mech called the Batalaran Do that can resist the Radiation Wave due to its strong armor. In order to beat him, Kallen has to ditch the new armor on the Guren. Her new Guren armor blows up after she launches out of an energy bubble she was trapped in, and she apologizes to Shanti, one of the Indian teenagers working under Rakshata who made the new gear for the Guren and Lancelot.

Shalio beats Lancelot sIN into the ground (its wings are smoking), causing Suzaku’s live Geass to trigger. Shalio is both stupid strong and screaming about his sister. Like Kallen, Suzaku relies on the old Lancelot gear in order to defeat Shalio - after his new wings are busted, Suzaku uses the old energy wings.

Suzaku lands a critical hit and blows up Shalio. He’s yelling about Shamna cause he can’t feel her presence anymore, and thus can’t get “prophecies” from her anymore. Every loop, Shamna has been getting updates on the battle so she’s been telling Shalio and the others how to adjust plans. There’s a scene full of red and black scribble lines where Shamna screams and dies w/o resetting time. Her Geass can’t save her because No One Fucking Knows Why.

Cornelia and Volvona fight each other (apparently a rematch battle of sorts; they’ve clashed before). Cornelia corners him and thinks he should pursue a peaceful option. However, Volvona orders his troops to fire at both of them so he can sacrifice himself to take out Cornelia. But since the army has quit receiving “prophecies” from Shamna, Volvona is the highest ranking person left and now kinda in charge of the country so the army doesn’t actually want to sacrifice him.

Nina turned into MacGuyver so she kills Kujapat and the other assassins by dropping a wire from a KMF into water and electrocuting them to death. Cecile gets shot but no one covered her wound and people are worried she isn’t gonna make it. It’s clear that Lloyd is more connected to people now. After Cecile gets shot, he’s holding her. (Presumably, he feels bad about not protecting her - him and Nina have Cool Glasses that project Blaze Luminous shields.) Sayoko, Ohgi and Tamaki are in the urban area but it’s revealed after 12-13 years that Ohgi is about as good at running as Lelouch is.

Lelouch and CC go to get Nunnally out of the tank, but she’s in Cs’ World. They use Shamna as a route into Cs’ World. Lelouch finds Nunnally there through the fog laying on the ground. She wakes up and sees him and is shocked. They’re swallowed by black particles in Cs’ World. Lelouch holds her to his chest with the black and white filtering effect. Lelouch starts to Geass the approaching black mass, but then changes his mind, saying that Geass is his sin.

Following, a giant pair of rainbow hands emerges from the darkness, lifting the two up and the scenery turns colorful again with literal rainbows, and they’re safely teleported out of Cs’ World. Lelouch recognizes these hands as the people who helped him earlier when Cs’ World tried to consume him. In the real world, Shamna’s Temple explodes. The towns people of Gralbahd notice it.

While Lelouch is getting Nunnally, CC talks with Shamna as a distraction. It turns out that Lelouch’s Code is from Charles (hence the location of it on his body), but his Code and Shamna’s are both “incomplete” or “corrupted” (these words are the descriptions used by Japanese Twitter, I do not know what an “incomplete Code” is supposed to be). It’s explained here that Shamna’s goal was to use Cs’ World to make the world more fair for Zilkhstan. As a mercenary country, their economy was screwed pretty hard by Zero Requiem. However, she doesn’t want to return to being a mercenary culture, she wants them to be able to have peace too. (So... why not join the UFN?)

The movie pamphlet doesn’t mention fixing Zilkhstan at all, but rather that she’s doing this for Shalio’s sake since he’s disabled, similar to Lelouch’s goal in the anime. These can certainly be the same goal, but the pamphlet explains it differently.

Lelouch wakes up. Nunnally, Suzaku and Kallen are all there. They look outside and see shooting stars. The Ashford gang sees it too. Lelouch fulfilled his promise to see the fireworks with everyone. Lelouch talks with Nunnally. She begs him to be with her now, but she’s grown up now and doesn’t “need” him anymore. She’s sad, but she still smiles as Suzaku looks on. Kallen and Suzaku part ways; Suzaku now in a blue hoodie with the Zero suit in his arms.

The movie pamphlet contains pictures and a piece of the script where everyone parts ways.

CC is packed up already and is about to join a refugee caravan. Kallen comes and gives her the imitation Cheese plush. CC intends to depart. Then we see that Lelouch has run to catch up to her and is out of breath (lol). He says he wants to go with her, she tells him to stay with Nunnally or hit up Shirley, but he says that Nunnally doesn’t need him anymore and it’s too late for him to contact Shirley. CC tries to brush him off by saying she doesn’t even have a name. Lelouch replies that she can call him LL (pronounced L2), for Lelouch Lamperouge. CC starts crying and the 2 hold hands while walking through the refugee caravan together. “Revive” plays here.

youtube

During the credits, we see a bunch of pictures:

Cecile recovers while Milly jabs Lloyd. Cecile looks annoyed about it.

Nunnally holding a puppy while hanging out with Kaguya + the Chinese Empress + the assumed EU girl (from the Miraculous Birthday ending stills) and they’ve all got matching outfits

Zerozaku visits the candle place from R2

Arthur is chilling w/another cat (btw, according to a staff member, Arthur is a girl cat)

Kallen with the new Indian engineers who hang out w/Rakshata (see: the Guren manga), Kallen is apologizing to Shanti for blowing up the Guren armor

Jeremiah and Anya are back on the orange farm with Sayoko hidden in a bush

Volvona and Cornelia sign a treaty with odd metallic heart in background while Gino, Kaguya, and the blonde girl’s secretary look on

Shirley gets a phone call

Villetta and Chiba are making food in the kitchen while Tohdoh has a child in a harness (unknown if it’s Villetta and Ohgi’s son or if Tohdoh and Chiba had a kid)

Ohgi reading a doujinshi about Tamaki’s love for Zero

In the post-credits scene, we see Lelouch and CC in front of a pile of bodies. They’re wearing complimentary black outfits that super extra fabulous and blingy. Lelouch has a rose choker. CC has a black transparent veil. Lelouch and CC have gone off to find other Geass users, take the power from those who can’t control it, and find those with the power to control it. The camera is facing Lelouch’s back. We hear him give the speech about how “The power of the King may isolate you”. He turns around to face who he’s talking to - you, the audience.

#code geass #lelouch of the resurrection #spoilers #lelouch lamperouge #cc #summary

279 notes · View notes

maxfieldparrishes · 5 years

Text

shake the bones

part II. What’s past stays with you. (Lelouch/Kallen)

(read on AO3)

She can feel his eyes, the question in them. She doesn’t know if she should answer.

His breath is warm on her back, his hand on the curve of her hip, fingertips lightly tracing the jut of her pelvis.

“I suppose you want to know,” she whispers, breaking the heavy silence. Her words take a hammer to it, and it shatters. Instantly, she is awake.

“I am curious, I won’t lie,” Lelouch whispers back, “but you know you don’t have to. It’s not important.”

He won’t lie? That’s a first.

Kallen shifts, stretches her legs against his own. His lips drowsily linger, half-open, against the nape of her neck, and for a moment it is so, so incredibly tempting to draw herself closer to him, surrender to his warmth and fall gracelessly back into sleep... but Kallen has never taken the easy path, and she isn’t about to start now. Unknowingly her hand covers his own against her skin, before she shifts further on her side and that same hand balls the sheets into its fist.

“It was Xingke,” she admits after several slow and indolent heartbeats, his hand still warm against her. “He understood me. He was the only one who... didn’t expect anything, or want...” She takes a breath. “He was the only one who understood what I was willing to give.”

Lelouch’s breathing hitches behind her, but only for a moment. Then he chuckles dryly. “At least it wasn’t that blond Britannian oaf.” The oaf’s name is dancing in his mind just out of reach, but it’s not important. There are only two people who matter right now: the two of them, and maybe the ghost of Xingke that Kallen has brought with her.

Kallen hums a little. “No. I have more self-respect than that and you know it.”

“Xingke is remarkable,” he whispers behind her. “You could have chosen worse.”

She can’t help but laugh at that. “Truth be told,” she says, a melancholy smile on her face, “I think he was just as frustrated as I was.”

“Frustrated? With what?”

“This,” she says, waving a hand around. “Trying to find a place. The newness of it all. Xingke and I, we’d been soldiers so long, we didn’t know how to be anything else. Sometimes I think that I still don’t know.”

“But you did what I asked,” Lelouch responds, his voice low and quiet. “You lived on.”

“Mm. I guess so,” Kallen says, and leaves it at that, but there’s something she’s not telling him, and they both know it.

“And? There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Lelouch’s natural curiosity never rests, even when the rest of him is tired and sated--she came home from class one day to find him with a fully cooked dinner, a stack of her textbooks, and a laundry list of questions about the assignments on her syllabi. Kallen had racked her memory until it was a disjointed mass for recollections of their shared time at Ashford, because she could not, for the life of her, remember a single solitary instance of Lelouch actually studying, even if one of the council members had been there to hold a gun to her head. Lucky for her, they weren’t.

“You’re nosy,” she complains as she pushes his hand away to roll over onto her stomach. He’s already died once, and if he keeps on being snoopy she’s going to kill him again.

“It’s part of my charm.” He takes a long time stretching next her, less athletic--reaching his fingertips toward the headboard, toes towards the foot of the bed, almost like he’s trying to pull himself apart. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” he repeats. “Or someone.”

She doesn’t answer him right away. Instead she rearranges her head on the pillow and half-twists back onto her side again and mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like “C.C.”

For a moment Kallen thinks he actually has died again, because she can feel the sudden halt in his breathing, and the silence that comes after seems like lasts for eons. Then he chuckles, heaves a sigh, and flops onto his back.

“I’m not going to ask you what you’re thinking,” she says at last, head pillowed on her arms. “It’s my life, and I don’t have to justify anything to you.”

“No, you don’t,” Lelouch agrees. “I’m just...”

“Startled?”

“The connotation is a little too intense. I would say surprised rather than startled.”

Kallen rolls her eyes and snorts. “Of course you choose to be pedantic now, of all times.” She watches him lazily. “I’m glad you’re not completely shocked. I was.”

“No. C.C. is... quite old. I doubt she has any sort of... preference... still. You, on the other hand... I’m not completely surprised. No, what I really am surprised about is the fact that you two managed to keep it under wraps for so long.”

“I suppose you want to know about this too, huh,” Kallen says. “I won’t give you a blow-by-blow, but... do you want me to tell you what happened?”

He doesn’t say anything, but the look on his face speaks for itself.

“Aomori,” she says. “The year you lost your memory, when she and I were living together.” Kallen rolls onto her back to match him and wraps her arms around herself. “That was the first time. I was in a spiral, she was morose--more so than usual, I mean. So we got a bottle of whiskey for me and wine for her and we got drunk and...” She flaps her hand in the air. “One thing. Another thing. You know.”

Lelouch doesn’t respond to her right away. Instead, after another beat, he says, “... the first time?”

It figures that would be the first thing he’d focus on. She thought it would be about their being drunk, although if she’s honest, she and C.C. had gone well past being merely drunk into absolutely shitfaced, and they had both paid dearly for it the next morning. “Yeah. Then a few times, after... after you, then we decided to go our separate ways, at least for a little while. She came back to visit a few times, but nothing else happened.”

And now she’s gone. Missing, not gone, Kallen reminds herself. C.C. can never be truly gone, just like she’ll never stop being stubborn. It just isn’t possible.

But that’s neither here nor there. She’s leveled with him now, and there’s nothing left to say about it. It happened and it’s in the past, which is where she thought he’d also stay.

And to top it all off, she’s awake now, and the warm, mellow sleepiness that had settled over her has completely evaporated. Kallen sighs, kicks the covers off, and rolls complainingly, groaning, out of bed.

She finds her shirt from last night and her underwear and dresses, only pausing when she hears Lelouch’s voice from behind her.

“Going somewhere?” he asks, and when she turns to look at him, he’s sprawled out onto her side of the bed, grinning lazily.

“I have homework to do,” she says pointedly, taking a moment to adjust her underwear on her hips, shaking out her hair.

Lelouch stretches out again, and she can still feel his eyes on her: on her lean thighs, on the small, toned sliver of her abdomen, on the slow spread of her collarbones under the scooped collar of her overlarge shirt. “Why don’t you bring it in here?” he suggests. “We can work on it together.”

“It’s prep for gross anatomy,” Kallen tells him. “Labeling diagrams. How much do you know about posterior abdominal viscera?”

“Bring it in here anyway,” he says. “It’ll give us both something to do. Aside from each other, I mean.”

Kallen picks up Lelouch’s discarded pullover and pitches it at his face. He halfheartedly puts up his arm, a second too late, and laughs as the sleeves cover his eyes. Much to her embarrassment, she feels a blush creep across her cheeks.

“Yeah, well, when I’m elbow-deep in a dead guy’s thoracic cavity, just know that I’m thinking of you, and how I’d like to kill you. Again.”

“That’s sweet of you,” he says, as she opens the door, retrieves her anatomical atlas and her worksheets from the kitchen table, and returns, dumping them unceremoniously on the bed. Kallen decides not to dignify his comment by making a snarky retort.

Instead, she sits cross-legged on the bed and turns on the lamp. She opens her book to the correct page, rifles through the papers in her folder to find the correct packet, and hums a little as she looks from drawing to book, book to drawing. Lelouch rolls onto his elbow, props his head on his hand, pulls the covers up a little bit farther, and watches intently as she points out viscera and veins, tissues and structures.

He watches Kallen become absorbed in her work, oblivious to his gentle gaze, and finds himself thinking that things have certainly changed, and for the better--it’s an unusual position for him, to be the one who is taught instead of the one doing the teaching. Kallen mumbles something about stroma and parenchyma and epithelial cells, erasing something on her paper, and Lelouch decides he doesn’t mind at all.

A couple of things:

1. Clearly this is not following the movie!verse canon. Consider it an independent R3, an alternate re:surrection, I don't care. That means none of the changes the movies made are present here - Shirley's still dead, etc, etc. My expectations for the movie were low to begin with, and still Sunrise managed to disappoint me even more. I'm actually kind of impressed to see how badly they scuttled their own creation. Oh well, they want to run their franchise and its redeeming qualities into the ground, that's their choice. 2. This is going off my vague memories that some people looked at the books on Kallen's bookshelf at the end of R2, and translated the titles as being medical textbooks. Ergo, Kallen's a medical student here. Did I dream that or was that actually a thing? 3. I'm not going to stop shipping these two. Expect updates in the future because I'm not out of ideas yet. 4. Kallen deserves better treatment from the narrative than what she's gotten, so I'm giving it to her because I love her, even though whoever wrote these movies clearly gave less than two shits about anyone who wasn't C.C. or Lelouch. 5. Kiss my ass, Sunrise.

#lelouch x kallen #kalulu #kallen x lelouch #lulukare #otp: you have to live #kallen kozuki #trymebitch.gif #i hope y'all love watching me not give a fuck because i don't have any left #*finger guns*#code geass

0 notes

naruwitch · 4 years

Text

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 26: Reunion Over the Pacific

The bridge of the Avalon was buzzing with anxious energy. The crew was tensely watching every monitor, searching for any sign of the Lions that had ambushed the base. Their sudden arrival had forced the Avalon to rush through the rest of the preparations. Still, they managed to get airborne before the fighting became too chaotic.

Despite their escape, however, the tension didn't leave. Especially after they got a report from the base that the Lions had retreated almost immediately afterward. According to their monitors, though, they weren't pursuing them either.

"Prince Schneizel, the Lions don't seem to be pursuing us. Perhaps they have given up? They wouldn't dare attack now, not without risking Princess Nunnally's safety," Kanon said as he looked at the Prince.

"As appealing as that sounds Kanon, I highly doubt that that's the case," Schneizel answered, "With Knightmares as advanced as that, I don't think they would give up without a fight."

'If anything, my little brother is likely flying right into the trap that we set up,' Schneizel speculated. He knew that Lelouch wouldn't give up on his sister that easily. He would do anything to ensure Nunnally's safety. However, such behavior also made him predictable. Yes, Nunnally was the perfect bait when it came to Lelouch.

"Report! Four of the Lions have been spotted pursuing the Avalon, sir! The red, blue, yellow, and purple ones are in close pursuit!" a soldier exclaimed through the radio.

Schneizel blinked. Four? There had only been three that had attacked the base when they departed. And hadn't it been the orange, green, and black ones that had come?

The only way this made sense was for the first three Lions to be a preliminary strike, and now these other four were beginning the main attack. Where were the other three Lions, though? They disappeared once the Avalon had taken off.

"Prepare for battle, but be on guard," Schneizel ordered. "We don't know if the other three Lions from earlier will show up or not."

o~o

"Haaa! Got ya!" Kallen shouted as Aka's jaw blade easily sliced through a Britannian plane like it was nothing but butter. Her role in the rescue was pretty simple. Since Aka was not only one of the smaller Lions compared to the others, but also the fastest, her job was to keep the Britannian fleet busy. During this time, the other three Lions would drop off the infiltration team onto the ship. Lelouch had specifically warned Kallen to try and go easy on the Britannians, considering they needed as many able-bodied people as possible when Zarkon eventually tracked them down, but…

…Let's just say that some Britannians couldn't get a clue when the situation was a lost cause.

With most of the helicopters and planes focused on Aka's nearly erratic flying (and yes, Kallen was doing that on purpose too), the other three Lions managed to fly smoothly towards the Avalon. Polaris and Maeraka each landed on a wing, and Yoru perched at the top of the ship itself.

On the right wing, where Polaris dropped Rai off before quickly leaving, Rai raced towards the side of the ship and jammed his katar into the dense metal. Making a large enough hole for him to climb through, it wasn't long before the Green Paladin slipped into the hall.

The same happened on the other wing with Maeraka as Milly dropped Shirley and C.C. off on the left side. The two women quickly sprinted to the main body of the ship. C.C. then used an Altean knife she borrowed to wrench open the emergency hatch on the side, where they slipped into the flying fortress.

Finally, Yoru touched down on the very top of the Avalon. Suzaku watched anxiously as Lelouch and Sayoko exited Yoru and descended onto the smooth metal. A large part of him still yearned to go inside with the duo to get Nunnally, but Lelouch's logic always stopped him. If his identity was discovered, on camera or by a soldier, his people, the people of Japan, would suffer greatly. He couldn't afford to let that happen, no matter what.

Lelouch, fully donned in his Zero Paladin armor, cape and all, brandished his mother's knife and dug it into the roof of the ship. He effectively made a hole in the top that he and Sayoko jumped through. They were all on board. Now they needed to find Nunnally.

o~o

Once their feet hit the metal ground, Shirley grabbed C.C.'s wrist and turned her Geass on, extending its range as far out as she could. She was pleasantly surprised that she was able to cover almost all of the ship. Then again, they only needed to be unseen on their side, as Rai would be taking out the engines on the other end. They should be invisible to any soldiers and security cameras now. The more they avoided, the better.

Shirley held her breath as she and C.C. pressed themselves against a wall as a small squad of soldiers rushed past them. The Orange Paladin sighed in relief when the team turned a corner out of sight.

"You never answered my question earlier, Shirley," C.C. said sternly when it was safe.

Shirley flinched a little at the reminder. She hadn't forgotten what C.C. said on the flight over in Maeraka. However, the reality of having to fight and possibly kill people didn't hit her until now.

"You're not a schoolgirl anymore, Miss Fenette. You're a Paladin, a knight, a soldier, whether you like it or not, you will have to fight and kill to stay alive," C.C. said gravely.

Shirley gulped a little before shaking her head to clear it, "We have a job to do. Let's go!"

C.C. sighed and shook her head. She would hate for Shirley to learn the hard way how valid her words are.

o~o

"System ready?" Nonette asked urgently as she leaped onto the Lancelot.

"Float system nearly ready," Cecile confirmed as two other scientists finished attaching the new flying system onto the Lancelot. When footage revealed that the Lions could fly, a rush order was put out on the experimental Knightmares that could fly, as well as the custom one for the Lancelot. They had not had time yet to officially test the system, but in order to defend the Avalon as much as possible, they didn't have time to.

On another helicopter, Cornelia, Guliford, and the rest of her guard were doing the same. All of their Knightmares had been equipped with a float system to fly and fight in the air.

"You, Zero, will pay dearly for this!" Cornelia declared as her Gloucester was launched out into the air.

o~o

A startled gasp from Kallen caused Milly, Rivalz, and Suzaku to pause their assault, "Everyone, incoming!"

Once the debris from another fallen jet cleared, the three Paladins were shocked to see dozens of Knightmare frames exiting helicopters and carriers rapidly.

"What the-!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"They can fly?!" Milly shouted, sounding shocked.

Suzaku grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He knew through Lloyd that Britannian had been in the very beginning stages of adding a flight mode to the Knightmare frames, but to see them being used now? His best guess was that the military had put a rush order on the devices to prepare them to fight the Lions, and that was only a few days ago.

"Just be careful," he advised as calmly as possible. "They still look like prototypes, so they may have trouble maneuvering! Kallen, can you see who's flying the Lancelot? The white Knightmare?"

"Um, not sure why you want to know, but…" the Red Paladin's Geass quickly scanned the battlefield. It didn't take long for her to locate the white Knightmare that had just launched from another airship. She was able to see her, but she didn't recognize the woman behind the controls. "...No clue, I don't recognize her."

"Her?" Suzaku asked, making sure he heard correctly.

"Yeah, just some lady. I don't recognize her, though."

"...Okay, leave the Lancelot to me," he said promptly before speeding off its direction.

"Suzaku!" Milly called out, but heard the Purple Paladin cut communication, "What's gotten into him?"

"...Guys, did you know that Knightmare was called the 'Lancelot' before we got back to Earth?" Kallen asked. Now that she thought about it, even with the Black Knights, no one had given that white Knightmare a proper title. And yet, Suzaku called it with a name. Something was off.

"Um, no?" Rivalz said, sounding more confused, "Why would we know? It's a military Knightmare."

"...Then why would Suza-ugh, forget it! We have a mission to accomplish!" Kallen snapped in frustration before speeding off as well.

"Hey, wait up!" Milly shouted before they darted forward as well.

The Paladins weren't the only ones ready for a fight. Nonette smirked as she spotted Yoru racing towards her. "Round two, huh? Okay, bring it!"

o~o

Another Britannian soldier hit the ground, twitching as Rai's katar returned back to him. The Green Paladin was making little work of the soldiers on the ship. Their bullets barely dented his Paladin armor, bouncing off it like tennis balls on a backboard. The shock function on his Bayard helped quite a bit with only knocking the soldiers out too.

It didn't take long for him to make it to his destination: the circuit box on the starboard engine. After making sure he was alone, and promptly destroying the camera in the corner, Rai held up his gauntlet to the box. He wore a slightly sadistic grin.

"You guys must have put a lot of work into this… Too bad!" he grinned before cackling and pressing a single button on his gauntlet's screen, "Demolition in session!"

o~o

Lelouch grunted as another soldier cried out in pain and surprise. He landed hard on the other end of the hall, uniform smoking slightly as the last traces of electricity coursed through him.

Sayoko just finished dispatching a pair of soldiers herself before turning her attention back to the prince. She would admit, she was quite shocked to see her young master with such a power at his disposal. But, she certainly wasn't complaining about how effective it was against their enemies.

Lelouch stalked over to the soldier he just zapped and grasped him by his uniform collar. The soldier was barely conscious as Lelouch's helmet lowered to look the soldier in the eye.

"Where's Nunnally vi Britannia being held?" the Black Paladin demanded calmly.

"At-at the center of the ship," the soldier stuttered through the pain, "down the hall to the left. In the Garden."

"Thank you," Lelouch said before dropping the soldier. He stood up and glanced at Sayoko. She nodded when their eyes met before they raced down the hall once more.

o~o

Despite the military being reasonably new to the float systems, they seemed to have trained enough with them to fight well. The Paladins were quite surprised at how easily the Knightmares maneuvered in the air. It made sense, though. Being in midair gave more space. And more space gave better places to run and dodge.

It also made the Knightmares faster. But not as fast as the Lions.

"Lord Guliford, look out!" a soldier exclaimed as Polaris intercepted Cornelia's knight. What alarmed the squad, though, was the large, cannon-like instrument that literally materialized on the Lion's back.

"Oh god, what is that?!" Guilford gasped, scrambling to fly off out of range.

"See if you can take this!" Rivalz shouted, slamming down on the shift. With a roar, Polaris fired her sonic cannon straight at the knight and his platoon.

Guilford attempted to dodge the attack but was shocked to see the Knightmare's system begin to glitch and shut down in front of him.

"Wha-what is this?!" he exclaimed. When he looked at his screen, he was shocked to see the rest of the Knightmares also shorting out and falling towards the ocean. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness from the sea's impact was a blinding flash of light engulfing Darlton's group above.

'Princess Cornelia…'

"Agh! I can't see!" a pilot shouted as the light fired from the Yellow Lion engulfed their vision. Darlton grit his teeth, his eyes watering from the brightness before he felt a hard jolt from behind. When he could finally see clearly again, the only thing left to greet him was the blue water below.

'I failed you, Viceroy! Forgive me…'

"That's my girl Maeraka!" Milly cooed, petting her dashboard. She giggled when she felt her Lion purr happily back to her.

"Well, it looks like your soldiers aren't having the best day right now, Princess!" taunted Kallen as she faced off a flying Gloucester with a flowing cape behind it. It was apparent that the pilot was the Viceroy herself.

'I know you're Lelouch's sister and all, but I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass. Again.'

With a scream of fury, the Cornelia launched at the Red Lion, which promptly ducked and flipped around her quickly. The shoulders from the Gloucester than snapped open and a dozen missiles fired out towards Aka. Despite the close range, though, Aka was able to dodge nearly all of them. The two that were lucky enough to actually hit only jostled Kallen slightly from the cockpit.

"Where the Black Lion?!" Cornelia demanded, before charging the Lion again. "Is Zero too much of a coward to face me directly?!"

Kallen snorted, "Nah, you're just not worth his time right now."

This response only made Cornelia more furious as her movements quickly became erratic and sloppy. Even Kallen had to admit, the way the Viceroy was fighting right now was laughable, even embarrassing.

"Stop! Moving!" Cornelia roared, aiming her gold scepter at Aka's eye.

"Yeah… nope!" Kallen quipped as Aka ducked down at the very last second, throwing Cornelia off balance and flipping forward.

Kallen took the opportunity to summon Aka's jaw blade. With a swift jerk of her head, Aka ripped the Viceroy's float system in two. The Red Paladin watched apathetically as the Princess's Knightmare collided with the ocean's surface below.

"Wow, and they say I got a temper," Kallen chuckled, shaking her head. Her seat vibrated slightly beneath her as Aka's growling guffaw joined her.

Down below, Cornelia was able to wrench open her cockpit door and gasp for air. Glancing around her, she saw several soldiers and pilots doing the same.

All the Viceroy could do was glare lividly up at the sky, at the small figures in the air that continued to demolish Britannia's great army.

"Just you wait, Zero," she growled venomously, "I will have my revenge! One way or another!"

o~o

"Oh my, my!" Lloyd exclaimed in awe, eyes twinkling once more. He and Cecile were currently viewing the battle from another escort ship. The ship was mostly staying out of range of the gunfire.

"These Lions… they're incredible, but also completely terrifying to witness," Cecile murmured and flinched as she watched the Yellow Lion's jaws clamped around another Knightmare. It shook the machine like a dog would a chew toy before letting it drop to the sea below.

"I must say, despite being the clear enemy, I give praise to whoever created these Lions," Lloyd said with a grin. "If I ever get the privilege to meet the mind behind these machines, I will personally approach them and shake their hand. Nothing wrong with two scientists being civil to each other when off the battlefield, after all."

The Earl's eyes then lingered on the Purple Lion that was in the middle of clashing with the Lancelot. It was like the two were locked in a deadly dance of wit and strength.

Lloyd's eyebrows shot up, though, as the Lion suddenly dodged a downward kick from the Lancelot that several Knightmares failed to even notice before the attack actually struck. However, it seemed the Lion not only was aware of this move but had been anticipating it for a while. Literally, a split second before the foot would usually collide with the target, the Lion side-rolled out of the way, dodging the hit, spectacularly.

"Hmmm, curious…" he stated, folding his fingers in front of him. There was something vaguely familiar about the Purple Lion, or more precisely, the person piloting it. He couldn't seem to put his finger on it, though.

o~o

Lloyd wasn't incorrect. Unlike the other Knightmares that were dropping right and left, the Lancelot was holding a fairly decent fight against Suzaku. He had managed to hit the float system and make inoperable, but the slash harkens allowed the white Knightmare to remain airborne by hanging and jumping from numerous aircraft. It would sometimes even use other Knightmares as stepping stones.

The best Suzaku could do for now was to keep the Lancelot and its pilot away from the Avalon. Not only could they not damage the flying fortress without risking Nunnally's safety, but he didn't want to give the pilot the chance to board the ship either. If they were this good at piloting the Lancelot, he didn't want to think about their hand-to-hand combat. He knew Sayoko and C.C. could handle themselves, and Rai likely had combat experience as a gladiator, but Lelouch and Shirley he wasn't so sure about. Though he was getting better thanks to the Paladin training regime, Lelouch was still the most physically weak of all of the Paladins. While Shirley was athletic due to her involvement in the swimming club, she wasn't one for confrontation. She tended to avoid and sneak around enemies than actually fight them. Her Geass's power was perfect for her.

However, a sudden jump directly towards him caught Suzaku off guard. The white Knightmare landed right on Yoru's face before vaulting onto her back and leaping right towards the Avalon. The one place that Suzaku was trying to keep the Lancelot away from!

"No!" he shouted, pivoting around. The Lancelot's slash harkens attached itself to the side of the ship before flipping up and landing on the lower platform.

"You're trying to keep me away from the ship. Plus, you've made no move to actually attack the Avalon," Nonette said calmly. "So, I can only guess that you're goal is to capture Princess Nunnally, correct?"

Suzaku didn't answer but grimaced. He knew if he explained, he ran the risk of his voice being recognized, and they couldn't afford to let that happen.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes,'" Nonette deduced, before readying the VARIS, aiming it at Suzaku, "I won't let you pass."

o~o

Shirley shot down the camera that was positioned in the corner of the port engine room. The immortal was already in the process of connecting to the system on their side. It would take a few minutes for Rai to connect the engines and then be ready to shut them off. They also still needed the signal from Lelouch telling them that he had Nunnally. They didn't want to risk sinking the ship with any of them still on board, after all.

Shirley glanced back at the immortal again, but C.C. paid her no mind as she messed with some wires. As the two of them had sneaked and fought their way down the halls, Shirley had been lucky enough to not fatally hurt any people aboard. C.C., however, showed no such restrictions. She wasn't afraid to lift a gun to a head if it meant completing the task. The Orange Paladin swallowed as she remembered the immortal's warning from earlier, how she would have to eventually make that same call. Someday, her hands would have blood on them, whether it was human or Galra. Whether she liked it or not.

A bullet whizzing by her head snapped her out of her trance. With a gasp, she whipped around to the hall, readying an arrow. On the other end was a dark-skinned woman with a gun aimed at Shirley.

"Drop the weapon and surrender!" the woman shouted, running towards the engine room, continuing to fire at Shirley. Fortunately, none of the bullets penetrated the armor, so Shirley wasn't hurt.

The Orange Paladin tried firing several energy arrows at the woman, trying to aim for her arms or legs. However, the soldier was quickly able to maneuver around each shot. As she got closer, the woman put the gun away, drew out a knife. With a gasp, Shirley lifted her arm to block, just before the knife dragged across her gauntlet. Just like with the bullets, the armor wasn't even scratched.

This only seemed to irritate the woman as she started to swing widely and harshly, attempting to strike the black under-armor spandex instead. Shirley quickly summoned her shield to block a blow that was aimed for her neck. The force of the swing was strong enough to make her stumble. The woman took that opportunity to deliver a hard kick to Shirley's abdomen.

The Orange Paladin gasped as the air was knocked out of her. She tumbled back, landing hard on her back. Her head bounced against the floor, hard enough that her helmet went flying off to the other side of the room. She rolled several more times before coming to a stop on her side, back towards the woman.

Shirley grunted as she pushed herself to her knees. Noticing she had some distance between them again, she summoned her bow once more. Notching an arrow, she turned to face the woman soldier, eyes narrowed.

The woman gasped and took a step back. Her eyes widened.

"You-you're one of the students?!"

o~o

After checking to make sure the cameras were effectively destroyed, Lelouch slowly removed his helmet. He and Sayoko stood in front of the doors leading to what they were told was the garden area. Two more soldiers lay unconscious on the ground beside them as Sayoko punched in the code they had received from one through Lelouch's Geass.

Despite knowing she would be waiting on the other side, Lelouch was nervous. What on Earth would he say to Nunnally? He disappeared without a trace for nearly two months, and now because of that, he had unintentionally endangered her. Would she disapprove of him being Zero and using Voltron to fight Britannia? Speaking of which, how exactly was he going to explain that to her? About the Alteans? The Galra? A universal war that had been going on for 10,000 years?! And Earth's-

Sayoko placed a hand on Lelouch's shoulder, shaking him out of his panicking thoughts.

"My lord, no matter what happens or what you've already done, she'll still love you. And I'm sure once she knows the entire situation, she'll understand your actions."

Reassured by the maid, Lelouch breathed deeply and nodded.

The door opened before them, and Lelouch could see on the other side of an extended platform was a small figure in a large wheelchair.

"...Nunnally," Lelouch barely whispered, his eyes misting with tears as he and Sayoko slowly approached.

"Who's there?" the young princess asked as she looked around in the direction of the door.

o~o

"Wha-Wait, that's-!"

"It's Prince Lelouch! Princess Nunna-"

Both of the men standing watch over the cameras were suddenly gunned down from behind.

"Their reunion is starting," the assailant, eyes ringed with red, stated blankly, "they must not be disturbed."

o~o

"Lady Nunnally," Sayoko said, "It's me, Sayoko."

"Sayoko?" Nunnally asked in surprise, "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"That's not important right now milady. I have someone with me that has been waiting to see you."

"Huh? Who?" Nunnally asked, confused but still curious about what was happening.

Lelouch took another deep breath to calm himself before he slowly approached his sister. He swiftly removed his armored glove and reached unsteadily out to her. With a tremble in his fingers, he rested his hand gently on top of Nunnally's.

Nunnally gasped. Slowly, the princess reached with her left hand, turning Lelouch's over in her right. She grasped his hand gently as if it would break if she held them too hard.

"This is-" Nunnally could barely get the first word out before streams of tears fell from her eyes. She gripped Lelouch's hand harder as she brought to her face, "Thank heavens! Lelouch… I knew it! I knew you'd be alright!"

"I'm here, Nunnally," Lelouch said softly as tears of his own coursed down his cheeks.

Hearing her brother's voice, Nunnally leaped forward. She nearly fell had Lelouch not caught her as she sobbed louder, burying her face in his shoulder. Lelouch hugged her too, one hand rubbing her back gently, the other combing through her hair.

"I'm so sorry I made you worry, Nunnally," Lelouch said softly after he found his voice, "I didn't mean to be gone for so long."

"Where have you been?" Nunnally demanded softly as Lelouch helped her sit back in her wheelchair.

"It's complicated, Nunnally, and I promise I'll explain later."

"What about the others? Suzaku, Milly, Shirley, and Rivalz? And Rai and Kallen, are they okay?"

"Yes, they're all fine. They're all okay," Lelouch told her reassuringly.

"Oh, thank goodness," she sighed in relief.

"You'll see them soon. Right now, we need to get out of here though," Lelouch went to kneel down and lift his sister up when her voice stopped him.

"But I can't big brother!" Nunnally protested.

"What?" he asked. He turned to look at Sayoko, but she looked just as surprised and confused too.

o~o

Shirley winced a little. Lelouch had told them that they couldn't risk anyone knowing their identities. Now someone had not only seen Shirley's face but identified her too.

'I don't want to kill her… maybe we can-'

Her thoughts were interrupted when the woman spoke again in a more accusatory tone.

"If you're… You're a Britannian citizen! Why are you supporting someone like Zero?! Why is a Britannain supporting a terrorist?!"

Shirley gripped her bow tighter, her vision blurring from angry tears, "Zero's not a terrorist! He's a hero!"

The woman blinked and took a step back before her eyes narrowed, and her mouth formed a sneer. "What on Earth are you talking about? Zero's done nothing but kill officials and endanger civilians. He even admitted to killing Prince Clovis! You realize you're supporting a person who has murdered royalty, correct?"

"Zero's not a murderer, Clovis was!" Shirley spat, remembering what Kallen and Lelouch had told her about Shinjuku and all the people that died there. Mothers, fathers, children. Grandmas and grandpas. Husbands and wives!

The woman's eyes widened again before they narrowed dangerously, "You dare-"

"Zero didn't just tell us. He showed us what happened! What you did! What Britannia did! And it's wrong! So, so, so wrong! How can you not see that?! Everything Britannia has taught us was about how we're the greatest nation in the world, and how we're proving that through all this prejudice and violence. That's nothing but a lie! Tell me, what's so righteous about any of that?! About slaughtering innocents? You're just hypocrites! I… I can never be apart of that!"

The woman just stood there, apparently trying to process the words that had come out of her mouth. It was likely the first time this soldier had ever heard a fellow Brittanian talking so harshly about their own country. Sure, maybe a couple months ago, Shirley would have felt the same way. After all, when she had heard out about Shinjuku and Clovis's death-

Wait…

Shirley took a closer look at the woman, and her eyes widened. She recognized her! She was one of the soldiers at Clovis's funeral. She was also one of the soldiers, one of the Purebloods to be exact, that had tried to have Suzaku executed for a crime he didn't even commit! What was her name? Vanessa or something?

"Were you one of them?" she asked tartly, "In Shinjuku? Were you doing nothing but killing innocents too?!"

Villetta frowned, "Terrorists had stolen poison gas. We were ordered to retr-"

"That's a lie!" Shirley screamed, "There was never poison gas! That was just an excuse you were given to kill the Japanese in that ghetto, right?!"

"You don't seriously believe were there to just kill everyone, do you?" Villetta exclaimed angrily, "And besides, how is it our problem if a few Elevens die? They should just stay out of the way of military business."

"That's it! Right there! You call them 'Elevens' just now!" Shirley shouted, pointing at Villetta. "You're treating them like they're not even human! Do you have any idea what it's like for them?! The Japanese, they don't see Britannia's greatness! They hate us! They're terrified of Britannia! They're scared that if they take one wrong step on the street, they'll be shot or worse! Britannia stole their home! Britannia murdered their friends and loved ones and condemned them to a life of pain and hopelessness! Can you imagine if somebody did the same to you?!"

Shirley's thoughts wandered back to the Balmera and about the conditions Shay and her family were forced to live in. Though she hadn't been there to witness it herself, if Shinjuku was anything like the Balmera was, and Clovis had ordered the people there to be killed, she could never forgive, much less support, someone who would do that. And the soldiers didn't question it. Sure, one may make the excuse that they were just following orders, but that didn't mean the crime wasn't still there.

Shirley was on her feet now, visibly shaking and crying tears of sorrow and rage. Seeing that Villetta hadn't responded to her rant, the Orange Paladin continued.

"I can't be a part of that. I can't be a part of something so... so... evil! I may be a Britannian, but I can't serve under that monster you call an Emperor! I am a Paladin of Voltron, and that means I protect the weak and helpless from bullies and monsters like Britannia! From bullies and monsters like you!"

Villetta was standing there frozen. This Britannian, a student no less, had just openly proclaimed she'd go against her own nation and called out its beliefs and philosophies. She even went as far as to not only insult the late Prince Clovis but the Emperor as well! She also called the nation that she was a citizen of evil.

The soldier sighed and shook her head. She wasn't sure what exactly Zero had said or did to her, or to the other students for that matter, but it was clear she needed help. No one had to die. She would see to her treatment and rehabilitation personally if she had to.

"Look, I don't know what Zero did or said to you to make you think those things," Villetta said carefully, "but I am going to bring you in, even if I have to tie you down and drag you there myself." She pulled out her gun again, "Put down the weapon, and no one gets hurt."

"You first," Shirley growled, hand trembling.

The tension seemed to thicken in the room as the two women faced off, neither one of them moving to drop their weapon, but not firing either. Shirley's mind raced. Just like she though earlier, this woman had seen her face and identified her. If she let her go, her parents could be in danger. Plus, the military would likely figure out who the rest of the Paladins were too. Right now, she could only see one solution. The problem was, did she have the guts to do it? Could she… kill this woman? Even if she was a Britannian soldier, she was still a human being-

A gunshot cut off any further thoughts from Shirley's head as she jumped in surprise. She stared as Villetta's eyes widened in shocked horror before she collapsed in a heap on the floor. C.C. was standing stoically behind her, gun raised and smoking. Shirley had been so focused on Villetta, she had wholly forgotten that C.C. was in the room too!

"Wh-why did you do that?!" Shirley exclaimed in horror, glancing frantically between Villetta and the immortal.

"She saw you. What was I supposed to do?" C.C. responded matter-of-factly.

Shirley winced and frantically tried to think of a response. However, a pained groan interrupted her again. Looking towards the source, Shirley gasped in shock and relief to see that Villetta was still alive.

Her relief soon shifted to panic again as C.C. leveled the gun at the woman again, this time aiming for her head.

"Wait!" Shirley shouted, running towards her, "Don't kill her!"

"Why not?" C.C. asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"W-we-well," Shirley stuttered, scrambling to come up with an excuse, "Well, why kill her? She's a soldier, right? I-If we take back to the Castle, she may have some information that could help us! Lelouch can Geass her and make her tell us! I mean, the more we know about what's going on in the military, the better. Right?"

C.C. stared at Shirley for about five seconds. It was long enough for Shirley to fidget uncomfortably.

Finally, she sighed and put away the gun, "Grab her other arm."

Shirley sighed in relief that C.C. agreed and comply with the order, pulling Villetta's arm around her shoulders, C.C. doing the same on her other side.

"You were lucky this time, Shirley," C.C. said, "but you're going to have to make the call someday. Someone's not always going to be there to make it for you. You can't avoid it forever."

Shirley grimaced but nodded before the two departed the sabotaged engine room.

o~o

"Nunnally, Father's just using you. Whatever he's told you or offered, it's not going to change anything. He believes that might is always right! Do really approve of that, Nunnally?"

"Lelouch, you don't understand!" Nunnally gasped, "Father didn't send me to do this! I asked him to send me!"

"Y-You what?!" Lelouch gasped, stepping backward. Sayoko also gasped in shock, her fingers brushing her mouth.

"I think that with a peaceful approach, I can make the world a gentler place," Nunnally explained, "Even big brother Schneizel said he's willing to help."

Lelouch scowled. Had things been different, he may have been willing to let this go for his sister's sake. However…

"...Nunnally, such intention is noble of you. But this situation isn't just about Britannia anymore. There's something much more dire and complex at play here now."

"...I don't understand," Nunnally murmured softly.

"I know, and I promise I'll tell you everything, but not here. I have… I have so much to tell you, Nunnally, but there is one thing I'll say right now."

"What is it?" she asked as Lelouch knelt down in front of her again.

Lelouch glanced back towards Sayoko, who nodded. Taking a breath, he spoke two words. "I'm Zero."

There was silence within the garden for about a minute as Lelouch watched Nunnally's reaction. Her expression shifted to one of shock to sorrow again, tears gathering in her eyes once more.

"I-I didn't want to believe it…" she choked out.

Lelouch gasped, and Sayoko's eyes widened as well. "You knew?!" Lelouch exclaimed.

"I-I always had a feeling," Nunnally confessed, "When you appeared to save Suzaku, and I heard your voice on the radio, my heart told me it was you, but didn't want to believe it. Because if it was you… everything you've been doing, you've been risking your life, and putting yourself in danger all this time!"

Lelouch gaped before grimacing. He never stopped to wonder if his actions could negatively affect Nunnally. He never realized how much it could hurt his sister.

"I'm sorry, Nunnally," Lelouch whispered, "But, I had no choice. I couldn't stand by and watch what Britannia was doing. I had to do something."

"Lady Nunnally," Sayoko said calmly as she stepped forward, "I know you still have questions. But as your brother said earlier, he will tell you everything later. Now is not the time nor place for this."

"Yes," Lelouch nodded as he held Nunnally's hands again, "Nunnally, I promise, if you come with me now, I'll tell you everything. No more secrets. And I'll never leave you again. Okay?"

"...You promise?" Nunnally asked softly as she held out her pinky.

Lelouch smiled softly as he hooked his pinky with hers, "I promise."

The peaceful moment was destroyed moments later as the garden doors burst open. Lelouch snatched his Zero mask from his waist and slipped it on as he whipped around. He leaped to his feet as Sayoko placed herself between the siblings and the soldiers, kunai drawn at the ready.

"There they are!" one soldier shouts.

"Wait! Don't shoot! You could hit the princess!" a superior officer ordered from near the back.

"Quiznack, this is bad," Lelouch hissed as he stood protectively by his sister.

o~o

"And… done!" Rai confirmed as he pressed a final button on his gauntlet. C.C. had alerted him moments earlier that she was finished on her end of the ship.

"Going down," he smirked as the engines on both sides of the Avalon shut down. The flying airship began to slowly descend from the sky to the water below.

o~o

"Prince Schneizel, engine failure on starboard!" a crew member reported from the bridge.

"Failure on port side as well!" another shouted in panic. "We're going down!"

"Have you tried restarting them?!" the head engineer demanded as he leaned down over the railing.

"We have! The computer won't accept any of our codes!"

"Sir! Look!" a female member exclaimed, pointing to the main screen at the front of the bridge. The screen began to glitch out of focus momentarily before brightened again. However…

"...What in the world?" Schneizel asked. His expression was one of complete bewilderment as he sat on his throne. A cartoon image of Voltron's head rocked back and forth on the screen, electronically laughing as load screen appeared underneath it. The second it filled up, more systems began to shut down on the bridge, computer images going black, and screens locking the crew out of the controls.

o~o

Nonette grunted as the ship beneath the Lancelot suddenly jolted. Looking down, she gasped in shock to see the turbines on the Avalon had stopped spinning.

"Oh no!" she gasped as the Avalon began to slowly descend towards the ocean.

"That's our cue!" Suzaku shouted to the three other Paladins as a green digital thumbs up appeared on his dashboard. It was Rai's signal telling them they were ready for pick up.

"Right!" Rivalz confirmed as the sonic cannon dispersed from Polaris's back. He then fired his boosters and raced towards the Avalon.

"On my way!" Milly shouted, twisting around and speeding off towards Shirley and C.C.'s entry point.

Both Lions successfully landed on the Avalon's wings once more as they waited to pick up their passengers. Rai was quick to leap from the hole he had made earlier and onto the wing. Snagging Polaris's canine, the Blue Lion swallowed the Green Paladin back and jumped gracefully from the ship.

Milly was relieved to see both Shirley and C.C. exiting the porthole, but her relief soon turned to surprise as the two women were dragging an unconscious Britannian soldier with them.

"Who-?"

"Don't ask," C.C. snapped as she and Shirley loaded themselves and their prisoner into Maeraka's mouth, "just get us out of here!"

"Um, okay," Milly said as Maeraka leaped from the wing, swiftly following her blue sister.

Suzaku grit his teeth. He couldn't land on the ship yet, not with the Lancelot standing on the roof. He couldn't risk injuring Lelouch and Nunnally.

"I've got to finish this quick!" he exclaimed as he flew forwards, aiming to blast the Lancelot directly off the ship.

He didn't see where the VARIS was aiming until it was too late.

With a grunt, Yoru took a direct hit from the weapon, knocking them off course as Suzaku's hand accidentally slams down on the laser's button.

"No!" he gasps as Yoru's mouth laser collides with a part of the ship further down.

o~o

With a sudden explosion from below the garden, the occupants of the area stumbled and struggled to remain balanced. Wind began to wildly whip through the garden, flower petals, and plants blowing in all directions.

The explosion shook the room so violently, Nunnally was rocked out of her wheelchair. She would've have hit the floor had Lelouch not dove down and grabbed her, holding bridal style against his chest.

Looking down, Sayoko and Lelouch saw the glistening water of the ocean beneath them approaching closer and closer.

"Brother, what's happening?!" Nunnally exclaimed as she clung to him in fright.

Lelouch, through his mask, looked frantically between the ocean and the soldiers. There was no way that he, Nunnally, and Sayoko could survive a fall from this height. Even though the ship was descending, they couldn't risk waiting for the water to be in close enough range either. Every second spent up here had the risk of the soldiers shooting them, and possibly Nunnally as well. From the sounds outside, the other Paladins were still engaging enemy Knightmares and planes, so they couldn't be picked up either.

Grimacing, Lelouch realized they were trapped, unless he tried one more thing.

He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind.

"Listen, I need your help. I know that you probably felt me doubting you after… Zarkon. But right now, I need you! More than anything! Someone I love needs my help, and I can't protect her without you. Please!"

Opening his eyes turns to Sayoko. She nods before he turns back and whispers to his sister.

"Nunnally, do you trust me?"

Nunnally was silent for a few moments before she smiled and held tighter to her brother, "I do Lelouch."

Lelouch smiled as a lone tear trickled down his face. He felt Sayoko grip his arm.

"Then hang on," he whispered.

This was the only warning Nunnally received before they leaped from the platform and through the hole below them. They heard the shouts of disbelief and panic from the soldiers behind them as the wind whipped their hair.

Nunnally screamed as she held onto her brother with all her might, bracing herself for what was likely a hard impact below.

Suddenly a loud roar rips through the sky as a large splash erupted from the ocean. The Black Lion burst from the water and, with a single snap of her jaws, caught the three humans safely in her mouth.

From above, Nonette froze as she spotted the Black Lion erupting from the water. This moment of distraction cost her, though, as Yoru body-slammed into the Lancelot, forcing it off the Avalon and sending it crashing into the ocean.

"...He did it," Suzaku breathed with a smile as he and Yoru regained their aerial balance.

Zinnia and Zerith were quick to follow after their sister as they emerged triumphantly from the sea as well. The two Lions joined their pride, un-manned, in the air above the falling Avalon.

Lelouch sighed in relief as he finally relaxed in Zen's seat. Sayoko was standing by his side, and Nunnally sat in his lap, still holding him tightly. She was looking around almost frantically, causing Lelouch to wince. He could only imagine how confused and frightened Nunnally felt right now. He figured the only thing keeping her from screaming was the fact that he was with her still.

"Thank you… Zen," he said quietly with a smile. He felt the Black Lion nuzzle his spirit reassuringly. He, in turn, projected his regret of having doubted her.

"Lelouch, are you okay? Did you get Nunnally?" Suzaku's voice asked as the Purple Paladin appeared on the screen in front of him.

"We're fine, Suzaku," Lelouch answered as he glanced down at his sister.

"Huh, Suzaku's here?" Nunnally asked, turning her head in confusion, trying to locate the Japanese boy.

"I'm right here, Nunnally!" Suzaku answered with a smile, spotting the princess in his friend's lap, "I'll see you really soon, okay?"

"Okay," Nunnally nods with a smile.

"So Lelouch, now what? Do we finish this off with Voltron?" Kallen asked as her face, and the faces of the other Paladins lit up the dashboard.

"No. We came to get Nunnally, and we did. Our work here is done," he said sternly before smiling genuinely at everyone, "Let's go home."

From outside, the Britannian forces could only watch as the seven lions ascended into the sky and disappeared.

o~o

As the Avalon finally hit the water, warning lights and alarms were ringing from every part of the ship. The airship had completely lost power and was dead in the water. Nothing the crew did could get it up and running again. They weren't sure who created the virus that infected the system, but it had been thorough and had done its job well.

"Prince Schneizel," an officer exclaimed as he approached the Prime Minister, "we just received a report. Princess Cornelia and Lady Enneagram are both alive and are in the process of being rescued. Also…"

"What is it?" Schneizel asked, noticing the soldier's hesitation.

"...Princess Nunnally was captured by the enemy. I'm sorry your highness, we tried to stop them," the officer bowed deeply.

Schneizel frowned deeply. He was certainly not expecting this outcome.

'They sabotaged the Avalon and went with a more 'surgical' route as opposed to using a blunt weapon. This allowed them to not endanger Nunnally in the process, as well as keep casualties to a minimum,' the Prince smirked as he looked up absently at the sky.

'Well played Lelouch. Well played.'

o~o

Hours had passed since the battle, and most of the clean up had been finished on the ground. The base the Avalon originally left from only had a few unoccupied Knightmares lining the platform.

A lone figure gracefully walked onto the runway, glancing around curiously.

"So… this is the home planet of the new Paladins. Interesting," she mused aloud.

A small commotion to her side caused her to look to her right. She raised an eyebrow as a reasonably well-built Earthling hobbled deliriously towards her. He was leaning against a thin piece of wood and clutching his left eye in pain.

"I swear I'm not Orange!" he exclaimed almost manically, reaching out to her, "Zero!"

The man then collapsed forward, all his remaining strength gone.

Haggar stared at the fallen human for a moment, then a sinister smirk split her features.

"Perfect…"

#Fanfiction #AU #Voltron #Code Geass #lelouch lamperouge #nunnally lamperouge #c.c.#sayoko #kallen kozuki #suzaku kururugi #rai (lost colors)#shirley fenette #milly ashford #rivalz cardemonde #villetta nu #schneizel el britannia

1 note · View note

naruwitch · 4 years

Text

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 12: Taking Flight

"Sire, if capturing Voltron is the Empire's number-one priority, then I suggest we begin moving the main fleet toward its last known location posthaste." The Galran commander said as he knelt boldly before his leader. It was Prorok, a proud Galra that was currently stationed at the Galra's main fleet. Ambitious and loyal to the bone, he did everything in the name of Zarkon for his best interests, even if it meant taking matters into his own hands.

To Prorok's disgust, though, the witch turned to the Emperor and presented her own course of action. "Lord, after many years, the Komar Experiment is finally ready. Soon, we could have more quintessence at our fingertips than ever imagined. We must test it before moving the fleet."

Prorok rose in defiance, "We don't have time for any more of your magic. We must move our ships now." The Emperor must see that this was the perfect opportunity to take Voltron.

"Voltron is the most powerful weapon ever created," Haggar argued, "His puny ships will never be up to the task. We must be well prepared for our next encounter."

Zarkon slammed his hands against the arms of his throne, and Prorok took a step back in surprise before immediately kneeling again.

"I know better than anyone the power of Voltron. Haggar has my trust. We will perform her test," he decided.

Seeing that there was no more point in arguing, Prorok rose to his feet and stormed out of the room. He met up with one of the Galra officers he was over, Thace, a quiet but loyal Galra, in the hall away from the throne room.

"The witch has his ear. Keep sending our offer out to any scum between Planet Arus and Balmera X-95-Vox. I'll capture Voltron on my own."

o~o

"Okay. So, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and like, start blasting? Or do we land and have some kind of... public address system, like, 'Attention, Galras. This is Voltron. Turn yourselves in!' No, nevermind. Blasting, right?" Shirley asked as she paced anxiously with the rest of the Paladins sitting on the steps below her. She had no idea how a rescue mission was supposed to go. Not to mention this would be Voltron's first official mission, several things could go wrong. She was almost having an anxiety attack when Kallen gently interrupted her.

"Shirley, calm down. And yes, blasting."

"Shirley, it's okay for you to be nervous," Rai reassured her, "it's our first big mission, a rescue mission even. Everything's going to be alright."

"Nervous? I think she's more excited," Rivalz grinned.

"Excited to see her new BFF!" Milly sang as she tipped her head to wink at the Orange Paladin.

Shirley looked like she wanted to protest when unusual alarms started going off in the ship. They didn't sound like the emergency ones, though.

"What's happening? Are we under attack?" Lelouch asked urgently.

"No, it seems to be a distress beacon," Coran informed them as a small red triangle appeared on his and Allura's screens.

"It's coming from a nearby moon," Allura confirmed, "Apparently, a ship has lost power."

"I wonder who it is?" Suzaku wondered.

"Okay, well, whoever it is will have to wait," Shirley insisted, "The Balmerans have first priority. We can check back on them when we're done."

"The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need," Allura chastised.

"Wow! This is so cool," Rivalz exclaimed, "It's like we're space cops on space patrol. Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?"

"Uh, no, we don't," Coran admitted.

"Well, we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them if you'd like," C.C. suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Perfect!" The Blue Paladin started to make some pretty lousy siren noises before Lelouch pinched Rivalz lips shut.

"Nope, not doing that!"

o~o

It didn't take long for the Castleship to approach the moon in question. Seated around a small bond-fire were two aliens, a little robot, supplies, and a decent-sized ship that looked like it had been worn out through many battles.

"Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We are coming to assist you." The six towers folded in on themselves, and the castle turned upright with more fluidity than any Knightmare or aircraft on Earth could ever achieve. It slowly and gracefully lowered to the ground next to the crew.

One of the aliens, a humanoid alien, with four fingers instead of five. He was tall with muscular arms, mauve skin, and purple spots. He had lank white hair and some pre-pubescent facial scruff. He also had downturned eyes and a cartoonishly straight nose.

"Whoa. Nice ship."

o~o

"Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us," Allura informed Coran and C.C. as she and the Paladins all prepared to meet the lost aliens.

"Yes, Princess," Coran nodded while C.C. shrugged. She might as well learn how a few of the things worked on the castle. Two pairs of hands were better than one after all.

o~o

They didn't take any of the Lions down to greet the strangers. Instead, the team descended to the ground in a small elevator shuttle. The doors opened to reveal the Princess and the entirety of Team Voltron as a whole. As they exited and approached the stranded party, the purple skin leader grinned, holding a wrench-like device in his hands.

"You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces. Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra."

"So, you're fighting the Galra as well?" Milly asked. However, almost immediately upon exiting the pod, her student council president senses perked up. Something felt wrong to the Yellow Paladin. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off.

"Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us," he gestured to the robot and his female comrade, "but we do what we can. I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, and our cyber-unit, Beezer."

"Hi," Nyma smiled. She was a tall alien with pointy ears, cream and yellow skin, and blonde hair with two brown stripes at her forehead. Her eyes were light purple with darker purple pupils and sclera. Her lower arms were slightly larger than her upper arms, and she had three fingers on each hand.

Rai's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the robot. That was probably one of the coolest pieces of machinery he'd ever seen! "Cool robot!"

Rivalz was wholly enraptured with Nyma as he immediately shook her hand and introduced himself, "Hi! Name's Rivalz!"

"Was your ship damaged in a fight?" Suzaku asked Rolo.

"Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by," the purple alien explained as he looked back at the ship, "Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn—"

"We're happy to help," Allura interrupted him, "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be alone fighting the Galra. You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side."

Rolo rubbed his chin and looked back and forth between the two groups. Lelouch, Suzaku, Milly, and Kallen were standing next to Allura at the ready. A hint of light even shined off Lelouch's helmet. On the other hand, behind Rolo, Rai was still examining Beezer with Shirley crouched next to the robot with a small smile. Meanwhile, Rivalz was again flirting with Nyma, who giggled at a remark the Blue Paladin made.

"...Okay," Rolo replied dryly, not really sounding impressed.

"I don't believe they've heard of us," Lelouch said.

"Well, it has been 10,000 years," Kallen muttered the remark.

"Voltron? Seven robot Lions that combine into this big robot... person?" Shirley tried to explain.

"Sounds impressive," Rolo said, "I'd love to see it. Or—Or him. Them?"

"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Milly proclaimed, clapping her hands twice, "Let's get to work on your ship. We all have places to go and people to see."

"You know how to fix spaceships, Milly?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, my family does own the Ganymede, and therefore I know it's maintenance and function. This should at least be a little similar, at least the basics anyway." Milly didn't mention that she'd also binged, with the help of a translator, a couple of manuals she'd found on the ship while they were waiting for Rivalz to wake up from cryo-sleep.

"I can help too," Kallen said, "I've had to repair Knightmares from scratch before. Two sets of eyes are better than one too." Milly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, sure," Rolo agreed as he leads the two of them to the ship.

"Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot," he explained as he opened one of the hatches, "I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it."

"I'm sure we can get you back up and running," Allura smiled. In the background, Rivalz was attempting to flex his muscles for Nyma, who giggled at his efforts. Milly was watching the pair very suspiciously.

"Give Kallen and Milly a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it." Allura told Rolo then gestured to the two women.

"Okay," Kallen shrugged.

"We'll go with you," Rolo said, "Don't want you ladies carrying all that yourselves. Come on, guys."

Rolo started walking towards the Castle when Milly planted herself right in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so. You can just wait out here."

"Milly, don't be rude!" Allura said sternly.

"Yeah, mind your manners," Rivalz said, "you're giving a bad impression!" He grinned apologetically at Nyma.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down?" Milly asked, with a frown and narrowed eyes, "Someone kind of set off a bomb. Remember, Rivalz? You were almost killed."

"Oh… yeah," Rivalz wilted a little at the memory.

"Milly's right," Lelouch nodded, "apologies, but we must exercise caution. This is our first meeting, after all."

"Hey, I don't take it personal," Rolo said with a smile. Beezer rolled forward and printed off a list of materials, which Rolo handed to Milly and Kallen, "That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job."

"Yeah, thanks," Milly frowned as she looked between the list and the alien.

o~o

"My planet was destroyed by the Galra, and I was taken captive," Rolo explained as he, Lelouch, Suzaku, Shirley, and Allura, as they all sat around the fire. "I managed to escape, but not before I lost something," he pulled up his pant leg to reveal a metal prosthetic leg.

"I'm so sorry," Shirley murmured. She glanced back behind Rolo to see that Rai was still playing with and examining Beezer. She wondered, even though most of his memories were gone, whether the Green Paladin felt the same way.

"Well," Kallen called out as she and Milly lugged a large storage box out, "I hope there are some parts in here that will fit."

Rolo glanced back but made no move to join them.

Milly scowled, "...You know, to get your ship moving?"

Rolo smiled and waved back, "Great! Thanks!"

"So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's forces?" Allura asked, drawing Rolo's attention again, "Where are they concentrated?"

"Well, his Command Ship sits right in the center of the Empire. He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closest. This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak."

"Oh, trust us, we've met," Suzaku frowned.

"How far are we from the center?" Lelouch asked, leaning forward.

"We're way out on the fringes," Rolo said. Before he could say anything else, Milly roughly cleared her throat and walked to the group, with her arms crossed.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo from working. Didn't you remember we're supposed to be in a hurry? Shirley kind of has a promise she needs to keep."

"Yeah," the Orange Paladin nodded, standing up, "someone named Shay saved my life, and I told her I'd come back to help her and her people. You understand, don't you?"

"Sure. Sorry," Rolo said, as he passed Milly by. The Yellow Paladin pursed her lips and glared after him. Yup, these people were up to something all right.

As Rolo started looking through the parts, Lelouch walked up to Milly, "You've noticed too, huh?" he said lowly.

"Yeah. Sorry for the attitude Lulu, but I don't trust these people at all," Milly whispered back.

"Neither do I, but we can still use this opportunity to gain valuable intelligence on the enemy. Just keep your guard up."

"Got it," she nodded before glancing at Rolo again. She turned back to the prince. "Honestly Lulu, I think we should just leave the parts here and let him take care of-"

"Hey ma'am," Rolo called over to Milly, "Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe, about yay long?" he held out his hands to show the measurement.

"I can do it," Kallen said as she ran back to the castle for the part, "be right back!"

As Kallen went to get the part, Lelouch walked up to Rolo again, "So are there more freedom fighters? Any kind of organized resistance to the Galra?"

"Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow," the alien said.

"Well, we're going to change all that, very soon," Suzaku informed him as he walked up to them with Allura, Shirley, and Milly.

"That's good to hear," Rolo smiled, "but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. You don't know what you're up against."

o~o

"I mean, there are only seven of us in the entire universe, so…" Rivalz said as he kept talking the Nyma, "I guess you could say it's kind of a big deal."

"I don't understand," Nyma confessed, "The Lions are ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on?"

"Oh, no, no, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced," Rivalz explained, "And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really, the entire castle is just insane! I wish you could see it."

"Yes, it's too bad we're not allowed inside. I would love a tour from one of the knights," Nyma said with a small smile, "But I guess the yellow one is in charge, huh? You have to obey her orders?"

"Who, Milly? Pfft, maybe at school I do, but not out here!" he grabbed Nyma's arm and enthusiastically led her inside the castle.

The two arrived at the command deck with no problem. "This place is incredible!" Nyma gasped.

"Yeah, I guess," Rivalz shrugged casually, "You get used to it."

"But it's so gigantic. It must take you forever to get to your Lion," Nyma said.

Rivalz just smirked, "Oh, you'd be surprised."

Soon the two of them were laughing gleefully as they slid down the zip line. Rivalz blushed the entire time as Nyma gripped his chest tightly. It didn't take long for the two to be in the Blue Lion's cockpit. Nyma looked around as the interior lit to life.

"Pretty slick, right?" Rivalz grinned.

"Unbelievable!" Nyma exclaimed, before turning to the Paladin, "Take me on a ride around the moon?"

Though Rivalz was flattered with the offer, he knew that Lelouch probably wouldn't approve of it, "Uh—We should probably get back to the others."

"Yeah, you're right," Nyma sighed, "Maybe Rai will give me a ride."

Upon hearing this, Rivalz completely changed his mind, "No! Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Rivalz stretched out and pressed a few buttons, activating the engines, "I mean what's the point of having the Lion if you can't enjoy it, right? Giddy-up, girl!" he exclaimed as the Lion zoomed out of its bay and rocketed into the sky.

Back down below, Kallen, Milly, and Rolo looked up just in time to see the Lion vanish.

"Ugh! Rivalz!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration.

"Ah, let them have their fun," Rolo said with a small smile, "Thanks to you two, this thing is just about ready, so we're going to be on our way soon. Too many light-years on that guy, I guess."

As Rolo returned to examining the ship, Milly couldn't help but narrow her eyes suspiciously at the part they just replaced. For some reason, it didn't look like it needed to be replaced entirely. Several other parts of the ship looked the same too, but Rolo had insistent on replacing them.

"Yeah... sure."

o~o

The Galra central command was hovering above a giant planet that looked to be flooded with beautiful trees and plants. But the Galra weren't here for that. No, what they sought was much more sinister.

From aboard the ship, the witch, Haggar, and her druids were floating on large platforms above. Haggar was positioned in the middle, with the other four druids surrounding her. Their platforms each had a Galran crystal underneath that began glowing a dark purple. Below them was a device merged in the center, right underneath Haggar.

"Begin the ritual," Haggar commanded, as a magic circle began to glow underneath her feet. Identical circles appeared under the others as well, "Druids of the Four Directions, join us!"

Pillars of purple energy hit Haggar's crystal, and the witch slowly guided it down past her in a vile form of dark magic. Upon being absorbed in her crystal, the energy hit the point where the merged device met, coloring it a wicked shade of black. The dark energy traveled up the pillars of the device until it hit the sides of the wall that supported it. They lit up in bright purple colors, creeping down towards the bottom where it sharpened to a point. Finally, the very bottom of Galra HQ erupted with a sphere of dark, black energy, almost the size of the base itself.

Down below on the planet, many animals minded their own business, nibbling at the plants and flowers for food. Suddenly, the flowers began to wither and die, streams of blue energy being sucked from them into the sky. The animals looked up in confusion but saw no cause for this phenomenon.

It didn't take long for the Komar to suck the planet completely dry of all of its bounteous quintessence, storing it within a large storage unit. The planet below them, once bright and vibrant, darkened until there was no sign of life left.

It was dead.

Haggar's platform rose above the others to meet the Emperor that had been watching from the deck above. The witch smiled triumphantly.

"The Komar Experiment was a success. We have gained an entire planet's quintessence, a feat that would have normally taken us years."

"Most impressive," Zarkon commented as he turned to face the storage unit holding the energy. "This will revolutionize the way we advance throughout the galaxy. Mining and colonizing planets is a thing of the past. With this much power available at our whim, we can now spend all of our time hunting down and capturing Voltron."

o~o

"Look! A kinetic spring!" Nyma pointed as the Blue Lion descended back to the water, "Let's land over there. The minerals reflect off the water, making a rainbow," the Blue Lion's back paws trailed within it, kicking up a mist that sparkled into a rainbow above.

"Wow. Is there anything you don't know?" Rivalz asked as he gazed at the beautiful sight.

However, while Rivalz wasn't looking, Nyma looking down at a band that she had around her wrist and clicked the button on it. It began to flash red rapidly.

o~o

Back with the rest of the Paladins, Rolo's band also began to glow red. The alien smirked rolled out from underneath the engine.

"I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight," he said as he closed the hatch, "Beezer, come co-pilot for me. Be back in a tick." the two of them rapidly disappeared inside, leaving most of the Paladins confused.

The ship's thrusters activated and easily lifted off the ground. It soared off towards its destination. The Blue Lion.

o~o

"So, ah, you want to see how fast I can climb this tree?" Rivalz asked with a smirk, leaning against the said tree.

Nyma giggled again, "Aw, you are cute. Let me show you something. Give me your hand."

Blushing, Rivalz held his hand out to the alien, only to suddenly be jerked forward and have something clasped over his wrists. He grunted as he was then slammed against the tree, as the cuffs around his hands emitted an energy beam that wrapped around the tree, effectively trapping the Blue Paladins.

As Nyma took a step back with a smile, Rivalz tried to move his hands, but they wouldn't budge a bit.

"Um… this is… kind of…" Rivalz said, an uneasy feeling suddenly rising in his gut. The rest of what he was going to say was interrupted as Nyma, and Rolo's ship appeared from above. Rivalz watched in horror as it sucked the Blue Lion inside. Rivalz could already hear her roaring and lecturing him for falling for such an obvious ploy as she disappeared inside.

"Nyma, what're doing?!" he asked desperately.

"Sorry, Rivalz. Maybe we'll meet again," she said as she was hoisted into the ship with a wire that extended down.

Rivalz only watched in terror as the ship turned and fired off into the sky and out of sight.

The Blue Paladin frantically looked around for something to either call for help or to get him out of his bonds, but all he found was his helmet that was sitting a couple of feet away.

"Oh, quiznack..."

o~o

Back with the rest of the group, they were still waiting for Rolo to return from his 'test flight,' perched on the supply and part crates they'd brought down. The longer it was, though, the more Lelouch got suspicious of something else happening.

"How many ticks have they been gone?" Rai asked.

"I don't know. I hope they didn't break down again," Allura said.

"Something's not right," Milly declared, her arms tightly folded.

o~o

Rivalz managed to slide his body almost entirely to the ground, and he strained with his foot to kick his helmet over to him. He wouldn't be able to put it on, but he knew that the others would still be able to hear him. He had to warn them, and the sooner they knew, the sooner they could go after the thieves.

It took him a couple of tries, but he finally managed to hook his toes under the glass visor and swing it over to his head.

Panting he called out into it the best he could, praying they could hear him, "Guys! Hello? Little help?"

o~o

Upon hearing the distressed call, all the Paladins put their helmets back on to listen to him properly.

"Rivalz? Rivalz! Are you all right? What's going on?" Lelouch asked urgently.

"Well, I'm kind of chained to a... a tree." they heard him say.

"I knew it!" Milly yelled, an angry scowl on her face.

"And I think Nyma and Rolo just stole the Blue Lion."

"I knew it!" Milly shrieked, throwing her arms down.

"Where are they?" Lelouch demanded, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration. He knew they shouldn't have trusted them! Now they had another problem on their platters.

"Uh… space?" Rivalz said helpfully.

"Oh! I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!" Milly ranted. And she continued to do so all the way through the castle and to her Lion's bay.

"I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a feeling in my gut, you know? But when Kallen and I were replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged."

"Okay! We get it!" Shirley shouted through the comms.

"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted," Milly was on a roll in rants and showed no sign of stopping. At the same time, the other Paladins just meekly listened to her explanation. At the same time, though, they were all mildly impressed that she knew so much about machinery interiors.

"Okay, we get it!" Suzaku exclaimed through the comms.

"We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play."

"Okay, we get it!" everyone, even Lelouch, shouted at her.

The six remaining Lions soon launched from the castle and took off in hot pursuit of their stolen sister.

o~o

"Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo," he said to the Galran on the screen, "I understand you're offering a reward to anyone helping capture the Voltron Lions."

"That's correct," the commander said, "do you know where they are?"

"I know where the blue one is. It's in my ship."

"Excellent," Prorok intoned, "Bring it to me, and you'll have your reward immediately."

"Just a tick. You see, my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past," the bounty hunter added. "Some stolen merchandise from the Galra Empire may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it."

"Well, I'm sure that a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion. Is that all?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

"We'll take the reward too," Nyma confirmed.

"Of course," the commander nodded.

"All right, we're on our way," Rolo confirmed as the commander's face disappeared as the screen closed up.

Rolo stretched and cracked his knuckles as he leaned back in his chair, "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks. Seemed like a nice bunch."

"If you're feeling guilty, you can turn yourself in," Nyma frowned. "Stealing from Zarkon carries a life sentence."

"They don't seem… that nice," Rolo amends.

o~o

Onboard the command ship, Prorok turned to Thace again, having just finished his conversation with Rolo, "Send the nearest fighter squadron to the area of the transmission. I'm not trusting some bounty hunter with our prize."

o~o

Alarms started blaring in Rolo's ship as it continued to it's meet up point. Pulling up the feed, Rolo was shocked to see the other six Lions in hot pursuit of them. The Blue Paladin must've warned them somehow. It suddenly wasn't looking suitable for any of them.

"No way!" he gasped. He pulled up the stirring system and pressed a few more buttons. They had to shake them and fast!

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nyma asked, "There's no way we can outrun those Lions."

"Not in the open. Good thing the Zorlar Asteroid Belt is right up here. I know that like the back of my hand," Rolo smirked as he zoomed towards the asteroid belt. They could quickly lose them in here… right?

o~o

The Lions screeched to a halt at the entrance of the belt. They could barely make out Rolo's ship as it moved farther away from them.

"We'll never get through his asteroid belt!" Rai exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Maybe I can just bust through!" Shirley suggested.

"No, Shirley! Wait!" Suzaku called out in warning, but it fell on deaf ears. She and the Orange Lion raced forward, head lowered to charge through.

She did hit the asteroid. However, all it did was lazily bounce off another one behind it, causing it to bounce off another, and another, and another.

"Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea," she quickly deduced.

"Kallen, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this," Lelouch said, "We need you. Get in there and flush him out."

"Understood. See you on the other side!" the Red Paladin exclaimed.

As the other five Lions pulled out to go around, Kallen and the Red Lion zipped into the field, hunting for its prize. She smoothly spun around asteroids and debris as if she did it daily. They hopped from rock to rock fluently like a jungle cat, growing ever closer to the cargo ship.

The other Paladins could only watch in awe at Kallen's skill.

"I still can't believe that that's Kallen out there!" Shirley said.

"I know! It's like she's been flying all her life!" Rai agreed.

Lelouch from inside the Black Lion smirked, "Well, in the Black Knights, she's our number one ace pilot. In combat, she can easily use a Glasgow to take down several Sutherlands at once. She's a formidable foe and valuable member."

"Maybe a little too valuable?" Milly giggled with raised eyebrows.

Lelouch scowled and blushed, 'Damn you, she-devil!'

"You guys realize I can hear you, right?" Kallen asked through the comms, though she was blushing for an entirely different reason as she heard the praise that Zero gave her as she and the Red Lion ran along a rather long, narrow asteroid. A shadow fell overhead of them, and Kallen gritted her teeth as she drove her Lion to move faster to avoid the other asteroid about to collide with them. "Come on, Aka! We've got this!" With one final thrust of her controls, Aka shot out in between the rocks just as they crashed.

She smirked as she saw that she was now practically right on top of Rolo and his crew. They seriously didn't think they'd get away, did they?

o~o

"No way!" Rolo exclaimed as the camera showed the Red Lion, "Get on the blasters! Take her down!"

"Copy," Nyma said as she pulled up the controls with Beezer.

o~o

From on top of the ship, two blaster cannons elevated above. They started rapidly shooting in Kallen and Aka's direction.

Kallen saw them and gritted her teeth as she pulled up behind another asteroid. In retaliation, she had Aka shoot out some energy blasts of her own, each of them barely missing the cruiser.

From inside his ship, Rolo, despite the situation, couldn't help but smirk, "This chick can flat-out fly!"

Despite the multiple blasts, though, Kallen quickly began to close in on them.

"She's gaining on you!" Nyma shouted.

Rolo instinctively yanked the controls to the left. As the ship swerved out of the way, Kallen barely had time to stop herself as she narrowly avoided hitting another asteroid.

She gritted her teeth and pulled back on the lever, allowing Aka to activate her leg thrusters just in time. They leaped out from the rock, and with a smash of a button, Kallen activated Aka's jaw blade. With a swift swing of her head, the knife flew at the ship, burying itself in and destroying the two blaster cannons on Rolo's ship.

o~o

"Blasters are offline!" Nyma reported as the three crew members braced themselves with the turbulence.

"We gotta get out of here!" Rolo said as he fired the thrusters one last time, hoping for a last-ditch escape.

o~o

"Oh no, you don't!" Kallen yelled as Aka fired an on-point shot at one of the engines. It exploded, and the ship was soon spinning out of control. Red lights and alarms blazed as the crew inside held on for dear life. It began descending towards the planet just outside the asteroid belt. But before they could crash, Aka's claws gripped onto the ship. With a pull of the thrusters, the Lion and Paladin brought the crew to a stop in the middle of space.

Kallen grinned triumphantly as the five other Lions surrounded the ship.

"Yeah!" Kallen laughed, "Hey, Rivalz, I got your Lion back!"

"Thank you, Kallen," Rivalz said through the helmet, "Now, can you come and unchain me?"

"What's that? I, uh... Y-You're cutting out. I can't—I can't hear you," Kallen teased, even going as far as to make some static noises.

"Oh, come on!" The Blue Paladin exclaimed, "I thought we all bonded!"

o~o

With Kallen and Suzaku dragging the crew and their ship back to the moon, and Milly making a trip to rescue Rivalz, the Paladins and Allura now faced the thieves.

"Since your ship really doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue," Suzaku said, disappointment in his tone.

"Thanks… for sparing our lives," Rolo said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Lelouch said, narrowing his eyes, "But… should we catch you doing something like this again, you won't be so lucky…" Lelouch understood why they did what they did, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.

Rolo gulped and nodded.

"Now that these guys are dealt with, can we go now?" Milly asked impatiently.

"Yeah, Shay and her family are still waiting for us," Shirley agreed.

"You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon," Rolo confessed. "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today."

At this statement, Lelouch's eyes lightened a little. He could only think of how many other rebels or criminals were thinking the same thing. What they needed more than ever was hope… and he knew just how to give it to them.

As the ship left the moon and the wayward thieves behind, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Kallen, was that that you called the Red Lion?" Rai asked.

"Oh!" Kallen blushed a little, "'Aka,' it means 'Red' in Japanese."

"You named your Lion?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… not really! I mean, it's just the color in a different language, I mean…" she stopped when she saw all the amused faces of the other Paladins, "Okay! Yes! I named her! Is that a problem?!"

"No, no!" Shirley shook her head with a giggle, "I think it's cute! Honest!"

"Hey! Maybe we all do that? Have the other Paladins done that Allura?" asked Milly.

"Well, no," Allura said but smiled, "but there's no rule saying that you can't."

"I think it's a good idea," C.C. spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "You keep talking about them building bonds with their Lions. By having names for them, it proves that they are being treated as equals, not just machines."

"I agree as well," Lelouch nodded, "having a name gives identity. You're not much without it."

"Great! Lion naming party!" Rivalz shouted.

"After we save the Balmera," Lelouch emphasized.

"Right, right!" Rivalz quickly agreed, leaving everyone laughing all over again.

o~o

Haggar held the container of quintessence in her palm as she and her druids surrounded the test subject. After the last one failed, she was more determined to make good on her promise to her Emperor and make a weapon that not even Voltron could stand up against, and she believed that she found the perfect subject.

"All this Quintessence will turn you into the strongest, most horrifying fighter ever created. One that even Voltron will not be able to defeat."

o~o

Omake:

Lelouch and Kallen were tasked to clean and fix the damage that was caused during Sendak's invasion. It was a dirty job but, someone had to do it.

Rover was there to help with schematics and which parts needed repairs.

"Why we got to do this?" Kallen grumbled, patching a hole, "A highly advanced castle without any droids or robots to fix the problems. I can't imagine how we're going to fly this thing during battle."

"That I don't know, Kallen," Lelouch answered with a sigh, "This is something Coran probably knows since he knows this castle up and down."

Both of them continued in silence. It was awkward, leaving the two of them together. Ever since Kallen found out Lelouch was the leader of the Black Knights, Zero, she felt a tingling of betrayal inside her. Finding out the man you admired and respected turned out to be an exiled Britannian prince.

However, after hearing his explanation and seeing his memories, she understood why he rebelled. Like her, both of them lost someone important because of Britannia's cruelty and corruption.

She understood why he needed to hide his face. If Ohgi, the others, and the rebel forces knew, they might have tried to ransom Lelouch to free Japan. But that would have been impossible. If the Emperor was willing to abandon his children to the Lion's den, she doubted he was ready to negotiate.

Sure, during Sendak's invasion, they bonded, but knowing the truth was different, and it felt awkward for both of them. Even Lelouch could felt it.

So she decided to break the silence. "You know, Lelouch, I never actually thought in my life that we would be the first humans to meet alien life and journey into space on a giant, advanced robot Lion."

"Yeah, it's mind-boggling that there are other lifeforms farther than our Solar System. And piloting a giant, robot Lion that makes Knightmares look like small chew toys," Lelouch chuckled. Though, he would love to see the Lancelot try and go up against Voltron. They could merely crush it if he wanted to.

"I want to apologize for accusing you of lying to me earlier." Of course, she didn't speak it out loud, but she needed to get it off her chest somehow, and this was the right time and away from prying eyes, especially Milly.

"About me being Zero and an exiled prince?" It was no surprise that she distrusted him for lying to her, but like him, she wanted to get it off of her chest, like how he confessed to everyone that he was Zero.

"Yes, it's just that I never thought something that terrible happened to you and your sister. Being forced into exile to an unknown land."

"No need to apologize, I was glad she was blind. Thank the small mercies she couldn't see what I've seen," Kallen didn't need to guess what that meant.

"Still, if you have problems, don't hesitate to call for help. We all are here with you as a team, you don't have to act like Zero all the time."

"Thank you, I'm glad to have met you, Kallen, first."

The redhead blushed that Lelouch thanked her. Sure, it wasn't some kind of confession, but still, it made her heart skip a bit. Then she saw Rover who saw everything.

"Rover, you didn't record anything, did you?" the droid turned around, not looking at her and making some kind of noise that sounded like a whistle.

"Coran, how are Lelouch and Kallen doing with the repairs?" Allura was drinking some tea in the kitchen.

"They should be finished right about-"

"Get back here you droid! When I get my hands on you, I'll make you a scrap!" Kallen shouting along with Lelouch following from behind.

"I think that's a 'No.'"

#Fanfiction #AU #Code Geass #Voltron #lelouch lamperouge #c.c.#suzaku kururugi #kallen kozuki #shirley fenette #milly ashford #rivalz cardemonde #rai (lost colors)#princess allura #coran #galra empire

1 note · View note