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naruwitch · 5 years ago

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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

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naruwitch · 5 years ago

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Code Geass: Paladins of the Voltron: Chapter 29

The woman groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. The surface she was resting on was fairly comfortable, and whatever was covering her was soft and smooth. She cracked open an eye and was greeted by a fairly dimmed, circular room. There were a couple of figures standing off to the side, seeming to be in deep conversation, though they kept their voices low, likely to keep from waking her.

"Oh, you're awake," another voice said. Slightly alarmed, she turned her head towards the voice and was greeted by a man's face, looking down at her concerned.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked looking around, "What is this?"

The man winced, "It's a long story."

A beep to the right of the man made her jump, and she saw that one of the figures had moved, a tall thin… man (?) with pointed ears, orange hair, and a large mustache was holding a device close to her face.

"Oh, apologies, nothing to cause alarm," the man reassured, "just running some last dobosh tests. You suffered a fairly decent blow to the head when we brought you here."

The woman blinked, "I… hit my head?"

"Er… sort of…?" a younger female voice said this time. She looked unusually nervous as she eyed the woman cautiously. Like a rabbit staring down a fox and prepared to bolt at the slightly hostile movement, "Do you… recognize me at all?"

The woman squinted and racked her brain to try and identify the girl. Sadly she shook her head, "No, I'm sorry,"

To her further confusion, the girl visibly relaxed.

"...Are we friends?" she asked curiously.

The girl flinched, "Uh… no, we're not. I did bring you here though. So…?"

Instead of being offended, the woman smiled and sat up. Looking down, she noticed that she was wearing some sort of skin-tight bodysuit. She still felt slightly exposed, but it was better than being naked.

"Thank goodness," she smiled, "Anyone could have picked me up out there but I got someone nice."

Shirley gasped a little but looked away. Was this really okay? To bring Villetta onto the ship like this? But according to Coran's past scans, she wasn't faking this amnesia. Unfortunately, amnesia was also unpredictable. There was no telling when Villetta would get her memory back if she ever did.

"Well, we're glad you're okay," Ohgi said awkwardly, though he tried to sound friendly.

Villeta smiled kindly back.

o~o

"Okay, so how exactly does this work?" Rivalz asked, standing in the middle of the training room. Alone.

"Well, we won't know how it works until we try and test it," Lelouch said from the observation deck with Allura, C.C., and the other Paladins, sans Shirley, "and the best way to that safely is here on the deck."

Rivalz glanced nervously around the Castle's training room. After a night's rest, Lelouch had immediately insisted the next morning that they test and try out Rivalz newly-acquired Geass as soon as possible so that they could incorporate its skills into strategies should they ever need it.

"All right, training level one, begin!" Allura ordered next to Lelouch.

Moments later the familiar shape of the gladiator landed lightly across from the Blue Paladin. Rivalz instinctively took a defensive stance as the gladiator came running towards him.

He yelped as the gladiator suddenly leaped into the air. Rivalz had been sent in without his bayard since C.C. informed them that Geass usually activates instinctively the first couple of times it's used. Lelouch and Shirley both confirmed this from their own experiences.

A loud clang filled the room, followed by a crash. Opening his eyes, Rivalz saw that the gladiator had somehow been thrown to the other end of the room, its staff was completely bent the wrong way.

"Huh?" he gasped, "What just happened?"

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Milly exclaimed from the control deck.

"What?!" Rivalz shouted up to them.

"Rivalz, haven't you noticed what's around you?" Kallen asked.

The Blue Paladin blinked and glanced around him. Now that he looked around, he finally noticed the slight distortion a little ways away from him. It was almost like he was looking through a convex lens.

"Wha-"

"Rivalz, it seems your Geass is a shield, a literal one," Lelouch said with slight awe.

"Oh cool! So does that mean-ugh!" Rivalz exclaimed as he felt like he had just walked headfirst into a glass windowpane.

Everyone blinked as well, confused. Then Rivalz pressed his hands flatly against the shield's surface and banged on it several times.

"...Interesting. Rivalz, try turning it off!" Lelouch suggested.

Rivalz quickly calmed down and focused on switching the power off. He blinked as the shield went down and he cautiously stepped across the area where the wall had been a moment ago.

"So… you have a shield, but you can't exit it unless you turn your Geass off?" Kallen asked.

"Seems like it?" Rivalz questioned, not sounding too sure himself.

"That could become a big problem if his Geass goes out of control," Milly commented with a wince.

"Yeah. If he can't turn it off, he won't be able to go anywhere, nor will anyone be able to get to him," Suzaku added.

"Indeed," Allura said with a frown. She was grateful that the other night she and the Paladins made an agreement for them to not use their Geass unless they absolutely had to. The less they used it, the less likely they'd lose control. Hopefully, they'd also be able to figure out a way for them to control the power before that happened. C.C. had made it clear that it was possible to control a Geass properly, but until they figured out how, it was better to be safe than sorry. Allura and Coran already had a couple of ideas that they brainstormed, but she had yet to share them quite yet.

"Alright, it looks like we've got the basics of your power down, but Rivalz, just like with the rest of us, don't use it unless you absolutely have to, okay?" Lelouch said firmly

"Yeah, yeah, got it!" the Blue Paladin nodded, scratching the back of his neck.

The Black Paladin nodded before he and the others exited the deck. He pulled out his tablet and sent a message to Shirley. Now that that was out of the way, time to do some real training

o~o

"Hey, I know that this is off-topic, but do you know how much longer it'll take to get those Knightmares going?" Shirley suddenly asked as she entered the bridge room, a grueling training session, and a hot shower later.

"Not sure but according to Lady Kaguya, Kyoto will be sending us some help in the form of a top scientist that they're associated with," Lelouch informed her calmly going through a file on his tablet.

"That'll be good," Ohgi nodded, who had been asked to join them briefly on the bridge. He turned to look at Allura, "No offense to Coran or anything, Princess, but when it comes to weapons and upgrades, he can get a bit… much."

Allura giggled a little at the comment. She wasn't offended at all as she knew that Kallen was correct. Coran hadn't begun any physical tinkering with the machines quite yet, but she had overheard him passing out suggestions to a couple of the Black Knights. Tamaki always sounded enthusiastic whenever Coran was speaking of a possible upgrade, but one of the other BKs would almost immediately shoot it down by explaining why it wouldn't work due to x and y. Hopefully, the arrival of this scientist could help Coran get a better grasp of the machines and make better judgment calls when it came to upgrades.

"So… I'm guessing that besides space-style Knightmare upgrades, we're here to talk about the other elephant on the ship, right?" Kallen asked hands on her hips.

"You're talking about Ms. Nu's presence, yes?" C.C. clarified.

"Yeah…" Kallen nodded with a small grimace which was shared by a majority of the rest of the group.

"So… what exactly do we do with her?" Rivalz asked, "I mean, according to what Shirley and Coran have told us, the lady's completely harmless right?"

"It seems that way," Shirley nodded, "I mean, she certainly didn't recognize me when I woke up. She didn't even seem freaked out when she saw Coran examining her. She looked more confused than anything."

"Could she be faking it?" Rai asked suspiciously.

"If she's faking it, she's one hell of an actress," Ohgi said, "Ever since Coran cleared her to move about, she's been nothing but helpful, always asking about chores or other maintenance that needs to be done."

"...Either way, if you want my personal opinion, I think she should stay on the ship anyway," Suzaku said with a frown, "At least this way, whether she really has amnesia or not, she's in a confined space, and we can keep an eye on her."

"I agree," Milly nodded, "it would be too dangerous to send her back to Earth. She wouldn't have anywhere to go. And who knows what creep may try to pick her up on the street because of it."

Lelouch frowned but then sighed, "I, myself, am not a huge fan of this arrangement. However, Suzaku also brings up a point. At least if she shows signs of hostility, whether through regaining her memory or not, we should be able to detain her more easily on the ship rather than on Earth."

There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds before Shirley spoke up again, "Um… sorry if this sounds weird but… do you think there's a possibility we can convince her to join our side this way?"

"What do you mean?" Rai asked as he and the others on the bridge looked at the Orange Paladin inquisitively.

"Well, I mean, even when we were trying to get Nunnally, when I ran into her on that ship, she wasn't trying to kill me-"

"If I recall correctly she said that she'd tie you up and drag you against your will back to Britannia if she had to," C.C. bluntly interrupted.

Everyone's eyes widened at this. Not only because the thought of such action was disturbing on its own, but that C.C. said it so matter-of-factly as well.

"Er… well," Shirley stuttered for a second before continuing, "What I mean is, if she knows the truth about Britannia, maybe she'd come over to our side. And besides, Lelouch, isn't that ultimately what we want to have happen anyway? It's why we're trying so hard to not kill any Britannian soldiers. We'll need as many as possible by the time Zarkon and his army get here."

Lelouch hummed in thought. He understood Shirley's logic as that was indeed still the end goal. However…

"If Ms. Nu was her normal self, I can potentially see her at least considering siding with us if she were to learn about the Galra. If it was simply about Britannia, I'd doubt it. Her old unit is called 'Purebloods' for a reason," Lelouch informed, "However, with the way she is right now, she's no longer a soldier. She'll be completely useless on the front lines, much less in a Knightmare frame."

Shirley frowned, not because she was upset, but because Lelouch was right. As wrong as it was to think that, unless Villetta got her memories back, she wasn't much help in the long run.

"Um, Lelouch," Ohgi interjected, "if you want, I can keep an eye on her for all of you."

This remark caught everyone off guard as they all stared at the older man.

"You want to look after a Pureblood, Ohgi?" Kallen asked incredulously.

"Well, I mean, it's like you all said, she doesn't have any of her memories right now. Plus, I was in the room when she woke up. She might be more comfortable if a familiar face was close by," Ohgi pointed out.

"...Alright," Lelouch eventually nodded, "We'll leave her in your care then, Ohgi. But if you notice any sort of sign that she could be remembering something, let one of us or Coran know immediately okay? Especially if she shows signs of aggression."

Ohgi nodded, completely understanding. Before anyone else could say anything though, there was a buzzing sound coming from the bridge doors.

"Master Zero," Sayoko's voice sounded over the intercom, "We have guests. They also have an introduction from Kyoto."

Translation: Put on your mask.

Lelouch was quick to reach for his mask and put it on before nodding for Allura to open the doors to the bridge.

On the other side, Sayoko and Kaguya greeted them, but everyone, especially Ohgi and Suzaku, was shocked to see just who their 'guests' were.

Following behind the two women were the members of the Four Holy Swords themselves: Nagisa Chiba, Shōgo Asahina, Ryōga Senba, and Kōsetsu Urabe.

"You're the-" Kallen stuttered, before quickly bowing respectively along with Ohgi and Suzaku.

"The Four Holy Swords. Welcome!" Suzaku greeted, respectfully.

Zero was quick to follow Suzaku's example and bowed politely in greeting. The other Paladins were quick to follow, along with C.C. and Allura.

The Holy Swords bowed in return before straightening. They didn't seem to be too deterred by the fact they were on an alien ship as all of their expressions were grim.

"I'll get straight to the point here," the oldest one, Senba, said bluntly, "We've come to you today to ask you for your help."

"And what exactly are you requiring our assistance for?" Zero asked. For these four legendary warriors to come seeking assistance from the Black Knights and Voltron, something serious must have happened back on Earth.

Lelouch wasn't disappointed when Senba continued, "Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh has been apprehended," Suzaku gasped in shock before the older man continued, "He sacrificed himself so that we could escape."

o~o

"Today, Kyoshiro Tohdoh will be executed," Guilford alerted Princess Cornelia. She was currently with her two knights, and Nonette as they oversaw a multitude of Sutherlands being deported on their next assignment.

"Yes," Cornelia acknowledged, with a frown, "While this would be a significant blow to the Japanese Liberation Front, I find it rather insignificant compared to the threat Voltron is posing."

"While that may be true Viceroy, Tohdoh is still an important symbol for the Eleven population. Seeing him get executed could strike a blow to the other resistances, as well as the remaining JLF," Darlton pointed out calmly.

"Speaking of which," Cornelia said looking back at the two men behind her, "any word about the reinforcements we requested from the homeland?"

"Yes," Darlton responded immediately with a smile, "the entirety of the Glaston Knights just arrived this morning."

The Glaston Knights were some of the most elite pilots in the empire, and they all answered to their own adopted father, who happened to be Lord Darlton himself. Cornelia nodded approvingly. They were excellent choices.

"What about your colleagues in the Knights of the Round, Nonette?" Cornelia asked, now addressing the Knight of Nine.

"I put the request in for further support," Nonette informed her friend, "However, with the arrival of Voltron many other nations, not just the EU and Chinese Federation have become bolder in fighting back our own forces, even other Britannian occupied areas. I've heard reports that the rebels in Area 18 have begun to rise in number dramatically."

Cornelia scowled upon hearing that. Area 18, formerly known as the Middle Eastern Federation had been the last place Cornelia had conquered before being called to Area 11. It annoyed her that all of her work was being put to waste because of the rebellions.

"Due to these rebellions, the Knights are currently scattered all over the globe, trying to quell the chaos that's happening. There will be support coming," Nonette quickly said, noticing the anxious looks on Darlton and Guilford's faces, "but it won't be right away."

"I see…" Cornelia sighed before frowning again, "Speaking of reports, has there been any news regarding Nunnally?"

Nonette grimaced and shook her head, "No, nothing." Guilford and Darlton also shook their heads, looking downcast.

Cornelia clenched her fists, a tiny sheen of moisture covering her eyes before she blinked it away. Just as she swore when she first saw that news broadcast, she swore she wouldn't stop until she found her little sister. She had already lost them once. She wasn't going to lose them again.

o~o

"We will open Art Week with the dedication of the Clovis Memorial Museum of Art." the curator noted, smiling confidently as he led Euphemia, Schneizel, and their entourage down the halls "You, Princess Euphemia, will select the first-place winner from amongst these submitted works."

Euphie paused before one painting, which showed a house with a garden in a serene background. The very picture seemed to bring feelings of comfort, of that fuzzy feeling of a nice day home.

"I really like this one." Euphie declared with a small smile.

The curator cleared his throat. "Yes well, our research showed that the artist was a quarter Eleven."

Euphemia frowned. If the curator was so concerned to bring up a detail like that... "Perhaps it shouldn't have been displayed here in the first place then."

The curator sighed, "Well, it's a delicate balance with our public. Anyway, take a look at that painting right there. It was painted by the son of Marquess Nicolai," he directed Euphemia's attention to a large painting of the Emperor during Clovis' funeral. Despite the colors and how huge it was though, Euphie wasn't very impressed. She'd seen plenty of paintings of her father back in Pendragon and she honestly didn't see anything special about it.

"It's an impressive piece," Schneizel complemented, "But curator, please let Princess Euphemia make her own choice. I'm sure the people will love whichever one she chooses."

Euphemia looked back at her brother, surprised as it seemed like he read her mind. The curator nodded and continued down the line.

"I honestly don't see the point in doing this," Euphie eventually said, "With all of that's happening with the Black Knights and Nunnally…"

Schneizel sighed, "I know this may seem frustrating, Euphie, but it's because of what's happening that makes things like this necessary. It helps the public feel a sense of normality in the midst of a crisis like this."

Euphemia nodded, seeing her brother's logic. She just wished there was more that she could do.

o~o

"So… sorry for being so ignorant Lulu, but what's the big deal about this Tohdoh person?" Shirley asked later on the bridge as she and other Paladins discussed the best strategy to rescue the colonel.

"Kyoshiro Tohdoh, he was my sensei, or my teacher when Lelouch and Nunnally first arrived in Japan," Suzaku explained, a small smile on his face, "He was strict, but he always meant well."

"Indeed," Lelouch chuckled, "not only is he strong physically, but his mind is sharp too. When Nunnally and I were at the shrine he was one of the only people that posed a decent challenge at chess. He even taught me shogi, a Japanese equivalent of the game."

"He must be a good strategist then," Coran commented, sounding intrigued.

"Yes. Not only that, but he's also a skilled warrior as well," Lelouch nodded, he then looked back to the other Paladins, "Have any of you heard of the Miracle of Itsukushima?"

He got head shakes from everyone except for Kallen, who answered, "You're talking about one of the few times Japan actually won against Britannia during the Pacific War, right?"

"Precisely," Lelouch smirked, "Tohdoh had been the one that led that mission and not only did he win the battle, but he did it without using a single Knightmare frame."

This elicited gasps of amazement from the Britannian Paladins, eyes shining in amazement. C.C. was smiling and nodding, remembering the news of that battle. Allura also looked impressed. Although the Knightmare frames were no match against Voltron and the Lions, she would admit that they were still formidable machines. So to hear that someone managed to defeat what she assumed was likely an army of these machines, without any of his own was an impressive feat indeed.

"This guy sounds totally awesome!" Rivalz exclaimed, eyes sparkling.

Lelouch couldn't help but smile at the praise of the old colonel, "Having Tohdoh within our ranks will be essential for the upcoming war with the Galra, both in manpower and strategically. I'd honestly go as far as to say that he may even give Zarkon a run for his money."

"Well, if that is the case, I am looking forward to meeting this man," Allura said, barely covering the eagerness in her tone.

Lelouch nodded before a concerned frown took over his features, "However, this may not be as simple as an in-and-out mission. I can think of at least one potential obstacle that we may encounter."

"You mean the Lancelot, right?" Rai asked.

"Not just the Lancelot," Lelouch corrected, pulling up a screen on the bridge, "thanks to Kallen's Geass, I think I finally know who's the person piloting it now." On the screen, the photo of a woman with very pale green hair, tied in a twist to the side of her face. "Nonette Enneagram, a Knight of the Round."

This brought a series of gasps again, but this time in shock rather than awe.

"Knight of Round?" Allura asked. She and Coran looked confused.

"The Knights of the Round are the absolute best pilots in the entire Britannian Empire," Lelouch explained, "They were all handpicked by the Emperor himself and ultimately take all orders from him directly. I guess you can say that they're like an elite personal guard for him. They even surpass Cornelia in skill, and… well, there's a reason that she is called the 'Goddess of Victory.' My mom used to be a Knight of the Round as well before she married the Emperor."

"Do you know Nonette, Lelouch?" Milly asked curiously.

"Not personally," Lelouch told them honestly, "I know of her reputation though. She and Cornelia went to the same academy together, and just like her colleagues, she's very skilled with the Knightmare frame."

Despite this revelation though, Rivalz smirked slightly, "I'm sure that we can take her with our Lions."

"Careful Rivalz," Lelouch warned, "underestimating these people would be a huge mistake. There's a reason that they've been hand-picked by Charles zi Britannia."

"Lelouch," Suzaku asked, looking thoughtful, "do you think there's a possibility to get a couple of the Knights on our side? Besides Tohdoh-sensei, they'll be valuable allies to have when Zarkon comes."

"Honestly, I have no idea Suzaku," Lelouch answered, "The only one I'm somewhat familiar with is Nonette, and possibly one or two others if they are still members. But until I confirm who the current members are, I won't be able to give an accurate opinion. A lot can change in a decade. One thing I do know is that most of them are completely loyal to the Empire, so if they do join our side, it likely won't be until the Galra actually invade, or the Emperor miraculously sees reason and joins us willingly."

o~o

"Hey, I told you not to bunch up all the hydro lines in one place! That's why I said it was different from a Burai!" Yoshida scolded Tamaki as he squatted on top of the Guren Mk II, which was temporarily stationed in the Black Lion's hangar. The Lion herself sat majestically in silence but still proved to be an imposing presence to the Black Knights performing maintenance on the Knightmares.

Off to the side, by the entrance to the hangar, the Four Holy Swords stood watching the Black Knights carefully. They remembered when Kyoto had recommended going to Voltron for help with Tohdoh, especially because General Katase and the rest of the JLF had gone dark for their own safety. The thought of requesting help from aliens seemed absurd at the time, but they also hadn't had many other options. Now that they had gotten a look at the Castleship, as well as the Black Lion for themselves, they had to admit they understood why Kyoto favored the group so highly now. They had no doubt that the Black Lion alone could squash a Knightmare as flat as a pancake if it really wanted to.

Even so…

"Are you sure it's a good idea to throw in with the Black Knights?" Asahina asked.

"Can you think of any other way to rescue Colonel Tohdoh?" Chiba asked, crossing her arms.

"There's also what Kyoto said," Senba muttered, the elderly veteran's features solemn as he nodded his head in approval of Lord Kirihara Taizo's message, "That they'd lend us the new models."

"Still, their principles seem to be somewhat off," Asahina noted. He looked up at Chiba for her opinion, but she simply shrugged dismissively.

"We're not ethnocentric, but after all, you already know that," Chiba said simply.

"We can worry about the details of our partnership after we've rescued the Colonel," Senba assured with a small smile, which Asahina returned with a nod.

"I understand." The bespectacled soldier said to the veteran, a small smile appeared on his face, "But no matter where Colonel Tohdoh may be, it's the place I belong."

"Look, just stuff 'em in and close the lid for crying out loud!" Tamaki shouted in frustration.

"Take your time and treat it with the utmost care!" a new voice suddenly countered from behind the red-head. Turning their attention towards the elevator, they were greeted by Lady Kaguya and a tall, Indian woman with blonde hair, dressed in a lab coat, with two similarly dressed men at her sides, "It was far more fragile than any of you when I gave birth to it."

"Huh?" Tamaki gaped, trying to wrap his brain around such a concept as a woman, especially of her particular shape, giving birth to a machine. But he quickly shook his head and glared at the woman in question, "Who the hell are you?"

"I am its mother." The woman answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You've arrived on time," Zero greeted as he entered the hangar from the other side of the swords, dressed fully in his dark Paladin armor, and his mask on his head. Coran and Allura were walking with him.

"Are you Zero?" the woman asked, quirking an eyebrow, "It's a pleasure, I've heard a lot about you," she also scanned the faces of his companions, "And you two must be these Alteans Kyoto spoke of."

"Miss Rakshata Chawla, correct?" Coran asked, grasping his chin contemplatively.

"The pleasure is all ours," Zero assured the woman, accepting her hand. "I've been reading about you on the net for some time now."

"You have?" Rakshata asked, sounding surprised.

"The articles relating to medical cybernetics." Zero clarified.

Rakshata chuckled slightly, "I do hate talking about the past," she then smirked almost deviously, "Right now, I'm much more interested in that." She gestured to the Black Lion.

"Yes, the Lions of Voltron are indeed spectacles aren't they?" Coran chuckled.

"I do hope our accommodations have been acceptable so far," Allura said politely.

"Well, can't exactly relate it to anything, seeing as this is the first and only space station I've ever been to," Rakshata pointed out lightly, "Though I do find the concept of it also being a Castle quite amusing."

Coran grinned proudly at the compliment, "Well, it was built by my grandfather Hieronymus Wimbelton over 10,600 years ago. He was the chief architect and engineer behind it alongside Allura's father."

"I'm sure that Coran will be more than willing to give a tour at a later time," Zero said, hiding an amused smile under his mask before turning to address the two Alteans directly, "Please fill Ms. Chawla in on the situation. She should be able to assist with the Knightmare upgrades and get them battle-ready faster."

"Right away!" Coran chirped with a sharp nod.

"Hey Le-I mean, Zero," Tamaki shouted, "don't you think they should put a rush on that? None of these Knightmares are close to ready yet!"

"There's no need for that," Zero answered, much to Tamaki's confusion, "the Lions will be more than enough to complete this mission. Just focus on the maintenance and your own training."

Tamaki groaned. So help him, if he got his butt kicked by that gladiator one more time…!

o~o

"Sub-viceroy, is it true that no Eleven companies were used in the construction of this museum?" a reporter asked, standing up from his seat, his microphone pen directed towards Princess Euphemia seated in the front of the crowd.

"W–well, with regard to that question, I–" Euphie stuttered. While her sister Cornelia was going through the final preparations for Colonel Tohdoh's execution, Euphie struggled to keep a confident face in front of all of the reporters. The only comfort she had was that Darlton, as well as her brother Schneizel and his attendant, Kanon, were present there as well.

"We're looking into it right now, so we have no answer at this time," Schneizel answered calmly. Euphemia shot her brother a look of gratitude.

"Kerryman from Interstate," another journalist called out, rising gracefully from his seat, "Your Highness, there have been rumors lately that you are close to choosing your Knight."

This question caught Euphemia off-guard. It was true, with all of the chaos that Voltron was breeding in Area 11 and beyond, Cornelia was stressing the necessity for Euphemia to have a personal knight with her more than ever. Unfortunately, of the people her sister recommended, none of them felt right to the sub-Viceroy.

"A Knight. Yes well you see I'm-"

"Ladies and gentlemen," the museum curator cut in, "We ask that you please limit your questions to those concerning the museum only."

Euphemia sighed, slightly embarrassed. This conference couldn't finish fast enough.

o~o

Diethard grimaced as he avoided yet another Knightmare patrol enroute to his destination. For a prison holding one of the top soldiers in the JLF, there was really too many holes in their security even for a civilian like him.

But it wasn't the execution of Colonel Tohdoh that Diethard was seeking to document tonight. Oh no.

He grinned as he reminded himself of the mission he'd set out to fulfill.

Diethard was certain with every fiber of his being that Voltron would show up to this. If they truly were on the side of the Elevens, they would never allow such a prominent figure like Kyoshiro Tohdoh to meet his end this way. And if his theory was correct, he could be the first to get some real, raw footage of the robot giant.

But he wouldn't just be recording a giant mech. No, no. He would be seeing history in the making. And he would be at the center of it.

o~o

The footsteps of a single soldier echoed through the hall as he approached the single occupant in the cell down the hall.

Kyoshiro Tohdoh was kneeling in his cell, his features closed off in meditation, calmly awaiting his execution. He didn't fear death, no true warrior did, and he would not give the enemy the pleasure of seeing him scared for his life. Nor would he open his mouth to indulge any information. Like a true samurai, he would face death head on, and take the secrets and honor of his people and country to his grave.

"I just heard they changed your executioner," the guard came in view of the cell at last, "You should feel honored. The Viceroy has decided to do it herself."

Tohdoh opened his eyes, his eyes boring into the guard with such ferocity that he actually took a step back, despite the bullet-proof wall separating him and the 'miracle worker.' Despite this though, Tohdoh said nothing, his expression as calm and composed as ever.

o~o

"My, my, I certainly don't envy you right now, Viceroy," Lloyd smirked as Cornelia was handed another paper in need of her signature. Cecile frowned and shook her head in her seat next to the scientist.

"I personally don't see the point of all this paperwork, Corny," Nonette also commented, "You're the Viceroy, you should be able to do this without all these legal actions."

"Well, even so, there are still formalities that need to be followed for things like this," the bureaucrat said simply as the Viceroy scribbled her name on the page again, "A change of executioner is the most exceptional of circumstances."

"Oh, what's the hold up?" Lloyd complained again, "All you're doing is pointing the gun and pulling the trigger. Is that really so hard?"

Cornelia scowled and nearly growled at the Earl's nonchalant remark.

Before she could reprimand the Earl though, an explosion sounded in the distance.

"What was that?!" the bureaucrat cried. Looking out the window, a column of smoke was rising from a hole that had been blown completely through the wall of the prison compound.

"Well, well, at least now you're free of hellish paperwork, Viceroy," Lloyd laughed gleefully as the occupants of the room rose to their feet.

o~o

Multiple Sutherlands poured out of the prison facility to meet the attack from the wall. Moments later, they were greeted with ear-splitting roars as all seven of the Voltron Lions landed within the compound, a couple of them crushing the Knightmares underneath them before landing.

Several Sutherlands open fired on the Lions, but just like the previous encounters, the bullets bounced off the armor like tin foil. With feral growls, the Lions leaped towards their targets, paws swiping and lasers blasting from their tails and mouths, effectively destroying several units at once.

"Colonel Tohdoh," Lelouch said softly from inside Zen, "today is not the day that you die."

o~o

Back on the bridge of the Castle, Allura, Coran, C.C., Sayoko, Kaguya, Rakshata, and the rest of the Black Knights, along with the Four Holy Swords were watching the battle on the main screen.

If the members of the Holy Swords were honest, they didn't agree with the plan originally. Due to Tohdoh being their leader, the four soldiers felt obliged to be among the rescue party. However, Zero and Princess Allura assured them that the Lions would be more than enough for this mission. Plus, even if they went anyway in the custom Burais that Kyoto had offered, they would simply get in the way and had a bigger chance of getting caught in the cross-fire.

There was also the face that Zero wanted as few casualties as possible, and using other Knightmares in this operation would make that objective much more difficult.

And now, watching the Lions trashing the Britannian forces, they agreed that that had been the right call. They remembered fighting alongside the Lions back at Narita, and were glad they had heeded the Alteans' advice.

"A stealth protocol?" Rakshata questioned as she noticed Zerth fade away from battle, her cloaking mechanism kicking in.

"That's a little something that Rai himself added to his Lion," Coran explained, "He's quite the bright mind. He said that he reverse-engineered the cloaking device from the training hall's invisible maze. He's also added the feature to several transports located in the launch bay."

Rakshata hummed, sounding impressed as she continued to observe the other Lions. Polaris promptly froze a dozen of Sutherlands solid while Aka leaped over the Blue Lion and with her flamethrower, melted several arms and legs off of the Knightmares.

"Hmmm, I can't help but notice that the Lions' attacks are all elemental-themed," Rakshata observed.

"Oh well, you see, when King Alfor first started creating them…" Coran continued to describe the mechanics and abilities of each Lion with great enthusiasm causing Allura to chuckle fondly.

o~o

"And now for the highlight of today's event," the curator exclaimed happily, "Princess Euphemia will now select the Grand Prize Winner!" he turned and handed Euphemia a beautiful white on gold plating, "The work of art upon which you place this flower will be deemed the winner your highness."

Euphie delicately took the flower in her hands and hesitantly turned to look at all the paintings, the one of her father standing hanging directly in front of her. She hesitated to place it though. She knew that this would be the piece that everyone would expect her to pick, but she ultimately didn't want to.

Before anything else could happen though, the ringing of phones started echoing throughout the museum. Bureaucrats and journalists that were there to document its opening whispered urgently.

Then a Britannain soldier ran up next to Schneizel and whispered in his ear.

The Prime Minister's eyes widened.

"What?!" he gasped. The guard could only nod to confirm the information, "All right, send in all available forces as support, immediately."

"Yes, Prime Minister," the soldier nodded.

From above the crowd, a large television turned on and began to broadcast the current situation at the prison compound. The nobles all gasped as they witnessed the Voltron Lions easily wiping out every Knightmare that got in the way.

o~o

"My superiors have just ordered that you be unofficially executed before you're busted out of here. Any last words?" a guard muttered, holding a handgun up in front of him.

Tohdoh remained emotionless as the bullet-proof glass was slowly raised, "It's a life I gave up once before. It's worth nothing."

"In that case, I'll claim your life for myself!"

Tohdoh's head snapped up in surprise as the wall opposite his cell suddenly caved in, crushing the guard about to execute him in the process.

As the dust cleared, Tohdoh's eyes widened as he came face-to-face with the large head of the Black Lion.

"Relax, she won't bite," the same voice quipped as the Lion opened its jaw and out stepped…

"Zero," Tohdoh stated.

"Is this truly where you wish to die Colonel Tohdoh?" Zero demanded.

Tohdoh scoffed, "What does it matter? I have failed in my mission to save Japan…"

"Don't be a coward!" Zero countered in challenge.

"What?!" Tohdoh exclaimed, confused and rage flashing in his eyes.

"You must take responsibility. Responsibility for the miracle that you made! The Area 11 resistance movement is greater than that of any other conquered area because Japan surrendered before exhausting all of its military strength. You have failed to carry on the Miracle of Itsukushima."

"You saying this is my fault?" Tohdoh asked calmly, though Lelouch could see the rage simmering in his eyes.

"Yes. People grasp at illusions because they're desperate for miracles. Why else has there been such rampant use of Refrain?" Tohdoh unintentionally grimaced as that accursed drug was brought up, "You must endeavor! To the bitter end beyond all that's decent, and then you can die! Till the name of Tohdoh the Miracle has grown ragged and tattered!"

"You're telling me the Japanese people cannot accept their defeat until then?" Tohdoh questioned, his anger diminished.

"Till now they had to accept it. However, now that I'm here there's hope because I, no, we can likely turn their dreams into reality," Zero said, a hand over his chest.

If Tohdoh had been suspicious of Zero's identity before, any doubt soon fled. He smirked slightly as he stood up, staring right through Zero's mask into Lelouch's purple orbs.

"I see... so that truly is you, Lelouch."

Zero's hand moved from his chest to his head as he slowly and calmly removed his helmet. A small smile was gracing his lips.

"Was it that obvious, Tohdoh-sensei?"

"I had my suspicions," Tohdoh admitted, "but now I'm certain. So, what do you really want with me Lelouch? Another Miracle of Itsukushima?"

"Indeed. In fact, the entire universe could use a miracle," Lelouch said gravely, "I can't go over the details right now, but I will say that the situation has changed dramatically. It's not just about Japan, or even the entire Earth anymore. Something is coming, something far worse than Britannia. We need every able bodied human we can obtain. So please," Lelouch bowed his head respectfully, startling Tohdoh, "fight with us now."

Tohdoh was absolutely stunned. In all the time Lelouch had stayed at the shrine, not once had the boy said 'please' before. At least not to him. For Lelouch to be acting like this, the situation must be dire. He had seen the desperation in the young man's eyes.

Then he smirked.

"I'm in."

o~o

Diethard was grinning like a madman as he held his camera up on his shoulder. This was his first time seeing the Lions with his own eyes and he couldn't be any more thrilled. The machines were practically mopping the floor with the Britannian forces, and Princess Cornelia herself had just entered the battle with her own Glouscester along with the white knightmare, the Lancelot. He honestly wasn't sure why the Viceroy was still using these same toys and tactics. Sure, they likely couldn't supply upgraded Knightmares to all forces, but going against the same machines that already bested her twice was a little more than simple insanity.

Diethard paused in his mental ranting as he spotted five unusual looking Glouscesters charge in right behind Cornelia. They looked similar to ordinary Glouscesters, but Diethard learned long ago that looks were deceiving.

o~o

"So these are those Knightmares you told us about, father?" Alfred G. Darlton said as he and his brothers swerved behind the Viceroy. Upon arriving in Area 11, the five brothers had been briefed on the situation by Lord Darlton.

But watching the Lions on what little footage they had was completely different to actually seeing and facing them with their own eyes.

Despite their huge size, the movement of the Lions was just as fluid, if not more so than even the Lancelot's advanced maneuverability, even the large hulking orange one. Not to mention the armor of the Lions themselves had yet to so much as dent in all the fights Britannia had thrown at them so far.

"Yes. Be careful, all of you," Guliford, who had been given temporary leadership in Andreas' absence, cautioned as he flew down swiftly, guns already firing down from above.

The combined gunfire from above, alerted the Lions that the aerial forces had arrived, being led by the familiar caped Glouscester that Cornelia piloted.

Almost automatically, spotting the Lancelot within the numbers, Yoru and Suzaku leaped from the ground furiously swiped at the Knightmare. Their jump had been so unexpected that they managed to actually hit the Lancelot's legs, causing it to spin in the air several times before regaining balance.

Nonette grit her teeth as she endured the turbulence. She wasn't sure why, but the Purple Lion, or at least whoever was piloting it, always seemed to go for the Lancelot first, as if the pilot had a grudge against her. She knew it couldn't be because the Purple Lion was the strongest. If that were the case, she'd likely be facing the Black Lion each fight. Why was the Purple Lion that always came up to challenge her?

"Same old, same old, Suzaku?" Milly asked, watching the Purple Lion take off after the Lancelot.

"Just leave Nonette to me," the Paladin replied.

"Okay, enjoy your dance, Suzaku!" Rivalz teased, as he froze two ground Knightmares with Polaris's ice beam.

Suzaku choked, "Wh-what?"

"Well, I mean, now that we know the pilot of that Knightmare is a woman, and you both know your way around the Lancelot so… looks kind of like you're dancing," the Blue Paladin shrugged.

This earned a wave of groans from the rest of the pilots. While Rivalz's jokes were always a nice way to lighten a situation or mood, sometimes they weren't the most clever, and that was definitely one of them.

"Careful guys," Kallen suddenly shouted, face appearing on their screens, "Some of those Glouscesters look stronger than the others!"

True to her word, the Glaston Knights proved that they weren't gifted their titles for no reason. Compared to most of ordinary Sutherlands, the Glaston Knights' skills were on par with that of Cornelia's, and unlike other Britannian units, their teamwork was close to flawless.

Due to this, the Knights were able to pinpoint that despite its thick armor, the Orange Lion was the slowest and most bulky of the Lions, and while they did distract the other Lions, they slowly started cornering and separating it from the rest of the pride.

Shirley noticed this as well, and while she knew that she could easily bust through the Glousestors, but that ran the risk of killing the pilots, and though she knew that a couple deaths would be unavoidable, she still hesitated to personally take any lives.

She gasped in fright as one of the Glouscesters suddenly charged her head on, aiming for Zinnia's eyes. She braced for impact only to hear a familiar roar moments later.

In a blur of movement, Zenobia sliced through the float systems of Claudio and Edgar's Glouscesters.

"Wha-what was that?!" Claudio shouted as his Glouscester began to fall to the ground, alongside Edgar's.

Upon making impact on the ground, Claudio and Edgar's Glouscesters opened up.

"Claudio, Edgar, are you alright?" David shouted from the air.

"Yes… somehow we are," Edgar acknowledged, bewildered. How on Earth were they still alive?

"Are you all right, Shirley?" Lelouch asked, after dispatching the two Glaston Knights.

"Yeah, sorry about that Zero," the Orange Paladin said.

"You have Tohdoh, Zero?" Kallen asked anxiously.

"Yes, I've got him," the Black Paladin replied, glancing back at the Colonel, who was currently bracing himself between the pilot seat and the cockpit wall… he should probably talk to Coran about installing some passenger seats for situations like this.

"Colonel Tohdoh," Kallen greeted, her face popping on Lelouch's screen. The Red Paladin bowed her head in respect, "It's a true honor to meet you."

"Likewise," Tohdoh acknowledged with a nod.

"We're glad to have you with us, sir-er, Sensei? Sama?" Shirley stuttered, getting her Japanese honorifics mixed up. She prayed she wasn't accidentally offending the man.

"Suzaku's told us so much about you!" Rivalz added as his and Milly's faces popped up. The Blue Paladin had an excited sparkle in his eyes.

"Oh, has he?" the Colonel asked solemnly.

Suzaku's face joined the screen moments later, "...It's good to see you, Tohdoh-sensei."

Tohdoh was silent for a few moments before a small smile formed on his face. "You as well, Suzaku."

"Um, I hate to interrupt the reunion," Rai suddenly interrupted, "but we got company!"

Looking up towards the sky, the Paladins spotted practically a whole fleet of aerial Knightmares, all being led by the Avalon. They were closing in fast. So that had been why the Glouscesters and Lancelot had suddenly withdrawn.

"Seems like we're about to have our hands full," Lelouch observed with a frown.

"Sure, maybe if we were in normal units!" Milly remarked with a smirk.

Rai followed up with a smirk of his own, "I guess we all know what we need to do now!"

A devious smile spread across Lelouch's own face, before he glanced back at Tohdoh, "Well, Sensei, would you like to meet a fellow miracle worker?"

Not waiting for Tohdoh's response, Lelouch turns to the rest of the Paladins.

"Form Voltron!"

In a flash of light, the Lions converged and Voltron was formed once again, ready for battle.

"Shirley!" Lelouch shouted.

Not needing further instructions, Shirley shoved her Bayard into Zinnia's keyport. The familiar weight of the bow materialized around Zerith's mouth. An arrow of energy glowed as Voltron pulled Aka's head back.

The Paladins didn't fail to notice that the Britannian forces had halted in midair. This was the first time that they had seen this weapon after all.

"Fire!" Lelouch ordered. Aka's jaw promptly let go, and the energy arrow flew towards the fleet in a stream of light. Halfway there, the arrow split, dispersing into dozens of tendrils of energy.

Most of the Knightmare units at the front of the fleet took a majority of the hits first, but Voltron had been sure to set the shot of stun rather than kill, so none of the Knightmares went up in flames. Instead the moment the attack hit, the internal workings of the began to glitch and short circuit. It wasn't long before the Knightmare wore off all together, dropping out of the sky.

Most of the pilots near the back managed to shake to their senses before they could get hit, evasively maneuvering around the rest of the arrows. They all regrouped around the Avalon, where the bottom of the float system started opening up.

Tohdoh gasped, "Lelouch, you need to stop it before it fires!"

Lelouch briefly looked back at the Colonel. He sounded greatly concerned, which was rare. However, he nodded and acted quickly.

"Form sword!"

Suzaku shoved his Bayard into Yoru's port, and the blue blade flashed to life as the bow faded. With a blast of its boasters, the juggernaut rocketed towards the Avalon.

"Um, Lelouch, is the sword going to be enough to deal with that thing?" Shirley asked anxiously.

"It'll have to," Lelouch answered firmly.

However, the Lions had a different idea in mind. One by one, each of the Lions started to growl, drawing the attention of their Paladins. They each noticed that their port keys were rising from the dashboard.

"Guys, Zerith's telling me something!" Rai exclaimed.

"Yeah, so is Aka!" Kallen added.

"Same here!" Rivalz shouted.

"I can feel it too!" Milly yelled.

"What's going on?" Shirley wondered.

"I don't know!" Suzaku said.

"Well, whatever it is, just do it!" Lelouch ordered.

Without hesitation, the remaining Paladins pulled out their Bayards and shoved them into their keyslots.

To the shock and amazement of all onlookers, the sword glowed again, and grew. It was now almost double the size of Voltron.

"Whoa…" Rivalz breathed, translating the thoughts of the other Paladins as well.

On the other side, by the Avalon, upon seeing the sword's sudden growth, many Knightmares desperately flew out of the way as Voltron, with both of his hands, pulled the sword back, and swung downward, cutting the Avalon square in the center. Voltron didn't even need to push through the floating ship, as the sword cleanly exited the end of it on its own.

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone processed what happened, before the Avalon erupted into a massive inferno, debris and balls of fire raining down all over the prison.

Shaking themselves from their own stupors, the Paladins were quick to fly towards the rest of the aerial troops that hadn't flown away. The sword vanished and instead was replaced by the jawblades of both Zerith and Aka. With several swift strikes most of the Knightmares joined their fallen brethren on the ground below, the Glaston Knights, and Nonette in the Lancelot among them.

Cornelia, on the other hand, was not one that fell so soon. Her eyes shook as she took in the events of what just transpired. Not only had Voltron been successful in rescuing Tohdoh, but had completely destroyed her brother's ship, the Avalon. Even the more skilled Glaston Knights were no match for Voltron, much less the Lions separately. Even Nonette had yet to score any sort of victory from this abomination.

Her shock soon morphed into blinding red rage. Not only had these scum defeated her, the Goddess of Victory, practically since the day she and her forces first encountered it, annihilated her troops and made her look like a fool in front of her subjects, but they had even… they had likely taken away one of the few people she loved almost on par with Euphemia. Again.

The thought of Nunnally and her unknown fate was the final straw for the Viceroy as with an almost psychotic shriek, she charged straight at Voltron, lance out to strike at any point it could land a hit.

Her shrill screech did not go unnoticed by the Paladins. Looking up and seeing the Gloucester racing towards them, Kallen smirked.

Putting away Aka's jawblade, the Red Lion's mouth extended open just as Cornelia's Knightmare came within inches of it.

Cornelia barely registered what was happening as Aka's jaw clamped down on the top of her Knightmare, its legs and arms being ripped off in the process.

o~o

Euphemia gasped in horror as she saw her sister's Knightmare practically crumble to pieces as Voltron's hand encased around it securely.

The rest of the crowd in the museum also gasped and screamed in horror, witnessing the Viceroy's Gloucester disappear into the Lion's mouth. Cameras flashed and many of the journalists had pulled out their phones to film the battle. Some cell phones could be heard dropping to the floor as their owners froze in astonishment.

Schneizel el Britannia also stood in shock, visibly shaken. Not only had he watched his personal transport ship be cut directly in two, but his heart nearly stopped as he watched Voltron capture another one of his sisters right in front of him.

Who on Earth was Voltron? Who had Lelouch gotten himself associated with?!

o~o

Her smirk never left her face as Kallen cautiously left her pilot chair and descended into Aka's mouth. Upon making it down the ladder, she was greeted by the site of Cornelia's Knightmare in shambles, sparks flying from where the limbs had been severed.

Spotting movement by the debris, Kallen blinked in slight surprise to see Cornelia herself, though with a severe gash on her forehead, still conscious and struggling to exit her Gloucester.

The Viceroy's eyes soon fell on Kallen herself. But before Cornelia could properly aim her sword-gun, the Red Paladin lunged forward, Bayard flashing to life, and caught the weapon between her cestus claws. Then with a click her Bayard's second function, the wave surger, burst to life, practically melting the gun from Cornelia's grip.

The Viceroy dropped the weapon with a pained yelp of surprise, only to feel a strong force impact the side of her head, and Cornelia's world went black.

"...You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, Viceroy," Kallen spat, flexing her left hand that had punched Cornelia square in the face, "It felt so good."

With a slightly hysterical giggle, Kallen swiftly activated her commlink, "Oh, Lelouch~" Kallen basically sang, "You'll never guess who I just caught!"

Amused with Kallen's behavior he answered with his own satisfied grin, "Unexpected, but not unappreciated. I have been meaning to 'catch up' with my sister for a while now."

Taking a quick scan of the area, and seeing that all remaining troops still airborne had wisely retreated, Lelouch turned and looked at Colonel Tohdoh.

"So, what do you think, Colonel?"

Tohdoh let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head with a smirk, "I think 'I'm impressed' isn't even close to enough to describe my thoughts right now."

Lelouch chuckled, "Fair enough."

With this final statement, Voltron once more ascended into the night, carnage and destruction left in its wake.

The survivors, surprisingly being most of the troops, could only watch helplessly as Voltron vanished into the night.

"Princess Cornelia…" Guilford murmured in despair. He grit his teeth as tears leaked from his eyes. He failed her. He failed everyone.

Despite the overall atmosphere of loss, after a few moments, Diethard couldn't hold back a maniacal laugh as he collapsed to the ground. That… that had been more than simply a battle. That had a show. A performance! And it had been glorious!

o~o

Hidden strategically in the ever-shifting asteroid belt of the Solar System, Britannia was not the only one that witnessed Voltron's victory.

"I don't understand why you're still waiting!" Mao loudly complained, pacing the ship's small bridge, "With this new power, I will easily have my revenge. You can have your Lions and I'll…" he sighed dreamily like a lovesick schoolgirl, "...I'll finally have my happy ending with C.C.!"

"Patience…" was all Haggar said as she observed the last traces of the fight. While it was true that this child had been given a great power, should they strike too recklessly, it would be all for naught. Despite their age, the Paladins were formidable adversaries and were no longer working alone.

For her plan with this boy, and yes despite his physical age this human was indeed still a boy, they had to strike when the Paladins least expected it.

o~o

The Lions made it back to the Castle with no further trouble, and the Four Holy Swords were eager to welcome their commander back.

Kallen dragged Cornelia out of her Lion and nimbly handed the Viceroy over to Tamaki and Ohgi upon exiting her bay. They had both been instructed earlier to take the Princess to the cell that had been prepared for her in the lower levels of the ship.

The battle-hardened warrior was promptly introduced to Coran and Princess Allura, who greeted him respectfully, saying it was an honor to meet him.

Afterward, Lelouch, Suzaku, and Allura quickly filled Tohdoh in on the situation. He only interrupted a couple of times with a brief question. Once everything was laid out on the table, Tohdoh promptly agreed with Lelouch's plan. Though it did run the risk of the Galra finding their planet, he concurred that it would only be a matter of time before they reached Earth anyway, and it was wise to strengthen the planet now before the threat arrived at their doorstep.

"Unfortunately, Colonel," Lelouch added, "most of the other factors, particularly regarding the Galra themselves, remain an unknown. We'll be counting on you to provide as much additional military strategy as possible."

"I understand," Tohdoh nodded.

Lelouch smiled fondly at the man, "It's good to see you again."

Tohdoh inclined his head in agreement.

The doors of the Bridge opening halted any further discussion.

"Lelouch… it's time," Coran said, looking up from the datapad in his hands.

o~o

Lelouch's heart pounded as he stood in front of Nunnally's pod. She had been inside for a total of seven days. A whole week. Gazing at his sister's face, her eyes were still closed in a peaceful slumber. It was hard to tell from the outside if the pod had managed to fix anything.

Coran assured them that Nunnally's legs had been repaired. If it wasn't possible, then the pod would have spit her out almost immediately after they put her in. Just like at the beginning though, Coran was uncertain about her vision. The pod data didn't show any signs of changing in regards to that. All they could do was hope for the best.

"Lelouch, it's gonna be okay," Suzaku said, his hand falling on Lelouch's shoulder. T was clear how anxious the Black Paladin was when he physically jumped at the contact, "no matter what happens, Nunnally's safe here."

"Yeah, and like Coran said, if the pods don't work, we'll find another way," Kallen added.

"We're not gonna give up that easy," Rai grinned, clenching his fist, "We never gave up on you, right?"

Lelouch smiled in gratitude as the rest of Paladins spoke words of support and encouragement, and he was once again reminded how much these people were like his family. Even the Alteans, C.C., and Sayoko who were also present in the infirmary. Words would never be able to describe just how grateful he was for them all.

A small beep was the only warning given as the pod's shell dissolved. The young princess leaned outward, stumbling on her own feet before slumping forward into Lelouch's arms.

After a couple of seconds, the Paladins wondered if she was still asleep at first, Nunnally's hands firmly clutched her brother's arms, pushing herself up. Though her legs were shaking, Lelouch didn't need to hold his sister's weight on his own.

Staring down at Nunnally's face, her eyelids flickered as if just pulling out from a dream.

Then they slowly fluttered open.

Time seemed to stop as Lelouch stared deeply into the lavender eyes that he hadn't seen in over eight years.

"Lelouch…" Nunnally's voice wavered as she caressed her brother's cheek. Tears gathered in Lelouch's eyes, "I... I can see you... and... I feel my legs."

Lelouch couldn't hold his joy back any longer, as he hoisted Nunnally into his arms, and hugged her tight. Nunnally squealed, her arms flying around her brother's neck as he spun her around.

Everyone else in the room started cheering, overjoyed that the pods had been enough to help Nunnally. Several started crying right along with the vi Britannia siblings. Suzaku and Allura smiled warmly, small trickles leaking down their face. Sayoko and C.C. were standing to the side, but they still smiled warmly at the moment. Milly and Shirley were openly crying, the Orange Paladin placing a hand over her mouth to hold in her sobs. Rai instinctively reached over and clutched Shirley's other hand, and the two exchanged teary smiles.

Rivalz fanned his eyes, desperately trying to keep his tears in, but failing miserably, "Any… anyone else got… space dust in their eyes…?"

"Yeah…" Kallen blinked rapidly, her throat tight, "There… there is a lot of space dust in here…"

Coran let out a loud bawl, tears flowing and even snot dripping from his nose, "It's filthy!"

#Fanfiction #AU #Code Geass #voltron #lelouch lamperouge #kallen kozuki #suzaku kururugi #milly ashford #shirley fenette #rivalz cardemonde #c.c.#princess allura #coran #nunnally lamperouge

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