Chapter 22: Screaming World

As one battle rages in New Vestroia, another battle occured back on Earth. As so many gather for this next clash, all but a few have even an idea of forces beyond humanity and how they're moving to start a new world order.

Suzaku abhorred violence; he saw it as little more than meaninglessly selfish and destructive impulses. And for that, he didn't like anger. He understood it was a fundamental emotion that must be felt, but it should never be acted on by him. When you lash out in anger, you can do so much that you can never make up for. This he knew well, as he could still feel the knife plunging into his father's gut.

And yet, in this moment, all he could feel was fury. Towards the rebels who insisted on fighting a lost war. To his fellow Elevens, who didn't do enough to discourage it. Towards people like Kallen, who dived into that mess and only added to the casualties when she could have sought change through the system.

But most of all, for Zero. The man who was the catalyst for all of it, he who killed Prince Clovis, Shirley's father, and so many others. Who throws fuel onto flames that could have burned out, building the rebels across Japan.

And while he could not prove it, he just knew in his heart that the masked coward and murderer had something to do with Lelouch vanishing without a warning or word since.

But he didn't act on these thoughts or his anger—not now, not with present company.

He had just finished brewing a cup of tea, Nunnally's favourite for her, but the room was painfully silent. The girl did not speak, not that he expected her to. Sayoko was also out, having to run some errands and asking him to uplift her lady's spirits, but he didn't know how. Still, he could try.

Approaching the table, he set the warm cup of tea down before her, resting on top of a platter. With it were some cookies, vanilla, and caramel, as Nunnally liked them.

“The tea’s ready, Nunna…it’s best hot.” He spoke softly, his worried green eyes taking in the sight of Nunnally, often so lively and cheerful, now reduced to this shell. Again, she didn’t speak, only giving the barest of nods one could miss, but he watched her like a hawk.

This situation hadn't been kind to any of them, but for Nunnally, this may be her personal hell. She was never plump, despite how much Lelouch spoiled her rotten, but looking at her, one could clearly see she had lost a concerning amount of weight since word came of Lelouch vanishing. Her clothes seemed a size or two too small, swallowing her frame. Her cheeks were sunken, and thick bags under her closed eyes were signs she hadn't been getting nearly as much sleep.

He ignored that she often called out her brother's name in her sleep, and when she woke and he wasn't there still, it was like a little bit more of her vanished with him. Suzaku was no fool; he had seen such looks before, often in the families of his fellow Elevens in the army or in those same soldiers.

He knew what it looked like when someone approached the edge and what happened to those who went over.

He reached for her hands, holding them as tightly as he dared, trying to encourage her, rally her spirits, and see her smile once again, but he was struggling. And in that struggle, he couldn't help but lament that he shouldn't be doing this. Lelouch was the one she needed, the one who, despite his cynical, paranoid, and near-treasonous nature, was always able to cheer her up.

But he wasn’t, and unlike Clovis, they didn’t even have a body-

‘No, don’t think like that.’ Suzaku reprimanded himself. He couldn’t afford to think like that. He had to think rationally about this.

Zero, the bastard he was, was a showboat as much as he was a resourceful evil genius. It was how he figured out how his father, Genbu, died. He placed Kallen in the Student Council because he had learned about Lelouch and possibly Nunnally and needed someone close to them to watch.

Or maybe he didn’t, and Kallen had discovered it on her own and reported it to her master like the blind puppet she was. It didn't matter how, only that they had made their move, having their people capture Lelouch without leaving a trace.

Capture, not kill. He had to be keeping Lelouch somewhere, no doubt digging for any info he could get. It was good. It meant he was still alive, but it wouldn't last as either Zero's people got him to talk, or they killed him when he didn't give them what they wanted.

"Any news on big brother?" Nunnally asked, though her voice came out soft yet rough at the same time, a sign of how little she had spoken in recent days.

It only made the hole in his chest feel deeper, and his rage for Zero burned brighter.

"Nothing yet, but!" Suzaku answered, but was quick to add to it. "We have a strong lead. We found a way to track his kidnappers, and when we catch them, we'll rescue Lelouch, I swear it."

Nunnally gave a small gift, but it was nothing like the ones she had once given so freely and happily. It seemed so weak and fragile, almost like it was more for him than for her.

"He's fighting, Nunna. We both know how stubborn he can be. Nothing will keep him from you for long. So don't lose hope." "He'll be back here to shower you with more love and affection than you'll know what to do with."

"Okay…I'll try." Hearing her response and the sincerity in her voice helped Suzaku feel a little better about lying, but he didn't need evidence, not when it was clear.

He had already provided Cornelia and Euphemia with as detailed a description of the green-haired woman as he could, and the sketch produced was near identical to what he had recalled seeing before he had dismissed. Euphemia promised that they'd make full use of his words and catch the Black Knights.

As soon as the Black Knights stuck out their heads, he would be there to crush them, once and for all. Maybe he would feel bad for Kallen, maybe he would have gone easy on her. But that time was gone, if it ever existed.

She was a willing partner in this; she had to play a role in Lelouch's capture. So he’ll treat Kozuki like he would the rest of the Black Knights, and should he need to take down Kozuki permanently…

He would do what was necessary to end Zero's malice and see his friend freed from it.

“Suzaku!” Nunnally was spooked by the shout, Suzaku winding around to spot Cecile at the door, the woman breathing heavily from running over.

“Ms. Cecile?” He asked, as he had been granted time off to tend to Nunnally, if Lloyd needed him for some minor adjustment-

Lucky for Lloyd’s sake, it wasn’t him who sent Cecile over. "We have new orders, the Black Knights have been spotted, and it's all hands on deck, " she reported.

“Zero,” Suzaku breathed out, anger fused to his words, enough so that Nunnally felt scared as Suzaku got up. "Nunnally, this is our chance to save your brother. Wish my luck!" he told her as he rushed off with Cecile.

Nunnally heard them leave, but found herself confused by his final words. “But…why would the Black Knights…?”

Outside, unseen by her, dark clouds were brewing, growing in size and density as what seemed to be a storm cell formed across Area 11.

Line break

Having been sailing in the East China Sea, on their way to a Kyoto-controlled port in the Sea of Japan, when C.C. woke them up in the middle of the night and ordered them to make sail for Kamine Island, they were over 1300km away. Even at their fastest, and with no reason to suspect the Britannians even knew they had a submarine, it took them a day and a half before they were within sight of it.

However, as capable as their submarine was and as shocking as Rakshata's ability to convince the MDI to part with it was, Inoue found that it lacked some equipment, such as a periscope. She had to exit the damn thing and use a pair of binoculars to spot anything, a risky task made all the more challenging by the fact that the weather was turning for the worst.

Being a city girl, she hadn't grown up on or near the water, but she knew that typhoon season should have been waning. However, with how choppy the waters were and the grumbling dark clouds above, she bet that they were in for an intense storm.

If only that were the only issue.

“Shit.” She cursed; her gaze locked onto the island.

“What is it?” Ohgi asked over the radio. Inoue quickly answered, keeping her attention on the target destination, which was not even a full 10km away.

"We aren't the only ones here. I'm seeing some activity, " she replied, as she could spot what looked like Britannian VTOLs flying over the island. There even seemed to be a large carrier anchored off its coast. At its side were three destroyers, but it seemed like they hadn't noticed them yet.

“Why would the Britannians return to this place? There’s nothing there.” Tamaki asked another foolish question.

“Aside from the potential gateway to another world, you mean?” Rakshata came up, the woman snarkier than usual, but she had pulled an all-nighter to ensure their ace was prepped, so Inoue wouldn't hold it against her that she wasn't as laid-back as normal.

“But they haven’t been here before, why now?” Minami asked, as they had made trips here in the past, and were always sure to leave no trace of it.

“Maybe they just figured it out? Maybe they got bored. It's not my role to figure that out," Rakshata responded, imagining the woman lounging on her couch.

“It means that we don’t have time to waste. You all remember the plan,” Tohdoh cut through the chatter, only for Sugiyama to yell-

“Inoue, get back in now!”

“What is that?” Inoue asked, panicked as she looked for anything that could spook on. She turned her head to the side, spotted something flashing in the distance, and got closer.

“Missiles, radar is picking up 15 of them. They'll impact in 20 seconds!” Inoue didn't need to hear more before she rushed for the service hatch, which she had left open. Diving inside, she turned and closed the thing before rushing off deeper into the submarine as the alarms went off.

Line Break

“All hands, prepare for a possible dive! Get the CIWs up and running!" Tohdoh ordered the man, already wearing his pilot suit, but having needed to take command of things. Outside the submarine, panels opened up, revealing anti-air missile batteries and 2 20mm miniguns, which started tracking the incoming targets before they fired.

“Great, they knew we were coming,” Asahina called out.

“Or they just were prepared in case we did. But we can’t give up now.” Urabe countered as the helmsmen started performing evasive moves to make them a harder target to hit. The submarine was swaying from side to side enough that they needed to shift their weight regularly to keep from falling over.

“Missiles have been intercepted.” One of the crew reported that the counter missile weapons went silent, but they didn't retreat back into standby positions.

This was a smart move as their radar operator spotted a new threat. "Radar's picking up a group of attack VTOLs; I'm seeing 12 of them."

"Take us under," Tohdoh ordered, which seemed like a gamble.

“But sir, they probably-” Nagisa tried to advise against, as they wouldn't be able to use any of their defence weapons should they dive.

“I know, but we need to prep the landing team. At least underwater, it would be harder for them to track us.” The seasoned soldier and commander explained that, for all their weaponry, their vessel's greatest strength was its capacity to hide. "Use pattern Charlie-3. We need to get as close to the island as possible!"

“Yes, sir!”

Line Break

Aboard the HMS Nelson, Corneli was kept up to date on all things involving the island-wide blockade. With so few reports of Black Knight activity, Schneizel had theorised that the Black Knights weren't in Area 11, not on land anyway.

He believes it had something to do with the ruins, speculation fuelled by Bartley's theory about their father's true goals for their rapid expansionist policies. That, combined with what Schneizel personally witnessed on this island and the Emperor's explanation of Clovis' secret duties and his orders to Cornelia, meant he had a lot to say, though, like Schneizel often did, he didn't outright say anything.

She would call him paranoid if she didn’t believe at least part of it, but she knew her father was a man with ears close to everywhere.

But all the theories and scattered evidence made it seem likely that wherever Zero went, he could perhaps only return through this gate. With Black Knight activity down and not a single sighting of the masked menace, Cornelia and Schneizel were confident he hadn't returned from wherever he had summoned his beast.

If Bartley was right, then it was the only one he could use without running into locations under direct royal control.

“Status?” She asked, as the weather was only worsening, lightning sparking in the distance, with the distant thunder booms following.

"Ma'am, the Pendleton spotted an unidentified vessel in its patrol area. They believed it to be a submarine and, assuming it was a vessel of the Chinese Federation, fired on it. All of which were intercepted." Cornelia, along with Dalton, Guilford, and an insistent Euphemia, looked at the man in surprise.

"The Eunuchs have been growing bold, but they wouldn't send a lone submarine here, even a scouting mission wouldn't stray this far from the mainland Area 11," Cornelia dismissed. Still, she felt a smile forming as this meant something better. “It seems our prey has made its appearance.”

“It was a failure on our part to not station troops here before, but where did they acquire a submarine?” Dalton noted.

"We can question whoever we capture on that later. Right now, we need to locate the vessel and force it to surrender. We can't let the target go down with the ship." Guilford reminded them that, regardless of what the Emperor was planning or why he wanted some witch, failure was not something he would accept.

“Viceroy, the Pendleton’s reporting that the vessel submerged, it’s requesting permission for its VTOLs to pursue.” The same naval officer reported, but Cornelia waved it off.

“No need, they didn’t come here to retreat. They want those ruins,” Cornelia ordered, as she stood from her throne. “Close off all avenues of escape and continue to lay down pressure. If we’re lucky, we can force them into shallow waters.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Cornelia turned to her knight, eager to finally end this farce and redeem herself. “Guilford, shall we head out and prepare for our guests?”

Guilford bowed his head, hand on his chest. "We'll need to ensure they're properly attended to, Princess Cornelia."

Line Break

Aboard the Black Knight submarine, things were far from quiet. Across the ship, its crew and soldiers worked to keep things running, while fire suppression teams stood on standby. Many felt nervous, as they knew that if a compartment was compromised, its bulkhead doors would seal them inside before most could get out to keep the rest of the vessel from sinking.

A threat which seemed closer than ever, as the Britannians might not know where they were, but they had the numbers and munitions to fire in their general direction. Depth charges and torpedoes, which the captain and helmsmen fought tirelessly against, evading and deploying countermeasures to throw them off.

Many were fooled, but others weren't, and they ended up blowing up closer and closer to the vessel's body, sending thuds and groans through its structure. Depth charges added to the hard vibrations and noise, which the pilots could feel even within their cockpits.

“Great, first Zero goes all warlock on us, and now this? He'd better be thankful when we pull his butt out.”

“I wouldn’t mind finally seeing the man behind the mask. What? Is he ancient like C.C.? A well-known historical figure?”

“Pretty sure no one thinks he's Oda or Tokugawa.”

“Cut the talk and make sure your units are prepped. We’re probably going to have a wet launch.” Kallen ordered. Zero might not like how casual his personal forces have gotten, but he would just have to deal with it when they got him back.

"Yes, ma'am!" Besides, they had remained steadfast through these trying times and if Lelouch didn’t reward for it, she was fully prepared to kick some gratefulness into his skinny ass.

With their forces, she was keeping only to the radio. Still, some faces did appear on her screens, one of which was C.C., who wore a different outfit than the God-awful restraining jacket, which matched the Chess theme Zero went for.

Kallen ignored how much she didn’t appreciate that Zero ordered the outfit based on the queen for C.C. and not her. Nope, she'll unpack that when Lelouch is within strangling/hugging distance.

Instead, she focused on how C.C. looked troubled. No, that seemed too light. She seemed distressed, her face creased with pain as she reached for her forehead, where that code mark lay.

"C.C.? You good?" Kallen asked her.

C.C., who sat in the weapons officer seat of the Gawain, sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, and you hate pizza. Any more lies you want to tell me?” Kallen smacked through the attempt to wave off the issue. Both women ignored how Urabe, who had been selected as Gawain's pilot, was present. The man kept silent so the two could pretend they had some privacy.

C.C. frowned, debating whether she should say something. Still, while she typically would, things had undergone serious changes over the last month. So, she would need to adapt. "Just that…I have a bad feeling that there's something wrong, not with the Thought Elevator but a something else."

“When a witch says something like that, it can only be a bad omen.” Kallen summed up their thoughts.

C.C. let out an annoyed grunt. “And yet, when I lie, you get upset. You so enjoy being angry, little girl.”

“Watch it, just because I’m protecting you, doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you.”

C.C. found the threat cute. "I'm immortal and have experienced more deaths than you can imagine. There is not much you can do to me."

“I can cut off your pizza access, make you eat nothing but rice and miso soup for the next month, and convince Zero to keep it up.” Urabe nearly laughed at that, and C.C.'s sound of distress and fear at the idea of losing access to her favourite dish.

“And people call me the witch. How cruel of you.” C.C. hissed, actually hissed like a storybook witch. Urabe couldn't hold it back and burst out in laughter.

Lucky for him, before C.C. could turn her ire onto him, Tohdoh came through the radio.

“Attention all Knightmares, we’re 2km from shore. You're to use the fast attack boats' modifications to make a rush for the beach. We'll secure, and they move towards the ruins. While Kozuki and C.C. make their way in, we'll form a 3-layer defensive line. Remember, we're prepared for missiles, so if you see them, report them!”

'Joy,' Urabe thought as he recalled the last time they had to deal with missiles. It was exhausting and left them with less than a third of their ammo. But at least they didn't need to worry about that flying ship showing up again. The Prime Minister would have no need to be here and should still be busy back in the homeland.

“Mind the weather, the typhoon is only growing stronger, which could play to our favour as it will limit the sort of aerial and ranged attacks we'll face, but remain on your guard.” Tohdoh finished.

“Yes, sir!”

“Kozuki.” Tohdoh then contacted Kallen separately from the rest, and the girl went through a quirk calming ritual to ensure she was at her best for this. She had to be at her best.

“Yes, Tohdoh.” She asked, doubting he thought she had forgotten things, but the man was known for his cautious nature, and things right now were as high-risk as they could get.

“It's not just C.C. you're defending, Rakshata could only produce that one Naagvatra. It can't be damaged, and especially taken by the Britannians. With how much noise we're making out here, it stands to reason whoever C.C. doesn't want us to know about could be active inside.”

Kallen didn't have the tracking device on her, but C.C. did. She could say a lot about the annoying pizza-loving witch. Still, careless, clumsy, or even disloyal was not one of them. For whatever contract she had with Zero, she was willing to tough things out with them. If there was anyone present who wanted their leader found more than her, it was C.C.

Thing is, C.C. was also secretive, but when she was willing to share geass and Code with them, it made you wonder what she deemed too much for them. More importantly, it was something that C.C. made clear was her and by proxy, their enemy. If the Britannians were part of it…

"I'm carrying a shotgun and extra ammo, Tohdoh. No matter who it is, I'll be ready for them." Kallen tapped the side of her cockpit, where she had stored the weapon, along with her brother's pistol, which she always kept strapped to their thigh.

“Maintaining trim, 20 degrees to the surface.” On the bridge, Ohgi listened as they rattled through the launch procedures, a launch type they’ve never done before.

“Preparing CIW's weapons systems," Tamaki grumbled, as he had been iced out of the landing operation.

“All crew have moved to designated areas.” Rakshata worried, both for her safety, as they could be sailing towards their deaths, and also for her research. She bet that Earl and Pudding and everyone else hadn't cracked it like she had, but there was still more to be seen, more to learn, and for her to go that far, this had to succeed.

“Airlocks prepped to be opened.” Senba, Asahina, and Chiba, all chosen for the landing, calmed themselves and prepared for what could be their first amphibious assault. It was not lost on them how it mirrored seven years ago and yet was completely different.

“We’re only staying on the surface for a minute, so make it count.” Tohdoh, abroad in his own custom Gekka, kept his eyes closed as he listened to the countdown. Ascent alarms blaring all around them.

“Yes, sir.” Urabe clenched and unclenched his hands. He had gone through simulation training for this model, but this would be his first flight with it. Still, he had been chosen for a reason, and he wouldn't allow himself to fail.

“Now, breach the surface!” C.C. took a breath to soothe the burning in her Code. V.V. was up to something; she just knew it, and she had a feeling the damned fool would mess things up if she didn't locate her contractor and pull his ass out of this month-long fire.

“Breaching the surface, all hands at ready for combat.” Kallen sent out a quirk prayer as the submarine burst out into the open. Around it, a storm raged, turning up the seas and darkening the skies, lit up only by rockets and explosions.

With water still flowing off its hull, the bay doors opened up, and as soon as the space was large enough, their forces rocketed into the open water. As soon as they left, each deployed inflatable floats. At the same time, their landspinners had been fitted with detachable propellers, which saw them landing in the rough water with large splashes, only to take off for the shore.

The Guren and Gawain were the exceptions to this, as the massive knightmare picked up its small red partner, activated its float, and took off, keeping low to the water. Kallen spared the submarine a final look as more of their forces poured out, all while its weapons roared, laying down a protective wall of bullets, grenades, and missiles.

It wasn't perfect, as some units were hit before they could hit the water, others struck as they started the journey, and the submarine itself was taking damage—mild stuff that she prayed wouldn't lead to anything critical being hit.

She had to turn away from it and focus on what she could do. Besides this typhoon coming out of nowhere, she found it hard to spot the ship as they put more distance between each other.

“To the left, I’m seeing a lot of VTOLs," Urabe called out. Despite the weather, the Britannians still had birds in the sky, and they were racing for their seaborne units. They were prepped for it, but fighting over open water with land units rushed through retrofits to not sink was asking for trouble.

“We'll handle them; you all keep going," C.C. responded as Urabe shifted them to head towards the flying threat. Above the Guren, the Gawain's two cannons opened up, a malicious red glow growing within them as C.C. targeted the VTOLs. “Let's see how well Rakshata could work on this in her spare time.”

With a press of the button, Gawain's main weapons sang like an unholy choir, screaming through the skies, the twin beams of red death crashing into the VTOLs, near instantly destroying those unlucky enough to have been in the blast, but she wasn't done.

“What the-?!” The pilots abroad screamed in terror, having never seen such a weapon before.

“Scatter! Scatter! You fools!” another yelled as he broke formation, but C.C. swept the still-firing hadron through their lines, and when she finally released the trigger, only three of the 17 VTOLs she had spotted remained in the air.

“We have some coming from the island!” Kallen called out, as it seemed like Cornelia or whoever was in charge of this didn’t want them anywhere near the island.

"I already see them." Within the Gawain, C.C. frowned, her Code burning hotter, an annoying feeling not helped by how much Urabe was jolting their unit around. “Urabe, can you please fly steadier?”

"I'm more focused on not letting them shoot us down. You'll have to manage." Urabe shot back, but he didn't take his attention off his duties. Despite their impressive showing, or maybe because of it, it seemed like the Britannians were trying particularly hard to see them sleeping with the fishes.

C.C. didn't respond, choosing to just handle the incoming VTOLs. This task was made easier as the Gawain had some impressive sensors, a must when the storm outside seemed to only grow in intensity.

Line Break

She and the rest present for the battle had no way of knowing it wasn't just this little corner of Japan facing nature's wrath, as a supermassive storm cell had fallen over Japan. At Ashford, Milly managed an emergency shut-in along with the student council to ensure everyone was inside and far from windows.

In London, most people just woke up to go about their day. It was those early birds and night owls on their way home who saw it first. The River Thames, a river that had helped define their history and culture, suddenly surged, breaking its banks and flowing out into the streets, and within minutes, the city was in panic.

In central Africa, the typical wet season seemed to vanish in mere moments, a shock to those on their way to market, school, or work. That wonder turned to panic and terror as the temperature seemed to just keep rising. The humidity only added to their issues as people and animals rushed about.

In Iran, shepherds who had moments prior been tending to their flock fell to their knees as they watched, out of nowhere, great flood waters race through. Rivers they've known their entire lives seemed to fill many times over their limits and flowed into their fields, pastures, and even homes, many not being fast enough to escape the water.

In the frozen wastes of Euro Britannia, a region known more for resources and refinements plants, it had approached mid-day when residents and soldiers alike were left lack jawed when reports of wildfires came flooding in, only for many to only look out the window to confirm as such, for smaller towns and villages without the means or manpower to combat the wall of hungry flames, they fled.

Down south, as far as one could go, in the icy landscapes of the Antarctic, a small Britannian research station was lost as the ice shelf it was built on, long believed to be stable, just shattered. An earthquake rumbled without warning or reason, shaking everything. Giant blocks of ice, hundreds if not thousands of tons of it, which had remained frozen since the last ice age, shattered like cheap glass.

In the Caribbean, a superstorm cell similar to the one that had befallen Japan formed and slammed into the region like a furious beast, tearing it up like a rabid beast’s first kill in weeks. It was smack dab in storm season, but with it being 1AM in the region and with only minutes' warning, tens of thousands were caught unaware.

Up north from here, in Northern Britannia’s New England region, a freak snowstorm formed and pierced deep into the land. The animals were the first to notice, woken by the sudden and drastic change. While pets had some protections, others didn't and froze before they could flee for warmth from what felt like a once-in-a-decade snowstorm appearing from nothing.

China’s Gobi desert wasn’t without issue as its scarce residents seemed to blink before they found themselves in a desert wild sandstorm, the winds howling as they seemed to race, weather watchers in the area registering winds exceeding 100km/h, some locations believed their sensors broken when they claimed 120km/h+ winds.

It was only in Pendragon, late into the evening, that someone knew of this. The emperor had been on his way to bed when his aides burst in, confused and terrified as they relayed reports of events across his empire. And as if to make things harder for him, agents outside official imperial channels brought news of similar freak weather or natural disasters across the E.U. and Chinese territories.

None of it made sense or should have been possible, and if he were but an emperor, he would have been left stunned by it all, as he was sure Schneizel must be experiencing.

But he was not a mere emperor, and with each report and each location plotted on a map, he could see a single thread connecting them all.

‘They’re all seemingly centred around locations with Thought Elevators.’ Charles realized, but with that, a cold flash shot down his back. “Brother…what have you done?”

Line Break

“See that destroyer?” C.C. called out, Urabe narrowing his gaze at his instruments before he could confirm its position. A bolt of lightning lit up the area after the fact.

"Kallen, I'll drop you off on it, we'll handle the carrier," Urabe called out.

“Tohdoh?” Kallen asked, hearing gunfire and explosions on Tohdoh's line. Despite how much C.C. and Urabe were doing, making landfall was still a bloody fight.

“We’re making progress, we’ll hit the beach in less than a minute!” Tohdoh replied, cutting the line.

Line Break

Aboard the Britannian ships, they faced off against the worst nature could throw at them, all while they had to engage in a mockery of a naval assault. Bah! As if these numbers could ever pose a true threat. “Sir, 2 knightmares have broken from the enemy force, one of them is the Gawain!”

The captain cursed, as he had seen the report on the weapon. It was embarrassing to lose a unit and have it turned against them. "Prepare to intercept. That is the biggest stick these stinking monkeys have against us. We take it out, and we're one step closer to seeing this uprising crushed."

Not even a moment after he gave his orders, another twin blast of red streaked through the dark skies, before slamming into the side of the ship to their side, right at the waterline. It had to strike a magazine as seconds later, the entire stern went up in a fiery explosion, one so large it tore the vessel in two.

“Dammit-focus fire on-!” He and the rest of his crew were thrown for a loop when something landed on their ship. He only had enough time to look up to see the claw of the Guren.

“Let me see you burst!” Kallen yelled as she palmed the bridge superstructure, shattering its glass before blasting the room with radiant wave energy. She cooked anything and everything inside before letting go and leaving it to explode.

Watching her handle the destroyer, the Gawain stood on the deck of the sinking carrier, newly formed holes in its side taking in water as the vessel started to capsize. "You know, it sounds crazy to pit a single knightmare against a full-loaded destroyer, but…" Urabe started, before he moved the Gawain to the air, before it was tossed into the water like the dozens of poor souls that once crewed the ship.

"Kallen seems to make a habit of defying your expectations for her," C.C. remarked, as she had entertained the idea that someone like Kallen was perfect for Lelouch and his insane schemes.

As lighting once more flashed, C.C.'s Code flashed with it, and she felt like someone was pouring hot wax into an open wound as she hissed in her seat.

This didn’t go unnoticed. “You good?” Urabe asked as C.C., but her lip was hard enough to draw blood, trying to distract herself.

“We need to hurry.” She hoped that V.V. was meddling with things he didn't know, but then again, his and Charles' hairbrained scheme was uncharted waters. For all she knew, this was C's world, lashing out.

Line Break

“Shit, will the weather ever let up?” One of the Black Knights asked as they engaged in a blade lock with a Britannian Sutherland, only for Asahina’s Gekka to zip by, slicing at the enemy’s cockpit, slaying the pilot.

He remarked as he and the 3 holy swords danced through the battlefield, lending aid where they could while keeping their enemies on the back foot. “Hey, if it keeps those damned VTOLs and jets off us, I’m all for it. Knightmare combat is best at short to mid-range anyway.”

"It will also throw off our missiles and rockets, you do realise, right?" Chiba reminded him, having to dive for cover as a Gloucester fired its recoilless rifle. As it moved to try and get a better angle on her, the Guren came up behind it, gripping its head and giving it a quirk blast from its radiant wave surger before rushing to the side, leaving the unit to explode.

An entire group of Britannian units followed suit, as the Gawain rained death on them, leaving nothing but burning husks. However, with how heavy the storm was, the flames wouldn't last a few minutes.

“Is this everyone?” Kallen asked, looking over the group. Even with the terrible weather, she swore there should be more.

“We lost a fourth of our number during the swim over," Tohdoh replied, Kallen biting back a curse as those gathered were some of their best; they couldn't easily replace any of them.

"Not as horrible as they could have been, particularly given the situation," C.C. remarked. Was it cold? Yes. Was it right? Also yes.

Tohdoh agreed with this sentiment, as all they could now do was honour the fallen by securing the objective they died for. “Either way, our remaining forces have dived and are trying to create a path of escape. We should just worry about reaching the target. If this typhoon gets any worse, it'll be impossible to leave.”

“The sooner the better, because my head is starting to hurt.”

“You too?”

"Wait a second." Urabe also felt a little weird; he had been since they touched the island. "C.C. What is this, is this you?"

Looking at his co-pilot, he saw that she was bent over in her seat, her forehead bleeding. Getting crimson all over her white outfit. Okay, that wasn't normal, not even for them. Still, before he could try and alert the rest to the possible medical emergency, C.C. sat up, a fierce, determined look on her face, made all the more intimidating by how her mark of Code glowed a bright, piercing pink, all while bleeding.

"Not mine. Someone seems to be messing with the Thought Elevator. It's causing this, all of it." C.C. bit out, as she hadn't felt pain like this since she was burnt as a witch for the first time. That had been a death she had worked to avoid since, and when she got her hands on V.V., he'd pay for making her relive it.

“How the-! Senba’s question was interrupted when they spotted something approaching.

That was a Gloucester with a familiar colour, wielding a sword they had only ever seen used by Lancelot. Cornelia's trap had been sprung, and despite the once-in-a-century hurricane battering the island, she wouldn't fail.

“Tohdoh!” She yelled as she sliced through one of their men, the Viceroy joined by her royal guard. “Surrender or your entire force will be destroyed.”

“As if you’ll grant them any mercy if I was so foolish to take you up on that.” Tohdoh shot back, as he knew what Britannian 'mercy' was. They'll be lucky if they are only shot as common criminals.

“As if you have any choice? You are without Zero, and I’ll ensure that he’ll never return, or if he does, he’ll find you all wiped from this Earth!” Cornelia shot back, ordering her man to engage.

“Crap!” One of the Zero Squad freaked out when Guilford charged him. He was like his lady, using an MVS that the Japanese pilot knew he couldn't match.

He was saved by Tohdoh, who rushed to his defence as his Holy Swords followed his lead, the two sides engaging in a harsh, fast-paced melee, kicking up wet sand, mud, and seawater as the storm pelted their units in rain while the winds shook the trees. “Don't panic, don't falter. We came here for a mission, and we'll see it done. Deploy Rolling tide formation!”

“This won’t be like Narita, Tohdoh. Today is the day you will fall, along with your Eleven resistance.” Guilford declared. As the ambushers, they had numbers and superior equipment. It was all but a forgone conclusion how this would end.

“Tohdoh!” Kallen yelled out as she helped the others deal with the other Royal Guard soldiers, who were backed up by two dozen other Sutherlands who fired on them from positions across the area. C.C. and Urabe were the only ones who could handle it, but with how quirky the Sutherland were, it wasn't easy, as they were barely hitting anyone.

“Don’t forget your mission, Kozuki! Get C.C. to that Thought Elevator, we’ll keep them busy!” Todhoh yelled back, even as he watched Cornelia cut down another of their number; they could at least keep her from chasing after the Guren and Gawain.

At least they were being kept in check, but Kallen had to quickly move in front of the Gawain and deploy her radiant wave surger, blocking a shot from a similarly familiar weapon. Growling, she and the Gawain looked up to see the Lancelot hovering above them, as if it were some angel. In one hand, it held an MVS; in the other, it held a VARIS, which was still drawn and aimed for them.

“This is as far as you go, Kallen!”

"Of course you're here, you're always in the way, Suzaku!" Kallen yelled as she charged, the Gawain providing supporting fire as the Lancelot danced around the fire before he came in for an attack, only to have to use his Blaze Luminous when Kallen swooped in.

“You damned traitor!” Kallen cried as she tried to fry the Lancelot through its shield, but the level of hard light held, forcing her to change tactics. Suzaku was just as determined to see her fall. Still, again he had to abandon his counterattack because of the Gawain and its hadron cannons.

“Kallen, come in!” Urabe called out to her. “We don't have time for this. We need to get to the cave, and then we can fight him!"

"We can't! Just follow my lead and we'll get there!" Kallen didn't dare take her eyes off the Lancelot, its white frame flowing with rainwater while its green eyes glowed.

"Can anyone support Kozuki and Urabe?" As she was busy with Senba, trying to keep Cornelia in check, Chiba requested, but the princess wasn't a pushover.

"We have our hands full here; they'll need to handle Kururugi on their own," Asahina replied, as he had to abandon the main melee to hunt down the Sutherlands taking pot shots at them.

Seeing ranged battle as ineffective, the Lancelot stored its VARIS and reached for its second MVS instead. The Guren, unable to fly like the Lancelot, had to play evasive as it would swoop by, taking swings at her, at times trying to use its slash harkens to try and throw her off.

One of these times, she lashed out with her unit's knife, cutting the Harkens' cable, but a second came in and hit her in the side. Suzaku yelled as he moved in for the finishing move, but again, he had to abandon it as C.C. fired on him. This time, he had to use his shields to block it, having no time to dodge.

Kallen was quick to take the chance to recover. A glance at her screens showed little damage, nothing to worry about. What she and the rest were more focused on were the building headaches, as it was like someone was trying to drill out her forehead.

"Dammit, we need to handle this asshole, and fast, but how?" Kallen asked as she stepped back in, saving Gawain from having his arm severed.

“Kozuki,” Suzaku seethed through the radio. “Answer me and I might spare your life: Where is Lelouch?" He demanded as he charged the Guren, the two machines meeting in a melee so fast that Urabe and C.C. couldn't help but lend aid.

All the while, Kallen wondered what the hell Suzaku was on about, and why he was so aggressive. And why the hell did he think they…?

"Why the hell would we know what happened to him?" She snapped back at him, pushing her unit into a handstand to kick at the Lancelot, which it blocked, but she used it as a springboard to put distance between them. C.C. immediately followed this up with a blast from her Hadrons.

Suzaku growled at the response and was pushed back by a stolen Britannian unit. He ignored Lloyd's whining about some Rakshata woman completing the weapons system before he could and focused on the present and the obstacle to his saving his friend!

“Don’t play dumb with me, Kozuki!" Suzaku yelled as he slipped out from C.C.'s assault and charged Kallen again. This time, he managed to land a clean cut across his shoulder, though not deep enough to disable the unit's most dangerous weapon.

“You were placed at Ashford by that damned masked madman, and when you realized who they were, you took your chance! You gave them up, and because of that, Lelouch was snatched up by your damned terrorists!” The Lancelot continued the assault, fighting like a wild animal filled with rage. Kallen found herself struggling against it as this was nothing like their other engagements, but she would be damned if she lost to him!

Trying to catch her off guard, the Lancelot pulled its VARIS one. He fired on her as fast as he could pull the trigger. Still, Kallen danced around the shot, sometimes using her Radiant Wave Surget to deflect the shots into the forest or the water. “He vanished right after our last engagement, and you were always a traitor, a liar! To a monster like Zero, he was too good a target for his blood lust, and you're too brainwashed to realize that you happily helped!”

"Are you insane? Why would we want to kidnap him, you idiot?! You think we would do something so evil?" Kallen demanded, her fury rising much like Suzaku's. She had thought she understood him; she had thought that, despite being on different sides, he wasn't really her enemy, but if he could spew shit like this, then there was no saving him. He was in her way, and she'll kill him like she's done to everyone else.

“Don’t play dumb, Zero has been targeting the royal family since he killed Clovis! All he cares about is killing them, no matter who they are or what they’ve done!” Suzaku yelled back.

“What does…” Kallen asked, as that didn’t make sense, not unless-

"Kallen!" C.C.'s scream alerted her in time for Kallen to avoid the surely lethal strike, but she still lost her unit's arm and its blade, leaving her with just the radiant wave surger. The Gawain fired on the Lancelot, but this time, Suzaku was ready.

Using the Blaze to deflect the blast, he threw his sword like a throwing knife, striking his target in the right shoulder, destroying its right hadron canon, and knocking the Gawain into its side.

His victory was short-lived, as Kallen came in for some payback. Latching onto the arm holding his VARIS, she wasn't hesitant to fire the RWS into it. Suzaku, recalling what the thing could do, was quick to detach the limb and abandon it and his rifle, leaving him with just the single sword.

Inside the Lancelot’s cockpit, Suzaku was seeing red. “Face it! You know you did it, or someone else in your pretend knight order, and I’m going to rescue him, even if it means seeing you all killed one by one!”

“You damned ignorant fool,” Kallen hissed. “You are the most stubborn Britannian ass-kisser I’ve ever met. All you do is blame others and obsess over Zero! As soon as something bad happens, you always point at him, at us! Well, screw you! It's because of you and your stupid princess that all of this happened, and I'm not about to let you stop me from saving Zero, so get ready to die, father-killer.”

The two seemed ready for another charge, all caution to the wind. All they wished for was the other to die, and nothing, not the damaged units, not their missions, not the typhoon that grew so intense it was ripping trees out by the roots, could stop them.

But forces beyond their comprehension would see their fight stopped.

C.C. suddenly got a vision of a white dragon, just like Kallen had witnessed. But then just as fast, she saw another, one who the sight of chilled her to her bones and terrified her in ways she hadn't felt in centuries. Seeing the two dragons clash in her mind's eye as her Code's pain peaked, she could only say one thing.

“It’s too late.”

Line Break

V.V. ignored the pain, chaos, the sandstorm ripping through the desert above them, and the incoming call from his brother, who no doubt suspected his involvement in current events. For it was done. Now he would have his better world. Now, his brother would see he was wrong and V.V. was right. Now, he would finally stamp out that whore Marriane.

So it was with glee that he gave the order. “Proceed.”

That was when the world screamed, and the world, as he and humanity had known it since the beginning, came to an end.

Line Break

And at last, we are here, the final chapter of Code Bakugan Brawlers, at least the first part of it. As I said in the previous chapter, it will be gone for the rest of the year, as planning this while handling other projects takes time.

Speaking of, planning for this chapter was a bit of a rush in some places, but I was able to hammer things out and then write a sort of beta chapter that I could look over in full before making serious changes to better flow from scene to scene and character to character. This chapter focused on what happened back on Earth, which led to the end we saw in the previous chapter, and well…well, you'll see what I mean when you read it.

Anyway, while I hope you enjoy this chapter and the end of it is basically R1, I'll go watch Dealing with Mikadono Sisters, as I'm a couple of episodes behind.

Oh, one last thing: In chapter 18, Rakshata was meant to say Kallen showered several times, not severed several times. I kept the OG unedited document, and it has it spelled just slightly off, yet Grammarly went way off into left field with the correction. It's been changed.