3 Chapter 2

If the reported death of her siblings was what ultimately motivated Princess Euphemia to join in the politics of court, what is now known as the Shinjuku Incident was what ultimately set her on the road to the throne. Details remain sparse to this day if only because many of the principals involved died during the incident and those that survived have refrained from discussing it. What is known is that Prince Clovis, an elder brother to the Princess, had produced a quantity of poisonous gas, the purpose of which also remains a mystery. The resistance movement Lady Stadtfeld-Kouzuki was part of managed to steal the gas while it was being moved, setting off a determined response by the Prince's royal guard and members of the Britannian Purist faction. The official reports at the time claimed that the gas was released and that was what ultimately caused the high number of civilian casualties, but eye witness accounts and documentation published after Empress Euphemia's ascension refute them. Regardless of what really happened, the Shinjuku Incident would set the stage for the meeting of two remarkable young women.

-Toward a New Dawn: The Rise of Euphemia I

Chapter 2: Ulciscor

Kewell approached the carnage of the battle with a wary eye. Limbs and broken bodies littered the tunnel, the cause all too obvious with the wrecked Glasgow lying there. Before the soldiers had finally managed to take it down it had exacted a heavy toll on their numbers. In fact as far as he could tell it was a battle of mutual annihilation. All of the soldiers were dead and a lone terrorist lay in a bloody heap by the Glasgow. The container was also open, had that happened accidentally during the fight? Or had the terrorists opened it themselves to take their Britannian pursuers out with them in one last blaze of glory? Kewell checked his systems. The filters were not picking up anything so either the gas had already dispersed or it was extremely diffuse to begin with.

"I've found the terrorists' truck and the gas container," Kewell reported. "Moving in to investigate."

"Take care Sir Kewell," Villetta cautioned. "These terrorists have proven to be remarkably resourceful."

"Their resourcefulness seems to be at an end," Kewell said confidently. "I can see the wreckage of their stolen Glasgow."

As he circled around the wreck the knight found that his initial assessment of the situation was not quite accurate. There was a survivor, a female figure with red hair clutching her legs. She appeared to be sobbing. Kewell frowned, zooming his camera in to get a closer look. Her clothes were clearly disheveled and she was definitely Britannian. A bystander that had been drawn into the firefight? Though what was she doing in the ghetto? Had she been traveling to the Concession? Only way to find out. Kewell strapped on his gasmask and checked his pistol. The girl looked like a harmless civilian but one could never be too careful. At the same time if she really was a traumatized civilian trying to get answers out of her from inside a towering knightmare would not get him anywhere. The knight popped open the cockpit and climbed down. He approached the girl slowly so as not to startle her.

"Miss?"

The girl continued to sob. It looked like she really was out of it. Might it have been the gas? Kewell leaned over and reached out with a hand.

"Miss, it's alright now. On my words as a knight I will allow no harm t-"

Kewell never got to finish his sentence. The girl's hand shot up, seizing his arm in an iron grip before twisting, the grapple accompanied by a quick kick to the back of his knee. Kewell tumbled, scrambling to regain his balance even as he prepared a counterattack. His free hand swung about to bring the pistol to bear only for it to be brushed aside by the girl. Despite her delicate looking frame she was strong and Kewell cried in pain as she twisted his arm further back. Kewell was a knight however and had earned his rank. He shifted again, trying to kick out the girl's legs. Instead each kick was met by the girl's own feet, the last attempt seeing a brutal stomp of her heel against his knee. Before another cry of pain escaped his lips a sharp pain shot through his throat. The girl twisted and the knife she had hidden severed Kewell's arteries and windpipe. The knight gurgled but collapsed, clutching futilely at the wound. His last thought as he looked into the eyes of the girl was wonderment at how so very wrong he had been. This girl was not a victim, she was a hunter and killer. The coldness of her eyes made that clear enough. It was the last thing the knight saw.

Kallen panted, her breathing heavy but even as she watched the light fade from the Britannian soldier's eyes. Her hands were trembling, covered as they were in the blood of her victim. She tried to wipe them on her clothes but she could still feel the stickiness. She shuddered. This was not the first time she had killed, but this time it felt so personal. Maybe it was because she had slit her opponent's throat directly and felt his life ooze away with the blood that was spilled. Or maybe it was because she had been able to see every move the man was making or going to make. She had read him like a book, her senses so attuned that every minute twitch was a signal for what the man intended to do next. The sensation was unnerving.

Kallen looked over at the corpse of the green haired girl. "What did you do to me?"

The corpse of course remained silent, but Kallen was sure that whatever was happening to her now was the dead girl's fault. Somehow she had triggered something in Kallen, some ability or power that boosted her senses to such great heights. Yet that power had ultimately saved her life. It had allowed her to defeat the soldiers that killed Nagata and then ambush the Britannian knight that had appeared to investigate.

"You have my thanks," Kallen said softly, "whoever you are. I guess you did grant my wish. I'm sorry it cost you your life in the process."

Kallen turned but stopped mid-step. She looked over the girl at the body of the Japanese young man serving in the Britannian military. He was still breathing, she could actually see his chest rising and falling. Her grip tightened over the knife's handle. She could end his life here and now, he was a traitor to the Japanese people for selling out to their oppressors and deserved nothing less. But then she remembered his words.

"There does not need to be any more bloodshed today."

He had pleaded with them to surrender, shooting only to disable Nagata instead of killing him outright. Maybe he had really meant it when he said he would try to get aid for her comrade. Not that his efforts would have meant anything, Kallen was certain. But he seemed earnest in his efforts to keep them all alive. Her grip on the knife loosened.

"The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky," Kallen said, even though there was no way the unconscious soldier could have heard her.

Sheathing her knife, Kallen looked over at the Sutherland the Britannian soldier had ridden. Just from a cursory look she could tell that it was considerably more effective than the wrecked Glasgow. If only she could take it with her. Kallen blinked. Well, why not? What was to stop her from hijacking it? Kallen turned over to the corpse lying in a pool of its own blood. Steeling herself she flipped the body over and patted it down. There, the key for the knightmare. And fresh clips for the pistol she pried out of the man's hand. Now all that was left was the activation code. Could her new powers help her there? Only one way to find out.

Kallen climbed into the cockpit and made herself as comfortable as she could. She plugged in the key and was promptly greeted with a screen asking for the code. She looked down at the number pad. There it was, the numbers that composed the code were slightly smudged. Even more incredibly she felt a pattern emerging, the area of the smudge hinting at the order the numbers were punched in. She tried a combination. Beep. No dice. Another. Beep. A third. Beep. Kallen growled in frustration but did not give up. The potential payoff was too great here. A fourth. The machine hummed as it came to life.

"Yes!"

The cockpit closed and the knightmare rose, ready to serve its new master.

"Alright, let's see just what you can do," Kallen said.

The girl switched through the radio channels, listening to the chatter that filled them. The military was still sweeping the ghetto, searching for the gas and any resistance fighters. A few other groups were popping up, taking potshots at the foot soldiers even as they tried to avoid direct confrontation with the knightmares. Smart, that. Few resistance groups were well equipped enough to take on professional soldiers never mind the large mechs. Suddenly a clear voice sounded through Kallen's headset.

"Sir Kewell, have you found anything?"

It was a woman, Kallen could tell that much at least. And the transmission was being directed to her knightmare. Was Kewell the man she had just killed? Likely. Kallen looked around the cockpit, quickly finding the IFF and switching it off. There, off the grid for now. However she could not just sit around, she needed up to meet up with Ohgi and the others. Kallen grimaced. And tell them about Nagata. Kallen turned the knightmare about and headed deeper into the tunnel. She would need to find another exit, enemy reinforcements were undoubtedly coming from where she had originally entered.

"Still no contact from Kallen or Nagata?" Ohgi asked worriedly.

"Nothing. They got into the tunnel though and trying to punch a signal through there is tough at the best of times. If they tried to use their cells the Britannians'll triangulate on them using which base stations their phones connect to so we probably won't hear from them until they get out and can use their radios again."

The woman who answered, Naomi Inoue, knew what she was talking about. She had studied to become an engineer but with the widespread discrimination against the Japanese her opportunities for employment were severely constrained. That lack of opportunity was one reason why she fell in with Naoto's resistance group and Ohgi was glad she had stayed with them after his death.

"Damn it, those bastards are everywhere," Tamaki said as he surveyed the area with his binoculars. "They've even got knightmares in the ghetto!"

Ohgi bit back a bitter retort. It was Tamaki's showboating that had derailed the original plan but the other man knew it and had accepted the stern admonishments Ohgi had delivered earlier. His attitude might have still been aggressive but Tamaki was restraining himself and they all needed to keep a level head instead of turning on one another if they were going to live through the day. The Britannians seemed particularly determined to retrieve the gas, likely not wanting to suffer the public relations disaster that knowledge of such a weapon would cause. Not that the Britannians actually cared what the Japanese thought, but provoking the entire population too much could cause an all-out revolt that would be difficult even for them to contain. It would also get countless civilians killed, a thought Ohgi did not relish.

"Oi, we've got incoming!"

Ohgi rose. "Let me see."

Tamaki handed over the binoculars and Ohgi peered through them to catch sight of a single Sutherland approaching their position. He grimaced. Its shoulders were the maroon color of the Purist faction, an especially vile and discriminatory group of Britannian soldiers. Though that was strange, it was alone. Doctrine called for knightmares to operate at minimum in pairs so they could provide each other support. What was this one doing out here alone? Ohgi's radio crackled at that moment.

"Head, this is fang," a distinctly familiar voice said. "Do you read me?"

Ohgi immediately snatched up his radio. "Fang, this is head, keep your distance, we've got an incoming frame."

The response was a chuckle. Where did Kallen find humor in this kind of situation?

"Don't worry head, that's me. I'm the one in the red shoulders."

Ohgi's eyes widened. As he looked around he saw the others experiencing similar reactions. Kallen had managed to steal a Sutherland? One that belonged to the Purist faction? How had she managed to do that? Was this a trap? No, Kallen would never give them up, Ohgi was sure of that. He grimaced. Even if they tortured her.

"Fang, can we get confirmation of that?"

A pause. "I've stopped."

Ohgi looked through the binoculars and saw indeed the knightmare and come to a halt. He let out a sigh of relief.

"You'll have to tell us how you managed this trick," he said into the radio.

"Later," Kallen replied. "Do you guys have transportation?"

"Yeah, we've still got a pickup running."

"Alright, follow me, we're going to get out of here."

"What?"

"I'm tapped into their radio net Ohgi," Kallen explained. "I know exactly where their patrols are and I can guide us around them."

"Good going Ka-Fang!" Ohgi cheered. Then a frown crossed his face. "Fang, what about?"

A most telling pause. "He didn't make it."

The good cheer disappeared from amongst Ohgi's comrades.

"I see. I'm glad you managed to get out of there though."

"We'll avenge him," Kallen promised.

"That's for the future," Ohgi said. "For now we need to get out of here alive." Another thought occurred to him. "What about the gas?"

Again there was a pause before Kallen answered. "There wasn't any. I'll explain later."

Ohgi frowned. "Alright. We're coming out and we'll follow your lead."

"Roger, fang out."

Ohgi looked at the others. "Let's get moving, no telling how much longer before the Britannians reach this block."

Fortunately they were traveling light and not five minutes later all of them were in the pickup driving towards Kallen's Sutherland. The knightmare gave them a thumbs up and started moving again, leading them through the mostly deserted streets.

"Fang, where are we headed?" Ohgi asked, still sticking to codenames.

They had been a bit sloppy when the operation began but with the military now breathing down their necks their focus had sharpened considerably.

"We're going to need more firepower to break through the blockade," Kallen said, "and I know just where to get us some."

Ohgi frowned, exchanging looks with the others. They all shrugged, likely as unsure of the girl's intention as he. Before anyone could venture a guess the car swerved around a corner.

"Damn girl needs to remember we're not in a knightmare," Tamaki complained as he grabbed the side of the truck.

That Ohgi found himself agreeing with. Kallen was setting a fast pace, weaving through the streets with almost supernatural grace. They took another sharp turn and Ohgi just barely caught sight of a group of Britannian soldiers before they were around the corner. It almost seemed as if Kallen was leading them into the advancing sweep instead of away.

"Oi, we sure this gonna be okay?" Tamaki asked, giving voice to Ohgi's own concern.

"I hope so," Ohgi said. "Kallen's the only one who knows what's going on thanks to her radio. We just have to place some faith in her."

"If you say so man."

Not that Ohgi did not understand the other man's apprehension but he still scowled at Tamaki. This was Naoto's little sister, a girl he had watched grow up from a happy-go-lucky child into a hardened and embittered young woman. This was not the life her brother would have wanted for her but there was no way Ohgi could have kept her out of the fight after her brother's death. She deserved their trust, their unconditional trust. He would at least make sure she had his.

"We're here," Kallen said, slowing down.

Here turned out to be next to a railroad. The truck came to a halt and the others piled out, what few weapons they had at the ready.

"Hide," Kallen ordered.

Ohgi nodded to the others and led them behind a few abandoned buildings next to the tracks. It did not take long for the sound of an approaching train to reach them, one that was going slowly. Not surprising since it was traveling through the city. And then there was a screech as its brakes engaged. With a clunk the train ground to a halt and Ohgi thought he could hear a few shouts of English, likely the engineers. And then gunfire sounded, followed by screams. Ohgi immediately raced out with the others, weapons at the ready. That turned out to be unneeded, limbs and broken bodies hanging from the train where shots from the Sutherland's rifle had smashed into them. A knightmare's weapons were appropriately oversized and the high explosive rounds Kallen had used were a severe case of overkill. Ohgi felt his stomach churn at the sight but he kept its contents down. This was war and in fact it was more the casualness of Kallen's actions that disturbed him than the dead Britannians.

"Kallen, what are you doing!?" he demanded.

"Removing witnesses," Kallen said flatly, her tone making clear that she took in comfort from her actions.

Ohgi swallowed his follow up. The girl was obviously feeling a lot of pressure and piling more on top of her would only make things worse right now. But after, after they would be having a long talk.

"What next?" he said instead.

The Sutherland rolled over to the train car and smashed the locks on one. It popped open, revealing two more knightmare frames.

"Next, is our counterattack," Kallen said, her voice sounding much more assured.

Another train car popped open, then another, revealing a total of six units, seven counting Kallen's. Tamaki hooted in amazement while the others simply looked on, stunned at their sudden change in fortune.

"Hurry up!" Kallen shouted, stirring them from their shock. "Enemy reinforcements will be here shortly and we need to get moving!"

They needed no further prompting. Ohgi and the others rushed to get in the knightmares.

"Sir Kewell has been killed," Villetta reported.

Jeremiah grimaced. "Any indications how he died?"

"Someone managed to slit his throat," Villetta said. "I found his body next to the gas container and it's been opened."

"It has?"

"My filters aren't picking up anything so the gas must have dissipated already. The terrorists were definitely engaged here however, the soldiers you sent managed to catch up with them and from the looks of it disabled the Glasgow. All but one died in the end, along with one of the terrorists."

"But another survived to murder Kewell and steal his knightmare," Jeremiah said darkly.

"Indeed. I suspected something had gone wrong when Sir Kewell did not respond to my calls and backtracked. His Sutherland's IFF seems to have been deactivated, meaning we cannot track it easily."

"The terrorist will likely have fled the tunnels at this point," Jeremiah said. "Regroup with us and we will continue sweeping the ghetto. I will notify our troops to look out for a lone Sutherland in our colors not broadcasting an IFF."

"Yes my lord."

As the channel closed Jeremiah regarded the map of the district. Despite its rundown nature Shinjuku was still a large place and there were plenty of places a knightmare might hide. Still that pilot in the Glasgow had shown considerable skill. If he really had gotten his hands on a more powerful Sutherland the damage he could inflict would be greater still. Not that Jeremiah expected any great difficulty in defeating the terrorist, but the sooner they flushed him out and killed him the better. To do that however he needed more troops on the ground, scouting the city. Unfortunately Prince Clovis had been adamant that the only forces Jeremiah could call upon were his royal guards and those of the Purist faction. Considering the sensitivity of the operation that was not surprising but that did not change the fact that Jeremiah was handicapped by his lack of numbers. Then again so were the terrorists. If they could pin them down, they would be wiped out in short order.

"My lord!"

Jeremiah keyed his mic. "What is it?"

"My lord, our forces are reporting that they've come under attack by Sutherlands in sector 77!"

Jeremiah frowned. Had he heard that right, Sutherlands as in plural? Had the terrorists managed to commandeer even more knightmares? This could get messy.

"Direct our forces there, I will lead the knights myself."

"Yes sir!"

"Hah!"

The Britannian soldiers scrambled away, screaming in terror as Kallen plowed through their ranks. Another group was approaching a block away, trying to flank her to nail her with an AP rocket. That would not do. She spun about, launching her harken into the building. Using it as an anchor Kallen rounded the corner without slowing and put two explosive shells into the group of soldiers. Those that were lucky died then and there. Those that were not crawled feebly on the ground, limbs and guts spilled everywhere. Kallen did her best to ignore their cries of pain.

"Fang, we've got knightmares incoming," Ohgi said, having taken over listening to the Britannian command channels.

Kallen looked about. They had punched a hole in the Britannian perimeter and civilians had been streaming through it for the past ten minutes or so, fleeing the fighting. More and more resistance groups had popped up and the fighting was snowballing into something much more than just a simple skirmish. If they were unlucky they might end up bringing the entire Britannian army down on them and power or no power there was no way they would win that fight.

"We need to get out of here, draw their attention away from the civilians," Kallen said. "We also need to make sure they know where we're headed so they follow us."

"I agree," Ohgi said. "That's going to require we take the fight to them again though."

"No problem," Kallen said confidently.

"We need to be careful," Ohgi said sternly. "If we get too deep we might not be able to pull out ourselves."

Little chance of that happening, Kallen thought. She could see it. She could see everything, about a kilometer or so out, every man, woman, and child, civilian and soldier alike. There was no way they were getting flanked, even without access to the Britannian command net.

"We've got this Ohgi," Kallen said, letting slip his name. "Let's get a move on it, those knightmares aren't going to be far from here."

The girl sped off before Ohgi could caution her again. With a sigh he followed.

"What's with her?" Tamaki asked over a private channel. "She was always gung ho before but now it's like she's itching for a fight."

"I don't know," Ohgi replied, "but sometime tells me it has something to do with how she got that Sutherland in the first place. I just hope we can get out of this mess to ask her."

The first thing Suzaku felt was pain. A dull pain, but pain nonetheless. That told him he was still alive. The dead felt nothing after all. He opened his eyes.

"My aren't you having a bad day?" a remarkably cheerful voice said. "Looks like you missed your chance to go to heaven, Private Kururugi."

Suzaku turned his head to see a tall bespectacled man looking down on him. The smile on his face was more than a bit unnatural.

"I what?" Suzaku said in confusion. "Where am I?"

"Hmm? Ah, you're on the outskirts of the Shinjuku Ghetto."

"Specifically the operational base camp of Prince Clovis," a woman with shoulder length hair said. Her smile was a lot more reassuring. "This is probably the safest place to be at the moment so don't worry."

"I see," Suzaku said. His hand wandered over his chest. When he didn't feel it, he began to frantically pat his body.

"Oh, are you looking for this?" the woman said, pulling out a pocket watch. "We took it off you when treating you. I presume it's important?"

"Yeah," Suzaku said as he accepted it. "Thank you. Umm, what's the current situation?"

"It looks like the poison gas was released," the man said in a disinterested tone. "There are reports of massive Eleven casualties."

Suzaku frowned. "But, there wasn't any gas."

The man's eyes narrowed. His smile returned. "Is that so?"

The woman leaned over. "You might want to keep that to yourself for now, private."

Suzaku's eyes widened but he nodded. Something was obviously going on but if they were willing to overlook his remark then he would return the favor of keeping his mouth shut.

"Anyway, the military is still trying to track down the terrorists," the woman said.

"I see," Suzaku said, thinking back to the girl he had caught glimpses of when she tried to help her comrade. Was she still alive?

"Private Kururugi," the man said, interrupting Suzaku's thoughts. "How would you like to pilot a knightmare?"

Suzaku blinked. "But, I'm not eligible."

The smile widened and Suzaku felt a chill run down his spine. "Let's say the opportunity presented itself. Interested?"

Suzaku's eyes widened. Something told him this was it. This was the chance he had been waiting for since becoming an Honorary Britannian and enlisting. A chance to prove to Britannians that the Japanese could stand with them instead of beneath them. He nodded. The man's smile was now a full-fledged grin.

"Congratulations, the first knightmare of its kind awaits you! Your world will never be the same again!"

"Whether you want it or not," the woman added.

"Incoming!"

Jeremiah got his Sutherland into cover just in time as high explosive rounds detonated amidst his formation. Two knightmares went down, their cockpits ejecting as their pilots ditched to get out of the carnage. Not that Jeremiah could blame them seeing as the enemy apparently held the high ground against his troops.

"Scatter!" he ordered.

The surviving knightmares hurried to obey, trading shots with the enemy as they dispersed around the building.

"Clever dogs," Jeremiah said. "Villetta, with me, we'll flush them out."

"Yes my lord!"

The two knightmares rolled away, putting a building between them and the enemy.

"Up, we're meet them on our terms, not theirs."

Villetta fired her harkens, sinking it into the concrete. As she rose Jeremiah did likewise and followed her up. Just as she emerged on the roof however an explosion slammed into her knightmare.

"GAAAAAAHHHH!"

The cabling snapped, torn apart by the HE rounds and the Sutherland plummeted towards the ground.

"Villetta!"

Tugging his own harkeens free Jeremiah fell after her. He however still had control of his unit, firing one harkeens after her while plugging his frame's arms into the building wall. His knightmare lurched as he caught old of Villetta's mech but her fall was stopped.

"Villetta! Are you alright!?"

"Apologies my lord," Villetta said, her voice strained. "The terrorist took me by surprise."

Jeremiah grimaced. That was an incredibly well timed shot, it had to have been due to luck. No one could have predicted her reaching the roof and then timing a shot like that. Unless other terrorists were acting as spotters? He scanned the area, not seeing anything.

"Can you still fight?" Jeremiah asked as he lowered her to the ground.

The Sutherland tried to rise but another piece fell off its leg. "No my lord, at least not in this knightmare."

The margrave grunted. "Acknowledged. Withdraw for now, I will avenge both you and Kewell."

"My failure shames me, my lord."

"This is battle, and you will have only failed in battle if you die," Jeremiah said. "Go, I will end this."

Without waiting Jeremiah reached the ground himself and set off. His instincts told him that trying to climb would only see him suffer a similar fate as Villetta. He would need a different approach.

"Nice shot Kallen!" Ohgi cried, his exuberance momentarily overriding his caution.

It really was a good shot, she had managed to nail the knightmare just as it was emerging on the rooftop. It might have survived the fall but there was no way it was getting back up to fight. One more down, only another five to go.

"We need to get off this roof now," Kallen said, already moving to the north edge.

"Why?" Tamaki asked even as he followed.

Kallen fired her harkens at the building across the street and jumped, slamming into the wall before lowering herself.

"We've got two more nightmares climbing up the building north of us, from there they'll have the high ground on us instead."

Ohgi glanced up at the building in question and saw that Kallen was right, at least about the relative positions. But how did she know their enemy was scaling it? The Britannians had figured out their communications had been compromised and subunit communications were now on short range and line of sight systems that were much harder if not outright impossible to intercept. So what had given them away? There was no time to ponder the point further as Ohgi dropped down with the others. Kallen had been right about everything else so far and he had little reason to doubt her instincts now, especially when she was the reason they were still alive. If she said go, he would go. He smiled wirily to himself. And he was supposed to be their cell leader.

Up ahead Kallen was already on the move. A lone enemy knightmare was approaching their position, likely not even aware they had abandoned the rooftop. One enemy and six of them, this should be over quickly. As the enemy turned the corner Kallen brought her blade down, and hit nothing.

"Huh?"

The enemy knightmare slammed into her from below, throwing her back.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Kallen!"

The others spread out, trying to get a clear shot but the enemy stuck close to the girl. Kallen however recovered quickly, blocking a swing by the enemy's blade. It fired off its harkens, too fast to dodge and managing to tangle one of her legs. The enemy pulled, nearly throwing the Sutherland off balance again. This time however Kallen was ready, sinking her blade into the ground to give her an anchor. She shoved her rifle into the other knightmare's shoulder and fired, the AP round she had loaded easily tearing through the joint. The tension on her leg slackened and Kallen used it to plant a solid kick on the enemy's chest. Pulling free her blade, she cried a challenge and slammed into her opponent. She had him!

Without warning the enemy knightmare fired its own rifle, shattering Kallen's left leg and causing her to topple. It was only delaying the inevitable however as the others finally got a clear shot and unloaded. Before their shots impacted however the cockpit on the enemy knightmare ejected, flying away from the battle.

"Kallen!" Ohgi shouted. "Are you alright!?"

"I think so," Kallen said. "Damn, this unit's done for."

"Here, switch with me," Naomi said. "I'd feel a lot safer with you at the helm than just being in a knightmare myself."

"Got it," Kallen said, popping open her cockpit. "I think we've caused enough of a ruckus, we can probably pull out now."

"The problem is finding where to pull out," Ohgi said. "They've still got the district locked down tight. For now let's pull back and see if anything turns up."

As he spoke Naomi hopped over to his knightmare and knocked on the cockpit.

"Huh?"

"Open up, I'll ride with you," the woman said. "I don't want to get in Kallen's way and this way I can help monitor the radio channels."

"Oh, okay."

Ohgi opened up and Naomi climbed in. The man tried not to think about the close proximity they were in within the cramped compartment.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Naomi warned as the cockpit closed.

"Would never dream of it!"

Clovis' finger drummed impatiently on his armrest, the steady rhythm as nerve-wracking for the personnel present as the steady stream of casualty reports pouring in. The terrorists were putting up a hell of a fight and several knightmares were confirmed down. Another report came in.

"Margrave Gottwald has been defeated!" an incredulous voice exclaimed.

The scowl darkened on Clovis' face. "What was that man doing allowing himself to be bested by such rabble!? Send reinforcements to his last known position!"

"But sire, we've already stripped the encirclement to dangerous levels!" Bradley protested. "There are already reports of civilians managing to flee the district!"

Clovis glowered at the man. "Then find the subject and end this!"

"We need more troops sire," Bradley said. "The forces we have sent in thus far have all been routed. We have to dispatch the regular army."

"Absolutely not!" Clovis exploded. "We will keep this matter restricted to just my personal forces and the Purists! If word gets out about the subject, being disowned will be the least of my concerns!"

Before Bradley could respond a video channel opened on the main display.

"Please pardon the intrusion," a bespectacled man said, "but I couldn't help but notice your forces seem to be running into a bit of trouble in the ghetto. Might I suggest this would be an opportune moment to deploy ASEEC's new knightmare?"

Clovis glared at the man, not knowing whether to be more furious at the interruption or the presumption of the man.

"Earl Asplund, your services will be called upon at my discretion," Clovis said coldly. "Until then restrict yourself to your machines and leave military matters to me."

Lloyd actually grinned. "Of course highness, but the reports that we have seen indicate that your forces are slowly being whittled down. If you do not hurry, not even the Lancelot will be able to turn the tide."

Clovis shot an angry look at Bartley and the general frantically shook his head. So the mad scientist had tapped into the communications net without permission. That might be something he could hold over the man's head in the future, if he could convince Schneizel to look the other way. But to do that convincing he needed to contain the situation and the blasted noble had a point, he was losing control and if the terrorists and the subject escaped there was no telling what the consequences might be.

"Sir, we just lost another unit two kilometers from here!" a soldier cried frantically. "They seem to be approaching our position!"

The prince ground his teeth. "Dispatch your machine, Earl."

Lloyd was all smiles as he bowed. "By your command, highness. And please, do address it by its proper name of Lancelot."

The screen blinked out, probably for the best as Clovis was seething at the impropriety of the earl. He had known that Asplund was not right in the head but this, this bordered on lèse majesté! The earl's machine had best live up to his claims, for both their sakes.

"Alright! We're almost through!"

"This is utterly insane," Tamaki whined.

"Shut it and keeping moving," Kallen snapped. "If we're going to break this blockade we need to draw their forces away from their positions and that means going after the one thing they won't abandon, the prince."

"And once we have our hole we escape, right?" Ohgi pressed.

"Of course," Kallen replied. "The point is to live to fight another day, not go out in a blaze of glory!"

The man sighed. At least the girl had her priorities straight. And if they managed to get these Sutherlands out their little cell would get quite the boost. His knightmare shook from another near miss and Naomi bumped into him again.

"Eyes on the road!" she cried.

"Yes ma'am!"

Not just Kallen but now Naomi. He was not even married yet and he already knew what it meant to be henpecked.

"We've got a new unit incoming!" Naomi shouted, listening intently to the radio. "It's, I don't recognize the callsign."

"Doesn't matter," Kallen said, already seeing the enemy as it approached. "We take it out like everyone else."

Even as she said those Kallen felt a chill run through her body. This new knightmare was different, its form more fluid and sleek than the blocky design of a Sutherland or Glasgow. A new design? And its movements were very smooth. Whoever was piloting it was obviously well practiced with the machine. Kallen tightened her grip. She had already underestimated one opponent, she was not going to do the same with this new machine. As it came into sight she opened fire immediately. She hit. Except the rounds exploded harmlessly against a green sheen.

"What the hell!?"

The strange white knightmare charged, trying to close the distance and even as it opened fire. Kallen's instincts roared at her and she shifted her knightmare, just evading the shot that blew past her. Despite the near miss her knightmare shook and warning alarms blared to indicate structural damage. Whatever that weapon was it really was dangerous and she would not survive a direct hit. Kallen threw herself out of the way, just barely avoiding another shot. She took aim and unleashed her harkens, trying to entangle the enemy much as she herself had been earlier. The enemy knightmare jumped, evading cables but running right now two well placed shots from Kallen's rifle. The first one again was absorbed by the green shield but the second rocked the mech, causing it to land clumsily as it came down. Kallen's harkens had buried themselves into a building wall and the girl swung about, trying to sweep the enemy off its feet. She caught one leg but the other rose and stepped over, the enemy somehow managing to stay upright. This guy was good, really good. But she knew she was better. She was cheating after all.

The finger on her rifle trigger started to tighten when suddenly she saw it, the gun barrel peeking out from behind the enemy knightmare pointed straight at her. She could not dodge, it was too late, there was only one way to avoid the killing blow. Kallen's fist slammed into the eject button and her cockpit module blasted out of the Sutherland. A moment later her former knightmare exploded as the enemy round slammed into it.

"Kallen!" Ohgi cried. "Damn it, unload everything we've got, keep that thing pinned down!"

The others let loose immediately but the enemy was incredibly agile. It zigzagged about, avoiding their fire and returning its own more lethal response. Tamaki's was the next to fall, the legs on his Sutherland blowing out from under him. The enemy did not follow up however and a moment later his comrade had ejected, leaving behind the wrecked frame.

"We need to pull back!" Ohgi cried. "We can't keep up with that thing!"

"What about Kallen and Tamaki?" Naomi asked from behind.

"They're clear, hopefully they'll be able to evade the patrols," Ohgi said, even though he knew it was a distant hope. "We can't help them like this though. Pull back!"

The others heeded his order, a bit reluctantly at first but another round slicing off the arm of Yoshida's Sutherland lent haste to their retreat. Damn it, things had been going so well for them. Where had the Britannians been hiding this white monster? There was no time to think, they needed to run, and maybe, just maybe draw away enough of the blockade forces to allow their comrades to escape.

Kallen pulled herself out of the cockpit and watched as the others made a run for it. It was the right decision, with her out of commission they were no match for that white knightmare. Hell even with her around they had only managed to stall it. It grated at her being defeated like this but her wounded pride could wait. Right now survival came first, something that was looking less and less likely with each passing moment. Unless? Kallen looked over at the G-1 land cruiser. They already knew the prince had diverted some of his own security detail to reinforce the encirclement and hunt them down. Had it been thinned enough for her to make it through with her power? Could she make it through, take Clovis hostage and force him to lift the siege? Kallen checked how much ammo she had for her pistol. Only way to find out. After all, sometimes a good defense is a good offense.

Suzaku sped through the streets after the two fleeing Sutherlands. Thus far the only one that had posed a serious challenge had been the one that first stepped up to challenge him. With it destroyed however the others were simply no match for a knightmare as powerful as the Lancelot. Even now he was closing the distance. One turned to take potshots at him. Bad move, the action slowed it down and simply allowed Suzaku to get that closer. He allowed the shield to absorb the shots that actually landed. Suzaku responded with his harkens, snagging one of the enemy's legs. A quick tug threw it off balance and sent the machine tumbling. Without slowing Suzaku slashed its legs with his own blade. One more down, two to go.

The Sutherlands rounded a corner and Suzaku swerved to follow. As he did however he was greeted by a hail of explosive rounds. The combined fire quickly sapped his shield but gave him enough time to aim his own weapon. He pulled the trigger and the legs of another Sutherland blew out from under it. The pilot wasted no time ejecting while his comrade turned to beat a hasty retreat.

"Not so fast!"

Suzaku fired his harkens again but this time the enemy managed, just barely, to dodge, before turning another corner. This time the Lancelot took a wider arc around to avoid getting ambushed like that again but apparently having also learned its lesson the enemy was continuing to flee. It had opened up the distance again and at this range Suzaku was not sure he could take it out without hitting the cockpit. He grimaced and gave chase once more.

"Looks like I will owe my dear brother yet another debt," Clovis said in annoyance. Still, better to be in Schneizel's debt than have his secret exposed to the world at large. "Let us finish this quickly and restore the blockade."

So focused on the battle Clovis did not notice the door to the bridge sliding open. The two guards posted there did but all they saw was another soldier entering. A somewhat short soldier at that. Before they could act on their suspicions however sharp blades were shoved into their throats. They clutched at the wounds, dropping to their knees as they struggled to breath with their windpipes severed. The soldiers manning the stations looked over, too late, some still turning when the intruder's pistol began barking. Three shots took down three operators in quick succession and a forth blew a neat hole in Bradley's head just as he reached for his own sidearm. Clovis spun about, reaching for his own gun only to feel a burning pain as a fifth shot ran out. The intruder had managed to shoot his hand, knocking away the gun. That should have been impossible, no one was that good a shot. The gun shifted to point at Clovis' head. The prince swallowed. Apparently this person was.

"Prince Clovis," a voice full of contempt said. A female voice.

"A-a woman!?" Clovis exclaimed.

The visible mouth twisted into a grimace and Clovis thought he could almost see the glare through his attacker's helmet.

"Recall your forces and lift the blockade on Shinjuku now, or I will put a bullet in your head."

Clovis' eyes widened. He did not doubt the woman would make good her threat. With his good hand he reached for the radio.

"All forces cease fire! Cease fire at once!"

The prince glanced at the mysterious woman. She nodded, apparently satisfied so far. He might just live through this.

"I Clovis, Third Prince of Britannia, do hereby order all forces to cease operations in the Shinjuku district and withdraw."

Clovis looked at the woman again.

"Order your forces to offer treatment to any and all wounded."

He keyed the mic again. "Medical treatment is to be extended to all wounded, Britannian or otherwise without prejudice. This is a direct order from I, Clovis la Britannia." Clovis put down the radio. "There, satisfied?"

The woman nodded. Her gun remained aimed at his head.

"What else do you want?" Clovis asked. "Safe passage from here for yourself?"

"No, I'll manage that myself," the woman said. "You on the other hand will not be leaving here alive."

"But I did what you wanted!" Clovis protested.

"And you think that makes up for all the abuse the Japanese people have suffered at your hand? Both today and in the years past?"

Clovis was feeling desperate now. The woman obviously intended to kill him no matter what he said or offered. If he was going to live she had to die. She might have disarmed him of his one gun but a Britannian prince always had backups. His good hand began to wander towards his other sidearm as he considered how best to stall for-

The pistol ran out again. Clovis stood there, his mind still catching up to what his body already knew. He was dead. He had been shot. As his sight faded the last thing he saw behind the shades the woman wore was a shining light in one eye. A light that chilled him beyond that of the cold embrace of death.

Euphie had gone to bed late last night again, this time due to wanting to remain up to date about the deteriorating situation in Area 11. She had no idea what had prompted the resistance movement to launch a strike now but her ignorance was irrelevant. They had managed to do enough damage to force Clovis to lock down the entire Shinjuku district and by the time she was finally chased off to bed the situation was still extremely fluid.

Exactly four hours and fifteen minutes later Euphie found herself being shaken awake.

"Your highness! Please wake up!"

The princess looked up groggily, her mind more than a tad unfocused. She was still cognizant enough however to recognize who was trying to pull her up.

"Dorothy? Why aren't you in bed?"

"Apologies your highness but something has happened." The maid sucked in a deep breath. "Prince Clovis has been murdered."

Euphie's eyes went wide. She had no trouble being alert now.

"The resistance fighters?"

"I'm sorry your highness, but I don't know," Dorothy said. "I was given the message in confidence by Prince Schneizel and told to tell only you."

"I see. Then please ready a change of clothes, Dorothy, and prepare a car. Is brother at his residence or his office?"

"He is presently at his office, highness."

"Then that is where I am headed."

"Of course your highness, I will see to it immediately."

Her maid hurried out of the room, leaving Euphie alone with her thoughts. The girl shivered and closed her eyes as she hugged herself, but not due to any lack of warmth in her room. Instead it was a coldness in her heart that chilled her so. Not again, not another sibling slain! First Nunnally, then Lelouch, and now Clovis. Where would it end? Cornelia was always out on some campaign or another and war was always a dangerous place. Clovis' position as viceroy of Area 11 was not exactly safe either considering the unrest in the country and now that same unrest had claimed his life. Nowhere in the world was safe, nowhere so long as conflict and strife remained. Euphie opened her eyes. So long as she did not do enough to make the world better. Her mind was made up. She would go to Area 11. She would see this land that had claimed her brother's life. And it was from there that she would truly begin to remake the world into a kinder, gentler place. For Clovis, for Lelouch, and for Nunnally.

End of Chapter 2

Huh. I seem to attract a rather quiet audience. Anyway, happy 4th of July with a new chapter.

We'll see if I regret killing off Kewell this early in the story or not. As should be evident certain elements of this story will be somewhat darker than what was portrayed in the canon if only because I'll be trying to make the military aspects more realistic.

I know that the summary for this fic would lead one to presume that Euphie is the main character. That is true, to an extent. It would be more accurate however to say that Euphie shares the spotlight with Kallen and those two are the dual protagonists in my story instead of it being Lelouch and Suzaku. Suzaku will obviously have a role, but what he achieves will obviously be different compared to the canon. Other divergences you all will just have to read to find out. And what doesn't diverge.