29 「Avalon 」

Just in the nick of time, a massive airship cast a shadow over the deactivated Knightmare frames on the beach. Zero holds Princess Euphemia li Britannia and Suzaku at gunpoint. Hostages are useless. They all look up in mesmerization.

Kallen charges forward in order to protect her Liege, Zero, from harm and yet because of the Gefjun Disturbers her own Knightmare frame Gurren is deactivated as well. She comes climbing out of her mech, dashing towards her friends with her hands waving in the air. Screaming and howling for them the run.

It wasn't worth it, yet it was all part of the plan. She would have been triggered nonetheless since they weren't entirely notified about how they'd escape. Let alone, if they would escape.

"Thank you Fayer, for your... Reluctant cooperation. In order to keep your honor in tact, I am sure... You wouldn't mind taking a bullet." Graham's arm rested draped over Anya's shoulder, gently curved around her neck.

With her gun still in hand, aimed at the man. She made no sudden expressions on her face, except the slightly flinch of the corner of her lip as she pulled the trigger. She closed her eyes as she heard the fleshy impact of the bullet.

They vanished from the room, before the blood mist even escaped out the exit wound. Before he even hit the ground, they had disappeared from sight.

The look in Fayer's eyes was horror, the fact that they could have just appeared in the room prior, meant that they had been using this for their own entertainment? He couldn't understand. So many questions, so many possibilities. The Lieutenant Colonel felt the hard floor hit the back of his head and he laid there, sprawled out.

It was beginning to feel cold. Yet the warm liquid which began to surround him, strangely made him feel colder as well. His eyes began to feel heavy.

Anya had shot him in the vitals, he only had several seconds until he bled out. He wasn't going to live long enough to report what was founded. On top of that, the strange thing was, he smiled at the ceiling slightly. The reason why? It was unknown. Maybe it had something to do with Charles zi Britannia's plan likely being unsuccessful. His family, if he had one, would be spared from witnessing the end of the world.

Just as the belly of the Avalon airship opened, revealing the two powering up Shoulder-mounted Hadron Cannons of the Gawain Knightmare frame. It was as if watching the violet-red eyes of the devil, peering out from the shadows.

In that moment, as the unstable Hadron Cannons' barrage was being released. Anya and Graham appeared in the center of fray.

Kallen skidded to a stop, almost barreling forward, catching herself to see him standing only a yard away from her. Her eyes lit up and her sight focused upward above them. Her heart almost sunk, were they going to die here? No, if he was able to do this, then there was no way they'd be put down here, not like this. "Graham! Get us out of here!"

"That's that plan!" Graham shouted back as the wide funnel of destructive energy was liberated from the cannons barrels. Just as many of the others believed the end was nigh, those whom were supposedly caught in the weapons fire, seemingly vanished upon impact.

Leaving only sand and parts of Knightmare frames behind, there was nothing to indicate anyone survived. The likeliness that they were vaporized by the placed was relatively high. The explosion encompassed the entire crater, which left very few possibilities.

Meanwhile on another Island called Kaminejima, not too far away, Kallen and the others woke up scattered across the island's biome.

Graham was on the beach, Anya still by his side. However everyone else was in other locations. All of them separated. It seemed that he wasn't able to keep everyone together, since he wasn't touching them. Glancing around, he could see Zero unconscious nearby and Euphemia in the water.

He paused for a moment and recalled how in the anime, this was exactly how they had been before. "So this power is a wildcard if I'm not touching them...?" He muttered quietly to himself in a questioning tone.

Anya looked up at him with an indirectly snide smile, seeing as he had used an ability he didn't know the actual limits of. In which case, that would have also put them at risk. However she didn't say any of this out loud. There didn't seem to be a point as she could already see that his expression already said the same thing about himself.

Graham sneered slightly at her snideful expression before leaking down and pecking her nose.

She immediately gasp and pulled out of his grasp, her hand over her collarbone as if completely shocked he kissed her the way he did. Or perhaps she thought he tried to eat her nose? It was written all over her face.

"You'd do perfect in silent films," Graham laughed inwardly through his nose, his arms crossed as she frowned blankly up at him with her big red eyes.

"I could be famous?" Her voice sounded like a child's peerless dream of stardom, linked with her monotone expression and tone.

Graham just stared at her for a few moments before shrugging, "Possibly after the war?" A slight grin forming over his lips as he watched Zero move over onto a bolder overlooking the sea.

In that moment, Lelouch and Euphy were reunited. She already knew who he was, her suspicions were proven the moment Lelouch had been brought into the Office by Graham. A man they didn't act against when he arrived with their brother who had a bag over his head.

"We have about a day before the enemies arrive. The Kitsune should be here," Graham said aloud before glancing over his shoulder. "We should destroy the entrance to the Thought Elevator so Charles cannot resurrect his plan to connect all to them."

Anya looked up at him a bit more, she knew the plans in which Charles and his late wife Marianne had. She didn't like the idea either. Despite how little memories she could recover, she wanted her own life, not to be melded together with others. Though she still didn't entirely understand what the thought elevator was.

Suddenly without warning, he leaned down, his face only centimeters from her own. Anya blinked several times, but his forearms which draped over her shoulders and hung off her back, stopped her from backing off.

"Guess what," Graham commanded as he whispered into her ear.

The breath and weird feeling she was getting from this encounter was making the poor girl blush. She turned her head slightly. Her cheek pressing against his in the process, "Wa-Wha?" The word what was partially voiced, fading in and out when she spoke.

"Chicken butt," He immediately stood up straight, his hands now planted on her shoulders.

Partially closing the lids of one eye, she glared up at him with the adjacent brow raised. "Ch...Chicken butt?" She didn't at all understand what he was saying. Was this supposed to be a joke? She was laughing on the inside, but didn't feel the capacity to let it out into the open.

"Yes. Chicken Butt." Graham pinched her cheek slightly, tugging on it, using the air and saliva in her mouth to make sloshing noises as he played with her face.

Anya simply stared up at him, unamused by his antics. Normally she would have just dismissed his hands, or anyone's hands, but she was just let it happen.

"Graham," Euphemia's voice could be heard from yards away as the duo were walking towards them. "What are you doing to that girl's face?"

Lelouch was just squinting with judgement at his friend who was playing with Anya's cheeks. The girl was about the same age as his sister, and he couldn't comprehend what was going on. Was he mocking the poor girl?

Graham shamelessly continued as he was confronted by the others.

"Shtopb. Bit." Anya managed to say, her voice being distorted by the sloshing as her lips were moving with her cheeks.

Graham immediately ceased as soon as he was asked to do so, or more so Demanded by Anya. "Didn't like it?" He asked with a slight chuckle, her cheeks were ready from his fingers.

Covering her cheeks and rubbing them solemnly, she stared up at him, but lowered her head as she did so. "No..." She said as she looked at the other two who gathered, "Not in front of them." She immediately averted her gaze from all of them.

Graham, Lelouch and Euphemia just stared at her for the last part she had spoken. What was this? Awkwardness?

In that moment there was the sound of a shriek. "Oh, seems like Kallen has been spotted. Naked again no less."

Lelouch looked over at him with brows raised slightly, "Again?"

"Oh believe me, it's going to be an ongoing gag," Graham waved his hand in front of himself frivolously with a snicker. "Let's wait here for a few minutes, don't want her to die of embarrassment by being seen by everyone present."

Lelouch nodded slightly in agreement. He was a gentleman in a way, he was also a prince. He knew not to go out of his way to peek on a woman, especially if he knew they were in the nude.

Several moments had passed and eventually Kallen and Suzaku made their appearances. Kallen had been completely dressed in her skintight suit and vest. She had her arms crossed under her chest, practically hugging her arms close to herself.

Suzaku seemed like he had a bruise across his face, he had obviously been knocked down. Since they were in a conspiracy working together, he hadn't captured her like he originally would have.

All of them were grouped together. It seemed they weren't all going to be separate for an entire day. Each of them looked towards the sun which was far above them. A small smile crossing most of their faces, except for that of Graham and Anya's.

Kallen looked over at Graham and tiled her head slightly, she was about to say something, until the ground shook. Something big was moving about. Yet they couldn't see what it was.

Frantically looking around, the only one who was calm now was Graham, as if he knew exactly who and what it was.

Suddenly a massive monstrocity made visible by the sun's rays warping around it, could be seen moving along the beach only meters away. It was bigger than any Knightmare frame they had ever seen.

"What... Is that?"

The machine left massive fox-shaped paw prints in the sand as it moved. The head was sharp wedge shaped, with pointed ears. Suddenly the active camouflage disengaged, revealing the Kuroi Kitsune.

Suddenly the belly of the beast opened as the massive machine came to a stop. Several lines dropped down, and yet only one body came sliding down. Dressed in one appeared to be riot armor derived from Science Fiction Samurai concept armor. Compared to the Britannian leotard suits in which their pilots wore, this one had dignity and displayed power in mobility and strength.

"Marika?" Euphy blinked several times seeing the member of Cornellia's group. "Why are you here? What is that you're..." She stared at the girl for a few moments as she cut her own word short, noting the sky blue eyes locked on Graham.

"Marika of the Japanese Honor Guard, reporting for duty, My Emperor." In that moment she dropped to one knee, ignoring the Princess's inquiries as to why she was there, and what she was piloting. However it seemed her introductory answered the very questions she had asked.

She rose her head to see Graham smiling kindly, her eyes scanned those present.

"Why are you with Graham...?" Euphy was confused, not really understanding how he had gotten ahold of her.

Marika's eyes locked on the sub-viceroy of Area 11, Japan. "Britannia turned their back on the Soresi Family. Disgraced us, ruined us. Corrupted big brother Kewell's name." She didn't seem to hold disdain towards the Princess, but more so towards the Emperor of Britannia. "My family will be restored within the new Japanese Empire."

The Princess stared at her, then looked to Graham. She knew his plan to make Japan independent again and yet here she was, finding that her own people were joining his movement.