12 「Knights of Justice」

Grumbling in his sleep, he felt something weighing down on his chest. It didn't feel exactly heavy, but it was heavy enough to be a person. He couldn't roll over, but he didn't feel it to be necessary anyways. Feeling dainty finger tips tickling at his chin, followed by a familiar giggle, which caused his eyes to poke open ever so slightly.

His hand began to move along the surface of the bed's comforter and then lifted to touch whatever was lying diagonally across his torso. His hand met with the lower back of a petite form. The initial touch however caused the person to move, to twist around, but found they were unable to turn over.

The first thing he noticed was that they were unable to move below their waist, there was no leg movement to support their movement. His lower lip twitched slightly at his growing hypothesis.

With his eyes opened this slightly, he could only make out the brown hair, pale skin and small form. "How... Did you get into my room?" He muttered as he opened his eyes a bit more, but relatively slowly as he held the guise of keeping his cool.

It was none other than Nunnally, sweet innocent Nunnally. The object of Lelouch's affections and motivations. He didn't know why she was here, but he was rather curious.

Was this her way of saying thanks for giving back her sight? For uniting her with her brother as he had become distant the moment he began working against Britannia? Or was this something else?

"Hm? The door was left open by a girl with pastel green hair. She was a bit weird, going by her initials C.C. Was she your girlfriend?"

Graham found himself groaning as she informed him of Cera's actions. Leaving the door open, not bothering to close it behind her. Apparently she had been doing that a lot ever since he had given her permission to go out and about should she have a viable disguise. Speaking of, he had barely seen her since the day they had slept in the same bed. Though he had slept on the foot of the bed that time.

Pursing his lips, he was now curious of where she was going.

He knew what today was. The trip to the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Centre Hotel which half of the student council members were going on. He wasn't going with them, he was going to be going with Zero as the Lost One.

"No, she's a groupie," his tone was sarcastic. He wasn't going to refer to her as an accomplice, that was hers and Lelouch's thing. Their interactions had been majorly different due to his interference.

Nunnally blinked a few times and blushed hearing what he had referred to C.C. as. She was hardly expecting that from him, though she could tell he was sarcastic, meaning he was joking with her.

She moved her nimble fingers as she reached out her hands and grasped on of his hands as she laid on her side against his chest.

Making an uncomfortable sound when he felt her shoulder digging into his chest, he would shift around and sit up. Pulling her into his lap as he took notice of the wheel chair by the bed. Due to its distance, it was clear that she had thrown herself off of it to get onto the bed.

He looked down at the smaller female who was in his lap, holding his hand in both of her own.

"Is she part of big brothers group?"

"In a sense." Graham responded as he grabbed a few fingers of hers with his thumb as she was fiddling with his hand. Trapping that one hand in her grasp. "So why are you in my room, on my bed?"

Nunnally looked up at him and smiled, an angelic smile, almost ripping out and devouring his heart. "To thank you again, for giving me back my sight. And I couldn't reach you from the edge of my seat."

To tell the truth, C.C. had actually let her in and set up the whole thing. If it was a test, or just a bit of fun, who would know? Graham wouldn't have cared anyways, despite it being a temptation to become closer to his childhood friend of seven years.

"I could make some implants to give you back your legs."

She seemed to pout her lips hearing his offer, he rendered her almost speechless. As if he was willing to give her back the life she had lost so many years ago. He could give it all back to her. Where was he getting all these resources and knowledge? Why and where did he have all this knowledge?

"Well, either way, if your brother finds you in here with me like this I am sure he'd have no qualms stabbing me to death in my sleep." Graham joked as he used his leg to pull the nearby wheelchair over to the bed as he would maneuver her into it.

Even though she had been moved into the wheelchair, she hadn't released his hands from her grasp. He simply stared at her and she gazed back in return.

"Protect my big brother, okay, Graham?"

He didn't really mind being called by his last name, it was catchy and it sounded like a given name. Maybe he could get a name change? He snickered quietly to himself at the thought. "Of course, if I don't, there won't be Peace."

With that she released his hand as he was telling the truth. He would protect her brother, he had promised to do so. She didn't think he would betray Lelouch in anyway, but it was clear the two really did have two different goals.

Would the two of them clash?

Getting up from the bed, he would go off to the dorm room's lavatory and closed the door. As he was getting ready to take a shower, he heard her wheel her way out of the room. A small smile remained on his lips as he heard her struggling to close the door without falling from her clunky chair.

Once he figured she was gone, he started up the water and stepped in. Steam began to fill the room and he took a deep exhale as the hot water washed the night sweat away. His senses became clear, and his mind was sound.

...

Hours later, it was the Hotel Incident and Graham helped Zero by obtaining the third news van. However this time, unlike when they were going out of their way to obtain Suzaku, he wasn't standing beside Zero.

It was as if he had only had one big debut and then disappeared. It could make anyone who had been watching prior believe he is either no longer with him, or just didn't join this venture.

This however was not the case.

Standing dressed in a completely different outfit from before, he wore a uniform that matched all of the others present. His position was right next to Kallen, his hand was on her shoulder.

The others present were eying the man who they didn't recognize. Some were already making assumptions of who he was. Others like Shinichirō Tamaki assumed he was just some new guy however, that Kallen pulled out of the woodwork or student body at Ashford Academy, due to how close he seemed to her when they met up.

They could clearly tell he was Japanese by his dominant features, but they could also tell he was partially that of foreign blood as well. Just like Kallen. The one thing that no one else except for Kaname Ohgi, excluding Kallen, seemed to notice was that he had the Lost One's unique weapons.

The energy pistol was at his right hip, while the hilt of the sword was at his left. At first everyone at first glance thought it was just a decorative flashlight. Though it didn't have a glass lense.

Kaname stared at the object while everything was going on outside with Zero's confrontation with Cornelia. "Hey... Akku was it? What is that?" He pointed at the cylinder and all he did was smile in response.

"You'll find out soon, once we enter the devil's den," he winked towards Kaname before looking out the primary windshield. The van was moving again, making its way across the bridge. He placed a finger on the ear phone in his right ear.

Whispering quietly in a hushed tone, in which only Kallen could hear. "Zero, tell our friend in the white armor, that you'll take care of everything. With your Geass," when he had said this Kallen looked at him with a brow raised.

His eyes locked with hers and he could instinctively see what she was thinking. That they knew whoever it was whom almost brought them to a defeat during the battle in the Ghetto.

"Everything will be fine," he'd assure her with a light smile before looking forward.

Lelouch who had received this request from his friend Graham, was taking his typical theatrical pose, thinking of what he had meant. "Tell our friend..." Thinking back, the only friend they shared was Suzaku, but from what he could remember, his friend was transferred into the engineering corps.

There was no reason for their friend to be there. Unless he wasn't part of the engineering corps, but instead a member of a special unit. A special unit he had no choice but to lie about being apart of.

Frowning at the fact that Suzaku lied about his work to his sister, he glanced over his shoulder as they were reaching the front gates of the hotel.

'Suzaku... Don't interfere, I have everything under control.' He used Zero's voice in his mental message to his friend, though it was close to his own, he doubted his clueless friend would catch on completely.

...

The hotel has been infiltrated. Zero was escorted to the Japanese Liberation Front's makeshift command center which had been set up. He knew that the JLF's plans didn't include this. Not only did it spit on the very sympathizers that may have supported them, it made an enemy of the people.

That wasn't something that Zero could stand. He came here with the intention of taking out the oppressors of the people and not only saving Euphemia li Britannia who was unknowingly being held prisoner by the terrorists.

He was going to make the Black Knights public knowledge.

Entering the main complex, they made their way up the tower-like hotel. When they were on the same floor as the hostages and the makeshift command center. Graham made his way into the room filled with people on their knees, surrounded by men with weapons.

Unlike Kallen, other than the visor which covered his face, Graham wasn't wearing much of a disguise. Not that he needed to. Most of his dominate features were hidden, but those who knew him could pick him out like a sour plum.

As he came into the room, Nina Milly and Shirley immediately locked their eyes on him.

"What is he doing here...?" Shirley asked herself quietly to herself.

Graham's eyes glanced over her for a moment, then looked at the terrified Nina who was worried over the safety of the Princess who had stood up for her only mere moments before his arrival.

"You can't be in here!" One of the Liberation Soldiers shouted at him, pointing his weapon at the man.

Graham simply looked over at the man and took the left holstered weapon off of his belt with his right hand, the cylinder weapon which just looked like a hilt. The only one to recognize it was Nina who helped him come up with the theoretical science behind it.

Her eyes widened as he ignited a blade of scorching neon blue and green flames which were three and a half feet in length. It appeared to be that of a samurai sword. She was in awe, he had gotten the weapon to work. Though thinking back, she also remembered the footage of a man with a similar hilt in his possession.

"The Princess is safe, as are you."

Two drones came circling passed his head as they entered the room, doing a complete figure eight before the sound of silenced gunfire could be heard.

Putputputputputputputput.

It was like listening to the sound of tennis balls being launched from an automated turret. The Japanese soldiers present in the room nearly dropped dead seconds before they could pull their triggers to defend themselves. It was as if something had halted their counterattack.

Nina felt somewhat comforted by his words, but squeaked and cowardly sunk into the student council president's arms when the weapons had gone off.

It was clear he was showing off, especially for those whom were standing behind him.

Kaname on the other hand stared at the weapon in awe and envy. While he had no idea how to use a sword, he felt as if he was watching some sort of science fiction fantasy film from before the war.

It couldn't help but put some more excitement into what they were doing.

...

Several hours had gone by, the sky was now dark and all that illuminated the lake was the interior lights of the Hotel and the lampposts. Suzaku was on standby, watching as everything was going down.

He didn't quite understand what Zero meant when he had called upon him through his mind. Though he didn't even understand how Zero had done something like that.

Did he have some sort of supernatural power? He had no idea what Geass was, so it was understandable that he would think that way. He stood on top of the trailer which carried his Knightmare frame, watching with binoculars.

Cornelia was keeping a close watch on the building as well. Zero had said that he would save her sister. She saw the truth in his words, but she was emotionally incapable of holding back. She wanted to take him out along with the Liberation Front.

The question was, which was more important? He had asked that question. Revenge or preserving who is still alive? She chose to save her sister, this meant she would be indebted to him in a sense.

She detested that feeling.

That was when all of a sudden all the lights in he building went out. She blinked several times. What was this? Flashing could be seen inside, shouting at the front gates could be heard.

From what intelligence could gather, the exterior defenses had lost contact with their commandcenter. This meant that there was likely something going down inside. She didn't like the sound of this. At that moment she was about to send Suzaku in, when all of a sudden bolts of energy could be seen blasting out of one of the windows.

She watched with her binoculars as Liberation Front Soldiers disintegrated after having burning holes punched into them. Her mouth nearly dropped open. Zero had weapons of such powerful magnetitude?

Zero himself was watching from a single level above where the bolts had been fired from. He was also amazed by the destructive power it had against even the armored soldiers below.

While it had taken several consecutive hits in the same general area, he even saw it penetrate the tungsten outer hull of the Glasgow knightmare frames in service of the Japanese Liberation Front splinter cell of terrorists.

However, even then. This didn't stop Cornelia from sending Suzaku in. Ultimately, everything became as it was suppose to. Shortly after Suzaku destroyed the support beams holding the hotel up in the center of the lake.

It became apparent the hostages and Zero's Black Knights survived, as a small ship and several lifeboats could be seen floating in the water. The one difference however though, was that Graham was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't amongst the Black Knights, nor was he amongst the former hostages.

Zero made his announcement to the World.

"...People, Fear us or Seek us... We are the Black Knights! Knights who stand beside those who cannot fight for themselves. Who have no weapons, no power. Those who are oppressed, seek us. Those who oppress others, fear us! Those with power, fear us! For we are the Black Knights, Knights of Justice!..."

The speech was a bit different, but overall the same as before Graham's incursion into this reality. With that, the hostages were released and the Black Knights vanished into the shadows, to fight another day.

Amongst the released hostages was Euphy, completely unharmed.