The ruined courtyard of the stolen base rumbled under the roaring engines of Knightmares.
Zero, Lelouch, tightened the grip on his Knightmare controls as his machine, a stolen Sutherland model, whirred to life around him. The entire base was surrounded now.
Britannian Knightmares in gleaming white and blue formed a tight blockade at the front gates. Their weapons gleamed under the spotlights they dragged onto the base. In the center of their formation stood the Lancelot.
Suzaku Kururugi.
Lelouch's eyes burned behind the mask.
He tapped the comms switch.
"All units, hold position," Zero ordered loudly.
Outside, across the open comms channels, Suzaku's voice rang clear.
"Black Knights!" Suzaku shouted. "You are surrounded! This is your only warning! Stand down now, release the stolen equipment and hostages, and you will be treated fairly!"
Zero allowed himself a small, cold smirk. Treated fairly. As if Britannia knew anything about fairness. Suzaku was too innocent for this world, too innocent to think honest actions can change things around for everyone. He toggled the comms back to public.
"This is Zero," he said, voice like a blade against glass. "Surrender? To a system that enslaves and murders? No."
There was a tense pause across the radios.
"You're making a mistake!" Suzaku barked back. "You don't have to fight. We can resolve this without bloodshed!"
Lelouch could hear the desperation in Suzaku's voice. Good. It meant he still hesitated. However, not everyone shared Suzaku's mercy. Without warning, two Britannian Knightmares broke ranks and charged forward, weapons hot, ready to cut down the Black Knights before negotiations could continue.
"Kallen, Tamaki! Engage!" Zero snapped instantly.
The Black Knights burst into action.
Kallen's stolen Knightmare, painted crimson under the black sky, moved like a viper: fast and lethal. Her frame weaved between the attackers, slicing one down with a stolen lance. Her ability honestly impressed Lelouch. Tamaki, more brutish but effective, slammed into the second Knightmare, taking its gun arm off at the shoulder.
Explosions lit up the night.
"All Black Knight pilots, scatter and engage!" Zero commanded sharply. "Guard the hostages at all costs!"
The battlefield exploded into chaos.
Lelouch maneuvered carefully, positioning his older Sutherland model behind a ruined tank barrier. His machine wasn't as fast as the newer Britannian ones, but Lelouch didn't need speed at all. He needed brains. Lelouch knew patience was the key here.
Suzaku, meanwhile, activated the Lancelot.
He blurred across the battlefield, a white comet of death, disabling Black Knights one by one, but never killing. He shot weapons from their hands, disabled Knightmare limbs, destroyed older models without critical damage to the pilots inside them.
"I don't want to kill you!" Suzaku shouted through the open comms. "Stand down!"
Several Black Knights hesitated under his blinding speed and skill.
The Britannian soldiers did not share Suzaku's restraint. One of them broke through the fight and lunged toward Kallen's Knightmare, raising a heavy hammer. Kallen tried to dodge, but she was too distracted with what was going on in the moment. Lelouch's mind snapped into overdrive.
"NO!"
Zero's Knightframe shot forward, shielding her at the last second. The enemy hammer struck his frame square in the chest, staggering him back, but not breaking him. Zero recovered instantly, slashing the Britannian Knightmare across the torso with a salvaged energy blade.
It fell in two smoking halves at his feet. Kallen gasped over the private channel.
"Zero! You—"
"Focus!" Lelouch snapped. "Regroup with Tamaki and protect the base interior! Now!"
She hesitated, but obeyed.
Good girl, Lelouch thought as he turned his attention back toward Suzaku.
The Lancelot stood there, gleaming white, almost waiting to challenge him. An unspoken challenge. Zero didn't hesitate for a moment. He lunged at Suzaku with full force. Their Knightmares clashed, speed against calculation, brute force against precision. Suzaku's movements were breathtakingly fast as he ducked Lelouch's blade effortlessly, countered with a kick to the Sutherland's side, and tried to disable without killing.
Lelouch knew how Suzaku fought enough that he could test him in his fight.
He fought to control the tempo. He attacked not to win, but to test the Lancelot.
Every parry, every dodge, every close brush that happened Lelouch observed to his best ability without being slashed by Suzaku's dangerous Lancelot. Suzaku was fast. Almost too fast for Zero's Knightmare to match. However, Suzaku was almost merciful when Zero wasn't.
This mercy was a weakness Zero could exploit.
They fought for minutes. Their blades sparking against each other, metal screeching, the base shaking under the force of their duel. Everybody stood in awe around them. Finally, Lelouch pulled back, breathing hard. He didn't need to win.
He just needed to remind Suzaku he could lose people in this battle.
Zero opened a private channel.
"Stand down," he commanded coldly. "Or I start executing the hostages."
The words cut like a blade through the battle.
Suzaku froze in the middle of a charge.
"You wouldn't—" Suzaku began.
Zero was already moving before he could finish.
He activated the external broadcast system and projected a live feed of the hostages tied to the fortress columns' walls in the command center. They were gagged and terrified. Britannian soldiers stared out of the cameras with horror.
The whole battlefield could see it.
"You value life, don't you, Kururugi?" Zero said, voice cold and ruthless. "If you attack again... you'll be responsible for their deaths."
The Black Knights reinforced the threat, raising weapons to the hostages. They didn't fire, but they were ready to at Zero's command at any moment. Suzaku hesitated. He told his knights to stand down. The Britannian soldiers under his command grew restless.
"Everyone... pull back," he said quietly.
Shock rippled through the Britannian ranks.
"But, Sir—!"
"I said pull back! Leave the area now!"
Slowly, reluctantly, the Britannian Knightmares began to retreat, falling back into defensive lines beyond the base. They disappeared from view. Lelouch smiled under his mask. Checkmate. He knew this wasn't the last of them, but for now, he won.
"You," Zero said, addressing Suzaku directly now. "You will surrender. Power down your Frame. Exit it immediately."
Suzaku clenched his fists, but he obeyed. He knew he was powerless.
The Lancelot powered down.
Suzaku Kururugi climbed out, hands raised.
Zero smiled. He finally had his old friend back again.