Moonlight, like water, spilled across the corridors of the Viceroy's palace. Euphemia's military boots struck the marble floor, producing a crisp, rhythmic sound.
Her conversation with Nina still echoed in her mind—that insecure yet resilient girl had only strengthened her resolve not to remain a puppet princess.
"I am a Lancelot too, you know?" a cool voice suddenly rang out.
Euphemia skidded to a halt. Ahead, the moonlight rippled like the surface of a lake, and lake-blue motes of light coalesced in the air.
The Fairy Knight knelt elegantly on one knee, her red lips curving into a confident arc.
"Why don't I go see what that Knightmare—the one burdened with the same name—is capable of?"
Euphemia understood the intention instantly. Looking into the Fairy Knight's amber eyes, she saw a certainty that made her nod involuntarily.
"Then please, give the order with your name, my Master."
The moment the metallic mask snapped shut, Euphemia took a deep breath. She raised her arm, her Command Spell shimmering with an eldritch light under the moon.
"In the name of Euphemia li Britannia, I order you! I leave Suzaku in your hands! Bring that stubborn fool back!"
The first Command Spell dissolved into brilliant starlight. The Fairy Knight's silhouette grew transparent within a soaring pillar of lake-blue light, leaving behind only a playful response:
"Yes, My Lord."
Euphemia did not stop. She pushed open the gilded doors to find Brother Schneizel by the floor-to-ceiling window, sipping red tea as if he had long expected her arrival.
"Brother Schneizel! Please grant me permission for a private communication line!"
Her voice caused the Second Prince's teacup to pause mid-air. Amidst the crisp clink of a silver spoon against bone china, Schneizel turned, his fox-like eyes narrowing into a dangerous curve.
"A rare guest indeed." He set his teacup down slowly. "However, the front lines are currently engaged in combat. I'm afraid the public channels..."
"I want to use the Lancelot's exclusive frequency!" Euphemia walked straight to the console, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
She entered the unit identification code she had secretly memorized this morning—that idiot Suzaku was definitely pushing himself too hard again out of self-reproach.
Schneizel watched his sister's movements meaningfully, then suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
"It seems our Vase Princess has finally found something she wishes to protect."
★ ★ ★
Above Tokyo Bay, the moonlight was choked by smoke. Suzaku's breathing sounded heavy and labored inside the cramped cockpit.
The Lancelot's energy alarm shrieked piercingly. Red digits flashed on the screen, showing a countdown: "02:58."
Five older Glasgow units fanned out to surround him, their slash harken and chainsaws tracing dangerous arcs in the moonlight.
"Dammit..." Suzaku's fingertips tightened on the control sticks, his knuckles white from the strain.
The Lancelot barely managed to sidestep the thrust of the first enemy machine, but a second chainsaw was already swinging toward the cockpit. At that critical moment—
"Suzaku Kururugi!"
Euphemia's voice poured into the cockpit like a cool spring, jolting Suzaku. His emerald pupils contracted sharply, nearly causing the machine to lose its balance.
"Princess Euphemia?! Um... I'm currently..." His voice was fractured by heavy panting as his fingers flew across the control panel to input evasion commands.
"Please hold on! Your help is on the way!"
"Eh?!"
Before the words could fully land, a streak of azure light tore through the night sky. The light seemed a world away one second, yet it landed on the Lancelot's shoulder armor the next.
Suzaku looked up in shock. Through the panoramic display, he saw a female knight clad in lake-blue armor kneeling on his machine.
"Yo, junior with the same name." A feminine voice filled with amusement came through the comms—a voice as cold and mysterious as moonlight.
"That pathetic state of yours is hardly worthy of the name Lancelot."
Suzaku's throat bobbed as sweat dripped from his chin onto his pilot suit. "Who... who are you exactly?!" His voice was thick with disbelief. "The help Euphie mentioned?"
The Fairy Knight did not answer. Her figure suddenly transformed into a blue arc, tracing a perfect Z-shaped trajectory through the night.
The cockpit of the first Glasgow suddenly erupted in sparks before the pilot could even scream; the second was sliced clean in half, the explosion illuminating the entire bay.
"Stand by." Her voice suddenly rang in Suzaku's ear. "Step back a bit so you don't get blown away."
Suzaku pulled the levers instinctively, and the Lancelot lurched backward. In that instant, the remaining three enemy units exploded into fireballs simultaneously, raining metal fragments into the black sea.
The Fairy Knight hovered in mid-air, her lake-blue armor swirling with a mystical glow, her lance of light pointed directly at the heavens.
"This... what on earth is this..." Suzaku's lips trembled. He had never seen such a terrifying way of fighting—it wasn't the power of technology, but something closer to a magic that transcended common sense.
The Fairy Knight turned toward the Lancelot, her red lips curving into a meaningful smile beneath the mask.
"Remember this, junior. A true knight doesn't give up so easily."
"Yes!"
Suzaku's voice echoed in the cockpit, his emerald eyes reigniting with fighting spirit.
However, reality remained cruel—the piercing buzz of the energy alarm reminded him that this machine could barely maintain basic mobility.
"I'm sorry... my energy is depleted..."
Suzaku's voice carried a deep sense of guilt. He lowered his gaze, his lashes casting shadows over his face. "Please, don't mind me..."
That expression was one the Fairy Knight knew all too well—the look of a martyr who equated self-sacrifice with self-worth.
"Foolish." The Fairy Knight's voice suddenly turned cold, her armor shimmering with a dangerous light.
"Do you think self-sacrifice proves anything?"
At that hair-raising moment, two crimson beams of light tore through the night sky!
"BOOM—!"
Amidst a deafening explosion, two approaching Glasgows were instantly vaporized into fireballs.
"That's...?!" Suzaku's cry rang through the comms. He looked up at the night sky, his pupils reflecting the elegant silhouette of a golden machine.
"Heyyy... its performance looks pretty decent too." The Fairy Knight landed lightly back on the Lancelot's shoulder.
She tilted her head, observing the high-altitude Gawain, her red lips curling playfully. "Though it's still no match for me."
"That's the Gawain!" Suzaku reported reflexively, then frowned in confusion. "But... that should be an unfinished experimental unit..."
"Gawain?" The Fairy Knight chuckled softly, tapping her chin. "Quite the unfitting machine for that name~"
In her mind, she saw the knight of the same name from the Fang Clan—a muscular woman who stood in stark contrast to this streamlined golden mecha.
Inside the Gawain's cockpit, C.C.'s long green hair shimmered under the blue light of the monitors. "That white mecha... is it called Lancelot?"
Her golden eyes glanced at the monitor. "Reckless as always~"
"Indeed," Lelouch's voice, cold and processed through a voice changer, rang out as his purple eyes reflected the tactical map.
"But it seems it needs backup this time." His long fingers tapped the console unconsciously, masking the awkwardness of having rushed here specifically.
"Sending a single unit to disrupt the main array and create chaos..." He analyzed in a low voice, his finger suddenly touching his left eye. "Even if it fails, it makes it easier for Cornelia to move..."
The mark of Geass flared with heat. "This strategy..." His purple eyes snapped narrow. "Is it Schneizel...?"
Enemy communications suddenly cut in, interrupting Lelouch's thoughts. His face darkened as several enemy units turned their muzzles toward the Gawain.
"You're in the way!"
The Fairy Knight watched this confrontation with interest. She suddenly leaned down toward the Lancelot's external comms:
"Hey, junior~" Her voice carried a mischievous grin. "Your friends arrived at quite the opportune time, didn't they?"
Before Suzaku could answer, the Gawain activated its Hadron Cannons, swatting the approaching enemy units out of the sky.
The fire of the explosions illuminated Lelouch's cold profile, while C.C. gazed thoughtfully toward the Fairy Knight, a strange glint flashing in her golden eyes.
The night wind carried smoke across the battlefield as the two Lancelots and the Gawain formed a strange triangular formation under the moon.
In the distant command center, Euphemia clutched her skirt tightly, her pink hair dancing like flame in the red light of the alarms.
"Since your crisis is averted, do your best, junior—"
The Fairy Knight's voice was still echoing in the night sky when the lake-blue figure dissolved into points of starlight.
"Huh?" Suzaku stared blankly at the empty shoulder of the Lancelot, a strange sense of loss welling up in his heart.
Just then, the sound of metal clashing came from the side.
Suzaku turned his head sharply to see the golden Gawain actually dropping to one knee before him, its movements as elegant as a true knight's salute.
This sudden gesture nearly made Suzaku jump out of his seat.
"Kururugi."
Zero's voice came through the modulator, calm but carrying a carefully maintained distance.
Suzaku's breath hitched—this mysterious resistance leader, the enemy he had once sworn to arrest, was here saving him.
"Can the Lancelot still move?"
A complex emotion flashed in Suzaku's emerald eyes. He had no way of knowing that behind the mask was his best friend, Lelouch.
"So it really is Zero..." His voice dropped, sounding a bit like a puppy drenched in rain—wary yet vulnerable.
Inside the Gawain, C.C. let out a lazy yawn. "What a twisted way of showing concern~"
She glanced at her contractor. "You could have just said 'I'm here to save you.'"
"Be quiet," Lelouch snapped, the tips of his ears burning behind the mask.
He forced his attention back to the battlefield. The Gawain's mechanical arm extended, a glowing blue energy filler popping out from its palm.
"An energy filler?!" Suzaku's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at this life-saving gift.
This kind of high-grade military-issue energy module was difficult for even the Special Dispatch team to requisition. He didn't understand why an enemy would help him.
"I am going to strike the enemy headquarters now," Zero's voice remained cool. "What will you do?"
The wind whipped through the smoke between the Lancelot and the Gawain. Suzaku looked at the mysterious leader, waves of conflict crashing in his heart.
Then, a look of resolve flashed in his eyes, and a boyish, sly smile spread across his face.
"I'm sorry..." The voice coming through the channel carried a long-lost lightness, though the act of taking the energy filler was solemn.
The moment the filler clicked into the port, the Lancelot's cockpit lit up with a brilliant azure radiance, the system reboot chime sounding like a victory fanfare.
"Your wish won't come true." Suzaku's voice held an irrepressible grin as his fingers danced nimbly over the controls. "Because I'm going to get to the fight first!"
Before the sentence finished, the Lancelot shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
The white machine traced a graceful arc under the moonlight, its V.A.R.I.S. rifle precisely picking off enemy units along the way.
"That idiot!" Lelouch's expression was a mix of annoyance and amusement.
He hadn't expected Suzaku to pull a move like that, and he certainly hadn't expected to feel relieved by the other's sudden burst of vitality.
C.C. chuckled. "Checkmated, Lord Zero~"
The Gawain immediately fired its thrusters and gave chase. The two machines, one white and one gold, wove a brilliant trail across the night sky.
Suzaku saw the golden machine catching up in his monitors, and his smile widened.
"Don't think you can shake me off, White Reaper," Lelouch's voice came through the comms, carrying a hint of intimacy he hadn't noticed himself.
"Then let's see who breaks into the headquarters first!" Suzaku's voice was full of renewed fighting spirit.
★ ★ ★
Hernia floated in the clouds far above, her lake-blue mask reflecting the chase. "Honestly..." her voice carried a gentle sigh of exasperation.
"They don't even know who the other is, yet they're still so perfectly in sync."
A night breeze drifted by, scattering her whisper into the starlight.
On the other side of the battlefield, Euphemia stood by the window of the command center, watching the two figures fighting side-by-side on the monitors, her eyes shimmering with the light of hope.
★ ★ ★
T/N: ISTG, the amount of times already that the author started a chapter with the same phrase about the moonlight has me doing a double take...