Kallen leaned back against the ruined wall, her uniform halfway undone, strands of her red hair clinging to her flushed cheeks. Her body still trembled from the intensity of what they'd just done.
Lelouch stood silently in front of her.
He zipped up his black uniform jacket, pulling his gloves back on methodically, slipping once again into the persona of the masked revolutionary leader.
Without the mask, he'd been hers completely, wrapped up in her beautifulness. With the mask back on, he belonged to the world again. Kallen watched him dress, a strange pang in her chest as she seemed a bit sad.
She quickly pulled her own uniform back together, tugging up her ripped shirt, smoothing down the remains of her bra, slipping her jacket back on. She winced a little at the soreness between her legs, a fierce reminder of how rough and perfect he had been inside her.
Zero turned to her once he finished.
Their eyes met. Her eyes still wide, searching. She was trying to figure out why Lelouch was Zero. He hid now behind the cold, gleaming mask. He shook his head slowly. Kallen sighed.
"I will explain more later," he said, his voice once again ironclad.
Kallen opened her mouth to ask something but stopped out of careful thought.
She simply nodded. Lelouch smirked. Kallen was such a good, obedient girl. Together, without another word, they stepped back into the Black Knights' new hideout. Where once there had been chaos and wounds, now there was celebration.
A few makeshift fires crackled in barrels. Black Knights drank from stolen Britannian rations, laughing and toasting their impossible victory. Some lifted glasses to Zero as he passed, to their King. Zero nodded once to Ohgi, who approached him immediately.
"Everything's secured for now," Ohgi reported. "No serious injuries. We've pulled all our surviving supplies into the second hangar. It should hold until we find something better."
Kallen fell into step beside him, silent and steady. Before Lelouch could speak, a young Black Knight informant sprinted across the rubble-strewn ground toward them, nearly tripping over a broken pipe.
"Zero! Captain Ohgi!" he gasped, panting hard.
Zero turned sharply. "Report."
"They're furious," the young man choked out, wiping sweat from his forehead. "The Britannian army, they're sending search squads everywhere! Through the ghettos, through the industrial sectors, they're turning over every rock trying to find us!"
Ohgi cursed under his breath. "It was that broadcast... they're desperate now."
"They're desperate," Zero corrected coldly, "because they are afraid."
He crossed his arms, his mind already shifting into overdrive. Fear made men reckless. Fear made empires bleed themselves dry. He could use this.
Ohgi watched him carefully. "What's the move?"
Zero stepped up onto a cracked piece of fallen concrete, raising his voice enough so all the nearby fighters could hear him.
"If they are hunting us," Zero said, "then we will strike them first."
The Black Knights stirred, excited murmurs running through the ranks.
"There is a Britannian military base not far from here," Zero continued, his voice hardening. "Remote. Lightly manned. A resupply station for ground forces and a storage yard for older generation Knightmare Frames. We will be able to steal them and use them ourselves, but they won't be effective in one-on-one confrontations."
Eyes widened. Even Kallen straightened slightly, her mouth parting in surprise.
Knightmare Frames.
The difference between survival and annihilation on a real battlefield.
"If we hit them," Zero said, "we not only cripple their operations in this sector, we arm ourselves with the very weapons they thought would crush us."
Ohgi frowned, cautious. "Wouldn't they notice immediately if a whole base went dark?"
"Not if we strike with precision," Zero said. "We move fast. We move silent. We erase them before they can call for backup."
His eyes gleamed behind the mask. "And by the time Britannia realizes their mistake… it will be too late for them. We will take their resources and make them our own. We will take hostages as well. We knock them out, tie them up, and use them as leverage if the Britannians find out we took over the base."
A tense silence fell over the camp. The Black Knights looked at each other as they knew their time of peace never lasts long. It will never last long, not until the Emperor and his family are dead. Zero had lit the fire under them again. They didn't want another public execution.
"We'll need scouts," Ohgi said. "Reconnaissance. We have to know their security rotation, the patrol schedules—"
"I've already sent teams ahead," Zero said, cutting him off. "We have less than twenty-four hours before Britannia tightens their net around this city. If we wait, we die."
He turned sharply toward Kallen.
"You'll lead the forward assault team."
She blinked, startled, but then her jaw hardened.
"Yes, sir."
No hesitation.
Good. Zero faced the crowd again.
"Prepare yourselves," he commanded. "Tonight, we take their strength and make it our own!"
The Black Knights broke into rapid movement, excitement flooding the ruins like electricity. Kallen lingered for a moment, standing beside him. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. The energy between them crackled, unspoken but understood. Zero felt her loyalty to him almost immediately. Her loyalty was one reason why Zero was so drawn to her.
Zero turned his head slightly toward her, acknowledging her loyalty with a simple nod. He was happy because her loyalty meant it was easier for him to control her, even without using his Geass. He didn't want anything happening to her, C.C., Shirley, and everybody else he cared about.
Lelouch knew it was his job to protect them and fight against the injustice of the world even if it meant him becoming the villain in the end. He tightened his fists. This was only the beginning.
Then he stepped down from the rubble and strode toward the preparation area, his cloak billowing like a storm behind him. The night was just beginning. The peaceful days at Ashford Academy might not last forever depending on what happens.
Lelouch needed to gain control over the Japanese Liberation Front as well.
He would do this by showing the world what the Black Knights are able to do.