Liquid quintessence bubbled loudly in the two tanks in front of her. Both held an occupant that Haggar took quite an interest with.

One was already outfitted with several upgrades including his right arm wholly replaced with a prosthetic. His spirit was admirable. It was clear that he had a history with Zero and a warrior at heart. With the right push, he could be the perfect weapon for the empire. Perhaps they could put more of his people to fair use once her Emperor arrived for the Lions.

The other barely alive, the quintessence surrounding him likely the only reason why his heart was even still beating. He had such potential. If only he hadn't run off in his eagerness for vengeance. It was a miracle that he still had the weakest of pulses when she pulled him from the pod that had been floating aimlessly through this solar system's asteroid belt. His personality had been troublesome from the start, and the incident with the castle was apparent that that would not change. Even the gift she had given him was useless.

As of this point, there was only one final use for him, but that wouldn't be ready for a while yet.

A beeping from the monitor behind her shook her from her musing. Gliding over to it, she answered it.

On the screen, the face of her Emperor flickered to life in front of her.

"My Lord," Haggar responded, bowing her head respectfully.

"Haggar," Zarkon intoned, his eyes narrowing, "I'm growing impatient with your exploit. What progress have you had with tracking the Paladins."

Haggar nodded once, understanding that this would be a possibility. However, she did have information to give; she simply had to convince her Emperor to wait a little while longer.

"My Lord, it would seem that the Paladins have returned to their home planet, located in system X-9-Y. However," she said quickly when she saw her Emperor's face contort for a moment, "there is an unusual presence of quintessence surrounding the planet. It could be the reason why your vision is being blocked from properly locating the Black Lion. What's evening more interesting, though, is that the energy flow, in particular, is nearly identical to the power that you and Zero possess."

This time, Zarkon's eyes widened in genuine surprise, before they narrowed suspiciously, "How is this possible?"

"That, I know not, My Lord," Haggar said, bowing again, "Which is why I ask for just a little more time. Until I identify the source from the planet, we have no way of knowing if it could affect you further at a closer range. But I assure you that the moment I discover it, you will be informed at once."

Zarkon narrowed his eyes again before relenting, "Very well, but remember, Haggar, my patience has limits, even with you."

Haggar could help but release a small breath she was holding. While it wasn't her intention to keep her Lord waiting for this long, her curiosity about this strange planet wouldn't be satisfied with just a small glance over. No, she needed to explore this deeply and carefully.

"How did such a backwater planet come to hold such power?"

Deep in the inner part of the Castleship, Cornelia li Britannia found herself snoozing as she slumped with her back against the barrier surrounding her cell. Like all prison cells, the little bench that served as both a bed and a seat was anything but comfortable. She gave up trying to get a decent sleep on it days ago. (Had it been days? There seemed to be no way to tell time in this place from what she could see.)

The only visitors she got were random, nameless Black Knights bringing that goop that seemed to pass off as food here. At first, she thought it was an alien version of prisoner food, and wouldn't eat it, refusing to be humiliated further. The Red Paladin had been the one to bring her meal to her that day.

To the princess's surprise, the red-head had just shrugged, and pulled it back out and said, "Fine, more for me."

She had then snarkily added that Cornelia might as well get used to this because if Lelouch ever decided to let her out, most of the time, this was all there was on the ship for food.

The princess obviously thought she was bluffing, but the Red Paladin simply shrugged and strutted back into the elevator, shoveling large scoops of the goop into her mouth along the way.

Speaking of the elevator, she was shaken from her snooze by the barely audible sound of it descending again.

Upon hearing the doors opening, she scowled again, keeping her back turned.

"What, are you here to interrogate me more?" she said spitefully, "Perhaps you're planning to torture me this time?"

"I think you've had more than enough of that."

Cornelia whipped around when she heard the soft voice. It wasn't Lelouch, a Black Knight, or one of the other Paladins. Instead, gliding towards the cell on a hoverchair was Nunnally.

Whose eyes were wide open and gazing sadly at her.

Cornelia's shock only grew as Nunnally stopped the chair a few feet away, then stood up and walked unsteadily up towards her.

"I'm happy to see you, Cornelia," Nunnally said with a smile, her hands lightly touching the barrier, "I'd hug you right now if I could but…" her smile became awkward as she knocked on the glass.

It took Cornelia a few seconds to register both what she was seeing, and the fact that Nunnally had spoken.

"How…" she breathed, looking her little sister up and down, "How is this possible? You're-you're walking, and you can see! Your eyes are open!"

Nunnally smiled, "The Alteans are amazing! They have these cool pods that if you fall asleep in them, you wake up completely better. And did you know they have a pool here, but it's on the ceiling?! Like literally upside-down, on the ceiling!"

That had been one of the biggest surprises they'd seen on the ship so far. Sugiyama had wanted to try some water therapy to see if it could help Nunnally's legs at all. He, along with everyone that came with them, Lelouch included, nearly had a freak out when they saw that while there was a pool, it was indeed upside-down on the ceiling. Nunnally had been too busy laughing to hear how Sugiyama and her brother had been trying to explain to Coran why pools on Earth were on the floor, and not on ceilings. Whether Coran saw the problem or not, she didn't know.

Nunnally couldn't help but giggle at the memory, "I'm glad Lelouch has made so many new friends."

Cornelia was silent and just gaping. She was honestly still trying to process that not only was Nunnally standing, but it was these aliens that had healed her, and from the sound of it, they had done it because they had wanted to. Just what sort of people was Lelouch associating with now?

Nunnally looks at her sister again, this time tears gathering in her eyes, "I...I really am happy to see you again, Cornelia. I've missed you."

Cornelia choked as she felt her throat tighten involuntarily. She struggled to keep her tears from spilling over but ultimately failed as she fell to her knees, her hands pressed against the glass, opposite of Nunnally's.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, laying her head against the barrier. Before Nunnally could speak again, Cornelia continued, "I'm sorry for not being there for you. For not protecting you when your mother was killed. And… when you were exiled, I should have stopped that too! If I had tried, I could have done something! Or at least have gone with you!"

"Cornelia…" Nunnally murmured, sad to see her older sibling break down like this, "Cornelia, really… I don't really blame you for what happened. I know you'd never abandon me and Lelouch. And… I know what's happening is confusing, but Lelouch… I know he's Zero, but I also know and understand why he's doing this. When Zero made his first appearance, I knew it was him. He… he never told me, at least not at the start, but my heart kept saying that it was him."

Nunnally's smile faded further as her mind wandered to her discussion with Lelouch about their mother's death. How Cornelia had been a prime suspect. After interrogating her, Lelouch had informed Nunnally that had fortunately not been the case, much to Nunnally's relief.

"I didn't kill your mother, Nunnally," Cornelia said, as if reading her mind, "I had nothing to do with it."

"I know that," Nunnally reassured, "Big brother told me already. Although… Lelouch also said big brother Schneizel may have been involved in some way."

Cornelia gasped a little, "Schneizel…?"

Nunnally looked back up at her sister, "Is it true then? You think Schneizel might have…?"

"...I honestly don't know, Nunnally," Cornelia finally said, "But, our brother's behavior as of late certainly hasn't been helping his case either. He was the one that originally found you, right? Well, when he did, he didn't tell me or Euphie that he had. And when we did find out you were alive, he wouldn't let us see you. So even if he wasn't directly involved, I wouldn't be surprised if he does know something that he's refusing to share."

Nunnally didn't reply to this, but she felt her heart breaking just a little more. Why did so much tragedy have to befall on her family? Why did it end up so broken?

"Wait…" Cornelia suddenly said, and looked up at her again, "If you know that Lelouch is Zero, why haven't you asked him to stop? If he continues this crusade of his, he could destroy Britannia. Even you must understand that!"

Nunnally grimaced. She didn't know how much Lelouch had told Cornelia about the Galra, but from the sound of it, not much. She was sure Lelouch had reasons for that, but… if Cornelia understood the bigger picture, maybe she'd change her mind?

"Well, normally I would have, but… this isn't just about Britannia anymore," Nunnally explained. Nunnally then gave a brief summary about what she learned about the Galra, an alien regime that had the potential to completely destroy Earth, the same way that they had done to other planets for the past 10,000 years.

By the time Nunnally finished, Cornelia honestly didn't know what to think. She could tell that Nunnally wasn't lying, and getting abducted by aliens herself led to the logical possibility of there being other alien races out there.

"That's why Voltron's here!" Nunnally explained, "For when the Galra get here, they can defend Earth."

It took a few minutes for Cornelia to find the right words to speak again. Even if that was the ultimate goal, then…

"Then why attack Britannia?" she asked, "It's not like we aren't able to defend ourselves!"

"Even if you could, Coran says you, Earth really, wouldn't last even a day!" Nunnally explained, "And… this isn't just about stopping the Galra. We're trying to change Earth too. Unite it, where everyone can be happy and safe! But… that can't happen with how Britannia is being led now," Nunnally looked down with a sad frown, "When Voltron first came, and Zero made his ultimatum, I asked Father if I could speak publicly. Ask for Voltron to stop, so this could be resolved peacefully. I was hoping, if both sides simply talked, we wouldn't have to fight anymore…"

Cornelia looked at her little sister in awe. Though it was a naive way of looking at it, she could see Nunnally's good intentions for doing so. She always believed that there was good in everyone, even if the real world wasn't so kind.

Before Cornelia could respond to this, though, Nunnally continued, "When I told Lelouch about this, though, he says he thinks Father was… he thought he was just using me to gain leverage over Lelouch. He's positive that Father believes he's Zero."

"What?!" Cornelia gasped before her forehead furrowed in thought, "But if the Emperor suspected… Why didn't he mention anything about it?"

"I asked Lelouch the same thing," Nunnally said, "And he said it's so that the Emperor can maintain control. If word got out that one of his children was a rebel leader, other countries would start attacking harder, just like Sawazaki with Kyushu."

Cornelia nodded, "That certainly does make sense."

"...More than anything, I do want the world to change. Be gentler. More peaceful. And if it could be done without fighting, I would very much prefer it that way. But… even though that's not possible, I'm still going to support Lelouch. And… I want you to too. Not just as a Britannian Princess, but as our sister! Despite everything that's happened, I still see you as that. Our big sister! I want you, and Lelouch, and Euphie, I want all of us to have a happy future!"

Cornelia was honestly speechless. She didn't speak as Nunnally got back up to leave.

"I'll talk to Lelouch and Allura about letting you out," she reassured her as she got back on her hover-chair, "but I do have to ask. If and when the Galra get here, would you be willing to help us then?

Cornelia was still silent for about another minute. Then her fists clenched, and she looked Nunnally right in the eye.

"Yes, I would."

"Does that include Lelouch?" Nunnally asked, tilting her head.

Cornelia immediately nodded her head, "Yes, including Lelouch. I can even think of a few soldiers of my own that would be willing to help."

Nunnally smiled happily as she turned the chair back towards the elevator, "Thank you! I'll try and visit again!"

As Nunnally disappeared back into the elevator, Cornelia was left alone again. Now that she had all this new information, she had some things to think about. From her brother's perspective, from the moment he was exiled, to this very day, she knew Lelouch had thought everything out carefully. She doubted Lelouch took aliens, much less giant alien robots, into consideration, but he certainly had made the most of the situation too.

At the very least, she could smile knowing the Nunnally was safe here, even if it wasn't in her own arms.

o~o

"So what's the sitch this time? Another attempt to make us surrender?" Rai asked as he, C.C., and the rest of the Paladins found themselves on the bridge once more, summoned by Allura and Coran.

"We just received a broadcast message from Britannia. They're requesting to be patched through," Allura explained.

Well, that explained why they were told to come with their helmet on, and face shields darkened.

"Let it through," Zero ordered.

With a nod, Allura shifted her hand across the panel and a screen appeared before them.

"...Well, well, this is a surprise," Zero said upon seeing who had been waiting for them, "And what business does the esteemed Nonette Enneagram have with Voltron if I may ask? Are you going to convince us to surrender? Or perhaps you wish to join us?"

"Neither for your information, Zero," Nonette remarked back, "Your actions have more than proved that you're beyond reasoning with simple words."

Lelouch couldn't help but smirk underneath his mask, "So, it seems there are some intelligent ones within the Britannian military after all."

Nonette grimaced at the insult, but quickly regained her composure, "I'll get straight to the point Zero since my time and connection is limited. I, Nonette Enneagram, Member of the Knights of the Round of the Holy Britannian Empire, Knight of Nine, challenge you, Zero, to a duel!"

Of all of the things to be said during this broadcast, a direct challenge certainly wasn't one of them.

Nonette tapped something in front of her, and a map with the image of an island appeared on the screen, "We'll battle here, on this island to ensure that neither side brings overwhelming odds. No tricks, no armies, just a one-on-one battle between Knightmares. If I am victorious, you will return your captives, including Cornelia li Britannia, Nunnally vi Britannia, Suzaku Kururugi, and Zephyr zar Britannia."

The last person to be listed surprised everyone the most. Everyone looked towards the Green Paladin, who seemed frozen in shock. How the heck did Nonette know who he was? And why did she think that Zero was holding him captive? And 'zar Britannia'? But… if that was the case, then that meant-

"I'll expect your arrival in the next twenty-four hours. Or by all means, ignore this and stay up in space like a coward!"

With that last spat, the connection terminated, leaving silence in the room.

"...This has got to be a trap," Kallen finally said, taking her helmet off.

"Yeah, this seems a bit too… convenient," Milly agreed, "Your brother becomes the new Viceroy of Area Eleven, and the first thing he does is order a Knight of the Round to challenge Zero to a duel?"

"I agree," Lelouch nodded, "I certainly wouldn't put it past my brother to try and pull something like this."

"Oh, please!" Rivalz scoffed, "Voltron can handle anything that Britannia throws at us! You said so yourself, Lelouch, it'll be decades until they can develop the technology to match what the castle has!"

"Rivalz," Lelouch intoned, "If there is one thing that you must never do, it is that you must never underestimate Schneizel el Britannia. Sure, his tactics may not be as flashy as mine, but remember when I said that he's the one person I could never beat. At least in chess anyway. He's quick to adapt to nearly any situation that is presented to him."

"Hold on, guys," Shirley suddenly said, "I just realized something else! Nonette said that Suzaku was a prisoner. And I know that sounds bad!" she quickly said as she saw the looks she got, "But think about it! After what happened at Kyushu, if someone looked at video footage from the port the wrong way, it would look like Suzaku willingly joined Voltron. And that could be bad for the Japanese."

Suzaku nodded. He had been concerned about that as well. So hearing Nonette say that he was a prisoner brought a small sense of relief to the Purple Paladin.

"As comforting of a revelation that is," Lelouch spoke up, "I'm more concerned about Nonette's mention of you, Rai. Or, more specifically, your true name. Zephyr."

"Yes, I believe she called you 'Zephyr zar Britannia'..." Coran trailed off, "Isn't that-"

"I don't know!" Rai blurted out, "I don't know what she's talking about! She… she seems to know me, but I don't remember knowing her!"

"Calm down, Rai!" Allura gasped, "We're not trying to accuse you of anything."

"In that case...maybe we should accept the duel after all," Milly said. This earned shocked looks from everyone in the room, as just minutes ago, the Yellow Paladin had been solidly against the duel.

"Hear me out," she said calmly, "If Lelouch wins, one of the terms could be we take Nonette prisoner. If we do that, we may be able to learn more about Rai's past. Who knows, if she really does know him, maybe Rai can convince Nonette to join our side. Having a Knight of the Round in our ranks would totally boast our strength!"

Lelouch nodded, "I like your reasoned Milly. There are a few questions I'd like to ask Miss Enneagram myself, actually."

"Like what?" Kallen asked.

"Like how exactly were Rai and his mother and sister abducted by the Galra in the first place?"

This question caused another round of gasps.

"We know that Rai and his family were held hostage for some time. But how exactly were they abducted? Were they still on Earth during that time, or were they, for some unfathomable reason, somewhere in space themselves? And if that's the case, how did they get into space to begin with? Ever since we learned about Rai's situation with his family, too many unknowns have been surrounding the events. Far more than I'm comfortable with."

"You sure Nonette would really know about something like that?" Rivalz asked.

"I personally doubt it," C.C. spoke up for the first time, "but I suppose there's nothing lost if we were to ask her."

"...I still don't like this," Allura admitted through a frown and crossed arms, "From what I've seen in all of our encounters, Britannia is certainly not against playing dirty if it benefits them."

"Normally, I would agree," Suzaku said, "but I don't think we'll need to worry about Nonette back-stabbing us. I met her briefly when I was back on Earth, and she seemed like a nice person, and she wasn't even bothered that I was an Eleven and going to be piloting a Knightmare that she had been using. What I'm trying to say is, I think we have more to gain from this duel than we have to lose."

"But Suzaku, one of the terms of the duel is handing you back over to Britannia. We can't just say that you've chosen to stay!" Shirley protested.

"So, hand me over," Suzaku shrugged. This earned horrified looks before he continued, "Look, if Lelouch does end up losing, I'm okay taking one for the team. Nunnally can fly Yoru in the meantime until you 'capture' me again."

"But, one of the terms is handing Nunnally over too," Kallen pointed out.

"...Maybe not," Lelouch said after thinking for a moment, "I'll accept the challenge, but if something goes wrong…"

o~o

"Any sign of them?" Darlton asked a soldier delivering a status report.

"Nothing yet, sir," was the reply, "Our satellites aren't picking up any form of movement in the atmosphere."

"All right, thank you," he replied, sending the soldier on his way.

"You think that Zero chickened out at the last minute?" Claudio Darlton asked smugly, standing with his four brothers behind his father.

"We still technically have another four hours until the time limit is up," Andreas reminded his boys sternly, "Only after that time has passed can we make such claims."

"No offense Father," Edgar said, "But why is Lady Enneagram requesting to fight alone? We've seen how those Lions fly, and they're practically one-man armies on their own! She won't stand a chance."

Andreas actually smirked, "Don't underestimate Lady Enneagram, Ed. She's the Knight of Nine for a reason."

"And while I appreciate your concern," Nonette said, walking up behind them on the sandy shore, "I also claimed that this would be a one-on-one dual with no tricks involved, and you all will honor that."

"We understand Lady Enneagram," Lord Guilford said, walking up stiffly behind her, "Just know, that if something happens, we're all at your beck and call."

Looking at the knight at first glance, one wouldn't notice the small bags or redness in his eyes or the slouch in his shoulders.

Nonette wasn't fooled, though. Guilford hadn't been himself since Cornelia got captured. The first few days, she'd seen him wander between his quarters and the viceroy's office as if hoping that if he entered, Cornelia would be in there, dealing with paperwork or discussing something with another officer.

Then came the anger. He would snap at younger officers for even the smallest inconvenience, and several times when she passed his room, she would occasionally hear a crash or a thump something being thrown against the wall.

A week afterward, when he thought no one was watching, Nonette would hear him muttering about if he had simply been faster, or had seen the Red Lion's attack sooner, he could have saved his princess.

Nonette had seen enough battle to recognize the stages of grief when she saw them. It seemed that Guilford was, at last, entering the depression stage. Whether this would affect his work as a knight and a soldier was yet to be seen, but she could see that he was reigning in his emotions to try and hold himself together.

Perhaps she should speak with him once this was all over. If by the smallest chance they wouldn't get Cornelia back...

"I appreciate it, Guilford," Nonette smiled, "I'm sure Nelly would appreciate it too."

"That is, of course, if Zero honors his side of the deal as well," Darlton had to add, "If he wanted to, Zero could easily take that robot and blow this entire island to smithereens!"

Silences suddenly fell over the area as a large shadow descended over the residents of the island. Looking up, a large silhouette descended from the clouds before landing hard on the Shikine Island shore, hard enough to shake the ground.

The Black Lion roared loudly in the military's direction. A couple of soldiers actually had to cover their ears at how loud it was.

"...So you accepted my invitation after all," Nonette smirked as she approached a large, bulky black Knightmare off to the side.

"I have. It would have been rude to decline a personal invite from a Knight of the Round," Zero's voice answered from inside the lion, "However, I must ask why when you said this would be a one-on-one fight that you have a small army of Britannian soldiers behind you."

"They're here to observe," Nonette said simply, "I've given them specific orders to not attack or interfere at any time in our duel. Though I'll admit, I was expecting you to bring your own little entourage yourself."

Zero chuckled from inside the Black Lion, "Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't here. But just as your army is, they are also observers in this little game. However, they will not hesitate to attack should we suspect foul play. Considering this country's reputation for dirty tricks, it wouldn't surprise me, considering the Emperor was willing to use his own crippled, disabled daughter as a propaganda tool."

From their spots on the beach, Darlton and Guilford scowled in irritation but remained silent as they couldn't exactly argue with that. Even they would admit that that was a heinous move on the Emperor's part.

Nonette also scowled, but shook it off before continuing, "Let's get this over with. You know the terms if I'm victorious, but I'm curious to know what your own are should I lose."

"That eager, are you?" Zero smirked inside, "Well, before I give my own terms, I actually have a request regarding yours. To alter one of them just slightly."

"Huh?" Nonette asked, blinking in surprise, before narrowing her eyes, "Which term? And how 'slightly'?"

What Zero said next sent waves of shock through the soldiers present.

"I request that you refrain from labeling Princess Nunnally vi Britannia as a prisoner in our custody. For you see, unlike some, we of Voltron know when a member of royalty deserves to be treated with honor and respect. Nunnally vi Britannia was never a prisoner or a ward while among us, but an honored guest."

These words caused several soldiers to murmur in confusion. What was Zero getting at? The princess was still technically a hostage, wasn't she?

"Cut to the chase already, Zero," Nonette finally snapped, "What exactly are you getting at?"

"All I'm asking is that if I should somehow lose this duel, you ask for Princess Nunnally to choose whether she wishes to leave our hospitality or not."

This time shouts of outrage were mixed in with surprise from the soldiers.

"Choose?" Nonette gasped in shock, "And why on Earth would Princess Nunnally need to choose to leave you?"

"I really don't see the problem here," Zero said casually. The tone nearly pissed Nonette off, "As I said, Nunnally has been treated as nothing but an honored guest since she's been with us. So, should the princess indeed choose to leave and return to you, I will not stop her. However, should she choose the opposite, and stay in our custody, I expect you to honor your oaths as knights and soldiers of the Empire and accept your princess's choice as her own of her own free will. That is my request."

Nonette grit her teeth. She didn't want to accept the request, but Zero had made some fine points. They really did have nothing to lose concerning this alteration to the terms. If Nunnally wanted to come back, Zero said he would let her (though she still wasn't sure if Zero would completely honor that promise or not). Nunnally didn't have a reason to stay with the Black Knights. So, why wouldn't she come back?

"Fine, I'll honor this request, as a Knight of the Round," she finally said after several moments of silence.

"Good. Now, as I've stated before, I've received your terms and have accepted them. However, if I'm victorious in this duel, I have some of my own. The first is that you, Nonette Enneagram, will surrender yourself into Voltron's custody. You will be treated as a prisoner of war under international law."

"Done," Nonette said immediately. She could handle being a prisoner. At least that way she could stay close to Princess Cornelia again. Protect her if she had to, "Anything else?"

"Excellent," Zero grinned, "And yes, one more thing. Who is this Zephyr person to you? Is he someone important? Or is he just a means to an end for you?"

Nonette scowled, "That's none of your business!"

"Is that so? Well, I'm afraid I need to clarify this misunderstanding then."

"What?! What misunderstanding?" Nonette gasped, shocked once more.

"In regards to this Zephyr zar Britannia individual." This once again sent murmurs of shock and confusion throughout the ranks, "You requested that we return him to you too. However… I believe it is impossible to return something that we never have had to begin with."

Nonette gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, there is no one with that name in Voltron's custody nor within our ranks," Zero explained plainly. This wasn't technically a lie as Rai didn't wish to be called Zephyr unless given solid proof that that was really his name. "I don't know who gave you the impression that this person was among us, but I'm afraid you must have been misinformed."

Nonette was silent, but her mind was racing. No. That can't be! That boy… he told her that Zephyr was with Zero, as a prisoner! He even provided proof from those airport monitors!

"I don't believe you!" Nonette shouted desperately.

Zero sighed, "Whether you believe me or not, that is your own problem. I am simply stating what I know. For your sake, though, I wish you luck in locating him."

Before Nonette could scream or call Zero a liar again, the rebel leader spoke again.

"So then, are we fighting or not?" he asked the Black Lion growled tensed on her legs.

Nonette growled as the cockpit of the Knightmare finally closed with her inside.

"Let's!"

Meanwhile, underwater, the other Lions waited and watched anxiously from inside their own Lions. Rai had sent Rover up secretly to film the battle and broadcast it to the Lions and to the Castle of Lions still orbiting the moon. The Black Lion was also filming it separately for future use.

"I recognize that Knightmare," Suzaku realized, "That's the Gawain. It's a prototype Knightmare that a separate special unit was working on developing! Apparently, it's the first specialized Knightmare with flight. I also heard that there are some prototype weapons attached to it too. I've never seen it in action before, though."

"So that means it's weapons and skills are as much of an unknown to us as seeing it for the first time," Milly said.

"Exactly," the Purple Paladin.

Kallen clicked her tongue, "That's super annoying."

"...How are you doing, Rai?" Shirley couldn't help but ask, pulling up a video screen with the Green Paladin.

The Green Paladin was sitting stiffly in his seat but still answered, "If Lelouch pulls this off, I may finally get answers. About my mom, my sister, my past... But… will I want the answer I receive?"

"Rai, no matter who you were, that's not who you are now," Shirley told him, "That's not going to change what you mean to us!"

'What you mean to me,' Shirley added mentally.

Rai smiled gratefully at the Orange Paladin. She was right. No matter what, the rest of the team would be by his side.

One of the first things that Lelouch learned about this new Knightmare, the Gawain, was that it was much slower compared to other Knightmares. What it lacked in speed, though, seemed to be made up in the firepower it was carrying. That one weapon, the Hadron, appeared to be pretty powerful, but it did little to harm Zenobia or pierce through her armor.

He also noticed that the armor on this Knightmare was much thicker and likely heavier in comparison. Though Zen's lasers still dented it significantly, it was much less than what he wanted.

Even when he tried to take the fight into the air, the Gawain was able to follow thanks to the advanced float system.

Thanks to the advanced weapon system, it was a struggle trying to get in close, so he was forced to stick to mostly long-ranged attacks.

That seemed to be the goal in the fight so far. Although, while the Gawain was trying to keep Zen away, it seemed to simultaneously be trying to get closer to the Lion. Maybe it hoped to score some melee attacks?

"It seems you've done your homework, Schneizel," Lelouch couldn't help but comment. This Knightmare so far seemed to be solely designed to counter all of Zenobia's attacks and skills.

Or at least the ones that had been used against Britannia so far.

"And Anti-Lion Knightmare," he said, "Nothing we can't handle, right girl?"

He felt a proud purr answer him back.

The Black Lion leaped back again as the Gawain fired with the Hadron cannon once more. By this time, the beach they had been battling on was full of craters from both sides attacking. The Britannian soldiers actually had to retreat further from the beach to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Nonette grunted as Zen's tail smacked hard into the Gawain, pushing it back. Zen then leaped over the Knightmare as it fired with its slash harkens, which were coming from its fingertips.

Overall, the fight seemed to be evenly matched, with Zen's superior armor taking most of the Gawain's attacks with ease, and the Gawain's float system allowed the Knightmare to mostly keep up with the Black Lion's flight.

However…

"That float system doesn't seem to be complete just yet for custom Knightmares," Zero commented as Zen rose into the air again, "So if I keep my-huh?"

Then to Zero's shock, the Gawain charged towards him and Zen head-on, latching onto the Lion's snout.

"What the-are you insane?!" Zero exclaimed as Zen waved her head wildly, but the Gawain refused to let go.

What happened next, though, no one could have expected.

With a buzzing sound, a wave of energy emerged from the Gawain and hit Zen point-blank. With a gasp, Lellouch watched in horrified shock as his Lion's controls started to short circuit and shut down.

"What the…" he muttered before glaring at the Knightmare, "What the hell did you just do?!"

Lelouch then stopped as he noticed that the Gawain hadn't unlatched from Zen and began to fall limply towards the beach with him. Whatever that attack was had affected the Gawain too.

From inside the Knightmare, Nonette was in shock as well, as static electricity zapped across her control board, red warning lights blaring.

"What?! It's frozen?! No!" she shouted and braced for impact on the shore. She gasped in fear as the Black Lion fell too, almost landing on top of the Knightmare.

o~o

"What?!"

"Zero!"

"Oh, no!"

"What the hell just happened?!"

The Paladins, all still lying in wait beneath the waves, each voiced their shock and horror, watching Lelouch and Zen fall.

o~o

"No!" Nunnally shouted, watching helplessly the Black Lion landed limply on the shoreline.

Most of the Black Knights were also present on the Bridge along with the Alteans. Through her small bond with the Lion, Allura could hardly sense Zen at all! Whatever she had been hit with had utterly knocked out her systems!

"...I thought Britannia didn't have anything that could counter the Lions!" Coran exclaimed in confusion.

"Damn! We got cocky!" Tohdoh cursed, "We should have known that this was a trap."

"Miss Chawla didn't that look like…?" one of the Indian scientists on board turned to the woman in question.

"Yes… it seems so," Rakshata frowned, looking mightily miffed.

"What? Do you know what just happened?" Ohgi asked, eyes begging for an answer.

"Well, while there's no way to guarantee it at the moment, that attack looked oddly similar to my Gefjun Disturber," she answered.

"Gefjun?" Allura asked, her attention turning to the Indian scientist.

"Yes. It works by disturbing the chemical and mechanical processes of the Sakuradite that powers most Knightmare Frames," the woman explained plainly, "It also blocks off the motion of microwaves, hadrons, and radio waves."

"Wait, if that thing only affects Sakuradite, what the hell did it do to Zero and his Lion?" Tamaki demanded.

"That is the question, isn't it?" Rakshata said, "It certainly seems to have affected the Gawain at the very least as well. My guess is that it was built into the Knightmare just for this battle to trap Zero."

"But without any Altean tech… how was Britannia able to produce a counter-measure?" Inoue asked.

Allura's brow furrowed in thought. Whenever Voltron entered the battlefield, they made sure not to leave any trace behind just for this purpose. So how did…

She gasped. There was one possibility!

"You're thinking of the B.L.I.P.s, aren't you?" Rai's voice echoed from his comm.

"That's the only logical explanation!" Allura exclaimed, horror creeping into her tone.

"The B.L.I.P.s?" Tohdoh questioned.

"Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology," Coran translated, "We used these sensors when we first arrived to locate the Black Knights in Narita."

"But, don't those things disintegrate or return to the ship or something after they're finished usage?" Rivalz asked this time.

"It seems one of them never made it back," Allura deduced, "Whether caught by an enemy or malfunctioned."

"So the Britannias found one of these B.L.I.P. Tech things and used it to make a Voltron counter-weapon?!" Ohgi exclaimed, making sure he understood.

"That certainly seems to be the case," Rakshata confirmed.

"Damn! We've got to help Lelouch!" Kallen shouted, ready to practically leap out of the water.

"Rakshata, how do we stop that thing?" Suzaku asked before they did anything rash.

"Before you even think about touching the Black Lion, you must separate the Gawain from it first. We have no way of knowing if the device is still active. Should you touch either one, your Lions could shut down as well."

"So, we got to figure out a way to get the Gawain off of Lelouch without touching either of them?" Shirley clarified, "How are we supposed to do that?!"

"Guys…" Milly said just as their monitors started beeping wildly, "We may have another problem!"

On the monitors, several enemy signals popped up, heading straight for the island.

"Britannian scum!" Kallen screamed before shooting out of the ocean, barely noticing the remaining Lions following close behind her.

"Kallen, look out!" Rai shouted, leaping with Zerith in front of Aka, Zerith's back shield taking several hits from above.

"What the-" Rivalz gasped as three large Knightmares roared through the sky, barely missing colliding with the Lions.

"Oh, quiznack! We're in trouble!" Milly exclaimed once the three attacking units came into full view.

"Paladins, what's happening?!" Allura demanded from the castle's bridge.

"Well, Princess, if we weren't sure this was a trap before, it definitely is now!" Suzaku informed as the three units pulled to a stop in front of the Lions, separating them from Zen that still lay on the beach.

"Six targets confirmed. Prepared to engage," a monotonous voice voiced from the heavily armored Mordred.

"Golly! It's one thing seeing these things on the news! Seeing them face to face, though, this is honestly the coolest thing I've ever seen! It's like right out of one of those anime shows the Elevens love!" a voice from the red, white, gold and blue Knightmare exclaimed in awe.

"The Mordred and the Tristain…" Milly muttered, recognizing the Frames. Her eyes then lingering the final one hovering between the two, "Then that one must be-"

"Anya, Gino, both of you focus. By order of Prince Schneizel, not one of these Lions is to make it to the shore!" The voice of Bismarck Waldstein proclaimed from his personal Knightmare, the Galahad.

"Got it!" Gino grinned from the Tristian.

"Understood," Anya replied, the Mordred's systems firing to life.

"Here they come!" Rai shouted.

"The Knights of the Round?" Darlton gasped in amazement.

"And the Knight of One is among them!" Guilford added.

"Order from Second Prince Schneizel!" Bismarck's voice rang through the communications, "Surround the Lion! Don't let any of the others get close!"

Darlton hesitated for a moment, wondering if the Prince had lost his mind. There was no way they could keep the Lions at bay, but eventually, he ordered the Glaston Knights to surround the fallen Knightmares, and they didn't hesitate to obey.

Meanwhile, inside Zen, Lelouch frantically tried to press some buttons or pull on the levers. He attempted to tap into the bond he and his Lion shared, but to his shock and horror, he heard nothing. He could feel that the bond was still intact, but Zen's voice was silent.

"Damn you… Damn you, Schneizel!" he shouted, because who else could it be other than his brother to pull such a dirty move.

However, Lelouch was angrier at himself than anything. He was foolish to underestimate this battle. He doubted from the beginning that Nonette had challenged him on a whim, but if she did it under orders…

...But why disable her Knightmare too?

At the same time, in the Gawain, Nonette was in shock. She had not expected this suicide-like attack, nor had she been informed that her comrades in the Knights of the Round would be here too. But her shock soon morphed into anger.

"This… this wasn't part of the plan!" she suddenly screamed, her fists slamming on her control board.

"Allura, there must be a way we can help! Please!" Nunnally exclaimed desperately. The only reason she stayed in her chair was due to both Sayoko and Sugiyama holding her shoulders.

"Can't we fly this ship down there and attack ourselves?!" Tamaki exclaimed, "There's no way even the Knights of the Round could stand up to the mothership!"

"We may have to," Allura agreed and prepared to move the castle into the Earth's atmosphere.

"Wait, Princess!" Coran gasped, a new alert appearing on the screen.

"What is it?" Tohdoh demanded.

"There's a large Britannain aircraft heading straight for the island!" Coran said fearfully.

"Pull it on the screen!" Sayoko ordered.

Allura swiftly did so, and everyone gasped in horror.

"Wait isn't that-" Chiba exclaimed.

"But I thought Voltron split that thing like an ax on wood!" Asahina exclaimed.

"Just because it looks similar doesn't mean that it's the same craft," Tohdoh reasoned, "My guess this is a smaller replica. Either way, if it has the same weapons as the Avalon that was destroyed…"

Allura gasped in horror, immediately contacting the Paladins, knowing there was no way the castle would make it in time!

"Paladins! You must get out there! Grab Lelouch and retreat!"

"Sorry, Princess," Kallen shouted, as she and Suzaku dived towards the Galahad together, "We're kind of busy right now!" She couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu when she and Suzaku fought side-by-side against Zarkon not too long ago.

Although the Lions were larger and had (supposedly) superior fire-power, the Knights of the Round were the top pilots in the Empire. Possibly even the world. And due to the Knightmares' smaller size, that made them faster, and that was an advantage the Knights quickly figured out.

"How the hell-" Suzaku gasped as Galahad's sword came down on Yoru's head, throwing Suzaku off his flight path.

"Your Lions may be bigger," Bismarck stated, "but you still have much to learn to match us!"

"Damn you!" Kallen shouted, firing several blasts from Aka's tail, which the Knight of One dodged easily.

Meanwhile, Rai practically snarled, glaring down towards the island. With a sharp thrust, he and Zerith shot straight towards the island, nearly colliding with the Tristian that attempted to stop him. It was only the timely interference of Zinnia with Shirley, smashing into the Tristian that allowed him to continue on his path.

Shirley attempted to follow only to be jerked backward as the Tristain's harken's latched onto Zinnia's thick armor.

"Hey, you're fighting me! Remember?!" Gino shouted, using the Tristian's momentum to swing back around the Orange Lion.

Shirley gasped and flew backward to avoid the strike just in time. It was clear that Gino wasn't letting a second Lion get past him.

Anya, being in the most armored Knightmare of the trio, was easily holding her own against Rivalz and Milly, despite both of their Lions being thinner compared to some of the others. The proxy missiles were becoming extremely annoying as well.

"Analyzed. Recorded. Complete," Anya remarked emotionlessly as she dodged around Rivalz's ice beams and Milly's shots. They knew that Milly's light bomb wouldn't work as Knightmares could turn off their vision if they needed to, and was something they knew Anya was sure to do.

But with the Knights of the Round occupied, Rai managed to screech towards the island, knocking the Glaston Knights out of the way like rag dolls.

"Out of my way!" he shouted, firing at the Knightmares that attempted to counter him.

Back in the Britannian royal transport, Euphemia watched anxiously as the battle seemed to come to a head when the Knights of the Round made an appearance to stop the Lions.

But then what she overheard next nearly made her heart stop.

Her brother Schneizel was currently flying the Le Fey aircraft towards the island. He planned to drop surface-to-surface missiles, taking out Zero once and for all.

But if he did that, Nonette would die as well! And if the Paladins were who she believed they were, with what Suzaku told her…

"We're assigning Portman here to escort them. The sub-viceroy should be taken out of the-"

"Wait!" Euphemia exclaimed, sprinting as fast as she could from the transport, Cecile and Lloyd not too far behind approaching the soldiers under her brother.

"Are you out of your mind?! You're going to destroy the Gawain?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Don't you know that one of the Knights of the Round is still inside of it?!" Cecile added in shared horror.

The guard frowned, "Lady Enneagram will hold Zero there. This may be our one chance to kill him and obtain one of these Lions."

"Schneizel would sacrifice a loyal knight just to get to the Lions?!" Euphie gasped.

"Those are our orders, Princess-"

"No! I command you to call it off! This is absurd!" she shouted.

The guard only faltered for a moment before regaining his composure, "It's a para-level one order. It can only be countermanded by the consensus of at least three ranking generals or the viceroy himself, I'm afraid."

"Then get me a line to my brother!" the princess demanded.

"Para-level one order, Princess Euphemia," the soldier repeated.

Euphemia grit her teeth and stormed past towards the Knightmare, "Out of my way!"

"Sub-viceroy!" Another soldier exclaimed in shock as the princess grabbed onto the loading platform and pulled herself aboard.

"Contact the base! Tell my brother there's a chance I'll be caught in the attack! See if he'll initiate the launch then!" she dared, looking the soldier in the eye.

"Please, stop this, think what you're doing!" the soldier protested, but nothing would stop Euphie from saving not just her friend, but her beloved brother as well.

"They must stop with the princess out there…" Cecile reasoned, looking at Lloyd with a worried expression.

"I don't think he will, unfortunately," Lloyd said matter-of-factly.

"Paladins, incoming attack confirmed!" Allura shouted through the comm, "You must get out of there immediately!"

Lelouch growled as he had no choice but to abandon Zenobia manually, exiting through the hole that opened above the seat.

Landing on the sand, Lelouch saw from the corner of his eye that Nonette was doing the same to the Gawain.

Spinning to face her, he swiftly brandished his mother's knife, "You! Is this your doing?! Was this all a setup?!"

"Of course it wasn't! I gave you my word this would be a one-on-one fight!" Nonette argued fervently.

"I honestly don't know whether to believe you or not. And here I thought your word would hold some value!" Zero snapped.

From behind him, Rai managed to maneuver around the last of the troops, landing not quite gracefully in the dooned pit. He quickly exited Zerith and started sprinting towards the Black Paladin.

"Zero! Come on, we have to go!" he shouted only to stop abruptly as a shadow loomed over them.

Off to the side, Euphie rolled to a stop in her Knightmare and gazed up in horror as the Le Fey floated into view.

Unbeknownst to both Britannians and Voltron Paladins, a small figure, one that could easily be mistaken for a child, stood solidarily on a cliff watching the chaos.

A small, nearly insane smirk spread across his face.

"That's our cue!" Gino exclaimed, before abruptly pulling away from Zinnia's laser blast.

"Yes, our mission is done," Bismarck acknowledged, following after Gino with Anya close behind.

"No!" Shirley screamed as they saw a port open up on the Le Fey.

"Quiznack!" Rivalz cursed, he and the other Lions desperately rushing towards the shore.

Without another warning, the airship open-fired on the field below.

"NO!" Nunnally screamed as the group watched the projectiles rain down on the beach.

From behind the group, C.C. gasped and fell to her knees. Her Geass symbol pulsing brightly.

"C.C.?!" she heard one of the Black Knights shouting, though, through the pounding in her head, she couldn't pinpoint who.

'V.V… you didn't…!'

AN: So... this is finally done. I'm still not too happy with this, but as I've mentioned before, I suck at writing good fight scenes. I hope that it turned out all right at least.

Thank you all for your patience and I apologize for my blow-up of an Author's Note, but you all need to understand, that we writers are people too, who have lives and struggles outside of Fanfiction. And what takes minutes of you to read, takes days, weeks, or even months of our time and talents to present something good for you. So instead of demanding that authors update faster, show your support to them by liking, following, reviewing, and sharing these stories so that we can get more support and know that people actually care about our craft.

As the saying goes: You can't rush art!

Hope you all enjoyed! R&R and see you next time (and hopefully with a faster update because I've been excited to write the upcoming chapter after this!)