Shinjuku Ghetto.

  A region b the Tokyo cessio untouched by the ial gover. It was a city filled with buildings and skyscrapers that stood high and mighty in the past, now broken beyond repair.

  A ruin that symbolized the brutality of Britannian’s occupation and the shame of Japan’s defeat in the war. The nation previously known as the nd of the rising sun, now reduced to simply “Area 11”; one of the many ies uhe Britannian Empire.

  And a scar that never healed due to sans imposed by their ial gover.

  Now, it ce where “Elevens”, who did not, or ot, take the honorary britannia status, the homeless, and the unemployed live uemporary structures on the nd they no longer owned.

  The disparity was heartbreaking.

  To his left was a beautiful city filled with tall skyscrapers, beautiful residences, and the people of Britannia living their life to the fullest.

  While to his left was a ruined city filled with broken buildings, shelters and camps, and the “Elevens” who couldn’t even feed nor defend themselves.

  Yuuji stood on the clouds, invisible to any and all surveilnce systems, as he looked down with a pained expression.

  “Seeing it in real life really does hit you differently…”

  Having lived in a peaceful world where the reality of war was never shown to him directly, Yuuji felt his stomach and his heart sink when he looked at the devastation it left behind.

  “We o end this…”

  It was no longer only about his mission or Lelouch. Someone o end this. He o end this, along with others with the power to do so.

  To end this cycle of war, hatred, and despair. T peato the nd once more.

  He turned his gaze away from the heartbreaking sight and flew deeper into the skies above Shinjuku Ghetto.

  Based on the informatio from Tatsuya about the location of “Amaterasu”, the mobile fortress and headquarters his “parents” left behind, it was located in a massive, underground, secret facility uhe ruins of the Ghetto.

  He didn’t have the exact location as his “memories'' of it was blurry. After all, “he” had only been to it once when he was a toddler with his “parents”.

  But with Lelouch using his [Mind of the World], they were fortunately able to find its exact location and spare Yuuji the time and effort to search through the entire area of the Ghetto and check the basement of each broken building iy.

  Soon, Yuuji arrived at the location and flew down towards an unassuming broken building in the middle of the ruined city.

  With much of the buildiroyed from the battle that had once occurred here during Britannia’s occupation, he was able to fly directly into the first floor from above.

  Dust, debris, remnants of gss, torn cables where the electricity had stopped flowing through for years, broken mps, and marks of dried blood were now all around him.

  The sense of dread, despair, desperation, ahat oed in this pce was still apparent to him. Simply by standing there, he could feel it enter his being and clutg onto his heart.

  “...”

  Yuuji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes once more after steeling himself.

  He walked through the dusty floor, apanied by the occasional g sound of pieces of gss breaking under his feet, towards aor at the back of the floor.

  The metal doors of the elevator, once shiny and firm, were dusty with several scratch marks, dents, and dried blood all over it.

  He looked to the side, and saw the panel on the wall that had oton with an arrow pointing up, was in a simir state.

  Yuuji pressed the button, and it lit up.

  The elevator doors split open with a d groan of metal, and inside erson. A lifeless person.

  There were several bullet wounds all over his body, but none of which hit him on his vitals. He seemed to have died from excessive blood loss that was caused by his wounds, judging by the huge puddle of the now dried blood oire floor of the elevator.

  Perhaps due to being in aor all this time, his body hasn’t deposed as badly as one would expect from a person who died from such wounds and had been dead for years. At least enough for Yuuji to be able to see that he anese man, presumably in his middle or te twenties. A typical saryman, dressed in a suit and pants, and a ag clipped onto his breast pocket.

  “Kitagawa Daichi…”

  It must’ve been an ordinary day for him when he came to work before all hell broke loose.

  And because he stayed and died in aor, the people, whathering the remains of those who had lost their lives here, must’ve not found him.

  He was the only one in this building who had not been put to rest.

  “...Let’s give you a proper burial.”

  Yuuji lifted his hand forward, and the lifeless body began to levitate. He then brought it towards ay area a few distance away from the building, dug up a prrave for the man with his magid buried him there.

  Then, he found a sb of t, carved it into a tombstone, engraved the man’s name, and pced it down as a memorial.

  “May you find pea the life.”

  Yuuji lowered his head, cpped his hands twice, and prayed for the poor soul, wishing that he could finally move on from the dark, empty, cold elevator he died in.

  “...”

  He stared at the tombstone for a few moments, and theuro the elevator.

  He waved his hand, and all the grime, dust, debris, dried blood, and everything else iween suddenly flew towards a point in mid air and formed a clump, leaving the metallic surface of the elevator that had nais luster.

  He then threw the clump of grime away aered the elevator.

  Inside, he began pressing the buttons to floors 4, 2, 4, 9, and 9 in order.

  April 24, 1999. The month and date of his birthday is the same, but the year is different. This must be his date of birth in this world.

  Upoering the passcode Tatsuya’s “parents” set, the doors closed shut and the elevator rumbled a bit before he felt it bringing him underground… tens of meters underground.

  *Ding*

  The elevator door opened into a dark void.

  It itch bck with the only light emanating being the ones within the elevator he was standing in. But Yuuji’s eyes widened in awe and his jaw sed slightly at the sight before him.

  With his enhanced senses as well as [Elemental Sight], he could clearly see the massive fortress of a base unlike anything he had ever seen.

  It was caked in dust and debris, but its majesty was unmistaken. It was around 210 meters ih, almost half as tall, beautiful, and imposing.

  “This is… amazing…”

  Yuuji was currently fag its front, and he could see two front “legs” protruding from its main body. And with his [Elemental Sight] still active, he could see that there were two massive Radiant Wave Surging Hadron Bsters which were retractable and mounted inside of its front “legs”, right above a knightmare ung system and the hangar.

  On top of each of these two front “legs”, he could also see two smaller Hadron Bsters that could be aimed from side to side and to the air.

  At the back of the fortress, on each side, there were also small, retractable, Radiant Wave Surging Bsters that could be aimed 360 degrees on the vertical axis.

  And aside from these Radiant Wave Surging Bsters, there were also plenty of automatic mae guns, ssh harkens, and devices that could create Radiant Wave Shields to protect it in its ey.

  This was… beyond his expectations. Perhaps even beyond Tatsuya’s as well sidering he was only able to recall his “childhood memory” vaguely.

  His “parents” seemed to have improved it even further and made… a monster.

  If this was real and not simply one of the supp items they received for their mission, then the Japanese might be able to turides of war with this fortress alone…

  He stepped out of the elevator and began looking around the massive military-esque pound that housed the monstrous “Amaterasu” for a few moments.

  He could see a ton of maery, plete and half made Knightmare frames called Burais, rge knightmare frame ons in development, and many more. But he couldn’t find the Excalibur.

  Yuuji turowards Amatearsu once more and used his [Elemental Sight] to see into its interior.

  There were even more defense systems and ons within that would appear upfront oivated. But, he soon found the Knightmare frame he was looking for.

  Standing tall ihe hangar of the fortress was Excalibur, a beautiful bd red knightmare frame with a slightly simir design as the La. But there were several clear differences, mainly on its chest, arms, and legs.

  There were two Ssh Harkens oher side of its hips and another pair on each of its arms.

  The ter of its chest was also slightly protruded into a diamond shape, and within it, there was a retractable Radiant Wave Surging Hadron Bster.

  On top of each arm was a forearm mounted Bze Luminous shield, simir to La’s. But unlike La’s human-like hands, the hands of Excalibur were sharp and pointed, as if it was desigo be a on in itself in case it had lost its swords and other ons.

  Oher side of its cockpit was a sword, a Maser Vibration Sword that could cut through the steel ptings of Knightmare frames as if it was butter.

  With his knowledge of the anime, Yuuji khat the Maser Vibration Swords were Britannian teology, which fit with Excalibur’s in. It was inally created by his “father”, a Britannian knightmare frame development stist.

  But the chest mounted Radiant Wave Surging Bster was most likely an addition Yuuji’s “parents” made upon disc it with the help of Lakshata, the genius woman stist who came up and developed the idea for the teology. They also seemed to ge its Landspinner propulsion system to be simir to Guren’s which is built as part of its legs instead of its alternative like Britannian’s Landspinner propulsion system, as well as its color.

  They seemed to have painted over Excalibur’s inal color, the white and gold of Britannia, and tur bd crimson.

  Yuuji stared at the beautiful war mae of destru in awe. As a young man, even if he khat this was a o to defeat his enemies, it was still an object of admiration. It was still… super cool.

  “Ah, I was so caught up in admiration that I fot to report back… They must be waiting…”

  Yuuji quickly took out his phone and messaged Tatsuya, Satoru, and Lelou the group chat they’ve made for the mission.

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Hey, I’ve found Amaterasu, Excalibur, a bunch of Burais type Knightmare frames, and maes that are still funing well. It’s in a very secure location. I think we use this as our secret hideout.”

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “Uood. I’ll sider it. How are the Amaterasu and Excalibur?”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “...Holy? Excalibur is head and shoulders above La and Guren. It has La’s Bze Luminous shield and Maser Vibration Sword, and also Guren’s Radiant Wave Surging teology. It’s a monster you’d get if you bine La and Guren's greatest features.”

  Suzuki Satoru: “It’s that powerful…?”

  Shiba Tatsuya: “That’s beyond our expectation… What about Amaterasu?”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “...It’s even more ridiculous. Lelouch, do you remember Bight’s Aerial carrier “Ikaruga” and Britannian’s Airship “Avalon”?”

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “...Yes?”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “The me tell you what Amaterasu has as its armament. Two massive and four smaller Radiant Wave Surging Hadron Bsters that could annihite anything in its path. Tens of anti-knightmare frames and anti-air turrets. Tens of Ssh Harkens. And devices that could create Radiant Wave Shields to protect it in its ey.”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Lelouch, if we use this now, the entire world would question how we get such a teologically advanced on. Britannia would increase their pressure on us, and we are not ready for it yet. We ’t use this yet.”

  For a while, no messages appeared in the chatroom until Lelouch finally spoke up.

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “I agree… This is beyond my expectations.”

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “For now, try if you put it into your iory. If you ’t, then it’s fine. Just return here with Excalibur.”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Alright, I’ll try it.”

  Yuuji navigated to his [Iory] in his smartphone and walked up towards the epitome of on in this world.

  He closed his eyes, put his hand on its dusty surface, and willed it to enter his iory. And suddenly, he felt nothing against his hand.

  When he opened his eyes, the entire fortress disappeared, leaving behind all the dust and debris it had on its surfad even within it.

  He looked down to his phone and saw a mini “Amaterasu” I in one of his iory slots. And beside it was a mini “Excalibur” i as well as a mini “Burai” i with “x10” on its bottht er.”

  “This is amazing…! This opens up so many possibilities!”

  He quickly reported back to Leloud told him of his success.

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “That’s great. Bring it back with you along with all the maeries there. Even though it hasn’t been fou, we ’t risk it falling to other hands.”

  Lelouch Lamperouge: “We return it there once we’re ready to move into that pound.”

  Tsubakihara Yuuji: “Alright. I’ll return after finishing up here. See you.”

  Yuuji the around the underground base, put every single pieaery into his [Iory], auro his home the same way he came here.

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  “Oi, Ohgi! Are you listening to me?!”

  “Yes yes, I am…”

  “Holy, how could you all still be this rexed after hearing that?! This is a big deal!”

  Shiniaki being upset was an uatement.

  The brown haired man with red headband was stomping on the ground as he yelled ead every word to his rade and friends.

  The hey got this m about the four three new members who’ll be joining the bights and be heavily involved in their operations in Narita in the near future irked him to no end.

  How could Zero just bring in three new bloods who they don’t know about and don’t know if they could trust into su extremely important and dangerous operation?! Was he an idiot?!

  “Like I said, he must have some sort of reason… Zero isn’t the kind of man who’d jeopardize the Bights and himself.”

  Yoshitaka Minami assured, adjusting his gsses as he sat on a wooden box a few distance away from the shouting man.

  “That’s right… He must have a reason.”

  Kaname Ohgi, the former de-facto leader of their little rebellion group and now the sed-in-and of the Bights, agreed with Minami’s words. Or at least, that’s how he assured himself.

  In truth, Ohgi was simirly worried about the potential dahree new bloods would bring to their group.

  Although their “Order” have grown, they’re still, essentially, a rebel group. And having lived as a member of a rebel group for years, he knew how votile and dangerous it was. Every member o trust each other and have the same goal. Else, they might find themselves in serious danger, or at worst, dead.

  The members of the Bights have e to trust Zero, at least trust him enough to make him their leader for now, after seeing the many miracles he had performed. From resg the “honorary Britannian” from his execution, to resg the Britannian civilians from the radical Japanese Liberation Froup with very little expense.

  It was holy incredible and something they could never do without him. They’ve reached this far because of Zero.

  But the decision ing in not one, but three new people to this rebel group was something that made even Ohgi nervous…

  “Reason?! What kind of reason?! He’s making one of them a knightmare pilht from the get go! I haven’t even gotten the ce to pilot a knightmare! And this guy gets it from the start?! That’s ridiculous!”

  “...Maybe that guy’s just really good. And the other two will be staff tht? I think I heard him say one will be in charge of R&D and the other some kind of HR officer.”

  Minami grabbed his and thought back to Zero’s words when he made the annou. Holy, he couldn't remember much about the other two because he was still shocked wheold them that one will be a knightmare pilot.

  “How could some nobody be good with a knightmare?! It’s not like he’ll be another Karen or something, right?!”

  Tamaki stomped his feet once more and poi the beautiful girl with short red-haired and a red headband around her head; a memento of her te brother. She was sitting on one of the wooden crates they had around, listening to their versation.

  And as she listeo the three guys’ versation, she couldn't help but wohe reason why Zerht in three new people into the Bights this close to the operation.

  Are they that good that he hem to join before the operation? She couldn’t help but doubt it.

  Every helping hand they could get would be helpful, for sure. But this close to the operation? Just a few days? They wouldn’t even be able to get to know the new people before the start of the operation. How could they entrust their lives to them?

  “Ohgi-san… Have you seen the new guys yet?”

  Kallen turowards Ohgi, who was standing to her left. .

  “No… I’ve only heard of their names. But I think they’re code names…”

  “Code names…”

  “Yeah. It’s Mordred, Silver, and Ainz.”

  “What? Those are strange names… even as a niame.”

  “They don’t even tell us their real names! How we trust them!!! They could be Britannian spies for all we know!!!”

  Tamaki, who overheard their versation, yelled once again in rage at Zero's decision. He k was a bad idea to have him as their leader!

  “That’s enough, Tamaki. There’s no way he’d let britannian spies into our ranks. That’s just ridiculous.”

  “But-”

  “Hey, everyone! Zero’s calling us!”

  Just then, a female voice came calling out for them as a woman with indigo colored hair peeked out into the ste warehouse they’ve modified into a hangar for their knightmares frames.

  “What? Why so suddenly?”

  “The new guys are here!”

  VergsX