2023-09-15: Betrayal! Murder Android Revealed!

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<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

As an irregular organization, the Black Knights don't meet on a set schedule. For an organization with secret membership, not all of who know each other, that would be... difficult. But every once in a while a meeting is called anyway, because it's impossible to get everything done on your own.

Cascade was in charge of the last meeting, and she seems to have put herself in charge of this one too, but she indicated that it was higher priority than the last get-together - she has time-sensitive work to discuss. She's done some investigation, and has a possible approach to striking against Britannian forces in Japan, but doesn't have enough tactical experience to put together a battle plan herself.

In short, she needed to coordinate with leaders, tacticians, and expert pilots. Hence the meeting.

Appropriately, this meeting is in a more utilitarian location than the last. It's a garage in the worse-hit part of Nagoya; abandoned during the invasion, the owner is a (now-retired) civilian supporter of the rebels and allows them to use it. It's a bit inconvenient for the Ashford students to get to because of its location, but workable.

Designed for vehicles, it's been retrofitted into a two-dock facility for Knightmare Frames or wanzers. No units are here right now, so the main area is about fifty percent open space for them with some gantries and fifty percent warehouse-y, with equipment the Black Knights need and use. The garage doors are firmly closed and locked, because nobody wants someone sneaking in and spotting all the equipment.

The actual meeting is in the back room - what would have been a staff lounge back in the day. There's two doors into it, one from the main garage area and one that opens into the back rooms, which have an office and the unglamorous parts of running a place like this.

Cascade is here - a few of the early arrivals saw her. She's been tired-looking and distracted for the last couple days; she'd told Rin it was family business and nobody has been able to get more out of her than that. Even her birthday (which was on Tuesday) didn't change anything. Currently, she has ducked out of the 'staff lounge' and was last seen heading to the washrooms. She said she wouldn't be long, but the other Black Knights have a couple minutes without her.
Emilia Eschonbach teleports in. 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.



        As if Pizza Hut just knew about the meeting of Black Knights, a delivery moped has pulled up to the side of the garage. The delivery guy steps off the moped and grabs his takeaway bag and walks through the garage like he owns the place. He walks right into the backroom.

        Once there Karma takes off the uniform required hat and his sunglasses shaking his head, "I am just going to say again, I had really expected being an activist may pay a little better then a job at Pizza Hut." Taking a few moments he pulls out two large pizzas from the bag and sets them aside.

         Karma takes a moment to grab himself a bottle of water before he finds a seat. "So then what is on the agenda for the day?" 

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.


Despite her friendship with Cascade, Rin Starking arrives alone. Separate from the others. But fortunately, her lack of gifts is compensated for by others.

"Oh man," she says, "well, like, I understand what you're saying," Rin says as she comes in from the direction of Karma, "but I want you to consider the upside of what your involvement means after we *win*. Which is, despite our incredible talent, not something we should take for granted, but think of it this way."

Rin sweeps a hand around as she walks around Karma. "You were there when we were here. Before the space fleet. Before the burning wildfire of victory. Before liberation swept the world, packing up all the dirty garbage of the sweaty taint of Britannia sitting in the Federation system and every little oppression. That was part of YOUR business. You struck a blow; you kept the faith and burned the home-torches. I bet," Rin concludes as she opens one of the pizza boxes to score a slice of Meat Lovers', "you could get your own store."

"Maybe even the district franchise."

Rin nom-noms, with a slightly catlike expression, and after swallowing, puts her other hand on her hip. "... I dunno, actually."

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

A reasonable meeting accommodation. Relatively low foot traffic, relatively poor infrastructure, difficult to surveil, but fairly vulnerable to an attack, if someone was bugged; especially without hardware on site. ... That said, this location doesn't seem likely to be burnt to him. If it seemed likely to be burnt, it's a straight tossup on how he would handle it. Option A is to set a counter ambush and slaughter the ambush. Option B is to do nothing. Option C is to...

His route through the streets is vague and takes intentional doublebacks and misleading loops. It's not so much that he 'knows everything about this area', and thus is able to picture the entire area, perfectly, crystallized in his mind, or something. That would be insane - he doesn't know this specific place that well. It's just that he looked at a map and thought about it for a bit, then thought about what places probably aren't on a map, and is kind of just figuring it out from there. Routes through broken buildings. Around corners. All of this to throw off a pursuer who does not, in fact, exist.

That's to say - he arrives a little late.

There's no need to commend on the conversation about work, beyond --- "The better your pay, the less ammo you have." He takes a seat at the far end of the conference table; the place opposite Cascade will lead from, so she will face him.

"I, also, do not know what this meeting is for." 

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Irregular as they are, Kallen does make an honest attempt to try and make as many meetings as possible. Given her position, she's always attempting to keep on top of important news and any noteworthy changes in their members. Partly a paranoia thing of course, because anyone engaged with a secret organization is going to develop that if they have even a modicum of sense in their heads. And partly because she just cares about people.

And since this meeting in particular wanted leaders and people with tactical knowledge, all the more reason she's here. Thankfully, she's no longer an Ashford student, having graduated some time ago, so it's not too awkward for her.

As an early arrival, she'd checked in on Cascade, asked if there's anything she could do to help. No result of course. But she'll keep an eye out. She's setting out some of the drinks for people, while Cascade is washing up. "I don't know either. Just what her message said about possible information for future tactical maneuvers."

She refrains from commenting on the mention of money and pay. Being an 'activist' isn't about getting paid to begin with. Money does help, obviously. But the point is enacting sweeping change and improving the lives of millions.

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        Things that lure C.C. by smell: a) pizza b) overly flowery philosophical talk of mundane circumstances.

        Today's C.C. has elected to wear something that firmly plants her in 'pretending to be a punky musician'. Low-set cap, face mask, gray jacket over purple crop top, ripped jeans, and to top it all of-

        She's come here on an adorable folding little moped that perfectly tucks away into looking exactly like a guitar case. Wow!

        Immediately, the witch glides past Lelouch, and drops a little hard drive into his hands. "Cased within a 5km perimeter. Nothing unusual spotted. ...besides that-"

        A pizza topped with bell peppers and beef (the envy of all space cowboys!) has somehow wound up in C.C.'s hand even as she only seemed to breeze past the boxes. Hovering just behind Zero she tips in closer to whisper, "Never wise to admit being in the dark, you know.~" before tipping right back up and sitting upon a table.

        "Now now, Rin. There's being a big fan of our 'king', and then there's trying to talk as big as possible game as you can about even the tiniest of matters. You're not planning a little - mm. No, come to think of it-" It crosses the witch's mind that even bringing up discord and treachery as a joke has a bad habit of souring matters, after all. 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.


        A strategy meeting was the sort of thing you sit up and take notice for. Emmy called in sick to work, and made her way to the meeting through a roundabout route. Sure, Captain Zinnermann's people were probably too busy to be tracking her, what with Mineva retreating to Jupiter...

        But it helped to be careful, regardless. Besides... the former Sleeves might not be on board with the Black Knight's goals after everything she said, and she doesn't want her allies getting attacked because she got sloppy.

        She arrives through a side door, and makes her way to the staff room, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and her hair in a simple bun and tucked under a beanie.

        She slips into the room quietly, grabbing a chair near Kallen. She'd love to catch up, but... well, maybe after.

Emilia blinks, however, as Zero establishes that *he* doesn't know what this is about. "Y-You don't?" That's... odd. "I w-w-wonder what could be s-s-so secret th-that she couldn't. Tell you b-before the meeting?" They'd know soon enough, she supposed.

        Emmy does not go for the Pizza Hut arrayed before them. There are some crimes one simply can't tolerate. Instead, her eyes glance to Karma's talk of pay. "...It w-w-would make it easier," she confesses, "but. W-we need to f-f-focus resources on the f-f-fight." 

<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

Lelouch might be surprised to know that there is, in fact, someone watching him...

...but she already knows where he's going, and doesn't need to follow. *She* watches from a building across the street. It makes it even hard for C.C. to find her, since she doesn't have to tail or shadow. And it's not Cascade watching...

---

Cascade had, as it turned out, not gone to the bathroom. She'd ducked out into one of the old, abandoned offices, locked the door, and gotten to work. Ahead of time, she'd planted a few things here. A knife, a jug of something unidentifiable that was very firmly sealed, a bit of electronics, all wrapped in a folded mass of cloth in black and red.

And then she stopped, for a moment. She had to stop being Cascade. She could never be Cascade again. She took a breath, slowly let it out - and then got to work.

Two minutes of work, and she opened the door again. In the office, a pile of clothes, scraps of synthetic skin and plastic were on their way to dissolving in a faintly hissing pile to unidentifiable mush - and one of the windows had had a green light set up in it.

---

The first warning the Black Knights have is when there is a sound from outside the staff lounge; a squeal, barely audible at this distance, as the side door into the garage has its lock carved out of the metal frame by something extremely sharp. It could be any kind of outside noise; it's the kind of noise you might expect to hear in a metalworker's, and it's quiet enough that it's easy to miss at a distance.

But the garage isn't operating today, is it?

They don't get very long to think about it before it's clear there is *someone* in the garage - and that someone is rapidly approaching the lounge. Like, 'at a sprint' rapidly. The 'someone' is a woman completely enveloped in a black cloak with a red inner lining; it barely seems to stir despite the speed at which she moves. She has long black hair pulled into three tails and is perhaps five foot six; anything else about her body is hidden under the cloak.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are~" Gamia NX-3 singsongs, even though she knows exactly where they are; she's been told. And that's bad enough -

But at that moment, the door into the inner part of the building shatters, sending (fake) wooden debris into the staff lounge. Behind THAT door is a taller, redhaired woman with loose hair, who has just kicked it down. The face is...

It's not Cascade's. But it could be Cascade's sister. (Both of them could be.) Her body, too, is completely enveloped behind that black cloak; it hides her from neck to toe. She looks into the staff lounge, making sure everyone is there, and then begins to advance, threateningly. "We are..."

"The murder androids, Gamia NX!"

And NX-3 alone finishes with, "The beautiful reapers who will be sending you to hell! It's a shame you were chosen, but to change the world means some risks~" 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


        "Zero, if I didn't know better I would think that was a dig at losing that last Burai." Karma says shaking his head, it is always the bottom line with this guy. So what if he had gone through more Burais than he had fingers. Looking towards Emilia he shurgs, "Anyways as she said, we should focus on the now. I have to cover closing anyway so lets get on with this. Where is Cascade?"

        Karma looks up hearing the sound for a moment but decides it is nothing important. Garages make weird noises all the time, maybe a cat caught a rat or something. Then the sound of running can be heard coming from behind the door. "Is that Cascade? Did they forget what time we were meeting?" Karma shakes his head and plans to crack some joke when they come through the door. That is till the door shatters and Karma covers his face instinctually.

         Karma grips his bottle of water in case he needs to throw it for a distraction before Karma does what he does best, he runs his mouth. "Sorry ladies the bachelor party is a few blocks down. I am sure they are looking forward to seeing you both dance." 

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        ...she's grown complacent.

        This is far from the first time C.C. has been next to the target of a murder attempt. This is also far from the first time C.C. has been the target of one herself. She's grown accustomed to it. The unmistakeable smell of intent to kill. Humans may say they can suppress it. That they can make themselves into nothing but a machine meant to fulfill orders. The vast majority are lying. Why, quite a few of the people C.C. has saved - and then damned - have been those roiling with the 'quieter' form of determination. It is not a violent bloodlust that burns in that kind of heart-

        It is the slow, smoldering tending of a flame, sending constant plumes of noxious smoke.

        The ambush of the Gamias does not confuse C.C. because of their sudden appearance. It confuses her because she does not feel anything from them. There is a moment where this thought terrifies her. A flash of a deep shuddering breath. What are these?

        'Murder androids'. C.C. calms down. Ah, that's how it is. Well, doesn't that suck. What's worse is that because of this concealed, muffled emotionality - something many humans can perform, just by unthinkingly living in routine-

        "...Well, I guess you were always relatively high on the suspicion chart, Cascade." C.C. actually does not understand at all that this similar looking being might not be her! They're indistinguishable on the senses she most understands. Instinctively, C.C. bolts up onto the table with an almost elegant little hop and a rise, standing defiantly between Zero and the androids.

        The guitar-shaped scooter case is slung beneath one shoulder. Above the poking-out wheels, one of the handlebars rise for the witch to grip.

        From the 'neck' of the 'guitar' - a barrel unfurls. Oh it's a guitarmoped~gun~. And a relatively high caliber one at that, judging by the ~thunk~ of ammunition loading being shockingly heavy in the internal mechanisms.

        "I've killed a Knightpolice pilot with this, once or twice. There's no way you're made of sterner stuff at that size. Now. Convince me not to shoot."

        ...C.C.'s voice is normally rather cool and dispassive, even when she's teasing...but right now, it is pure, methodical ice. It turns out she can get serious. 

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.


Rin chews on her pizza. In thought. She turns her head to look at C.C. for a moment as her eyes narrow in a sort of 'haha sure' and then she sees that ZERO is here and her eyes go wide.

"*gulp,*" Rin articulates because her mouth was full.

She stands up straighter then, one arm going to fold behind her back. "... You yourself don't know?" Rin says, mildly taken aback by this abrupt and indiscriminate revelation. So it's not a grand scheme. "Oh, she told you that much?" Rin remarks to Kallen...

As something squeals in the distance.

Rin, of course, has plenty of time to think about it. She looks in that direction and adjusts the glasses she didn't bother to take off. The glasses that are purely affectation; because the Black Knights know she's a Coordinator; because she told them as much, so long ago (so recently ago).

Come out,
Come out,

Rin reaches up to take off her glasses, frowning.

Wherever you are,

She turns her head to look at Kallen and is about to ask a question when a door suddenly bursts outwards and throws debris and that's when Rin can all but feel the adrenal glands in her back start to pour their chemical compounds into her blood stream, turning her head to look at the gracefully maneuvering face of

                of

"what?" Rin half-gasps.

Is it her? It could be her. It could be - it could be a dire coincidence - a substitute for the girl she'd -

WE ARE -

The scattered collection of reflexes from subjective decades playing video games kick in, in so far as they are reflexes at all. Rin's eyes saccade over the room. Towards the others. Are they armed? Zero's here! What if they - are they here FOR him?

- THE MURDER ANDROIDS, GAMIA NX!

One of them walks forwards and Karma cracks wise. The possibility of horror and blood grows less and less theoretical every moment. Rin ducks downwards. It might be taken for a moment as if she's diving for cover, and that's not entirely wrong because she is diving for something.

She's diving for the drink cooler and its burden of ice. And beverages, of course. Rin does not do half measures and get out a drink bottle; she ducked low so she could wrench up THE ENTIRE THING and swing it around to hurl it at NX-3!

"GUNS!" Rin screams at Kallen a moment thereafter.

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

The head in the mask tilts, as if bored, listening to C.C., tucking her 'gift' away. "Mmm?" Amused. "Oh, come on. Pretending to know something like this is just embarrassing when it comes out. Relating to people is just polite." He's full of it. He's completely full of it, and only she can tell. How absolutely annoying. That smirk may as well be visible through the helmet to specifically her.

And then, grinding. Ordinary, in this part of town. He doesn't actually think it's in the garage - his hearing isn't that perfect. He assumes it's scrappers somewhere nearby, stealing copper or something. Strange, but not unheard of. Ah, but... no, he would've noticed something like that, wouldn't he? A truck, or something? He's only been here for a few minutes, so there hasn't been time for - running.

No time to think before the wall explodes, and he tumbles back and to the side, rolling and covering his neck. Ah, ah. He's too focused on BU forces. This kind of thing is a threat, too. But - why do it like this? They clearly had foresight. He rises to his feet, and looks NX-3 in the eye.

"I'm disappointed. You couldn't have just made a bomb?"

This is a ruse. Something is missing. He's in check, but they're making a huge play, and he isn't dead. So - where's the trick? If he can find the trick, he can win. If he can't, he'll die. It's that, or this is a smothered mate he can't see yet, and thus nothing matters and he should go out laughing.

In that way, this situation is nothing special at all. 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        When that voice echoes through the warehouse, Emilia freezes. That's not a voice she recognizes. It's familiar, but-

        And then the door explodes, with that declaration. Emilia's fought a combat cyborg before. It didn't go well for her. Murder androids bode about as well. Murder androids that look like her friend... Shock passes over her face. It couldn't be... Except. Cascade wasn't here. And these were. What else could it be but a betrayal?

        Anger surges in Emmy's chest. There's not much room for interpreting why they're here.

        Emmy would move to flip the table, had C.C. not just jumped atop it with her weapon. It wouldn't make good cover against them even if she did. Her reactions aren't as fast as Rin's or C.C.'s or Kallen's, but she moves as best she can.

        She dives off her chair, grabbing her bag, and rolling to one knee. It'll take a few seconds, as she digs around for something. Her hand grips on cold metal, and she grabs it. A pistol comes out, and she flicks the safety. She's not the best shot.

        But she doesn't hesitate, either. She opens fire on the Gamia closest her. "Get m-moving!" She shouts- Zero cannot be allowed to get caught or die here. The more they talk, the more time the combat machines have time to get into position. Brera practically disassembled her, and it was only a lucky shot and intervention by a mobile suit that saved her. These murder androids seem just as big a threat- and hesitation won't serve them.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

The sound of screeching metal catches her ear first, but it's not the specific noise bothering her. It's that Cascade should be the only other person here. ...In a manner of speaking, one could call that a true statement. Not that she knows it yet. More importantly, she has a knife tucked away on her person. She almost always does.

She hasn't drawn it yet. Rin's look and gesturing gets her focus. She knows the girl has reflexes and perceptive ability that are, strictly, superhuman. They've had a talk about it before. So when she starts reacting, that's Enough for her to already be moving. It is Kallen's Job to protect Zero, and so her first move is to dive to his location and pull him toward the most cover she can. In this case, behind her. Still, she hasn't yet seen the enemies.

Something which is QUICK to change, as NX-3 makes her presence abundantly known. "Murder and... Gamias..." Names she knows, as someone who happens to be a fan of one Kabuto Kouji. Bullets aren't going to do her much good against Gamias... really her knife probably won't either. "Got it here." Still, she'll pull a handgun out. It's better to have that right now. The knife won't help until they're in close.

That makes no sense. What sane person even considers getting in a knife fight with a killbot?

The resemblance to Cascade has not passed her notice. But... something feels off about it. She just can't place it yet. She'll just need a little more... "Is that hell the location, or Hell the Doctor?" A dumb joke by appearance, but also would be info. Whether they're just marked for death, or also Evil Science. 

<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

Karma says something.

Both the Gamias dislike that, but both of them show it in different ways. NX-2, the redhead, turns aside to focus on someone else; NX-3 snarls, taking a step forward -

Just as Rin throws an entire cooler at her.

NX-3 drops low. This in and of itself wouldn't save her from the cooler, but at the same time, one of the long tails of hair snaps forward and around, catching the light in a different way - and impales the cooler, stabbing right through it with a painful-to-the-ears squeal. She tosses her head to the side, the tail of hair snaps like a whip, and the cooler - trailing chunks of ice and fizzing liquid from a can or bottle that also got impaled - flies off toward Karma quite a bit faster than Rin threw it in the first place.

C.C. is the one who identifies NX-2 first, but NX-2 doesn't react to being called by that name - at least, not verbally. There's an instant of hesitation; Rin, who knows her best, can see it the easiest. She *does* ract to having the gun pointed at her; her body tenses.

"You should be afraid," NX-2 says. "A bomb is one thing. Being killed by betrayal and violence is something else!" Either Gamia NX-2 is one of the best actors in the world, that's not Cascade, or Cascade doesn't care at all about the Black Knights and never did.

"This comes from a friend of Dr. Hell." NX-3 rises, slowly. "You don't need to know more than that. Maybe you'll figure it out before you're killed.

NX-2 abruptly is being targetted by guns from two angles - but one of them is shooting. Emilia fires, and NX-2 leaps to avoid it, the bullet grazing her but not penetrating. Her cloak flies open as she does, arcing forward, nearer to C.C.; she whirls, attempting to deliver a spinning kick toward the girl before she follows through the spin, her hair lashing out toward the folded gun-moped-everything else. And if her hair touches it, it carves through it, impossibly sharp wire going right through the metal without even slowing down.

Under the cloak, NX-2 wears nothing - but her body is closer to that of a marionette than a person. Segmented sections, sliding against each other; some are clearly more rigid than a human's would be, functioning as armour, though other parts aren't for flexibility. There's no humanity in the form of it; it's pure mechanics.

NX-3 rushes at the same time, toward Kallen, who has a knife and more importantly is protecting Zero. Her hair stabs at Rin as she rushes by, a lunging strike that has more in common with a scorpion's sting in how it moves than a sword. For Kallen she goes for the grapple instead, attempting to grip and literally fling the other woman toward Emilia - and NX-3 is stronger than a human of her build would be, slighter than NX-2's, but not as much stronger as you might expect from the word 'killbot'.

It's really close quarters in this room. There's not a lot of room to get away from the Gamia. 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


        Karma grins at NX-3 as she snarls, not yet standing from the seat. It's not that he didn't want to get up, but instead he felt a little more like a deer in the headlights. He had thrown the barbed comment out as a taunt to draw the assassins' attention and for a moment it had worked. This left him staring into the eyes of a murder bot that now wanted to kill him. Karma probably owes Rin a big thank you for the momentary distraction, as this gave him a moment to get a grip on his adrenaline.

         The cooler whizzes toward him, having been whipped at him from NX-3 and the coordinator's eyes dilate as the adrenaline gives his body the extra boost he needs. Kicking back in the chair he falls backwards rolling away as the Cooler impales itself in the chair. Brushing his hair from his eyes he looks at the chair and realizes a moment later and that would have been him instead.

        Reaching out to the chair he grabs one of the wooden legs and finishes breaking it off before he rushes in low toward NX-3 so to avoid catching any stray hairs. Once he is in range he begins to swing the chair leg, and despite being a bit wild, his modified genes help make up for the lack of form. 

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

Stop and think. Everyone in this room can fight better than you, but you can think harder than they can, so do that. There's no outcome where they win a straight fight - but that's never how his Black Knights operate in the first place. ... but, they operate with better odds than this, and with better planning. Fight is a loss.

If they're killer androids, they're definitely faster than him, at the very least, on foot. If they all had vehicles, maybe, but he doubts the moped would help much. Flight is a loss.

No way forward. No way back. Concessions - sacrifice someone? Who can die to make an opening, to buy time, to make room? C.C. can't die, but he prefers that to be secret, and that aside, would prefer not to watch it. Karma, perhaps, saves money with a funeral, so maybe him? Ha. Emilia, who's so insistent on his survival, so loyal? His ace, Kallen? ... and, to what end? To buy a few seconds to run, to think, and then die anyway? That's no point, so there's no reason to. ... he says. There's no other reason.

A fourth solution, then. "Ah, an emotional attack, before the physical one? A clever idea. It may well work, on some of them. But I haven't even been betrayed, yet. Have I? Go on. Twist the knife."

Force an error. Their web is perfect. Make it imperfect. 

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.


When Zero makes a quip, or at least a thoughtful remark, it is somehow heartening to Rin. (Sorry, Karma! It's mostly a question of brand awareness.)

Kallen has a weapon. That's good; Rin had maybe hoped for a cache of assault weapons, but all that there seems to be is C.C. producing an anti-mech rifle from beneath her skirts or her hot pants or what-have-you and --

FIRE IT ALREADY Rin thinks as the cooler tumbles forwards. Her head snaps backwards and NX-3 snaps a twin-tail forwards with absurd self-motivation. Rin is reminded absurdly of a fighting game character -- several in fact -- and a horrible giggle flitters through the back of her throat.

NX-3 is moving forwards. She's moving towards Kallen and towards Zero. Her hair, her horrible animated hair, is twisting to snap towards her. Can it see me? Rin wonders, even if the electric dance of reflexes is already pulling her backwards. The snap is coming downwards--

Rin is going forwards. And low. Throwing herself forwards she hits the ground with one knee and pushes with the other, coming up forwards into a halfway-rise. She actually crosses right in front of Karma, but this act of -- dare we admit it -- Coordination is wholly impromptu. Where he goes high:

Rin goes low! Her arm hooks forwards as she tries to shove it in between the NX-3's knees -- and pull to the side.

It's already happening before she realizes it. Ha, ha, Rin thinks to herself: this sucks; dad please--

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        C.C. may be experienced. She may have experienced all manner of conflicts both extraordinary and mundane. But centuries of apathetic permanence are not conducive to extremely fast-thinking action.

        She does not even manage to pull the trigger before that whirling, razor-sharp typhoon of mechanical violence slashes apart her main means of defense. It falls apart in her hands - and she's given full sight of that mechanical, inhuman form - optimizing the shape for destruction.

        Right when Zero proclaims, so boldly - almost toying with them. Goading them.

        So, that's the weak point, you insist.

        Well, much as Lelouch would rather the witch didn't force her hand here, it is the closest thing to a weapon she has. If these are machines made to hunt down humans while appearing among humans, they have patterns they're used to, yes? They don't act on emotion, they act on pattern and expectancy. They look for openings in pursuit.

        A coy smile crosses the witch's face - and despite her very near brush with peril, she steps back only once, only slowly.

        "Hooooh? Flashing me at a time like this? Despite being merciless killers, you're that shameless? Dear me, dear me. I've encountered a fair number of incorrigible murderers in my time, but this much boldness takes the cake."

        ---there is no way this is what Zero would've intended by 'forcing an error'. But-?

        Face in her hands, C.C. forces a gentle sparkle in her eyes. "Well, I can't doubt that you're well-made. Tell you what. Despite what you may think, you're actually in the losing side of this fight, when it comes to me. You'd make a mess if you tried, but wouldn't it waste something special about us both? Saa, I can't help it. There's just something a little bit captivating about how purely and perfectly you're built. Like the capacity to kill is itself the essence of beauty..."

        "Hmmm. Since you're built for it, though - why don't you show me, in a new, more fulfilling way? Doesn't it get boring, to kill the same method over and over? I can take it. Surely you've wanted it. To try something new. To test the limits of such ideal bodies. Heh."
SCENESYS: Spike Spiegel has posted scene #426, 'Old Haunts', at 19:00 ET on 10/08.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Seeing the cutting force behind the hair-wire, Kallen immediately decides 'Nobody can take that hit.' But that's obvious to everyone. "I think we call people like the Baron or Count lackeys, not friends." As for options... Kallen highly doubts Cascade could have passed as friendly and quirky as she was, if she was cold and uncaring about all of them. Hell, why wouldn't she have killed Rin in her sleep last night or this morning, to ensure there was one less person at the meeting, if she was that unfeeling and calculating? Everybody knows they're roommates.

In the moment when NX-3 attacks Rin, Kallen watches both their motions, tossing her gun to her friend. Or rather, to where she's thinking Rin is likely dodging to, to give her another weapon. Kallen herself then, when the Gamia comes in at her, actually pulls her knife. The android is trying to get in close... and Kallen's going to give it her best. At making it regret that choice. As it turns out, and the Gamias may not know this, Kallen's exceptionally agile herself even outside the Guren. As it tries to grab her, Kallen also rushes into its grip from a crouching position, to grab one of its arms and pull the 'killbot' into a plunge of the knife. Will it hit anything useful? Probably not. But trying to get it between the segments seems a safe bet at least.

There's a likely chance she's still getting thrown, all the same. But she'll cross that bridge when we get there.
SCENESYS: Eight York has posted scene #427, 'Captain's Celebration', at 19:00 ET on 09/25. 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia's shots miss, grazing Cascade- NX-2- but not connecting. The glimpse of the body underneath the cape- all featureless and doll-jointed- is off putting. Kallen dives in- stopping Emilia from getting more shots off in the second. And Zero- talks. "Wh-what are-"

        In the tussle, though, as Kallen is thrown, Emmy is caught in it and knocked backwards. She's small and light, and is easily knocked off her feet and sent into a wall, even if Kallen recovers better than her. Her pistol is knocked from her hand, and she's unarmed. Shit. Shit.

        Even if she had a sword, she would never be a match for the robot opposite. She glares at NX-2, hatred in her eyes. "W-w-was this what you w-wanted. Th-the whole time?" The anger in her voice is easy to hear. "Y-y-you were just... waiting to b-betray us?" Lelouch says that he's not been betrayed yet, but Emilia begs to differ. "Everything a-at school. Was. J-just an a-a-act?!"

        She makes her way back up to a knee again, as she yells. She just needs a momentary lapse- and when she sees what she hopes is an opportunity, she makes a dive for the gun- but is she fast enough to outpace a Gamia? 

<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

Kallen's knife snakes in. It scrapes on NX-3's side before wedging between two of the 'plates', jammed between waist and hip. It draws... it's not quite blood but it's something liquid; dark but too oily to be actual blood. NX-3 finishes the throw, following it up with a powerful palm strike to ensure she goes flying properly. It's a lot more survivable than the hair.

It's C.C. that throws her a little more. NX-2 doesn't really know what C.C. is, but has always been suspicious of her... in the same sort of way that C.C. was suspicious of Cascade, perhaps. It's clear that whatever she was expecting, that wasn't it.

"Whatever you are talking about is irrelevant!" NX-2 blusters. "You know nothing about us." About me, she means. She isn't even going to get into the whole 'flashing' thing because come on... but she does kind of hike the cloak back.

Zero's words, though... along with the others. "Cascade Vermilion was never born," NX-2 says. "She was a false name - a false persona - so that I could infiltrate Ashford Academy and find the identity of Zero and Mafty. And since I have failed at that mission, I must kill you, to eliminate their threat!"

The combination attack on NX-3 does surprisingly well. She's strong and fast but she's not really much heavier than a human of her size and build would be - maybe a few extra pounds; nothing like something made out of metal ought to be.

Karma's bludgeoning doesn't cleanly get through her ... shell? Exterior layer? But it does trip her up, and it's clear he's doing SOMETHING to her judging by her reflexive flinch at about the third hit. She staggers, and Rin pulling at her legs turns a stagger into a fall.

NX-3 turns the fall into a forward roll, surprisingly graceful given she's had one of her legs dented by the pair of them. She doesn't need to call to NX-2 - NX-2 already knows what she wants to do, and it's trade places.

NX-3's forward roll turns into a leap as her hair spikes into the wall, letting her use it as a pivot to whip herself up into a vertically arcing kick. The kick is aimed at Emilia as she goes for the gun, a rising kick right under the chin that NX-3 turns into a flipping leap, coming down right at C.C. - hair-spikes first, driving down at her like spears. "You first, then Zero! What will the Knights do without their tactician's 'assistant', if that's all you are?"

Meanwhile, NX-2 has traded spots and is now closer to Rin and Karma. NX-2's hair lashes out, but it doesn't carve quite like NX-3's; it grabs, though it is still razor-sharp. It leaves deep scoring on the broken chair, cutting partway into it - but NX-2's hair, loose rather than in a tight tail, can dig in without cutting it entirely apart, all the little piercings and cuts enough for her to swing the half-a-chair like a giant club in an arc toward both Karma and Rin, smashing down at the second unless she's fast enough to clear out and with her hair leaving deeper scores in the floor. 

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


        Karma was relentless in his swings towards NX-3, and Rin's assistant is greatly appreciated as they work together to take her down. The moment she is falling he leaps forward hoping to pin her down but she rolls away before he can get to her. This puts him in a precarious situation and not ready for the switch up. As one of the swing from NX-2 catches him in the side and knocks him into the wall.

         Peeling himself off the wall he sees one of the pizzas, half the cheese ripped off and all that lovely sauce revealed as an idea begins to form in his head. If this was an anime this would be one of those times a flash back would occur and maybe you'd see some sappy scene of Karma's past of being treated like an outcast in school. Something about always having to be the center of attention and get the last word. Fortunately this isn't an anime so none of that happens.

         Karma shouts at NX-2 , "You guys are so stupid if you think that is really Zero. He wears a mask for a reason, it's so he can be in multiple places at once. That guy is some new recruit as a stand in just for this situation. The real Zero is in the AEU watching this over video and speaking through a speaker built into the mask. I know, I flew that Zero out there myself the last week. " Is this true? Not at all. Do they know that, Karma really hopes not.

         Slowly he makes his way over to his new intended weapon, "Now then do you want to keep wasting your time trying to kill a nobody, or do you want to kill the guy that is about to get pizza sauce in your hair." With that Karma scoops up the box of pizza and flips it open before charging towards NX-2, his goal is absolutely to get that cheese, 5 different types of meat and that red sauce all in her hair. More importantly it is to draw NX-2's attention completely away from Zero. 

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.


Rin's semi-fugue begins to integrate as seconds have passed and the fight is not over. She is not dead, but neither are the Gamias. She can hear Emilia quite well, and something in her screams --

        No! It can't be that!

        That's stupid!
        She can't be a traitor -- she's like me!
        Right?!

It doesn't escape her lips even as NX-2 says that it was, in fact, all lies. Rin stands upwards and cries out, "That can't be true, dammit!! You weren't some God damned SPY!" which wastes several precious seconds. Despite her enhanced reflexes, Rin doesn't go for the gun.

Not right away. But she heard it clatter. Please God, Rin thinks, as she throws herself forwards and dives for the weapon, scooping it up and juggling it in both hands with a hiss of tension in her breath and getting it firmly in her right hand just in time to turn.

To turn...

... and the hell of it is that Rin has time to realize her mistake and no time to do anything about it. However genetically enhanced (if second-hand) her body might be, she does not have interior AMBAC. Would that she did. The chair is already swinging towards her. Rin is able to lean slightly forwards and relax part of her body, and that mostly means that when the blow hits her on the shoulder she just -- goes with it. Throwing an arm up to cover her face means she lands on her breasts, which will hurt like Satan's tire iron *in a few seconds* - and -

- and it can't be Cascade. That can't be her, Rin thinks.

I can't be that stupid. Her eyes want to water up. I can't -

Rin pushes up with her knee to try to roll over. Even by the standards without enhanced reflexes, it's clumsy, and she puts more effort into rolling onto her back than on lifting the gun.

I can't be that bad at making friends, can I?

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

The palm strike resonates through the smallest redhead's sternum as something cracks. Kallen KNOWS something cracked. She heard it, and felt it, and it's making it just a little tougher to breathe like she needs to right now. But what NX-2 says... it brings to mind a conversation from before. So as she stands up, slowly, she decides her waning oxygen count is best spent on words. "Cascade... you're wrong about something key. Who cares if you were hand-crafted? You were still born. You're still a person even if you've got a metal body. Would you say a Coordinator wasn't born, if they were custom designed in a lab? And if your mission was to kill us... and that's something you want and accept, then... Why is Rin here, right now? Why not assassinate the person you already had access alone to, before the meeting even happened?"

She draws in a sharp breath, as much as she can. It hurts, but all the same, she's moving again. She's got no weapons in hand, but she won't need them. "You don't want to wear the Gamia mask. And you don't need to... but they want you to think you don't have a choice." That's what she feels about this. Except, there's still something else. Is that really the same one as Cascade? She's been thinking about it. There are at least three Gamias, which means by her knowledge, one or more unaccounted for. She wouldn't put it past Hell's people to send one meant to pretend at being the 'failure', to try and ensure she drives away anyone who might care about her. But even if they did, the one who has actually been Cascade would be here still somewhere, and able to hear the words meant for her.

She gaze turns to C.C. first... she can handle herself. Then Emmy. She moves as fast as her pained body will allow, to catch her in both arms before she hits the ground from the Gamia's kick. Then over to Rin. To the anguish plain on her face. Kallen's own expression is an agonized grimace, given the pain radiating from her chest. "If you feel helpless to save yourself from being Oppressed and Controlled by Hell's Generals... then part of the Black Knights' mandate, is saving you too. So... Rin, don't even think about giving up on our friend yet." She's seen the conflict in Cascade's eyes lately. A truly cold murderer wouldn't have any guilt or pain about this task. But somebody forced to act against her will? 

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

Zero did not, in fact, have that in mind. But isn't that fine? Ah, isn't that why he likes her in the first place? He says something, has some idea, and, indeed, she has something like that idea, but does something nonsense with it? She isn't playing chess at all - she's coming in from off the board. That's refreshing and fun. Aside from his affection, it's the point of a chisel - and everyone else can follow it. Under his mask, he smiles. An imperfect facade it is. A false spiderweb. They think a play this petty is enough to checkmate him? Ah, worse than that, isn't it? He thought a move this shallow had enough to checkmate him, because it was flashy and scary for a second? All they did was flash a little bit of physical might. If he can get over that much---

Despite the obvious danger, the Demon King advances a step forwards, putting a hand on Karma's shoulder and advancing. He clarifies, first. "No. I am, indeed, Zero. I doubt they are quite so inept as to spring this trap with that ambiguity. Of course - I would say this from a false body, so you'll have to take me at my word, and I am a notorious liar." He laughs, raucously; the acoustics, you see, are better now that the walls are down. Maybe this is a dead checkmate, but who cares? In that case, he'll go down laughing. "In that case, let me laugh mock you from the hottest pits of Hell, because you'll never prove it." How could they? They never confirmed his identity. They already confessed that. What was it, C.C.? 'Never wise to admit to being in the dark'? Suppose she was right. ... as always.

"A spy, perhaps. It is more than possible that Cascade Vermilion is a spy." He takes that immediately. Why not? "Indeed, there are many spies within my organization. We are a terror group, with wide recruitment pools, taking in many assets from many places. Every day, we find spies. Why not you?" He doesn't sound hurt by it, though. "Why not? That's fine. You were moderately high on our list. I don't begrudge spies. I do not demand absolute loyalty in the first place. What I demand is surety. What I demand is drive. Clarity. Vision. Hope. A desire." He won't get much closer than this, because he cannot. The other one - who he will not speak to - will kill him. NX-3 is dangerous. But he is only afraid of NX-3; NX-2 is a threat, but only to herself. Only because she's going to hurt herself if she goes on for too long. He can already see it all. Too soft. Just like him. Wearing a mask. Just like him. If she wanted to, surely, they could've picked a target and murdered them, one by one, picked them apart, until they got to him. But they aren't fighting together.

And, so, there is a reason for that. "I have not been betrayed. That is because Cascade Vermilion is not in this room. I do not know where she is - but I am certain that she exists. And furthermore ---" His arm sweeps out, in a dramatic pointed sweep, to point at her head, and he roars, to project his voice over the din of combat, to rattle them just a bit with the certainty and suddenness of his voice. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to tell us that she does not! We already know she does! Everyone already knows she does. If you want to betray me - then murder me as Cascade."

It is impossible to tell if an actor is acting, when he is on the stage. Certainly not one as talented as the man who holds the title of Zero. ... But, this is assuredly no act. He is not pretending to care. His chest shakes, just a little. Is it from exertion? Fear? Is it just the kind of thrill you get when you gamble?

Or is this passion? 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        'Cascade Vermilion was never born.'

        So it was all fake. It meant nothing. She just wanted to infiltrate them. Find out who Zero was.

It stings, to have one's trust broken like this. Cascade had had her back so many times, fought alongside her, kept her alive. They had had fun together. And it was just to betray them. "Y-You... HOW D-DARE YOU! I th-thought you were m-my friend!"

        The dive is interrupted, as Emilia is already committed to the leap, and unable to change path. NX-3's kick connects with a crack, and she's sent flying again, only stopped from impacting the wall by Kallen's intercession.

        In Kallen's arms, she opens her mouth to breathe- when blood oozes out, and something white falls out with it.

        It hurts. It hurts a lot. She's not sure she can properly close her mouth right now. She's dizzy, too. Where's the gun? What the hell is going on?

        She tries to prop herself up, but standing again... that seems beyond her right now. She's an easy target unable to fight back and now she's holding Kallen. Zero was right. They never stood a chance in a straight fight.

        Was this where her rebellion would end? Not even fighting Britannia, but at the hands of a traitor.

        Like father, like daughter.

        "R-r-run..." Emmy's voiced is slurred and weak. Talking hurts. She can hear Kallen trying to reach out to Cascade... to the traitor. Why...?

        Emilia stares and slumps into Kallen's arms as Zero makes his sweeping speech. What was he trying to do? Win her over? Assert that Cascade was real? She doesn't understand, not at all. But she's heard that voice- the voice that drove her to focus her anger into a weapon against Britannia, when he called for knights of justice those few years ago. Could such a voice really reach Cascade? 

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        "There's only one way to truly get to know another person, you know. Don't think I didn't catch that little gesture that there's something you realize I didn't know." C.C. does try to keep up the pressure amidst the chaos, but the push in her voice has worn off. It's gotten a little colder. It's never easy facing mortal peril.

        Though she's not very fast and dynamic in motion, the witch can buy herself more time than you'd think judging by her pace, ducking and weaving around more strikes and spears of hair than she figured. But she can tell - NX-3's less cowed by disruptive emotional appeals. 2 had a moment - had a slot of weakness, but this one is truly ruthless. She does try to sell Karma's attempt - turning briefly to Zero with a slightly exaggerated, "Hoooooh, I knew something was off. Keeping an operation with a body double so secret that even I'm not aware of it - you scoundrels. Ensuring that even I won't kn-"

        \ \ \ impact. / / /

        Golden spear after golden spear shears straight into the witch.

        It's a familiar pain.

        It's a pain that never gets easier.

        Eyes wide - not as wide as they could be.

        A cough of blood. A sputtering gasp, as they lance utterly through, impaling her over - and over - and over - and over- - -

        (which hurts more? the violence of this world that tears apart - or the burden of the other world that would already begin remaking?

        "...k...kaaah!!! Ghhh..." A trickle of blood lining the witch's mouth - the desperate feelings of betrayal ringing from Rin. She is drawing from that boundary - of course the strongest, purest emotions in her vicinity flood back into her.

        "...hah. Ahahahah. Oh, Rin. ...Oh, Rin. ...here's my condolences you have to learn this way. How deep. How horrible...khhhh...betrayal can sting..."

        Head lolling to one side - she looks back to Lelouch. At his - radiance, is what they'd call it. His words of pragmatic hope - of insisting that if Cascade is to kill them, to do it as the self she decided she was.

        To do it as the person he clearly knew she believed she could be?

        (what i'm supposed to do is concede here. to let what happens happen. to selfishly walk out after i'm abandoned and continue into the neverending today.)

        ---She remembers. That girl who felt she "couldn't stop transforming". That boy who always faced an even more static today with a smile.

        (...but with that much faith, how could I...)

        A cough of blood - then, an almost plaintive ripping out of the hair-coils impaling her. C.C. pays little mind to the crimson staining her hand - if anything-

        "Saaaa, you totally ruined this jacket. If you're gonna betray us as "Cascade", I'm also gonna have to ask you pay me back as "Cascade". ...hmph. I warned you I was made of sterner...kghgh...stuff than that."

        The staggering backwards immediately disproves her point - but no matter what:

         Even if by all means she should have died just then-

        (ah, come on. just once is fine. call it a miracle. it happens all the time here.) 

<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

Karma throws a pizza.

This does almost nothing. NX-2's hair, still loose, lashes out at the incoming projectile, shredding it into tiny pieces - a pizza is not exactly structurally durable, and she's already carved through much harder things today. Little bits shower around her anyway, splatter against her cloak. She doesn't even look.

"Then we'll kill him again," NX-3 says, from her side of the battlefield. She's a little more tightly engaged, having just struck C.C. with her black hair. A snarl: "You should be dead! Lucky little - " She starts to follow through, but changes her mind, stepping around toward Zero.

With Rin fallen in front of her, NX-2 crouches to yank her upright - with a hand rather than her hair, thankfully. It's uncomfortable, even painful, but not really dangerous; just the ordinary experience of being manhandled.

"Kill her and move on!" NX-3 yells at her, before turning back to Zero. "You. I know it's you. I'll enjoy killing you - they'll probably give me an award for doing what NX-2 failed to do~!"

Meanwhile, NX-2 just looks at Rin for several very long moments, letting her half-dangle. People speak to her, and her face is completely impassive... which is its own warning, though only NX-3 is likely to know it and she's busy.

"Sometimes the masks are more literal... And sometimes they can shift with us, allowing a little more or less of the person behind it to come through."
"You're still a person even if you've got a metal body."

"What I demand is surety. What I demand is drive. Clarity. Vision. Hope. A desire."
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to tell us that she does not exist! We already know she does! Everyone already knows she does. If you want to betray me - then murder me as Cascade."

"Th-there's something a l-little... appealing about that. N-Not having to hide yourself."
"You... HOW D-DARE YOU! I th-thought you were m-my friend!"

"Sure, though, ask away!"
"Not a problem... ~Roomie~."
A hidden secret, which Rin shared with Cascade, and no one else. Trust.


Friendship. Something she'd never had before, never thought she could have, and then when she realized she *could*, started to pull away from it - because it would end. Because of her. Except here, at the last moment... She was going to fail again.

"No," NX-2 says, quietly.

NX-3 jerks to a stop. Her voice is low. "Do it. NX-1 told me you might fail, but this...!"

"I said no," NX-2 says, slowly lowering Rin. She doesn't even drop her; she just sets her down, gently, apologetically. Emmy is down, C.C. is... down, she thinks, uncertain about that one. "These orders are wrong. I do not want to follow them. They have given me more than anyone else ever had!" Her voice changes, shifts as she speaks - a pitch and tone closer to Cascade's, but not quite. Somewhere between. "I don't know what to do! But I will not kill my friend!"

NX-3 trembles - and then darts toward Zero. She doesn't get there.

Without Rin in her hand, NX-2 can move *fast*, and she pushes herself faster than she has in a long time. She throws herself in a flying tackle at NX-3: no grace, no finesse, simply trying to bear the slightly smaller Gamia to the ground and twist her around.

"Destroy her!" she calls, real emotion in her voice. "I'll hold her, only destroy her!" The two of them *are* trying to kill each other - their hair is striking at each other, mostly tangling when they fail to land a solid strike on the other. 

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.


Kallen still believes in Cascade. She's speaking with heat and eloquence. Rin can feel a faint residual pang as she listens to Kallen... it's always been easy for her to listen. The words come in nice and slow.

Hey, Rin thinks, don't tell her she should've killed me, but somehow it doesn't actually make her smile. The gun sits in her hand.

And Zero -

- is -

He believes in Cascade too?

NX-2 lifts her up suddenly. Rin flinches. She dangles partway. The gun stays in her hand, but it doesn't come up.

And Cascade says no, then. And she sets her down afterwards. The enemy -- no, she's not the enemy. Was she, for a while? Who gives a damn, Rin thinks in the back of her mind, even as her eyes flick towards the bloodied C.C. and then back ahead as her roommate and her friend throws herself against -- against her equivalent. Force against force. They stalemate for now.

Rin's face contorts and she sucks in several quick breaths before stepping forwards, one pace away and bringing the gun upwards. Two handed shooter's grip. Her eyes are wet, but she has time. It's easy enough to tell them apart, after all: one has red hair and one has black hair.

When she has a clear shot, even for a moment, Rin empties every round she can at the head of NX-3. When the gun starts clicking she throws it away, not looking where it went.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

She'd like to take action, in this situation. But she can't. She's too hurt herself, and knows in close quarters she'd be a liability with some ribs cracked. And even then... she needs to take care of Emilia too. Something about the kick... The bleeding, and... was that a tooth? It's possible Emmy has a concussion now. Or something close to it. "Stay with us... but don't try to talk. We'll get you looked after." She keeps a solid grip on Emmy. To make sure she doesn't try to do anything reckless or self-sacrificing.

And speaking of reckless and self-sacrificing. C.C. gets impaled and sliced dozens of times over. She's pretty sure that girl should have died just then, too. And yet... She's still running her mouth. More answers she'll need to pry out. The situation continues to darken still, as Cascade lifts up Rin... is she about to snap her neck? Crush her jaw? Or...?

A miracle then. She watches as Cascade makes her break. Chooses to disobey. Decides a little more, who she'd rather be. Good... there's the friend they believed in. "If one of you... can get to it. My knife is still jammed in NX-3. Drive it home." Kallen's in no position to get that close herself. But the option is there. The best she herself can do, is steadily move for the gun that's still unaccounted for. If Emmy helps her steady it even a little, they can unload this one into the remorseless killer as well.

<Pose Tracker> Karma Sato has posed.


        Karma throws the pizza and fails to get the reaction that he wanted, but unfortunately that was about it in terms of options he had. He didn't exactly carry weapons on him in his day to day activities. Fortunately it seems the magic of Zero has taken effect and Zero's word have turned an enemy into an ally. Which is good because he is pretty sure he has some ribs broken and its getting harder to breath.

         For a moment he tries to figure out how to help the situation but it would appear that the fight of it now being six active fighters versus one lets Karma think that for the moment he can find something to at least lean against and focus on his breathing. This was a moment for friendship to triumph after all, so better to just watch from the sideline.

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

There is no need to tell the Black Knights to kill someone. His version of giving an order to that effect is a vague wave of the hand, as if to say, 'there, have at it'. That part of the battle is for those people to have. He thinks they'll win. Actually - "If it's possible, disable her and capture her. If she has destructive device, we can attempt to remove it. If not, then we can kill her. Don't risk yourselves, though. I doubt she's worth it." That's all his guidance. They'll figure that part out for him. It's fine either way. He trusts their judgment on decisions like that.

It worked. Cascade woke up, and they won. That's good. His miracle came true. It is not the greater balance of his concern. Ah, well - when faced with something like this, is it ever?

His cape falls lower, as lowers to his knees by his witch, and his glove up by her face, at her hand. It's painful, isn't it? He didn't want to see this happen again. It is 'inconsequential', but it is unpleasant. Ah, well, everyone saw. He might have to flip that card face up, now. That's annoying. Very annoying. Ah, well. Maybe they can still play it off. Those things are the most minor thoughts in his mind. Really, if he wants to play anything off, he shouldn't be doing this, either, but he can't ever help himself. A slight shake of the head, and a frown. A soft voice, while the others settle matters.

"Ahhhh... It's unwise to be impaled. Stupid witch. You aren't supposed to be hurt, you know?" She'll be fine, he reminds himself. It's always startling to see her hurt. Truly, he hates watching her hurt, and it always happens, again and again. "I was supposed to put on a show, and you were supposed to laugh at the end, for my angsty drama." It isn't that they won't get to. It's that now the moment is spoiled. Ah, if he keeps this up, it'll slip further away, but-!

"Thank you." A rare honesty, tonight. He must really be in the mood for it, after that speech.

He should make himself useful, so he starts the process of getting help down here. This'll be over before the medics show up to patch them up, anyway, and if someone asks him what he's doing, he can pretend he was looking at her wounds, and not whatever that was. 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Things get very bloody, very quickly, as Emmy's head swims. C.C. shouldn't still be talking but she is. Still, it's only a matter of time, right? Kallen tells her not to talk, to stay with her. It's hard to keep her eyes open.

        And then Cascade turns on her sister. That was... that was what was happening, right? Her hand reaches up to the hand of Kallen's that is holding the gun. She certainly can't aim right now, but steadying... she thinks she can do that. They still need to kill the other one. They have to. If she overpowers Cascade, it's over for all of them.

        So she steady's Kallen's aim, as best she can, giving her a small nod.

        When the deed is done, she's way too out of it to really track what's going on with anyone else. It's over, right? Even if it's not... Emmy can't really do much more.

<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.

        It's unimaginably painful to be left for dead.

        It's profoundly comfortable to be left for dead.

        ---Despite spending so long trying to break free of the patterns, even the absolute worst of them, torment unimaginable for a person - has started to become like a familiar thing.

        Give up for a while. It's nice, isn't it? It's a pleasant little dream in its own right, to pretend that things might end, if only briefly.

        --Shuddering backwards against the wall, leaving a rather alarming amount of blood behind as she skids down its surface, something genuinely miraculous happens. The defiance of expectations. Defiance of the self. There's something that patently glows in C.C.'s eyes - locking onto Cascade's in this vulnerable moment, if only for a short while.

        ---'just this once'.

        Accept it not as a ridiculous dream to strive for-

        ...and live with the metamorphosis it imbues.

        "...come closer, please." C.C. whispers to Lelouch. As much genuine yearning as it is practicality.

        The cape can hide what she's doing, after all. In this moment, it's just the two of them.

        "...heh. Ahaha. ...I'm not forcing it there. It sounds like it, I imagine. You'll just have to accept the promise that I'm not." Gripping Zero's shirt with all her strength, hat loosened enough yet bundling her hair within to show that curious sigil imprinted on C.C.'s forehead...

        "...pain reminds me that I'm alive. You remind me that I have something to live for." A little grin crosses her lips - and as subtly as she can in this brief moment of everyone analyzing the bigger threat in the room, at the effort to subdue NX-3 -

        C.C. steals one kiss at Lelouch's neck. One little gap in that armor of heroism she knows about to let her lips meet the one spot he's vulnerable. "...it's stupid, isn't it. ...that I'm as happy as I can be right now."

        ...throughout it all - where normally C.C. would give up, and just let the clock of fate decide at what rate she would return to normal, slow and agonizing as that may be-

        Clinging to the thought of the miracles at hand. Of the potential for metamorphosis. It's something she never likes doing, for one of those fae principles of hers. ...but, much as she holds onto Lelouch to prop herself up, to stagger back to her feet...as ridiculously mismatched as their current styles of attire are...

        "...Mou, I feel like everyone in this room already seems to have assumed I'm still alive from how boring it'd be to die like that. Not a single desperate cry for my name? Aa~aah."

        There's a lot of blood on her shirt. The clear gouges in her jacket aimed right at vital organs is clear. She still hasn't cleaned it up from her mouth, and at her exposed waist, it's so clear to see scars and wounds with an inlet and outlet trajectory, but they've all stopped bleeding out.

        She closes up her top just to hide it. It's fine.

        ...It's the wrong time for the 'theater' of dying C.C. likes to put on. Just as Lelouch said. 

<Pose Tracker> Cascade Vermilion has posed.

NX-2 and NX-3 fighting is destined to be a stalemate - they're equally matched, and NX-2 only has the upper hand because she initiated. NX-3's hair snaps out, stabbing at NX-2; several times NX-2's hair deflects it, or she rolls (with NX-3) and it drives a new hole into the floor, which is starting to look dangerously like Swiss cheese.

But NX-2 isn't alone.

Rin firing at NX-3 is risky, and Emilia and Kallen together even more so - NX-2 is right there, and it would be easy to hit her by mistake. Except NX-2 *trusts* the three of them, and she manages to lever NX-3 into the firing line over herself.

Small-caliber bullets don't do a lot to a Gamia, individually. But there are enough of them to be a serious problem; the cumulative damage is real, and combined with NX-2 on her, rolling her across the room in a grounded grapple -

There is a spray of sparks as several of the bullets connect with the back of NX-3's neck, and she freezes for a moment. NX-2 takes the instant to knee in the knife that Kallen left behind, and then lash out with her hair at the moment she can't recover.

Everything freezes for a moment.

And then NX-3 falls into two pieces as NX-2 cuts through what's left of her neck. There's something like blood, but not quite; something thick and oily. Past a layer of the exterior armour, and then fleshy padding, the inside of her neck appears to be completely mechanical; metal and plastic and electronics, tubes and wires and *pieces* rather than flesh. Not all of it is normal alloys - it can't be, given her weight.

"She would remain a danger." NX-2's voice is tight with - some emotion. More emotion than she often lets herself show as Cascade. "You wouldn't be able to restrain her with her orders to kill."

NX-2 rolls to a sitting position. She wraps her cloak around herself. Several people are hurt, badly - Kallen and Rin are mostly bruised, but Emilia and especially C.C... She has no idea how C.C. is alive. NX-3 should have been able to kill her and move on to Zero.

NX-2's hair loses its gleam as she releases her cloak, raising her hands without standing up. "I surrender," she says, plainly and directly. "And..."

"I am sorry! Everything I did, everything - " NX-2 silences herself, breathing in and then out, through her nose. She doesn't say anything else. For now.

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