Back with the Britannians again, Suzaku arrives to join Anya
and Milly. He explains that they have
been ordered to wait there. Anya begins
showing pictures in her electronic diary from the festival that was held to
celebrate Suzaku’s return. Suzaku tells
Milly that he has been trying to get permission Ashford to let them know they
are all right, and Milly thinks how worried Lelouch and the others must be
about them. Meanwhile, Anya flips
through photos in her journal, back to one of Lelouch as a child. (We have no idea how or why she has a photo
of him as a young prince at this point.)
She wonders to herself if this is Lelouch as well…
Back to Lelouch, he has his forces prepared for battle. He knows that battle conditions are not
optimal, but he is ready to fight. Meanwhile,
with the Chinese Federation forces, Xingke describes the OotBK’s weaknesses,
telling them that the Black Knights command network is focused on Zero
exclusively and that their forces are improvised. Their Knightmare Frames are superior,
however. Both Zero and Xingke seem aware
of each other’s strategies, as they explain that the Chinese Federation’s plan
will be to put Shen Hu on the front line to break through to their center.
With that, the Shen Hu launches. Now ready for battle, Tohdoh comes out to
face him in his Zangetsu. The two
Knightmare Frames lock each other in battle, while two forces engage each other
as well. Zero and Xingke give orders to
their respective sides. Zero allows the
enemy forces to reach their center before launching his true counterattack,
with Chiba and Asahina closing in from the sides. Zero believes that if they are able to
exhaust the Shen Hu’s energy, it will allow them to neutralize Xingke and win.
The Chief Eunuchs believe that Xingke has made a foolish
mistake, but Xianglin corrects them. The
battle continues to unfold as she explains that this was a test to see how Zero
would react and that there is good reason for this approach. Water spills across the battlefield,
surrounding the Knightmare Frames. Zero
wonders if Xingke’s plan was to rip down the dam and flood the battlefield,
noting that there is not as much water left as Xingke expected (possibly, Zero
anticipated this move). In his
Knightmare Frame, Xingke states that Zero’s mistake was thinking that there was
not enough water to trap him.
Tamaki is shown in his Knightmare Frame, sinking into some
heavy mud. Xianglin explains to the
Chief Eunuchs that this is reclaimed irrigation land, and that even Zero could
not anticipate how shoddy the construction was due to government
corruption. Thus, the charge was meant
to lure Zero’s forces out into that area.
Behind the mask, Lelouch is shocked that Xingke predicted
his movements, from the showdown to how he handled his forces. Xingke thinks to himself that their victory
comes from their very land itself and that Zero has lost. It is then that Tohdoh flies at him and hits
him with an attack that deflects the shot Xingke was attempting to fire. Xingke then sends his forces at the Ikaruga,
telling them to fire at the ship’s engine room, and that their shields will not
hold out forever.
Zero wonders if he is cornered. He is furious that Xingke has outstrategized
him. He orders Diethard to protect the
engine room and withdraw. They cannot go
to Horai Island, so he asks Ohgi about “the other place”. Ohgi confirms that preliminary recon is done.
Lelouch thinks to himself that he should have killed Xingke
first. He notes that he is nearly a
match for Lelouch in cleverness and Suzaku in combat, that he is doubly
blessed.
Xianglin thinks to herself that Xingke does not have enough
time to live. Xingke thinks to himself
that he has to hold on a little longer.
At the Ikaruga, it fires an immense blast from the Hadron
Canons at both of the enemy’s flanks, taking out a huge number of troops. Xingke is impressed, noting that Zero still
had a move in reserve, and he orders his forces to spread out. Meanwhile, Zero orders Tohdoh to rescue his
troops and take command of them. He
plans to lead the enemy away using the Ikaruga and orders them to meet at
Rendezvous Point 4.
Back at Ashford Academy, Shirley, Rivalz, and Rolo can find
no news about the Chinese Federation.
They look worried.
Zero’s plan seems to have been successful, as the next scene
shows night falling. It is confirmed
that they were able to recover their Knightmare Frames, as Tohdoh arrives to
join them. It seems they are going to be
barricading themselves in the Mausoleum of the 88 Emperors, which looks like a
mountain from the outside. This should
give them the advantage, as the remains of their former Emperors are here. They can only be approached from head-on,
which will allow them to fire their Hadron Canon at anyone approaching, though
it cannot be fired continuously. It
seems that they are besieged without the likelihood of their reinforcements
arriving.
From some distance away, Xingke is watching the
Mausoleum. His forces are suddenly fired
on. The Chief Eunuchs turn on Xingke, and
inside, they turn on Xianglin as well.
They claim that they cannot forgive someone who has betrayed them as
guns are leveled at her by soldiers. She
wonders if now is really the time for this and then wonders if they have any
intention of retrieving the Tianzi at all.
They tell her that they no longer need them, as they have powerful
reinforcements of their own. The Knights
of Rounds are shown to be arriving along with the additional forces from the Chinese
Federation.
This infuriates Xingke—inviting foreign intervention, asking
Britannia for aid, and involving the Avalon.
To himself, he calls the High Eunuchs fools. (I have to agree with him there!) He wonders how clueless they can be, and he
calls Schneizel the man who stole half of the E.U. Obviously, he is worried about a similar fate
for the Chinese Federation.
Back with the Order of the Black Knights, Ohgi wonders what
they will do, as they did not anticipate the Knights of Rounds getting
involved. C.C. comments that the Chief
Eunuchs seem to want to wipe out Xingke along with them. Zero orders Diethard to get their little
trick ready to go. Diethard is surprised
that he wants it here, but Zero tells him that everything is in place, and it
will make an excellent stage. To
himself, Lelouch determinedly thinks that he has to try and win, even in such
an impossible situation.
The scene changes to a newscast, where it is revealed that
Zero kidnapped the Tianzi by taking advantage of an attempted coup d’état. It is no surprise that it is the gang back at
Ashford Academy who is shown to be watching the news, but what is quite the
surprise is that Lelouch is shown to be the one on the phone with Milly. She assures him that she is fine and with
Suzaku and the others, while he tells her that they were just watching the news
themselves. The episode ends with a
return to the news report, where the reporter states that it seems that Zero,
the enemy of the empire, is about to meet his end in the Chinese Federation.
Code Geass R2 10 Page 4
