"Alright," Kiara replied. SHe crouched down and prepared to run.
"On my signal deflect the bullets," she told Raina. "Ready....three...two...one...now!"
She ran out of the lift as the gun began to fire.

Raina stepped out and looked hard at the gun. She focused her concentration on each and every single bullet that came out, making them drop and hit the floor harlmlessly.

Kiara ran hard and fast towards the machine gun. SHe didn't know how long Raina could keep this up so she moved as fast as she could. As she neared the gun she raised her right hand and concentrated. A pure blue fire appeared in her hand and she hurled it at the bun. There was a small explosion as the fire met the metal of the gun and the shower of bullets stopped. Kiara breathed a sigh of relief as Lelouch stepped out of the lift.
"Nice work," he told them.
"We couldn't let you do it," Kiara retorted.
Lelouch gave her an annoyed look before they took off down the corridor again.

The sound of water got closer and closer until they entered a large underground area lit with a greenish light. At the far end, a waterfall cascaded down from above - the fountain in the grounds. And in front of that, tied up in a wheelchair... Nunally.

"Nunally!" yelled Lelouch. THey rushed forwards but stopped as they noticed what was hanging above her.
"Oh shit," Kiara muttered. "That's all we need, a bomb."
It was going back and forth like a pendulum. "It's motion sensetive."
"Even one inch of a difference in it's movement will set it off." Lelouch muttered. "That's how he planned it. If we try to move Nunally then it'll go off."
"Any ideas?" Kiara asked.

Suddenly, Lelouch's phone rang. He glanced at the others before answering it. "Mao?"
Raina couldn't hear what Mao was saying, but she saw Lelouch grit his teeth in frustration. He hung up, and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Well, he's mroe than 500 metres away from us. He can't read our thoughts..."

"That gives us a chance to come up with a plan," Kiara muttered. SHe looked at the bomb before her eyes followed the wire that it hung from. "Can you tell which wire we need to cut?"
"Mao is rather simple and this device is similar. It's easy enough to tell which wire disables the bomb but the problem is that we can't reach it without jarring the bomb and that would set it off."
"And from the dize of it I'd say maybe a 500-600 metre blast radius," Kiara murmured in thought. "We'd need to dome it just right to pass the bomb, cut the wire and disable it. Raina; does your Geass reach that far? Can you snap the rope?"

"No, but I can keep the bomb moving without changing its speed or direction while I cut it," said Raina. She turned to Lelouch. "Thing is, even if we do save Nunally, he's just going to come back. We need to finish Mao once and for all."
"But we don't know where he is," said Lelouch.
"He'll be somewhere nearby," said Raina. "He'll probably think that you'll be too afraid to attempt to save Nunally, and go to him to beg for your sister's life."

Lelouch looked at them before a deeper frown covered his features and Kiara got the impression that a plan was forming.
"I think I have an idea," he muttered. "He can't read our minds right now so we can make a plan but if we move closer to him then he'll know what we plan immediately and there's a high chance he'll detinate the bomb remotely. So the answer is to make him think that there is no plan."
"Huh?" Kiara said, brilliantly. "You lost me."
"We can make a plan and then I'll use my Geass to erase the plan from my own mind." Lelouch said. Kiara's eyes widened.
"Brilliant," she muttered.

"I'll use the geass on myself and go to face Mao. Most likely he will have something prepared for that," said Lelouch. "But I'll make him have to concentrate on my mind very hard, so he can hear no one else's. I'll need your help, Kiara."
"And while you two do that, I'll save Nunally?" said Raina.

"Right!" Kiara replied. "Me and Lelouch will go away from here and he'll activate the Geass. We'll head to Mao then. Good luck Raina."
She saulted her friend before she and Lelouch ran back down the corridor. As they entered the lift Kiara took out a small mirror.
"You can use this," she told him as she handed him the mirror. "You'd better use yoru Geass on me first though."
"Alright," Lelouch replied.
Kiara grinned at him. This way he couldn't use his geass on her for anything else. His eye glowed and she looked into it.

Raina began to climg up the railings that went up to teh ceiling. This must have been how Mao got up to place the bomb there. She saw the wire that she had to cut, and produced a knife from her pocket. She crouched at the top of the railing and watched the pendulum bomb swing back and forth, memorising its movement so she could duplicate it.

Lelouch had managed to figure out where Mao would be staying, how Kiara wasn't sure. THe only thing that mattered was that he'd found the maniac and they were now heading towards him. Raina had stayed with Nunally. Kiara just hoped they'd both be okay and that she and Lelouch would be able to stop Mao before he detenated that stupid bomb of his.
As Lelouch pushed open the doors she saw him.
"Mao," she growled.
"Well well," he exclaimed. "THis IS a surprise! I'll let you off Lulu since you didn't call your fgriends, they came on their own. It doesn't really matter though in the end."
"Enough of this Mao," Lelouch stated. "What game have you got set up?"
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" exclaimed Mao. He made a dramatic gesture before moving out of the way showing a chess board, a strange counter thing and scales. "Chess!" the madman exclaimed happily. "You're specialty!"
Kiara did not like this at all.

She concentrated hard on the bomb and her eye began to glow with the geass. She took her time getting used to the pattern of the bomb's swaying, because it would explode at the slightest little change in speed or direction. Once she was confident she had the bomb's movement under control, she turned towards the wires with her knife.

Kiara watched the game go back and forth, Lelouch losing chess piece after chess piece as Mao continued to read his mind.
"No!" he said cheerfully. "That strategy won't work Lulu! Ooh! Trying to confuse me with seven different thoughts! Bravo but not good enough! By concentrating hard enough on you I can distinguish which one is your true thought. Face it Lulu! You've already lost"
"Shut up!" Kiara growled at him hatefully.
"Oh?" Mao tilted his head to the side as he turned to her. She felt her hands curl into fists as he studied her.
"No need to be so touchy," Mao said almost playfully. He moved a piece on the chessboard before looking back to Lelouch. "It's your turn again Lulu!"
Lelouch frowned before moving another chess piece on the boafrd. Mao moved another piece easily before looking back to Lelouch and Kiara.
"You know," he commented off handedly to Kiara "You really should display that tattoo of yours more often."
"Shut up," she growled at him.
"Oh? Hit a nerve have I?" he asked cheerfully. "No need to be ashamed, people abandon their families all the time! Just look at Lulu here!"
"Shut up!" she yelled. She did not abandon her family! She was the last surviver but she couldn't show that in public!
"Is that how you justify it?" he practically sneered at her.
She growled and fought back her Geass as her eyes glowed with the power. SHe wanted so much to burn this guy to a crisp.
"But if you do that then you'll never save Nunally!" he chirped at her.
"Come on Lulu, make your next move. It had better be a good one though."
Lelouch moved another chess piece on the board.

Her heartbeat was going wild. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if she didn't manage this. She was sweating all over. Take a deep breath. Calm down. You can do this...
She reached down with the knife and cut through the wire, at the same time concentrating on the movement of the pendulum. She held her breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion.
None came. She had done it. Sighing with relief, she hopped down and untied Nunally.

Kiara watched as Lelouch closed his eyes in concentration.
"Oh, poor Lulu! Better make your move soon, your time is running out." He gestured to the needle of the strange device, it was nearly in the red zone."
"Why couldn't you leave Nunally out of this?" Lelouch demanded. "She has nothing to do with any of this!"
"Oh but Lulu, it was the easiest way of getting to you!" Mao replied easily.
"You ba-"
"Now now!" Mao chided her. "No need to swear out loud you know."
Kiara glared hatefully at him before concentrating on all the swear words she knew and firing them at him in a rapid fire style. He winced at some of her phrases.
"Is it really proper for a noble child such as yourself to use that language?" he chided.
"Get lost," she snapped out loud.
Lelouch was staring at the board and Mao turned his attention back to Lelouch.

The door opened and Shinozaki Sayoko, the maid, came in. She rushed to Nunally's side, and began to wheel her to safety.
Raina, after thinking hard, decided to go find Kiara and Mao. Hopefully Mao was concentrated extra hard on their minds, so he wouldn't detect hers.
Also, they might need her in handling him.

Lelouch was staring down at the board in dismay.
The next move will...'
"That's right!" Mao said cheerfully. "Next move I'll take your last piece and poor Nunally will pay the price for you!"
"What do you want?" Lelouch demanded. "Do you want me to admit that you're better than me? If so then I admit it! You got me!"
Oh" Bravo Lelouch!" Mao cheered, clapping his hands. "It took a lot fo ryou to say that! And in front of Kia-chan there too" Oh, how wonderful!"
"Don't you DARE call me that!" Kiara hissed at him, rage burning in her eyes.
"Why not?" Mao asked innocently. "Oh yes! Now I remember! That's the name that your-"
"SHUT UP!!"
Mao turned his attention back to Lelouch, apparently satisfied for the moment with Kiara. "You admitted it Lulu but..."
He lifted a piece from the board.
"No," Lelouch whispered.
"Yes," Mao replied. "It just wasn't good enough Lulu."
Before Kiara could do anything the psycho threw the chess piece on the scale. The needle went to red.
"Nunally!" yelled Lelouch helplessly. Kiara caught him as he fell backwards. His eyes were wide and staring.
"Let's see if she's been blown to bits yet," Mao said cheerfully before picking up a remote and pressing a button. A picture of Nunally appeared; she was completely unharmed.
"What/" Mao exclaimed. Kiara and Lelouch were staring at the screen with wide eyes.
What the...?
How was she still okay?

Raina was running around the school grounds aimlessly when she was sure she heard Lelouch's voice from the chapel. Without a thought she crashed through the glass window and saw Mao, covered in bandages, Kiara and Lelouch, and a chess board.
"Hey guys," she grinned.
Mao gasped as he read Raina's thoughts. "You... you used geass on yourselves?!"

Kiara aldn Lelouch blinked before the pieces fell into place.
"Of course..." Kiara muttered. SHe looked to Lelouch and they smirked before standing to their feet to face Mao.

Raina still had the knife in her hand. Still grinning, she lunged forward with the blade. Mao dodged it, but faltered backwards. He made a break for the door.

Kiara moved quickly and blocked his exit.
"This is as far as you go," she stated firmly.
"Oh? And you're going to stop me?" Mao sneered at her. "I doubt it very much, Kia-chan"
"Don't call me that!" Kiara yelled at him.
"Oh, poor me I fergot," Mao said in a faux sympathetic voice. "No need to feel bad though, you're not the only one that abandoned their family. Take Kururugi for example."
"What?" They all demanded.
"Oh? Didn't he tell you?" Mao asked, faking surprise."He killed his father."
"I don't believe it!" Lelouch replied firmly. Mao sensed the doubt in his mind though. "His death was registered as a suicide!"
"No, that's where you're wrong Lulu," Mao said cheerfully, enjoying the pain he was causing Lelouch. "He killed his father to try and stop the fighting, a foolish thought really? But waht do you expect from a child? He's just a silly little boy, wouldn't you agree Kia-chan?"
"That's enough!" Lelouch yelled. He ran in front of Mao with his Geass flaring brightly. "Mao! You will never speak again!"

Mao opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Raina took this opportunity to run forward with her knife again. Thsi time Mao made it to the door. He ran outside... right into C.C.
His face lit up and he called out to her without words.
Her expression remained grave. "I loved you Mao... wait for me in the next life." And she put a bullet in his head.

Kiara looked down at her hands and realised that she was shaking. SHe took a deep breath before sitting down on one of the nearby seats. She took in great gasps of air before looking to the others.
"Sorry I returned early from the Chinese Federation Lelouch, I never went," C.C. said as she walked into the building.
"It doesn't matter," Lelouch replied. He sat down himself and put his head in his hands. "Because of me Nunally was almost killed today..."