Mao has returned, and taken Nunnally and Chigusa hostage! Faced with his new, enhanced Geass, will the Paladins be able to find a way to pull out a win?
- Animal Jingoism: Literally the moment Kallen mentions that the Castle has mice onboard, Arthur the cat tries to eat the Altean mice, who end up hiding in Nunnally's hair to escape her.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Before he departs from Yoru, Tohdoh asks Suzaku if he told his friends about his father. Suzaku reluctantly tells him that he hasn’t, and that he’s not sure when would be the right time to tell them, to which Tohdoh says that they’re going to find out sooner or later. They find out at the end of the chapter when Mao reads his mind, and blurts out that Suzaku killed his father.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The person who ultimately ends up killing Mao? Shirley.
- Beyond Redemption: Implied - Nunnally shoots Mao a Death Glare after he goes out of his way to torment the Paladins while revealing that he took her and Chigusa hostage. As Nunnally never makes said glare toward anyone in canon, it's subtly implied she truly hates Mao for how selfish and cruel he was to the Paladins, who include her big brother, Lelouch.
- Chekhov's Gun: Tohdoh questions Suzaku on whether he told the paladins about what happened with his father, noting that he will need to tell them about it eventually. Mao ends up spilling the secret at the end of the chapter in a final effort to escape being captured.
- Didn't Think This Through: Shirley brought Arthur the cat onto the castle because she didn't want to leave her all alone. It isn't until she shows Arthur to her teammates that she remembers that the castle also has mice onboard. Hilarity Ensues.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
- Cornelia pointedly assumes that Zero had to resort to brainwashing to convince the Paladins to ally with him. She's practically speechless when Zero reveals himself to be Lelouch, having never considered that her brother might be the revolutionary she's facing.
- Mao did not learn his lesson from when he previously fought the Paladins and is once again defeated when he so overly focuses on one of them that the others are able to outsmart him and derail his plans. This time, it proves fatal.
- I'm Your Worst Nightmare: The Black Geass that Mao received from Haggar allows him to see whatever the target fears most and promptly force them to see said vision.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mao ultimately gets offed by Shirley, the one member of the group who can be considered truly innocent and who he threw the most mean-spirited remarks at.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Nunnally may try to see the good in everyone, but after Mao goes out of his way to torment her friends, she shoots him a Death Glare, implying that she views him as Beyond Redemption for his cruelty.
- The Reveal: We learn that, as in canon, Suzaku killed his own father to stop him from forcing Japan to fight to the last man at the end of the Pacific War. Notably, Tohdoh directly brings this up at the beginning of the chapter, but the exact details are only revealed when Mao gives Suzaku a Breaking Speech.
