SPOILER WARNING: Do not read this story until you've read Zulu Squad no Tsukaima!
Author's notes: Hello folks, I'm biohazard115 and this is my version of "The Great Escape from Gallia" scene from Chapter 113 of Zulu Squad no Tsukaima. I really love that fic, but I wasn't satisfied with that particular scene (especially as it was told in a flashback in early version), so I've decided to make a homage\fanwork, extending it and adding more action.
Zero no Tsukaima and its characters are owned by its authors.
Zulu Squad no Tsukaima and its original characters are owned by No Country For Old Men78, who is awesome. Published with his permission.
Last but not least: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
"Fire in the hole!"
They did their best to scramble into cover. Crosby crouched behind the overturned table, shielding Tabitha with his body; Lugo and Forbes dived into the opposite cell and pressed to the floor.
Seconds later, Forbes' breaching charge blew up, shaking the prison. Smoke and dust filled the corridors; pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling, adding to the turmoil. It was even more impressive at the outside – the explosion tore up through the heavy stonework, making a hole the size of a Volvo wagon and hurtling large boulders like tennis balls.
As Crosby regained his senses, he looked down at Tabitha; to his relief, blue-haired girl was all right. He then tried to peer through the dust cloud.
"Lugo! Forbes!"
Coughing heavily, both soldiers crawled out from their hiding place, covered from top to toe with trash and old webbing.
"I wonder if these assholes ever heard of a small thing called 'cleaning'," Forbes grumbled, shaking off the dirt from his BDU.
"It's a dungeon, man! They have to keep up to the mark," Lugo grinned and turned to Crosby. "Well, now we've most certainly waked up the entire goddamn fortress."
The Zulu sergeant threw him an angry look and keyed his radio.
"Bravo Zero, this is Iceman, do you see our escape route, over?"
"Hey guys, something tells me that it's a bad thing!" Forbes said as he pointed at several silhouettes that were rapidly advanced through the dust cloud.
"Damn it, Iceman, the entire fucking Gallia saw it!"
"Yes, Forbes, that would fit nicely in the bad things category!" Lugo announced as he fired several shots from his M9 towards the group of guards who just entered the prison. One bullet found its target, and unlucky guard sprawled on the floor, with his brains splattered upon the wall; others vaulted into empty cells.
"Iceman, do you want me to orchestrate a distraction?"
Forbes leaned against the cell door, firing his M4; another guard went down, screaming in pain as three-round burst drilled through his abdomen.
"That would be much appreciated, Bravo Zero!"
"Reloading!" Forbes shouted and ducked down. As he slammed a new magazine into his M4, he glanced at Lugo and noticed something odd.
"Hey, Delta boy! Go easy on ammo, we're not in a freaking videogame!"
Empty brass cases tinkled on the floor as Delta sniper released three quick shots, catching another soldier in the chest. He threw a quick wink to Forbes and continued to shoot.
Saito turned over in his seat and looked back at his female passengers.
"Okay, let's bust this joint! MonMon, I need you on the Minigun!"
"Would you someday stop calling me that?" the blonde barked angrily. "And how do I know how to use this thing?"
"Damn it, even Louise managed to operate it!" he sighed in exasperation. "See that red switch on the handle? Flip it."
Montmorency reluctantly obeyed; the light beside the switch flashed green.
"Good, now grab the handles. When you want to fire, just aim at the target and press these two buttons! And take that headset!"
"I'll try to do my best." the blonde shrugged as she put on large earphones. "Ouch, these things will ruin my hair!"
"Alright, ladies, looks like we're all locked and loaded!" Saito smirked and pushed the stick forward.
Black Hawk's engines whined on a high pitch as the helicopter lowered its nose and rushed towards the prison like a bird of prey.
The warden looked down at the plume of smoke that was streaming out of the hole in the outer wall. Unbelievable, he thought; this was the first time in a known history when something or someone managed to inflict such a major damage to the infamous Alhambra Prison.
Several minutes ago, two gatekeepers were found unconscious. When the patrol finally managed to awake them, they told something about "heartiest desires" and flopped back into dreams. An alarm was immediately sounded – but obviously, it was already too late to prevent this escape attempt. Now, guards and soldiers scurried around the courtyard, taking their positions around the dungeon exit and manning the cannons.
Something needs to be done about this place's security, the warden thought. The morning will start with the public beheading of these two perverts who stood on the watch tonight; and then, he would torture these Outworlders personally – both to squeeze out information and in revenge for this futile escapade.
A small, rapidly moving dot in the sky grabbed his attention. He recalled how King Jozef told him about the incredible airship that Outworlders possessed, and warned him that they may try to use it to escape.
Moments later, the dot became a speck, and soon he saw a sleek black object with three large windows on its front and a windmill-like structure on the top.
"The cannons are ready to open fire, sir!" captain of the artillerymen reported.
The airship grew bigger, and he could hear the thumping sounds of its rotating blades. The warden smiled to himself as he shouted the order. Outworlder or not – Alhambra's cannons will rip it to shreds.
"FIRE!"
As the Black Hawk flew closer to the fortress, Saito could make out the details. It was clearly not an ordinary castle – lacking any lavish features and encircled by a large moat and a ring of wooden stakes, with a tall stone watchtower in the courtyard center, it looked like a maximum security prison.
"Hey, Derf, what's that on the top?" he asked, pointing at several loopholes atop the walls.
"That would be the cannons!" sword's voice clattered in his headset.
The loopholes flashed in rapid succession.
"And that would be the cannonballs! Pull up, pull up!"
Saito pulled the collective, and Black Hawk jumped up, pushing its crew into their seats. The cannonball swarm whistled just below the helicopter's belly, barely missing it.
"Shit, that was close! Buckle up and hold on, girls, this is gonna be a wild ride!"
"Reload, quickly! We must destroy this airship!" the warden urged his men who hustled around the cannons.
Suddenly, a large set of speakers appeared over his head.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's so nasty to shoot these yucky cannonballs at a poor little helicopter! It certainly looks like that you're in a dire need of some nice music to soften your hearts! Let's have some rock-and-roll classic, but first things first…"
The warden watched as Outworlder airship slowed down and banked left, now flying around the prison. In one of its windows, he saw a girl with curly blond hairs, who was aiming a bundle of long black sticks at them.
"A certain cute little chick with an overly long name, whom everybody calls simply Monmon – which she really hates, by the way – just asked me to relay the following message to Uncle Joe and his troops…"
Chill ran down warden's spine when he recognized the infamous weapon that inflicted such terrible casualties to the Reconquista.
As Radioman's voice boomed through the speakers, the sticks started to spin rapidly.
"EAT LEAD, MOTHERFUCKERS!"
Frantic singing of some unknown bard flooded the courtyard, accompanied by a loud, fast melody.
Gonna tell Aunt Mary 'bout Uncle John
He claims he has the misery, but he has a lot of fun
Oh baby,
Yeeees baby,
Woooooh baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah!
Saito gently moved the stick left and worked the pedals, sending Black Hawk into a pylon turn; at the same time, MonMon pushed both buttons. Like some mythical predator, Black Hawk started to circle its prey, sending down death in form of full-metal-jacketed tracer bullets. The artillerymen were first to fall; Minigun plowed through their ranks with ease, ripping apart their light leather armor and sprawling prison walls with their blood.
The next burst hit one of the large kegs that sat beside cannons – and it exploded with a loud boom, demolishing small part of the wall and toppling over the artillery pieces.
"What was that?" Montmorency asked. "What's in these barrels?"
"Gunpowder!" Saito shouted. "Bust them when you see them!"
Monmon nodded and resumed firing, swinging the Minigun left and right, covering the entire fortress. Several more powder kegs turned into fireballs, destroying anything that was unfortunate enough to be nearby.
The prison fell into uttermost chaos. White tracers glowed in the night as they rained all over the place. A jumble of guards and soldiers scurried around the courtyard, trying to find some cover. Dogs barked rabidly in their kennels, not knowing what was happening.
"Great job, now shoot at these barracks! Do not let any guards out!"
"Hey, Montmorency, let me have some fun too!" Kirche said as she tried to seize Minigun's handles.
"No way, get to another weapon!" Montmorency pushed her away and pointed at the second Gatling.
"Sorry, Kirche, it's still out of commission!" Saito barely managed to outcry the helicopter and its blonde-manned gun.
The warden barely managed to get to the stairs when Outworlder airship started the carnage. He watched in horror as it decimated the troops that were posted in his prison in order to guard "special" prisoner. Elite regiment of Royal Gallian Armed Corps, seasoned veterans who were not afraid of Ancient Elven magic, now lay dead.
It cannot be, he thought as he scrambled downstairs and into the courtyard. It simply cannot be. Even Elves didn't possess such powerful weapons! Or maybe their weird fight song gave them such strength?
The warden ran towards the so-called Eagle's Nest, a large watchtower that was used to deter any riot attempts – which were fairly common in Alhambra Prison, considering guards' attitude towards the prisoners. He quickly climbed to stone fortification at the top. A dozen of archers, armed with heavy longbows, stood there, awaiting his command – and it was given immediately.
"Men, use firecrackers against the airship, NOW!"
One of the guards unlocked a large wooden crate with warnings written on it; inside, was a dozen of black arrows with elongated, cylindrical heads.
"Firecrackers", as guards lovingly nicknamed them, were small fragmentation bombs – iron cylinders filled with gunpowder, designed to use against rioting prisoners. When the fuse was ignited, the archer had just three seconds to fire the arrow – or be obliterated by explosion. And when it was fired properly, its unlucky targets were shredded by metal fragments.
Archers quickly put them on their bows, dipped arrowheads into the torch flame and aimed at the airship.
Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed
She got everything that Uncle John need
Oh baby,
Yeeees baby,
Woooooh baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah!
"What the hell was that?" Forbes asked as he heard the tune and Minigun's buzzing sounds.
"I guess that's just Darden showing off," Crosby smirked as he zeroed in on another guard and released a long burst from his P90.
Couple of swordsmen jumped out from the corner – only to be gunned down by Lugo and Forbes.
"Darden? You mean that the Radioman is also got a ticket to the Disneyland?" Forbes shouted as he pressed release button and reached for a fresh magazine.
"Like it or not, but yes!" Delta sniper answered.
"Alright, people, let's not abuse Uncle Joe's hospitality! Lugo, Forbes, cover us!" the Zulu sergeant hollered. "Tabitha, on my signal – GO!"
Girl dashed to the hole, with Crosby right on her heels. In the same time, the Delta sniper and Staff Sergeant opened fire, unleashing a torrent of bullets onto the guards.
As they jumped outside, Crosby glanced up and put out the radio.
"Bravo Zero, this is Iceman, we are outside and are ready for extraction, over!"
"Roger that, Iceman, I see you, landing at your position in a minute, over!"
Zulu sergeant's heart skipped a beat when he saw several smoketrails that emerged from the watchtower – and reached for the helicopter.
"RPG! RPG! Top of the central tower!"
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald headed Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley
Oh baby,
Yeeees baby,
Woooooh baby,
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah!
Saito almost leaped out of his seat when the arrow exploded right before Black Hawk's nose. Several iron splinters banged on the cockpit, but luckily none of them had enough power to penetrate its fairly thin walls. Battered airframe cringed in protest as the Tokyo teen yanked the control stick, veering left.
"Concentrate on that tower!" Saito called out to his blonde gunner.
"You know, it's kinda hard for me to hit something when you're flying that thing like a drunken dragon knight!" Montmorency yelled as she tried to counter Saito's maneuvers.
More firecrackers exploded in helicopter's wake, prompting him to do more swerving.
"And if I won't fly it like that, next thing you'll see would be a Black Hawk Down re-enactment, with us as the main cast!"
Archers crouched behind the barrier as Minigun's bullets showered the tower. A stray shot hit one of them, but other rounds just stroked sparks and dust from heavy stone barrier, unable to penetrate it.
"Hey, stop slacking and put a fire spell at that tower! I cannot defeat it alone!" Montmorency cried to her redhead friend.
Kirche nodded and stood at the doorway, aimed her wand on the tower and started to chant a Fire Ball spell. Suddenly the helicopter shuddered from another series of explosions; she shrieked as she momentarily lost her balance – and dropped her wand. Thin wooden stick fell down to the floor – and rolled out to the outside.
"Saito, I've lost my wand!" she wailed.
"Look in the lockers – there might be some guns! Do it quick!"
The redhead kneeled down and pulled out one of the weapon crates – a black container with stylized bear paw emblem on it. As she flung it open, she immediately recognized the familiar cylindrical shapes of Crosby's M32 MGL.
"Hey, that's the Staff of Destruction!" Kirche smiled and snatched the grenade launcher.
"And destruction is what we need right now! Aim it just like a musket, and then push down safety lever on the top of the handle. And then press the trigger!"
"I've always dreamed to try the favorite weapon of my old war horse!" she giggled and raised the weapon, resting its stock against her shoulder in a sloppy attempt to mimic Crosby's manual of arms.
"And don't forget about eleva-"
The weapon discharged with a loud thump, sending grenade towards the target. Kirche, who wasn't even remotely ready for its tremendous recoil, lost her footing and flopped on the floor. Coughing from the fumes, she stared at the faint white smoke plume that went right to the tower.
The four-second delayed fuse activated as the forty-millimeter projectile tore down the casement of a small side window. The grenade bounced off the stairs, grazed the inner wall and finally rolled to the feet of lone guard who just emerged from the powder magazine, carrying another crate of firecracker arrows.
Still sitting on the floor, Kirche goggled at the tower, which swelled up slightly for a beat – and then broke up in a bright and loud explosion. Burning debris scattered all over the courtyard, starting several fires that casted a red glow over the helicopter.
"Haha! Way to go, Kirche the Ardent!" the Tokyo teen raised his thumbs up.
"Damn, I've wondered where I had left that thing!" Crosby's joyful voice came in the headsets. "Hey Kirche, that was a hell of a shot!"
"We Germanians are well-known for our fighting skills!" the redhead proudly answered as she stood up.
"Hey, Kirche, let me try it too!" Montmorency sounded from her seat. "And you may use my repeating cannon!"
"The same cannon that was unable to defeat this construction?" Kirche smirked. "Thanks but no thanks!"
"Well, enjoy it then, you wandless meanie!" the blonde sulked.
"I don't need a mere wand, MonMon – I've got a Staff of Destruction!"
Montmorency rolled her eyes.
"And you too!" she wailed in a sad voice. "Does anyone here even remember my name?"
Seeing that the Zulu sergeant and Gallian girl got out, Forbes and Lugo jumped from their cover and rushed to the improvised escape route. As they were near the hole, Forbes stopped on his tracks.
"Hey, Delta boy, cover me for a half of a minute, would you? I've got an idea!"
He put his M85 carrying case on the floor and crouched beside it.
"Here, grab my M4!" Forbes said and tossed his weapon to Lugo. He then put out several M112 demolition charges, bundle of wires and set of blasting caps.
"Delta boy? How about some respect, you grunt?" Lugo grumbled as he pulled carbine's trigger, sending another burst into the corridor.
Forbes fastened the bricks together and started wiring the caps.
"Well, if you want to be a Delta girl, you just have to ask!"
A stray arrow lodged into a wooden beam above Lugo's head; in a blink of an eye, the Delta sniper returned fire, putting a 5.56-mm slug into archer's shoulder, causing him to drop his weapon and back off.
"If I remember correctly, it was Delta who knocked you out cold back in Dubai!"
The thumping sounds grew louder, and Lugo noticed the familiar black forms outside.
"Alright, I'm almost set!" Forbes shouted as he inserted last blasting cap. "Scram to the bird, I'll be right behind you!"
"But…"
"Don't you cry, Delta boy!" Forbes cut him. "I don't plan to give you a reason to mourn me! SCRAM!"
Lugo reluctantly nodded and went outside. Seeing that, Forbes pulled out a small electronic device with a thin metallic antenna from his pocket and connected it to the bomb.
As the Black Hawk touched down, the Zulu sergeant pushed Tabitha towards the doorway. Kirche quickly pulled her friend inside and hugged her tightly, muttering something tender in her ear.
Crosby turned around and saw Lugo, who just emerged from the hole. A terrible thought flashed in his mind when he saw Forbes' M4 in Delta sniper's hands – but then he noticed a familiar figure.
"Hey guys, wait for me!" Forbes screamed as he leaped out and ran to the helicopter. Several Gallian soldiers were after him, yelling threats and curses.
Lugo kneeled, raised the M4 and squeezed the trigger – and one of pursuers went down with three holes in his chest. Second set of three muffled thumps – and another guard's head exploded in a bloody mist.
"Come on, folks, board the bird! Double it, Forbes!" Crosby shouted as he released couple of short bursts from the P90, aiming at the pursuers.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hey, piss off you sick fuck!" Staff Sergeant yelled and kicked a lone Gallian who tried to grab him. Seconds later, both he and Delta sniper jumped into the helicopter's hold.
"Man, that's the sexiest aircrew I've ever saw!" Forbes exhaled as he landed up beside Kirche. "Now get us out of here, pronto!"
Another Gallian soldier managed to hop onto Black Hawk's wheel. He reached for the pilot door handle and yanked it down. As the door opened, he saw a young black-haired man – just a kid, in fact – dressed in a shabby green uniform.
"Get off my bird!"
Next thing the guard saw – and, indeed, felt – was pilot's fist smashing into his nose, sending him back to earth.
The Black Hawk lifted off, raising clouds of dust and knocking several guards by airflow from its main rotor. It then turned around and flew to the west, gaining speed and altitude.
"Hey kid, you might want to put spurs to that bird!"
Saito turned to face Forbes, who sported a wide grin; the Staff Sergeant then took out a small green box with antenna and red safety cap.
"What's that?"
He flipped the cap, revealing a button underneath.
"A small farewell present for our dear Uncle Joe!"
Saito's eyes widened with shock.
"Oh shi-"
Forbes laughed maniacally and pressed the button.
"Everybody hold on!"
Night momentarily turned into a day as the entire south wall of Alhambra Prison vanished in a great blast of fire. Huge chunks of masonry, some of them larger than Saito's helicopter, flew in all directions. All buildings inside the courtyard – guards' barracks, remains of the watchtower, stables and kennels – were completely leveled by the explosion. All what left were three outer walls, cracked and covered in soot.
In a second, shockwave reached the Black Hawk. Several rivets popped out of their places as the old helicopter jolted violently. One of the door windows cracked when a stray stone impacted into it. Several warning lights flashed on the instrument panel as Saito fought with the controls, trying to hold the altitude and keep the helicopter from entering into an uncontrolled spin.
Being familiar with such effects, soldiers just clutched to their seats. Girls, however, were not so calm. MonMon shrieked in fear, gripping the Minigun. Kirche was flung from her seat right onto Forbes – and the Staff Sergeant found himself in a rather embarrassing position.
Finally, Tokyo teen managed to level off the helicopter. He shuddered as he saw the large mushroom-shaped dust cloud which rose atop the prison ruins.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder.
Lugo and Crosby gave him the thumbs up. Montmorency and Tabitha just squeaked "We're fine", both still in terror. Forbes mumbled something illegible and doubled his attempts to escape. Kirche winked and doubled the force of her famous grip, causing the Staff Sergeant to utter something obviously obscene.
"My God, Forbes! How much explosives did you use in that bomb?" Crosby asked dumbfounded.
"Eight bricks, man – half of all I've got!" Forbes answered as he finally managed to get free from Kirche's cleavage, much to her chagrin.
He stretched his legs. "Damn, I love my job! Anyone got some smoke?"
Kirche turned to face him and chirped something in her language; Forbes raised a brow as he noticed a hint of blush on her tanned cheeks.
"Hey, what's this Miss Busty here tries to tell me?"
"She says 'What sort of magic is that?'" Saito laughed.
"Magic?" Forbes smirked and tossed now-useless remote out of the doorway. "This magic is called See-Four, baby!"
Kirche squealed with glee and tried to lodge his head back into her trademark features.
"Hey, would you put down these weapons of mass distraction already!" Forbes protested loudly as he tried his best to keep her at bay. "At least let's get to know each other – like, go to movies, or to the dance party, or some other shit!"
Crosby and Lugo laughed out loud at the sight.
"Hey Sergeant, looks like you've got yourself a personal crazed fangirl!"
"Not funny, Sarge!" Forbes retorted.
"Alright, folks, I aim to grab some Z's," Crosby said as he climbed over the central console and sat in the copilot seat. "Don't disturb me until we enter the Tristainian airspace, would ya?"
Tomorrow will be a very long day, he thought as he buckled up and closed his eyes.
NOTES:
First scene: The main idea is that Crosby uses his radio to call Saito while Lugo and Forbes shoot the bad guys. Hence the somewhat strange format (radio messages mixed with action).
The prison: I didn't make a detailed description, but it's envisioned as a hybrid between medieval fortress and modern maximum security facilities like ADX Florence and such. It's named Alhambra after the fortress from ZnT where Tabitha was imprisoned.
Long Tall Sally: I've tried to make an impression of a soundtrack of sorts, so there are three verses. The song's length is 2:10, and the entire scene takes about three or four minutes – so it would end several seconds after the tower explosion, or right before landing.
Firecrackers: because why not? If Halkeginians can make a flashbang (see hostage rescue scene from second season of anime), they certainly can make an explosive arrow.
Bomb making scene: Forbes uses a real-world M183 demolition charge assembly (16 bricks and four detonator sets in a carrying case).
Mushroom cloud: No, Forbes didn't have SADM at his disposal – he just packed a crapload of C-4 into that bomb. Any large explosion can produce that effect, actually. And yes, rule of cool.
Well, that's all, folks. I hope you liked my small experiment!