Interlude 2: Shrieking Numbness
Fucking hell, man. I hate this part of the job. The waiting, the not knowing if shit went bad or not.
Part of me wants to get pissed off at Zero for not lettin' me join the battle. But the rest of me goes and smacks that part with a brass knuckle and tells it the same thing Zero told me, just before I took off on that light aircraft he arranged.
"Tamaki, I won't lie to you. You're not a superb pilot by any means, or even a good one. You have guts, you have the kind of Shinigurui attitude that any Bushi would be proud to have. But that isn't enough on it's own, and more importantly? You are far too valuable for your connections, your ability to talk to people, and your support capabilities. I'm not sending you to the front lines, not because I don't trust you as a soldier, but because I DO trust you to do what is important, rather than what feels right. This mission I'm giving you with this aircraft? It might not seem like it, but the psychological impact of this 'rain of blood' I have planned could make the difference in terms of morale and momentum. And the man who can ensure that gets done and staged properly? He's worth more to me than twenty soldiers. So tell me, Tamaki Shin'ichiro? Are you that man?"
Shit, what the hell do you say to that except "FUCK YES, BOSS MAN!"
...Wish I knew what the fuck was going on, though. Last I saw as I was heading back to the G-1 command post, was the flying dick machine blowing shit out of the sky. And man, just saying that shit is hilarious. It's a goddamn trip to be working for a boss with a sense of humor.
Maybe that's why I don't give him the stink-eye for hitting on Kallen the way he does. One, I'm pretty sure she finds it funny. And two? Guy's actually a cool dude.
Hell, I think even Naoto would be cool with him. And the boss is dating his sister, and older brothers are never cool with that shit.
I look around the base. Nobody is around. Eh, fuck it. Might as well light up.
Ahhh yeah. That's the good shit. It'll be nice to smoke a blunt with Zero once we win.
*Woo! Woo! Woo!*
Da fuck is that?! Why are the alarms going off?!
All of a sudden personnel are flooding in as Knightmares and other vehicles come in, all with serious damage and scorch marks...holy fuck, what happened?!
Wait, that's Ohgi's Sutherland! I dash over to the almost wrecked machine, a huge gash across the front.
"Ohgi! Bro! What happened?!" I yell at as the cockpit retracts and opens...up...
Ohgi is standing there unsteadily...but...his left arm...it's...it's...mangled. Like a huge dog was trying to rip it off and only just barely failed. Like, it's only half there.
"Tamaki...ugh..." he coughs up some blood as he unsteadily holds onto the zipline lowering him down.
"What the fuck, bro?! I thought we were winning!" I say in a panic as I held him over to a bench where the medics are prepping spaces for treating people.
"Siegfried..." he says with a grimace.
Siegfried?! The fuck is a Siegfried?!
"A Britannian superweapon that Zero thought he had prevented the creation of. A mistake we have all paid dearly for. But none more than him," a grim-faced General Tohdoh says from behind me as I turn around in shock.
One of his Holy Swords, the old guy, I think his name was Senba, is clutching at his face in pain, blood pouring onto his uniform...as he moves his hand, the spot where his right eye would be is a crushed and burned mess of blood and flesh, the eyeball itself completely destroyed.
Wait...if they're here, where's the boss?
"General, where's Zero? Isn't he with you?"
...Now what? A guy like Zero wouldn't go out like a bitch. I bet that sly fuck has already got something cooked up to turn this shit around...right?
"Guys, come on. Boss Man has got this, we're gonna turn this around and get our fucking country...right?!"
Seriously, why is nobody fucking responding?
"Tamaki. Zero was gravely wounded by the Siegfried, stopping it from killing Captain Kōzuki. He's being medically evac'ed here as we speak. Moreover? Prince Schneizel himself has arrived and the entire city was bombed."
Holy fuck...
"Wait, where's Kallen?!"
Tohdoh sighs deeply, leaning against the wall, "Captain Kōzuki was trapped when one of the buildings Zero and the Siegfried crashed through fell on top of her. At this time, she's safer there than out in the street. We had no way to retrieve her, and with CC in no shape to take command, I made an executive decision to withdraw and recover her at a later time."
Fuck that shit! I throw a wild punch at the dude, only to have him block it with a forearm, staring me in the eyes with that steely hawk-like gaze of his.
"Believe me when I say that I did not want to make that decision. We WILL retrieve her. You have my word as a samurai on that."
Still wanna throw down with him...but...shit. If even 奇跡の藤堂 couldn't do anything, what the fuck chance does anybody else have?
"How the fuck did you guys survive that shit?" I ask as I catch glimpses of wounded and battered black knights stream past...and lots of stretchers and body bags being carted away...
"Zero did have a countermeasure against the bombers, alas, it was not enough to turn the tide. But the missiles he had prepared against an aerial attack, combined with Suzaku's interference, delayed the enemy long enough for us to retrieve Zero and perhaps 2/5ths of our forces, if that. Trying to extract Captain Kōzuki however, would have cost us even that pittance."
...Fucking A. The fuck do we do now? We lost, man. We ain't got shit to fight the Bitch of Britannia, let alone the White Bastard.
The general walks up and puts his arm on my shoulder, "I must go and ensure we can safely extract Zero from the wreckage of his escape pod...and ensure his wife does not become a widow," his voice whispers in a bitter tone.
"General, Sir? I...I can't do shit right now. But I ain't half bad with fixing shit and taking machines apart. I wanna help. Please..." I say, putting the scrambled mess of my emotions aside like a greasy overcooked meal. Now ain't the time for bellyaching and whimpering. Time to man the fuck up.
A slow nod like a statue grinding is his only answer as I follow him towards another part of the base.
"Sir? Where we going?'
"Zero's pod is heavily damaged and he is impaled by shrapnel and pinned to the cockpit. As such, we needed to move his pod elsewhere where we had the heavy equipment and medical devices to try and keep him alive as we pull him free."
The first thing I can think as I step into the hanger bay where techs are working to try and open the pod up is...
"Holy fuck...how in the name of all the kami did he survive that...?" I whisper as the wreckage looms over everybody like a fucking tombstone...NO! Fuck that shit! My buddy ain't going out like no bitch!
But...the pod is a wreck. It's twisted like somebody tried to burn and rip it apart at the same time. There's gaps in the metal with faint lights flickering inside...groaning as industrial pliers and claws pull it apart gently, sparks flying from where guys are cutting it apart like a doc with a scalpel...fuck...oh no. Fuck no...that ain't oil leaking out there!
"Get outta my way!" I yell as I get in there, shoving some guy aside who was readying a blowtorch to cut through the back of the seat..
"The fuck Tamaki?!" the jackass I pushed says to me as I move to where he was, looking at where he was about to start burning.
"You shut the fuck up! If he's pinned inside the cockpit, you'll burn a hole through his back if you cut there!" I yell back as I peer inside the gap...and gasp in shock at the sight.
His mask...it's broken. I can't see his face, but he looks like a broken doll that some kid decided to stick needles into because he was curious what it would look like. So much blood...hey wait...that's the missus there.
"Hey, CC! We need you to help guide us here! We need to know where to cut to get him out!"
She looks up...man, that ain't a look I like on her. She looks like she's about to cry and pass out. Like somebody cut the heart out of her and she's half dead herself.
"Tamaki...cut through the side panels. Then use the jaws of life to cut the metal impaling him. You should be able to free him then once you have an opening..."
Right. Get the boss out now, freak the fuck out later.
"Get me the Jaws of Life! And rip open a hole in the side big enough to get two people through! Boss man is pretty fucked and we need to get 'im loose!"
Unlike a blowtorch? These pliers are heavy as fuck, but they're great for ripping shit up and getting people loose. I should know; Ohgi had to use 'em to cut me loose one time from a car crash.
I huff and set the Jaws inside the hole, switching them on lower power, gradually ramping up the pressure system as the metal groans from the claws forcing it open.
And...got ya! "Okay! I'm going in to cut him loose! Get that panel ripped open ASAP!"
Aight...easy...easy...the jaws left a lot of sharp edges, so I gotta watch that I don't cut myself open getting in through the hole...here...holy fuck...
I gulp as my eyes gravitate to the back of the cockpit where...Zero...is impaled.
Fuck, how the hell is he still breathing? There's gotta be like a couple liters of blood in here. I see snapped bones sticking outta his skin, shrapnel embedded in him, his face is pale like a vampire corpse...woah.
I kneel, pushing his face up into the light so I can see him. Damn, he's a pretty motherfucker...or at least he was. He looks like he got shoved through a meat grinder, chest first. Wait...what's that glimmering on his face...oh. Damn, man, you're half dead and you're still conscious enough to cry over yer wife? Respect, man, fucking respect. Never woulda guessed he was Kallen's age, though. Makes me feel a li'l better 'bout the two of them.
Blinking as the sounds of machinery penetrate, I snap out of the daze I was in. Not the fucking time, bro. He ain't gonna last much longer, okay...where the fuck do I start cutting?
After a few gentle prods, it looks like it's just this one spikey looking thing in his chest holding him here. The rest is small shit that I can probably pull him free from, and frankly? He can't get much worse than this. 'sides, Brit medicine is bullshit. If I get him outta here without having 'im croak? He might survive this...I hope. There's a chance I'm hyping this up...'cause I don't wanna think about the alternative.
"Boss Lady?"
I prod her after a moment of non-responsiveness, getting her to slowly turn her head towards me.
"I gotta get him out. Can you hold him steady so I can cut that thing in his chest apart without hurting him more than I hafta?"
CC nods bonelessly at me, like a broken doll as she clutches onto him, looking like a little girl who just lost her parents and with them her entire world.
Fuck...seen that shit way often since the invasion. And I ain't letting it happen again.
"Okay, Zero...sorry 'bout this, bro. This is gonna suck, but I gotta cut ya out."
"Lelouch."
Huh?
"My husband's name is Lelouch. If we can save him, I'll make sure he knows that you've stood by us in our hour of need..."
Lelouch...fuck, I swear I've heard that name somewhere. Screw it, I'll look it up later.
Okay...so far so good. The metal is warped and damaged, so it's easy enough to cut the little shit out and get him free. But...there's still that big fucker in his chest.
"Tamaki! This is Rakshata! DO NOT MOVE HIM YET! WE NEED TO APPLY COAGULANT TO HIS WOUNDS SO HE DOESN'T BLEED OUT FROM REMOVING THE SHRAPNEL!"
"Coagu-what?! I don't know what the fuck that is! He's got a big shaft of some metal shit in his chest! I got most of it loose, but he's still stuck on that thing!"
The light from the gap above suddenly darkens as Rakshata peers in from the opening I cut, before a flashlight turns on and the beam slowly turns to highlight the boss man's frail form.
"Oh god...is he...?"
"My husband lives. Though what god or devil is responsible for it...I cannot say."
God damn... Just ain't right hearing her talk like that. It's like Kallen not being a fireball, or that blonde chick Milly not being peppy.
"Alright, Tamaki. Listen to me very carefully. I'm going to pass you some plastic tubes. You need to apply the liquid and paste inside them to the wound in his chest as you get him loose. It will close the wound enough that we can get him to a stretcher and medical bay. But right now? That shrapnel in him is the only thing holding him together. If you pull it outtoo quickly? The shock and/or blood loss WILL kill him."
...No pressure, huh?
"Boss Lady? I think I'm gonna need your help. Can you put this shit on him while I get him loose?"
C'mon, CC, don't go deadeyed on me, the boss ain't gonna last much longer...
She nods at me as she gingerly takes the tubes that Rakshata passes to us.
Ok...phew...c'mon, Shin'ichiro, you've been a fuckup a lot of yer life. But it ain't your life on the line this time. It's Zero's. That crazy mofo believed in you. Show him that he wasn't wrong.
I take hold of his torso, getting the best grip I can on the bloodstained suit as I firmly pull him forward at a slow pace, blood spurting from his back wound as CC applies the medical shit to him. Fucking hell, this shit is making me feel like a 'frainer needing a fix.
"Did the bleeding stop...?" I ask quietly.
A barely there nod is her only response. God damn, lady, you are showing some fucking will to be helping with this.
Another splash of blood strikes her in the face as Zero's body lurches forward a few more inches. Alright...one more pull should do it.
"A'ight, last pull. After this, I'm gonna need ya to close up the wound on his chest too. We're gonna get the boss loose and then we're getting him to the docs, 'kay?"
Rakshata chooses that moment to pipe up, "The coagulant won't hold very long, given the severity of his wounds, but if we can get him out of there quickly, we can hopefully stabilize him. I'll get the mechanics to cut the side off, there's no way we can pass him through this opening. Make sure to move him as little as possible!"
The yelling in Japanese, Britannian, and...what the fuck is her language called again? I swear I know this. Eh, whatever, she's doing her part. Time to do mine.
"Annndd...got ya!" I exclaim as Zero slumps forward, finally off the spike that was impaling him.
Holy fuck...that thing was huge...looks like it just barely missed his heart. Damn, bro, you are unbelievably lucky.
The grinding of machine causes the pod to vibrate as sparks start coming from the side, electric saws tearing through the metal...aw shit! The sparks!
"Fuck! He's gonna get hit by the—!"
Before I can say a word, CC moves to physically block the sparks from touching us with her body. ...And all I can do is stare dumbly, not saying a fucking word.
"Understand this, Tamaki Shin'ichiro. I am over six hundred years old. I have lived, I have died, I have been a heroine and a villainess and everything in-between. I am responsible for more suffering than you can ever dream of conceiving."
She grimaces in pain as she looks down at the bloodied form of her man.
"But? I have never loved someone like I love Lelouch, the man you call Zero. For him? I would do anything, suffer any pain, any indignity. All to keep him safe and by my side."
Fucking hell...that's love, man. That's a woman worth living for. Mad props, Zero.
"Tamaki! We're almost through! We have a stretcher and medical teams standing by! Just hold on!"
Ohgi, you son of a bitch... You lost a fucking arm, and yer still rallying people to do their jobs. Man, if only Naoto was around to see how much you've stepped up...
I wince as the light from outside gets in my eyes, CC slumping to the ground, grimacing in pain, the smell of burned flesh emanating from her.
It ain't just Zero who's in charge, the boss lady is one badass bitch.
"Tamaki...Ohgi...get my husband out of here...now."
I stand up, holding Zero in my arms, his cloak over his face as I gently hand him to a medical team, the entire room hushed as his frail body is set down on a stretcher, his wife hovering over him like a mother watchin' her kid. Damn...like a fucking funeral in here.
"Oi! Everybody get back to work! Zero ain't dead yet! And we got shit to do! Now move or I'll kick all yer asses!"
And like that? Everybody snaps the fuck out of it and gets back to work. Just gotta show em who's boss.
"Tamaki...is that Zero?"
I turn to see somebody, I think I know this guy. Looks like infantry, must be one of the lucky guys who survived the bombs.
"Yeah...some fucked up shit...sorry, forgot your name, brah."
"Satoshi. Hiroyama Satoshi. Just...this is the man we were following...? He looks...so fragile..."
I sit down on a desk, taking a deep breath, "Even Zero is human, mostly. Human body can only take so much shit. I'm still shocked the son of a bitch ain't dead from all that yet."
I look over as the medical team cuts his suit open, gently removing his cape from his shoulders, the blood on his face hiding how pale he looks as Rakshata opens his eyes to shine a light in them, probably some medical shit.
I turn to look at Satoshi, only to see him standing stark still in complete shock.
"紫色の目..." (Purple eyes...)
Huh? Oh, yeah. Guess they are.
"So? Who the fuck cares? I wouldn't give a shit if he had six eyes with rainbow colors. What the fuck's got you spooked?"
Two guys standing nearby walk up, looking at Satoshi strangely.
"Satoshi-kun...what did you say?"
"紫色の目..." he repeats slowly.
Seriously, the fuck is the big deal with purple?!
"Hey, Satoshi. Why the hell are you acting like—?"
The rest of my sentence is cut off as one guy tackles me, the other two rushing Zero's stretcher, Satoshi pulling out a knife from his jacket, a crazed look in his eyes as he shoves the medic working on Zero aside, the other goon grappling with CC, as Satoshi raises the knife Zero's unseeing eyes.
"死ね、ブリタニアのお—!" (DIE, BRITANNIAN PRI—!)
Suddenly a horrifying sound erupts from near Zero. A sound that almost causes me to piss myself in terror. Like something out of a fucking nightmare...
Zero's assassin turns in shock, his face turning white with horror as he sees CC's hand through the chest of his buddy, her teeth ripping the dude's throat open as she spits away a piece of flesh, the man's body crumpling to the ground, as the boss lady slowly turns to look at Satoshi with raw seething hate in her gold eyes...
Wait a sec...GOT YA! I squirm free of the asshole on top of me while he's distracted, headbutting him as we struggle.
"The fuck is wrong with you, Tamaki! He's a—!"
Whatever the jackass was going to say is cut off by my fist knocking his ugly head into the ground.
"Tell it to somebody who gives a fuck! You ain't killing the Boss Man on my watch, motherfucker!"
The guy's grappling suddenly stops when a white heeled shoe slams into his neck, the neck muscle tearing most of the way through, blood splattering across my face as I look on in shock. As I look up, I see CC's snarling face, sounds that no person I've ever heard emitting from her normally cute mouth, now twisted with teeth bared like a ravenous beast.
"S-s-s-stay back!"
The boss lady spits out a piece of skin, blood dripping from her mouth as she walks over slowly to the clearly fucked Satoshi.
And me? I ain't making a fucking move. This dipshit tried to kill her husband, a man I just saw her put herself through hell for. Ain't nobody gonna do a damn thing to save him now.
Satoshi pulls out a knife from his jacket, throwing at her torso, only for CC to snatch the knife out of midair, throw it back through Satoshi's hand, and leap on top of him, all while screaming that fucking sound. That terrifying noise like something that outta come out of a yuurei's mouth. It's worse than that "Rama's Lament" shit. At least that thing was just a machine, a weapon, something we knew would sound fucked up once it was activated.
This? I'm so damn scared, I'm barely stopping myself from pissing my pants. And looking around the room, every single person is wondering what the fuck she is to be able to do something like that...a sound like jagged scrap metal in my ear, clawing at me, making my blood freeze like ice water as I watch in mute horror as she slashes a claw like hand down Satoshi's chest, her voice finally stopping for a moment.
She grips his skull with both hands, hot breath coming from her as she says something in a sinister and creepy fucking voice. Fuck, I knew she was kinda nuts given how she and Zero act, but this? She's just as batshit as he is. And there ain't nobody to hold her back with him lying there on that stretcher...
"Satoshi...THIS IS THE PRICE OF TREASON AGAINST MY HUSBAND, MY KING, MONGREL!"
CC's dainty hands pick up Satoshi's skull, his pleading falling on mute and uncaring ears...and then she starts squeezing. And as she squeezes, she starts making that sound again, getting louder and louder as she squeezes harder and harder.
Fuck...I can see his eyeballs bursting, blood splattering over her uniform that used to be white, now stained a deep ugly red.
Her screaming reaches a fever pitch as she brings her fist down, shattering Satoshi's skull all over the floor and herself with a single blow...and ending his shrieking in horror at the crazy shit she was doing to him.
And like that? She goes dead silent, slumping over like...like...like how Zero was in the cockpit.
I look over at Tohdoh, his eyes wide with shock as he looks at the carnage our second-in-command just wrought.
"My god..."
The general starts bellowing orders, "Medical teams! Back to work on Zero! Dr. Chawla, secure him immediately! And get someone to clean up the mess here!"
A infantryman approaches CC, only for her to turn towards him with a growl and hissing sound like a feral cat, her entire front covered in gore, bone shit, and...fuck...I think that's part of Satoshi's brain...
She shoves the guy aside, jumping over to where Zero is lying, her stance hunched over and guarded, looking at everyone like we're just meat for the slaughter.
"Hey, newbie, back off," I say slowly as I get up, walking past the guy who just got in her way.
Dude gives me a look like I'm fucking nuts. And you know what? He ain't wrong. What the fuck am I thinking, trying this shit?!
But something in my gut tells me I gotta try.
"Hey, Boss Lady," I say as I get closer slowly, letting out a friendly wave.
Her head tilts in confusion, but she ain't leaping to murderize me. So far, so good.
"I know yer pissed off. Fuck, if it was my woman some jackass tried to stab, I'd be mad as fuck too. But ya gotta let us get to him. Yer the one who said the docs need to fix him up, right?"
Okay...this was a mistake. There's no fucking way I'm getting outta this. Well, look at this way, Tamaki. At least you get to die in the arms of a beautiful woman, even if it's one that's totally fucking batshit.
"...Tamaki...?"
Holy fuck, did that actually work?
"Yeah, it's me, CC. Relax, you got the bastards. But you gotta let us take of ya and yer hubby, a'ight?"
Its kinda like those moments in anime when somebody comes out of a daze, like...I dunno, the light in their eyes comes back. Whatever you call it, that's what she looks like right now.
I catch her as she slumps into my arms, tears in her eyes, a face like an angel crying as she looks up at me. Fuck, hard to believe this is the same woman who just ripped three guys to shreds. Zero, buddy, the fuck did you do to win her heart?
"Stay with my husband, Tamaki...don't let anyone you don't trust near him...please..."
A grim nod is the only thing I can say right now, I don't trust my big mouth not to say something stupid.
"You...you're a true friend to Zero...please don't let my husband die..." she says with a shattered voice as she leans on me as I throw her arm over my shoulder, holding her up.
"You heard the boss lady! Get him to the docs! Move, dickwads!" I yell out as we get out of their way.
Ohgi comes over, smiling weakly despite the pain he must be in as he clutches the gap where his arm used to be.
"Tamaki...Naoto would be proud of you for stepping up like this. And so am I."
...Shit, man, the fuck can I say to that?
"Tch, not like I could just stand there holding my dick and let that bullshit happen. Zero's my boy, ain't no way I'm letting him down when he needs me."
I look down, noticing that CC has passed out from exhaustion, my grip on her shoulders the only thing holding her up.
"I feel terrible for her. She's been proposed to and almost made a widow in the same night. I can't help thinking Zero must have done something amazing to have someone so devoted to him," Ohgi says wistfully as I shift CC to a bridal carry in my arms.
"Fuck if I know, bro. But ain't that the kind of shit Boss Man always does? I mean, look at all this. You think me standing up for some psycho Brit or not hating all of them ain't something crazy? You know me, I used to give a flying fuck 'bout any Brit."
And fuck me if that ain't some ironic shit. Boss Man was right, it's the exact same way they treat us. We used to do the same thing and nobody in this whole damn country said a fucking word.
"Racist-ass bullshit don't work. It didn't work for us, and it ain't working for the Brits. I'm just happy I got knocked in the head 'nuff times to see it for myself."
Ohgi sits down, gritting his teeth as a medic injects him with some shit, probably painkillers.
"Ohgi, bro...What now?"
My oldest friend 'sides Naoto looks up at me with a haunted expression, "I don't know."
...Really didn't want to hear that, dude.
