Ch. 24: Standoff Within the Icy Inferno
Giant flames consumed much of the Japanese base, resulting in fires being seen all around. In the midst of this flaming inferno was Tōdō, killing any enemy that came his way.
With his katana ready to be swung, Tōdō ran up to a group of charging Black Army soldiers and quickly sliced one of the soldiers, causing him to instantly bleed to death. One of the other soldiers tried bayoneting him, but the Shinigami moved out of the way within a blink of an eye, and impaled the soldier. Another soldier behind behind Tōdō took out his pistol, but Tōdō saw it coming, pulled the bloody katana out of the dead soldier, and swung it so it caused a deep slice in the soldier's hand, causing him to drop the pistol. With a quick kick, Tōdō knocked the injured soldier onto the ground, and proceeded to stab him in the chest.
Other Japanese soldiers charged at the Black Army soldiers, resulting in one-on-one fights between the Japanese and the Black Army. Both sides were trying to either shoot or bayonet one another. The heat emitted from the fires made it more difficult to fight while the thick smoke darkened the area. Soldiers on both sides continued this clashing with one another, which just resulted in many bleeding bodies to pile on the wet, some-what snowy ground.
As Tōdō managed to slice and dice four Black Army soldiers attempting to attack him in less than ten seconds, he suddenly saw a figure walking his way. The smoke made it difficult to see who it was.
"WHO IS IT! IS IT ZERO! BECAUSE I ALWAYS DREAMED OF FIGHTING THE MAN OF MIRACLES!" yelled Tōdō as he stepped over the pool of blood in front of him.
"I'm afraid not!" yelled the voice. Appearing from the smoke was General Jo, who was carrying a metal saber in his hand.
"Ah, so it's you "Oni of Chōsen". I've heard many things about you." said Tōdō.
"I can same the same thing about you "Shinigami"." responded General Jo.
"Well, I was expecting to fight Zero himself, but an Oni will be interesting to take down." Tōdō said.
"I wouldn't underestimate the strength of the Black Army. Zero is leading us to a better future, one that is freed from the chains of tyranny. And with that goal in mind, I will defeat you." said General Jo as he held up his saber.
"Then I guess we'll find out who's the better fighter here." said Tōdō as he raised his katana.
Both men, ready to charge, stared at one another as burning debris and large flames surrounded them. They then dug their boots into the partially-melted ground as a freezing gust of wind passed by them. Once their eyes were locked onto the eyes of their opponent, Tōdō and General Jo charged at one another with all the strength they had.
Still looking for Warehouse #7, Zero kept running through what started to look and feel like a flaming labyrinth. He tried turning down one pathway, but a burning building collapsed, causing the debris to block the pathway. He then proceeded down another pathway, avoiding the flames that constantly surrounded him. Due to the smoke, Zero had to stop running in order to catch his breath.
He zippered up his uniform jacket all the way so it would cover his mouth, making it easier to traverse through the smoky environment. As he continued his search for the warehouse, a group of Japanese soldiers passing by saw him.
"It's one of them!" yelled one of the soldiers.
Zero immediately ran away as several gunshots could be hear behind him. Bullets narrowly passed him as he turned down another pathway. However, the pathway he turned on was blocked by large piles of burning wood.
"Not good. Need to find a way out of here fast!" thought Zero.
"He went down that way!" yelled a voice in the distance.
Trying to think of a solution as quickly as possible, Zero then saw a door to the right of him. He immediately grabbed the handle, which felt warm through his gloves.
Hearing the sound of footsteps getting louder, Zero instantly opened the door and entered the building. Once he was in, he suddenly saw what looked like hell to him. The whole interior of the building was burning, with large flames waving all over like a whip. The flames sometimes got so big, he had to raise his arm in order to avoid it's hellish heat. He also noticed the parts of the ceiling were burning as well.
"Just need to get of here. But how?" thought Zero.
It was then he suddenly saw another door on the other side of the room. Realizing the structural integrity of the burning building was being compromised, Zero made a dash towards the other side.
As he weaved in and out of various piles of burning debris, he suddenly heard a creaking noise above him. Looking up, he saw a piece of the roof was about to fall. Zero immediately leapt forward before the burning roof piece crashed onto the floor. Due to the heat being unbearable along with much of the oxygen being sucked up by the fires, Zero immediately got up. He continued avoiding pieces of debris falling onto the floor as he ran towards the exit.
Once at the exit, he turned around to see most of the roof collapse. Amazed that he got passed something like that, Zero proceeded to open the door and exit the building. Once outside in the cooler environment, he suddenly caught his breath once more and wiped some of the sweat dripping down in his face.
"Now then..." thought Zero as he continued his search.
A loud "CLANG!" could be heard as Marshal Tōdō and General Jo clashed their weapons against one another. Both men then tried to break the lock between the intertwining blades. Tōdō, who was bruised and slightly bleeding due to the explosion earlier, tried pulling his katana back so he could swipe it at General Jo's ankles. However, General Jo anticipated such a move and swung his saber so that it blocked the katana. Both soldiers then swung their respective blades against one another repeatedly, causing the sound of metal clashing against one another to echo through the air.
"I say, you fight well. I am surprised you have such strength and agility." said Tōdō as he continued swinging his katana.
"My strength and agility comes from my determination to see my people free from your Empire!" replied General Jo as he kept blocking Tōdō's slashes.
"This land was nothing like it is today before we came. We are here to share our prosperity and glory to the rest of Asia! Why fight against that?!" yelled Tōdō as he leapt backwards.
"Is that the lie you were raised up to believe!? All that your Empire has done is bring pain and suffering. We starve due to your policies, we are discriminated constantly. How can you call that sharing prosperity and glory?!" yelled General Jo as he charged at Tōdō
"The future of Asia is the Empire of Japan! We'll show the world our might! The Western colonial powers will finally see what we are capable of! We will become the power everyone envies!" replied Tōdō as he lowered his katana to block General Jo's attack.
With their blades locked against one another again, Tōdō used whatever strength he had to lift his katana upward, breaking the lock between the two blades. With General Jo open, Tōdō swung his katana into General Jo's arm, causing it to partially dig into his flesh.
"AHHHHH!" yelled General Jo as the blade cut into his arm. He then kicked Tōdō backwards, causing him to pull the katana out of General Jo's arm.
Swallowing the pain to the best of his ability, General Jo dropped his saber, kneeled down, and placed his hand on his wound in order to stop the bleeding. Looking up, he could see Tōdō raising the blood-stained katana and preparing to charge.
"Now the Oni shall be beheaded!" yelled Tōdō as he charged forward.
Trying to think of a last minute solution, General Jo saw a large can of oil nearby. Using whatever left over strength he had, he got up, kicked the can over, causing a stream of black liquid to pour all over the ground. A spark from the surrounding fires managed to jump into the oil, causing the oil to ignite. As a result, a wall of flames erupted between Tōdō and General Jo.
Tōdō, who was still charging, immediately stopped upon seeing the wall of fire in front of him.
A wounded General Jo and a determined Tōdō stared at one another across the flames before both of them left the area, realizing their fight would have to end another day.
"Next time Oni, I will claim victory." said Tōdō as he looked into the distance.
Meanwhile, General Jo, who's arm was dripping with blood, was looking for something that could stop the bleeding. Realizing he had little time left, General Jo decided to go to extreme measures. He took off his jacket, rolled up his blood-soaked sleeve all the way, and applied pressure on the wound with his other hand. Upon reaching an open flame, he used his hand soaked in blood to pick up a piece of metal on the ground. He the left the metal in the fire until the end of it was glowing orange. Since he was wearing gloves, he easily picked up the heated metal and prepared to press it on his wound.
"SIZZLE!" could be heard as the hot metal cauterized the wound. General Jo clenched his teeth as pain erupted in his arm. Once the cauterization was done, he ripped off the sleeve of his uniform and wrapped it around his sealed wound.
He then wandered and headed towards the Black Army's rear lines.
The Black Army soldiers in the forest continued their retreat as Hasegawa's forces continued their advance. Once the Japanese soldiers managed to advance in far enough, they managed to see the cliff where the enemy artillery was located.
General Rozhkov and the retreating Black Army realized the situation was going in their favor.
"General? What are you're orders?" asked one of the Black Army lieutenants.
"Our artillery are going to be overrun within a minute or so. And we're being picked off by the Japanese like we were game. Their field guns also destroyed much of our machine gun defenses and prevents our guerilla tactics to work effectively." replied Rozhkov. "Tell the artillery divisions along with the others to retreat to our Western rendezvous point as planned. We'll be safe there since Hasegawa won't wander too far away from the base. We've done all that we can."
"But what about Zero and General Jo?" asked the lieutenant.
"They're just going to have to their jobs as best as possible." replied Rozhkov.
Following their orders, the artillery divisions and the other Black Army soldiers under Rozkhov's command immediately stopped what they were doing and proceeded to withdraw.
At the edge of the forest, a Japanese soldier ran towards Hasegawa to update him on the situation.
"My Lord! All enemy units are retreating. Shall we pursue them?" asked the soldier.
"Negative! Our primary duty is to secure the base's defenses. Tell all forces to halt their advance and maintain their positions." commanded Hasgeawa.
The soldier immediately saluted before running off to spread the order.
A partially burned soldier then appeared as he limped forward.
"What is it Colonel? What's the status on the Tōdō's forces?' asked Hasegawa.
"My Lord...the Black Army launched an attack from the East as well...and set fire to the base." said the exhausted, wounded soldier.
"THEY DID WHAT!" yelled Hasegawa. "I GIVE THAT FOOL TŌDŌ ONE SIMPLE JOB AND HE STILL GETS OVERRAN! MAJOR GENERAL!"
"Yes my Lord!" replied the bearded Major General.
"Escort this wounded man to the field hospital we set up nearby. After that, tell Lt. General Ikeda to maintain our line of defense while I return to the base with 23rd, 44th, 47th, and 52nd Regiments."
"Of course my Lord!" said the Major General as he slightly bowed his head before escorting the wounded soldier to the field hospital.
Hasegawa then assembled the four regiments and proceeded to lead them back to the base, hoping he could stop any more damage to be done.
"Tōdō...you have once shown the whole world the pathetic fool you really are." thought Hasegawa as he and the soldiers following him walked through the ankle-high snow and the cold, mountain winds.
Zero was still running around through the hellish inferno that used to be the base. As he was running down another pathway, he saw General Jo, clinging onto his wounds, limping towards his direction.
"General!" yelled Zero.
"Zero...couldn't been a better time...to...see you." replied an exhausted General Jo.
"What happened to you?" asked Zero.
"Had a one-on-one duel with Tōdō. He managed to partially slice through my arm, but I should be fine." answered General Jo.
Suddenly the wounded General kneeled down to the ground as pain started to come back to his arm.
"General, you're in no condition to be on the battlefield. Have you managed to acquire the supplies and arms?"
"Yes. We managed to break into the armory and take enough equipment to last us for a while." said General Jo as he clenched his teeth due to the pain.
"Good." said Zero.
Zero then helped General Jo walk down the pathway, where they eventually encountered some Black Army soldiers running by. They were immediately surprised by Zero and General Jo, which led to them aiming their rifles at them.
"Guys! It me Zero!"
"Zero? Sorry Zero. Been constantly encountering the Japanese all over. Can't afford to let our guard down." said the first soldier.
"General Jo, what happened to you!" yelled the second soldier.
"Private! I want you to escort General Jo as we retreat." said Zero.
"We're retreating?" asked the first soldier with confusion.
"Our goal was to retrieve supplies. We have completed our primary objective." explained Zero.
"Very well sir. But what about the secret thing the Japanese have? Have you found it?" asked the first soldier.
"Not yet, that is why I'll be staying here for a few more extra minutes as you retreat. Enemy forces have been completely bogged down and disorganized. And there are a few minutes before Hasegawa's forces return." explained Zero.
"You don't need to do that. Get one of us to do it." said the second solider.
"You're too precious to us to be lost. We are affordable to loose, but you aren't." said the first soldier.
"I thank you for your devotion and offers. But if the king does not lead, how does he expect his subordinates to follow?" asked Zero.
The soldiers looked at one another for a second before turning back to Zero.
"Very well. We'll take the General out of here and alert the others to commence with the retreat." said the first soldier.
"I'll be back within five minutes. If I am not back within that time, leave the area immediately and do not worry about me. Loosing me would be nothing compared to staying here and getting trampled by the Japanese reinforcements." explained Zero.
The group of soldiers then saluted Zero before escorting General Jo to safety.
"Zero..." whispered General Jo.
Zero then turned back and leaned his head towards the General's head.
"Please return safely!" whispered General Jo.
"Of course General." replied Zero as he ran of to quickly find the warehouse containing the secret object.
Embers were flying in the smoky air as burning buildings were collapsing like a house of cards. Sometimes pieces of the buildings fell in front of Zero, narrowly missing him. He then had to turn around and look for another pathway. He kept running and running with all the strength he had until approached a large, empty strip of land. At the end of the strip was a large warehouse, which unlike the others, wasn't near the fires and was made of mostly metal. A large, black "#7" could be seen painted on the large, sliding doors leading into the building.
"Warehouse #7. Perfect." thought Zero as he approached the building.
As he approached the large doors, he noticed the door was unlocked and slightly opened. He also saw footprints leading from the doorway to the surrounding area.
"Whoever was working in here probably fled the area upon hearing about the attack, and forgot to lock the door in the process." thought Zero.
Zero pulled the cold, metal door, which easily slid towards the other side. To ensure nobody would notice him, he proceeded to slide the door close from the inside.
The interior of the warehouse was dark and only little outside light managed to get through via some small cracks. No being able to fully see anything, Zero looked around for a source of light. He then stumbled upon a large generator, which was full of fuel and connected to some wires. Zero started the generator, resulting in a large humming noise to be emitted. Instantly the lights hanging from the ceiling lit up and illuminated the whole room. Zero looked at the center of the room and was amazed by what the British gave to the Japanese.
"Whoa! This is truly something!" said Zero.
In the middle of the room was a large metal-framed, monoplane. The propeller was sticking up in the air as the plane was resting on it's two wheels. It's large wings extended from both sides of the aircraft while the rudder pointed upward at the back. Since it wasn't painted yet, the plane simply had a silvery, metallic look. The plane also had a pair of machine guns positioned in front of the open cockpit.
A ladder had been placed right next to the plane so that one could access the cockpit. Zero immediately climbed up the ladder and saw some folders left in the cockpit.
"PROJECT SHINKIRŌ: TOP SECRET" said the folder. Zero proceeded to open the folder, which was full of schematics of the plane along with it's developmental history.
"Hmmm. It seems the British combined the qualities of the Sopwith Camel, such as it's engine and weaponry, with German schematics on metal aircraft and structural design recently received by Britain via spies and informants. Due to the metal framework and the concern with stability of the overall structure, the British made this prototype codenamed GAWAIN. However, the recent war drained the British economy to the point that they had to sell the project in order to avoid going further into debt. And it seems the Japanese were willing to buy it of their hands. Still, it's interesting they named this plane Gawain first and then Shinkirō. So many connections with my the world I..." thought Zero.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps and people talking could be heard outside. Zero quickly carefully listened to see who it was.
"My Lord. How are..." said a voice.
"NOT NOW! IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, THIS WHOLE BASE IS A PILE OF SMOLDERING DEBRIS! WHERE'S TŌDŌ! I WANT TO HAVE A WORD WITH HIM!" yelled a second voice that was clearly Hasegawa's.
"Nobody has seen him for the past hour my Lord. We're still assessing the situation at the moment." said the voice.
"Well here's my assessment! The Black Army is currently retreating! I want all forces to maintain their positions defending the perimeter. Do not advance unless I give the order. I won't let Zero activate one of his little traps again. Meanwhile I want all other troops to help the wounded. Also find Tōdō and tell him to report to me as soon as possible! Do I make myself clear?!" yelled Hasegawa.
"Yes my Lord!" a few voices said simultaneously.
Zero could then tell Hasegawa along with some other troops were leaving the area due to his voice become fainter and fainter.
"Not good at all. I'm stuck here if the Hasegawa has forces deployed all around the perimeter. What the hell do I do? Should I geass them? No, that wouldn't work. Even though I could geass a few of them, I wouldn't be able to geass all of them at once. They would probably swarm me before I had a chance to react. And I have to get out of this area quickly because of its value. Though my King is currently in check , it's still not checkmate. But how do I..." thought Zero until he came up with an idea.
"Man it's cold and hot here." said one of the Japanese soldiers standing near Warehouse #7.
"I know. The Black Army really set this place ablaze." replied the second soldier.
"I mean look at all the walls of fire erupting everywhere. There's no doubt the Viceroy and the Shinigami are really going to have a big fight over this." the first soldier said.
Suddenly the sound of a large engine started echoing through the air.
"What's that sound?" asked the first soldier
"It sounds like a large fly." said the second soldier.
Both of them then looked towards Warehouse #7 as the sound got louder and louder.
"It's coming from in there." said the first soldier.
The soldier then instructed other nearby soldiers to carefully approach the warehouse door. As the other soldiers had their rifles aimed in case of any surprises, the Japanese soldier who first initially heard it approached the door and swung it open with all the strength he had.
"WHO'S THERE!" yelled the soldier.
"DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH!" could be heard as bullets mowed down the soldier. The other soldiers surrounding the doorway suddenly stepped back upon seeing what happened to their comrade. They then re-aimed their guns at whatever was shooting at them. Suddenly Zero, driving the prototype plane while wearing a leather helmet and goggles he found in the cockpit, was seen speeding towards the crowd of soldiers in front of him.
Some of the soldiers fled while others tried to shooting at Zero and the plane. Since it was mostly metal, the bullets simply ricocheted off the plane. Zero pressed the trigger again in order to machine gun any soldiers in his way.
The plane kept accelerating faster as it traveled down the long, empty, strip of land while the propeller was spinning so fast all one could see was a blur.
"Ok I think I got a handle on all the controls. Rudder, throttle, fuel gauge, speedometer." said Zero as he gripped the control stick in front of him.
As the plane was reaching the end of the empty strip of land, Zero pulled the control stick back, causing the plane to lift into the air. As it started flying upwards, the plane narrowly missed a large flame towering in the air. Zero then pushed the control stick forward to level the plane. He looked over edge of the cockpit and saw vast snow-covered forests all over along with a black cloud of smoke being emitted from where the base used to be.
Sparks from ricocheting bullets could be seen as soldiers down below were aiming at the plane. Deciding to see the potential of this new weapon, Zero turned the plane around and proceeded to slightly dive down. As the plane was diving downward, Zero activated the machine guns, which sprayed a stream of bullets in from of the plane. Soldiers attempting to shoot down the plane or flee were instantly killed. Before the plane would crash in the ground, Zero pulled the control stick once more to cause the plane to instantly fly upward once more.
Hasegawa and the soldiers following him found bruised and bleeding Tōdō commanding whatever was left of his men.
"Well the Shinigami not only can't catch a train, but he can't he guard his post!" yelled Hasegawa.
"The Black Army launched a surprise attack on us. It can happen to anyone, even the best commanders." said Tōdō.
"Well it happened to us! And I'm going to get the fall for YOUR incompetence!" yelled Hasegawa.
Suddenly Hasegawa, Tōdō, and the others heard a plane fly over them. They immediately looked up and saw it.
"My Lord, there are reports that a plane is shooting at us without hesitation. We concluded it's probably the Black Army." said a soldier who just arrived.
"Plane huh. Because that plane looks really similar to ours. Maybe some who lacked competence should've kept his guard up." replied Tōdō.
"It was your job to defend the base! It was your...!" yelled Hasegawa before he stopped mid-sentence. "You know what, I'll deal with you later. We need to take that plane down."
"Are you sure about that? We put a lot of money and effort into it." said one of the soldiers.
"I'd rather see that thing as scrap metal than to see it in the hands of the Black Army!" replied Hasegawa. "Get whatever machine guns we have and shoot it down!"
"Yes my Lord!" everyone said before retrieving the machine guns.
Once the machine guns were placed and aimed upwards, the gunners waited until the plane was in their sight.
"FIRE!" yelled one of the officers. The sound of machine guns filled the air to the point that all other noises were inaudible.
Zero was flying around trying to get the plane to safety until he heard machine guns firing below him.
"DING-DANG-DONG-DING!" could repeatedly be heard as bullets ricocheted off the plane. A few bullets then managed to pierce the aircraft's metal coating. Realizing the situation was dire since he would be dead if the bullet managed to hit a sensitive part of the plane, Zero pulled the control stick as far as he could in order for the plane to climb upwards. He looked behind and saw the distance between him and the ground increase while the winter air hit his face.
The plane then climbed high enough that it passed through the gray clouds. Zero could see moisture build up on his goggles, forcing him to periodically rub them. Eventually the plane managed to pass through the clouds, and Zero found himself flying below a blue, sunny sky. The air was freezing beyond anything he had ever felt before however.
"Well I managed to get their secret, escape with my life, and complete the mission's prime objective. Now all I have to do is to return to the others and..." thought Zero until it occurred to him.
The plane was above clouds, meaning the only thing Zero could see were clouds below him, along with some mountain peaks in the distance. Otherwise, Zero had no idea which direction to go in order to find the area containing the rendezvous point. Though the plane had a compass built into it, the compass did no good since Zero didn't have a map and couldn't at the moment go below the clouds and risk himself being exposed to the enemy.
Zero then decided that he would fly the plane for a little bit until he was out of the general area. Then he would go back below the clouds and find a spot to secretly land and potentially make contact with the Black Army.
The plane then continued soaring above the clouds as Zero planned his next plan.
Author's Notes: Well the secret object the Japanese received was revealed. For people who guessed it was planes, you were right. I chose planes because I think they'll fit well as placeholders for Knightmare Frames. That's why the plane Zero took was originally called Gawain before being renamed to Shinkirō.
By the way, the sword duel between Todo and Jo was modeled on Knightmare Frame battle scenes.
Also if anyone is wondering how Lelouch/Zero managed to learn how to drive a plane quickly, remember, he did learn how to pilot the Gawain with no problem when he initially stole it. I can assume he would have no difficulty here.
For future chapters, I plan to introduce more planes, and potentially aerial dogfights reminiscent of the large-scale Knightmare Frame battles that occur in the air.
As for next chapter, it will deal with Zero landing his plane somewhere in the mountainous region. He will encounter another Korean resistance organization as well, resulting in Zero trying to convince them to fight for the Black Army. The leader of this organization will also be reminiscent of a classic Code Geass character.