Ch. 25: The Other Resistance
Somewhere above the South Hamgyŏng Province
Zero continued soaring through the sky in the plane he had just stolen from the Japanese. He eventually took the plane down to a lower altitude once he believed he was far away enough from the base. Moisture accumulated on the metal surface of the plane as it went through the clouds once more. As he descended, the ground below him started to become more visible. Mountains and forests miles away could be seen as the plan continued soaring through the sky.
It was then Zero saw an area within the large forests below him that was sparsely filled with trees. Seeing that this was probably his best shot for a potential landing, Zero carefully turned the plane around and aimed it downward slightly. As the plane's nose was being aimed carefully, Zero slowly leveled the plane so it was parallel to the ground below him.
"Careful. Careful. Almost there." thought Zero as he was trying to land the plane safely.
The wheels of the plane momentarily bounced off the ground as the plane was landing. It then bounced some more as Zero slowly turned the engine off. As a result, the plane's speed started to decrease. However, during the landing process, the plane ran into some of the trees littering the area. Zero braced himself as the plane made impact upon the ground and into the trees. Some of the trees were easily uprooted from the incoming aircraft while some simply tore off pieces of the plane's structure.
"CREEEEK...DINK...ERRRR...DONK" could be heard as pieces of the plane were being ripped off by the passing trees. Zero looked back and saw that parts of the tail and wings had been bent or torn off.
As the plane came to a complete stop, the humming of the engine and the spinning propeller started to slow down. Once everything was not moving, Zero got out of his seat and climbed out of the cockpit.
As he carefully climbed out, he noticed the plane was heavily scratched and dented all over. Upon careful inspection, Zero also noticed pieces of the metal surface were missing.
"Wow, the plane really took a beating. But what I really should be worried about is finding civilization." thought Zero as he let go of the edge of the cockpit and landed on the snowy ground.
Zero then took off the leather helmet and lifted up the hood of the white, wool coat he was wearing. Due to the cold winds rushing pass him, Zero decided to still wear the goggles in order to protect his eyes.
Leaving the heavily damaged plane behind, Zero walked into the heavily wooded forests surrounding the area, hoping that he would find someone who could assist him. As he walked through the forest, he realized it was quiet and the only thing one could hear would be the sound of raging wind or moving trees.
Though he couldn't tell what time it was since he didn't have his pocket watch with him, he could tell that it was starting to get dark, meaning that he would have to find shelter in order to avoid freezing to death. In fact, even while wearing winter boots, Zero could feel his toes becoming slightly numb.
"HELLO! ANYONE!" yelled Zero at the top of his lungs. He then took a few breaths, which he could see due to the cold weather. "PLEASE HELP!"
With no answer, Zero continued walking through the snowy forest as the sky steadily became darker and darker.
While walking pass some large trees, a loud "CRACK!" could be heard.
"WHO'S THERE!" yelled a surprised Zero as he looked around.
Realizing it was nothing, he decided to continue on. It was then Zero heard another large crack. He immediately turned to his left and saw some snow fall off a tree branch.
"Probably some animal or something." thought Zero.
Suddenly some nearby bushes were rumbling. As a result, Zero took out his pistol and aimed it in front of him.
"WHOEVER IS THERE, I MEAN NO HARM! BUT IF YOU DO, I WILL SHOOT!" warned Zero to whomever might be out there.
A loud "BANG!" echoed through the air and within a second the pistol Zero was holding flew out of his hand.
"WHAT THE...!" yelled a stunned Zero.
Surprised by what had occurred, he immediately went to pick up his gun when he realized it had a bullet lodged into it.
"Impossible. For a bullet to hit such a small target in this kind of environment is beyond comprehension. Besides, the decreasing sunlight and the wind would affect a shooter's visibility and aim significantly." thought Zero as he tried to comprehend what had just occurred.
His train of thought was instantly shattered when the sound of footsteps could be heard behind him. A man carrying a rifle and wearing a fur cap along with cheaply-made winter coats and boots tackled Zero from behind.
Zero was instantly knocked onto the ground and immediately tried to get back up. However, the man who had just tackled him punch him in the face. Now dazed and confused by the punch, the man turned Zero so he was face first in the snow. The feeling of icy needles could be felt piercing his skin as his face made contact with the snow.
The man then took out a piece of rope and bound Zero's hands behind his back. Once he was done tying, he lifted Zero back up by grabbing onto the hood of his jacket. Zero momentarily was choking as he was being lifted rigorously.
"ALRIGHT! HE'S DISARMED AND BOUND!" yelled the man whom Zero realized was Korean.
Suddenly a bunch of other similarly dressed individuals, each one armed with either rifles or knives, came out of their hiding spots as the man kept Zero in his grasp.
Another individual, this one wearing a large cap that almost covered their whole head along with a furry, red scarf around their neck so that it covered most of their face, jumped out of one of the nearby trees. Zero then realized the individual was carrying what appeared to be a sniper rifle.
"So that explains the shot I hear earlier. He must be a good shooter if he managed to make that shot." thought Zero as he tried to escape without success.
The sniper then walked up to Zero and pulled down his hood.
"So it seems we got a foreigner wandering around these parts." said the sniper with a muffled voice.
"And foreigners aren't usually here for peaceful reasons." said the man holding Zero.
"So what do we do with him?" asked one of the other armed individuals.
"Hmmm...blindfold him and take him back to home base. We can interview there." said the sniper.
"WAIT! Who do you think I am? Why are you..." yelled Zero until someone gagged him.
Unable to speak, Zero tried everything he could to get out of the situation, but nothing worked. He was suddenly blinded when his captors tied a blindfold around him.
As he was being escorted away from the area, Zero, using all the strength he had, tried to break free from the grip of the man holding him from behind.
"Almost there..." thought Zero as he could feel his bound wrists slipping out of the man's grip.
"WHY YOU!" yelled a second a man.
Suddenly Zero felt something hitting him in the head. A sharp pain could be felt as he felt everything around him getting dimmer and dimmer. The voices around him also started to fade away as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
Zero slowly opened his eyes and saw he was inside a dark room. He proceeded to feel around in order to get his bearings and realized he the ground was made of cement. His rubbed the back of his head where he was hit before, which caused a painful shock to be felt.
"ARRRGH!" yelled Zero as he fell back onto the cold cement floor.
Suddenly a burst of light appeared, which caused Zero to cover his eyes due to them not being adjusted. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a figure standing in front of an open door. Zero then saw a bright fire burning in an open furnace behind the figure, explaining the bright light that he just saw. Zero then looked around the room he was in and saw brick walls encasing the room. He looked above and saw the ceiling was made of old planks of wood.
"Where am I?" asked Zero. It was then Zero saw that his jacket was apparently forcefully unbuttoned and his pants had smudges of dirt on it.
"You're currently being detained at our hideout. Now, our leader is going to want to know about your spy ring." said the figure, who was a man wearing similar clothes to the ones Zero saw before.
"Wait a minute...spy ring?!" asked a stunned Zero. "What makes you think that?!"
"We searched you while you were unconscious and found papers and maps showing Japanese military bases, lines of communications, internal networks, and so on. And the only person who could have such a gold mine of info would have to be a Japanese spy." explained the man.
"Just listen to me!" yelled Zero. "I'm not with the Japanese. I'm fighting against them, which is why I got that info!"
"So I should believe a foreigner who just happens to get his hands on top secret Japanese information is actually working with us? I'm sorry but I don't buy it. Besides, if you are fighting the Japanese, for whom do you work for?" asked the man sarcastically.
"Look at my uniform!" said Zero as he pointed to the insignia sewn onto his jacket. "I'm from the Black Army. I'm Zero, the leader and founder of the organization. You probably have heard about me."
"So you're Zero, the Man who Makes Miracles?" asked the man. The man then started laughing to himself.
"I'm serious!" responded Zero. "And those papers are needed for me to plan my next move!"
"We've heard about Zero no doubt about it, but you, a Westerner like you being the symbol of the Korean resistance? It just cracks me up! Like we said before, foreigners aren't usually seen around here, and the ones that do appear aren't usually here for good intentions." said the man.
"I can prove it to you. Just get me to the nearest communication device and I can contact my allies." explained Zero.
"You mean contact the Japanese authorities. No can do. Besides, I have been instructed to keep you here until our leader comes back."
"Trust me I'm not a spy! Just give me back my papers and get me to a telegraph or..." yelled Zero as he approached the man.
The man instantly pushed Zero to the ground causing a loud "THUMP!" to be heard as Zero's body made contact with the floor. Trying to think of a way to get out as soon as possible, Zero then decided he had no choice but to use his geass. He quickly took the contacts out of his eyes and activated his geass.
"Wait, what are you doing...!?" yelled the man as he was bracing himself to whatever was about to come his way. Suddenly a red, bird-like sigil appeared and seemed to be flying towards him. Once it hit him, his eyes started glowing red slightly and he froze where he was awaiting his order.
"Now, where are the papers that you confiscated from me?" asked Zero.
"I do not know. However, I do know that the papers were given to our leader." responded the geassed man.
"Very well...I also want you let me out, give me your pistol, and resume with your duties." said Zero before he put his contacts back on his eyes.
"Understood." said the man as he gave Zero his pistol and went back to sitting in a chair in front of the open furnace.
Zero then proceeded to exit the small room and found himself in what appeared to be a large cellar. Many empty, wooden shelves lined the cellar's brick walls along with many dusty boxes covered in cobwebs. Besides the furnace burning in the corner of the room, the only source of lighting came from a few lanterns hanging above.
With the man sitting on front of the fire and not paying attention due to the effects of geass, Zero walked towards the wooden staircase leading to the upper floor. As he stepped on the first step, a loud creaking sound was heard. More creaking sounds were heard as Zero proceeded to walk up the stairs.
"So their leader knows where those papers are. That sniper from earlier has to be the one he was talking about due to the fact they were asking for his orders. Now I just have to find out where I am and where he is." Zero thought.
Carefully nudging the door forward at the top of the stairs, Zero peeked his head outside slightly to make sure there was nobody around. With nobody in sight, Zero opened the door and entered a dusty hallway. Keeping his pistol close to him, Zero carefully walked down the hallway, which surprisingly was lit up by small lightbulbs lining the ceiling. He also noticed the hallway looked very Western, with a dusty carpet lining the floor along with ornate woodwork engraved into the wooden walls.
"Strange, this place is pretty ornate despite it looking dilapidated and in need of repair." thought Zero as he quietly passed various European-style paintings hanging on the wall.
Zero then reached a wooden door at the end of the hall and held up his pistol. He turned the dusty door handle and gave the door a slight push. Aiming his gun forward as he entered, Zero walked into what appeared to be a drawing room.
Expensive looking tables, chairs, and couches covered in dust and cobwebs were in the room, along with a broken piano. The drawing room was also lit up by an old glass chandelier hanging in the center of the room. Some of the lightbulbs were apparently really old since the lights flickered a lot. Apparently the room used to have large windows, but it seemed someone had boarded up the spot where the windows used to be.
Zero then proceeded walking through another door and he found himself inside what appeared to be a foyer. Like the rest of the rooms, the foyer looked like it had been abandoned and not been taken care of. The stone walls were covered in stains while the wooden railings of the stairs were partially broken. The large mirror hanging nearby was covered in so much dust that one could not see their reflection in it. Pieces of what appeared to be a glass chandelier were scattered all over the floor, meaning the room had to be lit up by lanterns and candles. The windows frames in the foyer were boarded up also.
Zero suddenly turned to his left and saw a pair of ornate, wooden doors. As he was walking towards them, Zero noticed a bright light coming from a keyhole in a nearby door. Wanting to see what in the room, Zero walked to he door, kneeled down, and looked through. Inside were some armed men huddling for warmth around a fireplace.
"KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!" could be heard echoing throughout the whole foyer.
"Back sooner than expected." said one of the men sitting near the fire.
Zero suddenly saw them get up and walk towards the door he was looking through. Seeing a nearby stone statue that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages, Zero quickly ran behind it and hid before the men entered the foyer.
Once in the foyer, Zero saw half of the armed men aim their guns toward the door while another man walked up to the door.
"Password?" asked the man.
"Gojoseon." said a muffled voice.
The man then unlocked the door while the other men lowered their arms. Zero then saw the sniper from earlier entering the foyer. The sniper, like before, was wearing a large cap covering most of their head along with a red scarf covering most of their face.
"How was your trip? Did you find anything?" asked the man at the door.
"Nothing useful at least." said the sniper with a muffled voice. "Those papers I took from that spy we captured haven't helped us one bit."
"Perhaps their fake plans, purposely left by the Japanese for us to find." suggested one of the other men.
"So are you ready to interrogate them now?" asked the first man.
"Yes, after I take care of my usual business." said the muffled sniper.
"Of course." said the first man as he nodded his head.
The sniper walked down an adjacent hallway while the other men went back to warming up around the fireplace in the other room. Once the foyer was empty, Zero came out of his hiding spot and quietly ran to the hallway the sniper walked through. At the end of the hallway, Zero saw the sniper turning around a corner. Wanting to catch up with the sniper so he could find out where his papers were, Zero ran to the corner of the hallway and took a quick peek around the corner.
Zero could see the sniper opening a door and entering a room, which was followed by the sound of the door closing.
"Got you cornered now..." thought Zero as gripped his gun and quietly approached the room that the sniper had just entered.
With his back against the wall next to the door, Zero turned the door handle quietly, pushed the door open, and entered the room. Inside the room was a cheaply made bed, which looked like a bag full of straw and hay along with a small closet. The room was lit by one lightbulb dangling from a wire popping through the ceiling.
Zero was for a second confused since the room had no other exits and the sniper could not be found. It was then he noticed another door in the room. As he approached it, he passed by the sniper's large cap, red scarf, and jacket hanging on a hook in the wall. He then heard some noises coming from the other side of the door. He couldn't tell what it was, but he was sure the sniper was right on the other side.
"Now I got you." Zero thought as he aimed his gun forward and placed his hand on the door handle. Zero counted backwards from 10 and when he reached 0, he turned the handle, swung the door open, and immediately aimed his gun.
"ALRIGHT WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY...!" yelled Zero as he was preparing to shoot if necessary.
However, Zero instantly stopped talking upon seeing what was in front of him. Inside the room was a Korean girl with long, dark hair, whose back was facing Zero, showering under a stream of warm water. Upon hearing Zero's intrusion, she turned quickly turned around and faced Zero directly with a surprised look.
Both of them suddenly for a second or so stared at one another in silence.
"Pa...pa...papers." stuttered Zero as he stared at the unclothed girl standing under a stream of water.
Zero then lowered his face slightly and immediately blushed at what he saw.
"WHY YOU JAPANESE SPYING PIG!" yelled the girl as she punched the flustered Zero right in the cheek while also trying to cover herself.
The punch was so powerful that Zero slightly flew backwards.
"Why...do...these...kind of...things...happen...to...me?" thought Zero as he once again started to loose consciousness as he fell to the floor.
Author's Note: Well Zero has been captured by another resistance organization led by a female sniper whose marksmanship is unheard of. She is obviously based on one classic Code Geass character. If you can't immediately tell, just look at her abilities, the color of her scarf, and the encounter between her and Zero at the end of the chapter.
Personally I thought the way in which I revealed the sniper was a girl was hilarious. I also just had to have Zero say "why do these things happen to me" since he was caught in a similar, awkward situation.
Next chapter I'll go more in depth on who this mysterious girl is, her background, and why exactly is she fighting. I'll also depict the Black Army's response to Zero's absence.
Hope you liked this chapter. And please review if you can.