Isaac stopped short of the bridge and set Nimi on the ground.
"What's wrong, Liebling?" Nimi asked.
"It's nothing. I'm just a bit tired after all that. Odin, you have command. Keep the town under our control and make sure the prisoners don't try anything stupid. If they do, execute them." Isaac said sharply.
"Oh... alright, Kommandant. Have a good rest." Odin said as she and Norfolk helped Nimi up the steps onto the bridge.
Isaac walked slowly back to his room, barely getting through the door before falling back against the door.
"I don't feel too good." Isaac said softly as he slowly stripped his clothes off, making his way slowly to the bathroom.
"That was a bit intense. I didn't know he had it in him." Texas said.
"What do you mean?" Odin asked.
"I showed everyone here some of the parts of what occurred, all at their request." Norfolk said.
"It was a bit more than intense. It was hot in there. I feel like I need to hose myself down after all that." Odin said.
"Is the commander doing alright? I don't see him here." Bremerton said.
"Isaac said he was tired. He went to his room." Odin said.
"I can't help but feel like he isn't feeling like himself." Bremerton said.
"What do you mean?" Odin asked.
"I mean, watching the footage, that is not the confident man we all know my husband to be. His usual stance is missing." Friedrich said. Bremerton nodded with her assessment.
"I mean, it isn't every day that you torture your enemy, especially one that murdered one of your lovers." Odin said.
"And if that were the long and short of it, I wouldn't have said anything. But the fact that he, without reason or explanation, handed command to you and went to be alone? That is not something he does. He has never done that without a very specific reason." Friedrich said.
"You know... now that you mention it, you're absolutely right. I have never once been put in command like that before." Odin said as Nimi stood behind her holding her fish.
"Are you okay, Nimi?" Norfolk asked.
"I... I think I'm going to go and check on him. Liebling isn't like that. He isn't usually someone who enjoys torture or anything of the sort. He is a kind man." Nimi said as her fish wriggled a bit in her grasp.
"Do you want me to come with?" Norfolk asked.
Nimi shook her head.
"I have Isa." Nimi said softly.
"Isa?" Friedrich asked.
"This." Nimi said as she presented her fish for everyone to see.
"You named it Isa?" Friedrich asked.
"It is nice, calm, and always with me. Just like my Liebling." Nimi said as the fish swam around her.
"So... you gave it a mind of it's own?" Norfolk asked as Nimi nodded.
"It keeps me calm around groups like this... it makes me feel like Liebling is right here with me." Nimi said softly.
"You weren't afraid of groups before." Friedrich said as she knelt down next to Nimi.
"I also didn't die before... I know how I used to be... but I just get this awful feeling whenever I get near a bunch of people or just people i don't fully trust. I find myself wanting to curl into a ball and sit alone or with Liebling or Isa." Nimi said as she looked at Friedrich.
"When you put it that way... I guess I can't argue with you, my child." Friedrich said as she gently pulled Nimi into a hug, one that Nimi did not fight.
"If that's all you want after coming back from the dead, I can't argue with it either. After all, from what I heard, your death wasn't pretty." Texas said, doing her best to sound empathetic.
"I'm glad Oceana was taken care of... but with my limited knowledge of the mind, I am scared to see how the commander is handling it." Bremerton said.
"Yeah... I'm worried that he left to be alone so suddenly. I'm going to go and check on him." Nimi said softly as she and Isa quickly made their way down the hallway.
"One of us need to be with him at all times." Fredrich said.
"Now there is no need to be hasty. Maybe he is just tired. Six hours in that room is making me tired too." Odin said.
"I don't buy it. My husband can outlast me. He left me unable to walk for several hours after the fact. He has more than enough stamina to get through six hours of just heat. From the footage, he wasn't even doing most of it. His voice was heard asking the questions in between the torture techniques, but other than the final bullet, there wasn't much he did. He can't be that tired." Friedrich said.
"I don't know him as well as Friedrich, but that makes sense. I've seen Friedrich fight. And she just does not quit. If he can outlast THAT, this should have been a piece of cake in terms of physical ability. I think this did more harm than good for him." Bremerton said.
"What do you mean?" Odin asked.
"Maybe I can answer that." Alice said as she walked onto the bridge.
"Nurse Alice. When did you get here?" Norfolk asked.
"I was looking for Isaac. I came up here about the time that Nimi left the bridge." Alice said.
"What were you saying about Isaac?" Norfolk asked as the girls listened intently.
"Well, as a nurse, my knowledge is rudimentary at best, but despite the fact that Isaac ordered this and seemed to want this, sometimes we humans don't truly know what we want. I don't understand what all he did, and I am not sure I want to. But I know he wanted Oceana to feel his pain. But I think that if he is reacting like this directly after, things must have gotten outside the scope of what he had envisioned. Seeing things like that, especially if not properly prepared... could lead to PTSD or worse." Alice said.
"PTSD?" Fredrich asked.
"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Seeing what he did on the fly can be a very traumatic experience, on par with what he saw the day Nimi died. His body might be experiencing the same things he felt the day she died, which means he could possibly be blacked out wherever he is currently and have no idea what is going on." Alice said as Odin and the others looked at each other fearfully.
"Sweep the whole ship, top to bottom. Norfolk cant be everywhere at once now so we need to be quick and thorough." Odin ordered. The girls all nodded as they spread out from the bridge and began sweeping the boat.
"Liebling?" Nimi asked softly as she knocked on the door of his room. She tried the door but found it locked.
"Liebling please open the door. It's Z-23." Nimi said softly.
Once again, no response.
"Liebling... I'm coming in." Nimi said as Isa seemed to grow bigger, making itself less of a pet and more akin to her rigging. The guns on it's back fired and shot through the door's lock, allowing Nimi to walk inside.
"I'm sorry... I'll fix it later." Nimi said softly as she looked around the room. She went to the bed and looked but did not find him there.
"Liebling?" Nimi called, growing more worried as her voice echoes throughout the room. It was at this moment that she heard the shower running in the bathroom.
"Oh no." She whispered as she crept closer to the door, opening it and feeling a slight chill, realizing that the shower was putting out cold water.
"Liebling?" Nimi asked as she looked around the bathroom before swallowing audibly. She pulled back the curtain of the shower to find Isaac sitting with his knees to his chest. His lips were blue and his skin had lost most of it's color due to the cold water running over him. Nimi acted quickly and turned on the hot water, tossing her outfit aside as she pried his knees from his chest and settled in, allowing her body heat to warm his heat starved body.
"Since you didn't answer, I'm guessing you can't hear me... but I'm here. Just like you were there for me, I'll be here for you." Nimi said as the warm water flowed down their bodies. After a while, Nimi began to feel the chill leave Isaac's body as his skin began to take on his usual hue. He was still unresponsive but Nimi felt better knowing that he wasn't freezing cold.
"Isaac!" Alice's voice came from the hall.
"In here!" Nimi spoke loudly as Alice made her way into the room.
"Did you find him, Nimi?" Alice asked.
"Yes. He was just sitting her. His lips were blue and he was cold to the touch from sitting in a cold shower. I don't know how long he has been here." Nimi said as Alice looked into the bathroom and saw Nimi pressed against Isaac to keep him warm.
"Let's get him out of there and into some warm clothes. He might still be chilled internally, which can't be good." Alice said as Nimi nodded, slowly turning off the water and wrapping Isaac in a warm towel.
"I can't lift him." Nimi said as Alice nodded.
"I can't either. He is quite dense for his size." Alice said as Friedrich and Odin made their way into the bedroom.
"Did you find him?" Odin asked.
"It was as we feared. He is completely unresponsive to any stimulation. Nimi said he was chilled through from a cold shower. Even if he hadn't blacked out right away, the fact that he drew a cold shower after something like that has to mean something." Alice said.
"Why is that?" Odin asked.
"As his nurse, I can tell you he likes water that is borderline boiling for his normal showers. He has never once in my time of knowing him, either back in the hospital or on this journey, had a cold shower willingly. That alone is cause for concern regarding his mental state." Alice said.
"He can't catch a break, huh?" Odin said, trying to lighten the mood.
"We need to find a way to keep him warm. His body is cooling down again since the hot water has been shut off. If he is chilled internally, he could get very sick." Alice said.
"Nimi and I will stay with him." Friedrich said.
"I will as well. I trust Perkins enough to leave him in charge until we sort this out." Odin said as the other two looked at her.
"Are you sure?" Friedrich asked as Odin showed her hand.
"I am the same as you. I care for him much more than just being my Kommandant." Odin said, earning a nod from Nimi and Friedrich alike.
"We need to get him into bed and warmed up. Once he becomes responsive, we can begin working out how to help him. He is fighting a battle that nobody should fight alone." Alice said as the girls all nodded. Odin and Friedrich walked over to Isaac and lifted him, throwing his arms over their shoulders as Nimi wrapped a towel around his waist to keep his body covered.
"How are we going to keep him warm? The covers on the bed will only do so much." Alice said.
The girls looked at each other and nodded as they all walked Isaac over to the bed and positioned themselves in such a way that he would be enveloped on 3 sides by their body heat.
"I believe that it is the duty of the wife to help her husband in a time of need. This kills two birds with one stone. He will be constantly monitored and will be kept at the right temperature to keep him from getting sick until he comes to." Friedrich said as Nimi and Odin both nodded.
Alice looked at them and shook her head.
"He has to be the luckiest man alive. I know plenty of men that would kill to be in that position." Alice said.
"Well... he HAS killed to get here, so I believe it is warranted." Odin said as she kept Isaac's arm held tightly to her body.
"And he is very lucky. I'm sure you would agree that any normal man would have been killed by now." Nimi said softly as his other arm was secured to her chest.
"I think we happen to be the lucky ones. To think that this man has taken the world on his back, like Atlas, and yet cares for us as if we were nothing more than family. He treats us well, and with an unmatched kindness that we could never have gotten from our own country. So I count myself lucky to wear the ring he gave me." Friedrich said as Isaac's head rested softly on her chest, allowing her body to warm his core.
The other girls nodded, resting their fingers on the rings on their hands.
"I guess I can leave you four be then. Please call for me when he comes around." Alice said as the girls nodded, sending her away with a wave.
"We are here, Liebling. You don't have to face this alone." Nimi said as she rested her hand on his cheek.
"You are not alone, Dear husband." Friedrich said as she rested her hand in his hair, gently petting him the entire time.
"We will help you beat this, just like any other battle." Odin said softly as she hesitantly placed her hand on his chest.
Isaac remained unresponsive aside from his eyes shutting fully, allowing himself to drift off to sleep in the arms of his three Ironblood lovers.