"Irish, come on!"
Explosions rang all over the base, followed by the downpour of crushing water. Various screams flitted in and out only to be followed by dead silence as more water rushed in. The base was going down and fast.
"I'm doing my best!" Irish grimaced as his left arm gave another barrage of pain. It was broken, long ago crushed by the IS they had fought against. His entire body was also covered in numerous bruises and cuts, most of which were thankfully hidden by the full body suit.
Still, it did little to stop the blood coming from his mouth. No doubt he was internally bleeding due to the pressure.
"Well try harder!" Tatenashi grabbed his right arm and slung it over her shoulder, "We need to get out of here before this entire place blows up and we're not going to get there if you're going to be so slow!"
Her voice sounded uncharacteristically tense. Maybe it had something to do with her IS being disabled? Were the situation less dire, he might have found this odd or intriguing. Right now he couldn't care less.
Irish nodded mutely and quickened his pace, doing his best to ignore the crushing water and the all encompassing sounds of his own heartbeat. It was odd. He had long ago accepted that he was going to die, that his time was limited and that he wouldn't last long. This allowed him to do things that most people would consider suicidal or dangerously idiotic.
So why was his heart beating so fast and his breath ragged? What made this situation different from every other time where he was uncaring if he was killed?
He idly glanced at the face of his partner. This was the first time they'd directly fought together like this. Usually she would engage the enemy head on while he hid and did his best with his tech skills. That might have explained why he was currently nursing a broken arm and numerous cuts on his bodies.
The rest of the walk was silent, save for the sounds of water and muffled screams. The hallways seemed endless, with numerous turns and various twists that made him think they were going around in circles. Irish had began to lose all hope for any escape till they fianlly reached the end of it.
A large circular sub with a hollow interior sat at the end of the long hallway. The area around it was oddly empty, devoid of even bodies or corpses. It was most probably that anybody making their way here had died before they could make it. Irish could barely make out the small computer situated next to the door. They needed to activate it to get out.
"Finally!" Tatenashi smiled and gently removed Irish's arm, placing him against the wall gently, "This should let us get out of here," She started tapping the console next to it, "Looks like this is a storage pod for IS and equalizer prototypes. Might be a cramp fit, but we should be able to get out of here with it."
Irish nodded absently. His vision was beginning to blur and it became harder and harder to keep himself awake and upright. He was pretty sure it was only the constant pain of his body that kept him conscious at this point.
It was so tempting to sleep, to just let go and forget about all the problems. If he was asleep then at least dying would be painless. He'd just fall asleep and never wake up again...
"I got it!"
The distinct sound of whirling machinery and depressurizing air filled the room. Irish nearly gave a laugh of relief before he saw the interior.
It was filled with Machinery. Not the kind that was needed in order to allow it to float, but separate ones. He could see IS chassis, multiple equalizer parts, and even some miscellaneous things such as specialized limbs. Each of those must've weighed a ton.
There wasn't enough room for both of them. The space was cramped enough as it is, but the weight limit of the sub would be pushed if more than two people were to get inside. Removing the machinery was a possibility, but they didn't have the time or the strength to push through with it given their conditions. She was injured as well.
"Come on, we have to go!" Tatenashi stuck her hand out to him. Irish made to grab it with his, but stopped. He stared into her face, and he instantly understood. She knew that the sub holding too much weight would slow it down, but she didn't let it stop her. She was hoping beyond all reason that everything would be alright and that they would both make it out of here.
There was only one way this could end.
"..Right!" Irish nodded fiercely and grabbed her hand in his. Standing up, even with her help, was extremely taxing. Every nerve on his body protested to the action and urged him to sit back down.
"Alright, we should be able to get out of here and back to the surface," She smiled forcefully and led the way forward, "I already set the coordinates so we should be able to-"
She stopped. Just as they were about to enter the sub, Irish forcefully pulled his hand back and stepped away. Tatenashi stared at her empty hand for a moment before staring back at him, but at that point he was too late.
He pushed her. Using his remaining strength, he used his right hand and pushed her into the sub. Tatenashi fell backwards and landed on her back, looking up at the metallic ceiling. It took her only a second to realize what just happened and she quickly stood up and tried to grab him again.
It was impossible.
The clear dome entrance of the sub blocked her way. On the other side, Irish stood there with a smile on his face as he pressed the knife against the console. As a failsafe, any damage to the consoles led to the sealing and propulsion of the pods till they reached the surface.
"Irish, what are you doing!?" She smashed the glass with her fists angrily, but the clear material didn't so much as budge, "Open the door right now and get in here!"
"You know that's impossible...." Irish shook his head slowly, "There's not enough room in there for the two of us. If we both got on, then the weight limit would hit and we wouldn't be able to move. There was only one way this could end."
One of them had to die.
"No...." Tatenashi looked down, mouth open slightly and shoulders quivering, "I know there's a way for the tow of us to get out of here! Just get in the sub and-"
"The consoles broken," He gestured to the recently stabbed machine, "The emergency lockdown is in effect and there's no way for me to stop it even if I wanted to," He sighed slowly, "Just......make sure that-"
"No, don't you dare give me the last words like you're going to die!" She pounded on the glass again, "Irish, I ORDER you to open this door right now!"
She hadn't ordered him to do anything for a while now. Usually she used that phrase when she wanted to play a joke on him or she needed to do something important and needed his help.
"Please...." He could feel the sting of tears starting to spread down the sides of his face, "Make sure to tell Yamada......Mom that I'm sorry for everything. And please tell Joshua that I hope he's okay......"
No, this wasn't happening. This was all a dream and she'd wake up with everything as right as rain. They would tease and argue with each other again and he'd do his best to pretend that he was just nothing more than her partner, even if he did things that stated otherwise. Everything would be okay, right?
"And please...." He held up his right palm and pressed it against the glass softly, "...Don't forget about me. I want to know that someone remembers me."
The sounds of rushing water filled the hallway again and Irish stepped away. She could do nothing but watch as the rushing water filled her entire view and the pod jettisoned back.