Metal Gear Fox

Chapter 1

The threat was nearby is all he knew. He could feel it in his bones, and he wanted nothing more then to destroy it. These games were designed to show the potential of the recruits. A lot has been taken out of the game one way or another, and only a few were left. He had dominated the game so far. The opponents were nothing compared to me, the best of the recruits, and I was about to take out my next opponent.

The game site was huge, allowing hundreds of recruits to participate, with buildings and forest. I had started in the forest and made my way towards a building. The buildings were great for me, allowing me to use all of the close quarter combat, or CQC, techniques I have mastered. CQC was something about this line of work that I have a huge affinity for. I was amazing in every other subject as well, and was virtually unmatched by everyone in the recruits.

Kneeling at the corner of the corridor I was sneaking down, I had already taken out three people in this building alone, I slowly peered around the corner. I had sensed this new one way before I heard their footsteps, which echoed throughout the building. This person must be a complete amateur, because no one in their right mind would be so loud. There is only one possibility, and seeing the woman walk around the corner down the corridor confirmed it. She was a CQC specialist, and is planning a trap for any unsuspecting guy she finds. Unfortunately for her, I am too smart to be fooled by such a pitiful trap. Finding a hiding spot behind some pipes going up the wall, I wait for her to turn the corner. As she walked past, I stepped out and cleared my throat to announce my presence to her.

As she spun around I scanned over her noting any special interests I notice. Her eyes were searching around quickly, obviously taking in the surrounding for the upcoming battle. Her body, although pretending to be relaxed, was quite tensed and ready for to move at a moments notice. A smile spread across her face as she tries to lay on the fake charm. She wasn't fooling anybody, I could tell she was about as warm and fuzzy as a snake.

"Hello, are you lost?" I asked as I returned the fake smile. Her body seemed to loosen as she felt she had caught me in her trap. She took a step forward with what would be perceived as a seductive pose.

"Well... yes. I haven't run into anybody yet and I'm really scared" She replied, taking another step forward.

"Really? How is that possible?" I retorted innocently, while taking a less noticeable step forward.

"I don't know, I guess I was lucky."

"Hmm... too bad you're lying." I said with a whisper, as we were only less then a foot away from each other. "The dirt on your hands and the blood laced on your knife says otherwise."

We starred at each other for awhile, our bodies on edge, looking into each others eyes. I could see the killing intent in her eyes, and the slight flinch of her hand in the direction of her knife. Smirking, I nodded towards her knife, giving the go ahead. Her movements were lightning as her hand had already grabbed her knife and swinging towards me before I could finish my nod. Her eyes were wide as her knife was stopped by my own, having already grabbed it and blocked her attack with ease. The look on her face gave me the conclusion that she had become complacent with her skills. She was so used to being the best and never being challenged that she failed to get better. A mistake that soldiers do not have the liberty of taking.

"You should never underestimate you opponent." I advised as our blades pushed on one another. Her teeth clenched as my words hit her, bringing her back to what I can only assume to be the countless times she has been told that.

"Shut up! You don't know me at all!" She spat at me.

Our knives disengaged as she ducked down to do a sweeping kick. With a casual side step, I grabbed her foot mid sweep and grasped her head by the back. She reacted by swinging her knife at me, coming very close to nicking me. I would have easily been put down if I had not been so good, I blocked her knife with mine.

"How! Your hands were taken up!" She screamed in anger. Smirking, I lowered my head to her ear.

"Where they really? Maybe you should look again." I whispered. With my words she gasped. She must have realized that I had let go of her foot and was pinning it with my leg.

"Who are you!" She exclaimed, looking terrified. She must have gotten used to being the best, never being tested or challenged.

"Being like you must have been tough... Well.. Goodnight." I said as her consciousness left her.

A loud bell went off throughout the building. Looking down in surprise at the woman laying unconscious at my feet. She was the last one? I can't believe how easy this test was. I had expected to at least be out here for a day or two. How could everyone have been killed or knocked out in less then ten hours? The alarm was deafening as I started walking back towards the entrance of the building. Looking down at the knife I had grabbed off the woman's body, I noticed it was a very well made model. It was very balanced and lightweight, but very sturdy and durable. Putting the knife away, I peered across the horizon while stepping outside. It was mid-day and there was a slight breeze moving the leaves. The trees seemed to sway in harmony, as if one huge community. The birds were chirping to each other, having a huge conversation and probably laughing at the stupidity of human nature.

"Why was this so easy?" I said out loud to myself as thoughts of the past ten hours run through my mind. Each person who I took out flashed before my eyes as I remembered their surprised look at being bested. I had hoped that when I was recruited for the new Fox Hound division, that I would find people who could challenge me at a level I'm used to. The biggest threat in this whole exercise was that woman, and even then she was about a tenth of the level I am.

"It was easy because the chances of running into someone in this facility was about 85% chance in the beginning. Getting slightly lower as the test went on. As I figured there were probably about five or six elites in the recruits. As the elites took out people with ease, and the others took out each other and getting fatigued, the best all went towards the buildings. The buildings were the logical choice for survival, as you could easily set traps."

Turning around swiftly and preparing my knife for combat, I saw a woman stepping out of the trees giving me what seemed like a lecture. Looking her over, I could tell she hasn't been in any combat and she had never been knocked out in this test.

"How is the test over if there are people who haven't been eliminated?" I asked with curiosity, as this woman was obviously intelligent. Everything about her radiated with superiority and intellect. I was genuinely impressed by her first impression.

She smirked and walked towards me getting pretty close and looking me over. "You are one of the elites I see. Everything about you from your eyes to your movements gives away your skill. You should really work on that."

Dumbfounded by being put in my place, I couldn't help but laugh at her audacity. Leaning closer and staring into her eyes, "You are entering dangerous territory." We stayed that way for quite awhile, testing each other out and judging the other in our minds.

"It's all true." She said without flinching. I backed off and laughed again. I really like her I realized. She is obviously one of those elites she was talking about earlier, and I couldn't help but wonder how great she really is.

We walked back to the rendezvous spot designated by the testers to see our results. She explained to me that the test wasn't to the last man standing, but to when the testers believe they have seen enough of everyone's skill. This made quite a bit of sense as I listened to her talk about how she figured out everything about the first test. Her words were confident and strong. Unwavering, not thinking for a second that she could be wrong. She was either too cocky about her intelligence, or she really was the smartest person on earth.

Listening to every word that escaped her lips as we walked through the dense forest. The ground moist and unstable to stand on. I knew that a key part of being the best is to never dismiss anything that could make you better, and listening to this woman's thoughts was a definite way of improving myself. I decided at that moment that I would have her on my team in future tests, giving me a huge advantage over the competition.

Her name was Shelby, with long brown hair and eyes to match. Her skin looked delicate on her small frame. Glasses sitting on her nose, that slide down quite frequently. I had not seen her in the crowd of recruits when we first arrived, but according to her she had already sorted out the elites in the group. Her observational skills were astonishing I thought, as she explained the process of sorting out the best from a crowd without and tests to show ability.

She stopped suddenly, looking down at then ground for a second while I turned around, then peering at me, "Would you like to team up for the next test?"

"How do you know that the next test will involve teams?" I questioned.

"Well, it's the logical choice for a second test. After seeing everyone act as individuals, the testers will most likely want to see how people who were enemies just a short while ago, act when asked to make teams and trust those people. Based on their actions, the company psychologists will most likely be able to come up with a psychological profile on everyone."

Nodding in agreement, we started walking again with a new found hope that we will overcome these tests on top.

Chapter 2

Stepping out of the forest into the open air was blinding as the sun shined straight into out eyes. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the wind blowing on my skin. Nothing is better then taking a break and forgetting every worry you have. Everyone has there way of dealing with the things you have to do as a soldier, and I believe that true acceptance is the best way. Accepting that you have taken another life and not running away from that fact, is so cleansing. I opened my eyes and peered at Shelby as she was staring at me. She was curious, and that meant she has never had to deal with taking a life. Shaking my head and walking on, she followed as if she didn't want to be separated from me, probably making sure that she was near me when teams were to be made.

Getting closer to HQ, I could see that we were not the first ones to arrive here as there was a huge group of people standing around waiting for the results. I noticed that all of them were extremely fatigued and dirty. There were some injured but none were severely injured, which is understandable as a strict non lethal rule was in place.

The next couple hours were spent sitting in silence as slowly, one by one, each recruit returned to the rendezvous site. The state of everyone was about the same as the ones who were already here, but a few of the recruits were in the same state I was. As the last of the recruits arrived, someone stepped out of the building. A man who we saw inspecting us from afar when we first arrived. He stood tall, radiating power and authority. Everyone's attention was directed on him without having to call for it. His eyes looked over us like an eagle searching for his next meal. Although I am pretty impressive, even I was unnerved by his glare. I felt a tingle in my spine as I have had before, and could only be a sign of intense fear. This man frightened me, it was as simple as that.

Without raising his voice above normal talking level, even though he had a group of hundreds of recruits, he said while taking out a piece of paper, "Those of you who are called, step forward in a horizontal line in front of me." Looking at the paper, "Skye, Johnny, Tim, Shelby, and Brandon."

With each name called, we walked forward and formed a line in front of the man. Scanning over these other people that were called, I came to the conclusion that these were the elites from the first test. Glancing at Shelby to confirm this, she nodded with a smirk, obviously very proud of her observational skills. The man looked at each of us and stopped on me, looking intently at me with curious eyes. Never taking his eyes off of me he announced to the whole crowd, "The next test will start in five hours. You will be expected to form teams of five in that time. Further instruction will be given at the start of the test. Only one rule until then, and that is that these five are a team." He said while motioning to us. With that he turned around and stepped back into the HQ. As the door closed, to the left a door like a garage door, slid open revealing a huge prep area. A prep area with nurses, beds, food, and equipment. Everything from guns, to everyday items that might be useful in battle. There were various stations labeled, Team and then various numbers. The only different one was the first station which was labeled with the names of the five who where called earlier.

Walking through our station, I came across the equipment and was confused. There were different chests with a name on each one. Looking at Shelby, she seemed very confused and ran up to me. "How could they have known that we would be a team? This all looks as if it was planned ahead of time."

"I have no idea, but what's spooky.." I said looking into my chest of equipment, "..is that they have exactly the equipment I prefer to use on the field."

Shelby ran over to her chest and opened it, and based on her reaction they must have exactly what she prefers as well. From the look on each of my group members faces, they have found the same thing. Reaching down, I grabbed the gun on top inspecting it. This seemed very familiar for some reason and upon further inspection it dawned on me why it's so familiar. This gun is an exact replica of the tranquilizer dart gun that Solid Snake used on his missions. Shocked, and excited more than I've ever been before I started to search through the equipment designated for me. A sneak suit which resembled the one worn by Solid Snake on his famous Shadow Mosses mission was in there as well.

Looking through the equipment, I noticed that every item in the chest was either used by the famous Solid Snake or the Legendary Raiden. I was like a child set free in a candy store with no limits on the amount of candy he could have. Everything was brand new and custom quality. Holding the special tranq gun, I glanced at Shelby to see if she found anything magnificent in her equipment. She was holding what looked like a tiny computer in one hand, and a little mechanical creature in the other. I starred curiously at what she was holding in a curious expression, forgetting how stupid I looked. She walked over to me with a very excited look on her face and jumping up and down slightly.

"Do you know what these are!" Her enthusiasm was almost off the charts. Her eyes were almost popping out of the sockets, and her arms were waving erratically.

"No... what are they?"

"Well this right here" She raised the mini computer, "is a mission control computer, used to keep run a whole operation on the go!"

"Oh.. that sounds cool." I said and then nodding towards the mechanical creature.

"Well this is the most exciting thing of course! This is an exact replica of the MK II! The machine used to give the legendary Solid Snake assistance on his mission to take down the patriots!"

Me mind was blown as I saw her operating it, moving it around easily. I was really surprised when she activated the stealth camouflage.