AN: Welcome to 'Shattered Dreams'. This is the first PURELY Metal Gear Solid fic I've done in awhile, the last time I've done one was with Cold-Hearted. This fic is pre Shadow Moses, just like it said in the summary. The main inspiration for this came from a fic titled 'Killing Moon' by my DMC friend ShyAnon!
Enjoy the fic!
Meryl Silverburgh lay on the bed inside of her prison cell at Shadow Moses Island, her mind racked with thought revolving around the events of today.
Her dream had finally come true; she had finally become a member of special operations unit FOXHOUND. Ever since she was a little girl, Meryl had dreamed of the day when she'd get to serve in FOXHOUND like her uncle Roy. The other girls had always made fun of her because of her desire to fight as a soldier and they'd call her names like 'GI Jane'. Meryl didn't care about what they said though, she was always a bit of a tomboy anyway.
Her day had finally come when FOXHOUND allowed her to join their ranks. She had been assigned to help guard a weapons testing facility on Shadow Moses. Meryl had been overjoyed when she had been assigned her first mission, she was even more delighted when she heard she would get to serve under a seasoned veteran of their unit, Liquid Snake.
When she had first joined FOXHOUND, she had heard many stories and rumors surrounding Liquid Snake. He had a prestigious record that included several successful operations against terrorists and a history with the British Special Air Service. To Meryl, it was a great honor to serve under someone so grizzled and revered. She could clearly remember how exciting it was to talk to the man in person.
Meryl walked down the hallway of the main FOXHOUND headquarters when she spotted her commanding officer, Liquid Snake traveling down the same hall as she was. The Silverburgh felt her heart race as Liquid approached. Once he was close enough Meryl brought her hand up in a salute. "G-good day commander," Meryl greeted shakily.
Liquid stopped his brisk pace and returned the salute. His harsh green eyes locked onto Meryl, whose legs began to shake as a result of his gaze. Liquid took note of this and grunted. "You're green aren't you? Fresh out of training?"
Meryl nodded while maintaining her salute. "Yes sir, I have just been accepted into FOXHOUND."
"And this is your first mission I take it?" Liquid inquired, to which Meryl nodded again. The blonde let out a dry chuckle. "Well then, let me tell you this; today our unit's name will go down in history and generations from now people will remember us as heroes".
A crack of a smile formed on Meryl's lips. She admired how confident and moving her commander was but something didn't seems right; weren't they just guarding a weapons facility? The redhead just waved it off, Liquid was probably speaking of a future mission they'd undertake. "Yes sir our unit will definitely be remembered".
Liquid smirked in response. "You're charismatic and bright, you'll make a fine addition to FOXHOUND," the blonde stated. He then turned on his heel and continued his earlier walk down the hall.
What happened next though was something Meryl could never have preceded. As soon as they landed on Shadow Moses Island, the Genome soldiers with them broke into an uprising. Meryl was shocked to see members of her unit attacking their fellow soldiers. She had run off to go find Liquid and report this to him…only to find him at the forefront of the chaos and leading the troops. She had tried to do something, anything to stop him but Liquid and the rest of FOXHOUND easily overwhelmed her and that's how she ended up in this dark dank cell.
Meryl sighed and rolled onto her side, her mind once again filled with thought as to why her unit turned rogue and how come it just had to happen when she finally got to join. Her train of thoughts was brought to a halt by the sound of her cell door creaking open. The Silverburgh lifted her head to see the last person she'd ever want to see.
Standing in the doorway at his full height of six feet was her commander-no former commander, Liquid Snake. The redhead jumped off of her bed and stood before the blonde, prepared to defend herself if necessary. "What the hell do you want?" she growled venomously.
"Hmph, you should be a bit more respectful to your commanding officer," Liquid responded with a smug smirk on his lips. He noted that the Silverburgh clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in anger.
"Shut up, you're not my commanding officer anymore!" Meryl snapped vehemently at Liquid Snake. "Now answer my question; what the hell are you doing her?"
"Why, I just came to visit the new blood of our glorious unit," Liquid said as he stepped closer to Meryl who took a precautionary step back. The blonde let out a sigh. "To think I actually believed you would be a good addition to FOXHOUND. Maybe I was mistaken…"
"You're the one who's disgracing our unit's reputation by rebelling against your country, not me!" Meryl shot back at her former commander, who just laughed coldly in response to her accusation.
"Betraying my country? I'm saving this country," Liquid laughed again. Meryl quirked an eyebrow, confused as to what Liquid was talking about. "You mean you don't know? Our wondrous nation is not as free as it makes it self out to be. We're actually slaves to an unseen formless organization who monitors our every move, even our government and president are mere puppets to them. That's all going to change soon though; I'm going to liberate all of us from the chains they use to bind us. Metal Gear is the key to all of this; I'm going to use it to start an insurrection and in the midst of all the chaos, they will reveal themselves and when they do…I will destroy them and free everyone from their control!"
Meryl looked at Liquid completely flabbergasted as to what he just said. "Y-You're insane!"
Liquid snorted in reply. "…You're so naïve. If you simply opened your eyes you'd be able to see past their veil of secrecy and lies." Suddenly a ringer went off. Liquid reached into one of his coat's pockets and took out a cell phone. "Yes…I see, so the white house has made the first move. I'll see to it personally".
"What's the matter; you're crazy plans going to hell already?" Meryl asked tartly as she watched Liquid put his phone away.
"Actually far from it my dear," Liquid replied, an arrogant smirk playing on his lips. "They're doing exactly what I want them to do, but then again even if they gave into my demands…I'd still win in the end. Once the Americans out of, fulfill my demands or attack this island, I'll still be able to start the beginning of our liberation."
Meryl furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. Liquid did have a point; no matter what her homeland does, Liquid'll still be the victor. She had to something but what? There was only one thing she could do and that was kill Liquid Snake.
Meryl looked around the room quickly for something that could help her. Her eyes went to Liquid's waist where there was a holster containing a pistol. Moving faster than she had ever moved before, Meryl lunged forward and grabbed his pistol from its holster and aimed it at his head. "You're not going to get a chance to harm anyone with a bullet lodged in your brain!"
Liquid sighed, sounding as if he was bored. He looked into Meryl's blue eyes with his green ones. "This is truly pathetic," the blonde commented as he put his hands behind his back. Meryl attempted to keep her calm but Liquid's gaze made it a tedious task. "Look, your eyes are wavering and your hands are shaking. You coward, you should be ashamed to even call yourself a soldier!"
"Shut up!" Meryl snapped at her former commander. "You're in no position to be saying anything!"
"And that's where you're wrong again," the blonde stated, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. Then in a heart beat, Liquid lashed out and ripped the pistol out of Meryl's hands, he then sent his fist into her stomach. Meryl gasped for air, that single blow had knocked the wind out of her. Before she even got a chance to recover, Liquid grabbed her by the forearm and threw her harshly to the ground. He then delivered a violent kick to her side causing her to cry out in pain.
"How disappointing," Liquid remarked heartlessly as he turned his back to the beaten women. "Next time you ever try something like that again, I guarantee you that you'll be rewarded with something much worse than this little beating." With that Liquid exited the cell and headed to organize his troops to prepare them for the upcoming battle.
Once Liquid was gone, Meryl attempted to get up off of the ground but she just fell back down. She let out a soft groan and rolled onto her back. She had failed to stop Liquid, she had failed to save her country-
-she had failed to be a soldier.
The redhead felt tears form in her eyes at that last realization. Liquid was right; she should be ashamed to even call herself a soldier for she had failed to uphold her duties. She should never have become a soldier in the first place, after all not all dreams were meant to come true.
An image of Liquid's mocking smirk formed in her head. The thought of him still being here and knowing that he was right the whole time probably would've just made her feel even more like a failure.
No- she couldn't think that, she'd just be letting Liquid win. There was still hope that her dream would stay alive and that Liquid would be stopped. She just had to remain hopeful.
Hope was after all inextinguishable for even in the darkest of times of times hope would remain strong. Hope was the only thing Meryl had left.
AN: Okay, there you go another MGS composition! What did you guys think of the ending? I felt it was a bit lackluster but it's what you guys think that matters.
I'm actually surprised something like this was never written before. There's so much of a back-story to what happened between Liquid and Meryl prior to MGS1 and of what could've happened during the takeover of Shadow Moses. Originally Johnny was supposed to be in this fic too but I cut him out of it because I don't like him. I might make a fic out of this on what happened during the takeover of Shadow Moses but that's up to you guys.
Don't forget to review!