Chapter One: Four Minutes
The first thing she saw upon returning from oblivion was a yellow glow. It was confusing and harsh, causing her to feel slight panic at this foreign environment. After a few seconds she came to realize that what she was seeing was a bright light burning through her closed eyelids. Carefully she cracked open her eyes, feeling them water as the fluorescence became much more intense and direct. She tilted her head to the side to avoid the harassing illumination.
The next thing she noticed was the fact that she was sore. Indeed, she had felt pain before and was used to it; but this sensation was different and spread all over her body. She was not overwhelmed by the feeling, but it was troublesome because she could not find a source for it. Come to think of it, she realized that her uncomfortable pain was partially due to laying prone and bare on a cold, hard metal table. Her eyes finally adjusting to the light, she was able to open them a bit wider to look around and get her bearings.
She realized that her left hand was bandaged, the tape securing an IV which had a clear solution flowing into her veins. Her eyes traveled the tube up to the IV stand, where two bags filled with fluid of a type that was unknown to her. The tube from the other bag went down to below the line of the bed, and then up to right under her. Slightly unnerved by this observation, she lifted her right hand and slowly felt of the small of her back. A larger IV was also jammed into her spine as well. Giving a small sigh as she withdrew her hand, she was finally able to open her eyes all the way. The environment was blurry at first, various indescribable shapes, smells and sounds assaulting her senses—including one persistent sound that could be described as being akin to a soft mew of a kitten. For some reason she felt herself instinctively latch onto that sound, her hearing focusing intently on that one constant noise.
She slowly and painfully turned her head in the other direction, the way that sound was coming from. She blinked a few times, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and opening them to get them to focus better. Eventually she was able to pick out five figures in identical white labcoats. They were all huddled together around an unknown object, lights illuminating whatever it was they were working on. All of these...scientists were talking in swift low tones that were inaudible to her. She craned her neck as one of them moved away with a vile of blood in his hand in order to see what it was they were so busily working over. One very tiny pink hand could be seen reaching up out of the plexi-glass contraption, little fingers wiggling. As a technician gently grabbed the hand and lowered it back, it all came back to her in a flash. Suddenly she was able to focus on their words in this din of confusion.
Terminating genes...
...syntax of copying information...
Blood tests...
...vials of serum...
both infants are similar yet different....
Dominant and recessive genes overtake....
which one is....
that one...
Big Boss.
At the words Eva stiffened, the memories all coming together in a roaring tidal wave. As soon as the realizations began to pour upon her, the door to the room was thrown open. She watched as a dignified man in a khaki suit walked brazenly into the room, closely followed on his heels by three men in black suits. She observed one of the doctors walking forward to meet the men, arms folded across her chest.
"Excuse me sir but this should be a sterile--"
"Yeah we know," he said, cutting her off. "Where are some masks or sanitizers? I want to get this over with quickly."
The doctor looked as if she wanted to say something, but she refrained. Quickly she rummaged through some drawers bringing out a bottle, a few pairs of latex gloves, and some surgical masks. The man quickly cleaned his hands with the solution and pulled on the gloves and the mask, looking expectantly at her.
"Well, can I see them?"
Eva tried to sit up as the doctor's parted to make way for this man—which Eva now recognized as the actual President of the United States—in order to look at the infant. But upon her sudden movement she felt her dull pain intensify into a sharp one. Letting out a low cry she carefully lowered herself back to a reclining position. Hearing her voice, the President glanced in her direction.
"What of the mother?"
The doctor began to rearrange the positions of the lights. "I believe she will still be used in the experiment. A hypothetical situation will be set up between her and the carrier of a certain genotype to see the true power of nature verses nurture. We want these projects to be truly innovative in their potential, so every sort of hypothesis must be experimented on both a controlled and varied environment."
The President shook his head in bewilderment to her large words, but he chose not to question it. He peered over her shoulder to see into the incubator.
Two purple-faced, red-bodied infants were side by side. Both had a mop of wet, tangled brown hair on their heads. The only discernable difference the President could see between the two was that one was screaming his lungs out; the other was completely silent, his blue eyes wide as he looked around at the faces swarming above him. At first glance they seemed to be normal, four-minute old newborn babies. But the President knew that these two infants were not children. They were tools, weapons. They represented the pinnacle of the Information Age technology. What the Patriots had accomplished was truly a worthy feat of notable consequences. And this force was basically offering one to a government in which they had no technical affiliation. Right before him were the top two super-soldiers in the entire world, and the opportunities were boundless. Here was living proof of the mystery that halted World War III completely in its tracks; here was genetic perfection; and here was the final proof that a man under the title of Big Boss did exist.
The President cleared his throat. "So...do I get the—for not knowing what else to say—the 'pick of the litter'?"
The doctor began to iodine down the umbilical cord stump of the silent baby, saying idly, "What do you mean?"
"The better of the two? Didn't you all engineer one to be 'better'?"
"Not necessarily," she stated, picking up the quiet infant and wrapping him in a blue blanket. "One would have the dominant genes, one the recessive. Recessive--" she nodded to the baby in her arms "--doesn't necessarily mean it's not as good of quality. The dominant geneotypic one is still undergoing tests in the incubator if you want to observe him." She began to walk away.
Eva watched the discussion and deal unfolding before her with apathetic eyes, wanting to be out of this situation as quickly as possible. According to the doctors she had already fulfilled her purpose. She often cynically looked at herself as a simple container. Now that her function as nourishment for this project was over, Eva wanted to distance herself from this location and the Patriots as much as possible.
Les Enfants Terribles was her chance to make some contribution with her life. Ever since being expelled from the Peoples' Republic of China, Eva had wandered aimlessly around, jumping from place to place. Due to her own stupidity, she had found herself in Hanoi Vietnam right in the thick of the Vietnam war doing some sort of mercenary work on the side. Due to her success as a femme fatale spy, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization had recruited her to do infiltration work in areas beyond the 17th Parallel. Of course this was a dangerous opportunity since the U.S and U.N had barely managed to go beyond that line, and therefore due to poorly organized strategies Eva had managed to get captured. Through an informant she had discovered that an American CIA agent was on the way to "rescue" her. Little did she know that it would be her previous ally and the legend himself: Big Boss. Needless to say she was very surprised to find her savior so ready to come to her when the last time they had spoken was five years prior, and she had taken advantage of him at that time. When he offered her a position at a new private organization she leaped upon it instantly. It gave her an opportunity to escape the monotonous life she had become accustomed to in the past half a decade. Her eagerness to become an ally with Big Boss slightly disturbed her emotionally. Was it because of her past...relationship that she took the offer so readily? Normally Eva stood back and analyzed situations before choosing to step forward, but because he had asked he she had impulsively said "yes." Her conclusion was that if she was stepping blindly into a situation because of the first case of love she had felt in a while, then why not?
Her memoriam was disrupted by the head doctor and two nurses coming toward her. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she observed the doctor carrying a small bundle in her arms. The nurses parted from Dr. Clark and busied themselves around Eva. One examined the IV bags, the others poked and prodded her in various places that were slightly uncomfortable. But she did not care—her eyes were locked on Dr. Clark's arms and what they contained.
The doctor leaned forward, offering the now squirming bundle to Eva. Eva did not react, but looked at her questioningly.
"Don't look at me like that," said the doctor, who was first known to Eva years ago as Para-Medic. "Hold him."
"What are you doing?" asked Eva quickly, not making any action to reach up to the infant.
"I am sorry we did not inform you sooner of our intentions. We wanted an experimental varied environment for one of the projects, so we thought that perhaps a nurturing environment would be the best way to test our hypothesis."
"Nurturing environment?"
Dr. Clark gave a small sigh and leaned forward, thrusting the baby into Eva's arms. She froze, staring down at the bundle now in her arms.
The red-faced infant was wiggling slightly, arms waving upward toward her face. She raised her hand, gently catching his tiny one. His hand closed around her index finger, a firm grip. She began to pull away her finger but he held fast, his small facial features contorting in an immature baby-frown. Eva let out a quiet chuckle at his determination.
"He will need his first serving of colostrum soon," Dr. Clark informed her, "I will teach you how within the next hour after we take care of the other infant."
"Colostrum?" questioned Eva. "And where is the other one?"
"He is the dominant brother. If you remember correctly, we specified to the American government that they could pick which subject would be the recipient of their personal training. The other we could do as to our choosing. Naturally the U.S wanted what they perceived as the 'superior one', and therefore they chose the one carrying the dominant genes. And colostrum is the first milk, filled with antibodies and amino acids needed to boost the baby's immunity system."
Eva looked up quickly. "Milk? I have to breastfeed him? I don't understand...I thought the Patriots were keeping him as soon as they were born?"
"Well there have been some...complications as far as the subject of this test..."
"You mean Big Boss?"
Dr. Clark hesitated and then continued. "Yes, he discovered two days ago of the project. He was very...well, the word unhappy doesn't really cover it. We have guards outside the facilities today for that reason."
Eva was tempted to give a cynical laugh but chose not to due to the apparent severity of the situation. Big Boss had infiltrated many top security units in many different aggressive countries. There was no telling what he would do if he got the urge to come here. And to top it off he was very angry.
"Does he know...?" she started to ask.
"No," answered Dr. Carter firmly, "He does not know of your involvement with Les Enfants Terribles."
Eva's eyebrows knitted in concern. "What is my 'further involvement' that is needed for this? I thought the Patriots were dropping me after the birth."
"Well, this is more or less a private experiment. We now have changed one of the options. You've heard the nature verses nurture theories correct? This infant will undergo the nurture aspect, of which you will provide. Naturally we have chosen you because due to carrying the subject in your womb you probably will form maternal instinct within the next few days. For a few years you will provide primary care to him before we decide to take him for further analysis and training."
"Ah," replied Eva in quiet affirmation. Her eyes now locked with the baby's incredibly bright blue eyes, their depths complex and slightly curious as he stared back up at her. She could not help but give a grin as the baby squirmed and gave a soft coo. Tentatively she reached forward, stroking his soft brown hair. The infant instantly relaxed at her touch, his eyelids beginning to droop.
"You can call him whatever you'd like," Dr. Clark informed her, smiling as well.
Eva was silent for a few moments. She was unprepared for this because going in she had no idea that one of the babies would be coming back with her.
"I had a brother back when I was in Elementary School and still living in Meridian, Idaho," she stated absentmindedly. "He and I were almost insuperable and very good friends. I was so sad when my father sent me away to a joint UN military academy that started to recruit females around the time I was in first grade. My brother's name was David..."
"Hmm...David," stated Dr. Clark, reaching down and touching the baby's hand. "I like it.
She observed David for a few minutes before withdrawing. "Now, I'll let you both bond for a few minutes while I go and deal with the President."
Eva nodded in response as the doctor walked back to the other side of the room. One of the nurses was now lifting up the other infant and placing his left foot on an ink pad. The baby was screaming his head off. She felt the noise tug at her heart, fighting the urge to snatch him out of the nurse's rough handling. She knew that he was crying because the first thing the infant felt was plexi-glass, latex gloves, and cold metal surfaces. Plus the occasional intrusive prick of a needle or sting of an injection.
"Um..." said Eva softly, "may I see the other one please? Just for a bit..."
"No." Dr. Clark replied before the nurse could. "In fact, we need the other one back for a few minutes. We have to make a comparative phenotype analysis."
Eva's arms unconsciously tightened around David. "Will you take--"
"No Eva, that infant will still remain in your care. This is just a test that will take between fifteen and twenty minutes."
Reluctantly she surrendered David to one of the nurses. Upon feeling the warmth of his mother's body leaving him his face screwed up in a grimace, a small whimper escaping his lips. Soon his cries began to join those of this brother as they were whisked from the room. Eva was now by herself again.
She leaned back, letting out a shaky sigh. These past few months had been a rather tumultuous occurance for her. She laughed at her own foreboding feelings toward the task ahead of her. A few years ago she would have never pictured herself raising a child, let alone one that filled the definition of cloned super soldier. Ah well, there was a first time for everything in her book. She had done every other kind of mission imaginable, so motherhood would not be too much more difficult.
'Oh I sure am kidding myself.' She clapped a hand to her forehead. 'I'm going to be in for it...'
Eva turned her head away from the harassing lights once more, exhaustion overwhelming her. Within five minutes she had surrendered to sleep once again.
Notes: I haven't written anything in a while, and this is my first Metal Gear fanfiction. I'd appreciate good critiques and reviews. Hopefully the other chapters will be a little longer. Again, this will run from Snake's birth [as already made apparent] all the way to Metal Gear 1. The next chapter should be out by the end of this week, if not sooner. Hopefully this fic will be finished to completion because I have a set goal to end up at and a loose outline of what is expected to be written. Those of you wishing for "tactical espionage action" will just have to wait, as of course Snake wouldn't be doing "Snake" stuff at a couple of years old. But don't worry, even his toddler years will be filled with action, seeing as he and his mother are attempting to separate from the Patriot eyes in the next chapter. And perhaps another person will make a surprise appearance in the next chapter.
Anyway, review please and I promise to all MGS fans I'll be as accurate to the past as much as possible. Metal Gear Wikia will be my best friend for the next few months.