Tactical Espionage Action
METAL GEAR SOLID IV
Survival
Disclaimer: I do not own any elements of MGS. The original stuff however, is mine.
A/N: This is a rewrite of my UNITED WE STAND fic, and many changes have been added. However, there is a more survival-ish theme to it now, hence the title, and the OCs have been retained. They shall however, be mentioned later in the fic, not just yet. Due to some comments, I have changed the main plot and several other story aspects which I found lacking in MGS: UWS. On another note, Snake is not paired up with anyone in this fic. Mei Ling is with Otacon, and Meryl is not in this fic. It did not seem to work with her in it, and begging your pardon, Meryl-fans, she shall not be in. A cameo by her and Campbell however, will be in store for you guys.
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Undisclosed forest plateau,
Germany
"This way, young master."
A young boy, no older than five, clutched a Colt Single Action Army that looked abnormally large in his small hands. A metal strap to the arm of the child helped stabilize his aim and prevented recoil. A tall butler, speaking flawless English, guided the child to an opportunistic spot to lay a trap. Behind him trotted a large German Shepherd dog, which wagged its tail and gambolled around, glad to be out on the fine summer day.
"Here, young master. A spring trap should work well in this place."
With deft and agile hands, the child wired a small fern to a protruding branch and firmly inserted a serrated knife into an opening carved into the branch. The trap would be activated the moment something brushed against the branch, and as a result released the spring, which would in turn send the blade flying straight at the victim's throat, if it were the size of a human or bear walking erect.
"Very well, young master. I shall return to the manor and bring some refreshments for us."
The child replied, this time in English with a very pronounced German accent. "Okay, Viktor. I vill stay here and await ze prey."
As the butler strode off, the dog remained behind, sitting down beside the boy and licking his hands. Laughing softly, as not to alert any potential prey, the boy scratched the dog's underbelly, causing it to roll over and wag its tail with joy. The child laughed at the dogs antics, and then returned his attention to the trap, readying his Colt SAA.
Suddenly, a heavy footfall behind him made him turn around, and upon his action, he saw a huge black bear standing on its hind legs behind him, sharp claws and teeth ready to mangle the young boy. He would have screamed, but no sounds came from his mouth. He would have moved, were he not rooted to the ground with fear.
It was then that his loyal dog leapt in front of him, and placed itself between its master and the attacking bear. The bear growled and slammed a massive hand into the dog's midsection, sending it against a tree, yelping in pain. However, it had bought enough time for the boy to bring his aim up to the bear's head and fire away. The bear reeled, but it still, amazingly, kept on chasing after the boy.
The boy ran, and then fell next to his dog, which made a valiant effort to sae the boy by leaping onto the bear, and tearing at its fur. Gobs of blood spattered everywhere, both from the dog and from the bear. Bones cracked and cartilage shattered, leaving the boy horrified at the battle between two predators. All of a sudden, his dog's body, barely alive, was hurled back at him, and he felt the warm blood flow onto his skin. Something within him broke, and it was his fear. The fear that makes a hunter weak.
Then, in the midst of the chaos, he was no longer afraid. His dog was fighting so valiantly to save him, and both he and his pet had grown up together. Now, if he were to give up, that would not do justice to his loyal canine companion. He stood up, and with fingers firm, slid six cartridges into the old revolver. Then, with unwavering aim, even with the strap ripped from his arm, he drew a bead on the bear's massive head, as it teetered on the edge of unconsciousness after being attacked by the dog.
He pulled the trigger six times, and the gun fired six times, spattering blood and brain tissue everywhere, even on the boy. He stood still, and waited as the huge body fell to the ground, shaking it with its weight. At last, after the beast was slain, the boy reached down and touched his dog, hoping that it was still alive.
The proud canine head turned once, and with a supreme effort, opened its eyes and licked the boy's hands. After that, its energy spent, the dog wagged its tail once final time and slumped to the ground, dead.
The boy remembered the fun times that he and his loyal pet had spent together, and heeded not the voices of the search party sent to find him. He would discover later that this was all a trap planned by his father, to see if the boy could survive a bear alone. The dog was not supposed to be there, but it had stayed to protect its master, and died in the process. In return for that 'experiment', the boy had killed his father when he turned seven, with a carefully planned poisoning.
As such, he, Kampf Schlieffen, was now the heir to the largest private company and one of the wealthiest businessmen in Germany. Schlieffen Military Facilities were a hugely profitable industry, and with the world gearing towards war in the year 2007, the nation invested heavily in military spending, along with other European Union Countries. Kampf saw himself as the heir to Krupp, whose military weapons were famous worldwide.
Yet, despite the huge fortune he had, the 29-year old businessman felt that hunting was one of the greatest thrills of life. He had a huge climate controlled estate, and into it he introduced many forms of game and predators. It was often on hunting trips, with large and colourful entourages, that most of his deals would be signed. While other European businessmen travelled in the convoy that provided safety, Kampf would often head out first, alone. English Prime Minister Nicholas Abbey later spoke of him emerging from a lush forest, 'resplendent in hunting garments stained crimson with blood of his prey and shouldering an antique Winchester rifle, before dispatching his servants to gather the tigers, bears, jaguars, or even elephants that he had hunted, all within that morning.'
By the age of 30, when the catastrophic sinking of the Big Shell would contaminate New York Harbour in a year, he was a lean hunter whose skill was unmatched. Hunters all around the world gave praise to him, and societies like the SPCA loathed him with a passion. However, they were careful of overtly criticizing him, as a senator and vociferous supporter of the SPCA had found out when he woke up one morning with all of his guards snoring from a certain kind of toxin and a bloody dagger next to his head on the pillow. The attacker had also written in his own blood on the mirrors of his bathroom a threat to come back if he didn't shut up. The blood had been treated with some form of chemical that eliminated all traces of individuality from it.
On a bright summer day, just a year before the sinking of the Big Shell, Kampf found himself on a flight to Japan with his private plane. He was there for a meeting with one of his contributors, and also for another reason. Another person wanted his aid, but not merely with weapons. In return, that person would give him military and financial support to take Schlieffen Industries into the global era, provided he commence a project Metal Gear. Blueprints would be given to him upon arrival, and Kampf was confident that his company could do it, as they had indeed created 20 unique Metal Gears so far for the EU. This project would be for his unknown employer and was supposed to be incredibly hard to complete.
As the plane descended, Kampf strode through the modern Narita airport along with his entourage of bodyguards. They were all trained by him in his estate and each could hunt as well as any world class hunter could along with other bodyguard skills. His black shoes made from the highest quality leather clicked on the floor tiles as he smiled slightly. The hunting prospect looked good.
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Tokyo High School,
Japan
Mai Tokuoka parried a blow from her opponent's kendo bamboo sword with her own. She then crouched under his guard, and slipped agilely between his legs to strike from his rear, knocking him down to his knees. Mai made to strike him once from behind, finishing the job, when her instructor suddenly rolled to his side, and lashed out with his own sword, knocking Mai off balance.
Or so he thought.
His student was already in the air, and she landed on his sword arm, causing him to drop his weapon. She then touched his mask with her kendo blade, signifying her victory.
Instructor Jinrai took his mask off, and nodded with joy at his pupil's skill. "Very good, Tokuoka-kun. You have mastered all that I can teach you."
Mai took off her own mask, smiling with slight embarrassment at her instructor's praise of her. All of the extensive training after school had paid off in the end, with her mastering of the blade. It was unheard of for a freshman to defeat her instructor in kendo, but she was exceptionally talented. No other student of his had even come close to matching her skill at kendo. Mai was also incredibly talented at everything she did, and with an extremely flattering figure and face to boot.
At last, with a customary bow, Mai left her master's training hall and headed for her parents' lab in the city. Perhaps they would take more notice of her after she excelled in everything she had done so far.
The moment she left the door, a group of her closest friends huddled around her, praising her skill and asking if she wanted to go with them for shopping. Cheerfully agreeing, Mai then noticed that a tall young man with a solemn face was watching her from behind a tree. He was so well hidden that she only saw him through her honed skills of reflexes and instinct.
An instant later, he was gone.
Mai rubbed her eyes with slight disbelief, wondering if the heat was getting to her. Meanwhile, her friends were asking her about something to do with the track meet, of which she was the star runner, and Mai relented, forgetting about the young man. She and her friends would meet up Tanaka-kun and his pals, another one of her close companions, in the city before heading for the malls. It seemed like a great summer vacation was around the corner.
She was exceptionally gifted in everything she did due to the fact that several of her genetic strands sported different amino pairs, and this was the driving force behind her photographic memory, her incredible agility, stamina and exceptional strength for a girl, as well as her IQ of over 240. The last time she studied was for the university entrance exams two years ago. Even after gaining acceptance to a top notch university, she had chosen to remain in high school, taking the normal route through life.
After all, she already DID know the entire university curriculum for her course by heart.
Tokyo was a huge metropolis, bustling with people from all walks of life. Mai liked it; it was the only place where she felt at ease, with people from all places. At school, she was the most popular person in the entire school district, but the attention did tend to become annoying, especially when you got hundreds f emails and phone calls a weeks asking you to go out with some boy she'd never even heard of. Mai reasoned that the only boy she'd probably ever go out with was Tanaka, and that was because of the caring and gentle way he treated her, not just as some toy to play with.
Asking her friends to wait for her beneath the huge skyscraper that housed Quantum Labs, the placed where her parents, leading genetic engineers, worked at, she took the lift up to the 70th floor. In the elevator, she couldn't resist grinning and hugging herself. It was going to be a great summer vacation. She had everything a girl could want: popularity, looks, smarts and money. The only thing that bothered her slightly was the coolness which her parents treated her with. They didn't so much as crack a smile when she gained acceptance to any university in the world, only a nod of the head.
At last, reaching the floor where her parents' labs were located, Mai skipped along the polished hallways, smiling at her parents colleagues, all whom she knew by sight with that photographic memory of hers.
It was just as she touched the doorbell to the lab that her first headache hit. She was never sick before, and diseases seemed to stay away from her. Yet, this was a blinding pain, and she tried mentally shutting off pain, as she had done before when her arm was fractured when she had fallen off a helicopter at 250 feet. Amazingly, a slight fracture was all she had to show from it, and doctors discovered that her bones were incredibly resilient and could mend themselves better without treatment than with.
The pain persisted, and she felt as though her mind was about to explode. Suddenly, the pain moved to her upper back, and she fell to the ground in tears from the horrible hurt. People were looking at her, calling for doctors, but she couldn't think straight. The pain then moved, all over her body, and she felt as though her fingers were burning.
A moment later, the back of her school uniform ripped as twin wings, each shaped like those of a telltale demon and ending with sharp talons, exploded from her back. She screamed in pain, and those behind her were knocked back as the wings extended. Her manicured fingernails elongated and raked through the concrete floor as easily as they would paper.
It was then that her parents came out, and smiled grimly down at her.
In time, all she would remember of them would be the last words they spoke to her.
"Perfection comes with a price."
Several days later, she awoke naked in the halls of the school just as student began entering. Upon taking a look at her, most ran in fear, for her wings grew again, and she panicked, trying to get help. Anyone she came close to was suddenly slashed by the talons at the end of her wings, and she tried frantically to control them. It was the first time in her life that she felt out of control, and she tried to escape.
The closed doors of the school offered no resistance as she tore them from their hinges, and ran for the courtyard, hoping desperately that she would return to normal. It was all like a nightmare; one she couldn't wake up from.
The police were called, and she heard them coming through the halls, her ears picking up the sound of assault rifles loading and safeties being released. Then, a thought sprang unbidden.
Perhaps, it would be better to die.
Then, the young man she had seen earlier behind the tree appeared to her, and he motioned for the panicked girl to follow him. He would later give her a place to live in, and taught her the methods of meditation to control the beast within her. He taught her the way of the sword, and what had happened to her parents. He told her everything, and then some more.
The young man was like a grim older brother to her, and he comforted her when she was lonely, while being the strict teacher of swordsmanship on other days. On certain weeks, he would not be around, and on others, he would visit her everyday. He knew more about the way of the blade than anyone else she had ever met, until one day, after a long two week absence, he was nowhere to be found.
Mai tried to look for him, but all she found out was the harshness of the world, when one was alone. She was accosted many times, but tried to keep her mind from reverting to the 'Devil' form, as the young man had put it. She tried and tried, but eventually, on the fifth night that she was gang-raped, her instincts awoke and she slaughtered all who were near her.
From then on, she began living as a mercenary, and applied her skills to that dark task. She was only twenty at that time, and forever she sought her parents, willing for them to explain to her why they had created one such as her to scour the face of the planet. Due to her using a Kabuki mask as she killed, the papers gave this angel of darkness the nickname "Kabuki Killer".
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Ryu Hotel,
Tokyo
Kampf sat, relaxed on his chair, reading the latest German news from his laptop, surrounded with his faithful dogs when the windows shattered, and a slender, tall girl leapt in, her face hidden by a mask. Twin wings were on her back, and her nails were claws. Kampf smiled, and motioned for his dogs to back down, which they did, albeit hesitantly.
"Miss Tokuoka, I am pleased to see you are punctual."
The girl removed her mask, and the wings retracted, along with her claws. "How did you know I was here?"
"I placed a tracked on you, my dear girl, when your master tested me with you last week. Or have you forgotten?"
Mai placed a hand on her left arm, remembering the feel of Kampf's bullet as it had hit her. The only person who had ever hurt her stood before her now, nonchalantly gazing out of the window. "I would imagine, Miss Tokuoka, that our employer wishes for us to cooperate now?"
"You speak correctly."
Kampf's grin faded, revealing the face of a hunter, and he extended his arm to the person he knew could tear it apart with her bare hands, not to mention the very dangerous looking katana blades at her hilt. "I knew you would return. He has revealed his plans to me, and he wishes for you as well, to join me in this venture."
Mai looked at his hand, and grudgingly accepted his welcome. Kampf smiled again, and brought her small hand to his lips, kissing it once before releasing it.
"Now, I hope that you will fill me in on more of our employer's plans?"
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Whew. That was long. For those of you who are wondering, with good reason, if this is an MGS fic at all, rest assured. Snake and the others return in the next episode. They will as usual meet up with the other OCs, perhaps in a different manner, but still the same people. I hope this provides an interesting prologue, and may you guys enjoy it.