Chapter 2

Snake and the kids stepped onto the knee-high snow and moved to the side of the snow, hugging the wall to stay out of sight.

The codec rang, and Snake took a look at it. It was a nonburst transmission, meaning that it wasn't the Colonel or his support team.

"Who is this?" Snake asked.

"Be careful, there are claymore mines in that canyon." It was a deep, metallic male voice. "Make sure those kids don't go near them."

Snake was about to warn them about the mines when Ed was running around the snowfield. "Ed, no!" But it was too late, the mines detonated. When the smoke cleared, Snake was downright shocked to see Ed, alive and unscratched.

"Well," said the voice. "Now you don't have to worry about the mines at least."

"Just who the hell are you?" Snake screamed.

"Just call me…Deepthroat."

The transmission ended, Snake tried to bring up the frequency code, but it came back to 0.

Then, Jimmy spotted something. "Is that a…tank?" It was indeed a tank, the one missing from the hangar. Then, the latch opened, and a large tattooed man sat in the turret, Vulcan Raven.

"This is Raven's territory!" Raven yelled. "Snakes don't belong in Alaska! You will not pass!" Then, Raven saw the kids behind Snake. What are kids doing in a nuclear facility?

"Oh my god," Kevin said. "That's a big ass tank."

"An Abrams tank to be precise," Edd said. "Unless you have a missile, there's no way you can fight it."

The Abrams tank came closer, making Jimmy cower in fear and hide behind Sarah. Seeing this, Raven spoke through the loudspeaker.

"Why are the children here?" Raven asked. When there was no answer, the tank came even closer.

"Umm…Snake," Nazz said.

"Why are they here?"

But Snake held his ground, and then, tossed a grenade through the turret. It caught everyone by surprise. Snake shouted at the kids to run, and they ran to the hills. They watched as the tank burst into flames, but Edd knew better.

"He's still alive," Edd said. "I just saw him moving in there."

"Let him be," Snake replied. "We've got a long way to go if we want to get out of here."

Liquid Snake looked on as his brother led the group of kids into the storage facility. He sighed and turned to Ocelot, who's right arm was heavily bandaged and was resting on a couch. The painkillers have done the trick and he was eager to get back at him.

"Got away didn't he?" Ocelot remarked. "Let my try to kill the guy."

"Quiet," Liquid said. He gestured to the screen. It seems the boy with the sock hat was right, for Raven crawled out of the wreckage, unharmed.

"I should let them go," Raven said. "They're just kids."

Liquid presses the communicator's button to respond. "You do that."

"Are you certain?"

"Keep an eye on them though."

"He got the card."

"Then we'll play with him a little longer."

Ocelot stood and whispered to his leader, "Are you mad? You've seen what he can do. Even those kids have combat abilities!"

Liquid gave his subordinate a look that told him to sit down and shut up.

"It's best not to underestimate them sir," Raven said.

"What do you think of them? In battle I mean."

"It's as if they're possessed by demons, especially the small red-head girl."

"Yes I know, I've seen the recordings. He bit off a man's entire head."

"Well, tell Mantis to get ready, they will meet."

'Are we there yet?" Johnny asked.

"Not yet," Snake replied. He wished this bald badger would shut up.

"Just where is this scientist guy?"

"Up ahead." It had been a tough job getting a group of twelve kids into a elevator unnoticed.

"You there Snake?" It was Naomi. Snake pressed against his ear and answered.

"Yeah," Snake replied. "What is it?"

"I think one of them has a cold." When Snake turned to look, Jimmy was sneezing and oozing mucus. "Look, Naomi I've got no cold medicine."

Then the Colonel came in, "Snake, I suggest you find some medicine then. There's some on the B1 of that building. Ask Meryl to confirm it."

When Snake called, the female solider answered. "Hey Snake, what do you need?"

"Meryl, I need to know if there's any cold medicine in this place?"

"Sure, it's on the B1 level. Why do you need it?"

"Ugh…babysitting a group of kids."

"Well then, take good care of them. They're way too young to be fighting or getting killed."

"Everyone keeps telling me that." Snake signed off, and took Jimmy. "We're going to get you some medicine understand?"

"Yes," Jimmy answered.

Snake went to the wall, pressed the call button, and waited for the elevator to come. The doors opened, and Snake took Jimmy inside. He pressed the B1 button and waited for the doors to close.

It took a full minute for the elevator to reach B1, and the doors flew wide open. Snake look around for guards or cameras. The coast was clear, and Snake led Jimmy toward a door that led to the medicine storage. He swiped his Level 3 PAN card, pushed the door open only to see-

A Genome trooper at a desk, surfing the internet. Jimmy closed his eyes, and Snake grabbed his gun. He shot the man before he had a chance to call for help.

"Wait here," Snake said to Jimmy. He found what he was looking for, and fed it to Jimmy. He also found a Nikita, a guidance missile perfect for destroying that generator that was afar.

When they returned to the B2 level, they found the glass wall destroyed, and Ed pulling out the generator.

"Guess we don't this," Snake said, dropping the Nikita.