The Other Side of Sanity
Chapter Two - Figure in the Dark
by H7
Disclaimer: Posted on the first chapter. If any doubts, please refer back to chapter one.
Warnings : In later chapters, extreme graphical violence. Some violence in this chapter Bad language, and possibly some trippy mind problems (insanity). Character death and OCs. Angst. Nanomachine communication is represented by "Blah", and flashbacks are "Blah". Normal radio communication is represented by"Blah."
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"Snake! I think I found something!"
Snake walked, somewhat slowly, to the terminal over which Hal was hunched, his fingers typing away furiously at the small keyboard. He came up behind Otacon, and watched, as the man went through file after file after file, finally stopping at a familiar image.
It was a picture of Raiden, but judging from the angle. . .
"That's not the usual file mugshot," Snake commented, giving his stubble a brief rub in his contemplation, ". . .I think that was taken through a camera."
"So, they had surveillance on him?"
Snake's eyes narrowed, "Seems to be."
"But why?. . .The Patriots must have had all the information on his they needed. . .Why go through so much effort just to watch him? They have hundreds of videos on here. . .Records on his nanocommunication conversations. . .Hey, Raiden never told us about his past, did he?"
Snake shook his head, "No, except that he was well versed in VR training. . .Though, he did mention that he had some field experience. . ."
"Well, according to this," Hal took a moment to adjust his glasses, "he was in the civil war in Russia during the eighties."
". . .But then he would have been-"
"He was approximately eight years old at the time. According to this, know one really knows his actual age, though it is estimated to be around twenty nine."
". . .He doesn't look it."
Hal nodded, "Your right. They note that here as well. . .Hmm. . .Actual parents unknown, became the leader of the Young Boys Unit due to his unusually high kill record. . ." Hal looked distantly shocked as he read through the records.
"Leader of the Young Boys Unit?" Snake crossed his arms, glancing down at the floor as he thought deeply, ". . .So, he really did have field experience."
". . .There's not much else here, not really. Reports on how he did in his VR-"
"And?"
"Well, he was good at getting the times down good. Worked on them till he aced each and every one. Good with handguns, too. Same with blades."
"Doesn't surprise me. When I gave him that sword of Olga's, he knew how to use it. Anything else?"
"No. . .Hey, Snake?"
"Yeah?"
Otacon adjusted his glasses as they had again slipped down on to his nose, "Why do you think that all this data on Raiden is here? Everything else has been tampered in some way, or is completely wrong. . .Why would they have this? Has it been altered, too?"
"I don't know. . .It seems realistic enough, though Raiden doesn't look that old. . .I can't be certain. I suppose we'll just have to ask him when we see him."
"Well, with any luck-" Snake suddenly motioned for Otacon to be quiet, and the hacker did so, looking about frantically. Snake, on the other hand, listened carefully, eyes widening ever so slightly when he heard it again. Thinking quick, he ducked down, under the computer terminal's desk, as the door on the opposite side of the room opened.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Hal, then nothing.
"You there, Programmer," a voice stated, deep and thick with a heavy accent that Snake did not recognize, "What are you doing?"
"I-I'm waiting for or-orders. . .I'm new h-here."
Dread descended on Snake, as he heard the sound of boots approaching.
"Really? What's your number?"
"I-I don't know. They haven't issued me one yet."
The sound was approaching, and Snake wished furiously for somewhere better to hide. It was obvious the guard (he assumed it was a guard) was approaching Otacon, and there was nothing in the room, except the rows of terminals. He couldn't even move to another row without being seen.
"That is strange. I will radio in then, and find out for you," it was obvious that the guard was following protocol, but that didn't help to ease Snake's nerves. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins now, and his legs were almost shaking with the need to move. . .If the guard came over here, he would be able to jump him, easy.
There was a click, and then the guard spoke, most likely into his radio device, "This is 1495."
"Come in, 1495. What is the problem?"
"I found a programmer without a number. In the computer labs." There was a long hesitation from the other end, throughout which Snake's heart was racing, ready for anything.
". . .He is to be given his number later. He has free access of the second floor. Move along."
"Yes sir." There was a degree of relief that ran through Snake's mind as those words were said. If they could get enough time alone here, in the computer lab, then perhaps they could uncover something about Raiden and his whereabouts.
The boots began walking again, but surprisingly enough, not away from Snake, but toward him!
Luckily for Snake, the overhang that supported the monitor and the keyboard shadowed him perfectly, and he watched as the guard, dressed as all the others in this facility, leisurely passed him by. This, by far, was not one of his closer calls, but still, there was always that worry, that exhilarating fear that only happened when your enemy almost saw you, almost found you. When you ran from a hail of bullets, the walls being torn up while you somehow managed to slip through, and survive.
The adrenaline rush was like a high, and it was no secret that Snake was addicted to that fear.
The sound of boots slowly faded, and then with a certain degree of relief, Snake heard the door open, and close. Otacon sighed, and Snake took it as his cue to come back out of hiding. He did so, with as much dignity as he could (it was hard to look mature, cold, distant when you were coming out from underneath a computer table), and stood beside his friend, watching Hal's fingers flying over the keyboard once more.
"Anything else on Raiden?" Snake asked, crossing his arms as he stood at Otacon's side. The programmer shook his head.
"Nothing. . ."
Snake sighed, "Alright then. . .I was hoping for something a little more substantial, like a location, but I suppose this is going to have to do." He began walking over to the door behind Otacon, "This place is almost linear, so it shouldn't take me long. . .What are you going to do till then?" Otacon shrugged.
"I don't know. . .Just wait here until I get further orders, I suppose." Snake nodded, then asked:
"Whats behind this door, here?"
Otacon shook his head, "Its another lab, like this one, I think. . .I haven't had a chance to search through it yet, I've been too busy with all the useless-" Otacon's voice gained a temporary frustrated tone that Snake did not remember hearing often, "-junk in this room. I'm assuming that they have another computer lab, something with actual information in it. . .Nothing on any of these terminals connects in anyway. . .Its all random, useless, incorrect junk."
"I wonder. . ." Snake raised a hand, stroking his chin briefly, thoughts running through his mind. There most likely was something here, something they were missing, but it was of no use. Nothing would come to his mind. He sighed, and lowered his hand, reaching out to the door before him, the door opposite to the one he entered through.
This door, strangely enough, was not a sliding door, but rather it had a knob. Why anyone would bother putting such a door as this in a facility of this caliber (strange though as it was) he did not know. Equally strange was that someone would use an older style door to close of such an important room. . .If Otacon was right about this being an extension to the computer lab, one would think that they would have similar doors.
Snake shrugged to himself, and chalked it up to either stupidity or ignorance on the behalf of the builders. Not that it really mattered that much, anyway. . .This entire facility was really starting to bother him with its apparent uselessness.
His hand grasped the knob, and he opened the door (which was surprisingly hard, and Snake started a mental rant about taking care of your own goddamn computer labs). It was another computer lab, almost identical to the first, if it were not for the door on the right hand wall, and the buzzing whir of a camera nearby.
Muscles tensing, Snake looked up, right above his head. There was indeed a camera there, a newer model made from excellent technology. It wasn't focused on him, though, instead it was watching the area a few feet in front of him, rotating left to right and back again in perfectly timed intervals.
I wonder if it saw the door opening? Snake thought, glancing at the object, Surely the edge of it is in the camera's field of view?
He shook clear the thought, though he couldn't help but wait a few minutes, listening for the sound of approaching guards. When he heard nothing more than the constant typing coming from Hal's direction, he sighed - lightly, and moved to the side of the door way, just a little, so that he could close, and get past the infernal thing.
Snake had no will to look through the contents of the computers - he was anything but a computer whiz, and after he saw all the work Hal had to do to open up those files on Raiden, he decided he would leave it to the programmer - instead, he was far more interested in that door. . .He was sort of hoping this would be a dead end, and so he could go back to the hallway before this grouping of rooms, and take a right turn instead of a left. . .He still had that whole area to go through, and linear paths made it easier to find things. With his luck, the room he was trying so hard to get into was probably going to be nothing more than a storage room, or something of the like.
Waiting till the camera shifted its gaze, he darted quickly past the now closed door, straight to the other wall, then following it to the door. He was well out of the camera's range by now, but it still made him nervous, the possibility of being sighted.
Once he neared the door, he finally slowed down, moving quickly yet silently in hopes of not alerting anyone on the other side. He waited right by the opening, listening, but there was no sound of life beyond, and so he stepped through it - another one of those damn sliding doors.
The room beyond was useless to him, as he had worried. It was nothing more than a small area, filled with a long table with many chairs, and piles and piles of boxes. Off in the far corner, there was another door for what seemed to be a washroom, if the signs beside it were to give any indication.
A frickin staff lounge. . .Just my luck. . .Snake sighed briefly, and ran a hand through his hair, moving some of the stray strands away from his eyes. There was obviously nothing here that could be of use - except maybe some empty boxes, but he didn't think that trick would work so well here, where the halls were desolate of anything - and so he turned around and walked right out again.
What to do now?
He would probably have to go back to that hallway he didn't check. Whatever was in this place was obviously in that direction, so he was actually left with very little choice in the matter. He began to walk across that second computer room again, but before he was even halfway through it, the door on the other side burst open, and an excited Otacon burst through.
"Snake! I-!"
It was already to late, Snake realized, even as he made motions for Otacon to shut up, and stand still. The programmer was directly in the sights of the camera, and had obviously been seen. The device watched him closely, and Snake knew that the people on the other side were already reporting the disturbance.
Now, if it was just Otacon, and he had not said anything, then whoever was watching the cameras probably wouldn't care, but since Hal rushed in, talking to him, well, people would definitely be suspicious. Snake motioned for Otacon to slowly, calmly walk toward him.
Once his friend was out of the range of that damn camera, Snake moved back toward the door from where he just came. From what he saw, the lounge had plenty of places to hide in, and it wouldn't be hard to find something suitable, even if it was under a box.
Hal followed without question, and they quickly - suppressing the urge to run and hide before someone came through the door and opened fire at the intruder - entered. A brief glance around gave options of where to hide, of course, but Snake took the one he was least comfortable with.
Under the table.
He needed a space large enough to hold both him and Otacon, so that the programmer wouldn't freak. The table was the only place that would allow that, but it also had serious disadvantages. For one, guards were smart at times, and under a table was a rather obvious place to hide. Two, it forced him down on his stomach, which was not an optimal position to fight from. Three, it did nothing to block the sound of his breathing, and Hal's loud, nervous rasping.
Otacon's face showed perfectly what the man was feeling. Snake could easily read the fear, nervousness, anticipation, and worry the other man was feeling. He felt it all too, but it was dimmed down so low. . .All that he really felt now was the suspense, and somewhere deep down inside of him, he could feel his body craving it.
His heart continued to beat faster than normal.
Nearly a full minute passed before there was any sign of anyone chasing them. Otacon's breath had slowed, but Snake could still hear the nervous tension in his friend. Suddenly, the door slid open, and Snake's body went rigid, his hands cold.
Three pairs of boots stormed into the room. Two stayed by the door, and the other one began slowly moving about the room, one step at a time.
Snake knew exactly what they were doing. . .A clearing. . .Though, the maneuver was usually only done with two guards, instead of three. One guard (or two, as in this situation) would wait by the door, their guns ready. The other guard would then move about the room, checking each and every little nook and cranny-
"Clear!" one of the guards shouted, and a bolt of shock ran through Snake.
"Move!" replied on of the guards near the door. The one searching the room continued to move.
A quiet whimper was emitted from Hal, and Snake immediately motioned for the man to be quiet. They could not risk being exposed now, not with three guards all heavily armed. . .If Snake could gain the element of surprised, then maybe he could turn this into a winning situation, but this wasn't one of those kind of moments. If he tried anything, he would be seen. If he held up one of the guards, then the others would definitely notice, and come to investigate.
Snake wracked his mind for a solution, but it didn't matter. He ran out of time, anyway. Hal whimpered again as the boots approached the table. One chair was pulled back, and knocked to the side completely.
Down came the face of a guard, and it was less than a second later that Snake fired a bullet into his face.
There was, of course, the usual spray of blood that followed such a wound, the crimson liquid staining both an unfazed Snake and a stunned Otacon. The man gripped at his ruined forehead with the last remaining energy he had, falling over backward and twitching.
The other two guards, after a brief second of surprised hesitation, ran toward the table. Snake grabbed Otacon's arm none too gently, and pulled the man out from under the table through a small gap between chairs on the opposite side from where the guard first checked.
They rolled out, Snake instantly on his feet and pulling Hal with him, out the door. Of course, the guards would be following in seconds and there was no where to hide.
He briefly wondered about forcing Hal to hide with him under the desks where the computers were, but instantly dismissed the idea. Hal was wearing white, and the guards would spot him instantly. Instead, he pulled Otacon past the camera (probably forcing more guards to come, but there was no time for secrecy now.
Out the door of the computer labs and beginning down the hall, Snake continued to pull Hal. The man seemed unable to believe what the legendary Solid Snake just did, and had he not been forced to move, he wouldn't have budged. Thus, it was up to Snake to pull his friend to safety.
Upon reaching the first intersection, Snake rammed his back hard but quietly against the wall, gun in his hands, and he peered around. There was no time for fooling around, true, but he couldn't just leap out in front of a dozen armed guards, now could he?
There were about five more guards coming down the hall, and Snake took the opportunity to take several shots at them - hitting one in the head, and two in the torso - before again grabbing Otacon and running. He didn't turn down the hall, as that not only would have taken him right to the guards he just injured, but that would also lead him back to the staircase that would take him up again to the first floor. However, if he headed straight, he would be in that hallway where he had yet to check.
Two birds with one stone. . .Besides, going in any other direction would leave him with no where to hide.
There was a turn soon enough, to the left. Snake followed it, aware that it would be only seconds before people were shooting at him. He kept his eyes open for somewhere - anywhere to hide, but there was nothing. He and Otacon continued racing forward, hearts racing.
The new corridor did not go far before reaching a door. Luckily, it was a sliding one, so Snake did not have to slow down at all. Instead, he pulled Otacon through, quickly and swiftly into the dim shadowed area beyond.
The door slid shut behind them with a hiss, but much to Snake's dismay, it was followed by a sharp click sound. Another was emitted from the door opposite to them.
Did they just fall into a trap. . .?
Breathing harshly - panting in Otacon's case - Snake let go of his friend and moved forward, trying the far door. Just as he feared, it would not open, not even when he pounded his fists against the cold metal surface. Leaning against the object, he turned and looked over at his friend.
Hal had a rather random collection of blood splatter all over his face, the crimson staining the white of his lab jacket. The man still looked highly disturbed, but not nearly so shocked as he had originally. Snake took this as a good sign, walking back over to him.
The room was empty. . .And also very dirty. There were pools of split oil in various areas of the room, sometimes dripping down the walls as well. Snake figured it to be some kind of a storage room beforehand, and whatever was left was what had tipped over. . .There was one oil barrel in the far corner, resting on its side, and this only confirmed Snake's theory. The room was dark, having very little lighting, and large shadows loomed at the edges of his vision.
"Are you alright?" he asked, and Otacon nodded gently, his hands on his knees. Snake wondered if the man was going to be sick.
"Y-yeah. . .What now?"
Snake shrugged, watching with light worry as his friend continued to breathe roughly, "Beats me. The doors are locked."
"Can't you just blast them down?" Hal asked, rubbing at his face and pulling his hands away, staring distantly at the blood, "You do have a gun, after all."
"That only works in the movies," Snake replied, taking a glance about the room. There were no vents, and the smell was beginning to get to him, as it was very potent, "And the doors look thick, too. . .I don't think that even a Stinger Rocket Launcher would be able to open one."
Hal looked up at him, worry both in his eyes and his voice, "Snake. . .What are we going to do?"
Snake shook his head, "I don't know. . .There's got to be something. . .Hey," his eyes narrowed and he stared harder at the darkest corner of the room, "What's-?"
The darkness itself seemed to move then, twisting and shaping itself. Creeping forward. Snake's hand immediately dropped down to his gun as a figure slowly emerged, blending in with the darkness perfectly, but as it stepped into the light, the illusions fell away. Even the legendary Solid Snake had his mouth agape.
Before them stood a ninja, just like Grey fox. . .Identical, almost, in design and size. The only thing different was this one was completely black. He (Snake assumed it was a he, but then again after Olga dressed up as a male ninja, how could he be sure?) stood there, katana in hand, waiting, ready. . .His visor was shut, but at his eye level was a section of his exoskeleton that was glowing a bright saphire blue. It was hard to make out the details of the armor in this light, but Snake could catch a glimpse of the divisions, and the way how different sections of the exoskeleton were shadded different hues of black.
Without warning, the ninja took off at a run right at Snake, katana drawn, and ready for battle.
Not a word was spoken.
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A/N : Sorry about the delay. . .This will update faster from now on. Snake didn't want to cooperate, tis all.
Thanks for the reviews and the compliments, guys.