Disclaimer: I do not own MGS characters, plot, etc. I do however own Phoenix.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I had the biggest writer's block I think I've EVER had and it took forever to go away. Hopefully it won't happen again. Now Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Underground Hangar

Snake and Phoenix entered the underground hangar holding Metal Gear.

"Holy smokes. It's…huge…" Phoenix said

They both looked up, and up, and up at the monstrous metal beast. It was several stories high with catwalks and ladders going everywhere.

"I don't see any guards. You'd think there'd be more considering it's importance." Snake said.

Phoenix looked at him. "Have you seen the size of that thing? It huge! No one in their right mind would steal this thing, or even think of destroying it! In fact, I'm starting to think we're insane for being here!"

"Well, you do have to be at least slightly insane to do this job."

"Good point."

They walked forward with their guns raised. They came across a ladder, Snake climbed first and Phoenix followed, with some difficulty. She got to the top and slipped. Snake grabbed her hand and pulled her up in the next level. She knelt down and was panting.

"Snake, I'm slowing you down too much, you should go up ahead."

Snake knelt down beside her.

"You're coming with me no matter what."

He stood up and held out his hand. Phoenix grabbed it and pulled her up.

"Besides, I'll need all the help I can get to beat that thing." He pointed towards Rex.

He continued walking and Phoenix followed. They climbed a few more ladders and took out a guard, the only one they had seen, patrolling by an office. Ocelot was talking to a man with blond hair in the room, the man turned around.

"Liquid?" Phoenix and Snake exchanged puzzled looks.

"Fox Die… It killed Octopus and the Arms Tech president…" Ocelot was talking, "So it's true that it affects older people first. Mantis might not have been affected because he wore a mask." Ocelot said.

"Wolf wasn't affected either. Perhaps due to those tranquilizers she always took." Liquid said.

"Something to do with the adrenaline levels in the blood? Or maybe it's just because the Fox Die was still experimental and they haven't worked out all the bugs yet…"

"Hey Snake? Do you know what they're talking about?"

He shook his head. "Not a clue."

"…You're not thinking of reviving Big Boss's dream are you?" Ocelot continued.

"From today… call this place "Outer Heaven"

"Snake, What's Outer Heaven?"

"Long story."

"That makes 3 stories you have to tell me when we're out of here."

"By the way, what should we do about the woman? Want me to kill her?" Ocelot said.

"Let her live, she's Campbell's daughter and Snake care for her… We'll keep her as our ace in-the-whole."

"Meryl's alive…" Snake said.

"Told ya so."

Snake's codec rang and her answered. He was talking about the PAL codes and 3 keys of some sort. Phoenix was wondering about what on earth FoxDie was and if they'd be able to stop REX. A voice suddenly broke her chain of thought.

"Who's there!"

It was Ocelot and he fired and Snake. Snake lost his grip on they key he was holding and it tumbled over the edge into the drainage ditch.

"Damn! The key fell in the drainage ditch." Snake said.

"I'll get it."

Phoenix, for some strange reason, jumped over the railing and flipped down into the drainage ditch.

'I didn't know I could do that? Cool!' She thought.

She was looking around the drainage ditch and found the key lying dangerously close to a hungry rat. She was a few meters away. She inched forwads, slowly reaching her hand forward, but it was too late, the rat had somehow managed to eat it whole! Snake joined her soon after.

"Where's the key?" Phoenix pointed to a rat. "It ATE it?"

Phoenix nodded her head.

"We'll have to kill it and get it out, could I use one of your knives?"

"Sure, but I'm not using it afterwards." She took one of the throwing knives she had around her thigh and held it out for Snake.

"On second, Phoenix, I think you should kill it. After all, you are good a throwing them are you not?"

Phoenix glared at him. She looked at the rat and aimed. She through the knife and it hit it's head.

"Nice." Snake said.

"Well, I wanted to make sure I didn't get the key. Oh and since I kill it, you can retrieve the key." She smiled at him.

Snake went forwards and grabbed the knife and removed the key.

"Let's get back to the computer room. Liquid and Ocelot are gone, so we shouldn't have any trouble in there."

"Alright."

They went back up to the computer room and Snake explained the use of the key.

"It's three keys in one? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, but it'll be tricky getting the other two because they have to be a certain temperature."

"Oh, great." She said with less enthusiasm.

Snake inserted the key into the room temperature laptop.

"Alright, now the cold one."

"Alright, what do we do?"

"We go to the warehouse to make it cold."

"Oh."

Snake and Phoenix went back to the warehouse then back to the computer room. Snake's codec rang again and he started talking. He walked a bit away from Phoenix. Whoever was calling him obviously didn't want Phoenix to hear. When he came back, his face was slightly white.

"Snake, what is it?"

"FoxDie, I know what it is…"

"What is it?"

Snake explained that FoxDie was a type of retrovirus that targets and kills only certain people. First it infected the macrophages in the victim's body. Also it contained smart enzymes, created through protein engineering. They're created to respond to certain genetic patterns, or someone's DNA. They respond by becoming active and, using the macrophages, they begin creating TNF epsilon. It's a type of cytokine, a peptide which causes cells to die. The TNF epsilon is carried along the bloodstream to the heart, where they attach to the TNF receptors in the heart cells. Then he explained how the heart cells suffer a shock and undergo an extreme apoptosis, which is when the cells commit suicide.

Phoenix couldn't speak for a moment.

"Phoenix, that's not all."

"There's more?"

"Yeah… You and I have been injected with it."

Phoenix's face went pale and her eyes wide.

"But… w...why, what possible reason would she have for wanting us dead?"

Snake then also explained that the cyborg ninja was in fact Gray Fox, someone that he had killed in an earlier mission and that in fact, Gray Fox was Fank Jaeger, and Naomi's older brother. He also explained that the reason that Naomi wanted Phoenix dead was that she had discovered that Phoenix had something to do with her orphanage, or something along those lines.

Phoenix sat down in a chair. It was a lot to take in.

"How long do we have?"

"No clue, but long enough to finnish this, you with me?"

"Of course!"

Snake and Phoenix went to the boiler room and back to the computer room. They inserted the third key and…

Computer: PAL code number three confirmed. PAL code entry complete… Detonation Code Activated.

"No! Why!" Snake said.

Computer: Ready for launch.

Snake and Phoenix received a codec call. It was Master Miller. He thanked them for inputting the detonation codes and a talked about how the DARPA chief died and they had Decoy Octopus impersonate him to get the PAL code from Snake. He talked and talked some more.

"Snake! Phoenix! That's not Master Miller!" It was the colonel.

"Campbell, you're too late."

"Master Miller's body was just discovered at his home! He's been dead for at least three days! Mei Ling checked the codec signal and it's coming from inside the base!"

"So who have we been talking too?" Phoenix asked.

"You've been talking to…"

"… Me… dear sister, brother."

"Liquid! How the…!" Snake said.

"You've served your purpose, you may die now!"

°end of chapter°

End Note: I hope that left a nice little cliff hanger. R&R please!