Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait guys, Finals and AP Exams are killing me. Thank god summer is almost here.

My second story is up, and its called Blades of Chaos. As I said before, its a Samurai Jack/Link crossover. I've only got one chapter up so far, and I won't put the next one up until I get a few reviews, not to mention I've still got to work on this one.

Storywise, the Hyperion Cannon is only minutes away from firing, and the team is caught in the middle of a deadly power struggle. All the cards are on the table now, and their main focus is escaping with their lives. However, let's not forget that the Flood are still loose, and its only a matter of time before they reach the surface . . . .

- CHAPTER 11 -

Umbrella Research Facility

Abandoned Hangar

Cannon Countdown: 9 min. 38 sec.

I thought I'd be able to relax after I escaped Halo. Boy was I wrong.

The words ran through Master Chief's head as he himself ran through the labyrinth of old storage containers in the forgotten hangar. Ahead of him, Metal Gear RAY was pounnding the ground with its massive legs, like someone would when they were trying to squash a cockroach. Unfortunately for Albert Wesker, he was the roach in this scenario.

Good, keeps his attention off of me.

The Chief had almost arrived at the behemoth robot's feet when he spotted Wesker dashing down the same row as him. He bounded after the escaping man, but never even came close, as RAY's water jet cannon blasted between them, taking a majority of the containers with it, and stopping the Chief in his tracks. RAY ignored him and continued its relentless pursuit.

The Chief did not fire at it for two reasons: He didn't want to piss Liquid off and have it come after him, and he knew very well that he would probably end up doing absolutely no damage to it.

The rampaging machine charged up its laser again and blasted around the hangar, taking most of the roof and walls with it. Through all the dust and haze, Liquid's voice boomed.

"Wesker, you can't escape me! I'll tear this entire base apart until I find you!"

The Chief's vision cleared up and he realized that there was no longer a roof over his head. Around him were the remains of the building, as well as sections of wall that were still standing. RAY was searching maniacally through the destruction, blasting every once and a while at a pile of rubble. Behind him, Wild Dog was doing battle with Alan and Wesley in the half of the hangar that still stood. Leon was nowhere to be found. Then, something to his left caught his attention. There was a convoy of jeeps and trucks approaching. Master Chief loaded his weapon, and informed the others.

"We've got company. South end, looks like Wesker's men."

Alan was the first to reply. "We've got our hands full man, you're gonna have to work it out."

"I see em Chief, it looks like they're Wesker's backup," declared Snake.

The men jumped out of their vehicles and immediately took action. They were all carrying high powered assault rifles, but against RAY's exterior that didn't mean a thing. Then the Chief spotted two more enemies. These looked like some sort of special ops ninjas, equipped with swords and high tech equipment. They leapt out of the trucks at an alarming height, and unsheathed their weapons.

"Cortana, are you keeping an eye on our time limit?" asked the Chief as he ran towards the battle.

"You've got about eight and a half minutes."

"Snake, you go after Wesker, I'll handle them," affirmed the Chief.

He bounded towards the group of soldiers and tossed a grenade over in their direction. The ninjas were quick to evade the blast, but the same could not be said for the soldiers. But now he had made himself a target. The ninjas glared at him through their glowing red goggles and separated. The one on his left came down with a forceful vertical slash, but the Chief moved at the last second and blasted him in his back with his shotgun. The man flew a few feet away, then recovered.

What the...?

The blast had not even slowed the enemy down. Before he could think about it any longer, the other ninja landed behind him and charged at him. Whirling around, the Chief fired at him until he was out of cartridges. The ninja was far too agile and jumped out of the way of each and every blast while still moving towards him. His enemy delivered a horizontal slash at his neck, which the Chief ducked under. Gripping his empty shotgun with both hands, he bashed the man in the face, cracking his goggles. The masked assailant put his hand to his face as if he was in extreme pain, but made no sound. Master Chief moved in for another attack, but the ninja pulled out a P-90 and unloaded on the Chief, causing him to dive out of the way.

Landing behind a pile of collapsed roof, he spotted his enemies regrouping ahead of him.

I've gotta even these odds. But how?

His enemies were quick, maybe even too quick. That's when it hit him.

Jumping out of cover, he reached for the assault rifle on his back. The Chief fired wildly at the pair, causing them to split. Once they did that, he only followed one of them with gunfire, ignoring the other one completely. The one he was attacking just kept on dodging and jumping. From his peripheral vision, he noticed the second one making his way around him.

Come on, just a little closer...

The Chief continued firing, making sure that the one he was shooting at was a good distance away. When the ninja behind him jumped into the air, the Chief reacted.

Dropping his assault rifle, he spun around just as his attacker's sword was coming down on him. With both hands, the Chief stopped the man's blade and held it firm. Still gripping the hilt, the ninja stared at him. Since he had a mask on, the Chief couldn't see his face, but he was willing to bet the man was wide-eyed.

He had remembered that his shields coudn't be penetrated in this time, and had utilized them. By attacking only one of them, the Chief knew that the other would use the oppurtunity as a distraction, and attempt a sneak attack from behind him. The Chief had actually never forgotten about the second ninja, and had lured him into his trap.

The ninja wouldn't let go of the sword, so Master Chief took action. He tugged hard on the blade, easily ripping it from the man's grasp, while also pulling himself closer to him. Now right in front of him, the Chief punched him in the face, sending him to the ground. Then he noticed the other one approaching again. He kicked his assault rifle into the air, caught it one-handed, and fired at him. The ninja deflected the shots with his blade. Instantly, the Chief took off at full speed towards him. The ninja was confused, stopped moving, and fired at the Chief. The shots of course didn't even phase him. Realizing that the Chief was getting too close, the ninja dropped his weapon and aimed his fist at him. Master Chief noticed a miniature rocket launcher attached to the man's wrist, let his weapon fall to the ground, and quickly side-stepped.

Grabbing the man's outstretched arm, Master Chief spun around behind him, kneed him in the back, and aimed the man's arm at the other ninja. The projectile fired, and exploded in the second ninja's face, killing him instantly.

The ninja still in the Chief's grasp wrenched free, took two quick steps forward, spun around, and delivered a forward thrust at the Chief's stomach. With the other ninja's sword still in his hand, the Chief parried the strike easily. They exchanged a few more blows, before the ninja knocked the Chief's blade away. With Master Chief momentarily stunned, the ninja raised his blade and brought it down hard. The Chief put his forearm in the way, and when the blade met his arm, it shattered instantly. At that same moment, the Chief spotted a large shadow underneath him and jumped back, dodging the giant foot of Metal Gear RAY by inches. The ninja was not so fortunate.

On his back, Master Chief stared up at the colossal machine, and could only watch as it raised its massive foot up to annhilate him.

Solid Snake was rushing through the destruction of the old hangar, trying his best to keep up with Wesker. After Liquid had destroyed most of the hangar, Snake had fallen from the catwalks and was almost killed in the process. Wesker had caught him by surprise and attacked him from above. The two struggled for a moment before Liquid's RAY arrived and Wesker bailed.

"Otacon, how much longer?"

His partner's response was brief. "I'm almost there, hang on a little longer Snake."

Easier said than done buddy. This isn't exactly a social call.

Snake needed to find Wesker quick and relieve him of his suitcase. Whatever he had in there was obviously something that Snake didn't want him to have.

"We've got company. South end, looks like Wesker's men," spoke the Master Chief suddenly over his codec.

Glancing to his right, he took note of the approaching convoy.

"I see em Chief, it looks like they're Wesker's backup," affirmed Snake.

The vehicles were bounding down the runway at breakneck speed.

"Snake, you go after Wesker, I'll handle them," announced the Master Chief suddenly.

Snake acknowledged his claim and continued the chase. Gaining on Wesker, he raised his weapon and fired. It was as if the man had eyes on the back of his head, because he quickly jumped over a pile of debris, avoiding Snake's blast. Meanwhile, Liquid's onslaught continued, as he fired a dozen missiles from his RAY unit, all which nearly sent Snake to his death. When the smoke cleared, Snake had to dive out of RAY's path in order to avoid being flattened. A couple of shots went off over the pile which Wesker had just jumped over, so Snake approached with caution.

Poking his head out, he spotted Ada and Leon hot on Wesker's trail.

Where the hell does he think he's going?, thought Snake to himself.

Arriving at Leon's side, Wesker opened fire on them with his Killer7. Each shot discharged with a deafening roar.

"One shot from that gun of his and we're done," explained Leon.

Snake spotted RAY approaching. "That's the least of my worries right now," said Snake. "Where did Ada go?"

Leon shook his head. "I ran into her for a second there. She must have gone after Wesker."

When Wesker's gunfire ceased, Leon motioned for Snake to cover him.

"Go!"

Leon burst out from his cover and ran in Wesker's direction, firing madly with his Blacktail. Wesker moved out of the way, waiting for Leon to go empty. Surprisingly, Leon's handgun had an overwhelming capacity of 21 rounds per clip. When the firing subsided, Wesker jumped out from his own cover, swinging the suitcase with his right hand. Leon ducked, and the case smashed into and through the solid concrete of a fallen piece of wall. Snake moved in to aid Leon, but Wesker spotted him and leapt into the air. At the same time, RAY unloaded on him with its machine guns. Wesker swung the suitcase, deflecting all of the shots away from himself. Landing a few feet away, he bolted towards the vehicles that had been left behind by his men. As he did, an explosion from their right caught Snake and Leon's ears. It had also caught Liquid's.

Turning, Leon and Snake could just make out Master Chief deep in sword combat with some sort of ninja. RAY arrived at the scene, and tried to crush the Chief. However, the Chief was too quick and moved out of the way. But now he was on the ground, and RAY lifted its leg up again. As it loomed over him, Snake and Leon could only watch in horror, as it came down on him full force.

"No!" cried Leon.

The crash sent a cloud of dust everywhere, and the scene was closed off for a moment. As the smoke cleared, Snake could not believe what he was seeing.

"No freakin way," muttered Leon, utterly perplexed.

Standing before them was the Master Chief, holding Metal Gear RAY's foot clear above his head.

"What the-?" spoke Liquid, just realizing it as well.

The foot pressed down harder, but the Chief just wouldn't back down. The ground beneath him was no longer flat, but a small crater.

"That's impossible," said Snake, keeping his eyes on the ordeal taking place just a few feet away.

With one major burst of energy, Master Chief pushed up hard, causing RAY to go unbalanced. With one foot still in the air, RAY fell on its back, leaving the biggest cloud of dust yet. At the same time, the rotors of a chopper caught Snake's ears.

"One Stinger missile launcher ready for pickup!" yelled Otacon over the codec.

Hovering at the end of the hangar was an S-76 HeliJet with the side door open. A figure emerged and dropped an FIM-92 surface-to-air Stinger missile launcher.

"Thanks Otacon, you're just in time," said Snake.

Turning to where RAY had collapsed, Snake identified the Master Chief regaining his composure as well as the Metal Gear getting back on its feet.

"Chief get outta there!" yelled Leon.

The Chief acknowledged the warning and ran to his left.

"You're tougher than I thought!" shouted Liquid.

To their right, a car started up.

"Its Wesker, he's escaping!"

Snake had already formulated a plan. "Go after him, I'll catch up to you."

Leon eyed him with confusion. "What about you?"

Snake glanced at RAY. "I've got one last mess to clean up. Go!"

Leon nodded and ran towards the area of gathered vehicles. Snake made sure he got there safely before returning his attention to RAY. Now the gargantuan mechanism had its sights set on him. But before he could react, a missile shot from his left caught RAY on its right knee. It cried out in pain, and before it could move another missile struck its mouth.

"Good shooting Chief," said Snake.

Master Chief gave him a thumbs up while still maintaining the launcher on his shoulder. "I'll keep him busy."

"Gotcha," replied Snake.

Returning to the interior of the hangar, Snake scanned the area and located Wesley hiding behind a storage container, pinned down by Wild Dog's gunfire. Snake loaded the grenade launcher on his rifle and fired it at Wild Dog. Transforming his arm into its laser sword mode, Wild Dog sliced the explosive, and it never even detonated.

"Where do you pests keep coming from?" he yelled in an angry tone. With his Mauser, he took aim at Snake and fired.

Snake switched on his stealth camo and dived out of the way. Jumping out from cover, Wesley fired at Wild Dog, who was standing on top of another storage Dog jumped into the air, and transformed his arm again.

"Heads up!" warned Snake. Wesley had already spotted the move. With his arm in its rocket launcher mode, Wild Dog was spinning around in the air, sending rockets in every direction. A shot rang out and caught him on the side, and he landed behind another container.

"Got him," announced Alan from his position.

Their joy was outlived as the container was cut into two, and out came an enraged Wild Dog. He lunged at Wesley and slashed at him maniacally. Wesley was able to avoid being pulverized, but he was having a hard time surviving Wild Dog's berserk onslaught.

"A little help here guys," he said over the radio.

"Hang on, I'm coming to you," responded Alan.

Evading a shot at his head, Wesley kicked Wild Dog in his stomach, but the man barely felt it. Bringing his weapon up Wesley fired off a shot, but Wild Dog was too quick. He backflipped and the bullet flew right under him. Landing in a kneel, he fired at Wesley with his Mauser. Wesley ducked behind another container and reloaded his weapon. From behind Wild Dog, Alan appeared, firing savagely. With brute force, Wild Dog kicked in the container behind him and sent it rocketing in Alan's direction.

"Shit!" he yelled.

From his right, someone tackled him and he flew out of the way. Looking around he spotted no one.

"That was a close one," spoke Snake.

Solid Snake suddenly appeared before him from thin air.

Alan was shocked. "How the hell?"

Snake helped him up. "Stealth camouflage."

"Nice. Gotta get me one of those."

Wild Dog wasn't finished just yet. Raising his arm in the air, he transformed it into a form Alan had never seen before.

"Wes, are you watching this?" asked Alan over the radio.

"Yeah, what the hell is he doing?"

From Wild Dog's arm emerged a long energy mace. Spinning it around in the air, he swung it at Snake and Alan. The two jumped out of the way as the ball came crashing down. Laughing uncontrollably, Wild Dog bellowed, "We've still got a few minutes of playtime before this place is vaporized! Let's have some fun!"

He proceeded to destroy most of the containers in the area in a relentless hunt for his quarries.

Snake fired at him with his M4, but Wild Dog just deflected it. He rushed at Snake while simultaneously firing at him with his Mauser. Swinging the mace full force, he almost took Snake's head off. Snake managed to duck under it and switch his stealth camo back on.

"I'll find you!"

Spinning around in a frenzy, he moved like a tornado into the center of the room, his mace crushing anything it came in contact with.

"As soon as he stops open fire!" commanded Snake.

The destruction lasted another minute before finally, Wild Dog came to a halt. Almost instantly, both Alan and Wesley emerged from their hiding spots and unloaded on Wild Dog. Since they were on either side of him, he had to switch back to laser sword mode in order to stand a chance. Backing off away from them, he deflected their shots while still managing to fire back at them. From behind him, Snake joined in. Against overwhelming odds, Wild Dog panicked and leapt into the air. Tossing his last grenade, Snake hurled the explosive not at Wild Dog, but at the roof above him. When it exploded, the roof caved in on top of him and sent him falling back down along with the rest of the roof.

The three of them converged at the pile of rubble, guns still drawn. Suddenly, Wild Dog's hand emerged from the pile with a detonator in its grip.

"Move!" yelled Wesley.

They dived out of the way just as his finger came down on the button and the pile exploded. When the dust settled, there was nothing left. They stared at the area a moment longer.

"I guess that's that," declared Alan, wiping the perspiration of his face.

Snake glanced back to where the Chief was battling RAY. "Let's move, there's not much time left."

An explosion from the cargo elevator caught their attention.

"Not now," said Snake under his breath.

Emerging from the shaft, a swarm of Infection Forms already began to spread throughout the area. Behind them sprang the Combat Forms.

"Ah shit!" exclaimed Wesley.

"C'mon, we've gotta get the hell outta here!" commanded Snake. He motioned for them to move, then contacted Otacon as he ran. "Otacon, we need an evac now!"

His partner answered him instantly. "I can pick you up at the southeast end."

"We'll be there, don't be late."

As they moved across the hangar, Master Chief's battle with RAY became visible.

"Chief! Head towards the end of the hangar, I'll take care of this!" Snake screamed at the top of his lungs.

The armored man nodded as he, Alan, and Wesley made their way to the evac point.

Stopping in front of RAY, Snake cried,"Liquid!"

The machine stopped moving. It just stared at him. Snake was ready to move at the first sight of an attack, but one never came. The hatch on its head opened and Liquid Ocelot emerged.

"How's the new body treatin' ya?" asked Snake, buying the others some time.

Liquid scoffed. "Ha! I'm in full control now Snake!"

Almost immediately, Liquid's right arm went into a frenzy.

"Damn!" yelled Liquid in pain. He was clutching his right arm with his left hand.

After another moment, the attack subsided.

Snake chuckled. "Full control huh? Looks to me like you're getting ahead of yourself."

Liquid regained his footing before continuing. "He's been taking medicine these past few months, designed to block me out. I thought I had overcome them, but I guess I was wrong." He was looking Snake right in the eye. "This won't go on much longer though. I'm getting brain surgery to make sure he never again interferes."

Snake changed the subject. "Why are you doing this Liquid?"

Liquid's upper lip rose slightly. "My reasons are my own Snake." Then his tone became less aggressive. "Snake, they lied to us."

The comment bewildered Snake. "What are you talking about?"

"The Patriots Snake, they played us for fools."

"What do you mean?" Snake asked, raising his eyebrow.

Liquid elaborated. "When I first awakened in Ocelot's body, I could only access certain information from his subconscious. But now that I've been here for awhile, I've learned quite a lot about his dealings with the Patriots. They played us for saps Snake. You were never the superior clone of Big Boss, I was. They lied to me, counting on the fact that my hate for you would fuel my leadership during Shadow Moses."

Snake was speechless. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. All this time he had lived his life with that certain piece of information, and now he was being told it was false.

"And yet you still defeated me," said Liquid. He hesitated as he spoke. "I know we have our differences which we will settle in time, but for the record, I hold no grudge against you."

Snake was perplexed. He's joking right? He's got to be.

"That doesn't mean I won't squash you if you get in my way, but for now..." he glanced at the incoming Flood. "Get the hell out of here." And with that he jumped back inside his damaged RAY, and departed.

Snake stood still as he watched the machine make its way across the runway. If it hadn't been for Otacon, he probably would have stayed there awhile longer.

"Snake! We've gotta go!"

Snake snapped out of his thoughts, took note of the approaching creatures, and ran towards the awaiting chopper. Jumping onboard, he patted Otacon on the shoulder.

"Sorry about that, and thanks for the save."

Otacon nodded. "We're not in the clear yet. We've still gotta get Leon."

The chopper slowly lifted off the ground. "I'll tell him to be on the lookout for us. How much time do we have left?"

Master Chief answered his question from the back of the chopper. "Five and a half minutes and counting."

Snake nodded. "Well we better make this quick then."

As the helicopter moved down the runway, Snake was still surprised at the fact that his brother, for the first time in his life, had shown anyone compassion.

Maneuevering the roofless jeep as best as he could, Leon maintained his course behind Wesker's vehicle. They were rapidly approaching the battle that was still taking place, and Leon was beginning to get nervous. Gunfire sprayed from Wesker's jeep, and Leon had to duck to avoid being hit.

"Dammit!" he yelled, as the windshield shattered, and he was showered in glass.

Grabbing his Blacktail, he returned fire, popping Wesker's two rear tires. The car almost lost control, but Wesker was able to quickly regain it. However, his car was much slower now. Leon gunned the engine and pulled up next to Wesker's vehicle, ramming it hard on its side. Wesker couldn't afford to try that against him for risk of crashing, so he just gritted his teeth and did his best to evade Leon. No such luck there.

Leon continued ramming him, and had begun to gain the upper hand. But then Wesker did the unexpected. Springing up from his seat, he landed in the passenger seat of Leon's jeep. At once, Leon aimed his weapon at the man, but Wesker grabbed his arm. They struggled ferociously all the while the car was nearly at the battlesite.

Leon tried to release the accelerator, but Wesker kept his own foot on Leon's. Leon ignored the steering wheel, and the two were throwing punches left and right. Grabbing Leon by his jacket, Wesker headbutt him for the second time today, causing Leon to fall backwards. The door flew open, and his head was only inches from the speeding runway below him. Wesker was on top of him, trying to finish him off, but Leon wasn't backing out. He kept his own grip on Wesker's jacket, and holding on with all his might, he pulled Wesker's face close to his and did the first thing he could think of. He bit.

With his teeth, he clamped down of Wesker's nose as hard as he possibly could. I don't give a damn how inhuman you are, that shit has got to hurt. Wesker howled in pain, releasing his grip on Leon. Pulling himself up, Leon took advantage of his enemy's distress. He hit Wesker with everything he had, but no matter what, his foot would not budge. The two of them grappled in the front seat of the jeep, but it soon began to take its toll, at least on Leon.

Managing to extract his silenced pistol, Wesker moved to aim it at Leon. With his free leg, he kicked Wesker squarely in the chest, and sent him flying out of the car and onto the runway. But it seemed as if Wesker had gotten the last laugh, as he had managed to rip a few cables on his way out. The brakes were out, and he was on a crash course with hell itself. A helicopter behind him caught his attention.

"Leon!" It was Alan.

Looking up at the chopper, he spotted the Master Chief extending his arm out.

"Grab my arm!" barked the Chief.

The chopper lowered itself closer to Leon, and he had to jump in order to reach the Chief's arm.

"I got him!"

The chopper quickly pulled away, as the jeep smashed directly into a tank. The Chief helped him up, and they slid the door closed.

Staring out the window, they watched as each and every RAY unit suddenly stopped what they were doing, and jumped into the air, disappearing.

"The Hyperion Cannon is preparing to fire!" spoke Cortana over their radios.

"Everybody hang on!" commanded Otacon.

They all braced themselves as the chopper banked to the left. Looking back, the clouds parted, and a small beam of energy poured down from the sky, followed by a giant blast of energy. The light was too bright to look at, and they all turned away. The explosion was extremely powerful, rocking the Earth below them, and Otacon had to struggle to regain control of the helicopter. When the base became visible again, there was nothing to look at. Everything had been destroyed.

None of them spoke for the rest of the trip, as they were all shocked at what they had just escaped.